Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Belarusian president meets Iranian ambassador, calls for peace in Middle East Xinhua) 21:52, March 04, 2026 MINSK, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Iranian Ambassador to Belarus Alireza Sanei here on Wednesday. The talks focused on the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the recent attack on Iran and the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Lukashenko reiterated Belarus' long-standing commitment to peace, noting that the country has suffered heavy losses in past wars and therefore opposes any form of armed conflict. He condemned the Israeli-U.S. strikes as an unacceptable act that resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and Khamenei. The Belarusian leader warned that the conflict could draw Gulf states into the violence and urged the international community -- particularly major powers, Israel and the United States -- to recognize the risk of unpredictable escalation. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liu Ning) ADAMS Copilot enables healthcare organizations to move from question to validated insightfaster, safer, and at scale. BOSTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MDClone, a healthcare technology company enabling secure, self-service exploration of complex healthcare data, today announced the launch of ADAMS Copilot, its AI-powered healthcare data assistant, designed to transform how clinical, operational, quality, and research teams explore and act on real-world data. ADAMS Copilot is a clinically informed AI assistant embedded within the ADAMS platform, which represents MDClone's innovation framework of Ask, Discover, Act, Measure, and Sharea structured approach designed to generate faster insights at scale by fostering synergy across clinical, operational, and analytical teams. Through a simple, intuitive chat interface, any user can engage in dialogue with ADAMS Copilot, streamlining the healthcare data analysis process while significantly reducing the effort required to obtain trusted insights. ADAMS Copilot empowers flexible and intuitive data discovery, enabling users to leverage AI to seamlessly move from exploratory data analysis to hypothesis testing and validated conclusions. Purpose-built for healthcare, ADAMS Copilot operates securely within each customer's own data environment, behind their firewall, ensuring that sensitive patient data never leaves organizational control. This architecture enables organizations to leverage generative AI while maintaining the highest standards of privacy, governance, and regulatory compliance. ADAMS Copilot leverages large language models (LLMs) to rapidly process large volumes of data across varying levels of complexity. By translating natural-language questions into rigorous analytical workflows, ADAMS Copilot eliminates the need for deep familiarity with data structures, table relationships, or statistical programmingmaking advanced analytics accessible to clinicians, researchers, quality leaders, and operational teams. "Generative AI in healthcare must be practical, secure, and responsibly deployed," said Bruno Lempernesse, CEO, MDClone. "With ADAMS Copilot, we embed AI directly into our customers' own data environments, safely behind their firewall. By translating natural language into secure, validated analytics, ADAMS Copilot dramatically shortens the path from question to insight and helps healthcare organizations become truly data-driven." ADAMS Copilot supports a wide range of analytical tasks, including summary statistics, visualization, temporal mapping, trend detection, correlation analysis, clinical outcomes evaluation, operational optimization, and financial performance analysis. By combining rapid data access, real world data, synthetic data, longitudinal data, and built-in governance, ADAMS Copilot enables organizations to safely accelerate research, quality improvement, and operational initiatives at scale. ADAMS Copilot is already live at Sheba Medical Center, one of the world's leading academic medical centers, where clinical and operational teams are actively using the platform to accelerate insight generation, improve decision-making, and support data-driven innovation. MDClone will demonstrate ADAMS Copilot live at HIMSS 2026, March 912, in Las Vegas, at Booth 10319 in the Artificial Intelligence Pavilion. They'll offer attendees a firsthand look at how healthcare teams are leveraging this solution to transform data into action. About MDClone Unlock healthcare data. Transform care. MDClone enables health systems to make faster, smarter decisions by removing the barriers that limit access to usable data. Organizations often struggle with fragmented data, technical bottlenecks, and strict privacy constraints that slow research and operational improvement. MDClone provides a self-service data exploration environment that empowers clinical, operational, and research teams to ask and answer their own questions directly, without compromising patient privacy. Through the MDClone ADAMS Center, powered by the ADAMS Platform and multilayered synthetic data privacy technology, organizations securely explore complex data at scale. Health systems use MDClone to accelerate research, improve performance and quality, and drive measurable impact across the enterprise. Founded in Israel in 2016, MDClone serves leading health systems across seven countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, and Israel. Visit mdclone.com to learn more. SOURCE MDClone Peter Rejcek "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Heres what youll learn when you read this story: Antarcticas McMurdo Dry Valleys, among the most extreme landscapes on Earth, are home to Blood Falls, an ominous bright-red waterfall. While previous studies indicate that its eye-catching color appears when oxygen reacts with iron left behind by ancient microbes, a new study unveils the geological processes behind its briny red flow. It turns out Blood Falls serves as a release valve for pressure created by glacial ice above, rock below, and the nearby waters of briny, ice-capped Lake Bonney. Antarcticas McMurdo Dry Valleys collectively form one the most inhospitable places on Earth. In fact, its so terrestrially miserable there that its basically extraterrestrial, as NASA uses the locations extreme cold and drynessan area where it hasnt rained for two million yearsas our planets closest Mars analog. And also like the Red Planet, these famous valleys are host to their own well-known red-hued display. First discovered in 1911 by British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylorwhose name now graces the nearby Thomas GlacierBlood Falls is exactly what its bone-chilling moniker suggests: an icy waterfall with an ominous-and-undeniable red tint. While its unnerving appearance has puzzled geologistsnot least among them Taylor himselffor more than a century, scientists havent pinned down the exact mechanism behind this glacial gorefest, but a new study in the journal Antarctic Science thinks it mightve cracked the case. This new discovery dates back to September 2018 when Louisiana State University Baton Rouges Peter Doran recorded a serendipitous alignment of several sensor readings near the falls, including GPS data on the glacier from which it emerges, thermistor strings measuring the West Lobe of Lake Bonney (WLB), and a time-lapse camera focused on Blood Falls itself. Advertisement This sensor cluster recorded a ~15 mm down drop of Taylor Glacier that was coincident with a Blood Falls outflow event and a cold-temperature anomaly in the WLB, Doran, lead author of the study, along with his co-authors, wrote. The serendipitous recording of three different datasets provides a rare, coherent signal of a subglacial brine drainage event. So why exactly does this turn Antarcticas Blood Falls red? Well, in a way, this outflow is almost like a pressure release point for the lake, the overlying glacier, and the underlying rock. The downward pressure of the glacier has created pressurized brine that acts as a hydraulic brake slowing the glaciers movement, according to Wired. That brine is actually composed of nanospheres containing iron (along with silicon, calcium, aluminum, and sodium), and much like the oxidative engine behind Mars famous red color, they lend the glacial outflow a crimson hue. Although limited in spatial resolution by data coming from only a single GPS station, a single time-lapse camera and a single thermistor string, this synchronous record highlights the importance of multi-sensor monitoring for resolving short-lived but high-impact subglacial processes, the authors write. Such events perturb lake temperature stratification and may alter nutrient transport, underscoring the tight coupling between glacier dynamics, subglacial hydrology and ecosystem processes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. So, while Blood Falls sanguine origin story is less murderous than it might appear, the iron oxide reaction behind its blood-red color is, fittingly, the very same process that gives the Red Planet its monikeras if this remote corner of Earth were quietly auditioning for a role on another world. You Might Also Like Former Marine and a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, Brian McGinnis is dragged out during the Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026, in this still image taken from a social media video. CODEPINK via Instagram/via REUTERS By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Brian McGinnis, a former Marine who was injured while protesting the U.S. and Israel's strikes on Iran, vowed on Thursday to continue his campaign for the U.S. Senate as a Green Party candidate. McGinnis, who is running for Senate in North Carolina, was injured on Wednesday in a struggle with U.S. Capitol Police and Republican Senator Tim Sheehy during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing. McGinnis interrupted the hearing by shouting "Israel is the reason for this war, America does not want to fight for Israel." He said his arm was broken in the ensuing struggle. A video of the incident verified by Reuters showed officers and Sheehy attempting to haul McGinnis, who was dressed in a military uniform, out of the doorway as his hand was pinned behind the open door. "No one wants to fight for Israel," McGinnis shouted, as onlookers called attention to his hand, which was trapped in the hinge of the door, when a cracking sound was heard. McGinnis, 44, faces charges for assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing during an unlawful demonstration, police said. McGinnis said in a post on X on Thursday, "Ive been running long before this, and yes even after breaking my arm standing up for what I believe in. Its only made me more determined. Anger is real, and so is resolve." Advertisement ANGER OVER IRAN STRIKES Tensions have escalated since a massive military campaign against Iran began on Saturday, plunging the Middle East into a new conflict. The U.S. and Israeli militaries struck sites across Iran, triggering retaliatory Iranian attacks against Israel and nearby Gulf Arab countries. A website representing McGinnis' campaign states that he went to Marine boot camp days after graduating from high school and served for four years. The Instagram profile linked to it describes him as a veteran, firefighter and father of four. The Green Party is a third party that attracts some independent voters but none of its members hold seats in the U.S. Senate. In a post on X, Sheehy, who represents Montana, said he got involved to help defuse the altercation. "Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protester from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation. This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence," Sheehy wrote. Three officers were treated for injuries and "the suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated," Capitol Police said. McGinnis did not immediately respond to a request for further comment, and his family said he would refrain from interacting with the public as he recovered. "Our priority is Brians wellbeing. We are taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private," McGinnis' family said in a post on his X page. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio) AOC added that she doesnt believe the coincidence is "something to dismiss off the cuff, adding that its a reason to remove Trump from office -Credit:MediasTouch Network (MediasTouch Network) New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed President Trump for his war on Iran, deeming it impulsive while seemingly linking the decision to strike Tehran to the Epstein files. AOC was responding to reporters who asked her what her message was to Americans who believe the bombing of Iran was intended to distract Americans from the Epstein files. I think were seeing this pattern. [Trump] impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. There was no exit and no endgame for either of these situations. It led to increased global instability everywhere he goes. And every time hes done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files, she said. USAF nuclear specialist warns 'what's just happened is most dangerous moment for 30 years' Marjorie Taylor Greene slams Trump as she sounds alarm bells over looming Iran danger AOC added that she doesnt believe the coincidence is "something to dismiss off the cuff, adding that its a reason to remove Trump from office. AOC: He impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. It led to increased global instability everywhere he goes. And every time hes done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files. I think that he pic.twitter.com/RXL04npVkc Acyn (@Acyn) March 5, 2026 I think that he feels existentially tied to it. And I actually think that it is one reason that he must be removed from office, because if the Epstein files has such a hold on President Trump and this administration that they are willing to plunge us and risk world war in order to save themselves politically, that is the definition of someone that cannot make objective decisions for the American people, she added. Advertisement Many social media users were in agreement with AOC's calls for removal -Credit:MediasTouch Network Many social media users were in agreement with AOC's calls for removal. "Congress it is literally your job to REMOVE an unstable president. DO IT!" wrote an X user. "It's time to remove him from office!! I agree with AOC!" wrote another commenter. " He's never made decisions for the American people. But inevitable imho (in my honest opinion) he was going to start a war of some sort to avoid giving up power," wrote a user. New polling reflects that a majority of Americans strongly oppose the war in Iran. Nearly six in 10 Americans said they oppose the decision to take military action against the Middle Eastern country, according to a text poll conducted by SSRS for CNN on Saturday and Sunday. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories In a separate SSRS poll conducted via text message for The Washington Post, more than half of Americans disapprove of the strikes, with 52 percent opposing and 39 percent supporting. Arab states in the Persian Gulf are running dangerously low on interceptors to take down Iranian-fired missiles, two regional officials told CBS News. Governments in the region have asked the U.S. to expedite new supplies, and they've been told that officials in Washington are creating a task force to do so but it isn't happening as fast as needed. The hundreds of drones launched by Iran are an added complication. The officials speculated that Iran is intentionally hitting the Arab states to get them to pressure the U.S. to end the war. On Wednesday, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pushed back on supply concerns and told reporters at the Pentagon that there were sufficient "precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense." A missile launched from Iran is intercepted amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Ashkelon, Israel, March 4, 2026. / Credit: Reuters/Amir Cohen (Reuters/Amir Cohen) In a statement provided to CBS News on Thursday night, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that "Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile attacks" had decreased by 90% because the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes were "crushing" Iran's "ability to shoot these weapons or produce more." "President Trump is in close contact with all of our regional partners, and the terrorist Iranian regime's attacks on its neighbors prove how imperative it was that President Trump eliminate this threat to our country and our allies," Kelly said. Three regional officials also acknowledged that communication is challenging as, despite being more than a year into his term, President Trump has not sent ambassadors to many of the countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar. Due to the lack of nominations or slow-moving confirmations, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are among the locations without a presidential representative in-country and are relying on charge d'affaires. Advertisement Amer Ghalib, the former mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, was nominated to be ambassador to Kuwait but faltered during confirmation hearings due to questioning about his past antisemitic and incendiary social media posts. The National Security Council and the State Department are also thinly staffed compared to prior administrations, which leaves fewer points of contact. Mr. Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, do not handle country management issues. In addition to the Iranian-fired missiles, Kuwait has also had incoming fire from nearby Iraq, where militias have fired missiles and drones into civilian areas. Meanwhile, 10 people believed to be Iranian agents were arrested Wednesday in Qatar on suspicion of planning attacks. There is concern about sleeper cells and radicalization among Shiite Muslim populations in certain countries such as Bahrain. Also, many officials expressed broad concern about the Kurdish fighters expected to enter Iran, saying that injecting sectarian conflict into the already combustible situation will be detrimental and also cause friction with Turkey, which fears Kurdish separatists. Noem aide Corey Lewandowski had contentious call with Trump after Senate hearing, sources say Watch: Kristi Noem speaks minutes after Trump announces he's removing her as DHS secretary Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing The Pentagon is considering Auburn University as a possible new partner for military education programs after ordering an end to fellowships at several Ivy League schools. In a Feb. 27 directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed the department to stop funding graduate-level programs that send active-duty officers to universities he said promote views hostile to the military. Schools affected include Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead, the department released a list of 21 universities and security-focused institutions it says could host future military fellows, including Auburn. Why is the Pentagon cutting ties with Ivy League schools? The policy change stems from a memo titled Aligning Senior Service College Opportunities with American Values. In the document, Hegseth stated there is ideological bias at several elite universities and indicated the militarys education programs should focus more directly on national security and strategy. The shift will affect 93 active-duty service members currently enrolled in programs across 22 universities. Those students will be allowed to complete their studies, but new Pentagon funding for those schools will end beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year. Why is Auburn University being considered as a military education partner? The Pentagon listed Auburn among 21 universities it views as potential partners for future fellowships. Auburn is the only Alabama institution included. Advertisement While no formal partnership has been announced, Auburn already has extensive ties to defense research. In 2025, the university secured a $11.4 million contract with the Missile Defense Agency to establish a radiation-hardening test facility connected to Redstone Arsenal, where Auburn researchers also work alongside Army commands. What other universities are potential partners? Senior Military Colleges The Citadel Military College of South Carolina University of North Georgia Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University DoW/USG Programs Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies Africa Center for Strategic Studies Civilian Education Institutions Liberty University George Mason University Pepperdine UniversityI0. The University ofTennessee University of Michigan Unjversity of Nebraska Iowa State University University of North Carolina Clemson University Arizona State University Baylor University University of Florida Regent University Auburn University Hillsdale College The memo states the institutions were identified based on factors including intellectual freedom, limited ties to foreign adversaries, minimal public opposition to the department and the availability of graduate programs in national security-related fields. What are Senior Service College fellowships? Senior Service College fellowship programs allow mid-career military officers to study at civilian universities rather than attend a traditional war college. The programs are designed to expose officers to academic research and policy discussions while developing strategic thinking skills needed for senior military leadership. Sen. Tommy Tuberville responds on X Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville welcomed the possibility of Auburn joining the program. In a post on X, Tuberville said the university would be a strong partner for the department. Auburn University is and will continue to be an EXCEPTIONAL partner institution for the Department of War. The state of Alabama and the entire SEC are filled with young PATRIOTS who (unlike Ivy Leaguers) LOVE AMERICA. https://t.co/oMOLQbB0zL Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) March 4, 2026 Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAYs Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Tuberville gives opinion on Auburn becoming military education partner TOPEKA (KSNT) The board of education for USD 437 named three finalists for the districts next superintendent on March 3. Director of Communications for the Auburn-Washburn school district Jessica Roberts announced on Tuesday that the three finalists are Dr. Kellen Adams, Dr. Kathleen (Katie) Collier and Dr. Justin Henry. Each finalist has previously served as classroom teachers, superintendents and principals. Dr. Adams has 18 years of public education experience and currently serves as superintendent of Leavenworth Unified School District. He holds a doctor, bachelors and masters degree, holding a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Kansas State University and he holds a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Fort Hays State University. Dr. Kellen Adams Dr. Collier has 31 years of experience in public education and was also a chief learning officer. She currently serves as Deputy Superintendent for the Blue Valley School district in Overland Park, and also holds a doctor, bachelors and masters degree. Dr. Collier earned her Doctorate of Education Leadership from Baker University and holds a Master of Science in School Administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Dr. Kathleen Collier Dr. Henry has 28 years of experience and currently serves as Superintendent of Goddard Public Schools in Goddard. He also holds a doctor, bachelors and masters degree, holding a Doctor of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Kansas and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Emporia State University. Advertisement Dr. Justin Henry Each finalist will participate in the Day in the District event with meetings with principals, district administrators, teachers, support staff, parents, students and community members on Wednesday, March 11. The school district is also hosting a public session with finalists on March 11 at Indian Hills Elementary School where each finalist will have 45 minutes to introduce themselves and respond to questions. The public have the opportunity to submit feedback about the finalists through online submission. For more information about the Day in the District schedule click here. Final interviews will be conducted on Thursday, March 12 and the new superintendent will serve the school district on July 1. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney speaks during an address at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, March 4, 2026. Ayush Kumar/Pool via REUTERS By Alasdair Pal and Melanie Burton SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had signed new agreements on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the "middle powers". Carney is on a multi-leg trip across the Asia-Pacific region also taking in Japan and India. His stop in Australia included the first address to Australia's parliament by a Canadian leader since 2007. "In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour or combine for strength," he told lawmakers. Introducing Carney in parliament, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his address represented the closeness of the ties between the two nations. "Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back, but we can back ourselves, back our citizens, and back each other," he said. G7 ALLIANCE Albanese told a press conference that Australia would join Canada's G7 critical minerals production alliance. "We have agreed to deepen our relationship across several areas, building on our joint declaration of intent on critical minerals that we signed last year," he told a press conference. Advertisement The G7 alliance is a Canada-led initiative to diversify and secure global critical minerals production and supply. Canada and Australia together produce about a third of global lithium and uranium, as well as more than 40% of global iron ore. Western nations have been attempting to diversify their supply chains away from China, which still controls the majority of production and processing of critical minerals, essential for semiconductors and defence applications. Canada believes that the best way to address the issue of concentrated supply of critical minerals is through a production alliance or a buyers' club rather than just a price floor, Energy and Mining Minister Tim Hodgson told Reuters on Tuesday. Australia has already allocated A$1.2 billion ($850 million) to build a critical minerals stockpile, beginning with antimony, gallium and rare earths. That will now be more closely aligned with Canada's defence stockpiling regime that has a similar aim, Albanese said. "There's a lot Canada and Australia can do together on critical minerals as producer nations," Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King told Reuters ahead of Carney's visit. Australia and Canada will also deepen cooperation in areas including defence and maritime security, trade and artificial intelligence, the two leaders said. ($1 = 1.4122 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates) MEGA _ Pressure is mounting to deal with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor not just in the U.K. but internationally. Australia a key member of the Commonwealth has signaled it supports stripping the former royal of his place in the line of succession. Keep reading to learn more MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news Advertisement Annabelle Gordon - CNP / MEGA _ Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirming his government would agree to back efforts under discussion among U.K. lawmakers to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York who is currently eighth in line to the throne as one of King Charles III's successors, Britain's Daily Express reported. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA _ "In light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously." The former Prince Andrew whose royal titles were stripped away by his brother King Charles III in late 2025 amid renewed scrutiny of his ties to predator Jeffrey Epstein was recently arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office weeks after the U.S. Justice Department released emails suggesting he had passed along sensitive government documents to Epstein while serving as Britain's trade envoy. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA _ Any move to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession would be complicated. It would require approval not only from Britain's Parliament but also from all 14 Commonwealth realms, including Australia, where some local governments would also have to sign off on the change. MAAA/ZDS/Wheatley/WENN / MEGA _ Altering the line of succession is being considered at the highest levels of the U.K. government. Luke Pollard, the U.K.'s minister of defense and a member of the ruling Labour Party, told the BBC it would be the "right thing to do," confirming the government had "absolutely" been working with Buckingham Palace on plans to stop Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from "potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne." He added that he hopes the effort "will enjoy cross-party support," but acknowledged the process should only move forward once the current police investigation into the former Duke of York's actions concludes. MEGA _ Public opinion on how to handle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is also becoming clearer. A new YouGov poll found that 82 percent of Britons believe the former Duke of York should be removed from the line of succession, while just six percent said he should remain. Azerbaijan officials have accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack near an airport and a school. The countrys foreign ministry said one drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan, and another one near a school, and that two civilians were injured. Advertisement Nakhchivan is territorially separated from the rest of Azerbaijan. In a statement, the ministry said it strongly condemns this incident and reserves the right to take necessary retaliatory measures. The ministry added that it summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan. Monsanto Co's Roundup is shown for sale in Encinitas, California, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Diana Novak Jones March 4 (Reuters) - A state court judge in Missouri gave an initial green light on Wednesday to a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming Bayer's Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Judge Timothy Boyer in St. Louis granted preliminary approval to the deal struck between the German company and attorneys seeking to represent a nationwide class of people who say Roundup exposure caused their non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The deal is aimed at resolving most of the roughly 65,000 remaining claims pending in federal and state courts. Boyer rejected a request by other lawyers who asked that he hold off to give them more time to review the deal. Boyer called the proposed payout significant but said he would hear objections from people impacted before deciding at a July hearing whether to grant final approval. The plaintiffs say that Roundup's active ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer, and they developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other forms of the disease after using the weedkiller at home or on the job. Bayer, which acquired Roundup as part of its $63 billion purchase of agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018, has said decades of studies have shown Roundup and glyphosate are safe and do not cause cancer. The proposed deal does not require Bayer to admit liability or wrongdoing. Advertisement COMPANY CAN BACK OUT The initial approval triggers a settlement provision requiring Bayer to pay $500 million into a fund within 10 days to cover costs such as notifying class members of the deal, and opens a window for class members to object to the deal or opt out, according to court records. The company can back out if too many plaintiffs decline to participate. Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson said on a call with investors when the deal was announced that the company requires the vast majority of the plaintiffs to participate. Bill Dodero, Bayer's senior vice president and general counsel, in a statement said the company remains "confident that the long-term and well-financed class settlement plan, which is supported by leading plaintiffs law firms, warrants final approval by the court. One of the attorneys leading the group requesting more time did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bayer, in a surprise announcement on February 17, said it had negotiated with a group of plaintiffs' attorneys to strike a nationwide settlement resolving nearly all the Roundup lawsuits it faces by creating a new class action covering claims across the country. (Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot) NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MSIG USA announced it has raised $525,466 in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through its participation in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign and its employee-driven Climb Mt. Fuji for St. Jude fundraising initiative. The achievement reflects a highly successful, nationwide effort uniting MSIG USA employees, business partners and community supporters in advancing the lifesaving mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children. MSIG USA presents check to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. St Jude Logo "Across MSIG USA and the broader MS&AD Insurance Group, our global purpose is to help build a vibrant society," said Peter McKenna, CEO of MSIG USA. "We deliver leadership in specialty insurance through our data-driven underwriting expertise, top-tier talent, and long-term partnership with our brokers and clients. St. Jude sets that same standard in pediatric researchadvancing science with rigor, innovation, and an unwavering focus on outcomes. Raising more than $525,000 reflects the strength of our people and the commitment of our partners who join alongside us to support a mission that is transforming lives." As part of the national St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, MSIG USA joined leading companies across the country during the holiday season to generate awareness and critical funding for pediatric cancer research and treatment. In addition, MSIG USA employees launched Climb Mt. Fuji for St. Jude, an internal fundraising challenge inspired by the iconic Japanese mountain that symbolizes endurance and shared achievement. Over a defined campaign period, employees collectively tracked physical activity, such as steps walked, miles run, or floors climbed, with the goal of "ascending" the equivalent height of Mt. Fuji together while raising funds in parallel. The initiative brought teams across offices and functions together around a shared goal, reinforcing MSIG USA's culture of collaboration, resilience, and collective responsibility. Support from MSIG USA helps ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live. Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has helped increase the overall childhood cancer survival rate in the U.S. from 20% to more than 80%. St. Jude continues to share its research and breakthroughs globally to help make lifesaving treatments available to more children in more places. "We are grateful for the leadership and generosity demonstrated by MSIG USA and its employees and partners," said Lyles Eddins, Senior Vice President of Development for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Partnerships like this help St. Jude advance lifesaving research and treatments, bringing hope to children and families around the world." MSIG USA's $525,466 achievement underscores the power of aligning business leadership with meaningful social impact. By mobilizing its nationwide network of more than 500 professionals and engaging its broader distribution and business community, MSIG USA continues to demonstrate that disciplined execution, global perspective, and purpose-driven action can work together to create lasting impact. About MSIG USA MSIG USA is the marketing term used to refer to MSIG Holdings (U.S.A.), Inc. ("MSIGH"), its insurance subsidiaries, and their managers. MSIGH's insurers are Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of America, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance USA Inc., and MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. The insurers are managed by Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management (U.S.A.), Inc. and MSIG Insurance Services, Inc. MSIGH is a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc., one of the world's top P&C carriers with a 350-year heritage, A+, Class 15 ratings, and a global reach that spans 40+ countries and regions. MSIG USA brings the financial strength, underwriting expertise, exceptional claims management, global footprint, and innovation necessary to offer commercial insurance solutions that address the unique risks businesses face in today's market. Its nationwide network of over 500 professionals enables it to provide responsive and personalized service for its clients. The U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries are admitted in all P&C lines in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Not all insurers do business in all jurisdictions. Actual coverage is subject to the language of the policies as issued. To learn more, visit www.msigusa.com. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80% in the U.S., and it won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel. SOURCE MSIG USA Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends the summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Saint Petersburg, Russia, December 21, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday pardoned 15 people imprisoned on political charges, the latest in a series of releases that U.S. President Donald Trump has urged him to make. Lukashenko's office said the 15 were serving sentences for "extremist" offences, a charge that the authorities have frequently levelled against his political opponents. Three people convicted of other unspecified crimes were also freed. Trump last year reopened contacts with Lukashenko, long treated by the West as a pariah and hit by sanctions over his human rights record and backing for Russia's war in Ukraine, and urged him to release all political prisoners in the country. Trump's envoy John Coale persuaded Lukashenko in December to release 123 people, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka. In return, the U.S. removed sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key ingredient in fertilisers. Advertisement Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya welcomed Thursday's releases but said many more remained in prison. "Every political prisoner released is a life saved," she posted on X. "But more than 1,100 remain behind bars. We must not stop until they are all free." Belarusian authorities did not name those freed in the latest batch but said they included 11 women. (Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, William Maclean) Beto ORourke is no longer the shining star of the Texas Democratic Party and hes not thrilled about it, Rob Shuter reported in his Naughty But Nice Substack on Thursday, March 5. James Talarico, who just beat Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic Senate Primary, has been dubbed Beto 2.0 because of his campaigns similarities to ORourkes 2018 Senate run, in which he nearly unseated incumbent Republican Ted Cruz. And while the 2020 presidential candidate has publicly praised Talarico, 36, hes pea green with envy behind the scenes, a Democratic insider told Shuter. He used to be the future of the party, noted the insider. Now everyones talking about Talarico. Advertisement James has the energy Beto had in 2018, another strategist said. Young, telegenic, great on social media and donors love him. Still, ORourke, 53, didnt endorse Talarico or Crockett, calling them both generational talents, per the Dallas Morning News, and insisting that he would instead turn his focus on boosting voter turnout among young people. But the former congressmans decision not to back Talarico when he had the chance raised eyebrows in the party, Shuter reported. That silence said everything, one Texas operative told Naughty But Nice. The torch is passing, and Beto knows it. Read More From National Enquirer This story Beto ORourke Is Reportedly Pea Green with Envy Over Rising-Star Texas Democrat James Talarico first appeared on National Enquirer. Add National Enquirer as a Preferred Source by clicking here. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain an observer after making arrests in January in Minneapolis. Bills in more than half a dozen states would prohibit ICE agents at the polls, which is already illegal under federal law. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Several Democratic states are moving to bar federal immigration agents from being near polling places and other election sites, amid persistent worries that President Donald Trump will use federal law enforcement or the military to disrupt the midterm elections. Measures to restrict federal agents from operating at or near election-related locations have been offered in more than half a dozen states, according to a Stateline count. While the proposals vary, they broadly seek to combat the prospect of chaotic confrontations between federal agents and voters this November. A federal law dating to the end of the Civil War already bans sending the military or other armed men to polling places, except to repel armed enemies of the United States. The U.S. Constitution also gives states not the president or federal government the responsibility for running elections. But Trumps calls to nationalize elections, his promise to impose voting restrictions with or without Congress, and his history of working to overturn the 2020 presidential election is prompting some Democratic state lawmakers to act. Adding to lawmakers fears is the FBIs January seizure of ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, and U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits against dozens of states for copies of their voter rolls that include sensitive personal information. The presidents party typically loses ground in Congress in midterm elections. Given that, Democrats fear Trump is laying the groundwork to block or cast doubt on a losing outcome. When the president says hes going to break the law, I actually believe him, said California state Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat who has introduced legislation that would prohibit federal immigration enforcement within 200 feet of polling places. He said Trumps call to nationalize elections was the triggering event that prompted him to offer the bill. Legislation to restrict immigration enforcement or the presence of federal forces near polling places and other election sites has been offered or announced in California, Connecticut, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. A bill has also been introduced in Kansas, which has a Democratic governor, but the measure is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled legislature. The bills focus on immigration enforcement, but the New Mexico legislation would go further, prohibiting the military or any armed federal personnel from polling locations. I think this is just prudent, wise policy to do what we all know is right, which is to protect polling places. Virginia Democratic state Del. Katrina Callsen The Trump administration and its supporters have suggested that the president might order U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to the polls. After former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in early February said ICE will surround polling places, White House press secretary Karolina Leavitt said she couldnt guarantee an ICE agent wouldnt be near a polling place Trump allies have also circulated a draft executive order that Trump could sign declaring a national emergency and attempting to assert broad powers over elections, The Washington Post reported last week. Trump told reporters on Friday that he had never heard of the draft order. But during a conference call last week for election officials from across the country, the Department of Homeland Security committed to not placing ICE agents at any polling places in 2026, according to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state who were on the call. Homeland Security told Stateline in a statement that ICE isnt planning operations targeting polling places, but could arrest individuals if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location. Theres no reason for us to deploy to a polling facility, ICEs current leader, Todd Lyons, told Congress in February. Democratic state lawmakers calling for election-related restrictions on ICE in state law say they dont want to take any chances. I think this is just prudent, wise policy to do what we all know is right, which is to protect polling places, said Virginia Democratic state Del. Katrina Callsen, the chief sponsor of a bill that would prohibit federal civil immigration enforcement within 40 feet of polling places and voting counting sites. The New Mexico legislature in February passed a measure that largely mirrors restrictions in federal law against armed federal personnel at polling places. The bill is now before Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill says officials generally cannot order or bring troops or other armed federal agents to polling places or parking areas for polling places beginning 28 days before Election Day, when early in-person voting begins. It also would prohibit officials from changing who is qualified to vote contrary to New Mexico law or from imposing election rules that conflict with state law. Violators would be guilty of a felony. New Mexico lawmakers offered the legislation the day after Trumps initial remarks about wanting to nationalize elections. New Mexico Democratic state Sen. Katy Duhigg, the bills lead sponsor, said she wanted a measure that wouldnt run into issues with the U.S. Constitutions supremacy clause, which says federal law supersedes state law. I think a lot of states, frankly, are trying to figure out what to do right now, Duhigg said, adding that courts will likely be asked to sort through new state-level limits on federal forces. This seems like a reasonable approach to try. Republican lawmakers opposed Some Republican state lawmakers are dismissive of the Democratic measures, casting them as unnecessary. I just cannot imagine the president, as much as you might dislike him, ordering federal troops to seize New Mexico elections by armed force, New Mexico Republican state Sen. William Sharer, the minority leader, said during debate. Sharer didnt respond to an interview request from Stateline. Advertisement In Washington state, one bill would require local election officials to block anyone from accessing areas where ballots are processed or counted for the purposes of immigration enforcement. Law enforcement could be allowed access with a judicial warrant or court order, however. Washington state Rep. Jim Walsh, a Republican who also chairs the state party, characterized the proposal as fearmongering and a solution in search of a problem unless its supporters acknowledge that people in the country illegally are voting. And he claims Washington doesnt have the authority to legally bar ICE from areas of an election office. Washington Democratic state Sen. Drew Hansen, the bills lead sponsor, said election workers counting ballots deserve to be able to perform their task without interference from federal immigration authorities. Hansen noted that ICE does not have a perfect track record, to say the least, of only detaining extremely dangerous, violent noncitizens. More than 170 U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents during Trumps second term, ProPublica reported in October. A December report by Democrats on the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations identified at least seven U.S. citizens who were held for more than 24 hours. In Arizona, some Republicans want to encourage an ICE presence at the polls. In February, Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman offered a bill that would require counties to sign an agreement with ICE to provide a federal law enforcement presence at polling places. Hoffman didnt respond to an interview request from Stateline. A scheduled committee hearing on the measure was canceled in February, likely killing the bill. Still, the underlying proposal could be resurrected, Arizona Mirror reported. Arizonans deserve to know that election laws are not just written in statute but actually enforced in practice, Hoffman said in a news release. Existing federal laws against federal election interference are specific and straightforward, said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights and Elections program at the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. States such as Arizona dont get a free pass to violate federal law, either, he said. Options exist to hold people accountable under federal law, Morales-Doyle said. If ICE agents deployed to polling places, federal prosecutors would have five years to bring charges against ICE personnel under the statute of limitations. While the Justice Department under the Trump administration would be unlikely to bring charges, he noted, the time limit extends into the next presidential administration. Still, Morales-Doyle said he understands why people are skeptical, given how ICE and other elements of the Trump administration have behaved. So it is, I think, important to think about what state legal mechanisms there are for holding people accountable, he said. Local enforcement Some of the state legislative proposals would place local election workers on the front lines of resisting federal interference. The Washington state measure would instruct multiple election workers, when possible, to document incidents in which they deny permission to enter areas that are off limits to immigration enforcement. The New Mexico bill would allow county clerks and voters who experienced intimidation to sue over alleged violations, in addition to state officials. The California legislation goes perhaps the furthest in empowering local election officials. It would allow county election officials to keep polls open if they determine that voting was disrupted because of violations of a ban on federal immigration enforcement nearby. Some local election officials appear hesitant to discuss the proposals and whether they are preparing for the possibility of federal interference. The president of the California Association of County Clerks and Elected Officials and the clerks chair of New Mexico Counties, a statewide advocacy group for county officials, didnt respond to requests for interviews. The Washington State Association of County Auditors declined to comment. More broadly, other election officials have said the possibility of federal interference is informing their preparations for the midterm elections. Scott McDonell, the Democratic clerk of Dane County, Wisconsin, which includes Madison, told Stateline in February that while Trumps desire to nationalize elections isnt possible under the Constitution, he is paying attention to agencies that answer to Trump. What does the president actually control? The FBI, National Guard, ICE, DOJ in general. Thats far more concerning, McDonell said. (State national guards can be federalized by the president.) Barbara Richardson Crouch, the Republican registrar of voters in the Town of Sprague, Connecticut, said she prefers no law enforcement at polling places whether local, state or federal. In Connecticut, legislators plan to offer a measure to restrict federal immigration enforcement within 250 feet of a polling place or other election site. Crouch, who has been involved in election administration for nearly two decades, said she has long dealt with concerns surrounding law enforcement at voting sites, but that those fears in the past centered on state and local police. Crouch said a state trooper typically comes through her polling place in the early morning as election workers are setting up, and then again when polls close. Law enforcement is on call, but Crouch said she believes that if someone sees law enforcement, it sends a message that the area isnt safe. I personally have never liked police at election places, even local police, Crouch said. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE FILE PHOTO: Outgoing Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reacts next to President Iliana Iotova as he leaves the Presidency to officialy step down, in Sofia, Bulgaria, January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo SOFIA, March 2 (Reuters) - Bulgarias former President Rumen Radev has registered a three-party political alliance called Progressive Bulgaria to run in a parliamentary election on April 19, the country's eighth in seven years, he said on Monday. Radev, who stepped down from his mostly ceremonial role in January, is one of the most popular politicians in Bulgaria, and polls forecast that his coalition could get more than 30% of the vote. Before resigning nearly a year early, Radev had wielded considerable behind-the scenes influence during a period of political instability that saw the latest government collapse on December 11. The government resigned following weeks of street protests over tax hikes and its perceived failure to tackle corruption. Advertisement "'Progressive Bulgaria' is the answer to the expectations of Bulgarians for dismantling the oligarchic corruption model. In order to succeed, we will fight for a decisive victory and it depends on the voice of all Bulgarians," Radev wrote in a Facebook post. Progressive Bulgaria brings together the left-leaning parties Our People Movement, Social Democratic Party, and political movement Socialdemocrats. Bulgaria, which joined the euro zone on January 1, has faced prolonged political instability, with parties unable to form stable ruling coalitions since 2021 in a fragmented parliament. (Reporting by Alex Lefkowiz; Ivana Sekularac; editing by Edward McAllister and Andrei Khalip) Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Holds Rally In Bozeman, Montana Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images After Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines decided to end his reelection bid Wednesday evening, observers noticed similarities between him and a Democratic lawmaker who made a similar move months ago. As Montanas candidate filing deadline approached at 5 p.m. MST Wednesday, Daines who had been seeking a third term suddenly withdrew his bid, later announcing in a video statement that his decision came after much careful thought. The retiring senator quickly threw his support behind Republican Kurt Alme, a U.S. attorney in the Trump administration who entered the race just eight minutes before the filing deadline, according to multiple reports. (RELATED: GOP Sen. Steve Daines Drops Reelection Bid At Last Possible Minute) Daines move to drop out of a race at the eleventh hour and endorse a brand new entrant, without giving other prospective candidates a chance to run for the seat, appears similar to the nature of Democratic Illinois Rep. Chuy Garcias retirement announcement in November 2025. Garcia announced his retirement on the day of Illinois filing deadline and endorsed his chief of staff, Patty Garcia of no relation to him who had entered the race the same day and, following the lawmakers exit, was running unopposed in the Democratic primary. This is bullshit. A Montana Senator is rigging an election and its miles beneath the dignity of our democracy, Democratic Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate who represents a seat Trump won in 2024, wrote on X. Gluesenkamp Perez made headlines when sheslammed Garcias maneuvers as election denial and stated that his move to anoint an heir is fundamentally antidemocratic. She also introduced a symbolic resolution of disproval against him, which passed in the House with 23 Democrats in support, while most of the party staunchly opposed the measure. Matthew Klein, a U.S. House and Governors analyst for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, wrote on X, following the Montana Senators announcement, Will be quite interested to see how much GOP opposition there is to Daines bait-and-switch after Chuy Garcia got blasted for pulling the same maneuver in November. Sure looks like Steve Daines made a Chuy Garcia-esque move, abandoning his re-election campaign minutes before the filing deadline closed, only for another candidate to essentially be handed the nomination while clearly having knowledge of the incumbents plans, New York Sun Washington correspondent Matt Rice wrote in an X post Wednesday. Daines office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment. President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post later Wednesday night that Alme had his Complete and Total Endorsement which he added was based on Steves strongest recommendation. The president added in the post that the departing senator had decided to pass the torch, a phrase he put in quotation marks, to Alme. Advertisement Later on Wednesday night, Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) a position he directly succeeded Daines in holding announced on X that the Senate Republicans campaign arm looks forward to welcoming Kurt [Alme] as the states [Montanas] next U.S. Senator. Alme was not the only candidate who entered the race on Wednesday, as former University of Montana President and Army Green Beret Seth Bodnar also entered the race as an independent, announcing just hours before Daines withdrawal. Steve Daines has so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box, Bodnar, who has the endorsement of former Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester, wrote in a post late Wednesday on X. This is the disgusting arrogance of Washington politicians and their party bosses who trade power back and forth like candy while Montanans are crushed under higher costs and fewer opportunities, the independent candidate added. The leading Democratic candidate in the race, former Montana State Rep. Reilly Neill, said in a video posted to X on Wednesday that Daines dropping out of the race is another example of the Montana GOP being in complete disarray. Neill reiterated in the video that she is running in the election as a proud Democrat despite Tester, the states last Democratic statewide officeholder, backing Bodnar. Alme still has to win the June 2 GOP primary against multiple longshot Republican contenders, including perennial candidate Charles WalkingChild. Both Daines and Garcia represent areas which are considered safe for their respective parties, so the primary election is seen as the real contest. Trump won Montana by 20 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election while former Vice President Kamala Harris carried Garcias Chicago-based House seat by 28 points. Daines retirement brings the number of open Senate races in the 2026 cycle to ten, the most since 2012. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Removing their claws is an acceptable way to keep cats from scratching up furniture or people, advocates of that practice say. But opponents say declawing cats is cruel and inhumane. California lawmakers agreed last year. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that took effect Jan. 1, making the Golden State the sixth state to ban declawing cats unless it's necessary to treat illness or injury. Veterinarians should be able to declaw cats so they don't scratch up furniture or people, say advocates of that practice. Opponents counter that declawing cats is cruel and inhumane. Is declawing cats legal in Kansas? Declawing cats is legal in Kansas. In addition to California, the states that ban declawing cats are New York, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhodes Island, said the website of the American Veterinary Medical Association. It said the practice has also been banned by the District of Columbia and the cities of Denver; St. Louis; Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Pittsburgh and Allentown, Pennsylvania. What does the California Veterinary Medical Association think? The California Veterinary Medical Association opposed the bill that state's lawmakers approved banning declawing cats, the AVMA website said. Advertisement It said the CVMA didn't think the procedure should be "legislated" and argued that veterinarians should be able to exercise professional discretion on a case-by-case basis. The bills sponsor, California Assembly member Alex Lee, said he felt proud to see that state passed the bill to create a more compassionate society for our feline friends." How can declawing cats harm them? Declawing cars was once a common practice. The standard approach to cat declawing, onychectomy, is a surgical procedure whereby the distal bones of a cat's toes are amputated, removing the entire nail bed and claw, the AVMA website said. "The potential for complications, including infection, chronic pain and nerve damage, makes it a controversial procedure, it said. Opponent of declawing cats say the practice can also do the following: Seriously hamper their ability to climb and to defend themselves. Cause them to bite more. Bring higher levels of anxiety, irritability and such stress-related behaviors as overgrooming. Prompt them to urinate in places other than their litter box, because digging in that box is painful to them. What can owners do instead of declawing their cats? The website of the AVMA offers these alternatives to declawing for owners whose cats use their claws excessively or inappropriately: Trim the cat's nails every week or two. Prevent damage by gluing the temporary, soft vinyl or plastic coverings known as nail caps atop the cats claws. Replace the caps every six weeks. Provide the cat appropriate scratching surfaces, such as posts tall enough to encourage full stretching. Discourage scratching on inappropriate surfaces by attaching sticky tape or tinfoil to them. Provide positive reinforcement training. Use pheromone sprays and/or plug-ins. Scent with catnip. Contact Tim Hrenchir at 785-213-5934 or threnchir@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Cat declawing banned in California. Is it legal in Kansas? A California elementary school filed a police report against a registered sex offender campaigning for a city council seat after he held a news conference near a school last week while children were on the property. Rene Campos, 41, who is running in the Fresno City Councils District 7 race, spoke Friday outside a church in the downtown area located mere feet away from Big Picture Elementary School, a public charter school. In a statement, Stephanie Hilton, the schools executive director, and Diana Gonzalez, its superintendent, criticized Campos over the news conference, calling it a "deeply troubling display of contempt of the law." Child Predator Dubbed 'Monster Parents Fear Most' Cleared For Release Through California Parole Program "This was not only a potential violation of the legal restrictions placed upon him as a registered sex offender but a profound breach of the trust and safety our school community depends on every single day," the statement said. The school was open, and students were actively present at the time of the event, it said. Read On The Fox News App Campos defended his presence near the church and school to Fox News Digital. "I did not approach or interact with anyone other than reporters," he said. "I did not commit any crime or violate any laws. My presence there was solely to answer questions from the press." Campos' candidacy has sparked backlash and renewed questions about whether someone with a criminal record like his should hold public office. In 2018, he was charged with possession of child sex abuse material, according to court records. Campos has said he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and is now a registered sex offender. In a previous statement to Fox News Digital, Campos, who is running to unseat incumbent Nelson Esparza, said he has met all legal requirements to run for city council. California Middle School Assistant Principal Nabbed In Child Sex Sting "I satisfied every legal obligation imposed under the laws this state enacted for accountability and rehabilitation," he said. Advertisement Campos acknowledged his proximity to the school violated the law during the news conference when asked by reporters. "I would say, during operational hours, absolutely," he said, The Fresno Bee reported. "I believe they are closed right now. I don't see anyone." The school said it was open with children visibly entering and exiting the building. "The legal restrictions that may be placed on registered sex offenders particularly those involving proximity to schools exist for one reason: to protect children," the school statement said. "They are not obstacles to be rationalized away with political messaging or reframed as symbols of forgiveness." Campos reportedly asked the news media to meet him at the church at 3:30 p.m. The elementary school is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the school's website. The Diocese of Fresno said Campos "independently and irresponsibly" chose the location of the press conference and used the Catholic church and school as "props in his theater of politics." "The Diocese of Fresno has a long-standing history of civic engagement with elected officials and candidates across the political spectrum. Such engagement is rooted in communication, transparency and collegial community collaboration," the diocese said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This collaborative approach is clearly not of mind for Mr. Campos. "The Diocese of Fresno wishes to make it abundantly clear that while the Catholic Church has a responsibility to engage with civic leaders, the Church does not endorse Mr. Campos or any other candidate," it said. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Under state law, a registered sex offender is allowed to serve on a city council. However, Esparza and fellow Fresno councilmembers Annalisa Perea, Miguel Arias and Nick Richardson said they would pass legislation to limit a registered sex offenders ability to serve as a city councilmember, the newspaper reported. Campos said Friday he chose the church as the location for the press conference because it has been around for hundreds of years and represents rehabilitation and forgiveness. Hinton said the school filed a police report, shared its concerns with local officials and directed its legal counsel to issue a cease and desist notice to Campos, according to the Bee. Original article source: California registered sex offender running for city council holds news conference near school; police called A school teacher in Rocklin, California, who was caught on camera engaging in inappropriate conduct inside a classroom, has now faced the consequences of his actions. The man, identified by students as Dan Champ, is an eighth-grade history teacher at Granite Oaks Middle School. He has been placed on leave after the incident. Netizens expressed concern over the incident, with some demanding harsher punishments for Champ. Suspended? Should have been arrested, one person said. The school sent out an email informing parents about Dan Champs penalty Image credits: Homes Champ, who is an Associated Student Body adviser at Granite Oaks, has been teaching for more than 25 years, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. He also hosts, with his wife, an educational tour program for local eighth-grade students called Champ Tours. The video, captured on a mobile phone and obtained by The Sacramento Bee, showed him unbuttoning and unzipping his trousers and urinating into a container just off camera. After he was done, he buttoned up his pants and tucked in his shirt before picking up the container and carrying it across the room. Image credits: The Sacramento Bee Champ was heard muttering, Gosh, thats good. Gosh, gosh, gosh. Love it, love it. Out of frame, the sound of a liquid being poured out could be heard, presumably the urine being disposed of from the container. Seconds later, the bell rang, and students could be heard entering the classroom. Granite Oaks officials were made aware of the video by a parent on February 25. Later that afternoon, the school sent a message to all parents informing them that Champ had been placed on leave and that the matter was under investigation. Image credits: The Sacramento Bee This afternoon, after school dismissal, a parent and a staff member informed the School Administration of a video showing an employee engaging in conduct inconsistent with our professional standards, the email read. Image credits: rinedition / flickr (not an actual photo) While the unverified video does not involve any students or other staff, the employee has been placed on leave while Granite Oaks Middle School and the Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) investigate the incident. Advertisement Although we are unable to share specific details, this matter is being taken seriously and will be addressed in accordance with applicable policies, procedures, and legal requirements. A female student was disgusted by Dan Champs actions Image credits: zinkevych / freepik (not an actual photo) The identity of the student whose cellphone recorded the video has not been revealed. However, an eighth-grade student who was previously enrolled in his class shared that she heard rumors of Champ urinating into a container between classes. It personally makes me feel disgusted knowing that I was in the room prior to him doing that near the spot that I used to sit, the student said to The Sacramento Bee. The student revealed that she had received the video from a friend via Snapchat. Social media was divided over Dan Champs actions in the classroom Image credits: Daniel McCullough / unsplash (not an actual photo) The internet was split over Champ urinating in the classroom. No student or other individual was spotted in the classroom during the teachers urination, leading many to speculate that a student had set up the camera earlier. No students were in the room, a student hid a camera in the room to record this dude, one user wrote. Another wrote, Why was this student secretly recording? Image credits: Ivan Aleksic / unsplash (not an actual photo) I dont think peeing in a classroom is appropriate even if the door is locked, and no one can see, but why isnt anyone asking why the student was recording the teacher..? said a third. A fourth wrote: Who cares? Its pee. He wasnt exposing himself on purpose. Whoever filmed him secretly should actually feel some shame at violating privacy. While some defended him, others called out the school and demanded more accountability. I hope the Rocklin School District has to pay a hefty fine for not allowing their employees adequate bathroom breaks, one user wrote. Another said, This behavior should not be tolerated at a worksite, especially at a school. You only suspended him?? Thats the problem, said one more. Sounds like the teacher might have a medical problem, which keeps him from getting to a restroom soon enough. So he is doing the next best thing, one suggested. They should also press charges: Social media erupted after teacher Dan Champ was caught urinating in class Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese participate in a joint news conference, in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The Canadian and Australian prime ministers on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon. Canada's Mark Carney and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese discussed the war during their meeting in Australias capital, Canberra. The meeting came after news that a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkeys airspace. We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerents involved, Carney said at a press conference with Albanese. We stress that that cannot be achieved unless were in a position that Irans ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism, is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes, Carney added. He said the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which were showing tremendous restraint, should become involved in the de-escalation process. Advertisement Albanese said: The world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks. Were seeing Gulf states, that have not been involved, attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. But we also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all, Albanese said. Questioned by a reporter, Carney could not rule out the Canadian military ever becoming involved in the conflict. Youve asked a fundamental hypothetical in a conflict that can spread very broadly, Carney said. So one can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies when it makes sense, he added. Carney is in Australia on a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India last week. He addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and will fly to Japan on Friday. via Shutterstock Unrest continues in the Middle East. The war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran has impacted travel, and several major airlines have altered travel plans to the Middle East. Delta Air Lines has issued travel warnings for the Middle East and is offering passengers flexible rebooking options free of charge. This has been the theme for most airlines, including the major carriers in Canada, such as Air Canada. For those currently in the Middle East, staying up to date on government travel warnings is crucial. Global Affairs Canada continues to make extensive updates to avoid all travel warnings. On March 3, Global Affairs Canada issued a variety of warnings due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Here's a closer look at the latest travel warnings issued by the Canadian government. The Canadian Government Issued Several "Avoid All Travel" Warnings To Countries In The Middle East It was another busy day for Global Affairs Canada on March 3, 2026. Several "avoid all travel" warnings were issued, particularly for countries in the Middle East. In total, there were eight "avoid all travel" warnings, along with regional "avoid all travel" advisories for two other countries, totaling ten "avoid all travel" warnings in a single daysomething not seen before. Among the lengthy list of countries with avoid all travel warnings are Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, and Kuwait. For travel to most of the destinations, Global Affairs Canada is advising travelers to shelter until commercial flights resume. Global Affairs Canada wrote in its avoid all travel warning to the United Arab Emirates: "Avoid all travel to the United Arab Emirates due to the ongoing military activities. You should shelter in place until commercial flights resume. At that point, if you assess that travelling to the airport is safe, you should consider leaving the UAE at the earliest opportunity." Global Affairs Canada advises tourists to avoid U.S. government facilities and the vicinity of military installations. Global Affairs Canada adds that the ability to provide consular services to Canadians during conflict is limited. Travelers are asked to monitor flight availability and verify with their airline before traveling to the airport. In addition to the "avoid all travel" warnings, Global Affairs Canada also issued regional advisories for two other countries. The "Avoid All Travel" Warnings Also Included Regional Advisories For Two Countries Shutterstock Jordan and Saudi Arabia are currently under "Avoid non-essential" travel warnings, with regional restrictions in place. Similar to the warning for the United Arab Emirates, tourists are advised to stay sheltered in Saudi Arabia until the security situation improves. Advertisement "Avoid non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia due to the risk of falling military debris from intercepted projectiles, airspace closure, and renewed regional tensions. You should shelter in place until the security situation improves." Travel to Saudi Arabia also includes an "avoid all travel" area its border with Yemen. The advisory states, "Avoid all travel to areas within 30 km of the border with Yemen, due to the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen and the risk of violent clashes and spillovers across the border." For travel to Jordan, "avoid all travel" advisories have been issued for its borders with Iraq and Syria. Northeastern Jordan and east of the town of Ruwaished should also be avoided. With continued unrest in the Middle East, the major Canadian airlines have also pivoted and issued their own travel warnings. How The Major Airlines In Canada Have Reacted To The Unrest In The Middle East Shutterstock Air Canada has suspended all flights to and from Dubai (DXB) and Tel Aviv (TLV) until March 23, 2026, due to the current unrest. The airline wrote on its website that travelers should not go to the airport in the affected regions. Air Canada wrote, "Due to the military situation in the Middle East, all flights to and from Dubai (DXB) and Tel Aviv (TLV) are currently suspended and restarting on March 23, 2026. If you are in either of these regions, please do not head to the airport. Your safety is our top priority." The airline also advised customers to stay informed and monitor government travel advisories for the latest updates. "We encourage all customers to monitor official government travel advisories regularly, as guidance may change at any time. We will also continue to update this page as the situation evolves." All flight change fees for the countries listed are free of charge until March 31, 2026. OGDEN, Utah, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ogden's Own Distillery earned multiple top honors at the 2026 L.A. Invitational Spirits Challenge, including Best Vodka and Best Flavored Vodka, further solidifying its standing in the national craft spirits market. Leading the awards was Five Wives Vodka, which received a 96-point rating and was named Best Vodka, Best of Class, Double Gold. Judges described the spirit as having "incredible balance," with a "touch of sweetness," and noted it was "fresh, clean" with a "nice weight." Five Wives Heavenly Vodka earned a 92-point rating and was awarded Best Flavored Vodka, Best of Class, Gold. Judges called it "vanilla forward; easy; light," adding it is a "great vodka to blend with cocktails." In the whiskey categories, Porter's Fire Cinnamon Whiskey received a 91-point rating and was named Best Whiskey Flavored/Infused, Best of Class, Gold. Judges described it as "well executed," with "good mouthfeel" that "tastes like cinnamon." "We're incredibly proud of this year's results," said Dean Dandeneau, president of Ogden's Own Distillery. "To see Five Wives Vodka named Best Vodka and earn Double Gold is a tremendous validation of the quality and consistency our team delivers. Receiving Best of Class honors across multiple categories shows the depth of our portfolio." Established in 2009, Ogden's Own Distillery is known for its diverse lineup of spirits and its playful nod to Utah's history through its Five Wives brand. The distillery has built a reputation for balancing creativity with craftsmanship, producing award-winning spirits distributed throughout Utah and beyond. Five Wives Vodka and the Porter's flavored whiskey lineup are available at Utah DABS stores and through select retailers. For more information, visit ogdensown.com. SOURCE Ogden's Own Distillery International travel often comes with vaccine reminders, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now warning travelers to ensure their polio vaccinations are up to date. The CDC issued a level 2 travel advisory on March 3, warning that poliovirus has been detected in multiple destinations within the past 12 months including parts of Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Countries on the list include: Afghanistan Algeria Angola Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Cote d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Ethiopia Finland Gaza Germany Ghana Guinea Israel Niger Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Poland Senegal Somalia South Sudan Spain Sudan Tanzania United Kingdom Yemen Zimbabwe Medical Assistant Jasleen Kaur gives a vaccine to a patient Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 at the Indiana Immunization Coalition clinic. This patient received MMR, tetanus, polio and hepatitis B vaccines. Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly disease that affects the nervous system, according to the CDC. While many people infected with the virus dont experience symptoms, some may develop fever, fatigue, nausea, headache or muscle stiffness. In rare cases, the disease can cause permanent paralysis or death, particularly if breathing muscles are affected. The virus spreads primarily through contact with contaminated food or water, often due to poor hand hygiene. Because the virus lives in the feces of infected individuals, it can spread when people dont wash their hands properly after using the bathroom. Advertisement For travelers, vaccination remains the best protection. 1 / 0 10 destinations where travelers feel happiest What's one way to feel happier? Go on a trip. According to G Adventures' recently released Happiness List 2026, 89% of the 8,000 adults intending to travel in 2026 across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand agree that purpose-driven travel contributes to their long-term happiness. Those trips offer a sense of wonder along with a chance to decompress and find connection. Here are 10 travel experiences that G Adventures' travelers said made them feel happiest: Panama's San Blas Islands are ideal for unplugging while enjoying turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. Travelers can stay in Indigenous-owned accommodations, including traditional huts, and explore the archipelago by boat. The CDC recommends that children and adults be up to date on their routine polio vaccines before any international travel. Adults who previously completed the full vaccine series may also receive a single lifetime booster dose if they are traveling to a destination where poliovirus is circulating. Travelers who have not been vaccinated or have not completed the series should do so before leaving the country, the agency advises. Although the disease is rare in the United States thanks to widespread vaccination, the CDC notes that international travel can increase the risk of exposure if outbreaks occur elsewhere. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CDC travel advisory: Polio detected in 30+ destinations CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) Research from 2024 shows that one in four girls and one in 13 boys in the U.S. will experience child sexual abuse before they turn 18. Now with an influx of money, a Central Illinois organization is hoping to make that zero. Rape, Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services, or RACES, helps victims of all ages across four counties in the area. Now, theyve gotten a grant which the organization said will help lessen one of the most prevalent public health issues we face today. UPDATE: Former Ball-Chatham employee accused of spraying juveniles in the eye with cleaning solution RACES received the Darkness to Light Advocacy Award and is one of 22 organizations across the country to be selected. The money will pay for the organization to run trainings in those counties. Its knowledge that the organizations leadership said couldnt be more valuable. RACES Executive Director, Jaya Kolisetty, said unfortunately, the number of children impacted by child sexual abuse shows how much their services are needed. RACES helps victims after and tries to stop assaults in the first place. This gives us that opportunity to say, Hey, we can come in and provide this training to your staff, to your parent group, to your teachers, at no cost. And make sure that we are creating that more kind of comprehensive approach, Kolisetty said. Advertisement The training can also help kids recognize signs of abuse so they can get help when needed. Because unfortunately, there are a lot of kids who, you know, its someone that they trust, somebody that they know who is saying, This is something you cant tell anybody else,' Kolisetty said. The overall goal is to inch closer to a world that doesnt need organizations like RACES. In the meantime, were doing our part, and were trying to encourage our community members to be part of creating a safer world for the children in our community, Kolisetty said. RACES said they would love to give trainings at schools, businesses or anywhere they may be needed. For more information on how to get in touch, visit their website. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. No images of Marius Borg Hiby are allowed by the court during the trial Prosecutors in Norway have charged the son of Norway's crown princess with reckless behaviour and violating a restraining order a month after he went on trial for rape and dozens of other alleged offences. Marius Borg Hiby was arrested the day before his trial began at the start of February, on suspicion of threats and violence against a woman in his flat in Oslo. Police remanded him in custody for the first four weeks of the trial. Although allegations of bodily harm and knife threats have been dropped, prosecutors say the 29-year-old has admitted reckless behaviour and violating a restraining order. He now faces a total of 40 charges and denies the most serious allegations. Marius Borg Hiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and grew up in the royal family, but he is not a member of Norway's royal house. He was four when his mother married Crown-Prince Haakon in 2001. He has admitted some of the 40 charges against him, but denies four counts of rape which all involve a woman who was either asleep or incapacitated after they had had intercourse. The latest charges against him relate to a woman from the upmarket Frogner area of Oslo, who he was banned from contacting at the time. He already admitted violating a restraining order relating to the same woman at the start of the trial and partially admits other allegations that date back to 2024. Advertisement Marius Borg Hiby was first arrested after a violent incident at the woman's Frogner flat, and spoke at the time of suffering from mental issues for years. Although it is unusual for further charges to be added during a trial, state prosecutor Sturla Henriksb explained that this was possible if the defendant admitted the offences. Reckless behaviour can command a jail term of up to two years in prison. By Tuesday the trial at Oslo District Court was 17 days into the 28 days allocated for the case, which is taking place amid tight restrictions requiring no images of either the defendant or the four women he is alleged to have raped. The only woman who can be identified is a former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, who he denies abusing. She has already given evidence to the court that he kicked, punched and choked her during their relationship between 2022-23. Last week an audio recording was played to the court of an argument in which Marius Borg Hiby could be heard hurling abuse at Ms Haukland, a Norwegian influencer with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. He denies being violent and his defence counsel says his ex-girlfriend did not in any way "live in a regime of fear". During Tuesday's proceedings, the court heard from Nora Haukland's former boyfriends, including one who spoke of their "peaceful break-up" and his respect for her, and another who described their relationship as turbulent. If found guilty of the more serious charges he could spend at least 10 years in jail. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) As global tensions rise and travel alerts remain in place for parts of the Middle East, travelers at Charleston International Airport explained that their experiences have been smooth so far, but safety is top of mind more than ever. Violence across the Middle East continues amid the conflict with Iran. Airstrikes lit up the region, forcing the airspace to close and leaving thousands of travelers stranded. The impacts are extending even to passengers who are not traveling through the Middle East, as they reconsider spring break plans amid heightened geopolitical concerns. March and April are always busy times for airports as they welcome a rush of spring break travelers. This year, however, travelers face additional challenges. Travelers are even arriving early as a precaution. I was a little scared, but it was totally fine, explained College of Charleston Student Ava DellaRocco. We didnt have any problems at all. The TSA was quick. Everything was quick. Traffic was horrible. The spring break, but everything was fine. This year, there is an added layer of complication, as much of the airspace across the Middle East is closed with thousands of stranded travelers, amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Iranian airstrikes targeted civilian areas in neighboring Gulf countries, including the Dubai International Airport. The U.S. State Department issued Depart Now travel alerts as of Wednesday. As well as Level 3 travel alerts for Bahrain, Israel, Gaza, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and more. Level 4 travel alerts were issued for Iran, Iraq, and more. Inclining many people to think twice about international flights and destinations. Advertisement I think we should all be a little more aware of whats going on around us, and we should maybe have an exit plan in case something goes sideways, explained a traveller. The Middle East isnt the only destination with a travel advisory. Recent cartel violence in certain parts of Mexico, including popular spring break spots like Puerto Vallarta, has also made travelers wary. I dont think I would go to Northern Mexico right now, I would probably just stay stateside, explained another traveller. DellaRocco expressed gratitude for her decision to travel within the country. I would be so nervous to go outside right now, its scary right now, and I hope everyone traveling far is safe and getting home safely. For those with acquaintances in those regions, officials recommend registering with the State Department and waiting to be contacted by their specific airline for confirmation about a flight home. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. A roadside sign reads "Welcome to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln," next to highway signs for Chicago and Indianapolis. Photo: Sarah Roderick-Fitch / The Center Square (The Center Square) Chicago Police say they are monitoring the U.S. conflict in Iran. Residents and visitors observed a significant increase in police presence at OHare International Airport and on area passenger trains this week. In a statement to The Center Square, the Chicago Police Department said it is monitoring the situation in Iran. While there is no actionable intelligence related to Chicago at this time, we are paying special attention to places of worship and will adjust resources if necessary as we continue to follow the rapidly unfolding events, the CPD statement said. Chris Talgo, editorial director at The Heartland Institute, said it is important for state and local governments to work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These leaders should be completely coordinating with DHS to make sure that the odds of a terrorist strike here in the United States, in Chicago or in Illinois are reduced to the fullest extent possible, Talgo said. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling formerly led the departments counterterrorism bureau. Talgo said Iranian-based terrorists could have entered the U.S. when the border was open during the Biden administration. Advertisement I am worried about domestic terrorism and the fact that there were thousands of people who were on the known terrorist watch list who did come to this country over the past few years. We don't know where they are. We dont know what theyre up to, Talgo told The Center Square. The FBI's National Press Office released a statement related to The Center Square's inquiry. FBI personnel continue to be fully engaged across the country and prepared to mobilize any security assets needed to assist federal partners as well as state and local law enforcement. As always, we ask the public to please report anything that may seem suspicious to law enforcement - 1-800-CALL-FBI and tips.fbi.gov, the statement said. The National Terrorism Advisory System currently has no advisories. When asked if he was concerned there hasnt been enough attention by federal agencies on potential threats, Talgo said he was and added that the sanctuary status of Chicago and Illinois make for a more welcoming environment. I do think that the Chicago Police Department and the governor of Illinois should make sure that people are aware that there could be an attack here in this area, Talgo said. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security did not agree to The Center Squares request for an interview. The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication provided a statement. OEMC reminds the public to be aware of their surroundings and to report suspicious activity especially in large gatherings. If you notice something suspicious call 9-1-1, the statement said. BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China said on Thursday it would build a "childbirth-friendly society" in the next five years, pledging to address concerns over employment, education, medical care, health and income, according to an official government report. Authorities will improve population services and respond proactively on ageing, including "promoting high-quality, full employment, improving the income distribution system, and refining the social security system." They will also foster "positive attitudes towards marriage and childbearing," the report said, adding that it would boost housing support for families with children. China's population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, as the birth rate plunged to a record low, official data showed in January, with experts warning of further decline. Policymakers have made population planning a key part of the country's economic strategy and this year Beijing faces a total potential cost of around 180 billion yuan ($25.8 billion) to boost births, according to Reuters estimates. Key costs are the national child subsidy, which was introduced for the first time last year, as well as a pledge that women throughout pregnancy have "no out-of-pocket expenses" in 2026, with all medical costs, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), fully reimbursable under its national medical insurance fund. Authorities will continue to implement the childcare subsidy system and expand demonstrations and trials for subsidised childcare services, according to China's Five Year Plan, which was also released on Thursday and outlined goals for growth. "Optimise fertility support policies and incentive measures to effectively reduce family costs of childbirth, raising and education," it said, adding that China would strive to stabilise the size of the newborn population. Advertisement The official government report also said services for women in early stages of pregnancy as well as reproductive health would be improved and that efforts would be made to better prevent and treat birth defects. Authorities will also refine policies on free preschool education and increase the supply of regular senior secondary school places, with government spending on education mandated to be higher than 4% of GDP, the report said. DEVELOPING THE 'SILVER ECONOMY' China's population has been shrinking since 2022 and is ageing rapidly, complicating Beijing's plan to boost domestic consumption and rein in debt. New policies will be introduced to promote "high-quality development of the silver economy", targeted at those aged 60 and older, with elderly care services to be increased, particularly in rural areas, the report said. Authorities will also draw up measures to refine supportive policies designed for seniors including pension finance, wellness and care, it said. By 2035, the number of Chinese over-60s is set to hit 400 million - roughly equal to the populations of the U.S. and Italy combined - meaning hundreds of millions of people are set to leave the workforce at a time when pension budgets are already stretched. China has already increased retirement ages, with men now expected to work until they are 63 rather than 60, and women until they are 58 rather than 55. (Reporting by the Beijing newsroom; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Michael Perry and Kate Mayberry) BEIJING (AP) China has signaled continuity rather than change for its economy, setting a slightly lower target for growth this year in the midst of a property slump and other headwinds at home and growing uncertainty abroad. Premier Li Qiang announced a target of 4.5% to 5% annual growth in his report presented to the opening session of this years meeting of the National Peoples Congress. That compares to actual 5% growth last year and a target of about 5% in the three years before. It's the lowest growth target since 1991. While recognizing our achievements, we are also clear-eyed about the difficulties and challenges we face, Li said, reading much of the 35-page report in a more than hourlong address. Experts say the lower target is in line with longer-term goals that are less focused on high growth rates. GDP targets in recent years have become less important than before because the overarching, and most important political priority has shifted from promoting economic development to so-called high-quality development, said Xin Sun, a senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at Kings College London. The government is striving to balance two goals: reviving the flagging economy by boosting domestic spending, while also furthering leader Xi Jinpings ambitions to build China into a global power in AI, robotics and other advanced technologies and one that is not dependent on the U.S. or others for high-end semiconductors and other components. China faces a grave and complex landscape In its draft budget for 2026, the government also trimmed China's annual increase in defense spending to 7%, down from 7.2% in recent years. The nearly 3,000-member Congress, a largely ceremonial body that endorses policies set by Communist Party leaders, is due to approve the annual report and budget at its closing session next week, along with a five-year plan setting policy priorities until 2030. China is grappling with tariff wars and actual wars. Like much of Asia, it depends heavily on oil and natural gas from the Middle East, and the war in that region has driven up prices and threatened supplies. The report said that free trade is under severe threat, noting rising geopolitical risks. At home, it highlighted an acute imbalance between strong manufacturing supply and weak demand and the challenge of shifting to new drivers of growth. Rarely in many years have we encountered such a grave and complex landscape, where external shocks and challenges were intertwined with numerous domestic difficulties and tough choices, Li said in his report. Boosting consumption will take time With the domestic economy in the doldrums, China has maintained growth by exporting. Its trade surplus surged to a record of nearly $1.2 trillion last year, though exports to the U.S. fell after President Donald Trump sharply raised tariffs. But the growth in exports to other countries has met pushback from governments worried about their own industries and workers. Advertisement Li pledged to improve living standards and boost consumer spending, which has lagged as Chinese have tightened their belts, feeling the pinch from a property slump weighing on home prices that has wiped out hundreds of thousands of jobs. Nonetheless, in line with the governments approach in recent years, the annual report Thursday indicated it would continue to support domestic demand but not unleash any major new stimulus to boost growth. Beijing continues to prioritize strengthening industrial self-reliance over boosting household consumption, said Neil Thomas, a China politics expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The report said the government would issue 250 billion yuan ($36 billion) in bonds for rebates to consumers who trade-in cars, appliances and other products for new ones. City-specific policies to control new housing supply and reduce unsold properties will be used to stabilize the property market, Li said. He Meiru, a real estate agent in southern China, said hes lucky if he completes one deal every two months. His monthly income is hovering around 10,000 yuan ($1,400) less than a third of five years ago. Its been a tough period for many jobs are hard to find, people dont have money, he said. Apart from a property market recovery, social welfare spending and improved job security are needed to get families to spend more of their savings, said Ecaterina Bigos of AXA Investment Managers. Reviving domestic demand is key for sustained long-term growth," she said. However, redirecting China toward higher levels of domestic consumption will take time. China has purged its military leadership The increase in defense spending to 1.9 trillion yuan ($270 billion) comes against the backdrop of a widespread purge of military officials over corruption charges. Analysts believe the dismissals are meant both to reform and modernize the military and to ensure Communist Party control over the People's Liberation Army. Nine military officers were among 19 delegates dismissed from the National People's Congress ahead of this year's meeting. This year's report to the Congress repeated the government's commitment to "the Partys absolute leadership over the peoples armed forces." Then it added a new line: Guided by the principle of ensuring political loyalty in the military, we will continue to improve military political conduct. ___ Chan reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writer Huizhong Wu and researcher Shihuan Chen contributed. Richard Lynn Upright Credit: Guilford County Sheriff's Office NEED TO KNOW Richard Lynn Upright, 56, was arrested Feb. 27 and charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor Investigators allege he used artificial intelligence and photo-editing tools to place minors faces onto explicit images A judge set Uprights bond at $750,000 during a court appearance Monday A former North Carolina Christian school teacher is accused of using artificial intelligence to place minors faces onto explicit sexual images. Richard Lynn Upright, 56, was arrested Feb. 27 and charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor after detectives launched an investigation Feb. 23, according to a Guilford County Sheriffs Office press release. Second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class E felony in North Carolina that carries a maximum sentence of 136 months in prison per count under state law. The investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip and notified the sheriffs office, the release states. Credit: Guilford County Sheriff's Office/Facebook Upright was employed as a teacher at Vandalia Christian School in Greensboro when the investigation began, per the release. In a statement posted to Facebook, the school said Upright had been terminated from his job following his arrest and that the school has been in contact with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office and cooperating with investigators. During a court appearance Monday, a detective testified that investigators discovered 111 explicit images on Uprights devices and alleged that the images were created by placing minors faces onto explicit images using artificial intelligence or photo-editing software, according to courtroom reporting by WXII and WFMY. Advertisement A search warrant was also executed at Vandalia Christian School on Feb. 27 as part of the investigation, the outlets reported. Upright appeared in court Monday, where a judge set his bond at $750,000, according to online Guilford County Detention Center records. During the hearing, a parent of two students one currently in Uprights class and another who previously had him as a teacher urged the judge not to release him. Not being able to protect my child from that and being able to see this is trying, the father said, per WFMY. The investigation remains ongoing, according to the Guilford County Sheriffs Office press release. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People Donald Trump was called a 'fool' -Credit:AFP via Getty Images (AFP via Getty Images) Donald Trump has been branded a "fool" by CNN viewers as he raved about the war in Iran. The 79-year-old president hosted a roundtable with technology companies at the White House on Wednesday, March 4, where he made some shocking comments about the ongoing conflict. Trump kicked off the event by providing an update on the war, which started when U.S-Israeli military strikes hit the Middle East. "I think you probably wanna speak about war rather than this, but this is very important. This is very important. And we're doing very well on the war front to put it mildly, I would say," the president began. Nancy Guthrie cops speak out after 'body found floating' in pond near Arizona home Nancy Guthrie extortion plot breakthrough exposed after sheriff's two-word declaration He continued, "Somebody said, on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said, about a 15. And we're going to continue to do well, we have the greatest military in the world by far." The meeting was broadcast live on CNN and it's safe to say viewers weren't happy with Trump's comments. Posting on X after the segment, one person fumed, "Sure. Six of our troops deceased and an unknown number injured. But 15/10." Advertisement Donald Trump gave an update on the war -Credit:CNN Someone else suggested, "He thinks its a 15 in his notes but its actually 1.5," as a third CNN fan accused, "They always go so far with the lying that it is always the opposite of what they are saying." Another joked, "So imma take that as a -5." "Numbers have never been his strong point," one person pointed out as another slammed, "Trump is a fool. Im sure he hasnt truly listened to any briefings." While most people took aim at Trump, some viewers criticized the people in attendance. "Will anyone confront his lies? Anyone?" one person asked. Trump: We're doing very well on the war front. Somebody said, on a scale of ten, where would you rate it? I said, about a 15 pic.twitter.com/prpb5HCgLv Acyn (@Acyn) March 4, 2026 During the gathering at the White House, Trump further added, "We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead." He also suggested Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly." Trump then tried to justify the war as he alleged Tehran was trying to obtain a nuclear weapon. "When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen," the president told those gathered. He also insisted he would "continue forward" with the attacks on Iran. CNN viewers weren't happy -Credit:CNN White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also held a news conference where she commented on the ongoing conflict. She said Trump is "actively considering" America playing a part in Iranian leadership after the operation. "I think it's something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team," the 28-year-old shared. She said Trump has spoken to Kurdish leaders, but slammed "false" reports the president has agreed to arm Kurdish separatist militia in Iran so they can attack the government. FILE PHOTO: Colorado Governor Jared Polis holds a "Project 2025" book on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - Colorado Governor Jared Polis signaled on Tuesday he was willing to consider clemency for Tina Peters, a former state county clerk convicted of illegally tampering with voting machines as she pursued claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. Polis, citing the case of another public official who was given a lighter penalty, said clemency may be appropriate to avoid sentencing disparities, although Colorado's secretary of state said Peters had committed a more grave offence. Polis has drawn attention to the relatively light sentence - probation and community service - handed down to State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who was convicted of attempting to influence a public official and other charges after prosecutors said she forged letters from former aides. "It is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters attempting to influence a public official and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first-time offender got a nine-year sentence," Polis, a Democrat, wrote on X. He said that justice needed to be applied evenly. He extended the clemency application deadline until April 3, allowing him to review the case. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, the state's top election official, said on Wednesday that it was inaccurate, however, to suggest that the actions of Lewis and Peters had the same impact. Advertisement "Peters organized the breach of the election equipment, broke the public trust and attacked the very foundations of our democratic process," Griswold said in a statement. Peters, a Republican, was an outspoken supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims that he lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election because of widespread fraud. She was indicted in 2022 following an election security breach at her office that led to voting equipment passwords getting posted on a right-wing blog. She denied wrongdoing. Peters, 70, was convicted in 2024 on seven charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant. She is not eligible for release until November 2028. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer for Peters, said he hopes the governor commutes the former county clerk's sentence this week, saying her nine-year sentence was "too harsh." Trump has repeatedly called for Peters to be released from the La Vista Correctional Facility, a state prison in Colorado, and has criticized Polis for not granting her clemency. Trump pardoned Peters in December in a move that was considered symbolic since Peters is not in federal custody. (Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Edmund Klamann) The HDR Foundation Gifts Gregorio Esparza Elementary a Learn-to-Ride Bicycle Program, Investing in Students' Health, Confidence, and Future SAN ANTONIO, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With a mission to teach every child in America to ride a bike in kindergarten PE class, All Kids Bikea national 501(c)(3) nonprofitis bringing its Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program to Gregorio Esparza Elementary School, a Title 1 school in San Antonio, thanks to a generous donation from the HDR Foundation. The celebration of this new program placement comes just ahead of HDR's annual Day of Giving on March 5, highlighting the company's ongoing commitment to the communities where its employees live and work. Students at Gregorio Esparza Elementary School will now learn how to ride a bike in their PE class, as part of the new All Kids Bike program that was gifted to the school by the HDR Foundation. Children enjoyed their first ride on the school's new Strider balance-to-pedal bikes on Wednesday. HDR employees help assemble Strider balance-to-pedal bikes at Gregorio Esparza Elementary, ahead of HDR's Annual Day of Giving, which highlights the company's ongoing commitment to the communities where its employees live and work. HDR's Day of Giving is designed to build awareness and excitement around the work of the HDR Foundation while educating employees about the local nonprofits their collective generosity supports. By aligning this bike reveal with Day of Giving, the moment becomes more than a celebrationit's a tangible example of how HDR employees' contributions directly invest in children and strengthen the San Antonio community. Building on this shared commitment, the HDR Foundation has contributed $198,000 to All Kids Bike for the 202526 school year in support of education, healthy communities, and environmental stewardship. This investment will fund programs in 22 schools across the United States, intentionally focusing on communities where HDR employees live and work. With more than $1 million contributed over the past four school years, the HDR Foundation's sustained partnership continues to accelerate All Kids Bike's missionensuring more children across the country have the opportunity to learn to ride a bicycle in kindergarten PE class. "At All Kids Bike, we believe learning to ride a bike in kindergarten is more than just playit's the first step toward lifelong mobility, confidence, and freedom," said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation. "Celebrating this program placement alongside HDR's Day of Giving makes it even more meaningful, as it highlights the incredible impact HDR employees have in the communities where they live and work. We are deeply grateful for our partnership with the HDR Foundation and their continued investment in expanding access to bike education. Together, we're not only teaching children how to ridewe're helping build healthier, more connected communities where every child has the opportunity to experience the joy and freedom of riding a bike." The ready-to-teach program includes teacher training and certification, comprehensive 8 lesson curriculum with lesson plans, games and activities, a fleet of 24 Strider balance-to-pedal bikes, pedal conversion kits, fully adjustable student helmets, an instructor bike with pedal conversion kit and helmet, two rolling storage racks, and access to a resource portal with live support for the life of the program. Gregorio Esparza Elementary celebrated the introduction of the program with a kickoff event alongside HDR representatives, who had the opportunity to build the bikes for the program beforehand. "As an employee-owned company, giving back where we live and work really matters to us," said Cindie Hernandez, HDR's Central Texas area manager. "Learning to ride a bike is something families share and remember, and we're proud to support All Kids Bike in bringing that opportunity to children right here in our community." The All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program supports the development of the whole childencouraging emotional growth, cognitive engagement, and social interaction through active, movement-based learning. By introducing biking as in-school education, the program helps build confidence, coordination, and a sense of personal achievement in young students. At Gregorio Esparza Elementary, the program is expected to positively impact approximately 70 kindergarten students each year by teaching them how to ride a bike in PE class. With equipment that has an expected lifespan of 7 to 10 years, it is estimated that up to 700 students will benefit from this initiative over the next decade. "Thanks to the generous support of HDR, we are thrilled to bring the All Kids Bike Program to our kindergarten students! This incredible investment is about so much more than bikesit promotes physical development, builds confidence, and creates joyful, memorable learning experiences for our youngest learners," stated Migdalia Powers, principal of Gregorio Esparza Elementary. "We are truly thankful for HDR's commitment to our students and for helping make this exciting opportunity possible for our school community." The HDR Foundation and All Kids Bike are committed to enriching the lives of young learners and cultivating valuable skills through the joy of bike riding. This collaborative effort exemplifies their dedication to building healthier, happier communities, one pedal at a time. If you were unable to attend this event, please find approved media here. Contact: Nichole Buchholz 605-956-3877 [email protected] SOURCE All Kids Bike A suspect in the killing of three women in Utah was arrested early on March 5, ending a manhunt that spanned multiple states and set the community on edge after residents were urged to stay inside with doors locked. The women were discovered dead in different locations in Wayne County in the southern part of the state on March 4, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety, which said it was investigating along with local law enforcement. Authorities believe the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Ivan Miller, killed a woman in her 80s in her home in Lyman, Utah, and took her vehicle to a trailhead 10 to 15 miles away in the Torrey area, where he killed two other women in their 30s and 60s. Miller then took one of the hikers' vehicles and fled the area, Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol said at a news conference. The women on the trail, believed to be friends who had gone on a hike together, were found dead by their husbands after they didn't return on time; they called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. local time on March 4. Investigators discovered the car belonging to the woman in Lyman nearby, and then discovered her dead as well in her home, Roden said. Roden declined to say how the women were killed but said the three victims were linked to the same suspect primarily because of the vehicles. Miller has no known ties to any of the women or to the area and is from Blakesburg, Iowa, Roden said. Investigators are looking into how and when he got to Utah and why he was there. Miller fled in one of the hiking victims' cars through southern Utah, into northern Arizona and ultimately to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where Roden said they found the abandoned vehicle. After a search, he was found and taken into custody without incident, the Utah Department of Public Safety said. Roden said authorities used license plate-tracking technology and cameras to track the vehicle's movements. The identities of the victims were not released by law enforcement. The two women killed on the trail are believed to be friends and neither appears to have a connection to the elderly victim found at the residence, Roden said. Officials are continuing to investigate and process the crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey areas in Wayne County. They will also pursue a motive, Roden said. At this point, it appears the women were not targeted "for any specific reason other than convenience." Advertisement "There are no ongoing threats to the public, and investigators have no outstanding suspects," the Department of Public Safety said after the suspect was arrested. The Department of Public Safety and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office previously asked the community in the town of Torrey and the surrounding areas to remain vigilant while the suspect was at large. More: Homicides fell sharply in large US cities in 2025, new report says "Due to recent incidents that have occurred in Wayne County today, WCSO is asking that all residents take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, remain home or with others this evening if possible," the sheriff's office said late on March 4. Authorities in neighboring Garfield County on March 4 also asked residents to lock their doors but said they had no reason to believe the suspect had traveled there, and later said they believe "there is no longer a threat in our area." The Wayne County School District shuttered schools "out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety" on March 5 and 6, and a local health clinic said it was also closing its doors on March 5. Roden said in a small community like Wayne County, this level of violence will shake residents for a while. Given the violent nature of the crimes in a short time and the theft of the cars, Roden said, "Who knows what that could've led to. Hate to try to imagine what that might've led to" had Miller not been caught. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3 women found dead in Wayne County, Utah, murders; suspect arrested WASHINGTON Congress has officially opted not to immediately halt U.S. involvement in the rapidly escalating Iran war after a pair of back-to-back votes went down unsuccessfully in the Senate and House of Representatives. A House vote on March 5 over a war powers resolution failed mostly on party lines. Republicans nearly uniformly batted it down, with the help of a few Democrats. It came after a similar doomed vote the prior day in the Senate. The blocked measures would've immediately halted American hostilities against Iran. Most Republicans in both legislative chambers held together in opposition to them, standing by President Donald Trump's decision to attack the country and launch a regional war that has killed more than 1,000 people, primarily Iranians and at least half a dozen Americans, in just days. 1 / 0 Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Though the resolutions failed, Democrats still claimed victory for pushing Republicans to go on the record with their support of the president's intervention in Iran. Doing so, Democrats have argued, will force the GOP amid a midterm election year to fully politically own the unpredictable consequences of the chaos in the Middle East. "This vote on Iran is not a procedural vote. It is a profoundly moral vote," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, one of the bipartisan sponsors of the war powers resolution, on the House floor. "It is a vote to direct our resources toward healing our own people, toward health care that saves lives, jobs that restore dignity, housing that shelters families, instead of raining destruction on other nations." Advertisement Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, voted with Democrats to immediately halt American hostilities against Iran. Four Democrats bucked their party, guaranteeing the resolution would fail. They were Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California. Some Democrats urged their colleagues to instead support a separate, more tempered war powers measure that will come up for a vote at a later date. That alternative would give President Trump the rest of March to either make the case to Congress for continued military action in Iran, or to draw down the operation, according to Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a fiercely pro-Israel New Jersey Democrat. "Iran is actively firing drones and ballistic missiles at U.S. troops, our embassies, allies, and is targeting civilians across the region," Gottheimer said on social media. He argued the alternative resolution would "uphold Congresss constitutional authority while also ensuring the U.S. can defend our troops, embassies, and allies from Iranian aggression." The House on March 5 also overwhelmingly reaffirmed that Iran "remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism." The bipartisanship nature of that vote demonstrated just how complex the politics of the Iran war are especially with American troops already in harm's way. Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: War powers vote to stop Iran hostilities fails in House Members of the Anglican Communion attend a session of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Abuja, Nigeria, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye By Camillus Eboh and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo ABUJA, March 5 (Reuters) - An influential group of conservative Anglicans announced on Thursday the establishment of a new council to lead the global Anglican Communion, in a direct challenge to the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury as she is about to be installed. The move by the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) - which brings together conservative churches mainly from Africa and Asia and claims to represent a majority of the world's Anglicans - highlights a deepening rift within the Church after years of tension over theological and social issues. GAFCON opposes liberal shifts in parts of the Communion, including the ordination of women and greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ members. CHALLENGE TO FIRST FEMALE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY It strongly criticised the Church of England's appointment last October of Sarah Mullally as its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, and thus spiritual leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans spread across 165 countries. "Believing the current instruments of communion no longer meet the needs of the majority of Anglicans around the world, the global Anglican Communion is to be led by a conciliar structure," Bishop Paul Donison, secretary-general of the new council, told the conference in Abuja, Nigeria. The council will include bishops, priests and lay members, each with voting privileges, GAFCON announced. Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, a former Rwandan refugee who later studied in the United States, was elected chairman of the new council. GAFCON said he would not be "primus inter pares" (first among equals) but would share power. Asked if GAFCON members still recognised the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the group's spokesman Justin Murff said: "The Global Anglican Council recognises Archbishop Laurent Mbanda as its leader." A spokesperson for the Anglican Communion Office in London said GAFCON's announcement failed to take into account years of consultations over "Anglican identity, structures and leadership". Advertisement This had led to ideas, known as The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, which included exploring "more collegial, diverse approaches to shared leadership" in a post-colonial world, the spokesperson said. "We encourage Anglican member churches and Anglican groups to engage with this conversation about The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals," they added. Mullally, who was officially confirmed in her new role at a ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral, London, on January 5, is due to be enthroned as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury on March 25. GAFCON'S MBANDA SAYS 'NO TURNING BACK' The Church of England broke from Rome nearly 500 years ago under King Henry VIII. Since then, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been the symbolic head of an Anglican Communion that has expanded worldwide through missionary activity, especially in countries that were once part of the British Empire. Over the last three decades, reforms in the Church of England have allowed women to be ordained first as priests and later as bishops. But such reforms - along with debate over same-sex relationships - have increasingly pushed the Communion toward what some leaders describe as a breaking point. Many Anglicans in Africa and Asia, where the Church has been growing fastest, reject the more progressive trends seen in England and other Western countries. GAFCON, founded in 2008 to counter what members describe as the abandonment of scripture, says it is not seeking to break away from the Anglican Communion but to "reorganise and realign" it around Biblical authority. One of the proposed reforms aimed at warding off a full schism would dilute the Archbishop of Canterbury's role, creating a rotating international figurehead, who would assume some organisational responsibilities while the Archbishop focuses on pastoral duties. In October, Mbanda said the grouping had "not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion". While leading prayers on Thursday, he said: "The future has arrived, no turning back". (Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Ben Ezeamalu in Lagos and Alexander Winning in Johannesburg; Editing by David Lewis, Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens) PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Many of the children who said they were abused by clergy members within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence are adults now, but decades later, they still carry the weight of the abuse they endured. Ive always said I can still hear the click of the mechanical lock on the door as he would come through the door, Dr. Herbert Brennan shared. On Wednesday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha released a report detailing generations of child sexual abuse and systemic cover-up within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, identifying 72 clergy members as credibly accused of misconduct. BACKGROUND: AG report details generations of clergy abuse in RI For Brennan, the abuse started when he was in elementary school at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in East Greenwich. I had the misfortune of crossing paths with Brendan Smyth, Brennan explained. Smyth was a religious order priest who abused at least 17 children during his three years of ministry in Rhode Island. Brennan said he didnt come to terms with the abuse he had experienced until decades after it happened. We block it out with our childhood mind because we just cant comprehend it, Brennan said. Then once we mature and we have an adult mind with some logic and some distance, we are then able to recognize it and then begin to deal with it. It wasnt until his adult life that Brennan realized the magnitude of what happened to him and reported the abuse to the diocese. There was a diocese attorney in the room and that meeting came to a very abrupt end, Brennan recalled. MORE: List of 72 credibly accused clergy named in AG report When Neronha held a press conference Wednesday outlining the decades of sexual abuse and the efforts by the diocese to hide it, Brennan was in attendance along with Dr. Ann Hagan Webb and her sister, Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee. Like Brennan, Hagan Webb is also a survivor who has waited decades for the information detailed in the states report to come to light. I dealt with my childhood abuse in a therapists office years ago, but I continue to be traumatized by this process of seeking justice, Hagan Webb declared during the press conference. This report should make Rhode Island Catholics and non-Catholics alike gasp in horror at the organized culture of cover-up. Hagan Webb hopes the report will turn the tables for survivors like herself and Brennan. Shame is something that almost every survivor Ive ever met feels about what happened to them, Hagan Webb noted. It is time for the diocese to feel ashamed. Advertisement In a video message, current Bishop Bruce Lewandowski shared a response to the attorney generals report that included a message for those impacted by the abuse. For victims, survivors and their loved ones, we know and understand that the effects of abuse, even for many decades past, can persist, as if the abuse occurred yesterday, Lewandowski said. I take this opportunity to apologize to the victims, survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the failures of church personnel, and others in past decades, to protect them. Brennan also had a message he wanted to share with fellow survivors. Begin the process of recovery, he advised. I can tell them firsthand, there is a better life ahead once you do so. Anyone with information regarding the issues discussed in the report is urged to call the Rhode Island State Polices dedicated clergy abuse hotline at (401) 764-0142. If you or someone you know is in crisis, seek immediate help: Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call, text or chat 988 BH Link: Rhode Islanders can call 401-414-LINK (5465) Kids Link RI: Parents can call 1-855-543-5465 Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. The war between the United States and Iran continues to escalate and pull in other Middle Eastern countries and beyond into the conflict, which launched when the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran early Feb. 28 in a campaign that killed the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of top officials and hit more than 1,250 targets inside the country. While the war began specifically between the U.S., Israel and Iran, other countries are entering the conflict as it becomes more geopolitically complicated. While some Middle Eastern U.S. military bases have been targets of strikes, other countries and U.S. allies are defending against drone attacks, including France, the United Kingdom, and Greece. Here's what we know about which countries are involved with the conflict. Live Iran updates: US sinks Iranian warship as death toll climbs. 1 / 0 See how the Iran wars fallout is hitting the Middle East See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. What countries are involved in the war? More countries have quickly gotten involved with the war following the initial strikes on Feb. 28. Multiple areas in the Middle East, including Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, have been targets or intercepted attack drones, missiles and bombers. As previously reported by USA TODAY, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. allies in the Middle East have been shooting down missiles and drones with precision, while Iran fired more than 500 missiles and launched 2,000 drones indiscriminately. Jordanian air defenses intercepted a cluster of one-way attack drones headed to Oman, Caine said. Bahrains air defense forces shot down an in-bound drone heading toward the capital of Manamas maritime infrastructure, to protect their shipping lanes. Saudi Arabias Patriot batteries stopped a salvo of ballistic missiles aimed at energy facilities. The United Arab Emirates neutralized multiple drones targeting Abu Dhabis industrial zone. Qatari fighters shot down two Iranian bombers. Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, as seen from Doha, Qatar, March 1, 2026. Together these nations are helping to defend themselves and project power as required against the enemy, Caine said. Attacks have also hit some of those countries' cities and U.S. bases including in Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait, where four American soldiers were killed in an unmanned aircraft attack on March 1 on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. All four were with a Des Moines Army Reserve unit. U.S. military officials are investigating the attack. Advertisement Multiple European countries have also pledged military aid after drones struck the British Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Mediterranean Cyprus. The United Kingdom, France and Greece also pledged anti-missile and anti-drone systems as well as air defenses and warships. Following the attack, the Britian Ministry of Defense confirmed March 3 that forces shot down multiple drones in Iraqi, Jordanian, and Qatari airspaces. Why is the United States at war with Iran? President Donald Trump said the strikes from the U.S. and Israel were intended to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran and prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The military action also aims to give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers, Trump said previously. He added to reporters on March 3 that 'most of the people we had in mind are dead,' in reference to potential Iranian leaders slotted to take over the country following Khamenei's death. More on war: Why is the US at war with Iran? Answering key questions about the conflict Trump has warned Americans the war could last for weeks and pledged there's more firepower on the way beyond the initial action. The U.S. advanced its efforts Wednesday as a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship with reports of at least 80 people killed, officials said. Contributing: Bart Jansen, Michael Loria and Kathleen Palmer USA TODAY; Reuters This story has been updated with new information. Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on X @katecperez_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are other countries also in the Iran-US war? Here's what to know. President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2026. Credit - Mandel NganGetty Images President Donald Trump ran in 2024 on a campaign that swore to avoid dragging the U.S. into foreign wars, instead focusing on home prosperity. Earlier this year, the White House referred to him as the President of Peace. But that title is being scrutinized following the U.S. decision to strike Iran over the weekend. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, said Trump as he announced the launch of U.S.-Israeli military action early Saturday morning. The targeted strikes killed Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures of the Iranian regime. And the impact is being felt beyond the Middle East, with Iran launching widespread retaliatory strikes against the U.S.-aligned Gulf states. On Monday morning, a British airbase in Cyprus was targeted, hours after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he was changing course and allowing the U.S. to use British bases to launch defensive missiles. As the Iran war widens, Trump said in an interview that Iranian leaders want to talk and he has agreed to speak with them. When asked how long the military operation would last, he declined to specify a timeline, though he later said it could extend up to four weeks. He has also refused to rule out deploying ground troops in Iran, if necessary. Smoke rises from the area after it was targeted in attacks as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026. Fatemeh Bahrami- AnadoluAnadolu/Getty So far, four U.S. troops have been killed, and others seriously wounded. Trump called the fallen service members true American patriots in a public address, admitting that sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is. The strikes on Iran mark the latest military action ordered by Trump following his return to the White House in January 2025. Here are the countries and areas Trump has ordered strikes on in his second term: 2025 Somalia On Feb. 1, the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were directed by Trump and coordinated with Somalias government. The Pentagon assessed that multiple operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed. Trump later said that a senior IS planner and recruits were targeted. Iraq On March 13, U.S.-led coalition forces, alongside Iraqi national intelligence services and Security Forces, killed a senior Islamic State leader in a precision airstrike in Iraqs western Al Anbar province, according to U.S. Central Command. Trump said on March 14 that a fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed after being relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters. Yemen Between March and May, the U.S. launched naval and airstrikes against Yemens Houthi rebels in what was codenamed Operation Rough Rider, the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East during Trumps second term at that time. The strikes targeted radar systems, air defenses, and missile and drone launch sites in response to the Houthis targeting international vessels in the Red Sea. Advertisement On May 6, Trump declared the campaign over effective immediately, following a cease-fire brokered by Oman between the U.S. and the Houthis. Iran In early June, amid negotiations over nuclear capabilities, Israel began striking Iranian targets. On June 22, the U.S. joined the campaign, striking three key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in Operation Midnight Hammer, using B2 bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawks. Trump said the strikes had completely and totally obliterated the facilities and Irans uranium enrichment efforts. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based organization, reported at least 5,665 casualties, including 1,190 killed and 4,475 injured, both military and civilian, as a result of the broader 12-day conflict. Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean On Sept. 2, the U.S. carried out its first strike against what Trump said was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua. The strikes later expanded to routes in nearby Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific off Central America. The strikes continued into the new year. On Feb. 16, three separate U.S. military strikes killed 11 people on three boats that the military deemed were engaged in narco-trafficking operations in the Caribbean Sea. Read More: Which Countries Have Stopped Sharing Intelligence With U.S. Over Boat Strikes in Caribbean? Syria On Dec. 19, the U.S. carried out large-scale strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria under Operation Hawkeye Strike. The campaign followed an IS attack on U.S. forces earlier that month where two U.S. soldiers and an American civil interpreter were killed. U.S. and Jordanian partner forces fired more than 100 precision munitions at over 70 targets in multiple locations across central Syria. On Jan. 10, U.S. and partner forces conducted further large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria. Later, on Jan. 16 CENTCOM conducted a strike in northwest Syria that resulted in the death of Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, a leader affiliated with Al-Qaeda who had direct ties to an ISIS terrorist responsible for an ambush which killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter on Dec. 13, 2025. Nigeria Trump initially deployed 100 U.S. military personnel to Nigeria to train local forces, threatening strikes if the government did not address what he described as a genocide of Christians. Nigerian officials rejected that characterization, describing the violence as part of longstanding civil conflict. On Dec. 25, U.S. Africa Command, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, conducted strikes against ISIS operatives in Sokoto State. Trump said the powerful and deadly strike killed multiple ISIS terrorists. 2026 Venezuela On Jan. 3, American special operations forces carried out a pre-dawn raid in Caracas, bombing the capital and detaining Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were transported to the U.S. to face trial on narco-terrorism charges. Trump referred to the operation as one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history. Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad on Jan. 5, 2026. XNYGetty Images Iran The U.S. military had been building up its presence in the Middle East region for weeks amid heightened tensions over Irans nuclear capabilities. After last Thursday's third round of indirect talks in Geneva between U.S. and Iranian officials yielded no deal, Trump moved ahead with a surprise military operation titled Operation Epic Fury without congressional approval. Contact us at letters@time.com. The war in the Middle East that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz is making Russian oil more valuable to two of the largest energy markets in the world India and China. Oil prices have been soaring and stock markets tumbling globally, with analysts warning that prices could test $100 a barrel if the disruption extends beyond a few weeks. The strait through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies pass remains effectively closed to most operators after Iranian forces threatened to set fire to ships passing through. As global oil becomes scarcer and more expensive, few countries stand to feel the pressure more acutely than India and China two of the world's largest energy importers, both heavily dependent on Gulf supplies. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the worlds most strategically important shipping routes (Getty/iStock) If we see a prolonged war, with the Strait out of use for an extended period, said Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS, it would mean all countries globally competing for every incremental barrel of oil possible." Analysts say the clearest beneficiary of that scramble is Russia a long-time supplier to both countries, and one that Washington had been pushing India to move away from. With Gulf supplies now blocked, Russian crude is readily available: by tanker to Indian refiners, and by pipeline to China, and both are already increasing their purchases. The main effect, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder and lead analyst at CREA, is that Russia will make more money and China and India will pay more for their oil, like all importers. India relies on imports for more than 88 per cent of its oil needs, and nearly half of its crude comes from Gulf states whose exports pass through the Strait. The government has reassured that it holds 74 days worth of reserves, but reports indicate it could be as low as 25 days. In recent months, Indian refiners had been trimming Russian purchases under US pressure, part of broader negotiations around a trade deal after heavy tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. By January, Russian crude accounted for less than 20 per cent of India's imports, the lowest in nearly four years, while Saudi imports rose to their highest in almost six years. Now that the Strait is closed, analysts say the direction is clear. Both countries are likely to consider increasing purchases of Russian oil in the event of prolonged disruption, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. But Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, said while Russian imports will go up for China, for India still bound by its interim agreement with Washington major changes could be more challenging. Government sources signalled India is scouting for alternative supplies within a 10 to 15-day window. Meanwhile, Russia is already standing ready to supply. Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told state-run TV that Moscow was "getting signals of renewed interest from India" in purchasing additional volumes of its crude, adding that it "remains convinced" the trade is beneficial to both countries. On Thursday, the diversions were already underway at least three tankers carrying around 2.1 million barrels of Russian Urals crude are heading to Indian ports this week. Smoke rises from a cargo ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast (SBU) One, the Suezmax Odune, has already arrived at Paradip on India's east coast; another is heading to Vadinar on the west coast; a third that had been signalling Singapore has turned north in the Arabian Sea and is now on course for India, according to vessel-tracking data cited by Bloomberg. Advertisement All three ships are under EU and UK sanctions. China's position is different but the direction is the same. Beijing had not pledged to reduce Russian purchases the way India had, but its national oil companies had been moderating their intake. Parmar said that restraint is unlikely to last. While independent refiners still purchase reasonable volumes of Russian oil, China has stopped its national oil companies from purchasing Russian oil in recent months. This policy may change if the war continues for an extended period. Data from Vortexa showed Russian crude deliveries to China rose by around 370,000 barrels per day in February compared to January roughly matching the volume Beijing had been receiving from Venezuela before shipments were cut off. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Moscow could benefit from Indias oil needs (AP) China has faced challenges in accessing its two major suppliers this year, both due to Washington. Iranian exports have under strain, although not completely stopped like in the case of India, since the US-Israel attack. Venezuelan crude, which flowed almost entirely to Beijing under Nicolas Maduro as US sanctions locked out most other buyers, has also been cut off following January's regime change. Trump declared in January that he had struck the concept of a deal for India to buy Venezuelan oil instead, replacing its Russian oil needs, but production has collapsed to just over 1 million barrels a day, infrastructure would need billions to restore, and the distance might also be a decisive factor for Delhi. Analysts say this is where Russia's position becomes particularly beneficial. Much of Moscow's oil has spent months sitting on sanctioned tankers that Western ports and insurers refuse to handle, making it readily available for Indian refiners. China, meanwhile, receives Russian crude directly via pipeline, making its access even more secure. Chris Wright, principal analyst at CarbonBridge, said Russian crude floating storage of around 58 million barrels would be significantly cheaper than what is looking like increasing oil markets going beyond $80 per barrel," adding that "any oil or gas producer not reliant on the Strait of Hormuz will now be incredibly important to global oil and gas supplies." The Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker was seized by US forces in January, for allegedly violating sanctions by transporting oil for Venezuela, Russia, and Iran (Getty Images) Russia is not the only one to benefit, analysts said Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, and the US, with its significant excess production, all stand to gain from higher prices and tighter global supply. But none are as strategically placed as Moscow to serve India and China, which together consume roughly 22-23 million barrels a day a fifth of global demand. While analysts remain certain over long-term gains for Russia, it has not been able to capitalise on the oil rally immediately due to its own challenges. Ukrainian drone attacks have left the Sheskharis oil terminal at Novorossiysk, slated to load around 500,000 barrels per day, shut since Monday, while severe icy conditions have reduced loading capacity at its Baltic ports. In the far east, however, exports from Kozmino port are near record highs. For India, the political cost of turning back to Moscow remains the only complication, and even that is shrinking. In the current circumstances, I feel the US will not say anything, said Vibhuti Garg, director for South Asia at IEEFA, noting that Washington is in a weak position to punish India for seeking alternatives to a route it helped close. The White House did not immediately respond to questions on how it would view India resuming Russian oil purchases. Meanwhile, the US and France are moving to ease some pressure. Trump has announced political risk insurance for ships transiting the Gulf and France has dispatched the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean. But with the Strait still closed, neither measure changes the basic calculus for India and China: the quickest route back to energy security still runs through Moscow. People enjoying a beautiful day in Dingle, Ireland. Credit: Irjaliina Paavonpera/Travel + Leisure Key Points Ireland topped a recent ranking of the best European countries for work-life balance; it ranked second globally. Ireland performed especially well in the public safety and weekly working hours categories. Iceland took the No. 2 spot, and Belgium was third. If youve entered 2026 a bit burned out from your day job and are open to relocating across the pond, the global employment experts at Remote just named Ireland the best place for a better work-life balance in Europe for the second year in a row. The company's 2025 European Life-Work Balance Index evaluated each country based on factors such as sick and paid maternity leave, healthcare, annual leave, public safety and happiness, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and average hours worked. Then each state received a life-work balance score out of 100. Ireland earned a score of 82.89up 4.22 points from the previous yearand performed especially well in the public safety and weekly working hours categories. Employees in Ireland work on average 34.30 hours per week. Remote also describes Ireland's workplace culture as hard-working yet warm and inclusive, and notes that the country has a strong Happiness Index score (6.89 out of 10) and a higher minimum wage than many other European nations, at $13.96 per hour. (As of 2026, the country's hourly minimum wage officially stands at 14.15 euros, or $16.72.) New mothers there have 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. While Ireland may have taken the top spot, several other European countries followed closely behind. Iceland came in at No. 2 with a score of 77.98, ranking highly for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and public safety. Belgium took the bronzeup one spot from last yearwith an index score of 76.41 and a slightly higher Happiness Index score than Ireland. Advertisement In Remote's Global Work-Life Balance Index, Belgium ranked second after the winner, New Zealand. European nations claimed seven of the top ten spots on the global list, cementing Europe as "the leading continent for life-work balance," according to Remote. In 2025, the idea that productivity must come at the expense of our health or our personal time is being challenged in a serious way. This is especially the case across Europe, where policies are starting to reflect the simple truth that people are not machines, says Barbara Matthews, Remotes chief people officer, in a press release shared with Travel + Leisure. You can read the full report on Remote.com. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure The Federal Reserve has granted a crypto firm direct access to Americas core payments systems for the first time a historic breakthrough that could help reshape the $2.3 trillion digital asset industry. The move scores a major victory for the crypto industry, which has been striving for years to access the Feds mainstream payment systems. Kraken Financial, Krakens banking unit with operations in crypto-friendly Wyoming, revealed March 4 it had won access to the Feds core payment systems. It is the first crypto firm to be able to move money on Fedwire, the same rails used by thousands of the nations banks and credit unions. The approval of the limited master account at the Fed will allow Kraken Financial to handle transactions more quickly for its clients and professional traders. The historic change, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, wont give Kraken the full range of services, such as payment of interest on reserves held at the Fed, that banks have. However, the move is a watershed milestone in the history of digital assets, said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), a staunch advocate for the cryptocurrency industry. The Federal Reserve has granted a crypto firm direct access to Americas core payments systems for the first time.Olemedia/Getty Images (Olemedia/Getty Images) Cryptocurrency total market is about $2.3 trillion The total value of all cryptocurrencies as of February 2026 is about $2.3 trillion, according to industry reports. Bitcoin accounts for about $1.3 trillion and a market share of about 56%. Stablecoins have added more than $310 billion , indicating a strong liquidity base. This number is down from the highs of late 2025, but it shows the market remains strong, despite macroeconomic challenges and ongoing institutional integration. Kraken win opens access for crypto, fintech Fintech and crypto firms have traditionally depended on partner banks for access to the Fed, as well as for compliance infrastructure such as anti-money laundering monitoring. The Kraken decision, approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, comes as crypto entrants have been stalled in their search for operating approval under tight U.S. banking regulations. More Federal Reserve: Banks have argued that crypto and fintech firms shouldnt be given direct access to payment systems like Fedwire, escalating a fight over who controls access to the core of the U.S. payments infrastructure. As we know, the payments landscape is actively evolving, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said in a March 4 statement. Throughout this transformation, the integrity and stability of the U.S. payments system remain our priority. White House supports crypto deregulation President Donald Trumps administration has given the crypto industry a bright green light to pursue entry into the U.S. banking mainstream. The president has vowed to make America the crypto capital of the world, a 180-degree shift from the Biden administrations cooler look toward digital assets. The president has: Advertisement Installed crypto-friendly regulators Pushed for legislation to establish a regulatory framework for crypto, per The Wall Street Journal Watched as his sons and business associates pursued lucrative private crypto ventures, The Journal also reported Master account gives Kraken direct access to Fedwire Having a Fed master account will give Kraken Financial direct access to Fedwire, a critical interbank payment system that handles more than $4 trillion in average daily fund transfers. The Kraken unit has a special type of Wyoming state bank charter geared toward crypto companies. It previously relied on intermediary banks to move money to other firms. Related: Crypto Allocations by Financial Advisors Hit All-Time High in 2025 With direct access to Fedwire, Kraken Financial will avoid intermediary banks. This enables faster, more efficient fiat transfers for institutional clients, while reducing operational complexity and costs, the company said in a March 4 blog post. Kraken will not receive the wider range of privileges granted to banking institutions with a full master account. The account was approved for an initial one-year term, with services to be introduced in phases, starting with the support for institutional client activity at Kraken. Krakens Sethi hails Feds crypto approval Kraken and Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi praised the Fed's decision to grant his company Fedwire access. "This milestone marks the convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails," Sethi told Reuters. "With a Federal Reserve master account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the U.S. banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution." Kraken Financial is the company's Wyoming-chartered bank, and Payward is the legal parent. Wyoming is considered a welcoming regulatory environment for crypto and other digital assets. Kraken was valued at $20 billion in its latest fundraising in November, and has been actively investing to expand into various asset classes and grow its user base. Feds Waller calls for payments innovation Fed Governor Christopher Waller has supported the Feds efforts to adjust to the changes facing the central banks regulatory environment around crypto. Payments innovation moves fast, and the Federal Reserve needs to keep up, Waller said in an October 2025 speech. Waller said the idea is to tailor the services of these new accounts to the needs of these firms and the risks they present to the Fed and the payment system. The upshot is that, in my view, the payments landscape, as well as the types of providers, has evolved dramatically in recent years, and, accordingly, a new payments account could better reflect this new reality, Waller said. Related: A Record $17 Billion Estimated Stolen in Crypto Scams and Fraud in 2025 This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fed section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Cuba said Wednesday it has filed terrorism charges against six suspects it claims were aboard a Florida-flagged speedboat that is alleged to have opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island's north coast. The Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that the suspects of Cuban origin remain in pretrial detention, adding that it will ensure "due process" as it continues to act "in defense of our people and the country's institutions." The government has said 10 heavily armed Cubans from the U.S. who were on board the boat opened fire as they tried to infiltrate the island to commit acts of terrorism. It said that Cuban soldiers returned fire, killing four suspects. However, the White House confirmed to CBS News last week that at least one American was one of the four people killed. The news was first reported by Axios. In addition to the American citizen who was killed, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that at least one U.S. citizen was also among those arrested. At least one of the boat's occupants had a K-1 visa, the official said, which allows a citizen's fiance to travel to the U.S. to get married, and others are believed to be legal permanent residents of the U.S., although it was not clear how many. According to the official and an incident report from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Florida, the boat's owner alleged that the vessel had been stolen by an employee. The Cuban government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols. Advertisement Weapons that Cuban authorities say were recovered from a speedboat in Cuban waters following a deadly confrontation are displayed in Havana, Feb. 27, 2026. / Credit: AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa Chief prosecutor Edward Robert Campbell has told The Associated Press that terrorism charges carry a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison or even the death penalty, although Cuba has maintained a moratorium on the latter since 2003. The brother of one of the men who was killed in the incident said his sibling was fixated on overthrowing Cuba's government. Misael Ortega Casanova, brother of Michael Ortega Casanova, told the AP that his brother had fallen into an "obsessive and diabolical" quest to free Cuba from its communist government. Cubans in the United States and Cuban Americans have long protested the current Cuban government, and accused the island's leadership of human rights violations. "They became so obsessed that they didn't think about the consequences nor their own lives," Casanova said of his brother and the other men who were aboard the boat. Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict Trump denies Israel forced U.S. strikes on Iran Integrated platform fuels origination growth and servicing scale MERIDEN, Conn., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Financial Group, LLC, a leading national financial services company with integrated capabilities across origination, servicing, sub-servicing and asset management, reached multiple performance milestones in 2025. Origination volume and continued servicing portfolio expansion demonstrated the resilience of Planet's multichannel platform amid evolving market conditions. "Planet generated meaningful origination growth while continuing to scale servicing in a disciplined way, underscoring the reliability of our multichannel approach," said Michael Dubeck, CEO and President of Planet Financial Group. "We remain strategic about our growth, pairing borrower engagement and retention with active MSR risk management so performance remains consistent as market conditions evolve." Origination Growth Across Channels Planet funded approximately $28.6 billion in total originations in 2025, representing an increase of roughly 58% year over year, with growth across all production channels. Correspondent lending funded approximately $24.6 billion, up nearly 58% from the prior year, as Planet's platform, pricing and execution led to increased market share. Planet continued to invest in correspondent efficiency and execution, including expanded co-issuance and eNote delivery capabilities. Retail retention funded approximately $2.5 billion, representing nearly 52% year-over-year growth. Analytics-driven borrower engagement and portfolio retention execution supported continued recapture gains. Distributed retail funded approximately $1.4 billion, up approximately 65% year over year, supported by branch expansion, leadership investments, performance marketing enhancements and proprietary purchase-focused programs. Together, these results demonstrate the effectiveness of Planet's diversified production model and its ability to grow responsibly. Servicing Portfolio Expansion Planet expanded its total servicing portfolio to $144.8 billion at year end, a 21% increase year over year. Owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) grew to $138.5 billion, driven by higher origination volumes, above-market retention recapture and bulk MSR acquisitions. The company's servicing growth reflects disciplined portfolio management, consistent borrower engagement and active MSR hedging to moderate valuation volatility. Planet generated servicing assets of $11.4 billion through co-issue and bulk MSR acquisitions in 2025. Planet serviced more than 531,000 residential loans at year end, reflecting continued trust from homeowners, investors and private clients. In February 2025, Fannie Mae recognized Planet's servicing excellence with a Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards award. S&P Global Ratings ranked Planet Above Average as a residential primary servicer and Average as a residential special servicer, both with Stable outlooks. The rankings reflect Planet's experienced leadership, strong controls, competitive performance metrics and continued technology investment. Commercial Servicing Platform Expansion Planet's commercial servicing platform ended the year with $809.7 million in assets under management, up 28% from the prior year. Planet earned commercial servicer ratings across primary, master and special servicing, validating the company's ability to support complex asset classes including single-family rental, residential transition loans, DSCR, small-balance commercial and multifamily loans. Leadership and Talent Investments Planet strengthened its leadership bench with multiple senior hires across correspondent sales, distributed retail, title services, capital markets and operations, enhancing the company's ability to support continued growth. Workplace Recognition and Corporate Responsibility Planet earned Top Workplaces USA and Top Workplaces Financial Services honors, reflecting the company's continued focus on culture, engagement and employee experience. Planet continued its commitment to environmental stewardship and community impact by planting 75,000 trees in partnership with the National Forest Foundation. "As we look ahead, Planet's foundation remains strong," Dubeck said. "By staying focused on disciplined growth, operational excellence, partnership and active risk management, we believe our platform is well positioned to deliver durable performance in the year ahead." About Planet Financial Group, LLC Planet Financial Group, LLC, Meriden, Connecticut, is a fully integrated family of companies delivering innovative origination, servicing and asset management solutions. Through this synergistic ecosystem of products, services and technologies, Planet Financial Group provides best-in-class experiences for investors pursuing value maximization and borrowers seeking streamlined end-to-end loan lifecycle support. Planet Financial Group is the parent of Planet Home Lending, LLC and Planet Management Group, LLC, which also does business under the name Planet Renovation Capital. Press Contact Dona DeZube Vice President, Communications Planet Home Lending [email protected] (443) 263-2832 SOURCE Planet Financial Group Cubas electrical grid collapsed again Wednesday afternoon, leaving several provinces without electricity. Cubas state utilities company Union Electrica said the blackout was due to a disconnection of the national power system affecting provinces from Pinar del Rio in the west to Camaguey in central Cuba due to a breakdown in the Antonio Guiteras power station in the province of Matanzas. Cubas crumbling power infrastructure has collapsed several times in the past two years, at times leaving the entire country without electricity. Residents in many parts of the country currently get by with just a few hours of electricity a day, a situation that has worsened after President Donald Trump pressed Venezuela, Mexico and others to stop supplying oil to Cuba to pressure the Cuban government to make reforms. Advertisement Last week, the Trump administration authorized the sale of U.S. oil to the Cuban private sector but not to the government, which still operates the energy infrastructure, including ports and gas stations. The fuel shortage is so acute that on Wednesday, Cuba extended its earlier warning to airlines that the country has no jet fuel available at its international airports, including Havanas Jose Marti International Airport. The warning, also published by the Federal Aviation Administration, is in place until April 10. On Feb. 10, Cuban aviation authorities had issued a similar warning until March 11. The energy crisis has now stretched for over three months, adding further strain to the islands battered tourism sector. Several airlines, including Air Canada and Westjet, have suspended flights or adjusted their flight schedules. On Wednesday, Air France announced that it will suspend its flights to Havana from the end of March until at least mid-June due to the aviation fuel shortage in the country. CVS said it would close all 134 of its pharmacy locations in Tennessee if the state enacts legislation that takes aim at the pharmacy giant's business model. A Tennessee state senator sponsored a bill that would prohibit companies from owning retail pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. CVS employs more than 2,000 at 134 retail pharmacy locations in Tennessee. The company also owns CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefit manager. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, have drawn bipartisan scrutiny nationwide as the Trump administration, Congress and states seek ways to lower prices on prescription drugs. PBMs act as middleman between drug manufacturers, health insurance companies and retail pharmacies. Health insurers and employers that offer health insurance benefits use PBMs to negotiate prices and manage prescription drugs. Tennessee state Sen. Bobby Harshbarger, a Republican who sponsored the bill preventing co-ownership of PBMs and pharmacies, said the legislation addresses a "structural conflict in the pharmacy marketplace." "This legislation separates pharmacy benefit managers from owning or controlling the pharmacies they reimburse or steer patients toward," Harshbarger, a pharmacist, said in a statement. "It does not eliminate PBMs, close pharmacies, or reduce access to medications." Harshbarger said the legislation would not require pharmacy closures. Companies that own a PBM and pharmacies could choose to divest part of their business to comply with the legislation, he said. Harshbarger's bill recently passed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and the state's House insurance subcommittee on March 4. The legislation must advance through committees in both chambers before facing full state Senate and House votes. CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault said the company is committed to work with policymakers, but she said the Tennessee bill doesn't address common PBM industry issues such as spread pricing, reimbursement or formularies the list of drugs heath insurance plans cover. Advertisement "The only thing this legislation does is force the closure of 134 CVS pharmacies," Thibault said. "Its bad for Tennessee, for the more than 1.5 million patients we serve and for the more than 2,000 colleagues who will lose good-paying jobs." In addition to closing pharmacies, CVS said it would shut down 25 in-store Minute Clinic locations that provide primary care health services. Arkansas, Congress take aim at PBMs In 2025, Arkansas passed a similar bill that would prevent companies that own PBMs from operating retail pharmacies. CVS sued to halt the legislation and a federal judge issued an order halting enforcement of the law. The pharmacy giant continues to operate more than 20 pharmacies in the state. In December 2024, U.S. Reps Diana Harshbarger, R-Tennessee, and Jake Auchincloss, D-Massachusetts, introduced a bill that would prevent joint ownership of PBMs and pharmacies. The legislation didn't advance out of committee. In February, Congress passed legislation that ended the partial federal government shutdown and contained provisions addressing PBM transparency and business practices. The legislation prohibited PBM's from collecting compensation based on the price of a drug, rebate or discounts under Medicare Part D. Instead, PBMs can collect a service fee only beginning in 2028, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit. PBMs that service Medicare drug plans also must meet several transparency requirements. They must disclose drug prices and revenue, affiliated pharmacies and contract with drug manufacturers, KFF said. PBMs that manage employer pharmacy benefits also must share with employers 100% of rebates they demand from pharmaceutical manufacturers. PBMs also must report details on prescription drug use and spending to most employer health plans. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CVS would close over 100 pharmacies if Tennessee enacts law A fence at the entrance of RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus that was hit by a drone early Monday, causing limited damage, in Cyprus March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou NICOSIA, March 4 (Reuters) - Cyprus said a suspect object had been detected close to Lebanese airspace on Wednesday, and a government source said two Greek F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled to intercept it. The alert was called off more than an hour later. "The incident for which there was relevant information has been investigated and is considered closed. The competent authorities are monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis and all appropriate measures are being taken by the available means within the framework of established procedures," government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a post on X. No further details were immediately available. Advertisement Two aircraft that were preparing to land at Cyprus' Larnaca airport were diverted while the jets were scrambled, the government source said. The incident followed a strike by an Iranian-made drone on a British Royal Air Force base in Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday as the U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran continued. Two other drones were intercepted by Cyprus later that day. Cypriot officials said they believed the drones on Monday were fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. (Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Alison Williams and Timothy Heritage) PRAGUE, March 5 (Reuters) - The lower house of the Czech parliament voted on Thursday to deny a court request for billionaire businessman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis to face trial in long-running prosecution over an alleged fraud in drawing a European Union subsidy. Babis, head of the populist ANO party, returned to power after winning an election in October last year, despite charges in the case involving a 2 million euro subsidy granted in 2008, before he entered politics, for building a hotel and conference centre outside Prague called Stork Nest. Advertisement Deputies for ANO and ruling coalition partners, the far right, pro-Russian SPD party and the anti-Green Deal Motorists, voted on Thursday not to lift parliamentary immunity from Babis, voting records showed. The vote means Babis is protected from prosecution in the case until the end of the parliament's four-year term in 2029. * Babis has denied any wrongdoing in the case whereprosecutors allege he hid his ownership of a firm to qualify forthe subsidy, which was meant for small businesses and not largegroups like the one Babis owned * He has argued, without showing evidence, that the case waspolitically motivated to harm his political activity. * "The system of traditional parties realised that Irepresent a fundamental danger to them, because I refused tosteal and they could not corrupt me," he told parliament onThursday. * An appeals court overturned a Babis' acquittal in the caseby a lower court last year, sending the case back to the lowercourt. * The parliament's vote prevents the lower court fromproceeding with a retrial. * Babis has built a multi-billion dollar empire of farming,chemicals, food processing and other firms, including realestate and fertility clinics across Europe. * The parliament on Thursday also denied a request to liftthe immunity of Babis' ruling coalition ally and SPD chief TomioOkamura, who has been charged with hate speech. * Okamura called the charges an attempt to criminalisepolitical opposition. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; editing by Edward Tobin) A clock is seen in LAquila, Italy, on March 24, 2023. On march 26th (last march sunday) solar time will replace daylight saving time and people around the world will move one hour ahead hands of clocks. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The Brief The Virginia Senate passed a bill last month to get rid of Daylight Saving Time and make Eastern Standard Time permanent. The law can't go into effect until Maryland and Washington, D.C., pass similar legislation. Only two states currently don't observe daylight saving time. WASHINGTON, D.C. - As daylight saving time approaches, the argument to make it permanent in the United States has resurfaced yet again. What we know The Virginia Senate passed a bill last month to end the state's observance of daylight saving time, moving to Eastern Standard Time year-round. It will now move onto the House. However, Maryland and Washington, D.C., must enact similar legislation before the law can go into effect. Lawmakers in Maryland have repeatedly tried to make daylight saving time permanent for the state with bills contingent on changes to federal law. A similar bill was introduced in the Virginia House last year. States can currently lock their clocks to permanent standard time, but are prohibited from switching to permanent daylight saving time without an act of Congress. Two states do not spring forward Big picture view Hawaii and Arizona are currently the only two states in the U.S. that don't participate in daylight saving time. Most of Arizona has remained on Mountain Standard Time year-round since 1968 due to its hot climate. However, the state's Navajo Nation does still observe daylight saving time. Hawaii has used Hawaii Standard Time all year since 1967 due to its proximity to the equator. Advertisement The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also do not observe daylight saving time. What is daylight saving time? Dig deeper Daylight saving time requires most U.S. states and territories to set their clocks forward one hour on the second Sunday of March, and back one hour on the first Sunday of November. It was first introduced on a national level in 1918 in an effort to conserve fuel by extending daylight working hours during the last year of World War I. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act to institute permanent time changes in the spring and fall. What do Americans want? By the numbers A 2025 Gallup survey found that the majority of Americans wanted to get rid of daylight saving time. Results showed 54% were not in favor of daylight saving time, 40% were in favor and 6% were uncertain. Trump on daylight saving time What they're saying President Donald Trump has previously said that he supports making daylight saving time permanent in the U.S. "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldnt," Trump wrote on X in December 2024. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." In 2025, the president called it a "50-50 issue" before calling on lawmakers to "push hard for more daylight at the end of a day." The Source Information from this article was sourced from local legislation, USA Today and Gallup. The state's top consumer watchdog is calling on the Illinois General Assembly to pass a new bill that aims to protect customers from deceptive energy deals with alternative suppliers. The Citizens' Utility Board said Wednesday during a news conference at its Chicago headquarters that it would be backing HB4313 the No More Utility Bill Rip-Offs Consumer Protection Act in order to provide reforms that would protect consumers from bad energy deals brought forth by alternative suppliers. The bill would require that suppliers can't charge a utility rate more than 25% above the utility supply price at any time. In addition, they would be required to have a customer signature at the time of automatic contract renewal if they increase a customer's rate, while also ensuring that their salespeople aren't being paid on an incentive basis. Opinion: Ameren Illinois vice president addresses reasons for high summer energy bills Suppliers also would have to supply the Illinois Commerce Commission more accurate data in order to provide better utility price comparisons. The bill is described as building on protections passed in 2019 through the HEAT Act, which provided "historic" protections for consumers against alternative suppliers, such as increasing prices on contract renewals, ending termination fees, requiring suppliers to clearly state their prices, ending their ability to tack on higher rates on people getting LIHEAP assistance and giving the ICC more tools to deal with those suppliers. CUB said that with warmer weather and warnings about higher utility bills, those alternative suppliers would be going door-to-door trying to sell people their services, which could lead customers into getting themselves into bad deals. Sarah Moskowitz, CUB's executive director, said that the new bill would end the "whack-a-mole"-type game people play in terms of combating deceptive practices by alternative suppliers. Advertisement "Alternative suppliers are constantly finding new ways to confuse and mislead customersweve talked to far too many customers paying painfully high energy bills because of bad deals," Moskowitz said. "HB 4313 adds key consumer protections that weve observed are needed after years of monitoring the market and warning consumers about bad deals and misleading marketing." More: Some Illinois cities view data centers as an economic boon, but residents fear bigger bills State Rep. Kimberly du Buclet, who introduced the bill in the General Assembly, said that the new bill would force suppliers to not engage in "predatory pricing" and keeping things in the fine print that could hurt electric customers. "This legislation strengthens consumer protections by requiring transparency, accountability, and enforceable standards so families know exactly what they are signing up for and what they are paying," du Buclet said. "It puts affordability first and ensures that energy choice never comes at the expense of fairness, trust, or basic consumer rights. This legislation is about protecting families, seniors, and fixed-income households from being exploited simply because they need heat and electricity." CUB said that ICC data showed a $2 billion loss for Illinois electric customers to alternative suppliers of electricity, with similar numbers for gas suppliers. Illinois state law allows for customers to choose utility suppliers over firms who own the lines and infrastructure, such as Ameren Illinois, Commonwealth Edison, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas. CUB asked people to send emails to their legislators asking them to support the bill by going to CUBActionCenter.com. The bill is currently under consideration in the House Public Utilities Committee. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois watchdog seeks new protections against deceptive energy deals Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated how Melanie Leneghan voted. Melanie Leneghan voted against reconsidering placing Rebecca Nourse back on the ballot. A Delaware County Board of Elections member did not recuse herself and voted to keep her challenger for her elected position with the state Republican central committee off the May primary ballot while herself facing questions about whether she lives in Ohio. Melanie Leneghan is running for reelection to the women's Republican State Central Committee District 19 seat, which covers Delaware, Knox, Holmes and Coshocton counties. Each of Ohio's 33 state senate districts elects one man and one woman to manage party operations and direct policies of each political party. Leneghan is also one of two Republican members of the four-member Delaware County elections board that also includes two Democrats. Rebecca Nourse, a Knox County resident, is one of the candidates who filed to run for Leneghan's seat in Delaware County as it is the most populous county in that central committee district. Rebecca Nourse, a 2026 candidate for the women's Republican State Central Committee District 19 seat. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose appointed Leneghan to the elections board in March 2025, despite objections from fellow Republicans about her past conduct and qualifications for the job, The Dispatch reported at the time. Nourse was initially certified for the May primary ballot on Feb. 10 by all four election board members, but later that day she was told the Delaware County Board of Elections found she erroneously wrote the date she filed the petition (Feb. 4, the deadline day for filing) instead of the date she printed it in January. On Feb. 12, the county election board's Democrats, Ed Helvey and Peg Watkins, and the other Republican, Steve Cuckler, removed Nourse's certification to be on the ballot by a 3-0 vote, according to Leneghan, who told The Dispatch she did not attend the special meeting. Nourse had the option to request a reconsideration hearing, which she did. Leneghan did not recuse herself and participated in that reconsideration hearing on Feb. 24, despite objections from Nourse's attorney. Leneghan even attempted to question Nourse, which her attorney did not allow. In addition, Leneghan also participated in a closed-door executive session which, at one point, just included herself and Cuckler and not the two Democrat board members, Nourse said. "It's a public meeting. She could have stayed and just been a spectator, that's absolutely fine," Nourse said. "But she chose to sit up there with the board. She chose to participate in discussions." The board split 2-2 along party lines on whether to allow Nourse back on the ballot. Leneghan voted with Cuckler against reconsidering Nourse's request to be on the May ballot while the board's Democrats, Ed Helvey and Peg Watkins, voted in favor. Because of the tie vote, the matter now heads to LaRose as Secretary of State for a decision. Karla Herron, director of the Delaware County elections board, said both sides have 14 days to submit their cases to LaRose's office. LaRose's office then has 10 days to make a decision. As of March 3, Herron had not received documents from both sides, and therefore has not submitted anything yet to LaRose for a decision. The deadline to submit is March 10. Ben Kindel, a spokesperson for LaRose's office, confirmed to The Dispatch via email that it has not received a formal referral on the matter. Advertisement If LaRose, who appointed Leneghan to the county elections board seat, decides Nourse cannot be on the ballot, Nourse said she will appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. By Leneghan keeping her opponent off the ballot, Nourse said it's costing her time as she can't campaign in the weeks before the May 5 primary until she is officially on the ballot. "It's just really, really frustrating for me. I'm trying to do everything I can to get on the ballot and I just feel like it's a roadblock after a roadblock," Nourse said. Leneghan said the reconsideration was not mandatory and should not have been held because she maintains that everyone involved is conflicted. "The Democrats are conflicted because there's no way they can render a fair and unbiased opinion about a Republican held seat. Impossible. Inconceivable," she said. The Delaware County Prosecutor's Office, which serves as the legal counsel for the board of elections, declined to comment on the matter. Melanie Leneghan's Ohio residency being challenged Separate from removing Nourse from the ballot, Leneghan's Ohio residency is being challenged by Velva Dunn, who defeated Leneghan for a seat on the Delaware County Republican Party Central Committee in 2024. Leneghan, a former Liberty Township trustee, sold her home there near Powell in January 2025. She is currently registered to vote at a Galena home address, the board of elections' website shows. Leneghan said she works in sales consulting for an Arkansas-based company, and her territory includes Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, South Carolina and northeast Texas. But Leneghan said she spends the majority of her time in Ohio. Dunn alleges Leneghan lives in South Carolina, where Leneghan owns two properties and her daughter attends college. "All this is intended to do is harass me," Leneghan told The Dispatch. "She has no premise. She has nothing, nothing to suggest I live in South Carolina." Leneghan said she and her husband spend time in South Carolina as their daughter attends college there, but she said she is a Delaware County resident. She said her cars are registered in Ohio, she has receipts to show she pays out-of-state college tuition for her daughter, and she pays a higher property tax rate on her South Carolina properties because she is not a resident there. The Delaware County Board of Elections is holding a 9 a.m. hearing on March 5 regarding the residency challenge. But now Democrat Helvey, the board chair, has recused himself, according to a March 2 letter sent to fellow board members and board staff. Helvey wrote that he struggled over whether he should recuse himself. He said he reached out to multiple entities for guidance, including the county prosecutor's office, the Ohio Ethics Commission and the Ohio Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel, but all declined to assist him with legal guidance. "Voting to deny the Protest and Challenge could easily be construed as one board member supporting another regardless of the evidence and testimony provided," Helvey wrote. "Conversely, voting to sustain the Protest and Challenge could easily be seen as petty, partisan politics against a member of the opposing party, regardless of the evidence and testimony provided." Helvey went on to write that the situation "reinforces the fact that there are considerations in play that are separate and apart from weighing the issues raised, and could influence a just outcome in these serious matters." Herron said that as of March 3, she is still planning for the hearing to go forward without Helvey. But she added the board of elections is still waiting on further guidance from the prosecutor's office. Delaware County and eastern Columbus suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware County elections board member votes to keep opponent off ballot A Dublin developer is asking to rezone more than 200 acres in the city of Delaware for a massive development that will include a to-be-determined number of residences and a school east of Troy Road. The city of Delaware Planning Commission on March 4 unanimously approved rezoning 200.59 acres from Agricultural to Mixed-Use Planned Unit Development for a development called "Price Farms." Now the rezoning heads to Delaware City Council, which will hold a first reading March 9 and a public hearing March 23. The rezoning requests consists of five parcels that are primarily farmland between the Lantern Chase subdivision and the Lucy Ridge development on the north side of Merrick Boulevard. But the site's developer, Corridor Development, plans to eventually extend the development north to Hills Miller Road in the future, according to a city staff report on the rezoning request. The Scioto Reserve housing development in southern Delaware County [Doral Chenoweth III/Dispatch] More than 175 acres included in the rezoning request were officially annexed into the city by a 4-1 vote of Delaware City Council on Jan. 12. The site also includes 31 acres of the 52-acre Corridor Development and Ryan Homes donated to Delaware City Schools on the east side of Tory Road for potential future school facilities. Get more Delaware County news: Subscribe to The Dispatchs weekly Delaware County newsletter, The Delaware Dispatch. Because of the scale and complexity of the site, Corridor Development has not identified the number of residences or the site's development patterns. Bill Keethler, CEO and president of Corridor Development, told planning commission members the market will dictate how the site fully develops, and that he expects it will be 10 to 12 years before the site is completely built. About 90 acres of the site cannot exceed a density of more than 4.8 units per acre, another 90 acres cannot exceed more than 8 units per acre, and only 20 acres closest to Troy Road can have up to 20 units per acre. Advertisement However, the site currently has limited sewer capacity, and according to a service agreement passed prior to the site's annexation, the developer is limited to 319 dwelling units until expanded sanitary sewer infrastructure is built, the staff report states. Keethler said it will take about three years to build 319 homes. A concept plan shows the development plan for a 200-acre site between the Lantern Chase subdivision and the Lucy Ridge development on the north side of Merrick Boulevard in the city of Delaware. Developer Corridor Development plans to build housing on the site, but hasn't shared the exact number of residences or housing types. But the rezoning resolution does outline specific building types and uses that can development within the site. The majority of the land can develop with one- or two-family dwellings. Three- or four-family dwellings and cluster single-family dwellings, such as townhomes, will be permitted on two subareas that cover more than 87 acres of the 200-acre site. The two subareas closest to Troy Road that cover about 51 acres including 31 acres donated to Delaware schools can develop with school facilities or certain types of multi-family housing. They could also develop with nursing homes, residential care facilities, religious places of worship or daycares if they get conditional approval. The concept plan shows developers would extend multiple existing roads into the development. North Houk Road would be extended north to the Tory Township line, serving as the "central spine" for the development. The stubs of Silversmith Lane and Connaught Place in the Lantern Chase subdivision would both be extended east to create new intersections with North Houk Road. The Connaught Place extension would continue east to create a new intersection with Tory Road. The road layout in the concept plan is purely conceptual, and the location of the roadways could change as the developer continues to plan the site, a planning and zoning staff member told the commission. As the northern side of the city continues to develop, Delaware is extending Merrick Boulevard from Cambridge Road east to Troy Road. The city and Delaware County have long planned for an east-west thoroughfare in the area where Merrick Boulevard is today, as joint city and county plans going back to the 1960s reference building such a road. Delaware County and eastern Columbus suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware planning commission OKs rezoning 200 acres for future housing DCNF - Blumenthal Bolduan Iran Ukraine - Featured Screenshot/Rumble/CNN Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday that weapons used in Operation Epic Fury should have been sent to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia instead of Iran. Iran responded to Operation Epic Fury by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at targets in Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. CNN News Central co-host Kate Bolduan asked Blumenthal about a Wall Street Journal article that argued that Russia was benefiting from the United States and its allies using missiles to combat the Iranian onslaught. (RELATED: Trump Says US Decapitated Iranian Leadership As They Ate Breakfast) WATCH: As a long standing, in fact one of the leaders in the United States Senate on behalf of aiding Ukraine militarily and economically, I am very fearful that this war is a setback for Ukraine, Blumenthal told Bolduan. Weve been told again and again and again one reason that we cant provide interceptors for the Patriot system or other munitions for Ukraine is that theyre in short supply, but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday we have plenty of munitions and ordinance, so there is clearly- Advertisement Do you have you have a window into what the answer is, what the answer is when there is this contradiction? Bolduan asked, with Blumenthal responding, No window whatsoever, no explanation, no transparency or disclosure. In classified settings or in public, and this confused, chaotic approach to arming the forces in Iran contradicts what weve been told about Ukraine, and I will say Ukraine is a loser, but so are American consumers because already energy prices are rising, so will other costs of goods and living because LNG increased prices, as well as oil will mean higher costs not only at the pump but in supermarkets and other places where American consumers buy their goods. Oil prices climbed since President Donald Trump announced that the United States military and Israeli Defense Forces began Operation Epic Fury in a video posted on Truth Social early Saturday, with WTI Futures Crude Oil closing at $77.16 Wednesday, up over $10 from Fridays close, according to Investing.com. So theres a lose-lose here for America, for Ukraine, maybe a win for Russia because those energy prices rising will help fuel Russias war machine and we are expending arms in Iran that Ukraine could use in the fight for its life and the fight for freedom, which is our fight as well, Blumenthal claimed. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, including MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters and 155mm artillery shells. On multiple occasions, alarms have been raised that the effort to support Ukraine is leaving the United States and other allies with depleted stockpiles of crucial munition All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Annie Schlechter for VERANDA "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Fellow design enthusiasts, if you're not looking on Etsy for one-of-a-kind furnishings, entertaining essentials, vintage glassware, and antiques, youre seriously missing out. There arent many digital marketplaces that connect you directly with global artisans and dealers to score items that are handmade and can be personalized to fit your home. Its part of the reason why designers keep going back to Etsy to source unique pieces they can use in both their projects and personal homes. Birmingham-based designer Andrew Brown says he enjoys shopping for his projects in person, but there are times where you need items somewhat last-minute for finishing touches on an install or a photo shoot, and if you cant find what youre looking for, then Etsy can be a great resource. He adds, Im a believer in high-low design, and if you find something beautiful that is well made, especially if its made by local artisans and not mass produced, it doesnt matter if its $10 or $10,000. With so many listings on Etsy, even the experts admit it can be frustrating trying to navigate endless pages to find the ceramic bowl or lampshade you're dreaming of. The filters on Etsy are your best friend as they allow you to easily narrow your findings by price, shipping from location, colors, materials, vintage and so much more. Theres even a feature that allows you to sort by Star Sellers, who consistently earn 5-star reviews and provide incredible service, and Etsys Pick, which includes items hand-selected and curated by the platforms style experts. These are easy ways to ensure you are buying from vetted sources. Once you find a piece youre interested in, Brown encourages everyone to ask the seller questions about the piece and even ask them to send you a video of it since photos dont always show the fine details of the item. If there is something you are drawn to, ask the vendor to load a video of the item in natural daylight, so you can see what it really looks like, Brown says. This is especially a good idea when buying anything where you need to know what the color truly looks like. Now, what should you be shopping for on Etsy? The world is truly your oysterbut there are a number of things that designers turn to Etsy for. Below, we asked designers from across the country to let us in on what their favorite Etsy finds areand the shops they rely on time and time again. Get your wallet ready, because youre going to want to purchase a few of these treasures for yourself. Bedding and Textiles Brown often turns to Etsy for one-of-a-kind bedding and textiles for his projects (this waterfront Caribbean villa has a number of incredible examples). In particular, the designer finds himself drawn to textile vendors based in India for their handmade and block-print designs. He adds, Ill often order fabric from India and have my workroom make tablecloths and napkins. 52.50 at etsy.com English Staffordshire China New York and London-based designer Christina Nielsen relies on Etsy for procuring rare and timeless tabletop pieces like English Staffordshire china. She says, "Specifically, I am always looking for the purple Manganese colorway, which is my favorite, and aubergine is always a neutral in my mind. It's all about the hunt." $45.98 at etsy.com English Staffordshire China New York and London-based designer Christina Nielsen relies on Etsy for procuring rare and timeless tabletop pieces like English Staffordshire china. She says, Specifically, I am always looking for the purple Manganese colorway, which is my favorite, and aubergine is always a neutral in my mind. It's all about the hunt. $45.98 at etsy.com Vintage Saris "Nothing makes a prettier lampshade than a sari, in my opinion, and the colors and patterns are really unmatched," Birmingham-based designer Caroline Gidiere says. "[It] provides a virtual trip to an Indian bazaar, without the cost of a plane ticket." The designer notes the inventory changes often, so you have to check back and search terms like "vintage sari" or "sari fabric." She advises snagging an item as soon as you can if you fall in love with it. She herself has amassed quite a collection of unique and beautiful pieces waiting for the perfect room, piece, or project. $15.20 at etsy.com Midcentury Bamboo and Rattan Furniture Gidiere has also repeatedly turned to Retro Daisy Girl for hard to find midcentury bamboo and rattan furniture. "She always has a great collection of midcentury bamboo and rattan at great prices, when I need a little side table or mirror or console at a steal," says Gidiere. "Again, the inventory changes frequently, so you have to check back from time to time." $3495.00 at etsy.com Vintage Saris Nothing makes a prettier lampshade than a sari, in my opinion, and the colors and patterns are really unmatched," Birmingham-based designer Caroline Gidiere says. [It] provides a virtual trip to an Indian bazaar, without the cost of a plane ticket. The designer notes the inventory changes often, so you have to check back and search terms like vintage sari or sari fabric. She advises snagging an item as soon as you can if you fall in love with it. She says shes amassed quite a collection of unique and beautiful pieces waiting for the perfect room, piece, or project. $15.20 at etsy.com Midcentury Bamboo and Rattan Furniture Gidiere has also repeatedly turned to Retro Daisy Girls shop for hard to find midcentury bamboo and rattan furniture. She always has a great collection of midcentury bamboo and rattan at great prices, when I need a little side table or mirror or console at a steal, says Gidiere. Again, the inventory changes frequently, so you have to check back from time to time. $3495.00 at etsy.com Moroccan Rugs New York-based designer Leyden Lewis adores that Etsy no only gives users easy access to sources across the world, but it offers a wide range of price points to fit every budget. His favorite finds reflect his colorful, modern approach to design: handmade Berber rugs from MoroccanWoolRug. "Having bold statement pieces can also tell an intimate story about one's self or of their space," Lewis says. "Adding handmade furniture to your environment combines art and culture, creating a sense of intimacy with its makers." $999.00 at etsy.com Vintage Housewares Florida-based designer Andrew Howard says he loves utilizing Etsy to add the finishing touches to a project. One of his favorite Etsy storefronts is Florida Modern for vintage housewares, furniture, and wall decor. "There are so many things availableif you know where to dig," he says. "We love finding one-of-a-kind pieces of art, furniture, or accessories that really make our jobs shine." $195.00 at etsy.com Moroccan Rugs New York-based designer Leyden Lewis adores that Etsy not only gives users easy access to sources across the world, but it offers a wide range of price points to fit every budget. His favorite finds reflect his colorful, modern approach to design: handmade Berber rugs from MoroccanWoolRug. Having bold statement pieces can also tell an intimate story about one's self or of their space, Lewis says. Adding handmade furniture to your environment combines art and culture, creating a sense of intimacy with its makers. $999.00 at etsy.com Vintage Housewares Florida-based designer Andrew Howard says he loves utilizing Etsy to add the finishing touches to a project. One of his favorite Etsy storefronts is Florida Modern for vintage housewares, furniture, and wall decor. There are so many things availableif you know where to dig, he says. We love finding one-of-a-kind pieces of art, furniture, or accessories that really make our jobs shine. $195.00 at etsy.com Vintage Maps and Lithographs Designer Ariel Okin says the secret to best utilizing Etsy is to search with as much specificity as possible. "If you're looking for ready-made Brunschwig & Fils pillows, search for the exact pattern you want," Okin says. "The more descriptive you can get in your search, the better your results will be." Okin says her team loves shopping on Etsy for a variety of reasons: supporting small businesses, finding one-of-a-kind fabrics and vintage pieces, and working with people from all over the globe. One of her favorites includes Fresh Vintage Market, which the designer explains has "an incredible variety of old vintage maps and lithographs." $175.00 at etsy.com Advertisement Vintage Maps and Lithographs Designer Ariel Okin says the secret to best utilizing Etsy is to search with as much specificity as possible. If you're looking for ready-made Brunschwig & Fils pillows, search for the exact pattern you want, Okin says. The more descriptive you can get in your search, the better your results will be. Okin says her team loves shopping on Etsy for a variety of reasons: supporting small businesses, finding one-of-a-kind fabrics and vintage pieces, and working with people from all over the globe. One of her favorites includes Fresh Vintage Market, which the designer explains has an incredible variety of old vintage maps and lithographs. $175.00 at etsy.com Monogrammed Items Etsy can be a treasure trove of handmade, antique, and one-of-a-kind items, but you have to be willing to hunt," Dallas-based designer Marie Flanigan says. "Discovering the perfect item or a talented independent craftsperson can be a little like finding a needle in a haystack." Flanigan says her team often sources antique French milking stools from Etsy, along with monogrammed items for children's bedrooms, which she loves to source from Peppermint Bee. $119.00 at etsy.com Monogrammed Items Etsy can be a treasure trove of handmade, antique, and one-of-a-kind items, but you have to be willing to hunt, Dallas-based designer Marie Flanigan says. Discovering the perfect item or a talented independent craftsperson can be a little like finding a needle in a haystack. Flanigan says her team often sources antique French milking stools from Etsy, along with monogrammed items for children's bedrooms, which she loves to source from Peppermint Bee. $119.00 at etsy.com European Textiles Lisa Fine, of the eponymous textiles brand, loves Etsy shop Textile Trunk for antique and vintage European textiles. The Shelburne, Vermont-based shop also makes its way to the Brimfield Antique Market in Massachusetts each summer if you want to see the items in person. $1195.00 at etsy.com Lighting "I love shopping on Etsy," New York-based designer Sheila Bridges proclaims."Its my go-to when I want to find reasonably priced things by small, creative makers. I know I am not going to end with something cookie cutter that everyone else has." Bridges says she loves finding lighting from DLdesignworks, who make everything from stone and wood sconces to chandeliers and pendant lights. $456.00 at etsy.com European Textiles Lisa Fine, of the eponymous textiles brand, loves Etsy shop Textile Trunk for antique and vintage European textiles. The Shelburne, Vermont-based shop also makes its way to the Brimfield Antique Market in Massachusetts each summer if you want to see the items in person. $1195.00 at etsy.com Lighting I love shopping on Etsy, New York-based designer Sheila Bridges proclaims. Its my go-to when I want to find reasonably priced things by small, creative makers. I know I am not going to end with something cookie cutter that everyone else has. Bridges says she loves finding lighting from DLdesignworks, who make everything from stone and wood sconces to chandeliers and pendant lights. $456.00 at etsy.com Custom Lampshades Marika Meyer calls out Cruel Mountain as one of her favorite Etsy stores to source custom shades. Often, if there is something you love featured in an Etsy storefront and it's not quite the right size, you can work with the maker to customize an option that fits your needs. "We love working with Lisa and her daughters at Cruel Mountain Designs," Meyer says. "Their lampshades are exquisitely crafted, and they offer the ability to customize the size and shape to fit any lamp or light fixture. They stock some beautiful ready-made options, but are also able to create shades using your own fabric." $185.00 at etsy.com Custom Lampshades Marika Meyer calls out Cruel Mountain as one of her favorite Etsy stores to source custom shades. Often, if there is something you love featured in an Etsy storefront and it's not quite the right size, you can work with the maker to customize an option that fits your needs. We love working with Lisa and her daughters at Cruel Mountain Designs, Meyer says. Their lampshades are exquisitely crafted, and they offer the ability to customize the size and shape to fit any lamp or light fixture. They stock some beautiful ready-made options, but are also able to create shades using your own fabric. $185.00 at etsy.com Paper and Silk Flowers Austin-based designer Marcus Mohon says he loves using Etsy for one-of-a-kind commissions, like an order of handmade paper flowers that he once applied all over a loft bed for a girl who loves Frida Kahlo. He says Etsy can really help bring your vision to life if you know exactly what you want. $5.25 at etsy.com Custom Sketches Sandra Lucas, designer and author of Expressive Interiors: Designing an Inviting Home, says Etsy is a great way to find artists who produce personalized home sketches, which she loves to give to clients after a project is completed. One of her favorite art vendors happens to be Mary Frances Smith. Etsy is a fantastic resource for art, particularly when youre looking for something custom," Lucas says. "Ive commissioned pieces from several artists on Etsy, most recently a painting for a home in Park City, Utah, that needed to be a very specific size so that it could slide to cover a wall-mounted TV." $60.00 at etsy.com Paper and Silk Flowers Austin-based designer Marcus Mohon says he loves using Etsy for one-of-a-kind commissions, like an order of handmade paper flowers that he once applied all over a loft bed for a girl who loves Frida Kahlo. He says Etsy can really help bring your vision to life if you know exactly what you want. $5.25 at etsy.com Custom Sketches Sandra Lucas, designer and author of Expressive Interiors: Designing an Inviting Home, says Etsy is a great way to find artists who produce personalized home sketches, which she loves to give to clients after a project is completed. One of her favorite art vendors happens to be Mary Frances Smith. Etsy is a fantastic resource for art, particularly when youre looking for something custom, Lucas says. Ive commissioned pieces from several artists on Etsy, most recently a painting for a home in Park City, Utah, that needed to be a very specific size so that it could slide to cover a wall-mounted TV. $60.00 at etsy.com TK New Intro You Might Also Like Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com. As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) Paysafe's ecommerce business had significant exposure to a single high risk client; (2) as a result, the Company's credit loss reserves and/or write-offs were understated; (3) Paysafe had an undisclosed issue with higher risk Merchant Category Codes, making its client services difficult to bank; (4) the foregoing issues were likely to have a material negative impact on the Company's revenue growth and overall revenue mix; (5) as a result, Paysafe was unlikely to meet its own previously issued financial guidance for fiscal year 2025; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On November 13, 2025, before the market opened, Paysafe announced third quarter financial results, including revenue of $433.8 million, which missed consensus estimates by $5.8 million, and a net loss of $87.7 million, a steep drop from the prior year period wherein the Company's net loss was only $12.98 million. The Company also slashed full year 2025 expected revenue to $17 million at the midpoint, and adjusted EPS $0.50 at the midpoint. The Company further revealed that its credit loss expense for the quarter was $13,220 "primarily [as] the result of a specific provision for expected chargebacks related to an individual merchant in the Merchant Solutions segment." The report revealed write-offs of $9,924 "driven by the write off of irrecoverable amounts receivable in the Merchant Solutions segment." On the same date, the Company held an earnings call during which CEO Bruce Lowthers revealed the Company "had a last-minute client that had to shut down that caused several million-dollar write-down in Q3." Lowthers further revealed the Company is in a market tier with "higher risk MCC [Merchant Category Codes] codes." Lowthers explained "those things sometimes are a little difficult to bank" and "sometimes the banks aren't open to the additional risk" "so, we've had a little bit of challenge with that with some of those MCC codes." On this news, Paysafe's stock price fell $2.80, or 27.6%, to close at $7.36 per share on November 13, 2025, on unusually heavy trading volume. The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Paysafe's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others. To learn more about the Paysafe Limited class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/PSFE or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook. Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP The contract for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tent facility in El Paso, Texas, is under review, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed in a statement. Camp East Montana, a detention center on the grounds of Fort Bliss, was opened in August by the Trump administration. The facility has faced criticism from immigrant advocates following the deaths of three detainees and a current measles outbreak. ICE detainee dies of 'presumed suicide' at Texas detention facility, agency says "ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody," Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "The contract for Camp East Montana was inherited from the Department of War. DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards." "DHS is reviewing this facility and contract," Bis added. "No decisions have been made related to contract extension, termination, or award." Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE - PHOTO: In this June 25, 2018, file photo, an entrance to Fort Bliss is shown, in Fort Bliss, Texas. Last year, Acquisition Logistics LLC, a Virginia-based company, was awarded $1.2 billion to build the 5,000 bed, short-term detention facility with an estimated date of completion of Sept. 30, 2027, according to a Department of Defense notice. Acquisition Logistics did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. Advertisement While DHS has not provided a reason for the review, a current measles outbreak has renewed calls from legal advocates who say detainees are not getting proper medical care. DHS confirmed to ABC News that there are currently 14 active measles cases at the facility. In a statement, Bis claimed medical staff were quarantining all detainees that may have come into contact with those infected. "This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives," Bis claimed, contradicting repeated claims of medical neglect and abuse at the facility made by the ACLU in December and by attorneys with clients being detained there. Crystal Sandoval, an accredited representative with Las Americas Advocacy Center, who attempted to meet with a potential client on Tuesday, says she was denied entry into the facility because of the outbreak. Sandoval says she was the first person who was granted access into the facility in August 2025 and has been sounding the alarm about what she calls widespread medical neglect. "I've had people be like, 'I want to be deported because I'm not getting my diabetic medication and if I continue like that, I'm going to have a diabetic coma,'" she told ABC News. Lawmakers have also increasingly called on DHS to provide more transparency about who theyre contracting with it, and to shut down the facility. "For months, we have sounded the alarm on the horrific conditions at this facilityfrom the tragic and preventable deaths of three individuals to the current measles outbreak that has put hundreds at risk," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., on Wednesday. "This $1.2 billion contract was awarded to a company with zero experience in detention management, and the results were as predictable as they were disastrous." HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) The U.S. Senate defeated a proposal to invoke the War Powers Act in connection to the conflict in Iran. The vote was 47-53. Here is how senators from Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois voted: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote to advance the measure. Paul, a critic of projecting U.S. military power abroad, said before the vote that Trump had abandoned the anti-war positions he ran on as a candidate for president in 2016. He said GOP colleagues should listen to the campaign message of Donald Trump that he ran on and that he won with, which was that he was opposed to regime change, that he was opposed to preemptive war. He said the strikes launched against Iran in recent days were inconsistent with the message that he ran on and there are a lot of people, I think, who are not that excited about being in another Middle Eastern war. Paul said conflict with Iran could drag out far longer than senior administration officials expect, pointing out that the war in Afghanistan lasted for two decades. Asked how long the fighting will last, Paul said: I dont think anybody knows. Sometimes it turns out worse to be anticipated. Nobody thought when they voted for the war in Afghanistan that wed be there 20 years and spend $2 trillion, he said. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Mitch McConnell voted against the measure. President Trump has made a bold and tough decision one that could transform the region for the better for generations to come, says McConnel. But there are risks involved. And I hope his Administration will work to explain the connection between the Commander-in-Chiefs worthy objectives and the military and diplomatic means to achieve them. Connecting ends and means is the essence of strategy, and its important for the Administration to explain to the American people how they intend to do so. Click here for McConnells full statement. Advertisement Sen. Todd Young (R-IND) Todd Young voted against the measure. However, he expressed concern that senior administration officials havent yet given a clear answer on how long the conflict will last. I look primarily to Congress. I think we should have asked more questions. [Media outlets] were reporting for weeks that were marching toward war, Young said. We should have been holding hearings and asking probing questions and making the case to get a greater measure of unity around this operation on the front end, but here we are. Were at war. Young, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that despite whatever misgivings he might have about how the lead-up to the military strikes was handled by the administration and lawmakers on key committees, it would be dangerous to pull troops out of the field now. As a practical matter it would be dangerous to the American people and our national security to withdraw all military action, involvement right now. The country of Iran and the surrounding region has been destabilized, he said. Senator Jim Banks (R-IND) Jim Banks voted against the measure. Senator Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) Dick Durbin voted to advance the measure. The Constitution clearly gives Congress the power to declare war, says Durbin. Its long overdue that Congress steps up to its responsibilities. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) Tammy Duckworth voted to advance the measure. Senate Republicans just blocked our bipartisan War Powers Resolution to rein in Trumps illegal war of choice against Iran, says Duckworth. They chose fealty to Trump over our troops lives. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). No suspects have been arrested following the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie -Credit:Savannah Guthrie/Instagram (Savannah Guthrie/Instagram) The search for Nancy Guthrie has taken another turn as authorities adjust their strategy almost five weeks after her disappearance. It has now been revealed that the Pima County Sheriffs Office announced it will be refocusing resources. Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona home on January 31 and investigators believe she was abducted the following early morning. According to journalist and YouTuber Brian Entin, the move involves a team of detectives being reassigned to a federal task force, working out of the FBIs office in Tucson. Remember, we heard from the sheriffs office that they will be refocusing resources, which is kind of hard to understand what that meant." It comes after a criminal attorney revealed the 6 huge red flags in Nancy's case that "don't add up." Nancy Guthrie cops speak out after 'body found floating' in pond near Arizona home Nancy Guthrie's neighbors provide chilling insight into 'hell on earth' kidnapping Advertisement Entin continued, What Sergeant Cross tells me is that it is going to be four detectives and a sergeant who are now going to be moved to the FBI office in Tucson as part of a task force. So, five people from the Pima County Sheriffs Department will be a part of a task force. Pretty much, it was every single detective in the Pima County Sheriffs Department who was working the Nancy Guthrie case. Nancy's family has remained concerned after the 84-year-old vanished from her home -Credit:savannahguthrie/Instagram Nancy Guthrie is the mom of Today show host Savannah Guthrie and her disappearance has left Tucson, Arizona, and the nation on edge. The retired teacher was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills neighbourhood on January 31, 2026, after an evening with family. When she failed to appear for a morning virtual church service the next day, alarm bells rang. Over the last few days, authorities managed to discover blood at her home that tested positive for Nancys DNA. Meanwhile, chilling surveillance footage shows a masked intruder at her front door around the time she vanished, suggesting a potential abduction. Nancy, who relied on daily medication, would have been unable to leave safely on her own. The Pima County Sheriffs Department, alongside the FBI, has been combing neighborhoods, reviewing hours of footage and following dozens of leads. A possible clue in the case recently turned out to be a dead end. Gloves discovered near the home were initially thought to belong to the suspect seen in the footage, but DNA testing later showed they belonged to a nearby restaurant worker who had no connection to the disappearance. Cops are pulling back -Credit:Getty Images In an interview with local outlet KVOA, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed, "There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding [the gloves], that is so far from the truth." "We knew that at that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street," Nanos said. "It has nothing to do with the case." However, no suspects have been publicly named and Nancys whereabouts remain unknown. The family has offered a $1 million reward in hopes of finding information about the missing pensioner as the investigation continues. Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono attends the 15th ASEAN - United Nations (UN) Summit, as part of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/Pool/File Photo By Stanley Widianto JAKARTA, March 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia's foreign minister said talks on U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace," of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing member, were on hold due to the Middle East war. The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air transport into chaos and sent oil prices surging after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. "All BoP discussions are on hold as all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran," Minister Sugiono, who goes by one name, said late on Tuesday in response to a question on calls for Indonesia to exit the peace board in the aftermath of the fresh conflict in the Middle East. "We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack," Sugiono told reporters after attending an event alongside President Prabowo Subianto. Indonesia's participation on the board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home, who say it compromises the worlds largest Muslim-majority nations longstanding support for the Palestinian cause. Advertisement Indonesia backs a two-state solution. The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, said on March 1 that Indonesia should leave the board, citing Trump's attack on Iran as rendering the initiative ineffective. Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, said Jakarta should use its position to press Israel and the United States to halt the violence. Trump first proposed the board in September when he unveiled a plan to end Israels war in Gaza, later expanding its remit to address other global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations. Sugiono also said Prabowo is willing to be a mediator in the Iran war in a bid "to cool down and de-escalate the situation in the region." Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army said, as part of the UN-mandated International Stabilization Force. It has also been given the deputy commander role of the force. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Nivedita Bhattacharjee) Universal History Archive - Getty Images "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." This story is a collaboration with Biography.com. In August 2019, Robert Ballard, the deep-sea explorer who uncovered the Titanic and John F. Kennedys WWII patrol boat, among other famous wrecks, set out on a mission to find the aircraft at the center of historys most enduring mystery: Amelia Earharts downed Lockheed Model 10-E Electra . On July 2, 1937, Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were en route to Howland Island in the Pacific, about 1,700 miles southwest of Honolulu. They were six weeks and 20,000 miles into their trip around the world. By then, Earhart had already become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and from Hawaii to the U.S. Mainland; her globetrotting trek would simply be the latest in a line of incredible accomplishments for the aviation pioneer. Earhart and Noonan, of course, never made it to Howland. Somewhere along the way, the Electra became too heavy and short on fuel, and the pilot and her navigator lost sight of the tiny, two-and-a-half-square-mile island in the middle of the ocean. No one knows exactly what happened next. Conventional wisdom holds that the Electra simply ran out of fuel and crash landed somewhere close to Howland, sinking thousands of feet into the ocean. Thats what the U.S. government believes, at least. But others think Earhart and Noonan instead landed about 350 nautical miles southeast of Howland, touching down on the coral reef barrier that surrounded Gardner Islandnow known as Nikumaroro Island. They point to the distress radio calls that came from the island over the next several nights following the purported crash. Ballard and Allison Fundis of the Ocean Exploration Trust searched the waters off Nikumaroro , while a team of archaeologists from National Geographic combed the island to find traces of the plane. During the expedition, National Geographic reported on a theory that might explain what happened to Earhart and Noonan if they indeed landed near Nikumaroro: Noonan died, the Electra floated away, and Earhart lived for weeks on the island with no creatures but the indigenous, three-foot-long coconut crabs to keep her company. Advertisement Those crabs, the theory goes, ate Earhart after she perished on the island. In 1940, British settlers found 13 bones, including a skull, on the islandpossibly that of Amelia Earhardt [sic], according to a telegram sent after the discovery. Upon further examination, doctors said the bones belonged to a short, European male, though some anthropologists disagree with the assessment. But if the 13 bones did belong to Earhart, what happened to the other 193 in a human skeleton that werent found? Credit the crabs: The Brits who uncovered the bones said coconut crabs had scattered many bones, per the National Geographic report. To test this theory, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) gave the crabs a pig carcass to feast on. Turns out the crabs swarmed the pigs body, removed most of its flesh, and moved some of the bones as far as 60 feet away. This tells us crabs drag bones, TIGHARs Tom King told National Geographic. While Ballard and co. left Nikumaroro without the Electra after a visual examination of 100 percent of the island down to 2,400 feet, Ballard couldnt find any evidence of the planethe search may not be over. National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert and his team may have found fragments of the skull from 1940 in the Te Umwanibong Museum and Cultural Centre in Tarawa, Kiribati. And forensic anthropologists say it belonged to an adult female. We dont know if its [Earhart] or not, the University of South Floridas Erin Kimmerle told National Geographic, but all lines of evidence point to the 1940 bones being in this museum. Kimmerle reconstructed the skull, and the team sent it out for DNA testing. It wasnt until earlier this year that Hiebert told Radio Kiribati the DNA results showed the bones actually belonged to a young Polynesian women who had lived in Kiribati 1,000 years ago, as reported by Radio New Zealand. We might never know what truly happened to Amelia Earhart, whether she was eaten by crabs or eventually met up with D.B. Cooper and Jimmy Hoffa to hang on a beach in Mexico. But 88 years after her disappearance, Earhart still matters more than ever . You Might Also Like Gov. Gavin Newsom voiced his support for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reelection bid, but what remains to be seen is whether his comments aid the mayor in a race shaken up by a last-minute entry from City Councilmember Nithya Raman. The governor was asked whether he supports Bass reelection as Los Angeles mayor in a Good Luck America interview released on March 2. Newsom said he broadly does, adding that hes known her for years. We have a great collaborative relationship, Newsom said in a clip shared by Peter Hamby, host of Good Luck America. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire continues to burn near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. He said Bass has a remarkable capacity to do good things and that he believed in her. In response to a question from Hamby about Bass' opposition to one of Newsom's orders on homelessness as well as a bill on housing, the governor said they could get into some of the merits of where she was on some housing bills and homeless issues. Although Hamby did not provide specifics on the order he was referring to, Bass was critical of Newsoms executive order in July 2024 that in part urged local governments to clear homeless encampments, according to a statement reported by the Desert Sun, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. The following month, the California governor threated to cut state money to counties failing to show results in addressing homelessness. Bass had also asked Newsom to veto Senate Bill 79 in September 2025, which the housing advocacy organization California YIMBY said will allow for new housing near transit stops like rail stations. In her letter to Newsom, Bass supported creating more housing near transit hubs, but not in a way that would erode local control, diminish community input on planning and zoning, and disproportionately impact low-resource neighborhoods. Newsom signed it into law the following month. Newsom added that he and Bass would continue to kick the tires on a daily, not just weekly, basis on issues such as fire recovery and rights to permitting, presumably referring to the Palisades Fire that destroyed scores of homes in the Pacific Palisades, which is under the citys jurisdiction. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January that aims to speed up rebuilding post Palisades and Eaton fires and criticized permitting at the local and state level. But those are areas where well work those things out, Newsom said. Advertisement Bass has been criticized over her handling of the Los Angeles fires in January 2025 including by fellow mayoral candidate and The Hills alum Spencer Pratt and has faced scrutiny over her alleged involvement in watering down an after-action report about the Palisades Fire published in 2025, according to investigations by the Los Angeles Times. The Times reported Bass' office "denied making changes to the drafts," referring to the after-action report, and that the mayor had been critical of the response to the fire, so there was "no reason why she would request those details be altered or erased." Raman, a Los Angeles city councilmember and urban planner, joined the mayoral race just before a key filing deadline on Feb. 7, a move that came as other big names had bowed out. Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner exited the race on Feb. 5 following the death of his daughter, and billionaire developer Rick Caruso confirmed he wasnt going to run, according to multiple reports in early February. More than 40 people filed a declaration of intent for the position. March 4 was the deadline for candidates to file a nominating petition, which is required if they want to appear on the ballot in June. Other candidates include Pratt, who rose to fame through reality TV. He lost his home in the Palisades Fire and has described himself as Basss worst nightmare. When do we vote for Los Angeles mayor 2026? The mayoral election will be held on June 2, 2026. It comes as voters across the state will determine the two candidates that will be on the ballot for the gubernatorial election in November. Newsom recently commented on the race to replace him, saying that people arent talking about the governors race when hes out in communities. Its been hard, I think, to focus on that race, Newsom said, pointing to the attention on President Donald Trump, redistricting and other matters. Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Does Newsom support Bass in LA mayor race? Here's what he said The United States has officially declared war 11 times in the nations history, the first time for the War of 1812 and most recently for World War II. According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the exclusive authority to declare war, but Congress has always exercised that power in response to a formal request from the president. Since World War II, the U.S. has engaged in extended military conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, but none of those conflicts received an official declaration of war. Instead, Congress passed authorizations for the use of military force that allowed for the deployment of U.S. troops without requiring a full declaration of war. What Is the Procedure for Declaring War? Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution says that Congress has the power To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water. Although the founding document doesnt lay out a formal procedure for declaring war, the president and Congress have followed the same process all 11 times that war has been declared: The president, in person or in writing, formally requests a declaration of war from Congress, citing armed attacks or direct threats to U.S. citizens or territories. The Senate and House of Representatives meet separately to draft legislation authorizing a declaration of war. Members of the Senate and House vote by a simple majority to pass the legislation. The president signs the bill or joint resolution declaring that a state of war exists between the U.S. and another countrys government. For example, a day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress. Calling December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, Roosevelt requested a formal declaration of war. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. The Senate took up the matter immediately and within minutes passed a joint resolution declaring war on Japan by a vote of 82-0. The House followed with its own roll call vote of 388-1, and Roosevelt signed the war declaration the very same day, December 8. Advertisement Is an Official Declaration Necessary to Go to War? The U.S. hasnt issued an official declaration of war since 1942, when it declared war on five different Axis powers during World War II: Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Instead, since World War II, Congress has mostly issued authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs) in place of declarations of war. It was AUMFs that authorized presidents to commit U.S. troops to the wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as to conduct targeted strikes against various terrorist organizations and rogue states. (President Harry S. Truman characterized the Korean War as a police action that didnt require a formal declaration of war from Congress.) According to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must submit a report to Congress within 48 hours of sending U.S. forces into hostilities. Congress then has 60 days to issue either a declaration of war or an AUMF. If Congress doesnt give its authorization within 60 days, the president must withdraw the forces, with a possible 30-day extension for safe removal. Its not clear, however, whether the president needs any kind of congressional approval for taking military action. The Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war, but Article II, Section 2 also names the president Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. Lawyers for the executive branch have questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution, arguing that presidents can take any military action they please as long as it doesnt rise to the level of war in the constitutional sense. The issue of the scope of the presidents war powers is a matter of ongoing debate and has not been settled by the Supreme Court. U.S. scout plane dive bombers flying in formation over the Pacific, circa June 1942. The post How Does the US Officially Declare War? appeared first on HISTORY. (Photo Credit: Matthew Horwood / Getty Images) President Donald Trumps estranged niece, Mary Trump, corrected her uncles recent claim that his father, Fred Trump, was born in Germany during a meeting with the German Chancellor. She set the record straight about the familys actual origins. Mary Trump debunks Donald Trumps recent comment The correction came after Donald Trump, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week, suggested his father was born in Germany. That country, U.K., and I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there. My father was bornhe knows all about my fathermy father was born there. Theyre places you sort of automatically feel very warmly about, Donald said. Trump with German Chancellor Merz next to him: "My father was born he knows all about my father my father was born there. These are places you automatically feel warmly about." pic.twitter.com/9wgelu0per Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026 Mary Trump responded directly on X, writing: This is not the kind of insider knowledge most people have access to, but my grandfather, Fred Trump, Sr., was not born in Germany; he was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queenssomething youd think his favorite son would know. This is not the kind of insider knowledge most people have access to, but my grandfather, Fred Trump, Sr., was not born in Germany; he was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queenssomething you'd think his favorite son would know. Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) March 4, 2026 Historical records support Mary Trumps claim. According to a New York Times obituary, Donald Trumps father was born in New York City in 1905. While Fred Trump was indeed born in the United States, Trumps grandfather, Freds father, was born in Germany, which may explain the source of the presidents confusion. Advertisement Progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan weighed in on X, writing: Imagine if Joe Biden had forgotten where his own dad was born. By the way, this isnt the first time that Trump has falsely claimed his dad was born in Germany when he was actually born in New York. 25th Amendment. The 25th Amendment allows the Cabinet to vote to declare a president incapacitated and enable the vice president to assume power. Critics have periodically raised questions about the presidents mental fitness, though the president and White House officials maintain he is in perfect health. White House Communications Director Steven Cheang has previously dismissed Marys critiques, telling Newsweek, Mary Trump is a stone-old [sic] loser who doesnt have a clue about anything. The post Donald Trumps Niece Corrects His Claims of Father Being Born in Germany appeared first on Mandatory. A series of Iranian drone and missile attacks earlier this week caused one of Dubai's most well-known luxury hotels to catch fire -Credit:AP (AP) Prices for luxurious five-star hotels in Dubai plummeted this week as waves of Iranian drones continued to wreak havoc across the Middle East. In the wake of Tehran's retaliatory strikes against Middle Eastern cities, Dubai has dramatically cut the cost of some of its most upscale resorts in an apparent attempt to salvage what's left of the tourism scene. The Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah hotel, which has a private sand beach, typically charges between $400 and $800 per night. Now, one night costs around $255, according to its website. The Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel, which once charged around $236 per night, is now going for just $76. Terrifying moment debris from Iran missile hits 5-star Dubai hotel as inferno erupts The startling impact of the Strait of Hormuz being crippled in numbers A series of Iranian drone and missile attacks earlier this week caused one of Dubai's most well-known luxury hotels to catch fire, rocking the city's sparkling skyline overnight. The "seven-star" Burj Al-Arab was shown on camera catching fire following what witnesses claimed was an attack by Tehran in response for Israeli and US airstrikes against Iran. Authorities later claimed that the fire at the iconic hotel was started by debris from an intercepted drone. Just hours after strikes targeted Tehran, a suicide drone struck the Palm Jumeirah Fairmont Hotel nearby, another major tourist destination for Westerners, injuring four people. Advertisement The Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel, which once charged around $236 per night, is now going for just $76. -Credit:X Iran also fired missiles against US sites in Qatar, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi, and attacked residential towers in Bahrain. The moment the Fairmont was hit by what has been called a Shahed drone was captured in dramatic videos that are making the rounds online. Another Iranian drone crashed into what is thought to be the opulent Era View Tower in Bahrain. Debris tumbled onto the streets below as a fireball exploded close to the top of the structure. Whether there were casualties is yet unknown. Four individuals were injured in the strike on the Fairmont, according to the Dubai Media Office. Dubai Civil Defence has confirmed that the resulting fire is now under control. Four individuals sustained injuries and have been transferred to medical facilities, it said. Iran also fired missiles against US sites in Qatar, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi, and attacked residential towers in Bahrain -Credit:X Ambulances raced to the scene, according to witnesses, while smoke billowed over the Palm, a man-made island associated with Dubai's opulence and wealth. Iran is said to have attacked the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, with an explosion that caused a mushroom cloud of smoke to rise into the sky. After US and Israeli forces attacked many Iranian cities, including the headquarters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, anarchy broke out. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories Unnamed sources told Israeli station Channel 12 that there were "growing indications" that Khamenei had either been killed or "hurt at the very least" during the strikes. Since then, Iran has attacked Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in retaliation. Art by Michael Stillwell Though the fifth season of Yellowstone aired its (probably) final episode in 2024, we haven't closed the book on Dutton family history quite yet. With the premiere of the show's first official spinoff, Marshals, it's only natural that Montana's most famous ranching family is still on our minds. The complicated Dutton relationships on the flagship series were tricky enough to keep track of, but combined with the characters from the prequels, 1883, 1923, and the announced 1944, there are a lot of Duttons to keep tabs on. With that in mind, T&C has put together a guide to make understanding all of those familial connections easier. Scroll on for everything we know (so far) about the lineage of Yellowstones first family. Spoilers ahead! The Duttons Design by Michael Stillwell 1883 James Dutton The patriarch of 1883, James (Tim McGraw) was a farmer from Tennessee. Haunted by his experiences in the Civil War, where he served in the Confederate army during the Battle of Antietam and was later held as a prisoner of war, James chose to strike out for a new life out west with his family in 1883. Along with his wife, Margaret, their children, Elsa and John, Jamess sister Claire, and Claires daughter Mary Abel, James set out with a wagon train from Fort Worth, Texas, but the journey was dogged by tragedy. Following the death of Elsa on the trail, John and his remaining family decided to settle in Montana, on what would one day become the famous Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Margaret Dutton The confident and uncompromising wife of James, Margaret (Faith Hill) was the Dutton family matriarch in 1883. A strong leader and fiercely protective of her family, she set out with James and their family on the trail westward, only to settle on a homestead in Montana after the death of their daughter Elsa. Elsa Dutton Spirited Elsa (Isabel May) was the eldest child of James and Margaret Dutton and served as the narrator of 1883. Passionate and willful, Elsa was a skilled horseback rider and cowgirl, much to her mothers chagrin. At the age of seventeen, she set out on a wagon train with her family in search of a new start in the west. Along the trail, she fell in love with a cowboy, Ennis, and the two planned to marry before Ennis was shot by a group of bandits. Later, Elsa became entangled with Sam, a Comanche warrior who saved her life on the trail. Though she and Sam acknowledged that she was his wife, he felt he could not leave his lands and people, and Elsa agreed to return to him after her family had completed their journey and found a homestead. However, not long after, Elsa was shot by an arrow during a retaliatory attack on the wagon train and ultimately died of her wounds. In her honor, James settled their remaining family on the spot in Montana where Elsa took her last breath. Sam A Comanche warrior who the Duttons met along the wagon trail in 1883, Sam (Martin Sensmeier) professed to have taken his name from the man who killed his wife. He later began a romance with Elsa Dutton, and the two married without official ceremony. Feeling he belonged to the land and could not leave it, Sam remained behind as Elsa traveled on with her family, with the promise that she would return to him. Claire nee Dutton James Duttons stern sister (Dawn Olivieri) was less than enthused about joining James and his family on their excursion out west, but joined them under protest, along with her teenage daughter Mary Abel, after she was left widowed and without options by the death of her husband Henry. Claire didnt make it far along the trail, though. After a gang of neer-do-wells retaliated to Claires scorn by shooting several members of the wagon train, including Mary Abel, Claire died by suicide beside her daughters grave. Henry The husband of Clairesister of James Dutton. He died sometime shortly before the events of 1883, leading his wife and daughter, Mary Abel, to travel with the Duttons. Mary Abel The only one of Claire and Henrys seven children to survive until 1883, Mary Abel (Emma Malouff) was briefly on the trail to Oregon with her uncle James Dutton and his family. Not far outside of Fort Worth, Texas, their group was harassed by a local gang and in the midst of the altercation, Mary Abel was shot dead. 1923 John Dutton Sr. The son of James and Margaret Dutton, John (James Badge Dale) was only a child when his family founded their homestead in Montanathe land that would ultimately become the Yellowstone Dutton ranch. As an adult, he worked with his uncle, Jacob Dutton, on the family land and had a family of his own; his wife Emma and son Jack. John was ultimately killed in an ambush by the family's enemies. Emma Dutton The wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton. After the death of her beloved husband, John, Emma (Marley Shelton) died by suicide. Jack Dutton Carrying on his familys heritage, Jack (Darren Mann) worked with his father, John Dutton Sr. and great-uncle, Jacob Dutton on the familys Montana ranch. (Note: As Jack is sometimes a nickname for John, it's possible that Jack is John Dutton Jr. but that has not been confirmed onscreen.) He went on to marry Elizabeth, the well-mannered daughter of another local rancher. During 1923's second season, Jack was shockingly killed, leaving the newly-pregnant Elizabeth a widow. Elizabeth Dutton The wife of Jack, Elizabeth was East Coast educated before returning to Montana to marry her sweetheart. Elizabeth miscarried once, then later, after being bitten by a rabid wolf, discovered that she was pregnant once again. However, after her husband was killed by the Dutton family's enemies, Elizabeth ultimately decided to return to Boston where her family was living. Her fate, and the fate of her second pregnancy, has not been revealed yet. Spencer Dutton The second son of James and Margaret Dutton, Spencer was born some time after the family settled in Montana. Spencer also served in WWI, fighting in the battle at Argonne, and, like his father, remained haunted by his experiences on the battlefield. Rather than returning to the family's ranch after the war, he became a big game hunter in Africa. It was there he met his wife, Alexandra, before deciding to return to America to help his family on the ranch. After a harrowing journey back to Montana, Spencer helped save the 1923 Duttons and was briefly reunited with his wife Alex. However Alex died shortly thereafter, prematurely delivering the couple's only son, John Dutton II. Following Alex's death, Spencer never remarried, though he did have one illegitimate son with a widowso far neither her name nor the name of their son has been revealed onscreen. Spencer died 45 years after returning to Montana in 1969, passing away on the grave of his beloved wife. Alexandra Dutton Free spirited Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) was in Africa to celebrate her impending marriage to the son of the Earl of Sussex before she fell into the arms of Spencer Dutton. Though their courtship was far from typical for a British aristocrat (rogue leopards, sinking tugboats, and hungry sharks tend to do that) the couple nonetheless married while on the way to America to rejoin Spencer's family in Montana. Though they were forcibly separated after Spencer killed her former fiancee in a duel, the now-pregnant Alexandra ultimately left her family behind, traveling to America in secret to try and find Spencer and his family in Montana. Alex endured a difficult journey across the America, finally reaching Montana only to have the car she was traveling in run out of gas in the midst of a frozen wasteland. Though she was finally rescued, Alex suffered severe frostbite. Rather than allowing her extremities to be amputated and her pregnancy to end, Alex chose to prematurely deliver her son, John Dutton IIshe succumbed to her injuries shortly thereafter. Jacob Dutton The brother of James Dutton, Jacob (Harrison Ford) became the family patriarch in his brothers stead in the early 1900s. Married to Cara, he worked the Dutton homestead alongside his nephew, John Sr. and great-nephew Jack. Advertisement Cara Dutton The wife of Jacob Dutton, Cara (Helen Mirren) was the matriarch of the Dutton family in 1923. An immigrant herself, Cara faced off with fellow ranchers and shepherds while standing in her wounded husband's stead on the livestock commission, and acted as the head of the family during troubled times. Yellowstone John Dutton II The second John in the family, he would go on to become the father of John Dutton III, and grandfather to Lee, Jamie, Beth, and Kayce Dutton. His exact lineage was one of the Dutton universe's longest running mysteries, however, in the second season of 1923, it is revealed that he was, in fact, the son of Spencer and Alexandra Dutton, meaning he not only comes from ranching royalty, but also has ties to the British aristocracy as well. Thus far, only pieces of his life have been shown across the the Dutton shows, but given the timing, it seems likely that he will play a significant role in the announced 1944. John Dutton III No one in the Dutton family took their obligation to the land more seriously than John (Kevin Costner), former owner of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranchthe largest contiguous ranch in the United States. A wealthy, powerful, uncompromising man, John lived by his own moral code, sometimes skirting the law, and sometimes outright flouting it to achieve his endsa prospect made all the trickier when he became governor of Montana. John had a complicated relationship with his children, the now-deceased Lee, Jamie, Beth, and Kacey, but doted on his grandson, Tate. Following the exit of Costner between the first and second halves of season 5, John was written out of the show, having been murdered by a contract killer hired by Jamie and his paramour Sarah Atwood. The scene was staged to make the death appear self-inflicted but was later discovered to have been a murder. Evelyn Dutton Perhaps the great love of John Duttons life, his wife Evelyn (Gretchen Mol) died in a horseback riding accident when her children were young. Both Beth and Kayce were with her at the time of her accident, and each carried their own trauma around the event, with Beth in particular feeling at fault for her mothers death. Lee Dutton The world of Yellowstone could have been much different if not for the death of John and Evelyns eldest son, Lee (Dave Annable). As the first born, it was Lee who John had planned to leave the ranch to, but in a skirmish over stolen cattle, Lee was killed, kicking off a complicated issue of inheritance for his remaining siblings. Jamie Dutton The black sheep of the Dutton family, Jamie (Wes Bentley) struggled with both resentment and respect for his father, John. Having spent much of his life desperately searching for approval, lawyer Jamie intermittently sided with and betrayed his familys goals, and maintained a deeply adversarial relationship with his sister, Beth. As an adult, he accidentally discovered that he was not a biological member of the Dutton family, having been adopted by John and Evelyn when his biological father was imprisoned for murdering Jamies mother when Jamie was an infant. He shares a son with former campaign worker and one-time girlfriend, Christina. Along with Sarah Atwood, a consultant for the firm Market Equities who were a longtime adversary of the Duttons with whom Jamie became romantically involved, he contracted a murder on John (though it was somewhat unclear whether he had intended to have Beth killed instead.) After being linked to the murder for hire, Jamie was ultimately stabbed by Beth during an altercation in his home. While his body was dumped at the infamous "train station," the public was led to believe that Jamie was on the run. Christina The mother of Jamies son, Christina (Katherine Cunningham) met Jamie while working on his campaign for state attorney general. Later she joins up with Jamies biological father, Garrett Randall, to encourage Jamie to work against the Duttons. James Dutton (II) Some time after Christina ended her relationship with Jamie, she gave birth to a baby boy. During the show's fifth season, it's revealed that the boy was named after his father, though it was not initially clear whether his name was James or Jamietoward the end of the fifth season, it was finally revealed that his name is James. Beth Dutton The only daughter of John Dutton, Beth (Kelly Reilly) has a reputation for being relentless and cutthroatboth in business and her personal life. Nonetheless, Beth does have a secret softer side, one thats only revealed in her unwavering dedication to her father, and her decades-long love for her husband, Rip. Beth is the familys corporate shark, going head-to-head with business interests that threatened the Dutton land, though she herself felt no special connection to the ranch. She had particular hatred for Jamie, who caused her to be involuntarily sterilized as a teenager, and vowed to ruin any semblance of happiness in his life. Beth immediately believed Jamie was behind the death of their father in season five and ultimately helped kill him in the Yellowstone finale. Following the sale of the Dutton land at the end of Yellowstone, Beth purchased a small ranch where she moved with Rip and their psuedo-adopted son, Carter. Rip Wheeler John Duttons longtime righthand man, Rip (Cole Hauser) came to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch as a wayward teenager. On the run after killing the man who had murdered his family, Rip was taken under Johns wing and became fiercely dedicated to him, taking on even the most unsavory and secretive jobs. Perhaps the only competition with John for Rips loyalty was his devotion to Beth. Though they fell in love as teenagers, it took decades before they shared a real relationship, battling through their mutual demons and ultimately getting married. Kayce Dutton The youngest of the Dutton siblings, former Navy SEAL Kayce (Luke Grimes) inherited his familys fiery temperament. He had a contentious relationship with his father, John, though they shared a love of ranching and the land. They were estranged for many years, in part because of Kayces relationship with his wife, Monica, and his decision not to let his son Tate get close to the rest of the family. Though he returned to the Dutton fold, Kayce remained uneasy in his position, doubting whether he could maintain the ranch and his own marriage. At the end of Yellowstone, Kayce sold off the Dutton land, minus a small section he kept for himself, Monica, and Tate to ranch, to the Broken Rock reservation. Following Monica's death, Kayce joined a task force of U.S. Marshals in Montana. Monica Dutton Independent and justice-minded Monica (Kelsey Asbille) was never one to back down from what she thought was right, even if it meant going against the grain. Raised on the Broken Rock Reservation, Monica served as a teacher both on the reservation and at the state university. She was often distrustful of the Dutton family, whom she viewed as a potentially dangerous influence on her and Kayces son, Tate. In season five of the show, she lost her unborn son in a car accident on the way to the hospital to give birth. In the premiere of the Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, it was revealed that Monica died of cancer some time after the Yellowstone finale. Tate Dutton The son of Kayce and Monica, enthusiastic Tate (Brecken Merrill) has less hesitation about his Dutton relatives than his parents. Though hes experienced trauma due to his connection with the family, having once been kidnapped because of them, he nonetheless seems to love the ranching life. He got along well with his grandfather, John, who viewed Tate as the ranchs future. After the finale of Yellowstone, Tate experienced the trauma of his mother's death; a challenge he's still dealing with on Marshals. You Might Also Like QTS reaffirms its commitments to strengthen local prosperity and deliver America's digital infrastructure responsibly ASHBURN, Va., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- QTS Data Centers ("QTS") is announcing its Commitment to Communities, reaffirming a long-established focus on putting communities first. QTS is committed to the places it calls home and to strengthening local economies, advancing sustainability, protecting residents' energy rates, and responsibly delivering the infrastructure that enables modern digital life. QTS Community Commitments For more than 20 years, QTS has set a standard with its core values building the right way, serving communities and making a meaningful difference. QTS holds itself to the highest standards for being a valued partner to communities: We pay for the energy costs of our data centers so they do not increase local utility bills. We build data centers that consume no water. We create good jobs in communities in which we operate. We support local community projects that matter to you. We lead with openness and transparency. Tag Greason and David Robey, Co-CEOs of QTS said: "As an industry leader, our focus is and always has been building lasting partnerships in the communities where we live and work. We commit to taking the time to understand local priorities and invest in ways that create long-term economic opportunities. Our Commitment to Communities captures this promise." QTS Community Commitments We pay for the energy costs of our data centers so they do not increase local utility bills. QTS funds 100% of our data centers' energy needs, so that costs related to our projects are not pushed onto ratepayers. We partner with utilities to help build out American infrastructure without raising power costs for the community, and we ensure supportive grid planning and sufficient power capacity. We prioritize carbon-free, renewable energy through long-term utility partnerships. We and Blackstone plan to build more power generation capacity than QTS data centers use. We build data centers that consume no water. As industry leaders in water preservation, we are proud to save billions of gallons of water annually. We build data centers that use our closed-loop system, so they do not consume water for cooling. We are committed to continual improvement of sustainability through research and innovation. We create good jobs in communities in which we operate. QTS data centers generate significant local value through an expansive ecosystem of jobs, including employees of QTS and its tenants, as well as local construction workers, contractors and suppliers. QTS will create 40,000 high-paying jobs in the U.S. this year, with $150,000 average annual pay. We prioritize hiring veterans and people from the community, and local community businesses are meaningfully supported by our presence. We support local community projects that matter to you. Data centers are long-term developments that help communities invest in growth, enrich neighborhoods and improve lives over many years. QTS data centers generate tax revenues and help fund local programs. We support community priorities with resources for new parks, hospitals, schools, roads and first responders. We lead with openness and transparency. We build facilities that communities across our country can rely on for decades. In the places we call home, we seek to engage, listen and collaborate with local leaders and community stakeholders to ensure our developments bring long-term benefits to communities. We hold town halls and maintain open and consistent dialogue with the community. As demand for digital infrastructure grows, QTS remains focused on being a good neighbor and building lasting partnerships in every community we serve. To learn more about our long-standing pledge to the communities we call home, visit qtsdatacenters.com/commitments. About QTS Data Centers QTS is a global data center leader with unrivaled access to scalable infrastructure across North America and Europe. Powered by People and Driven by Purpose, QTS provides state-of-the-art data center solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises and government entities. QTS is a Blackstone portfolio company. Let's connect: qtsdatacenters.com | 877.QTS.DATA Media Contacts: QTS Data Centers, [email protected] SOURCE QTS QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Ecuador declared Cubas ambassador, Basilio Antonio Gutierrez, and his diplomatic staff persona non grata on Wednesday and gave them 48 hours to leave the South American country. Ecuadors Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the measure was adopted within the framework of international diplomatic law, but didn't say why they were forcing the diplomats to leave. The Vienna Convention allows countries to declare diplomatic personnel a persona non grata without explanation. Shortly after the announcement, a man could be seen on the roof of the Cuban Embassy in Quito burning a bag of papers in a oven. The burning was witnessed by the Associated Press and later posted in a video on social media by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who remarked bluntly: A paper barbecue. Ecuadorian officials did not provide more details on the incident or identify the man. Cuba's government strongly rejected the move in a statement on Wednesday night, calling it an unfriendly and unprecedented act that significantly damages the historic relations of friendship and cooperation between both countries." This action also demonstrates the contempt of the current government of Ecuador for the diplomatic practices and courtesies observed by the international community, wrote Cuba's Foreign Ministry. The decision follows an executive order signed Tuesday by Noboa in which he canceled Ecuadorian ambassador to Cuba Jose Maria Borja's diplomatic duties, also without explanation. The same day, the United States and Ecuador announced they have begun joint military operations against organized crime groups in the Andean nation. Noboa has sought to position himself as a tough-on-crime leader in the wake of a surge of armed group violence in recent years. Advertisement The measure comes amid mounting pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump on Cuba, which intensified after a U.S. military operation deposed former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Since, Trump has placed restrictions of oil sales to Cuba and said the government was ready to fall. Ecuador is one of the Trump administrations allies and collaborators in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime in the region. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday in a post on X that it seemed like "no coincidence that Ecuador expelled Cuba's diplomatic staff at the same time the U.S. was asserting pressure on Cuba and other governments in the region, and ahead of a meeting of mostly right-wing Latin American leaders in Miami next week, which Noboa is slated to attend. Ecuador and Cuba have maintained bilateral relations since 1960, which have ebbed and flowed with shifts in Ecuadorian politics. The Wednesday decision has an ideological component, said Andrea Endara, coordinator of Political Science and International Relations at Casa Grande University. She said that Noboa has aligned himself with the interests of the United States. The effective expulsion of the Cuban officials follows a number of diplomatic dramas between Ecuador and other Latin American nations in recent years. In 2024, Ecuadorian officials raided the Mexican embassy to arrest the former vice president taking shelter there. Experts said this was a blatant violation of international law, causing Mexico to cut off relations. More recently, a trade war has broken out between Ecuador and neighboring Colombia, which Noboas government accused of not doing enough to crack down on crime on their shared border. ___ Follow APs Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america Ecuador Cuba (26063802303502) Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced that Cuba's ambassador and his staff were "persona non grata," giving them just 48 hours to vacate the country. The ministry said the severing of its diplomatic ties with Cuba and Basilio Antonio Gutierrez was within the bounds of international diplomatic law under the Vienna Convention, but did not elaborate on its reasons for doing so. Cuba's government called the action an "unfriendly and unprecedented act that significantly damages the historic relations of friendship and cooperation between both countries." Shortly after the declaration, a man on the roof of the Cuban Embassy in Quito was filmed burning a bag of papers in an oven. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa later posted the video to social media with the caption: "A paper barbecue." Officials in Ecuador had not identified the man or offered additional details by Wednesday night. The decision follows an executive order signed Tuesday by Noboa in which he canceled Ecuadorian ambassador to Cuba Jose Maria Borja's diplomatic duties, also without explanation, according to The Associated Press. The same day, the United States and Ecuador announced they had begun joint military operations against organized crime groups in the Andean nation. Noboa has sought to position himself as a tough-on-crime leader in the wake of a surge of armed group violence in recent years. The measure comes amid mounting pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump on Cuba (Image: AFP via Getty Images) The measure comes amid mounting pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump on Cuba, which intensified after a U.S. military operation deposed former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump has since placed restrictions on oil sales to Cuba and said the government was "ready to fall." Ecuador is one of the Trump administration's allies and collaborators in the fight against alleged drug trafficking and organized crime in the region. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday in a post on X that it seemed like "no coincidence" that Ecuador expelled Cuba's diplomatic staff at the same time the U.S. was asserting pressure on Cuba and other governments in the region, and ahead of a meeting of mostly right-wing Latin American leaders in Miami next week, which Noboa is slated to attend. Ecuador and Cuba have maintained bilateral relations since 1960, which have ebbed and flowed with shifts in Ecuadorian politics. Advertisement The Wednesday decision has an "ideological component," said Andrea Endara, coordinator of Political Science and International Relations at Casa Grande University. She said that Noboa "has aligned himself with the interests of the United States." The effective expulsion of the Cuban officials follows a number of diplomatic dramas between Ecuador and other Latin American nations in recent years. In 2024, Ecuadorian officials raided the Mexican embassy to arrest the former vice president taking shelter there. Experts said this was a blatant violation of international law, causing Mexico to cut off relations. More recently, a trade war has broken out between Ecuador and neighboring Colombia, which Noboa's government accused of not doing enough to crack down on crime on their shared border. DON'T MISS... Ecuador and Cuba have maintained bilateral relations since 1960, which have ebbed and flowed with shifts in Ecuadorian politics (Image: AFP via Getty Images) U.S. Southern Command said in a statement late Tuesday that Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces had launched operations in a "powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism." A 30-second video accompanying a post on X showed a helicopter flying over a group of men walking on the ground, but the footage stops without revealing more about the location, the AP reported. "We are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere," the post added, without providing other details of the operation. Gen. Henry Delgado, head of Ecuador's Joint Command, said Wednesday during a Quito security forum that "certain operations" took place on Tuesday, but didn't provide details of any operations on Ecuadorian soil. "We are certain that our actions are for the benefit of our beloved Ecuador, especially with the backing of international organizations and other nations," he said. ]]> Ecuadorian forces sank a "narco sub" near its northern border as the nation works with the United States military to crack down on organized crime in the country, Ecuador's defense ministry said Wednesday. Ecuador and the U.S. began joint military operations on Tuesday, the U.S. Southern Command said on social media. The scope of the operation is not clear. The U.S. Southern Command shared a video of a helicopter flying over a group of men, but officials did not disclose where the footage was taken. "We are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere," the agency said. Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa said earlier this week that his government was beginning joint actions with other countries as part of a new strategy in the fight against organized crime, the Associated Press reported. Ecuador and the U.S. often collaborate on security issues. The South American country has faced a sustained wave of violence linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining, according to the Associated Press. Ecuador's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a "military operation enabled the discovery of a clandestine camp and narco-vessel" in the CayapasMataje mangrove forest that was ready to be used for "illicit activities." The boat, also referred to as a "narco-submersible," was about 115 feet long and "ready to begin a prolonged voyage," the ministry said. Officials said the vessel was "presumably intended for drug trafficking." Photos show multiple military members standing atop the sub, which appears to be covered in plant debris. Advertisement CAE NARCO - SEMISUMERGIBLE EN LA FRONTERA NORTE! Operacion militar permitio descubrir un campamento clandestino y una narco-embarcacion lista para iniciar navegacion en actividades ilicitas. Tras la ejecucion de una operacion militar en la frontera norte del pais, las pic.twitter.com/4RfmfYL9fZ Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) March 4, 2026 Military personnel were shot at after discovering the site and returned fire, the defense ministry said. Officials did not say if there were any deaths or injuries among military personnel or those at the camp. In addition to the submarine, the military found six speedboats, seven outboard motors, 25 tanks containing a combined 1,375 gallons of diesel, 6,000 gallons of fuel, 120 empty fuel tanks, navigation equipment and a shotgun at the campsite. The defense ministry said these supplies showed "the existence of a logistical structure intended to sustain illicit activities in this strategic area." Narco subs, which cannot go fully underwater, are popular among international drug traffickers as they can sometimes elude detection by law enforcement. The CayapasMataje mangrove forest is located near Ecuador's border with Colombia, on the Pacific Coast. The reserve is dense and difficult to navigate, and contains some of the tallest mangroves in the world, according to National Geographic. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Trump denies Israel forced U.S. strikes on Iran Noem defends immigration crackdown and criticizes DHS funding lapse at hearing The punishment for this should be writing the word propaganda on the chalk board 100 times after class. The Department of Education is receiving criticism after deciding to hang a banner of the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk outside its building in Washington, D.C. Charlie Kirk's image is seen on the outside of the Department of Education on March 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images Pictured alongside Kirk on the building are two pioneers in education: Catharine Beecher, who advocated for womens education, and Booker T. Washington, who championed educational opportunities for Black Americans. Another nearby banner also reads: Empowering our states to tell the stories of our heroes in American education. The Education Departments press secretary told HuffPost in a statement Sunday that it is proud to honor visionary leaders whose contributions have shaped the future of education for generations. The banners are a part of America's 250th anniversary, says the Department of Education. Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that promotes conservative ideology, and he traveled across the country to college campuses to debate students. He died in September after he was fatally shot during an event on Utah Valley Universitys campus. Advertisement Kirk never graduated from college, told women to go to college in order to find husbands, and even wrote a book titled The College Scam: How Americas Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of Americas Youth. Politics: Nancy Mace Grills Tim Walz With Bizarre Question During Heated House Hearing His past remarks include calling the passage of the Civil Rights Act a huge mistake and saying that hed want his daughter to deliver a baby conceived out of rape. With that in mind, a lot of left-leaning social media users on X were outraged by the Education Departments decision to celebrate Kirk. See what they had to say below. This is absolutely insane. He does not deserve to be up there with Booker T. Washington and Catharine Beecher. Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) March 1, 2026 Because he died on a college campus?? I- pic.twitter.com/4Ie6Io66Ak Carolyn Gilbert-Lawson Rojas (@platinumgrammar) March 3, 2026 Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. what did he teach us ?? Racism? Hate? Homophobia? balula spread kindess (@khiaaasylum) March 3, 2026 a racist, misogynist, homophobic man next to a civil rights activist pic.twitter.com/pG38XVX8s6 CynthiaErivoCharts (@CynthiaErivo1) March 3, 2026 All he did was debate college kids with misinformation Camino Reid (@bangwithcamino) March 3, 2026 The podcaster who dropped out of community college is a nod to the future of education? Turgid Verse (@gullyvuhr) March 3, 2026 We are living in the weirdest timeline EZE MOORE (@ezemoore_) March 3, 2026 Political Updates Read the original on HuffPost Photo Credit: Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images Elisabeth Hasselbeck continues to spark heated debates with panellists on The View. The mother of three is firing back at Sunny Hostin, who has publicly criticized President Donald Trumps attacks on Iran. The former Survivor contestant, who is back on the show as a fill-in host, questioned Sunnys thoughts on Thursday. Elisabeth referred to former President Barack Obamas time in the White House when a memo surfaced in 2011. Donald declared war on Iran last weekend with several airstrikes in the region. His actions have polarized public opinion. Sunny Hostin called Donald Trumps Iranian strikes illegal and unconstitutional PETE HEGSETH CRITICIZES MEDIA OVER IRAN COVERAGE: 'The View- co-hosts and Elisabeth Hasselbeck weigh in as administration officials took heat Wednesday for their comments on the six American soldiers killed in combat. pic.twitter.com/Gtj3TzAd5E The View (@TheView) March 5, 2026 Elisabeth isnt afraid to state her opinion. On Thursday, she challenged Sunnys claim that the attacks on Iran were illegal and unconstitutional. Elisabeth turned to a 2011 document to make her point. Thats when she says a memo by the Office of Legal Counsel stated that the President has constitutional authority to direct the use of military forces in Libya. According to Elisabeth, Barack had this authority because they could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest. She adds that prior congressional approval is not constitutionally required regarding military force. Sunny fought back, saying that the President doesnt go to the Office of Legal Counsel on matters like that. She had previously worked in the Department of Justice. Sunny believes that Congress should have voted on potential military strikes against Iran. Advertisement To say Elisabeths return to the program has been controversial might be an understatement. Earlier this week, she had a heated argument with co-host Whoopi Goldberg regarding the ICE shootings. As Elisabeth and Sunny continued arguing Whoopi stepped in to try and steer the conversation elsewhere. Sunny, though, could be heard discussing a war. She believes that starting one is simple, but ending one is not. TELL US DO YOU BELIEVE THE ATTACKS ON IRAN WERE NECESSARY? The post Elisabeth Hasselbeck Challenges Sunny Hostin Over Iran Strikes on The View appeared first on Reality Tea. Ella Langley can say she has a good friend and supporter in fellow country music superstar Miranda Lambert. So much so that the Texas native, 42, is serving as a co-producer on the Alabama-born stars upcoming highly anticipated sophomore album, Dandelion, the follow-up to 2024s Hungover. On a recent episode of Country Countdown USA, where she co-hosted alongside radio personality Lon Helton, Langley opened up about her close friendship with Lambert. During the Feb. 23rd discussion, she talked about the twos working relationship and shared some helpful advice she received from Lambert that has guided her through the ups and downs of her career along the way. [She said to me] You are more important than this job, Langley, 26, recalled Lambert's wise words, adding. She made me care for myself. Having someone like that made me feel like Im okay. Miranda Lambert Is a Co-Writer on Choosin Texas For Langley, Lamberts influence has also led to a dream songwriting session as the pair co-wrote Langleys current single, Choosin Texas, alongside her and songwriters Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor. While Lambert has spent decades in the studio recording songs for her own albums since the early 2000s, she has approached co-producing Langleys forthcoming project with the same level of care as she would her own. Advertisement [She is] such a godsend for me. I always wanted to produce a record with her, Langley said of Lambert. After we wrote Choosin Texas, she was there for all the sessions. Choosin Texas Made History The Platinum-certified Choosin Texas has had a historic run since its release on Oct. 17, 2025. Earlier this year, the heartbreak tune gave Langley the title of becoming the first woman to simultaneously lead the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay charts. More recently, Langley and Megan Moroneyhave made history as the first two female country artists to top both Billboards major all-genre charts simultaneously. Moroney claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 with her third album, Cloud 9, while Langleys Choosin Texas returned to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after getting pushed out of that position for a week. We were talking on FaceTime the other night. Weve made history with this song, both just baffled and grateful, Langley said of a recent conversation she had with Lambert about Choosin Texas. We loved the song, but never thought it would do this. Theres no way you can predict it. Dandelion becomes available on April 10. This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Jeffrey Epstein's ex Patricia Schmidt came forward with new claims.MEGA A former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein claims even she wasn't immune to his trafficking attempts, RadarOnline.com can reveal. Patricia Schmidt was 23 years old and working as a Bear Stearns office assistant when the pair began a year-long consensual relationship after meeting through her boss. Patricia Schmidt Was Treated Like 'Currency' by Epstein Patricia Schmidt recalled her romance with Jeffrey Epstein on '60 Minutes Australia.' 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube "I was sent over there because my boss had asked me to deliver some papers, I went over there and did exactly that," Schmidt told 60 Minutes Australia's Tara Brown about first dropping by Epstein's New York apartment in 1985. I think it was clearly my boss doing him a favor. "He seemed to be kind of the center of the universe. He was so confident, and he was so attractive, and he was so incredibly smart," she recalled about the older financier. Speaking on the early days of their romance, Schmidt said that "nothing about it was transactional," and she started falling in love with him. However, she looked back at her diaries from the time and realized she was treated by the sick pedophile as "currency" with his rich buddies and business associates. 'It Was Very Much His Intent' to Traffic Patricia Schmidt Patricia Schmidt had a year-long consensual relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube Schmidt read aloud one passage that set off a red flag that said, "Jeffrey phoned me yesterday and asked if I'd show a friend of his around Bear Sterns. His friend arrived with his father, both from Switzerland." "He would ask me to meet clients, friends of his, go to lunch or go to dinner," she said of Epstein's requests from more than 40 years ago. When asked if she thought he was "supplying you to these men to have s-- with them?" Schmidt admitted, "I have to think absolutely yes." Advertisement She clarified, "I never did. I wasn't interested in any of these men, but oh yes, I think it was very much his intent to make that trade." The 'Blueprint' Becomes S-- Trafficking MEGA Epstein's alleged attempt to trade his then-girlfriend became the "blueprint" of how he would go on to treat other teens and young women. By 2005, the disgraced money man was under investigation for having s-- with underage girls that were brought to his Palm Beach mansion to give him massages. He was initially arrested in 2006 after being indicted for solicitation of prostitution, pleading guilty in 2008 to that count as well as soliciting prostitution from a minor. Trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre blew open how Epstein allegedly trafficked her for s-- with "royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen" in a lawsuit she filed in 2009. Jeffrey Epstein's Fallout Virginia Giuffre claimed she was trafficked to former Prince Andrew in 2001.MEGA Even though Epstein died behind bars in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal s-- trafficking charges, the disgraced financiers sprawling cache of emails, photographs, and other explosive evidence has continued to topple powerful men linked to the twisted encounters he allegedly arranged along with his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The former British socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for her s-- trafficking crimes. Andrew Windsor was stripped of his royal titles, including his birthright "prince," in October 2025, after Giuffre made more allegations about how she was trafficked to him in 2001 in her posthumous memoir Nobody's Girl. So far, none of the men Epstein trafficked his victims to has been arrested for the sexual abuse of minor girls and other women. General view of the Europol building in The Hague, Netherlands December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier MADRID, March 5 (Reuters) - The Middle East conflict will have "immediate repercussions" for European Union security with an increased threat of terrorism, serious and organised crime as well as violent extremism and cyberattacks, European police body Europol told Spanish news agency EFE on Thursday. Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth said he expected to see more cyberattacks against European infrastructure and an increase in online fraud using increasingly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence and exploiting the flurry of information swirling about the conflict online, EFE reported. Groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out "destabilising activities" within the EU, he added, referring to groups linked to the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of anti-American and Israeli Shi'ite militias in countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. These could include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns, terrorist financing and cybercrime. "The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high," he told the news agency. Advertisement The terror threat could be heightened by individuals acting alone or small cells acting on their own initiative, he said. "The rapid spread of polarising content on the internet can accelerate short-term radicalisation processes among diaspora communities within the EU and other individuals," he said. Europol did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment on the reported statements. Iran and Israel on Thursday were exchanging fire on a sixth day of war after Israel and the United States launched joint air strikes on Iran on the weekend. So far the attacks have killed more than 1,000 people including Iran's Supreme Leader, prompted Iran to attack neighbours including Qatar and UAE along with energy shipments. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing) CNN Now in its sixth day, the latest Middle East conflict continues to widen with a hybrid attack on Israel from Iran, Israel ordering massive evacuations in Lebanon, and NATO countries increasing their missile defenses. Heres what to know. Advertisement What are the main headlines? An injured Iranian sailor arrives to receive treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle after his frigate, IRIS Dena sank off Sri Lanka's coast on March 4, 2026. - Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images Fresh strikes: Iran launched what it called a hybrid attack against Israel late on Thursday, with footage captured by CNN cameras appearing to show cluster warheads visible against the night sky. CNN teams heard a number of explosions in the distance. Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has said several times that Iran has launched missiles with cluster sub-munitions. Israel orders evacuations in Beirut: The Israeli military issued what it described as an urgent evacuation warning for entire neighborhoods in Beiruts southern suburbs. The order comes after Israel told all residents south of the Litani River to evacuate, a potential sign that a major military operation is on the way. NATO ups its missile defenses: NATO member states increased their defense posture after a suspected Iranian missile was shot down while traveling toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the alliance said. This would be the first time NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile heading toward a member country since this conflict began. However, Iranian military leaders claim they did not fire any missiles toward Turkey, per state media. Congress declines to rein in war: The House on Thursday failed to pass a measure that sought to curb President Donald Trumps authority to wage war in Iran without congressional approval. Showcasing GOP loyalty to the White House, the vote failed 212 to 219. A similar vote failed in the Senate yesterday. A wave of canceled flights: Hundreds of thousands of travelers are stranded in the Middle East as the conflict expands. More than 11,000 flights across 10 countries in the region have been canceled since February 28, according to data from Flightradar24. Sticker shock: The first 100 hours of the US military campaign against Iran is estimated to have cost $3.7 billion more than $890 million a day according to analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Less than $200 million of that total estimate are operational costs already included in the Pentagon budget. New drones: That said, US defense officials today said that the US isnt just using expensive weapons to intercept relatively cheap ones. Reverse-engineered Iranian drones have been indispensible in this new conflict, according to Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the United States Central Command. Cooper also said that Iranian missile attacks had decreased 90% over the past 24 hours. Whats happening in Iran and Lebanon? Displaced people fleeing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sit on a pickup at a highway that links to Beirut, in the southern port city of Sidon, on March 2, 2026. - Mohammad Zaatari/AP Death tolls: More than 1,100 civilians have been killed in Iran since Saturday, according to a US-based human rights group. Others have reported a higher figure, such as state-affiliated Islamic Republic News Agency, which said at least 1,230 people had been killed. And at least 77 people have been killed by Israeli bombardment in Lebanon, according to the countrys health ministry including three paramedics. Lebanon attacks: As well as new strikes in Tehran, Israels overnight attack hit several command centers in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, belonging to Hezbollah, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel also struck the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon on Thursday for the first time in the six-day conflict, the IDF said. Later in the day, Israels military warned entire neighborhoods in Beiruts southern suburbs to evacuate, a significant expansion from previous orders that were typically limited to specific buildings. Miserable conditions: Many residents in southern Lebanon have embarked on grueling journeys after Israel ordered them to evacuate; some displaced families have been forced to sleep on the streets at night. Many Tehran residents have fled to the countryside, while those who remain shelter at home, living in fear of constant bombardment. Next supreme leader: Irans top clerics are still working to choose a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the US-Israel strikes on Saturday. Israel has warned that any new leader would be an unequivocal target for elimination. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he must be involved in the selection, telling Axios that Khameneis son would be an unacceptable choice. School bombing: The White House didnt rule out that the US military had carried out a strike on a girls elementary school in Iran during the initial joint US-Israeli strikes, which killed at least 168 children, according to Iranian state media. US officials have said they are investigating the incident. Iran is waiting for US to invade: Iran is prepared to counter any ground invasion by the US military, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday. We are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them, he told NBC News. The foreign minister said his country had learned from previous conflicts and now has a more capable fighting force. CNN in Iran: A team led by CNNs Fred Pleitgen entered Iran on Thursday, encountering more checkpoints than usual and armed personnel on the road to Tehran, but no signs of panic. Shops are open and stocked, and gas seems readily available with no long lines. Whats happening in the rest of region? Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 4, 2026. - HAazam Bader/AFP/AGetty Images Iran strikes back: Alongside the fresh barrage of missiles fired toward Israel overnight, Iran continues to fire at neighboring Gulf states, which are armed with American weapons and air defenses. A missile hit an oil refinery in Bahrain on Thursday, according to a government press release and video posted on social media. And yesterday, Iran launched a drone attack on an Amazon data center in Bahrain, a state-affiliated news agency reported. Iranian drones have also targeted two Amazon facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Deaths climb around the region: While the largest death tolls are in Iran and Lebanon, more than two dozen people have been killed elsewhere by Iranian strikes in Israel and Gulf nations, as well as by US-Israeli airstrikes in Iraq. Iran targets separatist groups: Irans Ministry of Intelligence says it targeted separatist terrorist groups (that) intended to enter the countrys western borders with the support of the United States. The ministry statement, reported by the countrys state media, is believed to have been referring to attacks by Iranian forces on Iraq-based Kurdish groups. It comes after sources told CNN that the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces, with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran. Iraqs first lady says Leave the Kurds alone: Iraqs First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed released a strongly-worded open letter on Thursday urging all sides involved in the war with Iran to leave the Kurds alone, adding that Kurdish people are not guns for hire. The letter comes amid reports that the CIA is encouraging Kurdish fighters in Iraq to challenge Iran. It also follows an Iranian attack on what Iranian media referred to as separatist terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday. US soldiers identified: On Wednesday night, the Pentagon publicly identified the two remaining service members killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday. The other four soldiers killed were previously identified on Tuesday. Europe is getting drawn in: European nations have faced tough choices about whether and how to get involved in the military escalation in the Middle East. Countries including Britain, France and Spain have agreed to provide military support to protect the interests of their allies. A drone strike hit a British Royal Air Force base in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Monday. Markets: Asian stocks bounced back Thursday after steep falls the previous day. But US stocks extended losses Thursday afternoon as concerns about the war with Iran continue to push oil prices higher, and stocks in Europe were also lower. Oil prices had their highest one-day increase since May 2020, at the height of Covid-19 lockdowns. Alleged attack on Azerbaijan: Drone attacks injured two people and damaged the terminal building of an airport near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, Azerbaijani authorities said, the first strikes on the country since the beginning of the conflict. Irans armed forces denied launching the drones. CNNs Leila Gharagozlou, Eugenia Yosef, Laura Sharman, Jack Guy, Lauren Kent, Todd Symons, Haley Britzky, John Towfighi, Sophie Tanno, Nechirvan Mando, Eyad Kourdi, Vasco Cotovio, Avery Schmitz, Zeena Saifi, Joseph Ataman, and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A male Netflix star copped to getting Botox injections in his manhood.Netflix, Owen Vangioni/Unsplash A former Netflix star admitted he got his manhood injected with Botox and loves how "smooth" his junk is now, RadarOnline.com can reveal. During the Tuesday, March 3 episode of his Boyfriend Material podcast, Too Hot to Handle alum Harry Jowsey raved about having the cosmetic treatment usually used for facial wrinkles injected into his unit after one of his pals tried it. Harry Jowsey Brags His Manhood Is 'Very Smooth' After Botox Harry Jowsey is thrilled with the 'smooth' results on his manhood after getting Botox. Boyfriend Material with Harry Jowsey/YouTube Jowsey, 28, blew guest Lisa Vanderpump's mind with his wild confession. While talking about if they should start a "conversation" about p------, the reality start blurted out, "I actually did get Botox in it." When a shocked Vanderpump demanded to know why, Jowsey explained he got the idea from a friend. "He got stem cells and Botox and calcium," he added, as he made jabbing movements with his hands toward his manhood. When the Vandeprump Rules star asked specifically why he got Botox in his private area, Jowsey raved, "They said it, like, relaxes the muscle. It's very smooth now, which is good ... It relaxes the muscle." He added that he got an entire "vial" of the substance injected into his junk. Racy Conversation Harry Jowsey and Lisa Vanderpump had a lively conversation about the effect of Botox in one's private parts.Boyfriend Material with Harry Jowsey/YouTube While Jowsey got the jab of Botox in his member, he stopped short of getting it in his testicles, which is apparently another treatment option. "I'm not doing my b----. My b---- are doing their thing," the Dancing With the Stars alum revealed. Advertisement Jowsey even let Vanderpump know that "women could get" Botox injected "in their little bean." "In their hoo-ha? For what?" the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum asked. "Apparently, it makes things a little bit easier to get the job done," Jowsey shared with a smile. Lisa Vanderpump Shoots Down Getting Botox in Her Private Parts Lisa Vanderpump said she didn't need Botox in her hoo-ha because her love life with husband Ken Todd is 'good.'MEGA An intrigued Vanderpump wanted to know what he meant by "getting the job done," as in "o----- or penetration?" "O-----, yeah. The doctor was saying he will go and give a little bit of, you know, special sauce to ladies, and it helps," Jowsey shared. However, the famed Bravolebrity bragged that her husband, Ken Todd, still keeps her very happy in the bedroom after more than 40 years of marriage. "I don't need any help in that department. My husband knows what he's doing. We're good. We're good," Vanderpump confidently told him. Harry Jowsey Became Famous From Netflix Dating Series Harry Jowsey looked dapper at the 2026 Actor Awards, which aired on Netflix.MEGA After winning Heartbreak Island Australia in 2018, Jowsey rocketed to fame when the dating show Too Hot to Handle debuted on Netflix back in 2020. His popularity eventually led to several other reality television show appearances, including a sixth-place finish on season 32 of DWTS and competing on The Amazing Race Australia. Jowsey's jaunty charm also helped him gain a huge social media presence, with five million followers on both Instagram and TikTok. The native Australian is also wildly popular on OnlyFans and Snapchat. OWENSBORO, Ky., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhoads & Rhoads Injury Lawyers has secured a $3.7 million settlement on behalf of a 61-year-old construction worker who suffered life-altering injuries in a head-on collision on June 14, 2022, in Hancock County, Kentucky. The Incident The incident occurred when the client's vehicle was struck head-on by a driver who veered across the center line into oncoming traffic. According to the police report, the at-fault driver admitted he may have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing the devastating collision. Emergency responders determined the victim's injuries were severe enough to require airlift transport to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he began an extensive and painful recovery process. Catastrophic Injuries and Treatment The crash caused multiple orthopedic injuries that permanently altered the client's health and career. His injuries included: A left femur fracture with the femoral head forced into the hip joint with the femoral head forced into the hip joint A left acetabular fracture to the hip socket to the hip socket A right wrist fracture to his dominant hand to his dominant hand A left orbital fracture As a right-handed construction worker whose career depended on performing demanding physical labor, the damage to his dominant wrist has been particularly devastating. He underwent immediate orthopedic surgery involving open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) with plates and screws to stabilize the fractures. Due to the severity of the injury and his age, the hardware will remain in his arm permanently. Despite extensive rehabilitation, he now faces lasting physical limitations that prevent him from returning to the work he performed for decades. Legal Advocacy and Accountability Attorney Christopher Rhoads of Rhoads & Rhoads Injury Lawyers represented the injured worker throughout the case. Evidence, including accident reconstruction, supported that the opposing driver likely fell asleep while driving a dangerous and negligent act. "This settlement reflects the severity of the injuries our client sustained and the profound impact this collision has had on every aspect of his life," said Christopher Rhoads. "A dedicated construction worker who can no longer perform the physical work he has done his entire career deserves full compensation for his harms and losses. We are grateful this settlement will provide the resources he needs for future care and financial security." A Reminder About Drowsy Driving Drowsy driving continues to be a significant public safety threat across Kentucky and the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatigue-related crashes injure thousands of people each year. This settlement provides compensation for the client's medical expenses, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and permanent disability, while holding the responsible driver accountable. About Rhoads & Rhoads PSC Rhoads & Rhoads Injury Lawyers is a personal injury law firm based in Owensboro, Kentucky, dedicated to helping victims injured by negligence. The firm handles cases involving motor vehicle accidents, trucking accidents, workplace injuries, and wrongful death claims, and is committed to securing full and fair compensation for its clients. For more information, visit www.rhoadsandrhoads.com . Media Contact: Chris Rhoads Rhoads & Rhoads Injury Lawyers 115 East 2nd Street Owensboro, KY 4203 Phone: (270) 683-4600 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Rhoads & Rhoads Injury Lawyers Ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urges Trump admin to take care of Iran for good: Render them incapable Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged President Trump to take care of Iran for good, praising the bold military action Operation Epic Fury that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has been at war with us for at least 47 years, Rice said during an appearance on Fox News Special Report on Wednesday. If you ask people about Iraq, what was the source of many of our casualties in Iraq, youll get estimates as high as 75 or 80% of them were due to Iranian-made roadside bombs. Rice, 71, argued the main objective of the attacks was to immobilize the tyrannical Iranian regime before it could counterattack. Rice served under President George W. Bush during 9/11 and the Iraq War. Fox News If you can render Iran essentially incapable of military action against us and against our allies, thats worthy, and I think what theyre trying to do is to neuter Iran as a military power in the region, she said. Rice, the former chief diplomat during George W. Bushs second term, pointed out that the Iranian regime has built up forces in surrounding Middle Eastern countries working as terror proxies for Tehran. They also have developed the military capability to reach outside the boundaries of Iran, including Hezbollah and Hamas, which they both arm and equip, Rice said. To say that this regime was not a threat its ahistorical, Rice said. They have been a threat for a long time. A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital, Tehran, on March 3, 2026. AFP via Getty Images Follow live updates on the US and Israels war with Iran The former national security adviser referenced the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis and the 1983 Beirut suicide bombing that killed 241 American service members as two examples of Iranian-led terror against the US. I myself negotiated four Security Council resolutions, calling them a threat to international peace and security, Rice said. Because of their nuclear ambitions. Before the US and Israel launched the joint military operations in Iran last Saturday, American officials were in negotiations with Iran despite the rogue nations insistence it has an inalienable right to enrich uranium. Follow The Posts coverage of the United States airstrikes on Iran: Trump had demanded that Tehran completely abandon nuclear enrichment, but US negotiators were rebuffed in Geneva as America built up its military presence in the Middle East. Advertisement Since Saturday, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes at Israeli and US targets across the Middle East that have killed six American service members military action that Rice considered a blunder for attacking neighboring Gulf states. Rice dismissed reports that the US had been arming rebel fighters in Iraq to launch ground offensives against the Iranian regime. President Trump oversaw Operation Epic Fury against Iran from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. The White House/AFP via Getty Images The one thing I dont know is the nature of the reports hearing about Kurdish incursions into Iranian territory and we ought to be circumspect about judgments and what that really means in terms of Kurdish activity, she said. It does speak to the complicated demographics of Iran and we have to keep that in mind. Rice noted that minorities, including various ethnic groups in the nation, have been suppressed and badly treated by Tehran. We do have to be aware that Iran is not a homogeneous population, its also a population of over 90 million people on territory thats twice the size of Texas. So its gonna be a complicated set of circumstances, she added. Describing it as a series of events, Rice said American military action against Iran dated back to Oct. 7, 2023, when Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, in devastating attacks in southern Israel. Iran demonstrated that it probably wasnt possible to deter their tentacles-like Hamas. Im quite certain that October 7 with Hamas couldnt have happened without Iranian training and equipment and even maybe planning, Rice said. Leading up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the US struck several nuclear facilities across Iran during Operation Midnight Hammer in June. The administration decided, along with the Israelis, to try and at least degrade and maybe even seriously set back Iranian nuclear capabilities. Rice claimed Iran was defenseless and the US jumped on the timing to render them incapable before they could strike back or rearm Hamas and Hezbollah. I see it as a series of decisions and worthy goal. Of course, well have to watch and see, but I do think taking care of Iranian military and nuclear capabilities is very important, she said. With Post wires NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reacts during a one-on-one interview with Reuters on the Iran crisis and Ukraine war, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO does not plan to trigger its Article 5 mutual defence clause over the shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey, Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday, amid fears the alliance could become embroiled in the U.S.-Iran war. "Nobody's talking about Article 5," Rutte said in an interview at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, even as he described the incident as 'serious'. "The most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant," he said. NATO member Turkey said the alliance's air defences on Wednesday destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile as it headed into Turkish airspace, highlighting the possibility that the conflict could expand to include the entire alliance. NATO's Article 5 specifies that an attack on one of its members is an attack on all of them. It obliges allies to take action they deem necessary to assist the country under attack, including potentially the use of military force. The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff on Thursday denied it had fired missiles at Turkey, saying the Islamic Republic respected the sovereignty of "friendly" Turkey, according to a statement carried by Iranian media. As the U.S.Iran war entered its sixth day, the conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia, convulsing global markets and prompting thousands of stranded tourists and residents to try to flee the Middle East. Advertisement RUTTE CITES BROAD NATO SUPPORT FOR US ACTION DESPITE EUROPEAN CRITICISM Rutte said many NATO allies support the United States and Israel in their strikes against Iran as the country was "close to becoming a threat to Europe as well". However, several leaders of NATO countries such as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan have criticised the military action, branding it a dangerous violation of international law. Asked if he was sure the U.S. had a clear end-state in mind to avoid instability that could pose risks for Europe, Rutte said: "From my conversations with senior American military and political leaders, it's my absolute sense that they know where they are going." He also said NATO leaders had agreed that they would have to find ways to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion even as Middle Eastern nations urgently seek to boost their arsenals, particularly with air defence weapons. Asked how this would be possible given air defence support for Ukraine was already in short supply, Rutte said industry would have to ramp up production of such weapons, just as it had done in recent years with artillery ammunition. "We have to replicate what we are doing with ammunition when it comes to the other big-ticket items," he said. (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Writing by Inti Landauro and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Makini Brice, Richard Lough, William Maclean) By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora SAO PAULO, March 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian farmers may be squeezed by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to analysts and trade data showing the region is a key destination for Brazil's farm exports and an important provider of fertilizers such as urea. The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which has in turn launched attacks on other countries in the region and disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, may spark grain contract cancellations, and fertilizer shortages in Brazil, which is highly dependent on imports. Shippers are weighing whether to unload grain cargoes in Oman to avoid trouble in the Persian Gulf, according to consultancy Argus. "The alternative would be to cancel [grain] shipments," Argus told Reuters. "It is also still uncertain whether cargoes could be delivered in Oman and from there be sent to their final destinations by truck or rail." Bulk cargoes such as corn enter the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz, said Arthur da Anunciacao Neto, owner of shipping agency Alphamar Agencia Maritima. The threat to shipping in increasingly dangerous waters has driven up the cost of maritime insurance, he said. Ten ships are set to leave for Iran in the next few days with more than 600,000 tons of Brazilian soybeans and soymeal, according to Alphamar data. Those cargoes, depending on circumstances, may be diverted to other destinations, Neto said. Iran was the main destination for Brazil's corn exports last year, buying some 9 million tons or 20% of shipments. Most of Brazil's corn is shipped in the second-half of the year. CREATIVE SHIPPING ROUTES Middle East fertilizer producers, especially Iran, are also important suppliers to Brazilian farmers. Data from consultancy Agrinvest shows Brazil covered 100% of its urea needs with imports in 2025. An estimated 41% of those imports, or nearly 3 million metric tons, passed through the Strait of Hormuz before reaching Brazil, the data showed. Francisco Vieira, director at consultancy Agroconsult, said the war will likely restrict urea supplies and raise prices in the short term. Advertisement "Nothing is expected to come from Iran," Vieira said. "We do not even know if their factories are being bombarded." Government data shows Brazil imported 7.7 million tons of urea last year, with shipments from Iran representing less than 2.5% of that. But Iran's shipments are often routed via Oman due to U.S. sanctions affecting settlement of international trade with Iranian parties, and private estimates suggest Iran is the origin of around 1.3 million to 1.4 million tons of Brazilian annual imports. "The absence of Middle East suppliers will cause [a urea] supply imbalance," StoneX's Renato Francoso told Reuters. The Middle East exports an estimated 22 million tons of urea, accounting for about 40% of global trade, he said. TROUBLE AHEAD A prolonged conflict could affect fertilizer deliveries ahead of Brazil's 2026/2027 crop cycle that begins planting in September, analysts say. Thamires Cateli, founder of consultancy and brokerage firm Hudie Consulting, said the war in Iran caused sellers to withdraw urea price lists this week, disrupting global trade. Other countries could replace part of any lost Iranian shipments to Brazil, but second-order effects are still unclear. Production in Egypt, which accounts for about 8% of global supplies, relies on natural gas supplies from Israel, which may also be threatened, StoneX's Francoso said. China, another large fertilizer producer, has been cutting exports in recent years to supply its internal market. Russia, which accounted for an estimated 16% of global urea supplies in 2024, could also fill the gap. But drone attacks such as the one against a fertilizer plant in Smolensk last month have underscored threats to those supply lines. (Reporting by Ana Mano and Roberto SamoraEditing by Brad Haynes, Kirsten Donovan) People stand in rubble at the site of an Israel and U.S. strike on a police station in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. Majid Khahi/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS (Refiles to remove extraneous text in third-to-last paragraph) By Tom Hals March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has joined Israel and attacked more than 1,000 targets in Iran and killed many of its top officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Wednesday, a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian navy vessel near Sri Lanka. Below is a look at the legality of the U.S. attacks, which critics say exceed the president's authority and fails to comply with international law. WHAT HAS TRUMP SAID? President Donald Trump has provided varying objectives and justifications. He has said he felt Iran was going to strike first and the attack was meant to eliminate imminent threats to the United States, its military bases overseas and allies, although he did not provide details and some claims were not backed by U.S. intelligence reports. Trump also said Iran could obtain a nuclear weapon within one month but he did not provide evidence and this contradicted his claims in June that the U.S. military had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program. PRESIDENTIAL POWER TO USE THE MILITARY The attacks on Iran are pushing the boundaries of Trump's constitutional authority, according to legal experts. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president commands the armed forces and directs foreign relations but only Congress has the power to declare war. Presidents of both parties have conducted military strikes without congressional approval when it was in the national interest but less intense in duration and scope than what would be considered a war -- a limit that Trump may be testing. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both described the action as a war and Hegseth called it "the most lethal, most complex and most-precision aerial operation in history." Trump said it could last five weeks or more and cautioned that there will be more U.S. casualties. Congress has provided authorization for large military operations, such as President George W. Bush's invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. WAR POWERS RESOLUTION The War Powers Resolution (WPR) of 1973 acts as a check on presidential power. Under the WPR, the president can only involve the military in an armed conflict when Congress has declared war or provided specific authority or in response to an attack on U.S. territory or its military. It requires the president to report regularly to Congress, which the administration started to do on Monday. The WPR also requires unauthorized military actions to be terminated within 60 days unless the deadline is extended. Advertisement It provides a procedure for Congress to withdraw the military from a conflict and members of both parties have said they plan to put such legislation to a vote this week. It's highly unlikely such a vote would garner a two-thirds majority needed to override a Trump veto but some lawmakers said it would put members on the record in an election year. Legal experts said popular opposition might be the main check on Trump's ability to continue the attacks. WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL LAW SAY? Legal experts said many countries will consider the attacks unjustified under the United Nations Charter, which states that member states must refrain from using force or the threat of force against other states. There are exceptions when force is authorized by the U.N. Security Council or used in self-defense in response to armed attack, neither of which applies. There is also the concept of pre-emptive self-defense, which would arguably allow the United States to attack Iran if it had proof of an imminent, overwhelming attack. The United States has a veto at the U.N. Security Council, shielding Washington. Legal experts said violating international law still carries a cost and both the United Kingdom and Spain have limited the use of their bases in the attacks, citing the lack of justification for the conflict. WAS THE SUBMARINE ATTACK NEAR SRI LANKA LEGAL? Wednesday's submarine attack appeared to comply with the law of war, according to legal experts. The attack occurred in international waters and the target was a military ship which was not disabled. However, it could be argued that if Washington is attacking Iran to eliminate an imminent threat, a warship far from Iran would not be justified target unless it could be connected to those threats. WAS THE KILLING OF KHAMENEI LEGAL? Legal experts said it is not clear cut. Israel is reported to have carried out the actual strike that killed Khamenei, while the U.S. offered intelligence and operational support. Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1981 signed Executive Order 12333 which prohibited anyone working for the U.S. government or acting on its behalf from engaging in assassination. It also barred participation in assassination by the U.S. intelligence community. However, the killing of a leader which might qualify as assassination in peacetime could be a legitimate act of war during an armed conflict, legal experts said. In Khamenei's case, legality would partly depend on whether the U.S. was at war when he was killed and whether he was considered a military leader. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell) With their Feb. 28 strikes on Iran, the United States and Israel have stoked Middle East conflict as part of a campaign that President Donald Trump said could last weeks or longer, aiming to cut short what he called imminent nuclear threats from Iran and cripple its military programs. But the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader, in addition to ongoing instability, threatens to trigger a chaotic and drawn-out war involving Iranian and U.S. allies in the region and bring religious rhetoric and sectarian differences into play. While not a religious conflict at its core, a widening regional war could see religion emerge as a galvanizing tool, said Nader Hashemi, director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. 1 / 0 See how the Iran wars fallout is hitting the Middle East See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. Religion is not the driver of conflict in the Middle East, said Hashemi, an associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at the school. Its the vehicle that is used to mobilize people in defense of political ideologies and causes. Hashemi said Khameneis killing has already stoked instability in many Muslim countries: Nearly two dozen protesters were killed in Pakistan, while demonstrations continue in Iraq, Bahrain, India and Lebanon. Whats lost in the eyes of the Trump administration is that the Supreme Leader, as brutal and despotic as he was, was also looked to by many Shia Muslims as a respected religious leader, Hashemi said. The fact that he was assassinated in the month of Ramadan just increases the level of anger that exists among his supporters. It would be the equivalent of somebody targeting the Pope during Easter. Tehran answered Saturdays attacks with strikes on U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and United Arab Emirates. Though most of those nations have Sunni Muslim majorities in contrast to Irans vastly Shia Muslim population, this is fundamentally a geopolitical conflict rooted in the desire by an authoritarian regime in Iran to stay in power after being brutally attacked and then lashing out at neighboring countries, Hashemi said. People are not fighting over theological interpretations, he said. Theyre fighting over questions of political power, regional domination and competing national interests. Why is the US at war with Iran? To help make sense of the rapidly evolving conflict, we invited readers to send in their questions and asked USA TODAY journalists to break down the answers. Heres how religion in Iran and beyond could factor into the simmering conflict. What is Iran's religious makeup? About 90% of Irans almost exclusively Muslim population of 85 million are Shia Muslims. However, other Middle East Arab nations are mostly Sunni Muslims, according to the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, a nonpartisan research center at The University of Texas at Austin. Irans constitution describes the country as an Islamic republic and specifies Twelver Jaafari, the largest branch of Shia Islam, as its official state religion, according to the U.S. State Department. Laws and regulations are based on Islamic criteria. As noted by the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy institute in Washington, D.C., Twelvers believe in The 12 Imams, caliphs descended from the Prophet Muhammad, the last of whom they say will return and usher in an age of peace and justice. Thousands of people gather in Enghelab Square for a pro-government demonstration after Iranian state media confirmed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. Religious minorities constitute less than 1% of the country, but Christians, Jews and Zorastrians are the only ones allowed to worship, so long as they dont include converts from Islam, the state department said. What is Shia Islam? Shiism grew out of a 7th-century break among Muhammads followers over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community, according to History.com. Some supported Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Muhammads cousin and son-in-law, insistent on adhering to the prophets family line; they were instead overruled, sparking decades of bloodshed and unrest between the two branches. Advertisement Those who supported Ali as Muhammads rightful heir, according to the site, became known as Alis followers. In Arabic, they were Shiat Ali or Shia for short. Iranian Shiite Muslims pray during the second Friday noon prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, at a mosque in Tehran February 27, 2026. Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, during which devotees fast from dawn until dusk. Shia Muslims account for about 170 million of the worlds approximately 1.3 billion Muslims, according to the Center for American Progress, but represent the majority of Muslims in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain. What is Sunni Islam? Sunni Islam is the religions largest branch in the Middle East, forming the majority of Muslims in nations including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey. The name derives from the Arabic word sunna, or tradition. As noted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., Sunni Muslims believe the traditional succession of caliphs after Muhammad, starting with the Prophets friend Abu Bakr, is the correct one. Despite their differences, Sunni and Shia Muslims have largely coexisted peacefully throughout their centuries-long history. However, the divide has occasionally fed bitter regional conflict and, more recently, rejuvenated jihadi networks that pose more far-reaching dangers, the council said. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei kisses coffins of bodies recently recovered from former front line areas of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War in Tehran, May 22, 2001. Many disputes have erupted among Middle East nations not over religion but territory for instance, when Iraq went to war with Iran in the 1980s. Certainly religion was used by both sides, but ultimately it was a territorial issue, said Babak Rahimi, director of the Middle East Studies program at the University of California San Diego. What were seeing now is not a Sunni-Shia situation. Its completely geopolitical. How religion could impact prolonged war Still, uncertain territory lies ahead. Trump told CNN the biggest surprise after the Feb. 28 attacks was Irans retaliation against its regional Arab neighbors, though many of those nations had expected such a response, Rahimi said. The Persian Gulf Arab states do not want this conflict, he said. Theyre not looking at it from a religious perspective, theyre looking at it mostly from an economic and geopolitical security perspective. That doesnt mean religion wont enter the equation. A Shiite Muslim holds a portrait of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they attempt to storm the US embassy in Islamabad on March 1, 2026 to condemn his death amid US-Israel strikes. At least nine people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the United States consulate in the Pakistan megacity of Karachi on March 1, according to a hospital toll seen by AFP. The U.S., too, has employed religious rhetoric in its cause, said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum. Trump is saying we have an obligation to make sure America is secure in the world, he said. Theres language being used by elected officials that implies not that theres a religious imperative to do this but there are Judeo-Christian values that would justify it. U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has been open about his ties to a hard-right Christian church coalition, and this week, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said more than 200 American service members had filed complaints charging that U.S. military commanders had cited radical Christian rhetoric about biblical end times to rationalize the attack on Iran. Iraq Members and officers from the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Explosives Directorate inspect the fuel tank of a rocket that landed in a rural village in the Siyahi area near the city of Hilla in the central Babil province on March 1, 2026. Iraq, which has recently regained a sense of stability but has long been a proxy battleground between the U.S. and Iran, warned that it did not want to be dragged into the war that started on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabias senior religious cleric on Tuesday called on believers to support the war effort against Iran, framing it as a jihad. Were seeing the beginnings of this, Hashemi said. I suspect if the conflict between Iran and its Arab neighbors deepens, you will see a resurrection of the Sunni-Shia divide. Religion has always been a tool for mobilizing people. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran war and how faith and religion could fuel a wider conflict Family members of Kenyans who joined the Russian army in Ukraine hold placards and photos of their loved ones during a protest calling for their repatriation in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Families of Kenyan recruits duped with promises of work in Russia who ended up on the front lines of the fighting in Ukraine petitioned the country's parliament on Thursday to ban the recruitment of Kenyans for Moscow's war. The families held up photographs of their sons who are either now on the front lines or have been killed, wounded or are missing in the war. They marched through the streets of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, chanting slogans asking authorities to bring their loved ones home. Several protesters carried a huge white banner that read in English, in bold red print: KENYANS AND FAMILIES DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THEIR SONS RECRUITED INTO RUSSIA MILITARY. The government last month said that more than 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine and that at least 89 Kenyans were still on the front lines there. It confirmed one death and said 39 Kenyans have been hospitalized, 28 are missing in action while others had returned home. Kenyas Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi told The Associated Press last month that he would travel to Russia for what he called a diplomatic approach to rein in" those who are "taking advantage of anyone in this misadventure. Advertisement He also said efforts were underway to secure the release of Kenyans held in Ukraine as prisoners of war and repatriate those still in Russia. Yurii Tokar, Ukraines ambassador to Kenya, told the AP on Wednesday that one Kenyan was a POW in Ukraine and noted that POWs are typically released at the end of the war, under the Geneva Conventions. Still, Kyiv and Moscow have swapped hundreds of soldiers and civilians on several occasions during the four-year war. Lamech Mboga, whose brother traveled to Russia in August 2025, told the AP he believes his brother is in Ukraine as a POW now and appealed for his release. An intelligence report presented to Kenyas Parliament last month by majority leader Kimani Ichungwah said Kenyan and Russian government officials colluded with recruitment agencies to lure Kenyans to the front lines. The families petitioning the parliament on Thursday said those behind the scheme to lure their loved ones must be prosecuted for "human trafficking, forced recruitment, and possible violations of international humanitarian and labor laws. Two Kenyans have so far been charged with human trafficking in the case. While many people are fixated on the future, theres still plenty that we dont know about the past. After all, our planet has been here for billions of years, so theres no way we could learn the entirety of human history in school. Thats why archaeologists have such an important job, and apparently, theyre making groundbreaking discoveries all the time. Redditors have been discussing mind-blowing information archaeologists have uncovered, so weve gathered a list of their most fascinating findings. Enjoy scrolling through these discoveries that you may not have heard about, and be sure to upvote the ones that you believe should have been major news! #1 We discovered a previously unknown ice age human population in southern Arabia. Photo: But-I-forgot-my-pen #2 In the Netherlands a whole bunch or Roman boats were found almost completely intact. They were probably used to go up and down the rivers of the Roman border to supply the forts with food/ammo etc. Photo: Doorbelldoor #3 In Egypt a female Egyptian Priest was found buried nearby one of the pyramids. Female priestess are not to believe to be common, so this discovery is truly remarkable and makes us see the life of an high power priestess over 4000 years ago. Photo: LizIsMis #4 I'm primarily an Egyptologist but I work for a UK regional archaeology crew, and recently they found a specific vessel which was very unusual. Its hard to describe but I couldn't find a picture, but it was a smallish clay pot, which had been made on a wheel and was incredibly well-made, but the neck of it was tiny, and it pinched in and out at points. Bad description I know. Anyway, we got it dated to around the Stuart era, and gave it over to a potter who we sometimes worked with, so he could attempt to make a copy. He couldn't do it. He made a lovely pot, but it was nothing like the original. He explained that he couldn't get the clay thin enough to pinch like the original, because his hands were simply too big to make a pot with a neck of that size. So after a lot of thought they came to a conclusion that it must have been children making these pots (I suggested women but it turned out even womens hands were too big). Based on other circumstantial evidence from the same context, this was from a relatively poor family, who trained their children in the same trade as them to create beautiful pottery to sell to the elites. In the Stuart era, that style of pottery was around a lot, but it had started not too far from the city we found it in, so we figured they must have been copying the popular style. It's so interesting to think that a child, probably no more than 8, made such a beautiful piece of work. EDIT - Just adding for clarification as it seems to have confused some people - when I said I'm an Egyptologist, I mean that's my main link to archaeology. The pot I'm talking about here is from a regional archaeology find - it's Stuart, as in its English and dates from the 15th/16th centuries. Its not Egyptian, just to clear up any confusion! Photo: Bookworm153 #5 I live along Hadrian wall. And my god it's been so well kept there are daily finds. From bath house Sandles, leather boots various clothing just tapping into house Romans lived and how culture and tradition still stayed intact all the way north of England far from Rome. Photo: anon #6 In my hometown of Luebeck in northern germany they found a latrine from the middle-age and analysed the genes of the tapeworms in it or something and apparently that dude that pooped there has once also pooped in England cause his DNA has been found in tapeworms there as well Photo: imliterallydyinghere #7 Not an arcaeologost, but a major in paleontology! A well preserved t-rex skeleton has been discovered in Saskatchewan. They named the new World's largest & oldest T-rex skeleton. I have always loved dinosaurs, sorry that it doesn't fully relate to the reddit question. Source Photo: anon #8 Though discovered quite a few years back, Gobekli Tepe only recently escaped the controversy of its significance. Now widely considered to quite possibly be the first temple of worship the site has caused a rethinking of early humankind's spiritual practices. To give you an idea, Gobekli Tepe is estimated to be six millennia older than Stonehenge. Also, I am not an archeologist, so here are so further details. Photo: RobFeight #9 The recent discovery of tree climbing humans with monkey feet as recent as 40,000 yrs ago Indonesia. Photo: mongonc #10 A couple of Viking ships and settlements have been found recently in Norway using LIDAR. Three articles, unfortunately only the first is in English: NIKU TU NRK Photo: GammelGrinebiter #11 I'm an archaeological geophysicist. At the end of last year, I found a Roman theatre in a Roman town near Hull, UK. I've just completed a second survey there, with a couple of new buildings, but nothing as exciting as the theatre. Photo: hurston #12 The lost city of Etzanoa, home to as many as 20,000 inhabitants was discovered in southern Kansas. The site was also the location of a battle between the Spanish and the Native American inhabitants. Photo: pearman8 #13 Orkney was the capital of neolithic Britain, turning the traditional map upside down. Photo: Chris_in_Lijiang #14 A thousand years before folk decided to pile up rocks on Salisbury Plain the Orkney Islands probably held the most important religious sites in Britain. Photo: Cyanopicacooki #15 Discovery last year of a ceramic wine vessel, decorated with grape clusters, from Tiblisi, Georgia, pushing back the archaeological evidence for a functioning winery and vinicultural industry in the Transcaucuses 1000 years (from Areni One and Hajj Furiz Tepe) to over 8000 years ago. I'll drink to that! #16 I'm an archaeologist who mostly works in the private sector. We find a lot of cool stuff, but almost everything we do is classified to some degree or another to discourage pot hunters and vandalism. This year I've found an extension of a really important Late Woodland (the period right before Europeans arrived in America) site, and worked on a very cool 19th century burial ground that had been partially destroyed out of negligence by a construction company, which is a big problem we run into. Both sites were super cool, but I can't get into specifics about where they're located! Photo: elyon612 #17 Not an Archeologist. Recently in Pakistan specifically around the City of Peshawar the remains of a somewhat intact workshop was found. People believe that it may be Gandhara Civilization but some think it may be older. Photo: anon #18 In the 1960s two (headless) skeletons were found in a latrine of a house on the Greek island of Delos. This is a big deal because Delos was a sacred island and no one could be buried there, instead there was a cemetery on the neighbor island. But what is even more interesting is the excavators could not find the heads ANYWHERE. But what is even MORE interesting is that within this house was the largest single collection of phallus statues. So fast forward to 2014, excavations were beginning again at this same house and they found the heads!!!! Two rooms over. It has been suggested that because of their unusual burial context (in the latrine), the fact that they were decapitated, and the fact that they were on Delos at all indicated that these two individuals got their lives taken away! Next week I will be helping catalogue and analyze the skeletons- very exciting! Unfortunately for ethical reason I will most likely not be able to post photos. #19 Yesterday I was reading they found a mixed Denisovan and Neanderthal family in a cave with a mix breed 13 year old daughter. So neat! Advertisement #20 Recently a tonne of phenomenal finds have been excavated in Britain. Examples being a preserved iron age shield found in Leicestershire, which changes how we perceived Iron Age British tribal equipment in combat, hoping it will open the door to a broader understanding of the military capabilities of this period, and that C14 dating will give us a more specific dating assessment. I've mainly worked in classical Greek and Imperial Roman archaeology and Vindolanda is one such site which has been pumping out phenomenal research and artifact findings. being a reasonably well preserved Roman fort along Hadrian's wall, artifacts are found daily. During the past couple of weeks, finds have ranged from leather shoes, tent canvas, even bathhouse sandals to prevent you burning your feet on the hot tiles. These finds have opened a window of immense understanding of daily life within a Roman defensive fort. Photo: Tuxion #21 Don't know how major or interesting this is but in Athens in the area of Faliro () (which used to be the port of ancient Athens before it was moved to Piraeus) during some excavations for the construction of a cultural center, a huge cemetery was discovered. An entire year of construction was put on hold (and this is a frequent problem in Athens, major construction work running into ancient buried buildings which now have to be preserved). Apparently the cemetery is interesting not only because it hosts many dead babies and children, which were buried inside vessels, (infant mortality rate was very high) but also many prisoners and criminals who were executed. There's also a mass grave of about 80 shackled men. It has been speculated the mass grave may be related to Cylon of Athens, a winner in the Olympics and wannabe tyrant, who tried to stage a coup by taking over the Acropolis but was promptly chased out of there by Megacles (of a powerful Athenian clan) and escaped to Megara. His followers sought refuge in the altar of Athena Polias. Anyone present at an altar was considered to be under the protection of the gods, and was not allowed to be harmed. They agreed to descend the Acropolis afted being promised they would be left unharmed but were slaughtered nonetheless by the followers of Megacles, as they considered the men unworthy of the gods' protection. #22 They recently discovered possible evidence that there were humans 100,000 years ago in the americas. In San Diego they found evidence of what we think are tools made of mastodon bone. So essentially archaeologists are stubborn just like any other type of ideology on academia and theyre reluctant to let go of the theories that dominated the 20th century. For example weve always been taught Clovis first meaning the first people to populate the americas were the Clovis people 10-12k years ago. But now there is overwhelming evidence the Americas were populated before that and possibly all the way back to 100,000 years ago which would completely change our understanding of humans. Photo: soupman66 #23 That Australasians reached South America tens of thousands of years before the northern migration. They keep the remarks within the relatively accepted time frames of 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. But the hidden truth is there is evidence of settlements closer to the 100,000BCE mark. News Scientist Smithsonian Magazine Photo: zombiephish #24 The mythical cities of the Amazon may not have been so mythical also Mayan cities in Guatemala are being uncovered too do to the use of LiDAR. LiDAR able to penetrate the forests and see the ruins below. Photo: anon #25 In April 2019, a new hominid species (human species) was declared in the Philippines. This has been ongoing research since 2007 but the research study was only recently unveiled to the world. This species shares commonalities with many of its contemporary humanoids (sapiens, neadertalensis, floresiensis). With the current finds, it is believed that h. Luzonesis was short (less than 4 ft. tall) just like its Indonesian cousin h. Floresiensis. It's quite a fascinating research, here's a short video describing what we know so far #26 Re-examination of an assemblage from the Early Iron Age Oakbank crannog in Loch Tay, Scotland has identified a wooden lyre bridge. A wooden whistle is also known from the site, and these two artefacts alone are some of the earliest and best evidence for musical instruments in Western Europe. The site was in use between 500-350 BC. A reconstructed crannog houses the collection and they recently got money for a project this year aiming to promote and display these artefacts to the local community and visitors. 3D model of the lyre bridge #27 My anthropology professor from this semester spent the first half of the semester in Ethiopia doing an excavation. They found a piece of bone with scratch markings on it, indicating a form of symbolism from 80 thousand years ago, which is nearly 30 thousand years before the previously oldest discovery. According to my professor at least. His name was Michael J Rogers for anyone interested and in the know. Photo: OperatorMira #28 Atlantic Canada flip flopped hands between France and England when the new world was colonized. We are using ground penetrating radar to discover some burial grounds that don't exist on paper. Photo: _NetWorK_ #29 Not an archeologist, but apparently there has been found a temple full of columns buried directly beneath the Temple of Hathor (Dendera Temple Complex in Egypt). Source (begin at 5:58 min if you want to skip the introduction and stuff). Photo: anon #30 I'm an Endiocronozoologist. In 1964 my team discovered the remains of a Ziwanis elder tribesman who had in his tomb the ancient talisman of Sha'Na however, it was missing a very distinct piece. Very recently upon expedition to the greater isles of Naath we set upon that jewel. The adventure that led to its discovery is a tale of the ages. #31 Archaeology student here. I'm surprised nobody mentioned must farm. It's basicly a bronze age Pompeii. The preservation is incredible and when the processing of the finds is done we'll have a whole new vieuw on bronze age day to day life. #32 Not really that major but last year I did field school in North Jersey at a Revolutionary War encampment and we found a button (like a jacket button) that had USA written on it. It was really interesting to see the use of that acronym from such an early stage in Americas infancy. Everybody in the field school was freaking out about it. Photo: 4wful #33 The Tomb of Neithhotep was discovered in the early 1900's, but it was badly damaged and therefore we're still investigating all the material we have. A lot of it was burnt by tomb robbers but there is still some epigraphic evidence. One of the most interesting pieces is a tiny piece of pottery with a serekh on it, the symbol of the name of the king. For context, Neithhotep was from Predynastic Egypt, just before the first dynasty. And this is where it gets exciting - Neithhotep is believed to be the mother of the first pharaoh of Egypt. However, on this piece of pottery, her name is written in a serekh. Indicating she was a pharaoh. Of course its possible that it was just indicating her as Queen, but it's quite fun to think that there's a very good chance the first pharaoh of Egypt was a woman. Furthermore, as far as we can tell, this is the earliest ever surviving evidence of a woman's name written down. We all thought that was pretty cool. #34 I dont know if its national news or anything but a bunch of fossils and bones of some sort of horned Dino were just found on a construction site in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. My cousins boyfriend was one of the workers that found them. Some jerk on his team was trying to load his truck up with a bunch of the fossils and bones and destroyed them, the museum had to confiscate stuff from him. But its still pretty cool that Colorado has another dinosaur! (I think weve had another dinosaur and another really good set of fossils found here.) Also, I know this is paleontology and not archeology, but its still cool, and I wasnt thinking about that when I decided to post. #35 Not an archaeologist, but aspiring to be one. There is currently a hunt for Caligula's third pleasure boat. The first two were found in Lake Nemi but were destroyed during the First World War, so this possible third one is the last one in existence. #36 Not an archaeologist, except in my youthful dreams. A Bronze Age canoe was recently uncovered during the building of a new bypass in North Wales. While not an earth shattering discovery, if it is a canoe, it is an extremely rare discovery and the first prehistoric example to be found in North West Wales. Photo: AusomeAutist #37 4 years ago a guy in Finland was metal detecting and found a small metallic wolfs head figure that the Finnish museum officials at the time said was just a piece of garbage. After a recent re-examination it turns out it is similar in design and composition to the type of figurine popular with Roman troops and the find might mean that their trade routes reached way further north than just Denmark. Circumstancial evidence dates it to the Middle Ages, but more research is needed. Either way it is a very significant find. The lesson here I guess is to always get a second opinion on your findings, this one might have ended up in the trash otherwise. Heres an pics/article in finnish #38 Not and archaeologist, but in Eritrea they are currently working on uncovering the port city of Aksum Adulis. So far theyve found a Byzantine church. (I forget its dating. ) An Italian university group is the lead of the adulis program. They are still trying to dig up the rest of the city which is about 40 hectares. Theyve managed to do just a small percentage of that. #39 Not archeology but related: I worked on a television series about the Dutch 80 years war; a series of conflicts between 1568 and 1648 that formed our kingdom. It is Game of Thrones minus the dragons. I was amazed at the knowledge historians have about this period. Stuff like the exact locations of troops on a certain date more than 400 years ago. The exact route they took and local weather at the time. How they were recieved in different cities. Names and oilpaintings of all the important people All this information from clever combination of information from archives , museums and private collections from all over Europe. #40 Yes actually! I don't specialise in Ancient Egypt (my focus is on Greek and Roman Mechancial Technology) but a really interesting paper came out about the great pyramids that seems to explain a lot about them. I personally thought the theory was really compelling but I'm interested to see what people who are actually experts in the matter have to say about it. It suggests that water from a lake was used to half fill the pyramid before escaping from the hidden door in a waterfall like manner and created a moat around the base of the pyramid, and it seems to take into account all of the weird chambers in the pyramid that people haven't been able to explain, and it corresponds well with ancient writings on the pyramids such as Herodotus and Strabo. #41 Not exactly archeology, but linked to that - at the end of the last Ice age, there was a swift drop of temperatures to much colder than it was even during the end of the Ice age. It lasted for centuries and coincides with the extinction of many species of the Ice age fauna (various mammoths, rhinos, cave bears, cave lions...) . It was speculated about what caused it and there was a hypothesis, which was considered pretty much obscure by many scientists, that a impact of an asteroid/comet caused it. In November 2018, a crater in Greenland was found that might be - might - from that time period and if it were, would be a game-changer in our understanding of why so many species went extinct. #42 A couple years ago my grandma (an archaeologist) dug up a Roman era toilet seat in Romania. #43 There are a lot of locations within Egypts pyramids and sphinxes, etc that are being guarded and kept in secret by the Egyptian residents. Bright Insight makes videos on this. there was a building near the pyramids covered in hieroglyphics. A worker their was bribed to allow a tourist to see a couple hidden areas. One of which was a normal Egyptian looking room with heavy slabs of sandstone. They moved one for restoration and discovered ANOTHER room, and probably more, beneath these floor slabs. This is just one area, and their is obvious corruption with some people working in these areas. #44 Not an archaeologist, but I remember recently reading a very brief article online about archaeologists who managed to prove Romans brought rabbits to Britain from mainland Europe. #45 Not sure how well the wider world knows about it, but an Anglo-Saxon burial has been discovered in Southend, which has some amazing finds in it. Currently it has the only surviving example of painted anglo saxon woodwork, it contains gold artefacts as well, but the woodwork is the real treasure here, at least to some . The papers briefly picked it up, but it's truly a brilliant find. There was also an Iron Age Chariot burial in Pembrokeshire, the first of its type for the area I believe; they had been associated with the Parisi in Yorkshire, but this shows the practice wasn't confined to that area. Similarly, its the first example of La Tene artwork in Pembrokeshire. I find that the public at large are more focused on golden artefacts, swords etc. But things like Pottery and artwork are so much more interesting to archaeolgists as they can tell you so much about the people. My old Lecturer said that you could tell an archaeologist by the way he reacted to ceramics. #46 There's been a new buried chamber found under the temple that contains these carvings A large floor stone was moved for renovation, and a pillar surrounded by sand was found directly under it. #It's not being excavated publicly. So there's rumours of potential theft. =(. #47 Mastadon bones dating back over 130000 years have been found in california with evidence that they were cracked open with tools to access the bone marrow. Hence, it is looking like we have been on this planet WAY longer than what we have been taught. President Donald Trump speaks about Iran before a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Multiple times during Donald Trump's second presidency, Congress has debated his military authority, first in Latin America and now the Middle East. The latest test will come in the GOP-controlled House on Thursday after the Senate voted down a Democratic measure to limit Trump, at least theoretically, in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Like many predecessors, Trump claims broad, even unlimited power over U.S. forces. He approved boat strikes near Venezuela, established a naval blockade and authorized a military operation to arrest and depose its leader, Nicolas Maduro all arguable acts of war under international law. He made noise about additional action in Greenland and Latin America, before launching a sweeping bombing campaign in Iran. Under the Constitution, the military reports to the president. But the document grants oversight roles to Congress. Trump says he wont sign anything limiting his options proof for some experts that control over a civilian-led military has skewed from its original design. The Constitution gives war powers to two different branches of government, said military historian Peter Mansoor, an Ohio State University professor and retired U.S. Army colonel. The pendulum has swung towards the executive, he lamented, arguing that the framers meant for Congress to be the most powerful branch. Here is a look at what the Constitution says and how U.S. war powers have played out. What the constitution says about war powers Article I, which established Congress, states that lawmakers shall have power ... to declare war. Article II, which established the presidency, makes the chief executive the commander in chief of the Army and Navy. The Constitution also gives Congress authority over military budgets. Congress has not declared an official state of war since World War II. Yet since 1945, U.S. service members have fought and died in full-scale conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other places. In the Maduro mission, an Army pilot was injured, leading Trump to award him the Medal of Honor recognition legally restricted to actions taken when fighting a foreign enemy. As of Wednesday, six U.S. service members had died in the Iran war. During Senate debate last month on Venezuela, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., mocked an elaborate song and dance and said it's an absurdity to argue that Trump's actions were anything other than waging war. Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who sponsored Venezuela and Iran war powers resolutions, said the latest version which failed 47-53 would prevent a presidential end-run around the Constitution. Declarations of war: 11 but none since World War II Congress has declared war against 11 nations across across five wars. Three declarations came in the 19th century, two during World War I and six during World War II. Each time, the president formally asked Congress to act, citing some specific attack on the U.S. or another national interest. President James K. Polk asked even for the Mexican War, which was principally about expanding U.S. territory. Over the same span, Congress voted many times to authorize force without declaring war. Early measures were usually for specific naval actions defending U.S. commercial interests. Congress first took this route in 1798; it became a roadmap for the post-World War II era. The Korean War marked a turn toward presid ential power President Harry Truman won World War II under declarations issued while Franklin Roosevelt was president. Then, in 1950, the fledgling United Nations voted to act in Korea and asked member nations to assist. Advertisement Citing the U.N., Truman engaged U.S. troops in a so-called police action" without seeking lawmakers' approval. Congress later that year approved the Defense Production Act to mobilize U.S. war capacity. It was an after-the-fact endorsement of Truman's decision, and the law remains a potential Pentagon tool. Vietnam showed the span of congressional and presidential power Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Gerald Ford presided over what history remembers as the Vietnam War, though it was often called the Vietnam conflict as U.S. administrations expanded southeast Asia operations. Lyndon Johnson persuaded Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 and used that to accelerate U.S. involvement. As U.S. deaths rose, the war grew unpopular, but Johnson and then Richard Nixon had broad authority from lawmakers. Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression, the 1964 resolution stated. Congress repealed that measure in 1971, but Nixon did not withdraw. Mansoor said war declarations dont just define the start of a war. They also effectively require an official end which triggers the Senates role in ratifying peace treaties. Sidestepping those legal bookends, Mansoor said, is how you get in these forever wars. Congress answers with the War Powers Act In 1973, as the U.S. limped toward its Vietnam exit, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, intending to impose guardrails on presidents by requiring certain communication with lawmakers and allowing Congress to hold votes setting parameters for military action. That was the legislative trigger this year for failed Venezuela resolutions and the Iran resolutions. In 2020, a Democratic-controlled House narrowly adopted a measure intended to curtail Trumps powers against Iran at that point. But in practice the War Powers Resolution has not served as a functional check on executive power. After Vietnam, presidents assert role as commander in chief Ronald Reagan sent troops to Lebanon in 1982 as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. He did not cite the War Powers Resolution when notifying Congress and did not agree to congressional authorization until 1983 after service members already had died. In 1990, George H.W. Bush notified Congress under the War Powers Resolution that he'd dispatched troops to the Middle East after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Bush asked Congress for support as opposed to authorization only after securing U.N. backing for action by an international coalition led by U.S. forces. Congress authorized force in January 1991. Bill Clinton deployed U.S. troops multiple times to Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq. He asked Congress for appropriations but not explicit authorizations. When some lawmakers pressed Clinton to seek approval for strikes in Iraq in 1998, Clinton asserted his interpretation of presidential authority not unlike Trump's arguments. Bush calls 9/11 an act of war but never seeks a declaration George W. Bush quickly mobilized the military after terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He consulted quickly with Congress, resulting in a joint resolution authorizing sweeping action. It was unique because no specific country was targeted and it initially focused on al-Qaida. Congress nearly unanimously supported the measure but asked for reports every 60 days. Mansoor, the military historian, noted that Bush used the vote to conduct antiterrorism efforts anywhere in the world. Bush returned to Congress in 2002, telling leaders he wanted authorization for action against Iraq. What Congress passed for Bush had no effective end date. His successor, Barack Obama, inherited troops in Iraq and did not initially withdraw them. Afghanistan carried on through Obama's two terms and Trump's first presidency and into Joe Biden's term. Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan after it had become the longest U.S. war never declared in the nation's history. Finland's government is reconsidering its total ban on nuclear weapons -Credit:GETTY Finland's government has announced that it is reconsidering the ban on nuclear weapons as signs of an impending war draw ever clearer. According to the country's current law, bringing nuclear weapons into Finnish territory is strictly forbidden. However, on Thursday, Minister of Defense Antti Hakkane announced during a press conference that the country would now start importing them. Hakkane commented that the ban, which was instituted in the 1980s, is no longer relevant. Hakkane also commented that the Finnish government does not meet the standards required for the country to be recognized as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. White House claims Iran nuclear program 'obliterated' comes back to haunt them Map shows safest parts of US during nuclear war as experts issue chilling warning The Finnish minister stated that such bans within NATO are uncommon. Hakkane also claimed that lifting the ban would ensure protection for all those who live in the country. It was reported that the Defense Minister refused to give scenarios in which nuclear weapons could be brought to Finland, citing the secretive nature of NATO's policies. Hakkane attempted to reassure the populace by stating that Finland was not actively seeking to deploy missiles on its territory. NATO also commented that it does not plan to conduct any tests in Finald in the future. Advertisement The Finnish minister stated that such bans within NATO are uncommon -Credit:Getty Images While the U.S. has deployed several nuclear arms across Europe, any attempt to send them to Finland would require a treaty, which would have to be discussed separately in Parliament and by the government. Lifting the ban only allows migrants a temporary stay. It was reported that the lifting of the ban would require amendments to the Criminal Code and the Nuclear Energy Act and would only allow for the passage of nuclear weapons through Finland. Opposition parties have criticized the way the government has promoted the dismantling of the nuclear weapons ban, while the Socialist parties have commented that there should have been a debate on the issue. Hakkane commented that the government was forced to operate with limited information due to the sensitivity of the matter. While the U.S. has deployed several nuclear arms across Europe, any attempt to send them to Finland would require a treaty -Credit:US AIR FORCE/AFP via Getty Image Hakkanen also commented that the proposal should not be a surprise, as the government has said it will assess the matter. According to Hakkane, "this is not an ideological question." According to the conference, members of Finland's parliament will be kept up to date on the matter and will be provided with classified information. The goal, according to the officials, is to have all legal amendments discussed by the summer. Nuclear war A simulation map shows which states would be the safest in the event of a nuclear attack targeting U.S. silo fields, as experts issue a chilling warning as fears of nuclear war grow. On Tuesday, Iran expanded its targets by striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Washington began to pull many staff out of the Middle East. In the wake of mounting conflict, Scientific American's previous maps showing the risks of radioactive fallout in the event of an attack on nuclear missile silos in the U.S. indicate that areas in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and North Dakota would suffer some of the worst consequences. However, the maps also indicate which areas would be least affected according to the simulation. In an average-case scenario, the maps indicate that the "safest states" would be Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Other states that would be among those less affected include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Illinois. Rounds of heavy rain, some associated with severe thunderstorms, will focus along a swath from Texas to Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania into next week. The highest risk to lives and property will be from rapid flash flooding in urban areas and along small streams. Some rivers may experience minor to moderate flooding in unprotected areas. Several waves of drenching rain will track from southwest to northeast across this 1,500-mile span as storm systems ride along the boundary separating warm, moist air to the south from cooler, damp air to the north. AccuWeather.com Because the heaviest rain will shift from day to day, widespread major river flooding is less likely on the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri and Red rivers. Rain from Tuesday through Thursday totaled several inches across parts of the Ohio Valley. Some secondary rivers from southern Illinois to southern Indiana and Ohio will reach moderate flood stage into the weekend, with a few locations approaching major flood stage. Minor to moderate flooding is also expected along secondary rivers in Missouri. AccuWeather.com A new storm has begun to slice from Texas to the Great Lakes region on Saturday. Much of the rain and drenching downpours from thunderstorms will occur along the storm's slowly advancing cold front. AccuWeather.com The storm's steady movement should limit rainfall totals to 1-2 inches in most areas. However, that is still enough to trigger urban and flash flooding if much of the rain falls within a few hours. Some rivers in the Midwest and Northeast could rise several feet as runoff increases. The front is forecast to slow and stall over parts of Texas and Louisiana this weekend, increasing the risk of locally heavy rain. Advertisement AccuWeather.com Rainfall along parts of the storm and trailing front will range from 1-4 inches, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 8 inches. While a couple of inches spread over several days would not cause widespread flooding on its own, areas that receive 4-6 inches or more could face serious flash and urban flooding, along with significant rises on some secondary rivers. Recent rainfall in some communities will compound the risk. AccuWeather.com AccuWeather meteorologists are closely monitoring the flood risk, including in the Texas Hill Country, where devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River last July claimed many lives. Extra caution is urged along area rivers and at low-water crossings, where water levels can rise suddenly. GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Additional rain is forecast in the region from Tuesday to Wednesday of next week, potentially matching the totals expected from Friday through Sunday. AccuWeather.com While these rounds of rain will help ease drought in parts of the region, more soil will become saturated. As runoff into streams and rivers increases, the risk of flash flooding and secondary river flooding will grow with each additional storm. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. Funding supports expansion of Roboze's advanced manufacturing platform combining Physical AI, materials science and additive manufacturing systems across the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roboze, a manufacturing technology company developing advanced production platforms for mission-critical industries, today announced an investment from Rule 1 Ventures, a U.S. venture capital firm focused on defense and national security technologies. The investment will support Roboze's expansion of distributed manufacturing infrastructure, enabling governments and industrial operators to produce critical components closer to the point of need. Roboze's platform integrates high-performance additive manufacturing hardware, proprietary materials science, software-driven process intelligence and embedded Physical AI to deliver reliable production of complex parts for aerospace, defense, energy and other strategic sectors. "We are proud to welcome Rule 1 Ventures and this exceptional group of investors to Roboze," said Alessio Lorusso, founder and CEO of Roboze. "Modern industrial resilience requires more than machines it requires a complete manufacturing platform that combines hardware, materials science and intelligent software. Our mission is to build the infrastructure that allows critical industries to produce advanced components wherever they are needed." Rule 1 Ventures is led by national security leaders including James A. Winnefeld Jr., a retired four-star admiral and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Todd Ehrlich, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and defense entrepreneur. The firm invests in technologies designed to strengthen operational readiness and industrial capacity. "Future readiness depends not only on advanced systems but also on the ability to sustain and produce them," said James Winnefeld, partner at Rule 1 Ventures. "Roboze is building industrial capability that will become increasingly critical to national security." Broad Institutional Support The funding round also includes participation from investors with experience across defense, government affairs and global industrial markets, including Privcorp Ventures; Heather Podesta, founder and CEO of Invariant LLC; Gary Ang, former Temasek operating partner and Singaporean Air Force official; Tholus Capital; and the Ferrari Family Office. Existing Roboze shareholders also participated in the round, including Federico Faggin, inventor of the microprocessor, and Rialto Venture Capital. Building the Next Generation of Industrial Infrastructure Global supply chains for defense, energy and critical infrastructure are increasingly challenged by long lead times, fragile logistics and limited production flexibility. Roboze's technology platform is designed to address these challenges by enabling localized, on-demand production of mission-critical components through an integrated stack that combines: Advanced additive manufacturing hardware High-performance polymer and composite materials AI-driven process intelligence Digital manufacturing software Distributed Smart Factory infrastructure This approach allows industrial operators to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities while accelerating the production of complex components traditionally dependent on long and centralized manufacturing processes. Global Expansion The new investment will support Roboze's continued expansion across operational hubs in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, enabling the deployment of distributed manufacturing capabilities for governments, defense contractors and strategic industrial sectors. About Roboze Roboze is a manufacturing technology company developing advanced production platforms for mission-critical industries. By combining proprietary hardware, materials science, software and embedded Physical AI, Roboze enables the distributed production of high-performance components for aerospace, defense, energy and transportation. Through its global Smart Factory network, Roboze provides certified, repeatable manufacturing solutions where performance, reliability and supply chain resilience are essential. For more information, visit www.roboze.com. About Rule 1 Ventures Rule 1 Ventures is a U.S.-based venture capital firm investing in defense and national security technologies that strengthen operational capability and industrial resilience. Media Contact: Zoe Handy, [email protected] SOURCE Roboze Midjourney A bill that was advancing in the Florida Legislature as of last week would authorize government surveillance of people whose "views" or "opinions" are deemed "a threat" to state or national "interests." What could possibly go wrong? "This outrageous claim of authority would be a profound betrayal of Americans' First Amendment rights," Carolyn Iodice, legislative and policy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, warns in a press release. "Imagine being arrested or having your home raided because the government has decided that your opinions are a 'threat' or simply don't align with its interests. This puts everyone's free speech rights at risk. Even if your views aren't in the state's crosshairs today, they could be tomorrow. Free societies do not investigate or arrest their own citizens for their opinions." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida also had "grave concerns" about the bill. It "could easily be used to silence dissenting voices under the guise of security," ACLU of Florida strategist Abdelilah Skhir told Florida Politics last month. "The vague and overbroad language could easily be weaponized against everyday Floridians engaged in First Amendment protected activity." State Rep. Danny Alvarez (RRiverview), who filed the bill on December 30, did not understand what all the fuss was about. He said he was simply trying to combat threats such as "drug cartels," "terrorist organizations," and foreign "intelligence entities." Last week, the Florida Phoenix reported that "Alvarez said it's only been in the past week that he's become aware of First Amendment concerns." Alvarez's bill, H.B. 945, would create a Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, consisting of "at least seven" 10-member teams. The unit would be charged with "identify[ing] threats by analyzing patterns of life, gathering actionable intelligence, and formulating effective plans of action, and by executing arrests or by revealing its intent to compel a response using all counterintelligence and counterterrorism tradecraft necessary to protect the state from adversary intelligence entities." What is an "adversary intelligence entity"? The bill's definition goes far beyond spies employed by foreign governments. It says the term "includes, but is not limited to, any national, foreign, multinational, friendly, competitor, opponent, adversary, or recognized enemy government or nongovernmental organization, company, business, corporation, consortium, group, agency, cell, terrorist, insurgent, guerrilla entity, or person whose demonstrated actions, views, or opinions are a threat or are inimical to the interests of this state and the United States of America." On its face, the bill would empower the Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit to investigate organizations and individuals based on the "views" or "opinions" they express. Alvarez insisted that was not his intent. But by his own account, he did not recognize the obvious First Amendment implications of that broad mandate until a month and a half after he introduced the bill. When some of his colleagues alerted him to those civil liberties concerns, Alvarez promised to address them. "We are very, very aware of the questions regarding [the] First Amendment," he told Florida Politics last week. "We're going to address that in an amendment that comes to the next committee." He told reporters he was willing to excise the language referring to any "person whose demonstrated actions, views, or opinions are a threat or are inimical to the interests of this state and the United States of America." As of today, however, the original version of the bill was the only one listed on the Florida Legislature's website. And despite his avowed willingness to amend the bill, Alvarez did not seem to think it was actually necessary to do so. "That four-cornered document called the Constitution" already provides adequate protection against abuse of the authority that H.B. 945 would grant, Alvarez told Florida Politics. "It's the same guard rail thatlaw enforcement has to abide by every single day." Advertisement The bill "is going after terrorists [and] nation-state bad actors, not political speech," Alvarez said. "A criminal predicate is required prior to any law enforcement activity." But the bill itself does not impose any such condition. Nor does it include any language saying that it should not be construed to authorize investigations based on constitutionally protected speech. The "primary goal" of the new unit, H.B. 945 says, "is to conduct statewide counterintelligence and counterterrorism activities to detect, identify, neutralize, and exploit adversary intelligence entities, international and domestic terrorists, insider threats, corporate threats, and other foreign adversaries to protect this state and the United States of America." But it defines those threats to include people who express dangerous opinions. That sweeping mandate evidently did not faze the House Government Operations Subcommittee, which unanimously approved the bill on January 29; the House Judiciary Committee, which gave its assent by a 161 vote on February 3; or the House Budget Committee, where 20 of 28 voting members agreed to advance the bill on February 24. As those last two tallies indicate, there were a few dissenters. Rep. Alex Andrade (RPensacola), one of the eight Budget Committee members who voted against H.B. 945, said he had "grave concerns about the abuse of a bill like this," given the "vagueness" of its language. Rep. Michele Rayner (DSt. Petersburg), another member of that committee who voted no, likewise had "concerns" in light of previous counterintelligence abuses, such as those revealed at the federal level by the Church committee in 1976. "After the surveillance abuses in the '60s with federal agents monitoring Americans based on their associations and viewpoints, public outrage forced guardrails into the law," Bobby Bloch, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida, noted in response to Alvarez's bill. "In our lifetime, we have seen how tradecraft has gone off the rails when it doesn't have these guardrails." Notably, Alvarez cited the counterterrorism unit established by the New York Police Department after the 9/11 attacks as a model. That initiative raised objections from critics who complained that it resulted in unjustified surveillance of innocent Muslims. And "in more than six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping on conversations and cataloguing mosques," the Associated Press reported in 2012, "the New York Police Department's secret Demographics Unit never generated a lead or triggered a terrorism investigation." Alvarez, who assures us that the Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit would respect the First Amendment because law enforcement agencies are required to do so, does not seem to have drawn any lessons from the history of such projects. The next stop for his bill was the House State Affairs Committee, where his promised amendment was supposed to materialize. If the bill got a nod from that committee, it would go to the House floor for a vote. An identical companion bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Martin (RFort Myers), passed that chamber's Criminal Justice Committee by a 71 vote on February 11. It still needed the approval of two more Senate committees.* The current legislative session ends on March 13. Maybe a lack of time will defeat the bill. Concerns about its impact on civil liberties manifestly have not been enough. *UPDATE: Edward Longe, director of national strategy and the Center for Technology and Innovation at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, reports that the bill looks dead for now. I'd like to take credit, but Longe says Florida's legislative committees wrapped up last week without holding the hearings that would be necessary for floor votes. Theoretically, he says, legislators could "waive the rules" and "move it straight to the floor," but that requires a two-thirds majority, and "this isn't a leadership priority." Given that reality, I have revised some of the tenses in this post to reflect the bill's prospects. The post Florida Legislators Advance a Bill Authorizing Government Surveillance Based on 'Views' or 'Opinions' appeared first on Reason.com. The Florida Legislature has passed legislation called Missys Law, named in honor of a 5-year-old Tallahassee girl whose abuse-related death happened in 2025 while one of her alleged murderers was released on bail. The Florida Senate on March 4 took up the House version of the bill (HB 445), passing it unanimously. It next heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis. A request for comment on whether the governor had a position on the bill was pending with his press office as of March 4. The legislation would require judges to remand defendants to custody immediately after their conviction of certain dangerous crimes rather than allow them to remain free pending sentencing, which happened in the case of Melissa Missy Mogle. Missy died May 19 after she lost consciousness at her south Tallahassee home and was taken to the hospital with injuries all over her body, from burns and bruises to cuts and ligature marks. Her tragic life story has unfolded in the pages of the Tallahassee Democrat ever since. Senior reporter Jeff Burlew investigated what led to Missy's death, uncovering records from deep within family court files and typically confidential Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigative reports. Her death sparked an outpouring of grief in Floridas capital city and raised mounting questions about how the states child welfare system, the courts, police and others might have failed to protect her. Her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, 35, and her mother, Chloe Spencer, 24, have been indicted on a number of charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. They face the death penalty. At the time of her death, Daniel Spencer was free on bond following his conviction in an unrelated underage sex sting. Advertisement Melissa "Missy" Mogle, 5, died May 19, 2025, shortly after she was found not breathing and unresponsive at her home in SouthWood. Her mother, Chloe Spencer, and stepfather, Daniel Spencer, were arrested on aggravated child battery and other child abuse charges. The legislation was first proposed by Attorney General James Uthmeier just weeks after Missy died. A month before the girl died, her stepfather was convicted in a sex sting and allowed by a judge to remain free on bond while he awaited sentencing. He was arrested in February 2024 after chatting with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl and driving to meet her at a local gas station. While prosecutors requested that Daniel Spencer remain behind bars, Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, who presided over Spencer's sex sting trial, explained in court that she wasn't going to keep him locked up because he had been out of jail for a year without violations and had no violent criminal history. There's no indication from the record that prosecutors made Baker-Carper aware that the Tallahassee Police Department, in consultation with the State Attorney's Office and DCF, had investigated an allegation that Daniel Spencer molested Missy less than a year before her death but didn't pursue charges because of a lack of probable cause. The Democrat posted online a video showing the judge asking the state to "enlighten" her if she missed something. An initial version of the law did not include the crime of traveling to meet a minor, meaning that it would not have affected Daniel Spencer if it had been in place last year something the Tallahassee Democrat pointed out in its coverage. The latest version includes that crime and other violations involving computer pornography and child exploitation. DeSantis now can sign it into law, veto it or let it become law without his signature. (This story was updated to add new information.) This story contains previously published reporting by Jeff Burlew. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Legislature passes 'Missy's Law' after girl's death One of the six American troops killed in the opening hours of the war with Iran was "the life of the party" and had felt a calling to serve his country at a young age, his family said. Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, was one of six service members killed in an Iranian drone strike over the weekend at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbor that doubles as a logistics hub through which the U.S. military ships tactical vehicles and supplies into the region. Iran live updates Khork was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines, Iowa. He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He has prior deployments to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay and Poland. His life "was defined by devotion, character, and service," his family said in a statement on Wednesday. "Cody was truly the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him." Department of Defense - PHOTO: Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida. Khork also had a "great love for history" and studied political science at Florida Southern College, where he was enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, his family said. Advertisement "He was deeply patriotic and took great pride in serving something greater than himself," his family said. "Above all, Cody found the love of his life and carried that same devotion into both his personal life and his service to this country," his family said. "He lived with purpose, loved deeply, and served honorably. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the example he set, and the love of country and family that defined him." Iowa soldier killed in Kuwait remembered by family as smart and kind The Pentagon identified three of the service members killed in the Iranian attack as Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The other two names are being withheld until a day after the next of kin have been notified. An additional 18 service members were wounded in the strike. The number of people on Florida's death row is dropping quickly as Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps up the rapid pace of executions he started in 2025. There are currently 250 people on the roster, including Billy Kearse, who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, March 2 and Cape Coral killer Wade Wilson, who is appealing his sentencing for the brutal 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Behind the scenes: Inside 'Handsome Devil: Charming Killer' Wade Wilson's life on death row Only one of them is a biological woman. Another is a trans woman, but Florida includes that individual in the list of men. In 2024, a federal district court judge allowed the state to enforce a new policy of withholding gender-affirming medical care to those diagnosed with gender dysphoria and requiring transgender women to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment instead to "ameliorate the symptoms." There are presently 47 women on death row in the United States, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org, including transgender women. California has the most, with 18. Here's what to know. Tina Brown only biological woman on Florida's death row Tina Brown is the only woman currently on Florida's death row. She was sentenced to death for the brutal 2010 murder of Audreanna Zimmerman. Tina Lasonya Brown, 55, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to death after she and two other people ambushed 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman, attacked her repeatedly with a stun gun, gagged her, stuffed her in the trunk of a car, drove her into the woods, beat her with a crowbar, doused her with gasoline, set her on fire and left her to die. Brown lived in the same mobile home park in Pensacola as Zimmerman, according to court records. They were initially friends, but tensions rose among Zimmerman, Brown and Brown's 16-year-old daughter, Britnee Angelique Miller. "Brown had previously accused Zimmerman of slashing her tires. Zimmerman had accused Brown of shattering a window in her car, having her boyfriend arrested, and reporting to the Florida Department of Children and Families that she was providing inadequate care to her children," a Florida Supreme Court opinion stated. In 2010, Miller tried to hit Zimmerman after discovering the other woman was sexually involved with her boyfriend. Zimmerman used a stun gun on her in defense, court records show. A few days later, on March 24, Brown invited Zimmerman to come over to make things up. Advertisement Instead, she and Miller and their neighbor Heather Lee repeatedly used a stun gun on Zimmerman and stuffed a sock in her mouth to stifle her screams. The women and teen took Zimmerman to a wooded area, continued beating and stunning her, and then doused her in gasoline and set her on fire while she was still conscious, court records show. Zimmerman survived long enough to get to help and tell paramedics who attacked her. She died a little over two weeks later with severe head trauma, what appeared to be a broken or dislocated jaw, and over 90% of her body burned. Brown, Miller and Lee were all arrested and charged with Zimmerman's murder. Brown was the only one sentenced to death. Miller, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the murder. Lee was sentenced to 25 years in prison after making a plea agreement with the state and has a scheduled release date of Aug. 23, 2031. Who is Jenna Rodgers? One of the people the state lists as a man is Jenna Rodgers, a trans woman who transitioned after she was sentenced to death for killing Julie Robinson in Santa Rosa County in 1998, cutting off and saving the victim's calf muscle. In 2018, Rodgers filed appeals claiming the mental health effects of undiagnosed gender dysphoria led to a series of major decisions in her trial. "Jeremiah Rodgers did not want to live. Jenna Rodgers does," Rodgers' attorneys argued. The Florida Supreme Court denied the appeal, as did the U.S. Supreme Court. How many women has Florida executed? Florida has sentenced 17 women to death, according to state records and court records, but only two were ever executed: Judias Goodyear Buenoano , a.k.a. the "Black Widow," was executed on March 30, 1998, and became the first woman to die in the electric chair in Florida. She was convicted in Orange County of killing her husband by poisoning him with arsenic in 1971. She was also convicted (and sentenced to life) for the 1980 drowning murder of her paralyzed son in Santa Rosa County. Aileen Wuornos: Considered America's first female serial killer, Wuornos was executed on Oct. 9, 2002. She was sentenced to death in Volusia County for the murders of six of the seven men she was implicated in killing. Wuornos, who had a previous criminal record in Florida, was working as a sex worker at the time and claimed that all of the slain men who picked her up either raped her or started to. Evidence that her first victim, Clearwater businessman Richard Charles Mallory, 51, had been previously convicted for attempted rape and had been treated at a correctional institution for sex offenders for eight years was ruled inadmissable in her trial. How many women have been sentenced to death row in Florida? Seventeen women have received the death penalty in Florida, according to state records, media reports and court records. Of those, two have been executed, 12 were resentenced or commuted, one died in prison, one was released from a mental institution to her family, and one remains on death row. The history of women on Florida's death row Bertha Hall: Sentenced in Duval County in 1926 with Gordon Denmark for killing Hall's grocer husband. Their death sentences were commuted in 1929, and she was released in late 1934 or early 1935. Billie Jackson: Sentenced in Duval County in 1927 for the stabbing death of her husband, a musician. Her sentence was commuted seven months later by Gov. John W. Martin, and she was released in 1935-36. Ruby McCollum: Sentenced in Suwannee County in 1954 for shooting a doctor in Live Oak in 1952. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the sentence two years later, and she was sent to the state mental hospital in Chattahoochee before re-trial. McCollum stayed there for 20 years before she was released to her family in 1974. Irene Laverne Jackson: Sentenced in Pasco County in 1962 for murdering her husband for his insurance money. A new trial was ordered in 1964, and she was convicted and sentenced to life for second-degree murder. She was paroled in 1972. Maria Dean Arrington: Initially sentenced in Volusia County in 1968 to 20 years for manslaughter in the death of her husband, she was later convicted and sentenced to death for killing the secretary of a public defender while she was out on appeal bond. The public defender had unsuccessfully defended two of her children on felony charges. She cut through a heavy window screen at Florida Correctional Institute and remained at large for two years, becoming the second woman ever to be named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, before being recaptured. Her death sentence was commuted to life in 1972 when the Supreme Court determined capital punishment was unconstitutional. She is in prison at Lowell Correctional Institution. Sonia Jacobs: Sentenced in 1976 for her part in the shooting deaths of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and his friend, a Canadian constable on vacation. After the Supreme Court overturned her sentence, she was resentenced to life with a 25-year minimum mandatory term. In October 1992, her case was reversed on appeal. She pleaded to second-degree murder, time served, and was released. Kaysie B. Dudley: Sentenced to death in Pinellas County in 1987 for the murder of her mother's employer, a wealthy Redington Beach widow, in September 1985. She was resentenced to life with 25 years minimum mandatory in 1989 Carla A. Caillier: Sentenced in Hillsborough County in 1987 for the murder of her husband in Tampa the year before. She was re-sentenced to life with a minimum mandatory 25 years in 1988. Dee D. Casteel: Sentenced in Dade County in 1987 for the 1983 murder of an 84-year-old woman who had asked around about her missing son, someone Casteel and a fellow employee had ordered killed a month before. Casteel paid two mechanics to kill the woman. Her death sentence was vacated in 1990, and she was resentenced to life in 1991. She died at Broward Correctional Institution on October 7, 2002. Deidre Hunt: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1990 for the 1989 shooting murders of two men she involved in a murder-for-hire scheme. She was videotaped shooting one of the men by her co-defendant, Kosta Fotopoulos, her former boss and lover. She pleaded guilty. She was resentenced to life in 1998 and remains at Homestead Correctional Institution. Andrea Hicks Jackson: Sentenced in Duval County in 1984 for the murder of a Jacksonville police officer. She shot the officer five times when he tried to arrest her in 1983 for filing a false report about a vandalized car. She was the first woman in Florida to have her death warrant signed. Her warrant was stayed in 1989 by the Florida Supreme Court, and she was resentenced to life. She is at Lowell Correctional Institution. Judias Goodyear Buenoano: Sentenced in Orange County in 1985 for the 191 death of her husband by poisoning him with arsenic. Goodyear was also convicted (and sentenced to life) for the May 13, 1980 drowning murder of her paralyzed son in Santa Rosa County. She was executed on March 30, 1998. Aileen Wuornos: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1992 for the 1989 shooting murder of a Clearwater businessman. She has been implicated in the deaths of several other men. She was executed on October 9, 2002. Margaret Allen : Allen was found guilty of torturing and murdering her former housekeeper in 2005 by beating her and pouring bleach and other household chemicals down her throat after a dispute over stolen money, Florida Today reported. She died in custody in 2024. Tiffany Ann Cole : Cole and accomplices were convicted of kidnapping a Jacksonville couple, binding them with duct tape, and burying them alive over the border in South Georgia. Her original 2007 death sentence was thrown out in 2017 and she was resentenced to life in prison in 2023, according to First Coast News. Virginia Larzelere: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1993 for masterminding the killing of her husband, an Edgewater dentist. She was resentenced to life in 2008. Tina Brown: Sentenced in Escambia County in 2013 for the brutal death of Audreanna Zimmerman. Brown beat her victim with a stun gun, hit her with a crow bar, and set her on fire. The victim died two weeks later from her injuries. Still on death row. C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: How many women are on Florida's death row? President Trump Holds Press Briefing On Supreme Court's Decision To Strike Down His Global Tariffs From deposing Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro to threatening to annex Greenland, then bombing "narco-terrorist" boats and launching airstrikes and killing the leadership of Iran - it's little wonder the world has trouble keeping up with Donald Trump's foreign exploits. However, just how alienating has this so-called Donroe Doctrine blizzard of assertive and unashamedly national interest-oriented second-term Trump policies been? And how exactly can we know which countries are choosing the only other comparable world hegemon, China, over that of the USA? One method, for which there is easily measurable and ample data, is the United Nations voting records showing which nations have voted alongside the United States vs. China over this period. And the results are more extreme than you would think. A report by research platform Focaldata analyzing UN voting records does confirm that Trump's "America First" administration is tipping the world towards China, so much so that the world has never been as close to Chinese international policy in living memory. Data shows that while China has approximately maintained its allegiances, America's support has crashed to an all-time low, with only core allies remaining firmly within camp USA. Even the previously loyal United Kingdom has been looking to forge alliances with China (Image: Getty) Where previously Joe Biden and Barack Obama could count on an average of 46 nations consistently supporting them at the UN, Trump can only count on a paltry seven allies that remain shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Some of the 46 countries that have switched away from the US include previously unthinkable detractors such as WWII allies like New Zealand and France to NATO's Germany and Italy. Ukraine, Poland, Netherlands, Italy and even Japan are now far more likely to lean away from the US. Advertisement The seven nations remaining loyal to Trump include the United Kingdom, Australia, and smaller Pacific island nations like Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Even Canada, which some might argue after tariffs and annexation threats would have reason to vote against Trump, has nevertheless remained a backer on the world stage. Unsurprisingly, Israel, which is currently conducting a joint war against Iran, is thoroughly loyal to Trump. There are 87 nations who broadly voted alongside China during the Obama and Biden years, and 73 remain in lockstep with the East Asian giant. The US has found itself more isolated at the United Nations during Trump's second term (Image: Getty) Some of China's remaining countries include India, Russia, Cuba and of course Iran and North Korea. Major conflicts that erupted during Trump's second term provided flashpoints for nations to move against the US. In February 2025, a UN resolution backed by most Western nations condemned Russia's war against Ukraine, and rather than back America's traditional supporters, Trump voted alongside former Cold War rivals Belarus, Russia and North Korea. Israel's war in Gaza led to the majority of the West voting for an unconditional ceasefire in a UN resolution of June 2025, but Trump voted against this in favor of Israel. Even stalwarts such as the United Kingdom, whose foreign policy has been firmly anchored to the US since the end of WWII, is voting with America at its lowest level since it became a founding member of the UN in 1945. Data journalist and author of the report Patrick Flynn said: "Our report uncovered not only how quickly the global order is shifting, but also the structure of influence between the two major poles of the US and China. We liken China's network to a beehive, diffuse and unlikely to collapse from individual rifts. In contrast, US influence is more like a Jenga tower, heavily reliant on a solid bloc of European countries that are quickly moving away from their transatlantic allies." ]]> Fox News Dana Perino is defending the mainstream media amid the Trump administrations ongoing criticisms of its coverage of the war in Iran. Perino, who served as White House press secretary under former President George W. Bush, suggested that President Donald Trump and his cabinet members had been focusing way too narrowly on media coverage rather than their messaging on the conflict, dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Politics: Pete Hegseth Put On Blast Over His Big Lie On Iran Attack: 'Unqualified Piece Of Trash' I consume a lot of media, and I know there are some bad actors in the media, but overall have to say, I feel like there is a ton of coverage, she said on Fox News The Five on Wednesday. I dont think its all negative across the board. If youre in the administration and youre getting really hung up on what you think the enemy in the mainstream media is saying about you, youre focusing way too narrowly. I dont think the coverage of it is that bad at all, she continued, after commending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their regular briefings on the situation. Watch a clip from Wednesdays episode of Fox News The Five below. Perinos comments on the coverage of the Iran war can be found around the 6:00 mark. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Advertisement Perinos remarks came after Hegseth held a Wednesday press briefing in which he argued that the U.S. was winning decisively in spite of the medias emphasis on the deaths of at least six American service members. When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, its front page news, he said. I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality. Politics: Trump Fires Scandal-Plagued Kristi Noem As Homeland Security Secretary Later on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Hegseths stance when questioned in a separate press briefing about the defense secretarys remarks. Its the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room, she said. If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person in this room. Trumps own messaging on the conflict has been spotty. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, he placed the blame on his predecessors, former President Barack Obama and former President Joe Biden. A day later, however, he further muddied the narrative when he stated that it was my opinion that Iran was planning to strike first, despite Pentagon officials who said they had no evidence to support such a claim. Related... Read the original on HuffPost PARIS, March 5 (Reuters) - France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and provide armored transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, as Lebanon was pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East earlier this week. "Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war," Macron said in a post on X. "At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli prime minister not to expand the war to Lebanon. I call on Iranian leaders not to further draw Lebanon into a war that is not its own," the French leader added. Advertisement After meeting with the chief of staff of the French military in Beirut, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun asked Macron to intervene to "prevent the targeting of the southern suburbs following threats by the Israeli army against its residents," the Lebanese presidency said in a separate statement. France has said that it aims to prevent escalation across the region and has taken steps to protect its own positions amid the wider conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. "Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale operation on Lebanese territory," Macron said. (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Bill Berkrot) Argentine gendarmerie officer Nahuel Gallo gives a press conference days after being released from a Venezuelan prison in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Nahuel Gallo, the Argentine military police officer who had been detained in Venezuela since December 2024, urged the international community on Wednesday to seek the release of 24 foreign nationals still held in the infamous Venezuelan prison Rodeo I. Gallo, who was released Sunday after spending 448 days in detention in a prison outside Caracas, said he will not feel free until the 24 foreigners regain their freedom. My mind is still in prison, the officer said during a news briefing in Buenos Aires, where he appeared alongside several high-ranking officials, including Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, who thanked Argentinas allies, including the United States, Italy and Israel, for their help in securing Gallos release. Gallo was detained on Dec. 8, 2024 while on leave to visit his family. The officer, who was stationed in Argentinas central province of Mendoza at the time, was arrested on charges of espionage, according to Argentinas Foreign Ministry. Venezuelas attorney general at the time, Tarek William Saab, said Gallo had attempted to enter Venezuelan territory irregularly, and was concealing his true criminal plan under the guise of a romantic visit. Saab also accused him of being linked to international far-right groups. Advertisement The Argentine government, however, said the officer had traveled to visit his partner, who is Venezuelan, and their son. Hours before Wednesday's news briefing, an Argentine federal judge summoned Gallo to testify as a witness in a case investigating alleged crimes against humanity attributed to the government of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Gallo could contribute his knowledge of the events under investigation, which were reported to have been carried out by the Venezuelan state apparatus, according to a summons issued by Argentine Judge Sebastian Ramos and obtained by The Associated Press. Gallo didn't mention the summons during the briefing or indicate whether he intends to testify. Instead, he requested time and patience from the press, saying he is still not ready to reveal everything he has experienced. I still cant talk about the atrocities they committed, Gallo said. ___ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america A massive joint air campaign by the United States and Israel is dismantling Irans missile network in what officials and analysts describe as one of the most coordinated allied operations in modern warfare. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the campaign is rapidly establishing dominance over Iranian skies. "Starting last night and to be completed in a few days the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies," Hegseth said Wednesday. "Uncontested airspace." "We will fly all day, all night flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital Iranian leaders are looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli air power every minute of every day until we decide its over." Netanyahu Insists Us And Israel's Strikes On Iran Won't Lead To 'Endless War' Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Tuesday that "the cooperation between us and the American military is amazing. We have mutual planning and mutual executing for the plans in Iran and beyond." Read On The Fox News App John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, told Fox News Digital Israel effectively matched the U.S. militarys opening airpower surge. "Israel matched the United States in the number of aircraft in the air," Spencer said. "For Israel, that represents roughly 80% of its air force capability." He added that the level of coordination between Washington and Jerusalem represents a new model for allied warfare. "This isnt separate work," Spencer said. "This is combined work. Integrated, synchronized operations combining powers." "In the past, weve had coalitions of dozens of countries," Spencer said. "But having a partner that is both willing and capable of bringing immense capabilities like this is very rare." The Israeli campaign, known as Operation Roaring Lion, began with roughly 200 fighter jets launching the largest coordinated air operation in the history of the Israeli air force. Within the first 24 hours of the campaign, Israeli fighter jets had already opened a corridor allowing sustained operations over Tehran, according to the Israeli military. Israeli aircraft struck missile launch sites and air defense systems across western and central Iran in an opening wave targeting hundreds of sites simultaneously using intelligence gathered by Israels Intelligence Directorate and the CIA. In the joint operation, Israeli aircraft dropped hundreds of munitions on approximately 500 targets, including missile launchers, command centers and air defense batteries. The opening strike achieved a level of surprise rarely seen in modern warfare, according to Israeli intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder. "In 40 seconds, we eliminated more than 40 of the most important people in Iran," Binder said, referring to senior regime and military officials, including Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "We are sending a clear message to our enemies there is no place where we will not find them." Advertisement Iran's Senior Clerics Exposed After Building Strike In Qom, Succession Choice Looms An Israeli fighter jet takes off to launch airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. (Fox News) Spencer said the strategy behind the opening strike represents a dramatic shift in modern warfare. "What Israel did in this opening campaign just wasnt imaginable in the history of war. It never happened," he said. "To start off by cutting off the brain usually you target the military first. Here they targeted the political and military leadership and had the ability to wipe them out in a matter of hours." Spencer, a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, said the operation reflects advances in intelligence and strike capabilities. "I was part of the invasion in 2003," he said. "Something like this was unthinkable even 20 years ago." An IDF spokesperson announced Wednesday what he described as a historic milestone: an Israeli air force F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian aircraft, marking the first time anywhere in the world that an F-35 has downed a manned aircraft and the first time in 40 years that an Israeli aircraft has shot down an enemy aircraft in combat. Since the start of the operation, Israeli aircraft have carried out more than 1,600 sorties and deployed more than 5,000 munitions, according to figures released Wednesday. The strikes have destroyed roughly 300 missile launchers and targeted more than 600 Iranian military infrastructure sites, according to the IDF. Israel Strikes Iranian Leadership Meeting Choosing Khamenei Successor United States Air Force aircraft in a flyover to commemorate Israels 75th Independence Day in May 2023. Israeli intelligence assessments before the operation indicated Iran was accelerating its ballistic missile production with plans to reach 8,000 missiles by 2027. At the start of the campaign, Israel estimated Iran possessed roughly 3,000 missiles. The strikes have already prevented the production of at least 1,500 ballistic missiles while destroying hundreds already in Irans arsenal, according to the IDF. Israeli officials say the missile program represented a direct threat not only to Israel but also to American forces and allies in the region. "The possession of missiles by a regime that openly declares its intent to destroy the State of Israel constitutes an existential threat," the IDF said. A group of men inspects the ruins of a police station struck Monday amid the U.S.Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Six U.S. service members have been killed, and several others injured, during Operation Epic Fury. In Israel, 13 civilians had been killed as of Wednesday night and more than 1,000 injured in Iranian missile and drone attacks launched in response to the operation, according to Israeli emergency services. The United Arab Emirates has reported three deaths and 68 injuries since the war started Precise casualty figures in Iran remain difficult to verify. Media reports say dozens of senior Iranian commanders were killed in the opening phase of the campaign, along with additional military personnel and civilians following strikes on military facilities and infrastructure. Click Here To Download The Fox News App A firefighter attempts to extinguish a burning car at the site of a direct hit from an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 28, 2026. As the conflict expands beyond Iran, Israeli forces have struck more than 160 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in recent days. To sustain the multifront campaign, Israel has mobilized approximately 110,000 reservists. "Wars are contests of will," Spencer said. "Irans strategy is to break the will of the United States and Israel to continue the operation. The question is whether they can endure the pressure long enough to make that happen." Original article source: The future of war? US-Israel blitz on Iran unveils next-gen allied combat The Florida Panhandle remains the last bastion for cheap gas in the state, where average gas prices have jumped nearly 30 cents compared to last week. In places like Pensacola, Destin and Panama City, the average remains below $3 per gallon. In the days following President Donald Trump's war with Iran, gas prices across the country have seen dramatic increases. A gallon of gas will cost the average American $3.198 as of Wednesday, March 4. That's about nine cents higher than Tuesday and 22 cents higher than last week. Florida's gas prices have risen even more. An average gallon of gas in Florida cost $3.190 on Tuesday, which is a 12-cent increase from Tuesday and a 26-cent increase from the week before. According to AAA, gas prices in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach metro area are $2.890 a gallon, $2.907 in the Pensacola metro-area, and $2.920 in Panama City. Tallahassee is just over the $3 threshold at $3.032. Is the war with Iran to blame for rising gas prices, or is the timing purely a coincidence? Here's what we know. Why are gas prices surging? The big increase in retail gasoline prices came as global wholesale costs for crude oil continue to surge following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that began Saturday, Feb. 27. Because the attacks on Iran began when global oil markets were closed for the weekend, crude oil prices didn't begin rising until trading resumed Sunday night. The increase in oil prices is due to disruptions to the global supply, which includes Iran's partial blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow channel between that country and Oman is where approximately 20% to 30% of the world's oil passes through. Oil-producing countries that send oil tankers through the strait include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. Shortly after noon on Wednesday, West Intermediate Texas crude oil futures were trading at $74.890 a barrel, up 11.52% from $67.153 at the end of the day Friday, Feb. 26, just hours before U.S. armed forces began Operation Epic Fury, according to TradingEconomics.com Crude oil accounts for more than half the cost of retail gasoline prices in Florida and the rest of the U.S., with increases at the fuel pump typically immediately following increases in wholesale oil prices. Advertisement What is the Strait of Hormuz? The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial Middle Eastern export route that carries more than 20% of global oil flows. An official of Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it closed the strait on Monday and would attack any ships that attempt to pass. The U.S. military says it destroyed Iran's navy from the air. The price of crude oil on Wednesday is down compared to Tuesday's price, but remains nearly 12% higher than the start of the war. Where is the Strait of Hormuz? The 100-mile-long Strait of Hormuz is between Iran and the United Arab Emirates. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. What has Trump said about gas prices? The dramatic rise in gas prices comes just a week after Trump claimed that gas was under $2 a gallon during his State of the Union address. In his Tuesday address, Trump said gas "reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor," calling it "a disaster," and added "it is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon." Petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan refuted the claim, pointing out that the average price nationally for gas was closer to $3 per gallon. Trump on Tuesday made comments that he expected gas prices to increase, but that it would be a short-term problem. "As soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before," Trump said Tuesday at the White House. Can Trump lower gas prices? Whether the president has any direct control over gas prices was a contentious point of debate during Joe Biden's presidency. At their peak, gas prices hit as high as $5.032 in June 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as prices across the board stabilized from the COVID-19 pandemic. The price of gasoline is dictated by the global supply and demand for crude oil. Decisions made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an intergovernmental organization that enables the co-operation of leading oil-producing countries, geopolitics and other economic factors are key influencers. The U.S. attack on Iran has had a direct impact on the global supply of oil, which has driven prices up. Unless the war with Iran is resolved quickly, Trump has little power to help prices back at home. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida Panhandle gas prices near $3 as Iran war continues MONTREAL, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - LawZero today announced the appointment of the Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, to its Global Advisory Council. Joining an esteemed group of global leaders named to LawZero's governance structure recently, Dame Jacinda's appointment further strengthens LawZero's governance as it advances its mission to develop safe-by-design, highly capable AI systems as a global public good. Dame Jacinda served as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023. During her tenure, she gained international acclaim for her leadership during national crises and her advocacy for empathetic, collective action. She notably co-founded the Christchurch Call, a global initiative involving over 50 countries, tech companies and civil society members, dedicated to eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online, a testament to her ability to bridge the gap between technology and public well-being. "Dame Jacinda Ardern's track record of leading with integrity and her experience in international approaches to technology-driven global issues are invaluable. As we work toward safe-by-design AI, the caliber and expertise of our board will ensure that our technical path remains deeply rooted in the interests of humanity," said Yoshua Bengio, Co-President and Scientific Director of LawZero. "We are very proud to welcome her to LawZero's Global Advisory Council." "There is often a false debate suggesting we must choose between technological advancement, and safety. LawZero challenges this assumption with a people centered approach. We have the opportunity to enable society, governments, and businesses to reap the benefits of AI while avoiding its risks," said Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. With this appointment, Dame Jacinda will join Stefan Lofven, former Prime Minister of Sweden, on LawZero's Global Advisory Council. The appointment of these esteemed heads of government underscores LawZero's commitment to integrating world-class expertise in global policy, stewardship, and ethical leadership into its governance structure. Global Advisory Council positions are voluntary and unremunerated. In addition to the Global Advisory Council, the six members of LawZero's recently established Board include: Maria Eitel (Chair of the Board) , Founder of the Nike Foundation and Founder and Chair Emeritus of the Girl Effect , Founder of the Nike Foundation and Founder and Chair Emeritus of the Girl Effect Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuellar , President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California , President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California Yuval Noah Harari , leading global thinker and historian, bestselling author of Sapiens , Homo Deus , Nexus and more, and co-founder of Sapienship, a social impact company promoting collaboration around the most pressing global challenges , leading global thinker and historian, bestselling author of , , and more, and co-founder of Sapienship, a social impact company promoting collaboration around the most pressing global challenges Valerie Pisano , President and Chief Executive Officer, Mila - Quebec AI Institute , President and Chief Executive Officer, Mila - Quebec AI Institute Sir John Rose , Senior Adviser to Rothschild & Co, former Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Group , Senior Adviser to Rothschild & Co, former Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Group Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award Winner, Professor, Universite de Montreal; Co-President and Scientific Director, LawZero; Founder and Scientific Advisor, Mila - Quebec AI Institute Working closely together, LawZero's Board of Directors and Global Advisory Council will ensure strategic oversight of LawZero's long-term capability, as well as safeguard the alignment to its mission and commitment to developing AI as a global public good. In the year ahead, the group's priorities will include stewarding LawZero's fundraising efforts and compute strategy, and helping grow its global presence. About LawZero LawZero is a nonprofit startup developing technical solutions for highly-capable, safe-by-design AI systems. Its scientific direction is based on new research and methods led by Professor Yoshua Bengio, the most cited AI researcher in the world. Based in Montreal, LawZero is building a multi-step pathway to safe advanced AI, ensuring that future AI systems are developed and deployed responsibly, equitably, and as a global public good. LawZero is backed by generous donors, including the Gates Foundation, Coefficient Giving, Schmidt Sciences, Future of Life Institute, Jaan Tallinn/Silicon Valley Community Foundation. LawZero was incubated at Mila, an AI research institute founded by Professor Bengio, and For more information, visit www.lawzero.org Dame Jacinda Ardern's biographical notes: Dame Jacinda Ardern served as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand (2017-2023). Assuming office at just 37, she championed an inclusive and empathetic leadership style globally, while facing significant challenges in office including; a live-streamed domestic terror attack targeting New Zealand's Muslim community, a volcanic eruption, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding with a people-first approach New Zealand achieved one of the lowest losses of life among developed nations during the pandemic, instituted a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons, and created the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Violent Extremism Online and remains Patron. SOURCE LawZero PORTSMOUTH California Gov. Gavin Newsom seized on President Donald Trump's firing of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary March 5, minutes after he took the stage at The Music Hall. "Donald Trump is in retreat," Newsom said. "Today is a perfect example the first firing of a high-profile cabinet member." Newsom, 58, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who is on a national book tour, also took aim at another administration official. "The dark heart of the administration is not Kristi Noem, it's Stephen Miller," Newsom said. He referred to 2025, when the Trump administration sent National Guard members to California in a response to protests over immigration arrests and raids. "It had Noem's fingerprints all over it, but it was Stephen Miller's handbook, and he needs to be next," Newsom said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on stage with Jack Cocchiarella as Newsom brings his book tour to The Music Hall in Portsmouth March 5, 2026, visiting New Hampshire as a potential presidential candidate. Newsom appeared in Portsmouth a couple days after comparing Israel to an "apartheid state" during a book event in Los Angeles. He told the Portsmouth crowd his comment, which came as the U.S. and Israel attack Iran, was made in reference to a Tom Friedman column. "Tom used that word apartheid as it relates to the direction (Israel leader Benjamin Netanyahu) is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank," Newsom said. "I'm very angry about this war with all due respect, not because I'm angry the supreme leader is dead, quite the contrary. I'm not naive about the last 37 years of his reign, 47 years since the '79 revolution, but I'm also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of, why, why? Now, what's the end game?" More: 5 controversies defining Kristi Noem before her ousting at DHS In Portsmouth, Newsom also commented on the large voter turnout for the Texas primary this week. "Donald Trump is the leader of the get out the vote for the Democratic Party," he said. Book tour a tried and true tactic for presidential hopefuls At the Portsmouth event, Newsom discussed his book, Young Man in a Hurry, to a sold-out crowd. The memoir takes the reader through his life from his youth as a kid with dyslexia and a neglectful father to his role today as the governor the most populous state in the country. "This memoir became a memoir of discovery and ultimately a love letter to my mom," he said in Portsmouth, in reference to his book and the secrets he learned while writing it. Book tours are often used by presidential hopefuls, and Newson's circuit is no exception, political scientists in the state said. The Democratic governor has said he is considering running. California Gov. Gavin Newsom brings his book tour to The Music Hall in Portsmouth March 5, 2026, visiting New Hampshire as a potential presidential candidate. People who have their eye on the White House will often write books that they can hand out at campaign events that really spell out their vision, and is a very good sort of primer for what they hope to do in the White House, said Neil Levesque, the director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Advertisement Yet his tour, which has taken him all over the country in recent weeks, has not been without controversy. At an event March 3 in Los Angeles, he made waves by saying that some are talking about Israel appropriately as sort of an apartheid state, an accusation which Israel has repeatedly denied, and suggesting the U.S. should reconsider its military support for the country. At another event in Atlanta in February, remarks he made about his low SAT scores and difficulty reading speeches got pushback, largely from conservative outlets, for being racially insensitive. Newsoms office called the backlash MAGA-manufactured outrage." Attendees were ready to hear from Newsom Marguerite Patel of Portsmouth lived in the San Francisco Bay area for years and has been familiar with Newsom as he climbed the political ladder there. She was attending with her husband and friend Karin Rhodes, who also used to live in California. "I'm excited to hear what Gavin has to say," she said. They agreed he has charisma, is likable, and is not afraid to speak to and mix it up on controversial issues. "I want to hear him take a forward-looking position and tell us what he believes in." Lori Stubbs moved to North Hampton five years ago from San Diego, where Newsom was governor. "I've always liked him and the things he says," she said. "But I never got a chance to see him in person and so up close like this. I had to move back to New England to see him." California Gov. Gavin Newsom brings his book tour to The Music Hall in Portsmouth March 5, 2026, visiting New Hampshire as a potential presidential candidate. "I'm interested in hearing what he has to say," Michele Bonner of Dover said. "I'm interested to see if he talks about his book or about politics." Her companion Julie Grass of Portsmouth said, "It's primary season. He's the first of many for sure. I'm open to starting the process." Political analysts say paid event is unusual Unlike many candidate events held in the run up to a primary, which are often free, tickets to the New Hampshire event were $48 and included an unsigned copy of the book. Levesque said that coming to the state to sell books rather than give them away was unusual. "I suspect that that will change as we get further on into the year and closer to the presidential election," he added. However, University of New Hampshire Survey Center Director Andy Smith said a ticketed event might have been on purpose. If it's a ticketed event and you have a lot of people who want to see him, it makes it look like it's a bigger deal, Smith said. And then those people who come are kind of special, and they'll talk about it more. Newsoms visit comes amid a string of visits from potential 2028 candidates. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a series of events with New Hampshire Democratic Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander in mid-February, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was set to visit the state on March 7-8 to support local Democrats. Newsom tied for second in early NH polling In a Feb. 19 poll from the UNH Survey Center, 15% of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters would choose Newsom if the 2028 presidential primary was held today. He was tied with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and both trailed Buttigieg, who led the field with 20%. An Emerson College poll released Feb. 26 found that Newsom leads the Democratic primary field nationally with 20%. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gavin Newsom says 'Trump is in retreat' after Noem firing Photo Credit: @JimmyKimmelLive | YouTube Gavin Newsom, who has been the Governor of California since 2019, has given his prediction on Donald Trumps fate in the midterm elections in November. During a recent sit-down with comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, he claimed that the President will face defeat in the upcoming elections before highlighting the redistricting proposal, which attained approval in his state last year. Gavin Newsom talks about Donald Trumps midterms elections The veteran Democrat recently bashed the POTUS chances of winning the midterm elections, also calling out the latters tactics. Trump is an historic president, historically unpopular, Gavin Newsom said on the March 3 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Hes going to get crushed, shellacked in the midterms. He is, hes toast, and he knows it. Why else did he call [Texas Governor] Greg Abbott, saying hes, quote, unquote, entitled to five seats in a mid-decade redistricting? Newsom then noted, They, of course, obliged in Texas. What Trump thought would follow was maybe a conversation about writing an op-ed in California to try to win the argument as theyre consolidating power. Instead, we decided to redraw the lines, and over a 90-day period, raised $120 million, and we kicked his a** in November. Advertisement Notably, the citizens of California voted in favor of Proposition 50 in November 2025, enabling the state to adopt a new Democratic-leaning House map by bypassing its independent redistricting commission. As such, Democrats now have four or five pickup opportunities in the midterm elections. Newsom decided to go this route after the Texas Republican Party pulled off a similar move under pressure from the White House. Gavin Newsom also mentioned the January 6 incident, claiming that Donald Trump was trying to wreck the country. Not just as it relates to redistricting, trying to nationalize the election, trying to take those voting roles and purge voters, decide who can vote, who cannot, he said of the businessman-turned-politicians strategies. He sent out the BORTAC teams, the border patrol folks, the Apache helicopters to chill free expression on election day, sending a message to everyone [in] diverse communities. If you go out and vote, you may be next. He is not screwing around, and nor can we. Weve got to be tougher, weve got to be aggressive and call this stuff out. Newsom added. The post Gavin Newsom Says Donald Trump Is Going to Get Crushed in Midterms appeared first on Mandatory. Jennifer Siebel Newsom talks to Bloomberg (left); Jennifer in 'Mad Men' (right) Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty; Amazon Prime NEED TO KNOW California Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, opened up about her acting career and political views during an interview with Bloomberg's Emily Chang The first partner of California, an actress and documentarian, revealed that her agent once encouraged her to dumb down her resume and lie about her age while auditioning for "trophy wife" roles I didnt want to pretend to be someone I wasnt, Siebel Newsom said California Gov. Gavin Newsoms wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, sat down with Bloombergs Emily Chang and discussed switching political parties and her acting career. During an episode of Changs show, The Circuit, Siebel Newsom, 51, discussed her acting career, which included playing Juanita Carson in an episode of the ABC television series Mad Men. You got type cast as a trophy wife and is it true that your agent wanted you to take Stanford off your resume so you wouldnt seem smart? Chang asked. Yes and to lie about my age, Siebel Newsom replied, which I didnt do either Those are my values and I was proud of my Stanford MBA and my Stanford undergraduate. I didnt want to pretend to be someone I wasnt, she added. After appearing on Mad Men, Siebel Newsom wrote and directed Miss Representation, a 2011 documentary about women from the U.S., including Katie Couric and Gloria Steinem, that explored sexism in American society and the media. Jennifer Siebel Newsom and California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom attends the 2018 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center on December 3, 2017. Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Chang also asked Siebel Newsom, who refers to herself as the first partner of California, about her political transformation over the years. Advertisement You used to be a registered Republican, Chang noted. Siebel Newsom said she was raised in a conservative household in the Reagan era. Then I tried to be the version of 'decline to state,' but went Independent instead and made that mistake, she said. In California, independent-minded voters often register as "No Party Preference," which used to be called "Decline to State." Some independent voters erroneously register as members of California's American Independent Party, which is a conservative-leaning party. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Siebel Newsom clarified that today, she considers herself 100% a progressive, a Democrat. Siebel Newsom also said her parents respect her husband, noting that they appreciate Gov. Newsom's entrepreneurial spirit and political approach. Read the original article on People SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Lawmakers in Atlanta this week approved $20 million in Georgias amended budget aimed at expanding medical residency programs in Coastal Georgia and training more doctors in the Savannah area. A major portion of new funding in Georgias amended state budget will go toward expanding medical residency programs at St. Josephs/Candler, with the goal of training more doctors in Savannah and encouraging them to remain in Coastal Georgia after completing their training. The $20 million allocation is aimed at strengthening graduate medical education programs across the Savannah region. The largest share of the funding about $16.7 million will support start-up costs for residency programs at St. Josephs/Candler. Another $2 million will go toward expanding residency programs at Southeast Georgia Health Systems Brunswick campus, helping increase physician training opportunities in that area. In addition, more than $432,000 has been designated to fund fellowship slots at Gateway Behavioral Health, which provides behavioral health services throughout the region. State officials shared with WSAV that the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce will distribute the funding as each program meets specific contractual benchmarks. Advertisement Altogether, the investments are expected to significantly expand training opportunities for future physicians. Plans include creating more than 100 new residency slots at St. Josephs/Candler over the next five years, along with 13 new residency positions in Brunswick this year. According to recent studies, Georgia is projected to be short more than 8,000 doctors by 2030. Georgia lawmakers hope taking proactive steps will reduce that number. Health leaders told WSAV that expanding residency and fellowship programs is a key step toward addressing physician shortages across Coastal Georgia. Officials note that doctors are more likely to practice in the communities where they complete their residency training, making these programs an important tool for building a stronger regional healthcare workforce. More details on the funding and reaction from local leaders are expected later today on WSAV. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. In the days since the initial U.S. strikes in Iran, countless lawmakers stateside have weighed in on the Trump Administration's decision to once again get involved in a conflict in the Middle East. Prominent Georgia political figures like former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senators Ossoff and Warnock have denounced the attacks, while candidates to replace MTG and others running in midterm elections have backed the president. Now, Georgia State Senator Greg Dolezal, who is running for Lieutenant Governor in November, has posted a controversial video to social media depicting a hypothetical scenario where an extreme version of what he calls "Sharia law" has taken over the United States. "London has fallen. Europe is under siege. In America, the invaders who would rather pillage our generosity than assimilate are roaming Minnesota, New York and LA," Dolezal said in the post. "As Lt. Governor, I will fight the enemy before they're within the gates and keep Georgia safe and Sharia free." The video was marked with a content warning on X. What does the video show? The video, appearing to have been AI-generated, begins with two people walking toward a building and wearing head coverings, possibly hijabs, shaylas, Al-miras or khimars. It then cuts to a man writing with frosting on a cake, possibly "Happy Easter," but the letters are unclear. A figure dressed in all black runs into frame and slices the cake with a weapon like a Zulfiqar sword. It goes on to show military vehicles driving down the street, a woman being stopped from driving, a group of men in head coverings shooting weapons into the air and a suicide bomber vest, all while playing a song with the lyrics "No Sharia." (Warning: the video may be disturbing for some viewers.) Video called 'disgusting' and 'racist' The video was met with significant criticism, including from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan. Advertisement "This is disgusting. People wonder why I became a Democrat, it's because of the inexcusable hatred spewed by so many Republicans like Greg Dolezal. Hate, including Islamophobia, has no place in Georgia," Duncan wrote on X. Rev. James "Major" Woodall, Sr., of Atlanta, called the video "deeply racist." "As a Christian man who deeply loves Georgia, I pray you never become Lt. Governor," Woodall wrote. Emanuel Jones, of the state senate, called out his fellow representative and said "if you don't know it yet, Georgia is better than this!!" "We don't need race baiting, fear mongering to get votes. Perhaps that (is) what the Republican Party has devolved into," Jones said on X. Dolezal got support, however, from MAGA personality Laura Loomer who commented "No Sharia!" The video has also been reposted more than 1,000 times as of 2 p.m. on March 4. Who is Greg Dolezal? The state senator represents District 27, and is based in Alpharetta. He was sworn in to the Georgia Senate in 2019. He is a small business owner and attended North Park University. Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Todays Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Controversial video from GA Lt. Gov. candidate shows 'Sharia' takeover A Georgia man has been indicted in a fatal shooting at a Bexley apartment building last year. Jimmy Wilson, 23, of Norcross, Georgia, faces charges of murder, aggravated murder, felonious assault, and possession of a dangerous ordnance in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Demetrese Norvett, according to Franklin County Common Pleas Court filings. All of the charges have an enhancement indicating that the shooting involved an automatic weapon or a silencer, or was a drive-by, court records show. Wilson was arrested Nov. 3 in Gwinnett, Georgia, by the Gwinnett County Police Department in conjunction with Columbus police, according to Bexley police Chief Gary Lewis. He is being held in Georgia and will be extradited back to Ohio to stand trial. Advertisement At around 5:11 p.m. Oct. 20, 2025, a passerby flagged down a Bexley police officer and told them that a body was lying in the bushes near an apartment building on North Cassady Avenue at the corner of Delmar Drive, a short distance away from the Bexley police station. The victim, later identified as Norvett, had several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The apartment building owned by Community Housing Network, located at 540 N. Cassady Ave. in Bexley. Norvett's killing was Bexley's first homicide since 2022. The apartment building where his body was found is owned by the Community Housing Network, a Franklin County nonprofit that offers permanent supportive housing to people struggling with homelessness, addiction, and mental illness in Franklin County. It has owned the two-story Cassady Avenue building since December 2000, according to the Franklin County Auditor's Office. The building had been seeing an uptick in calls for police leading up to the shooting and had caught the attention of Bexley's mayor as well as the police chief. Between October 2023 and October 2025, there had been 113 calls for service to the building, ranging from traffic infractions to sounds of gunfire and stolen vehicles, according to Bexley police data. Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jimmy Wilson indicted in fatal Bexley shooting A DeKalb County Police vehicle pulls into police headquarters, Feb. 26, 2026. Johnny Edwards / The Center Square (The Center Square) The Georgia police department that fired an officer for asking a biological male to stay out of a womens restroom will begin putting all its officers through sensitivity training this month. The mandatory "LGBTQIA+" class will push several tenets of transgender ideology that remain in dispute, The Center Square has learned. In training costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in work hours, DeKalb County Police officers will be told that biological sex isn't fixed, but rather "assigned at birth." They'll hear that sex is actually on a spectrum a controversial concept espoused by left-wing gender activists. And "gender pronouns matter," says a PowerPoint being shown to officers. Some people should be referred to as "they/them." Refusing to use that language is like saying, "I would rather hurt you repeatedly than change the way I speak about you." Officers will also be directed that if they encounter a transgender person, its a major no-no to ask their real name. Theyll be told male crime suspects should be given the option to have "female" checked when entering their information on an official police report. Thats all within class materials for the DeKalb County Police Departments new "LGBTQIA+ Awareness & Sensitivity Training," which The Center Square obtained through a request filed under the Georgia Open Records Act. One of the nation's foremost opponents of extreme gender ideology, evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, reviewed the course materials and called them "shocking." Wright, a Manhattan Institute fellow and editor-in-chief of the Substack "Realitys Last Stand," said the training goes beyond teaching officers to be respectful and follow procedure. Wright said he recognized several hallmarks of trans activism, including quasi-religious metaphysical concepts that the training presses officers to buy into. "I dont think we should be indoctrinating our officers to really highly-politicized world views, especially if the individual officers dont themselves ascribe to this view," he said. "Its a form of speech policing compelled speech on behalf of the government or the specific police department." The new one-hour classes don't start until later this month, so its unclear how instructors will present the material. Department leaders refused to grant interviews. The department's chief of staff told The Center Square by email that the course will be offered about eight times per month until all sworn personnel have taken it, which could take until December. The department numbered just under 600 officers at the end of last year, so based on officers' average hourly pay plus benefits, putting them all through the class will cost taxpayers around $25,000 to $30,000. DeKalb County joins dozens of police departments across the nation requiring some form of LGBTQ training. Among the major cities whose police departments already have it: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., according to online records and media reports. In California, all police departments must train officers and 911 dispatchers on sexual orientation and gender identity minority groups, as mandated by state law since 2018. Greg Miraglia, a veteran law enforcement officer who conducts police trainings on LGBTQ awareness in California, said concepts such as sex-assigned-at-birth and sex as a spectrum are commonly incorporated into curricula. The website for his nonprofit, Out To Protect, lists 88 law enforcement agencies that have participated in LGBT awareness training, spanning through Colorado, Texas, Maine, Alabama, Virginia, and the Carolinas, among others. "What we tell officers in our training is, look, your religious values, your personal morals and beliefs are absolutely yours. And you are entitled to them and we respect them," Miraglia said. "But you swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the 14th Amendment. And that requires, as a law enforcement officer, that you provide equal protection under the law." DeKalb County Police Chief Greg Padrick wouldnt discuss any of this, declining to schedule an interview or make available the staffers who developed the class materials or will be teaching it. Instead, the department sent a written statement through spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells. The sensitivity class "reflects our proactive approach to modern law enforcement training and our responsibility to ensure officers understand the communities they serve. Agencies across the country incorporate similar topics into professional development as part of best practices in policing," the emailed statement says, in part. Steve Gaynor, secretary and spokesman for the police union covering DeKalb, the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police, said after reviewing the PowerPoint, "I dont see the training as being that bad." He said it could be something needed to protect the county government in case of any future lawsuits. "I think DeKalb is just going along with it to check the box," Gaynor said. What officers will hear The new training follows an incident in October where a DeKalb County reserve police officer faced a complaint along with heat from the Atlanta media for telling a transgender biological male to stay out of the womens restroom at a public library. The Center Square obtained the Internal Affairs investigation and reported last month that when the officer confronted the library patron, he was acting on a complaint from an upset mother who was in the restroom with two children at the time. The mom reportedly told a security guard, "How can we allow men to go into a womens restroom?" In DeKalb County though, transgender rights outweigh such questions. The Democrat-led metro Atlanta county passed an ordinance in 2023 forbidding discrimination based on "perceived gender-related identity." The DeKalb library system allows patrons to use whichever bathroom "aligns with their gender identity." The department fired the officer, 28-year veteran Glen Weaver, 70, in December over the incident, also citing other policy violations such as not activating his bodycam or properly obtaining department permission to work at the library. Advertisement The training documents say nothing about to handle a complaint from a woman about a man in her restroom. The purpose is "to provide DeKalb County Police officers with the knowledge and skills to effectively interact with the LGBTQ+ community," the PowerPoint says. There's instruction on legal rights and protections, securing a crime scene, identifying hate crimes, and supporting victims. Wright, the evolutionary biologist, said theres also misinformation and pseudoscience. Whats clear the training makes assertions that are scientifically and politically under debate. One red flag Wright noted: the course uses the "Genderbread Person" diagram, which has shown up in elementary schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. The diagram asserts that biological sex isnt binary, but on a spectrum, just like sexual orientation and gender expression. DeKalbs presentation also has a video featuring Katie Couric. "This is a document that is designed for indoctrinating children," Wright said. "Its a little cartoon poster of a gingerbread person, and now were making police officers watch a 2 minute video on this." Miraglia, of Out To Protect, said he uses the Genderbread Person in police training, too. "Its a good model to help people understand the differences in identity between sexual orientation, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and gender expression," he said. On its assertion that biological sex is a spectrum, "I think youll find that theres a lot of science around that," Miraglia said. "Intersex people are born with variations of genitalia, though its rare. Its 1 to 2 percent, somewhere in there If you want to get in the weeds with it, you can research what the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association and American Medical Association have said." Wright says sex is binary. Not only is intersex a fraction of 1% of the human species, "its not like a new variation of a third sex. Its some sort of genetic anomaly," he said. "What makes someone male or female is if they have the biological function to produce either small gametes, what we call sperm, or large gametes, which we call ovum," Wright said. The DeKalb County training materials follow a contrary line of thinking, setting up scenarios to put natal men into jail cells with women. There are detailed instructions for deciding which side of the jail, male or female, an inmate should go into. "If a male has had a sex change to reflect female genitalia they will enter on the female side," the training says. "If a female has had a sex change to reflect male genitalia they will enter on the male side." At one point, the presentation says when writing citations or police reports officers should use whatever name is listed on a persons government ID. But then it goes on to say that suspects, victims and witnesses can be asked which gender, male or female, they would like to have recorded on official reports. On another slide, on a list of words "NOT to use," it says, "Never ask what is your real name?'" "When were talking about criminal data, its important to get correct data," Wright said. "What if the criminal wasn't apprehended but is on the loose, and you're reporting that youre searching for a woman who's 6 feet tall? If its just a man, I think that matters and could endanger the community." 'Teachable moment' Following the library incident, the countys top elected official, CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, called the matter a "teachable moment" in a statement to one TV station. Police spokesman Blaine Clark was quoted in another media report, saying the department would "continue expanding our training programs to ensure our officers are equipped to serve every individual with fairness, empathy, and professionalism." However, in its written statement to The Center Square, DeKalb PD said the new training isnt related to any publicized incidents but is "part of the Departments ongoing evaluation of training needs." The Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council, which certifies officers and sets statewide standards, approved DeKalb Countys new class for official training credit months before the library incident, in April, according to an email from Executive Director Chris Harvey. Harvey said he would only answer additional questions from The Center Square in writing. In response to a list of questions about the contents of DeKalb's lesson plans, the executive director emailed a statement saying the council "is not empowered to render any verdict on specific practices" unless they violate state law or council rules. "Any political or ideological views within a law enforcement agency are determined by its leadership and the locally elected officials who oversee that agency," the statement said. "Review and approval of any local law enforcement training material by POST does not equal an endorsement of any ideological views included in said training, nor does it reflect the official views of any state government entity." DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry, who has advocated for the police department to expand its community inclusion strategy, said the goal of the class is better communication with diverse people who may be experiencing crime or crisis. "Im not sure if its pushing or forcing anyone to believe something," Terry said. "I think the whole point of these trainings is for awareness, so that the officers are equipped to deal with all the types of individuals that they might encounter during the job." It started with a call from a reporter with the Washington Post. Officials in Oakwood, Georgia, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, had just heard that a 10,000-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center was coming to another north Georgia town a few weeks earlier when the phone rang. The reporter asked if Oakwood knew it was shortlisted for an ICE processing facility. No, this was the first they were hearing about it, officials told him. In the weeks that followed, the city of less than 6,000 people prepared for two warehouses within their boundaries to be converted to an ICE processing facility. To their knowledge, detainees would be brought to Oakwood after being arrested, spend a few days there and then be transported to the larger and longer term detention facility in Social Circle, Georgia. Oakwood officials are estimating costs over $2 million as water and sewer capacities are tested and their police force requires additional training. As of Feb. 27, the town has never been contacted by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS says 'no detrimental effect' of ICE facility city disagrees B.R. White, Oakwood's city planner, says the only contact they've gotten from Washington has come from Andrew Clyde, a representative in the House from Georgia's 9th district which includes Oakwood. In a February statement, Clyde said his office had received information from ICE, that was passed along to Oakwood, identifying two warehouses on Atlanta Highway as the right fit for a detention processing facility. "The identification and fit for purpose of each facility included an engineering review of the existing utilities and facility infrastructure. The engineering team reviewed the proposed use and capacities for electricity, water usage, waste exportation, and water capacities for life safety building systems (fire protection systems)," Clyde shared. "The final selection of the facility was predicated on a 'No Detrimental Effect' determination." But White says cost is unavoidable, and absolutely detrimental to Oakwood. "We don't know (who will pay for utilities)," he told USA Today in an interview. "We don't have a sewage treatment facility in Oakwood. We pre-purchase capacity from three other jurisdictions, and through our agreements, we have maximum capacities from each jurisdiction." The additional cost of increasing the sewage capacity for the detention center would top $2 million, White says. That's money that the city just doesn't have to spend. The city of Oakwood receives about $9 million in ad valorem tax annually, meaning nearly a third of its revenue would have to turn around and go directly toward paying for water and sewer for the ICE detention center they had no control in building. Advertisement "We're between a rock and a hard place, because once the state or the federal government purchases the property, we have limits on what we can do to, you know, advance our points, and one of those is the utilities," White said. "But until we approve it, they don't have it." An unmarked law enforcement vehicle was parked at the entrance of two warehouses slated to become ICE processing centers in Oakwood, Georgia. Planning for 'worst case scenario' Utilities isn't where the cost to the city stops. Oakwood is anticipating around $771,072 in lost tax revenue now that the federal government owns the warehouses instead of a private company. Other taxing entities in the area are also impacted. The city posted their estimates publicly on their website on Feb. 24. The city also plans to spend about $215,000 on equipment for their police department, in addition to new training for officers to deal with possible protests. "We're having to plan for worst case scenario in the event that what happened in Minnesota happens here," White said. The city is "gearing up for any type of protest or any civil disobedience." White said he expects people from across the region to come voice their opinion in Oakwood, but the small police force is unprepared if the situation became physical. They are hoping to go through training with state and agency partners in the coming weeks to better support the community should protests start up. "Our official stance is that we're there for the safety of the citizens of Oakwood and the safety of the person's right for free speech and assembly," White said. "So if they've gone through the proper paperwork and everything that we will do what we can to make them safe." But the money is tight. The City of Oakwood's budget runs from calendar year to calendar year, meaning it had just approved the 2026 budget when the city learned the ICE facility was coming, and now officials have to "squeeze that budget" in order to meet the needs of the police department. "There's no benefit to the City of Oakwood, even though (DHS) put out a statement saying 'oh yeah, there's a benefit region wide,'" White said. "You can massage those numbers to come out whatever you want, and that's something I proposed. Well, if (DHS is) going to come out with numbers like that, and you know they're correct, then make them specific for Oakwood. Make them specific for south Hall (County). And you know, I don't think they can do it." Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Todays Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GA officials worry town could be next Minneapolis as ICE facility built One thousand supporters rallied behind the family of fallen U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, raising more than $90,000 to support loved ones of the 20-year-old soldier killed this week in the war with Iran. Coady, a 20-year-old Drake University student from Des Moines, Iowa, was one of six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in a drone attack Sunday at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait while supporting Operation Epic Fury, according to the Department of War (DOW). The GoFundMe campaign, which was set up by Marianne Crandall shortly after Coady was identified Tuesday, has raised more than $94,000 from more than 1,500 donors as of Thursday morning. Coady's father, Andrew, is listed as the beneficiary. "Declan was more than a soldier he was a son, a family member, a friend, and a light in the lives of those who knew him," Crandall wrote on GoFundMe. "He served his country with honor, courage, and dedication, embodying the very best of what it means to wear the uniform." Sgt. Declan Coady and five other U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on March 1. (Fox News) Us Casualties Rise To 6 Following Iranian Retaliation For Massive Strikes Coady, the youngest of the four fallen soldiers identified by the DOW, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army information technology specialist and was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant. Read On The Fox News App Drake University confirmed Coady was studying information systems, cybersecurity and computer science, and described him as "well-loved and highly dedicated." This photo provided by Andrew Coady shows his son, Declan Coady, posing for a photo on the day of his graduation at U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Sill, Okla., March 15, 2024. Pentagon Identifies Four Soldiers Killed In March 1 Drone Strike During Kuwait Military Operation Along with their gifts, GoFundMe donors sent heartfelt messages to the family, expressing their condolences and thanking Coady for his service. Advertisement "Thank You for your bravery, service and sacrifice," Brandi Vinson wrote. "God bless and comfort his family." Another donor, Travis Terrell, wrote, "My heart truly goes out to Declans family and everyone who loved him. No family should ever have to experience a loss like this. You are in my thoughts, and Declan will not be forgotten." The fallen service members were identified as Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. Two additional soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been publicly identified. 3 Us Service Members Killed, 5 Seriously Wounded In Iran Operation The campaign's top donor, who was listed as Daniel Buroker, gifted the family $10,000, according to the site. Crandall said funds raised will assist with funeral and memorial expenses, travel costs and other unexpected costs. "Let us come together to honor Declans life, his service, and his sacrifice and to surround his family with love and support," she wrote. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Buroker, whose identity could not immediately be confirmed by Fox News Digital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report. Original article source: GoFundMe for US soldier killed in Iran war raises more than $94K Tim Walz Befuddled As Scott Perry Grills Him On Illegal Immigrants Getting Licences In Minnesota Screenshot/House Oversight Committee/C-SPAN 3 Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared perplexed as Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry pressed him on illegal immigrants getting commercial drivers licenses (CDLs) in his state during a Wednesday hearing. Walz signed the Drivers Licenses for All act in 2023, which enabled illegal immigrants in Minnesota to get drivers licenses. Perry played a video of a trucker with a Minnesota CDL driving in the wrong direction on a Missouri highway during a House Oversight Committee hearing, accusing Walz of endangering residents of other states through the law he signed. (RELATED: ICE Nabs Illegal Migrant Trucker Let In By Biden For Allegedly Killing Amish Members During Crash) WATCH: What are you going to do to rectify the law that you signed that allows people here illegally to get a CDL? Perry asked. That tape was in Missouri, not your state If you dont want to protect the people in your state, I guess thats your business and the business of your voters. But that driver was driving in Missouri. And if hed have hit a bunch of people, quite honestly, to me, you couldve been held liable. [F]irst of all, Minnesota ranks in the top three safest states by highway data from your own departments, Walz said. The data from the Department of Transportation for highway safety We want everybody on our roads to be licensed. Perry asked Walz if he was okay with the Missouri incident. Walz said he was not, but pivoted to express his disapproval of speeding and driving under the influence. But you signed this law that allows for that! You signed it! Perry said. And youre going to do nothing about it? I cant speak to the specifics on the CDL, Walz said. Perry said the Minnesota law prevented federal enforcement of illegal immigrants getting CDLs. Driver safety and immigration are two separate things, Walz claimed. Anybody, had that been a citizen or not, its still tragic, its wrong and we shouldnt do it. What Im telling you is in Minnesota, we have the third safest roads in the country. Advertisement So youre good with this practice? Perry asked. Walz again said he was not. Well, what are you good with? Because thats whats happening under your law! Perry said. Walz repeated that he was unaware of the specifics. After he said the incident was wrong, Perry cast doubt on whether Walz would do anything about it. He was licensed in your state under your law that you signed about a year and a half ago! Perry said. Every day we give licenses and people speed. So we ticket them and try and stop that, Walz said. What Im telling you is I dont understand the connection between Perry asserted the Minnesota trucker was an illegal immigrant who could not read. Investigators said the trucker had a valid CDL from Minnesota and failed a roadside inspection as well as an English proficiency test, according to CBS Minnesota. While the outlet requested information from the Department of Homeland Security about the truckers immigration status, it did not get a response. [H]e got a license under your provisions, Perry said. And hes driving all across the country imperiling everybody else! Thats the connection. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. 5 Arab countries warn against regional escalation Xinhua) 21:56, March 04, 2026 CAIRO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Syria held separate phone consultations Wednesday to warn against expanding ongoing regional tensions in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced. Expressing deep concern over the serious military escalation, the ministers agreed that expanding the conflicts in the region constitutes a direct threat to international security and peace, the ministry said in a statement. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated Cairo's full support for the Arab states during his calls with his counterparts, firmly rejecting any attacks targeting their territories. Abdelatty emphasized that Arab national security is inseparable and rejected any pretexts to justify such attacks or to undermine the sovereignty of these states. The ministers agreed to continue close consultation and coordination in the coming period, intensify deliberations on future regional arrangements, and emphasize the necessity of a unified Arab voice to protect Arab interests and resources while safeguarding regional security and stability. The diplomatic outreach follows large-scale U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran starting Saturday morning, and subsequent Iranian counterstrikes targeting Israeli and U.S. assets in the region. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liu Ning) TORRANCE, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tango Flight today announced a new partnership with Sling Aircraft North America to provide Sling 2 kit aircraft to high schools across the United States, expanding hands-on aviation education opportunities for students and advancing Tango Flight's mission to inspire the next generation of aerospace professionals. Through this collaboration, participating schools will build the Sling 2 aircraft as part of a structured, project-based STEM curriculum. Students will gain real-world experience in engineering, manufacturing, teamwork, and leadership while working alongside educators, industry mentors, and community partners. "Tango Flight was founded to change lives through aviation education," said Dan Weyant of Tango Flight. "Partnering with Sling Aircraft North America allows us to deliver a proven, modern aircraft platform to schools nationwide, giving students the opportunity to build something extraordinary and see what they're capable of achieving." The Sling 2 is an all-metal, low-wing aircraft widely recognized for its performance, durability, and build quality. By integrating this aircraft into high school programs, the partnership ensures students work with industry-relevant materials and standards while gaining exposure to potential aviation and aerospace career pathways. "We are proud to support Tango Flight's mission of uplifting young people through hands-on aviation education," said Matt Liknaitzky, Co-CEO of Sling Aircraft North America. "Together, we are helping schools create transformational learning experiences that open doors to college, careers, and lifelong opportunity." Students who participate in completing a Sling 2 aircraft at a Tango Flight partner high school are also eligible for a free discovery flight at any Sling Pilot Academy location. The partnership will begin rolling out to select schools in the 2026 academic year, with plans to expand nationally in phases. About Tango Flight Tango Flight is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating students through hands-on aircraft building programs that integrate STEM curriculum and real-world aerospace experience. To learn more, visit www.tangoflight.com About Sling Aircraft North America Sling Aircraft North America is the U.S. distributor and build-assist center for Sling aircraft, supporting innovative, efficient, and high-performance aircraft solutions for pilots, builders, and aviation training organizations nationwide. To learn more, visit www.slingaircraftnorthamerica.com. Sling Pilot Academy is dedicated to uplifting lives through aviation by providing accessible, high quality flight training that transforms passion into profession. To learn more, visit www.slingpilotacademy.com Contact: Jay Price [email protected] SOURCE Sling Aircraft North America Sen. Steve Daines questions Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on January 28, 2026. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images GOP Sen. Steve Daines made the last-minute decision to abruptly pull out of his Senate race to prevent Democrats from fielding a top recruit for the open Montana seat, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Daines was aware that if he withdrew too soon then Democrats would have a chance at fielding one of several potential Democrats namely former Sen. Jon Tester or former Govs. Brian Schweitzer or Steve Bullock. Any of those Democrats could have put the state on the map in the midterms and likely have sucked up enormous cash, as Democrats have done in red states like Alaska and Ohio, scrambling the race for the majority in the fall. Instead, Daines withdrew from the race minutes before the Wednesday evening filing deadline. Kurt Alme, who was US attorney in Montana, filed to run eight minutes before the deadline. With the deadline closed, no top-tier Democrat can now jump in the race. While Daines taped a video recently in Montana explaining his decision not to run, he didnt know until after Alme resigned as US attorney Wednesday afternoon that he planned to run for the seat, the sources said. Daines planned to run for a third term if Alme had passed on a bid, according to the sources. President Donald Trump was aware of the internal deliberations, as were Senate GOP leaders, and the president issued a Truth Social post praising Daines and endorsing Alme minutes after the filing deadline closed. Advertisement Trump said on social media that Daines had decided to pass the torch to Alme. Democrats sharply criticized Daines and the GOP for engineering a move to anoint a successor and deny voters a chance to consider from an array of candidates, including in the primary. But it resembles a similar move made last year by Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia in Illinois. The timing of the announcement quickly drew criticism from another candidate in the race, independent Seth Bodnar, who said in a statement that Daines has so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box. CNN reached out to Daines office for comment. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Chef Gordon Ramsey smiles while sitting on a couch during an interview - Warner Bros. Tv/Getty Images With his new London restaurant, Gordon Ramsay High, having earned a shiny new Michelin star in 2026 his ninth star overall over the course of his prolific culinary career chef Gordon Ramsay isn't showing any signs of slowing down. But there's more to Ramsay than just immaculate plating and refined tasting menus. For example, the British chef casts a remarkably wide net when it comes to looking for culinary inspiration, and that includes foods that are far beyond his comfort zone. Just how far outside of his comfort zone are we talking about? As far as Southeast Asia and Europe, if Ramsay's 2022 interview with Korean food YouTuber Cho Seung-yeon is anything to go by. Asked to name his top foodie destinations, Ramsay expressed his admiration for the food of Laos, citing it as "off the charts." Vietnam came in second on his list, and he rounded out his top three with the Spanish capital, Madrid. The authenticity, diversity, and innovation of Laotian, Vietnamese, and Madrileno cuisine earned high praise from Ramsay no small feat considering that he's a chef known for having notoriously high standards. Read on as we dig deeper into Ramsay's mouth-watering food destinations, each one of which is absolutely worth considering when planning your next culinary adventure. Read more: The Types Of Airport Food Every Traveler Should Avoid (And Why) Laos A top view shot of four plates of fried meat dishes with condiments and a bowls of white and black rice - Oratai Jitsatsue/Getty Images Spending his time away from tourist traps, Chef Ramsay's Laos experience, documented in his food travel show, "Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, saw him head to the Lao provinces to experience how closely Laotian cuisine is anchored to the earth and water. Being landlocked, the Mekong River serves as a precious source of protein for the region, as do the paddy fields where frogs, snails, and water bugs aren't strangers to the menu. The chef also traveled deep into the Laotian forests to forage for ingredients, exemplifying the phrase "eating off the land." Far from the comfort of convection ovens and sous vide machines, Ramsay gamely barbecued, Lao style, cooking a banana leaf-wrapped, lemongrass-filled fish over an open fire. After trying his hand at cast net fishing, the chef took a swig of Lao-lao, a local whisky made from fermented rice. Or, at least, he tried to; its 120-proof alcohol content led Ramsay to quip, "Don't drink the moonshine unless it's in a mixed drink." While not everyone has the time, resources, or energy to retrace Ramsay's intense foodie journey, that's not to say that you can't eat to your heart's content in Laos' more accessible eateries. Laotian roadside stalls serve the best snacks, including the deep-fried rice ball nam khao, whose initial crunch gives way to a tasty sausage, tempura, or chili filling. Laos' national dish, larb a lime and fish sauce-infused savory ground meat dish is awaiting nomination for a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation, fingers crossed. And you can be reassured that wherever you go in the adventurous, under-the-radar country, some of those tourist dollars will inevitably be spent on khao niao, or sticky rice a humble dish of overnight-soaked rice grains, steamed and eaten as is, or accompanied by a meat or fish dish. Advertisement Vietnam Two people eating bowls of Asian noodles with chopsticks and spoons - Gpointstudio/Getty Images "Extraordinary melting pot of great food" was how Gordon Ramsay described his take on Vietnamese cuisine to Cho Seung-yeon, a sentiment echoed not just by the late and great chef Anthony Bourdain but also by foodies the world over. It didn't earn a mention in Conde Nast Traveller's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards for best countries for food for nothing. Every crunch and chew is enveloped by regional spices and flavors, making the herby dining experience in northern Vietnam distinguishable from the spicy flavors of the central region and the subtle sweetness of its southern counterpart. Ramsay's love affair with Vietnamese cuisine began during his 2012 travel series, "Gordon's Great Escape," his first time visiting the Southeast Asian country. The fact that he's still waxing poetic about it more than a decade later says everything about the impression it left on the chef. While there, he sampled bowls of hu tieu (pork noodle soup), prepared his own banh cuon (steamed rice roll) and goi cuon (fresh summer rolls), and unsuccessfully tried to extract a local chef's barbecued duck sauce recipe. Ramsay was thoroughly impressed with Ben Thanh market, which he described to Cho as "the liveliest market I've been to ... many ingredients still had a pulse." Across Vietnam, nine restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang have been awarded Michelin stars. But Ramsay, no stranger to these accolades, still had his best experiences when he got back to the basics. From street food stalls to rural farmstays serving mouth-watering home cooking, Vietnam teems with authentic culinary moments. In an interview with Conde Nast Traveller, Ramsay lauded the Vietnamese's eating habits as "some of the best in the world," owing to the country's locally grown and sourced food unspoiled by major influences. "Vietnam and Vietnamese cuisine stands alone, and it's fricking iconic," he said. Madrid, Spain A plate of beef, chickpeas, carrots, and potatoes with herbs and a fork in the background - Vladimir Mironov/Getty Images It's known for its sun-drenched plazas and compact, walkable city center, but what makes Madrid Europe's best-kept secret is its food. "There's so many new things going on in Madrid as well," Gordon Ramsay told Cho Seung-yeon, cementing the Spanish capital as his third food destination pick. With a special nod to Madrid's Michelin-starred restaurants and the cocido madrileno, a hearty chickpea-based stew, Ramsay pinned down the appeal of Madrid's food scene: it's a city where a humble bowl of stew wields just as much star power as an intricately plated high-end tasting menu. Young content creators Nieves and Paula agree. In an episode of Detour, a series produced by The Times where local creatives unearth their city's hidden gems, their foodie list swung from a pastry shop dating back to 1914 (La Duquesita) to global fusion bites and natural wines at an Argentinian chef-helmed restaurant (Hiro). Whether you're craving a night out with chocolate-smothered churros, snacking your way along the aisles of the famed Mercado de San Miguel, or tucking into a seven-course meal, Madrid always promises something new even when it's old. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. Read the original article on Islands. Yvonne Ford Credit: GoFundMe NEED TO KNOW Yvonne Ford, the British woman who died of rabies after getting scratched by a stray dog, was diagnosed with the disease just days before her death Ford, 59, was scratched very slightly by a puppy while on vacation in Morocco in February 2025. She fell ill four months later and died in June of that year According to the Mayo Clinic, rabies is a deadly virus typically spread to humans from contact with an infected animal. Once symptoms show, the disease is usually fatal Yvonne Ford, the British woman who died of rabies after getting scratched by a stray dog, was diagnosed with the disease just days before her death, according to an inquest. Ford, 59, was scratched very slightly by a puppy while on vacation in Morocco in February 2025. She fell ill four months later and died in June of that year, after contracting rabies, her daughter, Robyn Thomson, shared in a Facebook post. "Two weeks ago she became ill, starting with a headache and resulted in her losing her ability to walk, talk, sleep, swallow. Resulting in her passing," wrote Thomson. At an inquest hearing on Tuesday, March 3, it was revealed that Ford didn't seek treatment after being scratched, thinking she had a minor injury. She was later referred to Barnsley Hospitals mental health team in June, after developing symptoms of hallucinations and disorientation at the end of May, The Times reported. Yvonne Ford Credit: GoFundMe Psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Burns asked Ford about her family's travel history as he suspected Lyme disease. Ford then told him she had been scratched by a dog on vacation, which the short-stay medical team hadnt been aware of, according to The Times. I was informed by her husband that, on February 10, 2025, Yvonne was bitten by a stray dog on a beach in Morocco whilst on holiday. The bite had pierced her skin, said Burns. Burns diagnosed Ford as his first rabies patient, and she was taken to the infectious disease unit at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, England. She died there on June 11, per The Times. Advertisement According to the Mayo Clinic, rabies is a deadly virus typically spread to humans from contact with an infected animal. Once symptoms show, the disease is usually fatal. There are no immediate signs of having the disease. This is why doctors advise people to seek medical treatment immediately after any contact with a wild animal, and to undergo a series of rabies vaccines. Rabies virus Credit: Getty Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. At the aforementioned inquest, infectious diseases expert Katharine Cartwright from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals said that by the time Ford started showing symptoms, there was nothing that could have been done at Barnsley Hospital that would have saved her, per The Times. Cartwright added at the inquest that there have been only 26 cases of rabies in the U.K. since 1946, per the BBC. PEOPLE reached out to the Sheffield Medico-Legal Center for comment, but they did not immediately respond. Read the original article on People Ellen Rudolph, 71, survived the Pacific Palisades fire and the loss of her husband only to be victimized by scammers. Ellen Rudolph, 71, has suffered incredible loss in the past year. She was displaced by the Pacific Palisades wildfire. She lost her husband to cancer in October. Then, as she told NBC4 Los Angeles, she lost $38,000 to an online scam money shed saved for repairing the damage to their family home. (1) Every time I think about it, Im reliving it, Rudolph told ABC 7 Eyewitness News (2). She notes that con artists exploited her vulnerability as both as a disaster survivor and grieving widow. They took advantage when I was, and am still, at my most vulnerable in my entire life, Rudolph told ABC. Now shes speaking out in the hope that others like her will take steps to protect themselves. Must Read The rise of disaster scams Fraudsters claiming to be from PayPal emailed Rudolph about a suspicious charge on her account. Having lost her home and her husband, she was vulnerable and gave the con artists access to her bank account. They promptly stole the $38,000 she had saved up for home repairs. Disaster scams target people like Rudolph precisely because theyre emotionally vulnerable in the wake of loss, and frequently concerned about finances. They may be struggling with insurance delays, contractor shortages and mounting repair costs. Indeed, a Harris Poll survey found that more than a third (37%) of Americans impacted by a natural disaster have reported fraud (3). According to the American Institute of CPAs, which commissioned the survey, the top disaster scams include: identity theft (14%) government assistance fraud (11%) loan scams (11%) vendor fraud (10%) utility scams (10%) charity fraud (10%) insurance fraud (10%) contractor fraud (8%) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) notes that some identity thieves pose as be Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers in the wake of disasters, demanding victims pay them for home inspections or help with applications (4). These fraudsters may also ask disaster victims to verify their identity, collecting their names, addresses and Social Security Numbers, then use these stolen credentials to apply for FEMA assistance. Scammers might impersonate mortgage lenders, insurance companies or government agencies, claiming they need your account information to deposit funds for an insurance claim, settlement or aid. The CFPB also advises disaster victims to be wary of door-to-door contractors using high-pressure tactics. Fraudsters might even set up a fake charity to funnel good-hearted peoples donations directly into their own pockets. Advertisement Read More: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1B private real estate fund starting at just $10 Read More: Warren Buffetts 8 simple and repeatable rules to get rich (and stay rich) in America Protect yourself from disaster scams Rudolph advises anyone whos feeling emotionally vulnerable to avoid making any major financial decisions without first checking in with their bank, law enforcement or a friend. If youre approached by someone claiming to be from FEMA, an aid organization, your bank or your insurer, dont give away any information upfront, like bank account or credit card numbers. Instead, ask for their ID and paperwork so you can verify their identity independently. Confirm their credentials online and call the official phone number (for example, FEMA) directly. To avoid charity scams, do your due diligence on sites like Charity Navigator and CharityWatch. Before hiring a contractor or trade worker, see if theyre accredited with the Better Business Bureau. Ask for their business license and proof of insurance, and have them sign a formal written contract. Final payment shouldnt be made until the work is completed. Also beware of price gouging. Never send large upfront payments using unusual payment methods such as wire transfers, cryptocurrency or peer-to-peer apps, since its nearly impossible to get your money back afterward. As a precaution, you can freeze your credit record for free at the three national credit reporting companies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Freezing your credit restricts access to your credit file by potential new creditors. This makes it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name, according to CFPB. (4) You can report a disaster-related scam or fraud online at the National Center for Disaster Fraud or call the Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721. You can also contact local law enforcement, your state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Slowing down especially in the aftermath of a disaster when youre emotionally vulnerable could save you from additional losses. What To Read Next Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now. Article sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines. NBC 4 (1); ABC 7 (2); American Institute of CPAs (3); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (4) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Countries in the Middle East have told European officials they are concerned about the risk of civil war in Iran as a result of the conflict between Tehran and the United States and Israel, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday. "When we talk to the countries in the region, they are also worried about civil wars inside Iran because of the regime's leadership and what is going on there," she said ahead of a video conference with EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East. The EU wants to push forward a diplomatic solution. "Wars really end in diplomacy and there has to be room for diplomacy here to really get out of this cycle of escalation," she told reporters. The EU is "extremely worried" about maritime security in the region and that it is trying to keep routes such as the strait of Hormuz open, she said although, since the EU was not dependent on oil from Gulf states, the attacks there did not have a large short-term impact on the security of the supply of oil to the EU. Advertisement The conflict has also escalated a dispute between the United States and Spain, with Washington threatening to cut trade with Madrid over Spain's refusal to allow U.S. aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. Spain has denounced the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal. The White House said on Wednesday Spain agreed to cooperate, but Madrid has denied this. Asked about the spat, Kallas said she hoped Washington would respect the trade agreement reached last year that applies to all EU member states. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Lili Bayer; Writing by Makini Brice, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout) BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A Livingston Parish man will likely be spending the rest of his life in jail after he learned his sentence in front of Judge Brenda Bedsole Rick. Albert Watson, Jr., 41, of Walker, was sentenced to 75 years in jail after he was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, Watson was a habitual offender. The Walker man was convicted of multiple crimes, including assault by drive-by shooting, sale of a legend drug, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin. The investigation, which led to his most recent conviction, started in March 2025. When the Walker man was arrested, he had a scale, a large amount of methamphetamine, baggies used for distribution, and a cell phone, according to Perrilloux. Advertisement The DA said the phone had evidence on it, including descriptions of his drug transactions. Two experts and eyewitnesses provided testimony during the trial. Baton Rouge man charged with fourth DWI after hitting parked vehicle, police say Illegal narcotics have had a devastating and deadly impact on our community, Assistant District Attorney Greg Stahlnecker, Jr. said. Our office aggressively prosecutes people who continue to sell poison to the people of our parish and those who prey on people afflicted by substance abuse disorders. Our goal is to help those in the community suffering with such disorders to overcome their addiction and to seek judgment for those who target the vulnerable. The jury was able to reach a just verdict after the great team work from our office, the Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office, and the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab. Latest News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian man, died in ICE custody following complications linked to an untreated tooth infection. A 56-year-old Haitian man died in a hospital this week after spending months detained in an Arizona immigration detention center without receiving proper treatment. Emmanuel Damas, an asylum seeker who came into the US through Bidens immigration program and had been in ICE custody since September 2025, reportedly told doctors he had been suffering from a toothache since mid-February. However, Damas brother, Presly Nelson, who says he learned about his brothers hospitalization from another detainee who called the family, suspects that the officials at the immigration facility did not take his complaints seriously, raising concerns for the medical care immigrants receive in government custody. Somebody dropped the ball for whatever reason, Nelson told the local ABC news station. The nurse said he most likely had a tooth infection, and he did not get the proper attention, and it had spread to his neck, then to his lungs, and he went septic, and it spread to his whole body. Advertisement Damas death is part of a deeply troubling pattern. At least 30 people died in ICE detention in 2025, and so far in 2026, the Associated Press reports that at least nine people have died in ICE custody. Far too many immigrantsincluding Haitian nationalshave died in ICE custody, said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance in a statement shared with theGrio. The death of Emmanuel Damas is a devastating reminder that our immigration detention system is failing the most basic standard of human dignity. People seeking safety should not die from untreated medical conditions while in government custody. These deaths demand urgent accountability, transparency, and meaningful reform. Though the Deparmenet of Homeland Security has not commented on these reports, Chandler, Ariz., City Councilmember Christine Ellis shared that she is deeply heartbroken to learn of the death of Damas. My prayers are with Mr. Damas family and the Haitian community during this difficult time. No family should ever endure such a loss, especially under circumstances that raise questions about access to timely and appropriate medical care, she wrote in a statement. His reported struggle to receive timely medical attention before being transferred to a hospital raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody. As a public servant and healthcare professional, I have engaged our Arizona congressional delegation to ensure that compassion, dignity, and accountability remain at the center of how we treat every human being regardless of their immigration status. May Emmanuels memory inspire a renewed commitment to justice and humanity in all our institutions, Ellis concluded. FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis receives Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, president of Islamic Seminaries of Iran, and entourage in a private audience at the Vatican May 30, 2022. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo By Michael Georgy DUBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has emerged as a central figure in Irans power structure at a moment of unprecedented turmoil, propelled into a leadership role from the ranks of top clerics after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Once known largely as a scholaradministrator, the hardline cleric is now one of three senior officials entrusted with steering the state through its most volatile period since the 1979 revolution. Arafi was appointed to an interim three-member leadership council to manage state affairs alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, following Khamenei's killing at the start of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. The leadership's top priority, alongside responding to U.S.-Israeli attacks, is managing the leadership succession, a process subject to extraordinary pressure at a time of war: If a supreme leader is not named quickly, the clerical establishment risks being seen as weak and unable to guarantee continuity. Arafi, in his late 60s, is lesser known abroad than other heavyweight clerics, but successive promotions by the fiercely anti-Western Khamenei have shaped his career and given him moments in the spotlight. Some clerics have even viewed Arafi as a potential successor to Khamenei. LACKS POLITICAL EXPERIENCE, BUT ALIGNED WITH KHAMENEI However, for Arafi to ascend to the role, he would need to clear several procedural hurdles. A committee within the 88-member Assembly of Experts the body tasked with selecting the next leader would first have to put his name forward at a session attended by at least two-thirds of its members. From there, he would still require the backing of two-thirds of those present roughly 40 senior clerics. There are no guarantees at any stage of the process. Although he lacks hands-on political experience, Arafi, born in 1959, is widely seen as firmly aligned with Khamenei and his ideological vision. He has consistently argued that governance should be rooted in the comprehensive application of Shi'ite jurisprudence. His clout is rooted chiefly in the powerful posts he has held: head of Al-Mustafa International University and dean of the seminary at the Iranian holy city of Qom. He is also a member of the Guardian Council, which approves all candidates for elected office, and a member of the Assembly of Experts positions he secured with Khameneis backing and trust. His credentials as a heavyweight within Iran's religious establishment date back to his early years as an 11-year-old student of Islam when he moved to the city of Qom, the epicenter of Shi'ite theological scholarship. Advertisement Over the years Arafi, the son of an Ayatollah, completed advanced studies in jurisprudence and philosophy. Arafi's career kicked off after Khamenei became supreme leader in 1989. He began his work in his hometown of Meybod as a Friday prayer leader at the young age of 33, one of the first signs that he had won the confidence of Khamenei, who strategically promoted loyalists. RAN UNIVERSITY PROMOTING IRANIAN SHI'ITE IDEOLOGY He would later fill that same role in Iran's holy Shi'ite city of Qom, gaining religious authority and political clout in Iran's clerical system. Arafi also became chairman of Al-Mustafa International University, which has affiliated religious seminaries and Islamic colleges in over 50 countries and seeks to promote the Islamic Republic's ideology overseas. With over 50,000 foreign students enrolled, according to Al-Mustafas Persian-language website, students on its Iran campuses receive free housing, home loans and health care for themselves and their families. He stepped down from the post in 2018. Two years later, the U.S. State Department formally labeled the Quds Force a foreign terrorist organization, highlighting its recruitment networks. It said the force had enlisted Pakistani and Afghan students from Al-Mustafa International University into the Zaynabiyoun Brigade and the Fatemiyoun Division militias deployed in Syria under the command of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and previously sanctioned under U.S. counterterrorism and human rights measures. During his tenure, Arafi claimed that approximately 50 million people converted to Shi'ite Islam within eight years through the institutions outreach. Critics questioned this assertion. In 2016, he was appointed head of Iran's national seminary system. Arafi advanced his political standing three years later when he was handpicked by Khamenei to join the Guardian Council, a powerful election watchdog body that reviews legislation and qualifies candidates for elections. (Editing by William Maclean) The source of press coverage of the courtship between Harry and Chelsy Davy was discussed during Mondays proceedings (David Davies/PA) (PA Archive) The royal editor of the Daily Mail has told the High Court that information for a story about the Duke of Sussex giving details about his then-girlfriend around a campfire in Botswana came from someone who was there. Rebecca English, who joined the Daily Mail in 1999 and became royal editor in 2020, was giving evidence in the trial of claims of unlawful information gathering brought by a group of household names against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday. The publisher strongly denies the claims and is defending the case brought by Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and others. On Monday, barrister David Sherborne, for the group of high-profile figures, asked Ms English about an article, headlined How Harry fell in love, which is one of 14 stories at the centre of the dukes claim. The story, which was published in December 2004, reported that the duke had shared details of his relationship with Chelsy Davy around a campfire in Botswana. The source of press coverage of the courtship between Harry and Chelsy Davy was discussed during Mondays proceedings (David Davies/PA) In her witness statement, Ms English said that the campfire anecdote was provided by colleague Sam Greenhill. She said: Sam told me that one of the people that Prince Harry had spoken with round the campfire got in touch with the newspaper when news of the relationship broke and gave this information to us. Prince Harry hadnt told them who his girlfriend was but had described her so that, when the stories about Chelsy Davy broke, they realised the significance of what they had been told. I thought at the time that the tip was from a contact of Sams, but now understand it just came in to the news desk. I think that Sam gave it to me because he knew that I was new to my job as a royal reporter and thought it might be helpful to me. Giving evidence last month, the duke said that those at the campfire with him would not have shared the information with journalists. He told the court that there would be a lot more out there if people whom he described as some of his closest friends had decided to speak to the press. Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, suggested to Harry that comments from the duke about him talking about being in love with Ms Davy while at the campfire could only have become known to Mail journalists if someone had told them. Harry said the information was more likely picked up when he talked about it on a voicemail or other communication. Advertisement He added: These three people have never shared anything with anybody. If they had, there would be a lot more out there. On Monday, Mr Sherborne asked Ms English: He (the duke) was very clear when it was put to him that he would not be sharing that information. Ms English replied: All I can say is that he did, and one of those people rang the news desk. When asked who it was, she said: I do not believe that they gave their name, which is not uncommon. Barrister David Sherborne arriving at court (Jeff Moore/PA) Ms English said she was not party to the phone call to the Mails news desk, but that Mr Greenhill passed the information on to her because he knew I was writing about it. Mr Sherborne asked: Would he (Mr Greenhill) not have wanted to take credit for himself? Ms English replied: No, because that is not how colleagues at the Daily Mail work. He is an incredibly kind and helpful colleague. Mr Sherborne later asked: How did you feel comfortable quoting widely from this mystery source if neither you nor Mr Greenhill knew who they were? Ms English said: I trust my colleagues and trust their judgment. Mr Sherborne said: You had no way of checking the veracity of this apparent caller, who had provided the information that you have put at the front and centre of that story. Ms English replied: My colleague spoke to them, he was quite clear that he believed that what (the source) was telling him was the truth. The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude in March, with a written judgment expected at a later date. The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank has launched its 35th annual Harvest for Hunger campaign with a goal of providing 4.8 million meals to those in need. Nearly 400 people attended the Feb. 27 kickoff event at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, according to a community announcement. The campaign aims to raise $1.6 million and collect 100,000 pounds of food to support the food bank's distribution efforts throughout the year. Employees with Buehlers Fresh Foods, a key donor throughout the campaign, paused at the photobooth area before the Harvest for Hunger campaign kickoff began. Leaders encourage community involvement Abbey Linville, co-chair of the campaign and vice president of public relations and communications at The J.M. Smucker Co., emphasized the importance of community involvement. When colleagues raise a few dollars together, students fill collection bins or congregations dedicate a service to the cause, those incremental efforts become something truly monumental for our community, Linville said, according to the announcement. Linville and Ron Paydo, market president for the Akron/Canton market at Huntington Bank, are leading the campaign. They encouraged attendees to support the effort by coordinating food and fund drives, participating in employee giving campaigns, volunteering and donating through the Check Out Hunger program at local supermarkets and GetGo gas stations. Increased demand amid reduced resources The food bank continues to experience increased demand amid reduced resources following federal and state budget cuts in 2025. Food bank leaders expressed gratitude for the communitys generosity last year in response to budget cuts and disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Advertisement In the midst of the government shutdown, our community rose to the moment, rallying around the Foodbank with generosity, urgency and heart, said Foodbank Executive Vice President Katie Carver Reed. This community showed up proving that when systems falter, people dont. Volunteers play vital role The keynote message, delivered by Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank Chief Development Officer Colleen Benson, focused on the importance of volunteerism within the community. The keynote message for this years kickoff celebrated the dedication of volunteers who support the organization by giving their time. Chief Development Officer Colleen Benson said for those who give their time in service to others, volunteering becomes one of life's most meaningful investments. Time, in the end, is all we have, and it can absolutely be our greatest expression of our love of humanity," said Benson. The Harvest for Hunger Campaign is a collaborative partnership between the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley and the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio. The campaign focuses on fighting hunger across 21 counties in Northeast Ohio, including Tuscarawas and Carroll. Those interested in participating in the campaign are encouraged to visit akroncantonfoodbank.org/harvest. This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@usatodayco.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/. This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Foodbank launches 2026 Harvest for Hunger campaign International gathering in Baltimore reflects shift toward belonging even as challenges persist BALTIMORE, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A sold-out international retreat for LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews is highlighting a significant shift within American Orthodox Jewish life: More LGBTQ+ Jews are choosing to remain observant and build lives within tradition even as many continue to face discrimination, limited belonging in synagogue spaces, and rising antisemitism. Organized by Eshel, the nonprofit dedicated to building inclusive Orthodox communities (www.eshelonline.org), the Eshel LGBTQ+ Retreat the country's largest gathering of LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews will take place March 1315, 2026, at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Baltimore. The event draws domestic and international participants, including attendees from Canada, Guatemala, Israel and Spain, serving as a rare global space where Orthodox practice and LGBTQ+ identity coexist openly. The retreat moved to a larger venue this year to meet growing demand and accessibility needs. Organizers say this reflects a generational shift: Where many LGBTQ+ Jews once left Orthodox life due to isolation or rejection, more are now seeking ways to remain deeply connected to observance and community. In the postOctober 7 environment, the retreat also mirrors findings from Eshel's Spring 2025 study showing that 43% of LGBTQ+ Jews have disengaged from traditional queer spaces in favor of in-person Jewish environments due to antisemitism and harassment. "This retreat represents a turning point," said Miryam Kabakov, Eshel's co-founder and executive director. ""For years, LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews were told they had to choose between faith and identity. Today, more people are insisting that they can live fully Orthodox lives. Real barriers remain, but this gathering helps people stay rooted in Jewish life while communities learn how to support them." This year's programming reflects that evolution. Workshops and discussions focus on practical aspects of Jewish continuity and belonging, including crafting wedding ceremonies grounded in tradition, building chosen family structures alongside traditional kinship models, creating families through fertility treatment and adoption, conversations with emerging queer Orthodox clergy, and planning for aging within community. Organizers say this reflects a growing movement to integrate identity and observance, shaped by years of educational work helping LGBTQ+ Jews, families, synagogues and day schools foster inclusion and build visible support networks that did not exist a generation ago. About Eshel Co-founded in 2010 by Miryam Kabakov and Rabbi Steven Greenberg, Eshel builds inclusive Orthodox Jewish communities by supporting LGBTQ+ Jews and their families through education, advocacy, and community programming. Eshel Contact: Raina Grossman, [email protected] , 646-879-5859 SOURCE Eshel Hegseth avoided taking responsibility for the attack -Credit:AP (AP) Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is investigating the deadly strike on a girls school in Iran. The Defense Secretary offered few details when questioned about the strike that took place on Saturday and killed at least 165 people, most of them young female students aged between 7 and 12. The Shajareh Tayyebeh girls school in Minab was located near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base which has previously been a target. News of the strike caused outrage, with many looking for answers and accountability, for what the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called a "barbaric act. Hegseth refused to take responsibility for the incident. Karoline Leavitt exposes major weakness in Trump's plan for Iran War Trump's first call after launching Iran War was to die-hard loyalist influencer All I can say is were investigating that, Hegseth said when asked about the bombing. We, of course, never target civilian targets, but were taking a look and investigating that. Advertisement The school was struck on the first day of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. The six-day working week in Iran runs from Saturday to Thursday, meaning that the school was likely occupied by students when it was hit. On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights office called on what it described as the forces behind a deadly attack on a girls school in Iran to conduct an investigation and provide information about the incident, though it did not identify who it believed was responsible, the Guardian reported. Images of the deadly strike shocked the world -Credit:ISNA/AFP via Getty Images On Monday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that US forces would not deliberately target a school. On March 1, Irans ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, raised the matter with the UN human rights chief, describing the attack as unjustifiable and criminal. The UN committee on the rights of the child said in a statement that the committee is alarmed by reports of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, which have injured and traumatized children, and claimed many young lives. On Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt faced the press who had many questions about the conflict which is nearing the one-week mark. When asked if the U.S. had conducted the airstrike on the school, she replied, "Not that we know of. The Department of War is investigating this matter." Hegseth also triumphantly announced during Wednesdays press briefing that the America is winning and suggested that in under a week the US and Israel will have complete control of Iranian skies. Hegseth said the U.S. is able to continue the military action against Iran for as long as we need to, saying Iran can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did. An Iranian refugee held at gunpoint at school before fleeing Iran during the 1979 revolution is calling for hope, democracy and prayers for his homeland as the U.S. joins Israel in targeting Irans ruling clerical regime. David Nasser, now an American pastor, spoke to Fox News Digital six days after Operation Epic Fury was launched in Iran, which reignited haunting memories for him and of the time when he was 9 years old. "As a child, my family and I were forced to escape Iran and run for our lives," Nasser, President and CEO of David Nasser Outreach recalled. Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Says Us Strikes Mark 'Beginning Of The Very End' For Regime "We found safe harbor as refugees granted political asylum here in the United States," Nasser said, describing how his father had been a high-ranking officer in Irans military, meaning "his family became targets as the government collapsed." "One of my most vivid memories of realizing that nothing was ever going to be the same again was at a school assembly on a military base a soldier called out three names and mine was called first," he said. Read On The Fox News App "When I got to the front, the soldier dropped a piece of paper, took a gun out of his holster and put it to my head and quoted the Quran. He told me that he was sent to make an example out of me," Nasser added. The principal intervened, but the message he relayed was unmistakable. Nasser recalled. "Theyre killing everybody whos anybody. Theyre trying to make an example out of people like our family, and theyre using fear," he remembered hearing at the time. "Thats one of my first memories of the revolution, but really just being completely scared for my life." Soon after, Nasser's family devised an escape plan. They would pretend Nassers mother needed emergency heart surgery in Switzerland and buy round-trip tickets to avoid raising suspicion. "We bought round-trip airline tickets like we were going and coming back, but we werent coming back. We were running for our lives," he said. Advertisement Khamenei Is Dead And Iranians Dare To Hope For Freedom Again After Decades Of Tyranny At the airport, Nasser remembers gripping his fathers hand tightly and hearing words he will never forget. "'If they find out were escaping, theyre going to kill us right here on the spot,' my father said as his hands shook, holding mine. The last time I was in Iran, I was a 9-year-old little boy running for my life," he said. Now, watching events unfold in Iran from the safety of the U.S., Nasser said his heart remains with millions of desperate Iranians facing uncertainty. "We see them I see them, I hear them. My heart is beating really fast for them right now with hope and with prayers for their protection and their provision," Nasser said. "Protection. Im praying for protection for them. I want to be a part of the provision for them. If Iran transitions from a theocracy to a democracy, I want to help rebuild." Israel Hammers Iranian Internal Security Command Centers To Open Door To Uprising "If this moment actually comes, and they go from a theocracy to a democracy, I want to be a part of the solution for that 9-year-old little boy that I once was. I want to do this for him." Beyond political change, Nasser, who is also teaching pastor at New Vision Baptist Church, said he takes solace in what he describes as spiritual transformation already underway, calling it "the fastest-growing church in the world right now or the underground church in Iran." "We know theres at minimum 4 million, at maximum 8 million Christians right now in Iran," he said. "In Iran, if you convert from Islam to Christianity, that can be a death sentence. If they come into your home, and youre gathering for Christian worship, they will take your home title, you will lose your home. "Theyre in prison. Theyre being tortured. Theyre being ridiculed. Theyre being mocked. Click Here To Download The Fox News App "Above all, I came to America, and it was a land of opportunity. And I was given the gift of democracy. So, I would love to see democracy in Iran, where all the boys and girls are afforded what I was afforded when I managed to escape." Original article source: Held at gunpoint at 9, Iranian refugee turned pastor now prays for Irans hour of freedom Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new species of Spinosaurus the meat-eating dinosaur that may have rivaled T. rex in size. The new species, called Spinosaurus mirabilis, lived 95 to 100 million years ago. The fossil remains were found in the Sahara Desert, in a remote location called Jenguebi, in the country of Niger. Recently detailed in the journal Science, the discovery was years in the making with researchers finding jaw fragments in 2019 and two additional crests in 2022. T Rex Didnt Become An 8-Ton Giant Overnight: Scientists Reveal How Long The Apex Predator Took To Grow Spinosaurus mirabilis was a shallow water predator that preyed on fish, though its habitat was 600 miles inland from the ancient Tethys Sea. Researchers believe the dinosaur's crest a large bony ridge rising from the top of the dinosaur's skull was brightly colored and covered in keratin. Read On The Fox News App The study's leader, professor Paul Sereno, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, described Spinosaurus mirabilis as a sort of "hell heron." The dinosaur "had no problem wading on its sturdy legs into two meters of water, but probably spent most of its time stalking shallower traps for the many large fish of the day," said the professor, as news agency SWNS reported. Test Yourself With Our Latest Lifestyle Quiz Sereno was tipped off to the site by a French geologist's monograph describing a fossilized tooth resembling that of a similar predator. With the help of a local, he was led to the fossil field with the rest of his team where they found the teeth and jaw bones. "No one had been back to that tooth site in over 70 years," Sereno said. "It was an adventure and a half wandering into the sand seas to search for this locale and then find an even more remote fossil area with the new species." Advertisement Click Here To Sign Up For Our Lifestyle Newsletter Sereno described the find as "so sudden and amazing." "It was really emotional for our team," he said. "Ill forever cherish the moment in camp when we crowded around a laptop to look at the new species for the first time, after one member of our team generated 3D digital models of the bones we found to assemble the skull on solar power in the middle of the Sahara." He added, "Thats when the significance of the discovery really registered." Click Here For More Lifestyle Stories Fossil remains will be put on display in the Museum of the River in Niamey, Niger. A replica, meanwhile, will be shown at the Chicago Children's Museum. "Letting kids feel the excitement of new discoveries thats key to ensuring the next generation of scientists who will discover many more things about our precious planet worth preserving," Sereno said of the children's exhibit. The discovery follows other dinosaur-related discoveries in the past several months. In November, Australian researchers announced they uncovered the traces of a dinosaur that may have been limping over 150 million years ago in Colorado. Earlier in 2025, scientists unearthed a new dinosaur and its ancient leftovers in a tourist hot spot in Argentina. Original article source: New 'hell heron' Spinosaurus species found in remote Sahara 70 years after fossil clue Europe has a reputation for romantic capitals, iconic museums and sweeping coastlines, but the price tags in some of those places can take the shine off even the most enthusiastic travelers smile. Thankfully, theres another Europe that is friendly to modest budgets and generous in experiences. According to Time Out Europes recent ranking of the cheapest countries to visit in 2026, several destinations offer big travel rewards without a big price tag. From Balkan backroads to Baltic capitals and overlooked Adriatic beaches, this list brings together some of the most affordable and memorable travel spots in Europe. For travelers on a budget, that means stretching your euros without sacrificing scenery, history or culture. Don't miss a beatsubscribe now for trending travel updates and destination guides. Bosnia and Herzegovina tops the list for rich experiences on a real budget Topping the list of Europes most affordable countries is Bosnia and Herzegovina, a land of rivers, mountains and historic cities where every meal feels like a discovery. Your money stretches further here than almost anywhere else on the continent, without feeling like you are cutting corners on experience. Accommodations tend to be locally run and warm, meals are hearty and inexpensive, and transportation between towns costs little enough that spontaneous detours actually feel possible. This is the rare place where budget travel still feels generous. What really makes Bosnia shine, though, is how layered and human the travel experience feels. In Sarajevo, the old bazaar Bascarsija pulls you into a rhythm of copper shops, coffee steam curling into the air, and the smell of fresh burek drifting down stone lanes. I found myself lingering longer than planned, not because I had to, but because the pace invites you to slow down. You can step from Ottoman-era alleys to Austro-Hungarian facades in minutes, and that contrast becomes part of the story of the city itself. Every coffee break feels like a front-row seat to daily life. Then there is Mostar, where the iconic Stari Most bridge arcs over the emerald Neretva River like a postcard that somehow exists in real life. Watching locals dive from the bridge is not a staged performance for tourists. It is a tradition, and standing there, you feel like a witness rather than an audience. Beyond the headline stops, towns like Travnik and Jajce offer quiet rewards. Ottoman-era mosques, medieval fortresses, waterfalls spilling through town centers, and mountain backdrops all come without the crowds or prices of Western Europe. For travelers who crave scenery, history, and a sense of genuine welcome, Bosnia and Herzegovina earns its number one spot not just for being cheap, but for feeling deeply rich. Related: Beloved airline is now offering first-class upgrades for dirt cheap Europe on a budget: The best cheap countries to visit in 2026 Serbia: Urban energy meets old-world culture Just a few hours drive west of Bosnia lies Serbia, where affordability meets cultural depth. Belgrade, the capital, pulses with artistic energy and wild nightlife, while regional hubs like Novi Pazar and Kraljevo offer history and heritage off the main circuit. Serbias northern region of Vojvodina blends Hungarian, Croatian and Serbian influences in cities like Subotica and Zrenjanin, known for their beautiful Austro-Hungarian architecture and relaxed cafe culture. What makes Serbia especially appealing to budget-minded travelers is that everything feels affordable without feeling compromised. Restaurants serve hearty portions of grilled meats and local pastries for a fraction of Western European prices, and the nightlife in Belgrade, from riverside clubs along the Sava to intimate jazz bars, often feels like a local invitation rather than a tourist circuit. Poland: History and hidden gems Poland is a rich mix of historic cities, dramatic architecture and cultural depth that can be surprisingly affordable if you venture beyond Krakow and Warsaw. Towns like Poznan, Wroclaw and Lublin showcase a blend of Renaissance, Gothic and Art Nouveau architecture, all easily explored on foot. Krakows beautiful Old Town and the medieval Wawel Castle offer timeless backdrops without overwhelming costs, while up-and-coming Katowice is reinventing itself with creative venues and accessible cultural spaces. Advertisement Polands mix of free walking tours, affordable local cuisine and vibrant street life makes it ideal for travelers seeking both history and affordability. Photo by Egor Komarov on Unsplash (Photo by Egor Komarov on Unsplash) Albania: Adriatic coastline and hidden treasures Stretching along the Adriatic Sea, Albania remains one of Europes best kept budget travel secrets. Think white-sand beaches near Sarande, the lively waterfront of Vlore and the rugged beauty of the Albanian Riviera, all without Western European premium pricing. Cities like Shkoder offer city charm with bicycled lanes and local market snacks at unbeatable prices, while Tiran, the capital, pairs colorful, quirky streets with hearty Mediterranean-Balkan cuisine. Infrastructure here may feel hit-or-miss at times, but that adds to the adventure rather than detracting from it. From guesthouse stays to shared furgon transport between towns, every part of Albania invites exploration on your own terms. Bulgaria: Balkan beauty and ancient wonders Now part of the eurozone, Bulgaria is a Balkan beauty that blends affordability with ancient history and natural charm. Plovdiv, one of Europes oldest continuously inhabited cities, boasts cobblestone streets and a well-preserved Roman theatre that hosts cultural events throughout the year. The serene Rila Monastery, tucked high in the mountains, invites reflection amid frescoes and forested slopes. For budget travelers, Bulgarias markets, cafes and hostels will often cost less than a mid-range meal in Western Europe, letting you stretch your travel days even further. From footpaths in the Rhodope Mountains to beaches on the Black Sea, Bulgaria mixes natural beauty with history and value. Lithuania: Baltic culture and old town charm In the north, Lithuania shares the spotlight with Bosnia as one of Europes most affordable travel destinations. Vilniuss cobblestone streets wind through a baroque old town that invites wandering without wallet stress, and its lively cafe culture shows that good coffee and conversation can be inexpensive pleasures. Beyond the capital, towns like Kaunas and Klaipeda offer historic architecture and sea-breeze escapes that are easy on the budget. What I love about Lithuania is how its affordability pairs with cultural depth. You can spend an entire day exploring art galleries, ancient churches and local markets, then finish with an inexpensive seafood dinner that feels like a celebration rather than a compromise. Budget travel tips for your European adventure Planning a budget trip in Europe doesnt mean sacrificing experiences, it means traveling smarter: Stay local: Guesthouses, bed-and-breakfasts and family-run inns often provide better rates than large hotels, plus local tips you wont find in guidebooks. Eat like a local: Street food, markets and neighborhood cafes often serve delicious regional dishes for far less than tourist restaurants. Use public transport: Buses and trains can be both scenic and affordable, connecting you from medieval squares to mountain trails without a costly rental car. Travel in shoulder seasons: Late spring and early autumn often bring pleasant weather and lower prices than peak summer months. Related: An unexpected island in Europe is the most trending travel destination in 2026 Final thoughts: Rediscover Europe without breaking the bank Seeing Europe on a budget is less about penny-pinching and more about prioritizing experiences that matter. From the Ottoman bazaars of Sarajevo to Latvias Baltic breezes, Eastern Europe and the Baltics offer landscapes and stories that reward curiosity and wanderlust without a premium price tag. If youre dreaming of crisp market mornings, endless walking days in historic streets and lunches that feel like a local secret, these affordable European countries are waiting to welcome you. Fuel your wanderlust with our top travel storiesjoin our newsletter today. This story was originally published by TravelHost on Feb 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Destinations section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reacts during a one-on-one interview with Reuters on the Iran crisis and Ukraine war, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday the alliance was vigilant and ready to defend every inch of its territory after Iran fired a ballistic missile towards NATO member Turkey. Rutte also addressed France's shift in nuclear doctrine and responded to criticism from some over the way he lavishes praise on U.S. President Donald Trump. Here are highlights from the interview. ON SHOOTING DOWN OF BALLISTIC MISSILE HEADED FOR TURKEY "NATO air missile defence was able to take it out. So that was very important. It also shows you, I think, clear evidence that we, with a 360-degree approach, will defend every inch of NATO territory. Our military are constantly on it. But of course, this was serious and absolutely condemnable." ON THE RISK OF NATO BEING DRAWN INTO MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT "Article 5, I think, is not in order here. Nobody's talking about Article 5. And the most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant, and even more vigilant, if possible, since Saturday because of the situation, of course, in the Middle East." ON TRUMP'S DECISION TO STRIKE IRAN "We know that Iran was close to getting its hands on a nuclear capability, a missile capability, which would be a threat, not only to the Middle East, and of course, to Israel, and potentially it would be life-threatening to Israel, but also a threat to Europe." "Clearly, NATO is not itself involved here. NATO allies are providing key enabling support. What we see here is that NATO, in that sense, is also this power protection projection platform for the United States. Because without European allies, the U.S. would have found it very difficult to launch this campaign against Iran." ON U.S., ISRAEL GOALS IN IRAN "I think there is widespread acknowledgement and agreement that at least we have to be sure that going forward, Iran, this republic, is not able again, to pose (a) death threat to its neighbours, to Israel, the Middle East, to Europe." Advertisement "From my conversations with senior American military and political leaders, it's my absolute sense that they know where they are going." ON UKRAINE AND RUSSIA "Iran was one of the key supporters of the Russian war effort against Ukraine totally unprovoked, this crazy war which started in 2014 and then the full-scale invasion in February 2022." "What we also see now is that Ukraine is already, for some weeks, being able to recapture terrain, territory which the Russians got their hands on before, so that is really good news. We know that the Ukrainians are posing extreme losses on the Russians, months in, months out, many times more than the Russians lost in Afghanistan in the 1980s." ON CRITICISM THAT HE FLATTERS TRUMP "Obviously I do believe that the United States is the most powerful and most quintessential ally within the Alliance. If the president of that country is able to get the whole of NATO at 2% last year, and then in The Hague, collectively agreeing to the 5% I would doubt it, without President Trump, we would have really reached it. And then him now taking this decisive action to take out this capability of Iran ... if a president of a country is providing that type of leadership, some praise is warranted." ON SPAIN AND TENSIONS WITHIN NATO "Spain is deployed all over NATO territory. Their troops are part of many forward land forces, many initiatives, many NATO missions. I really want to commend them for that there is a Spanish Patriot system in Turkey, defending key American interests. Yes, there are also discussions on spending. But this is an alliance of democracies. When there are debates between allies, I always try to stay a bit muted." ON MACRON'S NUCLEAR DETERRENCE SPEECH "I really welcome this. It is leveraging more of what France is doing. However, and we all agree on this, the ultimate, supreme guarantor of our way of life ... is, in the end, the United States nuclear umbrella, and that is key." "I'm absolutely convinced the U.S. is completely committed to NATO." (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Writing by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Richard Lough and Chizu Nomiyama ) Hoda Kotb and Chuck Adams on the October 2, 2025, episode of NBC's 'Today'; Savannah Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie, Instagram, December 27, 2025. - NBC; Courtesy of Savannah Guthrie/Instagram As the investigation into Nancy Guthries disappearance passes the one-month mark, Hoda Kotb is finding hope in a similar case from a few years ago. In a Monday, March 2, Instagram Story post, Kotb shared a video uploaded by her friend Karen Swensen about the 2022 abduction of Sister Suellen Tennyson. A story of hope, Swensen wrote alongside a photo of the nun in her Monday Instagram upload. In 2022, Sr. Suellen Tennyson, at the age of 83, was kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night. No glasses, no shoes, no medicine. Swensens video went on to share that Tennyson was held captive in the desert for five months until she was eventually rescued and returned home. Tennyson died peacefully three years later. Swensen continued, Because of the similarities between Sr. Suellen and Nancy Guthrie, we are asking Sr. Suellen to intercede. If you are so inclined, please join us. Swensens post ended with a screenshot of a prayer for Nancys safe return. Kotb previously reposted another of Swensens Instagram posts from when Sr. Suellen initially went missing. Please stop and PRAY or send positive thoughts for the safe rescue of Sr. Suellen Tennyson, a Marianite nun kidnapped in Burkina Faso, Africa, Swensen captioned a photo of herself and the late nun in April 2022. She has been a dear, dear friend for 25 years. (Second picture includes the 2 other nuns who were attacked. Only Sr. Suellen was kidnapped but we pray for the rescue and safety of all!). Tennysons rescue was confirmed in August 2022. She later died at the age of 86 in April 2025. Advertisement Nancy, who is 84, was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona, home on January 31 and was reported missing the next day. Like Tennyson, Nancy likely lacks access to vital medication for her health and well-being. Savannah Guthrie and her family have been cleared as suspects in the investigation, but authorities have yet to name any official persons of interest. Officials are looking into multiple pieces of evidence, including details from the video of a masked and armed figure captured on Nancys home security cameras. In a February 24 Instagram video, Savannah acknowledged that her mother may already be gone, and announced that her family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery. She continued, Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows, and we are begging you to please come forward now. Help us bring our beloved mom home so that we can either celebrate a glorious, miraculous, homecoming, or celebrate the beautiful, brave, and courageous and noble life that she has lived. Please be the light in the dark. Kotb has filled in for Savannah on NBCs Today, but was absent from the shows Tuesday, March 3, episode. Today, Weekdays, 7a/6c, NBC Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider. For many homeowners, the mortgage eventually ends, but the property tax bill never does. And in many places, it keeps rising, sometimes faster than income or retirement savings. That reality has pushed property taxes into the political spotlight, with some states now debating whether homeowners should continue paying them at all. As housing costs reshape where people choose to live, tax policy is becoming one of the most important smart homeowner moves to watch right now. Make Money: 12 ways to pocket up to $300 Why property taxes are suddenly a hot topic Property taxes have long funded local schools and public services. But as home values surged across the country over the past several years, tax bills followed, sometimes catching longtime homeowners off guard. In some communities, retirees and middle-income families now face tax bills thousands of dollars higher than they paid just a few years ago. That has led lawmakers in several states to question whether property taxes are still the best way to fund local governments. Who really has the cheapest auto insurance in your area? Check your zip code here. Texas is already pushing for major changes Texas homeowners know the trade-off well: no state income tax, but some of the highest property taxes in the country. In recent years, state leaders have repeatedly passed measures to ease the burden, mainly by raising homestead exemptions and limiting how fast tax bills can grow. But discussions haven't stopped there. Some politicians have openly floated the idea of eventually eliminating property taxes altogether, though replacing that revenue would be a massive challenge. For now, homeowners in Texas are likely to keep seeing tax-cut proposals surface regularly. Florida lawmakers are testing the idea too Florida's housing boom has brought new residents across much of the state. That's good news for homeowners building equity, but it also means larger tax bills. Some Florida lawmakers have started discussing ways to reduce reliance on property taxes, particularly as retirees move to the state in record numbers. Supporters say lower property taxes could help older residents stay in their homes longer. Skeptics warn that local governments rely heavily on those funds, making elimination difficult without raising other taxes. Still, the conversation is gaining attention. Avoid these money mistakes: 9 dumbest things smart people waste money on Tennessee faces similar pressure Tennessee, another state without a state income tax, has also seen housing prices surge, especially around cities like Nashville and Knoxville. As property values rise, so do tax bills, which have prompted periodic discussions about reform. While lawmakers have not yet seriously advanced proposals to eliminate, there's growing awareness that rising taxes could eventually push longtime residents out of rapidly growing areas. For now, reform talks tend to focus more on slowing increases rather than ending property taxes entirely. Advertisement Even low-tax states are watching closely States with traditionally lower property taxes, such as Wyoming, aren't immune either. Rising home values nationwide mean even areas with modest tax rates are seeing bigger bills. Lawmakers in several smaller states are closely watching debates elsewhere. If large states successfully shift away from property taxes, others may feel pressure to explore similar changes. Why eliminating property taxes isn't simple The biggest obstacle is straightforward: property taxes pay for a lot of essential services. Schools, emergency services, road maintenance, and local government operations often rely heavily on property tax revenue. Removing that funding source means states would need to find money elsewhere. That could mean higher sales taxes or increased business taxes. In other words, the tax burden may shift rather than disappear. Dave Ramsey Urges Americans to Become Debt-Free: Try these 7 clever ways to crush your debt Rising home prices keep fueling the debate One reason property taxes are under scrutiny now is the dramatic increase in home values since 2020. Many homeowners feel caught in an odd situation: their house may be worth more on paper, but their income hasn't risen enough to comfortably handle higher tax bills. This hits retirees especially hard, since they may own their homes outright but live on fixed incomes. What homeowners should watch going forward Even in states where elimination sounds unlikely, smaller reforms may still provide relief. Homeowners should keep an eye on proposals that expand homestead exemptions or shift school funding to the state level. These changes don't eliminate property taxes, but they can slow future increases. Anyone planning retirement or considering a move may want to factor tax policy into long-term housing decisions. Could tax changes affect home prices? There's also a possible side effect worth noting: if a state dramatically reduced property taxes, more buyers might move there, driving up housing demand. Lower ownership costs often attract retirees and relocating families. But stronger demand can push home prices higher, potentially offsetting some savings for new buyers. Existing homeowners, however, could benefit from rising property values. Grow Your $$: 9 things you must try when your savings reach $50,000 Bottom line Property taxes remain a major expense for homeowners, but several states are now debating ways to reduce or possibly replace them as rising home values push tax bills higher. While elimination isn't guaranteed, the growing conversation shows how housing affordability concerns are reshaping tax policy discussions. Even a small annual tax increase can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over a typical retirement, which is why tracking local tax policy changes can be one of the smartest ways to protect your home budget over the long term. More from FinanceBuzz: Most safari brochures highlight lions mid-roar and crocodiles lurking at riverbanks. Meanwhile, the animal responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other large land mammal often looks half-asleep in muddy water. The hippopotamus weighs as much as a pickup truck, grazes on grass, and packs an arsenal that would make a great white shark envious. We reveal 10 facts about hippos that even seasoned wildlife experts find alarming. They'll Run You Down Before You Can Blink Credit: Getty Images Despite weighing up to 4,000 pounds, hippos can run at 25 mph on land. For context, the fastest recorded human is Usain Bolt, who clocked in at under 28 mph. Park rangers across Africa warn tourists never to position themselves along a hippo's route back to the river because these animals will obliterate anything blocking their path, and there's no outrunning them once they've started moving. Their Jaws Could Crush Bones Credit: pixabay A hippo's bite generates around 2,000 PSI of pressure, enough force to snap a canoe in half. Those teeth grow throughout their lives and can reach over 15 inches in length. Male hippos use these tusks during territorial battles, and researchers have documented them biting fully grown crocodiles during confrontations. Male Battles End in Absolute Carnage Credit: pexels Territorial fights between bull hippos rank among the most vicious confrontations in the animal kingdom, often lasting hours until one combatant lies dead in the bloodied water. They slash at each other's faces and necks with those tusks, opening wounds so deep that bone becomes visible through shredded flesh. The hippo skull has evolved thick bone specifically to absorb these impacts, but even that armor fails under sustained assault. Boats Offer Zero Protection Credit: Getty Images Fishermen working African rivers understand that their vessels mean nothing to an angry hippo. These animals demolish them, biting through fiberglass hulls, flipping canoes with violence, and smashing wooden craft into kindling. Capsized passengers then face drowning in murky water or direct attack from the same animal. Even metal tourist vessels aren't immune because hippos can leave teeth marks gouged into steel railings on tour boats. Advertisement They Attack With Minimum Warning Signs Credit: Getty Images Most dangerous animals show their intentions through body language or vocalizations before launching an attack. Villagers collecting water from rivers in Tanzania and Uganda report attacks that began without the victim even realizing a hippo was nearby. The animals want to reach water when grazing on land, and they'll annihilate anything standing between them and the river. Mothers With Calves Become Killing Machines Credit: Getty Images Female hippos protecting their young represent the absolute worst-case scenario for anyone near the water. These mothers interpret most things as a mortal threat to their offspring and respond with aggression against other adult hippos, animals, and humans. Calves stay with their mothers for six to eight years, meaning a portion of some hippo populations consists of hypervigilant females ready to kill at the slightest provocation. Their Skin Weeps Something That Looks Like Blood Credit: Getty Images Hippos secrete a red, viscous substance from their pores that resembles blood streaming down their bodies. This fluid actually contains chemicals called hipposudoric acid and norhipposudoric acid, which function as a natural sunscreen and antibiotic. When hippos haul themselves onto riverbanks during hot afternoons, this crimson film coats their bodies and makes it seem like they've just emerged from a brutal massacre. Entire Villages Face Destruction Credit: Getty Images Communities near hippo habitats endure constant devastation of crops, infrastructure, and property from animals that can consume 80 pounds of vegetation nightly. When natural grasses become scarce, hippos can raid agricultural fields instead. Farmers in rural Uganda and Zimbabwe report losing entire harvests to nocturnal raids by these animals, which demolish fences, walls, and irrigation systems by walking through them as if they're made of paper. Some Hippos Appear to Eat Flesh Credit: Getty Images Researchers have documented hippos scavenging carcasses and hunting impala, then consuming the meat despite lacking a digestive system optimized for processing animal protein. Video footage from Kruger National Park shows hippos chewing on wildebeest and zebra remains, while one in Zambia killed and ate other hippos. These incidents remain rare across hippo populations. Still, they've shattered the innocent image of peaceful grass-eaters lounging in African rivers. House Speaker House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters on the U.S. strikes on Iran in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026. Credit - Nathan PosnerAnadolu via Getty Images The Republican-led House on Thursday rejected a measure aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from carrying out further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval, delivering a victory for the White House even as lawmakers voice deep unease about the widening conflict. The War Powers Resolution, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, failed in a 212-219 vote after Republican leaders rallied enough support to defeat it, allowing the Administration to continue its military campaign against Iran for now without seeking new authorization from Congress. All House Democrats voted for the resolution except for Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio, and Juan Vargas of California. Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky joined the majority of Democrats as the only Republicans voting in favor of it. The House vote came a day after the Senate blocked a similar effort led by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. That measure failed to clear a procedural hurdle in a 4753 vote largely along party lines, with most Republicans opposing it and most Democrats backing it. Taken together, the two votes amounted to the first test of whether Congress was willing to curb a conflict that Trump initiated without first seeking their approval. The outcome made clear it is not, at least for now. Read TIME's latest cover story: Trumps War Even if both chambers had approved the resolution, Trump was expected to veto it. Overriding a presidential veto requires two-thirds support in both chambers, and Congress has never overridden a presidential veto of a war powers resolution. That made Thursdays vote in the House a largely symbolic rebuke of the Presidents actions rather than a practical one, a test of whether enough Republicans were willing to buck party leadership to advance the measure. The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973 in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, was designed to check precisely that kind of unilateral action. It requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and bars armed forces from remaining in such conflicts for more than 60 dayswith a possible 30-day extensionwithout a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force. It also allows any member of Congress to force a vote on a resolution directing the removal of U.S. forces. Iran is the eighth country the U.S. military has struck during Trumps second term. Advertisement For some lawmakers, the vote on a war powers resolution carried echoes of past moments when Congress went on record in matters of war. The 2002 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq was intensely scrutinized in the years that followed, as the conflict dragged on and its underlying intelligence was challenged. Lawmakers who supported that authorization were repeatedly pressed to defend their positions, particularly when seeking higher office. Trump did send a legally required notification letter to Congress on Monday, days after launching sweeping airstrikes on Iranian targets. But in it, he described the mission as advancing national interests and eliminating Iran as a global threatlanguage that differed from the Administrations public claims that the strikes were necessary to head off an imminent danger to American troops and allies in the region. That shifting rationale has deepened skepticism among Democrats, many of whom emerged from classified briefings on Tuesday saying they were unconvinced that the Administration had demonstrated an immediate threat that justified bypassing Congress. Donald Trump is not a king, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the House floor on Wednesday. If he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case. Speaker Mike Johnson warned that limiting the Presidents authority while American forces are already engaged would weaken the United States. The operation has been necessary, lawful and effective, Johnson said, arguing that reversing course would play right into the hands of the enemy. Lawmakers said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned in the briefing that operations could intensify in the coming days. At one point, Rubio publicly suggested the strikes were prompted by Israels plans to attack Iran and concerns that American forces could face retaliation. Later, he and others emphasized Irans ballistic missile development as an imminent and serious threat. In other settings, the President has framed the mission more broadly as an effort to neutralize Irans malign activities. Read More: Rubios Rationale on Iran Strikes Gets Messier, as Congress Demands Answers In a phone interview with TIME on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged the possibility that Americans should be worried about retaliatory attacks at home. I guess, he said. But I think theyre worried about that all the time. We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die. Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com. Washington The House passed a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, but Senate Democrats blocked similar legislation across the Capitol, meaning the partial government shutdown will continue for now. The House approved the measure to fund DHS through September in a 221 to 209 vote. Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 51 to 45 to move forward, failing for a third time to reach a 60-vote threshold needed to advance. GOP leaders have called on their colleagues across the aisle to support a bipartisan agreement that appropriators reached earlier this year to fund DHS through September. But that deal was reached before a second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, which prompted Democrats to oppose any funding for the department without reforms to immigration enforcement. President Trump announced shortly before the Senate vote that he was replacing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, adding a new twist to negotiations. Some Democrats indicated the move could help lead to a compromise. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said earlier that "it might be easier for us to negotiate" on DHS funding if Noem was fired. Republicans have argued that ending the impasse has grown more urgent since the beginning of the war with Iran. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said this week that "there are always threats to the homeland that have to be addressed," but the stakes are higher now. "It shouldn't need saying that it's always a terrible idea to use the Department of Homeland Security as a political pawn," Thune said. "But above all right now, with enhanced terror threat from Iran and Iran-funded terrorist groups, it is vital that we ensure the Department of Homeland Security is fully funded and fully functioning." House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in a statement Tuesday that "military action in Iran makes it all the more urgent and crucial to have a fully staffed, fully funded Department of Homeland Security across all departments." On Wednesday, Johnson accused Democrats of "playing political games" and called it "shameful" that anyone would vote against funding DHS. "If we're being wise, now is the time to be vigilant at home and to ensure that all of our doors are locked, so to speak," Johnson said. "Obviously everyone understands that it's a heightened threat environment. Global tensions are high, threats are constantly evolving and America's adversaries are watching for any sign of weakness on our part." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, echoed Wednesday that it's "dangerous" to continue the shutdown amid heightened security concerns in the U.S. in the wake of the attack on Iran. "Now that we're at a heightened threat, it's not just hypothetical threats we need to be more vigilant than ever and have a fully functioning Department of Homeland Security with all the capabilities," Scalise said, pointing to a deadly shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. Advertisement Funding lapsed for the department on Feb. 14, and Democrats and the White House remain at odds on restraints for federal immigration agents. Both sides have been going back and forth with counterproposals, though the details have not been made public. According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, both sides are "still far apart." "But we're still negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth," Schumer said Tuesday. Last week, the Senate failed for a second time to advance the measure to fund DHS through September. The House passed the bill in January, before a second American citizen was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Just seven House Democrats supported the measure at the time, with many expressing concerns that it did not go far enough to reform immigration enforcement. Since federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minnesota, Democrats have remained firm in their demands for reforms, which include requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras and identification, banning them from wearing masks and mandating judicial warrants for arrests on private property. Though the standoff has centered on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, DHS also oversees the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Workers who have continued to do their jobs during the shutdown have begun missing paychecks in recent days. The Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign has remained funded despite the shutdown, thanks to a multibillion-dollar cash infusion for ICE and CBP that lawmakers passed last summer as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was asked about Democrats' response to the House GOP strategy for funding DHS in the wake of the strikes on Iran, said, "the whole thing is insane." "Donald Trump launches an unauthorized war in the Middle East, he characterizes it as endless, he decides that he wants to spend billions of dollars to bomb Iran, rather than spend taxpayer dollars to lower the grocery bills that are crushing the American people, and then wants to use his unauthorized war as an excuse to continue spending taxpayer dollars to brutalize or kill American citizens by continuing to unleash ICE without restriction on the American people," the New York Democrat said at a news conference Tuesday. "Make it make sense, because it does not." Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Why Trump decided to remove Kristi Noem as DHS secretary Trump denies Israel forced U.S. strikes on Iran Splitit's card-linked installment payments platform joins retail giants in supporting Google's open standard that supports agentic shopping journeys. ATLANTA, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Splitit, the global leader in card-linked installment payments, today announced its backing of Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that provides the building blocks for agentic commerce, enabling AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of consumers. Built with Shopify, Target, Walmart, Etsy, and Wayfair, and endorsed by dozens of major players, UCP is designed to support the entire shopping journey, from discovery to checkout and post-purchase experiences. Splitit's support for Google's UCP advances agentic commerce with card-linked installments Post this By supporting Googles Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Splitit enables AI agents to offer card-linked installment payment options, helping turn recommendations into completed transactions. By supporting UCP, Splitit is positioning flexible payment options as a critical component of AI-powered retail experiences, enabling merchants to capture sales that would otherwise be lost to budget constraints, while maintaining customer relationships and data ownership. "Payment flexibility is quickly becoming a core consideration in AI-powered commerce," said James Wray, Head of Business Development at Splitit. "As AI agents increasingly discover products for consumers, they need payment solutions that deliver certainty. Splitit's card-linked installments remove approval uncertainty and friction, allowing merchants to turn browsers into buyers." Ashish Gupta, VP/GM, Merchant Shopping at Google, said: "We're grateful for the support from partners like Splitit, whose endorsement of the Universal Commerce Protocol demonstrates the industry's commitment to building more consumer choice and merchant success into the foundation of agentic commerce." Together with Google and the broader retail ecosystem, Splitit is building the payment infrastructure that will define the next generation of commerce. For more information, read Splitit's blog post, " Agentic Commerce Is Here, and Installments Are Already Changing How Shoppers Buy ." About Splitit Splitit is the only global installment payments platform that lets shoppers use the credit they already have. By turning card-linked purchases into flexible installments, Splitit gives consumers a simple, transparent way to pay over time, while merchants get paid upfront. Merchants boost conversion and order value, while issuers drive card engagement and strengthen cardholder loyaltyall without third-party brand redirects or added risk. Trusted by leading brands across luxury retail, digital marketplaces, and technology, Splitit is used in more than 100 countries and powers embedded installments inside Samsung Wallet for seamless in-store payments worldwide. Learn more at Splitit.com . Media Contacts: The Harris Agency David Resnic and Chrissy Carney [email protected] SOURCE Splitit USA, Inc. WASHINGTON (AP) The House narrowly rejected a resolution Thursday to curb President Donald Trump's powers in the Iran war, an early sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad. It's the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure. Lawmakers are confronting the sudden reality of representing wary Americans in wartime and all that entails with lives lost, dollars spent and alliances tested by a president's unilateral decision to go to war with Iran. While the tally in the House, 212-219, was expected to be tight, the outcome provided a clarifying snapshot of political support for, and opposition to, the U.S.-Israel military operation and Trump's rationale for bypassing Congress, which alone has the power to declare war. At the Capitol, the conflict has quickly carried echoes of the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and many Sept. 11-era veterans now serve in Congress. Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that it would be dangerous to limit the presidents authority while the U.S. military is already in conflict. We are not at war," said Johnson, R-La., a close ally of Trump, contradicting others. He said the operation is limited in scope and duration, and the "mission is nearly accomplished. Republicans largely back Trump, and most Democrats oppose the war Trumps Republican Party, which narrowly controls the House and Senate, largely sees the conflict with Iran not as the start of a new war, but the end of a government that has long menaced the West. The operation has killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which some view as an opportunity for regime change, though others warn of a chaotic power vacuum. Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against Iran, saying the president is using his own constitutional authority to defend the U.S. against the imminent threat the country posed. Mast, an Army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, said the war powers resolution was effectively asking that the president do nothing. For Democrats, Trump's attack on Iran, influenced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a war of choice that is testing the balance of powers in the Constitution. The framers werent fooling around, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., arguing that the Constitution is clear that only Congress can decide matters of war. Its up to us. Crossover coalitions emerged among those in Congress. Two Republicans joined most Democrats in voting for the war powers resolution, while four Democrats joined Republicans to reject it. The war powers resolution, if signed into law, would have immediately halted Trump's ability to conduct the war unless Congress approved the military action. The president would likely veto it. Trump officials provide shifting rationale for war Trump has scrambled to win support for the nearly week-old conflict as Americans of all political persuasions take stock. Administration officials spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill this week trying to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control. Advertisement Six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait, and Trump has said more Americans could die. Thousands of Americans abroad have scrambled for flights, many lighting up phone lines at congressional offices as they sought help trying to flee the Middle East. Trump said Thursday he must be involved in choosing Irans new leader. Yet Johnson, R-La., said this week that America has enough problems at home and is not about to be in the nation-building business. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the war could extend eight weeks, twice as long as the president first estimated. Trump has left open the possibility of sending U.S. troops into what has largely been a bombing campaign. More than 1,230 people in Iran have died. The administration said the goal is to destroy Iran's ballistic missiles that it believes are shielding its nuclear program. It has also said Israel was ready to act, and American bases would face retaliation if the U.S. did not strike Iran first. The U.S. said Wednesday it torpedoed an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka. "This administration can't even give us a straight answer of as to why we launched this preemptive war," said Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican from Kentucky, an outlier in his party. Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who had teamed up to force the release the Jeffrey Epstein files, also pushed the war powers resolution to the floor, past objections from Johnson's GOP leadership. Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, a former Army Ranger, also voted for it. Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California voted against. Congress must stand with the president to finally close, once and for all, this dark chapter of history, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., said that as the daughter of Iranian immigrants who fled their homeland, she opposes the regime but is concerned that a democratic transition for the people of Iran never seems to a priority for Trump or the officials who briefed Congress. War carries profound and deadly consequences for our troops, for the American people and for the entire world," she said. Its the most serious decision that a nation can make. Other Democrats have proposed an alternative resolution that would allow the president to continue the war for 30 days before he must seek congressional approval. The House also approved a separate measure affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. Senators sit in their desks for solemn vote In the Senate, Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other conflicts during Trump's second term. This one, however, was different. Underscoring the gravity Wednesday, Democratic senators sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that every senator will pick a side. Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East?" he asked. Or with Trump and Hegseth "as they bumble us headfirst into another war? Sen. John Barrasso, second in Senate Republican leadership, said, Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Irans national nuclear program." The legislation failed on a 47-53 tally mostly along party lines, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in favor and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., against. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly hall at United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 23, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado BUDAPEST, March 5 (Reuters) - Two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war who were released by Russia to Budapest arrived in the country early on Thursday, drawing condemnation from Kyiv as "provocation" as the POWs were also dual citizens of Ukraine. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto secured their release at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, a day after Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a phone call with the Russian leader over the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, and energy supplies for Hungary. The move drew Ukraine's ire, with its prisoner exchange coordination committee calling it a Russian "provocation." "The transfer of two Ukrainian prisoners by Russia to the Hungarian side is a gross violation of international humanitarian law," it said on the Telegram messaging app. Both Putin and the Hungarian foreign ministry have referred to the POWs as dual citizens of Hungary and Ukraine. ETHNIC HUNGARIANS IN UKRAINE'S TRANSCARPATHIA REGION Advertisement Ukraine is home to around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians, most of them in the Transcarpathia region. Orban's government and Kyiv have long clashed over the community's language rights. Hungary maintains warm relations with Moscow despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and continues to buy Russian oil and gas despite EU sanctions. Szijjarto said earlier on Wednesday that two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war had recently asked Hungary for help. "I hope that after our talks more people will fly home on the plane than who came in this direction," Szijjarto said on his Facebook page. Orban has made Russia's war on Ukraine a key topic in his campaign for the April 12 parliamentary election, adding to friction between Budapest and Kyiv. Budapest has accused Kyiv of conscripting ethnic Hungarians. Last Friday, the foreign minister summoned Kyiv's ambassador to Budapest to protest the conscription of two men. (Reporting by Anita Komuves; additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Bernadette Baum) There will never be another Hurricane Melissa, the World Meteorological Organization announced Wednesday, retiring the name due to the extreme damage and deaths the storm inflicted on the Caribbean and Jamaica last year. The lists of 21 names are reused every six years, so the new "M" name for the 2031 Atlantic Hurricane Season is Molly. AccuWeather.com Hurricane Melissa, recently upgraded to 190-mph sustained winds and tied with Allen 1980 for the strongest winds measured in an Atlantic hurricane, killed more than 95 people. A record for the strongest wind gust ever measured via reconnaissance aircraft was also set by the storm and confirmed in November 2025. AccuWeather's damage and economic loss estimate for Hurricane Melissa was $48-52 billion. Advertisement The 2025 storm is the 100th name to be crossed off the list for the Atlantic basin. The first storm to be retired was Hurricane Carol in 1954, and three - Beryl, Helene and Milton - were retired in 2024. In 2005, five names were discontinued, the most in any season. The letter "I" has the most names retired, with 14. A convoy carrying aid to Black River, which was hit by Hurricane Melissa, makes its way through Holland Bamboo, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, where downed trees and debris partially block the road. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) The WMO's Hurricane Committee consists of experts from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and represents North America, Central America and the Caribbean. They met in Mexico City this week to review the past season and prepare for the forthcoming one. This image shows Category 5 Hurricane Melissa making landfall in southwestern Jamaica at 1 p.m. Eastern, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue Satellite) "Melissa has now been engraved in the collective memory of the nation," said Evan Thompson, Principal Director at Meteorological Service, Jamaica, and President of WMO's Regional Association IV. "I am very thankful that there was unanimous approval of my request for the retirement of Melissa," Thompson added. "Jamaica would not have liked to constantly recount the trauma that was visited on us in 2025." The World Meteorological Organizations Hurricane Committee announced on Wednesday, March 4 that it retired the one name from a list of potential names for hurricanes following the destruction it caused in the Caribbean. Hurricane Melissa, the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in Jamaica, was responsible for more than 90 deaths across Jamaica, Haiti and the other island nations. At its peak, Melissa was classified as a category 5 storm based on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with life-threatening winds reaching over 185 mph. WMO Hurricane Committee Replaces Melissa In an announcement on Wednesday, the WMO Hurricane Committee announced it replaced Melissa with Molly heading into the 2031 hurricane season. Evan Thompson, Principal Director at Meteorological Service, Jamaica, and President of WMOs Regional Association IV, made the request for a name change following the devastation in 2025. The WMO Hurricane Committee has retired the name Melissa because of the destruction it caused in the Caribbean in 2025. It will be replaced by Molly on the list of rotating names.https://t.co/XfpWUnuZQ3 pic.twitter.com/mkq1CHGZHh World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) March 4, 2026 "After more than four months since the passage of Melissa over Jamaica, stories about the impacts and recovery continue to dominate the news and media. Melissa has now been engraved in the collective memory of the nation," he said. " ... I am very thankful that there was unanimous approval of my request for the retirement of Melissa. Jamaica would not have liked to constantly recount the trauma that was visited on us in 2025." Advertisement How, Why are Hurricanes Named? The World Meteorological Organization revealed that naming tropical cyclones "has proven to be the fastest way to communicate warnings and raise public awareness and preparedness." By assigning names to hurricanes, they're more easily tracked and discussed in a straightforward manner. The naming helps to avoid confusion among meteorologists, media, emergency management agencies and the public. When selecting a new name, consideration is given to certain factors: Short in character length for ease of use in communication Easy to pronounce Appropriate significance in different languages Uniqueness same names cannot be used in other regions. Names are repeated every six years, unless a storm is so deadly or destructive that its name is retired. Related: Beloved Sitcom Coming to Netflix on April 1 This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Terry, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming thei newborn -Credit:WVTM (WVTM) A 19-year-old husband shot and killed his wife and later took his own life at the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital in Alabama on Sunday night. The wife, 24-year-old Precious Johnson, had delivered a baby in the hospital before her husband, Kynath Terry Jr., shot at her multiple times and killed her. The Jefferson County Coroners report found that Terry died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It is not fully clear if the baby was present at the time of the crime, but police said the mother and father were the two injured. I think it's sad, but this was an isolated incident, and I will say in my 30 years of working at the hospital association and representing our hospitals in the state, this is the first time something has occurred like this," said Danne Howard, president of the Alabama Hospital Association to WVTM 13. Ex-Louisiana mayor guilty of having sex with son's underage friend at pool party Forensic expert offers new possible motive for Nancy Guthrie kidnapping Howard also said there may be changes to security protocols at hospitals. The Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital confirmed Monday morning that the hospital, which was initially on lockdown, is back to operating, per WBRC . Terrys mother also noted her son had finished Army National Guard training, married Johnson and was expecting a baby -Credit:WVTM The hospitals always do an after-action report and look at what are the lessons learned, what worked well, what might need to be refined," Howard said. "And in doing that, it's not uncommon for the hospital association to pull together, all of our hospitals to share information and best practices and what worked and what didn't work and what might need to be revisited. Advertisement There are no security protocols for Alabama hospitals, according to Howard. The Homewood police also believe the hospital shooting was a domestic-related murder-suicide. Terrys mother told WVTM 13 that the couple was struggling with marital issues, and Johnson did not want Terrys family at the hospital when she delivered the baby. She told the outlet she could not understand why this happened and why her son could be this violent. Terrys mother also noted her son had finished Army National Guard training, married Johnson and was expecting a baby. Authorities noted that Johnson delivered the baby Sunday night. Terry shot her multiple times and turned the gun on himself. Homewood Mayor Jennifer Andress said authorities were running an active investigation. Last night, our police department responded to a tragic shooting at Brookwood Hospital. Our officers acted quickly to secure the scene and ensure there was no ongoing threat to the public. This remains an active investigation, and we are directing all case-specific questions to the Police Departments Public Information Officer," she said. "Our thoughts are with the victim, her family, the hospital staff, and everyone impacted. We are working closely with hospital leadership and will provide updates as appropriate," the mayor added. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports, and entertainment stories. F-35s The Israeli Defense Force has shared a post on X featuring what appears to be its F-35 fighter jets on the way to bomb Iran, while playing an iconic anti-war song about drafted Americans dying in battle. Since Trump and Netanyahu authorized the use of their military forces to launch strikes against the Islamist state, the nation's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed, the Red Crescent has reported over 1,000 people killed and the conflict has affected 12 countries across the Middle East and surrounding regions. The Pentagon has announced the deaths of six U.S. troops and at least 11 Israeli civilians are confirmed to have died in retaliatory strikes. Therefore - as some experts say the world could be on the brink of WWIII due to the joint U.S. and Israeli action - it is ironic that the IDF would choose Creedence Clearwater Revival's anti-draft song "Fortunate Son" to celebrate the launching of its jets on X along with the caption, "On our way to make history." The four jets captured in the video fly high above an arid-looking landscape as the guitar riff starts, and the first line of the song is heard before the video ends: "Some folks are born, made to wave the flag." The rest of the first verse is as follows: "Ooh, their red, white and blue Advertisement "And when the band plays 'Hail to the Chief' "Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord" The legendary song is widely believed to be an anti-Vietnam song as it was released in 1969, at the height of that war and when the draft lottery was implemented. Vietnam veterans from all walks of life remember their fallen comrades to this day (Image: Getty) The lyrics themselves clearly do refer to the draft, where registered American men aged 18-26 were "called up" or conscripted into the military and made to train and fight in Vietnam. University students could defer the draft until graduation, usually at the age of 24, and there were numerous ways registered males, particularly those from wealthier backgrounds, would "draft dodge." Up to one million young men are thought to have avoided conscription. The most popular of methods included medical grounds, fleeing the country (often to Canada), claiming to be homosexual (which barred men from military), conscientious objection and joining the National Guard. Up to 11,000 women served in Vietnam, but these were all volunteers not draftees. Israel, as a country with compulsory military service for both men and women, is well placed to understand the meaning behind Creedence Clearwater Revival's lyrics. However, it is possible the makers of the video were intending for only the first line to be registered with X users, potentially referring to the pilots themselves as the "Fortunate Son." Americans and Israelis worked together in the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran (Image: Getty) ]]> Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias speaks at the opening of a DMV+ facility in Bloomington, Ill., Aug. 4, 2025. Photo: BlueRoomStream / Screenshot (The Center Square) Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias wants nearly 2% more in taxpayer funds for his upcoming budget than the last one, while promoting millions in savings throughout the office. Giannoulias, who wants $844.6 million in the upcoming budget, was the first state agency to appear before the House Appropriations Committee for budget hearings. The majority of the money for the secretary of state would come from state general revenue and special revenue funds, alongside some federal funds. The requested allocation is a 1.68% increase from the previous budget. Giannoulias noted the variety of services his agency provides to the committee, including Department of Motor Vehicle operations, security at the State Capitol, business registration, local and school library grants and a vehicle theft prevention program. Giannoulias also promoted his commitment to cutting costs across his agency after acknowledging the requested funds as being not insignificant. From my part, I remain committed to continuing to find ways to create efficiencies and cut costs everywhere I can, Giannoulias said. We are continuously seeking ways to make budget cuts and seek efficiency savings. These amounts are over $2.6 million to date, including $1.3 million in savings by moving DMV facilities in Chicago offices to more affordable locations. The amount of revenue the secretary of states office brings in annually was reported to be about $3.3 billion annually, Giannoulias said. Among the initiatives focused on in the coming fiscal year, Giannoulias spoke about the agencys continued focus on the modernization of technology infrastructure and the large quantities of data and documents digitized by the agency. Advertisement What we found out was that the infrastructure was so antiquated that we had to spend a lot of time dealing with cyber security critical, emergency level, red alert cyber security concerns that we had, Giannoulias said. He said the agency is nearing $1 billion in revenue solely through online services this year, primarily made available to Illinoisans in recent years. During questioning, Republican Rep. Brad Hallbrook pressed Giannoulias comments regarding a recent U.S. Department of Transportation decision last month, making standards stricter for non-citizens to receive a commercial drivers license. I do believe there is evidence to the contrary of some of the statements you've made about drivers that are in the country illegally, the incident in Florida where a family, Hallbrook said. Giannoulias cut Hallbrook off from mentioning details of a fatal 2025 incident in Florida involving a non-citizen truck driver, which led to the death of three people. I'm not the secretary of state of Florida, so there's not much I can do about Florida, Giannoulias said. The committee also heard from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission on its proposed budget, which stands at $13 million for operational expenses and $824,600 primarily for education programs from the Dram Shop Fund, which includes revenue generated by liquor licensing fees. The House Appropriations General Services Committee will meet for its next hearing March 18. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Natural Resources are expected to appear. Leo Grillo Credit: Department of Justice NEED TO KNOW Former actor and animal rescuer Leo Grillo is accused of plotting to kidnap a former employee Grillo, 77, allegedly met with a man he hired to orchestrate and execute the plot, according to federal prosecutors He was arrested on Tuesday, March 3 after meeting with the man in Burbank, Calif. A former actor turned animal rescuer is facing criminal charges after he allegedly plotted to kidnap a former employee who initially won a $6.7 million judgment against his California-based animal sanctuary, authorities said. On Tuesday, March 3, Leo Grillo, 77, of Acton, Calif., was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a press release. Grillo, who started the nonprofit animal rescue organization, Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals, known as D.E.L.T.A. Rescue, was allegedly upset that he lost a 2021 lawsuit filed by a former employee, saying he believed it was unfair, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by PEOPLE. In the bizarre plot, Grillo allegedly wanted to kidnap the former employee, her child and her husband and take them to Mexico to try to convince her to settle the lawsuit against him, the complaint alleges. He also allegedly said he wanted to kidnap her so she would not be able to appear in court if his appeal of the verdict were successful and the case were retried, according to the complaint. Hired in 2017 to clean cages and feed the animals at the sanctuary which according to its website is the largest No Kill, Care-for-Life Animal Sanctuary of its kind in the world" the employee, called Victim 1 in the complaint, was fired after she had a baby in February 2020, according to the 2021 lawsuit. Leo Grillo Credit: Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times via getty In November 2024, a jury voted in favor of the woman, awarding her $5.7 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages, according to court records, the Los Angeles Times reported. The total amount was later reduced by a judge to $2.9 million, per the outlet. As a result of the award, the sanctuary filed for bankruptcy in May 2025. Seven months later, in December 2025, Grillo allegedly reached out to a man, called Cooperating Witness 1 in the complaint, asking for help with some projects he had planned. The target of a separate FBI investigation into alleged fraud, Cooperating Witness 1 was working with law enforcement in hopes of receiving favorable consideration in connection with that investigation, the complaint states. The man then reported to the FBI that Grillo, a former client, had reached out to him to help him organize and execute a kidnapping to force the former employee to cooperate with Grillo about the lawsuit, per the complaint. Grillo was allegedly willing to pay $100,000 for the kidnapping, which he called a documentary to try to hide the true nature of the plan, the complaint states. Advertisement In January and February of 2026, Grillo and the man met several times at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, Calif., so the two could talk privately. The man told the FBI that Grillo was deeply concerned about possible surveillance and often talked in coded language, according to the complaint. On Tuesday, March 3, Grillo met the man in Burbank again, this time in a small camper he bought so no one could hear them talking, the complaint alleges. The man showed Grillo a fake photograph of a man and a woman who were restrained with zip ties, the complaint alleges. In the photo, the womans mouth was covered with duct tape. Fake photo of kidnapping. Credit: Department of Justice They got em, the man told Grillo. According to the complaint, Grillo at this time had already paid $20,000 for the alleged kidnapping, but the man told them that the people carrying out the kidnapping needed $10,000 more because they were still in the U.S. and not in Mexico. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Grillo allegedly agreed to the additional $10,000 and then discussed with the man how if the appeal of the verdict were successful and the case were to be retried, theres no plaintiff!'" He also allegedly talked about what he would say if I ever get busted on this by the feds, the complaint states. Before the plan went any further, at the end of Grillos meeting with the man on March 3, he was arrested by the FBI, who had been listening in on the conversations between him and the man for weeks and had obtained a search warrant for their investigation. During his interview with agents, Grillo allegedly said he paid the man for his participation in a documentary unrelated to Victim 1, and not a kidnapping," per the complaint. Grillos public defender did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment. The former actor once starred with Katherine Heigl and Tom Sizemore in the 2006 low-budget film Zyzzyx Road, which only earned $30 and is considered the lowest-grossing film of all time, according to 9 News.com.au. Read the original article on People 'Deepwater Horizon' movie poster; the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion Credit: TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy Stock Photo; U.S. Coast Guard via Getty NEED TO KNOW Deepwater Horizon is based on the tragic 2010 oil rig explosion and spill The 2016 movie took inspiration from the people who survived the explosion including Mark Wahlberg's character, Mike Williams Many of the cast members portrayed real people who shared their accounts with the filmmakers Deepwater Horizon tells the real story of the people who survived the 2010 oil rig explosion. The 2016 biographical disaster movie stars Mark Wahlberg as the real-life oil rig technician Mike Williams who helped save members of the crew after the BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion resulted in the deaths of 11 people on the rig. The devastating disaster also led to the largest marine oil spill of all time. In addition to Wahlberg, the film also stars Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien and Kate Hudson as real people involved in the explosion. The movie, which hit Netflix on March 1, was heavily adapted from the lengthy New York Times article, "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours." Director Peter Berg further interviewed Williams and had him involved in the project. Its very anxiety-inducing. Reliving each of those critical moments, those critical time stamps, theyre all very vivid in my memory, and of course we didnt capture all of it, Williams told PEOPLE in 2016. We condensed 12 hours into two hours, and so it was difficult to capture everything. But we did get the highlights, and what is portrayed in the film is all accurate. Here's everything to know about the real-life story of Deepwater Horizon. Is Deepwater Horizon based on a true story? Kurt Russell, John Malkovich and Gina Rodriguez in 'Deepwater Horizon' Credit: Collection Christophel / Alamy Stock Photo The 2016 movie Deepwater Horizon is based on the final hours and events that took place after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. On April 20, 2010, over 100 crew members were working on the rig that was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast. The rig, which was one of the largest and most up-to-date rigs of its time, and its crew were scheduled to finish the "well from hell" that was behind schedule, per The New York Times. By the evening, gas had spread into the rig and ignited resulting in massive explosions. Flames quickly emerged and encompassed the rig, sending crew members to frantically flee and enact safety precautions, most of which were not triggered fast enough or failed. The explosion led to 11 crew members' deaths, and 17 others being injured. The destruction also caused damage to other areas in the rig including the seals that initiated the devastating oil spill. What caused the Deepwater Horizon to explode? The Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 Credit: U.S. Coast Guard via Getty After a full day of drilling in the Macondo Prospect on April 20, the Horizon crew had to run one more test to determine the pressure inside the well before they could seal it. If the test found that pressure had built up inside, then oil and gas could be leaking and lead to an explosion. BP higher-ups disagreed over the test results, so they repeated the test and came to an agreement that the Macondo was stable at around 8 p.m. local time. A little before 10 p.m., several barrels of oil and gas had been leaking into the well and surpassed the rig's blowout preventer a mechanism that is meant to be the final prevention of gases penetrating the rig. Crew members started to see mud coming from the well and determined that they needed to start precautions for a blowout. However, several factors including fewer crew members, locked doors and technical procedures hindered the first few people aware of the blowout from alerting other crew members. Not before long, a cloud of gas started to appear and surround the rig setting the gas alarms off. Despite the warnings from several eyewitnesses, the general master alarm was not immediately called. It was a lot to take in, bridge officer Andrea Fleytas recalled in her testimony, per The New York Times. There was a lot going on. As the gas continued to spread and thicken, crew members attempted to shut it in the well and seal it. Unfortunately, the fail-safe blowout preventer had already been destroyed and was later found to be lacking the recommended maintenance to make it effective in an emergency situation. The situation caused a massive blackout and at least two explosions along the engines. The rig ultimately sank two days later on April 22, 2010. Advertisement Were the characters based on real people? Mike Williams at the 'Deepwater Horizon' premiere in September 2016 Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Several of the people who were directly involved in the tragedy were portrayed by actors in the film. Wahlberg starred as Williams, the chief electronics technician on the oil rig, who risked his life to rescue those who were trapped and helped them escape via lifeboats. Williams was present for much of the filming and helped both Wahlberg and director Berg ensure the film's accuracy. Despite his involvement, Williams said he was still "very conflicted" when it came time to watch the movie in its entirety. We sat and watched it, and there were multiple scenes that I covered my face. I simply couldnt watch, it was very difficult, he told PEOPLE in 2016. There are four elements in the film that I did not watch them film it. I had nothing to do with the editing, I had no input whatsoever as to what happened during those scenes, and that was the first time I was going to see them in the version that was going to be put out to the public. Williams explained that he had accepted the pain and trauma of reliving the experience to honor his 11 colleagues who died in the explosion. Its an important tribute to my 11 brothers. When I agreed to assist them with this project, it was under the direction of I have to speak for 11 people who cannot speak, he shared. I have to tell these guys how to get this right so that their image is held up in the highest light possible. That was my motivation for the entire project. Meanwhile, Fleytas was depicted by Gina Rodriguez, Kurt Russell played Transocean offshore installation manager Jimmy "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell and John Malkovich played BP well site leader Donald Joseph Vidrine, who pleaded guilty for his role in the disaster. Seven of the victims 35-year-old Jason Anderson, 37-year-old Aaron Dale "Bubba" Burkeen, 22-year-old Shane Roshto, 28-year-old Gordon Jones, 48-year-old Dewey Revette, 24-year-old Adam Weise, 40-year-old Stephen Ray Curtis were portrayed by Ethan Suplee, Jason Kirkpatrick, Henry Frost, Jonathan Angel, J.D. Evermore, Jeremy Sanders and Jason Pine, respectively. Other real-life characters in the movie included Felicia Williams (Kate Hudson), Caleb Holloway (Dylan O'Brien), Robert Kaluza (Brad Leland), David Sims (Joe Chrest), Patrick O'Bryan (James DuMont), Captain Curt Kuchta (Dave Maldonado), Alwin Landry (Douglas M. Griffin) and Anthony Gervasio (Juston Street). What happened as a result of the explosion? Two workers cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2010. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty There were no shortage of consequences that occurred as a result of the devastating Deepwater Horizon explosion. Shortly after the explosion took place, the defective cement and preventer systems failed and caused the biggest marine oil spill of all time. Over the course of the next three months, approximately 134 million gallons of oil from the well leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The spill caused damage across the body of water and its inhabitants including hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, coral, birds and fish. The oil spill took years to clean up, and crews collected an estimated 4.6 million pounds of material that had been ruined by the oil as of 2013, according to NPR. In addition to the years-long environmental effects, the companies in charge of the rig both BP and Transocean faced billion-dollar lawsuits. The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against BP, and they settled in November 2012 for a record-breaking $4.525 billion. BP pleaded guilty to 11 counts of felony manslaughter, two misdemeanors and one felony count of lying to Congress. Six years after the spill, BP paid an additional $20.8 billion in fines, according to NOAA. The total amount of additional fines, penalties and cleanup costs have totaled a staggering $65 billion, Reuters reported in 2018. Meanwhile, Transocean also had to take accountability for their role in the disaster (although Congress determined BP was primarily responsible). The company paid $1.4 billion to settle government charges, per NBC News. Transocean also paid an addition $212 million to settle individual lawsuits but was expected to receive $560 million in insurance proceeds for losing the rig, per Reuters. Its unclear if they received the insurance proceeds. Read the original article on People This image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, in this May 16, 2025, photo. (Sgt. Brent Newton/U.S. Army via AP) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday lamented the loss of four soldiers from her state since December, including two killed last weekend in a retaliatory drone strike in Kuwait during the early stages of the war with Iran. I believe in the mission right now, Reynolds, a Republican, said during a news conference, her voice breaking at times. I think it was the right thing to do, she said, referring to U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. Just look at what Iran has done over the last several years. Hopefully were in and out. I believe thats the goal of this administration. Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Indianola, and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, were among six Army Reservists killed in the drone strike. All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies. Reynolds said she spoke with Coadys father and OBriens wife. As you can imagine, theyre heartbroken and as Iowans, we grieve with them, she said, adding that some wounded soldiers have been safely transported to Germany. In December, two members of the Iowa National Guard, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, were killed in Syria. The U.S. military blamed the Islamic State group. I cant imagine the sacrifice, the governor said. Also among those killed in Kuwait was Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54. Though he was from Sacramento, California, he served with others from Iowa, including Lucas Schafroth, who called news of his death devastating. For me, he was my greatest mentor in life. I mean, Im the father I am today Im the man I am today because of him, said Schafroth, who is from Waukee, Iowa, and served his entire 13-year Army Reserve career with Marzan. I took a lot of life lessons from him. Schafroth was 18 and a fresh high school graduate in 2008 when he first met Marzan, and the older man put a computer in his hands and told him to learn it. Later he sat Schafroth down to go over goals and help him work out a five-year plan for them. He was just an incredible man, said Schaforth. And he did that for everyone he met. Every single one of us. Advertisement The men stayed close after Schaforth, who is now 35 and works in cybersecurity, left the military in 2021. Rob and I had plans for him when he got home to sit down and put together our business plans, he said. He and I both wanted to start our own small businesses, and we were going to help each other kind of nail down all the details. Tina Marzan said her husbands deployment was supposed to end in a couple of months, and the family had been planning to celebrate his April birthday when he returned. The military has identified the three other soldiers killed in Kuwait as: Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, of Bellevue, Nebraska. In the evening Thursday, a martial arts studio where Tietjens practiced in Bellevue held a memorial class in his honor. Grand Master Julius Melegrito led the class through 43 repetitions of several exercises because the day would have been Tietjens' 43rd birthday. Melegrito said Tietjens was always willing to give and help others, noting that he participated in Zoom classes while deployed and taught fellow soldiers martial arts. Tietjens, his wife and his 12-year-old son all earned black belts at the suburban Omaha studio, which is part of the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance International. ProCircular, a cybersecurity company where O'Brien worked, praised his uplifting humor and calm guidance. His quiet strength and expertise protected countless systems and left a lasting impact on everyone privileged to work with him, CEO Aaron Warner said. ___ Associated Press writers Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Josh Funk in Bellevue, Nebraska, contributed. StordAI adds Chat, Search, and Feed - giving e-commerce brands intelligent assistants built on real commerce data, helping teams move faster and scale with confidence. Chat launches in beta today. ATLANTA, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stord, The Consumer Experience Company, powering seamless pre-purchase, checkout, delivery, and post-purchase experiences for leading brands, today announced a major expansion of StordAI - adding Chat, Search, and Feed capabilities that transform raw operational data into real-time intelligence, actionable insights, and clear recommendations across the entire commerce stack, all through a conversational interface. The same experience available in modern leading AI technology, to search, learn, and action through conversation, is now available in ecommerce operations. These assistants are a meaningful step forward in how brands operate, providing intelligence that helps teams cut through operational noise, surface critical insights faster, and turn the complexity of modern fulfillment into a scaling advantage. The suite launches with three interconnected assistants: Chat (a conversational AI launching in beta today) (a conversational AI launching in beta today) Search (a universal context-aware discovery engine for any order, any data, any insight) (a universal context-aware discovery engine for any order, any data, any insight) Feed (a personalized intelligence stream that surfaces opportunities and risks before they become problems). Together, they give growing brands a new kind of operational clarity that previously did not exist. Why This Matters: Commerce Is Broken E-commerce operations today run on fragmented data, siloed systems, and human intuition stretched to its limit. The numbers tell the story: $1.77 trillion in global losses from inventory distortion, out-of-stocks and overstocks that erode margin and destroy customer trust 1 . in global losses from inventory distortion, out-of-stocks and overstocks that erode margin and destroy customer trust . 70% of shopping carts abandoned , with delivery clarity the most-cited decision factor 2 . , with delivery clarity the most-cited decision factor . 58% of consumers demand estimated delivery dates , but only 1% of brands provide them 3 . , but only 1% of brands provide them . 2535% of support tickets are "Where Is My Order?" inquiries, exceeding 50% during peak 4 . inquiries, exceeding 50% during peak . 38.6% of retailers cancel 1 in 10 orders due to inventory inaccuracies5. Every one of these failures traces back to the same root cause: brands are making critical decisions with incomplete information, on systems that were never designed to think. "Brands today are running 21st-century consumer expectations on 20th-century infrastructure. The data to solve these problems has been trapped in silos for decades. Stord's vertically integrated platform brings it all in one place. What's been missing is the intelligence layer to make it useful, autonomous, and state-of-the-art. That's what this next chapter of StordAI delivers." - Sean Henry, CEO & Co-Founder, Stord What's New: Three Capabilities, One Intelligence This expansion of StordAI introduces three tightly integrated capabilities, each designed to eliminate a different layer of operational friction: 1. Chat Your Team's Smartest Assistant [LIVE IN BETA TODAY] Chat is a conversational AI assistant embedded directly into the Stord platform. Ask it anything about your business, in plain language, and get an instant, data-grounded answer. What it does: Chat connects to every layer of operational data including orders, inventory, shipments, carrier events, routing logic, compliance rules, and historical performance and synthesizes answers in seconds that would otherwise take teams hours or days of cross-referencing reports, exporting spreadsheets, and scheduling meetings. Real examples brands can ask today: "Why was order #482901 delayed and what carrier was responsible?" "What is our real available-to-promise inventory on SKU 1423 across all nodes?" "Which SKUs are trending toward stockout this week?" "Can we run a flash sale on Product X without overselling?" "How is this product performing vs. forecast in the Southeast region?" Why it's different: Unlike generic AI assistants, Chat is built on real commerce data: millions of actual shipment events, billions of dollars of transactions flowing through Stord's network. Every answer is grounded in a brand's operational reality, not hallucinated from a general-purpose model. Type a question and get a synthesized answer. Chat is available free to all Stord customers and rolling out this week. 2. Search One Bar to Find Anything [COMING Q2 2026] Search is a universal discovery engine that replaces the need to navigate across multiple systems, dashboards, and reports. One search bar. Any order. Any data point. Any insight. What it does: Search provides context-aware results that understand commerce operations. Type an order number and see its full lifecycle. Type a SKU and see inventory positions, velocity, and risk signals. It unifies OMS, WMS, ERP, carrier, and CX data into a single point of access. 3. Feed Intelligence That Comes to You [COMING Q2 2026] Feed is a personalized intelligence stream that eliminates dashboard fatigue. Instead of logging in and hunting for problems, Feed surfaces what matters most, proactively. Brands can easily restructure the feed through Chat interface to create goals while ensuring clarity on daily demands. What it does: Feed monitors operations continuously and delivers prioritized, actionable alerts: inventory risk signals, delivery disruptions, promotion performance anomalies, demand shifts, and emerging opportunities. It learns what each user cares about and adapts over time. Why it matters: Today, operators check dashboards reactively. Feed flips that model allowing problems and opportunities to be discovered well before they become a disruption. The Vision: Intelligence That Grows with Your Brand This expansion of StordAI represents a significant step in Stord's AI roadmap, giving brands intelligent assistants today that lay the foundation for what comes next. The immediate value is clear: teams spend less time digging through data and more time making high-impact decisions. "Generic AI doesn't solve commerce problems. AI grounded in real operational data does. StordAI is built on tens-of-millions of real shipment events and billions of dollars of commerce flowing through our system. Today, we are giving brands the assistants they've been asking for. - Sean Henry, CEO & Co-Founder, Stord This trajectory is what positions Stord as the leader in AI-powered e-commerce; built not just on technology, but on the unmatched depth and breadth of real-world commerce data that trains, validates, and grounds every AI capability. Built on a Proven AI Foundation Today's expansion builds on StordAI's existing portfolio of AI-powered tools already in production: Estimated Delivery Dates (EDD) - Dynamic, AI-powered shipping predictions that increase checkout conversion. - Dynamic, AI-powered shipping predictions that increase checkout conversion. Intelligent Order & Inventory Summaries - Instant natural-language explanations of any order's status and routing. - Instant natural-language explanations of any order's status and routing. Workflow Automations - AI-optimized routing, kitting, and exception handling rules. - AI-optimized routing, kitting, and exception handling rules. Instant Compliance Code Recommendations - Automated product classification for regulatory accuracy. Chat, Search, and Feed expand these capabilities under one intelligence layer, making the whole dramatically greater than the sum of its parts. Q & A with Sean Henry, CEO & Co-Founder Q: What's new with StordAI, in the simplest terms? A: We've expanded StordAI with three new capabilities that turn the massive amount of data we already capture across orders, inventory, shipping, compliance, and more into instant, usable intelligence. Chat lets you ask questions in plain English. Search lets you find anything instantly. Feed tells you what you need to know before you even ask. Together, they help brands operate faster and scale with confidence. Q: Why launch this now? What's changed in the market? A: Two things converged. First, the AI technology matured to the point where we can deliver grounded, reliable answers from complex operational data, not generic chatbot responses. Second, the pressure on brands has never been higher. Consumer expectations keep rising, margins keep compressing, and the operational complexity of omnichannel fulfillment is overwhelming teams. Brands need intelligence, not more dashboards. This next iteration of StordAI delivers exactly that. Q: How is this different from other AI tools in e-commerce? A: Most AI in e-commerce is surface-level consisting of generic models plugged into a single function like demand forecasting or customer service chatbots. StordAI is different because it sits across the entire commerce stack. It's trained on real operational data from billions of dollars of actual transactions. It is plugged into real-world execution and can take real-time action on packages and operations moving in the physical world. It is a manifestation of "PhysicalAI". That grounding is everything. Q: Is this available to all Stord customers? What does it cost? A: Chat launches in beta today and will be available to all Stord customers. We want every brand on our platform to experience what AI-powered operations feel like. Search and Feed will roll out to customers in Q2 2026. Q: What can brands literally do with Chat on day one? A: From today, any brand on Stord can open Chat and start asking questions about their operations: order status, inventory levels, shipping performance, carrier issues, SKU trends, promotion risks, regional performance, anything they'd normally need to dig through reports or schedule a meeting to answer. The response is instant, grounded in their actual data, and synthesized in plain language. Q: What is Stord's long-term AI vision? A: StordAI is about giving brands the most capable AI in e-commerce.This is AI that helps teams move faster, see more clearly, and make better decisions at scale. Q: What makes Stord uniquely positioned to lead AI in e-commerce? A: Data. Full stop. Stord powers the full commerce lifecycle including pre-purchase, checkout, fulfillment, delivery, post-purchase, and more for the world's most demanding brands. That means we have the deepest, richest dataset in the industry: millions of shipment events, inventory movements, carrier interactions, and customer signals. AI is only as good as the data it's built on. Our data is unmatched, and so is the intelligence we can deliver. About Stord Stord is the consumer experience company powering seamless pre-purchase, checkout, delivery, and post-purchase for today's leading brands. Stord's integrated platform combines fulfillment, freight, and technology into a single commerce engine, enabling brands to deliver the kind of consumer experience that builds loyalty and drives growth. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Stord serves hundreds of brands across its global fulfillment network. For more information, visit stord.com . SOURCE Stord Repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious crimes would receive mandatory 20-year prison sentences under a bill House lawmakers passed. House lawmakers debated for more than an hour about high costs, lack of prison space and the bill's impact on Black Iowans before voting 68-23 to pass House File 2542, sending it to the Iowa Senate. Seven Democrats, including Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill. "It will put public safety first," said the bill's floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. "It will ensure that the debt to victims and society is paid. It will prioritize victims and public safety over criminals. It will establish real and effective deterrence that is nonexistent in our current system. It will reduce chaos and violence in our society." Representative Steven C. Holt speaks about the use of eminent domain in the Iowa House, Jan. 21, 2026. Here's what to know about the bill. What would the House Republican three strikes bill do? Iowans who accumulate three strikes as calculated by set guidelines would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence, with no parole, under the bill. That would replace Iowa's current law that says habitual offenders must serve a minimum three-year prison sentence before they are eligible for parole. All felonies, as well as aggravated misdemeanors involving sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault and organized retail theft would be considered level-one offenses that are worth one full strike. More: Which Iowa House lawmakers voted for a '3 strikes' sentencing bill? Other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors involving assault, domestic abuse and criminal mischief would be considered level-two offenses worth half a strike each. Lawmakers amended the bill to remove theft, harassment and possession of a controlled substance from the crimes that would count toward a person's strikes. And the amendment specifies that the bill would only apply to convictions that occur beginning July 1, 2026. If someone is arrested and convicted of multiple offenses, only the most serious charge would count towards the defendant's strikes. Convictions would not count toward someone's total if more than 20 years passes between a prior conviction and their current conviction. Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to say that only a violent crime would qualify as someone's third strike, but Republicans rejected the amendment. "The bill still scores murder, felony embezzlement and felony theft the same, even though they are very different crimes," Wilburn said. "One point is one point and three gets you 20 years with no ability for parole or judicial discretion." Rep. Ross Wilburn speaks at a press conference for the Iowa Black and Brown Caucus on Jan. 26, 2026, at the Iowa State Capitol. Holt said the legislation leaves room for judicial and prosecutorial discretion. "There are deferred sentences, there are plea bargains," he said. "There is plenty of opportunity for grace and judicial discretion in the legislation that we are proposing." Bill could cost millions, require Iowa to build a new prison, agency says The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency's fiscal analysis said the measure could cost Iowa nearly $165 million more per year by 2031 based on the cost of housing inmates for longer prison stays. FY 2027: $33 million FY 2028: $66 million FY 2029: $99 million FY 2030: $132 million FY 2031: $164.9 million The agency said if the bill had been in effect between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2025, there would have been 5,373 people who qualified for the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence. "An increase in the prison population due to increased (length of stay) will require the DOC to build additional prison(s)," the agency states. "The size, security and other features that a future prison may require cannot be determined, but costs would be significant." The analysis noted that South Dakota appropriated $650 million last fall to build a 1,500-bed prison. As of March 1, the Iowa Department of Corrections' website describes the state's prison system as being overcrowded by 25%, with 8,705 inmates compared to a capacity of 6,990. Advertisement The Office of the State Public Defender could see a projected cost increase of $1.6 million due to an increased number of trials resulting from the legislation. But the agency's estimates come with a caveat the Department of Corrections did not respond to its requests for data. "The LSA has not received a response to multiple requests for information from the DOC," the note states. "Without additional information, the LSA cannot estimate the total fiscal impact of the bill." Holt called the fiscal note "an embarrassment to the Department of Corrections" and "an agenda masquerading as math." "It is clear, in my judgment, that because they did not like the legislation they went all out and extreme to create a fiscal note that cannot be taken seriously in its assumptions," he said. "It assumes that nothing will change, that there will be no deterrent factor and that the numbers will continue as usual." Black Iowans would be disproportionately impacted by the law, analysis says The Legislative Services Agency analysis says the bill "may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant." Of the 29,438 people convicted in fiscal year 2025 of felonies and aggravated misdemeanors that constitute a level one offense under the bill, the agency said about 70% were White, 22% were Black and 9% were other races. Iowa's overall population is 83% White, 4% Black and 13% other races, the agency said. It's not clear how the bill's impact would change to account for the House amendment removing some crimes from counting towards the three strikes. "Expanding three-strike laws will intensify disparities and thats what this statement shows by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion," Wilburn said. "We already have a habitual offender statute. We already have one in place. We have a 10-year low in recidivism in our correctional system." Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said California's three strikes law, passed in the 1990s, worsened racial disparities, and "Iowa is about to repeat the same mistake." "I urge every member here, do not pass legislation that our own minority impact statement tells us will deepen inequality in our state," Ramirez said. Holt said minority communities in Iowa are impacted by crime and that the legislation "will make citizens of all colors safer." And he said the minority impact statement "tells only one side of the story, doesn't it? It tells the criminal's story. What about the victim's story?" "What about the mother who will continue to tuck her kids in at night and read them Bible stories because she never became the next victim of a violent career criminal?" he said. "Where is that data point in the minority impact statement?" House lawmakers also approved separate legislation that would increase Iowa's statewide bond schedule, Senate File 2399. That bill passed on a vote of 74-19. Iowans could see more information on judges' rulings Iowans would have access to more information about judges' rulings ahead of the state's judicial retention elections under a separate measure, House File 2719, which passed on a 73-19 vote. The Iowa secretary of state's office would be required to publish information including: The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the state's bond schedule The frequency that the judge releases someone on their own recognizance for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense The frequency that the judge's final sentence is lower than statutory recommendations or a prosecutor's recommendations The number of times the judge issues a deferred judgement, deferred sentence or suspended sentence The number of times the judge's rulings are reversed on appeal due to abuse of discretion or error of law The average time it takes the judge to rule on a motion or case The number of cases the judge has resolved compared to the number of cases on the judge's docket The data would have to be displayed with a five-year trend line beginning five years after the bill takes effect. The Secretary of State's Office would also be required to maintain a searchable database of all judicial opinions and orders for the judge's current term and the preceding six years. The decisions would be redacted when appropriate. Judges would also have the opportunity to write a 2,000-word personal statement on their judicial philosophy or data trends present in their rulings. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House lawmakers pass '3 strikes' bill with steep prison sentences Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered flags around the state to be lowered to half-staff on Thursday, March 5 to honor two Iowa soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike. Why are flags at half-staff today? Major Jeffery OBrien, 45, of Waukee, and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, were killed in action on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. Both are Army Reserve soldiers with the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines. More: What to know about the soldiers from Iowa-based unit killed in Kuwait Our hearts are broken by the deaths of Major Jeffrey OBrien and Sgt. Declan Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace, Reynolds wrote in a statement. On behalf of a grateful state, Kevin and I offer our prayers and condolences for their families, and we ask all Iowans to stand united in support of our fallen soldiers and those who loved them. O'Brien and Coady were part of a Des Moines Army Reserve unit stationed in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, where they worked on a logistics base that supplies troops. They are among the six U.S. military members killed since President Trump ordered an attack on Iran on Feb. 28 alongside Israel, fueling an ongoing war that has also claimed hundreds of Iranian lives, including Irans supreme leader. How long will flags be at half-staff in Iowa? Reynolds order will keep flags lowered until the day of internment for the soldiers. Funeral arrangements are still pending and their bodies are in the process of being returned to Iowa. Who was Major Jeffery OBrien? Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, has been confirmed as the second Iowan killed in a March 1 attack by Iran on a facility in Kuwait that took the lives of six soldiers in an Iowa-based unit. O'Brien was commissioned in the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps officer in 2012 and was deployed to Kuwait in 2019, a news release said. O'Brien had been promoted to major in August 2024, according to a Facebook post by the 103rd Sustainment Command, the Des Moines-based unit of which the slain soldiers were members. He was the manager of defensive cyber operations at ProCiruclar, a Coralville-based cybersecurity company, according to the company's staff page. Last August the company received an award for supporting his service with flex time and coverage for his job while he was on deployments. OBrien had been awarded the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device, according to the release. Advertisement He is survived by wife, Roxane, mother and father, Helen Ann and Daniel J. of Coggon, brothers, David Daniel of Coggon and Gregory Joseph, of Marion; and sister, Natalie Navarro of Bloomington, Illinois. Who was Sergeant Declan Coady? U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, poses in an undated photograph in his uniform. Coady was killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait, during a drone attack. A sophomore at Drake University and Army reservist from West Des Moines, Coady, joined the Army Reserves while in college. He could have been exempt from deployment because he was in ROTC, but still deployed to Kuwait, leaving in August 2025. Coady graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines in 2023. A GoFundMe post seeking support for his family said, "Declan was more than a soldier he was a son, a family member, a friend, and a light in the lives of those who knew him. He served his country with honor, courage, and dedication, embodying the very best of what it means to wear the uniform." Coady would have turned 21 on May 5. His awards and decorations include the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon and the Overseas Service Ribbon, according to an Army statement. A Pentagon news release noted Coady was posthumously promoted to sergeant from specialist. What's the difference between half-mast and half-staff for flags? Half-mast is used when the flag is flown from a flagpole, typically referring to a ship mast or similar structures, according to Federal Flags. Half-mast means the flag is flown two-thirds up between the top and bottom of the flagstaff. Half-staff is the term used for flags on land, particularly in the United States. Half-staff describes a flag that is raised halfway, between the top and bottom of the flagpole. When the American flag is flown at half-staff, it conveys a message of respect and mourning. Federal Flags says this custom is most often observed following the death of a government official, military personnel or in response to a national tragedy. Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Why are flags at half-staff? Iowa honors 2 fallen soldiers Rescuers rush to the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle along the highway leading to Beirut's international airport (FADEL itani) (FADEL itani/AFP/AFP) Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Explosions heard in Tehran: media - Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that several explosions were heard in Tehran on Thursday morning. It said the country had activated its defences in response. - Iran launches missiles at Israel - Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel earlier Thursday, triggering alerts in several areas including Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military and Tehran's state media. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem after warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire, according to AFP journalists, but Israel's emergency services said there were no known casualties. - Air strike hits Hezbollah stronghold - An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after Israel had issued a warning to residents. Elsewhere, three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles along Beirut's airport highway, Lebanon's health ministry said. - Oil spill near Kuwait - A tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in the waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said. "The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity" off the Gulf state's Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, the agency posted on X. - Qatar evacuations near US embassy - Qatar has begun evacuating residents of its capital living near the US embassy as a precautionary measure, the interior ministry said, after Iranian strikes. - Turkey says missile from Iran destroyed - A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, Turkish officials said. The defense ministry did not specify the missile's intended target, but the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been "aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course". - Trump, Netanyahu hail war effort - President Donald Trump hailed the US performance in the war, saying Iran's leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on. "We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel and Washington had made "historic gains" in the war. Advertisement - US Senate rejects bid to curb war - The US Senate rejected a bipartisan resolution aimed at curbing Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran, in a narrow congressional show of support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers. With Republicans holding a 5347 majority in the upper chamber of Congress, the resolution fell short by exactly that margin. - Canada can't rule out war role - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he couldn't "rule out participation" in the escalating war. "We will stand by our allies," he said alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra. - Spain denies US claim of cooperation - Spain doubled down on its opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran, after Trump's threats of trade reprisals. The White House said Madrid had now agreed to cooperate, but Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said its stance on "bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all." - China to send envoy to mediate - China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Beijing is a close partner of Iran and has said it backs Tehran in defending its sovereignty, while urging the United States and Israel to cease their attacks. - Qatar ire - Qatar's PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted Iran's foreign minister during a call, accusing Tehran of trying to drag their neighbors into war. - Cargo crisis deepens - Danish shipping giant Maersk and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said they were suspending bookings in the Gulf until further notice following a risk assessment, after China's Cosco announced a similar halt. Oil prices had risen as Iran warns vessels against using the narrow Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and crucial for oil tankers, in the Gulf. - Hormuz crew rescued - The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a container ship struck by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces claimed "complete control" of the strait a day after Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the channel. - Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies - A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. "We have collected 87 bodies," a Sri Lankan navy official told AFP. burs-sst/jgc/jfx/hmn FILE PHOTO: An aerial view Port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo By Anna Hirtenstein, Andrew Mills and Jonathan Saul March 4 (Reuters) - Iranian drone attacks could disrupt the Strait of Hormuz for months, but how long the Islamic Republic could sustain its missile barrage is less clear, according to intelligence sources and military analysts. Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Gulf states allied with Washington. Most were intercepted by air defences, but some residential and commercial buildings, infrastructure and U.S. military bases have sustained damage. MAJOR DRONE MAKER Tehran is a major drone manufacturer and has the industrial capacity to produce around 10,000 per month, according to the Centre for Information Resilience, a non-profit research group funded by Britain's Foreign Office. The size of its missile stockpile is unknown, with estimates ranging from 2,500 by Israel's military to around 6,000 according to other analysts. How much of Iran's arms cache remains could be a key factor in determining the course of the war. Closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the worlds crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, has been one of Iran's main objectives, and shipping through the crucial energy artery has ground to a near halt after Iranian hits on six vessels. Energy prices have jumped, with Brent crude rising 12% and a European natural gas benchmark up about 50% so far this week. "Iran is not going to fold easily or quickly, they have the means to make it unsafe for commercial traffic to flow through Hormuz," said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group. "The U.S. is prioritising attacking Irans munitions, bases and facilities that threaten the Strait. But all Iran has to do is show they can hit a few tankers and concern will take care of the rest, folks just wont go through, McNally said. MISSILE SUPPLIES A VULNERABLE POINT Strategic missile supplies are a vulnerable point for Iran, according to a former director at Britains MI6 intelligence agency. Russia is in no position to resupply and China will be quite cautious about this. If it became known that China was actually providing some sort of serious military hardware to Iran, that would play very badly with the GCC states, he said, referring to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Advertisement Missile stores may be lower because Tehran had been supplying Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, a second Western intelligence source said. Stocks were also reduced during a 12-day war with Israel in June, but they have been partially restored, according to Israeli military intelligence. A key constraint may be launchers for the missiles. Supplies have at least halved over the last year due to strikes by Israel and the U.S. and further declined over the past five days, research by Britains CIR showed. Despite this, Iran is likely to be able to sustain a fight with its drones. The countrys latest generation of Shahed-136 drones have a range of 700 to 1,000 kilometres (435 to 620 miles), sufficient to reach anywhere in the southern Gulf coast when launched from the Iranian mainland or vessels, according to Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute. Many are produced at dual-use plants and other facilities could be retooled to ramp up production, a CIR analyst said. These drones were able to penetrate Gulf states air defence systems, with 65 entering the UAE since the conflict broke out. They struck Amazons data centres, Dubai International Airport and a Fairmont hotel. Bahrain has suffered material damage to infrastructure, a U.S. naval base and a tower containing a hotel and apartments from drones. SEA MINES COULD PROLONG DISRUPTION Oil traders are bracing for further price spikes as the length of the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz becomes clearer in the coming days. I am very concerned, this risk is currently underpriced in oil markets, said a senior executive at Vitol, a global commodity trading house. "The prevalent theory is that Iran is using old missiles and drones first to deplete air defences. If so, their response is yet to start properly." And if missiles and drones start to run out, Iran could deploy sea mines. Tehran has an inventory of 5,000 to 6,000 such mines, according to Dryad Global, a maritime risk intelligence firm. They can be moored to the seabed, rocket-propelled or drift in waters, exploding when a vessel comes into contact. There is no indication that mines have been laid in the Strait of Hormuz at this point, analysts said. If sea mines are laid, it will take a long time to deal with them," said Cormac McCarry, director at Control Risks with a focus on maritime intelligence and security services. "That's where we will be looking at months of destruction." (Reporting by Anna Hirtenstein and Jonathan Saul in London and Andrew Mills in Doha; Editing by Alex Richardson) This image shows damages of a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo) Iran launched a new wave of attacks on Israel and American bases Thursday while also striking near the Azerbaijan border, marking a significant expansion of the conflict beyond the Middle East. An Iranian drone struck an airport terminal and another came down near a school in a region along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, injuring four civilians. Azerbaijan's president convened his Security Council in response and is demanding an apology from Iran and criminal accountability for those responsible. The country's military has been put on full combat readiness. Iran denied firing drones at Azerbaijan, but Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said its own technical systems tracked four of the drones from Iranian territory. RELATED STORY | Iran war threatens further alienating MAHA from MAGA Iran has long accused Azerbaijan of serving as an Israeli spy base on its northern border and warned Baku it would be punished if it did not stop. Azerbaijan supplies Israel with more than 40% of its crude oil. The strikes on Azerbaijan came on the same day Iran launched a new wave of attacks on Israel and American bases. Those strikes followed the U.S. Navy sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 sailors. Advertisement A top Iranian cleric called for violence against Israelis and President Donald Trump on state television Thursday. The message represents a rare call for violence by an Ayatollah, one of the highest ranks in Shiite Islam. Israel also carried out new airstrikes in Beirut, targeting Hezbollah command centers. The Israel Defense Forces posted video on social media claiming to show those attacks. The IDF said the strikes hit several command centers, including one used by the group's aerial unit. Israel described the attacks as intelligence-based strikes against what it calls the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The Israeli Air Force has destroyed or disabled around 300 Iranian mobile missile launchers since the war began. Thermal satellites and drones are monitoring the battlefield around the clock to locate and eliminate launchers as they are deployed. There has been a reduction in the volleys of missiles being fired at Israel, though attacks are ongoing, with approximately four ballistic missiles coming in over a 15-to-16-hour period. RELATED STORY | House to deliver key test of support for Trumps Iran offensive Analysts believe Iran may be holding back some of its most sophisticated missiles those most capable of penetrating air defenses as a show of strength to its own population. Iran has also released video of what it calls its underground missile cities, where it stores its missiles. U.S. and Israeli intelligence say they know the location of many of these sites, but not all of them. The regime is believed to view offensive capability as essential to its legitimacy, needing to demonstrate to its own people that it retains the power to strike its enemies. IRAN-MILITARY-EXERCISE Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images As energy markets reel from the U.S. war with Iran, the Trump administration is racing against time to insulate Americans from any more pain at the pump. The war began early Saturday when U.S. and Israeli forces launched a massive wave of air strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini and struck over 1,000 military installations. Iran retaliated with both conventional missile attacks and drone strikes, taking major energy facilities offline in the Arab Gulf. Brent crude, the oil blend used as an international benchmark for pricing, has risen to over $80/barrel, raising U.S. gas prices by roughly 20 cents/gallon. The price for crude oil is set on a global commodity trading market that is reflected mainly in the Brent crude price. All contracts for sale of crude globally work back from that index price, industry veteran David Blackmon told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Every $10 increase in Brent crude translates to a roughly 24-cent spike in U.S. gas prices, according to S&P Global. If Brent hits $100/barrel, consumers could fork over nearly $4/gallon at the gas station. The White House did not respond to the DCNFs request for comment. (RELATED: How Rubio Prepared Congress For US Campaign Against Iran) An Iranian Saeqeh missile is launched during war games on April 25, 2010 in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow strategically located waterway through which 40 percent of worlds seaborne oil supplies pass. Irans elite Revolutionary Guards fired five missiles as part of an ongoing three-day military drill, with Fars news agency naming two of those tested as the Noor (Light) and Nasr (Victory) missiles. It said a third, having a range of over 300 kilometres was also fired, but did not name it. The Islamic republics missile programme has raised concerns in the West which is already at loggerheads with Tehran over its controversial nuclear project. AFP PHOTO/FARS NEWS/MEHDI MARIZAD (Photo by MEHDI MARIZAD/AFP via Getty Images) Iran Lashes Out The Iranian military took Saudi Aramco oil refineries and Qatars largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility offline with drone attacks after Operation Epic Fury, multiple outlets reported. In an attempt to disrupt shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran also conducted drone attacks on oil tankers. Global markets and American prices reacted instantly. (RELATED: Trump Says US Decapitated Iran Leadership As They Ate Breakfast) Iranian strikes punished the U.S.s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies, crippling energy production and disrupting exports. The GCC is responsible for nearly 30% of global oil exports. Saudi Arabias Ras Tanura Refinery partially suspended its operations after an Iranian drone attack on Monday, and the Gulfs premier LNG producer QatarEnergy was alsoshut down. The United Arab Emirates Fujairah Oil Industry Zone caught fire after Iranian strikes on Tuesday, delaying tanker refueling and introducing further uncertainty. Additionally, maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell to almost zero after a number of Iranian attacks on civilian vessels, according to Joint Maritime Information Center transit advisories. Initial effects on the U.S. energy market from Iranian strikes and subsequent GCC refinery closures were minimal, but continue to worsen. Advertisement Since Operation Epic Fury began, U.S. gas prices have risen from $2.98 to $3.19/gallon, according to AAA. Though a swell for President Trumps second term, it remains substantially lower than Biden-era highs of over $5. That prices have only risen modestly so far is partially attributable to the U.S. reduced reliance on foreign oil. U.S. domestic crude production rose by 50%, net imports declined by 65%, and the GCCs share of U.S. imports even fell to less than 8% since 2014, the American Petroleum Institute found. But global markets still determine American pricing. The Strait-Jacket Of Hormuz Prices could climb higher if the Strait of Hormuz isnt freely navigable, and maritime insurers risk-aversion is keeping ships at port. Right now, the stoppage in tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz is strictly an insurance issue. Insurers are demanding higher war risk premiums from the shipping companies, and those will be negotiated in the coming days, Blackmon said. Approximately 25% of the global seaborne oil trade transits through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). If negotiations between war risk insurers and shipping companies are resolved within 7-10 days, then the rise in gas prices at the pump will likely remain modest, according to Blackmon. The industry veteran sees continued insurance withdrawal and Iranian destruction of significant critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as a combination that would send oil prices and thus, gasoline prices soaring. (RELATED: Iran War Reportedly Leaves Oil Tankers Stranded Amid Global Shipping Crisis) On Tuesday, President Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) would provide political risk insurance and even U.S. Navy escorts for merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The DFC offer will not resolve the insurance issue for the shippers on a permanent basis they will still need to work out long-term coverage for their cargoes with major insurance carriers like Lloyds of London, according to Blackmon. That being said, as a stop-gap measure, the combination of U.S. DFC coverage and even escort by U.S. Naval vessels through the Strait could provide enough comfort to shippers to get tanker traffic moving through the Strait again, Blackmon continued. If the Strait is effectively closed short term, meaning days or weeks, then I would expect a minimal disruption to the price of oil, Republican Alabama Senate Candidate and U.S. Naval Reserve Officer Morgan Murphy told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Should it be closed on a protracted basis, weeks or months, then oil prices would potentially climb to levels unseen in years. Activity in the Strait is still down 90% since Iran began its campaign to close the shipping route. Murphy noted that the U.S. Navy has a long and glorious history of keeping sea lanes open. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Iran has issued a warning to the United States, suggesting grave repercussions for the Pentagon sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka with a torpedo. The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Thursday morning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set. Araghch said the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was a guest of India's navy and roughly 130 sailors were struck in international waters without warning. IRIS stands for Islamic Republic of Iran Ship and serves as an identifier of Iranian naval vessels. The warship had taken part in a naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal. According to Sri Lankan officials, over 80 Iranian sailors died, more than 30 are in hospital, and the rest remain unaccounted for. Search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing. Sri Lankas Minister of Health Nalinda Jayatissa reportedly told parliament Thursday that another Iranian vessel is sailing close to Sri Lankas territorial waters. We are making necessary interventions to resolve this issue, restrict the threat to lives and to ensure regional security, he said. The torpedo incident has been heralded as a show of U.S. military might by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, he told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine referred to the operation as an incredible demonstration of Americas global reach and noted that its the first time an American torpedo has sunk a ship since World War II. To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale, he said. The warship is one of over 20 Iranian ships struck or sunk to the bottom of the ocean by American forces, according to the U.S. Central Command. In this screenshot of video provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, a U.S. submarine sinks Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in support of Operation Epic Fury off Sri Lanka's coast on March 4, 2026. U.S. Department of DefenseGetty Images Despite President Donald Trump claiming earlier in the week that some senior Iranian officials want to lay down arms, Iran has continued to launch retaliatory attacks. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf on Thursday, according to state media. Several tankers have dropped anchors in the Gulf after the IRGC warned that any U.S., Israeli, or European tanker passing through the crucial Strait, a narrow passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around a fifth of global oil production flows, would certainly be struck, according to Iranian state media. Advertisement With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz largely coming to a halt, global oil and gas prices have surged, shipping costs have skyrocketed, and many insurers have dropped war risk protections. The impact may soon be felt by American consumers. Its severe disruption, Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told TIME. For a lot of ships, if they want to transit via Hormuz, they're going to be transiting without coverage, meaning if anything happensa hit, an oil spillit's on them, she added, noting that companies simply wontnor should theytake that risk. Read More: As Oil Tankers Come Under Attack, Experts Fear for Global Trade Through Strait of Hormuz Iran appears to have targeted several oil tankers in the Strait and energy infrastructures in Gulf nations as part of its retaliatory efforts since the U.S. and Israel launched military action against the country Saturday morning, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in early strikes. The conflict has now engulfed several other countries and territories, with no immediate end in sight. We're ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability or combat power, Caine told reporters Wednesday, specifying that the U.S. military campaigntitled Operation Epic Furywill continue. Six American service members in the region have been killed by Iranian retaliatory strikes so far. Trump has referred to the fallen troops as true American patriots. An injured sailor receives treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, on March 4, 2026. Ishara S. KodikaraGetty Images Meanwhile, there is a growing concern that the Iran war is burning through U.S. weaponry stockpilessophisticated military equipment that is vital in protecting American bases, ships, and allies across the globe all year round. There are fears it may impact the U.S. ability to aid Ukraine in its defense operations against Russia. I am deeply concerned about Ukraine, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told TIME. Just as a matter of common sense, our resources and supplies are limited, and I think we will be hard pressed, at some point, to tell Ukraine what is coming. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt maintains the U.S. has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury, but to go much further. She told TIME on Wednesday: We have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don't even know about. Contact us at letters@time.com. GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home, New Delhi said. The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its spread in the Middle East and beyond. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence. On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena, which sank in international waters off the coast of the island nation a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a ship since World War II. Sri Lankas navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water. The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lankas southern coast. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described the IRIS Dena as a prize ship. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Irans navy. A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an an atrocity at sea in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States will come to bitterly regret the attack. Araghchi said the IRIS Dena had been carrying almost 130 crew. Indias navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events. The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background. Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been a guest" of India's navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident. Another Iranian warship nears Sri Lanka, and its navy takes over the vessel Sri Lanka's media minister and government spokesperson, Nalinda Jayatissa, told parliament on Thursday that another Iranian ship has entered Sri Lankas exclusive economic zone, an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where the country has rights over natural resources. Jayatissa did not provide further details but said the government was trying to "minimize the loss of lives and safeguard regional peace. Advertisement Later Thursday, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lankan navy boats started transferring 208 sailors from the Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr, first to the port in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. From there, they would be taken to a naval base on the outskirt of Colombo while the warship will be taken to a port in eastern Sri Lanka. He said an agreement to take over the ship and the crew followed discussions with Iranian officials and the ship's captain. Dissanayake also said the government was earlier told the vessel had suffered engine failure but didn't elaborate. Questions in India over the sinking India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks. Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the governments lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to Indias maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement. The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X. Kanwal Sibal, a former diplomat who served as Indias foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack, but its responsibility is at a moral and human plane. The U.S. has ignored Indias sensitivities," Sibal said. "The ship was in these waters because of Indias invitation. ___ Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalist Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report. ___ An earlier version of this story was corrected to show the Sri Lankan spokesperson said the second Iranian vessel entered the maritime area of Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone, not its territorial waters. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) For years, Iran's theocratic government warned it would blanket the Middle East with missile and drone fire if it felt its existence was threatened. Now, the Islamic Republic is doing just that. Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has unleashed thousands of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israel, American military bases and embassies in the region, and energy facilities across the Persian Gulf. Iranian fire has even been directed over its borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Iran's basic strategy is to instill fear about the dangers of a widening war in hopes that allies of the U.S. will apply enough pressure to halt their campaign. A protracted conflict, along with American and Israeli casualties, could also work in Irans favor. But the barrage-thy-neighbors strategy also could backfire. A bid to wear down regional defenses and instill fear Irans first priority is to emerge from the war with its state institutions intact, said Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Iran is upping the costs for this U.S. military campaign and regionalizing it from the get-go, as they promised they would if America restarts the war again with Iran, she said. The U.S. joined Israel last June in a 12-day war, targeting nuclear enrichment sites. Iran maintains its program is peaceful, though its officials had threatened to pursue a bomb while enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels. Iran's leaders believe that by inflicting casualties and disrupting energy production to drive up oil and gas prices, America's allies or an unsettled public back home will pressure U.S. President Donald Trump to ease back. The Iranians are banking on basically out-stomaching him, and exhausting him and his allies to the point where they would basically have a diplomatic off-ramp, Geranmayeh said. Trump is unpredictable, Geranmayeh said, but for now he appears to be pressing for unconditional surrender to his demands, rather than a negotiated settlement. The U.S. and Israel have carried out hundreds of airstrikes and inflicted heavy damage on Iranian government, military and nuclear targets. Despite being greatly outgunned, Iran has continued to fire ballistic missiles into Israel, killing 11 people and disrupting life for millions of Israelis. More have been killed in the Gulf Arab states, and the U.S.-Israeli campaign has killed 1,045 people in Iran. After more than two years of war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli public appears to have little appetite for another lengthy round of fighting. Polls suggest the U.S. public is leery of a protracted conflict. Friends and onetime foes hit alike by Iran The American and Israeli onslaught came after failed U.S.-Iranian talks over Iran's nuclear program and the West's sanctions. Trump said Monday his four objectives were to destroy Irans missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied armed groups. The Iranian response has spared no one in the region not even Oman, which mediated the latest round of nuclear talks and for decades has maintained a close relationship to Iran. In the 1970s, Iran's shah helped the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said put down a rebellion. But now Oman has been dragged into the conflict. An Omani port and ships off its coast have been targeted by Iranian missiles. Oman's port at Duqm helped the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with pre-deployment logistics. Advertisement Saudi Arabia, which has maintained a detente with Tehran since 2023, also came in the crosshairs this week. Its Ras Tanura oil refinery has been repeatedly attacked and the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh got hit by drones an embarrassing moment for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has worked to cultivate a close relationship with Trump. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which also have close ties to Trump, have been repeatedly targeted, too. Missile math grows more important Theres a grim math equation at play as the war goes on. Iran has a finite number of missiles and drones, just as the Gulf Arab states, the U.S. and Israel all have a limited number of interceptor missiles capable of downing the incoming fire. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized during the war. The Israeli military says it has destroyed dozens of missile launchers. From the American and Israeli side, targeting missiles and their launchers remains key. Both countries had to shoot down Iranian missiles during the war in June and multiple times in the Israel-Hamas war. In simple terms, we are focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us, said U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American militarys Central Command. A senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said Iran has several days worth of ballistic missiles if it continues firing at current rates, but it may hold some back to wage a longer campaign. The Israeli military says there have been far fewer Iranian missiles launched in recent days as a result of the airstrikes though warning sirens often wailed across Israel on Wednesday into Thursday. Iran's strategy may be backfiring Iran's strategy of trying to threaten energy security, drive a wedge between Gulf and Western states and raise costs is backfiring, said Hasan Alhasan, a Middle East expert with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its driving and pushing the Gulf states into closer alignment with the United States, he said. The Gulf states cant simply sit idle and continue absorbing indefinite attacks to their critical infrastructure and to civilians in Gulf cities, Alhasan said. They are probably trying to both acquire more weapons to intercept incoming fire and find ways to broker an end to the war, he said. Irans foreign minister has suggested his countrys military units are now isolated and acting independently from any central government control, a possible excuse for Irans increasingly erratic fire. They are acting based on instructions you know, general instructions given to them in advance, Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Sunday. But after a Wednesday phone call with Araghchi, Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, categorically rejected his assertion that Iranian missiles were only directed at American interests and not intended to target Qatar. ___ Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS By Alexander Cornwell and Rami Ayyub TEL AVIV, March 5 (Reuters) - Israel's war in Iran is entering a second phase that will see its fighter jets attacking ballistic missile sites buried deep underground, two sources familiar with Israel's military campaign said. The joint air assault with the U.S. in Iran is nearing the end of its first week after opening salvos killed the country's leaders and set off a regional war with Iranian attacks in Israel, the Gulf and Iraq, and Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Israel's military says it has hit hundreds of Iranian missile launchers above ground that could target Israeli cities. The second phase will include bunkers storing ballistic missiles and equipment, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. One said Israel aimed to neutralise Iran's ability to launch aerial attacks at Israel by the end of the war, which was also focused on taking out the Islamic Republic's leadership. A military spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its attack plans. The military has previously asserted that it and the U.S. military took control of much of Iran's airspace in the opening days of the attacks. In a statement on Thursday, the military said that, overnight, the Air Force struck "an underground infrastructure site used by the Iranian regime to store ballistic missiles and storage sites for missiles intended for use against aircraft." The military has not previously announced attacks on underground missile facilities, according to a review of its public statements since the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Saturday. Estimates of Iran's missile stockpile vary widely, from roughly 2,500 before the war, according to Israel's military, to around 6,000 according to other analysts. The extent of what remains could prove critical to how the war develops. Tehran has continued to carry out missile attacks on Israel and across the region. Advertisement Douglas Barrie of the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday the think tank assesses Iran still possesses some land-attack cruise missiles, precision-guided weapons that fly low to evade radar detection. SYSTEM MUST BE 'FURTHER AND FURTHER DEGRADED' Israel's Air Force fighter jets have carried out near-constant sorties since Saturday, accelerating further in pace after Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel, drawing heavy Israeli airstrikes as far north as Beirut. In some cases, the same Israeli warplanes have struck both Iran and Lebanon in a single operation: bombing targets in Tehran or western Iran on the way out, and striking Hezbollah sites on the way back, one of the sources familiar with the plans and an Israeli security source said. Israeli and U.S. officials say ballistic missile and drone launches from Iran have declined since Saturday, a decrease that they attribute in part to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian launch sites and related military infrastructure. The Israeli military has said that the decrease could also reflect an effort by Tehran to preserve its missile stocks as it prepares for a drawn-out war of attrition. Eran Lerman, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, said the hope from the initial week of strikes was that Iran's ruling system would "begin to disintegrate earlier, more quickly". "But this has yet to happen and as long as it doesn't, the system needs to be further and further degraded," Lerman said. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Investor Event will Focus on Connecting Capital, Technology and Science to Accelerate Drug Discovery BOSTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambridge Healthtech Institute today announced the agenda for the third annual Bio-IT World Venture, Innovation & Partnering Conference, an exclusive gathering of more than 200 senior-level investors, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and startups, with a focus on connecting capital, technology, and science to accelerate drug discovery. The May 19 event in Boston will be part of the 25th annual Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, the premier global gathering of 2,900 leaders from the biomedical research and IT communities taking place May 19-21. Participants will include leaders from AstraZeneca, Breyer Capital, Eli Lilly and Company, F-Prime Capital, MIT, Obvious Ventures, Sanofi Ventures, SandboxAQ, Science Capital, Souffle Therapeutics, Third Rock Ventures, T.Rx Capital, and Wellfleet Advisors, among many others. This year's event will include Keynote Fireside Chats featuring: Mike Nally, Chief Executive Officer, Generate:Biomedicines and CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering on Leadership at the Cutting Edge: Innovation, Strategy & Biotech's Next Frontier. Since 2021, Nally has driven financing rounds exceeding $750 million and positioned Generate:Biomedicines at the forefront of AI-driven drug discovery. Michael Chambers, Founding CEO, Aldevron on Engineering Access: Scalable Genomics, Technology & the Future of Medicine, who built one of genomic medicine's most critical infrastructure companies, leading to a landmark $9.6 billion exit. "This is a unique opportunity to hear from exceptionally visionary leaders at the forefront of life sciences. These speakers will share their insights on the most compelling opportunities in the market today, while offering a forward-looking perspective on the critical challenges that must be solved to meaningfully advance drug discovery," said Eileen Murphy, Conference Producer. Other session topics will include Funding the Modern Pipeline: Capital Strategy Across Biology, Technology, and Informatics; The Future of Lab Funding: Building Stronger Pathways Between Academia, Capital, and Spinouts; The New Rules of VC, Pharma, and Industry Leader Collaboration; and more. Participants in the investor conference will be able to take advantage of two more days of in-depth education and networking at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, featuring more than 200 presentations on the advanced technologies driving progress in biomedical research, drug discovery, and clinical care. The larger event will open at 4:30 p.m. on May 19 with a keynote presentation on Research, Funding and Advocacy for Rare Diseases, followed by a welcome reception in the Exhibit Hall, where 150 organizations will showcase their cutting-edge technologies and solutions. To register for the Bio-IT World investor conference and the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, please click this link. Those who register by March 6 will enjoy a discounted rate. Media who would like a press pass should click here. About Cambridge VIP Cambridge VIP - Venture, Innovation & Partnering conferences unite senior-level investors, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and startup leaders from diverse sectors. These exclusive gatherings feature engaging industry panels and fireside chats, fostering meaningful networking and interactions. Join us at these innovative conferences to gain strategic insights, candid perspectives, and valuable business recommendations in your area of interest. Discover who's investing, track funding activities, and witness the commercialization of emerging technologies solving real-world challenges. About Bio-IT World Conference & Expo Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Bio-IT World Conference & Expo is the world's premier event showcasing technologies and analytic approaches that solve problems, accelerate science, and drive the future of precision medicine. Bio-IT World unites a global community of experts in life sciences, pharmaceuticals, clinical research, healthcare, informatics, and IT, all dedicated to advancing biomedical research, drug discovery and development, and healthcare innovations. SOURCE Bio-IT World Conference & Expo A marble bust that has stood in the Roman basilica of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls for centuries without attribution is displayed after being identified as a work by Michelangelo Buonarroti, following a decade of archival research, in Rome, Italy, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli By Giselda Vagnoni ROME, March 4 (Reuters) - A marble bust that has stood for centuries in one of Romes basilicas has been re-attributed to Michelangelo after nearly 200 years in obscurity, following a document-based investigation. The sculpture, which depicts Christ the Saviour, has been preserved in the Basilica of SantAgnese fuori le mura on Romes ancient Via Nomentana by a Catholic religious order of canons regular. Originally attributed to Michelangelo until the early 19th century, the work later lost its association with the Renaissance master and remained unnamed until the present day. Italian independent researcher Valentina Salerno - a member of the Vatican committee for the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Michelangelos birth - has re-attributed the sculpture to the Tuscan artist. We have lived here since 1412, and the monumental complex of SantAgnese always holds surprises this is one of them, Franco Bergamin, of the Order of Lateran Canons Regular, told a press conference. Salernos research is based on long-term archival work rather than stylistic analysis alone, drawing on notarial records, posthumous inventories, and indirect correspondence linked to Michelangelos final years in Rome. I am not an art historian in fact, I dont even have a university degree but the strength of my research lies in its reliance on public archival documents, she said, describing herself as something of an investigator. Advertisement A LOCKED ROOM WITH MULTIPLE KEYS The documents challenge the long-held narrative that Michelangelo, who lived until he was 88, systematically destroyed works late in life. Instead, the sources suggest that drawings, studies, and some marble sculptures were carefully transferred within a trusted circle after the artists death. "At Michelangelos death, every powerful ruler would have wanted to claim something of the master. But the artist carefully devised the transfer of the material in his possession so that his art could be passed on to his pupils and thus to future generations, Salerno said. One document refers to a locked room, accessible only with multiple keys, that had been created to safeguard valuable materials. While the room itself was later emptied, its contents can be traced through subsequent transfers. The research outlines a discreet network through which unattributed works were moved to religious institutions and secondary storage sites, where they remained embedded in functional settings rather than entering the art market. The SantAgnese bust appears to be part of this process. Long integrated into the basilicas liturgical space, the sculpture was preserved in a building shaped by centuries of renovations and additions. The data that have emerged will form the basis of a broader attribution process aimed at progressively returning other forgotten works to Michelangelos hand and presenting the findings to the international scholarly community. The gleaming white sculpture now stands on an altar in a side chapel of the basilica and is protected by an alarm system. (Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Hugh Lawson) FILE PHOTO: Japan's Space One's small, solid-fueled Kairos rocket rises into the air from Space One's launching pad on the tip of Kii peninsula in Kushimoto town, Wakayama prefecture, Japan December 18, 2024, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS/File Photo TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Space One said its Kairos rocket terminated its flight after lift-off on Thursday, failing to achieve the country's first entirely commercial satellite launch on its third attempt in a row. Kairos "terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult... We are currently investigating the details," the company said in a statement. Advertisement The 18-metre (59 ft) solid-propellant rocket carried five experimental satellites, including from Japanese companies and the Taiwan Space Agency. Space One, the joint venture backed by optical electronics maker Canon, aerospace giant IHI, builder Shimizu and banks, previously launched two Kairos rockets from its Pacific coast site in 2024 but neither could successfully deploy payloads. (Reporting by Kantaro KomiyaEditing by Chang-Ran Kim) WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) A series of bills that recently passed the Kansas House are causing alarm for voting rights groups in Kansas. The bills focus on everything from voting deadlines to a complete repeal of mail-in-only ballot elections. Among these bills are House Bill 2437 and House Bill 2503. HB 2437 HB 2437 would create additional provisions, on top of already existing state laws, for removing people from voter rolls. This includes noncitizens and people who have moved out of state or passed away. It would also require the Secretary of States office to use the federal SAVE Database twice a year to check for noncitizen voters. The chair of the Kansas Election Committee, Pat Proctor, proposed both bills. He calls the bills an attempt to streamline the process, cut non-eligible voters from voter rolls and protect election integrity. It used to be very hard to search for voters, you had to search individually, it wouldnt take a social security, or drivers license number, now it will, he said. Kansas could make some cellphone use illegal in school and construction zones As justification for the additional provisions, Proctor pointed to the Secretary of States offices testimony in front of his committee. Using the SAVE Database, they claimed around 60 noncitizens were registered to vote among Kansas 2.9 million registered voters. That represents a total of .002% of voters. That testimony claimed 20 of those 60 noncitizen registered voters possibly voted in 2024s general election. I think disenfranchising 20 valid Kansas voters by cancelling out their votes with noncitizen votes is a big deal and I think we should address it, Proctor said. HB 2437 would require the Secretary of State to provide Kansas voter information to this database twice a year. The American Civil Liberties Union is chief among the opposing voices to these bills. The executive director of the Kansas ACLU, Micah Kubic, argues the SAVE Database is not a reliable source. Advertisement Using those systems, treating them that they are sacrosanct, treating them as if they are the source of all knowledge, is a problem when it means kicking people off the rolls and stopping people from exercising their constitutional right, he said. HB 2503 HB 2503 would repeal the Kansas Mail Ballot Election Act, completely stopping all mail-in-only ballot elections. These special elections are typically only used in small precincts at times scheduled outside of normal election seasons. Proctor points to this type of elections lower turnout as an argument to repeal them and says they are more prone to insecurity. He says that anybody on the voter roll at the time of a mail-in-only election receives a ballot, regardless of whether they are a citizen, live in the state, or are dead. Everybody whose moved out and just not told their clerk that theyre not living in the state gets a ballot, Proctor said. I think thats fraught with peril. Candy, soda to be restricted for Kansas SNAP users starting in 2027 Kubic argues that safety during this is a non-issue, and extra hurdles for voters only impact their ability to cast their ballot. Specifically, he says elderly and disabled voters will be hurt by this measure. Getting rid of [mail-in-ballot only elections] means that in some of these smaller elections, folks wont even know that its happening, they wont turn out, and our civic participation will be lower as a result, Kubic said. Proctor insists that only mail-in-ballot exclusive elections would be affected, but Kubic says its an attack on mail-in ballots as a whole. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) One Kansas veteran was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War, but while others served the country using a rifle, he used a typewriter. In 1970, California native Gerald Brewer was drafted to serve in Vietnam a war he didnt believe in. I felt like we shouldnt have been in that war. It was all politics, Brewer said. But, for reasons unknown to Brewer, the order to head overseas was canceled, and he remained at Fort Ord in California, where he trained to be a clerk typist. Once I got through basic training, if I wanted to go home, I could get on a Greyhound bus and go home, which made it nice on the weekends, he said. Brewers role included typing up reports, keeping records, and processing paperwork. He continued to do so after being sent to the Armys 121st Evacuation Hospital in South Korea. Kansas Air Force veteran recounts anti-terrorism missions abroad Although he was homesick during his time overseas, he said he enjoyed working in a facility dedicated to healing wounded soldiers. Advertisement Ive worked in customer service, and I like helping people. Thats just who I am, Brewer said. He returned to the States in 1972 and got out of the Army as an E4 specialist, securing a job in computer data entry. In 1995, he left California for Kansas and never looked back. Brewer says hes enjoying retirement these days, mainly because of the way the Air Capital treats its veterans. Well, Ill go out and wear this hat, and its ok that sometimes people say, Hey, thank you for your service,' he said. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. The foreign minister of Kazakhstan, Yermek Kosherbayev, signs a guestbook at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, February 11, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Mang March 2 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister discussed events in Iran and throughout the Middle East on Monday with counterparts from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, the Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry said. A ministry statement said those taking part in the discussion, unusual in that it involved most states in the region at one time, called for a negotiated settlement to the upheaval in and around Iran. The ministers, the statement said, stressed "the importance of de-escalating tensions, adhering to international law, and combining efforts in the interest of maintaining regional security, peace, and stability". Advertisement The statement said Kazakhstan's minister, Yermek Kosherbayev, met his opposite numbers from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Azerbaijan. He expressed thanks to Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan for facilitating evacuations from Iran and said the countries concerned were prepared to coordinate on further departures, as well as other issues. U.S. and Israeli air attacks against Iran widened on Monday. Israel attacked Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah and Tehran kept up missile and drone attacks on Gulf states. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by David Gaffen) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the state's Attorney General Keith Ellison faced questions from the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, in a hearing that focused on the state's massive fraud scandal and the Trump administration's recent immigration surge. The questions largely fell along party lines. Republicans asked about the fraud scandal, while Democrats focused on the immigration crackdown, which the White House also portrayed as a campaign against fraud. The committee released a report before the hearing saying Walz and Ellison covered up evidence of fraud in the state. The committee's chair, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said testimony and documents showed Walz and Ellison "lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns." The report claims the Minnesota Department of Education paid into a $250 million fraud scheme by the nonprofit Feeding Our Future despite "identifying serious program deficiencies." Walz said the fraud "happened on my watch, whether it predated me or not," but defended his administration's handling of allegations, and cooperation with federal investigations. He and Ellison were grilled repeatedly about when they first learned about fraud in the state, and how they addressed those allegations. Walz and Ellison defended handling of fraud allegations, criticized Trump immigration crackdown Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Rev. Mariah Tollgaard attend a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. / Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Walz said in his opening statement that the Trump administration "singled out and targeted" Minnesota "for political retribution at an unparalleled scale." "Under the guise of combatting fraud, the federal government has flooded Minnesota with masked, untrained and unaccountable agents who are wreaking havoc in our communities," Walz said. He said the surge of federal agents was billed by the White House as being intended to fight fraud, but he said it actually hurt that effort. Walz pointed to mass resignations at the local U.S. Attorney's Office amid the surge, potentially hampering ongoing fraud investigations and prosecutions. Walz sought to turn the tables on Republicans, asking Comer to "call the president and tell him it's time to put some U.S. attorneys over there to prosecute fraud. I'll sign on with you." Ellison echoed Walz's criticism, saying the immigration enforcement surge hurt the state. "Operation Metro Surge did nothing to address fraud in our state. It harmed our economy," Ellison said. Walz also defended the state's social service programs, saying that "although Minnesota's programs have overwhelmingly achieved their intended purposes, they are not immune from fraud." Walz and Ellison were joined at the witness table by Rev. Mariah Tollgaard, a senior pastor of Hamline Church United Methodist in St. Paul, Minnesota, who became a prominent voice advocating against the ICE operation. Tollgaard appeared as the Democratic minority's witness. She said the surge has led to children "now practicing two kinds of drills at schools." "One, for an active shooter, and one to protect themselves from their own government. That is not security. That is a nation failing its children," Tollgaard said. Republicans frequently clashed with Walz and Ellison, calling for sworn depositions Rep. James Comer speaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. / Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Comer, the chair, said fraud in Minnesota was a "failure of leadership, plain and simple." He and other Republicans said Walz and Ellison should be deposed under oath. "One wonders whether either of you should bear some personal responsibility for the billions of dollars siphoned off by fraudsters under your noses," Comer said. Majority Whip Tom Emmer challenged Ellison about a December 2021 meeting with staff at Feeding Our Future, the nonprofit at the center of a massive fraud scandal in the state. Advertisement "When did you personally become aware of the FBI investigation?" Emmer asked. Before Ellison could answer, Emmer demanded Walz and Ellison appear for sworn depositions. Emmer accused Ellison of having "actively obstructed this investigation in exchange for campaign donations, a quid pro quo." Emmer was among several Republicans who peppered Walz and Ellison about when specifically they became aware of fraud allegations and investigations tied to them. "We are left with two questions: One, 'What did Gov. Walz and Keith Ellison know about the fraud?' And two, 'When did they actually know it?'" Emmer said. In one particularly heated exchange, South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace accused Walz of being unprepared for the hearing. She said spending on autism programs in the state has increased dramatically, and asked Walz to explain what she called the "Minnesota math" behind that increase. "Do you know what this is spending-wise per child in the fraud for autistic kids in Minnesota?" Mace asked. Walz replied, "I'm not here to be your prop, but go ahead and tell us." Mace shot back, "Is doing Minnesota math a prop? This is math, we're talking about fraud." Mace claimed spending on the state's autism programs rose from $1 million in 2017 to $343 million in 2024. In another tense moment, Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins called on Ellison to step down from office, saying he's "not leading" in the effort to combat fraud. "The attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign," said Higgins, who focused on remarks in which Ellison said his office's jurisdiction is limited. Ellison defended his office, saying "we punch above our weight." Democrats focused on cuts to Minnesota federal funding, ICE and Operation Metro Surge Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia of California delivers an opening statement during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. / Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the committee, set the tone for Democrats on the committee, accusing the Trump administration of being disingenuous in its effort to root out fraud. Garcia said it was used as an excuse to launch Operation Metro Surge, an influx of thousands of federal agents into the Twin Cities. The administration said last month that it would begin to wind down the operation. Garcia said the Trump administration has "taken from food assistance" and health care, while it "super funded terror on American streets," referring to the rapid expansion of immigration enforcement. Several Democrats, including Walz, brought up the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were gunned down by federal officers. He criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who initially described them as engaging in domestic terrorism. Noem was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee elsewhere on Capitol Hill. Illinois Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi moved for the committee to subpoena Noem, claiming that her own agency is rife with "corruption and waste." He pointed to a pricey ad campaign featuring Noem. Another Democrat, Missouri's Wesley Bell, moved to subpoena Greg Bovino, the U.S. Border Protection commander who originally led Operation Metro Surge. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict The Royal Family has earned the moniker "Trump Whisperers" among diplomats, sources have claimed. Their ability to charm the American president is understood to have made them the Government's last resort as relations between London and Washington plummet to what insiders describe as an "all-time low." President Trump has launched repeated public attacks on Sir Keir Starmer, including branding him "not Winston Churchill". "The royal visit can't come quickly enough," one source close to the negotiations told the Telegraph. King Charles, Donald Trump and Keir Starmer | Source: REUTERS / GETTY The transatlantic rift erupted publicly last month when Mr Trump castigated the Prime Minister over the Chagos Islands agreement. Despite Downing Street eventually permitting American forces to use RAF bases for strikes on Iran, White House fury persists over the initial refusal. President Trump previously confirmed that the King and Queen are coming to the US "very soon", though Palace sources have stressed the trip remains "a matter for Government". Their visit would mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, with King Charles following the path his late mother took half a century earlier. For the bicentenary in 1976, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip crossed the Atlantic in a gesture of friendship. Donald Trump and Keir Starmer | Source: GETTY The Queen delivered a gracious address acknowledging George III, her direct ancestor, and his defeat by colonial revolutionaries. Washington officials are banking on this return state visit to ease tensions that have rarely felt so severe. "If they could bring it forward, they would," one Government source claimed. Another warned bluntly: "There is no other way" to reset the relationship. Advertisement According to reports, a second royal expedition is being considered, with the Prince and Princess of Wales potentially travelling to the US in July. Such a visit would be a major event; Catherine has not undertaken any official overseas engagements since her illness, and the White House is reportedly eager to host the couple. Princess Kate, Donald Trump | Source: GETTY Sources have drawn parallels to the celebrated 1985 occasion when Diana, Princess of Wales danced with John Travolta at the White House. A similarly striking moment staged by William and Catherine would represent a significant achievement for their American hosts. The princess's participation will hinge on family considerations, as the couple prioritise their children's stability and seldom travel abroad together for extended periods without them. The president's fondness for three generations of the Royal Family is well documented, rooted partly in his Scottish maternal heritage. He has described the late Queen as a "fantastic person" and called the King a "great gentleman." In addition, Prince William was called "really very handsome" by the US President. Queen Camilla, King Charles, Donald Trump and Melania Trump | Source: GETTY During last year's Windsor Castle state banquet, Mr Trump reportedly asked to be seated beside Catherine and left "bowled over" by the hospitality. Despite the diplomatic potential, significant risks accompany any royal visit; there are concerns Mr Trump might exploit a state dinner speech or press conference to criticise British political leadership while the cameras roll. "Will he treat the royals nicely but use the media attention to say how disappointed he is in the UK and Starmer?" one source questioned. The Government is reportedly considering postponing substantive tariff discussions until after King Charles has spent time with Mr Trump, hoping the "mood in camp" will improve. "How much longer can we rely on using the royals as a sort of human shield between Trump and Starmer?" one insider asked. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a Jan. 31, 2026, news conference Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty NEED TO KNOW Kristi Noem denied that the Department of Homeland Security is creating a database of protesters during a House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday, March 4 She was questioned about the subject after a viral video showed an ICE officer in Maine telling a protester they were being added to a domestic terrorist database Two Maine women filed a class-action lawsuit claiming DHS actions violate their First Amendment rights Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied that her department is building a database of protesters, contradicting claims by federal agents that the Trump administration is indexing opponents of its immigration enforcement actions. During a House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday, March 4, Democratic Rep. Lou Correa pressed Noem on whether DHS is keeping record of American citizens who protest ICE, referencing a widely circulated interaction between a Maine resident and a masked immigration officer in January. Colleen Fagan, a social worker, was filming immigration officers with her cellphone during an operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine, on Jan. 23, when agents scanned her face with a smartphone and appeared to record her car license plate number. Why are you taking my information down? Fagan asks one of the officers, whose identity has not been publicly revealed. Because we have a nice little database, the officer responds, and now youre considered a domestic terrorist. For videotaping you? Fagan says, laughing. Are you crazy? Fagan and another Maine woman, Elinor Hilton, sued Noem and DHS late last month in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the department and several of its subagencies are violating the First Amendment through actions designed to chill, suppress, and control speech that they do not like. Responding to the lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in Maine, DHS told NPR, "There is NO database of 'domestic terrorists' run by DHS. We do of course monitor and investigate and refer all threats, assaults and obstruction of our officers to the appropriate law enforcement. Obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime. Our law enforcement methods follow the U.S. Constitution. Advertisement On Wednesday, Correa questioned the officer's assertion in Fagans video that DHS was creating a database of protesters. Are you creating a database, maam, of Americans? Correa asked Noem. No, were not creating a database, Noem answered, before Correa played Fagans video to the room. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer. The California congressman also demanded that Noem respond to comments from border czar Tom Homan that he is pushing DHS to create a database of people arrested during ICE protests. What are you going to do with that database? Correa asked. I dont know why he said that, Noem replied, referring to Homan. Were not creating a database. But he did say it he works for you, hes not an agent, hes an employee, Correa said, prompting Noem to clarify that Homan reports directly to President Donald Trump. Asked whether she would respond to written questions about the existence or ongoing creation of a database with clear and on the record answers, Noem responded, Absolutely. Read the original article on People This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Midday Thursday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the Capitol that he was not ready to discuss the future of embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or the rumorsshouted in a stage whisper all over Washington since back-to-back catastrophic appearances before Congress this weekthat President Donald Trump was ready to boot her. I just dont want to talk about that right now. Well discuss it later, said Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who has a proven capacity to carry the White Houses water. Within an hour, Trump announced on social media that Noem, a former Governor of South Dakota and one of the highest profile administrators of his agenda of mass deportation and migrant targeting, was out. Noems tenure has been one of the biggest flameouts of the last 14 months. At one point considered a running mate for Trumps return to Washington, she instead inherited an unruly Cabinet agency created after 9/11. Atop her to-do list was to enact a brutal immigration crackdown, alongside Trump White House policy czar Stephen Miller. The pair prescribed quotas for detentions, started a conveyor belt of migrants out of the country, and implemented door-to-door inspections in cities run by Democrats. At first a favorite of Trump, Noems decline came in short order as her personal life, living situation, cratering morale, and leadership feuds all made her a liability. Lost on no one at the Capitol is this fact: the Department of Homeland Security remains technically shut down as Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the massive corner of the government as long as Noem resolved to maintain a militant defense of an ability to police as it sees fit. Mullins arrival might finally dislodge this standoff. The President and I, as you guys know, were great friends. We get along great. I look forward to working with him and his Cabinet. Of course, weve got this little thing called confirmation and were going to get started right away, Mullin told reporters on the steps of the Capitol after the hatchet and promotion had been delivered by social media dispatch. Mullin tried to soften the blow but seemed to acknowledge his likely move across town would need to bring with it some modifications from Noems instincts. She was tasked with a very difficult job and I think she has performed the best she can do under these circumstances, Mullin said. Just dont expect DHS policy to change significantly. Noems exit was one of the most consequential and public and expecteddismissals of Trumps second-term Cabinet, the second such shakeup after the President fired his national security adviser amid a scandal in which he was texting plans to a journalist by mistake. And as was the case with Mike Waltz, Noem will be shuffled aside to a different role so she is not truly exiled from the Trump orbit. Its like the Hotel California: you can check out but you can never leave. At first glance, it seemed as though Noem took the stage at a conference of big cities on Thursday without knowing the news. A split screen on cable channels showed her giving remarks while reporters in Washington discussed the personnel change. Were not quite sure if she knows that shes been fired, MS Nows Katy Tur laughed nervously as she sat in the anchor chair. We dont know. We dont know. If somebody does ask about the President firing her, were going to dip right back in. Administration officials said Noem understood the situation and took the stage to keep her commitment. An administration official later said Trump reached her by phone as her motorcade was arriving at the venue. Advertisement Despite the shuffling of the seats, there were no signs that Trump planned to reverse course on his regime of mass deportations, border lockdowns, and searches for immigrants who overstayed their welcome in this nation. In fact, in his social media post, it seemed as though Trump was doubling down on his hard-line agenda even as he dumped its public face. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN, Trump messaged. But as was the case after a second civilian was fatally shot in Minneapolis in January, Trumps top advisers saw value in swapping out the face of the operation. No one would ever mistake border czar Tom Homan as a softie, but his replacement of Greg Bovino softened the look of Washingtons footprint there, giving way to a drawdown of force. Similarly, no one is going to think Mullin is a wimp. He is literally an undefeated mixed-martial-arts fighter who once challenged the Teamsters chief to fisticuffs while he testified. Mullin is known for his political spine, which drew Trumps attention but wont necessarily hurt him in his chase of a confirmation hearing. While Democrats dont love his politics, they respect his characterand is likely to be viewed as head-and-shoulders better than Noem in their minds. Its abundantly clear that dumping Noem was not about the policy. It was about the optics, including the persistent frustration inside the administration about her spending and her relationship with special adviser Corey Lewandowski, who took on a bigger role than some of the agency chiefs who reported to Noem. An alleged personal relationshipwhich both parties have deniedbecame part of the questioning during Wednesdays House hearing. You say conservative women are stupid or sluts. I am neither, Noem said, but under oath did not repeat the denial and instead attacked it as tabloid fodder. On top of that were questions about a $220 million advertising campaignled by the firm run by her former chief spokeswomans husbandthat starred her on horseback, and was widely viewed as intended to be a catapult for Noems own political future. Noem told Senators this week that Trump approved the blitz; the White House aggressively pushed back and Trump himself disputed it in an interview with Reuters. I never knew anything about it, Trump told the wire in an interview published Thursday. The scandals continued: a luxury jet purchased with taxpayer dollars to shuttle immigrants out of the country, DHS agents being encouraged to treat protesters like domestic terrorists, and a system that offloaded migrants to nations where they had no ties. Put simply, Noem became a stage-stealing distraction for Trump, who decided to name her the first special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere that may signal his Monroe Doctrine-esque effort to run half the planet from Washington. Its not terribly dissimilar to how Trump handled Waltz; the President shuffled him to New York as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, typically a Cabinet-level role. On social media, Noem did her best to save face. I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren, she posted. Once one of Trumps strongest issues, immigration has become an albatross. A full 50% of Americans dont like what theyre seeing at the border and 58% disapprove of his immigration policies, according to Washington Post polling. This is a huge aboutface from 2024. Voters still liked what theyre seeing at the border, which is basically under lockdown. They just didnt like what theyre seeing down the block. Still, the collapse of Noems standing was sudden, even by Trumps capricious standards. A Wall Street Journal article detailed how internal strife at DHS has plagued Noem and her leadership, including firing a Coast Guard pilot because the Secretarys weighted blanket did not make it from one plane to the next. Trump, especially in his second term, is leaning on folks he knows and likes. Mullin fits both boxes, looks like the tough guy Trump wants to see around his Cabinet table, and has a willingness to parry with rivals. Noem, meanwhile, is heading back to Washington with one question pointedly unanswered: what, exactly, will she do in her new job? Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter. Write to Philip Elliott at philip.elliott@time.com. cnn The Kurdish people are an ethnic minority group in the Middle East without an independent state. Estimates of the population range between 25 million and 45 million worldwide, with most living in the mountainous region that stretches across parts of western Iran, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria, and Armenia. But there are no official statistics, as the Kurdish people do not have their own state and are spread across the region and beyond. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Western Allied powers divided up Ottoman lands and included a proposal for a Kurdish state. But the new Turkish government took control of the entire Anatolian Peninsula after the Turkish independence war. The Kurds were divided between the newly etched borders in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, and they began decades of protest and revolt against their new national authorities. About half of the regions Kurds are estimated to live in Turkey, where they are the countrys largest ethnic minority. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish population has diverse religious, cultural, social and political traditions, as well as a variety of dialects of the Kurdish language. Throughout the region, Kurdish politics and loyalties are fragmented. But many Kurds share a common struggle for more rights, freedoms and autonomy. Who are Irans Kurds? Kurdish people make up an estimated 8% to 17% of Irans population, according to British government estimates. The Kurdish regions in western Iran have long pushed for greater autonomy or independence, as well as improved rights. In 1946, a short-lived Kurdish state the Republic of Mahabad lasted less than a year before it was dismantled by Iranian forces under the shah. It is widely considered the first modern Kurdish republic. In the decades since, armed Iranian Kurdish groups have fought the Iranian regime, operating from outposts on the Iraq-Iran border, where they have thousands of fighters. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have detailed widespread human rights abuses against the Kurdish minority in Iran. Teaching of the Kurdish language is restricted, Kurdish names are banned from official registration, and Kurdish activists face arbitrary detention. Who are the Kurds in Iraq, Turkey and Syria? In Iraq, Kurdish people form about 15% to 20% of the population and live primarily in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, run by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The regions capital is Erbil, Iraq. A Kurdish peshmerga fighter stands watch on a roof during a rally in support of an independence referendum, in Erbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on September 22, 2017. - Mauricio Morales/AFP via Getty Images Iraqi Kurds wait to check their identities before voting in the Kurdish independence referendum at a stadium in Erbil on September 25, 2017. - Ahmed Deeb/AFP via Getty Images People cast votes in a referendum on Kurdish independence on September 25, 2017 in Kirkuk, Iraq. - Chris McGrath/Getty Images In 2017, people in the Kurdistan region as well as some disputed areas captured by Kurdish security forces voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum. But Iraqs government opposed the vote and declared it illegal. The United States did not support Iraqi Kurds in their independence referendum. In Syria, Kurds make up roughly 10% of the estimated population of 24 million. During his first term, US President Donald Trump authorized the arming of Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to help in the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS. In Turkey, Kurdish people make up the largest ethnic and linguistic minority, amounting to roughly 20% of the population. A man cries as he sits next to the graves of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters in Suruc, in Turkey's southeastern Sanliurfa province bordering Syria, on November 6, 2014. - Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images The Turkish state has been fighting for decades against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish far-left militant and political organization based in Turkey and Iraq that aims to create an independent Kurdish state. The PKK began using violence in 1984 and was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the majority of them Kurdish, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long opposed and sought to suppress Kurdish nationalism. Advertisement Last month, Erdogan said an agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF in Syrias northeast had helped relieve pressure on the ongoing peace process between the Turkish government and PKK militants. What is the latest in relation to the war in Iran? The CIA is working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN. Several Iranian Kurdish groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Meanwhile, the government of Iraqi Kurdistan has said reports that it is part of a plan to send Iranian Kurdish opposition parties into Iranian territory are completely unfounded. An Iranian Kurdish member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage at the group's Azadi Camp following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. on March 3, 2026. - Safin Hamid/AFP via Getty Images The CIA support for Iranian Kurdish groups began several months before the war, one of the sources and a senior Kurdistan Regional Government official said. Any attempt to arm Iranian Kurdish groups would need support from the Iraqi Kurds to let the weapons transit and use Iraqi Kurdistan as a launching ground. (Its) very dangerous, but what can we do? We cannot stand against America, said a senior Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government official. We are very frightened. Urban Coningham, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based think tank, said its not surprising that the CIA and likely Israels Mossad have been in contact with minority groups in Iran. He noted that they would also probably be speaking to other minority groups such as the Baloch people and the Azeris. What Im surprised by is the fact that (information) has been released now, because it puts a huge target on the back of these groups, both inside Iran and across the wider region, Coningham told CNN. Previous US involvement and betrayals After a US-led coalition expelled Saddam Husseins Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, US President George H.W. Bush urged Iraqs military and its people to overthrow the dictator. But when the Iraqi Kurds rose up against Hussein, they were given little support. Millions fled their homes as the Iraqi military killed thousands of Kurds. During the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Kurds were once again allies. Later in Syria, the US-backed SDF was part of the main ground force that pushed ISIS from its headquarters in Raqqa. But in both conflicts, the support offered by the US faded as the political climate changed. In 2018, the US stood by as Iraqi forces drove the Kurds back from territory they had gained battling ISIS. And the US drawdown from Syria in 2019 left the Kurdish SDF backed into a corner. Kurdish forces later lost territory to the new Syrian government after the 2024 overthrow of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syrian Kurds fleeing an onslaught by Turkish-backed groups in areas north of Aleppo arrive in Tabqa, on the western outskirts of Raqqa, Syria, on December 3, 2024. - Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images When Trump or (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu are asking Kurds to fight against the regime, they (Iranian Kurds) will have in their mind the experience of Kurds in Syria, RUSIs Coningham said. Id be very surprised if they look at the US or the Israelis as reliable partners. Some may feel that it doesnt really matter, and that all they need is the support. The analyst added that any prospect of Kurdish groups working more closely with the US will be extremely concerning for the Turkish government. The Turks will be extremely worried if the Kurds are able to sort of build momentum from this, Coningham said. He noted, however, that the formation of some type of autonomous Kurdish state remains an outside prospect. Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, the first lady of Iraq and a prominent Kurdish activist, issued a statement Thursday saying that Kurds are too often remembered only when their sacrifice is needed. Leave the Kurds alone, she wrote. We are not guns for hire. CNNs Nechirvan Mando, Alaa Elassar and Vasco Cotovio contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com World's preeminent energy conference to focus on 'Convergence and Competition: Energy, Technology and Geopolitics.' Learn more at www.ceraweek.com HOUSTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum will deliver a plenary address to delegates at the 44th annual CERAWeek by S&P Global, March 23-27 in Houston. He will join the world's energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, as well as leaders from the technology, financial and industrial communities addressing this year's conference. The 55th Secretary of the Interior, Sec. Burgum previously served as governor of North Dakota. "We are very pleased again to welcome Secretary Burgum to CERAWeek," said Daniel Yergin, conference chair and Vice Chairman of S&P Global. "As leader of the agency responsible for managing nearly one-fifth of the lands and waters of the United States and as Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council, his views on U.S. energy policy and security are timely and of great importance. His insights and vast experienceas a successful entrepreneur, businessman, and as the former governor of a major energy-producing statewill be a highly anticipated and impactful addition to this year's conference." CERAWeek 2026 Convergence and Competition: Energy, Technology and Geopolitics will explore ideas and strategies for a world where energy markets are increasingly entwined with new and existing technologieseven as geopolitical rivalries and economic competition fray alliances and fracture supply chains. The conference program will spotlight the breakthroughs, cross-industry connections and powerful partnerships that can accelerate the transformation of the global energy system. CERAWeek 2026 Key Themes The CERAWeek 2026 conference program will explore key themes related to: Politics, Economics, Trade and Supply Chains Policy, Regulations and Stakeholders Oil Value Chain Natural Gas and LNG Power, Renewables, Generation and Grid AI and Digital Minerals and Mining Electrification Technologies Investment and Financing Chemicals and Materials Business Strategies The Innovation Ecosystem Managing Emissions Low-Carbon Fuels and Mobility Climate and Sustainability Workforce Strategy The week-long event will also include the CERAWeek Innovation Agora, serving as the center of technology and innovation programming at the conference. Featuring a community of technologists, startup entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investors, thought leaders, policymakers and corporate innovators, the Innovation Agora will showcase transformational technology platforms in energy and adjacent industries ranging across AI, decarbonization, low carbon fuels, cybersecurity, hydrogen, nuclear, mining and minerals, mobility, automation and more. The conference program will wrap Friday, March 27 with a new featureLook Forwardthat will focus on economics, politics and technology. Speakers CERAWeek 2026 speakers will include (partial list): Shaikh Nawaf Al-Sabah Deputy Chairman and CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Linda Z. Cook CEO, Harbour Energy Hon. Paul M. Dabbar Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Claudio Descalzi CEO, Eni Greg Ebel President, CEO and Director, Enbridge Inc. James D. Farley, Jr. President and CEO, Ford Motor Company Jim Fitterling Chair and CEO, Dow Jack Fusco President and CEO, Cheniere Energy Daniel Gonzalez Vice-Minister of Energy and Mining, Ministry of Economy, Argentina Russell Hardy CEO, Vitol Vicki Hollub CEO, Occidental Petroleum Ditte Juul Jrgensen Director-General for Energy, European Commission John Ketchum Chairman, President and CEO, NextEra Energy Markus Krebber CEO, RWE AG Ryan Lance Chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips Chris Levesque President and CEO, TerraPower Olivier Le Peuch CEO, SLB Tadashi Maeda Chairman of the Board, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) David H. McCormick United States Senator, Pennsylvania Tomohide Miyata Representative Director and CEO, ENEOS Holdings, Inc. Amin H. Nasser President and CEO, Saudi Aramco Anders Opedal President and CEO, Equinor Marcel van Poecke, Chairman of Energy, The Carlyle Group Ruth Porat President and Chief Investment Officer, Alphabet and Google Patrick Pouyanne Chairman of the Board and CEO, TotalEnergies Gen. Randall Reed Commander, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Toby Rice President and CEO, EQT Corporation Paolo Rocca President and CEO, Techint Group Wael Sawan CEO, Shell Lorenzo Simonelli Chairman and CEO, Baker Hughes Hon. Danielle Smith Premier of Alberta, Government of Alberta Michael Smith Chairman, CEO and Founder, Freeport LNG Laura V. Swett Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Mike Wirth Chairman of the Board and CEO, Chevron Chris Wright Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy Zoe Yujnovich CEO, National Grid Lee Zeldin Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Visit www.ceraweek.com for a complete list of speakers and the most up-to-date program information (subject to change). Registration Information CERAWeek by S&P Global 2026 will be held March 23-27 at the Hilton AmericasHouston. Further information and delegate registration is available at www.ceraweek.com. Media Accreditation Media registration is now open. Members of the media interested in covering CERAWeek 2026 are required to apply for accreditation. Applications are subject to approval and can be submitted at the following link: https://reg.spglobal.com/flow/spglobal/cw26/media-reg/login Media Contacts: Jeff Marn S&P Global Energy +1 202 463 8213 [email protected] About S&P Global S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) enables businesses, governments, and individuals with trusted data, expertise, and technology to make decisions with conviction. We are Advancing Essential Intelligence through world-leading benchmarks, data, and insights that customers need in order to plan confidently, act decisively, and thrive economically in a rapidly changing global landscape. From helping our customers assess new investments across the capital and commodities markets to guiding them through the energy expansion, acceleration of artificial intelligence, and evolution of public and private markets, we enable the world's leading organizations to unlock opportunities, solve challenges, and plan for tomorrow today. Learn more at www.spglobal.com. SOURCE S&P Global The Oregon Senate passed a bill March 4 to increase the hotel tax to pay for an array of wildlife conservation programs. The bill passed 20-9, surpassing the required three-fifths majority to raise taxes. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek after passing the House 36-22 on Feb. 24. House Bill 4134 would up Oregons lodging tax by 1.25% from 1.5% to 2.75% to generate revenue to fund nine wildlife programs. The bill would generate $38 million per year to fund programs such as wildlife crossings and habitat projects, along with poaching enforcement. It also would fund compensating ranchers for livestock losses due to wolves. Financial support for Oregons non-game wildlife animals that arent hunted has been an idea kicked around the Capitol for a decade, as the list of at-risk species has grown to 321, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. At one point, legislators considered a beer tax or other measures, but ultimately settled on a small increase to the transient lodging tax. Black oystercatchers are on Oregon's list of species of greatest concern complied by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Ive listened to hours of expert conversation on the grim decline of Oregon wildlife and its habitat over the years, and what we can do about it, said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. We know what we need to do to sustain healthy wildlife, and because of critical and rising demands on our general fund, we just havent been doing it. That all changes with House Bill 4134. In supporting the bill, many legislators argued that without a sales tax, the lodging tax was the best way to make out of state visitors pay for Oregon programs. The bill passed on a bipartisan basis, with critical support coming from rancher Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, a chief sponsor of the bill. Nash supported the bill largely because it funds programs that compensate ranchers whose livestock suffer attacks by wolves. However, in closing remarks on the Senate floor, he noted the importance of new groups supporting wildlife. Advertisement Hunters have been paying the bill (for wildlife) for a long time, he said. Its time we have more people drawn into that effort. House bill 4134 would fund a program that compensates livestock operators who lose cattle to wolf attacks. Nash joined with Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, who had worked on the legislation for more than a decade, in one of the more novel political alliances in recent memory on the bill. Lawmakers that opposed the bill noted that it was illogical for a hotel tax to pay for wildlife programs, and said it would increase prices not only on out of state visitors, but also Oregonians vacationing around the state. This is not good policy and its not the right approach, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee said. The bill had been strongly opposed by the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, which said it would discourage tourists and conventions from visiting Portland which is already struggling with low occupancy. "The only way to stop this terrible legislation would be a Governor veto," said Jason Brandt, president and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. How would the bill work? Money collected would go into a sub-account in the state budget. It would then be dispersed to the following programs and for the following reasons, according to the legislation. Department of Agriculture, for deposit in the Invasive Species Council Account. Oregon State Police, for efforts to combat the poaching of wildlife. Oregon Department of Agriculture, for deposit in the Wolf Management Compensation and Proactive Trust Fund. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, for deposit in the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund. ODFW, for wildlife connectivity efforts. ODFW, for wildlife stewardship efforts. ODA, for deposit in the Invasive Species Control Account. Department of Justice, for efforts related to anti-poaching and wildlife law enforcement. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Lawmakers OK increased Oregon hotel tax to fund wildlife programs Every country has its own standards for daily life, and in some places, the rules feel surprisingly generous. Certain laws go beyond convenience and actively improve people's lives by offering real benefits in time, public services, and income. These are legal guarantees, written into national systems and enforced regularly. They show how governments can define everyday life with clear priorities to consistently deliver measurable outcomes across work, family, and public access. France: Paid Vacation is a Right Credit: Getty Images Getting time off in France doesnt require negotiations or earned points. Workers have a right to at least 5 weeks of paid vacation. This standard covers most sectors and is strictly enforced. People actually take their full-time off without stigma because the law shapes a culture where rest isnt seen as a sign of weakness. Mexico: Workers Get a Share of Profits Credit: Getty Images Companies in Mexico are required to share a portion of their profits. The policy, called PTU (Profit Sharing), ensures annual payouts to eligible workers. This rule applies across industries and often arrives as an extra paycheck around May. It helps close wage gaps and keeps productivity gains connected to real income. Luxembourg: Public Transit Costs Nothing Credit: Getty Images Luxembourg became the first country to offer free nationwide public transportation. Consequently, residents and visitors can ride buses, trains, and trams without buying a ticket. The system runs on public funding through taxes, which removes fare gates and payment checks. This setup makes daily commutes easier for commuters on limited budgets. Germany: Childcare Access Starts at One Credit: Canva If you live in Germany and your child turns one, you have the right to a childcare spot. This law allows parents to return to work without scrambling for options or relying on informal care. The policy took effect in 2013, following a federal push to expand access to early education. On this note, local governments are to provide enough spaces or face legal challenges from parents. Bhutan: Forest Protection is Constitutional Credit: Canva Advertisement A minimum of 60 percent of Bhutans land has to remain forested under its constitution. This commitment is binding, meaning lawmakers and developers need to plan around it. The rule has helped Bhutan maintain high biodiversity levels and absorb more carbon than it emits. EU: Flight Delays Come with Compensation Credit: Getty Images In all EU countries, passengers can claim cash compensation when flights are delayed by several hours. The rule falls under EU Regulation 261 and applies to flights within, into, or out of the European Union. However, keep in mind that the compensation depends on how long the delay is and how far youre flying. Netherlands: Online Returns Get a Legal 14-Day Window Credit: Getty Images Buying something online in the Netherlands comes with a 14-day return period, thanks to EU consumer protection rules. If shoppers regret a purchase, they can cancel and return it without needing a reason. Retailers must issue a refund and clearly disclose this right at checkout. The regulation supports fairer online shopping experiences and limits misleading practices. France: Supermarkets Must Donate Unsold Food Credit: Africa images Under a 2016 law in France, large supermarkets must donate edible unsold food rather than discard it. The rule aims to reduce waste and improve food access across communities. Stores now work with food banks and charities to distribute unsold items that are safe. Businesses face fines for noncompliance, which has encouraged better inventory planning. Sweden: Public Records Are Open to All Credit: pexels One of the oldest freedom of information laws in the world is in Sweden, dating back to 1766. It gives citizens the right to access government documents, including internal communications. Agencies are to respond to public record requests within a reasonable period. This tradition reinforces transparency and limits secrecy in decision-making. South Africa: Access to Food and Water is Protected Credit: Canva The constitution of South Africa guarantees every person the right to sufficient food and water. If access fails, citizens can take the government to court. The law has been used in cases related to drought, service delivery gaps, and pricing. It obligates the state to prioritize these basics, especially in low-income areas. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press conference for the first time since President Donald Trump launched a series of strikes against Iran -Credit:GETTY (GETTY) White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press conference for the first time since President Donald Trump launched a series of strikes against Iran. During her briefing, Leavitt claimed that travelers to Iran were warned that there was the possibility of strikes in Iran months before they happened. Leavitt made the comment when asked by Fox News about the stranded Americans in the regions affected by the strikes. "There are still 6,000 that are looking to get out, as I understand it," Jacquie Heinrich asked. "And just in the context of what you just told Garrett about the president's decision on a timeline, if he had decided to do this strike before receiving the specific intelligence about the meeting on Saturday, should there have been more done in advance of the strikes to try to get those Americans in the region resources and information to get home before day three of the war." US blows through $2B in Iran war after just 5 days as emergency order for extra munitions issued Americans trying to escape Middle East hear terrifying message when calling emergency number "There was many signs put out by the State Department, and I wish that everyone in this room would report on them," Leavitt snapped. "The Secretary of State issued level 4 travel advisories dating back to January for many of these countries in the region." Advertisement "On January 14th, the U.S. mission to Saudi Arabia advised personnel and Americans to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations," Leavitt added. "On February 11th, the U.S. Department of State Consular Affairs shared a list of countries with level four do not travel advisories." During her briefing, Leavitt claimed that travelers to Iran were warned that there was the possibility of strikes in Iran months before they happened -Credit:Getty Images "You can't be much more clear than that," she finished. "Do not travel to the following countries." Social media had a lot to say on the topic. "Her job is going to get exponentially harder in the days/weeks to come," one person wrote. Leavitt made the comment when asked by Fox News about the stranded Americans in the regions affected by the strikes. -Credit:Getty Images "They had no plan to evacuate people," they added. "Good thing they got the influencer out of there," a third person added. Trump's plan It comes as Leavitt revealed the president's three-step plan to bring home the Americans who were left stranded. "The Trump administration is doing everything within our power to protect Americans in harm's way," commented. It comes as Leavitt revealed the president's three-step plan to bring home the Americans who were left stranded -Credit:AP U.S. citizens returning home are urged to register with the State Department to receive the latest updates from the nearest U.S. Embassy. "The State Department will identify where you are and provide travel options directly to you," said Leavitt. Citizens are also asked to follow the State Department on Social media for travel updates, and lastly, call to request emergency assistance, if necessary. "The Trump administration will not rest until every American is home safely and until the terrorist threat from Iran has been completely destroyed. Leavitt's statement comes as the identities of the first U.S. casualties in the conflict have been released. Six service members were killed when an "unmanned aircraft system" evaded air defenses to hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Sunday. Lebanon County Commissioners did not take an official vote on a proposed resolution Thursday, March 5, that would discourage local law enforcement from assisting with non-criminal immigration enforcement actions. The resolution, presented to commissioners by civil rights advocates, came after four Lebanon County agencies signed onto a program allowing local police to serve as immigration enforcers. The advocates, who've been organizing weekly protests in front of Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser's office, submitted a two-page draft resolution to commissioners "strongly discouraging county agencies, offices and officials from engaging in or assisting with the enforcement of non-criminal federal immigration laws." Mondays with Meuser co-organizer Michael Schroeder said that for many residents, ICE has proven to be "a rogue federal agency that is running roughshod over the law and the constitution." "This is a really deep concern among many people here in Lebanon County who view ICE as a rogue federal agency," he told commissioners during their March 5 meeting. "These 287(g) agreements in particular have a very strong potential to undermined the trust between local law enforcement and the larger community that local law enforcement is intended to serve." Lebanon County Commissioners during their March 5 meeting consider a proposed resolution by local protesters regarding ICE enforcement and 287(g) agreements made by county agencies. More than 62 agencies in the commonwealth have signed up for the program, including departments in Lebanon, Franklin, Lancaster, Schuylkill and York counties. In Lebanon County, the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Office, as well as the Cornwall Borough, Lebanon County Regional and South Lebanon Township police departments, all signed onto U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program as of Feb. 10, according to the federal agency's website. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that law enforcement agencies that join the program would receive free training and "possible eligibility for federal payments through government programs." This includes possibly receiving $7,500 for each officer who receives training to cover the cost of new equipment and $100,000 for new vehicles if they agree to work with ICE. Promotional materials for the program also state that local law enforcement agencies can be reimbursed for officers overtime costs, up to 25% of their salary. Lebanon 287(g) agreements: Lebanon law enforcement agencies join growing list of ICE partners Local enforcement: More police and constables in Pennsylvania sign on to become federal immigration cops Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf and Sheriff Jeffrie Marley were not in attendance at the March 5 meeting. Schroeder said he met with Marley after the Mondays with Meuser protest on Monday, March 2, and said the sheriff assured protesters there would be no change in their procedures because of the 287(g) agreement. "I believe Sheriff Marley, I believe he has the best of intentions, but these 287(g) agreements create a structural incentive for local law enforcement to engage in activities that would undermine the faith and trust they have built up with the larger community," Schroeder said. Later in the meeting, Democrat Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz motioned to pass the protesters' resolution. However, Republican Commissioners Michael Kuhn and Robert Phillips did not second her motion, and the resolution was not brought up for a vote. "I think it was very thoughtfully done," Litz said about the resolution. "It's not demanding, it's just giving people confidence that we are looking at everything." Kuhn did say that the commissioners may consider the resolution again at a future meeting. Mondays with Meuser co-organizer Michael Schroeder talks with Lebanon County Commissioners Thursday, March 5, about a proposed resolution regarding ICE enforcement and 287(g) agreements made by county agencies. Residents concerns In his second term, the Trump Administration has looked to expand 287(g) programs allowing local police to take on limited immigration-enforcement authority, and requiring local sheriffs to hold onto suspected unauthorized immigrants until immigration enforcers can collect them from jail. ICE describes the model as a "force multiplier" that can use local police to bolster its ranks. In Pennsylvania, 62 agencies have signed up for the program, including departments in Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, Schuylkill and York counties. Protesters highlighted multiple incidents in various U.S. cities between residents and ICE agents, including the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. "You can't help but see how unprofessional, unethical, and how irresponsible ICE has been performing their tasks on the streets of our American cities," Myerstown resident Lou Felli said. Felli highlighted ICE whistleblower Ryan Schwank's testimony before Congress in February. Schwank had testified that he received "secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant." Advertisement "I ask everybody in this room: Is that who we want to train our deputies? to deputize our deputies?" Felli said. "Is that who we want?" Schwank testimony: ICE whistleblower shares insight into training at Georgia facility Lebanon County has a projected population of 145,319, with the Center for Rural Pennsylvania projecting the county could see a population of over 161,410 by 2025. According to population estimates in July 2025 by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic community makes up almost 45% of the City of Lebanon's population. Schroeder said there is tremendous fear and anxiety in members of the Hispanic community that he's spoken with, with concerns about being harassed and detained unlawfully despite being U.S. citizens. "I have a friend in Annville who is Puerto Rican, who is afraid to leave her house without her passport because of what she's been reading around the country," he said. Protesters added that such agreements with ICE are likely to make immigrants unlikely to report crimes to law enforcement or to testify as witnesses during trials. Cornwall resident Tom Overholt asked commissioners how many felons, accused felons or outstanding warrants were in Lebanon County that required ICE intervention. County officials said they did not have an answer for his question. "Before we start inviting ICE in to patrol our streets, don't you think we should have an estimate of what's going on?" he asked commissioners. "And how are those situations handled before ICE decided to have 287(g)s and train our police officers to go looking for undocumented immigrants in our county?" Richland resident Arn Moehlmann asked Lebanon County Commissioners March 5 to continue working with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. Richland resident Arn Moehlmann was the only resident at the March 5 meeting asking commissioners to work with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. "I would submit that ICE, Homeland Security and the Border Patrol are protecting the people, protecting the citizenry from the negative impacts, and they are plethora, of mass illegal immigration," he said in his comments. "They are protecting the people, the citizenry, and we don't want to see our citizenry disenfranchised as voters, as workers, and as citizens." After hearing residents' concerns on March 5, Phillips offered to present questions and contact information to the Lebanon DA and Sheriff's offices after the meeting. Moving forward After the meeting, Kuhn said that the commissioners will be taking the protesters' resolution under advisement. County officials will also be looking into the situation moving forward, he said, and communicating with the sheriff's and DA's office. "I know it's a problem nationwide," he said. "Illegal immigration is not new. I've heard five or six presidents during my lifetime talk about how we need to secure the border. This current president is the first one who actually took steps to actually do something about that." County officials originally told the Lebanon Daily News that the Sheriff's and the DA's office did reach out to commissioners about their plans to join with the ICE program before entering into the agreement. "I have a tremendous amount of respect and trust in all of our row officers, elected officials and department heads," he said. "That's not a blind trust, so we have to continue to monitor every department and every function of our local government, and I assure you we will continue to do that." Myerstown resident Lou Felli tells county commissioners March 5 his concerns about potential future ICE enforcement in Lebanon County. Schroeder told the Lebanon Daily News after the meeting that the outcome was disappointing, adding that he believed the commissioners "seem to be asleep at the wheel" when it comes to these issues. "We're going to continue to push," he said. "It's a bad idea for the community, it's a bad idea for the people that they serve, and it's a bad idea for Lebanon County." Schroeder added that protesters will be reaching out to the Lebanon City Council and Mayor Sherry Capello about future ICE involvement. The Lebanon City Police Department and city officials have said they are considering a 287(g) agreement. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon commissioners table protesters resolution on ICE agreements A North Carolina emblem features the state flag, a cardinal, and dogwood flowers, symbolizing the Tarheel State. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) Saying costs to North Carolina households is an estimated $800 to $1,300 this year because of government tariffs, Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Thursday enjoined the state in litigation led by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. State of Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al. is filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The 24 plaintiffs seek a three-judge panel to give relief in staying, holding unlawful, vacating and setting aside the Border Patrols CSMS #67844987 the 10% ad valorem surcharge on imports from every country that went into effect Feb. 24. North Carolinians have already paid billions in unlawful tariffs our farmers, our manufacturers, and our communities cant bear more, Jackson said. Im taking the federal government to court because they broke the law again, they harmed North Carolinians, and I can prove it. Jackson says nearly $3.5 billion in tariffs were paid by North Carolina last year through pricing on vehicles, heavy machinery, furniture, pharmaceuticals and other goods. The U.S. Supreme Court two weeks ago in a 6-3 decision struck down those tariffs imposed through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Advertisement Jackson said the new tariffs instituted since could cost $1.2 trillion nationwide. The John Locke Foundation estimates the farm industry in the state to lose 8,000 jobs and $1.9 billion from them. The nonprofit John Locke Foundation bills its vision as a North Carolina in which liberty and limited, constitutional government are the cornerstones of society so that individuals, families, and institutions can freely shape their own destinies. Jackson and other attorneys general say the latest tariffs violate the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. Congress, they say, rather than the president has power to set and collect taxes. Defendants include second-term Republican President Donald Trump; the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem; and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and Commissioner Rodney Scott. WELCH, WV (WVNS) This is a public health crisis, Caitlin Ware told 59News. Ware is a member of the group From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice. Formed in the winter of 2023, the group is fighting on behalf of southern West Virginia locals experiencing water contamination. Legendary coach, West Virginia native Lou Holtz dies at 89 Member Brad Davis grew up in the southern coalfields, telling 59News he is fighting for a region he feels is overlooked. I think a big chunk of communities in every county in southern West Virginia, in the coalfield counties, are dealing with some sort of water issue, Davis said. The groups Facebook page shows what they said is a grim reality for those living in the southern coalfields. Water not coming out clear, along with stories from people who have experienced adverse effects from the water. Were seeing water that burns skin, were seeing people getting water from waterfalls. Were seeing people recovering from surgery that got to drive 45 minutes away to go to a waterfall, collect water, and boil it, Ware said. Advertisement Davis said he believes the issue is a multi-faceted one, from aging infrastructure to local pollution. But the group remains determined, previously making trips to Charleston to advocate for clean water. Charleston Fire Department remembers deadly Woolworth fire 77 years later They are set on solving an issue that they feel is long overdue, no matter how long it takes. Were looking at a 63-plus million dollar drinking water infrastructure issue just in McDowell. Were looking at 463 million dollars just for drinking water in the southern coal fields. Were tired of crumbs, we are tired of being fed crumbs and told to celebrate the pennies that were sent because its a drop in the bucket, Ware said. 59News reached out to the West Virginia Governors Office for comment. We received a response from Lars Dalseide, Director of Communications with the Governors office. Dalseide said, in full, Most of the water and wastewater utilities across West Virginia are well-operated, well-maintained, and provide safe, reliable service to the communities they serve. That is important to remember. But at the same time, there are also utilities that struggle to function. That is unacceptable, and we take it extremely seriously. Weve advanced legislation that reflects that commitment and remain focused on strengthening oversight, improving management, and making sure struggling systems have the tools they need to improve. This is a critical issue for our state, and we will continue taking responsible, practical steps to ensure every West Virginian has access to safe and reliable water. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has reiterated her call for a de minimis tax exemption on everyday cryptocurrency transactions of up to $300. Lawmakers are trying to address the tax exemption proposal so that Americans can use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as a medium of exchange, Lummis said during an interview with CNBC on March 4. Related: Bitcoin could halve U.S. debt in 20 years, says Senator Cynthia Lummis De minimis crypto tax exemption It was in July last year that the Wyoming senator introduced digital asset tax legislation that seeks to create a new Section 139J to provide a de minimis exemption for crypto gains taxes on crypto transactions of up to $300. The bill includes the $300 threshold with an annual total cap of $5,000. The exemption doesn't apply to these transactions: Exchanging crypto into cash or stablecoins Property used in active trade or business Property held for income production It is nearly impossible to track every crypto transaction, such as buying coffee with Bitcoin, complicating tax compliance for ordinary users. The $300 threshold strikes a reasonable balance between tax compliance and practical usability of crypto assets as a medium of exchange, the bill argues. During the interview, Lummis said the real challenge is to foster an environment where Bitcoin becomes a means of exchange. More News: Clarity Act in progress Regarding the Clarity Act, Lummis said the Republican members of the Banking Committee have been negotiating with the Democrat members since September and will keep working toward landing the legislation on President Donald Trump's desk. The Clarity Act seeks to distinguish the jurisdictions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding the regulation of crypto assets. Advertisement Trending on TheStreet Roundtable: Lummis hails Kraken securing Fed master account Lummis hailed Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-chartered banking arm of the Kraken crypto exchange, securing the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's master account access. A master account is held at one of the twelve regional Federal Reserve banks that enables regulated depository institutions to maintain account balances at the Fed. Through the master account, Kraken Financial can connect directly to core U.S. payment rails, including Fedwire, without relying on intermediary banks. Lummis said Kraken's announcement adds another opportunity for the integration of the fiat money with digital assets. She added she was very happy to see the Fed "finally realize" that it could integrate crypto financial products in a way that "benefits Americans." "This is a huge step forward." Kraken used a Wyoming law called the Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) to form a banking arm, Lummis explained. Wyoming has a very comprehensive and clear examination for the safety of these companies, but under the Joe Biden administration, the Fed wouldn't allow digital asset companies to access its payment window, she added. In the future, banks could serve customers in both fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar and digital currencies like Bitcoin, Lummis claimed. Lummis supports Trump's war on Iran The United States has been in a "forever war" with Iran since the late 1970s, and the world is now watching the beginning of the end, Lummis said. She thanked Trump for taking the decisive action and attacking Iran. Related: JPMorgan and BofA backed group slams Fed's latest approval This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Harry Maguire has earned 64 England caps Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended sentence by a Greek court following an incident on the island of Mykonos in August 2020. England international Maguire was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison in 2020, after initially being found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult. The following day Maguire's legal team lodged an appeal against the verdict. In accordance with Greek law, the appeal nullified his conviction and meant there would be a full retrial. The retrial was postponed on four occasions between 2023 and 2025, before it restarted in Syros on Wednesday. It concluded that Maguire was guilty of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. In accordance with the reduced severity of the defender's crimes, Maguire's sentence was reduced to 15 months. Sources have told BBC Sport that Maguire denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. Advertisement Maguire has rejected a number of opportunities to settle the case out of court, as he is determined to clear his name legally. The 32-year-old is in the Manchester United squad for Wednesday's Premier League game at Newcastle United (20:15 GMT), despite having to come off during the win against Crystal Palace on Sunday with illness. 'Key differences between Greece and UK systems' The retrial of Manchester United defender Harry Maguire highlighted key differences between the Greek and British criminal justice systems and explained why a case stemming from a 2020 incident is only now being heard again. Maguire was originally convicted in 2020 by a court on the island of Syros following an altercation on the holiday island of Mykonos. He received a 21-month suspended prison sentence for aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. However, under Greek law, when a defendant appeals against a conviction from a lower criminal court, the verdict is automatically annulled and the case is retried from the beginning. Unlike in the UK, where appeals generally examine whether legal errors occurred in the original trial, Greek appeal courts reassess the facts of the case and hear evidence again. The retrial had been delayed several times because of procedural issues, including lawyer strikes and scheduling problems - a reflection of the heavy backlog affecting many Greek courts. Maguire was not required to attend the hearing in person. In Greece, defendants in cases of this level can be represented by their lawyers. Another factor is Greece's statute of limitations. For offences of this type, legal proceedings must conclude within eight years - meaning the case would expire in August 2028 if not resolved before then. Wed, March 4, 2026 at 5:08 AM UTC Rene Haas, CEO of chip tech provider Arm Holdings, holds a replica of a chip with his company's logo on it, during an event in which Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim officially announces a $250 million deal with the company, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 5, 2025. REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Reuters) - Malaysia's anti-graft agency said on Wednesday that it is investigating corruption and fraud allegations involving a 1.1 billion ringgit ($279 million) deal between the Malaysian government and British chip firm Arm Holdings. Authorities were also looking into a proposed takeover of IJM Corp by local conglomerate Sunway, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki said at a press conference. Advertisement ($1 = 3.9470 ringgit) (Reporting by Danial Azhar and Rozanna Latiff; Editing by David Stanway) Stock image of Torrey in Uth Credit: Getty NEED TO KNOW Three women were found dead in Utah on Wednesday, March 4, police said The Utah Department of Public Safety said two of the women were found on a hiking trail, while a third was located at a property in Wayne County A male suspect was "captured" and arrested early on Thursday morning A suspect has been arrested after three women were found dead in Utah, two on a hiking trail, police have said. The Utah Department of Public Safety shared in a press release that the three women were found deceased on Wednesday, March 4. On Wednesday afternoon, dispatch received a call regarding two deceased females located on a hiking trail, officials said in the release. During the course of the investigation, a third victim was located deceased at a residence in Wayne County. Authorities said the identities of the victims are currently being withheld while next of kin notifications are underway, though they did confirm that one victim is in her 30s, the second is in her 60s and the third is in her 80s. In an update on Thursday, March 5, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Facebook that a suspect had been captured early this morning in connection with what the authorities believe was a triple homicide. Stock photo of police car lights Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The male suspect is currently in custody, and the investigation is ongoing. The Utah Department of Public Safety had asked for the publics help in locating a 2022 white Subaru Outback with the license plate U560YF, and in a new press release released on Thursday, officials said investigators tracked the suspect in one of the alleged victims vehicles. The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah into northern Arizona and eventually into Colorado, the release reads. Colorado law enforcement located the vehicle abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colo., and after a brief search, took the individual into custody without incident. Advertisement The Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab is processing two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area. There are no ongoing threats to the public, and investigators have no outstanding suspects, the release adds. According to CBS affiliate KUTV, no information has been shared on how the women died or if there was any relationship between them. Officials had said that while the suspect was at large, residents in the Torrey and surrounding area should take extra precautions, including locking doors, remaining at home or with others and being vigilant about their surroundings. They also said residents should report any suspicious activity to 911. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The Wayne County School District said classes were canceled for the rest of the week "out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety," per KUTV. Part of the Canyonlands National Park is in Wayne County, while the Capitol Reef National Park is also nearby. Read the original article on People HERZLIYA, Israel, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vintage Investment Partners ("Vintage"), a global venture capital platform with $4.4 billion in AUM and founded in 2003, today announced that David Chiodo has joined Vintage's investment team. Based in New York, David will further deepen Vintage's commitment to, and engagement with, VC fund managers, founders, and the broader venture ecosystem in the U.S. & Canada. David Chiodo, Investor, Vintage Investment Partners (New York City) Vintage has been an active investor in the North American venture market for many years, backing leading venture funds and leading private tech companies, while facilitating cross-border investment and corporate innovation through its Fund of Funds, Growth, and Secondary investment strategies. Establishing a dedicated, on-the-ground presence in New York reflects the firm's continued commitment to serving its partners across the U.S. and Canada. David has a strong background in fund investments, venture secondaries, and value creation. Prior to joining Vintage, David was a Vice President at Sagard Private Equity Solutions (FKA Performance Equity Management), where he helped lead the firm's emerging venture program. His focus included sourcing, evaluating, and managing VC fund commitments, along with executing GP-led, LP-led, and direct secondary transactions. He previously served as a Senior Associate at EY-Parthenon in the Private Equity Value Creation practice, advising private equity clients on operational diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio strategy across technology, transportation, and industrial sectors. David holds a B.S. in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University and is the Co-Head of the NYC Chapter of the Emerging Allocators Association. "I'm very excited to join Vintage and deepen the firm's U.S. presence. Vintage is defined by its service-first culture and a highly connected global network, and I look forward to partnering with the leading venture capital fund, companies and LPs across the U.S. and Canada," David shared. "As we continue to build long-term partnerships across the U.S. and Canadian venture ecosystem, having a local presence will enhance our efforts tremendously. In particular, with David's addition, we not only see significant opportunities to partner with leading emerging managers, but also increase our support of CEOs, founders and fund managers through tailored secondary solutions, while also participating in direct investments into breakout companies at the growth stage. David's combination of experience, analytical rigor, and relationship-driven approach aligns with our values and global strategy," said Asaf Horesh, Co-Managing Partner at Vintage. "David's background investing in leading fund managers, sourcing secondaries, and value creation well equips him to support our partners and identify exceptional opportunities across the market. We are very pleased to welcome him to Vintage and strengthen our presence in the U.S.," added Abe Finkelstein, Co-Managing Partner at Vintage. About Vintage Investment Partners Founded in 2003, Vintage Investment Partners is a global venture capital platform managing more than $4.4 billion across Fund-of-Funds, Secondary, and Growth-Stage strategies in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and Canada. Vintage is invested in many of the world's leading venture funds and growth-stage tech startups and has exposure directly and indirectly to over 7,400 technology companies. Through Value+, its free-of-charge platform connecting venture-backed startups with corporations seeking innovation, Vintage has facilitated more than 300 pilots, purchase orders, and paid proof-of-concepts, generating hundreds of millions of USD in revenue for startups. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926919/David_Chiodo_Vintage_Investment_Partners.jpg SOURCE Vintage Investment Partners Jonathan Munafo is the latest pardoned U.S. Capitol riot defendant to again run afoul of the law. Court records reviewed by CBS News said Munafo was arrested Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia, where he was found allegedly violating supervised release conditions in a federal threat case. In a court filing Wednesday, the Justice Department said Munafo had absconded "from supervision in the Northern District of New York." As a result, the district's probation officer filed a petition reporting the violation and requested that Munafo's supervised release be revoked. Munafo was among the Jan. 6 rioters and defendants convicted or accused of violent attacks against police during the Capitol siege and pardoned by President Trump last year. Prosecutors said Munafo punched a Metropolitan Police Department officer twice while attempting to rip the officer's riot shield away. But Munafo was not completely absolved by Mr. Trump's pardon. He later pleaded guilty in a federal threats case in Michigan in 2022. Prosecutors said Munafo made dozens of menacing phone calls on Jan. 5, 2021, to a government facility near Battle Creek, Michigan. The feds said he threatened to "cut the throat" of a 911 dispatcher and threatened the dispatcher's family. Munafo was later accused of violating release conditions in the threats case in May 2025. Local authorities accused him of flooding his jail cell and breaking a sprinkler device in Rensselaer County, New York. A court docket in New York said Munafo acknowledged violating his release restrictions and was sentenced last November to an additional seven months in prison. It is unclear from court filings if Munafo had begun serving the prison term. A court record reviewed by CBS News said in December an officer "attempted to contact Munafo on the cellphone he used during his first term of supervision, however, that number is no longer active. This Officer attempted to contact a friend of Munafo, Dennis Rodgers, on multiple occasions, but no contact has been made." Advertisement According to a Justice Department court filing Wednesday, Munafo is scheduled to appear for a court hearing on his latest violation Monday in federal court in Richmond. Munafo was a high-profile defendant in the US Capitol riot prosecutions. He was not only accused of assaulting police, but prosecutors said he also "took the officer's riot shield and slunk away into the crowd, leaving the officer without a shield and vulnerable to attacks from other rioters." Munafo is the latest in a series of Jan. 6 riot defendants who have been arrested on new charges in new cases in the months after their pardons. Jan. 6 defendant Bryan Betancur, 28, was arrested Monday night for assault and battery on a train in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Prosecutors charged John Banuelos, 40, for a violent attack against a woman. Though the attack occurred in 2018, three years before his alleged involvement in the Capitol siege, Banuelos was arrested in 2025, after he was finally identified by investigators. Banuelos was pardoned ahead of trial in his Capitol Riot case, in which he was accused of firing a gun into the air while amid the mob. Zachary Alam, a convicted Capitol rioter from Virginia who was released from prison after the Trump pardons, was arrested in May for breaking and entering at a home near Richmond, Virginia. Alam was convicted. Christopher Moynihan, a Capitol siege defendant from upstate New York, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a local charge in Dutchess County, New York, after allegedly threatening to murder House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict KANSAS CITY, Mo. One man is facing 20 felony charges after allegedly planting explosive devices near Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. Owen I. Canizales Argueta, 22, is facing 20 counts of possession of an illegal explosive. Man charged in 2021 Independence deadly shooting of teenage girl According to court documents, the Kansas City Police Departments Bomb and Arson squad were called to 2 Memorial Drive on Tuesday, Feb. 24. When custodial staff was clearing out trash cans, they discovered a red bag with what they believed to be were explosives. Police determined the bag had 20 homemade explosive devices. Advertisement Based on surveillance video, a vehicle entered the driveway near the Liberty Memorial on Feb. 23, and Argueta exited the vehicle and placed a red bag in the trash can. Argueta admitted in an interview with detectives that he purchased the explosives and put them in the trash can. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Hes currently in custody at the Jackson County jail. His bond has been set at $100,000 cash-only. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A man died shortly after being airlifted on Feb. 27 out of a closed-off area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which is known to be dangerous. Park personnel responded to an incident on the east side of Kilauea caldera on Feb. 26, the National Park Service said in a March 3 news release. The volcano, considered one of the most active in the world, was not erupting at the time. "Search and rescue personnel conducted operations overnight in steep and hazardous terrain," the release states. The first responders located the 33-year-old man, whose identity is being withheld by the park, on Feb. 27 and airlifted him out. He was taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center in nearby Hilo, where he was pronounced deceased. NPS said the incident is being investigated. Advertisement An old "no trespassing" sign remains partially swallowed by a lava flow, now hardened, from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island on May 15, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. A 'living' landscape Home to active volcanoes, the park's grounds are considered to be "a living lava landscape" as they're constantly changing, a Hawaii Volcanoes National Park employee previously told USA TODAY in 2022. "Kilauea caldera contains hazardous terrain, including unstable cliff edges and volcanic features," the park said in the news release. "Visitors are reminded to remain in designated open areas and comply with all closures." Especially during volcanic eruptions, the park surges with visitors hoping to witness such a spectacle which is also considered a sacred event in Hawaiian culture and can sometimes veer too close. Last June, a 30-year-old man from Boston strayed off a marked trail to get a closer look at the Kilauea volcano erupting. He plummeted 30 feet off a steep cliff until a tree broke his fall, avoiding "another hundred feet or so to the caldera floor, which could have resulted in his death," the park said in a release regarding the incident. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii man dies in closed-off area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Authorities discovered the first woman who was killed after identifying the owner of the vehicle -Credit:AP (AP) Authorities said on Thursday that they had apprehended a man who they believe killed a woman in southern Utah, stole her car and drove it to a nearby trailhead, and killed two women who were hiking together before escaping in one of their vehicles. The series of events happened late Wednesday afternoon in small ranching and farming communities that bustle with tourists in the summer because of the proximity to national parks. Authorities were alerted to the killings by the husbands of the hikers who went to the trail near Capitol Reef National Park looking for them, said Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol. The husbands told authorities one vehicle was missing from the trailhead and they didnt know who owned the other. Woman arrested after running over ex-boyfriend multiple times Body found during search for Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos missing since Christmas Eve Roden said authorities discovered the first woman who was killed after identifying the owner of the vehicle. Police tape surrounded the brick home in Lyman on Thursday while investigators gathered evidence. Authorities used license plate readers and vehicle tracking services to follow his path, from Utah through northern Arizona and into the mountain town of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado where he abandoned the stolen vehicle, Roden said. The suspect was found after a short search, he said. Advertisement There is no indication that Miller had any connection to the victims -Credit:AP Roden identified the suspect as Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa. According to online jail records, Miller was being held on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. He was scheduled to make his first appearance in court in Colorado on Friday afternoon. Miller is being represented by the Colorado Public Defenders office, said Justin Bogan, who heads the office in the judicial district that covers Pagosa Springs. Bogan declined to comment further. Voicemail messages left at listings for possible relatives of Miller were not immediately returned on Thursday. Investigators havent found a motive for the killings -Credit:AP There is no indication that Miller had any connection to the victims, Roden said. Investigators were still looking into when he arrived in Utah and what he was doing prior to the killings, Roden said. Officials have not identified the hikers who were friends but said they were in their 30s and 60s, and the other woman in her 80s. The hikers had no connection to the other woman who lived in a home in Wayne County about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the trail, officials said. The State Bureau of Investigation and Crime Lab were supporting the homicide investigation -Credit:AP Investigators havent found a motive for the killings yet and dont believe the suspect targeted the women for any other reason other than just convenience, Roden said. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories Before the suspect was taken into custody, residents in Wayne County were asked to remain vigilant and schools nearby were closed Thursday. Officials asked for help finding a white Subaru Outback but warned people not to approach it. The State Bureau of Investigation and Crime Lab were supporting the homicide investigation and multiple scenes were being processed in Torrey, Utah, and the surrounding area, Roden said. Sen. Mark Kelly criticized President Donald Trump over the U.S.-Israel strikes in Iran on Wednesday and claimed a random group of people "off the street" would do a better job than the president and his administration in handling Iran. "I watch this group of people who are supposed to be leading our country not just the president, Secretary of Defense and others you know, five people that were on the background on the slide here, and I'm thinking, you could pick a random group of people off the street tonight here in Washington, D.C. just a random group and they could probably do a better job than our government is doing right now with this," Kelly argued during a conversation with MS NOW's Jen Psaki. Kelly spoke about his commander during the first Gulf War during which he flew several combat missions and said, "you could just feel just in his core that he understood how significant of an issue this was that some of us might die." Trump announced that the U.S. and Israel were striking Iran on Saturday, and strikes have continued. The Pentagon released a new video highlighting the overwhelming power of the U.S. military during the first "100 hours" of Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said U.S. forces "control the skies by launching from the sea" and are finding and destroying the Iranian regimes mobile missile launch capabilities with "lethal precision." Trump Says 'Losers' Schumer, Dems Would Have Criticized Any Decision He Made On Iran Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks after departing federal court on Feb. 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images) "We have six dead Americans who paid the ultimate price. And we have a president and I'm not going to go into things he's said in the past about the military but we have a president that I have serious concerns about whether he understands his role here," Kelly told Psaki. Read On The Fox News App He criticized Trump for not talking about his intention to strike Iran during the State of the Union address. "His ultimate, you know, job is to protect U.S. service members, protect U.S. citizens," Kelly said. "He talked about it the night of the State of the Union, but why didn't he talk more about this? I mean, he could have discussed this and tried to explain to the American people how is this going to help them with their cost of rent and groceries and healthcare, which, by the way, he made much, much harder for millions of Americans." "This is not helping people with their everyday lives. And he didn't offer any explanation. I mean, a little video in the middle of the night?" he added. Advertisement More Democrat Reps Involved In Refuse Illegal Orders Video Report Receiving Inquiry From Us Attorney President Donald Trump arrives for a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. Democrats have been very critical of Trump's actions, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries even predicting "failure." "The American people want us to focus on making their life better and making their life more affordable; not getting involved in another endless war in the Middle East that is going to end in failure. This administration somehow found the resources, has found billions of dollars for bombs but can't find any money to actually bring down the high cost of living here in the United States of America," Jeffries said. "President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement. "While the U.S. military continues wrecking the Iranian terrorist regime, the Trump administration at home remains laser-focused on delivering more economic relief for the American people." "President Trumps economic agenda unleashed historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and Americans can rest assured that as this same agenda along with historic drug pricing, trade, and investment deals continues to take effect, the best is yet to come," the statement added. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Sen. Mark Kelly is seen in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 27, in Washington, D.C. Kelly sued the War Department, as well as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in January over the agency's actions to demote him and cut his retirement pay for urging military service members to "refuse illegal orders" in a video message with other leading Democrats. Click Here To Download The Fox News App A federal judge ruled in February that the Pentagon cannot punish Kelly for taking part in a video that called on U.S. military members to defy "illegal orders." Original article source: Mark Kelly trashes Trump over Iran, claims people 'off the street' would do better than the administration People cross an avenue as traffic lights are off during a mass blackout across most of the country, in Havana, Cuba March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez By Annett Rios and Alien Fernandez HAVANA, March 4 (Reuters) - A power outage struck most of Cuba, including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday, as the Communist-run government grapples with increased pressure from the Trump administration that has curtailed oil shipments. The electric company Union Electrica UNE said the blackout was caused by an unexpected outage at Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant about 100 km (62 miles) east of Havana, cutting electricity from Pinar del Rio in the far west to central-eastern Camaguey province. Power was also out in eastern Las Tunas province as substations there malfunctioned, a company official told state television, leaving only the far eastern provinces with electricity. Repairs to the Guiteras generating station could take three to four days, the regional newspaper Giron reported, citing Roman Perez, technical director of the plant. "The main objective is to reduce water consumption by eliminating the malfunction in the boiler's superheater and other existing leaks," Giron quoted Perez as saying. Cuba has experienced a series of major blackouts in recent years, even before U.S. actions to cut off oil shipments, particularly from top supplier Venezuela after Washington's ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro in early January. Cuba's government has attributed its economic crisis to decades of economic sanctions from the U.S., contributing to the lack of investment in power generation and the electric grid. Advertisement People in Havana, accustomed to rolling power outages associated with state rationing, mostly took the blackout in stride. Some traffic lights and businesses were operational due to solar panels or power generators. "The SEN (electrical grid) going dark should not be considered normal," said Arian Mendoza, 28, an engineer living in Havana. "I don't think it's right." The outage briefly took Cuban state TV off the air. Its 1 p.m. national news broadcast started more than half an hour after the normal air time, with a presenter explaining the delay was due to the blackout. "We can't communicate, we don't know what's on the news because we can't turn on the TV," said Angeli Aviles, 18, a student in Havana. The Felton 1 thermoelectric power plant, located in Holguin province in eastern Cuba, remained online, Cuba's energy ministry said. The fuel scarcity has caused Cuba's government to ration key services, such as trash collection and transportation. Some residents have installed solar panels on homes and vehicles to keep power running amid soaring fuel prices. Mexico, an alternate supplier to Venezuela, said it would halt supplies after the U.S. threatened tariffs on countries supplying Cuba with oil. (Reporting by Annett Rios, Alien Fernandez and Daniel Trotta in Havana, Sandra Gaillard in Buenos Aires and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle, Daina Beth Solomon and Chris Reese) State gas prices declined last week and reached an average of $2.90 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, down from last week's price of $2.84 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average fuel price in state rose about 6 cents since last month. According to the EIA, gas prices across the state in the last year have been as low as $2.79 on Jan. 26, 2026, and as high as $3.11 on Sep. 8, 2025. A year ago, the average gas price in Massachusetts was 2% higher at $2.95 per gallon. >> INTERACTIVE: See how your area's gas prices have changed over the years at data.enterprisenews.com. The average gas price in the United States last week was $3.02, making prices in the state about 3.9% lower than the nation's average. The average national gas price is lower than last week's average of $2.94 per gallon. Advertisement The gas price data was collected before the U.S. and Israel attack in Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28. As of this afternoon on Wednesday, March 4, the national average price of gas was $3.208 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. And March 3 marked the highest average this year since March 4, 2022, which was the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said in an interview with USA TODAY. USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Here's how much Massachusetts gas prices declined last week Some of the weapons, explosive substances, and items linked to Nazi ideology which were found in the home of Paul Page, 52, of Littleport (Eastern Region Special Operations Unit/PA Wire) A man with a fascination for Nazi Germany was found with a cache of more than 600 weapons at his home, including land mines, grenades and rifles, police say. Paul Page, 52, of Littleport in Cambridgeshire, has pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences. Page also had guides and manuals on how to produce explosives and manufacture firearms, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) said. Some of his extensive stash was discovered in 2023 by Cambridgeshire Police officers, who were investigating reports that Page had downloaded child abuse images. They discovered Nazi flags, Second World War weapons, and chemicals during a search of his home. The unrelated child abuse investigation uncovered more than 250 illegal images on Pages devices. In August 2023, he was jailed for 20 months after admitting three charges of making indecent images of children. Paul Page had Nazi flags and other memorabilia in his home (Eastern Region Special Operations Unit/PA Wire) A separate further investigation was then led by ERSOU into items recovered from an outbuilding at Pages address. Detectives from ERSOUs Counter Terrorism Policing unit established that Page had collected more than 600 weapons and other militaria linked to Nazi activity during the war. Police said although much of this was legal memorabilia, he was in possession of a number of prohibited items, including landmines, grenades, rifles and ammunition. Advertisement A book was seized containing instructions on how to produce a sub-machine gun, and component parts of firearms, bullet casings and shells were recovered. There were also several chemicals that if combined were precursor materials useful for the manufacture of explosives. Page had also downloaded a banned document containing instructions to make viable explosives. ERSOU said that throughout police interviews Page denied holding an extreme right-wing mindset, despite having an email address which referenced numbers associated with Adolf Hitler and a tattoo linked to white supremacy. Some of the weapons found at Paul Page's home (Eastern Region Special Operations Unit/PA Wire) He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday to a series of offences including two counts of possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, ERSOU said. Page also admitted two counts of possessing an explosive substance, four counts of possessing a firearm without a certificate, two counts related to the possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of prohibited ammunition and possession of ammunition without a certificate. Hannah Wilkinson, head of ERSOU, said: Throughout our investigation, it was clear that Page had a fascination with Nazi Germany and World War Two, the clearest indication being the flags draped in his outbuilding. Of real concern to us was the combination of dangerous chemicals, the banned documents on how to create firearms and explosives, and Pages clear obsession with weapons. Working closely with force colleagues in Cambridgeshire, our teams seized a significant amount of physical and digital materials which were examined by experts and identified to be a severe risk. Our specialist teams are dedicated to tackling the threat of terrorism in the eastern region, and Im thankful for all their work throughout this investigation. Page was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 1 May. The largest immigration detention center in the country is facing renewed scrutiny. According to U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, Camp East Montana, located at Fort Bliss in Texas, is dealing with a measles outbreak. The facility currently has 14 active measles cases, while more than 110 people are being isolated, Escobar said. In a series of posts on X, Escobar criticized conditions at the facility. Advertisement "Despite what I was initially told about the level of medical care inside the facility, it became very clear to me early on that serious medical issues were being overlooked and, in some cases, medical attention was non-existent for urgent health issues," she stated. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Photos and 911 calls deepen mystery of immigrant's sudden death in ICE custody A November investigation by Scripps News discovered reports of poor conditions and mistreatment at the facility. In January, an inmate died at the facility. Initially, the Department of Homeland Security said the man died after "experiencing medical distress." However, the El Paso medical examiner determined his death was a homicide, a result of "asphyxia due to neck and torso compression." "There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city," Escobar said. "I again renew my call for DHS to shut down Camp East Montana and for the Department of Justice to investigate the contractor for fraud." Acquisition Logistics LLC, a private company run out of a single-family home in Virginia, built the soft-sided detention center last year under a $1.3 billion contract awarded by Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Spain's Pedro Sanchez has once again emerged as Europe's most consistently vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, drawing his ire for refusing to allow the American military to stage operations for its attacks on Iran from Spanish military bases. Trump lashed out at the Spanish prime minister on Tuesday, saying he would cut off all trade with Spain " in retaliation for the affront. The spat intensified the next day when Spain's foreign minister contradicted a claim by the White House press secretary that Spain had heard Trump's message loud and clear" and was cooperating with the U.S. military. While denouncing the repressive government in Tehran, Sanchez said he would not back a war that he said was an unjustified assault. We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone, Sanchez said, using the slogan No to the war in a speech this week. The tussle over the Spanish military bases is likely more a diplomatic question than one of military consequence. The U.S. has bases across Europe and the Middle East, and other European countries have agreed to cooperate. Madrid and Washington have had stable, friendly and mostly low-key relations for decades, starting in the 20th century when the U.S. began sharing military bases with Spain when the latter was still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Sanchez, 54, first took power in 2018 and is one of Europe's most prominent left-leaning leaders. He has stuck by the pillars of progressive politics, defending feminism, authorized immigration, human rights, the rules-based international order and the importance of climate change all topics that have become punching bags of Trumps MAGA movement and far-right politicians in many European neighbors. Even before the Iran war, Sanchez has stood out as an ideological rival to Trump on a number of issues. Calls for peace in Gaza Sanchez has been among the most vocal critics of Israels military action in Gaza. He has consistently criticized the massive civilian causalities from Israel's campaign following Hamas surprise attack on Israeli territory in 2023. Advertisement This is not self-defense, its not even an attack its the extermination of a defenseless people," he said, while touring Europe and the Middle East to try to broker a peace deal. No to more defense spending Among NATO members, Spain was the only country to refuse to agree to commit to increasing military spending to 5% of gross domestic product. Sanchez secured a last-minute exemption in a NATO meeting last year, saying that Spain will only spend up to 2.1%, which he called sufficient and realistic. Trump responded by floating the idea that Spain should be kicked out of the military bloc. That has so far remained a veiled threat. Bucking the anti-immigrant trend While many European countries raised barriers at their borders and the Trump administration broadened an immigrant crackdown in the U.S., Spain is in the process of granting work and residency permits to half a million foreigners already in Spain. Sanchez has pointedly alluded to Trump as he extolled the benefits of migration for the countrys strong economy. MAGA-style leaders may say that our country cant handle taking in so many migrants that this is a suicidal move, the desperate act of a collapsing country," he wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed. "But dont let them fool you. Spain is booming. Against the Tech Bros Under Sanchez, Spain has joined countries like Australia and France in trying to curb the use of social media among younger teens. Thats in direct contrast to the Trump administrations embrace of Big Tech companies and what they consider the defense of the freedom of speech on social media. Elon Musk, Xs owner, lashed out at the Spanish leader last month, calling Sanchez the true fascist totalitarian after he announced a plan to prohibit under 16-year-olds from accessing social media accounts. ___ AP journalist Suman Naishadham contributed from Madrid. LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Von Dutch, the iconic fashion label synonymous with early-2000s culture and bold Americana style, has officially reestablished its presence in the United States following its acquisition by WSG Brands, led and founded by entrepreneur Jack Cheika. Prior to its acquisition in 2024, Von Dutch had largely faded from the U.S. market, experiencing a significant decline in consumer engagement and retail presence. Recognizing the brand's cultural legacy and untapped potential, WSG Brands acquired Von Dutch with a clear mission: to restore its relevance, rebuild its infrastructure, and reintroduce it to a new generation of consumers. Since the acquisition, Von Dutch has undergone a comprehensive transformationrefining its brand positioning, expanding distribution channels, strengthening retail partnerships, and launching new collections that honor its heritage while embracing modern design sensibilities. The results have been extraordinary. In under two years, Von Dutch has grown into a nine-digit business achieving global expansion across key wholesale, retail, and direct-to-consumer platforms. The brand's resurgence has been fueled by strategic collaborations, enhanced marketing initiatives, and a renewed focus on quality, authenticity, and cultural relevance. Under WSG Brands' leadership, Von Dutch has expanded its footprint across major metropolitan markets and established a strong omnichannel presence throughout the country. The brand continues to build momentum through innovative product drops, strategic partnerships, and a reinvigorated connection to music, motorsport, and street culturethe pillars that originally defined its success. With a revitalized identity and strong financial performance, Von Dutch is poised for continued growth and long-term market leadership in the global fashion landscape. About Von Dutch Von Dutch is a globally recognized fashion brand rooted in Americana, motorsport heritage, and bold self-expression. Known for its signature trucker hats and distinctive graphics, the brand has played a defining role in pop culture and contemporary streetwear. About WSG Brands WSG Brands is a brand development and management company founded by Jack Cheika. The company specializes in acquiring and scaling heritage and lifestyle brands through strategic repositioning, operational excellence, and innovative market expansion. WSG's acquisition model is about identifying labels with cultural heat, creative DNA, and untapped global potential. They scale them with the right resources, partnerships, and strategy while preserving the edge that made them iconic in the first place. From streetwear disruptors to luxury innovators, WSG turns emerging names into enduring powerhouses. SOURCE Von Dutch The World Meteorological Organization Hurricane Committee has retired the name "Melissa" after the deadly hurricane, which is tied for the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Atlantic. "Melissa" will not be used for another tropical cyclone again, being replaced on the rotation with "Molly," according to the committee. Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane on Oct. 28, 2025, after several days of monitoring by the National Hurricane Center. Melissa was officially classified as the strongest and costliest hurricane to ever hit Jamaica, causing millions of dollars in damage and killing at least 45 people in the country. Hurricane Melissa Ties Record For Strongest Hurricane In Atlantic History The NHC's Tropical Cyclone Report on Melissa shows that at least 95 people died between Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries. The report showed that the storm's landfalling maximum sustained winds of 185 mph are now tied with Hurricane Dorian in 2018 and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, as the strongest hurricane in Atlantic history. Before And After Satellite Imagery Showcases Extensive Hurricane Melissa Destruction In Jamaica Hurricane Melissa Jamaica landfall statistics Hurricane Melissa caused at least $8.8 billion in damage in Jamaica alone, according to the report. Advertisement "The risks associated with tropical cyclones are both real and increasing. It only takes one landfalling tropical cyclone to roll back years of development. And this was unfortunately the case with Hurricane Melissa," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. During a Hurricane Hunters mission into Melissa, a dropsonde recorded a 252 mph wind gust inside the storm. Record-breaking 252 Mph Wind Reading Verified From Historic Hurricane Melissa This broke a record set in 2010 by Typhoon Megi as the strongest wind gust ever reported with a tropical system, according to the NHC report. "Every forecast and warning is a lifeline for real people, and a constant reminder that our work is not just about science, but about saving lives," said Michael Brennan, chair of the Hurricane Committee, director of NOAAs National Hurricane Center, and director of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre Miami. How To Watch Fox Weather "Molly" will first appear on the alphabetical hurricane name list in 2031, the WMO Hurricane Committee said. Melissa is the first hurricane name to be retired since the deadly hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Original article source: 'Melissa' officially retired from future hurricane names following deadly destruction in Jamaica A satellite view of the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces, N.M. (Google Maps) (Google Maps) The number of confirmed measles cases in New Mexico increased to six after the state's Department of Health confirmed Wednesday a new case inside a local jail in Las Cruces. A federal inmate being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center is the latest person to have tested positive for measles. The New Mexico Department of Health said others may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease from this confirmed case if they visited the U.S. District Court building in Las Cruces on Feb. 24. State heath officials are now urging anyone who was at the courthouse that day to check their vaccination status and report any measles symptoms from now until March 17 to a health care provider. The New Mexico Department of Health continues to urge people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination," Dr. Chad Smelser, New Mexico's deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement. "Vaccine is the best tool to protect you from measles. Measles spreads through the air and people who contract the virus may experience symptoms such as runny nose, fever, cough, red eyes and a distinctive blotchy rash. These symptoms can develop between one and three weeks after exposure. All of the six confirmed measles cases in New Mexico so far are federal detainees. The first measles case was detected in the Hidalgo County Detention Center on Feb. 25, when a detainee, whose vaccination status was unknown, tested positive for the disease by the New Mexico Department of Healths Scientific Laboratory. Two days later, a second federal inmate in the same jail tested positive for the virus alongside two detainees in the Luna County Detention Center and another in the Dona Ana County Detention Center. Advertisement Both the Luna County and Dona Ana detention centers are local jails that also serve as holding facilities for federal immigration enforcement. New Mexico health officials said they are the states first confirmed cases of this year, following a statewide outbreak in 2025 that sickened 100 people from mid-February to mid-September. With two measles cases reported on each of the three local jails, Smelser said that the New Mexico Department of Health has sent vaccination teams to all three facilities. State health officials are also "coordinating with all the facilities to assure all quarantine, isolation, testing and vaccination protocols are followed to minimize risk of measles spread." According to the NBC News measles tracker, more than 1,000 cases have been counted nationwide just in the first two months of this year. That's nearly half the amount of cases confirmed in the United States in all of last year. As 2026 already stands as one of the three worst years for measles infections in the country since 2000, another measles outbreak was confirmed this week in Texas inside the nations largest immigration detention facility. On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News that a least 14 cases of measles were confirmed inside Camp East Montana, which is located on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso. The people who tested positive for measles have been cohorted and separated from the rest of the detained population to prevent further spread, the ICE spokesperson said. Students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College take part in a march to demand justice in the 2014 disappearance of 43 students of Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College, in Mexico City, Mexico, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Henry Romero By Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY, March 4 (Reuters) - A Mexican court ordered the army to hand over long-awaited documents that could advance the landmark investigation into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in southern Guerrero state at the alleged hands of organized crime and local security forces. The ruling, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, rejected the army's prior assertion that 853 missing pages of information generated by the CFRI, an army intelligence agency, did not exist, and ordered that these must now be handed over. The government has for over a decade promised to find those responsible for one of the country's worst human rights atrocities, but no one has been convicted, though over 100 have been arrested and face ongoing prosecutions. The case of the disappearance of the students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College has been marred by missteps and interference. International probes have ruled that they were killed by organized crime members in cahoots with police. The documents may not be considered classified due to the "overriding interest on the part of the victims' families, as well as society in general, to know the truth," the ruling said. Advertisement The families' legal representative, the Agustin Pro Human Rights Centre, known as Centro Pro, hailed the order. "This ruling recognizes the right to the truth of the families and of society as a whole, underlining the obligation of SEDENA (defense ministry) and other military bodies to provide key information for the search for the students," it said in a statement. Only the remains of three of the 43 students have been positively identified. The locations of the others remain unknown. Mexico's defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling, dated February 19. Asked about the case in a morning press conference on Wednesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had no knowledge of the ruling but would meet with the victims' parents at the end of this month. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Mark Porter) It's been a week of milestones (and headstones). There's so much good stuff happening locally and in our state this week. We don't need to talk about that war in Iran, the Epstein files or the latest ICE debacle. Well, we do ... but just not right now. Last Saturday, the Georgefest Grand Parade honored George Washington's birthday and brought folks from near, far and wide together to celebrate the milestone and America's big 250th birthday. Speaking of birthdays, Florida turned 181 this week! According to Florida Memory, the state's library and archives, Florida was admitted alongside Iowa to maintain a balance of power, transitioning from a U.S. territory to a state under President John Tyler, with William D. Moseley elected as its first governor. River restoration bill clears state House A woman prepares her fishing line by the Rodman Dam in the Ocala National Forest, Putnam County, Florida. "Florida has a proud tradition of doing the hard, right thing to protect our heritage from the Everglades to the Kissimmee River and the Ocklawaha River deserves the same commitment," state Rep. Wyman Duggan said on the House floor. Most of his fellow representatives in the state House agreed. Read more. More news making history this week Even a tiger during the National Anthem? No, it wasn't a visiting president attracting all the attention on March 4. The new Mega-Walmart opened in The Villages. When are the Oscars? When, how to watch and Florida ties Visiting LHS, Ken Bragg & Lone Oak Ken Bragg gave an inspiring talk on how far Lake County public and higher education have come at the Tuesday, March 3, 2026, Leesburg Historical Society meeting. I learned a good deal about Leesburg's history on Tuesday afternoon. I got an earful at the Leesburg Historical Society meeting about our area's progress in education and attended the annual Moonlight Stroll at Lone Oak Cemetery. Advertisement Little Miss Leesburg, Zuri Spurlock, and Miss Teen Leesburg Ryleigh Mallory gave out free ice cream at the Lone Oak Cemetery Moonlight Stroll on March 3, 2026. Miss Teen Leesburg Ryleigh Mallory and Little Miss Leesburg Zuri Spurlock served free ice cream, and volunteers told stories about burial sites dating back to 1867, including Leesburgs namesake, Evander Lee, and the Beyers family. The tour also included the gravesites of Cecil Johnson, whose story inspired the film "No Vacancy," and hometown hero Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, the World War II airman whose remains were identified and returned home decades after being listed as non-recoverable. Annie Oakley comes back to tell us about her favorite hunting dog, Dave, interred at the pet cemetery at Lone Oak Cemetery in Leesburg, on March 3, 2026. We learned how wild-west sharpshooter Annie Oakley became part of Lone Oak history and one of the cemetery's least likely claims to fame. Bev Ohnstad, who led our tour with humor and sass, dressed in Victorian garb, said that acquiring Oakley's furry companion's remains was quite an undertaking (no pun intended). At the March 3 Historical Society meeting, Ken Bragg shared that the school he nurtured to prominence, Lake Tech, is now among the Top 250 trade schools in the U.S. Bragg shared that he has established training programs in more than 40 occupational areas during a 32-year career. Bev Ohnstad shares a cheeky moment with Frank Stivender at the Lone Oak Cemetery's Moonlight Stroll on March 3, 2026. Getting the trade school started wasn't easy. Bragg had to persuade fiscally conservative state representatives to give up thousands of dollars for a county 10 times smaller than it is today. The amount would be more than a million today. Lake Technical College in Lake County was established in 1965 following Bragg and the Lake County School Board's request for a vocational center, with its main Leesburg campus opening in 1968. It started with cosmetology, auto mechanics and business schools.Bragg also established the Business Assistance Center at Lake-Sumter Community College, now Lake-Sumter State College, and served as the school's manager for two and a half years. A founder and past president of Leadership Lake County, Bragg, naturally, is a lifelong learner. I felt inspired hearing him speak after work on Tuesday (truthfully, I almost didn't make it; it was a tough time to tear away). Ken Bragg shows off a street sign named in his honor at Lake Tech College in Leesburg. With him are his daughter Vickie Bragg Wroten, left, and wife Sue Bragg. I'm impressed that at age 88, Bragg continues to stay abreast of what's happening in local education right down to dollar-and-cents minutiae. He's even working on an idea to convert a former school building into apartments for teachers. Looking forward to learning more about that. Do you have an old story or pictures to share about our area's past? Email either or both to me at jgaristo@USATodayCo.com Bye for now, JG This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Milestones and headstones A large-scale blackout struck western Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions without power in the latest outage to hit the island as it grapples with dwindling oil supplies due to sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba said that at approximately 12:41 p.m., there was a "disconnection of the national electrical grid resulting in a complete power outage" stretching from Camaguey to Pinar del Rio, including the greater Havana metropolitan area. "Cubas national electrical grid is increasingly unstable and prolonged scheduled and unscheduled power outages are a daily occurrence across the country to include Havana," the embassy said. "Outages affect water supply, lighting, refrigeration, and communications. Take precautions by conserving fuel, water, food, and mobile phone charge, and be prepared for significant disruption." Trump Ultimatum To Cuba: 'Make A Deal, Before It Is Too Late' Or Face Consequences Neya Perez, 86, paints the nails of her neighbor Reyna Maria Rodriguez, 77, during a mass blackout across most of the country, in Havana, Cuba, on March 4, 2026. (Reuters Photos) The incident was reportedly caused by an unexpected shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, located roughly 62 miles east of Havana. Read On The Fox News App Local reports indicate the island may need at least three days to restore operations, according to The Associated Press. Vicente de la O Levy, the minister of Energy and Mines of Cuba, added that "We are working on the restoration of the SEN amid a complex energy situation." Advertisement At least one power plant, Felton 1, remains online, he said. Cubas President Defiant, Says No Negotiations Scheduled As Trump Moves To Choke Off Oil Lifeline President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Oct. 6, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Reuters reported that, because Cuba is accustomed to frequent power outages caused by state-imposed energy rationing, some traffic lights and businesses remained operational thanks to solar panels or backup generators. Many residents have also installed solar panels on their homes and vehicles to maintain electricity amid soaring fuel prices, the outlet said. Cuba has endured a string of widespread blackouts in recent years due to long-standing issues with its aging power infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages. However, the situation worsened in January after a U.S. military operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and halted Venezuelan oil exports, effectively choking off Cuba's key source of fuel. Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel walks through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated in January that, despite the U.S. severing Havanas energy lifeline, his administration would not negotiate with Washington to establish a new agreement. Reuters contributed to this report. Original article source: Millions lose power across Cuba as Trump sanctions continue to fuel ongoing energy crisis The midterm election for Georgia's 10th congressional district just got a new surprise candidate. Ryan Millsap, the movie executive and real estate investor, announced his candidacy as a "MAGA warrior" and political outsider, on his way to Congress to "smash the status quo" and "fight back against the radical left and RINOs (Republicans in Name Only)" in the House of Representatives. Millsap is the former chairman and CEO of Blackhall Studios, now known as Shadowbox Studios, where projects like "Venom," "Blockers" and "Loki" were filmed in Georgia. The Hollywood-adjacent businessman enters the race during qualifying week, the last chance to be officially on the ballot in Georgia for the May primaries. He's taking on Houston Gaines, a popular GOP state representative who has been on a fast track to political leadership. Millsap will also have to address claims made in 2024 that he shared racist and anti-semitic messages over text despite working closely with Black and Jewish communities in Atlanta. In Millsap's campaign launch, he says one of the events in his life that charged his political ambition is an attack by "ANTIFA" on his business. He says he "stood up to ANTIFA and the radical left when they tried to burn down everything he built." USA Today reached out to Millsap's campaign to clarify these claims, and did not receive a response as of 1 p.m. on March 5. Here's what we know happened. Blackhall Group expands property near 'Cop City' Conflict between Blackhall Group and environmentalists began years ago when the company wanted to expand their studios in DeKalb County. A QuitClaim Deed was signed in 2021 for a land exchange between Blackhall and DeKalb, which included land that was part of Weelaunee People's Park. The deal was the center of a lawsuit in 2021, where opponents said the deal was illegal and would block access to a public park. Other legal challenges, including a "stop work order," slowed development as activists said Blackhall failed to get necessary permits to remove trees from the land previously part of the park. The land was also next to an area that would later be called "Cop City." A $90 million, 85-acre property was developed as the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, to allow "the South's largest city with the largest police and fire departments" to work on training while boosting recruitment and retention, according to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The project was met by widespread criticism from those that believe the facility would militarize the police and threaten marginalized people. They were joined by environmentalists, some with the group "Defend the Atlanta Forest," who worried the facility would damage the tree canopy and natural environment of Atlanta, colloquially called "The City in the Trees." Protests, called "Stop Cop City," escalated, eventually leading to violence with police and the arrest of 61 people in a RICO case in September 2023. Charges ranged from racketeering to arson to money laundering to domestic terrorism in the "Cop City" cases, and many are still being decided in the courts. Escalating protests result in Blackhall property damage In Summer 2022, Blackhall Group contractors clashed with protestors directly, resulting in property damage. Advertisement "I sent some contractors out to do some work on private property. They were going out to do some maintenance and clean up in preparation for development out there," Millsap told WAGA in 2022. "When the police officers got there, about 40 people came out of the woods. They started throwing rocks and bottles and cans at the police, and at us, and at the cars. They jumped up on the excavator while one of my guys was operating it and smashed all the windows with rocks." Millsap said the protestors burned a Ram 5500 pickup truck, damaged an excavator and spray painted threats on the sidewalk, including "if this park isn't safe, then Millsap isn't either." A report in 2024 found that total damage brought by activists during the protests reached $10 million. This figure was across multiple stakeholders including The Blackhall Group and Birmingham-based construction firm Brasfield & Gorrie. "These people are real," Millsap said at the time. "I think they are a credible threat." Were the protestors part of 'Antifa'? In 2025, the Trump Administration designated "Antifa," or Anti-fascists, as a domestic terror organization. The White House called the group a "militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law." But the definition of what "Antifa" really is remains up for debate, primarily because it doesn't have a centralized organizational body. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a non-profit organization, Antifa is not a group, but rather an ideology. "Just as there is no broad antifa organization, there isn't necessarily a specific shared ideology among those who label themselves as anti-fascists. While many associate the antifa label with socialists, communists or anarchists, not all who use the term identify with any of these ideologies," the ACLED said. "Likewise, while some anti-fascists subscribe to more radical militant activities, the label has grown increasingly mainstream over the past decade and therefore cuts across a wider range of ideologies." Some of the protestors were charged with domestic terrorism, however the Office of the Attorney General did not designate all the protestors as "Antifa" in their 2023 indictment. Instead, the AG said "Defend the Atlanta Forest (one group involved in the protests) frequently uses symbols associated with anarchist movements, to include but not limited to, the capital letter 'A' surrounded by a circle, a raised clenched fist, Antifa flags and symbols associated with anti-fascist movements," and other iconography. "Defend the Atlanta Forest posts many of its invitations to join the movement on various social media outlets such as Twitter and Telegram," the Attorney General said in the indictment. "Knowing that their posts are followed and re-posted by other decentralized extremist groups, most prominently Antifa, many violent anarchists and extremists travel from out of state to join the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement." "Antifa" was not defined in the indictment. Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Todays Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Millsap claims Antifa attacked business. Here's what we know happened A drone explodes at the airport of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released March 5, 2026. Social Media/via REUTERS By Nailia Bagirova and Lucy Papachristou BAKU, March 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan was preparing unspecified retaliatory measures on Thursday after it said four Iranian drones had crossed its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concerns about further spillover from the conflict in the Middle East. "We will not tolerate this unprovoked act of terror and aggression against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures," President Ilham Aliyev told a meeting of his Security Council. "We are ready to demonstrate our strength against any hostile force - and they should not forget this in Iran," he said. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied that Tehran had targeted Nakhchivan. "We do not attack our neighbouring countries," he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ. Azerbaijani authorities said one drone had fallen on the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, which is about 10 km (6 miles) across the border from Iran, and another drone landed close to a school building in a nearby village. One was downed by the Azerbaijani army and another hit civilian infrastructure. The four injured were taken to hospital, where they are in a stable condition, the Health Ministry in the landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Iran and Turkey told Reuters. Advertisement Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building. Authorities said they were investigating the types of drones used. CLOSING AIRSPACE Azerbaijan said it was closing its southern airspace for 12 hours after the attack and also shuttering its border crossings with Iran for all cargo trucks, including transit shipments - choking off what is one of the shortest land routes connecting Iran to its ally Russia. Azerbaijan's land borders have been closed to travellers since 2020, but crossing is possible with special permission. Since the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, more than 1,100 people have crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan via the Astara crossing on the Caspian Sea, a source close to the Baku government told Reuters on Wednesday. Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas producer, mostly exporting energy to Turkey and Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Any damage to its infrastructure could drive global energy prices even higher. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov condemned the attack in a phone call on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, saying the incident violated international law and contributed to "increased tensions" in the region. Araqchi also denied that Iran had attacked Nakhchivan and said Tehran would conduct an investigation, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement. Azerbaijan and Iran already have tense relations over Baku's growing economic, energy and military ties to NATO member Turkey and to Israel. The escalating U.S.Iran war risks touching off violence between the neighbours. Iran boasts a sizeable ethnic Azerbaijani population. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Lucy Papachristou in Tbilisi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson, Gareth Jones) By Ryan Patrick Jones March 4 (Reuters) - The Canadian government is working to repatriate citizens who are stranded in the Middle East by organizing seats on commercial flights, contracting charter flights and offering ground transportation options to neighboring countries, Canada's foreign affairs minister said on Wednesday. More than 2,000 Canadians have requested assistance from the Canadian government to leave the region since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said, with around half of those inquiries coming from Canadians in the United Arab Emirates, 237 from Qatar, 164 from Lebanon, 93 from Israel and 74 from Iran. Anand said she had directed her office to enter into contracts to charter flights out of the United Arab Emirates in the coming days, contingent on approval from the UAE government to use its airspace. The government secured 75 seats on a flight leaving Beirut on Wednesday, and will be offering more seats in the coming days for people wishing to leave Lebanon, Anand said. Two hundred Canadians with plane tickets were being bussed from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, she said, and the government is "engaging" ground transportation for other Canadians who want to leave Qatar. Officials are providing information to Canadians in Israel about a bus service to Egypt operated by the Israeli government where passengers can be taken to open airports in that country, she said. Advertisement Commercial air traffic remained largely absent across much of the region on Wednesday, with major Gulf hubs - including Dubai, the world's busiest airport for international passengers - largely shut for a fifth straight day, in the biggest travel disruption since the COVID pandemic. Repatriation flights chartered by other countries, including Britain and France, were due to leave on Wednesday, while the United Arab Emirates opened safe air corridors to allow some citizens to return home. Under normal circumstances, thousands of commercial flights would depart the region each day. "I want to speak directly now to Canadians in the Middle East and the Gulf region. Your government is with you. We are working hard for you, and we are arranging options for you to leave the region," Anand said at a news conference. Canada cannot arrange ground transportation out of Iran because it does not have a diplomatic presence there, but it has sent officials to border crossings to meet Canadians who cross the border and assist them with visas and onward travel, Anand said. Canada has issued travel advisories urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and to avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese) Kansas, Nevada, Ohio and Wyoming have joined 18 other states in implementing restrictions on what food assistance recipients can purchase using their taxpayer-funded benefits. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed new waivers allowing restrictions on spending of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits on March 4. The waivers are tailored to each state. Most ban the purchase of soda and candy. The latest: "As I have said before Wyoming taxpayers expect their dollars to support food assistance that helps families put healthy food on the table, Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement. This waiver is about supporting healthier communities in Wyoming and is a reasonable, commonsense step that aligns the program with its original purpose." 1 / 0 Free food as SNAP benefits halted Food items at a Food Bank of the Rockies distribution site in Aurora, Colorado, including milk, pasta and frozen blueberries. For 60 years, the Department of Agriculture under presidents of both parties has denied state requests to restrict SNAP-eligible foods, saying it could not waive the definition of "food" for purchase with SNAP benefits that Congress set in law, Professor Tyson-Lord Gray, who teaches at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, told USA TODAY. SNAP recipients could buy anything except alcohol, tobacco, hot and prepared foods, and personal care products. President Donald Trump's administration began granting waivers in 2025, despite no change in the law. The USDA says these waivers are permitted under its pilot project authority to test the impact of excluding some foods on health and nutrition. Advertisement The Trump Administration is unified in improving the health of our nation. Americas governors have proudly answered the call to innovate by improving nutrition programs, ensuring better choices while respecting the generosity of the American taxpayer. Each waiver submitted by the states and signed is yet another step closer to fulfilling President Trumps promise to Make America Healthy Again, Rollins said when she signed the first waivers in June 2025. Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia have been granted waivers. Many focus on candy and sugary drinks, some specifically talk about energy drinks or juice. Each has a different definition of what items are banned. Gray said he's surprised that no lawsuits have been filed yet. In 2007, the USDA issued a memo stating that the pilot project authority the Trump administration is acting under could not be used to restrict food choices. SNAP provides monthly benefits to millions of Americans via an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which can be used to buy groceries at authorized retailers. Stores often advertise their participation in the program. Gray said businesses that have locations across many states are facing "compliance chaos" and would have the greatest standing to sue because the varied standards will require changes including point of sale software and employee training. "Every state has their own definition of what is candy, what is a sugary beverage. So now you have businesses that have locations across the country that have to literally update their (point of sale) systems in every state to adhere to specific restrictions for that state," he said. Though Congress did not change the legal definition of what recipients can purchase, it incentivized states to apply for waivers in the GOP tax and spending bill signed into law last summer. The law created a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program that scores states on whether they submit SNAP restriction waivers. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SNAP benefits restricted in more states. See the list. FILE PHOTO: Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to fire on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo By Jonathan Saul and Anna Hirtenstein March 5 (Reuters) - More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the U.S.Iran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region. A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port, according to initial assessments. A second tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side. Nine vessels have come under attack since the conflict broke out between the U.S., Israel and Iran on Saturday. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday and also sent drones into Azerbaijan, injuring four people. The escalation comes after a motion to halt the U.S. attacks was blocked in Washington and as the son of Iran's slain supreme leader emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle under the pressure. Around 200 ships, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers as well as cargo ships, remained at anchor in open waters off the coast of major Gulf producers, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform. Hundreds of other vessels remained outside the Strait of Hormuz unable to reach ports, shipping data showed. The waterway is a key artery for around a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supply. President Donald Trump offered U.S. Navy escorts and insurance in a bid to restart shipping flows and curtail energy prices. Insurance market Lloyd's of London said on Thursday it is engaging with the U.S. government on a plan. BP evacuated foreign staff from Iraq's Rumaila oil field after two unidentified drones landed inside the field, Iraqi oil sources said. Iraq has cut its oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day as it ran out of storage and was unable to load tankers, officials told Reuters. Advertisement A refinery in Kuwait shut down and another reduced its processing rate. A third refinery in Bahrain also cut its output. OIL PRICES JUMP AGAIN Oil prices extended their rally on Thursday, with Brent climbing 3% and WTI rising 4%. They have both jumped 16% since the war started on Saturday, as U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies. A benchmark European gas price gained around 3% on Thursday. It has surged nearly 60% so far this week. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country could halt gas supplies to Europe right now, amid the spike in energy prices from the Iran crisis. Qatar, which provides 20% of the world's LNG supply, halted gas production earlier this week due to the conflict. Other major producers such as the U.S. and Australia have little spare capacity to offset this lost supply, according to Reuters calculations and industry analysts. The EU's task of refilling its gas storage in the coming months has become riskier and more expensive due to the Iran conflict and disrupted LNG supplies. It still imports some gas from Russia, planning to end pipeline supply by late 2027 and ban new short-term LNG contracts from late April 2026. Asian importers came under further pressure from the disruptions in supply from the Middle East. China asked refiners not to sign new contracts to export fuel and to try to cancel shipments already committed, several people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London; Additional reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Aref Mohammed in Basra and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Anna Hirtenstein; Editing by Susan Fenton and Gareth Jones) A $50,000 artist residency expanding Indigenous access to one of contemporary art's most technically demanding media NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walker Youngbird Foundation , a Native-led nonprofit supporting Indigenous artists, has partnered with Lite Brite Neon Studio to launch Native Neon, a $50,000 residency designed to expand Indigenous access to neon fabricationone of the most technically demanding and infrastructure-heavy mediums in contemporary art. A Shared Horizon (Keepers of the Eastern Door, Reprise), 2024, Marie Watt Neon is synonymous with public presence: architectural scale, electrical light, and visual permanence. But working in neon requires specialized equipment, glass-bending expertise, high-voltage systems, and fabrication infrastructure that most individual artists cannot access independently. Few artist residencies underwrite full neon fabrication, leaving the medium largely limited to institutional commissions or established studios. Native Neon exists to change that. The annual residency will support one Indigenous artist working in any discipline who has not previously worked in neon. The selected artist will receive a $10,000 stipend and participate in a 710 day immersive residency at Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York, where they will develop and produce an original neon work with full fabrication support. "Entire media remain closed to artists for creative exploration, simply because the tools and training are expensive and specialized," said Reid Walker, Founder of the Walker Youngbird Foundation. "Native Neon changes that by giving Indigenous artists full access to neon fabrication from concept to completion." Structured as a teaching residency rather than an apprenticeship, the program embeds the artist within Lite Brite's professional fabrication environment. Working alongside skilled craftspeople, the artist will gain exposure to glass bending, gas and color composition, electrical systems, installation methods, and long-term stewardship of neon works. The completed artwork will remain the property of the artist, who will retain full intellectual property rights. The residency will culminate in a finished neon work, professional photographic and film documentation of the process, and a public presentation in Fall 2026. "Neon art allows energy to become visible," said matteline deVries-dilling, Founder of Lite Brite Neon Studio, known for collaborations with artists including Marie Watt, Glenn Ligon, and EJ Hill. "The medium is delicate and fierce at once. We are honored to help steward this access in partnership with Walker Youngbird Foundation and with the guidance of Marie Watt." Artist Marie Watt (Seneca Nation) will serve as Primary Advisor, helping guide artist selection and the program's long-term vision. Watt's interdisciplinary practice spans textiles, sculpture, and printmaking, and has been exhibited at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. "For me, neon is an extension of beadwork. The glass itself is at once a thread and bead. Like beadwork and textile work, neon is part of a long craft tradition," said Watt. "In an odd way both beads and neon have a relationship to trade; beads historically as currency, and neon as a sign to advertise a business. I am drawn to how both beads and neon have dazzling relationships with light, reflected and refracted. While neon has a history of expressively adorning buildings, beads have a strong history of expressively adorning bodies as regalia (clothing, accessories, jewelry)." Applications for Native Neon open March 5, 2026. The selected artist will be announced in May 2026, with the residency taking place SeptemberOctober 2026. The program is open to Indigenous artists 18 and older residing in North America, including enrolled members of federally or state-recognized U.S. tribes, Alaska Native corporations, individuals of Native Hawaiian ancestry, and members of recognized First Nations in Canada. For more information: walkeryoungbird.org litebriteneon.com About The Walker Youngbird Foundation Founded in 2024, The Walker Youngbird Foundation is a Native-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting emerging Indigenous artists across North America, championing visionary creators who are reshaping cultural narratives through contemporary expression. The foundation's work includes grants and fellowships programs, storytelling initiatives that amplify Native voices, support for exhibitions and public programs bridging traditional and contemporary practices, and strategic partnerships with institutions committed to ethical engagement. To learn more, please visit https://walkeryoungbird.org/ . About Lite Brite Neon Studio For over 25 years, Lite Brite Neon Studio has been the leading artist collective responsible for the production of hundreds of public and private neon, and luminous works of art displayed worldwide. By illuminating the voices, stories, and ideas of artists within the broad queer, transfeminist umbrella including Lola Flash, Demian DineYazhi', LJ Roberts, Marie Watt, EJ Hill, and Glenn Ligon they offer a vision of a world in the process of becoming. These transformational works light public and private spaces, uplift conversations around who we are, and serve as beacons of hope, transformation, and reconciliation, expanding the possibilities of art in service to the world. For its first two decades, Lite Brite Neon was sustained primarily through for-profit neon production and funded fabrication projects. In response to a shifting world, the studio has developed a new working model. With support from its nonprofit partner Queer|Art and donations from generous benefactors, Lite Brite Neon has deepened collaborations with artists reshaping the cultural center and reimagining our shared future. This model seeks to restore reciprocal relationships to the heart of the creation process and create space for more artists to lead, innovate, and dream luminous futures shaped by the lineages of care that carry them. Media Contact: Sheila Smith [email protected] 203.917.8644 SOURCE Walker Youngbird Foundation When thinking about traveling to Europe, there are so many must-see destinations. From the big and flashy places like Paris, France, to less well-known places like Lisbon, Portugal, you really can't miss when planning a dream vacation. However, there are some off the beating path places that many people fail to consider when planning a trip, like Latvia's capital Riga. The city has long been considered one of the most vibrant in the Baltics, making it an absolute must for anyone who loves learning about history, arts, and Europe's medieval past. Keep reading to learn more about Riga before you plan your next European trip. Sign up for our newsletter and get hidden gems, travel secrets, and stories like this delivered straight to your inbox! Riga is steeped in historic architecture The travel website MIR calls Riga the "cosmopolitan capital" of Latvia, and it's for good reason. The Baltic city remains an important centerpiece for both Lithuania and Estonia, however it was once a crucial member of the European alliances between (and sometimes against) major countries like Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Poland. As such, the city still bares the mark of many of these countries, both in the look of the architecture and cultural aspects. After back-to-back world wars and then Soviet influences, the city floundered both economically and structurally. However, reinvestments into Riga allowed the Baltic city to flourish, making it a regional hub for nightlight, arts, and architecture. That commitment to revitalization even saw it added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997, thanks to its preserved Old Town Square, which has been named one of the most authentically preserved medieval cities in Europe. Not only that, but the city has another claim to fame, and its home to Europe's largest number of art nouveau buildings as well. According to MIR, some of the must-see structures include: House of the Blackheads Gothic St. Peter's Church The street of Little Maza Pils, which has the oldest midieval residences in the whole town Cat House Great Guild Hall You can also learn more about Riga by visiting some of the museums in the town, which include the Museum of Occupation that teaches about the Latvian occupation by both Nazi and Soviet soldiers. Advertisement Related: Europe's 'most authentic' city is in France and is criminally underrated Riga offers visitors natural wonders Outdoor enthusiasts will love the region for its massive amount of green spaces, like those along the Riga Canal. This waterway was designed as a moat that once kept invading forces from coming into the city. These days it's used by residents and visitors alike, and people who come by can either enjoy some of the surrounding parklands that are full of plants and statues, or ride in one of the many boats that cruise up and down the canal. The city is home to one of Europe's oldest mass markets There's more than 3,000 vendors located at the Central Market in Riga. Here, shoppers can purchase everything from meats to things created by locals. MIR says some 100,000 visitors each day, which means that the market is a bustling, so you should be prepared for crowds when you come to shop. That being said, visitors say that you'll definitely get old market vibes when you're shopping, making it the perfect place to enjoy the tastes of the region or to grab a souvenir to remember your time in town. Related: Europes most colorful coast isnt in Italy or France Riga makes for an affordable European getaway If you're planning to travel to Riga, the Baltic Tours website says you'll be able to do so on a pretty small budget. According to the website, you can expect to pay about $10 per meal in an inexpensive restaurants, or you can cook your own meals by shopping for ingredients for much less. For those who want to plan a bit more broadly, the website says you can expect to pay about $28.29 per day, which would include transportation, meals, and accommodations. For comparison, the Never Ending Footsteps blog says that you can expect to pay around $284 per day, highlighting just how affordable the historic city can be, offering visitors a bigger bang for their buck than some of the more popular and well-known European destinations. This story was originally published by TravelHost on Feb 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Destinations section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here. These are the most popular specialty license plates in Wisconsin If you're a close follower of Wisconsin license plates, it won't surprise you that the black-and-white Road America design continues to be popular. In fact, it's now the second-most-common specialty plate, up from the fifth slot in 2024. Plus, it's the most popular design available to anyone collector plates remain at the top, but they're only available for vehicles past a certain age. The state Department of Transportation has dropped a top 10 list of specialty license plates based on how many were registered to Wisconsinites in 2025. There wasn't much change from 2024, when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last reported that data. All top 10 plates remain, and almost exactly in the same order. But Road America plates now surpass both collector motorcycle and hobbyist plates. Last year, 52,725 Road America plates were registered to motorists. That's up from 32,371 in 2024. Time will tell if the state's new blackout plates, a similar black-and-white design, will put a dent in those numbers. More: Inside Waupun prison, here's how Wisconsin license plates get made Advertisement More: Nearly 10,000 Wisconsin blackout license plates sold in first month What are the most popular specialty license plates in Wisconsin? Here's the top 10 list for 2025, according to the DOT: Collector: 323,962 Elkhart Lakes Road America: 52,725 Collector Motorcycle: 41,406 Hobbyist Vehicle: 37,874 Military Group Plate: 25,395 Green Bay Packers: 13,999 Endangered Resources (eagle design): 10,518 UW-Madison: 9,318 Endangered Resources (wolf design): 7,815 Milwaukee Brewers (ball and glove logo): 7,685 The DOT shared the list in a Facebook post, which ignited a lively discussion in the comments. One person suggested a cranberry plate, and an Illinois native living in Wisconsin sarcastically suggested a Chicago Bears or Cubs plate. More: Road America license plate is even more popular in Wisconsin than Green Bay Packers plate. Why is that? How do I buy a specialty license plate in Wisconsin? If you want a design other than the standard America's Dairyland plate, visit the Division of Motor Vehicles' online portal at specialplates.wi.gov. You can also check to see if personalized messages are already taken for each plate design. Most plates cost $15 when they're first issued. Most also come with a $25 annual donation to the cause depicted on the plate, such as the state's endangered resources fund. Personalizing your plates costs an additional $15 each year. A full list of special plates is available on the DMV's website. Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Which Wisconsin specialty license plates are most popular? Most provisions of a controversial gun bill that would change Ballot Measure 114 were removed by a Senate committee on March 4. Chief sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, said she was "profoundly disappointed" by the changes. Voters narrowly approved Measure 114 in 2022, but legal challenges at the federal and state levels have paused its implementation. The ballot measure mandated a new permit-to-purchase program for firearms and banned high-capacity magazines. House Bill 4145 was passed by the Oregon House on Feb. 25 after a contentious journey to the floor that included a conduct complaint against a chief sponsor and a one-day walkout from House Republicans. The bill would, in part, have increased the maximum time a permit agent has to issue a permit or deny an application. It would have also increased permit application and renewal fees. An amendment posted on March 3 deletes 26 pages of the bill and reinserts only a line to push Measure 114's effective date back to January 2028, and another section stating that the legislative intent of the bill is not to interfere with the current proceedings before the Oregon Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 114. Advertisement It is the second time in a row that legislation updating the provisions in Measure 114 has failed to be enacted. Grayber, a paramedic and firefighter, shared on the House floor her experience with gun violence. Her daughter died in 2025 after legally purchasing a firearm and killing herself the same day. She told the Statesman Journal that receiving the phone call of her daughter's death was the worst moment of her life. "I believe that we had an opportunity to keep families from receiving that phone call," Grayber said. "That is now gone for the time being." She said she believed the bill, in its current form, failed to prevent families from knowing "that pain." The amendment, she said, was a "gut punch." The Senate Committee on Rules unanimously adopted the "gut and stuff" amendment during a work session on March 4. The committee sent the amended bill to the Senate floor in a 4-1 vote. Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, said she was voting against advancing the bill, calling tweaking Measure 114 "toxic right now." Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Senate committee 'guts' controversial Oregon gun bill Todd Meadows Credit: Captain RickShelford/Instagram NEED TO KNOW Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows died after he fell overboard while crabbing on Feb. 25 It was reported that he died while the show was filming His mother, Angela, is requesting that no footage of his death make it to air The mother of the late Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows, Angela Meadows, is pleading with the Discovery Channel to not air footage of her son's tragic death. Todd, 25, died on Feb. 25 while filming Deadliest Catch, TMZ previously reported. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that Todd fell overboard while crabbing approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor, near Unalaska, Alaska, PEOPLE previously reported. The crew recovered him "unresponsive" around 10 minutes later, and the "first aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful," per the U.S. Coast Guard. Todd's captain, Rick Shelford, announced his death on Monday, March 2, in a lengthy Facebook tribute. Todd Meadows Credit: Todd Meadows/Facebook On Wednesday, March 4, Angela said the family doesn't "want to see any footage from the accident," TMZ reported. "[We] do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our sons death," Angela told TMZ. "We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat." No parent would want the world to watch their child die, Meadows said in a statement, per Alaskas News Source. Angela requested footage from Todd's time on the boat so the family could have the videos for memories, TMZ reported. Deadliest Catch is a long-running reality series about the high-stakes world of crab fishing. The series first premiered in 2005 and season 21 concluded in October 2025. Advertisement Angela says she wants "his memory to be a good memory everywhere." It never mattered what anybody had to say about him, good or bad," she told TMZ. "He wasnt out there to make friends. He wasnt out there to click with people. He was just out there to work and to do what he loved. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Shortly after his death, Todd's family created a GoFundMe page to assist with the unexpected expenses and help his three sons, with whom he was a "determined dad." "[The] three amazing little boys who were his entire world. Everything he did was for them their smiles, their futures, and the memories they will carry with them," the page read. This unimaginable loss has left his children without their father, his parents without their son, his siblings without their brother and his family broken." Todd's sister, Mackenzie, said, "No words put together can even describe the pain were going through and will continue to," Us Weekly reported. His boys will see him through pictures, and we will see him through his boys. His father, Lucas, remembered him as someone who "always had a smile," per Alaskas News Source. Lucas said that Todd started fishing with him when he was 3 years old, and that fishing was a "passion of his, his whole life." He had a smile on his face the whole time, Lucas said. Good day, bad day, didnt matter... He loved to fish and loved to watch other people fish. Todd Meadows Credit: GoFundMe The Coast Guard previously confirmed in a statement shared with PEOPLE that officials are "currently investigating this situation." "As the nations leading marine safety organization, the Coast Guard investigates marine casualties and accidents to uncover their causes and initiate necessary corrective actions," the statement read. Read the original article on People A mother is dead after she protected her 5-year-old son in a dog attack in Southern California on Feb. 27, officials said. Emily Panuco, a 26-year-old resident of Arizona, and her son visited her mothers residence in Big River to see weeks-old puppies that belonged to Panucos mother, according to a preliminary investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department. Panucos unnamed child was attacked by three adult dogs on the property after the 5-year-old approached the puppies to pet them, according to the sheriffs department. Panuco intervened to protect her son and was attacked by the dogs, suffering multiple bite wounds. She died from her injuries, according to the sheriffs department. The 5-year-old was also bit and transported to a nearby hospital. He was later released, the sheriffs department said on March 3. All three dogs involved in the attack were euthanized, and authorities said the investigation is ongoing. In the past year, there have been at least two reported deaths involving dogs in Southern California. A 51-year-old woman died after being attacked and mauled by a pack of stray dogs near a San Bernardino park in July 2025, reported the Victorville Daily Press, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. In Norwalk, an 86-year-old man died after being attacked by two dogs in September 2025. Advertisement How common is a dog attack? In the United States, 468 people died from being bitten or struck by a dog from 2011 to 2021, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The California Department of Public Health found that, based on data from 2005 to 2019, children younger than 10 visit the emergency department for injuries from dog bites more often than other age groups. In California, dog owners could face legal action if their dog has bitten a person on at least two separate occasions. Californians are urged to report animal bites, particularly dog bites, to their local animal control agency, the CDPH said. Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mother dies after protecting son in Southern California dog attack Gas prices on March 5 have gone up 27 cents in both the U.S., and in Tennessee compared to one week ago, which likely relates to the war in Iran, according to AAA The Auto Club Group. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.25. Tennessees average on March 5 is $2.84, according to AAA. The last time the national average made a similar weekly jump was back in March of 2022 during the start of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, AAA said. Oil prices are rising largely due to growing instability in a region that is essential to global energy markets, AAA spokesperson Megan Cooper said. Although the U.S. does not import oil from Iran, the country remains a major producer, supplying nations such as China and India. Any potential disruption to Iranian oil infrastructure can influence global supply expectations. Gas prices have risen sharply in the U.S. and in Tennessee since the conflict in Iran began. Middle Tennessee county averages include: Davidson County: $2.90 Williamson County: $3.12 Rutherford County: $2.87 Wilson County: $2.88 Sumner County: $2.89 Robertson County: $2.90 Cheatham County: $2.92 Maury County: $2.85. Crude oil pricing correlates to about 60% of what consumers pay at the pump, Cooper said. Recent global tensions tied to the conflict with Iran are adding upward pressure on crude oil prices, according to AAA. Advertisement Also, the Strait of Hormuz is a critical connection for the Persian Gulf to open waters as a shipping lane for crude oil. Because oil is traded globally, a shortfall in one region can impact prices throughout the world. Tennessee and the southeast portion of the U.S. consistently rank among the least expensive markets for fuel. Proximity to refineries and pipeline infrastructure are major reasons for less expensive gas, according to AAA. Tennessee is currently the fourth least expensive market in the U.S. for gas. The last time Tennessee's average was over $3 per gallon for regular unleaded gas was August 2024. Refineries are also starting the process of producing summer-blend gasoline. which contains additives to help reduce evaporation during warmer months and adds to the cost. Gas demand generally increases with the spring break season and the expectation of more road trips. Disclaimer: This story was created by reporter Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee gas prices rise amid war in Iran, Mideast instability The family of Nancy Guthrie has recently shared pleas for her to come home safe -Credit:Getty A former FBI agent has disputed a central theory in the case of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. The 84 year old mother of Savannah Guthrie has been missing for over a month. Guthrie disappeared from her residence near Tucson in the wee hours of February 1. Detectives report signs of a struggle at the home, including blood on the porch later confirmed to be hers. Doorbell camera footage also captured a masked figure approaching the dwelling and meddling with the camera before disabling it. However, what seemed like a potential lead in the case has now hit a dead end, according to recent updates. Gloves found near the home were initially believed to belong to the suspect seen in the video, but subsequent DNA testing revealed they belonged to a local restaurant employee unconnected to the disappearance. Disappointing Nancy Guthrie update as investigation faces delay while cops pull back Nancy Guthrie cops speak out as 'skeletal remains' found 'few miles away' from her home This development follows a mysterious man claiming he "saw Nancy 5 days ago" providing chilling new evidence, reports the Express US. Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped at her home in Arizona on February 1 -Credit:Getty Former FBI agent Greg Rogers has rejected the notion that the incident was a botched robbery. In an interview, he argued that the suspect's actions - such as disabling the camera and moving carefully around the property - indicate a premeditated crime. "I have never thought this was a robbery gone wrong," Rogers shared with Parade. Advertisement "There were too many opportunities to have hit the house when nobody was home. There are a good number of interstate home burglars that are much more careful, case homes, know when the owners are away, and are in and out in minutes. They do not hit residences when it is almost guaranteed someone is home." Greg Rogers stated that there's no evidence of valuables being stolen from Nancy Guthrie's residence, casting doubt on the botched burglary theory. He suggests that the circumstances imply that the individual responsible for her disappearance might have been acquainted with her. Nancy has been missing for over a month, with the search having entered its fifth week -Credit:Getty "I think it is highly likely that someone who knew Guthrie and/or had something to do with her-[think] home maintenance, health care, yard and pool care-was involved," Rogers said. "One of those persons could have been hired to give info about security systems, Guthrie's schedule etc. That person could have also worked in one of those positions to be able to learn that same information." Authorities suspect that Nancy Guthrie may have been kidnapped from her Arizona residence during the night. They've released Google Nest camera footage showing an armed, masked figure on her front porch shortly before she vanished, but no suspects have been identified yet. Experts analyzing the footage believe the individual might have used a walkie-talkie instead of a cell phone to avoid leaving digital footprints. Guthrie's family is currently offering a $1 million reward for any information that could assist in bringing her home safely. Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that a ballistic missile launched from Iran towards its airspace was intercepted by NATO defense systems, marking a first in the conflict with Iran. A senior NATO military official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the alliance conducted the interception. Turkey's Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran said that the missile was detected after it crossed into Iraqi and Syrian airspace before it was intercepted by NATO units in the eastern Mediterranean. "Turkeys resolve and capacity to ensure the security of our country and our esteemed nation remain at the highest level. All necessary steps to defend Turkish territory and airspace will be taken without hesitation," Duran said in a statement posted on X, adding that the country's response to "any potential hostile acts" would be in accordance with international law. "We reiterate our warning to all parties to refrain from steps that could escalate tensions in the region and lead to the spread of the conflict to a wider area. It is of great importance that all parties act with a sense of responsibility," Duran added. Us Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship By Torpedo In A First Since World War Ii An aerial view of Buyuk Camlica Mosque with the Turkish flag illuminated between its minarets in observance of the month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 26, 2026. (Getty Images) Turkey's Defense Ministry issued a similar warning, saying that "Every step taken to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation." Read On The Fox News App "We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country," it said. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan reportedly spoke with Abbas Araghchi after the incident and conveyed his displeasure, according to Reuters, which cited a Turkish diplomatic source. Advertisement Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with then-Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 26, 2024. Us 'Winning Decisively' Against Iran, Will Achieve 'Complete Control' Of Airspace Within Days, Hegseth Says A NATO spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the alliance condemned the incident and affirmed that it stood by Turkey. "We condemn Irans targeting of Turkey. NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkey, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region. Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense," a NATO spokesperson told Fox News Digital. NATO has parts of a broader European ballistic missile defense system on Turkish soil, including an early-warning radar at the Kurecik base that can detect missiles from Iran. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, Iran has carried out a series of retaliatory attacks against U.S.-allied countries in the region. Turkey is the first NATO ally to have an Iranian missile encroach upon its airspace. On March 1, an Iranian retaliatory attack killed six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers supporting Operation Epic Fury in Kuwait. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: NATO defenses shoot down Iranian missile fired toward Turkey, defense ministry says House Hearing Examines Current Readiness Of U.S. Joint Force Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Republican Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy physically removed a left-wing protester from the Senate chamber Wednesday after the demonstrator allegedly tried to start an altercation. Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, was seen working with Capitol Police officers to hoist away a resisting Brian McGinnis, 44, from a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing while the protester loudly shouted No one wants to fight for Israel! according to a viral video filmed by an antiwar activist and posted to X by CBS News Alan He. McGinnis is currently the left-wing Green Partys nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. According to his campaign website, McGinnis is a Marine Corps veteran and firefighter. As Sheehy and officers struggled to pull the candidate out of the hearing room, McGinnis appeared to latch his left hand on the door in an apparent attempt to remain in his current location. (RELATED: NYT Ripped For Headline Playing Up Ayatollah Khameneis Middle East Power Grab) His hand! His hand! a female voice yelled in the background. Sir, let go of the door, a Capitol Police officer was heard saying, as McGinnis continued to grasp its side. A senator broke his hand! a male voice shouted. A sitting U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine! Control your Senate! WATCH: McGinnis then told the officer that his hand was stuck, as the same male heckler began to repeat that a senator, presumably Sheehy, broke his hand. Later in the video a man asked McGinnis if his hand was OK, to which he responded, No, its not. This is disgusting! a woman said, while another man quipped, Just pull it out! Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back, Sheehy wrote in an X post responding to Hes video. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation. Advertisement This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence, the Montana Republican added. This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers attempts to remove him from the room, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) said in a statement shared on X by Fox News Chief Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram. The outburst happened just before 3:00 p.m., during a hearing inside the Hart Senate Office Building. Three officers had to be treated for injuries by DC Fire & EMS, the USCPs statement added. The suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated. McGinnis is facing three counts of Assault on a Police Officer, as well as three counts of Resisting Arrest, and Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding for the unlawful demonstration, according to the USCPs statement. Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed, the statement concluded. Sheehys office, when asked for additional comment, referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the statement from the Capitol Police. McGinnis did not immediately respond to the DCNFs request for comment. The Senate Republican Conferences X account quickly backed up their fellow member, writing in a post to the platform, Dont disrupt congressional proceedings. Especially dont resist law enforcement. And most especially when Tim Sheehy is around. The altercation took place four days after the U.S. and Israel jointly carried out strikes on Iran that resulted in the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials in the Islamic theocracy. Sheehy was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024 when he unseated three-term incumbent Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester by seven percentage points. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Laxmi Maya Dhimal, 71, shows her ink-marked thumb after casting her vote outside a polling station at a village, in Jhapa district, Nepal, March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, March 5 (Reuters) - Polls in Nepal's general election closed on Thursday evening as the Himalayan nation gets ready to elect a new parliament nearly six months after the deaths of 77 people in a crackdown on youth-led protests forced its then prime minister to quit. Counting at most booths was likely to begin soon after polls closed at 5 pm local time (1115 GMT) and early trends are likely to emerge by Friday, election commission officials said, although complete results could take a week. At least half of the country's 19 million eligible voters had cast their ballot by 3 pm local time (0915 GMT), the election commission said. "We will work out the final tally of votes cast after the voting closes. As of now in most of the districts voters turnout is more than 50%," Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, election commission spokesperson said. Voting percentage in the country's last election in 2022 was 61%. UNEMPLOYMENT IS MAJOR ELECTION ISSUE Perched between China and India, the country of 30 million people has been plagued for decades by political instability, crippling a largely agrarian economy and worsening unemployment - structural issues compounded by rampant corruption. The long-festering malaise erupted into street demonstrations last September, triggered by a social media ban, that brought thousands on the streets, leading to clashes and fatalities that forced the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. On Thursday, voters flocked to schools, temples and ancient courtyards that have been converted into polling booths across the country, with some braving the morning chill in the capital Kathmandu to vote early. Officials said more than 300,000 security personnel, including the military, had been deployed to ensure peaceful voting in the more than 23,000 pooling booths across the country. "This election has to reinstate the democracy in the country. Political anarchy, lawlessness and violence needs to be controlled and discouraged," former Prime Minister Oli told reporters after casting his vote in Balkot, Bhaktapur. Advertisement Oli, who leads the moderate Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist, UML), is once again in the fray, along with more than 3,400 other candidates from 65 parties. They include the country's oldest party, the Nepali Congress led by 49-year-old Gagan Thapa, and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) comprising former Maoist insurgents who joined mainstream politics. Together with UML, these parties have dominated Nepali politics for the last three decades, although the country has seen 32 government changes in the past 35 years. But the frontrunner for these polls is the three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which has fielded the charismatic rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah as its prime ministerial candidate. The 35-year-old former mayor of Nepal's capital Kathmandu is drawing large crowds, connecting with legions of young voters clamouring for change on the ground and online, even as he takes on Oli, 74, on his home turf in the Jhapa constituency along the Indian border. JOBS, CORRUPTION, MAIN ISSUES In Jhapa, Menuka Chauhan,70, standing in line for more than 40 minutes at a polling booth, said she was worried about her son who was working in Qatar as a security guard, as tensions in the Middle East escalated. "I cant sleep at night. I worry all the time. My son tells me bombs keep dropping there. I wish there were employment opportunities here," she said. Promises of jobs, reining in corruption and improving governance - all demands raised during the September protests - have dominated much of the election campaign. "The election is critical to address the aspirations of the youths expressed during the Gen Z protests," said political analyst Puranjan Acharya. "If the newly elected leaders are seen as unfit to do so, there is a risk of further trouble." Some 19 million voters are eligible to cast their ballot for 275 members of parliament through a mixed electoral system 165 seats in direct first-past-the-post elections and 110 through proportional representation. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma and Sahana Bajracharya; additional reporting by Sunil Kataria Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Blog Archive: Mar 2026 (70) Feb 2026 (140) Jan 2026 (155) Dec 2025 (126) Nov 2025 (141) Oct 2025 (153) Sep 2025 (149) Aug 2025 (154) Jul 2025 (155) Jun 2025 (150) May 2025 (155) Apr 2025 (9) Mar 2025 (149) Feb 2025 (139) Jan 2025 (155) Dec 2024 (144) Nov 2024 (143) Oct 2024 (155) Sep 2024 (149) Aug 2024 (155) Jul 2024 (155) Jun 2024 (150) May 2024 (153) Apr 2024 (149) Mar 2024 (155) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (155) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) Nearly 19 million people, including almost a million first-time voters, were registered to take part Millions of Nepalis have voted in the country's first general election since violent youth-led protests toppled the government last September. Corruption, economic stagnation and inequality were the main issues in the vote. They sparked the uprising in which 77 people died, many of them protesters shot by police. The election represents a crossroads for Nepal, pitting the establishment against a new generation of politicians advocating for angry, young Gen Z voters hungry for change. Counting the votes cast for the Nepalese parliament's 275 seats is expected to take several days, and results are not expected before next week. Nepal's mountainous terrain makes it slow and difficult to transport ballots, which are tallied by hand. Nearly 19 million people, including almost a million first-time voters, were registered to take part in the 5 March ballot for the House of Representatives. The Election Commission, speaking shortly after polls closed, said it expected voter turnout to be around 60%. Voting was largely peaceful, and there was a huge security presence across the country. Leading candidates include KP Sharma Oli, the prime minister toppled in the protests, and Balen Shah, a former rapper who resigned as Kathmandu's mayor in January to take him on in his constituency, the Jhapa 5 seat, one of the key election races. For Oli, the election will be a major test. He and his party, the Communist Party of Nepal UML, have insisted the protests were not a referendum on his leadership and that he is still beloved by the public. He told the BBC he's confident he will win this election. The leader of the Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa, believes younger voters are tired of "unholy alliances" and "poor governance" in previous coalitions, and that the party is listening to Gen Z voters. Balen Shah, who is representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), refused to speak directly to the press on Thursday, staying true to form by turning up in his signature black sunglasses and storming through a crowd of journalists. It is a trend Nepal's media worry would continue if he took office. Yet, many of the young voters we've spoken to believe his youth and energy are exactly what the country needs, and that he represents a new chapter in Nepal's future. Both Oli and Thapa's parties, which have been in government numerous times, have been clear in their messaging, in suggesting they have heard the calls for change. Whether voters agree remains to be seen. Rakshya Bam - one of Nepal's Gen Z leaders - was largely unimpressed. Advertisement "I think none of the parties have incorporated the pact that was signed between the government and the Gen Z in their election manifestos," she told the BBC ahead of the vote. "They want to sell the name of Gen Z and come into power so they are using the term Gen Z movement... I don't have much expectations from the elections." Ispa Sapkota, who spoke to the BBC as she cast her ballot in Kathmandu, said she protested in September to "end corruption" and restore "political stability" in Nepal. "We want a better nation," she says. "When I and others search for jobs, we're not able to get any here. Brain drain is becoming the most important problem in our country." If Balen Shah wins, it would represent a seismic shift from the governance that has paralysed Nepal. For more than three decades, the country has seen a revolving door of coalition governments, largely dominated by three parties, two of them communist. This election will test whether Gen Z voters have succeeded in convincing the rest of the country that it is time for a new, untested generation to shape their future, or whether veteran heavyweights who have dominated for decades will keep hold of power. Of the 275 seats in the lower house, 165 will be elected through first-past-the-post voting, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. The other 110 MPs will be selected via proportional representation, which takes into account the proportion of votes cast for a political party nationally. The election commission has promised to finish counting by 9 March and to release the results of the 165 directly elected seats within 24 hours of counting beginning. But the process of collecting ballot boxes from across the mountainous country and delivering them to counting centres typically takes at least a day. It could take another two to three days to tally the results of the proportional representation vote, officials said. A new government, formed on the basis of the seats won by political parties, will have the responsibility of leading the reforms and addressing issues like corruption and good governance. Samikshya KC, who voted in Kathmandu, chose not to participate in the protests, but says she supported the Gen Z movement. "Nepal is becoming very corrupt," she told the BBC. "I'm hoping for a big change." She wants the next government to develop all of Nepal, and not just the capital. "There are so many remote places in our country - let there be some progress there too. Whatever happens, let it be good." Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened this week to redistribute funding for 10 California counties he characterized as "underperforming" in implementing state policies aimed at treating people struggling with severe mental illness, drug abuse and homelessness. The state's Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court program launched statewide in 2025 as a new method to help people access voluntary mental health treatment through the court system. But Newsom said some counties have been too slow to successfully implement it. Here's what you need to know about California CARE Court: What is California CARE Court? The California CARE Court program allows families or first responders to file a petition with their local courts on behalf of another individual to receive care for their mental illness. Newsom announced his signature initiative in 2019 to modernize California's behavioral health system, allowing civil court judges to connect people with mental health services for voluntary treatment or a court-ordered plan. His administration officially launched the CARE Court program in a few counties in 2023, with statewide enrollment achieved by 2025. Since the rollout, several news outlets, including CalMatters and the San Francisco Chronicle, have documented struggles within the program. Some families' requests were denied by the court, resulting in their family member remaining on the streets; in other cases, the court lacked the power to enforce the needed treatment some residents were approved to receive, according to CalMatters reporting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, pictured at an event annoucing a $590 million emergency loan for Bay Area transit agencies, is the current frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, according to an Emerson College poll released Feb. 27, 2026. California CARE Court counties criticized by state Newsom shared during a March 2 press conference that the state's "benchmark" for a county to have successfully implemented the program was about 6.2 petitions per 100,000 residents, resulting in a person undergoing voluntary or court-ordered treatment. Data collected by the state was used to determine that 10 counties, including Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Yolo had been "underperforming" in 2025, according to Newsom, who dubbed them the "ICU (Improvement and Coordination Unit)." "They are the CARE Court ICU. The bottom 10," the governor said during the press conference, noting later: "I'm not interested in funding failure now." "I'm happy to redirect every damn penny in these programs to the counties that are getting things done," Newsom added. 1 / 0 California Governor Gavin Newsom's political career in pictures Gavin Newsom began serving as the Democratic governor of California in January 2019. Newsom has held many political roles in California, including Lt. Governor and mayor of San Francisco. Take a look at his political career in pictures. Leaders in the "bottom 10" counties, including Kern, Santa Clara and San Francisco, quickly responded to the governor's criticism and defended their counties' current implementation of the program. Advertisement Our administration has been using every tool in our toolbox to address the crisis on our streets reimagining street outreach and adding recovery and treatment resources, Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, told the San Francisco Chronicle in a statement about the governor's criticism. Today, encampments are at record lows, more people are getting connected to shelter and treatment, and San Franciscans feel safer than they have in years. We have more work to do, and we welcome any additional support from our state partners to strengthen CARE Court and any of the other pathways that have helped us get people in crisis off the street and into the care they need. Newsom acknowledged that the slow adoption of the program may stem from its paradigm-shifting approach to behavioral health, as well as many local officials' hesitation to implement it, but he was clear about his frustrations with counties that were "dialing it in" or if "they can't get it done." However, Newsom also expressed his desire to see these counties succeed and promised his office would provide support in rolling out these programs, rather than immediately pulling the counties' funding. As part of his plan to accelerate the adoption of CARE Court, the state government launched a website, accountability.ca.gov, to allow residents to review their county's progress in implementing the program. California CARE Court counties praised by state Newsom also highlighted 10 counties, including Alameda, Humboldt, Imperial, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Sutter and Tuolumne, that the state says have successfully integrated CARE Court into their communities and dubbed them CARE Champions. To support counties that have been actively implementing the program, Newsom announced that his office would award an additional $291 million to expand supportive housing and behavioral health services statewide. Of the 10 "Care Champions," Newsom highlighted Alameda County as a "shining example" of a county that has embraced the state's program and is actively providing services to its community by creating its Regis Village Campus, which provides permanent and transitional housing with behavioral health support. In addition, the county is expanding the campus to provide on-site services, including a navigation center, medical respite care, substance use residential spaces and detox, a wellness center, a sobering center, and a CARE Act services office. "Care and accountability go hand in hand full stop," Newsom said in a press release. "Through CARE Court, we have seen inspirational stories of recovery and resilience, but many counties continue to lag behind their peers. Local leaders have a moral and legal obligation to deliver this transformational tool for those who need it most. We will not accept failure and excuses when lives are on the line." Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newsom calls out California counties for CARE Court 'failure' Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated Gov. Gavin Newsom's comments about President Donald Trump's actions around elections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the U.S. should reconsider its military support and alliance with Israel. He based the criticism on what he described as Israel's role in influencing the United States to join the war in Iran. Newsom was promoting his new memoir, 'Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,' during a live production of "Pod Save America" on March 3, when the host Jon Favreau asked the governor about the war in Iran and if the U.S. should reconsider its alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path, where I don't think you have a choice but that consideration," said Newsom, who also questioned how Netanyahu's administration may "influence" President Donald Trump's position. California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol (CHP) seizures of illicit drugs including fentanyl and border security operations during a press conference at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, California, on Feb. 2, 2026. The governor said that people who perceive Israel as "an apartheid state" are doing so appropriately," an idea that Israel has pushed back on in the past. Netanyahu has also pushed back against the sentiment that Israelpulled the United States into the war in Iran, saying "That's ridiculous, Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world," and "he does what he thinks is right for America," during a March 2 interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. The United States and Israel launched joint military strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, which led to the killing of the countrys Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. President Donald Trump said the strikes were intended to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran and prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon, USA TODAY reported. Newsom questioned Trump's "rationale" for joining the war, saying the administration has provided changing reasons for why the United States attacked Iran. "To say this is in America's interest, at a time when affordability is at a crisis level, where you have an administration that got elected for saying this, the exact opposite of what they would ever consider doing," Newsom said. "You just have to reconsider the whole thing." "This is 'Keystone Cops', but playing with real lives with our reputation," Newsom added. Newsom's comments reflect a growing shift among the Democratic Party, as more members have become less sympathetic toward Israel and more sympathetic toward Palestinians regarding the conflict in the Middle East, according to a recent Gallup World Affairs survey. Gallup found that Democratic sympathies were "first tilting that way" in 2023, which is when the Israel-Hamas war began. Newsom criticized Trump's and Netanyahu's plan to enact a "regime change" in Iran, saying they haven't been able to "solve the Hamas question in Israel." Advertisement Newsom appears on Kimmel for more than 20 minutes Later that night, Newsom appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show to continue promoting his memoir. For much of Newsom's approximately 23-minute segment on the show, he and Jimmy Kimmel shared stories and jokes. In one case, Kimmel spoke about the time his daughter visited the state capital and met the governor. "The whole class went into your office and they saw a Trump pen on your desk, and my daughter was like 'He's a Trumper,'" Kimmel said. "Then you came in and made a joke about Trump." THANK YOU @JIMMYKIMMEL FOR THIS HISTORIC CUP OF PEACE. MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING THIS IS THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR PEACE ANY ONE HAS EVER RECEIVED IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND AND IT WILL REPLACE THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WHICH IS OUTDATED, AND SIMPLY NOT LARGE ENOUGH! MOTHER TERESA pic.twitter.com/Kor5RPrUvo Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 4, 2026 Newsom went on to explain that Trump gave the governor eight "Trump" pens and an autograph for his children. The discussion eventually moved to the upcoming midterm elections, and Kimmel praised Newsom for leading the "effort to pass Prop 50," a measure that temporarily redraws California's congressional maps to increase the chances of winning more Democratic seats and counteract a similar effort in favor of Republican-leaning districts in Texas. "Trump is a historic president. Historically unpopular and he's going to get crushed, shellacked in the midterms," Newsom said. "He's toast, and he knows it." Newsom talked about how Trump's actions during his second term have lit "democracy on fire" and characterized them as being meant to "chill free expression on election day." He cited the president's decision to send the National Guard and federal agents into American streets and call "to nationalize the election." "He is not screwing around and nor can we," Newsom said. "To the spirit of this moment, we've got to be tougher, we've got to be more aggressive and call this stuff out." Before the end of the show, Kimmel took a moment to mock Trump and the "FIFA Peace Prize" he received from FIFA President Gianni Infantino in December 2025, by presenting the governor with his own award. Actor and comedian Josh Meyers, dressed as Newsom, presented the governor with the "2026 FIFA Skydance Paramount Netflix Warner Bros. Big A-- Lipton Cup O Peace." "This is long overdue," Newsom joked when accepting the award. "I assume it comes with a third term." Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gov. Gavin Newsom questions US military support for Israel California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on February 13. - Johannes Simon/Getty Images/File In the latest mark of how much the conversation among Democratic leaders around Israel is shifting, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday night blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for pushing the US into war with Iran and said the United States must reconsider future military aid to its longtime ally. The governor cited those whom he has said are talking about it appropriately as sort of an apartheid state. Newsom, in a live appearance on Pod Save America to promote his new memoir, said of Netanyahu and Iran, In so many ways, that influence in the context of the conversation of where Trump ultimately landed on this is pretty damn self-evident. That sentiment from Newsom, who ranks high in early chatter about the 2028 presidential election, is becoming the norm for more top Democrats who are ramping up their criticism of Israel. Netanyahu has dismissed claims that he pushed Trump into approving the strikes on Iran, telling Fox News this week, Thats ridiculous. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. Advertisement Newsom and other prominent Democratic voices have expressed growing opposition to pro-Israel forces and policies. When asked if hed accept money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Newsom responded last month, Never have and never will. Newsoms charge came amid a full criticism of Netanyahu for what he said was a corrupt and dishonest interest in launching the strikes on Iran. Hes got his own domestic issues. Hes trying to stay out of jail. Hes got an election coming up. Hes on the ropes. Hes got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank, Newsom said. Were talking about regime change? For two years, they havent even been able to solve the Hamas question in Israel. Newsom said if Israel is using that military aid to draw the United States into regional wars, its no longer in US interests to provide it. It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I dont think you have a choice but to have that consideration, he said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Iran doesnt want to talk. It doesnt want to parley. And its not sitting down with President Donald Trump. Even as Iran endures devastating airstrikes, the country's surviving leaders have determined "it has to really draw blood" before negotiating an end to the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel, Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an interview. The stalemate comes as Trump and top military leaders have predicted more U.S. military deaths, wealthy Persian Gulf allies are pushing for a quick conclusion to the war and oil prices have spiked. Trump's war in Iran polls badly. Will it hurt Republicans in 2026? Amid punishing blows from the United States and Israel that have killed more than a thousand people including its longtime, all-powerful supreme leader Ali Khamenei Irans leaders believe they must inflict serious pain before negotiations to end the war can begin, experts say. 1 / 0 Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. 'Regardless of the costs' "They don't have to win the war, Parsi, an expert with contacts in Irans government and security services, told USA TODAY. They have to ensure Trump's presidency is on the brink of destruction before they lose. That's when they believe Trump will pull out due to the costs." This wasn't the outcome Trump wanted. On Sunday, March 1, as the war entered its second day, Trump told The Atlantic magazine that the Iranians want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. But Ali Larijani, Irans top security official, shot down the suggestion. We will not negotiate with the United States, he said in a series of social media posts. Trump plunged the region into chaos with his delusional fantasies and now fears more American troop casualties. Iran war drives up frustration and gas prices across nation 1 / 0 Photos show retaliation strikes on Israel after Iran attack Children run to an underground shelter amid reports of incoming missiles on February 28, 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early this morning, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency, as Israelis braced for the retaliation. Larijani said Iran would keep fighting, regardless of the costs and will make the enemies sorry for their miscalculation. Experts say Irans leadership has determined that despite a vast imbalance in military power it must cause serious political and economic pain to the U.S. and Israel before agreeing to a ceasefire. Marked for death: How Oct. 7 attack sealed Khamenei's fate They believe Washington will only bargain in good faith, producing a lasting end to hostilities and the Islamist regime's survival if Trump is damaged by the political toll of U.S. deaths and rising prices, according to this reading of Irans clerical government and security apparatus. So far, however, that strategic desire reads like fantasy: As the U.S. destroyed much of Iran's military capability and sunk most of its navy, American war deaths have held steady at six service members. 'Deterrence failure' Iran's reluctance to negotiate despite large military and civilian losses is based on hard lessons, experts said. By acting with relative restraint avoiding attacks on U.S. and Gulf nation targets during earlier military flare-ups with Israel Iran suffered a "deterrence failure, said Kelly Greico, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think-tank. Iran financed the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and has seen its influence in the region wither as Israel killed as many as 20,000 Hamas fighters in a war that took the lives of 70,000 Palestinians, and assassinated the longtime leader of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia. Who bombed a girls' school in Iran, and will there be accountability? Graves are being prepared for the victims following an Israeli strike on a school in Minab, Iran, March 2, 2026. This image was provided by the Iranian Foreign Media Department. On April 13, 2024, Tehran launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles against Israeli targets after an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, killed top officers of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A U.S.-led coalition joined Israels defense, blowing nearly all of the projectiles out of the sky, and Israel suffered only minor damage. Less than six months later, on Oct. 1, 2024, Iran attacked again, this time to avenge Israels killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a key ally, and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles, again causing minor damage. In neither case did Iran turn its guns on the gleaming towers and valuable oil and gas facilities of Washingtons wealthy Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Even in June 2025, when Israel launched a surprise attack that killed scores of top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, with a reported death toll topping 1,000, Tehran refrained from widening hostilities. Senate fails to block Trump's Iran war Iran fired more than 1,000 drones and 550 ballistic missiles at Israel in the 12-day war, killing 32 civilians. A small attack, which experts regarded as token Iranian retaliation, on a U.S. base in Qatar caused minor damage after U.S. bombers destroyed three Iranian nuclear facilities. If you are sitting in Tehran and you are looking at this war, the conclusion is that the restraint you showed was a deterrent failure, Grieco, a former professor at the U.S. Air Forces Air Command and Staff College, told USA TODAY. Irans leaders, she said, will feel a need to raise the cost of the conflict. Now, Tehran wants Trump and the Israelis to feel pain to truly need a ceasefire before it will rejoin negotiations. Thats the only way for a deal to stick and for the brutal Iranian regime to survive, analysts said. Advertisement 'No to war': Spain won't back US attacks on Iran Aftermath of an air strike on a police station in Tehran on March 2, 2026, amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Iran doesnt want to be exposed to Israeli air strikes at will after a new ceasefire, said Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University. This means exacting a very high price from Israel and from Trump in this war. Irans attacks in the region are already squeezing U.S. allies, and may soon affect the U.S. economy. The conflict has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea route for 20% of the worlds oil exports. Qatar, a global supplier, has paused production of liquified natural gas amid Iranian airstrikes, while oil giant Saudi Aramcos 550,000 barrel-a-day Ras Tanura refinery was targeted by two Iranian drone attacks. Iran has also hit European targets, striking a British air base on Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and a French base in the UAE, while the NATO defense alliance said it shot down a missile that entered Turkish airspace. Why is the US at war with Iran? Answering key questions about the conflict A person rides a scooter as smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone following a fire caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, UAE, March 3, 2026. And on March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, inviting retaliatory strikes that killed scores and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing southern Lebanon and Beiruts southern suburbs. Oil prices soared on Tuesday, March 3, to their highest levels since 2024. The missile and drone attacks are causing economic damage, Bazzi said. Its no accident Hezbollah got involved just as the oil markets and the stock markets were opening following the war's first salvos on Feb. 28. What's the endgame? President Trump now warns Americans to expect several more weeks of conflict. Trump has mused on different endgames. Hes demanded Iran forgo nuclear weapons, which it already had done to wide skepticism. Hes also called on unarmed Iranian citizens to overthrow the brutal, 47-year-old clerical regime and seize power themselves somehow with the help of the very security forces that were gunning them down in the thousands during protests just six weeks ago. And hes suggested a resolution similar to the one he achieved in Venezuela, in which the U.S. would reach an accommodation with Irans leaders without seeking full regime change. More: US stock futures slip as investors weigh Middle East war fallout Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the head of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, attend the meeting of the interim leadership council of Iran in an unknown location, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Iran, March 1, 2026 in this handout photo from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. But most of the people we had in mind are dead, Trump said March 3. Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon were not going to know anybody. Trump worried about installing a new leader whos as bad as the previous person. So far, Irans leaders arent asking for approval from the American president. Trump wanted a short, concise war, while the Iranians are taking it to a new dimension of organized, global chaos, Ali Hashem, a veteran journalist and columnist in the Persian Gulf, told USA TODAY. The Iranians knew they would have to face their destiny, while Trump was engaged in wishful thinking. Deadly missile race Now, the question is which side can hold out before casualties increase and stocks of ammunition decrease. Iran has launched more than 2,000 drones and 500 ballistic missiles at U.S., Israeli and regional targets, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said March 4. Pre-war assumptions put the number of Iranian ballistic missiles at 2,500, Grieco said. While the gap in military power between Tehran and Washington is so wide, its hard to describe it, Bazzi said, Israel and other U.S. allies have shrinking supplies of the missile interceptors that so far have prevented serious bloodshed on their side amid more more than 700 Iranian deaths. Air defenses have likewise kept U.S. troop casualties to six war dead. Its really a race between Irans ballistic missiles and drones, and the Israeli, American and Gulf interceptors, Grieco said. Its clear the Israelis and the Americans are hunting those missile facilities. Bloomberg News, citing sources and documents, reported March 2 that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were asking their allies to nudge Trump towards a speedy end to the war. The UAE was asking allies to help shore up its air defenses, while Qatar had only four days of Patriot Missile stocks remaining, the Bloomberg report said. On March 5, Italy announced it was moving air defense weapons to help defend the Gulf emirates. Trump said on social media the U.S. has enough weaponry to keep fighting "forever." But he didn't address the question of air defenses. Once the interceptors start to run out, Grieco said, you have to make hard choices of what to defendat the intersection of material and lives. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran wants to draw blood before talking to Trump North Korea releases highly choreographed images to illustrate leader Kim Jong Un's absolute grip on power (STR) (STR/KCNA VIA KNS/AFP) North Korea has unveiled one of its first-known statues of Kim Jong Un, using the "highly unusual" sculpture to depict the leader as a smiling man of the people, an analyst told AFP. State-run Korean Central Television recently broadcast images of the halfbody sculpture, depicting Kim smiling warmly with his right hand tucked in his coat pocket. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles interKorean relations for Seoul, said it was the first such work depicting the thirdgeneration leader. "A statue of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was recently shown on Korean Central Television, and as far as we know, this is the first time it has been identified," the department said on Wednesday. North Korea is dotted with massive statues venerating Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il -- the first two members of the family dynasty to rule the reclusive nation. Expert Lim Eul-chul said such honours were typically reserved for the dead, making the sculpture of Kim "highly unusual". "North Korea is now moving toward the peak of a leaderfocused cult," said Lim, from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. Advertisement "The statue is particularly notable because it is highly unusual for the regime to create a monument of a leader who is still alive." The work stood out for its efforts to portray Kim as a more relatable figure, Lim told AFP. "Rather than depicting him as a god-like figure, the North is likely to promote a narrative portraying him as a leader who earns people's respect and devotes himself to their welfare." North Korea releases highly choreographed images to illustrate Kim's absolute grip on power. He was shown riding a white horse up a sacred mountain in 2019, while other photos have shown him mobbed by fawning soldiers, shooting guns, and driving military vehicles. Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2019 gifted North Korea a half-body bust of Kim during a visit to Pyongyang. kjk/sft/mtp Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Abigail Spanberger in Norfolk, Virginia, on November 1, 2025. - Win McNamee/Getty Images/File Former President Barack Obama on Thursday threw his support behind a redistricting effort in Virginia that aims to flip four Republican-held US House seats ahead of Novembers midterm elections. In a video endorsement, Obama urged Virginians to support a referendum on a new map to ensure your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states. Obamas public backing comes a day after the state Supreme Court cleared the way for the April 21 election in which voters will decide whether to change the states constitution to allow for the map redraw. Early voting opens Friday. Virginias high-profile fight is the latest front in a mid-decade redistricting battle that began last year in Texas at President Donald Trumps behest in an effort to gain more seats that are favorable to Republicans. So far, the coast-to-coast effort has yielded nine more GOP-friendly seats and six that favor Democrats. The map proposed by Democrats, who control the Virginia legislature, targets Republican-held seats, largely by snaking districts out from the heavily Democratic suburbs that surround Washington, DC. If successful, Democrats could end up controlling 10 of the states 11 House seats. This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall, Obama said in the video. Obama previously endorsed a successful redistricting effort in California last year that could help Democrats flip as many as five Republican-controlled seats. Advertisement Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who took office in January, also urged voters Thursday to back the amendment vote. Virginians have the opportunity to take action in response to this extraordinary moment in history, she said in a statement. Thats why, as a Virginia voter, Im voting in favor of this amendment. Currently, the states constitution vests a bipartisan commission with the power to draw maps. The amendment before voters allows the state legislature to put in place a new map but would revert to the commission process after the 2030 Census. Brian Cannon sits on the advisory board of No Gerrymandering Virginia one of the groups opposed to changing the states constitution and worked on the earlier effort to create a bipartisan map-drawing commission. On Thursday, he criticized Obamas decision to become involved in the current fight, saying the former president did not engage in the process to establish the commission in the first place. Barack Obama has never been for fair maps in Virginia, Cannon said. He didnt help us in 2020, and hes clearly not for them now. Cannon argued the current map is fair. Virginia is represented in the US House by six Democrats and five Republicans. If Democrats can run good candidates and good campaigns, they can win elections, he said. Democrats dont have to cheat to win. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Former President Obama urged Virginia voters in a new ad to approve a redistricting measure next month that would give Democrats in the Old Dominion new pickup opportunities ahead of November. Over the past year, several Republican-controlled states have taken the unprecedented step of redrawing their congressional maps in the middle of the decade, and theyve done it for a simple reason to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms this fall, Obama said in an ad for the group behind the Virginia redistricting measure. In April, Virginians can respond by making sure your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states, he added. No Gerrymandering Virginia, a bipartisan group formed to oppose the redistricting referendum, criticized Obamas ad, with an advisory board member for the group, Brian Cannon, saying a statement that Silencing voters is anti-democratic no matter who does it. President Obama didnt lift a finger to help Virginia pass fair redistricting in 2020. It shouldnt surprise anyone that hes now defending a plan that would bring gerrymandering back, Cannon said. Virginia Democrats are teeing up a referendum for April 21 that asks voters to allow lawmakers to pass a new set of congressional lines, bypassing the states independent redistricting commission. Early voting begins Friday. Advertisement Lawmakers have already passed a House map that would give Democrats four pickup opportunities in the state, though the redistricting ballot measure notes the initiative is temporary. Republicans have repeatedly sought to stop Democrats from moving forward with the referendum, though the states high court has twice ruled that the April election can move forward as it weighs the broader merits of the case. Virginia offers Democrats their last chance to pass a new set of congressional lines as the two parties have been engaged in a redistricting tit-for-tat ahead of November. Republicans have passed new maps in Texas, North Carolina and Missouri, while Democrats approved new district lines in California and enjoy a potential pickup opportunity in Utah as a result of a court-ordered new map. Florida Republicans are also set to convene next month for a special session over a new map, where the GOP is eyeing up to five additional seats. Updated at 2:02 p.m. EST Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square There are times when more isnt better. Its just more. This is one of those times. Democratic legislators are pushing Senate Bill 5981, which would expand a little-known federal drug discount program called 340B. The problem is that the program is not consistently serving the people it was intended to help; its already growing at a staggering pace, and further expansion could increase health care costs for Washingtonians. The 340B program requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell drugs at significant discounts in some cases, extremely steep discounts to hospitals and clinics serving large numbers of uninsured and Medicaid patients. Giving those in need a helping hand is a worthy goal. Congress created 340B to stabilize rural and safety-net providers serving underserved populations, and prescription drug makers were integral in establishing the initial program. Yet today, much of the programs financial benefits are concentrated among large urban health systems. In Washington, that often means institutions in King County and the Seattle metro area including major academic systems capturing significant 340B revenue. At the same time, smaller rural hospitals continue to struggle to maintain services and keep their doors open. Heres where concerns arise. There is no requirement that 340B discounts be passed directly to low-income patients. Once a hospital qualifies to participate in the program, it can use the discounted drug pricing for any eligible patient, regardless of income. A hospital may purchase a drug at a steep discount and then bill the patient or their insurer including the states Apple Health Medicaid program at standard reimbursement rates, which are much higher. Hospitals argue that revenue generated through the program helps fund uncompensated and charitable care. But research has raised questions about whether the growth in 340B revenue consistently translates into higher levels of charity care. National analyses have found that some 340B hospitals provide charity care at levels comparable to or, in some cases, lower than those of non-340B hospitals. Advertisement In Washington, charity care represents a small percentage of overall hospital operating expenses, even among 340B participants. At the same time, many large health systems continue to expand assets, marketing budgets, and capital projects. Yet there is no clear statutory requirement that hospitals publicly document exactly how 340B revenue is spent. Meanwhile, the program has ballooned over the past 15 years. Since 2010, the number of contract pharmacy arrangements has grown dramatically, expanding far beyond the programs original footprint. If that trajectory continues, 340B will rival other major federal drug purchasing programs in size. Despite its origins in supporting underserved communities, only a portion of participating pharmacies in Washington are located in rural or medically underserved areas. That raises a fair question: Is this really a program that needs state legislation to grow even larger before meaningful accountability measures are put in place? New national research has also examined pricing patterns at some 340B hospitals, suggesting that markups on certain drugs can significantly increase costs to insurers and public employee health plans costs that ultimately fall on taxpayers and working families. In some cases, hospitals will prescribe expensive name-brand drugs in lieu of generic equivalents because they make more money through 340B discounts on expensive drugs than on cheaper, generic drugs. The result is that drug makers sell drugs at a huge discount, but patients still pay full price, with the hospital profiting from the price difference rather than the patient seeing any specific benefit. Washington residents shouldnt be paying more for health care without clear transparency and accountability. Over the last decade, the number of formal audits of program participants has been limited relative to the programs rapid expansion, even as oversight reports have identified compliance concerns. Increased accountability and transparency in health care shouldnt be a partisan issue. If 340B is to continue growing, lawmakers should ensure it truly benefits the underserved patients it was designed to support including those in rural communities rather than simply becoming a revenue stream for large urban systems. Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, represents the 2nd Legislative District. Notwithstanding predictable partisan hand wringing on Capitol Hill over the war in Iran, the conflict has sent the Russia-China axis reeling. The toppling of Nicolas Maduro in January was just the start of a much broader plan. Trumps pressure on Cuba is the second salvo. But Iran has now become the main effort. In just two months, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have helplessly watched as three of their prized allies are being overwhelmed by U.S. military power. Putin and Xi have argued that we now live in a multi-polar world. And that may be the case when measured in economic terms. But this years events are showing that this is still very much a U.S. hegemonic world when it comes to military power. Offense is often the best defense. For 47 years, of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shouted, Death to America, and it has killed 1,600-plus Americans. Trump has finally decided its time for the mullahs to find out. He has shelved the endless diplomacy and set aside the strategic deterrence policy that had not stopped Americans from dying at the hands of the Iranians. This is why observers like the former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul miss the point when they argue that there was no imminent threat of our homeland being attacked by Iran. The threat, especially to our citizens and troops, has been imminent since Nov. 4, 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran detained more than 50 American diplomats and held them as hostages for 444 days. For those U.S. soldiers in harms way, Irans threat to America was not only imminent but very real and active. Just during the Biden administration, Iran-sponsored militias attacked U.S. forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan more than 250 times. Roughly 80 of those attacks came before the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, in which Hamas one of the 15 major militia groups in the Middle East funded, sponsored and directed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed 46 Americans and took 12 others hostage in Israel. McFaul means well. Indeed, he is right about the need to confront Putin head on and give Ukraine what it needs to defeat and expel Russias military from all of its illegally occupied territories, including Crimea. What McFaul fails to understand is that victory in Ukraine cannot happen without dealing a wider defeat to the entire Axis of Evil that is supporting Putins military operation. Putins threat to Europe, including his ongoing threat to U.S. military forces across the region, is imminent, especially in Ukraine. Significantly, Iranian Shahed drones and manufacturing assistance have enabled Putins war machine to attack Ukraines civilian energy and critical infrastructure on a near-daily basis. Likewise, Irans own shadow fleet of oil tankers has helped fund Putins war effort by exporting oil through the black market. Advertisement Moscows reliance on its axis partners including North Korean troops, artillery and munitions has also been nefarious. As we previously noted, the Kremlin used the October 7 massacre to stretch U.S. military assets in 2023. Two days after Hamas attacked Israel, Russian forces launched a major offensive against Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which eventually toppled the strategic Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk oblast. The Axis of Evil was never stronger than it was in early 2024, when the West was reeling as a result of Team Bidens just enough approach to managing the conflict in Ukraine. Putin took full advantage of this misguided strategy, which unwittingly acted as a force multiplier for Putin and his axis. Last June, Team Trump proved it was ready to confront Putin and Xi by attacking Irans nuclear weapons program in Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz. This showed the axis that it would no longer enjoy immunity. Then, in January, Team Trump let fly with its Venezuela operation. This was no isolated action, but rather a designed shot at Russia and China that systematically began attacking their key sources of oil. Similar considerations have motivated Trumps interest in actions in Nigeria. Now, in a spectacular way, this campaign has moved on to Iran. And after just two months, Beijing, ahead of any action against Taiwan, has lost three three vital sources of oil for its highly oil-dependent economy. Iran cannot simply be viewed as a regional Middle Eastern threat. It must also be considered a global imminent threat, given its key role as an ally of Putin and Xi. That role is now coming to an end at the hands of the U.S. and Israel, leaving Putin and Xi reeling. Among other things, it means that victory in Ukraine if Trump seizes the opportunity may have just gotten a lot easier. Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Sweet served 30 years as a military intelligence officer and led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014. They are the co-founders of INTREP360 and the INTREP360 Intelligence Report on Substack. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. 'Two sessions' serve as important window for understanding China's governance: Global Times editorial Global Times) 08:08, March 05, 2026 The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will open in Beijing on Thursday. BBC reported that the "two sessions" - China's annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - are an important window for observing the trends in China's politics and economy. The "two sessions" also provide an important window into how China's system operates. Through them, the world can see how a major country with over 1.4 billion people aggregates diverse social demands into national policies and transforms broad public opinions into political consensus and effective governance actions. In today's world, grasping the true meaning of democracy is no easy task. "Democracy is not an ornament to be used for decoration; it is to be used to solve the problems that the people want to solve." To judge whether a country is democratic, one should assess whether the people have broad and sustained channels for participation, and whether effective governance is achieved behind the procedures. Jean Pegouret, president and founder of the Saphir Eurasia Promotion agency, said that the "two sessions" represent an example of democratic governance for the rest of the world. A distinctive feature of China's whole-process people's democracy is that it consistently sets solving practical problems as the goal of institutional operations, ensuring decision-makers always hear the people's voices, fully incorporate them into concrete policies, and continuously generate feedback and improvements within the institutional framework. In this sense, the reason why China's whole-process people's democracy is characterized as "the most extensive, most genuine, and most effective" is precisely because it unifies process-oriented and results-oriented democracy, procedural and substantive democracy, direct and indirect democracy, as well as people's democracy and the state's will - forming a comprehensive, all-encompassing, and fully covered institutional system that opens up new horizons for the development of human political civilization. From a global perspective, China's "two sessions mechanism" represents a unique political institutional arrangement. The system of the NPC is a great institutional creation of the Communist Party of China, emerging organically from China's historical traditions, social structure, and development needs. It is China's fundamental political system. The system of the CPPCC serves as a key institutional form of socialist consultative democracy with Chinese characteristics. This mechanism embodies both electoral democracy and consultative democracy. It reflects both democratic centralism and broad social participation. Through legally prescribed procedures, the system of people's congresses makes decisions on major national affairs. Deputies to people's congresses at all levels come from different ethnic groups, sectors, social strata, and political parties, giving the system broad representativeness and making it an important channel for expressing the overall interests and social demands of the people. The CPPCC, through sector-based consultations, maintains extensive connections with people from all walks of life, enabling views from different groups and fields to be fully expressed. China is a vast country with complex conditions. Finding the "greatest common ground" in the interests and needs of the broadest masses is by no means an easy task. In China's political system, the leadership of the CPC, the people's status as masters of the country, and ruling the country by law on all fronts are organically unified, and the "two sessions" serve as a concrete embodiment of this unity. On the one hand, the "two sessions" provide an important channel for the people to express their views and participate in national governance. On the other hand, they integrate the Party's leadership with people's democracy, enabling the Party's proposals to be transformed into national laws and public policies through legal procedures. In this process, the national "two sessions" are able to properly consolidate opinions from all sides, pool social wisdom, and form a shared will to advance national development. In today's turbulent and changing world, the practice of China's whole-process people's democracy carries important civilizational significance. It demonstrates that democracy does not have a single model; different countries can explore political systems suited to their own history, culture, and stage of development. The development of socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics has not only advanced the modernization of China's national governance system but also provided new experiences for enriching and developing human political civilization, making important contributions. China's "two sessions" are also showing to the world: they show how people participate in the entire process of national governance through institutionalized channels. Today, "China's governance" is universally recognized worldwide, carrying far more weight than any amount of preaching. Irfan Ashraf, a journalist with Pakistan's SAMAA TV, currently covering the "two sessions" on site, expressed particular interest in China's people-centered development concept and the ways in which other countries can adapt these experiences for the well-being of their own populations. This year marks the inaugural year of its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. Successfully convening the national "two sessions" holds important and far-reaching significance for effectively carrying out the work this year and even over the next five years, for planning and fulfilling the main phased goals and tasks of socio-economic development, and for laying a solid foundation and accumulating strength to basically achieve socialist modernization. By understanding the "two sessions," countries around the world will gain a deeper understanding of the essence of China's governance. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Zhong Wenxing) Student groups and labor unions rejoiced after the Oregon Legislature passed a bill requiring schools and colleges send alerts when federal immigration is present on campus. House Bill 4079 requires public schools and colleges to adopt policies for providing notice when federal immigration authorities enter school property for enforcement purposes. It requires training for school staff every other year. An amendment adds immunity from liability for school employees and their employers. A longstanding federal policy discouraging immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, including schools, was revoked on Jan. 20, 2025. Students, staff and parents deserve clarity about safety concerns near our schools," said Sen. Courtney Neron Misslin, D-Wilsonville, a chief sponsor who carried the bill on the floor. Protesters gather at Johnson Hall on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene for Day Without An Immigrant Feb. 16, 2026 In recent months, immigration enforcement activity has disrupted learning for thousands of children across Oregon and, frankly, the nation, she said. Schools have gone into lockdown. Students have stayed home. Educators and families are experiencing uncertainty and trauma. More than 330 people submitted written testimony on the bill. University of Oregon and Lane Community College prepared to develop ICE alert policies In Eugene, student groups and labor unions have organized rallies calling for ICE alerts on campus and better protections for students and their families. UO labor unions like Graduate Teachers Fellows Federation posted about the legislation's passage. GTFF's Instagram post said several of its members visited Salem in February to speak with lawmakers about HB 4079 and higher education funding. The post stated GTFF was pleased by the bill's passage. UO spokesperson Angela Seydel stated via email UO already was working through steps to implementation, given HB 4079's likely passage. "The University of Oregon is committed to being a place where people from all backgrounds can learn, teach, and thrive," Seydel stated. "We are equally committed to communicate with honesty, accuracy and care, especially in moments of uncertainty. We will of course fully comply with the law." Seydel acknowledged the community voicing distress over immigration action. "We recognize the urgency many in our community feel about immigration enforcement activity. We share that concern," Seydel stated. "At the same time, confirming the facts of a reported incident before communicating is essential. Sharing unverified information can cause fear and erode trust in the systems our campus depends on for safety." The UO community has heavily criticized the university administration for not taking a firm stance against ICE. Associated Students of UO President Prissila Moreno said it's disappointing the state has to pass legislation to protect students before the university takes action. "It has been a little bit demoralizing as a student with immigrant parents, with Latin background, to see a hard 'no' constantly," Moreno told The Register-Guard. "No public statement, no campus-wide email with resources, and no ICE alert system. That's three things that I pretty much ask about in every single administrative meeting that I'm in." Advertisement North Eugene High School students march down River Road in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in Eugene and nationwide on Feb. 17, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. Lane Community College also has had calls for more protection against federal immigration. LCC Education Association was unable to secure an ICE alert clause its in recent tentative contract agreement. LCC President Stephanie Bulger stated via email LCC is aware of the legislation and is reviewing its requirements. "As a public institution, we are committed to complying fully with state law while continuing to prioritize the safety, well-being, and educational access of our students and employees," Bulger stated. "Lane has a strong system to work thoughtfully and collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure our policies are clear, legally sound, and aligned with our longstanding commitment to a respectful campus climate." Bulger said LCC will communicate openly as it develops protocols. "LCC remains focused on our mission to provide access to education for all members of our community," she stated. Eugene-Springfield K-12 districts react to ICE alert bill Several schools in Eugene School District 4J, Springfield Public Schools and Bethel School District have seen student-led ICE protests. Bethel Communications Director Alisha Dodds stated Bethel is still learning what the bill could mean for school districts. "If the bill becomes law, we will work with legal counsel, state guidance, our board and community partners to understand the requirements and determine whether any updates to our policies are needed," Dodds stated. "We remain committed to creating schools where every student and family feels safe, welcomed and supported, and we will continue to support our immigrant and multilingual families as valued members of our school community." 4J Communications Director Kelly McIver stated in an email district staff are reviewing the passed version of the bill. He said the district will develop a compliant plan after receiving guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon School Board Association. SPS Communications Director Brian Richardson stated via email that, like many districts, SPS has law-compliant procedures in place already to guide staff response to outside law enforcement agencies seeking access to school property or student information. "As with any new legislation, we will continue working with legal counsel, state guidance, and community partners to review the requirements of HB 4079 and determine whether any updates to district policies or procedures are necessary," Richardson stated. "SPS remains committed to ensuring every student feels safe, welcomed and supported in our schools." What's next for Oregon HB 4079? The immigrant justice package also includes bills that would protect immigrants data privacy rights, allow Oregonians to sue federal agents for constitutional rights violations, ensure free breakfast and lunch for all students and more. The Oregon Senate passed HB 4079 18-10 on March 2. The House previously had passed it 35-22 on Feb. 17. The bill now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek for her signature. If signed, it will take effect on Sept. 30. Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on X at @Tracy_Loew Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on X @mirandabcyr. This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Legislature requires schools, colleges to send ICE alerts A Maryland man pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots was arrested earlier this week after allegedly filming himself touching the hair of female passengers while riding the local Metro train in the Washington, D.C., area. Bryan Betancur, 28, now faces charges of assault and battery. Politics: Man Pardoned Over Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Announces Run For U.S. Senate The Metro Transit Police announced Monday that the Silver Spring, Maryland, man was wanted on suspicion of said charges and confirmed that the alleged incident occurred Sunday aboard a Silver Line train servicing the Clarendon Metro Station shortly after 10 p.m. local time. The department stated Tuesday in an update on social media that officers had located and arrested Betancur, but also encouraged anyone with information about him to contact Metro Transit Police. The videos he allegedly took have gone viral on social media. The police on Monday said theyre aware of videos circulating depicting inappropriate behavior toward Metro customers. While they have not confirmed these were taken by Betancur, the clips show a man secretly touching womens hair aboard the Metro. One video appears to have been live-streamed from an account called Bryan On Task. Advertisement Betancur pleaded guilty in May 2022 to one count of disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds for his role on Jan. 6, 2021. He was sentenced in August 2022 to four months in prison and one year of supervised release, reported The Washington Post. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Betancur, seen here on Jan. 6, 2026, with the Certificate of Pardon he received from Trump. Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images Betancur was on parole for burglary charges before he participated in the Jan. 6 riots and apparently only received permission to travel to D.C. that day by convincing Marylands division of parole and probation that he wanted to hand out Bibles to other attendees. Betancur was still wearing his court-ordered GPS ankle monitor when he entered restricted areas, and was described in his 2021 indictment as a self-professed white supremacist, as he reportedly admitted to multiple law enforcement officers. News: Lindsey Vonn Reveals Whats Next In Her Hard And Painful Journey' After Olympics Crash His defense attorney, Ubong E. Akpan, argued in a 2022 defense memorandum that Betancur struggles with mental health issues. The 2021 indictment states that Betancur had researched school shootings and made comments about carrying one out. Trump pardoned all Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in office last year. Related... Read the original on HuffPost Corrections & Clarifications: The headline on this story has been updated. A 54-year-old man from Sacramento is believed to have been killed, along with five other soldiers, in the war with Iran, according to the Pentagon. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan was a United States Army reservist assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit had been deployed to Port Shuaiba in Kuwait at the time of the strikes on March 1. The Pentagon has not confirmed Marzan's death and is waiting for medical examiners to positively identify the soldier. Shortly after the Pentagon's announcement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement about Marzan. The flags over the California State Capitol fly at half-staff in honor of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Sacramento, CA. "California mourns the loss of Chief Warrant Officer Three Marzan, a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family during this time of profound sorrow," Newsom's statement read. "The sacrifices made by military families are immeasurable, and California stands in solidarity with them, united in grief and gratitude. Chief Warrant Officer Three Marzan's steadfast commitment exemplifies the highest ideals of our state and our country. "Marzan played a critical role in supporting our nation overseas." Advertisement To honor Marzan, Newsom ordered the flags at the State Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space to remain at half-staff. California mourns the loss of Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert M. Marzan, a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family during this time of profound sorrow. pic.twitter.com/MbAgmPHst7 Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) March 5, 2026 Other California representatives, like U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and U.S. Representatives Ami Bera and Doris Matsui, also posted about Marzan's death on social media. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, the sixth American service member killed in the war with Iran. May he rest in peace. And may God comfort his wife and family," Padilla said on X. The flags over the California State Capitol fly at half-staff in honor of Army reservist Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Sacramento, CA. Six troops have been killed so far in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Military authorities on Wednesday announced the identity of the fifth soldier as Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Pentagon identified four of the six on Tuesday. The four soldiers previously identified are: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Pentagon. USA TODAY reporter Michael Loria's reporting contributed to this article. Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert Marzan named as sixth Army soldier killed in Iran war Maj. Jeffrey OBrien Credit: U.S. Army Reserve NEED TO KNOW The Pentagon has revealed the identities of the remaining two U.S. service members who died in a drone strike on Sunday, March 1, which killed a total of six soldiers Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, was identified by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, March 4 Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, is "believed to be" the sixth individual who died in the attack, the Pentagon said The final two of six United States service members who were killed in a drone strike during the war with Iran have been identified. Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, died during the unmanned aircraft system attack on March 1 in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the Department of Defense announced on March 4. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., is "believed to be" the sixth individual who died as a result of the drone strike on Sunday, the Pentagon said. An identification of Marzan will be completed by a medical examiner. On Monday, March 2, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that six U.S. service members were killed by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait on Sunday, March 1. The first four Army Reserve Soldiers were previously identified as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. Capt. Cody Khork; Nicole Amor; Noah Tietjens; Declan Coady Credit: U.S. Army Reserve Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on March 2 that the attack occurred when an incoming munition hit a tactical operations center in the country, according to CBS News. Hegseth also noted that the operations center was fortified, but there was one projectile that made it through air defenses, CNN reported. Advertisement Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The drone strike came just one day after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be taking massive and ongoing military action, dubbed Operation Epic Fury." Iranian strike in the area where the US Embassy is located in Kuwait City Credit: AFP via Getty In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, March 4, Joey Amor, Nicoles spouse, remembered communicating with his wife just two hours before her death. She was almost home, Joey said, sharing that she was just days away from returning home to her family. "You dont go to Kuwait thinking somethings going to happen, and for her to be one of the first it hurts. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Meanwhile, Derek Hoff, Nicoles brother, told The New York Times that his sisters recent deployment in Kuwait was probably going to be her final one. Hoff noted that his sister, who had spent 20 years in the military, had an 18-year-old son who was graduating high school, and she also didnt want to lose more time with her 9-year-old daughter. She just missed them, Hoff told the newspaper. Read the original article on People Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said March 4 that the U.S. Navy sank an Iranian ship near Sri Lanka, killing dozens and marking another day of escalation in the U.S-Israeli war with Iran. The ship, which was struck by a torpedo, was in international waters, according to Hegseth. He called it the first such sinking of an adversary's ship since World War II. Multiple media reports have identified it as the IRIS Dena. More: US ground troops 'not part' of plan in Iran war, White House says The Iranian vessel was hit off Sri Lanka's southern coast, thousands of miles from Iran's coastline and the Persian Gulf. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States also sank 20 ships in Irans navy. Among them was a ship named after one of the Islamic Republic's most well-known commanders: Qasem Soleimani. 1 / 0 Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. The prominent general served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office. Advertisement Last night, we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani, Hegseth said. Looks like (Trump) got him twice, he added. At least 101 people were missing and 78 wounded after the U.S. attack on the Dena, sources in Sri Lanka's navy and defense ministry told the Reuters news agency on March 4. An explosion on what the U.S. Department of Defense says is an Iranian warship, at the sea, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 4, 2026. A Sri Lankan defense ministry spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY that the country's navy and coast guard have sent search-and-rescue teams to an Iranian ship that had sunk near its waters but was unable to provide further details. The Department of War, formerly the Department of Defense, posted a video of the strike on one of the ships on social media on March 4, calling the torpedo hit a "quiet death." Contributing: USA TODAY's Kim Hjelmgaard, Cybele Mayes-Osterman. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US submarine sinks Iranian warship on the high seas Every great story has to start somewhere, and for one of the best-known pioneer voices in American literature, that beginning unfolded in the Big Woods of western Wisconsin. If youve ever wanted to do a deep dive into the origin story behind the Little House books, this literary destination in Pepin, Wisconsin, belongs on your bucket list. Devoted Laura Ingalls Wilder fans travel for miles just to stand where the iconic authors journey began. I recently took a scenic drive down to this charming Mississippi River town to visit the sites for myself, and I think they definitely reflect the pioneer spirit of Wilders books. The Real-Life Inspiration Behind the Story Before the open prairies of Kansas and the Dakotas, or the banks of Plum Creek, there was the Big Woods. Laura was born right here in Pepin County in a log cabin on February 7, 1867. Her earliest childhood memories of cozy winter nights and playing with her sister Mary all stem from her time living in the cabin between the villages of Pepin and Stockholm, Wisconsin. Wilders first book, Little House in the Big Woods, detailed her childhood experiences in the Pepin area and became an almost-immediate success. What You Can See and Experience In the heart of Pepin, youll find the Laura Ingalls Wilder, easily recognized by its weathered wooden facade and a large, cutout of a young girl wearing a blue sunbonnet. After browsing the exhibits, you can take a quick stroll over to the historic Pepin railroad depot. This beautifully preserved building features classic railway crossing signage and vintage railway carts parked out front on the brick patio, adding an extra layer of 19th-century history to your visit. Advertisement The highlight of my visit, though, was the Little House Wayside. About 7 miles outside of town, youll find a replica of the familys log home perched on a bluff over a wooded valley. Featuring sturdy log walls, a wooden shingle roof, and a heavy stone chimney, it offers not only a spectacular photo opportunity-especially if you catch it glowing in the sunset-but also insight into the Ingalls familys living conditions. Tips for Planning Your Literary Pilgrimage Pepin is located along the Great River Road, making it a perfect spot to set up base camp for a weekend adventure in Wisconsins Driftless Area. (With its breathtaking views out over Lake Pepin, though, you may not want to leave). The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Pepin is open seasonally, so youll definitely want to check its hours before planning your visit. As an aspiring writer, I find sites like the woods where a legendary American author took her first steps inspiring-and if youre a fan of literature, I think you will, too. When youre ready to set out on your adventure, let Only In Your State's itinerary planner handle the heavy lifting of mapping out your route. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth criticized what he called "fake news" coverage of President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran during a Tuesday press conference, adding that the U.S. is "laser-focused" on its mission of severing Iran's "pathway to nuclear weapons." Hegesth told reporters that the military operation in Iran is "simply a reality check," and with the "combination of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and combat power, will control Iran and will control it soon." "Sure, Iran will still be able to shoot some missiles and still be able to launch one-way attack drones at civilian targets and their proxies will attempt to attack our embassies, bases and soft targets. They are terrorists, after all, and they need to target civilians because they can't fight toe-to-toe. But we will find them and kill them," the War secretary asserted. Sen. Kennedy Praises Trump's Resolve On Iran, Says 'World Is Safer Today Because Of What He's Done' War Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference on U.S. military action in Iran at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Mar. 2, 2026. (Getty Images) "This is what the fake news misses. Weve taken control of Iran's airspace and water without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front-page news," he continued. "I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality. The terms of this war will be set by us at every step." Six American military service members have been killed amid Iran's retaliation over U.S. and Israeli attacks over the weekend. Read On The Fox News App Hegseth reiterated his past remarks about the administration's goals for its military operation in the region. "As I said Monday, the mission is laser-focused. Obliterate Iran's missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons," he declared. "Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb. Not on our watch. Not ever." Hegseth Says The Leader Behind Effort To Assassinate Trump Has Been 'Hunted Down And Killed' In Iran Referencing the past "endless" negotiations with Iran concerning its nuclear program, the War secretary lauded Trump's decisive action and "moral clarity" in addressing the issue. Advertisement President Donald Trump holds up a fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. "This is why President Trumps moral clarity on Iran today is so vital. Unlike the past where vague red lines and endless negotiations let Iran fund terror and inch ever so slightly toward a bomb, this president sees the threat plainly and acts decisively," he said. "No more half measures, especially when Iran is at its weakest. No more letting Tehran play for time while our people pay the price." "[Trump's] leadership ensures that we finish what we [started], and that we protect our war fighters by crushing the enemy before they can strike again," Hegseth added. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture During a press conference on Monday, the War secretary echoed a similar message about the media's coverage of the administration's strikes against Iran, asserting that the conflict would not escalate into an "endless" war. "To the media outlets and political left screaming endless wars, stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless," Hegseth declared. "Our generation knows better and so does this president." U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran in the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury , according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) fact sheet a sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling the Iranian regimes security apparatus and neutralizing what officials describe as imminent threats. An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on February 28, 2026, at Sea. Click Here To Download The Fox News App The Israeli military's latest wave of airstrikes in Iran dealt a serious blow to the country's brutal internal security apparatus, opening the door for a potential uprising. During the strikes, Israel "dropped dozens of munitions on the Basij and internal security command centers that are subject to the Iranian terror regime," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday. "The targeted command centers were used by the Iranian regime to maintain control throughout Iran and maintain the regimes situational assessments." Fox News' Morgan Phillips and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report. Original article source: Pete Hegseth criticizes 'fake news' coverage of Iran strikes, says only tragedies make front page Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte delivers a statement following her impeachment by the lower house of the Congress, in her office at Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez MANILA, March 4 (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers ordered Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday to respond to impeachment complaints against her after finding substance to allegations involving unexplained wealth, the misuse of public funds and making public threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte is seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election, and has said she would run for the top post. She survived a similar impeachment bid last year, which the Supreme Court struck down for violating constitutional safeguards. If convicted by the Senate at trial, Duterte would be removed from office and disqualified from holding any future government position. Wednesday's vote in the House of Representatives' justice committee comes amid a bitter falling out between the two leaders, both scions of powerful political families, who swept to power in 2022 before becoming rivals. Duterte's defence team said in a statement it will weigh the congressional committee's vote. "For now, we will refrain from discussing the substance of the case in the media and will instead address these matters through the proper constitutional processes," it said. Advertisement Before any vote on whether an impeachment trial should go ahead, the House will consider Duterte's response to the charges, if she makes one, as well as any reply from the complainants. The complaints against Duterte include the misuse of confidential funds, bribery and unexplained wealth, and publicly threatening to have Marcos killed, along with his wife and a cousin who was House speaker at the time. "This is a very good development that the process of accountability is now moving," Representative Leila de Lima told Reuters. De Lima endorsed one of the complaints against Duterte. Four impeachment complaints were initially lodged against Duterte, but one complaint was dismissed over a rule that prohibits such complaints from being filed within a year after previously being submitted. Another complaint was withdrawn to fast-track the proceedings and because it was similar to another complaint. Marcos survived a separate impeachment bid against him last month after his allies in Congress voted to dismiss it. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by David Stanway) Authorities released a statement Wednesday, March 4, confirming no foul play is suspected in the death of a man whose body was found in a vehicle parked at Home Depot in Madison. Madison Police Lt. Micah Taylor told the Clarion Ledger the deceased man has been identified as Bradley Michael Baker, 55, of Madison. Taylor said the cause of death remains under investigation, pending toxicology and autopsy results. "At this time, there is no reason to believe that there is any foul play involved," Taylor said. The Madison Police Department responded around 11:35 a.m. Feb. 27 to reports of a possibly deceased person found in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Home Depot located at 205 Colony Way. Advertisement Police said when officers arrived on the scene, they discovered Baker inside a truck backed into a parking spot near the building. Taylor said Baker, a white male, was reported dead. What to know about fires set in Fondren: Former federal attorney faces arson charge after two fires occurred in Fondren MPD has launched a death investigation into this incident. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Madison County Coroner and District Attorneys Office are assisting in this ongoing case. Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Police ID man found dead in truck at the Home Depot in Madison MS PORT ALLEN, La (Louisiana First) Some Port Allen residents said theyre worried after rumors sparked in the community about the possibility of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention or processing facility being built in the area. I was pretty much scared to death, said Christine Perry, resident. Others said their concerns center on safety, the presence of armed federal officers, and what a facility could mean for the communitys day-to-day life. I mean, the thought of ICE people with their mask and their guns roaming around the town is a very frightening thought, said Perry. Residents also expressed concerns about how a facility could affect nearby businesses, especially hotels and commerce in the surrounding area. I know that businesses are also very concerned, especially with the proposed area on Conns Warehouse. No one is going to want to stay at these hotels anymore, Ryan Baumann said. Louisiana First News attempted to reach ICE for comment but did not receive a response. However, we did reach the office of West Baton Rouge Parish President Jason Manola, who said the parish was not alerted of the facility. Advertisement At this time, the parish has not received any formal proposal request or notification from ICE regarding the development of a detention or processing facility, said Manola. In other words, parish officials said there is currently nothing formally submitted to the parish for approval, even as residents continue to push for clarity about whats being discussed and what could happen next. For many residents, the biggest concern is the long-term impact on the community and how comfortable people would feel living, working, and raising families nearby. It wont make people want to leave their homes or go to work or go to school. Theres no good reason for it, Baumann said. Nobody wants to move to prison city, Perry added. Residents said they want transparency and timely updates if things change. Latest News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro speaks during the debate on government's performance on the storms that hit Portugal, at the parliament in Lisbon, Portugal, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes LISBON, March 4 (Reuters) - Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro defended his decision to let the United States use the Lajes airbase on Portugal's Azores Islands during the Iran bombing campaign, a position at odds with that of neighbour Spain which refused such requests. A longstanding agreement with the United States allows Washington to use the base without prior authorisation during peacetime, but required Portugal to give approval once hostilities began. Montenegro told parliament on Wednesday that U.S. use of the base was in compliance both with Portuguese law and agreements with the United States. Authorisation was granted for defensive purposes, based on necessity and against military targets, following international law, he said. "Portugal objectively has a close relationship with our ally, the United States," Montenegro told lawmakers. "Iran repeatedly violated international norms with its nuclear ambitions and long-range missile capabilities," he said, describing Tehran as a state sponsor of international terrorism. Advertisement Portugal's stance starkly contrasted with that of Spain, which angered President Donald Trump by refusing permission to use its bases. Montenegro did not directly address the difference in policy between the neighbours but noted that Portugal was a founding member of the NATO alliance in 1949, whereas Spain joined only in 1982. He said the government believed diplomacy must be the priority, but since the start of the conflict, Iran had attacked other countries that had not previously engaged in any hostilities. The government will also implement an "extraordinary and temporary" reduction of the tax on petroleum and energy products to offset any fuel price increase above 0.10 euros ($0.12) of this week's price due to the conflict, he added. ($1 = 0.8595 euros) (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Writing by Paolo Laudani; Editing by Charlie Devereux, David Latona and Peter Graff) Princess Beatrice wearing her engagement ring at Royal Ascot in June 2024. Credit: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images The Gist Princess Beatrice and now-husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi got engaged in Italy in September 2019. Beatrices engagement ring features a 2.5-carat central diamond and tapered side baguette stones. Its worth an estimated $165,000. Princess Beatrices engagement ring represented a shift from the typical royal sparkler. The princess entered her fiancee era back in September 2019, when now-husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi proposed to her on a trip to Italy. Rather than commissioning a ring from Garrard, the former court jeweler behind many royal baubles (including Princess Dianas proposal piece) Mozzi turned to British jeweler Shaun Leane to create a bespoke platinum and diamond bauble. (Meghan Markle and Florence Pugh are famously fans of the brands earrings.) I am so honored Edoardo chose to work with me to design the engagement ring for Princess Beatrice and to have been involved in this special moment in their lives, Leane said in a statement shortly after the engagement announcement, per People. Beatrice and Mozzi wed in July 2020, holding a small, private ceremony at Windsors Royal Chapel of All Saints in accordance with the COVID-19 pandemic guidelines. Theyve since welcomed two daughters: Sienna Elizabeth and Athena Elizabeth Rose. It all started when the princess said yes to foreverand gained an important new piece of jewelry. Heres everything to know about Princess Beatrices engagement ring, from its design and cost to its unique connection to Meghan Markles ring. The ring features a 2.5-carat round-cut diamond and tapered baguettes. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice at Royal Ascot on June 17, 2025. Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Soon after the engagement announcement, designer Leane told People all the details behind the latest royal bling. The main diamond is 2.5 karats. The baguette diamonds on the side are .75 karats, he said. The stones are set in a platinum band. Per People, Leane and Mozzi worked on the ring for four months before he popped the question to his future bride. Edo was very prepared and he had done his research. He had a very strong feeling about what he wanted, Leane shared. He knew that he wanted a round stone, and he knew he wanted platinum. We talked about aesthetic and he said, I really love Art Deco, and Beatrice really likes a Victorian aesthetic in jewelry, the designer continued. We talked about fusing the two together and he thought it would be lovely to do that, to fuse their two personalities together within the ring. There was a real unity. Advertisement It shares a key detail with Meghan Markles engagement ring. Duchess Meghan Markle shows off her engagement ring in April 2022. Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Beatrices proposal piece shares subtle connections with another royal brides engagement ring. For one, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, received a three-stone ring from Prince Harry in 2017. Rather than tapered baguettes, Markles bling features round-cut side stones from Princess Dianas collection. The more surprising connection? Per Leane, the diamonds in Beatrices sparkler are from Botswana and ethically sourcedjust like the central diamond on the Duchess's ring. Markle and Harry have sentimental connections to the South African country, having spent their romantic third date camping under the stars there on a five-day holiday. In With Love, Meghan Season 2, Markle told guest star Tan France, You really get to know each other when youre in a little tent together and its like, What is that outside the tent? Thats an elephant. Are we going to be safe? Yeah, youre safe. She then revealed Harry said I love you first, presumably on the Botswana trip. Princess Beatrices engagement ring has an estimated worth of $165,000. Royal engagement rings can set their buyers back by over a million dollars, at their most extravagant. Princess Beatrices bling has an estimated six-figure price tag, placing it on the humbler end of the spectrum. Initial reports suggested it was worth $310,000. As far as expert speculation goes, Maxwell Stone of U.K. fine jewelry brand Steven Stone told Brides Beatrices engagement ring has an estimated value of $165,000. Mozzi proposed in Italy, about a year after they began dating. Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mozzi, in March 2024. Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images The princess and the property tycoon had known each other for years when they reportedly began dating in November 2018, according to People. A little less than a year later, Mozzi asked Beatrice to marry him during a weekend holiday in Italy. We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement, the couple said in a statement shared by the royal family in September 2019. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and cant wait to be married. We share so many similar interests and values and we know this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness. Her parents, the former Duke and Duchess of York, also released a statement supporting the news of their daughters upcoming union. We are thrilled that Beatrice and Edoardo have got engaged, having watched their relationship develop with pride, the statement read. We are the lucky parents of a wonderful daughter who has found her love and companion in a completely devoted friend and loyal young man. We send them every good wish for a wonderful family future. Read the original article on InStyle Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin The Kremlin has ridiculed Donald Trump's ambitions for a Nobel Peace Prize following the US military campaign against Iran. Russian officials also took aim at comments made by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who raised the possibility of invoking NATO's Article 5 if the crisis escalates further in the Gulf region. The clause would require all alliance members to treat an attack on one as an attack on all, potentially widening the conflict. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally and outspoken supporter of Vladimir Putin, mocked the situation in a scathing online post. It comes after Trump was caught on a hot mic making a chilling threat that could spark WW3. Dmitry Medvedev mocks NATO on X (Image: east2west news) He wrote: "NATO's nuts! First, the US kills Iran's leader and starts a war in the Middle East. Next, NATO idiots led by Trump's servile 'sonny' Rutte mull invoking Article 5. How about nominating POTUS [Donald Trump] for the Nobel Peace Prize for starting a major war, eh? Orwell was right: war is peace!" The remarks came as Russian political philosopher Alexander Dugin, often described as an ideological voice close to the Kremlin, predicted the turmoil surrounding Iran could reshape global power structures. Dugin argued the situation could even pave the way for a revival of Moscow's influence across former Soviet territories, more than three decades after the collapse of the USSR. He said: "Trump is monstrous. "But he has put an end to liberalism forever. Now we need to skilfully take advantage of his destructive steps and the chaos in international politics, since it's simply impossible to expect anything constructive. "It's absurd to follow the rules after the one who established them has himself abolished them. So, there are no more rules, and everyone will now set their own." Advertisement According to Dugin, Russia should now assert its influence across what he described as the "post-Soviet space (Empire)", referring to the group of nations that once formed the Soviet Union. The USSR consisted of 15 republics, all of which became independent after the Soviet collapse in 1991. Today, three of those former republics - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - are members of NATO, while Ukraine remains locked in a full-scale war with Russia. Dugin suggested that bringing those territories back under Moscow's sway would dramatically expand Russia's reach, potentially increasing the area under its control by nearly a third. He added that Eastern Europe could become the next geopolitical dividing line. "Some gravitate towards us, others towards Epstein. Their choice. "China, India, Asian countries, Muslims, Africa, and Latin America - [our] friends and partners. "Let the West spend another century without us." ]]> Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto shake hands during their meeting at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hosted Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto for talks in Moscow, with oil and gas supplies high on the agenda, as Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, despite the war in Ukraine. Szijjarto said earlier on Wednesday that he was in Moscow seeking guarantees from Russian authorities that Hungary would continue to have access to Russian oil and gas amid disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East and interruptions to Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline. The Hungarian government has recently accused Kyiv of deliberately holding back Russian oil deliveries through the pipeline, which crosses Ukraines territory. Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations, saying the pipeline, which feeds refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, was hit in a Russian drone attack. Putin assured Szijjarto at the meeting that the Russian authorities have always fulfilled all our obligations, and, of course, we intend and are ready to do so." I understand that this is of concern to you, particularly oil supplies. We see whats happening in the global and European gas markets. Well be happy to discuss all these issues," Putin said. Not everything is in our power," he said. Szijjarto, in turn, said that the Russian president was well aware that Ukraine has been blocking oil shipments to Hungary on the Druzhba oil pipeline for weeks, solely for political reasons and based on a political decision. He said that hed come to Moscow to ensure Hungarys continued access to Russian fossil fuels at an unchanged price, despite the disruption to pipeline deliveries and soaring energy prices in the wake of the war in the Middle East. Advertisement Putin also announced that Russia was releasing two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war who fought in the Ukrainian armed forces. Putin said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked him to consider releasing them in a phone call on Tuesday, and that Szijjarto will be able to bring them home right on the plane that brought you here and that you will return to Budapest on. Szijjarto thanked him in Russian. The minister has previously accused Ukraine of forcibly conscripting members of a roughly 75,000-strong community of ethnic Hungarians residing in the western Ukrainian region of Zakarpattia. Many in that minority group hold dual Hungarian and Ukrainian citizenship, and so do the two released POWs, according to Putin. The agreement to release the two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war comes as Orban escalates an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign before tough elections scheduled for next month. Trailing in most polls to a center-right challenger who has promised to restore Hungarys Western alliances and end its dependence on Russian energy, Orban has ramped up unfounded accusations that Kyiv and the European Union seek to bankrupt Hungary by forcing it to financially assist Ukraine. He has also sought to convince voters that if his party loses the election, his opponent will send Hungarian youth to die on the front lines of the war. Last week, Hungary blocked a new package of EU sanctions on Russia in response to interruptions in Russian oil supplies that pass through Ukraine, and vowed to block a major, 90-billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan destined for Kyiv until oil flows resume. ___ Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary. A Kurdish Iranian opposition leader told ABC News that they are "ready for anything," amid unconfirmed reports that the United States may be preparing to arm Kurdish forces to spur an uprising in Iran, as the U.S. wages war on the country. In a sit-down interview with ABC News in Iraq on Wednesday, Omar Baleki would not confirm nor deny the reports. When asked if they are preparing a ground assault on Iran, Baleki responded, in Kurdish, "We're ready for anything." Osama Al Maqdoni/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participate in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq, January 15, 2026. Pressed on what he meant by that, Baleki said he cannot say or predict everything that will happen, and that everything will show when the time comes on the field. Asked what he would say to Americans who are worried that their government is potentially getting involved in another "forever war," Baleki said thinks the U.S. "owes" it to the Iranian people to get rid of the regime for good. Iran live updates Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups are based in neighboring Iraq, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Advertisement When asked whether the U.S. is considering arming Iranian Kurdish groups, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Wednesday, "All I would say is, none of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing we're aware of, but our objectives aren't centered on that." Osama Al Maqdoni/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participate in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq, January 15, 2026. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed reports that the U.S. is considering arming Kurdish forces in the hopes of inspiring an uprising in Iran. "I could comment on the fact that the president has held many calls with partners, allies and leaders in the region in the Middle East. He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq," Leavitt said during a press briefing Wednesday. "But as for any report suggesting that the president has agreed to any such plan is completely false and should not be written." Trump 'got the last laugh,' Hegseth says of US killing Iranian assassination plotter Iran's foreign minister spoke with the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Wednesday, according to the Iranian government. During the call, the president "emphasized the determination of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to maintain and enhance friendly relations with Iran," according to Tehran. They also discussed "strengthening cooperation" between the Kurdistan region and Iran "in order to protect border security and prevent any abuse by third parties to destabilize the region," the Iranian government said in a statement. The Refectory, a fine-dining destination in Columbus for 50 years, has been named the creme de la creme of French restaurants in the state. Tasting Table, a digital media company focused on food and drink, recognized the Northwest Side establishment as Ohios best French restaurant in its 2026 guide, "The Absolute Best French Restaurant in Every State". More on the Refectory: Columbus Classics: Refectory sets table for French fine dining, hospitality The roundup touts The Refectorys award-winning hospitality and suggests trying the tasting menu for a variety of dishes, especially the standout quail and fish. The Refectory in Columbus has been ranked as Ohio's best French restaurant in Tasting Table's roundup, "The Absolute Best French Restaurant in Every State." Owner Kamal Boulos said in a press release that he was humbled and honored by the national recognition for The Refectory, located at 1092 Bethel Road. Advertisement We greatly appreciate our guests for their support and encouragement and our amazing associates who have led us to represent Ohios finest, he said in the release. Celebrating 50 years of central Ohio hospitality and (being) named among the top 50 French restaurants in America! Our hearts are full of gratitude. To compile the list, Tasting Table consulted resources such as the Michelin Guide and the James Beard Foundation, and pored over countless customer reviews, recommendations, and reports. The company also sought places that use classic French techniques and offer extensive wine lists. The Refectory does both, applying classic methods to contemporary American cuisine and boasting a wine list with more than 700 selections. Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The Refectory in Columbus named best French restaurant in Ohio While the measure is being considered by local and state governments across the country, reparations advocates face an uphill battle in some cities, yet remain hopeful. Cincinnati NAACP President David Whitehead last week urged people not to be opposed to the term "reparation" and to be more receptive to it. "I think people get confused and caught up with the word 'reparation,'" Whitehead said. "Its restoring people that have been unfairly treated." Whitehead's comments coincided with city talks regarding a new reparations program. The program would offer assistance to "low-to-moderate income residents" and "any individual or family member of an individual who was prevented from buying a home due to discriminatory practices," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. While Cincinnati makes progress in advancing reparations, some places face obstacles due to legal pressure or inaction. Illinois Reparations Commission Releases Lengthy Report Of State's 'Harms' Against Black Citizens Read On The Fox News App There is no clear champion of cash payment reparations in California, considering all the statements from gubernatorial candidates. (Getty Images) In Santa Clara, California, the next step for reparations is unclear. Santa Clara officials in January approved a discussion to explore how the city could compensate Black residents for historic racist practices. "Santa Clara County has a responsibility to confront the harm that has been caused by government systems and policies including impacts on African Americans here in San Jose and across our region," County Supervisor Betty Duong said at the Jan. 22 meeting. Lavere Foster, the associate director of the African American Community Services Agency in San Jose, told San Jose Spotlight in February that she has been waiting for the measure to appear on the agenda and would be concerned if the measure is not taken up this month. "If we get to March, and its still not on the agenda, then Id be really concerned," Foster said. However, the city is currently dealing with budget woes, threatening social security services. "We understand that were in a time of budget cuts," Foster told San Jose Spotlight. "But the goal right now isnt to ask for, say, a $10 million package." Foster said that San Joses vision for the reparations program is beyond strictly dollar amounts. "More so as a way to accumulate generational wealth. Whether thats a package around housing assistance, getting certain loans paid off or cash, were hoping to see the county study something that is actionable, that we can then follow up on," he added. Advertisement Illinois City Hands Out $25K Cash Payments To 44 Black Residents Through Reparations Program Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, told Fox News Digital that it's suing the City of Evanston to stop paying Black residents reparations. Asheville, North Carolina's mayor wants to pursue reparations, but matters are complicated considering legal implications and potential pushback from the Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Buncombe County in September threatening to investigate and take action if it approves recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission. "We have a difficult landscape with this administration, unfortunately," Mayor Esther Manheimer told BPR in an interview in February. "But we're committed to the community to carry out the recommendations of the Reparations Commission." Manheimer must overcome a primary race as she runs for re-election to a fourth term. She and her primary opponents were all part of the city council that approved the reparations measure in 2020. When BPR asked what reparations proposal Manheimer would support, she said it's "incredibly complicated." "I think it would behoove us to move forward on those recommendations that we think are going to be less subject to state and federal challenge," she explained. "So, I think there's a lot there to work with, and I'm excited to do that." Asheville is also trying to recover from an estimated $1.1 billion in damages from Hurricane Helene. Manheimer has reportedly been traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby for more federal funding to help with recovery. On Tuesday, the city announced $6.9 million in combined state and federal funding toward rebuilding. Earlier this month, Manheimer testified about their reparations initiative and $30 million budget gap before the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency. Manheimer defended the reparations project, arguing that people who lost homes were "were not adequately compensated." Democratic Governor Faces Pushback From Lynching Research Commission Over Reparations Stance Evanston, Illinois, will issue $25,000 to 44 residents in reparations payments, the Citys Reparations Committee has announced. The future of reparations in California appears to be precarious as well after Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected several bills to avoid legal issues and none of his potential successors appear to champion reparations in the gubernatorial race. One of the candidates outright rejected the notion of direct cash payments, which is often associated with reparations efforts. Lisa Holder, a civil rights attorney and a former member of the states Reparations Task Force, reportedly said that advancing reparations would be a long process while advocates search for a champion of the cause. "You cant legislate yourself out of 400 years of inequality and injustice. You have to do an entire body of laws to change the systems that have been disparately affecting black folks for decades," Holder told KQED on Jan. 19. "You now have to put many, many laws in place to change practically every system, whether youre talking about systems of finance, housing. Laws that require equitable treatment, laws that require affirmative hiring sometimes in industries where Black people were affirmatively not hired." Manheimer, Holder, Whitehead and Foster did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Cash payment reparations was implemented in Evanston, Illinois. Evanston was the first city in the nation to pass a reparations plan , pledging $10 million over a decade to Black residents in November 2019. Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, told Fox News Digital earlier this month it filed a lawsuit against Evanston, to stop the city from paying Black residents reparations. The $25,000 payments to Evanston residents are intended to cover housing expenses. The city committed to focus on housing because the issue is "the strongest case for reparations." San Franciscos Reparations Fund is also facing a lawsuit as critics claim the measure is divisive because it solely favors Black residents. Original article source: Reparations advocates push for payments to Black Americans despite budget and legal challenges A container ship navigates the Savannah River in Savannah, Georgia, passing along the historic waterfront with the cityscape in the background. Photo: Kelly / Pexels (The Center Square) Georgia is exporting more than ever before, sending out $60.2 billion in goods to other countries during 2025, according to a new report. But the Peach State is still importing billions more than it exports, the Georgia Department of Economic Development said Thursday. It imported $150.5 billion in goods. Exports rose 12.7% when compared to 2024, resetting the record for the fifth consecutive year. Imports were up 3.3%. Civilian aircraft and ancillary parts were the most exported item, accounting for the largest amount of exports at $16.4 billion, followed by computers, hardware and storage units at $4.4 billion and motor vehicles at $3.9 billion. The top imports were computers and related items at $12.3 billion, which was closely followed by cars at $12 billion, the report said. Advertisement Georgia's top export partners were Mexico and Canada. Mexico was also a top import partner, followed by South Korea and China, according to the report. The improvements propelled Georgia into the seventh-largest trade market among the 50 states. "Georgia is not just keeping pace, it is outpacing the nation in year-over-year growth for trade and export values, said Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. "Georgias move into the Top 10 exporting states marks a shift in U.S. and global supply chains and highlights new opportunities in Southeast Asia." State officials lauded the transportation system. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport, according to multiple sources. The Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick are two of the busiest ports in the country. "With our coastal and inland ports continuing to grow capacity while we make key investments in other logistics infrastructure, Georgia is well positioned to break even more trade records in the years to come," Gov. Brian Kemp said. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council's annual report to Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo By Michael Martina and David Lawder WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Reviving market access to Chinese industrial firms would undercut U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to rebuild American manufacturing, the head of a congressional committee on China warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as Trump prepares to visit Beijing for trade talks. Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S. has fallen dramatically in recent years as U.S. officials talk about the need to "de-risk" the United States' economy, though some media reports have suggested the two sides are looking at ways to revive reciprocal investment. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives' select committee on China, told Bessent in a letter seen by Reuters that Chinese companies routinely benefit from government support allowing them to operate at a loss and displace U.S. competitors. Inviting them to expand investment in the U.S. would provide relief to China's strained economy and undermine the administration's efforts to safeguard national security and rebuild American industrial strength, Moolenaar told Bessent in the letter dated March 4. "Beijing seeks to subsidize its broken economic model on the back of the American taxpayer and capitalize on the ill-gotten gains of its mass intellectual property theft by exporting its state-subsidized industrial overcapacity to our shores," Moolenaar said. The letter comes ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, expected March 31 to April 2. The Trump administration hopes the leaders can agree to extend a delicate tariff truce amid an ongoing industrial and technological rivalry. Advertisement The U.S. president, using controversial tariffs, has made reviving American manufacturing a focus of his economic agenda, including efforts to win investment commitments from partners and allies in key industries, such as semiconductor fabrication and shipbuilding. But Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 singling out the risks of Chinese investment for "targeting the crown jewels" of American technology. The U.S. Trade Representative's office said this week in a policy document that it would seek "constructive foreign investment" that grows the U.S. industrial base but does not imperil U.S. national security. Without naming China directly, USTR's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda pledged to use the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to guard against national security threats and promote "productive, market-based investment." China's embassy in Washington and the Treasury Department did not respond immediately to requests for comment on whether the two sides were discussing any plans to increase reciprocal investment. Moolenaar specifically warned against allowing greater inroads to Chinese firms in the auto and lithium-ion battery industries. The Michigan lawmaker has repeatedly scrutinized Ford's partnership with Chinese battery giant CATL , a company the Pentagon says is linked to China's military. Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the top Chinese trade negotiator, are expected to meet in mid-March to plan for the leaders' summit. (Reporting by Michael Martina and David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Diane Craft) Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, expresses opposition to congressional redistricting while Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, left, listens on Aug. 21, 2025. Photo: Screengrab from California Assembly Livestream / Used with Permission and with the authority of California Constitution, Article IV / Cropped from Orginal (The Center Square) Republican lawmakers in California are worried that the states budget deficit is growing despite increasing revenues. Legislators told The Center Square this week that concerns abound that the states budget deficit, despite increasing revenues, is driven in large part by increasing spending. We may be seeing them both grow at the same time, but were seeing our spending exponentially increase a whole lot faster than were seeing our revenues, Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, said late Tuesday. Were at record revenues in the state, and yet we still dont have enough money to pay all of our bills. That is a great reflection that there is a spending problem in this state. A February report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office updated the states budget revenue outlook, projecting that the states multi-year structural budget deficit is now expected to sit at $35 billion annually starting in the 2027-28 budget year. The projection is fueled largely by what the office said in its report could be a revenue reversal. Such a revenue reversal would be caused by potentially declining income taxes coming to the state. The updated budget outlook released in February is based on expected tax revenue from the states income, corporation and sales taxes, an LAO official said Wednesday. The big increases were seeing are being fueled by the personal income tax, which is the states largest revenue source, Ann Hollingshead, the LAO's principal fiscal and policy analyst, told The Center Square. That is being boosted by a roaring stock market. That stock market has doubled since 2020, and that stock market growth is largely on the backs of investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence. Hollingshead added that the Legislative Analysts Office is cautioning the Legislature about large revenue increases based on big stock market growth often dont last and end in a bust. These cycles of stock market surges and busts are very common in state history, and very possible that it would happen again, and therefore there are warning signs that that history could repeat itself in the not-too-distant future, Hollingshead told The Center Square. If that did happen, if the stock market did reverse, that could have very significant implications for the state budget. Advertisement The Legislative Analysts Office released a budget outlook report in November 2025, initially projecting the deficit could run to roughly $18 billion. The governors budget, released in January, projected a much smaller deficit of $2.9 billion, based on higher income tax receipts from Big Tech companies that invested in high-valuation artificial intelligence technologies. Regardless of projected revenue increases, some lawmakers still want to see spending come down, they told The Center Square. Weve got to bring spending in line with expected revenue, Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, said Wednesday The only real way to do that is to take a look at programs that have either been created or enhanced in the last four or five years and just ask if theyre accomplishing what they were supposed to. Niello also wants to see if the cost of certain state-run programs is sustainable given the states budget challenges, he added. That will lead us to where we need to bring spending down, Niello told The Center Square. Republican lawmakers also expressed concern that some of their Democratic counterparts may want to fix the deficit by raising taxes and increasing spending further. Right now, the LAO and the department of finance is telling us we do not have future revenues that will meet our ability to service what is already in law, Tangipa told The Center Square. Yet youre seeing from the Legislature that more programs are coming. More spending is coming, and theyre warning us we cannot pay for all of these programs. Democratic lawmakers on tax and revenue committees in the Legislature were unavailable for comment on Wednesday. The governors office did not respond to The Center Squares emails before press time on Wednesday. Officials from the California Budget and Policy Center also were also unavailable. Student theatre tradition continues with childrens production BeBop Tales Note: This is the latest in a series commemorating the 130th Anniversary of SC State. Join SC State on April 18 for the 130th Anniversary Garnet & Blue Extravaganza. All proceeds benefit student scholarships. ORANGEBURG, S.C. For many South Carolina State University students, the Henderson-Davis Players offer a first opportunity to step onto a stage, discover their talents and become part of a creative tradition that has thrived on campus since 1967. The student-led drama guild has long served as a cornerstone of campus culture at SC State. As one of the oldest collegiate drama troupes in the nation and the oldest at any historically Black college or university, the Henderson-Davis Players have produced more than 225 plays and won more than 100 national and international awards in theatre festivals and competitions. Among the programs successful alumni are the late Samuel E. Wright, the voice of Sebastian in Disneys The Little Mermaid, Javon Johnson of Tyler Perrys The Oval, and Erskine Johnson, the first African American inducted into the South Carolina Theatre Association Hall of Fame. Today, that tradition continues as the group prepares for a new childrens theatre production. A modern take on classic fairy tales The Henderson-Davis Players are gearing up for a childrens theatre production of BeBop Tales, auditions for which were held Feb. 3 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium on the SC State campus. The coordinator of South Carolina State Universitys Drama Program continues to provide the tools of success for a new generation of theatrical performers with the upcoming production. Ursula O. Robinson is a drama professor at SC State, the only historically Black college or university (HBCU) in South Carolina offering a degree program in drama. Along with serving as drama program coordinator, Robinson also serves as director of theatre and adviser to the Henderson-Davis Players. The production will be a hip-hop adaptation of classic fairy tales, with the characters undergoing a transformation under the modern retelling of classic stories. Its the story of a fractured fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel, but the characters are called Rumpels and Punzelle, and it has hip-hop music, poetry its a lot. Its very different in that were taking a fairy tale and adding iconic African American music, Robinson said. The production will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday and Friday, March 26-27, for public schools at the MLK Auditorium. The production will also be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, and 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28, for the university and the general public. Tickets are $2 for college students with ID and $6 for all other members of the general public. For tickets and other information, including how to reserve seats, call 803-997-0856 or contact Robinson by email at urobinson@scsu.edu. Robinson said the play was written by one of her former students she taught at North Carolina A&T University, Billicia Hines, who now serves as director of the African American Theatre Program at Wayne State University. The production is more of an exploration. Not just a story, but how the story can be changed in so many ways to appeal to [a younger audience]. Were bringing in schools from all over to see the production, Robinson said. This is how we bring people in to, one, introduce them to what we do, but also to even put in the idea that this could be the opportunity for them, she said. Robinson continued, For some of these kids, this will be the first time theyve seen something like this, a live production. It could say to them, This is something I can do. So many times in our community, our students dont have an opportunity to exercise their gifts. Henderson-Davis Players auditions for BeBop Tales." A stage for students The Henderson-Davis Players continue to draw participation from students across campus, as well as alumni and members of the community who remain connected to the program. Christiaan Frasier, an SC State senior business management major, is president of the Henderson-Davis Players and was among those who turned out to audition to perform in BeBop Tales. He said it is significant that SC State is the only HBCU that offers a degree in drama, a program that he said provides versatility in training and a welcoming atmosphere. Thats what I love about professors and mentors here within the HDP, which is what we call ourselves. We have our own chant, and we let all negativity out when we go on stage. Its just a whole other world, and it really gives you that oomph and motivation that you need to continue, Frasier said. He was once shy about being on stage but is now more comfortable with theatrical performance. Im not a theatre or drama major. At first when I started, it was a hobby. One of my friends said, Just try it out. I said, Im shy, dont put me up on stage. But three years later, Ive experienced so much, Frasier said. Ive been to conventions and other events, and weve done social gatherings for the community. Weve actually sung to the elderly. We do so much, he said. Julius Floyd, an 18-year-old freshman drama major from Conway, S.C., started acting in high school and said he has found a friendly home and good acting experience within the H-D Players. Moving up to the H-D Players has just been amazing. Its just been like a step above the high school level drama teaching. It just taught me a little bit more about how you can improve acting, Floyd said. Kameron Chamberlain, a 19-year-old SC State drama major from Greenwood, S.C., said participating in the H-D Players empowers him to want to be a better actor and student. I would describe my experience with the H-D Players as fun. Its a great learning experience, and it really makes me want to do work in school, Chamberlain said. He said his instructors in the drama program push him to do his best. Theyre not the type of people who let you do nothing halfway. Youre going to give your all, and if you dont, youre going to hear from them, Chamberlain said. Brianna Armstrong, a senior drama major from Beaufort, S.C., said she has learned many things in the drama program and has a strong connection with her professors, who motivate her to get out of her comfort zone and explore new things. Even when I dont want to be pushed, they will push me because theyre not going to allow my talents to go to waste, she said, noting that she encourages other students to join the drama program. Nobodys coming in here judging you. If anything, they want to help, Armstrong said. A lasting connection to the program Former student and Henderson-Davis Players member Baysia Hunt, now a fiscal analyst II in the SC State 1890 Research and Extension Program, continues to assist with stage production. The 23-year-old graduated from SC State in May 2025 with an accounting degree. I joined the Henderson-Davis Players as a freshman. Shortly thereafter, I was nominated by the other members to be secretary-treasurer. So I served in that capacity, which was also more comfortable for me because Im a finance major, Hunt said. She soon, however, began performing in productions. I was cast as the main character in a murder mystery. It wasnt supposed to be one, but we added this crazy aspect at the end that made it a murder mystery, Hunt said. She continued, That was fun. Then over time, I just really became more hands-on behind the scenes. At this point, Ive done three productions as stage manager, she said. Hunt said it has been hard to pull away from her work with the Henderson-Davis Players because it is still work that she enjoys. Even at moments when Im like, Oh, I think I might step back a little bit, I find myself right back, Hunt said. Drama Professor Ursula O. Robinson, a successful TV and film actress, advises the Henderson-Davis Players. Training the next generation of performers Anyone from the community can come to audition. The H-D Players are open. Its a student organization, but its also a function of the drama program. So all of our majors have to go through the H-D Players because thats how we do our productions, Robinson said. Robinson has also found herself immersed in her work with the universitys drama program. Ive been here since 1999, and Ive been over it since 2010. The program is special to me because, one, we create artists who leave here and impact the world. They change the world around them, but were also the only HBCU that offers a degree in theatre, she said. We teach all our students all aspects of theatre, and we add in television and film, Robinson said. Hunt said, One of the things that Ive learned over the years, especially when I had the opportunity to go to the Southeastern Theatre Conference, was how many successful TV and film actors got their start in theatre. Frasier said, Its always something for someone here. It doesnt matter if you want to do tech, editing, costumes, acting or playwriting. We always have a place for someone. For more information about SC States Professional Drama Programand the Henderson-Davis Players, visit scsu.edu/academics/programs/drama or contact Robinson at urobinson@scsu.edu or 803-536-8815. The Professional Drama Program is a unit of the SC State Department of Visual & Performing Arts and the College of Education, Humanities & Social Sciences. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A movie theater in the heart of downtown Kansas City recently closed its doors. B&B Theatres announced the permanent closure of its Main St. KC location at the Power & Light District in a post on Facebook. Lenexa City Center to get new Ninja Warriorstyle outdoor fitness park and course Its just really sad, not only just for moviegoers in this general area, because theres not a lot of theaters close by, said Fred Liggett, a Lees Summit resident who spends time in downtown Kansas City. In its Facebook statement, B&B Theatres said in part: B&B routinely reviews the theatres in our circuit and makes decisions based on what will best strengthen the company going forward. After thoughtful review, we have made the decision to exit this location. Liggett is sad to see the theatre go but understands why the location may have faced challenges. In the time that Im down here, I wasnt seeing a movie. I was down here to see a game, catch a concert, that kind of thing. I would walk by, or, when I was driving by, see the sign and check what movies they were showing. But I wasnt going in, and I would like to think many visitors to the downtown area are like that, and that affects their bottom line, Liggett explained. Advertisement FOX4 reached out to the Power & Light District about plans for the now vacant historic theater building at 1400 Main Street. A P&L spokesperson said, Stay tuned for a very exciting announcement. Boulevard Drive-In announces opening weekend for 2026 season Melanie Werner attended salsa dance classes every Saturday evening inside the B&B Theatre at Johnnies Jazz Bar and Grille. She said Aladun Afro-Latin Dance School hosted the dance classes. We didnt know (about the closure) until we were there Saturday night. Thats when the staff let us know, Werner said. I was heartbroken because that is my favorite place to go, salsa dancing in Kansas City. So I was really sad about it. Were a really tight-knit community, and we take care of each other. We look out for each other. Aladun Afro-Latin Dance School made a Facebook post about the closure, saying in part: With the B&B Theatre exiting this location, this chapter has ended unexpectedly, but we are deeply grateful to everyone who joined us and brought so much love and energy to these nights. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Restoring the flow of the Ocklawaha River won support of the Florida House on a 107-3 vote that would partly remove a dam that created Rodman Reservoir a half-century ago for the abandoned Cross Florida Barge Canal. State Rep. Wyman Duggan, who sponsored the bill, said it strikes a balance among environmental conservation, economic growth and outdoor recreation. "Florida has a proud tradition of doing the hard, right thing to protect our heritage from the Everglades to the Kissimmee River and the Ocklawaha River deserves the same commitment," Duggan said on the House floor. State Rep. Judson Sapp, whose district includes Putnam County where Rodman Reservoir is located, urged the House to vote down the bill. Sapp, R-Green Cove Springs, said it would inject environmental and economic uncertainty into a rural area where "every single dollar we bring home matters in a way that wealthier parts of Florida may never truly understand." "But one thing my community has had for generations is Rodman Reservoir," he said. "It's our place. It's where people fell in love. It's where kids learn to fish. It's where even today some families put food on the table." The vote on the bill moves next to the full Senate where Sen. Jason Brodeur filed companion legislation for restoring the Ocklawaha so it flows uninterrupted from Silver Springs to the St. Johns River. The Kirkpatrick Dam, also known as Rodman Dam, dates back to 1968 for the never-completed Cross Florida Barge Canal. The federal government stopped construction of the canal in 1971 but the dam remained in place and created the 9,500 acre Rodman Reservoir covering parts of Putnam and Marion counties. Advertisement The bill would create a 19-member Northeast Florida River and Springs Recreation and Economic Development Advisory Council that would chart recommendations for recreation and economic development financed by state grants. Supporters of the legislation say by opening a portion of the dam and gradually draining the Rodman Reservoir by the end of 2032, it will unleash flow from springs covered by the reservoir and send billions of gallons of freshwater down the Ocklawaha to the St. Johns River, improving the ecological health of the state's longest river. Florida State Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, speaks during a state House of Representatives meeting. Sapp said there's no certainty about that outcome happening. He said residents would lose Rodman Reservoir and get a "question mark with unknown outcomes" in return. Duggan said the bill puts in place a community-driven plan that finally takes on the environmental impact of the barge canal project. Restoring Ocklawaha: River restoration bill moves ahead for opening Rodman Reservoir dam "For nearly 60 years, Floridians championed the river's restoration and waited for their leaders to act," he told lawmakers. "This legislation built on collaboration with community stakeholders, the Legislature and the governor is long overdue." Gov. Ron DeSantis last year vetoed a line item for the Ocklawaha River in a bigger budget bill. This year's attempt uses standalone legislation that won resounding support in the House on its way to vote by the Senate. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida House approves bill for Ocklawaha River restoration People often formed faulty first impressions of Capt. Cody Khork, his former commander in the ROTC program at Florida Southern College recalled. Lt. Col. Scott LaRonde fondly described Khork as a string bean with glasses. That appearance could lead others to stereotype Khork as nerdy and lacking social skills. Such assumptions missed Khorks assured and engaging manner, LaRonde said. He wasn't a loud, obnoxious guy, a get up there and yell in front of everybody kind of guy, LaRonde said. He was very personable. And he led at that personable level that is just really valuable in a military organization, to have the ability to relate one on one to people. And he did it as well as anybody I've ever seen. Capt. Cody Khork, a resident of Lakeland, Fla., enlisted as a 13P (Multiple Launch Rocket System / Fire Direction Specialist) in the National Guard in 2009. He commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudia Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024. Khork's awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and "M" Device, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Khork, 35, was one of four American soldiers killed March 1 in a drone attack on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines, Iowa, the military said in a news release. The soldiers were supporting Operation Epic Fury, the American and Israeli war against Iran. Khork grew up in Winter Haven, attending Denison Middle School and graduating in 2008 from Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake. He had lived in Lakeland in recent years. Polk County Public Schools released a statement that detailed Khorks military service. Polk County Public Schools has the utmost respect for Capt. Khorks service; our hearts go out to his family and friends, the statement said. 'Infectious spirit, generous heart' A representative for Khorks parents said March 4 that the family was not granting interviews. The family released a statement after the military announced Khorks death on March 3. The statement noted that Khork enlisted in the Army Reserve and joined the ROTC program at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. He graduated in 2014. An image from the Lake Region High School yearbook shows Cody Khork, second from left on the third row, among other JROTC cadets. That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was, said the statement from Donna Burhans, Khorks mother; James Khork, his father; and Stacey Khork, his stepmother. The family described Khork as the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him. The city of Winter Haven released a statement about Khork. Beyond his distinguished military service, those who knew Cody remember him for the kind of person he was every day, the statement said. Friends describe him as someone who was always smiling, easygoing, and genuinely kind someone who looked out for the people around him and left a lasting impression on those he met. Many recall that when you ran into Cody around town, it always felt like no time had passed. Cody Khork's senior photo from the Lake Region High School yearbook. LaRonde led the Florida Southern ROTC program for the final 2 years of Khorks time at the college. He taught a senior leadership class that included Khork and other cadets. Khork was exceptional as a person and a leader, if not necessarily as a student, he said. I have really fond memories of Cody, LaRonde, a Lakeland resident, said by phone on March 4. LaRonde, who retired in 2015, recalled leading cadets on an overnight navigation training exercise at Lakeland Highland Scrub. It was a chilly evening, and some of the cadets had never camped before. He was good at just going around, and he would pick out the cadets that were nervous like, one was just really cold, LaRonde said. And he could tell that that person was cold, and he just went over there politely and got that person laughing. And then, while he was doing that, he was showing that person things that she could do to make herself feel warmer. LaRonde added: Its just those kinds of things he did very well. He was very astute at reading the room and reading people. Advertisement African tour with ROTC Khork, a political science major, was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. LaRonde, 55, said that cadets did not join fraternities in his era, and he gently ribbed Khork and the other cadets for their Greek affiliations. The summer before Khorks final semester at Florida Southern, LaRonde supervised a group of cadets on a three-month visit to the Republic of Senegal in western Africa. LaRonde chose Khork to manage the program, aimed at immersion in Senegalese culture. Cody Khork, at right, participated in the ROTC program at Florida Southern College in Lakeland before graduating in 2014. Khork was one of four American soldiers killed by a drone strike in Kuwait. The Florida Southern cadets were paired with Senegalese soldiers to help them practice their English, LaRonde said. The Americans also toured areas around Dakar, visiting a rural village at which an aid organization was helping villagers develop a well. The cadets also greeted children at an orphanage and visited local restaurants and a mosque, LaRonde said. Khork regularly met with liaisons at the American Embassy in Dakar, LaRonde said. And so, I got to work with Cody one on one that entire summer, and what I saw on him was Cody and I'm using this term very specifically Cody was just fun, LaRonde said. He was fun to be around. And I mean that he just made everybody feel comfortable, feel good. He was very relaxed. And he was amazing at getting other people to relax as well. LaRonde said he had been hearing from Khorks fellow cadets at Florida Southern the past two days. Theyve been reaching out to me on social media, and they're all just saying so many fun, positive comments about Cody, LaRonde said. Its been really touching for me to read about what his classmates at Florida Southern thought of him, both in the ROTC program and in his fraternity. An aggressive paintball player Khork played paintball for years in Polk County. His lanky frame about 6-foot-1 and strikingly thin earned him the affectionate nickname Twig, said Danny Marcum, owner of the defunct Markem All Paintball in Winter Haven. Khork played briefly on Marcums team, Biohazard, and for a longer time with a team called Papa Squat. Khork typically played a front-line, attacking role. He was usually the front, aggressive player, said Marcum, now a Lakeland resident. He played the snake a lot. That was his main position. He always liked to be the guy in the front that caused all the chaos. Cody Khork was an avid paintball player, affectionately named "Twig," by his fellow players. Khorks military assignments usually kept him from being able to play for an entire paintball season, Marcum said. I never had a bad interaction with him, and he was always a really straightforward, stand-up guy, Marcum said. He loved paintball, but, like I said, usually the players that play tournaments, they commit for a whole season. But we knew with his situation, he couldn't do that, and we were OK with it. And he went and served our country and ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice. Casey Cheatham, formerly of Winter Haven, played paintball with Khork when Cheatham was a teenager, around 2011. As a player, Cheatham said, Khork was definitely an attacker not scared of anything. He was a really down-to-earth guy, really, just always had a fun time out there, and kind of really brought the competitive side of paintball to a lot of us at the field, said Cheatham, now a Jacksonville resident. He was one of the core guys who used to play competitively and then kind of got back into the scene and got a lot of us younger guys into it. He was always just there helping out and just someone to learn from. Until he moved to Jacksonville three years ago, Cheatham said he would occasionally encounter Khork at Grove Roots Brewing Company or another spot in downtown Winter Haven. I would run into him, and it was like no time had passed since the last time I saw him, Cheatham said. We would catch up and then kind of go on our way. Khork enlisted as a Multiple Launch Rocket System/Fire Direction Specialist in the National Guard in 2009, the Department of War, formally called the Department of Defense, said in a news release. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014 and deployed to Saudia Arabia in 2018, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021 and to Poland in 2024. Khorks awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and M Device and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Soldier from Polk County remembered as personable, engaging leader Republican strategist Karl Rove said Thursday that Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) has a chance of winning if Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) becomes the GOP nominee. [Democrats] havent won a Senate race here since 1988, they havent won a statewide race since 1994, but everybody believes that this year is the year that if we had a damaged candidate on our ticket that they might be able to pull it off, Rove said during an appearance on Fox News. On Tuesday, Paxton advanced to a May runoff for the Republican nomination alongside incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). President Trump has not yet made an endorsement in the race but said one was coming soon. Trump said he will ask the candidate he does not back to drop out of the race, which the Texas attorney general has vowed not to do. That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction, Trump told Politico in a phone interview. Advertisement Republican leadership, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.), has urged the president to endorse Cornyn to avoid a costly runoff campaign ahead of the November general election. Rove said Thursday that Paxton has a lot of baggage that could prevent him from winning after noting that Democratic primary candidate Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas) had no chance whatsoever at upsetting the GOP nominee in the Senate race. The longtime strategist said, Cornyn would win this going away. This is one of the arguments that even the White House political staff has been making. Paxton on the other hand has so much baggage that the Democrats would pour a hundred or two hundred million dollars into the state with the hope that they can pull off something like they did in Alabama when they beat a very troubled Republican candidate and had, briefly, a Democrat senator from the state of Alabama, he added. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. AP In August 1992, six U.S. marshals set out to arrest Idaho survivalist Randy Weaver over a missed court date on a firearms charge, partly caused by a clerical error. What followed was an 11-day standoff and three deaths - including a federal officer. The siege became known as "Ruby Ridge." The imbroglio triggered calls for reform, particularly among conservative figures like Rush Limbaugh. Today, it is ICE raids that are generating similar calls for change - loudest on the left. Amid operations that too often end in violence, congressional efforts to find bipartisan agreement on safeguards can draw inspiration from the reforms Ruby Ridge spurred. Those changes allow federal agents to keep enforcing the law while better protecting constitutional rights. Following the Idaho raid, Senate hearings in 1995 revealed breakdowns in command structure, communication, and rules of engagement. The Justice Departments internal review found that the FBIs rules of engagement - which effectively authorized shooting armed adult males on sight - violated both department policy and constitutional standards. Officials were deemed "remarkably uncritical" in approving those rules, and the operations commander had exercised "inadequate control." These findings led to concrete changes. The FBI revised its deadly force policy to permit lethal force only when imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm exists, and no reasonable alternative is available - a standard closer to civilian policing. The bureau reformed its Hostage Rescue Team deployment, requiring clearer authorization and better local coordination, and established rigorous protocols for critical incident management. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Justice Department followed with improved training, clearer multi-agency guidelines, and stronger oversight for sensitive operations. These reforms recognized that even legitimate law enforcement must operate within constitutional bounds. Fast-forward to 2025, and similar constitutional concerns have emerged around immigration enforcement. ICE routinely uses administrative warrants signed by immigration officials rather than judges. Unlike criminal warrants requiring judicial review under the Fourth Amendments probable cause standard, these administrative warrants are issued by ICE staff and need not be approved by a neutral magistrate. Agency rules do not even require that staff issuing them be attorneys. When federal agents can enter homes based on paperwork they issued themselves, a critical check the Founders built into the Constitution is eliminated. The Fourth Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, and the Supreme Court has consistently held its protections apply to everyone on U.S. soil. Advertisement Recent reports of heavily armed tactical teams deployed for civil immigration violations echo the criticisms leveled at the FBI three decades ago. But while post-Ruby Ridge reforms subjected federal law enforcement to enhanced scrutiny and rigorous training, ICE officers as a whole have considerably less oversight and training. ICE has internal use-of-force policies modeled on those of local police departments, but the majority of ICE agents have not been using body-worn cameras. Independent accountability is scant. A review by a nonprofit news organization found that in six of 12 shootings by federal immigration agents causing death or injury since September 2025, local police conducted no investigation. Ruby Ridge taught us - painfully - that "just following orders" and "enforcing the law" are insufficient justifications when constitutional safeguards are ignored. Those protections matter most when enforcement feels most urgent and when those targeted are least popular, whether a self-proclaimed white separatist like Weaver or those suspected of being here illegally. Drawing on policymakers response to Ruby Ridge, Congress must now translate lessons from ICEs overreach into concrete reform. Judicial review of warrants isnt a technicality - its the difference between a government of laws and a government of men. Proportionate use of force isnt an obstacle to effective enforcement; its what keeps enforcement legitimate. Proper oversight and clear rules of engagement protect both the public and the officers themselves. Just as there were activists after Ruby Ridge who believed that there should be no gun laws, and there are those today who dont believe there should be any limits on immigration, most Americans understand the need to enforce laws of every type, but want it done professionally and constitutionally. Ruby Ridge was a tragic stain on federal law enforcement, but it proved we could learn from our mistakes and insist on a better, more accountable approach. Now we must do it again. Marc A. Levin, Esq., is Chief Policy Counsel at the Council on Criminal Justice's Centering Justice Initiative. He can be reached at mlevin@counciloncj.org. & Khalil Cumberbatch is Director of Engagement and Partnerships at the Council for Criminal Justice's Centering Justice Initiative. He can be reached at khalil@counciloncj.org. 1 / 0 2026 Texas Primary Election Day in El Paso County Campaign signs surround Vote Here signs pointing to the Marty Robbins Recreation Center polling site during the 2026 Texas Primary Election on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in El Paso. Several key state and local races will head to runoff battles to decide who will represent their parties in the November General Election. Some of the local runoff races in El Paso will determine the winner of the seat as no Republican is vying for the spot in the November General Election. El Pasoans walk through Marty Robbins Park as a Vote Here sign points to the Marty Robbins Recreation Center polling site during the 2026 Texas Primary Election on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in El Paso. Here is what to know about the Texas primary runoff elections. When is the Texas primary runoff election? The Texas primary runoff election is on Tuesday, May 26. Early voting starts on Monday, May 18 and goes until Friday, May 22. The last day to register to vote for the runoff primary election is April 27. If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, you can check your voter registration status on the Secretary of State's website. What is a runoff election? A candidate must secure more than 50% of the vote to advance directly to the General Election in November, or the top two candidates lead into a runoff election or a second election to be certified as the winner. More: At Austin rally, James Talarico celebrates Democratic Senate primary win Who can vote in the Texas primary runoff election primary? All registered voters in El Paso County are eligible to vote in the primary runoff election. If the voter cast a ballot in the Democratic primary, they must vote in the Democratic primary runoff election. The same goes for voters who voted in the Republican primary, they must vote in that party's runoff race. Voters cannot change which party they want to vote for in the runoff election. Voters are eligible to vote in the runoff election even if they did not vote in the primary election. Where to vote? The El Paso County Elections Department website will list all voting centers open for the primary runoff elections. The website is epcountyvotes.com. More: El Paso County Commissioners Court incumbents upset in primary election Who's on the ballot? Following is a breakdown of some of the key runoff races: Texas U.S. Senate - Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton will head to a runoff after both failed to garner at least 50% of the vote. Cornyn finished with about 42%, while Paxton ended up with about 41%. Advertisement U.S. Representative District 16 - Republican Adam Bauman, a U.S. Navy veteran, and Manuel Barraza, a former judge, will fight for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Representative District 16 to face U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar in the November General Election. Bauman finished the primary election night with 24% of the vote, while Barraza received 18% of the vote. Escobar faced no challengers in the Democratic primary. More: Texas primary results: Live updates on Senate, governor's race U.S. Representative District 23 - Republican Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales is headed for a runoff with conservative commentator Brandon Herrera, who he narrowly defeated two years ago, for the Republican nomination for U.S. Representative District 23. Gonzales secured 42% of the vote compared to 43% for Herrera. The winner will face Katy Padilla Stout, who won the Democrat primary. Texas Attorney General - Republican Rep. Chip Roy and Mayes Middleton will face off in the runoff election for the Texas Attorney General seat. Roy finished the Republican primary election with 32% of the vote to Middleton's 39%. Texas Attorney General - Democrat More: Enriquez wins 171st District Court, 2 judicial races head to runoffs A runoff for the Democratic Texas Attorney General nomination will be held between Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski. Johnson gathered 48% of the total votes, while Jaworski finished with 26%. 168th Judicial District Court Attorneys Enrique A. Holguin and Bernardo Cruz will battle for the Democratic Party nomination for the 168th Judicial District Court. Holguin finished with about 37% of the votes, with Cruz close behind at about 34%. The winner will go up against Republican R. Wayne Pritchard in the November General Election. Pritchard was unopposed in the Republican primary. El Paso County Court at Law No. 2 Attorneys Christina Montes and Frances M. Maldonado will face off to see who will preside over the El Paso County Court at Law No. 2 judicial seat during the Democratic primary runoff election. Montes gathered about 45% of the votes, while Maldonado received more than 33% There is no Republican challenger in the November General Election. Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: When is the runoff election in Texas? Who can vote in the runoff? Unverified footage of the blaze was shared by an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister A Russian LNG gas tanker has sunk in the Mediterranean between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan port officials have said. Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting the Arctic Metagaz with "uncrewed sea drones" launched from the Libyan coast. Ukraine's SBU state security service has not commented on the allegation and the Libyan port authority said the cause of the fire was unknown. The Libyans said the tanker was carrying about 62,000 metric tonnes of LNG before the blasts and that it sank about 130 nautical miles (240km) north of the Libyan port of Sirte. Russia's transport ministry said 30 Russians were on board the Arctic Metagaz and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said they were all found "safe and sound in a lifeboat" during a rescue operation by Malta's armed forces. Unverified night-time footage has emerged purportedly showing the ship ablaze after the attack on Tuesday. Serhii Sternenko, a popular blogger and adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, posted pictures on Wednesday morning of what he said was the tanker in the Mediterranean, which had a "serious hole in the engine room compartment and is beyond repair". He did not elaborate where the pictures came from and they have not been independently verified. "This is a terrorist attack," Russia's Vladimir Putin told state TV. "This isn't the first time we've encountered something like this." Advertisement Russia's transport ministry called it "an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy", singling out the European Union for complicity. Moscow said the Arctic Metagaz - en route from Russia's northern port of Murmansk - was carrying cargo cleared in accordance with international rules. The tanker was apparently heading for Port Said in Egypt and is considered part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. It has been widely sanctioned by Western countries. The ministry provided no evidence to back up its claim that the tanker was attacked by Ukrainian sea drones, although there have been earlier unconfirmed reports of attacks from the Libyan coast. The SBU told BBC Ukraine it was not commenting on "the situation with the tanker in the Mediterranean", although a Ukrainian government-linked social media account, United24, teased that the drones were "Definitely. Maybe" not part of the Ukrainian fleet. Marine tracking data indicated that the day before the fire the tanker had last reported sailing off the south-east coast of Malta. It had sailed some considerable distance by the time the fire was reported and it is assumed the crew deactivated its automatic identification system. Russia has deployed a surging number of vessels to transport oil and gas in an attempt to avoid international sanctions, which are aimed at slashing revenues that have been critical for funding Moscow's war in Ukraine. Its shadow fleet is largely made up of aged tankers, many with obscure ownership or insurance. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has carried out a number of attacks on such vessels using naval drones. However, nearly all of such strikes have been in the Black Sea, which Russia and Ukraine both share. Dr Alexander Zarneh, pictured leaving court, denies fraudulent trading and causing a public nuisance A scientist accused of telling "significant lies" to facilitate an alleged bogus coronavirus testing operation is an "innocent man", his barrister has said. Dr Alexander Zarneh, from Halifax, is one of five people accused of fraudulent trading and causing a public nuisance over his role at RT Diagnostics. In his closing speech, Dr Zarneh's barrister, Paul Jarvis KC, insisted his client was an external consultant hired to help the business gain accreditation and not someone who held a senior management role in the company. Dr Zarneh, of Wood Lane, and his co-defendants Faisal Shoukat, 38, former justice minister Shahid Malik, 58, Paul Moore, 56, and Lynn Connell, 64, deny all of the charges against them. Addressing the court, Mr Jarvis said Dr Zarneh, 70, was an "innocent man", adding: "There is no evidence that's capable of proving his guilt." All five defendants are accused of playing significant roles at RT Diagnostics, which prosecutors allege "purported to be a testing laboratory" when in reality tests were "dumped in a room" with customers sent fake negative results for the deadly virus, thereby endangering people's health. Dr Zarneh, a scientist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, was said to have been the company's clinical director, according to documentation shown to the court. Prosecutors allege he was "instrumental" in making applications for accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and told "significant lies" to the organisation about his role in the operation. It is claimed that as a result of his deception RT Diagnostics was added to the government's list of test providers. Prosecutors have said that between May and July 2021 RT Diagnostics reported 123,104 tests, but only 45 of these were positive results, with 123,058 showing as negative and one indeterminate. Advertisement The firm is said to have generated 6.67m in income over 31 days between 16 May and 16 June 2021. 'No sense in accusations' Addressing the jury, Mr Jarvis said Dr Zarneh's role was merely to "advise and assist" the company in gaining the accreditation it needed to operate. "You can call someone one thing without that necessarily being their job," he said. Mr Jarvis said his client never visited the RT Diagnostics laboratory at Park Works and had acted on information provided to him by the company in its accreditation application. "Why would he be querying, questioning, challenging, demanding different information to the information he was provided with?," Mr Jarvis asked jurors. He said Dr Zarneh had no prior involvement with the other defendants before undertaking work for RT Diagnostics and had spent 40 years working for the NHS before becoming a consultant, He said Dr Zarneh had received a "comparatively modest fee" of 2,390 for his work on behalf of the company "Forty years in the National Health Service and the case against him is that he's set out to damage the health of the public - risk people dying - for the sum of 2,390. "There's absolutely no sense in that." The jury is expected to begin its deliberations on Friday, five months after the trial began. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story Related internet links US paleontologist Paul Sereno poses next to the skull cast (Keith Ladzinski) (Keith Ladzinski/Fossil Lab, University of Chicago/AFP) Deep in the desert of Niger, scientists have unearthed an unknown species of dinosaur, a giant fissvery of its kind in more than a century. Around 95 million years ago, the Spinosaurus -- a massive beast with a blade-shaped head crest and interlocking teeth -- roamed the African continent. Scientists believe it rivalled the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex in size, measuring around 40 feet long with a 20-inch sword-like crest on its head. Researchers dug up fossils that belonged to the Spinosaurus mirabilis -- or "hell heron", in the words of Paul Sereno, the University of Chicago palaeontologist and lead author of the research published in the journal Science. "Look at the length of the skull, the length of the neck, and the length of the hind limb -- you're in heron territory." Spinosaurus mirabilis lived when forests and rivers covered the now-barren Sahara. Previously, most spinosaurid fossils had been found near coastlines in North Africa. Some scientists thought these fish-eating creatures may have been fully aquatic, gliding through deep waters to snare prey. But this time, the fossils were discovered further inland, hundreds of miles from what would have been the nearest ocean. "I think it was an animal that could have waded easily into the water," Sereno said. "But I do not think it was a diver, I do not think it was a good swimmer." - 'Earth-shattering site' - The search began in 2019 in the Sahara Desert, where French geologist Hugues Faure had said he found a tooth belonging to the giant predator Carcharodontosaurus in the 1950s. "We've got a couple of things that Faure could never dream of. We have GPS coordinates, we have drones and better vehicles," said Sereno. Advertisement The barren sands yielded nothing and the team, disheartened, headed back to their camp. But a Tuareg man in a black trench coat approached Sereno's team on a motorcycle, claiming to know where "big bones" lay. After a long journey through the desert, Sereno worried they "had made a mistake". "We jokingly said, are we still in Niger? I mean, we drove for a day and a half until we had no more gas to spare because we wouldn't get back." But eventually they reached a remote site where the "biggest bones... I have ever seen in my life" emerged from the ground. Far out in the desert, the researchers gaped at the six-foot-long femur, the jaw, teeth, and base of the crest. In 2022, Sereno returned with a 100-person team and 64 Nigerien guards to excavate the "earth-shattering site". They unearthed a skull, fragments of the hind legs and several crests. "The crest was like nothing we'd ever seen before," said Sereno. Some were brought to tears, he said, by the "overwhelming" experience. "It's actually like looking at a digital image of your new dinosaur and gawking over it in the tent in the middle of the Sahara." The team realised "it was a new species... and it was going to be a landmark discovery." "That's your Jurassic Park moment... one to remember for a lifetime." cgc/bam/rh/rlp NEW YORK A second suspect has been busted for throwing snowballs at cops in Washington Square Park, sources said. Eric Wilson, 18, surrendered at the 6th Precinct, accompanied by his lawyer, at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday, police said. Wilson, who lives in Harlem, was charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, and harassment, a non-criminal violation, sources said. The first person arrested in connection with the Feb. 23 incident, Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was hit with the same charges. Police had originally charged Coulibaly with felony assault, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg reduced the charges, angering police unions. Advertisement Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the incident a disgraceful and criminal attack on police officers, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani described it as kids at a snowball fight and said no one should be arrested. Nonetheless, the NYPD released photos of four suspects including two still being sought. Several hours before the incident, organizers on social media touted a midafternoon mass snowball fight. But at some point, police said, a 911 caller said there were people who had climbed on the comfort station roof and were hurling snowballs. Two police officers assigned to a park detail went to investigate and were pelted with snowballs, as were other cops called to assist the two officers. One officer was treated for bruises and scratches below his eye and another was treated for head pain. March 3, 2026: Finland has joined India, China, Taiwan and several other countries in using highways for operating combat aircraft. After testing the concept in 2015, India decided to adopt the increasingly popular practice of training pilots and ground crews to use designated sections of highways as temporary air strips. This practice became popular during the Cold War, particularly in Europe where most countries either regularly used the practice or had the procedures available in case needed. In Asia, North Korea has been a long time user of this practice while Pakistan and China have revived the use of highway airstrips. In 2014 China held air force training exercises involving the use of designated stretches of highway for emergency airfields for fighters and transports. This technique had not been used since 1989 and now at least ten stretches of highway in Liaoning, adjacent to North Korea, Shandong, facing South Korea across the Yellow Sea and Fujian, opposite Taiwan provinces were designated for such emergency use. There may be others that have been designated but not practiced on, so their location has been kept secret. China is following the example of Taiwan which began regularly practicing using highways as emergency air strips for fighter aircraft back in the 1970s. Then that sort of thing was halted for 26 years as Taiwan tried to make peace with China. In 2004 the highway landings were resumed, and now it's done every few years. There is some preparation involved, at least for the peacetime drills. Troops walk down the length of highway to be used and remove any rocks or other objects that the aircraft wheels might hit or their jet engines might ingest. Then cars go down the road, honking their horns, to flush out any birds which might be sucked into the jet's air intakes. At that point, the F-16s can come in and land. And then turn around and take off again. China apparently follows the same drill as the Taiwanese. Taiwan resumed these drills in 2004 and included actual use of superhighways as secondary airfields for combat aircraft in their military exercises. For example, in one publicized event two Mirage 2000 fighters landed on a highway which were serviced, including refueling, rearming or minor repairs, and took off again. Parts of Taiwan's system of superhighways were designed just for this purpose but actual use of the highways during training exercises lapsed for over two decades because the Defense Ministry did not want to block traffic or annoy China. The resumed training exercises on highways were done more for diplomatic reasons; to remind China that Taiwan had many defensive capabilities. In 2007, the highway drill was carried out once more, and again in 2011. WASHINGTON Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected an effort to rein in President Donald Trumps ability to wage war against Iran without approval from Congress, ensuring the massive U.S. air and naval bombardment of the country will continue for the foreseeable future. The failed 47-53 vote ensures lawmakers will hold no formal debate on another costly military conflict in the Middle East that has already left six U.S. servicemembers and hundreds of Iranian civilians dead. It also comes amid bipartisan concerns about the missions shifting objectives, its open-ended scope, and the possibility of Trump committing U.S. boots on the ground. Politics: Nancy Mace Grills Tim Walz With Bizarre Question During Heated House Hearing But nearly every Republican argued this week that Trump has legal authority to unilaterally wage war against Iran because its regime posed a threat to U.S. troops in the region. The president has broad authorities under Article II of the Constitution, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said at a press conference. I think the president is perfectly within his rights to take the steps he took. I think it was a necessary step in order to protect American lives. Democrats maintain that Trump should have sought congressional authorization for the strikes, as required by the U.S. Constitution. They forced a vote on the matter under the War Powers Act, which Congress passed in the wake of the Vietnam War to assert its constitutional authority over war-making. The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress when committing the U.S. armed forces to hostilities in an emergency when the country is under imminent threat and gives lawmakers the power to trigger snap disapproval votes. Trump formally notified Congress about the strikes this week, but his claim that the U.S. faced an imminent threat from Iran, a U.S. adversary for decades, was met with skepticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Politics: Sen. Mark Kelly Makes Outrageously Insulting Diss About Trump's War Leadership Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a leading advocate for congressional authority in matters of war powers, said after a classified briefing on Iran this week that he has seen no sufficient justification for unilateral action by the president. I do not believe this got anywhere near that the U.S. was facing an imminent threat. The term has traditionally been used when talking about military actions, Kaine said. Trump administration officials and their allies on Capitol Hill have thrown out half a dozen justifications for launching a war against Iran, ranging from regime change to nuclear disarmament. Some have argued that the war is not really a war, others have argued that it was Iran that actually started it, and that the U.S. was merely acting defensively by launching missile strikes against Iran alongside Israel. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Advertisement U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), joined by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.), speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 3. Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the lone GOP vote for the war powers resolution, which he helped introduce alongside Kaine, dismissed most of those claims as absurd double-speak in an interview with HuffPost. Theyve been saying theyre one week away from a nuclear weapon, I think, since 1996, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said of Iran. The other thing is, Oh no, were really been at war for 40 years, and now were just ending the war. I mean, most of the arguments dont seem to hold water. Politics: Karoline Leavitt Absolutely Loses It Over Kaitlan Collins' Question: 'Listen To Me...' Paul noted the U.S. Constitution conferred the power to declare or initiate war to Congress for a reason: to make war less likely. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a vocal critic of the Trump administration, voted with his party to block the war powers resolution. However, he said that his position could change if U.S. involvement in Iran deepens and drags on for weeks. If its clear that this is a weeks-long process, and whether troops are visibly or are covertly deployed there, then we need to have a serious discussion about an authorization for the use of military force, Tillis said. The GOP-controlled House of Representatives will vote on its own War Powers resolution blocking hostilities with Iran on Thursday. That measure is expected to fail, as well, thanks in part to at least seven House Democrats who have indicated their support for the operation that has killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian regime leaders. Politics: Democrats Call For Congressional Vote On Trump's 'Illegal' War Against Iran Among Democrats in the Senate, only John Fetterman of Pennsylvania broke ranks and voted to sustain the war in Iran. Other Senate Democrats warned that Trump was dragging the U.S. into another forever war in the Middle East despite his promises on the 2024 campaign trail about ending such wars. How many parents watched their kids ship off and fight and die in Iraq and Afghanistan? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a speech on the Senate floor. How many sleepless nights did families have over the last 20 years, worried about their loved ones? How many headlines did we watch over the decades of troops getting shot down, of convoys being attacked, of wounded soldiers returning home forever scarred by the horrors of war? How many hundreds of billions of dollars were wasted? How much anguish and suffering and grief did America endure? This is madness, he added. Political Updates Read the original on HuffPost WASHINGTON The Senate on March 4 failed to advance a war powers resolution to halt military hostilities against Iran and end American involvement in the escalating regional war. The measure failed on a 47-53 vote. Most Republicans except for Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted to oppose the measure. Most Democrats, except for Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, supported it. While the blocked vote dealt a blow to Democrats' efforts to stymie the conflict in its early days and reassert the role of Congress in going to war, it succeeded in accomplishing a more political goal: pushing Republicans to officially declare their support for President Donald Trump's campaign to reshape the Middle East. 1 / 0 Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Read more: Trumps Iran war sends Congress scrambling In doing so, lawmakers in the GOP will be forced to fully own the unpredictable consequences of the widening conflict. For those who've built political careers on isolationist tendencies and fierce criticism of "forever wars," that could be a tricky feat, especially in a midterm year. "Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution," Sen. Tim Kaine, the chief architect of the war powers effort in Congress, said the day before the vote. A view of the U.S. Capitol building on March 2, 2026, after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend. Read more: Trump, GOP kill Senate bill to curb military action in Venezuela Even if they voted down the resolution, Republicans werent entirely uncritical of the Trump administration. Sen. John Curtis of Utah said Congress shouldve been more widely consulted ahead of the weekend strikes in Iran. Advertisement Yes, I wish I would have been consulted. I wish my vote would have been asked for before this, he said in a statement. But the president did act within his legal bounds to do what he has done." The near-total Republican unity was evidence of tough lessons learned. In January, five GOP lawmakers bucked the president and supported advancing a similar measure that aimed to cease hostilities in Venezuela after the U.S. military arrested the country's then-president. They immediately drew the president's ire. After Trump publicly denounced them, several of the Republicans including Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana ultimately reversed their votes when the bill went up for final passage. Publicly, Senate Republicans have projected confidence about the Trump administration's strategy in Iran. However, they've expressed hope the war won't drag on longer than the four-to-five weeks the president has predicted. "They are achieving great success with what they've done so far," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, on March 3. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), joined by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026. Just days into the conflict, there's already talk in the halls of the Capitol about a potential need to set aside emergency cash for the war. House Speaker Mike Johnson told POLITICO on March 4 there's an "open dialogue" between congressional leaders, the White House and Pentagon about potentially setting aside billions of dollars in supplementary funding. The timeline for passing that legislation is still unclear, though, and it would give Democrats in the Senate an opportunity to exert more political leverage over the future of the war. War powers resolutions enjoy special privileges in both legislative chambers, meaning the minority party can force votes on them even against the wishes of the majority party in this case, the GOP. The House of Representatives is set to take up a war powers resolution of its own over Iran on Thursday, March 4. Some defections on both the Republican and Democratic sides are expected. Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate fails to block US involvement in Iran war The U.S.-Israeli attack that ended Ayatollah Ali Khameneis iron-fisted rule of Iran also created a power vacuum in the Islamic Republic for the first time in decades, with a group of clerics convening to cast their votes on who would succeed him. While front-runners to succeed Khamenei have emerged, including the assassinated supreme leader's second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, the real power is now likely to be in the hands of the heavily-armed force that propped up Khamenei for decades: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Even if they replace the supreme leader, what is left of the regime is the IRGC. And the IRGC is going to be the last vestige remaining of the regime until the regime is overhauled, either within itself or by external forces, said Afshon Ostovar, an Iran expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in California and the author of Vanguard of the Imam, a history of the Revolutionary Guards. Once the smoke clears, if theres not a complete regime change, then the people who will be in charge of Iran will be associated or the actual command of the IRGC, he said, noting that his views are not the official position of the Department of Defense. Satellite images released Saturday show destruction to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's compound in Tehran. (Airbus 2026) (Airbus 2026) The Revolutionary Guard demonstrated its fealty to Khamenei most recently by orchestrating the crackdown in January that left thousands of anti-government protesters dead. Now, after his killing, it has the opportunity to seize even more power in the country, some experts say. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the number of people killed in the protests at more than 7,000 last week, with nearly 12,000 cases under review. President Donald Trump told a group of reporters on Tuesday that Iran had killed 35,000 protesters. The Guard was created after the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a parallel force to Irans traditional military, which the ruling clergy distrusted and suspected still had loyalties to the ousted shah, or king. Within Iran, the Guard eliminated those perceived as being anti-revolutionary and helped export its ideology across the Middle East. The Guard's intelligence branch became the most feared repressive arm of the regime and has its own section in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Under Khameneis watch in the 1990s, it morphed into a political and economic juggernaut, running huge foundations and companies involved in the oil, telecom, construction and other sectors worth billions of dollars. Advertisement Islamic Revolutionary Guard members during a demonstration in front of the occupied U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. (Alex Bowie / Getty Images) (Alex Bowie) I dont think the IRGC of today are committed ideologically to preserving the velayat-e faqih or Shi'ism or whatever it is that they think their ideology is, said Abbas Milani, the director of the Iranian studies program at Stanford University. Theyre a mafia, like a rich corporate entity, and they want to keep their turf. Velayat-e faqih is the religious doctrine institutionalized by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader after the revolution, which underpins theocratic rule in Iran. The groups commanders have also dominated the country's political class. Ali Larijani, currently the country's top national security official, served in the Guard, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current speaker of parliament, served as a commander in the force during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The group remains the most powerful military force in the country, leading the war efforts against the United States and Israel by firing missiles and drones across the Middle East, making its commanders targets for both the U.S. and Israeli military. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members march during a rally in Tehran in 2022. (Sobhan Farajvan / Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Sobhan Farajvan) During his first term, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the branch of the Guard that operates outside Irans borders, on the outskirts of the Baghdad airport. He has repeatedly pointed to the killing of Soleimani in 2020 as one of his major accomplishments. And the Israeli military targeted senior Guard commanders in the first wave of attacks against Iran in the 12-day war last June, killing Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guards aerospace force and widely seen as the father of the countrys missile program, among others. Last weekend, the most recent head of the Guard, Mohammad Pakpour, was killed in the U.S. and Israeli strikes, raising the question of how long the military organization can keep replacing its top commanders. A billboard of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Wednesday. (Majid Asgaripour / Reuters) (Majid Asgaripour) It does not have an infinite bench on which to draw, but it is also a sprawling structure with military, economic and political elements, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group. If the Guard is able to withstand the current onslaught of U.S. and Israeli attacks, it will likely crack down even harder on domestic unrest, according to Ostovar of the Naval Postgraduate School. It becomes far more repressive, because then the fear for the regime is that the most existential challenge remains popular upheaval, and theyll do whatever they can to sort of fight tooth and nail, he said. I think whatever really happens, if the regime remains, its going to be equally, if not more, repressive. Nicole Gurske was exploring Abu Dhabi over the weekend with her boyfriend as part of a Middle East cruise, when the ship called them back on board. The crew aboard TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 4 told the 34-year-old and other passengers they had to stay inside after U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 prompted retaliation from Iran at American military bases and in other nearby nations. They said, we have to stay inside, not go (to) the pool outside or on the balcony, the Wuppertal, Germany, resident told USA TODAY. Gurske, who was originally supposed to fly home on March 1, has been stuck in Abu Dhabi with her fellow guests since then. Limited flights have resumed in the United Arab Emirates, but hers was canceled and she rebooked for March 6. People stand on the deck of Mein Schiff 4 at the Piraeus cruise terminal, near Athens, Greece, Oct. 19, 2018. While much of the onboard experience feels surprisingly normal Gurske went to the gym and breakfast on March 4 she could also hear a very big explosion outside the day before. Guests can come and go from the ship as long as they notify the crew, but she has remained there. She is among a number of people who have been stranded during cruises, as travelers throughout the region scramble to get home amid the Trump administrations war with Iran. Which cruise ships have been impacted? In addition to Mein Schiff 4, TUI Cruises has been caring for guests on another nearby ship, Mein Schiff 5 (the latter is currently in Doha, Qatar, according to CruiseMapper). TUI said in a March 4 update that cruises on Mein Schiff 4 "up to and including the start" of its March 9 departure and Mein Schiff 5 up to and including the start of its March 12 cruise "can no longer take place." All affected guests have already been informed directly by us via text message, the cruise company's website reads. Should further adjustments be necessary, we will contact the booked guests immediately and proactively. A German tourist stands on the cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 2' of TUI Cruises in Malaga, Spain, on June 15, 2021. Gurske said the crew on Mein Schiff 4 has been very professional and supportive. She is grateful to TUI for their care, but there have been hiccups. She needs more contact lenses, for example, but is hesitant to go to the medical center since there are other passengers who are older or have serious health conditions. However, she said, It's not so bad if I can't see everything clearly." TUI noted on its website that "guests on board receive support with the provision of necessary medication, toiletries, nappies, baby food and other everyday necessities.""Individual errands are organized by the crew via the port agency as far as possible," the company continued. The State Department urged Americans to depart a number of countries earlier this week, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others, due to serious safety risks. Emirates accommodated 218 passengers from Mein Schiff 4 on a flight from Dubai to Munich, TUI said in a separate March 3 update on its website. 1 / 0 See how the Iran wars fallout is hitting the Middle East See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. We know that many guests and relatives are waiting for further return travel options, the company said. Together with the relevant authorities and our airline partners, we are continuing to work intensively to organize additional reliable flight options. Further possibilities are being examined on an ongoing basis. Other cruise lines have been impacted, too. The rest of MSC Euribias most recent Middle East voyage was scrapped along with others, according to MSC Cruises. The remaining three cruises scheduled for this winter season have now been cancelled and all impacted guests have been contacted and full refunds have been offered, an emailed statement read. Advertisement The cruise line said it was following guidance from regional military authorities to keep the ship in Dubai. Following the limited resumption of flights from the region, we are working closely with the airlines to facilitate onward travel for our guests, the company continued. Given the significant backlog and the scale of disruption, airlines are currently progressing with new flights in a methodical manner, and this process will take time. We are fully engaged with our airline partners and are focused on securing a safe and orderly return home for our guests. The cruise ship MSC Euribia is anchored at the port of Dubai on March 4, 2026. MSC is also in contact with embassies and foreign offices, and all onboard services and facilities are available. In a subsequent statement, the cruise line said it had organized flights for over 1,500 of the ships guests. As of the morning on March 6, seven flights had taken off with MSC passengers. These flights include dedicated charter services operated at MSC Cruises expense, seats secured in partnership with Emirates and Fly Dubai on scheduled commercial services, as well as some governmentorganized flights, MSC said. Viking, meanwhile, canceled its Egypt departures through and including March 31 in an abundance of caution and in consideration of new guidance from the U.S. State Department, but later walked back the decision, the cruise line told USA TODAY. "The official travel advisories have now been clarified and the current advisory for Egypt remains the same as it was prior to the start of the recent conflict," the company said in an emailed statement. "In consultation with our longtime ground operators in Egypt, we now expect to operate our Egypt voyages as planned beginning March 12, 2026." Viking will contact passengers whose bookings are impacted and their travel advisors. "The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our highest priority," the statement continued. "If conditions change, we are fully prepared to respond swiftly and appropriately." What happens if your cruise is canceled or changed? The contracts passengers agree to when they buy their tickets are very cruise line friendly, Jared Feldman, owner of travel agency Jafeldma Travel, previously told USA TODAY. However, the operators generally always provide refunds in the event of a canceled cruise and work to accommodate guests on another voyage. The line will usually cover costs that were part of the cruise purchase such as flights booked through the line but passengers are generally responsible for other expenses incurred (except in extreme circumstances such as last-minute cancellations). That said, cruise lines may offer additional compensation like a future cruise credit. It can really vary and it depends on each individual circumstance, Feldman said at the time. I will say that the closer (the cancellation) is to the sail date, the better the compensation will be. Those contracts also give cruise companies significant flexibility to make smaller itinerary changes though passengers can usually expect to get money back for port fees at destinations the ship doesnt end up visiting. Guests might also get other compensation such as onboard credit for the inconvenience, at the cruise lines discretion. Travelers who opt to cancel their sailing can typically get a percentage of their cruise cost back, though the amount varies depending how far in advance they make that change. Passengers should refer to their cruise lines policies, and can contact the company or their travel advisor with questions. Gurske said she got money back for her original canceled flight, but has not heard any updates about potential refunds from TUI though she and her boyfriend are able to remain on the ship at no additional charge until March 8. She is ready to leave but also nervous to disembark from what has been her temporary refuge. I want to go home, but I'm a little bit scared that something will happen outside, Gurske said. This story has been updated to add new information. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'We had to stay inside': Cruise passengers stranded after attacks Children play at the Guanyinting Recreation Area in Magong, Taiwan. Credit: WeiChan/Adobe Stock In many cases, destinations where travelers feel genuinely welcomed leave the strongest impressions. And one small city in Taiwan has that welcoming spirit in spades. Located on a small island off the coast of Taiwan, the city of Magong was named the most welcoming in Asia and the No. 2 welcoming destination in the world, according to the 2026 Traveller Review Awards from Booking.com. Magong sits as the main city of Taiwans Penghu archipelago, a group of islands in the Taiwan Strait known for striking basalt rock formations, traditional fishing villages, and a noticeably slower pace of life. The destination may not have major headline attractions, but friendly locals play a key role in shaping Magongs relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. From welcoming hosts who go above and beyond for guest stays to expert taxi drivers sharing local-only tips, these personal touches can make a trip truly special for travelers," James Waters, Booking.coms chief business officer, said in a statement. The Traveller Review Awards continue to shine a well-deserved spotlight on our partners who help create lifelong memories for travelers." The only other Asian destination to make the cut is Takayama, Japan, which secured the No. 8 spot. Advertisement Other noteworthy welcoming destinations included the town of Montepulciano, Italy; Harrogate, United Kingdom; and Pirenopolis, Brazil, in the country that was named Travel + Leisure's Destination of the Year for 2026. In the United States, the town of Fredericksburg, Texas, made the list, set in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and renowned for its incredible wines, natural rock formations, and more. This years picks for the most welcoming cities on Earth run the gamut from historic towns in Europe to coastal cities in Asia, small cultural hubs around the world, and beyond. Methodology To come up with its list, Booking.com spotlighted destinations around the world known for consistently strong guest experiences. It focused on destinations where travelers reported positive, welcoming stays across many properties. Based on more than 370 million verified traveler reviews, the list honored nearly two million travel partners, including accommodation providers, rental car companies, and airport transfer suppliers across more than 220 countries and territories. To qualify, each Booking.com partner had to meet minimum review-score requirements based on verified guest feedback, ensuring the results reflected consistent experiences rather than one-off stays. This is the complete list of Booking.com's most welcoming cities for 2026. Montepulciano, Italy Magong, Taiwan San Martin de los Andes, Argentina Harrogate, United Kingdom Fredericksburg, Texas, United States Pirenopolis, Brazil Swakopmund, Namibia Takayama, Japan Noosa Heads, Australia Klaipeda, Lithuania Read the original article on Travel & Leisure FILE PHOTO: Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo MOGADISHU, March 5 (Reuters) - Somalia's parliament has backed constitutional changes that could extend the president's term in office by a year and push back planned elections. The vote happened on Wednesday, and on Thursday analysts who follow the Horn of Africa country closely were still debating exactly what the implications are. Somalia has endured conflict and clan battles with no strong central government since the fall of autocratic ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. While an African Union peacekeeping mission has pushed back the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, it still controls vast areas of the countryside and has the ability to conduct regular strikes on major population centres. Advertisement President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud celebrated parliament's backing of the constitutional changes at a press conference on Wednesday, saying the approval process "had dragged for a long period". Samira Gaid, an analyst with Balqiis, a Mogadishu-based think tank, said the implications of the constitutional amendments, which have been criticised by opposition lawmakers, remained unclear. "The constitutional change doesn't automatically extend the current president's term but it is a matter of interpretation. For now, the president is being very careful not to say that he is extending his term because of potential criticism from the international community," she said. Gaid said the elections slated for May would be delayed regardless because there is no agreed framework currently. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Ammu Kannampilly; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning and Sharon Singleton) Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Dabldy/Getty Images Brazil is South America's largest country with expansive beaches, rainforests, and city life so it comes as no surprise that its most populous metropolis, Sao Paulo, is also the continent's largest city. Many travelers assume Buenos Aires (known as the Europe of South America) is the largest, but it comes in behind Sao Paulo. Unlike the State of Sao Paulo, this vibrant city doesn't have beach access, but it makes up for it with a world-class art scene, thriving culinary landscape, and lively neighborhoods that represent its true and unfiltered local culture. One of the reasons why Sao Paulo has such an eclectic character is that it's a melting pot. Like the United States, its multicultural facet comes from the influx of immigrants from Africa, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, and more. Thanks to their contributions, residents can enjoy a diverse range of cuisines you can indulge in all-you-can-eat sushi, get yourself a meaty esfiha on-the-go, and treat yourself to Michelin-starred Italian dishes. Sao Paulo boasts an acclaimed art community, which combines elite galleries and museums with colorful street art. From admiring Van Gogh's paintings to watching a graffiti artist with a spray can in their hand, you can get your art fix both in indoor spaces and out in the open. You can immerse yourself in these experiences in Sao Paulo's various neighborhoods, each exposing you to a different side of the city. One area blooms with greenery, another is covered with kaleidoscopic murals, while another transports you to Japan with its food stalls, specialty shops, and oriental streetscape. Sao Paulo is served by two main airports international visitors will fly into Guarulhos International Airport, which is considered the main travel hub. Congonhas Airport, on the other hand, offers mostly domestic flights. Read more: 5 Tourist-Friendly, Popular Countries That Will Pay You To Move There Sao Paulo is Brazil's premier cultural and culinary capital The Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) boasting a red exterior with people walking in the streets on Avenida Paulista - Luciano_marques/Getty Images With a strong sense of creativity, Sao Paulo's art scene branches out into niche subcultures that cater to different interests. Tourists shouldn't miss the Sao Paulo Museum of Art, which is the eye-catching building with red borders on Avenida Paulista. Its permanent collection houses around 10,000 pieces, including masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, as well as local artists like Maria Auxiliadora, Albino Braz, and Rafael Borjes de Oliveira. From paintings and sculptures to textiles and mixed media, the displays cover a broad spectrum of eras. More visual wonders await at the Pinacoteca de Sao Paulo, home to more than 10,000 items spanning paintings, designs, sculptures, and more. Comprising three buildings, this museum is dedicated to Brazilian artworks from the 1800s through contemporary times. Swing by on a Saturday, and you'll tour it for free. Other museums and galleries include Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Museu Lasar Segall, Galeria Jacques Ardies, and Museum of Image and Sound. Advertisement Sao Paulo's cultural fusion is most evident on the plate in fact, it stands alone in Latin America for having three establishments with two-Michelin stars. Since Brazil has the world's largest Lebanese diaspora population, you'll come across plenty of Lebanese eateries, such as the top-rated Nojoud Restaurante Arabe, serving classic Levantine meals in a cozy space. A previous visitor wrote: "One of the best gastronomic experiences I've ever had!" Italian cuisine lovers can sample the menu at Famiglia Mancini Trattoria, rated 4.7 on Google. Featuring several pasta varieties, it was named the city's best Italian restaurant over a dozen times by Datafolha. There's no shortage of Japanese food either you can enjoy Michelin-starred dishes at Jun Sakamote and Kan Suke. Sao Paulo's diverse neighborhoods offer distinct urban experiences The Liberdade neighborhood, Sao Paulo's Japantown with red food stalls and lanterns - Dihandra Pinheiro/Getty Images It's easy to go on about food and art in Sao Paulo, but the neighborhoods hosting these spots are destinations in their own right. Each provides a glimpse into the city's multifaceted nature. Meander the streets of Vila Madalena, and you'll end up in the most vivid corner of the city: Batman Alley. This area is a haven for the bohemian and free-spirited, with constantly changing murals, cafes, bars, and tattoo parlors. Meanwhile, Liberdade has a whole other vibe Sao Paulo's very own Japantown brings a slice of the Far East to Latin America. Every weekend, Liberdade's plaza turns into a bustling pop-up marketplace full of Asian street food and souvenir stalls. Visit on a weekday to have ramen and sushi for lunch. While you're there, stop by the Historical Museum of Japanese Immigration in Brazil to learn how this community came to be. For upscale vibes, make your way to the Jardim Paulista neighborhood. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art is located in this area, right across the tropical oasis, Trianon Park. Jardim Paulista is also the perfect place to go shopping, with boutiques, vintage stores, and malls worth checking out. Downtown Sao Paulo, or Centro, has a few bucket-list-worthy spots, such as the Municipal Market. Outside, the historic building has a neoclassical and Gothic facade, while its interior is a gastronomic feast this is where Anthony Bourdain tried the legendary mortadella sandwich from Bar do Mane. Farol Santander, Catedral da Se, and Museu das Favelas are other landmarks within the downtown district. With so much to see and do, it's easy to understand why Sao Paulo is one of the best travel destinations for Gen Z. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. Read the original article on Islands. Pedro Sanchez addressed the nation the morning after President Trump said he did not want 'anything to do' with Spain -Credit:La Moncloa (La Moncloa) Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, reiterated his stance against involvement in the Iran conflict and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's retaliatory threat to cut off trade relations with Spain. The position of the Government of Spain can be summed up in three words, said Sanchez in a press conference this morning. No to war, he said. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares echoed Sanchez's words. Today he denied claims from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, that the Spanish government had changed its stance on support ing the U.S. military operations against Iran. He stated on a Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, I can refute (the White House spokesperson)." Donald Trump declares US 'ending all trade to Spain' with threat to seize NATO bases Cuban forces open fire on Florida boat as 4 killed in territorial waters confrontation Advertisement Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, delivers remarks to the media. -Credit:Anadolu via Getty Images He continued, The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota. Earlier today, Leavitt said that with respect to Spain, I think they heard the presidents message yesterday loud and clear," though this does not seem to be the case. She went as far as to say, And its my understanding over the past several hours, theyve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military, Leavitt said. And so I know that the U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers an official statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid. -Credit:LA MONCLOA/AFP via Getty Images Trump's anger came from Spain denying the U.S. access to their military bases. Spain said we cant use their bases. We could use their bases if we wanted to, we could just fly in and use it, nobody is going to tell us not to use it, but we dont have to, Trump stated. Spain has absolutely nothing we need, other than great people, but they dont have great leadership. U.S. President Donald J. Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, with U.S. flags visible behind him, in Washington, United States, on March 02, 2026. He went on, "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott [Bessent, Treasury Secretary] to cut off all dealings with Spain, he said, threatening to impose an economic punishment. Were going to cut off all trade with Spain. We dont want anything to do with Spain. Prime Minister Sanchez, who has long been an outspoken of Israels endless attacks on the people of Gaza, offered a clear and powerful message; no to violations of international law and no to the illusion that we can solve the worlds problems with bombs. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers an official statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid. -Credit:LA MONCLOA/AFP via Getty Images We must not repeat the mistakes of the past, he continued, reminding viewers of the negative impact the Iraq war had on Europe. Twenty-three years ago, another U.S. Administration dragged us into a war in the Middle East, he continued, referring to President George W. Bush. A war which, in theory, was said at the time to be waged to eliminate Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction, to bring democracy, and to guarantee global security but.. it unleashed the greatest wave of insecurity that our continent had suffered since the fall of the Berlin Wall, he continued. To close, Sanchez tried to offer a message of unity and peace, "We also stand with many other governments that think as we do, and with millions ofcitizens in Europe, North America, and the Middle East who are calling for a future thatbrings not more war and uncertainty, but more peace and prosperity," adding, "Because the former only benefits a few. And the latter benefits us all." Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to send more British fighter jets to the Middle East in a bid to bolster the UKs military presence in the region as the conflict continues to escalate. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, the prime minister rejected criticism from opponents and allies that Britain had not acted fast enough when fighting began, and said he stands by his decision not to join the initial strikes on Tehran over the weekend. Announcing the extra military assets being sent to the region, Sir Keir said: I can announce today that were sending four additional Typhoon jets to join our squadron in Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region. Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday, as the warship HMS Dragon is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week. Britain did not join the initial strikes on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to strike in a defensive capacity (PA) The move comes on the sixth day of a conflict between Iran and the US, which has dragged in countries across the Middle East and beyond. Britain did not join the initial strikes on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to strike in a defensive capacity. Sir Keir called for de-escalation on Thursday, as he reiterated the need for a negotiated settlement with Iran over their nuclear ambitions. It comes as Britain has been facing criticism for failing to have enough military assets in the Middle East after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone over the weekend. The prime minister has faced harsh words from the US president, who said he is no Winston Churchill, while Cypruss high commissioner to the UK said a British military presence to defend the island was the least we expect, in a criticism of the UKs approach to managing the war. Advertisement Four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar (UK MOD) But Sir Keir rejected such criticism, insisting the UK had been preparing for the possibility of conflict long before Israeli and US strikes began, by deploying additional military capabilities to the region to defend our interests. He also said the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement, telling reporters: Look, the special relationship is in operation right now. Were working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region, the US and the British, working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where were jointly located, and were sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. Starmer insisted the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement (PA) That is the special relationship. That is a special relationship in operation, and clearly, its for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest the right decisions for the US. Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Mr Trump since Saturday evening, but added: Were sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. That is the special relationship. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sir Keir also announced that the first government-chartered flight from Oman to Britain had finally taken off, after it was delayed from doing so overnight. He said more than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, and that a further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK on Thursday. Sir Keir revealed he had chaired a Cobra meeting on Thursday, and acknowledged that people across the UK are worried sick about their family and friends who are caught up in this. He added: I want to reassure the British public about the action that we are taking while the region has been plunged into chaos. My focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff revealed in an interview this week that Iranian negotiators told him in the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli military operation in Iran that they had enough enriched uranium to "make 11 nuclear bombs." But since the major combat operations were launched on Saturday with the intent of crushing Iran's nuclear ambitions, the administration has yet to publicly produce any concrete evidence on the whereabouts of the nuclear material or who is in control of it. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that at least 40 top military commanders were killed in the opening strikes of the conflict. In an interview on Fox News, Witkoff told host Sean Hannity that as soon as he and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, sat down with the Iranian negotiators for denuclearization talks last month, their counterparts spoke of their stockpile of enriched uranium. U.S. Navy - PHOTO: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 151, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. "Jared and I opened up with the Iranian negotiators telling us they had the inalienable right to enrich all the nuclear fuel they possessed," Witkoff said. "We, of course, responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you in your tracks." Witkoff claimed the Iranian negotiators openly shared details about their supply of nuclear material. Omani Foreign Ministry/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: In this handout photo released by the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 26, 2026, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner hold a meeting with Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in Geneva. "In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly with, you know, no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium] and they're aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs," Witkoff said. Witkoff said the 60% enriched uranium can be brought to weapons-grade in about a week and that the 20% enriched uranium can be brought to weapons-grade in three to four weeks. "They manufacture their own centrifuges to enrich this material," Witkoff said. "So, there's almost no stopping them. They have an endless supply of it." The statement appears to contradict what the Pentagon said last summer about Iran's ability to develop weapons-grade uranium following U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities. In July 2025, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson, said at a news conference that that the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June set back Iran's capability to develop a nuclear weapon by "closer to two years." "It's not just ... enriched uranium or centrifuges or things like that. We destroyed the components that they would need to build a bomb," Parnell said at the time. But on Tuesday, that assessment fell to the wayside as the administration defended the U.S. military operation by insisting Iran posed an imminent threat to Americans. A senior administration official told reporters in a briefing that among the factors in the operation was that Iran had the ability to rebuild those components destroyed in the bombing, including its own centrifuges. The official said a lot of the enriched uranium remained mostly in Isfahan with some still at Natanz and Fordo. "It can be a long and cumbersome process in extracting it and covering it up," the official said. "I think the first question is, where is it? The second question is, how do we get to it, and how do we get physical control? And then after that, it would be a decision of the president and department, the Department of War, CIA, as to whether we wanted to physically transport it or dilute it on premises." Iran has stated numerous times that it doesn't want nuclear weapons, but believes it has the right to use nuclear power for civilian purpose. It had also been part of a nuclear deal with the U.S., which Trump withdrew from during his first term. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told ABC's "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the attack on his country was "unprovoked and unwarranted." He said Iran was negotiating with the United States in good faith prior to the attacks. "A deal was at our reach, and we left Geneva happily with the understanding that we can reach a deal next time we meet," Araghchi said. In their two public briefings on "Operation Epic Fury" in Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not address what has become of Iran's nuclear material since the widespread military strikes began on Saturday. In several speeches since the attacks commenced, Trump has also not been specific about the status of Iran's nuclear material. Hegseth, Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio conducted a closed-door briefing with members of the U.S. Senate and House on the Iran operation on Tuesday afternoon. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, March 3, 2026. In a letter sent on Monday to the administration's briefers, five top House Democrats -- including Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee -- asked for information on nuclear security in Iran. Advertisement "Who currently controls Iran's nuclear facilities and materials, and what safeguards are in place to prevent diversion or proliferation, or complete loss of control?" the Democratic lawmakers asked in their letter. But following the briefing, Meeks said the briefers offered few answers. "Here we are again without answers. Here we are again without complete transparency," Meeks said. "Here we are again trying to go around Congress." Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the briefers provided "no additional" information on the imminent threat that prompted the military operation, adding, "There's nothing that we got that you don't have." House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., challenged any suggestion that the Trump administration was unclear during their briefing with House members about their objectives in Iran. "This is really a very simple matter. It's about the building of ballistic missiles. That's what Iran was engaged in, and they were doing it at a speed and in a scale that was exceeding the ability of our regional allies to respond appropriately, Johnson said. "This created an imminent and serious threat. It also gave them cover to continue with their nuclear ambitions." Johnson added, "As you know, we tried very hard to negotiate with them about that nuclear enrichment of uranium and the buildup of their missiles was so important and so serious that the President of the United States, this president, thought that it was a great enough threat that we needed to act." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, said in a social media post on Tuesday that, based on the latest available satellite imagery, it "can now confirm some recent damage to entrance buildings of Iran's underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant [FEP]." "No radiological consequence expected and no additional impact detected at FEP itself, which was severely damaged in the June conflict," the IAEA said in the post. In June 2025, the U.S. and Israeli militaries launched "Operation Midnight Hammer," targeting three of Iran's nuclear facilities -- Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan -- with "bunker-buster" bombs, according to the White House. At the time, Trump said the operation "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's key uranium enrichment sites. In a speech on Monday at the White House, Trump said that after "Operation Midnight Hammer," Iran attempted to rebuild its nuclear facilities in another location, "because they were unable to use the ones we so powerfully blew up." Trump says 'if anything' he forced Israel's hand on Iran attack timing, says Iran was going to strike US first "In addition, the regime's conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas," Trump said. "The purpose of this fast-growing missile program was to shield their nuclear weapon development and make it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to stop them from making these highly forbidden, by us, nuclear weapons." Trump administration's mixed messaging on war with Iran: ANALYSIS The Institute for Science and International Security said in a statement on Tuesday that its analysis of satellite imagery indicates the Natanz nuclear complex, Iran's main uranium enrichment site, was struck twice during Saturday's joint U.S.-Israeli attack. Neither the Trump administration nor the Israeli government have confirmed the alleged strikes on the Natanz complex. Meanwhile, Israel targeted a compound near Tehran linked to the regime's nuclear weapons "capabilities," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in statement Tuesday. After the U.S. targeted Iran's nuclear facilities last year, Israel, which participated in the operation under the code-name "Rising Lion," continued to track scientists connected to the Iran's nuclear weapons program "and located their new location at this site in a manner that enabled a precise strike on the covert underground compound," the statement said. "The strike removes a key component in the Iranian regimes capability to develop nuclear weapons and joins a series of strikes conducted during Operation Rising Lion that were essential to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat," the IDF said. -ABC News' Mary Kekatos and Jordana Miller contributed to this report. by Austin Bay March 4, 2026 On March 2, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine held a joint press conference at the Pentagon. They both said achieving the administration's operational military goals would determine the conflict's duration. "To be clear ... this is not a single overnight operation," Caine said. "The military objectives that CENTCOM (Central Command) and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work." The Joint Force is Pentagonese for all U.S. military forces and resources -- from submarines to infantry sergeants to spy satellites. Here's Caine's bottom line in short form: results matter. Verified combat results that demonstrate Operation Epic Fury has achieved U.S. military and political objectives will determine the length of war, not a calendar with an arbitrary deadline. Caine also said starting Epic Fury "marked the culmination of months, and in some cases, years of deliberate planning and refinement" against specific targets. Hegseth, speaking before Caine gave his operational updates, addressed the strategic objectives. Hegseth said a key U.S. strategic objective is to "prevent Iran from (having) the ability to project power outside of its borders." In other words, the U.S. intends to eliminate the Iranian regime's ability to threaten and terrorize everyone outside Iran's national borders. Hegseth listed some of the operational objectives that will achieve the strategic objective: "Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons. ... We're hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically." Hegseth argued the U.S. goal is not Iraq-like regime change: "We set the terms of this war, from start to finish. Our ambitions are not utopian. They are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies. This is not Iraq. This is not endless." OK, no nukes is clear. June 2025's Operation Midnight Hammer sent that message, but Iran's lunatic ayatollah regime thought it could dawdle and delay -- tactics that have worked in the past. But President Donald Trump means it. Destroying missile launchers, missile stockpiles, missile manufacturing capabilities -- with very precise intel, that's doable. Sink Iran's navy -- OK, doable, with a caveat. Completely eliminating the ayatollah regime's ability to close the Strait of Hormuz means also destroying its mine-laying capabilities and small boat flotilla. Standoff weapons (air strikes, missiles, artillery) can destroy those targets, but doing so requires detailed intelligence and time to destroy small, dispersed targets -- which supports Caine's counsel that achieving Epic Fury's operational goals will take time. Near the end of his initial press statement, Hegseth said, "... We hope the Iranian people take advantage of this incredible opportunity. President Trump has been clear: Now is your time." Later, in response to a reporter's question, Hegseth repeated his appeal: "To the people of Iran, this is your moment. There were -- the world was seized by these crowds and then seized by the reality of this regime killing tens of thousands of innocent protesters. So, we saw the nature of the regime yet again exposed. We saw many, many of the Iranian people seek a change there. This is their moment to take advantage of it, for sure." Which makes what Hegseth called destroying "other security infrastructure" a very intriguing phrase. For its own immediate security, Iran's Shia Islamic revolutionary dictatorship relies on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paramilitary thugs, elite bodyguards and various secret police units. Over the past 47 years, these organizations have murdered hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens -- an estimated 35,000 since the latest round of anti-regime street demonstrations began in December 2025. Destroying this local "security infrastructure" would definitely aid the Iranian people. Apparently, Israel is doing just that. A UAE media outlet reported on March 1 that an Israeli air raid killed the chief of intelligence for the Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force (IRIF, aka Faraja). The IRGC has several hundred weapons caches. Targeting them will take time -- but what a lifesaving use of American bombs. American stealth bombers are expected to land at U.K. military bases within days to join the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran, according to reports. Citing unnamed senior Western officials, The Telegraph reported Wednesday that air bases at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire are being readied for the arrival of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers the $2 billion strategic bomber is also known as the world's most expensive aircraft. The bombers are understood to be landing at the U.K. bases "in a matter of days" as Washington intensifies operations in the region, the outlet reported. As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the U.S. military used stealth B-2 bombers to strike Iranian ballistic missile facilities Feb. 28 as part of the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Top Israeli Military Official Reveals Operation Against Iran Involved 'Strategic And Operational Deception' Diego Garcia is a strategic Indian Ocean base hosting 2,500 U.S. military personnel. (Reuters Photos) U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that B-2 stealth bombers, which were equipped with 2,000-pound bombs, struck Iranian "hardened" ballistic missile sites. Read On The Fox News App The U.S. was cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Irans missile capabilities on March 1 after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the plan, and while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey stated Britain had "stepped up alongside the Americans." Starmer said the authorization was granted to protect U.K. and U.S. allies as the conflict escalated. He had previously said he would not allow American forces to use U.K. bases for offensive operations in the region. Tensions have since been heightened in the U.K. by security incidents in Cyprus. RAF Akrotiri, a key British military base on the island, was struck by a suspected drone on March 2, causing minor damage. Advertisement Irans Drone Swarm Attacks Unleash Exponential Costs On Us, Prolonging War: 'Asymmetric Capability' Several B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers are seen on a runway at the Whiteman Air Force Base. The unmanned aircraft was reported to resemble an Iranian-made Shahed drone, similar to models used by Russia in Ukraine and by Tehrans regional proxies. The Ministry of Defense said force-protection measures were at the "highest level" and that the base had taken steps to defend personnel. About 4,000 service members and their families are based at RAF Akrotiri. The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Cyprus to Level 3, urging Americans to reconsider travel because of the threat of armed conflict and limited consular assistance in parts of the country. Non-emergency embassy staff and family members were authorized to leave. Officials said the advisory change reflected adjustments in embassy operations rather than a direct change in underlying risk. Ex-centcom Chief Details 'Exquisite Intelligence' Behind Iran Strikes, Says Next Steps Hinge On 'Missile Math' President Donald Trump blasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on March 3, 2026, saying "this is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with," amid a lack of support for the United States and Israels joint military operation against Iran. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Trump had called Britain "uncooperative" and slammed Starmer as "not Winston Churchill" after Starmer initially rebuffed a U.S. request to use U.K. bases to attack Iran, according to The Associated Press. Trump has also condemned Britains agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands, home to the Diego Garcia base, to Mauritius. Original article source: Stealth bombers landing at UK bases 'in days' after Trump pressures Starmer: report President Trump And First Lady Melania Trump Visit Fort Bragg In North Carolina (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images) Mauritius lashed out over the legality of American strikes on Iran while demanding that Britain finalize a deal to hand over an island chain the U.S. was granted permission to use against Iran. The island nations Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Chagos Archipelago, led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, released an official communique on March 3 targeting both the U.S. and Israel shared by Mauritian outlet Minority Voice. The panel claimed international lawyers argued that the American and Israeli strikes on Iran and the Islamic regimes retaliatory attacks on third-party nations have no legal underpinning under international law. The committee also called out the use of bases in the operation, doing so days after Britain gave the U.S. permission to use Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos islands. Mauritius, mindful of its commitment to the international rules based order, calls for an immediate ceasefire and recourse to peaceful means of resolving disputes between the States concerned, the statement continued. Advertisement The officials pressed London to finalize the May 2025 Chagos Archipelago treaty, which would transfer sovereignty over the island chain, including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. The committee complained that the agreement has not yet entered into force despite both sides pledging to move quickly, adding there remained no visibility on when the transfer might happen. (RELATED: UK Cant Defend Its Own Military Bases As Broke Country Forced To Step In) Diego Garcia hosts a 12,000-foot runway, a deep-water port, submarine berths and prepared military stockpiles, according to the Brussels Signal. The base serves as a critical launchpad for Middle East operations and power projection toward the Persian Gulf. Analysts have raised alarms that Chinas growing infrastructure investments in Mauritius could threaten exclusive Western control of the facility after a sovereignty transfer, the outlet reported. President Donald Trump said in a March 1 interview that he was very disappointed in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for initially refusing to let American forces use Diego Garcia during the Iran strikes. The president slammed the Chagos deal in response. Trump had already torched the agreement over a month earlier on Truth Social, calling the planned handover an act of GREAT STUPIDITY and warning that China and Russia took note of the move. British Conservative MP Priti Patel shared the Mauritius communique on X and cautioned that the countrys relationship with China could jeopardize Western security and the U.S.-U.K. alliance. Patel urged the British government to scrap the treaty entirely. Chad Michael Murray, Morgan Kohan, and Scott Patterson in 'Sullivan's Crossing' - Michael Tompkins / Freemantle The Crossing will be missing a familiar face when Sullivans Crossing returns for Season 4. Scott Patterson, whos played Harry Sully Sullivan since the shows first episode, is not returning. At the end of Season 3, Sully left for Ireland with Helen (Kate Vernon) and told his daughter, Maggie (Morgan Kohan), that hed be back. That trip has since been extended, but viewers wont get to see Sullys life overseas on camera. Season 3 of Sullivans Crossing ended with Sully leaving for Ireland, beginning a new chapter in his life. Season 4 picks up the next day, with Sully still overseas, showrunner and executive producer Roma Roth told EW in a statement. While he isnt physically present in this season, the character remains an important part of the world with the potential to be included in future seasons should that align with the ongoing creative. The Canadian series, which airs on The CW in the U.S., centers on Maggies return to her small Nova Scotia town after legal trouble with her job as a doctor in Boston. Maggie and Sullys relationship is strained at first they hadnt spoken in 15 years but theyve worked through their issues over the past three seasons. Advertisement Season 4 will be focusing heavily on the love triangle drama between Maggie, Cal (Chad Michael Murray), and her forgotten husband, Liam (Marcus Rosner), who showed up unexpectedly at the end of last season. Kohan previously told Swooon she wanted to explore more of Maggies past life in Boston, which Liams presence in Season 4 will help with. Im really excited to hear more about her life, who she was, how shes changed, she said. Was she just as neurotic about things and everything needing to be in perfect order? Was that something that came through later in life? Im excited for all of it. Sullivans Crossing, Season 4 Premiere, Monday, April 20, 8/7c, The CW Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider. The Florida Supreme Court grilled lawyers on both sides in the case of a former sheriff's deputy convicted of planting drugs on innocent drivers, homing in on the question of whether it takes two people to commit racketeering. Justices heard oral arguments March 4 in a high-profile case involving Zach Wester, found guilty of framing drivers while working as a patrol deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. His racketeering conviction was tossed out by a lower appellate court. The high courts eventual ruling could impact how cases are brought under Floridas RICO Act, enacted in 1977 to combat organized crime and later applied in the case of Wester, a "lone wolf" bad actor. Wester, 33, framed unsuspecting motorists by planting methamphetamine and paraphernalia in their vehicles during traffic stops from 2017 to 2018. His victims were taken to jail and prosecuted, though their charges were later dropped. In 2021, he was found guilty at trial of racketeering, official misconduct, fabricating evidence, false imprisonment and possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia and sentenced to 12-1/2 years in prison. In 2024, the 1st District Court of Appeal reversed the racketeering conviction the most serious charge against him and remanded the case for re-sentencing. The DCA opined that prosecutors failed to prove that two or more people were involved in Westers plot. However, they also certified that issue as a question of great importance for the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. Chief Deputy Solicitor General Jason J. Muehloff, who is representing the state, argued that Wester leveraged his employment with the Jackson County Sheriffs Office to carry out his crimes and, under the RICO Act, that's all that's required for conviction. The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 4, 2026, in the case of Zach Wester, a former Jackson County deputy convicted in 2021 of planting drugs on innocent drivers. Justices are weighing whether the states racketeering law requires the involvement of at least two people in the crime. Floridas Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act makes it unlawful for any person employed by, or associated with, any enterprise to conduct or participate ... in such enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. Justice John D. Couriel asked Muehloff to distinguish between a conspiracy charge and the elements for a single individual person racketeering in connection with a criminal enterprise. Conspiracy is generally considered to be the agreement between two or more to facilitate some illegal objective, Muehloff said. Here, you need some person who is employed by any enterprise ... to be able to use that relationship to facilitate the pattern of racketeering. So the states position, Couriel continued, is that the substantive RICO charge does not require more than one person, but a conspiracy charge obviously would because it would require an agreement? Asst. Public Defender Barbara Busharis argues her case for her client Zach Wester in the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The former Jackson County deputy was convicted in 2021 of planting drugs on innocent drivers. Justices are weighing whether the states racketeering law requires the involvement of at least two people in the crime. Exactly, your honor, Muehloff said. Advertisement Assistant Public Defender Barbara Busharis told justices she agreed with much of the states argument, including that RICO was enacted to combat organized crime but intentionally drafted broadly to address more than what she called Godfather-style mob activity. What we lack here and what the 1st DCA rightly pointed out is any acting in concert, whether with another entity or another individual, she said. Because that really is the core of what RICO gets at, over and above other statutes. 'Pushing this with blinders on' Muehloff asked the high court to reverse the 1st DCA and order Westers racketeering sentence to be reinstated. Busharis asked justices to affirm the 1st DCAs decision. Justice Adam S. Tanenbaum told Muehloff that RICO is a very particular type of crime and that it was well-known in the 1970s what the federal and state governments were trying to address by enacting those laws. Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga listens to oral arguments in the case of Zach Wester on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The former Jackson County deputy was convicted in 2021 of planting drugs on innocent drivers. Justices are weighing whether the states racketeering law requires the involvement of at least two people in the crime. He said Muehloff seemed to have expanded the reach of this crime beyond its original intent by using an enterprise to go after one individual. It seems like youre pushing this with blinders on, he said. Youre just looking at the words themselves in the definition and ignoring the context of the entire statute and what this statute is. Tanenbaum hit Busharis with tough questions, too. Why do you so freely concede that the Sheriffs Office is an enterprise? he asked. It seems to blow your entire case. Chief Justice Carlos G. Muniz told Busharis that the definition of an enterprise didnt seem to be the problem in the Wester case. Zach Wester's most recent mug shot on file with the Florida Department of Corrections. The problem here is whether you can essentially be a one-person corrupter of the acknowledged enterprise when no one else is really in on what it is that youre doing, he said. Thats exactly the problem, she said. As is typical, the justices did not announce a timeline for an opinion in the case. Wester wasnt present, which is customary for incarcerated criminals. He is serving his time at a Colorado prison, where he was transferred because of security concerns. Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Drug planting deputy's appeal goes before Florida Supreme Court When travelers talk about the worlds great food destinations, the same cities tend to dominate the conversation. Paris. Tokyo. Bangkok. But a recent ranking of global culinary hotspots delivered a surprising contender. Canada has emerged as one of the most talked about foodie destinations, thanks largely to the culinary energy of cities like Toronto. A study analyzing social media engagement, dining experiences, and food activities found Toronto the most popular food destinations shared on social media, with nearly 193,900 TikTok posts and 2.7 million Instagram posts tagged #torontofood. For travelers, the rise of Canada as a culinary destination makes sense the moment you take your first bite. The countrys food scene is not defined by a single cuisine but by its diversity. Immigration, regional ingredients, and a generation of ambitious chefs have transformed Canadian cities into culinary playgrounds. And nowhere captures that energy quite like Toronto. Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest travel updates delivered straight to your inbox. Why Toronto Is One of the Worlds Hottest Food Cities Torontos food scene works because the city itself is so diverse. Walk a few blocks and the menu can shift from Caribbean jerk chicken to handmade Chinese dumplings to Ethiopian stews. The city is home to over 100 different cuisines, making it one of the most diverse dining destinations in the world. Neighborhoods like Little Italy, Chinatown, and Little India reflect decades of immigration that shaped the citys culinary identity. This global influence means that a single weekend of eating in Toronto rarely follows a straight line. Breakfast might be Taiwanese scallion pancakes, lunch could be a Greek souvlaki wrap, and dinner might be modern Canadian tasting menus built around local produce and seafood. Food here feels like a reflection of the world itself. Iconic Toronto Foods Every Traveler Should Try Every great food city has its classics, and Toronto has plenty. The most famous Canadian comfort dish is poutine, a rich combination of fries, gravy, and squeaky cheese curds that originated in Quebec but has become a staple across the country. It is messy, indulgent, and absolutely worth trying at least once. Then there are Torontos legendary street foods and regional specialties. Peameal bacon sandwiches are one of the citys oldest traditions, often served on soft rolls with mustard. Jamaican patties filled with spiced beef are another local favorite, reflecting the influence of Caribbean communities that have shaped Torontos food culture. Advertisement Of course, no conversation about Canadian food is complete without maple syrup. From maple glazed desserts to breakfast dishes, the sweet ingredient appears in kitchens across the country and often shows up in creative ways on restaurant menus. The result is a culinary identity that feels uniquely Canadian yet globally inspired. Canadian Regional Foods Worth Traveling For Toronto may lead Canadas culinary buzz, but the countrys food culture stretches far beyond one city. From French-influenced comfort dishes to coastal seafood and Indigenous culinary traditions, every region offers something distinct for travelers who want to explore Canada through food. Quebec: French culinary traditions shape much of the provinces food culture. Travelers will find dishes like tourtiere, a savory meat pie often served during holidays, along with maple-driven desserts that celebrate the regions famous syrup harvest. British Columbia (Pacific Coast): On Canadas west coast, seafood takes center stage. Restaurants often feature Pacific salmon, spot prawns, and other ocean-fresh ingredients that reflect the regions proximity to the Pacific. Vancouver in particular has built a reputation for innovative seafood restaurants and farm-to-table menus that highlight local ingredients. Atlantic Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and nearby provinces): Along the Atlantic coastline, seafood dominates local menus. Prince Edward Island is especially famous for its lobster and mussels, making it a popular stop for culinary travelers exploring eastern Canada. Prairies and Northern Canada: In the countrys central and northern regions, travelers may encounter dishes rooted in Indigenous culinary traditions. Foods such as bannock, a type of bread, appear frequently, along with meals built around game meats like bison that reflect the landscapes and cultural traditions of these regions. The Rise of Canadian Fine Dining Street food may be the entry point, but Canadas fine dining scene has quietly become one of the most exciting in North America. Chefs across the country are embracing seasonal and local ingredients, drawing from Canadas rich natural landscapes that include fisheries, forests, farms, and orchards. In regions like British Columbias Okanagan Valley, restaurants often build menus around what is available that day from nearby farms and lakes. Toronto restaurants in particular have leaned into this farm to table philosophy. Menus frequently highlight regional seafood, Ontario produce, and Canadian wines. What makes Canadian fine dining interesting is that it rarely feels rigid or traditional. Chefs blend techniques from around the world with local ingredients, creating dishes that feel modern, inventive, and distinctly Canadian. For travelers who enjoy tasting menus and culinary experimentation, Canada now offers a compelling reason to book a table. Get the latest travel inspiration and news delivered straight to your inbox. Planning a Food Trip to Canada For travelers interested in exploring Canada through food, Toronto is often the easiest starting point. The citys density of restaurants and neighborhoods makes it possible to sample a wide range of cuisines in just a few days. But Toronto is only one piece of the countrys culinary landscape. Cities like Vancouver, Montreal, and Victoria also rank highly for food lovers thanks to their access to fresh seafood, multicultural restaurants, and vibrant markets. Vancouver, for example, is often praised for its high concentration of highly rated restaurants and its seafood driven cuisine. Together, these cities create a cross country culinary journey that spans everything from coastal seafood to prairie comfort food. This story was originally published by TravelHost on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here. A suspect is in custody after three women were found dead at multiple crime scenes, prompting a shelter-in-place warning in southern Utah. The bodies of the three women were found in multiple locations within Wayne County which encompasses the popular tourist destination Torrey on March 4, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is aiding in the investigation. In a statement posted to social media, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office confirmed "that a suspect in the Wayne County homicides was captured early this morning." The suspect was later identified as 22-year-old Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa, Lt. Cameron Roden of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference Thursday morning. Shooting Outside Salt Lake City Lds Church Leaves At Least 2 Dead, 6 Injured: Police Ivan Miller, 22, was taken into custody following a multi-state manhunt in Archuleta County, Colorado on Thursday, March 5, 2026. He is the sole suspect in a trip homicide investigation in Wayne County, Utah. (Fox News) LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST Read On The Fox News App Authorities located Miller after using license plate readers to track him in one of the victim's vehicles, Roden said. The vehicle traveled through southern Utah, into northern Arizona and later into Colorado, where it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs by local law enforcement. Miller was subsequently taken into custody by Colorado law enforcement following a brief search. He was booked into the Archuleta County Detention Center and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, according to jail records. Authorities were initially called to the scene by the husbands of both victims after receiving reports of two deceased females found along a hiking trail, Roden said. A third victim was subsequently discovered inside a residence within the county. Advertisement Officials have not yet said why they believe the three homicides in separate locations are linked, but they do not believe Miller knew his alleged victims. Florida Madman Stalked Tourists Near Disney Before Allegedly Killing Them In Random Attack: Family Authorities conduct an investigation at a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Details regarding the identities of the three women have not been released, but authorities have said the women were in their 30s, 60s and 80s, according to DPS. Authorities previously asked the public to be on the lookout for a 2022 white Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF, but cautioned against approaching the vehicle and instead urged anyone who believes they may have spotted it to call law enforcement. Crime tape surrounds a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Schools throughout the county also canceled classes "out of an abundance of caution" on both Thursday and Friday, according to the Wayne County School District. Two local health clinics also closed their doors on Thursday as the manhunt remained ongoing. Manhunt Underway After Missouri Deputy Slain, Suspects Truck Spotted Heading Toward Arkansas Border A forensic scientist enters a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Additionally, authorities in nearby Garfield County also issued a warning to residents to lock their doors on Wednesday, but later said "there is no longer a threat in our area." Click Here To Download The Fox News App Utah DPS and WCSO did not immediately respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment. Anyone with information is urged to contact siac@utah.gov or call the tipline at 801-965-3838. Original article source: Rural community on edge after husbands find their wives dead along hiking trail, suspect arrested Neighborhood Health Clinic in Naples has added more diagnostic equipment to enhance care for women, for cardiology patients and for pathology needs. The upgrades to the clinic near downtown Naples are possible because of a $1 million gift from the Schoonmaker Foundation. The Schoonmaker foundation is a Florida-based philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting competitive sailing and healthcare initiatives. For patients who are eligible for care at the clinic, located at 88 12th St. N., the added diagnostic equipment means earlier detection of diseases, faster answers and clinicians are able to be more precise in treatment plans. The clinics patient base are low-income, working but uninsured adults who live in Collier County. All care at the clinic is provided at no cost to patients. Each year the clinic sees more than 12,000 patients and performs more than 30,000 procedures. The clinic is volunteer driven with 250 physicians, 50 dentists, 100 nurses and 300 non-medical personnel donating their time. Independent audits show 94 cents of every dollar goes directly to patient services. By helping working adults stay healthy and on the job, the clinic supports a stronger local economy. The Schoonmaker Foundations generosity is an investment in the people who keep Collier County running, Keith Maples, CEO of Neighborhood Health, said in a news release. Advertisement The Schoonmaker Foundations support builds on prior investments in essential IT-related equipment and reflects a deep, ongoing commitment to patient care at the clinic. The gift is expanding diagnostic testing that impact women for gastrointestinal infections, reproductive health issues, and viral infections. In terms of cardiology, some of the money is targeting stress testing, EKG, and echocardiogram equipment. These tools are essential for detecting and managing cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death among women. The foundations gift also is helping to modernize laboratory diagnostics to improve speed, consistency, and accuracy, according to Neighborhood. For more information, visit www.NeighborhoodHealthClinic.org or call 239.261.6600. Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here. . This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SW Florida clinic that serves uninsured in Naples recognized with gift People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) Frustrated and anxious travelers searched Tuesday for any way out of the Middle East and beyond as the widening Iran war choked off commercial air traffic through the region for a fourth straight day, stranding hundreds of thousands of people. What began Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran quickly rippled far beyond the immediate conflict zone. With airspace closed or heavily restricted across much of the Gulf, passengers have been stranded not only in the region but also in cities far from the fighting after their connecting flights were canceled. They say Get out, but how do you expect us to get out when airspaces are closed? said Odies Turner, a 32-year-old chef from Dallas who was stuck in Doha, Qatar. They just have been canceling every flight. I want to go home. The U.S. told American citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the region right away using any available commercial transportation. The countries include Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. But commercial options remained limited. More than 19,000 of the roughly 51,600 flights scheduled into and out of the Middle East between the start of the war and Friday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Governments explore repatriation flights The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was actively securing military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region. It said it was in contact with nearly 3,000 citizens seeking assistance or information. We know that were going to be able to help them, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday, while cautioning that it's going to take a little time because we dont control the airspace closures." Rubio urged stranded Americans to contact the State Department: "We need to know who you are. Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel. He provided information as a courtesy to those wishing to leave" about an Israeli government shuttle bus to Egypt that Americans could try as you make your own security plans. Israels airspace has been closed since Saturday, although some land crossings remain open. El Al, Israel's flag carrier, said it was launching a large-scale recovery operation. Transportation Minister Miri Regev said Ben-Gurion Airport is preparing to gradually reopen for limited incoming flights starting early Thursday. Under the plan, one passenger flight per hour will be allowed in the first 24 hours totaling about 5,000 people with more possible depending on security conditions. It is unclear whether only Israelis will be permitted on the flights, and no commercial departures leaving Israel have been approved. Australia said a commercial flight from Dubai to Sydney was scheduled Wednesday to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the UAE. This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Waiting and watching Across the Middle East, travelers waited in terminals and hotels, or stayed inside because of airstrikes. Some cruise passengers were unable to disembark or reroute because ships could not sail through the Strait of Hormuz. Matt Carwell, an American staying in Dubai, was speaking with The Associated Press by phone from his hotel balcony when he suddenly stopped midsentence. Advertisement Wow, the 46-year-old said. There was just a boom. A fighter jet roared overhead moments later. Carwell, who volunteers at a New Hampshire school, has flights booked and keeps waiting for one that doesn't get canceled. Right now, were safe and comfortable, he said, but not everyone is. Just feel for them and feel for the people who have either lost their lives or lost someone they're close to. Airspace across Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria were still shut Tuesday, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. The UAE declared its airspace partially closed, and Jordan suspended flights daily from the mid-afternoon until 6 a.m. local time. The geography of the war has magnified the disruption to air travel. Gulf airports connect Europe, Africa and Asia, and carriers routinely funnel long-haul passengers through hubs such as Dubai and Doha. Within the Middle East, an eight-hour flying distance covers two-thirds of the world population, said Anita Mendiratta, an aviation and tourism consultant who was stranded in Bangkok. When that corridor is blocked, Mendiratta said, it forces planes far north or south, which "puts huge pressure on the airlines. Some of the aviation notices governing the closures allow authorities to reopen or restrict portions of airspace on short notice depending on security conditions, meaning flight schedules can change rapidly as the conflict continues to unfold. Some begin to leave Despite the uncertainty, some travelers have managed to catch flights. Oman Airways advertised flights from Muscat International Airport for passengers able to reach the city from the UAE. Virgin Atlantic said it planned to resume limited service between London Heathrow and both Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Omans airspace remained open, while Saudi Arabia kept most of its airspace operating despite partial closures near its border with Iraq and along the Persian Gulf making Muscat and Riyadh key staging points for repatriation efforts. Some wealthy travelers are paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe, first traveling overland to Muscat or to Riyadh to reach airports considered safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks. Prices for charter flights have soared since the start of the war. Emirates and Etihad operated a limited number of repatriation flights Tuesday, even as their regular commercial schedules remained suspended. Both carriers said the departures were focused on moving stranded passengers and operating cargo or repositioning flights with government approval. We called our children at 3 a.m. to ask forgiveness because we might die and to tell them we love them, said Mariana Muicaru, one of hundreds of Romanian pilgrims who had been stranded on a church trip to Israel. She described watching rockets streak across the sky, before eventually reaching Bucharest on Tuesday. In Germany, passengers arriving in Frankfurt from Dubai on Tuesday were asked by reporters if they were glad to be home. Yes, of course, Wassim Mahlas said. Im breathing German air again. ___ Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report, including Danica Kirka, Daniel Niemann, Kristen Grieshaber, Nicolae Dumitrache, Samy Magdy, Jovana Gec, Josh Funk, Julie Walker and Rod McGuirk. Back-to-back days of severe weather across the central United States have claimed at least eight lives and caused widespread damage from Texas to Michigan. While damaging storms and tornadoes became more widespread on Friday, AccuWeather meteorologists warn the pattern may stay active into next week - with the potential for a multistate outbreak. A Chevy Trailblazer SUV is seen crushed by a falling tree that was uprooted by a tornado that hit several cities in rural southwest Michigan on March 7, 2026 in Union City, Michigan. Several people were killed and about a dozen others were injured by the storm in Union City. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) Severe storms produce deadly tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma Severe thunderstorms turned deadly for a second consecutive day Friday evening, leaving at least four people dead in Lower Michigan and two others killed in Oklahoma. The latest round of destructive weather came as powerful storms and tornadoes tore across parts of the Midwest and southern Plains. AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Dr. Reed Timmer was in Beggs, Oklahoma, where he captured video of a tornado tearing across the area. The Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office confirmed that two people were killed in Beggs during the severe weather outbreak. The tragedy followed another deadly tornado a day earlier that claimed the lives of a mother and daughter near Fairview, Oklahoma. Farther north, a lone supercell thunderstorm developed in Indiana before intensifying as it tracked northeast into the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in northern Indiana. The storm produced tornado damage in parts of Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties. One of the hardest-hit areas was along the north side of Union Lake in Union City, where numerous homes sustained significant damage and trees were sheared off. Several businesses in Three Rivers also suffered notable damage as debris was scattered across neighborhoods. Local authorities confirmed three fatalities in Branch County and one fatality in Cass County. Edwardsburg Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Courtney Szucs confirmed in a letter to staff and families that the death in Cass County was a sixth-grade student. "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the student's family, friends, classmates and all who knew and cared about him," Szucs said. "He was a bright and meaningful part of our Eddie community, and we know his loss is deeply felt by many." Additionally, 12 injuries were reported in Union City in Branch County, with several more injuries in the Edwardsburg area of Cass County. Resident Kara Klein speaks on the phone on the front porch of her home where her family's Chevy Trailblazer SUV and Ford Fiesta were crushed by a falling tree that was uprooted by a tornado on March 7, 2026 in Union City, Michigan. Several people were killed and about a dozen others were injured by the storm in Union City. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) The NWS office in northern Indiana sent survey teams to Branch, St. Joseph and Cass counties to assess the damage and determine the strength and rating of the tornadoes. After an initial assessment of the Union City tornado, NWS teams found damage consistent with an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with estimated winds of at least 160 mph. The Edwardsburg tornado was rated an EF-1 with max winds of 95 mph and the Three Rivers tornado was given an EF-2 rating with winds topping out at 130 mph. 2 dead after tornadoes tear through Oklahoma on Thursday Seven tornadoes reportedly touched down across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, accompanied by hail nearly as large as tennis balls. Two deaths were reported near Fairview, Oklahoma, after a mother and daughter were caught in a tornado while driving on U.S. Highway 60, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Advertisement Damage surveys are scheduled for Friday so officials can confirm where tornadoes occurred and rate them on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Hailstorms hammer Texas to Indiana on Wednesday Severe thunderstorms erupted across the central U.S. on Wednesday. The storms were not as widespread as what is expected later in the week, but they still packed a punch, with hail large enough to dent vehicles reported in multiple states. Nearly 500 flights were delayed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as one hailstorm tracked near the city. Flash flooding from heavy rain transformed Interstate 45 south of Dallas into a river on Wednesday night. pic.twitter.com/0EBkhpW3OB AccuWeather (@accuweather) March 5, 2026 Multiple roads were flooded southwest of downtown Dallas early Wednesday night. Several homes were also under as much as 5 feet of water in Wills Point. Highway 80 and other roads were flooded, with multiple water rescues in Wills Point and Cedar Hill, where as much as 6.52 inches of rain was reported. Lightning strikes behind a wall cloud in Cadoo, Oklahoma, on March 4, 2026. (Reed Timmer) "We've got the first wall cloud of the year," Extreme Meteorologist Dr. Reed Timmer said while storm chasing in Caddo, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. "This is the first supercell storm in southeastern Oklahoma." The storm did not produce a tornado, but it offered a preview of what could unfold later this week into next week as the atmosphere becomes more favorable for intense thunderstorms. Texas, Missouri declare state of emergency Friday was one of the most dangerous severe weather days of 2026 so far, and officials took the threat seriously. On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency, allowing the Texas Division of Emergency Management to assist local officials ahead of the expected storms. "Texans are urged to remain weather-aware, regularly check road conditions and heed the guidance of state and local officials to ensure the safety of themselves and their loved ones," Abbott said in a statement. "The State of Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the well-being of communities across our state." On Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe also signed a state of emergency order due to the risk of destructive storms. "I urge all Missourians to pay attention to their local weather forecasts, follow official warnings, and have multiple ways to receive alerts - especially overnight," Kehoe said in a press release. In Kansas and Missouri, emergency managers canceled statewide severe weather drills due to the weather. "The Drill will NOT be rescheduled, but we encourage you to look over and practice your tornado warning actions at your convenience," officials said. Click here to read AccuWeather's breakdown of the severe weather threat across the U.S. into next week. As a young lawyer, the man who would become Americas third president defended freedom-seeking slaves, drafted legislation to legalize their path to liberation and even entertained the idea of doing away with slavery. Yet when rebellion erupted in Frances richest colony, Saint-Domingue, the same enlightened thinker reacted with horror at the prospect of Black self-emancipation and the rise of what he called a nation of cannibals whose revolt on what is present-day Haiti might spill across their borders. Unable to bear the thought, Thomas Jefferson, then secretary of state in the newly formed United States, urged President George Washington to back the beleaguered French colonists. Over the years, the United States would provide more than $700,000 to assist French planters in suppressing the insurrection on the island of Hispaniola, shared by the Dominican Republic. At the same time, American merchants profited by trading goods, including livestock, lumber, guns and ammunition, with the insurrectionist rebels. In the end, the former slaves prevailed, and Haiti, after a decisive battle on Nov. 18, 1803, against Napoleons troops, emerged as the hemispheres second republic, after the United States. But the contradictions embedded in American foreign policy would mirror those of Jefferson himself: a slaveholding planter who became a leading American figure of the Enlightenment even as he advanced Black inferiority. Jeffersons legacy, new book on history of race As the United States prepares to celebrate in July the 250th anniversary of its founding, the legacy of the man who penned all men are created equal in the Declaration of Independence will once more invite scrutiny, along with his views on slavery. Less explored is how Jeffersons views about Black people, and by extension those held by the nation he helped found was shaped by European naturalists, travel writers, classifiers, anatomists, doctors and even a king. Among them were the physician and writer Francois Bernier, considered one of the first to classify humans into categories using the word race; the botanist Carl Linnaeus, who sorted humanity into varieties; the French writer Voltaire, who despite his progressive reputation promoted the view that Africans were a particular species destined to be chattel; and Jean-Baptiste Labat, the priest in Martinique whose name became synonymous with the tortuous treatment of enslaved Africans and seeped into the French-Creole lexicon: The word pereleba Father Labat means someone who is mean-spirited. They are among 13 figures along with Jefferson and French monarch Louis XIV, whose Code Noir established the legal framework for slavery in Haiti and other French colonies featured in a new book by scholar Andrew S. Curran on how the concept of race emerged during the 18th century Enlightenment period. These race makers, as Curran describes them, are featured in his new book Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race. Through their stories Curran shows that the invention of race was not a scientific inevitability, but rather fabricated by specific individuals, in specific contexts for specific reasons. It was driven by people who shaped the idea of race, normalized it, lived it and often profited from it, said Curran, who has authored two previous works including Whos Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race with Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Race did not spread because it was scientifically persuasive, Curran said. It spread because it served very human interests. Curran, a professor of humanities at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and an expert on 18th-Century France, examines the race question by delving into the writings of the period, and showing how xenophobia and limited encounters shaped the debate. In the case of Jefferson, Curran said the Francophile president was influenced not just by plantation life, but by European race theory. I was stunned to discover that he owned nearly all of the European race theorists I discuss. Their books were on his shelves, Curran said. Jefferson is not the main character of the book; his story is told at the end, including his relationship with Sally Hemings, the enslaved Black woman he owned and who, according to scholars, bore him at least six children. Americas anniversary celebration, Haiti linkage In the walk-up to July, Black history advocates have been worried that the history of racism and the role of Black history will face further erasure as President Donald Trump himself seeks to rewrite American history. What Currans work shows, however, is that racism and Black history are intricately linked. In addition to pointing out the U.S.s inconsistent stance and changing position on the Haitian revolution, he notes how Jefferson was also indebted to Saint-Domingue for what he deemed to be the greatest accomplishment of his two presidencies: the purchase of Frances Louisiana Territory. The 1803 sale, which Napoleon made to help finance his campaign in Saint-Domingue, doubled the size of the U.S. at the time. In summarizing Jeffersons views on race, Curran says like many of his peers, the founding father had accepted the racialization of humanity, particularly the degradation of Black Africans, as fact. Worse yet, Jefferson [had] woven this dangerous idea into the fabric of a new nation. Curran will be the guest speaker at the Prologue Society on March 11 at Temple Israel in Miami. Ahead of his visit he spoke to the Miami Herald about Biography. Advertisement Q and A with Curran on Biography of a Dangerous Idea Q: You claim that race is one of the most influential inventions of the last 200 years. You also say that, paradoxically, the history of race is the greatest untold story. Why is this history so little discussed, especially in anthropology? A: The invention of race science in the 18th and 19th centuries, not to mention the horrific racial ideologies of the 20th Century, is brutal terrain. It is hard to talk about, even now. I suspect there is an understandable disciplinary revulsion among anthropologists about the fields early years, and that revulsion has inadvertently produced silence. As a result, this history is often left to a small circle of historians and an equally small public. Q: What shocked you while writing this book? A: How much these race theorists disagreed. They differed profoundly about what caused racial difference, what terminology to use, and even whether classification was possible. What united them was simpler and more disturbing: They all agreed race was real and that it could explain almost everything about the human species. Q: The origin of race is often portrayed as deeply related to Europes understanding of Black Africans and slavery. However, you show how Louis XIV was also obsessed with excluding Jews and Protestants from French colonies. A: Some 17th century decisions regarding Africans and Jews were driven less by race or pure profit than by religion. Under Louis XIV, who oversaw the expansion of the French Atlantic empire... slavery was embedded in a deeply Catholic vision of empire. The monarchy insisted that enslaved Africans be baptized and instructed in the faith. The logic was clear to many Catholics: earthly bondage in exchange for eternal salvation. That same religious framework shaped policy toward Jews. They were not yet understood as racial sub-humans, but as religious outsiders who did not fit Louiss vision of a Catholic nation. The first article of the 1685 Code Noir did not concern slavery at all. It ordered the expulsion of Jews from the French Caribbean. Q: What about the British? A: Protestant empires such as Britain operated differently. British planters generally avoided baptizing enslaved Africans, fearing that Christian status might complicate absolute mastery. In that sense, British practices anticipated a more rigid racial logic closer to what we now recognize as modern racism. Q: The ideas you describe had horrific power. Did the powerlessness of enslaved Africans and Blacks make them unable to fight these ideologies? A: One of the most uplifting parts of this story is that Black writers fought back as soon as they gained access to a pen. Olaudah Equiano is the best-known of these authors, but there were dozens more. Fighting racism with ideas is different from fighting it with guns, as in Haiti, but it mattered. These writers inserted themselves into history and directly challenged the intellectual foundations of race. Q: In the United States, Thomas Jefferson is often portrayed as embodying the worst racial ideas of that time. Did men like him hate Blacks? A: I think Thomas Jefferson feared Black people more than he hated them. Though a plantation owner, he understood that slavery was morally wrong and philosophically incompatible with the ideals of the new republic. He wrote some of the eras sharpest indictments of slavery and worried that divine justice would one day fall on slaveholders. But his solution was not abolition. It was removal. He imagined sending Black Americans westward, to the Caribbean, or back to Africa. Q: How do you reconcile Jeffersons racism with his long-term relationship with a Black woman, Sally Hemings? A: It was tragically compatible. Taking a concubine, as Sallys son later described it, was common on plantations, especially when the woman was of mixed ancestry. Sally Hemings was three-quarters white, the product of generations of sexual exploitation. Her grandmother and mother were Black. Her biological father was white and was also Jeffersons father-in-law. In other words, Hemings was the half-sister of Jeffersons deceased wife. The intimacy of this fact reveals the moral contortions generated by slavery. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Q: Who was your favorite person to write about and why? A: I found Jefferson endlessly fascinating. He has been called a sphinx by his most famous biographer, and few American legacies are more contested. Architect, surveyor, inventor, political theorist, advocate of public education and religious liberty, enslaver, and race theorist! Tracing what he believed from year to year was also a challenge, even if he left 19,000 letters behind! Suffice it to say that Jefferson helped shape the United States for better and for worse. Q: Why is this book pertinent now? Perhaps because of what it says about how societies come to believe harmful ideas? A: Exactly. This book shows how culture, authority, ambition and financial interest can make speculative and destructive ideas seem natural and logical. That is why the story matters now. It helps explain how entire societies come to believe things later generations find horrifying. Understanding how race was made helps us understand how evil is rationalized. Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book? A: I hope readers come away with a deeper historical awareness and also a sense of responsibility. Once you see how contingent and constructed these racial ideas were, it becomes much harder to treat them as natural facts and much harder to forget them. Andrew Curran will appear at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, 137 NE 19th St., on March 11, 2026, from noon to 2 p.m., to discuss his new book. For tickets visit https://www.theprologuesociety.org/event-details/march-11th-luncheon-biography-of-a-dangerous-idea-by-andrew-s-curran GHA Seek Return of Therapy Equipment The Gibraltar Health Authority is appealing to the public to return any therapy equipment that they may no longer need or use, such as shower stools, bed aids, chair raisers, or walking aids. The equipment can be returned to the Therapy Reception on the ground floor of St Bernards Hospital any weekday between 8.30am and 4pm. Alternatively you can contact 20072266 (extension 3237 or 2191) and arrange for the items to be collected by the GHA. The GHA reminds the public that equipment that is no longer required should be returned to the hospital, so that other patients can benefit. Construction of ski trails and a ski lift in Park City, Utah, on Feb. 8. A snow drought and warmer weather across Utah and much of the West has resulted in Utah's receiving only around one-third of its normal early February snowpack. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) (Mario Tama) A combination of unusually balmy winter weather across much of the Western United States and one of the worst snow droughts in decades has experts bracing for what could be a particularly intense wildfire season. The snowpack is well below average for this time of year in nearly all Western states, with little time remaining to add snow cover and depth in the mountains before spring thaws begin. At the same time, higher-than-normal temperatures have made for a warmer and dryer winter than many states are accustomed to, raising concerns about wildfire risk and water supply. The snowpack in Colorados mountains is the lowest its been in over 40 years, said Russ Schumacher, director of the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University and the state climatologist. The period from October through February in Colorado a time when the state normally sees a large buildup of snow in the mountains was the warmest on record by a large margin, Schumacher said. Fort Collins, where he is based, nearly doubled its previous record for the number of 60-degree-Fahrenheit days in the winter, jumping from 22 days to 43 so far. A snow drought sweeping the Western United States led to low snowpack in Breckenridge, Colo., on Jan. 22. (Hyoung Chang / Denver Post via Getty Images) (Hyoung Chang) As a result, the state hasnt seen the types of snowstorms it would normally expect, and when storms have hit, they have often dropped rain instead of snow, particularly at middle and lower elevations. The problem extends beyond Colorado. Measurements of snow-water equivalent (the amount of water stored in the snowpack) across the Western continental U.S. show most of the region at well below average, with many basins at less than 50% of the average for this time of year. Some even hover around 25% of the average. When most places are at 50% of average or less, that means there would be twice the amount of snow or more almost everywhere on the map, said Noah Molotch, a professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder. Only a handful of basins in the Western U.S. are near average snowpack levels. (Natural Resources Conservation Service) (Natural Resources Conservation Service) Molotch and his colleagues track snowpack conditions for the Western continental U.S., and he said this is one of the lowest snow years he can remember. The only parts of the West with near-normal snow levels are the southern parts of the Sierra Nevada, a portion of northwestern Wyoming, and small pockets of northern Montana, Idaho and Washington, according to Molotch. Everywhere else is experiencing pretty severe snow drought, he said. Studies have shown that snow droughts and earlier-than-usual snow melt can contribute to more intense wildfire seasons in the summer. When there is far less snow cover than normal in forests and grasslands, or if snow melts earlier in the year than usual, vegetation has more time to dry out and become fuel for fires. Advertisement Already in Colorado, the Bluebell Fire over the weekend in Boulder prompted evacuation warnings and scorched approximately 1.5 acres. The blaze was contained quickly, but it offered a glimpse into how vulnerable the state could be once conditions become warmer, dryer and windier. Intense fire weather is not necessarily in short supply these days, Molotch said. Its pretty clear that these kinds of snow drought conditions set us up for potentially very intense wildfire seasons. A "Protected Watershed Area" sign stands near hillsides with patchy snow near Salt Lake City on Feb. 8. Utah relies on mountain snowpack for around 95% of its water supply. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) (Mario Tama) Its likely that climate change is playing a role in these trends, Schumacher said. Although yearly variations in snowfall can be tricky to link directly with global warming such attribution often takes years or decades of data to establish climate change is known to increase the chances of above-average temperatures, including during the winter. Precipitation deficits are harder to attribute to climate change, but in terms of really extreme high temperatures, theres a clear connection with the planet warming, he said. Dwindling mountain snowpack has dire implications for the Western water supply. As snow that built up over the winter months melts throughout the spring and summer, it feeds rivers and creeks that provide water for cities, agriculture and hydropower dams. Its the bread and butter of our water supply, Molotch said. Without robust snowpack levels, reservoirs across the Western United States wont get adequately replenished. The story is not just about Colorado, although the Colorado River basin is in a pretty dire situation because its a river basin thats already over-allocated, and the federal government is already facing difficult decisions around reducing allocations in the watershed, Molotch said. The weeks leading into spring can produce significant snowfall in parts of the West, including Colorado and Utah, but so far, forecasts for the coming weeks don't look promising. Skiers ride a chairlift at Alta Ski Area in the Wasatch Mountains in Alta, Utah, on Feb. 8. Ski resorts at higher elevations, such as Alta, have received sufficient snowfall, but those at lower elevations have been forced to make artificial snow. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) (Mario Tama) Schumacher said he starts with an optimistic outlook every winter, but it is shifting to resignation. Were sitting here in early March and theres not that much time left for things to turn around, unfortunately, he said. The hope now is that instead of it being a historically bad year, it ends up going down as just a bad year. Tom Murphy; Getty Yellowstone National Park is one of the most picturesque places on the planet. Between the tall, green trees in the summer to the snowcapped hills in the winter, it makes total sense that over 4.8 million people visit it annually. Among those doing so? Tom Murphy, a photographer who has been profiling the park for 50 years. Womans World recently sat down with Murphy to discuss what hes seen while visiting and discover what went into his new Yellowstone-inspired stamp. Read on for more. 6 Sets From Taylor Sheridans Yellowstone That You Can Actually Visit Tom Murphy looks back at his time in Yellowstone Established in 1872 as the world's first national park,Yellowstone spans 2.2 million acres across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. It has historical landmarks such as Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring along with a plethora of wildlife that you have to see to believe. It's changed a lot in good ways and bad ways, Murphy said of the park. Ive seen the 1988 fires and the reintroduction of the wolf was also a huge change in 1995 and 1996. There's a lot of interest in the wolves. Always will be. It's one of the people's favorite animals. And the last change I'm seeing, which is not good, is climate change. I've skied a lot in the back country of Yellowstone, including clear across the park, three times. And at this point in the year, I used to be able to count on a really good back country ski until about the first of April. Right now, though, there's basically no snow and it's 40 degrees, so that's pretty worrisome. Tom Murphy Tom Murphy Even with all of that worry, Murphy still encourages people to visit the park, so long as they take a week to do it. It's a big park. So my recommendation is, try to take at least a week and once you get there, go early in the morning, skip breakfast if you can, go find a hillside and just sit and watch, he advises. It's a wild place. You get away from the road and you walk just 300 yards away from the road and get away from some of the noise of the cars. It's a wonderful experience that you can't get anywhere else. Tom Murphy opens up about his photography journey Murphy has been photographing Yellowstone for 50 years and according to him, nothing will compare to getting a photograph of a bison. They're the last remaining member of what they call pleistocene megafauna, which are large ice age animals that used to be around and now look at what's left. Theyre down to maybe 500,000 in the whole entire world. That's one reason, because they're survivors, he explains. I grew up on this ranch in western South Dakota and I dug up bison skulls, so I was always intrigued by what big herbivores used to live on our ranch before and Yellowstone has given me an opportunity to watch them a lot. Tom Murphy Something hes not watching? Taylor Sheridans hit show Yellowstone, which is set in the same area. I tried to watch a couple of episodes but its too violent for me, Murphy explains. I grew up on a cattle ranch. I know a lot more than I want to know about cows, and the shows are not particularly accurate on how you deal with cattle. Theres too much fighting and killing. It's like people think that's normal Montana or Yellowstone. That's not normal. Advertisement 1923 Designers Reveal How They Built the Shows Epic Sets (EXCLUSIVE) Tom Murphy discusses his new stamp In May, two of Murphys bison photographs will be turned into a nationally distributed stamp. They were designed by Greg Breeding, who has served as the art director of postage stamp design since 2012. It's surprising to me how much interest that stamp has generated in my friends as well as all over the country, Murphy exclaims. Its being released in May, and I hope I last that long. Tom Murphy Along with the stamp. Murphy is also releasing a book entitled Yellowstone Bison: The Return of the Last Wild Herd later this year. It's going to be released on July 4, and it'll be used as a catalog for a show at the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, Wyoming, Murphy said. The museum there is phenomenal. They're doing a two year show on bison, and they're going to use the book as their catalog for their show. Ready for more? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcasts, health tips and uplifting stories designed for women 40, 50, 60 and beyond. For more exclusives, keep scrolling! Katherine Schwarzenegger Reveals the Family Tradition Shes Passing to Her Kids (Exclusive) Lisa Rinna Shares Traitors Secrets, Family Life and Her Unexpected Sonic Obsession (Exclusive) Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara Want Women To Ask for This Simple Kidney Function Test (Exclusive) Shanice Day is one of the tourists stranded in Dubai who is using GoFundMe to cover unexpected costs. Courtesy of Shanice Day The Iran crisis has left stranded tourists rebooking flights and facing mounting hotel bills. Some have turned to GoFundMe campaigns to raise funds for accommodation and flight expenses. Business Insider has identified at least 28 active GoFundMe campaigns. Conflict in the Middle East has left tourists stranded far from home, scrambling to rebook canceled flights, and facing mounting hotel bills. Some are turning to GoFundMe to help cover the costs. Business Insider has identified at least 28 active GoFundMe campaigns raising money for accommodation and flights home. At least a dozen of these specify the need to cover out-of-pocket hotel expenses or to secure alternative lodging in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. In some cases, people are launching the GoFundMe campaigns for themselves. In others, people say they are creating the campaigns on behalf of family members. The fundraising goals range from about $660 to $15,000. Some fundraisers have raised nothing, a handful have brought in more than $5,000, while most have raised amounts in the low thousands. 'No way home and no way to continue to pay for our accommodations' Shanice Day, a stylist from Houston, is stranded in Dubai with a close friend after her flight home from her 30th birthday trip was canceled. She has been unable to secure another flight to Texas and said on Tuesday that she has been paying for a five-star hotel near Jumeirah Beach Residence in the meantime. In a GoFundMe campaign launched by her travel companion, Remy Thomas, the pair wrote: "We've now been stuck in the Middle East for extended days with virtually no resources, support, or clear timeframe for when we'll be able to leave." At the time of reporting, the campaign had raised more than $9,500 of its $11,000 goal. "I know it's going to take me a while to build up the courage to travel again ," Day told Business Insider. Shanice Day planned her birthday trip to Dubai about 5 months ago. Shanice Day Clifford Heard, an American who also appears to be stranded in Dubai, is trying to raise $7,000 to cover the cost of rebooking flights and accommodation for him and his wife. "We have no way home and no way to continue to pay for our accommodations due to the US's current situation with Iran," his campaign description reads. The couple has raised more than $5,600 so far. Evan Raugust, a Texan who also appears to be stuck in Dubai, had raised over $2,000 of his $4,000 goal at the time of reporting. Advertisement "I have already lost thousands of dollars in flights and hotel expenses, and the uncertainty of how long this crisis will last is overwhelming," he said in his GoFundMe description. "Each day brings new challenges as I try to secure emergency lodging, food, and transportation while waiting for a safe opportunity to return home." In Qatar, Chris Simpson said he and his wife had their flights home to Kuwait canceled while on a trip to Doha. "We do not know how long we will be stranded, and accommodation costs will start to add up the longer we are here," he wrote in the campaign description. The campaign, which has a $3,000 goal, has raised more than $1,900. Business Insider contacted all the fundraisers for comment, but did not hear back. "GoFundMe's mission is to help people help each other, and our top priority is being a trusted resource for those in need," a GoFundMe spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider. The spokesperson added that the fundraising platform has a team of experts "reviewing and vetting" campaigns related to the conflict in the Middle East. Cancellations and confusion The travel chaos began on Saturday, after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting countries such as Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar to close their airspace. Ongoing missile and drone strikes across the region have led to the cancellations of tens of thousands of flights in and out of the Middle East since February 28, aviation analytics firm Cirium said Monday evening. Earlier this week, the US State Department advised citizens in the Middle East to evacuate "by commercial means." Some embassies initially told Americans they couldn't help them get out. On Wednesday, however, the State Department said it was making charter flights for US citizens available across the Middle East. Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, temporarily suspended all flights over the weekend, though some cargo and repatriation flights have since resumed. Do you have a story to share about being stranded in the Middle East? Contact this reporter at jzitser@businessinsider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider Trafigura logo is seen in this illustration taken, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration March 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-owned mining company has signed a multimillion-dollar deal to sell as much as 1,000 kg of gold dore bars to commodities trader Trafigura for U.S. markets, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the deal. The deal requires Venezuelan mining company Minerven to furnish 650 to 1,000 kg of gold dore bars to Trafigura, Axios reported, adding that Trafigura will ship the gold to refineries under a separate arrangement with the U.S. government. A White House official confirmed the deal in a statement to Reuters, saying that U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday, helped secure it. Advertisement "This historic gold deal between Trafi and Venezuela had been in the works at President Trump's direction," the official said. "We are helping Venezuela restore their mining sector, which will help American industry get the minerals we need." The official didn't provide specific details of the terms of the agreement. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Mark Porter) Spectrum News NY1 Countries around the world are still working to safely return nationals stranded by war in the Middle East, with more evacuation flights set to take off in the coming days. However, the situation remains challenging and flight schedules are likely to be disrupted for some time, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling media Thursday night that the fight has only just begun. The first chartered evacuation flight carrying hundreds of American citizens arrived in the US Thursday afternoon, flying from Abu Dhabi and landing at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC. Heres what travelers need to know. Evacuations underway Numerous countries have organized evacuation flights for stranded citizens. The UKs first evacuation charter flight from Oman landed Friday morning following a 24-hour delay. More charter flights have been arranged for the coming days, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told media Thursday. European citizens have returned home to Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Slovakia via at least six flights supported by the European Commisson, with additional repatriation flights planned in the coming days, according to a Thursday statement from the commission. On Friday morning, Australias foreign minister said four flights had already departed the region, with four more planned within 24 hours. Passengers from the first governmentchartered flight for British nationals arrive at London Stansted Airport from Oman amid the conflict with Iran, on March 6, 2026. - Isabel Infantes/Reuters The US embassy in Israel announced its now offering bus service to the Egyptian border for American citizens wanting to leave the country. The service will leave from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, taking Americans to the Taba border crossing. Canadian nationals in Israel will be also be bused to the Egyptian border. In Beirut, limited numbers were being put on planes. The Canadian government was working to arrange charter flights out of the UAE as the airspace opened, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said at a press conference earlier this week. New Zealand has sent two defense force planes to the region to potentially assist with evacuations. What is the current aviation situation? Thousands of international flights have been canceled each day since Sunday, according to data from FlightAware.com, with the chaos likely to continue into the coming days for those still struggling to get out. At one stage, more than 20,000 travelers were trapped in key hubs in the United Arab Emirates, home to major airlines, including Emirates and Etihad in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Thousands more were in Doha, the base for Qatar Airways. All three of those cities are major global hubs, with millions of passengers transiting through them each year. Emirates, which had suspended all flights to and from its bases, is now operating a reduced flight schedule. The Dubai Airports website advises travelers not to proceed to the airport unless they have received a confirmed departure time directly from their airline. A passenger walks through the Dubai International Airport building as the airport resumed limited operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 5, 2026. - Altaf Qadri/AP Etihad Airways resumed a limited commercial flight schedule on Friday. Guests with previous bookings will be accommodated on these flights as soon as possible, the airlines website says. Etihad is also selling tickets. Qatar Airways scheduled operations remained suspended through Friday. Operational updates will be posted here. However, the airline started operating a limited number of relief flights on Thursday departing from Muscat in Oman and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to aid stranded passengers. An update on Friday said the airline is working around the clock to organize more relief flights. Israeli flag carrier El Al is working to repatriate its customers as well, with the airlines first rescue flight, from Athens, landing at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv Thursday morning. El Al said Friday that it would begin carrying passengers, limited to 70 per flight, on its outbound flights from Israel starting the morning of Sunday, March 8. El Al will proactively contact customers who are not residents of Israel, are currently in Israel and whose flight home was canceled, and will assign them at no additional cost to the recovery flights departing to one of the 22 destinations to which EL AL is operating recovery flights, the airline said in a social media post, which offered more details about how passengers would be prioritized. Advertisement Outside the region, other airlines continue to reroute or cancel flights that had been scheduled to fly near the conflict zone. German airline Lufthansa, for instance, has suspended regular flights to and from several destinations within the region. Lufthansa plans to resume flights to and from Larnaca in Cyprus on March 7, with flights in and out of some other affected destinations suspended through March 10 or beyond. Affected travelers are advised to check with their airline or travel agent as soon as possible for information on rebooking and refunds, though airlines warn they are receiving high volumes of calls so wait times may be longer than usual. Policies vary according to the airline, with options including refunds or fee-free rebooking. What are governments advising? The State Department has urged US citizens to leave a number of countries in the Middle East due to serious safety risks. State Department security and travel information listed by country is posted online. US citizens in countries including Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should fill out a crisis intake form to receive departure assistance information from the Department of State about available aviation and ground transportation options, the department said. Americans in countries not listed on the crisis intake site who wish to receive assistance can call the 24/7 hotline: +1-202-501-4444. Emirates and Qatar Airways planes sit on the tarmac at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney, Australia, March 3, 2026. - Hollie Adams/Reuters The State Department had earlier called on US citizens to depart using available commercial travel from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Other nations have issued similar warnings as they work to assist stranded travelers in the region. Canadas government posted a notice on X advising travelers to leave the United Arab Emirates as soon as you can secure a flight option. It has also advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Palestinian territories, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE and to avoid nonessential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdoms government says British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestinian territories, Qatar and the UAE should register their presence to receive direct updates from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Australian government has opened an emergency portal for citizens in Israel, Iran, Qatar and the UAE, and warned its citizens overseas to be prepared for serious travel disruptions in the days ahead. Australians have been advised not to travel to most destinations in the Middle East. This includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, the UAE and Yemen. They should also reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. What about cruises? Cruise ships in the region have also been affected, with thousands of passengers and crew waiting on vessels that have been waylaid in ports in the UAE and Qatar. Among them is the Mein Schiff 5, operated by Germany-based TUI Cruises, which is now in Doha Port after completing its itinerary. TUI has canceled other cruises scheduled to commence in the region in coming days. Mein Schiff 5 is pictured here docked at Colombo Port in Sri Lanka on November 29, 2022. The vessel is currently in Qatar. - Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Getty Images TUI Cruises said that a special Emirates flight departed from Dubai to Munich with 218 guests from Mein Schiff 4, its vessel in Abu Dhabi. Swiss-Italian operator MSC Cruises said its vessel, the MSC Euribia, is remaining in Dubai following guidance from US regional military authorities, according to Reuters. On Friday, the company said in a statement that seven flights carrying MSC Euribia passengers had departed the region. These flights include dedicated charter services operated at MSC Cruises expense, seats secured in partnership with Emirates and Fly Dubai on scheduled commercial services, as well as some governmentorganised flights, said the cruise line, adding that travelers have been repatriated to countries including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, the US and Brazil. CNNs Mitchell McCluskey, Kylie Atwood, Sharon Braithwaite, James Frater, Jennifer Hansler, Kaanita Iyer, Trista Kurniawan, Rhea Mogul, Maureen OHare, Rebekah Riess, Laura Sharman, Billy Stockwell, Francesca Street, Paula Newton, Dana Karni and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Ahead of spring break season, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico is urging travelers to be cautious after cartel-related violence erupted across the country last month. The leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was killed Feb. 22 in a military raid, leading the U.S. State Department to temporarily urge Americans in Puerto Vallarta and other Mexican states to shelter in place. That same day, a Milwaukee flight planning to visit Puerto Vallarta returned to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport shortly after landing, with passengers saying they witnessed smoke and people running onto the tarmac. As of March 5, six states in Mexico remain under a State Department "do not travel" advisory. Several popular spring break destinations are under a lesser but still elevated travel advisory. " While the widespread violence that took place on February 22 following Mexican security operations has ended, risks of crime and kidnapping remain," the U.S. Embassy wrote in a March 2 travel notice. The embassy advised spring break travelers to exercise caution after dark and remain aware of the risks of violent crime, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery. Further complicating air travel this month is the ongoing disruption of flights across the Middle East amid the United States' conflict with Iran though that's unlikely to impact spring break travelers in North America. Here's what else to know if you're planning any international travel for spring break. Which states in Mexico are under a 'do not travel' advisory? Six states in Mexico are under a Level 4 travel advisory by the U.S. State Department. Advertisement A Level 4 advisory is the highest level issued by the department, indicating there could be life-threatening risk in the region, and the U.S. government has limited or no ability to help during an emergency. Citizens are advised not to travel to these areas, the department says. The following states in Mexico are under a Level 4 travel advisory: Colima Guerrero Michoacan Sinaloa Taumaulipas Zacatecas Are Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas under travel advisories ahead of spring break travel? MKE offers nonstop flights to two destinations in Mexico Puerto Vallarta and Cancun/Riviera Maya both of which are popular spring break destinations. Here are the current travel advisory levels for these spring break destinations in Mexico: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco: The state of Jalisco, home to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, is under a Level 3 travel advisory due to terrorism, crime and kidnapping risks. Travelers are encouraged to reconsider travel to the area. Cancun and Tulum, Quintana Roo: The state of Quintana Roo is under a Level 2 travel advisory, meaning travelers should exercise increased caution, the state department says. There is risk of violence in the area from terrorist groups, cartels, gangs and criminal organizations, the travel advisory says. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur: The state is under a Level 2 travel advisory. Here are all the Mexican states under a Level 3 travel advisory: Baja California Chiapas Chihuahua Guanajuato Jalisco Morelos Sonora Holiday travelers depart from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on Wednesday November 22, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wis. Take these precautions while traveling for spring break The U.S. Embassy in Mexico advised spring break travelers take the following safety precautions: Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to get safety and security updates from the U.S. embassy or consulate. Review the Country Security Report for Mexico and make sure you have embassy and consulate contact information. Do not drink unregulated alcohol, leave beverages unattended or accept drinks from strangers. If you need any medications, buy it from reputable pharmacies. Counterfeit medication may be ineffective or dangerous. Make sure your health or travel insurance covers care outside the United States. Private hospital prices can be high and require upfront payment. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know if you're traveling to Mexico for spring break Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks during a news conference in the Old Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner) NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trump's administration is expanding its crackdown on state Medicaid programs to New York, launching a fraud probe in the state a week after it said it was freezing nearly $260 million in Medicaid funding in Minnesota over similar accusations. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Tuesday that the Trump administration identified concerning trends in New Yorks Medicaid program and demanded that state officials provide details about their handling of fraud, waste and abuse within 30 days or risk deferred payments. Heart surgeons are trained to look at the numbers, Oz, a former celebrity heart surgeon, said in a video on Tuesday. Right now, the numbers coming out of New Yorks Medicaid program dont add up. The new investigation is part of an administration-wide initiative to address fraud around the country, which federal officials say is needed to rein in runaway spending and protect taxpayers. With many midterm voters concerned about affordability, Trump has ramped up those efforts, announcing that Vice President JD Vance would help balance the nations budget by spearheading a national war on fraud. Targeted Democratic state officials have decried the Republican administration's moves as politically motivated and potentially disastrous for the millions of people who rely on the health care safety net for low-income Americans. New York's Democratic governor says the move is politically targeted In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, Oz wrote that the state's spending levels combined with serious concerns about its oversight of certain Medicaid services demand immediate investigation, corrective action and enhanced transparency. The letter flagged specific areas of concern, including a high proportion of New York's Medicaid beneficiaries receiving personal care services related to daily living activities like bathing, grooming and meal preparation. New Yorks soaring Medicaid costs have long vexed the states governors and were a top priority of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who grappled for years with the program's spiraling price tag as residents age and receive additional benefits. The state's program, which cost $115.6 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, provides health care for about 1 in 3 New Yorkers and spends more per person for care than Medicaid programs in any other state. Hochul has also tried to rein in costs through an overhaul of how a home health care program is administered. Asked Wednesday by reporters about Ozs letter, Hochul said the Trump administration is targeting a Democrat-led state for political reasons but added, I will have to stand up and show them the truth and show them the facts, that theyre wrong. When there is fraud I will help them fight it. Advertisement Hochul's office said the fraud investigation was an attempt by the Trump administration to rip health care away from everyday New Yorkers. CMS said in an emailed statement that ensuring states comply with federal rules is a core part of the agencys federal oversight role. New York investigation follows CMS action in other blue states The New York investigation comes less than a week after CMS halted Medicaid payments to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Oz said the money would be delivered only after Minnesota implements a comprehensive corrective action plan." The administration had previously cited allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Minneapolis-area Somali residents as a reason for a massive federal enforcement surge there. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, called the new funding freeze targeted retribution. Minnesota on Monday sued the Trump administration over the deferred payments. The state is also appealing CMS withholding $2 billion in annual Medicaid funds announced in early January. Earlier this year, Oz announced that CMS had sent letters to Democratic governors in Maine and California demanding more information or corrective action on alleged fraud in government health programs in those states. In the days after receiving Oz's letter last month, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she wouldn't be intimidated by the administration and called the request a political attack." The 30-day timeline he gave her to respond or risk losing Medicaid payments is set to expire this week. A spokesperson for Mills didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Maine is facing a political attack from a president who uses allegations of fraud as a pretense to send ICE and other weaponized federal agents into states led by Democrats with devastating consequences. The Trump administration has sought to withhold funding from Democratic-led states at least two other times in recent months citing fraud concerns. It happened with child care subsidies and other social services programs in Minnesota, New York and three other states and with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 22 states that have declined to hand over data that the federal government says is needed to catch fraud. In both those cases, judges have ruled that the money must continue to flow for now. ___ Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia contributed to this report. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been fired by Donald Trump, ending her controversial 13-month tenure at the agency behind his mass deportation agenda that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S., led to chaos in American cities and the deaths of at least three citizens. The president made his announcement on Truth Social moments before Noem appeared at a law enforcement conference in Nashville Thursday afternoon. She reportedly learned that she was being removed from the role moments before taking the stage. Noem has served us well, the president wrote. She will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to the president, who described the effort as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere. Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Her departure is effective March 31. The new initiative will be formally announced Saturday, according to Trump. I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland, he wrote. Mullin, a 48-year-old former MMA fighter who has been in the Senate since 2023, told The Independent he is excited about the opportunity. It's an honor to be nominated, he said Thursday. We're excited about it, were excited to get to work, but we still got the nomination process. Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, would be the first Native American to serve as DHS secretary. Kristi Noem has been ousted as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to Donald Trump (Getty) Trump hailed Mullin as a MAGA warrior who truly gets along well with people and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda. Noem is the first Cabinet member to be forced out of the administration since Trump returned to the White House last year. The former South Dakota governor was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 59-34 last January. She appeared at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference at the same time Trump posted on Truth Social, but she did not address her firing in her remarks. She mentioned that she would be with Trump in Miami this weekend. In a statement posted on X, Noem thanked the president and said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security, she said. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem has been appointed to a new role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas (Reuters) Under Noems leadership, DHS secured a mammoth budget to expand detention centers and rapidly hire federal immigration enforcement officers who are accused of surging into American cities with brutal force and jailing tens of thousands of people into detention camps across the country. She is a defendant in countless lawsuits against the administrations attempts to rapidly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people. Initial reports of her imminent departure followed two days of combative hearings in Congress this week, where the secretary faced frustration from Democrats and Republicans over the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minnesota earlier this year. Noem baselessly accused the victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti of committing domestic terrorism before any law enforcement agency investigated. Trump-aligned Republican Senator John Kennedy joined Democrats this week in trying to get the secretary to answer why she would baselessly accuse American citizens of domestic terrorism after her officers shot them at point-blank range. Noems tenure has seen the removal of thousands of immigrants, including deportations to a brutal Salvadoran prison, which she visited in March 2025 (AFP/Getty) She was also grilled over her handling of multi-million dollar contracts for an ad campaign in which she was prominently featured. Advertisement Kennedy said he was troubled that DHS spent more than a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money on Noems ad campaign, which she called effective. They were effective in your name recognition, Kennedy shot back. The secretary was also unable to explain how a company connected to her own spokesperson landed a lucrative contract for work connected to that campaign. That spokesperson, now-former assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, resigned last month. Trump said he did not sign off on the $220m ad campaign, one day after Noem testified that the president supported it. I never knew anything about it, the president told Reuters Thursday. Noem, pictured riding a horse while filming an ad in October, was grilled by members of Congress over government contracts awarded to firms that developed the ad campaign (DHS/Tia Dufour) Those contracts appeared to be the final straw for the president. Kennedy told reporters Thursday that Noem was deader than fried chicken. The presidents announcement also arrived in the middle of the ongoing funding lapse at DHS. Democrats blocked a spending bill that they say does not go far enough to restrain immigration officers after Congress gave ICE billions of dollars to build detention centers and hire a small army of new recruits last year. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress and at least two Republicans previously called on Noem to resign or face impeachment. Trump, who met with Noem at the White House in January amid growing calls for her resignation after federal agents killed Good and Pretti in Minneapolis, had not previously suggested her job was at risk. The president insisted Noem was doing a very good job, he told reporters at the time. Noems 13-month tenure at DHS has been marked by sweeping arrests targeting thousands of immigrants and their families (Getty) In the weeks that followed, Noem has come under heightened scrutiny for actions in office, including questions about her close relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a chief adviser serving as a special government employee. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, tore into Noem on Tuesday following reports that she had a pilot fired when her blankie was left on a plane, only for the pilot to be rehired when Lewandowski realized there was no one else who could fly the jet. Noem has denied the report. Trump had no choice but to fire her, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote Thursday, one day after Noem appeared before the committee. Her tenure was marked by systematic constitutional violations, cruelty, corruption and deadly mismanagement, they wrote. Thats her legacy. The next Homeland Secretary has a lot of work to do to transform this lawless masked agency and regain the publics trust. Trump has selected Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin on Oklahoma to replace Noem as DHS secretary (Reuters) Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who spent several interrupted minutes during a Senate oversight hearing raging at Noem with a long list of grievances, said he welcomes Mullins nomination. During Tuesdays hearing, Tillis compared Noems tenure at the agency to her anecdote about killing a 14-month-old dog and then having the audacity to say its a leadership lesson about tough choices. Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation, Tillis wrote Thursday. Another big positive: he likes dogs. Eric Garcia contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump and the Ecuadorian flag. Wikimedia Commons - The White House (left), Hoebele (right) The Trump administration has launched military operations in Ecuador targeting what it claims are "designated terrorist organizations" amid the growing US-Israeli campaign in Iran. US and Ecuadorian forces began joint military operations on Tuesday, March 3, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced in a news release. The attacks targeted suspected drug-trafficking infrastructure and other criminal sites across the South American country. Footage released by SOUTHCOM shows a helicopter lifting off in low light and transporting soldiers during what officials said was the first in a series of planned raids. "We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country," said SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis Donovan. US Special Forces are advising and supporting Ecuadorian commandos as they conduct raids around the country, The New York Times reported. American troops are not believed to be directly participating in the raids, instead offering intelligence and logistics support. The operation comes one day after Donovan held talks with President Daniel Noboa and other Ecuadorian leaders in Quito "to address common threats and explore opportunities to expand the bilateral security partnership." Noboa said that about 70% of the world's cocaine flows through Ecuador's ports, which are used by drug traffickers from neighboring countries like Colombia and Peru. President Donald Trump will meet with Noboa and other right-wing Latin American leaders in Miami on Saturday, March 7. Noboa has vowed to crack down on drug traffickers using emergency powers and military force, although voters recently rejected his proposal to allow the US to open a military base in Ecuador, NPR reported. SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis Donovan meeting with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in Quito, Ecuador, on March 2, 2026. Wikimedia Commons - Michael Wimbish/US Embassy Ecuador The military operation is the latest Trump administration effort to target what it claims are cartels and other transnational criminal groups in South America. Advertisement Since early September 2025, the US has killed at least 150 people in 44 airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Legal experts have questioned whether those strikes violate international law since civilians suspected of crimes cannot be deliberately targeted without an imminent threat. In early January, US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a wave of attacks that reportedly killed between 80 and 100 people in Caracas. Maduro is being held in a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York, as he faces several charges related to accusations of drug and weapons trafficking. Tensions briefly rose between the US and Ecuador in late January after staff members blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from entering the country's Minneapolis consulate amid widespread outrage over federal immigration agents killing two US citizens. At the time, Ecuadorian leaders called the incident an "attempted incursion." President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio overseeing US-Israeli strikes on Iran at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, FL, on February 28, 2026. Wikimedia Commons - The White House The Ecuadorian operation also comes amid global backlash to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, sparking security concerns across the Middle East. A near-total internet blackout has made it difficult to confirm the total number of casualties, but the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that nearly 1,100 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday, Feb. 28. Children under the age of 10 accounted for 181 deaths, including the bombing of a girls' elementary school that killed about 168 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unclear whether US or Israeli weapons were used to strike the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. "All I can say is that we're investigating that," Hegseth said at a news conference on Wednesday, March 4. "We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we're taking a look into investigating that." Less than three in 10 Americans (27%) approve of the Iran strikes, while 43% disapprove, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. A person stands on the roof of a building looking at a plume of smoke rising after a strike on the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday. (Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images) (Atta Kenare) WASHINGTON Trump administration officials are in discussion with Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and northwestern Iran about potentially arming groups opposed to the Iranian regime, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions and an Iraqi Kurdish official. The discussions are taking place as Washington explores ways to increase pressure on Tehran following U.S. strikes on Iranian targets that began over the weekend. They are aimed at testing the possibility of the U.S. using Kurdish opposition groups to help topple the Iranian regime, which has so far held on despite the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday by Israel and the U.S., the people with knowledge of the discussions said. President Donald Trump called Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the matter, according to a U.S. official, just one day after the U.S. began its military campaign in Iran. Asked about Trumps conversations with the Kurds and discussions by U.S. officials, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, President Trump has been in contact with many allies and partners in the region throughout the past several days. Leavitt told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday that Trumps discussions with Kurdish leaders were with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq and that he had not yet agreed to a plan. Trump administration officials have yet to outline a strategy for how military air power alone could cause the Iranian regime to collapse. Trump, who has not ruled out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, has said several of the individuals the U.S. viewed as potential options for replacing Khamenei have been killed. He also said Tuesday that the worst outcome would be for a leader to take over who is equally as hardline as Khamenei. I guess the worst case would be, we do this and then somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person, right? Trump told reporters. That could happen. We dont want that to happen. So, wed like to see somebody in there thats going to bring it back for the people, he added. Advertisement Trumps conversations with Kurdish leaders were first reported by Axios. No action has yet been taken on a possible plan to ship weapons to Iranian opposition groups, and the idea still remains under consideration, the people with knowledge of the discussions said. It was not clear if the U.S. was considering providing air power to back up opposition groups if they staged attacks on the regime. U.S. and Western governments for years have assessed that while the Iranian regime has become increasingly unpopular inside of Iran, a coherent, organized political opposition has yet to emerge. No viable armed opposition group has formed that could pose a serious threat to the government. Former intelligence officers say the CIA over the years has provided small arms to groups opposed to the regime in ethnic areas where there is deep resentment of the central government in Tehran, including Kurdish region in the north and predominantly Arab provinces in the south. The CIA declined to comment. Bilal Saab, a defense official in the first Trump administration and now a senior managing director of the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm TRENDS US, said that arming the Kurds aligns with the president and his advisers objective of toppling the regime. Saab said toppling the regime would be required to achieve that goal, and if the U.S. is not going to deploy ground troops into Iran to achieve that, this is the alternative. Before the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran, the CIA concluded that if Khamenei was killed in the assault, he could be replaced by equally hardline officials from within the regime, including from the countrys Revolutionary Guard corps, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The assessment, which was conducted in the weeks leading up to Saturdays attack on Iran, laid out various scenarios including the possibility that opposition figures outside the regime could rise to power, these people said. They said it did not forecast which scenario was more likely. Trump has said publicly, speaking directly to the Iranian people, When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. WASHINGTON Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the White House official charged with overseeing President Donald Trumps promise of mass deportations, was fired by the president on March 5 not long after lawmakers grilled her about her departments massive spending. At issue was a $220 million Homeland Security ad campaign that featured Noem prominently. The former cabinet secretary said Trump approved of the ads; the president denied it. But Noem has become a deeply unpopular figure in recent months as people around the country have taken to the streets to protest the Trump administrations aggressive immigration enforcement and the violence seen as a result, namely the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Trump tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, to succeed her, the president announced on social media. Noem may be out of DHS but will remain in Trumps orbit. The president appointed her special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, his initiative for security against narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. 1 / 0 Trump fires Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary. See her political career. President Donald Trump said March 5 he will replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after scrutiny over a $220 million ad campaign, naming Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her successor effective March 31 and tapping Noem as a special envoy for his Shield of the Americas initiative. Scroll to see her political career from South Dakota to Washington, D.C., starting with her testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on March 4, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The Department of Homeland Security has faced criticism over it's handling of immigration enforcement leaving the department unfunded. Gov. Gavin Newsom: 'Trump is in retreat' California Gov. Gavin Newsom seized on President Donald Trump's firing of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary March 5, minutes after he took the stage at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "Donald Trump is in retreat," Newsom said. "Today is a perfect example the first firing of a high-profile cabinet member." Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who is on a national book tour, also took aim at another administration official. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on stage at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on March 5, 2026. "The dark heart of the administration is not Kristi Noem, it's Stephen Miller," Newsom said. He referred to 2025, when the Trump administration sent National Guard members to California in response to protests over immigration arrests and raids. "It had Noem's fingerprints all over it, but it was Stephen Miller's handbook, and he needs to be next," Newsom said. Margie Cullen and Jane Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK - New England Mullin faces glide path to Senate confirmation Since Cabinet nominees need just a simple majority to gain Senate confirmation, Mullin faces an easy path to replacing Noem. Republicans hold 53 seats (including his) in the 100-seat chamber. At least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has already pledged to vote for Mullin, and its possible others could be deferential to a sitting senator, too. But given the political toxicity of ICE recently, any potential Democratic support would likely be small. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer already said hed vote against Mullin. Zachary Schermele Whats next for Noem and the Shield of the Americas? In taking her leave, Noem announced she would continue working for the president as the "Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas." Noem indicated that the role will involve tackling drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere and that she will continue working with Trump cabinet appointees, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House has not shared further details about the Shield of the Americas operation, but its announcement comes the same day the Pentagon released a security declaration signed by a host of Latin American countries that pledged "to combat narco-terrorism and other shared threats to the Western Hemisphere." Leaders from many of the countries that signed the document, titled Americas Counter Cartels Conference, will meet with Trump this weekend in Miami, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "The point of this newfound Latin America Summit is to promote freedom, security and prosperity in our region," Leavitt said. "The president will be speaking with the leaders of these countries who have really formed a historic coalition to work together to address criminal narco-terrorist gangs and cartels." Hegseth separately hinted at an impending shakeup in the hemisphere. "Many leaders accepted the status quo to co-exist with narco-terrorism, or for a law enforcement-alone approach that failed to deter and dismantle threats," said the Pentagon chief. "The result under this collective neglect was fatal." Michael Loria and Eduardo Cuevas 'Kristi did a great job setting us up,' Pentagon chief says U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth weighed in on the change in Trumps cabinet, saying Noem "did a great job setting us up for success" while welcoming Mullin to the post. "Kristi Noem did an excellent job over there, securing our border and keeping us focused on threats," said Hegseth, adding, "Im sure Markwayne Mullin will do a fantastic job. Hes been a friend of mine for a long time." The Pentagon chief concluded by telling reporters, "Kristi did a great job setting us up for success" without elaboration. Michael Loria Immigrant advocacy groups welcome Noems departure Immigrant advocacy groups celebrated Kristi Noems departure, but worried about whats next for the department tasked with immigration enforcement. While welcoming the end of Noems historically awful tenure at the Department of Homeland Security, the National Immigration Law Center said replacing her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, another hardliner on immigration, only changes the public face of the Trump administration's aggressive deportation and detention priorities. This is the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig, Kica Matos, the law centers president, said in a statement. The Los Angeles-based Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights said Noems departure was a long-overdue first step. For immigrant communities across the country, her leadership represented a dangerous escalation of policies that treated families and workers as targets rather than as human beings who contribute to and strengthen this nation, Angelica Salas, the coalitions executive director, said in a statement. Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said public polling has shown Americans believe Immigration and Customs Enforcement has gone too far in its immigration crackdown. Awawdeh called to abolish ICE and reappropriate DHS funds to ensure agencies are transparent and accountable, and follow the countrys laws. Eduardo Cuevas Sen. Thom Tillis praises Mullin, takes jab at Noem Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, took a parting shot while praising Mullin on the nomination. Another big positive: he likes dogs, he posted on social media along with a photo of Mullin and his six children. Tillis was one of several prominent lawmakers who called for Noems resignation, also threatening to halt bloc nominations of President Donald Trumps appointees in the Senate until his questions about an immigration surge in Charlotte are answered. What weve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, Tillis said. Sarah D. Wire Dont let the door hit you. Dems celebrate Noems departure Noem frequently clashed with Democratic leaders over immigration enforcement efforts, and they were happy to see her ousted. Hey Kristi Noem, dont let the door hit you on the way out, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a video posted on social media. Heres your legacy: Corruption and chaos, parents and children tear gassed. Moms and nurses, U.S. citizens, getting shot in the face. Pritzker clashed with Noem and Trump over ICE operations in Chicago and the administrations deployment of the National Guard in the city. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that he's glad that Noem has been removed from her post, saying, "good riddance. She was a disaster." Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz celebrated Noems ouster in a statement on X and said shed caused a stunning amount of damage. Walz said that while Noems ouster is good, the Department of Homeland Security still needs a complete overhaul. Christoper Cann and Bart Jansen GOP senator says it was time for a change U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, welcomed Kristi Noems reassignment in a statement. I appreciate Secretary Noems service to our country, Graham said on X, adding: However, I think it was time for a change. Graham called Sen. Markwayne Mullin an outstanding choice to lead DHS and said he hopes Mullin receives the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote that he deserves. Christoper Cann Advertisement More: 5 controversies defining Kristi Noem before her ousting at DHS Shakeup comes amid partial government shutdown The transfer comes as the Department of Homeland Security and the methods used by immigration officials remain at the center of a partial government shutdown. Since federal immigration enforcement officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in two separate incidents in Minneapolis in January, Democrats demanded that the White House and congressional Republicans accede to a list of reforms for DHS in exchange for funding. The agency, which is also critical to air travel and disaster relief, has been partially closed since mid-February. Most of its employees are considered "essential" and have been working without a paycheck. Sarah D. Wire WH: Trump grateful to Noem, seeks to quickly confirm Mullin White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that President Trump is grateful to Kristi Noem for her time leading the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump is grateful to @KristiNoem for helping usher in the most secure border in American history, and he looks forward to her continuing to serve in her new important role as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, the statement on X said. Leavitt also said the White House will work with the Senate to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the next DHS secretary as soon as possible. Christoper Cann Mullin: 'It's an honor to be nominated' Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told reporters on Capitol Hill after Trump's announcement that "it's an honor to be nominated." Weve still got the nomination process," he added. Asked about whether hes considering any reforms to DHS, Mullin said he wants to get the Department of Homeland Security working for the American people. Mullin told USA TODAY that he has spoken with the president and said, were excited. Mullin will face a confirmation hearing led by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky, with whom he has clashed publicly, even as recently as last month. Sarah D. Wire and Zachary Schermele Who replaces Mullin? Once Mullin officially leaves the seat, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt will have 30 days to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Mullin's term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2027. Under state law, that person would not be allowed to run in any subsequent election for the seat. That will likely set off a race among Republican contenders to win their party's nomination in the June 16 primary election. The winner of that race will be heavily favored to win the November general election against any Democratic or independent opponents and claim a full six-year term. Dale Denwalt, The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network Noem touts DHS tenure in statement Less than an hour after President Donald Trump announced she was out as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem thanked the president for her new role. In a post to social media on March 5, Noem thanked Trump for appointing her as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new initiative for security against narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security, she said in her statement. Noem also touted her tenure as head of DHS, which has been embroiled in controversy and congressional hearings over the past several weeks in part for her handling of ICE operations in Minneapolis. We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again, she said. Kathryn Palmer Noem speaks at event, doesnt address firing Kristi Noem speaks at the Sergeant Benevolent Association conference at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville on March 5, 2026, shortly after President Donald Trump announced she would be replaced as Homeland Security secretary. At a conference in Nashville, Kristi Noem did not directly address her firing in remarks delivered minutes after Trumps announcement. Noem used her time to recount the history of the Department of Homeland Security and described the challenges she faced leading the department. She also said she would soon meet with New York state law enforcement officials. She answered questions from police leaders, but none asked about her ouster. It was unclear if she knew about Trumps Truth Social post before she took the stage. Christoper Cann Noem faced scrutiny over DHS ad campaign The ads prominently featured Noem, including in a scene filmed on horseback at Mount Rushmore in the former South Dakota governor's home state. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, asked Noem on March 3 about the contract for ads. Kennedy asked if Trump approved the spending ahead of time. She replied, Yes. Kennedy said the contractor was not competitively bid. One of the subcontractors is married to Noems former spokesperson, Kennedy said. Its hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, Mr. President, here are some ads Ive cut and were going to spend $220 million running them, that he would have agreed to that, Kennedy said. Its something we have to defend. Noem said the commercials told immigrants who do not have legal authority to be in the country that they must leave or they would be detained and deported. She said she had discussed the ad campaign with Trump and he approved the campaign ahead of time. We had that conversation, yes, before I was put in this position and sworn in and confirmed, and since then as well, Noem said. We went through the legal processes, did it correctly. 1 / 0 Kristi Noem faces Senate after ICE killings and enforcement surges Protesters stand and hold photos as Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. Noem's controversial tenure Noem has been the face of President Donald Trumps controversial immigration enforcement efforts and a lightning rod for criticism. Calls for her removal have been growing since the chaotic events that unfolded in Minneapolis this year when federal agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. House Democrats pushed a measure to impeach Noem, and some leading Republicans also began calling for her removal. Noem led Trumps aggressive immigration enforcement, which included tactics such as deploying the National Guard and flooding cities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, sparking nationwide protests. Noem is a former House member and South Dakota governor who was viewed as a potential running mate for Trump in 2024 before being tapped to be part of his Cabinet. Her departure from the Department of Homeland Security is one of the biggest staffing shakeups of Trumps second term, which has had less turnover than his first term. Noem's ouster surprises senators of both parties The news seemed to shock senators of both parties. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said he needed time to consider whether to support Mullins confirmation. I dont know, Murphy told USA TODAY. I literally heard about it two seconds ago. Give me time to process it, said Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Asked if he supported Trump firing Noem, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, Its not my call. 1 / 0 Who is Markwayne Mullin? See his political career representing Oklahoma. President Trump chose Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary starting March 31. Mullin is an American and Cherokee politician from Oklahoma. Born in Tulsa on July 26, 1977, he represented Oklahomas 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2023 before winning election to the U.S. Senate in a 2022 special election. Who is Mullin? Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, is a cattle rancher who has served 10 years in the House and three in the Senate. Trump called Mullin, a former undefeated Mixed Martial Arts fighter, a MAGA warrior. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump said. Noem's removal comes as the Department of Homeland Security is partially shut down because of a dispute in Congress over Trumps immigration enforcement, as Democrats have demanded policy changes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said the problems at the department stem from policy for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the department, rather than personnel. The president has fired Kristi Noem. Good riddance, Schumer said. The rot is deep. The president has to end the violence and rein in ICE. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said the decision to remove Noem may well enable Democrats to support ending the shutdown. But he said that will still only happen if the White House agrees to significant reforms of the agency, such as a ban on agents wearing masks. Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler and Zac Anderson This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump fires Kristi Noem as homeland secretary, announces replacement Irans tyrannical and ruthless regime is disintegrating. After yet again massacring thousands of its own citizens for voicing their dreams for liberty and better governance, the Iranian regime, meanwhile, resumed pursuing nuclear capability and its aggressive ICBM program. The regimes overconfidence in U.S. inaction cost it its leader, and its core military capabilities are going up in smoke. Against this backdrop, the conflict has spread to the Gulf, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for roughly one-fifth of the worlds petroleum, and forcing the rest of the world to rethink how it prices energy risk and political alignment. This is not another regional flare-up. This is a rupture of an old equilibrium in which sanctioned oil, shadow fleets and calibrated escalation kept markets stable enough to function. That equilibrium is now breaking. A rapid political-military shift in the Middle East is unfolding alongside a restructuring of the global energy order. When I was in Afghanistan during the surge, Tehrans active support for the insurgency fighting the United States and Afghan forces fomented instability and amplified violence for which civilians paid the biggest price, a dynamic that so many across several nations have tragically encountered for decades. But Iran was never a contained regional problem. While its terrorism was widely perceived as a Middle East issue, its cyber and intelligence operations spanned continents, with assassination plots that included the American president. As to global effects, Irans energy has always made its regime globally significant. Gas Prices Could Jump As Middle East Tensions Threaten Global Oil Supply Cars drive on a highway as smoke rises from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Images) At this stage of the conflict, the most economically significant and immediate geography is the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is working to choke off. Roughly one-fifth of global petroleum and a substantial portion of liquefied natural gas move through that narrow corridor. As strikes intensified, vessels paused transit, insurers reassessed exposure and operators rerouted cargoes. Markets adjusted immediately. Energy security and geopolitical stability are now inseparable; maritime risk has become the pressure valve through which regional conflict spills into global consequence. Read On The Fox News App This realignment did not begin in the Gulf this weekend. It started with U.S. actions in Venezuela. Caracas holds the worlds largest proven crude reserves about 303 billion barrels and even marginal normalization under a more U.S.-cooperative government alters the supply calculus for Washington and its allies. The new U.S.Venezuela arrangement has already generated roughly $2 billion in transactions in just weeks, pulling Venezuelan barrels back into wider circulation and altering the discount ecosystem Moscow had grown accustomed to. Stack that with a post-crisis Iran re-entering markets on different terms, and the shadow ecosystem of discounted, sanctioned crude Russia, Iran, Venezuela begins to fracture and reprice simultaneously. Top Israeli Military Official Reveals Operation Against Iran Involved 'Strategic And Operational Deception' But the most consequential energy recalibration runs through Beijing. China is essentially Irans oil export market. In 2025, China bought more than 80% of Irans shipped oil, averaging ~1.38 million barrels per day (bpd), about 13.4% of Chinas seaborne crude imports meaning Beijing is simultaneously Tehrans economic lifeline and its strategic choke chain. By turning a sanctioned producer into a quasi-captive supply relationship sustained through gray-market routing, reflagging and intermediary hubs Beijing secured discounted barrels in normal times and leverage in crisis. Any sustained disruption of Iranian flows forces China into replacement buying that tightens global markets and exposes Chinas own energy security; Iran exports about 1.6 million bpd mainly to China and such disruptions pushes Beijing to pivot to alternatives. The relationship is therefore best understood as a dependency loop: Iran needs China for revenue and sanctions relief-by-proxy; China uses Iran as a discount supplier and as a pressure valve in the sanctioned crude system one that can be tightened or loosened depending on Beijings broader negotiation posture with Washington and its appetite for risk in the Gulf. That Iran-China dependency is no longer stable. With Iranian oil flows disrupted, China faces a choice between turning to alternative suppliers at higher cost or even tapping strategic reserves. Tightening global crude markets resulting from U.S. actions in Venezuela and now Iran give Washington leverage in energy pricing. Morning Glory: Why Trump Must Finish What He Started With Irans Regime Beyond the tanker decks, this shift underscores the larger theme of reconfiguration: resources once bundled to manage sanctions are now subject to heightened geopolitical risk, forcing China to rethink dependencies while the U.S. and its partners are positioning to shape the post-conflict energy order. Energy supply patterns will restructure global power relations. And where China is recalibrating exposure, Russia is recalculating opportunity. Advertisement The same forces reshaping Chinas calculations are altering Moscows. As India trims Russian purchases, Moscow has been pushing more barrels into China, and Reuters reports Chinas Russian crude imports hitting new records in February while Russian sellers widened discounts to keep demand Urals trading roughly $9$11 below Brent for China deliveries, and other Russian grades also cutting hard as sellers chase Chinese refiners. This matters because China is also the anchor buyer for sanctioned Iranian crude; the "discount market" is not infinite, so Russia and Iran are now competing for the same limited pool of Chinese buyers, driving deeper concessions and leaving cargoes idling exactly the kind of sanctions-economy dynamic. Longtime Trump Critic Credits Him For Restoring 'Credibility Of Us Deterrence' As Iran Strikes Unfold Add the Wests tightening focus on Russias "shadow fleet" and the risk of seizures or insurance denial, and you get an energy chessboard where coercion moves from rhetoric to logistics: who can ship, insure and clear payments reliably becomes as strategic as who can produce. In that context, Russias loud warnings about Hormuz disruption are not just diplomacy, they are a reminder that Moscow profits from volatility, but also needs a functioning gray-market channel to China, and Irans crisis threatens to scramble the very discount ecosystem Russia has used to finance its war in Ukraine. Structural realignment threatens the very gray-market architecture on which Moscow has relied. Energy is only one layer of a global shift. Strategic minerals remain critical. The Trump administration has increased economic and maritime pressure on Cuba, tightening an effective oil blockade that choked off fuel imports. President Donald Trump has authorized tariffs targeting countries supplying oil to Havana. This is not simply punitive policy. It reflects a broader strategic doctrine: deny adversarial regimes energy lifelines while repositioning the Western Hemispheres resource base toward U.S. leverage. Oil is only one domain. Rare earth elements are a strategic asset. Cubas nickel and cobalt output, combined with Chinas tightening grip through rare-earth export controls indicates that leverage is not just oil fields but also supply chains. America achieving rare earth elements sovereignty will remain a strategic goal and such a global realignment on this front is much needed. Click Here For More Fox News Opinion By the close of the first weekend, Iran appeared intent on accelerating its own collapse by compounding strategic error with strategic error. Iran felt it wise to respond to U.S. and Israeli strikes by pushing a half dozen other nations against it. On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 28, Iran launched attacks on seven sovereign nations Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Israel. It added Oman shortly after. These nations now have a legal and political basis to deepen security ties with the U.S. and Israel that they could never have justified domestically before today. Iran has arguably done more to consolidate the anti-Iran regional architecture in one afternoon than a decade of American diplomacy. Watch for accelerated Abraham Accords-adjacent normalization with Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks. Click Here To Download The Fox News App After massacring thousands of its own citizens for demanding better governance, the regimes long-standing presumption of U.S. inaction cost the 1979 Revolution its dream of ruling over Iranians perpetually. After 47 years, its leader is gone, and its core military capabilities are being dismantled. The lesson is not simply that the Iranian regime is falling. It is that when it falls amid energy choke points and great-power competition, supply chains, alliances and leverage structures shift simultaneously. Irans collapse is not the end of the story; it is the catalyst for a broader redistribution of power across energy, alliances, and great-power leverage. America should exploit these shifting dynamics fully. The views expressed here are his and do not reflect the policy or positions of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Advisory Council, U.S. Army or Department of War. Original article source: Trump is realigning world energy markets and the Iran strikes are actually helping U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst JERUSALEM, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called again on Israel's president to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon for corruption charges, saying the premier should have nothing on his mind but the war with Iran. * Trump, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, said in aninterview with Israel's N12 television news: "President Herzogmust give Bibi a pardon today. I don't want there to be anythingtroubling Bibi other than the war with Iran ... Herzog is adisgrace ... he promised me five times to give Bibi a pardon." * President Isaac Herzog's office said in response thatwhile Israel is at war, he is not dealing with the matter ofNetanyahu's pardon request. * Herzog added that he deeply respects Trump's contributionto Israel's security and his position on Iran but that Israel isa sovereign state that abides by the rule of law. * "The president will examine the request according to thelaw, the good of the state, his conscience and free of anyinternal or external pressure," the statement from Herzog'soffice said. KEY CONTEXT Advertisement * Netanyahu is Israel's first sitting prime minister to becharged with a crime and denies bribery, fraud and breach oftrust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment. * Trump has called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog togrant Netanyahu a pardon several times before. * Netanyahu submitted his pardon request in November. * Herzog has in the past disputed Trump's claim that he hadpromised to grant Netanyahu a pardon. * The United States and Israel on Saturday launched a jointbombing campaign against Iran. WHAT'S NEXT * Under Israeli law, the president has the authority topardon convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardonmid-trial. The legal process of a pardon can be slow. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Aidan Lewis) President Trump said Wednesday that "I will be making my endorsement soon" in the Texas Republican Senate race and called on the candidate he doesn't pick to drop out. The hard-fought race between longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed to a May 26 runoff. "I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don't Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!" Mr. Trump posted on social media. Neither Cornyn nor Paxton managed to secure 50% of the vote in Tuesday's primary election, which also included Rep. Wesley Hunt. Under Texas law, they must now go to a runoff. The race already was the most expensive Senate primary in history. As of Wednesday morning, with 98% of the vote counted, Cornyn led by less than 30,000 votes. It's unclear who Mr. Trump would endorse, but Paxton said Wednesday that he won't be dropping out if the president endorses Cornyn. "I'm staying in this race," Paxton said on Real America's Voice. "I owe it to the people of Texas. I spent a year of my life campaigning against John Cornyn because John has not represented the people of Texas well." Whoever eventually triumphs on the Republican side will face Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who won the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, ending the contest that highlighted a divide in the Democratic Party. Talarico can begin campaigning in the general election while Paxton and Cornyn continue to duke it out in the runoff. Mr. Trump said in his social media post that the race between Cornyn and Paxton "MUST STOP NOW!" "We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!" Mr. Trump wrote. "Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT!" Paxton, who has been elected three times as attorney general, has long been an ally of Mr. Trump's, but he has a scandal-plagued career, including being impeached by his own party, being indicted in a separate securities fraud case, and allegedly cheating on his now-estranged wife. Advertisement Cornyn, meanwhile, has served in Republican leadership in the Senate and has many allies there who want Mr. Trump to endorse him. The GOP's Senate campaign arm has poured millions into Cornyn's campaign. Mr. Trump had previously stayed out of the race, saying he liked all three candidates. GOP sources close to the president told CBS News Wednesday morning that they expect him to weigh in ahead of the runoff. Mr. Trump won Texas all three times he was on the ballot, and in 2024, the state delivered more votes for him than any other single state. He made endorsements in nearly every U.S. House race in Texas and many state-level races, but he opted not to weigh in only in the 2nd Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw faced a primary challenger, state Rep. Steve Toth. Toth won the primary Tuesday night. In remarks on Tuesday night, Cornyn and Paxton both continued their attacks on each other. "I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years," Cornyn said. "Judgment Day is coming for Ken Paxton." Paxton, meanwhile, accused Cornyn of trying to "steal the election with another $100 million going into this Senate race, but here's what we proved tonight: While the money may be on their side, the people are on our side." Texas' other GOP senator, Sen. Ted Cruz, said Wednesday that he would not be endorsing in the race. "John Cornyn is a good friend of mine, Paxton is a good friend of mine," Cruz said. "I have endorsed both of them previously. I've campaigned with both of them previously, and as I've said, from the beginning of this race, I'm staying out of the race. I trust the voters in Texas. We're going to have a runoff. It will be vigorously contested, and the people of Texas will decide." Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Trump denies Israel forced U.S. strikes on Iran Noem defends immigration crackdown and criticizes DHS funding lapse at hearing U.S. President Donald Trump attends a roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Axios quoted Trump as saying in an interview. "I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela," Trump said. Advertisement Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's late Supreme Leader, has survived the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in which his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, Iranian sources told Reuters on Wednesday. A mid-ranking cleric with close ties to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, hardliner Mojtaba is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment and is seen as a possible successor to his father. Iran has not yet announced a new leader. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Bhargav Acharya and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Caitlin Webber) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security" to testify, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz By Ted Hesson, Nolan D. McCaskill, Richard Cowan and Jasper Ward WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after months of controversy, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis and lawmakers' questions over a $220 million advertising contract. The Republican president will tap Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her by the end of the month, he said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. The appointment would require U.S. Senate confirmation. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, became one of Trump's most high-profile Cabinet secretaries with social media posts that portrayed immigrants in harsh terms, highlighted alleged criminal offences and used vitriolic language. Her departure, after emerging as the face of an aggressive immigration crackdown that had grown unpopular according to recent polling, could allow Trump to reset his approach on immigration policy, a centerpiece of his agenda. Shortly after Trump announced Noem's replacement, she posted on X: "We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again." During congressional hearings this week, Democrats and some Republicans criticized Noem for her approach to immigration enforcement and management of her department, including concern over a $220 million advertising campaign that featured Noem heavily and had been awarded to two longtime Republican operatives without a standard bidding process. Noem's personal life also came under scrutiny, with a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday asking whether she had a sexual relationship with top aide Corey Lewandowski. Both are married. Noem called the question from U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove "tabloid garbage." Lewandowski did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he did not sign off on the ad campaign, which prominently featured Noem and included a scene of her on horseback at Mount Rushmore, in her home state of South Dakota. In one congressional hearing this week, Noem told Republican U.S. Senator John Kennedy that Trump had approved the ad campaign. FIRST SENATE-CONFIRMED CABINET MEMBER FIRED IN TRUMP 2.0 Noem is the first Senate-confirmed member of Trump's Cabinet to be removed this term. In Trump's 2017-2021 term in office, 14 confirmed Cabinet appointees, who serve in the line of succession to the presidency, quit or were fired. Noem faced criticism in January when she quickly accused two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis of "domestic terrorism." Videos that emerged after the deaths undercut the assertion by Noem and other Trump officials that the two deceased - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - were violent aggressors. The public backlash over the deaths led the Trump administration to adopt a more targeted approach on immigration enforcement in Minnesota, after months of sweeps through U.S. cities that sparked violent clashes between federal agents and residents who opposed the crackdown. Two Trump administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter, said the fallout over the fatal shootings, the $220 million contract, the mismanagement of DHS and the allegations of the affair all contributed to her firing. Advertisement Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives moved to impeach Noem, and at least two Republicans in Congress called for her to lose her job after the shootings in Minnesota. Trump said on Truth Social that Noem would be appointed envoy to a planned summit in Miami to reinforce his Western Hemisphere policies. Within minutes of Trump's post about her replacement, Noem spoke at a law enforcement event in Tennessee for 40 minutes but did not mention her departure. Noem was aware she would be removed before she spoke at the event, one of the officials and another person familiar with the matter said, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. They added that Lewandowski was also expected to leave the department. DHS and the White House did not immediately comment when asked about Lewandowski's future. STRONG EMBRACE OF TRUMP'S HARDLINE IMMIGRATION APPROACH Mullin, who spent a decade in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, also supports Trump's hardline immigration agenda. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mullin said he had not been expecting the call from Trump. He described Noem as a friend and said he had not had a chance to call her yet. "She was tasked to do a very difficult job," Mullin told reporters. Democrats in Congress have blocked funding for DHS since mid-February, saying federal immigration enforcement must be reformed. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Noem's firing would not be enough to break the stalemate. "The problems at ICE transcend any one person," he told reporters. "The president has to end the violence and rein in ICE." Trump's immigration approach lost popularity as agents detained U.S. citizens and tear-gassed streets in an attempt to drive up deportations, which last year fell short of the administration's goal of 1 million per year. While Noem, 54, served as a prominent proponent of Trump's agenda, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump aide, controls Trump's immigration policy. Noem was quickly confirmed to lead the 260,000-employee department in January 2025 after Trump took office. On social media, she referred to immigrants convicted of crimes as "scumbags" even as the number of non-criminals arrested by immigration authorities rose under Trump. She joined immigration enforcement operations on the ground in New York City and visited a maximum-security prison in El Salvador where Venezuelan immigrants deported by the Trump administration were being held without charges or access to lawyers. (Reporting by Ted Hesson, Nolan McCaskill, Rick Cowan and Jasper Ward; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Bo Erickson; Editing by Craig Timberg, Nia Williams, Deepa Babington, Chizu Nomiyama and Edmund Klamann) DNY59 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Taxpayers in some states and cities could face delays in their state or local income tax refunds including those who live in Idaho, New York, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington, D.C., according to MSN. As reported by USA Today, many of the delays are tied to problems conforming to tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which President Donald Trump signed into law last summer. Thats the case in South Carolina, where the state Department of Revenue issued a warning that return processing is taking longer than usual because South Carolina currently does not conform to the OBBBA. Other delay reasons include budget cuts (per Idahos Division of Financial Management), Intuit TurboTax software issues and slowdowns in processing paper returns (per the state of Oregon). If you are worried about delays, here are three things you can do to prevent them, based on a GOBankingRates analysis of various tax and government sources. Check Out: Heres the Minimum Income You Need To File Taxes in 2026 by Age See Next: 5 Low-Effort Ways To Make Passive Income (You Can Start This Week) Check Common Problem Areas Depending on where you live, you might run up against common problems that could delay your return. In South Carolina, for example, you should ensure that your state tax return adds back items that are now deductible at the federal level, such as tips, overtime, auto loan interest and additional senior deductions. If you miss these items, you might have to file an amended return that could delay your refund. Advertisement In Oregon, be sure that items such as the Oregon Kids Credit are correct especially if you claimed new federal deductions for overtime, tips or car loan interest along with state credits. Read This: IRS Federal Income Tax Brackets: How They Work and What They Mean in 2026 Track Your Refund Status Correctly Similar to federal returns, you can check your state refund status through the states Department of Revenues Wheres My Refund tool, which you can usually find on the state tax or revenue website. Be prepared to provide your Social Security number, filing status and exact refund amount. For New York taxpayers who used tax software, log in and confirm that your state return shows as Filed/Accepted and not just Started or Transmitted. Some returns there have been delayed by software issues. Change the Way You File Returns E-filing is usually the quickest way to prevent a refund delay and in some cases the difference is substantial. In Oregon, for example, the first refunds for e-filed returns were expected to be issued in mid-February, according to the states Department of Revenue. But if you filed a paper return, refunds wont start being issued until early April. Editors note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com. More From GoBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: New Trump Tax Perks and Other Issues Are Slowing State Refunds in 5 Places Heres How To Prevent Delays FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as a patch of blemished skin is visible above his shirt collar, during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran and said it would be "wonderful" if Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq were to cross into Iran to launch attacks on security forces there. Trump said in a telephone interview that he thinks the next leader of Iran is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed in a military strike at the start of the war. "We're going to have to choose that person along with Iran. We're going to have to choose that person," Trump said. Trump also encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive, speaking six days after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday. The conflict has killed more than 1,000 people, including at least six U.S. service members, and caused damage and instability throughout the Middle East. "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it," the president said. On leadership succession in the Islamic Republic, the Republican U.S. president drew a parallel to Venezuela, where U.S. forces removed President Nicolas Maduro in January, leaving in charge Delcy Rodriguez, his number two, who Trump said "has done a wonderful job." "We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don't have to go back every five years and do this again and again. We want somebody that's going to be great for the people, great for the country," Trump said. He did not elaborate after saying that Khamenei's son Mojtaba, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, was an unlikely choice. Asked whether exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, was a possibility, Trump said, "I think everybody's in the mix. It's very early." OPEN TO KURDISH INTERVENTION Advertisement When asked if the U.S. would provide or had offered air cover for Iranian Kurdish forces who are considering an intervention in western Iran, Trump responded, "I can't tell you that," but added that the objective for the Kurds would be "to win." "If they're going to do that, that's good," Trump added. Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. The Iranian Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the country's military, as the United States and Israel pound Iranian targets with bombs and missiles. Trump also signaled confidence that the major shipping route near Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, will remain open. WIDESPREAD DAMAGE, RISING ENERGY PRICES Closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the worlds crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, has been one of Iran's main objectives, and shipping through the crucial energy artery has ground to a near halt after Iranian hits on six vessels. "They have no navy, you know the navy is now at the bottom of the sea," Trump said. "I'm watching Hormuz very closely." More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers. Oil prices have jumped since the conflict began. Trump said he was not concerned about rising gasoline prices. "They'll drop very rapidly when this is over. And if they rise, they rise. But this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit," he said. Trump said he would not predict how long the conflict will last, but said it was moving along rapidly. "I would say it's moving along ahead of schedule, and much stronger than anybody would have ever expected," Trump said. (Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Costas Pitas, Bo Erickson and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Bhargav Acharya, Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell) During an odd moment in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Donald Trump seemed to forget where his father was born. Politics: Trump Mocked After Suffering Brain Fart While Trying To Insult Biden As Trump met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he accused the United Kingdom of being very very uncooperative about Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean thats home to a U.K.U.S. military base. The topic also seemed to trigger a wave of nostalgia about his parents. I love that country, Trump said of the U.K. I love it. My mother was born there. I love it. My mother was born there. Then, he focused on his dads origins. My father was born like he knows all about my father my father was born there, Trump said as he gestured to the German chancellor, indicating his father was born in Germany. So, you know, places that you sort of automatically, very very, feel warmly about. Advertisement President Donald Trump, right, meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House. picture alliance via Getty Images Trump was right about one of his parents. His mother, Mary Anne Trump, was born in Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom. But his father, Fred Trump, was born in New York, not Germany. His grandfather, Frederick Trump, was born in what is today part of Germany. Trump has made that same mistake before, claiming in 2019 that his father was born in a very wonderful place in Germany. Politics: Critics Spot A Big Trump Double Standard After Latest Oval Office Blunder The latest verbal stumble drew attention, in part, because Trump repeatedly attacked his predecessor, Joe Biden, for his own gaffes when in office and in 2022 even claimed that Biden had dementia. Now, some critics are pointing to Trumps frequent flubs, as well as growing questions about his overall health (including two yearly physicals just six months apart). And theyre hitting the president with the same kinds of accusations he once made against Biden. Some commentators, such as Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan, even called for invoking the 25th Amendment, a constitutional process that could ultimately lead to the removal of a president unable to perform his duties: Imagine if Joe Biden had forgotten where his own dad was born. By the way, this isn't the first time that Trump has falsely claimed his dad was born in Germany when he was actually born in New York. 25th Amendment. https://t.co/HSpPOAvuaE Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 4, 2026 Nobody multitasks like Trump. Taking large-scale unilateral military action with no objective or exit strategy AND forgetting where his father was born? Only Donald Trump can do that. Cry about it, libs. https://t.co/ReDtlFI3p9 Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd on blu sky) (@rothschildmd) March 3, 2026 Fact check: Fred Trump was born in the Bronx. 25th Amendment time @RepBentzhttps://t.co/RurladaF0K Carl Feher (@CJ_Feher) March 3, 2026 Trumps dad was born in New York City! If Biden said something like this, mainstream news would be questioning everything. For some reason, Trump gets a pass. || || https://t.co/0Shmc3udAg Bryan Friedrich (@500Indy1911) March 3, 2026 Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Can we see a long-form birth certificate? https://t.co/qqFnUYuuSo Robert A. George (@RobGeorge) March 4, 2026 Trump's father was born in the Bronx. His grandfather was born in Germany. I know that Trump's dementia has been normalized so much that we give such things a pass. Well... its not normal. Imagine if President Biden said this. And now, Trump is leading a war. https://t.co/x55a6d6pRl Robert Elisberg (@relisberg) March 4, 2026 Yes, it was a long time ago when New York City was still in Germany. New York was only exported from Germany to the then English colonies in 1851. To celebrate, two barrels of beer, 20 pretzels, and three accordions were delivered. It was a very nice day. Montrey (@Montrey82631182) March 3, 2026 Trumps grandfather was born in Germany, and he was basically banned from ever returning there. (His dad was born in NY). Is he making up a fake family story to try to brag about his German heritage? In front of everyone? As if Merz is an idiot? https://t.co/z0CcZlPofc ClearingTheFog (@clearing_fog) March 4, 2026 I don't actually think it's a big deal if a 79-year-old flubs the birthplace of his grandfather as being that of his father's... but as always, you can imagine the meltdown and response had Biden made a similar slip. https://t.co/kGYMSnDGzL Old Rant Dump (@TrumpinTheShark) March 3, 2026 Narrator: Donald Trumps father, Fred Trump, was actually born in the Bronx, New York, NY. - Which is still currently located in the United States of America. Hadley Sheley (@HadleySheley) March 3, 2026 Grandfather Not father. Farrah Oxford (@OxfordFarr66929) March 3, 2026 Oh REALLY? Now I want to see Trump's ******* birth certificate. I remember his ******** on Obama? Now Trump is basically saying HE HIMSELF IS AN ANCHOR BABY. https://t.co/2AHHbuLjlK Dave Ryder (@daveryder) March 3, 2026 Political Updates Read the original on HuffPost President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, in October. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images) (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds) BEIJING President Donald Trumps looming meeting with Chinas Xi Jinping will face new tensions after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its China-friendly supreme leader. Its the second time in two months that the United States has taken military action against one of Chinas key economic partners, after its surprise capture in January of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. But China has largely limited its response to stern statements, much as it did after the raid in Caracas despite warm relations with Venezuela. Paramilitary members rally to protest Nicolas Maduro's capture in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 4. (Andrea Hernandez Briceno / The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Andrea Hernandez Briceno) China is proving to be a feckless friend for its authoritarian allies, Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China under President Joe Biden, said on X. Experts say that while China is concerned about the Iran conflict, it may not see it as worth jeopardizing Trumps upcoming visit, which the White House says is scheduled to begin March 31. Both Trump and Xi are seeking to extend a fragile trade truce between the worlds two biggest economies. Beijing has not yet confirmed the dates of the trip, which could come as the U.S. is still enmeshed in an Iran operation that Trump has said may last four to five weeks or longer. I havent heard any plan to delay or derail that visit, Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a nongovernmental think tank in Beijing, told NBC News in an interview Wednesday. If anything, he said, the Iran conflict gives even greater urgency to a meeting between China, the Middle Easts largest trading partner, and the U.S., the regions largest security partner. Though China has long opposed Tehrans pursuit of nuclear weapons, it has served as a lifeline for heavily sanctioned Iran, a comprehensive strategic partner with which it signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021. China has since brokered a deal restoring diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. About 80% of Irans crude oil exports go to China, the worlds largest energy importer, helping to keep Tehrans economy afloat. But China is far from dependent on Tehran, with Iranian oil accounting for only about 13% of Chinas total oil imports. The China-Iran relationship is mainly practical in nature, said Peiyu Yang, an assistant professor of Arabic studies at George Mason University in Virginia who studies Chinas historical and cultural connections with the Middle East. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Xi in Beijing in September. (Yao Dawei / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images) (Yao Dawei) Its not based on ideological standard or viewpoint, she said. Its more based on economic interest. China which confirmed the death of one of its citizens in Tehran and has evacuated 3,000 others from Iran has criticized the U.S.-Israeli strikes as a violation of Irans sovereignty and international law. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the killing of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the incitement of regime change were unacceptable. Advertisement But so far, China hasnt offered Iran much beyond rhetoric, underscoring its lack of readiness to challenge U.S. military action around the world. People mourn the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday. (Atta Kenare / AFP - Getty Images) (Atta Kenare) These countries are not delusional. They know that China cannot be relied on as a security partner, said Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House research institute in London. They see it as a development partner, economic partner, trade, a technological partner, but not military. Beijing has also been critical of Irans response to the strikes, which has direct implications for Chinas strategic interests, Aboudouh said. In a call Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Wang urged Iran to take into account the legitimate concerns of neighboring countries. China has major investments in energy-rich Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where Irans retaliatory strikes have hit civilian targets. While its Iranian oil imports are easily replaced, China gets about half of its oil from the Middle East as a whole. Irans shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping route that carries about one-fifth of the worlds oil output, could be a major shock to Chinas oil supply, Yang said. China could stand to gain, however, if the U.S. gets bogged down in a prolonged conflict in the Middle East. That could relieve some of the strategic pressure from Washington over China's military build-up in the Asia-Pacific, said William Yang, the International Crisis Groups senior analyst for Northeast Asia. Chinese forces take part in long-range live-fire drills targeting waters south of Taiwan in December. (Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army / via Reuters) (Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army) A distracted U.S. could leave an opening for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the self-ruling island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. The U.S. is Taiwans main arms supplier and international backer, but it has long maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity about whether it would defend the island from a Chinese attack. A prolonged conflict could also deplete stockpiles of U.S. munitions that serve as a deterrent against Chinese military action, said Yang, who is based in Taipei, Taiwans capital. The war in Iran could also bolster Chinas efforts to present itself as an alternative to American global leadership. The Global South is losing trust in the Trump administration because its actions in Venezuela and Iran show that coercion is on the table, and it can be used anytime, Aboudouh said. For now, experts said, China is taking a wait-and-see approach and will adapt as the situation in Iran evolves. Although a pro-American regime in Iran could present some challenges, Yang from Crisis Group said, Beijing will be able to build a pragmatic new relationship with whoever comes into power in Tehran in the end. Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong. Despite voting for President Donald Trump three times, Republican Amanda Cline isn't buying his administration's evolving and conflicting rationale for launching a war with Iran. The retired 47-year-old Navy veteran thinks it's the wrong move, especially when she learned U.S. soldiers were killed so early in the conflict. "I don't think it's worth it," Cline, who hails from Cherry Valley, California, told USA TODAY. "It's not our cause. It's their fight to fight. It's their regime and their problem to fix." Cline recalls being deployed overseas in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She said she watched intently when Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters at a March 2 press conference that this conflict would not morph into nation-building effort, but that it reminded her how the Bush administration's promises never materialized. 1 / 0 See how the Iran wars fallout is hitting the Middle East See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. "It's kind of insulting the intelligence of the American people to just have generals get up there and Hegseth get up there and just say, 'go military, go troops and wave your American flag and just support us no matter what,'" said Cline, who also has worked at an anti-abortion pregnancy center. "That was insulting," she added. "We want to know when, because we don't want any more deaths." Cline isn't the only one who feels that way. Trump's war with Iran is polling badly, has kicked up gas prices and injected volatility into a stock market that the administration regularly cites as a bright spot in a wobbly economy. It is also fraying the Make America Great Again coalition, whose anti-interventionist wing has expressed a mixture of disappointment, betrayal and anger that experts warn could turn a gathering Democratic blue wave into a potential tsunami in the 2026 congressional elections. Democrats have led in all but one of the dozens of polls conducted this year asking voters which party should control Congress. Paul Brace, a political science professor emeritus at Rice University, said it is rare that foreign affairs affect an American election outcome. But he noted that elements of Trump's base are already disillusioned over other broken promises. "Between the Epstein files and the anti-war sentiment among many Trump supporters, there's grounds there to break away from him," Brace said. "It's going to depend on their particular constituencies in the context of an election year that does not look good for them in the first place." Most Americans oppose war with Iran, polls show A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. Almost a week after the first strikes, early snapshots show a nation wary about once again entering the Middle East with many memories still fresh from the incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. Just 27% of Americans approved in a Reuters/Ipsos survey released less than 48 hours after the first missiles were launched, while 43% disapproved. A flash poll conducted by the Washington Post on March 1 found 52% oppose Trump's airstrikes versus 39% who support it, with 9% saying they are unsure. Another one released by CNN on March 2 found that about 59% of Americans disapprove of the decision to go to war, including 68% of independent voters. Joe McGee, a Republican from Fairfield, Connecticut, said the Iranian government is an "exporter of terrorism" but questioned Trump's ability to administer this war, particularly at a time when the United States has quarreled with so many longtime allies. He predicted Democrats would gain at least 20 seats in the House midterms as a result. "The problem is Trump has switched now from 'we don't want these foreign wars, these things have been a disaster,' and he's now initiated probably the largest one the Middle East that we've ever seen," McGee, 80, a retired business executive, told USA TODAY. Advertisement 1 / 0 Americans protest 'massive' strikes in Iran amid US-Israeli attack A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday. But most Republicans including House Republicans running in competitive districts are standing by the president, perhaps encouraged by surveys such as a March 3 one from Fox News showing 61% of Americans think Iran poses "a real national security threat." Republican Paul Holtzman, an independent contractor from Rohrsburg, Pennsylvania, said he supports the military action against Iran, citing the foreign adversary's human rights abuses. "I think that it's a path towards peace. You know, sometimes you can get peace through negotiation, but sometimes you have to use force to bring it about," he said. Congressional GOP mostly sticking with Trump Speaking to Fox News earlier this week, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, who represents a competitive district, denounced Democrats for continuing to block Department of Homeland Security funding during the war over their demands to put restraints on immigration enforcement agents. He noted the agency was "created in the aftermath of 9/11." Holtzman, 51, said he would like to see Iran, which had an Islamic revolution in 1979 after decades of reign under an autocratic monarch, enjoy a government that isn't religious-based. He said Trump is being decisive, adding voters will tolerate a certain number of U.S. casualties for a limited time if they see the president taking the necessary steps toward peace in the region. "I'm not looking to see troops go in there and to invade," Holtzman said. "I mean, if it's necessary for us to help the people get the government where it's supposed to be, I guess I could be somewhat OK with that." "Dangerous," "wrong" and "foolish" Mike @Lawler4NY slams Democrats shutting down Dept. of Homeland Security as radical Islamic terrorist threats surge "The Dept. of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of 9/11." pic.twitter.com/wYFHePkl6G NRCC (@NRCC) March 2, 2026 Trump enjoyed nearly unanimous support among Senate Republicans when all but Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky rejected a war powers resolution to halt military hostilities against Iran on March 4. "Iran has been building not only its nuclear capability but also its conventional weapons capability to a point that it would threaten the entire region," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said in a March 4 post on X. "[The president] is taking steps to make the world, our country, and our people safer." The Trump administration's staunchest supporters remain optimistic, too, telling USA TODAY the Iranian regime is turning global opinion against it by launching attacks in neighboring countries. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, a key Trump ally, told USA TODAY he believes the administration will succeed within the four-week timetable outlined by the president and rally the country. There will be a need for clearer communication about what comes next and the threat posed by Iran, Roberts said, adding that it has killed Americans "for decades" through its backing of proxy forces in the Middle East such as Hezbollah. "We have begun to kneecap, very successfully, perhaps the largest state sponsor of terrorism in our lifetimes. This is a long time coming," Roberts said. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to announce that the U.S. had begun "major combat operations" in Iran in this screengrab from a video released February 28, 2026. "We're going to succeed in Iran. We're not going to be there," Roberts said. "We're not going to be nation-building, because the president's own conservative movement is honest enough to prevent that from happening." Roberts also believes Trump will be "dialed in" on affordability and help his party hold its own in the midterm elections. "What was already going to be more of a jump ball of a midterm election than most prognosticators indicate is going to be a really competitive midterm," he said. "I happen to think that conservatives will do well. Will conservatives have to work really hard at message discipline yeah." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will the war on Iran hurt Republicans in 2026 midterm elections? FILE PHOTO: Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, as a part of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo ANKARA, March 5 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday that it was closely following the actions of the Iranian Kurdish PJAK militant group, which it said threatened Iran's security and regional stability, amid reports of discussions between Iranian Kurdish militias and Washington about the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. On Tuesday, sources told Reuters that the Iranian Kurdish groups had consulted with the U.S. about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country. Turkey, a NATO member and Iran's neighbour, is currently working on securing peace with the outlawed Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group. Ankara also backs the integration of Syrian Kurdish militants into Syria's state systems, and is unlikely to support collaboration with Iranian Kurdish militias by NATO ally Washington. Advertisement "The activities of groups that fuel ethnic separatism, such as the terrorist organization PJAK, negatively affect not only Iran's security but also the overall peace and stability of the region," Turkey's defence ministry told a weekly press briefing in Ankara. It added that Turkey's state institutions were all closely following actions by the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an outlawed militant group that has links to the PKK, which Turkey, the U.S. and European Union designate as a terrorist group. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Alexandra Hudson) Debris of a NATO air defence system that intercepted a missile launched from Iran is seen in Dortyol, in southern Hatay province, Turkey, March 4, 2026 in this screengrab from video. Ihlas News Agency (IHA) via REUTERS By Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA, March 4 (Reuters) - Turkey said that NATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile headed into Turkish airspace on Wednesday, marking the first time the alliance member has been drawn into the Middle East conflict and raising the possibility of a major expansion involving its bloc allies. Turkey - Iran's neighbour that had sought to mediate U.S.-Iran talks before the air war that began at the weekend - warned "all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation," suggesting it was not poised to call upon the trans-Atlantic defence bloc for support. But Ankara could potentially invoke NATO's Article 4 after the airspace breach if it deemed the threat serious enough, a step that could lead to the alliance's Article 5, which would oblige members to come to its defence. It was unclear where the missile was headed. NATO condemned Iran's targeting of Turkey, which has the bloc's second-largest military, and said it stood firmly with all allies. U.S. BASE IN NEIGHBOURING PROVINCE The U.S. has air forces stationed at southern Turkey's Incirlik base, which is located in an area neighbouring Hatay province, where authorities said debris from the intercepting NATO missile had fallen. Ankara says that Washington has not used Incirlik in its air assault, alongside Israel, on Iran, which triggered Tehran's missile and drone attacks. Iran did not immediately comment on the incident. In a separate call about Iranian missile attacks in Qatar, a close Turkish ally, Iran's Araqchi told his Qatari counterpart that the missiles targeted only U.S. interests, and not Qatar. Advertisement The Turkish defence ministry said the missile had passed over Iraq and Syria before it was downed by NATO air and missile defence systems stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, adding there were no casualties in the incident. "All necessary steps to defend our territory and airspace will be taken... (and) we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions," the ministry said, adding: "We will continue to consult with NATO and our other allies." Statements by senior Turkish officials did not mention Article 4 and Ankara did not comment when asked by Reuters. The article states that NATO allies will "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security" of a member is threatened. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there was no sense that the incident would trigger Article 5, which has only been invoked once before, after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and which would mark a major escalation in the conflict. ANKARA PROTESTS TO TEHRAN Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conveyed a protest to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in a call after the incident, a Turkish diplomatic source said. Several countries in the Gulf and elsewhere - including as far west as EU member Cyprus, where a British air base was hit by a drone - have been caught in the fallout. Ankara had sought to mediate between the sides in the weeks before the conflict erupted. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Additional reporting by Daren Butler; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Aidan Lewis) When a cashier asks, Would you like to round up? it may not feel like a big decision. Its a few cents. Maybe a dollar. The kind of change that disappears into the bottom of a purse pocket or finds itself in your car cup holders. But that small decision at the register can help place healthy, high-quality food on the tables of our neighbors across Middle Tennessee. Turnip Truck Natural Market is partnering with The Store, the choice-based food assistance program founded by Country Artist Brad Paisley and Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, to fight hunger in a way that aligns with our citys Nashville Strong mentality: local businesses linking arms for the good of the community. At all four Turnip Truck locations (East Nashville, West Nashville, The Gulch, and Midtown), youre invited to round up your purchases to support The Stores shelves. A simple round-up at the register helps provide healthy groceries to Middle Tennessee families in need. Image: The Store For John Dyke, founder and owner of Turnip Truck, the alignment feels natural. For 25 years, Turnip Truck has existed to nourish and serve our community, he says. We are delighted to help The Store end hunger and foster hope, one bag of groceries at a time. Founded in 2001, Turnip Truck has grown into Nashvilles only locally owned, full-service grocery store. Walk through its doors, and youll find local produce, natural and organic staples, and familiar neighborhood faces. Turnip Truck has always been about more than groceries. It has been about connection and nourishment in every sense of the word.Image: Turnip Truck Natural Market That same spirit defines The Store. Unlike a traditional food pantry, The Store operates as a free grocery market where individuals and families are referred by more than 50 partner agencies. Customers shop in a welcoming space that mirrors a neighborhood store, selecting the items their households need most. The model is intentionally designed to protect dignity and foster hope. Advertisement Today, with food insecurity at a 10-year high in Middle Tennessee, that mission feels more urgent than ever. The Store regularly serves more than 1,400 households with bi-weekly shopping. It recently opened a second location in partnership with TriStar Centennial Medical Center to reach even more families. Because the organization purchases approximately 90 percent of its food to maintain consistent quality and inventory, financial support directly translates into meals. Head to Turnip Trucks four Nashville locations to help turn spare change into meals. Image: The Store The numbers are striking; just $1.49 provides one meal. Forty-five dollars can feed an individual or senior citizen for a month. Eighty-five dollars feeds a family for a month. And drumroll, please One thousand dollars can feed a family for an entire year. Talk about a huge impact! Through this round-up initiative, Turnip Truck will use all funds raised to procure high-quality foods at grocers cost for The Store, maximizing the impact of every donation. In short, a local grocer is leveraging its buying power so that spare change stretches further. From $1.49 for a meal to $1,000 to feed an entire family for a year, every dollar raised at Turnip Truck goes toward high-quality groceries for The Store. Image: Turnip Truck Natural Market Its a simple invitation. So, the next time you are picking up produce for dinner or stocking up on pantry staples, consider rounding up. Your change can make a big change in the lives of people in need, nourishing your neighbors and your soul. ********** Keep up with the best parts of life in the South. Subscribe to StyleBlueprint! No one had very high career aspirations for teenager David A. Westonexcept for Weston himself. Growing up in London, he scored low on the U.K. national assessment test given to students finishing primary school. The result meant that his next path was either to become a laborer or attend a vocational school to learn a trade. What Weston really wanted to do was to work as a radio and TV repairman. He was fascinated by how the devices worked. He had taught himself to build an AM radio when he was 15. Even after showing it to his parents and teachers, though, they still didnt think he was smart enough to pursue his chosen career, he says. David A. Weston Employer EMC Consulting, in in Arnprior, Ont., Canada Job title Retired consultant Member grade Life member Alma mater Croydon Technical College, London So, later that year, the underweight teen got a job on a construction site carrying heavy loads of building materials in a hod, a three-sided wooden trough. The experience convinced him he wasnt cut out for manual labor. He eventually earned a certificate in radio and television, the only credential he holds. The lack of academic degrees did not hold him back, though. He went on to become an expert in electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). An EMI field has unwanted energy that causes interference. EMC is the capacity for electronic devices to work correctly in a shared electromagnetic environment without causing interference or suffering from it in nearby devices or signals. After working for a number of companies, he launched his own business more than 40 years ago: EMC Consulting, in Arnprior, Ont., Canada. The company has helped clients meet EMI and EMC regulatory requirements. Now 83 years old and retired, the IEEE life member recently self-published his memoir, From a Hod to an Odd EM Wave. My memoir is about engineering persistence and human and technical discoveries, he says. I wanted to interest a young person, or perhaps a person later in life, in a career in engineering. If I can show that engineering is a personal, human endeavor with exciting opportunities in different fields such as medical, scientific, and the arts, maybe more women would be attracted to it. From repairing radios to designing underwater devices In 1960 Weston enrolled in the radio and electronics program at Londons Croydon Technical College (now Croydon College). The school covered topics from the City and Guilds of London Institutes radio and television certificate program. He attended classes one day a week for five years while working to put himself through school. Although his parents and his teachers might not have recognized Westons potential, employers did. He got his first job in 1960, fixing televisions in a small repair shop. Then he helped repair tape recorders. In his spare time, he studied transistors and semiconductors. Everything he knows, he says, he learned by reading books and research papers, and from on-the-job training. Later in 1960, he worked as a mechanical examiner for the U.K. Ministry of Aviation, where he calibrated precision meters and potentiometers, which are variable resistors that monitor, control, and measure industrial equipment. Engineering is creative. To have a new idea or design accepted is rewarding, satisfying, pleasurable, and even exciting. He left the ministry in 1963 because he found the work boring, he says, and he was hired as a technician with the Medical Research Councils neuropsychiatric research unit in Carshalton. The institution researches the biological causes of mental illness. His manager was interested in learning about advances in medical electronics and eagerly shared his knowledge with Weston. One of Westons tasks was to build an electroencephalography (EEG) calibrator to measure responses from a patients brain activity. The methods used at the time to detect a brain tumorbefore MRI machines were developedinvolved monitoring the patients speech and coordination, followed by taking a biopsy, which was not without danger, he says. He used an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver to measure the time of transmission to the midline in the brain to determine whether the person had a tumor. If the midline had shifted, it would indicate the presence of a tumor, and a biopsy would be performed to confirm it. The measure of the evoked response in the brain was the only reliable indicator. Weston earned his radio and TV certificate in 1965, leaving the research facility a year later to join Divcon (now part of Oceaneering International), a commercial diving company based in London that developed deep-sea helium diving helmets. Weston helped design a waterproof handheld communication device for divers that could withstand the high pressure in diving bells, the open-bottom pressurized chambers that transported them underwater. Weston then moved to Hamburg, Germany, in 1969 to work for Plath, an electronics manufacturer. He was tasked, along with other engineers from England, to design a servo control loop. Unfortunately it oscillated so badly when first being turned on that it shook itself to bits, he says. He left to work as a senior engineer at Dr. Staiger Mohilo and Co. (now part of Kistler), in Schorndorf, Germany. It manufactured torque sensors, force transducers, and specialized test stand systems. Weston designed a process control computer. He says his boss told him that the controller had to work in close proximity toand from the same power source asa nearby machine without interfering with it or being interfered by it. Advertisement I was thus introduced to the idea of electromagnetic compatibility, he says. After three years, he left to join the Siemens Mobility train group in Braunschweig, Germany, where he helped develop an electronic train-crossing light controller. The original warning lights on crossing gates used a mercury tube as a switch. The concern was the danger to personnel if the tube broke, he says. The simple and inexpensive solution was to put the tube in a metal container. Weston and his wife decided to leave Germany for Canada in 1975, after their young son began forgetting how to speak English. Working on the space shuttle and a particle accelerator His first job in the country was as an engineer for Canadian Aviation Electronics in Montreal. CAE helped design the remote manipulator system in robotic hand controllers and simulation systems used to train astronauts for the space shuttle. The robotic arm, known as Canadarm, was used to deploy, maneuver, and capture payloads for the astronauts. Westons engineering team designed the display and control panel as well as the hand controllers located in the shuttles flight deck. I was attracted to the EMC aspects of the project and avidly studied everything I could on the topic, he says. He also helped develop a system that would protect an aircrafts deployable black box from lightning strikes. I used a computer program to analyze the EMI field at close proximity to the black box to predict the lightning current flowing into the aircraft structure, he says. While enjoying the warm winter weather during a 1975 visit to a supplier on Long Island, N.Y., he decided he wanted to move his family there and asked whether any companies in the area were hiring. He was told that Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, was, so he applied for a position working on the ring system for the Isabelle proton colliding-beam particle accelerator. The project, later known as the colliding beam accelerator, was a collaboration between the lab and the U.S. Department of Energy. The 200+200 giga-electron volt proton-proton collider was designed to use advanced superconducting magnets cooled by a massive helium refrigeration system to produce high-energy collisions. The GeV refers to the collision energy in a particle accelerator. Westons Advice for Budding Engineers Follow the field in which you are most interested. Dont be afraid to work in other countries; it can be a rewarding, enriching experience. Question the results of measurements or analyses. If it doesnt seem right, it probably isnt. Look at a similar publication on the same topic for a good correlation. Dont be too shy to ask simple questions. Thats how we learn and grow. Keep an open mind. The lab hired him in 1978, and the family moved to Long Island. After a few weeks of meeting with different departments, his boss asked him what kind of work he wanted to do. Weston told him about his idea for designing a device to detect a helium leak, should there ever be one. His machine would cover the entire 3,834-meter circumference area of the ring. The danger with increased helium-enriched air is that the oxygen level reduces until the person breathing becomes adversely affected, he wrote in his memoir. I found that the speed of the sound of helium increased enough to be detected, but not sufficient enough to cause a person trouble if they were in the tunnel. Brookhaven was considering machines that only covered a small area of the ring, but these would be unrealistic because too many machines would be needed, and the cost would have been astronomical. Westons system included an ultrasonic transmitter, a receiver, a power amplifier, and a preamplifier. It would sound an alarm if the helium content went above a certain level. People in the tunnel would be directed to go to the nearest oxygen-breathing equipment, put on a mask, and immediately evacuate. It was successfully tested. Weston wrote a report detailing the ultrasonic helium leak detector, but shortly after, he and his wife had to return to Canada in 1978 because they were unable to get additional work permits in the United States. When he returned to Brookhaven for a visit, his former boss told him the report was well-received. And he shared some news that upset Weston. My boss told me he took my report, changed the name on the report to his, did not mention me, and published the report as his, Weston wrote in his memoir. But the system was never built. The Isabelle project was canceled in July 1983 due to technical problems with fabricating the superconducting magnets. Weston got a job working for CAL Corp., an aerospace telecommunications company in Montreal. For the next 14 years, he fixed EMI problems for the companys products, including its charge-coupled device-based space-qualified cameras, which were designed to be carried aboard a satellite. In 1992 he realized that nearly all his work involved consulting for the companys customers, so he decided to start his own agency. CAL generously let him take the clients he worked with, he says. Weston then conducted EMI analysis and testing and designed EMC systems for companies around the world. I always had enough customers and have never had to look for work, he says. For me, having my own business was more secure than working for a company. He retired in 2022. IEEE as an educator To broaden his education, he joined IEEE in 1976 to get access to its research papers and attend its conferences, he says. He is a member of the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society. Because he is self-educated, he was keen to learn as much as possible by reading practical papers published by IEEE, he says. I met people at IEEE symposiums and listened to the authors presenting their papers. Those included EMC experts such as Life Fellows Lothar O. Bud Hoeft, Richard J. Mohr, and Clayton R. Paul, whose papers are published in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. Several of Westons papers are in the library as well. His book Electromagnetic Compatibility: Methods, Analysis, Circuits, and Measurement references many IEEE papers on data and analysis methods. Engineering is creative, he says. To have a new idea or design accepted is rewarding, satisfying, pleasurable, and even exciting. 24/7 Wall St. (24/7 Wall St.) Quick Read Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ): up 14.5% over 12 months, down 8.5% past month. Top 4 holdings Tencent (TCEHY), PDD Holdings (PDD), Baidu (BIDU) at 7.26%, Meituan (3690.HK) represent ~30% of portfolio. US-China trade tensions and concentrated AI exposure will determine whether CQQQ continues recovering from Chinas 2021 regulatory crackdown, with tariff escalations and semiconductor export restrictions threatening top holdings. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE. China's tech sector spent three years in the penalty box after Beijing's 2021 regulatory crackdown erased trillions in market value. Invesco China Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:CQQQ) still carries that scar, with the fund deeply underwater on a five-year basis despite a meaningful trailing-year recovery. That recovery has hit turbulence in early 2026 as fresh US-China trade tensions have weighed on sentiment. Despite gaining 14.5% over the past 12 months, CQQQ has given back about 8.5% in the past month alone a reminder that the fund remains deeply underwater on a five-year basis. Two factors will determine whether the rebound resumes or fades: trade policy and the fund's AI concentration. The Macro Factor That Will Define 2026: US-China Trade Policy No single force will shape CQQQ's trajectory more than US-China trade relations. Tariff escalations directly pressure platform companies like Tencent and Baidu that depend on domestic consumption, while export restrictions on semiconductors threaten holdings like Horizon Robotics and Cambricon Technologies, which represent meaningful exposure to China's chip self-sufficiency push. When the US tightened chip export controls in late 2022, China-focused tech ETFs fell sharply within weeks. A comparable escalation in 2026 would hit CQQQ's AI and semiconductor names hardest. The clearest place to track this is the Office of the US Trade Representative, which publishes tariff actions and Section 301 reviews. Entity list additions from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security have historically moved China tech names within days of announcement. READ: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks Advertisement The Micro Signal That Matters Most: Holdings Concentration in AI Names CQQQ's top four holdings, Tencent, PDD Holdings, Baidu, and Meituan, represent roughly 30% of the portfolio. That concentration means single-stock volatility flows directly into fund performance. Baidu alone, at 7.26% of the fund, has been one of the more volatile contributors to fund performance. That kind of swing in a single top holding moves the whole fund. PDD has been a relative stabilizer, roughly flat over the past month even as the broader fund declined. Invesco publishes daily holdings files on its website. Watching for shifts in the weight of AI-exposed names like Baidu, SenseTime, and Cambricon relative to consumer internet giants will tell you whether the fund is drifting toward or away from China's AI buildout story, which analysts have cited as a key driver of interest in China tech funds heading into 2026. What to Watch Over the Next 12 Months If US-China trade tensions ease and a tariff pause materializes before mid-year, AI and semiconductor holdings in China-focused ETFs could see significant moves. Invesco's monthly holdings updates will reveal whether Baidu's weight is shrinking through price depreciation without a rebalance, which would quietly reduce the fund's AI leverage and affect its overall exposure to China's AI buildout story. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks Wall Street is pouring billions into AI, but most investors are buying the wrong stocks. The analyst who first identified NVIDIA as a buy back in 2010 before its 28,000% run has just pinpointed 10 new AI companies he believes could deliver outsized returns from here. One dominates a $100 billion equipment market. Another is solving the single biggest bottleneck holding back AI data centers. A third is a pure-play on an optical networking market set to quadruple. Most investors haven't heard of half these names. Get the free list of all 10 stocks here. Known for its Mediterranean vives and stunning turquoise beaches, Cyprus was becoming a popular destination for U.S. travelers looking to experience the island's natural wonders and rich culture. However, the escalating conflicts in Iran have prompted the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to issue a Level 3 Travel Advisory, warning American tourists to avoid the area. In fact, the government has told non-essential American employees in the region to pack up their families and evacuate the region as quickly as possible over safety concerns, highlighting the threat to the region. Here's what you need to know. SIGN UP for Parades Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox U.S. Department of State Issues Level 3 Travel Advisory for Cyprus On Mar. 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of State issued a Level 3: Reconsider Travel Advisory for Cyprus due to the "threat of armed conflict and limited U.S. embassy assistance for Americans in the Turkish Cypriot Administered area." The advisory further explained that increased violence from Iranian forces after a U.S. involved bombing in Iran was to blame for the issue. On Feb. 28, 2026, U.S. and Israeli forces worked together to bomb the country of Iran, killing it's leader and several top politicians in the process. Then, on March 2, Iran retaliated by hitting a British Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus, increasing the risk to those in the region. Those Currently in Cyprus Are Being Directed to Leave According to the statement, the DOS told U.S. government employees to gather their families and leave the region at once just one day after the drone strike. "Enter and exit the island of Cyprus only at Larnaca and Paphos airports or at the seaports of Limassol, Larnaca, and Paphos," the statement continues. "The Republic of Cyprus does not consider entry or exit via Ercan Airport or by a seaport in the north to be legal. U.S. citizens who leave the island from Ercan could face challenges returning to the Republic of Cyprus in the future." Advertisement Although, with ongoing travel disruptions in the region, exiting the country quickly and safely could prove dangerous. Those looking for non-emergency help are being directed to: Call the emergency line at 357-22-393939 Email acsnicosia@state.gov Visit the U.S. Embassy website Although, response time may be slow due to ongoing evacuations. Cyprus Has Become a Popular Getaway The country is home to some truly sunning landscapes, including mountain ranges and gorgeous coastlines. That is part of the reason that so many people have been flocking to the area in recent years. And while it once promised a unique European experience for travelers who wanted some of what you'd get in the Greece without the crowds, the secret has gotten out in recent years and more and more people have put the region on their must-see lists. However, recent conflicts in the Middle East will likely make visiting a bit tricky for a while, which will likely have devastating impacts on the local tourism industry. As someone who has always wanted to travel to Cyprus to enjoy some of the coastal views in the area, I hope that the military escalation in the region will end quickly and without further incident, both for those who rely on visitors to survive, and those who simply want to remain out of the deadly conflict. This story was originally published by TravelHost on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The U.S. Department of State has been issuing a few unusual travel advisories lately, with security alerts becoming more specific, such as a warning on a "hiker assault" trend in a popular mountain attraction. More recently, the U.S. Embassy in Albania named "off-limits restaurants" in its capital and largest city, Tirana. Travelers are told to avoid these dining spots due to safety issues and other concerns that most would not expect to see in a security alert. Tirana has increasingly been attracting more American tourists, with Albania being one of Europe's cheapest and coolest destinations. While most go to Albania to enjoy its Mediterranean coastline, Tirana was also crowned "Europe's Best Budget City Break" by Time Out Worldwide due to its combined affordability, unique cultural attractions, and a welcoming atmosphere. But like in most generally safe destinations, the U.S. government warns that some places in the city may not be as friendly. Read on to see why American tourists are advised to avoid certain restaurants in Tirana, how safe it really is for tourists, and why the capital is seeing a surge in international visitors. Rare U.S. Security Alert Names "Off-Limits Restaurants" In Tirana, Albania Aniczkania/Shutterstock On Feb. 20, the U.S. Embassy in Albania issued a rare security alert, warning about "retaliatory violence," as well as reports of "unfair business practices and safety concerns" in the following restaurants that are now off-limits for U.S. Embassy staff and that all U.S. citizens are highly advised to avoid: Juvenilja Juvenilja Castle Pasticeri Venezia Magic Club The unusual mention of unfair business practices refers to incidents where tourists have been overcharged. Some issues include hidden fees, high prices for drinks, and sometimes aggressive pricing. Experienced travelers recommend carefully checking the prices on the menu and asking the restaurant staff when in doubt about some fees (e.g., service charges) to avoid misunderstandings or potential scams. Note that some tourists have noticed that there are dining spots that do not indicate prices on their menus. Advertisement Is It Safe In Tirana, Albania? The U.S. currently has a Level 2 travel advisory for Albania, urging U.S. travelers to "Exercise increased caution" in the European nation due to crime. While pickpocketing in crowded areas and tourist scams do occur in Tirana, the city is considered generally safe and welcoming to visitors. The U.S. State Department's crime warning for travelers heading to Albania: "Street crime occurs in urban areas, mostly at night. Burglaries, theft, and domestic violence are most common. U.S. citizens can become victims due to circumstance or proximity. Anti-American sentiment is rare in Albania and the international community is generally well regarded. " To put things in perspective, it is also important to note that while Tirana's violent crime levels are lower than in many major Western European capitals, American travelers are advised to be vigilant, especially at night or in crowded tourist sites. How Tirana, Albania Became "Europe's Best Budget City Break" Dimos/Shutterstock In 2025, Time Out Worldwide named Tirana, Albania "Europe's Best Budget City Break" due to its affordable accommodations, low-cost transportation and dining, as well as its "underrated artsy" vibe. The ranking notes that the average price of a pint of beer in Tirana is about $1.80, while a one-bed Airbnb costs an average of $57. One of Tirana's unique appeals is its communist-era history, which is featured in some of its most popular attractions, such as Bunk'Art 1, a former Cold War bunker that has been repurposed as an underground contemporary art and history museum with several floors. Tirana is also a highly walkable city, with most major sights and cafes just within a 10-to-20-minute walk of the central Skanderbeg Square. Strolling around the city, you will find a striking blend of Ottoman, Italian, communist, and colorful modern architecture. Among the most notable neighborhoods travelers must visit in Tirana is its hippest district, Blloku ("The Block"), which used to be a restricted residential area for the Communist elite. It is now known for its trendy dining and drinking spots, a lively nightlife, and high-end boutiques. Note that Blloku is home to two of the "off-limits restaurants" in the latest U.S. security alert, Juvenilja and Magic Club. A global network of satellites helped save 300 people from life-threatening situations in the United States and its surrounding waters in 2025, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates the system. Of the rescues conducted last year, 183 people were pulled from water, including five on board a jet that crashed into Oregon's Coos Bay in April, the agency said. In that instance, a satellite picked up a signal from an emergency distress beacon at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, which had been set off when the aircraft slid off of the runway while trying to land. Their alert was initially patched through to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which contacted the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, which sent responders to the scene. All five people reached the shore on their own, according to NOAA. They were then taken to a local hospital to be evaluated. A corporate jet resting in about five feet of water in Coos Bay, Ore., after skidding off the east end of the runway at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, April 7, 2025. / Credit: NOAA/Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (NOAA/Southwest Oregon Regional Airport) In addition to those rescues at sea, satellites played a role in 47 aviation rescues and 70 land rescues last year, NOAA said. The agency said most of the incidents took place in Florida, with 71 rescues in 2025, followed by Alaska and Wyoming, with 28 and 21 rescues, respectively. Some other notable rescues included that of a skier who became stranded in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. While suffering from frostbite and unable to move, the skier emergency distress call was detected by satellites and flagged to local authorities, who dispatched a rescue team to the skier's coordinates. Later, in December, two sailors and their dog were rescued from a sinking catamaran almost 60 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, thanks to a radio alert also detected by satellites, NOAA said. Advertisement The satellites are part of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or SARSAT. It's a worldwide system with a U.S. branch, involving numerous satellites that orbit Earth at different locations and altitudes. Last year's rescues add to thousands made possible by the system over the last few decades: Since SARSAT was first developed in 1982, the global system has supported more than 63,000 rescues globally and more than 11,190 rescues across the U.S., NOAA said. Search and rescue tools attached to these satellites are able to detect emergency distress signals transmitted by 406 beacons devices that are specifically designed to ping the satellite. Often used by pilots, sailors, hikers and others to dispense emergency notifications from remote areas, the 406 beacons can be smaller, personal devices or larger units that are mounted to planes or boats and triggered automatically in crisis scenarios. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict The marina and tropical waters of Malaysia's Perhentian Kecil Island. Credit: Xiu Huo/Getty Images The United States Department of State warned travelers to be cautions when heading to a specific area in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia. The warning comes for the area off the coast of Eastern Sabah from Kudat to Tawau, which the State Department has classified under its second-lowest Level 2 designation "due to [the] risk of kidnapping." Level 2 indicates travelers should "exercise increased caution" when heading there. The country-wide travel advisory for Malaysia remains at the State Department's lowest level Level 1 warning. Kidnappings-for-ransom have occurred in this area, targeting island resorts and maritime activities, the State Department wrote in its advisory about the coast of Eastern Sabah. "U.S. government employees working in Malaysia need special authorization to travel to this area, and due to its remote location, the U.S. government has limited ability to offer emergency services." The State Department added: "Due to the security situation, there are nighttime curfews at sea in the coastal areas in this region." The department also warned travelers to be aware of other crimes in Malaysia as a whole, including pickpockets, smash-and-grab theft, and purse snatching. Police response can be slow, especially in more remote areas, the State Department warned. "Victims often need to travel to the nearest police station to report a crime." Advertisement Sabah, which is located on the northern part of the island of Borneo and on a separate island from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, is home to many resorts and hotels. More than 3.7 million tourists visited Sabah in 2025, according to local news Malay Mail. Popular with outdoor enthusiasts, Sabah is known for its birding, surfing, stargazing, and more. For its part, the Sabah Tourism Board said in a statement the Malaysian government had "implemented strict security measures nationwide, particularly in areas popular with tourists." "The safety and security of all visitors remain a top priority for Malaysia," the tourism board wrote in its statement, adding, "While Sabah remains a vibrant and welcoming destination, we urge visitors to follow safety guidelines, use licensed tour operators, respect local customs, and stay informed... By doing so, you can fully immerse yourself in Sabahs breathtaking landscapes, rich culture, and thrilling adventures with confidence." The State Department encourages travelers to Malaysia and to all international destinations to sign up for its free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which sends automatic alerts and can help the government more easily contact and locate travelers in an emergency. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure Chi Leung "Peter" Wai is accused of engaging in "shadow policing" in the UK on behalf of China A UK Border Force officer surveilled and investigated Chinese citizens in Britain as part of a "shadow policing operation" with its "tentacles" reaching from Hong Kong, a court has heard. The prosecution said Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, also known as "fatboy", was being given tasks by Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer who was working at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London. Both men are on trial at the Old Bailey on charges under the National Security Act. The court heard the men arranged for their targets, many of whom were dissidents, to be filmed as part of the surveillance - with the jury shown one woman in Pontefract answering her door in pink pyjamas. Duncan Atkinson KC said the alleged operation "involved persons connected with the Hong Kong authorities acting as if Pontefract were a town in China rather than Yorkshire". Wai, 38, and Yuen, 65, are alleged to have carried out surveillance on Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners, some of them claiming asylum in the UK. A second UK border officer who allegedly got involved in the surveillance, Matthew Trickett, was found dead in May 2024 after being released on bail. Through his job at the UK Border Force, Wai - who was also a volunteer special constable with the City of London Police and used to work for the Metropolitan Police - had access to the Home Office immigration database called Atlas. The jury heard that Wai would sometimes search the database for information about Chinese dissidents on his rest days, when he shouldn't have been doing any searches at all. Wai, who ran a private security company called D5 Security, is said to have passed on some jobs to fellow UK Border Force colleague called Trickett, who also had his own a private security company. When Yuen, Wai and Trickett were arrested, detectives found what was called a "Surveillance Report" about a woman called Monica Kwong. Kwong had left Hong Kong in 2023 with her young son after being accused of fraud, which she said was a "set up" by her former employer. The report is said to have included instructions to use "undisclosed investigation methods" and then "commence observations". It said "operators" would follow the "subject" and report their movements with picture and video evidence. The report suggests that the team managed to enter her block of flats and look through her mail, identifying her son. The prosecution said Wai used the Atlas database to search about Kwong and her son, which Atkinson said was "a further misuse of the database not for legitimate UK purposes but for the benefit of persons in Hong Kong". Retired Hong Kong police officer Yuen is accused of surveilling Chinese dissidents in London Yuen had allegedly sent Wai information about Kwong's son, including details of his passport number and school, and the reason why he had left the school. In January 2024, a man involved in the surveillance of Kwong knocked on her door and filmed her as he handed her a package. Wai sent Yuen the video and her address in Pontefract. Yuen forwarded both of those to Wing Cheun Cheuk, a police officer in Hong Kong. Advertisement In his messages with Cheuk, Yuen sometimes referred to Wai as "fatboy". "It was a shadow operation being undertaken without the knowledge of the UK authorities, as if Monica Kwong was in Hong Kong not Yorkshire," the prosecution said. In March and April 2024, Wai started involving Trickett, who in turn discussed surveillance techniques with a colleague in Immigration Enforcement who refused to get involved further. The court was told that Trickett, a former British Royal Marine, allegedly assembled a team including Jonathan Dunn, a close protection officer who left the military in 2023, and Jason Davies, a former fraud investigator. WhatsApp messages suggest Davies carried out surveillance on Kwong's flat in Pontefract on 24 April 2024. This included knocking on her door and then secretly filming her and her son in their pyjamas when they answered it, a video which was shown to the court on Thursday. Atkinson said Kwong "did recall a man coming to her door" but "did not appreciate that this was the tentacles reaching her from Hong Kong". A few days later, on 30 April, a video played to the jury shows that Trickett and Dunn, dressed in black combats, led a group of people up the stairs in Kwong's block and down the corridor to her flat. Kwong's former boss, Tina Zou - who accused her of fraud - was also there, the court was told. She had flown in from Hong Kong that morning. The video shows that Trickett rapped several times on the door, with Zou looking on. But there was no reply. Later, he allegedly posted a note under the door saying: "Dear Resident. I knocked on your door today but there was no answer. We are checking all the residents' electricity boxes due to safety faults. I will return at 6.30pm. Thanks Dave. Maintenance Department." The prosecution said that next evening a group of people returned and Trickett poured water under her door, again saying he was "Dave from maintenance" who had come about "a leak". Again, nobody answered, and the jury were told that they would learn tomorrow that the door was forced later that night. After being arrested at Kwong's home on 1 May, Wai allegedly had his warrant card as a City of London special police officer and a second - fake - card identifying him as a superintendent. Trickett was found dead in May after he had been charged and given bail. Yuen and Wai both deny charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service, and foreign interference. Wai also denies a charge of misconduct in public office while conducting searches of Home Office databases. The trial is expected to last six or seven weeks. VIETNAM-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-POLITICS (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) David Taylor, the husband of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Joani Reid, was arrested on suspicion of spying for China Wednesday. Counter-terrorism police detectives in London arrested him on suspicion of helping a foreign intelligence service, according to The Guardian. Two other men were arrested on suspicion of supporting Chinese intelligence a 68-year-old in Powys, Wales, and a 43-year-old in Pontyclun, South Wales, The Telegraph reported. Searches were carried out at the properties where the arrests occurred, along with home addresses in London, East Kilbride and Cardiff, The Guardian reported. Taylor is the head of programmes at the Asia House think tank, which encourages engagement between Asia and Europe, according to the Telegraph. He is believed to have worked as a lobbyist for energy companies and as a special adviser to to the New Labour government, the outlet reported. I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law, Reid said in a statement, according to The Guardian. I am not part of my husbands business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all I expect media organisations to respect my childrens privacy, she continued. Advertisement Conservative MP Greg Stafford broached the matter at the House of Commons Wednesday, the outlet reported. [She] sits on a select committee that would have information which is sensitive, maybe even secret, he said. Security Minister Dan Jarvis confirmed the arrests pertained to China, but he could not provide additional details, The Guardian reported. We remain deeply concerned by an increasing pattern of covert activity from Chinese state-linked actors targeting UK democracy. This involves attempts to obtain information on UK policy-making and interfere with our sovereign affairs, Jarvis told the House of Commons. I can also confirm this relates to foreign interference targeting UK democracy, Jarvis said. If there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account, he continued. The Guardian reported that lead Commander of Counter-Terrorism Policing for Met Police, Helen Flanagan, also issued a statement. Todays arrests are part of a proactive investigation and while these are serious matters, we do not believe there to be any imminent or direct threat to the public relating to this, Flanagan said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives an update on the situation in the Middle East at Downing Street Briefing Room, in London, Britain, March 05, 2026. Jaimi Joy/Pool via REUTERS LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that four additional Typhoon fighter jets would be sent to Qatar as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, insisting that the UK has the right plan for defence. Britain's cautious response to the Iran crisis and a drone attack on its key military base in Cyprus have led to doubts among partners about its military effectiveness. U.S. President Donald Trump has also criticised Starmer for failing to provide sufficient support for his strikes on Iran. Starmer told a press conference Britain had the right plan and had already been pre-deploying military equipment across the region before the start of the war. Advertisement "My focus is providing calm, level headed leadership in the national interest," Starmer said. "That means deploying our military and diplomatic strength to protect our people, and it means having the strength to stand firm by our values and our principles, no matter the pressure to do otherwise." He said Britain was sending four additional typhoon jets to join the squadron in Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations there and in the region. "We have the right plan for defence," he said. (Reporting by William James, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Michael Holden) FILE PHOTO: People stand near the InterContinental hotel as the U.S.-mediated peace talks continue between Russia and Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland, February 18, 2026. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/ File Photo March 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine spoke to the United States about the possibility of postponing the next round of trilateral talks with Russia "for a while" and changing the location due to the spiraling Iran conflict, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. New negotiations to end the four-year-old war had been expected to take place in Abu Dhabi before the Gulf hub was targeted by Iranian strikes. Zelenskiy said this week that Kyiv was open to other locations, such as Turkey or Switzerland. "The next UkraineU.S.Russia trilateral meeting was planned for the period from March 5 to 9, depending on developments around the world. Currently, there is another war in the Middle East," Zelenskiy said on X, citing comments he gave in an interview with Italian network Rai Italia. "We spoke with the American side, since they are the party inviting Ukraine and Russia to the meeting, about the possibility of changing the location and postponing the meeting for a while due to the war in the Middle East." He added that Ukraine hoped the exchange of prisoners of war agreed in previous meetings would still proceed, and also repeated his criticism of Moscow's demand that Ukraine withdraw from the remaining 20% of its eastern Donetsk region. Russia has said Ukraine needs to give up control of the industrialised region which Russia has been unable to fully conquer, something which Kyiv has refused to do. The issue remains a key stumbling block in talks. Advertisement "Why should we leave our own land that we control? He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) has not succeeded on the battlefield. He has no strength," Zelenskiy said. "He wants us to believe him and simply withdraw from our well-fortified territories." Ukraine's outgunned and outmanned army has retaken territory in recent weeks, gaining more in February than it lost for the first time since 2023, according to the Finland-based Black Bird Group analysis team. Zelenskiy added that Russia might be supplying Iran with electronic components for its Shahed attack drones and called on Kyiv's allies to "share their information" on the matter. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Iran has not approached Russia for military assistance. (Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; editing by Philippa Fletcher) A view of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, which was shut since last month and has been reopened by Haitian authorities, even as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration watchdog extended a ban on U.S. airlines flying there, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it was extending its prohibition on U.S. flights landing in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince through September 3, citing risks from armed groups to civil aviation. In November 2024, the FAA halted all flights to Haiti after three U.S. commercial jetliners were struck by gunfire. It later allowed flights to resume to six other airports in northern Haiti, but kept the ban on Port-au-Prince. That restriction had been set to expire on Saturday, but the FAA said on Thursday it was extending the bar in response to security forces' continued inability to prevent attacks against aircraft in Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions. U.S. planes can transit over Port-au-Prince above 10,000 feet (3,048 m). Advertisement Armed gangs control much of the Haitian capital amid a political limbo, with no president in place or elections scheduled and a U.N.-backed expanded security force pending. Since September 2025, Haitian groups have used small-arms fire to attack at least three aircraft in the area where U.S. civil aviation is prohibited, according to the FAA. The FAA said an "expanded and shifted gang operating area raises the risk from small arms fire to civil aviation operations at lower altitudes." The agency continues to allow flights to six airports in Haiti: Port-de-Paix, Cap-Haitien, Pignon, Jeremie, Antoine-Simon and Jacmel. (Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) A U.S. Marines F-35C Lightning II is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives rejected an effort on Thursday to stop President Donald Trump's air war on Iran and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress, backing the Republican president's military campaign on the sixth day of the expanding conflict. The vote was 219 to 212, largely along party lines, in the House, where Trump's fellow Republicans control a narrow majority of seats. Two Republicans voted in favor of the resolution and four Democrats voted against it. Opponents accused Democrats of taking the issue to a vote only because they oppose Trump, putting Americans at increased risk. "We all know that we wouldn't be here today if the president's name wasn't Donald Trump," Representative Rick Crawford of Arizona, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said during debate on Wednesday. Sponsors of the resolution described it as a bid to take back Congress' responsibility to authorize war, as spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday, a conflict that has killed more than 1,000 people, including at least six U.S. service members, and caused damage and instability throughout the Middle East. Supporters said the resolution, by requiring Trump to come to Congress for a war authorization, would force him to explain to Americans why the U.S. is fighting and how it might end. Advertisement "This is a war of choice, launched by this administration without authorization, without clearly stated objectives or a defined endgame, and without explaining how they intend to keep Americans safe," said Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. APPROVAL WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED IRAN AIR WAR Just before the resolution vote, House members from both parties overwhelmingly passed a measure "Reaffirming Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism." The vote would not have stopped the conflict even if the House had voted yes. To go into effect, the resolution would also have had to pass the Senate and garner the two-thirds majorities needed to override Trump's expected veto. The Senate, also narrowly controlled by Trump's party, backed his military campaign against Iran in a vote on Wednesday, voting to block a bipartisan resolution similar to the measure passed by the House.The votes this week are not the end of the matter. The War Powers Resolution of 1973, which provides for votes on the resolutions, says a president can only involve the military in an armed conflict when Congress has declared war or provided specific authority or in response to an attack. Trump and his Republicans have argued that Iran posed an "imminent threat" so that his actions were legal under that law. However, the War Powers measure also requires unauthorized military actions to be terminated within 60 days, giving the Trump administration a deadline at the end of April to seek Congress' approval. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alistair Bell) Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez gestures as she stands next to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in Caracas, Venezuela, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria March 4 (Reuters) - Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Wednesday a reform of the country's main mining law will be submitted in coming days to the country's legislature, after a meeting in Caracas with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, where the two officials hailed cooperation on minerals and a shared desire to pave the way for investment. Burgum, who also heads the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, arrived in the South American country earlier on Wednesday with more than two dozen U.S. mining and minerals companies, which he said could represent billions in investment and thousands of high-paying jobs for Venezuela. The visit is part of a U.S. push to open Venezuela to American investment, especially in oil, gas and mining, as the Trump administration tries to exert more control over the country following a January U.S. raid that captured President Nicolas Maduro. It is the second visit by a U.S. cabinet secretary since the ouster of Maduro, who courted the likes of China and Russia as allies. In public, Trump has heaped praise on Rodriguez for cooperating with the U.S. and hailed her again on Wednesday, saying she is "doing a great job" and that oil was beginning to flow from the country. Rodriguez thanked Trump in her joint remarks alongside Burgum at the Miraflores presidential palace after their meeting. Despite the public support, behind the scenes, the Trump administration has been applying pressure to achieve its objectives. U.S. officials are threatening a legal case against Rodriguez that could include corruption and money laundering charges, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing four people familiar with the matter, and Washington is also pushing her to arrest or detain several former high-level party officials it may want extradited. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X that the Reuters story was completely false. Venezuela's communications ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the report. MINING LAW CHANGES EXPECTED The mining law, expected to include provisions that would allow foreign companies to exploit gold, diamonds and rare earths, will be proposed in the coming days, Rodriguez said, adding she hopes it will be passed swiftly. "We want the successful models of the hydrocarbons law to also be reflected in the mining sector," she said. Rodriguez said the meeting built on previous work with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who visited the country in February. She said the agenda focused on "metallic minerals, nonmetallic minerals, strategic and nonstrategic minerals". Energy topics would be covered in meetings on Thursday, she added. Advertisement Her brother Jorge Rodriguez is the head of the National Assembly and has already ushered through changes to oil regulations meant to stoke investment. Burgum is expected to meet with oil and gas companies on Thursday to discuss expansion and investment, two sources earlier told Reuters. "The opportunities for collaboration and synergy between our two great countries of Venezuela and the United States are unlimited," Burgum said. "I know Delcy (Rodriguez), like President Trump, wants to move to cut the red tape to allow that capital investment to flow." RARE EARTHS UNCONFIRMED Venezuela's current mining legislation dates to 1999. The South American country owes billions of dollars to industrial conglomerates, oil and mining companies after deep waves of nationalizations two decades ago, including to Crystallex, Gold Reserve and Rusoro Mining. Exploration has not yet taken place in Venezuela to confirm reserves of rare earths, a grouping of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion. Rare earths are a subset of critical minerals, the global supply of which is dominated by China. A report from the Venezuelan government in 2018 on mineral deposits used key mining industry terms like reserve and resource interchangeably, making it difficult to ascertain what the true measurements are. An official map published in 2021 showed reserves of antimony, copper, nickel, coltan, molybdenum, magnesium, silver, zinc, titanium, tungsten and uranium, but did not list volumes. As part of bilateral agreements, Iranian companies in past years have explored for mining resources in the country, but the work did not lead to investments. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Reuters; editing by David Gaffen) The United States launched operations against designated terrorist organizations on Tuesday alongside Ecuadorian forces inside the Latin American nation. The U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) did not disclose which terrorist groups it is targeting or the scope of the operations, but the development comes as the U.S. military has been blowing up alleged drug-trafficking boats in both the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since early September. We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the commander of Southcom, said in a statement released late Tuesday. Since Sept. 2, 2025, the U.S. military has conducted at least 44 strikes and has killed a minimum of 150 narco-terrorists in both the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. U.S. officials have argued that they are blowing up drug-trafficking vessels, helping stem the flow of illegal drugs in the region. Law-of-war experts have said that the lethal strikes violate international law. In early January, U.S. forces performed a successful raid in Caracas, capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and bringing him to New York to face drug-smuggling charges. Advertisement Ecuadors President Daniel Noboa said on Monday that Washington was among regional allies in a new chapter of Ecuadors battle against drug cartels. About 70 percent of the worlds cocaine goes through Ecuadorian ports, Noboa said. In September, following Secretary of State Marco Rubios trip to Ecuador, the U.S. government designated two Ecuadorian criminal groups, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organizations. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. US-IRAN-ECONOMY-OIL-MARKETS Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to hit a U.S. oil tanker in the northern part of the Gulf as the war brings global oil supplies through the all-important Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC had warned that any vessels, military or commercial, linked to the U.S., Israel or supporting European countries will not be allowed to pass through the Strait, the narrow body of water between Iran and Oman - with Iran's new Ayatollah vowing to 'shed Trump's blood' in a chilling televised address. "If they are observed, they will certainly be hit," the IRGC said in its statement. It comes as a haunting new map reveals the 4 safest US states to live in during a nuclear war. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that the U.S. tanker was anchored off the coast of Kuwait when it was hit on Wednesday morning. Oil is gushing into the water and an environmental impact is feared. Witnesses say they heard a large explosion and saw a small craft leave the area. There are no reports of fire and the crew are all safe. "We had previously said that, based on international laws and resolutions, in times of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz," IRGC said, Iran's Tasnim News reports. Twenty per cent of the world's oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz (Image: Getty) The Tasnim news agency issued a warning about Iran's response to US-Israeli strikes, stating: "Everyone must comply with this." Advertisement It comes after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, leaving hundreds dead. Iran has threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region. Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted US bases. The Israeli military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs. The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran on Wednesday. In the face of such attacks Iranian state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be delayed. Iran has effectively closed the Strait to oil and gas exports since the war erupted. Lloyd's List Intelligence reported that seaborne traffic had dropped by 80 per cent by Sunday. Despite the alarming drop in traffic, Tehran's capacity to attack ships has been hammered by US strikes. The US Central Command (Centcom) say they have sunk or crippled all 11 of the ships the navy had operating in the Gulf of Oman. It comes after a chilling Doomsday nuclear map showed how fast US citizens would die from an explosion. ]]> The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agencys headquarters in Vienna, Austria, January 30, 2026. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl By Francois Murphy VIENNA, March 5 (Reuters) - The United States joined Russia, China, and Niger on Thursday in opposing a resolution adopted by the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board denouncing attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as a threat to nuclear safety, diplomats said. The resolution, passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors, is the seventh on Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbour four years ago. This is the first time the United States has opposed one. "While we continue supporting the IAEA's work in-country, we do not support the Board's current consideration of an unnecessary resolution that does not help achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia," the United States said in its statement to the board before the vote. U.S. President Donald Trump has in the past year pressured Ukraine for a quick peace deal that could involve ceding land to Russia. Ukraine has ruled out giving up territory. Advertisement The IAEA board passed the resolution with 20 votes in favour, including France, Britain, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Argentina, 10 abstentions and the four votes against, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said. Brazil, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia were among the abstentions. The resolution's wording was not as strong as previous ones. The text seen by Reuters said the board "reemphasizes that attacks targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for the off-site power supply of nuclear power plants, including at the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant), represent a direct threat to nuclear safety and security". The move follows the United States' abstention at the U.N. General Assembly on the anniversary of the invasion in February when it passed a resolution supporting Ukraine, backing its international borders and voicing concern over intensifying Russian attacks on civilians and critical energy infrastructure. That resolution passed with 107 countries voting in favour, 12 against, and 51 abstentions. The United States said at the time that the General Assembly resolution included language likely to distract from ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. (Reporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Andrei Khalip) Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in the parliament in London, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) LONDON (AP) Opposition politicians accused U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday of weakening Britains special relationship with the United States by differing from U.S. President Donald Trump over Iran and drawing his ire. Trump on Tuesday called Britain uncooperative and slammed Starmer as not Winston Churchill after Starmer initially rebuffed a U.S. request to use U.K. bases for attacks on Iran. The prime minister later said American planes could use bases in England and on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to strike Iranian missile systems that are targeting British allies in the Middle East. Trump remains annoyed, and Starmer is bracing to see whether the presidents anger has an impact on trans-Atlantic ties and trade. Not all smooth sailing Churchill set the tone for the post-World War II trans-Atlantic bond by declaring during a 1946 speech at Westminster College in Missouri that there was a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States. That relationship has been sustained over the decades by a common language, shared interests, military cooperation and cultural affection. Sometimes that has been bolstered by close personal bonds, such as the friendship between Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, or between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton in the 1990s. There have also been periods of strain. In 1956, Israel, Britain and France attempted to seize control of the Suez Canal after its nationalization by Egypt. Their forces eventually withdrew after U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhowers administration refused to back the effort and threatened sanctions. It was a stark reminder of Britains waning power and American ascendancy on the world stage. A decade later, relations hit a new low when British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resisted pressure from U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to join the Vietnam War. Blair was seeking to avoid a similar rift when he sent British troops to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 based on what turned out to be faulty intelligence about Saddam Husseins alleged weapons of mass destruction. The conflict killed 179 British troops, around 4,500 American personnel and many thousands of Iraqis. Blairs decision remains one of the most controversial by a British leader in decades. Starmer keeping cool head Center-left leader Starmer has forged surprisingly cordial relations with Trump since the presidents return to office in 2025, but friction between the two leaders has been building for months. Trumps threat to take over Greenland was denounced by Starmer and other European leaders earlier this year. Recently, Trump has condemned Britains agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands, home to the Diego Garcia base, to Mauritius, despite his administration earlier backing the deal. Starmer has strongly implied that he considers the war on Iran illegal and said his government doesnt believe in regime change from the skies. Advertisement Cabinet minister James Murray said Starmer was acting with a cool head," and argued that Britains relationship with the U.S. remains historic, long-lasting and deep. But political opponents and critics in the media claim that Starmer is sidelining the U.K. at a critical time, even after an Iranian-made drone struck a British air force base on Cyprus, causing no injuries. The right-leaning Daily Mail proclaimed: Starmer takes the Great out of Britain. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Wednesday in the House of Commons that Starmer should have declared support for the U.S.-Israeli offensive, and Conservative lawmaker Gareth Bacon accused the prime minister of a dithering and equivocal response" to events. Starmer replied that "American planes are operating out of British bases. That is the special relationship in action. British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That is the special relationship in action. Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That is the special relationship in action. Hanging on to President Trumps latest words is not the special relationship in action. UK hopes Trump's anger is temporary The U.S. president's moods can be fleeting, and British officials hope this latest squall will blow over quickly. Trumps threat this week to cut of trade with Spain after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the strikes on Iran as unjustifiable and dangerous shows how high the stakes can be. The U.K. deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, which Britain says is crucial to securing the future of the Diego Garcia base, is on hold until U.S. backing is secured. A trade deal signed by Trump and Starmer with great fanfare in May still hasn't been finalized, and has been cast into doubt by Trumps recent tariff pronouncements. Peter Ricketts, a former U.K. national security adviser, said that Trump appears to want completely blind loyalty from allies, and had launched an unfair broadside against Starmer. But he said that British authorities shouldnt overreact. I think the prime minister should keep calm and carry on, he told the BBC. A woman pays for gas at a Shell station as the price of oil and gas has surged amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno By Jarrett Renshaw March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce measures as soon as Thursday aimed at combating rising energy prices, including potential action involving the oil futures market, a senior White House official said. The potential move would mark an unusual attempt by Washington to influence energy prices through financial markets, rather than physical oil supplies, as officials race to blunt the political and economic impact of rising fuel costs. Advertisement Brent crude has jumped to roughly $85 a barrel amid fears the conflict could disrupt flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries about a fifth of global oil shipments, while U.S. gasoline prices have climbed above $3 per gallon. A Treasury spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw, Editing by Franklin Paul and Cynthia Osterman) Virginias Supreme Court on Wednesday gave another green light for a special election to put Democrats redistricting plan before voters in the state this spring. The court ruled, for a second time, that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21, giving voters a chance to weigh a constitutional amendment on mid-decade redistricting that could give Democrats a boost ahead of the midterms. Early voting begins March 6. Virginia Democrats hold six of the states 11 congressional districts, but their plans for a redrawn map could give them as many as four pickup opportunities as the party looks to take back control of Congress this fall. If approved, the new map would temporarily take effect mid-decade, bypassing the states redistricting commission. The Virginia Supreme Courts latest ruling acknowledges issues of grave concern to the court regarding the process employed by the states General Assembly in an effort to submit a proposed constitutional amendment, according to the filing from the court. But the court declined to offer an opinion on the ultimate resolution as it lifted a block on the vote. Advertisement It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision, the court said. Im proud of the decisive action my office took to immediately bring this case before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the proper forum to consider these claims. We moved quickly to protect the orderly administration of this election. The Courts order is clear: the referendum election will proceed, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) said in a statement. Virginia state House Speaker Don Scott (D) said in a statement to the Virginia Mercury that the decision ensures that this referendum will move forward and that Virginians will have the opportunity to make their voices heard. Former President Obama weighed in on Thursday, encouraging Virginia voters to support the initiative. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, theyre under attack. Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections, he said on the social platform X. Now Virginia has a chance to help level the playing field. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of trying to "hide behind" a court order to explain why the state resumed payments to Feeding Our Future (FOF), a nonprofit at the center of a massive pandemic-era child nutrition fraud scheme. "Why didnt you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?" Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday. The exchange centered on Walzs past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns. Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governors characterization of the events. 'Tip Of The Iceberg': Senate Republicans Press Gov Walz Over Minnesota Fraud Scandal Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, left, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attend a hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. (Getty Images) "On September 22, 2022, Governor Tim Walz told the media that the Minnesota Department of Education attempted to end payments to FOF because of possible fraud, but that Judge Guthmann ordered payments to continue in April 2021. That is also false," the release stated. Read On The Fox News App "As the public court record and Judge Guthmanns orders make plain, Judge Guthmann never issued an order requiring the MN Department of Education to resume food reimbursement payments to FOF." During the hearing, Jordan read from the judges statement and pressed Walz directly. Minnesota Gop Lawmaker Urges Congress To Press Walz At Fraud Hearing: 'Real Issues To Deal With' Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. "So either youre lying or the courts lying. And Im just asking you which one is it?" Jordan said. Walz responded that his understanding at the time was based on legal advice from within the agency. "The agency believed that the court had required them to make those payments," Walz said, arguing the attorneys at the Department of Education interpreted it differently. Advertisement James Comer To Accuse Tim Walz Of Being 'Asleep At The Wheel' At Fraud Hearing "I just simply know what the attorneys at the agency believe that it was a misinterpretation," he added. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives for a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. Jordan rejected that explanation, telling the governor: "Youre trying to hide behind some pretend court order. Some court order that didnt exist." The Justice Department announced in November that a 36-year-old Minnesota man was charged with wire fraud and money laundering, becoming the 78th defendant charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Minnesota House Speaker Warns Americans Will Be 'Shocked' By Scope Of Fraud Crisis Federal prosecutors have said the scheme involved more than $250 million in stolen taxpayer funds intended to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Oversight Committee said on Jan. 7 that the Justice Department has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announces a major COVID-related fraud case in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, detailing charges against the director of Feeding Our Future and 46 others in what prosecutors call a massive scheme to steal more than $250 million meant to feed children during the pandemic. Walz told Jordan during the hearing that he didnt know how many people were indicted in his state. "I don't have those numbers with me," he said. Click Here To Download The Fox News App The governor, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election, acknowledged that Minnesotas programs are not immune from fraud. "I'll be the first to acknowledge that," he told lawmakers. "But let me be clear. In Minnesota, if you defraud public programs, if you steal taxpayer money, we'll find you, we'll prosecute you, we'll convict you, and we'll throw you in jail." Original article source: Walz accused by Jordan of trying to hide behind court order in Feeding Our Future payments A Hippo meets a Crocodile in the Zambezi River Patrick Messier/Shutterstock.com Watch the Video Click here to watch on YouTube Quick Take A massive hippo calmly displaces five Nile crocodiles from a fresh kill in Kenyas Maasai Mara. Adult hippos dominate shared waterways and rarely back down from crocodiles. Both hippos and Nile crocodiles rank among Africas most dangerous large animals. While the lion may be the king of the jungle in the wide open plains of Africa, the boss is a different story. Whether you are a fierce lion, aggressive crocodile, or stealthy cheetah, they all have one thing in common. If the hippo boss says, Move along, they move along. We see this happening with not one, not two, but five crocodiles! Hippopotamus Sighting in Kenya The above YouTube video takes us to Kenya, Africa. Within Kenya, we are at the Maasai Mara, which is a National Reserve. This video was uploaded by the YouTube page Maasai Sightings. This channel is a leading resource for wildlife in Africa. They share their description of what happened in this video below. Although crocodiles are large, powerful creatures, they cannot kill a fully-grown hippo. Hippos are large, round animals that are much taller than crocodiles with far more deadlier teeth. The only place they would be vulnerable to attack is their legs. The Boss of Africa At the start of this video, we see a small group of crocodiles that are feeding on an animal that they have killed. Most likely, this animal was striving to either cross this river and got caught, or it was drinking water, and the crocodiles rushed in and grabbed the prey. Its not long before the boss, the hippopotamus, comes strutting up to them. We see the hippo quietly nudging them along. He doesnt need to be aggressive by any means. Because this boss has gained the respect, or rather fear, of these crocodiles, who know he is too big to mess with. At about 39 seconds into the video, we see they offer some research behind the hippo and crocodile. The hippo is more dangerous than the croc and has more deadly teeth. Due to their massive size and aggressive nature, crocodiles find it hard to attack a hippo. Advertisement Is It Normal Behavior For Crocodiles and Hippos to Fight? Saltwater crocodiles are not as aggressive as hippos. Firepac/Shutterstock.com (Firepac/Shutterstock.com) Crocodiles and hippos share the same habitat, so it is possible they might fight over various reasons; however, it isnt common. Additionally, the hippopotamus is known for its aggressive nature and holds the title of being the deadliest large land mammal on Earth. In Africa, its estimated that hippo attacks claim the lives of approximately 500 people each year. Their danger doesnt solely stem from their imposing size and weight, but also from their remarkably sharp teeth. Furthermore, its a fact that crocodile attacks on humans can and do occur, but these incidents remain relatively rare. There are about 1,000 crocodile attacks on humans annually, leading to around 200 fatalities. Both Nile crocodiles and hippos are responsible for hundreds of human deaths in Africa each year. Exact numbers vary due to underreporting, but both species are considered among the continents most dangerous large animals. Why Do Hippos Open Their Mouths So Wide? Hippos have 36 teeth. Nick Greaves/Shutterstock.com (Nick Greaves/Shutterstock.com) Bosses of Africa are threatening to other animals by size alone. Weighing between 2,200 and 9,900 pounds and reaching up to 16 feet is enough to make any animal second-guess challenging them. However, every once in a while, we see a predator, typically an apex predator like a crocodile or lion, that wishes to try to step up. And when that happens, we see hippos open their mouths very wide. According to the Kruger Park, hippo bulls frequently open their mouths wide as a show of dominance. Whether intentionally or not, this shows off their weaponry. Watch the Video Click here to watch the video. The post Watch a 4,000-Pound Hippo Casually Chase Off Five Crocs in Kenyas Maasai Mara appeared first on A-Z Animals. Few places on the planet matter more to the global economy than the Strait of Hormuz. Just about 21 miles wide at its narrowest, the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman is a global energy choke point. The waterway carries roughly 20 million barrels a day and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas, making it a top-value target when conflict in the region erupts. Thats why the latest disruption, triggered by U.S.-Israeli strikes over the weekend and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks across the region, is forcing shippers to rethink whether its safe to transit the key waterway. NEW SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW FIRES & WIDESPREAD DAMAGE ACROSS IRAN AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES A satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point for global energy supply, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. "You've essentially had the Strait of Hormuz grind down to a halt," explained Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, a data and analytics firm. He said the slowdown isnt necessarily because Iran has formally closed the waterway, though Tehran has threatened to, but because shippers are weighing the risk of missile or drone strikes in the narrow corridor. Read On The Fox News App Gas Prices Could Jump As Middle East Tensions Threaten Global Oil Supply The result, Smith said, is a growing bottleneck of crude and refined products. And if the disruption stretches from days into weeks, Smith warned, the fallout could intensify quickly. "If this drags on for weeks, the ramifications are huge," he said, pointing to early ripple effects already emerging in global energy markets. Advertisement Those concerns are already changing behavior in the shipping industry. Maersk, widely regarded as a bellwether for global ocean freight, said it will suspend all vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz until further notice and warned service to Arabian Gulf ports could be delayed. Insurers are also retreating. Major maritime insurers, including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club and the American Club, said they will cancel war-risk coverage starting this week. Under the changes, war-risk coverage would be excluded in Iranian waters and across the Gulf and nearby waters, the notices said. Click Here To Download The Fox News App A vessel is seen near the Strait of Hormuz on March 1, 2026. (Getty Images) With ships sidelined and insurance tightening, the strain is now showing up on the production side. The disruptions are also hitting production on the ground. Qatar on Monday halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after Iran struck two of its gas facilities. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, suspended operations at its largest oil refinery after an Iranian drone attack sparked a fire. Smith said the knock-on effects are spreading quickly: Iraq is starting to curb output, some Asian refineries are cutting runs, and Qatar has declared force majeure, a formal notification to buyers that it may not be able to deliver exports as promised because of the conflict. "This is only going to escalate if this continues for weeks rather than days," Smith said, warning oil prices could surge into "levels weve never seen before" if the disruption drags on. Original article source: Watch shipping through the Strait of Hormuz grind to a halt amid Iran conflict An injured manatee mom and her baby are safe after a successful Southwest Florida rescue mission. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to an incident in which a mother manatee was hit by a propeller more than 20 times. Her baby refused to leave her side so, with assistance from the Cape Coral Police Department, the FWC rescued them together. Video footage shows the moments that at least 10 people helped hoist up the mama manatee onto a boat with a net. The Cape Coral Police Department assisted the FWC in rescuing an injured manatee mother who was hit by a propeller nearly two dozen times. This rescue mission comes less than one month after at least 30 manatees died in the Orange River of Lee County. FWC is the state agency charged with protecting manatees, which are listed as a threatened species. Biologists estimate there are between 8,000 and 12,000 manatees in Florida waters. Manatees are a protected species per the federal Endangered Species Act. Advertisement Population growth over the past decade allowed for the species to be reclassified from being an endangered species to a threatened species in 2017, according to the FWC. Being struck by boats is a large reason for manatee fatalities. According to the FWC, more than 90% of manatees sustain injuries from watercrafts in their lifetimes. It is "exceedingly rare for an adult manatee to not be struck multiple times in its life," according to a study by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Manatees move through the Orange River in Fort Myers on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Manatees seek the warm waters at Manatee Park when cold temperatures blanket the area. Warm waters from the Florida Power & Light plant flow through Manatee Park and attracts the sea cows . These manatees were moving out of the park. There is no food source in the river or near Manatee Park, so they have to travel back to the estuary for the grasses they feed on. Collisions with boats result in both sharp and blunt force trauma, which can result in death. These incidents account for at least 20-25% of reported manatee mortalities. To report a distressed or dead manatee, call the FWC at 888-404-3922. Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com. Please support Southwest Florida community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FWC rescues injured manatee mom, baby after brutal propeller strike MAGDALENA MARTIN Last September, I was lucky enough to spend four days shopping the antique markets of the City of Light with the team of the Atlanta- and Paris-based firm Huff Harrington. Lets just say days of antique shopping in and around Paris with a group of designers and shop owners were a dream come true. Meg Harrington and Ann Huff made it such a seamless experience, and they also host trips to Provence and trips for design enthusiasts, not just those in the industry. Here, Im sharing all the details and the tips I learned along the way, so you can start planning your own shopping extravaganza in Paris. (And for more antiquing how-tos, our complete guide has tons of great tips as well.) MAGDALENA MARTIN Meg and Ann are the perfect pair to lead this tripAnn lives in Paris full-time, and Meg is frequently going back and forth. Occurring twice a year in March and September to line up with certain markets, the trip was a crash course in sourcing antiques overseas. Years of hunting through European markets have taught us so much that it felt natural to share it, Meg and Ann say. As our business grew and we began to understand the complexities of shopping abroad, we realized we had real value to offer designers, retailers, and consumers. Our clients love the access, our vendors love the new connections, and we genuinely love the adventure. Its one of those rare situations where everyone truly wins. Ann adds, Paris is made up of so many different markets that range from smalls like silverware and jewelry to hugewe have shipped giant kitchen islands and massive chandeliers. We like exposing our clients to a large variety of high and low, big and small, and we know theyll always find something special. And when it reaches them back home, its more than a purchaseits a memory and a story, for years to come. Day One: Foire de Chatou MAGDALENA MARTIN Foire de Chatou happens twice a year, and its an incredible treasure trove of antiques. There is a professional day at the beginning of the week, and then its open to the publicso the Huff Harrington team makes sure you get in early to get the best picks of the lot. Because of their strong ties to France, both Ann and Meg speak perfect French, and they also know it all when it comes to shopping in France, making the entire experience seamless and informative. Meg and Ann also help you gauge whats worth the spend, the provenance of the piece, and that its in good condition: all the musts when sourcing antiques overseas. Designers get a crash course in European sourcing, says Ann. We help them find what theyre looking for, negotiate for it, caution them on the value, and even walk them through pricing strategy if they plan to sell it on the other end. And because we ship as a group, they save significantly on freight. Its part education, part mentorship, part insider accessand it all adds up to a huge advantage for their business. The fair at Chatou is just outside Paris (its an easy RER train ride), and its worth the trip. Painted furniture, perfect-condition rattan seating, art, textiles, porcelain, a mix of very high-end and more humble antiques are all there, and the dealers come from all over France. I found marbled obelisks that are going on my mantel, and the lovely dealers who sold them to me were incredibly charming (which, of course, helped speed up the sale!). The fair also has some charming restaurants for lunch (the grounds were originally a pork market, so theres lots of jambon dishes and seafood like warm mussels and frites!), as well as cider, coffee, and mulled wine stands to warm up in between shopping. Pro tip: Wear comfortable shoes and layers for the weather. Advertisement Day Two: Les Puces Flea Market MAGDALENA MARTIN The next day, our group hit the basement of Les Puces, the iconic Paris flea market made of many different marches that are known for different types of antiques. Some dealers have workshops just below Les Puces, where they store extra furniture or make repairs before bringing pieces up to their space. It was very special to be able to shop here because most designers or shoppers dont even know it exists, and it felt like a behind-the-scenes peek into the Parisian antiques world! MAGDALENA MARTIN After basement shopping, we headed upstairs to Marche Jules Valles, where there are endless booths of antiques. I was eyeing a small mirror for my hallway, but ended up not pulling the trigger. Other shoppers in our group found great dining tables. After that, we headed over to Paul Bert Serpette, which is one of the more famous and well-curated sections of Les Puces with outstanding antiques. We saw some incredible outdoor furniture and planters, tramp art, Palissy majolica, and of course, more rattan. Day Three: Vanves Flea Market RICCARDO MILANI - Getty Images On the third day (Sunday), Meg and Ann took us to the Vanves flea market, which is just a simple metro ride away in the northern part of the city in the 14th Arrondissement. This market, which happens every Saturday and Sunday morning, is a mile-long walk of tables and tables of small items that individual sellers and vendors set up themselves. It feels truly like a local experience because Parisians are there with their children, dogs, and morning coffee, shopping as well. For the goods, think tableware, jewelry, objects, art, books, toys, and silver. I found a coral-studded North Africanmade mirror there (that is now hanging in my hallwaysuccess!). Afterward, our group went back to Les Puces to do more flea-market shopping at Paul Bert Serpette. Day Four: Les Marches Biron, Dauphin, and Vernaison Within Les Puces On our last day, we explored the other marches of Les Puces. Marche Biron is a high-end market within Les Puces, with aisles that are more gallery-style and curated; think chandeliers, brass side tables, and Venetian mirrors. (Hot tip: The back alley is less trafficked, and there are treasures there to be unearthed!) The day we wandered through, there was a mix of Rolling Stones and French rock n roll playing while we shopped, which was a really fun juxtaposition to the Rococo- and Empire-style furniture youll see. Another one not to missMarche Dauphinfeatures lots of ceramics, tabletop, rugs, and smalls (as Meg and Ann have dubbed the items you can fit in a suitcase to take home!). Finally, Marche Vernaison offers winding alleys full of art (there were lots of still-life paintings I regret not taking home), furniture, rugs, hotel silver, linens, and copper cookware. Its the oldest of the markets and certainly is a sensory overload on the charm, with its wisteria-covered stalls and antiques spilling out into the alleyways. And the vendorsat all the marketsreally know their wares, which is another education in itself. We always encourage our clients to engage with the vendorsthey know so much about what theyre selling and are experts in their respective eras, says Meg. Its amazing what you pick up when you let passionate people share their stories. You Might Also Like A vote on President Donald Trumps plans for a $400 million White House ballroom was rescheduled after a commission in charge of deciding the project was deluged with more than 35,000 written comments and 104 people wanting to testify at a public hearing. Will Scharf, chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission who was appointed by Trump, said at the public hearing on March 5 that the vote would be taken at the commission's next meeting on April 2 to accommodate every member of the public who had signed up for a chance to speak. The NCPC, the overseer of federal property development and site designs, continued to hold the online public hearing on March 5 to hear from droves of people most of them with negative opinion signed up to speak or reached out via email. Stephen Staudigl, spokesperson for the NCPC, told USA TODAY that the vast majority of responses received via email have expressed negative opinions about the ballroom, and a USA TODAY cursory review found many angry responses, calling the ballroom idea gaudy, expensive, aggrandizing and unnecessary. The commission's public meeting offered a window into the publics view of the project, which led to the demolition of the White House's East Wing. Apart from Scharf, the White House staff secretary, the 12-member commission board also includes two other White House officials. 1 / 0 See new renderings of massive 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Bryan Clark Green, an architectural historian, was among the first to speak during the online hearing. He said the current plan for the 90,000 square foot ballroom would "permanently and adversely" alter the character of the White House complex. "The three cascading south stairs have no precedent on the campus and rival the South Porticos more modest steps. The proposed east and south porticos, with large Corinthian columns, compete with the Executive Mansions smaller, finer Ionic order," he said. "Column size, count, and spacing draw attention from the Mansion rather than frame it. These are not programmatic necessities; they are choices." He said the NCPC should require removal of nonessential features and mandate "revisions to orders, proportions, and spacing so the addition supports, rather than overshadows, the historic core." Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. People from across the nation sent written comments by email to the planning commission after it solicited comments. An online portal, which opened Feb. 12, also allowed people to register to speak. Since Trump's ballroom project was first announced by the White House in July, it has undergone numerous changes on financing, seating capacity and cost. The price tag jumped from $200 million to $400 million, and the ballroom is now expected to accommodate 1,000 people. Many citizens object to the ballroom "How could he just 'do that' without consent from you or Congress? PLEASE don't let him get away with him building this addition, gold plated monstrosity as it will be a replica of his 'gold plated lifestyle' which is disgusting," Penny Jarret wrote. The project was "initiated without the proper authorization, permits, or design review. It is not a modernization project but rather a complete razing of American history. I want this project canceled, and the East Wing rebuilt and restored to its former design," Patricia Abrego wrote. Ongoing construction on the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trumps proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington, D.C., October 20, 2025. "The East Wing ballroom is unnecessary beyond the pale," Tim Cobb wrote. "This Presidents insecurity and insatiable narcissism is nakedly apparent in this project, to say nothing of his absurd Arch de Trump. I could not disagree more with this boondoggle." Last month, the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel whose members Trump appointed in January, unanimously approved a plan for a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The two commissions are the only two agencies charged with reviewing construction of the controversial project. A demolition crew takes apart the facade of the East Wing of the White House, where President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington on Oct. 21, 2025. Commission of Fine Arts Secretary Thomas Luebke said 99% of the 2,000 comments it received had been negative. Similarly, the National Capital Planning Commission "received a substantial number of public comments on the project, the majority in opposition to the project," Staudigl told USA TODAY. Finding positive comments in the reams of paper was the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack. But they do exist. Anne Nieman, a supporter of the project, wrote that her father had been a prominent preservation architect in Alabama. President Donald Trump observes construction work on his new ballroom prior to a meeting with oil company executives at the White House on Jan. 9, 2026. "A grand ballroom for the White House has been a vision of many past administrations. It is, frankly, an embarrassment that world leaders come to the greatest country on earth only to be welcomed in a giant wedding tent with porta-potties, no matter how fancily they may be outfitted," she wrote. "Taxpayers should be grateful that private contributors who have been very successful in America are willing to donate the funds to bring this much needed addition to our capital complex. It will provide enhanced security and comfort for our leaders and guests and show them the dignity deserved in grand American style." Advertisement Greg Sullivan, a landscape architect, wrote in favor of the presidents project. "I voted for our president and what he is bringing to the White House," Sullivan wrote. "He will do an awesome job on this much needed addition useful by all subsequent administrations." White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf attends a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026. After the East Wing was demolished in October, without warning and leading to a public outcry, the White House argued that under federal law the 12-member capital planning commission reviews only construction projects, not demolitions of existing buildings. Most Americans oppose Trumps plans to construct a 90,000 square-foot ballroom, according to a poll taken the week after the demolition of the East Wing. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found 56% of Americans oppose the demolition and ballroom project including 45% who said they "strongly oppose" it. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents said they support the plans. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires reviews of projects that affect most historic buildings, but the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol are exempt. Shalom Baranes, whose architecture firm is leading the ballroom project, shows a presentation during a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction, saying that the project needs congressional approval and that its size would "overwhelm the White House itself." The case was rejected by a federal judge, who said the organization did not sufficiently prove the president was exceeding his powers. Rather, it based its challenge "on a ragtag group of theories" under federal law and the Constitution. Still, he said, the court would consider additional efforts if the group decided to amend its complaint. The preservation group has followed up by filing an amended lawsuit accusing the administration of violating federal laws by proceeding without obtaining the required approvals. During the public hearing on March 5, Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, urged the NCPC board members to move deliberately. "That you engage seriously with ideas offered by the tens of thousands of architects, planners, scholars, and patriotic citizens who have submitted comments. These people are worth hearing out. The American people have good ideas," she said. "We know you can build a 1,000-person ballroom that, unlike the plan currently under review, truly honors the iconic status, the primacy, and the historic significance of the Peoples House. Comments submitted to you show how this could be done." Trumps team countered in court that the president did not need approval from lawmakers because the project is not using taxpayer dollars and instead is being funded by private donations. Democratic lawmakers have raised alarms about accepting money from companies with business before the federal government. "Trumps gold-encrusted ballroom has become a vehicle for corruption," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. Donors include Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Meta, according to a list provided by the White House. Kathleen McCleary of Norther Virginia asked in her written comments: "Why do we the people have no say in this? Why are we concerned with a giant ballroom for lavish parties when the wealth gap in this country is enormous? This project should be STOPPED." This story has been updated to add new information. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New date for vote on White House ballroom amid spate of angry comments Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images The White House recently confirmed that the US went to war with Iran because of President Donald Trumps feelings. On February 28, the President announced that the US had launched a military operation against Iran along with Israel. He further stated that the step was taken to protect the country from the threat of the Iranian regime. US vs. Iran happened because Donald Trump had a feeling In a recent press release, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the reason behind the United States and Israel launching a joint military operation against Iran. In a video that was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Leavitt spoke about what motivated the US Presidents decision. She stated that Donald Trump had a feeling, again based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the United States, was going to strike our assets in the region. And he made a determination to launch Operation Epic Fury based on all of that. Leavitt: The president had a feeling, again, based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the US. pic.twitter.com/qT1OQsY1RP Acyn (@Acyn) March 4, 2026 Leavitts statement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the US executed the operation after it learned of Israels plans to strike Iran. According to News Republic, Rubio said on Capitol Hill, It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyonethe United States, or Israel, or anyonethey were going to respond and respond against the United States. Advertisement The Press Secretary continued, We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties, and perhaps even higher those killed. Although it suggested that Israel had persuaded the US to take action, Trump denied this in a Q&A with reporters at the White House after Rubios statement. Q: Did Israel force your hand? TRUMP: No. It was my opinion Iran was going to attack first. ? (IRANS FM EARLIER: What imminent threat? Were we invading the shores of ??? Sending missiles to the White House? Rubio says they entered on behalf of Israel.) pic.twitter.com/mBk6Hwut6d The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 3, 2026 Trump stated, I might have forced their hand. We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. If we didnt do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. Originally reported by Ishita Verma on Mandatory. The post White House Says US Bombed Iran Because Donald Trump Had a Feeling appeared first on Reality Tea. China to further boost consumption 09:28, March 05, 2026 By WANG KEJU ( China Daily Journalists work at a news conference of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, one day ahead of the opening of the annual session. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY China will ramp up efforts to boost consumption this year by combining both supply-side and demand-side measures, fostering a robust domestic market that will not only propel sustainable growth of the world's second-largest economy, but also contribute to global economic recovery, said officials and economists. "We will expand the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services," said Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, while addressing a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, a day before the opening of the annual NPC session. China will accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers for service consumption, while optimizing the consumer goods trade-in program to promote the expansion and upgrading of goods consumption, Lou said. The nation will also work to create an internationalized consumption environment, diversify consumption scenarios and successfully organize a series of "Shopping in China" events, he added. Xiong Yi, chief economist for China at Deutsche Bank, noted that boosting consumption remains the primary task of China's macroeconomic policy agenda this year, with unlocking the potential of service consumption a "critical priority". Through a coordinated policy mix that includes removing supply-side restrictions across the service sector, enriching consumption scenarios and tweaking the holiday schedule to increase people's leisure time, China's consumption potential in areas such as tourism, health and elderly care is set to be fully unleashed, Xiong said. Lou, the NPC spokesman, said the government will promote high-quality employment and formulate income growth plans for urban and rural residents to enhance their spending power. Authorities will steadily advance the equalization of basic public services and improve systems for education, child care, elderly care and medical security, to "reduce people's worries about consumption", he said. Lou added that the Standing Committee of the NPC will formulate laws on social assistance, medical security and child care services this year, and promote the allocation of more resources to areas related to people's livelihoods, so that they are "able, willing and confident" to spend. Officials and economists said they expect China's expanding consumer market to translate into opportunities for businesses worldwide and contribute to global economic recovery. Lou said that China's middle-income group is expected to grow beyond 800 million people over more than a decade, creating a prime application scenario for the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation. "China was, is, and will always remain an ideal, secure and promising investment destination for foreign businesses," he said. Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of TCP Group, the Thai conglomerate behind the energy drink brand Red Bull, said that China's measures to expand high-standard opening-up have given foreign enterprises "greater confidence", deepening their presence in the Chinese market. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Wu Chaolan) A TV screen shows a live broadcast of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as he delivers an institutional statement to address the latest international developments, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would cut off all trade with Spain after the European country refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran, at a house in Ronda, Spain, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Jon Nazca WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday that Spain has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military after President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade, but Spain denied making such a deal. Trump on Tuesday had vowed to sever trade with Madrid over its stance against the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Asked about the issue on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had been told that Spain had relented. "I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear. It is my understanding over the past several hours they've agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military," Leavitt told a news briefing. She did not elaborate. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denied Spain had made such an agreement. Advertisement "I categorically deny it. I heard about these statements on my way here, and I've had time to look into them and listen to them a little," Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. "The Spanish government's position on the war in the Middle East and the bombing of Iran regarding the use of our bases has not changed at all. Therefore, I categorically and sincerely deny it. I have no idea what this could refer to or where it could have come from." Trump floated imposing a trade embargo on Madrid over its refusal to allow U.S. aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. Spain has denounced the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal. Spain "will not be vassals" to another country, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Wednesday. In a televised address earlier, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated Spain's anti-war stance, warning that the conflict risked triggering a major global disaster. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Jesus Aguado in Madrid; Editing by David Ljunggren and Daniel Wallis) The United States' military operations in Ecuador mark an embrace of past American strategies fighting drug traffickers in Latin America. The U.S. Southern Command said March 3 that Ecuadorian and American military forces launched operations in the country against designated terrorist organizations." Ecuadorian officials confirmed the joint operations March 4. Ecuador and the United States havent specified whom theyre targeting, locations of operations or the scope of military action. As details emerge, here is what to know about operations in Ecuador. 1 / 0 US military conducts deadly boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers Sept. 15, 2025: The U.S. military killed three people in a strike on a boat allegedly trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea. What the US and Ecuador are saying The Ecuadorian people, along with other citizens across the region, have experienced the violence and corrosive consequences of narco-terrorism up close and in their neighborhoods, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said in a statement March 4. The time is now for our partners in the Western Hemisphere to take decisive action against this scourge with the assurance that SOUTHCOM has their back. The White House referred to Donovans statement. The Pentagon referred questions to the Southern Command. In response to emailed questions, Steven McLoud, a spokesperson for Southern Command, said, "For operational security reasons, we will not provide specific details regarding the ongoing support for this operation." The Ecuadorian defense ministry and embassy in Washington, DC, didnt respond to requests for comment. On March 2, President Daniel Noboa Azin said his country would launch joint operations with the United States beginning in March as a new phase against narcoterrorism and illegal mining. The presidents office said joint initiatives would include information sharing and operational coordination, such as at airports and ports. Military personnel walk in front of the Ministry of Defense on the day a ceremony was held for four minors who were found dead, marking one month since they were first reported missing, in Quito, Ecuador January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Karen Toro Cocaine, gold and militarized crime-fighting Led by Noboa, a conservative, Ecuador has emerged as an ally to President Donald Trump as the United States seeks greater influence in Latin America. At the same time, Ecuador, an international cocaine trafficking hub, has seen crime skyrocket in recent years. Cocaine seizures have reached record highs globally and specifically en route to the United States, according to the United Nations and the U.S. Coast Guard. Ecuador, situated on the Pacific Coast of South America, borders Colombia and Peru, the worlds largest cocaine producers, according to the research group InSight Crime. Ecuador now ships about 70% of cocaine globally, including to the United States. Ecuador sits on basically a river of cocaine, said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights nongovernmental organization. Ecuador has also seen increases in illegal gold mining, as well as illicit logging operations, said Douglas Farah, president of the security consulting firm IBI and a former foreign correspondent, adding Ecuador has struggled with criminal groups operating in other sectors. Control of territory between criminal groups has led to spikes in violence, Farah said. In the past decade, Ecuador went from one of the safest countries in Latin America to one of the most dangerous. The country also has rampant corruption, Isacson said, which has allowed organized crime to flourish. Since taking office in 2023, Noboa has taken a hard-line approach to fighting crime, similar to that of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, another conservative Trump ally who has overseen drops in crime with aggressive crackdowns that have suspended democratic and judicial norms in El Salvador. Noboa has been accused of human rights abuses, but crime in Ecuador has continued to rise. Farah said militarized approaches to Latin American drug cartels can yield short-term gains. But, he added, drug traffickers typically seek to influence government rather than fight it, resulting in entrenched corruption among the military ranks. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa (L) is seen at the Independence Square to lay a floral offering with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a visit in Quito on March 1, 2026. Whom could American forces target? American forces have struck several boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. In 44 known strikes since September, at least 150 people have been killed, according to a New York Times tally. The U.N. human rights chief has said the tactics violate international law. Advertisement Operations on Ecuadorian land signal an escalation in American military strategy. In September, two Ecuadorian criminal groups, the Choneros and Lobos, were designated foreign terrorist organizations by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They are Ecuadors two largest criminal groups, according to the research group InSight Crime. Choneros began as a local gang before the Lobos splintered off. Both grew stronger inside prisons. Mexican drug cartels also have fought for drug trafficking routes in Ecuador. News outlets have reported an increasing presence of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel Jalisco New Generation, which was led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes until his death in a Mexican military operation in late February. Both cartels, which also have State Department terrorist designations, operate with the Choneros and Lobos. Along with criminal groups from the Western Hemisphere, Albanian criminal groups have operated in Ecuador to smuggle drugs to Europe. Inmates in cell block 3 bow their head as they listen to a soldier at the militarized Litoral prison,as part of the measures taken by Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa to crackdown on gangs, during a media tour in Guayaquil, Ecuador, February 9, 2024. What are the operations? Multiple news outlets citing anonymous American officials have reported American military personnel are in Ecuador to advise and assist but not participate directly in the operations. It's unclear what the operations consist of whether they're military attacks against suspected criminal groups or law enforcement raids to arrest wanted criminals. American officials have declined to provide information on the operations. Ecuador has seen increases in American security aid, putting it on par with Colombia, a country accustomed to American military support combating drug traffickers, Isacson said. At a security forum March 4 in Ecuadors capital, Quito, Gen. Henry Delgado, head of the countrys armed forces joint command, said the first March 3 operation began a day after Noboa met with Donovan, of Central Command. We wont be frightened, nor is anyone going to intimidate us, Delgado said. Because we are certain that what were doing is precisely to benefit our beloved Ecuador. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Jan. 29, 2026. Decades-long war on drugs The latest operations wouldnt be the United States first time entering Latin American countries with the military in more than five decades since President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. Past administrations have sent aid and personnel to Colombia and Peru. Experts said the efforts have largely failed to stem the flow of drugs. Actions in Ecuador risk the same fate. It is a reflection of how little we have absorbed the lessons of what works and what doesnt work in combating crime, Farah said. Using a counterdrug strategy against a problem that is much more multifaceted than drugs is also not a way to get at a successful strategy. I dont see how this is going to keep other armed groups from just filling the vacuum, Isacson said. On March 4, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States is hosting a weekend summit in Miami with a dozen Latin American countries, including Ecuador, to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Nearly all the countries have conservative or right-wing leaders aligned with Trump. The White House didnt list Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, the three largest countries in Latin America, which also struggle with organized crime. All three have left-wing leaders. Leavitt said its possible other countries would join the Miami summit. Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US military takes action in Ecuador, but some details remain unclear Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images It appears that country music star Keith Urban has been apart from his children for quite some time. He shares daughters Sunday, 17, and Faith, 15, with ex-wife Nicole Kidman. Nicole filed for divorce from the songwriter on September 30 after 19 years of marriage. The arrangement at that time stated the children would spend 306 days a year with Nicole and 59 days annually with Keith. Keith Urban is allegedly plotting to win his daughters over in 2026 Photo Credit: Stephane Cardinale Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images According to RadarOnline, an insider reveals that Keith will see his daughters during an upcoming break from school. He also would like Nicole to be a part of the reunion. Keiths tour has kept him apart from the girls a lot more than he would like. As it is, he had to concede the majority of custody time to Nicole, a source said. According to their divorce agreement, he only has Sunday Rose and Faith every other weekend, but when hes touring, even that doesnt work. Theyre used to long stretches away from Keith, whos always been a working musician, but its tough. Advertisement The Grammy winner is hoping Sunday and Faith will join him on a March country cruise scheduled in the Bahamas, the source said. Keith is anxious to line up this trip with a break in the girls school schedule, so they can spend proper, relaxed time together. They love the Bahamas, so thats likely where theyll go, the source told RadarOnline.com. Hed love for Nicole to join them, but shes still very hurt, so hes had to accept thats not likely. Hes putting his focus on the girls. He knows he has some things to explain to them and he wants to make sure they know hes just as devoted to them as hes always been. The family was last seen together on July 30, 2024, when they attended the Olympics in Paris. The teens also were seen with Nicole in Sydney, Australia the day after Christmas in 2024. TELL US WILL NICOLE JOIN KEITH AND THEIR DAUGHTERS FOR A FAMILY GET TOGETHER? The post Why Keith Urban Had To Concede the Majority of Custody With Kids to Ex Nicole Kidman appeared first on Reality Tea. One lucky Southern Californian is the states newest millionaire after a winning $32 million SuperLotto Plus ticket was sold in San Bernardino County. The ticket was sold at Circle K at 681 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland on Feb. 28. The winning numbers were 8, 11, 22, 37 and 46 and the Mega Number was 24. The store that sold the ticket will also receive a bonus of $160,000. The jackpot winner has yet to come forward to claim their prize. As with all major California Lottery prizes, the claim will undergo a vetting process to ensure the legitimacy of the win, lottery officials said. This process typically takes six to eight weeks to complete. The California Lottery reminds players to sign the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they have claimed their prize. Two tickets sold in Redondo Beach and Los Angeles that hit only five numbers will take home $17,895. Advertisement Lottery officials said there were 101,134 other winning tickets drawn on Saturday, with prizes that ranged from $1 to $1,988. The odds of winning a SuperLotto Plus jackpot are about 1 in 41.4 million. Winners have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim their prize. Ninety-five cents of every player dollar goes back to the community through contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation, lottery officials said. SuperLotto Plus drawings are every Wednesday and Saturday at 8 p.m. A map of where you can purchase lottery tickets in California can be found here. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Wisconsin nurse Melissa Knutson falsely accused a patient of sexually assaulting her.Monroe County District Attorney's Office A Wisconsin judge tore into a local nurse who had s-- with a patient, then falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her, RadarOnline.com can report. Melissa Knutson, 30, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and obstructing an officer, in an act the judge called "despicable." A Nurse and a Lie In reality, Melissa Knutson was knowingly and willingly having sex with the patient.unsplash Prosecutors said that while Knutson was working as a nurse assigned to a drug court participant, she repeatedly had s--with the person. Police did not indicate if the victim was a man or a woman. After the intercourse was reported to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Knutson tried to cover her crime by accusing her partner of sexual assault. In fact, during their investigation, officials found text messages proving that Knutson initiated the relationship willingly, including messages in which she said she would deny anything if they were caught. Judge Rips Nurse Melissa Knutson Knutson made up the assault accusation after word of her relationship got out.unsplash Before long, Knutson admitted to fabricating the accusation and said she did so to avoid facing consequences for the s-- acts. Judge Paul Curran sentenced her to 18 months in prison and two years of public supervision, while slamming her conduct as "despicable" and labeling her as "an embarrassment to nurses everywhere." He went on to say that he believed her remorse was "a mile wide and an inch deep." Melissa Knutson Worked to Keep the Lie Going Knutson said she made up the accusation to stay out of trouble.unsplash After creating her lie, Knutson did all she could to keep it going, only burying herself even more in the process. Her defense attorney told Us Weekly the patient allegedly "manipulated and threatened her to the point that she sought and received a restraining order against him." Advertisement Davis also said that when Knutson went to the police for help, "the investigation quickly turned against her." "Melissa Knutson is more than a mugshot," attorney Meredith Davis said in a statement, sympathizing that her client "is a mother, wife, daughter, and friend." David continued: "As a nurse, Melissa cared for the sickest people in her community for years with compassion and professionalism. She was praised by coworkers, supervisors, and patients' families for always lending a listening ear and trying to understand the whole individual, not just the medical condition." The Accusations Were Taken Seriously She has since been sentenced to 18 months in prison.unsplash However, her lies were treated as serious accusations by police, which Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger argued wasted time and put others in danger. "The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant," Croninger said in a statement. "Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault. The D.A. went on to praise the responding cops for digging for the facts. "All officers involved in this matter demonstrated a tremendous commitment to seeking the truth through evidence," Croninger added. "All involved take every sexual assault very seriously. When Ms. Knutson reported she was sexually assaulted, that allegation was taken seriously. "The officers were highly professional in investigating that allegation and determining that Ms. Knutson was lying. Officers then completed an extremely thorough and effective investigation, which uncovered a plethora of evidence that Ms. Knutson was, in fact, the perpetrator, not the victim." He added, "Without this commitment to seeking the truth through evidence, an unjust result may have occurred. Instead, the truth was discovered, and justice was served." Sandy Calder said a sense of humour was vital A former commando who is one of Scotland's last surviving veterans of World War Two has celebrated his 100th birthday. Alexander Calder - known as Sandy - was born in Aberdeen in 1926. He took part in the Burma (now Myanmar) campaign against the Japanese forces. The veteran Royal Marine Commando, who now lives at Inchmarlo Retirement Village in Aberdeenshire, told BBC Scotland News that secret to reaching 100 was loving life and a sense of humour. Sandy got a birthday card from the King and Queen Sandy attended Aberdeen Grammar School, where he joined the army cadets. "When I turned 17, the headmaster told me to go and do something useful," he recalled. "So I left school and enlisted in the Royal Marine Commandos. Given the ongoing war, it felt like the right decision." He said the first six months consisted of "arduous and intensive" training, focused on fitness, weapons training, and skills such as climbing and demolitions, as well as amphibious assault tactics. He described it all as "really tough", adding: "I have vivid memories of running with full kit amidst torrential rain. I must have been off my head." His unit was dispatched to Ceylon in November 1943. Following acclimatisation, they were ready to participate in the Burma campaign. "Let no-one tell you that the commandos were fearless," he said. "We were all scared, but there was no time to dwell on it. Our priority was ensuring that both we and our equipment were prepared. "When the moment of action arrived, my fear dissipated, replaced by a sense of invincibility. Moreover, I was emboldened by the knowledge that we were in the right and by the belief that victory was inevitable. "Cowardice was not an option, our training instilled in us the resolve to act as commandos. Maintaining a sense of humour was crucial, without it you weren't going to make it." Advertisement The veteran added: "My war ended with the liberation of Hong Kong from where we were demobbed, and I sailed back home." Grandson Cameron Calder came over from Australia for the celebrations He said his father had been a cattle dealer, and he always had an interest in agriculture and animal welfare, so set about working on various farms in Aberdeenshire and attended Aberdeen's College of Agriculture. In 1952, he was accepted into Aberdeen's Rowett Research Institute, working in the field of breeding and applied nutrition in the development of livestock. He met fellow Rowett science officer Gillian Sharp, and they married in 1957. "Retiring in 1990, Gillian and I relocated to Inchmarlo in 2008. Sadly, Gillian passed away in 2011." He added: "I enjoy travelling and have had many holidays abroad." 'He's an inspiration' On Wednesday afternoon, a piper played happy birthday, and the King and Queen sent a 100th birthday card. As he was presented with the unopened envelope from Buckingham Palace, he said: "It says Royal Mail - so I suspect it's a bill." He said the gathering of family members for his big day was "absolutely fantastic", adding: "I am overcome with joy". Of his long life, he said: "You have got to have a sense of humour. "I obviously love life and that's all there is to it. I have not changed." Retirement home deputy manager Diane Martin said the veteran was an "absolute pleasure" to be around. "He is a proud man and makes us all want to be better people," she said. "Getting to 100 years old is amazing, especially with the life he has had." Grandson Cameron Calder, 44, who travelled over from Australia with his family, said: "We're very proud - he's an inspiration for all of us." More on this story Meryl Goldsmith and Scott Penoyer say they tried for nearly a year to get access to funds from an old bank account. Discovering money has been sitting in an old account that you forgot about would be a welcome surprise for anyone, especially if it were thousands of dollars. That much money could pay off bills, kickstart a savings account or pay for a surprise vacation. Thats what happened to Massachusetts couple Meryl Goldsmith and Scott Penoyer, who were alerted by the state that Penoyer had about $11,500 sitting in an old Morgan Stanley account, according to CBS Boston (1). All they had to do was file a claim. Must Read Seems quick and easy, right? The couple found out otherwise. Barriers to their own cash After Goldsmith and Penoyer filled out the necessary paperwork, it turns out the state needed the account certified by the bank before the funds could be released. They need Morgan Stanley basically to fill out the rest of this form and thats where it just kind of falls, Penoyer told the broadcaster. Instead of getting the sign-off they needed, what followed was months of the bank dragging their feet, which prompted the couple to call CBS Boston, hoping the news outlet would push Morgan Stanley to do its part. It worked after nearly a year, the couple finally got access to the long-lost cash. And they planned to enjoy it. Were putting some of the money away, but were doing something a little crazy, and were going out to Vegas to see the Eagles, Goldsmith said. Despite the couples long battle to get their money, the state insists the recovery program itself is doing just fine. We can always do better, but were one of the highest returned states in the nation, Mark Bracken, director of Massachusettss Unclaimed Property Division, told CBS Boston. Last year, we paid out just over 130,000 claims, around 80,000 of them were fast-tracked and paid online without anyone ever having to fill out paperwork. The state says its holding over $3 billion in unclaimed property, which may include forgotten bank accounts, tax refunds and uncashed checks. Advertisement Read More: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1B private real estate fund starting at just $10 Read More: Warren Buffetts 8 simple and repeatable rules to get rich (and stay rich) in America What happens to forgotten accounts? About 1 in 7 Americans 33 million people had unclaimed property held by states worth $70 billion, CNBC reported in 2023, citing data from the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) (2). States hold most unclaimed funds, and each one has an office dedicated to unclaimed property. Programs facilitating the recovery of these lost assets may vary by state. It can take years before an account is considered abandoned after a period of inactivity. Generally an institution will attempt to reach out to the owner to alert them of the accounts dormancy. But, for example, if someone has moved around without leaving a forwarding address, they may not receive any notice, and after a period of time the account may be transferred to the state for safekeeping under a process called escheatment. Forgotten bank and investment accounts arent the only place you can find abandoned funds. Unclaimed money can be found through life insurance payouts with unaware beneficiaries, abandoned safe-deposit boxes and payroll checks from previous employers. How to track down unclaimed funds Unclaimed money is not uncommon, which is why states have departments dedicated to lost assets. But getting that money back can be a challenge and require some patience, which is especially true if you are an heir to funds unclaimed (6) by a deceased loved one. The NAUPA has a page with links to every states unclaimed property office (3). If you suspect you may have unclaimed funds out there, be sure to check each state where you have lived, worked or opened an account. Be prepared to provide proof of identification. If you dont want the hassle of having to search for long-lost accounts, make sure to check and update your records yearly, and make sure your contact and address information is up to date should an institution need to notify you. Also, keep an eye on your pay stubs, and make sure you receive every paycheck sometimes ex-employees forget to pick up their last one. What To Read Next Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now. Article sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines. CBS Boston (1); CNBC (2); National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (3) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. A passenger in Beirut on Saturday, after airspace was closed following the US and Israel's attack on Iran and subsequent retaliation. Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images Americans are being advised to immediately leave the Middle East. The US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday, sparking retaliation in the region. The State Department said late on Wednesday that it's providing charter flights out for US citizens. The US government is advising Americans to leave the Middle East immediately amid the US-Israel war with Iran. As of Thursday, the Middle Eastern countries and territories US citizens are advised to vacate continue to be: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Airspace in most of these countries remains largely closed for commercial travel, though a few flights have left. How Americans stuck in the Middle East can get home The US State Department said late on Wednesday that it was providing charter flights out of the Middle East for US citizens, and that one plane had taken off. Security updates in the region are currently as follows: Level 4, do not travel: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen Level 3, reconsider travel: Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, Kuwait, and Qatar Level 2, exercise increased caution: Egypt The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans worldwide. Here is a summary of our Middle East security updates as of March 4, 9pm EST. Americans trying to get home from Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or pic.twitter.com/ZXTbH3NfB5 TravelGov (@TravelGov) March 5, 2026 3 steps US citizens in the Middle East should follow: In an X post on Monday, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said US citizens should: 1) Enroll in http://step.state.gov for security updates from the nearest US Embassy. 2) Follow @travelgov on social media or the WhatsApp channel "U.S. Department of State - Security Updates for U.S. Citizens." 3) For emergency assistance, call: +1-202-501-4444 from overseas +1-888-407-4747 from the US and Canada The government's approach to helping US citizens has evolved since the war began on Saturday, and it was criticized after it told people to leave Middle Eastern countries "immediately," when airspace was largely closed and several embassies initially said they would not be able to get US citizens out. Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said on X Thursday that since Saturday, nearly 20,000 American citizens had safely returned to the United States from the Middle East, a figure that didn't include "the many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States." Advertisement Advice for Americans in the Middle East and neighboring countries varies The US government is sharing updates for US citizens from its respective embassies (including its virtual Iranian embassy) on X. US embassies in the Middle East were explicit about the potential dangers of remaining in and traveling to the region and provided advice tailored to the perceived threat in each country and territory. The guidance varies by country. On Thursday, the US told Americans in Iran to shelter in place, or to leave by land. It warned the Iranian government may restrict or prevent departures from Iran and told US-Iranian dual nationals to leave on their Iranian passports. Americans in Iraq were told to consider overland routes to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. On Wednesday, the US Embassy and Consulates in Pakistan, a neighboring country to Iran that also has a defense pact with Saudi Arabia, updated its advisory to state that non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from the Lahore and Karachi Consulates should leave Pakistan. There were no further updates on Thursday afternoon EST. Middle Eastern airspace is largely closed After Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar closed their airspaces over the weekend, some flights from the Middle East resumed on Monday, including from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, albeit somewhat chaotically. On Friday, Etihad said it has resumed a limited flight schedule between March 6 and March 19. Etihad to resume limited flight schedule from 6 March Etihad will resume a limited commercial flight schedule from 6 March 2026, operating between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations. Guests with previous bookings will be accommodated on these flights as soon as pic.twitter.com/GNiAWjmmY2 Etihad Airways (@etihad) March 6, 2026 The airline said it would operate flights between Abu Dhabi and destinations such as Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Toronto, and guests with prior bookings would be accommodated on these flights. On Thursday, Emirates said it was operating a reduced flight schedule until further notice and that it continues to prioritize customers with earlier bookings. With the limited reopening of airspace, Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule until further notice. Visit https://t.co/A2RdND1Gjr for more information. These flights are open for booking and we are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority. pic.twitter.com/a0R100YFUL Emirates Support (@EmiratesSupport) March 5, 2026 The latest guidance from Dubai Airports is that travelers should not go to the airport unless their airline has confirmed their flight is operating. As limited flight operations resume at DXB and DWC, here are answers to some common questions were receiving 1 Should I travel to the airport if my airline has not confirmed my flight? No. If your airline has not confirmed your flight is operating, please do not travel DXB (@DXB) March 3, 2026 Most flights remain suspended. Please do not come to the airport unless your airline has confirmed your departure time. Guests without a confirmed flight may not be able to access the terminals. Please contact your airline directly for the latest updates on your flight. DXB (@DXB) March 4, 2026 Other airports in the region have advised passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight updates before leaving for the airport. Read the original article on Business Insider Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to media after he shared an iftar, meal to break fast at sunset, during the holy month of Ramadan, with Ukrainian Muslim service members, near a mosque in Kyiv, Ukraine March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko By Olena Harmash KYIV, March 5 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Hungary early on Friday of detaining seven employees of Ukraine's state savings bank after a fresh exchange of barbs between the two countries' leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier in the day taunted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for blocking a European aid package. Orban said Budapest would force Ukraine with "political and financial tools" to reopen the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil to Hungarian refineries. Sybiha, writing on the X social media platform, said the employees of Oshchadbank were transporting cash from Austria back to Ukraine through Hungary when they were detained. He said their whereabouts were unknown at the moment. "In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money," Sybiha wrote. "If this is the 'force' announced earlier today by Mr Orban, then this is a force of a criminal gang. This is state terrorism and racketeering." He said Ukraine had sent an official note demanding the immediate release of its citizens and would ask the European Union to "provide a clear qualification of Hungarys unlawful actions". Oshchadbank said a GPS signal showed the cars to be near a building of Hungary's security services in Budapest. It said the employees were carrying $40 million, 35 million euros and 9 kg of gold. Zelenskiy's remarks earlier in the day referred to a 90 billion euro EU aid package that Hungary has blocked. TENSION AS THE WAR DRAGS ON Tension has long been high between the two leaders during Russia's four-year war on Ukraine, with Orban maintaining a staunchly anti-interventionist stance. EU member Hungary has maintained cordial ties with Moscow. "We hope a certain person in the EU will not keep blocking the 90 billion... and Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons," Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv. "Otherwise, we will give the address of this person to our armed forces, our guys. Let them call him, speak with him in their own language." Advertisement Ukraine relies on financial aid from partners to cover its budgetary needs while it funnels most state funds to defence. Hungary's veto of the aid package, as well as new EU sanctions on Russia, came in response to what it says was Ukraine deliberately cutting supplies from the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian crude to Europe. Kyiv says the oil flows stopped after a Russian attack on pipeline infrastructure in January and it is fixing the damage as fast as it can. Zelenskiy said on Thursday that the Soviet-era pipeline could be operational within a month and a half. Hungary and Slovakia, the only European Union countries still importing Russian oil, accuse Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil flows for political reasons. Orban, referring to the dispute over the pipeline, told a business conference in Budapest: "I would like to make clear that we will win, and we will win with force." "We have no military force for this, I can reassure everyone that this is not part of our plans. But we have political and financial tools," said Orban, who faces elections on April 12 and has made the war a focal point in his campaign. Zelenskiy in further remarks laced with sarcasm, said Ukraine was facing deadly attacks from Russia "and we're supposed to give poor little Orban oil, because without it he won't win elections?" Ukraine's troops are fending off grinding Russian assaults along several parts of the 1,200-km (775-mile) front line, as Kyiv faces U.S. pressure to secure peace while resisting Russian demands to cede land. Despite being outgunned and outmanned, Kyiv's army has retaken territory in recent weeks, gaining more in February than it lost for the first time since 2023, according to the Finland-based Black Bird Group analysis team. European foreign ministers failed this month to persuade Budapest not to punish Ukraine for delays restarting the pipeline, which also supplies Slovakia, also bordering Ukraine. Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is also sympathetic to the Kremlin, said it would refuse requests from Kyiv for emergency electricity supplies until oil flows resume. ($1 = 0.8625 euros) (Writing by Dan PeleschukEditing by Alexandra Hudson, Ron Popeski and Lincoln Feast.) Denver Police Department A disgruntled coworker in Colorado has been arrested after he went to his former colleagues home after being fired and shot the mans wife to death. Ernest Cunningham was found guilty of second-degree murder in December 2025 in connection to the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Kelsey Roberts-Gariety. Cunningham, 53, went to his former colleague and Roberts-Garietys apartment in Denver, Colorado, on June 29, 2024, after he was fired from his job. He reportedly planned to confront the former coworker, but Roberts-Gariety opened the door and Cunningham shot her instead. Roberts-Gariety's husband told police after that Cunningham "knew where they lived and had issues with him," according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Denver Post. The husband also told police that Cunningham did drugs while he was on the job before he was fired. However, it is not clear if that is the reason he was dismissed. North Carolina Man Murdered Dance Student Girlfriend Because She Wouldnt Be Exclusive After Cunningham was let go, Roberts-Gariety's husband claimed he turned his anger toward him and repeatedly called and threatened him. Police spoke to several people who live in the apartment building where Roberts-Gariety and her husband lived, and one person said they heard a gunshot and someone running away on the afternoon of the murder. Meanwhile, a second resident took a video of Cunningham leaving the building in his car. Police used the footage to connect him to the crime, and he was arrested hours later. Surveillance video also captured Cunningham's car leaving the building moments after the shooting, which was further proof of his involvement. Cunningham was sentenced during a hearing on February 27 and was ordered to spend 42 years in prison. At the time of the shooting, he was on parole after he served time for a burglary conviction. Advertisement Following Roberts-Gariety's death, her sister, Kylie Al-Nubu'at, spoke to KUSA about Cunninghams sentence and said that anything more than 20 years was "basically a life sentence." "He took my sister's life. We're serving a life sentence of grief, so now I feel like justice has been served," she said. While reflecting on the fact that Cunningham was on parole at the time of Roberts-Gariety's death, Al-Nubu'at wondered if her sister would still be alive if he was never released from prison. Serial Killer Known as the Torso Killer Confesses to Decades-Old Murder of Nursing Student, NJ Cops Say "I feel like if he would have never been out, she might still be here," she said. "He was released and he made a permanent decision." Al-Nubu'at went on to describe Roberts-Gariety who moved from her native Ohio to Denver as someone who loved her family and celebrated with them often. "It's been crazy. You know, every time something good happens, the first thing we want to do is call her to tell her," Al-Nubu'at said. "Her presence is missing and we'll forever be able to tell." Al-Nubu'at also said that her sisters death has changed how she approaches family and relationships. "It has taught us to check on each other way more often," she told the outlet. "Check on your family, your people, your siblings. You just never know when they need you." Student debt impacts older workers in the short and long term. Its common to think of student loans as a problem for younger people. But for millions of Americans, their loans are following them straight into retirement. New data from Fidelity shows workers over 50 who carry student debt have about 30% less saved for retirement than their debt-free peers (1). On average, older borrowers have $153,000 tucked away, compared to $221,000 for those without loans. Now, millions of older borrowers have to make tough decisions about debt, spending and how to protect their retirement. Must Read Student debt is shrinking retirement savings at every age The problem doesnt start at 50. Fidelity found that workers ages 18 to 49 with student loans also fall behind, with retirement balances about 20% lower than people without debt. Jesse Moore told CNBC that student debt casts a long shadow. It doesnt fade with age or career advancement, he said (2). Its a structural issue that shapes financial security at every stage of life. In other words, the longer you carry student loans, the less time and money you have to build real wealth. Today, 9.5 million Americans over 50 are still paying off education debt, with an average balance of $47,000, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Every dollar people spend on repaying debt is a dollar less they have available to save for retirement, Kantrowitz said. This is a tradeoff that adds up over decades and its one reason so many older borrowers are falling behind. Student loans are delaying life, not just retirement. The survey found that among older adults with student debt: One in three delayed travel because of student loans 16% postponed buying a home 8% put off starting a business So student loans are eating away at retirement savings, but theyre also shrinking lifestyles. Big changes to federal student loans could make things worse (3): The popular SAVE student loan repayment plan ended in late 2025 Student loan forgiveness is now taxable income (except for Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Repayment terms could stretch up to 30 years Consumer advocates warn that under the new repayment structure, many borrowers could end up dragging their student debt into their 60s and 70s (4). Advertisement This approach will perpetuate a cycle of indebtedness, said Carolina Rodriguez, director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York. Borrowers struggling with their own debt will be unable to save for retirement or for their childrens education, inevitably leading to more borrowing. Read More: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1B private real estate fund starting at just $10 Read More: Warren Buffetts 8 simple and repeatable rules to get rich (and stay rich) in America How older borrowers can manage student debt If youre over 50 and still paying student loans, experts say the goal is to get out of debt without destroying your retirement in the process. Heres what can help: Plan for a tax bomb With forgiveness now taxable, some borrowers could face a big IRS bill later. Early tax planning and saving for that now can help prevent financial shock (5). Max out retirement contributions first Put more into your 401(k) or IRA to lower your taxable income and reduce income-driven loan payments. Higher retirement contributions can directly lower required monthly payments under income-driven repayment plans. Look for employer help Some companies offer student loan match programs, contributing to your retirement if you make loan payments. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, roughly 9% of employers now offer some kind of student loan assistance (6). Reduce expenses Cut subscriptions, dining and housing costs. Freeing up even a few hundred dollars a month can make a big dent toward shaving off repayment timelines. Downsize if possible For empty nesters, housing can often be the biggest expense. Kiplinger reports that downsizing is one of the most effective ways that older borrowers can free up some cash for debt and retirement (7). Student debt used to be a young persons problem, but for millions of Americans its now a mid-life and retirement crisis. With older borrowers holding 30% less in savings and repayment timelines stretching decades, student loans are changing what retirement looks like in America. For these workers, the challenge lies in paying off debt and making sure that it doesnt derail their future plans. What To Read Next Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now. Article sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines. Fidelity (1); CNBC (2, 3); Forbes (4); TurboTax (5); Fortune (6); Kiplinger (7) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images Donald Trump drew attention during a recent White House press appearance after making a remark about his family background while speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The comment, delivered during a discussion that touched on international relations, quickly led to questions about the accuracy of the presidents statement regarding his fathers birthplace. Donald Trump makes bold claim about his father Donald Trump made a claim about his fathers birthplace while speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a press briefing in the Oval Office on March 3. The meeting at the White House had been scheduled in advance and included questions about U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran. During the exchange with reporters, Trump criticized several European governments over their responses to the Middle East situation. He said of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer: So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that were dealing with. He also referred to his family background while discussing the United Kingdom, stating, They ruin relationships. Its a shame. And I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there. Mary Anne Macleod Trump, his mother, was born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Advertisement Gesturing toward Merz, Trump added, My father was born there. He knows all about my father. My father was born there. There are places that you sort of automatically very, very feel warmly about. However, Fred Trump was born in the Bronx, New York City. In fact, Fred Trump was born in New York, while the presidents grandparents, Frederich Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, were born in Germany and later immigrated to the United States. Trump has previously made the same claim in earlier remarks to the media. The president made a similar statement during a 2019 briefing with CBS News, saying, My father is German, was German, born in a very wonderful place in Germany, so I have a very great feeling for Germany. Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized the U.S. attack on Iran, stating: We will not be complicit in something that is bad for the world. The post Donald Trump Sparks Confusion As He Says His Father Was Born in Germany appeared first on Mandatory. The airport in Nakhchivan sustained a direct hit and Ilham Aliyev said the strike would not go unanswered Azerbaijan has said it is pulling its diplomatic staff out of Iran after it accused Iran of launching four drones across the border into the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. The airport terminal was hit, a drone exploded near a school, injuring civilians, and another drone was shot down, as the war in the Middle East spilled over Iran's northern border. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev condemned the "act of terror", demanding an explanation and apology from Tehran. On Friday he went further, announcing the withdrawal of staff from Azerbaijan's embassy in Tehran and consulate in Tabriz "for their own safety", and state media said the military had been placed on maximum combat readiness. Aliyev also touched on Iran's ethnic Azerbaijani population on Thursday - a sensitive subject for Tehran. Iran denies any role in Thursday's strikes and has suggested the attack may have been an Israeli falseflag operation. Azerbaijan, a small but strategically important Caspian country bordering Russia, Iran, Armenia and Georgia, is now being pulled closer to the heart of a much bigger confrontation. Nakhchivan is an isolated Azerbaijani territory bordering Iran, Turkey and Armenia, making it particularly exposed during times of conflict. The drones triggered Aliyev's strongest public attack on Tehran since he took office. He said the Iranian forces behind the strike were "ugly, cowardly and disgusting" - an unusually blunt personal insult for a head of state. But his anger went beyond words, saying that "independent Azerbaijan is a place of hope for Azerbaijanis living in Iran". Baku has long avoided this line because of how sensitive it is for Tehran. Map Iran is home to an estimated 20-25 million ethnic Azeris, who make up its largest minority group and are concentrated in the north-west along the Azerbaijan border. The Islamic Republic has consistently regarded their identity and political affiliations as issues of utmost sensitivity. Tehran views any notion of Azerbaijani identity extending beyond its borders as a potential challenge to internal unity. Aliyev has rarely spoken about Iranian Azeris in such explicitly aspirational terms and doing so now appears to be a calculated move. Iran is under intense pressure not just from the war but from internal unrest and political uncertainty and Aliyev's message comes across as a warning to Tehran: any attempt to pressure Azerbaijan militarily or diplomatically could result in a response from Baku, including one that affects Iran's internal stability. Iranian Azerbaijanis have long complained that they are denied basic cultural rights, including education in their own language. Several Azerbaijani activists, journalists and language campaigners are currently imprisoned in Iran, facing charges ranging from "propaganda against the regime" to "conspiracy against national security". They are also a politically significant community. This week the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has been urging Iranian Azerbaijanis, among other ethnic minorities, to rise up against the regime. President Ilham Aliyev's anger went beyond words as he addressed the issue of Iran's ethnic Azerbaijani population Iran's current President, Masoud Pezeshkian, is himself an ethnic Azerbaijani and the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who was killed in the opening salvo of US-Israeli strikes on Saturday - was also claimed to have Azerbaijani roots. Advertisement Some of Iran's shahs across the centuries were ethnic Azerbaijanis as well. One of its most influential rulers, Shah Ismail Khatai, even used Azerbaijani as the first language of his palace in the 16th Century - a reminder of how deeply Azerbaijani culture once shaped the Iranian state. But none of these facts have helped Azerbaijanis in Iran to have lessons taught in their own language. Despite their shared Shia Muslim identity, Iran and Azerbaijan have grown apart politically, and tensions worsened after Azerbaijan's military victories in the 2020 and 2023 Karabakh wars, which were helped by Turkish and Israeli-made weapons. Iran views Baku's close defence partnership with Israel as a serious threat. Iranian officials and media have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan of helping Israeli intelligence operate along Iran's northern frontier - claims Azerbaijan denies. Azerbaijan's ties with Israel extend beyond security. Israel relies heavily on Azerbaijani oil, and the two countries maintain close political and intelligence co-operation. For Tehran, this collaboration is at the centre of its suspicion. Azerbaijan, for its part, has long resented Iran's political and military support for neighbouring Armenia, seeing it as direct interference in a conflict central to its own security. That history of mistrust is an important backdrop to Thursday's escalation, shaping how Baku interprets every move coming from Tehran. Iran opposes the establishment of a land connection between Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave. Tehran has consistently objected to Armenia potentially allowing Azerbaijan a land corridor to the territory. Azerbaijan is a major energy supplier, and its crude oil reaches global markets through a 1,768km (1,100-mile) pipeline that goes via Baku on the Caspian Sea through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. That pipeline carries more than a million barrels of oil a day and provides Europe with a vital supply route that bypasses both Russian and Iranian territory. It also supplies Israel with a significant proportion of its oil. As a result, the pipeline is viewed as a significant potential target for Iran, and any threat of disruption could raise security fears and jolt energy markets. Both Iran and Azerbaijan deny seeking escalation. Aliyev insists Azerbaijan "will not participate" in military operations against Iran, and Tehran continues to reject responsibility for the drone attack. But Aliyev's decision to talk openly of Azerbaijan being a "place of hope" for Iranian Azeris introduces a new and potentially unpredictable element. Aliyev has pointed out to Tehran that he was the sole foreign leader to visit any Iranian embassy to express condolences following the killing of Khamenei, and that he personally responded to a request to help evacuate Iranian embassy staff from Lebanon. Now, he says, Iran has repaid those gestures with drone strikes on Azerbaijani territory, something he views as a deep betrayal. A Beaumont World War II Airman who was missing for decades has finally been laid to rest. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced it identified the remains of Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Frank A. Johnstone. Johnstone, 20, served as a navigator aboard a B-24 bomber that was shot down during a mission over Austria on February 25, 1945. Nine of the 12 crew members bailed out, but Johnstone and two others went down with the plane. His remains were never recovered after the war. Investigators returned to the crash site years later, with excavation teams working in Austria between 2017 and 2024. Scientists ultimately identified Johnstone using dental records and DNA testing. Advertisement When Johnstone disappeared, his nephew Gene Riggs was 10 years old. Now, at 90, Gene lives in Katy. He's proud to say Johnstone was his uncle. "Seeing his face... he was so young," Riggs remembers. "It amazes me that they found him." Gene's son, Cory, said he was handed the choice of where to bury Johnstone. It was then that he discovered Johnstone had a burial plot right next to his parents in Beaumont. "I can only assume that his father more than likely bought that extra plot hoping that he was going to be recovered and be sent home one day," Cory said. 80 years and one day after Johnstone was killed in action, he was laid to rest with military honors in Forest Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park. "He gave all that he possibly could have given for the very freedoms that we have every single day in this country," Cory said. Caitlin-Rose McMullan was 11 years old with she died after being hit by a car in March 2025. She was getting off a school bus, just metres from home. Her mum Stella McGinn said "too many families had already endured unbearable pain" because of what she says are shortcomings in school bus safety. There is no legal requirement anywhere in the UK for other vehicles to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off pupils. The are eight rules in the Highway Code when it comes to overtaking, but none specifically mention school buses. Stella said Caitlin-Rose was "blindsided" when she walked out between two buses and "couldn't see traffic coming". "It has been a living nightmare, you never think it's going to happen to your family," she said. "The accident happened right at the end of our lane, I walk past it every day and we've tributes to Caitlin there, and I go up and talk to her every day." "One year on from my daughter's death, we've got nothing set in stone around law changes. How many children are going to get killed or hurt going to and from school before changes are made?" Ms McGinn said. The collision involving Caitlin-Rose happened in Castledawson, County Londonderry. In Northern Ireland, the infrastructure minister has previously announced her intention to bring forward legislation which will prohibit overtaking school buses at bus stops. Liz Kimmins said she would be making further announcements around school bus safety "in the coming weeks". "As a parent myself it's something I'm always thinking about in everything I do and I know people will ask why it is taking so long, but we have a responsibility to get this issue of school buses right and we've a dedicated team of people looking at this issue of legislation," Kimmins said. 'Life will never be the same' Stella McGinn says she still remembers hearing the news about her daughter's death as if it were yesterday. "She was bubbly, fun loving and had her whole life ahead of her, dreams and plans and was just finding herself as a person," she said. "Just as she was starting to bloom her life was just snatched away, I still expect her to come in home from school, life will never be the same." Stella McGinn says she wants her daughter's legacy to be making school journeys safer for children Calls for new laws to improve school bus safety in Northern Ireland date back more than 20 years but they have intensified since Caitlin-Rose's death. The Department for Infrastructure says it is looking at international examples in developing potential legislation for Northern Ireland Advertisement In some parts of the United States and Canada, it is a motoring offence to overtake a school bus when it has stopped. Safety measures in these jurisdictions include retractable stop signs on the left-hand side of buses which flashes amber or red when children are exiting. "I just don't want any other family to go through what we have had to endure, but sadly I know that will happen again," Stella said. "That's why we need the law changed to make things safer for children getting on and off school buses, and I can't understand why it is taking so long to get progress going." 'I've seen this too often' Dr Damien Gates is a consultant in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and was on duty when Caitlin-Rose was taken into hospital after the collision. "When I got the call and heard that a child had been struck by a vehicle while getting off a school bus, I just thought 'not again', because my colleagues and I have seen this all too often," he said. "It's an immense sense of sadness that we couldn't do anything to help Caitlin as her injuries were so profound, but that unfortunately is the reality of the job." Dr Damien Gates is a consultant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children School buses in Northern Ireland are operated by the Education Authority (EA). Additionally Translink operates dedicated school services and private operators may also be contracted to provide services Translink says that across all its services between 2020 and 2025 it has a record of 13 people being injured and one person being killed because they were struck by a vehicle shortly after getting off one of its buses. The EA said it did not hold any data on this issue. The Police Service of Northern Ireland was able to confirm that since 2020 almost 700 young people aged between 4 and 18 years old have been killed or seriously injured on Northern Ireland's roads during school term time. Meanwhile the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast found that during the past 15 years there was on average one case a year of a child being admitted to intensive care after being struck by a vehicle when exiting a school bus. Gates said the figures did not show the "full picture" as cases involving limb fractures are usually dealt with on a general ward, while children who die at the scene of a crash are also not included. He added that within the last six months, two further children were admitted to hospital with severe injuries after getting off a bus or being struck by a vehicle. The EA said its thoughts were with the family of Caitlin-Rose, and that while it did not have legislative powers it had implemented some road safety measures around school buses. "Our buses are fitted with a number of safety features, including lighting and signage which will flash when children or young people are getting on or off the vehicle," a spokesperson said. "We have increased our social media activity, actively promoting and sharing key school transport safety messages. "We also recently produced a safe travel video for primary aged children, which was shared with schools." AG Pam Bondi A federal appeals court has upheld the denial of asylum for Amadou Sy, a Mauritanian national who claimed he would face torture and death if returned to his home country. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on Tuesday that Sys testimony was not credible, citing a series of nearly identical stories about past arrests and significant contradictions in his evidence. The decision, authored by Circuit Judge Amul R. Thapar, denies Sys petition for review and affirms previous rulings by an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals. The case is Amadou Sy v. Pamela Bondi. A Pattern of Striking Similarities Sy, a member of the Fulani ethnic group, entered the United States illegally and was later detained. During removal proceedings, he applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He alleged that Mauritanian police had arrested and tortured him four times between 2011 and 2023 due to his race and his participation in protests. However, the court found Sys accounts of these events inherently implausible. In his testimony, Sy claimed that in 2011, 2021, and 2022, he was arrested, held for exactly five days, stripped, beaten, and left for dead, only to be rescued by a passerby and taken to a hospital each time. Common sense dictates that there would be at least some variation in how he was arrested each time over a span of 12 years, Judge Thapar wrote. And it surely is not unreasonable for the immigration judge to doubt that each event occurred in exactly the same way. Contradictory Claims and Missing Evidence The court also highlighted major discrepancies between Sys written application and his oral testimony. While Sys initial paperwork made no mention of his family being persecuted, he later testified that his two brothers were arrested and beaten alongside him during the same incidents. When questioned about the omission, Sy first claimed he had mentioned them, then suggested his lawyer probably didnt write it. The court noted that one of those brothers currently lives in New York but did not provide an affidavit or testimony to support Sys claims. Additional holes in the story included: Advertisement The Passport: Sy claimed he obtained a passport by bribing the white Mauritanian policethe same authorities he alleged were actively trying to kill him. Medical Records: Despite claiming he was nearly beaten to death three times and hospitalized, Sy provided no medical documentation. Travel History: Sy traveled through Morocco, Spain, El Salvador, and Mexico but did not seek asylum in any of those countries before arriving in the U.S. No Pattern of Persecution Found Beyond Sys personal credibility, the court addressed his argument that black Fulanis face a general pattern or practice of persecution in Mauritania. The court rejected this claim, distinguishing between widespread discrimination and persecution. Referring to expert testimony provided by Professor Charlotte Walker-Said, the court acknowledged that Fulanis may face marginalization and economic hardship, but ruled these do not meet the legal threshold of state-sponsored punishment or harm. Fulanis are the largest ethnic group of black Africans in Mauritaniatheyre not a small or isolated minority, the opinion stated, noting that Sy failed to provide persuasive evidence of other Fulanis being persecuted. The ruling concludes that because Sy was found not to be credible, he is ineligible for asylum or protection from removal. READ: The End Of Spring Forward? Florida Sen. Rick Scott Makes A New Push To Lock The Clock Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage. Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox Court Rejects Mauritanian Mans Asylum Bid Over Incredible Testimony Vs. AG Pam Bondi The Department of Homeland Security blasted Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger after a criminal illegal migrant with over 30 arrests was accused of stabbing a mother in the Washington, D.C.-area and now could be released from custody. Abdul Jalloh, 32, was recently arrested for allegedly stabbing a 41-year-old woman to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, in late February. He was charged with murder, but Spanberger's office reportedly indicated she would not honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer. A governor's spokesperson told WJLA that DHS would need to take an extra step and seek a signed judicial warrant from a local judge instead in order to ensure that Jalloh is deported. "Sanctuary [Gov. Abigail Spanberger] is fighting to protect a MURDERER over American citizens," DHS posted to X. "This monster is responsible for fatally stabbing Stephanie Minter." "ICE does NOT need judicial warrants to make arrests," the post continued. "The heroes of ICE will continue to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens across the Commonwealth while Governor Spanberger RELEASES them from jails into Virginia communities to commit more crimes and create more victims." Ice Nabs Iranian National With Rape, Sodomy Convictions After Virginia Democrats Move To Curb Cooperation The Department of Homeland Security criticized Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger after an illegal immigrant who was charged with murder and had more than 30 prior arrests was set to be released from custody. (Getty Images) Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone in West Africa, was arrested at a liquor store the day after allegedly murdering Stephanie Minter at a bus stop. An employee of the store called 911 accusing Jalloh of shoplifting. Read On The Fox News App DHS says Jalloh entered the country in 2012 and has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia alone, but he was released back to the streets on nearly every occasion. DHS also says his criminal history "includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pick pocketing." In early February, Spanberger ended cooperation with state agencies and federal immigration authorities through an executive directive. Advertisement Rep. Rob Wittman 5 Virginia Congressmen: Democrats Are Rejecting Voters To Gerrymander Our State Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fox News) "I have serious concerns that chaotic federal law enforcement actions across the country are eroding years of trust built by our officers within the communities they serve," Spanberger said in a statement following the executive directive. "When state and local law enforcement are pulled away from investigating crimes and upholding our Virginia laws to do the job of federal agents, it weakens their ability to deepen trust within their communities." "This contributes to a culture of fear and distrust that makes it harder for officers to do their jobs," Spanberger added. Spanberger reversed an order, 287(g), which was issued by former GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It allowed local law enforcement officers to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICEs direction and oversight, which includes preventing criminal illegal migrants from being released back into the community and identifying illegal migrants already locked up in local jails. "If, for some reason, this monster gets released, [Spanberger] will not let ICE know when he's being released," Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. "I would think in a different time and a different place that we could all actually agree that if somebody is here illegally, and they're being released from prison that we would let federal law enforcement know about it." Click Here To Download The Fox News App Spanbergers office did not respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment but told ABC7 on Monday that DHS will need to request a judicial warrant if Jalloh is to be detained by ICE. "As a former federal law enforcement officer who conducted joint search and arrest warrants alongside state and local officers, Governor Spanberger firmly believes that violent criminals who are in the United States illegally should be deported by immigration enforcement," Spanbergers office said in a statement to WJLA. "DHS should request a signed judicial warrant to ensure this violent criminal is deported." Original article source: DHS blasts Spanberger on potential release of illegal migrant with 30+ arrests currently charged with murder Kristi Noem, who oversaw the Trump administration's chaotic immigration crackdown in Minnesota, has been fired as Department of Homeland Security Secretary. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the former Governor of South Dakota will be moving to a new role titled "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," and he intends to replace her at DHS with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin by the end of March. Despite the president's claim that Mullin will take on the role effective March 31, his appointment has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Trump said Noem "served us well" as DHS secretary, but it was reported in recent days that the president was angered by comments she made at a congressional hearing earlier this week, when she told lawmakers that Trump knew about her decision to approve a $220 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport. Her position came under great scrutiny during Operation Metro Surge, the department's immigration operation in Minnesota that resulted in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents, among a myriad of controversial incidents involving federal law enforcement in the state. Advertisement Izzy Canizares | Bring Me The News (Izzy Canizares | Bring Me The News) Noem was the subject of intense criticism for a series of press conference appearances during Metro Surge, during which she claimed that Good and Pretti were involved in acts of domestic terrorism when they were killed, claims roundly debunked by video evidence taken at the scenes. At a hearing earlier this week, Noem refused to apologize for her characterization of Good's and Pretti's deaths. Almost two months since Good was shot, no charges have been brought against the agents who shot either her or Pretti, with the federal government taking steps to block investigations into the killings. The DHS was also accused of lying about the shooting by an ICE agent of a Venezuelan national in north Minneapolis in January, with federal prosecutors later dropping charges against the two civilians involved in the incident, and subsequently launching an investigation into allegations two agents lied under oath about what transpired. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan had this to say about Noem's firing: "Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Just because you got fired, Minnesotans wont forget what you did to our neighbors. We will continue to fight for you to be held accountable. This is a move many of us have organized for. "Trump's DHS has killed two Minnesotans, terrorized our immigrant communities, detained citizens, and traumatized our children. But make no mistake changing the head of this agency will not change the direction of his mass deportation agenda. Its time to rip ICE apart." This story was originally published by Bring Me The News on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN News section. Add Bring Me The News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Michelle Pfeiffer is proving she's a timeless beauty in back-to-back appearances. On Tuesday night, Pfeiffer, 67, attended the Yves Saint Laurent Womenswear show during Paris Fashion Week. The actress was in head-to-toe YSL and wore a black blazer with matching slacks. She rolled her sleeves up to about her elbows and wore green heels with a dramatic pointed toe. Pfeiffer tied the look together with gold bangles and a sheer shirt underneath. Michelle Pfeiffer And Kurt Russell Revealed In First Images From 'Yellowstone' Spinoff 'The Madison' Michelle Pfeiffer sported different looks during Paris Fashion Week and at the U.K. premiere of "The Madison." (Getty Images) The "Scarface" icon shared photos to Instagram, and she was instantly flooded with praise. "Absolutely stunning show! Thank you for having me, @ysl @anthonyvaccarello ," Pfeiffer captioned her post. Read On The Fox News App "I think shes absolutely gorgeous god bless her and actress that's had a wonderful career," one user wrote. Michelle Pfeiffer earned praise from fans for her YSL show look. Another added, "Still gorgeous ." "AS ALWAYS, so beautiful! Slay Queen!" a third user wrote. "Still incredibly beautiful ," another added. The next day, Pfeiffer attended the U.K. premiere of "The Madison." Pfeiffer stuck to a pearl theme for premiere night and wore a mid-length black Oscar de la Renta dress, fully embellished with pearls. She accessorized with matching pearl earrings and rings and wore a pair of Gianvito Rossi black pumps. Michelle Pfeiffer attended the U.K. Premiere of "The Madison" March 4. On Wednesday, Pfeiffer took to Instagram and shared a video from moments on the red carpet. Advertisement "Beautiful night in one of my favorite places celebrating @themadisonpplus. ," she captioned her post. On the carpet, Pfeiffer posed with members of "The Madison" cast, including Kurt Russell. Pfeiffer leads the "Yellowstone" spinoff, which is a "heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana," according to a synopsis of the show. Like What Youre Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News Aside from Pfeiffer and Russell, "The Madison" stars Beau Garrett, Elle Chapman, Patrick J. Adams, Amiah Miller, Alaina Pollack, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers, Rebecca Spence, Danielle Vasinova and Matthew Fox. In January, the first stills from the highly anticipated show were released. Pfeiffer sat in a wooden rocking chair on a porch. Pfeiffer's character, Stacy Clyburn, is described as the "heart of the family," and she was holding a book in the shot. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell star in "The Madison." Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter In another image, Russell's character, Preston Clyburn, sits on a tree stump looking off into the distance. Other stills show Russell with Fox fly-fishing in a stream in Montana. A press release for the series says "The Madison" is "a profound love story channeled through a deeply personal family drama about resilience and transformation." It also mentioned that this is Taylor Sheridan's "most intimate work to date." Michelle Pfeiffer will lead the "Yellowstone" spinoff, "The Madison." The series unfolds "across two distinct worlds the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan as it examines the ties that bind families together," the release stated. The first season of "The Madison" consists of six episodes and will premiere on Paramount+ March 14. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Original article source: Michelle Pfeiffer, 67, has social media buzzing about how she's 'still incredibly beautiful' Darren and Natalie Chetkowski travelling back from their honeymoon have been left stranded amid ongoing airstrikes across the Middle East Newlyweds travelling back from their honeymoon are among thousands who have been left stranded in the Middle East due to the US-Israel war with Iran. Darren and Natalie Chetkowski from Yateley, Hampshire, landed at the Hamad International Airport in Doha on Saturday on their way back from the Maldives. They were expecting to catch connecting flights to Heathrow, but instead they were met with National Emergency Alerts written in Arabic telling them to "stay at home or in a safe place". The couple told the BBC that they are growing increasingly concerned that people stuck in Doha are "not being well informed" about when they will be able to return home. When the pair was notified that their flights to Heathrow had been cancelled, they decided to spend the night at the airport. However, they were soon woken up by security informing them they needed to leave. Darren said: "There was a bit of a panic. "Everyone was really stressed, but then it took us four and a half hours to get from the security gate to the bus, so everybody was squashed in. "It was absolutely nuts." They were then taken to a hotel, which is where they have been staying ever since. Darren said: "They've looked after us really well." "It's just, you don't really know what's going on." Advertisement During their first night at the hotel, Darren said he was woken up by "four loud bangs". He said: "They literally made me jump out of bed. "The other night we got woke up at about half one and moved all of our duvet towards the hotel door." Natalie added: "We both leapt out of bed... every noise you're listening for, even people now slamming the hotel doors, you're jumping out of your skin. "It puts you on edge massively." The newlyweds do not know when they will be able to fly home. Darren and Natalie Chetkowski on their honeymoon in the Maldives Natalie said: "We were getting daily updates, but that's now changed this morning (Wednesday) to wait another couple of days, so we know we're here until probably at least then, unless the government can give us any more information that we haven't seen or heard." The newlyweds, who lived in Berkshire for years before moving to Hampshire, have children at home who are being looked after by family members. Natalie added: "It worries me that we just don't know. "We have no idea when we're going to get home, and that is a worry. Or are we going to get home? Darren and Natalie Chetkowski landed at the Hamad International Airport in Doha on Saturday on their way back from their honeymoon "We obviously realise it has to be safe, and we're all for that, but it's just really worrying that we can't even say to the kids." Darren said: "Obviously things are going on behind the scenes, but I feel like we're being, not forgotten about, but we're not being well informed... we need to know what's going on." Natalie added: "We've got a lovely hotel room, they're (the Doha government) paying for our food and our accommodation, so for that, we can't thank them enough and they're keeping us safe from all the missiles that we're hearing at the moment." More on this story The Pentagon on Wednesday took steps to identify the remaining two service members who were among the six American troops killed so far in the war with Iran. The Department of Defense confirmed the death of Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, who was killed in an unmanned aircraft system attack on Sunday, according to officials. O'Brien commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012 and deployed to Kuwait in 2019, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command. The Pentagon also announced Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., was believed to be among those killed in the fighting in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. Marzan has not yet been positively identified by a medical examiner. Marzan's photo and service verification are yet to be released "out of respect to the family," according to the U.S. Army Reserve. Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, is the latest U.S. service member confirmed among those killed in a March 1 attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, as part of the ongoing war with Iran (Defense Department) Both men were members of the Army Reserve. OBrien is survived by a wife and children, according to a Facebook post by his aunt, obtained by WCNC. The major was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid youd ever know, Mary Melchert wrote in the post. He is so missed already. On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced the names of four other Army Reserve troops killed in the March 1 attack: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The attack is under investigation. Advertisement Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a Tuesday post on X that the facility in Kuwait that was attacked was a secure space fortified with 6-foot walls. Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops at every level, he wrote. The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses. Weve moved a significant number of our troops off the X and will always protect our bases and people from a significantly weakened Iran. Unnamed officials told CBS News the command center was a triple-wide trailer converted into an office space. The president will attend the dignified transfer ceremonies of the fallen soldiers when their remains return to the U.S., according to the White House. The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny over the early casualties in the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed on Wednesday that the press was excessively focusing on the deaths to make the president look bad while ignoring U.S. successes in controlling the battlefield. This is what the fake news misses, Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing, appearing to refer to Sundays deadly attack on a U.S. command center. Weve taken control of Irans airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, its front page news. I get it, the veteran and former Fox News weekend host added. The press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality. The comments later prompted an argument in the White House press room when CNNs Kaitlan Collins asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the remarks. Leavitt then falsely accused CNN of not reporting on the past deaths of military members and claimed it is a fact that the press does only want to make the president look bad. Today's headlines: China lowers its GDP growth target for 2026 to below 5% for the first time. Nepal goes to the polls, results announced for tomorrow. Hong Kong court does not admit Taiwanese academic as witness in Tiananmen Square vigil trial. Two unpublished novels by Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe discovered in Japan. MIDDLE EAST-PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN The outbreak of two conflicts in the Middle East and on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in one week has already created at least 250,000 new internally displaced persons in two regions that already had a total of 24.6 million at the end of 2025. The data emerges from an update released yesterday by the UNHCR based on the situation recorded in its camps. The highest numbers are in Afghanistan (115,000), Iran (100,000), and Lebanon (58,000). CHINA China has lowered its annual economic growth target to between 4.5% and 5%, the lowest expansion target since 1991, as it faces both domestic and international challenges. This is the first time the target has been lowered since it was set at around 5% in 2023. No target was set in 2020 due to the pandemic. The details were announced during China's most important political meeting, known as the two sessions, along with the release of some elements of the 15th Five-Year Plan for the world's second-largest economy. NEPAL In Nepal, 18.9 million voters are voting today in the long-awaited elections, which come six months after youth protests led to the fall of Sharma Oli's government. The elections will determine the 275 new members of the lower house of parliament. Polls will close at 5 p.m. local time, and according to the Election Commission, the results will be announced within 24 hours of the start of the count. HONG KONG The Hong Kong court trying the organizers of vigils in memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre under the National Security Law has excluded from the witness list a Taiwanese academic called to testify in favor of activist Chow Hang-tung. According to Hong Kong judges, Ho Ming-sho, a sociology professor at National Taiwan University, lacks independence and objectivity because he has criticized the Chinese Communist Party in the past. SOUTH KOREA-PHILIPPINES During his visit to Manila, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Ariel Galac, a Filipino worker whom he had once represented as a lawyer. In 1992, Galac lost an arm in a factory accident in Korea and was repatriated without receiving any compensation. Lee, then a human rights lawyer, helped him obtain medical treatment and compensation for the workplace accident through a new trial. Lee himself suffered a permanent injury to his left arm while working as a teenage laborer after his arm was crushed by an industrial press. JAPAN Two unpublished novels by Japanese Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe (19352023), written before his official debut, have been discovered and are now his earliest known works. The University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters, which manages Oe's autograph manuscripts, announced the discovery on March 2. The novels contain many of the motifs that would later characterize his writing, offering valuable insights into the formation of Oe's literary world. Both will be published in the April issue of the literary magazine Gunzo. RUSSIA Russian environmentalists attempted to travel to the banks of the Moskva River in the Khimki suburb of the Russian capital to defend the Workers' Reserve park from the construction of new buildings, which would require the removal of many trees. They were met by a line of police vehicles, which had intercepted the activists' messages on the social media channel Beregnas, Our Shore, which also opposed the construction of the Dinamo sports academy in the area. by Melani Manel Perera Following the sinking of an Iranian frigate off Galle, Sri Lankan authorities are closely monitoring the presence of a second Iranian ship in the countrys exclusive economic zone. The vessel, which some sources believe to be a logistics vessel, has reportedly requested assistance due to technical problems amid rising tensions in the Indian Ocean. Colombo (AsiaNews) Sri Lankan authorities have recovered at least 87 bodies after the sinking of the Iranian naval vessel off the countrys southern coast. Another vessel, also from Iran, is in international waters near the island, but it is not yet clear what type it is. Some sources claim that it is a logistics pipe-laying vessel, not a warship, and has reportedly requested permission from the Sri Lankan government to dock due to engine failure. Chief Government Whip, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, today said that the government is aware of the presence of the second vessel and is monitoring the situation. The vessel is not in Sri Lankan territorial waters but in the exclusive economic zone, where freedom of navigation applies. The government and the Defence Ministry are aware of the vessel, Jayatissa said. The government is taking all possible measures to safeguard the lives of those on board, he added. Recently, several Iranian ships were India for joint military drills, an issue that has embarrassed the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If US submarines should attack a second Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean, the war risks spreading to the Indian Ocean and South Asia, already reeling from the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, rescue operations continue following the US attack on the Iranian frigate off the coast of Galle. An inquest into the recovered bodies also opened today at the Galle Court, where Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda and Additional Magistrate Maheshika Wijayathunga ordered a post-mortem of the victims by the Galle National Hospital coroner. However, local health facilities are facing logistical challenges in managing the large number of bodies recovered from the sea. The hospital director explained that the morgue cannot accommodate all the victims and that the authorities are preparing mobile refrigerated containers to store the bodies. To this end, the government is talking with private companies to obtain additional refrigeration systems. A total of 32 people were rescued and admitted to Karapitiya Hospital, one of whom is in intensive care. The government emphasised that the security forces' intervention was conducted solely on a humanitarian basis. At the time, we did not probe whether it was a result of a military or torpedo attack or war-related, a medical official said. Meanwhile, another Iranian ship is being monitored, currently in international waters near Panadura, on Sri Lankas western coast, according to local media reports. The Iranian embassy in Colombo has the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence for access to a local port to supply the vessel with drinking water and food. The situation came to light during a visit by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Iranian embassy to sign the book of condolences following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. After the meeting, Western Province Governor Hanif Yusoof informed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the situation, seeking mediation to allow the ship to enter a Sri Lankan port on humanitarian grounds. In Sri Lanka, some opposition leaders criticised the government for the way it is handling the crisis, arguing that the Iranian ship that sank yesterday remained at sea for hours without being able to dock in Galle while a US submarine operated freely in the area. Other political groups called on the government to maintain a non-aligned position in the ongoing international conflict. For Duminda Nagamuwa, a member of the Peoples Struggle Alliance, Sri Lanka should avoid taking sides in a war between great powers. Instead, it should take a non-aligned approach, avoiding involvement in what he calls a genocidal and brutal war. by Vladimir Rozanskij According to an estimate released in December and immediately withdrawn, 250,000 people have returned from the war in Ukraine and are now looking for work. For them, the TV channel Rossija-1 airs the program Budem Zit, We Will Live Again. There is a risk of a repeat of the situation in the 1980s, when the Afghans were a long-standing unresolved problem in Moscow. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Life after Svo, the special military operation in Ukraine, is a difficult problem to solve for the Russian authorities, who, in addition to medals and titles of national heroes, must also find answers to disability as a result of war wounds, post-traumatic stress, unemployment, and many other forms of hardship. In addition to propaganda, many Russian television programs are launching appeals to find answers. The main channel, Rossiya-1, airs the program Budem Zit, We Will Live Again, which seeks to give meaning to the slogan Svoikh nie brosaem, We don't abandon our own. The program features former paratrooper Aleksandr Simonenko, a veteran of both the war in Ukraine and the civil war in Chechnya at the beginning of the century, who explains how it is impossible for him to find work because of the trauma he has suffered, which makes him unsuitable for any job. Doctors refuse to sign his disability certificate, despite the fact that his left arm no longer works and his civil status remains in limbo, but even his appearance on screen fails to convince the commission to issue him with the certificate. Former marine Anton Filimonov joins presenter Natalia Popova, wife of Putin's great mediator Kirill Dmitriev and close friend of Vladimir Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova, on these programmes. Appealing to these high-level connections, Simonenko's problem is solved by bypassing the commission's resistance and assigning him the role of caretaker of the Moscow ice rink, 20,000 rubles per month (200), the typical Soviet job to formally avoid unemployment. Tatiana Rybakova, an economic journalist at Most who follows developments in the Russian labor market, notes that finding any form of employment for this category of people can only be a state initiative, with special projects in large construction sites or industrial agglomerations, recalling that since last year, there has been a reduction in jobs and working hours to save on expenses. Factories are switching to a four-day working week, entrepreneurs are unable to cope with the stagnant economic crisis and enormous fiscal pressures, and consumers themselves are increasingly reducing their demand in an attempt to make ends meet. To help veterans, the Russian state has imposed a law requiring large corporations such as Rostekh and Rosatom to reserve jobs, and if any company hires a Svo participant, it receives a state subsidy of at least three minimum wages to offset the costs. The housing issue is also being resolved by granting free land or offering compensation of up to one million rubles (10,000), as is normally the case in Crimea and the Moscow province. At the end of December 2025, the director of the presidential administration for social affairs, Sergei Novikov, stated that 250,000 people had returned from the war front and needed to find work, but this news was then deleted from all media outlets. According to Russian law, soldiers who complete their mission cannot be left without accommodation, and today the situation of the 1980s at the end of the Soviet era seems to be repeating itself, when veterans of the war in Afghanistan were left in limbo and attempts were made to mask the crisis by claiming that it was a small group that remained on the margins of society, also considering that it was not considered an official war. The Afghans were a long-standing unresolved problem, people with serious physical and psychological trauma, and today Russian society once again finds itself with the Ukrainian strays, an indirect retaliation for a war that was unjust not only towards the people who were attacked, but also towards its own combatants and citizens. The government has identified the site, Minamitorishima, Japans easternmost island. Uninhabited and off-limits to tourists, it has some unexplored landmass capable of hosting a facility, according to Japans Industry Minister. Tokyo (AsiaNews) Japan wants to turn a remote, uninhabited Pacific island nearly 2,000 kilometres from Tokyo, into a nuclear waste dump. At a time when nuclear energy is becoming increasingly important due to rising prices and critical issues related to hydrocarbons, not least the war in Iran, which has affected oil output and interrupted the flow of crude oil and natural gas, the disposal of nuclear waste remains unresolved. Finding a permanent storage location for spent fuel, which can remain dangerous for thousands of years, is a huge challenge. Japan is no exception. Japans energy policy seeks the "maximum use of nuclear power" in a safe manner, 15 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011. For this reason, official sources note that the government plans to carry out a preliminary survey on Minamitorishima, Japan's easternmost island in the Pacific, to assess its suitability for taking nuclear waste. Owned by the government, the island has no permanent civilian population and is off-limits to tourists, but has an unexplored land mass capable of hosting a facility," Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa said at a press briefing on Tuesday. The triangular-shaped island is surrounded by a coral atoll and has some "scientifically favourable traits," he explained. A request to this effect was subsequently submitted to the Tokyo municipality that administers the island to inspect its ground conditions and volcanic activity through geological records, the first step in a three-part survey to select the final disposal site. Previous probes have been conducted at three locations on two of Japan's four main and densely populated islands, two in Hokkaido and one in Kyushu. Minamitorishima, which is approximately 1.5 square kilometres, is the first candidate chosen by the central government on its own initiative. By comparison, Finland has already built the world's first deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel, the Onkalo facility, where waste is supposed to be isolated 400 metres below ground. Meanwhile, on 22 January, Japan restarted the world's largest nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima meltdown, which forced the authorities to shut all its reactors. The decision to resume power generation at reactor number 6 in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, northwest of Tokyo, was made despite residents' concerns, with the restart delayed by a day due to an alarm malfunction. Japan has been trying for a while to revive its civilian nuclear power sector to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels. How Dr. Harrison Lee Approaches Facial Rejuvenation An Experienced Plastic Surgeon's Approach to Restoring Vitality to Your Face Some are still adjusting to this new year; writing a bucket list or deciding on a resolution and ready for big changes a renewed interest in life. Those who want to improve their self-esteem and regain a youthful appearance can choose facial rejuvenation surgery, now modernized to deliver incremental, long-lasting, and safe improvements. Facial plastic surgery has come a long way from its beginnings in 600 BCE in India, with unique procedures emerging in different countries around the world hundreds of years apart. Today, the medical procedure is centered around technical restraint and outcomes that help patients age well. Surgeons now approach the face as a dynamic structure, thanks to advances in imaging, instrumentation, and surgical education. RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Chin Enhancement Surgery In 2026, innovation is not the headline for the facial plastic surgery field. Its the pride of leadership. This role requires significant training and the ability to explain complex anatomy to patients in practical, straightforward terms. Dr. Harrison Lee is a key figure in this discussion because his career reflects a path leading to modern facial rejuvenation in a less-invasive form. His work exemplifies how structural science and aesthetic judgment fit together. This generation of patients arrives at their consultation with greater expectations today than in past eras of plastic surgery. They expect clarity, realistic goals, and procedures that fit neatly into their lives and dont interrupt their day-to-day schedules. A Leader Defined by Breadth of Expertise Dr. Lee has 27 years of skilled experience in surgery and holds practices in Beverly Hills and New York City. His background is significant and is stellar within his field. He holds triple board certification in oral and maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology with a head and neck surgery focus, and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. His combined certifications and surgical experience are unique and heavily influence how Dr. Lee plans and performs surgery. He considers the face as a complete structure, using a holistic eye to consider bone support, muscle position, and skin quality. These considerations all guide his decision-making. This approach supports a consistent take across all age groups and facial types. In consultations, Dr. Lee emphasizes understanding both anatomical features and patients' goals and concerns. In each case, thanks to these considerations, it is, in his view, a collaboration. He makes an effort to balance structural possibilities with personal preferences, achieving results that are individualized and enduring. Why Deep Plane and Endoscopic Facelifts Matter The goal of a modern facelift is not just surface tightening. Today, deep plane facelifts restore contour and balance through a process of repositioning deeper facial layers. Longer-lasting results are achieved by reducing skin tension. For patients who fear looking overdone, Dr. Lee focuses on continuing a persons unique features with each surgical plan. Each procedure avoids covering up or overwriting identity. Satisfied patients are confident in their outcomes. Endoscopic techniques are based on the same principles. These procedures are performed with small incisions and specialized tools, resulting in less visible scarring and faster recovery times. Structural Knowledge as a Surgical Advantage Dr. Lees training across dental, medical, and surgical disciplines includes an accelerated dental program at Tufts, residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery, medical school, and a head and neck surgery residency at Mount Sinai. A facial plastic surgery fellowship in Beverly Hills completed this educational foundation. His path supports Dr. Lees ability to consider complex facial anatomy with knowledge and clarity. When patients discuss options, he explains how structure affects outcomes, helping create a team-directed, informed decision. Education, Research, and the Road Ahead Dr. Lees influence extends beyond the operating room. He teaches, publishes research, and speaks at national and international conferences. His work contributes to the evolution of standards in facial plastic surgery and to ongoing professional education. With the beginning of 2026, Dr. Lees focus remains on refinement and innovation, based on advanced minimally invasive techniques. This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider. You Might Also Dig: Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 5 March 2026 14:10 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more For decades, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) has lived as a strategic island, separated from the Azerbaijani mainland by geography and history. During the 1990s, Armenia attempted to choke the region into submission by cutting off all land and rail links. Today, a new aggressor has emerged using the same old playbook. Recent reports of Iranian drone activity targeting the Nakhchivan International Airport signal a dangerous shift in regional grey-zone warfare. By hovering over the runway, the "Mullah Regime" isn't just testing a drone; they are testing the limits of a lifeline. Nakhchivan is an exclave. Because it shares no land border with mainland Azerbaijan, it relies almost entirely on its airport for several reasons. That includes the daily commute of thousands of citizens and life-saving cargo that cannot wait for transit through third countries, while maintaining the defensive integrity of the region. 'Historical reference' In the early 90s, during the first Karabakh war, Armenia successfully turned Nakhchivan into a "dark zone" by cutting electricity and land routes. The airport became the "Lungs of Nakhchivan." By targeting the airport now, Tehran is attempting a "Blockade 2.0." They realize that if the airport is rendered unsafe or non-operational, Nakhchivan becomes effectively paralyzed. We are talking about an attempt that would end with isolating 460,000 people from their capital, Baku. Targeting a civilian international airport is a red line. Under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) regulations, interfering with civilian flight paths is a form of state-sponsored provocation that risks the lives of hundreds of innocent passengers. The Geopolitical "Why?" Why now? The answer lies in the Zangezur Corridor. Iran fears losing its transit monopoly between Turkiye and Central Asia. By threatening Nakhchivans air space, they are trying to gain a bargaining chip against Azerbaijans infrastructure projects. It is a signal to Baku that "if you seek a corridor through the land, we will close your corridor through the sky." This thesis has been around for a big amount of period, especially since Azerbaijan regained its occupied territories. Perhaps the current situation in Iran suggests that it might be a great time to implement this idea. However, Tehran's plans might be to: cause panic, trying to justify its defensive act against US and Israel forces. Consequently, that means the countries would decide to put diplomatic pressure on the US specifically. The other reason also comes within the effect of this war atmosphere - basically implying the idea "If I am going down, we are all going down". However, unlike the 90s, Azerbaijan today possesses the technological and diplomatic depth to ensure its "Lungs" keep breathing. Now let us see how the situation unfolds further. 5 March 2026 19:55 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more In a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict, Azerbaijans neutrality was tested this morning when Nakhchivan Airport came under drone and missile fire around 11:00 a.m., reportedly launched from Iran. The attack, which caused casualties, marks the first direct spillover of the Iran-Israel-United States war into Azerbaijani territory as the confrontation enters its sixth day. Irans Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking to Azerbaijani media, insisted that Azerbaijan was not the intended target. Yet the strike raises troubling questions - if Azerbaijan has deliberately avoided entanglement in the conflict, why has it now been drawn into its line of fire? Unlike Gulf states, where U.S. military bases provided Iran with a stated rationale for its actions, Azerbaijan hosts no such facilities. This undermines any logical justification for the attack. Beyond violating international law, the strike represents a breach of neighborly relations. Diplomatic history underscores the contradiction. Following the death of Irans former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev personally visited the Iranian embassy in Baku to offer condolences. Meanwhile, the Astara border has served as a humanitarian lifeline: since February 28, more than 1,200 civilians, including 37 foreign nationals, have been evacuated through Azerbaijans territory. Against this backdrop, the attack has understandably fueled public doubt: if Azerbaijans policy is neutral and humanitarian, why should the country, particularly Nakhchivan, be subjected to Iranian strikes? Military expert Adalat Verdiyev told Azernews that Nakhchivans targeting is deliberate and strategically motivated. Iran attacked to sever Azerbaijans connection with Nakhchivan. Azerbaijan has no land connection to the exclave; it is accessible only by air. During the First Karabakh War, Armenia attempted a similar strategy but failed, Verdiyev explained. Nakhchivan also provides Azerbaijan with a land border with Turkiye, amplifying its strategic importance. On March 4, Turkiye itself was targeted by a missile launched from Iranian territory, intercepted over Syrian airspace. Although Iran denied responsibility and claimed Turkiye was not the target, the incident has heightened suspicions about Tehrans intentions. According to Verdiyev, Iran is attempting to shift the battlefield away from its own territory by striking neutral states. Iran is on the verge of defeat against the U.S. and Israel. Rather than confronting U.S. aircraft carriers or Mossad agents directly, Iran is launching drone and missile strikes on neutral countries like Turkiye and Azerbaijan. There is ample photographic and video evidence of the damage. Azerbaijan and Turkiye both have the right to respond, but any retaliation will be carried out at the right time and in the right manner, he said. Irans actions reflect both military desperation and political calculation. With 30-40 million ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Iran, the regime faces internal pressures. Popular discontent, fueled by war fatigue and growing opposition to clerical rule, is intensifying. In this context, targeting Azerbaijan risks further alienating Irans own Azerbaijani population and may prove counterproductive. Verdiyev went further, urging South Azerbaijanis to rise against the clerical regime: The Iranian population must now stand against this dishonorable regime. It should not continue its activities; the state must be dismantled, and those responsible punished, he concluded. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, stressing that it violates international law and contributes to regional instability. It is clear that Azerbaijan seeks peace, not war. The state does not interfere in the internal affairs of others and does not engage in actions contrary to international law. Ensuring stability and peace in the region remains a core priority. The strike on Nakhchivan highlights the fragility of regional security and the risks of conflict spillover. By targeting neutral states, Iran not only undermines its diplomatic standing but also risks provoking retaliatory measures from countries that have so far avoided direct involvement. For Azerbaijan, the incident raises critical questions about the sustainability of its neutrality. While Baku has positioned itself as a humanitarian actor, the attack may force a recalibration of its security posture. The coming days will reveal whether Azerbaijan and Turkiye opt for military retaliation or continue to rely on diplomatic channels to contain escalation. 5 March 2026 13:58 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The VAT Refund mechanism in Azerbaijan will be fully automated in the coming days, said Orkhan Nazarli, head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan. As reported by AzerNEWS, speaking at the forum Vision for the Future of the Tax System: A New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions in Baku, Nazarli said the initiative will simplify the VAT refund process for citizens. He noted that the State Tax Service is launching a new social partnership project together with Kapital Bank and PASHA Bank. The goal of the project is to further simplify the VAT refund mechanism for citizens and ensure that refunded funds are received more quickly, Nazarli said. Under the new system, when payments are made using cards issued by the two banks, receipt data generated by new-generation cash registers will automatically appear in the taxpayers electronic cabinet. The process of submitting a VAT refund request will also be fully automated. According to Nazarli, the new system will increase transparency while significantly simplifying the refund process for citizens. 5 March 2026 17:01 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Azerbaijans Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov held a meeting with Indonesias Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan, Berlian Helmi, to discuss opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, AzerNEWS reports. During the meeting, the sides explored prospects for strengthening collaboration in energy security, renewable energy, and sustainable development, as well as promoting business partnerships and investment in the energy sector. Particular attention was given to the continuation of crude oil supplies from Azerbaijan to Indonesia and the potential participation of both sides in joint exploration and production projects in the oil and gas sector. The discussions also addressed the development of cooperation between Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR and Indonesias Pertamina in the fields of oil products and oil and gas processing. The parties also highlighted the significant renewable energy potential of both countries. Opportunities for cooperation in wind and solar energy projects, as well as the application of waste-to-energy technologies and biomass-based energy production, were discussed. During the talks, both sides stressed the importance of actively involving the private sector alongside state institutions in the development of energy cooperation. It was also agreed that the first meeting of the AzerbaijanIndonesia Energy Working Group will be held in the near future to further advance collaboration in the sector. 4 March 2026 23:46 (UTC+04:00) On March 4, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade hosted an Iftar ceremony on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan at his residence. Leyla Aliyeva, Arzu Aliyeva, and the heads of various religious confessions operating in ceremony attended the ceremony. The event commenced with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by the collective Ramadan prayer. Addressing the ceremony, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade underscored the spiritual significance of the holy month of Ramadan. He highlighted the high level of state-religion relations in Azerbaijan, as well as the exemplary atmosphere of religious tolerance prevailing in the country. He emphasized that Azerbaijan consistently advocates Islamic values and interests on the global stage, making significant contributions to Islamic solidarity while maintaining a resolute stance against Islamophobia. In their remarks, the speakers representing various religious confessions and other guests hailed Azerbaijans efforts to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue globally. They also mentioned that the country has established a unique and exemplary model of peaceful coexistence. The ceremony followed by an Iftar meal for the participants. 5 March 2026 10:00 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The return of former internally displaced persons to Azerbaijans liberated territories continues under the Great Return program implemented in accordance with the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev. AzerNEWS reports that in the latest phase of the relocation process, 90 families comprising 346 people have moved to the city of Aghdam. The families returning to Aghdam had been temporarily settled in different parts of Azerbaijan for decades, mainly in dormitories, sanatoriums and administrative buildings after being displaced during the First Karabakh War. For many of them, the journey back to their hometown marks the end of more than thirty years of displacement and the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Speaking to local media outlets, former internally displaced person, Rasim Imanov, described the day as one of the most significant moments of his life. Today is a very remarkable day. We are going to live in Aghdam again. I grew up there my childhood passed in that city, and I also received my secondary education there, he said. Imanov explained that he spent half of his life living in Baku as an internally displaced person after being forced to leave his hometown. Now returning to our native land is a great joy and a gift for us, he said. According to him, the hope of returning to Aghdam never faded despite decades of uncertainty. I always believed that we would return one day. I just didnt know whether it would happen through war or peace. May God grant our President good health. We fought and achieved victory. This is a great success. I am proud of my President. Let the whole world know that we are proud of him. May God protect him and the Azerbaijani people, Imanov added. Another returning resident Abulfat Suleymanov said the day of return was filled with overwhelming emotions. For more than thirty years we lived in unfinished buildings. Today our joy has no limits. We are going to our native Aghdam. May God protect our state, he said. Suleymanov noted that when he was forced to leave Aghdam in the early 1990s, he was 32 years old and fled the city with four family members. Now, at the age of 66, he is returning with a much larger family. When we left Aghdam we were four people. Now I am returning at the age of 66 with ten members of my family, together with my children and grandchildren. We are going back to our homeland. May God rest the souls of our martyrs and grant health to our veterans, he added. Residents returning to their native land expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the comprehensive state support provided to former displaced families. They also conveyed their appreciation to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, whose soldiers and officers liberated the occupied territories, and paid tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the war. Aghdam, located in southwestern Azerbaijan, is the administrative center of the Aghdam district. The city was largely destroyed and depopulated in 1993 during the First Karabakh War, eventually earning the nickname the Ghost Town of the Caucasus. Following the restoration of Azerbaijani control over the region in 2020, large-scale reconstruction projects have been launched in the city. New residential areas, industrial facilities and modern infrastructure are currently being developed as part of the governments broader strategy to revive the liberated territories and ensure the sustainable return of former displaced residents. The arrival of new families in Aghdam represents another step in the ongoing effort to restore life in a city that once stood empty for decades. For many of them, the return is more than a relocation it is the long-awaited restoration of a homeland. 5 March 2026 12:38 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Azerbaijans key economic and financial pillars remain robust, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said during a forum in Baku titled Vision for the Future of the Tax System: A New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions. As reported by AzerNEWS, Jabbarov noted that 2025 was a significant year for strengthening Azerbaijans international standing. He said progress on the peace agenda has opened up major economic development prospects for both Azerbaijan and the wider region. Strategic partnership agreements signed with global economic partners are further enhancing the countrys growing geoeconomic role. These partnerships create new opportunities for deeper integration into global value chains across investment, trade, energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, high technologies, and other sectors, the minister said. Jabbarov emphasized that economic diversification remains a central strategic priority, with the non-oil and gas sector now serving as the primary driver of economic growth. Between 2021 and 2025, Azerbaijans non-oil and gas GDP recorded average annual real growth of 5.9%, becoming the main source of economic expansion. The minister also highlighted the important role of the private sector in diversification, supported by active government policies. In recent years, much of the state support for the private sector has been delivered through tax and customs incentives, he said, adding that this strategic approach has led to significant qualitative and structural changes in the economy. As a result, the private sectors contribution to tax revenues has increased substantially. In 2024, revenues from the non-oil private sector accounted for 76% of total tax receipts from the non-oil and gas economy, according to Jabbarov. He also noted that in 2025 investments in fixed capital directed to the non-oil private sector grew by 11.1%, while foreign-sourced investments in fixed capital increased by 24%. Investment in the non-oil industrial sector rose by up to 26%, and the sectors value added expanded by an average of 8% annually between 2021 and 2025. These trends have significantly increased the role of the non-oil economy. Its share in GDP rose from 58.3% in 2018 to 71.5% in 2025, the minister said. In 2025, tax revenues accounted for 12.7% of GDP, while tax revenues from the non-oil and gas sector represented 13% of non-oil GDP, marking increases of 3.4 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively, compared with 2018. During the same period, the share of tax revenues from the private non-oil sector in GDP increased by 2.2 percentage points to reach 9.9%. Jabbarov added that macroeconomic stability, strong investment protection mechanisms, and an improved business environment are creating long-term confidence for investors. Azerbaijans strategic geographic position, its transport and logistics capabilities, developed infrastructure in economic zones, tax and customs incentives, as well as public-private partnership mechanisms and joint investment funds with various countries offer investors opportunities to participate in sustainable projects and partnerships that bring technology, capital, and expertise, he said. Amid these positive economic trends, Azerbaijans sovereign credit rating has also improved. International rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody's have upgraded the countrys sovereign credit rating to investment grade, assigning outlooks of stable and positive, respectively, for the upcoming period. 5 March 2026 14:50 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more RECAP: Drone attacks on Nakhchivan: On March 5, drones reportedly launched from Iranian territory struck Nakhchivan International Airport and surrounding areas, including near a school in Shekarabad. Four people were injured, two with barotrauma and two with blunt trauma, all in stable condition. Iranian claims: The Sepah Pasdaran News Channel (IRGC-affiliated) claimed an Arash-2 drone targeted a drone at the airport, describing the area as a site where foreign officers were planning attacks on Iran. The channel called it a warning to Azerbaijan, describing the Baku government as a traitor. Regional reactions: Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the attacks, calling them hostile acts violating international law and threatening regional security. Both countries expressed solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan and supported their right to defend sovereignty and airspace. Azerbaijans response: The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan and the Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes, stating that the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure without military necessity. Authorities emphasized that Iran bears full responsibility and warned that the attacks will not go unanswered. Official investigations and diplomatic actions: Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian ambassador, issued a formal protest, and called on Tehran to clarify the incidents. Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied targeting neighboring countries and called for an investigation of the events. xxxxxx Irans General Staff of the Armed Forces has denied reports that drones were launched from Iranian territory toward Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. In a statement cited by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the General Staff rejected allegations that Iranian armed forces had deployed drones targeting the Republic of Azerbaijan. Iran, while respecting the sovereignty of all countries, especially Muslim and neighboring states, denies the launch of drones by its armed forces toward the Republic of Azerbaijan, the statement said. The statement also claimed that such incidents have previously been associated with what it described as attempts by the Zionist regime to undermine relations between Muslim countries through various means. According to the General Staff, initial assessments suggest that the alleged incident may have been carried out in an attempt to falsely accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran. xxx Four people were injured at Nakhchivan International Airport following drone attacks reportedly launched from Iranian territory, local authorities said. The injured were admitted to the Emergency Medical Department of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Hospital. Sahib Abuzarov, head of the hospitals emergency department, said that two of the patients sustained barotrauma, while the other two suffered blunt trauma to the back. All four are reported to be in stable condition and have been admitted to the relevant hospital departments for treatment. xxx A Telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sepah Pasdaran News Channel, posted claims regarding a drone incident at Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. The post alleges that an Iranian Arash-2 drone targeted a drone at the airport, describing the area as a location where foreign officers were planning attacks on Iranian infrastructure. According to the channel, the drone carries a 120 kg warhead and is operated by the Iranian Army Ground Forces. The post framed the strike as a warning to Azerbaijan, referring to the Baku government as a traitor and characterizing the action as a message to external adversaries. The post reads: "The drone that was at the Nakhchivan Airport, specifically in a section where Zionist regime and American officers were planning and managing attacks on our country's infrastructure, was crushed by an Arash-2 drone. The enemy sees this for themselves and must know that Iran does not joke or compromise with any party. With a 120 kg warhead and very high destructive power, it is utilized by the Army Ground Force. This was only a warning shot to the mercenary regime and the traitor of Baku. xxx Saudi Arabia and Qatar have strongly condemned Irans recent attacks targeting Turkiye and Azerbaijan, describing the actions as hostile violations of international law and a threat to regional stability, AzerNEWS reports. According to statements released by their foreign ministries, Saudi Arabia denounced what it described as Irans attempts to target both the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Riyadh characterized the actions as hostile acts that violate international law and internationally accepted norms. In its statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the attacks demonstrate an unjustifiable hostile stance. These cowardly attempts against both countries demonstrate a hostile position that cannot be justified under any circumstances, the ministry stated. Saudi Arabia also warned that Irans repeated actions against countries in the region risk escalating tensions and undermining regional security and stability. The statement emphasized that the government and people of the Kingdom stand in full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Riyadh reaffirmed its support for both countries right to defend their security, airspace, territorial integrity, and citizens, while also praising ongoing efforts aimed at preventing further escalation and maintaining regional stability. Meanwhile, Qatar also strongly condemned Irans actions, particularly the drone attack targeting an airport in Azerbaijan. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the targeting of Turkiye with a ballistic missile and the attack on an airport in Azerbaijan using Iranian drones constitute hostile acts. Doha described the incidents as a dangerous escalation and a clear violation of state sovereignty, warning that such actions pose a direct threat to regional peace and stability. The ministry reiterated Qatars full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan and expressed its support for all measures both countries may take to protect their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. xxx Another video has been released showing an Iranian drone landing near a school. Your browser doesn't support video. Please download the file: video/mp4 Your browser doesn't support video. Please download the file: video/mp4 xxx Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, has addressed reports indicating that drones struck Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. He stated that Tehran does not target neighboring countries and emphasized that the incident should be thoroughly investigated. In an interview with AnewZ, Gharibabadi reiterated that only those countries hosting military bases for their adversaries would be targeted. Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has responded to reports that drones struck Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan, saying Tehran does not target neighbouring countries and that the incident must be investigated. Gharibabadi who was speaking to AnewZ pic.twitter.com/zkL9OVOPfB AnewZ (@Anewz_tv) March 5, 2026 xxx The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has condemned drone attacks carried out from Iranian territory targeting civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, AzerNEWS reports. In a statement released on March 5, the ministry said the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran launched unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against Nakhchivan International Airport and other civilian sites in the exclave. According to the statement, the drones were deployed from Iranian territory. Authorities noted that the technical parameters of the UAVs and the full details of the attacks are currently under investigation. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry strongly condemned the strikes, emphasizing that the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure and were carried out despite the absence of any military necessity. The Islamic Republic of Iran bears full responsibility for the incident, the statement said. The ministry added that Azerbaijan is preparing the necessary response measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Officials also stressed that the attacks will not go unanswered. xxx The UAVs that fell in Nakhchivan are reported to be Iranian-made Arash-2 UAVs. We will provide official information as it becomes available. The DIO Arash, Arash 2 is an Iranian long-range one-way attack drone in the Islamic Republic of Iran's military service since 2020. It has a 2,000 km strike range and carries a 150 kg warhead. xxx We have photos taken from the scene following the drone attack on Nakhchivan International Airport. It is important to note that these drone attacks were launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic around noon today. One drone struck the terminal building of the Nakhchivan International Airport, while another fell near a school in the village of Shekarabad. As a result of the attack, the airport building sustained damage, and two civilians were injured. Images are provided by the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) xxx Azerbaijan has condemned drone attacks launched from the territory of Iran that targeted the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, causing damage to infrastructure and injuring civilians, according to an official statement, AzerNEWS reports. According to the information released, the incidents occurred around noon on March 5. Azerbaijani authorities said two drones were launched from Iranian territory toward Nakhchivan. One of the drones reportedly fell on the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, damaging part of the facility. Another drone crashed near a school building in the village of Shekarabad. Officials said the attack resulted in injuries to two civilians and caused damage to the airport building. Azerbaijan strongly condemned the strikes, describing them as unacceptable and stating that such actions contradict the norms and principles of international law. The Azerbaijani side also noted that the incident risks further escalating tensions in the region. Baku has called on Tehran to urgently clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and to provide an explanation. Authorities also demanded that the Iranian side take immediate measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The Azerbaijani government stated that it reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures. Following the incident, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Azerbaijani officials said a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side and a formal note of protest will be presented. xxx We have located one of the drones that crashed in an open area, quite close to the airport. xxx Iranian missiles, or what also seems like a drone, have struck the airport in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, though no official confirmation has been issued by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense or other authorities, AzerNEWS reports. Videos shared online appear to show flashes and explosions in the vicinity of the airport, with users alleging that the site was targeted amid the ongoing escalation involving Iran, the United States, and Israel. The authenticity of the footage and the exact circumstances of the alleged strike have not yet been independently verified. The reported incident comes as tensions across the region remain high following recent military operations against Iran, which have triggered retaliatory missile launches and heightened fears of a broader regional confrontation. Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Iran, Turkiye, and Armenia, occupies a strategically sensitive position in the South Caucasus. Any confirmed strike in the territory would mark a significant escalation with potential implications for regional security. Authorities in Azerbaijan have not yet released a statement regarding the circulating footage or the reported impact near the airport. Further details are expected as officials assess the situation and verify the information. Your browser doesn't support video. Please download the file: video/mp4 Your browser doesn't support video. Please download the file: video/mp4 5 March 2026 12:47 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Azerbaijan has condemned drone attacks launched from the territory of Iran that targeted the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, causing damage to infrastructure and injuring civilians, according to an official statement, AzerNEWS reports. According to the information released, the incidents occurred around noon on March 5. Azerbaijani authorities said two drones were launched from Iranian territory toward Nakhchivan. At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad. We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians. This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region. We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future. The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented. 5 March 2026 13:29 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has condemned drone attacks carried out from Iranian territory targeting civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, AzerNEWS reports. In a statement released on March 5, the ministry said the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran launched unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against Nakhchivan International Airport and other civilian sites in the exclave. According to the statement, the drones were deployed from Iranian territory. Authorities noted that the technical parameters of the UAVs and the full details of the attacks are currently under investigation. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry strongly condemned the strikes, emphasizing that the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure and were carried out despite the absence of any military necessity. The Islamic Republic of Iran bears full responsibility for the incident, the statement said. The ministry added that Azerbaijan is preparing the necessary response measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Officials also stressed that the attacks will not go unanswered. 5 March 2026 15:07 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Saudi Arabia and Qatar have strongly condemned Irans recent attacks targeting Turkiye and Azerbaijan, describing the actions as hostile violations of international law and a threat to regional stability, AzerNEWS reports. According to statements released by their foreign ministries, Saudi Arabia denounced what it described as Irans attempts to target both the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Riyadh characterized the actions as hostile acts that violate international law and internationally accepted norms. In its statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the attacks demonstrate an unjustifiable hostile stance. These cowardly attempts against both countries demonstrate a hostile position that cannot be justified under any circumstances, the ministry stated. Saudi Arabia also warned that Irans repeated actions against countries in the region risk escalating tensions and undermining regional security and stability. The statement emphasized that the government and people of the Kingdom stand in full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Riyadh reaffirmed its support for both countries right to defend their security, airspace, territorial integrity, and citizens, while also praising ongoing efforts aimed at preventing further escalation and maintaining regional stability. Meanwhile, Qatar also strongly condemned Irans actions, particularly the drone attack targeting an airport in Azerbaijan. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the targeting of Turkiye with a ballistic missile and the attack on an airport in Azerbaijan using Iranian drones constitute hostile acts. Doha described the incidents as a dangerous escalation and a clear violation of state sovereignty, warning that such actions pose a direct threat to regional peace and stability. The ministry reiterated Qatars full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan and expressed its support for all measures both countries may take to protect their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. 5 March 2026 15:20 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more A Telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sepah Pasdaran News Channel, posted claims regarding a drone incident at Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. The post alleges that an Iranian Arash-2 drone targeted a drone at the airport, describing the area as a location where foreign officers were planning attacks on Iranian infrastructure. According to the channel, the drone carries a 120 kg warhead and is operated by the Iranian Army Ground Forces. The post framed the strike as a warning to Azerbaijan, referring to the Baku government as a traitor and characterizing the action as a message to external adversaries. The post reads: "The drone that was at the Nakhchivan Airport, specifically in a section where Zionist regime and American officers were planning and managing attacks on our country's infrastructure, was crushed by an Arash-2 drone. The enemy sees this for themselves and must know that Iran does not joke or compromise with any party. With a 120 kg warhead and very high destructive power, it is utilized by the Army Ground Force. This was only a warning shot to the mercenary regime and the traitor of Baku. 5 March 2026 16:40 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The United Kingdom has strongly condemned the drone strikes launched on Nakhchivan, calling them completely unacceptable. As reported by AzerNEWS, Fergus Auld, the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, wrote on social media: "The UK condemns any actions that threaten Azerbaijans security. We stand in full solidarity with Azerbaijan and those affected during this difficult time. The Embassy is closely monitoring the situation." On March 5, Nakhchivan International Airport was targeted in a drone attack. The drones, which took off from Iranian territory, struck the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shekerabad village of Babek District. At least four civilians have been reported injured. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the incident promptly, provide explanations, and take immediate measures to prevent similar events in the future. The Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Darmchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest was delivered. 5 March 2026 16:02 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Irans General Staff of the Armed Forces has denied reports that drones were launched from Iranian territory toward Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. In a statement cited by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the General Staff rejected allegations that Iranian armed forces had deployed drones targeting the Republic of Azerbaijan. Iran, while respecting the sovereignty of all countries, especially Muslim and neighboring states, denies the launch of drones by its armed forces toward the Republic of Azerbaijan, the statement said. The statement also claimed that such incidents have previously been associated with what it described as attempts by the Zionist regime to undermine relations between Muslim countries through various means. According to the General Staff, initial assessments suggest that the alleged incident may have been carried out in an attempt to falsely accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran. 5 March 2026 16:19 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, a meeting of the Security Council was held under the chairmanship of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The head of state delivered a speech at the event. Speech by President Ilham Aliyev - Today, Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan. The Iranian state fired unmanned aerial vehicles into the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The targets of the attack were civilian facilities. The Nakhchivan International Airport, its terminal, a school, and other places were subjected to cowardly fire from Iran. The state of Azerbaijan vehemently condemns this ugly act of terror, and those who committed it must be immediately held accountable. Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable. This is not the first time that the Iranian state has committed an act of terror against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. We all remember too well that the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran was subjected to a terrorist act some time ago. A person instructed by the Iranian special services attacked the embassy and committed a bloody act of terror against Azerbaijani citizens. As a result, one citizen was killed and another was seriously injured. I should also note that an unarmed representative of the Azerbaijani special services neutralized the terrorist, who was armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a Molotov cocktail, and an axe. We had no doubt then either that the perpetrator was the Iranian statebecause that act of terror lasted about 40 minutes, both inside and around the embassy. During those 40 minutes, not a single security or police representative approached the embassy. It was clear that this act of terror was masterminded at the highest levels of the Iranian state in order to intimidate Azerbaijan and carry out dirty deeds against Azerbaijan. As you know, Azerbaijan reacted very harshly to the incident at that time. The Embassy of Azerbaijan was evacuated from Iran, and all diplomatic relations were suspended. The Iranian side had to apologize to us and admit its fault. At our insistence, the perpetrator of that terrorist act was handed the most severe punishment. In fact, the Iranian state, which was reluctant to carry out this punishment for a long time and even tried to save the criminal, was forced to execute the terrorist in the presence of Azerbaijans representatives. This time, the response will be the same. We will not put up with this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory measures. The Iranian side has been repeatedly informed, especially after the clashes that took place last year, that the territory of Azerbaijan will not be used against any neighboring state. We will not allow this, just as we have never allowed it to happen to date. True, in the summer of last year and in the period after that, Iran made some unfounded accusations against us. The state-controlled media of Iran were conducting a dirty campaign of slander against Azerbaijan in order to tarnish Azerbaijan and change the sentiments of our compatriots living in Iran. Because they know perfectly well that the independent state of Azerbaijan today is also a place of hope for many Azerbaijanis living in Iran. In other words, their goal was to tarnish us, slander us, and discredit us in the eyes of the public. Because there was no basis for that. Azerbaijan does not and will not participate in operations against Iran either then or now, because this is our position. We have no interest in conducting any operations against neighboring countries, nor does our policy allow it. We are protecting and have protected our territorial integrity. Just as we have put an end to the Armenian occupation, we are ready to show our strength against any evil force, and Iran should not forget this. This act of terror they committed, along with all other ugly factors, is an example of great ingratitude. As soon as the latest events occurred, we sent them a message and expressed our condolences. The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with his counterpart on my instructions. I went to their embassy to express my position and to offer condolences. In fact, no other head of state has visited any Iranian embassy. In other words, not appreciating this, downplaying it, and acting like vile and ungrateful people does not bring honor to anyone. These dishonorable people, those who committed this act of terror against us, will regret it. They should not test our strength. Those who once wanted to test our strength were crushed by the Iron Fist. Todays incident will also produce the same result. Therefore, an action plan should be prepared regarding this issue. All instructions have been given. The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a note of protest will be handed to him, and other diplomatic steps will be taken. Relevant instructions have been given regarding the border. I should also note that I was informed this morning that the deputy foreign minister of Iran called Baku and asked Azerbaijan for help in evacuating the employees of the Iranian embassy who were stranded in Lebanon, because they were unable to do that. I was informed about that. I immediately gave the order to provide assistance and to send a plane. They even said that they were ready to pay for that. I said that it is not necessaryif we do not provide assistance now in such a difficult time, then when should we provide assistance? In return for all this, to strike Nakhchivan in an ugly, cowardly, and shameless manner? This stain will never be erased from their ugly and unsightly face. Therefore, all necessary measures will be taken through diplomatic channels. Our Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and all other special forces have been brought to level-one mobilization and must be ready to conduct any operation. This is all for now. We will inform the Azerbaijani people about the progress of developments. The statement of the Ministry of Defense has already been published in the media. The people of Azerbaijan must be confident that any evil force will have to face our Iron Fist. 5 March 2026 17:37 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Embassy of Latvia in Azerbaijan strongly condemned the drone attacks targeting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, describing them as a violation of international law after the incident damaged airport infrastructure and injured civilians. AzerNEWS reports, the statement was shared on the official X account of the Latvian Embassy in Azerbaijan. The embassy expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan and reaffirmed its support for peace and security in the region. The attack occurred on March 5, when Nakhchivan International Airport was targeted by drones that reportedly took off from Iranian territory. The drones struck the airport building and also exploded near a secondary school in Shekerabad village of Babek District. At least four civilians were reported injured as a result of the attack. Following the incident, Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the Islamic Republic of Iran promptly clarify the situation, provide explanations, and take immediate measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Darmchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest was formally delivered. 5 March 2026 16:53 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Ukraine has expressed its support for Azerbaijan following reports of a drone attack on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. As reported by AzerNEWS, the statement was issued by the Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan. The Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan is closely monitoring reports and information regarding the attack by Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the statement said. The diplomatic mission expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan and called for closer international cooperation to counter threats to regional and global security. It should be noted that on March 5, Nakhchivan International Airport was targeted in a drone attack. The drones, which reportedly took off from Iranian territory, struck the airport building and exploded near a secondary school in Shekerabad village of Babek District. As a result of the incident, two civilians were injured. Following the attack, Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran promptly clarify the incident, provide an explanation, and take urgent measures to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Darmchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest was delivered to the Iranian side. 5 March 2026 17:02 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Azerbaijan has dismissed Irans denial of responsibility for the drone attacks carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, stating that the claims are unacceptable in light of technical evidence, AzerNEWS reports. In a statement, Azerbaijani authorities said remarks by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, asserting that Tehran respects the sovereignty of all countries, particularly Muslim and neighboring states, cannot justify the denial of the drone attacks reported earlier in the day. According to the statement, technical assessments established that four drones were directed by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran toward Azerbaijans Nakhchivan region. Officials said that one of the drones was destroyed by the Azerbaijani Army, while the remaining drones targeted civilian infrastructure. Among the intended targets was a secondary school building during school hours. Authorities noted that the drone aimed at the school failed to reach its target, crashing and exploding near the building without causing casualties at the site. Azerbaijan called on Iran to end what it described as blatant denial, issue an official apology for the incident, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable by the relevant Iranian authorities. 5 March 2026 17:22 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Azerbaijans Prosecutor Generals Office has launched a criminal investigation after unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched from Iranian territory targeted civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, AzerNEWS reports. According to a statement provided, the incident occurred on March 5, when two UAVs equipped with remotely controlled explosive warheads struck civilian sites in the region. Initial findings indicate that one drone hit the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, while another landed near an educational institution in the village of Shekerabad in Babek district. Authorities said the attack caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, particularly the administrative building and operations of Nakhchivan International Airport. As a result of the disruption, a civilian aircraft scheduled to operate flight 264 on the NakhchivanBaku route was forced to return to Baku for safety reasons while already in the air. Four civilians were injured during the incident. The Prosecutor Generals Office identified them as: Valiyeva Reyhana Sabir (born 1986), airport staff member Zulfugarli Zulfugar Mammad (born 1996), airport staff member Asgarov Mehdi Matlab (born 1996), airport staff member Jafarov Asad Vidadi oglu (born 1998), passenger awaiting boarding All injured individuals received medical assistance and remain under hospital observation. The Prosecutor General has opened a criminal case, with the investigation entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office. Prosecutors, together with other relevant state authorities, have examined the crime scene, collected evidence, and questioned victims and witnesses. Authorities have also ordered forensic examinations and launched technical investigations into the origin and flight path of the drones. Officials stated that all circumstances of the attack, which Azerbaijan says violated the norms and principles of international law, will be investigated thoroughly, and those responsible will be held accountable. The targeting of civilians and strategic infrastructure constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, the Prosecutor Generals Office said. Authorities added that the public will be informed about further developments in the investigation. 5 March 2026 17:34 (UTC+04:00) Moldova strongly condemns the attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan targeting civilian facilities and injuring two civilians, Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popsoi said on X. Moldova stands in solidarity with Azerbaijan and reaffirms its support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the minister added. It is worth noting that the attack occurred on March 5, when Nakhchivan International Airport was targeted by drones that reportedly took off from Iranian territory. The drones struck the airport building and also exploded near a secondary school in Shekerabad village of Babek District. At least four civilians were reported injured as a result of the attack. Following the incident, Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the Islamic Republic of Iran promptly clarify the situation, provide explanations, and take immediate measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Darmchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest was formally delivered. 5 March 2026 17:23 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijans Minister of Foreign Affairs, had a telephone conversation with his Georgian counterpart Maka Botchorishvili. AzerNEWS reports that the conversation focused on the ongoing developments following Irans drone attacks on Azerbaijan. Minister Bayramov briefed the Georgian FM on the drone attacks carried out by Iran against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on March 5. The attacks struck the terminal building of the Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring civilians, with another drone falling near a school in Shakarabad village. The Azerbaijani top diplomat noted that this attack carried out against the territory of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region. According to him, the Azerbaijani side demanded from the Iranian side to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding this incident, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future. The Georgian FM expressed her concern over the incident, underscoring the importance of safeguarding stability and security in the region. The conversation also addressed other issues of mutual interest. 5 March 2026 17:58 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more On March 5, Turkiyes Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a telephone conversation with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister following the recent attacks targeting Turkiye and Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. According to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, during the call, a firm protest was expressed regarding Irans missile attack on Turkiye the previous day and the drone attack targeting Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The sides stressed that such attacks are unacceptable, noting that they contradict the norms and principles of international law and contribute to rising tensions in the region. During the conversation, the ministers also discussed measures to ensure the safety of flights to Nakhchivan. It was noted that, for the time being, flights will be temporarily organized to Turkiyes Igdr Airport. Both ministers emphasized the importance of maintaining close coordination within the framework of the strategic alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkiye. Earlier on March 5, Nakhchivan International Airport came under a drone attack. According to Azerbaijani authorities, a drone launched from Iranian territory struck the airport area, while another fell and exploded near a secondary school in the village of Shekarabad in Babek district. As a result of the incident, four civilians were injured. Following the attack, Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry demanded that Iran urgently clarify the circumstances, provide an explanation, and take the necessary steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. In connection with the incident, Irans Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilu, was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. 5 March 2026 17:25 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev held a phone conversation with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov regarding the latest developments in the region, AzerNEWS reprts. According to the press service of Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Bayramov condemned the drone strikes carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic earlier that day. He stressed that the attacks, which caused damage to civilian infrastructure and injured individuals, represent a violation of Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Azerbaijani side demanded that Iran clarify the incident, issue an official explanation and apology, and take urgent measures to prevent similar actions in the future. Minister Kosherbayev expressed deep concern over the attacks and voiced hope that the situation would not escalate further. 5 March 2026 19:10 (UTC+04:00) The Cabinet of Ministers has announced a decision to suspend the movement of trucks across the Azerbaijani-Iranian state border. AzerNEWS reports that the measure follows attacks carried out on March 5 against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Unmanned aerial vehicles targeted civilian infrastructure during the assault. The International Airport of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a school, and other areas came under fire from Iran. Several civilians sustained injuries, and the airport terminal building suffered damage. In light of the current situation resulting from these attacks, which violate international law norms and principles, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to temporarily and completely suspend the movement of trucksincluding transit vehiclesthrough all border crossing points along the Azerbaijani-Iranian state border. 5 March 2026 19:15 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, AzerNEWS reports. The Turkish President condemned the drone attack carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, expressing support for the brotherly Azerbaijani people. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the phone call and for his stance. 5 March 2026 19:46 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi made a phone call to Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. During the telephone conversation, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov strongly condemned the drone attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran on the territory of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, expressing strong protest against these attacks. He emphasized that these attacks on Azerbaijani territory contradict the norms and principles of international law, and serve to exacerbate tension in the region. Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed his concern over the drone attacks on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, noting that the Iranian side and the military have launched an investigation into this incident. The Iranian minister wished a speedy recovery to the injured civilians. FM Bayramov underlined that Azerbaijan expects Iran to issue an apology regarding the attack, provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, an explanation regarding the outcomes of the investigation, and take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future. 5 March 2026 21:08 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar held a phone conversation with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. During the telephone conversation, the sides exchanged views on growing security risks in the region, particularly rising military tensions, and their impact on regional stability. FM Bayramov informed his counterpart about the drone attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the territory of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on March 5. He emphasized that this incident contradicts Azerbaijans sovereignty and violates the norms and principles of international law. The Israeli side condemned the attack, describing it as unacceptable, and expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan. 5 March 2026 23:23 (UTC+04:00) Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has shared a post on X, regarding Iran's recent drone strike in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan. The Pakistani PM has expressed his deep concern for the recent attack and condemned such an action by the neighboring Iran. According to AzerNEWS, the post reads: We express our serious concern over the recent attacks on the brotherly country of Azerbaijan. Pakistan stands firmly with the leadership and people of Azerbaijan and condemns such deplorable actions that risk further escalation and undermine regional peace and stability. We urge restraint and reiterate the need to de-escalate tensions and pursue dialogue and diplomacy to preserve peace and stability in the region. 5 March 2026 09:00 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The introduction of artificial intelligence technologies is increasingly reshaping working conditions across a wide range of sectorsfrom content moderators and data annotation specialists to couriers and drivers operating on digital platforms, AzerNEWS reports. This observation is highlighted in a report following a joint webinar hosted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which examined the impact of AI on employment worldwide. Experts emphasize that behind every chatbot, social media algorithm, and automated system lies an often invisible workforce. This includes content moderators exposed daily to harmful and disturbing material, and data annotation specialists who organize information to train AI algorithms. Ben Richards, representing the international trade union network UNI Global Union, stressed that workers in these roles face extreme pressure, continuous monitoring, low pay, and significant mental health risksregardless of the country. He highlighted the organizations efforts to create a global alliance of content moderators and develop safe work protocols rooted in the right to collective bargaining and association. The report also sheds light on the growing use of algorithmic management, where software dictates the pace of work, task allocation, and performance evaluation. Evelyn Astor, Director of Economic and Social Policy at the International Trade Union Confederation, warned that without proper regulation, AI could exacerbate existing workplace risks, including threats to physical safety. For example, trade unions have documented road accidents involving delivery couriers, which they link to stringent algorithmically determined deadlines. A study by the University of Cambridge published in 2025 found that nearly two-thirds of UK drivers and couriers reported anxiety caused by sudden schedule changes and unfair feedback from automated systems. Even without explicit instructions to ignore safety rules, incentives such as fines, bonuses, or priority order assignments can push workers to take dangerous risks. Similar challenges are emerging in other sectors where algorithms influence shift scheduling, pay structures, or personnel decisions. Bilal Jamusi, Deputy Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, pointed out that AI is increasingly used in systems affecting hiring decisions and access to essential services. He emphasized the urgent need for technical standards and employee training to ensure AI systems are reliable, transparent, and accountable. Cher Verik, ILO Coordinator on Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, noted that the question is no longer whether AI will transform the world of work, but how to ensure these changes foster decent employment, social justice, and human well-being. To address these challenges, the ILO and ITU are promoting international initiatives that shape global approaches to AI regulation, including the AI for Good platform and the Global Coalition for Social Justice. The UN system underscores that the ultimate goal is to harness artificial intelligence to unlock human potential, rather than undermine worker safety, dignity, or mental health. AI technologies offer immense opportunities for creating new types of jobssuch as AI trainers, ethics auditors, and algorithmic safety officersbut only if policymakers and employers prioritize transparency, fairness, and worker-centered design. Balancing innovation with protection could make AI a tool for empowering, not exploiting, the global workforce. 5 March 2026 11:21 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The United States Senate has blocked a resolution that sought to limit the authority of Donald Trump to carry out military action against Iran without congressional approval, AzerNEWS reports. The bipartisan measure failed to pass in the Senate with a 5347 vote, preventing it from advancing. The proposed resolution would have required explicit authorization from Congress for any additional military strikes on Iran. Supporters argued that such action should fall under the constitutional war-powers authority of the legislative branch. However, most Republicans opposed the initiative, maintaining that the president retains the authority to direct military operations as commander-in-chief. Rand Paul, a Republican senator from Kentucky, was the only member of his party to support the resolution. Meanwhile, Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voiced concerns about the scale of the ongoing conflict but ultimately voted against the measure. US-Israeli forces continue attacks on Iran as the conflict entered its sixth day. Iran reported the casualties have risen to nearly 1200. 5 March 2026 22:23 (UTC+04:00) By News Centre President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the Mehmetcik Iftar Program held at the Special Forces Command, praising the Turkish Armed Forces and emphasizing the nations enduring strength in the face of historical and contemporary challenges. Erdogan reflected on Turkiyes long history of resilience, noting that throughout the centuries, there have always been those who sought to limit the Turkish nations potential. We have succeeded in breaking these dirty and treacherous hands, one by one, despite all the impossibilities. Today, Turkiye stands as an island of stability amid a ring of fire surrounding us, he said, highlighting the deterrent power of the Turkish Armed Forces. He added, If we had listened to those who said, Dont conduct missile tests, the fish get scared, we would never have achieved this. Addressing the countrys historical legacy, Erdogan said, When our homeland, flag, independence, and sacred values are threatened, when our sovereignty and future are at risk, we have repeatedly demonstrated what kind of nation we are across our millennia-long history on this land. During his address, Erdogan congratulated soldiers observing Ramadan, wishing that God allow everyone to reach the holiday in good health and happiness with their families. He expressed his pleasure in sharing the holy month with the elite members of Turkiyes Special Forces, calling it a privilege to be among those he described as heroes of the homeland. May your fasts be accepted, Erdogan added. He further honored the service of all Turkish military personnel stationed across the nation, risking their lives to protect the country. May God assist all our security forcessoldiers, police, gendarmerie, village guards, and intelligence officers. May He protect them from every accident, calamity, attack, and betrayal, and may our armed forces always remain victorious, Erdogan said. The President commemorated all fallen soldiers, remembering them with prayers for their souls and blessings for their resting places. He specifically mentioned Major Bulent Albayrak, Major Murat Kemal Yetisen, Captain Ertug Guler, Captain Burak Coskun, First Lieutenant Enes Demir, 15 July hero Senior Sergeant Omer Halisdemir, Senior Sergeant Harun Turhan, Specialist Sergeant Nurettin Tokyurek, Specialist Sergeant Murat Yldrm, Specialist Sergeant Selcuk Paker, and all other heroes whose names are etched in the hearts of 86 million citizens. Erdogan also expressed gratitude to surviving veterans and wished them long and prosperous lives. We are followers of a faith that tells us martyrs do not die; rather, they live on to inspire us. Their sacred souls will guide us and illuminate our path in the nations blessed journey, Erdogan said, praising the elite Special Forces Command, the Maroon Berets, for their legendary achievements in both domestic operations and cross-border missions. Erdogan reflected on the bravery and dedication of these soldiers, quoting lines from Niyazi Yldrm Gencosmanoglu to illustrate their courage and selflessness: This earth is a battlefield, the heart does not love every arena. The coward has a blanket, give the field to the brave. O empty-hearted, flashy on the outside, dirty-handed, rusty-faced, may the generation of Asm come and make the field narrow for you. He congratulated the Maroon Berets and all members of this elite corps for their unmatched courage. Highlighting the close connection between the Turkish people and their military, Erdogan said, Throughout our thousand-year history, we have repeatedly shown what kind of nation we are when our homeland, flag, independence, and sacred values were threatened. Those who tried to brand us as the sick man, those who thought they could remove us from this land, and those who tried to silence our calls to prayer or lower our flag soaked in the blood of our martyrsall failed. We first defended Canakkale, and most recently, during the War of Independence, we broke every dirty hand that reached for our sacred lands. Without this fighting spirit, we could not have lived proudly for over a thousand years in the worlds most turbulent region. Today, Turkiyes status as a stable island amid surrounding chaos is owed first to our national character, which never accepts subjugation, and second to the deterrence provided by our heroic army. Erdogan stressed that Turkiyes globally recognized political, diplomatic, and economic strength is rooted in the Turkish Armed Forces, which continue to impress worldwide with their training, equipment, discipline, courage, and vision. He emphasized that the military is also a source of security for millions of allies and friends residing across the region. Recalling the recent inauguration of the largest simulator production and integration facility in Europe at HAVELSAN, Erdogan highlighted Turkiyes ongoing investments to strengthen the Navy with new platforms and ceremonies marking their commissioning. He announced that Turkiyes defense and aerospace exports exceeded $10 billion in 2025, a record achievement. Referring to NATO exercises in Germany, he said, Our Armed Forces not only made us proud but also received great admiration from our allies. If we had listened to those who said, Dont conduct missile tests, none of this would have been possible. Today, I reiterate this point: if we want to live in peace on our eternal homeland, we must constantly increase our deterrence. Emphasizing vigilance, Erdogan noted that Turkiye is ready to respond to any threat on its borders or airspace, coordinating closely with NATO allies to prevent incidents. He also reflected on Turkiyes resilience over the last 23 years, overcoming embargoes, sabotage, and conspiracies to reach levels once unimaginable. Concluding his address, Erdogan reaffirmed his commitment to the Century of Turkiye, promising to overcome obstacles, foil conspiracies, and leave a proud legacy for future generations: We will overcome all challenges and leave this country to our children as a source of pride, without falling into the traps set for us. 5 March 2026 16:21 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia has not received a request from Iran to send it weapons during the ongoing war, AzerNEWS reports. Asked by a reporter whether Moscow plans to offer material support to Iran, including arms, Peskov said: In this case, there were no requests from the Iranian side. Our consistent position is well known to everyone, and there have been no changes in this regard. Last year, Iran sealed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Russia. Russia is building two new nuclear units at Bushehr, the site of Irans only nuclear power plant, and Iran supplied Russia with Shahed drones for use against Ukraine. Azerbaijan is the recently joined in the long list of countries affected by the ongoing war. Azerbaijan has said that two drones were launched from Iran into its territory of Nakhchivan. Nakhchivan is an autonomous republic, an exclave sandwiched between Turkiye, Iran and Armenia. Two drones dropped there. One hit an airport building, which, from the videos weve seen, looked largely empty. Social media footage we saw showed smoke billowing from the building and some debris inside the building. It looks like the roof suffered some damage. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, has addressed reports indicating that drones struck Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. He stated that Tehran does not target neighboring countries and emphasized that the incident should be thoroughly investigated. Gharibabadi reiterated that only those countries hosting military bases for their adversaries would be targeted. The United States and Israel continue to launch airstrikes against Iran, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,045 people since Saturday. Meanwhile, Israeli forces are also targeting Lebanon. The US Senate has blocked a resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trumps military campaign against Iran, with a vote of 53 to 47 against the procedural motion. Irans Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has raised concerns about terrorist movements along the country's border with Iraq. He has called for enhanced security measures amid reports that the US is negotiating with Kurdish forces to arm them and encourage an uprising against Tehran. 5 March 2026 19:22 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The Christian Democrats in Stockholm have launched an initiative to ban children from wearing hijabs in kindergartens and primary schools, targeting ages one to nine, AzerNEWS reports. At the national level, the party also advocates prohibiting burqas and niqabs for employees of government agencies. "We are making this proposal because we see a concerning trend in Stockholms kindergartens. Swedish values must be respected, and children should be allowed to remain children," said party leader Nike Erbrink. Erbrink explained that the proposal reflects worries about growing pressure from parents and the influence of so-called honor norms within educational settings. The party also suggests conducting a study in local kindergartens to assess whether staff face similar pressures and how frequently children attend wearing headscarves. Christian Democrats argue that clear legislation would help kindergarten staff navigate issues related to religious and cultural norms more confidently. The initiative has sparked debate. Representatives from the Liberal Party warn that such a ban could prompt some parents to withdraw girls from municipal schools and enroll them in religious private institutions instead. This is not the first time Sweden has grappled with this issue. A few years ago, the municipalities of Skurup and Staffanstorp in the Skane region attempted to ban headscarves in kindergartens and schools. However, administrative courts ruled that these measures lacked legal grounding and violated religious freedom. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld this decision and refused to review the case. Interestingly, public opinion on the matter is divided. While some parents support the initiative as a way to promote integration and secular education, others argue that it infringes on personal freedoms and could stigmatize children for their religious identity. Experts suggest that the debate reflects broader societal tensions in Sweden over multiculturalism, secular values, and childrens rights. 5 March 2026 21:50 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. Google has announced that it will lower in-app payment fees for developers on its app marketplace Google Play and allow more third-party payment options. The move could significantly improve profits for content companies that have long complained about the platforms high commissions, AzerNEWS reports, citing Korean media. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 5 March 2026 22:53 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva By the end of the week, the United States Department of Justice is expected to publish around 50,000 additional documents that were previously considered missing in the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of running a large-scale sexual exploitation network involving minors, AzerNEWS reports. According to media reports, the materialsfirst mentioned in publications at the end of Januarymay have been temporarily classified or removed from public access by the agency. Some of the documents could contain unverified allegations involving high-profile figures, including the current U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as internal reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following an investigation by The Wall Street Journal and CBS News, which revealed that 47,635 files were missing from previously released archives, the Justice Department stated that the documents had been removed from the network for further review and technical processing and should be ready for republication by the end of the week. According to the analysis, the missing files include at least three FBI memoranda summarizing interviews conducted with a woman who, after Epsteins arrest in 2019, said she had been sexually assaulted when she was a minor. Officials previously noted that some documents in the archive contain unverified materials submitted by members of the public to the FBI, which may include inaccurate or misleading claims about various individuals, including political figures. Earlier, CNN reported that dozens of witness interrogation transcripts in the Epstein case had not been made public. Among them, according to the network, were three interview records from a woman who claimed Epstein repeatedly abused her starting at the age of 13. On January 30, 2026, the Justice Department completed the publication of a massive portion of the Epstein archive, including more than 3 million pages of documents, over 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to the investigation. The files reportedly mention dozens of prominent figures, including members of royal families, politicians, business leaders, diplomats, and scientists from various countries. Among the well-known people who had previously been reported to have contact with Epstein were the 42nd U.S. president Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, although the nature of many of those connections has remained unclear. The full release of Epstein-related materials was mandated by a law passed by the United States Congress in November 2025 and signed by President Trump. Lawmakers said the goal was to increase transparency around one of the most controversial criminal investigations in recent U.S. history. Epsteins criminal prosecution in the United States ended after he was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 in what authorities ruled a suicide. However, his death has continued to fuel speculation, public debate, and ongoing investigations into the broader network of individuals potentially connected to his activities. Interestingly, legal experts say that even years after Epsteins death, the continued release of documents could still lead to new civil lawsuits, reputational damage for prominent figures, and renewed scrutiny of how law enforcement handled the case. Capping Either End of Cannon Beach: Two Different Charmers of the N. Oregon Coast Published 03/03/26 at 6:55 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Cannon Beach, Oregon) There's a curious little aspect of many Oregon coast burghs that few know. As if a thematic thing running through them: quite often the best of their beaches lie at the extreme northern and southern ends. Certainly their least-populated strands tend to happen this way. (Above: Ecola Creek as seen from Schooner's Cove Inn) In Cannon Beach, it's just south of the Tolovana area and the stretch just north of downtown. Neither of which really seem to have district names, the northern section gets empty fast the farther you get from the creek, while the southern part takes you to eye-popping secrets. Up north, you bump into Chapman Point and where the town's beaches end (unless extreme tides let you into Crescent Beach). At the other end, you leave civilization behind and head into the geological and even mystic wonders of Silver Point. Silver Point, near Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast: Complete Guide Either way, you're at the end of Cannon Beach or its beginning. Depends on how you think about it. And like a pair of bookends, two of its more engaging places to stay cap either end as well. The Wayside Inn hovers just above the Tolovana Beach area, while Schooner's Cove Inn is like a gateway to the slightly hidden beaches around Ecola Creek. At a bend in the beach where sand meets a long stretch of stream, Cannon Beach suddenly serves up a bit of an architectural surprise. Schooner's Cove Inn rises three stories above 3rd Street with a run of A-frame angles and wood textures that feel part modern art, part Oregon-coast comfy. It's a little regal yet has that downhome texture one that lights up nicely with the sunset. Most rooms here face the ocean, and so does the inn's spa, wrapped in rustic wood and framing a knockout view. The beachfront lawn is a summer standout, dotted with loungers, picnic tables, and barbecues. Then there's winter here. When storms roll in, waves can slam right up against the seawall, turning the lawn's edge into a front-row seat for nature's theatrics. Every so often, during extreme conditions, those waves reach the seawall itself - an Oregon coast thrill for anyone watching. Those are two archetypal Oregon coast road trip elements right there. Just steps away, the stream flowing into the Pacific marks a major moment in American history. Lewis & Clark, Sacagawea, and their party trekked here in 1806 to inspect a beached whale and trade with local tribes. The whale-themed statue and gazebo commemorate that salty chapter. Inside, Schooner's Cove leans upscale while staying approachable. It caters to couples looking for a romantic stay as well as families or groups needing more space. Amenities include gas fireplaces in most rooms, kitchen units, free Wi-Fi, an elevator, a handicapped-accessible room, decks with sweeping views that include Haystack Rock, a guest laundry, and beach toys and blankets for kids - or anyone feeling like one. 188 North Larch Street, Cannon Beach, Oregon. (800) 843-0128. Schooners Cove Inn, The Wayside Inn has become one of Cannon Beach's standout pet-friendly hotels, and reviews frequently highlight just how dog-welcoming it is. Guests with pups receive gift baskets stocked with towels, a bowl, and a treat - small touches that go a long way. And the Wayside has a way of being surprisingly easy on the wallet. It's also known for its easy-going rates. Every room faces the ocean, and while the inn isn't directly on the sand, the surf still provides a steady soundtrack. Storm season adds extra drama, with breakers sometimes reaching the edge of the parking-lot embankment. It's a striking vantage point for watching the coast's winter moods. The inn also features a coveted heated indoor pool and hot tub. Its location puts guests close to the Warren House Pub, two small markets, and long stretches of beach. Haystack Rock and its Needles are an easy walk away, offering one of Oregon's most iconic views. Upper floors come with balconies, ground floors with patios, and throughout the property you'll spot the resident bunnies that have become part of the Wayside's charm. 3339 S. Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, Oregon, 888-659-6397. www.thewayside-inn.com Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW OREGON COAST HOTEL REVIEWS (hit refresh to see different reviews) What's Old Is New Again: N. Oregon Coast's Tolovana Inn Redecorates, Winter B... New decor at the hotel hotspot, winter brings drama below. Cannon Beach hotel reviews Two Vacation Home Openings This Time of Year on Oregon Coast? Yes, Even in Pa... Rare openings this week, later in August and some booking tips. Pacific City hotel reviews, vacation rentals Manzanita Hotel Review: Oregon Coast Inn A New Hotel Sitting quite a ways off the beaten path that is teensy Mohler and this highway, the Nehalem River Inn has returned. Now, at nearly 100 years old, the inn has gotten a new look and vibe. Nehalem Hotel Review Astoria/Warrenton Hotels, N. Oregon Coast Astoria/Warrenton Hotels, Astoria hotel reviews, Warrenton vacation rentals More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Washington Coast / Oregon Coast Articles (stories are random: hit reload to see different articles) Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted March 30 is 132nd-Year Celebration at Oregon Coast's Beloved Heceta Head Lighthouse Published 03/04/26 at 5:55 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Florence, Oregon) Oregon's famed Heceta Head Lighthouse is about to turn 132 years old, and she doesn't look a year over 100. Those who run the lighthouse and next door BnB (once the keepers quarters) are inviting the public to head out to Heceta Head on March 30 for the 132nd Birthday of Heceta Head Lightstation. It runs noon to 3 p.m. You'll hear about the history of Heceta Head and its keepers, enjoy live music, play games, and participate in their summer raffle to win excellent prizes. Scarf down complimentary hot dogs (provided by Taylor's Sausage), and there will be other refreshments as well as cookies and cupcakes. See https://www.hecetalighthouse.com/ Construction on the lighthouse began in 1892, and the light was first lit on March 30, 1894. Work unfolded in phases, starting with the keepers' home, which still stands today and is one of the few remaining on the Oregon coast. During World War II, the Navy established a significant presence here, building barracks, a mess hall, and other facilities. Seventy-five men were stationed on site, along with a pack of dogs used to patrol central coast beaches. Courtesy Keepers of Heceta Head Lightstation The last lighthouse keeper retired in 1963, and the operation has been automated ever since. He was actually the last keeper on the spooky Tillamook Rock a few years before. Summer tours of the lighthouse itself (March-October) happen 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and in the winter (November-February), but only if weather and staffing allow. However, you cannot go to the top anymore. These are guided tours of the bottom area, and they do not take reservations. It's best to call 541-547-3416 for details for those tours. Oregon Coast Beach Connection Years ago, park volunteer Ben Ervin spoke with Oregon Coast Beach Connection officials stopped offering trips to the top quite some time ago, and there's little chance they'll return. The main concern is the narrow spiral staircase leading to the light, which can only handle so much wear. There's a lot of wear and tear on the stairway, Ervin said. It wasn't built to accommodate thousands of people a year. It's rather unique, and not like a lot of other lighthouses, in that the spiral stairway is only connected at the top. There's not more than one landing along the way. That design has helped fuel a long-running rumor that the lighthouse itself vibrates in strong winds. Ervin said the shaking people feel is simply the stairway flexing under footsteps, creating the impression that the whole tower is moving. There's no way the tower moves, he said. Even so, the top of the lighthouse can play tricks on you. When the wind picks up and gusts push through the structure, it's easy to believe the tower is swaying. I've been up there too, and when the wind is really blowing, and there's puffs of air that come through, you swear it's moving, Ervin said. Despite the restricted access, Heceta Head Lighthouse remains an active navigational aid. Mariners rely on GPS and electronic systems now, but if equipment fails, the lighthouse is still a dependable backup. If the light ever goes out, Ervin noted, maritime authorities must be notified. Surprisingly, One Man Connects Oregon Coast Lighthouses at Heceta Head, Terrible Tilly Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - - Where to eat - - Florence Oregon Virtual Tour, Map MORE PHOTOS BELOW OREGON COAST HOTEL REVIEWS (hit refresh to see different reviews) Kiwanda Coastal Properties - Pacific City Hotel Reviews Rates rock bottom now, but for an extra 10 perc use code 'BEACHCONNECT'. Click to see Oregon Coast Play 'n Stay: Seaside's Prom Walk and Its Legendary Inns Quite a walk through time and scenery, with some stellar places to stay. Seaside lodging Seaside hotel reviews Summer's Surprise Rate Drops in July On Oregon Coast Include Lincoln City Bea... 20 percent some vacation rentals in the heat of July's highest rates. Lincoln City lodging specials, Lincoln City hotel reviews Three Capes Lodging Reviews, North Oregon Coast Find the ultiamte views. Three Capes Lodging, Oceanside hotel reviews, vacation rentals, Tillamook Coast Hotel Reviews More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Washington Coast / Oregon Coast Articles (stories are random: hit reload to see different articles) Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted The South Oregon Coast Clambake That's Not About Clams is Back: North Bend, March 12 - 15 Published 02/28/26 at 6:55 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Coos Bay, Oregon) - This one is about sizzling music - not cooking clams. The South Coast Clambake Music Festival returns to the Oregon coast March 1215, bringing four days of jazz, swing, doo-wop, blues, big band and 1950s rock to the Ko-Kwel Casino Resort in Coos Bay. Now in its 35th year, the festival is expected to draw music fans, dancers and musicians from across the region for one of the coasts longest-running live-music traditions. Janice Langlinais, executive director of the Coos Bay-North Bend-Charleston Visitor and Convention Bureau, said the event continues to be a major draw for what is known as Oregons Adventure Coast the Coos Bay / Charleston / North Bend area. For well over three decades, the South Coast Clambake Music Festival has been bringing music-lovers from far and wide to Oregons Adventure Coast for an unforgettable weekend of music, dancing and great times, she said. Theres a musical style for everyone, along with opportunities to experience something new. Throw in all the other attractions this region has to offer, not to mention the beautiful setting, and youve got all the ingredients for an unforgettable time on Oregons Adventure Coast. She noted this is also a chance to dig further into this area's scenery and attractions. The festivals name nods to an old term for a jam session, and this years lineup reflects that spirit. Performers span vintage swing, R&B, gospel-influenced blues, rockabilly and country-leaning acts. Among the featured bands are Alpha Rhythm Kings, Ben Rice & The PDX Hustle, Dave Stuckey & the Hot House Gang, Fenix Rising, Gino & The Lone Gunmen, Jay Si Proof, Lisa Mann Power Trio, Rae Gordon Band, Shaymus Hanlin, The Throttles and Tom Rigney & Flambeau. Ko-Kwel Casino Resort, the festivals host venue, offers multiple performance spaces equipped with modern sound systems, dance floors and bars. The waterfront resort includes more than 200 hotel rooms, a pool and spa, and a casino with table games and hundreds of gaming machines. Courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast Tickets are on sale, and visitors traveling for the festival will find a range of nearby activities, from coastal hikes and birding to fishing, shopping and forest bathing. A limited-time Local Vacation Loot promotion offers up to $120 in spending credit for guests who book two nights at participating Oregons Adventure Coast hotels, including Ko-Kwel Casino Resort. The credit can be used for dining, attractions and activities such as charter fishing, ATV rides and kayaking. More information about the South Coast Clambake Music Festival is available through Oregons Adventure Coast. What: The South Coast Clambake Music Festival is an annual and popular four-day music festival with a lineup that runs from jazz, rockabilly and swing to doo-wop, rock, the blues and big band. Where: Ko-Kwel Casino Resort | Coos Bay When: March 12-15, 2026 Tickets: at eventsbrite More information: Oregon's Adventure Coast The Bands: Alpha Rhythm Kings Ben Rice & The PDX Hustle Dave Stuckey & the Hot House Gang Fenix Rising Gino & The Lone Gunmen Jay Si Proof Lisa Mann Power Trio Rae Gordon Band Shaymus Hanlin The Throttles Tom Rigney & Flambeau Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Oregon Coast Vacation Rentals - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW OREGON COAST HOTEL REVIEWS (hit refresh to see different reviews) Outstanding Hotels / Places to Stay at Gold Beach: Quirky Gems of S. Oregon C... Gold Beach boasts a lot more than many may know. Gold Beach hotel reviews Manzanita's Ocean Inn Adds More Ways to Preserve, Give Back to Oregon Coast E... About to become an Ocean Friendly Hotel through Surfrider. Manzanita hotel reviews, Manzanita hotel news Oregon Coast Hotels Oregon Coast Hotels and hotel reviews: Astoria hotels, Seaside hotels, Cannon Beach hotels, Manzanita hotels, Nehalem hotels, Wheeler hotels, Rockaway Beach hotels, Garibaldi hotels, Tillamook hotels, Oceanside hotels, Pacific City hotels, Lincoln City hotels, Depoe Bay hotels, Newport hotels, Waldport hotels, Yachats hotels, Florence hotels, Reedsport hotels, Winchester Bay hotels, Coos Bay hotels, Bandon hotels, Gold Beach hotels, Brookings hotels Rockaway Beach Hotel News: New Inn Near Rockaway Beach is Really 100 Years Old Boutique inn and BnB on north Oregon coast features marvelous high-end details; bathroom vanities created by local craftsmen, headboards made of live edge wood. Pets. Rockaway Beach Hotel Reviews More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Washington Coast / Oregon Coast Articles (stories are random: hit reload to see different articles) Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Where do you stand on the Transgender Issue now that the issue has gotten to the overt point of the open celebration of this lifestyle choice, dictated by certain direct and explicit actions. 64.29% I do not approve of behavior that has within its expressed tenants policies that harm children.32.14% I do support the Trans Community in all its many facets because diversity is at a premium in today's society.3.57% What is a "Children's Drag Queen Story Hour?" You are the owner of this article. An analysis of The Eagles archives, state documents and interviews depicts a vicious cycle for the privately-owned Water Works, its customers, the town and state regulators a cycle marked by public outcry, costly and often unrealistic solutions, and a pattern of blame, excuses and empty promises. Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Seth Brown is an award-winning humor writer, the author of From God To Verse and has non-federally-approved ideas of what protecting children looks like. Quality local journalism needs your support Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Subscribe today. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now for 99 Subscriber Sign In | Return Home Teachers Pet! Pretty much every student has either exclaimed this or has been a teachers favored pupil. Perhaps its because the student academically excels above others or treats the teacher with respect. Perhaps there is a preference based on looks. All are wrong, but they happen, nonetheless. Everyone wants equal treatment and unity is broken when a person is singled out for reasons related to a subjective choice. Someone always gets hurts when favoritism is shown. What about with God? Is He partial or is it true He shows no partiality? Our key verse to study this conundrum is Acts 10:34, where the Apostle Peter is speaking, So Peter opened his mouth and said: Truly I understand that God shows no partiality. What Is the Context of This Verse? Acts 10 begins with the account of Cornelius, a centurion and, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God (Acts 10:2). An angel of God (Hebrews 13:2) came to him and told him to send to Joppa for Peter, which he quickly did (Acts 10:5-8). Acts 10:9-20 relates visions the Lord gave Peter as he prayed on a housetop. Three times he envisioned a sheet which came down from heaven filled with all kinds of reptiles and animals and birds. A voice said to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. Peter argued he had never eaten anything unclean and the voice responded, What God has made clean, do not call common. After the third time, the thing was taken back up to heaven. As a perplexed Peter tried to make sense of the visions, Cornelius men arrived at the house. The Spirit told Peter the men were there and said, Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. Peter obeyed and asked the men why they had come. They told Peter about Cornelius and that an angel had directed him to send for Peter. In Acts 10:21-48, we read the rest of the account. Peter hosted them overnight and the next day he accompanied them to Cornelius house, which Cornelius had filled with his relatives and close friends. When Peter arrived, Cornelius, fell down at his feet and worshiped him. Peter quickly lifted him and said, Stand up; I too am a man. Peter then said to the crowded house, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation (meaning Gentiles), but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. At Peters request, Cornelius related what had happened and why he had sent for Peter. Immediately preceding Peters proclamation in verse 34, Cornelius made this startling remark, So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. What Does This Verse Mean? In probably what was a huge Aha! moment for Peter, God showed him the Holy Spirit was not just for Jesus band of Jewish disciples (of which Peter was one), but for the Gentiles as well. Peter declared the Gospel to the crowd in verses 36-43, starting in verse 35 with his acknowledgment of what God was about to do, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. To authenticate what Peter shared and that the people believed, While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. Gentiles were now grafted in (Romans 11:13-24), dispelling the belief by the Jews that no other peoples could experience Gods blessings. Is It True God Shows No Partiality? In its context in Acts 10:34, the word partiality means a respecter of persons. The whole phrase then, shows no partiality tells us God is no respecter of persons. In short, a human cannot tell God whom to favor. Any actions we take or works we produce of our own initiative will not sway Almighty God one way or another. Romans 2:1, Galatians 2:6, Ephesians 6:9, and Colossians 3:25 all reiterate the same truth. God, in His sovereignty, knows who will and who wont surrender to Jesus, but we dont. Our example is to present the Gospel to any audience the Lord sees fit to place before us, be it Jew, Gentile, black, white, Indian, East Asian, etc. Jesus, when He died on the cross, fulfilled the prophecy and drew all men to Himself. The temple curtain was vertically torn in half by heavens hands, from top to bottom. The way there is now open to all who surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior. What about Regarding His Chosen People? God, when He chose Abraham and His progeny, did so because it was His divine will, not because of anything they did. If we place a favoritism tag on God, we will be wrong. In the simplest terms, they were there, and God chose them. Jesus is the great Unifier. When He was on the earth, He spoke with people the Jews detested when He was kind and spoke truth to the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-45). He received and ate with sinners (Luke 15:2). Galatians 3:28 is a succinct answer to one who questions God about being partial to the Jews, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. What Does It Mean for Us Today That God Shows No Partiality? God does not look at mans outward appearance, as do some teachers and influencers. God looks at our hearts. If we were in a medical college with a group of students dissecting the human heart, not a one could tell you if that heart belonged to a Jew or a Gentile or a black man or a Chinese man. We cant help but look at everything subjectively. But God knows each human heart intimately because He formed every single one (Psalm 33, esp. v.15), and He knows each one (Luke 6:15). So, regarding ones outward appearance, of course God does not show partiality. Pastor John Piper explains it this way, The truth about God is that he is not partial. And what Gods impartiality means is that he judges not on the assumption that we all have access to the same amount of truth, but that we all have the truth we need to be held accountable, and that we will be judged by our response to what we do have, not what we dont have. Showing partiality is a sin (James 2:9), and since God cannot sin, we know He is unable to be partial. Three distinct passages from the New Testament speak to how we are to remain impartial. 1 Timothy 5:21 says not to pre-judge. God sees everything. James 2:1 is another great verse that tells us who hold the faith in our Lord Jesus are not to be partial James 2:9 is an admonition to those who would sin by reason of showing partiality. We, as Christians, are changed more and more into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). As His disciples, we are to reflect His nature to the world. We are to do that regardless of what another person looks like or acts like. In our flesh, its hard not to favor people or decide who is worthy, but when we yield to the Spirit, He leads us into all righteousness (Romans 14:17). Photo credit: Getty Images/masterzphotois Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody, which is being adapted and brought to the stage by the Karamu House Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (Winter, 2027). Lisa writes fiction (Christmas stories) and is currently writing a novel titled Refuge. She also writes non-fiction, including articles for BibleStudyTools.com and Christianity.com. She and her husband, Stephen, live in Lexington, Kentucky with their Kentucky wild cat, Lewis. One of the more challenging aspects of the Book of Jude is its referral to a story about Satan and the angel Michael about the body of Moses, and a reference to something in the life of Enoch. Neither of these accounts are mentioned in the canonical Old Testament. These two moments are: But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you! (Jude 1:9). It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him (Jude 1:14-15). When reading these passages, some believe it means these apocryphal stories are actually divinely inspired, and the Bible is incomplete because they are not present. Others claim it invalidates the entire Bible, as it shows the books were put together arbitrarily. However, neither of these interpretations take context into account. As a Jew writing in the period of the early Roman empire, Jude would have had the Scriptures which today is compiled as the Old Testament as well as folk stories and moral narratives that developed over the centuries as a part of the culture. The account of Michael and Satan fighting over the body of Moses was a moral narrative. In America, there is a folk story about Founding Father George Washington cutting down a cherry tree as a child, and the point of the story is to not lie. It is generally accepted that this story is not true, but serves the purpose of teaching American children to be honest, even if they have done something wrong. Whether or not this encounter happened between these two spiritual beings is not the point. Rather, the reader should take away the idea that only God can pronounce judgment on others; if even Michael would not condemn Satan, then those redeemed in Christ should not point to others and pronounce judgment for their moral failings. The same goes for the anecdote about Enoch. Through the millennia, legends arose about some of the great men of Scriptures. Whether or not Enoch actually made the prophecy recorded in Jude is not the point of recounting the story. Instead, Jude is citing this cultural icon as a reminder that even in the early years before the flood, men knew there would be a day of judgment to come. The pronouncement itself also does not contradict anything in Scripture, which many of the apocrypha do. The presence of a reference to Enoch and the exchange about Moses do not validate the apocrypha. It is akin to someone referencing one of Aesops fables, the Epic of Gilgamesh, or some other cultural or folk hero. In his sermon on Mars Hill, Paul cited Greek philosophers, but it does not mean those Greek thinkers were believers, or that their teachings are Scripture. Photo credit: Unsplash/Prateek Katyal Understanding China requires both historical and developmental perspectives 10:05, March 05, 2026 By He Yin ( People's Daily The question of how to understand China remains a recurring topic for the international community. Chinese President Xi Jinping has frequently invoked the parable of the blind men and the elephant to underscore the necessity of viewing China comprehensively and objectively. Amidst the current international landscape, there is a growing desire in engaging with China's opportunities. Establishing a comprehensive and accurate understanding of China is fundamental to building robust cooperation. Foreigners experience dragon dance in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu province. (Photo/Pan Zhengguang) Home to over 1.4 billion people, China is undergoing the largest modernization process in human history. Given its extensive history, vast territory, rich culture, rapid development, and profound transformation, however, any partial observation, like that of the blind men touching an elephant, cannot grasp the whole picture. Such limited perspectives can exacerbate cognitive biases and impede meaningful exchange and mutual learning. A truly comprehensive understanding of China requires situating it within both historical and contemporary contexts. Ignoring China's history and culture, the spiritual world of its people, or the profound changes occurring in modern China renders a complete understanding impossible. China's journey from a nation plagued by poverty and weakness to the world's second-largest economy, and from struggling to meet basic needs to establishing a moderately prosperous society in all respects, is no accident. This "China miracle" has been achieved through steadfast adherence to a modernization path tailored to its unique national conditions. Genuine insight into China can only be gained through historical and developmental perspectives, which open the door to deeper mutual engagement. Since the start of this year, a succession of foreign leaders has visited China. Through face-to-face exchanges, they have worked to enhance understanding and mutual trust, joining China in seeking new avenues for cooperation in an ever-shifting global landscape. As China's interactions with other countries continue to deepen, more and more foreigners are choosing to experience firsthand the depth of Chinese civilization and the dynamism of Chinese modernization. Foreign children experience paper cutting, an intangible cultural heritage item, in Nanxinan village, Huangshan, east China's Anhui province. (Photo/Shi Yalei) Recently, a trend has emerged among overseas internet users to "become Chinese," with many sharing videos that highlight aspects of Chinese lifestyles or incorporating Chinese elements into their daily lives. This more grounded and participatory approach reflects a shift from distant observation to active cultural engagement. Some international media outlets noted that this trend signals a change in mindset -- from viewing China from afar to embracing a more immersive understanding. As one online comment put it, the idea of "becoming Chinese" reflects a shared aspiration for a better life. Recent surveys by multiple international polling institutions also show that more people around the world are taking a greater interest in China, holding more favorable views, and expressing stronger identification with it. President Xi has always encouraged foreigners to visit more places in China, and his invitation mirrors China's openness and confidence. Foreigners pick navel oranges in an orchard in Anyuan county, Ganzhou, east China's Jiangxi province. (Photo/Zhu Haipeng) In 2025, China expanded its unilateral visa-free policy to 48 countries, while the number of ports eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit policy increased to 65. Last year, China recorded 82.035 million cross-border trips by foreign nationals, up 26.4 percent year on year, with more than 70 percent benefiting from visa-free entry. A time-honored China casts a spell on its visitors, while a modern China draws gasps of "That's so cool!" from friends around the world. As understanding deepens, a comprehensive, authentic, and multi-faceted picture of China is crystallizing -- along with a broader recognition of its many dimensions. Today, China is advancing with determination on a new journey toward Chinese modernization. Only through a full and accurate understanding of China can one appreciate why the country continues to represent certainty, opportunity and the future. The recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan outline a blueprint for China's economic and social development over the next five years, while also offering the world a "list of opportunities." With confidence in opening up and a sincere commitment to sharing development opportunities, China will continue to work with all countries to write a new chapter of harmony in diversity and shared prosperity. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Hongyu) Niall 'Bressie' Breslin will embark on an emotional journey in All That Remains, when he honours more than 1,300 Irish people buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of what was once known as St Lomans Hospital. The RTE documentary will follow Breslin as he returns to his native Mullingar to work alongside the families of the forgotten to honour the people buried in unmarked graves on site, which was formerly St Lomans Lunatic Asylum. Together, they seek to restore the graveyard as a sacred place of remembrance while questioning how many similar burial sites exist across Ireland. Breslin uncovers the stories of adults and children who were committed to the institution, died there, and were buried beneath numbered metal crosses without names. Today, those crosses have been removed, leaving little trace of the lives once lived. Advertisement The programme also highlights an online campaign initiated by family member Julienne Clarke, through which some families have reinstated the names of their ancestors at the graveyard. Campaigners are now calling for the construction of a memorial wall to honour all who rest there. Julienne Clarkes great aunt, Julia Leonard, was sent to St Lomans in the late 1800s. Julia was one of many committed to places like St Lomans under vague legislation like the Dangerous Lunatics Act. Julia threw tea at her husband Christopher, who was cheating on her. He committed her to St Lomans and sent their five children into a workhouse. She is quoted as saying: Im not mad, neither are half the people in here! All That Remains will air on Wednesday, March 11th, on RTE One and RTE Player. Cork TD Thomas Gould recently went viral for a speech in the Dail, in which some viewers said he sounded unmistakably Jamaican. The reaction was animated among Jamaican heritage communities. Responding to the Sinn Fein TD's viral moment, one person wrote online: The influence the Irish have on the Jamaican accent is uncanny. Gould said he had been overwhelmed by the response he received after the speech in January, particularly from Jamaica. But is there actually a linguistic link between Ireland and Jamaica, or is something else at play? Hubert Devonish, professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of the West Indies, told The Guardian that the popular narrative needs careful correction. "There are four main sources of English from the British Isles that potentially affected Jamaican speech, he said, pointing to the speech of indentured servants in St Kitts and Barbados in the period before the English captured Jamaica in 1655; that of indentured servants from south-west England and from Monmouthshire in the 17th century; and the later recruitment of Scots overseers. Advertisement There is no record of significant numbers of Irish coming to Jamaica in these formative periods that I know of. The linguistic evidence, he added, points to a concentration of regional features from Somersetshire, East Anglia and Monmouthshire, in that order. In Montserrat, which is historically referred to as an Irish-dominated colony, research by Prof John C Wells found zero influence traceable to dialects of Irish English on the local creole. Many Irish indentured servants deported in the 17th century, he noted, spoke Gaeilge rather than English. With that said, he did not deny that similarities can be heard. Speaking to The Guardian, Wells asked why these comparisons resurface so strongly. One version of the Jamaican mythology is that of out of many, one, and a disproportionate desire to connect with the European part of their heritage." In the popular imagination, "the Irish represent a prominent non-standard identity from which one can hang the linguistic peculiarities associated with being Jamaican, far more respectable than linking them with Africa. "It isn't that the Irish have got excited, but that it is Jamaicans who have got excited about the supposed similarity." Jamaica was seized by England in 1655 and transformed into a plantation colony built on enslaved African labour. Barbados, colonised earlier in about 1627, became a staging ground for plantation capitalism, exporting settlers and systems to Jamaica. Ireland was under full British colonial rule until 1922. Both Ireland and the English Caribbean were settled disproportionately by people of south-west and western England, Devonish told The Guardian, adding: The similarities in vowels and intonation may be a result of that shared origin. Dr Taryn Hurley Hall, a PhD researcher examining language variation in Barbados, said that Welsh and Bajan accents share similarities in the pronunciation of certain vowels. Advertisement She added, though, that Jamaican and Irish English share some noticeable traits. They both also pronounce the th- in three and though in almost the same way as tree and dough, she said. She also said that some varieties of Caribbean English are frequently described as "sing-song". The article concludes that the fascination with Goulds speech may therefore reveal less about hidden Celtic roots and more about how colonial histories continue to echo in sound, and how European strands of heritage can sometimes be privileged over African ones in popular imagination. Five Dublin revellers have been spared jail following a 'large-scale' brawl with violent birthday party gatecrashers armed with hurleys and suspected 'shiv' blades. Louise Byrne, 43, and Catlyn Brophy, 23, both of Windmill Park, Crumlin, and Evan Cummins, 22, of Pine Road, Ringsend, 25-year-old Luke Cummins of Grand Canal Walk, Ringsend and Adam Mooney, 23, Iveagh Trust, Kevin Street pleaded guilty on Thursday to engaging in violent disorder on July 16th, 2023. Mooney and Luke Cummins also admitted to producing weapons, pint glasses, during the incident. Court Garda Sergeant James Ward outlined the evidence, telling Judge Treasa Kelly that the night of Catlyn Brophy's 21st party at the Four Provinces pub ended in violence when two uninvited males, unknown to the defendants, entered the gathering with weapons. A verbal disagreement spilt onto the street outside and turned into a brawl, witnesses told gardai. Advertisement CCTV footage CCTV footage revealed that there was a fight between seven people, and "multiple strikes and punches were exchanged between all parties". Two pint glasses were used to strike a male, and that evidence related only to carpenter Luke Cummins and Mooney. Luke Cummins, alone, insisted his was plastic while Mooney accepted his was a glass, the court heard. Except for construction worker Mooney, none of the defendants had prior convictions. The 23-year-old father of one's prior crimes included three drug offences, but his solicitor, Stephen O'Mahony, submitted they happened several years ago. His client had since turned his life around and was raising his child while working full-time. He explained that Mooney had initially acted to protect himself and others as the "happy occasion turned sour" and escalated into a brawl. Solicitor, Evan Moore, for the remaining defendants, said they were all in employment and at a normal, well-behaved 21st when two men chased by gardai entered and produced shiv knives and approached them. Louise Byrne was knocked out by one of the culprits, the court heard. Pleading for leniency, Mr Moore emphasised that they had never been in trouble before, but trouble came to them, and they were merely defending themselves. Fines Judge Kelly said having a pint glass was extremely serious and imposed a four-month suspended sentence on Mooney. She applied the Probation of Offenders Act to the remaining four, sparing them recorded convictions on the condition that they make donations to various charities within a month. She noted their incomes and ordered that Byrne pay 650, Brophy 500, Evan Cummins 450, and Luke Cummins 500. Otherwise, they will face heavier fines and criminal convictions. At least one other person is still before the courts in connection with the incident. A High Court judge has emphasised the 'important' role the media plays after the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) opted to ban reporters from a hearing relating to a senior garda's disclosure that gun holsters used by armed units are defective and could lead to accidental deaths. Mr Justice Garrett Simons on Thursday said 'any departure' from hearings being held in public 'must be strictly justified' and it is arguable that the WRC has not justified its decision to hear the case of Det Superintendent Brian O'Reilly behind closed doors. Mr Justice Simons said the media had an "important" role to inform people about proceedings held in the public interest and that this also applied to the WRC. Det Supt O'Reilly, the acting head of the Garda National Technical Bureau, is seeking to quash a WRC ruling from last month, when the adjudicating officer acceded to a Garda submission that his case contained "sensitivities" that should not be made public. Advertisement Det Supt O'Reilly, who has Nato and CIA training and a Masters in Serious Crime investigations, is taking his case against the WRC adjudicating officer and the WRC. The Commissioner of An Garda Siochana is named as a notice party. Det Supt O'Reilly, who has served as a Garda for over 30 years, submits that after he made protected disclosures regarding work practices inside An Garda Siochana he was penalised in his workplace and had his pay reduced. Det Supt O'Reilly became the acting head of the GNTB in August 2016 and claims he has, since making his disclosures, "suffered detriment". He raised concerns over gun-holstering equipment for gardai, warning that it endangered the lives of armed gardai and the public in general. Accidental self-wounding The detective claimed that leather holsters, made and supplied by an equine saddlery in Kildare, may have been responsible for the serious accidental self-wounding of a Garda on protection duty at the residence of the Israeli ambassador in Dublin in June, 2020. Last November, Dublin Circuit Court heard that Det Supt OReilly made several protected disclosures in recent years, one of which regarded alleged breaches of health and safety regulations and endangerment of colleagues due to unsafe and defective leather pistol holsters". Det Supt OReilly told the court that the pistol could be removed from the leather holster even when the retention strap or safety clasp was closed. Six days after the accidental shooting outside the ambassadors home, Stephen Silver murdered Detective Garda Colm Horkan in Castlerea, Co Roscommon. Advertisement Silver (49), of Foxford, Co Mayo, grappled with Garda Horkan and took control of the pistol which had been holstered on the Garda's hip. Silver kept firing at Det Gda Horkan until the gun was empty, causing catastrophic injuries. Silver was sentenced in April 2023 to life imprisonment with a minimum time to be served of 40 years for murdering a Garda who was acting in the course of his duties. Det Supt OReilly said he and another officer investigating Det Gda Horkans death had been informed that Silver told gardai, while in custody, that he had been able to reach down and pull Det Horkans pistol from the holster. A landlord has been ordered to pay 15,000 compensation to a former tenant who was made homeless after he refused to sign documents to allow him to obtain the Housing Assistance Payment. The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Stephen Vincent had discriminated against his tenant, Aurimas Evstifejevas, in breach of the Equal Status Act 2000, over his refusal to fill out the necessary paperwork to get paid the HAP. Vincent had separately been ordered to pay a total of 17,463 in compensation to Evstifejevas last year by a Residential Tenancies Board tribunal over his tenancy of a rental property in Harolds Cross, Dublin. The WRC heard that Evstifejevas was a tenant of Vincent from 2021 until he was evicted in July 2024 after missing rent payments for his rental property. Evstifejevas claimed he had suffered significant financial loss as a result of the landlord refusing to sign his HAP forms despite him being eligible to avail of the support payment. Advertisement He estimated he had missed out on 27,000 in rent subsidies due to the landlords refusal to accept HAP payments. Vincent did not attend a WRC hearing of the case last March. However, the landlord subsequently contacted the WRC seeking further information. Although the WRC offered Vincent the opportunity to request a resumed hearing, he did not replay to the tribunal. Evstifejevas, who provided video evidence of posting a HAP form through his landlords door in May 2024, also told the WRC that he suspected his rental property did not meet the minimum standards for tenancies. He gave evidence that he was served with a notice of termination on July 14th, 2024, and told to leave the property within five days. Mr Evstifejevas said two men arrived on July 23rd, 2024, and threw his possessions outside on the street. He told the WRC that he was homeless for two months during which time he had lived in a tent for a period. WRC adjudication officer, David James Murphy, said he believed the maximum permitted award of 15,000 was appropriate in the case given the tenants uncontested evidence. In a separate ruling last October, the Residential Tenancies Board tribunal ordered Vincent and fellow landlord, Susan OBrien, to pay a total of 17,463 in compensation to Evstifejevas. The tribunal fully rejected an appeal by the couple against findings by an RTB adjudicator who had made a similar award in favour of the tenant. The adjudicator had also upheld a complaint by Evstifejevas that he was not allowed to enjoy peaceful and exclusive occupation of the property. Advertisement The award consisted of 12,000 in damages for the unlawful termination of Evstifejevas tenancy of the apartment which is attached to the landlords own home at Samba House, Mountain View Avenue, Harolds Cross. The tribunal also directed the landlords to pay their former tenant 5,000 in compensation for breaching their obligations in relation to the standard and maintenance of the dwelling as well as a further 463 as the balance of an unjustifiably retained security deposit. Evstifejevas gave evidence to the RTB tribunal that the landlord cut off his electricity, water and wi-fi and removed his bed and front door after serving him with a notice of termination in July 2024. He also claimed the landlord had illegally entered his property on 18 occasions. The landlords legal representative claim that the RTB had no jurisdiction in the case as Vincent lived in the same house was rejected by the tribunal as there were no shared facilities and both dwellings had separate entrances. The barrister also maintained that the tenant had not complied with his obligations to allow the landlord reasonable access to the dwelling as well as leaving the oven on for sustained periods and food on the floor which posed a fire and hygiene hazard. The RTB tribunal chairperson, Ciara Doyle, said the landlords actions were wilful and deliberate and designed to wrongly interfere with the tenants right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of the dwelling. While Doyle acknowledged had Vincent a genuine concern over the tenants behaviour in covering the dwelling in tin foil, leaving the heat and electrics on and failing to properly dispose of waste, she said it did not justify his actions including ultimately illegally evicting Evstifejevas. Advertisement Ireland Taxi driver killed on M4 was over eight times above drink driving limit, inquest hears Read more She remarked that the way he had been treated by the landlord was very poor. Doyle said it was also clear from a report from Dublin City Council in May 2024 that there were many flagrant breaches of minimum standards. The tribunal also accepted the tenants evidence that he had alerted the landlord to wooden panels falling off the walls as well as a bathroom door coming off but nothing was done. Doyle said Vincent had interfered with services to the dwelling to expedite the end of the tenancy as well as acting in a manner in breach of his legal obligations as a landlord. Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come. Martin's White House visit gets even more complicated March 17th was always going to be difficult for Taoiseach Micheal Martin and it has only become more complicated after the United States launched a war against Iran. Meeting with US president Donald Trump is a tricky prospect for even the most senior world leaders. This was once again in the spotlight recently as German chancellor Friedrich Merz faced an awkward White House encounter with Trump. As the president launched into tirade after tirade against the European Union and German allies, Merz sat stony faced without really challenging Trump. He did refrain from praising his counterpart as he had done on a previous visit to Washington. Martin is unlikely to challenge Trump, it's not his style, but a muted reaction like Merz will probably be his best bet. Advertisement Trump is likely to air his grievances with Spain once again. Led by prime minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain has emphasised the illegality of the US war on Iran. They then went further by barring the American military from launching attacks out of Spanish bases. Trump responded during his meeting with Merz. "We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain," he said. While Martin's diplomacy will be on display, at home politicians are not shy about speaking out about the US. Perhaps with the benefit of having the luxury of knowing they will not be facing Trump, the likes of Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns have taken strong stances in encouraging the Taoiseach to do exactly that. Former ceann comhairle Sean O Fearghail also warned Martin not to invite Trump to address the Oireachtas during his likely visit to Ireland this year. Fuel prices There has been an avalanche of outrageous fuel price rises across Ireland amid the Middle East conflict, the Dail has heard. Tanaiste and finance minister Simon Harris, urged people to send examples they have of so-called price gouging to the state competition watchdog. Reports of dramatic increases in fuel costs, such as home heating oil and motor fuel, have been sent to TDs who have raised concerns about the price hikes. The Government has said that there should be no increase at the forecourts due to the conflict in the Middle East, as there would be a weeks-long lag before prices would be impacted. Abroad Globally, Iran is the big story. Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases on Thursday and threatened that the US would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Met Eireann has issued a status yellow rain warning for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford. The warning will take effect at noon on Thursday and remain in place until 6pm. The weather forecaster warns there will be blustery rain with spot flooding, and that travel may be difficult in the affected counties. While the east gets the rain, sunny spells will gradually develop across western counties throughout Thursday. It will be a cool day with afternoon highs of 3 to 8 degrees with moderate to fresh northwest winds, easing later. It will be a cold and mostly clear later Thursday evening with frost and ice setting in quickly. Met Eireann forecasts a dry and cold night with any lingering rain across eastern counties soon clearing. Lowest temperatures of -2 to +2 degrees with frost and ice developing in just light to moderate northwest breezes. Advertisement Friday is set to be a dry and sunny day but cold in the morning with frost and some icy stretches. Highest temperatures of 8 to 11 degrees in mostly light, occasionally moderate west or southwest breezes. Weekend Saturday will be mostly dry with sunny spells. Thicker cloud may build in the south and east with the chance of a little light rain or drizzle at times. Highest temperatures of 8 to 12 degrees in light to moderate southerly winds, fresher along Atlantic coasts. Saturday night will be mainly dry with a mix of cloud and clear spells. There will be a continued chance of a little light rain or drizzle in the south and east. Lowest temperatures of 0 to 4 degrees in light to moderate southerly winds, fresher along Atlantic coasts. Sunday will turn cloudier with outbreaks of rain developing. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees in light to moderate south or southeast winds. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Peter Burke, has defended remote working legislation following a Government review. The review found that fewer than half of all employees in Ireland were aware that there was a formal, legal right to request a remote working arrangement. The Government reiterates that the legislation provides a right to request, not a right to remote work. The Department of Enterprise is to recommend that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) revise the code to ensure employers give comprehensive and transparent reasons for their remote working decisions. The proposed changes would also see the code providing clearer templates and guidance for employees applying for remote work. The right to request a remote working arrangement came into force for all employees on March 6th, 2024. Burke told RTE radios Morning Ireland that the current legislation was two years old and one million people were working remotely. Advertisement Ipsos did a key study for us right around the time that consultation was going on and it showed that 94 per cent of people who requested remote working got what they wanted from the process. So a lot of people that are doing remote working would have informal arrangements they wouldn't have actually requested but what we did get from the data is that there's a huge lack of awareness that about 50 percent of people were unaware of their rights through their requesting remote working. We want to improve that, we're working with Minister Simon Harris in terms of expenses through the tax code that we can claim as well supporting them and we have a broadband plan bringing to 1.1 million people increasing that fibre optic cable which supports people to do just that. 'People are getting what they want' Richmond pointed out that only 76 cases had been referred to the WRC out of over one million. He denied this was representative of weakness in the current legislation. Absolutely not because people are getting what they want. The data says a million people are remote working now, we want to increase that option and also to look at female participation which is now at a record level up around 190,000 since quarter three 2019. Ireland Social media influencers posting 'tone deaf' content from UAE Read more "So, that opportunity we took from the crisis that was Covid really has embedded in the system and I want to work with employer groups and employee groups to help improve it, revise the WRC code of practice working with Minister Alan Dillon, who's leading out in this, which I think we can improve the code of practice as well to support people in remote working," he said. Advertisement The Minister said the government was going to improve the code of practice and will set out the terms with employer and employee groups. Not every job could be done remotely, but we have to hive out opportunity that gives people a better quality of life I know from living in Mullingar there's so many people commuting right around our country that now can spend two to three days, theyre at home in the evening, time that they're not traveling, they're not in traffic, theyre with their families and I want to improve quality of life for people right through our country. We're the first country in Europe to do this, the legislation is only two years old on the 6th of March, one million people across our economy are now utilising remote working, we want to strengthen that, we're going to strengthen the code of practice and also we're going to support people by improving infrastructure and also how they can claim expenses and deductions by doing that and that's where the government is very much working hand in glove with employers and employees to support them to have a better quality of life and better time with their families. A security guard who allowed his bank accounts to be used as part of a scheme to defraud a man out of 49,000 in a romance scam has been jailed for one year. Edward Evbagharu (46) of Shackleton Exchange, Shackleton Drive, Lucan, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to money laundering on dates between February 12th, 2021, and June 9th, 2021. He has 11 previous convictions. Detective Garda Barry Brennan of Store Street Garda Station told the court that the injured party, a French national, met a woman on an online dating site, who said she was from Saudi Arabia but was a refugee in Texas in the United States. She told him that her father was wealthy but because of her asylum status she could not access 5 million she had in an Irish bank account. Advertisement Believing her to be genuine, the injured party agreed to liaise with the womans lawyers who asked him to make a number of payments over six months. The court heard the total amount taken was 49,188, none of which was recovered. The court also heard that 31,000 of that was paid through three of Evbagharus accounts with An Post, Ria Money Transfer, and TransferWise but these were controlled by two co-accused. The injured party became suspicious and spoke to a solicitor in France to say he thought he was the victim of an online fraud. He then reported it to the gardai. The injured party, who was in court, prepared a victim impact statement, which was handed in to the judge but not read aloud. Pat OSullivan defending said it was quite an elaborate scam. I didnt think it would be possible for anyone to fall for it, but they did, said OSullivan. OSullivan said his client is working for a security company for the past 16 years and paying income tax and social security. He is a contributing member of society and wants to continue his work, he said. He said his client was very anxious and would like to do community service. He said his client, who is from Nigeria, moved here in 2009 and became an Irish citizen in 2013. He has four children from his marriage and another two children from his relationship of nine years. Counsel said his client was adamant he had not made any financial gain and the only reason he got involved was because a gentleman he knew said he did not have a bank account. Advertisement Det Gda Brennan did not agree and said Evbagharu failed to come back to gardai with documentation to corroborate that story. Evbagharu accepts that his accounts were used but it was reckless. Judge Dara Hayes handed down a two-year sentence and suspended the final year of it. The judge said there was no evidence Evbagharu defrauded the injured party but he was facilitating. He noted Evbagharu has 11 previous convictions including one for handling stolen property and 10 for road traffic offences. The judge noted Evbagharu was not on bail at the time of this offence and accepted he was civil with gardai. The judge noted a substantial amount was transferred through his account. He noted the victim impact report, which explained consequent health issues, both mental and physical, and that he now relies on state support in France. The judge also noted the victim suffered deep anxiety and depression, is under the care of a psychiatrist in France since May 2023 and is medicated in respect of his psychiatric issues. The injured party also suffers from cardiac problems. Ireland Stalker who followed influencer from street to hotel room while holding belt spared jail Read more The judge noted the victim said his life is turned upside-down and he is a shadow of a man he used to be but is hoping to rebuild his life. The judge said he accepted Evbagharu had not committed a fraud but was facilitating the use of the money. He said the aggravating factors were the sophisticated duration and that it was paid in over a number of months. He noted his early plea and had not come to attention of gardai before or since. He also noted his good work history and personal circumstances. There were celebrations and relief for a second night in a row at Dublin Airport with the arrival of the first planes from Dubai since conflict broke out in the Middle East. People who had been working in the United Arab Emirates for several years as well as some holidaymakers were among the hundreds who landed home on Thursday evening. Dubai has been hit by missiles amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel, including explosions at the citys airport and the Fairmont Hotel, and it has also been impacted by widespread air space closures in the Middle East. There are an estimated 24,400 Irish citizens in the Gulf region. There will be further direct flights from the Middle East landing in Dublin on Friday, including a Government charter flight from Oman which is expected to transport around 280 passengers. Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee expressed hope that hundreds, if not more than 1,000, will arrive in Dublin before the end of the week. Advertisement Dympna Mackin, from Mayobridge, Co Down, who had been in Dubai with her husband to celebrate her 40th birthday, walked through arrivals to hugs from family waiting to see her. Unbelievable. Id missed the children so much. Im shaking, its good to be home, she said. We arrived in Dubai last Thursday, we were due home on Monday, this was the third flight that wed tried to get home. We were in Dubai for my 40th birthday I dont want to get into it because it was traumatising. Colette Cummins, from Malahide, who had been visiting family in Dubai, was hugged by work colleagues as she came through arrivals. Im so happy to be home. We were supposed to come on Tuesday but the flight was cancelled, she said. Upama Ghosh (centre) is met by friends at Dublin Airport (Niall Carson/PA) Its great to be home, my sister is not so lucky, she is still there. Scary at the beginning. It had eased off but back again today because we got news on the flight of alerts that missiles were coming in again. The situation is escalating again. Megan ORiordan, from Co Meath, who has worked in software sales in Dubai for three years, was greeted by her father Michael. Daily life is normal, everyone is still working, were just working remotely and school is happening at home. The only difference is the missiles and interceptions when you see those it is a little bit scary, she said. Advertisement Other than that, nothing else has changed, life goes on as normal over there. The government have been really good, the embassy has been really good. Among those on the first flight from Dubai, which landed in Dublin late on Wednesday, was Anna Callaghan from Donegal. My mums come all the way from Donegal, thats why Im a little overwhelmed. I live in Dublin so I wasnt expecting to see her, she said, as the pair embraced again. Her mother Patricia responded: Im just glad shes on the ground now. Ms Callaghan described a stressful and scary situation. Norita Geary (left) is welcomed by her sister Elaine Gleeson as she arrives at Dublin Airport (Niall Carson/PA) We were seeing and hearing bangs and explosions, last night in particular it was jet after jet after jet going overhead, and then we heard the US consulate was hit and that really scared everyone, she said. This is my fourth flight that I rebooked and I didnt think I was going to get out. Elaine Gleeson from Limerick also surprised a family member, turning up with a balloon and flowers to welcome home sister Norita Geary. Everyone clapped when the plane landed, and cheered, it was just magic, Ms Geary said. I didnt expect to see her (Elaine) because I told her I was getting a lift home, she added, hugging her sister. Dublin is the most beautiful city in the world. Gina Quinn from Dublin described hearing a national alarm in the middle of the night which woke everyone up. It was very frightening, you just didnt know, and getting information on when you might be able to fly home was nigh impossible. The airlines were great but they were inundated, she said. Tim Riordan is welcomed by his wife Rachel Riordan and children Olivia, five, and two-year-old Fionn (Niall Carson/PA) I think everyone on the flight coming in tonight is absolutely delighted, just hope that everybody else gets home quickly because its a very uncertain situation. Its fantastic to be home. Advertisement Rob McClean from Greystones, who had been transiting through Dubai from India, said it was a massive relief to be home. I was in the airport on Saturday night when the explosion happened so we were evacuated from there which was pretty tough, he said. Its been nerve-wracking for my family. There were also a number of passengers from across Europe who took the flight to Dublin in desperation to flee the Middle East. Alex Anderson, a French-American who lives in Frankfurt, described huge relief and said it was very emotional to land in Dublin. It was really difficult. I was a transfer passenger, I was supposed to be going on to Frankfurt on February 28. When I was coming in from Malaysia we actually saw the missile trails, but we didnt know what it was then, just thought it was planes, he said. Gina Quinn arrives at Dublin on a flight from Dubai (Niall Carson/PA) It was really shocking when we landed and found out what had happened. I moved as quickly as I could out of the terminal building, and an hour later it got hit. Then there was the long wait of days, hearing thumps, anti-missile stuff, that was nerve-wracking, they definitely had a lot of drones coming over. I wouldnt say its a full-blown war zone like you would see in Gaza, but its getting close. Advertisement Its a huge relief to land in Ireland, and a bit emotional. Tomorrow morning Ill fly back home to my wife and kids in Frankfurt. Andy Barnes from Hertfordshire and Andy Teasdale from Cumbria said they had spent their time in hotel basements in Dubai since their flight home was cancelled on Saturday. We were at the airport from 3.30am, there were no flights available but we went on the waiting list and ended up getting on the last flight out, they said. They had been staying in the area around the marina and Mr Barnes said: We saw a lot of interceptions, Saturday night was really hairy. We were out having a pizza sat out by the pool, and heard bangs going off, which we later found out were interceptions you could see it all in the side and then we saw smoke coming from the Fairmont Hotel. Irish woman Megan Virgo has described the frustrations experienced while stranded in Dubai. The situation was terrifying, hearing jets in the sky and explosions while she could not get through to any of the airline or consular numbers. Were not getting any information, she told RTE radios Today with David McCullagh show. When asked about the 800 price of a chartered flight home, Virgo said she and her mother would be willing to pay anything to get home, but in the absence of any information she felt were just going to have to look after ourselves. Virgo and her mother had been due to commence a cruise of the Gulf and had boarded the ship when the conflict started. They were fortunate to be able to stay on the ship, she said, but there had been a lot of ups and downs with everything that has happened. Advertisement It's been terrifying, there's been times when we felt that things have settled a bit and then again you hear the jets in the sky, you hear the explosions and it's just something that you think you'll never go through. While some other passengers had left the ship to go into the city of Dubai, Virgo and her mother thought it was safer to stay on board until they had definite details of a flight home. Their original flight home has been cancelled, but they have not received any details on when they will be rebooked. We don't know whether we should just go to the airport because you're hearing that actually people are getting on flights, we have not been able to get through to Emirates, so I keep calling but I'm on hold for too long to get through to anyone. I've tried the Dublin number, the Dubai number, which doesn't go through. The embassy as well, we have had no communication from them. Were not getting any information at all. She said she did not expect an individual email, but thought the embassy could send a general email to those who had registered to let them know any update and offer some reassurance. I get that this is a crisis situation, I understand that, but to be honest, we feel really let down. I think somewhere in this crisis communication strategy that they have, they seem to have completely left the people over here out of the mix. Advertisement Ireland No 'shakedown': Minister defends 800 Dubai evacuation flight fee as standard practice Read more The mother and daughter had considered taking a taxi to Oman for a repatriation flight, but they were getting mixed reports with some advice saying to stay in place. On one side you have them saying stay in place, stay in shelter, but then actually you have to make your own way to the airport and there's no clarity on how many people can go on, then there's obviously a pecking order of, of course people who have been there that have illnesses, pregnant women, the elderly, they have to be prioritised. When asked about the cost of the repatriation charter flight, Virgo said: I would pay anything. I would leave my bags here, just get the passport, off we go. People have been in worse situations than I have been this week, we got on the ship, to be fair to the cruise liner, it's like a cruise, except we're not setting sail. "People are in worse situations than us, and I understand that, so we're lucky that we haven't been one of those people that have been stranded at the airport, or have had to experience in real time, you know, when the debris hit the airport. A variety of stories, including Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed, and the war in the Middle East, feature on Irish front pages on Thursday morning. The Irish Times lead with the US extending the war on Iran to the Indian Ocean, a fisheries WRC case hearing claims of blackmail by a senator, Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed, and scrambler laws being delayed over "competing" interests. The Irish Examiner lead with credits and excise cuts being ruled out despite the spike in fuel costs, and a big deficit in Kerry Camhs staffing levels. The Irish Independent lead with a government charge of 800 per adult for a charter flight from the Gulf war zone being described as a shakedown. The Echo lead with Cork residents working in healthcare roles potentially being in danger of losing their jobs due to long delays to the renewal process for residency permits, and TDs calling for changes at a closed school. Advertisement The Herald lead with four women appearing in court for attacking a grandmother. The Irish Daily Mail lead with a housing officials event abroad being paid for by developers. The Irish Daily Mirror lead with the parents of a 14-year-old girl killed in the Creeslough explosion saying they are hurt by the Minister for Justice's refusal to meet them. The Irish Daily Star lead with Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed. The Belfast Telegraph lead with a Liverpool hitman being one of the main suspects for the murder of a Czech man who was being investigated for the fatal shooting of Belfast man John George in Spain. Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases on Thursday and threatened that the US would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Elsewhere, a religious leader called for Trumps blood, while Israel said it had begun a large-scale attack on Tehran. Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted US bases. Later on Thursday, US President Donald Trump told news website Axios said he wants to be involved in selecting Irans next leader and called Ayatollah Ali Khameneis son an unacceptable potential pick. Khameneis son is unacceptable to me, Mr Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. Mr Trump added: We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran. Advertisement The president also derided him as a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, said Mr Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after Mr Trump ordered a US military operation to capture then-president Nicolas Maduro to face US drug conspiracy charges. Israels defence minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Irans next supreme leader if he continues to threaten Israel, the US and others will be a target for elimination. Mojtaba Khamenei pictured in 2019 (Vahid Salemi/AP) Iran launched its large Khorramshahr-4 missiles in an attack on Thursday targeting Israel, the countrys paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said. The Guard said the missiles had a one-ton warhead. The missiles can also be multiple warhead. Israel has said Iran used cluster munitions in attacks. The Guard claimed attacks in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well. The US State Department announced on Thursday it was closing its embassy in Kuwait, which activated its air defence systems after missiles were shot towards it. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery. It said the fire on Thursday night was extinguished and the refinery was still working. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it launched targeted attacks in Lebanon at the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure in Irans capital, without elaborating. Explosions were heard in multiple locations in Tehran a short time later. Explosions were heard in multiple locations in Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP) The Israeli military issued an evacuation notice on Thursday calling for all residents of Beiruts southern suburbs to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately, apparently signalling plans for heavy bombardment of the area. Israels finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned the southern suburbs of Beirut where Hezbollah has a strong presence will look like Khan Younis, a city in Gaza that Israel has destroyed during the two-year war in Gaza. Advertisement You wanted to bring hell on us, we are bringing hell on you, Mr Smotrich said as he toured towns on Israels border with Lebanon. Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis, and our citizens of the north will live in peace and quiet. Ground combat was observed west of Kfar Kila, a village near the border with Israel, overnight, which included firing of shots, said Tilak Pokharel, spokesperson for UN peacekeeping operation Unifil. The UN refugee agency, citing Syrian authorities, told The Associated Press that at least 38,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria mostly Syrians in the wake of new fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. Israeli tanks manoeuvre near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP) The US navy sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors, which Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi decried as an atrocity at sea. Frigate Dena, a guest of Indias navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning, he wrote on social media. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set. Advertisement Officials in New Delhi said the Iranian warship had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home. Indias navy and defence ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organised by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from February 15 to February 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events. Mr Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been a guest of Indias navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident. Sri Lankas media minister and government spokesman, Nalinda Jayatissa, told its parliament on Thursday that another Iranian ship had arrived in its exclusive economic zone, an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where it has rights over natural resources. Later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr after authorities were informed that one of the ships engines suffered a failure, the countrys president said on Thursday. Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship. Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, said the country was on the verge of a great test and called on state television for the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trumps blood. US President Donald Trump praised the US military on Wednesday (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders, he said in a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. The US and Israel launched the war on Saturday, targeting Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear programme while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signalling an open-ended conflict. Advertisement The war has killed more than 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the worlds oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East. A drone crashed on Thursday near the airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijan exclave that borders the north of Iran and is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia, injuring four airport workers. Another drone fell near a school and two people were injured, Azerbaijans foreign ministry said. Irans general staff of the armed forces denied on Thursday that it had launched a drone toward Azerbaijan. The denial comes, however, as Iran has repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets during the war, despite its drone and missile fire hitting those sites. Qatar evacuated residents near the US embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and fighter jets could be heard overhead early in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Later on Thursday the Gulf nations defence ministry said 14 ballistic missiles and four drones were fired at the county. It said air defences intercepted all the drones and 13 of the missiles, while the 14th fell in the sea off Qatar. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan, and a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger. Iraqi Shiites carry a replica of a coffin of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a symbolic funeral in Najaf, Iraq, on Wednesday (Anmar Khalil/AP) An explosion rocked the area early on Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Iran has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them in the past. A security official with Iraqs navy said an oil tanker flying the Bahamas flag was hit by an explosion on Thursday while docked near Khor al-Zubair port in southern Iraq. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a small, unidentified boat approached the tanker at 1.20am local time, shortly before an explosion was heard near the vessels left side. The cause of the explosion and the extent of the damage were not immediately clear. Also on Thursday, Iraqs state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that an attempt to launch missiles from an area in Basra province in southern Iraq intended to target a neighbouring country, was thwarted and that security forces seized a mobile launch platform carrying two missiles that were ready to be fired. The United Arab Emirates Defence Ministry said one ballistic missile and six drones hit the countrys territory. The ministry added that it repelled six missiles and 131 drones on Thursday, and hundreds since the start of the war. Earlier this week, shrapnel from the interception of cruise missiles killed three residents, and falling shrapnel in past days has wounded 94, it said. Prior attacks since fighting began on Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Persian Gulf and through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped. Rescue workers check a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, on Thursday (Mohammed Zaatari/AP) The war has blocked access to major ports in the Gulf region, affecting the supply of food to more than 50 million people in a region highly dependent on agricultural imports, a ship-spotting platform said on Thursday. MarineTraffic.com said container vessels heading to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait are now stranded. This has impacted agricultural supplies to more than 50 million people in the Gulf, a region that imports over 90% of its food, it said. France, Italy and Greece have agreed to co-ordinate the deployment of military assets to Cyprus and Eastern Mediterranean. The three countries will work together to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, according to a French diplomat. The decision was announced on Thursday after French President Emmanuel Macron called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Israels ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday it is too soon for diplomacy, as calls grow to end the widening war with Iran. Danny Danon told reporters Israel must first eliminate Irans nuclear programme, ballistic missiles, regional proxies and naval threats. I think diplomacy will come into action not yet, not yet, Mr Danon said. We have to finish the job. He said Israel must continue to hammer, to dismantle Irans capabilities before turning to diplomacy, adding that he expects the war to last days or weeks, not months. US president Donald Trump claimed the right to join Iran in deciding its next leader as the war escalated on Thursday, with US and Israeli jets hitting areas across the country and Gulf cities coming under renewed bombardment. In an interview with Reuters, Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei - a hardliner who has been considered a favourite to succeed his father - was an unlikely choice. "We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future," he said by telephone. "We don't have to go back every five years and do this again and again ... Somebody that's going to be great for the people, great for the country." Trump also encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive. Advertisement "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it," Trump said. He would not say whether the United States would provide air cover for any Kurdish offensive. The Trump administration has had contact with Iranian Kurdish groups since the US-Israeli strikes began. Two drone attacks targeted an Iranian opposition camp in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday, as well as an oil field operated by an American firm, security sources said. The comments came as the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate areas including eastern Tehran, while Iranian media reported blasts were heard in various parts of the capital. An air attack killed 17 people in a guest house on a road northwest of the capital, Iranian state television said. "Today is worse than yesterday. They are striking northern Tehran. We have nowhere to go. It is like a war zone. Help us," said Mohammadreza, 36, by phone from Tehran, with a shaky voice as explosions rang out from what Israel described as its latest wave of strikes on Iranian government targets. Warning sires blare in multiple nations With the war now in its sixth day, Iran launched a series of attacks on Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Fire crews in Bahrain extinguished a blaze at a refinery following a missile strike. Azerbaijan became the latest country drawn in, as it accused Iran of firing drones at its territory and ordered its southern airspace closed for 12 hours. Iran, which has a significant Azeri minority, denied it had targeted its neighbour but the episode underlined how rapidly the war has spread since the surprise US and Israeli airstrikes that killed Khamenei on Saturday. Advertisement Along with the gleaming cities of the Gulf, in easy range of Iranian drones and missiles, Cyprus and Turkey have both been targeted, European nations have pledged to deploy ships to the eastern Mediterranean and hostilities have been seen as far afield as the coastal waters off Sri Lanka, where a US submarine sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday, killing 80 crew members and drawing Iranian vows of revenge. In Iran, at least 1,230 people have been killed, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, including 175 schoolgirls and staff killed at a primary school in Minab in the country's south on the first day of the war. Another 77 have been killed in Lebanon, its Health Ministry says. Thousands fled southern Beirut on Thursday after Israel warned residents to leave. Netanyahu says 'much work still lies ahead' Although some international financial markets recovered from falls earlier in the week, the economic impact of the campaign intensified, with countries around the world cut off from a fifth of global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas and air transport still facing chaos and global logistics increasingly snarled. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had hit a US tanker in the northern part of the Gulf and the vessel was on fire, the latest of numerous reports of such attacks. Visiting an air force base in the south of the country, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's achievements so far in Iran had been "great" but that "much work still lies ahead". Iran's foreign minister said Washington would "bitterly regret" the precedent it had set by sinking a ship in international waters without warning. A commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Kioumars Heydari, told state TV: "We have decided to fight Americans wherever they are." Advertisement The body of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the first hours of the US-Israeli air campaign in the first assassination of a country's top ruler by an airstrike, had been due to lie in state in a Tehran prayer hall from Wednesday evening to launch three days of mourning. But the memorial, expected to draw many thousands of mourners to the streets, was abruptly postponed. Israel's phase 2 Two sources familiar with Israel's battle plans said that Israel, having killed many Iranian leaders, was now planning to enter a second phase when it would target underground bunkers where Iran stores its missiles. Ireland Martin more likely to take Merz approach to Trump than Sanchez stand Read more Israel's military chief said in a televised statement that 60 per cent of Iran's ballistic missile launchers have so far been knocked out. Israel has said its aim is to overthrow Iran's clerical rulers. Washington says its goal is to prevent Tehran from being able to project force beyond its borders, but it has also called on Iranians to rise up and seize power. Israel had already made the decision to kill Khamenei back in November, defence minister Israel Katz said on Thursday. Although the number of missiles fired at Israel has dropped since Saturday, Iranian and Hezbollah barrages still sent millions rushing to shelters as air raid sirens sounded and schools remained shut. A new round of US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week has been postponed because of war in the Middle East, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, the United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Kyivs expertise in countering Irans Shahed drones. Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbour just over four years ago, Mr Zelensky said. Iran has responded with the same type of drones to joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. We received signals from partners in the Middle East. There have been strikes by Iranian shaheds on civilians in those countries. They are seeking our expertise. We are open. If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise. Especially since there is also a request Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2026 Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost as little as 1,000 dollars (748), rewriting the air defence rule book and making other countries take notice. The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europes biggest conflict since the Second World War. Advertisement Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that year-long US-led peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon. Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting, Mr Zelensky said late on Wednesday. But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Various countries, including the United States, had approached Ukraine for help in defending against Iranian drones, Mr Zelensky said. Iran has responded with Shahed drones to joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) He said he had spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible co-operation. Ukrainian assistance, he said, would be provided only if it did not weaken Ukraines own defences and if it added leverage to Kyivs diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion. We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war with Russia, Mr Zelensky said. The European Unions top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via videolink on Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraines experience can help countries counter Iranian drones. Ukraines army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 750-mile (1,250km) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Localised Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 100 square miles (257 square kilometres) since January 1. Mr Zelensky thanked the US for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russias Defence Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the US and United Arab Emirates for mediating. Advertisement BusinessConsumer affairsSupermarkets Opinion My supermarket made me shopper of the week. I dont believe a word it says any more Michelle Cazzulino Writer March 5, 2026 5:30pm March 5, 2026 5:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A About two years ago, my local Colesworth made me shopper of the week and comped me everything in my basket $106 worth of groceries in a spectacular, unprecedented, and tragically since-unrepeated act of corporate largesse. A cynic might have found the timing suspicious, given the award was bestowed on me in a whisper at the self-checkout, three days after the manager made the critical mistake of soliciting my feedback about the stores new reno in front of a bunch of besuited muckety-mucks from Colesworth HQ. Coles made a number of concessions to the ACCC about its discounting decisions. Matt Willis I was reflecting on that experience in the very same outlet yesterday when I had an epiphany: since then, the supermarket, with its temperamental trolleys, cramped self-checkout area and security cameras that make everyone look like a cartoon villain, has somehow morphed into my toxic boyfriend. I dont like it, I dont trust it, I dont believe a word it says. And in the interests of owning my part in our limping dog of a relationship, let me be clear: Im the clueless girlfriend who keeps returning, gamely hoping that something will change. No one is forcing me to shop there. Advertisement Another shocking truth: Colesworth itself doesnt want me around. It keeps sending me emails, incentivising me to switch to online shopping, but my penchant for self-sabotage and the increasingly poisonous nature of our relationship means I will go out of my way to avoid doing anything it asks of me. Also, the last time I tried online shopping, I got a range of weird product substitutions that languished in the pantry for three years and eventually became infested with weevils. Related Article Opinion Supermarkets Our supermarket duopoly needs to tell not just the truth but the whole truth Allan Fels Former chairman Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Like all good toxic boyfriends, Colesworth promises the earth and delivers a clump of mud. Items sold at half price that arent half price at all. Meat trays marked while stocks last when theres 30 on the shelf, and the best before date is tomorrows. Product lines described as autumn specials, which leave you feeling faintly gaslit as you speculate about what loading theyre planning to add to their winter specials. Tempting though it is to keep the blowtorch trained firmly and solely on the major supermarkets, the situation is a microcosm of a broader malaise thats gradually crept across the Australian retail scene. While Coles spent a week in court last month duking it out with the ACCC over allegations it deliberately misled shoppers on pricing (and Woolworths faces similar legal action brought by the consumer group in April), electronics behemoth JB Hi-Fi was this week revealed to be facing a huge class action later this year, following claims it sold customers worthless extended warranties. Advertisement Photo: Joe Benke Not every example of potential retail grift comes tissue-wrapped and bagged up in a legal cause of action. In recent years, even the shopaholics faithful standby the department store clearance rack, aka the last-chance saloon for every ugly, ill-conceived, poorly constructed, 1980s-inspired, one-shouldered, D-grade celebrity-endorsed dust-rag-in-waiting has been given the kiss of life, rolled out with renewed vigour at marquee sales dates. But even this joy for the bargain hunter has become tainted. In the lead-up to the November Black Friday sales last year, the ACCC warned that it had in its crosshairs retailers who were targeting shoppers with, among other things, false store-wide claims, and discounts that actually amounted to the square root of nothing. Related Article Opinion Supermarkets The crafty ways supermarkets are pushing up your grocery bill and how we can fight back Gerard Brody Consumer advocate These days we have price tracker technology from the likes of Google, which enables us to monitor an items price history. This makes it more obvious when retailers pull the ole 50 per cent discount on a product that was marked up by 80 per cent before being dropped by 10 per cent and oh-look-a-giant-pair-of-red-hands-and-a-cameo-by-Curtis Stone trick. This online technology works if youre prepared to ruthlessly hunt down the best deal on a pair of recently discontinued Sass & Bide hotpants, but if youre flinging a weeks worth of groceries into whichever was the least-worst shopping trolley on offer, youre probably not going to have the bandwidth to price-stalk a tin of Milo, a sack of dog food, and a rapidly warming selection of frozen food items. Advertisement So, what is the hapless consumer to do, other than submit to Colesworth, her favourite toxic boyfriend? Periodically he apologises for his lousy behaviour, so maybe hes changed, you guys. And if not, you could console yourself with a spot of comfort eating. The cookie dough ice cream is currently on special. Yours for the bargain price of 75 per cent more than you paid a week ago. Michelle Cazzulino is a Sydney writer. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. Advertisement BusinessConsumer affairsMiddle East at war Prices have gone up: Travellers fret about spike in airfares because of Iran war Chris Zappone March 5, 2026 4:12pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Short-term travel costs could surge by as much as 80 per cent as rising fuel prices and a significant capacity gap due to the Iran war squeeze the aviation market, travel experts say. Some Australians have already moved to cancel flight bookings, even as travel corridors outside the Middle East remain largely unaffected. Those pushing on with travel plans are rerouting their trips to Europe via Asian or North American hubs. The war in the Middle East has upended travel plans and severely disrupted the aviation market. AP Weve had some people rerouting via the US, via Canada [to Europe], and obviously via Asia, and those flights are absolutely fine, said Cinzia Burnes, Helloworld Travel chief operating officer. They go nowhere near the conflict zone. Since the start of the military conflict on Saturday, airlines have cancelled more than 20,000 flights into and out of the Middle East, according to aviation data group Cirium. Advertisement While a limited number of evacuation flights from the United Arab Emirates has been able to go ahead, airspace across the Gulf including Qatar, Iran and Iraq remains closed to regular air traffic. Related Article Aviation Stuck in the Middle East war zone? These are your options for getting back to Australia Middle Eastern airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are key transit hubs for long-haul travel. The Gulfs biggest airports handle about a third of the 125 million people who travel between Europe and Asia each year, according to consultancy firm Roland Berger. Shifting travel patterns As the conflict drags on, travel agencies are seeing a mix of consumer reactions, although about half of their clients are leaving bookings unchanged for now. Advertisement Travellers wait to check in at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Bloomberg Burnes said an ongoing survey of Helloworlds franchise members found that 49 per cent of clients had made no changes to bookings since the conflict began. About 34 per cent made minor adjustments, while 17 per cent opted for major changes or cancellations. If you were trying to depart this week, obviously the prices have gone up, she said, noting that the immediate pressure is felt most by corporate travellers needing to reschedule on short notice. With an estimated 4.4 million airline seats removed from the market since Saturday, elevated fares appear inevitable. Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) CEO Dean Long says his organisations modelling sees airfares to fly to Europe in the next two weeks spiking between 20 and 80 per cent from pre-war levels, driven by high demand and limited capacity. Price changes vary significantly by route. According to flight comparison website Skyscanner, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to London in late March costs about $3800, while a flight from Melbourne to New York for the same time is $1650. Advertisement Related Article Middle East at war Australians stranded in Middle East by Iran war consider travel options Online travel agency Webjet said it is continuing to see new bookings coming through for travel to Europe since Sunday. About quarter of these bookings are for travel within the next week, and around 40 per cent are for travel 90 days or more, a spokesperson said. For new bookings, we are seeing customers opt for routes via Asian hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, as well as services via the United States, depending on airline availability and operating schedules, the spokesperson said. What were seeing is travellers adapting quickly to changing conditions - redirecting through different hubs where needed, while still planning their longer-term travel. Airlines are also redeploying aircraft to avoid contested airspace. Advertisement Qantas added an extra A380 flight between Sydney and London this past Saturday. British Airways has suspended several Gulf routes, but added daily flights between London and Muscat, Oman. Budget carrier IndiGo has started flights to Muscat and Saudi Arabias Jeddah and Madinah, it said on a social media post. Malaysia Airlines is flying from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah and Madinah, Bloomberg reported. Fuel factor The outlook for ticket pricing for the medium to longer term is heavily tied to the price of fuel, which accounts for roughly 25 per cent of an airlines operating expenses. Advertisement Oil prices have surged to close to $US84 a barrel, up from about $US70 before the war. Major carriers are still protected by hedging strategies designed to shield them from such short-term price swings. For example, Qantas has hedged 81 per cent of its fuel for the remainder of the financial year to June 30. Virgin Australia has hedged 85 per cent for the same period. The spike in oil prices is set to raise airlines costs for jet fuel. James Davies If the conflict concludes quickly, these hedges may prevent fuel-driven price increases from being eventually passed on to consumers. Yet even with hedging, spikes in the price of oil are pretty significant impacts on aviation which flow through to pretty substantial cost for airlines, Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson warned this week. Advertisement Meanwhile, for affected travellers, navigating flight cancellations remains a challenge. Flight Centre said it would waive its own change and cancellation fees for customers affected by Mideast airspace restrictions until March 8 (for bookings through March 31). However, customers must still pay fees mandated by airlines or third-party suppliers. Loading Some travellers have reported significant delays in recovering their money. A reader named David said he was forced to cancel a flight from Sydney to London via Doha and was told by online travel agency Aunt Betty it would take up to four months to get his money back. Advertisement Aunt Betty is owned by Flight Centre, whose spokesperson noted that when a customer makes a booking with Aunt Betty, we are required to pay the airline in this case Qatar and the payment sits with them. In the same way, when a customer requests a refund, we need to submit a request to the airline, wait for them to authorise which can take anywhere up to 12 weeks, sometimes longer before we receive the funds back. Consumer Champions Adam Glezer said airlines should adjust their offers given the impact of the war and stop charging more for flexible tickets. Consumers should not have to pay any extra for refundable flights at this time based on the current level of uncertainty as things are changing on a daily basis. The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning. British comedian James Barr thought his career was over after he left his abusive partner. Since then, hes made a triumphant return to the stage. James Barr was beaten and belittled by his boyfriend. Now, hes telling jokes about it. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A As the clinician moved her Botox-filled syringe towards James Barrs forehead, he blurted out something hed never told anyone: his partner was abusing him. I think if youve been hit by your boyfriend, strangled, pushed down the stairs, verbally abused and psychologically messed with, then a needle coming towards your face is the definition of being triggered, says the British comedian and breakfast radio host. I had a rush of feelings Id been suppressing for so long, and the clinician obviously stopped to make sure I was OK. Barr admitted he was far from OK, prompting the woman whom hed only just met to reveal her own experience: she had left her violent husband to protect herself and her daughter. Its moments like that where you realise youre not alone, says Barr, speaking exclusively to this masthead over Zoom from his London home. From March 16, Barr, 41, will tour his stand-up comedy show, Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex To My Mum) across Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. The first part of that title is what Alex, as Barr calls his former boyfriend, wrote in a Christmas card to Barrs mother after their four-year relationship ended. I dont think he realised what he was saying, Barr says, noting that Alex often claimed his abuse upset him more than the man he inflicted it upon. He believes Alex intended to apologise for the emotional distress hed caused and that his use of the word hurt was unwittingly revealing. Shortly after Barr left Alex, he snapped in the middle of a live show, unexpectedly telling the audience that hed broken up with the man he thought hed marry. It was horrible, and he assumed his comedy career was over. Advertisement Six months later, after much intensive therapy, he began working on Sorry I Hurt Your Son, which he has performed more than 100 times, earning a swag of four- and five-star reviews. The version he will bring to Australia is significantly different to its earliest incarnation. And he has an unlikely trio to thank: his co-directors Madeleine Parry (who also directed Hannah Gadsbys globally successful Netflix special, Nanette) and British comedian Chris Gau; as well as high-profile Welsh TV producer Russell T Davies, who created Queer as Folk and was showrunner and head writer for the Doctor Who revival in the early 2000s, among other hit series. Davies told Barr there was a crucial element missing from his show: an understanding of why he fell in love with Alex. Parry and Gau had already made similar observations, to no avail. I was really angry, Barr recalls. I didnt want to talk about why this guy was great. Why should I? He hurt me! I didnt know this could happen to a man. I just assumed it was a bit of rough and tumble. James Barr Then it dawned on him: the stereotype of abusers as ogres with no redeeming qualities made it harder for him to label his own situation as abusive. After all, Alex could also be charming, tender and affectionate. Its an important thing for us to face as a society, Barr insists. We have to look at this differently and realise that [abuse is perpetrated] by our family members: our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, everyone. But I think its easier not to acknowledge that, because then it doesnt hurt as much. Being in a same-sex relationship was another barrier. I didnt know this could happen to a man, Barr says. I just assumed it was a bit of rough and tumble; that it was my fault because Im meant to be a man, Im meant to be strong, and it made me question whether I was sort of allowing it because I chose not to fight back. (According to a 2024 Australian government report, one-quarter of women and one in seven men have experienced violence from an intimate partner; in LGBTIQ relationships, that proportion exceeds 60 per cent among survey respondents.) Advertisement CultureMusicMusic festivals Palestinian DJ heartbroken after visa not approved ahead of major music festivals Kayla Olaya Updated March 6, 2026 10:28am ,first published March 5, 2026 3:29pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Palestinian DJ Sama Abdulhadi says she is heartbroken her Australian visa was not approved in time for performances at two major music festivals this weekend, despite submitting all required documentation and fully cooperating throughout the process. Abdulhadi, who has performed at the worlds largest techno festival, Tomorrowland, was slated to play in front of about 18,000 revellers at Pitch festival in Victoria and approximately 100,000 attendees of South Australias WOMADelaide over the weekend. Palestinian DJ Sama Abdulhadi performing at Exit music festival, Serbia, in 2021. Getty Images Abdulhadi said she was unable to perform in Australia on her Instagram Story after waiting for days in Japan, hoping the situation would be resolved. I am heartbroken to share that I will no longer be able to perform in Australia this weekend. Despite submitting all required documents and fully cooperating with the process, my visa was not granted in time, she said. Advertisement This has been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing experience. The visa process has been made unnecessarily complicated and prolonged, despite my full transparency and my previous successful entry into Australia in December 2022, where I performed without any issue and complied with all conditions. Pitchs Instagram Story revealing the visa issue. Pitch's Instagram story As a Palestinian artist who tours internationally, these barriers are not just logistical. They are emotional. Pitch and WOMADelaide issued statements on their social media announcing the loss of Abdulhadis highly anticipated sets. She was one of many international acts booked to play at both music festivals, but no other artists experienced visa issues. Were deeply saddened to share that Sama Abdulhadi will no longer be performing at Pitch this weekend, Pitch said via an Instagram story. Advertisement Despite our team doing everything in our power and working closely with Sama and her team to support her application, her visa to enter Australia has not been approved by the Department of Home Affairs in time for her scheduled performance, despite submitting all required documentation and supporting material. WOMADelaide said Abdulhadis departure from the set list followed a raft of cancellations this weekend, resulting from travel disruptions over the Middle East war, including Alfio Antico & Go Dugong, Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou, Bhutan Balladeers and Stans Cafe Theatre Company. Further to the programming updates yesterday, unfortunately Sama Abdulhadi has been unable to travel to Australia in time for her scheduled tour, including her much-anticipated DJ set on Saturday night at WOMADelaide 2026, the statement posted to Instagram said. Pitch has also suffered losses to its set lists due to war-related travel disruptions, including DJs Charlotte De Witte and Sedef Adasi. Advertisement The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment, but cannot comment on individual cases. The news follows reports of a lobbying effort in January to have Abdulhadi removed from WOMADelaides line-up. Sama Abdulhadi is internationally recognised as a pioneering female electronic music artist and cultural innovator, and she performs at festivals and music events around the world. Her inclusion reflects WOMADelaides commitment to showcasing artists of exceptional talent from a diverse range of countries and genres, organisers said in an email to those lobbying for Abdulhadi to be dropped, reported by InSADaily. Abdulhadi was born in Jordan after her father was displaced from Palestine when he was 15 in 1969 before returning aged 41 in 1994, she said in a Trippin interview. She applied for residency in Paris, France, when she began DJing, which she said has enabled her career. Advertisement Travelling and freedom of movement for Palestinians is impossible, she said in the interview. I first started moving around for music when I was in Cairo, and I was only being invited by Arab and Palestinian festivals to play. Then, I applied for a residency in Paris, and I got accepted, but when I came here to get my residency card, they gave me three years instead of three months, and so I just stayed. This is the only reason I can tour because Im coming from France, not Palestine. Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here. Advertisement LifestyleLife & relationshipsHealth and nutrition Opinion I traded my knee for a lifetime of telling people how brave I am Richard Glover Broadcaster and columnist March 6, 2026 4:30am March 6, 2026 4:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Last time I had a knee replacement, about a year ago, I had a fantasy about the moment in which the surgeon would cut into my leg and, for the first time, see my ruined left knee. Surely it would be the most arthritic knee hed ever seen, and hed fall into a quiet reverie about how Id put up with the pain for so long. Look at this, hed say to his assistant. Theres hardly anything left to throw away. Ive never seen anything like it. The nurses, too, would crowd around, shaking their heads in disbelief. Its then that the full crew of the operating theatre would begin singing. Softly at first, then growing in intensity. It would be a spirited rendition of Youll Never Walk Alone or better a four-part harmony version of Lean on Me. Tears would stain their cheeks, falling freely on their scrubs, as they contemplated the fallen hero that lay before them. The brave little soldier Richard Glover. ABC This time, back at the same hospital, having the other dicky knee removed, I wanted to do more than fantasise about the operating theatre and the scenes within. I decided to question the medicos when they appeared at my bedside the next day. I imagine youll be writing something for The Lancet? I said to the anaesthetist as he loomed above my cathetered and limp body. Youll begin, I suppose, by describing the gasps of the nurses and doctors as they spotted the damaged joint, hardly any bone left, the worst anyone had ever seen, how was he even able to hobble? etc. Your article would then include some uplifting thoughts about the miracle of human resilience, and how this particular patient must have been enormously courageous in the weeks and months leading up to the operation. Youd then include a link to my website, just in case anyone wanted to order one of my books. Advertisement I propped myself up on an elbow: Anyway, I guess thats what you are planning to do. A slight smile played on the anaesthetists face, but the real surprise was that he was already onboard with the idea. Every patients ruined body part is the most ruined body part ever seen. Were working on it, he said. It should be in next weeks edition of The Lancet. Will it need to be peer-assessed? I asked, keen to show I understood such things. Advertisement I dont think so, he said, employing a crisp medical manner. Weve already sent The Lancet your scans, so theyve seen it all for themselves. With a brisk cheerio, he was out the door. The scene played out again, a little later, when the surgeon visited. I mentioned The Lancet, the scans, and the tear-streaked nurses singing Lean on Me. He smiled, nodded his head, and said, Ah, Richard, indicating what I took to be his complete agreement. Editor's pick Literature The logic of the mob: Why Zadie Smith withdrew from Adelaide Writers Week That afternoon, I began to wonder about the way theyd both, so rapidly, accepted my proposals. Then came the sudden realisation: every patient indulges in this fantasy. Every patients ruined body part is the most ruined body part ever seen. Every patients bravery is the most incredible ever witnessed. The idea that a patients heroism should be recorded preferably in The Lancet may be the most common side-effect of any operation. A few days later, Im home, and facing another difficulty. How do I convince Jocasta that Im suffering enormous pain, and yet I am being incredibly brave in the face of that pain? If I am truly brave eschewing whinging, getting on with my exercise, achieving an upbeat manner she might assume that the pain really isnt that bad. What a disastrous outcome that would be. Advertisement On the other hand, if I indulge in the full Up Pompeii Woe, Woe and Thrice Woe sobbing into my breakfast cereal, yelping with every crutch-assisted step, keening for a full hour before sleep each night - she might assume Im a weak-willed whinger who lacks character. Editor's pick Opinion Literature The game dames: The bold Australian women who found the world, then brought it home Richard Glover Broadcaster and columnist The trick, of course, is to yelp in a way that suggests considerable pain as well as considerable bravery. The best Ive managed so far is a barely audible squeak, like a frightened mouse, at which point Jocasta says, Are you all right? Can I help? I then look up with aching eyes and say, in a rather distant and formal voice, Its nothing, nothing at all. The effect is like a frost-bitten Antarctic explorer going off to die. I repeat this scene every three minutes until Jocasta finally gets the message. It sounds like you are in a lot of pain but are being very brave about it. Hurrah. Bingo. Success at last. Advertisement All the same, why cant I at age 67 be treated like a seven-year-old, right from the start? Where was my fun pack of jellybeans after the operation? Wheres my Paw Patrol Band-Aid? Wheres my little red truck? Couldnt the surgeons and Jocasta offer up a brave little soldier compliment without me having to work so hard to convince them? People talk about the pain of the exercises following a big operation. Still, its nothing compared to the real effort of the recovery period: the battle to get a few compliments for a brave little soldier. Advertisement NationalNSWCourts Oodles of material to be disclosed as Alan Jones legal team flags stay of proceedings Riley Walter March 5, 2026 2:33pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Alan Jones legal team says it may apply for a temporary stay of proceedings against the disgraced former broadcaster, further delaying his prosecution, with thousands of pages of evidence yet to be served on his lawyers. Jones barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, told Bankstown Local Court on Thursday that evidence, including exculpatory statements, were yet to be served by police as prosecutors work to refine the number of witnesses expected to give evidence against him. Alan Jones pictured in December. The disgraced broadcasters legal team may apply for a temporary stay of proceedings. Sam Mooy Jones, 84, faces 27 charges against nine complainants for alleged sexual offending at public locations including the Opera House and a lower north shore restaurant, as well as his various homes and former workplaces. Bashir said a complete brief of evidence had not been disclosed to Jones lawyers, as well as oodles of material she said would exculpate or help clear him. Advertisement The court heard a number of the 23 subpoenas issued by Jones legal team remain outstanding. Materials produced under the subpoenas could give rise to an application to temporarily stay proceedings against Jones, the court heard. Jones will fight the charges against him before a Local Court magistrate in a hearing expected to begin in August and last for up to four months. Jones barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC. Sam Mooy A stay could further delay that hearing, which is expected to hear evidence from more than 100 witnesses. Several hearings in the coming months are expected to hear arguments about the legality of materials seized by police during Jones arrest and other issues, including material produced through the subpoenas and potential witnesses evidence. Advertisement Strike Force Bonnefin detectives arrested Jones in November 2024 after a secretive nine-month investigation sparked by this mastheads reporting. Related Article Exclusive Jones investigation Hed go the grope: Alan Jones accused of indecently assaulting young men A lengthy investigation by the Herald and The Age revealed in December 2023 that Jones had used his position of power, first as a teacher and later as the countrys top-rating radio broadcaster, to allegedly prey on a number of young men. Documents previously seen by this masthead showed the allegations include fondling penises, stroking thighs and squeezing bottoms. Jones is also accused of pulling a mans scrotum and masturbating during one alleged indecent assault. Late last year, several charges against Jones were amended. The charges initially related to 11 complainants. Advertisement Jones is accused of committing the crimes at his former Newtown home, his harbourside apartment, his farm at Fitzroy Falls in the Southern Highlands, Tamworth in northern NSW, and other Sydney spots. Magistrate Glenn Walsh said the hearing could run into January next year depending on the number of witnesses called to give evidence, and the length of the prosecution and defence cases. Its a bit of how longs a piece of string, Walsh said. Some cases develop their own life. I dont want this one to develop its own life. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. A man has been attacked by a shark while snorkelling in waters off an island on the southern Great Barrier Reef off the Central Queensland coast. The man, aged in his 50s, was snorkelling at a shallow reef near Lady Elliot Island when he encountered the shark about 8.30am on Thursday. A man has been flown to hospital after being bitten by a shark while snorkelling. He was bitten on his right arm, which inflicted deep lacerations and puncture wounds on his hand. The man was swimming with two other men. The group swam to shore after the attack seeking help from staff from Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort. Advertisement NationalQueenslandCity life Someone just dobbed on a kid: Lord mayor calls for common sense after complaint over cupcake stall Marissa Calligeros March 5, 2026 10:02am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Brisbanes lord mayor has called for common sense to prevail, despite the council threatening to fine a mother whose children set up a lemonade and bake stall on the citys northside. Kelly Stothard was shocked to receive a letter from the council regarding a complaint about a food business operating from her Stafford Heights home after her three children and their neighbours held a weekend bake sale. A review of council records and an investigation into the above premises indicates that you are operating a food business without a food business licence, the letter reads. The Stothard familys lemonade and bake stall. Kelly Stothard The operation of a licensable food business without a current food business licence is an offence under section 49 of the Food Act 2006 and can result in an on-the-spot fine or prosecution. Advertisement Stothard said it was quite horrifying to receive a letter threatening possible legal action. Three years ago, we had a lemonade stand and cupcake stand, and it was a very successful one. So when the children came to me again wanting to raise some money, I suggested we do another one, she said. Stothard and her three children, Skye, 16, Savanna, 12, and Kaden, 10, spent a week planning and preparing for the weekend bake sale. Kelly Stothards three children and their neighbours who ran the weekend bake sale. Kelly Stothard I just think its a rite of passage for kids to be able to hold a cupcake stall. Its especially important in this day and age because most children are at home on iPads and tablets and computers, she said. Advertisement Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the council was forced to investigate after a resident made an anonymous complaint via Queensland Healths website. Who would complain about kids selling cupcakes or lemonade? Like, seriously? Its one of those things that we accept has always happened, Schrinner told ABC Radio on Wednesday morning. Good on the kids for actually being a little bit enterprising and trying to raise money here. An image of the goods for sale at the Stothards bake stall. Kelly Stothard Schrinner conceded it was technically illegal to sell homemade cupcakes on the footpath, but come on, like, lets not complain about kids selling cupcakes. Advertisement Its our responsibility to remind people about what the rules are. Yes, those rules exist for a reason, but you know lets not go over the top in terms of a response. My view is live and let live here. No ones been hurt by this. Look, if someone had gotten seriously sick because of the cupcake, different story, but that didnt happen. Someone just dobbed on a kid and, you know, lets not do that. Stothard was relieved to hear the lord mayor confirm no further action would be taken. We did have a lot of support and positive feedback from this, so the chances are we will run something in the future, she said. But next time, the family will consider selling plants or homemade wind chimes. Advertisement We might change it up a bit, Stothard said. Queenslands Food Act 2006 applies to the sale of food, including food sold from temporary stalls such as roadside lemonade or cupcake stands. The Stothards stall offered cupcakes, mini cupcakes, vanilla slice, brownies, jam drops and lemonade. Certain activities may be exempt from licensing requirements, including some non-profit fundraising events involving low-risk foods, a Queensland Health spokesman said. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalVictoriaCourts Sex crimes inquiry into Joshua Brown nets third accused child rapist Erin Pearson March 5, 2026 4:04pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A third person has been charged with nearly 200 sex crimes, including child rape, as part of the ongoing investigation that uncovered accused childcare paedophile Joshua Brown. Matthew Green, 29, also known as Kaleigh Green, was charged in September with offences spanning four years that include the alleged abuse of children and animals. Joshua Brown (left) and Michael Wilson have both already been charged as part of the same investigation. The case can now be revealed after this masthead successfully applied for an order banning publication of the matter to be lifted. Greens alleged offending does not relate to childcare settings and Brown is not listed as a co-accused. But Melbourne Magistrates Court heard the case was linked to Brown through the police investigation rather than the alleged offending. Advertisement Green, of Frankston, who now identifies as a woman, is facing 194 charges from 2022 until their arrest last year, including 11 counts of child rape, 50 counts of intentionally producing child abuse material, 63 counts of transmitting or causing child abuse material to be transmitted, and eight counts of performing sexual acts in front of a child. Documents released by the court show Green is accused of rape and the production and transmission of child abuse material all on the same day. The charges also include 13 bestiality counts allegedly committed at a property in Leongatha, in the states south-east, between July 2022 and August 2024. Prosecutors initially won a court order suppressing publication of Greens name or details of the case until this year while the investigations continued. Greens defence team then unsuccessfully applied to have it extended on safety grounds. Advertisement Related Article Melbourne childcare crisis Shocking new charges in case of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Brown Dominique Lardner argued her clients physical and psychological safety were at risk if the case were mentioned in the media. Magistrate Rohan Lawrence said he was not satisfied Green faced any significant increased risk of harm at the hands of other inmates if media reporting occurred. Lawrence said Green was doing well in custody and undertaking study. Green is expected to return to court this month. Police first charged Joshua Dale Brown, 27, mid last year. He now stands accused of 156 offences allegedly committed between April 2022 and May 2025. Advertisement Brown had worked in more than 20 childcare centres across Melbourne and is accused of sexually abusing babies and toddlers and transmitting abuse material to Michael Simon Wilson, 26, from Hoppers Crossing. Wilson was charged in May 2025 with more than 70 offences including the alleged rape of a child, bestiality, and possessing child abuse material between April 2022 and May 2025 in Melbournes west. Wilson was the alleged target of the initial investigation that police say caught Brown in its net. Wilson is due to face court again this month, while Brown is due to return in April. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement PoliticsQueenslandQueensland government Library stripped of state literary award role in fellowship fallout Matt Dennien March 5, 2026 5:36pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Queenslands State Library will no longer manage the state literary awards on behalf of the government, in response to a long-awaited review into the sinking of a fellowship last year. Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroeks intervention in the $15,000 black&write! fellowship last year led to the last-minute May cancellation of a First Nations authors award ceremony. Langbroek said the government had accepted all five recommendations from the review. Jamila Filippone Langbroek had accused the Adelaide-based author K.A. Ren Wyld of glorifying terrorism over a social media post praising slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The decision sparked an independent review into the roles of the library and minister, along with state literary award delays driven by the resignations of 12 judges. Advertisement The review, by Australian Catholic University chancellor and former Supreme Court judge Martin Daubney AM KC, was handed to the library in October, and Langbroek in November. The review was published on Thursday, along with statements from both Langbroek and the state library the latter of which said it had accepted all five recommendations. This includes ceasing management of the Queensland Literary Awards on behalf of the Queensland government, the library said, without detailing which body would do so instead. Langbroek said the library would transition the Queensland Literary Awards to alternative providers and work with funding partner Creative Australia to do similar with black&write! Advertisement More broadly, the Daubney Review has highlighted the need for government-funded arts and cultural organisations to consider their policies and risk-management frameworks to ensure they are consistent with and meet the expectations of the Crisafulli government, Langbroek said. We remain committed to the future of the literary awards and are determined to ensure they go from strength to strength. After a decade of decline under Labor, the Crisafulli government unashamedly holds the position that state-owned buildings will not be a platform for hate speech. Creative diversity and robust debate are important, and central to the value of the arts, however, weve taken decisive action to make Queensland safer. Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek Questions from this masthead to the library and Langbroek about the future of this years awards are yet to receive a response. Entries for the 2025 awards opened on March 3 that year. There is yet to be an announcement about the 2026 schedule. Advertisement In his review, Daubney said that while it was commissioned after the events of the black&write! decision by Langbroek to direct the library not to give the award to Wyld in the state-owned venue, it was not a vehicle to critique his intervention. Related Article Exclusive Queensland government Literary awards delayed after ministers intervention sparked judge exodus Rather, it has been a broader exercise to identify lessons from the circumstances surrounding that intervention and to provide both context and guidance to the Board and SLQ management in the proper exercise of their functions and duties. The key findings of Daubneys 57-page report include that the black&write fellowship matter highlighted issues needing to be addressed via policy clarity, communications protocols and reputational risk management. He found there was ambiguity around whether competitive literary awards were a core statutory function of the board, and policies around venue use and intellectual freedom were due for review. Advertisement There is an opportunity to strengthen communication protocols between the Board, Minister, and AQ [the Arts Queensland Department], especially for sensitive or high-profile decisions and the Ministers expectations. Related Article Literature prizes Top state literary award winner calls out silencing of genocide concern As a result, Daubney recommended Langbroek with the advice of his department and the library board clarify as a matter of policy whether the conduct of competitive literary awards is a proper function of the board. He also called on the board to review its risk management and venue use policy, along with developing policies for awards and fellowships to lay out clear objectives for each program. These would include processes to help the board mitigate any risk of reputational damage through requiring award entrants or venue hirers to undergo background checks. Advertisement Entrants and venue hirers would also be required to provide an acknowledgment that if they are to receive an award or use a state library venue, they will not and must not have engaged in any behaviour inconsistent with an award program or which could bring the library or award into disrepute. Former Liberal senator for Queensland George Brandis was appointed by Langbroek as chair of the librarys board last month. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. A man who allegedly deliberately set fire to a Prahran business, injuring another arsonist who later died in hospital, has been charged with causing the death. The 44-year-old man was arrested at his Fitzroy address on Thursday morning. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad arrest the man on Thursday. Victoria Police Police say the two men poured fuel inside the premises of a Chapel Street dessert bar in the early hours of January 15, 2025. The fire caused extensive damage to the site and nearby businesses. Witnesses at the time saw one of the men visibly on fire as the pair fled the scene in an orange Holden Commodore that was waiting for them nearby. The car was later found dumped on Birdwood Avenue in South Yarra. A CARLOW man with 75 previous convictions, who went on a violent rampage through a local park robbing one man of his watch, attempting to steal another mans dog and trying to snatch a mobile phone from a third who came to his victims aid has been jailed for three years and two months, with the final 12 months suspended. Joe Curtin of no fixed abode appeared before Judge Mary Morrissey at Carlow Circuit Court on 27 February via video link, having pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery arising from incidents at Hanover Park in Carlow town on the evening of 1 May 2025. Det Garda Kieran Shields of Carlow Garda Station outlined the facts of the case to the court. At approximately 8pm, the first complainant was walking through the park when he was confronted by Mr Curtin, who demanded money and his watch. When the man resisted, Mr Curtin struck him in the face, sat on him and went through his pockets, taking the watch from his wrist before walking away. The injured party raised the alarm and contacted gardai. Ten minutes later and in the same location, Mr Curtin approached a second man who was walking his dog and demanded money, a mobile phone and the dog. When the complainant refused, Mr Curtin kicked him. A third man came upon the incident and attempted to intervene, at which point Mr Curtin tried to take his mobile phone. The two men fled in the direction of Penneys and alerted gardai. When gardai returned to the park, Mr Curtin was still present and was arrested at the scene. He was searched by Garda David OSullivan, who discovered the first victims watch in his pocket. Mr Curtin was detained at the garda station, but was assessed as being under the influence of intoxicants and was deemed unfit for questioning due to the level of intoxication. A doctor was called. Mr Curtin was subsequently interviewed and made full admissions, co-operating fully with the investigation. Efforts were made to obtain victim impact statements from all three complainants. The first declined to make a statement. The second told the court he had been left with fears about the park and that he would not allow his family to go there anymore. The third, while declining to make a formal statement, indicated that he hoped Mr Curtin would get the help he needed. Counsel for the defence, Mr Kelly, instructed by solicitor Chris Hogan, submitted that Mr Curtin was not seeking to minimise the seriousness of the offences and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He described the level of co-operation given to gardai as about as full as you can get and drew the courts attention to a four-page letter written by Mr Curtin to the court, in which he expressed deep remorse. Im sorry for what Ive done. I cant believe Ive put myself in this situation again. I feel ashamed. Ive let myself and my family down again, he wrote. Counsel outlined that on the day in question, Mr Curtin who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and drug-induced psychosis had not been taking his prescribed antipsychotic medication and had consumed a significant quantity of stolen whiskey. He recollected hearing voices on the day. A forensic psychology report before the court noted that imprisonment alone had not resolved his situation and had at times worsened his vulnerability, recommending instead structured engagement with support services, carefully monitored. A probation report, while noting positive elements, also highlighted a recurring pattern of serious concern. Following previous releases from prison, Mr Curtin had reconnected with negative associates, ceased taking his medication and resumed drug and alcohol use. He was assessed as being at a very high risk of reoffending in the next 12 months unless the underlying risk factors were comprehensively addressed. The report described him as a socially vulnerable individual suffering from low self-esteem, chronic anxiety and an inability to sustain relationships, with periods of social isolation. Polysubstance misuse had begun in early childhood. In her sentencing remarks, Judge Morrissey noted that Mr Curtin has 75 previous convictions, including 28 for theft, two previous robbery offences, possession of a knife, assault, criminal damage and breaches of a barring order, among others. She found that there was high moral culpability in the case, describing the offending as premeditated. Mr Curtin sought out victims and used violence in counts one and two, she said. He had an impact on the second victim and his family, who has chosen not to frequent the park anymore. She noted, however, that while there was no medical evidence of injuries sustained by the victims, the forensic psychology report provided important context regarding the defendants mental state on the day. She acknowledged the mitigating factors, including the early guilty plea, the letter of apology, family support Mr Curtins father has offered him accommodation upon release and the insight into his offending demonstrated in the psychological report. Judge Morrissey imposed a sentence of four years and six months on count one, four years and three months on count two and four years on count three, all to run concurrently. Taking mitigation into account, she reduced the sentence to three years and two months, suspending the final 12 months on the condition that Mr Curtin enter into a bond of 250, be of good behaviour, and engage fully with probation services, including mental health services, addiction treatment and drugs screening as directed. The court also dealt with a section 99 re-entry matter. Mr Curtin had previously appeared before the court in February 2024 in relation to a theft charge, a firearms offence and a section 2 assault, arising from which he was serving a five-year sentence, with the final year suspended. Judge Morrissey said she was proposing to reactivate that suspended element but would suspend it on the same terms as the current sentence requiring the defendant to engage with mental health and addiction services, including residential treatment and community counselling as appropriate. Det Garda Shields, who gave evidence at the earlier hearing, told the court that he had known Mr Curtin for a number of years and that he was the most placid person when not under the influence of substances. I just think on this occasion, yes, he has serious offences, if he gets the help he needs, it is of serious benefit to him and to the community, he said. I wish you luck and will see you on 10 March, Judge Morrissey said to Mr Curtin at the conclusion of proceedings. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme A YOUNG Carlow woman who allowed her bank account to be used as a conduit for over 12,000 in fraudulent transactions linked to a nationwide social welfare fraud scheme has been told she will learn her fate next week. Dion Timmons (23), 1 Chaffe Street, Graiguecullen, Carlow appeared before Judge Mary Morrissey at Carlow Circuit Court on Thursday 26 February, having previously pleaded guilty to a single count on the indictment under section 7 of the Criminal Justice Act. The court heard that in 2022, an investigation in Letterkenny, Co Donegal uncovered a large-scale fraud operation by a criminal organisation against the Department of Social Protection, in which illegally obtained PPS numbers were used to extract money from unsuspecting individuals, with 350 taken from each of 19 victims. Garda Shiel, who was sworn in and gave evidence, told the court that as a result of that Letterkenny investigation, a number of individuals connected to the fraud were identified, with alerts subsequently issued to garda stations nationwide. An N26 online bank account was opened in the defendants name on 8 March 2022. A small number of transactions 4.90 and 20 were made and debited shortly after the account was opened, after which it lay dormant until April 2022. Between 5 and 28 of that month, 19 transactions of 350 each were credited into the account, along with four further deposits of 1,904.52, 1,890, 950 and 980 the latter transactions relating to injured parties residing in Germany rather than to the Department of Social Protection. In total, 12,374.64 passed through the account before it was closed by the bank on 28 April 2022 due to suspicion over the origin of the funds. The court heard all the money was ultimately transferred via PaySafe payment solutions into a cryptocurrency account on Binance, routed through Luxembourg. In cross-examination, the defence barrister established that Ms Timmons was just 19 years of age at the time of the offence, that it was her first time being arrested and her first time in a garda station and that she entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. The barrister put it to Garda Shiel that her client had been stressed, vulnerable and anxious at the time of her arrest. Its not a nice thing to be arrested, and arrested for the first time, the garda acknowledged, adding that the process had been properly explained to the defendant in relation to the offence of money laundering. The barrister confirmed that Ms Timmons did not benefit personally from the sum of monies as a result of the transactions. Garda Shiel replied: I know that uniformly today, but I didnt know (at the time). The barrister also asked the garda to accept that there was a bigger picture here and a bigger network of people in control of this criminal activity. Garda Shiel agreed that the Donegal investigation had established that such networks rely on individuals to open bank accounts, noting that this particular account had been opened on 8 March 2022 with transactions moving fast within and throughout, before being shut down within two months. The garda confirmed that Ms Timmons had not come to adverse garda attention either before or since the incident and that she had abided by all bail conditions and had never been late to court. Garda Shiel also noted that the Department of Social Protection had not furnished a victim impact statement but stressed the real-world impact on those whose PPS numbers had been misused. Without their knowledge, a person has claimed money they never received, never sees the money, but they are on the departments books as receiving it while working full-time, he said, explaining the impact of this kind of fraud. People are having difficulties getting their affairs back in order for tax purposes or whatever it may be. In mitigation, the defence told the court that Ms Timmons has lived in Carlow all her life. She is currently in her second year at Carlow College and works part time at a local restaurant, with a long-term ambition to qualify as an educational psychologist. Her studies had been put on hold as a result of the offence and subsequent court appearances, but she has since returned and is, the court heard, doing well. The defence outlined a difficult personal background, including a complex family environment marked by domestic violence and abuse and an estrangement from her father spanning approximately a decade, with brief contact around the time of her grandfathers death a period which coincided with the offending. That re-engagement had not had a positive impact on her life and contact has since ceased. The defence submitted that Ms Timmons had been going through a period of emotional instability at the time and, while not seeking to use those circumstances as an excuse, they were relevant in understanding her capacity to assess risk and criminality. In a letter penned to the court, Ms Timmons explained that she had been approached by someone she regarded as a friend, who suggested the arrangement and assured her it was not illegal. She said she had no understanding at the time of the level of criminality involved or the harm it would cause and that, had she known, she would never have agreed. It was only upon her arrest that she became aware of the full extent of the fraudulent activity that had passed through her account. A probation report, prepared following her arraignment on 11 November 2025, indicated that Ms Timmons had engaged fully with the probation services and had taken full advantage of the supports offered. Probation officers concluded that her offending appeared situational rather than indicative of established criminal behaviour and that she was at the lowest risk of reoffending. The report noted that she suffers from anxiety and depression, for which she is receiving treatment from her GP. The defence submitted that she was deserving of a non-custodial sentence and a letter of apology was handed to the court. Judge Morrissey said she required time to consider all matters and that she would finalise the case the following week. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association The Minister for Foreign Affairs has repeatedly refused to say if she believes Israeli and American air strikes on Iran broke international law. Speaking to the media in Dublin on Thursday afternoon, Helen McEntee was asked several times if actions by the two countries were outside international law. She referred repeatedly to the lack of a mandate from the UN, saying in order for conflicts to be justified there needs to be a UN mandate from the UN Security Council. On Saturday, the US and Israel targeted Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear programme in a series of air strikes. Iran retaliated with thousands of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israel, UK, and American military bases and embassies in the region, and energy facilities across the Persian Gulf. The war has killed more than 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the worlds oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East. Asked why she was stopping short of explicitly saying the Irish Government believes Israel and the US broke international law McEntee said much of the extremely difficult situation in the Middle East was caused by Iran. (PA Graphics) She said: I think were all grappling with the fact that Iran has not only subdued and massacred its own citizens and population in recent decades and more recently, in recent weeks, but it has essentially contributed to state-sponsored terrorism for many in the region. She added: So much of the instability and conflict that has been caused in the region has been at the hands of Iran. So we all want to see an improvement and a change, and we want the people of Iran to be able to essentially set out their own destiny. Ellen O'Donoghue A variety of stories, including Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed, and the war in the Middle East, feature on Irish front pages on Thursday morning. The Irish Times lead with the US extending the war on Iran to the Indian Ocean, a fisheries WRC case hearing claims of blackmail by a senator, Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed, and scrambler laws being delayed over "competing" interests. The Irish Examiner lead with credits and excise cuts being ruled out despite the spike in fuel costs, and a big deficit in Kerry Camhs staffing levels. The Irish Independent lead with a government charge of 800 per adult for a charter flight from the Gulf war zone being described as a shakedown. The Echo lead with Cork residents working in healthcare roles potentially being in danger of losing their jobs due to long delays to the renewal process for residency permits, and TDs calling for changes at a closed school. The Herald lead with four women appearing in court for attacking a grandmother. The Irish Daily Mail lead with a housing officials event abroad being paid for by developers. The Irish Daily Mirror lead with the parents of a 14-year-old girl killed in the Creeslough explosion saying they are hurt by the Minister for Justice's refusal to meet them. The Irish Daily Star lead with Enoch Burke's mother and sister being jailed. The Belfast Telegraph lead with a Liverpool hitman being one of the main suspects for the murder of a Czech man who was being investigated for the fatal shooting of Belfast man John George in Spain. THE VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art was the top energy user among Carlow Co Councils buildings in 2024. The arts centre consumed almost 800,000kWh a equivalent to approximately 160 Irish homes for a year a with Carlow County Hall the next highest energy consumer at just under 400,000kWh. The figures were presented to councillors at the February meeting of the council during a discussion of the 2025 implementation report of the Local Authority Climate Action Plan 2024-2029. Carlow Co Councils climate action co-ordinator Jannette OBrien briefed councillors on the climate action plans progress over the last year and explained that the data available is a year behind, as it must be verified by the authorities before being redistributed to the council. The data we have at the moment is for 2024, the reason being thats what we have as verified data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The 2025 data is being submitted at the moment, said Ms OBrien. Regarding the energy usage of Visual and the county council buildings, Ms OBrien explained that, as the two highest users of energy among the councils properties, the buildings have been selected for the SEAI Pathfinder programme. The Pathfinder programme, which was established in 2017, is an initiative between the SEAI and public bodies aimed at achieving large-scale retrofitting of public sector buildings to make them more energy efficient. The SEAI Pathfinder programme is a funding opportunity, mentoring and support opportunity, explained Ms OBrien. We had to do a register of opportunities, so we looked at our largest emitting buildings in the local authority and then we used that to identify priority retrofitting projects that will give the greatest energy and CO2 savings at the lowest possible costs. You can see there the county buildings at 12% and Visual at 25% were the highest greenhouse gas emitters and, given the highest opportunities to reduce emissions at the lowest cost, they were selected for the Pathfinder programme, she added. The councils energy efficiency has improved by 41% since 2009, according to Ms OBrien, which puts it firmly on track to meet the 2030 target of 50% improvement in energy efficiency. Independent councillor for Tullow William Paton commended Ms OBrien for her enthusiasm and passion about climate change, biodiversity and nature and enquired about how the council plans to keep energy usage down. Given that we opened a new housing office in Carlow town and our plans for the Bank of Ireland, we are going to need energy in there. The question then is: if we are going to spend more energy, how do we cut back elsewhere? What sort of plans are we going to be looking at cutting back? Ms OBrien responded that cllr Paton raised a very valid point and reminded councillors that the baseline targets in the climate plan are absolute. No matter what we do, we are mandated to make the same reductions, she said. However, the Pathfinder programme would give the council more wiggle room in terms of energy usage when the Visual and county buildings are retrofitted. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme Articles / Case Studies Supporting Lebanons future 05 March 2026 Ciment de Sibline has been a stalwart of the Lebanese cement industry for more than 40 years. With the country now tentatively rebuilding after many difficult years, Siblines CEO, Eng Adib El Hachem, explains to ICR how those years of austerity have helped improve operational efficiencies and the companys commitment to sustainability. By ICR Research, UK. China Shanshui Cement Group reported a sharp increase in losses for the year ended 31 December 2025 as revenue and sales volumes declined amid continued weakness in Chinas cement sector. The company recorded operating revenue of RMB11.56bn (US$1.6bn) in 2025, down 20.3 per cent from RMB14.51bn in 2024. Loss from operations reached RMB517.5m compared with an operating profit of RMB182.4m in the previous year, while loss attributable to equity shareholders widened to RMB983.0m from RMB140.6m in 2024. Basic loss per share stood at RMB0.23. The weaker performance reflected declining demand and lower selling prices across Chinas cement market. Total cement and clinker sales volumes fell 17 per cent year-on-year to 42.97Mt during the period, while average cement prices also declined. Revenue from cement sales, which accounted for more than 80 per cent of the groups total turnover, decreased 19.2 per cent to RMB9.51bn. Clinker revenue fell by 30.8 per cent to RMB1.04bn, while revenue from concrete declined by 37.3 per cent. Advertisement Regionally, Shandong remained the companys largest market, contributing around 57.9 per cent of total revenue, followed by northeastern China with 26.5 per cent. China Shanshui said the operating environment remained challenging during 2025 as the countrys property sector continued to contract and fixed asset investment growth slowed. According to Chinas National Bureau of Statistics, national cement output fell to 1.69bn tonnes in 2025, representing a 6.9 per cent year-on-year decline and the lowest level since 2010. The groups core activities remain focused on the manufacture and sale of cement, clinker and concrete across regional markets including Shandong, northeastern China, Shanxi and Xinjiang. Middle Valley Church of God, located at 1703 Thrasher Pike in Hixson, announces that Pastor Mitch McClure will be preaching on Sunday, March 8, in the 10:30 a.m. service. His topic will be 'Who Do You See In The Mirror?' The purpose of the sermon series is to help all Believers understand their relationship with God and how He helps them be the person He wants them to be in life and eternity.It includes a call for self-examination. This will be the third part of the sermon series to encourage Believers to realize their need to know their relationship with God and to be determined to draw closer to God. All are welcome to participate. Each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. , the church conducts a Prayer Meeting. The Prayer Meeting is open to all who wish to participate and is designed to encourage prayer. Information on various methods of prayer will be shared with participants. The goal of this prayer meeting is to encourage Believers to seek God through prayer. All are welcome to participate. Each Wednesday at 7 p.m., an Interactive, Interesting, and Informative Bible Study will be held in the church auditorium. Kelley Selby is currently leading this Bible study. All are welcome to participate. The goal of this Bible study is to encourage Believers to study the Bible and discuss with others, making the Scripture their guide. Middle Valley Church of God is a community focused church with various ministries in the Middle Valley area and in Cusuna, Honduras. The community is welcome to join in times of worship and community service. MVCOG has been ministering in the Middle Valley Community since 1946 from the same location. If you have questions, please contact the church office at 423.843.1539. All are welcome. The answer is: Its coming from North Georgia where prescribed burns are underway beginning today (Wednesday). CFD officials said on Wednesday afternoon, "The smoke is blowing north into Chattanooga. Its going to impact St. Elmo and downtown for the next few hours." Walker County officials said earlier Wednesday, "Georgia Forestry will be conducting several prescribed burns in Walker County today. "Smoke will be visible in these areas." Chattanooga Fire is receiving multiple inquiries from the media and the public about a lot of smoke downtown.The answer is: Its coming from North Georgia where prescribed burns are underway beginning today (Wednesday).CFD officials said on Wednesday afternoon, "The smoke is blowing north into Chattanooga. Its going to impact St. Elmo and downtown for the next few hours."Walker County officials said earlier Wednesday, "Georgia Forestry will be conducting several prescribed burns in Walker County today.Burns are planned on 1,000 acres near 332 Blue Hole Road; 1,004 acres near Forest Service Road 231, and 20 acres near 655 Walnut Grove."Smoke will be visible in these areas." In addition, the National Park Service will conduct a prescribed fire at Chickamauga Battlefield on Thursday and Friday. The planned fire will be on approximately 850 acres north of Viniard-Alexander Road east of LaFayette Road and west of Alexander Bridge Road. These areas include: West Viniard Alexander Central Viniard Alexander East Viniard Alexander Brotherton East The NPS may also conduct a prescribed fire in another section, Brotherton North, which is east of LaFayette Road and north of Brotherton Road. See the attached map. This will be the third of five prescribed fires taking place in the next several years. The goals of this fire are to: restore, protect and maintain the historic and cultural landscapes; restore and maintain fire-adapted plant communities; reduce hazard fuel accumulations; eradicate invasive woody and exotic vegetation species which compete with native vegetation; and maintain and promote suitable conditions for limestone glade communities. The U.S. Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, Catoosa County firefighters, and Walker County firefighters are assisting the NPS with this prescribed fire. Officials said, "Many factors must align to ensure public and firefighter safety during a prescribed fire. The timing of the prescribed fire is dependent on wind, temperature and relative humidity parameters being within an acceptable range. Fire engines, fire fighters, and roads will create buffers to contain the fire. Smoke will be visible during the burn, but we do not expect any significant impacts to the park or surrounding area. Upon completion of the fire activity, wildland firefighters will continue to monitor the area to ensure the fire is contained." During the prescribed fire, Viniard-Alexander Road will have temporary restricted access in the following areas: between LaFayette Road and Alexanders Bridge Road Alexanders Bridge Road between Brotherton Road and the bridge Jays Mill Road, south of Brotherton Road State Representative Greg Vital recently hosted Tennessee Department of Agriculture Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Holt in District 29 as part of the department's Tennessee Roots Farm Tour, underscoring the vital role agriculture plays in Hamilton County and across the state.Officials said, "Commissioner Holt visited farmers at Vital Buffalo Farm and Aubie Smith Farms in Hamilton County to discuss farmland preservation, agricultural production and the significant economic impact of farming in Tennessee.Hamilton County plays a key role in the regions agricultural production, with strong representation in livestock production and specialty farming."No farms mean no food, said Rep. Vital. I was proud to showcase the strength of agriculture in Hamilton County and ensure local voices are heard at the state level. Agriculture is not just part of Tennessees history; it is central to our economic future. When we support farmers, forest landowners and agribusinesses, we are supporting jobs, families and communities across our entire state.As part of a new, statewide commitment to promote how agriculture is a cornerstone of both the states economy and rural heritage, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture introduced the Tennessee Roots Farm Tour. The tour focuses on strengthening relationships between state leadership and the agricultural community by meeting directly with local farmers from various counties across the state to identify opportunities to support working lands, conservation efforts and long-term sustainability."Agriculture is Tennessees number one industry, contributing more than $81 billion annually to the states economy and supporting more than 324,000 jobs, according to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture," officials said. "Tennessee is home to more than 69,000 farms, 98 percent of which are family farms, which covers approximately 10.8 million acres and makes up 41 percent of the state." Hiroshima and Tadanoumi: The unknown history of Japan's 'wartime capital' and 'Poison Gas Island' 10:19, March 05, 2026 By Hua Xin ( People's Daily Online During WWII, Hiroshima suffered atomic bombing by the United States. Every year, the city holds a peace memorial ceremony to mourn the victims and pray for peace. However, what Japanese officials seldom mention is that Hiroshima was the most important military-industrial city and military port for Japan's aggression and military expansion in modern history as well as serving as Japan's "wartime capital." It is little known that military command centers, troop training grounds, large-scale munitions factories, military supply docks, and production bases for chemical weapons had been located in the city. Okunoshima is a remote island 80 kilometers away from Hiroshima. In November 1928, the Japanese Imperial Army established its first chemical weapons factory there, named "The Tadanoumi Weapons Factory." Between 1929 and 1944, this factory produced over 6,600 tons of toxic chemicals prohibited by international conventions, such as mustard gas and lewisite, accounting for 90 percent of total production of toxic chemicals in Japan. The island came to be known as "Poison Gas Island." To cover up the production of toxic chemicals, the Japanese government once erased the island from published maps. The vast majority of toxic chemicals produced on Okunoshima Island were loaded into chemical weapons and shipped to China. During its war of aggression, the Japanese army used chemical weapons on countless Chinese, in flagrant violation of international law. There were 1,241 documented instances with precise records of time, location, and casualties. When the Wushe Incident erupted in Taiwan against Japanese colonial rule in 1930, the Japanese army used tear gas and hydrogen cyanide to suppress the civilians. In the Shanghai Battle and the Battle of Xinqiang River, the Japanese army deployed chemical weapons which not only poisoned senior Chinese military commanders, but also resulted in heavy casualties among civilians. In 1942, the Japanese army launched a poison gas attack on Chinese soldiers and civilians who hid in the tunnels of a village in Hebei Province, causing over 800 deaths. Moreover, Unit 516 of the Japanese invading troops, known for chemical warfare, collaborated with the notorious Unit 731 specializing in biological warfare, conducting chemical agent experiments on live human beings in northeast China and beyond. On the eve of defeat in 1945, the Japanese army abandoned large quantities of chemical weapons in China's remote mountains and dense forests, even dumping them directly into rivers and lakes. To date, Japanese abandoned chemical weapons (JACWs) have been discovered at over 200 locations across 18 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China. At least 2,000 Chinese have been harmed by these abandoned chemical weapons since the end of the war. On August 4, 2003, five abandoned chemical barrels were unearthed at a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, leading to one death and 43 injuries. In July 2009, at Binhai New Area in Tianjin, a dredging vessel accidentally inhaled a JACW shell during operation, resulting in the poisoning of five workers onboard. Subsequently, over 600 JACWs were recovered from the relevant area. Although Japan committed to destroy all abandoned chemical weapons in China after the Chemical Weapons Convention took effect in 1997, the Japanese government has yet to provide effective burial location information. As a result, the total number and specific locations of JACWs remain unknown. Due in part to inadequate funding by Tokyo, the destruction process has been greatly delayed. To this day, a large number of unknown JACWs continue to pose a serious threat to the life, property, and ecological security of the Chinese people. Japanese militarists, in addition to harming neighboring countries, also brought immense suffering to the Japanese people. During the war, around 6,700 Japanese workers, including approximately 1,100 teenage students, were mobilized to produce chemical weapons on Okunoshima Island. Most were unaware of the true nature of their work. They labored under poor protective measures, and were subjected to strict surveillance, and prohibited from disclosing the island's secrets. Together with around 800 workers engaged in post-war dismantling operations, around 7,500 people suffered varying degrees of harm from chemical weapons, with many suffering from chronic bronchitis and cancer. After Japan's defeat, the Japanese authorities destroyed evidence by burning or concealing important documents and dismantling key production facilities and equipment before the Allied forces arrived, and disposed of large quantities of toxic chemicals by burning, burying, or dumping them in the surrounding waters of Okunoshima Island, causing irreversible environmental pollution in the area. In 1988, Japanese civilians spontaneously established the "Okunoshima Poison Gas Museum" on the island to expose this dark chapter of Japanese militarism's production and use of chemical weapons. A report by Kyodo News at the end of last year revealed that in November 1944, around 160 students from Tadanoumi Girls' High School in Hiroshima Prefecture were assembled on Okunoshima Island to produce "balloon bombs". Reiko Okada, now 96 years old, who was only 15 at the time, told a reporter that it was only after the war that she learned these "balloon bombs" were intended to be launched toward the United States. Upon hearing that six children in Oregon in the western United States had been killed by such devices, she felt a sense of guilt. Yasuma Fujimoto, who had also participated in the production of toxic chemicals on Okunoshima Island, visited China several times after the war to apologize to the victims of Japanese chemical attacks. Fujimoto stated, "I am a perpetrator who produced poison gas. I'm a criminal." "I will never forget that the poison gas I manufactured was used to kill Chinese people. To forget would be to lose the opportunity to bear witness to history," he added. However, the Japanese government has consistently downplayed and concealed this history. Instead of repenting of its crimes against humanity, it has promoted Okunoshima Island as a tourist destination, allowing its brutal past to fade from public memory. While the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is praised as a symbol of peace, the nearby "Poison Gas Island" along with the history of crimes perpetrated there, has been systematically downplayed and whitewashed. On August 6, the Japanese government is expected to hold another memorial ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to pray for peace. It is worth bearing in mind that genuine peace requires the courage to confess the dark history of Hiroshima and Okunoshima. It requires sincere apology to the victims of Japanese militarism, and it is essential to check the right-wing forces' attempt at neo-militarism. When Japan depicts itself as a war victim without genuine introspection and confession, its prayers for peace is nothing but ironic. The author is an observer on international affairs. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Home News 4 takeaways from primary day in Texas From a tight U.S. Senate race watched by the White House to the most expensive primary ever, Texas saw a few surprising results on primary day. While Republican Gov. Gregg Abbott and other candidates cruised to victory, others are headed to a runoff in May, including incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. In addition to political drama, polling place complications were reported after voter confusion and court filings clouded the outcome in Dallas County. Here are four of the biggest headlines coming out of Texas after primary day. Home News 41 church members return to US from Israel after being stranded amid Iran conflict A group of 41 members of a South Carolina church who had been stranded in Israel due to the Iranian counterstrikes against the country has safely arrived back in the United States. A plane carrying members from Calvary Chapel Summerville arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday afternoon, after the group was forced to spend nearly an extra week in Israel because of the airspace being shut down. Charles Timmerman, assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel, told The Christian Post that the group has safely returned to the U.S. after taking a bus from Israel to Jordan and then flying out of that nation. Our faith in God is the most important thing in our lives, and we are just deeply grateful to our God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and then for the prayers that have come in from across the country, said Timmerman. People have stepped up, and we are very deeply grateful. Timmerman said that he was also very grateful for all the support from our local politicians, as the church was directly in contact with the offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of Tennessee. All three South Carolina members of Congress communicated with the U.S. State Department on behalf of the church, explained Timmerman, with Mace directly reaching out to Calvary Chapels senior pastor. The group had been scheduled to return home on Sunday, but after receiving a warning from Ambassador Mike Huckabee last Friday about the strikes, they rescheduled to try to leave on Saturday instead. Shortly after they had arrived at the airport and were waiting for their flight to take off, the Israeli airport had been shut down amid the Iranian counterattacks, leaving the group stranded. We were going through security and thats when the war broke out, Calvary Chapel Pastor Vic Carroll told WCSC/Gray News earlier this week. The alarms went off. They ushered us all to the bomb shelters. Every time we head to the bomb shelter. Youve only got a few minutes to get there once the alarm goes off and were hearing the explosions going off over our heads, its just completely surreal. Its unbelievable. A GoFundMe was created to help pay the unforeseen expenses associated with delays in getting the church members back to the U.S., with it raising over $100,000 from about 150 donors as of Thursday. Timmerman told CP that the church also received about $5,000 in donations to the church office, which were important given the days of additional hotel stays, meals, extra travel and missed work. On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched several strikes on Iran, reportedly hitting several military and government targets in Tehran and elsewhere in the Islamic Republic. Thus far, the attacks have led to the death of Irans 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking public officials, as well as several civilians. Iran launched multiple missile attacks against Israel and U.S. military positions in the region in response. One missile struck the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday, killing nine people. At least six U.S. military personnel were confirmed dead from an Iranian strike on an operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told CNN. Home News Higher share of unintended pregnancies are aborted in blue states than red, data suggests A scholar at the Catholic University of America reports that data released in a recent report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute has found that the share of unintended pregnancies carried to term is much higher in red states than blue states. Dr. Michael New, a Catholic University research associate in Washington, D.C., and an associate scholar at the pro-life research nonprofit Charlotte Lozier Institute, published an op-ed in National Review Wednesday titled "New Guttmacher Report Downplays Pro-Life Progress." New analyzed data collected by the Guttmacher Institute in a report released earlier this month that details the estimated number of unintended pregnancies in each U.S. state and the share of unintended pregnancies that ended in birth, abortion and fetal loss in 2017. "In the 15 states that voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in the past six elections, approximately 45 percent of unintended pregnancies resulted in an abortion," New wrote. "In the 20 states that voted for the Republican presidential nominee in the past six elections, meanwhile, only about 23 percent of women with unintended pregnancies had an abortion." In an interview with The Christian Post, New told CP that based on the data provided in the report, he "was able to do an average comparing the Democratic states to the Republican states." "The ideology of the states doesn't seem to have a strong impact on the unintended pregnancy rate," he said. "The reason why we see lower abortion rates in conservative states is that when unintended pregnancies do happen, women are a lot more likely to carry those pregnancies to term." New attributed the lower share of pregnancies ending in abortion in red states to "certain kinds of pro-life laws" in effect, including "informed consent laws and parental involvement laws." Additionally, he noted that "there are no situations really where a state Medicaid program pays for abortions" in red states. By contrast, he said that the Medicaid program does cover abortion in a lot of Democratic and liberal states. "That does make a difference," he said. "I don't think it's just legislation," he added. "Right-of-center states do have more pregnancy help centers. They're also more likely to make pregnancy help centers available for different kinds of government grants. I think that makes a difference, and I just think also public sentiment plays a role as well." New predicted that the divide in the rate of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion between the blue states and the red states will grow even larger in the future. "I think you're going to see in red states a higher percentage being carried to term and a lower percentage being aborted, and that's just because you see red states having been a lot more active passing pro-life laws," he said. The pro-life scholar also indicated that depending on the outcome of court challenges surrounding Texas Senate Bill 8 banning abortion as early as six weeks of gestation and Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, more red states will pass similar laws. He believes that could cause the rate of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion to decrease even further. "And I also think in liberal, Democratic states, they're tragically repealing a lot of the pro-life laws that are on the books," New said. New stressed that "Illinois and Maine in the past few years have started covering abortions in their Medicaid program" and "Massachusetts weakened its pro-life parental involvement law a year or so ago." He also said several states have enacted laws allowing late-term abortions, including New York and Rhode Island. Although New did not examine the share of unintended pregnancies that resulted in abortion in the 15 states that supported presidential nominees from both political parties in at least one of the past six elections, he suggested that "the figures would be in the middle" between 23% and 45%. Digging into the data even further, New calculated that "44 percent of all unintended pregnancies ended in abortion" nationwide in 2017. Guttmacher did not provide that information on a national level. But New said the report "did provide data for each state" and he was "able to weigh the state by the number of pregnancies so ... the California numbers count more than the ... South Dakota numbers." From there, he obtained the 44% figure. He assured that research shows a "durable reduction in the percentage of unintended pregnancies that are aborted" over the decades. During the 1980s and 1990s, New said that "over half of unintended pregnancies were aborted." But he said that figure has dropped into the low 40%-range starting around 2008. "I think that if more and more unintended pregnancies are being carried to term, it all treads back to the activities of pro-lifers," he added. "We're either changing hearts and minds, helping women in pregnancy centers or passing pro-life laws or moving some combination of those things." Home News Lawsuit seeks to remove abortion amendment from 2026 Virginia ballot A new lawsuit in Virginia is seeking to remove a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a right to abortion from this years ballot. The conservative law firm the Liberty Counsel filed a complaint last week in the Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia, on behalf of Bedford County Board of Supervisors member Charla Bansley. Defendants named in the lawsuit include Virginia House of Delegates Clerk G. Paul Nardo, Virginia Elections Commissioner Steven Koski, the Virginia State Board of Elections, the Virginia Department of Elections, Bedford County Registrar of Elections Barbara Gunter, and Bedford County Circuit Court Clerk Judy Reynolds. The complaint alleges that defendants failed to properly follow the procedure when passing the abortion amendment and putting it on the November ballot for voters to consider. The allege steps missed include failure to distribute the proposal to the clerks of every circuit court in the state and failure to have the proposed amendment posted three months before the next intervening House of Delegates election. The complaint accuses the defendants of violating Virginia Code and the Virginia state constitution, and asked the court to prevent the defendants from printing 2026 ballots with the amendment included. Virginias House Joint Resolution 1 cannot legally appear on the ballot, said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver in a statement released Wednesday. This measure is invalid because the General Assembly advanced it to a second legislative vote without completing the constitutionally mandated notice and posting requirements that must occur after its first passage. Staver stated that any misstep in the state constitutional amendment procedure undermines the integrity of the amendment process and can interfere with the will of the voters. In 2025, Virginia lawmakers advanced a proposed amendment that would create a Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom." In January, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly approved House Joint Resolution 1, which completed the process for adding the proposal to the 2026 November ballot. Democrat Sen. Jennifer Boysko of Fairfax, who sponsored the upper chambers version of the resolution, told the Virginia Mercury that the lawsuit is a frivolous attempt to silence Virginia voters." The proposed amendment declares that "every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one's own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care. "An individual's right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means," states the proposed amendment. While the proposed amendment also said that "the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester," it bans the regulation of abortion in cases where a physician determines it is necessary to "protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual" or because "the fetus is not viable." The final votes for the proposal fell along party lines, with the House of Delegates approving it in a 64-34 vote while the state Senate approved the resolution in a 21-18 vote. At present, Virginia is the only state in the South not to pass additional restrictions on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Home News Pastor Greg Locke denies arrest despite booking record Popular Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Lebanon has denied being arrested on Tuesday for driving on a suspended or revoked license despite Wilson County Sheriffs Office records showing he was charged with a criminal misdemeanor. Police records show the intake time for Locke at the Wilson County Jail as 12:52 p.m. He was released six minutes later at 12:58 p.m. on his own recognizance. He was also photographed for a mugshot and officially entered into the jail's records. But Locke insists he wasnt arrested. To everyone jumping on a silly bandwagon, I did not get arrested today, or EVER. I went to the booking room voluntarily with my counsel because my license was unknowingly suspended over not sending in proof of insurance after I paid a ticket months ago, Locke wrote on Facebook Tuesday. Its seriously not a big deal. I have a court date on March 23rd to prove that I did and do have insurance. Simple as that. Doesnt even go against my record. Just something else for people to talk about. Police sources told The Tennessean that Locke was stopped on Feb. 10 at a gas station on South Mt. Juliet Road, where it was discovered that his driver's license had been suspended due to a failure to file proof of insurance connected to a Lebanon city court case in April 2025. He was issued a state citation instead of an arrest, which allowed him to turn himself in voluntarily at a later date to complete the required booking and fingerprinting. According to the Nashville law firm, Ridings Law Group, many people erroneously believe that a criminal citation isnt a legal arrest. If youve been issued a state criminal citation in Nashville, TN, it means that law enforcement has charged you with a criminal offense, but instead of physically arresting you, they are giving you a citation to book yourself and later appear in court, the firm explains. Many people think they have not been arrested if they get a citation. But this is incorrect. You actually have been arrested. You have just not been physically taken to jail and booked. You get the citation because you qualify to book yourself later, the firm adds. This is typically for less serious offenses, such as misdemeanors, infractions, or violations of local ordinances. On Thursday, Locke said he had already atoned for not producing his insurance when required, and his license was reinstated in less than 48 hours. To all of the concerned citizens, aka, silly busybodies, I got my license back in less than 48 hours. The horrific crime of insurance paperwork has been atoned for. Oh yeah, it was proven I had insurance the entire time, he wrote on Facebook. In January, Tyler Poole, 21, of Hermitage, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and two counts of reckless endangerment related to a Sept. 3, 2024, shooting at Lockes former home on Chandler Road in Mt. Juliet. Poole reportedly blasted the outspoken pastors home with more than 60 gunshots. He was sentenced to five years in prison on the aggravated assault charge, plus two years each for the reckless endangerment charges. Locke stated that he believes the Lord slowed his family down while they were driving home from Pigeon Forge on the night of the shooting and painted Poole as a madman. In a statement to The Christian Post, Locke said his children could have died after the Wilson County District Attorneys Office revealed the shooting was sparked by a beef between the shooter and his 17-year-old stepson. "It was my family and our home, so it had everything to do with me. Ive never claimed it was over my preaching. I said, and still say, when youre making the devil angry, he fights you," Locke said. "My kids could have died, so the WHY means absolutely nothing to me. It only means something to critics and liars looking for 15 minutes of fame." Home News Producer credits faith after surviving cancer to complete Holocaust film 'The Optimist' When producer Jeanine Thomas was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2021, doctors warned she had only a 50% chance of surviving a risky surgery. Her response was immediate: I have a film to finish, she recalled thinking. Im coming back, and Im doing that. For Thomas, the film was The Optimist, a cross-generational drama inspired by the life of Holocaust survivor Herbert Heller. To her, the project was an undeniable call from God. I like to tell people I was called by God to make this film, Thomas, a mother of four, told The Christian Post. I wanted to help heal the past and the present. The Northern Californiaset film, hitting theaters March 11, stars Stephen Lang and Elsie Fisher and follows an unlikely friendship between an aging Holocaust survivor and a troubled teenage girl. As the two share their unspoken wounds, their connection becomes a pathway toward empathy, healing and renewed purpose. According to Thomas, she first met Heller in 2015 and was immediately struck by his resilience. Born in 1929 in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia, Heller survived the horrors of the Holocaust after being deported to the Terezin ghetto and later to Auschwitz. At just 15 years old, he escaped during a death march in January 1945. After the war, Heller immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in California. He built a new life, working his way up at Macys before opening a childrens department store in San Rafael that he operated for nearly five decades. For most of his life, he rarely spoke about the trauma he endured. But that changed in 2004 when he recorded his testimony for the Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project and began speaking publicly, particularly to young people. Thomas, who spent a decade developing the movie with writer-director Finn Taylor, said witnessing those talks changed her life; soon, she was arranging speaking engagements for the elderly survivor across the Bay Area. Watching him address middle school audiences, she said, left a profound impression. He said to me, Can you get me talks in schools? she recalled. He told me, Ive just retired, and Im bored. He was 88 years old, and the kids just paid attention. There were no phones out. Nothing. It really affected them. In that moment, she knew his story belonged on the screen. But beyond a Holocaust story, Thomas wanted the film to help viewers connect past suffering with present struggles. I said, This needs to be a movie, she said. Not just to honor Herberts story, but the way he impacted young people. We have to honor the Holocaust and everything people went through. But today, the second leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 34 is suicide. We have to look at that, too. I wanted the film to help heal both the past and the present. While developing the project, Thomas received the devastating news of her stage four cancer, and doctors warned that the odds were uncertain. The night before the operation, with a 50% chance of survival, she lay alone in a hospital room during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to receive visitors. In that quiet moment, she said she experienced something she still struggles to explain. I heard a voice from above say, You can go during your surgery. But if you choose to stay, youve got to do what you came here to do, she said. I said, Im staying. For Thomas, that decision reinforced a lesson she saw reflected in Hellers life: perseverance and hope are often a choice. You say the word choice, and I really think it comes down to that, she said. For Herbert and anyone going through horrible experiences, there has to be a choice to persevere. I know it sounds strange, but cancer was almost a gift from God, Thomas added. Without it, I dont know if I would have pushed through all the hurdles to finish the film. I realized I might not have tomorrow. So why wait? Unlike many Holocaust films that focus solely on historical events, The Optimist centers on a relationship between generations: a Holocaust survivor and a modern teenager wrestling with her own pain. Thomas said that the dynamic was intentional. We are interfaith. We are intergenerational, she said. And I feel like we really have to come back to love. The film also highlights a lesser-known aspect of Hellers survival: the Christian family that helped him escape during the death march. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things, she said. Thats what I wanted to show. But in life, he didnt see distinctions between himself and others based on faith, she said. Thats how life should be. For decades, Heller kept his story private because, according to Thomas, he did not want others to pity him. But once he began sharing his testimony publicly, he discovered the impact it had on others, especially young people. He received countless letters from students who said his story changed how they viewed their own struggles. In an era of social media, misinformation and rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, Thomas stressed that stories grounded in truth matter more than ever. He wanted people to see him as a person, not a victim, Thomas said. Young people are looking for meaning. They want purpose. Young people are searching for something real, she said. They want connection outside of social media. Heller died in 2021 at age 92, leaving behind a legacy that Thomas hopes the film will carry forward. To reinforce its mission, she has pledged to donate much of her equity in the project to organizations supporting Holocaust survivors living in poverty thousands of Holocaust survivors in the United States live in poverty and youth mental health initiatives. That really is the heart behind the film, she said. When you hear an individual story, it becomes much harder to deny that these events happened. We just want kids to go through life happy and find their purpose. If Heller were alive to see the finished film, Thomas believes his message would be simple: transform suffering into something meaningful. He would want people to take whatever hardship theyve gone through and turn it into a gift for the world, she said. Take the suffering and turn it into a diamond. I want to make the world a better place while Im here. Surviving both cancer and the long journey of bringing The Optimist to life, Thomas said that the mission feels clearer than ever. Honestly, she said, I like the person Ive become through this. Home News Red states attracting more young families due to lower housing costs: study A new study suggests that states that backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election are seeing overall increases in young children and young families, while states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris are recording decreases, with housing costs playing a large factor in where families settle. The Institute for Family Studies, a conservative think tank, published a report last week documenting state-level population change patterns from 2019 to 2024. The years examined coincide with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted society throughout much of 2020 and 2021. Using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey, the report highlighted population changes by age group in states that supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election and states that backed Harris. "Both red and blue states are watching the share of residents who are age 60 or older grow as boomers continue to age into retirement. But blue states are losing 20-somethings, and, relatedly, kids," the report reads. From 2019 to 2024, the number of children aged 0 to 9 dropped by 1.2% in states that supported Trump and by 4.7% in states that backed Harris. Children ages 10 to 19 increased by 1.8% in blue states and by 4.1% in red states. The population of adults ages 20 to 29 dropped by 4.4% in blue states and decreased by 0.2% in red states, while adults ages 30 to 39 rose by 5.7% in blue states and 7.6% in red states. Overall, the number of children younger than 18 in red states increased from 43.1 million in 2019 to 43.7 million in 2024, while the number of school-aged children in blue states has remained consistent at around 22 million in the same period. However, children younger than 5 in blue states dropped from 8.2 million to 7.6 million, the report notes. "Thats 600,000 fewer kids under 5 in blue states in 2024 compared to 2019. And nearly half of this number was due to one state alone California, which saw its total number of kids in this age group fall from 2.45 million in 2019 to 2.16 million five years later," the researcher, Patrick T. Brown, wrote. The report attributed the increase in population of young families and children in red states and the corresponding decrease in blue states to housing costs. Four of the states and territories with the highest housing costs New York, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and California saw five-year declines in the number of children under 6 years old, ranging from just over 5% in New York to over 10% in California. All four states and territories backed Harris by double digits in the 2024 election, and all four have median mortgage amounts ranging from 32% to 36% of the median household income. By contrast, most of the small number of states that saw either increases or little to no change in the population of children younger than 6 overwhelmingly backed Trump in 2024 and have lower housing costs. Only in three states did the number of children younger than 6 increase: Alabama, Tennessee and New Jersey. Alabama and Tennessee backed Trump by double digits and have median mortgages between 24% and 28% of the median income. On the other hand, New Jersey, which narrowly backed Harris in 2024, has a median mortgage that is around one-third of the median income. In five other states, the number of children younger than 6 barely budged: Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina and South Carolina. Besides Delaware, all five states backed Trump in 2024. Besides Florida, where the median mortgage is close to 32% of the median income, the four other states had median mortgages of around one-quarter of the median income. Low housing costs did not necessarily guarantee an influx of children younger than 6. The red states of Indiana, Iowa, Utah and West Virginia all recorded drops in the number of young children despite having median mortgages of one-quarter the median income or lower. The red state of Wyoming, which has a median mortgage of just under 28% of the median income, saw the largest drop in the number of young children (nearly 15%). Broken down by region, red states in the Midwest saw a narrow increase (0.8%) in the number of married couples with young children, while blue states in the region witnessed a noticeable drop (4.8%). In the northeast, small increases in the number of married couples with young children were recorded in both blue (1.6%) and red (2.0%) states. In the South, red states recorded a 5.6% increase in the number of married couples with young children compared to a 0.2% increase in blue states. In the West, the number of married couples with young children rose by 5.7% in red states, while dropping by 2.6% in blue states. "Party identification isnt totally determinative; some more rural red states, like Kansas, the Dakotas, and Oklahoma, saw a declining number of young kids even as their total population grew in the post-COVID reshuffle," the report adds. "Washington, New Jersey, and the DC metro area are blue overperformers, despite their higher cost of living. But most other blue states are expensive and losing families." The report concluded with an analysis of metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 people that have the highest share of households with married couples and children younger than 6. It characterized these areas as affordable places with dynamic job growth as well as economically prosperous, with higher-than-average shares of Asian-Americans, or near military bases. The Jacksonville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area had the highest share of households with married couples with children younger than 6, at 13.1%. Rounding out the top five were the Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota Metropolitan Statistical Area (9.5%), the Clarksville, Tennessee-Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area (8.8%), the Greeley, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area (8.6%) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area (8.5%). The report recommended that blue cities that have seen their populations of young families decline should invest in "large-scale spending programs to make child care more affordable" or make "safety-net programs more generous." Red states could continue to attract families by freeing up land and legalizing denser housing in cities and suburbs in addition to embracing state-level child tax credits, expansions of school lunch programs, or tangible benefits like paid leave," the report added. Home News Trump fires Kristi Noem as DHS secretary after tensions, clashes with border czar President Donald Trump reassigned Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Thursday, making her the first cabinet official to be removed from her role in Trump's second term. The president made the announcement early Thursday afternoon on Truth Social, where he thanked Noem, the 54-year-old former governor of South Dakota, for her service and said she would be moving to a new diplomatic role. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida," Noem said. "I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland. Trump praised Noems replacement, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, as someone who gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda. Hours before the change was announced, DHS released a statement on social media claiming under Noem's leadership, "DHS has delivered the most secure border in history" with border apprehensions "at their lowest level in decades." The move to replace Noem was not entirely unexpected amid reports of tension between her and White House border czar Tom Homan, who most recently clashed with the DHS secretary over the prosecution of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis man who was killed by federal immigration agents in January. Noem had previously claimed that Pretti brandished a gun when he was fatally shot by ICE officers, while video footage of the shooting did not conclusively show that Pretti was armed. Homan told CNN he did not know what information the secretary had when she made those statements." "I can tell you I didnt make those statements," Homan said. While there are few public details about the new Shield of the Americas security initiative, in which Noem will serve as special envoy, the White House is scheduled to host a Shield of the Americas Summit with leaders from the Latin American community on Saturday. Tapped as DHS Secretary for the incoming Trump administration in January 2025, Noem was primarily tasked with overseeing what the White House billed as historic progress in securing the homeland by announcing the deportation of more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants. That total included over 605,000 people the DHS removed through enforcement operations, as well as 1.9 million who have voluntarily self-deported since January, according to a December statement from DHS. Trump praised Mullin as the only Native American in the Senate and said he will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Home Opinion Colorado's gender transition tyranny regulates even conversations The medical consensus on gender-transition treatments for minors is shifting. But many state laws are not and families are paying the price. Imagine your 14-year-old daughter has been struggling withdrawn, anxious, overwhelmed by social media. She comes home one day and tells you she thinks she's actually a boy. You love her dearly and want her to get help. So, you find a licensed therapist who shares your family's faith, someone your daughter trusts, someone who will listen carefully and take her pain seriously. In most areas of medicine, that choice your child, your doctor, your values belongs to you. In states like Colorado, it belongs to the state. Therapists in Colorado have only one legally safe response: affirm the transition. Any other approach including simply helping your daughter explore her feelings, understand her identity through the lens of her faith, or grow more comfortable with her biological sex risks a $5,000 fine and the loss of the therapist's license. The conversation between the therapist and patient is no longer private. The state has inserted itself into the room. This is the reality of bans on conversion therapy found in Colorado as well as 22 states and the District of Columbia. This spring, the Supreme Court will decide whether such laws can stand. Across the United States and Europe, medical authorities are urging greater caution. A growing number of hospitals and health systems are restricting or have discontinued gender-transition procedures for minors, citing legal risks and scientific uncertainty. Britain's 2024 Cass Review the most comprehensive examination of pediatric gender medicine to date found the evidence supporting medical interventions in minors to be weak and inconclusive, prompting sweeping policy changes. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has recommended against gender surgeries on minors, and the American Medical Association has endorsed deferring such interventions to adulthood. Yet under Colorado law, licensed therapists may not help minors explore alternatives to gender transition without risking their careers even as the rest of the medical world pumps the brakes. The therapist challenging Colorado, Kaley Chiles of Colorado Springs, is a Christian whose clients often seek her out because of that shared faith. Many are young people struggling to reconcile feelings of gender confusion with their religious beliefs and family relationships. These young people and their parents are not asking for a predetermined outcome. They want help untangling a confusing situation not a state-mandated conclusion handed down before the first session ends. The law basically restricts the speech between me and my client, Chiles has said. If your daughter were to say, I think I am a boy, we can only affirm and validate that and assist with gender transition. That isn't therapy. That's ideology with a license. Supporters of these laws rely heavily on the emotionally charged term conversion therapy. The phrase conjures images of electroshock treatments and coercive programs once used on same-sex-attracted kids. But as Chiles's attorneys argued before the Supreme Court, the studies Colorado cites lump together violent aversive treatments and ordinary talk therapy as if they were the same thing. They are not, and there is no credible evidence that compassionate, conversational counseling damages children. Earlier this year, a Westchester County jury awarded $2 million in a malpractice case to Fox Varian, a 22-year-old who underwent a double mastectomy at 16, finding that her psychologist and surgeon had deviated from reasonable standards of care. Her mother testified at trial that the doctors assured the surgery would improve her daughters well-being and suggested that failing to do so would likely drive the child to commit suicide. Meanwhile, evidence continues to emerge that medical transition does not deliver the psychological benefits often claimed. A recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services found no reliable evidence that such interventions reduce suicide risk or improve long-term mental health in minors, while documenting serious risks including infertility, cardiovascular complications, and regret. Other research suggests that up to 90% of children who experience gender dysphoria before puberty naturally reconcile with their biological sex if allowed to mature without intervention. Read that again. Up to 90%. Colorado's law removes that possibility entirely. Justice Samuel Alito pressed the point during oral argument, drawing comparisons to other once-dominant medical consensus positions on forced sterilization or institutionalizing children with Down syndrome that history has since judged harshly. Colorado's attorney had no good answer. The constitutional problem is straightforward. The First Amendment does not permit the government to compel citizens to express ideas they do not believe, and that protection applies with particular force inside the confidential relationship between therapist and patient. Colorado is not regulating medical procedures. It is regulating conversations. Families facing these challenges want access to counselors who share their values and will speak honestly, without fear of government punishment. That includes the right of parents to seek care from treating professionals that doesnt begin with a foregone conclusion. The Constitution guarantees such freedom. We will soon learn if the Supreme Court will vindicate it. Home Opinion Operation Epic Fury: Trumps Iran reckoning and what Christians should pray for Early Saturday morning, American news outlets began reporting that the United States military in a joint operation with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had hit hundreds of targets across Iran as a part of Operation Epic Fury a sweeping military campaign spanning at least nine Iranian cities and targeting leadership compounds, government ministries, ballistic missile production sites, nuclear-related facilities and naval assets. It was announced later that day that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, was dead. President Donald Trump announced the strikes in a TruthSocial post, concluding with a direct message to the Iranian people: The hour of your freedom is at hand. Many thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in major cities across the U.S. and in Iran, celebrating Trumps decision to attack the Iranian government. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described U.S. military actions plainly, saying: The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal and now they are suffering the consequences. Hegseth called it the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history. Four American service members have so far been killed in action. Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel and neighboring nations, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and eight others, and has received a backlash of criticism as a result of their actions. The Iranian government had been urged by the Trump administration to negotiate and to cease its ambition of acquiring nuclear weapons. At no point did the Trump administration see any goodwill effort on the part of the Iranian government to take part in negotiations, and so this conflict that started on June 22, 2025, was inevitable. So how should Christians think about this? Three points. First, the death of Khamenei should not surprise us, because Iran was never negotiating in good faith The Islamic Republic of Iran is not merely a geopolitical adversary. It is a theocratic regime animated by an Islamic eschatological vision a worldview driven by Islamic prophecy that demands the fulfilment of a global Islamic caliphate. This is not mere political rhetoric from Tehran; it is the animating doctrine of the Islamic Revolution since 1979. Khamenei and the clerical establishment did not pursue nuclear weapons because they feared American aggression nor because they were suddenly fearful of Donald Trump. They pursued nuclear weapons because their ideology, their theology, told them they needed ultimate power to fulfill their Islamic mission. This is why no amount of diplomacy, no signed agreements, no amount of cash money, and no temporary moratorium was ever going to end Irans nuclear ambitions. You cannot negotiate away a sixth century warring ideology that is Islam. When a regime believes it is carrying out the will of Allah in preparation for the return of the Hidden Imam, it will not stop because of diplomatic pressure or international approval ratings especially from Western nations, which are the sworn enemy of Islam. Christians who understand their Bible understand this better than most. We know what it looks like when a worldview is not merely political but spiritually driven and we know that spiritual battles require more than superficial diplomatic resolutions and papered peace plans. Second, the failures of appeasement paved the road to this moment Lets be honest about the history. The neoconservative approach of the early 2000s, whatever its intentions, was built on a flawed premise: that America could build Western-style democracies in the heart of the Islamic world. We tried nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan. It cost thousands of American lives and trillions of American dollars. It has so far produced very little in sustained peace or stability. That is not to lay the blame entirely on President George W. Bush, but it was built on a flawed view of the Arab and Persian cultures. During Barack Obamas administration and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal it was sold to the American people as a pathway to peace. It was only a delayed agreement with a temporary moratorium on certain Iranian nuclear activities, with key restrictions set to expire beginning in 2025. Obama paid Irans regime $150 billion in released assets as part of the deal, funds that flowed directly to Hezbollah, Hamas and Irans ballistic missile program. Meanwhile, enforcement was lax and oversight verification was severely lacking. The Obama administration soothed the conscience of an unsuspecting American media that fawned over Obama with no critical appraisal of the efficacy of these peace talks. Even while Iran continued uranium enrichment and advanced its missile capabilities behind the scenes, the American media was silent and praised Obama for his diplomacy. But the Iran Nuclear Deal was never designed to end Irans nuclear ambitions; it was designed to delay them and hand the problem to a future administration. Trump 45 put a moratorium on the deal, and then Biden picked up where Obama left off when he took over in 2021. The U.S. pursued re-entry into a deal that had already demonstrated its own lack of political realism. The nuclear moratorium expired in 2025. Iran then accelerated its goals. And the world arrived at the precipice of a nuclear-armed Islamic regime. The policy of appeasement did not buy peace, not even temporarily. It only bought time and more technology for Iran with American cash and the covering of the Democratic establishment. Third, Trump is a policy realist and that distinction matters enormously Secretary Hegseth said it with clarity at Mondays Pentagon briefing: This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both our generation knows better, and so does this president. He added: No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise. We fight to win, and we dont waste time or American lives. After six years of President Trump, it is clear that he is not a neoconservative. He has no interest in transforming Iran into a Western democracy by American blood or American treasure. Trump is also not an appeaser. He believes in peace through overwhelming strength, something Reagan exercised against Russia during the last decade of the Cold War. Trump has no interest in signing agreements that kick the can down the road for the next administration. He is a policy realist. And according to his stated goals, Operation Epic Fury seeks to ensure that Iran doesnt acquire a nuclear weapon, that the U.S. destroys Irans missile arsenal and production sites, that we degrade Irans proxy terror networks, and annihilate the Iranian navy. This, along with operations in Venezuela, has a clear message for Beijing and Irans involvement in supplying energy exports to China. Iran has been a critical source for both Russia and China in the heart of the Middle East. This could fundamentally change that and put further pressure on Russia and China in their ambitions as BRICS nations (an intergovernmental organization started by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to challenge the Wests political and economic influence and which has since expanded its membership rolls to include Iran and other Middle Eastern countries). The world is watching to see whether America has the resolve to finish what it has started. And now is the time for Christians to pray. Pray for our military service members and their families. Pray for wisdom for our president, our secretary of war, and our military commanders. Pray for the Iranian people, who have suffered under the totalitarian Islamic regime for nearly 50 years. The hour of reckoning for a very wicked government in Iran is at hand. We must also recognize the justice in ensuring that a wicked government never has the capability of projecting terror across the world again. For far too long, Iran was able to do so without any answer or response from America. That has ended. Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center. Civil Society Media Two major charities have been taken to court by a business owner over a cancelled fundraising event. Amanda Navaian, who founded handbag brand Marici London, has claimed that her business collapsed after the King Charles III Charitable Fund and food surplus charity FareShare withdrew from an event in June 2024. Navaian volunteered to organise a third-party fundraiser with proceeds going to FareShare as part of the King Charles III Charitable Funds Coronation Food Project, the charities said. The fundraiser never happened and Navaian subsequently sought over 6m in damages from the charities, alleging in the High Court that the last-minute cancellation resulted in her business falling apart, the Telegraph reported this week. A spokesperson for FareShare and the Coronation Food Project told Civil Society that the venue cancelled the booking. Unfortunately, this fundraiser never took place due to a breakdown in the relationship between Ms Navaian, FareShare and the proposed venue for the dinner, they said. Charities ask for claims to be struck out Navaian and Marici London are suing FareShare for breach of contract, misrepresentation and unlawful interference in their economic relations, according to the Telegraph. The court heard that Marici Londons entire eco-system fell apart and that Navaian lost a potential 1m in sales during launch week. The result of the cancellation led to me not being able to work for a very long time and caused me loss, Navaian told the court, according to the Telegraph. King Charles III Charitable Fund and FareShare issued a joint response to deny the allegations. We have been working hard to understand Ms Navaians concerns for over a year and it is regrettable that she continues to make these unfounded allegations, a spokesperson for the charities said. We have asked the court to have these claims struck out. The case is ongoing. Civil Society has approached Navaian for comment. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Moderna Inc. agreed to pay $950 million to settle litigation related to the delivery technology behind its Covid shot, removing a looming financial risk for the struggling vaccine maker. The company has settled all litigation worldwide with Arbutus Biopharma Corp. and Genevant Sciences GmbH over its existing and future vaccines, with no future royalties owed. At issue were claims that Moderna had infringed on patents owned by Genevant and Arbutus related to lipid nanoparticles, or tiny bubbles of fat that Moderna used to deliver its Covid shot inside patients. Moderna plans to argue that it has government-contractor immunity that limits its liability further, it said in a statement Tuesday. If it wins that argument, no other payments will be due. If the Federal Circuit affirms its liability, it will make an additional payment of up to $1.3 billion within 90 days, the company said. The settlement removes a major financial risk for Moderna, which generated enormous sales during the pandemic with its breakthrough Covid shot but has struggled since then to launch new products. Demand for its Covid vaccine has sharply declined as the pandemic has faded. Last fall, the company secured a loan for up to $1.5 billion from Ares Management Credit Funds to shore up its finances. The company said Tuesday that it expects to end this year with between $4.5 billion and $5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. In a statement, Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said resolving the case removes uncertainty and allows us to turn our full focus to Modernas exciting near-term future. Investors cheered Modernas decision to put the case behind it and a lower settlement than feared. The companys shares rose as much as 13.6% when markets opened on Wednesday. Meanwhile Arbutuss shares fell as much as 7.3%, a sign that Wall Street was disappointed the company may not receive any future payouts from Moderna. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Andrew Tsai said the settlement was an incremental positive for Moderna and removes a catastrophic worst-case scenario of needing to make significant payments to the other companies. This outcome speaks to the fundamental role that Genevants foundational LNP technology played in enabling the worlds response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Matt Gline, CEO of Roivant Sciences, parent company of Genevant, said in a statement. Gline added that the company will continue its litigation against Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. Moderna will make the initial payment in a lump sum during the third quarter of 2026, and will take a charge in the first quarter for it. In January, before the legal dispute was settled, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said Moderna risked up to $1.7 billion in damages in the US suit if Arbutus was able to prove it willfully infringed on patents. The suit is in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. Top photo: A researcher works in the lab at the Moderna Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bloomberg. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Bayer AG said a U.S. judge granted preliminary approval for a $7.25 billion settlement proposal aimed at resolving thousands of lawsuits over Roundup weedkiller, which have weighed on the German company for years. The class-action settlement, which Bayer proposed in February, is a key part of the companys plans to cap its obligations by resolving current and future damage claims, with funding running for up to 21 years. Former users of Roundup blame the herbicide for their non-Hodgkins lymphoma, an allegation Bayer denies. Class members have until June 4 to opt out of the settlement, which got preliminary approval from a Missouri state court judge, Bayer said in a statement Wednesday. Bayer shares pared declines following news of the settlement, closing 2.4% lower in Frankfurt. The shares earlier fell as much as 7.7% after the company issued a disappointing profit outlook. After years of fighting Roundup cases in the U.S., Bayer is still facing about 65,000 claims from plaintiffs who allege that long-term exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, caused their cancer. Resolving those and future claims comes at a hefty price, with Bayer projecting settlement payments to result in a negative free cash flow in 2026. Related: Bayers $7 Billion Effort to End Roundup Curse Draws Skepticism The judges approval of the settlement is a positive outcome for Chief Executive Officer Bill Anderson. He took the helm in mid-2023 and was tasked with finding a way to end the protracted litigation that has already cost the company more than $10 billion. The legal troubles have haunted Bayer since it acquired Monsanto in 2018. His predecessor, Werner Baumann, had failed to clinch a settlement. In 2021, his proposed deal was shot down by a federal judge in San Francisco who cited glaring errors in the way the company proposed to handle future Roundup claims, which were limited to a four-year period and had to be vetted by a science panel. Anderson said his proposed settlement was different. It would cover a longer period for claims to be filed, has a larger funding pool and an opt-out provision for plaintiffs who want to pursue their claims in court. The decision was made by St. Louis Circuit Judge Tim Boyer, who has overseen several Roundup trials. The courts preliminary approval of the settlement proposal marks an important milestone for Bayer in its efforts to resolve its glyphosate-related risks, said Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Union Investment, a Bayer investor. Still, there are some more hurdles. Class members can opt out, and Bayer has the right to terminate the agreement if participation falls short. Anderson has made clear the uptake needs to be very close to 100% participation for the framework to work. Investors are also watching a separate decision of the US Supreme Court, which agreed in January to hear Bayers appeal of a $1.25 million Roundup verdict. The high court is set to decide whether claims that it failed to include warning labels on the weedkiller are preempted by federal law and cant be relied on in future Roundup litigation. Arguments before the justices are scheduled for April 27, with Bayer expecting a decision in the second half of June. If the Supreme Court rules in Bayers favor, the decision could undercut a substantial portion of claims. If it rules against the company, the settlement alone may not be enough to prevent renewed litigation risk. The opt-in deadline for the settlement means plaintiffs will likely have to decide whether to accept the deal before the Supreme Court rules, according to a company spokesperson. Top photo: A bottle of Bayer AG Roundup brand weedkiller concentrate is arranged for a photograph in a garden shed in Princeton, Illinois, U.S., on Thursday, March 28, 2019. Bloomberg. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. In this article USB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech next to nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) submarine "Le Temeraire" - S617 during his visit to the Nuclear Submarine Navy Base of Ile Longue in Crozon, north-western France on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Yoan VALAT / POOL / AFP via Getty Images) Yoan Valat | Afp | Getty Images "To be free, one must be feared. To be feared, one must be powerful," French President Emmanuel Macron said during a landmark speech this week on nuclear deterrence. France is one of only two nuclear powers in Europe and, unlike the U.K., operates a nuclear weapons system entirely independent of the U.S. As the U.S. and Israel continued to strike Iran, and European leaders appeared divided and sidelined as they scrambled to react, Macron delivered a speech on Monday that was "the most significant update to French nuclear deterrence policy in 30 years," Bruno Tertrais, deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, said in a thread on X. Speaking from a naval base in Brittany in front of a submarine, "Le Temeraire," Macron's 45-minute speech laid out what he called a new "forward deterrence" doctrine for France. Macron said France would increase its number of nuclear warheads and promised more cooperation with European allies that have expressed interest. He said several European countries Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark could take part in exercises of France's air-launched nuclear capacity and France's nuclear bombers could be stationed at their air bases. Macron also said France would stop disclosing the figures for its nuclear arsenal. watch now "The world is becoming more difficult, and recent events have demonstrated this once again," he said in the speech. "We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of the combination of threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy within the depths of the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty, through the progressive implementation of what I would call forward deterrence." Yannick Pince, associate professor of history at the Universite Sorbonne Nouvelle, told CNBC that the speech had to be seen in the context of next year's presidential election, which a far-right National Rally candidate could win. "He needed to give a politically acceptable speech, to announce measures that would be difficult to reverse next year," Pince said. "At the same time, he needed to be credible enough with our allies. He was walking a tightrope, and from my point of view, he succeeded rather well." An independent nuclear deterrent has been the cornerstone of France's defense strategy for more than 60 years. But Macron said that the doctrine has to evolve with the threats. In 2020, Macron hinted at a shift when he said that France's "vital interests" - a definition of which remains deliberately vague - now had "a European dimension." On Monday, Macron said that the years since 2020 "weigh like decades, and the last few months like years." "Our competitors have evolved, as have our partners," he said, adding "the last few hours" of escalating conflict in the Middle East showed how the world has become "harsher." Macron mentioned the war in Ukraine and the threat from Russia, but also China and changing defense priorities of the United States. In line with the historic nuclear doctrine, Macron said that the decision to use force "belongs solely to the President of the Republic," rejecting explicit "guarantees" to partner countries. Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the speech "remarkable." 'A new nuclear age in Europe' The speech met the moment of a "new nuclear age in Europe, without abandoning the key pillars of French nuclear strategy or culture," Panda wrote in a blog. Darya Dolzikova, a senior research fellow for proliferation and nuclear policy at defense think-tank RUSI, wrote on X that "some allies" would be "dissatisfied" with Macron's refusal to compromise on operational independence. "Germany will almost certainly have been pushing for more. But joint decision-making was never going to be on the table," she wrote. Macron said the adapted doctrine was "perfectly complementary to that of NATO, both strategically and technically." Pince said that Macron's speech was intended to extend the principles of the Northwood Declaration - an agreement between the U.K. and France signed last year that put cooperation between Europe's two nuclear powers on a more formal footing - to non-nuclear allies. French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) during a meeting on the situation in Ukraine and security issues in Europe at the Elysee Palace on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Getty Images) Tom Nicholson | Getty Images News | Getty Images Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to label Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" on Friday resulted in more questions than answers. "It's all very puzzling," Herbert Lin, a senior research scholar at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, told CNBC in an interview. Anthropic is the only American company ever to be publicly named a supply chain risk, as the designation has traditionally been used against foreign adversaries. But the company hasn't received any official declaration beyond social media posts. A formal designation will require defense vendors and contractors to certify that they don't use Anthropic's models in their work with the Pentagon. The dispute centered around how Anthropic's artificial intelligence models could be used by the military. The Department of Defense wanted Anthropic to grant the agency unfettered access to its Claude models across all lawful purposes, while Anthropic wanted assurance that its technology would not be tapped for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. With no agreement reached by Friday's deadline, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to "immediately cease" all use of Anthropic's technology, and said there would be a six-month phaseout period for agencies like the DOD. Experts told CNBC the supply chain risk designation is highly unusual, especially since the U.S. and Israel began carrying out strikes in Iran just hours later. A group of retired defense officials, policy leaders and executives wrote to Congress on Thursday, defending Anthropic and calling the Trump administration's designation a "dangerous precedent." Anthropic's models are still being used to support U.S. military operations in Iran, even after the company was blacklisted, as CNBC previously reported. Talks between Anthropic and the DOD are now reportedly back on, according to the Financial Times, but there are still big questions hanging over the issue as of Thursday. Why is the U.S. government still using Claude? Stanford's Lin doesn't understand why the DOD is still using Anthropic's models in sensitive settings if they pose such a threat. If the Trump administration really sees Anthropic as a risk to national security, he said, it wouldn't make sense to phase out the models over an extended period of time. "OK, wait a minute, they're a really dangerous player for U.S. national security, so you're going to use them for another six months? Huh?" Lin said. Michael Horowitz, a senior fellow for technology and innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it's "especially notable" that Anthropic's models were used to support the U.S. military action in Iran. He said "there's no clearer signal" of how much the Pentagon values the technology. "Even in a situation where there is this intense feud between the company and the Pentagon, they are using their technology in the most important military operation that the United States is conducting," he said. Transitioning away from Anthropic toward a new vendor takes time and comes at a significant cost in terms of efficiency, said Jacquelyn Schneider, a Hargrove Hoover fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Until recently, Anthropic was the only AI company approved to deploy its models across the agency's classified networks. OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI received clearance, but their systems can't be deployed or adopted overnight. What's the actual threat? This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Thursday. If you're concerned about automation impacting your job, I'm sorry to say this story Xiaomi's humanoid robot "interns" probably won't ease those worries. Stock futures are lower this morning. The three major indexes are coming off a winning day. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day: 1. War powers Smoke rises from an unknown location in Tehran, Iran, on March 4, 2026, after U.S.-Israeli attacks. Morteza Nikoubazl | Nurphoto | Getty Images 2. Broadening horizons Signage at the Broadcom Inc. headquarters in San Jose, California, June 2, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Broadcom reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first fiscal quarter yesterday, also offering upbeat guidance for its current period. Investors liked what they heard: Shares of the chipmaker are up 6.5% in extended trading. CEO Hock Tan said the California-based company could see more than $100 billion in revenue from artificial intelligence chips in 2027. He also said Broadcom has supply chain to make it happen. As CNBC's Katie Tarasov reports, a twelve-figure haul would only be the latest feather in the cap of the company that's been a key winner of the AI boom. Broadcom said its AI revenue more than doubled in the most recent quarter compared with a year prior. 3. Court cam Elon Musk arrives at federal court on March 4, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Josh Edelson | Getty Images Billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday testified in federal court, where he pushed back on allegations that he committed civil securities fraud prior to purchasing Twitter the social media platform he later renamed X. In a class action lawsuit, investors said Musk tried to lower Twitter's stock price so he could buy the company for less. But Musk's legal team asserted that he never wanted to hurt the business or its stakeholders. "My tweets have sometimes the opposite effect of what one would expect on stock prices," said Musk, who's known for his prolific social media usage. "Sometimes they have the expected effect." Get Morning Squawk directly in your inbox CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning. Subscribe here to get access today. 4. AI's PR problem Meta president Dina Powell McCormick (L) and Google president Ruth Porat (2nd L) attend a roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters As midterm elections heats up, Trump has a problem: AI. The technology's infrastructure, as he put it yesterday, is in need of "some PR help." Americans have blamed AI data centers for rising energy prices, which could shape up to be a key campaign issue as Democrats focus on cost of living. Trump pledged to cut energy prices in half in his first year in office, but federal data shows average residential costs rose 6% nationally in 2025. On Wednesday, Trump brought several Big Tech executives including Oracle 's Clay Magouyrk, Google 's Ruth Porat, Meta 's Dina Powell and Microsoft 's Brad Smith to the White House to sign a previously announced pledge to supply their own power for data centers. But as CNBC's Spencer Kimball notes, the pledge doesn't appear to contain any binding commitments. 5. Traveler's remorse Stranded passengers wait with their luggage outside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on March 3, 2026 after carriers cancelled flights amid the Middle East conflict. Munir Uz Zaman | Afp | Getty Images The $11.7 trillion global travel sector is in a tough spot following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. At least 20,000 flights in and out of the Middle East have been canceled due to airspace closures following Saturday's strikes, leaving more than a million people stranded. "This has spiraled into an aviation quagmire," said Atmosphere Research Group's Henry Harteveldt, who called this week one of the "most chaotic" periods for the industry in recent history. Disruptions due to the Iran war come about a week after a surge in violence in Mexico grounded flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. As CNBC's Leslie Josephs reports, travelers are growing warier: Inquiries for "cancel for any reason" travel insurance policies have soared this week, according to Squaremouth. The Daily Dividend Berkshire Hathaway announced this morning that the conglomerate started repurchasing shares for the first time since 2024. CEO Greg Abel, who bought $15 million in stock himself, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he consulted with board chair Warren Buffett on the move. watch now The Department of Defense has officially informed Anthropic's leadership that the company and its products have been designated a supply chain risk, effective immediately, a senior department official said Thursday. "From the very beginning, this has been about one fundamental principle: the military being able to use technology for all lawful purposes," the official told CNBC. "The military will not allow a vendor to insert itself into the chain of command by restricting the lawful use of a critical capability and put our warfighters at risk." Anthropic is the only American company ever to be publicly named a supply chain risk, as the designation has traditionally been used against foreign adversaries. The label will require defense vendors and contractors to certify that they don't use Anthropic's models in their work with the Pentagon. The formal designation marks the latest development in the ongoing clash between Anthropic and the Pentagon, which have been at odds over how the startup's artificial intelligence models, known as Claude, can be used. Anthropic wanted assurance that its technology would not be tapped for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, but the DOD wanted Anthropic to grant the agency unfettered access to Claude across all lawful purposes. Even as talks between the two organizations collapsed, the DOD has used Anthropic's models to support the U.S. military's operations in the ongoing conflict in Iran, as CNBC has previously reported. Anthropic did not comment. The company said in a statement last week that it will challenge "any supply chain risk designation in court." Bloomberg was first to report the official designation. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is back at the negotiating table with the U.S. Department of Defense after the breakdown of talks on Friday over the use of the company's AI tools by the military, according to The Financial Times. Amodei is in talks with Emil Michael, under-secretary of defense for research and engineering, in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on the terms governing the Pentagon's access to Anthropic's Claude models, the Times reported, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. Discussions fell apart Friday, with President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's tools, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying he would designate the company a supply-chain risk to national security. Last week, Michael had attacked Amodei, calling him a "liar" with a "God complex," in an X post. Agreeing to a new contract would enable the U.S. military to continue using Anthropic's technology, which has reportedly been utilized in Washington's war with Iran. Claude became the first major model deployed in the government's classified networks through a $200 million contract awarded by the DoD to Anthropic, but the company later sought guarantees that its tools would not be used in domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. The Pentagon had demanded that the military be allowed to employ the technology for any lawful use. In a Friday memo seen by FT, Amodei reportedly told staff that near the end of negotiations with the Defense Department, it had offered to accept Anthropic's terms if they deleted a "specific phrase about 'analysis of bulk acquired data'" a line he said, "exactly matched this scenario we were most worried about." Amodei also wrote in his note that messaging from the Pentagon and OpenAI, which struck a new deal with the Defense Department on Friday, was "just straight up lies about these issues or tries to confuse them." The timing of OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon, announced within hours of the White House decrying Anthropic, had caused a public backlash, with Claude seeing a surge of app downloads while ChatGPT reportedly saw app uninstallations surge. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman later said that his company "shouldn't have rushed" its deal and outlined revisions to its own safeguards with how the Defense Department can use its technology. In a post on X, Altman further addressed the controversy, saying: "In my conversations over the weekend, I reiterated that Anthropic should not be designated as a [supply chain risk], and that we hope the [Department of Defense] offers them the same terms we've agreed to." Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI staff and researchers, who left the firm after disagreements over its direction, with the company marketing itself as a "safety-first" alternative. Government officials have for months criticized Anthropic for allegedly being overly concerned with AI safety. A tech industry group, whose members include Nvidia, Google and Anthropic, had sent a letter to Hegseth on Wednesday expressing concern over his designating a U.S. company as a supply-chain risk. The Defense Department and Anthropic did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on their reported negotiations. Debris of a NATO air defence system that intercepted a missile launched from Iran is seen in Dortyol, in southern Hatay province, Turkey, March 4, 2026 in this screengrab from video. This picture shows debris of a NATO air defense system that intercepted a missile from Iran headed to Turkey earlier this week, as members of the military alliance feel the heat from the war in the Middle East. Iran has been attacking multiple countries in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes against it. It has struck the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Its northern neighbor, Azerbaijan, said an Iranian drone injured two civilians on Thursday. Countries further afield have also been impacted with drones targeting a British airbase in Cyprus this week, while Turkey said NATO air and missile defense systems shot down a missile heading for its airspace on Wednesday. Both countries are members of NATO, bound by Article 5 of its treaty to unite in defense of any member that is attacked. Visiting North Macedonia on Tuesday, before Turkey claimed it had shot down the Iranian missile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called Iran an "exporter of chaos" that posed "far-reaching" danger. But he added that the alliance collectively "defend every inch of NATO territory" if needed. But the bar for a response by the military alliance remains high, experts have said. Iran denied firing a missile at Turkey but has not responded to drones targeting the British base in Cyprus. The U.K.'s defense ministry said Wednesday that the "Shahed-like drone" synonymous with Iran which makes one-way Shahed attack drones and has exported them to its ally Russia "was not launched from Iran." CNBC has requested further comment from Iran's foreign ministry. After the drone attacks, Euronews reported that NATO had not held discussions about them, considering them too minor to warrant talks. CNBC has asked NATO for comment. Broadcom 's stock surged nearly 5% on Thursday as CEO Hock Tan touted strong demand for the company's chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. He told analysts on Wednesday that he anticipates AI chip revenue in 2027 that's "significantly in excess of $100 billion" as demand mounts for designing custom silicon. That far surpassed many bullish estimates from Wall Street analysts, who now anticipate more potential upside after Tan said the company is nearing 10 gigawatts of capacity between six customers. Analysts at JPMorgan estimate that the company can reach between $12 billion and $15 billion in revenue per gigawatt by 2027 and lifted the firm's AI revenue estimates "conservatively" to $120 billion or more. The company's "leadership in AI networking and custom silicon enables the lowest inference cost for its hyperscaler customers, and we see it delivering ongoing cost reductions on pace with market leader Nvidia," wrote analysts at Goldman Sachs. The comments came alongside Broadcom's better-than-expected quarterly results, in which AI revenue more than doubled due to AI accelerator and networking demand. China's liquid-fueled intercontinental strategic nuclear missiles DongFeng-5C, which have a global strike range, pass through Tian'anmen Square during the V-Day military parade on September 3, 2025 in Beijing, China. BEIJING China plans to increase its defense spending by 7% this year, the slowest rise in its annual military expenditure since 2021, according to a budget plan by the Ministry of Finance released Thursday. The proposal comes as conflict in the Middle East escalates and tensions over Taiwan persist, amid a broader rise in global geopolitical fault lines. For the last three years, China has budgeted a 7.2% annual increase in defense spending. Beijing had increased spending by 7.1% in 2022 and 6.8% in 2021, according to official data. According to a government work report released Thursday, Beijing will accelerate the development of advanced combat capabilities and pursue the "high-quality" modernization of its national defense and armed forces. The working report also highlighted China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which was commissioned in November 2025. Some of China's latest weapon systems, including long-range missiles, were displayed during a military parade in September. Beijing also said it would "resolutely fight against separatist forces aimed at 'Taiwan independence,' and oppose external interference." China is set to kick off its 8-day National People's Congress on Thursday, an annual parliamentary meeting that officially approves the budget and development goals for the year. Last year, China proposed a national defense budget of 1.78 trillion yuan ($244.99 billion at the time). However, analysts believe the official figures are understated and exclude significant "off-budget" items. According to the U.S. Department of Defense's 2025 report to Congress on China's military, Beijing spent between $304 billion and $377 billion on defense in 2024 about 32% to 63% higher than its officially announced budget of $231 billion. Beijing accounted for nearly 44% of Asia's defense spending in 2025, up from 39% in 2017, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. China is also second to the U.S. in terms of military spending. The U.S. budgeted $849.77 billion for defense during the 2025 fiscal year. But estimates from non-profit USAFacts indicate the U.S. ended up spending about $919.2 billion during that time, up 2% from the prior year and accounting for 13% of the federal budget. China on Thursday set its GDP growth target for 2026 at 4.5% to 5% the lowest target on record going back to the early 1990s according to a copy of the government work report seen by CNBC, as Beijing grapples with persistent deflationary pressures and trade tensions with the U.S. Defense spending will rise by 7%, the slowest increase since 2021, although analysts believe the official figures are understated. A vote to force President Donald Trump to pull back from the war in Iran failed to pass in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The resolution faced plenty of hurdles and was largely symbolic, as Trump was almost certain to veto it. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday described the Middle East war as a "disaster". That follows Trump's pledge to cut off trade with Madrid after Spain's government prevented two jointly operated bases in its territory from being used in the strikes. Amazon's Bahrain data center was targeted by Iran for supporting the U.S. military, state media Fars News Agency said Wednesday. The company's cloud computing unit said Monday that one of its facilities in Bahrain was damaged due to a nearby drone strike on Sunday. Two data centers in the United Arab Emirates were also damaged after they were "directly struck" by drones. Global 15% tariffs will start this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC, up from the current 10%. Bessent also predicted that U.S. tariff rates would, by August, effectively return to where they stood before the Supreme Court recently struck down the often-steeper duties that Trump unilaterally imposed on most of the world's countries last year. A tech industry group expressed 'concern' to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a company was designated as a supply chain risk. The letter, written by the Information Technology Industry Council, did not name Anthropic, though the artificial intelligence company was given that label on Friday after failing to reach a deal with the Defense Department. Among the participating firms were Nvidia, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. Broadcom reported earnings and revenue beat, and issued a strong forecast for the current period, as the chipmaker rides the artificial intelligence boom. The stock rose as much as 5% in extended trading Wednesday. "We have line of sight to achieve AI revenue from chips, just chips, in excess of $100 billion in 2027," Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on a conference call with analysts. "We have also secured the supply chain required to achieve this." In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, aircraft are staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2, 2026 at sea. A vote to force President Donald Trump to pull back from the war in Iran failed to pass in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The resolution faced plenty of hurdles and was largely symbolic, as Trump was almost certain to veto it. French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France will increase its number of nuclear warheads and promised more cooperation with European allies that have expressed interest. That's "the most significant update to French nuclear deterrence policy in 30 years," according to an analyst. A prolonged conflict in the Middle East will dent India's remittance flows enough to impact its economy. The Indian diaspora in the Gulf countries contributes nearly 38% to India's total remittance inflows, according to a Citi report. Based on the inflows of $135.4 billion in the financial year 2025, the share of Gulf countries is $51.4 billion. To put it in perspective: India's total trade surplus with the U.S. was $58.2 billion in 2025. China on Thursday set its GDP growth target for 2026 at 4.5% to 5% the lowest target on record going back to the early 1990s according to a copy of the government work report seen by CNBC, as Beijing grapples with persistent deflationary pressures and trade tensions with the U.S. Defense spending will rise by 7%, the slowest increase since 2021, although analysts believe the official figures are understated. Amazon's Bahrain data center was targeted by Iran for supporting the U.S. military, state media Fars News Agency said Wednesday. The company's cloud computing unit said Monday that one of its facilities in Bahrain was damaged due to a nearby drone strike on Sunday. Two data centers in the United Arab Emirates were also damaged after they were "directly struck" by drones. A tech industry group expressed "concern" to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a company was designated as a supply chain risk. The letter, written by the Information Technology Industry Council, did not name Anthropic, though the artificial intelligence company was given that label on Friday after failing to reach a deal with the Defense Department. Among the participating firms were Nvidia, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. Broadcom reported earnings and revenue beat, and issued a strong forecast for the current period, as the chipmaker rides the artificial intelligence boom. The stock rose as much as 5% in extended trading Wednesday. "We have line of sight to achieve AI revenue from chips, just chips, in excess of $100 billion in 2027," Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on a conference call with analysts. "We have also secured the supply chain required to achieve this." U.S. crude oil prices on Thursday topped $80 per barrel as the escalating Iran war disrupts global fuel supplies, with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz at a standstill due to attacks on tankers. The price of West Texas Intermediate oil surged 8.51%, or $6.35, to close at $81.01 per barrel in the biggest single day gain since May 2020. Global benchmark Brent rose 4.93%, or $4.01, to settle at $85.41 per barrel. U.S. oil prices have surged about 21% this week. Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. have jumped nearly 27 cents since last week to $3.25 per gallon on average, according to the motorist group AAA. The last time gas prices made a similar jump was in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, the group said. President Donald Trump said Thursday that "further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent." Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. would offer political risk insurance and naval escorts for tankers. Iran claimed to have struck an oil tanker with a missile, according to a state media report. Iran's Revolutionary Guard ordered a closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week and threatened to attack tankers passing through it, according to state media. The British Navy on Thursday reported a large explosion at a tanker at anchor in Iraqi territorial waters. The ship's master reported seeing a small vessel flee the scene. The crew is safe and no fires were reported. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began, as ship owners are worried about the volatile security situation. About 20% of global oil consumption is exported through the strait. The Trump administration does not have a timeline for when the strait will be safe for commercial shipping again, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. "I don't want to commit to a timeline, but certainly it's something that is being calculated actively by both the Department of War and the Department of Energy," Leavitt said when asked during a briefing. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel (C) takes part in the "Anti-Imperialist" protest in front of the US Embassy against the US incursion in Venezuela, where 32 Cuban soldiers lost their lives, in Havana on January 16, 2026. Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images "Cuba's next," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican and ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, after the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran. The U.S. has imposed an oil blockade on the communist-run island nation since January, shortly after its ally and a key provider of oil, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was seized in an extraordinary U.S military operation. It has caused a worsening economic crisis and left Cuba facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now Iran, with which Cuba has a strategic partnership, is under sustained attack. "This communist dictatorship in Cuba, their days are numbered," Graham told Fox News's "Sunday Night in America." Before the Iran strikes, Trump said he wanted a "friendly takeover" of the island, without giving details. The comments, alongside the U.S. attacks on Iran and Venezuela, have done little to allay growing fears in Havana, experts told CNBC. The message from Cuba is one that has been constant since 1959: survival will only be achieved through adaptation to the changing geopolitical context. Par Kumaraswami professor at the University of Nottingham A "friendly takeover" could resemble Venezuela in the aftermath of Maduro's removal, "where you still have an authoritarian regime in power but moving in the direction and at the speed that the US determines," said Carlos Solar, senior research fellow, Latin American Security at RUSI, a London-based defense think tank. Solar told CNBC by email that Cuba had lost support from Venezuela and Iran "at a moment of maximum pressure" from the Trump administration. But he added: "What is unclear is how the US will make the Cuban regime break, forcing Havana to capitulate." "We are not seeing the kind of military buildup prelude to operation Absolute Resolve that eventually led to Maduro being captured in January. It could well be that the US approaches Cuba in a totally different way," Solar said. A Turkish Airlines plane takes off at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on February 9, 2026. Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images A spokesperson for the White House and Cuba's embassy in London did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry has called for an end to the Middle East conflict and said it "condemns in the strongest terms" the joint U.S. and Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28. 'Cubans are increasingly concerned' Russia recently warned that the situation in Cuba appeared to be escalating after Cuban forces killed four people who were off its coast in a U.S.-registered speedboat. The blockade has effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil since launching a military operation to capture Maduro on Jan. 3. Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack. Trump has also said Cuba's government poses "an unusual and extraordinary threat" and pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil. The U.S. Treasury said late last month, however, that it would allow the resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba's private sector. The move appeared to reflect a small step to alleviate the island's acute fuel shortage, which has forced a wave of airlines cut flights to the country. Tourism has long been a significant source of revenue for Cuba's cash-strapped government. A bicitaxi rides past garbage piled up on a street in Havana on February 17, 2026. Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images Par Kumaraswami, professor of Latin American Studies at the U.K.'s University of Nottingham, told CNBC the Trump administration's strikes against Iran and recent comments about Cuba's regime had increased the mood of uncertainty and anxiety in Havana. "Cubans are increasingly concerned about how they will survive in the midst of such global chaos, and the recent violence against Iran will have done nothing to allay their fears," Kumaraswami said by email. "At the same time, there are indications that the US administration is negotiating with the Cuban government regarding changes to Cuba's economy, and this is indeed mirrored by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's current focus on economic improvement as the priority," she added. Kumaraswami said the "message from Cuba" had been "constant" since the communists came to power in 1959: "Survival will only be achieved through adaptation to the changing geopolitical context." 'Cuba just bought itself a window' Cuba has adopted measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors. The United Nations has previously warned of a possible humanitarian "collapse" as the country's oil supplies dwindle. "Cuba just bought itself a window but it's a narrow one," Robert Munks, head of Americas research at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, told CNBC by email. "The operation against Iran removes Cuba temporarily from Washington's sights, as the US administration will be preoccupied with the Gulf campaign in the coming weeks." Eli Lilly on Thursday launched a new program designed to help more employers cover obesity drugs in the U.S., targeting a major barrier to access for patients. Lilly and its chief rival, Novo Nordisk , have moved to slash the cash prices of their popular obesity injections for those who want to pay entirely out of pocket. But employer coverage of obesity drugs remains uneven due to high costs, leaving roughly half of people with commercial insurance unable to start or stay on treatment, Lilly said in a release. List prices for Lilly's weight loss and diabetes treatments, Zepbound and Mounjaro, top $1,000 per month. Nearly one-fifth of firms with more than 200 workers, including 43% with 5,000 or more workers, said they cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss as of October, according to a survey by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. "I think we'll learn in the coming months ahead, if this is a solution that maybe enables some employers who have been sitting on the sidelines to opt into obesity coverage for their employees," Kevin Hern, senior vice president of Lilly Employer, said in an interview. He added that some employers could opt to add coverage in the upcoming months, while others could wait until 2027. Eli Lilly's new "Employer Connect" platform gives employers more flexibility in how they cover obesity treatments, aiming to broaden employee access to the drugs at low out-of-pocket costs, while also limiting expenses for companies. Hern said the program addresses some of the "core tensions" for employers when considering coverage of obesity drugs, including transparency around drug prices, flexibility in benefits design and the ability to choose among independent administrators. Through the program, employers can pay a net discounted price of $449 per month for a new multi-dose form of Zepbound across all doses, Hern said. He added that the arrangement does not involve rebates, and that the net price gives employers clearer visibility to determine whether they can offer the drug. Instead of relying on traditional benefit designs, employers can use Lilly's platform to connect with more than a dozen different third-party program administrators that help manage obesity treatment benefits and costs. "Every employer is different. They all want to design things according to their unique needs and workforce," Hern said. Employers can choose among more than 15 administrators to design benefits that fit their budget and workers' needs. Some of the administrators may focus on administering the obesity benefits to employees, dealing with core functions such as enrollment, eligibility, claims and more. Other administrators may specialize in comprehensive obesity management, offering telehealth, nutrition and lifestyle support for patients. Lilly plans to expand the number of program administrators on the platform. The administrators already on the platform are GoodRx, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Co., Sesame, Teladoc Health, 9amHealth, Andel, Calibrate Health, Crux Health, eMed, FlyteHealth, Form Health, Goodpath, Ilant Health, Onsera Health, ReviveHealth, Salta Direct Primary Care, Transcarent and Waltz Health. "Our goal was to kind of create a platform where these firms could compete ... with the value of their services for the employers," Hern said. All of the administrators are offering the same medicine at the same price, so employers will determine "who can provide me the best service in terms of administering this program as I define that." Those with government insurance could also see easier access to obesity drugs: Under landmark deals that Lilly and Novo struck with President Donald Trump, Medicare will cover those medicines for the very first time later this year. The Department of Justice, which has been criticized for withholding files about Jeffrey Epstein from the public, plans to release a new batch of documents related to the notorious sex offender "fairly soon," MS Now reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The development comes a day after the House Oversight Committee approved a motion to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to be questioned about the DOJ's handling of its investigations of Epstein, and documents about him that it is required by law to release to the public. "AG Bondi claims the DOJ has released all of the Epstein files. The record is clear: they have not," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said in a post on X on Thursday, when she submitted that motion. "The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. His global sex trafficking network is larger than what is being revealed," Mace said. "Three million documents have been released, and we still don't have the full truth," she wrote. "Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing. There are millions more documents out there. We want to know why the DOJ is more focused on shielding the powerful than delivering justice." Mace, in a blistering remark about Bondi on Thursday to reporters, said, "I have a lot more questions, and I don't expect to be talking about the stock market, so she better not bring those notes when she comes to the Oversight Committee." That comment referred to Bondi angrily telling members of the House Judiciary Committee last month that they should be talking about a strong stock market when Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., asked her how many of Epstein's co-conspirators she has charged. Bondi has not charged anyone in connection with Epstein. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable meeting on the administration's "ratepayer protection pledge" in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 1.4% lower, erasing gains made earlier in the session, as the region's major bourses and most sectors - except for media - finished in negative territory. Spain's IBEX 35 finished 1.4% lower as Madrid drew anger from U.S. President Donald Trump for refusing to allow U.S. forces to use its bases for strikes on Iran. "Spain has been terrible," Trump said on Tuesday. "We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the Middle East crisis a "disaster" on Wednesday. The White House then said Spain would cooperate with the U.S. militarily over the Iran conflict but Madrid has categorically rejected this assertion. Read more: Spain rejects White House claim it agreed to cooperate with U.S. forces amid Iran war German tank maker Renk recorded 1.37 billion euros (roughly $1.6 billion) in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, up 19.8% from the previous year, bolstered by strong growth in its defense business, it reported on Thursday. It saw new order intakes of 1.57 billion euros and a total order backlog of 6.7 billion euros, up from roughly 5 billion euros in 2024. Renk is forecasting revenue of 1.5 billion euros in 2026 amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Its shares ended the session 11.4% lower. Global market attention remains focused on the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran, with attacks intensifying over the last 24 hours. Israel on Wednesday launched a fresh round of attacks on Tehran, with the country's defense minister vowing to "crush" the Iranian regime's capabilities. Meanwhile, the U.S. said it has destroyed 17 Iranian ships and nearly 2,000 targets. In Iran, senior clerics responsible for selecting the next supreme leader are considering naming Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to the top post, according to reports. The U.S. and Israel's endgame when it comes to "Operation Epic Fury" remains uncertain, and experts have told CNBC they could get bogged down in the war if the Iranian regime proves more resilient than expected. Oil prices continued to move higher on Thursday, with global benchmark Brent crude last seen up 3.7% to reach at $84.44 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate , the U.S. benchmark, was 6% higher at $79.17 a barrel. "The Middle East situation is unfolding at a rapid pace, and investors are finding it hard to make a firm call on whether there will be a sustained energy crisis or just a short, sharp shock," Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said in a Thursday morning note. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was last seen about 0.7% down as U.S. equities traded lower in the face of rising oil prices. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, does a TV news interview in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. House Republican leaders on Thursday called on Rep. Tony Gonzales to drop his bid for reelection after the Texas Republican admitted to having an affair with a staff member. The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday announced it was investigating Gonzales' relationship with the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide in September. Later on Wednesday, Gonzales went on a conservative radio show and for the first time admitted to the affair, calling it "a lapse in judgment." After Tuesday's primary elections in Texas, Gonzales is heading to a runoff election in May against Brandon Herrera, who is challenging the incumbent from the right. This report is from this week's "Inside India" newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse. Subscribe here. The big story India can't seem to escape from the fallout of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. A significant share of the country's energy imports risk disruptions and its aviation sector is staring at higher costs due to airspace restrictions. But there's another multibillion-dollar worry that the country will need to contend with: remittances. India is the largest recipient of remittances globally and they account for nearly 3.5% of the GDP that's higher than the share of exports to the U.S. at 2% of the economy. More than 9 million Indians reside in the Middle East and the money they send home plays a major role in shoring up India's finances, helping cut its current account deficit. NEW DELHI, INDIA - MARCH 3: Indian passangers with relaxed expressions at Terminal 3 after their special flight from Riyadh arrived back in India at Indira Gandhi International Airport on March 3, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images The Indian diaspora in the Gulf countries contributes nearly 38% to India's total remittance inflows, according to a Citi report. Based on the inflows of $135.4 billion in financial year 2025, the share of gulf countries is to the tune of $51.4 billion. To put it in perspective: India's total trade surplus with the U.S. was $58.2 billion in 2025. According to experts, Indian workers in the Gulf countries are mostly employed in oil services, construction, hospitality and retail sectors, industries particularly vulnerable to the disruption caused by Iranian attacks. "A sharp decline [in remittance inflows] particularly if combined with higher oil prices due to the conflict would worsen India's external position and could put some pressure on the rupee," said Alexandra Hermann, lead economist at Oxford Economics. In recent years, India's remittances have exceeded its foreign direct investment flows, with those from the UAE alone contributing nearly one-fifth of the flows, second only to the U.S (27.7%). Collateral damage A Shahed-136 drone is displayed at a rally in western Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2026. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images In the aftermath of the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran, American allies in the Persian Gulf are hearing a sound that Ukrainian soldiers have long come to dread: the foreboding hum of the Shahed-136 'kamikaze' drone. First designed in Iran, the Shahed has already become a fixture of modern warfare, with Tehran's strategic partner, Russia, utilizing the technology in its years-long invasion of Ukraine. Now, the drones the most advanced of which is the long-ranged Shahed-136 have become central to Iran's retaliation strategy against the U.S. and its regional allies, with thousands unleashed so far. At first glance, the Shahed is unremarkable compared with cutting-edge weapon technologies, with analysts sometimes referring to it as "the poor man's cruise missile." But while American allies have managed to intercept the vast majority of incoming drones with the help of U.S.-provided defense systems such as the 'Patriot' missile, many Shaheds have still managed to hit their targets. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that out of 941 Iranian drones detected since the start of the Iran war, 65 fell within its territory, damaging ports, airports, hotels and data centers. The Shahed ... has allowed states like Russia and Iran a cheap way to impose disproportionate costs Patrycja Bazylczyk Analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studie Analysts say the key to their effectiveness lies in the numbers. The drones are relatively cheap and easy to mass-produce, especially compared to the sophisticated systems used to defend against them. Those factors make the drone ideal for swarming and overburdening aerial defenses, with each drone intercepted also representing a more valuable defense asset expended. "The Shahed136, among other unmanned aerial systems, has allowed states like Russia and Iran a cheap way to impose disproportionate costs," said Patrycja Bazylczyk, analyst with the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. "They force adversaries to waste expensive interceptors on lowcost drones, project power, and create a steady psychological burden on civilian populations." The cost imbalance U.S. government reports describe the Shahed-136 as a one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle produced by Iranian entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Compared with ballistic missiles, the drones fly low and slow, deliver a relatively modest payload, and are limited to mostly fixed targets, Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told CNBC. Public estimates suggest individual Shahed drones can cost between $20,000 and $50,000. Ballistic and cruise missiles, by contrast, can cost millions of dollars each. In that sense, the Shahed and its equivalents "basically serve as 'the poor man's cruise missile' offering a way to strike and harass adversaries "on the cheap," said Taleblu. For Iran, which faces both international sanctions and limitations on acquiring advanced weapons, that cost advantage is significant. Meanwhile, air defense systems used by Gulf states and Israel can cost between $3 million and $12 million per interceptor, according to U.S. Department of Defense budget documents. This cost discrepancy raises a serious issue for Iran's enemies: Air defense systems have finite numbers of defense missiles, with each target intercepted representing a valuable asset expended. Pimary technical data from the U.S. Armys ODIN database and Iranian military disclosures describe the Shahed-136 as about 3.5 metres long with a 2.5-metre wingspan. Sergei Supinsky | Afp | Getty Images Thus, in a war of attrition, the drones could be used by Tehran to wear down air defenses, opening them up to more damaging attacks, analysts say. "The logic is to expend drones early while preserving ballistic missiles for the long haul," said CSIS's Bazylczyk. She added that Iran's ability to sustain massdrone use will depend on its stockpiles, as well as its ability to protect its supply chain and manufacturing sites. The U.S. has long sought to disrupt Iran's production of the Shahed-136, and recently imposed new sanctions targeting suspected component suppliers across Turkey and the UAE. However, Russia's production of Shahed drones shows that such systems can be manufactured at scale during wartime and amid targeted sanctions. U.S. officials claim Iran had launched over 2,000 drones in the conflict as of Wednesday. However, the country is understood to have large stockpiles and may be capable of producing hundreds more each week, military experts reportedly told The National newspaper. "Gulf countries are at risk of depleting their interceptors unless they are more prudent about when it fires those interceptors," said Joze Pelayo, a Middle East security analyst with the think tank Atlantic Council. "The depletion is not imminent, but it remains an urgent issue," he said. However, attacks on multiple fronts by Iranian allies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis could put stockpiles at risk of being depleted within days, he added. A new staple of the modern battlefield? The Shahed136 was first unveiled around 2021 and gained global attention after Russia began deploying the Iranian-supplied weapons during its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin has since received thousands of the drones and begun producing them based on Iranian blueprints, highlighting their replicable and scalable design. Some analysts have suggested that Iran has drawn from Russia's extensive battlefield experience with the drones, including modifications such as anti-jamming antennas, electronic warfare-resistant navigation, and new warheads. Those warheads typically carry 30 kg to 50 kg of explosives and can pack a punch, particularly when used in large swarms, with advanced versions capable of a range of up to 1,200 miles. Michael Connell, a Middle East specialist at the Center for Naval Analyses, said that the Shahed-136 has proven so effective that the U.S. has reverse-engineered it and deployed its own version on the battlefield against Iranian targets. In its Iran attacks over the weekend, the U.S. Central Command confirmed that it had used its drones modeled on the Shahed for the first time in combat. watch now Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, speaks during a press conference at the Lutfi Krdar Congress Center on the sideline of the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul on June 22, 2025. Iran's foreign minister said Thursday that his country is "not asking for a ceasefire" from the United States and Israel, "and we don't see any reason why we should negotiate" after nearly a week of war. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said in an exclusive interview with NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas that Iran is "confident" that it can confront the U.S. military if President Donald Trump decides to invade the nation with ground troops. "And that would be a big disaster for them," Araghchi told NBC Nightly News. He also said that after six days of war against Iran, "It is clear that the U.S. has failed to achieve its main goal, which was clean, rapid victory." "They failed to achieve that, and now they are trying to justify why they did attack us. And they have, you know, presented so many different reasons, but none of them worked," Araghchi said. "And now they are talking about, you know, plan B. And I, I believe that, you know, plan B would be even a bigger failure." Araghchi's comments indicate Iran is in for a longer war with the U.S. after Trump has said he foresees it lasting four to five weeks. Trump has criticized his Democratic predecessors for engaging in protracted conflicts in the Middle East. A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. The Iran war has shaken Dubai's status as a global wealth hub, as legions of expatriates scramble to escape and family offices and wealth managers reconsider their Middle East footprint. For the past decade, Dubai has successfully marketed itself as a safe haven for the global elite. Attracted by the sun, safety and tax-free income, Dubai's millionaire population has doubled since 2014 to more than 81,000, according to Henley & Partners. Dubai's luxury real-estate market has grown for five straight years, with 500 properties selling last year for more than $10 million up from just 30 in 2020. Now, however, Dubai's reputation for safety has been shattered. Over the past week, Dubai's five-star Fairmont The Palm Hotel, on its famed man-made, palm-shaped archipelago, was struck by an explosion. Debris from a downed Iranian drone set fire to Burj Al Arab hotel, and the Dubai airport was damaged by a missile strike. On Tuesday, the U.S. Consulate in Dubai was targeted by a suspected drone strike that caused a fire nearby. "The U.S.-Israel war on Iran is upending that crucial aura of security in Dubai," said Jim Krane, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute. "Dubai's economic model is based on expatriate residents providing the brains, brawn and investment capital. You need stability and security to bring in smart foreigners." Dubai and the United Arab Emirates sought to quickly reassure investors. The UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority announced Saturday that the situation was "under control." Dubai's police force this week threatened to arrest and jail social media influencers who share social content that "contradicts official announcements or that may cause social panic." Other wealth hubs in the region including Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh are also caught in the fallout of the war. And like Dubai, they've made attracting the wealthy a key economic policy. Yet Dubai's ascendance and dependence on wealth capital stand out in the region. Kane said that's because Dubai no longer relies on oil revenue like its neighbors do, instead banking on the confidence of foreigners. "The city cannot function if everyone with a foreign passport flees," he said. "Dubai will literally shut down. Dubai is more exposed to the risks of an expat exodus." Dubai is now home to 237 centimillionaires those worth $100 million or more and at least 20 billionaires, according to Henley & Partners. An estimated 9,800 millionaires moved to Dubai in 2025, bringing $63 billion in wealth more than any other country in the world, according to Henley. Most of Dubai's wealthy are arriving from the U.K., China, India, and other parts of Europe and Asia. With the ruling Maktoum family starting to diversify the economy away from oil decades ago, Dubai created special economic zones and golden visa programs to effectively industrialize wealth attraction as a national strategy. Dubai has no personal income tax, no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax, making it ideal for the ultra wealthy and family offices. The Dubai International Finance Center, a special economic zone, reported in early January that the top 120 families in the economic zone managed more than $1.2 trillion combined. Last month, the DIFC said that it was home to 1,289 "family-related entities," up 61% from a year ago. For now, many wealthy families and wealthy professionals are focused on getting out. Charter companies report that demand for private jets far exceeds available seats and flights. Ameerh Naran, CEO of Vimana Private Jets, said Tuesday that the broker received more than 100 client inquiries overnight. He said he hasn't seen such demand since the pandemic. A jet from Riyadh to Europe can cost up to $350,000, he said. He added that the Dubai residents he spoke to are traveling for business meetings, not fleeing to safety. "They don't feel unsafe," he said. "It's pretty much life as normal was just a bit of extra noise in the background with all these missiles. But life has to go on. They need to travel." Dale Buckner, CEO of security firm Global Guardian and a former Green Beret, said the exodus shows no signs of slowing. By Tuesday morning, Buckner said, the firm had seven corporate clients including large finance and consulting firms looking to evacuate 1,000 to 3,000 employees. "This looks very much like Ukraine," he said. "I think everyone has realized the Iranians are successfully targeting five-star hotels and airports at scale, and now they're starting to shut down the oil infrastructure," he said. "I do not believe anyone thought that was possible." Many companies and professionals in Dubai said the business case for staying remains strong. And they are careful not to cross the government at a time of crisis. Hasnain Malik, who leads emerging markets equity and geopolitics strategy at Dubai-based Tellimer, said hedge funds and family offices are mainly drawn to Dubai's tax, regulatory and stable banking regimes. All those attributes remain in place, he said. "Those reasons have not changed," he said. "It is only in one aspect of the lifestyle driver, pristine security, that recent events have called into question." Henley & Partners, which helps the wealthy secure visas in other countries, said Dubai has always proven resilient in times of uncertainty. Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said the attacks in Dubai are also a reminder of the importance of geographic hedging. "Situations like this reinforce a core principle we often discuss with clients: the value of global optionality," he said. "Internationally mobile families typically diversify their residence and citizenship exposure across multiple regions including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia so they retain flexibility in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, wherever and whenever it may arise. These decisions are generally strategic and long-term in nature rather than reactions to short-term events." One sector that could feel longer-term pressure is Dubai's real estate market. Dubai's real estate prices have been surging for five years straight, boosted by its golden visa program that gives foreigners a 10-year renewable visa for buying a property of $550,000 or more. Last year a 47,200-square-foot penthouse at the new Bugatti Residences set a price record for Dubai and the UAE when it sold for 550 United Arab Emirates dirhams, or about $150 million. Yet even before the Iran war, there were some signs that Dubai's breakneck building spree, soaring prices and widespread speculation could start to cool. In September, UBS estimated that Dubai had the fifth-highest bubble risk of 21 major cities, ranking behind Zurich and Los Angeles. In the spring, Fitch Ratings predicted a correction in late 2025 and in 2026, with prices falling as much as 15%. Fitch Ratings' Anton Lopatin said the effect on real estate values will depend on the conflict's scope and duration. For now, he said, expatriate departures could "put pressure" on Dubai's housing market. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures during a press conference at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on December 15, 2025. Spain has pushed back against the White House's claim that it agreed to cooperate militarily with Washington amid the conflict with Iran, doubling down on its anti-war stance despite the U.S. president's threat to sever trade ties. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Madrid's position of refusing to allow the country's military bases to be used in the ongoing Iran war had now changed. "With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear, and it's my understanding, over the past several hours, they've agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military," Leavitt told reporters. "The president expects all of our European allies, of course, to cooperate in this long sought-after mission, not just for the United States but also for Europe, to crush the rogue Iranian regime." Spain swiftly and "categorically" rejected Leavitt's assertion, however. "The Spanish government's position on the war in the Middle East ... and the use of our bases has not changed at all," Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told private radio station Cadena Ser, according to Reuters. The chaotic messaging between two NATO allies comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to cut off all trade with Madrid, calling Spain "terrible" and repeating his criticism of Spain's defense spending. The conflict in the Middle East is rapidly expanding across the region as the U.S. and Israel-led war with Iran enters its sixth day. Images published Thursday showed destruction across Tehran after nearly a week of strikes on Iran's capital. Iran has retaliated by launching a wave of missiles and drones at Israel, as well as targeting U.S. allies in the region. Explosions have been reported in Qatar and Bahrain, while oil-rich Azerbaijan said it was attacked by two Iranian drones and Tehran claimed naval fighters had struck a U.S. tanker in the north of the Persian Gulf. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the Iran war could last for four to five weeks but warned the campaign could also "go far longer than that." Veteran investor Howard Marks said he doesn't see a widespread problem brewing in private credit, but warned that the sector's rapid expansion over the past 15 years could expose weaker lenders when markets eventually turn. "There's not a systemic problem with private credit," Marks, co-chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital, said Thursday on CNBC's "Money Movers." The noted investor said that the risk stems from the pace of expansion in direct lending, which has ballooned to a market now exceeding $1 trillion from its early development around 2011. His comments come as sentiment toward direct lenders has soured following the collapse of auto-related borrowers Tricolor and First Brands. Much of the concern has centered on loans made to software companies as investors worry that artificial intelligence could disrupt those businesses. "There's a saying in the banking business that the worst of loans are made in the best of times. We've seen 17 years of good times. When the stuff hits the fan, or as Warren Buffett would say, when the tide goes out, we will find out whose credit analysis was discerning, who made fewer software loans to the better company," Marks said. The pressure has already begun to show up in fund flows. Investors pulled nearly 8% from Blackstone Inc.'s flagship private credit fund in the most recent quarter, highlighting growing caution among allocators. Marks said it's impossible to predict when exactly the cycle will turn. "The things that affect the investment world so profoundly are the things that were not foreseen," Marks said. "If they could be foreseen ... anticipated and adjusted to and factored into prices, they wouldn't have that cataclysmic effect." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took subtle swipes at rival Anthropic on Thursday and said he thinks it's "bad for society" if companies start abandoning their commitment to the democratic process because "some people don't like the person or people currently in charge." "The government is supposed to be more powerful than private companies," Altman said during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei criticized Altman's relationship with the Trump administration in a memo to employees on Friday, according to a report from The Information. Amodei reportedly wrote that Anthropic has not given "dictator-style praise to Trump," while Altman has. The Department of Defense has clashed with Anthropic in recent weeks over how the agency can use its artificial intelligence models. Negotiations escalated, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" in a post on X on Friday. President Donald Trump also directed every federal agency in the U.S. to "immediately cease" all use of Anthropic's technology. Hours later, Altman announced that OpenAI had formed its own agreement with the DOD. The company has faced criticism for announcing the deal so soon after Anthropic was blacklisted, and Altman conceded that it looked "looked opportunistic and sloppy." In this article OWL CG ARES KKR BX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT The rush for the exits in private credit is prompting fresh scrutiny of the sector's less-liquid structures and its rapid expansion into the retail wealth space. Blackstone has become the latest fund manager to be hit by a surge in requests from investors to withdraw from its flagship private credit strategy. The asset manager said this week it will meet 100% of redemption requests in its gigantic $82 billion Blackstone Private Credit Fund, or BCRED, after investors sought to pull a record 7.9% of assets from the fund, or about $3.8 billion. That came after Blue Owl Capital said last month it was ending regular quarterly liquidity payments in its Blue Owl Capital Corporation II fund, a semi-liquid private credit strategy aimed at U.S. retail investors. The private credit specialist will instead switch to periodic payouts funded by asset sales, earnings and other strategic deals. This spike in redemption requests is now putting the private market industry's courting of retail investors under closer scrutiny, and bringing the mismatch between non-publicly-traded, higher-yielding illiquid assets and retail-style access into sharper focus. 'A feature, not a bug' Blackstone the world's biggest alternative investment manager, with $1.27 trillion in assets under management said it was upping a previously-announced tender offer to 7% of total shares, with the firm and employees offsetting the remaining 0.9%, in order to meet the redemption requests in full. Blackstone Chief Operating Officer and President Jon Gray acknowledged that the risk of private credit firms failing to meet withdrawals, and potentially gating investors' money, is "not beneficial in the near term" for the sector. But speaking with CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" Tuesday, Gray said individual investors and financial advisors "in most cases do" understand the product. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Blackstone. "What people sometimes fail to recognize is, they're designed as semi-liquid products," Gray said. "The idea that there are caps is really a feature, not a bug of these products. What you're doing is trading away a bit of liquidity for higher returns. That's the same trade-off institutional investors have made for a long period of time." Shares of publicly traded alternative asset managers including Blackstone and Blue Owl, as well as KKR , Ares Management and Carlyle Group , among others have dipped as concerns over multiple pressure points in the sector have spread. These include late-cycle loan quality, AI-related risks in software portfolios, and fears of further individual blow-ups following the First Brands and Tricolor implosions last year. Gray said that lowly-leveraged loans which produce a premium for investors are "a pretty good place to be," adding that he expects they will continue to outperform liquid credit. The BCRED fund has generated a 9.8% return since inception in its main share class, which indicates that, for now, the challenge remains one of liquidity rather than performance. Gray said there had been a "ton of noise" around private credit in recent weeks, adding, "it's not a surprise that investors can get nervous." Moody's Ratings warned that private credit's tricky balance between delivering outsized returns while also offering retail-like liquidity will continue to be tested as the sector evolves towards the mainstream. In a recent commentary, Marc Pinto, global head of private credit at Moody's, said funds may need to hold a larger proportion of more liquid, loweryielding assets to account for a growing retail presence which could prove a drag on returns. Ultimately, the underlying assets will remain illiquid, regardless of the fund's structuring, said William Barrett, managing partner at Reach Capital. "The retail market has to be conscious of that and not invest in these products the same way it would in an ETF," Barrett told CNBC via email. "Private markets inflows have been dominated by the institutional market for decades," Barrett said. "It makes sense for our industry to now offer our products to retail but we should probably test it first with HNWI [high net worth individuals] and mass-affluent segments rather than making a 180-degree switch to mass retail." Barrett said the industry has to carefully select the right target markets for the right liquidity structures and the right underlying assets. He noted that while there has been little sign of underperformance in the credit space at the portfolio level, "it makes sense that semi-liquid products feel the liquidity pressure first." Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Blue Owl Capital. The world must not revert to a "law of the jungle" where might makes right 13:22, March 05, 2026 By Huan Yuping ( People's Daily The recent military strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran, conducted without consulting or obtaining authorization from the United Nations Security Council, represent a flagrant violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations. These actions have pushed the Middle East perilously close to the brink of conflict. The international community must urgently unite to promote peace, de-escalate tensions, and jointly uphold the principles of international law and global order. The prohibition of the use of force is a cornerstone of security in the contemporary international system. This principle was established even before World War II by the Kellogg-Briand Pact and was subsequently enshrined in the UN Charter after the war. The Charter explicitly prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. International law draws its vitality from universal application and its authority from consistent enforcement. When the United States and Israel violate it, they risk not only further destabilizing the Middle East, but also eroding the foundations of world peace. The United States cited Iran's alleged advancement of its nuclear program and development of long-range missiles as justification for its for military action. However, following the strikes, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, made it clear that no evidence has been found of a systematic nuclear weapons program in Iran. Facts suggest that the decision by the United States and Israel to attack Iran may be driven by political motivations. As U.S. military supremacy is wielded to attack other nations at will, insightful American voices warn that U.S. hegemony is increasingly shedding its pretense and spiraling out of control. The military strikes against Iran have triggered widespread opposition across the international community. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the Charter of the United Nations lays the foundation for maintaining international peace and security, and that international law and international humanitarian law must always be respected. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization issued a statement emphasizing that the use of force is unacceptable. It voiced support for resolving the ongoing conflict through dialogue, mutual respect, and consideration of the legitimate interests of all parties, in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The League of Arab States has called on the international community to act swiftly to de-escalate tensions and prevent the region from descending into growing instability and a cycle of violence. A country's approach to international law and the international order reflects its worldview, its vision of global governance, and its sense of international responsibility. Resorting to force cannot provide real solutions; instead, it creates new problems and leaves serious aftereffects. The international community must act together to uphold international law and the basic norms governing international relations. Military actions must cease immediately. The tragic attack on an Iranian primary school has profoundly shocked the global conscience. As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the security of the Strait of Hormuz -- an important global energy trade corridor -- has also been severely affected, and the risk of more forces being drawn into the conflict is rapidly increasing. The spillover of war serves no one's interests. The red line of protecting civilians in armed conflict must never be crossed. The urgent priority is to prevent further escalation and to stop the conflict from spreading across the entire Middle East. The international community should attach importance to the security of Gulf countries and support them in taking their future into their own hands. Dialogue and negotiation should resume as soon as possible. A political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue is the only viable path forward and is in the common interests of the international community. Recent diplomatic progress between Iran and the United States offered a rare opportunity for a peaceful dispute resolution. Regrettably, this process has been interrupted by military action. Faced with this grave situation, all relevant parties should promptly return to dialogue and negotiation, support the IAEA in fulfilling its mandate objectively and impartially, and bring the Iranian nuclear issue back onto the right track of peaceful settlement. Unilateral actions must be met with unified opposition. The international community should reject all acts that violates international law. No major country should be allowed to attack others at will on the grounds of military superiority. The world must not slide back into an era where might makes right. Launching attacks against a sovereign state without UN Security Council authorization seriously undermines international law and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The international community must deliver a clear and unequivocal message: unilateral bullying and the threat or use of force in international relations must be resolutely rejected. No country should impose its will on others, and might should never prevail over justice. At present, the conflict continues amid mounting risks. Faced with this grave situation, the international community should firmly stand for peace, fairness and justice, and work together to restore peace and stability in the Middle East at an early date. As a responsible major country, China will continue to work with the international community to actively promote peace and de-escalation, and play a constructive role in easing tensions and safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Key points: Synopsys shares are very cheap compared to its biggest competitor after a sell-off in software stocks this year The electronic design automation software leader holds a 41% market share. Nvidia is buying shares of the stock, alongside the company itself. I am a buyer of Synopsys (SNPS) , a casualty of the recent software meltdown. The selling is overdone when considering its leading market position, software contract backlog and cheap valuation. Synopsys makes electronic design automation (EDA) software for creating complex silicon chips and transistors used in everything from data centers to automobiles. It's customers include Nvidia and Tesla. The more complex the chips, the more you need Synopsys because it allows customers to get to market faster with greater accuracy. That's why they call what Synopsys makes "mission critical software." Synopsys was founded 40 years ago in North Carolina by semiconductor industry pioneer Aart de Geus. The company eventually moved to Silicon Valley, establishing the Electronic Design Automation market and going public in 1992. De Gues passed the CEO baton to Sassine Ghazi three years ago and became executive chair. Over the last 20 years, the stock has returned nearly 16% annually, topping the S & P 500's 11% return. But the shares have hit some turbulence recently. AI threat The shares are down more than 32% from a one-year high, including a 7% pullback this year alone as it gets caught up in the software rout based on fears artificial intelligence will replace some of the industry's functions. A proxy for the industry's sell-off the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) is down 18% this year, led by companies such as TurboTax maker Intuit and HR software provider Workday. Share of those two companies have each lost nearly a third of their value on the fear tools by Anthropic's Claude or other AI models will replace their business. Even Microsoft has not been immune, with the shares down 16% this year on the possible threat to its Office suite of products from AI. But Synopsys won't so easily be replaced because of the complexity of its software. And it will ride the AI wave in many ways, rather than be dragged under by it: The company allows its customers to design AI-powered systems. Hyperscalers fueling the AI boom are Synopsys customers. AI calls for more and more sophisticated chip designs, increasing demand for Synopsys. The stock's losses continued last week even as Synopsys' quarterly earnings easily topped Wall Street estimates. Ghazi dismissed concerns that Synopsys could be displaced by an AI model on last week's earnings call. "Synopsys' decades of deep domain expertise, proprietary codebases and solvers and native foundry design technology co-optimizations deliver optimal, deterministic, silicon-proven results that probabilistic AI models do not replicate," said the CEO. Ghazi said AI will transform the engineering software business, but Synopsys is leading that charge. The company also raised its earnings guidance for the full year to a range of $14.38 to $14.46 a share, up from $14.32 to $14.40 a share. Ghazi noted that forecast is achievable as the "multitrillion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout continues unabated" while acknowledging some "subdued" demand from consumer, automotive and industrial markets." Leading the market The company has a leading market share position in the EDA industry and that's not likely to change because 70% of its revenue is recurring and it just reported 43% growth in its contract backlog. A key acquisition last year of Ansys, a company that allows real world simulation of systems, will increase the its total addressable market from $31 billion to $58 billion by 2028. The company believes this purchase makes them the ultimate the "silicon to systems" leader. With the Ansys purchase, Synopsys has taken its total market share of the EDA market to 41%. Valuation Following this sell-off, the stock now trades at a major multiple discount to its largest peer, which is Cadence Design Systems . And Nvidia isn't just a customer, it's also an owner of Synopsys. The AI leader bought a $2 billion stake in the software maker last quarter, making it the company's third largest outside equity holding. Synopsys itself is also buying its shares. The company's board last week approved a "replenishment" of its stock repurchase program with authority to buy up to $2 billion shares. Wall Street's view Overall, Wall Street analysts are supportive of the stock with 19 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings and just one sell. The current consensus price target calls for a 25% rally from here. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to hold last week which also hit the stock because it is worried about its core EDA business slowing and uncertainty about AI's impact. But even after the downgrade, the firm sees about a 10% gain over the next 12 months for the stock, based on its price target. So I'm a buyer and I'll continue to buy on any more weakness. Past Stephanie Link picks: Starbucks - Stephanie Link is buying shares of this turnaround story. The comeback could become clear this week SLB - Stephanie Link says this oil stock is cheap and poised to benefit from the data center boom watch now President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from that post and replacing her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican. Noem's chief advisor, Corey Lewandowski, will also leave his position at the Department of Homeland Security, MS Now reported. Trump's termination of Noem, MS Now reported, was largely due to her claim in testimony to a Senate panel on Tuesday that the president had personally approved a $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign about DHS immigration enforcement. The campaign, which involved a Republican consulting firm with ties to Noem and DHS, prominently featured Noem in commercials. In one case, she was shown on horseback with Mount Rushmore in the background. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem rides a horse while filming an ad at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Oct. 2, 2025. Tia Dufour | DHS "That really upset POTUS," a White House official told the news outlet, referring to Noem's testimony. Trump told the Reuters news agency on Thursday, "I never knew anything about" the ad campaign. Noem's dismissal comes after a wave of criticism of the former South Dakota governor's management of the agency and her aggressive handling of Trump's immigration enforcement agenda, which saw two American citizens killed by federal agents in Minnesota in January. She is the first Cabinet secretary to be fired by Trump in his second term in the White House, which has been relatively quiet in turnover of top positions, in stark contrast to his first term. Noem had been rumored to be on thin ice with the president, who likes to call the shots. Noem has been a headline name for the first year of the second Trump administration and has been a particular object of Democratic criticism. At the bruising hearing, Republicans also piled on. Trump announced Noem's termination in a post on Truth Social, saying "The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida." "I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland,'" added Trump, who plans to host like-minded Western Hemisphere leaders over the weekend to announce the security alliance. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security" to testify, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., during the hearing Tuesday where Noem was testifying, called her leadership of DHS a "disaster." "We're an exceptional nation," Tillis told her that day. "And one of the reasons we're exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you have demonstrated anything but that." Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., questioned Noem about the ad campaign. "Well, they were effective in your name recognition," Kennedy said, after Noem defended the ads as being "extremely effective." "It troubles me," Kennedy said. "A fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money, when we're scratching over every penny." Asked if Trump knew Noem was going to do the ad campaign ahead of her spending that money, Noem testified, "Yes, sir." "We went through the legal processes, did it correctly," Noem said. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks with U.S. Border Patrol agents at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Oct. 2, 2025. Tia Dufour | DHS At a hearing on Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, Noem, who is married, was asked if she had ever had sex with her top advisor, Lewandowski, who is also married. She refused to answer, calling the question "tabloid garbage." Noem, moments after her firing was announced, kept a speaking engagement in Nashville at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference. She spoke calmly from behind a podium, taking questions about law enforcement logistics from a live audience. Noem did not address her ouster, nor did audience members who asked questions about DHS contracts and other more mundane matters. Trump spoke with her by phone before she took the stage, MS Now reported. After the speech, she thanked Trump for her new special envoy role in a post on X. Mullin would have to be confirmed as DHS secretary by the Senate to officially serve. But Trump said Mullin would begin serving in that post on March 31. Trump could also put Mullin in place in an acting capacity. Tillis, who on Tuesday pledged to hold up Trump nominees over his concerns about how DHS was being run, won't stand in the way of Mullin's nomination, according to his office. Mullin told reporters at the Capitol, "It's an honor to be nominated." He said he had also just received the news. "We're excited about it, excited to get to work, but we still got the nomination process," Mullin said. "We're wanting to get the Department of Homeland Security working for the American people, and that's going to be our focus," he said. "And so we're open to new ideas, doing things that, as I said, takes care of the job we need to get done." Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 25, 2026. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images New York Attorney General Letitia James and the top prosecutors of 23 other states once again sued to block President Donald Trump's global tariff regime, just days after a landmark Supreme Court decision struck down his previous effort. Their lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Court of International Trade, seeks to deem Trump's latest tariffs illegal and order refunds to states. Last month, the Supreme Court invalidated most of Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs implemented last year, saying that his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties was improper. But the president sought to keep his signature policy alive by immediately announcing a new wave of tariffs, these based on another law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That global tariff rate is currently set at 10%, but the Trump administration has said it plans to raise it to 15%. "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill," James said in a statement provided to CNBC. "President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses," she said. The move from the coalition of state attorneys general most of whom were part of the successful effort to block Trump's original tariffs adds to the ongoing international uncertainty created by the president's tariff policies. On Wednesday, a federal court ruled that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by the Supreme Court are due billions of dollars in refunds. "The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country's large and serious balance-of-payments deficits," said White House spokesman Kush Desai. "The Administration will vigorously defend the President's action in court." Indias flagship strategic conference, the Raisina Dialogue, returns to New Delhi in 2026 with a familiar purpose - gather policymakers, diplomats and experts in one place and discuss the direction of the global order.The event, now in its tenth year, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Finland President Alexander Stubb , who is attending as the chief guest.The annual forum has been held in the Indian capital since 2016. It is organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with Indias Ministry of External Affairs.Over three days, the dialogue brings together ministers, business leaders, scholars and journalists to debate international security, trade, climate policy and emerging technology.This years theme - Samskara: Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement - is meant to reflect a world adjusting to geopolitical shifts and rapid technological change.Organisers say the three ideas represent parallel developments shaping international politics.First, assertion, as states increasingly emphasise sovereignty and strategic autonomy.Second, accommodation, referring to new coalitions and partnerships emerging as traditional multilateral institutions face strain.Third, advancement, linked to the expanding influence of technology and governance systems.The term Samskara is used to describe continuity in civilisational thinking - adapting to change while retaining identity.Panels this year are expected to revolve around several large geopolitical questions.One track focuses on the United States and its global role - including debates over alliances and influence. Another addresses Chinas economic reach and strategic posture, particularly in Asia.A separate discussion will examine US-China relations, a relationship widely seen as defining the current geopolitical balance.Analysts participating in the forum are also expected to debate the role of other powers - middle and emerging states that increasingly shape global negotiations.Observers say this last theme could dominate many sessions as countries seek alternatives to traditional power blocs.Organisers have structured the discussions around six broad themes:Security competition and shifting power centres.Governance of oceans, cyberspace and supply chains.Agenda 2030: progress toward UN development goals.Climate urgency and its geopolitical effects.Artificial intelligence and digital governance.Economic resilience and global supply chains.According to organisers, the 2026 edition will host speakers and delegates from more than 100 countries. The list includes:Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, India.Executive Director and Director of Research, The Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies, Egypt.Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Programme, Council on Foreign Relations, USA.Member of the National Assembly, Hungary.Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Force Development, United Kingdom.Vice Chief of the Air and Space Force, France. Germany said on Thursday it had no plans to send additional military support to the Middle East, after European allies announced plans to move forces to the eastern Mediterranean following a drone strike at a British air base in Cyprus.Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on Thursday that Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands would send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days.Britain is also deploying a destroyer and additional helicopters with anti-drone capabilities to the region and is joining France and Greece in boosting air defences in Cyprus.Germany's navy participates in the long-running United Nations UNIFIL monitoring mission in Lebanon, but the defence ministry said the military's focus remained on NATO defence operations in eastern Europe."Germany is currently not planning any additional military capabilities beyond its existing contributions to international missions in the Middle East," the ministry said in a statement.The statement said the anti-aircraft frigate "Sachsen" was currently taking part in NATO's Cold Response exercise in the Arctic.The statement from the ministry reiterated comments from Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who declared in parliament: "Germany is not a party in this war. The Bundeswehr is not taking part in this war." Voting began across Nepal on Thursday, March 5, in a crucial general election seen as a major test for the countrys political stability, months after a wave of Gen Z-led protests forced the fall of the government led by KP Sharma Oli.Polling started at 7 am across all 165 constituencies and will continue until 5 pm. More than 18.9 million eligible voters are expected to participate in the election to choose representatives for the 275-member House of Representatives.Nepal Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai confirmed that polling had begun nationwide. "Voting started in all the constituencies, including the southern plains, hilly area and the mountain region at 7 am," he said, as per news agency PTI."The election started in a peaceful environment across the country," he added.Key leaders such as the interim PM Sushila Karki and candidate Balendra Shah cast their vote in the elections. After casting her vote, Karki said, "My duty is completed," as per news agency ANI. Voter turnout was about 60%, and only a few minor incidents were reported, according to Nepals acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari. Vote counting will begin immediately after the ballot boxes are collected and transported to counting centres across the Himalayan nation, with results expected by the weekend. Helicopters will be used to ferry boxes from polling stations in remote mountain villages, while the next administration faces challenges including delivering on protest demands, tackling corruption, and managing ties with India and China. The election will determine 165 members of parliament through direct voting, while another 110 seats will be filled through a proportional representation system.A total of 3,406 candidates from 65 political parties are contesting under the direct system and 3,135 under the proportional system, as per PTI.The Nepal EC has set up 23,112 polling centres and 10,967 polling booths across the country.Nearly one million new voters many of them young people were added to the electoral rolls following last years protests that reshaped the countrys political landscape, as per News18.The election comes after a dramatic political upheaval in 2025. Two days of intensified youth-led demonstrations on September 8 and 9 forced Prime Minister Oli to step down despite leading a coalition government supported by the Nepali Congress.Following the political crisis, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as interim prime minister.Ahead of the vote, Karki urged citizens to turn out in large numbers. She said the election would shape the countrys future and called on the public to maintain calm during polling, stating that "peace is Nepals identity", as per News18.Several prominent leaders are competing in the election, including rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa, former prime minister Oli, and former Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.Key issues influencing voters include corruption, unemployment, economic growth and demands for generational change in leadership.Relations with neighbouring India and China are also expected to play an important role in shaping political debate.Authorities have deployed around 330,000 security personnel, including about 80,000 members of the Nepal Army, to ensure peaceful polling, as per News18.Vote counting will begin immediately after ballot boxes are collected, with results from the direct voting system expected within 24 hours, while proportional representation results may take one or two additional days. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday (March 4) offered to mediate for a new ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan as border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan entered their sixth day.The conflict erupted last week with Afghanistan launching attacks on Thursday in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along the border and declared it was in an open war with Afghanistan, alarming the international community.The ongoing clashes ended an earlier ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October, when the two neighbours had again come close to a war.The truce, signed in Qatar at the time, was followed by six days of talks in Istanbul, which resulted in an agreement to extend the truce and hold a third round of negotiations in November.Those talks, held on Nov 6 and Nov 7 failed to produce any breakthrough and the process stalled.According to a statement from the Turkish presidential office, Erdogan, in a telephone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the terrorist attacks in Pakistan and said Turkey would seek to "contribute to the reestablishment of the ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan.Sharif's office did not directly confirm Erdogan's offer but said the two leaders discussed tensions along the 2,611-km-long Afghan-Pakistan border.It said the two exchanged views on recent developments" and would remain in closer "contact in our shared pursuit of peace and stability in the region.On Wednesday, Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan depends on the Afghan Taliban severing ties with militants targeting Pakistan, warning that Islamabad would take all necessary measures against threats emanating from Afghan soil.There was also no immediate comment on Erdogan's offer from the Taliban government in Afghanistan but Kabul may see the Turkish president's comments as one-sided or even openly supporting Islamabad.However, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had reached out to Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi last week to discuss the cross-border situation, according to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry released no further details.Since the latest fighting broke out, both sides have since claimed inflicting heavy losses on each other in fighting that has mainly focused in Pakistan's border regions in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwestern Balochistan province.Casualty reports have vastly conflicted. The border area - where militant groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, are also active - is not accessible to the media and the Associated Press could not independently confirm any of the casualty reports.Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had killed or wounded dozens more enemy soldiers as the cross-border fighting continued.On Tuesday, the ministry said Afghan forces had killed 150 Pakistani soldiers over the previous five days, while 28 Afghan troops were killed in the same period.Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Wednesday that 481 Afghan troops had been killed in the past six days. The conflicting reports could not be reconciled.Pakistan has warned that its military operations will continue until Afghanistan takes verifiable steps to rein in Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and other militants operating from its territory.Pakistan has repeatedly accused Kabul of harboring the TTP, a militant group responsible for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan since 2021 when the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the charge, insisting it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Wednesday (March 4) that Russia could stop supplying gas to European markets now and move to more promising markets.The European Commission will submit a legal proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports on April 15, three days after Hungary's parliamentary election, according to EU officials and a document seen by Reuters."And now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now. To move into those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there," Putin told Russian state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin."But this is not a decision; it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies."While flows of Russian fuel to Europe have dropped since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to supply pipeline gas to a few European markets, including Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia. The country also delivers some fuel from the Novatek-led Yamal LNG plant.Russian gas still accounted for an estimated 13% of EU imports in 2025, worth over 15 billion ($17.4 billion) annually, according to the Council of the EU.Putin reiterated that Russia has always been a reliable energy supplier and will continue to work in this manner with those partners who are themselves reliable, such as Slovakia and Hungary. The US submarine which sank Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lankas coast did not issue any warning before launching the attack, an Iranian diplomat said on Thursday.Speaking to PTI Videos, Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh, Irans Consul General in Mumbai, also stated that his country will not create any obstacle for commercial ships in the Gulf of Hormuz, but any vessel suspected of using commercial cover to carry out hostile activities will be dealt with accordingly.The IRIS Dena was returning home after visiting India for naval exercises, and such ships do not carry significant war ammunition, the envoy said. Whatever limited ammunition it may have had would typically be used during the exercise itself. Therefore, it can be said that the warship was practically without military ammunition when it came under attack, he said.The ship was hit by a torpedo fired by an American submarine in international waters off Sri Lankas southern coast on Tuesday. It was returning from Visakhapatnam after taking part in the International Fleet Review.The American submarine did not issue any prior warning to this vessel and launched a sudden attack, causing the ship to explode. Unfortunately, around 100 people, perhaps even more, including our compatriots and brave Iranian soldiers, were martyred in this incident. The others were injured, and the necessary arrangements are currently being made to transfer them to Iran, Motlagh said.Efforts are being made to facilitate their return to Iran through land borders, he added.Dena, one of Irans newest warships, was a Moudge-class frigate that patrolled in deep waters. It was armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. The vessel carried one helicopter.Sri Lankas navy said on Wednesday it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people from the sunken warship.The envoy said when flight operations become possible at airports in Iran, his government will coordinate with Indian authorities to arrange special aircraft to evacuate Indian nationals.Motlagh dubbed the US-Israel war on the Islamic Republic as unjust.The widening conflict has ground tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a halt. Oil prices have soared as a result, highlighting the important role the narrow passageway plays in global energy supply.Iran will not create any obstacle for ships that are passing through purely for commercial purposes and without any malicious intent. But any vessel that is suspected of using commercial cover to carry out hostile activities against the Islamic Republic will be dealt with accordingly, Motlagh said.The Strait of Hormuz is one piece of the larger puzzle of the war, he said.Naturally, due to the war that the United States and the Zionist regime have imposed on us, the situation in that region is currently a wartime environment. Therefore, all vessels are potentially at risk, the envoy said.On Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenis successor, he said the structure for selecting the next leader is clearly defined in the Constitution, and this process must be followed.For the time being, according to the law a council of the President, the Head of the Judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council is currently responsible for the leadership system of the country and carries out the duties of the leader, he said.On other countries in the Gulf being at the receiving end of Tehrans attacks, the envoy said this war is between Iran, and the United States and Israel. We have no conflict with anyone else in the region. As history shows, for the past two hundred years Iran has not initiated aggression against any country, even its neighbours. Rather, it has repeatedly been the target of aggression, he said.The current war also began with the collapse of diplomacy. Iran did not start this war, and hence the United States must bear the consequences, Motlagh said. Delays in regulatory action to deal with imbalances in the market for cloud services has prompted the resignation of the chair of an inquiry into the market. Companies deploying cloud services are being hampered by the dominance of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services, a situation exacerbated by the glacial pace in which the UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is reacting to the recommendations of its own inquiry into the cloud industry. Now the chair of that inquiry, Kip Meek, has quit the role in protest at the lack of action. Earlier this week Meek told AI publication The Morning Intelligence, the first to report his resignation, I shared concerns at the time that the CMA was taking a long time to pick up the recommendations of our report. Im still concerned that the pace is going slowly. A vulnerability in Redis in-memory store posed a critical risk for servers hosting the database. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-49844 or RediShell, stemmed from a use-after-free memory corruption bug that has existed in the Redis code base for around 13 years and posed a remote code execution risk. While the flaw required authentication to exploit, an estimated 60,000 internet exposed Redis instances were exposed to the internet without authentication enabled, leaving these systems open to attack. Wiz researchers discovered the flaw and used it in the Pwn2Own Berlin contest in May 2025, weeks before its public disclosure in October 2025. LionWiki local file inclusion Age: 11 years, 11 months Date introduced: November 2008 Date fixed: October 2020 LionWiki is a minimalist wiki engine, programmed in PHP. Unlike many popular wiki engines, LionWiki doesnt use a database, and instead is entirely file-based. Because its goal is simplicity, this is a strength, but it also makes a significant vulnerability possible. In essence, the various files underlying a particular LionWiki instance are accessed by file and pathnames in the URL of the corresponding pages. This means that, with a correctly crafted URL, you could traverse the filesystem of the server hosting the LionWiki instance. There are URL-filtering provisions in place to block attempts to do this, but as Infosec Institute Cyber Range Engineer June Werner discovered, they could be defeated fairly easily. One thing Werner noted is that the vulnerability persisted despite attempts to correct it. Some mitigations were first put in place in July of 2009, and then more extensive mitigations were put in place in January of 2012, she noted. Despite these mitigations, the code was still vulnerable to the same type of attack. This vulnerability stayed in the code for another eight years until it was rediscovered, along with a way to bypass the mitigations, in October 2020. After the bug was formally reported, it was patched by the developer. sudo host Age: 11 years, 10 months Date introduced: September 2013 Date fixed: July 2024 The sudo command is an important tool in any Unix admins toolkit, granting superpowered user privileges to those who have the permission to invoke it. To access these privileges, a user must be listed in a configuration file called sudoers. Because many organizations centrally administer many Unix hosts, sudoers can include a list of specific hosts where each user has sudo rights, so that these config files can be written once and then be pushed out to all the organizations hosts. The problem is that, to get access to the sudoers file and see the hosts on which you or another user might have sudo powers, you need those sudo powers yourself. But a command-line flag intended to let users view host-specific privileges could be abused to trick sudo into treating the command as if it were running on a different host potentially one where the user has elevated privileges. That could allow the user to run commands, including those that edit sudoers, even if they shouldnt have that access on the local machine. This security flaw isnt rated as too serious, but it did lurk undetected for nearly 12 years. (Another more serious flaw with the chroot option, revealed at the same time, is a mere baby at two years old.) HashiCorp Vault and CyberArk Conjur logic flaws Age: 10 years Date introduced: 2015[1] Date fixed: August 2025 Multiple flaws in components of HashiCorp Vault and CyberArk Conjur, two open-source credential management systems, left the door open to a variety of attacks, including authentication bypass and the theft or erasure of supposedly protected secrets. Both HashiCorp Vault and CyberArk Conjur are used for storing and controlling access to secrets such as API keys, database passwords, certificates, and encryption keys. Each technology is commonly used in DevSecOps pipelines. Researchers from Cyata discovered an array of issues, many of which had remained hidden in the codebase of widely used open-source secrets vaults for years. The vulnerabilities were discovered after manual code reviews that focused on logic flaws in components responsible for authentication and policy enforcement rather than memory corruption issues typically detected by automated tools. Findings from the research which led to the discovery of a combined total of 14 vulnerabilities in the two secrets vaults were revealed at Black Hat USA in August 2025. The most severe vulnerability in HashiCorp Vault (CVE-2025-6000) created a mechanism for attackers to delete a critical file containing the keys needed to decrypt stored secrets, leaving data unreachable. All the vulnerabilities were addressed before the research was publicly disclosed. Linux GRUB2 Secure Boot hole Age: 10 years Date introduced: 2010 Date fixed: July 2020 When UEFI was introduced to replace BIOS, it was deemed the cutting edge of security, with features to fight attacks that operated on the level of the bootloading software that starts up an OS. Key to this is an interlocked chain of signed cryptographic certificates that verifies each bootloader program as legit, a mechanism known as Secure Boot. The root certificate for UEFI is signed by Microsoft, and Linux distributions put their own bootloaders, each with its own validated certificate, further down the chain. But GRUB2, a widely popular Linux bootloader with a UEFI-ready certificate, contains a buffer overflow vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious code inserted into in its configuration file. (While GRUB2 itself is signed, its configuration file, meant to be editable by local admins, is not.) This hole was spotted by Eclypsium, and while an attacker would need to have a degree of local control of the target machine to implement this attack, if they pulled it off successfully, they could ensure that they remain in control of that computer going forward each time it boots up, making it difficult to evict them from the system. Telnet Age: 10 years, 8 months Date introduced: May 2017 Date fixed: Jan 2026 Telnet is an early internet protocol and associated tools used for remotely logging into another machine via a text-based terminal session. Although superseded by the more secure and encrypted SSH technology since the mid-1990s, Telnet is still widely used by embedded systems, network hardware, and other legacy systems. An easily-exploited Telnet authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2026-24061), introduced in code changes release in May 2017, left devices running pre-patched versions of the software wide open to remote compromise, provided that its Telnet server was exposed to the internet. [1]HashiCorp Vault was first released in 2015, with CyberArk Conjur becoming available in 2016. Im assuming that at least some of these vulnerabilities date back to the first release of each technology. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code A churchwarden convicted of killing a scholar is protesting his innocence amid a fresh bid for freedom. Benjamin Field, 35, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Peter Farquhar, 69, after 'gaslighting' him in a plot to inherit his fortune. The author was found dead in his home in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton in October 2015, with a bottle of 60 proof whisky beside him, in a crime which inspired BBC series Sixth Commandment starring Timothy Spall. Field was accused of giving Mr Farquhar the alcohol and/or sleeping pills called Dalmane so he suffered what appeared to be an 'alcoholic's death,' leaving him to benefit from his will after convincing him to change it. During the trial, he admitted he was a 'snake talker' who had duped the scholar into a fake relationship but denied killing him. Field was jailed for life at Oxford Crown Court in August 2019, with a minimum of 36 years to serve behind bars before he could apply for parole. But now the case has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after Field's lawyers claimed a judge provided incorrect guidance to the jury at the original trial. Led by David Jeremy KC, they argue case law has changed in the seven years since Field was convicted and that cases of deception - particularly those in sexual offence trials - had recently ended up ruling in the defendant's favour. Benjamin Field, pictured, who is convicted of killing scholar Peter Farquhar, is protesting his innocence amid a fresh bid for freedom Field pictured with Mr Farquhar. He is serving a life sentence for the murder of the scholar, 69, after 'gaslighting' him in a plot to inherit his fortune Mr Justice Sweeney did not ask the jury in 2019 to decide whether the accused had actually caused Mr Farquhar to drink the whisky or take the Dalmane. They simply decided that Field had handed the victim these substances and therefore 'caused' his death. The 'proximate cause' of Mr Farquhar's death was his 'ingestion' of whisky and/or Dalmane, 'not the act of giving those substances to him,' the barrister told the Court of Appeal, which saw Field appear via video link from Durham's HMP Frankland. I had no idea I was having tea with a monster I'm Sam Greenhill, Chief Reporter, and nearly 25 years ago I had an encounter with killer Ian Huntley that still sends shivers down my spine. Huntley is one Britains most notorious child murderers. But when I was invited into his home for tea and biscuits days before he was arrested for the Soham Murders, this was the last thing on my mind. I've written about it in The Crime Desk newsletter - sign up to read it for free. 'To have caused Mr Farquhar to have ingested whisky and/or Dalmane, Field would have had to have forced or threatened Mr Farquhar to have done so, or deceived him as to what he was ingesting,' he added. 'Was there evidence that, on that night, Field caused him to ingest whisky and/or Dalmane, and that it wasn't fully voluntary? The answer to that question is "no". 'His giving of whisky and/or Dalmane to Mr Farquhar could not have caused him to ingest it any more than it could have caused Mr Farquhar to drive his car had Field handed him his car keys.' Mr Jeremy continued: 'There was a failure by the prosecution to identify correctly the act that caused Mr Farquhar's death and therefore, as a consequence, to identify what the prosecution had to prove. 'Everything that has gone wrong in the case stems from that failure. It led to the misdirection of the jury. 'The result was that Field was convicted of causing the death of Mr Farquhar by whisky and/or Dalmane when the evidence didn't prove that he had done so. 'He was convicted of something which on the evidence he simply didn't do.' The barrister said it was 'impossible' for Field to have caused Mr Farquhar to 'ingest' the substances just by giving them to him. The prosecution is challenging the appeal, urging three senior judges led by Lord Justice Edis to rule the conviction was safe and ensure Field is not released. They argue the jury was entitled to find that Field providing Mr Farquhar the substances started a 'chain of causation' which ended up killing the older man. During the original trial, the crown court heard university lecturer Mr Farquhar had been duped into a fake relationship and even gone through a 'betrothal' ceremony with Field. The court heard Field carried out a sustained 'gaslighting' plot aimed at making Mr Farquhar question his sanity, while giving him sleeping tablets and alcohol, when Mr Farquhar was trying to abstain. Mr Farquhar's lifeless body was discovered at his home in October 2015. An initial post-mortem put his death down to alcohol, but a later one also found the sleeping medication, which should not be taken with alcohol, in his bloodstream. Prior to his death, the University of Buckingham lecturer had published three novels and even dedicated the final book to Field, who went on to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. A post-mortem later put his death down to 'acute alcohol toxicity.' Fields crimes only came to light after he turned his attention to Mr Farquhars neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton. He gaslighted Ms Moore-Martin, a deeply religious retired headteacher, by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God. Timothy Spall pictured as Mr Farquhar in BBC series Sixth Commandment The case has been referred to the Court of Appeal after Field's lawyers claimed a judge provided incorrect guidance to the jury (Pictured: Mr Farquhar and Field) Field had admitted to fraudulently being in relationships with the pensioners as part of his plan to get them to change their wills. He accepted he had 'psychologically manipulated' the retired teachers but denied any involvement in their deaths. He swindled Ms Moore-Martin out of 4,000 to buy a car and 27,000 for a dialysis machine, but was acquitted of her attempted murder. He has also paid out 124,665.03 'distributed as part of the agreed order to the victims in this case' from selling a flat which he bought with his victims' savings. Prosecutors said Field had a 'profound fascination in controlling and manipulating and humiliating and killing' and alleged he had plotted his crimes with his friend, failed magician Martyn Smith, 33. What kind of cases do you want to read more about? Let us know at: crimedesk@dailymail.co.uk Field first appealed his conviction in 2021 and failed, before a bid to reopen the challenge was refused by the Court of Appeal in 2022. Applications to the Supreme Court followed, before the CCRC became involved, referring the case back to appeal judges for a hearing this week. He appeared via a video link, wearing glasses and a grey T-shirt, while he made notes on a pad of paper. The judges are set to reserve their judgment on the appeal until a later date. All he had to do was allow America to use two US military bases on UK territory. That was it. One in England (RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire), one in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia). No more than that. Britain wasnt being pressured or even asked politely to join in the US-Israeli strikes against Iran. In truth, we have little to offer these days by way of military support anyway. The Americans dont need us. We werent even being asked to voice support or enthusiasm for the venture, though the centre-Left governments of Canada and Australia had both backed it. Just the use of two bases America regarded as important, if not vital, to the success of their mission to bring the tyrants of Tehran to heel. But Sir Keir Starmer couldnt bring himself to grant this simple request. He consulted his learned friend and attorney general, Richard Hermer, who told him it would be illegal under international law. No surprise there: thats the advice you expect when you appoint a Left-wing international law obsessive to such a pivotal position. Despite the high stakes, the Prime Minister (who sees himself as something of a legal brain in his own right) didnt attempt to question it. Or seek other legal advice, even though there are plenty of well-regarded, experienced lawyers who dont agree with Hermer. Why would he? Hermers advice fitted with Starmers world view of the primacy of international law, which is why he was made attorney general. International law may be an opaque, malleable, even mysterious construct with controversial rulings involving judges sometimes appointed by dictators. But when it comes to a choice between international law and the national interest, Starmer chooses international law every time. Request denied, the Americans were told. Cue the biggest crisis in Anglo-American relations of modern times. Donald Trump lashed out at Starmer from the Oval Office on Tuesday. He lumped Britain with the viscerally anti-American socialist government of Spain. He painted us as far worse even than the usually US-sceptic French. Nowhere near as good as the Germans, whose Chancellor was sitting beside him, offering no words in Starmers defence. So much for all that cosying up to Europe. Now you dont have to agree with everything Trump said far from it to recognise Starmer had made a grave error. Hed caused a serious rupture in transatlantic relations for the sake of stopping America from using two bases on our sovereign territory, over which we have control. Donald Trump lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer from the Oval Office on Tuesday after the PM couldnt bring himself to allow America to use two US military bases on UK territory Request denied, the Americans were told. Cue the biggest crisis in Anglo-American relations of modern times It was especially stupid to pick a fight with our most important ally at a time of great global peril, with the UK more than ever depending massively on the US for our safety and security, given how successive governments, Tory and Labour, have hollowed out our own military these past 20 years. A proper leader would have been unequivocal in putting the national interest first and granted America, as a friend and ally, the use of our bases, even while insisting, if that was the chosen policy, we had no intention of joining the US and Israel in their assault on Iran ourselves. The two positions are entirely consistent and defensible. After all, Margaret Thatcher managed it when Ronald Reagan asked for permission to use British bases from which to launch a bombing raid on Colonel Gadaffis Libya in 1986. But Starmer, of course, is no Thatcher. The true folly of his decision was revealed within 24 hours. Irans immediate response to the first wave of US/Israeli airstrikes was to pummel the Gulf States to its south with missiles and drones. These countries are our allies as well as Americas. Hundreds of thousands of British citizens live and holiday in them. It was a foreseeable Iranian response. I recall discussing the prospect, should a hot war with Iran break out, with British diplomats and Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi 15 years ago. But it clearly hadnt occurred to the great legal minds around the PM. They quickly executed a remarkable legal reverse ferret: since British interests and citizens were now at risk it was OK after all for America to use our bases. With one caveat: our bases could only be used for defensive purposes. Thus did Britains posturing in one of the most significant events of our era enter the theatre of the absurd. Exactly how will Britain determine if US aircraft taking off from Diego Garcia for Iran are carrying defensive or offensive bombs? If they hit missile sites targeting the Gulf States is that defensive? If they hit the Revolutionary Guard quarters masterminding the missiles is that offensive? The lawyers, of course, have not explained. Neither has Starmer. My interrogation of various Labour apologists has proved entirely fruitless. Just to ask the questions is to illustrate the distinction is as ridiculous as it is unworkable. Trump will obviously (and rightly) ignore it. But it is now British policy. With the practised professionalism of a man whos done it many times before, Starmer performed yet another U-turn. What was illegal on Saturday morning became perfectly acceptable by close of play Sunday. At a stroke, Britain had become both an embarrassment and an irrelevance. This is Starmers signal achievement. Its what happens when you outsource military and defence policy to lawyers ignorant of both. Nobody in Washington or in the major European capitals for that matter much cares what Britain says or does now in relation to Iran. I have been inundated by queries from US friends, most of them far from fans of Trump, asking if Britain has lost its marbles. Sadly, there is only one answer. Great damage has been done to US-UK relations for no purpose or benefit. It might not be terminal. You never know with Trump if hes going to bear a grudge forever or forget about it next week. But I fear this rift will not be easily patched up. Im not even sure Starmer will attempt it. Starmer is fighting yet again to save his political skin. Labour was thumped in last weeks south Manchester by-election and is heading for further ignominy in English, Welsh and Scottish elections on May 7. Two-thirds of Labour MPs and at least half the cabinet are facing the political knackers yard come the next election on their partys current performance. So the mood is to ditch him, if only they could agree a successor. What can Starmer do? It will not have passed his attention that being seen to be at odds with Trump is popular with the Labour faithful and its media cheerleaders in a way that Starmer-the-Trump-Whisperer was not. So why not keep the standoff with Trump going? Starmer has already despatched Labour MPs and spinners onto the airwaves to imply that he didnt just knock back Trump when it came to the bases. He also defied US requests for the UK to join in the attacks on Iran. This is a downright lie. America has made no such request. Starmer is clearly desperate. But if a more fractious relation with the US is what it takes to keep his job, so be it. Labour is now in the grip of its anti-American, anti-Trump soft-Left. Starmer needs to pander to these forces and to the pro-Palestinian Muslim vote if hes to hold on to his job. Since hes an opportunist politician of no principle, I expect him to do so. The rift with Trump has come at a convenient moment. Of course, the potential cost to the country militarily, economically, diplomatically of a prolonged transatlantic rift could be catastrophic. It was always clear Labours Leftward drift would be bad news for the economy. But it could be even worse for foreign policy and defence. Starmer once boasted that as PM hed always put country before party. The risk now is hes going to put himself before both. In December 2024, Keir Starmer addressed the Labour Friends of Israel annual dinner in London. A few weeks earlier, Israel had been subjected to a ferocious bombardment from Iran in which over 200 ballistic missiles had been launched. The Prime Minister was uncompromising: 'I will not turn a blind eye while Iran seeks to destabilise the Middle East', he vowed. 'When Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles in April, the Labour Party stood with Israel, as our RAF shot down Iranian drones. When they did the same in October, our RAF stood ready to play their full part once more. And we will continue to do so.' But that pledge, like so many others, was a cold, calculating lie. On Tuesday, the Government quietly released its legal position on the Iran conflict. Starmer published it to try to clarify his increasingly contradictory stance on the US use of British bases. Initially he had vetoed their use, but then relented. According to the legal summary, 'the Iranian regime's reckless and ongoing indiscriminate attacks against countries in the region' now required 'a united response to restore peace and security and prevent further escalation of the conflict'. As a result, 'the UK has responded to a US request which will facilitate specific and limited defensive action against missile facilities in Iran'. But buried within the text was a crucial caveat: 'The UK's actions and related support to its allies is solely focused on ending the threat of air and missile attacks against regional allies unlawfully attacked by Iran and who have not been involved in hostilities from the outset'. In other words, the Government was finally prepared to come to the aid of its allies, save for two. The United States, a Nato member and Israel. In fact, Starmer's stance was even worse. He would allow US pilots to take off from British bases and risk their lives protecting British interests by attacking Iranian launch platforms. He was prepared to see Israeli pilots do the same. But he would not deploy the RAF in a similar role. Or allow the RAF to specifically defend Israel, or forces deployed by the US. There are a number of explanations for Starmer's craven betrayal of two of our longeststanding and most important allies. The first is that Britain's military response is not being managed by serving military officers, or even diplomats, but by lawyers. Donald Trump fueled alarm about the state of the Special Relationship with the United Kingdom by condemning the Keir Starmer as 'no Churchill' as he was reluctant to involve UK forces in the conflict with Iran Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is now being sent to Cyprus but will not arrive for several days along with helicopters that have counterdrone capabilities Keir Starmer made his latest attempt to wash his hands of the US president's military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast last night And one lawyer in particular: Attorney General Lord Hermer. As has been well documented, Hermer is a close friend of Sir Keir and a stickler for the finer points of international and human rights law. Or at least he is until those breaching the law and people's human rights turn up purportedly via the 'cab rank' principle, which decrees barristers must represent without fear or favour those presented to them at his Doughty Street legal chambers. Amongst those he has fearlessly and objectively defended are Abid Naseer, an alQaeda operative who plotted to bomb a Manchester shopping centre, Abu Zubaydah, incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay for masterminding a terror attack on Los Angeles Airport and Maha Elgizouli, mother of El Shafee Elsheikh, one of the ISIS 'Beatles' who butchered journalists and aid workers. But whilst Hermer is widely credited with vetoing British involvement in the initial strikes and the US use of UK bases, the blame for the Government's perfidy cannot be solely laid at his door. Because, as we have seen, even he finally came to recognise that with Iranian missiles and drones hurtling around the Mediterranean and wider Middle East, some sort of military response was legally justified. There is another explanation for Starmer's callous abandonment of our allies which is altogether more prosaic: basic ineptitude and incompetence. On Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Defence finally confirmed the Royal Navy's antimissile destroyer HMS Dragon would be belatedly sent to Cyprus to defend RAF Akrotiri. But it will be at least another week before she can sail. A couple of hours later, it was announced that a United States guidedmissile destroyer had successfully downed an Iranian ballistic missile that had been aimed at Cyprus but veered off course and threatened Turkey. So again, thanks to Keir Starmer's vacillation, it's being left to US sailors to risk their lives protecting our troops and bases from the Iranian assault, whilst our own sailors cool their heels in Portsmouth. And even when they finally arrive in theatre, their current rules of engagement restrict them to which of our allies we can actually defend. But there's one final, cynical explanation for Starmer's decision to abandon Israel and the US to the Revolutionary Guards' attack drones: he has calculated they are now surplus to his electoral requirements. In opposition, his embrace of Israel was a vital part of his strategy of demonstrating his party had cured itself of the cancer of Corbynism. Similarly, his attitude to the Special Relationship was governed by a need to burnish his credentials as a senior statesman. But now the political calculus has shifted. Yesterday evening, Starmer appeared in Parliament's Westminster Hall with senior leaders of the Muslim community for the 'Big Iftar' event, to celebrate the end of the day's fast. And his new message and priorities were clear. 'We've seen far too many innocent lives lost, women and children among them, in Gaza most of all', he began. 'On Iran, I want to make clear, the UK was not involved in the offensive strikes of the US and Israel, and that remains the case', he added. The Jewish dead of October 7 were not mentioned. The Iranian attacks of 2024 were not mentioned. The importance of the alliance with the US was not mentioned. On Tuesday, Donald Trump berated the Prime Minister, chiding 'he's no Winston Churchill'. But by betraying our allies, Keir Starmer is demonstrating he is our Neville Chamberlain. For as long as I can remember, Ive used Makes You Proud To Be British as the punchline to stories about ocean-going stupidity, institutional incompetence and perverse behaviour by our political class. Most of the time its been half in jest, highlighting some ridiculous piece of jobsworthery, abuse of power or complete lack of common sense. For instance, in The Times this week a former British consul revealed that on the day Kabul fell to the Taliban, thousands of Foreign Office employees around the globe were celebrating Afro Hair Day. While our troops and embassy staff were beating a hasty and hazardous retreat from Afghanistan, Carlton-Browne of the FO was swanning around in a Jimi Hendrix wig. Thats another of those stories I dont know whether to file under Makes You Proud To Be British or You Couldnt Make It Up. But today, its gone way beyond a joke. Only a couple of months ago, staff at His Majestys Revenue and Customs were invited to attend a seminar during office hours entitled: Guilt of being British. Incredibly, civil servants employed by HMRC to raise taxes to pay for public services were being encouraged to be ashamed of their own country at taxpayers expense! Sadly, these days theres plenty to be ashamed about. Its difficult to know where to start. Labours staggeringly inept, cowardly, legalistic response to the war in Iran has shone a merciless spotlight on our dysfunctional, clapped-out state apparatus. Once boasting the worlds greatest Navy, were not even able to send a single ship to the Med until next week at the earliest (HMS Dragon pictured being prepared in Portsmouth) Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle and former news reader and Strictly contestant Angela Rippon dance at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Its as if ministers work out what would be the best course of action in the national interest and then do the polar opposite. Starmer trashing the special relationship by refusing to allow the US to use British bases being a case in point. Having initially caved in to pressure from Labour appeasers including the catastrophic circus act Ed Miliband and Surkeirs fellow North London Left-wing yuman rites hack Lord Hermer, he was forced into a 180-degree reverse-ferret 48 hours later. He couldnt even get that right. It was more of a 120-degree handbrake turn, agreeing only to the sites being used for defensive purposes, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. Still, it was par for the course. Here comes his 19th nervous U-turn. Not so long ago, Britain supposedly Natos second military power would have been riding shotgun to America as it sought to rid the world of a genocidal, terrorist regime hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons. Today, were not even capable of riding pop-gun. Our Armed Forces are diminished and under-equipped. Once boasting the worlds greatest Navy, were not even able to send a single ship to the Med until next week at the earliest. HMS Drag Queen still has scaffolding on its deck in Portsmouth harbour. Were relying on France and Greece to defend our RAF station and citizens on Cyprus. Talk about humiliating. Britain under Starmer is an international embarrassment, a laughing stock, pitied even by minnows like Bahrain and Cyprus, who are appalled at our weakness. Earlier this week, I wondered what would have happened had Starmer been PM during WWII. Hed probably have ordered Battle of Britain squadrons to remain on the ground until the Luftwaffe had dropped their bombs on London. Donald Trump agrees, dismissing Surkeir with a contemptuous: This is not Winston Churchill were dealing with. From the other side of the pond, the UK appears to be a Third World basket case. As I wrote on Tuesday - a sentiment echoed by Andrew Neil in today's Mail - my American friends constantly ask: What the hell is going on in your country? They look across the Atlantic and see pro-Hamas mobs given a police escort on the streets of London, and mosques and universities holding vigils mourning the death of the Iranian butcher Khamenei and calling for an immediate ceasefire against Iran, a rogue nation murdering tens of thousands of its own citizens and fomenting terror around the globe. Away from the war, Britain appears at home and abroad to be a nation in terminal decline, which no longer has any confidence about its place in the world. The nose-bleeding pace of decline has been exponential, accelerated by the disastrous, overlong Covid lockdown, and the WFH experiment and expansion of the benefits culture, which far from being temporary have both become institutionalised. Paying people to sit at home doing nothing is accepted as an absolute entitlement by the government. Nine million people of working age are now economically inactive, many of them with pretend illnesses such as stress and anxiety. Meanwhile the productive sector, pensioners, farmers and small businesses, are being hammered to pay for the workshy. Pubs and restaurants are being crippled by the exorbitant taxes needed to feed the welfare monster. Yet not an extra penny has been allocated to defence, either in the last Budget or Rachel from Complaints hilariously disingenuous Spring Statement this week. Meanwhile, the war in Iran has exposed the ruinous economic folly of Milibands demented dash to Net Zero. With global oil and gas supplies seriously curtailed, and even higher household bills inevitable, he still refuses to lift the ban on exploiting our plentiful North Sea reserves. Instead of Drill, Baby, Drill and Frack, Baby, Frack, which could go a long way towards meeting our energy needs, he continues to insist on depending on imports and carpeting our green and pleasant with hideous solar panels and useless, bird-shredding windmills. As a result, British industry is lumbered with the highest electricity bills in the developed world, and firms and factories are going to the wall in droves, with tens of thousands of jobs lost. Not so long ago, Britain supposedly Natos second military power would have been riding shotgun to America As World War III was about to break out with Britain sitting on the sidelines, the Speaker of the House was Strictly Come Dancing the cha-cha-cha with Angela Rippon Our High Streets are ghost towns, punctuated only by money-laundering Turkish barbers and vape shops, while chain stores and local family businesses are boarded up for good. I could go on. Weve become resigned to Starmer always, always putting the interests of the British people behind his fetish for bending the knee to international law and his propensity to surrender to every demand from the EU, however unreasonable. But its Labours approach to illegal immigration which seems designed deliberately to drive most people to distraction. His first act on arriving at Number 10 was to scrap the Tories Rwanda scheme aimed at stopping the boats. Smashing the gangs hasnt worked, either, despite bunging the French 700 million to stand around on the beaches smoking Gauloises while the dinghies cast off. Today, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled her latest plan to cut immigration. That all went up in a puff of smoke when it was revealed that the government proposes to pay illegals ten grand a head - up to 40,000 for a family of four - to leave the country within seven days. Thats more than the national average wage in Britain. A decent lottery win, which will only act as a magnet for even more migrants. Twenty-five years ago I invented a spoof game show, Asylum!, after a group of Afghans hijacked a plane and diverted it to Stansted. The headline was: Hijack A Plane and Win A Council House! Today, everyones a winner, even when their asylum claim and appeal have been rejected. Win or lose, they walk away with a minimum 10,000 and the chance to have another go in the future under another false name. Callers to Nick Ferraris excellent LBC breakfast show were rightly livid. One woman, who through no fault of her own has lost her home and is currently living in a small room in a Leeds B&B, was almost in tears at the injustice of it all. Forty grand would get her life back on track. Fat chance. So, too, the Royal Marines veteran who hasnt received a cent despite being invalided out of the service. Still, they were only born and bred in Britain so they dont count. What sticks in my craw is the lack of shame and blatant dishonesty on the part of ministers. Starmer and Reeves were at it again this week, insisting that everything was going swimmingly and according to plan. Really? A generation ago, the last time British territory was attacked - the Falklands by Argentina - then-Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington resigned immediately, saying he had failed to see it coming. Yet now our sovereign base on Cyprus has been attacked, and we are ill-prepared to defend it, there has been no one with the courage to admit they may have taken their eye off the ball - even though a U.S./Israel assault against Iran has been on the cards for weeks. Risibly, Starmer claims he has offered calm, clear-headed leadership - yet again vindicating my christening him a complete and utter lawyer the day he took over as Labour leader. Its reported that John Healey, the defence secretary, was overruled by the Cabinet when he said the U.S. should be allowed to use British bases. Hes said to be a decent man. Why then, hasnt he at least offered to do a Carrington and fall on his sword? Then again, decency, like honesty and competence, isnt a quality we have come to associate with this arrogant Left-wing, increasingly hated Labour government and a Prime Minister who puts his own survival above the national interest. And, disgracefully, while falling out with our - until now - closest ally and ultimate military protector, Surkeir grovels to the Chinese Communist Party, who spy on us and threaten us economically. Three more alleged spies have been arrested this week. He should withdraw planning permission for the Chinese super-embassy immediately. But he wont. You have to ask yourself why. Over the war in Iran, his focus has consistently been on appeasing his anti-American/anti-Israel backbenchers, and the vast Islamic vote in the inner cities. This week, as the bombs rained down on Tehran, Starmer was hosting a special Ramadan reception for Muslim community leaders. Will he do the same for Christians when Lent ends next month? I wouldnt hold your breath. And to add insult to injury, as World War III was about to break out with Britain sitting on the sidelines, the Speaker of the House was Strictly Come Dancing the cha-cha-cha with Angela Rippon in the warm-up to PMQs. Makes You Proud To Be British? Ashamed, more like. It can seem unkind, churlish even, to criticize someone battling a catastrophic illness. But being sick doesn't give one license to be terrible, as Christina Applegate often is in her new memoir, You with the Sad Eyes. Applegate, 54, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, having already undergone a double mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008. She writes of lying to Oprah Winfrey, ABC's Robin Roberts, and American audiences when she told them that her cancer had been 'a blessing'. 'It was bulls***,' Applegate writes. 'I was setting up a paragon [sic] that no one going through cancer could rightly live up to, and for what? To show that I had somehow overcome through steel and resolve?' Applegate writes that she's decided to be brutally honest about how she's been ravaged physically, psychologically, and emotionally by MS, but she doesn't seem to realize, or care, that she sometimes doesn't allow for other sufferers to feel positive about their outcomes. Upon seeing her cancer-stricken friend Clea's Instagram post, in which she wrote, 'I'm strong; I've got this,' Applegate went scorched earth. It can seem unkind, churlish even, to criticize someone battling a catastrophic illness. But being sick doesn't give one license to be terrible, as Christina Applegate often is in her new memoir. She writes of calling her friend 'the second I saw her post,' and reaming her out: '"Nope, we're not doing this today," I said. "Do you actually feel strong? Do you actually feel empowered? Do you want to be a poster child for this disease?" I knew the answer was no. 'Take it down. We're going to rework this and I'm going to help you. And every post that you do from here on out is going to be like this: "Chemo f***ing sucked. All my hair is gone."' Wow. That's some 'friend'. Applegate, by the way, never underwent chemotherapy for her cancer so how would she know? Elsewhere in the book, Applegate writes viciously of her first marriage to the actor Johnathon Schaech. Though she never names him, their relationship was covered by the tabloids and dissolved rather quietly. Both have since remarried, and her cruelty here seems gratuitous. By Applegate's account, Schaech never abused her (unlike the ex-boyfriend who consumes a good one-third of her book), or tried to hinder her career, or cheated on her. No. He simply had poor taste in shoes. He wasn't cool enough, Applegate implies, for her and her crowd the likes of Johnny Depp and the scene at his infamous LA nightclub, The Viper Room (more on that in a bit). After a couple of pages on refusing to serve alcohol at her wedding, Applegate shares her most uncharitable thoughts about Schaech. 'The worst thing was the moment I walked around the corner and into the ceremony when I looked hard at the face of my husband-to-be, I thought, "Oh f***. F***, oh f***."' Applegate writes too of ignoring the 'red flag' Schaech waved on their first date. 'He had shown up in his boots, but not even cowboy boots,' she writes. 'I think they were supposed to look like a cowboy boot, but they missed the mark by a wide margin. No one should wear such things, but especially not if you live in Los Angeles... I remember thinking: Those shoes are so bad. Bad shoes, bad shoes, bad shoes, bad.' It's all so shallow. Truly, it makes her humblebrag about dumping Brad Pitt mid-date at the 1989 VMAs to go off with Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach look positively quaint. She writes of an abortion she had before Schaech, in April 1991, reprinting her heartless diary entry here: 'I'm f***ing pregnant and I'm killing my child on Thursday. I'm thinking where the f*** can I go to recuperate from murder. His family will hate me when they find out that I killed their family member because they don't believe in it. But I can't have this baby because I have work to do to entertain this f***ing world.' Her self-regard is enormous, even as she writes of her ostensible low self-esteem. It's all so shallow. Truly, it makes her humblebrag about dumping Brad Pitt (pictured in 1989) look positively quaint It's also quite curious that Applegate devotes pages to her time as a quote-unquote 'member' of the in-crowd at Johnny Depp's Viper Room but does not mention that she was there the night actor River Phoenix overdosed and died Halloween, 1993, a defining generational loss. Perhaps due to journalist Martha Frankel's unflattering January 1994 piece for Spin magazine, in which she claimed Applegate had been mocking Phoenix's convulsions that night. 'Christina Applegate, who had been inside the club, came out [to the sidewalk] and nervously watched Phoenix shaking,' Frankel alleged. 'When she went to report what was going on to one of her girlfriends, someone said that they were laughing and making fun of Phoenix's soon-to-be-fatal condition. But Applegate says she was genuinely upset, and that the stories about her laughing are simply untrue.' Surely her memoir would have been the perfect place to set that story straight. Whatever the case, Applegate acquits herself dreadfully here. Not even her 14-year-old daughter, Sadie, is allowed her privacy. 'We got into a big thing the other day,' Applegate said on Kelly Ripa's Let's Talk Off-Camera podcast last year. 'And sorry, Sadie, it has to be said she said, "I miss who you were before you got sick."' Did that, truly, need to be said? Did any of it? Emilee Janitz always assumed being pregnant just meant she had to steer clear of alcohol and sushi. But, five weeks into her first pregnancy, the then 27-year-old was wracked with brutal morning sickness. The New Yorker struggled with a wave of nausea that left her constantly feeling as though she was going to throw up - and she did frequently, about three to five times a day. Her mother and grandmother were stumped, neither having experienced the sickness during their pregnancies. Traditional remedies like ginger and peppermint tea were no help. Distraught, Janitz arrived at her eight-week doctors appointment in tears, unsure what to do. That was when doctors suggested something she'd never considered: Vitamin B6 and Unisom, a common over-the-counter sleep aid that contains the active drug doxylamine. Now 32 years old, she has since had two more pregnancies and says she swears by the 'pretty miraculous' combination. She said it wasn't a complete cure, but that it had dramatically reduced her symptoms and stopped her vomiting. Emilee Janitz struggled with morning sickness during all three of her pregnancies (She is shown above during her first pregnancy). Then she found a combination that could help to ease her symptoms Your browser does not support iframes. 'Nothing truly cures morning sickness,' Janitz told the Daily Mail. 'But, in my experience, the B6 definitely helps to take the edge off it'. 'It did not stop me from throwing up, but it meant, in the periods in between vomiting, I had less intense feelings of nausea. Before, I would feel very sick, but after taking the supplement, it would be tolerable.' She added: 'When I started to take vitamin B6 alongside this other drug, it was like night and day. I stopped throwing up, so it felt pretty miraculous at the time.' About 70 percent of pregnant women suffer from morning sickness during pregnancy, a feeling of nausea or vomiting that lasts until week 14. In serious cases, where someone vomits more than three times a day and symptoms last into the second trimester, patients are diagnosed with the more serious version, hyperemesis gravidarum, which can lead to hospitalization. It's not clear what causes morning sickness, but doctors say it may be due to a shift in hormones or metabolism during pregnancy. Vitamin B6 is a vital nutrient for fetal brain development and for a healthy immune system and is found in food sources including poultry, fish, potatoes and bananas. It has been touted as a potential treatment for morning sickness since at least the 1990s, after studies showed it has anti-nausea effects. Other studies showed it was safe to use in pregnancy and there is no evidence that it harms a fetus. Doctors are not certain why it may help with morning sickness, but some say it may be because it allows the body make more mood-boosting chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine, helping to rebalance hormone levels. For Janitz, following her doctor's recommendation, she began to take 25 milligrams (mg) of vitamin B6 four times a day; first thing, at lunch, at dinner, and just before bed. She started to take the drug at the eight-week mark, when morning sickness is most intense. Janitz said it was like 'night and day' when she took the two supplements together, adding that they eased her symptoms The mom-of-three said she wishes she had known about the 'miraculous combination' so much sooner She used a common over-the-counter pack of 250 tablets for $16.72 - equivalent to about 7 cents per tablet. For the first week, she felt no different. But then, her symptoms started to ease. Her vomiting reduced to twice a day and there were periods in between vomiting where she felt 'alright' again. At week 14, her symptoms stopped. Morning sickness normally subsides at week 14, as women enter the second trimester, but Janitz told the Daily Mail she was sure that the supplement had helped to ease her symptoms before she got to that point. For her second pregnancy, about a year later, Janitz started to take vitamin B6 a few weeks before she became pregnant. This time, her morning sickness did not begin until week eight, three weeks later than in her first pregnancy. While she still had bouts of nausea and vomited twice during the pregnancy, it was much less than she experienced in her first pregnancy before the B6. However the vitamin was not as helpful in her third pregnancy, about two years later. She took it beforehand, but was suddenly up against morning sickness similar to what she had experienced in her first pregnancy. Distressed, she again turned to her doctor, who said that she should take her vitamin B6 alongside one dose of Unisom - an antihistamine - before going to bed. The drug is shown to be safe during pregnancy and can help to block signals in the body that make someone feel nauseous. The supplements are available in major grocery stores and are inexpensive (stock image) Janitz took 25mg tablets once a day, alongside taking vitamin B6 four times a day, and said the effects were almost immediate. A 16-tablet pack costs $12.88, about 80 cents per tablet. 'I think I stopped getting physically sick, basically,' she told the Daily Mail. 'Before I had been told by doctors that Unisom is for if you're having trouble sleeping, which I wasn't. I wish I had known about it so much sooner.' Hannah Gerber, 35, from Colorado, also found that taking doxylamine and vitamin B6 together eased her morning sickness. Gerber and her partner battled for five years to get pregnant, spending tens of thousands on what they termed a 'fertility safari,' before finally crowdfunding for in vitro fertilization (IVF). The pair were thrilled to find out it was successful in November last year and that Gerber was three weeks pregnant. But at the six-week mark, she started to suffer from morning sickness, which left her with a sensation of nausea during the day that only worsened at night. 'It was one of the most severe things I've ever experienced,' she told the Daily Mail. 'It was like having a really bad stomach flu, only worse'. After having no success trying to manage her symptoms by eating small meals every one to two hours and sniffing peppermint oil, which some suggest may help to ease nausea, Gerber searched for alternative treatments. She was already taking doxylamine to help with her sleep after she began to struggle with poor sleep at week three. That was when a friend who had struggled with morning sickness recommended that she should also start to take vitamin B6. She began to take 25mg chews four times a day. Hannah Gerber, 35, revealed that she has also taken the two supplements to help with her morning sickness 'It was pretty immediate, the easing of my symptoms, when I started to take one of those chews,' she said. 'It helped within five to 10 minutes. I would get a decrease in symptoms for about one to two hours.' Gerber said they were not a cure-all, but added they made her symptoms 'manageable'. Like Janitz, she urged other women to consider them, saying there was 'no martyrdom in waiting and seeing if you can manage on your own'. Gerber is now in week 16 of her pregnancy and says she will keep taking both tablets. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says online that vitamin B6 and doxylamine can be used in the first trimester to treat morning sickness. It recommends women take B6 on its own first and, if that doesn't work, switch to the combination of the two. ACOG doesn't say when someone should switch to both, but other protocols suggest doing this within five days if symptoms do not ease on vitamin B6 alone. Together, doxylamine and vitamin B6 are also sold as an FDA-approved prescription medication sold under the brand name Diclegis, which doctors may recommend to women to help ease morning sickness. However, because it can be expensive both with and without insurance, many women choose the over-the-counter method to save money. The story was as alarming as it was bizarre. Earlier this week, we reported how a 52yearold mother was left wracked with guilt after she accidentally triggered puberty in her threeyearold daughter. The cause? The toddler had absorbed some of the HRT gel doctors had prescribed to treat her mother's menopause symptoms. It's not the only such case. Last year, a shocking report from Sweden described a baby girl who appeared to have 'grown a penis' after her father cuddled her while wearing testosterone gel that had been applied to his skin. Meanwhile, there have also been dozens of child deaths linked to accidental exposure to skin patches containing fentanyl an extremely powerful opioid painkiller. These are just a few examples that highlight why doctors urge caution with many 'rubon' or topical, as they are known medically medicines. Unlike tablets, which stay inside the body of the person taking them, topical drugs are absorbed through the skin. And if the treated area is touched before the medication has fully dried or been washed off, some of the drug can be transferred to another person through skintoskin contact. That means someone else often a child or partner may be inadvertently exposed to the medication and its effects. 'The issue for all topical preparations is that none of them offer any advice to users on avoiding potential for transfer to others by close contact,' said Professor Ward. 'Given that some topical preparations clearly do have adverse effects linked to person to person transfer, it may be appropriate for the regulators and industry to consider some standard warning about taking care not to expose others by keeping treated areas of skin covered, washing hands after application and disposing appropriately.' So which medicines carry the greatest risk, and what precautions should you take if you use one? Professor Penny Ward, a pharmaceutical expert at King's College London, explains what you need to know. Unlike tablets, which stay inside the body of the person taking them, topical drugs are absorbed through the skin Hormone gels and patches (HRT and testosterone): the risk of accidental exposure Hormone treatments including hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) which are used by both women and men are among the drugs most commonly linked to accidental transfer through skin contact. Both are often applied as gels or patches. If the medication has not fully absorbed, small amounts of the hormone can rub off onto another person. AT A GLANCE: THE MEDICINES MOST LIKELY TO TRANSFER THROUGH SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT *Hormone gels and patches - including oestrogen HRT and testosterone *Minoxidil hair-loss treatments *Fentanyl pain patches *Chemotherapy drugs *Nicotine patches *Heart medication - including nitroglycerine and clonidine HRT is prescribed to ease menopause symptoms, which typically begin around age 51 when the ovaries stop producing oestrogen and progesterone. Up to 80 per cent of women experience symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, while around a quarter suffer anxiety, 'brain fog' and memory problems. Testosterone therapy is used to treat men with low hormone levels, which can cause fatigue, reduced libido and low mood. But in children, exposure to oestrogen or testosterone can trigger abnormal hormonal changes. Girls may develop signs of early puberty known as precocious puberty while boys may develop breast tissue, medically known as gynaecomastia. Repeated exposure to testosterone can also cause acne, increased hair growth and premature puberty. In one widely reported Swedish case, a baby girl developed genital changes after repeated exposure to her father's testosterone gel. Reports said her clitoris enlarged and her labia fused. The changes reversed once the exposure stopped. Pregnant women should also avoid contact with testosterone products. Exposure between weeks eight and 12 of pregnancy can cause virilisation, where a female foetus develops male characteristics such as clitoral enlargement and fused labia. Minoxidil hair loss treatments: how drug can cause hair growth in babies Hair loss is commonly treated with the drug minoxidil best known under the brand name Regaine which is applied to the scalp as a foam or liquid. But it can stimulate hair growth anywhere it touches skin including on other people. Transfer can occur if the medication rubs onto pillows, hands or bedding. In December 2024, Spanish doctors warned of several cases of babies developing so-called 'werewolf syndrome' after exposure to minoxidil. The condition, known medically as hypertrichosis, causes abnormal hair growth on the face, arms and body. In one case, a baby boy developed thick hair on his back and legs after his father who was caring for him at home applied a five per cent minoxidil lotion for baldness. Once the exposure stopped, the symptoms disappeared. Professor Ward said: 'The side effects should go away once the source is removed, unless the exposure has been prolonged enough to trigger permanent change.' Pet owners should also take care. Minoxidil can be fatal to cats and dogs. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 88 per cent of minoxidil exposure cases related to dogs was due to 'exploratory behaviour', for instance, from rummaging through rubbish. However, almost all (96 per cent) of feline cases were related to inadvertent contact with humans, for instance from a pet licking human skin or sleeping on contaminated bedding. Experts advise allowing the product to dry for 30 to 60 minutes before sleeping, washing hands after use and using foam formulations, which dry faster. Fentanyl pain patches: powerful opioid that can be deadly to children Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain, including cancer pain. It is often delivered through a skin patch that releases the drug slowly over 72 hours. However, accidental exposure can be extremely dangerous, and can lead to respiratory complications. Children may absorb the drug if they cuddle someone wearing a patch and it accidentally sticks to their skin, or sleep beside them for long periods. A previous study published in medical journal Disease in Childhood, also noted that children can become sickened if they find a discarded or fallen patch which can still contain up to 50 per cent of the active drug and apply it like a sticker or chew on it. Children also may be exposed when a patch being worn by an adult is inadvertently transferred to them during close contact. Professor Ward said: 'Fentanyl skin patches have been the subject of several MHRA safety alerts due to accidental ingestion by children or inadvertent transfer of the patch to another individual. There is a warning on the label about taking care to avoid transfer. 'People need to take appropriate care when they're using patches and creams to make sure they don't end up in the hands of people who aren't prescribed them.' The risk of serious illness or death from fentanyl patches also applies to pets. Chemotherapy drugs: why traces remain in sweat and bodily fluids Patients receiving chemotherapy are often warned that traces of the drugs may be present in bodily fluids including urine, stool, vomit and sweat for 48 to 72 hours after treatment. Because chemotherapy drugs attack rapidly dividing cells, accidental exposure can make healthy people unwell. Transfer can occur through skin contact or contaminated surfaces such as bedding, clothing or bathroom fixtures. Professor Ward says patients should always follow the advice of their oncologist. 'If there is a risk of transmission, patients are advised to avoid close contact with vulnerable individuals,' she said. 'For example, those receiving radioactive medicines may be told to stay away from pregnant women or young children for 24 to 48 hours.' Nicotine patches: how stop smoking aids can harm children and pets Nicotine patches, used to help smokers quit, can cause serious poisoning in children and pets. Nicotine is easily absorbed through the skin, and patches may contain up to 25mg of the drug. Symptoms of poisoning can appear within minutes and include nausea, vomiting, sweating, drooling and a rapid heartbeat. In pets, the toxic dose is extremely small as little as 0.5 to 1mg per pound of body weight. Animals exposed to nicotine patches require urgent veterinary treatment. Nitroglycerine and clonidine: heart drugs that make others ill through skin-to-skin contact Some heart medications delivered through the skin can also transfer to others. Nitroglycerin, used to treat angina, is sometimes prescribed as gels or patches. Contact with nitroglycerin may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness and low blood pressure. In the US, clonidine, which is used for high blood pressure is sometimes prescribed as a patch. Exposure can lead to drowsiness and a slowed heart rate. Professor Ward says the effects are usually mild in adults. 'Nitroglycerin and clonidine might make someone feel a little warm or light-headed, but that is generally the worst that would happen,' she said. However, children may experience stronger reactions because of their smaller body size. It's been a topic of rabid internet speculation in recent days. The health of Donald Trump was once again called into question on Tuesday, after eagle-eyed viewers caught sight of a vivid red rash on his neck. The skin irritation was visible as the US President, 79, gave an update on the war against Iran, prompting debate over its cause, and what treatment he might be undergoing. A statement issued by Trump's physician, Dr Sean Barbabella, claimed Mr Trump was using a 'very common cream on the right side of his neck' as a 'preventative treatment'. The redness, he added, is only expected to last a few weeks. Commentators took to social media to float different possibilities for Trump's diagnosis, which has not been confirmed. Some declared the rash to be contact dermatitis caused by dry-cleaning chemicals used on his suits, while others put it down to rosacea a skin condition the President has been confirmed to suffer, which causes flushing and redness. Still more suggested the crusty appearance could indicate shingles, a very painful rash of blisters caused by the chickenpox virus. Experts are speculating that Donald Trump is suffering from actinic keratoses, an unsightly skin condition that increases the risk of skin cancer The skin irritation was visible as he delivered an update on the war against Iran , prompting online debate about his health and what treatment he might be undergoing But experts speaking to the Daily Mail confirmed the most likely cause of Mr Trump's rash is a common skin ailment that will affect roughly a quarter of all adults, particularly in middle age and beyond. Actinic keratoses also known as solar keratoses are dry, scaly patches of skin that tend to appear on areas frequently exposed to sunlight, such as the face, scalp, ears, neck, backs of the hands and forearms. Caused by long-term sun exposure, the brown or pink patches often occur on the scalps of bald men or the chests of women. According to the NHS, the condition is not usually serious. But there is a small risk that, without treatment, the patches can develop into squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer that begins in the top layer of the skin. Dr Paul Farrant, consultant dermatologist and director at the Devonshire Clinic, told the Daily Mail: 'This kind of red very angry rash on the right side of Mr Trump's neck could definitely be caused by the treatment for actinic keratosis, a precancerous skin condition caused by sun damage. 'When these creams are applied we would definitely expect long lasting redness and irritation, which looks like what's going on underneath Trump's collar.' So, what can you do if you think you're suffering from the same unsightly skin patches as Donald Trump? First, say experts, it's essential to rule out anything more sinister. Your browser does not support iframes. Not all scaly or crusty rashes will be actinic keratosis and most brown patches on the skin are nothing to worry about, says dermatologist at Dr Ducu Clinics, Dr Anna Andrienko. Growths that appear waxy and slightly raised, usually ranging in colour from pink to brown to almost black, are likely seborrheic keratoses, or age spots benign growths affecting half of men and more than a third of women. They can grow, but are harmless and don't need treatment, but can be removed for aesthetic reasons. However, if they appear very dark, get them checked to rule out melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Actinic keratosis, meanwhile, tends to present as rough, gritty patches that feel like sandpaper. 'They may be pink, red, skin coloured or slightly brown, and commonly appear on sun exposed areas such as the face, scalp in balding men, ears, forearms and backs of the hands,' said Dr Andrienko. 'It's crucial to differentiate them from other lesions, such as seborrhoeic keratoses, psoriasis, eczema or early squamous cell carcinoma, which can all look similar. 'This can be assessed by a dermatologist who will examine the texture, border, thickness and any signs of ulceration or rapid growth. 'In uncertain cases, a biopsy may be required to rule out invasive skin cancer.' Those with fair skin, light eyes and hair and who burn easily rather than tan are all at higher risk for actinic keratosis, says Dr Andrienko. The condition also becomes more prevalent with age those over 40 are more commonly affected, as the condition can be caused by cumulative sun exposure. Outdoor workers, frequent sunbed users, and people living in sunny climates are at higher risk, as are immunosuppressed patients, such as organ transplant recipients, research shows. But whilst it's common, actinic keratosis isn't always harmless. Skin patches you don't need to worry about are seborrheic keratoses benign growths affecting half of men and more than a third of women More worrisome are actinic keratoses also called solar keratoses dry, scaly patches that feel rough, like sandpaper. In up to five per cent of cases, the condition can develop into squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer becoming tender, ulcerous or sore. Luckily, says Dr Andrienko, there are a number of effective therapies that can clear up the condition before it reaches that stage depending on its severity. If you have just one patch of lesions, doctors may recommend a 'wait and see' approach, monitoring for any changes in size or quantity. But patients with more than one patch, lesions that are painful or itchy, or more than 10 lesions in a patch, are generally recommended to seek treatment. If the condition is in its earliest stages, made up of just isolated spots, cryotherapy where the lesions are frozen off with liquid nitrogen is often the best option. The procedure takes just seconds, and must be done by a dermatologist, who applies liquid nitrogen via a spray gun or cotton-tipped applicator to the skin. This is then left to blister, scab and shed within one to three weeks leaving new, healthy skin. Multiple or larger areas of crusty skin spots may require a cream treatment, however. One of the most common, says Dr. Conal Perrett, Consultant Dermatologist at The Devonshire Clinic, is a topical chemotherapy treatment commonly prescribed for widespread sun damage called 5-fluorouracil cream. The cream works by causing inflammation that, in turn, destroys the pre-cancerous cells that form in actinic keratosis, but leaves the underlying healthy tissue untouched. It is usually applied daily for up to four weeks, although some patients need a second round to completely eradicate the lesion, otherwise it grows back. It can also cause uncomfortable itching as well as weeping and red skin rashes, similar to that on President Trump's neck. 'During treatment, it is entirely expected for the skin to become red, inflamed, sore and sometimes crusted,' added Dr Perrett. 'In fact, visible redness and irritation are generally signs that the medication is working.' A bright red, inflamed patch confined to one area, such as one side of the neck like that seen on President Trump, he went on, would be consistent with topical treatments for actinic keratosis. Said Dr Perrett: 'Without direct clinical assessment, it would not be possible to confirm the cause of any individual's skin changes. 'However, the description of preventative treatment with a commonly used topical cream, associated with short-term use and several weeks of visible redness, would be broadly consistent with standard management of actinic keratoses.' Tirbanibulin works by stopping pre-cancerous cells from dividing and spreading on sun-damaged skin, and is applied once daily for five days A newer cream for actinic keratosis, rolled out for use on large patches of the head and neck by the NHS in 2024, is tirbanibulin. Like 5-fluorouracil, the cream works by stopping pre-cancerous cells from dividing and spreading on sun-damaged skin. While just as effective as 5-fluorouracil, tirbanibulin works far more quickly applied once daily for just five days. Photodynamic therapy is another option for larger areas on the face or scalp, says Dr Andrienko. The treatment involves applying a photosensitising cream to the affected area, which is then activated by either a red light lamp, or natural daylight to destroy abnormal cells. After about two weeks, scabs form and fall off, leaving healthy skin behind. But for everyone, says Dr Andrienko, prevention is key. 'Daily broad spectrum SPF, protective clothing, and regular skin checks are essential to prevent actinic keratosis from developing, particularly for high risk individuals,' she said. Lighting a candle at can create a cosy ambience - but it could also be quietly harming your health. New research suggests that smoke from candles burning indoors, especially in poorly ventilated rooms, can release a cocktail of chemicals linked to cancer. And with around 64 per cent of UK households regularly lighting scented candles, experts are raising fresh concerns that the synthetic fragrances used to create them may be polluting the air inside our homes. Some experts have also raised concerns about paraffin wax, the most common material used in mass-produced candles. Paraffin is a by-product of petroleum refining, making it inexpensive and effective at holding fragrance and colour. Some manufacturers market paraffin under the name 'mineral wax,' though it refers to the same petroleum-derived material. When paraffin candles burn, they can release small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene and formaldehyde. These chemicals are also produced by other forms of combustion and, at high levels, are known to irritate the respiratory system and are classified as carcinogenic. Scientists warn that candles could be filling homes with potentially harmful pollutants - particularly when candles are burned for long periods without opening a window Another potential source of emissions is the synthetic fragrance added to many scented candles. Some fragrance mixtures can release phthalates, chemicals used to help scents last longer, which have been linked in some studies to disruption of hormone systems. Burning candles also produces hydrocarbons such as alkanes and alkenes, compounds that are created whenever organic material burns. These chemicals are also found in sources like vehicle exhaust fumes and other internal combustion processes. Paraffin candles can generate more soot than many plant-based waxes, particularly if the wick is too long or the candle burns unevenly. The effects are generally greatest in poorly ventilated spaces, where combustion by-products can build up in indoor air rather than dispersing. Opening windows or limiting burn time can help reduce exposure. Writing in The Conversation, a researcher from Aarhus University in Denmark described experiments which showed particles released from burning candles are extremely small, around seven to eight nanometers. They are much smaller than those produced by cooking, which are around 80 nanometers, making it easier for them to penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. Candle smoke also contains soot and harmful gases, including nitrogen dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are linked to inflammation and cancer risk. This soot can leave black marks on walls, ceilings and nearby surfaces. Research experiments found candle emissions can cause biological changes, such as airway irritation, inflammation markers, reduced lung function and cardiovascular effects. Vulnerable groups, such as people with asthma, chronic respiratory diseases, children and older adults, are especially sensitive to this indoor pollution. To avoid these risks, experts recommend using fewer candles or LED alternatives, trimming wicks, avoiding drafts to reduce soot, not burning candles near people with respiratory conditions and ventilating the room afterwards by opening windows. The particles produced are similar in size and composition to a sort of air pollution called PM2.5, which is made up of microscopic particles from sources like car exhaust, power plants, wildfires and fuel burning. These particles are so tiny that they can penetrate deep into lung tissue and even enter the bloodstream where they spark inflammation, constrict blood vessels raising blood pressure and creating artery-narrowing plaque and trigger oxidative stress, damaging cells, mitochondria and DNA. Last month, a team at Emory University in Georgia, USA, determined that PM2.5 contributes to a higher risk of Alzheimers, the most common form of dementia. For every small increase in PM2.5, Alzheimer's risk rose by nearly nine percent. That might sound modest, but spread across millions of older people, it translates into tens of thousands of additional cases. The pollution-Alzheimer's link was strongest in people who had already had a stroke. For them, the same pollution bump pushed Alzheimer's risk almost 11 percent higher. Around 900,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK, a figure expected to rise to more than 1.6 million by 2040. Dementia is the leading cause of death, accounting for more than 74,000 deaths a year. An estimated 6.7 million Americans aged 65 and over are living with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. This is projected to reach nearly 14 million by 2060, with around 120,000 deaths a year attributed to Alzheimer's alone. A man is urging people not to ignore even a mild toothache after his tooth pain turned out to be a fast-growing blood cancer. Edd Vieira, 42, from Northamptonshire, began feeling a dull ache in his left canine while visiting family in Portugal in August 2025. Within days, all his front and left teeth started aching and wobbling. 'I thought it was just a cavity and I could get a filling and be done with it,' Mr Vieira said. 'I never imagined it could be cancer.' He visited a local dentist - partly because it was cheaper than in the UK - where a routine X-ray revealed there was no bone on the left side of his upper jaw. A CT scan uncovered a mass growing in his sinus cavity, spreading under his nose. Upon returning to the UK, further tests confirmed the devastating diagnosis: stage two diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma affecting white blood cells. X-rays revealed the tumour had 'eaten' through his upper jawbone, and the cancer had already started spreading to his neck. Edd Vieira, 42, is pictured with his wife Mandy Vieira, 44, in Portugal before his diagnosis Pictured: A CT scan shows the missing bone in his mouth Mr Vieira said: 'If I had ignored the toothache, it could have gotten much worse. I might have lost my teeth, and the cancer could have spread further.' Describing his symptoms, he said: 'It started as a dull ache in my left canine, then my front and left teeth began to wobble. 'I couldn't blow my nose without pain and noticed a small hard lump by my right nostril - I didn't realise it was connected until after the diagnosis.' Mr Vieira lives with his wife, Mandy Vieira, 44, who says her husband has always been a 'picture of fine health', which made his recent diagnosis even more shocking. She said: 'I was in shock, crying my eyes out. Edd stayed positive and just said, "We'll deal with this." 'He's always been healthy, never had toothaches. It was such a shock.' He began chemotherapy on December 8, 2025, and is now halfway through his six-round treatment. This has left him suffering from severe nausea, sleepless nights, headaches, stomach pain, breathlessness, a weakened immune system and extreme fatigue, which means some days he can barely walk around the block. The couple have also been dealing with the stress of hospital appointments, lost income and everyday bills, Ms Vieira shared on their GoFundMe page. 'It's overwhelming when all you should be focusing on is recovery,' she said. DLBCL affects around 5,000 people in the UK each year and is more common in men. While treatment offers hope for remission, it can be aggressive. 'Don't ever ignore a toothache, no matter how small,' Mr Vieira warned. 'You never know what's hiding behind it.' Concern among officials is rising as birds are showing up dead by the hundreds across multiple states in the last week. Last month, more than 1,100 geese were found floating lifeless in waters across New Jersey, sparking worry among officials and residents alike. A majority of the birds were Canada geese and brant geese and they were found dead in multiple locations along the Jersey coast. Most recently this week, more dead geese were reported in Woodstown in Salem County in southern New Jersey. Altogether, the New Jersey Fish & Wildlife (NJFW) service has recorded 4,370 dead or sick birds across 20 municipalities in eight counties. While officials suspect bird flu is behind the deaths, some testing has come back negative for avian influenza, leading experts to posit the freezing temperatures or another, unconfirmed bird-related virus is to blame. Woodstown Police Department posted on Facebook: 'Woodstown Borough officials are aware of reports of dead geese at Woodstown Memorial Lake. 'As a precaution, residents are asked not to approach any geese in or around the area due to recent reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in south Jersey. A majority of the birds were Canada geese and brant geese (stock image) Altogether, the New Jersey Fish & Wildlife (NJFW) service has recorded 4,370 dead or sick birds across 20 municipalities in eight counties 'While HPAI can infect humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that the ongoing HPAI outbreak is primarily an animal health issue that poses low risk to the health of the general public. 'While the risk is low, we advise members of the public to limit contact with dead wildlife and to keep children and pets away.' Bird mortalities (incidents of 20 or more) have been reported in municipalities in Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties. Residents living near Alcyon Lake in Gloucester County, where 50 to 75 geese were found dead in February, told ABC6 they noticed the birds, usually loud and energetic, were lethargic and looked unwell. Marisa Brusco said she saw geese floating in the lake and Joie Shaw said he saw a sick goose in his backyard 'just laying there with his head flopped over.' Wildlife pathologist Patrick Connelly, who works with New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, told NJ.com: 'With migratory waterfowl coming into the state this time of year and large congregations of flocks, we have many susceptible hosts in close quarters and this disease can spread rapidly and kill these animals quickly. 'I do suspect that the recent weather has had an effect here, with the primary effect being that it is causing birds to congregate in limited open water sources, so we have large numbers of waterfowl in close contact.' New Jersey has faced several freezing winter storms, causing many open water sources to freeze over and become inaccessible to geese. This forces more birds to crowd for limited water resources. Officials have yet to confirm what all the birds have tested positive for and what their cause of death is, though avian flu is highly suspected. Dr David Perlin, the chief scientific officer and executive vice president of Hackensack Meridian Health's Center for Discovery and Innovation in New Jersey, said: 'We dont just ignore these things we take them seriously,' though Perlin added that it was unlikely the virus infecting and killing the birds will make the jump to humans. Last month, more than 1,100 geese were found floating lifeless in waters across New Jersey Your browser does not support iframes. However, science writer David Quammen, who predicted the Covid-19 outbreak in his book Spillover seven years before the pandemic swept the globe, told Daily Mail last year that bird flu poses the biggest risk for the next pandemic. The H5N1 strain of bird flu was first detected in the US in 2022 and has been confirmed among cattle, chickens, cats, raccoons, skunks, wild dogs, bears and dolphins. According to the CDC, there have been 71 cases of H5N1 detected in humans since February 2024 and two people have died. There is no known human-to-human transmission and the current threat to public health is low. Forty-one cases were in connection to exposure to dairy herds; 24 were in connection to poultry farms; three cases involved exposure to other animals; and three cases contracted the virus from an unknown source. In the last 30 days, the USDA has reported bird flu outbreaks in 31 backyard flocks and 36 commercial flocks, affecting 11.5 million birds. No outbreaks among cattle have been detected in the last 30 days, according to USDA data. In February and March the USDA also reported detection of bird flu in wild birds in Colorado, Ohio, New York, California, Florida, New Hampshire, Alaska, New Mexico, Kentucky, Minnesota, Maryland, Indiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Maine, Florida, Wyoming, Arizona, Iowa, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. Health authorities have issued an urgent warning over potato chips that may have undeclared deadly allergens. Frito-Lay has voluntarily recalled its 8oz bags of Miss Vickie's Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips because they may contain jalapeno-flavored chips, which contain milk not declared on the label. The hidden ingredient poses a serious threat to the millions of Americans with milk allergies, with reactions ranging from mild symptoms like hives and swelling to anaphylaxis, a potentially deadly condition that can cause difficulty breathing. 'Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product,' the FDA said in its warning notice. 'This product is safe to consume for anyone who does not have a dairy allergy or sensitivity to milk.' The recall includes an unspecified number of 8oz bags of Miss Vickies Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips that may have been distributed as early as January 15, the FDA said. Products were distributed to a mix of retailers such as grocery, convenience and drug stores, as well as local digital retailers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Frito-Lay said it identified the issue following a customer contact. Chips sold in six states have been recalled due to the potential presence of undeclared milk (stock image) Your browser does not support iframes. No other sizes or flavors of Miss Vickie's products are recalled, including bags sold in variety packs. The FDA has also not received any reports of allergic reactions to date. Recalled products had the UPC 0 28400 761772 listed on the back of the packages. They also had 'guaranteed fresh' dates of April 21, 2026, and one of the following two manufacturing codes: 38U301414 and 48U101514. The FDA urged customers with an allergy or sensitivity to milk to 'not consume the product and discard it immediately.' The recall has not yet been given a classification but may later be labelled at Class I, which refers to 'a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.' Symptoms of an allergy include hives, wheezing, coughing, congestion, face and throat swelling and in severe cases, anaphylaxis. The recalled 8oz bags of Miss Vickie's Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips Your browser does not support iframes. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction that occurs very quickly after being exposed to an allergen. Experts estimate 150 to 200 Americans die from allergen-induced anaphylaxis every year. It triggers an extreme immune response, leading to dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath and vomiting. If not treated quickly with epinephrine (adrenaline), which can be administered via injection like an EpiPen or nasal spray, a person can die. About six million Americans, or 2 percent of the population, have an allergy to cow's milk, most of whom are children. Customers with questions about the recall can visit Miss Vickie's Contact Us page or call 1-877-984-2543. A traveller has detailed the moment she was left mortified after a stranger brazenly helped himself to her chips mid-flight. Adelle Petropoulos was flying from Melbourne to Sydney for a work trip on Sunday afternoon when a man sitting next to her struck up a conversation. 'I was sitting on the flight and there's a guy next to me trying to hit on me... Typical Aussie bloke,' she recalled in a TikTok video. 'He goes, "What's your name?" I said, "My name's Mary." You've gotta lie through your f***ing teeth at this point. He goes, "Nice to meet you Mary".' The man then asked Adelle where 'Mary' comes from, to which she falsely told him she was named after her grandmother. Trying to be polite, Adelle engaged in small talk but quickly put her earphones in - a 'clear sign' she wasn't interested. 'I'm putting my earphones in... That's a clear sign of, "Shut the f*** up",' she said. 'Anyway, I'm hungry, my earphones go in. I open my lunch, it's appalling... My lunch is a packet of Smith's salt and vinegar crisps. I was hungry. It's my weak spot, I had a moment. Don't judge me.' Adelle Petropoulos has detailed the moment she was left mortified after a stranger brazenly helped himself to her chips mid-flight With her earphones in, the content creator opened her snack and noticed the man 'piping on', but she couldn't hear him. 'I can't hear s***. He's yapping away. He hasn't worked out that I'm not responding,' she explained. Adelle said she went on to eat her chips when the unthinkable happened. 'Suddenly, I see this man's hand in my f***ing chip packet. He pulls out a bunch and goes, "Thanks love" and he starts eating them. 'I'm sorry, since when did I offer you my chips?' Much to her surprise, the stranger took it upon himself to enjoy her chips, assuming she had offered them - even though she hadn't responded. 'Apparently I f***ing did (offer),' she said in disbelief. 'Apparently, your dirty grubby hands can go in there, pick up my chips and eat them.' With her earphones in, the stranger took it upon himself to enjoy her chips, assuming she had offered them - even though she hadn't responded As her eyes teared up, Adelle ended the video with: 'He ate my chips.' Her video has been viewed more than 100,000 times - with many saying they were horrified by the stranger's actions. 'The way my jaw dropped when you said his hand went in and grabbed a handful of salt and vinegar chips,' one shared. 'At this point you have a right to be rude, I would have said some pretty grown-up words by that point,' another suggested, laughing. 'No! God that would enrage me! I'm sorry you lost your chippies,' one said. 'What on Earth?! No... Why? How dare he... The nerve,' another added. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more If your 'to be read' pile is already threatening to topple off your bedside table, consider this your official warning: 2026 is shaping up to be a very good year for new books. From buzzy debuts and historical tales to witty satires and epic romances, the next few months are packed with releases that will have readers in a tizz. What's more, massive names in the literary world like Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elizabeth Strout and Douglas Stuart are all returning with hotly anticipated new novels for us to indulge in. So clear some space on the shelves and mark your calendars: these are the upcoming releases everyone will be talking about. Love Song by Elle Kennedy Release date: 17/03/26 Romance fans will be familiar with Elle Kennedy, author of the viral Off-Campus series, whose latest release is a swoony summer romance set in the Briar universe. After a painful break-up, college student Blake Logan retreats to her familys lake house in Tahoe, determined to avoid romance. That is until Wyatt Graham, the older musician who once broke her teenage heart, unexpectedly reappears. As old feelings reignite and a reckless summer fling turns into something deeper, the pair must decide whether their story is just a fleeting moment or a second chance at love. Pre-order So Good to See You by Francesca Hornak Paperback release date: 19/03/26 Fifteen years after graduating from Oxford, once-inseparable friends Serge, Rosie and Daniel find themselves reunited at a lavish four-day wedding in Provence only now theyre barely speaking. Serge is a successful filmmaker hiding a mountain of debt, Rosies breezy confidence masks heartbreak, and Daniels fame has brought crippling anxiety. As Champagne flows and polite small talk begins to crack, old resentments, secrets and unresolved feelings bubble to the surface. Funny, sharp and quietly poignant, this is a stylish dissection of friendship and ambition by a reliably hilarious author. Pre-order The Pretender by Jo Harkin Release date: 02/04/26 Harkins latest novel is described as Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead and if thats not enough to get you to read, were not sure what is. Set amid the chaos of 15th-century England, this witty and wildly entertaining historical epic follows peasant boy John Collan, who is abruptly swept into royal intrigue when powerful figures begin grooming him as the next Plantagenet heir to the throne. Thrust from rural obscurity into a world of court politics, John must navigate a dangerous game where pretending to be a king might be the only way to survive. Pre-order Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Release date: 09/04/26 This sharp, addictive debut takes aim at the glossy, endlessly intriguing world of tradwife influencers. Natalie Heller Mills appears to have the perfect life a picture-perfect ranch, a handsome cowboy husband and an Instagram feed full of homemade bread and wholesome domestic bliss but when she wakes up in a disturbing version of reality where everything feels subtly wrong, she becomes desperate to escape. Its darkly funny, a biting satire of online life and also, set to become a movie starring everyones fav Anne Hathaway. Pre-order Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid Release date: 09/04/26 From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic love story set against the 1980s US space shuttle programme. When aspiring astronaut Joan Goodwin begins training at NASAs Johnson Space Centre, she finds herself drawn into an intense world of ambition, danger and unexpected romance. But as the astronauts prepare for a historic mission, one moment in space will change everything. A sweeping, emotional story that fans of Reids big-hearted, cinematic storytelling will love. Pre-order The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout Release date: 07/05/26 This insightful novel from one of America's leading authors explores the secrets and the fragile ties between people. History teacher Artie Dam appears to live a steady, ordinary life in coastal Massachusetts, but a revelation about his past forces him to reconsider his marriage, friendships and the truths we keep hidden. As per Waterstones, with exquisite prose and profound insight, Elizabeth Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. Pre-order The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker Release date: 19/05/26 The sequel to the number 1 Sunday Times bestselling fantasy phenomenon When the Moon Hatched returns to the world of dragon riders, magic and slow-burn romance. As Raeve wrestles with vengeance, love for the enigmatic Kaan Vaegor and the shocking secrets of her past, a catastrophic moonfall threatens to destroy everything they know. If youre a fan of Sarah J. Maas or Rebecca Yarros, this is one to add to your to be read list. Pre-order John of John by Douglas Stuart Release date: 21/05/26 From the Booker Prizewinning author of Shuggie Bain comes this powerful new novel set on the Scottish Isle of Harris. When a young man returns home to help care for his ageing grandmother, he is forced to confront the complicated bond he shares with his father, and the secrets, faith and expectations that have shaped their lives. The Telegraph calls it literary fiction at its best, and author Kevin MacNeil says its Stuarts finest novel yet. Shop The Midnight Train by Matt Haig Release date: 21/05/26 Matt Haig hit it big with his heart-warming bestseller The Midnight Library, and now he;s back with another life-affirming tale about second chances. When Wilbur boards a mysterious midnight train that can take passengers back to pivotal moments in their lives, he chooses to return to his honeymoon in Venice with Maggie the love he fears he ruined hoping to understand where it all went wrong. As expected, its a warm, magical story about regret and love, told with all the emotion and feeling thats made Haig a global literary star. Shop Land by Maggie OFarrell Release date: 02/06/26 The author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait returns with this epic novel set in 19th century Ireland. In the shadow of the Great Hunger, mapmaker Tomas and his young son Liam work on the British-led Ordnance Survey to chart a scarred and changing landscape. When a strange encounter in the woods abruptly alters Tomas, ten-year-old Liam is left to grapple with his fathers sudden transformation and the daunting task of finishing the work that might lead them home. A story of loss, memory and the ghosts that linger in both land and history, full of OFarrells signature evocative description and emotion. Shop To get more of what you love from your favourite Sunday supplement, follow us on Instagram (@youmagazine), X (@YOUMagSocial) and TikTok (@you_magazine). Aldi Australia has announced an urgent recall of three of its popular lunchbox items after 'foreign matter' was detected. The supermarket has pulled three flavours of Hillcrest Bubble Bars - Choc Rainbow, Birthday Cake and Choc Chip - from its shelves nationwide due to a food safety hazard. Food Standards Australia has warned that the rice crispy bars are contaminated with black rubber pieces that may cause illness or injury if consumed. 'Consumers should not eat this product,' food authorities warned. Shoppers who purchased the Bubble Bars with the best before date September 8, 2026 are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. The products have been available for sale in ALDI stores across NSW, ACT, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice. For more details, customers can contact ALDI Stores Food Recall Hotline on 1800 709 993 or visit the official Aldi Australia website. Aldi Australia has announced an urgent recall of three flavours of Hillcrest Bubble Bars - Choc Rainbow, Birthday Cake and Choc Chip - after traces of black rubber pieces were detected When Channel 4 introduced the Rich Kids of Instagram to British TV viewers in 2015, many were outraged by the sheer amount of hedonistic opulence on display by influencers, featuring private jets aplenty with wealthy, attractive twentysomethings who mocked 'peasants'. But now, there is a new era of hot young things who are raking in millions on social media - and they're proof that sometimes you have to fake it till you make it. This most recent plethora of luxury social media stars are landing brand deals with Selfridges; all by parodying the socialite elite. Gstaad Guy - whose real identity is firmly being kept under wraps - got 1.7 million followers by pretending to be part of the rich and famous with alter egos 'Constance' - a fortysomething gentleman who regularly lounges on yachts and travels to Saint Moritz - and 'Colton', his equally out of touch Gen Z cousin. But despite never having visited Gstaad himself until years after he set up the page, the online sensation, 28, has been invited to the Grand Prix, spoke at Harvard University and even graced magazine covers, thanks to his skits. The videos, in which he pretends to be 'childhood friends' with Jeff Bezos and gives fake tours of his private jet, have also given Gstaad Guy (who is originally from London) the opportunity to set up his luxury jewellery brand, Poubel, which last month enjoyed a pop-up at Selfridges. Bracelets go anywhere from 100 to upwards of 800. And Gstaad Guy has also said that while his videos often poke fun at what the wealthy do at various destinations around the world, he has also gotten a lot of messages asking for travel tips because of them. 'My most recurring direct message [on social media] is, "Hi, I am in city X, where should I go?",' he told Palais Constance. 'People really look at my characters to learn. 'Although they are fake people, they are very authentic to their values and characters. It's either excellent or it's a la poubelle...' New York-based Aris Yeager, 25, accrued 1.4 million followers on Instagram via his 'rich kid comedy' Ben Sumadiwiria, 32, who was born in Germany but is now UK-based, meanwhile, has 1.5 million Instagram followers after pretending to be the son of an Indonesian billionaire Elsewhere, Jay Ma (not his real name) has forged an online identity as an international student from Shanghai, and even Dara Huang is a fan At this year's World Governments Summit, he has also said: 'Ultimately my content is using the language of comedy to talk about the world of high net worth people and the ways they consume, the ways they interact with the world around them. 'Comedy is a great tone of voice to make things more digestible. 'Occasionally I do poke fun at these people however... they are people with enormous privilege, so you could in some ways say it's bullying up. 'But I think bullying up is practically impossible because it ultimately turns into humorous praise.' Elsewhere, New York-based Aris Yeager, 25, accrued 1.4 million followers on Instagram via his 'rich kid comedy'. Through his alter ego, 'The European Kid', he parodies rich socialites across different countries, with videos showing him claim he had 'caviar for breakfast' and refusing to get into a regular Uber because he's waiting for a custom Mercedes-Benz pick-up. Gstaad Guy - whose real identity is firmly being kept under wraps - racked up 1.7 million followers by pretending to be part of the rich and famous The videos, in which he pretends to be 'childhood friends' with Jeff Bezos and gives fake tours of his private jet, have also given Gstaad Guy (who is originally from London) the opportunity to set up his luxury jewellery brand, Poubel, which last month enjoyed a pop-up at Selfridges Ben and Aris have even teamed up for a video where they tried to get access to the Ambanis' mansion by claiming they were 'rich friends' of the family - with little success Aris has been invited to events by exclusive events company Affair and Italian brand Adda River, and is now the founder of his own brand, Storytime, which creates tailored campaigns and connects brands with influencers. Ben Sumadiwiria, 32, who was born in Germany but is now UK-based, meanwhile, has 1.5 million Instagram followers after pretending to be the son of an Indonesian billionaire. Far from a silver spoon, the social media star hustled his way through cooking jobs and being an in-flight chef. Now, he is rumoured to be making six-figure deals with various brands; and has even come out with a custom watch with brand Azimuth. He now also boasts his own food company, Bobby's Burgers, thanks to the success he achieved with videos about his '$1.5 million routine', 'going to the mall with his billionaire dad' and 'trying to buy a whole village for $1,000'. He and Aris have even teamed up for a video where they tried to get access to the Ambanis' mansion by claiming they were 'rich friends' of the family - with little success. 'One day, I just woke up thinking how funny it would be if I were so rich - like Chinese Indonesian rich - that I could eat at fancy restaurants every single day of my life,' he told the Times of India. 'This was almost like a thought exercise of me exploring my own culture.' Elsewhere, Jay Ma (not his real name) has forged an online identity as an international student from Shanghai, and even Dara Huang is a fan. Posing as the son of a Chinese billionaire, and heir to shopping powerhouse Alibaba, his 'day in the life' videos feature showering with Balmain products, being carried in and out of malls by security guards and dining at the Louis Vuitton cafe. While tongue in cheek, his videos have nevertheless still sparked confusion and speculation about whether he really is a secret billionaire - if his baffled comments are anything to go by. Iran has one of the highest rhinoplasty rates in the world It's been dubbed the nose job capital of the world, but women have shared their horrifying experiences of travelling to Iran for plastic surgery and getting stuck in a war. Conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day today as Israel and Iran continue to launch new strikes, leaving foreign nationals scrambling to evacuate the war zones. Following the latest outbreak, clips of influencers visiting Iran for cosmetic surgery, only to find themselves stuck in a war zone, have gone viral on TikTok. Iran has one of the highest rates of rhinoplasty in the world, with thousands of foreign patients visiting annually for cosmetic surgeries, drawn by the country's expertise. In Tehran, the procedure typically costs between 1,000 and 3,500, a cheaper alternative to the UK's usual price range of between 4,000 and 10,000. On TikTok, influencers craving an upturned nose have previously revealed how seeking the treatment in Iran has taken an alarming turn. Alma Verseau, from Dubai, travelled to Iran to undergo a rhinoplasty in June last year, unaware, despite the signs of tension, that the Twelve-Day war between Iran and Israel would take place during her trip from June 13 to June 24. 'Rare aesthetic: You go to Iran for a nose job with your best friend and get stuck in war,' Alma wrote on TikTok alongside a clip of her scrambling in fear, her nose still bandaged fresh from the rhinoplasty. She later clarified that she was able to travel back to Dubai, where a nose job typically costs between 4,000 and 10,500, after finding safety at her best friend's house in a village in Iran. Influencer Alma Verseau (pictured), from Dubai, has shared her experience of travelling to Iran for a nose job and getting stuck in a conflict zone on TikTok It was a similar experience for Liya, who lives in Canada, who received the procedure before being stuck and 'waking up to the sound of bombs'. At the same time, women previously complained that their plastic surgery had been cancelled because of the war. Nikia Fashar, from Texas, wrote: 'When your nose job gets cancelled because of the stupid Iran Israel war.' Others took to the comment section, agreeing: 'Same girl same. Another year with my big nose bridge.' A second wrote: 'Omg Same here. I feel you!' A third added: 'I'm praying for next year now.' The civilian race to escape the Middle East descended into farce today as British nationals were delayed from returning home when the UK's first evacuation flight failed to take off from Oman. Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a 'total s***show'. It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not 'due to the pilot's hours clocking up'. The Foreign Office this morning told the Daily Mail the flight failed to take off due to 'technical issues' but insisted it would take off later today. Alma scrambled with fear in the clip, with her nose still wrapped in a bandage after undergoing the cosmetic procedure TikTok user Liya (pictured right), from Canada, said she woke up to the sound of bombs when visiting Iran for a nose job last year General Sir Richard Barrons said that Britain's relationship with the US would be strained because the UK had 'not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked'. And he said that Sir Keir's slowness in responding to Iranian attacks on RAF Akrotiri and close to other assets in the Gulf States might leave them to 'wonder if the UK actually has the muscle to apply in situations like this in the way that in former times we clearly did'. He spoke to the BBC in the midst of furious political rows over Sir Keir's reaction to Donald Trump's decision to start a war with Iran. The UK has refused to join in the assault on Tehran, though Sir Keir has allowed the US to use its bases in Britain for defensive operations. The mother of 'Britain's biggest family', who has 22 children, has been blasted for a 'tone deaf' rant about her holiday to Dubai being cancelled - as conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day today. Sue Radford, 50, sparked outrage as she took to Instagram to share her grievances, revealing that her daughter and son had gifted her and her husband Noel a weekend away to the popular UAE city, and they were planning to fly on Wednesday. However, this has been disrupted - as Israel and Iran continue to launch new strikes, leaving foreign nationals scrambling to evacuate the war zones. 'Anyway hands up who's been having a nightmare with travelup1 because I think there's going to be lots of you,' she wrote. 'Phone line's dead so guessing they have turned them off and no response from them to emails I have commented on their Insta page but all of our comments have been deleted... and there been lots from very unhappy customers.' Sue - who says she has since heard back from the travel company - admitted that 'she knows we are safe in this country but even if you wanted to rebook you can't because they aren't dealing with it'. She stressed that 'the point of this post is that we do not want to rebook I would imagine lots wouldn't but this company switching phones off is not the way to go about it'. However, commenters were still horrified by the post, as 'people are dying'. The mother of 'Britain's biggest family', who has 22 children, has been blasted for a 'tone deaf' rant about her holiday to Dubai being cancelled - as conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day today Sue Radford, 50, sparked outrage as she took to Instagram to share her grievances, revealing that her daughter and son had gifted them a weekend away to the popular UAE city, and they were planning to fly on Wednesday 'Others are hiding in hotel rooms/basements,' one continued. 'And the rest are stranded with many fearing for their lives. Your holiday dues not matter right now. 'Your refund/swap is not the priority. You should have travel insurance and be Atol/Abta protected - youll get your money. For now just sit tight and be.' 'Maybe think of the people living out there right now,' another added. A third wrote: 'All you can think about is holidays when there is a war on? Unbelievable.' 'How insensitive to those who are currently fearing for their lives,' another commented. 'People have died, a war is going on and you're moaning because you can't book a holiday to Dubai??' One also remarked: 'Hmm very egocentric post this one is. Think off all the stranded people over there. Pfft!' Others assured Sue 'not to stress' as it will 'all get sorted' and she is 'safe here at home'. One also suggested: 'Oh no, I think you need to totally give up on Dubai. Ive been there and to be honest, its so overrated, unless your rich people our age are just out of place there. 'It really isnt all its cracked up to be. Go to New York for 5 days its amazing we loved it.' In the past year alone, Sue and her family enjoyed at least eight holidays to Lapland, Italy, the Caribbean, Florida, Paris - and indeed, Dubai. The civilian race to escape the Middle East descended into farce today as British nationals were delayed from returning home when the UK's first evacuation flight failed to take off from Oman. Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a 'total s***show'. It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not 'due to the pilot's hours clocking up'. The Foreign Office this morning told the Daily Mail the flight failed to take off due to 'technical issues' but insisted it would take off later today. General Sir Richard Barrons said that Britain's relationship with the US would be strained because the UK had 'not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked'. And he said that Sir Keir's slowness in responding to Iranian attacks on RAF Akrotiri and close to other assets in the Gulf States might leave them to 'wonder if the UK actually has the muscle to apply in situations like this in the way that in former times we clearly did'. He spoke to the BBC in the midst of furious political rows over Sir Keir's reaction to Donald Trump's decision to start a war with Iran. The UK has refused to join in the assault on Tehran, though Sir Keir has allowed the US to use its bases in Britain for defensive operations. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Using a Coanda-effect tech to deliver voluminous, bouncy blow-dries at home using only air, the T3 Aire 360 has unsurprisingly drawn comparisons with the Dyson Airwrap, as well as other budget Airwrap alternatives . Priced at 249.99, the air styler comes in 230 cheaper than the 480 Dyson Airwrap i.d Hair Styler - but how does it compare? The T3 Aire 360 is the brand's best-selling hair tool and the result of three years of research and development. Designed with ceramic attachments and using high-performance heat, the air styler has been thoughtfully designed to help you create bouncy blowouts and long-lasting curls at home that last longer than heatless curler alternatives. While admittedly an investment at 249.99, it could save you the time and expense of booking into a salon whenever you're in need of a blowout - I'll certainly be using it for all my upcoming weddings this year. T3 AIRE 360 Multi styler Product Specs Number of speeds 3 What we love Weight Lightweight, easy to manouvre Performance CeraGloss ceramic barrels ensure glossy finish What could be better Price At 249.99 it is an investment Our verdict The T3 Aire 360 was built by listening to what consumers didnt love. If you've struggled with attachments to hairstyles that drop quickly, then this is a gadget that puts these challenges to bed with a smart, user-friendly design. With the promise of a bouncy, polished blow-dry worthy of the salon, but without the heat damage that can come from daily styling, I was excited to put it to the test. Considering the T3 Aire 360 comes in at 230 cheaper than the similarly designed Dyson Airwrap, I was seriously impressed with the results it delivered. First thing to note was how lightweight it is. It still has a satisfying heft, so you have control over what you're doing, but I didn't find it made my arm ache after a styling session. The oval brush head had flexible bristles that combed through my hair well. I was able to add shape to my long fringe, getting volume at the roots while smoothing my tresses and giving them bounce. It ended up being my most-used attachment thanks to how quickly I could create a salon-looking blowout. The ceramic curling attachments were slightly harder to get a hang of, but saying that, after a couple of failed attempts, you do get the hang of it, and I was able to create coils that, when brushed out, created a gorgeous, bouncy result. Rather than using heat to curl or wave hair, the T3 Aire 360 gathers hair to form curls using nothing but air. This was great news for my tresses, and I found it was a lot more gentle on my strands, therefore causing less damage and sleeker results. Designed with high-performance heat and innovative ceramic attachments, the air styler has been thoughtfully designed to help you create bouncy blowouts and long-lasting curls at home How we test The T3 Aire 360 hair dryer comes with four hair attachments, so I tried it out in multiple ways. I washed my hair like I usually would, brushed it out and used the tool's SoftAire drying concentrator head to dry my hair until it was about 80 per cent dry. I used the Oval brush attachment to smooth, lift and shape for more effortless styling for those days I wanted a more relaxed blow-dry look that was sleek and polished. The 1.35 Ceramic curling attachment is designed to give you that more Hollywood glamour blow dry with ceramic barrels that have been engineered to keep locks glossy and keep in place all-day hold. While I was using the hair dryer, I made sure to look out for a variety of different factors. These include the drying speed, power, frizz, how the dryer felt in my hand and the ease of use. Read more about how we test beauty products at the Daily Mail. The expertly engineered oval brush head has flexible bristles that combs through my hair well T3 Air 360 review Design and features The T3 Aire 360 looks quite similar to other multi-attachment hair stylers. The oval brush attachment is large, but I actually found this gentler on my hair. This was largely thanks to the custom-designed SmoothGrip bristles, which gripped my hair well without feeling too harsh, resulting in less hair on the brush. It also comes with two 1.5" CeraGloss ceramic attachments designed to smooth the cuticle, boost shine and create long-lasting curls or sleek styles. The airflow does most of the work for you, so once you've figured out which way to angle them for the curl direction you want, it's pretty faultless. The Aire 360 base is super lightweight, but this bears no reflection on its power Hair drying speed and power The Aire 360 base is super lightweight, but this bears no reflection on its power. It has the user in mind with a helpful swivel power cord measuring approximately 2.7 metres, so you can easily reach your mirror for easy styling, plus buttons in all the right places, including an on/off sliding switch, a speed button with three settings, and a temperature button with three heat settings. I also appreciated the cool shot button to help lock in the curl, plus there's a sliding switch on the other side that frees the styling attachments with ease. My favourite accessory was the oval brush attachment. I often struggle to comb through my knotty hair at the same time as drying, and this made it easy and much more manageable thanks to the flexible teeth. Value for money With multi-attachments hair stylers ranging from 132 to 480, at 249 the T3 Aire 360 sits somewhere in the middle. Designed with high-performance heat and innovative ceramic attachments that promise less damage to your hair, I think it's a decent investment for those who love bouncy blowouts and long-lasting curls without having to book into a salon. My favourite accessory was the oval brush attachment. I often struggle to comb through my knotty hair at the same time as drying. Yes, it's an investment cost-wise, but ultimately, if you're spending 50 at the hairdresser's to get a similar result, I do think it's very good value for money. I wouldnt necessarily recommend this for aficionados who already own a similar, cheaper tool, but if youre new to the kind of gadget that gathers hair to form curls using nothing but air, this is a great place to start, and I dont think you will be disappointed. T3 promises salon-style curls at home with its four attachments. How does it compare to similar products The most obvious comparisons will be to the similarly looking 480 Dyson Airwrap. The Dyson boasts many more attachments, including a soft smoothing brush and a Dryer+Flyaway smoother, so you can do more styling, as expected for the price tag. They both have three speeds and three settings and a similar length cord for ease of use, however, so for a saving of 230, I think the T3 comes up trumps. It might be a slightly simpler tool with fewer bells and whistles, but it's a great choice for everyday styling and curling. How does it rate online Reviews on the T3 website are very positive, with one person calling it the 'best hair wave tool I ever used'. They went on to write, 'It is working great, done my hair very fast and easy. My hair looks shiny and healthy after, didn't dry my hair at all. Highly recommended!' However, one did mention the lack of attachments, writing: 'It only has the 4 attachments; I do not mind switching out the curlers for direction, it makes it definitely known what direction it's being curled and easier for my brain to process. I do wish it came with an actual hair straightening brush and/or a diffuser if I ever wanted to let my natural curls fly.' T3 AIRE 360 Multi styler Why trust us At the Daily Mail, our team of expert testers have been researching, reviewing and writing about their respective specialisms for years. Emily has been reviewing and writing about a range of products from travel to beauty for over five years. All of her reviews are honest, impartial and give a rounded opinion of the products she tests. FAQs Does T3 Aire 360 cause heat damage? Using nothing but air to curl your hair, the T3 Airer 360 has been designed to style hair with zero heat damage. Using the SoftAire drying concentrator, it delivers fast yet gentle drying that helps protect hair's natural moisture, leaving it looking healthy, not crispy. Are T3 products safe to use on all hair? Yes, according to the brand, T3 tools are designed with adjustable settings to accommodate various hair types and textures. When content creator Joanne Hardcastle who has 272,000 Instagram followers for her interiors account @hardcastletowers visited a local salon to have her nails refreshed at the end of last year, she didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. After all, gel manicures are the most popular beauty service in the UK; for many women nail upkeep is as routine as wearing full make-up or having a hair cut. However, this time, Hardcastle was in for a nasty shock. She'd been having her nails done for years, and always prided herself on having neat, colourful nails. (For an influencer creating content, with their hands on camera on a daily basis, it was a pretty integral part of the job). Towards the end of 2025 she decided to try builder gel for the first time: a thicker gel that promises fewer chips and stronger nails. When the first re-application appointment came round, Hardcastle discovered a green tinge had developed on her natural nail underneath. Her manicurist had never seen anything like it, but said not to worry and applied the next builder gel design straight on top. This would prove to be a horrible mistake and lead her to weeks of pain. When the builder gel was removed during the salon trip, both Joanne and her manicurist were horrified. Not only had her nails turned even more green, but they smelled terrible and the nail had lifted up from the nail bed. The skin underneath was sore, red and blistered, and she struggled to use her hands for daily tasks. The salon could muster no explanation and no apology; Hardcastle even had to pay for the removal. I was absolutely horrified when I saw my nails and couldnt wait to get out of the salon. I was so upset I felt like I had to hide my hands and I didnt want anybody to notice them, she says. Joanne Hardcastle, a popular interiors influencer, routinely went to the salon for manicures, as showing her hands on camera was a key part of content creating The colourful builder gel manicure that turned out to be hiding Joanne's extreme nail infection Working in a job that is all about visuals made the shocking appearance of Hardcastle's nails even more challenging. She talks of feeling ashamed, and trying to create products for ads while hiding her fingertips (which proved impossible). Eventually she had to hold her hands up to her 272,000 followers (figuratively and literally) and fill them in to what shed been through. Cue thousands of people getting in touch to share their similar experiences. I had to tell my agent because it affected my work. Then I sent a picture to a friend who is a doctor and she advised medical attention, says Hardcastle. She also visited a private podiatrist to seek expert help. A fungal infection test came back negative (and cost 200) and she was eventually given a vague bacterial diagnosis. They prescribed me a lotion and advised me to expose them to the air, leave them natural and grow them out, says Hardcastle. But how did she get an infection in the first place? The salon was hygienic, she says, with all tools being disinfected in Barbicide so what could be the cause? I spoke to Tinu Bello, nail tech, educator and senior brand ambassador for nail brand Mylee, to find out her expert opinion. This looks like onycholysis, where the nail lifts slightly from the nail bed, which can be triggered by anything from a small knock to allergic reactions to skin conditions like dermatitis. But, says Bello, once a gap forms, everyday water exposure can enter underneath, and that is the perfect environment for a bacteria called Pseudomonas which causes the green-black discolouration under the nail plate Or what people in the industry call greenies. Joanne's fingernails turned green, which made her feel ashamed. She even tried to hide them from her followers when filming (which proved impossible) Nail expert Tinu Bello says Joanne was likely suffering from onycholysis where the nail plate separates from the nail bed Joanne's podiatrist cut off the dead, lifted parts of her nail, prescribed a lotion, and gave her a bacterial diagnosis After two months, Joanne has nearly recovered from the damage her gel manicure wreaked and is allowing her nails to grow out naturally As Hardcastle found out, once the infection goes deep enough into the nail, it cant be buffed off you simply have to wait for it to grow out. They got worse before they got better, and they were sore, she says. The skin on my fingers blistered and peeled. Bello advises sterilising the nails and keeping them clean and dry until the damage grows out. She says, the most important thing is that once lifting or discolouration appears, the enhancement should be removed. Nail health always comes first, even if that means taking a break from treatments. Bello recommends that if you use gel polish, you can wait for three weeks and then should fully remove it. She says that if the nails underneath are healthy then youre fine to reapply another manicure. For builder gels, you can infill up to four times before you should completely remove it to assess nail health before booking in for another appointment. And what about the school of thought that nails need a break every once in a while? In Bellos opinion: You only need a break if your nails are damaged and need time to recover. Never apply gels onto damaged nails, you must let them heal before reapplying. Looking at Joannes condition, she agrees this is an extreme case and would recommend visiting your GP for a referral to a dermatologist for allergy testing if you experience similar (although as we all know, waiting lists can be long). For Hardcastle, recovery has meant two months of letting her nails grow, keeping them clean and dry, rubbing oil into them occasionally, and cutting off all the lifted nail as it grows out. Several weeks on, she is nearing the end of her growing out process, with her nails having thankfully attached to her nail bed once more. I ask whether shell be going back to brightly coloured gels. Her answer? Never again. Even if your outfit is pricey, it is possible that certain items are making it look cheap. Luckily for you, the Daily Mail spoke to fashion experts who revealed the major faux pas that make an outfit look tacky - from dated styles like chevron prints to rocking faux leather pants that look like plastic. To get you back on track, the style mavens also shared ways to instantly elevate your wardrobe without spending loads of money. Looking wealthy on a budget is not as difficult as it may seem, but it can be shockingly easy to mistake tacky for elegance - especially with the rise of fast fashion trends. Plus, designer brands are duped regularly, making it difficult to tell what is real. While a high-priced purse looked deluxe in the past, now everyone has one. Still, those in the know can spot a fake from a mile away. 'There is a massive difference between high-quality, durable materials and the flimsy synthetics often found in fast fashion,' Sophie Doyle, founder of luxury bag brand Alf the Label, explained. Here, the Daily Mail is rounding up what not to wear, as well as what to add, for an instant outfit upgrade. Avoid synthetic fabrics. It can be tempting to buy faux leather pants instead of spending thousands on the real thing, but make sure to avoid shiny fabrics Look for faux leather that is not shiny and instead looks lived in and natural, like the 12th Tribe slouchy London Calling jacket above Erika Kirk famously wore leather pants at a Turning Point USA event in October last year Synthetic fabrics It is almost impossible to find an affordable shirt or dress made of cotton, silk or cashmere, which is a constant complaint on social media. Suddenly, even higher-end brands are boasting products made with polyester, nylon or acrylic. Zahra Abbas, the founder of handcrafted jewelry brand Za Zewelz, disapproves of these bargain materials. But when it comes to making mistakes in dressing yourself, one major miss is wearing plastic-looking faux leather - which Abbas described as an immediate 'cheapener' because it always 'fails to mimic the natural depth of real hide.' Abbas said it is best to 'avoid thin, 100 percent polyester pieces that have a synthetic glow.' 'Instead,' she said, 'it is best to invest in natural fibers, like cotton or linen, which look more flattering.' Demi Marchese, the founder of women's boutique 12th Tribe, told the Daily Mail that 'high-end faux leather can look costumey if it's too glossy or drapes unnaturally.' But that does not mean you have to spend thousands of dollars on the ideal leather jacket. Instead, the experts suggest, look for pieces without the shine. Marchese, based in Los Angeles, recommended the oversized, slouchy London Calling Faux Leather Jacket ($168) in tan or brown, which can easily be layered over a tank or little black dress and looks more authentic. Busy patterns look dated and far from affluent. Instead, seek out tailored, monochromatic pieces, like the Heidi Merrick outfit above The experts have warned chevron patterns, saying the design 'can date an outfit instantly'. Pictured: Margot Robbie wears a pink chiffon chevron dress at the 2023 Golden Globe awards Dated, high-contrast patterns Avoiding patterns is not necessary, but steer clear of the more obviously dated options. 'Busy patterns like chevron can date an outfit instantly,' Doyle said, before suggesting elevated neutrals as a replacement. Doyle swears by the 'anchor' strategy, which means finding inexpensive basics at lower price points and then pairing them with pricier items. 'My best tip is to anchor those basics with one high-quality, investment-level accessory,' Doyle said. 'A masterfully crafted leather bag can "pull up" the perceived value of an entire look, making even simple sneakers and jeans feel intentional and curated.' Instead of mixing and matching prints, Doyle suggested trying monochromatic dressing. 'Layering different shades of the same neutral creates a seamless, polished aesthetic that feels effortlessly chic,' she added. Marchese also said upgrading personal style is easiest achieved by starting with staples and looking for 'elevated everyday pieces' like 'a structured leather jacket, a tailored blazer, an everyday tank and great denim.' Celebs including Sydney Sweeney (pictured in 2023) have opted to show off bra strap detailing One instant way to make an outfit look cheap? Exposed bra straps. Instead, opt for simple underpinnings, like the white Bobbles & Lace tank above Exposed undergarments Whether you are wearing a bralette or a lacy brassiere, try not to leave it exposed. Lindsay Rose Rando, the founder of boutique Bobbles & Lace, warned the Daily Mail that 'Nothing cheapens a look faster than an exposed bra strap.' 'The foundation of any great outfit starts underneath,' Rando, based in Boston, explained. 'Proper undergarments are just as important as the outer layer.' To avoid showing off bra straps, she said it is best to 'invest in the right layering pieces,' like solid undergarments or her brand's $39 white Double Trouble Tank. Or, opt for seamless offerings like the Wacoal Women's Better Than Braless Underwire Bra. 'Don't let one small detail undo an otherwise flawless look,' Rando warned. Of course, in the era of celebrity naked dressing, plenty of stars ditch undergarments altogether. Regardless of whether that works for you, take care to make sure your bra is not showing. According to fashionistas, it is high time to ditch skintight dresses made of synthetic fabrics Balance going out outfits by wearing trendy tops and playful bottoms, like the 12th Tribe look above Too tight outfits Gen Z has been extremely against wearing tight tops paired with equally fitted bottoms, complaining it looks dated and millennial. So, has wearing tight clothing become tacky and cringe? Doyle suggested playing with proportion. 'To elevate a formfitting piece, I recommend pairing it with something structured,' she said. 'A tight top looks incredibly sophisticated when balanced with tailored wide-leg trousers and a structured leather carry-all.' Abbas said an entirely skin-tight outfit 'often looks inexpensive because it lacks dimension.' Designer Heidi Merrick, whose elegant ensembles are beloved by Meghan Markle, said fit is the easiest way to upgrade an ensemble and make it look more luxurious. 'Be confident enough not to show off your figure in everything you wear,' Merrick said. 'Wear it because you like the silhouette, the fabric, the color, the print.' Marchese believes it is best to avoid 'micro mini dresses or something overly revealing' for a night out on the town. Instead, the creative director would opt for the Frankie Satin Fringe Midi Skirt or Luna Cove Sage Fringe Mini Skirt, which could easily pair with a tank, T-shirt or even button-down for more coverage. Experts say it is best to leave athleisure and sweatsuits back in 2025. Kendall Jenner is seen in a casual outfit last month It can be tempting to splash out on designer duds, but fashion experts say it is best to avoid wearing obvious labels Splashed out sweatsuits Experts say it is best to leave athleisure and sweatsuits back in 2025. 'It takes just as much energy to put on a cool trouser as it does a pair of leggings and, dare I say they're often even more comfortable,' Rando said. 'Somewhere along the way, we decided athleisure was "easier" than getting dressed. It's not, it has just become the default.' It can be tempting to splash out on expensive brands and make sure everyone knows you are wearing Gucci, but opting for a sweatsuit emblazoned with the logo can look tasteless if worn incorrectly. 'To look truly expensive, avoid visible branding,' Abbas said, explaining that true luxury is not achieved when you're a 'walking billboard.' Merrick also said you could be decked out 'head toe in expensive logos and still not give a sense of luxury.' Make sure purses have hardware that looks expensive and not overly shiny or flimsy Hinky hardware No longer a sign that someone lacks the funds for pricey purses, designer dupes are all the rage. But that does not mean there aren't certain things to look out for when buying a bag - whether it's inexpensive or wallet-draining. The experts' main tip is to make sure finishes on purses do not look overly shiny or obviously garish. Doyle told the Daily Mail that 'nothing dates a piece faster than hardware that chips or loses its finish.' 'Hardware is a silent killer for an outfit,' Marchese also advised, warning against 'flimsy zippers, hollow buttons, brassy gold and exposed glue on shoes.' 'It's the little details like these that instantly make something read cheap, no matter how much you spent,' Marchese added. Next time you are doing a close clean out, stay away from showy items, and swap them for tasteful basics, elegant finishes and a few tailored pieces. The Daily Mail has launched a new YouTube show breaking down the biggest fashion trends sweeping New York City. The first fit tackled by Subway Style Files is the leather bomber jacket, with the episode uncovering the extraordinary wartime origins of a jacket taking the city by storm. The leather bomber jacket can trace its origins to 1917, when the United States joined the allies in their fight against the Central Powers. After declaring war, the country set up the Aviation Clothing Board to provide pilots heading to Europe with protective gear. The newly created clothing board began work on a special jacket for the pilots of bomber planes, who had to contend with freezing temperatures at high altitudes during their raids. The first bomber jackets were snugly fitted, made of horsehide with a wool lining to trap heat, a far cry from the popular loose look sported today by celebrities like Hailey Bieber, which would have been wholly impractical in the tiny space of a cockpit. The Daily Mail has launched a new YouTube show breaking down the biggest fashion trends sweeping New York City. The first fit tackled by Subway Style Files is the leather bomber jacket The first bomber jackets were snugly fitted, made of horsehide with a wool lining to trap heat The US Navy still issues its aviation personnel with the jackets. Upon the release of Top Gun, in which Tom Cruise played a pilot sporting a bomber, applications to join the Navy soared Adding to the jacket's distinctive look, pilots would stitch badges and the insignia of their squadrons across their jackets - a way of signalling not just their rank, but where they had flown and what they had survived. By the Second World War, many of the patches sported by pilots were designed by Hollywood studios, including Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. Disney himself designed over 1,200 insignia entirely for free, later saying of the pilots: 'I had to do it. I owed it to them.' The later addition of orange lining to the jackets also had its roots in military practicality. If a pilot was downed, they could turn the jacket inside out to be spotted by rescuers searching from above. The jackets became a symbol of valour among returning pilots, an image that young men across the country were desperate to emulate. When military issue jackets began appearing in second hand stores across the US, they flew off the shelves. Listen to first episode of the Daily Mail's Subway Style Files by clicking here To this day, the US Navy still issues its aviation personnel with the jackets. Upon the release of the 1986 film Top Gun, in which Tom Cruise played a fighter pilot sporting a bomber throughout, applications to join the Navy soared. The bomber has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Subway Style Files host Kristen Williamson explained the reason for this can be found in young people's love of comfort and sustainability. She said: 'Comfort is a huge factor in why this jacket is still so popular. Today's fashion crowd values comfort as much as style. 'Outfits being wearable all day has a huge impact on what's trending. An oversized bomber is great for layering and is weather resistant for colder months. The jacket makes any look feel intentional. 'With a growing move towards sustainability, people are thrifting with quality materials in mind and trying to get clothes they can wear for years. That means retro style is becoming more popular. A leather jacket is timeless.' To watch the full episode of Subway Style Files, subscribe to the Daily Mail's Lifestyle YouTube channel. Its not often that a brand invites multiple journalists to an evening soiree to launch a single item of clothing, but Marks & Spencer clearly proud of its latest product. So much so, in fact, theyve given it a definite article: its not just a trench, its The Trench. And its dropped with much fanfare at M&S stores around the country. Press gathered this week to celebrate the launch of the 95 trench coat, among them You magazines fashion editor Hannah Skelley, who was impressed too. To make a weatherproof yet chic coat is one thing. But to make it for under 100 is another feat entirely, and one which M&S has nailed here, she says. Designed by M&Ss in-house team, and based on research into its huge archive of former product designs (the checked pattern on the lining comes directly from the archives), this coat is intended to be a future classic. Skelley says: The design team went into the Leeds archive to find inspiration for this historical silhouette, and with an 86-piece pattern, the attention to detail is impressive. From the leather buckle belt, to the hidden internal chest pocket and the cape detailing across the shoulders, you'd expect to find this trench on the rail of a mid-price brand, not next to the picky bits and Percy Pigs. The trench is crafted from premium cotton twill for a structured regular fit The retailer has picked a good time to launch the design, with searches for womens trench coat up 110% year-on-year and 1.2 million searches for trench annually. This one features water-repellent Stormwear technology to keep you dry (its built for Britains famously changeable weather), while heritage detailing, and a flattering silhouette are intended to look effortlessly stylish. A detachable waist-cinching belt with a loop to keep it secure along with a rich faux-leather buckle and glossy mock horn buttons allow for a flexible fit. I popped along to my local Marks & Spencer store to try on the trench, and I definitely could feel the quality its more of a heavyweight, robust trench coat than some of those lightweight, drapey ones. This would actually keep you warm and dry on a blustery spring day, instead of being purely decorative. The Trench is available in sizes 6 to 24, in both regular and petite lengths, and there is a black version as well as the signature light caramel. Will it live up to the hype? I'll be interested to see how quickly they fly off the shelves... A simple, cheap and widely available chemist item may have been overlooked for its potential as a DIY home test for cancer detection, according to a medical doctor. Dr Christabel Akinola recently shared an Instagram post explaining how the humble home pregnancy test can reveal more than just whether you're having a baby. 'There's a very cheap test, probably lying in your house now, that could reveal if you have cancer,' Dr Akinola shared. 'It costs almost nothing,' she continued. 'It can point to eight [or more] different cancers... and most don't know how to use it.' Dr Akinola explained that 'early detection' has always been the key message from the medical community when it comes to diagnosis, effective treatment, and management of cancer. Even so, she explained, many people will wait until they have scheduled a medical appointment to undergo cancer detection tests - unaware there's already an accessible but underutilised home test option. A home pregnancy test analyses urine to check for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is 'a hormone produced by the placenta' during pregnancy. But hCG can also be 'produced by certain tumours, and mainly the cancerous ones'. 'Having a positive pregnancy test as a man, or a menopausal woman, can be a sign of colon, liver, lung, testicular, pancreatic, and stomach cancers,' Dr Akinola elaborated. 'There's a very cheap test, probably lying in your house now, that could reveal if you have cancer,' Dr Akinola shared in a recent post on her @drbelswellness account 'These are cancers where early detection is crucial,' she continued, adding that unfortunately many people only become aware of these kinds of cancers once it's 'too late', when more sinister symptoms start to appear. 'If you are not on fertility medications and get a positive pregnancy test as a man, or are menopausal or have had a hysterectomy as a woman, please visit the hospital immediately for further investigations to be carried out to make sure you are fine.' Dr Akinola concluded by acknowledging that, although it might sound strange for a man or menopausal woman to buy and use a home pregnancy test kit, it could 'save a life'. 'Once in a while, try doing a pregnancy test at home. It's cheap, simple, and can save your life,' she said. If the test does come back positive in this scenario, the doctor recommends wasting no time in booking a follow-up appointment. 'Having a positive result can have a range of causes, but it is best to see a doctor immediately,' Dr Akinola explained in the post caption. 'A positive pregnancy test for a man or menopausal woman can be a red flag for cancer.' The Australian government's trusted health information website HealthDirect confirms that the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test is primarily known as a pregnancy test - but can also be used for cancer detection. The listing for hCG tests on healthdirect.gov.au explains that the its primary use - whether analysed by a pathologist or a self-test at home - is to confirm and monitor a pregnancy, as 'the hCG hormone is usually present only during pregnancy'. Dr Akinola recommended: 'If you are not on fertility medications and get a positive pregnancy test as a man, or are menopausal or have had a hysterectomy as a woman, please visit the hospital immediately for further investigations to be carried out to make sure you are fine.' 'The hCG test is most commonly used to detect and monitor pregnancy, but it can also be used to detect and monitor some types of cancer,' it states. However, it's worth noting that this listing only mentions doctor-referred pathology blood hCG tests being used for cancer detection purposes - not urine tests or home pregnancy test kits. 'Blood hCG tests are also used to detect tumours that can produce hCG, such as testicular and ovarian cancer,' the advice continued. 'The tests can monitor these tumours. This can help your doctor check if treatment is working or if the tumour has returned after treatment.' Equinox gym members have declared 'war is over' after a relentless two-year battle which involved countless public complaints and online petitions. On Wednesday, the luxury gym proudly announced that Le Labo will be introduced to all its clubs, marking the end of its unfavorable partnership with Grown Alchemist. Equinox began its controversial collaboration with the Australian beauty brand in 2024, prompting an unrelenting war from members who begged for better. After enjoying a 13-year partnership with Kiehl's, many believed they were shortchanged with Grown Alchemist toiletries and argued that the brand was not on the same luxe tier as its predecessor. Adding to the blow, Life Time, Equinox's competitor, partnered with Kiehl's in 2025. Over the past 24 months, disgruntled Equinox members dominated the gym's dedicated subreddit with their pleas, essentially turning the social media platform into a hub of complaints over what they deemed to be subpar products. They even launched Change.org petitions in a desperate attempt to get Kiehl's back in the bathrooms, all to no avail. One member told the Daily Mail they refused to use the shower products at Equinox despite shelling out over $350 a month on fees. Equinox announced its partnership with Le Labo this week - much to the delight of its members Le Labo's basil-scented products will be introduced to all Equinox gyms from March 19 They also said that the brand felt 'cheapened' by its collaboration with Grown Alchemist. 'I joined Equinox for all the amenities, including what I'd heard were amazing bathroom products,' they said. 'However, I joined shortly after the gym had made the switch to Grown Alchemist. I tried it the first few times I went to my gym, and I couldn't believe how cheap it felt. 'It got to the point where I refused to shower at Equinox, and instead I trek home and shower at my apartment.' According to Grown Alchemist, the decision to conclude its worldwide partnership with Equinox was a mutual one as 'both organizations continue to evolve their long-term strategies.' The partnership concluded on February 28, but the brand will continue as a partner in Equinox hotel properties. Sarah Schmidt, president of PR firm Interdependence, praised Equinox for acting. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, she said: 'Equinox is a premium brand, so every part of the experience has to reinforce that promise. Equinox partnered with Grown Alchemist for two years, much to the frustration of members Le Labo shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body and hand lotion, face cleanser and face lotion will be available at Equinox locations 'While toiletries may seem small, when speaking about luxury, those small details are what make an ordinary brand extraordinary.' Schmidt added that moving to Le Labo is a smart correction because it aligns the brand and the experience. It also shows that Equinox heard customer feedback and acted on it. 'That's where smart brands really stand out and earn trust and loyalty,' she added. Luckily for Equinox members, the war on bathroom products has finally ended - and Le Labo couldn't have been a better result. Founded in 2005, the perfumery is among the high-end toiletry brands and sits comfortably alongside the likes of Aesop and Byredo. With its signature fragrances like Santal 33 priced at $240 for 50ml, Equinox gym goers are already delighted at the prospect of soaking in its notoriously strong-smelling scent. From March 19, Equinox members will be able to lather themselves in Le Labo's basil-scented shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body and hand lotion, face cleanser and face lotion. 'Huge win, good on them for listening to the members,' one wrote in celebration of the news. 'Okay Equinox, we see you listening and learning!' said another. SUVs are the most popular type of vehicle in Britain, with new models outselling traditional hatchback and saloon cars for the last two years. But one in three people believe they are more dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists than smaller vehicles, according to the latest research by a road safety charity. IAM RoadSmart polled 1,048 UK motorists and found that a fifth would support a ban on SUVs entering city centres, such is the perceived threat these larger motors pose to vulnerable road users. Market analysis shows that more than half of all models in UK car showrooms today are either SUV or jacked-up crossover cars, with almost 200 different options to pick from in dealers. Their growing popularity and availability is why the average width of new cars sold in Britain increases, on average, by a centimetre every two years. One think tank is calling for SUVs to be stung with a 'large vehicle tax' to encourage car buyers to consider smaller vehicle options that are likely to cause less harm to pedestrians in collisions. And it says funds raised from the levy should be pumped into a 'social leasing' scheme that offers to subsidise the cost of running a new electric vehicle for low-income families. One in three UK drivers say SUVs are more dangerous to pedestrians than conventional hatchback and saloon cars. Campaigners want them to be hit with a 'large vehicle tax' IAM RoadSmart's study comes in the wake of some of the world's largest SUV models becoming available to UK drivers for the first time. A partnership between GM Speciality Vehicles and London-based motor dealer Clive Sutton announced this month allows Britons to order a selection of luxury General Motors SUV models exclusively sold in North America. It provides access to cars like the Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon, variants of which are almost six metres in length making them more than a metre longer than a conventional car park space. Some weigh almost 2.8 tonnes. Nicholas Lyes, policy and standards director at the road safety charity, said: 'Huge cars were once associated with the USA, but car spreading is alive and well in the UK. 'Many drivers will have noticed that fitting a car into a space has become tighter compared to 20 years ago and may also hold their breath if they see a large oncoming SUV on a narrow country road. 'Despite the fact that these cars are growing, both in size and popularity, our roads and parking spaces are not significantly wider, and something needs to give.' While the growth of the SUV market - which now account for more than a third of new vehicle registrations - has been blamed for a surge in 'car spreading' in recent years, motors of all body shapes have increased in dimension to meet stricter safety regulations and in the pursuit of better crash protection. Studies conducted in 2024 show that more than half of motors in showrooms are wider than a standard 180cm on-street parking bay, with the average new model 180.3cm from door to door. But Transport & Environment, which carried out the research, fired a broadside at a breed it dubs 'mega SUVs', which are 200cm wide on average, or 220cm inclusive of their door mirrors. The Brussels based green campaign group says these SUVs are a 'clear and growing threat to public safety'. A recent report claimed SUVs significantly increases the death rate when pedestrians are struck as they are more likely to be pulled under a moving vehicle rather than bounce off them According to an Imperial College London study - which analysed over 680,000 accidents from across the last 35 years - pedestrians are 44 per cent more likely to be fatally injured if hit by an SUV compared with a 'regular' car. For children and cyclists, the likelihood increases to 82 per cent. This is because vulnerable road users are at greater risk of being dragged under an SUV rather than deflect off the bonnet, the latter of which is more likely to occur with conventional hatchback and saloon models that are closer to the ground with smaller grilles. 'With demand for bigger cars showing no sign of abating, we believe improvements to vehicle design such as mandating bumpers and hoods from materials that reduce injury severity, and pedestrian automatic emergency breaking,' Lyes said. 'External airbags should also be explored to mitigate against the size and weight of the vehicle.' Should SUVs be taxed more? The IAM RoadSmart study also found that many Britons would support restrictions being placed on SUVs in areas with greater footfall, such as the shopping districts of city centres. While no UK council is yet to ban SUVs, some have started to introduce increased parking fees. Cardiff has approved the principle of an additional charge for residential parking permits for vehicles weighing over 2.4 tonnes, while some local authorities have also banned motors over 5 metres in length from using council-operated car parks. In 2024, Paris tripled its parking charges for heavier cars after the mayor argued that SUVs are dangerous and bad for the environment. 'While cities may opt for charges or hiking parking fees to discourage use, our view is that safer vehicle design and enhanced driver education can make the biggest difference,' Lyes explained. But T&E wants to go a step further, calling for the introduction of a 'large vehicle levy'. This would be a unique annual tax on SUVs on top of vehicle excise duty, which the groups says would discourage ownership of bigger motors. And it has urged the Government to use funds generated by the tax to bankroll a social leasing EV scheme for low-income households. Citing studies that suggest low earners are being priced out of EV ownership, T&E said this not only creates a class divide for battery-powered cars but is driving the slowdown in EV sales. Registrations data shows that appetite for electric cars in Britain is waning, with sales only growing by one per cent in January. The think tank says demand will increase if new EVs are made more affordable to low earners as it could lower the price of a new model to as little as 77 per month. A scan of current leasing deals available shows the cheapest starting from 130-a-month for small models like the Leapmotor T03. For something that resembles a family-sized car, prices start from 144 for a Vauxhall Frontera Electric. These costs are significantly higher than what the lowest earners in the UK typically spend, which T&E says is under 100 a month on car purchases or leasing. By offering eight-year social leases backed by funds raised from an SUV tax and surplus cash from the Electric Car Grant scheme, monthly costs could be slashed as low as 77. T&E says this would 'bridge the gap' and 'unlock the cheaper running costs of EVs for families with less disposable income, helping to cut bills and tackle inequality'. Parisians voted in 2024 to muscle SUVs off the French capital's streets by making them three times more expensive to park, and called on London to follow suit A similar social leasing initiative launched in France in December 2023 and proved overwhelmingly popular. It generated 90,000 applications for just 25,000 spots in the first month and a half it became available. 'Social leasing is the perfect next step for the UKs EV transition,' explains Eloise Sacares, senior researcher in UK vehicles policy at T&E UK. 'We need to ensure that those on low incomes who need a car can access an affordable EV. 'By bringing leasing costs down to as low as 77 a month, we can ensure that EVs are accessible and reduce bills for all.' She added: 'The best thing about social leasing for electric vehicles is that it can be sustainably funded by a new large vehicle levy on SUVs. 'This could fund 179,000 households a year to take part in the scheme all the while reducing air pollution, and household bills.' The water regulator plans to fine South East Water 22million for repeated supply failures, it said today. Regulator Ofwat said the company had failed to plan sufficiently and was therefore unable to cope during periods of high demand or extreme weather. It follows an investigation into disruptions between 2020 and 2023, which affected more than 286,000 people. As a result, customers were left with no tap water, unable to shower or flush their toilets, which caused immense stress and anxiety, the watchdog said. Ofwat also called the water company slow and disorganised in its response and has not taken ownership of these issues. Ofwat has opened a separate investigation into South East Water for recent failings too Chris Walters, interim CEO at Ofwat said: 'South East Water's significant failings caused major disruption and had a huge impact on thousands of its customers. 'Not only did the company fail in its duty to provide a water supply to meet the demands of its customers, but it also fell short when it came to providing support for customers who lost their supply. They must do better. This investigation gets to the heart of the company's supply resilience problems. We want to see South East Water take more responsibility and get on with fixing things for its customers. South East Water said it had recently filed for judicial review and sought an injunction on a recent Ofwat decision. A spokesperson for South East Water said: 'Following a hearing, the court did not grant the interim injunction. We respect the courts decision on this. 'We are now considering Ofwats draft decision and will respond via the appropriate channels, ahead of its final decision. We have no further comment at this time.' Ofweat has launched a new, separate investigation into the firm, following major supply interruptions last November and December, and again in January, which left thousands of Tunbridge Wells residents without drinking water. It comes just a day after another supplier, South West Water, admitted supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak in Devon. Last year, Ofwat handed Thames Water a recrod 104million fine for environmental breaches involving sewage spills. Primark has hired a new boss as it seeks to get back on track ahead of a spin-off from its owner and a potential stock market listing. Eoin Tonge, former finance boss at owner Associated British Foods (ABF) and interim Primark boss, has now been appointed to run the fashion chain after Paul Marchant quit in a scandal over his behaviour last year. ABF chief executive George Weston said: Following a comprehensive search process, I am delighted to confirm Eoin as chief executive of Primark. 'Over the past year he has demonstrated the leadership, judgement and consumer insight needed to enable Primark to capture the significant opportunities ahead. Primark - who sells a range of clothes by Rita Ora - has struggled with weaker sales in Europe Former H&M boss Filip Ekvall has also been hired into a newly created chief commercial officer role. The update follows a profit warning from ABF earlier this year off the back of weaker European sales at Primark and challenges in its US food business. ABF had been set to announce in April whether its retail arm will be spun out into a new entity, according to sources close to the issue. Last year ABF launched a review of its business, paving the way for a break-up of the 16 billion empire. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: With the new team now in place, parent group Associated British Foods will be hoping for a rapid improvement in sales and profit growth if it still wants a fighting chance of spinning off Primark. The better the financial and strategic position of Primark, the higher the valuation investors will be prepared to pay to own shares in the retail business as a standalone entity. But questions remain as to whether a spin off will be impacted by weak sales at Primark and conflict in the Middle East. Attacks on Iran by the US, and subsequent conflict in the region, has spooked investors this week. Travel firm Loveholidays is reportedly considering delaying its 1bn London listing as nervousness has fed into a sector sell-off this week. Actuaries are being sidelined in favour of data scientists, Avivas boss revealed yesterday, in the latest evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) is causing an upheaval for office-based jobs. However, Amanda Blanc, the insurers chief executive, played down the idea that AI will result in major lay-offs, but she said that it was reshaping the way the business operates and who it employs. Actuaries are traditionally relied upon by the insurance industry as well as other companies and organisations to assess risk and uncertainty. Using mathematical, statistical and financial models, the profession is a traditional well-paid career path for maths graduates. But like other professions, it threatens to be disrupted by rapid advances in AI models which are able to complete ever-more sophisticated tasks. Blanc set out yesterday how AI was transforming FTSE 100-listed Aviva. She said AI was being used across the business, for example by using virtual agents able to take simple claims calls. Changing times: Aviva boss Amanda Blanc played down the idea that AI will result in major lay-offs but said that it was reshaping the way the business operates and who it employs On the impact of AI on jobs, she said Aviva was in the fortunate position that the business was growing but that as AI scales, clearly we will look at that Im sure well talk about that in the future. She added: We are changing the type of people, the type of skills that were looking for. The Aviva chief did not suggest there was no future for actuaries, however. Yesterdays comments came as the Bank of England prepares to weigh up the implications of growing AI adoption amid fears it could cause a bloodbath of office-based jobs. A spokesman declined to comment on the plans, first reported by Bloomberg. Blancs comments on AI came as Aviva reported a 25 per cent increase in annual profits to 2.2billion and announced a 350million share buyback a resumption of buybacks after a hiatus due to its 3.7billion takeover last year of smaller rival Direct Line. The construction industry is suffering its longest downturn since the financial crisis nearly 20 years ago, as housebuilding slumps. In a bleak report that made a mockery of Labours pledge to build, baby, build, data provider S&P Global said its index of activity in the sector fell to 44.5 last month, from 46.4 in January. It was the 14th month in a row that the reading has been below the all-important 50 mark that separates growth from decline. The report showed that housebuilding remained the weakest-performing segment of the industry with the slump deepening last month. The report came just days after the Office for Budget Responsibility said it expects just 220,000 new homes in 2026-27 down from an average of 260,000 a year in the early 2020s. The projected fall is a humiliation for Labour after it vowed to build 300,000 homes a year in this Parliament a total of 1.5m by 2029. Building slump: S&P Global said its index of activity in Britain's construction sector fell to 44.5 last month from 46.4 in January Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: Days after Rachel Reeves told us her plan is working, more evidence that it very clearly is not. Construction is an engine of growth, but like many sectors, it is misfiring badly. The S&P Global report came as Taylor Wimpey, one of the countrys biggest housebuilders, revealed that profits more than halved last year, falling 54 per cent to 146.5million. It came despite revenue climbing 13 per cent to 3.8billion. The boss of Rolls-Royce is in line to become one of the FTSE 100s best-paid chief executives. The engine maker yesterday announced a remuneration package for Tufan Erginbilgic that could top 24million. He has led a stunning turnaround of Rolls-Royce since taking over at the start of 2023, and has been rewarded with a deal that puts him on course to rival AstraZeneca chief Pascal Soriot. The details came as it emerged that Emma Walmsley, boss of UK-listed drugs giant GSK, saw her pay package soar by 49 per cent to 15.7million in her final year in charge of the company. Her total earnings since taking over in 2017 could reach 84.7million. The bumper sums drew claims from campaigners of a culture of corporate excess. Cashing in: Tufan Erginbilgic, pictured, has led a stunning turnaround of Rolls-Royce since taking over at the start of 2023 Rolls-Royces proposals nearly double the maximum bonus levels that could be available to Erginbilgic if he meets targets. The annual bonus could total 300 per cent of his basic salary, up from 200 per cent currently. And long-term share awards could be worth 750 per cent, up from 375 per cent. It adds up to a maximum of 18.5million based on recent share price valuations, rising to 24.4million if they increase by 50 per cent by the time Erginbilgic is to receive the shares in 2031. Soriots maximum annual pay after a review in 2023 is 18.9million or 25.2million if the shares soar further by the time of the award. Erginbilgic dubbed Turbo for his ferocious work ethic was paid a relatively modest 4.7million in 2025, up from 4.1million the year before, according to Rolls-Royces annual report that was published yesterday. However, he is already sitting on a paper gain of more than 100million after share awards granted when he joined the firm which are due to vest in 2027 and 2028. Since he took over, the shares have increased fourteen-fold in value. Announcing the pay package yesterday, Rolls-Royce pointed to his stunning success in boosting profit fivefold to 3.5billion. A spokesman said: Rolls-Royce is in a completely different place to where we were three years ago when the current policy was designed. Final paycheck: Emma Walmsley, boss of UK-listed drugs giant GSK, saw her pay package soar by 49% to 15.7m Rolls-Royces share price has increased by approximately 1300 per cent since January 2023, taking our market cap from 8billion to 108billion, ranked as the fifth-largest listed company in the FTSE 100. This progress has been driven by the actions that Tufan Erginbilgic and his leadership team have taken. 'The step-change in Rolls-Royces performance, coupled with competitive pressures in the external environment for world-class talent, necessitates a review of our remuneration policy. Some in the City believe bosses of UK-listed firms must be paid more to help Britains stock market compete with stratospheric pay deals available to US companies. But the High Pay Centre, a campaign group that carries out research and analysis on issues relating to top incomes, fears it could mean a culture of corporate excess. The think-tanks interim director Andrew Speke said: In recent weeks we have seen a number of big banks offer sharp pay rises to their chief executives. Speke said that the pay bonanza appears to reflect a wider pattern in which leading FTSE 100 companies are showing much less restraint in executive remuneration. Radio legend John Laws is looking after his longtime personal assistant from beyond the grave by wiping what remained of a $600,000 loan he gave her to buy an apartment. Laws left almost the entirety of his multimillion-dollar estate to be split equally among his five children and four stepchildren but made special provision in his will for Jodee Borgo. Ms Borgo was Laws's 'queen handmaiden' - his chief organiser, gatekeeper and protector for 30 years until the broadcasting giant died aged 90 in November. After Laws's beloved wife Caroline died in February 2020, Ms Borgo became even more important to her boss as his chief confidant. A copy of Laws's will obtained by the Daily Mail shows the man known as 'Golden Tonsils' wanted to repay Ms Borgo's decades of loyalty and dedication. Property records show Ms Borgo bought a three-bedroom unit at Double Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs for $1,060,000 in October 2002. Laws left Ms Borgo 'such amount as shall be sufficient to satisfy the balance of the debt owing by her to me in respect of her apartment with such advance having originally been $600,000'. 'I declare that this gift to her is in recognition of her ongoing care, assistance and friendship to my late wife and myself,' Laws wrote. Radio legend John Laws is looking after his longtime personal assistant from beyond the grave by wiping what remained of a $600,000 loan he gave her to buy an apartment. Laws and Ms Borgo are pictured in 2024 Laws (left) left almost the entirety of his multimillion-dollar estate to be split equally among his five children and four stepchildren but made special provision in his will for Jodee Borgo (right) The will further stipulated that Ms Borgo's debt over the Double Bay unit be forgiven 'in priority to the other bequests referred to in this clause'. That clause included $500,000 payments to each of Laws's four sons, one daughter and Caroline's four daughters from an earlier marriage. The nine children and stepchildren are also the equal beneficiaries of the vast majority of the remainder of Laws's estate. Laws has two sons from his first marriage to Sonia Zlotkowski - Richard (known as Brett) and Luke. His second marriage to Yvonne Helstrom-Roux produced sons Joshua and Samuel and daughter Sarah. When Laws married Caroline Hagon in 1976 she brought daughters Gabrielle, Georgina, Nichola and Susan into their home. At the time of the wedding their children's respective ages were: Brett, 17, Luke, 14, Joshua, 10, Samuel, six, Sarah, four, Gabrielle, 17, twins Georgina and Nichola, 15, and Susan, four. Ms Borgo began working for Laws about 1995 when he was on his fourth stint at 2UE. She stayed with him during his four-year 'retirement' from 2007 and was still by his side when he went back on air at 2SM in 2011. After Laws's beloved wife Caroline died in 2020, Ms Borgo became even more important to her boss as his chief confidant. Laws is pictured with Caroline Josh Laws was one of three children from his father's marriage to Yvonne Helstrom-Roux. He is pictured with onetime Sydney 'it girl' Manon Youdale The day Laws left the 2SM studio for the last time in November 2024 he took time to thank Ms Borgo on air for her role helping him maintain a radio career that began in 1953. In a 2013 profile on Laws for The Weekend Australian Magazine, Ms Borgo described the talkback titan as a 'very good boss' and said she had become part of his family. Laws made his final will in September 2022, naming Ms Borgo as an executor and trustee along with his solicitor James Harrowell and accountant William Shorrock. The will does not put a value on Laws's estate but it was estimated 20 years ago he had a personal wealth of $100million. Laws left a generous gift of nine paintings and an ink drawing to the Art Gallery of NSW which he hoped would be displayed as The John and Caroline Laws Collection. The bequest included four works by John Peter Russell, two by Rupert Bunny and one each by Brett Whiteley and John Glover. 'I note that before my wife's death, my wife and I had acquired during our marriage a very substantial collection of furniture, paintings, sculpture, carpets, porcelain, watches, jewellery, library and valuable works of art,' Laws wrote. Those assets were itemised in Laws's home contents insurance policy and referred to in his will as 'the Collection'. A copy of Laws's will obtained by the Daily Mail shows the man known as 'Golden Tonsils' wanted to repay Ms Borgo's decades of dedication and loyalty Apart from the ten works Laws left to the Art Gallery of NSW, any item in 'the Collection' valued at more than $50,000 was to be spread among other galleries at his trustee's discretion. Works worth less than $10,000 were to be distributed by Laws's trustees to his children and stepchildren. 'Various items of my motor cars, part of the Collection and other personal possessions' were left as gifts in a separate list which was not part of the will. There was no specific mention of who would get Laws's famed golden microphone. Proceeds from the sale of Laws's apartment on the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo, his cars, shares, investments and superannuation were to be paid into the John Laws Trust and shared equally among his children and stepchildren. He left $150,000 to his sister Jennifer Harris and waived any personal debts owed to him by the will's beneficiaries. Laws had been offloading real estate in the years before his death and over the course of his career amassed considerable riches. He reportedly earned $11.6million in one year during his peak in the 1990s when he was among the highest-paid radio presenters in the world. There was no specific mention in Laws's will of who would get his famed golden microphone. The microphone was attached to Laws's coffin at his funeral Laws never hid his wealth or extravagant lifestyle, indulging his love of regular European vacations, daily fine dining and a fleet of luxury cars. In 1985 Laws signed a contract with 2GB that was worth $2million a year. Five years later, after being lured back to 2UE, he was on $3million. On top of that, Laws was earning $1million for on-air endorsements as well as a rumoured $2million for other work from advertisers including Mortein, Valvoline and Toyota. In 1990 his fortune was estimated at $40million, some of which came from canny investments in radio. Laws was one of the original owners of 2DAY FM along with Mike Willesee, Graham Kennedy and Village Roadshow when it began broadcasting in 1980. His 30 per cent interest cost $150,000 and was sold seven years later for $15million. A minor shareholding in Wollongong's AM station 2OO was sold about the same time for $2million. In the 1990s, Laws and Caroline were living in a Woollahra mansion crammed with antiques, paintings and other works of art. The couple owned a retreat on the Hawkesbury River and entertained powerful friends at their spectacular Cloud Valley estate near Yarramalong on the NSW Central Coast. Back then, Laws kept 38 cars including a $400,000 Bentley, as well as vehicles that took his fancy such as a Fiat Topolino, a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle and a World War II-era Willys Jeep. Laws and Caroline bought a bottom-floor apartment on the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo for $3million in 2001 and moved out of the Woollahra home which they later sold for $7.7million. In 2005 the couple added the apartment above theirs for a reported $15million, giving them a combined five bedrooms and five bathrooms with six car spaces. Among their neighbours was Hollywood star Russell Crowe. By 2006, Laws was on a 10-year contract at 2UE worth about $4million a year and was still raking in millions of dollars more from personal deals. That year, he sold Cloud Valley for around $6million. (The property, described as one of the most idyllic rural retreats in NSW, changed hands again last year for $20.5million). Between 2002 and 2006 Laws held a majority share in his favourite eatery, Otto Ristorante on the Finger Wharf, where for 25 years he dined for breakfast and lunch most days. In October 2016 he put 17 of his vehicles up for sale to 'make space' - among them Rolls-Royces, Mercedes-Benzes and Jaguars. Along with proceeds from the sale of a motor cruiser and number plates, Laws pocketed more than $1.1million from the clearance. Laws never hid his wealth or extravagant lifestyle, indulging his love of regular European vacations, daily fine dining and a fleet of luxury cars. He is pictured with Russell Crowe and his wife Caroline's funeral Laws had bought another Finger Wharf property off the plan for $660,000 in 1997, then added a marine berth for costing $340,000 in 2006. He sold the apartment and mooring in 2018 for $2.9million. About five years ago Laws offloaded a Woollahra rental for $3.42million, having purchased the property in 1988 for $295,000. In 2020 Laws was still buying and selling expensive motor vehicles, letting go of his Rolls-Royce Phantom to take the keys of a $500,000 Mercedes Maybach. In his garage Laws also had two Bentleys, a Rolls-Royce convertible and a Lexus. Laws sold the lower level of his Finger Wharf home in 2024 for about $12.5million Most parents would attest to feeling anxious about their children's social media use. As debate rages across the UK and the world about whether to ban the likes of Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat for under 16's, experts agree too much 'doom-scrolling' online is not good for young people's mental health. But, it turns out, mums and dads should be turning the spotlight on themselves with one in five admitting to being addicted to their own social media channels. According to a new survey, 21 per cent of parents admitted they were hooked on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn, with a similar number 23 per cent suffering anxiety as a consequence. As many as 15 per cent also said they regularly felt sad or depressed because of the amount of time they spent on social media. Researchers surveyed 2,000 parents and 700 children, aged 11 to 17, in both the UK and US for the poll. More than two thirds 68 per cent of parents and 66 per cent of their offspring reported at least one physical or emotional symptom linked to their social media scrolling. But, although many countries are looking to Australia's recent social media ban for under 16's and considering similar measures, experts say the way parents use social media themselves is more important for their children than age restrictions or thresholds. It isn't just teenagers who are hooked on social media, but their parents too, with one in five admitting to being addicted to the likes of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Mike Bennett, CEO of Sway.ly, said the proposed ban on social media for under-16s is likely to be 'unenforceable' and could distract parents from the 'real problem of mobile phone and social media behaviour in the family home.' According to one academic study, published in the Journal of Paediatric Nursing last year, youngsters whose parents admitted to being glued to their mobile phones are more likely to have greater or more problematic use of social media, even though those mums and dads are more likely to enforce stricter rules such as regularly confiscating devices to try and restrict exposure to harmful content online. Other studies also found that class and wealth do not necessarily make a difference when it comes to social media use, with children of wealthier parents, with access to multiple devices, as likely as those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to become addicted. Mike Bennett, a tech entrepreneur and founder of Sway.ly, a specialist app which aims to improve education and safety for children online, said the proposed ban on social media for under-16s is likely to be 'unenforceable' and could distract parents from the 'real problem of mobile phone and social media behaviour in the family home.' 'Most parents agree that too much time spent on social media is not good for kids, with as many as 70 per cent supporting stricter age verification controls to block under-16s from platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok,' he said. 'But the reality is children will likely find ways around any ban. Early evidence from Australia has suggested that enforcing age checks is patchy and instead children are being driven to more dangerous, unmoderated corners of the internet. 'The real predictor of social media use, it turns out, is not a child's age but how much time their own parents spend using such apps or interacting online.' The Government launched a public consultation on whether to ban under-16's from social media on Monday. They want parents and young people to submit their views on the potential restriction, as well as other dramatic interventions, such as switching off addictive features such as infinite scrolling and video autoplay; mandatory curfews to improve children's sleep habits; use of AI and how age verification could be strengthened. But Mr Bennett, said that, rather than bans and restrictions, parents and children needed 'more education and better conversations about content to help them understand how to make healthy digital decisions.' His app, which costs 2.60 per user a month and is currently being trialled by a major telecoms provider, works by using cutting-edge AI technology to identify and filter 36 different types of harmful content. Sway.ly uses cutting-edge AI technology to filter 36 different types of harmful content, send alerts to parents and make suggestions to young people on how to make better digital choices online The app also gives advice and makes suggestions to children, for example to unfollow or block accounts that may be harmful As well as sending an alert to parents to let them know their child may have seen something inappropriate, Sway.ly tries to educate young users, by making suggestions, for example to unfollow or block accounts that show unrealistic body images or glamorise self-harm or violence. 'Banning social media may sound decisive and it may resonate with understandably anxious parents but young people are telling us clearly that prohibition wont work,' he said. 'Evidence shows that positive parental involvement like open conversations about content, boundaries, and online experiences significantly reduces risk. 'Blanket bans, by contrast, risk driving activity underground and cutting off the communication families most need. 'The online world is nuanced: boundaries shift depending on age, maturity, family values, and factors such as neurodiversity. 'Censorship alone cannot navigate that complexity. To change behaviour, we must guide, educate, and empower.' The father-of-three added that the 'key' to creating digitally healthier children and helping them become digitally healthier adults is to educate children and their parents about social media use together. He said: 'Children dont need panic; they need engagement. 'Parents need to be talking to their kids about how much time as a family they are all spending on social media and about what they are viewing on social media, so they can put in place realistic age and privacy boundaries and ensure every family member, no matter their age, understands the risks associated with being online.' Terrified Americans stranded across the Middle East are accusing the Trump administration of abandoning them in a war zone, while the White House quietly arranged a private jet to fly a group of MAGA influencers to safety. US citizens trapped in the region exclusively told the Daily Mail that they are receiving 'zero help' from the State Department. Andreas, a father-of-two from Bethesda, Maryland, shared photos of a jam-packed Dubai International Airport. He described a harrowing, days-long ordeal trying to get home to his family. 'I'm desperately trying to get out,' he said. 'We are now at the airport, trying to catch a flight to Ethiopia so that we can transfer to Rome and then to DC. Almost all the flights have been canceled today, despite the small handful that have gotten out.' The frustration is boiling over as other nations move to evacuate their own citizens. The Trump administration has insisted it is doing the same, but US travelers have said they have so far received no support. Now back home, Andreas reflected on his struggle to get out. 'For four surreal days in Dubai, life narrowed to spending countless hours on securing exit flights and backup emergency extraction plans. Experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions, all while taking in the sound of explosions and watching rockets flying overhead. Unfortunately our government wasn't able to help us, we were all on our own.' He described it as a 'miracle' that he and the other travelers finally made it out. TTrump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dog-walker Sarah Daither and former lobbyist Jay Footlik were among six who fled on a plane Bruesewitz chartered after US strikes on Iran. PICTURED: Bruesewitz and his wife Carolina Trump adviser, Alex Bruesewitz (right front), dogwalker Sarah Daither (middle left), former lobbyist Jay Footlik and others managed to escape on a private plane Critics have highlighted a stark disparity after the White House helped a clutch of MAGA influencers flee the Middle East by private jet while hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans remain stranded. Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dog-walker Sarah Daither and former lobbyist Jay Footlik were among six who fled on a plane Bruesewitz chartered after US strikes on Iran. 'This has easily been the craziest experience of my life,' Bruesewitz said. Bruesewitz used his White House connections and contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to extract the group after airports closed and the US Embassy ordered staff to shelter in place. US citizens stuck abroad have been sharing their stories, voicing frustration with the Trump administration for 'not thinking this through.' 'All they're doing is telling the American people that they need to get out, that is probably what you're hearing back home, but that is totally not the story on the ground here,' the tourist told the Daily Mail. Americans from Dubai to Jerusalem report being 'scared to death,' surrounded by fighter jets and the thud of intercepted missiles overhead. Chris Elliott and his 17-year-old daughter Riley were on a religious pilgrimage with a group from North Carolina's Triad region when the strikes began, shattering the trip with the sounds of warfare. 'Hearing the explosions is something I wouldn't wish on anybody. I'm scared to death,' Elliott told WXII-TV. He shared a video online on Saturday as they heard missiles and military aircraft overhead. 'We never expected to be caught in the middle of a war zone. It's like something you've never seen before in your life. Literally soldiers all around us,' he said. Chris Elliott and his 17-year-old daughter Riley were on a religious pilgrimage when the strikes began Chicago native Sasha Hoffman, stranded in Dubai, said the State Department is demanding the impossible when telling Americans to come home Florida resident Krista Jucknath Hickman and her husband Mike said their vacation turned to chaos the moment they reached the airport Shanice Day, a 30-year-old stylist from Houston, was in Dubai celebrating her birthday when the strikes began His daughter Riley said: 'We are in Jerusalem, surrounded by great people, on the land that Jesus walked on, so he's definitely got his hand on each and every one of us.' Shanice Day, a 30-year-old stylist from Houston, was in Dubai celebrating her birthday when the strikes began. She said she was shopping in the city's famous mall when she heard the sounds of missiles. 'It really shook me up. A lot. It felt like an outofbody experience,' Day told Business Insider. Her flight home was then cancelled. 'We broke down in tears. We're 8,000 miles away from our family and friends. We don't know when this will be over. We didn't know how we were going to get out,' she said. Chicago native Sasha Hoffman, stranded in Dubai, said the State Department is demanding the impossible. 'We are honestly trapped. It is really frustrating that right now the US is saying, Americans, come home. When the reality is we can't come home. All of our flights are cancelled they have only let out a handful of flights,' Hoffman told CBS News. Florida resident Krista Jucknath Hickman and her husband Mike said their vacation turned to chaos the moment they reached the airport. One traveler, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety, shared photos of a jampacked Dubai International Airport where stranded passengers are packed in like sardines With official help lines proving useless, the couple were forced to take a dangerous gamble. 'The number provided by the state department for support is unable to help,' she told the BBC. 'I called twice.' She added: 'All that can be done is book flights that don't take off.' The couple eventually paid $1,000 for a private driver to take them across the border into Oman in search of a flight home. Americans in 16 countries, including Israel, Qatar, Iran and Saudi Arabia, were instructed by the US State Department to 'DEPART NOW' using commercial transportation, citing 'serious safety risks.' But those stranded say the instruction bears no relation to the reality of closed airspaces and grounded planes. The White House says it has identified around 1,600 Americans seeking to return home and has a plan in motion. A cyclist watches in horror as a supersonic missile launched by Iran falls over Dubai Smoke rises from an area in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces, including the US Many Americans remain trapped in the Middle East after the Trump Administration issued military strikes in Iran on Saturday morning 'We are chartering flights as we speak. For operational security reasons, we don't want to publicize when these flights are taking off as Iran has obviously shown a willingness to hit Americans and casualties,' a White House spokesperson said. A State Department official confirmed the government is 'actively securing' military aircraft and charter flights for Americans seeking to leave, adding that he has been in contact with 3,000 Americans to coordinate departure options. The State Department told the Daily Mail that over 9,000 Americans have safely returned from the Middle East, including 300 from Israel. The US and Israel have continued their strikes on Tehran, warning civilians in Persian to evacuate the Hakimiya Industrial Zone and the area around Payam Airport in Karaj on Tuesday, where military targets were being hit. Trump warned 'the big one is coming' and that 'the big wave hasn't even happened,' even as hundreds of thousands of Americans remained stranded across the region. Specialised cleaners have been seen at work inside the home Shocking clues over the final minutes of a tragic couple's lives have emerged days after their bodies were found in an apparent brutal murder-suicide. Police located the bodies of Aaron Hammond, 46, and Chamindika Jayawardena, 47, inside their McGraths Track home at Hernes Oak in Victoria's Latrobe Valley on Monday. It's understood that the pair died over the weekend after neighbours heard two gunshots within 30 seconds of each other late on Saturday night. On Wednesday, cleaners specialising in the mop-up of brutal crime scenes worked through the day to tidy the heavily-bloodstained location. Daily Mail observed cleaners vigorously scrubbing the walls of the lounge area at the front of the house. Their van parked outside was the only tell-tale sign of the horrific events which had occurred within. From the street, the home's bins could be seen neatly positioned next to a carport that sheltered items familiar to anyone living in the rural area. Victoria Police refuse to reveal details of its investigation into the suspected murder-suicide. However, detectives are not hunting anyone else in connection with the tragedy. Aaron Hammond, 46, and his partner Chamindika Jayawardena, 47, posed for an eerie snap A cleaner's van sits outside the home where the couple were found dead The murder scene sits in the shadow of an area known as Haunted Hills Mr Hammond's family declined to comment about the boilermaker's state of mind leading up to his death. On Wednesday, a man believed to be Mr Hammond's older brother, who lived 20 minutes away, requested privacy when approached by the Daily Mail. Family members spotted at the crime scene a day earlier gave waiting reporters a similar blunt response when approached. The Red Heart Campaign's Sherele Moody reported on social media on Tuesday that the couple had recently become estranged. 'She left him. He killed her,' she posted. 'Chami Jay was murdered by her former male partner in Hernes Oak, Victoria, over the past few days. He then killed himself. She had separated from him recently.' Another acquaintance claimed Mr Hammond had been a ticking time bomb. 'He was always going to do it, abusive partner to many,' the woman wrote on social media. The Red Heart Campaign's Sherele Moody reported on social media on Tuesday that the couple had recently become estranged The Yallourn Cemetery sits at the top of Haunted Hills Haunted Hills casts a spooky shadow over the region 'The signs were there for many, many years. Wish I could say I was surprised.' Situated on the outskirts of Moe, the homestead can be found in the shadow of an area known as the Haunted Hills. It is a name earned with merit and a location held with ghoulish pride among locals in the Gippsland region. At the top of the hills lies Yallourn Cemetery - a stone's throw from a mountain bike track that is lined with artwork depicting skulls. A sign at the bottom states the hills 'are steeped in spooky stories of strange noises, ghost sightings, inexplicable accidents, murder and spooked cows.' The toilet block at the bottom of the hills was splattered with blood on Wednesday. The region is no stranger to tragedy and has previously made global headlines at the centre of a series of unrelated high-profile crimes. Among those was the tragic death of little Jaidyn Leskie in the Latrobe Valley town of Moe - 20 minutes' drive from the courthouse where the Patterson trial will be held. Mr Hammond's neighbours told reporters they heard what sounded like 'fireworks' coming from the property in the hours before the grim discovery was made Jaidyn Leskie and his mother Greg Domaszewicz after he was charged with murder Greg Domaszewicz was charged with murdering 13-month-old Jaidyn in 1997 but was found not guilty at trial. Domaszewicz, then aged 28, was babysitting Jaidyn at the home of the boy's mum when a pig's head was bizarrely thrown onto the home's front yard in an unrelated dispute. Jaidyn went missing the same night, but six months later, he was found dead in a creek with horrific injuries, including a badly broken arm that was poorly treated. Domaszewicz admitted to police the one-year-old boy had been hurt that night and that he 'cleaned up the blood', but denied killing him. Police investigators at the time thought Domaszewicz had been working on a car which may have fallen off its jack and hurt the toddler playing nearby. They believed Domaszewicz panicked, gave Jaidyn a drug and killed him with a blow to his head before dumping his body in the dam. But the jury rejected that theory and cleared Domaszewicz of killing the child. Mushroom killer Erin Patterson was put on trial just down the road from the crime scene in Morwell. Chamindika Jayawardena was found dead alongside Aaron Hammond Chamindika Jayawardena had travelled the world Mr Hammond and Ms Jayawardena had been together for at least two years, according to social media Mr Hammond's neighbours told reporters they heard what sounded like 'fireworks' coming from the property in the hours before the grim discovery was made. Brenno Amato did not think any more about it until he saw multiple police vehicles at the home on Monday. 'I just thought it was people having a few shots at foxes out the back,' he told Nine News. 'I didn't really take much to it until Monday when all the cops and everyone was here and we sort of put two and two together.' He described them as a lovely couple who often holidayed overseas. Mr Hammond and Ms Jayawardena had been together for at least two years, according to social media. Mr Amato last spoke to his neighbour just days earlier. 'I've known him for about a year and a half. Aaron used to let me put cattle and bulls on his property,' he said. 'Chami would always walk our street.' They were described as a lovely couple who often holidayed overseas Ms Jayawardena's friends who travelled from Melbourne on Tuesday to retrieve the couple's cat described her as 'like family' Ms Jayawardena's friends who travelled from Melbourne on Tuesday to retrieve the couple's cat described her as 'like family'. Anyone who may have information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. Lifeline: 13 11 14 Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 Headspace: 1800 650 890 'Police Interceptors: Taking Down the Shoplifting Gangs' continues on Channel 5 on Monday, March 9 at 9pm. Watch and stream on 5 This is the moment police arrested a prolific Romanian shoplifter at home after his gang stole nearly 200,000 worth of goods, before he told them: 'No speak English.' Bodycam footage shows detectives putting Nicolae Boia in handcuffs in Hounslow, West London, after establishing he was part a gang behind 120 crimes across the UK. One Surrey Police officer tells Boia, 30, that he is being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal; while another detains Oviliv Firan, 38, for the same offence. The third gang member, Laura Miron, 27, had already been arrested while trying to flee the UK for Ireland during the earlier stages of the 'Operation Even' probe. Boia was later sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison; while Firan was jailed for three and half years in prison; and Miron received three years and three months. Video of Boia and Firan being arrested features in the latest episode of Channel 5 documentary series 'Police Interceptors: Taking Down the Shoplifting Gangs'. The show follows the police investigation into the three members of the Romanian organised crime group responsible for 120 offences and almost 200,000 of loss. Surrey Police Constable Zoe Dodd tells producers: 'I had never taken on a job this big before. The problem with the case files was the vast amount of evidence we had. Police arrive at the property in Hounslow, West London, to arrest two Romanian shoplifters One officer quickly finds Nicolae Boia dressed only in shorts in a downstairs room at the house Boia is placed in handcuffs at the property in Hounslow seconds into the police raid Boia tells a police officer during the raid: 'No speak English.' She replies: 'No, OK?' Another officer then also arrests Oviliv Firan, 38, in another room at the Hounslow property Boia is put in a police van before detectives begin searching the property for stolen goods 'We had so many jobs up and down the UK with so many bits of CCTV. It was just trying to watch it all and trying to figure out which part each member played on that particular date.' She then reveals that Miron tried to flee Britain midway through the investigation. PC Dodd says: 'Miron was arrested at the border trying to go to Ireland, we believe, before we were ready to go with the case. We sent two officers down that night to go and pick her up because we were worried about losing her. 'Miron was brought to Guildford custody. We had Firan and Boia still outstanding and we were quite concerned that they were also going to flee, so that sort of forced our hands quicker into getting intel to go to the court and get a warrant.' The programme then shows bodycam footage from the arrest in Hounslow, with a police van pulling up before officers get out with at least five outside the property. One shouts: 'Police, can you open the door?', before an officer uses a crowbar to force entry and quickly finds Boia dressed only in shorts in a downstairs room. Boia then tells an officer: 'No speak English.' She replies: 'No, OK?' and then tells him that she is 'arresting you for conspiracy to theft.' Another officer then also arrests Finan in another room, and they are both put in a police van before detectives begin searching the property for stolen goods. They find hundreds of goods from beauty products to electrical items such as Sony headphones, Google Home devices, memory sticks, cigarettes, toothbrushes, cables, make-up, wine, spirits and champagne. Nicolae Boia, 30, of Hounslow, was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison Oviliv Firan, 38, of Hounslow, was sentenced to three and half years in prison Laura Miron, 27, of Feltham was sentenced to three years and three months in prison Chief Superintendent Juliet Parker says: 'Often many lines of crime that they follow, retail crime being one of them, and the funds from that are often ploughed into other areas of criminality.' PC Dodd then interviews the suspects at Staines police station with a Romanian interpreter, as Miron and Firan both give 'no comment' responses. The team then speak to Boia, who does answer some questions through the interpreter. Asked whether he knows Firan, Boia says: 'I know him, as I said we have met just having a barbecue. He is then questioned over whether it was strange that he was unaware Firan was in a shop at the same time as him, but replies: 'I haven't seen him, perhaps had I seen him.' Boia is then asked whether he often carries a backpack, and says: 'I have been using the backpack. Not very often, but I have.' He then denies that the backpack is foil lined, and denies ever having worked as a team in order to steal items. All three suspects were charged with conspiracy to steal and remanded in prison for trial. They pleaded not guilty, but changed their pleas before the trial to guilty at Guildford Crown Court on October 28, 2024. They were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on November 8 that year. The thieves were responsible for crimes targeting large supermarkets including Tesco and focusing on stealing razors, alcohol, fragrances and beauty and electric goods. CCTV footage shows the trio's orchestrated theft, as they shield each other's criminal acts The crooks targeted high-value items including champagne, razors, alcohol and fragrances Video of one theft shows them wheeling a trolley in front of another to block the view of staff Miron is seen swapping baskets with Boia with all three acting like they don't know each other Boia scoops items from the shelves into a rucksack before he putting it on and walking away Surrey Police Constable Zoe Dodd tells the documentary about the 'vast amount of evidence' In their highest value theft, they also stole champagne bringing the value of just one spree to more than 4,500. While the total amount of stolen goods was proven at just under 200,000, police estimated its true total to be much higher. One of the gang would act as a lookout whilst others concealed items. They would then either make no attempt to pay before leaving the store or make a small token purchase at a self-checkout. The group were even known to change clothes before returning to the same store to commit more offences. Crimes connected to the group were linked from across the country as far as Poole and Portsmouth in the south, Bristol in the west, Gillingham in the east and Chorley and Wigan in the north. There were 11 offences committed in Surrey, where the force's officers worked with Tesco and were able to prove the greater crime of organised conspiracy and convict all three suspects of 120 offences. The three defendants were key figures in a much larger organised crime gang responsible for around 800 offences across the UK, and police said at the time of their sentencing that they believe the entire gang had stopped operating since the arrests. The Mail on Sunday reported in November 2024 that a national police unit set up to tackle the scourge of shoplifting across Britain had identified more than 20 gangs and 200 criminals fuelling the epidemic. The gangs, many believed to be East European, were responsible for millions of pounds of thefts each year, and were also suspected of human trafficking and exploiting vulnerable individuals. Operation Opal was an intelligence-gathering unit set up in May 2024 to uncover the organised criminal groups behind shop thefts. 'Police Interceptors: Taking Down the Shoplifting Gangs' continues on Channel 5 on Monday, March 9 at 9pm. Watch and stream on 5 A doctor who gave expert evidence in the trial of Lucy Letby was being probed at the time by the medical regulator over claims he harmed patients. The General Medical Council (GMC) opened an investigation into whether Professor Peter Hindmarsh was fit to practise on the first day he gave evidence in November 2022. This was still going on when he gave evidence for a second time three months later, in what became one of the longest murder trials in British history. The hormones specialist was an expert witness for the prosecutions case that Letby attempted to murder two babies, referred to as F and L. Professor Hindmarshs evidence supported the case that both had been poisoned with insulin injected into their fluid feed bags. Great Ormond Street hospital, where he was an honorary consultant, reported him to the GMC after an investigation by his main employer, University College London hospitals trust (UCLH). The jury, which convicted Letby of seven counts of murder and seven of attempted murder, was never informed about the GMC investigation or his contract being terminated by Great Ormond Street in July 2022. Letby, who was a nurse on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital, has always maintained she is innocent, and many leading experts have argued that the prosecutions medical case, including Professor Hindmarshs evidence, was wrong. Professor Hindmarshs evidence supported the case that two babies had been poisoned with insulin injected into their fluid feed bags She was sentenced to 15 whole-life terms in prison, and Court of Appeal judges have turned down her applications to appeal. While the GMC conducted its probe during the trial, a medical tribunal ordered restrictions on Professor Hindmarsh's work. It said: There is information to suggest he may pose a real risk to members of the public, if he were permitted to return to unrestricted clinical practice, given the number and nature of the concerns, involving paediatric [child] patients. Leaked documents reveal the claims against Hindmarsh included cases where harm to patients has been alleged, according to The Guardian. They also reportedly show concerns about his diagnosis and treatment of patients, use of treatments in unusual age groups, without adequate monitoring and inappropriate investigations and documentation. The tribunal considered that the allegations against Professor Hindmarsh, a paediatric endocrinologist, may have the potential to impact on his ability to act as an expert witness. But it allowed him to continue giving expert evidence. The Daily Mail understands the prosecution was not informed of the investigation until December 2022, after he had first given evidence. The prosecution told the defence before his second appearance, but said it would oppose any attempt to inform the jury, on the basis that the GMC investigation had not reached a final adjudication. In fact, it was never concluded, because he removed himself from the medical register. This ended the investigation and resulted in no regulatory findings against him. Professor Hindmarsh told the court that blood tests and medical records of babies F and L showed they suffered from hypoglycaemia low blood sugar because they had been poisoned with insulin, most likely in their intravenous fluid bags. The prosecution alleged that Letby had injected insulin into the bags, although there was no direct or forensic evidence that anyone had done so. It said the cases of babies F and L were incontrovertible evidence that someone was deliberately endangering infants. And Judge Mr Justice Goss told the jury that if they were sure about deliberate harm in any one case, they could infer the same in other babies. Experts have since said that the tests used to measure insulin are known to produce unreliable results. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body that examines possible miscarriages of justice, is looking at Letbys application to have her case sent back to the Court of Appeal. In it, around 27 experts claim that each death and collapse she has been convicted of could be explained by natural causes or failures by the medical team. A separate police investigation is underway into corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Three former senior leaders were arrested in June 2025 and remain on bail pending further inquiries. Peter Hindmarsh declined to comment. The GMC did not provide a statement, but noted: 'Where a doctor has an interim suspension or conditions in place during an investigation, this is published clearly on our public-facing medical register.' A turtle with a missing flipper was rescued and successfully rehabilitated in California before being released back into the ocean. Porkchop, a green sea turtle, spent nearly a year recovering at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach - about 25 miles south of Los Angeles - before returning to the water. In a moment that resembled a scene from Finding Nemo, the turtle was released along the San Gabriel River. The aquarium chose that location 'because of the proximity to a resident green sea turtle population,' it said. Porkchop was rescued in March 2025 with 90 percent of its front flipper dead as a result of no blood circulation. The severe injury was caused by a fishing line, and further X-rays revealed that the turtle also had a fishing hook stuck in the back of its mouth. 'When this turtle first arrived, we did not know what the outcome would be because of its critical condition,' Dr. Brittany Stevens, an aquarium veterinarian, said. She added: 'We are thrilled that this turtle was able to heal and gain its strength, so much so that it was able to return home.' Porkchop, a green sea turtle, was rescued in March 2025 and required a full amputation of one of its flippers The turtle was nursed back to health at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, before being released into the San Gabriel River Veterinarians removed the hook and amputated the dead part of Porkchop's flipper. Porkchop was first spotted by volunteers who were monitoring the river as part of a community science program. They noticed the turtle had been stuck in the same spot and was unable to swim away. A fishing line tangled in debris had become tightly wrapped around its flipper, fully preventing the reptile from moving. Rescuing Porkchop took about four hours - and the turtle's subsequent full rehab took about a year. 'She was very, very seriously injured,' Jeff Flocken, the Aquarium of the Pacific's regional vice president of the Aquarium of the Pacific, told PEOPLE. He described the surgical procedures that may have saved Flipper's future as a 'full amputation.' Porkchop also had a fishing hook stuck in the back of its mouth, which demanded an hour-long surgery Two different surgeries were required to begin nursing the turtle back to full health. The first procedure, which removed Porkchop's necrotic flipper, lasted about five and a half hours. A second operation removed the hook wedged in the turtle's mouth in about an hour. The aquarium said that Porkchop had adapted seamlessly to living with three flippers. Green sea turtles can survive in the wild with only three flippers and learn to compensate for a missing limb like human beings, according to the Olive Ridley Project. Functions that a front flipper usually carries out can be accomplished using the back flipper instead, for instance. 'She thrived very quickly,' Flocken told the outlet. The San Gabriel River, where Porkchop was returned to, has the largest group of green sea turtles in North America The Aquarium of the Pacific said that Porkchop had already been sighted again by volunteers since being returned to the wild In fact, Porkchop even became well known to visitors of the Southern California aquarium. 'She was a bit of a ham,' Flocken said. But still, the turtle was excited to be released back into the wild. 'The minute we pulled the stretcher out from under her, she just swam right away,' he said. Porkchop has already been sighted in the San Gabriel River again by volunteers since going back into the water. We thought it was more important that she had an opportunity to go back out in the wild and live the rest of her lifetime in a natural environment,' Flocken said. Green sea turtles do not breed or nest in California, but they migrate to the west coast state's waters for foraging. The largest group of green sea turtles in North America is near the mouth of the San Gabriel River, where Porkchop was dropped off. Marco Rubio's honeymoon as Donald Trump's star Cabinet member may be coming to an end. The secretary of state's net approval number has taken a hit after the US strikes in Iran. Rubios approval rating sank from a high of 40 percent in February to 36 percent on Friday according to an exclusive new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll conducted after the military strikes began. Thirty-four percent disapprove of Rubio. Seventeen percent offered a neutral position and another 14 percent were unsure. The poll of 1,020 registered voters was conducted between March 2 and March 3 with a 3.1 percent margin of error. Prior to the war, Rubio earned widespread support from voters as he took on additional duties on top of his role as Secretary of State, including as the presidents national security advisor. The president specifically recognized Rubios service during the State of the Union address, earning him a standing ovation from the rest of Trumps cabinet. People like you! Trump remarked to Rubio. You have done a great job, great Secretary of State. I think hell go down as the best ever. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media as Cabinet officials deliver Congressional briefings on Iran Trumps approval rating now stands at 44 percent, down four points since the war in Iran began, marking the lowest rating recorded in Daily Mail tracking to date. The presidents decision has affected the American publics view of his entire administration, as the presidents military advisors have stated that military strikes in Iran will escalate. Vice President JD Vance currently has a 37 percent approval among all voters. Vance remains slightly more popular among Republican voters with an 85 percent approval rating. Rubio rests with an approval rating of 82 percent among Republican voters. President Donald Trump talking with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., during Operation Epic Fury Both Vance and Rubio have defended Trumps decision to launch a war in Iran, beginning with punishing air strikes that began early Saturday morning. Vance repeated on Fox News on Monday that the mission was part of the presidents efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - even after the 12 day war in Iran last June to obliterate their nuclear enrichment facilities. Rubio told reporters that the military strikes was a preemptive action to prevent United States casualties in the Middle East. 'We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,' Rubio said. And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.' Critics of Trumps war in Iran jumped on Rubios comments as evidence that the United States was forced into the war in Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But Rubio clarified that the military strikes on Iran had to happen and that the President made the decision to attack them first. 'That's what I said yesterday, and you guys need to play it. If you're going to play these statements, you need to play the whole statement, not flip it to reach a narrative that you want to,' he added. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office after the attacks in Iran began US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth look on as US President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office But voters believe that Vance remains the most influential person in Trumps circle. Prior to the war, 19 percent of respondents said Vance was the most influential member of Trumps inner circle. Rubio was second with 12 percent followed by Donald Trump Jr. and Stephen Miller tied for third place. Vance also continues to lead potential candidates for the 2028 Republican presidential ticket with 53 percent. Rubio is in second place with 14 percent support followed by Ron DeSantis at a distant third with seven percent followed by Senator Ted Cruz at three percent. A British couple who were holidaying in Bali are travelling more than 16,000 miles around the world to get home as the Middle East war sparks travel chaos for millions of passengers. Deaghlan O'Hagan, 39, and his partner Madeleine Little, 33, were due to leave Bali on March 1 - just hours after the US and Israel launched a co-ordinated attack on Iran in which the country's supreme leader was killed. Iran has responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf states, including Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, plunging the Middle East into a warzone. The war has sparked one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the pandemic, with widespread airspace closures and thousands of flights grounded across the Middle East. Mr O'Hagan, was due to fly from Bali to Dublin via Doha - one of the world's busiest airports - but he has been stranded in Indonesia since Sunday, spending 500 on living costs which he will not be compensated for as it is an 'act of war'. His partner, who had already planned to extend her trip to Australia, is currently in Sydney as her flight from Bali was not affected. But the couple, from Belfast, will be reunited sooner than they thought as Mr O'Hagan has taken the extraordinary step of getting home by travelling more than 16,000 miles around the world via Sydney, Los Angeles, London and Dublin. He said that he thought about travelling back to London via China but it was almost 'double the price.' Speaking to the Daily Mail from his hotel room in Bali, Mr O'Hagan said: 'It's been a disaster. As things are getting worse, I've decided to book flights the other way around the world. 'I have booked a flight for Friday night to Sydney. We are then going to fly together from Sydney to LA, then we are going from LA to London and then London to Dublin. Deaghlan O'Hagan, 39, and his partner Madeleine Little, 33, were due to fly via Doha on March 1 Smoke rises in Doha after reported Iranian missile attacks following US and Israeli strikes Mr O'Hagan and his partner had enjoyed a two-week holiday in Bali before the war erupted and grounded flights 'We are literally going around the world the other way, I've had to pay it out my own pocket. Then I have to drive from Dublin to Belfast. 'It's going to be a very long trip. It's going to take seven hours to Sydney from Bali, Sydney to LA is 14 hours, LA to London is 13 hours. And then there is the one and a half hour to flight to Dublin and the drive to Belfast. Mr O'Hagan described his ordeal as 'very stressful', explaining how he's also had to obtain a visa for Sydney and an ESTA for LA. But he added: 'I am paying for hotels every night - but I had to make decision to cut my losses. 'If anything, things seem to be getting worse. What else can you do if the airspace is closed? 'There's backlogs of flights, there's no guarantee you couldn't be staying here for two or three weeks and paying accommodation and food. 'The flights for both of us are in the region of 2,500 in total but we are taking a very long route home. I've spent another 500 this week in accommodation and food. 'The insurance companies have also said they have no responsibility because it's an act of war. It's not really acceptable.' Mr O'Hagan, a dual UK and Irish citizen, hit out at both the airlines and the UK and Irish Embassies for their lack of planning to get people home. 'It's totally chaotic, it's like there's not been any contingency plan put in place even though so many passengers travel through Dubai and Doha, they are massive hubs. 'If you are this side of the world, that's how you get back. 'The Middle East has a history of being unstable, you would think they would have contingency plans in place if that airspace is closed. It's been left to people to work out.' Mr O'Hagan said that he thought about travelling back to London via China but it was 'double the price to go through Shanghai'. 'You are being exploited on both sides. Insurance companies say they don't have responsibility, but airlines can price gouge,' he said. Mr O'Hagan is due to arrive in Sydney on Saturday morning but will not get back to the UK until Monday. 'I'm trying not to think about it,' he quipped. He also claimed that the Gulf states and influencers are claiming that everything is fine when the reality could not be more different. 'There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there and propaganda that things are fine and the airlines are being very helpful,' he explained. 'It certainly hasn't been my experience. The hands have been washed of you. When I look at Instagram, videos are popping up about how well people are being treated. I wouldn't agree with that at all, we don't get any communications. Stranded passengers report to Qatar Airways customer service at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali after flights to Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi were cancelled A plume of smoke rises following US and Israeli strikes on Tehran, the capital of Iran 'It's just been radio silence. It's influencers and from the UAE, I think it's actually a crime to be critical of the Government, so that feeds into the influencers. 'It's almost like they've been told they have to do this. I don't know if that's the reality to the ground. Their tourism is going to be hit. It's painting an image that I don't think is correct.' It comes as thousands of British nationals will arrive home from the war-torn Middle East on Wednesday as airlines ramp up flights out of the UAE and the Government charters its first emergency evacuation flight. The Government appears to be relying on commercial airlines to get passengers back home, chartering just a single flight from Oman with no plans in place for a wide-scale evacuation. British expats have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of urgency over getting them out of the Middle East - with British Airways running an emergency evacuation flight with more than 100 empty seats on Monday. Despite around 130,000 Brits registering as stranded in the Gulf, around 100 pilots and crew members from BA and other airlines were flown from Muscat to Heathrow on Monday. As the war enters its fifth day, Emirates is today operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad has two departures from Abu Dhabi. Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow. British Airways announced it will operate two further flights from Muscat, Oman, to London Heathrow, departing on Friday and Saturday. But it remains unable to take-off flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv. The Government has also scheduled its first repatriation flight to leave Oman's Muscat International Airport at 11pm local time (7pm GMT) tonight and will prioritise the most vulnerable Brits first as attacks continue to explode across the region. British nationals and their spouse or partner, and their children under the age of 18, with a valid travel document are all eligible. The Foreign Office said it would contact British nationals to secure them a way out of the Middle East, and urged people not to travel to the airport unless they have been officially called. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs on Tuesday that the 'safety and security' of British nationals was a 'top priority'. A Florida developer was ordered to rebuild a waterfront condominium tower after a judge ruled it illegally changed the building's bylaws to push through a redevelopment. Real estate firm Two Roads Development was instructed to restore Miami's ritzy Biscayne 21 even after already having begun demolishing the property. MiamiDade Judge Thomas Rebull ruled in January that the developer improperly lowered the condo termination requirement from 100 percent owner approval to 80 percent to advance the project. Ten unit owners sued to prevent the building from being torn down and rejected buyout offers from the South Florida firm. Rebuilding Biscayne 21 now is expected to cost about $65million, per a Bank OZK report cited by the Wall Street Journal. The developer must restore utilities, including air conditioning and electricity, and return the building to its previous condition. One of the residents who sued said that he was still dead set on moving back into the unit he bought for $272,000 in 2012. 'I hope to go back there soon,' Robert Murphy told the outlet on Monday. Miami's Biscayne 21 waterfront condo was set to be demolished to make way for a new luxury development before ten residents sued to prevent that Miami-Dade Judge Thomas Rebull has ruled that Two Roads Development must return the condo to its previous condition The ten holdout owners first sued in May 2023 to stop the demolition of their building. 'I had no desire to sell it, and I still don't want to sell,' Murphy said. Now, the developer was told to 'take all steps' necessary to return the condo to the condition it was in when the lawsuit was filed. Two Roads said it would 'strictly follow Florida laws in this matter,' according to The Real Deal. 'The building remains vacant and nonhabitable, and any future reconstruction would require professional review and owner approval under the declaration,' the firm said in a statement. The developer paid about $150million in 2022 to acquire most of the waterfront property's units. It was also expected to spend about $2.9million on demolishing the building, which has been around since 1964. The planned replacement was planned to be a luxury tower developed in partnership with Marriott International's Edition hotels brand. The condo's developer filed their own lawsuit in January, alleging that the waterfront property cannot be feasibly returned to its previous condition Glen Waldman, an attorney representing the holdouts who were not bought out, said Biscayne 21 was still in 'excellent shape' and could be rebuilt Two Roads is still attempting to push forward with its luxury redevelopment plans, according to the Miami Herald. The firm currently owns 183 of the building's 192 units. On January 30, the developer filed its own lawsuit in MiamiDade Circuit Court against the residents who effectively blocked the reconstruction plans. 'Longstanding issues' allegedly made it unfeasible to return the building to its previous state. Managing partner Taylor Collins said terminating the condo association would be the 'most responsible and practical path.' If the lawsuit succeeds, the developer would not have to carry out the repairs and could continue with the demolition. Units for the new project continue to be sold for now, despite the order to repair the condo tower. Two Roads managing partner Taylor Collins said that terminating Biscayne 21's condo association would be the 'most responsible and practical path' instead of repairing the building A lawyer representing the residents who refused buyouts called Two Roads' lawsuit a 'lastditch effort' and a 'nonevent.' 'This is where a number of our clients wanted to live out the rest of their lives,' attorney Glen Waldman told The Real Deal. Waldman said that Biscayne 21 remained in 'excellent shape' despite the developer's allegations. Two Roads said that it still aims to reach 'a settlement agreement with the remaining holdout owners at Biscayne 21' in order to move the project forward. However, even if buyouts are eventually agreed upon, the homeowners would then have to compete in Miami's increasingly expensive real estate market. Condo sales in the city increased by about eight percent yearoveryear in 2025, according to Miami Realtors. The Daily Mail has reached out to Two Roads Development and Waldman for further comment. When a striking Asante gold disc in the British Museum was stolen from its wooden display case in 1991, it had apparently disappeared without trace. But, over the next few years, it was in fact exhibited by leading museums and sold by a famous auction-house - with none of their respective experts realising that this was the same stolen object, it has now been revealed. The scandal has been exposed by historian Barnaby Phillips who says that, although the British Museum reported the 1991 theft to the police, they had no idea that the disc was 'being hawked around' the museums of Europe and the United States and had been auctioned by Sotheby's. He had been tipped off about the case by an informed source. The theft took place in October 1991 from the then Museum of Mankind, which housed the British Museum's Department of Ethnography between 1970 and 1997. A warder doing his rounds one lunchtime was shocked to find that a wooden display case had been prised open, apparently with a screwdriver discarded at the crime scene. Mr Phillips has discovered that, by 1994, the disc was in the hands of Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler, a leading German collector of traditional African art, who died in 2024. He had proudly featured it in his glossy publications and loaned it to at least two museums, including Vienna's renowned Museum fur Volkerkunde. The collector then decided to sell it through Sotheby's in 1999, when it was bought for a few thousand pounds by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The prized acquisition inspired the logo for the museum's 2002 festival of African art and even appeared on specially-printed T-shirts. That was when Doran Ross, a respected scholar of Ghanaian art at the Fowler Museum in California, spotted its similarity to the stolen object and alerted London colleagues. Decorated with a distinctive sun pattern, this is the largest of the British Museum's Asante soul discs, or akrafokonmu, with a diameter of 21.5 centimetres. Thought to have been created in the early 20th century, and possibly presented by Europeans to an unknown Gold Coast chief, it was donated in 1925 by Sir Bignell Elliott, a timber merchant from Kentish Town in north London. Mr Phillips, a former BBC correspondent, reveals the case in his new book, titled The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure, which is published on Thursday. Decorated with a distinctive sun pattern, this is the largest of the British Museum's Asante soul discs, or akrafokonmu, with a diameter of 21.5 centimetres When a striking Asante gold disc in the British Museum (pictured) was stolen from its wooden display case in 1991, it had apparently disappeared without trace He told the Mail: 'What has never been reported is what happened to the Asante gold or the fact that it had gone missing for over a decade. Nobody has reported that it was hawked around museums in Europe and the United States and was auctioned.' Instead, he adds, this 'awkward business was settled as quietly and diplomatically as possible'. As the Indianapolis Museum had purchased the disc in good faith, the British Museum trustees agreed to loan it for the duration of their exhibition. Mr Phillips says: 'The British Museum quietly dressed it up as a loan to the Indianapolis Museum.' In 2002, the disc was returned to the British Museum, whose webpage 'was disingenuously updated in 2025 to include the Indianapolis and European museum 'loans' but makes no mention of the theft', Mr Phillips notes. 'The British Museum got it back through sheer good fortune.' He asks: 'What diligence did Sotheby's do on the collection it sold in 1999? Mr Phillips, a former BBC correspondent, reveals the case in his new book, titled The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure, which is published on Thursday 'It is difficult to say who comes out of this story the worst: Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler, Sotheby's or the British Museum. Did Schaedler investigate the provenance of the disc he mysteriously acquired in the early 1990s? He died in 2024 and I was not able to ask him. 'He was a lovely person, completely honest and would have been horrified if he'd known it was stolen,' according to a friend.' Mr Phillips's book also reveals that hundreds of 18th-century prints were stolen in broad daylight from the British Museum by a former member of its staff. These revelations follow the Bloomsbury institution's 2023 admission that it had sacked a curator over the theft of hundreds of antiquities. Sotheby's declined to comment. The British Museum said: 'These events occurred decades ago and the object was safely returned to the collection where it remains. 'Thefts will unfortunately always be a risk for every museum and for this reason we take safeguarding the collection incredibly seriously. Alongside security measures, making the collection more widely known is another way we feel makes it safer and in 2023 we committed to have it fully digitised within five years.' The Daily Mail asked the American and Austrian museums for comment. A married primary school deputy head has been permanently banned from the classroom after bombarding two junior female colleagues with sexual messages. Ashley Kalnins, 39, who worked at St Francis Catholic Primary School in Warwickshire, pestered the women with messages asking about their underwear, requesting nude photographs and suggesting they share a shower - while concealing the exchanges from his partner. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard that Kalnins sent the messages from inside his classroom during school hours, and on one occasion texted a colleague about a sex act while driving a car containing pupils. He also told one of his victims he needed to 'perve' to cope with the stress of work. Messages seen by the panel included texts telling one colleague to 'wear something loose so I can get my hand down' and 'come sit on me', asking 'how wet do you get?', and urging her to wear 'sexy undies' to work. He told another colleague he thought about her in 'pornstar boots' and that he preferred short skirts because they were 'easy to lift up'. Kalnins pestered her repeatedly for massages, at one point saying he could be 'half naked' for the occasion. Both women told the panel they had never encouraged the messages and lived in fear of being alone with Kalnins. One colleague was so distressed she rang her partner to bring a cardigan to school because she could not face appearing in front of him without it - despite being entirely properly dressed. Ashley Kalnins, 39, has been banned from the classroom after bombarding two junior colleagues with sexual messages The panel ruled Kalnins's behaviour was 'exploitative towards junior female staff, extremely serious misconduct and entirely unacceptable' and found the risk of him reoffending to be 'extremely high'. Kalnins started working at the primary school as deputy head in September 2016 until he left in December 2018. He began bombarding one female colleague - whom he had previously taught PE - with sexual messages, just months after she started working there. The panel heard he asked her to message him on social media so his then girlfriend wouldn't see. Kalnins would pester her for nude photos and massages, and on one occasion said he would like to see her in 'porn star boots'. He even messaged her after they travelled together with pupils in a car, saying: 'You were in my car could have at least played with my hard stick? Lol x.' The female worker, named as Individual B in the report, told the panel that he would sexualise all of his messages that he sent 'consistently' throughout the day, as well as early in the morning and late at night. '[Individual B] stated that to the extent to which she responded to these messages she did so in the hope that he would cease the correspondence if she made clear that his advances were never going to be accepted,' the TRA panel said. 'Individual B stated that her purpose in responding sometimes was also to keep the correspondence as calm as it could be and to prevent escalation.' The panel heard how Kalnins had been described as 'creepy'. The married primary school deputy head pestered women with sexual messages asking for nude photographs while hiding the exchanges from his partner (pictured) Another female, named as Individual A, said Kalnins had added her on Facebook where his messages quickly became inappropriate. He would ask her to 'get dirty', and in one message asked if the toilets have 'full covers' before messaging: 'Can we be a little naughty in school too?' Both women said Kalnins told them to delete the messages he had sent them, and told Individual B 'that we don't want anyone at school finding out'. In a statement given to the school, Individual B said: 'He came and saw me in school to ask if I had deleted the messages and offered to go on my phone and show me how to and told me to give him my phone and he would delete them for me.' Kalnins claimed his messages were a 'joke' and that he thought they were mutual and consensual. He told the panel he was 'truly sorry for his behaviour' and that he 'deeply regretted any actions and words that had unintentionally caused harm'. But the TRA said Kalnins hadn't appeared to 'sufficiently grasp that his actions at the time were wholly inappropriate and unacceptable'. The panel found his behaviour had been sexually motivated and his conduct towards the women was 'wholly unacceptable'. Banning him for life, Stuart Blomfield, for the education secretary, said: 'In my judgement, the lack of full insight means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils. 'I have therefore given this element considerable weight in reaching my decision.' He added that he was 'particularly mindful of the finding of sexual motivation, and that the conduct was directed towards junior members of staff'. 'In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order due to the seriousness of the proven conduct and in order to maintain public confidence in the profession,' Mr Blomfield said. 'A published decision, in light of the circumstances in this case, that is not backed up by full remorse or insight, does not in my view satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession. 'For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order.' Out of the dust and rubble of Tehran, Iranians fear a new reign of terror is being born. Secret messages smuggled out of the country on the fifth day of Operation Epic Fury warn of a chilling new reality, as reports indicate that the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic Republic's most powerful clerical body, has officially anointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader. Already branded 'The Butcher' by a populace far too familiar with bloodshed, the rise of the former Ayatollah's son marks the start of a hereditary tyranny. Despite frantic internal debates regarding his safety after his father was slain in a US bombing raid on Saturday, 56-year-old Mojtaba was 'widely viewed within the regime as a capable and forceful leader,' according to American intelligence. Now, those on the ground warn his ascension will mean a resurgence of mass killings, as seen during the brutal crackdown on protests back in January - when body bags lined the streets - and the lethal 2022 repression of the anti-hijab 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement, which Mojtaba is said to have played an instrumental role in. 'He is just as bad as his father if not worse. I don't think anything will change with him in charge, and all these efforts by the US and innocent Iranians will be wasted. He was the number two most hated person after his father, but now he would be number one,' explained one Iranian, who managed to speak to the Daily Mail via family outside Iran late Tuesday. For those still trapped inside the country, a communications blackout has seen daily life grind to a standstill. One citizen, bravely speaking to the Daily Mail by phone, described a populace huddled in their homes, terrified of what the new commander-in-chief could unleash. 'We are worried that what is coming next will be even worse than what we had before. If we really do have this new leader and the military takes orders from him, Iran will see the most brutal force that they have ever seen,' the citizen explained through tears. Iranians fear a resurgence of mass killings, as seen during the brutal crackdown on protests in January. Pictured: Families gather in Kahrizak to search for relatives killed during the regime's violent crackdown on protests in January Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has replaced his father, according to reports out of Iran Messages an Iranian sent to the Daily Mail from inside the country reveal the fears of the repressed population 'They don't really trust the phone lines to get into details. Like everyone, they are happy with the elimination of all top leaders. But they are just worried about what comes next. And of course, [so does] my grandmother's family, who could not leave Tehran,' a third Iranian tells us Another young Iranian, who is now safely out of the country, relays his family's horrified messages from inside, noting that the younger Khamenei is infamous for 'profiting from sanctions and gaining money from people's misery.' 'I'm not surprised if he is as evil as his father. The leader's role is seen as a sacred position - since he has his father's last name, the regime supporters might accept him as the successor of his father's legacy,' he said. Fears are compounded by the terrifying prospect of longevity. Like his father who was elected in his 50s, Mojtaba's reign could last for decades if he survives the current US and Israeli campaign. A third Iranian whose family is in Tehran told the Daily Mail that his relatives 'are happy with the elimination of all top leaders.' But, he said, 'they are just worried about what comes next. At least Ali Khamenei was very old - we had hope if he dies, there might be a slight change. But if Mojtaba takes his place, he is young. He would stay in power for decades.' A fourth Iranian described his recent conversation with family in Iran and their thoughts on the new leader. 'If we end up with anyone from that regime, it would be exactly like North Korea when the son took over from the father. Same ideology, same misery - and they will take their revenge. Almost every night, regime supporters come to the streets chanting death to Pahlavi, death to America. In almost every neighborhood,' he said. Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah of Iran who went into exile in 1979, is the only real opposition figure who has pledged to lead the country's transition. He resides in the suburbs of Washington DC but has been a strong voice for regime change, helping build momentum for Iranians to take back their country. The Daily Mail has reached out to Pahlavi's team to inquire what his plans are moving forward. They did not immediately respond. But Pahlavi has posted a video on his social media in recent days, asking Iranians to stay safe in the meantime and stay tuned for his updates. 'He was the number two most hated person after his father, but now he would be number one,' explained one Iranian who managed to speak with family late Tuesday, confirming the new leader's grim nickname 'If we end up with anyone from that regime, it would be exactly like North Korea when the son took over from the father. Same ideology, same misery, with a younger-looking leader, and they will take their revenge. People are still in danger,' another Iranian tell us The decision to pick Mojtaba was reportedly made after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps put strong pressure on the assembly. His selection had also been seen as unlikely, given that the regime has long criticized hereditary rule. Indeed, his own father was against starting a dynasty. Ali Khamenei, who was 86, had secretly named three potential successors before he died, none of whom was his son. Those he did name were Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the head of the judiciary, his chief of staff Ali Asghar Hejazi, and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Iran's first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Israeli sources have claimed that Hejazi is dead. According to a US intelligence report, the late Ayatollah was 'reportedly seen by some within the Leader's Office as treating and consulting Mojtaba as he would an eventual successor to his responsibilities, rather than purely as an advisor.' However, Mojtaba was seen as weak in clerical terms, according to the report. '(He) is not expected ever to achieve by his own scholarship the status of 'mujtahid,' far less that of ayatollah,' the report said. Mojtaba was repeatedly treated for impotency at hospitals in the UK, according to the document. It claimed that he was placed under pressure by his family to produce heirs, and that four visits, he eventually had a son who was named 'Ali' after his father. A much-loved executive at Estee Lauder died at his stunning New York City apartment last week, with his devastated husband now sharing what happened. Kendal Ascher, 56, dropped dead inside his $2.8 million Chelsea apartment that he shared with his husband William Howe, 63, in the early hours of February 25. Speaking with the Daily Mail, Howe described how Kendal had complained of feeling lightheaded that night after taking a shower and decided to sit down. After a few minutes Howe brought his partner of 12 years back to his feet and held him in his arms as he tried to walk him to their bedroom. To his horror, the happy couple managed only four steps before Kendal told him 'wait', before going limp in Howe's arms. 'There was no pulse, he was immediately unresponsive, he died in my arms. It happened all within eight seconds,' a distraught Howe said. Emergency teams raced to the iconic Lantern House condo building designed by famed architect Thomas Heatherwick, who also created the Vessel in Hudson Yards and the nearby Little Island public park, but Ascher was pronounced dead at the scene, city officials confirmed to the Daily Mail. According to Howe, Ascher was preparing to have hip surgery and was taking pain medication at the time. Howe said his late spouse had no underlying health issues. Estee Lauder Vice President Kendall Ascher died suddenly at his NYC apartment last month. He is seen actress Dianna Agron, left, Erin Foster, center, and Sara Foster, right, at an event in New York City in 2019 Ascher and his husband William Howe are pictured here together. They married last October after a happy 12 year relationship The couple own an apartment in the Lantern House, pictured here, worth $2.8 million The couple only recently tied the knot after hosting their wedding in Provincetown, Massachusetts, last October. Remembering his late husband, Howe added: 'He was a little boy in a big man's body. He loved to laugh, and he loved to play. 'He was selfless, he worried about everyone and put himself second.' The City's Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement to the Daily Mail that the cause and manner of his death was still under investigation. Ascher originally joined Estee Lauder as an account executive in 1995 before moving to L'Oreal in the early 2000s as AVP of marketing for the Kiehl's brand. In 2007 he returned to the company and worked his way to being the North American SVP General Manager of La Mer, Jo Malone, and Darphin brands. He remained in the position until his death last month, and was pictured alongside the likes of model Karlie Kloss and actress Dianna Agron at star-studded events. Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Vice President and Chief Brand Officer of the firm, remembered him as a 'full of energy, kind and funny'. She said: 'Kendal was one of a kind, full of passion and life. When Kendal walked into a room, he lit it up. He was full of energy, kind and funny, and he had a heart of gold. 'He truly loved our company, and we were all blessed to be inspired by Kendal.' According to Howe, Ascher was preparing to have hip surgery and was taking pain medication at the time. The interior of their apartment is seen here Ascher is seen here alongside supermodel Karlie Kloss at a Jo Malone event in April of 2013 in New York City The City's Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement to the Daily Mail that the cause and manner of his death was still under investigation His employer remembered him as an 'incredible leader', he is seen here at a party in the Hamptons in 2007 Tara Simon, the company's president of the Americas, added: 'We are heartbroken by the loss of Kendal. 'Kendal was an incredible leader. He showed up to work the same way he lived his life - full of heart and conviction, levity and wisdom. 'He helped his teams believe they could accomplish things they hadn't imagined and created success for all along the way. 'The outpouring from within the company and across the industry has been extraordinary and shows his immeasurable impact.' Since his passing, social media platforms have been flooded with similar tributes from those who worked alongside the industry titan. One person described him as a 'one of a kind' individual, while another described his death as a 'tremendous loss'. In a statement to the Daily Mail, the city's Chief Medical Examiner said: 'No final determination has been made. The cause and manner of death are pending further study.' The New York Police Department said: 'On February 25, 2026, at approximately 0255 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 515 West 18 Street, within the confines of the 10 Precinct. 'Upon arrival, officers observed an unconscious and unresponsive male inside the location. EMS responded and pronounced the individual deceased on scene.' Labour is facing fresh calls to stop China building a mega-embassy in London in the wake of the latest spying allegations. Ministers were urged in the Commons to reverse their controversial decision to let Beijing build the biggest diplomatic base in Europe now that the Metropolitan Police has arrested three men for assisting a foreign intelligence service. They were warned again that the huge complex on the site of the old Royal Mint risked becoming a spy den, especially as it will be located close to underground fibre-optic cables carrying sensitive financial information to the Square Mile. Security Minister Dan Jarvis told MPs on Wednesday: 'If there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account.' But he was asked by Tory Andrew Murrison: 'Does he understand that Beijing is unlikely to take that terribly seriously, given what has happened in the recent past? Will the severe consequences include putting on hold plans for the Chinese super-embassy and spy centre, pending the outcome of the Met's investigation?' Mr Jarvis pointed out that the heads of MI5 and GCHQ both believe it is better for China to consolidate the seven sites it currently operates around the capital into one hub. 'The directors general of two of the security services have been clear about the national security advantages, as have I.' Conservative grandee Sir Edward Leigh said: 'The Chinese only represent strength, and for them everything is transactional, so I think the country would rejoice if the Government were to summon the Chinese ambassador and say to him "This sort of behaviour is intolerable. You cannot build this mega-embassy in just about the most sensitive site in London while you behave like this." 'I am not asking about what MI5 and MI6 have said. This is transactional.' The proposed Chinese 'mega-embassy' on the site of the old Royal Mint in London Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart said: 'How many times must we all come to this House to hear a report of further rounds of arrests under counter-terrorism legislation before this Government take this action? Do the Government plan to review their decision to allow the building of the Chinese mega-embassy?' And the DUP's Carla Lockhart said: 'The Minister has said numerous times that the Government always prioritise UK national security, but those words ring hollow whenever we think of the Chinese embassy, and the fact that this Government have granted a mega-embassy close to underground cables carrying highly sensitive data. 'In the light of these highly concerning developments, surely the Government should show courage, strength and leadership, and with immediate effect revoke that decision in the interest of national security.' Mr Jarvis insisted: 'The arrangement that underpins the Chinese embassy involves the reduction of the diplomatic estate in London from seven sites down to one.' Nestled alongside the toys, books and felt-tip pens that form the cheerful backdrop of Sarah Watson's* reception classroom is one equally vital piece of equipment. A stack of nappies. They're needed because six of the children in her class all four and five-year-olds still arrive at school wearing them. Of course, changing nappies was not part of the job description when Sarah, 45, trained as a teacher more than 20 years ago. Yet now, on a bad day, she can lose an hour of teaching time at her school in the North-West, dealing with accidents and changing clothes. As she puts it: 'It feels like I've become more surrogate parent and social worker than teacher.' Indeed, nappies are only the start. 'A massive number of the kids hadn't used cutlery before they came to reception and couldn't dress themselves,' Sarah explains. 'From what I could see, one child had literally never opened a book he genuinely didn't know what to do with one.' In these circumstances it's little wonder that traditional teaching barely gets off the ground. 'It takes all my time just to get basic functions sorted,' she explains. And if this sounds like an extreme case, it is anything but. In January, a report revealed that Sarah's experience is being echoed in classrooms across the country, as teachers grapple with a spiralling crisis in what is known as 'school readiness', meaning the basic skills children are expected to have mastered by the time they start reception. 'A massive number of the kids hadn't used cutlery before they came to reception and couldn't dress themselves,' Sarah Watson explains Felicity Gillespie says: 'Teachers who started two decades ago are telling us very clearly: it wasn't like this when we started out' The annual survey by early years charity Kindred Squared found that around a quarter of children now arrive at school not toilet trained. More than one in four cannot eat or drink independently and 28 per cent are unable to use books properly instead trying to swipe or tap them like a phone or tablet. Moreover, the situation is worsening, not improving. In 2024, teachers reported that a third of children were not school-ready. Last year, that figure rose to 37 per cent. As Felicity Gillespie, chief executive of Kindred Squared, puts it: 'This is only our sixth annual survey, so our data doesn't go back decades. But it goes far enough to show expectations have changed. And teachers who started two decades ago are telling us very clearly: it wasn't like this when we started out.' It's a view echoed by many teachers I spoke to this week, regardless of where they work. Take Beth Allerton*, an early years lead in a West Midlands primary school, where 30 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals. She has been teaching for more than 30 years, says the decline in standards has been steady and unmistakable, and has no doubt about some of the reasons why. 'In my opinion, technology is hugely impactful on pre-school children,' she says. 'Most of my class have their own tablet at home and several have their own phone. Parents are constantly distracted by their phones and I would imagine most of our children have no limit on screen time.' But screens are only part of the picture: many of Beth's pupils already have televisions in their bedrooms, while few sit down to eat as a family. Only around a quarter of her cohort are read to regularly at home. 'All of this deprives children of a language-rich environment,' Beth says. 'A third of my class cannot communicate effectively.' Beth also sees children arriving without routines, boundaries or clear expectations. 'A lot of parents seem to avoid taking charge,' she says. 'They don't have consistent boundaries in place, so the expectations at home and at school don't match. Poor sleep routines, screens in bedrooms all of that affects learning readiness.' And not just learning: as Beth explains, in her classroom children are expected to share toys, follow instructions, tidy up after themselves, put on their own shoes and coats, and eat properly at a table. 'If parents don't have those expectations at home, the child is suddenly having to adapt to two completely different worlds. It's confusing and destabilising,' she says. Three hundred miles away in Somerset, Laura Whiting*, another reception class teacher of 16 years, echoes Beth's sentiments, believing that the basic social contract between home and school, and the shared understanding of what children need to thrive, has disintegrated. 'I increasingly feel that I'm working to unravel what happens at home whereas, when I started out, I felt supported by parents who wanted to work with me,' she says. Like Sarah Watson, Laura has a classroom stacked with nappies, spare clothes and baby wipes paid for out of the school budget. More than once Laura has had to deal with a child who has arrived in her classroom with a soiled nappy. 'I sometimes wonder if we have made a rod for our own back,' she reflects. 'Parents know we have them and so there is this attitude of 'well you can sort it', which is effectively saying 'it's your problem now'.' She points out that even in her 'reasonably middle-class school', children still arrive in reception trying to swipe the pictures in books, as they are so used to electronic devices. 'If the kids aren't on devices, the parents are,' she says. 'I see them at pick-up, scooping up their kids then going straight back on their phones. Then they're the first ones to kick up a stink if they think their kids' needs aren't being addressed.' Her sentiments are not unfamiliar to Grainne Hallahan from Teacher Tapp, an app visited by up to 11,000 teachers who respond to daily surveys about school life and educational issues. 'It means we really get to see into the heart of the classroom,' as she puts it. Laura Whiting says children arrive in reception trying to swipe the pictures in books, as they are so used to electronic devices Laura explains: 'I increasingly feel that I'm working to unravel what happens at home whereas, when I started out, I felt supported by parents who wanted to work with me' And what they see is dispiriting: in a survey conducted last September, Teacher Tapp asked reception teachers how many children in their class were reliably toilet trained. Overall, teachers reported that 15 per cent of children were not but, in schools serving the most deprived communities, nearly half said they had five or more children in a single class who were still in nappies. 'You can see what a difference money makes,' says Grainne. 'But deprivation isn't the whole story. 'As the mother of three daughters aged 12, ten and eight, even in the time I've been a parent, I've noticed a big shift in attitudes around toilet training. There's a growing sense that this is the school's job, not the parent's.' An increasing number of children now need extra speech and language support, too. 'When we polled teachers on this recently, a massive 92 per cent said the number of reception kids needing support had gone up in the past two years,' says Grainne. Moreover, teachers are now fielding issues linked to social media even among the youngest pupils. 'Key Stage One teachers tell us they're dealing with problems around YouTube and WhatsApp,' Grainne adds. 'That would have been unthinkable a few years ago. 'It contributes to a generation of reception teachers more frazzled than we've ever seen them. They're dealing with more social work, more parental demands, and more admin.' For some, the pressures have become too much: between 2021 and 2025, nearly 115,000 teachers left the profession for reasons other than retirement, citing workload, stress, pupil behaviour and dealing with parents. Karen Simpson, from Inverness, was ahead of them: she quit the classroom in 2019 after 16 years teaching primary aged children including a number of years in reception after becoming dismayed by the changing nature of the job. 'When I started in 2004, children came in recognising their name, hanging up their coat, opening their own snack, holding a pencil properly,' she recalls. 'That was true in schools in more affluent areas and in more deprived areas. You had a solid starting point.' By the time she left the profession in 2019, she says, that was no longer the case. 'More and more time was being spent on basic needs the teaching part was shrinking,' she says. 'And, from talking to teachers since, I know it hasn't improved. If anything, it's worse.' Karen, a mother of two, went on to set up tutoring business My Primary and Secondary Tutor, and believes that while the reasons for the shift in pupil readiness are complex, structural changes to childcare have played a role. 'Wraparound nursery care expanded because both parents now work full-time. That was necessary,' she says. 'But it also moved away from structure and towards freer play, without the same focus on developing basic skills. More than one in four children cannot eat or drink independently and 28 per cent are unable to use books properly 'A lot of parents seem to avoid taking charge,' says Beth Allerton. 'They don't have consistent boundaries in place, so the expectations at home and at school don't match' 'There are often not enough nursery staff and they are told children must be left to choose what they want to do. 'As a result, children are arriving at school without the foundations they need and teachers are expected to compensate.' In tandem, she believes there has been a fundamental change in how adults respond to schools raising concerns. 'When I was at school, if an issue was flagged, parents were often more furious with their kids than the teachers,' she says. 'Even when I started teaching parents usually supported the teachers. 'That's not the case now. There's more defensiveness, more expectation that the school will just cope.' There is a cumulative impact to all this, too. 'Teachers tell us that, on average, around 2.4 hours a day are being lost to catch-up in physical readiness and independent life skills,' says Felicity Gillespie. 'That's the equivalent of a whole day of teaching every week,' she says. 'That doesn't just affect individual children but the whole class. 'Imagine if the Treasury issued a press release saying Britain's economy was losing a day a week of productivity there would be outrage. But that's effectively what's happening in reception classrooms.' Yet parents appear largely unaware of the extent of the issue: In Kindred Squared's survey, which polled parents alongside teachers, 88 per cent of parents considered their child to be developmentally ready for school contrasting sharply with the 37 per cent of children cited by teachers as not ready at all. 'That gap in expectations is huge,' Felicity says. 'And it suggests a lack of shared understanding of what school readiness actually means.' Lack of understanding or otherwise, the long-term consequences are profound: time and again, research shows that the early years matter more than any other stage of development. By the time children start school, much of the gap that will later appear in exams and employment outcomes is already baked in. 'Forty per cent of the attainment gap we see at GCSE is already evident at age five,' Felicity says. 'The early years are completely foundational. As our grandparents used to say, a stitch in time saves nine.' Nonetheless, she counsels against simply blaming parents. 'I think the line taken by some commentators that this is a problem of 'feckless parenting' is unhelpful,' she says. 'We have to recognise that the way we live has changed: Life is more pressured. 'More families have two full-time working parents. Many are living far from extended family who might once have offered support,' she says. 'Rather than pointing blame we need to look at what we can do to help as a wider society.' Similarly, Covid had pulled the rug from under children and parents alike. It's no coincidence that the toddlers presenting at school now are the cohort whose early years were spent in lockdowns, says Eli Gardner, a Clinical Child Psychologist and Co-founder of the charity Kids Matter. 'Covid meant a massive drop in the support services available to parents before their children go to school, and we saw a decline in parental mental health and confidence,' she says. 'This group of parents might only have seen a health visitor early on with little other support before they're supposed to be getting their kids ready for school. 'So we've lost some of scaffolding that used to exist organically in the community, which has had a huge impact.' The damaging effect of lockdowns on child development was laid bare only this week, with new research suggesting those who started reception class in 2020 have gone on to display less cognitive growth than expected. University of East Anglia researchers conducted a series of mental acuity tests on 139 children measuring impulse control, memory and concentration, and found 'much slower growth in key self-regulation and cognitive flexibility skills'. Nonetheless, having been both a teacher and a parent, Karen Simpson believes that ultimately responsibility has to lie with parents. 'Schools aren't miracle workers. You're not paying your taxes for one-to-one care. You have to be realistic about what schools can provide,' she says. Back in Sarah Watson's classroom, the nappies are still stacked neatly in the corner ready for tomorrow's intake. She's at pains to admit that despite the challenges, she still loves her job and her pupils, but she worries about what will happen if nothing changes. 'We're firefighting every day,' she says. 'And while we're doing that, something else is being lost.' Back in the West Midlands, meanwhile, Beth Allerton wonders if the solution might be a complete rethink of when our children start school. 'It's interesting that most European countries seem to begin formal learning around the age of six or seven, while I have children who were still only aged three a week or so before coming into school,' she says. 'Against this backdrop we are expected to achieve a huge list of requirements around things like literacy and numeracy by the end of the school year. 'With the best will in the world, this is not going to be achievable for a child who comes into school unable to speak, sit on a chair, listen to a story or grip a pencil.' *Names have been changed Arming Kurdish rebels as a substitute for US troops on the ground in Iran could spark a 'catastrophic' civil war that destabilises the nation for years to come, David Patrikarakos has warned the Daily Mail's Deep Dive podcast. Patrikarakos was joined by US senior political reporter Elina Shirazi, the daughter of Iranians who fled the country as Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in 1979, to analyse what comes next in the United States and Israel's joint military operation. Now in its fifth day, the joint operation killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in its opening strikes on February 28. More than 1,000 people are now dead inside Iran, an Iranian naval frigate has been sunk and retaliatory strikes have hit targets across the Gulf region, including an explosion at the US Consulate in Dubai. Responding to reports that President Donald Trump is considering arming Kurdish fighters to foment an uprising inside Iran, Patrikarakos urged the US to proceed with extreme caution. The Kurds are an ethnic group spread across Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. Based in the mountainous Kurdistan province, Iranian Kurdish fighters have a long history of armed resistance against the Islamic Republic. Arming Kurdish rebels as a substitute for US troops on the ground in Iran could spark a 'catastrophic' civil war that destabilises the nation, David Patrikarakos has warned Based in the mountainous Kurdistan province, Iranian Kurdish fighters have a long history of armed resistance against the Islamic Republic Iran: What Comes Next? Listen to the latest Daily Mail Deep Dive podcast 'I have been told the Kurds would be used as a group of armed volunteers - soldiers, to assist the Iranian people in freeing themselves', Shirazi told the podcast. 'They could seize local government buildings, police stations, IRGC bases. They could create liberation zones and put further pressure on Iran's military forces. 'If they fight the Iranians along the border, they could divert the military from the capital, which would be significant. The IRGC are already clearly aware of this - they have begun preemptive strikes on Kurdish bases in Iraq this week. 'We are told Trump has had recent phone calls with Kurdish leaders. That might suggest he's debating boots on the ground, just not our boots on the ground.' Patrikarakos warned the plan risks splitting Iran along ethnic lines, which he described as a 'total disaster'. The US has a long history of working with Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria, including under Trump's first administration. 'Iran fracturing along ethnic lines is the last thing anybody wants', he said. 'This is the way to civil war, which might grind on and on.' 'If Trump is going to arm them, my guess would be that it would come with some pretty stiff guarantees. Such as, you can fight the regime but it would have to be for a united Iran. Join the debate Should the US prioritise stability over regime change in Iran? Patrikarakos added that if the military operation succeeds in permanently removing the Iranian regime, it would be a 'huge win' for the United States He cautioned however that Washington's main adversaries, Russia and China, are likely pleased to see the might of the US military distracted in Iran 'I suspect the Kurds are probably not strong enough to turn around and say, get lost.' Patrikarakos added that if the military operation succeeds in permanently removing the Iranian regime, it would be a 'huge win' for the United States. He cautioned however that Washington's main adversaries, Russia and China, are likely pleased to see the might of the US military distracted in Iran. 'If I were Xi Jinping or Putin, I would be looking at this situation ambiguously', Patrikarakos said. 'On the one hand, America has proved that it will take out people that it deems to be a threat to its security. On the other, they are probably pleased to see the US getting bogged down in Iran. 'It draws attention away from Putin fewer Patriot missiles are going to Ukraine right now, I can assure everyone of that. 'But if the United States and Israel are successful in ending the regime and getting something vaguely sane in Iran, that is a huge win. America is undoubtedly strengthened.' Listen to the full Iran special episode of Deep Dive with David Patrikarakos and Melina Shirazi now, available wherever you get your podcasts. Washproof silk helps boost sales of 'China-chic' costumes People's Daily Online) 14:50, March 05, 2026 New Chinese-style clothing that blends traditional aesthetics with contemporary design proved immensely popular among consumers during the recently concluded Spring Festival holiday. Data show that the market for guochao apparel, represented by new Chinese-style clothing, exceeded 220 billion yuan (about $31.96 billion) in 2024, and is projected to surpass 250 billion yuan in 2025. Guochao, also known as "China-chic," is a fashion trend that blends modern designs with traditional cultural elements. Behind the boom lies a quiet but crucial technological revolution. "Sales of new Chinese-style clothing this year have surpassed all previous years on our busiest day, we sold more than 20 bespoke outfits, three times the usual amount," said Li Yun, who runs a new Chinese-style clothing shop in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. Her store stocks a variety of traditional fabrics Song brocade, Yun brocade, gambiered Guangdong gauze (or Xiangyunsha in Chinese) many of which now incorporate high-tech features that have proven especially appealing to younger customers. Li Yun (left) helps a customer try on a set of new Chinese-style clothing. (Photo/Guo Yang) Li Yun has been in the business of custom new Chinese-style clothing since 2018 and has witnessed changes in her customer base and their consumption habits. "A significant portion of our customers these days are around 30. Younger consumers care a lot about ease of maintenance," she said. One such customer, Hu Jing, had long been a fan of new Chinese-style summer wear but found pure silk frustrating. While soft and breathable, the fabric felt almost too precious to own. "You're afraid to hand-wash it in case you ruin it, so it goes to the dry cleaner every time," she explained. The cumulative cost of dry cleaning, she calculated, had nearly matched the original price of the garments. Li Yun understood the frustration well. Over the years, customers had repeatedly raised issues like color bleeding, which had become a significant pain point for new Chinese-style clothing primarily made from silk. Su Miao, Party chief of the International Institute of Silk at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, said silk fabrics had long been confined to high-end niches, such as formal gowns and banquet wear. However, the rising popularity of new Chinese-style clothing has raised consumer expectations for silk, expanding perceptions of what the fabric can offer. In response to this shift, Li Yun began exploring alternatives at international fabric trade fairs in Shanghai and Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, over the past two years, where she encountered machine-washable and UV-protective silk varieties. She decided to give them a try. The response was immediate inquiries and orders poured in. "This machine-washable silk might cost an extra 30 to 50 yuan per meter, but it genuinely frees your hands," she said. Encouraged by positive market feedback, Li Yun has grown increasingly confident in the potential of high-tech fabrics. Her machine-washable silk comes from Zhejiang Cathaya International Co., Ltd. Tang Lin, president of the China Silk Association, identified two perennial weaknesses of silk: it shrinks from washing and wrinkles easily. The core challenge in improving silk's performance lies in enhancing its functionality without compromising its natural qualities. Li Peng, director of the national industrial design center at Cathaya Group, explained that the conventional approach to improving silk's wash resistance involved applying a surface coating a method that inevitably dulled the fabric's signature sheen, softness, and skin-friendly feel. "We took a different approach, working directly with the silk fibers and inducing specific amino acids to form three-dimensional structures that could withstand the mechanical stress of machine washing," Li Peng said. The group began assembling a technical team of more than 20 researchers in 2020, and by late 2023 had ensured mass production. Machine-washable silk is not the only innovation on display in Li Yun's shop. Shelves now feature UV-protective silk, machine-washable wool, and high-pilling-resistance cashmere, among other advanced textiles. "These practical, functional fabrics have truly opened up the market," she said. Cashmere, for instance, used to pill so badly that it was only suitable for outerwear now, with improved pilling resistance, it can be made into fitted inner layers that pair seamlessly with new Chinese-style ensembles. Wang Pengcheng, brand director at Cathaya Group, said Chinese silk fabric companies have advanced rapidly on the technical front in some respects, they are ahead of the curve but there remains significant ground to cover in design sophistication and brand building. New Chinese-style fashion, he believes, offers a well-timed entry point. "Innovation in silk fabrics is the next major trend in the textile industry and an inevitable response to the pressure of homogeneous competition," Tang said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) The Manassas Mosque, sandwiched in a strip mall just 30 miles from Washington, DC, is facing its own fight for survival after commemorating 'our leader' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a day after he was killed in an airstrike in Tehran. The Daily Mail has learned that the imam of the mosque Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, who goes by Abu Nahidian, is trapped in Tehran after leaving with his wife. 'He's there right now,' security guard T. Beyah told the Daily Mail. 'We received a call from them. You could actually hear the bombs from where he is. We had to cut the call short. 'He's okay, but he wanted us to know that if anything happens to him, we should continue what we're doing here in the mosque,' Beyah said. 'Did he say we should retaliate for what is happening? No,' he continued. 'Did he say go and seek vengeance? No. He said continue doing what we already do. Pray, act with one another.' The Virginia mosque has been bombarded with angry phone calls and death threats from people furious that they would celebrate the repressive Supreme Leader, who demonized the United States as 'the Great Satan. Sitting beside a portrait of Khamenei hanging in the imam's office on Tuesday, Beyah told the Daily Mail that he's fielded some of those calls himself, and alerted Prince William County police, who sent a bomb-sniffing dog. 'That place needs to be blown up,' one male caller purportedly told him. Security guard T. Beyah spoke to the Daily Mail about the onslaught of hate and death threats the Manassas Mosque been receiving since a post was made commemorating 'our leader' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei The controversial Virginia mosque made the post on Instagram a day after he was killed in an airstrike in Tehran In the aftermath, a wave of angry phone calls and death threats from people furious that they would celebrate the death of the repressive Supreme Leader sent the mosque's imam, Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, and his wife fleeing back to Tehran, the Daily Mail has learned 'Watch your back, you never know what's going to happen,' another warned. Several GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill have joined the outcry against the Manassas Mosque, calling for the center's tax-exempt status to be revoked and for members to be denaturalized and deported. In a tweet flagging the IRS and FBI on Monday, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas wrote: 'I am requesting that you investigate if this mosque is being funded by any terrorist organizations or has provided material support to terrorist organizations given its allegiance to Khamenei, one of the most evil individuals in history who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and who spent the last three months overseeing the murders of tens of thousands of Iranian protestors before he was rightfully taken out by US and Israeli strikes.' The mosque has since deleted the Instagram post, which featured a picture of Khamenei and an announcement of a special Ramadan dinner to honor his 'martyrdom'. But that hasn't stopped social media users from circulating screenshots of the post as well as the mosque's other controversial actions and statements. In October 2023, the mosque proclaimed 'we stand firmly' with Hamas after the terror group attacked Israel. They also co-sponsored a 'Stop the War on Iran' march near the White House this past Monday night. The Daily Mail visited the mosque on Tuesday and observed several framed portraits of Khamenei still hanging on the walls, including photos of him embracing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUDIR), an advocacy group of Iranian Americans opposing the theocratic regime running Iran, is due to release a report later this week on 'The Ayatollahs' Influence Network in the United States'. .@IRSnews and @FBI, I am requesting that you investigate if this mosque is being funded by any terrorist organizations or has provided material support to terrorist organizations given its allegiance to Khamenei, one of the most evil individuals in history who is responsible for https://t.co/knu0VqMf2K Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) March 2, 2026 The Daily Mail visited the mosque on Tuesday and observed that portraits of the slain Supreme Leader still lined the halls, including one of him embracing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar A portrait of Ayatollah Khamenei could be seen through the doorway to the main office as the Daily Mail witnessed Beyah alerting Prince William County police to a bomb threat he received over the mosque's phone A portrait depicting Palestinian children fleeing from a tank was observed in the office, along with a poster above it illustrating the shrinking of Palestinian territory since the start of Israeli settlement following World War II The report singled out Manassas as part of a national Iran-backed network of institutions teaching hardline Shiite ideology. The group reports that the mosque's leader, Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, has received funding from the New York City-based Alavi Foundation, a central financier of the network that the Department of Justice has called a front for the Islamic Republic. The National Union for Democracy in Iran is set to release a report reportedly linking Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian to funding from the New Yorkbased Alavi Foundation, which US authorities have called a front for the Iranian government It also claims this spread of Islamic theology presents one of the greatest threats to American freedom. 'A lot of the imams at these mosques, whether it be here at Manassas, or Texas, or Michigan, are trained in the Qom seminary in Iran, where the most hardline clerics are trained,' the group's policy director, Andrew Ghalili, told the Daily Mail. 'They're essentially cultivating loyalty to the regime in Iran through these so-called Islamic Centers and educational centers. 'I absolutely think this is a potential avenue for sleeper cells in the United States to be activated,' Ghalili added, suggesting a man who opened fire on a Texas bar on Sunday may have been motivated by radical Islamic teachings espoused in US mosques. The shooter was wearing an Iranian symbol on his T-shirt. Some of the hijackers from 9/11 have also been known to attend several US mosques while preparing for the attacks, including the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, where Anwar al-Awlaki, accused of being an al-Qaeda recruiter, later served as imam. The mosque co-sponsored a 'Stop the War on Iran' march near the White House on Monday night, where one protester was seen sobbing as she clutched a photo of the Ayatollah A man holds a photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he takes part in a protest outside the White House on Monday night But at the Manassas Mosque on Tuesday, the security guard Beyah challenged the Daily Mail to name a single act of violence linked to his center in its 32-year history, before answering his own question. 'None,' replied Beyah, a longtime member of the mosque. 'Today we're getting the attention that says we're violent, but you've never heard of anyone here being violent.' He said Muslims are the ones under attack, facing harassment in America and bombs in Tehran. As worshippers trickled into the mosque for daily prayers, he sat in the office dealing with angry callers. 'People keep inquiring - why did you celebrate the Ayatollah?' Beyah said. 'We celebrated because it was simply a form of respect, respect for a supreme leader who stood against American imperialism. 'We respect him for standing up and saying, 'Look, Donald Trump, you cannot threaten us and think I'm just going to sit down and take it. I'm going to defend myself'. 'The world was looking at Khomenei and saying, 'You know what, he has a point where he is standing up to an American president when everybody else wasn't',' he continued. Conservative voices on social media and news outlets have been homing in this week on some of the mosque's most controversial stands, including Nahidian's describing the 9/11 attacks as a Zionist plot designed to justify Israel's occupation of Muslim lands. Beyah challenged the Daily Mail to name a single act of violence linked to the center, and when asked why they celebrated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following his reported death, he said they respected him for standing up to President Trump and out of admiration for a supreme leader who he claimed opposed Western imperialism Abu Nahidian's daughterinlaw, Atefeh Rokhvand, is a prominent antiIsrael activist who took part in an aroundtheclock stakeout of former Secretary of State Antony Blinkens home, during which his car was doused with fake blood Critics also cite the group's declarations of support for the 'Palestinian Resistance,' Hamas, and how its leaders have joined other far-left groups like Code Pink in organizing protests. In an article on Monday, the Daily Wire reported that Abu Nahidian's daughterinlaw, Atefeh Rokhvand, has been a 'major player' in advocacy against Israel - noting she served as the selfdescribed 'governor' of an aroundtheclock stakeout of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken's home that involved dousing his car with fake blood, and founded the activist group Teachers Against Genocide. As war has spread this week, she's flooded her Instagram with vitriol directed at Israel and the US government. 'Soon we will avenge (your death) from the zionists and the Americans,' she posted Tuesday. 'You made us mourners but didn't break us They've dug their own graves.' At the Manassas Mosque on Tuesday, the guard told the Daily Mail he was concerned about a possible crackdown on Muslims in the United States. He's expecting the government to go after his mosque. 'That is their intention, to shut us down,' Beyah said. 'We're kind of helpless to a point. But no matter what happens, we will still come together and change our name or just go to another place. They can't stop the faith of a person.' Liverpool Street on a bustling Monday morning - the heart of Londons financial district. Office workers hurry to meetings, passers-by grab coffees, e-bicycles weave their way through traffic as normal. Suddenly, there is a hideous buzzing overhead like that of a vast, otherworldly insect. Pedestrians see a fleeting triangular silhouette streaking across the sky, followed by a gigantic explosion. Then another, pursued by the rest of the swarm. Dozens of Shahed suicide drones have been launched to spread terror in the capital. As smoke billows into the air, the screams and the sirens begin. Such an apocalyptic scenario could leave hundreds dead, forcing Britain onto a war footing for which our depleted armed forces are woefully unprepared. And with the Iranian regime lashing out wildly in the wake of this weeks strikes, there are fears that the fate of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus - which was struck by a drone on Monday night - will visit us closer to home. Each Shahed drone carries a payload of up to 90kg, enough to collapse a building. Having just returned from Ukraine, where they are widely used by the Russians, I know the death and destruction they can cause. But how could those Satanic machines get through? They have a range of only 1,500 miles and Iran is 3,000 miles from Britain. According to analysts, the answer is as old as warfare itself: via a vulnerability in our defences. Britain has no radar facing the North Sea, meaning that a shadow fleet of ships, manned by Russians, Iranians or eastern European mercenaries, could fire Iranian drones from their decks. The Shahed, which has a wingspan of about eight feet and costs less than a small car, is launched using an angled rail, from which it accelerates into the air using a solid-fuel booster rocket. Liverpool Street Station is in the heart of London s financial district, where office workers hurry to meetings, passers-by grab coffees and e-bicycles weave their way through traffic Your browser does not support iframes. Britain has no radar facing the North Sea, meaning that a shadow fleet of ships, manned by Russians, Iranians or eastern European mercenaries could fire Iranian drones from their decks Once airborne, the rear piston engine takes over. This compact and self-contained system does not require a runway or catapult, making it ideal for launching from trucks and trailers - or ships. Shaheds reach speeds of only 100mph but a launch off the coast nearby would leave our Quick Reaction Alert Typhoons at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire little time to respond. Unlike Israel, Britain has no Iron Dome, Davids Sling or Arrow systems, which together guard against short-range rockets, cruise missiles and ballistic munitions, not to mention Iron Beam, the laser system which Jerusalem has in development. Last year, airports at Copenhagen, Oslo, Bremen, Brussels and elsewhere were closed after smaller drones, many thought to be Russian, entered their airspaces. Only a week ago, during a visit by the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to Malmo in Sweden for Nato exercises, Russian signals intelligence ship Zhigulevsk launched a drone towards the mighty craft. After electronic interception by the Swedes, it crashed about three miles from its target. But what if it had been part of a swarm? And what if it had been carrying explosives? An irony here neatly summarises Britains supine posture towards the Islamist threat. In 2023, when I was editor of the Jewish Chronicle, we revealed that scientists at 11 British universities, including Cambridge and Imperial College London, had helped the Iranian regime develop technology that could be used in its drone programme. Rishi Sunak, then the Prime Minister, announced an investigation in Parliament. It was immediately punted into the long grass by the Tories. This pathetic tale summarises the complacency of our elites. Was British drone technology deployed against RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus? Is it being used against American and Israeli forces as I write? And will it one day be used to target us here at home? Security services are all too aware that our open society offers a wealth of soft targets, from synagogues to energy and transport infrastructure. The Iranian regime has been known to target all three. And swarming drones are far from the only threat. Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, has warned that Iran is the state actor which most frequently crosses into terrorism, and a sophisticated adversary. With hundreds of Iranian spies, assassins and terrorists already operating in Britain, our Government is sleepwalking into a series of atrocities from which it might never recover. At least 20 Iranian murders and kidnappings have been disrupted by the security services on British soil since 2022. Many were the work of Unit 840, a covert group within the Revolutionary Guards, which - incredibly - has still not been banned by the Government. One example was the wedding plot, a 2022 attempt to assassinate two journalists in London, codenamed the bride and the groom. It was foiled by a double agent. In 2024, the dissident journalist Pouria Zeraati was knifed in Wimbledon by two Romanian thugs recruited by Tehran. In a telling detail, Zeraati subsequently fled from Britain to Israel, where he was safer from assassins. Last May, five Iranians were arrested on suspicion of plotting an atrocity at the Israeli embassy in London. Our authorities have known about Irans evil intentions for decades. In 1999, after a tip-off from Mossad, security services busted a bombmaking factory in the capital run by Irans Lebanese puppet militia Hezbollah, seizing three metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate. According to a security insider, that discovery acted as a wake-up call to MI5. Each Shahed drone carries a payload of up to 90kg - enough to collapse a building The Iranians have been furiously resorting to overseas terror attacks to pressure Washington and Jerusalem to scale back their campaign After all, in 1994 a Hezbollah van carrying a 43st cache of the same substance detonated outside a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people. Most victims were Jewish, but passers-by and local office workers, as well as a Catholic priest, were among the dead. Chillingly, the Hezbollah bomb factory in London had enough ammonium nitrate to produce 11 such devices. MI5 and counter-terror police have been concentrating on Iran ever since. But they havent done enough. And there are fears that the regime has embedded its tentacles so deeply in Britain that it is only a matter of time before something, somewhere, gets through. This week, the Iranians have been furiously resorting to overseas terror attacks to pressure Washington and Jerusalem to scale back their campaign. On Tuesday, Israel was forced to evacuate diplomats from the United Arab Emirates after two foiled atrocities. And on Sunday, two people were shot dead and 14 wounded at a bar in Texas by a gunman reportedly wearing an Iranian flag. As of this week, 63 per cent of all the regimes missiles and drones have targeted the UAE, with hundreds more fired at Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar as well as Western embassies and military bases in the Middle East. According to Lord Walney, the Governments former adviser on political violence and disruption, this strategy of targeting American allies may lead to attacks on the British homeland. Irans wild and scattergun approach in bombing all its Gulf neighbours should be a warning for countries across the West about what could happen domestically, he said. Youve got a state that is desperate and does have that residual capacity to hit out. Security agencies are going to be on high alert. Irans closeness to China may exacerbate the situation. As demonstrated by Wednesdays arrest of three espionage suspects, including the partner of a Labour MP, Chinese spies work extensively in Britain, both in the corridors of power and cyberspace. Beijing has avoided becoming drawn into the conflict but - like the Russians - has common cause with the Iranians in wishing us harm. The threat is not just aimed at London. Scotland, where there is a 6,000-strong Iranian expat community, has long been a target, as it is perceived as a strategic weak point. Senior SNP figures have long been close to shady individuals with connections to the regime. Revealingly, during an internet blackout imposed by Tehran in January, many accounts pushing Scottish independence went dark. This wasnt even the first time: in 2021, Facebook shut down hundreds of nominally Scottish accounts traced to the regime. On the streets of Glasgow, meanwhile, a string of dissidents have been threatened with guns by Iranian goons. The sorry truth is that decades of appeasement have left Britain weakened. One of the starkest ironies of the war is that while the Ayatollah was killed at his office on Pasteur Street in central Tehran, his office at the Islamic Centre of England in North London has still not been shut down. This week, as mosques all over the country held vigils for the Ayatollah and at least 15 Islamic student societies mourned him as a martyr, it staged a brazen vigil for the tyrant - laughing in the face of Britain. Similarly, as the feared Revolutionary Guards are pounded by missile strikes on their home turf, our Government has failed to ban them in this country. In fact, we allow IRGC hubs to flourish on our doorstep. Take Little Tehran, an area of Maida Vale in West London in which the Islamic Republic maintains several schools and colleges charged with spreading its malign influence into Britain. Even the Iranian ambassador to London, Seyed Ali Mousavi, who has claimed US-Israeli strikes against Iran are illegal and criminal, has not been expelled, raising the bizarre question of whether he will qualify for asylum in this country were the regime to be toppled. This weekend, an annual pro-regime rally is scheduled to take place in London as normal. At past Al Quds marches, which have often turned violent, attendees have flown the flag of Hezbollah, the very outfit that attacked RAF Akrotiri, blew up the Jewish centre in Argentina and ran that bombmaking factory in London. They have also held placards saying Zionist dogs and appeared to praise Hamas. In 2024, police made ten arrests for public order offences. All of this speaks of a British softness that is gleefully exploited by Islamists of all stripes, whether amateurs in their bedrooms or state-backed professionals. Small wonder that in January, the United Arab Emirates banned its citizens from studying at British universities due to the widespread extremism on campus. There has been a sustained attempt for decades to build up a soft power network to further the interests of the Iranian regime and weaken Britains liberal democracy, said Lord Walney. Those conducting the Islamist infiltration exploit the basic good nature of the British people, who generally want to avoid causing offence. Across mainstream parties, people have been running for cover so they wont be branded racist or Islamophobic. This is a weapon to prevent scrutiny of this issue. Given the soaring tensions in the Middle East, this saturation of domestic extremism has the potential to turn deadly, as seen in the Manchester synagogue murders in October, the 2017 bombing of the Manchester Arena and in numerous terror attacks in London. Even if MI5 can contain, for now at least, the threat of Iranian spies, radicalised lone wolves are often more difficult to track. The 2022 near-fatal stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie showed how an Iranian fatwa in 1989 can still inspire fanatics to act decades later. Moreover, it matches the regimes war strategy: after the American-Israeli assault last June, Tehran decentralised its command structures, meaning that if senior officers are killed, junior soldiers can fire at will. This has an obvious - and worrying - implication for us. Amid the interlocking threats of drones, bombs and stabbings, after decades of complacency, nowhere in Britain is safe from the mad mullahs of Tehran and their most demented co-religionists. The Brink podcast, presented by Jake Wallis Simons and Andrew Fox, is available now. Aussies will soon need to verify their age before accessing adult content online with new changes to be rolled out within days. New standards in the Online Safety Act come into effect across Australia on Monday, meaning digital platforms must verify the age of their users. Verification will be required to access harmful or age-inappropriate content, such as porn, self-harm material and very violent content. This applies to social media including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, app stores, websites, generative AI platforms, and search engines such as Google or Bing. It will also affect infrastructure that makes websites accessible and service providers, including phone and home broadband. Andy Lulham, chief operating officer at UK-based age verification firm VerifyMy, said Australia was following Britain's lead on online safety. 'At a time when nearly a third of 13-year-olds have viewed porn online, this is safeguarding built on sound logic,' he said. 'Robust age assurance will close the door on kids accessing porn and prevent young people stumbling across legal but age-inappropriate content.' Aussies will soon have to verify their age before accessing adult content online (stock image) The majority of young people - 71 per cent - who unintentionally come across porn ignore it, though some described these encounters as frequent, unavoidable and unwelcome. Dr Vanessa Teague, a cryptographer focused on privacy and security, said the measures aren't unreasonable. 'For example, it seems to be saying age verification is only required if (search engines) are going to serve up age restricted material,' she told Daily Mail. 'This doesn't seem unreasonable. 'On the other hand, it is obviously easily circumvented. All you have to do is install a VPN from a country that doesn't have these restrictions.' She described how, when similar digital restrictions were introduced in the UK, 'there was a massive uptick in VPN usage around the time'. 'I think it's very likely that we'll see something very similar here,' she said. New standards in the Online Safety Act will come into effect across Australia on Monday 'Then what happens is that the porn sites and gambling sites record a massive drop in visits from Australia. 'But that's not actually because Australians are visiting those sites any less. It's just because Australians are visiting those sites from a virtual private network that makes it look as if they're visiting them from somewhere else.' Dundas Lawyers director Malcolm Burrows said digital services can use any method for age verification, as long as it meets their obligation to check users. 'For services or providers required to carry out age checks under the new codes, the method used is optional, so long as it meets the definition of 'appropriate age assurance',' he wrote on the company website last year. He said the eSafety Commissioner suggests a range of acceptable options, including confirmation by a parent, photo identification or facial age estimation. Digital sites can also use credit card checks, digital identity wallets, a third-party age-assurance vendor or AI technology that estimates age via data inputs. 'Under section 143 of the Online Safety Act, companies that fail to comply with these new codes may face fines up to $49.5 million,' Mr Burrows said. 'The Commissioner may also apply to the Federal Court to order that the provider of or particular social media platforms, electronic or designated internet service stop providing that service in Australia.' The daughter of media personality David Koch has returned to Australia after spending 'a very rough few days in Dubai' as Iranian missiles peppered the Persian Gulf. Koch's daughter Sam, who lives in Dubai, was stranded with her child as the UAE government warned her and other locals to stay indoors and avoid debris from missiles. But she discovered Emirates flight EK414 was leaving Dubai for Sydney and contacted the airline to see if there were any seats available - and there were. 'It was a very rough few days in Dubai, that's for sure,' Sam told Sunrise alongside her father on Thursday morning. 'Had an hour to pack, dashed to the airport, very unsure of whether it would actually take off. 'We actually didn't tell any of the family that we had suddenly been able to get seats because we were worried they'd get all excited and then perhaps disappointed.' Sam said she also knew her family would be worried about her flying in the region given all the missiles and drones streaking through the air. 'We let them know about an hour into the flight that we were on the plane and that we would be in Sydney that night,' Sam said. David Koch and daughter Sam appear on Sunrise on Thursday morning after she arrived home from Dubai Planes are parked on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport as Iran retaliates following the US and Israel's assassination of its supreme leader Dubai has been hit by missile strikes this week 'It was totally surreal. Never in a million years did we expect this kind of situation to unfold in Dubai. 'We were having regular missile interceptions happening above us, which were very loud and uncertain.' Koch himself described the past week as 'pretty stressful on the whole family'. 'Florrie (Koch's granddaughter), who's four, just thinks that it was a whole heap of thunderstorms, as they hear the booms overhead from the missiles being intercepted,' he said. 'A massive boom goes off that shakes your windows and your doors. It's pretty scary in this idyllic oasis in the Middle East.' Sam was part of a large group of more than 200 Australians who arrived at Sydney Airport on Wednesday night, after departing Dubai on the first commercial flight from the Middle East to Australia since the conflict began on February 28. 'It's a huge relief. My kid's in a war zone. You realise how lucky you are living here,' Koch said. Sam praised the UAE government for keeping everyone safe and providing information via mobile phone alerts. Koch said he felt lucky to live in Australia after watching the ongoing war in the Middle East The Middle East conflict has spread more quickly and widely than anticipated 'We did feel well informed by the UAE government that they were keeping us really safe and we know a lot more about their missile defence program,' she said. Since Saturday, airspace closures in the Middle East have grounded thousands of flights due to missile warfare in the region. Australians heading to Europe may need to reconsider their travel plans as the Middle East conflict disrupts major aviation hubs, according to experts. Professor Ron Bartsch, chairman of Avlaw Consulting and former head of safety and regulation at Qantas, has warned that Australia will be among the hardest hit by the disruptions, as flights to Europe typically pass through Middle Eastern airspace. 'Out of all the peripheral countries that have been affected by this, Australian travellers have probably been more affected because, particularly in the last two decades, Australia has used the Middle East as its primary way of reaching Europe,' he said. Andy Burnham suggested on Wednesday that Left-wing parties should 'work together' to combat the rise of Reform UK - fuelling fears of a Coalition of Chaos. The Mayor of Greater Manchester said he was concerned about the rise of 'fringe parties'. Mr Burnham's comments will add to concerns that Labour, the Greens, the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the SNP could join forces to fight Reform UK at the next election. It comes after a poll put Zack Polanski's Green Party in second place nationally - ahead of Labour - prompting Reform to warn that the possibility of a Left-wing coalition had to be 'taken seriously'. In his first comments since Labour lost the Gorton and Denton by-election last Thursday, Mr Burnham said the result demonstrated the 'chasm' between Westminster and the public. And in what will be seen as a swipe at Sir Keir Starmer - who blocked him from standing in the contest - the mayor lamented the absence of 'big figures' at Westminster. Referring to his book Head North, 'about leaving Westminster and establishing devolution across England', he joked: 'The sequel, Head South, is currently on hold.' Addressing Labour's defeat to the Greens at an event hosted by the Centre For Cities think-tank in London on Wednesday, Mr Burnham said: 'The time has most definitely come for a serious conversation about our political system and its pervading culture.' Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham wants to unite the left and formulate a Coalition of Chaos He said the by-election 'revealed the full depth of the chasm between people and Westminster politics'. Asked if he was concerned about the 'rise of fringe parties', Mr Burnham said he worried about a politics that 'wants to pit people against each other'. He added: 'I'll fight against that politics, because it is going to try and break... collaboration. 'It realises there's votes to be had in simple populism, pitting Rochdale against Oldham. That is what it will try and do - divide.' He said such an outcome was a risk at the local elections in May, and parties that believe in collaboration 'should work together'. A poll suggested yesterday he would have won in Gorton and Denton had he stood. The More in Common survey found that he was the most popular politician in the constituency across three focus groups held the day after the vote, with both Reform and Green voters putting him top. Some participants expressed frustration at Sir Keir's decision to block Mr Burnham - described as a 'significant own goal'. Cabinet ministers discussed whether cosying up to Donald Trump was a 'good thing for Labour' before rejecting his request to use British bases to bomb Iran, it emerged last night. Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir Starmer to have nothing to do with the US assault on Iran while Labour was under growing pressure at home from Left-wing opponents such as the Greens. Security sources said Mr Miliband took a 'petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political approach' at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday the day before the US attack began, and just hours after Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election. He and the Chancellor are said to have 'made it quite difficult for the Prime Minister', while Ms Cooper adopted the 'cautious approach of the Foreign Office'. The PM's decision on whether the national interest required the UK to stay close to the US appears to have been coloured by considerations of Labour's domestic problems. A source said the discussion came down to the legality of the proposed action and whether 'a positive relationship with the US was a good thing right now for the party', adding: 'Many people concluded that it was not.' Insiders disputed claims that Sir Keir had floated the idea of letting President Trump use bases on UK territory before being blocked by fellow ministers. The PM is said to have been on the receiving end of several 'very angry' phone calls from Mr Trump over the use of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to mount bombing raids. Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) to have nothing to do with the US assault on Iran Security sources said Mr Miliband (pictured) took a 'petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political approach' at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday the day before the US attack began Insiders disputed claims that Sir Keir had floated the idea of letting President Trump (pictured) use bases on UK territory before being blocked by fellow ministers But it is understood that he did not believe the action was lawful and that legal objections set out by his Attorney General Lord Hermer were made clear to the US days before the final decision. In a partial U-turn, ministers have now said US planes can use British bases for the 'limited' purpose of mounting 'defensive' attacks against Iranian missile batteries threatening the region. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'We never comment on the content of National Security Council meetings. 'The decision had the full support of the Cabinet, including all the members of the National Security Council.' However, the revelations, reported by The Spectator magazine, are likely to further anger Mr Trump and raise fresh questions about whether Sir Keir is capable of rebuilding the special relationship with the US that underpins the UK's security. The White House hit back again at Sir Keir last night after he suggested Mr Trump's attack on Iran was illegal and unplanned. The PM took a rare swipe at the US President yesterday after Mr Trump publicly humiliated him by saying he was 'no Churchill'. The PM told MPs he was not willing to join military action without 'a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan'. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt 'completely rejected' Sir Keir's suggestion of illegality last night, saying President Trump believed Iran had posed an 'imminent and direct threat' to the US and its allies. Sir Keir insisted the special relationship did not 'hang on President Trump's latest words'. But Tory MP Gareth Bacon suggested the PM's 'dithering' over the use of British bases had damaged relations with the US. Sir Keir responded: 'American planes are operating out of British bases that is the special relationship in action. 'British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases that is the special relationship in action. 'Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe that is the special relationship in action. 'Hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not the special relationship in action.' Deputy PM David Lammy played down the row last night, but acknowledged that Labour's 35billion Chagos Islands giveaway to Mauritius might have to be abandoned, telling ITV's Peston show: 'It's just not clear at the moment whether we're going to be able to transfer it.' Last night Mr Trump said the US was in a very strong position on Iran, adding: 'Somebody said, "On a scale of ten where would you rate it?" I said, about a 15. 'We're in very good shape. It's a great display of military strength.' Saturday morning, Pasteur Street, central Tehran. Inside a vast walled compound sits Beit Rahbari the 'House of Leadership' the armoured and labyrinthine residence of Iran's ageing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Close by are the presidential palace and several key Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) facilities, from which the repressive leadership conducts its operations. Guards idle at their posts. Posters of the bearded cleric flutter from buildings and lampposts. Traffic moves slowly but aggressively. A day, it seems, like any other. But, unbeknown to those inside the compound, this fortress of bureaucratic and religious savagery has been breached long ago. Enemy agents stalk the corridors, handlers read intercepted communications, and Israeli-designed algorithms scour the data transmitted on the regime's mobile phones and other devices. At 8.10am local time, the combined Israeli and US strikes begin with devastating effect. Explosions ring out across the capital. Buildings disappear in fire and dust. Plumes of black smoke billow upwards. Within five minutes, the Ayatollah lies dead, a victim of the type of extreme violence he meted out to so many innocents throughout his grubby life: poetic justice delivered by payload. Saturday morning, Pasteur Street, central Tehran. Inside a vast walled compound sits the armoured and labyrinthine residence of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Pictured: A satellite image shows smoke rising and heavy damage at the compound after the US-Israeli strike on Saturday Within five minutes, the Ayatollah (pictured, in 2023) lies dead, a victim of the type of extreme violence he meted out to so many innocents throughout his grubby life Alongside him lie the corpses of many of his fellow butchers: the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard, the regime's defence minister and the secretary of Iran's Defence Council (who had survived a previous Israeli strike in 2025 after being pulled from rubble). A thousand miles away in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu is shown a picture of Khameini's body. Mission or at least the first part of it accomplished. 'Intelligence used is on another level' Here, I piece together the logic, chronology and some of the secrets of the operation to take out the octogenarian mass murderer and can reveal in detail for the first time just how deeply Israel's spies have penetrated Iran's security services and the government itself. As a former Israeli defence official told me this week: 'The intelligence used in these operations is on another level. 'The combination of the latest technology crunching data and visuals alongside unprecedented levels of "humint" [human intelligence, covertly gathered by agents] all led to this incredible feat. 'Multi-agency, multinational, multifaceted: the number of layers is truly remarkable.' The truth is that the Israelis with American help have done something no one seems to fully understand. They have created the beginnings of a new way of war: a fusion of cyber warfare, surveillance and human espionage so seamless that by the time the bombs fall, the conditions to win the battle have hopefully been set. The missiles at the weekend were merely the visible end of a far deeper and more complex operation. Years of hacked cameras, intercepted signals, human sources and machine-driven analysis were able to map the inner workings down to the level of individual drivers, bodyguards and even their parking spaces of one of the most paranoid and guarded regimes on earth. Here's how they did it. 'There could be no warning' The clocks in Washington DC are eight and a half hours behind Tehran time. Trump authorised the strike the day before, at 3.38pm Eastern Time on February 27. His message to his commanders was terse: 'Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck.' In Israel, the IDF chief of staff and his senior officers spent Friday evening at home for the Jewish Sabbath as if all was normal. Nothing could be seen to suggest to Iranian spies that an attack was imminent. At dawn, Israeli F-15s lifted off and then turned away from Iran. The truth is that the Israelis with American help have done something no one seems to fully understand. Pictured: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with US President Donald Trump last year Years of hacked cameras, intercepted signals, human sources and machine-driven analysis were able to map the inner workings of one of the most paranoid and guarded regimes on earth. Pictured: File photo of CCTV cameras in Tehran Far beyond the range of Iranian radar, they released air-launched ballistic missiles known as Black Sparrows. Originally designed as target simulators for testing Israel's famed Arrow missile defence system (one of four known capabilities, along with Iron Dome, David's Sling and Thaad), the weapons had been repurposed as offensive munitions. These followed a ballistic arc climbing high, then plunging down at immense speed. There could be no warning. More than 30 missiles instantly obliterated the Pasteur compound. (Just one official survived because he failed to attend having overslept.) A second wave then destroyed Iran's air-defence batteries, clearing a corridor from the west. Soon after, 200 Israeli aircraft the largest air raid in the country's history swept across Iran and began hammering ballistic-missile depots, silos, mobile launchers and production facilities. Within a few hours, in one of the most extraordinary military operations in modern history, Iran's air defences, missile infrastructure and leadership were gone. It was no fluke. The opening salvo of this latest round of the decades-long war between Iran and the West was the culmination of years of planning above all, intricate intelligence penetration of Iran's military and political elite. Israeli and American agencies had been tracking Iran's leadership in extended detail since the so-called 12-Day War last June one I experienced first-hand, reporting for the Daily Mail from Israel as it came under Iranian missile attack. Even by last summer, Tehran had long forbidden its VIPs from carrying mobile phones because these could be geolocated and tracked. Incredibly, they hadn't extended this rule to the bodyguards and drivers who accompanied them everywhere. So Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, along with the IDF's Unit 8200 (part of an elite corps responsible for signals intelligence, code decryption and cyber warfare), switched their attention to the bodyguards' phones. Several Iranian commanders were assassinated in the resulting strike last June, including the army's chief of staff and multiple IRGC commanders. Western agencies tracked down Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but chose not to strike because the objective then was not regime change. The Iranians located the mobile-phone vulnerability and shut it down. But that didn't matter. The Israelis simply moved their focus to broader 24/7 multi-source surveillance. More than 30 missiles instantly obliterated the Pasteur compound. Pictured: Smoke billowing into the sky above the site in the heart of Tehran A second wave then destroyed Iran's air-defence batteries, before 200 Israeli aircraft swept across Iran and began hammering ballistic-missile depots, silos, mobile launchers and production facilities. Pictured: Smoke rises above the capital Tehran after an explosion on February 28 Within a few hours, in one of the most extraordinary military operations in modern history, Iran's air defences, missile infrastructure and leadership were gone. Pictured: Smoke rises above the Ayatollah's compound Their strategy was simple: to track the enemy constantly and wait for the moment when political authorisation and operational opportunity aligned. They knew it would be tough. As the winter months went by, protests erupted in Iran once again, the people taking to the streets in their hundreds of thousands, and the regime massacring tens of thousands in response. The mullahs were even more homicidally unhinged than ever. Khamenei himself literally went to ground, spending days or even weeks at a time in the bunker beneath the Beit Rahbari, a rathole so deep that the elevator took more than five minutes to descend into it. Satellite imagery also showed that, after the June conflict, the Iranians had built new reinforcing structures throughout the compound to try to keep their leadership safe. The CIA had a vital agent inside Khamenei's inner circle. Someone so physically close to the Ayatollah himself that he would be able to confirm if and when the target would be in the building. Years ago, Mossad had hacked Tehran's traffic camera network. One camera, positioned near the compound's entrance on Pasteur Street, proved invaluable. Its angle revealed in detail where the bodyguards and drivers of senior officials habitually parked their private cars, offering a live feed of the compound's daily rhythms. From this and other material, analysts built detailed dossiers on key personnel: their home addresses, shift patterns, travel routes. Then it was a matter of waiting for what intelligence officers call the 'golden window' that rare operational moment when as many of the regime's key figures as possible would be gathered in the same, known location at the same, known time. This, of course, came last Saturday. 'Lay down your weapons' The operational assumption was that anyone who wasn't killed in the first minutes would cut all communications and go to ground aware that they were now being hunted by the most lethal forces on Earth. The war therefore had to begin with a multi-decapitation: eliminating as many senior figures as possible in a single co-ordinated blow. Alongside the hacking of Tehran's street cameras was a further astonishing technological feat. As Israel began to pummel the regime, it simultaneously began contacting millions of ordinary Iranians. BadeSaba is a hugely popular prayer-time calendar app with millions of downloads. It was no fluke. The opening salvo of this latest round of the decades-long war between Iran and the West was the culmination of years of planning. Pictured: Smoke rises in the capital Tehran on Monday The Israeli strategy was simple: to track the enemy constantly and wait for the moment when political authorisation and operational opportunity aligned. Pictured: Smoke rises after a strike on Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday They knew it would be tough. As the winter months went by, protests (pictured, a rally in Tehran in January) erupted in Iran once again, the people taking to the streets in their hundreds of thousands, and the regime massacring tens of thousands in response Khamenei (pictured, in 2019) himself literally went to ground, spending days or even weeks at a time in the bunker beneath his compound. But the CIA had a vital agent inside his inner circle Years ago, Mossad had hacked Tehran's traffic camera network, including one camera near the compound's entrance. From this and other material, analysts built detailed dossiers on key personnel and their movements. Then it was a matter of waiting for the right moment to strike. Pictured: Long-range precision strike missiles used in the operation It appears that Khamenei's son Mojtaba (pictured in 2019) has now been chosen to succeed his father. 'We wonder how long he'll last,' a well-placed Israeli source told me this week At 9:52am Tehran time, just minutes after the first explosions, the app suddenly pushed a message to users across the country: 'Help is on the way.' Over the next half hour, a series of alerts followed. One encouraged civilians to rise up against the clerics, promising them that 'repressive forces will pay for their cruel and merciless actions'. A third message urged security forces to 'lay down your weapons and join the forces of liberation'. This week, Israeli sources revealed to me that the app had been infiltrated long before the operation began, with the messages planted in advance and triggered to coincide precisely with the kinetic strikes. Yossi Cohen is the former head of Mossad who oversaw the 2018 Iranian nuclear archive heist, when an Israeli team broke into a Tehran warehouse and, using industrial thermal cutters, sliced open 32 safes and extracted half a ton of documents and CDs, amounting to around 50,000 pages and 55,000 files. The archive, later displayed on Israeli TV, exposed Iran's nuclear ambitions to the world. When I met Cohen in Tel Aviv last year, he told me that Mossad was set up to protect the Jewish state and to take the fight to its enemies, wherever they were. Since October 7, which they shockingly failed to foresee, the agency has been in overdrive. The secret to intelligence work, Cohen told me, was to be both decisive and first. Along with that, he emphasised the importance of technology. 'You need to be inside your enemy's systems,' he said, 'or he will be in yours.' Mossad clearly internalised his lessons. Since Khamanei's assassination, Israel and America have struck yet more targets with the same surgical accuracy. On Tuesday night, they eliminated yet another top-secret meeting, this time of Iran's Supreme Council, whose officials had gathered to choose a new Supreme Leader. It appears that Khamenei's son Mojtaba has now been chosen to succeed his father. 'We wonder how long he'll last,' another well-placed Israeli source told me this week. They added delicately: 'It wouldn't be a surprise if we were tracking him, too. We are much further inside Iran than people understand. 'He'll be lucky to make it to Friday prayers.' But he was keen to talk about more than just individual hits. 'Why don't people realise this was never just about taking out the Ayatollah? What we have done here is to create a new way of war.' He's not wrong. This is war for a new age, and Mossad are its masters. Mourners holding a candlelit vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have clashed with anti-Iranian regime protestors in Manchester city centre. Khamenei, who presided over a brutal regime which slaughtered thousands of his own citizens, repressed women and funded terror organisations, was killed on Saturday morning by joint US-Israeli strikes. A candlelit vigil took place at 8pm on Wednesday at Sidney Street in Manchester, inviting people to attend an event for the 'late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei'. Posters said the event, where mourners waved Palestinian flags, was supported by the Friends of Islamic Centre of Manchester. Tense exchanges took place between Iranian pro-monarchy demonstrators and those mourning Iran's former Supreme Leader as police separated the two sides. Those attending the vigil carried pictures of the ayatollah, lit candles, signed pictures of him and left messages about how they 'admired' Khamenei. One poster read 'Killed at the hands of Zios' - a pejorative term used to describe Zionists popularised by Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. Another said: 'Mosques are a sacred place of worship.' Mourners holding a candlelit vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clashed with protestors in Manchester city centre A candlelit vigil took place at 8pm on Wednesday at Sidney Street in Manchester, inviting people to attend an event for the 'late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei' Mourners burnt pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held up pictures of the ayatollah One mourner burnt a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while another placed a sign urging people to 'boycott Israeli dates' next to a picture of the ayatollah. Counter protestors waved US, Israeli and the pre-1979 Islamic Revolution flag of Iran. They also carried photos of Reza Pahlavi, son of the last shah of Iran. One held a sign saying 'Pahlavi will return' while others burned pictures of Khamenei. Speaking before the vigil, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Chris Sykes said: 'The events in the Middle East are significant for those in Greater Manchester with ties to Iran and the wider region. It is understandable that these evoke a range of views and emotions. 'We are aware of plans for a vigil and a nearby counter-protest in the city centre on Wednesday night. We are engaging with those involved as well as our partners at Manchester City Council.' Asked about criticism of the vigil going ahead, he said: 'We recognise the strength of feeling out there from people who question how and why such gatherings can take place. 'Put simply, we cannot ban gatherings unless there is a clear risk to life and property this is a very high threshold constrained by the current legislation.' He added: 'We have engaged with both the organisers of the vigil and the nearby counter-protest. They have made clear their intention for their respective gatherings to be peaceful.' Pictured: A woman holds up a photo of Ayatollah Khamenei as she attends the vigil for the former Supreme Leader One mourner left a sign urging people to 'boycott Israeli dates' next to a picture of the late tyrant Others boasted of their 'loyalty' to Khamenei, who slaughtered thousands of his own citizens in January 'GMP continues to police without fear or favour. We are well-resourced and experienced in regularly managing such gatherings and events to minimise wider disruption and prioritise public safety. 'It is on all those present to act responsibly. Anyone suspected of breaking the law will be dealt with. 'Our local officers will continue to engage with those in attendance and will have the support of specialist resources if needed.' The vigil came after a number of Islamic societies at British universities faced criticism for their tributes to the late tyrant. Over a dozen student-led societies have expressed their 'sincere condolences' to the 'beloved' dictator, with one hosting a candlelight vigil. Ahlul-Bayt Islamic societies (ABSoc) members at the University of Manchester took part in Wednesday's vigil. They also plan to host a 'commemorative' gathering to 'remember the martyrs of the recent strikes' on Friday. The ABSoc at University College London described the Supreme Leader's killing as 'martyrdom' and offered condolences from 'all' at the society. They posted a lengthy statement saying 'we express our sincere condolences on the martyrdom of our beloved', adding 'do not allow the enemies of justice to rejoice over Muslim blood'. Counter protestors burnt pictures of Khamenei as they celebrated his death in Manchester Demonstrators waved Israeli and pre-1979 Revolution Iranian flags as they protested the vigil One woman held up a sign up which read 'Pahlavi will return' as dozens of people mourned the late ayatollah One poster read 'Killed at the hands of Zios' - a pejorative term used to describe Zionists popularised by Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke Donald Trump branded Khamenei 'one of the most evil people in history', as he confirmed his killing. Mr Trump added: 'He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.' Authorities in Iran postponed Khamenei's funeral on Wednesday as US and Israeli forces carried out intense strikes across the country. A successor has not been confirmed but his son Mojtaba Khamenei appears set to take over after gaining backing of the powerful Revolutionary Guards. A Republican senator restrained an ex-Marine who came to the Capitol to protest Donald Trump's strikes in Iran. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, sprung into action on Wednesday when Brian McGinnis interrupted a Senate Armed Services Sub-Committee hearing. McGinnis, an ex-Marine now running a third party campaign for Senate in North Carolina, denounced the battle in Iran as a war being fought for Israel. 'Israel is the reason for this war. America does not want to fight this war for Israel!' he yelled. 'America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel! Your inability to name that shows your ineptness as leaders! This is wrong and nobody wants to fight for Israel!' Sheehy joined the Capitol Police to remove McGinnis. At one point, Sheehy held him up against the exit door as they struggled to remove him. After McGinnis was finally removed, Sheehy said he was just there to back up the police. 'Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation,' he said on social media. A Republican Senator and former Navy SEAL restrained a radical leftist ex-Marine who came to the Capitol to heckle Republicans over Donald Trump's strikes in Iran Tim Sheehy flipped Montana's previously Democrat Senate seat in 2024 after a career as a businessman and decorated combat veteran Senator Sheehy joined Capitol Police in lifting up and ejecting anti war protestor Brian McGinnis from a SASC subcommittee hearing. McGinnis is a Green Party candidate running for Senate in N.C. An antiwar activist filmed the video below: pic.twitter.com/0dVA0ORWXQ Alan He (@alanhe) March 4, 2026 'This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.' Capitol Police said that McGinnis and three officers were injured during the confrontation, The Hill reported. McGinnis now faces three criminal counts for assault of a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest. Before his disruption, McGinnis announced his plans in a video posted to X. 'Hey guys, I'm here in DC, trying to speak out against the Senate and ask them why they're going to send our men and women into harm's way when our elected officials said there would be no war,' he said. He also announced he wanted to 'free Palestine and free America' and called the Trump administration's decision 'a betrayal.' McGinnis, whose campaign website features him posing with a dual-flag pin of both Ireland and Palestine as well as one wearing a keffiyeh, is running as an anti-war left-winger. 'Ive served this country, worked for a living, and put my life on the line for others. Ive seen what leadership can look like when it truly serves the people. Not donors, not corporations, not politicians protecting their own interests.' The Daily Mail has reached out to both McGinnis and the Green Party for further comment. Sheehy flipped Montana's previously Democrat Senate seat in 2024 after a career as a businessman and decorated combat veteran. Sheehy ran as a 'common sense' candidate aligned with former President Trump who has created jobs in his state. He was against the bipartisan border deal. Join the debate Should the senator have intervened? Brian McGinnis, an ex-Marine now running a third party campaign for Senate in North Carolina, interrupted the proceedings to denounce the battle in Iran as a war being fought for Israel McGinnis, is running as an anti-war left-winger on the Green Party ticket Before his disruption, McGinnis announced his plans in a video posted to X Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt the Trump administrations war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against. The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of US military members, countless other lives and the future of the region. Kurdish fighters have reportedly launched a ground invasion of Iran as they look to topple the Iranian regime. Thousands of soldiers have taken position in Iran as part of a military offensive, according to Jennifer Griffin, Chief National Security Correspondent of Fox News, after being secretly armed by the US. An official, cited by Israeli network I24, claimed fighters began taking combat positions inside Iranian territory on Monday and have moved in around the southern mountains of Marivan in western Iran. The US and Israel are thought to be seeking an armed uprising and have been smuggling weapons to Kurdish volunteers since last year. Between four and seven US-Israeli helicopters were said to have conducted an airdrop in the Najaf desert, Iraq, on Wednesday. McGinnis is seen posing for a photo wearing a keffiyeh It has been reported that an on-the-ground rebellion could begin in the coming days after the American-Israeli offensive struck western Iranian security targets to degrade their capabilities. A Kurdish Iranian dissident group based in northern Iraq said some of their forces had lined up by the Iranian border, in Sulaymaniyah province, on standby. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation. It came as Hezbollah has vowed not to surrender 'no matter the sacrifices' as it continues to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian-backed terror group has pounded Israel with missiles and drones since Sunday, with Israel responding by sending troops into the south of the country. Hezbollah has significant political authority in Lebanon but the country's president Joseph Aoun announced a ban on its military activity, calling it 'a sovereign and final decision'. But Naim Qassem, the head of Iranian proxy force who Israel said is 'marked for elimination', claimed the group will not surrender. In his first speech since they resumed fighting with Israel, he said: 'We are facing aggression... our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender.' That came after NATO shot down an Iranian missile heading towards a US air base as Iran continues to furiously attack the Middle East after Khamenei died in US-Israeli strikes. Rifi is understood to be helping ISIS brides return Liberal Senate leader Michaelia Cash has used parliamentary privilege to launch a blistering attack on a western Sydney GP who is assisting the return of Australian 'ISIS brides' and their children from a Syrian refugee camp. Dr Jamal Rifi has been central in efforts to help 34 women and children leave the Al-Roj camp, sparking backlash given his well-documented ties to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke - including having Burke's initials dyed into his hair at the last election. In the Senate on Thursday, Cash criticised Dr Rifi and suggested his actions should be illegal. The Coalition has been pushing a bill to criminalise third-party assistance for ISIS sympathisers returning to Australia. 'You can actually support the bill that Senator Jonathan Duniam has brought before the chamber,' Cash said. 'A bill that would ensure that Mr Tony Burke's mate, Dr Jamal Rifi, who's currently over [in Syria] facilitating the return of the ISIS brides, that is made a criminal offence.' Cash showed little sympathy for the women. 'Let's not forget who these women are. They are women who fundamentally turned their back on Australia,' she said. 'They turned their back on Australian values, and they made a choice to go overseas and join an Islamic caliphate.' Tony Burke is pictured hugging Dr Jamal Rifi, who has Burke's initials dyed into his hair during a 2025 election celebration Liberal senate leader Michaelia Cash (pictured) unleashed against Dr Rifi on Thursday morning Dr Jamal Rifi (left) has been accused of helping return ISIS brides from Syria to Australia Opposition Leader Angus Taylor on Tuesday advocated for new criminal offences to be enshrined in law targeting Australians who provide financial or logistical help to individuals linked to Islamic State trying to return home. The legislation could have directly affected Dr Rifi's repatriation work. The Coalition attempted to introduce the bill into the House of Representatives, but it was voted down by Labor. The Albanese government, meanwhile, has continued to deny they offered any direct assistance or repatriation efforts for the ISIS brides and their families. The opposition has argued that Dr Rifi's close association with Burke creates, at minimum, the perception the government endorses his efforts - a suggestion Dr Rifi strongly rejects. 'We have not, to our disappointment, received any help from the Albanese government to repatriate the families,' Dr Rifi said in February. 'Reports about my personal relationships with ministers, including Tony Burke, and MPs are irrelevant, and the insinuations attached to those stories are wholly inaccurate.' 'Any efforts I undertake, including this repatriation attempt, are mine alone.' The accused Gilgo Beach serial killer was a 'sexual sadist' who used fake names and burner phones to contact sex workers more than 500 times and search for the latest on the investigation into the murders before being arrested, prosecutors said. Rex Heuermann, 63, allegedly created a Tinder account and utilized false identities to incessantly reach out to prostitutes before he was taken into custody in 2023. Heuermann used the aliases 'Andrew Roberts' and 'Thomas Hawk,' according to a motion filed Tuesday by the Suffolk County district attorney's office. Searches on Heuermann's phone allegedly included 'why hasn't the long island serial killer been caught,' 'Map of all known serial killers' and 'Cops launch Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force.' He is currently awaiting trial after being charged with murdering seven women between 1993 and 2010. A police detective cited in Tuesday's filing described Heuermann's online activity as 'clear evidence' that he derived pleasure from others' physical pain. One of the burner phones described in the legal filing was in Heuermann's possession when he was arrested. He allegedly contacted at least 56 sex workers and reached out to massage parlors more than 300 times between January 2021 and March 2022. Another phone, used through February 2023, was allegedly used to contact at least 61 'prostitutionrelated' numbers more than 220 times. The phones were consistently kept near a phone registered in Heuermann's real name, prosecutors claimed. Rex Heuermann, 63, in one of his Tinder profile pictures. He allegedly murdered seven women from 1993 to 2010 Prosecutors from the Suffolk County district attorney's office described Heuermann as a 'sexual sadist' who used burner phones and aliases to repeatedly contact sex workers Andrew Lee, the Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney, said in the motion that Heuermann's 'modern day use of burner phones to patronize prostitutes [was] probative' of his behavior. Heuermann also allegedly conducted thousands of pornographyrelated searches using a Gmail account. That same account was used for more than 100 searches related to the Gilgo Beach serial killings, the filing said. He also looked up violent pornography and content 'related to bindings, torture, rape, snuff videos, crying, bruised and impaled women and/or girls,' prosecutors said. Heuermann's internet history also allegedly featured searches for images of victims' family members 'mourning the deceased.' Prosecutors submitted the filing in response to a defense motion seeking to suppress certain evidence in the case. The alleged victims clockwise from left: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla Heuermann's alleged victims are Maureen BrainardBarnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The Long Island man lived with his wife and two children in Massapequa Park and commuted to Manhattan for work. He was arrested by police detectives on July 13, 2023, as he left his midtown architecture office. Law enforcement authorities took Heuermann into custody after keeping him and his family under surveillance for ten months. His DNA was obtained from a pizza box that he tossed in a garbage can near his office. That sample was later matched to DNA taken from the burlap sack used to conceal Waterman's body after her remains were discovered in December 2010. Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 by police investigators near his Midtown Manhattan office The pizza box that Heuermann discarded and was recovered by investigators, which eventually matched his DNA Most of the women were sex workers whose remains were found along an isolated parkway near Gilgo Beach and Heuermann's home. The defense has asked that the seconddegree murder charge in Sandra Costilla's death be dismissed because it relies on 'an exaggerated characterization of the facts.' They have also argued that investigators violated privacy laws when they obtained Heuermann's DNA from the discarded pizza box. Prosecutors shot back that this argument in fact proved that the DNA match was legitimate, which was also later confirmed through a courtordered swab. In total, prosecutors said they have compiled more than more than 150 pages of potential. civilian, law enforcement and expert witnesses who could testify in Heuermann's trial. Prosecutors also noted that the defense was yet to provide any discovery and urged New York Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei to compel them to do so. Heuermann is scheduled to return to court March 17. He has pleaded not guilty to all seven murders. A glamorous, jet-setting influencer and her boyfriend have been charged with serious drug offences just days after returning from Japan. Kristina Mariah Calder, 29, and Joel Samuel Lee Williams, 30, were arrested on February 13 and subsequently banned from Perth Airport. Calder frequently shares her luxurious holidays on social media, featuring her partner as they visit Bali, Paris, Thailand and New Zealand. Their latest trip, documented on TikTok, was to Japan where she filmed herself exploring collagen machines and a hair experience, as well as food spots and historic sites. The couple were arrested one day after Calder shared her most recent Japan video, The West Australian reported. Calder has been charged with five counts of selling cocaine, possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of MDMA, selling a prohibited drug and conspiring to sell a prohibited drug. Williams has been charged with two counts of conspiring to sell and supply, possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of MDMA, possession of a controlled drug and offering to sell or supply drugs. The couple separately faced Mandurah Magistrates Court on Tuesday. They were not called to plead to the charges. Kristina Mariah Calder (pictured) shares her luxurious holidays on social media, featuring her boyfriend, Joel Samuel Lee Williams as they visit Bali, Paris, Thailand and New Zealand Williams, a FIFO heavy-duty diesel mechanic, successfully applied for a bail variation to allow him to travel for work. Magistrate Claire Cullen lifted the 500m ban on approaching the international terminal at Perth Airport so he can access domestic flights. Both were ordered not to use any electronic device with access to encrypted communications following their arrest. Calder runs 'Nail Mafia', a home salon in Meadow Springs, Mandurah. Its social media page says the business is 'not taking new clients'. The couple are understood to have been together for more than five years. Calder often shares snapshots of their life together, including buying Williams an infrared sauna for his birthday last year. She frequently shares her beauty routine with her 35,000 followers, including, in one video from June last year, emulating Kylie Jenner by sharing the specifications of her breast implants. Just a day after posting her latest video about a holiday to Japan, the Perth couple were charged with serious drug offences Following their arrest, the couple were banned from Perth Airport. However, the conditions of Williams' bail have been altered so he can travel within Australia for his FIFO job '425cc, high profile, round silicone, dual plane, Dr Parinya,' her video said, captioned: 'Nice girls don't gatekeep.' Only three days earlier, Jenner had shared her details down to the implant size. Calder has also given advice on using Ozempic, Botox, filler, veneers and tan injections. Calder and Williams are next due to appear in court in April. Sixty-seven dog breeds could be banned in Britain if new breeding guidelines set by parliament become mandatory, campaigners have warned. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for animal welfare has launched a new tool to determine if a dog is healthy. The cross-party committee has developed a 10-point checklist of extreme physical characteristics which can make for a poorly pooch. They include mottled colouration, excessive skin folds, bulging outward-turning eyes, drooping eyelids, under or overbite and a muzzle that interrupts breathing. The assessment - which is currently voluntary but expected to become law within five years - aims to drive out breeds with these sorts of exaggerated attributes. It comes after studies have shown animals of these varieties can sometimes suffer pain, discomfort and frustration from birth. But critics have cautioned the new criteria will see some 67 of the most popular types of dog in the UK automatically dubbed unhealthy, according to The Times. This includes widely adored breeds like dachshunds, shih tzus and Scottish terriers - and even the late Queen's beloved Welsh corgis. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for animal welfare has launched a new test to determine if a dog is healthy. Popular breeds like shih tzus (pictured, file photo) would not pass Even the late Queen's beloved Welsh corgis would not be deemed healthy under the new criteria. Pictured: Elizabeth II, who was then a princess, holding a corgi in September 1950 The Kennel Club, a national organisation for dog health, welfare and training, has collated and shared the list of types it fears are at risk with its members. The Corgi, along with several other dwarf varieties of dog, would be considered unhealthy under the guidelines due to their short legs and closeness to the ground. This is despite the fact these have long been highly prized features of the breed, which has historically been used for herding cattle. Their small size helped them avoid any unwelcome kicks from the cows as they rounded them up. Margaret Hoggarth, secretary of the Welsh Corgi League, asserted the animals are 'very healthy' - but are being 'lumped in' with the unhealthy, just for their short legs. Elizabeth II owned more than 30 Pembroke Welsh corgis and dorgis, a corgi-dachshund mix, during her reign. They were her constant companions and became an icon of her time on the throne. After her death in 2022, her dogs, Muick and Sandy, attended her funeral, before they were adopted by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. The checklist classes dogs with shorter legs as those with a gap between their chest and ground that is less than one third of their shoulder height. It asserts they can face an array of health issues, including spinal deformities, joint pain, arthritis and limb abnormalities, like bowed legs. Animal campaigners have called the new set of rules a 'blunt tool', providing a subjective visual means to assess health, rather than rigorous medical tests. Beverley Cuddy, editor of Dogs Today magazine and founder of the Union of Good Dog People, which promotes ethical breeding, called the criteria 'shocking'. 'We need proper, nuanced tests that don't throw the baby out with the bathwater or we're going to lose Britain's most beloved breeds in the blink of an eye,' she said. And Ms Cuddy said the public would not be the only ones 'outraged' by it: 'I think the late Queen would have been very upset by this proposal.' Crufts, the world-famous dog show, hosted by The Kennel Club, begins on Thursday. But it has been suggested four of the last ten winners of best in show, the highest award at the contest, would not pass the new assessment. The 2024 recipient of the gong was Viking, an Australian shepherd - a breed which would not pass the new test. Join the debate Should Britain ban popular dog breeds to protect animal health? Elizabeth II owned more than 30 Pembroke Welsh corgis and and dorgis, a corgi-dachshund mix, during her reign. Pictured: The late Queen is greeted by local corgi enthusiasts on a tour of Canada in May 2005 The Animal Welfare Act already outlaws breeding dogs that are suffering - and campaigners have said the new criteria expand how this is defined. The tool was launched in the House of Lords as a voluntary scheme - but animal activists have warned the intention has always been to make it mandatory. In fact, some local authorities are already using the checklist to assess breeders. Under the guidelines, only dogs which receive a score of eight out of ten or above can be bred. In five years, the threshold will increase to nine, before reaching ten in a decade. The tool was developed by Dan O'Neill, associate professor of companion animal epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College. He explained his idea was to have no dogs with extreme characteristics bred by a licensed breeder in the UK in ten years' time. To be made obligatory, the rules would need to be formally added to animal welfare legislation in parliament. This process would make using the checklist a requirement for any breeder seeking a licence in the UK. Currently, licensed dog breeders must comply with health obligations set out in the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (England) Regulations 2018. It states: 'No dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, phenotype or state of health that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare.' But this requirement is often not applied in practice, as councils lack a standardised measure to assess if a dog's health would be harmed by extreme characteristics. The website for the tool reads: 'We therefore believe that any commercial breeder who breeds from a dog who fails the innate health assessment (IHA) could be in breach of their licence.' This does not apply to non-commercial dog breeders. 'It is our hope that the regulation of dog breeding will ultimately be amended to include a requirement for all dogs to have good innate health regardless of whether bred by a hobby breeder or a commercial breeder,' the site continues. The APPG has even gone as far as to produce a pledge for TV and film producers and advertisers to sign. It has been suggested four of the last ten winners of best in show at Crufts would not pass the new assessment. Pictured: 2024 winner Viking, an Australian shepherd - a breed which would not be deemed healthy under the new guidelines It would see them promise only to depict dogs that pass the test completely. The tool has been endorsed by several key organisations, including the Royal Veterinary College, the RSPCA and Dogs Trust. Marisa Heath of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare said: 'The IHA is a voluntary welfare tool designed to encourage breeding from dogs with healthy conformations. 'It does not target particular breeds and is not intended to make any breed extinct, quite the opposite as it is about making those breeds healthier and sustainable by moving them towards good innate health. 'Indeed, many breeds cited as at risk including corgis and dachshunds have already passed the assessment in practice.' Ian Seath, Chairman of the Royal Kennel Club said: 'We continue to work very closely with APGAW, the IHA team and our breeder community. This includes a meeting next month where we will bring together representatives from the breeding community and the IHA team to discuss potential evolution of the current IHA criteria which we believe may benefit from some adaptation. This will be for the very small number of breeds where this may be productive. Ultimately, both APGAW and the RKC agree that we all want healthy body shapes for our dogs and there is great strength in working together and listening to each other to effect meaningful change.' A woman has been charged after a nine-month-old boy was found dead inside a home in Adelaide's north. Emergency services raced to the scene in Midlow Road, Elizabeth Downs, about 8pm on Wednesday following reports the baby had been found unresponsive. The baby was unable to be revived, despite the best efforts of paramedics and neighbours. Photos from the scene showed a heavy police presence at the home, along with multiple ambulances and a fire truck. Baby items, including a car seat, bouncer, toilet potty, and bath were spotted strewn outside the home the following morning. Detectives have launched an investigation into the baby's death and were at the scene for much of the night. Following further inquiries, a 31-year-old woman who lived at the property was charged with criminal neglect. She was bailed to appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates' Court on April 14. Baby items, including a car seat, bouncer and bath were outside the home on Thursday Police inquiries into the baby's death at the Elizabeth Downs home (pictured) continue A baby boy has died after he was found unresponsive at a home in Adelaide's north Police are yet to reveal the woman's relationship with the baby boy. A report will be prepared for the coroner as detectives continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the baby's death. A neighbour told the Adelaide Advertiser that she and others gave the baby CPR after the parents discovered him unresponsive. They managed to restore a faint heartbeat before the baby later died. 'They worked on the baby for 10 to 15 minutes before the ambulances arrived,' one neighbour said. Investigators returned to the street on Thursday to examine the home and door-knock shocked residents. 'There was one big ambulance and three or four four-wheel-drive ambulances and a fire truck and about six police cars,' Jasmine Hudson told the ABC. Multiple emergency crews, including a fire trick, were called to the scene 'It's heartbreaking and I feel for the people it happened to.' Another neighbour added: 'That is so horrible... I've got a grandbaby and two children of my own.' Striking images have captured an unexploded Iranian missile which had buried itself into the ground - right in the middle of a sheep field in Syria. The menacing-looking projectile is one of thousands launched by Iran in recent days in retaliation for a joint US-Israel air assault against the regime that resulted in the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday morning. Since then, Iran has responded with dozens of strikes on US assets and allies across the Gulf region, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. But in recent hours, Iran has expanded its targets to also include UK RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, while another missile was shot down by NATO forces after it entered Turkish airspace. Over the border in Syria, the government has closed its airspace, but there have been reports of debris falling to the ground from Iranian missiles, mostly intended for Israel. On Wednesday, one unexploded ordnance was spotted in an open field in Qamishi on the outskirts of eastern Syria, much to the bemusement of the sheep grazing there. Young shepherd boys rushed over to inspect the missile, seemingly oblivious to the potential dangers posed by the explosive. Middle of a wool zone: Shepherd boys inspected an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in a field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria One youngster was seen attempting to climb into the missile head after it buried itself into the ground on the outskirts of eastern Syria Curious youngsters were seen prodding at the missile Baa-ter leave alone: The young shepherd boy walks away from the missile, which was embedded into the ground Encounter of the herd kind: Farmers look on at the missile sent by the Iranian regime, which fell over Syria on Wednesday As the military action rolls on to the sixth day, thousands of Brits living, working and travelling through the Middle East have found themselves stranded, with flights cancelled and airports closed. In the UAE, several major tourist and expat hotspots in the country have been hit, including Fairmont The Palm hotel and the Burj Al Arab hotel. Dubai International Airport has also been attacked, along with Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport, where one person was reported killed. British nationals have been advised by the UK Foreign Office against all non-essential travel across the Middle East region. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said repatriation flights would continue, with two chartered planes set to leave from Oman 'in the coming days'. Meanwhile Iran has also been threatening vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, and is believed to have launched multiple attacks. A married Texas congressman has finally admitted having an affair with a senior aide who later set herself on fire and burned to death, four months after the Daily Mail exposed the scandal. Tony Gonzales made the confession during an interview on Wednesday while also airing wild allegations that the aides husband was cheating on her with her best friend and demanded $300,000 from him after her tragic death. The admission comes amid pressure from House Speaker Mike Johnson Wednesday to come clean as the House announced it is investigating Gonzales's affair since it's against House rules for members of Congress to sleep with anyone working for them. 'I made a mistake,' Gonzales told a conservative talk show host. 'I had a lapse in judgment and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions.' The three-time Congressman is under increasing pressure from members of his own party to take accountability a day after Gonzales was forced into a runoff in the Republican Primary to retain his seat in Congress. I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing,' Gonzalez said in the interview. The congressman also referred to an alleged Uvalde police report about the aide's tragic death that claimed her husband was cheating on her. 'The female subject with burn injuries stated her husband is gay and having an affair with her best friend,' Gonzales said. US Rep. Tony Gonzales finally admitted Wednesday night to having an affair with his staffer, Regina Aviles. The admission comes months after Daily Mail first confirmed the affair and after the Texas Congressman denied he had a romantic relationship with his employee Congressman Tony Gonzales hosted Elon Musk in September 2023 as he toured the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas. The aide he allegedly had an affair with, Regina Aviles, can been seen on the right of Musk Gonzales said that within hours of her death, her estranged husband called the office and asked about her death benefits and retirement fund. 'Fast forward a few months later, his criminal defense attorney... reaches out and essentially asks me for money or else, they ask for $300,00,' he claimed. They asked for $300,000. The thing is, Pags, I dont have $300,000 and if I did have $300,000, Im not going to give it somebody who is trying to shake me down. So this was always about money. Gonzales made other wild claims, like that the effort by the media to report on his affair was a 'coordinated media attack.' This was all very coordinate attack against me for you thing: to get me to not vote. Rrime example to get me to not vote for the DHS package tomorrow. Or to help President Trumps agenda,' the embattled Congressman said. 'Everything is on the line, right, as far as these midterms. I'm in one of the most difficult districts in the country. I'm the one who can hold it- not only win it in the primary but also hold it in the general (election,) and so if we start losing districts like mine, we are absolutely going to lose the House and then what we'll see is we'll see Democrats just try to impeach President Trump.' Gonzales's about-face comes after he lied in November, telling reporters that the rumors were not true and questioning Daily Mail's reporting. Aviles, 35, poured gasoline over herself before becoming engulfed in flames at her home on September 13 in Uvalde, Texas about two hours west of San Antonio. The married mother-of-one, who was separated from her husband at the time of her death, had served as Gonzales's regional district director in Uvalde since 2021. Last week, Aviles's husband, Adrian, released text messages between his wife and Gonzales from 2024. In the messages, the Texas Republican pressed his employee for sexy pics. Even though Aviles twice texted 'This is going too far,' he pushed on, asking about her favorite sexual positions including if she liked 'an-l.' Adrian told Daily Mail in his first interview that he felt Gonzales had abused his position of power over his wife to pressure her into a romantic relationship. Your browser does not support iframes. Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer who burned herself to death Regina Aviles, 35, died after dousing herself with gasoline and setting fire to herself in September 2025 Gonzales, a Navy veteran, campaigned as a devoted family man. His is pictured here with his wife, Angel, and six kids At one point, she asked him if he was sober, as the inappropriate conversation was happening at nearly 1 am. The text messages were sent in May 2024, and Gonzalez claimed the last time he talked to Aviles was in June 2024 when Gonzales's entire office found out about it when Adrian discovered their entanglement. Adrian messaged several Gonzales and several senior staffers letting them know he knew what was going on. Adrian did not immediately respond to Daily Mail's request for comment. Gonzales claims he welcomes the federal investigation into his affair. 'It is important that we have the conversation about workplace environment and making sure that certain things do not take place,' Gonzales stated in the interview. The elected official also continued his attack against the media, claiming we were not reporting on a police report into Aviles' death. However Daily Mail and many other news organization have reported on it since its release last week. In fact, the only reason the media hadn't reported on it sooner was because the Uvalde Police Department had blocked public records request by the media to access the documents. A night out at a pub rock gig has ended with criminal charges for a top AI executive who allegedly attacked two musicians. Tim Bentley allegedly punched two men at the Ramblin' Rascal Tavern in Sydney's CBD while attending a gig on February 13. Local pub band The Grand Union were due to begin playing when the 50-year-old allegedly attacked guitarist Stu Greenwood. He is accused of assaulting another musician, John Flaws of Bloody Legend, in the same five-minute window. Rohin Sharma, The Grand Union's guitarist, told Nine newspapers the band was shocked by the alleged incident, which was part of a worrying trend of poor behaviour at live shows. 'We're here on our own time to give people a good night out and, like most local bands, these are self-funded passion projects that involve many hours of writing, rehearsing and recording,' Mr Sharma said. 'It's a sad indictment on Sydney's live music scene and points to an alarming (and) growing trend of heckling and violence at live shows and bars.' Bentley appeared in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Wednesday accused of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. AI company executive Tim Bentley leaves Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday Ramblin' Rascal Tavern in Sydney Bentley is a high-profile executive at tech behemoth Abnormal AI He is the vice-president of sales for Asia-Pacific at tech behemoth Abnormal AI, which was valued at more than $7.8billion in August 2024. The company's website says Bentley launched its operations in the region in 2021. Abnormal provides security services to a quarter of the Fortune 500, representing some of the largest companies in the world. Creating tools to stop employees falling for phishing emails is one of the services provided by the company. Bentley's barrister Tim Lowe successfully applied for an adjournment in court on Wednesday to continue making formal representations with the prosecution. The matter will return to court on May 4. The Pentagon confirmed the identity of a soldier who died and another believed to be dead in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday during the US' strikes on Iran. Army Reserve Major Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, died during an unmanned aircraft system attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait in the second full day of battle. O'Brien, a native of Indianola, Iowa, was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. He is the fifth confirmed death of six who have been killed in the Iran war. The Defense Department has also announced what is 'believed to be' the death of another Army Reserve Soldier. Chief Warrant Officer Robert M Marzan was in the same unit as O'Brien and is suspected dead at the scene of the same attack. A medical examiner will confirm identification of the 54-year-old from Sacramento, California. The incidents are under investigation. The Pentagon directed The Daily Mail to the US Army Reserves when reached for comment. The other fallen soldiers identified Tuesday by the Pentagon were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa. Army Reserve Major Jeffrey O'Brien (pictured left), 45, died during an unmanned aircraft system attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait in the second full day of battle. Chief Warrant Officer Robert M Marzan, 54, was in the same unit as O'Brien and is suspected dead at the scene of the same attack The Pentagon confirmed the identity of a soldier who died and another believed to be dead in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday during the US' strikes on Iran O'Brien was promoted to major in August 2024, according to a Facebook post, which shows him alongside two young children. He served in the Army Reserve for nearly 15 years, according to his LinkedIn. O'Brien is survived by a wife and children, according to his aunt, Mary Melchert, who posted on Facebook. Melchert said O'Brien 'was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid you'd ever know. He is so missed already.' O'Brien, who had previously deployed to Kuwait in 2019, was well decorated in his service, according to KCCI. He had been given the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 'M' Device. The signal officer and information systems engineer in the Army Reserve was a manager of defensive cyber operations at an Iowa-based cybersecurity company, according to his LinkedIn. He had a career spanning two decades in information and cybersecurity. On Tuesday, the Pentagon identified the other four soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa were also killed Marzan's sister described him on Facebook as a 'strong leader' and loving husband, father and brother. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds released a statement Wednesday offering prayers and condolences for the families of the Iowa residents killed. 'Our hearts are broken by the deaths of Major Jeffrey O'Brien and Sergeant Declan Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace,' Reynolds said. 'My baby brother, you are loved and I will hold onto all our memories and cherish them always in my heart,' Elizabeth Marzan wrote. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and acting Gov. Eleni Kounalakis offered condolences to Robert Marzan's wife and family in a statement Wednesday, saying flags at the state Capitol will remain at half-staff in his honor. They described him as 'a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction.' Public records appeared to show Marzan living in Virginia but with family in the Sacramento area. Family members couldn't immediately be reached or declined to comment. A source familiar with the tragedy told CNN that the makeshift command center was struck by a direct hit at the center of the building, which they described as a triple-wide trailer with office space inside, just after 9am local time. Motorists are seen driving along a street as smoke rose from a reported Iranian strike in an area near where the US Embassy is located in Kuwait City The attack came very quickly, with no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker, the source added. Hours after the attack, the source said, fire was still smoldering in some parts of the building, with the walls blown outwards from the blast. The command center had concrete barriers surrounding it, which is typical for military structures overseas, but nothing that could shield it from drones or missiles, the source said. Three officials also told CBS News that prior to the attack, there had been discussion on the ground about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used as it concentrated too many people in a location that was not easily defended. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, said on Monday that the strike hit a 'tactical operation center that was fortified.' He then claimed that there was just 'one' projectile that made it through the air defenses. The strike on the facility now remains under investigation. In the meantime, President Donald Trump has vowed to 'avenge' the fallen soldiers, as he warned that others may die as the operation continues. 'America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization,' he said from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, hours after the blast. Trump then called the three service members 'true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.' Speaking to reporters on Monday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine also killed the service members killed in 'Operation Epic Fury' as 'the best that our nation has to offer' and 'true examples of what selfless service means.' 'Our deepest and heartfelt condolences are with the families, their friend and their units,' he said. 'We grieve with you and we will never forget you.' The soldiers' friends have since started to share their own memories of their loved ones, with a friend of Captain Khork's taking to Facebook to share how he had been there for him 'for over 16 years of my life and been part of every major life event I've had. 'He has shaped me into the person that I am today,' the friend wrote, adding that Khork 'knows more about me than anyone else and he was the first person to answer my call, even when I called in the middle of the night. 'He's helped me get through the hardest and lowest parts of my life and been there to celebrate the best. 'I've watched him support others and myself through the years when he had nothing to his name and never complained about it. That's just the type of person he was,' the friend continued. 'He went out doing what he loved, defending our freedom. RIP brother, Valhalla is waiting for you. We will see each other again.' American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn's children are looking to obtain a restraining order against him after he was accused of murdering his wife. Caleb Flynn, 39, allegedly fatally shot his wife Ashley, 37, in the head in their Tipp City, Ohio home, while their two young daughters were sleeping in the same house last month. Ashley was found dead in the home on February 16, after Flynn told law enforcement that there had been a break-in at the residence. Authorities later arrested Flynn and also accused him of staging the crime scene to mislead investigators. Flynn - who is currently being held in solitary confinement in an Ohio facility - last month pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence. The guardians for Flynn's children told Judge Anthony E. Kendell they had been 'acting in their capacity as victim's representatives in legal docs filed in Miami County, Ohio on Tuesday, and reviewed by the Daily Mail. American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn's children are looking to obtain a restraining order against him after he was accused of murdering his wife. Flynn is pictured in bodycam footage Flynn, 39, is accused of fatally shooting his wife Ashley Flynn in the head in their Tipp City, Ohio home, while their daughters were sleeping in the same home last month. He has pleaded not guilty The guardians requested 'financial information and documents in the prosecution's possession, custody, or control relating to the financial affairs and assets of' Flynn in their recent legal filing. They opposed Flynn's motion to have access to select case materials, as it 'could potentially conflict with' their requests to the court. The court is being asked to stop Flynn from transferring any of his assets, or those belonging to his the late Ashley Flynn, as they believed it could negatively impact his kids. The items in question include vehicles, cash assets and retirement portfolios, attorneys for the guardians told the court. The Daily Mail has reached out to lawyers on both sides of the case for further comment on the story. In footage culled from the police bodycam, Flynn was seen crying and panicking following the deadly incident. He was heard saying, 'Oh my God,' then asking a police officer of his spouse, 'Is she gone?' On a phone call he made to his mother, Flynn was telling his mother, 'Ashley's dead - mommy, she's gone - I don't know what to do.' Flynn had been seen on American Idol's 12th season in 2013 Caleb was later seen vomiting while saying he was 'gonna be sick.' He lost his footing in another section of the clip prior to speaking with a female relative. Caleb told the woman, later identified as the grandmother of the two girls, that 'the girls don't know.' Flynn had been seen on American Idol's 12th season in 2013. There is a story people tell themselves about how world wars begin: a single shot (the World War I assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand), a single invasion (Hitler marching troops into Poland). Moments in time that clarifies everything. The reality is messier and, right now, it's just as unsettling. The conditions that make a global war thinkable are not arriving - they are already here. And we now wait for what (if anything) China might do. What is new is not the existence of conflict, but the way separate conflicts are starting to touch each other: operationally, economically, politically and psychologically. Meanwhile, the guardrails that once stopped great powers from stumbling into direct confrontation are fraying. Are we witnessing firsthand what future historians will catalogue as the beginning of World War III? I remember as a kid the possibility of WWIII was characterised as a global nuclear holocaust, making it unthinkable. But a global conflict doesnt have to be defined as the end of the world as we know it. Start with the obvious war that never quite leaves the frame: Russias invasion of Ukraine. It has been going on long enough that it now feels, to many, like a permanent feature of the landscape rather than an emergency. But it has already pulled Europe into a state of semi-mobilisation, reoriented budgets, hardened borders and pushed the question of deterrence back to the centre of European politics. When France talks openly about expanding its nuclear arsenal, inviting allies into nuclear exercises, and building new deterrence arrangements with Germany, that is not theatre. It is the language of states preparing for a world in which the old assumptions no longer hold. Are we witnessing firsthand what future historians will catalogue as the beginning of World War III Moscows response, warning that such moves are destabilising and altering the nuclear balance, is equally revealing. This is what the early architecture of wider war looks like - not necessarily marching orders, but states recalibrating a possible escalation in real time. Now add the Middle East, where the danger is not confined to the region. In the past 24 hours alone, the conflict has demonstrated how quickly geography becomes irrelevant. A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, thousands of kilometres from the Gulf. The first time a US submarine has torpedoed a ship since World War II. That is another threshold now crossed. The war is no longer just a contest of missiles, drones, proxy groups and air strikes in familiar theatres. It is expanding into the Indian Ocean, global sea lanes, and the strategic calculations of every country that depends on maritime trade and energy flows. The sinking itself is not just a dramatic headline, with video to boot. Its the sort of incident that, in another era, would have been seen as guaranteeing a further escalation and widening of the conflict. And then there is the widening missile arc to consider. Turkeys defence ministry says a ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace was destroyed by NATO air defences. Even if Ankara insists Turkey wants to avoid becoming a frontline state, the strategic implication is unavoidable. A NATO member is now directly in the envelope of Iranian retaliation, and NATO systems are already involved in intercepting that threat. Once conflicts widen, they also begin to cannibalise each other. One of the most under-appreciated dynamics of the moment is munitions scarcity. The Iran conflict is likely to divert US air defence interceptors away from Ukraine, because the same Patriot missiles are required for partners in the Gulf and for Kyivs survival under Russian attack. Production constraints are real, stockpiles are finite, and choices must be made. This matters because it turns separate wars into a single allocation problem, and such problems create losers. Losers take risks, or they cut deals. Either path changes the strategic equation and heightens the realism of a global conflict. The Western public is being asked, implicitly at least, to accept that multiple wars can be managed all at once: Ukraine can be supported, the Middle East contained and the Indo-Pacific deterred. But states dont have infinite bandwidth. How China reacts to the current conflicts, especially the new war with Iran, will determine if we really are bearing witness to the beginnings of WWIII The more attention that is consumed in one theatre, the more opportunity opens in another. That is the invitation sitting in front of Beijing right now. Simply put, how China reacts to the current conflicts, especially the new war with Iran, will determine if we really are bearing witness to the beginnings of WWIII. The Taiwan scenario has always been about timing and perception. Beijing doesnt need the US to be absent - it merely needs Washington to be stretched and internally divided to potentially find its moment. That is why the most interesting signs are not always the loudest ones. Chinese military drones are flying over the South China Sea while transmitting false transponder signals to masquerade as other aircraft, behaviour some analysts interpret as testing deception and confusion tactics relevant to a Taiwan contingency plan. The point is not whether an invasion is imminent. Its that preparation is active in the midst of global chaos. A crisis in the Gulf, pressure on NATO in Europe, and domestic political volatility in the United States all add up to a single question China must be asking: if not now, when? Overlay the economic layer and you see the contours of a world war not as ideology versus ideology, but as access to resources versus denial. Whether we are talking about microchips, energy, rare minerals or shipping lanes, such squeezes have historically been at least as important to how global conflict starts as ideological differences are. Critical minerals are no longer a niche policy debate for trade officials. The US and Australia signed a deal last year involving billions of dollars of investment intended to build and refine supply chains for minerals vital to defence and advanced manufacturing, explicitly framed against ongoing Western reliance on China. That puts us right in the thick of any potential global conflict. Energy, too, is no longer just about price - its also about leverage. The Venezuelan dimension is instructive because it shows how quickly the US is willing to move when it perceives strategic supply and regime outcomes to be linked. US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in early January, with Donald Trump saying the U.S. would run Venezuela until a transition could occur. The war is no longer just a contest of missiles, drones, proxy groups and air strikes in familiar theatres (pictured, a plume of smoke billows into the air following bombing in Tehran) Whatever one thinks of the Maduro regime, the precedent is stark: a major power intervention in the Western Hemisphere framed in explicitly political terms. That, in turn, will be read in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran as evidence of a US willingness to reshape regimes when it sees strategic advantages in doing so. The Iran question sits at the intersection of all of this. There is a self-mythology, a sense of historical mission, that has always animated revolutionary states such as Iran, and it makes their risk calculations harder to model. Iranian politics cant entirely be reduced to millenarianism, but messianic themes (think Mahdism and the language of destiny) have repeatedly surfaced in modern Iranian political movements and factions, sometimes as genuine belief, sometimes as a tool of legitimacy. Either way it complicates outside assumptions that every actor will behave strictly rationally when confronted with humiliation or perceived existential threat. When wars shift from the material to the metaphysical, they become harder to terminate cleanly. That again raises the likelihood of a world war, especially if other great powers get involved. Meanwhile, the so-called middle powers are beginning to talk like states in a world where the hegemony is no longer reliable. Canadas Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has argued that middle powers must unite, an idea explicitly grounded in the notion that the old order is failing apart. That isnt anti-Americanism for its own sake. Its a recognition that dependence without certainty is dangerous for powers like Australia. If middle powers begin to hedge - diplomatically, militarily and economically - the alliances that once dampened conflict can start to fracture into ad hoc coalitions and transactional arrangements. That is historically how great power rivalries become uncontrollable. When alliances become ambiguous, deterrence fades. The Iran conflict is likely to divert US air defence interceptors away from Ukraine (pictured, a missile is launched into Tel Aviv, Israel) Europe is already showing major stress fractures. Spain is now in an open diplomatic dispute with Trump over claims relating to cooperation in battling Iran. After it denied US requests for assistance (flyovers and use of bases), Trump threatened to cut off trade. This matters less for the specific argument and more for what it says about cohesion. Allies are publicly contradicting each other in the middle of a live conflict, while the threat of economic punishment is used as a tool of compliance. Thats not how stable coalitions behave under pressure. Sitting like a landmine under the whole system is the risk of what happens if nuclear-armed India and Pakistan ramp up their ongoing feud? Indias army chief complained of drone intrusions from Pakistan into Indian-controlled Kashmir, against a backdrop of their worst fighting in decades only months earlier. The India-China border remains another persistent flashpoint, where national pride and military posturing meet at high altitude. In isolation such tensions are little more than part of the geopolitical world we live in. But at a time like this they are fuses at risk of being lit capable of adding to the risk of a world war. Taken separately, each of these conflicts can be explained away. Ukraine, Venezuela, India and Pakistan, even Africas many ongoing conflicts. But now weve got an ever widening Middle East conflict to add to that list. What happens if China sees now as their moment for Taiwanese unification? Or what if they decide to back Iran? If that happens a new world war becomes odds on. The danger is not that one actor wakes up and decides to start World War III with a grand plan. Its that several actors, each pursuing what they see as manageable advantage, push and push until the system stops absorbing the additional shocks. World wars arent defined by the number of battlefields. When decisions in one theatre alter outcomes in another, or when alliances activate across regions and supply chains and energy flows become strategic weapons, thats when the world starts to behave like its in an antechamber of something larger. So are we on the cusp of a new world war? Its not inevitable - history is rarely that neat or predictable. But as of right now the world has accumulated enough live wires that a single misstep could trigger one. The final sobering point is psychological. After a prolonged period of crisis, even extreme events start to look normal. People, markets and the media adapt. Such normalisation is precisely what can cause leaders to believe they can keep raising the stakes without paying the ultimate price. The cusp, therefore, may be the moment when enough of the world convinces itself that the unthinkable is still unthinkable - right up until it isnt. A man has been airlifted to hospital after he was bitten by a shark while snorkelling at a popular island off the Queensland coast. A man in his 50s suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to his arm and abdomen during the terrifying ordeal at a shallow reef off Lady Elliot Island at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef on Thursday morning. He managed to swim to shore and was flown by LifeFlight to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition. Photos showed the man sitting on a stretcher being assessed by LifeFlight critical care medical team before he was airlifted. The species of the shark involved is not known. The man and the group he was snorkelling with were from a private vessel. They were not guests staying at the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort. 'The men swam ashore and alerted staff that one of them had been bitten by a shark,' a resort statement read. 'Lady Elliot Island staff provided immediate assistance, stabilised the man and helped coordinate an emergency response. A snorkeller was bitten by a shark off Lady Elliot Island on Thursday morning The man (pictured) was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition The LifeFlight medical team treated the snorkeller for lacerations and puncture wounds 'Resort staff and marine shark experts are monitoring the closed snorkel zone and all in-house resort guests have been informed.' The 45 hectare island is home to a small eco resort and an airstrip serviced daily by flights from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The island is also a popular snorkelling and scuba diving hotspot. While its thriving marine diversity includes 30 shark species, attacks are not common. 'In the lagoon you are likely to see Epaulette sharks, grey carpet sharks, blacktip and white tip reef sharks while on the western side of the island you can see Tawny nurse sharks, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks and more,' the island resort website states. The criminal lawyers representing the grandparents of Gus Lamont have addressed claims from police that a relative of the missing boy are not cooperating. South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said on Wednesday that two relatives of the missing four-year-old boy were 'not co-operating' with police and that officers would be returning to the property. 'As far as I'm aware, it's status quo, from the most recent reports,' he told ABC Radio Adelaide. 'We are still working with Gus's mum and dad and there are other members of the family who are no longer cooperating. A day later, the legal team of Gus' grandparent Josie Murray and grandmother Shannon Murray have responded to queries about police comments. 'There's no further comment at this stage,' Adelaide criminal lawyer Andrew Ey, representing Josie, told The Advertiser on Thursday. Shannon's representative, defence lawyer Casey Isaacs, also said his client 'is co-operating through her solicitor'. Mr Isaacs did not elaborate further when contacted by the Daily Mail. The police commissioner also said the investigation into Gus's disappearance was a 'top priority'. Four -year-old Gus Lamont disappeared from his grandparents' 60,000ha Oak Park Station near Yunta in South Australia's Mid North on September 27 South Australian Police Commissioner said on Wednesday that two relatives of the missing four-year-old boy were 'not co-operating' with police Asked about the statement by police, the lawyer for Gus' grandparent Josie Murray (pictured) said there is no further comment at this time 'We will be going back to the property, I can't say when, I can't say what the reasons will be, that's entirely up to the task force, but the work is ongoing,' he said. Detectives previously stressed that Gus's parents had been completely ruled out as possible suspects in his disappearance and confirmed they were cooperating with the investigation. 'The task force, which comprises over a dozen people, detectives, forensic specialists, will clearly be looking at any opportunity to provide closure to Gus's mum and dad,' Mr Stevens said. He doubled down on earlier statements that investigators had 'all but ruled out Gus having wandered off'. 'There has not been one single piece of evidence that we have located during the searching exercise, the most extensive search I think arguably in the history of South Australia, that has given us any indication that he did wander off,' Mr Stevens said. Despite SA Police launching its largest search operation in the state's history, no trace of Gus has been found. Gus disappeared from his grandparents' 60,000ha Oak Park Station near Yunta in South Australia's Mid North on September 27. In February, Gus's parents Josh Lamont and Jessica Murray issued a public plea. Gus' grandmother Shannon Murray (pictured) is 'cooperating through her solicitor', according to defence lawyer Casey Isaac Detectives previously stressed that Gus's parents osh Lamont and Jessica Murray (pictured) had been completely ruled out as possible suspects in his disappearance 'We are united in our grief, and we are united in our search for answers about what happened to our little boy, Gus, who means everything to us,' their statement read. 'Our lives have been shattered, and every moment without him is unbearable. We know someone out there may have information. 'If someone knows what happened, we are pleading with that person - or anyone who may have seen or heard anything - to please come forward. Even the smallest detail could give us the answers we so desperately need.' The parents also shared their gratitude to the hundreds of workers and volunteers searching for their little boy. 'We also want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved in the search for Gus,' they said. 'The tireless efforts of police, emergency services, ADF personnel, volunteers, and specialists have meant more to us than we can ever say. 'To the friends, family and supporters who have shown such compassion, concern, and assistance during this heartbreaking time: thank you. 'Your kindness has helped carry us through the darkest days of our lives. All we want is to bring Gus home and understand what happened to our beautiful boy.' South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens (pictured) said the case is a 'top priority' Despite SA Police launching its largest search operation in the state's history, no trace of Gus has been found since his disappearance last year Daily Mail previously revealed the couple had separated before Gus vanished, with Ms Murray and her newborn son, Ronnie, living with her parents, Shannon and Josie Murray, on the remote station. Mr Lamont had moved into a ramshackle farmhouse which he was renovating in Belalie North, near Jamestown, 130km west of the Murrays' station. A family friend told Daily Mail their relationship broke down shortly after Ronnie's birth, but before Gus disappeared. 'I haven't seen Josh since it (Gus' disappearance) happened, and I don't know where he is now,' they said. 'But they weren't together when it happened.' The youngest of six US soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait had spoken to his brother on the phone shortly before his death. Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, was among six Army Reserve service members who lost their lives when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait on Sunday - just one day after the US and Israel launched its military campaign against the Islamic Republic, which struck back in retaliation. His father Andrew Coady said his other son - also an Army soldier stationed in Italy - had spoken with the 20-year-old on the day he died in Kuwait. 'Based of off timing, and what we know so far, and we don't know specifics but we are making an assumption based off of timing, it was shortly after that phone call that this happened, and his operation center got hit,' Andrew said. The heartbroken father said his son was known to text his family updates every few hours saying 'everything's still good' and 'I'm good'. 'Which goes to show you, he was thinking about us - "don't worry about me",' Andrew said, recalling his son's insistence on reassuring his loved ones. Andrew recalled that once Coady stopped replying to messages, 'most of us started to wonder'. 'Your gut gets a feeling,' he said. Coady's sister Keira recalled the excruciating moment when the family was unable to make contact. 'We heard nothing. Trying to be positive, we all assumed he was just in a situation where he couldn't message back, but we all knew something was wrong,' she said. 'At 8 pm, as we all were getting ready to go to bed, the doorbell rang, and the rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives. While it's all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant.' Sgt. Declan Coady, the youngest of the six soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait following the US' attack on Iran, spoke to his brother shortly before his death Andrew Coady (left) and his daughter Keira (right),share memories of Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside their home Coady's unit had been deployed to Kuwait for nine months beginning in September of 2025, his father said. Despite being only 20 years old, Coady appeared to have found his calling, Andrew said. 'One thing he did say is that "I've had a lot of jobs, I've had jobs in the civilian world, I've been over here for six months and I work 12-plus hour days, I work six to seven days a week and I love it."' Coady - an Eagle Scout like his two brothers - had just told his father last week that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously. He was one of the youngest people in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, his father Andrew said Tuesday. 'He was very good at what he did,' he said. His sister had been teasing him about being overseas during his 21st birthday and being unable to go out and have fun with family and friends. 'I still don't fully think it's real. I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back,' Keira said. 'He was my little brother and he was probably really scared, even if he didn't want people to know.' Through tears, she struggled to cope with the loss of her brother. 'I'll just be sitting and thinking about it. It's really hard, I didn't have the same phone call this weekend that my dad and my brother did. I really wish I got tell him I loved him one more time, because he was so amazing.' "I just wish he could have known one more time that we all loved him." Family members remembered Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, who was one of six American service members killed since the war in Iran started on Saturday. Coady was from West Des Moines, Iowa. He was a sophomore at pic.twitter.com/g8vpd0oP1W CBS News (@CBSNews) March 5, 2026 His sister Keara had been teasing him about being overseas during his 21st birthday and being unable to go out and have fun with family and friends Coady had just told his father last week that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously Coady trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer. He planned to finish his time at Drake University in the ROTC program to commission as an officer. 'I'm doing ROTC, I'm going to commission as an officer and he was going to be allowed to stay. He kind of planned it out but he was adamant, I was gonna go with my unit.' The family is now looking navigate organizing Coady's funeral, with a fundraiser launched to assist them. President Donald Trump has vowed to 'avenge' the fallen soldiers, as he warned that others may die as the operation continues. 'America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization,' he said from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, hours after the blast. Trump then called the fallen service members 'true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.' The other soldiers killed in the attack were Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa. Chief Warrant Officer Robert M Marzan was in the same unit as O'Brien and is suspected dead at the scene of the same attack. A medical examiner will confirm identification of the 54-year-old from Sacramento, California. His sister Keira (pictured holding a photo of her brother) shows a photo of her brother taken the morning before they dropped him off to leave Coady trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer Smoke rises from an area surrounding US Embassy following a strike, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command. The six members of the Army Reserve, who worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment, died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement Wednesday offering prayers and condolences for the families of the Iowa residents killed. 'Our hearts are broken by the deaths of Major Jeffrey O'Brien and Sergeant Declan Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace,' Reynolds said. The soldiers' friends and family have since started to share their own memories of their loved ones, with a friend of Captain Khork's taking to Facebook to share how he had been there for him 'for over 16 years of my life and been part of every major life event I've had. 'He has shaped me into the person that I am today,' the friend wrote, adding that Khork 'knows more about me than anyone else and he was the first person to answer my call, even when I called in the middle of the night. 'He's helped me get through the hardest and lowest parts of my life and been there to celebrate the best. This image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the Tactical Operations Center at Port Shuaiba where the soldiers were stationed The Pentagon has identified four soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Coady, 20, were also killed 'I've watched him support others and myself through the years when he had nothing to his name and never complained about it. That's just the type of person he was,' the friend continued. 'He went out doing what he loved, defending our freedom. RIP brother, Valhalla is waiting for you. We will see each other again.' A friend of Amor's also said she 'was a special person, a hell of a troop and an amazing mom. 'I'm at a loss for words,' the friend wrote. 'The world is a darker place without her in it.' Amor had enlisted in the National Guard as a 92 (Automated Logistics Specialist) in 2005, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and had previously been deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. She has earned a number of awards and decorations for her service, including the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 'M' Device. Locals in Minnesota have now organized a meal train to help out her husband, Joey, and their two children, Adeline and Owen. Meanwhile in Nebraska, Governor Jim Pillen ordered flags to fly at half-staff to honor Tietjens, saying he and the First Lady of the state were deeply saddened to learn of his death. Army Reserve Major Jeffrey O'Brien (pictured left), 45, died during an unmanned aircraft system attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait in the second full day of battle. Chief Warrant Officer Robert M Marzan, 54, was in the same unit as O'Brien and is suspected dead at the scene of the same attack Smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the area where the US Embassy is located in Kuwait City The aftermath of an Iranian attack from Zayed port in Abu Dhabi 'We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,' the governor said in a statement. 'Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world a sacrifice we must never forget. Please join us in praying for the Tietjens and for all members of the United States military who stand in harms way to protect our freedom.' A source familiar with the tragedy told CNN that the makeshift command center was struck by a direct hit at the center of the building, which they described as a triple-wide trailer with office space inside, just after 9am local time. The attack came very quickly, with no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker, the source added. Hours after the attack, the source said, fire was still smoldering in some parts of the building, with the walls blown outwards from the blast. The command center had concrete barriers surrounding it, which is typical for military structures overseas, but nothing that could shield it from drones or missiles, the source said. Three officials also told CBS News that prior to the attack, there had been discussion on the ground about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used as it concentrated too many people in a location that was not easily defended. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, said on Monday that the strike hit a 'tactical operation center that was fortified.' Locals in Minnesota have organized a meal train to help Amor's husband and two children In Nebraska, Governor Jim Pillen ordered flags to fly at half-staff to honor Tietjens (pictured) He then claimed that there was just 'one' projectile that made it through the air defenses. The strike on the facility now remains under investigation. The White House went on the offensive with the press on day five of the attacks on Iran. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to set the record straight on why the US decided to strike Iran after critics expressed confusion over who exactly faced an 'imminent threat' from the Islamic Republic. Since Trump launched strikes on Iran, the White House's explanation for the offensive has been scrutinized heavily. Leavitt clarified further the administration's rationale for attacking Iran in conjunction with Israel during the White House press briefing on Wednesday. 'This decision to launch this operation was based on a cumulative effect of various direct threats that Iran posed to the United States of America, and the President's feeling based on fact that Iran does pose an imminent and direct threat to the United States of America.' Her response stood in stark contrast to that of Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week, which prompted fury from both Republicans and Democrats who accused the US of being pulled into the conflict by Israel. A friend took to social media to remember Khork as someone who was always there for him and others even 'when he had nothing to his name and never complained about it' A government site heavily destroyed very close to Revolution Square by Israel and U.S. during Operation Epic Fury on March 4, 2026 in Tehran, Iran 'The president's fact-based feelings about the threat facing the US were based on Iran's growing missile programs, their continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and the threat those pose to US and allied forces in the region, Leavitt said. The press secretary added that Trump was intent on joining Israel in its initial salvo, which she claimed was 'obviously' the right decision. The public remains starkly divided on the attacks, something that was on full display when a Republican senator was seen on video helping Capitol Police restrain an ex-Marine who came to the Capitol to protest. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, sprung into action on Wednesday when Brian McGinnis interrupted a Senate Armed Services Sub-Committee hearing. McGinnis, an ex-Marine now running a third party campaign for Senate in North Carolina, denounced the battle in Iran as a war being fought for Israel. 'Israel is the reason for this war. America does not want to fight this war for Israel!' he yelled. 'America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel! Your inability to name that shows your ineptness as leaders! This is wrong and nobody wants to fight for Israel!' Sheehy joined the Capitol Police to remove McGinnis. At one point, Sheehy held him up against the exit door as they struggled to remove him. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to set the record straight on why the US decided to strike Iran after critics expressed confusion over who exactly faced an 'imminent threat' from the Islamic Republic A Republican Senator and former Navy SEAL restrained a radical leftist ex-Marine who came to the Capitol to heckle Republicans over Donald Trump's strikes in Iran After McGinnis was finally removed, Sheehy said he was just there to back up the police. 'Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation,' he said on social media. 'This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.' Capitol Police told The Daily Mail that McGinnis and three officers were injured during the confrontation. McGinnis now faces three criminal counts for assault of a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest. The five-day offensive so far has killed nearly 50 of Iran's top officials, including its longtime leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with scores of religious leaders. It has also sent the Middle East into chaos as Iran has targeted half a dozen countries in the region, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia in retaliation. At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. In Israel, 11 have died. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australian 'military assets' have been sent to the Middle East. He said assets were sent as part of the response to thousands of Australians being stranded in the region amid the ongoing war. It's understood two aircraft, a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster and KC-30A multi-role tanker, were sent. The Prime Minister made the comment during Question Time on Thursday while addressing a second flight from Dubai which is due to land in Sydney about 10.30pm. 'I confirm right now another flight, EK414 is in the air with over 200 Australians on board,' he said. 'It departed Dubai at 9.16am today Canberra time, bound for Sydney and we are hopeful of more flights in the air today which is what we want to see,' he said. 'The most recent advice is another two flights are scheduled to depart to Australia today.' Albanese described the situation in the Middle East as 'volatile', 'dangerous' and 'fast moving' and acknowledged there is still thousands of Australians trying to get home. After discussing the flight, the PM added there were six Australian crisis teams deployed to the region as well as 'military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week'. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australian military assets had been sent to the Middle East (pictured left to right: Defence Minister Richard Marles, Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke) Albanese said six Australian crisis teams deployed to the region as well as 'military assets' (pictured are the first plane load of passengers arriving in Sydney after the conflict erupted) It's understood a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster (pictured) along with a KC-30A multi-role tanker were sent Foreign Minister Penny Wong has not addressed the deployment of the 'assets'. New Zealand on Thursday similarly said it would send two defence planes alongside consular staff to help its citizens get back home. The first flight from Dubai to Sydney landed safely on Australian soil on Wednesday night, ending a stressful period for hundreds of Aussies. Earlier this week, Wong confirmed about 115,000 Australians were stranded in the Middle East. Conflict in the region was triggered by America and Israel's bombing of Iran on Saturday. Iran has since been bombarding peaceful Gulf cities with missile and drone attacks. An Emirates Airbus A380-861, capable of carrying more than 400 passengers, left Dubai at 2am on Wednesday and landed in Sydney at 10.24pm. There were cheers, hugs, and tears as passengers disembarked and reunited with their loved ones at the arrivals gate. Earlier in the week, an evacuation route via Cyprus collapsed when a military and a civilian airport were both targeted. Hundreds of Aussies cried and hugged as they were reunited The second flight from Dubai, following the first on Wednesday, is due to land on Thursday night The United Arab Emirates opened mergency flight corridors on Tuesday to allow repatriation flights out of the Middle East Several airspaces over the Middle East remain closed, including Israel, Syria, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain. Jordan has partially closed its airspace. However, the United Arab Emirates' Government opened dedicated emergency flight corridors out of Dubai, a major transport hub, on Tuesday. Smartraveller has advised Australians travelling to or through Gulf nations that they could be unable to leave if the conflict escalates. A registration portal is open on its website for Australians to receive further evacuation orders. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has also activated its 24/7 Crisis Centre to provide consular support to those in the region. A body has been found outside the NAB office in Docklands, Melbourne. There have been road closures around the 14-storey Bourke St building, including northbound lanes on Wurundjeri Way at Flinders St. Victoria Police confirmed it responded to the incident in the CBD on Thursday afternoon. 'Police will prepare a report for the coroner following the death of a man in Docklands on March 5,' Victoria Police said in a statement. 'The body of a man, who is yet to be formally identified, was located on Bourke Street about 2pm. 'This death is not being treated as suspicious.' It's understood workers at NAB have been offered counselling services. The news comes amid unconfirmed reports of redundancies at NAB. A body was found outside the NAB office in Docklands (above) on Thursday afternoon Some workers told business commentator The Aussie Corporate that the company had brought through a 'revolving door of consultants' in recent months ahead of a potential company restructure. Docklands is one of two office buildings NAB has in Melbourne with the other at 395 Bourke St. Free and confidential help is available 24/7 at: Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 The Iran war entered its sixth day today as the US and Israel intensified their bombing attacks against the country's military and security apparatus. UK Defence Secretary John Healey arrived in Cyprus amid tensions about Britain's response to drone attacks on the island triggered by the conflict. Britain has been facing criticism for failing to have enough military assets in the Middle East after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone. The UK has deployed air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to help protect Cyprus, but the Type 45 warship is not expected to sail until next week. Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities have also been dispatched and should arrive there sooner. It comes as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Britain 'will be in a lot of trouble' if it does not join bombing raids on Iran, arguing the RAF must take offensive action to destroy Iranian missile sites and prevent further such attacks. Now it's time to vote in the Daily Mail's latest poll do you think the UK Government is doing enough to protect Britain amid the war? Have your say here: In yesterday's poll, Mail readers were asked: 'Does Trump's latest attack on Starmer mean the Special Relationship is over?' Out of more than 11,000 votes, some 77 per cent of you said 'yes' and 23 per cent said 'no'. Ofwat plans to fine South East Water 22million over water supply failures between 2020 and 2023 impacting more than 286,000 people. The water regulator revealed today that it was consulting over the fine after homes in Kent and Sussex were hit by multiple supply interruptions over the years. South East Water 'lacked ownership' for fixing the root cause of supply failures and did not maintain important infrastructure, the watchdog said. It said its investigations found that the water company 'failed to maintain supply-system resilience' to minimise incidents occurring and failed to plan to make sure it had sufficient headroom to deal with periods of high demand. These issues left its water system 'more likely to fail' during prolonged dry periods or when frozen water thawed. Customers were left with no tap water, unable to shower or bathe and could not flush their toilets, according to Ofwat. Its investigation found that the company's response to these issues was 'slow and disorganised'. It highlighted shortages of bottled water and said there were 'not enough tankers or support for vulnerable customers'. Ofwat interim chief executive Chris Walters said: 'South East Water's significant failings caused major disruption and had a huge impact on thousands of its customers. 'Not only did the company fail in its duty to provide a water supply to meet the demands of its customers, but it also fell short when it came to providing support for customers who lost their supply. They must do better. A bottled water station in East Grinstead in January after a South East Water outage in Sussex SEW boss David Hinton is paid a base salary of 400,000 and yearly bonus of up to 115,000 'This investigation gets to the heart of the company's supply resilience problems. We want to see South East Water take more responsibility and get on with fixing things for its customers.' South East Water is bringing legal action against Ofwat over the proposed order, and made a bid to temporarily block the regulator from publishing plans at a private hearing on Monday. Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain said in a ruling that lawyers for South East Water said there were 'compelling reasons' to prevent the publication, which may cause 'irreparable' damage. The court was also told that South East Water considered Ofwat's decision to be legally flawed. Rejecting the temporary bid in a judgment on Monday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said that South East Water's case 'is far from compelling'. He continued: 'In my judgment, it is far from clear that the publication of the proposed decision will cause harm that is 'grave' or 'irreparable', as alleged. 'Publication of the proposed decision triggers a right in South East Water to make further representations.' The judge also said that even a temporary delay in publication of around four months would not be 'relatively insignificant' for customers. A spokesperson for South East Water said: 'We recently filed for judicial review of an Ofwat draft decision and sought an injunction. Following a hearing, the court did not grant the interim injunction. We respect the court's decision on this. 'We are now considering Ofwat's draft decision and will respond via the appropriate channels, ahead of its final decision. We have no further comment at this time.' Ofwat said the consultation on its fine proposal would remain open until April 13. The regulator added that South East Water 'has not taken ownership of these issues', with subsequent disruptions still happening too regularly as a result. In recent months, tens of thousands of households and business were left without supply across Kent and Sussex due to repeated outages since November. Tunbridge Wells suffered a sustained outage in November and December, with around 24,000 properties in and around the Kent town left without drinkable water for almost two weeks. In January, industry body Water UK said South East Water would be raising bills by an average 7 per cent to 324 a year from April. The announcement came after the firm's customers suffered days of supply disruption that month blamed on Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts. Reacting to the latest move today, Tunbridge Wells campaign group, Dry Wells Action, said Ofwat's announcement was 'woeful' and the fine 'yet again highlights the shortcomings of the organisations that are supposed to be representing consumers' interests'. The group said: 'Ofwat has now hit us with the news that its sole sanction on the failing water company will be a fine that we will end up paying. 'It should be obvious to Ofwat that consumers will end up paying this fine either through increases in water bills or through the additional cost of debt at the company. 'Hitting consumers who have already suffered is not regulation, it is an admission that the regulator has no means to hold this company to account.' They added: 'We are extremely disappointed that there is no action to impose leadership on this company, or to force upon it a remedial action plan for urgent improvements and expansion of the infrastructure serving Tunbridge Wells.' South East Water has been run since 2020 by chief executive David Hinton, who is paid a base salary of 400,000 and yearly bonus of up to 115,000. The married father-of-two, 58, who lives in Farnham, Surrey, received a 30 per cent pay rise last year and also enjoys car benefits and a generous pension package. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has refused to confirm reports that two Australian sailors were aboard a US submarine as part of a training rotation when it torpedoed an Iranian warship, killing 87. The frigate, named the IRIS Dena, was hit with a Mark-48 torpedo fired by the nuclear-powered submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka between 6am and 7am AEDT on Wednesday. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described the attack as a 'quiet death'. The Sri Lankan navy claimed 87 bodies were recovered from the wreck and 32 Iranian sailors were rescued. The ship had about 180 people on board. The Australian Defence Force personnel were on the US vessel as part of an AUKUS training rotation - in preparation for when Australia has its own nuclear submarines as part of the alliance, 9News reported. The Defence Department did not identify the ranks of the Australians aboard the submarine. 'There are long-standing arrangements relating to third country deployments to ensure Australian interests are managed appropriately,' a spokesperson said. 'For operational security reasons, the Australian Defence Force does not disclose specific details regarding third country deployments, including the number of personnel or their location. An American nuclear-powered submarine torpedoed Iran's IRIS Dena warship on Wednesday (pictured is the ship under attack) It's understood two Australian soldiers were aboard the US submarine during the attack (the ship is pictured in February in the Bay of Bengal) 'As the United States and Israel have said, the military strikes were initiated and conducted by the United States and Israel - not Australia.' When questioned by Greens senator David Shoebridge about the presence of Australian soldiers on the US submarine, Wong told the Senate: 'US submarine operations are a matter for the United States.' 'You ask about Australian Defence Force personnel for operational and security reasons, we do not disclose specific information regarding Australian personnel.' Wong has also refused to answer in recent days questions on whether intelligence facility Pine Gap assisted the US in strikes against Iran, and why two US P-8 Poseidon aircraft had visited RAAF Base Pearce, north of Perth, on Monday. Shoebridge claimed Australia had a 'wall of secrecy' around military matters that even the US does not have. In the US, Hegseth described the IRIS Dena as Iran's 'prize ship'. The frigate was one of Iran's newest warships. It patrolled deep water, was armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, and carried a helicopter. The warship was headed back to Iran after participating in joint military exercises off India's eastern coast. It sent out a distress signal while roughly 75 kilometres off the coast of Galle, on Sri Lanka's southwest coast. Commander Buddhika Sampath said there was no sign of the ship by the time the Sri Lankan navy arrived, 'only some oil patches and life rafts... and people floating on the water'. Foreign Minister Penny Wong (above) remained tight-lipped on whether Australians were aboard the submarine American authorities claimed the attack (above) on Wednesday marked the first time a US submarine had fired on an enemy warship since WWII Up to 100 Australians are set to be deployed on US submarines in 2026 as part of the AUKUS rotation program. American leaders claimed Wednesday's attack marked the first time a US submarine had fired on an enemy warship since WWII. Daily Mail has contacted the Australian Defence Force and Defence Minister Richard Marles for comment. Iran could 'go nuclear' in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes, experts have warned. The regime is resilient, and, if it survives, its resolve to build a nuclear weapon would likely be hardened, they said. Global security expert Jeffrey Lewis said: 'If the strike does not succeed in removing a regime there remain thousands of people in Iran capable of reconstituting a programme like this. 'The technology itself is decades old, and a vengeful Iran is likely to reach the same conclusion that North Korea reached that it's a dangerous world with the United States, and it's better to go nuclear.' Ali Khamenei, Iran's former Supreme Leader killed by the airstrikes on Saturday morning, had issued a fatwa - a religious edict - against building a nuclear bomb, meaning he was in theory opposed to it. While the robustness and authenticity of this position was doubted, it has further been warned that the next generation of the regime may abandon it completely. Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, said the risk of Iran reaching for nuclear weapons would be increased, whether the regime survives or not. She told the Guardian the remnants of the current leadership would be 'pushing Iran towards weaponisation no matter how this conflict ends, because of the nature in which it started'. Iran's Isfahan nuclear site, where the bulk of its enriched uranium is though to be stored Iran's assassinated Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had issued a fatwa against building a nuclear bomb Ms Davenport said that if the regime collapses, there is a risk that its stock of nuclear material could be stolen and lost track of, which would pile pressure on the US to put boots on the ground in order to secure it. She said: 'There's a real nuclear terrorism risk to Trump's regime change objective that I have not heard the administration acknowledging.' Preventing Iran from building a nuclear bomb has been given as one of the primary justifications for waging war now. Initially, both Israel and the US suggested they wanted to see regime change, but over the past few days the Americans have increasingly reverted to the nuclear argument. Before the latest strikes, special envoy Steve Witkoff said Iran was a 'week away' from obtaining 'industrial grade bomb making material' - though no evidence has been produced to back up this claim. Iran had around 440kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent before the US attacked its nuclear sites last June with Operation Midnight Hammer, according to estimates from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). That is enough to produce ten nuclear bombs, if it were further enriched to 90 percent. It is unclear exactly what became of this uranium after the US strikes. IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said this week the agency had lost its 'continuity of knowledge' about the stockpile, but that he believed most of it to be held at the Isfahan plant. The current conflict will only make it more difficult to keep track of this potentially deadly stash, Mr Grossi said. Smoke rises over Tehran on Thursday after another wave of Israeli bombardment Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch this week used Iran's desire for nuclear weapons to argue in favour of the war. She said 'Iran in 2026 is not Iraq in 2003', and that the Islamic Republic would deploy nukes against Britain if allowed to develop them. Meanwhile, Israel and Iran continued to trade blows overnight, with another brutal blitz hammering government and military sites in Tehran. The first flight chartered by the UK government to evacuate Britons from the Middle East failed to take off due to a 'technical fault', forcing passengers to disembark the plane and return to hotels in Muscat, Oman. Israeli generals lulled Iran into a false sense of security in the hours leading up to Ali Khamenei's assassination by leaving their headquarters for fake Shabbat celebrations before sneaking back in disguise, the IDF has revealed. The new information explains how the Ayatollah felt safe enough to emerge from hiding for a meeting at his palace with top officials. Israeli fighters then launched a barrage of 30 missiles, including state-of-the-art Blue Sparrows which travel to the edge of space before hitting their targets. The aim of the operation was to take the Iranian despot by surprise, to ensure that he and other top officials had no time to react and escape. But the entire operation was only made possible by the Israeli leadership's deception. Concerned that a buildup of activity around the IDF's central military complex in Tel Aviv would indicate to Iran that a major operation was imminent, a plan of deception was executed. The military said: 'On the Friday of the attack, the IDF deliberately gave the impression that the military was shutting down for the weekend. 'We released photos and information suggesting that IDF personnel and top leadership were going home for Shabbat dinner.' It comes as: The UAE announced it had been struck by a ballistic missile and six drones in the latest attack on the country US and Israeli officials claimed CIA-backed Kurdish forces are preparing for a potential ground offensive against Iran's regime' in the country's northwest The Pentagon and at least one Gulf state entered talks to buy Ukrainian-made interceptors to help counter Iran's Shahed drones The Kremlin declared that Iran has not approached Moscow with a request for arms supplies Spain is to join France, Italy and the Netherlands in sending its navy to protect Cyprus - including a British military base - in the latest humiliation for the Royal Navy Your browser does not support iframes. A satellite image shows a view of the damaged Presidential Complex in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. Khamenei was killed here on Saturday in an airstrike A satellite image shows a closer view of buildings of the Intelligence Ministry in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026, after airstrikes amid the Us-Israeli conflict with Iran Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei (pictured) was killed on Saturday in Tehran High-ranking generals made sure they were seen leaving the headquarters and back to their families. But they did not stay home for long, instead discreetly returning later, with many going back to the headquarters in disguise. On Saturday morning, Israeli jets, including F-15s took off at 7.30am Iran time, arriving in position two hours later. IDF jets launched the Blue Sparrow missiles at 9.40am, with at least 30 being sent to the Ayatollah's compound in the heart of Tehran. Blue Sparrows, which are produced in Israel and have a range of 1,240 miles, weigh around 1.9 tonnes and were originally created to test air defence systems. But since their creation in 2013, they have been adapted to be used as an air-to-surface missile due to their high speeds. Their ability to exit and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere makes them incredibly difficult to intercept. After being launched from fighter jets, booster rockets take the missile into space. The re-entry vehicle separates from the booster and locks onto a target. After this, the missile re-enters the atmosphere and hits the target. The Sparrow series of missiles, which also include Black and Silver variants, take inspiration from USSR Scud missiles, as well as Iranian Shahab-3 missiles. Join the debate Has Israels covert attack on Irans leaders made the world safer? The IDF said its generals deceived Iran by having high-ranking officials pretend to go home for the Shabbat An Israeli F-15 fighter jet carrying a Blue Sparrow Pictured: a satellite image shows smoke rising and heavy damage at the compound after the US-Israeli strike on Saturday As the missiles were fired, the IDF simultaneously disrupted around a dozen mobile phone towers near Pasteur Street, making phones appear busy when called and preventing Khamenei's security from receiving possible warnings. During the strike, senior Iranian national security officials were in another part of the building. Two high-level military leaders - Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, and commander of the IRGC Major General Mohammad Pakpour - and Khamenei's daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also obliterated in the Tehran strikes. The wife of Iran's Supreme Leader, 79-year-old Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, was also killed. As was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They had also gained access to almost all of Tehran's cameras, which are used extensively by Iran to spy on regime opponents and its own population, and tracked the movements of key bodyguards. Images were said to be transmitted back to Tel Aviv and southern Israel, allowing Mossad to develop intimate knowledge on the guards' addresses, work schedules and who they were assigned to protect. One camera angle proved especially helpful and allowed agents to track where bodyguards parked their personal cars when arriving at the Supreme Leader's compound on Pasteur Street in the heart of Tehran. The hacks were part of a years-long intelligence campaign which eventually led to the killing of Khamenei. A plume of smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran on March 2, 2026 'We knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem,' an Israeli intelligence official told the Financial Times. 'And when you know [a place] as well as you know the street you grew up on, you notice a single thing that's out of place.' The CIA also had a human source who provided vital intelligence, according to the newspaper. Combined with Israeli AI tools and algorithms which sifted through a vast mountain of data on Iran's leadership and their movements, the source allowed them to trace Khamenei to the meeting where he was hit. Once Israel and the US became aware of where Khamenei was holding his meeting, they decided they had to act. On the sixth day of the bloody war in the Middle East, the IDF said that its military campaign against Iran had 'shaken' the country's clerical leadership, adding that it was continuing to 'deepen the damage'. 'The goal of the operation is to inflict severe damage on the Iranian terror regime until it removes the existential threat... And we continue to deepen the damage to the regime,' military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing. 'It is important for me to say that it is already shaken. It was shaken by the first strike on Saturday morning, when the leadership was thwarted. And every day we continue to destabilise it more and more, to deepen the damage to it until the existential threat is removed,' he added. Alongside strikes on Iran, Israel also continues to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, where its forces pushed into several southern border towns on Wednesday. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes over the weekend. 'Hezbollah is an arm of Iran. It serves the terror regime inside Iran,' Defrin said in the briefing on Thursday, but added that the coordination between the two 'is not that tight.' 'So far, we have struck more than 320 Hezbollah terror targets, about 80 of them in the last 24 hours alone,' Defrin said. 'There are many commanders and soldiers who are working around the clock to hit Hezbollah and exact a heavy price from it.' Tehran has been pummelled by US and Israeli air strikes since Saturday, when they killed Ayatollah Khamenei A man carries an injured woman at the site of US-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on Monday As Europe continues to dither on whether to take action in the Middle East, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry warned that the EU would 'pay the price, sooner or later' if it continues to remain silent on the US-Israeli strikes. Iran's leadership also warned that the US will 'bitterly regret' torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, while a top cleric called for 'the shedding of Trump's blood.' The US navy sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors, which Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi decried as 'an atrocity at sea.' 'Frigate Dena, a guest of India's navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,' he wrote on social media. 'Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set.' Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, said the country was 'on the verge of a great test' and called on state television for 'the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump's blood'. 'Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders,' he said in a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. A view of Iranian missiles seen in the skies over Gaza after Iran launched retaliatory strikes in response to attacks by the United States and Israel in Gaza City, Gaza on March 01, 2026 Smoke rises from an area of Tehran after it was targeted in attacks as a series of explosions were heard in the Iranian capital on March 1 2026 It has disrupted the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East. A drone crashed on Thursday near the airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijan exclave that borders the north of Iran and is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia. Another drone fell near a school and two civilians were injured, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks have spread erratically as the war has gone on involving regional countries and beyond. Qatar evacuated residents near the US embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and fighter jets could be heard overhead early in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan, and a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger. An explosion rocked the area early on Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Iran has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them in the past. Prior attacks since fighting began on Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Persian Gulf and through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped. US stocks rebounded on Wednesday after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the American economy. But oil prices resumed their ascent early on Thursday and Brent crude, the international standard, was up some 15% from the start of the conflict as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait. In Sir Keir Starmer's speech on Sunday after the US-Israeli attack on Iran, he insisted: 'We all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons.' But former prime minister Sir Tony Blair has told a new documentary that he stands by his infamous note to George W Bush, which said: 'I will be with you, whatever.' The memo, first declassified in 2016, confirmed Sir Tony had committed himself in writing to backing the then-US president eight months before the Iraq invasion. Sir Tony wrote to Mr Bush in July 2002 after a crunch meeting at the latter's ranch in Crawford, Texas, that April, also saying 'getting rid of Saddam is the right thing to do'. Now, Sir Tony has told a Channel 4 programme that he was trying to 'rally the world' at the time of the note, well before Parliament approved military action in March 2003. It comes as debate intensifies around intervention in the Middle East and the 'Special Relationship' although Sir Tony was speaking before the new Iran conflict began. Speaking in 'The Tony Blair Story', the ex-Labour leader was asked about the letter and said: 'You know people just put far too much emphasis on the precise wording.' Director Michael Waldman pressed him, saying: 'Hang on, you're a lawyer. You know the importance of words.' Sir Tony replied: 'Of course, the importance of words' Sir Tony Blair is interviewed about the Iraq war during 'The Tony Blair Story' on Channel 4 Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002 British soldiers from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery fire in Abu al Khasib, Iraq, in 2003 Mr Waldman asked: 'But didn't that commit you to a slippery slope that you couldn't get off?' But Sir Tony responded: 'No. Of course not. I was actually trying to persuade the Americans to do something different. I wanted us to go through a UN process. 'I wanted to try and rally the world as far as possible. I thought it was possible that we might get Saddam to agree to the conditions that we wanted, and I knew it was important that President Bush felt I was with him on the essential issue.' Mr Waldman questioned Sir Tony over whether there would have been anything the Americans had proposed or done that would have made him withdraw this support. Sir Tony said: 'Well, if they hadn't gone through the UN process it would have been extremely difficult for us, but they did. Was that a commitment that we were going to do whatever the Americans wanted? Of course not. But I was going to be with them in dealing with Saddam because I believed that was necessary, and I still do.' However, then-foreign secretary Jack Straw described Sir Tony's note as 'not his best moment', adding: 'I don't know quite to this day why he sent it.' Mr Straw told the programme: 'The ambiguity in his relationships which could be brilliantly used to good effect, as he did over the Good Friday Agreement, could also lead people to drawing from what he was saying, what they wanted to hear. 'And my anxiety was that this would be seen as a kind of blank cheque by the United States, and that the consequence of that would be that our leverage would be reduced.' Sir Tony also set out why he felt the need to support US action against Saddam Hussein, in what was the UK's most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War. He said: 'Only that regime had actually used weapons of mass destruction and the link for the US was, these terrorist groups, if they managed to get hold of weapons of mass destruction then, instead of 3,000 people dying, it'll be 30,000 or 300,000 and therefore we've got to deal with this issue A letter declassified in 2016 revealed Sir Tony Blair had committed himself in writing to backing George W Bush eight months before the Iraq invasion, saying: 'I will be with you, whatever' Then-foreign secretary Jack Straw has described Sir Tony's note as 'not his best moment' 'And so much has been written and talked about it, but it really did start with that. And for me there were two considerations. One, was it better to leave Saddam or remove him? For the security of the world. And number two, be with America or not?' Sir Tony's official spokesperson Tom Kelly then explained how Mr Bush had other potential reasons for going after Hussein. Mr Kelly said: 'For George (W) Bush, Iraq was not just a global issue, but a personal issue because they'd tried to kill his father. And George Bush is someone who holds a grudge, takes things personally, and puts an awful lot of weight on personal relationships. 'The Prime Minister recognised that and therefore the best strategy in influencing President Bush's response was be seen to be supportive to President Bush.' Before the military action, some of those in Sir Tony's team were warning him not to act in Iraq without the support of the United Nations. His cabinet secretary Richard Wilson told the programme: 'His commitment to America and to being with America was much stronger than I had understood.' Baron Wilson said he went to see Sir Tony and told him: 'I am very worried about what you're doing in Iraq. My advice to you is you should only go into Iraq if you have evidence of the weapons and support of the United Nations.' Sir Tony then persuaded Mr Bush the UN to give Hussein an ultimatum over his weapons of mass destruction, while also viewing MI6 intelligence suggesting the dictator did have WMDs. Sir Tony then asked his communications director Alastair Campbell to go to the intelligence services to help them present their evidence. Sir Tony Blair is interviewed by director Michael Waldman in the Channel 4 documentary Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's public address on Sunday after the US-Israeli attack on Iran Mr Waldman asked Mr Campbell in the programme about criticism that 'it was presented with a certainty that it didn't warrant'. And Mr Campbell replied: 'I understand lots of people made that criticism. What some people in the intelligence community will say is that you can never be certain. But I would argue there was an ultra-caution to the whole thing.' However, broadcaster Andrew Neil also spoke to the show and said: 'To have the chief spin doctor of a government helping to edit and tinker with an intelligence dossier, I think it's just beyond the pale. 'The whole Blairite obsession with spin, of which Alastair Campbell was the prima donna, led to a dossier that was false, hyped up and inaccurate.' But Mr Campbell said: 'Yes, you can set it against what's followed and the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction programme, and say "well, that was bulls**t". 'But based upon the intelligence and the assessment of intelligence that was going into that document, I certainly don't accept the charge of deception, and I don't accept even that we exaggerated.' The 'I will be with you, whatever' note was first revealed in the Chilcot inquiry in July 2016, which also concluded that the case for war was presented with 'a certainty which was not justified'. The inquiry's report claimed the case was based on 'flawed' intelligence about the country's supposed WMDs which was not challenged as it should have been. And it said the US-led coalition resorted to force to remove Hussein before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted and in a way which undermined the authority of the UN Security Council. In total, 179 British troops died in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. Around 4,500 US service members were killed. The Tony Blair Story is available to stream on Channel 4 Keir Starmer would not have survived backing Donald Trump's Iran strikes, it was claimed today - after Ed Miliband spearheaded Cabinet resistance to the idea. The PM is engaged in a bitter and increasingly personal row with the US president over Britain's refusal to allow UK bases to be used. But a senior Labour MP has insisted Sir Keir 'didn't have a choice' about turning down the request following the by-election humiliation by anti-war Greens in Gorton & Denton. Sir Keir barely survived a coup last month amid the Mandelson scandal, and has been facing massive pressure to lurch to the Left. Details have emerged of a bruising discussion at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday, less than 24 hours before the American-Israeli strikes began. Mr Miliband - nicknamed 'Red Ed' and touted as a replacement leader - Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir to shun the US assault on Iran, pointing to the domestic political situation. Keir Starmer would not have survived backing Donald Trump's Iran strikes, it was claimed today - after Ed Miliband spearheaded Cabinet resistance to the idea Mr Miliband (left) - nicknamed 'Red Ed' and touted as a replacement leader - Rachel Reeves (right) and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir to shun the US assault on Iran Security sources said Mr Miliband took a 'petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political approach' at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday the day before the US attack began, and just hours after Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election. He and Ms Reeves are said to have 'made it quite difficult for the Prime Minister', while Ms Cooper adopted the 'cautious approach of the Foreign Office'. Mr Trump was incensed by Sir Keir's initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel - with the Transatlantic wrangling said to have been going on for weeks. That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with 'defensive' actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them. Mr Trump condemned the premier as 'disappointing' and 'no Churchill' on Tuesday, as the situation became more personal. But at PMQs yesterday Sir Keir accused Mr Trump of lacking a 'viable, thought-through plan'. He said letting the US use UK bases to shoot down drones 'is the special relationship in action' but 'hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not'. Labour MP John McDonnell told ITV's Peston last night that he was not surprised Sir Keir rejected the request from the US. 'I don't think he had a choice then... we'd just lost a by-election, crushed in a by-election, we've got elections coming up in May in local government,' the former frontbencher said. 'I'm not sure whether he would have survived as PM if he'd gone along with Trump automatically.' The PM's decision on whether the national interest required the UK to stay close to the US appears to have been influenced by considerations of Labour's domestic problems. Join the debate Is Starmer putting the 'special relationship' before British public opinion? According to the revelations from the Spectator, the national security discussion came down to the legality of the proposed action and whether 'a positive relationship with the US was a good thing right now for the party'. The PM is said to have been on the receiving end of several 'very angry' phone calls from Mr Trump over the use of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to mount bombing raids. However, sources suggested that legal objections were conveyed to the US days before the final decision. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'We never comment on the content of National Security Council meetings. 'The decision had the full support of the Cabinet, including all the members of the National Security Council.' A dramatic video shows the moment an Israeli F-35 shot down a manned Iranian fighter jet in the skies over Tehran. The stealth jet can be seen tracking the aircraft through its targeting system before blasting it out of the sky as the pilot declares: 'Target is down.' The video then appears to show the Iranian plane plunging towards the ground trailing smoke. The Israeli military said Wednesday morning that one of its 'Adir' F-35i fighter jets had taken out a piloted Iranian Yak-130 jet. The strike marked a historic moment in the latest war in the Middle East, with the IDF claiming it was both the first dogfight of the conflict and the first time an F-35 has shot down a manned aircraft. It is also believed to be the first time in four decades the Israeli air force has conducted an air-to-air kill. The last time was in 1985, when an Israeli F-15 shot down two Syrian MiG-23s over Lebanon during the 'War of the Camps'. Iran has not yet confirmed the loss of its warplane. On Wednesday, the fifth day of the war with Iran, the US and Israel hit Tehran and other cities with multiple airstrikes. A dramatic video shows the moment an Israeli F-35 shot down a manned Iranian fighter jet in the skies over Tehran The stealth jet can be seen tracking the aircraft through its targeting system before blasting it out of the sky as the pilot declares: 'Target is down' The Israeli military said Wednesday morning that one of its 'Adir' F-35i fighter jets had taken out a piloted Iranian Yak-130 jet.(file image of an F-35) Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts, and Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the centre of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted. The tempo of the strikes on Iran was reportedly so intense that authorities postponed the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict. Iran on Wednesday claimed the US-Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,045 people. The Daily Mail has been unable to independently verify this figure. Meanwhile, Turkey's Defence Ministry said NATO defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey's airspace. And an Iranian naval frigate was reported in distress off the coast of Sri Lanka, prompting authorities there to respond and rescue 32 people. It was not immediately clear what happened to the ship, which Sri Lankan authorities identified as the IRIS Dena, and is armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and can carry a helicopter. The US military said earlier it had already destroyed 17 Iranian vessels and that its goal was sinking 'the entire navy'. With Iran's stranglehold on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped, Brent crude prices hit $84 a barrel, up more than 15% since the start of the conflict and at its highest price since July 2024. Global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy and sap corporate profits. Iran has also attacked regional infrastructure. Saudi Arabia said Wednesday its Ras Tanura oil refinery, one of the world's largest, was again targeted after an unsuccessful drone attack on it earlier in the week. The kingdom's oil ministry said the latest attack did not cause any damage and supplies were not affected. The American Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks Tuesday, and the US State Department said Wednesday it had authorised non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom. Rubble surrounds the site of a police facility, struck days earlier, during the US-Israeli military campaign on March 4, 2026 in Tehran, Iran Fire and smoke rise in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defences, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 4, 2026 US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, said Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones so far. 'We've already struck nearly 2,000 targets, with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran's air defences and destroyed hundreds of Iran's ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,' Cooper said in a pre-recorded message shared online Wednesday. F-35i planes became operational in the Israeli Air Force in 2017. By 2023, Israel had ordered a total of 75 of the fighter jets from American defence firm Lockheed Martin, with 36 being delivered as of November 2022. Israel chose to buy F-35A planes, before specially modifying them for their own purposes and renaming them, with the 'i' reflecting the nation these planes are defending. The 'Adir' moniker, meanwhile, comes from the Hebrew word for 'Mighty One'. The Israeli F-35is have new air-to-air missiles and guided bombs in the internal weapon bays, as well as an external jamming device that can disrupt enemy signals. Before modification, F-35As typically have a length of 51ft and a wingspan of 35ft. The planes have a top speed of Mach 1.6, or 1,228mph, at high altitude - where the air is thinner and easier to fly through. On air-to-air configurations, F-35As have a combat range of 870 miles. And on top of the bombs and missiles they can carry, the planes are armed with one 22mm rotary cannon, which can typically carry up to 180 rounds. The Yak-130, meanwhile, is a Russian designed warplane. First entering service in 2010, it typically performs light-attack and reconnaissance duties while carrying up to 6,600lbs of armaments. The two-man Russian warplane has a length of 37ft and a wingspan of 32ft. It can reach up to 660mph, and has a typical range of 1,300 miles. Along with its ability to carry rockets, missiles and bombs, it is armed with a gun-pod that needs to be manned by a second member of crew. Just a few days prior to the outbreak of war, amid rising tensions between Iran, Israel and the US, the nation's air force carried out a demonstration showing the YAK-130's capabilities. Footage showed a pilot striking an aerial target during military drills. Up to nearly 50,000 more files linked to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein will be released later this week, and are believed to contain unverified claims about President Donald Trump. The files, which were mentioned in the tranche released in January, were withheld by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), with the deputy attorney-general, Todd Blanche, insisting they were withheld to protect survivors. The documents are believed to contain unverified claims about the US President, including FBI notes from 2019 interviews with a woman who made allegations against both Epstein and Trump. It comes after a Wall Street Journal and CBS analysis found that 47,635 documents appeared to be missing from the tranche released to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The department said they had been taken 'offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.' Officials previously stated some files contained fake or false materials that were sent to the FBI by the public and may 'contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump.' Files that are still public contain a 2025 memo in which federal officials wrote that the woman had said that Epstein introduced her to Trump and that she claimed the now-US president had assaulted her in a violent encounter when she was a minor in 1983. Trump has denied the allegations made against him, and there was no assessment by the FBI about the credibility of her accusation. Up to nearly 50,000 more files linked to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein will be released later this week, and are believed to contain unverified claims about President Donald Trump Trump with Epstein in 1992. The president was apparently mentioned in an interview an Epstein survivor gave the FBI in 2019 The woman was also deemed ineligible for the Epstein victims' compensation programme, which paid settlements to more than 130 individuals. A DOJ official said 'nothing has been deleted', but Democratic members of the House oversight committee investigating Epstein have criticised the redactions. The department last month said it was reviewing whether it wrongfully withheld documents in the Epstein files containing allegations against Trump. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, lawmakers are required to publicise most documents related to the cases against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The DOJ is only permitted to withhold files under the act if they are duplicates, fall under attorney-client privilege, could hurt an ongoing investigation or are completely unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The law specifically prohibits the department from withholding or redacting files because they could be embarrassing to public officials. Before releasing the tranche of files in January, the DOJ deployed hundreds of attorneys to review the documents, giving them instructions on how to redact and determine whether the files needed to be released under the law, according to the WSJ. The reviewers, many of whom had little familiarity with the Epstein case, were then expected to flag any 'government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials'. Your browser does not support iframes. Trump with an unidentified woman in a photo released by the House Oversight Committee Trump, Melania, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said his friendship with Epstein ended before he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008 'Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the department will, of course, publish it, consistent with the law,' a spokeswoman for the department said in a statement. Deputy attorney general Blanche, who has overseen the release of the files, has previously insisted that the department complied with the law and has not withheld documents or redacted information because it could prove embarrassing for Trump or other public figures. 'I can assure that we complied with the statute, that we did not protect President Trump,' he said at a news conference on January 30. 'We didn't protect or not protect anybody.' A review of the documents shows the Department of Justice released an FBI summary of the woman's first FBI interview on July 24, 2019, in which she detailed the assault she faced from the financier on Hilton Head Island beginning when she was around 13 in the 1980s. The summary of the interview - which came shortly after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges - does not mention allegations against Trump. But the FBI apparently determined the woman's initial allegations against Epstein were significant enough that agents followed up with her for three more interviews on August 7, 2019, August 20, 2019 and October 16, 2019. Notes from all four FBI interviews with the woman were included on a list of materials provided to Maxwell's defence attorneys in 2021 and were described as non-testifying witness material, according to another file in the release. A source familiar with the investigation also told NBC News that the survivor is the same person who made an additional allegation that she was forced into a sex act with Trump when she was about 13 or 14 years old in New Jersey. This accusation was summarised in a document prepared by the FBI last summer in a presentation on the prominent names mentioned in the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The FBI, though, has said that most of the claims were either deemed not credible or made by people who provided no contact information. At around the same time that she came forward with these allegations, the woman joined a civil lawsuit against the Epstein estate, claiming he sexually abused her around 1984. The suit claimed Epstein flew her to New York and trafficked her to 'prominent wealthy men'. However, she was deemed ineligible for the Epstein Victim's Compensation Program and her suit was voluntarily dismissed in 2021, the Journal reports. President Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said his friendship with Epstein ended before he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008. By the time Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he had not talked to him in about 15 years. Ahead of the release of the new set of files, a White House spokesman said: 'Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.' CIA-backed Kurdish forces are 'preparing for a potential ground offensive against Iran's regime' in the country's northwest, according to US and Israeli officials. The effort is being discussed as part of a wider strategy to intensify pressure on Tehran during ongoing US and Israeli strikes, with some reports saying fighters have already crossed the border. It comes as Trump reportedly offered US air support if Iranian Kurdish groups attempt to take control of parts of western Iran, telling the Kurds they must 'choose a side.' Officials believe a coordinated Kurdish offensive could encourage internal unrest inside Iran and potentially trigger a wider rebellion, making it easier for Iranians to take to the streets without getting massacred by the regime, according to CNN. About a week before the start of the war, five Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in Iraq announced the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan to fight the regime. The coalition consists of The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Khabat Organization, and Komala -Toilers of Kurdistan. These factions have thousands of fighters positioned along the Iran-Iraq border controlling tactical areas in the region, Axios reports. Hundreds of Kurdish fighters were recently moved from camps on the Iraqi side of the border into Iran as preparations for a potential attack against Iranian forces. These Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organized faction of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of battle-hardened fighters. Your browser does not support iframes. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters train on January 18, 2026 near Erbil, Iraq US and Israeli officials have said the Iranian Kurdish militias are backed by the CIA and Israel's Mossad intelligence service, CNN reports. This support reportedly began several months before the war, according to a senior Kurdistan Regional Government official. One Israeli official said: 'The war started with a kinetic phase by the US and Israeli militaries, but as the war continues there will be other efforts by the Mossad and the CIA'. A US official said the Kurdish groups could help create chaos and stretch Iran's military resources by forcing the regime to deploy troops to multiple fronts. Other officials believe Kurdish forces could even capture territory in northern Iran, establishing a buffer zone near Israel. But there are worries that Kurdish factions may not have sufficient military strength, with one Israeli official saying: 'Kurdish Iranian factions don't have enough military power and they could end up as cannon fodder.' However, if the regime collapses, Israel is said to have promised the Kurdish groups military backing and political support. The Trump administration has also been in contact with Kurdish leaders as discussions over the plan intensified. Trump spoke with Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani on Sunday, to discuss the war with Iran and possible next steps, according to Axios. CNN also reported that Trump held a separate conversation with Mustafa Hijri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. And on Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Trump had offered 'extensive US aircover' and other backing to Kurdish forces to support them in taking over parts of Western Iran. This comes after senior members of Trump's administration previously attempted to downplay suggestions that the US is backing such an operation. A senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said that 'the American request to the Iraqi Kurds is to open the way and not obstruct' Iranian Kurdish groups mobilizing in Iraq, 'while also providing logistical support.' 'Trump was clear in his call. He told us the Kurds must choose a side in this battle - either with America and Israel or with Iran,' the official added. Attempts to arm Iranian Kurdish groups would likely require cooperation from Iraqi Kurdish authorities so weapons could pass through Iraqi Kurdistan. A Kurdistan Regional Government official said: '[It's] very dangerous, but what can we do? We are very frightened.' Meanwhile, Iran has already responded to the possibility of Kurdish involvement in the conflict, with the IRGC carrying out drone strikes against Kurdish groups. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also raised concerns with Iraq about the possibility of Kurdish fighters crossing into Iran. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani responded by assuring Iran that 'the Iraqi government will under no circumstances allow any threat to be directed at Iran from Iraqi territory.' Iraq's national security adviser Qasim al-Araji added that the country would not allow armed groups 'to infiltrate or cross the Iranian border to carry out terrorist acts from Iraqi territory.' In recent days, Washington downplayed suggestions that the US is backing this operation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump has not approved any plan to support a Kurdish militia offensive against Iran. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also denied that US objectives rely on arming Kurdish groups. 'None of our objectives are premised on the support of the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing, we're aware of, but our objectives aren't centered on that.' Speaking to congress at a briefing on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio further shut down reports, saying: 'We're not arming the Kurds. But you never know with the Israelis.' The US, however has a long history of working with Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria, including under Trump's first administration. The Kurds are an ethnic group spread across Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. Based in the mountainous Kurdistan province, Iranian Kurdish fighters have a long history of armed resistance against the Islamic Republic and the monarchy that preceded it. During the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Kurds were marginalized and repressed and sometimes rebelled. After Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the new theocracy also battled Kurdish insurgents. Iranian forces destroyed Kurdish towns and villages in fighting that killed thousands over several months. Speaking on the Daily Mail's Deep Dive Podcast, political reporter Elina Shirazi said: 'I have been told the Kurds would be used as a group of armed volunteers - soldiers, to assist the Iranian people in freeing themselves', Shirazi told the podcast. 'They could seize local government buildings, police stations, IRGC bases. They could create liberation zones and put further pressure on Iran's military forces. 'If they fight the Iranians along the border, they could divert the military from the capital, which would be significant.' However, journalist David Patrikarakos warned that arming Kurdish rebels as a substitute for US troops on the ground in Iran could spark a 'catastrophic' civil war that destabilises the nation for years to come. 'Iran fracturing along ethnic lines is the last thing anybody wants', he said. 'This is the way to civil war, which might grind on and on.' 'If Trump is going to arm them, my guess would be that it would come with some pretty stiff guarantees. Such as, you can fight the regime but it would have to be for a united Iran.' 'I suspect the Kurds are probably not strong enough to turn around and say, get lost.' 'But if the United States and Israel are successful in ending the regime and getting something vaguely sane in Iran, that is a huge win. America is undoubtedly strengthened.' Staff at a school where a teacher was stabbed have gone on strike in a row over 'racist and misogynistic' abuse from 'gangs' of male students. Teachers at Tewkesbury Academy near Gloucester will walk out today and tomorrow following claims they have faced threats of violence, derogatory language and verbal abuse from a handful of students. A National Education Union (NEU) representative claimed staff members felt 'really scared' and believe the situation at the school has become 'out of control'. In 2023, a teacher at Tewkesbury was stabbed by a 15-year-old pupil with a six-inch knife, triggering a huge armed police response. The incident saw the school go into lockdown for four hours as teachers barricaded their classrooms and pupils were forced to hide in cupboards. Staff fear such an incident could happen again if senior management at the school, which is run by the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), fail to address their concerns about pupil behavior. Teachers previously took part in strike action last month after talks broke down, with the NEU claiming head teacher Kathleen McGillycuddy bullied and intimidated staff and called those on strike 'weirdos'. Responding to the claims, the CLF said: 'We do not recognise this description of Tewkesbury Academy as an accurate portrayal of life within our school.' The federation added that negotiations with the unions 'remain live' and it is 'hopeful that the dispute can now end'. National Education Union (NEU) representative Daniel Kebede stands with striking teachers outside Tewkesbury Academy last month Teachers previously took part in strike action last month over behavioural issues at the school Tewkesbury Academy said members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and the National Education Union (NEU) will be striking today and tomorrow. In a letter sent to parents Tewkesbury Academy said the unions will be going ahead with the planned strike action today despite the school leadership making 'a very clear offer that matches all demands'. In the letter, headteacher Kathleen McGillycuddy said they are 'very disappointed [..] that despite best efforts the NEU and NASUWT are continuing strike action on Thursday and Friday. 'Please find attached the Frequently Asked Questions as promised in our parent meetings where I hope you will agree there is a very clear offer that matches all the demands.' The letter explained that remote work will be set for the majority of students, while year 8 pupils will be in school today and year 11 pupils in school on Friday. It added that the school will be open to assist vulnerable students with additional needs. Further days of strike action have been planned for March 11, 12 and 13. Parents of pupils at Tewkesbury have voiced their support for the striking teachers, with one hoping the walkout would bring a 'change that's fair and representative of what British education lawfully should be'. 'Although the strikes inevitably impact my daughter's learning, I believe the issues being raised are too important to ignore,' another parent said last month. 'A school cannot function well nor can children thrive when staff are working under inconsistent policies, unclear expectations, or leadership that does not create a fair and safe environment for everyone.' Maths teacher Jamie Samsom was stabbed by a 15-year-old boy at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire on July 10, 2023 Schoolchildren are escorted out of Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucesershire, after it was put into lockdown in July 2023 A teacher from Tewkesbury Academy said: 'There's an issue with a very vocal minority. Students who the rules don't seem the apply to. 'They are doing that [behaviour] because they are not getting the support they deserve and it's impacting the other students. Fundamentally it comes down to staffing levels. Staff have left and not been replaced. 'There's the feeling that the behavioural system is not being applied consistently. So students being disruptive are not being supported by senior management. 'There is the feeling that people - staff - are being bullied and intimidated at the school. People have lost trust and faith in the system and given up on raising formal grievances.' A pupil at the school said their learning has been disrupted by the other pupils, and said they witnessed their classmates make 'Nazi jokes', as well as seeing female teachers being subjected to misogyny by 'gangs' of male students. In a statement shared online, the student described shocking' abusive language, saying they have been 'affected personally by the lack of behaviour policies'. Tewkesbury Academy said it was not aware of the incident and added it has clear processes for managing such concerns, adding that all parties have previously spoken out against such misinformation. A spokesperson for Tewkesbury Academy said: 'We do not recognise these descriptions of Tewkesbury Academy as an accurate portrayal of life within the school. Misinformation of this type has been circulated throughout this dispute, and it is deeply saddening to see dedicated school leaders targeted in this way. 'While we recognise there is, and will always be, work to do to ensure behaviour consistently meets our high expectations, we have already put in place a number of new measures. This includes significant investment in our Reset hub, where students with higher needs can learn in a dedicated space, reducing disruption in other classrooms. 'Negotiations with the unions remain live. We have been in regular dialogue with representatives of both unions and have made tangible offers in response to all asks. We remain hopeful of an imminent resolution which will enable focus to return to developing Tewkesbury Academy as a safe, happy, and high-performing school where teachers can excel and all students are supported to achieve their full potential.' An NEU spokesperson said: 'Despite some constructive talks and a reasonable partial offer, management continues to be disparaging about both unions and our members. 'This has undermined the positive steps reached this week. As a result of this our members do not feel they can trust CLF to keep them safe in school. 'If CLF are serious about ending this dispute, we strongly urge them to put an end to inflammatory communications being sent to the press, parents and wider community.' Drones from Iran crashed and exploded in Azerbaijan today, triggering an immediate warning that the country 'reserves the right to take retaliatory measures'. The strikes risk widening the conflict, with one drone hitting near an airport in Nakhchivan and sparking a fire, while another came down beside a school. The airport lies around six miles from the Iranian border. Four people were injured in the strikes. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of 'terrorism' and threatened retaliation. Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan's ally, of trying to stage a provocation. Nakhchivan is the capital of a strategically sensitive Azerbaijani exclave, which is detached from the rest of the country and wedged between Iran, Armenia and Turkey. Azerbaijan has deep security ties with Israel, including big arms purchases and intelligence cooperation, which Tehran sees as an Israeli 'listening post' on Iran's northern border. The attacks came as Iran trades missile and drone strikes with Israel and the US across the Middle East, raising fears the conflict could spread further across the region. Two drones from Iran today crashed and exploded in oil-rich ex-Soviet state Azerbaijan The strikes showed the conflict widening with hits in Nakhchivan, one close to the airport, igniting a fire, and another beside a school An explosion in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, Iran, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran The midday strikes involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan bordering Iran, according to officials. 'Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan,' Aliyev told a hastily convened security council meeting. Azerbaijan's military 'have been instructed to prepare and carry out retaliatory measures ... placed on mobilisation level number one, and must be ready to conduct any operation,' he said. 'Those dishonourable people who committed this terrorist act against us will regret it. Let them not test our strength... This stain will never be erased from their dirty and ugly face,' he added. The Azerbaijani defence ministry said it had detected four drones launched by Iran's army. 'One of them was disabled by the Azerbaijani army, while the others were directed at civilian infrastructure, including a secondary school building during class hours. 'Fortunately, the drone targeting the school did not reach its objective and instead fell and exploded near the school,' it said. The Nakhichevan Airport terminal was damaged, the foreign ministry said, with video showing grey smoke rising above the building after the strike. Four people were hospitalised with 'traumatic brain injuries,' Sahib Abuzarov, head of emergency services at a hospital in Nakhichevan said later. This image taken from a video shows damages at the Nakhchivan International Airport following what Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said was a drone attack The attacks come as Iran trades missile and drone strikes with Israel and the US across the Middle East, raising fears the conflict could spread further across the region Your browser does not support iframes. Join the debate How should Azerbaijan respond to being targeted by drones from Iran? Ironically, a day earlier, the Azerbaijan's strongman president Ilham Aliyev had attended the Iranian embassy in the capital of Baku to pay tribute to slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The general staff of Iran's armed forces said it did not carry out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel. 'Such actions by the Zionist regime, aimed at disrupting relations between Muslim countries in various ways, are not unprecedented,' it said in a statement. Images circulating on social media today also appeared to show a large explosion in the Iranian city of Sanandaj, though details of the blast were not immediately clear. Spain is to join France, Italy and the Netherlands in sending its navy to protect Cyprus - including a British military base - in the latest humiliation for Sir Keir Starmer and the Royal Navy. Madrid said the frigate Cristobal Colon would join a growing EU armada in the Eastern Mediterranean to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians' from the island. It comes after RAF Akroitiri was hit by an Iranian drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences. Officials said the damage was minor, but last night it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions. After France agreed to send frigates to protect the island, Sir Keir on Tuesday ordered Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to sail to the region. But it will not be ready to set sail from Portsmouth until next week, having been disarmed for planned maintenance, and could take a further week to get there. After the Spanish announcement, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the Rome parliament that Italy would send 'naval assets' to protect its fellow EU member in the coming days. It will heap further criticism on Sir Keir over his response to the expanding military confrontation in the Middle East. Fronting a press conference in Downing Street today the PM said he was 'satisfied that we can keep our people safe' as he faced questions about the UK's preparedness. Asked about criticism that the Government's approach had been marked by indecision, prevarication and a lack of preparedness, the Prime Minister said Britain 'started pre-deploying to the region in January and February, particularly to Cyprus and Qatar'. Madrid said the frigate Cristobal Colon would join French, Italian and Dutch ships in the Eastern Mediterranean to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians' Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon (pictured today loading with missiles) will not be ready to set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean from Portsmouth until next week Fronting a press conference in Downing Street today the PM said he was 'satisfied that we can keep our people safe' as he faced questions about the UK's preparedness Your browser does not support iframes. This included fighter jets, air defence missiles, and anti-drone systems and was done over around eight weeks in conjunction with the US and other allies, he said. Sir Keir added: 'So there's been a lot of pre-planning gone into this, a lot of pre-deployment that's gone into this. 'And I'm satisfied that we can keep our people safe and we're working very hard to make sure that wherever people have registered their presence, we can help them with the information that they need and the support they need, and get them back to the United Kingdom as quickly and as safely as possible.' The civilian race to escape descended into farce today as British nationals were delayed from returning home when the UK's first evacuation flight failed to take off from Oman. Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a 'total s***show'. It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not 'due to the pilot's hours clocking up'. The Foreign Office this morning told the Daily Mail the flight failed to take off due to 'technical issues'. It eventually took off this afternoon. Speaking as Reform launched its manifesto for the Welsh senedd elections, Nigel Farage said Britain had been 'humiliated'. 'What was for centuries the greatest naval nation on earth is now unable, for up to a fortnight, to send a Type 45 to Cyprus to defend - and remember this - British sovereign territory, with hundreds of hundreds of British people there working and their families,' he said. 'So we've managed to upset the Cypriots, we've managed to upset the Americans, we've managed to upset the UAE, Bahrain and all the other Gulf states that are on our side. 'And now even Spain, who said they'd have nothing to do with anything, have this morning sent a destroyer (sic) to help defend Cyprus and help defend our base. 'So we're being defended by the Spanish, defended by the French, defended by the Greeks and incapable of defending ourselves.' The European nations' decision to supplement European forces around the island comes amid a warning from a former senior officer that Britain has been diminished in the eyes of its allies through its unwillingness to join attacks on Iran or defend its own interests in the region. General Sir Richard Barrons said that Britain's relationship with the US would be strained because the UK had 'not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked'. And he said that Sir Keir's slowness in responding to Iranian attacks on RAF Akrotiri and close to other assets in the Gulf States might leave them to 'wonder if the UK actually has the muscle to apply in situations like this in the way that in former times we clearly did'. He spoke to the BBC in the midst of furious political rows over Sir Keir's reaction to Donald Trump's decision to start a war with Iran. The UK has refused to join in the assault on Tehran, though Sir Keir has allowed the US to use its bases in Britain for defensive operations. He is also under pressure over the snail-like pace at which a Royal navy warship will inch towards Cyprus. The slow pace led to Cyprus asking France and Germany for naval help, and its high commissioner to the UK, Dr Kyriacos Kouros, last night said: 'Let's say the people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more.' This morning, Defence Secretary John Healey arrived on the island, where he met his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas. General Barrons, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a former commander of the joint forces command, led a strategic defence review for Labour last year. Asked if the PM had been slow to react to the unfolding conflict, he told Radio 4's Today programme this morning: 'It has diminished the relationship between the US administration and the UK because we have not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked. 'That was either worth doing, or we may find you could have taken a different decision in the interest of preserving that relationship with a key ally. It's a fine judgement. 'In the eyes of the region, however, the Gulf States, there is a sense that the UK has been slow to respond and also doesn't have much to respond with. Officials said the damage at Akrotiri was minor, but last night it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes making high-level reconnaissance flights (pictured) Your browser does not support iframes. This morning Defence Secretary John Healey arrived on the island, where he met his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas 'And they will begin to wonder if the UK actually has the muscle to apply in situations like this in the way that in former times we clearly did.' He added: 'It is not a great look.' Overnight on Monday, a hangar at Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made Shahed drone, which was launched from Beirut in Lebanon, according to Cypriot officials. Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes which took off from Akrotiri. As well as Dragon, Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities have also been dispatched to the island, and are expected to arrive there this week. Yesterday, Dr Kouros said the deployment of HMS Dragon was welcome but noted it would take 'more than a week' to arrive. And he pointedly told BBC Newsnight that Cyprus had 'managed to bring from other countries their assets' to help protect the country. Asked for his message to the Prime Minister, he said: 'I will thank him for paying attention to our voice, and that I would love to see more.' Asked if he was reassured that the UK was building up defensive capability around Cyrus and the region he said: 'We want to see the results. Let's hope what we hear is true and that we are on the right track.' Kemi Badenoch has said the UK should take offensive action against Iran after UK bases were attacked. 'We need to do what we can to stop the ability for these attacks to take place,' the Tory leader told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'I think that we should look at what our allies in the region are saying. Even if we're not talking about Iran, Cyprus feels that we have not been helpful. It is extraordinary that Bahrain and Kuwait in the UAE are publicly criticising us 'They think that we're abandoning them.' She continued: 'If your principle is, we will only wait until we are attacked rather than dealing with imminent threats properly, then we will be in a lot of trouble.' Asked about concern over her enthusiasm for British involvement in the bombing of Iran, Mrs Badenoch said: 'Being realistic is not gung ho. I don't want a wider war. 'But sometimes the best way to de-escalate a situation is to try and finish it quickly, rather than let it drag out because you don't want to get involved.' The husband of a Scottish Labour MP and two other men have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of spying for China, police revealed today. The update follows Joani Reid MP saying she had 'never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law', following her spouse David Taylor's arrest. The arrests of the three men - aged 39, 43 and 68 - were carried out in London and Wales yesterday as they were accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service. It is understood Ms Reid on Thursday night said she was stepping away from the party while a probe takes place. The counter-terrorism policing operation came as Security Minister Dan Jarvis told MPs that Chinese officials in the UK and Beijing have been given a dressing down, adding that the investigation relates to 'foreign interference targeting UK democracy'. The Metropolitan Police said the men had been bailed after being questioned while in custody. Searches had been carried out at the addresses where they were arrested. Detectives were seen at a property linked to one of the men in South Wales yesterday, while a car outside the address was also searched and photographed. Following the arrests, Ms Reid - the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee - said in a statement: 'I have never been to China. 'I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the Commons. I have never asked a question on China-related matters. Joani Reid's husband David Taylor (pictured together) was arrested at an address in London 'As far as I am aware, I have never met any Chinese businesses whilst I have been an MP, any Chinese diplomats or government employees, nor raised any concern with ministers or anyone else on behalf of, even coincidentally, Chinese interests. 'I am a social democrat who believes in freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections. I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist Party's dictatorship. 'I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. 'I am not part of my husband's business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all I expect media organisations to respect my children's privacy.' Taylor, 39, is listed as a 'lobbyist' on Ms Reid's MP registered interests. Companies House names him as the director of Earthcott Limited, a public relations and communications firm. This morning, Parliamentary staff have been warned that the risks from Chinese spying 'are not receding' after the three men were arrested. In an email to staff today, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle wrote: 'Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police Service arrested three individuals as part of an investigation into suspected National Security Act (2023) offences. 'The Security Minister, in his statement to the House yesterday afternoon, confirmed that these arrests relate to foreign interference activity targeting UK democracy.' He reminded MPs' staff to review guidance issued last autumn on how to identify and report foreign state activity targeting Parliament. 'Recent cases have shown that foreign state actors still rely on traditional methods to obtain information, including through recruiting of people to form relationships and provide information,' Sir Lindsay said, urging staff to report any 'unusual approach' to the Parliamentary Security Department. 'Foreign state actors also commonly target electronic devices and communications to gather information. Simple steps can be taken to make it much harder for devices to be hacked and information to be stolen. Everyone should be taking these steps to make ourselves a harder target.' He also wrote that as MPs' staff, 'you are a critical part of our defence against foreign state activity'. 'The risks are not receding. We all need to take action to make Parliament and the parliamentary community more resilient to foreign state espionage and interference.' Joani Reid with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in February 2024, in an image from Instagram Yesterday, Home Office minister Mr Jarvis said there will be 'severe consequences' if it is proven that China attempted to interfere with UK sovereign affairs. Mr Jarvis said the investigation 'relates to China' and 'foreign interference targeting UK democracy'. He told MPs: 'Let me be clear, if there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account. 'The Government is taking robust action to ensure the UK's democratic institutions and processes are a hard target for this activity. 'The National Security Act provides our intelligence agencies and law enforcement with the modern legal tools they need to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of state threats. 'The action counter-terrorism police have been able to take this morning is an example that that legislation is working well.' Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: 'We have seen a significant increase in our casework relating to national security in recent years, and we continue to work extremely closely with our partners to help keep the country safe and take action to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.' In addition to the addresses where the suspects were arrested, the Met said three other properties in London, East Kilbride in Scotland, and Cardiff were also searched. The force said the 39-year-old suspect was arrested in London, the 43-year-old man was arrested in Pontyclun in South Wales, and the 68-year-old was arrested in the county of Powys in mid-Wales - with all three being detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Ms Flanagan added that the police do not believe there to be 'any imminent or direct threat' related to these arrests. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'On Wednesday March 4, 2026, we carried out a search of an address in East Kilbride on behalf of an investigation being led by Counter Terrorism Policing London.' Kemi Badenoch said the Government must 'treat China as the threat we all know it is'. In a video posted on X, the Tory leader said: 'China is targeting Britain, targeting our MPs. Enough. Keir Starmer chose to go to Beijing and boasted about opening a direct channel to President Xi without getting anything in return. That was a mistake. 'His Government has approved China's mega-embassy in London. Worse than that, he's making us even more reliant on Chinese goods for our energy security. The Government needs to stop being naive, grow a backbone and treat China as the threat we all know it is.' Spain has denied the White House's claims that it has caved in to Donald Trump's trade threat, as Europe continues to push back against supporting the US' war with Iran. Last night, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Spain had finally agreed to allow the US to use joint military bases in the country to support its offensive campaign against Iran. She said: 'With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear, and it's my understanding, over the past several hours, they've agreed to cooperate with the US military.' But Spain's foreign minister 'categorically' denied these claims. Jose Manuel Albares told the Hora25 radio programme: 'Not a single comma has changed, and I have no idea whatsoever what they might be referring to.' Earlier this week, Trump threatened to end US trade with Spain after Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez refused to allow the US to use joint military bases in the south of the country in its attacks on Iran. He also threatened to simply 'fly in and use it', adding: 'Nobody's going to tell us not to use it, but we don't have to.' Yesterday, Sanchez accused Trump of playing 'Russian roulette' with millions of lives by carrying out airstrikes in Iran. Earlier this week, Trump threatened to end US trade with Spain after Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez (pictured) refused to allow the US to use joint military bases in the south of the country in its attacks on Iran Civil defence forces attempt to extinguish a blaze that erupted after Israeli bombardment on a solar farm and electricity generation facility in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Tyre on March 4, 2026 Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 5, 2026 Calling the US-Israeli strikes on Iran an 'unjustifiable' and 'dangerous' military intervention, Sanchez said: 'The position of the government of Spain can be summarised in four words - No to the war.' Despite this, Spain today said it will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war. The 'Cristobal Colon' will join French aircraft carrier 'Charles de Gaulle' and Greek navy ships to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians', the defence ministry said in a statement. It is unclear how Trump would cut off trade with Spain, given that Spain is under the umbrella of the European Union. The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of all 27 member countries. 'If the US administration wishes to review the trade agreement, it must do so respecting the autonomy of private companies, international law, and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States,' a spokesperson from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office said Tuesday. And despite the trade threat, fellow European leader Emmanuel Macron, who leads France, joined Sanchez in condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran, branding them illegal. In a televised address on Tuesday evening, Emmanuel Macron declared the attacks were 'outside the bounds of international law'. The French leader also said he had ordered his country's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and fleet to the Mediterranean and a frigate to Cyprus to ramp up military support in the region. Smoke rises over Tehran on Thursday after another wave of Israeli bombardment He added that Rafale fighter jets, air defence systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the Middle East. 'We will continue this effort as much as necessary,' he added. The French president also cited a strike on a British air force base in Cyprus on Monday, saying: 'This requires our support. That is why I have decided to send additional air-defence assets there as well, along with a French frigate, the Languedoc.' Macron also insisted that all his actions were 'strictly defensive in nature' and intended to protect allies and restore peace. France, along with Germany and the UK are pushing for a ceasefire and has renewed diplomatic negotiations in the region, he added. Despite this, France today said that American aircraft have been authorised to appear at French bases in the Middle East on a 'temporary basis.' A spokesperson told AFP: 'As part of our relations with the United States, the presence of their aircraft has been temporarily authorised at our bases. 'These aircraft contribute to the protection of our partners in the Gulf.' Macron's address also came as Trump welcomed Germany's Friedrich Merz to the White House. A view of a destroyed police facility on Wednesday, struck days earlierduring the US-Israeli strikes Trump praised Germany for 'helping out' by allowing the US to access certain bases, with Merz saying his government and Trump shared a desire to topple Iran's current regime. The American president also lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his reluctance to join the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. 'This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with,' Trump said. Britain's social care system is 'horrendous' and relies on an 'exploited' workforce on low wages and with poor terms and conditions, Whitehall's top 'fixer' has warned. Baroness Louise Casey, who is working on reforms as chair of an independent commission, gave a withering verdict on the current state of social care in the UK. She said the country 'hadn't really caught up with the fact' that Britons are living longer due to improvements in medicines. Baroness Casey was scathing of all political parties for dodging the issue over previous decades, saying there had been only minor tinkering as a result. 'We've had no political backing of any political party to actually sustain the type of changes that will be needed,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'You've had bits and pieces around the edges.' The cross-bench peer called for a 'Beveridge moment' for social care, in reference to a key 1940s report by William Beveridge that led to the founding of the welfare state. Baroness Casey was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer in January last year to head an independent taskforce charged with reforming adult social care. Baroness Louise Casey, who is working on reforms as chair of an independent commission, gave a withering verdict on the current state of social care in the UK But the Prime Minister was immediately criticised for kicking the issue 'into the long grass' when it was revealed a final report was not expected until 2028. Baroness Casey, who has since completed a 'rapid audit' into the issue of grooming gangs on behalf of the PM, is due to give a speech later on Thursday on social care. Ahead of her address, she outlined the current disastrous state of social care in Britain. 'I think it's horrendous actually,' she said. 'I know so many people of my generation, including myself, who are trying to work out how they make sure their parents are able to be okay in their own homes and, if they can't, into a care home. 'I know so many people that are dealing with all sorts of issues, from the multiple different letters, the multiple different assessments, the multiple different financial assessments. It's quite a myriad. 'This comes back to the fact that, fundamentally, we haven't had a stock take in the country about where we are and what we now need to do.' Challenged that Sir Keir had 'done nothing' on social care since becoming PM in July 2024, Baroness Casey replied: 'I'm not here to defend the Government.' But she did praise Labour's establishment of a fair pay agreement for social care workers. 'I think there are things, for example, the fair pay agreement and making sure that we don't continue, in my view, to exploit the workforce,' the peer added. 'The truth of the matter is people in care situations, we've still got these people earning less than the minimum wage, they are often not paid for travel, they're not paid for holidays.' Baroness Casey warned that 'even the lowest rung in the NHS is paid better and has better terms and conditions than a care worker'. She also used the radio interview to dismiss speculation she could become Sir Keir's new Downing Street chief of staff. It had been suggested that Baroness Casey was being lined to be the PM's new top aide following the resignation of Morgan McSweeney last month in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal. But Baroness Casey said: 'I have never gone political, and I dont intend to go political now, and I dont think the PM necessarily wants me to be the chief of staff.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has made an impassioned pitch in the Australian parliament for middle powers like Canada and Australia to build new coalitions in the 'ruptured' global order that are less reliant on the United States. 'In a post-rupture world, the nations that are trusted and can work together will be quicker to the punch, more effective in their responses, more proactive in shaping outcomes, and ultimately more secure and prosperous,' Carney said. 'The question for middle powers like us is whether we preserve existing rules, write new rules to determine our security and prosperity, or let the great powers increasingly dictate outcomes.' Middle powers are those such as Japan, Australia, Canada and South Korea, which have economic heft, but not to the extent of superpowers such as China and the US. Why middle powers need to work together This enthusiasm for middle power coalitions poses some uncomfortable questions for Australia, given it requires a re-examination of our most important ally, the United States. In defence terms, Australia remains reliant on Washington's presence and military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. Much of our own military hardware simply cannot function without the US. Stepping away from the US alliance completely is not an option. This is why Canberra has expressed support for recent US and Israeli strikes in Tehran, while not participating in them. Yet, Canberra can and should build up other relationships to hedge against dependence on an increasingly unreliable US. We can do this in areas such as trade, conflict prevention and international law. Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Thursday And with great powers increasingly willing to breach international law, middle powers have a great responsibility. By working together to safeguard international institutions, they can keep the global order functioning and try to restrain the behaviours of great powers when need be. What would middle power alliances look like? We need to be careful not to romanticise 'middle powers'. The term often refers to countries that are not great powers, but can still exert influence and agency on the global stage through diplomacy or economic and military strength. This can include countries whose values or interests don't align with Australia's, such as Iran. With that in mind, Australia should engage with other middle and smaller powers with a clear understanding of shared priorities. That would include avoiding coercion by great powers, shaping the architecture of international cooperation, and holding great powers to account as 'responsible stakeholders' of the international order. So, how would these arrangements work, practically speaking? In his speech in Canberra, Carney advocated for a 'dense web of connections' with other middle powers. He called it 'variable geometry', or creating different coalitions for different issues, based on common values and interests. Australia's international ties Of course, Australia has a strong alliance with New Zealand. Beyond this, Canberra has signed a number of 'comprehensive strategic partnerships' in recent years with countries in the region, including the ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian countries, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, South Korea, and most recently, Vietnam. Carney said the global ordered had 'ruptured' and new alliances should be formed These agreements can deepen cooperation in a range of areas of mutual concern, including security. Australia also signed a new defence agreement with Japan in 2023 that allows for each country's forces to operate in the other. This is a big deal it was Japan's first defence treaty with an international partner since 1960. More recently, Australia has agreed to bilateral defence agreements with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Timor-Leste. These pacts appear focused on 'strategic denial' preventing potential adversaries from achieving a foothold in our immediate region. These bilateral agreements are regionally focused. A key question for Australia is whether it can also cooperate with countries like Canada, the UK, Germany and France in the Indo-Pacific region. This relies in part on their appetite to engage more here. As Carney mentioned in Canberra, one potential area of cooperation is the Critical Minerals Production Alliance an initiative launched by Canada to expand critical minerals production and processing capacity and diversify supply chains. Australia also has small coalitions in the region that allow for more flexible models of security cooperation. Coalitions, rather than alliances with firm defence commitments, are more likely to flourish in a region as geo-strategically, economically and politically complex as the Indo-Pacific. Australia's key 'minilateral' partnerships include: the Quad (Australia, US, Japan, India) and emerging 'Squad' (Australia, Japan, Philippines, US) AUKUS (Australia, UK, US) the Trilateral Security Dialogue (Australia, Japan, US) Five Eyes (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US). These all centre on US participation for a reason. Strategic minilateralism has long been Canberra's way of anchoring Washington to the Indo-Pacific to provide a counterweight to China's regional influence. The Canadian Prime Minister said the middle powers such as his country and Australia need to work together Australia already has major global security treaties but almost all involve the US It is important to note that many middle powers hedging their bets by not aligning with either the US or China such as Indonesia still have strategies that rely on the US not withdrawing from the region. The challenge now is how to cultivate new small-group arrangements for an uncertain future. Two new groupings that make a lot of sense are: Japan, South Korea and Australia: These three US allies have been growing closer in recent years. Now, it makes even more sense for them to collaborate in ways that may not involve the US, including in economic security, maritime security and supporting international rules. Australia, Japan and the Philippines: Like Japan, Australia is increasing its defence cooperation with the Philippines, another US ally. The Philippines is at the coalface of a number of security challenges involving China. Australia can also deepen relationships with larger groupings in areas other than security. In fact, there's already a successful group of middle and small powers in the region that doesn't include either the US or China: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (or CPTPP). This is a free-trade agreement originally for Pacific Rim countries, comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. (Trump pulled the US out in 2017.) The United Kingdom became the first non-Pacific nation to join in 2024; others like Uruguay, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and the Philippines are interested in joining next. Middle powers are countries such as Japan, Australia, Canada and South Korea The CPTPP has been successful in eliminating most tariffs among member countries, while also providing a platform for economic cooperation more broadly. This agreement could expand even further to include the European Union, South Korea, Norway and Switzerland. Carney wants to 'broker a bridge' between the EU and the CPTPP to 'create a trading bloc of 1.5 billion people, grounded in common standards and shared values'. The 'rupture' in the global order We need to avoid simplistic narratives about the state of the international order. Multilateralism isn't dead. Global institutions still matter. And people risk misunderstanding Carney's call if they use it to suggest we need to funnel all of our efforts and resources into military deterrence alone. Middle and small powers play important roles in preserving international norms and creating new ones. This is more pressing in the current security environment. And though the US is less interested in multilateralism at the moment, there is still a place and a need to encourage the great powers to cooperate on a wide range of issues, from trade to climate change to AI governance. A great-grandmother who was found to be uninsured to drive when she knocked down a pedestrian has escaped a road ban after she blamed a garbled phone call with a call centre worker based 8,000 miles away. Frances Peach, 85, was found to have no insurance on her Peugeot 107 when she hit Lea Swindley in the street as the victim was walking home from the school run. But when quizzed, the pensioner, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, insisted the policy had been 'accidentally' cancelled by her insurers without her knowledge after she battled to stop her forthcoming automatic renewal. A court heard Peach had called her insurers to say she would be taking out a cheaper policy with a different company when warned she would be charged three times the price on her current premium. But she was forwarded to a call handler in South Africa whom she did not understand because of his accent. Following a stilted conversation, a court heard Peach told the advisor: 'I just want it cancelled.' She ended the call, not realising her existing policy had also been scrapped with ten days to go. She claimed at the time of the accident she had failed to see Ms Swindley crossing the road and said she she had hugged her following the impact. Frances Peach, 85, knocked over a pedestrian while uninsured to drive, but blamed the lapse on struggling to understand the accent of a call centre worker based in South Africa At Chester magistrates court, Peach faced a 56 day road ban under sentencing guidelines after she admitted careless driving and having no insurance. But instead her licence was endorsed with six penalty points. She was also fined 576 and ordered to pay 360 in costs and surcharge. The incident occurred at 9am on September 16 last year. The victim said she checked the road was clear before crossing - but halfway across saw Peach's car turn sharply towards her onto the wrong side of the road. In a statement, Ms Swindley said: 'It drove straight into me. 'I went over the vehicle backwards and twisted and landed on my left side.' She said the driver stopped and asked if she was okay, and later needed hospital treatment for tissue damage. The incident has also had an impact on her mental health, prosecutor Hannah Munnelly told the court. 'She struggles to leave the house on her own and is nervous to cross the road in case this happens again,' she said. Questioned by police at the scene, the pensioner 'admitted she did not see Ms Swindley as she turned into the junction', the prosecutor said. She was found to have no valid insurance in place. In mitigation, Chris Hunt told JPs her insurance policy had been due to renew ten days after the incident. 'But you will be very familiar with the ploy on the part of insurance companies over the obligation to sign up for automatic renewal - and when it came along it was three times up from the year before,' he said. 'Her daughter is pretty sharp with figures and she said "No way are you paying this" and she secured a much cheaper renewal.' But the 'problem' arose when she tried to inform her existing insurers to tell them that she did not want it to automatically renew. 'She rang up the call centre and spoke to someone in South Africa with a pronounced African accent that she was having difficulty understanding, and tried to explain that she did not want it automatically renewed,' her lawyer said. 'She could not understand what he was saying and just said "I just want it cancelled" and left it that.' On the day of the incident, she had checked the road, but in a 'momentary lapse on her part... she has not seen the pedestrian in front of her,' Mr Hunt said. 'She has not cut the corner.' He said the pensioner had been 'very upset' by what happened and called police and an ambulance. 'She was hugging the person who had been knocked over by her,' he added. 'She is very grateful that the injuries were not more serious. 'She admitted at the scene that she did not see the pedestrian.' Peach had since discovered that the call centre worker 'had cancelled her insurance policy in its entirety, which left her with no cover whatsoever - despite her having paid for it,' Mr Hunt said. 'This is not a case where she didnt care about her obligations to other road users or was negligent. 'You can have a degree of sympathy for a mistake that all of us could fall into, frankly.' He added that his client had been 'beside herself with worry' about the prospect of coming to court, had lost 4st in weight and had at one stage wrongly feared she might go to prison. 'She has never been in court before,' Mr Hunt said. 'This is never going to happen again.' He added that she had undergone five eye tests since the incident 'and passed all of them with flying colours'. 'There is no issue with her ability to drive,' he said. Peach herself told the hearing: 'I can only say to the lady I was shocked and I did hug her.' An alleged rapist accused of carrying out an attack for which an innocent man spent 17 years behind bars searched the case online before being traced through a 'one in a billion' DNA match, a court heard today. Andrew Malkinson was finally freed from jail in 2020 having been wrongly convicted of the 2003 attack on a motorway embankment in Salford, Greater Manchester based on mistaken identification by witnesses, a jury was told. But it was not until 2022 that Paul Quinn, now 51, was arrested in Devon after his DNA was matched to samples taken from the victims clothing at the time, Manchester Crown Court heard. His DNA had been on the national police database since 2012, jurors were told today. Quinn - who at the time of the attack lived a short distance from the scene, and allegedly knew the area well - strenuously denies strangling and raping the woman, prosecutor John Price KC said. However examination of his internet search history revealed that he looked up an article about Mr Malkinson being jailed in 2019 a year before newspapers began covering the campaign to clear his name and then Googled wrongly convicted cases uk, jurors were told. The following year he looked up police searching you on YouTube, then in 2021 went on Google Maps to view the road where the attack took place, Mr Price said despite now living nearly 200 miles away in Exeter. Quinn could have no earthly reason for carrying out research about the case before his arrest if his subsequent account to police that he is not the rapist is true, Mr Price argued. Paul Quinn, 51, is accused of a 2003 rape in Salford, Greater Manchester for which Andrew Malkinson wrongly spent 17 years behind bars in a terrible miscarriage of justice, a jury heard today Andrew Malkinson, 60, (pictured in 2025) spent 17 years behind bars after being convicted in 2004 of raping the woman in a terrible miscarriage of justice, a court heard Instead, the prosecutor suggested, the truth may be that Quinn was 'expecting the police to come calling' because he assumed his DNA would be traced. Further news stories in July 2022 reporting that an unknown man had been linked to the rape through new DNA evidence were followed by a very profound change in Quinns browsing habits, the court heard. Following his arrest in December 2022, Quinn told police he recalled how somebody got done for the 2003 attack as he was living nearby at the time, but that he just forgot about it, the jury heard. His browsing history dating back to 2017 revealed that he rarely visited news websites, the court heard. However in the months running up to his arrest he had been conducting regular internet searches into DNA sampling. Quinn knew that his own DNA was on the national database, having been asked by police to provide a sample in 2012, Mr Price said. In August 2022 four months before his arrest he did a Google search for how long is DNA kept in database, the court heard. A week later he searched for why do I keep sweating all the time why am I sweating so much all of a sudden. The next day he looked up how long is your DNA kept on the database, Can you refuse to give a DNA sample to the police UK and Is my DNA in a database UK. Quinn also looked up an article on a law firm website about whether police could retain DNA forever, Mr Price said. Cleggs Lane in Little Hulton, where Paul Quinn, 51, is accused of the rape of a lone woman for which a jury has been told Andrew Malkinson wrongly spent 17 years behind bars Why? the prosecutor asked. Mr Malkinson was unrelenting in his efforts to clear his name, jurors were told today, ultimately developing into a campaign which attracted a great deal of publicity. But Quinn was onto it before it became prominent, Mr Price said. Mr Malkinson unsuccessfully appealed his rape conviction in 2006, the court heard, making failed attempts to ask the Criminal Cases Review Commission to take up his case in 2009 and again in 2019. A third application was granted in 2023 by which time he had been freed from prison - with his appeal allowed by judges later that year. On Wednesday jurors were told that Mr Malkinson 'was the victim of a most terrible miscarriage of justice, one of the worst there has been'. It was a sad element of the case that DNA allegedly implicating Quinn came to light as part of Mr Malkinson's efforts to clear his name, Mr Price said. When Mr Malkinson was arrested, DNA testing was inconclusive, and no traces of semen were ever found. He was convicted based on identification by witnesses, including the victim. However in 2007 new tests on traces of saliva from the victims vest top identified DNA from a male who was not Mr Malkinson. This tallied with a serious injury to her left nipple which was partially severed by what a pathologist concluded was a bite, the jury heard. At this point, alarm bells about the safety of Mr Malkinsons conviction ought to have rung, the prosecutor said however he ended up spending another 13 years behind bars. It was only in 2022 that the profile was traced to Quinn, the court heard, with the chances of it belonging to anyone else placed at less than one in 1 billion. Interviewed by police, Quinn denied raping her but said he couldnt recall if theyd ever had sex. He told detectives he had been highly promiscuous as a young man and had slept with literally hundreds of women, never wearing a condom. He also admitted he and a group of friends would regularly go on nights out nearby, drinking and taking drugs, admitting his route home passed the scene of the attack. Police also spoke to Quinns ex-wife, Catherine. Jurors were told that eye witnesses described the attacker as wearing an unbuttoned shirt exposing his 'completely hairless' chest and that he was 'sweating profusely'. They were shown pictures of Quinn as a young man with his top off, showing his very hairy chest. The ex-wife told detectives that Quinn came home on the night of the attack without his shirt, which he was in the habit of unbuttoning or removing while dancing. Jurors were told that Mrs Quinn recalling telling him: You better hope that they dont find your shirt anywhere near there. She also said he habitually shaved off his chest hair every summer as it made him itchy, leaving his torso completely bald. The alarm was raised at around 5.30am on July 19, 2003 by a dog walker who encountered the distressed and dazed woman. She told police she had scratched her assailants face, causing the tip of one of her fingernails to snap off. The woman described him as olive skinned and tanned, about 5ft 8in tall and of muscular build. Police officers immediately suspected her description matched Mr Malkinson, who lived just 1.5 miles from the scene. Even though he had no facial injuries, he was arrested, with the rape victim picking out his face in a digital identification procedure. His identification was subsequently corroborated by two witnesses who reported seeing a man in an unbuttoned shirt hiding in bushes. But there is no alternative plausible explanation for how Quinn's DNA came to be on her clothing other than he was the real attacker, Mr Price said. His appearance at the time closely matched the description, while the obscure location of the attack required prior knowledge of the area. Quinns defence may invite jurors to consider whether Mr Malkinson was in fact the true assailant, the prosecutor said. But the case against Quinn does not feature evidence of witness identification, meaning it contains none of the intrinsic weaknesses used, wrongly, to convict Andrew Malkinson, he submitted. In a prepared statement, Quinn told police he could not explain the DNA evidence or remember if he had slept with the victim. However Mr Price submitted that the truth was that the explanation for the DNA match was simple that Quinn had carried out the rape. Quinn, of Exeter, Devon, denies two counts of rape, causing GBH and attempting to choke or strangle with intent to commit an offence. The trial continues. Two male police constables have won a combined payout of almost 23,000 for sex discrimination after they were removed from their unit and replaced by female officers who could do strip searches on women. PC Richard Ford and PC Lee Woodward 'loved' the all-male unit that they worked in, an employment tribunal heard. However, the Suffolk Constabulary unit had to call in help from female officers on other teams whenever they had to carry out strip searches on women suspects. The tribunal heard that a high number of searches are necessary to combat drug related issues, particularly as a result of county lines. Female officers were also seen as 'intrinsic to good operational practice' in terms of encouraging victim confidence and disclosures which could also help build intelligence. With a new operations structure also in the pipeline which would see the team focus more on work previously done by safer neighbourhood teams such as stop searches, patrols of crime hotspots and warrant work, bosses sought two volunteers to move out of the unit. Although two colleagues were looking at roles in other departments, when those moves fell through, PC Ford and PC Woodward were selected to leave the team because they had been on the unit for a longer period of time than their colleagues. The officers were replaced with female officers as part of the gender rebalance. The Suffolk Constabulary unit had to call in help from female officers on other teams whenever they had to carry out strip searches on women suspects. Pictured: the force's HQ at Martlesham Heath The highly visible' Kestrel unit tackled neighbourhood crime, drugs, exploitation offences and anti-social behaviour But despite acknowledging the force's 'legitimate aim' in replacing the officers, an employment judge ruled the decision amounted to sex discrimination and awarded them 11,483 each for injury to feelings. PC Ford and PC Woodward worked as constables within the Kestrel South Unit, based in Ipswich. The Kestrel Team's purpose is to be a 'highly visible' unit tackling neighbourhood crime, drugs, exploitation offences and anti-social behaviour. In October 2023, the team consisted of a sergeant and six PCs. After a female PC left the team in the Autumn of 2022 on a detachment which became permanent, and by the time applications for her replacement closed in September 2023, the team was all-male. A judge was told Ipswich had a 'particular problem with male perpetrators', but the constabulary's ability to mount plain clothes operations to counter this was 'hampered' by a lack of available female officers. It was decided that a greater focus needed to be on having female police officers. Superintendent Andrew Martin, of South Area Command, decided the best way forward was to aim for a 50-50 gender split on the unit. After speaking with HR, Supt Martin summarised the decision by saying that the 'availability of female officers on the Kestrel Team would ensure the team operated efficiently and independently of other core functions'. PC Ford and PC Woodward were told about the decision to move them in March 2024 at the end of a shift. They both raised grievances about the enforced transfer but neither were upheld. They later took the case to an employment tribunal held in Norwich, claiming that they had been discriminated against because of their sex. PC Ford claimed that he thought his position was 'secure' and the decision left him with 'shock and bewilderment'. He said he felt depressed by the decision and had become distant from his wife, children and parents. PC Woodward had passed his Sergeant's exam and occasionally 'acted up' as a Sergeant, while on the Kestrel team, the tribunal heard. The tribunal heard that his new role saw him 'permanently acting up as Sergeant and therefore received a permanent enhanced rate of pay', but that this was 'not what he sought'. The panel heard the officer had wanted to remain on the Kestrel South Team because the fixed hours were 'compatible with his caring responsibilities' for his child. He added that he was 'frustrated' by the 'hypocrisy' of the police force as they encourage diversity but are not following those principles - with the whole experience leaving him 'stressed, angry and deeply disappointed'. He said it also left him feeling like a 'number on a spreadsheet'. Finding that both officers were victims of direct sex discrimination, Employment Judge Martin Warren acknowledged the law in this area was 'complicated', but said: 'The need for a woman on the Kestrel South Team was genuine. 'The difficulty is, it is not a requirement that Constables on the Kestrel South Team should be women, it is that some of them should be women. 'Supt Martin acknowledged that when one analysed the duties of a PC on the Kestrel South Team, they could all be undertaken by men. 'Women who have to be strip searched can be taken to the Custody Suite where female officers would be available. 'It is not an occupational requirement that to be a Constable on the Kestrel South Team, that one must be a woman. 'It is just that (Suffolk Constabulary) needed two women on that team and that is not the same. 'In short, I find that (Suffolk Constabulary) cannot avail themself of the occupational requirement defence because it is not an occupational requirement.' He recommended that Suffolk Constabulary give an apology to the two officers, adding: 'The state of the law in situations like this is in my view, that the gender balance of the Team can be addressed in recruitment and positive action, but not by transferring people out of the team and replacing them with the opposite sex.' A self-proclaimed property 'guru' who insisted Dubai is 'safer than London' has been mocked online after boasting he chartered a '150,000' private jet out of the emirate and telling followers: 'I don't know why everyone is not doing this.' Samuel Leeds, who sells controversial get-rich-quick training courses online, shared videos from aboard a Gulfstream jet as he headed for Heathrow - while insisting the missile-hit Gulf state was 'not even dangerous'. The investor, 34, who once said he moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid paying '99.9 per cent of my taxes' and claims to have a 20million portfolio, was condemned by critics over the 'embarrassingly crude' social media posts. Others accused him of flaunting wealth while thousands of ordinary holidaymakers battle flight cancellations in a desperate scramble to come home. Leeds boasts come amid a wider wave of influencers defending Dubai online, with many insisting the city remains the 'safest place on Earth' - despite Iranian missile and suicide drone strikes hitting targets across the Gulf. Influencers are allegedly terrified to speak openly for fear of arrest or losing their homes. Under UAE laws damaging the countrys reputation can carry fines of up to 200,000 or prison sentences of up to five years - followed by deportation. While frightened holidaymakers continue to scramble for flights, Leeds posted videos online suggesting they simply follow his lead by paying for a private jet. Samuel Leeds with his wife Amanda and their children on a private jet. Leeds, who sells controversial get-rich-quick training courses online, shared videos from aboard a jet as he headed for Heathrow - while insisting the missile-hit Dubai was 'not even dangerous' Leeds and his wife with their Lamborghini. The investor, 34, previously said he moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid paying '99.9 per cent of my taxes' and claims to have a 20million portfolio He said: 'If you're trapped in Dubai, it's very simple. 'Drive three hours to Oman, and then when you're in Oman, go down to the Muscat airport, and there's literally planes waiting for you. 'You can pay about 100,000, jump on a plane, and it'll take you straight to Heathrow. 'I don't know why everyone's not doing this.' Father-of-four Leeds, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, then played down the risk from attacks overhead - despite previously telling how he was 'trapped...with missiles flying over our home'. He claimed the real reason for his sudden departure and six-figure bill was to run a 'networking meeting'. Leeds added: 'To be honest, it's not even dangerous in Dubai. 'There's more people being stabbed in England, and being shot in America, than getting hit with drones in Dubai. 'Right, so the only reason we're going is because I've got business to take care of, and my flight was cancelled. So stay in Dubai, but if you do need to leave, just do this.' In another post, he doubled down on his claim that Dubai remains safe, adding: 'If you have the money then getting a jet out of Dubai isnt a problem. The Fairmont Hotel on Dubai's Palm following a drone missile strike last Saturday. Since the conflict started last week, there has been a wave of influencers defending Dubai online, with many insisting the city remains the 'safest place on Earth' Leeds aboard his private jet. He has been accused of flaunting his wealth while thousands of ordinary holidaymakers battle flight cancellations in a desperate scramble to come home 'Dont believe everything you see in the media. 'Im a global citizen with multiple residencies and bank accounts. 'I have true freedom to be anywhere at any time.' Leeds, a former magician whose investment courses have been described by experts as promoting tax loopholes that may not exist, has been mercilessly mocked online. One critic wrote on Facebook: 'I dont care how wealthy you are that is a ridiculous amount to pay for a flight, and to shout about it is embarrassingly crude.' Another said: 'If Dubai was so safe, how come youre taking your wife and your children out of the country while bombs are going off? 'Would you not rather keep them in safe Dubai while you travel to dangerous England?' A third dismissed Leeds' social media posturing as 'the Dubai equivalent of tagging yourself at the gym'. Join the debate Should the wealthy flaunt luxury escapes from crisis zones? Leeds and his family ready to depart Dubai for Heathrow. While frightened holidaymakers continue to scramble for flights, Leeds posted videos online suggesting they simply follow his lead by paying for a private jet Posting pictures of himself and his family inside the jet, Leeds wrote: 'It was very easy for me to charter this jet back to England. 'It did cost over 150K, but for me, it was a no-brainer not to let anyone down.' Days earlier he had told of his fears at being 'trapped' in Dubai as Iranians bombarded the skies with more than 800 drones and almost 200 missiles. Three people are known to have died, with around 68 people injured. Leeds wrote: 'I am trapped in Dubai right now, with missiles flying over our home and the sound of constant explosions. 'Its unnerving especially with small children and a family.' However, two days later he insisted: 'Dubai is perfectly safe - one of the world's safest cities. 'The media are lying about the state of Dubai; it's very safe. It's still statistically safer in Dubai than the streets in England and the US when you consider knife crime and mass shootings.' The Daily Mail previously revealed influencers are allegedly terrified to speak openly for fear of deportation, arrest or losing their homes. The likes of Luisa Zissman, Petra Ecclestone and Vicky Pattison, have all been accused of making carefully curated posts disguising the terrifying reality of events in the Gulf. Leeds is a former magician whose investment courses have been described by experts as promoting tax loopholes that may not exist Former Geordie Shore star Vicky, told her followers reports of Dubai 'being bombed' were 'hyperbolic'. Meanwhile former Apprentice contestant Luisa, who relocated to Dubai with her family, described it as 'the safest country in the world'. Leeds messaging also contrasts sharply with scenes at airports, where frightened holidaymakers have been scrambling for flights in a desperate bid to come home. He was also called out by critics after his private jet appeared to have empty seats. Leeds retorted: 'We chartered a Gulfstream, as its one of the few fast ways out since most airports have shut down. 'Before you get annoyed about the empty seats behind us...let me be honest. 'I did say to my friends in Dubai, "Im flying back to the UK to speak at my Academy event - want to hop on the jet for free?" 'But guess what? They all said NO! 'Because, unlike what the media will have you believe, Dubai is actually very safe and well-run during these attacks. 'The government's military response has been astonishing, and people are continuing as normal! So dont believe what the media will try to have you believe.' Leeds has built a huge following online through his company which sells expensive training courses promising to teach people how to achieve financial freedom through property deals. The business has faced criticism from former attendees and campaigners who say the courses rely on hard-sell tactics and exaggerated promises. In 2019, Army reservist Danny Butcher, 37, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, took his own life after paying 13,000 for training courses run by the company. His family said he had taken out loans believing the programme would help him earn enough from property deals to replace his salary. There is no suggestion that his attendance on the course resulted in his suicide. Leeds company Property Investors said customers should 'only purchase courses they can afford'. Think tank Tax Policy Associates this year alleged the firm promotes 'tax loopholes' that are wrong or misleading - including strategies that would not work under UK rules and could leave followers facing tax bills. The group said: 'Samuel Leeds is a self-proclaimed "property guru". 'He makes substantial sums by using hard-sell tactics and conspiracy theories to sell expensive courses on property investment to people who cant afford it. 'Mr Leeds makes an array of claims on social media about how to "pay zero tax" and "learn the tax loopholes that the rich use". Weve reviewed these claims, and many are simply wrong.' The Iranian onslaught - which saw Dubai's hub airport and the five-star Fairmont Palm hotel attacked - has left an estimated 94,000 Brits trapped. Across the region, more than 4,000 flights a day have been cancelled, according to flight tracking data. Some wealthy travellers are turning to private jets - with charter prices soaring above 100,000 for a single flight. Private lights from Muscat to Istanbul are meanwhile reportedly up for grabs at eye-watering fees of more than 70,000 - around double the normal rate. Private security firms have also been hiring SUVs to deliver clients to open airports to board private flights. The UK Foreign Office has advised against all non-essential travel across the UAE. The first repatriation flight out of Oman was cancelled for 'operational reasons' on Wednesday night, leaving hundreds stranded in capital Muscat. A limited number of flights from Dubai are now being scheduled after the drone-hit airport was partially reopened. Britain will be hit by a vast plume of Saharan dust over the coming hours - bringing fiery sunsets and even 'blood rain' as air pollution health alerts were activated. Dust made up of sand and mineral particles from the desert in North Africa has been transported thousands of miles northwards towards the UK in recent days. The plume will sweep across southern England, with the Government issuing a 'very high' pollution warning for parts of Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk tomorrow. London and other parts of the South East were put on a 'high' alert - with particular concern for adults and children with heart or lung conditions, and older people. Britons were also warned to watch out for 'blood rain', referring to downpours that take on a reddish tint once reaching the ground after mixing with Saharan dust. This can leave a visible thin residue on vehicles and windows - with the Met Office advising motorists to wait until the end of the week if planning to wash their car. It comes as temperatures hit 19.2C (66.6F) at Northolt in West London today, which made it the warmest day of 2026 so far beating the 18.7C (65.6F) last Wednesday. BBC lead weather presenter Stav Danaos anticipates a 'remarkable display' in the sky, writing: 'The striking colours appear high in the atmosphere, where the Saharan dust stays suspended for several kilometres before gradually drifting and settling. An early morning orange sunrise behind a tree at Bushy Park in South West London today The sky over Wimbledon in South West London appears hazy at sunrise this morning 'These tiny particles scatter sunlight, filtering out the shorter blue and violet wavelengths and letting the longer red and orange tones shine through. 'The effect transforms ordinary sunrises and sunsets into vivid displays, with glowing horizons and skies rich in gold, amber, and burnt orange, sometimes giving the landscape an almost surreal, otherworldly feel.' The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) warned of 'moderate air pollution levels possible for parts of England and Wales on Thursday, as a generally southerly flow brings some elevated Saharan dust north across the UK'. For tomorrow, Defra said: 'Moderate to perhaps locally some very high air pollution levels remain possible for the south and east of England on Friday.' Defra's air pollution forecast for tomorrow Officials also warned that the 'risk of some moderate to perhaps locally high air pollution levels continues into the weekend and Monday as the generally southerly flow maintains a risk of elevated Saharan dust'. In Defra's advice for 'high' and 'very high' levels, it warns that short-term exposure to air pollution over hours or days can cause a range of health effects. These include coughing; chest tightness and pain; difficulty breathing; eye, nose and throat irritation; worsening of asthma symptoms; worsening of heart-related symptoms, such as heart palpitations; and worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms. People are advised to reduce their exposure to air pollution, especially if they are experiencing symptoms and speak to their doctor or nurse if they have new symptoms; their symptoms get worse; or their symptoms do not get better after a week. For adults and children with lung or heart conditions, and older people, Defra says: 'You should adapt physically demanding activities outdoors, especially if your symptoms get worse. 'Follow your agreed management plan if you have one for example, an asthma action plan. Ask your doctor or nurse for a plan if you do not have one.' Met Office spokeswoman Nicky Maxey told the Daily Mail today: A plume of Saharan dust is being drawn northwards across Europe and into the UK. The airborne dust is expected to continue moving across the UK through today and tomorrow. This can lead to hazier skies and, at times, deposits of dust on surfaces, such as cars, particularly if showers occur. People enjoy the sunshine and warm weather at St James's Park in London this afternoon People enjoy the sunshine as they punt along the River Cam in Cambridge on a warm day today Daffodils in bloom at Sefton Park in Liverpool today as temperatures are set to hit 19C in places A map shows how the Saharan dust plume is passing over parts of Britain this afternoon While Saharan dust itself is a natural particle, its presence in the atmosphere can contribute to higher overall particulate levels. Light winds and more stable conditions, especially across southern and eastern parts of the UK, is limiting how quickly the dust disperses. This makes it easier for locally generated pollution to build up. The Met Office also issued an explanatory note on 'blood rain' yesterday, which it said is 'refers to rain that takes on a reddish tint once it reaches the ground'. It added: 'The colour can vary from a faint rusty hue to deeper reds, depending on how much dust is present in the atmosphere at the time of rainfall.' The weather service said rain can only appear red when relatively high concentrations of redcoloured particles mix with the water droplets in the cloud. When rainfall occurs while these particles which are sand or dust rich in iron oxides are suspended in the atmosphere, the droplets can take on the red tint. The Met Office added that 'genuinely red rain is extremely rare' in practice, adding: 'While dustladen rain is not uncommon in the UK, the concentration of particles is usually low, resulting in rain that looks normal to the naked eye. 'Only after the rain dries might you notice a thin film of dust left on cars, windows, or outdoor surfaces.' Forecasters also said the effects of dustladen rain this week may include 'a light coating of dust on vehicles or windows'; 'slightly reduced visibility at higher altitudes if the dust layer is particularly concentrated' and 'vivid sunrises or sunsets, as airborne dust can scatter sunlight and enhance colours'. The Met Office added: 'If you're planning to wash your car, waiting until the end of the week may be wise, as additional dust pulses could reach the UK before conditions settle.' Recent examples of visible 'blood rain' include in the early 2000s in Kerala, India, where rain containing unusually high concentrations of red particles stained clothes and surfaces. Another in Burgos in Spain in 2022 saw people wake up to find cars covered in Saharan sand. Speaking about today's general forecast, Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: 'We have got a band of cloud and rain, this could be heavy at times, in western areas, it's going to move its way eastwards. 'To the east of that, it should be mostly fine. There should be lots of long sunny periods until that rain starts pushing into the east.' It will be cloudier across much of England and Wales tomorrow, while Northern Ireland and Scotland will get more sunshine. High temperatures of 11C (52F) to 12C (54F) are forecast across England and Wales tomorrow. The weekend will be a mix of patchy cloud and some sunshine, with high temperatures of 12C to 13C (55F) on Saturday and 14C (57F) on Sunday. 'It's the first week of meteorological spring so not a bad forecast,' Ms Criswick said. Yesterday's UK high was 17.8C (64.0F) at Porthmadog in North Wales, while the low was -5.5C (22.1F) at Altnaharra in Highlands. A top Iranian cleric has called for 'the shedding of Trump's blood' as the country's leadership warned that the US will 'bitterly regret' torpedoing one of their warships in the Indian Ocean. The US navy sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 sailors - and attack Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi condemned as 'an atrocity at sea.' 'Frigate Dena, a guest of India's navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,' he wrote on social media. 'Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set.' Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, said the country was 'on the verge of a great test' and called on state television for 'the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump's blood'. 'Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders,' he said in a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. The US and Israel launched the war on Saturday, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signalling an open-ended conflict. The US navy sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi decried the attack as 'an atrocity at sea' A top Iranian cleric has called for 'the shedding of [Donald] Trump's (pictured) blood' Today, Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted US bases. The Israeli military said it launched targeted attacks in Lebanon at the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and a 'large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure' in Iran's capital, without elaborating. Explosions were heard in multiple locations in Tehran a short time later. The war has so far killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East. A drone crashed on Thursday near the airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijan exclave that borders the north of Iran and is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia. Another drone fell near a school and two civilians were injured, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks have spread erratically as the war has gone on involving regional countries and beyond. Qatar evacuated residents near the US embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and fighter jets could be heard overhead early in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Tehran has been pummelled by US and Israeli air strikes since Saturday, when they killed Ayatollah Khamenei Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan, and a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger. An explosion rocked the area early on Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Iran has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them in the past. Prior attacks since fighting began on Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Persian Gulf and through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped. US stocks rebounded on Wednesday after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the American economy. But oil prices resumed their ascent early on Thursday and Brent crude, the international standard, was up some 15% from the start of the conflict as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait. A renewed push to find a woman who went missing in a remote Outback opal mining community nearly three months ago has wound up in South Australia, but police have not gone away empty handed. South Australian woman Trisha Graf, 41, was last seen driving along Dunstan Drive in Andamooka, about 610km northwest of Adelaide, about 2am on Friday December 12, 2025. Investigators on Wednesday seized a vehicle of interest, which is set to be forensically examined. Major Crime Investigation Branch, STAR Group, Far North and State Operations Support Branch officers and SES members examined 315 points of interest over a search conducted during the past two days. Those search sites included mine shafts and disused diggings. 'While no evidence was recovered during the ground searches, police have not ruled out returning to the area as the investigation continues,' SA Police said in a statement. An earlier search of a septic tank at a residential address in nearby Andamooka, the town where Ms Graf was living, also turned up no evidence. On the night of her disappearance, Ms Graf was seen leaving the Roxby Downs hotel a short time after 12.19am with a friend. SA Police renewed search efforts for Trisha Graf on Wednesday and Thursday The search for Ms Graf around Andamooka has finished but police found a car of interest SA Police earlier searched a residential septic tank (above) but found no evidence Andamooka, population 250, is a desert opal-mining outpost in South Australia She was driving a white 2012 Ford Territory, SA registration S254BCX. Ms Graf struck a kangaroo a short distance from Andamooka but continued travelling to a home in the town's northwest. She left the property shortly before 2am to drive home and was last seen travelling along Dunstan Drive, Andamooka. Her partner and a friend went searching for her around midday on December 12 and located her car, which was atop a dirt mound near Blue Dam, east of Andamooka. The car was stuck and undrivable. Anyone with information about Ms Graf's whereabouts or her movements leading up to her disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. A smirking Vladimir Putin has threatened to halt gas supplies to Europe and Britain amid a spike in energy prices triggered by the Iran crisis. Oil and gas prices have soared following the US and Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran's strikes on Gulf Arab neighbours. The conflict has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and forced the shutdown of Qatar's LNG production and Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery. The Russian president said oil prices were rising due to the 'aggression against Iran' and due to Western restrictions on Russian oil, while European gas prices were rising because customers were willing to buy gas volumes at higher prices due to events in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Asked by a Russian state television's top Kremlin correspondent, Pavel Zarubin, about European plans to impose a total ban on Russian pipeline gas imports by late 2027 and to ban new short-term Russian LNG contracts from late April 2026, Putin said it might be more beneficial for Russia to stop selling the gas right now. 'Now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now. 'To move into those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there,' Putin said, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin. 'This is not a decision, it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies,' Putin said, linking the possible decision directly to Europe's 'misguided policies'. A smirking Vladimir Putin has threatened to halt gas supplies to Europe and Britain Oil and gas prices have soared following the US and Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran's strikes on Gulf Arab neighbours Russia holds the world's largest natural gas reserves and is the world's second-largest oil exporter. Moscow lost most of its lucrative European market after Europe sought to reduce its dependency on Russian energy due to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The EU was committed before the Gulf chaos to a phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas and pipeline supplies, leading to full cessation by the end of next year, as punishment for Putin's war. 'If they're going to shut us down in a month or two anyway, wouldn't it be better to stop now and go to those countries and those that are reliable partners, and gain a foothold there? 'I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue with our companies.' A smirking Putin said: 'Customers have emerged who are willing to buy the same natural gas at higher prices, in this case due to events in the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and so on. 'This is natural; there's nothing here, there's no political agenda it is just business.' Russia's place in the European market has been taken by Norway, the United States and Algeria. Flames rise during a fire casued by debris from an intercepted drone at the oil refinery hub in Fujeirah, United Arab Emirates, 04 March 2026 Putin said Russia was a reliable supplier but that the energy chaos triggered by the Iran crisis had led to buyers being willing to pay top dollar for gas volumes. 'If such premium buyers emerge, then I think, I'm even certain, some traditional suppliers, such as the Americans and American companies, will, of course, leave the European market for higher-paying markets,' Putin said. With Europe turning away from Russian gas, Moscow has turned increasingly to China, the world's leading consumer and importer of energy, for sales of oil, pipeline gas and LNG. 'Russia has always been and remains a reliable energy supplier to all our partners, including, incidentally, European ones,' Putin said. 'And we will continue to work in this manner with those partners who are themselves reliable partners - for example, those in Eastern Europe, such as Slovakia and Hungary.' The fear with Putin's latest announcement will be that precipitate Russian action could add to a spiral in energy bills in Britain and across Europe, derailing already fragile economies and hitting consumers. While most gas used in Britain comes from domestic production and Norwegian fields, UK wholesale prices remain closely linked to European markets through inter-connectors and competition for global LNG cargoes. Russia still accounted for about 13 per cent of EU gas imports in 2025, meaning disruptions to Russian supply can still ripple through European prices and indirectly hit the UK market. Separately, the EU and NATO state Slovakia is ramping up pressure to restart controversial Russian oil supplies to it and Hungary. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed he had satellite evidence that the pipeline had not been badly damaged by Russian strikes, as Ukraine has claimed. 'The main route of the Druzhba oil pipeline is not damaged, so President [Volodymyr] Zelensky is demonstratively lying.' He claimed. Ukraine has refused EU calls for an independent inspection of the pipeline. A 15-year-old boy and a man in his 20s have been arrested over so-called 'School Wars' social media posts that encouraged pupils to fight with weapons. They were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime. The pair have since been released on bail pending further inquiries. Posters inspired by notorious LA street gangs the Bloods and the Crips featuring men in red and blue balaclavas and listing which schools fall under which 'side' have been circulating on Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. One showed images of scissors, a knife, compasses, fireworks, and a comb with the tagline 'bring your best'. Hackney, Islington, Redbridge and Croydon are among the boroughs included in the 'Red vs Blue' fights, with 26 schools in total listed and split into teams, but parents from other parts of the capital have also reported similar posts It led to some schools finishing early with parents and carers urged to take their children straight home. Officers have been mobilised outside gates as a precaution, with Scotland Yard saying a 'strong police presence' would remain outside schools. A Met Police spokesperson said: 'Local officers continue to work alongside local authority partners, school leaders and parents, whose joint robust response has been vital in protecting young people across the last week.' Posters inspired by notorious LA street gangs the Bloods and the Crips featuring men in red and blue balaclavas listing which schools fall under which 'side' have been circulating on Snapchat , TikTok and Instagram One showed images of scissors, a knife, compasses, fireworks, and a comb with the tagline 'bring your best' The force added: 'On Sunday, 1 March at approximately 18:45hrs, Met officers arrested two individuals in Central East London in connection with a recent trend of social media posts. 'Both suspects, a man aged in his 20s and a boy aged 15, were arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime. They were bailed pending further enquiries.' Police last week sent a note to parents regarding the TikTok trend's impact on that part of the capital as a dispersal order was issued for the whole of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It read: 'We are aware that several posts have been circulating on social media in recent days, and we understand that this may have caused concern among families.' The Met Police added that it would be monitoring online activity, working with social media organisations to disable accounts encouraging violence, and would remain in contact with schools across 'several boroughs'. It continued: 'Police officers will continue to maintain a strong and visible presence around schools in some areas proactively to respond promptly and firmly to any reports of violence or disorder to help ensure the safety of all young people. 'Commanders across East boroughs urge people of the serious consequences of becoming involved in situations of this nature. 'Any involvement in violence or carrying weapons can lead to arrest, criminal charges or even imprisonment, with long term impacts on future opportunities. 'We ask that you speak with children about staying safe, making responsible choices, and reporting anything that concerns them to a trusted adult.' Many of the original posts have been deleted, so it is unclear exactly how many boroughs and schools had been called to fight at a number of gatherings last month. Another post laying out the 'rules' of the school wars tells children to 'jump' anyone they see from the 'opposite' side, specifying they must 'be violent'. They are encouraged to use stationery from their pencil cases, such as compasses, scissors and rulers, as weapons with some posters even depicting kitchen knives and fireworks. Students are also asked to have someone 'record' their attacks and for the footage to be sent to the original organiser so they can be posted online and given extra 'points'. The scoring system awards 20 points to children who punch an 'opp', 10 points for chasing them, 15 points for 'staining' them - slang for stabbing - and 10 bonus points for 'recording any of the above'. Since the posts began circulating online last week, parents have received emails about the worrying calls to battle from their children's headteachers who reassured them they had informed the authorities and police would be patrolling the areas. A career criminal who faces jail for stealing more than 55,000 worth of gems and sculptures has apologised to a judge after turning up late to court - and claimed he was burgled last night. Raymond Adewale, 71, was a serial thief operating in London's wealthiest districts. Southwark Crown Court heard how he grabbed five rings worth 34,000 from SKO Jewellery Ltd in Mayfair on February 28, 2023. He went on to steal two bronze statues - one of a bear - worth 7,200 each from Gladwell and Patterson, an internationally renowned art gallery in Knightsbridge on April 19, 2024, Southwark Crown Court heard. Seven days later he swiped a silver diamond necklace worth 7,500 from Suttons and Robertsons Pawnbrokers in central London on April 26, 2024. The serial thief, from Croydon, turned up at court an hour late for his hearing dressed in a grey turtleneck, beige chinos, and a black puffer jacket. Explaining his tardiness, defence counsel Jessica Clarke said: Mr Adewales home was burgled last night and he was having difficulty coming in this morning. Judge Martin Griffith adjourned sentencing Adewale until April 16 and said: These are serious matters and you have also been committed to this court for sentence for taking two bronze statues. I am told all together it adds up to quite a bit. Raymond Adewale, 71, (pictured) is a serial thief who was an hour late to court - after claiming he was burgled the night before Southwark Crown Court heard about Adewale's thefts in jewellers in Knightsbridge, Mayfair and central London Adewale was jailed for nine months in 2013 for stealing precious gems from a Rochester jeweller worth 40,000 just days after he was released from prison for previous thefts. By then he had already racked up 50 previous convictions for thefts dating back to 1994. Defence counsel Jessica Clarke said Adewale was diagnosed with acute leukaemia and he was freed on conditional bail while he receives treatment for the condition. Outlining his bail conditions, the judge urged the serial convict to take his medication as advised, adding: This is not a bail condition, so you can do whatever you want. But it seems like it may help. Adewale admitted four charges of theft. Shabana Mahmood has been accused of 'insulting the British taxpayer' after launching a scheme which will hand failed asylum seeker families up to 40,000 to leave Britain. The Home Office today informed 150 families they are eligible for lump sums of 10,000 a head for up to four people if they agree to go voluntarily. The Home Secretary's programme could be expanded to thousands more families with no right to be in this country if it proves successful. The 'eye-watering' pay-outs were immediately branded 'absurd' by critics. Some suggested the principle of offering five-figure sums to failed asylum seekers could actually encourage more illegal migrants to come to Britain, enticed by the prospect of free money. Labour's new scheme is significantly more generous than existing cash incentives offered to migrants to leave voluntarily, currently capped at 3,000 a head. Ms Mahmood has sanctioned the huge pay-outs in a bid to save even larger sums currently being spent on keeping the families in migrant hotels and other types of accommodation at the taxpayers' expense. Labour scrapped the previous government's Rwanda scheme, which would have seen adult asylum seekers compulsorily sent to east Africa to lodge claims there rather than here. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled the new scheme - which begins immediately - as she delivered a keynote speech on immigration policy in central London today Migrants sprint across Gravelines beach in northern France earlier this week to board smugglers' dinghies bound for Britain Scores of migrants were brought into Ramsgate port in Kent today by UK Border Force - just as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was announcing her new measures The scheme will only apply to people whose home countries are deemed safe - leading critics to question why they needed to be handed huge sums of taxpayers' money to leave Britain. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'This is an insult to the British taxpayer. 'Shabana Mahmood has to resort to paying illegal immigrants to leave because she has utterly failed to forcibly remove them only six per cent of small boat arrivals have been removed under this Labour Government. 'Offering 40,000 to failed asylum seekers to leave the country will only reward and incentivise illegal immigration. 'If we exit the European Convention on Human Rights we can deport all illegal immigrants without needing to pay them. 'But Shabana Mahmood is too weak to do this.' Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK which campaigns for tougher border controls, said of the new hand-outs: 'If these people have gone through due process and can be removed, then they should be removed without being paid to do so. 'It is simply wrong. 'It is also unfair to people in this country who are struggling financially to see these very significant sums being handed out to people who have no right to be here.' He added: 'Offering up to 40,000 and a taxpayer-funded trip to people who could be returned to their home countries without such an eye-watering inducement is absurd. 'All this risks doing is encouraging more illegal arrivals, safe in the knowledge that if all efforts to stay fail, there will still be a 10,000 handout at the end and a flight home. 'This is madness.' The Home Office is planning to use physical force to remove failed asylum seeker families - including against children - if they reject the offer. It has launched a consultation with experts in the police, teaching and care work to determine what levels of force could be used against children in what officials said would be a 'lawful, dignified and proper' way. Ms Mahmood, in a speech at the IPPR think-tank in central London today, said the 'increased incentive payments' could bring a 'significant saving' for the public purse. 'Where a voluntary removal is refused, we will escalate to an enforced removal for those who can be returned to their safe home country,' she said. 'We are now consulting on precisely how the removal of families with children must take place in a way that is humane and effective. 'For too long, families who have failed their claims have known that we are not enforcing our rules, which created a perverse incentive to make a Channel crossing with children in a small boat.' Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said of Labour's new scheme: 'Shabana Mahmood has kicked hardworking British taxpayers in the teeth. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. 'Nearly 200,000 illegal migrants have arrived from France over the past eight years because the Tories and Labour treat Britain like a global food bank, paid for by British taxpayers. 'Now Labour is making it worse, offering a staggering 40,000 for illegals to leave voluntarily. Its a disgrace. 'Only Reform will detain and deport every illegal migrant and end welfare handouts for foreign nationals.' The pay-outs will save taxpayers' money because it currently costs an average of 158,000 to support a family of failed asylum seekers, the Government believes. 'That is a staggering amount of money, which is ridiculous,' a Home Office source said. 'We need to get them out.' Asylum seekers in the first batch of 150 families have been given seven days to accept the new offer. If they fail to do so it will then be permanently withdrawn. If they agree to leave, the money will be loaded onto electronic payment cards which can be accessed once the families reach their home country aboard taxpayer-funded flights. The 10,000 per head sum could be increased - or lowered - depending on take-up of the pilot scheme, sources said. There are currently thousands of failed asylum seeker families being supported by public funds, officials said, but the exact number is not known by the Home Office due to weaknesses in its data-gathering. The families have had claims rejected by the Home Office and have then gone on to fail to win refugee status in the appeal system. Join the debate Should failed asylum seekers be offered cash to leave the UK? But sources were able to confirm that 700 Albanian families who have exhausted their appeals process are still being supported by the public purse. Challenged over the principle of handing failed asylum seekers such a huge sum of money, border security minister Alex Norris told LBC: 'This is better value for the British taxpayer. 'The situation today which will house them indefinitely [is] costing 158,000 a year.' He added: 'The people we're talking about are families who have failed in their initial application. Theyve failed in their appeal. 'They have no live asylum application in this country, and no future in the country. 'It's not good for them, not good for the children. 'So we're supporting them, as has been done before in the past, but we're increasing the levels in this pilot of support, up to that number, to incentivise them to leave.' If all 150 families offered the first places on the returns scheme take up the offer, it will cost the taxpayer an estimated 6million but save 23.7million a year in ongoing support costs, based on an average family. The Home Secretary's keynote speech today also included a number of other immigration reforms trailed over recent days, some of which were first unveiled last year. They include measures to withdraw asylum support from migrants who commit crimes, work illegally, have been granted the right to work or who can support themselves. A Home Office source said they were unable to say how many asylum seekers currently being housed at the taxpayers' expense have committed crimes. But they added that it was 'in the region of thousands'. There were a further 275 small boat arrivals on Wednesday. It brought the total number to have come to Britain since Labour came to power to just over 67,400. More migrants were brought ashore at Ramsgate in Kent aboard Border Force vessels today, just as the Home Secretary was delivering her speech. Schemes offering migrants cash to go home were first introduced in 1999 and were continued under the Conservative government. Reform UK's migration policy, published last August, said it would introduce a six-month 'voluntary returns window' during which illegal migrants would be 'offered a financial incentive to self-deport', but it did not specify how much money would be offered. A former Miss Missouri has found herself trapped in Dubai with her two children after her husband returned to the US for work as the United Arab Emirates attempts to intercept missiles from Iran. Bayleigh Dayton, 32, moved to the Middle East with her husband, Chris Williams, and their two young children years ago, but their Arabian dream quickly turned into a nightmare when tensions escalated in the region and war broke out. Israel and the US led strikes against Iran on Saturday after negotiations failed regarding Iranian nuclear capabilities. Iran retaliated by striking countries across the Middle East that house US military bases, including Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan. The increased military activity grounded all flights in the area over the weekend, leaving countless Americans scrambling for a way home. Dayton shared an update to her thousands of social media followers on Wednesday, joking that she did not have 'fleeing a warzone on her 2026 bingo card.' 'There's no way out of the country right now. They sent out a message saying American citizens need to evacuate immediately, by any means necessary, but there's literally no flights. The airspace is closed and the bordering countries are closing their borders as well,' Dayton said in her video. Despite her nightmarish situation, Dayton added that she was grateful to be located in Dubai and said the UAE's defense system was doing its best to strike down every Iranian missile. Bayleigh Dayton, pictured above with her husband and two children in an Instagram photo, is stuck in Dubai as tensions escalate in the Middle East Dayton said in a social media video that she was scared to be alone in a warzone with her two children, but was grateful that she remained safe as the UAE attempts to intercept Iranian missiles. She's pictured above with her children in a photo shared to socail media Iran retaliated against several Middle Eastern countries that house US military bases. Pictured above is a grab from a social media video showing smoke and flames engulfing a historic landmark in Dubai after a missile struck 'I'm scared. I'm alone. I have two children here. My husband is actually in the states so he can't get to us and we can't get to him,' she said. Dayton clarified the 'privilege' her family has to pay for a flight out of the UAE and shelter in a 'villa.' She told local Fox affiliate, WDAF-TV, that her family could hear the UAE disarming hundreds of missiles outside their door over the last few days. Dayton's hoping to get the first flight out for herself and her children, but has been forced to shelter in place as military activity continues in the airspace over the Middle East. 'Theyre slowly trying to open air space, but none of those planes are going to USA,' she told WDAF. Dayton said she is trying to book a flight to Europe or Asia and fly back to the US from there. 'It does put everything into perspective. Money material things, all these things were chasing every day. All that matters is your physical safety and the health of your family,' she said. Dayton previously worked as a flight attendant before her stint on the reality show Big Brother, so she has experience handling crises. 'I feel like Ive trained to be able to handle this but, but nobody wants to deal with facing a war. I did not plan to be in a war zone, at all,' she told WDAF. The Daily Mail has reached out to Bayleigh Dayton for comment. Dayton has lived in Dubai with her husband and children for several years. She is from Missouri and was a contestant on the reality series Big Brother. Pictured above is a still from the show Dayton said her husband, pictured above, left Dubai for work before the military action ensued in the region The UAE has been intercepting Iranian missiles. Dayton told local news that she has heard the interceptions over the last few days. Pictured above is an Iranian missile in the sky over Dubai Multiple Middle Eastern countries suspended flight operations after the initial strikes on Saturday. The travel disruption created a headache for passengers worldwide, as Dubai is a major hub for international flights. Dubai International (DXB) is the world's largest airport for international travel. A spokesperson for the airport issued a statement on Saturday advising passengers not to travel to the airport and contact their airlines directly for flight updates. The US State Department is now attempting to evacuate thousands of Americans stranded in the Middle East. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the Economy and Tourism Minister for the UAE, said they opened their airspace for emergency flights on Sunday, CNN reported. The minister said over 17,000 passengers were flown out of the country in the first phase of the plan, and they expect to transport over 27,000 travelers in the next phase. Flights to and from airports in the Middle East were cancelled due to ongoing military strikes in the region. Pictured above is flight information at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Saturday Airspace over the Middle East closed on Saturday due to ongoing military strikes. Operations have resumed on a limited basis. Pictured above are passengers arriving at Dubai International Terminal on Thursday Additional relief came for some Americans on Wednesday evening when the State Department announced a charter flight was scheduled to pick up US citizens in the Middle East. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press conference that US officials will identify stranded American citizens and provide travel options. As of Thursday morning, Safe Airspace has identified the UAE as a level three risk. Level three is the least dangerous but still poses a risk to travelers. According to Safe Airspace, the UAE has partially reopened but remains under strict routing corridors. As the world waits with bated breath for tensions to subside, the conflict in the Middle East has ramped up. Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for the 'shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump's blood' in a rare message on Iranian state television. The conflict has so far killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Iranian warplanes were just two minutes away from bombing an American base holding 10,000 troops before Qatari jets struck them down, a new report has claimed. According to sources from CNN, Iran sent two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers toward al-Udeid Air Base on Monday morning, as well as Ras Laffan, a key natural gas processing facility. The al-Udeid base is the largest American base in the Middle East. It ordinarily hosts up to 10,000 soldiers, and is home to the US Central Command, the US Air Force's Central Command and the RAF's 83rd Expeditionary Air Group. A source told CNN that the Iranian planes were seen 'carrying bombs and guided munitions'. They are said to have been flying at an altitude of just 80ft to avoid radar detection. After the Qataris radioed the planes and received no response, they scrambled an F-15 fighter jet that downed the two planes. The US news outlet reported that the planes crashed into Iranian waters. Qatar, along with other Gulf states, have been dragged into the bloody war in the Middle East. According to sources from CNN , Iran sent two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers toward al-Udeid Air Base on Monday morning (File image of an Iranian Su-24) Motorists drive along an expressway as plumes of smoke rise after a strike in Tehran on March 5, 2026 Many of them host Western bases on their soil, making them targets for the Iranian regime. The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council today called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, while reiterating that Gulf countries have the right to defend themselves against Iran. 'The ministers reiterated their commitment to regional stability and called for protection of civilians and full respect of international law,' the EU and GCC said in a joint statement issued after a videoconference of European and Gulf foreign ministers. 'The ministers reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as means to resolve the crisis,' they said, adding that they agreed on 'joint diplomatic efforts to bring about a lasting solution' to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and 'ultimately allow the Iranian people to determine their future'. The war in the Middle East has blocked access to major ports in the Gulf region, impacting the supply of food to over 50million people in a region which imports over 90 per cent of its food, a ship-spotting platform said on Thursday. MarineTraffic.com said that container vessels heading to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait are now stranded. As Western interests face significant risk, France, Italy and Greece agreed to coordinate deployment of military assets to Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. The three countries will work together to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, according to a French diplomat. A man carries an injured woman at the site of US-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on Monday The decision was announced on Thursday after French President Emmanuel Macron called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The diplomat spoke anonymously in line with government practices. Meanwhile, Italy heightened its national air-defence systems on Thursday and said it will send naval support to Cyprus and anti-missile and anti-drone defence systems to Gulf countries that have come under retaliatory strikes from Iran. The United States hasn't yet asked to use any of the US bases in Italy for logistical or other operations in its war against Tehran. But if it does, the government will inform Parliament, Mr Meloni said on Thursday. The United States has more than 12,000 military personnel on bases across Italy, including army bases in Vicenza and Livorno, the air force bases at Aviano, home to the 31st Fighter Wing, the naval air station at Sigonella in Sicily, and ports at Gaeta and Naples, home to the US Sixth Fleet. A thug who threw a female deaf accountant out of an overcrowded car before punching her in the neck and leaving her to die in the street has today been found guilty of her murder. Killer Duane Owusu, nicknamed Nasty, launched the vicious assault on 27-year-old Zahwa Mukhtar in August last year after attending a rave in Stoke Newington, north London. The 36-year-old chucked the aspiring accountant, whom he had only met that night, out of a crammed Mercedes. He kicked at her face as she sat on the pavement before delivering the fatal punch after she fell to the floor and hit her head, with what the prosecution described as a 'sickening thud'. Owusu then got back into the car and left her dying on the ground. A jury at the Old Bailey today found him guilty of murdering Ms Mukhtar after deliberating for nearly 12 hours. There was silence in court from the defendant and the victim's family as the guilty verdict was delivered. Judge Richard Marks KC remanded Owusu into custody to be sentenced next Thursday. Scotland Yard described Owusu as a 'remorseless killer' in a statement released following the verdict. Killer Duane Owusu, 36, nicknamed Nasty, has been found guilty of murdering 27-year-old Zahwa Mukhtar in August last year Trainee accountant Ms Mukhtar was punched in the neck and left to die in the street after being thrown out of an overcrowded Mercedes Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Specialist Crime North, said: 'Our thoughts today are with Zahwa's family, who have demonstrated great dignity and patience after losing their daughter in such horrendous circumstances. 'CCTV footage collected by the investigation team painted a damning picture of Owusu's guilt. 'The evidence revealed him to be a remorseless killer, who acted with callous disregard towards his victim.' Jurors were not told that Owusu was jailed for eight years in 2010 for being the getaway driver in a botched robbery in which a Matalan shop manager was fatally stabbed. Ms Mukhtar had never met Owusu before she came across his group in the early hours of August 16 last year and inhaled laughing gas balloons with them. When they decided to return home to Dagenham, she had got into the already overcrowded car. On the journey, she had argued with one of Owusu's female friends, pulled her hair and threatened to stab someone, jurors were told. Owusu grabbed her phone and threw it out of the car before chucking out Ms Mukhtar and aiming two kicks at her face as she sat on the pavement, the prosecution said. When she got up, Owusu punched her in the neck, causing her to fall on to the ground, the court was told. The sickening attack was captured on CCTV positioned outside a care home on Chadwell Heath Lane, Romford, and witnessed by Owusu's horrified friends. Witness Paige Allen described Ms Mukhtar pleading with Owusu to stop before he landed the fatal blow. She told jurors: 'He was just rage. He looked like a monster. His behaviour was just wrong. She just fell. Just fell backwards. 'I went to help her but he screamed at me to get in the car.' On leaving the scene in Chadwell Heath, Owusu and his group were stopped and searched by police a short distance away. They were detained for around 50 minutes before officers investigated reports from the public of a woman on the pavement down the road. Ms Mukhtar, who worked as a finance assistant at the Young Vic Theatre in London, was found unresponsive at 5.31am. Despite the efforts of police and paramedics at the scene, she was pronounced dead at 6.21am, having suffered a fractured skull and brain injury. Owusu had denied punching Ms Mukhtar and claimed he only pushed her away from the car to 'de-escalate' the situation. Giving evidence, Owusu said: 'I did not believe she was hurt severely or badly.' He told jurors he had been 'traumatised' by what happened and never meant to harm her. He said he fell to his knees and prayed she was okay when he found out police wanted to speak to him. He denied murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter. His trial was halted after Ms Mukhtar's brother Abas Mukhtar became overcome by anger and lunged at the defendant in the witness box, leaving jurors 'extremely shaken up'. Fining the 28-year-old plumber 1,000 for contempt of court, Judge Marks said: 'It was an ugly and sustained attempt at assault. 'It goes without saying, having seen the incident at close quarters I was absolutely appalled by the incident. 'I have never in all my years at the bar seen anything like it.' An Arkansas mother killed her six-year-old twins before killing herself after her husband was granted joint custody and refused to halt their divorce. Charity Beallis, 40, and her twins, Eliana and Maverick, were found dead by gunshot wounds inside their $750,000 Bonanza home by sheriff's deputies in December. A Wednesday autopsy report found that the children had been killed by their mother shortly after the court had awarded her husband, Randy, 56, joint custody. 'We were not surprised by the findings in the autopsy, as we knew that Mr. Beallis was not responsible for the death of his wife, nor his children,' his attorney, Michael Pierce, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 'Mr. Beallis continues to recover from the tragic event that took his children from him.' Randy has previously been convicted on domestic battery charges after admitting last year to strangling Charity in front of their children. The doctor's previous wife also died from a gunshot wound in 2012, though her death was ruled a suicide. Randy was awarded joint custody on December 2 after a full-day court hearing, where Charity represented herself, the outlet said. Charity Beallis, 40, and her twins were found dead inside her home on December 3 Autopsies found that Charity had killed her twins Maverick and Eliana She had been court-ordered to bring her small children to Randy on December 5, but the night of the court hearing, she took her children's lives and her own. The sheriff's office also said that Charity wished to reconcile with her husband and that the three were found dead less than 24 hours after he refused and the divorce was finalized, 5 News reported. Deputies discovered their bodies the next day after using a key to gain access to the home. Investigators later determined that Charity had 'exclusive access' to the home and that no doors or windows had been open after she deactivated the alarm on her phone at 10pm. Randy's Tesla was also not in the vicinity of the murder, nor did his phone ping off any cell towers in the area, investigators said. Court records show Charity had been seeking full custody of the twins and had obtained a protective order against Randy, citing his history of abuse. The details of the custody ruling were not made public, but Charity's attorney told the Daily Mail that she failed in that effort and that a judge awarded joint custody at the final hearing on December 2. In her final text exchange with her older son, John Powell, Charity voiced hope for a future away from Randy, beyond the years of abuse her family claims she was forced to endure. The murder-suicide took place the same day the court ordered her estranged husband, Randy, be given joint custody Her attorney said she failed to prove he was abusive, and therefore, couldn't get sole custody of the children. Randy had pleaded guilty to domestic battery last year for strangling her in front of their children 'She was going to move somewhere else, get a good job and let the kids have a good life,' Powell previously told the Daily Mail. 'Then she wanted to hopefully one day become a good grandmother and just enjoy the things that any normal family would want.' Powell claimed that in the months before her death, Charity confided numerous times that she was 'terrified' of her husband. 'She was always worrying about something happening,' he said. 'She was fighting so hard to protect her kids.' Court records show Charity obtained a restraining order against Randy in February 2025 after he attacked her at home. She filed for divorce the following month and Randy later pleaded guilty to domestic battery, receiving a suspended sentence. Powell and Charity's father, Randy Powell, have both said they do not believe Charity would have been capable of harming her children. 'I can't picture my mom shooting with a gun and killing my little brother and sister at six years old,' said the younger Powell. 'She was terrified, and she was hoping that she could get out of there safe and go on with her life to become the person she always wanted to be.' She and the children were found inside their $750,000 home in Bonanza Three days after they were found dead, a dumpster diver sifting through trash 15 miles away in Fort Smith found a garbage bag filled with Charity's belongings and other intimate family keepsakes, including photos and a gold necklace engraved with the kids' names. It remains unclear how the items came to be discarded. Investigators with Sebastian County Sheriff's Office also called the discovery a 'red flag' but declined to elaborate further. Randy, a family practitioner licensed in Arkansas for nearly two decades, has faced multiple complaints involving his family, which were reviewed by the Arkansas State Medical Board, records first obtained by 5News show. In January 2018, the board reprimanded Randy for prescribing opioid medication to Charity following a surgery - conduct he later acknowledged was inappropriate. He faced no disciplinary action. The board reviewed Randy again in February 2021 following a dispute involving Charity's son, John Powell, in which Randy and Charity were accused of slashing the teenager's truck tires with knives during an argument. Randy later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor criminal mischief and received a suspended sentence. The medical board again took no action. Randy appeared before the board again last year after Charity filed domestic abuse charges, claiming he attacked her in front of their children. John Powell (left), Charity's older child, said his mother was terrified of her husband In written responses, Randy denied the allegations, saying the incident stemmed from a dispute over her phone and insisting he never choked or strangled her. He later pleaded guilty to third-degree battery and was issued a suspended sentence. No disciplinary action had been taken against Randy by the time Charity and the children were found dead. State records show his medical license remains active and is due to expire in February 2027. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 988. A sole Kuwaiti pilot flying an American-made fighter jet mistakenly shot down three US F-15 planes amid a friendly fire blunder, a report has claimed. The F/A-18 pilot from Kuwait launched three missiles against the American planes, sources familiar with initial reports of the incident told the Wall Street Journal. The American pilots were forced to eject to safety after the Kuwaiti pilot mistook their F-15E Strike Eagles for Iranian jets on Monday morning - costing US forces $300million to replace the damaged planes. Footage posted to social media showed the astonishing moment an American pilot, who parachuted out of his fighter jet shot down over Kuwait, was mistaken for an Iranian soldier. A group of local men were shown approaching the pilot and shouting while one of them brandished a metal pipe. The pilot was heard repeating: ''Back up. Stop!' as the men moved closer and closer, appearing to think the airman was Iranian. The tense situation was defused once the pilot finally told the locals he was American, after which they retreated and left him alone. The pilot was aboard one of the three US jets that were mistakenly shot down over Kuwait on Monday. A Kuwaiti pilot flying an American-made fighter jet mistakenly shot down three US F-15 planes amid a friendly fire blunder, it has been revealed. In this image, a US airman who parachuted out of his jet can be seen backing up after he was mistook for an Iranian pilot by Kuwaiti locals Footage on social media shows a group of men approaching the pilot and shouting, while one of them brandishes a metal pipe The plane was seen in a tailspin falling out of the sky near a US base in Kuwait Footage had earlier emerged showing the $90 million planes spiralling out of control as they crashed to the ground. US CENTCOM said all six crew members ejected safely were recovered, evacuated and transferred to hospitals for health checks. Kuwait's Ministry of Defence said it was coordinating with the US regarding the 'circumstances of the incident' and would investigate. A spokesman for Kuwait's defence ministry said Monday: 'Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived. 'Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. Their condition is stable.' The viral video followed another, more friendly interaction between another ejected pilot and locals in Kuwait. Footage on social media showed an unnamed female pilot beaming ear-to-ear despite being shot out of the sky moments before in a friendly fire mishap. 'You need something to help you?' the man recording could be heard asking the pilot as he approached her. A separate clip showed an unknown female pilot as she beamed from ear-to-ear despite being shot out of the sky moments before in a friendly fire mishap 'No problem, you are safe, you are safe. Everything good? Thank you for helping us,' the man continued. Footage also showed the third pilot walking on the ground after they too successfully ejected. Kuwait hosts the largest US military presence in the region, with some 13,500 troops stationed in the Middle East. It comes as an operations centre targeted by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait killed six American soldiers on Sunday. The development raises questions about the safety precautions that the US military had in place as it, along with Israel, launched an attack on Iran, which has responded with retaliatory strikes against several countries in the region. President Donald Trump and top defence leaders have said more American casualties are likely. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the six soldiers were killed in a 'tactical operations centre' when a projectile made its way past air defences. A day later, the Pentagon confirmed it was a drone strike in Port Shuaiba in Kuwait, when announcing the names of four of the soldiers who were slain. A satellite image taken Monday showed the main building in the complex destroyed, with a trail of black smoke rising from it. It is located in the heart of Port Shuaiba, a working seaport and industrial area just south of Kuwait City. Activists in a progressive Los Angeles neighborhood have taken their campaign against Immigration and Customs Enforcement to new lengths. Highland Park residents must now be on alert for small but powerful air raid sirens that alert residents when ICE is in the neighborhood. Signs posted around the neighborhood by the Highland Park Community Support Group announced the purpose of the alarms in both English and Spanish, reported the Los Angeles Times. 'When alarm goes off, ICE is in the community,' they read. 'Get off the streets, take shelter and lock down.' Amanda Alcade, who started the organization, told KTLA she hopes to discreetly install the sirens at private residences and businesses all over the neighborhood. 'We'd like to eventually have this all throughout the different streets so that everyone is aware and they can take shelter,' she said. About 20 have already been installed so far. The $70 sirens are activated by a mobile app and their wail can be heard up to half a mile away. But the organization failed to go through the city for approval, and fears of misuse and legal repercussions have already begun to rise. City Council Candidate Nelson Grande said activists circumvented city approval due to a 'sense of urgency' More than a dozen air raid sirens were installed in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Mail that the idea was 'quite literally insane.' 'The residents of Highland Park want to buy an air raid sirenthe same device that was used in London when German planes flew overto alert the community about ICE. Seems like a public nuisance!' First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli warned the group they could face jail time for installing the system without approval from the city, reported CBS. 'I would admonish these anti-government activists that it is a federal crime to harbor or assist in harboring illegal aliens,' he wrote. 'They should familiarize themselves with 8 U.S.C. 1324(a), which carries a penalty of up to 5 years in federal prison.' The LAPD warned that the blaring sirens could result in citations due to noise ordinance violations. Activist Amanda Alcade said she wants the sirens to be iknstalled on every street in the neighborhood Signs were posted around the neighborhood in Spanish and English to warn residents But City Council Candidate Nelson Grande said the activists declined to go through the city because of 'the sense of urgency.' 'When the ICE raids are happening now, we don't have time to go through legislators and to go through that whole process.' Supporters have said the sirens will protect both immigrants and activists and restore peace to their community. 'I see a lot of fear in people's eyes,' said Alcade. 'I don't see a lot of our ethnic minority out and about day to day... it kind of feels dystopian in a way.' A GoFundMe was started to purchase more sirens for the alert system. It has raised $325 toward its $450 goal. The sirens can be heard half a mile away and cost $70 each. Approximately 20 are situated throughout Highland Park Grande told the Times that they're already seeing support from a wide array of people since it was first implemented in February. 'We're seeing a diverse group of people that are reaching out to support,' he said. 'There's no specific person that's being asked to do this.' The majority of Highland Park residents are Hispanic, according to Niche. Several raids have been reported in the area since Trump's immigration crackdown began. 'Folks are afraid, folks are scared,' said Grande. 'We need to come up with more creative ways to keep our community safe.' The Daily Mail contacted the Highland Park Community Support Group for comment. A toddler lost her life at the hands of a suspected drunk driver in California, leaving her mother devastated. Myrah Hunter, one, was sitting on the stairs outside of a Long Beach apartment with two relatives on Monday when the driver, identified as 55-year-old Lamont Russell, reversed over the curb and struck the family members. Her mother, Meicole Johnson, let out a blood-curdling scream after witnessing the crash that killed her daughter, reported KTLA. 'The driver just came down the street and he was trying to park right there,' she told the outlet. 'He reversed and hit all of them right there that were on the stairs. My auntie had broken ribs. Her pelvis is split, rods in her back, and my niece got a broken femur.' According to a preliminary report obtained by the Daily Mail, Long Beach Police found that 'a 2013 Chevy Captiva was making a turning movement when the vehicle reversed, at a high rate of speed, off the roadway and onto the sidewalk.' Shortly after the crash, Johnson was visibly stricken by grief. She cried and yelled loudly as neighbors and friends attempted to comfort her. Hunter was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries and later declared dead. Myrah Hunter died shortly after a suspected drunk driver struck her and two other family members Johnson said her 21-month-old daughter was 'full of life' and enjoyed singing, dancing and coloring Johnson's 12-year-old niece and 45-year-old aunt were also transported to the hospital, both in stable condition. The grieving mother told the Daily Mail that her 'whole world has been torn apart.' 'I lost a huge piece of me that I can never get back,' she said. 'She had so much personality and it breaks my heart that instead of planning her birthday, I now have to plan her memorial services due to a drunk driver,' Johnson continued. 'This pain is unbearable.' The driver, Russell, is facing murder charges after the accident. He reportedly remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities following the fatal crash. The family hopes to pursue the maximum punishment. Johnson's cousin, Ali Neal, warned others against driving while impaired and taking another 'valuable life.' Hunter was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where she was later declared dead The little girl was struck along with two family members while sitting outside of an apartment complex 'You took a life, a valuable life. You didn't take anybody that didn't matter. She mattered to everyone,' she said. 'To anybody who drinks, who drives, don't do it. Make a smart decision, order an Uber.' The community gathered for a vigil the day after the tragic accident, releasing balloons in honor of the little girl. 'My baby was everything. smart, loving,' Johnson said. 'She loved dancing, singing, coloring.' Johnson posted a GoFundMe to cover the costs of medical expenses, her daughter's funeral arrangements and continuing to care for her nine-month-old son, Jeremiah. In a tribute to her, Johnson said Hunter was 'full of life.' The investigation into the incident is ongoing, but police believed it involved a drunk driver 'Her smile lit up every room...,' she wrote. 'She was the most amazing little girl anyone could ever ask for!' The driver had a previous DUI charge in 2015, reported CBS. California drivers with previous DUI convictions are eligible for murder charges if their next offense results in a death. Police said 'speed, distraction and impaired driving' appear to contribute to the collision. Russell will be arraigned on Thursday and was placed on a $335,000 bail at the Los Angeles County Jail. The investigation is ongoing. The Daily Mail contacted Johnson for comment. A Colorado man who campaigned to improve safety at an intersection after his wife was killed there has died at the same crossing. Gerry Goldberg, 82, was mowed down on Monday at East Belleview Avenue and South Franklin Street, which sits on the border between Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills Village in the Denver metropolitan area. Almost two years ago in May 2024, his wife, Andreia Lea Goldberg, 59, was fatally struck by a motorist there while returning home from a morning run. Her death inspired Gerry to co-found Andie's Light, a community organization with the stated purpose of getting a traffic light installed at the deadly intersection. 'Due to the death of Andie, I've been thinking of how much it means to me going forward that nothing like this ever happens again,' Gerry told KUSA shortly after he was widowed. Gerry died while he was driving to meet his cousin, Gloria Goldberg, for lunch. In an interview with KUSA, she recalled not seeing him at the restaurant and that he had not answered any texts or calls. Gloria knew something was wrong and 'went home with a very empty feeling,' she told the outlet. She said the fact Gerry was killed at the same intersection as his wife felt surreal. 'Its almost like science fiction,' she told KUSA. Gerry Goldberg, 82, was killed in a fatal car crash at the same intersection where his wife was killed nearly two years ago. He had been campaigning to install a traffic light there Gerry's wife, Andreia Lea Goldberg, 59, was fatally struck by a car at the intersection in May 2024 while returning home from a morning run Gerry's wrecked car is pictured getting towed at the intersection of East Belleview Avenue and South Franklin Street, which sits on the border between Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills Village in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area The efforts of Andie's Light had pushed Cherry Hills Village council members to schedule a discussion on a traffic signal warrant study for March 17. That process has been expedited following Gerry's death, Cherry Hills Village City Clerk Laura Gillespie told the Daily Mail. Warrant studies collect data on traffic volumes, crashes and pedestrian activity to determine whether an intersection meets the criteria for having a light installed. Because Belleview Avenue is also Colorado 88, a state highway, state transportation officials have the final say as to whether a traffic light should be installed, and they require the findings of a warrant study to make that determination. According to a video published by Andie's Light in October: 'A recent traffic study was completed, and it confirmed that the traffic volume at this intersection has officially met the state requirements for a traffic light. 'The state gave a traffic light the greenlight. The data is there. The need is proven. The solution exists.' It is unclear why then, five months later, no traffic light was yet installed, and the Cherry Hills Village city council was still in the process of discussing a warrant study. Gillespie, the city clerk, told the Daily Mail that the March 17 city council meeting was to discuss an 'updated' traffic warrant study. Your browser does not support iframes. Andie's light, the community organization campaigning for a traffic light at the intersection, said five months ago that the state had greenlit the installation of one, but that has not happened yet. The intersection is pictured The seemingly dragged-out process may have been due to the intersection being located in both Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills Village jurisdictions. Staff at Cherry Hills have been directed to coordinate with Greenwood to examine the intersection and determine next steps after Monday's fatal crash. In a statement, Gillespie told the Daily Mail : 'Any loss of life in our community is heartbreaking, and we recognize the profound impact this incident has had on loved ones and neighbors. 'Our thoughts are with everyone grieving during this difficult time.' Greenwood Village spokesperson Megan Copenhaver told the Daily Mail: 'Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones impacted by this tragic incident. 'The Cities of Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills Village have been evaluating the Belleview/Franklin state highway intersection in partnership with Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). 'Cherry Hills Village has announced that, in light of the recent accident, they will conduct a new warrant study. Greenwood Village looks forward to continuing to work with our neighbors to evaluate the study and discuss potential next steps.' Conservative firebrand Matt Schlapp suggested the Iranian schoolgirls who died in an airstrike on their elementary school would be better off dead than alive and wearing burkas. Schlapp, the head of the influential Conservative Union advocacy group, made the remark as he appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday. The commentator chimed in as Morgan was arguing with Peter Beinart, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents and a critic of the war, over the airstrike on an Iranian school on the first day of the war which killed at least 175 people, mostly children. The panel went back-and-forth over who was to blame for the airstrike, with conflicting reports stating it was launched by Israel or was an accidental misfire by Iran. Beinart argued that it did not matter who fired the airstrike, because 'those girls would still be alive today if the United States and Israel had not launched the attack.' 'We dont know who launched the missile. But we know that if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked a country that poses no serious threat to them Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons, America has thousands that those girls would be alive,' Beinart said. As Morgan began responding, Schlapp interrupted to state that he believed the girls were better off dead. 'Theyd be alive in a burka,' Schlapp said. 'This is a barbaric society.' Conservative firebrand Matt Schlapp (right) suggested the Iranian schoolgirls who died in an airstrike on their elementary school would be better off dead than alive under the Iranian regime, in a shocking remark on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday An airstrike on an Iranian school on the first day of the war on February 28 killed at least 175 people, mostly children Schlapp, whose Conservative Union runs the prominent annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), appeared to confuse the restrictive policies toward women in Iran. Women and girls under the regime are required to wear a hijab, which covers the head and neck, but are not required to wear a burka, which covers the entire body. The strike on the school in the Iranian city of Minab on February 28 stands among the deadliest incidents so far in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, killing at least 175 people. Officials said most of the victims were young children, and it remains unclear why the school was hit and which nation fired the airstrike. In a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the airstrike was not launched by the United States 'that we know of', and said the 'Department of War is investigating' the attack. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also addressed the tragedy in a press conference on Wednesday, saying: 'We of course never target civilian targets, but were taking a look and investigating that.' Schlapp's Conservative Union runs the prominent annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) The strike on the school on February 28 stands among the deadliest incidents so far in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. It remains unclear why the school was hit and which nation fired the airstrike As the war neared its first week, the US celebrated a major military victory on Tuesday night as it sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean. The torpedo strike killed at least 87 Iranian soldiers, and marked the first time since World War Two that a torpedo launched from a US Navy submarine sunk a vessel in combat. The high-precision strike came as Pete Hegseth said the military is ramping up its bombing campaign on Iran, declaring America is 'just getting started.' In response to the attack, a top Iranian cleric has called for 'the shedding of Trump's blood' as the country's leadership warned that the US will 'bitterly regret' torpedoing the warship. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi decried the incident as 'an atrocity at sea', and wrote on social media: 'Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set.' Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, said the country was 'on the verge of a great test' and called on state television for 'the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump's blood'. 'Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders,' he said in a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. Brewdog's millionaire co-founder James Watt has suggested the craft beer firm's 220,000 investors could yet benefit after its 75million sell-off. Mr Watt, married to I'm A Celebrity and Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, this week admitted to 'many mistakes' when running the 'Equity Punk' brand. Shareholders who signed up since Brewdog's stock market launch in 2007 have expressed frustration at missing out on any benefits following the latest development. Mr Watt had told on Instagram of being 'heartbroken' after his firm was sold off for 33million this week - with the loss of almost 500 jobs. The Scottish brewery, which was valued at 2billion a few years ago, was sold to US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray for a fraction of that earlier this week. A total of 38 UK bars were closed on Monday, when CEO James Taylor told 484 staff in a conference call that they were no longer employed. Shares owned by the 220,000 'equity punks' who invested some 75million in the company over seven funding rounds are now practically worthless. But Mr Watt, 43, has appeared to suggest a glimmer of hope ahead with a cryptic online comment. Brewdog's millionaire co-founder James Watt (pictured) has suggested the craft beer firm's 220,000 investors could yet benefit after its 75million sell-off A BrewDog pub in Cambridge Circus, Soho - among the 38 bars that have been closed with immediate effect He was responding to a sardonic post including an AI image of a Brewdog beer can bearing the words: 'Bust AF, 0% Equity Punks, Bitter Aftertaste.' Mr Watt, who co-founded Brewdog in 2007 with schoolfriend Martin Dickie, replied: '"Let's see. Maybe the Equity Punk story is not quite finished yet....' The Daily Mail has approached Mr Watt for comment. In his lengthier statement shared across several social media channels, Mr Watt expressed contrition over the company's downfall. Describing the last week as 'incredibly hard', he wrote: 'I am heartbroken for all of the hard working and passionate team members who have lost their jobs. 'I am heartbroken for all of our brilliant equity punks who did not get the return on their investment they wanted. 'And heartbroken to have dedicated the best 20 years of my life to something that ultimately did not have the ending we all wished for.' Mr Watt - who stepped back from the role of CEO in 2024 amid allegations of a toxic culture within BrewDog - said he would have 'loved to save every single job and every single equity punk investment' but 'couldn't', adding: 'That will stay with me.' James Watt is married to Made In Chelsea and I'm A Celebrity star Georgio Toffolo He added that 'with the benefit of hindsight' the firm had expanded too quickly and diversified too widely, and that he had not responded to PR crises in a way that was 'authentic and true to who I am'. 'I am sorry that I was not able to repay the faith you bestowed in me with the outcome you all deserved,' he signed off the post. Observers on social media responded with a mix of well-wishing and criticism - with responses highlighting how Mr Watt and Mr Dickie shared in a reported 100million payday when they sold 22 per cent of the firm to US investment firm TSG Partners. The 2017 deal gave TSG 'preferential' shares that entitled them to a return on their investment in the event the company was sold - over and above other investors, including the so-called 'equity punks' that are now unlikely to get any money back. One commenter on LinkedIn said: 'Are you "heartbroken" you gave the institutional investor preference over the equity punks James? An arrangement that ensured we received no return on our investments.' 'I'm sure you have plenty of sympathy for those left with no jobs and bills to pay whilst you sit in your penthouse overlooking Blackfriars,' wrote one follower on Instagram, where Mr Watt has limited who can comment. Others were more positive, with one fan on Instagram saying: 'Haters will always hate but there is no doubt that Brewdog was at the heart of, what is now, a resurgent craft beer culture in the UK. 'As an equity punk myself I'm happy to say that I was part of that revolution and am delighted with the non-financial return on that investment.' Martin Dickie and James Watt (pictured) founded BrewDog in 2007. The firm has now been sold for a fraction of its market value, with hundreds of people out of work An email sent to investors this week, seen by the Daily Mail, thanked amateur investors for their contributions and said they would continue to receive benefits such as discounts - including an additional discount for those with BrewDog tattoos. The email added: 'We know you will have questions, and we ask for your patience while we focus on supporting our people and stabilising the business.' Among the investors had been Steven Howe-Bull, who put in 1,000 in what he has described as a tribute to his late husband Keith Phillip - as fellow fans of Punk IPA. In the doghouse: the BrewDog pubs that have closed Castlegate DogHouse Merchant City DogHouse Manchester Soho Aberdeen Union Square Basingstoke Bath Bournemouth Bristol Bristol Harbourside Cambridge Camden Road Cardiff Carlisle Chancery Lane Cheltenham Clerkenwell Ealing Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow Hammersmith Inverurie Liverpool Manchester Outpost Milton Keynes Newcastle Norwich Nottingham Perth Plymouth Reading Seething Lane Southampton St Andrews Stirling Tower Bridge Wandsworth Mr Howe-Bull, from Suffolk, whose headteacher husband died in 2017, has told the BBC: 'It looked like a nice thing to do for Keith but, over the years, I have been watching its slow demise. 'The way the company has been run, Keith would have turned in his grave.' New owner Tilray Brands, described in Brewdog's email this week as a 'leading global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company', owns several brands of medical and consumer cannabis in the US as well as other alcohol businesses. Administrators AlixPartners said it had not received any offers that would have 'preserved BrewDog in its entirety.' Mr Watt had sought to invest 10million of his own cash in the firm as part of a rescue deal that ultimately failed. Some 733 staff have been retained in the sale, including operational staff and those working at 11 franchised pubs. But those who were sacked were told to claim for lost wages via the Insolvency Service after the firm was put into administration, according to the BBC - putting the onus on the public purse to pick up the tab. They were given little notice of the conference call that saw them sacked - which has been compared to the mass sacking conducted by P&O Ferries in 2022. Bryan Simpson, lead organiser of Unite's hospitality branch, described the conduct of BrewDog management as 'nothing short of a national disgrace'. 'This has all the hallmarks of the scandal at P&O Ferries... it is a disgrace that lessons have clearly not been learned across corporate Britain,' he told the Mail. 'A company does not lose 97 per cent of its value in nine years without catastrophic mismanagement.' He added that the union is demanding answers over unpaid wages with appointed administrator AlixPartners. James Brown, the former CEO of BrewDog's bars division, said the Government should shoulder some blame for BrewDog's woes after hiking National Insurance. He wrote on LinkedIn: 'For years now, government policy on rates and employment taxes has steadily eroded confidence in hospitality.' 'The leadership over the nearly 20 years of BrewDog could never have envisaged the world post Brexit, Post Covid and the tax, costs and admin burden facing businesses today.' BrewDog grew from a small beer brewing business founded by Watt and Dickie in 2007 to the world's leading craft beer brand at its peak in the late 2010s. However, it was plagued by a series of public relations misfires and allegations of a toxic working culture and inappropriate behaviour by Mr Watt, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing over the years. In 2022, a BBC documentary aired claims that he had kissed a drunk customer and that female staff were given advice on how to avoid unwelcome attention from him on visits to bars. Mr Watt later apologised for making anyone feel 'uncomfortable' but hired private detectives to investigate those who had raised concerns and went to regulator Ofcom challenging the programme's claims. It upheld none of his complaints. BrewDog has weathered PR storms over the years, facing claims that it has shed its original DIY 'punk' ethos and become one of the corporate juggernauts that it resented so deeply. The BBC reported in 2022 that Mr Watt had once purchased 500,000 of shares in Dutch brewery Heineken during takeover talks; he also sunk 2million into an offshore hedge fund. BrewDog itself ditched the 'real' living wage in 2024. It has also been criticised for recent rounds of closures and redundancies, and has been repeatedly challenged on its environmental claims. The 'Lost Forest', a 10,000 acre woodland estate in the Scottish Highlands, was sold off after trees that BrewDog planted to offset its carbon emissions either died or failed to take root. BrewDog has four breweries - its main headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Columbus, Ohio, in the US, Brisbane in Australia; and German capital Berlin. The firm told investors this week that its international businesses were 'being reviewed'. However, the Berliner Morgenpost has reported that the German arm of the business is likely to be liquidated. It closed one Berlin bar last month. Martin Dickie, co-founder of BrewDog, stepped away in 2025, citing personal reasons. Mr Watt has since co-founded his new business Social Tip, which promises influencer-style payouts for people who promote brands on social media. It has paid 500,000 to its 100,000 users since its launch last year - equivalent to 5 per user. Iran has issued a stark warning to Europe, saying the bloc will 'pay the price' for remaining silent about US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Speaking on Spanish broadcaster TVE, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei criticised what he called a lack of response from European nations, arguing that their silence amounted to approval. He said EU countries would 'pay the price, sooner or later,' adding that Iran considers the actions by America and Israel to be against international law. Baghaei's comments come as fighting between the US, Israel and Iran today entered its sixth day, with more countries suffering relentless attacks. Israel and Iran traded fresh attacks overnight, with Irans army saying it launched several long-range Arash attack drones, claiming they struck fuel tanks at the Ramat David Airbase in Israel. Meanwhile, several Israeli strikes near Lebanons capital have left eight people dead and six injured. Lebanese media reported the attacks hit a road leading to Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, citing the countrys health ministry. This morning, a tanker sailing off the coast of Kuwait was rocked by a 'large explosion,' and several drones hit a terminal building at Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport while another landed near a school building in the village of Shakarabad injuring two people. Azerbaijan said Iran was responsible for the attack, which they deny, instead blaming Israel for the strikes. A fire burns after a missile strike in central Tel Aviv This comes as France agreed to send frigates to protect Cyprus Countries in the Gulf have been particularly affected, with Qatar hit by another missile attack this morning and Bahrain saying it continues to 'confront successive waves of heinous Iranian terrorist attacks,' urging residents to remain at home unless travel is essential. Meanwhile, the UAE revealed it was struck by a ballistic missile as Iran today fired a barrage of 131 suicide drones towards Dubai. The UAE defence ministry said six drones fell inside the emirate as it intercepted and destroyed six missiles in the latest salvo fired by Tehran. In Abu Dhabi, six people were injured today as a result of falling debris when drones were intercepted by air defence systems. Iran has said at least 1,230 people have been killed since Saturday, while Israel said 11 people died after a strike on Beit Shemesh. Meanwhile six American service members have died, while the death toll in Lebanon has reached at least 77 people. The escalation comes as Spain is to join France, Italy and the Netherlands in sending its navy to protect Cyprus - including a British military base. Madrid said the frigate Cristobal Colon would join a growing international armada in the Eastern Mediterranean to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians' from the island. This comes after RAF Akroitiri in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences. Officials said the damage was minor, but last night it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions. After France agreed to send frigates to protect the island, Sir Keir on Tuesday ordered Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to sail to the region. But it will not be ready to set sail from Portsmouth until next week, having been disarmed for planned maintenance, and could take a further week to get there. Smoke billows following a US-Israeli air strike near the Azadi (freedom) tower in Tehran Your browser does not support iframes. After the Spanish announcement, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the Rome parliament that Italy would send 'naval assets' to protect its fellow EU member in the coming days. It will heap further criticism on Sir Keir over his response to the expanding military confrontation in the Middle East. The European nations' decision to supplement European forces around the island comes amid a warning from a former senior officer that Britain has been diminished in the eyes of its allies through its unwillingness to join attacks on Iran or defend its own interests in the region. General Sir Richard Barrons said that Britain's relationship with the US would be strained because the UK had 'not turned up when they asked in the way that they asked'. The UK has refused to join in the assault on Tehran, though Sir Keir has allowed the US to use its bases in Britain for defensive operations. Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch has said the UK should take offensive action against Iran after UK bases were attacked. 'We need to do what we can to stop the ability for these attacks to take place,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'I think that we should look at what our allies in the region are saying. Even if we're not talking about Iran, Cyprus feels that we have not been helpful. It is extraordinary that Bahrain and Kuwait in the UAE are publicly criticising us 'They think that we're abandoning them.' She continued: 'If your principle is, we will only wait until we are attacked rather than dealing with imminent threats properly, then we will be in a lot of trouble.' Family members reunite after British citizens were evacuated from the Middle East on a flight from Oman to London on March 5 A couple greet their family members upon arrival at Heathrow after taking a flight from Dubai Meanwhile, civilians from EU countries and the UK have been scrambling to evacuate the Middle East, with the first flights carrying European nationals arriving back in Europe. Spanish citizens were flown out of Oman on a military repatriation flight overnight. A Lufthansa flight from Muscat - operating as the German governments first evacuation service - has also landed at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. A charter plane carrying Austrian nationals was also evacuated from Muscat, landing at Vienna International Airport. However, British nationals endured a chaotic ordeal after the first UK government chartered flight from Oman failed to take off. Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a 'total s***show'. It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not 'due to the pilot's hours clocking up'. In a statement from the Foreign Office they claimed that it was due to 'technical issues', and the flight instead took off on Thursday, landing at London Heathrow this morning. However, thousands of cruise ship passengers are still trapped in ports in the Gulf by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz The passengers and crews are unable to leave the ships, which have become floating hotels, after escalating hostilities raised fears over safety in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping lanes. This comes after Iran vowed to bring chaos by announcing they would close the Strait of Hormuz and 'burn every ship' attempting to pass. At least six ships from big companies are said to be at a standstill and awaiting news of when they can leave. Two Brits were knocked out during a drunken brawl with a bodybuilder on a street in Thailand. A group of friends was involved in the fight with the hulking tourist as he was leaving Walking Street in 'Sin City' Pattaya with his girlfriend on March 5. Footage shows the muscular fitness buff trading punches with the group in front of shocked bystanders. One of the Brits was knocked unconscious after trying to dodge a punch but losing his balance and stumbling backwards into a parked truck. The other was floored during the fight. Paramedics arrived and found one of the men collapsed on the pavement with a dislocated hip, abrasions, and cuts on his face. Another man aged 25 to 30 was lying out cold nearby. The pair were given first aid and taken to Pattaya Bhattamakun Hospital for treatment. Police Captain Jittisuk Suthenitatwong of Pattaya City Police Station said: 'The tourist was released after interrogation. We have to wait for the injured victims to recover before questioning them for further legal action.' Two Brits were knocked out during a drunken brawl with a bodybuilder on a street in Thailand A group of friends was involved in the fight with the hulking tourist as he was leaving Walking Street in 'Sin City' Pattaya with his girlfriend on March 5 Footage shows the muscular fitness buff trading punches with the group in front of shocked bystanders One of the Brits was knocked unconscious after trying to dodge a punch but losing his balance and stumbling backwards into a parked truck An onlooker said he saw the holidaymakers fighting each other as they emerged from a beer bar. Tourists are regularly attacked or caught up in crime, leading Pattaya to be dubbed 'Sin City'. Embarrassed officials in the central government have launched tourism initiatives to attract families and rebrand Pattaya as a safe destination. Authorities have also introduced safety measures, such as improved lighting and CCTV. Despite some success in cleaning up the town's image, alcohol and sex remain its biggest draws, often leading to a high rate of crime and accidents. An elderly Maryland couple died holding hands in their hospital beds after a horrifying car crash ended their 70 years together. Kenneth and Marilyn Oland died in Baltimore on Monday, less than a week after their vehicle was t-boned on Route 15, south of their home in Thurmont. Maryland State Police told the Daily Mail that a driver struck the front side door of the couple's Ford after they 'failed to yield to the right of way.' They were rushed to a Baltimore hospital and placed on life support. Kenneth, 90, and Marilyn, 88, married in 1955 and shared three kids, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, reported Fox 5. Their friend Nancy Echard told the outlet that it was a great comfort that the pair was taken off of life support at the same time. 'I don't think one could have lasted without the other. That's how tight they were,' she said. 'You always saw them together, no matter where you were.' An employee at Thurmont Senior Center said the couple had left the property just 15 minutes before their accident. Kenneth and Marilyn Oland died on March 2 after being taken off life support at a Baltimore hospital Marilyn, 88, and Kenneth, 90, had been married for more than 70 years at the time of their death Marilyn and Kenneth pictured with one of their five grandchildren, Kristie Hopkins 'They ate lunch here every day, so we got to see each other almost every day,' said Nancy Rice. 'And it's a big void here. We're all sad.' The center posted a tribute to the couple on its Facebook page. 'To those of us here at the Senior Center, they were simply quite a pair,' it read. 'You rarely saw one without the other, and that was no accident; they were two people who genuinely chose each other every single day.' Representatives for the center said the Olands had been 'true pillars of Thurmont' since they moved there in 1963. 'The impact they leave behind is immeasurable,' they said. The late couple had become regulars at Thurmont's Kountry Kitchen as well, visiting weekly. The home-style restaurant posted a tribute on Facebook about their most beloved customers. 'Ken and Marilyn will always hold a special place in our hearts...,' it read. 'The laughs we've had, the stories they've told, the friendship we've shared will be truly missed.' The couple were 'true pillars' of the community and became locals at multiple spots in the small town Loved ones said the couple did everything together, making their last moments a fitting end to their long lives According to a LinkedIn profile in his name, Kenneth was a retired businessman and served as chairman of the Thurmont board of appeals. Marilyn worked in chiropractic care for 25 years before retiring in 2023. Their granddaughter, Kristie Hopkins, said she is proud of the legacy her grandparents left behind. 'Their legacy is just how to be humans,' she said. 'Be humble and kind and graceful to others and help strangers in need.' The Daily Mail contacted the Oland family for comment. Donald Trump has not denied calling Sir Keir Starmer a 'loser' as he continues to fume at the Prime Minister for failing to back his military action against Iran. The US President is furious at Sir Keir for his refusal to allow American jets to launch offensive strikes on Tehran from British bases. In an interview with the New York Post, Mr Trump issued a fresh blast at the PM by saying the UK had been 'very disappointing'. Asked about explosive claims he had called Sir Keir a 'loser' in private conversations, the US President did not deny the reports. 'Well, he's not Winston Churchill, let me put it that way,' Mr Trump replied, as he repeated an attack on the PM he also made earlier in the week. He said he was 'very surprised' at Sir Keir and 'very disappointed', adding: 'I get along with him fine. But he sometimes doesn't do things that he should be doing.' It came as Sir Keir swiped at Mr Trump for plunging the Middle East into 'chaos' and admitted the US President has been giving him the silent treatment. In a Downing Street press conference, the PM played down a mounting backlash over Britain's lack of military preparations and the meltdown in the Special Relationship. Donald Trump has not denied calling Sir Keir Starmer a 'loser' as he continues to fume at the Prime Minister for failing to back his military action against Iran The US President is furious at Sir Keir for his refusal to allow American jets to launch offensive strikes on Tehran from British bases Spain said the frigate Cristobal Colon would join French and Greek ships in the Eastern Mediterranean to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians' Your browser does not support iframes. Timeline of events relating to Iran strikes February 26 Talks between the US and Iran over the latter's nuclear programme ended without agreement. Trump has threatened to attack the Islamic Republic if no deal is reached. February 27 The Foreign Office 'temporarily' withdraws staff from Iran. February 28 US and Israeli forces attack Iran in what the two countries described as a 'pre-emptive' strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons. Starmer says the UK 'played no role in these strikes' which kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Dubai is hit by Iranian missiles, damaging the Fairmont The Palm Hotel and the airport. March 1 UK ministers including John Healey refuse to say whether the Government believes the strikes are legal as missiles rain down on the Middle East. Plans for potential evacuation of civilians begins. In the evening, Sir Keir says British aircraft have 'successfully intercepted Iranian strikes' and he has U-turned and given the US permission to use British bases including Diego Garcia for defensive missions. March 2 Mr Healey confirms RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone that did 'minimal damage late on March 1', with two others shot down. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says it is 'not in the UK's interests' to support the US attacks. March 3 Trump uses interview to attack Sir Keir for not helping attack Iran, saying he is 'not Churchill'. The PM responds by saying his Government 'does not believe in regime change from the skies'. France says it will send frigates and the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group to Cyprus after appeal from the country's president, who also asked Germany for help. Greece also sends two warships. Stung into action, the UK announces HMS Dragon will also be sent from Portsmouth. March 4 Sir Keir says Trump lacks a 'viable, thought-through plan' for the Iran war, during PMQs. Questions are raised about the state of the Royal Navy after it emerges that HMS Dragon will not be ready to set sail for Cyprus until next week. The first Government rescue flight from Muscat is due to take off but it is grounded by a technical issue at the airport in Oman. March 5 Sir Keir insists the UK-US special relationship is 'in operation right now' but admits he has not spoken to Trump since the first day of the conflict. Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all agree to send ships to protect Cyprus. It is revealed the 'minimal damage' done to Akrotiri was a strike on a hanger used by the USAF's U2 spy planes. The Government's rescue flight finally takes off from Oman. Standing by his decision to stop the US carrying out 'offensive' airstrikes on Iran from UK bases, Sir Keir said he was providing 'calm, level-headed leadership' and appealed for the nation to 'come together'. He also argued that the UK had been deploying resources such as anti-aircraft missiles to the region since December, despite anger at the apparent inability to protect a crucial Cyprus base from Iranian reprisals. The premier said helicopters with capability to shoot down missiles and drones would be arriving in the Mediterranean tomorrow, and more Typhoon jets were being deployed to Qatar. 'While the region has been plunged into chaos, my focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest,' Sir Keir said. Bracing Brits for looming pain from spiking energy costs, he added: 'This conflict could continue for some time.' Sir Keir also insisted Transatlantic ties were still working despite the US-UK spat, but said: 'It's for me as the British PM to take the decisions that I consider to be in the best interests of the UK.' Sir Keir's desperate efforts to get back on the front foot have been thrown into turmoil by news that more European countries are having to deploy forces to protect the crucial RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus. Spain is to join France, Italy and the Netherlands in sending its navy, with the UK not having any vessels in the area and Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon not even due to set off until next week. Madrid said the frigate Cristobal Colon would join a growing international armada in the Eastern Mediterranean to 'offer protection and aerial defence' and 'support any evacuation of civilians' from the island. RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences. Officials said the damage was minor, but last night it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions. After France agreed to send frigates to protect the island Sir Keir finally ordered HMS Dragon to sail to the region on Tuesday. However, the Spectator reported that the first enquiry from the US about using UK bases for strikes came 11 days before they were launched on Saturday. Critics pointed out that meant the Government had plenty of warning of what was coming. Asked whether the Special Relationship was ruined, Sir Keir said: 'Look, the special relationship is in operation right now. 'We're working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region, the US and the British, working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where we're jointly located, and we're sharing intelligence on a 24/7 basis in the usual way. 'That is the special relationship. That is a special relationship in operation and, clearly, it's for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest, the right decisions, for the US. 'I understand that, I respect that, but equally, it's for me as the British Prime Minister to take decisions that I consider to be in the best interest of the United Kingdom. 'There's nothing controversial about that. The special relationship is operating right here at an important point.' He insisted he was 'satisfied that we can keep our people safe' amid accusations of dithering and a lack of UK preparedness in the conflict. Britain started 'pre-deploying' to the region in January and February, he said, particularly to Qatar and to Cyprus, where RAF Akrotiri was struck by a drone earlier this week in an attack that sparked questions about a lack of defence. 'There's been a lot of pre-planning gone into this, a lot of pre-deployment that's gone into this,' Sir Keir said. 'And I'm satisfied that we can keep our people safe and we're working very hard to make sure that wherever people have registered their presence, we can help them with the information that they need and the support they need, and get them back to the United Kingdom as quickly and as safely as possible.' But Nigel Farage said Britain has been 'humiliated' over the Government's response to the conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at the launch of Reform's Wales manifesto, the party leader said Sir Keir was 'incapable of making a decision', describing him as a 'follower and not a leader'. 'We find ourselves humiliated,' he said. 'What was for centuries the greatest naval nation on Earth is now unable, for up to a fortnight, to send a Type 45 to Cyprus to defend British sovereign territory. 'We've managed to upset the Cypriots, we've managed to upset the Americans, we've managed to upset the UAE, Bahrain and all the other Gulf states that are on our side.' It was claimed today that Sir Keir would not have survived in No10 if he had backed Mr Trump's Iran strikes. A senior Labour MP has insisted Sir Keir 'didn't have a choice' about turning down the request following the by-election humiliation by anti-war Greens in Gorton & Denton. Sir Keir barely fended off a coup last month amid the Mandelson scandal, and has been facing massive pressure to lurch to the Left. Details have emerged of a bruising discussion at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday, less than 24 hours before the American-Israeli strikes began. Ed Miliband - nicknamed 'Red Ed' and touted as a replacement leader - Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir to shun the US assault on Iran, pointing to the domestic political situation. Security sources said Mr Miliband took a 'petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political approach' at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday the day before the US attack began, and just hours after Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election. He and Ms Reeves are said to have 'made it quite difficult for the Prime Minister', while Ms Cooper adopted the 'cautious approach of the Foreign Office'. Mr Trump was incensed by Sir Keir's initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel - with the Transatlantic wrangling said to have been going on for weeks. That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with 'defensive' actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them. Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon (pictured today loading with missiles) will not be ready to set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean from Portsmouth until next week Your browser does not support iframes. Mr Trump condemned the premier as 'disappointing' and 'no Churchill' on Tuesday, as the situation became more personal. But at PMQs yesterday Sir Keir accused Mr Trump of lacking a 'viable, thought-through plan'. He said letting the US use UK bases to shoot down drones 'is the special relationship in action' but 'hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not'. Labour MP John McDonnell told ITV's Robert Peston last night that he was not surprised Sir Keir rejected the request from the US. 'I don't think he had a choice then... we'd just lost a by-election, crushed in a by-election, we've got elections coming up in May in local government,' the former frontbencher said. 'I'm not sure whether he would have survived as PM if he'd gone along with Trump automatically.' A Pennsylvania furniture heir told wealthy tycoons that he would use their millions to fund startup companies, but instead he used their cash on his lavish lifestyle, which included private jet flights, country club memberships, and extravagant parties. Josh Verne, 48, was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison on Wednesday after duping billionaires like David Adelman, Bart Blastein, and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin into handing over their money under false pretenses from 2017 to 2020. Instead of putting their money toward the business ventures he said he would, Verne spent $12 to $24 million on renovating his Jersey Shore vacation home, traveling on private flights, joining ritzy country clubs, and paying for his daughters' bat mitzvahs, prosecutors said. Facebook photos showed the father-of-two having a blast at one of his daughter's bashes, with him appearing to steal the show by singing into a microphone and dancing with a custom t-shirt on that read 'Josh's Sweat Shirt.' A friend who shared the photos online in June 2019 said Verne and his now ex-wife, Kami Hockfield Verne, 'know how to throw a fabulous party!' He recently moved to a ritzy high-rise apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after moving out of his $1.7 million mansion in the extremely upscale Pennsylvania community of Gladwyne, according to public records. Verne and his family founded the Philadelphia-based furniture company Chuck's Bargain House, which was later named Home Line Furniture Industries. He worked for the business from 2000 to 2011, when it closed due to financial hardships. Verne then founded an employee payroll-deduction purchasing program called Workpays.me LLC and FlockU, a digital media platform aimed at college students that he convinced Adelman to invest in. Josh Verne, the heir to Philadelphia-based furniture company Chuck's Bargain House, was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison on Wednesday for duping tycoons out of millions that he used for himself Verne spent $12 to $24 million on renovating his Jersey Shore vacation home, flying in private jets, and paying for his daughters' bat mitzvahs. He is seen at one of their parties in 2019 In doing so, Verne lied about his business background and his so-called $50 million net worth to Adelman with forged financial documents he said were from Goldman Sachs, prosecutors said. In reality, there was no Goldman Sachs account in his or his family's name, 'much less an account with a market value of more than $50 million,' according to the US Attorney's Office. Once that company flopped, prosecutors said Verne turned it into Ownable, an online marketplace that would lease laptops and smartphones to people who couldn't afford them. When Ownable came along, Verne got Adelman to invest more of his money after telling the millionaire he was putting in more than $2 million of his own money into the company, but he never did so, according to prosecutors. From there, he went on to get other prominent money makers to shell out their cash, all while his most recent company was burning to the ground and his personal life was flourishing. He also told his benefactors that he was worth nearly $100 million, even though he never has been, prosecutors said. Verne was able to deceive the millionaires by using his charm and confidence to persuade them he was someone he wasn't, according to prosecutors. After pleading guilty, Verne admitted that he tried to lay low from law enforcement by sending fraudulent FedEx and bank confirmations 'purporting to confirm delivery of funds to investors to whom he had promised repayment,' prosecutors said. Verne is seen at one of his daughter's bat mitzvahs in 2019 alongside his ex-wife, Kami Hockfield Verne (left). He donned a t-shirt that read 'Josh's Sweat Shirt' on his daughter's big day (right) He recently moved out of his $1.7 million mansion in the extremely upscale Pennsylvania community of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania He also stole the identity of one of his former employees by forging their signature on a sales agreement in order to 'disguise an unauthorized sale of the employees shares of stock,' the US attorney's office detailed. Verne went on to use the $150,000 he obtained from that phony sale to make payments to a prior investor and to himself. During his sentencing, Verne admitted that he 'destroyed' his career, reputation, and personal life because of his poor choices, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. 'I alone am responsible for that. Not the circumstances, not the pressure, but me,' he added. Meanwhile, prosecutors labeled him an 'extraordinarily capable conman' whose scheme 'was not an aberration - it was a business model.' 'This wasnt a poor man who was trying to feed his family,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome Maiatico stated in court. 'He wanted to live a lifestyle that he couldnt otherwise afford. And he sustained that with deception.' Verne pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He scammed billionaires like David Adelman (pictured), Bart Blastein, and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin into handing over their money under false pretenses from 2017 to 2020 Verne recently moved to a ritzy high-rise apartment building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida He will spend a total of 111 months behind bars before serving three years of supervised release, US District Judge John F. Murphy ruled. Both his attorneys and prosecutors said they are still trying to finalize exactly how much Verne owes his victims, even though he is now 'penniless,' his federal public defenders said. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Verne had raised a whopping $31 million from investors and misspent around half of it, according to a 2023 civil court filing. He spent more than $9 million of that on personal expenses and about $5 million on 'Ponzi-like payments' to select investors, the SEC said. The Daily Mail contacted Verne's lawyers for comment. A teenager who had an 'obsession' with Southport killer Axel Rudakubana and wanted to carry out a copycat attack on the anniversary of his atrocity has avoided a custodial sentence. The boy, now aged 17, rang 999 in August last year and said he wanted to 're-enact Axel', having collected four knives and bought a green hoodie similar to one worn by the killer, Liverpool Crown Court heard. The white teenager described the killer as 'the black version of me' and told a contact on TikTok: '77 days until Axel 2.' He pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person planning or committing an act of terrorism. The documents, found on his phone, included an Al Qaeda training manual which was also possessed by Rudakubana and instructions for preparing ricin, the poison found in the Southport killer's home after his attack. Then aged 16, he had visited Southport and taken pictures and had researched a Taylor Swift-themed event of the type attacked by Rudakubana on July 29, 2024. Like Rudakubana, he had dropped out of school, been diagnosed with autistic spectrum condition and had been referred to social services, mental health services, and the Prevent de-radicalisation programme. He was not charged with preparing terrorist attacks, which carries a potential life sentence, because targeting schoolchildren and misogynistic attacks are not considered 'ideological' offences by prosecutors. Axel Rudakubana was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, who he stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance holiday club. Rudakubana pictured in the distinctive green hoodie he wore on the day of the attack. CCTV cameras caught him outside the Hart Space dance studio, in Southport, shortly before he launched the mass stabbing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were all murdered in the atrocity on July 29, 2024 He appeared in the dock today wearing a black jacket, pale blue collared shirt and short cropped hair. The court was told the teenager, from Merseyside, who cannot be named due to his age, described himself as an 'axelcel'. This was a reference to the term incel, or involuntary celibate, and Rudakubana, who murdered three girls in a knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In December last year, while in custody after his arrest, the boy was recorded as saying that as soon as he got out he would 'go into a primary school' and 'little girls' would be his first victims, the judge said. The white teenager appeared to laugh and put his head in his hands as Adam Birkby, prosecuting, read out a note found on the boy's phone in which he described Rudakubana as a 'hero'. In the note he said: 'I love him. He's the one person I look up to. I felt like he was speaking to me. 'I felt like all these isolated incidents were speaking to me to act up. He was me. He is the black version of me.' The court heard that the boy, then aged 16, told a 999 operator on August 6 last year that he had planned to re-enact the Southport attack on the first anniversary but was not able to find an event close to his home. He said the 'idea of violence' captivated him and he had watched 'a load of Isis videos'. When police attended his home he spoke about plans to commit a mass casualty attack and of his admiration of Rudakubana, who he said had a similar interest in 'genocides and that'. Mr Birkby said the teenager visited Southport in May last year and told a contact on TikTok: '77 days until Axel 2.' He also researched other killers, including Nicholas Prosper, who killed his mother and siblings in Luton in September 2024. The court heard the boy also referred to himself as a 'spergcel' - a reference to someone whose inceldom is partially derived from Asperger's syndrome. The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified due to his age, appeared in the dock today at Liverpool Crown Court (artist's impression) Police and forensic teams on Hart Street, Southport, following the stabbing He was twice referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, the court was told. In 2021, when his school raised concerns, a panel concluded his behaviour was driven by autism rather than ideological motivation after he said he no longer agreed with racist comments he made when angry and denied believing the so-called Islamic State group was good. He was referred to the programme again in May last year after reporting a desire to revert to Islam and speaking about the Southport stabbings and Manchester Arena bombing. His referral was still being processed when he was arrested. In June that year he told a friend on TikTok about the referral and said he hoped his case would be closed like Rudakubana's with 'no clear ideology'. Philip Astbury, defending, said that for some time before the incident the boy had been struggling with his mental health and spent 'far too much time sitting at a computer terminal'. Judge Neil Flewitt KC told the court it had been a 'difficult decision' as he sentenced the boy to a youth rehabilitation order which will last three years and provide 'intensive supervision and surveillance'. He was also made subject to a three-year criminal behaviour order. The judge said: 'I think that a youth rehabilitation order will be more helpful to you and will provide more protection for the public than keeping on in custody.' A charge of making a threat to kill was ordered to lie on the file. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said the case illustrated 'a deeply disturbing scenario which has been witnessed on far too many occasions in recent years'. 'It is another worrying example of the impact that access to the huge volume of extreme, violent and radicalising material online can have on vulnerable young minds,' he added. Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, said: 'This was a deeply concerning case involving a young person who had been drawn towards extreme and violent ideology, with the potential for very serious harm.' It is the second case of a teenager seeking to copy the Southport attacks. In January, McKenzie Morgan, 18, from Cwmbran in South Wales was sentenced to 14 months in youth detention for similar offences after talking of emulating Rudakubana and conducted research into obtaining large knives. Rudakubana was 17 when he murdered Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class while wearing a green hoodie and a face mask. He was jailed for life for murder in January last year. A $1million memorial dedicated to Vietnam War veterans is set to be torn down just a year after a fraud scandal plagued the community behind the project. California officials announced the memorial in 2023 as a way to honor Vietnamese soldiers allied with the US during the war. The construction began in the upscale Orange County neighborhood, which is also home to the largest Vietnamese population in the US. Former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do spearheaded the project, allocating $1 million in taxpayer funds to the Viet America Society nonprofit. It was later revealed that Do was funneling money through the organization for his personal gain, and the disgraced politician was sentenced to five years in prison on conspiracy charges as a result. Do's fall from grace left the Vietnam War memorial in shambles, with new leadership appalled by the shoddy construction. A county report obtained by the Los Angeles Times found that repairing the unfinished monument would cost between $168,000 and $420,000, with an additional $40,000 to finish engraving the names of fallen soldiers. Since demolition would only cost a fraction of that estimate, county officials opted to start the project from scratch. A Vietnam War memorial intended to honor Vietnamese soldiers allied with the US during the war is being torn down after $1 million was allocated for its construction Former disgraced County Supervisor Andrew Do approved the funds before it was revealed he was funneling the money through a charity affiliated with his daughter The memorial was erected in Mile Square Park in Orange County, but was left botched and unfinished Crews arrived at Mile Square Regional Park this week to tear down what remained of Do's tarnished legacy. His successor and former political rival, Janet Nguyen, called the monument a 'disgrace' in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'The county decided to tear down the wall because we can do better. This memorial is a disgrace to veterans and not the respect they deserve. We have been looking for alternative options, including a space at the new veterans cemetery,' she added. Nguyen told California news outlet, KTLA, in November that it was 'heartbreaking' to see how veterans were honored. The new county supervisor added that the monument was not even accessible to those with disabilities. Veterans from Vietnam are now elderly, but the monument was designed in a part of the park without a wheelchair-accessible path. 'What was the point?' Nguyen questioned at a press conference in November. 'They ... put up these cheap materials that are getting worn down already within not even a year, just so they could launder the rest of the money themselves.' New leadership in Orange County said the memorial is not even accessible to elderly Vietnam War veterans Demolition began on the failed monument earlier this week after county officials discovered that tearing it down would be more cost effective than fixing the shoddy construction Janet Nguyen, the current county supervisor, said the monument was made with 'cheap materials' and vowed to rebuild in honor of the veterans it was initially intended for Nick Beradino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County, agreed that the monument looked 'in total disrepair,' adding it was 'trashy.' 'It dishonors the service of the brave men and women whose names are on that wall. Its time to tear it down and move forward,' he told the Los Angeles Times. The memorial's demolition represents the last reminder of Do's corrupt tenure as a county supervisor. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to accepting over $550,000 in bribes and directing over $10 million in Covid relief funds to the Viet America Society, a charity affiliated with his daughter, according to the Central District of California's US Attorney's Office. Do was sentenced to five years in prison on conspiracy charges last June. Law enforcement raided his daughter's home during the investigation in 2024, pictured above Prosecutors found that Do funneled pandemic funds to his daughters. He's pictured above with one of his daughters before the massive scandal Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said last June that Do 'transformed the County of Orange into an ATM available to his insiders, his loved ones, and himself, withdrawing millions of dollars to buy houses, lavish dinners, and expensive wine while the elderly, the sick, and the vulnerable who depended on Andrew Do were left to fend for themselves.' Court records indicated that Do directed a total of $224,000 in funds to his daughter, Rhiannon Do. The Department of Justice also found that Do funneled money through his daughters for his direct benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars for property tax payments and credit card bills. As Do serves his time in federal prison, Orange County officials have been left to deal with the mess left behind, while hoping to honor the veterans the memorial was intended for. Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles is demanding action to bring gas prices down as the war with Iran sends oil skyrocketing, sources have revealed. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other top officials, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 'are getting screamed at to find some good news', industry executives said. Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, sending prices soaring more than 10 percent in a single week, with Brent crude jumping from $72 to more than $82 a barrel. The average gas price jumped 11 cents overnight Tuesday, hitting $3.11, the largest single-day spike since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the AAA said. Energy bosses and Trump officials pitched ideas including a temporary holiday on the gasoline tax or putting boots on the ground to defend oil infrastructure in Gulf states. The White House is 'looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, especially gasoline prices,' one energy executive told Politico. Karoline Leavitt dismissed the reporting as 'sensationalist, unverified gossip for clicks. Nobody is panicking.' A White House official told the Daily Mail that Wall Street is not anticipating inflation, with Treasury yields down 50 basis points since Trump took office and core inflation down to its lowest rate in almost five years. But the pain at the pump lands at a delicate moment for Trump, who faces crucial midterm elections in November. A new Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll puts his approval rating at its lowest point ever, down four points to 44 percent since Friday. Donald Trump and Susie Wiles in the Situation Room at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz (pictured), through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, sending prices soaring more than 10 percent in a single week, with Brent crude jumping from $72 to over $82 a barrel People run for safety as smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran on Thursday Wiles attends Trump's meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday The administration only began calling energy executives days after the strikes. Roadblocks include the congressional approval required for any gas tax break, and the political sensitivity of putting American boots on the ground in the Middle East. Wright joined other Trump officials in backing the Iran strikes and downplayed spiking oil prices as a temporary blip. The Energy Secretary called it a 'transient bump' and a 'small price to pay' to achieve the military objective of disarming the Iranian regime during an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. 'The faction of the White House that would care about $8090 oil is being silenced,' an administration source said. 'There are louder voices winning at the moment.' Trump swatted away concerns, telling reporters 'if we have a little high oil prices' that was acceptable because 'as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, lower than even before.' The administration on Tuesday announced it would protect ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and ordered the US International Development Finance Corp. to provide 'at a very reasonable price' insurance to shippers in an effort to cool markets. But the narrow passage remains choked. An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, making an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Wednesday Oil tankers are seen off the coast of Fujairah, as Iran vows to fire on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Wednesday U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black participate in a replenishment-at-sea with fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran Wednesday Despite the offer of Navy escorts, shipping giants Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have suspended all transits, and at least 14 LNG tankers have stopped or reversed course as marine insurers largely withdrew coverage following the attack on the Palau-flagged tanker Skylight off the coast of Oman. Since the US and Israel launched the war Saturday and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has unleashed thousands of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, American bases and embassies across the region, and energy facilities throughout the Gulf, with fire even directed toward Cyprus, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Tehran's strategy is straightforward: inflict enough casualties and economic pain to spook America's allies into pressuring Trump to back down. The US and Israel have carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Iranian government, military and nuclear targets, killing 1,045 people inside Iran, according to Tehran. Despite being greatly outgunned, Iran has kept firing ballistic missiles into Israel, killing 11 people and disrupting life for millions, with further casualties reported across Arab states. Reform UK raked in more than 18million in donations last year - more than any other political party, according to official figures. Newly-published data from the Electoral Commission showed Nigel Farage's party raised 5,456,00 in donations in the final quarter of 2025. This meant it raised a total of 18,565,312 across the whole of last year in accepted donations, with 12million alone coming from cypto investor Christopher Harborne. The Tories raised 13,344,646 in donations in 2025, with Labour raising 9,088,876, the Liberal Democrats raising 4,656,886, and the Green Party raising 329,057. The cash has been poured into Reform's coffers ahead of key elections in May, when contests are held for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, and English councils. Speaking at the launch of Reform's Welsh manifesto in Newport on Thursday, Mr Farage said the upcoming elections will be 'a referendum on Keir Starmer's premiership'. Following last week's defeat in the Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election, it is widely expected another dismal Labour performance in May will increase the pressure on the Prime Minister's position. Mr Farage also lashed out at Sir Keir's 'dithering' response to the Iran crisis, with the PM facing a mounting backlash over Britain's lack of military preparations. Your browser does not support iframes. Speaking at the launch of Reform's Welsh manifesto in Newport on Thursday, Mr Farage said the upcoming elections in May will be 'a referendum on Keir Starmer's premiership' The Reform leader said: 'It didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that America was going to attack Iran - it's been flagged for weeks. 'And yet we have a PM incapable of making a decision - dithering, pathetic in his response almost to everything.' Mr Harborne donated 3million to Reform in November, which followed from the 9million he handed to the party in Auguest. The Thailand-based aviation and crypto currency investor previously gave 10million to the Brexit Party, the forerunner to Reform, to fund its 2019 general election campaign. Commenting on the latest Electoral Commission data, published on Thursday, a Reform spokesman said: 'These figures show the extraordinary momentum behind Reform UK. 'Raising more donations than any other party in 2025 proves that people across Britain are backing the party to deliver real change.' A boy who died 'in agony' less than two months after being operated on by an NHS surgeon who is now suspended was subjected to 'fatal physical harm', a review has found. Nine-year-old Jack Moate was operated on by Kuldeep Stohr, an orthopaedic consultant who specialises in children, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on September 28 2015. Jack, who had many complex medical needs and limited mobility, spent almost eight hours in surgery for the operation on his hips. He died on November 21 2015, with his mother saying he was 'in agony' and she had felt 'pressured' to sign a consent form for the surgery. A file on Jack's case has now been passed to the coroner. Concerns were raised about Ms Stohr's practice as early as 2015 and were the subject of an external clinical review in 2016. But a separate investigation which reported back last year highlighted how the 2016 review raised concerns about Ms Stohr's surgical technique and judgment - but it was 'misunderstood' and opportunities to act on the findings were 'missed'. This meant Ms Stohr continued to operate unimpeded for years, and her shortcomings were only discovered after she took a period of sick leave in 2024. At this point two colleagues took over her caseload and subsequently raised concerns. Nine-year-old Jack Moate was operated on by Kuldeep Stohr, an orthopaedic consultant who specialises in children, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on September 28 2015 - he died less than two months later Kuldeep Stohr remains suspended from practice and 700 of her cases are being reviewed Jack's care was examined as part of a wider external clinical review commissioned by the trust last year into the practice of Ms Stohr amid concerns about care that was 'below the expected standard'. The trust said last March that the care of 'almost 700 patients who have undergone planned surgical procedures' would be reviewed. A letter from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) to Jack's mother Elizabeth Moate states that an independent clinical expert who reviewed Jack's care found 'there was evidence that fatal physical harm was caused'. The letter, dated February 2 of this year, states that: 'In the NHS, fatal harm means at the time of reporting, the patient, in this case Jack, has died and the incident may have contributed to the death.' It continued that 'we have reported Jack's case to the coroner', who would be in contact with Ms Moate 'to discuss next steps'. The expert also found that 'the care provided was not in line with the standards we expect'. Dr Sue Broster, chief medical officer at CUH, said in a statement: 'On behalf of the trust, I offer my unreserved apologies for the failings in Jack's care.' Jack's mother, who lives in Cambridgeshire, said her son had epilepsy and was largely wheelchair bound, although he could sit independently and unaided on the floor without any back support, and was able to stand in a standing frame and use a walking machine. He had regular physiotherapy, which sometimes caused pain, but he mainly coped well with his many life-limiting conditions, and was able to understand instructions and communicate using facial expressions and noises. Ms Moate said she was concerned about him undergoing surgery due to his complex conditions and because he was highly susceptible to infections. Jack suffered 'significant blood loss' in the procedure which ultimately left his right hip wrongly aligned and his left hip unstable and unhealed. Ms Moate said: 'I'll never be able to forgive the hospital for what happened. They sent my boy home and he died in agony. Jack's mother Ms Moate said she was concerned about him undergoing surgery and felt 'pressured' into agreeing 'I said I didn't want him to have surgeries on both hips at the same time. I'd have much rather him had one operation at a time. 'I felt pressured into signing the consent form.' She said that she wanted 'answers and justice for Jack'. His cause of death was recorded at the time as deep vein thrombosis, cerebral palsy alongside epilepsy. Solicitor Elizabeth Maliakal, of Hudgell Solicitors, who represents Ms Moate, said Jack's death 'pre-dates all investigations and reviews carried out into Ms Stohr's practice'. 'Had it been properly and fully investigated at the time, action to address her shortcomings could have been taken then, and we may well not be where we are now, with more than 700 cases being reviewed,' she said. She has called for a statutory inquiry. 'There is a wider pressing hospital patient safety issue to be addressed around the management and governance of specialist surgeons,' she said. 'We want a meeting with Wes Streeting as a matter of urgency.' Dr Broster added: 'Our thoughts remain with his family, and we are doing everything we can to support them at this extremely difficult time. 'We have passed all details of his care at the trust to the coroner to investigate the cause of Jack's death and will continue to provide full assistance to them. 'The external retrospective clinical review, led by Andrew Kennedy KC, into the cases of patients who received care by Kuldeep Stohr remains ongoing and we continue to focus on supporting all patients and families affected. 'We will publish a summary of the review findings once all cases have been reviewed and discussed with those affected, and remain committed to implementing improvements to our services to ensure that cases like Jack's cannot happen again.' Ms Stohr was removed from clinical practice in 2024 and subsequently suspended. She remains suspended. It is expected that the clinical review process will conclude this summer, with the trust set to publish findings and any recommendations. A council CCTV operator was 'threatened and coerced' into handing footage over to a drug dealer to stop his criminal business being exposed, a court heard. Marian Knight appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday after she admitted one count of willfully misconducting herself as a holder of a public office. The 62-year-old defendant gave recorded footage from a Tendring Council CCTV camera to Darren Simmons in 2023 after a break-in at his furniture store in Clacton, Essex. Simmons, 58, of Marlowe Road, Jaywick, and his 30-year-old son Charlie, of Eaton Road in Clacton, admitted using the store in Old Road to store drugs and facilitate a supply worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. During a raid of the drugs operation, police seized phones and discovered the downloaded footage shared by Knight. Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Simmons was using the store as a front for drug dealing, and made Knight send him the camera footage because it would blow his cover if he reported the burglary to the police. It was heard that Simmons threatened a 'terrified' Knight and said her son would lose his legs if she did not obey him. Simon Ward, prosecuting, said Knight had been a control centre operator for Tendring Council since 2005 and had full access to the authority's CCTV footage. Marian Knight (pictured, right) handed over CCTV footage to a drug dealer after being 'threatened and coerced' Police bodycam footage of Darren Simmons' arrest. Simmons admitted to storing and facilitating the supply of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs Simmons (pictured being arrested) was sentenced to six years and eight months' imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court on February 13 Simmons (pictured) threatened the 'terrified' council CCTV operator into handing over footage which would expose his criminal enterprise Since Simmons was hiding a major drug operation, he could not report the burglary without being caught, so he got in touch with the defendant, threatening her to hand over the footage or suffer violence. Simon Ward, prosecuting, said: 'The footage has been retrieved, and what it appears to show are two men possibly burgling the furniture shop, perhaps stealing drug-related items. 'The owner of the shop could not report that burglary because it related to drugs, and couldn't get hold of the footage through proper channels, so instead got in touch with this defendant. 'He got her to download footage from the council equipment and supply that to him.' He continued: 'This defendant told police she was terrified of Darren Simmons and did what she did because he insisted - she said he threatened her son, who would lose his legs if she did not obey him.' More than a kilogram of cocaine and a kilogram of cannabis, with a wholesale value of 31,155, were found stashed in Simmon's wardrobe during a police investigation. Across 2023 and 2024, officers uncovered drugs valued between 98,000 and 117,000, including 132 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of amphetamines, and more than 12 kilograms of cannabis. Counterfeit tobacco products, including thousands of cigarettes, were also seized, along with prescription drugs diazepam and sildenafil. Darren Simmons was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on February 13. Knight, of Highview Avenue, Clacton, was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to spend 30 days complying with rehabilitation activity and pay 150 in costs and a 154 victim surcharge. An Asda shoplifter has been jailed for five years after she killed an ex-Royal Marine security guard following a tussle over stolen alcohol. Alun Harris-Richards, 61, fell to the ground, struck his head and died after he suffered a heart attack while trying to stop Natasha Smith from stealing from a Scottish supermarket. The incident at an Asda in Angus was captured on Mr Harris-Richards' body cam. In the footage Mr Harris-Richards and Smith can be seen grappling with a bag full of stolen booze. 'You're not allowed to touch me. Get your f***ing hands off me', Smith shouted She screamed 'Who do you think you are, f***ing Hulk?' while wrestling over the alcohol. The frenzied incident caused the ex-Royal Marine, who had an undiagnosed heart disease, to suffer a fatal heart attack. He was given CPR by paramedics and staff at the store but he tragically died at the scene on June 30 2024. Today, Smith was sentenced to five years and four months behind bars after she pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and to the assault of another Asda employee. The incident at an Asda in Angus was captured on Alun Harris-Richards' body cam. In the footage Mr Harris-Richards and Natasha Smith can be seen grappling with a bag full of stolen booze Natasha Smith (pictured) has been sentenced to over five years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to killing Mr Harris-Richards During the sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh, Lady Haldane told Smith: 'On June 30 2024 you set in train a series of events that ultimately had devastating consequences for Alun Harris-Richards, his family and all who knew and loved him. 'Mr Harris-Richards lost his life that day when he was simply doing his job at a supermarket. 'It is accepted you did not intend this outcome, nevertheless it is accepted that you have to bear responsibility for it.' She described victim impact statements from those close to Mr Harris-Richards as 'moving documents' and said 'it's clear that Mr Harris-Richards was a much-loved member of the family', and that his loss has affected them 'profoundly'. The judge added: 'It is fair to say that Mr Harris-Richards suffered from health issues that did make him more susceptible to a stressful event such as this, but that does not take away from the fact that he would not have lost his life in the way that he did without your actions.' The court heard that Smith, who appeared via videolink from prison, has a number of previous convictions for drug offences. Kris Gilmartin, representing Smith, said she feels 'deep remorse' for her actions. He said: 'She accepts that her actions on June 30 2024 have left the friends and family of Mr Harris-Richards with a hole that cannot be filled and she is filled with regret.' Alun Harris-Richards (pictured), 61, fell to the ground, struck his head and died after he suffered a heart attack while trying to stop Natasha Smith from stealing from a Scottish supermarket Smith screamed ' Who do you think you are , f***ing Hulk?' while wrestling with Mr Harris-Smith over the stolen alcohol Mr Gilmartin said that Smith was addicted to alcohol at the time of the incident and had gone to the store 'desperate'. He told the court: 'She was seen hiding alcohol in her bag. She was desperate to keep hold of her bag and its contents. 'She did not place hands on Mr Harris-Richards but accepts she tried to pull the bag away from him.' He added: 'She did not intend to cause him harm but she has to live with the fact that her actions caused his death.' Mr Gilmartin told the court that Smith endured significant trauma during her childhood and was exposed to drugs from an early age. He said that she was in the throes of drug and alcohol abuse at the time of the incident. Moira Orr, who leads on homicide for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: 'This was an unprovoked attack on a man who was simply doing his job. 'Natasha Smith's actions resulted in tragic consequences and robbed a much-loved family man of his life. 'She will now serve a prison sentence for her crime. 'This conviction serves as a warning to others that we take crimes of this nature extremely seriously and will use all the tools available to us to seek justice. 'Our thoughts lie with Mr Harris-Richards' family and friends. We are sorry for their loss.' Frankie Dettori will remain legally bankrupt for another year after he failed to pay a 765,000 tax debt despite earning 20million as the world's most famous jockey. The Italian, who retired from racing for a second time last month, filed for bankruptcy in March last year following his involvement in a 'tax avoidance scheme'. He said at the time he was 'saddened and embarrassed' to have to take the measure after being left to 'unravel the mess' in which a previous financial adviser left him. Dettori was interviewed about his assets in December last year and when asked if he had ever owned properties abroad, he 'said he did not'. But it was later discovered there were 'a number of properties that had not been disclosed to the bankruptcy trustees, in particular in France and Italy'. Further concerns were raised about a Piaget watch, a wine collection worth around 70,000 and investments worth around 365,000. Bankruptcy orders end automatically after 12 months in England and Wales, but can be extended by a judge, meaning the bankrupt is still bound by its terms and can face criminal prosecution if they do not co-operate. At a hearing on Thursday, lawyers for the two trustees of Mr Dettori's bankruptcy asked for the order to remain in place for a further year. Frankie Dettori performs his trademark flying dismount after riding 'King of Steel' to victory at Ascot in October 2023 Queen Elizabeth II presents Frankie Dettori with a prize at Ascot in October 2017 Stefan Ramel, for the trustees, told the court in London that the former jockey 'has not complied and is still not complying' with requests for information about his assets, including whether he owns properties abroad. Mr Dettori did not appear at the hearing and was not represented. Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs ruled that the bankruptcy order could continue until March 16, 2027, which he said was 'not an unrealistic period' given the 'blatant failure' by Mr Dettori to provide information when asked. He said: 'There is much to uncover in this bankruptcy, and it may well be that criminal sanctions will be a useful tool for the trustees.' Mr Dettori initially retired on Champions Day at Ascot in 2023, but later reversed his decision and continued his career in the United States and South America before his final race in February. The jockey, who won every British Classic at least twice during his career and was British champion on three occasions, has since taken up an ambassadorial role for the Amo Racing team. He has previously been embroiled in legal battles over his tax affairs, and in 2024 lost a bid to remain anonymous in proceedings at a specialist tax tribunal. He originally brought an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal against HMRC's decision to deny him some deductions for income tax. In 2019, he asked for his case to be paused, and more than a year later, asked not to be named and for his case to be heard in private. A judge in 2021 said that the 'preliminary matters' could be heard in private, while a different judge in 2022 ruled that Mr Dettori should be anonymised. HMRC and media organisations, including the Press Association, challenged the decision, with the more senior Upper Tribunal ruling in December 2024 that there had been 'material errors of law' and overturning the decision to have some of the hearings in his case in private. Donald Trump is preparing to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has canvassed Republican lawmakers on who should replace her, according to reports. Trump set plans in motion after Noem faced a savage Republican-led inquisition before the Senate and House Judiciary committees on Tuesday and Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson had raised the possible need for change at the top of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a recent retreat for senior Republicans in Fort Lauderdale. The prospect is not straightforward, however, with Republicans privately fretting they may not have the 51 votes needed to confirm a replacement, and fear it would give the Democrats a boost amid a partial government shutdown over DHS funding. The 'last straw' came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath that she'd been given Trump's approval for a $220 million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile. 'I never knew anything about it,'Trump told Reuters in a phone interview. The cinematic advert showed the former South Dakota governor on horseback at Mount Rushmore and galloping beside a stampede of bison in a cowboy hat. The contract was awarded to an LLC, which subcontracted with a firm run by the husband of DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who has since resigned. Noem squirmed under the Louisiana senator's slow-burning drawl as he methodically dismantled her defense line by line. 'The President approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?' Kennedy asked. Donald Trump has privately canvassed Republican lawmakers on whether he should fire Kristi Noem, multiple sources have said The Homeland Security Secretary faced criticism over taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile, including an ad that showed her on horseback at Mount Rushmore The cinematic ad showed Noem galloping beside a stampede of bison in a cowboy hat Noem replied: 'Yes sir, we went through the legal processes.' Kennedy shot back: 'Did the President know you were gonna do this?' Noem claimed that Trump did, and Kennedy, his voice rising in mock astonishment, asked again: 'He did?' The Homeland chief replied: 'Uh huh, yes.' Kennedy told Noem that the adverts were 'effective in your name recognition. To me, it puts the President in a terribly awkward spot.' Republicans are divided over whether now is the right moment, amid fears the GOP's slim six-seat majority would be stretched dangerously thin in any confirmation fight. Any replacement nominee would face a brutal confirmation gauntlet, with moderate Republican senators already itching to register their unease over the President's deadly immigration crackdown. Others have warned Trump that pulling the trigger on Noem in the midst of a DHS funding shutdown, now in its 19th day, would hand Democrats a significant negotiating win. The Homeland Security Secretary wore a gold watch and a $700 Veronica Beard double-breasted tweed blazer Noem's husband, Bryon, could be seen sitting behind his wife with a deadpan expression as she faced continued grilling over her relationship with Corey Lewandowski A DHS spokeswoman said: 'Secretary Noem serves at the pleasure of the President.' She added that 'the domestic ad campaign has been the most successful ad campaign in US history The ad campaign saved the US taxpayers over $39 billion.' Kennedy's attack on Noem was not the only Republican grilling that garnered headlines. Thom Tillis then unleashed a finger-jabbing tirade, branding her tenure a 'disaster' and demanding she quit on the spot. The North Carolina Republican bore down on her for refusing to accept responsibility for the killing of protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, which Trump sidelined her over. The White House declined to comment. 'What we've seen is a disaster! Under your leadership, Ms Noem - a disaster!' Tillis shouted. 'What we've seen is innocent people being detained.' The next day, Democratic lawmakers at the House hearing were even less sparing in their attacks. Lewandowski attends the election night watch party for Donald Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on November 5, 2024 Kristi Noem arrives to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee The married mother-of-three was asked point-blank whether she was sleeping with her top aide Corey Lewandowski, who is himself married. 'At any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?', asked Democratic Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Noem was furious, calling her claims 'offensive' and dismissing them as 'tabloid garbage.' The Daily Mail exclusively revealed last year that Noem and Lewandowski are engaged in an affair. They deny a romantic relationship. Trump is said to have been well aware of the pair during the campaign, and 'would raise an eyebrow mischievously' about their relationship, according to journalist Alex Isenstadt's book Revenge. 'Lewandowski knew how to bat out of his league,' Trump remarked to aides. A leading cancer hospital has been ordered to pay more than 6,000 to an unsuccessful job applicant after she complained her anxiety affected her ability to give concise answers under pressure. Anahita Rezaei applied for a Pathology Operations Manager post at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in February 2024. Another candidate scored higher at the 40-minute interview and was offered the role, but when he turned it down the position was offered to a different candidate rather than Ms Rezaei. Ms Rezaei, who was working as Associate Director of Laboratory Medicine at Royal Brompton NHS Foundation Trust at the time, complained that her anxiety disorder had affected her ability to give concise answers under pressure. The Royal Marsden did not respond to her written complaint for several weeks. An employment tribunal ruled that the hospital had failed in its duty to make reasonable adjustments, finding it should have reviewed whether Ms Rezaei's disability had impacted her interview scores before filling the vacancy. Ms Rezaei had ticked 'I do not wish to disclose my disabilities' on the equal opportunities section of her application form. She told the panel she had selected this in error. She had also selected 'mental health condition' from a separate drop-down menu on the same form. Anahita Rezaei had applied for a Pathology Operations Manager post at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in February 2024 She has now been awarded more than 6,000 after the hospital failed to ask whether her anxiety would affect her interview answers The tribunal noted that Ms Rezaei had provided no medical evidence that her anxiety had affected her performance and had not requested any special arrangements when invited to do so during the interview booking process. It also found that the hospital's recruitment records were incomplete, leaving the tribunal unable to confirm with certainty the final ranking of candidates. Ms Rezaei had been ranked second and third by two of the three interviewers. But the hospital's director of operations Judith Lucas's scores and the overall summary sheet were not available for the tribunal. The tribunal found this was 'clearly a serious failing' and it had affected 'the respondent's ability to evidence its position that the claimant's scores were lower' than another candidate's. The panel said it 'is not clear to us who came second' and, as there was no evidence the whole application was taken into consideration, the interview 'operated as a tiebreaker'. 'In our view, the interview process was flawed as it marked question by question, rather than competency by competency,' the tribunal found. In her rejection email, Ms Rezaei was told although she was 'considered appointable' another candidate had 'answered the questions slightly more directly and succinctly'. She responded that her mental health disability of anxiety 'can affect clarity of mind and speech under pressure, particularly in interview situations'. In April 2024, Ms Rezaei wrote to the hospital's director of workforce Krystyna Ruszkiewicz where she complained 'she felt rushed' after the interview started five minutes late and raised further queries. She received no reply, and ten days after her complaint the hospital offered the role to another candidate after their top-ranked applicant turned down the role. Ms Rezaei did not receive a reply until June that year. The tribunal found the hospital had taken 'no steps' to remedy a 'potential unfairness' when Ms Rezaei told them about her anxiety and could have reinterviewed both candidates. Ms Rezaei, who represented herself at the three-day hearing in London, was awarded 6,000 compensation for injury to feelings, plus 840 interest and 880 in preparation costs - a total of 7,720. Her other claims of disability discrimination and unfavourable treatment were thrown out. Outlining its reasons for the judgment, the tribunal said it was a 'one-off incident'. 'While we acknowledge the claimant's genuine distress, we have no medical evidence before us to link the respondent's failure to make reasonable adjustments to any impact on the claimant's health, particularly as the effects the claimant describes are a result of the entire process, parts of which we have not found to be discriminatory,' they said. The Daily Mail has contacted the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust for comment. A 14-year-old boy persuaded a schoolgirl he targeted on Snapchat to meet him for a 'date' - before luring her to a seedy underpass where he and a friend jointly raped her while laughing and filming themselves. Two months later the pair, this time joined by a third boy aged just 13, gang-raped a second schoolgirl at knifepoint while again recording the attack on their phones as they goaded each other to degrade her further. The trio were today convicted of rape following a five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court with the two older boys - both just 14 at time - also found guilty of taking indecent images of a child, relating to the recordings they made of their attacks. As all three boys face custodial sentences, the Daily Mail has pieced together the clearest picture yet of the disturbing way that the trio - all from the traveller community - were running amok at such a young age, with such ruinous consequences for their female peers. In the twin attacks, which happened just seven weeks apart last winter in Fordingbridge, a wealthy and genteel Hampshire town on the edge of the New Forest, both girls targeted were older, at 15. The defendants - one of whom had previously styled himself as a 'gangster' - laughed at the girls and filmed their horrifying ordeal on a mobile phone. The first attack came when a girl had caught a bus to the town on a Tuesday afternoon, in November 2024, after arranging to meet the boy after he had messaged her a few days previously on social media platform Snapchat. They had not met in person until that day. Pictured: One of three teenage travellers convicted of rape following a five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court with the two older boys - both just 14 at time - also found guilty of taking indecent images of a child, relating to the recordings they made of their attacks Pictured: One of the older rapists. As all three boys face custodial sentences, the Daily Mail has pieced together the clearest picture yet of the disturbing way that the trio - all from the traveller community - were running amok at such a young age Pictured: The youngest of the three rapists in a photograph posted on his TikTok account just two weeks prior to the rape which showed him out late at night hunting rabbits and hares with his lurcher dog, a practice known as lamping which is a criminal offence After spending time together in the town, the boy had persuaded her to accompany him to a quieter area in an underpass by the River Avon where they had some consensual sexual activity. But the atmosphere changed dramatically when two of the boy's friends turned up - apparently by arrangement, and with one having the intention of joining in. On this occasion the third boy took no part but the other two boys began to pressurise the girl into having a 'threesome' in the squalid outdoor setting. The girl would later tell a jury how she had no desire to do this but was already feeling threatened by both boys and feared she would be in danger if she tried to stop them. She would later describe the humiliating assault she was subjected to over the following 90 minutes alongside the river. She said her tormentors 'kept switching', taking turns to abuse her, and laughing at her as they filmed each other. In a video of her police interview which was played to the court, the girl told the officers she feared being hurled into the river if she didn't comply with their demands, explaining: 'They could have pushed me in there. It was raining and the current was really bad. 'I was so scared, disgusted.' After the sexual attack finally ended, the boys asked her, 'Why do you look so sad?' and bought her a soft drink to 'cheer her up' - before leaving her by a bus stop. Pictured: One of the teenagers today convicted of rape. The victim would later tell a jury how she had no desire to do this but was already feeling threatened by both boys and feared she would be in danger if she tried to stop them The boy who had initially groomed her on Snapchat then soon afterwards blocked her on social media, the court was told. Prosecutor Jodie Mittell KC said the victim told police in interview how she was 'petrified' and felt 'sick' at not knowing how to get herself out of that situation. Ms Mittell KC said: 'She told the police that all three of them were taller than her and she felt that it was the three boys against her alone. 'The word she used in describing that was 'petrified'. She said she agreed [to the sexual humiliation] because she didn't know what would happen if she didn't say yes. 'She was so scared that she stopped listening to them and just tried to think what she could do to try to get out of that situation, but there was nothing she could do. 'She felt cornered and trapped with three boys in the underpass.' Footage of the attack was later found by the police on one of the boy's phones, which, over six separate videos and pictures, showed her being forced to perform sexual acts on the boys. In the videos, the boys can be heard 'laughing' and one of the boys saying 'don't film it mush'. Pictured: The younger teenager. The court heard how the boys initially groomed the girl on Snapchat then soon afterwards blocked her on social media The girl said later that at this moment she had been trying not to cry. The two defendants would go on to rape another girl in the same area some two months later, this time with their younger friend also taking part. The second victim, who was 14, was targeted on a Friday afternoon in January 2025. She had been hanging out with a female friend out in Fordingbridge when she was approached by the trio after they had seen her arguing with a friend and wanted to know why she had been shouting. They suggested the girl accompany them - and when she said that she'd get in trouble with her mother if she did this they overrode her objections. They told her to drop her phone in a local Co-op supermarket along with an AirTag that her mother had given her to check her whereabouts. And soon the underlying sense of menace became overt: the boys threatened to kill her if she tried to run away as they marched her to a field behind Fordingbridge Recreation Centre. She would later describe how terrified she had been by these threats, which became more credible when she realised that one of the two older boys was carrying a knife, and as she was led away to the field away from any potential help from others. He then used it to cut holes in her clothing to facilitate the ensuing attack. Again the two older boys took turns to sexually molest here but this time the third boy accompanied them - not the same boy in the previous incident. This time the third boy, aged just 13, did take part in the ensuing gang rape which saw the boys encourage each other as they filmed her ordeal. They then walked away from their victim, who, with her clothes torn, would later recall how she just sat there for another '10 to 15 minutes just trying to process it all' before trying to find someone to help her - which saw her walking to a Tesco where she was found by her sister. After speaking to this girl, she then called the police to report that she had been raped. But her ordeal was far from over. The girl revealed that a few days after the incident, she began to be abused by members of her peer group who were calling her a 'slag'. It transpired that videos of her terrifying abusive encounter with the three boys in that bleak field had been widely shared on social media and were being commented on by others who apparently believed the incident had taken place with consent. Little officially has been revealed about the background of the boys who took part in the two very similar attacks. But the Mail has discovered that they already appeared to be revelling in a bad boy image. The youngest of the three rapists posted a photograph on his TikTok account just two weeks prior to the rape which showed him out late at night hunting rabbits and hares with his lurcher dog, a practice known as 'lamping' which is a criminal offence. In the photo thought to have been taken close to the traveller camp where he lived some 10 miles from Fordingbridge a cartoon rabbit obscures the body of the real animal after it had been chased down and killed. Rabbit and hare coursing is an illegal blood sport in the UK and is punishable by up to six months in prison. Three days prior to that rabbit photo, the baby-faced teenager shared an 'inspirational' meme New Year's Day post, which read: 'What boys always want' before listing five goals. It was a particularly grim irony that one of his supposed goals was 'make mom proud' just behind 'money' and above 'loyal girl'. Both the older boys are understood to come from traveller communities further away: one has links to East Anglia while the other has ties to Somerset. The boys' social media posts showed them repeatedly clad in clothing with prominent designer branding including Boss, American Eagle and Canada Goods. The latter posed for a picture posted onto Facebook which showed him standing outside a travellers' camp next to a sign that reads 'Gypsy Lives Matter'. On the boy's TikTok account he has pinned a photograph of himself and two relatives at a wedding in December 2024, a month after his first victim was raped. He wears a smart grey suit and has his black hair gelled back Peaky Blinders-style. The caption reads '#Gangsters' The boys attempted to portray their victims as liars in court. One claimed of the second victim: 'She was flirting with me. She made it up for a story to make up why she went missing to her mum and dad. 'It stopped her getting into trouble with her parents. I hadn't used a knife at all.' However, Ms Mittell KC, prosecuting, told the jury: 'We say that you will be sure that those two girls were not consenting to oral or penetrative sex. 'They used those two girls for their own sexual gratification without a care in the world for how they were feeling. 'So we say they raped those two girls who found themselves alone, outnumbered and scared.' Lucy Paddick, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'This is a deeply concerning case which involved a disturbing level of encouragement between young boys, who acted together to rape two young girls in separate incidents. 'These girls were forced into sexual activity by boys who brazenly filmed the deeply distressing incidents. 'After speaking with the victims in this case and reviewing an extensive file of evidence, it was the Crown Prosecution Service's case that these girls were violated and could not have consented to these terrifying encounters. 'The CPS worked closely with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary to support the victims and other young witnesses to give their evidence, and we commend them for the courage they showed throughout this trial. 'Our lawyers will work tirelessly to pursue justice for victims, and we will continue to hold those responsible for crimes of this devastating nature to account, regardless of their age.' A 4ft 11in saleswoman who claimed a colleague tried to organise a 'midget throwing' contest at a drunken work Christmas party has lost her tribunal case - after going on holiday to Las Vegas instead of filing the paperwork. Gill Parkinson, who worked for internet directory firm Yell Sales Limited, allegedly endured a horrifying night of abuse at the company's Christmas party in Newcastle in December 2022. The 51-year-old claims she was groped, mocked for her height and subjected to a barrage of offensive remarks about disability. She alleged one colleague spent the evening discussing how he and other dads from his children's nursery had talked about raping the staff - women they all knew personally. She claimed another colleague repeatedly shouted across a crowded bar that he wanted to charge customers to throw her around 'like they do with midgets.' A trainer is also alleged to have shouted across the restaurant: 'Gill, how much disability do you claim a month?' - before adding: 'Well, you know she's a dwarf so she should be able to claim.' Some of her complaints were upheld by Yell's own internal investigation. But Employment Judge Anderson, sitting in Manchester, threw out all of her claims - ruling that she had missed the legal deadline to bring her case to tribunal after flying to America to visit Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and San Francisco. Gill Parkinson, a 4ft 11in saleswoman for Yell, claimed a colleague tried to organise a 'midget throwing' contest at a drunken work Christmas party Ms Parkinson (left) lost her tribunal case after going on holiday to Las Vegas instead of filing the paperwork The tribunal heard Ms Parkinson joined Yell as a Business Development Manager in April 2022 and wad promoted to Senior Account Manager in October that year. A Christmas party was then held on December 15, 2022, during which Ms Parkinson alleged she was subject to sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and offensive remarks relating to her height. The tribunal heard that during the party a trainer shouted across the restaurant they were in: 'Gill how much disability do you claim a month?' before adding: 'Well you know she's a dwarf so she should be able to claim'. During the same incident he was also accused of asking about Ms Parkinson's sex life as he knew her husband is 6ft 3in. Another colleague allegedly shouted multiple times that he wanted to charge people in the bar to throw her around 'like they do with midgets'. A third man was also accused of rubbing Ms Parkinson's leg, breasts and bottom and going to kiss her, the tribunal heard. Another colleague allegedly spent the night talking about raping nurses at his childrens nursery and also touched Ms Parkinson and other female members of staff. Ms Parkinson raised a grievance with her bosses about the incidents on December 21. There was an internal investigation which upheld some of her complaints. She later sent an email to bosses in March 2023 'indicating that she would not be appealing the grievance decision'. But she raised a further grievance against one of the men in September and resigned from her role in October that year. Ms Parkinson (left) travelled to the United States, visiting Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and San Francisco before failing to file her claim at the end of January 2024 During the three-month window in which she could have filed a claim, Ms Parkinson had found new work, and then travelled to the United States, visiting Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and San Francisco. The judge noted that Ms Parkinson had described the Las Vegas trip as 'amazing' in a text message - though she insisted the journey was not a holiday, but a recuperative visit to family. Ms Parkinson told the tribunal she had attempted suicide in January or February 2024 - during the very period the judge found she could have been filing her claim. But the tribunal heard no medical evidence to corroborate her account of her mental health struggles, which Judge Anderson said he believed were real but not a sufficient explanation for missing the deadline. Judge Anderson said he had 'genuine sympathy' for Ms Parkinson over what she alleged, describing the sex harassment and disability claims as 'particularly serious' - but ruled the case could not proceed. The jury has been sent out to begin its deliberations in the Alexander brothers' sex trafficking trial. Tal, 39, and his twin brothers Oren and Alon, 38, are waiting to hear if they will be convicted on any of the ten charges, which could see them imprisoned for life. The jury of seven women and five men retired on Thursday to consider their verdict following the five-week trial, during which time various members of the brothers' family have shown up to offer support. The court heard from more than 30 witnesses, including 11 women who accused the brothers of drugging and raping them in accounts stretching back more than a decade. Their testimony has been harrowing at times, with accusers collapsing into sobs as they recounted eerily similar stories of meeting the playboy brothers and being invited into their jet set world before their encounters took an allegedly dark turn. In his closing arguments, Assistant US Attorney Andrew Jones told the court that their accounts showed a disturbing pattern ripped straight from a rapist's 'playbook', as he chronicled alleged assaults at Hamptons mansions, New York City apartments, an Aspen, Colorado, ski trip and a Bahamas cruise. The trio used 'their wealth and prominent positions in real estate to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women', according to their indictment. The brothers have denied all charges and their defense has sought to portray their sexually charged behavior as at most morally reprehensible, but not criminal. Jurors have left the court room to deliberate in the sex trafficking trial of the Alexander brothers (left to right: Oren, Tal, Alon) Alon's wife Shani Zigron has been a staunch supporter through the hearing, attending every day The brothers' mom Orly Alexander has stood by her sons and attended court every day with husband Shlomy. Orly is pictured here in a black bobble hat They framed the prosecution's litany of alarming texts, videos, and blog posts detailing their sexual exploits and alleged drug use as bravado and shock-jock humor. Regardless of the outcome, the trial has blown apart any semblance of respectability for the brothers, who were high-flying, family men prior to their arrests. Tal and Oren are best known as high end realtors who have sold $100 million properties in the Hamptons, Miami and New York City, while Alon had taken up the mantle at the family's multi-million dollar security firm Kent. All three are married although Tal's wife Arielle is estranged and filed for divorce almost immediately after his arrest and the birth of their first child. Alon's wife Shani Zigron, a former Victoria's Secret model, has been his unwavering supporter, dutifully attending each hearing and remaining mostly stone-faced during alleged victims testimony. Only the sight of her closet being raided by FBI agents at the luxury Miami home that she once shared with Alon and their two children reduced her to tears as jurors were shown photos from the search. Prior to that her only outburst had been during the portion of the trial discussing the admissibility of evidence. Zigron, 30, erupted as Judge Valerie Caproni weighed arguments from the government and defense over whether a text chain involving the three brothers and their friends could be shown to the jury unredacted. Oren Alexander is being supported by his wife, Kamila Hansen, who has attended court a handful of times The brothers' father Shlomy Alexander attempted to rush at a Daily Mail photographer as trial tensions spilled over Oren's model wife Kamila Hansen has attended a handful of times and appeared in court only briefly on two occasions. Ahead of the trial the brother's parents Orly and Shlomy Alexander issued a staunch statement standing by the trio, insisting: 'We know who our boys are.' However even they were left cringing at points during the explosive evidence, with dad Shlomy exiting the court room to avoid having to hear excerpts read aloud from a vulgar blog associated with Alon and Oren detailing their sexual conquests. But the drama has not been confined to the courtroom. The pressure got to Shlomy last month and he lunged at a Daily Mail photographer outside court. The trial has also been plagued by juror issues, including one man who had to be dismissed after he reportedly was heard stating that he had already decided on a verdict before the evidence concluded. Another juror had to be subbed for an alternate after the historic blizzard which gripped New York City left her stranded in Florida. Two charges tied to alleged attacks in the Hamptons in 2009 were also dropped over what the prosecution described as 'witness intimidation'. Witnesses have sobbed on the stand as they told the court how they were allegedly drugged and raped by the brothers Tal Alexander (front, blue shorts) and identical twins Oren and Alon (back row) are facing federal sex trafficking charges in Manhattan court; they have pleaded not guilty Identical twins Alon and Oren Alexander seen at Sir Ivan's Medieval Madness birthday bash for model Mina Otsuka in 2011 The brothers are accused of drugging and raping dozens of women, although just eight are being charged in the case. The additional accusers were called to testify in an attempt to bolster the prosecution's claims the brothers engages in a pattern of predatory behavior. Jones told the court their allegations are substantiated by 'sheer number of victims who testified' whose only unifying factor is that they 'have one horrific thing in common: they were raped by these men.' But in hours of cross-examination, the brothers attorneys have exposed inconsistencies in timelines, gaps in memory and discrepancies between witnesses accounts. They have pointed out that none of the accusers immediately contacted police or sought drug tests, and that some exchanged friendly messages with the brothers afterward or continued to spend time in their company. The legal bar the government must clear is high. To secure convictions on federal sex trafficking charges, prosecutors must persuade jurors not only that assaults occurred, but that the brothers knowingly used force, fraud or coercion as part of a coordinated venture - a burden legal experts often describe as notoriously difficult to meet. Each brother faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life in prison if convicted on all counts, including charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy, and other offenses tied to the alleged drugging, sexual assault. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership want embattled Congressman Tony Gonzales, who had an affair with a staffer, out of Congress. 'Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,' Johnson said in a joint statement with other top House Republicans on Thursday. Gonzales, a Texas Republican, initially denied that he had an affair with his late staffer, Regina Aviles, who died by self-immolation in September. The Daily Mail first broke the story on their tragic relationship last year. For months, speculation has swirled over whether or not the Texan would fess up to the allegation, which was first reported in October 2025. And he came under mounting pressure to resign from his position of power after sexually charged texts between Gonzales and Aviles were released. The bombshell correspondence showed the married congressman petitioning his staffer for inappropriate pictures and asking her about sexual preferences. 'We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,' the joint statement continued. One day after his primary race on Tuesday, and as calls for his resignation from Republicans and Democrats reached a boiling point, Gonzales admitted to the affair. He called it a 'mistake' and a 'lapse in judgement.' He added: 'I've asked God to forgive me, which he has.' The speaker did not say whether Gonzales admitted to the affair during a private talk they had earlier this week before the Texan publicly fessed up to the inappropriate relationship Tony Gonzales had an affair with his late staffer, Regina Aviles, pictured above, and initially denied it until fessing up to their relationship on Wednesday Sexaully charged text messages between Gonzales and his late staffer His admission came just after the House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into the Texan's conduct following a report from the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) indicating 'substantial reason to believe' Gonzales was embroiled in the affair. It is against congressional rules for a member to have an affair with a subordinate. When pressed about Gonzales' admission, Johnson didn't let much slip but admitted it's 'not against the law.' 'I'm not going to get into private conversations,' Johnson told Punchbowl News. 'But I've told him to be forthright. Apparently now he's doing that.' When asked whether Gonzales should remain in Congress, given the scandal, the top Republican - and devout Christian - played coy. 'Marital infidelity is not against the law,' Johnson said. Reminded that it's against House rules for a member to have an affair with a staffer, Johnson admitted it was. 'Well, of course, yeah. That's being addressed. There is an investigation at Ethics. The OCC is on it. All those steps have already been taken and apparently were underway.' 'I've always been consistent, whether you're talking about Republicans or Democrats, we let the processes play out,' the speaker added. Both Democrats and Republicans have called on Gonzales to resign, or at a minimum, drop his bid for reelection. Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida filed a censure resolution to punish Gonzales for his affair with Aviles Congresswoman Nancy Mace has called on the Texan to resign Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina accused Gonzales of 'harassing his own staffer in the middle of the night' and has called on him to 'resign immediately and be held fully accountable for what he's done.' This week Mace filed a resolution to force the House Ethics Committee to release its reports on sexual misconduct by members. However, the House decisively voted to send the resolution to committee - a move that effectively killed Mace's effort to expose the reports. 'I think it's really disgusting how this institution protects itself,' Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida fumed on Wednesday. 'We just had a Member of Congress literally sexually harass a woman that then lit herself on fire and you all protected him!' she decried at a committee hearing. 'You guys all protected him! My own side, your side.' This week, Luna filed a censure resolution - one of the most severe punishments in Congress outside of expulsion - against Gonzales for his misconduct. Chair of the Congressional Democratic Women's Caucus, Teresa Leger Fernandez, in addition to scores of other liberal lawmakers, have also called for Gonzales' resignation. 'Rep. Tony Gonzales's actions would result in a termination and investigation in any other workplace.' 'Rep. Gonzales should resign,' she added, noting his 'abuse of power.' A grandmother who contracted rabies when she was scratched by a stray dog in Morocco could not have been saved even if struggling doctors had diagnosed her sooner, an inquest has found. Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, died four months after she suffered the minor scratch to her leg when she startled a stray dog on the beach while on holiday with her husband, Ron, in February last year. The scratch, which broke the skin, was so minimal she treated it with a wet wipe, an inquest in Sheffield heard. But by May, the company director was suffering from headaches and anxiety and attended Barnsley Hospital on June 2 last year. Her symptoms eventually progressed to nausea, panic attacks, hallucinations of flies and flowers and hydrophobia a fear of water typical of rabies which causes the sufferer to spit out any liquids. Doctors struggled to work out what was wrong with her and on June 6 she was referred to a psychiatrist as there were concerns her conditions may be related to a mental health crisis. Psychiatrist Dr Alexander Burns then asked about the familys foreign travel history and was told about the dog scratch in Morocco. He suspected she may have rabies and Mrs Ford was referred to a specialist infectious diseases team at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. Sadly, her condition deteriorated further and she died on June 11. Mrs Ford died four months after being scratched by a stray dog while on holiday with her husband in Morocco Mrs Ford's daughter, Robyn Thomson, and husband, Ron, attended each day of the three-day inquest to find out whether anything could have been done to prevent her death After sitting through two days of evidence from doctors who treated Mrs Ford, an expert in infectious disease and her family, a jury concluded: The rarity of the disease and unusual presentation led to a difficulty in reaching a diagnosis but this did not affect the outcome. Mrs Fords family had raised concerns that she was not treated with the level of dignity and respect she deserved while an inpatient at Barnsley Hospital. But infectious diseases expert Dr Katharine Cartwright, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, told the jury that rabies has the highest mortality rate of any infection in the world and is 100% fatal once symptoms begin to show. Contracting rabies can be prevented with vaccination, the inquest heard. Mrs Ford had not received a rabies vaccine prior to travelling to Morocco. Mrs Ford's daughter, Robyn Thomson, told the inquest on Wednesday that it was vital the public are made aware that they must seek urgent medical advice if they are scratched or bitten by an animal abroad to prevent another family from enduring this trauma, loss and devastation. In a statement, she added: We are determined that Yvonne's death will not be without meaning. Mrs Thomson said her mother was a loving, active and devoted family woman who was a fantastic wife wonderful mother and exceptional grandmother to her four grandchildren. She said that owing to her mothers diagnosis, family and staff had to wear gloves, masks, visors and aprons when they were with visiting Mrs Ford at Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital. Outside court following the jurys conclusion, Mrs Fords son, Adam, said: Despite being preventable, this deadly disease continues to claim thousands of lives. As a family, we feel a deep responsibility to raise awareness about rabies in the hope that greater understanding can help prevent further tragedies. There have only been 26 reported cases of rabies in the UK since 1946. The last time a rabies case originated in Britain was recorded in 1922. However, popular tourist destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey all continue to carry a high risk of dogs transmitting rabies to people. A spokesman for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: Our thoughts are with Yvonne's family following the sad loss of a loved family member in such unusual circumstances. We welcome ongoing discussions with Yvonne's family about all aspects of her care. A Nevada mother is suing her special needs son's school district and one of its employees, claiming the eight-year-old did not receive help when he choked to death on a chunk of pineapple. Amanda Corbala filed a civil complaint in the US District Court of Nevada on Tuesday alleging that the Clark County School District and one of its special education aides, Teresa Holve, bore responsibility for the death of her son, Cruzito Ruiz. According to the complaint, Ruiz suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was three that left him physically and mentally disabled, and he was in a special education program at Bass Elementary School, which is in the southern edge of Las Vegas. The eight-year-old was in the school cafeteria when he began choking on a piece of pineapple on February 25, 2025, the complaint said. As he was choking, he approached Holve and attempted to signal for help by gesturing with his hands, and he was displaying 'obvious' signs of distress, including 'puffy cheeks,' the complaint continued. Another student told the special education aide that the boy was sick, so she told him to go to the restroom, according to the court filing. Photos from surveillance footage that were included in the complaint show Ruiz attempting to pat his own back before gesturing towards his mouth while attempting to get Holve's attention. The next two images in the document show the special education aide pointing towards the exit of the cafeteria while the little boy is holding his chest, and Ruiz leaving the room through the doorway. Amanda Corbala filed a civil complaint on Tuesday alleging that her son's school district and special education aide Teresa Holve bore responsibility for the death of her son, Cruzito Ruiz. The mother and son are pictured together Pictures in the civil complaint show Ruiz grabbing his own back as he showed signs of distress This picture in the civil complaint shows Ruiz attempting to get Holz's attention by gesturing The complaint stated that despite Holve knowing CPR, she did not use her training to identify that the boy was choking or help him in any way. After the eight-year-old arrived in the restroom alone, he collapsed and turned blue, the complaint alleged. About five minutes passed between Holve directing Ruiz out of the cafeteria and other staff members being alerted by students that the little boy needed help, the court filing said. The complaint said those employees attempted to use an AED, but the device advised against using a shock because the boy's heartbeat had become irregular due to prolonged hypoxia, which occurs when organs are deprived of oxygen. Staff called 911, and first responders arrived 15 minutes after Holve directed Ruiz out of the cafeteria. Emergency Medical Services then removed the chunk of pineapple from the boy's airway with their fingers, the complaint said. Ruiz was rushed to St. Rose Sienna Hospital, and his mother, Corbala, began shrieking in terror as she saw EMTs performing CPR as he was transported by stretcher, the complaint said. At the hospital, the unconscious boy was diagnosed with an anoxic brain injury, which occurs when the brain is completely deprived of oxygen. In such a scenario, brain cells begin to die after four minutes. Ruiz never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead. He died five days later on March 2, 2025. This picture in the civil complaint shows Holz pointing towards the exit of the cafeteria as she allegedly told him to go to the bathroom The next picture in the civil complaint shows Ruiz exiting the cafeteria through the doorway as instructed The lawsuit accused Holve of giving different accounts of what happened when questioned. It said that on the day Ruiz choked, the special education aide gave a written report that said: 'I dont remember releasing either boys for the bathroom but could have due to releasing many kids each day for the bathroom.' 'I remember talking with both boys and didnt notice either in distress and neither mentioned any distress to me.' The next day, the lawsuit claimed, Holve said that Ruiz was 'not feeling well [and] had his cheeks puffed out a bit so [she] thought he needed to spit some liquid out.' 'I started to say go to the bath and then stoped [sic] said go to the trash can not the bathroom and if needed someone will take you to Ms. Laura (Nurses office) while they went to trash can I went back to my class just 3-4 feet away,' Holve allegedly recounted. The lawsuit has accused the Clark County School District of putting Ruiz 'in a position of actual, particularized danger that he would not have otherwise faced' and of committing 'abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person.' It also accused the school district of not properly training Holve for medical emergencies, and it directly accused the special education aide of acting 'with deliberate indifference to a known risk.' 'By affirmatively isolating the child in a restroom, Holve restricted Cruzito's access to adult assistance, immediate supervision, and timely emergency intervention, including CPR and Heimlich maneuvers,' the civil complaint said. The lawsuit has accused the Clark County School District of putting Ruiz in danger and improperly training Holz, resulting in the boy's death. His memorial photo is pictured Ruiz's mother, Corbala, began shrieking in terror when she saw her son getting carried away on a stretcher while EMS performed CPR on him, according to the lawsuit. She is pictured 'Had CRUZITO remained in the supervised cafeteria with adult assistance immediately available, his likelihood of survival and meaningful recovery would have been substantially higher.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Holve, the Clark County School District and Corbala's attorneys for comment. The disabled daughter of a Wyoming man who was killed in a head-on collision doesn't understand that her father is gone, his heartbroken wife has revealed. Andrew Winter, 36, was on his way to Gillette on Sunday around 8.40pm when his Volkswagen Tiguan collided with a Toyota Tundra driven by Cody Thomas, 39. The father-of-three was killed in the crash on Highway 59, while Thomas, who was on his way to the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy at the time, was taken to the hospital with injuries. Winter was not wearing his seat belt and was partially ejected from his vehicle during the crash, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Now, Winter's wife and children have been left trying to wrap their heads around his sudden death. 'He brought a smile to every room, and he had a great personality,' his wife, Ashley Winter, told Cowboy State Daily. 'He cared the most for his kids. When I was pregnant, our daughter was born with special needs, and he could have walked away and he stayed. He was her safe haven,' she added, referring to their 15-year-old daughter who was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). The rare genetic disorder causes lifelong learning challenges, insatiable hunger, and low muscle tone. Andrew Winter (far right), 36, died in a head-on collision on Sunday around 8.40pm after his car collided with another vehicle on Highway 59. His 15-year-old daughter (far left) does not understand that he is gone, Winter's wife (middle) said Winter has been remembered as a loving father to his three children and wife Because of her disability, their teenage daughter has not grasped that her father has passed away, Ashley said. His grieving wife said Winter has been by their daughter's side ever since they learned she had PWS, going with her when she was airlifted for specialty treatment. 'He got to bond first with her and theyve had a special bond ever since,' Ashley stated. He was also an amazing dad to his 13-year-old daughter, who Ashley said was her late husband's 'fishing buddy.' Their 10-year-old son loved playing video games like Fortnite with Winter, Ashley added. Winter's world revolved around his family, and he always tried to make them laugh, she continued. 'We always had dance parties in the garage where dad would embarrass himself,' Ashley recalled. Her sister, Courtney Simmons, has gone on to create a GoFundMe page to help Winter's family during this difficult time. Winter has been by their daughter's side ever since they learned she had Prader- Willis Syndrom (PWS), and even went with her when she was airlifted for specialty treatment Winter's world revolved around his family, and he always tried to make them laugh, Ashley said 'Drew was not only a devoted husband and father, but also a friend to many,' Simmons wrote. 'He was the major provider for their family, and his sudden passing has left Ashley and her children facing a future filled with uncertainty and worry.' As of Thursday afternoon, more than $16,5000 had been raised to help Winter's family. 'Its going to be a long road; I really dont know how we are going to be able to survive without him,' Ashley told the outlet. Winter's celebration of life has been scheduled for March 13 at the Torrington Elks Lodge, according to his obituary. Thomas and his family have also been left picking up the pieces after he was severely injured in the crash, and Ashley said she feels 'extremely bad' for them. 'We don't know what they are going through,' she told the outlet. Chantel Alcaraz, Thomas's sister-in-law, launched a GoFundMe page to help him and her sister, Courtney Thomas, while he recovers. The extent of his injuries remains unclear, but according to Alcaraz, the accident 'has really impacted life' for his wife and their four children. Cody Thomas (far right), the other driver involved in the crash, was taken to the hospital with injuries She said he was on his way to the police academy at the time and has always dreamed of becoming an officer. 'Cody is a devoted father of four children and was on his way to the police academy when the accident occurred,' Alcaraz wrote. 'His dream of serving and protecting others has been put on hold, and the impact of this accident reaches every part of his life.' Nearly $10,000 had been raised to support the family as of Thursday afternoon. Thomas has since been released from the hospital and is healing at home, she said in an update on Tuesday. An Alabama man set a house on fire with his paraplegic wife inside because he didn't like her, prosecutors said. Justin Martez Seals, 39, has been charged with capital murder after his wife, Mekayla Rembert, was found dead inside a charred garage in Birmingham on December 23, 2025. The 32-year-old mother, who lived inside the detached garage, was pronounced dead at the scene around 9pm that evening. Seals, who was arrested the following day, appeared in court on Wednesday for his preliminary hearing, where Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Nick Taggart said the suspect intentionally set the structure on fire because he was not a fan of his wife. 'This defendant had burn marks. This defendant had injury. This defendant had an issue with his wife,' Taggart said, AL.com reported. He added: 'This defendant caused her death, and he should be held accountable.' Prosecutors said Seals used gasoline or another kind of accelerant to set the home ablaze while Rembert, who was wheelchair-bound, was in the bedroom. He later told police that he was at a local store when the blaze started and that he was unaware of it until he got back home. Mekayla Rembert, 23, was found dead inside her burned-down home in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 23, 2025. Her husband, Justin Martez Seals, has been charged in connection with her death Fire officials determined there was evidence the fire was intentionally set, including char marks in the bedroom area and more at the front door of the home (pictured) But store employees told investigators that Seals mentioned fire and gasoline to them and said: 'My girl is dead.' Seals and Rembert's daughter also told officers that 'her parents were always arguing, and her father didn't like the victim.' Meanwhile, Seals' attorneys argued there is no evidence that their client had anything to do with his wife's death. 'No witnesses testified they saw Mr. Seals before the fire at the house. No witnesses testified they saw Mr. Seals set fire to the house,' Jefferson County Public Defender Lauren Presley said in court. Instead, Presley said witnesses recalled Seals trying to save his wife from the flames. 'What they did testify to was that he was trying to run into the house to save his wife, that he was upset, that he was distraught. Thats what all the testimony shows,' she added. Seals shares children with Rembert and has also been living in the garage at the time of the fire, according to Birmingham homicide Detective Ronald Davenport. The main home on the property burned to the ground a year prior in an accidental fire, Davenport said. In court on Wednesday, Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Nick Taggart said the suspect intentionally set the structure on fire because he was not a fan of his wife (pictured) The detective said that fire officials told him there was evidence the fire was intentionally set, including char marks in the bedroom area and more at the front door of the home. A neighbor also told Davenport that they saw Seals 'screaming and hollering' and that he was talking 'about his baby being trapped in the garage' while he sat on the foundation of the other burnt out house. Seals was not at the scene when the police and fire department arrived, but he went to the Birmingham Police Department the following day for questioning after authorities contacted his father, AL.com reported. Seals said he noticed the blaze while he rode his bike home from the convenience store, leading him to run toward the burning garage. He told Davenport he decided to flee the scene because he thought he had outstanding warrants and didn't want to be arrested. Rembert's death was ruled a homicide by Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates. Seals' case will now go to a grand jury for indictment consideration, Jefferson County District Judge William Bell decided on Wednesday. Seals' case will now go to a grand jury for indictment consideration, Jefferson County District Judge William Bell decided on Wednesday Rembert's sister, Amber Hollis, said Rembert adored her children and was a very sweet person. 'She was such a sweet person. She never met a stranger she lived her life to the fullest,' Hollis previously told the outlet. Just hours after her death, Hollis shared a heartbreaking Facebook post. Alongside pictures of them growing up together, Hollis wrote: 'Words can't even begin to describe the pain I feel right now.. 'So many words left unsaid.. We never got to open our shop Katie! Them babies gotta live without you.' A memorial service was held for Rembert on January 9 at the W.E. Lusain Funeral Home. Explosions have rocked an oil facility as Iranian drones target key energy production infrastructure. Bahrain's government said this afternoon that a facility in its oil infrastructure area has been attacked. It was later revealed that the attack damaged a unit of BAPCO Energies' refinery. A government spokesperson said: 'One facility in Maameer was targeted, and the relevant authorities are handling the incident,' the statement said. Footage from the region showed at least two large towers of smoke rising through the air. At the base of one of these smoke plumes, a huge fire could be seen raging. The fire was seen rapidly growing, though the government claims the fire has been brought under control. The refinery has a maximum production capacity of 267,000 barrels of oil per day. It also has the space to store up to 14million barrels of oil. Iran has pressed attacks across the Gulf in response to US and Israeli strikes that killed its supreme leader. Earlier today, Bahrain's defence ministry said its forces intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles, destroying 65 while 10 fell inside its territory. Bahrain's government said this afternoon that a facility in its oil infrastructure area has been attacked Footage from the region showed at least two large towers of smoke rising through the air It also reported intercepting 124 drones, downing 88 while 36 landed within the country. Sirens were said to have sounded across the tiny Gulf nation, which joined its neighbours and the EU in calling for Iran to end 'indiscriminate' attacks across the region in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, warning global security was at stake. Foreign ministers met by video link as Iran stepped up attacks on countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council - with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman all now targeted. 'The ministers strongly condemned the unjustifiable Iranian attacks against the GCC countries which threaten regional and global security and called on Iran to cease immediately its attacks,' said a joint statement issued afterwards. Addressing the fallout of 'indiscriminate' Iranian attacks, they also 'affirmed that the GCC states have the right to take all necessary measures' to defend themselves. As Iranian missiles and drones have slammed Gulf states' cities and infrastructure, upending relations with Tehran, the neighbours have been put on a potential course for greater confrontation. But EU and Gulf ministers jointly reaffirmed their 'unwavering commitment to dialogue and diplomacy' as a means to resolve the crisis. They pledged 'joint diplomatic efforts' for a lasting solution to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and for it to 'cease production and proliferation' of ballistic missiles and drones. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who chaired the talks, earlier said the bloc was looking to help Gulf nations fend off Iranian drone strikes, but warned supplies of relevant kit might be limited. Speaking ahead of the talks, Kallas warned production of drone interceptors would struggle to keep up with high demand both in Ukraine and now the Middle East. Tehran has been pummelled by US and Israeli air strikes since Saturday, when they killed Ayatollah Khamenei 'Everybody has the need for air defence... So there is really a problem with production,' she told journalists in Brussels, adding Europe needed to 'speed up' production. 'I'm worried that the capabilities are limited,' she said. More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the USIran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region. A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port, according to initial assessments. A second tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side. Nine vessels have come under attack since the conflict broke out between the US, Israel and Iran on Saturday. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday and also sent drones into Azerbaijan, injuring four people. The escalation comes after a motion to halt the US attacks was blocked in Washington and as the son of Iran's slain supreme leader emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle under the pressure. Around 200 ships, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers as well as cargo ships, remained at anchor in open waters off the coast of major Gulf producers, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform. Hundreds of other vessels remained outside the Strait of Hormuz unable to reach ports, shipping data showed. The waterway is a key artery for around a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supply. President Donald Trump offered US Navy escorts and insurance in a bid to restart shipping flows and curtail energy prices. Insurance market Lloyd's of London said on Thursday it is engaging with the US government on a plan. BP evacuated foreign staff from Iraq's Rumaila oil field after two unidentified drones landed inside the field, Iraqi oil sources said. Iraq has cut its oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, officials told Reuters. A refinery in Kuwait shut down and another reduced its processing rate. A third refinery in Bahrain also cut its output. Iranian targeting of oil tankers and refineries has seen the price of energy in the United Kingdom spiral. Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, the company's largest domestic facility, has been a repeated target for Iran Iran has vowed to bring chaos to the global energy market through its retaliatory attacks, which have repeatedly targeted oil refineries and tankers in the Middlle East. In a speech on Monday, Generaj Jabbari of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards vowed to set ablaze any transportation ship vying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. He said: 'The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Anyone who wants to pass, our devotee heroes in the IRGC navy and the army will set those ships on fire. Don't come to this region.' In a separate message, Jabbari warned: 'We will also attack oil pipelines and will not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region. Oil price will reach $200 in the coming days.' Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, the company's largest domestic facility, has been a regular target for Iran - and has today been struck by a drone again. The attack did not cause any damage, according to local reports, but it came days after the refinery was forced to temporarily close due to a fire. The strikes have seen global prices of natural gas and oil spiral and it is feared that the energy price cap could rise sharply when it next changes in July. Bracing brits for spiking costs during a speech on Thursday, Keir Starmer warned: 'This conflict could continue for some time.' New Green Party MP Hannah Spencer has been dubbed the 'Honourable Member for Instagram' after she captured her first few days in Parliament with a series of 'selfies'. The 34-year-old, who won last week's Gorton and Denton by-election, is said to have mixed being an MP 'with being an influencer' since joining the House of Commons. It came after she was spotted taking a series of snaps of herself in Westminster after being sworn in as an MP on Monday afternoon. This included when she joined a group of other MPs doing the 'cha-cha-cha' in Portcullis House on Wednesday morning amid the deepening Middle East crisis. The dance event sparked a furious row as other parliamentarians criticised the sight of their colleagues twirling in Parliament while fears grow of a global conflict in the wake of retailiatory action by Iran to US and Israeli strikes. Ms Spencer's by-election victory over Labour saw her become only the sixth-ever Green MP. She used social media to document her journey from Manchester - where she worked as a plumber and recently-qualified plasterer - to London on Sunday as she prepared to join the Commons. Remarking on her apparent fondness for 'selfies' during her first few days in the role, Reform UK MP Lee Anderson told the Daily Mail: 'Hannah Spencer's first week in Parliament shows just how seriously she's taking the job: not at all.' New Green Party MP Hannah Spencer has been dubbed the 'Honourable Member for Instagram' after she captured her first few days in Parliament with a series of 'selfies'. The 34-year-old, who won last week's Gorton and Denton by-election, is said to have mixed being an MP 'with being an influencer' since joining the House of Commons. Ms Spencer took a 'selfie' wth Green leader Zack Polanski outside the Houses of Parliament on Monday The new MP also snapped herself taking part in a dance event in Parliament on Wednesday morning Mr Anderson added: 'It seems the 'Honourable Member for Instagram' may have confused being a serving politician with being an influencer. 'If she is a proper plumber, she needs to stop taking selfies, get the spanners out and sort the drains out in the Palace of Westminster because it stinks rotten on my floor.' But Ms Spencer told the Mail: 'I don't think Parliament should be closed off to the eyes of the world and I'm proud to be able to reach hundreds of thousands of people through social media. 'I meant it when I said I'd open this place up to more people!' In her by-election victory speech in the early hours of last Friday, Ms Spencer promised to 'work hard' for her new constituents in Gorton and Denton. 'One vote on one night is not something I will take for granted or assume will happen again. I will earn your trust,' she told those who chose her as their new MP. She added: 'And to those who didnt vote for me: I will always work hard for you, and I will always be honest, and I will always be decent.' A glamorous reality TV star and real estate agent claims she was sexually assaulted by one of the Alexander brothers after being given a spiked cocktail, a civil lawsuit alleges. Tracy Tutor, who starred in Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, claimed luxury real estate broker Oren Alexander, 38, lured her to New York City in 2014 before drugging and assaulting her. Oren, his twin brother Alon and their older brother Tal Alexander, 39, are all currently awaiting the jury's verdict in their trial in Manhattan on federal sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors claim the trio drugged, raped and trafficked dozens of women over a decade. The brothers have pleaded not guilty and insist all encounters were consensual. Tutor, 50, claimed she was flown to the city for a networking event at The Skylark after being approached to join the Douglas Elliman real estate firm Oren worked for. She was allegedly handed a large pink cocktail instead of her regular tequila soda and blacked out and lost her memory after consuming it, the suit said. At some point, she went missing from the event and a friend of hers identified in the suit as Cory Weiss found her in a bathroom stall with Oren, the filings added. The suit claimed that Oren was kissing her and 'touching her in intimate areas', while Tutor was described as acting 'out of her mind.' Tracey Tutor claimed she was flown to New York City for a networking event after being approached to join the Douglas Elliman real estate firm when she was allegedly assaulted by one of its top employees Alon Alexander, her civil lawsuit claims The suit claimed that Oren Alexander, seen here during a bond hearing in Miami in December of 2024, sexually assaulted her Weiss allegedly got into a heated exchange with Oren and managed to get Tutor out of the restroom and away from him, the suit said. Weiss later asked someone at the event to make sure Tutor got back to her hotel room safely that night after deciding to leave following the alleged interaction with Oren, the filings state. Tutor claimed she woke up in someone else's hotel room the next day after being sexually assaulted and called Weiss. The suit described Tutor as being 'naked and alone' and shared graphic details involving a tampon. The lawsuit added that Tutor had lost her purse, which was later retrieved by Weiss from one of Oren's assistants. Tutor claimed to have no memory of what happened that night and said in her suit that she suppressed memories of the next day. It wasn't until other allegations were made against Alexander and his two brothers in 2024 that the 'painful memories came flooding back', the suit added. She started discussing the events of that night with Weiss again according to the suit and he told her about her interactions with Oren. The networking event is said to have happened at the Skylark Rooftop Bar in the city Tutor, 50, claimed she was attacked by Oren after she was flown to the city for a networking event for luxury real estate firm Douglas Elliman Tal Alexander, 39, and twins Oren and Alon, 38, are each facing numerous federal sex trafficking charges; they have pleaded not guilty to all charges The suit claimed Oren called her while he was on vacation with his family, leaving her a voicemail saying: 'I'm sorry.' According to Tutor, that voicemail surfaced in her inbox after she went public with her claims in an article with The New York Times. The suit is seeking statutory damages to be decided at trial. Jason Goldman, a civil lawyer for Alexander, branded the lawsuit 'salacious' in a statement to The New York Times. He said: 'This appears to be nothing more than a transparent attempt to create headlines and taint the proceedings of the criminal trial.' Goldman noted that Tutor filed the suit on the eve of jury deliberations involving Alexander and his brothers' federal trial. The three are facing ten charges; if convicted they all face life behind bars. Prosecutors called nearly 30 witnesses over five weeks, including 11 women who claimed to have been drugged and sexually assaulted by the brothers. Lawyers for the brothers argued that the three were 'womanizers' but not sex traffickers. The Daily Mail contacted lawyers for Tutor, Oren, Weiss and Douglas Elliman for comment. Neighbours living next to the proposed Chinese mega-embassy near the Tower of London are taking the government to court over its decision to approve planning permission as residents fear for their safety. Residents from around 100 homes near the proposed site at Royal Mint Court allege the government's decision to approve permission for the embassy was 'unlawful, procedurally unfair, and failed to take into account key factors'. The Royal Mint Court Residents' Association has now filed a claim at the High Court. It said there are concerns about the safety of people living nearby, national security risks and whether planning permission controls can be enforced on diplomatic land. Members of the association live in around 100 homes in St Mary Graces Court, next to the proposed site at Royal Mint Court. Represented by law firm Leigh Day, the association wants a High Court judge to overturn the government's approval, which was announced on January 20. They say the government did not consider the effect on local people of potential protests against China and that money spent on securing sensitive telecommunications links near the site was not openly assessed as part of the decision. Ricardo Gama, a partner at Leigh Day, said: 'When a development of this scale is placed directly alongside people's homes, it is essential that the government demonstrates it has fully considered the risks and followed a fair and open process. Residents of Royal Mint Court allege the government's decision to approve permission was 'unlawful, procedurally unfair, and failed to take into account key factors'. Pictured is a concept for the embassy Your browser does not support iframes. 'Instead, our clients say key information was withheld, critical safety issues were left unresolved, and residents were given no meaningful opportunity to understand or challenge what was being decided. 'We are asking the court to ensure that proper scrutiny takes place before any further steps are taken.' The association is also being supported in its claim by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. Announcing the approval in January, a statement from Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: 'All material considerations were taken into account when making this decision.' A government spokesperson added at the time: 'National security is our first duty. 'Intelligence agencies have been involved throughout the process and an extensive range of measures have been developed to manage any risks.' The Daily Mail understands that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has received the Royal Mint Court Residents Association's legal challenge. However a spokesperson said it would be inappropriate for the department to comment further. The Mail on Sunday revealed that planning documents for the embassy included 'spy dungeons' (highlighted in red above) - two suites of basement rooms and a tunnel, with their purpose redacted for security reasons China's President Xi at the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in January Permission to develop a Chinese super-embassy near the Tower of London was green-lit by Reed on January 20 after a public inquiry into the proposals was held in February last year. At the beginning of last month residents of Royal Mint Court set out the grounds for their request in a pre-application letter to the British government's legal department. When the Chinese government bought 5.4 acres of the site in 2018, the purchase included the freehold to around 100 flats across four residential blocks. These buildings lie outside the proposed perimeter for the embassy but residents fear they could be evicted and their flats bulldozed to make space for a security wall. They are also concerned about becoming targets for surveillance from the diplomatic complex, which would be China's biggest in Europe. Beijing announced plans for its new embassy in 2018 after buying the former Royal Mint building for 250million. Its first application was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council but it resubmitted its plan in July 2024, just weeks after Labour won the election, and soon afterwards president Xi raised the matter in a phone call with Sir Keir. Just months later, Sir Keir told the president his new government would make the final decision after taking control of the planning process. The Housing Secretary then approved China's proposal in January. George Santos, the disgraced congressman who was expelled by his colleagues over corruption charges, unleashed a blistering attack on Congresswoman Nancy Mace on Thursday. The New Yorker accused her of using him for personal gain, as well as re-upping past accusations that she has abused her staff. Mace posed on X Wednesday night, asking her followers, 'what's something you survived that you didn't think you would?' Santos, the former Congressman, replied to the post on Thursday morning, writing, 'Cut the bullsh*t! You are not a the saint you think you are while I appreciate your efforts for survivors of abuse you need to know that abuse comes in many forms and not just sexual.' Mace has been a vocal member of the Oversight Committee in the US House of Representatives, which has been investigating the files of deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and has not shied away from asking Republicans tough questions about their involvement with him as well. Last year, Mace took to the House Floor to levy allegations of 'secretly filming her, physically assaulting her, and engaging in a conspiracy to drug, rape, and film other women,' against her ex-fiance, Patrick Bryant. Bryant subsequently sued Mace for defamation. He has accused her of cooking up fake gang rape claims to blackmail him. Santos continued his post on X: 'You know you are an abusive b*tch and have abused your staff to a point some had to seek therapy you decided to pound on me on TV at every single opportunity you had. You never once called me or asked me how I was handling the situation.' Representative Nancy Mace talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday night, March 3, 2026 Former US Representative George Santos before a court hearing at US District Court Eastern District of New York Long Island Courthouse on August 19, 2024 in West Islip, New York, where he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft Santos was sentenced in April 2025 to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty in August 2024, before being released in October 2025 following a presidential commutation from Donald Trump. Mace, meanwhile, has faced accusations of being a difficult boss. A recent New York Magazine report detailed accounts from former staffers, including one who claimed: 'Our poor scheduler was getting calls at two in the morning to bring her bottles of tequila.' Alcohol was not the only substance Mace allegedly used, with multiple staffers also noting her cannabis use, described by some as 'excessive.' Another staffer claims they were allegedly instructed by Mace to look up forums on the social media site Reddit that ranked the 'hottest women in Congress' and to raise her standing with comments and 'upvotes.' Ahead of the story's publication, Mace went on offense, taking the 'hit piece' as a badge of honor. 'As NY Mag publishes the next national hit piece against me tomorrow, the establishment doesn't go after people who fall in line. They go after people who don't,' Mace stated in a Sunday evening post to her X account. 'I'll take that as a compliment. When you stand for something, you make enemies. I've never let that stop me from doing my job - and I'm not starting now,' Mace also argued in her own defense. Mace was also recently filmed having a heated altercation with Charleston airport staff back in her home state of South Carolina, where she is also running for Governor. A police report of the incident described Mace as 'very irate' and noted that she usedderogatory and profane language toward staff. Santos, however, has his own score to settle.'You just ran to TV and smeared me at the time you, Tony Gonzales and a bunch of other aholes fked with my mental health, but I prevailed because I'm not a victim I'm a f*ing fighter and you can go FK yourself Nancy,' Santos wrote in his Thursday morning X post. In 2023, Mace accused Santos of having an 'entire resume and life' that was 'manufactured', telling CBS News it was 'very difficult to work with anyone who cannot be trusted.' Santos had indeed fabricated much of his background while running for Congress. He falsely claimed to have attended a prestigious high school and to have studied at Baruch College and New York University neither institution had any record of him and said he had worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, both of which denied he was ever employed there. He later apologized for the 'embellishment.' Mace's congressional office directed the Daily Mail to her campaign for comment Santos's post was a response to content on her personal X account, not an official communication. The campaign did not respond. Six low traffic neighbourhoods in south London have been ruled 'unlawful' by a High Court judge as they were illegally created to draw millions of pounds in fines from motorists. Croydon Council, which has declared effective bankruptcy three times since 2020, has been accused of using the low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) as a 'fat cash cow' to plug their financial black hole. On Wednesday, Mr Justice Pepperall concluded the local authority used the 'relatively modest' benefits of LTNs to justify the 'enormous revenue' it would make in fines. The LTNs were first trialled by Croydon Council in 2020, and were permanently put in place four years later. They aim to reduce traffic in residential areas by using cameras, planters or lockable bollards. However, local residents who opposed the illegal schemes brought forth a judicial review on them, stating the council wanted LTNs because they were projected to bring in more than 10million in fines. Mr Justice Pepperall quashed the legal orders that Croydon Council had implemented to make the LTNs permanent. In his 34-page judgment, he said: 'I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the dominant purpose for these [traffic] orders making the schemes permanent was the need to safeguard the revenue raised by enforcement. Such purpose was unlawful, and I therefore quash the orders.' He also cited how Conservative mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, criticised the schemes while in opposition, stating he wished to remove all LTNs on his first day in office. Six low traffic neighbourhoods illegally created by Croydon Council (pictured) have been ruled 'unlawful' by a High Court judge Following the ruling, Campaign group Open Our Roads (OOR) has said Croydon Council should remove the LTNs and refund all motorists who were fined However, following his May 2022 election, the judge wrote that Mr Perry's stance changed due to budgetary considerations. The court judgment said Mr Perry 'didn't think he was in a position to remove the schemes because the previous administration had predicated their budgets on assumed income from the schemes'. Mr Perry later said: 'I did not at any point say that I would remove all the [LTNs] because I just knew it was not a pledge that I could uphold... any future schemes coming forward should not be based on fining residents in order to achieve it.' Campaigners who welcomed the ruling are now calling on Croydon Council to refund the millions of pounds it took in fines from the illegal schemes. Alongside demanding a suspension of schemes, Open Our Roads (OOR) - the campaign group that brought the case - is calling on Croydon Council to 'set out a clear process for refunding fines issued under quashed orders' and to 'reassure residents who received penalties while the council acted outside lawful powers'. A spokesperson said: 'This judgment confirms that local authorities must act lawfully and for the purposes Parliament intended. Residents deserve transparency and decisions based on evidence, not financial necessity.' A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: 'The council is considering its position.' A government contractor accused of stealing $46 million in cryptocurrency from the US Marshals Service has been captured on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. John Daghita, 21, was arrested following a joint operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and French authorities, FBI director Kash Patel announced Thursday. A now-deleted LinkedIn account reportedly identified Daghita as working for Virginia-based contractor Command Services & Support, a firm owned by his father, Dean Daghita. Their work with the Marshals Service involved managing seized digital assets, which allegedly allowed Daghita to access private cryptocurrency accounts holding millions. Authorities have not elaborated on how the younger Daghita allegedly stole the huge fortune, with his alleged fraud dating back to late 2024. Patel announced the arrest on X sharing an image of a handcuffed Daghita wearing red sweatpants and flip flops as he was taken into custody next to a swimming pool. Patel also shared an image of a silver briefcase filled with hundred dollar bills and a number of hard drives. 'The FBI will continue working 24/7 with our international partners to track down, apprehend, and bring to justice those who attempt to defraud American taxpayers - no matter where they try to hide,' Patel wrote. Government contractor John Daghita, 21, is accused of stealing $46 million in crypto from the US Marshals Service. He was captured on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin FBI Director Kash Patel shared an image on Thursday of Daghita's arrest and a silver briefcase filled with cash and hard drives Daghita's arrest was the result of a months-long investigation by the US Marshals Service after a social media user alerted them to the allegedly missing funds, reports Coindesk.com. Brady McCarron, chief of public affairs for the USMS, told the outlet that a probe was launched in January after authorities were tipped off by an X user. The investigation was reportedly the result of public allegations brought forward by X user ZachXBT, who claimed that Daghita funneled tens of millions from crypto wallets linked to US government seizures. The user, identifying Daghita through his nickname 'Lick', wrote in an X post on January 23: 'Meet the threat actor John (Lick), who was caught flexing $23M in a wallet address directly tied to $90M+ in suspected thefts from the US Government in 2024 and multiple other unidentified victims from Nov 2025 to Dec 2025.' ZachXBT said he reported to authorities that the accounts held 12,540 ETH, worth roughly $36.3 million in total. He alleged that Daghita was able to siphon the money because his dad's firm 'currently has an active IT government contract in Virginia.' The arrest comes amid mounting scrutiny on the US federal government's handling of cryptocurrency assets, which President Trump has leaned into since retaking office Daghita's arrest was reportedly the result of a monthslong investigation by the US Marshals Service after a social media user alerted them to the allegedly missing funds The arrest comes amid mounting scrutiny on the US federal government's handling of cryptocurrency assets, which President Donald Trump has championed since retaking office. In February 2025, a source told Coindesk.com that the US Marshals Service did not even know how much cryptocurrency it had. At the time, Trump announced he was considering setting up a national crypto reserve. Authorities are now expected to seek Daghita's extradition to the US to face trial. The Daily Mail has contacted Command Services & Support for comment. A 15-year-old student has been left seriously injured after being knifed at school during lunchtime. Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology (NUAST) went into lockdown 'for two hours' after the reports of the stabbing at around 1.35pm on Thursday. The teen was rushed to the nearby Queen's Medical Centre hospital, where he remains. A second 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene, with police saying the two pupils were known to each other. The force added there is no information to suggest it was linked to the national 'School Wars' social media posts published on Wednesday. A student at the school explained he and his peers 'tried to stay calm' while the incident unfolded. The 15-year-old said: 'We got brought out the music room and put in a room for all of lunch and entire afternoon. 'We were told to go as quickly as you can and we saw there were police and everything. We just tried to stay calm, played on computers for a while and I called my dad.' Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology (NUAST) went into lockdown 'for two hours' after the reports of the stabbing at around 1.35pm today A 15-year-old student was rushed to the nearby Queen's Medical Centre hospital, where he remains with serious injuries A second 15-year-old boy was been arrested at the scene, with police saying the two pupils were known to each other The boy's mum, who did not wish to be named, said NUAST is 'normally a really good school'. However, parents have been critical of NUAST's handling of the situation, as they say they were only informed of the incident at 3pm, when an email from the school's headteacher, Dave Thompson, was sent. In the email to parents, Mr said: 'I am very sorry to inform you there was a serious incident at school today in which a student was stabbed. 'The incident in the school is now over and is being dealt with by police. We will be open tomorrow as normal. 'Clearly, this has been a very traumatic event for the whole school community and support will be provided for any staff or pupils affected. 'Our thoughts and best wishes are with our students and their families at this incredibly difficult time.' Parents claim the email left them anxiously waiting for confirmation that their children were okay. Malik Mouqeet, whose 15-year-old son attends the school, criticised the communication from the school and police, saying he only learned his child was okay when he returned from the school on a bus at 4pm. 'It's not very good. I thought it was a small accident at first but then saw the cordon,' he said. He added: 'I'm not happy with the information from the school and police. They should allow kids to switch their phones on. That one hour was very difficult.' Ahmed Bashir was still waiting for his 14-year-old daughter to be let out of the school at around 4pm. He knew both his daughter and his 12-year-old son were okay, but faced an anxious wait when he first arrived just after 3pm. The 45-year-old said: 'When I arrived police cars had stopped everywhere but wouldn't say anything. I crossed my fingers that they were okay. 'The problem is you can't use phones in there. I tried to call and text my daughter but she didn't respond. I was a bit worried. I wondered what was happening.' Eva, who did not wish to give her surname, was another parent waiting for her child to be released. She said she arrived at the school to pick up her daughter who is in Year 9 just before 3pm to find police everywhere. She said: 'It was horrible. Nobody had sent any message. I understand this is an emergency but the school hadn't sent anything. I'm waiting to see my daughter who was stuck.' Superintendent Chris Pearson, of Notts Police, said: 'This is obviously an unsettling incident to occur on school grounds, and we are working closely with NUAST. 'A 15-year-old boy has sustained a stab injury and been sent to QMC for treatment. His injuries are currently believed to be serious. 'His family will be supported by specially trained officers while a thorough investigation is underway. 'A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with this incident. 'We know this is likely to cause alarm and distress across our local community especially for parents and pupils in the area. 'What we know so far is that both victim and suspect are known to each other and there is no information to say this is linked to the national "School Wars" social posts. 'I also want to stress that there is no wider threat to any other pupils at the school. 'We will be working closely with the school over the coming days to establish what has happened.' President Donald Trump has fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and announced Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace her, marking the first Cabinet-level termination of his second term. The 'last straw' came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath that she'd been given Trump's approval for a $220million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile. She testified that the multi-million dollar ad campaign was signed off on by the President when pressed by Congress under oath this week. 'I never knew anything about it,' he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. The Daily Mail has broken multiple stories on Noem's turbulent tenure as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, ranging from her handling of the deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis at the hands of DHS agents, her lavish spending and rumored extramarital affair. Noem has been under heavy scrutiny for her alleged affair with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski. Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied the affair. Later on Thursday, Trump announced that Senator Mullin of Oklahoma would be nominated to become the next DHS Secretary. Mullin's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. 'I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!),' Trump wrote. She will now become Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new White House security initiative, the President added. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem films an ad at Mount Rushmore. The ad was a part of a $220million campaign to recruit more DHS workers. Noem said Trump signed off on the expense, but the President refuted that Trump announced that Senator Markwayne Mullin will be nominated to become the next DHS Secretary The 'last straw' came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath this week that she'd been given Trump's approval for a $220million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile The President lauded Mullin for his Native American roots and claimed the Senator 'will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security'. Officials within DHS and ICE are celebrating the news of Noem's departure, sources have revealed to the Daily Mail. One DHS source told the Daily Mail that staff in the department's headquarters are cheering the news: Everyone is happy, lots of smiles. Morale had taken a hit. Theres a feeling among a lot of folks here that the department can finally reset and refocus on operations instead of internal turmoil.' Theres also an expectation that Lewandowski will follow her out the door. He will go because he knows Mullin will toss him, the source added. It is unclear if the advisor will depart DHS along with the secretary. Another DHS insider said Trump had been preparing to fire her for days, but that her performance on Tuesday gave him cover to do so immediately. Meanwhile, an ICE official at the department's headquarters told the Daily Mail, Crowds are celebrating. Lots of phone calls. Texts. People stopping by to celebrate.' A Senate panel grilled Noem about the ad campaign and the process through which the money was allocated for it. Mullin told reporters hours before Trump's announcement that he had not talked to the President this week and he wouldn't weigh in on 'hypotheticals' about him replacing Noem Noem told lawmakers on Tuesday that there was 'a competitive process' to award the contract for the campaign and that it was 'all done correctly, all done legally'. One of the ads cut from the $220million project showed Noem wearing a cowboy hat, riding a horse in front of Mt. Rushmore. Noem defenders were surprised by the heat she took from members of Congress during her appearance in the Senate this week. They expected confrontation from Sen. Thom Tillis, who is a Trump critic on his way out after announcing he would not run for reelection. They did not expect confrontation from Republican Senator Kennedy, who publicly berated Noem. He just kicked the teeth out of her, one insider said. That came out of nowhere. Insiders familiar with the situation heard that at the very least Lewandowski would be out by this weekend, but that could be moot if both of them would be out in weeks. On paper, Lewandowski is a special government employee, so its easy to force him out on a timeline basis. The Daily Mail has broken multiple stories on Kristi Noem's turbulent tenure as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Trump had batted down questions about firing Noem in February before ousting her in March Noem has been labeled as 'ICE Barbie' for myriad photoshoots showing Noem in full makeup, posing with guns and bulletproof vests But there is no Kristi Noem without Corey, he singlehandedly lobbied Trump to get her the position and she would be without her biggest defender. The White House grew tired of weekly stories of scandal and infighting, as Susie Wiles had long had enough of her theatrics. Its like who doesnt she fight with, a source familiar told the Daily Mail. Trump chose Senator Mullin of Oklahoma partially to avoid a confrontational Senate confirmation process, one source told the Daily Mail. He would have likely elevated Homan, but there was real doubt that Homan could get the 60 votes necessary to get confirmation. Pressed on Thursday whether he is under consideration to lead DHS, Mullin dodged the question. 'Listen, I haven't talked to the President all week, so I couldn't even help you with that answer,' he said. When asked if he is interested in the job, Mullin again shot down the inquiry. 'I'm actually absolutely not dealing with hypotheticals,' he shot back. Hours after his remarks, Trump announced Mullin would replace Noem. Mullin later told reporters he found out about his appointment right before the President published his statement. A source familiar with the matter said Trump settled on Mullin in part because he comes from a safe seat in heavily Republican Oklahoma and looks good on television. This is super high-risk. The department is shut down, the source said. They went to the reddest state in the union to replace her. Noems firing comes as the vast majority of the department remains shuttered due to a lapse in congressional funding. The source said Mullin could be the figure who gets DHS up and running again. The ad campaign and the alleged affair are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Noem's controversies. Sources within DHS and ICE celebrated Noem's ouster on Thursday The DHS Secretary caught flak earlier this year when her agents shot and killed two Americans - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - during immigration operations in Minnesota. She has also been slammed as 'ICE Barbie' for myriad photoshoots showing Noem in full makeup, posing with guns and bulletproof vests. Noem's ouster marks the first Cabinet-level firing of Trump's second term. The President previously removed Michael Waltz as national security advisor to ambassador to the UN, though that reassignment was not at the Cabinet level. DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. Trump's announcement that Mullin will replace Noem immediately garnered support from lawmakers. 'I'm not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague [Senator Mullin] as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE,' Democratic Senator John Fetterman posted on X. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina reacted: 'President Trump could not have chosen a better candidate to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security than Senator Markwayne Mullin. 'He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know regarding how to protect America. Markwayne is an outstanding choice and I hope he gets the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote that he deserves.' Police are under growing pressure to ban an Al Quds Day march in London this month after plans were announced for a huge counter-protest amid the Iran crisis. The Al Quds Day march, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem, is held during Ramadan each year to express support for Palestinians. It was initiated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was the first Supreme Leader of Iran, following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. There are fears that this year's march in London, due to be held on 15 March, could end in 'serious disorder' due to the event's links to the Iranian regime. Concerns are being raised about possible clashes between pro-regime supporters and counter-protesters after the announcement of plans for rival demonstration. It also follows tense exchanges between mourners holding a vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - Iran's second Supreme Leader who was killed in recent US and Israeli strikes - and anti-regime protesters in Manchester this week. Iran has lashed out in the wake of the American and Israeli action, with Tehran launching a barrage of missile and drone attacks across the Middle East. The chaos has seen Britain send additional fighter jets to the region as fears grow of a wider conflict. A demonstrator is pictured outside Parliament during the Al Quds Day march in London in April 2024 Senior Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'After the scenes we saw in Manchester and the planned counter protests, it's now clear the planned Al Quds Day march could end in serious disorder. 'I've written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner asking him to ban the march under the Public Order Act. 'We cannot allow the streets of London to become a place for the Iranian regime to spread their propaganda.' Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence, said: 'Increasing violent protests and confrontations as Iran lashes out show there is a rising threat surrounding this abysmal celebration of the vile Islamist terror regime on London streets. 'The police are required to recommend to the Home Secretary that a march is stopped if they think it will trigger serious order, they should recognise the danger and act to stop the Al Quds march now.' Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Thursday said she would not 'interfere' with the 'operational independence' of Scotland Yard, when she was asked if she would request the Met Police ban the march. She told a press conference: 'The decision on specific marches is an operational matter for police and I'm not going to interfere with operational independence. 'We of course have a range of powers where protests are concerned, primarily around conditionality for those protests; so the time period over which they can occur, where precisely they have to be located. 'There is an existing power of ban but it has been very rarely used because, as people who are well-versed in this territory know, the policing of a ban can often be more tricky than the policing of a protest in the first place. 'So these are finely-balanced judgements on how best to maintain public order that are made by the police each time any of these events occurs. 'I would expect the police to be, of course, using their full powers but using their professional judgement on what is the best way to maintain order on our streets.' A Met Police spokesperson said: 'We recognise that there will be more attention on this protest given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 'It is likely numbers will be increased and the possibility of counter protest is greater. 'We will keep all these matters under careful review and will publish the details of our policing plan closer to the time. 'In response to the question of a ban, it is important to recognise that the police do not have the power to ban protest. 'They can apply to the Home Secretary for a ban but only if there is a risk of serious disorder that cannot be managed by the use of police tactics or the imposition of Public Order Act conditions alone. That is a high threshold. 'Officers will still take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime, including anti-Semitism, and support for proscribed organisations. 'They will intervene decisively where they see people crossing the line from lawful protest to criminality.' Kristi Noem's firing as Secretary of Homeland Security sparked celebrations in the department as her staff heard she had been ousted. Insiders at the department's headquarters in Washington, DC, told the Daily Mail that Noem's abrupt firing on Thursday was met with glee from her former employees. Crowds are celebrating. Lots of phone calls. Texts. People stopping by to celebrate,' an official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) staff source also said that staff at the HQ are cheering the news, describing the mood as 'happy' with 'lots of smiles. Morale had taken a hit,' the insider said. 'Theres a feeling among a lot of folks here that the department can finally reset and refocus on operations instead of internal turmoil.' There is speculation that Corey Lewandowski, Noem's top advisor and rumored lover, will follow her out the door. The DHS source said that Lewandowski will leave before Noem's replacement, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, pushes him. He will go because he knows Mullin will toss him,' they said. Kristi Noem's firing as Secretary of Homeland Security sparked celebrations at the department as her staff heard she had been ousted Noem faced intense scrutiny during her tenure at Homeland Security under Trump Noem faced intense scrutiny during her tenure, including criticism over her handling of the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents earlier this year. The 'last straw' came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath on Tuesday that she had been given Trump's approval for a $220 million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile. She testified that the multi-million dollar ad campaign was signed off on by the President when pressed by Congress. However, reports indicate that her claim caught Trump by surprise. A DHS insider said Trump had been preparing to fire Noem for days but that her performance Tuesday gave him cover to do so immediately. Noem has also been under heavy scrutiny for her alleged affair with Lewandowski, which they have both denied. Later on Thursday, Trump announced that Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would be nominated as the next Secretary of Homeland Security. Mullin's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. 'I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland.' The President lauded Mullin for his Native American roots and claimed the Senator 'will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security.' Trump picked Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace Noem on Thursday Noem has also been under heavy scrutiny for her alleged affair with top advisor Corey Lewandowski, which they have both denied Noem told lawmakers on Tuesday that there was 'a competitive process' to award the contract for the ad campaign and that it was 'all done correctly, all done legally.' One of the ads cut from the $220 million project showed Noem wearing a cowboy hat, riding a horse in front of Mount Rushmore. Noem defenders were surprised by the heat she took from members of Congress during her appearance in the Senate. They expected confrontation from Senator Thom Tillis, who is a Trump critic on his way out after announcing he would not run for reelection. But they did not expect combat from Republican Senator John Kennedy, who publicly berated Noem. He just kicked the teeth out of her, one insider said. That came out of nowhere. The White House reportedly grew tired of weekly stories of scandal and infighting at DHS, as Susie Wiles had long had enough of her theatrics. Its like who doesnt she fight with, a source familiar told the Daily Mail. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem films an ad at Mount Rushmore. The ad was a part of a $220 million campaign to recruit more DHS workers. Noem said Trump signed off on the expense, but the President refuted that Trump chose Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma partially to avoid a confrontational Senate confirmation process, one source told the Daily Mail. He would have likely elevated Homan but there was real doubt that Homan could get the 60 votes necessary to gain confirmation. Pressed on Thursday whether he is under consideration to lead DHS, Mullin dodged the question. 'Listen, I haven't talked to the President all week, so I couldn't even help you with that answer,' he said. When asked if he is interested in the job, Mullin again shot down the inquiry. 'I'm actually absolutely not dealing with hypotheticals,' he shot back. Hours after his remarks, Trump announced Mullin would replace Noem. The ad campaign and the alleged affair are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Noem's controversies. Noem has been labeled as 'ICE Barbie' for myriad photoshoots showing her in full makeup, posing with guns and bulletproof vests The DHS Secretary caught flak earlier this year when her agents shot and killed two Americans - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - during immigration operations in Minnesota. She has also been slammed as 'ICE Barbie' for myriad photoshoots showing Noem in full makeup, posing with guns and bulletproof vests. Noem's ouster marks the first Cabinet-level firing of Trump's second term. The President previously removed Michael Waltz as national security advisor and reassigned him as ambassador to the United Nations, though that reassignment was not at the Cabinet level. DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. A Scots MP whose husband was arrested as part of an investigation into Chinese spying allegations resigned the Labour whip. Joani Reid said this week had been the worst of my life after husband, the lobbyist David Taylor, was accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service. He was arrested along with two other men on Wednesday at addresses in London and Wales. Ms Reid last night said she was voluntarily suspending myself from the whip in the wake of her husbands arrest. It came after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the developments involving the husband of the East Kilbride and Strathaven MP were deeply concerning. He said that an investigation had set up by his party had been looking at potential action including whether to suspend her. But in a statement released last night, Ms Reid said: This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family. I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong. Joani Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, and her husband David Taylor I love my country. To serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven as their MP and the Labour Party has been - and continues to be - the privilege of my life. I understand that speculation and gossip is fevered at a time like this. I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government, of which I am proud and in whom I believe. She added: I also do not want my children - who have nothing to answer for and who deserve privacy and compassion - to find themselves subject to intrusion. Following discussions with the Chief Whip, I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip this evening and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and cooperate with any questions and worries the party may have. I, and my team, will continue to serve my constituents in the normal way as their Member of Parliament. Speaking to journalists at Holyrood yesterday, Mr Sarwar said: This is incredibly serious, deeply concerning, a matter of national security rightly being investigated by the police, and that needs to be a thorough investigation so we can get to the bottom of it. He added: We are considering all these matters because they are serious questions that you are putting to me. As you know, we have an independent governance and legal unit which is considering many of these matters. Asked about whether he has concerns that spies from hostile nations can infiltrate the Labour Party, he said: Its deeply concerning right across the political spectrum. I think the scale of international interference now in our broader politics is really, really serious. I think weve seen international interference in our elections, in our day-to-day democracy that is a matter of national security. On this specific case, of course this requires a full and thorough police investigation. We have to get to the bottom of these matters. As relates to our own colleague in the Scottish Labour Party, as I say, we have an independent governance and legal unit that is looking at these matters, and well be making judgments. Mr Taylor, 39, alongside two other men, aged 43 and 68, have been released on bail until May, the Metropolitan Police said yesterday. Mr Sarwar said he did not know whether Mr Taylor was a member of the Labour Party. He said he has been in his company at events and that he thought the last time would have been at some point last year. Following her husbands arrest, Ms Reid said: I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the Commons. I have never asked a question on China-related matters. As far as I am aware, I have never met any Chinese businesses whilst I have been an MP, any Chinese diplomats or government employees, nor raised any concern with ministers or anyone else on behalf of, even coincidentally, Chinese interests. Anas Sarwar faced tough questions on how his party will approach the situation involving Ms Reid's husband I am a social democrat who believes in freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections. I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist Partys dictatorship. I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. I am not part of my husbands business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all I expect media organisations to respect my childrens privacy. Mr Taylor is listed as a lobbyist on Ms Reids MP registered interests. Companies House names him as the director of Earthcott Limited, a public relations and communications firm. According to the 2022/23 accounts for Ms Reids consultancy firm Reid Strategy Limited, it owed 1,363 to Moblake Limited, a construction company which Mr Taylor is sole director of. It also owed 22,030 to his firm Earthcott Limited. In both cases, the loans were interest-free with no set repayment terms. There is no suggestion of impropriety. Ms Reid is the granddaughter of trade unionist Jimmy Reid and served as a councillor in Lewisham, south London, for eight years before becoming an MP. Kristi Noem's closest adviser Corey Lewandowski is expected to leave the Department of Homeland Security after her shock firing. President Donald Trump announced in a surprise Truth Social post on Thursday that Noem would be replaced with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. It came days after her messy performance at House and Senate committees - where she was forced to defend a $220 million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile and answer questions about her alleged affair with Lewandowski. She has also been battling negative fallout after ICE raids in Minneapolis turned deadly. 'There is no Kristi without Corey,' one political insider told the Daily Mail. Another source familiar with Trumps thinking in the days leading up to Noems firing said Lewandowski would soon follow his rumored lover out of the department. Controversy has followed Noem over her use of taxpayer-funded private jets to travel across the country with Lewandowski, who the Daily Mail has reported is both her lover and the man effectively running her department. Noem and Lewandowski, both married, deny the romantic relationship. Noem was grilled by House lawmakers on Wednesday over whether she is having sex with her rumored lover and trusted adviser. Noem responded by stating she would not respond to 'tabloid garbage' and called the accusations 'offensive.' The President is said to have appointed Kristi Noem as a favor to Corey Lewandowki, who had a long reputation of being a Trump absolute loyalist Noem and her alleged lover Lewandowski. Both have denied claims that they have been engaging in an affair Noem with her husband Bryon. She called allegations of an affair 'tabloid garbage' The source noted that Lewandowski knew Noems tenure at DHS was nearing its end, but did not expect it to happen today. Hes gone. Hes out. Corey knew this was going to end - he just didnt think it would end today. A former senior DHS official who worked directly under Noem said conditions inside the department will not improve until Lewandowski is removed, claiming he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. He is vindictive. He is not an honorable person. He was willing to bend the rules to do whatever he needed to make himself and Noem look good, the former official said. The source added that Lewandowski showed little hesitation in pressuring senior DHS officials and should never have been given a role inside the department. Lewandowski was the nexus for Noem's appointment in the first place, as he personally lobbied the President to give her the job, according to one source. Trump is said to have appointed Noem as a favor to Lewandowski, who had a long reputation of being a Trump absolute loyalist. The White House grew tired of weekly stories of scandal and infighting as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had long had enough of her theatrics. Noem with Bryon, from his official Facebook page Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma talked to reporters after Trump's move Noem's firing also comes as the vast majority of the department remains shuttered due to a lapse in congressional funding. Lewandowski and Noem took an aggressive approach against the growing bureaucracy in the agency, which had become stagnant on immigration. Top leaders were faced with the decision to either align with or placate Lewandowski or face the consequences of crossing or ignoring him. 'There was no greater friend and no fiercer enemy,' one source familiar with the dynamic within the agency told the Daily Mail. Ultimately, the pair made more enemies than friends in the upper echelons of DHS leadership, even as ICE agents felt empowered by the unvarnished support for their efforts. The Daily Mail has contacted Lewandowski for comment. The wheels have well and truly come off the gravy bus. SNP staffer Sally Donald has withdrawn her candidacy for a Holyrood seat after a complaint about her receipt of Adult Disability Payment. So Russell Findlay spied an opportunity to slug the Nats on welfare at First Ministers Questions, the weekly slot where the opposition pose questions to the First Minister and SNP MSPs pose questions to Keir Starmer, who is at the disadvantage of being 450 miles away and unable to hear them. (Maybe not so much of a disadvantage after all.) For the Scottish Conservative leader, this Sally Donald business is emblematic of the SNP governments ineffectual management of the welfare system and willingness to dole out cash without rigorous checks. Incompetence? Wasting taxpayers money? Doesnt sound like the SNP I know. John Swinney said he was not going to talk about individual cases, which was admirably consistent since he doesnt answer questions in general terms either. Findlay noted that Donald had crowdfunded 1,200 for electioneering, adding: Anyone who is daft enough to trust the SNP with their cash needs to give their head a wobble. John Swinney faced criticism over the SNP's bloated benefits system Former SNP candidate Sally Donald faces a probe from Social Security Scotland after a complaint was raised about her eligibility to receive the Adult Disability Payment After taking the scenic route, he eventually got to his point: didnt the allegation against Donald prove the SNPs light-touch benefits system was wide open to abuse? Au contraire, Swinney riposted: the fact there was an investigation at all was proof the system works. Findlay reminded the FM that just 29 potential benefit fraud cases were referred to the Crown Office last year. Pretty thoughtful of Social Security Scotland, if you ask me. The Lord Advocate has a busy enough workload with all those emails she has to fire off to the First Minister. The Tory leader did not see things that way. He saw one million folk receiving Scottish welfare payments and just three prosecuted for fraud since 2022. Findlay accused the Nats of having decriminalised benefit fraud. The First Minister suspected this was all just a cover for Findlays nefarious plot to take benefits away from vulnerable people. What a quaint little world Swinney inhabits, where warning about a potential blindspot in the system that hands out money on an industrial scale could only be a cover for some sinister ulterior motive. I mean, why else would someone care whether the government was wrongly paying out millions every year? A bit non-U worrying about that sort of thing, old boy. Findlay branded the SNP the party of gravy-bus grifters and camper-van capers and said it mugs its own members and robs the taxpayers of Scotland. One, Camper Van Capers sounds like a particularly niche periodical stocked on the top shelf of your less salubrious newsagent. Two, mugging an SNP member is like asking a German Shepherd to do long division: theyre too baffled to realise theyre being taken to the vet or the cleaners. Findlay harrumphed that the benefits system is completely and utterly broken. Just wait till he finds out which government gave the SNP a benefits system to run in the first place. Green MSP Ross Greer was upset about US military aircraft using Prestwick Airport If youre in the business of handing out matches to children, you can hardly complain when the sofa is on fire. Speaking of children, Ross Greer threw a right old tanty over US military aircraft using Prestwick Airport to prepare for the air strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Greer mentioned in passing that the Ayatollahs rule was a brutal regime, a helpful reminder that, while the Greens oppose the tyranny in Iran, they also oppose any action capable of ending said tyranny. Theyre Schrodingers humanitarians. Greer declaimed Israels genocidal assault on Palestine and demanded the Scottish Government ban the American military from using Prestwick Airport. Or, if we really want them to suffer, make them use Aberdeen Airport. The Mad Mullah of Milngavie accused the US of killing thousands of innocent people and urged Swinney to kick Trumps troops out. Hes going to get us invaded, isnt he? Lets hope the gravy bus has first-strike capability. J-11 fighters in training China Military Online) 15:15, March 05, 2026 A J-11 fighter jet attached to a unit with the air force under the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command taxies on the runway before takeoff during a flight training exercise on February 26, 2026. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yu Zeqi) Under the direction of air traffic controllers, a J-11 fighter jet attached to a unit with the air force under the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command soars into sky during a flight training exercise on February 26, 2026. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yu Zeqi) A J-11 fighter jet attached to a unit with the air force under the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command takes off for a flight training exercise on February 26, 2026. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yu Zeqi) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) One of Scotlands top private schools could face a corporate prosecution for negligence after a report uncovered damning evidence of abuse and paedophilia. The Mail can reveal Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, is considering the ground-breaking move against Fettes College in Edinburgh, following the findings of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). Scotlands top law officer is understood to have discussed the possibility of launching a case over safeguarding failings at the school where paedophiles preyed on pupils for decades. The SCAI found the college repeatedly ignored complaints about appalling abuse, meaning even more children were targeted. For decades, pupils at the famous school which counts Sir Tony Blair as a former student were regularly subjected to horrific ordeals, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Survivors have met the Lord Advocate to discuss a corporate prosecution of the school, where annual fees cost up to 54,000. If successful, it could be seen as a test case paving the way for other schools where abuse took place. Fettes College could face a corporate prosecution for negligence after a report uncovered damning evidence of abuse and paedophilia. The school, where annual fees cost up to 54,000, is the alma mater of former Prime Minister Tony Blair A source close to the discussions said: Consideration is being given to a prosecution of the school as a whole, as a corporate entity, on grounds of negligence. The SCAI found one Fettes headteacher covered up the crimes of staff who had abused children, including those of prolific abuser Iain Wares. Fettes is the latest in a series of institutions found to have failed those trusted to its care. Retired judge Lady Smith, the inquiry chairman, said the school repeatedly failed to act upon complaints and missed or ignored multiple opportunities to prevent dreadful suffering. In a report published in January, she said: Children were wholly failed by the school. Members of staff abused children from the 1950s to the 1980s. South African teacher Wares moved to Edinburgh from Cape Town in 1967 after resigning from a school there having been accused of playing around with small boys, Lady Smiths report said. He was referred to consultant psychiatrist Professor Henry Walton with a view to curing him. Lady Smith said: He was not cured. He was and remained a prolific abuser of children. Former Fettes headmaster Anthony Chenevix-Trench, himself found to have sexually abused youngsters, protected two, and possibly more abusers at the school, Lady Smith said. A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said it would not be appropriate to comment, when asked if a corporate prosecution of Fettes College would be pursued. A Fettes College spokesman declined to comment. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin has said he is 'excited' after Donald Trump nominated him to take over from Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary. Mullin, a former MMA fighter, said he had called his father after learning the news, telling reporters: 'A little kid from west Oklahoma gets to serve in the president's cabinet - that's pretty neat.' The 48-year-old said Noem, who he considers a friend, had been 'tasked with a very difficult job' and said 'she has done the best that she could do under the circumstances.' Trump settled on Mullin in part because he comes from a safe seat in heavily Republican Oklahoma and 'looks good on television,' a source told the Daily Mail. 'This is super high-risk. The department is shut down,' the source said. 'They went to the reddest state in the union to replace her.' Noem's firing comes as the vast majority of the department remains shuttered due to a lapse in congressional funding. The source said Mullin could be the figure who gets DHS up and running again. US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) speaks to reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol Building on Thursday Mullin (R-OK), tapped by U.S. President Donald Trump to replace U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, greets a U.S. Capitol Police officer as he departs the U.S. Capitol after a vote in the U.S. Senate on funding for DHS on Thursday Trump described the former MMA fighter as a 'MAGA warrior' who 'gets along well with people' and is known for displaying the 'wisdom and courage' it takes to continue with the administration's America First policy. 'Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,' the president wrote. Mullin reportedly found out about his elevated position during lunch. According to NBC he 'abruptly' got up after receiving a phone call and quickly exited the room. Senator Roger Wicker said he left behind his jacket and a 'plate full of food' as he rushed out. Mullin said later that was when he took the call from Trump asking him to serve in his Cabinet. 'I've got to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting the call today,' Mullin told another reporter. Mullin has been in Congress for 10 years and earned a reputation as a bulldog. He infamously challenged the president of the Teamsters to a brawl during a Senate hearing in 2023. Mullins, with his wife, is a former MMA fighter, before he worked in the House of Representatives for 10 years and now in the Senate for three And he's had plenty of showdowns with Bernie Sanders, often openly mocking the Independent. The senator is close with Trump, often dining with the President and visiting his Mar-a-Lago estate. Senator Majority Leader John Thune even called Mullin the 'Senate whisperer' for Trump, as he has been able to sway his opinion on legislation, Axios reported. The senator will enter his new role on March 31. Noem will move to a new role as a Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, 'our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,' the president said. 'Petrified' Brits who found themselves at the centre of conflict while sun-seeking in Dubai have told of terrifying missile explosions, rumbling fighter jets and makeshift underground bunkers. Holidaymakers were greeted by 'welcome home' signs and tearful hugs as they made it back to Blighty on Friday evening after escaping the Middle Eastern war zone. Dubai, said to be 'the safest city in the world', has been rocked by unprecedented conflict in recent days amid unrelenting attacks by Iranian kamikaze drones. Tehran began bombing American military bases across the Middle East on Saturday, February 28, in retaliation to the joint US-Israeli operation to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. Strikes on the Iranian capital on Saturday resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the same day. Since then the British government has been putting together plans to rescue the more than 140,000 citizens who have registered their presence in the Middle East. Some Brits trapped in Dubai made it home on Thursday night, landing at Heathrow Airport where family greeted them in emotional reunions. Sable Cooper, 31, and Brandon Cooper, 34, from Wickford, Essex, had been away for ten days in Dubai with their three children, aged six, two and one. Sable and Brandon Cooper (front left and right) are given a huge welcome back by their family at London Heathrow after being caught in the middle of the attacks in Dubai Mrs Cooper hugs her family in Heathrow's arrivals hall after flying in on Thursday evening with her husband and three children Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. They were greeted with hugs by their relieved family, bearing signs, after the Virgin Atlantic plane landed at Heathrow. The family were lucky to make it on the flight they originally bought as some friends on holiday in the Emirati city at the same time had been forced to rebook. 'It's been a stressful process because we've been travelling with three small children so that added on top of everything else has been extremely difficult,' Mrs Cooper told the Daily Mail. 'The hotel were good, they were very helpful, they were very accommodating but obviously, we just wanted to get home as quickly and as safely as we could.' The Coopers were staying at the iconic Atlantis, The Palm hotel, on the luxurious Palm Jumeirah island resort. It is only around three miles from the Fairmont The Palm hotel, which is on the same archipelago complex, and was hit by debris from an Iranian missile on Saturday. Minutes before the first emergency alert came through that day, they opened the doors to their balcony in their 14th-floor room to see a rocket flying across the sky. 'It looked like a giant firework,' Mr Cooper said. 'We were very scared.' His wife added: 'We were petrified. Absolutely petrified. We already had emergency bags packed and we just grabbed the children and got down to the ground floor.' Dramatic footage and images captured the moment the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel was hit and set ablaze by debris from an Iranian missile Four people were reported injured in the attack, according to the Dubai media office An orange aura filled the air as the debris struck the luxury hotel at speed A conference room below the hotel was converted into a kind of bunker, with the holidaymakers staying at the Atlantis sleeping there at night to stay safe. 'The first night it happened, we were literally just sleeping on the floor with just some towels,' Mr Cooper said, given the suddenness of the initial strike. Hotel staff soon installed tea, coffee and 24-hour food facilities in the space, along with proper beds, which the family slept in on the second of two nights they spent in the makeshift bunker. They were joined by what they estimated to be 200 other tourists who were staying at the hotel. The Coopers were eventually moved to a normal room lower down in the building, on the fifth floor, where they stayed safely for the rest of their holiday. 'They made us very comfortable They did what they had to do really,' Mr Cooper said. Unprecedented footage of drones exploding, hotels burning and missiles being intercepted mid-air has captured the outside world on social media. But missile sightings have become a regular occurrence for all who are trapped in Dubai, including influencers who moved to the city in search of glamorous, tax-free lifestyles while talking down the UK. One couple told the Daily Mail how they were 'right in the middle' of the terrifying scenes coming out of Dubai. Angela Clarke and her partner Brian Hill, from Colwyn Bay, north Wales, had returned to Heathrow from a nine-day holiday in Dubai on the same Virgin Atlantic flight as the Coopers. The cleaning business owner and retiree were staying by the water, a popular tourist hotspot, when they saw their first missile three days into their trip. Angela Clarke and Brian Hill at London Heathrow after a holiday from hell A cyclist watches in horror as a supersonic missile launched by Iran falls over Dubai Your browser does not support iframes. 'It was pretty terrifying. I saw one of the rockets go over. We were very much by the marina, basically right in the middle of things,' Ms Clarke said. 'It started on Saturday afternoon. We went down to the beach and we were walking over by the marina and the bridge when the first drone went off. 'It looked like a firework. It was pretty terrifying. We didn't get much sleep at all. 'Emergency alarms went off on our phones that evening at about 12.30am. Petrified. 'We were in a hotel where we were on the 19th floor out of 22. 'And the day after again, that was when my partner saw the rocket outside our hotel go off and more drones intercepted as well. We were quite central. 'We had a very small swimming pool so we really couldn't sit out. They were advising people to stay indoors anyway.' The couple, fortunately, managed to get back to the UK on the original flight they booked. 'We were lucky,' Ms Clarke said. The Iranian-made Shahed drone is said to be able to fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound. Pictured: File photo Your browser does not support iframes. 'The security was tight, very, very good. We're lucky really for the UAE to be knocking those drones out to be honest with you. 'We were looked after while we were there, by the hotel also.' Another family told how they 'just got used to' the missiles flying overhead as fighter jets scrambled to bring them down - while sun-seekers continued to party on the ground. Karolina Buhtina and Dominic Adair had also been on a nine-day holiday to Dubai with their three children, returning on the same Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow. They were lucky not to face too many difficulties in their travel and holiday itself - they were staying on Al Marjan Island, which is slightly further out of the centre of Dubai, to the north. 'Some of my friends who live in Dubai, they were travelling north because where we were, it was quite quiet on the first day,' Mr Adair said. 'We didn't have any disruption to be honest. 'There was a bit of confusion between the airline and the travel agency about whether we should get on the flight or not but apart from that, it's been as planned.' Ms Buhtina added: 'Luckily, we made it!' Karolina Buhtina and Dominic Adair with their two children after landing at Heathrow on Thursday Jess and Ian (both centre), from Wandsworth, south London, were greeted by their three children (left and right) at Heathrow on Thursday evening after returning from Abu Dhabi, where they were delayed for four extra days Namrata Dehegde (left) had flown home to Heathrow from Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening with her partner (right) and son (centre) nearly a week after the family was originally set to return She said the family saw several attacks while they were there: 'It was so weird because everyone just got used to it. 'You would hear them, you would hear the bangs in the sky. It's mad explaining it to someone. 'You would hear the bangs in the sky and you would look up and see the trails and then jets just flying by. 'But to be honest, we still went ahead. At our hotel, everyone was always outside. But we did avoid it in the evenings. 'I was having anxiety, I thought, "I don't want to stay out at night", so after dinner, we would just go to bed but everyone was just partying outside.' Mr Adair added: 'Some people were panicked, especially when it first started. As the days went on, I think everyone became a bit immune, as mad as it sounds. 'When the jets first started popping out, you could hear them really rumble through the air.' Ms Buhtina said: 'The first time I heard it, we were on the beach with the kids and I heard the bangs. I grabbed the kids, grabbed the stuff and I started running. 'Everyone was just looking up at the sky and no one was moving apart from me! I said, "Kids!", I left him, I left him with all the sand toys, everything, and ran inside.' Jess and Ian, from Wandsworth, south London, were greeted by their three children at Heathrow on Thursday evening after returning from Abu Dhabi. Their flight home was delayed by four days - but the five-star St Regis hotel where they were staying put them up for the extra time free of charge. This included food and, unusually, even three pieces of laundry a day. The couple heard the strikes throughout their extra time in the Emirati country. They described hearing a barrage of missiles, for instance, in the middle of the night on Sunday. The pair called the hotel and the UAE government 'brilliant', compared to the UK Foreign Office. They pointed out it took the government days to charter the first evacuation flight for the more than 140,000 Brits who had registered as being in the Middle East. The first government-chartered flight departed Oman on Thursday with UK nationals onboard. A further two charter flights from Muscat will be offered, prioritising vulnerable Brits, with those in Oman contacted directly when seats become available. British Airways are also putting on commercial flights from the country's capital of Muscat to help people flee the region. Commercial operators also put on an additional flight from Oman on Thursday and are expected to put on another on Friday, and a third on Saturday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave an update on the repatriation routes in a press conference on Thursday about the situation in the Middle East. He said: 'We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman. 'And we will keep working with all our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift.' Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also posted on X on Thursday about the consular response to developments in the Gulf. She wrote: 'Airspace is still restricted across the Gulf but yesterday over 4,000 people returned to the UK on commercial flights, and our first charter flight is now heading back from Oman. 'We'll keep working flat out with airlines and Gulf partners to help Brits get home.' Namrata Dehegde had flown home to Heathrow from Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening with her partner and son nearly a week after the family was originally set to return. The Emirati city was only supposed to be a stop-over point for them as they transferred flights on their return from a holiday in India. She said they were originally set to fly on February 28 - the day the US-Israeli strikes began. 'It happened a couple of minutes before we were due to get on our flight,' she said. 'Some people had boarded as well - we were in the queue to board but then the queue stopped and we couldn't board.' The family soon joined thousands whose flights had also been cancelled in a queue to book last-minute hotels. They ended up taking matters into their own hands and booked their own rooms. She continued: 'We got outside and the luggage was obviously a mess! 'They had organised queues of school buses to take people to their hotels, kilometres long queues of school buses, and another queue of people inside waiting to get on these buses.' Luckily, they were able to get a lift from friends who live in Abu Dhabi to their hotel, where they stayed for four days awaiting news of further flights. The government did it really well because they said they would sponsor everything,' Ms Dehegde said. 'They paid for the hotel rooms, they paid for breakfast, lunch and dinner so it was brilliant, really good provision, we felt very well looked after by the hotel.' It was hotel staff who gave them the vital information about evacuation routes - that was how they found out their eventual flight home was available. Ms Dehegde said reception suddenly called them at 4am on Thursday morning to tell them they might finally be able to flee. 'They said, "There's a bus leaving in one hour, if you get on that, you might get out today",' she explained. Terrifyingly, while the family was at the airport, there was a 'mini-scare' over a missile interception above the terminals, she said. 'The airport is all glass so it was a bit scary. We literally had to shelter in the airport. I thought, "Oh, the flight isnt taking off today either", but then it did!' A wealthy couple has sparked outrage over plans to tear down their historic Tudor revival-style mansion and replace it with a modern home. Christopher and Andrea Ketcherside bought the stunning 96-year-old home in the Sunset Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, in 2013 with no plans to change it. But over the years, they have dealt with constant flooding and other problems, they told The Kansas City Star. In January, the couple submitted plans to demolish the whole house, which were given the go-ahead by city officials despite its historic significance. Images show the home as it currently is with gabled slate roofs, a chimney stack and half-timbering throughout. A rendering of what the couple propose leaves little of the original design, with just a nod to the architectural style which became popular in the US in the late 19th century. The Office of Historic Preservation recommended the demolition be delayed 45 days, according to a February 20 report, noting the quality of the existing house. According to that report, the home also met one of four criteria to be possibly listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Christopher and Andrea Ketcherside bought the home in 2013 with no plans to change it, but constant flooding and other issues have forced their hand, they said A rendering of what they propose involves little of the original design, stripping it back to a modern attempt at the architecture The couple submitted plans which were approved by officials in Kansas City despite the home's historic significance A meeting was set to take place to hear the details of the report and offer locals a say in the matter, but it was canceled and the demolition was given the green light after officials allowed an important deadline to lapse. Under local laws that were brought in two years ago, the Office of Historic Preservation have to assess any proposed demolitions to buildings older than 50 years. Officials evaluate whether or not the buildings would meet the criteria to be listed on the city's Register of Historic Places or the NRHP. If they are found to be eligible, their findings must go before a public hearing within 45 days of the application to demolish being filed. This is supposed to allow neighborhood groups, preservation groups and locals to file applications to have their say, potentially delaying demolition. According to The Kansas City Star, the meeting to hear recommendations over its historical value was canceled due to a 'lack of quorum', and the deadline ran out this week. Due to the commission being unable to meet within the 45 days of the application being posted, the application was automatically approved. The city's neighborhood services said in a statement: 'Since the commission was unable to meet before the 45 day deadline, the demolition can proceed without any review from the commission.' The home is seen here in a picture taken in the 1940s and attached to the report filed on February 20 The Office of Historic Preservation recommended the demolition be delayed 45 days, but a lack of a public hearing means it will be tore down On social media, locals reacted with anger after word got out about the demolition. One person said: 'So sad to see these beautiful stately homes being torn down to make way for more modern styles that no one will even care about 96 years from now like we still do appreciating these beautiful Tudor style homes architecture to this day.' Another added: 'The replacement house looks gross. It looks nothing like the original. More like a campy 1980s medieval theme restaurant designed by an architect who stood a block away from the current house and drafted the plans while wearing Vaseline-smeared glasses. 'Either that or Temu is selling home plans now. I have seen homes in worse shape than this house supposedly is saved from the wrecking ball. This is disgusting.' Another posted: 'Could really ruin your day, every day, if you live next door or across the street and will have to look at a newbuild eyesore you didn't expect to move in.' The homeowners acknowledged the consternation but stood by the decision. 'The reason we bought the house is because of the aesthetic. We love where we live,' Andrea said. 'We love the look of that neighborhood. I totally understand the ruffled feathers. Our intent was, I guess, restorationrebuild. Locals reacted with anger at the thought of the nearly century old home being torn down 'We are taking the design from the inside and reapplying it to the new house, the same Gothic archways, and the big, big beautiful beams, which are actually going to be saved from the current house and used again.' Developers of their new home hope to have it razed to the ground within two months, with construction expected to last for over a year. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Kansas City City Plan Commission for comment. The British pilot who gunned down an Iranian drone over Jordan celebrated with a beer at sunrise. The RAF officer flew for four hours alongside two Typhoons before destroying two drones with Asraam missiles on Monday evening, marking the first time an RAF F-35 jet has shot down a target during the conflict with Iran. He also became the first pilot from the RAFs stealth fighter jet to destroy a target in combat. The pilot, who has not been named for security reasons, said he sipped a local Cypriot Keo beer at sunrise in celebration before getting 'back on to to doing the job again'. Speaking about it for the first time, he said: 'We had one beer at sunrise and then I had to go to bed because I was on duty the next day. Were kind of a pretty high operational temp at the moment. 'So, when this is all over, whenever it ends, and then Im sure well celebrate appropriately.' Asked about the feeling when he inflicted the blow, he said: 'You are kind of more concerned about making sure youve shot the right thing. Making sure you positioned the aircraft in the right places. 'Its not a euphoric sense of success. I suppose. I just get out the way and get back on to doing the job again.' The British pilot who gunned down an Iranian drone (pictured with Defence Secretary John Healey) over Jordan celebrated with a beer at sunrise It marked the first time an RAF F-35 jet (pictured) has shot down a target during the conflict with Iran He also said he feared shooting a friendly target by mistake and worried about what else could be out in the sky. The drone was downed just hours after a sole Kuwaiti pilot flying an American-made fighter jet mistakenly shot down three US F-15 planes. The F/A-18 pilot launched three missiles against the American planes, sources familiar with initial reports of the incident told the Wall Street Journal. The American pilots were forced to eject to safety after the Kuwaiti pilot mistook their F-15E Strike Eagles for Iranian jets on Monday morning - costing US forces $300million to replace the damaged planes. That came a day after a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone RAF Akroitiri was hit by a drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences. Officials said the damage was minor, but it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions. Around 400 additional British troops are believed to have been sent to Cyprus as the UK continues its 'defensive' activities in the region. And on Thursday, Defence Secretary John Healey refused to rule out British UK aircrafts taking part in strikes on Iran. Speaking at RAF Akrotiri, he said: 'As circumstances in any conflict change, youve got to be willing to adapt the action you take. 'I'm doing that by bringing in anti-drone helicopters overnight, I'm doing that in the next couple of weeks to bring in the Type 45 air defence destroyer.' Join the debate Should the UK take a tougher stance against Iran or focus on keeping out of further conflict? Defence Secretary John Healey refused to rule out British UK aircrafts taking part in strikes on Iran Pressed on British involvement, Mr Healey added: 'Everything that we have done is defensive, is legal and is coordinated with other allies.' Meanwhile, Donald Trump has not denied calling Sir Keir Starmer a 'loser' as he continues to fume at the Prime Minister for failing to back his military action against Iran. The US President is furious at Sir Keir for his refusal to allow American jets to launch offensive strikes on Tehran from British bases. In an interview with the New York Post, Mr Trump issued a fresh blast at the PM by saying the UK had been 'very disappointing'. Asked about explosive claims he had called Sir Keir a 'loser' in private conversations, the US President did not deny the reports. 'Well, he's not Winston Churchill, let me put it that way,' Mr Trump replied, as he repeated an attack on the PM he also made earlier in the week. He said he was 'very surprised' at Sir Keir and 'very disappointed', adding: 'I get along with him fine. But he sometimes doesn't do things that he should be doing.' It came as Sir Keir swiped at Mr Trump for plunging the Middle East into 'chaos' and admitted the US President has been giving him the silent treatment. In a Downing Street press conference, the PM played down a mounting backlash over Britain's lack of military preparations and the meltdown in the Special Relationship. Standing by his decision to stop the US carrying out 'offensive' airstrikes on Iran from UK bases, Sir Keir said he was providing 'calm, level-headed leadership' and appealed for the nation to 'come together'. He also argued that the UK had been deploying resources such as anti-aircraft missiles to the region since December, despite anger at the apparent inability to protect a crucial Cyprus base from Iranian reprisals. The premier said helicopters with capability to shoot down missiles and drones would be arriving in the Mediterranean tomorrow, and more Typhoon jets were being deployed to Qatar. 'While the region has been plunged into chaos, my focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest,' Sir Keir said. Bracing Brits for looming pain from spiking energy costs, he added: 'This conflict could continue for some time.' The US House of Representatives rejected an attempt on Thursday to curb President Donald Trump's ability to carry out his war on Iran. Since Trump launched an aggressive strike on Iran in conjunction with Israel over the weekend, some members of Congress have condemned the President for taking action without their approval. With a vote of 212-219, the War Powers resolution on Iran failed. Only Republicans voted for the resolution, and four Democrats voted against it. Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio, and Juan Vargas voted no. Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson voted yes. Massie, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced the War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives as an effort to provide a check on Trump and urge against strikes without Congressional authorization. Their play came days after a joint US/Israeli operation was launched under President Donald Trump's leadership on Saturday to take out top Iranian military targets. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson argued that the 'passage of a War Powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea.' Thomas Massie speaks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC Ro Khanna speaks at a town hall event on February 20, 2026 in Stanford, California The Senate previously failed its own war powers resolution on Wednesday with a vote of 47 to 53. It needed a simple majority to pass. Democrat John Fetterman voted against the resolution, and Republican Rand Paul voted for it. A new Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll found the President's approval now stands at 44 percent, down four points since Friday and marking the lowest rating recorded in Daily Mail tracking to date. Your browser does not support iframes. The sharp decline comes as Americans grow increasingly uneasy about the spiraling conflict tearing apart the Middle East after six American troops were killed. The Senate War Powers measure was pushed by Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Adam Schiff of California, and Chuck Schumer of New York, as well as Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Kaine said that he prayed that his colleagues would 'vote to end this dangerous and unnecessary war,' during which six US service members have already been killed. 'We owe it to those in uniform, their families, and all Americans to not make the same mistakes that we made in Iraq and Afghanistan,' Kaine added. Schumer, meanwhile, described the war as a 'conflict with no clear objectives, no plan, and no authorization from Congress,' adding that Congress has the duty to rein in Trumps belligerence. Schiff noted that 'Congress must demand that the president if he believes the threat from Iran justified going to war; that war is justified; that the deaths of our troops is acceptable; that the expenditure of billions not on the American people, not on their health care, their groceries, or their housing is worth the cost come to Congress and make his case for this war.' In a statement posted to X this weekend, Paul noted that, 'the constitution conferred the power to declare or initiate war to Congress for a reason, to make war less likely.' Senator Tim Kaine speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the US Capitol on March 03, 2026 in Washington, DC A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on February 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran A Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was published Sunday, found 43 percent disapprove and 29 percent are undecided about Trump's attack on Iran. The poll also found that about half of Americans believe the president is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests. Overall, 56 percent of those surveyed said Trump's readiness to deploy military power is excessive. Massie, a libertarian Republican who has not been afraid to blast the Trump administration when he disagrees with them and has also been a lead advocate for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, wrote, 'PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won't make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will.' In an eight-minute speech, given from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday about the actions, the President said he had ordered a 'major' strike on Iran after nuclear negotiations between the two countries had broken down. 'Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,' Trump said. He, again, reiterated that the Iranian regime must never obtain a nuclear weapon. While Trump's military maneuvering so far in his second term - the January capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and the 'Midnight Hammer' attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in June - haven't cost service members' lives, he warned that Americans could die this time around. Six service members have been killed in the conflict so far, four of whom have been named. 'Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill,' Trump said on Saturday. 'The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.' 'That often happens in war,' the commander-in-chief added. 'But we're doing this not for now, we're doing this for the future and it is a noble mission.' Trump called out the Iranian regime and their proxies for creating 'mass terror' around the world, but he also pointed to the Tehran's recent mass murder domestically, of protesters in their own streets. In mid-January, the President had promised those protesters that 'help is on the way.' Videos of Iranians shouting 'thank you, Trump' spread like wildfire after the US/Israeli attacks. Australians with upcoming travel plans are being urged not to 'panic cancel' their flights amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long said the aviation sector was adapting, with airlines including Etihad Airways and Emirates, along with several Asian carriers, continuing to operate normally. 'We have flights coming out of the Middle East,' Mr Long said. 'There will be some delays and a bit more disruption than what we're used to, but no one in the travel industry is going to put you in a place where it's unsafe.' He urged Australians planning to travel in the coming weeks and months not to cancel their flights. 'If you're booked to travel shortly via the Middle East, it is critical that you do not panic-cancel but rather wait for your airline to cancel as otherwise you are erasing all of your rights of a refund or rebook,' Mr Long said. Professor Ron Bartsch, chairman of Avlaw Consulting and former head of safety and regulation at Qantas, said Aussies should expect delays for the next five months. 'Out of all the peripheral countries that have been affected by this, Australian travellers have probably been more affected because, particularly in the last two decades, Australia has used the Middle East as its primary way of reaching Europe,' he said. Australians with travel plans are being urged not to 'panic cancel' their flights amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East (pictured, queues at Melbourne Airport The first commercial flight to leave the region for Australia since the outbreak of the US and Israeli conflict with Iran arrived on Wednesday (pictured, a Qantas plane in Sydney) 'If it was purely just the airspace being restricted, then airlines can reroute their flights and divert from those areas as they have done with Ukraine air space for the length of the war. 'But situations where hubs are involved can cause real problems, because aircraft primarily from Australia haven't got the ability to fly directly from Australia to Europe. 'What's going to happen now is that obviously Qantas and Virgin's sharing arrangements will try to deviate more towards other alternate routes through Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines in order to reach Europe.' Professor Bartsch also warned travellers that it could cause 'months' of skyrocketing airfares. 'The longer this military operation goes on means airfares will increase accordingly. The cost of aviation fuel is going to increase and also because the number of flights will be restricted through supply and demand that's going to have a knock-on effect to Australian travellers for at least the next four to five months I'd say,' he said. Keir Starmer was branded delusional on Thursday night after insisting he has a grip on the Middle East crisis. At an emergency press conference, the Prime Minister claimed he was delivering 'calm, level-headed leadership'. But his relationship with Britain's most important ally hit a new low as Donald Trump branded him a 'loser'. Sir Keir urged Mr Trump to 'de-escalate' the crisis and negotiate with what is left of Iran's leadership. But the PM admitted that, despite the global crisis, he had not spoken to the US President for almost a week following their spectacular falling-out. He also faced a growing chorus of criticism from allies in the Middle East over the lack of preparations that has led to Cyprus looking for military support from France, Italy and Spain rather than Britain after an RAF base on the island was hit by an Iranian drone. In further farcical scenes, the UK failed to get its first evacuation flight from Oman off the ground, despite other countries having no such problems. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said Sir Keir was in denial, adding: 'Never in the history of our great nation has a Government been so feeble at a time when our people and allies are under assault. 'Britain's weak Prime Minister has failed in his duty to stand up for Britain's place in the world, failed to work with our allies, failed to promote our interests in the region, and failed to provide the leadership needed to protect our military personal, our bases, and British nationals.' Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) urged Donald Trump to 'de-escalate' the crisis and negotiate with what is left of Iran's leadership However, Sir Keir admitted that, despite the global crisis, he had not spoken to Donald Trump (pictured in the White House) for almost a week following their spectacular falling-out Sir Keir was stung into a public defence of his actions following days of criticism. At a hastily arranged press conference, he accused President Trump of plunging the Middle East 'into chaos'. He defended his decision to avoid taking any 'offensive' action against Tehran even after British bases were targeted. Sir Keir suggested that the fallout from the conflict could go on for months, with potentially huge impacts on energy bills and the cost of living and the possibility of a new refugee crisis. He acknowledged that relatives of the tens of thousands of British citizens trapped in the war zone were 'worried sick' but said a mass evacuation 'is not going to happen overnight'. He added: 'I want you to know that your Government is resolute in our response, at home and abroad. 'We will do everything we can to protect British lives, uphold British values and safeguard the national interest.' Sir Keir did not deny reports suggesting that he had wanted to allow US jets to fly 'defensive' missions from British bases from the outset, but was blocked by Ed Miliband and other senior ministers who questioned whether having a positive relationship with the US was 'a good thing right now for the Labour Party'. Asked whether Mr Miliband was now in charge of foreign policy, the PM's spokesman said: 'Clearly the PM and Foreign Secretary have been key players in decision-making around this, along with key members of the Cabinet, as you would expect.' Labour's former shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggested Sir Keir would have been forced out if he had allowed Britain to be dragged into the war. Kemi Badenoch said it was 'shocking' that party political considerations appeared to have played a part in determining the Government's response to the US's request. She said the RAF should join bombing raids aimed at taking out Iran's ballistic missile launchers, telling the BBC: 'Sometimes the best way to de-escalate a situation is to try and finish it quickly, rather than let it drag out because you don't want to get involved. 'Once our bases had been attacked, we became part of this, whether we liked it or not.' Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader said: 'Even now, as our brave servicemen and women are under attack, Starmer is still dithering. Our allies are rightly furious.' Nigel Farage said the Government should have supported the US-Israeli attack on Iran 'from day one'. The Reform UK leader said Sir Keir appeared to have been the victim of a 'Left-wing revolt' by Mr Miliband which had left Britain 'humiliated' on the world stage. President Trump stepped up his criticism of Sir Keir on Thursday night, telling the New York Post: 'It was very disappointing his performance, having to do with our tremendous attack on a hostile nation. 'I was very surprised at Keir. Very disappointed.' A source told The Daily Telegraph: 'Trump has started calling Starmer a loser. He said it at a dinner with friends. 'He just thinks Starmer has no future any more.' Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are both said to have accused Sir Keir of doing too little to defend British interests and allies in the region. The Spectator magazine reported that senior figures in Jordan were 'furious' at the Government. And Cyprus's high commissioner publicly said he was 'disappointed' with the UK's response. Sir Keir announced that Britain was sending another four Typhoon jets to Qatar. And Defence Secretary John Healey visited Cyprus in a bid to mend fences with a country that feels it has become a target for Iran because of the presence of the RAF Akrotiri base. Nearly one year after two teenagers were brutally killed during a day hike in Arizona, grizzly new details were revealed from a heavily redacted medical examiner's report. Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, were found dead on May 27 last year after they were murdered in a remote hiking spot in the Tonto National Forest. Both of the teen's deaths were ruled as homicide. Now, newly released reports from the Maricopa Medical Examiner's Office reveal that Kjolsrud was found with multiple gunshots to the head and upper body, AZ Family reported. Clark was shot multiple times to the head, the report stated, according to the outlet. No other injuries were available. The report remained heavily redacted, with only one page released to reporters after a judge ordered they be partially sealed for privacy and investigative concerns, AZ Family reported. Thomas Brown, 31, was arrested in October and accused of the murders of Kjolsrud and Clark. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The military veteran was allegedly camping with his wife in the area before she left a day early. Brown had gone to police with tips and drone footage from the extra day he was alone. Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, were found dead on May 27 last year after they were murdered in a remote hiking spot in the Tonto National Forest Clark was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, while Kjolsrud sustained gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. Both of their deaths were ruled as homicide Thomas Brown, seen with his wife, 31, was arrested in October and accused of the murders of Kjolsrud and Clark. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty It remains unclear why Brown's wife allegedly left the camping trip early without him. On May 29, the suspected killer directly addressed the murders of Clark and Kjolsrud, sharing a link to a local news article and writing, 'Nicole, Snoopy, and I were there days before. Terrible news, especially with the last days of school just prior.' Four months later, he was arrested on suspicion of their murders. The 31-year-old told investigators he had seen the two victims inside their car on the day of the murders. Tips also came in to law enforcement from another group of campers who said they had encountered a man 'acting strange' in the area. With suspicion mounting over his possible involvement, Brown was ultimately tied to the murders when his DNA was found in the victims' SUV, according to court records. Officials followed drag marks and found the teens bodies around a mile and a half from their car, where a bloody pillowcase was found inside, AZ Family reported. A pair of gloves found near the scene was also found to contain DNA belonging to Brown, Kjolsrud, and Clark, as well as the victims' blood, court records show. Kjolsrud and Clark - who both attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix - had decided to go on a camping trip together over the Memorial Day weekend to 'celebrate the start of summer vacation' Officials followed drag marks and found the teens bodies around a mile and a half from their car, where a bloody pillowcase was found inside Brown said in an interview with officials that he ran into a 'younger male and female,' with descriptions that matched the teens. He claimed to have never had 'physical contact' with the two, but had gone through their belongings at the campsite before putting their things back, ABC 15 reported. Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan called the murders a 'senseless violent act' and said the remote location and terrain of the crime scene had slowed the investigation. The suspect is also believed to have acted alone, with officials assuring the community there is no ongoing danger. Footage posted online by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office shows Brown's vacant expression as he was perp-walked into the precinct. Dressed in a khaki t-shirt, shorts and camo-patterned crocs, Brown was led from a car and into the building by two law enforcement officers in handcuffs. After being processed, he was placed in a cell, staring ahead expressionless and sitting with his back straight and hands carefully placed on his knees as the door was shut, locking him inside. Brown's arrest brought an end to the victims' families' months-long agony. Brown was seen sitting expressionless in a cell following his arrest for the teens' murders Brown was arrested in October on first-degree murder charges Pandora Kjolsrud's mother choked back tears as she spoke at a press conference in October Kjolsrud and Clark - who both attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix - had decided to go on a camping trip together over the Memorial Day weekend to 'celebrate the start of summer vacation,' Simone previously told AZCentral. Clark's mother Sandra Malibu Sweeney told the outlet she had been wary about the trip because it meant the teens would be off grid. Her worst fears became a reality when the pair failed to return home as planned on May 26. Simone contacted law enforcement and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies searched the campsite just off State Route 87 near Mount Ord, finding the bodies of the two teens. It is unclear if the victims were friends or romantically involved. In a statement to 12News, Clark's mom said the arrest finally gave her the 'closure I desperately needed.' 'The past four months, I've been haunted every night by the murder of my son. I hope now that they have someone in custody, everyone can sleep safe knowing this person can't harm anyone else,' she said. Meanwhile, Simone vowed that her daughter's 'light and love and beauty' would not be overshadowed by her killer's actions. 'The darkness she encountered on that day that she met her killer will not her life... is darkness will not overcome her light,' she said. 'My daughter Pandora was a beautiful, brilliant light in this world. She was so full of joy and life and love.' The final tears have been shed on the witness stand. Closing arguments are over. The jury in the Alexander brothers' federal sex-trafficking trial has finally begun deliberating after more than a month of harrowing testimony, obscene photos, messages and an alleged rape video so graphic one juror nearly cried as it played here in court. From my seat - just feet from the defendants, Tal Alexander, 39, and twins Alon and Oren, 38, who have all pled not guilty - I have seen the drama unfold day by day. At the outset, the Alexander brothers appeared the very picture of confidence. They flashed beaming smiles as they strode into Manhattan's federal courthouse on those first mornings, offering thumbs-ups and heart signals to supporters seated behind them. Their family seemed certain of exoneration, too. In the five weeks that followed, the brothers' parents, Shlomi and Orly Alexander, have welcomed a revolving door of friends and relatives with open arms - hugs and handshakes in the hallways, quiet words of encouragement exchanged between testimonies. But perhaps the most defiant display of familial support came from Alon Alexander's ex-Victoria's Secret model wife, Shani Zigron. Tal Alexander, 39, and twins Oren and Alon, 38, are each facing numerous federal sex trafficking charges; they have pleaded not guilty to all charges Oren and wife Kamila in 2023 - before charges were brought forward Alon and wife Shani - who has consistently been at court supporting her husband Inside a diary she carried to court, the final days of February had been blocked out with hollow, child-like bubble letters spelling out a simple message: 'Alon coming home now.' In the weeks since, however, the easy air of the Alexander clan has noticeably dissipated. They have appeared more serious, more tense. Federal prosecutors have painted the brothers as 'predators' masquerading as playboys who followed a playbook that involved luring women into a world of yachts, private jets and parties before drugging and raping them. Their attorneys, however, insist the encounters were all consensual. Luke Kenton has been in court throughout the high-stakes trial They point out that several accusers stayed in contact with the brothers after the alleged attacks - some even exchanging friendly texts - and argued that the claims were later reframed as assaults out of financial motivation (some estimates put the family's collective wealth at nearly $1 billion), regret or wounded pride. Now, the trio who once ruled the luxury real-estate scene in New York and Miami could be just hours away from permanently trading penthouses for prison cells. All three are facing life sentences if convicted of the most serious crimes. Deliberations began Thursday after the case was handed to a jury that has already undergone several unexpected changes during the course of this trial. When proceedings began, the panel consisted of six men and six women, with six alternates on stand-by. But over the weeks several jurors were forced to leave because of work conflicts, illnesses, family matters and a snowstorm that battered New York in mid-February. One male juror was dismissed by the judge after admitting he had already made up his mind before the trial had concluded. He'd seen enough to convince him the brothers were innocent, he said. The final panel now consists of six women and six men. Tal Alexander's attorney, Deanna Paul, used her closing arguments to insist prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proof A photo released by the court shows the three brothers partying on a boat with one alleged victim redacted As the jury has shifted, there have also been subtle signs that the Alexander family's once-confident shows of support may have wavered. Kamila Hansen the Brazilian fashion model married to Oren appeared regularly during the early days of the trial but has been absent for much of the later proceedings. Zigron, Alon's wife, has also appeared less frequently in recent weeks. As we moved closer to closing arguments, the family's tension was palpable. Last week, the frantic passing of notes between relatives became so frequent that Judge Valerie E. Caproni instructed a court marshal to order them to stop, warning the exchanges were distracting the jury. 'Can we even breathe?' Orly Alexander quipped sarcastically in response to the marshal's instruction. Just days later, the sound of breathing would become the subject of a tense exchange. After the government finally rested its case on Monday this week, the siblings' eldest brother, Niv Alexander who has not been accused of any wrongdoing let out an audible sigh of relief from the gallery. A court marshal quickly and furiously intervened. 'You can't be making sounds about the government resting, not if you want to come back here,' the marshal warned. 'If you don't want to come back here, then keep it up.' Niv, 45, bowed his head and raised his hands in apology. But such reprimands had become commonplace throughout the trial. The brothers were luxury real estate tycoons. Tal, left, and Oren at a property in Miami Beach A photo of Tal and Zac Efron partying together. One accuser claims she was raped by Alon Alexander in 2012 after attending a party hosted by Efron in Manhattan Family members were repeatedly warned about whispering among themselves and reacting animatedly to witness testimony. They were often threatened with ejection, only to resume their disruptions moments later. It was a curious pattern in a courtroom where the rules of decorum were clear yet frequently ignored and where prosecutors argued the brothers themselves had long behaved as if the rules that governed everyone else simply did not apply to them. In the government's closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Jones, said the evidence showed the brothers masqueraded as playboys but were, in fact, 'predators.' 'A lot of the evidence at this trial was hard to see and hear,' Jones said. 'A lot of it was brutal. That's because the defendants' crimes were brutal.' Central to Jones's argument was a crude blog titled 'Vent of B**ches,' which prosecutors said reflected the misogynistic attitudes that fueled the alleged conspiracy. Among its posts was one titled 'It's Not Rape If', listing twisted caveats to consent, including if 'she's sleeping.' Jones pointed to messages exchanged between the brothers that appeared to reference themes from the blog, arguing it served as a playbook they later enacted in real life. He called the evidence 'crushing,' saying the accounts of 11 women from different walks of life described strikingly similar assaults. Prosecutors also highlighted emails and messages boasting about 'taking down' and 'hunting' women and discussing drug purchases for sleeping pills, ketamine, Xanax and other sedatives sometimes used as 'date rape' drugs. Jones reminded jurors of a video prosecutors say shows Oren Alexander and another man raping a 17-year-old girl in a Manhattan apartment in 2009. Oren recorded the encounter on his MacBook, Jones said, with footage showing him adjusting the camera moments before the alleged assault. 'You can see the playbook in action here,' Jones told jurors. 'When you saw him pick up her limp legs and climb on top of her lifeless body, you knew what you were seeing.' Ivanka Trump with Oren Alexander, and his wife Kamila at a function in Maimi in 2022 The jurors were shown a two-minute clip from the video again during closing arguments. Some appeared visibly uncomfortable. 'To put it simply, they are rapists and sex traffickers,' Jones said, urging jurors to convict on all counts. Then the defense came out swinging. Alon Alexander's attorney, Howard Srebnick, immediately attacked the alleged victims' credibility. 'Just because someone cries from a witness stand doesn't make it true,' he told jurors. His client 'is not a mind reader,' Srebnick added, noting one alleged accuser never explicitly told Alon she did not want to have sex. 'We don't typically have people sign a consent form before engaging in sexual activity,' he continued. Pacing before the jury, Srebnick acknowledged his client's behavior may have been 'obnoxious, grotesque, pathetic' but insisted it was not criminal. He accused prosecutors of cherry-picking crude messages between the brothers from more than a decade's worth of data, taking them out of context to cast the defendants in a negative light. Those messages, he argued, were simply locker-room talk, akin to the 'shock jock' humor of radio host Howard Stern or the 'grab them by the p***sy' remark infamously made by President Donald Trump. Alon and Oren, left, at their bond hearing in 2024 Srebnick closed with an impassioned plea. Placing his hand on Alon's shoulder as he stared toward the jury, Srebnick urged them to acquit on all counts. Beaming from the gallery was Shani Zigron, who nodded enthusiastically throughout Srebnick's remarks, clearly pleased with the delivery. Tal Alexander's attorney, Deanna Paul, struck a similar tone, insisting prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proof and meticulously recounted each accuser's testimony, highlighting inconsistencies and shifting details to sow as many seeds of reasonable doubt as possible. She also scoffed at the idea of a conspiracy at play, suggesting prosecutors wanted jurors to believe the brothers operated like the mob, sitting around a table in a dark and smoky backroom plotting out ways to commit federal sex crimes. 'They were not the Gambino family,' she said. 'Sometimes they were entitled a**holes, but that's not a crime.' Paul pointed to the fact that many of Tal's accusers kept in contact with him after they claimed he violently assaulted them, with Tal often reaching out first. 'If you rob a bank, do you go in the next morning and open a checking account?' Paul asked. 'Predators don't text their victims; those who believe they had consensual encounters do.' Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Oren Alexander, took a more technical approach, walking jurors through the gaps in the accusers' stories and the prosecution's evidence to find what he called 'common-sense notions' to take into deliberations. Rather than casting the accusers as scorned women looking for a payday, Agnifilo said many of the women who testified appeared to be 'nice people' who were at times 'very upset' when they recalled their allegations. 'So why would they make it up or be wrong?' he asked. He suggested the women may not have been intentionally lying on the stand but may have subconsciously misremembered past events to bury feelings of rejection or shame they may have experienced after consensual encounters. Agnifilo said the women may have also reinterpreted their memories after various civil allegations of rape surfaced against the brothers in the media. Alon and Oren in 2015 at the height of their real estate success Too much of the case rests on memory rather than hard evidence, he argued. 'I think they hurt a lot of people's feelings when they were ascending professionally,' Agnifilo said. 'And I think that's why we're here today.' He also addressed the 2009 video prosecutors say shows Oren raping a 17-year-old girl evidence tied to a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor. To convict on that count, Agnifilo told jurors, they must believe the encounter occurred for the purpose of producing the video. 'If the computer wasn't working, he would've still had sex with her,' he said. 'You can feel strongly about the evidence, but he wasn't in it just for the video.' By the time closing arguments ended on the 26th floor of Manhattan federal court on Thursday, jurors had been asked to weigh starkly different interpretations of the same events. The prosecution painted a picture of strikingly similar allegations spanning more than a decade and various states and countries. From my seat in the courtroom, there appeared to be a pattern that was difficult to ignore. But to convict on federal sex trafficking charges, prosecutors must prove more than a pattern. They must persuade jurors that the brothers used force, fraud or coercion as part of a broader criminal enterprise - a notoriously tricky burden to meet. The jury must now decide whether that bar has been cleared. The Daily Mail has launched a new YouTube show investigating claims that Jeffrey Epstein ran a globe-spanning honeytrap operation on behalf of Russian intelligence. A honeytrap is an espionage technique developed by the Soviet Union in which agents use sex to gain leverage over influential targets including government officials and business leaders. Following exclusive Daily Mail reporting citing anonymous intelligence sources who alleged the paedophile financier was a Kremlin asset, Covert Connections trawls through nearly three million documents released in the latest tranche of Epstein files seeking further evidence for the claim. Featuring the expert analysis of chief reporter Sam Greenhill, the show, now available to watch on YouTube, focuses much of its attention on Sergei Belyakov, a senior Russian official and FSB Academy graduate who maintained a years-long relationship with Epstein. The Daily Mail has launched a new YouTube show investigating claims that Jeffrey Epstein ran a globe-spanning honeytrap operation on behalf of Russian intelligence A honeytrap is an espionage technique developed by the Soviet Union in which agents use sex to gain leverage over influential targets Putin's name appears more than 1,000 times across the latest Department of Justice files Putin's name appears more than 1,000 times across the latest Department of Justice files, with emails between Epstein and Belyakov laying bare the financier's relentless pursuit of a meeting with the Russian president. 'The files show repeated efforts from Epstein to reach President Putin,' said Covert Connections presenter Catherine Barnwell. 'In 2013, Epstein pressed Thorbjorn Jagland, then Secretary General of the Council of Europe, to arrange a meeting with the Russian leader. 'Epstein even offered to meet Putin personally in June of that year, claiming he had a solution to Russia's top economic priority. 'Other Western figures were drawn in. Japanese entrepreneur Joi Ito told Epstein that Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, was unable to change his schedule to go and meet Putin with him. Whether that meeting ever took place remains unclear. 'Several encounters appear to have been scheduled and then quietly abandoned.' It remains unclear whether Epstein ever succeeded in arranging a direct meeting with Putin. After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the imposition of Western sanctions, Epstein appears to have focused his efforts on Belyakov as a gateway into increasingly isolated Russian power circles. Watch the full breakdown of Epstein's links with Russia by subscribing to the Daily Mail's Crime Desk YouTube channel Barnwell explained why Belyakov, then Deputy Minister of Economic Development, proved an 'ideal bridge' between Epstein and a Kremlin cut off from Western capital. She said: 'Belyakov sat at the nexus of state business and intelligence, with his dual background in FSB training and economic policy making. 'Department of Justice files show Epstein and Belyakov in repeated direct contact. 'Emails reveal that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak contacted Belyakov on Epstein's behalf in an attempt to arrange a meeting with Putin. 'There is no evidence that such a meeting occurred, but the attempt is documented.' Watch the full breakdown of what we know so far on Epstein's links with Russia by subscribing to the Daily Mail's Crime Desk YouTube channel. Before he married Mette-Marit, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon was enamoured by another gorgeous blonde Norwegian woman who was also later linked to Jeffrey Epstein. The release of the Epstein Files revealed the far-reaching extent of the paedophile financier's network of politicians, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and royals. Among the high-profile individuals linked to the paedophile financier, who died by suicide in 2019, was Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The wife of Norway's future King Haakon was mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein Files, with emails revealing that Mette-Marit stayed at Epstein's Palm Beach, Florida, residence in 2013. However, the Norwegian royal, 52, isn't the only person linking Epstein with Crown Prince Haakon, 52. Before his marriage in 2021, Haakon was in a two-year relationship with a glamorous blonde Norwegian heiress, Celina Midelfart - who Epstein allegedly 'cheated on' Ghislaine Maxwell with. During the disgraced British socialite's New York sex trafficking trial in 2021, her former assistant claimed she sent Celina flowers on Epstein's behalf around the same time he was dating Maxwell. A photo from 1997 showed Celina, then a student, planting a kiss on Epstein's cheek during a charity reception at Donald Trump's Mar-a-lago resort. Celina later denied she had a 'close relationship' with Epstein and has said he was merely part of a circle of acquaintances Before he married Mette-Marit, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon was enamoured by another gorgeous blonde Norwegian woman who was also later linked to Jeffrey Epstein Among the high-profile individuals linked to the paedophile financier, who died by suicide in 2019, was Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit However, the Norwegian royal, 52, isn't the only person linking Epstein with Crown Prince Haakon, 52. Before his marriage in 2021, Haakon was in a two-year relationship with a glamorous blonde Norwegian heiress, Celina Midelfart (pictured in 1997) - who Epstein allegedly 'cheated on' Ghislaine Maxwell with The American president was in a brief relationship with Celina before he left her to pursue his now-wife, US First Lady Melania Trump. Celina's other famous boyfriends included pop star Robbie Williams, before the businesswoman found love with her now ex-husband, billionaire Tor Olav Trim, in 2009. Being named in the Epstein Files does not assume any guilt or wrongdoing connected to the paedophile financier's abhorrent crimes. Celina is the granddaughter of Ole Midelfart, who founded his eponymous Norwegian cosmetics company in 1923. Her father was businessman Finn-Erik Midelfart, while her mother is socialite Kristin Hermine Muhle. While she enjoyed a close relationship with her father, Celina reportedly said of her mother that she is 'almost more fond of animals than humans'. Having grown up in Oslo, Celina enrolled at the London School of Economics to study economics with management in 1994. She later transferred to New York University's Stern School of Business and graduated with a Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in Finance in 1998. In 1995, her father died, and she took over the running of the family's health and beauty care business, Midelfart AS. In a 2005 documentary, her ex-boyfriend Petter Stordalen explained they had a close bond before his death, saying: 'She remembers her father as if it were yesterday. The American president was in a brief relationship with Celina before he left her to pursue his now-wife, Melania Trump 'If you talk to Celina about her father, it is a vivid picture that is presented.' Meanwhile, her mother remarried after she fell in love with Nicholas Paus, a real estate investor and member of the respected Paus family in Norway. It was during this period that Celina is said to have been the woman that Donald Trump dumped to date Melania Trump, his third wife. The former president supposedly ditched her in 1998, after she was linked to the disgraced financier. Trump and Celina were supposedly on a night out at the Kit Kat Club in New York when he saw Melania and asked her for her number. Melania refused, but Trump persisted and she eventually agreed to go out with him. Despite their history, in a 2008 interview, Trump spoke fondly of Celina, calling her a 'wonderful person and businesswoman.' She later said she was following Trump's run in the 2016 with 'excitement and wonder like many others'. Celina was appointed chairman of Midelfart AS in 2000, later selling the operative business to Procter & Gamble and Midsona AB, respectively. She continued to work in business, and became Executive Chairman and 100 per cent owner of the investment company Midelfart Capital AS, which she remains to this day. Meanwhile, she is also a large shareholder and board member of the Swedish consumer finance bank Avida AB. In the same 2005 documentary, her ex-boyfriend Stordalen said that 'the focus on Celina has gone completely wrong'. He explained: 'It's more about what she looks like and what she's wearing, than what she says. 'And a lot of good and thoughtful things come from her. She is a reflective 30-year-old. 'What you see as you get to know her is that she is a very humorous, sporty and fun girl with a fantastic mood,' he said. She began dating Norwegian business tycoon, Tor Olav Troim in 2005, before the pair announced their engagement in 2009. Celina and her now ex-husband Tor Olav Troim at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill at The Royal Palace on June 8, 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden In 2011, Celina gave birth to their only child, a son named Olav. While Celina and Tor lived in London for a number of years, she moved back to Oslo with Olav after they separated. The elusive Norwegian heiress rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances, with her last high profile event being Princess Madeline's wedding to Christopher O'Neill in 2013. Celina was first associated with Epstein in 2021 during his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial in New York. Ghislaine's former assistant Cimberly Espinosa, who initially worked for Epstein, described a parade of women, including Celina, visiting the convicted paedophile. Ms Espinosa said she remembered ordering flowers for Celina on Epstein's behalf during the early years of her employment in the Nineties. That was the time that Epstein was dating Maxwell as well, the court heard. However, Celina has since denied the allegations, telling VG.no: 'The claim is untrue. I've never had a relationship with or dated Epstein. 'I've never had a close relationship with Epstein. He was part of the circle of acquaintances around Donald Trump, of which it is known that I was also a part for a short period. 'I have not had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein since 1997.' After her friendship with Epstein was revealed last month, Mette-Marit later issued a grovelling apology as she said the emails do 'not represent the person I want to be'. It was the second apology issued by Mette-Marit within a week, after she released a statement following the publication of the files in which she said she had 'shown poor judgment' and regretted any contact with Epstein. Mette-Marit's communications and contacts with Epstein have put her in the spotlight over the past week, adding to the embarrassment to the royals just as her son went on trial in Oslo for multiple offenses, including charges of rape. The newly released documents include email exchanges showing that Mette-Marit borrowed an Epstein-owned property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household. The royal palace said Friday that Mette-Marit wants to talk about what happened and explain herself in more detail, but is unable to at present. It added that she is in a very difficult situation and 'hopes for understanding that she needs time to gather her thoughts.' The palace also issued a statement from the crown princess in which she reiterated her deep regret for her past friendship with Epstein. 'It is important for me to apologize to all of you whom I have disappointed,' she said. 'Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be. 'I also apologise for the situation I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen.' King Harald, 88, and the royals are generally popular in Norway, but the case against Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Hiby, has been a problem for the family's image since 2024 and the latest Epstein files have compounded that. She was the ex-criminal lawyer turned BBC Newsnight producer who negotiated the interview that would turn Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's life upside down in 2019. Now Sam McAlister has spoken to Palace Confidential about what's next for the disgraced royal in the wake of the release of the Epstein files. You can watch the full interview on YouTube here. Plus, in the Palace Confidential newsletter, McAlister reveals her reaction to his arrest, and what she would say to him now if they met again, five years since the fateful interview aired. Sign up today to get the interview in your inbox. Want more of the Daily Mail's unrivalled royals journalism, straight from some of the world's leading experts on the monarchy? In the Palace Confidential newsletter, we bring together the most knowledgeable voices, gorgeous photography and exclusive commentary to expose the truth behind polished public appearances, and reveal the very human drama at the heart of this extraordinary institution. Get unrivalled insider gossip and expert analysis on the King and Queen, William and Catherine, Harry and Meghan and more in your inbox every Thursday. You'll have the chance to ask our Royal Editor, Rebecca English, and other top journalists everything you've always wanted to know. Sign up to Palace Confidential now, and never miss a story. When King Charles encountered Sarah, Duchess of York in the sweltering heat at Royal Ascot last June, he greeted her and her younger daughter Princess Eugenie with flamboyant kisses on their hands. Photographs of the ostentatious gesture became the most visible proof of the way that the monarch had welcomed Fergie back into the heart of the Royal Family since he became King three years earlier. It was a moment of affection that contrasted with his late father Prince Philips froideur to the former Duchess. He had held Sarah in such low regard that he had refused to be in the same room as her since she separated from Prince Andrew in 1992. But the wisdom of the Kings embrace of Fergie has been brought into question by the release of the Epstein Files in which Sarahs long and close relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein has been exposed. Among the many tawdry revelations was that she took her daughters, then aged 21 and 19, to meet the American financier at his Palm Beach mansion just days after he was released from prison for procuring a 14-year-old child for prostitution. So there are unlikely to be any pictures of the King kissing Fergies hand at the Berkshire racecourse this summer as she has kept well away from the cameras since her ex-husband was stripped of his Prince title and she agreed to refer to herself as a duchess no longer. Nor will there be an opportunity for her daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to publicly greet their uncle. My colleague Charlotte Griffiths reported in The Mail on Sunday at the weekend that they had been told they could not join the family at Royal Ascot amid concerns about the unfolding scandal involving the House of York and their ties with Epstein. Sources told the newspaper that the sisters, whose names appear several times in the Epstein Files, would not take their seats in the Royal Box at one of the key events of the summer season, nor could they join senior members of the family for the Royal Procession. Last year at Royal Ascot, the King greeted Princess Eugenie and Sarah Ferguson with kisses on their hands but there are unlikely to be such gestures this year, says our columnist King Charles's affection towards Sarah Ferguson starkly contrasted with the late Prince Philips froideur. But now her inclusion in the Epstein files has brought his judgment into question The move was said to have completely blindsided Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, who are already reeling from the arrest of their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Indeed, the princesses are regulars at Ascot, and they were welcomed to Sandringham at Christmas last year after Buckingham Palace officials had made clear that the King did not want to punish his nieces for the sins of their parents. But their new exile is said to be part of a wider decision to exclude the princesses from all public-facing events for the foreseeable future. Now, I hear that the Prince and Princess of Wales will not attend Royal Ascot if there is any chance of their being photographed with any member of the York family who, of course, could still attend the races, just not as part of the royal contingent. I can tell you that William and Catherine wont go if any of the Yorks are there, claims one of their friends. The couple have long been more wary of the Yorks than the King has. Sarah was, for example, conspicuous by her absence at their wedding in 2011. By contrast, she was invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding seven years later and also attended Queen Elizabeths state funeral and King Charless Coronation concert at Windsor Castle. Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice may be excluded from all public-facing events in the future, Richard Eden writes, with William and Catherine especially keen to distance themselves William and Catherine are also less enthusiastic about Royal Ascot than the King and Queen Camilla. Last year, William attended on just one day while his wife did not go at all. Despite still undergoing treatment for cancer, the King attended every day in soaring temperatures. When Catherine and Beatrice rode in the same carriage during the Royal Procession at Ascot in 2023, the body language appeared to be tense. Catherine was joined by William and Bea by her husband, the property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. There appeared to be no exchange of glances, and indeed the women seemed to ignore each other. If William and Catherines friend is correct, this year will see the couple move even further away from the beleaguered sisters. A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment. A royal source insists: Conversations around Ascot arent on our radar. The Princess of Wales received a welcome to Leicester today as colourful as any Bollywood movie with dancing, honking horns and crowds surging to shake her hand. 'Welcome to Leicester, Ma'am,' said one shopper who stopped her outside a jewellers as she visited family businesses and the city's famous 'Golden Mile', while an elderly woman handed her a printed blessing to take away. Drivers waved and shoppers seemed surprised to see Kate, 44, walking down the street without any road closures. The princess who wore a white knitted dress with a knife pleated skirt was presented with a garland of pearls and roses as she arrived at a community centre which, earlier in the week, had celebrated Holi, the Indian festival of colour, love and spring. A group of Bollywood dancers performed a routine for her during which she was handed a rose to hold. She told them that her three children would 'love' their dance moves. 'You must be super fit because it's super energetic,' the princess said afterwards. 'My children would love that, they love their dancing. Louis would love your dance routine.' Later, the princess joined in with traditional dancing and made an offering of milk during her first visit to a Hindu temple in Britain. Kate, who was barefoot for her visit to the temple, was invited to take part in a ladies' dance during a religious ceremony, and said 'oh, go on then'. The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people Kate takes part in a dance during her visit to the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple in Leicester The Princess of Wales was beaming as she watched dancers at The Aakash Odedra Company Kate greets worshippers during her visit to the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival Kate takes part in a dance during her visit to the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales visits the Aakash Odedra Company where she meets dancers today The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales visits Leicester to celebrate British Indian people in the city today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales visits the Aakash Odedra Company where she meets dancers today The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales visits Leicester to celebrate British Indian people in the city today The Princess of Wales at The Aakash Odedra Company, as she visits Leicester today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester to celebrate British Indian people in the city today The Princess of Wales visits the Aakash Odedra Company where she meets dancers today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon Upon arrival at the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre earlier today, Kate was introduced to Aakash Odedra who uses the centre to host community dance sessions. Adorning the princess with a garland of pearls and roses, he later said he had made it specially for her, because there was 'no better way to welcome a guest than to garnish their soul with flowers'. Born in Birmingham, Odedra, an award-winning choreographer, Bollywood dancer and founder of the Aakash Odedra Company, was trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance styles and became a student of Shiamak Davar, a renowned Bollywood choreographer in India. Odedra founded the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester in 2011 with a mission to create 'a happier and healthier society through dance and the arts'. Last year the dance troupe joined forces with Move Against Cancer to offer Bollywood movement lessons to those recovering from cancer. The princess last year announced that she was in remission from cancer following a diagnosis in early 2024. Following a course of chemotherapy, Kate has made a gradual return to royal duties. She was dressed today in a bespoke Chris Kerr tailored white midi coat and a Polo Ralph Lauren white 'Jamie' dress. Her outfit also featured Sezane's Dina earrings in gold with blue gemstones hanging from the tassels, and an Emmy London 'Natasha' brown clutch bag. After watching her first Bollywood performance, the princess was shown into a candle-lit ballroom where Odedra performed his latest work, 'Songs of the Bulbul'. This is an interpretation of an ancient Sufi story about a captured songbird, or bulbul, which sings an exquisite tune before perishing from despair. She appeared mesmerised as red circles of confetti dropped from the ceiling as Odedra performed a solo dance as a live orchestra from Manchester Camerata played music by the composer Rushil Ranjan, an associate artist of the Royal Albert Hall. At the end, the princess seemed hesitant to clap before anyone else before someone joked 'you can clap now' which made her laugh. 'That was so moving. Extraordinary,' she said. Kate told the orchestra: 'Thank you. That was really fantastic.' By the time she left the community centre, crowds had gathered outside and as she walked towards them, people surged forwards to greet her with hugs and requests for selfies. 'Thank you for coming to see me,' she said. As she walked round the corner to the Golden Mile, vans honked their horns and drivers waved as they caught sight of the princess on the busy road. Still wearing the garland, she visited Ladlees, a family sari shop, where she admired the embroidery of the fabric and asked whether the skills had been passed down through the family. Kate said that it was nice to return to the city under 'happier circumstances', her last visit taking place with Prince William in 2018 when they paid tribute to the victims of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five people including Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Leicester City football club chairman. Today, crowds lined the street as Kate crossed the road to Bobby's restaurant, a family business named after a famous 1973 Bollywood film of the same name. It was opened in 1976 by Dharmesh Lakhani's parents after they moved to the UK from Uganda when he was a child. The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales clutches a bag as she visits the Aakash Odedra Company today The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales visits Leicester today on a trip highlighting local British Indian people The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival Mr Lakhani, 57, who now runs the restaurant with his wife Enna, 56, invited the princess in to sit down for chai and traditional Indian sweets. She said: 'What's lovely about a family business is that the values still stay. That's the heart of it. That's really what matters to the customers, those relationships.' Meeting the couple's sons Arjun, 28, and Karran, 25, the princess said that family businesses 'made changes along the way'. Speaking about families finding time to connect in a busy world, Kate said it was important to 'make sure families and communities still have time to come together and stop and slow down and connect together'. She added: 'Even the simple act of eating a meal together becomes harder and harder.' Trying some of the sweets, Kate said that she was 'OK with spice'. She added: 'I love coriander and chilli but William is less of a fan of coriander.' After being invited up to the counter to choose a box of sweets to take home to her children, Mr Lakhani joked that they were all 'zero calories'. She laughed and replied: 'Amazing. No wonder you're so popular.' When Mike Kapur, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, offered to hold the box for her, she jokingly warned him: 'Don't eat them.' Lakhani told the princess that it was 'an honour' to host her. He said later: 'It's the biggest thing for us ever.' The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets people during her royal away day to Leicester this afternoon The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales during her visit today to the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales meets members of the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester today The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning The Princess of Wales in Leicester today to meet British Indians one day after the Holi festival The Princess of Wales arrives at the Aakash Odedra Company in Leicester this morning Kate later met worshippers inside the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple, where she also joined in with traditional dancing. She stepped round in a circle with women dressed in saris, clapping and trying to follow their movements. She also poured an offering of fresh milk to a deity, Lord Krishna, as part of a ceremony, walking around a replica of a mountain in a version of a pilgrimage route at a sacred site in India. She was given a sari and traditional scarf as a gift, and sat down in a canteen for a vegetarian lunch including samosas, potato sabzi, pilau rice and chapati. The Princess visited Shreeji Dham Haveli, a Hindu temple dedicated to the teachings of Shrimad Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhuji which serves the local Vaishnav community in Leicester. As well as daily worship, it runs community activities for all ages. It is understood to be the first time that the princess has made an official visit to a Hindu temple on an engagement in Britain. She was told about the festival of Holi, and its themes of 'the arrival of spring, spiritual renewal and community connection'. Kate was greeted with a blessing, a thumb placed on her forehead by one of the temple's women, and a flower garland. She took her shoes off, as per custom, and was given a detailed tour by Mayur Kachela, one of the executive committee, who explained the religious significance of the ceremony and ornate decorations. The princess was taken to a table where women were making garlands made from fresh rose petals, asking them about their technique and how long it took them to do. 'Thank you so much for having me,' she told her hosts. 'I feel so lucky to be invited. It's lovely to be able to come in person.' She repeatedly clasped her hands in a namaste gesture, to say thank you. 'Does this happen daily?' she said. 'How does the community, or way of life, fit around the temple?' Members of the temple remarked on her knowledge of the Holi festival and her many questions, particularly about how young people are involved in the temple. The women who led the dancing said that they had not expected her to join in, but were delighted with her enthusiasm. 'It was absolutely amazing,' said Mr Kachela afterwards. 'She was really acknowledging what we're doing here, and really engaged. This is part of our faith and it was very nice that she acknowledged what we're doing.' A major county in California is auctioning off more than 250 properties with bids starting as low as $455 - but many of them are located in crime-ridden Oakland. Bid4Assets, an online auction marketplace that works with state, local and federal governments across the country to sell distressed real estate, will be offering up 256 properties across Alameda County from March 20 through March 23. The available parcels range from vacant land to residential properties, which include condominiums, townhomes, single-family homes and even entire apartment buildings, according to the San Francisco Gate. All of the properties have been in a tax-defaulted status for years and are being sold as-is, Bid4Assets Marketing Manager Sean McLaughlin told KTVU, noting that often, the properties are being offered for the amount still owed rather than the actual assessed value. The asking price for the properties, though, goes all the way up to $1.5 million. But county officials are making no guarantees about a home's title, condition, zoning or code compliance. Most title insurance companies also won't cover tax-sale properties for at least a year after the deed has been recorded, according to Alameda County documents. The auction now comes as the city of Oakland recovers from rampant crime and a homelessness epidemic made worse during the COVID pandemic. Bid4Assets , an online auction marketplace that works with state, local and federal governments across the country to sell distressed real estate, will be offering up 256 properties across Alameda County from March 20 through March 23 Many of the properties are located within the Bay Area city of Oakland (pictured) Oakland's new mayor Barbara Lee is trying to undo the chaos wrought by her woke predecessor Sheng Thao and ultra-progressive former district attorney Pamela Price, who is looking to run again this year after being decisively recalled. Under Price's tenure, Oakland saw crime soar by 21 percent, while robberies rose by 38 percent and vehicle theft rocketed by 45 percent. US News & World Report labeled Oakland as the second most dangerous place in the country, in a report back in August. The report ranked cities by looking at their murder and property crime rates per 100,000 residents, according to FBI data. In 2023, one in every 30 Oakland residents had their car stolen, with 15,000 vehicles pilfered over the course of that year. At the same time, Alameda County's last Point-in-Time Count in 2024 found that homelessness was at its highest ever, with 5,485 people reporting homelessness - two-thirds of whom were unsheltered. It also found that more than half of the county's homeless residents were experiencing homelessness for the first time, while 37 percent were considered chronically homeless. But in Oakland, 8- percent of the surveyed residents said they had previously been housed in Alameda County. The city recovers from rampant crime and a homelessness epidemic made worse during the COVID pandemic Alameda County's last Point-in-Time Count in 2024 found that homelessness was at its highest ever, with 5,485 people reporting homelessness - two-thirds of whom were unsheltered The city is now starting to turn around, though, with major decreases in crimes. The city's latest police reports even show the number of homicides, rapes, burglaries and arson cases cut in half for the period ending on February 1 when compared to one year prior. McLaughlin, of Bid4Assets, now says his program can serve as a win-win not only for those who wind up owning property at below-market prices, but also for the government agencies that are trying to recover the costs from forfeited real estate. 'This leads to benefits like reduced costs, increased local participation and ultimately higher rates of sales generating recouped revenue for the offices we work with and their constituents,' McLaughlin said. Those who are interested in bidding on the properties are now urged to inspect the properties, review their title history and reach out to local zoning offices before placing their bids. Prospective bidders must then create an account on the Bid4Assets website and make a single, refundable deposit of $5,000 plus a non-refundable $35 processing fee. The deadline to make that deposit is March 17. The city is now starting to turn around, with major decreases in crime reported Residents are seen enjoying al fresco dining at the historic Last Chance Saloon in Oakland in 2011 Non-winning bidders will then get a refund through an electronic check within 10 days after the close of the auction, while those who win with their bid will see their deposit applied to the final payment of the property. Once the auction closes, all winning bidders will be emailed instructions on settlement procedures as well as information on how to provide the county with the necessary deed transfer information. Winning bidders must then make the full payment on the property no later than 1pm on March 25, two days after the auction closes. The final sales prices are also subject to additional fees, including a county recording fee of $17 per parcel, a California documentary transfer tax - which is calculated at a rate of $0.55 for each $500 - and any additional city transfer tax associated with the property. Fears of nuclear war have surged after the US and Israel launched a major military operation against Iran, killing the country's supreme leader and other senior officials. As speculation grows about possible retaliation on American soil, new research reveals which parts of the country could be safest if the unthinkable happens. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst modeled a worst-case attack on the 450 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos clustered across the Midwest, which are considered prime targets because disabling them early would cripple America's nuclear arsenal. Using historical wind patterns recorded through 2021, scientists projected how radioactive fallout would spread if each silo were struck with a warhead roughly 50 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. According to their research, scientists determined that parts of the western US, stretching from Washington down to Texas, could be among the least affected regions in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear strike targeting US missile silos. Coastal regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and much of Florida would also see lighter fallout exposure - which occurs when radioactive particles descend through the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion - giving residents a better chance of surviving the initial devastation. These areas could see doses as low as 0.001 grays (Gy) - a unit used to measure how much radiation energy the human body absorbs - in the days following an attack, which is relatively close to the annual public radiation limit. States in New England, the Northeast and the more eastern parts of the Midwest would also face lower levels of initial fallout exposure compared to the areas most likely to be targeted. Your browser does not support iframes. In the modeling study, which used advanced weather data and modern computing power, scientists simulated what would happen if all 450 US missile silos were struck simultaneously. The results suggested the explosions would devastate large portions of the Midwest, contaminate farmland for years and send dangerous levels of radioactive fallout across much of North America. Depending on wind conditions, researchers estimated that several million people could die from acute radiation exposure alone, even if residents had time to shelter indoors. Acute radiation sickness can begin with nausea, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea, and at higher doses may lead to organ failure, seizures or coma. Landlocked states closest to the missile fields, including Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and parts of Colorado and Kansas, would likely be devastated in the immediate aftermath. The areas facing the greatest danger could experience radiation doses ranging from 1Gy to as high as 84Gy, levels far above what the human body can tolerate. Scientists generally consider exposure above 8Gy to be lethal. By comparison, exposure levels in states considered relatively 'safer' are estimated to range from 0.001Gy to 0.5Gy, though even these levels could still pose health risks depending on the duration of exposure. The analysis comes as tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate. To model the worst-case scenario, researchers simulated an attack on the 450 ICBM silos clustered across the Midwest, a region considered a prime target because disabling those facilities early would cripple America's nuclear arsenal President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. He claimed to have 'obliterated' Tehran's nuclear program in strikes last June, but said this week that it had attempted to rebuild. 'Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message,' Trump said on Saturday. Western powers say there is no credible civilian justification for Iran's enrichment of uranium to the levels it has allegedly produced, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has said the activity is of serious concern. No other country has reached those levels without eventually producing nuclear weapons. While Iran does not currently have a nuclear arsenal, analysts warn that any escalation involving nuclear-capable states could have catastrophic consequences far beyond the Middle East. A massive US Air Force report released last year detailed the potential environmental effects of deploying the Sentinel missile system, which will replace all 400 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles by the mid-2030s as part of a sweeping $1.5trillion overhaul of America's nuclear arsenal and command systems. But critics say the thousands-page assessment does not fully address one of the most dangerous scenarios: what could happen to surrounding communities if the missile silos themselves became targets during a nuclear war. Land-based missiles have long been considered a key part of the US nuclear deterrent, originally designed to ensure a devastating retaliatory strike if America were attacked. Over time, however, military planners also argued that the fixed silos served another purpose - acting as a vast network of targets that could absorb an enemy's nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, Air Force leaders even described the missile fields as a nuclear 'sponge,' forcing adversaries to expend huge numbers of warheads attempting to destroy them. However, modern analysts warn that the strategy carries enormous risks because the missiles are stored in known locations, making them prime targets in any nuclear conflict. Studies of previous nuclear-war scenarios have shown that detonating warheads near these underground silos would blast radioactive debris high into the atmosphere, where winds could carry contaminated particles hundreds or even thousands of miles. A trove of controversial UFO documents describing a secret government group tasked with recovering alien spacecraft may be authentic after all. A researcher claims the long-debated Majestic-12 (MJ-12) papers, dismissed for decades as fake by the FBI, contain official intelligence filing numbers that match real CIA records from the same era. The documents allege that a group of 12 high-ranking military and scientific officials secretly spent more than two decades investigating crashed alien craft, studying non-human technology and attempting to communicate with extraterrestrials. The anonymous investigator said the breakthrough came after comparing administrative stamps and file numbers on the MJ-12 papers with those found on publicly released CIA documents from the 1940s and 1950s. According to the theory, the numbering systems and classification markings used on the controversial UFO papers match formats once used by the US intelligence community. The researcher examined MJ-12 files shared by Ryan Wood, a UFO investigator and author, who possesses physical copies of documents that first leaked to the public in the 1980s. Wood told the Daily Mail that the archive includes more than 3,500 government documents referencing the mysterious group and the secret projects it allegedly conducted. Despite those claims, the FBI previously stamped several of the MJ-12 files as 'bogus,' dismissing them as fabrications and fueling decades of debate about whether the documents were genuine or an elaborate hoax. According to a new investigation into the MJ-12 files, the documents contain markings that validate their authenticity The unnamed researcher, writing on Substack under the pseudonym 'MJ12 Logic,' argued that the similarities he discovered while comparing the MJ-12 papers with real CIA documents could not have been forged by someone outside the government. According to his analysis, several administrative stamps and filing numbers appearing on the controversial UFO papers matched markings used in authentic intelligence records from the same era. His investigation uncovered identical codes on documents connected to Operation Paperclip, a secret post-World War II program run by US military and intelligence agencies to recruit German scientists and engineers who had worked on advanced Nazi weapons and technology. The program ultimately helped lay the groundwork for America's space program and the creation of NASA, although many details of Operation Paperclip remained classified for decades. The researcher found that the same stamp, '834021-,' appears on both the MJ-12 papers and 345 pages of Operation Paperclip documents, which were not declassified until June 22, 2022. Other markings that appear on both the CIA files and the supposedly fake MJ-12 documents include 'A-1762.1,' 'ER-1-2735,' and 'CIA SI 28-55.' The researcher argued that these matching administrative codes would have been nearly impossible for a hoaxer to reproduce accurately in the 1980s, when many of the authentic CIA records had not yet been released to the public. Wood praised the analysis, saying: 'He's doing a great job. He's digging in the right spots and doing a good job of the historical research. It's definitely on point and logical, fair and highly credible.' An anonymous researcher claimed that the same '834021-' marking on MJ-12 documents appears on real declassified CIA papers from the 1940s and 50s The CIA's declassified archives contains documents with the same markings seen on files referencing MJ-12 that the FBI claimed were fakes All of these markings were part of numerical filing, registry, routing and control systems used by US intelligence agencies in the 1940s and 1950s. They formed part of the standard records-management practices used to organize, track and store classified reports during that era. Since many of those systems were not publicly documented for decades, the researcher argued it would have been extremely difficult for an outsider to replicate them convincingly. 'It's virtually impossible to logically reconcile this supporting evidence with the idea that "Majestic-12" was just some paperwork invented during the 1980s,' the researcher posted on Substack. Wood also questioned the FBI's long-standing dismissal of the files, noting that agents famously stamped several of the documents 'BOGUS.' According to Wood, that decision was not based on proof the papers were fabricated but rather on the agencies' inability to determine where the documents originated. 'If you dig in a little deeper, you discover that the FBI is responsible for investigating leaks of classified information,' Wood said. 'They took the document around to all the three-letter agencies and asked, "Did you lose this? Is this out of your files?"' 'Nobody would admit to it. It's no wonder they labeled it bogus and moved on,' he added, suggesting the CIA may have known the documents were genuine all along. Wood said UFO researchers have spent decades conducting forensic checks on the paper type, typewriter fonts, stamps, dates and internal consistency of the alleged MJ-12 documents. 'Every document has its own authenticity rating, and every document has stronger or weaker authenticity. We take it document by document, but it only takes one, and there are plenty that are in the super highly credible category,' the researcher declared. UFO researchers have said that the 1947 UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico 'was the real deal' and led to the creation of the top-secret group Majestic-12 According to the documents, MJ-12 included Admiral Roscoe Hillenkoetter, the first CIA director, Dr Vannevar Bush, head of US scientific research during World War II, James Forrestal, the first US Secretary of Defense, and General Nathan Twining, the Air Force commander in charge of research and development of new aircraft. Despite the US intelligence community's attempt to discredit the files as fakes, shocking details involving MJ-12 and a secret face-to-face encounter with alien life were made public through the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in 1991. The files, many of which were never added to the CIA's archives, stated that MJ-12 oversaw four specific projects charged with communicating with aliens, researching UFOs, recovering crashed alien ships, and testing out advanced technology. The MJ-12 files noted it took five years before they finally made successful contact with UFOs in 1959, noting that the group 'established primitive communications with the Aliens,' using binary code sent by radio. This basic form of communication allegedly led to the meeting between the Air Force and extraterrestrials in 1964, with MJ-12 stating that an 'Air Force officer managed to exchange basic information with the two Aliens.' The US government has maintained that there has never been any physical proof that UFOs or alien life exists. In 1988, the US intelligence community added that there were serious inconsistencies and formatting errors in the secret MJ-12 documents, including an alleged briefing on the project addressed to President Eisenhower that agents have called a forgery. President Donald Trump could be forced to flee to one of the government's top secret bases across the United States if a global nuclear war broke out, doomsday plans have revealed. As the war with Iran threatens to spiral into a global nuclear conflict, the government already has a playbook in place to keep itself running called the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). This plan ensures that critical government functions, such as national defense, economic stability and public safety, keep going even if several major cities were destroyed by a weapon of mass destruction. From fortified bunkers in Colorado, Pennsylvania or Virginia, the Trump Administration or future White Houses could continue to govern the country despite the grave threat of World War III breaking out. Three sites, Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Raven Rock Mountain Complex and Cheyenne Mountain Complex, have been publicly acknowledged as being part of COOP since the Cold War. They have all been outfitted with essential technology for communicating with the public and the military in a crisis. Despite being constructed during the Cold War, these facilities are not relics. They are actively funded, staffed, and referenced in the US government's annual budgets, and were even prepared for use during the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. The sites are designed to protect the nation's leaders from direct nuclear attacks, with each facility built inside a defensible mountain range. Over the last year, the possibility that COOP was about to be implemented terrified many Americans, as the president's emergency command aircraft had been caught flying over parts of the US on multiple occasions. Your browser does not support iframes. President Trump pictured while overseeing the US bombing campaign on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has managed Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC) in Virginia since 1979. The base reportedly contains a bunker designed for civilian leaders and is full of communications equipment so multiple agencies within the US government can stay in contact with the public. MWEOC has been in operation since 1959, when the US Army ran the site, but it still remains a key piece of America's emergency plan that is regularly updated by FEMA every few years. The US Department of Homeland Security added that MWEOC not only 'provides reliable support' and 'resilient capabilities' for the president, but the base even serves as a command center for 'classified programs'. During a major global war, Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC) in Pennsylvania would likely serve as the Department of War's military command hub throughout the national emergency. Formerly known as the Department of Defense (DoD), a 2025 report on the site declared: 'The RRMC supports COOP operational readiness by providing a safe and secure environment for DoD essential functions.' These tasks include providing an alternate headquarters for the Secretary of War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior military leaders. Millions of dollars in funding have been allotted to maintaining RRMC by the Trump Administration this year. Lastly, Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado is an underground facility and the former home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the military command responsible for defending the airspace over the US and Canada. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center in Virginia has been listed by FEMA as one of the main emergency locations government leaders would flee to in a crisis Raven Rock Mountain Complex in Pennsylvania is considered one of the government's main strategic bunkers for the Department of Defense While no longer NORAD's primary headquarters, it remains an alternate command center for the agency and a backup COOP site because of its nuclear-resistant design and extensive communication systems. The massive complex, which reportedly includes over a dozen buildings constructed 2,000 feet underground, was built on top of large steel springs for shock absorption. Raven Rock Mountain Complex was constructed in the same manner. The massive springs provide an added layer of protection from violent shaking or sudden forces caused by a nuclear explosion or earthquake. Other doomsday sites scattered throughout the US still remain in operation in case of an emergency, including one bunker right under the East Wing of the White House. According to an official government report from 2004, former vice president Dick Cheney and others used this shelter during the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon. Peters Mountain in Virginia and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska have also been listed in reports from the federal government as still housing facilities the president and the cabinet can use as part of COOP. Following the first round of US and Israeli strikes on Iran this month, nuclear-armed China and Russia warned that the fighting could spread throughout the Middle East and lead to the world's superpowers launching nuclear bombs. Although this escalation would endanger tens of millions of Americans, COOP does not focus on protecting citizens. The plan is all about guaranteeing that leaders survive to guide the nation through crisis. Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado is an underground facility and the former home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) The secretive government plan was created as a framework for relocating key personnel, securing communication networks, and protecting vital records if America's most protected sites came under attack. In a World War III scenario with nuclear weapons, COOP would ensure the president, military leaders, and other officials operate from safe locations, preventing a leadership collapse that could lead to disorder throughout the US. The plan includes clear lines of succession, so if the president, vice president, or other top officials are killed, others are ready to take charge. This is vital for maintaining military command and coordinating emergency responses during a global conflict. According to FEMA, COOP ensures 'the capability exists to continue essential agency functions across a wide range of potential emergencies.' This plan does not just cover World War III, but is handles the fallout from crises like a major natural disaster, another pandemic, or a terrorist attack. The US and Israel have already launched attacks on Iran, killing the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei COOP's origins go back to the Cold War, when nuclear war with the Soviet Union was a daily fear for years. President Dwight Eisenhower laid the foundation in the 1950s through executive orders, directing agencies to prepare for post-attack governance. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) noted that Eisenhower's actions spurred the creation of secure facilities and communication systems to withstand nuclear blasts. Future presidents would expand those plans through directives like Presidential Decision Directive 67 in the 1990s, which formalized the COOP programs. Today, it is guided by the National Continuity Policy Directive (FCD-1), ensuring adaptability to modern threats, such as cyberattacks that cause national blackouts or nuclear escalation. As for where the president and other leaders will escape to if a full-scale war breaks out, three specific locations are fortified enough to withstand a nuclear attack. Although COOP is well-documented in government and scholarly sources, specific details are classified for security purposes. FEMA's official website outlines continuity programs, emphasizing their role in national preparedness. Even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has publicly detailed its own COOP measures, showing how agencies would implement the plan. A 2002 report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) confirmed COOP's activation after the 9/11 terror attacks, with 75 to 150 officials relocated to secure sites, proving its real-world use. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Apple delighted its fans this week with the launch of no less than seven new devices. On Monday, it kicked things off with a new iPad Air and the iPhone 17e, before unveiling new Studio Displays, a MacBook Pro and and a MacBook Air on Tuesday. As if that wasn't enough, the tech giant introduced a new budget MacBook on Wednesday, dubbed the MacBook Neo. The new gadgets aren't available until next week, with the first customers receiving them from 11 March. However, the Daily Mail's Science & Technology Editor, Shivali Best, was able to get her hands on the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo at an exclusive event in London. So, is it worth splashing out on the new devices? Both priced at 599, the iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo are some of Apple's cheapest products, yet are packed with many of the features you see in more highend devices. I think they're set to become the musthave gadgets for students here's why. The new gadgets aren't available until next week, with the first customers receiving them from 11 March. However, the Daily Mail's Science & Technology Editor, Shivali Best, was able to get her hands on the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo at an exclusive event in London iPhone 17e iPhone 17e Product Specs Storage 256GB or 512GB Display 6.1inch Super Retina XDR Availability Preorder March 4, with availability starting March 11 Charging MagSafe and Qi2 for fast wireless charging Colourways Black, white, and soft pink Camera 48MP Fusion What we love Storage Double the storage of the previous model Charging MagSafe feature allows fast charging What could be better Camera Single lens The iPhone 17e is Apple's latest 'budget' smartphone, coming in at just 599. Admittedly, in terms of features, it isn't particularly different to its predecessor, the iPhone 16e. However, where Apple has really taken this up a notch is with the storage. Last year's device cost 599 for 128GB, while the iPhone 17e is the same price, but with double the storage (256GB). For today's social mediaobsessed students, that's more than enough space for photos, videos and apps! Another new feature that is bound to prove popular is MagSafe Apple's magnetic charging system, which was notably missing last year. This not only allows for faster charging, but also opens the door to a range of new accessories, including camera accessories, wallets, and stands. While many people will opt for the black or white versions, I think the new 'soft pink' colour will be a huge hit. It's a lovely, subtle shade of pink, and used alongside the matching case and crossbody strap, it's a chic option for stylish students While many people will opt for the black or white versions, I think the new 'soft pink' colour will be a huge hit. It's a lovely, subtle shade of pink, and used alongside the matching case and crossbody strap, it's a chic option for stylish students. Budding photographers might initially be put off by the rear camera, which only feature a single lens. This might not seem like much, especially compared to the hefty triple lens setup of Apple's Pro iPhones. However, don't let the single lens deceive you the iPhone 17e's 48MP Fusion camera is more than sufficient at snapping photos with excellent detail. MacBook Neo Apple MacBook Neo Product Specs Storage 256GB, 512GB Display 13" Liquid Retina Ram 8GB Processor Apple A18 Pro Battery life 16 hours Ports 2x USBC and headphone jack Resolution 2408by1506 What we love Price Half the cost of other Apple MacBook models Perfect for light work Best suited for basic tasks Display Crisp 13inch Liquid Retina display Weight Just 1.23kg What could be better RAM Only 8GB of memory Basic capabilities Not ideal for multitasking or pro apps Next up is the MacBook Neo Apple's brand new budget MacBook. Like the iPhone 17e, this is priced at just 599 almost half the price of the MacBook Air 13inch (1,099) which Apple also announced this week. Next up is the MacBook Neo Apple's brand new budget MacBook. Like the iPhone 17e, this is priced at just 599 almost half the price of the MacBook Air 13inch (1,099) which Apple also announced this week So, how has Apple managed to created such a cheap laptop? Where Neo has taken a huge hit is with memory. The budget MacBook has just 8GB of unified memory, compared with the 16GB, 24GB, and 32GB options we see in Apple's other laptops. For everyday work this is fine so if you're just looking for a MacBook to browse the web, store a few documents, and send emails, you're laughing. However, if you plan any heavy multitasking or pro apps, you might struggle. Aside from the memory, I think the MacBook Neo punches above its weight. Its 13inch Liquid Retina display is lovely and bright, while its dualspeaker sound system provides rich and loud sound for watching movies or listening to music. At just 2.7lbs (1.23kg), it's the same weight as the MacBook Air 13inch making it light enough to pop in a handbag. The ondevice Apple Intelligence tools are bound to be a hit with students, with writing tools, smart summarisation, and Siri just a click away. What I think students will particularly enjoy are the range of fun colour options with the MacBook Neo. While many of Apple's more premium MacBooks come in more muted tones, Apple has gone all out with Neo's options, including Indigo, Blush, and Citrus. For each of these shades, Apple has even colourmatched the keyboard, which is a classy touch. Is it worth upgrading? Overall, I think the iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo are perfectly suited to students...depending on what you're studying. They have many of the same features as Apple's more expensive offerings, yet at 599, they're not going to break the bank. The iPhone 17e's MagSafe charging, improved storage, and twoinone camera system are excellent new addition, while the new Soft Pink shade is worthy of the most perfectlycurated Instagram feeds. Meanwhile, the MacBook Neo is ideal for everyday use, such as writing up essays, playing music, or browsing social media. However, if you're studying a subject that requires heavy editing or advanced apps, you'll probably struggle with the 8GB of memory. Scientists have uncovered the origin of three mysterious signals coming from the centre of the Milky Way. For years, astronomers have struggled to understand the strange spikes of energy that blare out from the heart of our galaxy. But researchers now say a very specific type of dark matter, known as 'excited dark matter', is responsible. Dark matter is an elusive substance which makes up roughly a quarter of the universe, but cannot be observed through any normal means. Since dark matter doesn't interact with normal matter, even our most powerful telescopes cannot see it directly. However, scientists believe that this strange substance may be indirectly producing the baffling behaviour of our galaxy's turbulent core. Lead author Dr Shyam Balaji, of King's College London, says: 'When we look at wellknown astrophysical events, like star explosions, they haven't been able to provide a full explanation for mysteries like the specific energy and shape we've observed coming from the centre of the Milky Way. 'Now, we've shown how one excited dark matter model could account for at least two possibly even three of these kind of unexplained signals at once.' Scientists have discovered the origin of three mysterious signals coming from the centre of the universe, showing that a mysterious substance called excited dark matter could be the explanation. Pictured: Predictions from the dark matter model (pink) compared to telescope observations (red crosses) The heart of the Milky Way is an exceptionally chaotic and violent place, where immense forces pull and crush clouds of dense gases into fastmoving stars. At the very core is the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, which has a mass around four million times greater than that of the sun. The intense gravity and heat release radiation that can be seen by telescopes out in space, but scientists haven't been able to explain everything they've observed. For example, scientists have found a sharp spike in gammaray radiation at an extremely specific wavelength known as the 511keV emission line. This isn't something that fits with our established picture of how normal matter functions, so scientists have had to look elsewhere for an explanation. In a new paper, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists showed that these signals could have been caused by 'excited dark matter'. Dr Balaji told the Daily Mail: 'Excited dark matter is a scenario where dark matter particles can briefly jump into a slightly higherenergy state when they collide with each other. 'When they fall back to their normal state, they release that extra energy by producing an electron and its antimatter partner, a positron.' Scientists say that the galactic core might be filled with a substance called excited dark matter. This cannot be seen directly, but may be responsible for the strange energy signals seen by telescopes These positrons generate signals that can be picked up by deepspace telescopes such as the European Space Agency's INTEGRAL mission, located outside the Earth's radiation belts at an altitude of 37,000 miles (60,000 km). The researchers looked at data from INTEGRAL and compared it to a model of how positrons might move through space. This showed that collisions between the positrons produced by excited dark matter could lead to a spike in gammaray radiation that matches the mysterious 511keV emission line. But the scientists didn't stop there, as they soon found that their excited dark matter model could explain even more strange signals. In particular, they found that the release of positrons could be the origin of a very highenergy light coming from the centre of the galaxy, known as the 2 MeV gammaray continuum. Dr Balaji says: 'The signal requires positrons with very specific energies of only a few million electron volts. Most conventional astrophysical sources, such as supernovae or cosmic rays, tend to produce particles that are either much more energetic or distributed across the galaxy in the wrong way. 'The excited dark matter scenario naturally produces positrons in exactly this energy range.' In addition, they suggest their model could potentially explain an unusually high level of ionisation in a clump of gas within a region called the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). Scientists also believe that excited dark matter could explain the strange ionisation of gases in a region near the galactic centre called the Central Molecular Zone (pictured) This crowded region, located 28,000 lightyears from Earth, is a vast reservoir of swirling matter and stars that contains almost 80 per cent of the galaxy's dense gas. However, sources such as cosmic rays highenergy particles ejected by complex processes in the inner galaxy haven't explained why this gas appears to be so heavily ionised. The researchers now suggest that the answer could well be the strange behaviour of excited dark matter. Coauthor Damon Cleaver, a PhD student at King's College London, says: 'If one mechanism could account for several longstanding unexplained observations in space, it gives a much clearer direction for future research. 'Within the next generation of space missions, we may finally be able to test the theory of whether dark matter is behind some of the Milky Way's most persistent mysteries and learn more about the mysterious substance itself in the process.' The Bible's account of the crucifixion of Jesus contains a puzzling detail: he died on the cross before the two criminals crucified beside him. Now, a medical study examining historical records and decades of scientific research has suggested that detail may be explained by the physiological effects of crucifixion. According to the Gospel of John, Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two men executed alongside Jesus to hasten their deaths. But when they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs because they saw he was already dead. This detail has long intrigued historians and doctors because crucifixion victims often survived for many hours, and sometimes days. The peer-reviewed study analyzed several possible medical causes of Jesus' death during the execution described in the New Testament. Among the leading explanations identified were suffocation, a blood clot in the lungs and severe blood loss. The researchers concluded that Jesus' death was likely the result of multiple factors leading to circulatory failure of the heart and lungs. A medical study examining the possible cause of Jesus Christ's death on the cross has shed new light on a puzzling detail recorded in the Bible for nearly 2,000 years. 'There has been much speculation about the true cause of death of Jesus Christ, and this topic has been the subject of discussion by scholars all over the world,' the authors wrote in the study. According to the Gospel of John, Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two men executed alongside Jesus to hasten their deaths. But when they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs because they saw he was already dead The researchers conducted a narrative review examining medical and historical literature to better understand what happened during the crucifixion described in the Gospels. 'The aim of this text is to analyze some of the theories described by different authors about the possible causes of Jesus Christ's death during his crucifixion, without any kind of religious bias,' the study published in the International Journal of Health Science states. Crucifixion was one of the most brutal forms of execution used in the ancient Roman world. Victims were typically scourged beforehand and forced to carry a heavy wooden beam to the execution site before being nailed or tied to the cross. According to the study, the process was designed to inflict prolonged suffering and often resulted in death over many hours or even days. One widely accepted explanation for death by crucifixion is asphyxiation. The researchers explained that Jesus' position on the cross made breathing extremely difficult. 'His position on the cross, possibly with his arms raised for a long period of time, would have led to restricted movement of his ribs,' the study noted. This detail has long intrigued historians and doctors because crucifixion victims often survived for many hours, and sometimes days. Pictured is a nail once used in a crucifixion of an unknown person This restriction could lead to hypoxemia, dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood. As the muscles responsible for breathing became exhausted, he would have eventually suffocated. However, researchers led by the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil said other medical explanations could also explain why Jesus died earlier than most crucifixion victims. One possibility is a sudden pulmonary embolism, a blockage in the lungs caused by a blood clot. The study suggests that dehydration, trauma, and immobilization during crucifixion could have triggered such a fatal event. 'Jesus Christ, during the crucifixion ritual, may have been exposed to the three components of the triad described by Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow as the pathophysiological basis for an episode of pulmonary embolism,' the researchers wrote. Another possible explanation is severe hypovolemic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by massive blood loss and dehydration. The study notes that Jesus likely endured prolonged scourging before being nailed to the cross. This brutal whipping could have caused severe trauma and bleeding. At the same time, the Gospel accounts describe Jesus expressing thirst while on the cross, which may indicate dehydration. 'It is estimated that he was deprived of food or drink for a period of twelve hours between his last meal, the last supper, and his crucifixion,' the researchers wrote. Combined with blood loss, dehydration could have pushed the body into fatal circulatory collapse. Other medical conditions may also have played a role. The researchers pointed to trauma-induced coagulopathy, a severe clotting disorder that can occur after major injury, as another potential factor. Ultimately, the authors said it is likely that multiple factors contributed to Jesus' death. 'The fact is that, based on current knowledge, it is assumed that death was certainly multifactorial and the result of circulatory and cardiopulmonary collapse,' the researchers concluded. While the precise cause of death may never be known with certainty, the study suggests the Gospel descriptions of the crucifixion align with known medical effects of the ancient execution method. And according to the authors, the mystery surrounding Jesus' death is likely to continue drawing interest from historians, theologians, and medical experts alike. 'The debate on the subject will continue to arouse interest and research on the part of various scholars around the world,' the team wrote. As the US and Israel continue striking targets across Iran, fears are growing that the escalating confrontation could spiral into a wider global conflict. European nations are already being reluctantly pulled into the crisis, deploying military assets to defend allies while trying to avoid direct involvement. Military analysts have warned that if the fighting expands and draws in Iran's powerful allies, including Russia and China, the risk of a catastrophic global war could rise dramatically. Both nations possess some of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, raising concerns that a major confrontation could quickly escalate beyond the Middle East. Experts have long warned that in the event of a nuclear conflict, the US itself would become a target. While major cities such as New York and Washington, DC would likely be among the first locations struck, several lesser-known areas across the country could also be in the crosshairs because of their strategic military importance. From Shreveport, Louisiana, to Ogden, Utah, a network of remote facilities tied to US defense infrastructure could become key targets in a nuclear exchange. In 2019, Russian state television even broadcast a list of potential US targets that could be struck in a nuclear attack, offering a chilling glimpse of how such a scenario might unfold. These 15 sites were identified based on factors including population density, proximity to strategic military facilities, emergency preparedness and evacuation logistics. As the US and Israel continue striking targets across Iran, fears are growing that the escalating conflict could spiral into a wider war with global consequences Honolulu, home to 357,000 residents and key military bases like Pearl Harbor, is one of the most isolated and vulnerable targets if the US was attacked Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu may appear to be a peaceful tropical paradise, but the island could become one of the most vulnerable targets in a nuclear conflict. The Hawaiian capital is home to several major US military installations, including Pearl Harbor and Joint Base Pearl HarborHickam, making it strategically important to America's defense network. With a population of about 350,000 residents, the city is densely populated, and its remote location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,500 miles from California, means evacuation options would be extremely limited in the event of an attack. Shreveport, Louisiana This Louisiana metro area is often overlooked, but it's home to one of the most powerful nuclear airbases in the US. Barksdale Air Force Base hosts B-52 bombers capable of delivering nuclear strikes globally. With a 2025 population of around 172,033, Shreveport's proximity to this base - less than six miles - makes the threat of civilian casualties very high. In Shreveport, 390,000 residents live just six miles from a US Air Force Base that houses the nation's nuclear-armed B-52 bombers Ogden-Clearfield, Utah Ogden and Clearfield sit along Utah's Wasatch Front, near one of the US's most important military installations, Hill Air Force Base, which supports the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Together, the two cities have a combined population of more than 121,000 residents, placing thousands of people close to a key piece of the nation's nuclear defense infrastructure. Despite the region's mountain scenery and suburban character, its proximity to the base could make it a direct target in a strategic nuclear strike. Evacuation could prove difficult due to the surrounding mountains and the limited number of major highways, which could quickly become congested in an emergency. Experts estimated in 2023 that a nuclear detonation in the area could result in more than 87,000 deaths. Join the debate If World War III broke out, would YOU want to know if your city was on the target list? The Ogden-Clearfield metro area is home to more than 700,000 people and also sits near Hill Air Force Base Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne may be a small city, but it holds enormous strategic importance. It is home to Francis E Warren Air Force Base, one of the primary command centers for US intercontinental ballistic missiles. Despite a population of roughly 66,000 residents, Cheyenne's role in America's nuclear missile network makes it a potential high-priority target in a nuclear conflict. Francis E Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne has been a part of America's 'nuclear sponge' since the Cold War Evacuation could prove difficult due to the region's rural infrastructure and limited transportation routes, which would struggle to move large numbers of people quickly. Great Falls, Montana Great Falls sits just a few miles from Malmstrom Air Force Base, a critical installation that oversees hundreds of nuclear missile silos across the northern US. Although the city's population is only about 60,000 residents, its proximity to one of the country's key nuclear missile commands gives it outsized strategic importance. Montana's vast distances between population centers, combined with a limited road network and harsh winter conditions, could make evacuation during an emergency particularly difficult. Just miles from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls and its 61,500 residents are surrounded by missile silos, limited roads and harsh conditions for evacuation Colorado Springs, nearing 490,000 people in 2025, houses NORAD and other command hubs, making it a high-priority nuclear target with mountainous escape challenges Colorado Springs, Colorado Nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Springs is home to several major military facilities, including the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Peterson Space Force Base. NORAD is responsible for monitoring and defending the airspace over the United States and Canada, making the region a vital hub for North American defense. With a population approaching 492,000 residents, Colorado Springs is both a major city and a critical military center. The surrounding mountains could make evacuation extremely difficult, with limited routes out of the city likely to become heavily congested during a crisis. Omaha, Nebraska About 486,051 people live in Omaha. It played a key role during the Cold War and remains essential to America's nuclear operations Omaha serves as a key command hub for the US nuclear arsenal. Just outside the city lies Offutt Air Force Base, headquarters of the US Strategic Command. The base has played a central role in America's nuclear command structure since the Cold War and continues to oversee global military operations. With roughly 486,000 residents, Omaha sits near one of the most important command centers in the nation's nuclear defense system. Severe winter weather and the region's limited shelter infrastructure could complicate evacuation efforts in an emergency. Albuquerque, New Mexico With 569,000 residents and Kirtland Air Force Base's vast nuclear arsenal, Albuquerque is a key target during a potential world war Albuquerque is home to Kirtland Air Force Base, which stores one of the largest concentrations of nuclear weapons in the United States. The city, with a population of more than 557,000 residents, serves as a key hub for nuclear storage, logistics and military research. Its sprawling layout and desert environment could make evacuations slow and difficult during a large-scale emergency. Houston, Texas With a population of about 2.3 million people, Houston is one of the largest and most economically important cities in the United States. Houstons 2.3 million residents live near vital oil refineries and nuclear facilities, making it an economic and strategic bullseye with severe evacuation issues The city serves as the country's energy capital and hosts massive oil refineries, shipping ports and critical industrial infrastructure. Because of its economic importance and strategic resources, Houston could become a major target in a large-scale conflict. Seattle, Washington Seattle's metropolitan area is home to more than 760,000 residents and lies near Naval Base Kitsap, one of the US Navy's largest submarine and nuclear weapons facilities. The region is also a global technology hub and major seaport, adding to its strategic importance. Seattles 767,060 residents are boxed in by mountains and water, living near Naval Base Kitsap, a submarine nuclear hub, with limited exits in a crisis However, the city's geography, surrounded by mountains and waterways, means there are relatively few land routes for evacuation. Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, with more than 3.7 million residents, is the second-largest city in the United States and a major economic powerhouse. The city hosts major ports, aerospace companies, defense contractors and global media organizations. Home to 3.7 million and critical industries, LA faces near-impossible evacuation with jammed freeways and limited shelter options in a large-scale emergency Its enormous population and economic importance make it a potential target in any large-scale conflict. Evacuation would be extremely challenging, as the region's freeway system is already heavily congested during normal conditions. San Francisco, California San Francisco is home to around 842,000 residents and sits at the center of one of the world's most influential technology and financial regions. San Franciscos 842,000 residents are trapped between mountains and water, near major ports and tech centers, making it a symbolic and logistical target However, the city's geography poses major evacuation challenges. Surrounded by water on three sides and connected to the mainland by only a handful of bridges, escape routes could quickly become overwhelmed during an emergency. Chicago, Illinois Chicago is a vital economic hub with vulnerable infrastructure that now home to roughly 2.7 million people Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with nearly 2.7 million residents and roughly 9.6 million people in its metropolitan area. The city is a major transportation hub and economic center, linking rail, air and shipping networks across the country. Because of its infrastructure, population density and economic importance, Chicago could become a strategic target in a nuclear conflict. Washington, DC The capital, with 684,394 people, houses the White House, Pentagon and Congress, making it a first-strike target with dense population and rigid lockdowns Washington, DC is the political and military nerve center of the United States. The capital is home to the White House, Congress, and the Pentagon, making it one of the most obvious targets in any major conflict. With roughly 684,000 residents, the city plays a central role in the nation's leadership and military command structure. New York City New York, with 7.9 million people and landmarks like Wall Street and the United Nations, is the ultimate high-visibility target New York City is the most populous city in the US, with about 7.9 million residents. It is home to Wall Street, the United Nations and many of the world's largest media and financial institutions. A strike on New York would have both devastating human consequences and enormous global economic impact, making it one of the most symbolic potential targets in any nuclear confrontation. Iran-linked hackers have launched a cyber campaign targeting US companies, raising fears that critical infrastructure could soon come under attack. Cybersecurity experts revealed Thursday that the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group Seedworm had infiltrated multiple organizations, including a bank, an airport and a software supplier to the defense and aerospace industries. Researchers at Symantec and Carbon Black discovered attackers installed a hidden malicious program, known as a backdoor, allowing them to secretly regain access to compromised systems. They did not disclose the names of the affected companies. Investigators said the hackers appeared to be spying, stealing sensitive data and positioning themselves for potential future attacks. 'These attacks are about sending a message rather than stealing information, which means any organization in the targeted country could be in the firing line,' the researchers warned. The cyber activity comes as the US and Israel launched a major military offensive against Iran that killed the country's supreme leader and several senior officials. 'Because of the heated tension in the region and ongoing attacks, it is likely Iran and its allies may also initiate cyber operations to further target their adversaries,' the researchers said. The cyber activity comes as the US and Israel launched a major military offensive against Iran, killing the country's supreme leader and several senior officials. Cybersecurity experts revealed Thursday that the Iranian hackers had infiltrated multiple US organizations, including a bank, an airport and a software supplier to the defense and aerospace industries (STOCK) Iran has previously demonstrated significant cyber capabilities, particularly during periods of heightened geopolitical tension. The cybersecurity experts warned that any future attacks could target critical sectors such as energy and utilities, transportation and logistics, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and companies linked to defense and military supply chains. The hacking group, also known as MuddyWater, Temp Zagros and Static Kitten, is believed to be part of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The activity appears to have begun in early February and has continued in recent days, even after US and Israeli military strikes on Iran, the cybersecurity researchers shared in a blog. Several organizations have reported suspicious activity on their systems in recent weeks, including a US bank, an airport and a software company that supplies technology to the defense and aerospace industries. Non-profit organizations in both the US and Canada were also affected. Researchers said the software company operates in Israel, and its Israeli branch appears to have been the primary target of the activity. They also discovered a previously unknown piece of malware, a hidden access tool they named 'Dindoor,' on the systems of the company's Israeli branch. Investigators said the hackers appeared to be spying, stealing sensitive data and positioning themselves for potential future attacks The same backdoor was later found on the networks of a US bank and a Canadian non-profit organization, suggesting the attacks were part of a broader campaign. The malware uses a programming tool known as Deno to run commands on infected systems and was digitally signed with a certificate issued to the name 'Amy Cherne.' Investigators also detected an attempt to copy data from the software company's systems to external cloud storage using a file-transfer tool called Rclone. However, it remains unclear whether any information was successfully stolen. The experts warned that Iranian cyber groups may escalate their operations, potentially combining disruptive attacks with quieter efforts to gain access to sensitive systems. 'The likely next steps for the nation's cyber actors and supporters may be multiple campaigns combining high-visibility disruption for political signaling and lower-visibility access operations for strategic leverage,' the researchers said. The attacks come as cybersecurity firm CloudSek released a threat landscape assessment warning that more than 60 hacker groups mobilised within hours of the February 28, 2026, US-Iran military escalation. They added that tens of thousands of US industrial control systems remain directly reachable from the internet, many with no authentication beyond a factory-default password. Megan Fox blatantly stole Kendall Jenner's sexy style as she continued to share snaps from naughty comeback on Wednesday afternoon. The actress, 39, recreated the model's sexy SKIMS shoot as she posed with her black thong pulled up by the back of her high platform heels as she lay on her stomach. This comes as part of Megan's new goth shoot, which dropped on Tuesday, in which she modeled thigh-high pantyhose and a black crop top for the stunning images captured by Cibelle Levi. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Copycat: Megan Fox shared a new video to her Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon in which she blantantly copied Kendall Jenner The original: If the pose looks familiar that is because Kendall Jenner did it just weeks ago for sister Kim's SKIMS shoot Behind the scenes: Megan looked almost identical to Kendall's shoot Megan's social media reboot comes after she took time off to welcome her fourth child: daughter, Saga Blade Fox-Baker. And her ex-fiance Machine Gun Kelly couldn't help but comment writing: 'Stoked i have your phone number.' Fox's new post was a massive hit as she received almost one million likes in the first two hours. Megan Fox looked like an alluring goth queen in her new Instagram post shared on Tuesday The Jennifer's Body actress wore a black crop top that flashed her flat tummy while also wearing a tiny matching thong underwear that exposed her butt Her ex-fiance, Machine Gun Kelly, 35, left a cheeky comment underneath the sizzling post, writing, 'stoked i have your phone number' She's back! In another photo she was seen modeling this small bikini top Jamie Lee Curtis isn't backing down after speaking out about the future of The Bear. The 67-year-old claimed in an Instagram post from February 17 that the show was coming to an end after the upcoming fifth season. The actress doubled down on Tuesday night at the premiere of her new show Scarpetta with her co-star Nicole Kidman when she was quizzed by Access Hollywood about the conclusion of the acclaimed FX on Hulu series, despite a lack of any official announcement on the show's potential ending. Finale: Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, doubled down on her claim that The Bear is coming to an end after the upcoming fifth season while speaking to Access Hollywood on Tuesday night at the Scarpetta premiere in NYC (pictured) The reporter said: 'People think you were confirming the show is ending.' A seemingly exasperated Jamie Lee replied: 'But everybodys confirmed the show is ending. I dont understand why thats such a [big deal]. Unless Im gonna get a call from all the people saying, "You just told [everyone]," I think everybody understood that it was the last season of the show. She added: 'If it isnt, then Ive completely blown it.' Role: Curtis has been a recurring character since the FX show's second season The Bear stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto, an haute cuisine chef who moves back to Chicago to take over his late brother's troubled Italian beef sandwich shop. Carmy isn't satisfied with merely reviving the shop, and together with his brother's former right-hand man (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and his new sous-chef (Ayo Edebiri), he sets out to transform The Beef into The Bear, a fine-dining spot worth of a Michelin star. Curtis has been a recurring character on The Bear since season two, when she made her first appearance as Carmy's anxiety-inducing mother, Donna. Announcement: Jamie Lee originally claimed in an Instagram post from February 17 that the show was coming to an end after the upcoming fifth season (pictured Tuesday in NYC) In her February 17 Instagram post, Curtis shared a photo of herself cuddling up with her costar Abby Elliott, who plays her daughter Natalie. 'FINISHED STRONG! Surrounded by an extraordinary crew and group of writers and producers and scene partners on the show that Chris Storer created, completing the story of this extraordinary family that we have all fallen in love with,' Curtis captioned the post. 'Got to finish it out with my baby Berzatto bear, @lilcutieforever.' Although Curtis caption may have left open the possibility that she was only speaking about the end of her character's time on The Bear, fans interpreted it as indicating that the show was coming to an end after the upcoming fifth season. Anyone traveling to space deserves an interstellar menu - and NASA's Artemis II astronauts are no exception. The U.S. space agency has revealed what food will be sent on the tenday trip around the moon, which is expected to launch next month. Instead of packet food or tasteless meat pastes, the four crew members have been able to individually tailor their meals to what they like to eat. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Moon munchies! NASA has revealed the food that will be sent on the tenday trip around the moon More than ten types of beverages will go with them on the 685,00-mile (1.1 millionkilometer) trip, including mangopeach smoothies, lemonade, apple cider, and hot chocolate, as well as enough coffee for 43 cups. For breakfast, the team will be able to tuck into sausages, granola with blueberries or a tropical fruit salad. Meanwhile lunch and dinner items include vegetable quiche, BBQ beef brisket, spicy green beans, broccoli au gratin and macaroni and cheese - alongside the 58 tortillas that will also be loaded for the journey. Cosmic cuisine! Astronauts' meals are dehydrated before they're sent into space. The crew are able to add water and microwave them to bring them back to a normal consistency Anyone who wants to add a bit of spice to their meal will have access to five different hot sauces during their mission. And last but not least, the crew will also be able to chow down on cookies, chocolate, cake, and puddings to satisfy their sweet tooth. NASA said: 'The food flying aboard Artemis II is designed to support crew health and performance during the mission around the Moon. 'With no resupply, refrigeration, or lateload capability, all meals must be carefully selected to remain safe, shelfstable, and easy to prepare and consume in NASA's Orion spacecraft. 'Food selections are developed in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie needs, hydration, and nutrient intake while accommodating individual crew preferences.' Food prep: The crew will use Orion's water dispenser to rehydrate foods and beverages while a compact, briefcasestyle food warmer will heat meals when needed On a typical mission day, the astronauts - Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch - will have scheduled time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have already sampled, evaluated and rated all food options during preflight testing, allowing them to select what meals they would like onboard. Each astronaut is allowed two flavored drinks a day, which can include coffee. Meanwhile, anyone wanting to add some extra flavor to their meals will have access to maple syrup, peanut butter, chocolate spread, mustard, strawberry jam and honey. The crew will use Orion's water dispenser to rehydrate foods and beverages, while a compact, briefcasestyle food warmer will heat meals when needed. The agency explained that food has been selected to 'minimize crumbs', as having tiny food particles floating around the cabin could become hazardous. Previous Apollo missions to the moon relied on early food technology with limited variety, NASA explained. This new menu, however, represents 'decades of advancement in space food systems'. While the International Space Station benefits from regular resupply and occasional fresh food, the Artemis mission requires a fixed, preselected menu. Menus are also tailored for different mission phases, such as launch, transit and reentry. Your browser does not support iframes. NASA said: 'Certain foods - such as freezedried meals - require hydration using Orion's potable water dispenser, which is not available during some phases including launch and landing. 'As a result, foods selected for those phases must be readytoeat and compatible with the spacecraft's operational constraints, while a broader range of food options are available once full food preparation systems are up and running.' The agency said food is important as it can 'boost morale' onboard and give astronauts time to come together and enjoy a meal. In a video shared to the NASA site, astronauts Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen can be seen trying out different options. 'The neat thing about the food selection is that it's so diverse,' Koch said. 'Different entrees that you wouldn't imagine can be rehydrated and actually taste good in space.' Hansen added: 'Those will be great moments in our mission, to have prepped some food and sit down or float as a crew and just have a joint meal.' NASA has previously sent crab bisque, roast turkey and blueberry cobbler to the ISS to make sure their astronauts were able to enjoy a proper Thanksgiving dinner. Crew members are also regularly sent snacks for Christmas Eve - including shortbread biscuits - and traditional food for Christmas Day. Last week, the Artemis II moon mission was delayed a second time after several lastminute issues were spotted on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The next attempt will not be until April 6 at the very earliest. Staying the night in a hotel typically involves spending money, and sometimes it can cost a lot. But a new loyalty programme could mean Brits end up earning cash for their breaks away. Popular booking site Hotels.com has launched a new scheme for UK customers. Called Hotels.comRewards, it offers members a whopping 100 in Hotels.comCash for every 10 eligible nights they stay in a hotel. This can be collected over 10 consecutive nights, or separate stays across various hotels and holiday homes. Every 1 in Hotels.comCash equates to 1 in real life, and it can be spent on thousands of accommodation options across the website. The new loyalty programme will be rolled out between April 8 and May 8 - just in time for customers looking for a hotel perfect for their summer holiday. Hotels.com-Rewards offers members a whopping 100 in Hotels.comCash for every 10 eligible nights they stay in a hotel It is completely free to join and those who are already signed up for the previous system, One Key, will move over automatically. They won't lose any rewards or tiers already collected. Even better, customers who do manage to collect the 100 reward will also unlock exclusive discounts and perks. 'Contrary to what has become the norm across much of the travel industry, loyalty programmes don't have to be complicated,' Hotels.com general manager Hari Nair told the Daily Mail. 'They should not feel like homework. Travellers tell us they want rewards that feel simple and easy to understand, so that's what we set out to do.' Hari explained the concept and added: 'It's a simple construct: stay 10 nights and get 100 back to put towards future stays at any hotel and at any time. 'No blackout dates or complicated maths required. These are your rewards and you should get to use them.' Member Prices also give customers discounts of at least 10 per cent on thousands of properties around the world. More bookings mean higher tiers, which leads to an impressive increase in savings. The Silver Tier offers 15 per cent or more off, while Gold and Platinum members are treated to a 20 per cent discount at selected hotels. Silver, Gold and Platinum members also enjoy added benefits at VIP Access properties - hotels that consistently meet higher standards of services - where perks may include free breakfast or room upgrades. The accommodation site also boasts a 'Save Your Way' feature that allows travellers to have even further flexibility on their discounts. It means they can either save instantly at the time of booking with their discount or choose to bank those savings as rewards for future use. As travel chaos continues to take hold across the Middle East, many Brits - both at home and those stranded in the region - are, understandably, anxious to know when flights will resume. In light of the wave of violence and unrest in the Middle East, Brits travelling to and within the Middle East are facing severe disruption to their holidays. Flights to many major hubs across the region have been cancelled or suspended. It comes after US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend were met with missile attacks from Iran across the region. While flights are slowly beginning to repatriate those stranded in the region, commercial flights are yet to start back up with full force. Meanwhile, last night's planned chartered flight organised by the UK Government to bring Brits home from Oman failed to take off. Here's everything you need to know about when Middle East flights are predicted to resume... Major hubs in the region, such as Dubai Airport, have been disruption as a result When are flights set to resume? It is unclear exactly when flights are set to resume. However, some airlines, including British Airways, are starting to operate flights from places like Oman. And aviation analytics firm Cirium anticipates cancellations will continue for at least a week. It will be both country and airline specific. Many airlines have ruled out the possibility of any flights being scheduled until at least Thursday, the Guardian reported. According to Travel Risk Management membership community The Trip Group, Syrian airspace will be closed until 8 March. In Iraq, the nationwide airspace closure is extended until 7 March. Meanwhile, for the Gulf states, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait have partially or fully closed airspace. Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder at AirAdvisor, tells the Daily Mail: 'If there's no further escalation, I would expect a meaningful ramp-up over the next several days on key Gulf routes. 'But a full return to normal like reliable daily frequencies, minimal rerouting, normal connection banks through major hubs, typically takes longer because airlines need to reposition aircraft and crews, clear backlogs, and rebuild missed rotations. 'Even after the first flights restart, disruption can echo globally for a week as networks re-balance.' Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder at AirAdvisor, weighed in on the matter Benjamin Wohl, chief operating officer at private jet charter company Tribeca Jets Benjamin Wohl, chief operating officer at private jet charter company Tribeca Jets, added: 'Depending on circumstances, you may see a gradual return to normal in some areas, while others are still shuttered. Timing is directly correlated to the everchanging developments on the ground and there is no telling while things are still volatile. 'Israel is beginning to consider a few inbound flights an hour to return some of it's citizens who have been stranded abroad. You may begin to see more of the same in Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, etc. within the next couple of weeks. Experts have predicted a two to five-week conflict. 'If those predictions hold, expect a normal return to air traffic in the weeks following a cessation of hostilities. Another possibility is a limited return if the fighting goes from all-out war to a lower intensity, especially if contained to one or two countries. 'In that situation, you will see what you currently see in regard to the years-long battle with Ukraine, airlines simply avoiding the direct airspace of the warring nation. As of now, only the ultra-wealthy have been able to get in or out on rare private aircrafts.' Will things go back to normal immediately? Even when airspace does start to open up, it's unlikely things will go back to normal straight away. Anton said: 'Right now, the best way to think about when flights will resume is in phases. We're already seeing the first phase: limited, tightly controlled operations returning on the lowest-risk corridors, with carriers restarting selectively and keeping schedules fluid. 'The resumption of services like London-Dubai and London-Riyadh is a strong signal that parts of the network can operate again when airspace and risk assessments allow. 'The second phase is what most passengers will feel: broader commercial schedules returning, but with short-notice cancellations and reroutes still likely. 'The region's airspace picture is not open/closed in a binary way, it can change hour by hour depending on security events and NOTAMs, and that is why airlines will continue to publish conservative timetables and then scale up only when stability holds.' Anton went on to say: 'For travellers, the practical takeaway is to treat the next few days as a fragile recovery period. Confirm flight status frequently, keep routing options flexible, and if you're connecting via major hubs, assume schedules may change at short notice while airspace restrictions remain dynamic.' Earlier in the week, travel expert Simon Calder said it is unlikely flights would be up and running at full capacity soon. He explained: 'Just bear in mind that every day that there are no flights going in and out of the world's busiest international airport, Dubai, and Doha, and Abu Dhabi, that is two and a half thousand flights and about half a million people. The numbers are really staggering. 'Every hour generally, on average, 20,000 people land and depart from those airports, and so you have a massive problem building up. 'And certainly the numbers haven't been added to because, of course, people are there, but what's happening is that people's holidays are ending and so they are being added to the back of the queue at the airport.' He added: 'So it's going to take some time to get this back to normal and I simply hope that it is done with the maximum energy - and indeed money - just to try to make sure that people are back when they need to be as soon as possible.' What airspace is closed in the Middle East? Countries across the Gulf have closed their airspaces. Airspace over the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan remained almost completely empty on Wednesday morning, flight tracking website Flightradar24 demonstrated. Have any airlines already started running flights? Last night, the first UK government chartered flight set to fly Brits home from Oman failed to take off. Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a 'total s***show'. It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not 'due to the pilot's hours clocking up'. In a statement from the Foreign Office they claimed that it was due to 'technical issues', but add that it is now expected to take off later today. Meanwhile, British Airways will run a number of flights from Oman to the UK in attempt to bring thousands of stranded Brits home from the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict. British Airways is set to run a number of flights from Oman to Heathrow The airline has announced it will run flights from Muscat in Oman to London Heathrow on March 6 and 7. The flights later in the week will be for customers who had bookings with the airline but are now stranded in Oman or the UAE. But Qatar Airways has said that scheduled flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: 'Following the reopening of airspace in the Middle East, our services between London Heathrow and Dubai and Riyadh restarted on Tuesday 3 March. The safety and security of our customers and people is always our top priority, and our flights are subject to ongoing assessments. 'We are contacting customers regarding their travel arrangements and rebooking customers affected by cancelled flights, prioritising the rebooking of those registered as away from home. We'd like to thank them for their patience and understanding and recommend that all customers due to travel to or from Dubai and Riyadh over the next 48 hours check the status of their flight on virginatlantic.com before going to the airport. 'We continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East with ongoing dynamic assessments and active changes to our flight routings based on the latest information and guidance, if required.' What's opened back up so far? Thousands of British nationals have started arriving home from the war-torn Middle East as airlines have ramped up flights out of the UAE and the Government chartered its first emergency evacuation flight. The Government appears to be relying on commercial airlines to get passengers back home, chartering just a single flight from Oman with no plans in place for a wide-scale evacuation - although this flight, scheduled for last night, failed to take off. On Tuesday, Emirates operated seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad had two departures from Abu Dhabi. Virgin Atlantic is operating a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow. British Airways has not restarted its usual flying programme from the region, but will run an evacuation flight to Heathrow from Muscat, which it does not usually serve. Wizz Air has not started any flights in the affected region. But Etihad and TUI are working on repatriation flights. When might Dubai airport reopen? While Dubai airport is not running many flights, a few carriers have launched a number of flights. In a statement, Emirates said: 'Emirates can confirm that it is currently operating a reduced flight schedule until further notice. This follows the partial re-opening of regional airspace for the safe conduct of commercial flights. 'For 5 and 6 March, over 100 flights will depart from Dubai and return. These flights will carry people eager to reach their final destinations, as well as essential cargo like perishables and pharmaceuticals. 'Emirates will continue to gradually build back its flying schedule, subject to airspace availability and all operational requirements being met. Safety is always our top priority. 'We continue to monitor the situation and adapt our operations accordingly. 'For now, customers should only proceed to the airport if they have a confirmed booking. 'We urge all customers to check emirates.com and our official social media channels, where we will publish the latest updates.' Should I cancel my holiday to the Middle East? If you are planning to head to an area with a new warning, you may be able to cancel your trip and likely be compensated. If you have a trip booked to an area unaffected by the latest escalation, it is unlikely that you will be able to claim your money back. For areas where the FCDO advises against travel, ignoring advice could invalidate your insurance. Holidaymakers already in affected areas are advised to contact their insurance provider. Speak to your insurer if you have any concerns or to confirm if your cancellation will be covered by insurance. Major tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi are continuing to welcome visitors - despite similar theme parks in Dubai remaining closed amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Theme parks Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld and Ferrari World are all open this week, with high-speed thrill rides and rollercoasters operating largely as normal, albeit without the usual crowds. And the city's most famous art gallery - Louvre Abu Dhabi, which sits on Saadiyat Island and is a sister museum to the original museum in Paris, has also kept to its usual opening hours. British tourist Beth Middleton, who visited Warner Bros. World, which spans 153,000 square metres and has just announced it's set to build the world's biggest Harry Potter-themed land, yesterday said the indoor attraction was near empty. Posting on the Facebook group Abu Dhabi Expats today, Middleton responded to a question about whether the city's theme parks were still open, writing: 'Yes they are open 10-5 and very quiet! I was at Warner Bros yesterday and had a great day.' The UAE capital's biggest theme parks, including Ferrari World, remain open to visitors this week - but it's a different story in Dubai, with many of the biggest attractions shut Another expat, Joanne Mcmullan, suggested it was a similar story at motor-racing themed park, Ferrari World, writing: 'I just walked past Ferrari and people are riding the rollercoasters.' On the Ferrari World website, the park hours are listed as 10am until 5pm until March 19 when they will extend to 10am to 8pm. Over in Dubai, however, it's a very different story with many of the biggest attractions in the UAE's most popular tourist city still firmly closed. The hugely popular Arabian-themed Wild Wadi Waterpark is closed until Friday March 6 and is advising visitors to check its official website before planning to visit. Dubai Global village, a vast outdoor celebration of world cultures, which has 3,500 shops, hasn't opened since Saturday. Legoland Dubai is also closed until Friday 'as a precautionary measure following official guidance'. On March 1, the US and Israel launched a co-ordinated attack on Iran in which the country's supreme leader was killed. Indoor theme park Warner Bros. World has also remained open despite Iranian missile strikes on the UAE in recent days Iran has responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf states, including Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, plunging the Middle East into a warzone. Brit Hollie Hill, from Lincoln, told BBC Radio Humberside earlier this week that her family's dream holiday in Abu Dhabi had been left in tatters. She said her family, including her husband, three children and mother and mother-in-law, had been 'having the time of our lives' until Iranian missiles began firing on Saturday. Describing the sound of loud bangs as 'absolutely terrifying', she said the family had received messages to their phones alerting them to the threat of missiles in Abu Dhabi, as Iran responded to Israel and US bombardments. Major hubs in the region, including Dubai Airport (pictured), have been in partial lockdown since the first strikes began on Saturday As travel chaos continues to take hold across the Middle East, many Brits - both at home and those stranded in the region. It is unclear exactly when flights are set to resume. However, some airlines, including British Airways, are starting to operate flights from places like Oman. And aviation analytics firm Cirium anticipates cancellations will continue for at least a week. It will be both country and airline specific. Many airlines have ruled out the possibility of any flights being scheduled until at least Thursday, the Guardian reported. According to Travel Risk Management membership community The Trip Group, Syrian airspace will be closed until at least March 8. In Iraq, the nationwide airspace closure is extended until March 7. Meanwhile, for the Gulf states, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait have partially or fully closed airspace. Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder at AirAdvisor, tells the Daily Mail: 'If there's no further escalation, I would expect a meaningful ramp-up over the next several days on key Gulf routes. 'But a full return to normal like reliable daily frequencies, minimal rerouting, normal connection banks through major hubs, typically takes longer because airlines need to reposition aircraft and crews, clear backlogs, and rebuild missed rotations. 'Even after the first flights restart, disruption can echo globally for a week as networks re-balance.' Netflix fans have been raving about an award-winning sci-fi series added to the streamer - enthusing 'It's so gripping, I'm totally hooked!' The show originally aired on screens from 2011 to 2015, for a total of five seasons altogether. Falling Skies begins six months after a worldwide alien invasion, with the main characters comprising a military group called 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment. ER and The Pitt star Noah Wyle, 54, plays the main character, college history professor Tom Mason. Tom - whose three sons also survived the invasion - becomes the reluctant second-in-command of the 2nd Mass. Created by Robert Rodat, the show's executive producers included Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg. Netflix viewers have been gripped by an award-winning sci-fi television series - with the executive producers including Steven Spielberg Falling Skies stars Noah Wyle as lead character Tom Mason, a history professor who becomes a fighter in a post-apocalyptic society New viewers have discovered Falling Skies since it was added to Netflix this year, with many left very impressed. One wrote on IMDb: I am totally hooked on this show.' Another commented: 'Normally not one to watch many TV-series but this one caught my eyes.' A third penned: 'Granted its not a super high budget & all but doesnt deserve the low rating it has now. 'Its entertaining, tense & not repetitive.' As well as lead actor Noah, the cast also includes Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Connor Jessop, Sarah Carter and Will Patton. It comes as true crime fans have been left captivated by a twisting new documentary series on Netflix that left them 'hooked'. As suggested by its title, Accused: Did I Do It? follows the stories of people accused of serious crimes in the US across a 10-part series that first aired on A+E in 2025. Featuring first-person testimony from the alleged perpetrators, it takes audiences into the heart of the US justice system with further testimony from law enforcement officers and witnesses. The show's synopsis reads: 'Did they do it? This is the question we all want answered when it comes to a criminal accusation. Can we trust someone when they claim they are innocent? Falling Skies originally aired from 2011 to 2015, spanning a total of five seasons on air altogether 'How do we tell a truth from a lie? This new format places this crucial and captivating question front and centre - as individuals who have been accused of serious crimes recount their experiences of the crime.' However, as viewer reviews have revealed, the real-life outcomes of the cases can sometimes come as a major shock. Taking to social media to recommend the series, a viewer admitted: 'I was absolutely fuming watching the first episode. It got me boiling.' Another said that the show is inherently full of 'twists', with others admitting that its shocking nature ultimately had them 'hooked'. The show has had similar praise on IMDb, where it has been rated an impressive 7.5 out of 10. One IMDb viewer who said that they were 'hooked' after just three episodes praised: 'You meet the accused first as they are interviewed for the show. Then you hear the crime. 'The accused attorneys tell us their view of the evidence, showing photos and videos, and sometimes revisiting the scene. The episode ends with whether they are found guilty or innocent ' Another viewer, who said that they hope the show is renewed for a second season, added on IMDb: 'I have begun watching this more recently on the "Crime and Investigation" channel (I'm in the UK) and I have been hooked! 'I love how we meet the accused. We see the defence team and see why they went the route they went with their defence.' A third viewer said that while the show is gripping, it is heavily biased and this is something that viewers should keep in mind. Young Sherlock (Amazon Prime Video) Rating: There's no shortage of Sherlocks. Since the character's creation, 140 years ago, we've seen the Great Detective in every possible guise - brilliant, bumbling, gay, grumpy, modern, and even (thanks to Disney) a mouse. He's been played by all sorts of improbables, from Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock as an all-action hero) to Ian McKellen (Holmes aged 93). He's even been a complete idiot, in versions starring Michael Caine or Peter Cook. It seems a bit of a cheek, then, for Amazon Prime to release yet another incarnation under their 'Originals' banner. This time, he's Young Sherlock, but of course that's been done before too, by ITV in 1982 (starring Guy Henry) and for the cinema a few years later, with Holmes and Watson at boarding school. But Amazon boss Jeff Bezos expects a new twist for his billions. So here it is: 19-year-old Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) is both young and a complete idiot. And the witless script is an insult to viewers with even the lowest expectations. How's that for 'Original'? Only an enormous amount of money could make a Sherlock as shh... amelessly awful as this. Amazon begins by stripping him of all the traits that make him unique. Instead of being scintillating, he's a bit of a plodder, somewhat slow on the uptake. He makes gormless, cliched jokes: 'Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing,' he tells his best chum James Moriarty (Donal Finn). He's got an eye for the girls. He's a heavy drinker, but he doesn't smoke. He wears a pin-striped blazer, like Bertie Wooster on a picnic, but never a cape or deerstalker. Hero Fiennes Tiffin (left) plays a gormless Sherlock Holmes with Donal Finn as his chum Moriarty Sherlock appears to be a bit of a plodder, somewhat slow on the uptake in the show Worst of all, far from being aloof and superior, he's a smarmy, shallow charmer, desperate to be everyone's temporary friend. Remember Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg? Imagine him as a teenager and that's Young Sherlock. One detail from Arthur Conan Doyle's stories has been retained: he does have an older brother, Mycroft (Max Irons), who is Something Important In Government. The rest of the Holmes family has never forgiven Sherlock for an incident when, aged nine, he refused to play with his little sister, who went off and drowned herself instead. Mycroft does his best for the young man, announcing, 'I've secured you a place at Oxford - arguably the greatest university in the world.' But guess what? He's to be a college servant, not a student. Isn't that Original? Mycroft hasn't thought through his wheeze. It turns out to be embarrassing to have a younger brother below stairs, especially when 'the Man Who Invented The British Empire' (Colin Firth) discovers the connection. By then, Sherlock has been seduced by a Chinese Princess who has lost some ancient scrolls - stolen from her, despite her ability to fight off gangs of robbers with slo-mo kung fu moves. That whirring sound you can hear is Conan Doyle spinning like a propeller in his grave. EastEnders has signed a Holby City star for a major Albert Square role and it spells trouble for Zoe Slater. Scottish actress Dawn Steele, 50, who portrayed Ange Godard in the BBC medical drama until it ended in 2022, will join the long-running soap as Sandra Goodwin alongside her on-screen adopted son, Joshua Vaughan. Speaking to The Sun this week, Dawn expressed her excitement about joining the show: 'I was thrilled to be asked to play the role of Sandra who arrives and throws a spanner or two into the Square! 'It was so great to go back to Elstree after the end of Holby City. Lots of the same crew (and a few cast!) are still there so it was joyful to see them all again.' The actress added that she was warmly welcomed back to the studios and enjoyed adapting to the soap's different filming style. But she revealed it was ultimately Sandra's dramatic storyline that convinced her to sign on. EastEnders has signed a Holby City star for a major Albert Square role and it spells trouble for Zoe Slater Scottish actress Dawn Steele, 50, who portrayed Ange Godard in the BBC medical drama until it ended in 2022, will join the long-running soap as Sandra Goodwin alongside her on-screen adopted son, Joshua Vaughan She continued: 'But it was Sandras storyline and character that really made me want to do it and Im sure viewers will be thrilled with another piece of the puzzle ahead of the trial, Sandras timing couldnt be better, or worse.' According to The Sun, Zoe Slater, played by Michelle Ryan, will be left stunned later this month when her long-lost son Josh arrives in Walford with his adopted mother Sandra. Sandra heads to Albert Square seeking answers about Jasmine, Josh's twin, who is currently awaiting trial for killing her father Anthony Trueman at Christmas. She is also set to expose shocking new details about her daughter's past. Meanwhile, Josh, unbeknownst to Sandra, secretly follows her to Walford while searching for her, unaware that his biological family are living nearby. Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment. It comes as Clare Bates is set to return after a whopping 18 years, and the BBC has teased the drama to come with shock first-look images. Played by Gemma Bissix, now 42, she will briefly be returning to the square as part of her on-screen dad Albert's heartbreaking battle with dementia. The character previously left the soap when she was 14 to train to be an electrician in 1993 - leaving the door firmly open for a return - which happened briefly in 2008 when she had seemingly transformed into a maneater. It comes as Clare Bates is set to return after a whopping 18 years, and the BBC has teased the drama to come with shock first-look images Gemma said: 'It's been an absolute pleasure to be back, and a privilege to be involved in Nigel's poignant dementia storyline. 'I think it's a storyline that sadly resonates with so many people and it's been a real full circle moment for me, as EastEnders is where I learnt my craft, as I was on the show from the age of 9.' In case your memory needs refreshing, Clare was a big character on the show between 1993 and 1998, and she was involved in various hard-hitting storylines tackling the likes of domestic violence and custody battles. The actress explained that the reunion gave her a unique opportunity to reconnect with one of her oldest colleagues. She explained: 'It was a long time coming, and I was just so chuffed because I havent seen Paul Bradley [Nigel Bates] in over 20 years, and so to be able to reconnect with him and work with him again felt like time had stood still. 'It was like no time had passed at all, and Paul is exactly the same lovely person he was before. 'Paul was sort of like a stepfather to me in real life at work, as we spent six years on screen together from 1993 to 1999, and Karen and I were close as well. 'They make me feel like I'm a child again, in the best possible way.' Gemma said that it was also 'lovely' to work with Steve McFadden again. She added: 'I was also really close to Barbara Windsor when I worked there before, and she got me my agent when I left, and Im still with that agency to this day, so theres such a legacy for me there. 'The funniest thing is the people who really havent changed to me are Jane Slaughter who plays Tracy, Ulric who plays Winston, and some of the actors in the market as they've been there for the best part of 20 years.' Gemma's return will see Clare open up about her long absence from Albert Square - and there will be plenty of drama with Julie once she realises how unwell her father is. EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer. Jeremy Vine has been ridiculed by viewers for 'going full Alan Partridge' after he made a toe-curling blunder live on his Channel 5 show. The broadcaster was commenting on a video of a group of people dancing, alongside the Iranian, American and Israeli flags - copying the dance moves of President Donald Trump. Jeremy, 60, was joined by Mike Parry and Labour MP Paulette Hamilton as discussions turned to the ongoing conflict across the Middle East, when the video was shared live on air. On Saturday, strikes made by the US and Israel killed the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with retaliatory attacks taking place across the region. Since, the Israeli military launched an overnight barrage that the Israelis said had destroyed key government and security compounds in Tehran. In the lead up to the events, the Iranian regime cracked down on those opposing the political policy across the country - with thousands of protestors killed. Jeremy Vine has been ridiculed by viewers for 'going full Alan Partridge' after he made a toe-curling blunder live on his Channel 5 show The videos shown on Jeremy Vine showed a jubilant crowd dancing on the street as they copied the 'Trump dance' in a social media posted clip After discussing the events, Jeremy was seen introducing the viral clip of a group of people waving flags and 'doing the Trump dance', in a nod to the American President dancing on stage to the Village People's YMCA during his campaign rallies in 2021. Iranians around the world have filmed themselves doing the same dance routine in a series of clips - one of which was shown on the Channel 5 show. Jeremy wrongly introduced the video as people dancing 'in Iran' - as he told viewers: 'We've got to show you some footage here from Iran of people dancing like Trump. 'I believe, is this in Iran? It's in Iran. I gather that's in Iran and they are doing the Trump dance which is an ever so slight movement of the hips.' After the video came to an end, he then corrected himself: 'Its crucially not Iran, and thats very important because if it was in Iran, they might all be killed. It's not Iran, it's in the USA.' Broadcaster Mike responded: 'Theyd get machine-gunned, if they were doing that in Iran now,' as Jeremy continued to apologise for his mistake. Viewers were quick to head to social media to react to the moment, with those on X, formerly Twitter, comparing the incident to Steve Coogan's awkward fictional broadcaster character, Alan Partridge. Posting the video clip to an account named Accidental Alan Partridge, the account's owner penned it was the 'best one in ages'. Viewers were quick to head to social media to react to the moment, with those on X comparing the incident to Steve Coogan's awkward fictional broadcaster character, Alan Partridge 'How is this more Partridge than Partridge?' one viewer penned, as another chimed in to hit back against the clip: 'What an idiot!?' Someone else added: 'Anybody else think Vine is becoming more Partridge than [Richard] Madeley? as another concluded: 'Of course, everyone knows how prevalent the flying of Israeli flags is in Tehran. Over the weekend, Iranians took to social media to share videos of them doing the famous 'Trump dance' after a joint US-Israel military operation killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday evening that the US had killed Ali Khamenei, as he called him 'one of the most evil people in history'. Khamenei, the chief Islamic cleric and ruler of Iran for over 36 years since 1989, has been an adversary of the US for decades throughout multiple presidential administrations. His rule saw the increased Islamification of Iran and the growth of its proxy forces in Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and beyond. His strong religious views long unsettled the Middle East and placed Iran opposite its more western-embracing neighbours like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. The president also used his announcement to call on Iranian citizens to stand up to the Islamic regime, saying it is 'the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.' Now, Iranians celebrating all over the world are publicly thanking the US president by copying his signature dance set to the song 'YMCA' performed at many of his rallies. President Donald Trump, performs his 'Trump Dance' at a rally in 2025 The videos show jubilant crowds dancing on the streets, as well as individuals recreating the fist pumping move at home with friends. They come amid a wave of celebrations from Iranians in major cities across the US and Europe. Crowds have gathered in public spaces and city centres, with demonstrators waving pre-revolution Iranian flags and chanting anti-regime slogans. In London, members of the Persian community took to North Finchley on Saturday night, with footage showing residents of the London borough blaring music from their cars and cheering, while some were seen handing out roses. Local resident Jessica came out of her house to find a scene of literally thousands descending on Ballards Lane. She told The Daily Mail: 'It's absolute mayhem, it's pandemonium. It's a scene of absolute jubilation. 'People are chanting and singing. They are handing out roses to one another and Persian biscuits. It's just joy. People are holding up pictures of the Shah, and cars are tooting in the road.' The killing of Khamenei after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum, given the absence of a known successor and because the Supreme Leader had final say on all major policies. He led Iran's clerical establishment and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard the two main centres of power in the governing theocracy. Khamenei's regime systematically targeted women - enforcing mandatory dress codes and taking control of women's employment, mobility and legal rights, often through violence from Iran's 'morality police'. In one video taken after Khamenei's compound in Tehran was hit by an airstrike, women can be heard celebrating and cheering. Footage shows smoke billowing into the sky above the complex as screams and giggles ring out from a nearby rooftop where onlookers watch the blast. 'Oh my God they hit it. They struck it. Oh my God,' one woman shouts. The videos come amid a wave of celebrations from Iranians in major cities across the US and Europe Meanwhile, an official 40-day mourning period, as well as a seven-day national holiday, was announced in Iran in the wake of Khamenei's death. During the official announcement on an Iranian state news broadcast, the anchor wore black and stifled tears during the reading of a statement from the National Supreme Council. 'God is great. God is great. With deep sorrow, it is announced to the nation of Iran that Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was martyred today in a joint criminal attack by the United States and the Zionist regime,' the anchor said in a clip posted on X. The Council described Khamenei as a revered religious Islamic figure, and said his 'long dream of martyrdom became true'. It was noted that Khamenei was killed during the month of Ramadan. According to the statement, Iranians were said to be mourning the leader's death but enemies of the country should note that 'martyrdom will spark a massive uprising in the fight against oppressors,' the outlet reported. A total of 555 people have been killed across Iran since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, the Iranian Red Crescent said Monday. Meanwhile four US service members have been killed in action as part of US military operations against Iran. Israel's rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Trump told Iran's leaders to give up the fight which has exploded across the Middle East, with missiles raining down on Israel, Arab states - including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE - and on American military bases in the region. 'These intolerable threats will not continue any longer. I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,' Trump said. He urged the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic regime. 'Be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country,' he said. 'We're undertaking this massive operation not merely to ensure security for our own time and place, but for our children and their children, just as our ancestors have done for us many, many years ago,' the President said. However, Iran has vowed it will never surrender as it rejected the ultimatum from Donald Trump to lay down its weapons. Iranian national security official Ali Larijani confirmed the country will not negotiate with the US. A much-loved detective series is returning to screens after more than three decades with an 'unruly and gritty' reboot. See-Saw Films have secured the rights to adapt the Lovejoy novels for television, following the rogue, yet likeable antiques dealer living in East Anglia. Ian McShane starred in a popular BBC adaptation, which aired on and off from 1986 to 1994. According to Deadline, it is currently unknown whether Ian, 83, will be reappearing in this new remake. The comedy-drama also starred Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury and Phyllis Logan in the main cast. EastEnders actress Diane Parish - who plays Denise Fox - portrayed Beth Taylor in series five and six. Lovejoy is set to return to screens after more than three decades - with an 'unruly and gritty' reboot The popular original BBC series starred Ian McShane as Lovejoy, while it aired on and off from 1986 to 1994 In a statement, See-Saw said they intend create a 'contemporary reimagining of the Lovejoy novels that will strip away the nostalgia of the 1980s adaptation and return to the unrulier spirit of the books.' Previously, Blue Sky acquired the rights back in 2019, but this iteration did not come to fruition. Written by Dr John Grant under the name Jonathan Gash, Lovejoy comprises 24 books published between 1977 and 2008. Deadline reported how See-Saw described the bidding war for the novels - believed to have taken place last year - as 'competitive'. Lisa Moylett, Jonathan Gash's agent, said: 'Jonathan Gash created an extraordinarily vivid and complex Lovejoy. 'A morally ambiguous, often unpleasant anti-hero brought to life through taut prose and page-turning stories steeped in the shadowy world of antiques. 'It was essential that any new adaptation kept the books front and centre. 'See-Saws bold, assured vision, led by Lisa Gilchrist and Helen Gregory, demonstrated exactly how to preserve the books wit and grit while reimagining them for todays audience.' See-Saw are also behind Slow Horses, the smash-hit Apple TV spy drama starring Gary Oldman Last month, it was reported how a three-decades old Lovejoy episode helped to solve the theft of 'priceless' items stolen from Napoleon III's tomb. In a wave of inspiration reminiscent of the TV favourite, antique dealer Paul Gostelow recognised two altar plaques missing from the French emperor's crypt after spotting identifying marks on a repeat of the comedy drama. The items had been handed to him by the Army who found them in a nearby field. Hampshire Constabulary has now been able to return the relics to the tomb in St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough after retrieving them from Mr Gostelow's home in Derbyshire 150 miles away. The wooden prayer frames date back to the 19th Century and were pinched in February 2014. Napoleon III - the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte - fled to England in 1871 after losing the Franco-Prussian war and being captured by the Germans. He died in 1873 and seven years later his widow Empress Eugenie bought a house in Farnborough and built St Michael's Abbey as a monastery. Furthermore, See-Saw are also behind Slow Horses, the smash-hit Apple TV spy drama starring Gary Oldman. The premise follows the Oscar winner's character, unkempt Jackson Lamb, who heads up Slough House - a banishment area for MI5 rejects. It is based upon the Slough House novels by Mick Herron, with five series having aired to date. In June 2025, series star Gary, 67, revealed filming for series had been completed and production on series seven would begin later in the year. An EastEnders legend made a surprise return from beyond the grave - but not all viewers were happy. Although the character died years ago, they made a comeback to screens in a poignant storyline. Lexi Pearce-Brown (Isabella Brown) empathised with returnee Clare Bates (Gemma Bissix), whose stepdad Nigel (Paul Bradley) is battling dementia. And in Wednesday's episode, Lexi's late mum Lola made a brief return to screens via a video on the young girl's phone. Lola said in the clip: 'So be kind. Just be yourself because you are kind and funny and beautiful' It is believed to have been filmed in 2023, when Lola's actress Danielle Harold was still on the BBC soap. Wednesday's episode of EastEnders featured a poignant scene between Clare Bates and Lexi Pearce - but fans weren't happy with one element of it Lexi showed Clare a video of her late mother Lola, who died in May 2023 following a battle with a terminal brain tumour Addressing Clare, Lexi herself remarked: 'I hate hospitals. Mum was here so much but I got a chance to say goodbye to her, not like you. Thats really sad.' The discussion revealed both Clare and Lexi had been ten years old when their mothers died. Clare recounted: 'He took me to the park, told me what had happened and he promised that he would always be there for me. 'We had this big hug and looking back on it that was probably the last time I really felt safe.' The heart-to-heart inspired Clare to go back into the hospital and be with Nigel - while she still has the chance. However, the episode ended with both Clare and Nigel nowhere to be found, just as the latter prepared to move to a care home. And despite the emotional tie-in, some viewers were unhappy with the inclusion of Lola's video. One wrote: 'Oh my Christ the Lola videos are back, repeat the Lola videos are back #eastenders.' Another added: 'I seriously thought we were done with these Lola videos and now theyve come back to haunt us again #eastenders.' A third chimed in: 'As if this era hasnt been abysmal enough, here comes another Lola video. Id throw Lexis phone straight into the Thames.' Meanwhile, Gemma, 42, first joined EastEnders in 1993 at the age of just nine as Clare Bates [Tyler], the daughter of Debbie Tyler and stepdaughter of Nigel Bates. She starred as a regular on the soap from 1993 until 1998 when she left Albert Square, before making a brief return in 2008. Despite being estranged from Nigel, Clare returns to Walford when news of his worsening dementia reaches her - but is shocked when she arrives and is confronted by his fragility and the reality of his prognosis. On reprising the role, Gemma said: 'It was a real pleasure to be asked to reprise the role of Clare for Nigel's storyline. Gemma Bissix has returned to the BBC soap as Clare Bates almost TWENTY years after her last appearance 'I was hoping to get the call as I think the fans wanted EastEnders to revisit their relationship. Nigel and Clare were a formidable pairing in the 90's with a very unique stepfather/stepdaughter relationship! 'It has been so great to reconnect with Paul and Karen after all these years, and it's crazy how time felt like it had stopped when we did!' She added: 'I grew up on the set of EastEnders and essentially learnt my craft there, so it's been a real full circle moment! 'Whilst it will be an emotional reunion, I hope the viewers will be pleased to see Clare and Nigel on screen together once again!' Clare's arrival will reportedly be a dramatic one, but her return will be essential as Nigel's loved ones collectively decide what is best for him n the next stage of his dementia care. EastEnders has been working with Dementia UK and experts in the field on Nigel's storyline to ensure it has been portrayed as sensitively and as accurately as possible. Ben Wadey, EastEnders Executive Producer added: 'We always knew we wanted to bring Clare Bates back to Walford as we continue Nigel's storyline, and I'm delighted that Gemma said yes. 'The stepfather and daughter duo share a complicated history and have been estranged for many years, but it was essential for us to revisit this relationship as Nigel's dementia progresses and the family start to consider his additional care needs.' EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer. The Brit Awards 2026 has meet met with dozens of complaints over 'excessive censorship' - as jokes from host Jack Whitehall were MUTED by ITV. Viewers were left furious as they tuned into the music awards ceremony over the weekend, which was broadcast on ITV live from Manchester's Co-Op Arena. While host Jack, 37, cracked a series of edgy jokes towards audiences inside the arena, a number of them were edited out with static noise when broadcast on screens around the country with a brief delay. It left over one hundred viewers complaining to broadcasting regulator Ofcom over the censorship of jokes and speeches alike. A spokesperson for Ofcom confirmed that the majority of the 148 complaints concerned 'elements of acceptance speeches being edited', while 'some related to jokes made by presenter Jack Whitehall'. During the live broadcast, Jack had one of his hosting segments muted, as he met with a table of politicians, including Manchester's Mayor, Andy Burnham. The Brit Awards 2026 has meet met with dozens of complaints over 'excessive censorship' - as jokes from host Jack Whitehall were MUTED by ITV Noel Gallagher's playful taunt: 'Up the f*****g blues' was also removed from the broadcast, despite it being past the 9pm watershed He was censored as he said: 'So many politicians! I thought I saw Peter Mandelson on the list. Oh no sorry, that was another list, my bad...' While another silence came as I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here's Angry Ginge, real name Morgan Burthwistle, joined darts star Luke Littler on stage. The social media star told audience members he was pleased the Brit Awards had moved to Manchester, hitting out at London for being 'a s**thole'. Happy Mondays stars Shaun Ryder and Bez also faced static silence as they recounted their drug-fuelled past to Jack during one segment. Elsewhere, Sharon Osbourne's tribute to her late husband Ozzy was censored, as well as Noel Gallagher's playful taunt: 'Up the f*****g blues' - despite it being past the 9pm watershed. Fans were quick to hit out against the censorship during the live event, taking to social media to complain: 'What happened to rock and roll?' Fans thought ITV were being overly cautious following the backlash at the BAFTAs last week when Tourette's campaigner John Davidson yelled the N-word slur at Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo who were presenting the award for special visual effects. The Hollywood stars looked shocked but the word remained in the BBC's broadcast which aired with a two-hour delay on Sunday before being uploaded to iPlayer. Viewers wrote on X: 'Im actually sick of this censorship Ive never remembered the brits being this bad I understand politics but I watch for how unhinged it was. ITV faced fierce backlash over the constant censorship of the BRIT Awards from viewers as it aired on Saturday 'I bet its because of the BAFTAs but this is too much like bleeping out Ozzy f*****g Osbourne at 11pm, are we for real?' 'This censorship fuzz sounds all night has ruined the awards for me not needed after ten,' a second chimed in to agree. 'Ridiculous censorship. Too shouty. Too tame. Hardly rock n roll, more horlicks and a bourbon biscuit,' penned a third. 'Can they stop beeping everything out its literally past 9 o clock ffs,' someone else wrote, while another add: 'Also not them bleeping out Free Palestine, so strange.' 'Its half 9 on a Saturday night. You might as well sack the broadcast off altogether if you are going to censor everything that might be controversial! Christ alive,' a sixth concluded. Sharon was censored while making an emotional speech to Ozzy as she accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award. She said: 'There will never be another Ozzy f***ing Osbourne and I f***ing love you.' Fans asked: 'Why censor swear words at almost 11pm? Its also a bit disrespectful considering she was saying what Ozzy would have said!' Elsewhere, I'm A Celebrity winner AngryGinge got muted when he celebrated the BRITs coming to his hometown (pictured with Luke Littler) Meanwhile Noel made a reference to his beloved Manchester City as he declared 'up the f***ing blues', alluding to the club's kit colour. But viewers could only hear the boos from the crowd - presumably from Manchester United supporters after his taunt was silenced. Bosses were even forced to censor host Jack Whitehall after he made a joke about former Labour grandee Peter Mandelson. The disgraced former minister was arrested last week as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office, following allegations he leaked sensitive information to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary. Jack appeared to make reference to Mandelson while speaking to Manchester's Mayor Andy Burnham. However, the joke didn't make it past ITV censors as viewers watching the ceremony at home heard bird noise over Jack's comments. Jack joked how the BRITs is 'the only party Andy is allowed into these days', mocking the fact Sir Keir Starmer is blocking Andy from running as an MP for the Labour party. Jack referenced Mandelson's name in the so-called Epstein Files, by saying: 'I think I saw Peter Mandelson on the list, oh no sorry that's another list!' Despite being cut from the ITV broadcast, the joke was still shared on the BRIT Awards' Instagram. Elsewhere, I'm A Celebrity winner AngryGinge got muted when he celebrated the BRITs coming to his hometown. He cheekily quipped: 'Its so great to see the BRITs in Manchester because people are now realising London is a s***hole!' Max Bassin of Geese also was muted during his acceptance speech the band won their first ever Brit Award for International Group of the Year. He said: 'I just want to say, Free Palestine, F--k ICE, go Geese!' Viewers thought ITV bosses were playing it safe and missed the 'chaos' that used to be the BRITs. Back in 2008, the Osbourne family were asked to present The BRIT Awards but didn't quite adhere to the 'no swearing on live television' rule. Not only did they fill the whole show with expletives, which prompted 128 Ofcom complaints, but Sharon got particularly angry at comedian Vic Reeves in one awkward moment. At the 2000 BRIT Awards, Robbie Williams decided to use his moment on stage to challenge Oasis star Liam Gallagher to a fight. There had long been brewing tension between the pair after Liam had branded Robbie the 'fat dancer from Take That'. And their conflict came to a head when an inebriated-seeming Robbie took to the stage whilst accepting his best British Song award and said to the audience: 'So, anybody like to see me fight Liam? Would you pay to come and see it?' Meanwhile Liam was embroiled in another controversial BRITs moment in 2010. The Oasis star was awarded a special Best Album of 30 Years award for (What's the story) Morning Glory? and took to stage to accept the gong. However, not only did he snub his own brother and bandmate Noel in his acceptance speech, but swore his way through a 10-minute-long ramble. And when he'd finally finished, Liam threw his microphone and his actual award into the audience. Martin Clunes transforms into Huw Edwards in a new first look trailer for Channel 5's scandalous drama about the former broadcaster. The two-part series, which is under the working title of Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, will follow the real-life story of how the BBC news presenter became the centre of a grooming scandal. Edwards, who presented the BBC's News at Ten for decades and broke some of the biggest stories including the death of Queen Elizabeth II, plead guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024. Doc Martin actor Martin, 64, will play the Welsh anchorman in the series, with the action showcasing how the former BBC stalwart led a double life. Edwards, who earned 475,000 a year at the corporation, secretly groomed a vulnerable 17-year-old boy while working as Britains most respected newsreader. Edwards, 64, was suspended by the BBC in July 2023 and was later convicted of making indecent images of children for which he received a six-month suspended sentence in September 2024. Martin Clunes has transformed into Huw Edwards in a new first look trailer for Channel 5's scandalous drama about the former broadcaster The drama will focus on how the former BBC stalwart, who earned 475,000 a year at the corporation, led a double life as he secretly groomed a vulnerable 17-year-old boy Channel 5 teased of the series: 'The drama explores the story of how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television - Huw Edwards. 'Starring Martin Clunes as Edwards, the series explores the newsreaders double life as it spirals out of control, leading him to make the greatest announcement of his career his total exit from public life following his conviction for serious child sexual offences. 'Edwards had a secret. Online, he was repeatedly soliciting explicit sexual photos from young men, and in particular grooming a vulnerable 17-year-old. 'He had also struck up a separate online friendship with a man who, from December 2020 to August 2021, repeatedly sent him messages containing child abuse imagery which he accessed, including so called Category A images - the most extreme.' A first look at the programme, which is directed by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Michael Samuels, sees Martin transformed into Edwards. Seen putting in an earpiece as he prepares for broadcast in a TV studio, the Doc Martin actor stares down the lens of the camera in the ten-second clip. 'Martin Clunes stars as in Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, coming soon to 5,' a voiceover rings out over the dramatic shot. It comes after a former BBC boss has issued Channel 5 a stern warning, speculating that their new drama about Huw Edwards 'will rapidly run into legal problems'. Roger Mosey, who previously headed up BBC TV News, admitted he felt the series was 'very risky' - instead noting a 'documentary approach' would have been safer. Doc Martin actor Martin, 64, will play the Welsh anchorman in the series, with the action showcasing how the former BBC stalwart led a double life A first look at the programme, which is directed by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Michael Samuels, sees Martin transformed into Edwards Speaking on Times Radio, Roger, 68, who left the broadcaster in 2013 to become Master of Cambridge's Selwyn College, told radio hosts Jane Garvey and Fi Glover that a drama would not have been his 'preferred route' of looking at the case. He said: 'Dramas involving living people are always very risky. A documentary approach seems to me to be completely legitimate and right and you should have the right to investigate 'But as we saw, you remember Steve Coogan's film made about Richard III... once you start doing a narrative in a movie of good guys and bad guys and who did it, you can run into legal problems really very, very rapidly. 'Drama would not be my preferred route of looking at this.' One BBC insider said: 'The timing couldn't be worse for the BBC. After all the recent scandals, the last thing the corporation needs is a new drama about the darkest chapter in our history. Everyone wants to forget about that awful man and move on. Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie, who resigned in November after the fallout over doctored Panorama footage of Donald Trump, has previously described Edwards's crimes as appalling. The corporation apologised for its handling of the initial grooming complaint in 2023 which was not escalated quickly enough. The Daily Mail understands that no BBC executives will be shown on screen in the drama, and it will instead focus on the grooming and Edwards online friendship with a paedophile who shared child abuse images with him. In a release for the drama, Channel 5 said: 'Building on extensive factual research over the past 12 months, including extensive first hand interviews and co-operation from those at the heart of the scandal and exclusive access to The Sun newspapers award-winning investigation into Edwards... Edwards, 64, was suspended by the BBC in July 2023 and was later convicted of making indecent images of children for which he received a six-month suspended sentence in September 2024 'This unflinching drama paints a complex, emotional and nuanced portrait, revealing how the grooming of a vulnerable 17-year old over many months led to Edwards downfall, disgrace and the end of his life in the public eye.' Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, 5 said: This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status. 'By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines. As a close collaboration between 5s factual and scripted teams this is a first for the channel. David Abraham, Founder and Group CEO, Wonderhood Studios said: This project marks Wonderhoods first step into drama and builds on our record in producing premium documentaries about challenging subjects that matter. 'Drama is also a medium with the power to uncover profound psychological truths, and we are incredibly grateful to our brave contributors in trusting us with their story. It comes as the US president is suing the corporation for $10 billion dollars over the doctored Panorama footage. The government is also preparing to publish its whitepaper in the Spring about the future of the BBC licence fee. Meanwhile, Steve Coogan insisted his film about the discovery of the remains of Richard III was 'the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did' after he lost a High Court defamation battle to a university academic. Steve Coogan's film focuses on the role of amateur historian Philippa Langley who led the search to find Richard III's skeleton Coogan and two production companies have been ordered to pay 'substantial' damages to academic Richard Taylor after a court ruled he was defamed in his film, The Lost King. Mr Taylor, formerly deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, has successfully sued Coogan, who was a writer and producer of the 2022 film, and he is understood to have been awarded a six-figure sum. The film centres on the role of amateur historian Philipa Langley who led the search to find the Plantagenet king's skeleton. The lost remains of Richard III were found in a Leicester car park in 2012, more than 500 years after his death. However Mr Taylor claimed the film made him appear 'weasel-like' and 'misogynistic'. Ms Langley had said she had intended to appear as a witness for Coogan, but was unable to do so due to ill health, adding: 'It has been the most significant honour to have my story told by Pathe, Baby Cow and Steve Coogan.' And in a statement after the ruling, Coogan said: 'Further to Philippa's own statement, it is unfortunate that due to her ill health, we were unable to put evidence before the court so that the judge could independently come to a decision on the matter, which I would have preferred. 'Philippa Langley instigated the search for Richard III. Philippa Langley insisted on the dig in the northern area of the social services car park where the remains were found. Philippa Langley raised the majority of the money for his exhumation. 'If it wasn't for Philippa Langley, Richard III would still be lying under a car park in Leicester. It is her name that will be remembered in relation to the discovery of the lost king, long after Richard Taylor has faded into obscurity. 'As already stated, the only changes to the film will be a front card, which will follow the existing card, which says that this film is a true story, Philippa Langley's story. That is the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did.' Molly vs The Machines (Channel 4) Rating: To understand how immoral, feeble, nonsensical and dangerous British laws around social media are, you only have to think about Wuthering Heights. The raunchy hit adaptation of Emily Bronte's wild romance, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff, has a 15 certificate. It's illegal for any child younger than that to see it in a cinema, even if accompanied by an adult. No one protests that's 'censorship' or an infringement of 'free speech.' But according to current laws, it's fine for 13-year-olds to have social media accounts that give them access, on Instagram, TikTok and the rest, to an unlimited slew of toxic mental sewage. These torrents of abuse, powerhosed into children's brains by the internet, can kill. Molly vs The Machines opened with the heartbreaking death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who kissed her family goodnight one evening in 2017 before going to her bedroom, where she looked at self-harm and suicide content until the early hours. Her mother found her dead the next morning. She took her own life - or, as the coroner at her inquest phrased it, she 'died from an act of self-harm whilst suffering depression and the negative effects of online content.' By the end of this documentary, it was clear that the social media companies and their CEOs are both unwilling and unable to control the foul content on their digital services. Molly Russell (pictured) in Molly vs the Machines. The teenager died by suicide in 2017 The documentary explores how Molly 'died from an act of self-harm whilst suffering depression and the negative effects of online content' Molly's father Ian Russell (pictured in 2022) has campaigned tirelessly for justice for his daughter 'They're not playing by normal human moral laws,' argued Molly's father, the tireless campaigner Ian Russell. At a minimum, some argue, the British government should do what Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is urging, and implement a full social media ban on anyone under 16. Australia has already done this, and a public consultation is under way in the UK. Personally, I'd like to see the courts go much further, by prosecuting companies that fail to police their platforms. If they bleat that it can't be done, they should be outlawed in Britain until they develop and implement a solution. Faint praise of the night: Avid foodie Alexander Armstrong tucked in to a vada pav, or a 'Mumbai burger', as he arrived In India (Ch5). This deep-fried potato dumpling, served in a white bun, proved chewy. 'It's a festival of starch,' he mumbled. I don't think he liked it. This rather artsy and stylised documentary, though, was not arguing for a ban for under-16s. It didn't even address the possibility. Instead, it took a quasi-Marxist standpoint, that the internet giants represent a new business model called 'surveillance capitalism,' making money by treating their customers as 'users' and harvesting their data. As one Silicon Valley philosopher explained, algorithms then manipulate that data to influence social behaviour, a process labelled 'computational governance.' It's a nebulous idea, best suited to a PhD paper on political science that no one will read. The reality for the rest of us is simpler than that. All the online hate content, the mantras telling adolescents to cut their wrists and the videos showing them how to do it, might be spread by machines, but it is created by human beings. Some humans are evil - and it is everyone's responsibility to protect children from them. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson have drafted in their most senior advisers as crisis talks continue after she walked away from her $100million radio contract and he fights for his job. Sandilands' longtime manager Bruno Bouchet arrived at his client's Vaucluse mansion late Thursday morning - two days after Henderson terminated her 10-year deal with ARN following an explosive on-air row with Sandilands that sparked a network crisis. Bouchet pulled up just after 10:45am in a black Hyundai Palisade, making a swift entry through the security gates. He made a beeline for the house and did not stop to answer questions. Bouchet left the property about half an hour later. Sandilands' long-standing lieutenant, Bouchet oversees the business operations and investments for his media and commercial empire, known as the King Kyle Group. A day earlier, on Wednesday, Henderson's manager Gemma O'Neill was seen arriving at her Clovelly mansion, driving her black BMW into the garage and parking next to Henderson's Range Rover. Sandilands' longtime manager Bruno Bouchet arrived at his client's Vaucluse mansion late Thursday morning Bouchet pulled up just after 10:45am in a black Hyundai Palisade, making a swift entry through the security gates A day earlier, Henderson's manager Gemma O'Neill was seen arriving at her Clovelly mansion, driving her black BMW into the garage and parking next to Henderson's Range Rover Ahead of Bouchet's visit, a woman believed to be the nanny for Sandilands and wife Tegan's son moved her car from the street into the driveway. When asked if Sandilands was holding up okay, she offered a polite 'yeh' before later being spotted driving away with threeyearold Otto in tow. On Wednesday, tradesmen were seen arriving at the Vaucluse home to clean out the gutters, only to be sent away as the national news media had descended on the property. 'You cost us a job,' the tradesmen jokingly told reporters. Moments later, Tegan was seen leaving the address only to return half an hour later. She refused to respond to questions from media. While Sandilands has yet to speak, media did catch a glimpse of him on Wednesday evening when his arm emerged from the front door to collect a sushi delivery. KIIS FM's parent company ARN announced on Tuesday that Henderson's $100million contract had been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following a fiery on-air clash last month that left her in tears. Sandilands was suspended and has been given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else faces termination. Sandilands and Henderson have drafted in their most senior advisors as crisis talks continue after she walked away from her $100million radio contract and he fights for his job Tradesmen were seen arriving at the Vaucluse property Sandilands shares with wife Tegan, 40, and son Otto, three, to clean the gutters only to be sent away due to the media frenzy ARN provided written notice to Sandilands stating that it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's services agreement with Quasar Media'. Meanwhile, a Daily Mail reporter spoke with Henderson on Tuesday, just hours before her exit was formally announced. She had travelled from her eastern suburbs mansion to Newtown, in Sydney's inner west, where she visited a wellness studio just off bustling King St with a friend, Steve Cordony, an interior designer she met through their mutual friend Pip Edwards. Despite the meteoric news that was about to drop, Henderson put on a brave face, forcing a smile and declaring, 'Good! I'm good!' as she left a sound healing session. Dressed in a white sundress and sporting a full face of makeup and what appeared to be a fresh blow-dry, the mother of one confirmed her session was 'very good'. Perhaps tellingly, she alluded to 'healing' in the wake of the bruising incident with Sandilands. '[I'm] feeling healed. Yes, healing,' she said while making a beeline for her black SUV. Tegan was seen leaving the couple's sprawling property, only to return half an hour later A Daily Mail reporter spoke with Henderson on Tuesday, hours before her exit was announced When asked when she would be back on air, Henderson remained coy, saying: 'I can't really say anything on that front at this point. I'm sorry.' Pressed on whether shed spoken to Sandilands since storming off in tears, she looked momentarily alarmed, ducked into her car and drove away. Henderson's clash with Sandilands was sparked by a remark she made about Andrew MountbattenWindsor after she began reading out his astrology chart on air in response to news of his arrest - a moment that prompted her co-host to lash out and accuse her 'fixation' with astrology of making her 'almost unworkable'. Since the February 20 incident, insiders claim Henderson and Sandilands had only been communicating via text message, ARN management, or through their respective talent representatives, Gemma O'Neill and Bruno Bouchet. The 'sound medicine' class Henderson and Cordony had attended was called Empower: Dynamic Fire Element, a 90-minute experience that costs $75 per person. According to Frequency Lab's website, the class is 'a shamanic journey that stimulates life force and action by awakening our inner fire and warrior archetype'. Students 'own their inner warrior' as they lie on waterbeds while listening to the sound of drums, didgeridoo, gongs and 'transcendental voice activations'. Henderson has long been a fan of alternative therapies, which dovetails with her interest in astrology - an interest Sandilands expressed contempt for on air. Before Tuesday's announcement, Sandilands said on the radio that Henderson would return to the airwaves 'at some stage', but didn't provide a timeframe. He told newsreader Brooklyn Ross he had to sign off on an upcoming statement from his co-star, which teased 'good news'. 'I did get some good news though yesterday,' he said. 'Anything that's got my name on it, I have to sign off on it, so I signed off yesterday on some sort of statement coming from Jackie's camp. 'The only thing I noticed is that Jackie will be returning in the future. So that's a good sign. So, the intention is to come back, which is fabulous.' His optimism about her return that morning indicates Henderson's decision to leave must have been made only hours later. While her contract is now terminated, ARN has offered Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the network. Sandilands and Henderson's professional partnership dates back more than two decades. They are seen here at the 2003 ARIA Awards KJO staff, with the exception of Ross, were told not to come to the office on Wednesday and learned of the announcement only minutes beforehand. Last Wednesday, Sandilands admitted he wished he had handled things differently with Henderson. 'I obviously upset her. Maybe, in hindsight, I shouldn't have said it on the air. But we say a lot of things on the air here,' he said. 'It was never meant to hurt her feelings and obviously it did. I regret hurting her feelings. No one wants to hurt someone. Especially someone you care for. 'I don't really know. The show is just ploughing ahead anyway. I'm just leaving this up to management,' he added. Sandilands went on to say he just wanted to be back on the air with everyone happy, adding: 'I want her to be happy and enjoy it. I also want the same thing.' He then joked he didn't care if any of the other producers or staff members were happy because he would 'swap them all out in a heartbeat' for his co-star. Sandilands and Henderson signed a landmark 10-year deal with ARN in 2023 worth $200million - the biggest media contract in Australian history. However, Henderson recently began saying she would be willing to walk away if she wasn't happy. This week, Mediaweek quoted radio industry sources as saying Henderson's decision to step away from the show was 'a long time coming' and the actions of a woman who had 'realised her worth' after years in an uneven on-air partnership. As fresh scrutiny falls on Australia's most controversial breakfast duo, new questions are being raised about longstanding bullying allegations at The Kyle and Jackie O Show. Veteran newsreader Geoff Field left 2DayFM's Sydney breakfast program in 2010 after bearing the brunt of Kyle Sandilands' brutal jokes for seven years. In the days before his departure, Sandilands had described Field as 'closer to dumb than most people think' and 'like the stepchild you can't get rid of'. At the time, radio executives denied there was a bullying problem. Now, Field has broken his silence on the crisis engulfing Sandilands, whose co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson this week walked away from her $100million contract after being subjected to a brutal on-air dressing-down. 'My late mother told me not to waste time on negativity,' he said. Veteran newsreader Geoff Field left 2DayFM's Sydney breakfast program in 2010 after bearing the brunt of Kyle Sandilands' brutal jokes for seven years As fresh scrutiny falls on Australia's most controversial breakfast duo, new questions are being raised about longstanding bullying allegations at The Kyle and Jackie O Show Geoff Field broke his silence on his social media account 'Unfortunately I didn't always take her advice.' In a social media post, Field revealed his 'messages and texts have gone into overdrive' after ARN, the parent company of KIIS FM, pulled the plug on the show - before making clear he would not be drawn further into the unfolding fallout. 'So all I'm saying is that I will no longer allow anything that affects my mental health and happiness with [partner] Jason to live rent-free in my head,' he wrote. 'I will be making no comment today or in the future in regards to what happened today. I'm sure my friends will understand the way I feel.' In the years after his exit, however, Field was far less diplomatic, his public statements on social media strongly suggesting a toxic environment behind the scenes. Journalists noted the former newsreader appeared 'riled up' whenever he reflected on his experience working with Sandilands. At the time of his exit, reports had indicated he left because he was being bullied, a claim Austereo bosses denied. In 2014, the year Kyle and Jackie O moved from 2Day FM to KIIS, Field teased a tell-all book about his former workplace which never materialised. 'Having worked in pop music radio for 16 years now - I've seen stars come and go - for some of them I'm genuinely sad with others it's a case of getting what they deserve - karma as opposed to revenge,' Field wrote. Geoff Field would later appear as a guest on Kyle and Jackie O's KIIS program, but it's clear there was never a proper reconciliation Field (pictured with Bert and Patti Newton) worked on the show for seven years 'WATCH THIS SPACE - 2014 will be a year of exposing the disgusting pranks that involved degrading people and the people that allowed them to prosper. My diary has things in it that will leave you GOBSMACKED. 'I have always kept a meticulous diary of events and situations that have occurred in my life. I would be a hypocrite if I didn't tell the truth. 'I'm almost free to be honest with you. Thankfully mates who are in a position to show a moral compass have also vowed to back me up when I expose the grubs.' Last year, Field again entered the debate about Kyle and Jackie O, posting in the comments section of activist group Mad F***king Witches, which has long been campaigning to have Sandilands removed from radio. Responding to an update encouraging advertisers to withdraw support over Sandilands' on-air comments, Field indicated he backed the campaign. 'He's 54 and she is 50,' he wrote at the time. 'Had to jump in and remind everyone! He called me a dumb old gay man when I was 45.' He later explained that while his husband Jason had urged him to step back for the sake of his well-being, he continued to follow developments closely. 'Even though I rarely comment, I look at this page often. Well done, witches and warlocks.' The renewed attention comes after KIIS FM parent company Australian Radio Network confirmed this week that Jackie O's $100 million contract had been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following harsh on-air comments that left her in tears. Sandilands has been suspended and given 14 days to remedy the breach or face termination. ARN provided written notice stating it considers his behaviour during the February 20 broadcast 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's services agreement with Quasar Media'. A year ago, Geoff publicly supported a campaign to have Sandilands pulled from the airwaves Geoff Field's husband Jason Kerr has urged him to step back for his mental health The network has offered Henderson the possibility of an alternative show, despite the pair signing a 10-year deal with ARN in 2023, leaving eight years remaining on the contract. The last straw for Henderson was Sandilands accusing her of being unfocused at work. During the on-air argument, Henderson broke down in tears when the pair were discussing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Sandilands got angry at her when she tried to read out the former royal's birth chart. He lambasted his co-star, claiming that her love for astrology was affecting her work. When Henderson attempted to defend herself and accused him of launching an attack on her, he stated he was only expressing the 'facts'. An emotional Henderson said she was deeply 'offended' by his brutal criticism. She took a leave of absence following the altercation, and had been expected to return to the show on March 2, before her exit was confirmed in an ASX announcement on Tuesday afternoon. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Henderson and Sandilands for comment. New to DailyMail+? Here are our most-read stories from the past week MAFS INSIDER: Sickening leaked group chat exposes the truth behind the 'mean girls' campaign to destroy Alissa. Channel Nine wanted it buried - now lawyers are involved 'Everyone asks why my mouth is like this': MAFS Bec reveals the real story behind her facial difference - and the celebrity surgeon uncle who transformed her life Kyle and Jackie O's explosive falling-out has been years in the making. Everyone in media knows what's going on - now industry insider ROB MCKNIGHT says it out loud MAFS INSIDER: Brook's selfish final betrayal that wasn't shown on TV, revealed by husband Chris... Plus, the leaked photo set to expose Bec's lies about Gia LIZ JONES: This picture of Kate at the Baftas says it all. We are tired of reading between the lines - it's time for the truth Shelley Sullivan divorce twist as her ex moves on with a famous heiress... Plus, the latest chambers chatter about Chief Justice dating a junior judge: THE GROUP CHAT Messy private school mum behind Reddam House WhatsApp scandal stuns with revelation about her marriage after being accused of 'cracking on' to famous dad and sending wild texts They were supposed to be Australia's Kardashians... until their brother's life of crime forced them into the shadows. Now, 10 years after Salim's wedding, we tracked down the glamorous Mehajer sisters - and they look unrecognisable I've been with smelly, filthy men like Benny Blanco. Here's the sex truth no woman will admit... I'm going to sound SO unhinged saying this: JANA HOCKING Expelled and labelled a 'monster': School insider reveals the tragic lives of the autistic Clune boys before they were killed by their 'sleep-deprived' parents in a quiet Mosman Park cul-de-sac The Jackie O problem hiding in plain sight: Kyle was out of line - but he's not solely to blame for their inevitable bust-up: AMANDA GOFF Tanya Plibersek has launched a blistering attack on Married At First Sight groom Tyson Gordon, taking aim at his sexist behaviour. The Minister for Social Services MP, 56, shared a clip to social media showing a MAFS excerpt in which Tyson, 30, said he wanted an 'obedient woman' for a partner and likened it to coercive control. 'Seriously, this guy. This is exactly the sort of controlling behaviour we are trying to combat when we talk about getting rid of coercive control,' Plibersek began. 'The fact that this is being mainstreamed on a really popular show is really disappointing.' She added that the creators of MAFS should be more responsible about the messages they are promoting on their show. 'I really think the makers of this show need to think twice before platforming this sort of misogyny,' she said. Tanya Plibersek has launched a blistering attack on Married At First Sight groom Tyson Gordon, taking aim at his sexist behaviou The Minister for Social Services MP, 56, shared a clip to social media showing a MAFS excerpt in which Tyson, 30, said he wanted an 'obedient woman' for a partner and likened it to coercive control The groom in question has developed a reputation for loudly declaring his controversial 'anti-woke' views. During Sunday's episode, Tyson doubled down on his opinions, shocking his bride Stephanie Marshall and the series experts in the process. The outspoken groom immediately got off on the wrong foot by making an outdated assertion about his partner. 'I felt like Steph didn't support me, she's very quiet. I get it, she is a female so probably didn't want to be argumentative,' Tyson told the experts. However, Steph was having none of it, and bluntly told Tyson that any relationship challenges they were facing had nothing to do with her gender. 'I don't think it has anything to do with being a female. I feel I meet Tyson's requirements, I'm goal-driven, ambitious, a family girl, I feel like I tick a lot of those boxes. But he doesn't like any of that... It's too masculine!' Steph retorted. Tyson then accused his TV wife of 'talking down' to him in a 'pretentious' manner. However, series expert John Aiken called Tyson out, saying the way he spoke to Steph was much worse. Tyson has developed a reputation for loudly declaring his 'anti-woke' views During Sunday's episode, Tyson doubled down on his controversial opinions, shocking his bride Stephanie Marshall and the series experts in the process 'Last night at the Dinner Party you called her a "temporary wife". You said if you liked her more you might pay for the full dinner bill... that she is too much like a man,' John told the controversial groom. Tyson then admitted he was at his 'breaking point' because Steph was not the 'submissive type' of woman he was attracted to. '[I'm attracted to] The more easy-going type, who is not constantly talking down to me. When someone is constantly in your face trying to challenge you, it comes across as very domineering. It is masculine in my eyes!' Tyson bluntly said. '[A feminine woman] Is the opposite of Steph. I have felt emasculated. The way I have been raised is traditional values, my dad was the breadwinner and my mum stayed home, raised us kids.' Series expert Mel Schilling then called Tyson out on his desire to have a 'submissive' woman, claiming that he wanted a partner who catered to his every need, which wasn't something the experts were prepared to provide him with. Mel called Tyson's demands 'concerning'. 'You're saying, "I want to be with someone who will lie down and give up their rights." Not someone who will try to have their needs met. Someone who will make the relationship all about you and your needs,' Mel said. Despite the tension, the couple agreed to give their relationship another go. The ex-fiancee of Katie Price's new husband has delivered a blistering warning to the former glamour model, branding Lee Andrews a 'parasite' who will 'ruin her life.' Alana Percival, 32, told the Daily Mail she believes the Dubai-based businessman, 42, who claims to be worth millions, is using Katie, 47, for the 'fame' and 'validation' she alleges he has craved his entire life. The personal trainer has now revealed, for the first time, details of a conversation she says she had with a distressed Katie shortly after the TV star discovered that Lee had proposed to Alana just 16 weeks earlier - staging the exact same rose-petal engagement at Dubai's five-star Burj Al Arab. Despite what Alana describes as her desperate attempts to warn her, including offering to meet in person to show Katie 'in black and white' the kind of man she believes Lee to be, she claims her pleas fell on deaf ears. Speaking about Lee, she said: 'He is a parasite; he gets in your brain and works himself around your body and intoxicates you and pulls you from your soul until you have nothing left. 'He is a toxic, horrible, disgusting, vile creature who lied to me from the moment we met. I literally hate his guts. He's nothing but a sad, lonely man who lies about everything. I never saw any proof about his money; I never saw any cars, or houses.' The ex-fiancee of Katie Price's new husband has delivered a blistering warning to the former glamour model, branding Lee Andrews a 'parasite' who will 'ruin her life' Katie first connected with Lee on Instagram, and the pair were married just 10 days after meeting in person. She declined to sign a pre-nuptial agreement despite reservations she is said to have confided to Alana, who claims she is far from the only woman to have been treated badly by him. According to Alana, several others were also deceived. Alana said: 'Katie reached out to me via a friend. We spoke on the phone. 'She was saying, "I don't know what to believe" and I told her it's black and white. I told her I would show her everything; I said I was happy to meet her. I told her he was going to break her down and ruin her. 'I told her he doesn't have money, he has scammed loads of people, I said to her, "Come and sit with me for an afternoon." 'The problem is Lee has painted me out to be the crazy ex, I actually get it because I can see what Katie has been dragged into and how he's been working her. 'She's swept up in his lies. She doesn't want to look like an idiot. She's now going along with a liar. I genuinely am worried for her.' Alana, whose nine-month relationship with Lee ended last November, has revealed that she received an 'intimidating' video featuring Lee and Katie. She believes the video was sent as a warning to prevent her from speaking publicly about her experience. Alana, whose nine-month relationship with Lee ended last November, has revealed that she received an 'intimidating' video featuring Lee and Katie Too nervous to reveal the full details of the video, which she says was sent from Lee's number to her phone, Alana described the 'degrading' clip as yet another example of her ex's mind games. She said: 'Lee sent me a video from his phone to my WhatsApp. It wasn't a nice video at all... it was very degrading. 'Lee's exes have always stayed quiet and moved forward, but I've been public about my experience. 'He is trying to scare and intimidate me, so I don't speak too much. He's trying to shut me up, basically. It was not only sent to me but my dad as well.' As a result of a separate incident, Alana revealed that she has filed a police report in the UK against Lee, who is currently banned from leaving Dubai following his imprisonment last year for forging his ex-girlfriend's signature to secure a 200,000 loan. She added: 'Last week, I opened a legal case against Lee. I reported the matter to the police and gave a statement, and Interpol is now involved. 'I am worried for Katie about what might happen, she's a vulnerable person and as much as she hasn't made the best choices in life, as I probably haven't, she is probably a good person.' Speaking in a new interview this week, Katie claimed she has seen evidence of Lee's fortune, insisting he paid in cash for his 36million Dubai home - a property Alana says does not exist. Alana maintains that Lee actually rents apartments, stays in various hotels, or lives with his father in a 'rundown Dubai villa.' During their relationship, they shared a rented flat. On the subject of his supposed wealth, she says she still has no idea what Lee does for a living and that he fed her a web of lies about how he earns his money. She said: 'I never knew where he was getting his money from. He used to tell me he was selling bombs, he was an arms dealer, he said that his ex-wife was Putin's niece, he told me he owned private jets and a yacht, and he lives in a massive house. 'I never saw the house, he never took me there, he would say, "I will, but I don't want to show you everything because I don't really know you." 'He's a Tinder Swindler. Lee has always wanted to be famous. He always said to me he's going to be the next Elon Musk; he said you've got to be insane, and he would say, and "I am insane."' The couple's marriage, which has seen Katie get a tattoo of Lee's name on her ring finger and even introduce him to her ex-husband, Peter Andre, via FaceTime in their first interaction in nine years, has left Alana facing the wrath of the Pricey. Earlier this month, Katie launched a vicious Instagram attack aimed at Alana, telling her to 'disappear under a bridge' and calling her an 'irrelevant little troll.' She said: 'Alana I know rejection doesn't feel nice and I'm married to Lee Andrews the man you want and will never have again. 'Your constant lies and put downs is clearly showing how bitter you are, go live your life little girl. 'I know the truth and you're now embarrassing yourself, go and have the little respect for yourself that's left. I know all about you and who you are. 'At least I'm the real woman he has found and deserves, but please just enjoy watching us build our empire as I'm having his child.' It was later confirmed that Katie, already a mother of five, is not expecting Lee's child, and Alana believes the model's fake pregnancy posts were aimed at provoking her. On the subject of Lee's supposed wealth, Alana says she still has no idea what he does for a living and that he fed her a web of lies about how he earns his money She said: 'The pregnancy 'reveal' was a bite at me because Lee always used to say he would love to put a baby in me. 'It's really sick to say you're pregnant when you're quite obviously not. 'The post that was put on her Instagram, I know that wasn't written by her, but she accepted posting it. 'Katie and I are quite similar. She has been through a lot in her life and so have I - like more than a normal person. 'We're vulnerable, not so much weak but vulnerable. We both want to be loved. I didn't ask for any of this - he was gone, blocked on everything, and I was ready to put all the trauma behind me. But then suddenly I was dragged into their lie.' Alana first met Lee in March last year after the pair connected on Facebook. He struck up a conversation after noticing she had checked in at Dubai's exclusive Kai Beach, where she had posted a photo revealing her location. In the early weeks of their whirlwind romance, Alana claims Lee 'love bombed' her, lavishing her with compliments and a string of expensive designer gifts. By September, the couple were engaged. According to Alana, Lee was eager to formalise their relationship and pushed for them to marry as soon as possible. However, doubts began to surface when she discovered he was subject to a travel ban that prevented him from flying to the UK to celebrate with her close family - a revelation she says marked a turning point. Soon afterwards, she received messages from American woman Crystal Janke, who alleged she had been dating Lee at the same time and claimed he had taken 123,000 from her. The bombshell accusations brought Alana's whirlwind engagement to an abrupt end. Lee proposed to Katie within a week of meeting, using the same staged engagement he had with Alana, and they married just 10 days later Alana and Lee got engaged in September, but the personal trainer called off the relationship two months later She said: 'The manipulation started from day one. He paid me lots of compliments, he said I had a great body, called me beautiful, everything I said I liked, he was into. He mirrored me. It was all so preplanned. At first, I thought he was a proper man. 'In Dubai, I didn't have my family or my normal friends there, things moved intensely, we moved in with each other quickly, it wasn't like normal dating. Lee was very intense very quickly. He bought me Louis Vuitton bags, Cartier rings, I would go into Cartier and buy myself rings on my lunch break - I thought I had a fairytale ending. 'But when I pulled him up on everything that didn't make sense, the relationship turned volatile. He would react angrily and say I was the problem. He knew I had figured him out. It just got worse. 'Every time I tried to question him, it would make him so angry, and it was really horrible. He crossed the line and he got aggressive with me. When I got home, my family was shocked to see me in the state I was in.' Months after the relationship ended, and just as Alana believed she had finally moved on, she was left stunned by Lee's latest move. A replica of her engagement had gone viral online - but this time, reality star Katie was in her place. While Katie, who's a mother to Harvey, whose father is Dwight Yorke, Junior, and Princess Andre, whom she shares with Peter Andre, and Jett and Bunny from her marriage to Kieran Hayler, has been engaged nine times, Alana said she had viewed her own proposal as a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Seeing what she believed to be their special memory recreated for another woman, she admitted, was deeply hurtful. She said: 'I looked at it and I thought that's my proposal... but that's Katie Price in the same place as me. I thought, what the f***, this was literally 16 weeks later. 'It was actually quite upsetting because for me that was real; that moment was very special. We were in the Burj Al Arab and there were rose petals on the floor, we had a wonderful lunch and a spa day. It was beautiful. So, that hit me. 'I'm not made of stone and of course, it was upsetting. It was a copy and paste. Surely Katie doesn't feel special after she found out that 16 weeks ago, he did the same for me and even her pictures were copied and pasted.' The Daily Mail has contacted Lee Andrews and Katie Price's representative for comment. A former radio producer has made a sobering prediction about the future of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson in the wake of their shock breakfast show collapse. ARN announced on Tuesday that Henderson's $100million contract had been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following his harsh comments on air that left her in tears. Sandilands has also been suspended and given 14 days to remedy the breach, otherwise facing termination, while Henderson has been offered the possibility of hosting an alternative show on the network. Christian Hull, who was previously a national digital producer for Southern Cross Austereo, weighed in on the drama on Wednesday, claiming the pair's professional, and personal relationship, is unlikely to recover. Taking to TikTok, Hull, 39, who has worked with the likes of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little, and Em Rusciano and Harley Breen, dismissed suggestions that the fracas was a mere publicity stunt to bolster ratings. 'For those wondering if The Kyle & Jackie O Show is just doing a publicity stunt, I can pretty much guarantee that this is the end of the show,' Christian said. A former radio producer has made a sobering prediction about the future of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson in the wake of their shock breakfast show collapse 'The show is over, it's done. I don't think you'll ever see Kyle and Jackie in a room talking to each other again.' Christian, who branched out into comedy, podcasting, and social media content creation after his stint in radio, also made a startling prediction about the future of ARN, KIIS FM's parent company. 'It's really interesting to see what's going to happen now that the show has finished,' he said. 'It's my belief that, once Kyle and Jackie O finishes the show, ARN is done. There's no one that can replace them, and I just don't think radio will ever be the same.' Christian, who credited the iconic duo for inspiring his own career in radio, said that he thought the clash was a storm in a teacup, until ARN released a statement to shareholders on Tuesday afternoon. 'I thought: "There's no way they'll have a little on-air tiff, they'll have a break, they'll recover and they'll move forward,"' he said. 'And then, late yesterday, they released information to all the shareholders of ARN, and when you're talking to shareholders you know s***'s going down. 'That was the moment I knew: "Holy s***, this is legitimate."' Christian Hull, who was a national digital producer for Southern Cross Austereo, weighed in on the drama on Wednesday, claiming the pair's professional, and personal relationship, is unlikely to recover 'For those wondering if The Kyle & Jackie O Show is just doing a publicity stunt, I can pretty much guarantee that this is the end of the show,' Christian said on TikTok. 'The show is over, it's done. I don't think you'll ever see Kyle and Jackie in a room talking to each other again.' The Kyle & Jackie O Show collapsed on Tuesday amid a high-profile feud between hosts Henderson and Sandilands. ARN provided written notice to Sandilands stating that it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's services agreement with Quasar Media'. The KIIS breakfast show was taken off-air immediately, with 'interim arrangements made for the show'. ARN has offered Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the network. Meanwhile, Henderson has been AWOL from the show since Friday, 20 February, after Sandilands accused her of being unfocused at work. During the on-air feud, Henderson broke down in tears when the pair were discussing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Sandilands became angry when she began reading out the disgraced royal's birth chart. He lambasted his co-star, claiming that her love for astrology was affecting her work. 'It's my belief that, once Kyle and Jackie O finishes the show, ARN is done. There's no one that can replace them, and I just don't think radio will ever be the same' When Henderson attempted to defend herself and accused him of launching an attack on her, he stated he was only expressing the 'facts'. An emotional Henderson said she was deeply 'offended' by his brutal comments during the clash. She took a leave of absence following the altercation, and was expected to return to the show on March 2. On Monday, it was announced that her return to the airwaves had been pushed back another week. Sandilands started Tuesday's show by revealing that Henderson would return to the airwaves 'at some stage' - however, that was not to be. Sir Paul McCartney and wife Nancy headed out for dinner at the historic Laperouse restaurant on Wednesday night, after attending his daughter Stella McCartney's show at Paris Fashion Week. The musician, 83, and his beloved wife, 66, were greeted by an adoring mob of fans clamouring for autographs as they exited the restaurant and heading quickly to their waiting car. The Beatle cut a dapper figure in a navy blue suit and classic white button-up shirt, while wrapping up warm with a striped scarf. While Nancy looked as effortlessly stylish as ever, complementing her husband with a coordinating navy blazer and matching trousers. She gave her look a trendy edge by adding a light-blue graphic T-shirt underneath and a pair of statement spotted earrings. The couple headed out for their Parisian meal after showing their support for Paul's daughter Stella at the presentation of her Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection. Sir Paul McCartney and wife Nancy headed out for dinner at the historic Laperouse restaurant on Wednesday night, after attending his daughter Stella McCartney's show at Paris Fashion Week The musician, 83, and his beloved wife, 66, were greeted by an adoring mob of fans clamouring for autographs as they exited the restaurant and heading quickly to their waiting car Paul cut a dapper figure in a navy blue suit, white button-up shirt and a striped scarf, while Nancy complemented her husband with a coordinating navy blazer and matching trousers Sat front row for the runway show, Paul was spotted mingling with several celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Hannah Waddingham. American host Oprah looked radiant in a structured salmon blazer and a white blouse as she was joined by longstanding BFF, Gayle King. While Hannah put on a leggy display in a peach-coloured satin minidress, adorned with a pearl-encrusted collar. She delightedly greeted Paul with a hug as they posed for photos together, before the music icon stopped to chat to director Baz Luhrmann. Ever the proud father, Paul later joined his daughter Stella, whom he shared with his late wife Linda McCartney. The designer, 54, looked effortlessly chic in a grey blazer and tailored trousers as she posed backstage with her father. Paul's outing comes after he confessed to buying into the criticism about himself and claims that he broke up The Beatles. The acclaimed songwriter has recently created a new Prime Video documentary, Paul McCartney Man On The Run. The project follows his extraordinary life, from the breakup of The Beatles to his time as a solo artist and a member of his later band, Wings. But as he reflected on his career in an interview with director Morgan Neville, Paul spoke about how he feels when he is criticised by people. The couple headed out for their Parisian meal after showing their support for Paul's daughter Stella at the presentation of her Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection (pictured at show with Stella He remarked: 'Whenever I hear someone damning Paul McCartney, I tend to agree with them. 'So when everyone was saying I broke up the Beatles, and I was just overbearing and all of that, I kind of bought into it.' This isn't the only time Paul has become emotional when talking about the documentary. During a screening of the release in London earlier this year, he admitted he felt 'emotional' upon seeing his late wife Linda in the programme. Linda, who tragically died from breast cancer at the age of 56 in 1998, shared four children with Paul, including Stella, Mary, 56, James, 48 and Heather, 63 - who was adopted. Paul candidly said it helped him deal with the tumultuous time he faced following the breakup of The Beatles. He said: 'Seeing me and Linda interacting is very special because, you know, she is not here anymore. Me and Linda, the kids. The music. Me and John [Lennon]. 'These memories, it is like a life flashing in front of you. There are so many cool things. Even though there are some embarrassing moments, I come out of it thinking, "Yeah, I'm OK". 'All the stuff with the kids and Linda is lovely to see. Obviously, it's emotional because she looks so beautiful. She's so cool.' A former KIIS FM employee has taken a swipe at critics who are celebrating the end of The Kyle and Jackie O Show after hosts Jackie 'O' Henderson and Kyle Sandilands officially parted ways this week. Mitchell Coombs, 29, who was once the duo's social media manager, posted a lengthy video detailing what it was like to work for the shock jocks. Admitting that Kyle and Jackie were not 'everyone's cup of tea', he told critics to think of the show's staff who were stood down on Tuesday. 'So, you're allowed to hate them, but just like don't be a d**k about it,' Coombs said in his Instagram video on Wednesday. Describing his time on the show as 'memorable', he added: 'The fact theyre done and dusted is a weird feeling for a lot of us. 'Sure, plenty of people were not fans of the show, but a lot of people are gonna be bummed about it ending. So just ease up, I reckon.' Former KIIS FM employee Mitchell Coombs has taken a swipe at critics who are celebrating the end of The Kyle and Jackie O Show after hosts Jackie 'O' Henderson and Kyle Sandilands officially parted ways this week Admitting that Kyle and Jackie were not 'everyone's cup of tea', he told critics to think of the show's staff who were stood down on Tuesday Telling followers he wanted to put his 'two cents' worth' in about the end of one of Australia's most enduring radio teams, Coombs recognised the show's reputation. 'I was the one who was running their social media for three or four years, so Ive read it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I know that there's certain people that want to celebrate their demise today,' he said. Coombs, who worked for KIIS FM between 2017 and 2021, also shared that he had spoken to former staffers who expressed shock and what he said was 'the end of an era'. He added that Kyle and Jackie 'inspired' many to get into radio and reminded that the pair had many die-hard listeners. He said the controversial duo received many supportive messages from listeners over the years, and he would print them out for Sandilands to read. 'He didnt ask me to do that, and I just thought he should know, like the positive impact hes having [with listeners saying] it was a comfort during real rough patches,' he explained. He concluded the video by saying the show's explosive demise was a 'sh** way to go'. 'Like there was no final sendoff or any sort of victory lap, so yes, you're allowed to hate them, but just don't be a d*** about it,' he said. Coombs, who worked for KIIS FM between 2017 and 2021, also shared that he had spoken to former staffers who expressed shock and what he said was 'the end of an era' Coombs' plea did not go down well with some of his followers, who celebrated the end of the KJO Show. 'Nahh... no sympathy. They hurt a lot of people for clicks. Anyone who worked for them knew what they did,' commented one person. Another added, 'Move with the times.' 'And its not ironic or rage bait people need to be called out.' A third commented: 'Yeah, nah, it was bloody awful.' According to radio industry sources, KJO staff group chats have been blowing up as producers face an uncertain future, with some feeling like they have 'nowhere else to go' within the company, as ARN tightens its belt in response to falling revenue. The Mail is told workers were 'blindsided' by the collapse of the popular program this week, which came after Kyle and Jackie got into a bust-up on February 20 over her interest in astrology - an argument that ended with her storming out of the studio in tears and eventually deciding to terminate her contract. Now, the production team behind the radio show - which is huge by industry standards - are fearing the worst, with many feeling it is unlikely they will be redeployed elsewhere at ARN because there 'aren't any jobs'. Obsessed with MAFS? Check out Daily Mail's new show MAFS Unleashed on YouTube where we give you an exclusive behind the scenes look A trio of Married At First Sight brides stepped out in style recently for a glam girls' night out in Melbourne. Bec Zacharia, Rachel Gilmore, and Rebecca Zukowski were spotted after filming wrapped, looking very chuffed to be in each other's company. Despite each bride having to deal with their own dramas on the reality show juggernaut, the trio looked carefree as they stepped out for dinner at trendy Asian-fusion restaurant Chin Chin. Bec, 35, who has been busy on her 'apology tour' following an explosive dinner party last week, cut quite the daring figure for the outing. She wore a revealing satin mini dress, with spaghetti straps that showed off her trim and toned arms. Featuring an alluring black lace trim, the low-cut dress also boasted an asymmetrical hem and a high leg split that flaunted Bec's lithe legs. A trio of Married At First Sight brides stepped out in style recently for a glam girls' night out in Melbourne. (Pictured: Bec Zacharia) Bec Zacharia, Rachel Gilmore, and Rebecca Zukowski were spotted after filming wrapped, looking very chuffed to be in each other's company Bec completed her ensemble with a pair of silver, peep-toe heels and accessorised with a black leather handbag. Wearing her locks in loose, flirty waves, Bec finished her look with a smoky eye and a ruby red shade on her lip. Rebecca, 51, meanwhile, was a vision in white, stepping out in a crisp A-line mini dress. She also wore a pair of loose-fitting lacy pants and a pair of white sandals. Keeping the colour theme going, Rebecca carried a white leather clutch and accessorised with some gold bling around her neck. Rebecca, who exited the experiment after failing to forge a connection with groom Steve Powell, 50, looked confident and poised as she strolled with her reality gal pals. Rachel Gilmore, 35, also cut quite the chic figure in a black silk halter midi-dress that finished just above her ankle. The sleeveless dress featured a high, sophisticated neckline which Rachel adorned with some gold bling. Despite each bride having to deal with their own dramas on the reality show juggernaut, the trio looked carefree as they stepped out for dinner at trendy Asian-fusion restaurant Chin Chin Bec, 35, who has been busy on her 'apology tour' following an explosive dinner party last week, cut quite the daring figure for the outing She wore a revealing satin mini dress, with spaghetti straps that showed off her trim and toned arms. Featuring an alluring black lace trim, the low-cut dress also boasted an asymmetrical hem and a high leg split that flaunted Bec's lithe legs Rebekah, 51, meanwhile, was a vision in white, stepping out in a crisp A-line mini dress. She also wore a pair of loose-fitting lacy pants and a pair of white sandals Keeping the colour theme going, Rebekah carried a white leather clutch and accessorised with some gold bling around her neck Completing her look with a pair of black peep-toe heels, Rachel accessorised with a luxe, $6,400 Christian Dior mini saddle bag. Rachel looked relaxed and comfortable as she made her way to the restaurant, despite facing her own relationship hurdles with groom Steven Danyluk, 34. As they entered the restaurant and sat to enjoy a few pre-dinner aperitifs, the trio were seen laughing and joking as they quaffed their cocktails. Displaying none of the drama that exploded during the recent, infamous cast outing to Bondi hotspot Icebergs, the brides looked to be very much in their element as they happily chatted with fans. Instead, the trio appeared to put on a united front, giggling boisterously as they bonded over their shared MAFS experiences. It comes as Bec's groom Danny Hewitt, 34, recently opened up about his bride's actions during the dramatic dinner party. Speaking to Daily Mail, Danny, 34, addressed the salacious soiree where tensions peaked, with Bec visibly losing her cool on national television. The groom described watching the fallout back as a 'mixed emotions' experience, admitting he struggled to make sense of his wife's outburst. Rebekah, who exited the experiment after failing to forge a connection with groom Steve Powell, 50, looked confident and poised as she strolled with her reality gal pals Rachel Gilmore, 35, also cut quite the chic figure in a black silk halter midi-dress that finished just above her ankle. The sleeveless dress featured a high, sophisticated neckline which Rachel adorned with some gold bling Completing her look with a pair of black peep-toe heels, Rachel accessorised with a luxe, $6,400 Christian Dior mini saddle bag As they entered the restaurant and sat to enjoy a few pre-dinner aperitifs, the trio were seen laughing and joking as they quaffed their cocktails Displaying none of the drama that exploded during the recent, infamous cast outing to Bondi hotspot Icebergs , the brides looked to be very much in their element as they happily chatted with fans Join the debate Are reality show stars justified in bonding over shared experiences, or does it fuel more drama off-screen? 'Not backing her best life,' he said, reflecting on just how raw things looked on screen. During the experts' follow-up couch session, it emerged that Bec confessed to being scared Danny might walk away, a revelation that stunned viewers and sparked speculation about the strength of their relationship. Danny confessed that he was relieved she finally voiced her fears. 'She was obviously holding that in I'm not a mind reader, you know? So it's better out than in,' he said. He denied there was any actual reason for her to worry about him leaving though. 'We were both holding back in that moment when you're both holding back, you're just not gonna get nowhere,' he said, conceding that the pair had been stuck in a frustrating cycle. One of the biggest talking points surrounding Danny this season has been his reported feud with fellow bride Gia Fleur after rumours emerged at a Dinner Party that he had claimed she was 'his type'. Danny firmly denied these claims, labelling them 'lies'. 'I don't know why she just gets a kick out of going around lying about people, especially me,' he said, dismissing the ongoing gossip as absurd. The swanky Glamour on the Grid event kicked off in fine style on Wednesday night, however, hundreds of would-be revellers were left out in the cold. The exclusive high-fashion launch party for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix took place at Melbourne's Albert Park, attracting a host of A-listers. However, many were left scrambling for a last-minute invite after Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld slashed the guest list from 800 to 500 for the soiree. Speaking to the Herald Sun, celebrity publicist Max Markson said that the guest list culling was a faux pas. 'It's embarrassing to cut a guest list in half,' he told the publication. 'It's super difficult to do because you end up p***ing off half the city, and some very influential people.' The swanky Glamour on the Grid event kicked off in fine style at Melbourne's Albert Park on Wednesday night, however, hundreds of would-be revellers were left out in the cold. Pictured: Bec Judd Markson, who has arranged Australian events for the likes of Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, and Mike Tyson, said that he would have chosen a larger venue to avoid the 'embarrassment'. 'If it was me, I would've tried to book a bigger area for the event, so everyone can come to the party, and you don't p*** anybody off,' he said. 'To p*** off so many people by cutting the guest list is embarrassing. There's no way out of it.' Markson added that it was also a mistake by organisers of such events to populate their guest lists with social media influencers. 'When I do events, I want powerful people there,' he said. 'People with money and influence. That's more important than social media.' Despite the truncated guest list, a galaxy of stars turned out for the exclusive event on Wednesday night. Known for its, often risque displays of haute couture, this year's Glamour on the Grid did not disappoint. The exclusive high-fashion launch party for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix attracted a host of A-listers. However, many were left scrambling for a last-minute invite after Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld slashed the guest list from 800 to 500 for the soiree. Pictured: Peter Dugmore and Nadia Bartel Speaking to the Herald Sun , celebrity publicist Max Markson said that the guest list culling was a faux pas AFL WAG Bec Judd led the charge, leaving little to the imagination with a revealing look that embraced this year's red carpet 'naked dress' trend. Donning a semi-sheer nude gown that sat close to her figure, Bec's dress featured netting throughout and was dotted with sparkling rhinestones. Nadia Bartel also pushed the envelope in a sheer, nude gown with a plunging neckline that showed off lots of cleavage. The former WAG had her partner Peter Dugmore on her arm, with the male model looking dapper in a grey suit. The dress included a very high split along the thigh and a very plunging neckline. Bachelor star Brooke Blurton also upped the risque stakes, stepping out braless in a bronze gown. The sheer dress included a thigh-high split, and she paired it with a pair of gold heels. She flaunted her bust in the see-through number, which left almost nothing to the imagination. Carrie Bickmore also wowed in a plunging, black gown that showed off her decolletage. 'It's embarrassing to cut a guest list in half,' he told the publication. 'It's super difficult to do because you end up p***ing off half the city, and some very influential people.' Pictured: Brooke Blurton 'If it was me, I would've tried to book a bigger area for the event, so everyone can come to the party, and you don't p*** anybody off,' he added. 'To p*** off so many people by cutting the guest list is embarrassing. There's no way out of it.' Pictured: Carrie Bickmore The frock featured large sequins throughout and was paired with matching stacked heels. Model Lara Worthington delivered high fashion, eschewing making a red carpet appearance in a traditional gown and opting for a metallic trench coat in a deep maroon. The garment opened to flash a glance of her trim pins, and Lara added a pair of grey-green patent high heels. Her makeup look also displayed some edge, with Lara choosing a smoky eye and a pink lip tint. Rumours are rife that Kim Kardashian may already be in Australia with her F1 driver love interest Lewis Hamilton. The reality star, who has reportedly been enjoying a romance with Hamilton in recent weeks, has been offered a role at the Australian Grand Prix, which is underway at Melbourne's Albert Park. Hamilton, 41, is already in the country and was seen signing autographs at the iconic race track on Thursday. There was no sign of Kardashian, but Ferrari superstar Hamilton shared a social media post expressing his excitement over being Down Under. 'Feels good to be back. We're bringing everything from pre-season to the track... Start as you mean to go on, talk soon,' he wrote on Instagram on Thursday evening. Kardashian's own Instagram account, however, currently offers few clues on where in the world she may be. Rumours are rife that Kim Kardashian (pictured) may already be in Australia with her F1 driver love interest Lewis Hamilton Hamilton, 41, is already in the country and was seen signing autographs at the iconic race track on Thursday (pictured) There is a gig waiting for Kim at the track should she show up, with Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld offering Kardashian a 'role' at the event. 'I mean we'd have to think about things a bit differently if she turned up,' Auld told The Herald Sun on Wednesday. 'We've certainly got a spare seat for her. But that's the world of Formula One, isn't it? It attracts some personalities.' Kim and Lewis appear to be taking their relationship to the next level, after enjoying a luxurious trip together in Utah just days ago. In footage obtained by TMZ, the new couple were spotted taking in the sunset at the exclusive vacation destination along the Colorado River on Saturday evening. Per the outlet, the secluded overlook is 'within striking distance' of Amangiri, an ultra-exclusive five-star desert resort. Amangiri, which offers luxury suites that range from $3,500 and over $7,000 per night, is a discreet hideaway for celebrities seeking total privacy. According to the outlet, the pair were spotted snapping a cosy selfie together before heading back toward a waiting black SUV parked nearby. There was no sign of Kardashian, but Ferrari superstar Hamilton shared a social media post expressing his excitement over being Down Under There is a gig waiting for Kim at the track should she show up, with Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld offering Kardashian a 'role' at the event The reality star and the British Formula One champion only made their first joint public outing last month at Super Bowl LX, but their recent travel itinerary suggests this romance is quickly moving into serious territory. A source also told The Sun: 'Kim and Lewis's relationship is intense but they are both keen to keep moving forward. He wants to spend as much time with her as possible, especially as he'll be back getting ready for the new F1 season in a couple of weeks. 'Lewis has been in LA, spending time with Kim and her family. They all adore him, especially her mum Kris [Jenner], who has loved having Lewis around. 'They're all really approving of this relationship. They just want to see Kim happy.' Kardashian and Hamilton have been friends for years, and were pictured with their then-partners, Kanye West and Nicole Scherzinger, in 2014 at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. Hamilton has also been close friends with Kardashian's sister, Kendall Jenner, for years, while her mother, Kris Jenner, has been seen cheering him on at the Monaco Grand Prix. Marin Hopper, the daughter of late Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper, has sued his widow Victoria Duffy over multiple assets linked to the late Easy Rider star's estate. Lawyers for Marin, 63, said in a filing in Los Angeles Superior Court that her late father's widow Victoria Duffy, 58, took actions that undermined a business arrangement surrounding the rights to Dennis's image and other intellectual property. Marin said in court docs reviewed by the Daily Mail that Duffy maneuvered around the contracts in place to gain more control. Dennis Hopper, known for films such as Apocalypse Now, Rebel Without a Cause, True Romance and Blue Velvet, died at the age of 74 in May of 2010 after battling prostate cancer. Marin's attorneys said in legal documents that an organization called the Hopper Art Trust had been established in the wake of the actor's passing to conduct business transactions over his artwork and intellectual property. The Daily Mail has reached out to both parties for further comment on the story. Marin Hopper, the daughter of late Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper, has sued his widow Victoria Duffy over multiple assets linked to the late Easy Rider star.Victoria, Dennis and Marin pictured in LA in 2003 Among the artwork that the actor created that the Hopper Art Trust handled included photos, paintings and sculptures, according to the lawsuit. In legal papers, Marin's attorneys said that Marin came to an accord in 2018 to buy portions of the intellectual property in Hopper's catalogue. Marin's attorneys said her company invested around $800,000 during the first years they came to the accord, according to legal docs. In June of 2022, Ellie Page had been appointed as the Hopper Art Trust's sole trustee, Marin's attorneys said in legal docs. While Page initially appeared to be amenable to stick to the terms of the deal, she slowly commenced withdrawing from it, Marin's attorneys said in legal docs. Marin's attorneys said that Victoria had pushed for Page to be appointed to the position in an effort to 'gain personal control' of the late actor's intellectual property 'for her own selfish reasons.' Victoria 'improperly inserted herself into trustee functions and repeatedly directed, influenced, and coordinated trust administration,' Marin's attorneys said. Marin in the lawsuit is asking the court for damages, claiming Victoria's actions breached the terms of the contract, including those involving Page. Marin said in a legal filing that Victoria took actions that undermined a business arrangement surrounding the rights to late actor's image and other intellectual property Dennis and Victoria at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California A website for The Hopper Art Trust described the late actor as 'a renowned actor/director and artist who experimented in all mediums including photography, video and film, painting, performance, and sculpture.' The trust said it's 'responsible for maintaining and operating a functional archive that serves as a resource for multi-faceted engagements in the public realm.' The organization added that it 'is committed to the preservation of the artistic career and legacy of the late iconic visionary Dennis Hopper.' The trust said it's also committed to partnerships with art industry figures including 'curators, museums, galleries, and publications' which acknowledge the late actor's work 'as not only aesthetic objects of value but also historical artifacts that chronicle the past half-century of American history in art and film.' Months before his death, a source close to the family told the New York Post that people in the actor's circle felt that Victoria's spending put stress on the actor in his final years. 'Victoria thought money was no object,' a source told the outlet in January of 2010. 'She was a mega-spender, and he said, "Please stop, please stop." Dennis struggled to keep up with her champagne tastes. 'He would accompany her to fashion shows, and shed come to Paris and buy from Yves Saint Laurent and others. Dennis is not a $20 million-a-picture actor. He has money, but not that kind of money.' Gayle King enjoyed a night out with longtime friend Oprah in Paris on Wednesday, hours after revealing she signed a new deal with CBS. The journalist, 71, and the TV mogul, 72, were spotted grabbing dinner at the iconic Laperouse restaurant, which first opened in 1766 and is one of the oldest eateries in the city. King wore a sophisticated white dress paired with a brown $1,170 Stella McCartney Falabella bag, after having attended the designer's Fall/Winter fashion show with Oprah earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Oprah showed off her slimmed-down figure in a chic salmon blazer paired with tan pants. Like her pal, she also carried a bag by McCartney, choosing the $2,050 Ryder woven style. Their dinner came hours after they were spotted mingling with Sir Paul McCartney, 83, in the front row of his daughter's Paris Fashion Week show. They were also joined by his wife Nancy, 66. Later on King flashed a bright smile as she made her way into the restaurant to celebrate her new deal. Gayle King, 71, enjoyed a night out with longtime friend Oprah, 72, in Paris on Wednesday, hours after revealing she signed a new deal with CBS Earlier on Wednesday it was revealed that King has signed a deal to stay with CBS Mornings. The broadcaster's editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, 41, shared the news to X, after months of speculation about King's network future. The post included a quote from King herself. She triumphantly told The Wall Street Journal that 'rumors of my demise were inaccurate and greatly exaggerated.' 'CBS News is my longtime home, and I am committed to our mission,' the anchor added. She has been with CBS Mornings since 2011. The host's old contract was valued at around $15 million-a-year and was set to expire this May. 'Im excited about continuing at "CBS Mornings,"' King continued. 'As always, Im open to new adventures here and ready to go.' 'It took a minute, but we got there. And now that we are here, I am all in,' she added. The remarks appeared to reference an increasingly new-look CBS News under Weiss, as well as the time devoted to the still-shrouded contract negotiations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed as of Wednesday afternoon. Sources told Variety in January that Weiss was willing to keep King on, though at a cost. The former New York Times opinion journalist saw the star as too expensive, sources said at the time. The journalist and the TV mogul were spotted grabbing dinner at the iconic Laperouse restaurant, which first opened in 1766 and is one of the oldest eateries in the city Oprah opted for a chic salmon blazer paired with tan pants She carried a $2,050 Stella McCartney Ryder bag in the woven style Earlier in the day they attended the designer's Fall/Winter fashion show Oprah showed off her slimmed-down figure after losing weight with the help of weight loss medication The ladies enjoyd McCartney's Paris Fashion Week show from the front row They were seen mingling with Sir Paul McCartney, 83, and his wife Nancy McCartney, 66 Earlier on Wednesday it was revealed that King has signed a deal to stay with CBS Mornings, after months of speculation about her future with the network A few months before, in August, a well-placed CBS source told the Daily Mail that King's contract would 'most likely' not be renewed come May, aware that Weiss was about to take the reins. Weiss's first order of business in October was laying off more than 1,000 staff - while extending a sort of olive branch to King, according to Variety. One of the options was to keep King on the air at CBS Mornings for another year though at a lower salary, sources told the publication. The Daily Mail has approached CBS for comment. Another early move from Weiss - who was appointed by also-new Paramount CEO David Ellison with the expectation of being a disruptor - was elevating King's former cohost, Tony Dokoupil, to CBS Evening News. The Brazilian influencer Karla Thaynnara has died at 25 after suffering a horrific motorcycle crash. According to Correio Braziliense, a regional newspaper based in Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, Thaynnara was killed on Tuesday, March 3, when her motorcycle collided with a car while she was driving on a highway near the city. But her family tragedy was compounded, as a posthumous post on Thaynnara's Instagram Stories on Wednesday confirmed that her father died shortly after learning of her death. According to the newspaper, Thaynnara's father, the retired Military Police officer Jose Carlos Andrade Nogueira, made his way to the scene of the crash. After seeing the wreck, he reportedly took his own life. The publication noted that police officers who arrived at the scene of the crash attempted to intervene with Nogueira, but were unsuccessful. The Brazilian influencer Karla Thaynnara has died at 25 after suffering a horrific motorcycle crash near Brasilia on Tuesday, according to the regional newspaper Correio Braziliense Her family's tragedy was compounded after her father, the retired Military Police officer Jose Carlos Andrade Nogueira (R), made his way to the scene of the crash. He reportedly took his own life after officers at the scene were unable to subdue him Thaynnara's Instagram account featured several posts with her father. An Instagram Stories post on Tuesday announced Thaynnara and Nogueira's deaths with smiling photos of the two. 'It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Karla and Jose Carlos,' the post, which was written in Portuguese, said. Their family added that awake for the father and daughter was to be held on Wednesday afternoon. A follow-up post featured a photo of a motorcycle and noted that a motorcycle caravan would be traveling in Thaynnara's honor. The account then shared a short video shot on a bike in motion as it drove down a twisting, hilly road in the countryside. 'My princess, you will forever remain in our hearts,' read the caption. As of Wednesday, Thaynnara's Instagram account boasted more than 64,000 followers. An Instagram post to Thaynnara's Instagram account announced her and her father's death and not that a memorial service would be held on Wednesday A follow-up post added that a motorcycle caravan would be driven in the influencer's honor Thaynnara's Instagram account featured several posts devoted to fitness, including her final post from February 21, which showed her using workout equipment The account also highlighted Thaynnara's love for motorcycles with several posts showing her on different bikes Many of her posts showcased her love of fitness and highlighted her workout routines, including her final post, a video of Thaynnara using an exercise machine that was posted on February 21. She also made her affection for motorcycles clear with several posts showing her on multiple different bikes, both with and without a helmet. Thaynnara included several sweet posts featuring what appeared to be her daughter. 'So beautiful, so young, such a warrior! Impossible to hear about the news and not be impacted,' read a translated version of a comment on her final post. 'May you and your dad be in the arms of God, with their caressed souls, and may the Holy Spirit comfort those who loved you and stayed, especially your daughter. I didn't know you, but today my prayers go out to you!' 'My God, what a beautiful woman, may God comfort her mother, there is no comfort for this situation ,' another fan commented. 'May the Heavenly Father be with you, my friend. May He comfort her family and her little one in good hands here, always knowing what a warrior her mother was. May you rest in peace ,' read another comment. If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. Sian Williams has opened up about her extreme anxiety battle as she recalled the time she secretly fainted live on BBC Breakfast. Beneath her calm exterior, Sian said she struggled daily with the pressures of saying and doing everything perfectly while on air. When she presented Princess Diana's Memorial opening in 2004, Sian said she was surprised viewers did not hear a thud when she fainted during the segment. 'I'm still not sure what was responsible - the hot day, sitting on a high stool for a long time, maybe I hadn't eaten enough', she said. 'My feed went down so I couldn't see the pictures and I was meant to be commentating on them. Stress happens when the demands of what you are facing exceeds the resources you have to deal with it. I just fell off the bar stool. My body said 'Nope this is too much'. Sian said she was given a 'few biscuits' by her producer and was told to get back on her stool and continue rolling. Sian Williams has opened up about her extreme anxiety battle as she recalled the time she secretly fainted live on BBC Breakfast Beneath her calm exterior, Sian said she struggled daily with the pressures of saying and doing everything perfectly while on air (pictured with her co-host Bill Turnbull in 2011) She told The Mirror: 'The viewers didn't notice because I was out of vision... but they might have heard a thud.' Sian previously explained how she had been forced to fill time while waiting for the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, to arrive. But after running out of things to say on camera, her stress levels spiked, causing her vision to become blurred. She then collapsed to the ground before coming round after a few minutes. Sian is one of the most recognisable faces on British TV, having delivered the nation's biggest stories from Hillsborough to the Padding train crash. But behind the cameras, life for newsreader Sian was far more turbulent than viewers ever realised. As extreme anxiety and self doubt began to take hold, the pressure of the spotlight became increasingly difficult to bear. In 2021, she made a life-changing decision to walk away from the successful on-screen career she had built over 30 years. In a remarkable reinvention, she retrained as a charted counselling psychologist, determined to understand the very issues that had upended her own life. Having swapped the bright lights of the studio for relaxing country walks and training to help others, Sian, 61, has found contentment. Sian now has a thriving private practice, where she offers consultancy, workshops, group and individual therapy. When she presented Princess Diana's Memorial opening in 2004, Sian said she was surprised viewers did not hear a thud when she fainted during the segment (pictured on BBC Breakfast with Dermot Murnaghan in 2005) In 2021, she made a life-changing decision to walk away from the successful on-screen career she had built over 30 years and focus on her mental health She has a doctorate in counselling psychology award by City university of London and a MSc in psychology from Westminster university (Sian pictured with her new book) She is a senior specialist psychological therapist at the Centre for Anxiety, Stress and Trauma at the NHS, where she helps emergency service staff recover from work-related traumatic events. The former anchor has a doctorate in counselling psychology award by City university of London and a MSc in psychology from Westminster university. In 2023, Prince William attended her event for first responders to listen to their mental health concerns. She is a regular host of the annual Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium, which is supported by the Royal Foundation. Sian has become a keynote speaker and has hosted major events for Google, the British Psychological Society, the BBC, ITV, ITN, King's College London, and more. Her first book Rise: Surviving and Thriving after Trauma was published in June 2016. Her next book The Power of Anxiety: How to Ride the Worry Wave is set to be released next month. It will focus on how people can turn towards anxiety, accept it, and work with it. She still continues to work as a broadcaster, albeit in a much more low-key setting, hosting Life Changing on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3 Unwind on BBC Sounds. Last week, Sian revealed how the experience of her severe anxiety getting out of control was one of the reasons why she went on to change professions. She told The Times: 'I also thought, I hope nobody ever, ever finds out about this - I mustn't tell anyone.' The mother-of-four, who's now a 'Dr', added: 'It can be hard to reveal yourself to other people when you think you've failed in case that's the end for you. I think I would absolutely be much kinder to myself now.' In 2023, Prince William attended her event for first responders to listen to their mental health concerns After working at the BBC for 11 years she left for a role at ITN and Channel 5 as the main News at 5 anchor, which she departed in 2022. Sian was also forced to think about how she wanted her life to look in 2014, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy and when she woke up from reconstructive surgery was told that her heart had stopped on the operating table. In an interview with Woman & Home at the time, Sian said her 'biggest fear' of her illness 'was not being there as a mum'. The mother-of-four, has a 19-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter with husband Paul Woolwich, as well as two older sons, 32 and 27, from a previous marriage 'For some unfathomable reason I couldn't stop thinking that I want to be here for my daughter Evie to watch her get married,' she said in the interview. She added: 'My aunt died of breast cancer, and I'd lost my mum to liver and bowel cancer and I gradually began to realise how bewildered and scared I was.' The former anchor said she went to great lengths to keep her cancer secret, adding: 'Nobody knew I'd had the operation apart from the children's teacher.' She is now in remission. In 2024, Sian celebrated her 60th birthday with a gushing post about her profound sense of gratitude as she reflected on her cancer journey. She said: 'I'm 60 today. And, honestly, the best gift is a profound sense of gratitude - acknowledging that - but for the care and expertise of the NHS cancer team - I wouldn't have made it. 'This time a decade ago I was preparing for a double mastectomy and fearful for the future. Bl***y hell - I'm lucky. Love to everyone xx.' Kate Moss showcased her impeccable sense of style as she exited her hotel in Paris after attending the Tom Ford show during Fashion Week on Wednesday. The supermodel, 52, oozed class in a chic cream trouser suit as she posed up a storm for waiting photographers after switching up her outfit to head out in the city again. The stylish ensemble featured an oversized blazer teamed with matching loose-fitting trousers. Kate added inches to her frame with a pair of nude heels and toted her essentials in a clutch bag, further accessorising the look with a draped scarf. For the evening ahead, Kate swept her blonde tresses into a low, messy bun and struck a series of sultry poses for the cameras. Earlier in the evening, Kate turned heads as she joined Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Paris Jackson at Tom Ford's Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026 show. Kate Moss showcased her impeccable sense of style as she exited her hotel in Paris after attending the Tom Ford show during Fashion Week on Wednesday The supermodel, 52, oozed class in a chic cream trouser suit as she posed up a storm for waiting photographers after switching up her outfit to head out in the city again The fashion icon went braless in a sheer black polka dot blouse as she led the glamorous arrivals. Putting on a sultry display for the cameras, Kate teamed the stylish blouse with a black leather skirt featuring fishnet detailing. Flashing a glimpse of her peachy behind, the model boosted her height with a pair of pointed black heels. She completed the look with gold diamond earrings and toted her essentials in a mini black leather handbag. Kate's appearance comes after she and her lookalike daughter Lila, 23, swapped the catwalk for a seat in the front row as they enjoyed a night out together at London Fashion Week's Burberry show last month. Between them, the pair have walked for most of fashion's biggest names, including Fendi, Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent. But for the Burberry show, the duo took on the role of spectator as they joined a string of big names on the front row. Dressed in a slip dress and black trench, Kate looked every inch the supermodel as she posed up a storm for the cameras. Join the debate Do YOU think Kate Moss still sets the standard for supermodel style? Kate added inches to her frame with a pair of nude heels and toted her essentials in a clutch bag, further accessorising the look with a draped scarf Earlier in the evening, Kate turned heads as she went braless beneath a sheer black polka dot blouse while attending the Tom Ford Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026 show Lila looked chic in a yellow coat and snakeskin print heels which showed off her bronzed legs. Kate's schedule has been super busy with fashion week, but just last month, she was also in Los Angeles for the premiere of the short drama film, Sandiwara. She also recently returned from her girls' getaway with her lookalike daughter Lila in Tulum, Mexico, where they were spotted soaking up the sun. The model appears to be ageing backwards after ditching her years of hard partying. Nowadays, Kate has regular juice fasts, and favours the week-long juice-only programme at wellness LifeCo resort in Turkey she's visited every year for the past decade. Kate is the proud owner of wellness business, Cosmoss which sells a range of own-brand teas, skincare products and a book of 150 'positive messages'. She has a 4,000 Cadillac Pilates reformer machine at home, and a personal trainer, Hortense Suleyman. A magazine source said: 'The brand is late on the bandwagon candles, serums and perfume are all quite middle-aged. But she's been having lots of meetings with people and Cosmoss is stocked in Harrods. I know she has great hopes for it.' Over the years, Kate has given an insight into how she stays looking so good, revealing her tips and tricks for maintaining her youthful look. She told Net-A-Porter: 'I stay hydrated on the flight and try to eat only light foods. I find adapting to the new time zone as soon as I arrive is helpful, so I try to stay up until my usual bedtime.' Rosie Huntington-Whiteley set pulses racing with her bold risque look at the ALAIA Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show on Wednesday during Paris Fashion Week. The model, 38, stepped out in a high-necked navy blue dress, which featured a quirky fringe skirt and a draped white hip scarf. While appearing very demure from the front, she then turned to reveal the daring open sides of the dress, exposing some major sideboob. Rosie added several inches to her already statuesque frame with a pair of strappy black heels and toted a bright red handbag for a pop of contrast. She underwent a quick wardrobe change for the ALAIA runway, heading there right after putting on another daring display at the Tom Ford show earlier in the evening. The mother-of-two joined the likes of Kate Moss, Paris Jackson, Ricky Martin, Anna Wintour, Amelia Gray Hamlin and Lennon Gallagher at the show. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley set pulses racing with her bold risque look at the ALAIA Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show on Wednesday during Paris Fashion Week The model, 38, stepped out in a high-necked navy blue dress, which featured a quirky fringe skirt and a draped white hip scarf While appearing very demure from the front, she then turned to reveal the daring open sides of the dress, exposing some major sideboob And Rosie once again ensured all eyes were on her as she arrived in a chic double-breasted blazer and matching white trousers. Flashing a glimpse of her taut midriff, she teamed the elegant suit with a skimpy black leather mesh bra and a white knit cardigan, which tied around her neck. While she accessorised with a silver diamond link necklace, matching earrings and a pair of trendy black shades. Her attendance at PFW comes after Rosie walked the Burberry runway during London Fashion Week last month. The former Victoria's Secret Angel strutted her stuff with confidence in a glamorous black maxi fur coat, while her proud fiance Jason Statham watched on. The Hollywood star, 58, showed his support as he sat front row with fellow stars Christine Centenera and Joel Edgerton. The low-key British couple first began dating in 2010 after meeting at a party in London and experiencing what Rosie called 'instant chemistry'. They then got engaged in 2016, and welcomed two children together, son Jack, eight, and three-year-old daughter Isabella. Rosie added several inches to her already statuesque frame with a pair of strappy black heels and toted a bright red handbag for a pop of contrast She underwent a quick wardrobe change for the ALAIA runway, heading there right after putting on another daring display at the Tom Ford show earlier in the evening (seen) Her attendance at PFW comes after Rosie walked the Burberry runway during London Fashion Week last month, while her proud fiance Jason Statham watched on (seen together) Last year, Rosie and Jason decided to move their family to London after living in Los Angeles for a decade. Referencing the move last year, Rosie said that their kids were having a childhood not dissimilar to her own, even spending large amounts of time in Devon where she grew up. She told The Times: 'We love the schools, the education. Theyre growing up British with their little British accents, which was important for us, and we have a great support system here. 'In the summer we go down to Devon and our children have the same experiences running around on the farm that I had growing up, and its very special.' However, she admitted that it did take some time to get used to being in the UK again after so long stateside. Rosie said she missed California's sunshine and 'eternal optimism' in particular but has grown to love living in London again. While she admitted that Jason's movie star career was a huge part of their relocation decision, as he would have been apart from his family for long periods of time while filming. But she insisted that the action star is a very 'hands-on' dad and described him as being like a 'human playground' with their children. And she acknowledged that his ability to be at home with his children all of the time is a great privilege in his line of work. Discussing their parenting style, Rosie said that they have no set rules and are both keen to get stuck into raising their youngsters. David Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS Studios after his termination from Matlock. The 38-year-old actor was fired from the drama series last October, after co-star Leah Lewis, 29, accused him of assaulting her at Paramount studios. The actor's lawyer, Shawn Holley, told the Daily Mail in a statement on Wednesday: 'David Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS Studios to address false and misleading allegations that caused substantial professional and reputational harm.' She went on to say that he 'will present real-time text communications and evidence that directly contradicts prior public characterizations of the interaction at issue.' Holley added that this evidence was 'not fully considered' before Del Rio was fired. 'Mr. Del Rio looks forward to resolving this matter through the appropriate legal forum and has faith that a full evidentiary review will establish the truth and restore his professional reputation.' David Del Rio, 38, has initiated arbitration against CBS Studios after his termination from Matlock; He is pictured in 2022 The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Lewis for comment, while CBS Studios declined to respond. Del Rio was escorted off the Paramount lot and fired from the Matlock reboot in October 2025 following Lewis' allegations that he sexually assaulted her. He has denied the claim. Although CBS reopened the investigation, the network ultimately did not reverse its decision. Additional evidence obtained by Del Rio's legal team will be presented at arbitration, a source told TMZ. The source added that Del Rio 'fully cooperated' in both investigations, yet he was not reinstated, even though CBS reportedly downgraded the characterization of the claims from sexual assault to unwelcome sexual conduct. The insider also claimed that CBS asked Del Rio to remain silent and refrain from contacting his representatives or legal team during the process. A source close to the studio rejected the claim that Del Rio was denied representation. Last month it was reported that Del Rio wanted CBS to release the findings of its reopened sexual assault case against him. The actor was fired from the drama series last October, after co-star Leah Lewis, 29, accused him of assaulting her at Paramount studios; They are seen in a still from Matlock Del Rio's lawyer, Shawn Holley, told the Daily Mail in a statement on Wednesday that he initiated the arbitration 'to address false and misleading allegations that caused substantial professional and reputational harm'; He is seen in 2024 Del Rio was escorted off the Paramount lot and fired from the Matlock reboot in October 2025 following Lewis' allegations that he sexually assaulted her. He has denied the claim; Lewis pictured in 2025 The case was revisited in November via an internal investigation, in which Del Rio claimed he provided evidence proving his innocence. In November, Del Rio was interviewed by network investigators, with his lawyer present. Other people linked to the incident were also interviewed as part of the reopened probe, sources told TMZ last year. Del Rio was escorted off the premises following the allegation and prior to his ouster, insiders told the outlet. CBS Studios subsequently confirmed that his character, Billy Martinez, would be written out of storylines for the second half of season two. At the time, an insider said that filming had resumed following a hiatus. His lawyer, Holley, has previously represented high-profile clients, including Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan. Amid the drama, Matlock - which premiered in September 2024 - has been renewed for a third season. In the wake of Lewis's allegation, Del Rio has reportedly leaned on his wife, Katherine Del Rio, for support. The couple, who married in April 2018, share daughters Lillian, two, and Coco, one. Kathy Bates, Del Rio, and Lewis are pictured on the series The father of two unexpectedly appeared on Instagram last fall as his wife shared a family photo with him and the kids. 'Belated Thanksgiving fun!' she wrote, adding, 'Deeply thankful for my family who always show up for the girls and I.' Meanwhile, Lewis took to Instagram in the wake of her allegations against her costar, posing in a photo alongside her mother. 'Mom is here, we're moving forward in love and strength,' she captioned the shot. 'I'm in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we're moving forward in strength. Key word, strength.' Fantastic Four star Ioan Gruffudd won a major victory Wednesday in his ugly court battle with his ex-wife Alice Evans when a Los Angeles judge ruled that a domestic violence restraining order against her will be renewed for five years. Evans, 57, remained calm and subdued as Judge Michael Convey announced his decision, while Gruffudd - sitting at the opposite end of a long table - also displayed little emotion. Neither wanted to comment to the Daily Mail after the ruling. On the opening days of their trial that started last week, Gruffudd, 52, recounted a years-long campaign of online harassment and abuse waged by Evans, targeting him and his new wife, Australian actress Bianca Wallace, 33, which led them to seek and win a three-year restraining order against Alice in 2022. Evans confessed on the witness stand Wednesday to bombarding social media sites with denigrating and false posts about her former spouse and his new wife and offered apologies to both Gruffudd and Wallace. She told the court how 'ashamed and regretful' she was - and assured Judge Convey that her online trash-talking was a thing of the past. But Judge Convey didn't buy her attempts at contrition, citing the 'multiple' times she violated the original restraining order, which called for her to stay 100 feet away from Gruffudd and Wallace and not to post negative comments about them online. Ioan Gruffudd, 52, won a major court victory on Wednesday after a Los Angeles judge renewed a five-year restraining order against his ex-wife, Alice Evans, 57; They are seen arriving in court on February 26 The judge granted the Welsh actor's request to renew the restraining order, and in a 75-minute summing up of the evidence presented over seven days of trial he told Evans Wednesday that she had carried out a 'concerted, focused, intentional and caustic campaign of denigration' aimed at Gruffudd and Wallace. Evans's 'threats of force and intimidation.caused Ioan to fear for his and Bianca's physical safety,' he said. Her 'pattern of abuse' isolated him from his children. 'Her vow to "dedicate her life to fighting him" and ruin his career, threatened his ability to provide for his children.' Gruffudd and Evans split in early 2021 and went through a messy divorce that was final in 2023. Since then they've been in a bitter fight over money and their daughters Ella, 16, and Elsie, 12. In April last year, Gruffudd married Wallace, who gave birth to their daughter, Mila, in November. Judge Convey said he was particularly disturbed by an incident which happened in front of the children where Evans 'screamed at Gruffudd at the top of her lungs,' and told him she was going to 'Amber Heard' him, and told the girls, 'If daddy's creepy with you let me know.' 'This is harassment,' said the judge who cited another occasion, where Evans disclosed online that Wallace suffers from multiple sclerosis, causing distress to Bianca. 'This is emotional abuse - this is coercive control,' he continued. Of Evans's expressions of regret in the witness box about her harassment of her former spouse and his new wife, Judge Convey asked, 'Is it true remorse? I am not persuaded. But it is a positive step forward.' He conceded that Evans's online trash-talking 'has abated somewhat - it's not at the same level of violence or hate. But there has not been sufficient showing of responsibility.' Gruffudd told the court last week how years of online harassment by Evans against him and his new wife, Bianca Wallace, 33, led to them seeking a three-year restraining order against her in 2022; Gruffudd and Wallace seen in February The judge granted the actor's request to renew the restraining order and told Evans that she had carried out an 'intentional and caustic campaign of denigration' aimed at Gruffudd and Wallace The judge, who told the court that he had thought about renewing the restraining order permanently rather than just for five years, said it 'is incumbent on Alice to get therapy. And he warned her that violating the new restraining order 'could lead to criminal prosecution.' He also urged both Evans and Gruffudd, who hasn't seen their daughters for two years, according to Evans, to 'find a way to co-parent' to give him the chance to be a part of the girls' lives again. Evans - wearing a black jacket over a pink and white patterned long skirt at Wednesday's court proceeding - didn't want to talk about the judge's ruling. Nor did Gruffudd, sporting a dark suit and tie as he has for the length of the trial. But Gruffudd's attorney, Joseph Langlois, told the Daily Mail, 'You have to start somewhere and this is a start for Alice to correct her life. 'The judge gave her some good advice and I'm hopeful going forward that she'll fix things, that she'll change and turn her life around.' Earlier Langlois and Evans's attorney, Janina Verano, presented closing statements respectively for and against the renewal of the restraining order. Langlois told the court that the legal standard for renewing an order is that 'the protected parties have a reasonable fear of future abuse.' Evans, he said, had violated the previous restraining order against her 'almost too many times to count.' 'Alice's abuse has endangered the physical safety and well-being of the protected parties (Gruffudd and Wallace) and their infant daughter. She intended to hurt him economically and damage his career.' Citing Wallace's testimony last week about her and her three-month old baby receiving death threats as a result of Evans's derogatory social media posts, Langlois said Bianca could face the danger of physical violence from 'some unhinged follower of Alice .who has drunk her poison.who gets riled up by her posts and wants to do her (Bianca) harm.' Gruffudd married Wallace in April last year and she gave birth to their daughter, Mila, in November; They are seen in 2025 Gruffudd and Evans, who have daughters Ella, 16, and Elsie, 13, finalized their divorce in 2023 and have since been locked in a bitter dispute over restraining orders, custody and money Noting that Evans's 'relentless campaign of abuse spanned five years from 2021 to 2025,' Langlois said Evans was 'driven by an insatiable desire for revenge over her emotions about her divorce. 'Ioan and Bianca have a reasonable fear that Alice will continue her behavior, based on her many violations of the restraining order.' He added, 'Alice cannot remediate the damage she has done. Her derogatory posts on the internet are available forever for all to see.' Langlois scoffed at Evans's 'unconvincing show of remorse' last week and her claim to being sorry about her online harassment of Gruffudd and Wallace, saying, 'Her confession was nowhere near good enough to prove that she has moved on. 'Alice has a lack of true contrition. She is still denying and making excuses for her abusive behavior. She has never taken any steps to reform her abusive character.' Evans's attorney, Verano, told the court that when Evans embarked on her online harassment of Gruffudd in 2021, 'It was the end of covid, she was isolated, she was facing the loss of her marriage.' Any hope of reconciling with Gruffudd was 'crushed' when she learned he was romantically involved with Wallace. 'She lost her mind, she was devastated,' said Verano. But today, her lawyer went on, 'Alice is in a very different place. She has moved on with her life.' Verano insisted that Evans's abusive emails and texts had stopped. 'There are no threats. Alice has deactivated her Twitter account,' she told the court. She added that while some of Evans's more recent social media posts 'talk about what she's been through.they are not meant to disturb Ioan's peace. Alice's conduct has changed quite a bit.' The three-year RO imposed on Evans in August 2022 impacted her ability to work and travel, said Verano, who told the court that she had lost jobs because of the RO. She also said that flying into the USA with her daughters, Evans and the girls are always detained at airports, 'which frightens the girls because they're afraid she might end up in jail.' Join the debate Was the judge right to renew the restraining order? The former couple met on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 1999 and married in 2007; seen in 2015 She said that renewing the RO, which has a 'stay away' clause requiring Evans to keep 100 feet away from Gruffudd, would mean that her daughters would have to choose which parent shows up at their school graduations and other family events. Verano closed asking Judge Convey to deny Gruffudd's request to renew the RO, telling the court, 'Alice is learning. She has grown.' Wednesday's RO ruling marks the end of the first phase of what's expected to be a nine-day trial. The second phase this week will deal with the child and spousal support disputes of the former couple who spent more than 20 years together. Evans claims she's broke and wants the court to order him to increase the $1,500 a month he pays her in spousal support and the $3,000 a month he pays in child support. Gruffudd maintains that their girls have been 'poisoned and alienated' against him by their mother. He wants to stop paying spousal support altogether, 'based upon Alice's persistent domestic abuse of him and her many violations of the restraining order' and insists that he has already 'overpaid' Evans by almost $400,000. Kyle Sandilands is safeguarding his contract against termination, according to a new report. The radio titan has 'called in lawyers' and is 'preparing to sue' ARN should his $100 million contract be terminated following the collapse of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, The Australian reported on Thursday. Sandilands, 54, is reportedly seeking a payout for the remainder of that contract, on which he has eight years and $88 million remaining. The shock jock was accused of 'serious misconduct' after his spectacular on-air clash with co-star Jackie 'O' Henderson, leading to Henderson quitting the show. Sandilands is said to have been 'caught completely off-guard' by the misconduct allegation as he had been given free rein on the air, with two full-time censors employed by The Kyle and Jackie O Show to ensure he is safeguarded. The radio star will argue that ARN has no justifiable cause to terminate his contract as the network had promised to be fully liable for his on-air comments, the publication reports. Kyle Sandilands (pictured) is safeguarding his contract against termination, according to a new report A source tells The Australian that Sandilands would agree to leave his top-rated breakfast program only if he was compensated with, 'the full $100 million he is owed less what he has already been paid'. Sandilands and Henderson signed a 10-year deal with Australian Radio Network (ARN) in 2023. They were paid a reported $200 million in that landmark negotiation and earned approximately $47,000 per episode. KIIS FM's parent company ARN announced on Tuesday that Henderson's $100 million contract has been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following his harsh comments on-air that left her in tears. Sandilands has been suspended and given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else faces termination. ARN provided written notice to Sandilands stating that it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's services agreement with Quasar Media'. The KIIS breakfast show will be taken off-air immediately, with 'interim arrangements made for the show'. ARN has offered Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the network. The radio titan has 'called in lawyers' and is 'preparing to sue' ARN should his $100 million contract be terminated following the collapse of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, The Australian reported on Thursday. Pictured with Jackie 'O' Henderson A representative for Kyle Sandilands declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail. Henderson, 51, had been AWOL from the Kyle & Jackie O show since Friday, 20 February, after Sandilands accused her of being unfocused at work. During the on-air feud, Henderson broke down in tears when the pair were discussing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Sandilands got angry at her when she proceeded to read out the disgraced royal's birth chart. He lambasted his co-star, claiming that her love for astrology was affecting her work. When Henderson attempted to defend herself and accused him of launching an attack on her, he stated he was only expressing the 'facts'. Meanwhile, it was reported on Thursday that Sandilands was left 'blindsided' by Henderson's departure from The Kyle and Jackie O Show. Leaked text messages between the feuding radio co-stars reveal that Kyle attempted to apologise - but was shut down. A source tells The Australian that Sandilands would agree to leave his top-rated breakfast program only if he was compensated with, 'the full $100 million he is owed less what he has already been paid' Sandilands texted his co-host: 'Sorry for anything I said that didn't go down well,' news.com.au claimed on Thursday. Kyle also reportedly told Jackie that he 'loved' and 'cared' for her. Jackie replied, informing Kyle that he had 'crossed a line' and that his comments to her, in which he slammed her as unfocused on her work live on air, were 'wrong and low'. Henderson then told Kyle she was taking a break from the show, and 'wanted him to hear it from her, not management.' Over the next week, Kyle did not hear from Jackie, but fully expected her to return to work, the news.com.au source claimed. The radio titan was left 'blindsided' and 'feeling betrayed' when Jackie's resignation from their top-rated breakfast show was announced on Tuesday, the publication alleges. Sofia Vergara certainly gave them the slip at the five-star Hotel Costes in Paris on Wednesday night. The 53-year-old America's Got Talent judge showcased her substantial cleavage in a brown lace-and-silk slip dress beneath a lighter brown suede maxi-coat and peep-toe platform heels selected by stylist Rhonda Spies. Vergara, toting a braided clutch, wore her signature brunette mane down and middle-parted for the Paris Fashion Week festivities celebrating the women's FW/26 collections. The five-time Emmy-nominee's suspiciously unlined complexion was fully contoured with a smoky eye and defined brows. Vergara recently confessed she wears heels 'all the time' unless she is working out or relaxing at her $26 million seven-bedroom Beverly Park mansion. 'I'm Latin. I don't even know if I love them. I was born with them on,' the Colombian bombshell said on The Jennifer Hudson Show last month. Sofia Vergara certainly gave them the slip at the five-star Hotel Costes in Paris on Wednesday 'I am more comfortable in high heels. I think it's like a Latin thing.' Vergara continued: 'Why do you want to feel your feet? It's great. The longer [you] have them on, you don't feel them. It's like really numb. And if you have one little drink? Oh yeah, you don't feel them at all!' The Koati: Animated Series producer-star has been vacationing in France for the past week, showing off the decadent meals she's sampled at fancy restaurants like La Renommee. Missing from Vergara's side was Spanish actor Manu Vega, who, at 32, is 21 years younger than her, but that didn't stop him from kissing her outside the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood on February 13. The Project Runway guest judge finalized her divorce from her second ex-husband, Joe Manganiello, in 2024 after seven years of wedded bliss. Vergara welcomed her only child, 34-year-old son Manolo Gonzalez, during her two-year marriage to high school sweetheart Joe Gonzalez, which ended in 1993. The Modern Family alum will next judge the 21st season of America's Got Talent - premiering late May on NBC - alongside Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B and host Terry Crews. Join the debate Do YOU like Sofia's outfit? The 53-year-old America's Got Talent judge showcased substantial cleavage in a brown lace-and-silk slip dress beneath a lighter brown suede maxi-coat and peep-toe platform heels selected by stylist Rhonda Spies Vergara - toting a braided clutch - wore her signature brunette mane down and middle-parted for the Paris Fashion Week festivities celebrating the women's FW/26 collections The five-time Emmy nominee's suspiciously-unlined complexion was fully contoured with a smoky eye and defined brows Vergara recently confessed she wears heels 'all the time' unless she is working out or relaxing at her $26 million seven-bedroom Beverly Park mansion 'I'm Latin. I don't even know if I love them. I was born with them on,' the Colombian bombshell said on The Jennifer Hudson Show last month. 'I am more comfortable in high heels. I think it's like a Latin thing' Vergara continued: 'Why do you want to feel your feet? It's great. The longer [you] have them on, you don't feel them. It's like really numb. And if you have one little drink? Oh yeah, you don't feel them at all!' The Koati: Animated Series producer-star has been vacationing in France for the past week, showing off the decadent meals she's sampled at fancy restaurants like La Renommee Missing from Vergara's side was Spanish actor Manu Vega, 32, who is 21 years her junior The Modern Family alum will next judge the 21st season of America's Got Talent - premiering late May on NBC - alongside Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B and host Terry Crews In 2021, The Cinemaholic reported that Vergara earns $10 million per season, and season 21 will mark her seventh time on the popular reality competition. Last November, the four-time SAG Award winner filmed her role in Daina Oniunas-Pusic's New York-set black comedy Thumb alongside Milly Alcock, Awkwafina, Kate McKinnon, Michael Zegen and Hannibal Buress. Vergara keeps busy running her beauty brand Toty (after her nickname La Toti), culinary brand Toma with her son, as well as the Dios Mio Coffee brand. The brunette - who boasts 57.8 million social media followers - is also every bit the influencer with paid partnerships for brands like Telemundo, Boehringer Ingelheim US and Skechers. Kayne West is set to make a return to the UK to perform his first show in 11 years at Wireless Festival. The controversial rapper, 48, who goes by the name Ye, and has seen himself involved in multiple scandals, is said to be in 'final negotiations' with organisers. Ye is attempting to salvage his tattered reputation following a string of unsavoury outbursts over the years, such as his antisemitic comments. His return to Wireless Festival, which takes place this July at Finsbury Park, would come over a decade after his last performance that saw him booed by revelers. Whilst on stage, Ye stopped his set to launch a rant about the fashion industry which left the gathered crowd less than impressed. A source said: 'It's been an incredibly turbulent few years for Ye, but he wants to get back on stage and prove he's a serious musician. Kayne West is set to make a return to the UK to perform his first show in 11 years at Wireless Festival (pictured in 2021) 'Wireless is a massive festival and for him to return and headline would be huge.' They continued to The Sun: 'He lost support in the UK over his political views and statements, and he is hopeful this could bring his fans back into the fold. 'He has apologised profusely for his behaviour over the last few years and he wants a fresh start. 'Ye and his team have been locked in final negotiations about headlining Wireless. The number of nights he'll be performing is still being ironed out.' Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Ye. The Gold Digger hitmaker had stepped in to headline Wireless Festival in 2014 after Drake was forced to pull out due to illness. However, after being booed on his first night, the second saw him anger fans when he kicked off his performance behind schedule and proceeded to embark on a second rant, causing audience members to demand: 'We want Drake!' He was reported to be about 15 minutes into his set when he decided to stop the music, turn off the large stage screens and get deep and meaningful. In 2022, Ye's wax figure has been removed from public view at Madame Tussauds after a string of brands severed ties with him amid his anti-Semitism scandal. At the time, brands such as Adidas, Gap and Balenciaga ended their partnerships with him and he dropped off the Forbes billionaire list for his controversial remarks - including claims that 'slavery is a choice'. In an apparent bid at public redemption, last month Ye apologised for his antisemitic views as he explained to fans how his bipolar disorder caused him to 'lose touch with reality'. His apology was published as a page-long advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. Ye's latest statement attributes his behavior to the effects of his health battle, one which he says was caused by a 2002 car accident. The Gold Digger hitmaker had stepped in to headline Wireless Festival in 2014 after Drake was forced to pull out due to illness (pictured at Wireless Festival in 2014) In a statement appearing in the January 26 print edition of the WSJ, West alleged he sustained a brain injury during the accident that went 'unnoticed' at the time - with the 'medical oversight' sparking his bipolar disorder. He said the illness made him 'detached from my true self' and caused him to be drawn 'toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika'. The advertisement, which was paid for by Yeezy and authored by West, was headlined 'To Those I Hurt' and described how, after 'hitting rock bottom' several months ago, he decided to seek help at the encouragement of his wife, Bianca Censori. Meanwhile, last seek it was reported the rapper has been given 'one more chance' by Bianca after he sought help for his behaviour at a Spanish treatment centre. Zoe Ball has spoken about the challenges of introducing new partners to her family, as she continues to enjoy her romance with a 'sexy' new boyfriend. The Daily Mail revealed in January how Zoe, 55, has been dating BAFTA-winning production designer Mathieu Weekes, 49, for over a year - seven years after splittng from her ex husband Norman Cook. Zoe still has a close friendship with Norman, AKA Fatboy Slim, and the two co-parent their children Woody, 25, and Nelly, 16. In a recent episode of her Dig It podcast, Zoe admitted to her co-host Jo Whiley that she's made mistakes in past relationships and introduced boyfriends to her children too quickly. Responding to a listener's dilemma about moving on after the breakdown of a marriage, Jo threw the question to Zoe who laughed as she admitted she had been through the issue of introducing new partners 'quite a few times. "Another one!" as my kids would say. I'm just kidding.' 'Introducing new partners, it's a tricky one. You just have to go with the feeling of it. I think it's okay to have a bit of a private life that isn't part of the kids' life for a little bit,' Zoe advised. Zoe Ball has spoken about the challenges of introducing new partners to an ex, as she continues to enjoy her romance with a 'sexy' new boyfriend; Pictured with ex husband Norman Cook in 1999 'In the past I've rushed that by welcoming someone in and being like "here's my kids. Here's my life. This is me." And it's all a bit much. It's all a bit much for me. It's all a bit much for the kids.' 'Hopefully at some point there is someone where you think actually this person's pretty cool and they're pretty laid-back and they're not going to come in and demand to be part of your kids' lives.' She added: 'I think the right person will respect your relationship with your kids, will respect the relationship you have with your ex. I'd be wary of anyone who wants this to happen too soon for you.' 'You might meet a few people and they might initially seem to be fabulous. You may then get to know that they're complicated because it's really hard to get to our stage of life without baggage. And initially you might meet someone and think, "Oh, wow. This person's too good to be true." Sometimes they are.' Before Mathieu Zoe's last public relationship was with former construction worker Michael Reed. The pair were together for five years before their split in 2023, as sources told The Sun the relationship began to break down after Michael became 'a bit demanding'. Zoe still has a close friendship with Norman, AKA Fatboy Slim, and the two co-parent their children Woody, 25, and Nelly, 16; Picured, Woody, Norman, Nelly, Zoe and Woody's girlfriend Ruby Before Michael, she began dating cameraman and technician Billy Yates, who tragically died by suicide in May 2017 after a long battle with depression. Zoe, who was married to Norman for 17 years, also offered advice to the listener who had admitted she felt guilty about leaving her unhappy marriage. The star empathised, saying 'it is so hard to leave a relationship when you know it's the right thing to do.' 'You feel awful for the person you've left. You feel terrible for breaking up a family. You feel guilty for your kids. It is a lot. And it does take such bravery.' 'But when you're out and the dust starts to settle, you realise that was exactly what you needed to do. Hopefully your kids as they get older, you can talk to them a little bit more about why that happened.' 'Sometimes you might not want to talk to them about that. They might not want to hear it. I think sometimes it takes for them to be adults themselves and be in relationships to realise how difficult it is.' Norman and Zoe began their romance in 1997 after they met in Ibiza and they married two years later at Babington House in Somerset. The Daily Mail revealed in January how Zoe, 55, has been dating BAFTA-winning production designer Mathieu Weekes, 49, for over a year They split briefly in 2003 when it emerged she had an affair with a close friend of her husband's DJ Dan Peppe. Following the revelation Norman said he still loved Zoe and would take her back, as long as she promised never to see Peppe again. The did reconcile but in September 2016 they announced their separation. In January the Daily Mail revealed that Zoe's new boyfriend Mathieu is an award-winning production designer who has worked on hit shows including The Traitors, I'm A Celeb, for which he won a 2021 BAFTA, Love Island and Squid Game: The Challenge. It was whilst designing the set for 2023 talent show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream that Mathieu met Zoe, who presented the series filmed in Greece. Zoe's last public relationship with construction worker Michael Reed ended in 2023. The couple were first seen together at Glastonbury last June, a week after she first referred to 'my fella' while on Radio 2. No Paris Fashion Week would be complete without Anya Taylor-Joy's many stylish outings. And Wednesday night was no exception as she left the swanky Le Bristol Hotel in the French capital wearing yet another sensational look. The actress, 29, looked stunning in a draped patterned blazer paired with jeans and heels as she headed out for an evening on the town where she attended the LVMH Prize cocktail party. It came just after she revealed that she has quit smoking as she attended one of her many Paris Fashion Week events. Speaking at the Dior show she was asked what her 'biggest vice' was as she replied: 'I just quit smoking so I'm kind of vice less right now!' She looked stunning for the catwalk show in a light pink silk dress which she teamed with white heels. No Paris Fashion Week would be complete without actress Anya Taylor-Joy's many stylish outings And Wednesday night was no exception as she left the swanky Le Bristol Hotel in the French capital wearing yet another sensational look Paris Fashion Week is the final Fashion Week in the global 'big four' schedule, following New York, London and Milan. Paris Fashion Week runs from March 2 to March 10. Balenciaga will showcase on March 7, Jean Paul Gaultier on March 8, and Chanel on March 9. Overall 67 ready-to-wear shows and 31 presentations will feature over the week with the Institut Francais de la Mode (IFM) show kicking off the official schedule as per tradition. Last year, Anya opened up about how her and husband Malcolm McRae's love story began many years ago. While making an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, she gushed about meeting the musician and finding out they shared the same birthday. 'I love him so much,' she told Drew when she asked about her partner. 'Oh yeah, he's, I'm very, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky.' The Queen's Gambit star revealed where they crossed paths and the very first thing he said to her. 'We met in a music studio and he's like, I do. I love him. We're born on the same day. So that was the first thing he ever said to me,' she recalled. Paris Fashion Week is the final Fashion Week in the global 'big four' schedule, following New York, London and Milan The actress, 29, looked stunning in a draped patterned blazer paired with jeans and heels as she headed out for an evening on the town It came just after she revealed that she has quit smoking as she attended one of her many Paris Fashion Week events Speaking at the Dior show she was asked what her 'biggest vice' was as she replied: 'I just quit smoking so I'm kind of vice less right now!' Overall 67 ready-to-wear shows and 31 presentations will feature over the week with the Institut Francais de la Mode (IFM) show kicking off the official schedule as per tradition 'He was like, 'When's your birthday?' And I was like, 'April 16th.' He's like, 'I knew it.' I was like, 'Oh no, this is, yeah.' 'He's the absolute greatest.' 'My dad once told me when I was a kid that you're not looking for another half to make you whole, that you are whole,' she continued. 'And if you're lucky enough, you meet another whole,' she continued. 'And then you become, like, a greater sum of your parts.' The Golden Globe winner added: 'I just feel like I am encouraged to grow in the most unexpected and beautiful ways because he provides a soil that's, like, really nutritious and safe. 'Yeah, I just, he's the best,' she gushed to Barrymore. Laura Harrier turned heads in a plunging ensemble as she made a rare appearance with her art dealer boyfriend Helly Nahmad in Paris on Wednesday night. The actress and model, 35, looked incredible in a teal velvet high-waisted skirt, featuring a daring slit, teamed with a maroon unbuttoned shirt and towering black stiletto heels. The Spider-Man star completed her ensemble with a silver necklace and toted her belongings in a black leather bag as the couple enjoyed their evening out in the City of Lights. Art dealer Helly, 48, opted for a low-key ensemble in a black T-shirt, black jeans and a navy, fur-collar jacket. Laura has been connected to Helly since September 2025, after she split from her ex-fiance Sam Jarou at the beginning of 2025. Laura Harrier turned heads in a plunging ensemble as she made a rare appearance with her art dealer boyfriend Helly Nahmad in Paris on Wednesday night The actress and model, 35, looked incredible in a teal velvet high-waisted skirt, featuring a daring slit, teamed with a maroon unbuttoned shirt and towering black stiletto heels Laura and Sam called time on their relationship earlier last year after confirming their engagement in 2022, according to US Magazine. A source told the publication that Laura and Sam's break-up was 'amicable' and they 'remained friends' since parting ways. The split came just a matter of months after Laura made headlines when she was videoed with American actor Shameik Moore, leading to speculation that the pair could have sparked a romance. Shameik had posted a video of him and Laura in December captioned 'coming soon'. The BlacKkKlansman actress took to her social media to hit back at the post, however, claiming it 'annoyed her'. In a now-deleted TikTok, she said: 'I keep seeing all these videos that I'm being tagged in with another actor, and people are speculating what that is. It's really annoying me because I'm literally engaged, and that's important to me. 'I'm in Hollywood, I get it. People do PR stunts, whatever. People like to get attention.' Sam and Laura met in 2019 but kept their relationship under wraps until 2021, when they were spotted kissing in Monaco. The Spider-Man star completed her ensemble with a silver necklace and toted her belongings in a black leather bag as the couple enjoyed their evening out in the City of Lights In September of that year, Laura announced the pair were engaged after a 'simple and sweet' proposal in Paris. Laura first rose to fame at the age of 17 when she was discovered by a location scout in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. In 2017, she landed her first breakout role alongside British actor Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming, in which she played his character's love interest. She also made waves in 2018's BlacKkKlansman, in which she played the role of civil rights activist Patrice Dumas. The role earned her a Black Reel Award and a SAG Award nomination. Laura is also an ambassador for luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Calvin Klein and Boss. Amanda Holden, Ashley Roberts and Jamie Theakston transformed into characters from Mary Poppins as they celebrated World Book Day. Arriving for their Heart Breakfast show on Thursday, the trio got into the spirit of World Book Day by dressing up as characters from P.L Travers's 1964 film. The scene they chose was the iocnic 'Jolly Holiday' scene which sees Bert (Dick Van Dyke) and Mary (Julie Andrews) enter a dream-like fantasy world where they meet an array of animals,from geese and pigs to a penguin working as a waiter. For their costumes, Amanda, 55, opted to emulate Mary's look by wearing a cream collared gown featuring a white and red lace-up corset, and she paired the dress with a hat featuring a scarf tie and a lace sun umbrella. Meanwhile Jamie, 55, embodied Bert in a white and red striped suit with a blue satin bowtie, a boater hat and a wooden cane. Ashley, 44, stepped a little further outside the box as she dressed as the penguin waiter, wearing a fluffy hooded penguin costume with fuzzy gloves and leg warmers. Amanda Holden, Ashley Roberts and Jamie Theakston transformed into characters from Mary Poppins as they lead the stars celebrating World Book Day on Thursday Arriving for their Heart Breakfast show on Thursday, the trio got into the spirit of World Book Day by dressing up as characters from the dream-like scene in P.L Travers's 1964 film (Pictured) The trio were joined by Amanda's dogs Minnie and Rudie, who were also wearing penguin costumes to complete their look for the day. It comes days after Amanda put on a leggy display in a tailored outfit as she posed for sultry snaps at the Heart FM studio on Tuesday. The presenter, who always makes sure to give her followers a glimpse of her outfit of the day, perched on a chair in the office to show off her latest look. She teamed a cropped utility jacket, which featured structured shoulders, with matching knee-length shorts. Amanda topped her outfit, by The Frankie Shop, with a pair of classic pointed toe stiletto heels. The radio host styled her hair into loose waves and kicked back in the office while posing for her update. Amanda's show Britain's Got Talent, which she judges alongside Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and KSI, continued to shed viewers this weekend as ratings hit a new all time low, amid rumours the long running series could be axed. After gracing TV screens for almost 20 years and originally drawing a whopping 10 million viewers, last week's launch was the lowest ever, attracting just 3 million. But now in another brutal blow for ITV, 100K less tuned in to Saturday's second episode, which featured KSI stomping on the Golden Buzzer for a 16-year-old musical magician. For their costumes, Amanda, 55, opted to emulate Mary's look by wearing a cream collared gown featuring a white and red lace-up corset Amanda paired the vintage-style dress with a hat featuring a scarf tie and a lace sun umbrella Amanda also brought along her rescue dog Minnie for the day, who she dressed in a fuzzy penguin costume Meanwhile Jamie, 55, embodied Bert in a white and red striped suit with a blue satin bowtie, a boater hat and a wooden cane Ashley, 44, stepped a little outside of the box as she dressed as the penguin waiter, wearing a fluffy hooded penguin costume with fuzzy gloves and leg warmers The trio were joined by Amanda's dog Minnie (Pictured) also wearing a penguin costume to complete their look for the day Not to be left out, Amanda's other dog, a Jack Russell/Yorkshire Terrier cross named Rudie, also got dressed up for the day Former juggernaut BGT was beaten in the ratings by BBC's Michael McIntyre's Big Show who drew in 3.5 million, while 3 million watched Gladiators. A BGT spokesperson said: 'By Sunday morning, contestant content from the episode had generated 14.5M views with 7.8M coming from contestant Rafferty Coope alone.' Bookies make it just 2/1 that the Britain's Got Talent will be axed after the current outing ends Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: 'Gone are the days when Britain's Got Talent was raking in mammoth viewing figures. 'As the numbers fall, so do the odds and we are now questioning the show's future.' Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 10:00 and on Global Player Eamonn Holmes has emotionally opened up on his health battle as he revealed he can't lift himself up without the help of his careers. The veteran TV presenter, 66, saw his health spiral when he dislocated his pelvis in 2021, in which he sustained three slipped disks. During his recovery after surgery, Eamonn then suffered a fall at his former marital home he shared with ex-wife Ruth Langsford, resulting in him breaking his shoulder. Now the dad-of-four, who is largely immobile and relies on a wheelchair, has shared an insight into his current condition. Speaking on the Session 7 podcast, Eamonn said: 'I'm sick. I'm in a wheelchair. That's been horrendous to deal with for two years. 'Certainly I don't think TV wants to know you when, I mean there's nothing you and I are talking and no one can there's anything wrong but I can't get up.' Eamonn Holmes has emotionally opened up on his health battle as he revealed he can't lift himself up without the help of his careers (pictured in 2024) Eamonn said he has carers 'throughout the day' and that once he is sitting down he is able to do most things on his own. The former This Morning host said 'your health really is your wealth' before adding that he understands society finds it hard to 'deal with' people with disabilities. Daily Mail's Katie Hind recently revealed what Eamonn's GB News colleagues had been whispering about him amid his notable absence from screens. Eamonn talked about his health woes in a previous interview with the Sunday World, telling the Irish publication: 'I have to have carers now looking after me. 'Somebody dresses me in the morning, somebody undresses me at night, somebody gets my food for me. 'I have to be tested with spinal injections to see if it will take, and then grow some life back into my spine and legs. It's all very experimental. I'll know next week. I'd say this is the toughest stage of my life ever. And I just battle on.' Meanwhile, Eamonn's ex Ruth has recently revealed she went to therapy following her split from the Northern Irish presenter. The couple, who share son Jack, separated in May 2024 after 14 years of marriage. Speaking to Rylan Clark on BBC Radio 2, Ruth said: 'I've had counselling and its the best thing I ever did.' 'All the situations and other things have come up and that was through a friend of mine who said, "Would you please maybe think about seeing my counsellor?" 'And she had helped her through a very difficult divorce. And I went, "I don't need to see a counsellor, to tell me I'm sad". She was like, "Honestly it's so much more that that".' Ruth continued: 'Anyway, she pecked my head for so long. Eventually I said yes to shut her up, to be honest. I went, "Fine ok". Eamonn said 'your health really is your wealth' before adding that he understands society finds it hard to 'deal with' people with disabilities 'It's the best thing I ever did and I'm still doing it. With your friends they're always on your side really and they will stand by you whatever decisions you make or however you're feeling, they'll hold you up. 'A counsellor is very different, they look at the bigger picture, they don't know you and they never tell you what to do. She's never told me what to do, she's just guided me to think in different ways about things. 'Lots of people have picked up on this saying that she said to me, which was, "Find your light". 'Everything felt so dark and she said, "Just use that energy that your feeling anger and sadness, try and bring that energy here and find your light"'. Katie Price was out running errands with her son Harvey on Wednesday while her new husband Lee Andrews remained stuck in Dubai - just as her 'inner doubts' about their whirlwind marriage were revealed. Ex-glamour model and mother-of-five Katie, 47, shocked fans when she married the businessman, 41, in Dubai last month following a whirlwind 'one-week' romance. She is now back in the UK for work and was seen out in Brighton this week with Harvey, 23, - who she shares with ex Dwight Yorke - as they strolled hand in hand. Katie looked in good spirits and wore an oversized white sweatshirt and matching sweatpants while accessorising with a Marc Jacobs bag. Lee remains in the UAE amid the Iranian missile strikes but has been posting loved-up messages on his Instagram this week. Katie's outing comes as Lee's ex delivered a blistering warning to her, branding the entrepreneur a 'parasite' who will 'ruin her life.' Katie Price was out running errands with her son Harvey on Wednesday while her new husband Lee Andrews remained stuck in Dubai Ex-glamour model and mother-of-five Katie, 47, shocked fans when she married the businessman, 41, in Dubai last month following a whirlwind 'one-week' romance Alana Percival, 32, told the Daily Mail she believes Lee, who claims to be worth millions, is using Katie for the 'fame' and 'validation' she alleges he has craved his entire life. The personal trainer has now revealed, for the first time, details of a conversation she says she had with a distressed Katie shortly after the TV star discovered that Lee had proposed to Alana just 16 weeks earlier - staging the exact same rose-petal engagement at Dubai's five-star Burj Al Arab. Despite what Alana describes as her desperate attempts to warn her, including offering to meet in person to show Katie 'in black and white' the kind of man she believes Lee to be, she claims her pleas fell on deaf ears. Speaking about Lee, she said: 'He is a parasite; he gets in your brain and works himself around your body and intoxicates you and pulls you from your soul until you have nothing left. 'He is a toxic, horrible, disgusting, vile creature who lied to me from the moment we met. I literally hate his guts. He's nothing but a sad, lonely man who lies about everything. I never saw any proof about his money; I never saw any cars, or houses.' Katie first connected with Lee on Instagram, and the pair were married just 10 days after meeting in person. She declined to sign a pre-nuptial agreement despite reservations she is said to have confided to Alana, who claims she is far from the only woman to have been treated badly by him. According to Alana, several others were also deceived. Alana said: 'Katie reached out to me via a friend. We spoke on the phone. Join the debate Should Katie trust her whirlwind marriage despite warnings from Lees ex? She is now back in the UK for work and was seen out in Brighton this week with Harvey, 23, - who she shares with ex Dwight Yorke - as they strolled hand in hand Katie looked in good spirits and wore an oversized white sweatshirt and matching sweatpants while accessorising with a Marc Jacobs bag Lee remains in the UAE amid the Iranian missile strikes but has been posting loved-up messages on his Instagram this week Katie's outing comes as Lee's ex delivered a blistering warning to her , branding the entrepreneur a 'parasite' who will 'ruin her life' 'She was saying, 'I don't know what to believe' and I told her it's black and white. I told her I would show her everything; I said I was happy to meet her. I told her he was going to break her down and ruin her. 'I told her he doesn't have money, he has scammed loads of people, I said to her, 'Come and sit with me for an afternoon.' 'The problem is Lee has painted me out to be the crazy ex, I actually get it because I can see what Katie has been dragged into and how he's been working her. 'She's swept up in his lies. She doesn't want to look like an idiot. She's now going along with a liar. I genuinely am worried for her.' Alana, whose nine-month relationship with Lee ended last November, has revealed that she received an 'intimidating' video featuring Lee and Katie. She believes the video was sent as a warning to prevent her from speaking publicly about her experience. Too nervous to reveal the full details of the video, which she says was sent from Lee's number to her phone, Alana described the 'degrading' clip as yet another example of her ex's mind games. She said: 'Lee sent me a video from his phone to my WhatsApp. It wasn't a nice video at all... it was very degrading. 'Lee's exes have always stayed quiet and moved forward, but I've been public about my experience. 'He is trying to scare and intimidate me, so I don't speak too much. He's trying to shut me up, basically. It was not only sent to me but my dad as well.' As a result of a separate incident, Alana revealed that she has filed a police report in the UK against Lee, who is currently banned from leaving Dubai following his imprisonment last year for forging his ex-girlfriend's signature to secure a 200,000 loan. She added: 'Last week, I opened a legal case against Lee. I reported the matter to the police and gave a statement, and Interpol is now involved. 'I am worried for Katie about what might happen, she's a vulnerable person and as much as she hasn't made the best choices in life, as I probably haven't, she is probably a good person.' Speaking in a new interview this week, Katie claimed she has seen evidence of Lee's fortune, insisting he paid in cash for his 36million Dubai home - a property Alana says does not exist. Alana maintains that Lee actually rents apartments, stays in various hotels, or lives with his father in a 'rundown Dubai villa.' During their relationship, they shared a rented flat. Alana Percival, 32, told the Daily Mail she believes Lee, who claims to be worth millions, is using Katie for the 'fame' and 'validation' she alleges he has craved his entire life Katie first connected with Lee on Instagram, and the pair were married just 10 days after meeting in person Despite what Alana describes as her desperate attempts to warn her, including offering to meet in person to show Katie 'in black and white' the kind of man she believes Lee to be, she claims her pleas fell on deaf ears Speaking in a new interview this week, Katie claimed she has seen evidence of Lee's fortune, insisting he paid in cash for his 36million Dubai home - a property Alana says does not exist Earlier this month, Katie launched a vicious Instagram attack aimed at Alana, telling her to 'disappear under a bridge' and calling her an 'irrelevant little troll' Alana, whose nine-month relationship with Lee ended last November, has revealed that she received an 'intimidating' video featuring Lee and Katie She sweetly held onto Harvey's arm as they walked through Brighton Katie and Lee are pictured together On the subject of his supposed wealth, she says she still has no idea what Lee does for a living and that he fed her a web of lies about how he earns his money. She said: 'I never knew where he was getting his money from. He used to tell me he was selling bombs, he was an arms dealer, he said that his ex-wife was Putin's niece, he told me he owned private jets and a yacht, and he lives in a massive house. 'I never saw the house, he never took me there, he would say, 'I will, but I don't want to show you everything because I don't really know you.' 'He's a Tinder Swindler. Lee has always wanted to be famous. He always said to me he's going to be the next Elon Musk; he said you've got to be insane, and he would say, and 'I am insane.'' The couple's marriage, which has seen Katie get a tattoo of Lee's name on her ring finger and even introduce him to her ex-husband, Peter Andre, via FaceTime in their first interaction in nine years, has left Alana facing the wrath of the Pricey. Earlier this month, Katie launched a vicious Instagram attack aimed at Alana, telling her to 'disappear under a bridge' and calling her an 'irrelevant little troll.' She said: 'Alana I know rejection doesn't feel nice and I'm married to Lee Andrews the man you want and will never have again. 'Your constant lies and put downs is clearly showing how bitter you are, go live your life little girl. 'I know the truth and you're now embarrassing yourself, go and have the little respect for yourself that's left. I know all about you and who you are. 'At least I'm the real woman he has found and deserves, but please just enjoy watching us build our empire as I'm having his child.' It was later confirmed that Katie, already a mother of five, is not expecting Lee's child, and Alana believes the model's fake pregnancy posts were aimed at provoking her. She said: 'The pregnancy 'reveal' was a bite at me because Lee always used to say he would love to put a baby in me. 'It's really sick to say you're pregnant when you're quite obviously not. 'The post that was put on her Instagram, I know that wasn't written by her, but she accepted posting it. 'Katie and I are quite similar. She has been through a lot in her life and so have I - like more than a normal person. 'We're vulnerable, not so much weak but vulnerable. We both want to be loved. I didn't ask for any of this - he was gone, blocked on everything, and I was ready to put all the trauma behind me. But then suddenly I was dragged into their lie.' Alana first met Lee in March last year after the pair connected on Facebook. He struck up a conversation after noticing she had checked in at Dubai's exclusive Kai Beach, where she had posted a photo revealing her location. In the early weeks of their whirlwind romance, Alana claims Lee 'love bombed' her, lavishing her with compliments and a string of expensive designer gifts. By September, the couple were engaged. According to Alana, Lee was eager to formalise their relationship and pushed for them to marry as soon as possible. However, doubts began to surface when she discovered he was subject to a travel ban that prevented him from flying to the UK to celebrate with her close family - a revelation she says marked a turning point. Soon afterwards, she received messages from American woman Crystal Janke, who alleged she had been dating Lee at the same time and claimed he had taken 123,000 from her. The bombshell accusations brought Alana's whirlwind engagement to an abrupt end. She said: 'The manipulation started from day one. He paid me lots of compliments, he said I had a great body, called me beautiful, everything I said I liked, he was into. He mirrored me. It was all so preplanned. At first, I thought he was a proper man. 'In Dubai, I didn't have my family or my normal friends there, things moved intensely, we moved in with each other quickly, it wasn't like normal dating. Lee was very intense very quickly. He bought me Louis Vuitton bags, Cartier rings, I would go into Cartier and buy myself rings on my lunch break - I thought I had a fairytale ending. 'But when I pulled him up on everything that didn't make sense, the relationship turned volatile. He would react angrily and say I was the problem. He knew I had figured him out. It just got worse. 'Every time I tried to question him, it would make him so angry, and it was really horrible. He crossed the line and he got aggressive with me. When I got home, my family was shocked to see me in the state I was in.' Months after the relationship ended, and just as Alana believed she had finally moved on, she was left stunned by Lee's latest move. A replica of her engagement had gone viral online - but this time, reality star Katie was in her place. While Katie, who's a mother to Harvey and Princess Andre, whom she shares with Peter Andre, and two other children from her marriage to Kieran Hayler, has been engaged nine times, Alana said she had viewed her own proposal as a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Seeing what she believed to be their special memory recreated for another woman, she admitted, was deeply hurtful. She said: 'I looked at it and I thought that's my proposal... but that's Katie Price in the same place as me. I thought, what the f***, this was literally 16 weeks later. 'It was actually quite upsetting because for me that was real; that moment was very special. We were in the Burj Al Arab and there were rose petals on the floor, we had a wonderful lunch and a spa day. It was beautiful. So, that hit me. 'I'm not made of stone and of course, it was upsetting. It was a copy and paste. Surely Katie doesn't feel special after she found out that 16 weeks ago, he did the same for me and even her pictures were copied and pasted.' The Daily Mail has contacted Lee Andrews and Katie Price's representative for comment. Kyle Sandilands has broken cover for the first time following the departure of his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson from The Kyle and Jackie O Show. Channel Nine captured footage of Sandilands outside his mansion in Sydney's Vaucluse, where the radio star has been hunkered down amid his suspension from his top-rated breakfast show. When approached by 9 News and asked, 'Kyle, is this curtains?' the shock jock had a simple, six-word response. 'I can't really speak mate, sorry,' Sandilands replied. The radio titan was in surprisingly forgiving spirits, waving to news cameras before stowing away inside. Dressed in his usual uniform of a black hoodie, Sandilands appeared tense while speaking on the phone. Kyle Sandilands has broken cover for the first time following the departure of his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson from The Kyle and Jackie O Show. Channel Nine captured footage of Sandilands outside his mansion in Sydney's Vaucluse (pictured) The sighting follows reports that Sandilands is safeguarding his contract against termination. The radio titan has 'called in lawyers' and is 'preparing to sue' ARN should his $100 million contract be terminated following the collapse of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, The Australian reported on Thursday. Sandilands, 54, is reportedly seeking a payout for the remainder of that contract, on which he has eight years and $88 million remaining. The shock jock was accused of 'serious misconduct' after his spectacular on-air clash with co-star Jackie 'O' Henderson, leading to Henderson quitting the show. Sandilands is said to have been 'caught completely off-guard' by the misconduct allegation as he had been given free rein on the air, with two full-time censors employed by The Kyle and Jackie O Show to ensure he is safeguarded. The radio star will argue that ARN has no justifiable cause to terminate his contract as the network had promised to be fully liable for his on-air comments, the publication reports. A source tells The Australian that Sandilands would agree to leave his top-rated breakfast program only if he was compensated with, 'the full $100 million he is owed less what he has already been paid'. Sandilands and Henderson signed a 10-year deal with Australian Radio Network (ARN) in 2023. When approached by 9 News and asked, 'Kyle, is this curtains?' the shock jock had a simple, six-word response. 'I can't really speak mate, sorry,' Sandilands replied The radio titan has 'called in lawyers' and is 'preparing to sue' ARN should his $100 million contract be terminated following the collapse of KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, The Australian reported on Thursday. Pictured with Jackie 'O' Henderson They were paid a reported $200 million in that landmark negotiation and earned approximately $47,000 per episode. KIIS FM's parent company ARN announced on Tuesday that Henderson's $100 million contract has been terminated after she told executives she 'cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands' following his harsh comments on-air that left her in tears. Sandilands has been suspended and given 14 days to 'remedy' the breach, or else faces termination. ARN provided written notice to Sandilands stating that it considers his behaviour during the show on February 20 'an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN's services agreement with Quasar Media'. The KIIS breakfast show will be taken off-air immediately, with 'interim arrangements made for the show'. ARN has offered Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the network. Elizabeth and Damian Hurley celebrated India's vibrant festival of Holi with Trinny Woodall as they danced and threw colourful powder in the air. The actress, 60, and her director son, 23, were joined by the beauty and fashion guru, 62, in Dehli, India, on Thursday for the festival. Holi is a major Indian festival of the Hindus which celebrates the arrival of Spring, featuring the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring. As it is traditional to wear white, lightweight cotton or linen clothing, Liz, Damian and Trinny all opted to wear kurta pyjamas. The kurta pajamas are all-white and consist of a long knee-length shirt paired with matching lightweight drawstring trousers. Liz wore a bright pink patterned scarf around her neck for a pop of colour and she and Damian kept their brunette hair down. Elizabeth and Damian Hurley celebrated India's vibrant festival of Holi with Trinny Woodall as they danced and threw colourful powder in the air in posts shared on Instagram on Thursday The actress, 60, and her director son, 23, were joined by the beauty and fashion guru, 62, in Dehli, India, on Thursday for the festival Meanwhile Trinny admitted she didn't want to have to wash her hair so swept her locks up into a wrap using a blue scarf. During the day, Trinny was seen throwing pink flowers up into the air as she let her hair down and wore her blue scarf around her neck. Trinny also gave an insight into the day, where people were seen dancing in circles and throwing orange, yellow and red powder into the air. Holi is marked by people throwing coloured powders, known as gulal and water as they sing, dance and light bonfires to signify new beginnings and community joy. The day also signifies the triumph of good over evil. Trinny's trip to India comes after she revealed the bizarre workout she does each morning to keep her bowel movements regular. The beauty brand owner and fashion influencer took to social media last month to share her hack with her followers. In the clip, Trinny could be seen in just her bra with a pair of blue shorts on as she stood on a vibrating board. As her assistant asked her what she was doing, Trinny replied: 'This is actually my morning routine sometimes, okay? Trinny admitted she didn't want to have to wash her hair so swept her locks up into a wrap using a blue scarf During the day, Trinny was seen throwing pink flowers up into the air as she let her hair down and wore her blue scarf around her neck Elsewhere Trinny shared a clip of another yellow outfit she purchased in Bhutan, India, the year before Trinny also gave an insight into the day, where people were seen dancing in circles and throwing orange, yellow and red powder into the air 'But all these things contribute to different things in my life.' Holding weights in her hand and donning a LED face mask, she continued: 'So this vibrating plate is really good to help me have a poo in the morning.' Trinny used the rest of the video to explain what each of her LED masks helped with and her exfoliating routine beforehand. Fans flooded her with replies, with one writing: 'New sleep paralysis demon unlocked'; 'You look like a superhero. TrinWoman'; 'There is a method in the madness cos you still look in your 40s!'; 'Whatever you are doing its working girl . You look amazing !!'; 'I think you've room for one more device there Trinny'; 'This is a work of art'; 'I love everything about this!' Aaron Chalmers' ex, Talia Oatway, has revealed their son Oakley has had 20 surgeries in his short life as she shared a heartfelt post to Instagram on Wednesday. Reality star Aaron, 38, welcomed Oakley, three, with Talia, 33, in 2022, and their son was diagnosed with Apert Syndrome at birth. The NHS describes Apert Syndrome as 'a type of complex craniosynostosis that affects the skull, hands and feet,' with bones fusing together before birth. Taking to her social media, doting mother Talia explained that it had been an 'emotional week' as she posted a snap of her toddler in a hospital bed. She wrote: 'I speak so highly of phycology, I still have mine even now. Every hospital stay is more trauma I have to overcome. 'It's ok to cry and it's ok to be angry. It doesn't mean we aren't coping. Us medical families are doing our best. [sic] Aaron Chalmers' ex, Talia Oatway, has revealed their son Oakley, three, has had 20 surgeries as she shared a heartfelt post to Instagram on Wednesday Reality star Aaron, 38, welcomed Oakley, three, with Talia, 33, (pictured) in 2022, and he was diagnosed with Apert Syndrome at birth - 'a type of complex craniosynostosis' 'Been another emotional week, I'm lucky I have people in the NHS who listen to me when I no [sic] something isn't right. Having a child with complex needs who can't communicate can be difficult. 'I've had to learn any change, any sign he gives me can have an impact on my son being in hospital resulting in another operation. 'I'm 3 years and I'm still trying understand a hell of a lot. The medical world isn't for the faint-hearted. Living in constant fear. 'I believe in a mother's instinct so much and I've never been proved wrong with Oakley. I no (sic) I post to show you guys some sort of reality that us medical families live. 'Some days you see no light at the end of the tunnel. I said to a consultant today I just with my son could actually enjoy his childhood. '20th surgery for a 3 year old.. you are my inspiration.' Talia regularly takes to social media to share updates on Oakley's health and has claimed Aaron has 'zero interest' in his son's health. In November, Talia told how Oakley had also been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain, which can damage tissue. Doctors have put a shunt into Oakley's brain to drain the fluid. If untreated, hydrocephalus can be fatal due to increased pressure compressing the brainstem, which is responsible for regulating heart rate and breathing. Taking to her social media, Talia explained that it had been an 'emotional week' as she posted a heartfelt update to social media The mother-of-four shares children Romeo, six, Maddox, four, and Oakley with Aaron as well as daughter Siennah, ten, from a previous relationship. She previously said: 'I do solo parent two of my children. Oakley's here every single night, he has been for over a year and the fact that this person can just go online and start talking about his medical care which he has zero interest in. 'He doesn't attend any appointments, doesn't attend hospital, is mind-blowing. Absolutely mindblowing.' She continued: 'It is all fake and all for social media purposes. I come on here and show the reality of what it's like to solo parent two of my children as well as have another two children. 'I have four and solo parent two of them and the stress I'm under with hospital appointments, nurses, operations, MDTs, it's a lot and I'm doing it on my own, I'm literally doing it on my own and I've had enough. 'That one person thinks it's okay to puts my son's health stuff online which I haven't digested myself yet. 'Fair enough if I do it, because I'm the one that's parenting him and I've just had enough. 'I've had it up to here with pretending that everything is okay and that I'm doing it with someone else, when I'm not.' The Daily Mail contacted Aaron's representatives for comment at the time. Following Oakley's birth in 2022, Aaron and Talia revealed their 'little soldier' would be 'in and out of surgery for 18-24 months', with his mother staying by his side. Aaron and Talia split four months after the birth. In August, Talia took part in an Instagram Q&A where she revealed their son may need a wheelchair soon and told how she often cries over his condition. One fan wrote to her: 'You are a great woman, a strong, very strong, woman.', to which she replied: 'Thank you, I honestly don't think I'm strong. I am very emotional at times. 'I cry a lot especially in situations where I can't get my point across or when I'm overwhelmed. 'I have tried to hold my emotions in as much as I can especially when the kids are around.' One fan then told how Oakley was doing 'amazing' as he walked on his own in a recent social media post. She then replied saying: 'Ah thank you, he will only walk outside for a very very short time (like a few minutes) at home he walks more. 'The bones on the bottom of his feet are becoming more prominent, which is where I need to keep an eye on. A lot of Apert children require feet surgery and depend on wheelchairs at times. 'This is due to the bones on the bottom of their feet causing pain up to their backs. He really is doing amazing.' Elon Musk's transgender daughter Vivian Wilson was at the Acne Studios Womenswear Fall/Winter presentation during Paris Fashion Week on Thursday. The American model, 21, stepped away from the runway on this occasion and watched the show from the front row with Leslie Bibb and Rosanna Arquette. Vivian, who has been estranged from the Tesla founder since 2020, cut a seriously cool figure as she went braless in a mesh top and brown leather trousers. She added a green jacket to the look, while adding quirky accessories in the form of orange aviator sunglasses and bag with chunky silver jewellery. Vivian wore her long blonde locks in a loose straight style, while opting for minimal make-up for a more natural look. On the FROW, she larked around with actresses Leslie and Rosanna, who playfully cosied up to Vivian to pose for photographs together. Vivian's attendance at Paris Fashion Week comes after she slipped into a silky gown and took to the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week. Elon Musk's transgender daughter Vivian Wilson was at the Acne Studios Womenswear Fall/Winter presentation during Paris Fashion Week on Thursday The American model, 21, stepped away from the runway on this occasion and watched the show from the front row with Leslie Bibb and Rosanna Arquette Vivian, who has been estranged from the Tesla founder since 2020, cut a seriously cool figure as she went braless in a mesh top and brown leather trousers The look, designed by the Italian fashion house's new artistic director, Demna, was finished with a pair of glittering pointed-toe heels and a sparkly silver clutch bag. On this occasion, Vivian wore her long blonde tresses straight with one side swept behind her shoulder. She posed up a storm as she made her way down the runway, crossing paths with fashion royalty such as Kate Moss and Emily Ratajkowski. Just moments after her appearance, Vivian celebrated the achievement on social media. 'I just walked for Gucci lmfao,' she wrote on her Instagram story in text that overlaid a makeup-free selfie. But it is not the first time that she has been in the style spotlight. She appeared on the cover of Teen Vogue in March last year and, two months later, officially made her modelling debut while collaborating with the brand Wildfang. That same month in May, she additionally modelled pieces for the underwear brand Tomboyx. 'I was terrified,' she said of the latter shoot during an interview with Vanity Fair. 'Before this, I was very much the person who didn't show any skin, ever, at all. 'Even in my day-to-day, like going to the beach with friends, I would not wear a swimsuit.' The star added, 'So it was very, very nerve-racking, but I wanted to do [the shoot] because I wanted to have more confidence in my own body. She added a green jacket to the look, while adding quirky accessories in the form of orange aviator sunglasses and bag with chunky silver jewellery Vivian's attendance at Paris Fashion Week comes after she slipped into a silky gown and took to the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week 'I do feel confident in my own body, but I wanted to prove that confidence to myself, if that makes any sense.' In September last year, Vivian made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week, strutting for CHRISHABANA's Spring 2026 show. When it comes to being more in the spotlight, Vivian admitted to The Cut last year, 'I'm not very good at being famous. It's a skill. 'I fought so hard for so long to be viewed as a regular person. There was a moment literally right before I became famous where no one knew who I was. It was amazing.' The star added, 'Everyone treated me as a regular person. I kind of miss that. But I also like being famous.' Vivian is the eldest daughter of Musk and his ex-wife, Justine. At the age of 16, she came out as trans and two years later filed to have Musk dropped from her last name amid her estrangement with her father. Vivian briefly opened up about the relationship she has with the tech mogul while talking to Teen Vogue. 'I don't give a f*** about him. I really don't. It's annoying that people associate me with him. I just don't have any room to care anymore.' Vivian is active on social media and currently boasts one million Instagram followers. She often posts insights into her modelling career and takes fans along to events she has attended. James Buckley has revealed he 'struggled to find a goal' after leaving The Inbetweeners as he confessed he 'felt semi-retired' after the series ended. The actor, 38, is best known for his role as Jay Cartwright in the E4 sitcom, but has now shared how he feared his career would be over when the series wrapped with a second film in 2014. Speaking in a new interview, James said that he's 'still trying to find' a new goal after ending his work on The Inbetweeners. While he has acted in a handful of roles, James has also become the highest earning star on video message site Cameo, as well as presenting a podcast and YouTube channel with his wife Clair. Referring to The Inbetweeners as his 'first love,' James said: 'I don't really have a goal anymore, which I generally think is quite a dangerous thing.' 'I do think you need something in your life to work towards. And I'm struggling, personally, to find out what that is.' James Buckley has revealed he 'struggled to find a goal' after leaving The Inbetweeners as he confessed he 'felt semi-retired' after the series ended James went on to tell The i Paper that he 'keeps himself busy' since stepping away from acting, adding: 'I potter about, really.' Despite his Inbetweeners success, James said he's always found the fame that came with the show 'uncomfortable,' adding: 'Getting statues for vomiting over each other or jumping up and down on a car, its not necessary. When youre an actor, youre just turning up and mucking about.' James had previously spoken about The Inbetweeners' return after the show's creators revealed they are working on new material. While there have been talks of bringing the show's iconic quartet back together for a new project, James insisted he hasn't been approached to revive his character. He did, however, claim that The Inbetweeners' crass style of comedy is what's needed in this day and age. James explained: 'I think the temperature at the moment is that people would like an Inbetweeners. It would release some sort of pressure... Just make sure we keep all that silly, disgusting humour. Thats what I assume people would want. 'I think we are coming back to having a laugh again. It was cool for a while to take everything very seriously and to take things the wrong way when you just know they are not intended to be taken that way, but you do it anyway because you might get some attention.' The actor shared how he feared his career would be over when the series wrapped with a second film in 2014, and has since moved onto social media content with his wife Clair He added to The Sun: 'I think we have decided thats not cool any more. If you were going to say, "I am going to bring a mate to the pub. Youre going to love him he gets offended by everything," they would be, "Id rather not, to be honest."' Back in October, The Inbetweeners' creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley confirmed that plans are underway to bring back the iconic characters for a fresh chapter, after signing a deal with production giant Banijay UK. 'It's incredibly exciting to be plotting more adventures for our four favourite friends (ooh friends),' they said in a statement. It is thought the project could involve a new TV run, a film, or even a stage adaptation, with talks already underway about how to reboot the cult favourite. Banijay's chief executive, Patrick Holland, told The Sun he was 'delighted to pick up the conversation about the future of The Inbetweeners with them'. He added: 'They have an infectious creative vision for the brand which will resonate with audiences old and new.' The company said the deal 'unlocks the rights and potential to bring The Inbetweeners back for new audiences across a range of platforms including film, tv and stage'. Joe revealed previously that the cast were eager to return. He said the group had stayed close friends and would 'jump at the chance' to work together again. Speaking to a podcast he said: 'We're all still around. We're all still in each other's lives. We all still like each other. 'And if it was something that came up, I think we would want to do it.' Also tipped to return is Emily Atack, who played fan-favourite Charlotte Hinchcliffe. If the deal goes ahead, the reboot would mark the first time in more than a decade that the full cast have reunited on screen. Kate and Lila Moss both opted for low-key looks as they enjoyed another day at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday. The mother-daughter duo were both seen leaving their hotel after a busy first half of the week attending shows. Kate, 52, looked effortlessly stylish in a slouchy silver co-ord which she accessorised with a statement necklace and shades. Fellow model Lila, 23, meanwhile showed off her sophisticated sense of style in a navy suit and flashed her midriff in a cropped white T-shirt. Kate was stepping out after shouting 'don't touch me' while accusing a passerby of 'manhandling' her at a show earlier this week. She declared she 'hates being manhandled' as she arrived at the YSL show on Tuesday evening. Kate and Lila Moss both opted for low-key looks as they enjoyed another day at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday The mother-daughter duo were both seen leaving their hotel after a busy first half of the week attending shows The British star arrived arm in arm with American model Frankie Rayder, at the show which was held in front of the Eiffel Tower. But in a moment caught on camera, a distressed Kate shout that she 'didn't want to be touched', while chatting to Frankie on the way inside. Kate can be heard, saying: 'Please don't touch me! I don't like it! I don't like being manhandled, at all. You know what people go...' She then begins telling a story about a time when someone touched her and demonstrates on Frankie by linking her arms, mimicking the gesture. The two women then greet people outside the venue as they make their way in, before the end of the video cuts out. Following the show, Kate was spotted heading to the after party as she flashed her underwear in a sheer lace catsuit at The Ritz. After her appearance at Saint Laurent's Paris Fashion Week show, Kate let her hair down and opted for a racy ensemble. She looked sensational in the figure-hugging number which she paired with a quirky jacket with silk pink sleeves. Kate appeared in high-spirits as she left her lavish hotel to explore the French capital for one night. Kate appears to be ageing backwards after ditching her years of hard partying as she flaunted her toned torso and radiant features. Kate, 52, looked effortlessly stylish in a slouchy silver co-ord which she accessorised with a statement necklace and shades Kate was stepping out after shouting 'don't touch me' while accusing a passerby of 'manhandling' her at a show earlier this week She declared she 'hates being manhandled' as she arrived at the YSL show on Tuesday evening Fellow model Lila, 23, meanwhile showed off her sophisticated sense of style in a navy suit and flashed her midriff in a cropped white T-shirt Nowadays, Kate has regular juice fasts, and favours the week-long juice-only programme at wellness LifeCo resort in Turkey - she's visited every year for the past decade. Kate is the proud owner of wellness business Cosmoss which sells a range of own-brand teas, skincare products and a book of 150 'positive messages'. She has a 4,000 Cadillac Pilates reformer machine at home, and a personal trainer, Hortense Suleyman. A magazine source said: 'The brand is late on the bandwagon candles, serums and perfume are all quite middle-aged. 'But she's been having lots of meetings with people and Cosmoss is stocked in Harrods. I know she has great hopes for it.' Over the years, Kate has given an insight into how she stays looking so good, revealing her tips and tricks for maintaining her youthful look. She told Net-A-Porter: 'I stay hydrated on the flight and try to eat only light foods. I find adapting to the new time zone as soon as I arrive is helpful, so I try to stay up until my usual bedtime. 'I've recently undergone red-light LED therapy and use the Talika Time Control + device. It's great, as it's small and easy to travel with, and I can definitely see an improvement in my skin. I have rose quartz and jade gua sha tools that I use, too.' Lila added black leather heeled boots to her look and accessorised with oversized sunglasses She strutted her stuff and put on a confident display as she headed out Kate can be heard, saying: 'Please don't touch me! I don't like it! I don't like being manhandled, at all. You know what people go...' Other beauty tips favoured by Kate include dunking her face in iced water and depuffing her eyes with cucumber slices. Speaking previously about how she tackles a 'bad face day', she said: 'My old go-to trick is to plunge my face into a bowl of iced water and cucumber slices it instantly tightens and gets rid of any puffiness. 'I then use Cosmoss Golden Nectar facial-oil drops with my gua sha. Together, they give your skin that extra glow and are great at detoxifying and lymphatic drainage.' Another tip Kate claims she follows is staying out of the sun, after previously being warned by her friend and make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury. She told Grazia: 'Charlotte Tilbury told me not to go out in the sun, but it's because she's a redhead, so she knows. I kind of ignored her, but now I'm taking no risks!' Kate also revealed she keeps her body refreshed by doing three week-long juice cleanses throughout the year. She said: 'I juice. At least three times a year, for a week, I do a juice cleanse. I like it. I feel amazing. And then I have so much energy! Everyone else is like, "Pleaseshhhh" Oh my god, I have so much energy, start bouncing off walls!' Emile Kotze, a former star of Below Deck, filed a $850 million federal lawsuit against NBCUniversal last year, alleging harassment and defamation. In court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, the 2025 filing reads, 'This action arises from Emile Kotzes coerced appearance on Below Deck Season 3 under the false pretense of participating in a documentary. 'Kotze was subjected to sexual harassment, defamation, workplace discrimination, retaliation, and maritime violations, while Defendants profited over $500 million from the Below Deck series, a company valued at over $150 billion, that is still profiting from illegal activities.' Kotze alleges that the producers portrayed him as 'immature' and sexually aggressive, leading to significant harm to his reputation and career, per the documents. NBCUniversal denies the charges and maintains that the claims should be dismissed. Kotze claims he was hired as a deckhand for the third season of the reality series in 2015, aged 23, expecting a documentary-style show, only to be drawn into a salacious reality TV drama, per the documents. Emile Kotze, a former star of Below Deck, filed a $850 million federal lawsuit against NBCUniversal and the shows producers last year, alleging harassment and defamation; (pictured 2015) Kotze asserts that he was initially told the show would follow a documentary-style format but was later manipulated into participating in a salacious reality TV production; (Kotze, Kate Chastain, Eddie Lucas, Captain Lee Rosbach, Amy Johnson, Leon Walker, Raquel Bartlow, Connie Arias pictured 2015) In his lawsuit, Kotze accuses the producers of creating a fake romantic storyline between him and fellow cast member Raquel Rocky Dakota, which he says was orchestrated to boost ratings. The lawsuit further claims that producers encouraged heavy drinking, set up sexually charged situations, and staged humiliating pranks to maximize the drama. Kotze also alleges that the producers edited the footage in a highly misleading manner, crafting a false and defamatory image of him as immature, incompetent, and sexually aggressive. According to Kotzes filings, this portrayal led to his being blacklisted from the yachting industry. The lawsuit also outlines the severe emotional toll this experience allegedly had on Kotze, claiming he suffers from PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a direct result of the shows impact on his life. According to NBCUniversals responsive court paper, the network argues that many of Kotzes allegations are barred by the statute of limitations and lack sufficient factual evidence. 'Plaintiffs claims should be dismissed as a matter of law because they are time-barred, facially deficient, and otherwise impermissibly seek to restrict Defendants First Amendment rights to shape and convey their creative works, including through casting and editorial decisions,' reads the defendant's filing. The case remains active, with a judge denying a motion to dismiss on January 3 2026. In his lawsuit, Kotze accuses the producers of creating a fake romantic storyline between him and fellow cast member Raquel Rocky Dakota, which he says was orchestrated to boost ratings The lawsuit also outlines the severe emotional toll this experience allegedly had on Kotze, claiming he suffers from PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a direct result of the shows impact on his life Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Kotze and NBCUniversal for comment. After his time on Below Deck, Kotze appeared to pursue several different professional paths. According to posts shared on his Instagram account, he worked for a period as a travel agent. In one post, Kotze is seen attending an event at the African Innovation & Entrepreneur Centre, where he appeared to represent TRN Global. Kotze has also indicated on social media that he previously explored acting. Kotze was born and raised in South Africa, and according to his biography on the Bravo website, he grew weary of the small-town life and left his country at 20 with little to his name except a new skippers license and big dreams. The profile notes that he was always surrounded by the water - sailing trips on the weekend, cray fishing, and surfing - but never realized he could make a career of it.' Bravo's website about the show adds that Kotze 'came to America with the expectation of doing sales research for his fathers business, but met a Captain who revealed the alternative lifestyle yachting could provide. From that point on, the biography states, he worked as a mate and deckhand on various ships, voyaging around the world, experiencing different cultures, and making the clientele as happy as possible.' Katie Price's husband Lee Andrews shared that he was told to 'seek immediate shelter' due to missile threats in Dubai on Thursday. Lee, 41, took to Instagram to film the moment an alarm sirened throughout a building he took shelter in. A number of alerts have rung out across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, warning residents and visitors to stay safe as Iran continues to furiously attack US allies across the Middle East. Lee said: 'Wow, can you hear that alarm going off? That is to warn us that there is a missile nearby. I've already had the SMS.' 'Due to current situation, a potential missile threats, Seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building, and to steer away from windows, doors, and open areas. Await for further instructions', read a message from the UAE government that he posted. This week, Lee revealed on his social media that Katie is coming back to Dubai via flying to Oman where he will pick her up, amid the conflict in the Middle East. He said: 'The flights have started to open. The flights are a bit backed up, but if not you can always go through Oman, it is next door and one of the neighbouring countries. 'I'm not going to tell you all my plans but Katie would fly there and I would go to Oman and pick her up and bring her home because that's what you do when you are married and in love, you try everything right? Or have I got that wrong?' Katie Price's husband Lee Andrews shared that he was told to 'seek immediate shelter' due to missile threats in Dubai on Thursday This week, Lee revealed on his social media that Katie is coming back to Dubai via flying to Oman where he will pick her up, amid the conflict in the Middle East The UAE's government travel advice states: 'Due to the volatile security situation in the region and military strikes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we've raised our level of advice for the UAE to do not travel. 'The UAE airspace may open or close at short notice, impacting flights at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports. Retaliatory strikes are occurring across the Middle East region following military strikes on Iran. Military conflict in the region may result in widespread movement restrictions, and other travel disruptions.' Katie made her marriage to her fourth husband Lee legally binding in a secret second ceremony in Dubai - and she hasn't signed a pre-nup. The former glamour model, 47, shocked fans when she married the so-called businessman in Dubai in January just two days after getting engaged. The Daily Mail revealed at the time the wedding had no legal weight and was just a symbolic ceremony. It took place in the grounds of the 600-a-night One and Only Royal Mirage, a five-star hotel on Dubai's famous Palm Jumeirah island. However, latest documents show Katie and Lee formally registered their marriage on February 17 at Abu Dhabis judicial department. The whirlwind marriage comes Katie doubled down on her insistence that husband Lee isn't 'a con man or a scammer' and that she's 'the happiest Ive ever been'. Katie revealed she has so much trust in her new husband that she declined to sign a pre-nup before their whirlwind wedding. The television personality also addressed her family concern and the accusations his ex-partners have made as well as claims about his finances, business acumen and celebrity-links being revealed as false. Insisting she's 'not stupid', she said Lee - who has claimed to be both a millionaire and billionaire previously - has shown her documents to attest to his wealth and has proof of purchase that he paid for his new 36million home in Dubai in cash. Lee, 41, took to Instagram to film the moment an alarm sirened throughout a building he took shelter in A number of alerts have rung out across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, warning residents and visitors to stay safe as Iran continues to furiously attack US allies across the Middle East Katie said she's also done her due diligence by speaking to his father and his Russian ex-wife Cezara, and declares Lee 'ticks every box'. She told The Sun: 'I thought I'd been in love before but this feels different. It's not even about lust, it's just instant connection on all levels. I fell in love with him long before I had sex with him.' She said they first connected after Lee came up as a suggested follow on Instagram and she took the opportunity to slide into his DMs, with the pair going on to message back and forth up to five hours a day, before finally meeting in person in Dubai. Yet her loved ones were said to have been blindsided by the whirlwind nuptials, and are reported to have expressed their concerns about the marriage and are 'anxious this is a potential scam'. However, Katie dismissed her family's worries, insisting that she was not a kid and that 'my life isn't normal', so they had to 'let me be me'. She acknowledged their feelings, saying: 'Of course my family are going to worry, I wouldn't expect anything different. They love me and they've seen me go through so much heartache, and the most horrific times. 'So I don't blame them for being p***ed off and angry. They love me and I love them too. But I'm not a kid anymore, I am 47, I can make my own choices, and I will. They have to give me that chance to go and find out for myself.' While her five children are still yet to meet the businessman, eldest children Princess, 18, and Junior, 20, said on This Morning last month that the family are 'happy as long as she's happy'. Princess admitted: 'I've not met him', as Junior continued: 'Our mum is her own person, she's her own woman, she's going to do what she's going to do and at the end of the day, we're supportive of her as long as she's happy.' 'As long as she's happy that's all I care about,' he added, as Princess chimed in: 'If she's happy, we're happy.' Aussie billionaire James Packer is set to walk down the aisle for a third time after he popped the question to Kylie Lim. The couple were together for almost three years from late 2017 to 2020 before rekindling their romance last year. Packer, 58, confirmed the news after the former Canadian socialite and model, 46, was reportedly spotted wearing a stunning ring on her wedding finger while running errands in Aspen, a ski resort in Colorado, US. 'We are very happy to be engaged and looking forward to the future,' Packer told news.com.au from Los Angeles. It's understood that no wedding date has yet been set. Packer was previously engaged to former Aussie models Kate Fischer, Jodhi Meares, and Erica Baxter, along with US pop star Mariah Carey. He went on to marry Meares and Baxter, whom he had three children with. It is understood that Packer and Lim started dating in 2017 after being introduced to each other six months earlier by mutual friends in Aspen, where he also has a home that he still co-owns with his second ex-wife Erica. James Packer has popped the question to Kylie Lim The couple (pictured in St Tropez in 2018) dated for three years before rekindling their romance in 2025 Now based in the US, the Aussie billionaire confirmed his new engagement on Thursday The couple fuelled engagement rumours in 2019 when Lim was seen wearing a diamond-encrusted sparkler on her wedding finger during a loved-up holiday on his superyacht in Capri, Italy. In 2020, the couple travelled to Sydney to inspect Packer's $2.4billion Crown Barangaroo casino development being constructed at the time. Packer previously credited Lim with helping him through a dark period of his life following his messy split with Carey in 2016 and battle with substance abuse. He also spent time in a Boston mental health facility for bipolar disorder and depression. The billionaire confessed he had been in a 'bad, bad way'. 'Kylie has been a wonderful influence on my life. I love her very much,' he said during a rare interview in 2019. In his 2018 biography, The Price of Fortune: The Untold Story of Being James Packer, he told author Damon Kitney: 'Kylie is a good person, a really good partner, and we are taking things slowly, one day at a time. 'I'm lucky she's in my life.' Kitney also praised Lim for being the 'one constant presence' in Packer's life over the difficult past two years and said that she was crucial in helping the billionaire get back on his feet. Packer's first marriage to model Jodhi Meares in October 1999 lasted two years Packer married his second wife Erica Baxter in 2007, and separated in 2013 The news comes just days after Packer's cousin was found dead at his home on Sydney's lower north shore. Francis Packer, 64, was a visual artist living a quiet life separate from the wealthy dynasty. He was found dead in his two-bedroom Cammeray unit, owned by his mother Angela Raymond, on Sunday. While his older cousin lived away from the spotlight, James was thrust into it from an early age, with his life splashed across the pages of every major newspaper. His father, media mogul Kerry Packer, was one of the richest and most influential people in Australia at the time of his death in 2005. James was the majority owner of Crown, which operates casinos in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, until the company was sold to Blackstone. He retreated to his superyacht, named IJE after the initials of his children - Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle. Packer now splits his time between his $175million megamansion in BelAir, California, and his superyacht. He revealed to Rampart News in a recent wife-ranging interview that he is receiving professional care for his mental health issues but added that he was in a 'good place'. 'I haven't had a drink for two years. I'm working with a good psychologist and a good psychiatrist,' the 58-year-old said. Packer also revealed that he is still close to both of his ex-wives and leans on them for support. Iris Law put on a racy display as she went braless at designer Isabel Marant's Paris Fashion Week show on Thursday. The model, 25, who is the daughter of actor Jude Law and actress Sadie Frost, flashed her toned torso in a tan vest top and low-waist trousers. Iris was joined by the likes of American model Ashley Graham, 38, and German actress Diane Kruger, 49. Diane looked incredibly ageless in her stylish attire as she struck a pose at the star-studded event. Paris Fashion Week runs from March 2 to March 10. A standout moment will be Pieter Muliers final show at Alaia before he takes on the role of chief creative officer of Versace in July. All the major houses will showcase including Balenciaga on March 7, Jean Paul Gaultier on March 8, and Chanel on March 9. Overall 67 ready-to-wear shows and 31 presentations will feature over the week with the Institut Francais de la Mode (IFM) show kicking off the official schedule as per tradition. Iris Law, 25, put on a racy display as she went braless at designer Isabel Marant's Paris Fashion Week show on Thursday Irish was joined by the likes of American model Ashley Graham (pictured), 38, and German actress Diane Kruger, 49 Diane looked incredibly ageless in her stylish attire On Tuesday Paris' famous Louvre hosted its second fundraising dinner, dubbed Le Grand Diner du Louvre, to support the museums activities. Iris's outing comes after she showed off her incredible figure in a blue bikini as she posed for a new Victoria's Secret Pink swimwear campaign. Iris is the face of a new range of swimwear for the brand and for the new collection, Iris was seen modelling a tie dye blue triangle bikini, which featured a floral pattern and ruffled hemline. The skimpy two-piece, featuring low-rise briefs, showed off Iris's toned abdomen as she posed for snaps. She was seen modelling for the shoot in crystal clear blue waters as she smoothed her hair back into a wet look. Victoria's Secret Pink Frankies Bikinis Swim Collaboration Campaign is available on the the designer's UK website in early March and in selected stores around the country later in the month. Just the day before, Iris put on a sizzling display in a lilac dress as she shared a series of stunning snaps to Instagram on Wednesday. Iris, who recently modelled Casablanca's new Resort 26 campaign, has been taking the fashion world by storm in recent years. The model, who is the daughter of actor Jude Law and actress Sadie Frost, flashed her toned torso in a tan vest top and low-waist trousers Irish displayed her bleach blonde hair and opted for statement earrings Ashley displayed her curves in a thigh-high black midi skirt Diane appeared in high spirits at the fashion show Nepo baby Carla Ginola - the daughter of David Ginola - opted for a casual ensemble Lola Bute set pulses racing in a black leather mini dress Supermodel Irina Shayk later took to the runway at the Uma Wang Show Diana Ross made a riotously entertaining disclosure about Stranger Things after her 1980 song Upside Down was used on the show. The sci-fi series, which is set in the 1980s, dropped its final season on Netflix last year with one episode prominently featuring Ross' beloved disco single. Upside Down subsequently experienced a thunderous 373 percent bump in on-demand streams, according to a report in Billboard. However when Ross, 81, performed the song recently in concert at The Wynn Las Vegas, she revealed not only that she had never seen the show, but that she was in fact not entirely certain it was a show at all. 'You know that song is a hit all over again,' she said onstage to a round of applause: 'with that movie, that television show - what is it, a movie? Stranger Things?' Shen then cheerfully asked an audience member: 'What is that movie about?' in footage posted by TV producer John Pascarella at his Instagram handle @jpasc24. Diana Ross made a riotously entertaining disclosure about Stranger Things after her 1980 song Upside Down was on the show; Ross is pictured in Times Square this past New Year's Eve 'STRANGER THINGS may be a global hit And may have helped Diana Ross UPSIDE DOWN race up the charts again But she hilariously revealed during a recent Las Vegas show at The Wynn that she doesnt know much about the show .,' Pascarella captioned the video when he uploaded it Thursday. The Queen of Motown was playing Las Vegas as part of her international Diana in Motion tour, which will whisk her off to the UK and Japan later this year. After whirling through such American locales as San Antonio, Memphis, Nashville and Orlando, she will perform in the Japanese cities of Yokohama and Osaka in May and wrap up the concert run at the Brighton and Hove Pride festival in England in August. Ross' take on Stranger Things stood in droll contrast to that of Kate Bush, whose 1985 song Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was also used on the show. As with Upside Down, Running Up That Hill enjoyed a surge of renewed popularity thanks to its appearance on the hit sci-fi series. Bush gushed that she had been a fan of Stranger Things throughout its run, praising the show in particular for its 'touching' use of her song as a 'talisman' for the Sadie Sink character Max, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 'I think they put it in a really special place. I thought: "What a lovely way for [Running Up That Hill] to be used, in such a positive way,"' said Bush, 67. She noted that the song 'was written as the idea of a man and a woman swapping with each other. Just to feel what it was like, from the other side.' Stranger Things dropped its final episodes last month, including a widely derided, draggingly long scene in which Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) comes out to his friends as gay Meanwhile Upside Down - a favorite of King Charles - was written for Ross by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the founders of the disco group Chic. 'Upside down, boy, you turn me inside out and 'round and 'round,' Ross sings in the chorus of the song, which was the lead single of her smash solo album Diana. 'Instinctively, you give to me the love that I need. I cherish the moments with you,' she continues in one of the verses. 'Respectfully, I say to thee, I'm aware that you're cheating when no one makes me feel like you do.' 'Diana Ross was the first big star we ever worked with and we took it very seriously,' Rodgers said in an interview quoted by the blog Twenty First Century Music. He and Edwards spent days interviewing Ross to get a sense of her personality, in contrast to their previous work with the girl group Sister Sledge, for whom they had recently written the now classic 1979 single We Are Family. 'This was the first time in her life somebody cared about who she was; what she was - everyone previously had treated her the way we had treated Sister Sledge - they got her in and said: "Sing this,"' Rodgers observed. They changed tack with Ross 'because we felt we'd misrepresented Sister Sledge because we hadn't met them before they came in to sing We Are Family.' When the former Prince Andrew invited Emily Maitlis to interview him at Buckingham Palace for the BBCs Newsnight programme in 2019, it was one of the most ill-fated decisions in recent royal history. And now the producer who secured the interview, Sam McAlister, has said Andrews elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, should share the blame for that foolish decision. Speaking for the first time since King Charless brother was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Ms McAlister describes Beatrice, 37, as the rainmaker a term usually used for someone who pulls off major financial deals. In my view, when Princess Beatrice came along unexpectedly to the face-to-face negotiation, which happened just three days before this interview physically happened, I called her the rainmaker, says the producer, who was played by Billie Piper in Scoop, the Netflix drama about Newsnights coup. A fathers motivation In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mails Palace Confidential YouTube channel, Ms McAlister explains: The reason is because she was protecting her fathers interests. She was super-polite, super-nice, super-friendly. But in that room with the people that were there, she was the one that had his interest purely at heart.' And it was clear that if we did not answer her questions well, that this interview was never going to happen. That is why I believe she was profoundly important in the conversation. She also believes Beas imminent wedding to property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi was a big influence on Andrew agreeing to the interview. She added: The human reason was he was about to turn 60. His daughter was about to get married and he wanted, as a father, to walk her down the aisle and return to the life that he had had before these onerous allegations and friendships hung over him like a dark cloud. So his motivation is to, I suppose, clear his name. The Epstein Files have subsequently proved that the Kings brother lied repeatedly to Ms Maitlis in the interview. Share your thoughts with us in the comments Opinion: Beatrice showed feelings of 'dislike' towards William Princess Beatrice showed 'awkwardness and dislike' towards the Prince and Princess of Wales following the Christmas Day service at Sandringham, a body language expert has claimed. The eldest daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson accompanied members of the Royal Family for the traditional walkabout and service at St Magdalene Church. While others, including Zara and Mike Tindall, were seen happily chatting to William and Kate, Beatrice's display was, according to UK body language judge Judi James, on the 'awkward' side. It comes after Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were told they cannot join their family at Royal Ascot this year amid concerns about the escalating scandal involving the House of York and their ties with Jeffrey Epstein. Sources say the sisters, whose names appear several times in the Epstein files, will not take their seats in the Royal Box at the prestigious horse-racing event in June, nor can they join senior royals for the Royal Procession. The move is said to have 'completely blindsided' Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, who are already reeling from the arrest of their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office. But perhaps signs of the York sisters' growing distance from William and Kate were evident long before news of Ascot. Speaking to the Daily Mail about Beatrice's Christmas Day appearance, James said: 'There is a type of smile known as a performed or applied rictus that is a wide smile that appears effortful and not prompted by authentic pleasure. Continue reading on Beatrice feelings here: Nearly one year after two teenagers were brutally killed during a day hike in Arizona, grizzly new details were revealed from a heavily redacted medical examiner's report. Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, were found dead on May 27 last year after they were murdered in a remote hiking spot in the Tonto National Forest. Both of the teen's deaths were ruled as homicide. Now, newly released reports from the Maricopa Medical Examiner's Office reveal that Kjolsrud was found with multiple gunshots to the head and upper body, AZ Family reported. Clark was shot multiple times to the head, the report stated, according to the outlet. Redacted secrets No other injuries were available. The report remained heavily redacted, with only one page released to reporters after a judge ordered they be partially sealed for privacy and investigative concerns, AZ Family reported. Thomas Brown, 31, was arrested in October and accused of the murders of Kjolsrud and Clark. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The military veteran was allegedly camping with his wife in the area before she left a day early. Brown had gone to police with tips and drone footage from the extra day he was alone. It remains unclear why Brown's wife allegedly left the camping trip early without him. On May 29, the suspected killer directly addressed the murders of Clark and Kjolsrud, sharing a link to a local news article and writing, 'Nicole, Snoopy, and I were there days before. Terrible news, especially with the last days of school just prior.' Four months later, he was arrested on suspicion of their murders. The DNA trap The 31-year-old told investigators he had seen the two victims inside their car on the day of the murders. Tips also came in to law enforcement from another group of campers who said they had encountered a man 'acting strange' in the area. With suspicion mounting over his possible involvement, Brown was ultimately tied to the murders when his DNA was found in the victims' SUV, according to court records. Officials followed drag marks and found the teens bodies around a mile and a half from their car, where a bloody pillowcase was found inside, AZ Family reported. A pair of gloves found near the scene was also found to contain DNA belonging to Brown, Kjolsrud, and Clark, as well as the victims' blood, court records show. Vacant and handcuffed Brown said in an interview with officials that he ran into a 'younger male and female,' with descriptions that matched the teens. He claimed to have never had 'physical contact' with the two, but had gone through their belongings at the campsite before putting their things back, ABC 15 reported. Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan called the murders a 'senseless violent act' and said the remote location and terrain of the crime scene had slowed the investigation. The suspect is also believed to have acted alone, with officials assuring the community there is no ongoing danger. Footage posted online by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office shows Brown's vacant expression as he was perp-walked into the precinct. Dressed in a khaki t-shirt, shorts and camo-patterned crocs, Brown was led from a car and into the building by two law enforcement officers in handcuffs. A cold calculation After being processed, he was placed in a cell, staring ahead expressionless and sitting with his back straight and hands carefully placed on his knees as the door was shut, locking him inside. Brown's arrest brought an end to the victims' families' months-long agony. Kjolsrud and Clark - who both attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix - had decided to go on a camping trip together over the Memorial Day weekend to 'celebrate the start of summer vacation,' Simone previously told AZCentral. Clark's mother Sandra Malibu Sweeney told the outlet she had been wary about the trip because it meant the teens would be off grid. Her worst fears became a reality when the pair failed to return home as planned on May 26. Simone contacted law enforcement and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies searched the campsite just off State Route 87 near Mount Ord, finding the bodies of the two teens. Haunted no more It is unclear if the victims were friends or romantically involved. In a statement to 12News, Clark's mom said the arrest finally gave her the 'closure I desperately needed.' 'The past four months, I've been haunted every night by the murder of my son. I hope now that they have someone in custody, everyone can sleep safe knowing this person can't harm anyone else,' she said. Meanwhile, Simone vowed that her daughter's 'light and love and beauty' would not be overshadowed by her killer's actions. 'The darkness she encountered on that day that she met her killer will not her life... is darkness will not overcome her light,' she said. 'My daughter Pandora was a beautiful, brilliant light in this world. She was so full of joy and life and love.' Share your thoughts with us in the comments Keir Starmer would not have survived backing Donald Trump's Iran strikes, it was claimed today - after Ed Miliband spearheaded Cabinet resistance to the idea. The PM is engaged in a bitter and increasingly personal row with the US president over Britain's refusal to allow UK bases to be used. But a senior Labour MP has insisted Sir Keir 'didn't have a choice' about turning down the request following the by-election humiliation by anti-war Greens in Gorton & Denton. Sir Keir barely survived a coup last month amid the Mandelson scandal, and has been facing massive pressure to lurch to the Left. Details have emerged of a bruising discussion at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday, less than 24 hours before the American-Israeli strikes began. Cabinet pressure mounted over Iran strikes Mr Miliband - nicknamed 'Red Ed' and touted as a replacement leader - Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are said to have urged Sir Keir to shun the US assault on Iran, pointing to the domestic political situation. Security sources said Mr Miliband took a 'petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political approach' at a meeting of the National Security Council last Friday the day before the US attack began, and just hours after Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election. He and Ms Reeves are said to have 'made it quite difficult for the Prime Minister', while Ms Cooper adopted the 'cautious approach of the Foreign Office'. Mr Trump was incensed by Sir Keir's initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel - with the Transatlantic wrangling said to have been going on for weeks. Starmer hits back after Trumps no Churchill jibe That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with 'defensive' actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them. Mr Trump condemned the premier as 'disappointing' and 'no Churchill' on Tuesday, as the situation became more personal. But at PMQs yesterday Sir Keir accused Mr Trump of lacking a 'viable, thought-through plan'. He said letting the US use UK bases to shoot down drones 'is the special relationship in action' but 'hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not'. Labour MP John McDonnell told ITV's Peston last night that he was not surprised Sir Keir rejected the request from the US. 'I don't think he had a choice then... we'd just lost a by-election, crushed in a by-election, we've got elections coming up in May in local government,' the former frontbencher said. 'I'm not sure whether he would have survived as PM if he'd gone along with Trump automatically.' Domestic politics shaped UK stance on Iran strikes The PM's decision on whether the national interest required the UK to stay close to the US appears to have been influenced by considerations of Labour's domestic problems. According to the revelations from the Spectator, the national security discussion came down to the legality of the proposed action and whether 'a positive relationship with the US was a good thing right now for the party'. The PM is said to have been on the receiving end of several 'very angry' phone calls from Mr Trump over the use of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to mount bombing raids. However, sources suggested that legal objections were conveyed to the US days before the final decision. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'We never comment on the content of National Security Council meetings. 'The decision had the full support of the Cabinet, including all the members of the National Security Council.' Starmer defies Trump's 'no Churchill' jibe, insists UK is 'not involved' with Iran attacks Keir Starmer has defied brutal rebukes from Donald Trump insisting the UK is 'not involved' with Iran strikes. The PM made his latest attempt to wash his hands of the US president's military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking Ramadan fast last night. Sir Keir - who has been desperately trying to shore up Labour's left flank since the Greens inflicted an humiliating by-election defeat - also talked up his determination to get 'justice' for Gaza. The comments came after Mr Trump fuelled alarm about the state of the Special Relationship by condemning the premier as 'no Churchill'. The president was incensed by Sir Keir's initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel. That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with 'defensive' actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them. Sir Keir is also facing a huge backlash for failing to protect Britain's base on Cyprus, which was hit by a suicide drone thought to have been fired by Tehran's proxies late on Sunday night. Embarrassingly, military minnow Greece will have warships in position to protect RAF Akrotiri days before the Royal Navy will be anywhere near the danger zone. Emmanuel Macron has ordered a French frigate to the region, in a move that seemingly finally stung Sir Keir into action yesterday. Read the full story here Up to nearly 50,000 more files linked to convicted [child predator] Jeffrey Epstein will be released later this week, and are believed to contain unverified claims about President Donald Trump. The files, which were mentioned in the tranche released in January, were withheld by the US Department of Justice, with the deputy attorney-general, Todd Blanche, insisting they were withheld to protect survivors. The documents are believed to contain unverified claims about the US President, including FBI notes from 2019 interviews with a woman who made allegations against both Epstein and Trump. It comes after a Wall Street Journal and CBS analysis found that 47,635 files appeared to be missing from the tranche of documents released to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Justice officials review files containing Trump allegations The department said they had been taken 'offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.' Officials previously stated some files contained fake or false materials that were sent to the FBI by the public and may 'contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump.' Files that are still public contain a 2025 memo in which federal officials wrote that the woman had said that Epstein introduced her to Trump and that she claimed the now-US president had assaulted her in a violent encounter when she was a minor in 1983. Trump has denied the allegations made against him, and there was no assessment by the FBI about the credibility of her accusation. The woman was also deemed ineligible for the Epstein victims' compensation programme, which paid settlements to more than 130 Epstein victims. Democrats slam redactions in Epstein files A justice department official said 'nothing has been deleted', but Democratic members of the House oversight committee investigating Epstein have criticised the redactions. The DOJ last month said it was reviewing whether it wrongfully withheld documents in the Epstein files containing allegations against Trump. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ is required to publicise most documents related to the cases against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The department is only permitted to withhold files under the act if they are duplicates, fall under attorney-client privilege, could hurt an ongoing investigation or are completely unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The law specifically prohibits the department from withholding or redacting files because they could be embarrassing to public officials. Hundreds of lawyers deployed to review Epstein files Before releasing the tranche of files in January, the Department of Justice deployed hundreds of attorneys to review the documents, giving them instructions on how to redact and determine whether the files needed to be released under the law, according to the WSJ. The reviewers, many of whom had little familiarity with the Epstein case, were then expected to flag any 'government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials'. 'Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the department will, of course, publish it, consistent with the law,' a spokeswoman for the department said in a statement. Deputy attorney general Blanche, who has overseen the release of the files, has previously insisted that the department complied with the law and has not withheld documents or redacted information because it could prove embarrassing for Trump or other public figures. 'I can assure that we complied with the statute, that we did not protect President Trump,' he said at a news conference on January 30. 'We didn't protect or not protect anybody.' FBI interviews detailed Epstein victims claims A review of the documents shows the Department of Justice released an FBI summary of the woman's first FBI interview on July 24, 2019, in which she detailed the assault she faced from the financier on Hilton Head Island beginning when she was around 13 in the 1980s. The summary of the interview - which came shortly after Epstein was arrested on federal [sexual intercourse] trafficking charges - does not mention allegations against Trump. But the FBI apparently determined the woman's initial allegations against Epstein were significant enough that agents followed up with her for three more interviews on August 7, 2019, August 20, 2019 and October 16, 2019. Notes from all four FBI interviews with the woman were included on a list of materials provided to Maxwell's defence attorneys in 2021 and were described as non-testifying witness material, according to another file in the release. A source familiar with the investigation also told NBC News that the survivor is the same person who made an additional allegation that she was forced into a [sexual intercourse] act with Trump when she was about 13 or 14 years old in New Jersey. FBI questioned credibility of Epstein-related claims This accusation was summarised in a document prepared by the FBI last summer in a presentation on the prominent names mentioned in the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The FBI, though, has said that most of the claims were either deemed not credible or made by people who provided no contact information. At around the same time that she came forward with these allegations, the woman joined a civil lawsuit against the Epstein estate, claiming he sexually abused her around 1984. The suit claimed Epstein flew her to New York and trafficked her to 'prominent wealthy men'. However, she was deemed ineligible for the Epstein Victim's Compensation Program and her suit was voluntarily dismissed in 2021, the Journal reports. President Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said his friendship with Epstein ended before he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for [adult trade] in 2008. By the time Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he hadn't talked to him in about 15 years. Ahead of the release of the new set of files, a White House spokesperson said: 'Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.' Share your thoughts with us in the comments President Donald Trump could be forced to flee to one of the government's top secret bases across the United States if a global nuclear war broke out, doomsday plans have revealed. As the war with Iran threatens to spiral into a global nuclear conflict, the government already has a playbook in place to keep itself running called the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). This plan ensures that critical government functions, such as national defense, economic stability and public safety, keep going even if several major cities were destroyed by a weapon of mass destruction. From fortified bunkers in Colorado, Pennsylvania or Virginia, the Trump Administration or future White Houses could continue to govern the country despite the grave threat of World War III breaking out. Three Sites Part of COOP Three sites, Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Raven Rock Mountain Complex and Cheyenne Mountain Complex, have been publicly acknowledged as being part of COOP since the Cold War. They have all been outfitted with essential technology for communicating with the public and the military in a crisis. Despite being constructed during the Cold War, these facilities are not relics. They are actively funded, staffed, and referenced in the US government's annual budgets, and were even prepared for use during the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. The sites are designed to protect the nation's leaders from direct nuclear attacks, with each facility built inside a defensible mountain range. Over the last year, the possibility that COOP was about to be implemented terrified many Americans, as the president's emergency command aircraft had been caught flying over parts of the US on multiple occasions. FEMA-Managed Mount Weather The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has managed Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC) in Virginia since 1979. The base reportedly contains a bunker designed for civilian leaders and is full of communications equipment so multiple agencies within the US government can stay in contact with the public. MWEOC has been in operation since 1959, when the US Army ran the site, but it still remains a key piece of America's emergency plan that is regularly updated by FEMA every few years. The US Department of Homeland Security added that MWEOC not only 'provides reliable support' and 'resilient capabilities' for the president, but the base even serves as a command center for 'classified programs.' During a major global war, Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC) in Pennsylvania would likely serve as the Department of War's military command hub throughout the national emergency. Raven Rock Mountain Complex and Cheyenne Mountain Complex Formerly known as the Department of Defense (DoD), a 2025 report on the site declared: 'The RRMC supports COOP operational readiness by providing a safe and secure environment for DoD essential functions.' These tasks include providing an alternate headquarters for the Secretary of War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior military leaders. Millions of dollars in funding have been allotted to maintaining RRMC by the Trump Administration this year. Lastly, Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado is an underground facility and the former home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the military command responsible for defending the airspace over the US and Canada. While no longer NORAD's primary headquarters, it remains an alternate command center for the agency and a backup COOP site because of its nuclear-resistant design and extensive communication systems. Additional Sites Linked to US Continuity Planning The massive complex, which reportedly includes over a dozen buildings constructed 2,000 feet underground, was built on top of large steel springs for shock absorption. Raven Rock Mountain Complex was constructed in the same manner. The massive springs provide an added layer of protection from violent shaking or sudden forces caused by a nuclear explosion or earthquake. Other doomsday sites scattered throughout the US still remain in operation in case of an emergency, including one bunker right under the East Wing of the White House. According to an official government report from 2004, former Vice President Dick Cheney and others used this shelter during the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon. Peters Mountain in Virginia and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska have also been listed in reports from the federal government as still housing facilities the president and the cabinet can use as part of COOP. COOP Focuses on Protecting US Leadership During Crisis Following the first round of US and Israeli strikes on Iran this month, nuclear-armed China and Russia warned that the fighting could spread throughout the Middle East and lead to the world's superpowers launching nuclear bombs. Although this escalation would endanger tens of millions of Americans, COOP does not focus on protecting citizens. The plan is all about guaranteeing that leaders survive to guide the nation through crisis. The secretive government plan was created as a framework for relocating key personnel, securing communication networks, and protecting vital records if America's most protected sites came under attack. In a World War III scenario with nuclear weapons, COOP would ensure the president, military leaders, and other officials operate from safe locations, preventing a leadership collapse that could lead to disorder throughout the US. The plan includes clear lines of succession, so if the president, vice president, or other top officials are killed, others are ready to take charge. This is vital for maintaining military command and coordinating emergency responses during a global conflict. COOP's Origins Trace Back to the Cold War According to FEMA, COOP ensures 'the capability exists to continue essential agency functions across a wide range of potential emergencies.' This plan does not just cover World War III, but is handles the fallout from crises like a major natural disaster, another pandemic, or a terrorist attack. COOP's origins go back to the Cold War, when nuclear war with the Soviet Union was a daily fear for years. President Dwight Eisenhower laid the foundation in the 1950s through executive orders, directing agencies to prepare for post-attack governance. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) noted that Eisenhower's actions spurred the creation of secure facilities and communication systems to withstand nuclear blasts. Future presidents would expand those plans through directives like Presidential Decision Directive 67 in the 1990s, which formalized the COOP programs. COOP guided by National Continuity Policy Directive Today, it is guided by the National Continuity Policy Directive (FCD-1), ensuring adaptability to modern threats, such as cyberattacks that cause national blackouts or nuclear escalation. As for where the president and other leaders will escape to if a full-scale ware breaks out, three specific locations are fortified enough to withstand a nuclear attack. Although COOP is well-documented in government and scholarly sources, specific details are classified for security purposes. FEMA's official website outlines continuity programs, emphasizing their role in national preparedness. Even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has publicly detailed its own COOP measures, showing how agencies would implement the plan. A 2002 report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) confirmed COOP's activation after the 9/11 terror attacks, with 75 to 150 officials relocated to secure sites, proving its real-world use. Costco is famous for its rock-bottom prices - but those savings can come with a trade-off. Shoppers may score unbeatable deals, yet they often pay in time, facing ultra-long checkout lines driven by the stores high-volume, bulk-buying model, limited express lanes, and heavy peak-hour crowds. But this could change. In recent months, the members-only warehouse giant has adjusted its checkout strategy, scaling back on self-checkouts while testing new technology in select locations. Rather than getting rid of self-checkout altogether, Costco has removed hand-held scanners from kiosks in some stores after they were reportedly used to help bypass proper scanning and facilitate theft. CEO Ron Vachris told investors the company has begun deploying systems that allow employees to scan items in customers' carts before they reach the cashier - an effort aimed at speeding up throughput and reducing errors. The approach differs from the fully customer-operated 'Scan & Go' system already in place at rival Sam's Club, where shoppers scan items using the retailer's app, pay digitally, and present a QR code at the exit. Costco does not currently offer a nationwide app-based checkout system that allows customers to complete purchases entirely on their phones but it is investing heavily in new technology. Still, some members say they have yet to notice meaningful changes. One Reddit user wrote in late February: 'I cannot figure out why Costco has refused to utilize technology more efficiently.' In recent months, the members-only warehouse giant has adjusted its checkout strategy, scaling back on self-checkouts while testing new technology in select locations Another said they switched to Sam's Club primarily because of its mobile scanning system, adding: 'We're in and out in 15 minutes.' Others, however, say they have seen self-checkout changes at Costco - and are not fans. Rick LeBeau, posting in early February, said his San Diego-area warehouse removed hand-held scanners from self-checkout stations. According to store staff, the decision was linked to theft concerns. 'I didn't think Costco would have a problem with that,' he wrote, asking whether other locations had done the same. Not all shoppers want more automation. Some say they prefer traditional cashier lanes and are wary of increased app usage or data sharing. 'I fully expect to still have the ability to go through a cashier line,' one customer wrote. 'The moment it becomes 'app only' is the moment I cancel my membership.' Along with rock-bottom prices, Costco is known for long checkout lines - largely due to its high-volume, bulk-shopping model, limited express options and peak-time crowds Not all shoppers want more automation. Some say they prefer traditional cashier lanes and are wary of increased app usage or data sharing The checkout adjustments come as several major retailers reassess self-service technology. Chains including Walmart and Target have also scaled back self-checkout in some stores following complaints about errors, slowdowns and theft. Beyond checkout, Costco has rolled out a series of digital upgrades, including app improvements and virtual 'waiting rooms' for high-demand items such as Pokemon cards, designed to prevent bots from overwhelming the site. Last year, the company also installed membership card scanners at store entrances to curb card sharing - a move that drew mixed reactions from customers. As part of that crackdown, Costco began requiring membership verification at certain outdoor food courts, limiting access to non-members who previously could purchase the retailer's $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. Some shoppers have also complained about constantly shifting aisles - though executives have long described the rotating layout as part of Costco's 'treasure hunt' strategy, designed to encourage discovery. Earlier this year, the retailer faced accusations of shrinkflation after customers said a new cookie variety contained fewer units per package while prices remained steady or increased. Layoffs across America fell in February - but a closer look at the data reveals troubling signs that the labor market may be heading for deeper trouble. US employers announced 48,307 job cuts in February, down from 108,435 layoffs in January, according to a report released this morning by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. At first glance, the drop appears to signal relief after a brutal start to the year. But the broader picture is far less reassuring. Employers have already announced 156,742 job cuts in the first two months of 2026, making it the fifth-highest January-to-February total since the financial crisis in 2009. Worse, hiring plans are collapsing. Companies announced just 18,061 planned hires so far this year, a 56 percent drop compared with the same period in 2025. That suggests businesses are becoming increasingly cautious about adding workers even as layoffs continue. 'Februarys dip is a nice reprieve from the elevated job cut plans to start the year,' said Andy Challenger, workplace expert at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. But he warned that the relief could be short-lived. Andy Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Februarys drop in layoffs may only be temporary as companies brace for economic uncertainty and rising costs 'With US involvement in a growing war in Iran, the end of the first quarter may bring more layoff plans as companies tighten belts amid uncertainty and higher costs,' he said. Technology companies remain at the center of the job-cut wave. The sector announced 11,039 layoffs in February, bringing the total for 2026 to 33,330 - a 51 percent jump compared with the same period last year. Much of the disruption is being driven by artificial intelligence, which companies are increasingly using to replace workers. Businesses cited AI as the reason for 4,680 layoffs in February, accounting for one in ten job cuts announced during the month. It brings the total for this year to 12,304 job cuts. The trend is already playing out across major companies. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's new payments company Block last week cut 4,000 jobs, roughly two in five of its workforce, as the company restructures around artificial intelligence. In January, Amazon said it will cut 16,000 corporate jobs worldwide to cut bureaucracy - but also as it ramps up use of AI. The cuts come just three months after roughly 14,000 roles were eliminated in October. Chief executive Andy Jassy has repeatedly warned that AI will shrink the companys workforce over time. Media organizations have also been trimming staff as advertising revenues remain under pressure. Retailers and warehouses are shedding thousands of roles as automation and store closures reshape the job market Amazon boss Andy Jassy has warned the company will keep cutting corporate staff as it leans more heavily on AI and automation Challenger said the news industry alone announced 324 job cuts in February, the highest monthly total since May last year, including layoffs at the Washington Post. Transportation companies have also slashed jobs at an alarming pace. The industry has announced 31,702 layoffs so far this year, a staggering 872 percent surge compared with early 2025. Also in January, UPS said it plans to cut around 30,000 operational roles in 2026 as automation accelerates and trade pressures weigh on the business. The auto industry is also shedding jobs. Carmakers announced 1,756 layoffs in February, adding to more than 4,000 job cuts so far this year as manufacturers navigate rising costs and shifting demand. Healthcare has also seen a surge in layoffs, with hospitals and health product manufacturers announcing 19,228 job cuts in the first two months of the year, the highest early-year total for the sector since 2021. Education layoffs are rising as well. School districts announced 5,417 job cuts in February, nearly doubling the level recorded at the same point last year as declining enrollment and funding pressures force administrators to reduce staff. The construction sector has also begun trimming staff. Builders announced 720 job cuts in February, bringing the total for the year to 1,297 - roughly 60 percent higher than the same point last year as developers grapple with high borrowing costs and slowing building activity. Actress Sydney Sweeney has fronted campaigns for Fords Bronco and Mustang models. Automakers announced 1,756 job cuts in February, bringing total layoffs in the sector to 4,391 so far in 2026 Economists say that few Americans have signed contracts for new jobs, especially compared to recent run-ups in hiring as companies rebooted following the 2020 pandemic. They describe the environment as 'low firing, how hiring' UPS is preparing to cut around 30,000 operational jobs in 2026 as the package delivery giant accelerates automation and restructures its business Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block, the parent company of Cash App, Square and Afterpay, would be taking on risk by investing in 'intelligence tools,' as the company cut more than 4,000 employees last week Across the economy, companies say they are cutting jobs for a mix of reasons - but the most common explanations reflect a growing sense of caution. Store and department closures accounted for 10,736 layoffs in February, while economic conditions were blamed for more than 10,000 additional cuts. Restructuring and cost-cutting were also major drivers. Taken together, the numbers suggest businesses are preparing for tougher economic conditions ahead. And despite the drop in February layoffs, the sharp slowdown in hiring signals that many companies are bracing for uncertainty rather than expanding their workforce. AGF Management Limited (OTCMKTS:AGFMF Get Free Report)s stock price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.98 and traded as high as $15.1480. AGF Management shares last traded at $15.1140, with a volume of 7,697 shares traded. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating on shares of AGF Management in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an outperform rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Securities reissued a buy rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a buy rating on shares of AGF Management in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get AGF Management alerts: Get Our Latest Report on AGF Management AGF Management Price Performance About AGF Management The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.11 and a 200 day moving average of $11.09. (Get Free Report) AGF Management Limited is a Canadian-based investment management firm that offers a broad suite of products and services to retail, institutional and private wealth clients. The companys core offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), managed solutions and separately managed accounts. AGFs investment platforms span equity, fixed-income, multi-asset and alternative strategies, allowing clients to access active management and customized portfolio solutions. Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Toronto, AGF Management operates additional offices in Montreal and other locations across Canada. See Also Receive News & Ratings for AGF Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AGF Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.16), FiscalAI reports. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $337.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $874.92 billion. BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance BBAR stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.19. 518,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,159. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $17.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.72. BBVA Banco Frances has a 52-week low of $7.76 and a 52-week high of $23.10. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 1.10. Get BBVA Banco Frances alerts: BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.0357 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from BBVA Banco Francess previous monthly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. BBVA Banco Francess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.21%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BBAR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a hold rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $17.67. Check Out Our Latest Report on BBAR Institutional Investors Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,523 shares of the banks stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 9,764 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 93,265 shares of the banks stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 13,594 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 171.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,455 shares of the banks stock worth $2,921,000 after buying an additional 112,161 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,021,521 shares of the banks stock valued at $33,274,000 after acquiring an additional 180,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 229.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 60,156 shares of the banks stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 41,920 shares in the last quarter. BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile (Get Free Report) BBVA Banco Frances is one of Argentinas leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and mediumsized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets. Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Frances has developed a longstanding presence in Argentinas financial sector. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for BBVA Banco Frances Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BBVA Banco Frances and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM Free Report) (NYSE:CM) had its price objective upped by Barclays from C$137.00 to C$141.00 in a research note published on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CM. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$135.00 to C$139.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$136.00 to C$145.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. National Bank Financial increased their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$131.00 to C$150.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$142.00 to C$153.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$135.00 to C$150.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$146.45. Get Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce alerts: Get Our Latest Report on CM Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Trading Up 0.6% TSE CM opened at C$138.09 on Monday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a 12 month low of C$76.17 and a 12 month high of C$143.80. The stocks fifty day moving average price is C$129.86 and its 200-day moving average price is C$120.37. The stock has a market cap of C$127.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.26. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM Get Free Report) (NYSE:CM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported C$2.76 earnings per share for the quarter. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 14.76%. The business had revenue of C$8.40 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will post 6.4127341 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This is an increase from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.27%. Insider Activity In other news, insider Frank Guse sold 5,000 shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$127.16, for a total transaction of C$635,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,359 shares in the company, valued at C$172,810.44. The trade was a 78.63% decrease in their position. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Company Profile (Get Free Report) CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 15 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA Get Free Report)s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $5.49 and traded as high as $5.65. Citizens shares last traded at $5.42, with a volume of 58,047 shares traded. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Citizens in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens has a consensus rating of Hold. Get Citizens alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on Citizens Citizens Trading Down 0.6% Institutional Trading of Citizens The stock has a market cap of $272.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 0.43. The firms 50 day moving average is $5.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.49. A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CIA. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Citizens in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens by 3,686.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,541 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 14,157 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Citizens by 92.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,724 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 5,141 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Citizens in the second quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the companys stock. Citizens Company Profile (Get Free Report) Citizens, Inc (NYSE:CIA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Northern Arkansas, the company provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, small businesses and corporate clients across Northern and Central Arkansas. Citizens offers a range of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside lending solutions such as residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans and consumer installment loans. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Citizens Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citizens and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares (NYSEARCA:BRZU Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 150,925 shares, a decline of 20.7% from the January 29th total of 190,233 shares. Approximately 11.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 71,248 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 71,248 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 11.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares Trading Up 3.3% Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares stock traded up $3.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.25. The companys stock had a trading volume of 60,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,445. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.07. The stock has a market cap of $141.81 million, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.75. Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares has a 52 week low of $41.93 and a 52 week high of $121.73. Get Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares alerts: Institutional Trading of Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRZU. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Simplex Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,643 shares of the companys stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $184,000. About Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares The Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares (BRZU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Brazil 25-50 index. The fund provides 2x daily leveraged exposure to a market-cap-weighted index of large- and mid-cap Brazilian companies. BRZU was launched on Apr 10, 2013 and is managed by Direxion. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 2X Shares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE Get Free Report) and Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Cadence Bank and Madison County Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Get Cadence Bank alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Cadence Bank 0 8 2 0 2.20 Madison County Financial 0 0 0 0 0.00 Cadence Bank currently has a consensus target price of $42.88, indicating a potential upside of 1.76%. Given Cadence Banks stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Cadence Bank is more favorable than Madison County Financial. Volatility & Risk Earnings and Valuation Cadence Bank has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Madison County Financial has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. This table compares Cadence Bank and Madison County Financials revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Cadence Bank $3.01 billion 2.56 $544.46 million $2.82 14.94 Madison County Financial $29.54 million 2.70 $3.82 million N/A N/A Cadence Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Madison County Financial. Dividends Cadence Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Madison County Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Cadence Bank pays out 39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cadence Bank has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Cadence Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Profitability This table compares Cadence Bank and Madison County Financials net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Cadence Bank 18.12% 10.16% 1.14% Madison County Financial N/A N/A N/A Insider & Institutional Ownership 84.6% of Cadence Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Cadence Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of Madison County Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Summary Cadence Bank beats Madison County Financial on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks. About Cadence Bank (Get Free Report) Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services. The companys products and services also comprise small business administration lending, foreign exchange, wealth management, investment and trust, financial planning, retirement plan management, and personal and business insurance services. Cadence Bank was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi. About Madison County Financial (Get Free Report) Madison County Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Madison County Bank that provides banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking, money market savings, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; credit and debit cards; home loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, second mortgage, home improvement, recreational vehicle, personal, and overdraft protection loans, as well as loans for automobiles, trucks, and vans. The company also provides agricultural real estate, machinery and equipment, livestock and crop, and operating loans; and commercial real estate, construction, investment property, and working capital loans, as well as equipment financing services. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, and merchant services. The company was formerly known as Madison County Holding Company and changed its name to Madison County Financial, Inc. in October 2012. Madison County Financial, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Madison, Nebraska. Receive News & Ratings for Cadence Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cadence Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB Get Free Report) Director Ned Holmes sold 600 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.04, for a total transaction of $42,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,913,664. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.4% PB traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.78. The companys stock had a trading volume of 926,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,979. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.66. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.06 and a twelve month high of $77.20. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $71.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.90. Get Prosperity Bancshares alerts: Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $317.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.30 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 31.22% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Prosperity Bancsharess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.88%. A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PB shares. TD Cowen restated a buy rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded Prosperity Bancshares from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered Prosperity Bancshares from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $78.92. Read Our Latest Analysis on PB Institutional Trading of Prosperity Bancshares A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Prosperity Bancshares (Get Free Report) Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services. Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Prosperity Bancshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Prosperity Bancshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. International Land Alliance, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ILALD Get Free Report) shares fell 11.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $4.90 and last traded at $5.40. 10,279 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 10,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.10. International Land Alliance Price Performance The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.07. The company has a market cap of $13.74 million, a P/E ratio of -2.30 and a beta of -0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. About International Land Alliance (Get Free Report) International Land Alliance, Inc operates as a residential land development company with target properties located primarily in the Baja California, Northern region of Mexico, and Southern California. Its principal activities include purchasing properties; obtaining zoning and other entitlements required to subdivide the properties into residential and commercial building lots; securing financing for the purchase of the lots; enhance the properties' infrastructure and amenities; and selling the plots to homebuyers, retirees, investors, and commercial developers. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for International Land Alliance Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Land Alliance and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Inv Vk Invt Ny (NYSE:VTN Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 180,723 shares, a growth of 32.1% from the January 29th total of 136,858 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 42,005 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 42,005 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Institutional Trading of Inv Vk Invt Ny A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. North Ground Capital increased its stake in shares of Inv Vk Invt Ny by 73.6% in the third quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 106,729 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Inv Vk Invt Ny by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 253,029 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 87,544 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Inv Vk Invt Ny by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 149,200 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Inv Vk Invt Ny by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 112,148 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Inv Vk Invt Ny by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 12,425 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.87% of the companys stock. Get Inv Vk Invt Ny alerts: Inv Vk Invt Ny Trading Down 1.6% Shares of NYSE:VTN traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.32. The companys stock had a trading volume of 46,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,178. Inv Vk Invt Ny has a fifty-two week low of $9.49 and a fifty-two week high of $12.10. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $11.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.21. Inv Vk Invt Ny Announces Dividend About Inv Vk Invt Ny The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.0685 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. (Get Free Report) Invesco Trust for Investment Grade New York Municipals is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Invesco Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Invesco Advisers, Inc, INVESCO Asset Management (Japan) Limited, INVESCO Asset Management Deutschland GmbH, INVESCO Asset Management Limited, Invesco Canada Ltd., Invesco Hong Kong Limited, and INVESCO Senior Secured Management, Inc It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in investment grade New York municipal securities which include municipal bonds, municipal notes, municipal commercial paper, and lease obligations. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Inv Vk Invt Ny Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Inv Vk Invt Ny and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IVW Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,242,408 shares, a decrease of 26.7% from the January 29th total of 1,695,531 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,910,524 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,910,524 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF Trading Up 1.0% iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,443,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,744,916. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33 and a beta of 1.11. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $122.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.22. iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $126.61. Get iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 2.0% during the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the companys stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 3.5% in the third quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,488 shares of the companys stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. raised its position in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 3,021 shares of the companys stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the companys stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 11,647 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. About iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (the Growth Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth Index (the Growth Index). The Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market. The Growth Index is a subset of the S&P 500 and consists of those stocks in the S&P 500 exhibiting the strongest growth characteristics. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Luxottica Group SpA (OTCMKTS:LUXTY Get Free Report)s stock price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $55.90 and last traded at $55.80. 2,900 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 14,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.60. Luxottica Group Stock Up 0.4% The firm has a market cap of $27.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.80 and a 200 day moving average of $55.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Get Luxottica Group alerts: Luxottica Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Luxottica Group is an Italian eyewear company known for its vertically integrated business model spanning design, manufacturing, distribution and retail. Founded in 1961 by Leonardo Del Vecchio and historically headquartered in Italy, the company built a global footprint as an integrated supplier of prescription frames, sunglasses and optical lenses. Luxotticas operations have included in-house lens and frame production, wholesale distribution to eye-care professionals and direct-to-consumer retail through company-owned stores and e-commerce platforms. The companys brand portfolio has encompassed both proprietary and acquired eyewear labels, with well-known names such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Vogue Eyewear among its holdings. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Luxottica Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Luxottica Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX Get Free Report) SVP Leonard Isotoff sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total value of $247,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,777 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,693.64. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Matson Trading Down 0.8% NYSE MATX traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.24. 250,014 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,667. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $177.51. Get Matson alerts: Matson (NYSE:MATX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Matsons revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year. Matson Announces Dividend Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Matsons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.33%. Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.25. Read Our Latest Stock Report on MATX Institutional Trading of Matson Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 124.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the companys stock. About Matson (Get Free Report) Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matsons ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery. In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Matson Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Matson and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Peoples Financial Corporation (OTCMKTS:PFBX Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $20.41 and traded as high as $21.50. Peoples Financial shares last traded at $21.50, with a volume of 107 shares trading hands. Peoples Financial Price Performance The company has a market capitalization of $97.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73 and a beta of 0.23. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $20.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.43. Get Peoples Financial alerts: Peoples Financial (OTCMKTS:PFBX Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.40 million for the quarter. Peoples Financial had a return on equity of 4.03% and a net margin of 12.85%. About Peoples Financial Peoples Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for The Peoples Bank that provides banking, financial, and trust services to government entities, individuals, and small and commercial businesses in Mississippi. The company accepts various deposits, such as interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). It offers business, commercial, real estate, construction, personal, and installment loans; and personal trust, agencies, and estate services, including living and testamentary trusts, executorships, guardianships, and conservatorships. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Peoples Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Peoples Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe (NYSEARCA:EPV Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 16,788 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the January 29th total of 21,340 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 10,719 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 10,719 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 3.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPV. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,833 shares of the companys stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe during the 4th quarter worth about $394,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe during the second quarter worth approximately $297,000. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC purchased a new position in ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe during the second quarter worth about $122,000. Get ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe alerts: ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe Price Performance EPV stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.41. 10,840 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,737. ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe has a 52-week low of $18.67 and a 52-week high of $42.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.90. ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe Company Profile The ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe (EPV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE All Cap Developed Europe index. The fund provides a daily leveraged inverse (-2x) exposure to a market-cap-weighted index of European developed markets equities. EPV was launched on Jun 18, 2009 and is managed by ProShares. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ProShares UltraShort FTSE Europe and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ryerson Holding Corporation (NYSE:RYI Get Free Report)s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.73 and traded as high as $29.65. Ryerson shares last traded at $28.1650, with a volume of 1,166,065 shares trading hands. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms have weighed in on RYI. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ryerson from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Ryerson to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d) rating on shares of Ryerson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $31.00. Get Ryerson alerts: View Our Latest Report on RYI Ryerson Price Performance The company has a market cap of $907.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.52. Ryerson (NYSE:RYI Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.83). Ryerson had a negative return on equity of 6.19% and a negative net margin of 1.23%.The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Ryerson has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -1.1801.180 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ryerson Holding Corporation will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Ryerson Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Ryersons dividend payout ratio is -42.61%. Insider Buying and Selling In other Ryerson news, CEO Edward J. Lehner sold 59,001 shares of Ryerson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total transaction of $1,773,570.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 593,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,832,433.68. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James J. Claussen sold 4,972 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $149,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,228,520. This trade represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 64,973 shares of company stock valued at $1,952,740 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.95% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Ryerson A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ryerson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Ryerson during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ryerson during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryerson by 97.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Ryerson during the third quarter worth $56,000. 94.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Ryerson Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ryerson, Inc is a North American metals distributor and processor serving a broad range of industrial and manufacturing end markets. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company supplies carbon steels, stainless alloys, aluminum, brass and copper products to customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Through its extensive branch network, Ryerson provides just-in-time delivery and comprehensive inventory management solutions to support complex production schedules and tight lead-time requirements. In addition to raw material distribution, Ryerson offers a suite of value-added processing services, including laser and plasma cutting, plate burning, sawing, shearing, forming, drilling and welding. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Ryerson Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ryerson and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Uzbekistan's Syrdarya region to leverage Chinese experience for innovation, economic growth: president Xinhua) 18:38, March 05, 2026 TASHKENT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan's Syrdarya region is poised for a major transformation into a "territory of advanced innovation," drawing on Chinese experience and cooperation, as announced during a government meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Wednesday. The meeting, which focused on the effectiveness of regional reforms and future development priorities, highlighted that the Syrdarya region is already cooperating directly with several Chinese provinces. Among the flagship initiatives is a planned 100-million-U.S. dollar solar panel production facility, which reflects the region's shift towards high-tech and green energy industries. The regional economy has shown robust momentum, growing by 9.8 percent last year, with industrial production increasing by 8.2 percent. Per capita gross regional product has surged nearly 3.8 times since 2017, reaching 38.1 million soums (about 3,127 U.S. dollars) by 2025. The president emphasized that every project implemented in the region must have a "tangible impact" on the living standards and income of the population. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Kou Jie) Bk Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:BKTI Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 86,873 shares, an increase of 31.7% from the January 29th total of 65,948 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 32,576 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 32,576 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Bk Technologies Stock Performance Shares of BKTI traded up $2.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.00. 35,616 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,505. The company has a market cap of $331.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 0.45. The stocks 50-day moving average is $81.15 and its 200-day moving average is $74.99. Bk Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $26.33 and a fifty-two week high of $89.50. Get Bk Technologies alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Bk Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Bk Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Bk Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bk Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Bk Technologies by 3,882.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 916 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. 55.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Bk Technologies Company Profile BK Technologies Corporation is a designer and manufacturer of professional two-way radio communications equipment and systems. The companys product portfolio includes portable radios, mobile radios, repeater and dispatch consoles, antennas and related accessories. BK Technologies serves a broad range of end markets that require reliable voice and data communications, including public safety agencies, government entities, utilities, transportation, oil and gas, mining and commercial applications. BK Technologies offers both analog and digital radio platforms, supporting industry standards such as Project 25 (P25) for mission-critical communications. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Bk Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bk Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:GHYB Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,369 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the January 29th total of 6,552 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 52,981 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.3% of the companys shares are sold short. Approximately 0.3% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 52,981 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of NYSEARCA:GHYB traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.11. 2,457 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,075. Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $42.16 and a twelve month high of $45.91. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $45.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.47. Get Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF alerts: Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Cuts Dividend The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.2187 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF About Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 400.0% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Claris Financial LLC bought a new position in Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,992 shares of the companys stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 21,221.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,102 shares of the companys stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 8,064 shares during the last quarter. (Get Free Report) The Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (GHYB) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a broad-maturity, USD-denominated, high-yield corporate bond index selected by debt service and leverage. GHYB was launched on Sep 5, 2017 and is managed by Goldman Sachs. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Goldman Sachs Access High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tritax Big Box REIT plc (LON:BBOX Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as GBX 174 and last traded at GBX 172.20, with a volume of 1205131 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 171.80. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In BBOX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Shore Capital Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Tritax Big Box REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 230 target price on shares of Tritax Big Box REIT in a report on Monday, January 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 218.50. Get Tritax Big Box REIT alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on BBOX Tritax Big Box REIT Trading Up 1.9% The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 162.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 151.46. The company has a market capitalization of 4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.65. Tritax Big Box REIT (LON:BBOX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported GBX 8.38 EPS for the quarter. Tritax Big Box REIT had a return on equity of 5.78% and a net margin of 111.98%. Research analysts expect that Tritax Big Box REIT plc will post 8.9700057 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. About Tritax Big Box REIT (Get Free Report) Tritax Big Box REIT plc (ticker: BBOX) is the largest listed investor in high-quality logistics warehouse assets and controls the largest logistics-focused land platform in the UK. BBOX is committed to delivering attractive and sustainable returns for Shareholders by investing in and actively managing existing built investments and land suitable for logistics development. The Company focuses on well-located, modern logistics assets, typically let to institutional-grade tenants on long-term leases with upward-only rent reviews and geographic and tenant diversification throughout the UK. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Tritax Big Box REIT Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tritax Big Box REIT and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. UCB SA (OTCMKTS:UCBJF Get Free Report)s share price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $308.77 and traded as low as $304.29. UCB shares last traded at $304.29, with a volume of 155 shares changing hands. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating on shares of UCB in a report on Monday, February 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of UCB in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an outperform rating on the stock. Barclays reissued an overweight rating on shares of UCB in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of UCB in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a buy rating on shares of UCB in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy. Get UCB alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on UCB UCB Price Performance About UCB The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firms 50 day moving average is $309.15 and its 200 day moving average is $282.85. (Get Free Report) UCB SA is a Belgium-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of treatments for severe diseases of the immune system and the central nervous system. Founded in 1928 as Union Chimique Belge, the company transitioned from chemicals into pharmaceuticals and biologics and today concentrates its efforts on specialty medicines and research-driven innovation. UCBs work spans small molecules and biologics, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for patients with chronic and complex conditions. Key therapeutic areas for UCB include immunology and neurology, where the company markets several well-known products and maintains an active clinical pipeline. Read More Receive News & Ratings for UCB Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UCB and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Veolia Environnement SA (EPA:VIE Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of 29.93 and traded as high as 35.96. Veolia Environnement shares last traded at 35.96, with a volume of 2,777,598 shares trading hands. Veolia Environnement Stock Down 4.1% The firm has a 50 day moving average of 31.61 and a 200-day moving average of 29.99. Veolia Environnement Company Profile (Get Free Report) Veolia Environnement SA designs and provides water, waste, and energy management solutions worldwide. It operates through France and Special Waste Europe; Europe excluding France; Rest of the World; Water Technologies; and Other segments. The company is involved in resource management; customer relationship management; drinking water treatment and distribution; wastewater treatment; design and construction of treatment and network infrastructure; and sale of water treatment equipment, technologies, and facilities. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Veolia Environnement Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Veolia Environnement and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 16,540 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $918,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,101.5% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,383,176 shares of the companys stock worth $132,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274,925 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,642,498 shares of the companys stock worth $146,644,000 after buying an additional 935,468 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 6,192,636 shares of the companys stock worth $427,416,000 after buying an additional 649,390 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,476,673 shares of the companys stock valued at $101,920,000 after buying an additional 441,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,745,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the companys stock. Get Novo Nordisk A/S alerts: Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance NYSE:NVO opened at $38.51 on Thursday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $35.85 and a 52-week high of $91.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.96 and a 200 day moving average of $52.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.73. Novo Nordisk A/S Announces Dividend Novo Nordisk A/S ( NYSE:NVO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.97 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 68.91% and a net margin of 33.03%. On average, research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a $1.2751 dividend. This represents a yield of 541.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.63%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a market perform rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. HSBC reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $53.93. View Our Latest Analysis on Novo Nordisk A/S Novo Nordisk A/S News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Novo Nordisk A/S this week: Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded NVO to Equalweight and set a $40 price target, citing that the recent selloff has better priced in midterm risks a catalyst for shortterm buying. Morgan Stanley upgrade Morgan Stanley upgraded NVO to Equalweight and set a $40 price target, citing that the recent selloff has better priced in midterm risks a catalyst for shortterm buying. Positive Sentiment: Novo announced significant capacity investments: a $372.5M expansion in Monksland, Athlone (Ireland) and a 432M upgrade to produce oral Wegovy signals of management backing longterm growth in obesity/GLP1. Monksland expansion Ireland facility upgrade Novo announced significant capacity investments: a $372.5M expansion in Monksland, Athlone (Ireland) and a 432M upgrade to produce oral Wegovy signals of management backing longterm growth in obesity/GLP1. Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Neutral rating on NVO supportive of no dramatic rerating but not a bullish endorsement. Goldman Sachs reaffirms Neutral Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Neutral rating on NVO supportive of no dramatic rerating but not a bullish endorsement. Negative Sentiment: The U.S. FDA sent Novo a second warning letter ordering it to stop a consumer Ozempic ad, saying the commercial makes false or misleading claims raises regulatory scrutiny and potential marketing limitations for a core franchise. Reuters: FDA warning The U.S. FDA sent Novo a second warning letter ordering it to stop a consumer Ozempic ad, saying the commercial makes false or misleading claims raises regulatory scrutiny and potential marketing limitations for a core franchise. Negative Sentiment: Industry groups (AHA) are urging HRSA to block Novos new claimsdata submission policy affecting 340B hospitals potential policy & reimbursement friction that could pressure margins or access. AHA on 340B policy Industry groups (AHA) are urging HRSA to block Novos new claimsdata submission policy affecting 340B hospitals potential policy & reimbursement friction that could pressure margins or access. Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk surfaced as Pomerantz LLP opened an investigation into Novo Nordisk investors a potential headwind if suits follow regulatory or disclosure claims. Pomerantz investor investigation Investor litigation risk surfaced as Pomerantz LLP opened an investigation into Novo Nordisk investors a potential headwind if suits follow regulatory or disclosure claims. Negative Sentiment: Novo said it will halve the U.S. list price of Wegovy in 2027 direct pricing pressure on a growth driver that may weigh on revenue expectations. Wegovy price cut Novo said it will halve the U.S. list price of Wegovy in 2027 direct pricing pressure on a growth driver that may weigh on revenue expectations. Negative Sentiment: Competitive and generic threats: Aspen expects a Canada nod for a generic Ozempic this year and Roche is publicly targeting share gains in weightloss potential market share and pricing headwinds. Aspen generic Ozempic Roche competition Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile (Free Report) Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsvrd, Denmark, best known for its leadership in diabetes care and metabolic health. The company traces its roots to early Danish insulin production in the 1920s and was established in its current form through a 1989 merger of predecessor companies. Novo Nordisk develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and devices that address chronic and serious diseases, with a strong emphasis on long-term treatment and patient support. The companys core product portfolio centers on diabetes therapies, including a range of insulins and modern incretin-based treatments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Accor SA Sponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:ACCYY Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Buy from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. Several brokerages have recently commented on ACCYY. Kepler Capital Markets raised Accor from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an overweight rating on shares of Accor in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating on shares of Accor in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Get Accor alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on ACCYY Accor Price Performance About Accor ACCYY opened at $10.66 on Thursday. Accor has a twelve month low of $7.86 and a twelve month high of $12.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.58. (Get Free Report) Accor is a leading global hospitality group headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, with operations spanning more than 100 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Founded in 1967 by Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson, the company has grown from a single motel in Lille into one of the worlds largest hotel operators and owners, offering accommodation and hospitality services to both leisure and business travelers. The companys extensive brand portfolio covers a wide spectrum of market segments, ranging from luxury and premium offerings to midscale and economy hotels. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Accor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deere & Company, Corteva, Valmont Industries, Bunge Global, Cal-Maine Foods, Gates Industrial, and Andersons are the seven Agriculture stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Agriculture stocks are shares of companies involved in the farming sector and its supply chain for example, farm operators, equipment manufacturers, seed and fertilizer producers, agricultural chemical companies, and firms trading farm commodities. Their value to investors is typically tied to crop yields and commodity prices and is influenced by weather, input costs, global demand, and agricultural policy. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Agriculture stocks within the last several days. Get alerts: Deere & Company (DE) Deere & Co. engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts. Corteva (CTVA) Corteva, Inc. operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics. Read Our Latest Research Report on CTVA Valmont Industries (VMI) Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. Read Our Latest Research Report on VMI Bunge Global (BG) Bunge Global SA operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. The Agribusiness segment purchases, stores, transports, processes, and sells agricultural commodities and commodity products, including oilseeds primarily soybeans, rapeseed, canola, and sunflower seeds, as well as grains comprising wheat and corn; and processes oilseeds into vegetable oils and protein meals. Read Our Latest Research Report on BG Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names. Read Our Latest Research Report on CALM Gates Industrial (GTES) Read Our Latest Research Report on GTES Andersons (ANDE) The Andersons, Inc. operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The companys Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil. Read Our Latest Research Report on ANDE Further Reading Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN:USAS Get Free Report) shares dropped 13.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $8.59 and last traded at $8.66. Approximately 1,432,751 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 7,751,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.03. Analysts Set New Price Targets USAS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and set a $9.75 price target on shares of Americas Gold and Silver in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Americas Gold and Silver in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Americas Gold and Silver in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $9.75. Get Americas Gold and Silver alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Americas Gold and Silver Americas Gold and Silver Stock Performance Institutional Trading of Americas Gold and Silver The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.50 and a beta of 0.53. A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of USAS. NewGen Equity Long Short Fund bought a new position in Americas Gold and Silver in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,927,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Americas Gold and Silver in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,574,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Americas Gold and Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,954,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Americas Gold and Silver during the 4th quarter valued at $12,999,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Americas Gold and Silver by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,872,547 shares of the companys stock worth $30,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the companys stock. Americas Gold and Silver Company Profile (Get Free Report) Americas Gold and Silver Corporation is a precious metals mining company focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold assets in North America. The companys core operations center on the Cosala district in Sinaloa, Mexico and the Relief Canyon mine in Nevada, where it pursues both open-pit and underground mining techniques. In addition to these producing mines, Americas Gold and Silver maintains an exploration portfolio designed to support future growth and reserve replacement. The Cosala operation comprises multiple silver-gold deposits accessed via ramp and portal infrastructure. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Americas Gold and Silver Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Americas Gold and Silver and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,014,312 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the January 29th total of 1,619,504 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,220,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,220,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Price Performance NYSE BBVA opened at $22.06 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $23.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.42. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a one year low of $11.59 and a one year high of $26.20. The firm has a market cap of $127.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.80. Get Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria alerts: Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.74 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.7084 dividend. This represents a yield of 678.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentarias dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.46%. A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 1,819.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,616,734 shares of the banks stock worth $84,306,000 after buying an additional 3,428,336 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the banks stock worth $142,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034,318 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,248,176 shares of the banks stock worth $62,527,000 after acquiring an additional 615,985 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 373.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 768,243 shares of the banks stock valued at $14,789,000 after acquiring an additional 605,947 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 11.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,548,398 shares of the banks stock valued at $69,909,000 after acquiring an additional 467,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.96% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms recently weighed in on BBVA. Zacks Research raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b+) rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy. View Our Latest Analysis on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (Get Free Report) Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spains largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients. BBVAs core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Borregaard ASA (OTCMKTS:BRRDF Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 101,647 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the January 29th total of 79,857 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 207 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 491.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 207 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 491.0 days. Borregaard ASA Stock Performance OTCMKTS BRRDF opened at $19.18 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.36. Borregaard ASA has a twelve month low of $18.30 and a twelve month high of $19.18. Get Borregaard ASA alerts: About Borregaard ASA (Get Free Report) Borregaard ASA is a Norway-based advanced biorefinery company specializing in sustainable, wood-based solutions. Leveraging proprietary technologies, it produces a range of high-value products derived from lignocellulosic raw materials, including specialty cellulose, lignin derivatives, bioethanol, vanillin and fine chemicals. These offerings serve diverse industries such as construction, agriculture, personal care, food and pharmaceuticals, where they function as binders, dispersants, stabilizers and flavoring agents. Founded in 1889 with the establishment of a pulp mill on the Glomma River in Sarpsborg, Borregaard has evolved from a traditional paper and pulp producer into a pioneer of bio-based materials. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Borregaard ASA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Borregaard ASA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR Free Report) (TSE:QSR) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,742,299 shares of the restaurant operators stock after buying an additional 156,189 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $110,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the 2nd quarter worth $254,948,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Restaurant Brands International by 9,477.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,997,344 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $198,711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,048 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 112.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,296,050 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $286,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,694 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 8.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,303,726 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,015,137,000 after buying an additional 1,134,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 56.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,855,081 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $189,510,000 after buying an additional 1,029,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the companys stock. Get Restaurant Brands International alerts: Restaurant Brands International Trading Down 1.0% Shares of Restaurant Brands International stock opened at $71.41 on Thursday. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.71 and a twelve month high of $73.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.67. The firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend Restaurant Brands International ( NYSE:QSR Get Free Report ) (TSE:QSR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 8.23%.The firms revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Restaurant Brands Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Restaurant Brands Internationals dividend payout ratio is currently 105.08%. Insider Transactions at Restaurant Brands International In related news, insider Jill Granat sold 11,525 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $778,052.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 476,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,143,266.26. The trade was a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $866,018.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,923 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,155,121.73. This trade represents a 28.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 186,401 shares of company stock valued at $12,857,069 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.25% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts recently issued reports on QSR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $74.00 to $71.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $78.95. Get Our Latest Stock Report on QSR Restaurant Brands International Profile (Free Report) Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The companys principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands Internationals business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs. RBIs restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QSR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR Free Report) (TSE:QSR). Receive News & Ratings for Restaurant Brands International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Restaurant Brands International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB Free Report) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 718,779 shares of the transportation companys stock after buying an additional 77,495 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in Wabtec were worth $139,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Advisors raised its holdings in Wabtec by 454.5% in the 2nd quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 122 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 12,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Motco raised its stake in shares of Wabtec by 6,600.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 370.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 160 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 18,900.0% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 190 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the companys stock. Get Wabtec alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wabtec from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $269.00. Insider Activity at Wabtec In related news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.21, for a total value of $924,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,101 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,668,785.21. This represents a 25.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.62, for a total value of $302,013.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,017 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,155,904.54. The trade was a 8.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 33,192 shares of company stock worth $8,379,272 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Wabtec Price Performance Shares of Wabtec stock opened at $260.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stocks fifty day moving average is $238.44 and its 200 day moving average is $213.82. Wabtec has a one year low of $151.81 and a one year high of $266.27. Wabtec (NYSE:WAB Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year. Wabtec Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Wabtecs previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Wabtecs payout ratio is currently 18.16%. Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued. Wabtec Profile (Free Report) Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is a global provider of equipment, systems and services for the rail industry. The company supplies products and solutions to freight railroads, transit agencies and other industrial operators, focusing on technologies that improve the performance, safety and efficiency of locomotives and rail networks. Wabtecs business spans new equipment manufacturing, aftermarket parts and services, and digital and control systems for rail operations. Product and service offerings include locomotive systems and components, braking and air systems, propulsion and traction equipment, signaling and control technologies, and a range of aftermarket services such as maintenance, remanufacturing, parts distribution and fleet modernization. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WAB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wabtec (NYSE:WAB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Wabtec Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wabtec and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI Free Report) (TSE:CNR) by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 845,531 shares of the transportation companys stock after purchasing an additional 136,747 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $81,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 124.0% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 83.3% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 330 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the third quarter worth about $50,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Canadian National Railway alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNI. Vertical Research raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Canadian National Railway from a hold rating to an outperformer rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $151.00 in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group downgraded Canadian National Railway from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $118.91. Canadian National Railway Stock Performance NYSE CNI opened at $110.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stocks fifty day moving average is $102.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. Canadian National Railway Company has a fifty-two week low of $90.74 and a fifty-two week high of $113.08. Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI Get Free Report) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 27.28%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year. Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.915 dividend. This represents a $3.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railways previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Canadian National Railways dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%. Canadian National Railway Profile (Free Report) Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI) is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States. CNs core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI Free Report) (TSE:CNR). Receive News & Ratings for Canadian National Railway Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian National Railway and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 508,959 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 28,696 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 0.6% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $42,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Main Street Group LTD grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 4,511 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 7,441 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Wells Fargo & Company alerts: More Wells Fargo & Company News Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week: Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance NYSE WFC opened at $83.93 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $58.42 and a twelve month high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $258.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.08. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $90.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.55. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The companys revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Companys payout ratio is currently 28.71%. Insider Activity In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Freedom Capital lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. HSBC reissued a hold rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $97.03. Read Our Latest Report on Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile (Free Report) Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer. Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,081 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 38,532 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $32,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 4.9% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 84,589 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $12,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,498 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,636 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,724,000. Finally, American Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $520,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get TJX Companies alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have weighed in on TJX. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an outperform rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b+) rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $167.55. Insider Activity In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total value of $4,828,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $77,145,910.20. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. TJX Companies Stock Up 1.2% TJX stock opened at $161.66 on Thursday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.10 and a fifty-two week high of $162.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.73. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $155.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.28. TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 57.70%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. TJX Companiess revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. TJX Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.930-5.020 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.970-0.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year. TJX Companies Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. TJX Companiess payout ratio is presently 34.84%. TJX Companies Company Profile (Free Report) TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span womens, mens and childrens apparel, accessories, beauty, home decor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a treasure-hunt shopping experience for consumers. The companys business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for TJX Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TJX Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dekel Agri-Vision plc (LON:DKL Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as GBX 0.40 and last traded at GBX 0.44, with a volume of 29464 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.40. Dekel Agri-Vision Trading Down 5.9% The firm has a market capitalization of 4.81 million, a PE ratio of -0.40 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of GBX 0.44 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 432.90, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.50. Dekel Agri-Vision Company Profile (Get Free Report) Dekel Agri-Vision plc, through its subsidiaries, develops and cultivates palm oil plantations in the Republic of Cote dIvoire. The company operates through Crude Palm Oil and Raw Cashew Nut segments. It produces and sells palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm kernel cakes. The company was formerly known as DekelOil Public Limited and changed its name to Dekel Agri-Vision plc in November 2019. Dekel Agri-Vision plc was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Dekel Agri-Vision Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dekel Agri-Vision and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP Free Report) by 5.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,011,851 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 60,033 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LPs holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $497,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $693,736,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,270,995 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,347,019,000 after purchasing an additional 446,080 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 29.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 966,163 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $474,628,000 after purchasing an additional 219,080 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 78.2% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 463,149 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $227,652,000 after purchasing an additional 203,252 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 29.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 491,058 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $262,075,000 after purchasing an additional 112,784 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Ameriprise Financial alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.22, for a total transaction of $3,809,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,052,529.98. This represents a 55.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total value of $2,528,735.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,508,648.48. This represents a 50.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,658 shares of company stock worth $8,998,675 over the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders. Ameriprise Financial Price Performance Shares of AMP stock opened at $469.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $497.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $396.14 and a twelve month high of $550.18. Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $10.33 by $0.50. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 63.04% and a net margin of 19.28%.The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.54 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Ameriprise Financials dividend payout ratio is currently 17.60%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMP. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $484.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $605.00 price target (up from $580.00) on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Ameriprise Financial from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $434.00 to $530.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $555.67. Get Our Latest Stock Report on AMP Ameriprise Financial Profile (Free Report) Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm provides a range of advice-based wealth management, asset management and insurance products to individual and institutional clients. Its business model centers on delivering financial planning and investment advice through a network of financial advisors alongside proprietary product offerings designed to meet retirement, protection and accumulation needs. Core products and services include comprehensive financial planning and advisory services, managed investment portfolios, retirement planning solutions, annuities and life insurance products. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ameriprise Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ameriprise Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TD Securities downgraded shares of European Commercial REIT (TSE:ERE Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports. Separately, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of European Commercial REIT from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, European Commercial REIT currently has an average rating of Reduce. Get European Commercial REIT alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on European Commercial REIT European Commercial REIT Price Performance Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for European Commercial REIT Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for European Commercial REIT and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $17.00 target price on the auto manufacturers stock. F has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ford Motor from a buy rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.29. Get Ford Motor alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Ford Motor Ford Motor Price Performance Shares of F opened at $12.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. Ford Motor has a twelve month low of $8.44 and a twelve month high of $14.80. The company has a market cap of $51.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.65. Ford Motor (NYSE:F Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $45.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.78 billion. Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 4.37%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Ford Motor Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Ford Motors dividend payout ratio is presently -29.13%. Insider Activity In other Ford Motor news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. bought 140,000 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.82 per share, with a total value of $1,934,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,072,132. This trade represents a 3.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the first quarter worth about $304,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 41.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 147,760 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 43,385 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Ford Motor by 1,018.5% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 201.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 32,124 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 21,456 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Ford Motor News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Ford Motor this week: Ford Motor Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. Fords business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Ford Motor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ford Motor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gold Springs Resource Corp. (TSE:GRC Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$0.12 and last traded at C$0.12, with a volume of 60564 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.12. Gold Springs Resource Stock Performance The businesss fifty day simple moving average is C$0.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$0.09. The firm has a market cap of C$31.13 million, a P/E ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. About Gold Springs Resource (Get Free Report) Gold Springs Resource Corp is a growth-focused mineral exploration company advancing the district-scale Gold Springs gold project situated in mining-friendly Nevada and Utah. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Gold Springs Resource Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gold Springs Resource and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Snyder Capital Management L P lowered its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 833,641 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 13,899 shares during the quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P owned about 0.50% of Graco worth $70,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 0.3% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,755 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Graco by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viawealth LLC increased its stake in Graco by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 53,195 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Graco alerts: Graco Trading Up 0.6% Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $93.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $88.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.24. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $95.69. Graco ( NYSE:GGG Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Graco announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued. Graco Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Gracos dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.19%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued a sector weight rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $96.50. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on GGG Insiders Place Their Bets In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,846 shares of the companys stock, valued at $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Graco Profile (Free Report) Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Gracos solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets. The companys product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Graco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Graco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG Free Report) by 35.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,323 shares of the banks stock after selling 18,532 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder ABs holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,548,977 shares of the banks stock valued at $2,306,817,000 after acquiring an additional 209,467 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,671,355 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,059,293,000 after purchasing an additional 283,321 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,715,372 shares of the banks stock worth $353,430,000 after purchasing an additional 315,467 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,562,791 shares of the banks stock worth $293,685,000 after purchasing an additional 833,399 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $308,946,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the companys stock. Get Citizens Financial Group alerts: Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.8% Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $60.17 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The businesss 50 day moving average is $62.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement Citizens Financial Group ( NYSE:CFG Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Citizens Financial Groups payout ratio is 47.55%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In CFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.73. View Our Latest Analysis on Citizens Financial Group Citizens Financial Group Profile (Free Report) Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Citizens Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citizens Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK Free Report) by 96.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 78,152 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 2,287,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder ABs holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPK. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 19.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,022,347 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $464,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,846 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501,251 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $225,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,094 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,632,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,138,977 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $374,550,000 after buying an additional 1,502,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,570,040 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $243,781,000 after buying an additional 1,218,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the companys stock. Get Graphic Packaging alerts: Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging In other news, CEO Robbert Rietbroek bought 44,278 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.32 per share, with a total value of $501,226.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 44,278 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $501,226.96. The trade was a increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.6% Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $11.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $11.02 and a 12-month high of $28.19. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $14.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.64. Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 5.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year. Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Graphic Packagings payout ratio is presently 29.73%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth GPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial set a $14.00 target price on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $16.63. Read Our Latest Research Report on Graphic Packaging Graphic Packaging Company Profile (Free Report) Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a leading provider of sustainable paperboard packaging solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed for food, beverage and other consumer goods markets. The company specializes in the manufacture of containerboard, folding cartons and engineered fill materials, as well as beverage packaging systems including paperboard cups, carriers and related components. Through a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America, Graphic Packaging serves a diverse customer base that includes major consumer packaged goods companies, quick-service restaurants and retail chains. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GPK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Graphic Packaging Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Graphic Packaging and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL Free Report) by 297.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,198,564 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,142,670 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.76% of Hormel Foods worth $103,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 1,490.7% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the companys stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 77.4% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the companys stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the companys stock. Get Hormel Foods alerts: Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.7% HRL stock opened at $24.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.03 and a 12 month high of $32.07. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Hormel Foods ( NYSE:HRL Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Hormel Foodss revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.510 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year. HRL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d+) rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Piper Sandler restated a neutral rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hormel Foods from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $27.71. Read Our Latest Report on Hormel Foods Hormel Foods Company Profile (Free Report) Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The companys portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms. Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM canned meats, Jennie-O turkey products, Skippy peanut butter and Applegate natural and organic meats. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HRL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hormel Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hormel Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR Free Report) by 56.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,310 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 13,355 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLCs holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DLR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,405,531 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $9,232,748,000 after purchasing an additional 512,974 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust during the second quarter worth $3,808,270,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,405,760 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $3,557,336,000 after acquiring an additional 376,699 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,850,818 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,536,795,000 after acquiring an additional 196,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Digital Realty Trust by 3.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,356,429 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,282,446,000 after acquiring an additional 211,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.71% of the companys stock. Get Digital Realty Trust alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have issued reports on DLR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a buy rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $189.00 price target on Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Digital Realty Trust from $212.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Digital Realty Trust has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $192.33. Digital Realty Trust Trading Up 2.5% DLR opened at $182.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.71, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The companys 50 day moving average is $166.33 and its 200-day moving average is $166.21. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.95 and a 1-year high of $184.79. Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 21.41% and a return on equity of 5.88%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. The firms revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Digital Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Digital Realty Trust Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Digital Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.56%. About Digital Realty Trust (Free Report) Digital Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: DLR) is a real estate investment trust that owns, acquires and operates carrier-neutral data centers and provides related colocation and interconnection solutions. The company focuses on large-scale, mission-critical facilities that support the physical infrastructure needs of cloud providers, enterprises, network operators and content companies. Digital Realtys offerings are designed to enable secure, reliable and highly available IT infrastructure with an emphasis on power density, cooling, and physical security. Digital Realtys product set spans wholesale data center space, turnkey build-to-suit facilities, and retail colocation suites, complemented by interconnection services that allow customers to establish private and public connections to networks, cloud on-ramps and other ecosystem partners. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DLR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Digital Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Digital Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC Free Report) by 40.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,385 shares of the industrial products companys stock after buying an additional 6,737 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLCs holdings in Brady were worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the third quarter worth $227,000. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 7,674 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Brady by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 28,744 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Brady by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 170,714 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $13,321,000 after purchasing an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Brady by 1.8% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,075 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $4,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the companys stock. Get Brady alerts: Insider Activity at Brady In other Brady news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 5,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $448,578.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,661. This represents a 35.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brett Wilms sold 3,791 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.13, for a total transaction of $296,190.83. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,672 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $599,413.36. This trade represents a 33.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Brady Trading Up 1.1% BRC opened at $91.55 on Thursday. Brady Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.70 and a twelve month high of $99.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.14 and a 200-day moving average of $80.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Brady (NYSE:BRC Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $1.09. Brady had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.62%. The business had revenue of $384.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $376.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Brady has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brady Corporation will post 4.55 EPS for the current year. Brady Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.245 dividend. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Bradys payout ratio is presently 22.95%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades BRC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Brady from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Brady in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Strong Buy. View Our Latest Analysis on BRC Brady Profile (Free Report) Brady Corporation is a global provider of identification and safety solutions, specializing in the design, manufacture and sale of products that help businesses improve safety, security and efficiency. The company offers an array of durable labels, signs, safety devices, printing systems and software platforms tailored to a wide range of industrial and commercial environments. Founded in 1914 by William H. Brady, Brady Corporation has grown from a regional marker manufacturer into a diversified global enterprise. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BRC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Brady Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brady and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprinklr, Inc. (NYSE:CXM Free Report) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 126,230 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $974,000. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sprinklr by 2.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 118,364 shares of the companys stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 2,478 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Sprinklr by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 581,361 shares of the companys stock worth $4,854,000 after purchasing an additional 25,609 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sprinklr in the 1st quarter valued at about $287,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Sprinklr by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 260,769 shares of the companys stock worth $2,177,000 after buying an additional 10,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sprinklr during the second quarter worth approximately $409,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.19% of the companys stock. Get Sprinklr alerts: Sprinklr Trading Up 0.1% Shares of CXM opened at $5.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.78. Sprinklr, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $9.69. The firms 50-day moving average is $6.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.32. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Sprinklr ( NYSE:CXM Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Sprinklr had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The business had revenue of $219.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sprinklr, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year. A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CXM shares. Citigroup reiterated a market outperform rating on shares of Sprinklr in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sprinklr from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Sprinklr in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a buy rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Sprinklr in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a neutral rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Sprinklr in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.89. Get Our Latest Report on Sprinklr Insider Buying and Selling at Sprinklr In other news, Director Yvette Kanouff sold 116,226 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.86, for a total value of $913,536.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 239,928 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,885,834.08. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Arun Pattabhiraman sold 16,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.78, for a total value of $128,626.74. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 517,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,029,090.84. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 613,650 shares of company stock worth $4,384,853. 60.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Sprinklr Company Profile (Free Report) Sprinklr, Inc (NYSE: CXM) is a leading enterprise software firm specializing in customer experience management. The company offers a unified, AI-driven platform designed to help organizations engage customers across multiple digital and social channels. By consolidating marketing, advertising, research, care and engagement functions into a single SaaS solution, Sprinklr enables brands to deliver consistent and personalized experiences at scale. Sprinklrs platform includes modules for social media management, customer service automation, social advertising and market research, supplemented by AI and machine learning capabilities. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CXM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sprinklr, Inc. (NYSE:CXM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Sprinklr Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sprinklr and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN Free Report) by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 309,914 shares of the banks stock after selling 222,390 shares during the period. Banco Santander makes up approximately 0.9% of Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs holdings in Banco Santander were worth $3,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in Banco Santander by 2.0% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 49,186 shares of the banks stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Banco Santander by 5.5% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 19,756 shares of the banks stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 16,554 shares of the banks stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Banco Santander by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 15,865 shares of the banks stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Banco Santander by 6.0% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,617 shares of the banks stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the companys stock. Get Banco Santander alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms recently weighed in on SAN. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banco Santander from a buy (b+) rating to a buy (a-) rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Banco Santander from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Banco Santander from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Banco Santander Trading Up 5.1% Shares of SAN opened at $11.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.33. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $5.54 and a 52-week high of $13.24. The firm has a market cap of $172.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.71. The businesss fifty day moving average is $12.26 and its 200-day moving average is $10.99. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $18.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.85%. Equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. Key Headlines Impacting Banco Santander Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week: Banco Santander Company Profile (Free Report) Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europes largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN. The groups core activities include retail and commercial bankingoffering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financingalongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SAN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Banco Santander Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Santander and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEARCA:EWG Free Report) by 119.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,919 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 32,645 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI Germany ETF were worth $2,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berbice Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Germany ETF by 60.0% in the second quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI Germany ETF by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,346 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its stake in iShares MSCI Germany ETF by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 25,306 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in iShares MSCI Germany ETF by 146.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 842 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI Germany ETF by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,581 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.42% of the companys stock. Get iShares MSCI Germany ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Germany ETF Price Performance iShares MSCI Germany ETF stock opened at $42.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 1.03. iShares MSCI Germany ETF has a 12-month low of $32.82 and a 12-month high of $44.65. The firms 50-day moving average is $43.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.10. iShares MSCI Germany ETF Profile iShares MSCI Germany ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the German market, as measured by the MSCI Germany Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Germany equity market. It is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEARCA:EWG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Germany ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Germany ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jet2 plc (LON:JET2 Get Free Report) insider Stephen Heapy purchased 2,349 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 766 per share, for a total transaction of 17,993.34. Jet2 Stock Up 0.4% Shares of LON:JET2 opened at GBX 1,205 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of 2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15, a P/E/G ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.57, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The businesss 50-day moving average is GBX 1,300.49 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 1,370.83. Jet2 plc has a 1 year low of GBX 1,088 and a 1 year high of GBX 1,963. Get Jet2 alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JET2 shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Jet2 to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the stock from GBX 1,850 to GBX 1,450 in a report on Monday, December 1st. Panmure Gordon reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 1,700 target price on shares of Jet2 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a GBX 2,150 target price on shares of Jet2 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 2,250 price target on shares of Jet2 in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and set a GBX 2,100 price objective on shares of Jet2 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 1,917.83. About Jet2 (Get Free Report) Jet2 plc is a leading leisure travel group, specialising in friendly low fares from its award-winning airline, Jet2.com, and package holidays you can trust from the UKs largest package holiday provider, Jet2holidays. Jet2.com is the UKs third largest airline, flying from 12 UK airports to over 70 destinations across Europe and beyond and Jet2holidays is the UKs largest tour operator. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Jet2 Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jet2 and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:JHMU Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 15,100 shares, a drop of 16.1% from the January 29th total of 17,988 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,346 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,346 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 9.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,284 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS grew its stake in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 90,393 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 7,172 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,218,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 90.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 53,240 shares of the companys stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 25,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,734 shares of the companys stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Get John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF alerts: John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF stock remained flat at $26.47 during trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 2,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,710. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.18. The stock has a market cap of $41.82 million, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.22. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $24.68 and a 12 month high of $26.70. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Cuts Dividend John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Company Profile The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.0486 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. (Get Free Report) The John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (JHMU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the John Hancock Dimensional Utilities index. The fund is an actively managed fund that primarily invests in investment grade municipal bonds of any maturity. The fund seeks to provide tax-exempt income. JHMU was launched on Oct 31, 2023 and is issued by John Hancock. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 14.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,936 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $19,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 10Elms LLP grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. 10Elms LLP now owns 40 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 3,955 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,018,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Manske Wealth Management grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% in the third quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 448 shares of the companys stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% during the third quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the companys stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.6% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 373 shares of the companys stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.4% Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $1,004.12 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $623.78 and a 1 year high of $1,133.95. The firms 50-day moving average is $1,049.25 and its 200-day moving average is $936.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $947.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.40. Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $7.48 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.85 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 102.94% and a net margin of 31.66%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 42.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.15%. Eli Lilly and Company News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week: Positive Sentiment: Lilly launched the Lilly Employer Connect platform to help U.S. employers expand coverage for obesity medicines, offering flexible benefit designs and partnerships with 15+ independent program administrators; company is also offering a Zepbound (tirzepatide) KwikPen singlepatient supply at $449 across doses via the program this aims to widen patient access while controlling employer costs, supporting uptake and recurring revenue. Lilly Employer Connect platform launches (PRNewswire) Lilly launched the Lilly Employer Connect platform to help U.S. employers expand coverage for obesity medicines, offering flexible benefit designs and partnerships with 15+ independent program administrators; company is also offering a Zepbound (tirzepatide) KwikPen singlepatient supply at $449 across doses via the program this aims to widen patient access while controlling employer costs, supporting uptake and recurring revenue. Positive Sentiment: Lilly confirmed an oral GLP1 weightloss drug is under evaluation by Australias TGA approval of an oral formulation would broaden prescriber options and patient adoption versus injectables, potentially expanding market share in the fastgrowing obesity/GLP1 category. Eli Lilly confirms oral GLP1 being evaluated by TGA (AFR) Lilly confirmed an oral GLP1 weightloss drug is under evaluation by Australias TGA approval of an oral formulation would broaden prescriber options and patient adoption versus injectables, potentially expanding market share in the fastgrowing obesity/GLP1 category. Positive Sentiment: EMA issued a positive opinion for Olumiant in alopecia areata regulatory support broadens Lillys immunology portfolio outside metabolic drugs, adding a new commercial avenue and diversification of growth drivers. EMAs Positive Olumiant Alopecia Opinion (Yahoo Finance) EMA issued a positive opinion for Olumiant in alopecia areata regulatory support broadens Lillys immunology portfolio outside metabolic drugs, adding a new commercial avenue and diversification of growth drivers. Positive Sentiment: Lilly advanced remternetug testing in China and progressed a new oral diabetes candidate in China clinical expansion in large markets strengthens longterm neuroscience and diabetes pipelines, important for growth beyond current GLP1 momentum. Remternetug testing advances in China (TipRanks) Lilly advanced remternetug testing in China and progressed a new oral diabetes candidate in China clinical expansion in large markets strengthens longterm neuroscience and diabetes pipelines, important for growth beyond current GLP1 momentum. Neutral Sentiment: Ventyx Biosciences shareholders approved a merger with Lilly strategic bolton to strengthen specific capabilities; impact depends on integration and commercialization execution. Ventyx merger approval (TipRanks) Ventyx Biosciences shareholders approved a merger with Lilly strategic bolton to strengthen specific capabilities; impact depends on integration and commercialization execution. Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/features pieces (Zacks, 247WallSt, Motley Fool) highlight Lilly as a momentum stock amid GLP1 strength but debate whether investors should prefer other longterm picks these stories can drive shortterm interest but add little fundamental news. Zacks: Why LLY is a momentum stock Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,200.00 to $1,285.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an overweight rating and a $1,350.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank restated an outperform rating and issued a $1,300.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $775.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $1,229.59. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LLY About Eli Lilly and Company (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kincora Copper Limited (CVE:KCC Get Free Report)s stock price traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$1.66 and last traded at C$1.66. 96,190 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 77% from the average session volume of 54,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$1.60. Kincora Copper Stock Performance The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$1.15 and a 200-day moving average of C$1.05. The company has a market cap of C$70.97 million, a PE ratio of -13.83 and a beta of 1.87. About Kincora Copper (Get Free Report) Kincora Copper Limited engages in acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral properties in Mongolia and Australia. It primarily explores for copper and gold deposits. The company's flagship project is the Trundle Project, including one license covering an area of 167km2 located in the Junee-Narromine volcanic belt of the Macquarie Arc. The company was formerly known as Brazilian Diamonds Limited and changed its name to Kincora Copper Limited in January 2011. Kincora Copper Limited was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Kincora Copper Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kincora Copper and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,318 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,373,000. Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JXN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Jackson Financial in the second quarter worth about $102,131,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Jackson Financial by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 836,238 shares of the companys stock valued at $74,250,000 after purchasing an additional 184,440 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Jackson Financial by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 662,569 shares of the companys stock worth $58,830,000 after purchasing an additional 143,091 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Jackson Financial by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 719,575 shares of the companys stock valued at $63,891,000 after purchasing an additional 126,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Jackson Financial by 4,509.1% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 71,533 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,351,000 after purchasing an additional 69,981 shares during the last quarter. 89.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Jackson Financial alerts: Jackson Financial Trading Up 3.4% JXN stock opened at $114.79 on Thursday. Jackson Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.70 and a 12 month high of $123.61. The firms 50-day moving average is $113.73 and its 200 day moving average is $103.95. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of -327.96 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Jackson Financial Increases Dividend Jackson Financial ( NYSE:JXN Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $6.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.90 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.92 billion. Jackson Financials quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jackson Financial Inc. will post 20.55 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Jackson Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Jackson Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -914.29%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Jackson Financial and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays restated an overweight rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of Jackson Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jackson Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Jackson Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Jackson Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Jackson Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $113.00. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Jackson Financial Jackson Financial Company Profile (Free Report) Jackson Financial Inc is a U.S.-based financial services holding company headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. The company operates primarily through its principal subsidiary, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, and specializes in designing and distributing retirement products. Jackson Financial has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JXN since its initial public offering in May 2022. The companys core offerings include a broad range of fixed, variable and indexed annuity products aimed at helping individuals preserve and grow retirement assets. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JXN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Jackson Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jackson Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF (NYSEARCA:XMHQ Free Report) by 116.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,801 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC owned 0.06% of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 225,703 shares of the companys stock worth $23,690,000 after buying an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,517 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,283,000. American National Bank of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,788,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC increased its stake in shares of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF by 138.6% in the second quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 16,782 shares of the companys stock worth $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 9,748 shares during the period. Get Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF alerts: Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF Price Performance Shares of Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF stock opened at $106.83 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.92. Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF has a 1 year low of $80.60 and a 1 year high of $109.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.04. Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF Company Profile The Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF (XMHQ) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P MidCap 400 Quality index. The fund tracks the S&P mid-cap 400 Quality Index, which screens stocks based on fundamental factors and weights them using a multi-factor approach. XMHQ was launched on Dec 1, 2006 and is managed by Invesco. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XMHQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF (NYSEARCA:XMHQ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD Free Report) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,340,670 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 14,015 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $423,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $1,601,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.0% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the companys stock worth $83,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $557,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,342,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000. Get Lithia Motors alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Lithia Motors from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $335.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday. They set a neutral rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $386.00. Insider Activity In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Lithia Motors Price Performance LAD stock opened at $272.88 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $318.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.16. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $360.55. Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.79 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motorss dividend payout ratio is 6.85%. Lithia Motors Company Profile (Free Report) Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers. The companys core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LAD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Lithia Motors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lithia Motors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $68.00 price target on the specialty chemicals companys stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00. BMO Capital Markets price target points to a potential upside of 1.60% from the companys current price. Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a sell rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $54.00. Get LyondellBasell Industries alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on LyondellBasell Industries LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance LYB stock traded up $5.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,480,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,620,450. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.59. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $78.41. LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.44). LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The business had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. LyondellBasell Industriess revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYB. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 6,314.3% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 449 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the companys stock. LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability. The companys integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities. See Also Receive News & Ratings for LyondellBasell Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for LyondellBasell Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PageGroup (LON:PAGE Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported GBX 2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. PageGroup had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 4.93%. Here are the key takeaways from PageGroups conference call: Get PageGroup alerts: The group reported gross profit of 769.5m (7.6% cc) and operating profit of 20.9m (down from 52.4m), with a low conversion rate of 2.7% and EPS of 0.029, signalling weaker trading and squeezed profitability. and operating profit of 20.9m (down from 52.4m), with a low conversion rate of 2.7% and EPS of 0.029, signalling weaker trading and squeezed profitability. Management took cost actions that incurred ~15m oneoff charges in 2025 but expect these and other measures to deliver ~15m of annualized savings from 2026, improving future margins. Performance was geographically mixed growth in the U.S. and an AsiaPacific recovery (H2) contrasted with ongoing weakness in Continental Europe and the U.K., with offertoplacement conversion remaining the primary operational constraint. Strategic initiatives are gaining traction Page Executive lifted median placement salaries and fees, Enterprise Solutions (outsourcing) grew 18% and top20 client gross profit was 12% ahead of 2022, while AI and data investments produced measurable productivity gains. The board proposed a final dividend of 0.0321 per share after returning 53.6m in ordinary dividends in 2025 and retained net cash of 31.4m, maintaining a cautious capital allocation stance given market uncertainty. PageGroup Trading Down 17.7% PAGE traded down GBX 31.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 147. 7,421,208 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,946. The firms 50 day moving average price is GBX 207.55 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 225.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.46. The firm has a market capitalization of 460.60 million, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.93. PageGroup has a 1-year low of GBX 137 and a 1-year high of GBX 349.40. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PageGroup from GBX 450 to GBX 400 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 327.50. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PAGE Insider Activity at PageGroup In other news, insider Ben Stevens purchased 71,583 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 140 per share, with a total value of 100,216.20. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. PageGroup News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting PageGroup this week: Positive Sentiment: NonExecutive Director Ben Stevens bought 71,583 shares at GBX 140 (100,216). The purchase signals insider confidence but is modest relative to PageGroups market cap. PageGroup Non-Executive Director Ben Stevens boosts stake with share purchase NonExecutive Director Ben Stevens bought 71,583 shares at GBX 140 (100,216). The purchase signals insider confidence but is modest relative to PageGroups market cap. Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results showed GBX 2.90 EPS with a net margin of 0.72% and ROE of 4.93%. The headline EPS provides some earnings visibility but margins remain thin; investors will be watching managements commentary and any forward guidance. Quarterly results showed GBX 2.90 EPS with a net margin of 0.72% and ROE of 4.93%. The headline EPS provides some earnings visibility but margins remain thin; investors will be watching managements commentary and any forward guidance. Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight sharply weaker profit metrics and a cautious outlook Reuters notes annual profit fell amid slow hiring in Europe, weighing on revenue and sentiment. UKs PageGroups annual profit drops 8.7% due to slow hiring in Europe Multiple reports highlight sharply weaker profit metrics and a cautious outlook Reuters notes annual profit fell amid slow hiring in Europe, weighing on revenue and sentiment. Negative Sentiment: Other outlets report a much larger drop in pretax/profits (headlines cite a ~67% slump), and commentators warn management flagged an uncertain outlook these numbers explain the heavy selling pressure. PageGroup shares slump as profits plunge 67% Other outlets report a much larger drop in pretax/profits (headlines cite a ~67% slump), and commentators warn management flagged an uncertain outlook these numbers explain the heavy selling pressure. Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage (Global Banking & Finance) highlights the pretax profit slump and an uncertain nearterm outlook, reinforcing investor caution around Europe staffing demand. UKs PageGroups annual pretax profit slumps 67%; flags uncertain outlook About PageGroup (Get Free Report) PageGroup Changes Lives Thats our PageGroup Purpose, delivered by c.7,300 people in 36 countries, with a gross profit of over 842.6m in 2024. Our four core PageGroup brands are supported by specialised recruitment teams operating across 25 disciplines. As a FTSE 250 company, a lot has changed since we were set up in 1976 and the Group continues to grow and evolve. What hasnt changed is our commitment to the success of our clients and candidates, and our own people. PageGroups strategy is geared for the long-term. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for PageGroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PageGroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS Free Report) (TSE:BNS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 210,620 shares of the banks stock, valued at approximately $13,615,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Motco raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 14,832 shares of the banks stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 18,998 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the banks stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the banks stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 45,482 shares of the banks stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the companys stock. Get Bank of Nova Scotia alerts: Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.3% NYSE BNS opened at $74.38 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $91.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $78.28. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Bank of Nova Scotia ( NYSE:BNS Get Free Report ) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.99 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. Several analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b) rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an outperform rating on the stock. TD Securities restated a hold rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $106.00. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bank of Nova Scotia Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile (Free Report) Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canadas largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets. Scotiabanks core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BNS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS Free Report) (TSE:BNS). Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Nova Scotia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Nova Scotia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lowered its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI Free Report) by 20.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 270,621 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 69,883 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Managements holdings in NiSource were worth $11,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,319 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in NiSource by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 49,220 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,986,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its position in NiSource by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 23,895 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get NiSource alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $47.20. NiSource Price Performance Shares of NI opened at $47.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.64. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $35.64 and a 52-week high of $47.67. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $44.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69. NiSource (NYSE:NI Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year. NiSource Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from NiSources previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSources payout ratio is currently 61.54%. About NiSource (Free Report) NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning. The companys core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for NiSource Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NiSource and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD Free Report) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 360,517 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after selling 43,814 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of ResMed worth $98,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RMD. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in ResMed by 1,433.3% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 92 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in ResMed in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in ResMed by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 132 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ResMed during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of ResMed by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 139 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.98% of the companys stock. Get ResMed alerts: ResMed Stock Up 0.3% RMD opened at $259.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $254.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.88. ResMed Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.92 and a 52 week high of $293.81. ResMed Dividend Announcement ResMed ( NYSE:RMD Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.13. ResMed had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 27.53%.The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The companys revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ResMed Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. ResMeds payout ratio is currently 23.74%. Analysts Set New Price Targets RMD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ResMed from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ResMed from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $281.00 price target on ResMed in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $302.00 price objective on shares of ResMed in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of ResMed in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $299.27. Read Our Latest Report on ResMed Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 4,991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.46, for a total transaction of $1,240,063.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 466,223 shares of the companys stock, valued at $115,837,766.58. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.31, for a total transaction of $502,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,773 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,278,102.63. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,082 shares of company stock valued at $3,631,867. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders. ResMed Profile (Free Report) ResMed (NYSE: RMD) is a global medical device and cloud-connectivity company focused on improving outcomes for people with sleep-disordered breathing and chronic respiratory conditions. Founded in 1989, the company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and develops, manufactures and distributes a range of devices and software used by patients, clinicians and providers worldwide. ResMeds product portfolio centers on noninvasive ventilation and sleep therapy equipment, including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel devices, masks and related accessories for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for ResMed Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ResMed and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,372 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,968,000. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF accounts for about 1.3% of Reyes Financial Architecture Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Aviso Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 61.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF alerts: Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Trading Up 0.4% Shares of RSP opened at $202.89 on Thursday. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF has a 1 year low of $150.35 and a 1 year high of $205.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.69. The stock has a market cap of $84.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.99. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Company Profile Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, formerly Rydex S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, seeks to replicate as closely as possible, the daily performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (the Index). The Index is a capitalization-weighted index covering 500 industrial, utility, transportation and financial companies of the United States markets (mostly NYSE Euronext issues). The Index utilizes quarterly rebalancing to maintain its equal-weight stance. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets, plus any borrowing for investment purposes, in the equity securities (and derivatives thereof) included in the Index. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RSP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR Get Free Report) insider Tufan Erginbilgic sold 4,155 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,314, for a total value of 54,596.70. Tufan Erginbilgic also recently made the following trade(s): Get Rolls-Royce Holdings plc alerts: On Monday, January 26th, Tufan Erginbilgic sold 4,862 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,232, for a total value of 59,899.84. On Monday, December 22nd, Tufan Erginbilgic sold 4,986 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,164, for a total value of 58,037.04. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Stock Up 4.6% Shares of RR opened at GBX 1,363 on Thursday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 1,252.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 1,161.37. The firm has a market capitalization of 116.90 billion, a PE ratio of 49.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.15. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has a 12-month low of GBX 196.45 and a 12-month high of GBX 537.20. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Rolls-Royce Holdings plc ( LON:RR Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported GBX 29.55 EPS for the quarter. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc had a return on equity of 227.54% and a net margin of 27.54%. Analysts anticipate that Rolls-Royce Holdings plc will post 8.5952 EPS for the current year. Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 1,290 to GBX 1,550 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 1,080 to GBX 1,250 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of GBX 1,286.50. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Company Profile (Get Free Report) Rolls-Royce Holdings plc develops and delivers complex power and propulsion solutions for air, sea, and land in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Civil Aerospace, Defence, Power Systems, and New Markets. The Civil Aerospace segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells aero engines for large commercial aircraft, regional jet, and business aviation markets, as well as provides aftermarket services. The Defence segment is involved in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of military aero engines, naval engines, and submarine nuclear power plants, as well as offers aftermarket services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rolls-Royce Holdings plc and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH Free Report) by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,611 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 9,152 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.07% of Molina Healthcare worth $7,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2,140.0% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 112 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the third quarter worth $39,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 6,225.0% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 253 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Molina Healthcare alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes MOH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an outperform rating and issued a $224.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $141.00 target price on Molina Healthcare and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a neutral rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $164.00 to $133.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Molina Healthcare from $190.00 to $145.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $155.71. Molina Healthcare Stock Performance Molina Healthcare stock opened at $150.08 on Thursday. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $121.06 and a fifty-two week high of $359.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.52. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $166.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.69. Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported ($2.75) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($3.18). The firm had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.90 billion. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.05 EPS. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Molina Healthcare Company Profile (Free Report) Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members. The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MOH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Molina Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molina Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Banco de Sabadell, S.A. (OTCMKTS:BNDSF Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,182,407 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the January 29th total of 6,184,823 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 555 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9,337.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 555 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9,337.7 days. Banco de Sabadell Price Performance Shares of BNDSF opened at $3.52 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.78 and a 200-day moving average of $3.77. Banco de Sabadell has a one year low of $2.28 and a one year high of $4.15. Get Banco de Sabadell alerts: Banco de Sabadell Company Profile (Get Free Report) Banco de Sabadell is a Spain-based banking group founded in 1881 and headquartered in Alicante. It ranks among the countrys largest banks by assets, serving a diverse client base that includes retail customers, small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporate clients. Over its history, the group has expanded through organic growth and strategic acquisitions to build a comprehensive financial services platform. The banks core business lines encompass retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, private banking, asset management and insurance. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Banco de Sabadell Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco de Sabadell and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents (NYSEARCA:TAXM Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,055 shares, a decline of 17.8% from the January 29th total of 1,284 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,994 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,994 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents Stock Performance Shares of TAXM opened at $50.55 on Thursday. BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents has a 52 week low of $48.33 and a 52 week high of $51.26. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $50.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.25. Get BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents alerts: BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents Cuts Dividend The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.1536 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Hedge Funds Weigh In On BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents Company Profile Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAXM. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents during the first quarter valued at $1,010,000. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 9,503 shares of the companys stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents during the 4th quarter valued at about $387,000. Finally, Plum Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents during the 4th quarter valued at about $306,000. (Get Free Report) The BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents (TAXM) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund is actively managed, investing in a portfolio of US dollar-denominated municipal securities and taxable fixed income instruments, aiming to provide attractive after-tax income specifically for Massachusetts residents. TAXM was launched on Mar 13, 2025 and is issued by BondBloxx. See Also Receive News & Ratings for BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware ETF for Massachusetts Residents and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM Get Free Report)s stock price dropped 4.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $344.14 and last traded at $353.14. Approximately 18,419,748 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 31% from the average daily volume of 14,072,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing this week: Get Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup restated a buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $330.00 price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $391.43. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Down 1.5% The businesss fifty day moving average is $341.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.29. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 34.89% and a net margin of 45.13%.The company had revenue of $30.65 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.9503 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is currently 28.36%. Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 145.3% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 9.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 101,876 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $28,470,000 after buying an additional 8,738 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 37,216 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $10,394,000 after acquiring an additional 8,284 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 5,216 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901 shares during the period. Finally, Cherokee Insurance Co acquired a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,248,000. 16.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile (Get Free Report) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a leading pure-play semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related services to the global semiconductor industry. Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang and headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC manufactures integrated circuits on behalf of fabless and integrated device manufacturers, offering contract chip production across a broad set of technologies and products. TSMCs service offering covers logic and mixed-signal process technologies, specialty processes for radio-frequency, power management and embedded memory, and advanced nodes used in mobile, high-performance computing and AI applications. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Talos Eurisko Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 69,200 shares of the communications equipment providers stock, valued at approximately $10,080,000. Ciena makes up about 1.9% of Talos Eurisko Asset Management LPs holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,993,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter worth $253,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,053 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $426,420,000 after acquiring an additional 359,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Ciena by 38.7% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 112,011 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $16,317,000 after acquiring an additional 31,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the companys stock. Get Ciena alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ciena from $213.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ciena from $250.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ciena from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $260.80. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total transaction of $19,170,170.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $70,641,134.40. This trade represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,235 shares of company stock worth $36,941,890. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the companys stock. Key Ciena News Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week: Ciena Stock Up 3.4% CIEN opened at $344.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 405.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $365.90. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $272.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.00. Ciena (NYSE:CIEN Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year. Ciena Profile (Free Report) Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Cienas product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations. In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ciena Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ciena and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC): 2/24/2026 Genuine Parts was upgraded by Raymond James Financial, Inc. from market perform to strong-buy. They now have a $145.00 price target on the stock. 2/20/2026 Genuine Parts was given a new $160.00 price target by Evercore Inc. 2/18/2026 Genuine Parts had its price target lowered by UBS Group AG from $150.00 to $135.00. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. 2/18/2026 Genuine Parts was given a new $127.00 price target by Truist Financial Corporation. They now have a hold rating on the stock. 2/12/2026 Genuine Parts had its price target raised by Truist Financial Corporation from $146.00 to $162.00. They now have a buy rating on the stock. 2/11/2026 Genuine Parts was given a new $175.00 price target by Evercore Inc. 2/11/2026 Genuine Parts had its neutral rating reaffirmed by UBS Group AG. 2/10/2026 Genuine Parts had its outperform rating reaffirmed by Evercore Inc. They now have a $155.00 price target on the stock. Genuine Parts Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Partss previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Genuine Partss payout ratio is 895.65%. Get Genuine Parts Company alerts: Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) is a global distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and business products with a history dating back to 1928. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates a broad distribution network and retail presence serving repair shops, independent retailers, industrial customers and commercial accounts. Its business model centers on stocking and delivering a wide range of parts and supplies to support aftermarket and maintenance needs across multiple end markets. Genuine Parts conducts its operations through several well-known operating groups and subsidiaries. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Genuine Parts Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Genuine Parts Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of McKesson (NYSE: MCK) in the last few weeks: 3/5/2026 McKesson was given a new $970.00 price target by Raymond James Financial, Inc.. 3/5/2026 McKesson had its outperform rating reaffirmed by Leerink Partners. They now have a $1,085.00 price target on the stock. 3/5/2026 McKesson had its outperform rating reaffirmed by Evercore Inc. 2/18/2026 McKesson had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $960.00 to $1,050.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock. 2/10/2026 McKesson had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $983.00 to $1,107.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock. 2/5/2026 McKesson was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from buy (a-) to buy (b+). 2/5/2026 McKesson had its price target raised by TD Cowen from $1,000.00 to $1,012.00. They now have a buy rating on the stock. 2/5/2026 McKesson had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $914.00 to $925.00. They now have an equal weight rating on the stock. 2/5/2026 McKesson had its price target raised by Mizuho from $880.00 to $885.00. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. 1/29/2026 McKesson had its overweight rating reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley. They now have a $966.00 price target on the stock. 1/14/2026 McKesson was given a new $968.00 price target by Robert W. Baird. McKesson Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. McKessons dividend payout ratio is presently 9.43%. Get McKesson Corporation alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Michele Lau sold 2,725 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $990.00, for a total value of $2,697,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,247 shares in the company, valued at $3,214,530. This represents a 45.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $816.18, for a total value of $225,265.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,268 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,851,096.24. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,868 shares of company stock worth $3,743,820. Company insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock. McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies. The companys core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers. Read More Receive News & Ratings for McKesson Corporation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for McKesson Corporation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY Free Report) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,142 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 10,834 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLCs holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $9,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Get Bristol Myers Squibb alerts: Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,728 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,935 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 59.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 15.0% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter valued at $371,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bristol Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter worth about $972,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the companys stock. Bristol Myers Squibb Stock Performance Shares of BMY opened at $62.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.26. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a 52-week low of $42.52 and a 52-week high of $63.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.84. Bristol Myers Squibb Increases Dividend Bristol Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.24 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 69.65% and a net margin of 14.64%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Bristol Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Bristol Myers Squibbs payout ratio is presently 73.04%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BMY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC reiterated a hold rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Bristol Myers Squibb from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $60.71. Check Out Our Latest Report on Bristol Myers Squibb Bristol Myers Squibb Company Profile (Free Report) Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, focused on discovering, developing and delivering medicines for serious diseases. The companys core activities include research and development, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of prescription pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas. BMS concentrates on advancing therapies in oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and specialty areas through both small molecules and biologics. BMSs marketed portfolio and latestage pipeline reflect a strong emphasis on cancer and immunemediated conditions. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BMY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Bristol Myers Squibb Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bristol Myers Squibb and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 824,579 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 43,147 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.77% of Core Laboratories worth $10,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Get Core Laboratories alerts: A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,893 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 282,871 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $3,259,000 after buying an additional 28,866 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 160.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,530 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 4,643 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 5.3% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 73,954 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 3,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Core Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.81% of the companys stock. Core Laboratories Price Performance Shares of Core Laboratories stock opened at $16.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $768.71 million, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.40. Core Laboratories Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.72 and a 12 month high of $20.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement Core Laboratories ( NYSE:CLB Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $138.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Core Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.150 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Core Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 5.97%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Core Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.50. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CLB Core Laboratories Company Profile (Free Report) Core Laboratories N.V. is a global provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description and production enhancement services to the oil and gas industry. The company applies specialized expertise in core and fluid analysis, advanced petrophysical interpretation, and reservoir engineering to optimize hydrocarbon recovery. By integrating laboratory testing with field services and digital analytics, Core Laboratories delivers insights that help operators maximize production and extend the life of their assets. The companys portfolio spans two primary service lines: reservoir description and production enhancement. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Core Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Core Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 708,547 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 18,151 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for 0.8% of DNB Asset Management ASs portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. DNB Asset Management ASs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $223,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. alerts: A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chaney Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Weaver Consulting Group increased its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.5% in the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 3,283 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.9% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 15,288 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,822,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 20,497 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,466,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 14.8% in the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,414 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,177,000 after buying an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Down 0.3% Shares of JPM opened at $299.43 on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a twelve month low of $202.16 and a twelve month high of $337.25. The company has a market cap of $807.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $311.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.64. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( NYSE:JPM Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.93 by $0.30. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The firm had revenue of $45.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $45.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.81 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have weighed in on JPM. DZ Bank restated a neutral rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $386.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $339.55. View Our Latest Research Report on JPM Key JPMorgan Chase & Co. News Here are the key news stories impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week: Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In other news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,404 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.40, for a total transaction of $1,042,985.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 61,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,981,173.60. This trade represents a 5.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.11, for a total transaction of $15,355,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 111,279 shares of the companys stock, valued at $34,174,893.69. This represents a 31.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,596 shares of company stock valued at $22,067,932. Company insiders own 0.47% of the companys stock. About JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Free Report) JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is a diversified global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Its operations span retail banking, commercial lending, investment banking, asset management, payments and card services, and treasury and securities services. The firms principal business activities are organized across several core lines: Consumer & Community Banking, which offers deposit accounts, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and branch and digital banking under the Chase brand; Corporate & Investment Banking, which provides capital markets, advisory, underwriting, trading and risk management services; Commercial Banking, delivering lending, treasury and capital solutions to middle-market and corporate clients; and Asset & Wealth Management, which offers investment management, private banking and retirement services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JPM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX Free Report) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,254,930 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 167,975 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 1.53% of Helix Energy Solutions Group worth $14,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Get Helix Energy Solutions Group alerts: Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 31,179 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,104 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 6.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,570 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 162,722 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 49.3% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the period. 91.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Helix Energy Solutions Group Price Performance NYSE:HLX opened at $9.17 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $7.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.02. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.52 and a 12-month high of $10.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Helix Energy Solutions Group ( NYSE:HLX Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.08. Helix Energy Solutions Group had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $334.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.67 million. The firms quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year. HLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c-) rating on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $10.50. Read Our Latest Report on Helix Energy Solutions Group Helix Energy Solutions Group Company Profile (Free Report) Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc (NYSE: HLX) is a Houston-based provider of offshore well intervention and robotics services to the global energy industry. The company specializes in extending the productive life of subsea wells through hydraulic workover systems, coiled tubing operations and riser-based wireline services. In addition, Helix offers remotely operated vehicle (ROV) support, inspection, maintenance and repair for subsea infrastructure. Operating through three core business segmentsWell Intervention, Robotics & Subsea Services and Production FacilitiesHelix deploys purpose-built vessels, specialized equipment and engineering expertise to execute complex offshore projects. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HLX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Helix Energy Solutions Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Helix Energy Solutions Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA Free Report) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,209 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 8,678 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of Snap-On worth $18,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Get Snap-On alerts: A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SNA. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Snap-On by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 381,283 shares of the companys stock valued at $132,126,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its position in Snap-On by 162.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 2,202 shares of the companys stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Snap-On in the third quarter worth $87,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of Snap-On by 4.6% in the third quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,970 shares of the companys stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Snap-On by 98.3% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 150,414 shares of the companys stock valued at $52,123,000 after purchasing an additional 74,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.88% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have commented on SNA. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Snap-On from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $409.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Snap-On in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on shares of Snap-On in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Snap-On in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Snap-On from $405.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $377.33. Snap-On Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:SNA opened at $383.51 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.10. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Snap-On Incorporated has a 52 week low of $289.81 and a 52 week high of $390.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.78. Snap-On (NYSE:SNA Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.86 by $0.08. Snap-On had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 21.44%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.82 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Snap-On Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Snap-On Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $2.44 dividend. This represents a $9.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Snap-Ons dividend payout ratio is 50.86%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Snap-On news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 23,229 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.36, for a total value of $8,905,069.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 846,562 shares of the companys stock, valued at $324,538,008.32. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 7,043 shares of Snap-On stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.05, for a total value of $2,690,778.15. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 117,183 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,769,765.15. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,429 shares of company stock valued at $17,598,523. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the companys stock. About Snap-On (Free Report) SnapOn Incorporated (NYSE: SNA) is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of tools, diagnostic equipment, repair information and shop equipment for professional users. The companys product range includes hand and power tools, tool storage and cabinets, diagnostic scan tools and software, shop equipment such as lifts and tire changers, and specialized specialty tools for automotive, aviation, marine and industrial applications. SnapOn also offers information and workflow solutions that combine diagnostic data, repair procedures and parts information to support professional technicians. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin, SnapOn has established a long history in the professional tools market. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SNA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Snap-On Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Snap-On and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM Free Report) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,013 shares of the CRM providers stock after buying an additional 4,987 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLCs holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Get Salesforce alerts: A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,572,253 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $21,228,624,000 after purchasing an additional 748,772 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $13,452,998,000 after buying an additional 776,300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after purchasing an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,826,049,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,755,317 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $2,087,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the companys stock. Salesforce Stock Down 1.5% Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $193.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.57 and a 1-year high of $298.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $219.76 and a 200-day moving average of $237.46. The company has a market capitalization of $178.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce Increases Dividend Salesforce ( NYSE:CRM Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforces revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforces previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforces dividend payout ratio is currently 21.25%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Macquarie Infrastructure raised their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $283.14. Read Our Latest Analysis on CRM Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce In other news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,299 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994,509 shares of the companys stock, valued at $780,309,155.22. The trade was a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. More Salesforce News Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week: Salesforce Company Profile (Free Report) Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform. Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR Free Report) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,591 shares of the industrial products companys stock after purchasing an additional 55,917 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.69% of Worthington Enterprises worth $19,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Get Worthington Enterprises alerts: A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WOR. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Worthington Enterprises by 4.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,967 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Worthington Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at $533,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Worthington Enterprises by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,704 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Enterprises by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 352,486 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $17,656,000 after acquiring an additional 124,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Worthington Enterprises by 3.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,461 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $11,143,000 after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.59% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WOR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Worthington Enterprises from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Worthington Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Worthington Enterprises from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $61.00. Worthington Enterprises Stock Performance NYSE:WOR opened at $53.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 1.32. Worthington Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.05 and a twelve month high of $70.91. The companys 50-day moving average price is $54.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). Worthington Enterprises had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $327.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $310.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firms revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Worthington Enterprises, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Worthington Enterprises Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Worthington Enterprisess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.85%. About Worthington Enterprises (Free Report) Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR) is a diversified metal manufacturing company that produces pressure vessels, engineered assemblies and fabricated metal products. The companys portfolio includes the design and manufacture of cylinders for compressed gases, such as propane, natural gas and hydrogen, as well as transport tanks and other pressure-containment solutions for the industrial gas, energy and transportation markets. In addition to its pressure vessel operations, Worthington Enterprises offers metal processing and distribution services, supplying coil, sheet and plate products to customers across multiple industries. Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Worthington Enterprises has grown from a single steel processing facility into a multidivision organization with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WOR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Worthington Enterprises Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Worthington Enterprises and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A charity bookshop in Derry is celebrating a decade of success on World Book Day, 5 March. Concern Worldwides second-hand bookshop on Ferryquay Street is marking its 10-year anniversary with a special visit from the Mayor of Derry Ruairi McHugh, local author Claire Allan, children from Fountain Primary School and the shops dedicated volunteers. Over the past decade, the shop has become a firm favourite for book lovers in the city and beyond in search of bargain reads. Run by a committed team of 25 volunteers, the shop has sold an estimated 160,000 pre-loved books, raising more than 600,000 to support Concerns humanitarian work worldwide. To mark the anniversary, Concern is inviting local primary school children to take part in a colouring and drawing competition to win prizes, including a tour of the Guildhall with the Mayor. All entries will be displayed in the bookshop. The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Ruairi McHugh, said: I would like to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to all the staff and dedicated volunteers behind the much-loved Concern Bookshop in Derry city centre as they mark an incredible 10 years of operation. This milestone is a testament to the remarkable volunteers who give so generously of their time each day to keep the shop thriving and to ensure every customer feels welcome. READ NEXT: Limavady Youths enjoy trip of a lifetime to Premier League team Wolves I am delighted to be part of the celebrations and to support Concern in launching their Concern Bookshop Competition for local primary schools. This is an exciting initiative that offers participants the opportunity to win a special tour of the historic Guildhall with me. I have no doubt this initiative will inspire creativity and a love of reading among our young people, and I encourage every primary school across the city and district to take part in this wonderful opportunity. During her visit to mark the anniversary, bestselling author and former Derry Journal reporter, Claire Allan, said: Im absolutely delighted to be part of this celebration on World Book Day. Bookshops are special places where you can have a quiet browse, share reading recommendations, discover a hidden gem of a book and take time out from a busy day. A second-hand bookshop like this one is even more important because every book bought also helps change lives around the world. Thats something worth celebrating. NI Director of Concern Worldwide, Jackie Trainor, paid tribute to people who have supported the shop over the years: This special occasion is down to the incredible dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of our customers and everyone who donates books. Derry Mayor, Ruairi McHugh, with Fiona Anderson, Concern Worldwide's Retail Development Manager, and volunteer staff celebrating the10th anniversary of the Concern Bookshop, Ferryquay Street, Derry. Weve raised an amazing 600,000 in the past 10 years, which has helped support Concerns work with people living in extreme poverty across the world. Every book donated, every purchase made and every hour volunteered has made lasting difference to families facing hunger, conflict and climate crises around the world. We are grateful to everyone who has helped make the shop such a success. The shop also serves as a welcoming cultural hub, bringing readers, writers and supporters together around a shared belief that books can change lives, both at home and globally. Retiree Irene McGonagle has been volunteering at the shop for the past nine and a half years. She said: Everyone loves the shop. Its like a social centre and is part of peoples daily routine. Its a big thing to be able to come in here and have someone to talk too and listen. Its an important space in peoples lives. We had an older couple from near Limavady who used to visit us every Tuesday. But after Covid, they didnt want to leave their home, so I took some books ones I knew they liked - and delivered them to their house, and they sent a cheque back to us. They just thought this was fantastic. Mayor Ruairi McHugh with Fiona Anderson, Concern Worldwide, and volunteer staff celebrating the10th anniversary of Concern Bookshop, Ferryquay Street, Derry. Also included are pupils from Fountain PS and their principal Stephen Torney launching Concerns Primary Schools poster competition. Laurence Hegarty has been a volunteer right from the start. Along with some of his friends, he collects books every week from book banks at the Citys amenity sites and from local house clearances: People in Derry are very generous. Weve been fortunate to have had some fantastic book donations in the past, such as two copies of Lost Lives, one of which we sold for 200. And its not just books. People also drop in to donate money, especially during Concerns emergency appeals. A few years ago, a local school gave us a cheque for 4,000 for an appeal. And another time, a woman came in and left a 1,000 donation for Concern. The Concern bookshop in Derry was officially opened in March 2016 by BBC Radio Foyles Mark Patterson. It is one of seven shops across Northern Ireland run by the charity, including another bookshop in Holywood, Co Down. Concern will be getting in touch with local primary schools later this month with information on how to enter its bookshop competition. Book donations and volunteers are always welcome. You can find out more by calling into the shop or at: concern.org.uk/volunteer. Ambitious plans with an estimated capital cost of 5 million have been unveiled for Derrys Rosemount Factory. Situated at the top of Brooke Park, the iconic four-storey red brick Rosemount Factory was built in 1904. Adrian Kelly and Francine Moran from Foyleside Developments Limited outlined the organisations plans for the building at Tuesdays meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Councils Governance and Strategic Planning Committee. According to Foyleside Developments Stitch In Time report, Rosemount Factory represents a significant part of Derrys industrial heritage and is the last remaining shirt factory in the city not to have fully realised its potential development opportunities. Glen Development Initiative was the lead partner in the Community Consultation around the future of the Factory, in partnership with The Village Hub and Ballymagroarty Hazelbank Community Partnership (BHCP) [The groups] undertook a Community Consultation to determine the needs within the area and to assess the viability of purchasing the Rosemount Factory, said the report. Residents and organisations were invited to have the opportunity to contribute to the process through one-to-one conversations, completing an online consultation document or by visiting one of the consultation information events being held in BHCP offices, the Village Community Hub, or Glenview Community Centre. The priorities identified in the 2025 Consultation Report were: arts and culture; community development; social support; education and health services; social enterprise development; accommodation; heritage (working shirt factory); and a restaurant. Outlining the expected benefits of the project to the residents and communities of OuterWest Foyleside Local Growth Partnership the Business Case in the Stitch In Time Report highlighted: community wealth building, and an opportunity to bring the Factory into community ownership for the benefit of the whole community rather than private interests. It also projected: [The] possible increase in unrestricted revenue and income for re-investment in the community; an increase in physical infrastructure in an area of scarce resources; the creation of employment and training opportunities; and support for the establishment and development of social enterprises and other businesses. [And the] provision of modern and comfortable student accommodation; creating cohesion and partnership working among all the communities in the area; and the development of a heritage museum dedicated to the shirt factory industry and the story of Rosemount. The capital costs of the project are estimated at 5 million. This includes the 1.5 million initial purchase of Rosemount Factory, and 3.5 million for demolition of outlying buildings, renovation and construction. According to the Stitch In Time report, Pride in Place has placed the Rosemount Factory project in its 10-year-plan as a top priority from OuterWest/Foyleside DEA. Launched in March 2025, Pride in Place comprises 75 localities in the North, England, Wales and Scotland which have been selected to receive funding. Areas were selected due to indices for multiple deprivation, population size, healthy life expectancy, and Gross Value Added (GVA) per hour worked. Derry City and Coleraine were the only localities selected in the North. At the end of the presentation, Foyleside Developments asked the Council to endorse the presentation and approve Councils engagement and support towards the development of the project. During the subsequent discussion Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson proposed that the Committee should endorse Foyleside Developments vision for Rosemount Factory and commit Council support in any way we can. Supporting the project, Cllr Jackson described it as exciting, ambitious and achievable. The one thing that makes it achievable is the University expansion, he said. The University is expanding on the doorstep of this historic building and it is going to be a catalyst for economic activity. It is going to be a catalyst for the entire NorthWest region. And Rosemount and the community surrounding it should benefit. However Cllr Jacksons proposal was withdrawn following concerns voiced by Cllr Brian Tierney (SDLP) and Cllr Shaun Harkin (PBP). It will be revisited at Full Council on March 25. Broadly welcoming the Foyle Developments Rosemount Factory development plans, Cllr Harkin said: One thing that has been of concern to me and I know to a lot of other people is the issue of student accommodation in the factory. I believe the corporate position of the Council and the Taskforce is not to support large-scale student accommodation slap bang in the middle of residential areas. That is why we have discussed urging Ulster University to fund large-scale accommodation themselves, not just be reliant on the private sector, but to do that in areas that are not going to overly influence or impact settled residential areas. I think that the scale of student accommodation in the middle of Rosemount will have a big, big impact. It will become known as a student area and that will have an impact on the rest of the housing stock which will then displace people. Cllr Tierney acknowledged the 2025 Consultation Report did highlight the wishes of the community around accommodation. [However] it doesnt in the Consultation Report as presented here, reference student accommodation as one of the priorities for people in the area, he added. I am aware of at least one resident group which doesnt support this proposal around student accommodation. What engagement have you had with them? Is there a role for them within this project group? I appreciate Cllr Jackson has made a proposal but, at this stage I am not in a position to support that proposal. Ill 100% support most of the ideas that you have around the Factory but it is in terms of the residents engagement going forward where I have major concerns. PICTURED ABOVE: The Deputy Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Niree McMorris presents a civic gift to Billy Moore, CEO, Siege Museum at a reception in the Guildhall to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the museum. Included are staff and directors. At front are Worthington McGrath, secretary, and Ronald McCausland. Back, from left, are Jim Brownlee, vice-chairman, Ivan Taylor, Stuart Moore, manager, David McLean, Mervyn Duddy and Noel Moore, treasurer. (Photo: Lorcan Doherty Photography) The Deputy Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Niree McMorris, hosted a special civic reception for the Siege Museum as it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its opening. READ NEXT: JLS announced as major headliner for Derry's Live at the Square The event, hosted in the Guildhall, brought together staff and directors of the museum to celebrate the milestone with Deputy Mayor McMorris presenting a civic gift to Billy Moore, CEO of the Siege Museum. Deputy Mayor McMorris congratulated the team on this milestone and thanked them for their hard work in showcasing the regions history. A decade on from its opening, the Siege Museum continues to play a vital role in preserving and sharing an important chapter of our citys history. It was a pleasure to present this civic gift to Billy Moore and the dedicated team whose commitment has ensured the museum remains a valued cultural and educational resource for the city and its visitors, she added. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A police search adviser believed there was a 5% possibility that Noah Donohoe was in the culvert in which his body was eventually found, an inquest has heard. Sergeant Hutchings, who was the lead Polsa (police search adviser) in the search for the 14-year-old in 2020, said there had been no evidence to suggest the schoolboy had entered the underground water tunnel. The inquest into the death of Noah at Belfast Coroners Court, which is being heard with a jury, is now in its sixth week. Noah, a pupil at St Malachys College, was 14 when his naked body was found in the storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was drowning. Under questioning from Brenda Campbell KC on Thursday, Mr Hutchings said he would have discussed the stream and pipe in a handover from a colleague when he resumed duty on Tuesday two days after Noah was last seen. At this point, the search was focused around Noahs last sighting in the area around Northwood Road and Northwood Linear Park, where the culvert was located. Mr Hutchings said his colleague could not have commenced searching the pipe overnight as the confined spaces team would not have been on. He said the pipe did not need searching immediately because they did not expect him to be in there, adding there was nothing to suggest he had entered the culvert. He said he assigned a team to examine it but he had more important things to do in searching areas where Noah was more likely to be. Ms Campbell, representing Noahs mother Fiona, asked whether it was a possibility that he was in the pipe. Mr Hutchings replied: It proved it was a possibility but at the time we did not expect him to go into that pipe. He told the barrister he had not ask his colleague how close he got to the pipe but he had not been told he had heard screams. Asked about earlier evidence in which a Community Rescue Search member said they were operating on a 50-50 strategy about whether the boy was under or above ground, Mr Hutchings said his assessment on the boy being in the pipe was nowhere near that ratio. He said it was 5%, even if that and the search of the pipe was to content himself that he was not there. He said the 5% figure did not influence the speed or urgency of the search of the culvert. The jury heard it was the working hypothesis that Noah was missing voluntarily, although concerns about his worrying behaviour had been noted after reports that he was naked indicated the possible disturbed state of mind which may point to the presence of some drug. Mr Hutchings said it was taken as a possible explanation for his behaviour. Under questioning, he also said he was aware members of the public near Northwood Linear Park had heard possible signs of distress and screams through the night. Asked to explain the 5% probability for the culvert in light of this information, Mr Hutchings said it was searched as quickly as possible while other high priority areas were searched. He said they could have searched the whole pipe and found he was not in there. Mr Hutchings said he got the result of finding Noah without anyone else being injured in the search. Ms Campbell put it to him that his task was preferably to find the boy alive. He said: I wouldve done anything to find him alive unfortunately he was dead. He said at no point was the search of the pipe a rescue mission. Asked about the outlet of the culvert towards Belfast Harbour, he said: I would have been wasting the limited resources I had at that time by sending them down to the Lough. He said he did not consider calling divers or other specialist personnel as the WICS (working in confined spaces) team was going through the culvert methodically. Mr Hutchings later ordered a drone to be flown over the outlet on Thursday to discount that Noah may have crawled all the way through and could be lying there. Elsewhere on that day, he said he became aware the search of the pipe had slowed down due to difficult conditions. Mr Hutchings was also asked about a note in his logs that the senior investigating officer was working under a scenario that Noah was missing voluntarily or under the influence of a third party. He said the main one was voluntarily but they still had to consider he could be in somebodys car or home. The jury heard that between the Tuesday morning, when 180 metres had been searched, teams had advanced a further 320 metres within the 970-metre storm drain by Friday morning. The remainder of the pipe was said to be half-filled with water, at low tide. He said he was then grasping at straws for anyone that could help. A PSNI search-and-rescue team with caving experience put on drysuits and searched the pipe on Saturday and found Noahs body. Mr Hutchings said he has since learned that, under health and safety rules, they should not have been going in there without confined space training. Ms Campbell suggested 10 possible failures in the search process, including an alleged failure to prioritise the culvert as an area the boy may be, an alleged delay in seeking maps or information of the hazards within, and an alleged failure to treat the operation as a rescue mission. Mr Hutchings said he did not accept any of Ms Campbells points and said he stood by his assertion that nothing the team could have done differently could have found Noah any sooner. Under further questioning by Donal Lunny KC, who represents the PSNI, Mr Hutchings said he had never written down 5% during the search and said he gave the figure in the spur of the moment when asked by Ms Campbell. However, he said he considered the underground system a far lower probability than other areas. He said he had ongoing training since becoming a Polsa in 2007 and had conducted more than 100 searches in the last year. It also heard that 50% of missing persons in Noahs age range are found within three kilometres of their home while males tend to hang around streets and are traced quicker by general police patrols. Mr Hutchings explained the rationale for the search area through references to mobile phone pings, Noahs recent search history and CCTV sightings. He said densely-populated urban areas can be much more difficult to search than open areas. Asked about how a search from the other end of the culvert would have lined up with standard practice, he said: You dont do it. You stay at the place last seen and work systematically out. Me jumping away to the far side could have missed him completely. Mr Hutchings also said search teams never heard a response to any call-out or human sounds within the pipe that did not come from the team itself. He said if they had heard such sounds, they would have initiated a rescue operation. Meanwhile, the coroner Mr Justice Rooney told the jury he would update them on the progress of the inquest, which he said was moving, maybe, not as quickly as I would have hoped. Sperrins Festival (2022 March 2026), a new three-day celebration of landscape, heritage, and community will take place across Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It aims to strengthen connections between people and place, support sustainable tourism, and provide new opportunities to learn, explore, and celebrate the areas rich and diverse heritage and culture. The 2026 festival hub will be based at Gortin Activity Centre, with support from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Free transport will be provided to all guided walks and events across Sperrin AONB, helping to make remote sites more accessible while reducing traffic in rural areas. Looking ahead, the festival hub will rotate around the region in future years, to ensure the benefits of the festival are shared across the wider Sperrins area. The festival features a diverse programme: various levels of guided walks led by leading outdoor activity provider experts Far and Wild. The walks will be complemented by a variety of talks, storytelling, music and crafts and a family fun day suitable for all ages and interests - all delivered at the festival hub across the weekend. With events designed for a wide range of abilities, participants can explore local history and heritage, wildlife, and community stories through both outdoor and indoor experiences. READ NEXT: Mayor congratulates council staff on Irish language achievements For safety and comfort, transport will operate between the festival hub and selected event locations. Most events will proceed in typical spring weather conditions, although severe weather may lead to adjustments or cancellations, with prebooked participants notified in advance. Dogs are not permitted on festival walks. The festival is led by the Sperrins Partnership and delivered in collaboration with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Derry City and Strabane District Council, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and Mid Ulster District Council, alongside local guides, historians, activity providers and community groups. The festival is also supported by the DAERA Environment Fund and DfC Historic Environment Division Research and Revivals Stream. Cllr Sean Clarke, Chair of Sperrins Partnership, said: "The Sperrins Festival is about connecting people with this remarkable landscape and the communities that shape it. Through guided walks, storytelling, and shared experiences, we want to celebrate the heritage of the Sperrins while encouraging sustainable tourism and deeper appreciation of the area." Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Cllr Barry McElduff added: "We are proud to support the Sperrins Festival, that showcases the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Sperrins. Events like this bring people together, support local communities, and highlight the importance of protecting and promoting our unique environment." Joe Mahon, the Sperrins Festival supporter and well known broadcaster commented: "One of the reasons I'm so keen to support the Sperrins Festival, and to sing its praises far and wide, is that the people behind it who know and love this area are so passionate about sharing its beauty and its wonder with the rest of us." For further information on the Sperrins Festival programme, ticket details and to book your place, visit: https://farandwild.org/land/ https://sperrinspartnershipproject.com/sperrins-festival/ Follow the festival on Visit Sperrins Facebook and Instagram #SperrinsFestival. We Irish have been blessed with some of the best folk music in the world, with groups like the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, The Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones spreading our songs and stories across the globe. In recent years, the Irish folk scene has been seeing a major revival, with artists like the Mary Wallopers and Lisa ONeill making their mark at home and further afield. Today, Im talking to Saltaire, the rapidly rising folk trio made up of New York-born Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz (vocal/cello), Conor Lyons (bodhran/bouzouki) and Ian Kinsells (guitar). The group brings together three distinct musical voices, shaped by years of performing in acclaimed Irish traditional and folk bands and as sought-after session musicians and have just released their debut EP Only Moonlight (out now). I caught up with the group recently to discuss the EP and how they got to this point. Kaitlin: I came over in 2016. Conor and Ian had been on the music scene long before that. They were already friends and playing music together in various different set ups and operations. I wasnt actually playing the cello when I moved over. Id taken a break from playing and I was introduced to Irish music through Ian primarily, and then the ripple effect of who he introduced me to. "Conor was one of them then for a while we lived in a house together in Glasnevin, Conor and Ian and myself and a few others, so there were lots of tunes in that gaff and thats where I started cutting my teeth and came back to the cello after it had been collecting dust for a few years. READ MORE: MacD on Music It kind of happened organically. Ian was showing me songs that he was writing, as well as my introduction to traditional music. He was asking me to sing some of these songs hed written, so I was doing that and it happened in tandem with me picking up my cello again. For a little while, Ian and I were operating as a duo for the original music, then it just happened really naturally. It was missing something, and what we realised it was missing was Conors bodhran. "The trio came together because the three of us loved playing together. Obviously, COVID threw a wrench into developments, but once it started to wind down, we got some funding. We were awarded the Fingal County Council awards for recording so we said Lets do it. Lets go into the studio. We already had a number of ideas in terms of how we wanted to craft an EP, and there were arrangements that were coming about naturally in gigs and in sessions because all three of us also play in Eoghan OCeannabhains band, and Eoghan is great. "When he has his own gigs hes great about platforming us and getting us to play at least one or two, so certain choices were happening live as we were actually gigging. We were lucky to get the funding and were lucky to all be pals and want to play together all the time. Speaking of the actual recording process, Ian told me: It was great! We got the funding so that gave us a lot more options. We chose Black Mountain Studios, which is just past Dundalk. We had recorded there before, and its such a lovely, lovely set-up. The accommodation is right beside the studio, so you stay there for a couple of days. "You get up at whatever time and keep recording until whatever time. We also had Eoghan on the record as well, and Katherine McHugh, and Ryan McAuley on the five string banjo, and Laoise Fitzgerald, who we had just been there recording with the year prior. She did backing vocals. We did it over three days. We got everything done and it was a great process, just going back to the fact that the funding was there and we could just stay at the studio. Speaking of the feedback so far, Kaitlin said: The most heartening feedback Ive heard from other musicians is that its folk music that is respecting the tradition while also making something new out of it. Its dark folk thats still hopeful. Theres still some light and some bounce in it. Dont get me wrong, Im here for the doom and gloom, but that kind of happens via the storytelling, as opposed to anything else. And thats it from Saltaire. Their EP Only Moonlight is out now on all good streaming platforms. They can be found on Instagram @saltaire_. Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has said she has no interest in body positivity and that she finds it boring when people talk about her size. The Irish actress, 39, known for playing panicky student Clare Devlin on Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls, stars in the Netflix regency series Bridgerton as Penelope Bridgerton. Despite the success of the show, she has described how disappointing it is that so many people praise her body size and talk about her weight. Fronting the cover of Elle UKs April issue, Coughlan told the magazine: The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity. When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually dont care. Theres a lot of things Im passionate about, its not one of them Thats someone elses thing. Its not mine. The actress added that despite being a size 10, she will still be praised as someone who appears on screen as a plus-size actress, comments which she finds boring. Speaking about the reaction to her nude scenes on the show, she said: What was really bizarre was when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8. Then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen? I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, I loved (Bridgerton) because of your body and started talking about my body, and I was like, I want to die. I hate this so much. Its really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you dont see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like its so f****** boring. Coughlan also told the magazine that she gives herself more grace since receiving her ADHD diagnosis. She said: It feels like I got the handbook to my brain that I wasnt given when I was born. I understand things a bit better now, and I give myself a little more grace. Coughlan is also known for starring in the hit movie Barbie as well as Channel 4s Big Mood, a role which secured her a Bafta nomination. She also appeared in a National Theatre production of The Playboy Of The Western World alongside her Derry Girls co-star Siobhan McSweeney. READ NEXT: All Kinds of Everything Festival to launch in Derry this Easter The full interview can be read in the April issue of Elle UK, which goes on sale on March 10. Music fans in the North West are set for a massive night of pop nostalgia as chart-topping sensations JLS are officially confirmed to headline Live at the Square on Saturday, August 29 2026. The Brit Award-winning quartet, who skyrocketed to fame on The X Factor (UK), will bring their high-energy stage show to the heart of Derry. Fans can expect a setlist packed with the groups biggest hits, including chart-toppers like Beat Again, Everybody in Love and The Club Is Alive. Recognised as one of the UKs most successful pop acts of the last two decades, JLS have sold millions of records worldwide. Their Derry appearance promises the signature slick choreography and feel-good anthems that have cemented their reputation as a premier live act. Thomas OKane of Live at the Square commented: This is a massive announcement for music fans in Derry. JLS are one of the UKs most loved pop groups and their live shows are always incredible. Were delighted to be bringing them to the festival and we expect huge demand for tickets. The event is anticipated to attract thousands of fans from across Northern Ireland and beyond, contributing to a significant weekend for the city's tourism and nighttime economy. READ NEXT: All Kinds of Everything Festival to launch in Derry this Easter Tickets for JLS at Live at the Square go on sale this Friday, March 13 at 9.00am. Due to the band's massive following, organisers are encouraging fans to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Further announcements regarding the full support line-up and additional event details will be released in the coming weeks. MTN Group has signed a multi-year MoU with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide meaningful connectivity and digital inclusion for refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers and host communities across MTNs African markets. Under the MoU announced on Tuesday, MTN and UNHCR have committed to making connectivity more affordable and accessible in refugee-hosting areas, expand resilient network infrastructure, and advance digital and financial inclusion through mobile money, remittance enablement and digital skills development. The partnership will also support pathways that address identity and literacy gaps, recognising that documentation and capability are often the first barriers to meaningful participation in the digital economy. MTN and UNHCR also aim to catalyse broader ecosystem change by mobilising funding and fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships that deliver measurable socio-economic impact. Implementation is expected to begin in Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan, with a structured roadmap to scale across additional MTN markets hosting significant displaced populations. MTN said the partnership underscores a broader reality of the shifting humanitarian landscape across sub-Saharan Africa, where conflict, economic shocks and climate-related disasters continue to drive large-scale displacement. There are over 20 million displaced people residing in African markets where MTN operates, which includes Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, the Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia. UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T. Clements said that digital connectivity is central to any humanitarian response to the refugee crisis. Without reliable connectivity, access to protection updates, humanitarian assistance, education, financial services and livelihood opportunities is severely limited. For many refugees, exclusion is compounded by systemic digital barriers which include lack of recognised identification, unaffordable devices and data, limited broadband coverage, language constraints and low digital literacy. For displaced communities, digital access is essential to protection, resilience and opportunity. It allows people to receive lifesaving information, connect with support networks and rebuild their futures, Clements said in a statement. MTNs reach and scale across Africa make this collaboration a significant step toward closing the connectivity gap for millions. When people are forced to flee, digital access becomes critical it keeps families connected, enables access to assistance, and restores agency, added Nompilo Morafo, group chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer at MTN Group. This partnership reflects our conviction that inclusion must be intentional and systemic, especially for the most vulnerable. MTN said its collaboration with UNHCR is anchored in the Connectivity for Refugees initiative, that brings together international organizations, public and private sector actors towards a goal of advancing connectivity for 20 million forcibly displaced people by 2030. Pan-African (and formerly Middle Eastern) operator MTN is finally leaving Syria and, it seems, a replacement is already being lined up. MTN CEO Ralph Mupita met the Syrian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, at MWC26 earlier this week and announced an agreement to regularise MTN's disengagement from Syria, with both parties indicating that they intend to implement the deal as soon as possible. Indeed, during the show Syria launched an international tender for a new mobile network operator licence to replace MTN Syria. The tender will run until 15 June. The winning operator will be awarded a 20-year licence and a 75% stake in the business (at the moment MTN owns 75% of MTN Syria). Syria's sovereign fund will hold the remaining 25%. Its not clear whether, or how much, MTN is to be paid for its 75% stake. MTN announced in 2020 that it was selling its 75% stake in MTN Syria to minority shareholder TeleInvest for US$65 million. But that didnt happen, and, as we reported at the time, MTN abandoned the operation in 2021, saying that regulatory actions and licence payment demands had now made it intolerable to operate in Syria. Reuters reports that a court in Damascus had placed MTN Syria under judicial guardianship over alleged breaches of its licence obligations that the state said deprived it of revenue. MTN denied those accusations. It has booked a 4.7 billion rand (US$287 million) loss based on the 'deconsolidation' of its former subsidiary. MTN has largely withdrawn from the Middle East as part of a strategy to focus on its African operations. It sold its operations in Yemen in late 2021 and Afghanistan in 2022. Efforts to divest its 49% stake in Iran have been delayed by US sanctions. As for Syria, ITWeb Africa quoted an MTN announcement that says: "The two parties formalised an agreement to regularise MTNs exit from Syria, with the intention that both sides implement the agreement imminently." Beeline Uzbekistan, Veons digital operator in Uzbekistan, and Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of Rakuten Group, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at MWC26. Veon is a digital operator that provides services to over 150 million connectivity customers and approximately 120 million monthly active digital users in Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rakuten Group is a Japanese technology conglomerate and global innovation company. The partners aim to explore strategic collaborations that support the development of Uzbekistans fast-growing digital economy, including open RAN development, AI-powered network intelligence and next-generation digital platforms. The MoU establishes a framework to explore collaboration on areas including network deployment, optimisation and development, as well as digital services, leveraging Rakutens software stack and platform expertise. Under this framework, the companies will assess opportunities to deepen collaboration across priority technology areas, including open RAN architecture, the ways that AI can deliver more sophisticated network operations, next-generation digital platforms, cloud solutions and global IoT and mobile workforce connectivity. In addition, the two companies will advance collaboration in eSIM and international roaming, leveraging Rakuten Mobiles AI-powered, cloud-native platform and its track record in delivering integrated eSIM services at scale. Beeline Uzbekistan serves 7.7 million mobile subscribers and more than 9 million monthly active users with digital services. Todays announcement builds on the Rakuten-Veon partnership initially launched in 2023. Kyivstar Group and Beeline Kazakhstan, two other Veon Group companies, are already partnering with Rakuten in Ukraine and Kazakhstan to explore collaboration on open RAN and other digital cooperation opportunities. Sovereign AI company MeetKai and the Smart Africa Alliance announced this week during MWC26 what they call a landmark collaboration to launch a five-country pilot advancing sovereign AI across Africa. The pilot will support establishing national AI capabilities designed to operate with sovereign control over data, models and deployment aligned with each country's laws, institutions and development priorities. Through this alliance MeetKai will help participating member states deploy sovereign, locally governed AI stacks supporting African languages and enabling next-generation digital public services. The partners say the participating pilot countries will be announced in the coming weeks. MeetKai specialises in post training optimisation, local language reasoning models, and national AI platforms. Its flagship MKA1 Platform enables governments, enterprises, and consumers to build and operate fully sovereign AI ecosystems with data control, localisation, and long-term value creation. The Smart Africa Alliance is an African-led initiative that brings together African countries, private sector partners, and international stakeholders to accelerate socio-economic development through ICT and digital transformation. Smart Africa works to advance flagship programmes, harmonise policy, drive regional integration, and enable impactful digital public infrastructure across member states. Lacina Kone, CEO of Smart Africa explains: "This five-country pilot is an important step toward enabling member states to adopt AI that is locally governed and inclusive particularly in how it supports our languages, cultures and public services." Peter John Alexander, President & Chief Business Officer of MeetKai, adds: "Sovereign AI means a country retains full control of its AI stack its data, models and deployment so it can innovate securely and at national scale. This pilot is about delivering real outcomes: AI that speaks local languages, supports national priorities, and improves daily life across public services like education, healthcare, agriculture and citizen-facing government delivery." Languages were also the focus of a MeetKai and GSMA announcement this week. They are collaborating to launch ModelChorus, a new online platform designed to help mobile operators, model developers, and ecosystem partners evaluate language models and accelerate deployment of language-ready AI across real world networks and devices. Telekom Indonesias telecoms infrastructure subsidiary Mitratel announced on Wednesday that it has renewed and extended its collaboration agreement with Airbus subsidiary AALTO to provide high altitude platform station (HAPS) connectivity in Indonesia. Under an MoU signed by both companies at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona this week, AALTO will serve as the provider of HAPS connectivity services and aircraft operations, covering activities related to the deployment, operation, and management of high-altitude platform-based connectivity solutions. Mitratel will provide and manage telecoms tower infrastructure services necessary to implement the initiative effectively. Through this strategic collaboration with AALTO, we aim to develop an integrated synergy model between tower infrastructure and HAPS technology to enhance the quality, coverage, and resilience of telecommunications services in Indonesia, said Mitratel CEO Theodorus Ardi Hartoko in a statement. The new MoU extends the initial agreement signed by both companies in August 2024 to October 2027. It also widens the scope of the project to include execution of proof of concept (PoC) initiatives, formulation of a structured implementation framework, and identification and assessment of each partys respective capabilities and potential contributions. The new agreement also calls for comprehensive feasibility studies covering the business, financial, technical, operational, geographic, commercial, legal, regulatory, and taxation aspects of the project, among other things. Mitratel and AALTO also agreed to coordinate and undertake the necessary processes to secure required permits, approvals, and documentation from relevant government authorities and institutions. The extension of this memorandum of understanding provides a stronger foundation for both parties to undertake comprehensive assessments and prepare a well-measured implementation roadmap, Hartoko said. Telkom director of strategic business development and portfolio Seno Soemadji added that Telkom sees HAPS as a potential enabler to expand coverage, strengthen network resilience, and unlock new service models, particularly in challenging and underserved areas. The extension of this MoU provides a structured pathway to ensure that any future implementation is sustainable, well-governed, and aligned with Indonesias national digital transformation agenda, he said. AALTO designs, manufactures and operates the solar-powered Zephyr HAPS aircraft, which flies in the stratosphere above conventional air traffic to provide low latency, direct-to-device 4G and 5G services. AALTO CEO Hughes Boulnois said stratospace technology is demonstrating increasingly strong commercial potential. With Zephyrs capability to deliver direct-to-device connectivity, we can help bridge coverage gaps in Indonesias [remote, underdeveloped, and disadvantaged] regions while enhancing the resilience of the national network. Ghananian wholesale 4G and 5G operator Next Gen Infraco (NGIC) has finally commenced full commercial operations after several delays, although initial coverage is limited. NGIC said on Tuesday its shared 4G/5G platform is now live in selected locations in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and other key areas, with nationwide expansion progressing in phases. NGIC said it went ahead with its commercial launch after receiving formal confirmation from the National Communications Authority (NCA) that it has satisfied the requirements to commence commercial wholesale 4G/5G operations under its license following inspections and technical validation processes. NGIC CEO Tenu Awoonor said separating wholesale infrastructure from retail service delivery enables faster national reach and more efficient capital deployment. This structure allows infrastructure investment to be coordinated nationally while preserving innovation and competition at the retail layer. Awoonor also said that a wholesale model was necessary to meet the governments objective of achieving 70% 5G population density coverage in Ghana by the countrys 70th Independence Anniversary in March 2027. Achieving 70% coverage within the Ghana @70 timeframe demands coordination and long-term discipline, he said. The shared architecture ensures investment is directed toward expanding reach rather than duplicating infrastructure. NGIC is a joint venture formed in May 2024 whose members include Radisys, Nokia, Tech Mahindra and the Ghanian government, along with mobile network operators AT Ghana and Telecel. The NCA granted NGIC an exclusive ten-year license to deploy and operate a shared 5G infrastructure. However, last month, according to news agency Ecofin, the NCA rescinded the licences exclusivity after NGIC repeatedly postponed its commercial launch, which was initially scheduled for June 2025. That means telcos in Ghana are technically now able to acquire licenses and spectrum to deploy their own 5G networks independently of NGICs national shared network, although none have done so as yet. Mustapha Salah, Nokias head of mobile networks for Central West and East Africa, added that the wholesale model enables mobile operators to bring 4G and 5G services to consumers and new 5G-based service models to the enterprise segment more easily and cost-effectively. With a future-ready architecture underpinned by advanced security, the new shared mobile broadband network will drive socio-economic growth and bridge the digital divide in the coming years in Ghana, he said. After watching the final part of Bridgerton season 4, I found myself wondering what will happen next. If youre a fan of the series, youre probably asking the same questions: What happens next, which Bridgerton sibling will take the spotlight and when will the new season arrive? The latest season was packed with romance, emotional moments and unexpected twists, so its natural to be curious about the next chapter. Well, the good news is that the journey isnt ending. From official renewal updates to small hints shared by the showrunner, below is everything we know so far about Bridgerton season 5 and even season 6. Survey Thank you for completing the survey! Bridgerton season 5 and season 6 are confirmed Netflix has already renewed Bridgerton for two more seasons: Season 5 and season 6. The announcement was made in May 2025. As of now, the makers have not revealed the release date of Bridgerton season 5. Also read: Netflixs One Piece season 2 to release next week: Date, cast, plot and other details Who will lead Bridgerton season 5? Each season of the show focuses on the love story of a different Bridgerton sibling. While there has been no official confirmation yet, the shows creator had quietly dropped a clue earlier this year. At the Paris premiere of season 4, part 1, showrunner Jess Brownell appeared wearing a suit with two pocket squares featuring the letters E and F. She told Deadline, Both characters with the initials on my pocket squares will get seasons in five [and] six. In what order? I cant say. Also read: XO Kitty season 3 to release next month: Date, cast, plot and other details we know Those initials suggest that Eloise Bridgerton and Francesca Bridgerton will be the next siblings whose love stories will take the spotlight in the upcoming seasons. However, the exact order is still unknown. Also read: The Family Man season 4 release timeline, platform and other details we know Highlights of 2026 Government Work Report People's Daily Online) 18:57, March 05, 2026 Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the government work report on behalf of the State Council at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress on Thursday. The key points are as follows: Review of work in 2025 - GDP grew by 5 percent. - 12.67 million urban jobs created. - Grain output rose to 715 million metric tons. - New-energy vehicle output exceeded 16 million units. Over the past five years: - GDP crossed successive thresholds, with an average annual growth of 5.4 percent. - Manufacturing sector has led the world in value added for the past 16 years. - Per capita disposable income increased at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent. - A total of over 60 million urban jobs were created. Main goals and major tasks for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) - GDP should keep growing within an appropriate range. - An annual average increase of at least 7 percent in nationwide R&D spending. - A total reduction of 17 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. - Raising the value added of core digital economy industries to 12.5 percent of GDP. - Raising the average years of schooling among the working-age population to 11.7. - Raising life expectancy to 80 years. - Increase in overall grain production capacity to 725 million metric tons. - Increase in overall energy production capacity to the equivalent of 5.8 billion metric tons of standard coal. Overall requirements and policy orientation for economic and social development in 2026 - GDP growth of 4.5-5 percent, while striving for better in practice. - Create over 12 million new urban jobs. - CPI increase of around 2 percent. - Grain output of around 700 million metric tons. - A reduction of around 3.8 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. - The deficit-to-GDP ratio for this year is set at around 4 percent, 230 billion yuan more than last year. - Expenditure in the general public budget is projected to reach 30 trillion yuan for the first time. - A total of 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued. - 4.4 trillion yuan of local government special-purpose bonds will be issued. Selected key tasks for 2026 Increasing income China will formulate and implement an income growth plan for urban and rural residents and roll out a range of practical measures to boost the earnings of low-income groups, increase property income, and refine the remuneration and social security systems. Consumption 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs. Investment A total of 755 billion yuan will be earmarked in this year's central government budget for investment. China will also allocate 800 billion yuan raised from ultra-long special treasury bonds to implement major national strategies and enhance security capacity in key areas. New quality productive forces Develop emerging pillar industries including integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine, and the low-altitude economy. Foster future industries such as future energy, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G. Further advance and expand the "AI Plus" initiative. National unified market Thoroughly address rat-race competition through a full range of measures, including production regulation, standards guidance, price law enforcement, and quality supervision. Opening-up China will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields. Rural revitalization Province-wide trials on extending rural land contracts by another 30 years upon the expiration of the current second-round contracts will be conducted across the country. The fourth national agricultural census will be carried out. New urbanization strategy Well-conceived and systematic measures will be taken to grant permanent urban residency to people who move to cities from rural areas. Based on local conditions, we will ease relevant eligibility standards so that more children of rural migrant workers can take high school entrance examinations in their current place of residence. Employment China will bolster support for employment through various policies and foster an employment-friendly growth model. It will also implement the initiative for creating more stable, better-quality job opportunities. Education China will refine policies on free preschool education and increase the supply of regular senior secondary school places. Healthcare Government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents will be raised by 24 yuan per person. Social security Minimum basic old-age benefits for rural and non-working urban residents will be raised by 20 yuan per month. China will boost housing support for first-time married couples and those with their first child, and help families with children meet their needs for better housing. Green development China will set up a national fund for low-carbon transition and foster new growth drivers such as hydrogen power and green fuels. Real estate City-specific policies will be introduced to control the number of new real estate projects, reduce housing inventory, and improve supply. China will explore various avenues for utilizing commodity housing stock. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chengliang) Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe There were just over 9,000 social homes built in Ireland last year, as the opposition accused the Government of missing a housing target. Housing Minister James Browne told the Dail on Thursday that 9,089 new social homes were built last year. He said this was an increase of 1,256 social homes, or 16%, compared to 2024, and was the highest number of new-build social homes in the history of the state. But Labour housing spokesman Conor Sheehan said the figure was beneath the target set by the Government, and that it comes after an under delivery of around 4,000 units as part of the previous housing plan. He said that the Government had never met its social and affordable housing targets, and asked Mr Browne if social housing targets of around 12,000 a year would be increased to reflect the growing housing deficit. Mr Browne said there had been record levels of social housing built, and the social housing figures had been tracking in and around 25% of the overall annual housing output. He said the Housing Commission had recommended that social housing and cost rental housing should make up at least 20% of the total housing stock. We came from a very low standing start, he told TDs. The last time the Labour Party had the Department of Housing you built 75 new-build social homes in the entire state. Mr Sheehan said that based off a Q3 construction status report, the Government would only meet 30% of its social housing target. He said that Mr Brownes rental reforms would increase homelessness, to which Mr Browne said: I dont accept that the new legislation is going to drive up homelessness. The Governments previous housing plan, Housing for All, set a target of 10,000 new-build social homes for 2025, and an overall target of 34,600 new-build homes. The Governments new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities sets out a target of 300,000 new homes from 2025 to 2030, including 72,000 social homes. This averages at 50,000 new homes a year and 12,000 new social homes. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin said that Mr Browne had confirmed the Government missed its new-build social housing target last year. The 10,000 target was too low to begin with, he said. We need at least 15,000 new-build social housing homes every year to reduce waiting lists and homelessness. Not only was the target too low, but it was missed. At a time of rising homelessness, this is utterly unacceptable. The consequence of this is that social housing waiting lists and homelessness will continue to rise in 2026 as they did in 2025. Louths thriving food and hospitality scene was in the spotlight at the Irish Restaurant Awards Leinster Regional Final 2026, held on Tuesday, March 3rd, at the Killashee Hotel in Kildare. The evening celebrated the countys outstanding restaurants, cafes, pubs, and hospitality professionals, with Louth winners taking top honours across a wide range of categories. More than 1100 guests attended to recognise the achievements of restaurants, cafes and hospitality businesses operating across Leinster. Now in its 17th year, the Irish Restaurant Awards attracted over 150,000 public nominations, submitted via The Irish Times, the official media partner. Once all regional finals conclude, both Regional and All Ireland winners will be revealed at the All-Ireland Awards Gala Dinner on Monday, May 18th at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin. County winners from Leinster are now invited to secure tickets for the national ceremony. Addressing attendees, Sean Collender, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: As Ireland places a renewed focus on culinary tourism, nights like this take on even greater importance. Our restaurants are not only central to local communities and employment, they are a key part of the experience visitors travel here for. The Irish Restaurant Awards shine a light on the quality, creativity and standards that underpin Irelands growing food reputation at home and abroad. These awards are about more than recognition. They reinforce the link between hospitality businesses and Irelands wider tourism offering. By celebrating excellence at county and regional level, we strengthen the foundations of a food culture that attracts visitors, supports producers and sustains jobs right across the country. I want to congratulate every nominee and winner whose work contributes to that story. Read Next: Major upgrade for Dundalks Long Walk as resurfacing and footpath repairs confirmed The Louth winners were as follows: Best Restaurant Square Restaurant Best Chef Mark Gormley, The Clermont Best Restaurant Manager Wayne Fitzpatrick, No. 3 Wine Bar & Restaurant Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant Scholars Townhouse Hotel Employee Excellence Kate Traynor, Carlingford Brewing Company Best Use of Social Media Mo Chara Best Casual Dining Kingfisher Bistro Best World Cuisine Sitar Indian Restaurant & Takeaway Best Gastro Pub Blue Anchor Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine The Spotted Dog Best Newcomer East Pub of the Year The Vinegar Man Best Wine Experience DVine Bistro & Tapas Bar Best Customer Service Carrickdale Hotel and Spa Best Cafe Strandfield Best Sustainable Practices Forge Field Farm Coffee Shop Innovator of the Year King of Kefir Local Food Hero Kian Louet-Feisser, Carlingford Oyster Company A man who stole the wallet of a man with intellectual disabilities in a public toilet, was jailed for two and a half years at Dundalk Circuit Court last week. Robert Maguire of St Helenas, Dundalk pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery arising out of the incident at Roden Place, Dundalk on September 27th 2017. The court was told lasts Wednesday that victim had gone to an off-licence to buy cigarettes around 8pm and was planning to return to a pub on Crowe Street when he ran into the defendant and another man. He went into the public toilet beside St Patricks church where he drank a can of beer with the defendant. He told gardai he didnt feel safe with him. The defendant kept the door open with his foot, and when the siren went off the victim said he wanted to go, and Robert Maguire then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back into the toilet as the door shut. He rifled through the victims pockets and found his wallet before hitting the button on the door and running off. It contained 150 in cash, his PPS card and medical card and the man told gardai he could not sleep the night of the robbery and now has a massive fear of the defendant. The injured party reported the robbery the next day, with the assistance of his sister and when arrested Robert Maguire admitted knowing the man and that he was aware of his disabilities but he denied robbing him. The defendant, one of 24 siblings, had 119 previous convictions including two for robbery and he had twice failed to appear on his sentencing date in relation to the case, and has been in custody since December. The Defence barrister said his client is of no fixed abode and while he has his mothers address he rarely stays there. He added that his client has a long-standing heroin addiction, having first used the drug in St Patricks Institution and has had the habit for 30 years. Judge Dara Hayes imposed a sentence of two and a half years backdated to October 28th last to allow for time spent in custody on the charge. Today, young artists from St Brigid's Special School, Louth were announced as the joint third-place winner in the Group category of RTEs This is Art! 2025 competition. Their winning artwork, St Brigids Cloak, was selected from thousands of entries submitted by young people across the island of Ireland. This years competition saw an extraordinary surge in participation, with entries almost doubling year-on-year reflecting the growing appetite for creative expression among young people nationwide. The group from St Brigid's Special School are among 77 young artists named winners across five age categories. The competition celebrates every young person who takes part. Each submission contributed to a vibrant and inspiring showcase of creativity from every corner of Ireland. Supported by Creative Ireland and the Shared Island Initiative, RTEs This is Art! continues its mission to champion and platform young creativity across the island of Ireland. The annual all-island competition invited young people aged 18 and under to respond to this years theme: This is Nature! Across five age categories, entrants submitted work in a wide range of mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture, decoupage and mixed media. 77 young artists will receive prizes this year. First-place winners across all categories will receive a bespoke award created by artist and judge Maser. Second and third-place winners - 28 entrants - will receive bursaries to further develop their artistic practice. In addition, the top 20 entrants in each category will receive personal commendations from the judging panel. This years judging panel - graffiti and street artist Maser, muralist and educator Joe Caslin, artist and fashion designer Helen Steele, Director of The Dock Mary Conlon, and ornithologist Sean Ronayne - met in Dublin last month to review the entries and select the winners. The judges were inspired by the depth of thought, imagination and confidence shown across the submissions, noting the powerful ways young people interpreted the theme of nature. Read Next: Significant achievements of four Louth students celebrated by Maynooth University Commenting on the winners' announcement, RTEs Suzanne Kelly, Head of Children's and Young People's Content, said: This Is Art! truly embodies our mission within Childrens & Young Peoples Content at RTE. It provides a platform for talented young people to showcase their creativity and, in doing so, inspires others across the country to express themselves through art. Its a privilege to be able to support young people in this way and to shine a light on the remarkable artists we have across the island of Ireland. We would encourage everyone to explore the digital gallery to experience the extraordinary entries from every corner of the country. If you havent already, visit the online gallery and see the talent for yourself. H2O Heroes, an award-winning environmental education programme led by Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens at Dundalk Institute of Technology, has received significant national funding of just under 300k through the Research Ireland Discover Programme. The hands-on initiative engages children, families, teachers and communities across counties Louth, Cavan, Monaghan, Meath and Tipperary, using local rivers, lakes and green spaces as outdoor laboratories to explore water quality, biodiversity and climate action. By combining curriculum-aligned workshops, inclusive summer camps, Family STEM Nights, and community events, H2O Heroes aims to spark curiosity, build science confidence, and promote sustainability, while providing pathways for young people to volunteer, earn awards, and develop lifelong environmental stewardship. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, and Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD, have today announced almost 6 million in funding nationally to support 32 projects designed to engage the public in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through the Research Ireland Discover Programme. Dr Gilleran Stephens said: H 2 O Heroes was designed to spark curiosity through hands-on STEM learning to build science confidence and promote sustainability by inviting children, families, teachers and communities to explore water quality, biodiversity and climate action under the unifying message, We all live in a catchment. It is fantastic to receive this funding and recognition through the Research Ireland Discover Programme, allowing us to widen the impact of H 2 O Heroes and continuing to support our communities in this area. The Research Ireland Discover Programme is a national initiative to widen participation in STEM. This years projects will engage with people of all ages, from early childhood through to adulthood, through creative, community-embedded and inclusive approaches to STEM engagement. Announcing the awards, Minister Lawless said: STEM is one of the most powerful forces driving Irelands creativity, resilience and future prosperity. The projects announced today will widen access to STEM by bringing wonder, curiosity and real opportunities for learning into peoples everyday lives. This investment isnt just about supporting programmes its about sparking imaginations. "It brings conversations about research and innovation directly into our communities and helps nurture a new generation of explorers, problem solvers and innovators who will shape Irelands future.Welcoming the announcement and her departments funding of six projects, Minister Naughton commented: Read Next: Louth duo take top honour for innovative non-alcoholic beer Todays funding is about opening doors for our children and young people. By supporting STEM projects both inside and outside the classroom, we are helping children and young people across Ireland to discover that science, technology, engineering and maths are not abstract subjects, but real career paths that they can step into. This investment will ensure more children and young people can see themselves in STEM, build their confidence, and will empower them to pursue it as part of their future.Dr Diarmuid OBrien, CEO of Research Ireland, added: The projects funded today highlight the creativity and ambition of Irelands STEM engagement community, and their commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists. They are also playing a vital role in helping people of all ages feel informed and connected to the role of STEM research in society. "Research Irelands strategy, launched earlier this week, is built on the three pillars of Talent, Economy and Society. We are proud to support these partners as they deliver programmes to democratise access to STEM across the country, and help support talent for our future economy and society. MEP Nina Carberry has warned that households in Louth will feel the full effects of the ongoing conflict in the the Middle East as gas prices continue to rise. Ms Carberry called on the European Commissions Gas Coordination Group, to activate its crisis protocol and increase EU-wide joint purchasing of gas from a wider range of countries. It comes as European gas prices have surged by as much as 45% after Qatar stopped Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) production. The Midlands North-West MEP said that families and businesses in Louth will feel the effects as much of the county is primarily dependent on gas or oil. "With the crisis in the Middle East escalating, we have seen how quickly international events can have consequences at home." Families and businesses will feel this. More than 70% of households across Meath and Louth are primarily dependent on gas or oil and that is why I am calling on the Commission to trigger its crisis protocol," she said. Read Next: Safety fears as Louth school faces overcrowding crisis Ms Carberry called on the European Commission to act with the same level of urgency as it did when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. She said the European Commission "must immediately look at increasing the joint purchasing of gas at the EU level from other partners". "It also means, in the long term, looking at expanding gas storage, and having faster rollout of anaerobic digestion plants and renewables," she said. Carberry also warned of knock-on effects on gas prices for fertiliser costs, which are already at record highs, and has requested an update from the EU Fertilisers Market Observatory on price increases. Monks from the Cistercian community are set to move to Louth, after voting to make Mellifont Abbey their permanent home. The decision was confirmed by Dom Rufus Pound, superior of the community currently based at Mount Saint Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Tipperary following a formal vote of the Conventual Chapter. The move marks a significant development for Louth, with the monastic site at Mellifont Abbey, long associated with the Cistercian tradition in Ireland, now chosen as the long-term base for the community formed from the former abbeys of Mount Melleray, Mount Saint Joseph and Mellifont. In a statement, Dom Rufus Pound said the community had spent the past year in Roscrea reflecting on its future before deciding to relocate to the Louth abbey. In January 2025, the Community of Our Lady of Silence, comprising the members of the former Cistercian Abbeys of Mount Melleray, Mount Saint Joseph, and Mellifont, made the decision to come together for an interim period at Mount Saint Joseph Abbey, Roscrea. This arrangement afforded us the necessary space and time to reflect carefully on our long-term future and to engage in a prayerful process of discernment regarding a permanent home for the Community. Last week, following a formal vote of the Conventual Chapter, the monastic community decided to relocate to Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, as our long-term home. We understand that this decision will bring great disappointment locally. We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the wider community for its steadfast support, friendship, and generosity over many generations. The strong bonds formed here are enduring and deeply valued. We anticipate that the transition will take place over at least the next eighteen months, allowing a proper opportunity to mark our departure and to say farewell in an appropriate and respectful manner. A special word of appreciation is due to our wonderful staff at the Abbey, whose dedication, professionalism, and loyalty have supported our life and work in countless ways. For their generous commitment over so many years, we are profoundly grateful. We will now enter into diligent and respectful discussions with them, with the aim of supporting and guiding all through this period of transition. We are committed to ensuring that appropriate provisions are made and that everyone is treated with fairness, dignity, and care. While we will no longer reside on the grounds we have shared for so long with Cistercian College, our bond remains strong and enduring. We will continue in our role as Patrons and remain fully committed to the future of the College, to its mission, and to the ethos and values that have shaped generations of students. We have every confidence in the Board of Management and in the leadership of College President, Colm Maloney, and his team. Under their stewardship, the College will act as custodian of our shared heritage and will carry forward the legacy entrusted to it, ensuring that the values intrinsic to our Cistercian tradition continue to flourish in the years ahead. Read Next: Endometriosis awareness event to take place at Downtown Hub in Dundalk We were particularly encouraged by the decision to transition to a co-educational model and remain immensely proud of the Colleges legacy and its past pupils, whose contributions to both the monastic and wider community are beyond measure. Their loyalty, service, and faithfulness remain a source of encouragement to us all. We recognise that our departure will offer new opportunities for the College to expand and grow, and we look forward to remaining partners in its continued development long into the future. We ask the whole community of Roscrea to keep us in prayer as we take this significant step on our journey. Please be assured that you all remain close to our hearts and in our prayer. Difficult decisions require deep trust in God, and, with that trust, we move forward in faith, confident that the Lord has guided us on this path and will continue to do so in the years ahead. With gratitude for the past and hope for what lies ahead, we entrust ourselves, the College, and the whole wider community of Roscrea to Gods faithful blessing and loving care. Planning approval has been granted for a new 200m Lidl Regional Distribution Centre in Wallingstown, Little Island. The regional distribution centre, anticipated to come on stream by 2030, will be Lidls fourth facility in the Republic of Ireland and the second to be located in Cork. The proposed development includes the construction of a warehouse and distribution building of approximately 59,710sq m, and also include a new access road to connect to the southern arm of the existing roundabout on the R623, the realignment of existing road/paths, new entrance walls, signage, landscaping, footpaths, and cycle lanes, as well as a new four-arm roundabout. The supermarket franchise has welcomed this planning approval, saying it plans to expand its store network over the next five years, including investing 600m in the new distribution centre and developing 35 new stores. Lidl services 190 stores in the Republic of Ireland, including 22 in Cork, from its three regional distribution centres at Charleville, Mullingar and Newbridge. Tara OConnor, regional managing director for Munster at Lidl Ireland, said: We are pleased to receive planning approval for a new, state-of-the-art Regional Distribution Centre at Little Island. This is an important milestone and reflects our continued commitment to investing in the Munster and Western region. Since submitting the planning application in October 2024, we have opened an additional four new stores in the region at Moycullen, Killorglin, Limerick, and Claregalway. She added: The development of a new distribution centre in this area is vital to ensure we meet the future needs of our business as we continue to deliver on our ambitious expansion plans and open new stores. This decision allows us to continue our local investment and ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to support our future growth, enabling us to continue to provide great value to our customers. A Cork-based travel agent has said it is working to get its customers out of the Middle East with a newly-formed crisis team. Cathy Burke, managing director of Traveller Counsellors Ireland, who is based at its Irish headquarters in Mahon, explained that the travel agency specialises in long-haul trips. On Saturday, all the team in our Cork office logged on from home and ran reports to find out which of our customers were in the Middle East, waiting to fly through there, or in transit, she said. By Saturday afternoon, wed been in touch with everyone affected. She explained that as well as people holidaying in the region, the airports at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha are massive hubs for Irish people travelling to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, and other similar locations. We had some people in Dubai on holiday, then people transitioning through those three airports. We also had people who were about to leave Australia but couldnt take off as their flights wouldnt be able to land, or people whose flights had been stopped because they couldnt go any further. Ms Burke said that as they started co-ordinating early, they were able to get some people home on Tuesday, because they got their customers on flights ahead of many others. The priority for airlines is to get people who are transitioning out, the people who have just arrived in the airports, she said. We have an office in Dubai and 100 travel counsellors there, so its been very stressful for them the past few days. But they say things have quietened down now. Lots of people were back to work today, though children are still being homeschooled. As well as helping people to leave the region, they are also organising solutions for their customers elsewhere. Airlines are allowing us to bring people who are in Thailand back a different way, rather than through the Middle East, she explained. Its not easy, flights are booking up, but one of the joys of booking a holiday with a travel company is we have access to the airline systems. On Saturday, we assembled a massive crisis team. This was just so sudden and instant we woke up on Saturday and suddenly the worlds fallen apart. We just hope its resolved quickly. Lorries are getting stuck at least once a month under one of the 'most bashed bridges' in the country and when crashes occur there, it brings a town to a standstill. Cork county councillors are demanding action to prevent further incidents at the Bailick Bridge in Midleton which is an underpass on the N25 main Cork to Waterford road as the situation has become a running joke. Despite the installation of height-warning signs on approaches, lorry drivers are getting stuck under the bridge on a regular basis, leading to traffic chaos. Councillors want the county engineer to address the low height of the underpass, which was constructed as part of the Midleton bypass in 1985. Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty said while the bridge was under the auspices of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the approach roads are under the control of the council and as such, it should not need TII permission to install bash barrier beams on either side of it. Warning He explained these beams are like goalposts with little flexible strips of chains that hit the top of a lorry, warning the driver it is over the height for the underpass. Mr Hegarty said a height-restriction barrier had been installed in the area some years ago, but got knocked down by a truck and was removed. Its an awful pity the underpass isnt higher, but theyre [TII] hardly going to do anything about it now, Mr Hegarty told a meeting of the East Cork Municipal District Council. Fine Gael councillor Rory Cocking, chair of the council, said it must act, as repeated accidents are causing serious traffic congestion in the town. Lorry drivers must see the height notifications, but theyre still taking a chance. There isnt a month that goes by now without a lorry getting stuck underneath the bridge, said Fianna Fail councillor Ann Marie Ahern. Running joke Independent councillor John Buckley said its become a running joke. He said there were sensors on approaches to the Jack Lynch Tunnel which detect the height of lorries and automatically bring down barriers to stop over-height ones and suggested such a system could be introduced in Midleton, and while more expensive than what Mr Hegarty suggested, the cost would be justified considering the traffic chaos caused by crashes. Mr Buckley said since the council had jurisdiction on the approach roads, it did not have to wait for TII permission to take action. Nearly 2,000 Cork people are waiting for hearing aids, cataract surgery, and hip or knee replacements, as a Cork advocate for the elderly says that long wait times are severely impacting older peoples quality of life. There are 1,606 people waiting for an audiology assessment in Cork currently, the HSE said, with 436 of these waiting longer than six months, and 69 waiting longer than a year. Of the total, 557 are over 65 years of age. A further 155 adults in Cork have been assessed and have agreed to go ahead with hearing aid intervention they are currently in process. There are also 78 patients awaiting knee replacement surgery, including 30 for waiting more than six months and eight waiting for more than a year. Some 65 patients are currently awaiting a hip replacement, eight waiting for more than six months, and two waiting for over a year. A further 218 people are awaiting cataract treatment, including six for over six months. Cork advocate for the elderly, Paddy OBrien, told The Echo: There are large numbers of senior citizens on these lists. Every week, I speak to people waiting on hearing aids, and while theyre waiting, they have no quality of life. I spoke to one man who told me he has not been outside his door for several weeks because he doesnt want to meet his neighbours and not be able to have a conversation with them, hes so embarrassed. The same applies in relation to cataract surgery, people cant read the newspaper, watch TV and things like going to the library or bingo sessions with friends have stopped as a result of their eyesight. He added that travelling to the North to get treatment did not suit everyone, as it was a very long trip: People waiting for knee and hip replacements suffer awfully, they have considerable pain on a daily basis. A 70-year-old gentleman told me recently he had just returned from Alicante, he went there for knee replacement after waiting to be seen here. The HSE covered the cost of surgery, but he had to take out a loan from the credit union for his flight and accommodation. A HSE South West spokesperson said that comparison data for January 2025 and January 2026 demonstrate an overall reduction in those waiting for audiology treatment, and a reduction in those waiting over 39 weeks from 44% to 15%. Continued gains are anticipated through 2026, with successful recruitment to approved vacancies being a critical dependency/enabler, the spokesperson said. They added that, following hearing assessments, clients are then put through for their hearing aid fitting appointment no more than eight to 12 weeks later. Appointments for fitting cannot be immediate, as moulds are sent away to be processed for the client in advance of fitting. Francis Lennox, a private audiologist in Cork, said these procedures could be done much faster if the HSE outsourced them: I would suggest the private sector could help. A good 80% of those on waiting lists would be entitled to hearing aids for free with their PPS grant, so the private sector could provide the hearing tests, alleviate the amount of people waiting, and take the pressure off the HSE. We can test and fit them within a week. People who struggle with their hearing are isolated, they dont get involved with conversations, they dont mix, they withdraw, and theres a connection there that hearing problems can bring on dementia quicker, Mr Lennox added. The HSE spokesperson added that the service is making every effort to make progress in reducing our waiting times for key elective procedures, including hip replacements, knee replacements, and cataract surgeries. While we recognise the ongoing challenges in accessing elective care, we remain fully committed to reducing waiting times and supporting the timely, safe delivery of care across all procedure areas, they said. Primary and secondary schools across Cork are being asked to swap their uniforms for their favourite jersey in support of Feile OSullivan, who underwent a double leg amputation following a farm accident last year. The regional initiative, entitled Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day, organised by a voluntary group of former Cork and Kerry GAA players, invites students, teachers, staff, and the wider school community, to wear their favourite jersey and make a small donation to support Feiles recovery. The vital funds raised will provide essential rehabilitation support and future care for 13-year-old Feile, helping to support, encourage, and empower her and her family during this extremely challenging journey. Feiles mother, Maureen OSullivan, said that her daughter has undergone more than 65 surgeries since the accident last summer. Last July, Feiles life changed forever after a devastating accident on our family farm in Allihies in West Cork, said Ms OSullivan. Since then, she has undergone more than 65 surgeries and, despite extraordinary care from her medical team, her legs had to be amputated. She has had to endure a number of significant life-changing procedures. With the support of the GAA community, Feile has met each of these challenges with a smile, determination, and a great sense of humour. Support for Feile has since spread far beyond the GAA, and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who has played a part in supporting Feiles recovery so far. Finbarr Harrington, chairman of Garnish GAA, which is Feiles home club, said as Feile and her family face the next chapter of her recovery, were inviting every school to help raise vital funds for Feile and to show her that the entire country is fully behind her. Read More TV series goes to the heart of Cork's Gaeltacht communities Schools are encouraged to capture the colour and energy of the day and share their photos using #Stand4Feile on social media, as all participating schools will be entered into a draw to win a brand new set of jerseys. A teenager described how sexual abuse from the age of six by an elderly father figure had changed her life irrevocably and now the 84-year-old man has been jailed for five years for the crimes which he denied at a trial by judge and jury. The teenager spoke at Cork Circuit Criminal Court of how her life had been changed irrevocably by the abuse she had suffered at the hands of the defendant who was in a relationship with her mother. She said the abuse had changed her in ways she never expected or deserved, and that the person she was before the abuse was not the same person she is today. She said in her victim impact statement that now she lives with constant fear and anxiety that she never experienced before. However, the injured party, who is now in her mid-teens, said that while she will carry the scar of the accuseds actions in her mind for the rest of her life, she will not allow them to define who she is and that she hopes to move on with her life. She said she is not a victim but a survivor. There is a prohibition on identification of the defendant in order to protect the identity of the injured party. He was found guilty by a jury on 16 counts of sexually assaulting the girl between June 2015 and June 2019 while minding her at the family home. At Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Helen Boyle said the abuse involved the man touching the girls private parts inside her clothing but outside her underwear two or three times a week between 2015 and 2019 when the girl was between six and nine years of age. The 84-year-old told the child not to tell anyone what he was doing to her and he used to buy her treats. Eventually in 2019 she told her mother on a family holiday and following this disclosure, Tusla were notified and a garda investigation commenced. Sentencing The defendant had no previous convictions and had not come to garda attention since the abuse. Judge Boyle said the defendant showed no understanding of the gravity of the offending, particularly the young age of his victim. Aggravating factors included the breach of trust given and the prolonged nature of the abuse. Defence barrister, Elaine Audley, said the accused had multiple health issues and the judge said she fully accepted that the accused was not in good health. She said that she believed that the offending merited a headline sentence of nine years but taking into account the mans poor health she would reduce the sentence to one of seven years and suspend the final two years. The sentence was backdated to November 26, 2025, when the accused first went into custody following his conviction by the jury. Judge Boyle directed the defendant to undergo the Safer Lives programme for sex offenders on his release from custody. - If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services. Having combined forces in January to present Swarm, which promised Corks finest electronic talent under one roof, CC Outpost and Instinct reunite tonight (Thursday) at Clancys Skybar on Marlboro Street to present a night called Bassline Pressure. This time they promise a showcase of young producers and DJs delivering the best of garage and bassline sounds. The evening kicks off at 9pm with Biam and Doktor going back-to-back. This will be followed with sets by Wayden and Plax before we have another B2B set from CC Outpost mainstay DJ Leezur and Real Fear music collective and label lynchpin Ultra Pollen, before closing the night with Tobin. Tickets available exclusively through the Resident Advisor website. These may well be some of the citys younger guns, but older (much older!) heads will be visiting Clancys Skybar to pay tribute to Room 3 of Sir Henrys. Id bet good money that none of the above DJs were even a gleam in their parents eyes when the legendary South Main Street venue shut its doors for the last time, but one person who remembers is Marq Walsh. Most will know that Greg and Shane served up the best of underground house music and garage at the Sweat nights in Henrys main room. There was a second space, the Back Bar, which provided more laidback hip-hop and R&B, for the most part courtesy of Stevie G. Well, there was a Room 3 that was in the Annex area, closer to the Grand Parade side of the complex, and while that room hosted different nights, one of the people associated with it is Marq Walsh. With over 30 years DJ-ing experience, Walsh cut his teeth at some notorious clubs and venues, from The Chambers Bar on Anglesea Street to The Yum Yum Club at Nancy Spains, before establishing himself at Sir Henrys. When that ended, he went on to start other club nights and spread his love of house music on both pirate and commercial radio. Walsh is one of the people behind the local label Vision Collective Recordings and is a seasoned producer under the name QuestionmarQ. While the main room grooved to the pulse of deep house, Walshs Room 3 served up slightly harder and more uptempo house sounds. Perhaps the Remembering Sir Henrys Room 3 nights were only ever intended to be a once off, but here it is celebrating its first birthday which I feel is a bit belated as, if memory serves, the first night happened in December 2024. The fact it has returned around half-a-dozen more times suggests the night has struck a chord with a broader audience, and this Friday (March 6) it returns for what I believe is its eighth edition. While Walsh with his vast repertoire has managed to play some very different sets, Friday's set promises to feature non-stop Room 3 classics from artists such as Laurent Garnier, Sasha & Digweed, React 2 Rhythm and The Grid, as well as a few of his favourite main-room weapons too. Doors 11pm. Tickets 10 + booking fee. Of course, if theres one thing to top that this weekend, its the aforementioned Shane Johnson at the Savoy on Saturday evening (March 7). For one night only, Shane, one half of Fish Go Deep, will reunite with Tracey K, the Tralee vocalist on what is no exaggeration to say one of the biggest house classics to ever come out of Ireland, The Cure & The Cause. Doors 8pm. Sean McCarthaigh A taxi driver killed in a collision on the M4 near Kilcock, Co Kildare, two years ago was over eight times above the legal drink driving limit, an inquest has heard. Aidan OBrien (49) from Ballynanum, Edenderry, Co Offaly, suffered fatal injuries in the crash on the westbound carriageway of the M4 just near Junction 8 shortly before midnight on March 13th, 2024. A sitting of Kildare Coroners Court heard the white 151-D reg Toyota Prius being driven by OBrien crashed into a motorway barrier between the off-ramp for Kilcock and the hard shoulder at 11.26pm. It resulted in the vehicle coming to a stop in the overtaking lane of the motorway before it was struck from behind by a Volkswagen Caddy van around eight minutes later. The crash pushed the deceaseds taxi onto the grass verge in the median of the M4, while the other vehicle came to a stop on the inside lane of the motorway. A forensic collision investigator, Garda John Coughlan, said the road surface at the time of the incident was wet and it was raining with some motorists reporting reduced visibility. The inquest heard contradictory evidence from two witnesses as to whether there were rear lights visible on the taxi while it was stopped on the motorway. However, Garda Coughlan said it was not possible to check if the lights had been working due to the extent of the damage to the Toyota Prius. A public service vehicle inspector, Garda James Keating, told the hearing that although his examination of the taxi was considerably hampered by the extensive damage caused to the vehicle, he did not think anything contributed to the accident other than driver error. However, Garda Keating said there was an anomaly with the front tyre on the passenger side of the vehicle as it had slightly shorter height and sidewall measurements. The inspector said the mismatch of tyres could cause serious instability to the vehicle which might be considered dangerously defective under Section 54 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. In reply to questions from the coroner, Loretta Nolan, the witness agreed that the vehicle would be unlikely to pass a NCT test in such a condition. However, Garda Keating accepted that the smaller tyre could be considered a reasonable temporary measure which might have been fitted in error. He also found no mechanical defects with the 211-KK reg Volkswagen Caddy which also suffered significant damage to the front of the vehicle. The inquest heard that driver of the van, Thomas Murray, provided breath and saliva samples to gardai which tested negative for alcohol and drugs. In a statement, Garda Laura Fingleton said Murray was in shock but otherwise suffered no physical injuries. In evidence, Murray said he was driving in the overtaking lane of the M4 while returning from an Irish Farmers Association meeting to his home in Clonard, Co Meath. He described how a car in front of him swerved into the other lane, but he was unable to avoid crashing into another vehicle that appeared to be stopped on the motorway. Murray said his van came to a stop on the inside lane and he ran behind a barrier until he realised he had left his phone in the vehicle. He said he went to check on the driver of the Toyota Prius, who appeared unresponsive. However, Murray said he was shaking too much to be able to check the other motorists pulse. As vehicles were still passing the scene at speed, he said he went back behind the barrier until the emergency services arrived. Garda Mark Connolly said OBrien was unresponsive and showed no sign of life with blood coming from the top of his head, while he was also mechanically trapped in the vehicle. The inquest heard a doctor formally pronounced the taxi driver dead at the scene of the collision at 1.10am on March 14th, 2024. Garda Connolly outlined how he also recovered two mobile phones and a bottle of Jagermeister from the vehicle. Another motorist, David Leonard, who was driving home to Sligo from Dublin Airport, said he had his cruise control speed set at 120km/h when he noticed a car ahead of him in the overtaking lane near the exit for Kilcock. Leonard said he initially thought the vehicle was moving slowly and expected it would move into the left lane as he approached it from behind. However, he quickly noticed when he was nearly on top of the car that it was stationary, almost as if it was neatly parked. Leonard said he immediately took evasive action by swinging into the left lane. As he passed the Toyota Prius, he recalled seeing a male in the drivers seat. Leonard said he saw another car in the overtaking lane a few seconds behind him who did not swerve and crashed into the taxi. The witness said he did not stop his vehicle as he felt it was unsafe to do so but contacted gardai later after reading about the incident on the RTE News app. Another driver, Patrick Kelly, who came on the scene, described how he parked his vehicle on the hard shoulder and turned on his hazard lights before going back up the motorway to check on both drivers and to alert the emergency services. Kelly said he knew immediately the driver of the Toyota Prius was dead. He said he also tried to alert other motorists to the accident as someone else was going to get killed because they would not see the collision until they were right on top of it. Relatives of OBrien thanked the witness for his actions and observed that he had probably saved other lives that night. The deceaseds sister, Martina OBrien, gave evidence of formally identifying her brothers body to gardai. Dr Nolan said the results of a postmortem showed a blood alcohol concentration of 406mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit for fully licensed motorists is 50mg. The coroner said it was one of the highest readings she had seen in recent years. At that level of alcohol, Dr Nolan said OBrien was at risk of losing consciousness and dying from the effect of alcohol on its own. She said a toxicology test on the deceaseds urine had provided an even higher reading. The coroner attributed the cause of death to multiple traumatic injuries due to a road traffic collision as a result of acute ethanol intoxication. Returning a verdict of death by misadventure, Dr Nolan said it was possible that OBrien was already unconscious at the time of both impacts with his vehicle. The coroner offered her condolences to the drivers family and noted it was a very difficult way to lose a life. Alison O'Riordan A murder accused meted out a "volley of violence" on a defenceless "drunken bowsie" when he was under no threat and had the intent to at least cause serious injury, a prosecution barrister has told the Central Criminal Court. However, defence counsel asked the trial jury to return a verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, asking the panel: "Where is the intent the prosecution suggest you grab onto and hold tight?" The defence also queried how far the State's case that there was "extensive stamping" on the deceased's head was made out on the evidence. Tomas Cypas (35), with an address at Foxborough Road, Lucan, Co Dublin has pleaded not guilty to murdering Juris Kokenbergs (49) at Old Bridge Park, Lucan, Co Dublin on October 28th, 2024. The accused told gardai in his interviews that he repeatedly punched his friend Kokenbergs in self-defence after the deceased "came at" him, having drunkenly asked the defendant's mother for sex three times. "I didn't plan this, he is my friend," Cypas told detectives. He denied stamping on the deceased's head. The trial has heard evidence that three areas of blood-staining with DNA matching that of Kokenbergs were found on the accused man's runner. The jury also heard there was "weak support" for the position that Cypas' footwear had made a pattern on the deceased's head. In his closing speech to the trial, Conor Devally, prosecuting, told the jurors that a significant amount of alcohol had been consumed by Cypas, his mother and Kokenbergs by the late evening of October 26th. He said the accused suggested his friend Juris "could barely sit up, let alone walk properly" before the deceased made "the utterances of a very drunk man". At some point, counsel said, Cypas heard a drunk Kokenbergs, who could barely sit on his seat, say "something which was utterly untoward; the equivalent in Russian of suck my d**k" to the defendant's mother. The barrister said Cypas had "lurried" his friend out of the kitchen following the "offensive words". He said the accused told gardai he got "a blow of some sort and possibly an attempt to follow it through" from Kokenbergs, as he "manhandled" his friend. What followed, counsel said, was a "volley of violence meted out" on the deceased. Devally submitted it was the accused's case that he had acted in self defence. "One absence not there on the facts at all, nor is it there on the accused's account, was that Mr Cypas was in any way under threat from Mr Kokenbergs". The lawyer added: "Mr Cypas was certainly under no threat of harm from a man who he was able to hit [up to], twelve times without any response". "What did he think he was defending himself against? Mr Cypas tells us against a drunken bowsie, a man who was speaking offensively out of drunkenness and reluctant to leave and was acting up," submitted counsel. Devally suggested that Cypas was defending himself against "a sloppy blow" that hadn't even hit him. "In order to be acting in self defence, he would have to believe it was necessary to use the force he did and that cannot be the case". He submitted that while the pathologist could not say stamping on Kokenbergs head had caused his death, it was "part of the blows rained down on him". Counsel said Cypas had inflicted "a battering" and an "appalling attack" with huge violence on his defenceless friend as part of a "speedy assault". He said it was the prosecution's case that the "mark" on the deceased's head and blood splatter in the hallway of the house indicated an intention to cause serious injury, which was the requisite intention for murder. In his closing address, defence counsel Brendan Grehan submitted that on his client's own account he had "lost it" in very quick succession, delivering a "flurry of punches" to his friend. He said Cypas accepted he hit the deceased man and had never once sought to back away from it, "or put some sort of gloss on it". He added: "The prosecution has sought to say to you there was extensive stamping. I wonder how far that has been made out in the evidence, particularly to the fact the prosecution has to prove things beyond a reasonable doubt". Counsel suggested that the pathologist had been fairly unequivocal in her evidence, when she said that punching alone could have caused the "terrible injuries" suffered by the deceased. "When the prosecution resorts to saying stomping, at most it is one impression of a shoe in this case". Grehan submitted that in contrast there is a "whole barrage" of evidence of repeated punching to the deceased's face. Grehan said there wasn't a single fracture to the deceased's entire body, including his skull. "Where is the intent the prosecution seeks to suggest you grab onto and hold tight?" he remarked. Counsel said Cypas had adopted a "very caring attitude" towards the deceased in the hope he may wake up and it would all be laughed at at another drinking session the following weekend. "No indicator at all that there was any animus, bad feeling, motivation or premeditation of any shape or form for the accused to have it in for the deceased". Grehan said the accused followed up by immediately picking his friend up, putting him on a sofa, covering him with a blanket, putting a pillow under his head and checking on him. "There isn't the slightest of suggestions that the deceased was left there for him to expire or to deny him medical intervention. None of these are indicators of any kind of intent to cause serious harm". He said their case is that Cypas had acted in some way in self-defence, but what was much more likely was that his client had "lost it" and hit his friend "in a flurry of punches", which did a lot of damage in response to his mother being insulted with a lewd comment. This, he argued, was not a case of murder. "Murder is something you know when you see it and hear it and it is not the situation here; we are dealing with an unlawful killing". The trial continues today before Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of eight men and four women. By Grainne Ni Aodha, Press Association There were just over 9,000 social homes built in Ireland last year as the opposition accused the Government of missing a housing target. Housing Minister James Browne told the Dail on Thursday that 9,089 new social homes were built last year. He said this was an increase of 1,256 social homes, or 16 per cent, compared to 2024, and was the highest number of new-build social homes in the history of the state. But Labour housing spokesman Conor Sheehan said the figure was beneath the target set by the government, and that it comes after an under delivery of around 4,000 units as part of the previous housing plan. He said that since the Government had never met its social and affordable housing targets, and asked Browne if social housing targets of around 12,000 a year would be increased to reflect the growing housing deficit. Browne said there had been record levels of social housing built and the social housing figures had been tracking in and around 25 per cent of the overall annual housing output. He said the Housing Commission had recommended that social housing and cost rental housing should make up at least 20 per cent of the total housing stock. We came from a very low standing start, he told TDs. The last time the Labour Party had the Department of Housing you built 75 new-build social homes in the entire state. Houses under construction in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Sheehan said that based off a Q3 construction status report, the Government would only meet 30 per cent of its social housing target. He said that Brownes rental reforms would increase homelessness, to which Browne said: I dont accept that the new legislation is going to drive up homelessness. The governments previous housing plan, Housing for All, set a target of 10,000 new-build social homes for 2025, and an overall target of 34,600 new-build homes. The Governments new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, sets out a target of 300,000 new homes from 2025 to 2030, including 72,000 social homes. This averages at 50,000 new homes a year and 12,000 new social homes. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin said that Browne had confirmed the Government missed its new-build social housing target last year. The 10,000 target was too low to begin with, he said. We need at least 15,000 new-build social housing homes every year to reduce waiting lists and homelessness. Not only was the target too low but it was missed. At a time of rising homelessness this is utterly unacceptable. The consequence of this is that social housing waiting lists and homelessness will continue to rise in 2026 as they did in 2025. It might not be so now, but Lent was a very serious event in the Ireland of days gone by, even if people in both city and countryside had enough to do without piling more penitential practices on top of an already frugal life. Cut out meat, have only one good meal a day? Oh, chance would be a fine thing, many a bitter elder must have muttered, while living in a remote location with hardly a handful of oatmeal left in the sack, the potatoes not even showing above ground, and the cow putting off her calving (and thus her milk) for as long as possible. No, it was often the better-off, the well-to-do middle class who suffered most from Lenten restrictions, and in true Irish style, they were quick enough to invent ways around those laws. The Connie Dodger is of course the prime example of Cork creative adaptation, and regular readers will forgive us if we reprise that classic once more, for the benefit of those who have only come recently to the joys of Throwback Thursday. The Lenten rules (as ferociously upheld by the long-time Bishop of Cork in the late 20th century, Cornelius Lucey) dictated that you could have only one main meal a day, and at other times, if you were genuinely fainting with hunger and weakness, you might yield to the sumptuous luxury of a cup of a tea and a biscuit. Well, for most of us, a cup of tea and a biscuit might be pleasant enough at mid-morning or afternoon, but to replace good, nourishing food they werent, as you might say, quite enough. And so the Connie Dodger (you dont need me to point out the link to Cornelius Lucey do you, for heavens sake?) was invented. Several old establishments have claimed the rights to first creating this culinary lifebelt, but the only one we can be sure of is the great old Green Door, which held sway for so long up those steps above Le Chateau on Patrick Street. Here, the staff, accustomed to dealing with the demands of Corks busy solicitors and merchants at mid-morning, and well used to hearing the laments about the limitations of that aforesaid cup of tea and biscuit, decided to take matters into their own capable hands. They thus created a gigantic biscuit, twice the size of a normal one, and, not being a crowd who did things by halves, then coated it with a thick layer of chocolate. And so the Connie Dodger was born. After eating one, the legal expert could truthfully declare with hand on heart that all he had had was the stipulated tea and biccy. (Now that we come to think of it, was it one of the South Mall boys who first conceived the idea that there was more than one way of interpreting the letter of the law, and suggested it to the Green Door staff? Sounds more than likely, knowing the cleverness of those lads.) The Green Door restaurant near the old Echo and Examiner offices at Academy Street, Cork, in 1935. The Connie Dodger was sold here - but did it also originate here? If you happen to have another version of this story, another location for the invention of the Connie Dodger, then do tell us at once please. (Plus, send us the actual recipe if you happen to have it. In these crazy times, we all have need of a comforting snack like that as we watch the news...) Here is a genuine recipe from the 1930s: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday were black fast days. The people around here often used for dinner potatoes and light gruel. The gruel was made thus: Spring water was put in a pot to boil. Then oatmeal and a couple of spoonfuls of cold water were mixed together and put into the boiling water, along with an onion chopped finely and flavoured with salt. Sometimes, flour was used instead of the oatmeal and flavoured the same way with salt and onions and pepper. Well, that would riz the heart in you, as they say, wouldnt it? Gruel with a bit of onion, and even salt and pepper what more could you ask for on a wet Good Friday? Easter is a little earlier this year (Easter Sunday falls on April 5), but often it is later (the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox, and dont you forget that, well be asking questions at the end!) - so Lent might only just be starting by now in a typical year. And that would have meant the usual rush to get married before Ash Wednesday, since weddings were forbidden during the 40 days of Lent. Down in Kerry, they had another chance though the bleak little rocky fastness of Skellig Michael (yes, yes, where they filmed all of five seconds-worth of Star Wars, and now thats the sole thing most of the world knows it for) was believed to observe the older Celtic Christianity, which didnt agree with the ever-changing dictates of Rome. That meant that Lent started a week later there, so it became the custom for young people to go out in boatloads, ostensibly to get married, but really to have a good time, laughing, eating and drinking, playing games, and making music, while over on the mainland their parents were observing black fasts and swearing off wicked things like milk in their tea or, heaven forbid, a wee sup of the hard stuff. Of course, the monks had left Skellig centuries before, so presumably the excursions had to include a priest to carry out any ceremonies, but then perhaps he didnt object too much to having just a little fun on the side before returning to the reality of Lent on the mainland. There were also the Skellig Lists, somewhat disgraceful doggerel poems composed in both Cork and Kerry, identifying and lampooning those who could or should have got married, but hadnt done so. Older men, believed to be possessed of hidden wealth, were often the butt of these jokes, also older women, past their days of charm. Skellig Michael in Kerry - there was a belief that Lent started later here, and young people would flock there to enjoy life without the restrictions of the Church These poems were cruel, and must have distressed those named very much indeed, but many can recall them being printed right up into the 1950s and beyond. Here is an excerpt from the Schools Collection of the 1930s: When marriagable boys and girls let yet another Shrovetide pass unmarried, the younger lads watch them on Shrove Tuesday evening and circle around them with a rope to carry them by force to Skelligs. They also make out a Skellig List, sometimes in verse, where all the characteristics of marriageable lovers in the district are unmercifully recorded. Troublesome old maids and prim old bachelors have good reason to avoid reading a copy of the Skellig List. Pert madams and namdach young boys who as a rule hold themselves beyond the crowd, get more to rob them of their nights sleep than even the old maids. To be omitted from a Skellig List altogether is a sign that a boy or girl is beyond reproach. A Skellig List is a criterion of popularity or otherwise, but not always a criterion of peoples worth. And here is another sample from the same source. Really, you should trawl through the Schools Collection yourselves (duchas.ie). Long ago, it was said that eligible bachelors and dames who did not marry in Shrove should go to Skelligs Rock on Shrove Tuesday night as a punishment - and a Skellig List used be made out, and here is one following. We make no apology for the scansion and rhyme: We had on board our gallant barque a crowd of noble dames, Tied up in pairs with strong sugans, you soon shall hear their names, With a number of smart gentlemen, real Koffy ones you know, To kiss the ladies tears away to Skelligs they all did go. We had Reggie so fat, Aggie so lean, and Bridget, Criss and Kate, And Nora D. and Katherine E. and Debbie out of date. And Kattie from the public house and others of lesser note. We gave them each a nice young man and stowed them in the boat Poor Peg we fear another year must mourn her sad fate For Pat Costelloe cares not for her of late. Manys the night near Trenches wall We stood listening to what they said And now because she is hard up she is hunting Sonny Rice Aggie Dowd is weeping loud because she is left behind The sisters fair from Ardfert square are left to hatch the coals Thomas Gigs OGallagher who was late commenced to roam To Charles Kellehers mansion when his daughter is at home What, one wonders, was the justification, the reasoning behind this emphasis on marrying? Not just before Lent, but that people should be mocked for not entering the wedded state? Cruel for the younger ones certainly, but why should it matter to anyone if an elderly man or a woman well past her prime should remain single? Loneliness was probably part of it. Country communities were tight-knit places where everyone kept an eye on everyone else. Perhaps they felt it was only right that isolated men and women should join up and enjoy each others company. John B. Keane identified that in his Letters Of A Country Matchmaker. He saw and heard a great deal in his Listowel pub, and used it in so many of his writings. There is the Irish instinct for making fun of oddities, laughing at others, refusing to take anything seriously. The desire simply to make mischief was probably paramount in the Skellig Lists. But they go back further a lot further. In ancient times, a powerful druid could put the glam dichen on someone who had insulted them or otherwise behave badly. This was a vicious personal attack in poem form which brought shame and disgrace on the offender and could even inflict real bodily harm. Again, Keane knew of this, as anyone who has ever witnessed the entrance of the tinkers in Sive will know. They come in friendship, but the man of the house has insulted their leader and he immediately demands retribution: But they scorned the tinkers son when his song of praise was done, And his father, Pats Bocock, smote on the floor, Saying Carthalawn my jewel, let a song both wild and cruel, Bring a curse upon this house forevermore. The late, great Michael Twomey was in the Southern Theatre Groups original production of that legendary play, and remembered how that scene grew to be a seismic part of the action. It got so we would start beating the bodhran as we left the dressing room, and played it all the way along to the wings, said Micheal. The audience would hear it and start clapping and cheering, until we got an ovation when we actually came on stage. So the Skellig Lists were in many ways continuing an ancient tradition that shamed those who had not behaved according to local custom. Cruel, yes, but then, those were different times. Let us hear your own memories and recollections of stories you have been told. Email jokerrigan1@gmail.com or leave a message on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/echolivecork. For more than half a century, the Guaranteed Irish symbol has stood as Irelands national licence of trust a visible reminder that the businesses behind it are committed not only to commercial success, but to the country and communities they serve. Its Guaranteed Irish month in March, the organisation has unveiled a new nationwide campaign, backed by retailers and forecourt partners across the country, reinforcing the enduring strength and relevance of that promise. The Guaranteed Irish message, Supporting business that supports Ireland, is a simple line, but one grounded in 52 years of championing businesses based in Ireland both home-grown and international companies deeply rooted here. The message articulates what the Guaranteed Irish symbol has always represented: credible, responsible organisations that create quality jobs, invest in communities and deliver tangible local value, including prioritising local suppliers wherever possible. The campaign arrives at a time when trust has become one of the most valuable currencies in business. Consumers are increasingly conscious of where their money goes. They want reassurance that the brands they choose align with their values and contribute meaningfully to society. In this environment, the power of a recognised and respected national symbol cannot be overstated. Recent 2025 research underscores that power: 75 per cent of Guaranteed Irish members say the licence has contributed positively to their bottom line. On the consumer side, 93 per cent agree that the Guaranteed Irish G symbol signals support for local businesses and communities. These are not abstract figures they are clear evidence that trust translates into impact. Yet the Guaranteed Irish licence is not simply a badge to be acquired, it is hard won. Businesses must earn it and continue to demonstrate that proof year after year. The standards demand a genuine commitment to job creation, community investment and building enterprises that are rooted in Ireland and focused on Irelands future. It is a rigorous process, and rightly so. The value of the licence depends on the integrity behind it. In a world of rapid change and growing uncertainty, trust has become a differentiator in both domestic and global markets. It shapes purchasing decisions. It influences partnerships. It strengthens negotiations. It opens doors abroad. For businesses that carry the licence, this positions them strongly not just as commercial operators, but as trusted contributors to Irelands economic and social fabric. However, the true power of the symbol lies in its visibility. The more it is seen, the more it is recognised. The more it is recognised, the more it is sought out. And the more it is sought out, the more consumers and partners will choose to do business with the companies that have earned it, companies built for the long term, companies committed to doing business the right way. That is why this March Guaranteed Irish month it is as much a call to action for members as it is a message to the public. Licensees are being encouraged to use the symbol proudly and prominently, at home and abroad. Recent research conducted by KPMG says that for every 100 jobs created in a Guaranteed Irish business, a further 49 are supported across Ireland through local supply chains. Guaranteed Irish members provide more than 150,000 jobs nationwide, with turnover of 14.52 billion to the domestic economy in 2025. Global revenue figure for members is 52.45 billion. As this new campaign rolls out across retail and forecourts nationwide, its impact will extend beyond a single month. It is a reminder that trust remains Irelands competitive advantage. It is a signal to consumers that they can choose with confidence. And it is an invitation to businesses to stand tall in their commitment to Irelands future. Look out for the G when shopping and doing business this March and beyond. What members say Conor Manning, managing director of Pipelife and member of Guaranteed Irish, recently spoke about the local investment Pipelife were making and why it was a member of Guaranteed Irish. This significant investment in new equipment, personnel, and services is without parallel in our sector in Ireland and will position our Irish operations as a world-class manufacturing facility for many years to come. This visible investment shows Pipelifes long-term commitment to the Irish market, making us an attractive supply chain partner for big merchant groups, builders and installers nationwide. Olan Hodnett, marketing manager at STP Packaging, says: Being a Guaranteed Irish member reinforces our long-standing commitment to Irish industry and local employment. For over 40 years, STP Packaging has supplied Irish manufacturers, food producers, and logistics companies with innovative, sustainable packaging solutions made and supported here in Ireland, something the Guaranteed Irish mark proudly reflects. Niamh Garvey, marketing manager at Clonakilty Food Co., says: At Clonakilty, we proudly display the Guaranteed Irish symbol on all of our product packaging. The GI symbol gives our customers confidence in our Irish heritage, our commitment to quality, local sourcing and our community. We were delighted to take home the food producer award at the 2025 Guaranteed Irish Awards, a fantastic recognition of the hard work and dedication of the entire team here at Clonakilty and a celebration of an Irish family run business." For more information, visit guaranteedirish.ie For the 24th time, the embedded community is gathering at its trade fair, embedded world, in Nuremberg. Next week, from Tuesday to Thursday, the embedded industry will gather in Nuremberg for the 24th edition of the embedded world Exhibition&Conference featuring the embedded world Conference, the electronic displays Conference, and many other highlights. Diesen Artikel anhoren We are at the forefront of a technological revolution: from rapid advances in edge AI to highly integrated system-on-chip architectures and the ever-increasing convergence of hardware and software, explains Benedikt Weyerer, Executive Director embedded world at NurnbergMesse. The demands on safety, reliability, and energy efficiency have increased dramatically and with them the innovative strength of our exhibitors and visitors. Benedikt Weyerer, NurnbergMesse: embedded world 2026 shows once again that embedded technologies are the driving force behind innovation in almost all industries. The embedded world Exhibition&Conference 2026 reflects this technological revolution. Once again this year, the trade fair will feature numerous innovations and attractive offers. For example, there will be another start-up City: In Hall 2, Booth 412, more than 100 visionary start-ups will have a stage covering over 1,000 square meters to present their advanced technologies and creative solutions. The exhibitor forums in Halls 3, 3A, and 5, featuring expert panels, company presentations, exhibitor lectures, and start-up pitches, are also visitor magnets. In addition to the events in the exhibition halls, the Nuremberg Convention Center NCC East will once again host the two conferences embedded world Conference and electronic displays Conference in 2026, offering a wide range of keynotes, presentations, classes, and discussion forums. The embedded world Conference (www.embedded-world.eu) is considered the world's leading meeting place for the embedded community. Its program committee has selected 243 presentations in 81 sessions and 20 half-day or full-day classes for the conference program, which serve to explore a topic in depth, and has compiled them into a program that is as broad as it is deep in terms of subject matter. The electronic displays Conference (www.electronic-displays.de) will once again cover a wide range of topics, with 57 presentations and keynotes in 17 sessions, as well as an extensive poster session in the foyer of the NCC East conference center. At embedded world 2026, the most innovative products in the embedded systems industry will once again be honored with the embedded award. The awards will be presented in the categories of hardware, tools, software, embedded vision, safety & security, startups, artificial intelligence, SoC/IP/IC design, and electronic displays. For the seventh time, this year's embedded world will feature the VIP stage of Componeers GmbH, as usual at booth 311 in hall 3A. Here, all visitors to the trade fair can experience exciting interviews and discussion panels. Another highlight will be the MEDIA SUMMIT with Prof. Matthias Sporrle and Matthaus Hose on the first day of the fair, March 10, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the NCC East, 1st floor, Sydney Room. Our format has developed into a global platform for knowledge transfer, community building, and technology partnerships, explains Benedikt Weyerer. Embedded World 2026 shows once again that embedded technologies are the driving force behind innovation in almost all industries. We are proud to have been providing a stage for these developments for over two decadesand at the same time to be a source of inspiration for the future. Anthropic is reportedly trying to reach a new deal with the US Defense Department, which could prevent the government from labeling it a supply chain risk. According to Financial Times and Bloomberg, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has resumed talks with the agency over the use of its AI models. In particular, the publications say that Amodel is having discussions with Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The two of them were trying to work out the contract over the use of Anthropics models before negotiations broke down and the government soured on the company. The Times reports that they couldnt agree on language that the AI company wanted to see to ensure that its technology will not be used for mass surveillance. In a memo sent to Anthropic staff, Amodei reportedly said that the department offered to accept the companys terms if it deleted a specific phrase about analysis of bulk acquired data. He continued that it was the single line in the contract that exactly matched the scenario it was most worried about. Anthropic, which first signed a $200 million deal with the department in 2025, refused to comply with the Pentagons demands. The agency then threatened to cancel its existing contract and to label it a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for Chinese companies. President Trump ordered government agencies to stop using Anthropics technology afterward. However, theres a six-month phase-out period that reportedly allowed the government to use Anthropics AI tools to stage an air attack on Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Amodei also said in the memo that the messaging OpenAI has been trying to convey is just straight up lies, the Times reports. He hinted, as well, that one of the reasons his company is now on the outs with the government is because he hasnt given dictator-style praise to Trump like OpenAIs Sam Altman has. If youll recall, OpenAI announced that it reached an agreement shortly after it came out that Anthropic was having issues with the agency. Its CEO, Sam Altman, said on Twitter that he told the government Anthropic shouldnt be designated as a supply chain risk. He said during an AMA on the social media website that he didnt know the details of Anthropics contract, but if it had been the same with the one OpenAI had signed, he thought Anthropic should have agreed to it. Anthropics Claude chatbot rose to the top of Apples Top Free Apps leaderboard after OpenAI announced its Defense Department contract, beating out ChatGPT. Altman later posted on X that OpenAI will amend its deal with language that explicitly prohibits the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. When it comes to the militarys use of its technology, though, CNBC says that Altman told staffers that the company doesnt get to make operational decisions. In an all-hands meeting, Altman reportedly said: So maybe you think the Iran strike was good and the Venezuela invasion was bad. You don't get to weigh in on that. Today the US Senate unanimously passed proposed legislation known as COPPA 2.0. This measure, fully named the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act, aims to create new protections for younger users online, such as blocking platforms from collecting their personal data without consent. COPPA 2.0 is a modernized take on the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, attempting to address recent changes in common online activities, like targeted advertising, that could prove harmful to minors. Lawmakers have made several attempts to get this bipartisan bill through. While it has made varying amounts of headway in the Senate, none of the COPPA 2.0 bills to date have gotten past the House of Representatives. Industry groups such as NetChoice have previously opposed COPPA 2.0 and other measures around minors' online activity such as KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act. NetChoice members include Google, YouTube, Meta, Reddit, Discord, TikTok and X. Google specifically has since changed its stance to support COPPA 2.0, however. "This bill expands the current law protecting our kids online to ensure companies cannot collect personal information from anyone under the age of 17," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement about the latest result. "This is a big step forward for protecting our kids. We hope the House can join us. They havent thus far." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, there has been a bigger push both domestically and internationally toward restrictions on when and how younger people engage online. Several states Utah, California and Washington to name a few have enacted laws requiring some level of age verification, either to access mature content online or to use social media apps at all. Many of these efforts have raised concerns about privacy regarding where and how people's personal information is stored and protected. COPPA 2.0 might wind up benefitting from the privacy debates since it emphasizes giving teens and parents ways to protect themselves from having their data used against them rather than asking adults to give up data in order to use the internet as usual. Update, March 6 2026, 11:38AM ET: Article updated with additional context on Google. Epic Games courtroom battle with Google is over, but its reportedly going to affect how its CEO can speak about the tech giant for years for years to come. According to The Verge, part of the settlement terms Epic had signed has a clause stating that Epic and Sweeney will have to speak positively about Googles competitiveness and app store operations going forward. Epic believes that the Google and Android platform, with the changes in this term sheet, are procompetitive and a model for app store / platform operations, and will make good faith efforts to advocate for the same, the clause reportedly reads. Further, The Verge says the settlement terms between the companies will expire five years after Google is done rolling out changes to its service fees. Since Google expects to finish implementing changes worldwide by September 30, 2027, Sweeney cant speak negatively about the app store until after September 30, 2032. Sweeney is one of the most vocal critic of how Apple and Google operate their app stores, which had led to several lawsuits between the companies. He once called both Apple and Google gangster-style businesses that will always continue to be engaged in illegal practices and just pay the fine afterwards. Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020, accusing it of illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. In 2023, Google lost the lawsuit. It then lost its appeal two years later, before the companies reached a settlement in November 2025. On March 4 this year, Google officially scrapped the 30 percent cut it takes from Play Store transactions, lowering it to 20 percent and even to 15 percent in some cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the Googles decision, Epic Games is bringing back Fortnite to the Play Store worldwide. Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE! Sweeney posted on X. Based on the clause in their settlement, future statements from the CEO about Google will need to carry a similar tone, in the next few years at least. Update, March 5 2026, 2:13PM ET: Epic reached out to Engadget to share an important clarification: Criticizing Google is fair game on topics not related to app store distribution/ fees, the company wrote on X, Epic and Google agreed to not disparage only on topics about the settlement. Weve updated the copy of our story to reflect the specificity of the non-disparagement agreement, and look forward to the ways in which Epic will certainly exercise its remaining capacity to be critical of Google. Joe Exotic, the former "Tiger King" star serving a 21-year prison sentence, has submitted a glowing letter of support from a prison guard as part of a renewed plea for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot targeting rival zookeeper Carole Baskin. Introducing the letter, Radar Online noted that Keith Jones, Recreations Specialist at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, called Exotic's case "unique and unjust." Jones wrote, "I feel that Mr. Maldanado and his case need to be revisited. I truly believe it warrants review and consideration for an immediate release. The request is based on his crime, which I think he has already served. I've read and heard a lot of cases, although Mr. Maldanado's case screams out to me as unique and unjust." The guard highlighted Exotic's positive demeanor despite his incarceration. "Mr. Maldanado has had the right and positive energy despite his situation, and not to mention his chronic medical condition. Mr. Maldanado is battling cancer and continues to walk with his head up and remain positive around the yard. Every time I've had an encounter or conversation with him it's always uplifting," Jones added. Exotic himself detailed the urgency of his request, citing his health struggles. "Anyone can die in here. I pray with my health issues that I don't," he said, referencing his battles with lung and prostate cancer. He warned that continued incarceration could have political consequences. "Worst case right now is that I am out in October of 2030. It would be the worst thing for the Republican party for me to die in here because the millions of people who watched Tiger King Season 2... would hate that Trump let me die in here." Exotic also argued there is precedent for clemency. "I don't even need a pardon; I just want Trump to commute my sentence to time served with no probation so I can travel and work, and I will make you so proud of who all I can help with my platform," he said. He expressed frustration over previous pardons granted before him. "Am I disappointed that they all three got out before I did? Who wouldn't be?" he said, referring to former GOP Rep. George Santos and reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. He continued, "... I am truly disappointed that George Santos has not gone public to help bring my case more attention since his release, because we talked on his podcast and phone before he went to prison. He lived 27 some days in hell. I spent 2 years and 8 months in that hell, and you have the bloody photos." Television personality Coco Austin is once again drawing public scrutiny after posting vacation photos featuring her and her 9-year-old daughter, Chanel Nicole Marrow, during a trip to the Bahamas. According to Atlanta Black Star, the controversy erupted after Austin shared images from a March 1 mommy-daughter pool day at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau. In the photos, Austin and Chanel posed together in matching white and black polka-dotted bikinis, styling their hair in pigtails and smiling for selfies. Austin addressed the tradition in her caption. "It's been a ritual for Chanel and I to match sometime during our vacations or trips," Austin wrote. "We've been doing it ever since she was 6 months old and we plan on not stopping anytime soon!" She also expressed appreciation to the swimwear brand behind the outfits. "I love modeling your suits," she added, tagging custom swimwear company Sugar Dollz. READ MORE: Ice-T and Coco Austin Reveal This Racy Secret to Their 'Healthy' 23-Year Marriage The brand responded publicly to the post. "Over 10 years of creating Mommy & Me swimwear for you and Chanel. Watching her grow while we design together season after season has meant so much. Thank you for always supporting my small business." While some followers praised the coordinated looks, others criticized the images, particularly focusing on Austin's revealing attire. One commenter wrote, "Don't leave much to the imagination mom." Another social media user interpreted Chanel's expression in the photos, stating, "Chanel looks like ummm I'm embarrassed my moms azz n tiddays are out for public viewing." Criticism continued across platforms. "This girl has to show the front of her body and the back of her body. What happened to just taking a selfie with your kid besides all the other stuff," one person commented. In response to poses where both mother and daughter faced away from the camera, another individual asked, "why would you have your little girl pose like that?" Austin has previously spoken about how motherhood has influenced her social media presence. During an appearance on the "Dumb Blonde" podcast hosted by Bunnie Xo, she discussed being mindful of her daughter's feelings. She told Xo, "I bring it down a little bit. Because I want her to be happy for me or proud. I don't want it to ever bug her, you know? So, I want to do it in an appropriate way that makes her feel comfortable." Austin further explained her approach to balancing her public image and parenting. "She just rolls her eyes like, 'OK.' She gets it, but I want to make sure I don't go overboard now that she's weirded out. I'm very delicate with it." Austin shares Chanel with her husband, rapper and actor Ice-T, who has publicly supported her fashion choices and online content. READ MORE: Coco Austin Post Pregnancy: Model Shows Her Shapely Figure After Giving Birth, 'All This Is Strange To Me' [PHOTO, VIDEO] Actress Lily Collins has been open about how she has gotten over an eating disorder as she gets ready to play Audrey Hepburn in an upcoming biopic. This has made fans and people in Hollywood worry about the pressures of playing the famous star's famously thin body. Radar Online says that Collins wrote a heartfelt Instagram post about her own struggles during Eating Disorder Awareness Week. In her post, she wrote, "I want to take a moment to acknowledge Eating Disorder Awareness Week... as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder and was able to tell the story of so many others like me through my character in To the Bone I've always advocated for more awareness and understanding surrounding eating disorders so no one has to struggle in silence or shame," per People. "Recovering looks different for everyone and is an ongoing process, but through the help of organizations like @neda (the National Eating Disorders Association) and films like To the Bone, I've learned to connect with others who share similar experiences and feel less alone," she added. Collins further reflected on the emotional weight of her new role. "Speaking out and opening up about my history with eating disorders was and is one of the most terrifying but rewarding experiences of my life. If every time I share my story, it helps even one person on their recovery journey, it is beyond worth it." A source close to Collins emphasized the pressures she faces portraying Hepburn. "Lily understands the responsibility that comes with playing Audrey Hepburn. Audrey's image is so ingrained in popular culture the tiny waist, the ballet flats, the elegance. There is inevitably going to be commentary about whether Lily matches that physically." The insider added, "That kind of focus can be challenging for anyone, especially someone who has been open about struggling with body image in the past. There's pressure in biopics to visually transform, and with Audrey, that expectation is amplified because her look was so iconic." Collins has previously addressed the roots of her illness, tying it to perfectionism and control. "When I was younger, I wanted to reach this image of what I thought perfection was, and I equated that with well, with what you see in the media, you think body shape has a lot do with being perfect. I wanted to control how I got there," she said. She continued, "At that time, I was dealing with high school and relationships, and you're very out of control at that stage in your life. How do you feel in control? Well, I controlled how I ate and looked. Then, as I grew older, I realized that perfection doesn't exist, and my priorities have shifted because I want a family one day. I don't want these self-imposed issues to affect whether or not I can have kids because the reality is you can't have children when you're ill like that." READ MORE: Phil Collins Shock: Lily Collins Opens Up About Receiving Special Treatment Because of Her Dad The cause of death for Martin Short's daughter has been confirmed one week after her tragic passing. According to her death certificate, Katherine Hartley Short died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The document was released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and obtained by TMZ. She was 42. Katherine died on Feb. 23 at her Hollywood Hills home. The Los Angeles Fire Department said crews responded to a reported shooting at about 6:41 p.m, PageSix reported. When first responders arrived, they confirmed the death of a woman at the scene. Law enforcement sources said Katherine was found behind a locked bedroom door with a note and a gun nearby. A close friend had called authorities for a welfare check after not hearing from her for 24 hours. Dispatch audio shared by media outlets captured the friend explaining they could not enter the bedroom. Martin Shorts daughter Katherines death certificate confirms cause of tragic passing https://t.co/m2s5kgvjjN pic.twitter.com/M1rVKllSYe Page Six (@PageSix) March 3, 2026 Martin Short's Family 'Devastated' In a statement shared with Us Weekly, a representative for the "Only Murders in the Building" actor said, "It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short. The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world." Katherine worked as a social work therapist and had earned her master's degree. She spent about 10 years in the mental health field and also worked part-time at Amae Health clinic. Court records show she legally changed her name to Katherine Elizabeth Hartley in 2012. In those documents, she explained, "My father is a public figure. I am a psychiatric social worker." Neighbors said they saw no clear signs that she was struggling. "Katherine was a private person but that doesn't mean she wasn't friendly," one neighbor shared. "She was quite outgoing." Martin Short adopted Katherine in 1982 with his late wife, Nancy Dolman. The couple also adopted two sons, Oliver and Henry. Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010 at age 58. Since his daughter's death, Short has kept a low profile. The 75-year-old actor postponed comedy shows with longtime friend Steve Martin and was absent from the 2026 SAG Awards. Megan Fox is setting the record straight after an online conspiracy claimed she was replaced by a clone in her latest Instagram photos. The "Transformers" star returned to Instagram on March 3 with a series of bold new images. In the photos, she posed in a black cropped T-shirt and matching bottoms, captioning her Story with a simple message: "I'm alive. New pics just dropped." While many fans praised the shoot, one commenter questioned whether it was really her, writing, "This isn't Megan. This is a Clone." Fox did not ignore the remark. In a sharp but playful reply captured by CommentsByCelebs, she wrote, "B---h a clone could never." Her response quickly spread online, with fans applauding her humor and confidence, E! News reported. The lighthearted exchange comes as Fox, 39, continues to navigate life in the public eye. Her ex, Machine Gun Kelly, also reacted to the photos. He left a cheeky comment under the post that read, "Stoked I have your phone number." Though the pair ended their romantic relationship in September 2024, they remain connected as co-parents. Megan Fox Has Fiery Response to Conspiracy Theory That She's a Clone https://t.co/s9rK1pe6gX E! News (@enews) March 4, 2026 Machine Gun Kelly Praises Megan Fox Fox and Machine Gun Kelly share a 14-month-old daughter, Saga Blade, who was born in December 2024, three months after their breakup. According to Yahoo, the musician, whose real name is Colson Baker, previously spoke about their bond during a September 2025 appearance on "The Jennifer Hudson Show." "It truly was an epic story of love, pain and a lot of magic," he said. "I had it with a person who is the greatest partner, the greatest partner to have had a child with." Beyond her relationship history, Fox is also a mom to three sons Noah, 13, Bodhi, 11, and Journey, 9 whom she shares with ex-husband Brian Austin Green. Ahead of Saga's birth, she told People that her children were eager to help welcome their baby sister. "The kids are all super excited for another addition to the family," she said, adding that they "have promised to help out and pitch in." Ryan Gosling has barely appeared in a new promo for Saturday Night Live and the internet already thinks it knows what's coming next. After the show released a teaser ahead of Gosling's upcoming hosting gig, fans immediately began speculating that the actor might revive one of the most iconic sketches of modern SNL: "Papyrus." And yes, that would mean Papyrus 3. The timing has only fueled the theory. Gosling is returning to host the NBC comedy institution as part of the promotional blitz for his upcoming sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, which hits theaters on March 20 and follows a science teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship tasked with saving humanity. The movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and is based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir. The film has already generated major buzz, including a trailer that racked up hundreds of millions of views worldwide, showing how much anticipation surrounds the space adventure. But if there is one thing audiences expect when Gosling hosts SNL, it is chaos. And possibly a meltdown about fonts. The sketch that turned a font into comedy history The original "Papyrus" sketch aired in 2017 when Gosling first hosted the show. In it, he played a tortured graphic designer who spirals into obsession after realizing that the logo for Avatar uses the notoriously overused Papyrus font. The bit quickly became a cult favorite, especially among designers who had long joked about the font's reputation as a lazy design choice. The sketch was inspired by a tweet from SNL writer Julio Torres complaining that one of the most expensive movies ever made used the typeface. The premise was brilliantly simple. Gosling's character cannot sleep, cannot relax, and cannot stop thinking about one thing: that the blockbuster directed by James Cameron used a font anyone can download on their computer. Years later the show revisited the character in "Papyrus II," with Gosling's ponytailed font detective discovering that the sequel logo for Avatar: The Way of Water still appeared to rely on the same typeface, sending him back into a spiral. Now fans think the story might continue. if we don't have a third in the papyrus trilogy what are you even doing (@ins0ucianc3) March 4, 2026 @nbcsnl I am begging for a third installment of Papyrus!! Nici Romo (@NiciRomo) March 4, 2026 Fourth time hosting... or fifth? The new promo itself is already fueling jokes. In the clip, Gosling celebrates as if he is about to enter the elite Five-Timers Club, even though the upcoming episode will actually mark his fourth time hosting the show. That kind of self-aware absurdity is exactly the tone that made "Papyrus" work in the first place. And because SNL often blends film promotion with viral sketches, many viewers believe the show could easily turn Gosling's new space movie into a comedic setup. After all, when you are promoting a film about saving Earth, what is one more existential crisis about typography? this has never happened before pic.twitter.com/ncH2rachFx Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) March 4, 2026 The Eva Mendes connection fans still remember There is also another reason fans are excited about Gosling's return: the possibility of more comedy tied to his family. The actor has previously joked about his longtime partner, Eva Mendes, during promotional appearances for the movie, even giving her a playful shoutout in a parody Jeopardy! video promoting the film. He also made a sketch inspired on his father in law, so naturally some fans are wondering if SNL cast member Marcello Hernandez might get involved in a sketch referencing Gosling's Cuban extended family. Hernandez, whose heritage is Cuban and Dominican, went viral during Gosling's last hosting stint thanks to a hilarious Latino-themed sketch that leaned into Miami-style humor. Could a future sketch feature Gosling trying to impress his in-laws again? Or perhaps a Cuban cousin explaining typography to the man who still cannot get over Papyrus? Stranger things have happened on Studio 8H. From fonts to saving humanity Regardless of whether Papyrus 3 actually happens, Gosling's return to SNL arrives at the perfect moment for his latest project. In Project Hail Mary, the actor plays Ryland Grace, a reluctant astronaut sent on a desperate mission to stop a cosmic catastrophe threatening Earth. The film combines humor, science fiction and emotional storytelling, a tone that Gosling has been highlighting during promotional interviews. In other words, the actor may be preparing to save humanity on the big screen. But if SNL fans get their wish, he will first have to confront the most terrifying threat of all. Bad typography. The US-Israeli war on Iran now in its 13th day has become the overwhelming global story on X, with live videos of tanker explosions, missile... You Might Also Like Chile has achieved a historic public health milestone by becoming the first country in the Americasand the second globallyto receive official verification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating leprosy as a public health problem.The announcement was made on March 4, 2026, by WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), following a rigorous assessment by an independent expert panel convened in 2025 at the request of Chile's Ministry of Health. The panel reviewed epidemiological data, surveillance systems, case management protocols, and sustainability measures, confirming no local transmission of the disease for over three decades.Chile's last locally acquired case of leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease) was detected in 1993. Since then, the country has reported only imported cases, with 47 total cases between 2012 and 2023all non-autochthonous. Leprosy was first recorded in Chile in the late 19th century, primarily on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), where it was contained through isolation and treatment, with no secondary cases after the late 1990s."This landmark public health achievement is a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Chiles elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history."Chile's Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera, described the verification as "very good news and a source of great pride for our country," highlighting decades of sustained efforts in prevention, early diagnosis, effective treatment, follow-up, and nationwide health team commitment.PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa emphasized that the success shows eliminating leprosy is achievable, particularly for diseases linked to vulnerable populations, and helps break the cycle between illness and poverty.Key to Chile's success has been maintaining leprosy as a notifiable condition with mandatory reporting, integrated surveillance, and ongoing clinical readinesseven in the absence of local cases. The country's health system features primary care as the entry point for suspected cases, rapid referrals to specialized dermatology services, clinician training aligned with WHO's Towards Zero Leprosy strategy, and holistic care including physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and disability prevention to support full recovery and social inclusion.Since 1995, PAHO has provided free multidrug therapy (MDT) across the Americas, aiding cure, disability prevention, and transmission interruption. Chile's mixed public-private health system, backed by strong regulations and human rights protections, ensures equitable access without stigma, including for migrants and vulnerable groups.The verification positions Chile as the 61st country globally and the sixth in the Americas to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease (joining Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico). It follows Jordan's achievement as the first globally in 2024.To sustain elimination, Chile is urged to continue sensitive surveillance, mandatory reporting to WHO, retain clinical expertise for rare future cases (including imported ones), designate a referral center, and leverage WHO Academy training.Leprosy, a chronic bacterial infection caused by *Mycobacterium leprae*, affects the skin, nerves, and eyes if untreated, potentially leading to disabilities and stigma. It is fully curable with MDT, and early detection prevents complications. As a neglected tropical disease, it still affects over 200,000 people annually worldwide, mainly in impoverished communities. PAHO's Disease Elimination Initiative targets its elimination in the Americas by 2030 through enhanced surveillance, treatment access, and community engagement. Plans to close the University of Cambridges veterinary school have been abandoned after strong opposition from farmers and vets. The decision comes amid growing concern about a national shortage of farm vets, which industry groups warned could worsen if the course was shut down. Cambridge has now confirmed the veterinary school will remain open, following calls from the NFU and the British Veterinary Association to reconsider the proposal. The NFU had written to the university before Christmas and raised the issue publicly, warning that closing the school would have serious consequences for veterinary training and livestock health. At a meeting in February, the universitys governing board agreed the institution would continue admitting students to the veterinary course, although it said new leadership would be required to address challenges facing the school. In confirming the decision, the board acknowledged the strength of feeling in the community around Cambridge continuing to offer veterinary education. The NFU welcomed the outcome, highlighting the importance of maintaining a strong pipeline of trained vets entering the agricultural sector. Farm vets play a vital role in livestock health, disease prevention and food safety across the UK. NFU East regional policy manager Charles Hesketh said the organisation was pleased the university had listened to concerns raised by farmers. We are very pleased to see that the University of Cambridge vet school will remain open, he said. There is already a national shortage of farm vets, so there were major concerns over the proposals to close this. Hesketh said access to skilled veterinary professionals is critical for maintaining high standards of animal health and welfare on farms. Animal health and welfare is always a top priority for farmers so this change is most welcome, he said. The NFU wrote to the university over this issue to highlight the impact this closure would have had, and we praise them for engaging with us, for listening and taking this decision. He added that keeping the veterinary school open would help maintain the pipeline of qualified vets needed in the region. Its vital that we keep that pipeline of skilled, high quality vets going in the region, he said. The University of Cambridge really is a leader in this sector so hopefully, now this decision has been made, this will continue to be the case for many years to come. In its letter to vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice, the NFU urged the council and general board to reconsider the proposed closure, citing the schools strategic role in veterinary education and research. The union also warned the move could jeopardise the future of the universitys flagship farm, which supports sustainable farming research and practical veterinary training. The site also operates as a LEAF demonstration farm, helping educate the public and school-age learners about agriculture and food production. Beyond higher education, the farm supports school-age learners as a LEAF demonstration site, fostering agricultural awareness in consumers, the NFU said in its letter. Its loss would significantly reduce opportunities for future veterinary professionals and undermine efforts to promote sustainability and public engagement in agriculture. The decision means Cambridge will continue training future generations of vets needed to support the UKs farming and livestock sectors. Farmers are being urged to sign up for free training days ahead of this years Open Farm Sunday, which marks its 20th anniversary. The national event, which takes place on 7 June, sees farms across the UK open their gates to thousands of visitors, giving the public the chance to learn more about how food is produced and how farmers care for the countryside. Organisers say the training sessions are designed to help farmers plan successful events and confidently engage with visitors. LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), which coordinates Open Farm Sunday, will host two free training days on 18 March at Huntapac in Lancashire and on 24 March at Strawberry Hill Farm in East Sussex. Both events run from 10.30am to 3.30pm and include a complimentary lunch. The sessions are open to both first-time hosts and experienced participants who would like a refresher on welcoming visitors and sharing their farms story. Training will cover practical topics including managing visitor numbers through online ticketing systems, promoting events locally and ensuring appropriate health and safety measures are in place. The events will also give participants an opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from other farmers who have hosted Open Farm Sunday events in the past. Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm Sunday manager at LEAF, said the training would provide farmers with useful tools and materials to help them prepare for the day. Farmers who attend can also pick up some fabulous resources, including our new sector specific host farmer booklets developed with funding from AHDB, plus activity workbooks, posters, signage and other educational materials to help make your Open Farm Sunday a success, she said. The training aims to help farmers explain modern food production to visitors and build stronger connections between the public and the farming industry. Organisers say the sessions will help ensure farms across the country are ready to welcome visitors for the milestone Open Farm Sunday event in June. Labour is trailing in fourth place in rural Wales ahead of the next Senedd election, new polling suggests. The survey, commissioned by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), places Plaid Cymru in the lead with 22.3% support, followed by Reform UK on 16.7% and the Green Party on 14.5%. Labour trails on 13.5%. The polling was conducted among more than 1,000 voters living in Waless most rural constituencies, which together are home to around a third of the countrys population. The next Senedd election is due to take place in May. The poll suggests Labour is struggling to retain support even among its traditional voters in rural areas. Nearly one in three people who previously backed Labour say they will not support the party at the next Senedd election. Fewer than half of Labour voters (47%) say they are happy with how they voted at the last election. Among respondents who say they would not consider Labour, 20% cite the partys performance in Westminster as their main reason level with concerns over the cost of living. Farming and rural policy follows at 15%. The survey also suggests the countryside vote remains highly fragmented, with no party dominating rural Wales. On economic growth, Plaid Cymru leads with 27% of voters expressing confidence in the party. Reform UK follows on 19%, while Labour, the Conservatives and the Greens are clustered in the low teens. Victoria Bond, director of CLA Cymru, said the results highlight a growing disconnect between political parties and rural communities. Rural Wales is not being listened to. A third of the country lives outside the cities, yet too many feel shut out of the decisions that shape their lives, she said. Bond said many rural communities are facing mounting pressures, including rising living costs, housing shortages and planning restrictions. Families are being priced out of their own villages. Long-standing businesses are under strain. Planning rules block growth before it begins, she said. It is getting harder to stay and harder to build a future. She added that the countryside vote remained open to any party willing to offer a clear plan for rural areas. The countryside is not owned by any party. It is there to be won. Any party with a serious plan for rural Wales will find support. Those who treat it as a nice place for a walk will not. The cost of living is the biggest concern for rural voters, cited by 37% of respondents. Living costs are often higher in rural areas, where people travel further for work, school and shopping. Public transport is limited and fuel bills are typically higher. A lack of jobs and career opportunities also ranks highly among voter concerns, particularly in areas where employment is concentrated in farming, tourism and small local businesses. Affordable housing follows closely, cited by 33% of respondents, with demand in many rural communities pushing property prices beyond local incomes. Around a quarter of voters also point to planning delays, rural crime and poor broadband connectivity as key issues affecting countryside communities. Taken together, the findings suggest rural voters are focused less on party politics and more on practical concerns such as jobs, housing and infrastructure. The polling also highlights a lack of trust in political parties understanding of rural life. Less than half of voters believe Labour (45%), Reform UK (45%) or the Green Party (49.6%) understand and respect rural areas. Plaid Cymru performs best on this measure, with 63% of respondents saying the party understands rural communities. Ahead of the Senedd election, the CLA is calling for a cross-government Rural Economic Strategy to boost growth across agriculture, planning, skills and tourism. The organisation says this should include expanding permitted development rights to speed up the creation of new homes and business space in rural areas. It is also calling for guaranteed long-term funding for the Sustainable Farming Scheme so farmers can invest with confidence. A National Rural Tourism Strategy is also proposed to support year-round demand and strengthen local economies beyond the summer season. The CLA is also proposing the creation of a Rural Development Unit with statutory powers to coordinate funding, planning, regulation and skills policy across government. A new government strategy aimed at tackling the rising threat of wildfires in Scotland has been welcomed by farmers and land managers. The Scottish governments Strategic Action Plan for Wildfires, published today (5 March), sets out measures designed to improve prevention, preparedness and response to major blazes across the country. The strategy comes as wildfires are becoming more frequent and more damaging in parts of Scotland, particularly during prolonged dry periods. The plan includes new firefighting units, improved coordination between land managers and emergency services, and greater use of private sector equipment during major incidents. Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) said the strategy reflects months of collaboration between ministers, farmers, land managers and emergency services. Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, described the plan as a significant step forward in addressing the growing risk of wildfire. This landmark strategic action plan will enhance prevention, preparedness and response to wildfires, which, sadly, are becoming more frequent and more damaging, she said. Laing said the government had worked closely with the rural sector to identify practical steps that would improve coordination when fires break out. Ministers have listened and worked in partnership with the rural sector to identify the key actions required to enable us to make better use of resources and to work more effectively when a fire does break out, she said. This includes making greater use of helicopters and specialist equipment held in the private sector during wildfire emergencies. Following major fires last year, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has expanded its wildfire response capacity by investing in equipment, vehicles and training. The fire service has also created a new tactical burnback team, introduced four wildfire support units with enhanced equipment and deployed two interim wildfire units in Lockerbie and Thurso. Evidence of the role played by land managers in tackling fires was highlighted during the major wildfires in Carrbridge and Dava last year. A report submitted by Scottish Land & Estates to the government found that at least 36 rural businesses, including 30 estates, contributed personnel, equipment and expertise to the response effort. The value of specialist firefighting equipment supplied by private land managers was estimated at nearly 4 million, with at least 110 employees and contractors involved in containing the fires. One of the key elements of the action plan is the introduction of a new concept of operations framework by the fire service ahead of the 2026 wildfire season. The framework will outline how emergency services, public bodies and private land managers work together during wildfire incidents as part of a more integrated fire management approach. The plan also aims to expand the Community Asset Register, which lists equipment and resources that can be used during rural wildfire incidents. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Scottish Land & Estates will work together to encourage more organisations and volunteers to register assets that could support wildfire response. The strategy also includes plans to review Scotlands system for assessing wildfire risk and issuing alerts, with support from the Scottish Wildfire Forum and the University of Edinburghs Fire Research Centre. In addition, the Scottish Government is facilitating discussions between the Association of British Insurers, insurers, emergency services and land management organisations to ensure wildfire risks are properly reflected in insurance policies. The action plan also draws on recommendations from the Scottish Multi-Agency Resilience, Training and Exercise Unit (SMARTEU). The agency warned that reducing fuel management practices could increase both the frequency and severity of wildfires. It also highlighted concerns that private firefighting equipment used by land managers during previous incidents is more extensive than the equipment currently held by the fire service. Laing said these findings reflected concerns long raised by land managers about the importance of fuel load management. We welcome the comments made by SMARTEU that any reduction in fuel load management would likely exacerbate wildfires, a point that has been made consistently by land managers and has been taken on board by policymakers, she said. She added that the success of the strategy would depend on swift action before the next wildfire season. The development of this plan is a very promising start, but our collective ability to prevent, prepare and respond to wildfire requires that the actions are progressed with urgency, in partnership with the private sector, she said. We must follow through on the recommended actions in the coming weeks, before the start of the next wildfire season, when the risk of major blazes increases. After a string of critically acclaimed performances, Rahul Bhat is back on set for his next major project. The actor, who has been receiving widespread praise for his portrayal of Inspector Tomar in Black Warrant, has officially begun filming for his upcoming venture with Netflix. The transition comes at a time when Rahul is enjoying a significant career high. His role in Black Warrant made him one of the most celebrated performers across major platforms during the recent award season. This success follows the global impact of Kennedy, further establishing his reputation as a versatile actor capable of handling both auteur-driven cinema and high-profile streaming content. While most of the industry took time off to celebrate the festival of colours, Rahul Bhat was busy on set. He took to social media to share a glimpse of his striking new look for the series, reflecting on the nature of his work during the holiday. He wrote, While the world celebrates #holi in colors, some corners of the world are still stained in blood. Filming today. The irony isn't lost on me With a packed shooting schedule and several back-to-back hits, 2026 is shaping up to be the busiest and most important year of Rahuls career. His upcoming slate is diverse, featuring a mix of romantic dramas, social thrillers, and international productions. Among his highly anticipated projects is an untitled romantic drama directed by Kanwal Sethi, filmed in Nainital, where he stars alongside Dia Mirza. He is also set to appear in Madhur Bhandarkars The Wives, co-starring Mouni Roy. Rahul is also expanding his horizons with a Hollywood project titled Lost & Found in Kumbh. Directed by Mayur Puri and produced by Cristy Coor Beasley and Rashana Shah, the film was shot during the Maha Kumbh. Additionally, fans can look forward to seeing him play Sanjay Gandhi in Sudhir Mishras Summer of 76. Also Read: Exclusive: "I Got Three Movie Offers Here in Cannes," Says Rahul Bhat Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2026) - Rottenstone Gold Inc. (CSE: SK) ("Rottenstone Gold" or the "Corporation" or the "Issuer") reports update to its previously announced proposed transaction involving certain royalty interests (the "Proposed Transaction") and other related proposed corporate developments (see Issuer news release, Rottenstone Gold Inc. Announces Proposed Acquisition of Royalties and Repositioning as Silver Royalties, dated December 10, 2025). In connection with the same, the Corporation is seeking to shift its operations from mining exploration to mining royalties. The Corporation is presently listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE" or "Host Exchange"). Closing Date Extension The Issuer has executed an amending agreement dated February 28, 2026 in respect of the Proposed Transaction that extends the closing date of the associated definitive agreement from February 28, 2026 to March 31, 2026 (the "First Extending Amendment"). The First Extending Amendment provides the issuer with additional time to review the matters discussed herein and formulate plans therearound. The Issuer may seek future extensions and/or amendments, although the same would require agreement of all involved parties. Updates Regarding the Proposed Transaction Subsequent to announcing the Proposed Transaction, the Issuer has been in various communications and discourses with the CSE, where it is listed. The Issuer has an existing Control Person (as that term is defined by the policies of the CSE) (the "Control Person"). The CSE has determined that the Proposed Transaction will be deemed under its policies to constitute a Change of Control (as that term is defined by the policies of the CSE) (the "Change of Control"). The Change of Control results in certain procedures and requirements under Host Exchange policies, as does declaration of a Fundamental Change (as that term is defined by the policies of the CSE) (the "Fundamental Change") related to the Proposed Transaction. The Proposed Transaction involves mining royalties on projects operated by Kinross Gold Corporation, SSR Mining Inc., NexGold Mining Corp., Champion Iron Limited, Orano Canada Inc. and Cameco Corp. (collectively, the "Operators"). As a listed entity thereon, the CSE has determination over the Issuer under its policies as to what constitutes a Fundamental Change and expressions by shareholders (or the Corporation) are not relevant to such determinations. Determinations by the Host Exchange may also, under the policies of the Host Exchange, supersede business decisions made by the Corporation itself and/or its shareholder-elected board of directors, and may result, if different and/or varied, in deleterious outcomes to the Corporation and/or its shareholders. Following various and comprehensive communications, the Host Exchange has advised the Issuer that it intends, with finality, to apply certain listing/resumption criterion (the "New Listing Criterion") to the Issuer with respect to any regulatory approval by it of the Proposed Transaction (and/or any trading resumption that would follow in conjunction therewith), being criterion, generally, that would be used, as example, in respect of a company that is not traded on the Host Exchange but which seeks a new public listing thereon (such application being independent of the fact that the Issuer is already listed on the Host Exchange). New Listing Criterion include applicable public distribution thresholds (e.g. prescribed share ownership structures), as determined by the Host Exchange with respect to the Issuer. The New Listing Criterion are being applied in regard to the proposed Fundamental Change, including as relates to any resumption of trade upon completion of such Proposed Transaction, if the same were to occur. Among other operating restrictions while listed on the Host Exchange, the Corporation is not able to change its company name, change its business focus (including from mining exploration to mining royalties) nor close the Proposed Transaction (nor any other similar material acquisition) without the express permission and consent of the CSE, which holds regulatory power over the Issuer and its affairs. While listed, such Host Exchange permissions materially remain required independent of shareholder consents/votes and/or the decisions of the Issuer's shareholder-elected board of directors. Consequently, as matters are today, in order to proceed with the previously announced Proposed Transaction on the Host Exchange, determinations by said Host Exchange (under their policies and elsewise) would, in practical effect, require the Issuer to conduct a material free-trading financing (or other dilutive event) that the Issuer anticipates would prospectively be, if conducted and completed, materially dilutive to current shareholders of the Issuer, and being of a prospective scale that may approach its current capitalization (or larger under certain circumstances). In the case of a potential financing, raised funds, if successfully sourced as a CSE-listed issuer, would not substantively have an immediate use of proceeds, which would augment towards the same having a near-term dilutive nature unless and/or until otherwise utilized. In the Issuer's view, a higher issued share count on the part of the Issuer would be reasonably expected to reduce development leverage on a per share basis to the royalties (and Operators) of the Proposed Transaction (were the same to be successfully closed), with offset to any raised proceeds. In such circumstances, potential benefits flowing from the Proposed Transaction would diffuse to not only the Corporation's existing shareholders but would be shared by existing and new free-trading shareholders that would forward-arise under such a described financing. Under that potential scenario, existing shareholders of the Issuer may not receive full benefit of the proposed business repositioning, as a potential tandem financing would incorporate limited market conditions associated with the Issuer prior to finalizing the Proposed Transaction, potentially discount any step-change in the Issuer's affairs/capitalization resulting from a successful prior completion of the Proposed Transaction (where applicable) and negate any post-transaction re-branding not first done prior to seeking market-priced equity. Any proceeds from such a potential free-trading financing, if the same were to be conducted and completed, would not be expected to be used to fund the Proposed Transaction (which is contemplated through the issuance of common shares) nor would a multi-million dollar financing at pre-completion valuations, were the same to be conducted and completed, be expected, reasonably or otherwise, to be proportionate to any actual relationship to operating expenses anticipated by the Corporation for the next twelve month period under such a previously announced repositioning. The quantum of any free-trading financing (or other dilutive event) would instead be driven by Host Exchange determinations under their policies (e.g. public distribution) and the resulting particulars of the Proposed Transaction. If the Issuer elects to proceed with a potential financing (or other dilutive event), the same being effectively imposed by the Host Exchange to close the Proposed Transaction on its announced terms, or otherwise, approval at a special meeting by disinterested shareholders as to any such free-trading financing (or other dilutive event) may be required where the Corporation is listed on the Host Exchange if the proposed issuance of shares under any therewith arising event exceeds the Issuer's currently issued common share count outstanding. Such approval may be sought concurrent to a Special Meeting (below defined) although coordinating the same may add subscriber complexity within such a potential capital raise, and risks and uncertainties therewith, given it would then make such a potential financing contingent and/or conditional in nature (if not first obtained). Determining terms of a potential financing ahead of any applicable pre-approval by shareholders is a challenge given market and commodity fluctuations associated with a time delay. Although there is likely market potential for additional royalty acquisitions were the Issuer to become a royalty-focused entity, the Issuer did not originally anticipate a financing in conjunction with the Proposed Transaction as the Proposed Transaction does not require cash consideration as its closing settlement form, and the Issuer expected that any future financings under a royalty focus would be orientated towards specific-use instances, and in so, align future capital sourcing to accretive progress-building corporate events. The Issuer felt such original strategy would be the most productive approach, were described matters to proceed, as the method would first maximize potential step-change revaluation benefits to all existing shareholders of the Issuer. In the past, the Issuer has raised capital as needed, and with purpose. Nonetheless, based on determinations by the Host Exchange (which are presently binding upon the Issuer), the Issuer does not anticipate that it will be able to close upon the Proposed Transaction, at least while listed on the Host Exchange, nor, generally, other business developments aspects announced by way of the news release first above referenced and otherwise associated with the Fundamental Change and/or Change of Control, without moving to concurrently expand its free-trading public float, e.g. by way of a significant potential free-trading financing (or other dilutive event). Material legal expenses should be expected with such activity. Moreover, the amount of such a potential free-trading financing (or other dilutive event) being driven by regulatory/exchange-policy as opposed to any actual business-level needs identified by the Corporation itself, nor with regard to the anticipated capital required to operate a mining royalty business (including versus a mining exploration business), nor to otherwise enable the consideration required for the Proposed Transaction (which is presently contemplated as being done through escrowed common shares of the Issuer and not cash). There is no assurance that the Issuer will be successful in closing the Proposed Transaction. Without limitation, to the extent that the Issuer is listed on the Host Exchange, it must either fully comply with directives and/or policies of the Host Exchange to close upon the Proposed Transaction (and/or otherwise), or terminate the Proposed Transaction, such termination which would then be done under a "regulatory-out" provision of its negotiated definitive agreement in respect of the same. The Corporation is evaluating its options. If the Corporation elects to proceed with any potential financing (see forward-looking statements) and/or other material share-issuance event, all as may correspond to efforts to complete the Proposed Transaction or otherwise, the same would be duly determined and announced in future course. Common shares of the Issuer, which are listed on the Host Exchange, are presently halted, as described in the news release first above referenced and by CSE bulletin of same date. Without limitation, as a result of certain procedural and chronological matters, the Issuer advises that such any potential financing, if one were to be conducted, would invoke market-factors reasonably requiring the Issuer to do so within the context of its existing structure and its existing business, i.e. as a junior exploration entity (such structure and business being its currently comprised affairs and not the affairs of successfully first having completed its proposed changes and transaction (see Issuer news release dated December 10, 2025). Consequently, if a potential free-trading financing (or other dilutive event) were to be conducted and completed, it would be expected to benchmark against existing attributes of the Issuer as now constituted and its existing market, without shareholders otherwise fully benefiting from forward-metrics expected anticipated to be ascribed to raising any such similar funds after changing from a mining exploration company to mining royalty company. Conversion to a royalty-focused company on the Host Exchange, in the form and mechanism previously outlined by press release dated December 10, 2025, would be permitted only upon delivering such previously unanticipated dilution imposed by the Host Exchange, including for policies of free-trading distribution. The Corporation has limited control over business outcomes where the Host Exchange directs requirements that take supremacy to any business-level decisions made by the Corporation. The Host Exchange holds the right to determine certain business characteristics and structure of the Corporation (as a listed issuer) without regard to any shareholder votes that may be held otherwise seeking to progress matters herein discussed. At the Issuer's recent annual and special meeting of shareholders (see Issuer news release, Rottenstone Gold Inc. Reports Annual and Special Shareholder Meeting Results, dated February 26, 2026), disinterested shareholders voted 99.71% in favour of a resolution which permits the Issuer to delist from the Host Exchange (the "Delisting Resolution"), at discretion of the Issuer's board of directors. The Issuer's existing Control Person voted against the Delisting Resolution exercising a majority of the total shares outstanding of the Issuer, but under policies of the CSE, the existing Control Person's votes on the special business item were disenfranchised and the votes of the disinterested shareholders carried the resolution. Particulars of the aforementioned special resolution were set out within the original shareholder meeting materials, which remain accessible through SEDAR+. If a delisting is further examined by the Corporation, such an approach may assist the Corporation in lessening the dilutive nature of an upfront large-scale financing (or other dilutive event(s)) elsewise required to meet the requirements of the Host Exchange so as to close the Proposed Transaction as otherwise announced. Doing so, may permit the Corporation to complete various internal reorganizations, close upon the royalties contemplated in the Proposed Transaction (using shares to acquire the assets), and simplify the terms, structures and/or conditions of any such financing(s) (or other dilutive event(s)) before seeking price discovery without such aforementioned items having first been resolved. Based on the Issuer's views, financing terms and availability are more favourable for precious metals royalty companies than for precious metals exploration juniors, both when considered against private and public markets, as well as with consideration to the Issuer's existing holdings and market scale. In this regard, current shareholders may participate in a superior long-term business model as compared to the potential alternative outcome of remaining a small-cap CSE-listed junior exploration company. Alongside other corporate efforts generally related to the same, the Corporation is evaluating the alternatives and the next steps, including further review of the various options and different forward-paths discussed above, and shall update its shareholders in due course. Subject to a determination of certain matters outlined above, the Issuer's listed security is expected to remain halted for the time-being given, again, the policies of its Host Exchange. References above to any potential financing(s) or other dilutive event(s) are for contextual information only, such as outlining, for shareholder understanding, potential regulatory approval path(s) pertaining to the Proposed Transaction, and do not in any form constitute the commencement of an offering nor any form of solicitation for the same. As detailed in the Issuer's news release related to the Proposed Transaction, as first above referenced, disinterested shareholder approval of the same would be required, such special meeting having not yet been called by the Issuer (the "Special Meeting"). If the Issuer discontinues the Proposed Transaction but seeks to remain a listed issuer on the Host Exchange, it does not intend to pursue different royalty interests given the regulatory complexities and costs associated with any likewise-affiliated Change of Control and/or Fundamental Change outcomes, including as thematically outlined above. Readers should consult the material Risks and Uncertainties disclosed by the Issuer in its public filings. The Corporation extends its appreciation to specific persons at the CSE for their individual efforts on the matters discussed herein, and to those parties involved in the Proposed Transaction for their discretionary participation in the first above-referenced extension. The Issuer is solely responsible for the disclosures made herein. About Rottenstone Gold Inc. Rottenstone Gold is a Vancouver-based junior mining company. Listed on the CSE under the symbol "SK", the Corporation holds the Rottenstone Project in Saskatchewan, Canada. To learn more visit http://www.rottenstonegold.com. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words "anticipate," "expect," "suggest," "plan," "believe," "intend,", "intention" "estimate," "target," "project," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "forecast" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the timing and completion, if any, of the Proposed Transaction and any matters therewith associated, including, without limitation, the calling, if any, and the results of the Special Meeting. There are no assurances that the Issuer will be able to satisfy New Listing Criterion, continued listing requirements or other policy-mandates imposed by the CSE. Future financings, if any, are subject to any terms and conditions then announced. Actual results may differ materially from those currently expected or forecast in such statements. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286315 Source: Rottenstone Gold Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2026) - FRNT Financial Inc. (TSXV: FRNT) (OTCQB: FRFLF) (FSE: XZ3) (the "Company" or "FRNT") announces that Dan Cristall has resigned as a Director of the Company effective February 26, 2026, to focus on other business endeavors. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Cristall for his contributions to the Company and wishes him success in his future endeavours. About FRNT FRNT is a digital asset investment bank offering capital markets and advisory services to institutional investors participating in or entering the space. The Company aims to bridge the worlds of traditional and web-based finances with a technology forward and compliant operation. Business lines include deliverable trading services, structured derivative products, merchant banking, advisory, consulting, lending origination and principal investments. Headquartered in Toronto, FRNT was co-founded in 2018 by CEO Stephane Ouellette. Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286327 Source: FRNT Financial Inc. EQS Newswire / 05/03/2026 / 09:29 UTC+8 Profit Restored, Driven by Phase-Change Energy Business (5 March 2026, Hong Kong) Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited ("Huiyuan Cowins Technology", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 1116.HK) is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2025 (the "Period"). During the Period, the Group recorded revenue of approximately RMB454 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. Gross profit amounted to approximately RMB47.65 million, up 6.9% year-on-year. Profit attributable to owners of the Company was approximately RMB1.34 million, representing a turnaround from a loss in the corresponding period of the previous year. Basic earnings per share were RMB0.06 cents, marking a significant improvement in performance. Strong Growth from Emerging Business; PCM Technology Drives Industrial Upgrade Through coordinated development across multiple business lines, the Group maintained stability in its traditional carbon steel and stainless steel segments while accelerating growth in emerging areas, including direct drinking water, phase-change materials (PCM), and facility agriculture. The energy storage business, bolstered by supportive national policies and the Group's technological strengths, has emerged as a key growth driver with substantial market potential. Breakthrough in cold-chain transportation: The Group pioneered the use of PCM in China to create a long-lasting phase change cold chain vehicle. Temperature control and cold storage last for up to 120 hours, and the cost of cold storage and preservation can be reduced by up to 60%, offering innovation value for agricultural and pharmaceutical logistics. Industrial waste-heat recovery: The "AI intelligent multi-heat source waste heat recovery application project", the first of its kind in the industry nationwide, was launched in Huailai Zero-Carbon Agriculture Demonstration Park in November 2025. The heat generated during data center operation supplies to the surrounding Phalaenopsis orchid greenhouses and Jinqiu Jiayuan community for heating, replacing the traditional gas boiler heating. According to an assessment by SinoCarbon Innovation and Investment, during the heating season from November 2024 to March 2025, the project cumulatively saved a total of 838.94 tons of standard coal, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1,048.69 tons, and achieved a water saving rate of 56.61% and reduced costs by 58.63%. Facility agriculture benchmark project: The nation's first application case of a "phase change energy storage multi-energy complementary ultra-low energy consumption intelligent greenhouse" was implemented in Sanya, Hainan, enabling efficient year-round cultivation in tropical conditions. In addition, the Group, through its subsidiary Guangzhou Mayer, entered into a memorandum of understanding with UK-based Environmental Process Systems Limited (EPS), to further strengthen technological leadership and expand application scenarios in central air-conditioning, data centers, and cold-chain storage. Direct Drinking Water: Supported by Policy and Rising Demand Stricter regulations and growing public health awareness have created strong opportunities in the direct drinking water sector. The GB5749-2022 national "Standards for Drinking Water Quality" has raised entry barriers, while local governments increasingly prioritize direct drinking water in key livelihood projects. The Group has completed several direct drinking water projects, including the piped direct drinking water system for Guangdong Radio and Television, which achieved benchmark recognition and commenced operations in December 2025, serving the daily water needs of over 4,000 people. Meanwhile, the direct drinking water project for the Guangdong Expressway Fokai Branch is currently under construction. Traditional Business: Steady Performance Amid Structural Opportunities Despite industry challenges such as overcapacity and declining steel prices, structural opportunities persist. The transition from 5G to 6G is driving increased demand for data storage and related server chassis, supporting at least 5-10 years of growth in the Group's carbon steel segment. Limited high-end coated product processing capacity in Vietnam and Thailand also creates export opportunities for the Group's domestic production. In stainless steel business, the Group has adopted flexible pricing strategies and expanded its international presence in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, enhancing brand recognition and growth momentum. Strategic Outlook: Broad Development Prospects Ahead Looking ahead, the Group will continue to align with national policies, enhance quality and efficiency in its core businesses, and pursue high-quality development across multiple segments. It will increase investment in research and development, as well as the industrialization of PCM energy storage technologies, to expand application scenarios, strengthen competitive advantages, and establish a new growth engine. Its subsidiary, Guangzhou Mayer, has been recognized with more than 70 honours, including National High-Tech Enterprise, National "Little Giant" Enterprise, National CNAS Accredited Laboratory, Guangdong Province Green Factory, Outstanding Enterprise in New Quality Productive Forces, featured enterprise in CCTV's "Strong Country Intelligent Manufacturing" program, and one of the Top 10 Leading Enterprises in the 2025 Economy. It also holds 45 technological patents, fully demonstrating the Group's outstanding capabilities in technological research and industrial upgrading. In the future, the Group will continue to drive industrial upgrading through scientific and technological innovation, deliver long-term and stable value to shareholders, and make greater contributions to achieving the national carbon neutrality goal. - END - About Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited (stock code: 1116.HK) has been deeply engaged in the steel pipe and steel sector for over 30 years and is a benchmark brand in China's stainless steel water pipe industry, with full-chain capabilities in "independent R&D - production manufacturing". Its main businesses cover stainless steel water pipes and fittings, carbon steel plate shearing, pipeline direct drinking water solutions, and extend to the phase change energy storage technology field. Since 2023, the Group has accelerated its expansion into the energy storage business, focusing on the R&D and production of phase-change energy storage materials (PCM), providing customized cold storage and heat storage solutions for customers in various industries. The company was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2004. For more details, please visit its official company website: https://www.hctechgp.com . 05/03/2026 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News . The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com View original content: EQS News TAIPEI, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AnnJi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (AnnJi, TWSE: 7754) announced its participation in the 2026 International Patient and Scientific Conference hosted by the Kennedy's Disease Association (KDA). Held between February 27 and March 2, the conference served as a premier forum bringing together patients with Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA), caregivers, clinicians and leading researchers to discuss advances in disease science, therapeutic development, and clinical care. Building on the recent U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation for AJ201(Rosolutamide) and encouraging Phase 2 clinical results, AnnJi presented two scientific abstracts spanning translational transcriptomic findings through highly anticipated Phase 3 trial. These presentations underscored AJ201's multi-modal mechanism of action and its potential as a first-in-class therapy within AnnJi's strategic roadmap paving the way for global Phase 3 trial. Scientific Highlights and Abstract Presentations of AJ201 during the KDA Conference Transcriptomic Insights: Research titled "Transcriptomic Evidence of AJ201 Target Engagement and Biological Response in SBMA Muscle" utilized RNA-seq to demonstrate that AJ201 engages the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway. The data confirmed that treatment modulates multiple biological axes rather than a single pathway, reinforcing AJ201's drug-specific biological engagement. Research titled utilized RNA-seq to demonstrate that AJ201 engages the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway. The data confirmed that treatment modulates multiple biological axes rather than a single pathway, reinforcing AJ201's drug-specific biological engagement. Phase 3 Trial Design: AnnJi unveiled the preliminary design of its global, multicenter Phase 3 trial. This proposed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AJ201 in ambulatory individuals with symptomatic SBMA. The trial represents a critical step toward potential global regulatory registration and aims to further validate AJ201's therapeutic benefit in this underserved patient population. Additionally, Dr. Christopher Grunseich, MD, the study's Principal Investigator, led a featured session titled "Safety and Preliminary Efficacy Demonstrated in a Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial of AJ201 in Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy." During the presentation, he shared data highlighting AJ201's favorable safety profile, early signals of efficacy observed in the Phase 2 study, and key updates on the overall clinical development program. Steadfast Commitment to the SBMA Community "We are honored to stand alongside patients and advocates as we work to translate scientific progress into tangible hope," said Dr. Wendy Huang, CEO and Chairperson of AnnJi. "The positive clinical findings, together with the recent FDA Fast Track Designation, strengthen our confidence in AJ201's potential and affirm that we are advancing in the right direction." Amid recent clinical setbacks of other candidates in the field, AnnJi continues to lead SBMA drug development. The company has intensified preparations to initiate its multinational Phase 3 trial, with participant enrollment anticipated to commence in late 2026. This momentum reflects AnnJi's unwavering commitment to advancing AJ201 until it reaches the patients who need it most. To further this mission, AnnJi also hosted a "Patient & Family Forum" during the 2026 KDA Conference. Recognizing that patients and caregivers bring invaluable lived expertise beyond what scientific publications alone can capture, this forum provided a platform for open dialogue and transparent engagement. The event introduced the mechanism and development of AJ201, explored potential partnership opportunities, and announced the formation of a Patient Advisory Council in collaboration with KDA. AnnJi aims to partner with SBMA patients and families to help optimize the Phase 3 trial design, address potential challenges proactively, and accelerate the path toward delivering new hope to SBMA families worldwide. About Kennedy's Disease (SBMA) Kennedy's disease, also known as Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA), is a rare and serious inherited neuromuscular degenerative disorder. It is characterized by the progressive degeneration of lower motor neurons in the spinal cord, brainstem, and skeletal muscles. The disease primarily affects males between the ages of 30 and 40, with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 40,000. As the disease progresses-typically by age 50-patients often develop difficulties with chewing and swallowing, and ultimately, recurrent aspiration pneumonia becomes a common cause of death. Currently, there are no approved treatments for SBMA. About AnnJi Pharmaceutical AnnJi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 7754) is a clinical-stage drug development company focused on the development of innovative small molecules (NCEs). The company is dedicated to addressing high unmet medical needs in the fields of neurology, dermatology, and immune-inflammatory diseases, including rare diseases, such as Kennedy's disease (SBMA) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). AnnJi is committed to developing innovative therapies that improve the quality of life for patients suffering from neglected chronic diseases. We focus on advancing high-quality, differentiated, and innovative drug candidates, and collaborating with global pharmaceutical partners. Upon achieving proof-of-concept in Phase 2 clinical trials, we aim to out-license our products for further co-development and commercialization, with the goal of bringing them to global markets and driving sustainable growth for the company. Contact: Anne Yu; anne.yu@ajpharm.com Sylvia Lin; sylvia.lin@ajpharm.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2925885/Dr__Wendy_Huang_hosts_the_Patient___Family_Forum_at_the_2026_KDA_Conference.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/empowering-the-sbma-community-annji-highlights-patient--family-forum-and-shares-aj201-scientific-advancement-at-the-2026-kda-conference-302704694.html Die Stimmung an den Markten hat sich grundlegend gedreht. Wahrend Tech- und KI-Werte zunehmend mit Volatilitat und Bewertungsrisiken kampfen, erleben klassische Versorger ein unerwartetes Comeback. Laut IEA und EIA steigt der globale Strombedarf strukturell weiter, nicht nur wegen E-Mobilitat und Warmepumpen, sondern vor allem durch energiehungrige KI-Rechenzentren. Energie wird damit zur zentralen Infrastruktur des digitalen Zeitalters. Gleichzeitig rucken in unsicheren Marktphasen stabile Cashflows, solide Bilanzen und regulierte Renditen wieder starker in den Fokus. Genau hier spielen Versorger ihre Starken aus: berechenbare Ertrage, robuste Nachfrage und hohe Dividenden Qualitaten, die vielen Wachstumswerten aktuell fehlen. Nach Jahren im Schatten der Tech-Rallye steigt nun das Interesse an Unternehmen, die Stabilitat mit langfristigen Wachstumsthemen wie Netzausbau, Dekarbonisierung und erneuerbaren Energien verbinden. Im aktuellen Spezialreport stellen wir drei Versorger vor, die defensive Starke mit attraktivem Potenzial kombinieren. Jetzt den kostenlosen Report sichern bevor die nachste Versorgerwelle Fahrt aufnimmt! MOSCOW, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- From February 26 to March 1, 2026, the Zhejiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and Performance was held as part of the third "Joyful Spring Festival" celebrations in Moscow. As one of the major events in the 2026 "Joyful Spring Festival" series, the program presented Zhejiang's traditional performance, craft, and folk heritage to Moscow audiences, bringing elements of the province's cultural traditions to the Russian capital during the festival. Supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism and organized by the Zhejiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center (Zhejiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum), the event was held under the guidance of the Embassy of China in Russia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. It was hosted by the Government of Moscow, with support from the China Cultural Center in Moscow and other partners. Aligned with the festival's theme, the program brought together stage performances and presentations in public spaces across the city. It featured 12 practitioners of Zhejiang's intangible cultural heritage and eight performances, bringing these traditions into schools and urban spaces while giving Moscow residents the opportunity to encounter them firsthand. On stage, the eight featured programs followed one another, showcasing traditional dance, regional theatre, and other performing arts drawn from Zhejiang's cultural traditions. For the first time, the "Joyful Spring Festival" in Moscow invited delegations from multiple Chinese provinces and cities for cultural exchange. Zhejiang's programs, known for their strong regional traditions, gave Russian audiences the chance to experience the province's cultural heritage through live performance and demonstration. Together, these presentations offered audiences a direct encounter with Zhejiang's performing traditions. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2923245/image_5018834_28187455.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zhejiang-intangible-cultural-heritage-program-presented-in-moscow-during-the-2026-joyful-spring-festival-302704707.html Clearwater, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2026) - LinkDaddy, a Miami-based digital infrastructure company, has announced the launch of a dedicated website infrastructure service - a precision-engineered build and repair system designed to comply with the four foundational Google patents that govern how search engines evaluate, rank, and cite digital entities. LinkDaddy Launches Patent-Compliant Website Infrastructure Service To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/286219_9c35f4ff54897854_002full.jpg The service, delivered through LinkDaddy Build, addresses a gap in the market where most websites are built for visual appeal rather than structural compliance with the underlying patent architecture that determines search engine behaviour. LinkDaddy's approach engineers every website against four specific patents: US 7,716,216 (Reasonable Surfer Model), US 6,285,999 B1 (Recursive Authority / PageRank), US 9,165,040 B1 (Graph Distance and Neural Mesh), and US 12,536,223 B1 (E-E-A-T and Information Gain). The service was developed by Tony Peacock, a digital infrastructure architect and founder of LinkDaddy LLC, whose methodology - the FIF Protocol (Foundation, Infrastructure, Fortress) - applies patent-compliance standards to every website build and repair engagement. Each project begins with a 47-point Forensic Infrastructure Scan scored against all four patents before any work begins. "Most websites fail not because of poor design but because of structural non-compliance with the systems Google actually uses to evaluate authority," said Peacock. "Patent-compliant infrastructure is not optional for brands that want to remain visible as search evolves toward AI-generated summaries and entity-based ranking." The service operates across two primary tiers. Infrastructure Repair ($3,500-$5,000) audits and corrects existing websites against the four-patent compliance framework - addressing internal link architecture, schema deployment, entity markup, and content structure. Sovereign Build ($10,000+) delivers a complete ground-up website engineered to full FIF Protocol standards, including sub-500ms load performance, 40,000+ words of indexed content, Neural Mesh internal linking, and verified Author Entity schema. LinkDaddy's patent-compliance model reflects a broader shift in search technology toward entity recognition, structured data validation, and AI-readable authority signals. Websites that are not structurally aligned with these systems are increasingly at risk of being overlooked by both traditional search engines and AI-generated answer platforms. Further details on the service are available at https://anthonyjamespeacock.com. About LinkDaddy LinkDaddy is a digital infrastructure and authority-building company headquartered in Miami, Florida. The company provides patent-compliant website builds and repairs, entity-based SEO architecture, and structured schema deployment services designed for long-term search performance and Knowledge Graph recognition. Its flagship methodology, the FIF Protocol, applies the four foundational Google patents to every client engagement. For more information, visit https://linkdaddybuild.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286219 Source: Plentisoft MEGA BiO-LiFE Malaysia was named Natural Health Iconic Brand 2025 at the Natural Health & Readers' Choice Awards 2025, while also winning Best Liver Health, Gut Care, and Heart Health Supplement categories, reaffirming its science-led leadership and strong consumer trust in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2026) - MEGA BiO-LiFE achieved a major industry milestone at the Natural Health & Readers' Choice Awards 2025, securing multiple category wins and earning the distinguished Natural Health Iconic Brand 2025 title. The Iconic Brand honour is an elite recognition reserved for organisations whose influence, credibility, and vision have shaped the health and wellness sector over time. For MEGA BiO-LiFE, the honour reflects over three decades of purposeful innovation and resolute dedication to consumer wellbeing. Shaping Health Through Science MEGA BiO-LiFE Malaysia, part of the international Mega Lifesciences Group, has consistently advanced the nutritional supplements sector through science-led formulation and stringent quality standards. The brand integrates global research with local insights to develop solutions that address evolving health needs. Chosen by Consumers Nationwide What sets the Natural Health & Readers' Choice Awards apart is its consumer-driven selection process. Based entirely on reader and user votes, the awards reflect real-world trust and usage. In 2025, MEGA BiO-LiFE emerged as a top choice across three essential wellness segments: BiO-LiFE Livasil: Best Liver Health Supplement - Recognising effective nutritional support for liver function - Recognising effective nutritional support for liver function BiO-LiFE A.B. Adult Gold Pre & Pro: Best Gut Care Supplement - Honouring formulations that promote digestive harmony - Honouring formulations that promote digestive harmony BiO-LiFE Q10-Guard Plus: Best Heart Health Supplement - Celebrating cardiovascular-focused supplementation These recognitions reinforce the brand's ability to deliver focused solutions grounded in nutritional science. Representatives from MEGA BiO-LiFE proudly displaying their awards after winning Natural Health Iconic Brand 2025 and multiple categories To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/286205_71a675b8d45c581d_002full.jpg Building Confidence Across Generations MEGA BiO-LiFE's consistent emphasis on quality, transparency, and efficacy has earned it strong loyalty among Malaysian consumers. Over the years, the brand has received numerous achievements, including the Guardian Customers' Choice Awards, Malaysia Health & Wellness Brand Awards, Natural Health Awards, and Motherhood Choice Awards, spanning categories such as probiotics, heart care, liver health, joint support, and children's nutrition. The recognition received at the Natural Health & Readers' Choice Awards 2025 is viewed by MEGA BiO-LiFE as a significant validation of their commitment to quality. Speaking at the awards acceptance, June Woo Kah Wai, Marketing Manager shared, "Being recognized at Natural Health Awards is truly meaningful for MEGA BiO-LiFE, as it reflects trust and confidence among our consumers, and we will continue to support healthier lives for everyone." A Night Honouring Wellness Leaders The awards presentation took place in Kuala Lumpur on 29 January 2026, bringing together brands recognised for their positive impact on personal health and integrated living. Since 2011, the Natural Health Readers' Choice Awards have served as a trusted benchmark for Malaysians seeking reliable wellness guidance. Driven by a long-term vision to elevate everyday wellness, MEGA BiO-LiFE remains committed to empowering Malaysians with innovative, reliable, and science-backed wellness solutions, today and into the future. About MEGA BiO-LiFE MEGA BiO-LiFE has over 30 years of experience providing safe, science-backed health solutions in Malaysia. Its manufacturing facilities meet high international standards, certified by authorities in Germany, Australia, and Thailand. Guided by values of respect, trust, and care, the company's We Care philosophy promotes proactive wellness. For more information about their products, please visit https://biolife.megawecare.com About Natural Health Magazine Natural Health Magazine is Malaysia's leading media platform for healthy and holistic living, reaching more than 120,000 readers every month on digital, print, and social media platforms. It offers comprehensive resources covering health, beauty, wellness, home, and living, empowering readers with expert advice and practical tips. To view the complete list of winners of Natural Health & Readers' Choice Awards 2025, please visit: https://naturalhealth.my/naturalhealth2025awards/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286205 Source: Plentisoft Dublin, Ireland--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V. (SIX: COPN) (FSE: C43) ("Cosmo") today announced a strategic Research and Development Agreement with Amsterdam UMC and Eindhoven University of Technology to develop and clinically validate an artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer-aided detection (CADe) system for the identification of early neoplasia in Barrett's esophagus. The collaboration represents an important step in expanding the clinical scope of Cosmo's GI Genius platform beyond colorectal cancer screening into upper gastrointestinal (GI) indications. Barrett's oesophagus is a precancerous condition in which the pink, flat lining of the oesophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach) becomes damaged by acid reflux. This causes the lining to thicken and turn red. It affects millions of patients worldwide and increases the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that starts in the esophagus. Detecting early neoplasia during upper GI endoscopy remains a significant clinical challenge, where AI-assisted tools may help physicians identify subtle abnormalities in real time. Over time, the program may support the development of additional AI applications within the GI Genius ecosystem, further expanding the platform's clinical capabilities in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Through this collaboration, the parties will combine clinical expertise, imaging research capabilities and advanced engineering know how to curate high quality datasets, develop and train AI algorithms, and conduct structured clinical validation in specialized centers. The initiative is expected to generate one of the most comprehensive curated datasets for AI development in Barrett's esophagus. Cosmo will lead the industrialization and regulatory pathway, ensuring the system is developed in accordance with applicable global quality, safety and cybersecurity standards and designed for seamless integration into the GI Genius platform. The program is intended to support future regulatory submissions in both Europe and the United States, subject to applicable approvals. This initiative further strengthens the GI Genius platform and supports Cosmo's "Vision 2030" strategy to expand its AI driven clinical innovation across multiple gastrointestinal indications, reinforcing the Company's long-term commitment to advancing AI supported endoscopy and building a scalable ecosystem of AI applications. Giovanni Di Napoli, CEO of Cosmo, commented: "This collaboration reflects our ambition to expand AI assisted endoscopy beyond colorectal applications. GI Genius has already transformed the way physicians detect colorectal lesions, and our goal is to extend the power of this platform across the broader spectrum of gastrointestinal diseases. By combining the clinical leadership of Amsterdam UMC and the engineering excellence of TU Eindhoven with Cosmo's experience in developing and scaling regulated medical software, we are advancing the next generation of AI tools designed to support physicians in real time during endoscopy." Prof. Jacques Bergman, Professor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Amsterdam UMC, said: "For many years, our team has focused on improving early detection and treatment of esophageal neoplasia. Artificial intelligence is opening a new chapter in our field, offering the potential to detect subtle abnormalities that were previously very difficult to recognize systematically in the Barrett's esophagus surveillance program. By joining forces with Eindhoven's engineering researchers and Cosmo's ability to translate advanced technology into robust clinical tools, we are creating a pathway that could bring meaningful improvements to patient care." About Cosmo Cosmo is a life sciences company focused on MedTech AI, dermatology, gastrointestinal diseases, and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO). We design, develop, and manufacture advanced solutions that address critical medical needs and raise the standard of care. Our technologies are trusted by leading global pharmaceutical and MedTech companies and reach patients and healthcare providers around the world. Guided by our purpose - Building Health Confidence - our mission is to empower patients, healthcare professionals, and partners by innovating at the intersection of science and technology. Founded in 1997, Cosmo is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in San Diego (USA), and in Lainate, Rome, and Catania (Italy). For more information, visit www.cosmohealthconfidence.com. Financial calendar Full Year 2025 Results, Annual Report and ESG Report Jefferies Biotech Beach Summit, Miami Ordinary Annual General Meeting of Shareholders March 9, 2026 March 11, 2026 April 10, 2026 Van Lanschot Kempen Life Science Conference, Amsterdam April 16, 2026 TP ICAP Conference, Paris May 7, 2026 Attachments PDF - English To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286350 Source: Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V. Holcim Group Services Ltd / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Holcim recognized as Global Top Employer for 2026 05.03.2026 / 07:00 CET/CEST One of only 17 companies worldwide to receive the prestigious certification from the Top Employers Institute Top Employer certification was awarded to 27 different Holcim countries across all of its regions Holcim has been named a Global Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute for a second consecutive year, one of only 17 companies worldwide to receive the certification recognizing organizations that meet the highest standards across their people practices. With 27 of its markets certified, Holcim achieved a global score of 87%, outperforming the global benchmark. The company ranked highest in areas including Ethics & Integrity, Learning, and Business Strategy, reflecting the culture of performance and value creation that is driving Holcim's NextGen Growth 2030 strategy. Miljan Gutovic, CEO: "A strategic growth driver of Holcim's NextGen Growth 2030 strategy is our culture of performance and value creation for people, customers and shareholders. We call this the Holcim Spirit, centered on purpose, people and performance. Today's award goes to my more than 45 000 colleagues who live the Holcim Spirit every day and who make Holcim the best place to work." Carmen Diaz, Chief People & Sustainability Officer: "We are creating the best workplace where talent is nurtured through programs such as our Holcim University, diversity is celebrated, employees are engaged, and health and safety is our top priority. This recognition is a reflection of how we are fulfilling our vision to be the leading partner for sustainable construction." The Top Employer benchmark evaluates companies against global standards in career development, learning, well-being, and compensation practices. Companies that receive the Global Top Employer designation must be certified as a Regional Top Employer in a minimum number of countries and regions, including the country of their global headquarters. About Holcim Holcim (SIX: HOLN) is the leading partner for sustainable construction with net sales of CHF 15.7 billion in 2025, creating value across the built environment from infrastructure and industry to buildings. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Holcim has more than 45 000 employees in 43 attractive markets - across Europe, Latin America and Asia, Middle East & Africa - and has been recognized as a Global Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute. Holcim offers high-value end-to-end Building Materials and Building Solutions, from foundations and flooring to walling and roofing - powered by premium brands including ECOPact, ECOPlanet and ECOCycle. Learn more about Holcim on www.holcim.com , and by following us on LinkedIn . Sign up for Holcim's Building Progress newsletter here . Important disclaimer - forward-looking statements: This document contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets, as the case may be, including with respect to plans, initiatives, events, products, solutions and services, their development and potential. Although Holcim believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, investors are cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Holcim, including but not limited to the risks described in the Holcim's annual report available on its website ( www.holcim.com ) and uncertainties related to the market conditions and the implementation of our plans. Accordingly, we caution you against relying on forward-looking statements. Holcim does not undertake to provide updates of these forward-looking statements. New Wi-Fi and 5G-Series deliver accessible Wi-Fi 7 upgrades and flexible broadband alternatives for modern living TAIPEI, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- D-Link Corporation today announced a strategic focus on making Wi-Fi 7 accessible and practical for everyday use. D-Link's latest portfolio is engineered to address today's most pressing connectivity demands, including remote work, the growing AI ecosystem, and high-definition streaming and gaming. The lineup supports seamless network upgrades for modern apartments while providing high-speed alternatives for fiber-restricted environments. Smarter Wi-Fi 7 Upgrades for Broadband-Connected Homes Even with established broadband, today's households are demanding more from their networks. The BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router C36 is D-Link's most accessible solution for mainstream households upgrading from legacy Wi-Fi standards. It delivers core Wi-Fi 7 benefits, including improved efficiency and reduced latency, without introducing unnecessary complexity. For higher-usage environments, the BE7200 Wi-Fi 7 Router C72 offers a higher-capacity option. Designed to deliver broader network coverage compared to C36, the C72 is the superior choice for larger residences or homes with multiple rooms and challenging layouts. 5G Fixed Wireless: A Practical Alternative Where Fiber is Limited Building on the same practical Wi-Fi 7 foundation, D-Link extends next-generation connectivity beyond fixed-line broadband. Fiber availability remains uneven, and many modern households require reliable high-speed connectivity that does not depend on fixed-line infrastructure. The 5G NR BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router G536 combines 5G NR technology with Wi-Fi 7 to provide a practical alternative to traditional broadband. Its plug-and-play deployment enables instant internet access for renters, rural homes, and temporary living environments without the need for fixed-line installation. For users requiring maximum continuity, the 5G NR BE7200 Wi-Fi 7 Router G572 is designed for demanding scenarios. Positioned as a robust primary or backup solution, it delivers reliable performance in environments where network availability is critical. Our Commitment: Practical Solutions for a Connected Future "At D-Link, we believe that technology should solve problems, not add complexity," said CJ Chang, CEO of D-Link Corporation. "By focusing on practical Wi-Fi 7 solutions like the C36 and the flexible G536, we are helping users navigate the transition to next-generation networking. Guided by our brand vision, One Connection Infinite Possibilities., D-Link remains committed to delivering accessible, reliable, and forward-looking connectivity solutions that empower individuals, households, and communities to stay connected regardless of their environment or infrastructure. ### About D-Link D-Link, a global leader in the networking industry, began expanding worldwide in 1986 and was officially established as D-Link Corporation in 1987. With 90 operational and sales locations across 43 countries, D-Link provides innovative and reliable networking equipment, AI-powered cloud management services, and complete infrastructure solutions for individuals, homes, businesses, and industries. Find out more about D-Link at www.dlink.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2925697/C36_C72_G536_G572_Press_Release_2000x942.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/d-link-makes-wi-fi-7-practical-for-modern-homes-and-flexible-broadband-access-302703570.html Fiscal year 2025: RENK Group AG achieves annual targets with new record revenue and order backlog Record revenue of 1.37 billion (+19.8% year on year), fueled by strong growth in the defense business (+24.0% year on year) Adjusted EBIT of 230 million (+21.7% year on year) at upper end of forecast range with improved margin of 16.9% (+0.3 percentage points year on year) New record order intake of 1.57 billion underscores consistently high demand for RENK Group AG's mission-critical propulsion solutions Total order backlog reaches new all-time high of 6.68 billion (2024: 4,96 billion) Proposed dividend of 0.58 per share - an increase of 38% compared to the previous year Outlook: Further increase in revenue to over 1.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of between 255 million and 285 million currently expected for fiscal year 2026 Augsburg, March 5, 2026 - RENK Group AG, a leading provider of propulsion solutions for the military and civilian sectors, continued its dynamic growth in fiscal year 2025 and reached the forecast for the year. RENK achieved new records in revenue, order intake and order backlog thanks to sustained strong demand in the global defense sector, consistent operational performance and its ability to deliver. CEO of the RENK Group AG Dr. Alexander Sagel said: "Our strategy of placing the focus firmly on defense technologies is paying off - we are seeing the highest revenue, order intake and order backlog in company history. This shows that we are on the right track to realize our growth targets by 2030. It is clear in this geopolitically volatile environment that operational performance and the ability to deliver are key. The RENK Group aligned itself with these changed conditions at an early stage and systematically picked up the necessary speed. This means we are already in a position to provide the required capacities and reliably deliver our systems. Our efficient production structure makes us ideally placed to reliably supply our customers worldwide." RENK Group AG increased consolidated revenue by 19.8% to 1.37 billion in fiscal year 2025 (2024: 1.14 billion). The main growth driver was the defense business, which recorded growth of 24.0% and thus accounted for 74% of total revenue (2024: 72%). Adjusted EBIT rose at a higher rate than revenue, by 21.7% to 230 million (2024: 189 million). This equates to an adjusted EBIT margin of 16.9% (2024: 16.6%). This positive margin development reflects the company's increasing operational scaling and strict cost discipline. Demand momentum remained unwaveringly high with record order intake of around 1.57 billion (fiscal year 2024: 1.44 billion). The total order backlog reached new all-time high of 6.68 billion as of December 31, 2025 (Dec. 31, 2024: 4.96 billion). The corresponding book-to-bill ratio was 1.2x in fiscal year 2025 (2024: 1.3x), despite orders worth approximately 200 million being postponed until 2026, thereby underscoring the continued high visibility of the business for the coming quarters and years. Based on the positive development of the past fiscal year, the RENK Executive Board will propose a dividend distribution of 0.58 per share to the general meeting on June 10, 2026. This represents a year-on-year increase of 38% in the dividend (2024: 0.42) and a distribution ratio of 40.9%. Double-digit growth for defense business The Vehicle Mobility Solutions (VMS) segment posted the strongest revenue growth of all three segments once again in fiscal year 2025, with an increase of 24.8% year on year, generating revenue of 872 million (2024: 699 million). Adjusted EBIT rose by 27.8% to 178 million (2024: 140 million). The corresponding adjusted EBIT margin was 20.4% (2024: 20.0%). Order intake increased by 11.3% year on year to 1.13 billion in 2025 (2024: 1.02 billion). This put the book-to-bill ratio for the VMS segment at 1.3x (2024: 1.5x), although a large battle tank project for an international customer has been postponed to the current fiscal year. The favorable performance of RENK America (RAM) is of particular note in this context, with order intake in excess of US$550 million. The modular production concept implemented at the headquarters in Augsburg in the third quarter is fully operational and has already resulted in initial efficiency gains. The Marine & Industry (M&I) segment also experienced significant growth, driven by marine business. Moreover, it was able to offset the macroeconomic challenges in the industrial sector, which was characterized by subdued demand worldwide. Revenue increased by 15.3% overall to 380 million (2024: 330 million). Adjusted EBIT rose by 29.6% to 45 million (2024: 35 million), with special items in the low single-digit millions that boosted earnings. The corresponding adjusted EBIT margin for the segment rose by 1.3 percentage points to 11.9% (2024: 10.6%). At 327 million, order intake was up 6.3% year on year (2024: 307 million). The segment's book-to-bill ratio was 0.9x (2024: 0.9x). The Slide Bearings segment proved resilient in fiscal year 2025, despite the very weak industry environment. Revenue increased by 2.5% to 128 million (2024: 125 million), with the best revenue in the history of the segment achieved in December 2025. Adjusted EBIT rose by 6.9% to 23 million (2024: 21 million). The segment's adjusted EBIT margin therefore increased by 0.7 percentage points to 17.9% (2024: 17.2%). There was a slight decline of 4.8% in order intake to 126 million (2024: 133 million) and the book-to-bill ratio was 1.0x (2024: 1.1x). Outlook for 2026 RENK Group AG expects to continue on its profitable growth trajectory in the current fiscal year 2026. In light of the current macro and geopolitical circumstances, the company expects revenue of over 1.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of between 255 and 285 million in fiscal year 2026. "We once again demonstrated our ability to translate growth into sustainable profitability in fiscal year 2025 despite facing headwinds from various issues such as US tariffs, weak industrial performance, export embargoes and exchange rate effects. Our inclusion in the MDAX in March 2025 was one of many highlights and provided impressive proof of our successful performance on the capital market. I am pleased to announce that we will be proposing a dividend for our shareholders of 0.58 per share at the general meeting," said CFO of RENK Group AG Anja Manz-Siebje. Group key metrics (in millions) at a glance RENK Group AG 2025 2024 Change (in %) Revenue 1,366 1,141 +19.8 Adjusted EBIT 230 189 +21.7 Order intake 1,571 1,442 +9.0 Segment key metrics (in millions) at a glance Vehicle Mobility Solutions 2025 2024 Change (in %) Revenue 872 699 +24.8 Adjusted EBIT 178 140 +27.8 Order intake 1,129 1,015 +11.3 Marine & Industry 2025 2024 Change (in %) Revenue 380 330 +15.3 Adjusted EBIT 45 35 +29.6 Order intake 327 307 +6.3 Slide Bearings 2025 2024 Change (in %) Revenue 128 125 +2.5 Adjusted EBIT 23 21 +6.9 Order intake 126 133 -4.8 RENK Group AG Gogginger Str. 73 D-86159 Augsburg Deutschland www.renk.com Inquiries to: Fabian Klee Global Head of Communications & Group Spokesperson fabian.klee@renk.com +49 160 7154 647 About the RENK Group AG Headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, RENK Group AG is a globally leading manufacturer of mission-critical propulsion solutions across diverse military and civil end markets. Our product portfolio includes gear units, transmissions, power-packs, hybrid propulsion systems, suspension systems, slide bearings, couplings & clutches and test systems. With this broad product portfolio RENK Group AG serves, in particular, customers in industries for military vehicles, naval, civil marine, and industrial applications focused on energy. In the fiscal year 2025, RENK Group AG generated revenue of approximately EUR 1.4 billion. RENK Group AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since February 7, 2024, and has been a member of the MDAX since March 24, 2025. For further information, please visit www.renk.com Disclaimer This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are based on plans, expectations, estimates and projections of the management of RENK Group as at the date of this Press Release. These plans, expectations, estimates and projections depend on a variety of assumptions and are subject to unforeseeable events, uncertainties, known and unknown risks as well as other factors that may cause actual results or the actual financial situation, development or performance to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. RENK Group does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements or make adjustments to them to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this Press Release unless obliged by statutory law. Continued growth in operational performance and shareholder returns as we deliver on our 2030 objectives Hunting PLC (LSE: HTG), the precision engineering group, today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2025. Financial Highlights EBITDA increased by 7%, to $135.7m. EBITDA margin of 13%, up from 12%. Gross margin improved to 27%. Revenue decreased by 3%, to $1,018.8m. Non-oil and gas revenue up 10%, to $82.9m. Adjusted diluted earnings per share 34.1 cents, up 9%. Sales order book $358.0m comprising $120.7m of subsea and $98.6m of non-oil and gas opportunities. Free cash flow of $96.6m representing an EBITDA conversion of 71%. Cash and bank (borrowings) $62.9m, after c.$145m of net outflows related to acquisitions, share buybacks, treasury share purchases, and dividends. Total dividends declared in the year up 13% to 13.0 cents per share, from 11.5 cents in 2024. A Final Dividend of 6.8 cents is being declared today. The dividend payment date will be 8 May 2026, with a record date of 10 April 2026 and an ex-dividend date of 9 April 2026. Adjusting items totalling $14.2m recorded related to restructuring and acquisition-related costs. Adjusted profit before tax of $79.7m in 2025, compared to $75.6m in the prior year. Statutory profit before tax was $65.5m compared to a loss before tax of $33.5m in 2024. 2026 EBITDA guidance of $145-$155m retained, with EBITDA to Free Cash Flow conversion targeted at 50% or greater. Commenting on the results Jim Johnson, Chief Executive, said: "During the year, Hunting reaffirmed its commitment to disciplined capital allocation, strategic portfolio expansion and operational efficiency improvements. Our results reflect the strong performance of our teams around the world and I would like to thank them all for their hard work and dedication in what was a highly volatile and unpredictable market. "Over the course of 2025, we strengthened our balance sheet, executed targeted acquisitions, exited lower-return segments, and broadened our geographic footprint, all while expanding our EBITDA margin and setting a clear path towards our stated 15% medium-term ambition under our Hunting 2030 Strategy. "As we diversify into higher-growth markets, enhance our subsea and non-oil and gas offerings, and continue to enhance our returns to shareholders, Hunting is building a more resilient, higher-quality earnings base. "Our ability to compound value for shareholders through consistent execution, prudent investment and a sharper, more profitable portfolio remains a key area of differentiation for our business. "We are well placed to build on the strong momentum we have generated in 2025, with Hunting continuing to drive its product offering onto the global stage and capture the many opportunities that are available to us." 2025 Strategic and Operational Highlights Robust delivery of Hunting 2030 objectives $64.8m acquisition of Flexible Engineering Solutions in June 2025 to build out subsea offering. $18.2m purchase of Organic Oil Recovery technology in March 2025 to accelerate commercialisation. $231m orders for Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) completed, supporting robust performance of the OCTG product group. Improved performance of Perforating Systems product group with increased EBITDA to $13.9m (2024 $1.4m). Disposal of Rival Downhole Tools for $13.0m releasing capital to invest in higher return product lines. New facility in Dubai opened in September 2025 to service the Middle East. Continued focus on cost efficiencies Progress on the restructuring of the EMEA operating segment annualised savings of c.$11m, after closure of Fordoun, Aberdeen, operating site, in June 2026. Completion of Hunting Titan restructuring to deliver c.$6m p.a. savings. Commitment to reduce centralised and other costs by a further $15m by the end of 2027. Revised capital allocations announced Commitment to increase dividend distributions by 13% p.a. to the end of the decade. $40m share buyback commenced in August 2025, expanded to $60m in December 2025 target completion mid-March 2026. $53.1m returned to shareholders in respect of 2025 (2024 $18.2m), including dividends and share buybacks. Second share buyback programme proposed today totalling $40m to be completed by March 2028. Financial Summary Financial Performance measures as defined by the Group* 2025 2024 Variance Revenue $1,018.8m $1,048.9m -$30.1m Non-oil and gas revenue $82.9m $75.1m +$7.8m EBITDA* $135.7m $126.3m +$9.4m EBITDA margin* 13% 12% +1pp Adjusted profit before tax* $79.7m $75.6m +$4.1m Adjusted diluted earnings per share* 34.1 cents 31.4 cents +2.7 cents Free cash flow* $96.6m $139.7m -$43.1m Total cash and bank (borrowings)* $62.9m $104.7m -$41.8m Net assets $855.3m $902.3m -$47.0m ROCE* 10% 9% +1pp Final dividend proposed 6.8 cents 6.0 cents +0.8 cents *Non-GAAP measure, see pages 236 to 243 of the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. Financial Performance measures as derived from IFRS 2025 2024 Variance Non-cash goodwill impairment $109.1m -$109.1m Operating profit (loss) $76.3m $(21.1)m +$97.4m Profit (loss) before tax $65.5m $(33.5)m +$99.0m Diluted earnings (loss) per share 24.6 cents (17.6) cents +42.2 cents Net cash inflow from operating activities $138.9m $188.5m -$49.6m Outlook Statement Hunting is well placed to build on its strong 2025 performance during the year ahead and, following the successful delivery of the KOC and ExxonMobil contracts, management is actively converting its high-value tender pipeline to backfill capacity and scale the order book. Our OCTG product group continues to report a strong tender pipeline across all key operating regions. Large tenders in the Middle East are being pursued with our strategic mill partners, while in North America we are now driving our TEC-LOCK product line into the international market arena following strong growth within our domestic US markets. A key region of growth will be the Middle East where unconventional resource development is accelerating. Hunting's Subsea product group will incorporate OOR fully from 1 January 2026, with the technology seeing strong interest across the Americas, Middle East and Africa. With the projected increase in subsea tree awards and FPSO builds, our Stafford, Spring, and FES businesses are seeing multiple opportunities to drive margin through integrated bundling, providing a unified 'life-of-field' solution across the subsea landscape in the year ahead. Hunting's Perforating Systems business is launching new technology, which will drive our market share in North America, along with the projected International growth in the Middle East and South America. The Advanced Manufacturing group continues to pivot to more non-oil and gas sales, with a strong focus on aviation and space markets. We continue to streamline our operations, reduce our cost base and improve efficiencies to focus our resources on, and align our profitability with, those markets where the strongest growth opportunities are in the medium term. In line with our stated capital allocation policy, we have proposed a second share buyback totalling $40m to be completed over the next two years. This will mean that our returns to shareholders to 2030 will be c.$290m. While we are closely monitoring the evolving situation in the Middle East, the Group's financial outlook remains robust. Although some tender and order slippage is possible in the event of a protracted conflict, given our strategic concentration on offshore and subsea markets, alongside our growing international diversification, our 2026 projections carry minimal exposure to the Middle East. Consequently, while minor timing shifts in orders are possible, we do not anticipate a material impact on our long-term growth trajectory. Overall, Hunting is anticipating further earnings growth in the year ahead and, having demonstrated that the Group can deliver growth and returns against a challenged macroeconomic backdrop, the Directors remain confident that our skilled workforce will rise to these challenges as we continue to deliver our Hunting 2030 Strategy. Group Results Narrative For access to narrative on the Group's results (incorporating the Company Chair's and Chief Executive's Statements, Outlook, Product Group and Operating Segment Reviews, and Group Financial Review) for the year ended 31 December 2025 please click on the following link. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3973V_1-2026-3-4.pdf Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts For access to the Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 please click on the following link. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3973V_2-2026-3-4.pdf Listing Rules Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules Information For access to Hunting's Strategy, Key Performance Indicators, Business Model, ESG and Sustainability, Risk Management and Internal Controls (including Principal Risks), Viability and Going Concern, and the Responsibility Statement of the Directors for the year ended 31 December 2025, please click on the following link. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3973V_3-2026-3-4.pdf Page number references refer to the full Annual Report when available. The linked documents provide access to all major financial and operational disclosures contained in the Group's 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. The complete 2025 Annual Report and Accounts will be published on 12 March 2026 and can then be accessed at www.huntingplc.com The financial information set out in the above links does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2025 or 31 December 2024 but is extracted from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2024 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2025 will be delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matter by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and did not contain statements under s498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has been computed in accordance with UK adopted International Financial Reporting Standards, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS. Analyst Briefing and Webcast Hunting PLC will host an analyst briefing and webcast at the offices of Sodali Co., The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall St, London EC3V 4AB, commencing at 9:00a.m. GMT. Attendees should arrive by 8:45a.m. to clear building security in good time. The live webcast can be accessed by copying and pasting the following link into your browser: https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/6980b0fc4001ac0013f23fd8 Analysts and investors wishing to participate in a Q&A session can do so by submitting questions via the chat function of the webcast and these will be addressed by management during the live webcast. If you have any queries relating to this then please email hunting@client.sodali.com. About Hunting PLC Hunting is a global, precision engineering group that provides precision-manufactured equipment and premium services, which add value for our customers. Established in 1874, it is a listed public company, quoted on the London Stock Exchange in the Equity Shares in Commercial Companies ("ESCC") category. The Company maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As well as the United Kingdom, the Company has operations in China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. The Group reports in US dollars across five operating segments: Hunting Titan; North America; Subsea Technologies; Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"); and Asia Pacific. The Group also reports revenue and EBITDA financial metrics based on five product groups: OCTG; Perforating Systems; Subsea; Advanced Manufacturing; and Other Manufacturing. Hunting PLC's Legal Entity Identifier is 2138008S5FL78ITZRN66 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260304807649/en/ Contacts: For further information please contact: Hunting PLC Jim Johnson, Chief Executive Bruce Ferguson, Finance Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 0123 Sodali Co James White Tilly Abraham Tel: +44 (0) 78 5543 2699 or lon.IR@hunting-intl.com Regulatory News: Winamp Group SA (Paris: ALWIN) (Brussels: ALWIN) informs the market of the finalisation of the price protection mechanism provided for under the Share Purchase Agreement signed in 2022 in connection with the disposal of the Radionomy/Targetspot business to Azerion. In accordance with the contractual provisions, as the conditions triggering the mechanism have been met, the maximum amount of the guarantee had been set, following adjustments made in January 2025, at 6,554,780.95. After deduction of the 1,350,000 prepayment made in January 2025, the final outstanding balance due under this guarantee amounts to 5,204,780.95. Azerion has exercised its contractual option to settle this guarantee in Azerion shares. The number of shares allocated has been determined in accordance with the contractual provisions. The proceeds of this guarantee, together with part of the 1,166,606 Azerion shares already held by Winamp Group SA, will be allocated to the repayment of the first instalment of the existing debt owed to its long-term financial partner. This transaction contributes to the repayment of the first debt instalment, enhances the Group's financial visibility and brings to a definitive close a contractual mechanism arising from the 2022 disposal. Next Meeting March 10, 2026 Investor's webinar About Winamp Group Winamp Group is a pioneering and leading company in the digital music industry. With extensive expertise spanning multiple business areas, the Group owns the iconic Winamp platform, the copyright management company Bridger, and the music licensing company Jamendo. Winamp Group aims to build the future of the music industry by making sustained investments in innovative solutions, as well as in the talent and skills of people who love music. The Group upholds the core values of its brands: empowerment, access, simplicity and fairness. Winamp envisions a world where artists and their fans are more connected than ever through a cutting-edge music platform. Bridger's mission is to support songwriters by offering a simple and innovative solution to collect their rights. Jamendo enables independent artists to generate additional revenues through commercial licensing. Finally, Hotmix offers a bouquet of more than sixty free thematic digital radio stations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260304379575/en/ Contacts: Investors Relations Olivier Van Gulck investors@llama-group.com BearingPoint reports strong revenue of 1.026 billion ($1.160 billion) The management and technology consultancy added more than 320 new clients and delivered over 2,200 projects in 26 countries More than 1,000 new colleagues joined the firm, strengthening its global capabilities New products gained significant market traction Strategy 2030 continues to drive future growth and international expansion BearingPoint closed 2025 with 1.026 billion ($1.160 billion) in revenue, marking the third consecutive year above 1 billion despite a softer market environment. The firm delivered more than 2,200 projects in 26 countries and recorded bookings of nearly 1.3 billion ($1.5 billion), reflecting continued client demand and commercial strength. More than 1,000 new colleagues joined BearingPoint in 2025, including 16 new Partners, further strengthening its global capabilities. A solid pipeline across business units indicates continued resilience and a strong foundation for growth in 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305382629/en/ Matthias Loebich, Managing Partner of BearingPoint. "In 2025, we demonstrated that BearingPoint is built for long-term success and that we can continue to grow our impact even in a softer market environment. We sustained our billion-euro scale, delivered a strong project pipeline, and expanded our global footprint with major steps such as the launch of BearingPoint North America, our joint venture with ABeam Consulting. We also broadened our client base, accelerated innovation in AI, and saw Arcwide contribute strongly to our momentum. Together, these achievements position us exceptionally well for the next phase of our Strategy 2030," comments Matthias Loebich, Managing Partner of BearingPoint. Key 2025 achievements Expanding client relationships BearingPoint added more than 320 new clients and successfully delivered over 2,200 projects across 26 countries in 2025, reflecting the breadth and depth of its consulting portfolio. Beyond technology enablement, the firm's core consulting business remained a key driver of client impact, helping organizations navigate strategic, operational, and regulatory transformation. Across industries, BearingPoint teams advised clients on strategy execution, operating model design, performance improvement, supply chain resilience, customer and growth strategies, finance and risk transformation, and large-scale organizational change. By combining deep industry expertise with strong capabilities in strategy, operations, and technology, the firm helped clients solve complex challenges end-to-end. Through this holistic consulting approach and an expanded global footprint, BearingPoint continued to strengthen its reputation as a trusted partner for business transformation, using technology as an enabler within a broader strategic and operational context. Welcoming new talent and investing in people In 2025, BearingPoint welcomed more than 1,000 new colleagues, further strengthening its expertise across industries and regions. The firm also promoted more than 1,200 of its people and appointed 16 new Partners, highlighting its continued investment in career development and leadership growth. Female representation in leadership roles rose to 27 percent at the end of 2025, continuing the positive trend. More than 2,000 BearingPoint professionals participated in firm-wide training programs in 2025, underscoring the firm's commitment to continuous learning and professional growth. Core programs such as Female Leadership with ESCP Business School and the BE.Oxford Academy with Oxford Said Business School continued to accelerate leadership effectiveness and strategic thinking. A significant milestone was the announcement of BearingPoint's new partnership with SDA Bocconi School of Management. A new force in SAP consulting is emerging BearingPoint and ABeam Consulting formed a new joint venture in the United States, marking a significant milestone in their long-standing strategic alliance. The new entity operates under the BearingPoint brand and is legally registered as BearingPoint NA LLC. Headquartered in Chicago, it delivers end-to-end SAP consulting and implementation, including SAP Business AI services for clients across the Americas, with a particular focus on the US market and complementing both firms' global SAP capabilities. Advancing AI innovation BearingPoint made significant strides in AI, empowering organizations to harness AI's full potential for business transformation. As part of its strong innovation pipeline in 2025, BearingPoint launched BeMind by BearingPoint, an AI-powered end-to-end platform that sets a new standard for the efficient and reliable delivery of complex SAP and other technology programs. BeMind by BearingPoint can deliver productivity gains of 20-30 percent by automating core transformation activities, reducing manual effort, and consistently improving output quality. The platform accelerates critical project phases, shortens time-to-value, and supports accuracy and compliance through integrated quality-assurance mechanisms. Strong Products pipeline as a main differentiator for outcome-based services In its Products business, BearingPoint continued its strong growth trajectory and exceeded its 20 percent growth target by a significant margin. The portfolio expanded into new international markets, with several solutions gaining traction across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. This global momentum was reinforced by new customer wins and the scaling of existing offerings into additional regions. A notable milestone was the first go-live of BearingPoint's equipment and fleet management solution ETM.next in Argentina, which also received SAP Spotlight App recognition. Several other offerings strengthened market presence through strategic partnerships, including a new collaboration in the AI SaaS space and a major client win for the firm's Agree Sign solution. BearingPoint also deepened its collaboration with SAP: its Assets Funding Management solution became available on the SAP Store, and the firm entered a new partnership on the SAP eMobility Cloud, including a jointly launched fleet-management use case. To support future growth, BearingPoint expanded its innovation pipeline and introduced three new solutions set to enter the market in 2026. As part of the firm's Outcome-as-a-Service strategy, these offerings are expected to play a central role in further scaling the Products business. Arcwide continues its strong growth and expands market presence Arcwide, BearingPoint's joint venture with IFS, delivered another exceptional performance in 2025, with substantial increases in revenue and bookings: gross revenue grew 14 percent and gross bookings 24 percent. At the same time, Arcwide expanded its organizational capacity by welcoming over 160 new colleagues in 2025. A further strategic milestone was the acquisition of Cedar Bay Iberica, strengthening Arcwide's presence in Southern Europe. In less than four years since its founding, Arcwide has become the global market leader for IFS services. Looking ahead: Strategy 2030 and future growth In 2026, BearingPoint will further accelerate the execution of its Strategy 2030 by sharpening its focus on outcome-driven delivery, AI-enabled consulting, and targeted investments in its technology partnerships. In this context, the firm is expanding its Microsoft and SAP businesses within dedicated enterprise transformation units, supporting clients in modernizing digital workplaces and core processes through Microsoft and SAP technologies. The firm also plans to develop its joint venture with ABeam further to strengthen end-to-end transformations across the Americas and deepen access to global industrial clients. In addition, Arcwide will continue to advance its integrated growth journey as the largest IFS integration partner worldwide. AI will continue to shape the firm's consulting model, with Responsible AI principles guiding the safe, transparent, and ethical use of AI across its solutions. BearingPoint will scale the deployment of BeMind by BearingPoint to drive measurable productivity and quality gains. In parallel, the Augmented Consultant initiative equips teams with AI skills, assets, and responsible-use guardrails, enabling faster insights, more informed decision-making, and consistent delivery excellence. At the same time, BearingPoint will further expand its outcome-based service models, increasingly linking fees to measurable business results. BearingPoint is also advancing its sustainability strategy, built around diversity, environment, Sustainable Ways of Working (SWOW), and inclusion and education. The firm is strengthening diverse representation and female leadership while embedding an intersectional approach to inclusion. At the same time, the firm is driving measurable environmental progress, including its SBTi-validated emission reduction targets. Through SWOW, BearingPoint empowers sustainable client delivery and expands opportunities for young adults through its collaboration with School42. "2026 marks a pivotal year for us," says Matthias Loebich. "We are expanding our international reach, deepening our technology ecosystem, and embedding AI across our services. By focusing on measurable outcomes and long-term, sustainable value creation, we aim to translate innovation directly into positive impact for our clients." About BearingPoint BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. We help businesses transform by combining deep industry expertise with strong capabilities in strategy, operations, and technology. Dedicated SAP and Microsoft transformation units, a strong focus on AI, and outcome-based products enable us to provide tailored, innovative solutions that create measurable and sustainable value. In addition to our core consulting operations, we run two joint ventures. Arcwide, our joint venture with IFS, specializes in business transformation enabled by IFS technology. BearingPoint North America, our joint venture with ABeam Consulting, focuses on consulting excellence and business transformation built on SAP. BearingPoint works with many of the world's leading companies and public-sector organizations. Together with its strategic alliance partner ABeam Consulting, the firm brings together more than 15,000 professionals and serves clients in over 70 countries, delivering seamless business transformation, strengthening performance, and driving sustainable impact. BearingPoint is recognized among TIME World's Best Companies and Forbes World's Best Employers. The firm is also a certified B Corporation, committed to responsible business and creating long-term value for organizations, people, and society. For more information, please visit: Homepage: www.bearingpoint.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bearingpoint View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305382629/en/ Contacts: Press contact Alexander Bock Global Senior Manager Communications Telephone: +49 89 540338029 Email: alexander.bock@bearingpoint.com Seven Colombian fashion and jewellery brands, from the country of beauty, are presenting the very best of the sector across various catwalks and showrooms in the French capital during this significant event. ProColombia, the Government of Colombia entity that promotes Colombian fashion exports worldwide, reported a 2% growth in 2025. MADRID, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fashion and jewellery made in Colombia, the country of beauty, are making a strong impression at Paris Fashion Week thanks to the presence of seven companies from the country, which are bringing some of their most iconic creations and new collections to the French capital over the coming days. Although each brand has its own DNA, they all champion high-quality craftsmanship, blending ancestral knowledge with contemporary style. ProColombia is the Government of Colombia entity responsible for promoting exports, tourism and the country brand worldwide. In this regard, it is worth highlighting that Colombia is the leading exporter of shapewear and control garments in the Americas and the second worldwide; the South American leader in products such as lingerie and jeans; the leading exporter of woven apparel in South America; the main exporter of swimwear in South America and the second in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, Colombia has a network of trade agreements that provides preferential access to 1.5 billion consumers worldwide. The Colombian brands present in Paris for this event are: Arial 12, Christian Colorado, Adriana Santa Cruz, Andres Otalora, Laura Aparicio, Fenomena and Vizcarra. Highlights include: By Vizcarra: a luxury jewellery brand renowned for its handcrafted pieces and its presence at international catwalks such as New York Fashion Week, Paris, Venice and Miss Universe. In Paris, it will present its REVELATION collection, exploring contemporary luxury through sophisticated compositions and sculptural jewellery pieces. Hotel Shangri-La: 6 March at 7.00 p.m. Arial 12: a fashion label founded in Santander by John Duran, focuses on dressing women through pieces that prioritise process, conscious construction and the manual work behind each design. In Paris, it presents its Al Sur collection, where manual processes, layering and meticulous finishing stand out. Normandy Le Chantier: 8 March at 1.00 p.m. Adriana Santa Cruz: transforms handwoven textiles created by indigenous communities in southern Colombia into sophisticated, timeless and commercially relevant pieces. Coats, capes, nightdresses and skirts, with wide and figurative silhouettes, are the protagonists of this collection. The colour palette begins with grey, moves through brown and fades into camel tones, contrasted with red and black, and illuminated with touches of green and fuchsia. Showroom Byfouss Fenomena: a jewellery brand founded by Alejandra Llano, transforms raw Colombian emeralds into contemporary design pieces. In Paris, the brand brings some of its most representative creations as well as new combinations of materials and silhouettes. Showroom Place Vendome NANBEI: a pop-up bringing together Angel Kujaban, Old Maquiina and Zorro Gris, is a project that moves away from "tropical chic" and instead champions sustainability and the inclusion of different sizes, genders and body types. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926314/paris_procolombia.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/paris-fashion-week-showcases-a-strong-presence-of-made-in-colombia-302704362.html BERLIN, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ENGWE, a leading global e-bike brand, today officially introduces the Y700 and Y1000 electric scooters, with sales commencing on March 5. The launch strengthens the ENGWE Y-Series portfolio with a clearly defined dual-performance lineup: advanced off-road capability and efficient urban commuting. The new models mark ENGWE's continued expansion within the global electric mobility market. As riders move beyond flat city streets into steeper roads and longer routes, power and range become critical. Positioned as the "Off-Road Performance Flagship Scooter" and recipient of the U.S. Good Design Award, the Y1000 delivers up to 2400W peak output through a dual-motor system, enabling confident hill climbing and controlled acceleration across uneven terrain. A 52V battery supports up to 100 km of range, while hydraulic disc brakes and reinforced suspension enhance stability and control under demanding conditions. As the most advanced model in the lineup, the ENGWE Y1000 represents the latest evolution of the Y-Series. Building on the foundation established by the Y400 and strengthened through the Y600, the introduction of Y700 and Y1000 advances the platform with higher output, extended range, and integrated smart functionality. This progression sharpens performance differentiation within the lineup and marks a significant expansion of ENGWE's product portfolio, solidifying the Y-Series as ENGWE's high-performance electric scooter category. ENGWE Y1000 - Off-Road Performance Flagship Scooter Dual motors delivering up to 2400W peak output 52V battery platform supporting up to 100 km range NFC unlocking, Bluetooth-enabled navigation, and cruise control Hydraulic disc braking system Reinforced suspension structure Alongside the flagship, the Y700 is designed for structured daily commuting. Equipped with a 1200W peak motor and offering up to 85 km of range, it delivers reliable performance for routine urban travel. Its fixed frame structure enhances durability and riding stability for consistent daily use, while dual suspension improves control across uneven pavement and typical city road conditions. The Y700 presents a balanced combination of range, structural strength, and everyday reliability within the ENGWE Y-Series lineup. ENGWE Y700 - The Best Entry-Level Off-Road Scooter 1200W peak motor configuration Up to 85 km riding range Dual suspension system 140mm ventilation disc NFC unlocking, Bluetooth-enabled navigation, and cruise control With a fully defined gradient from commuter-focused practicality to off-road flagship performance, the Y-Series reinforces ENGWE's commitment to scalable, high-performance electric mobility solutions. For more information, please visit ENGWE's official website. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926666/ENGWE_Launches_Y700_Y1000_Electric_Scooters_Led_Its_Most_Powerful.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341757/ENGWE_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/engwe-launches-y700-and-y1000-electric-scooters-led-by-its-most-powerful-off-road-flagship-302704745.html LINKOPING, Sweden, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra (STO: SECT B) has entered into an agreement to acquire Oxipit, UAB, a Lithuanian company specializing in AI-based solutions for radiology. Oxipit holds the first CE Class IIB certification for autonomous AI in chest X-ray analysis. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed during March 2026. Most AI in radiology today acts as decision support, flagging findings, suggesting measurements, or assisting prioritization. These tools support radiologists but do not replace any part of the reporting process. Autonomous AI represents a different model. It is developed and validated to independently complete a specific diagnostic task under controlled clinical conditions. The scope of autonomy is clearly defined, performance thresholds are rigorously validated, and use is governed by regulatory approval. Oxipit's ChestLink is a leading example of this autonomous approach. Within its defined clinical scope, it is designed to automatically identify and clear high-confidence normal chest X-ray examinations from the radiologist's worklist. This allows radiologists to focus their expertise on cases with a higher probability of disease. By safely reducing routine workload, this model directly addresses the growing challenge of rising imaging volumes and persistent workforce constraints, while operating under rigorously validated safety thresholds. ChestLink holds CE Class IIb certification*, reflecting the elevated regulatory and clinical validation standards required for autonomous AI applications in healthcare. ChestLink is already available through Sectra Amplifier Marketplace for AI, supporting seamless integration into existing radiology workflows. "The ability to autonomously clear high-confidence normal cases mark a transformative step for radiology. By combining clinical confidence with intelligent automation, we can expand capacity, reduce radiologist workload, and generate substantial financial benefits through higher productivity and lower cost. We look forward to continuing to sell Oxipit products in Europe and advancing the necessary regulatory approvals to bring it to more markets worldwide," says Torbjorn Kronander, President and CEO of Sectra. Oxipit was founded in 2017 and has developed a portfolio of CE-marked AI solutions for radiology spanning chest X-ray, CT, and musculoskeletal imaging. The solutions are currently deployed across multiple markets internationally. The Oxipit team will operate as a dedicated AI development center within Sectra's Imaging IT Solutions operating area. Alongside Sectra's own capabilities, Sectra's Amplifier service will remain an open, vendor-neutral ecosystem, providing healthcare providers access to AI applications from a wide range of vetted partners. The acquisition will be financed using Sectra's own funds and comprises an upfront cash consideration and an additional contingent consideration linked to commercial and regulatory milestones. Financial terms are not disclosed. The acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the Sectra Group's sales and operating profit for the current year. Answers to frequently asked questions about the acquisition are available on our website>>. * CE class IIb certification confirms compliance with EU medical device regulations and permits commercialization within the EEA. Book a demo at ECR 2026 Visit Booth D02 for a demonstration of Sectra's AI offering including the CE Class IIB-certified ChestLink solution. See how autonomous AI optimizes radiology workflows while maintaining high safety standards. Read more about our highlights at ECR and book your demo! For further information, please contact: Dr. Torbjorn Kronander, CEO and President Sectra AB, 46 (0) 705 23 52 27 Marie Ekstrom Tragardh, Executive Vice President Sectra AB and President Sectra Imaging IT Solutions, 46 (0)708 23 56 10 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com. https://news.cision.com/sectra/r/sectra-acquires-oxipit--advancing-autonomous-ai-capabilities-in-diagnostic-imaging,c4316312 The following files are available for download: https://news.cision.com/sectra/i/radiologist-reading-lung-x-ray-in-sectra-s-solution,c3516585 Radiologist reading lung X-ray in Sectra's solution View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sectra-acquires-oxipit-advancing-autonomous-ai-capabilities-in-diagnostic-imaging-302705087.html Investment led by participation from the Al Nahyan family, Al-Ketbi family, and existing investor Pulsar Capital DUBAI, UAE, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TruDoc Healthcare, the GCC's premier virtual-first, full-stack healthcare platform, today announced the successful closure of a $15 million Pre-Series B funding round. The round saw significant participation from the Al Nahyan family and the Al-Ketbi family, alongside continued support from existing investor Pulsar Capital. The investment reflects growing confidence in healthcare models that move beyond hospitals as physical destinations, toward systems that deliver continuous, clinical-grade care wherever patients are. TruDoc is using the capital to deepen its position as a single, accountable virtual first healthcare provider, while expanding what is already the largest at-home critical care deployment in the GCC. TruDoc is fundamentally re-architecting the patient journey, by combining virtual-first primary care, longitudinal chronic disease management, pharmacy-at-home, diagnostics, in-home services, and the region's largest hospital-at-home critical care program, TruDoc delivers continuous care across the full lifecycle of a patient-not just moments of illness. The result is faster intervention, fewer hospital admissions, better adherence, and a single accountable care partner for patients, payors, and providers alike. Reimagining Care: Beyond the Four Walls This capital infusion signals a paradigm shift toward healthcare that follows the patient, not the facility. TruDoc is leveraging this investment to solidify its role as the GCC's primary accountable care partner, scaling the region's most sophisticated at-home critical care deployment. By fusing virtual-first primary care with longitudinal disease management and hospital-grade home diagnostics, TruDoc is dismantling the region's fragmented legacy systems. This 'Care Operating System' bypasses physical infrastructure bottlenecks, delivering 24/7 clinical interventions that improve adherence and keep patients out of high-cost hospital beds. From streamlining insurer costs to expanding governmental care capacity, TruDoc is turning healthcare into mission-critical virtual infrastructure that serves the UAE and Saudi Arabia at population scale. Leadership Perspectives Dr. Ahmed Mansour, CEO, Private Department of H.E. SH. Mohamed Bin Khaled Al Nahyan, said: "Healthcare systems everywhere are being asked to do more-serve more people, manage more chronic disease, and deliver better outcomes-without endlessly expanding physical infrastructure. TruDoc represents a fundamentally different approach: one that scales access and efficiency while maintaining clinical integrity. This model is well aligned with the UAE's long-term priorities and the future of healthcare delivery across the Middle East. Believing in TruDoc model to lead this market innovation and increase the ultimate efficiency of the healthcare industry." Vish Narain, Executive Chairman at TruDoc, said: "For centuries, healthcare has been organised around buildings-patients moving toward facilities, systems optimised for episodic care. That architecture no longer reflects how people live, age, or manage chronic disease. What TruDoc is building is healthcare as infrastructure: continuous, accountable, and designed to operate beyond four walls, at population scale." Asad Khan, CEO at TruDoc, said: "The question is no longer whether high-quality care can be delivered outside hospitals-it's how fast healthcare systems can adapt to that reality. TruDoc has shown that hospital-grade, high-acuity care can be delivered safely and effectively in homes, at scale. This capital allows us to expand that model across the GCC while staying relentlessly focused on clinical excellence and patient trust." About TruDoc: TruDoc is the region's largest virtual-first healthcare provider, dedicated to leading care beyond hospital walls. Headquartered in the UAE, TruDoc combines clinical excellence with technology to redefine healthcare for millions. By making virtual-first the standard, we empower individuals and governments with 24/7 telemedicine, wellness, and real-time care-anytime and anywhere. About Private Department of H.E. SH. Mohamed Bin Khaled Al Nahyan: The Al Nahyan Family Office represents long-term strategic investments across healthcare, education, technology, and infrastructure, aligned with the UAE's vision for sustainable economic and social development. Mashreq Bank acted as an advisor to the transaction. Experience healthcare that's proactive, predictive, and personal. This is the future-delivered today. marcom@trudochealth.com | - 800 878362 https://trudochealth.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926772/TRUDOC_15Mn.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926771/TruDoc_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trudoc-raises-15-million-in-pre-series-b-to-accelerate-virtual-first-healthcare-across-the-gcc-302705091.html LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- UniQuest, part of Keystone Education Group, has launched a next-generation AI-driven student engagement platform designed to transform how universities manage prospective student relationships at scale. At a time when universities face changing student expectations, increasing global competition and constrained recruitment teams, the new UniQuest platform introduces an integrated operating environment for student engagement, combining AI-powered communication tools, predictive analytics and human advisory expertise within a single system. Rather than layering AI onto existing processes, the UQ Platform has been built to support the full lifecycle of student engagement, from first enquiry through to application and enrolment. It connects communications across email, WhatsApp, phone, web chat and case management into a unified engagement record, giving advisers a complete view of each student's journey. Routine enquiries and communication workflows are handled through AI-supported response tools and a continuously learning institutional knowledge base built from millions of student interactions. More complex conversations, including application guidance, decision support and sensitive cases, remain led by UniQuest's specialist advisers, ensuring that human judgement and sector expertise remain central to the student experience. "Our advisers remain at the core of UniQuest," said Rachel Fletcher, CEO of UniQuest and Keystone Enrolment Services. "AI allows us to remove the operational friction that slows recruitment teams down. It means our specialists can focus on the conversations where empathy, judgement and experience genuinely influence a student's decision." "At London Met, we are really excited about these developments at UniQuest," said Gary Davies, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Professor at London Metropolitan University. "One of the reasons we chose to work with them six years ago was the standout way they embrace the best-in-class technology. With this next-generation technology, they are once again demonstrating that they lead the field in conversion services in higher education. We are very excited to put the new platform through its paces and into operation." The platform captures and connects interactions across all major communication channels, automatically linking enquiries, calls, messages and applications into a single chronological timeline. This unified view enables advisers to understand student intent more clearly, identify potential barriers earlier and deliver more personalised guidance at critical moments in the decision process. By analysing more than 150 million data records each week, the system provides real-time insight into engagement patterns and student sentiment, helping institutions identify when prospective students may need additional support and adapt recruitment strategies during the admissions cycle. For universities, the result is greater visibility into the student journey and the ability to move from reactive enquiry handling to proactive engagement, supporting earlier intervention, more targeted outreach and stronger conversion from enquiry to enrolment. The platform also enables structured outreach campaigns, partner reporting dashboards and integrated knowledge management, giving institutions a clearer view of engagement performance and student behaviour across the recruitment funnel. The next-generation UQ Platform will be rolled out to UniQuest and Keystone Enrolment Services partners throughout 2026, providing a scalable foundation for future capabilities including advanced enrolment forecasting, expanded automation and deeper personalisation across the student lifecycle. As universities navigate a rapidly evolving recruitment landscape, the UQ Platform is designed to give institutions something the sector has long struggled to achieve: a unified, data-driven view of how prospective students engage, decide and ultimately enrol. For more information, please contact: Fran Fitzsimmons - francesca@keg.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com. https://news.cision.com/keystone-academic-solutions-as/r/uniquest-launches-next-generation-ai-platform-to-transform-student-engagement-for-universities,c4316826 The following files are available for download: https://news.cision.com/keystone-academic-solutions-as/i/rachel-fletcher,c3516642 Rachel Fletcher https://mb.cision.com/Public/23933/4316826/bdf7406dc7659863.docx UniQuest Launches Next-Generation AI Platform to Transform Student Engagement for Universities View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uniquest-launches-next-generation-ai-platform-to-transform-student-engagement-for-universities-302705096.html HEALWELL has signed a multi-million dollar, multi-year U.S.-based Health Information Exchange (HIE) software contract following a competitive procurement process. Strong momentum in all parts of the software pipeline including renewals, extensions, short listing and intent to award have advanced across core markets, reinforcing recurring data infrastructure revenue. Increasing participation in coordinated, enterprise-scale RFP bids leveraging Orion Health's global footprint. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - HEALWELL AI Inc. (TSX: AIDX) (OTCQX: HWAIF) ("HEALWELL" or the "Company"), a healthcare artificial intelligence company focused on preventative care, today provides a strategic update on its Software Business Unit, reflecting continued infrastructure expansion, renewal momentum and advancing AI integration across its global platform. Expansion and U.S. HIE Contract HEALWELL's software division has signed a multi-million dollar U.S.-based Health Information Exchange (HIE) software contract following a competitive procurement process, expanding the Company's enterprise data interoperability footprint in the world's largest healthcare market. The contract will support the secure aggregation and exchange of healthcare data for millions of patient lives, connecting multiple hospital systems, clinics, laboratories, public health agencies and community providers across a U.S. state. By aggregating and normalizing clinical data from disparate systems, the platform delivers timely admission, discharge, and transfer alerts, lab results, care summaries, and other critical records directly into provider workflows. This will improve care coordination, reduce duplication, support population health and public health reporting, and ensure clinicians have a more complete view of a patient's health history at the point of care. This contract win followed a coordinated bid effort across the Company's Orion Health and VeroSource businesses, with HEALWELL selected based on its proven ability to deliver large-scale HIE infrastructure, manage complex and fragmented healthcare data environments, and execute successfully at state- and nation-wide scale, with integrated AI capabilities that could further strengthen the platform over time. This award reinforces HEALWELL's position as a provider of critical digital health infrastructure supporting secure, large-scale data aggregation and exchange. In parallel, HEALWELL's software division continues to gain momentum across all stages of the software pipeline, including existing customer extensions and bidding on new opportunities, across Canada, the Middle East, Europe and other core jurisdictions, supporting recurring revenue visibility and long-term customer relationships. Dr. Alexander Dobranowski, President of HEALWELL AI, commented, "The progress in our software division is exciting to see. We recently updated the market on the benefits the Orion distribution network is having on our AI and data science sales pipeline, so it is very pleasing to see how that positive momentum is also driving demand in our software division. As we advance renewals and expand coordinated bid activity, we are building a strong foundation for long-term growth across the United States, Canada, the Middle East and other key markets." AI Integration Across the Orion Amadeus Platform HEALWELL has integrated its SMART Identify, SMART Search and SMART Summary capabilities into the Amadeus AI platform, creating a unified infrastructure-and-AI offering. These AI modules are clear differentiators and are driving the pipeline growth across both existing and new healthcare environments in the United States, Canada and the Middle East, enabling improved patient identification, intelligent data retrieval and clinical summarization within live interoperability networks. This builds on recent deployments and success stories, including HEALWELL's first AI contract with a major governmental health system in the Middle East; active deployments of SMART Identify in the United States, and deployment of SMART Search and SMART Summary in a provincial healthcare system in Canada. The integration of clinically validated AI directly into the Orion platform strengthens the Company's competitive positioning, enhances data liquidity across HEALWELL's distribution network and creates scalable pathways for enterprise AI commercialization. Integrated Bid Strategy and Enterprise-Scale Opportunities HEALWELL continues to pursue larger and more strategic procurement opportunities through coordinated bids that leverage capabilities across its software portfolio. Orion Health's global footprint is enabling the Company to compete for enterprise-scale programs that combine interoperability, analytics and AI-enabled workflows. The Company reports growing participation in multi-capability bids across North America and international markets, reflecting increasing demand for integrated infrastructure and AI solutions within healthcare systems. Brad Porter, Chief Commercial Officer of HEALWELL AI, commented, "Our strategy was to build two key levers of growth for our company. The Company's recent progress is validating that HEALWELL can both drive expansion of our AI solutions through the Orion distribution network and expand our distribution network through a differentiated product set. We are demonstrating the power of integrating durable interoperability infrastructure with clinically validated AI. We believe the practical application of AI has the most potential impact on Healthcare IT, and that HEALWELL is demonstrating that rather than being a headwind for our sector, it is a clear tailwind." James Lee Chief Executive Officer HEALWELL AI Inc. About HEALWELL AI HEALWELL is a healthcare artificial intelligence company focused on preventative care. Its mission is to improve healthcare and save lives through early identification and detection of disease. Using its own proprietary technology, the Company is developing and commercializing advanced clinical decision support systems that can help healthcare providers detect rare and chronic diseases, improve efficiency of their practice and ultimately help improve patient health outcomes. HEALWELL is executing a strategy centered around developing and acquiring technology and clinical sciences capabilities that complement the Company's road map. HEALWELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "AIDX" and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol "HWAIF". To learn more about HEALWELL, please visit https://healwell.ai/. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release, constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward looking statements" (collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements about the Company's recently executed HIE software contract and its potential benefits, value and timeline for performance; momentum perceived in the Company's software pipeline; the Company's participation in multi-capability bids; and continued advancement in AI integration across the Company's product and service offerings; and are based on assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "momentum", "increasing", "pipeline", "short listing", "intent to award", "continuing", "advancing", "expanding", "building", "expected", "opportunities", "growing", "enabling", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain future conditions, actions, events or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "can" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as a number of specific factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by HEALWELL as of the date of such statements, are outside of HEALWELL's control and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies which could result in the forward-looking statements ultimately being entirely or partially incorrect or untrue. Forward looking statements contained in this press release are based on various assumptions, including, but not limited to, the following: HEALWELL's ability to perform its obligations under the HIE contract and the quality and service levels which it will be able to deliver under it; HEALWELL's ability to maintain and leverage its relationships with its commercial partners; HEALWELL's ability to secure and successfully conclude negotiations over bids, renewals, short-listings and intents to award and the terms on which final agreements can be executed; the continued adoption of the software, tools and solutions created by HEALWELL and its subsidiaries; the stability of general economic and market conditions; sufficiency of working capital and access to financing; HEALWELL's ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations; HEALWELL's continued compliance with third party intellectual property rights; the effects of competition in the industry; the requirement for increasingly innovative product solutions and service offerings; technologies working as intended or at all; trends in customer growth and the adoption of new technologies in the industry; and that the risk factors noted below, collectively, do not have a material impact on HEALWELL's business, operations, revenues and/or results. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections, or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Known and unknown risk factors, many of which are beyond the control of HEALWELL, could cause the actual results of HEALWELL to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements, or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include but are not limited to those factors which are discussed under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in HEALWELL's most recent annual information form dated March 31, 2025, which is available under HEALWELL's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The risk factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect HEALWELL and the reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. HEALWELL disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286268 Source: HEALWELL AI BEIJING, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, opened its fourth session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other Chinese leaders were present at the opening meeting which was attended by 2,765 NPC deputies. Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report on behalf of the State Council for deliberation. During the session, which is scheduled to run from March 5 to 12, NPC deputies will deliberate the report on the work of the government; examine the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development; examine the report on the implementation of the 2025 plan for national economic and social development and on the 2026 draft plan, and the draft plan for national economic and social development in 2026; and examine the report on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2025 and on the draft central and local budgets for 2026, and the draft central and local budgets for 2026. They will also deliberate bills put forward by the NPC Standing Committee on reviewing the draft environmental code; reviewing the draft law on promoting ethnic unity and progress; and reviewing the draft law on national development planning. Additionally, NPC deputies will deliberate the work report of the NPC Standing Committee; deliberate the work report of the Supreme People's Court; deliberate the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate; and deliberate the report of the NPC Standing Committee on the work of the overhaul of laws and the proposed handling of certain laws and decisions. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej7ZEPdPsGQ Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej7ZEPdPsGQ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cctv-chinas-national-legislature-starts-annual-session-302705112.html Five of the world's biggest remittance markets will be among the first to benefit from Swift framework that elevates customer experience to new levels More than 25 banks have committed to processing payments under the payments framework by June, giving consumers and SMEs certainty around speed, price and delivery when sending money internationally More markets will be activated by the end of the year as the industry continues to recognise potential of the scheme in helping to meet G20 targets Consumers and small businesses receiving payments in a range of countries, including five of the world's largest remittance markets, will be among the first to benefit as Swift and banks globally roll out a pioneering new framework to bring next generation speed and new levels of affordability and predictability to cross-border retail payments. Payments sent across popular corridors to Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, India, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US will come with certainty of cost, full-value delivery, end-to-end traceability, and the fastest speeds, including instant settlement where possible, as an initial group of more than 25 banks go live by the end of June. More payment routes are expected to be active by the end of the year, scaling the benefits of fast, transparent account-to-account cross-border transactions to markets globally. Of the initial launch markets, Bangladesh, China, Germany, Pakistan and India are all in the top 10 countries for remittances received.1 Swift announced in September 2025 that it would develop the new network rules with a voluntary coalition of earlier adopter banks to further elevate the cross-border payments experience towards the G20's goals for consumer payments. While 75% of payments over Swift reach destination banks within 10 minutes or less ahead of the G20 target more needs to be done in the front-end and final domestic leg to improve the end-to-end experience. Swift's framework addresses those areas, providing retail customers with the ease, peace of mind and predictability they expect when sending money internationally. Nasir Ahmed, Head of Payments Scheme at Swift, said: "The financial community has made strong collective progress to improve the speed and transparency of cross-border payments, but there is room to go further. Everyone should be able to transact internationally at pace, safe in the knowledge that the full value will arrive with the recipient and that the fees will be affordable and fixed from the start. That is what our community is enabling with this initiative. We're committed to giving everyone the same first-class cross-border payments experience across all markets and all regulated forms of value whenever, wherever and with full transparency and we're pleased to see the global banking community making this possible for their end customers." The payments scheme is one half of Swift's parallel track innovation strategy to enable fast and frictionless cross-border transactions, regardless of the type of value being exchanged. Swift is also adding a blockchain-based shared ledger to its infrastructure stack, with an initial focus of enabling 24/7 real time cross-border payments. This will facilitate the trusted and scalable on-chain movement of regulated tokenised value across Swift's secure, resilient network of 11,500 banks and financial institutions that spans more than 200 countries and territories. More than 50 banks from around the world are supporting the framework, including: Absa CaixaBank KEB Hana Bank Akbank Citi Lloyds Bank ANZ City Bank Mizuho Axis Bank Commonwealth Bank of Australia National Australia Bank Banco Bradesco Credit Agricole NatWest Banco Santander Denizbank Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Banco XP Deutsche Bank Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB) Bank Alfalah Emirates NBD Societe Generale Bank Negara Indonesia Garanti BBVA Standard Chartered Bank of America HDFC Bank State Bank of India Bank of China ICICI TD Bank Group Bank of the Philippine Islands Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) UBS Banorte Itau Unibanco Westpac BBVA JP Morgan Chase YapiKredi BNP Paribas KASIKORNBANK PCL Please note: this is a broad list of banks that have demonstrated support of the Swift framework. Individual bank adoption timeframes vary. The global financial community has continued to demonstrate its support for Swift's framework. Mehtap Yilmaz, Head of Trade Finance and Cash Management at Akbank, said: "At Akbank, we believe the future of cross-border payments will be instant, transparent, and customer-centric. By joining Swift's payments scheme, we are taking a decisive step forward in our international money transfer offering by increasing speed, reducing friction and delivering greater transparency for our customers. Through this initiative, our clients will be able to execute international transfers in real time, with full upfront visibility of all fees and end-to-end tracking across the entire payment journey. We view this collaboration with Swift as a strategic milestone in transforming international payments infrastructure and delivering a truly seamless global payment experience." Hagan Shakespeare, Head of Global Clearing Services at ANZ, said: "ANZ is pleased to be a key participant in the rollout of Swift's new payments framework, enabling more predictable, transparent and increasingly frictionless cross-border transactions across an initial set of corridors, including Australia, China, India, Spain, the UK and the US. This initiative will enhance the international payments experience for our customers and their beneficiaries by providing greater certainty on cost, speed and delivery, while leveraging Swift's global network to support trusted and seamless cross-border transactions." Neeraj Gambhir, Executive Director at Axis Bank, said: "We aim to give our customers a seamless remittance experience for their retail cross-border payments which is completely digital, faster, predictable and convenient to use with transparency on charges. This will help in increasing and accelerating the flow of inward and outward retail remittances through banking channels made by customers." Farooq Ahmed Khan, Group Head Corporate, Investment Banking and International Business at Bank Alfalah, said: "Bank Alfalah welcomes Swift's new framework to elevate the cross-border payments experience for consumers and small businesses. Greater certainty on speed, pricing, full value delivery and end-to-end traceability is a meaningful step towards a more trusted and inclusive global payments ecosystem." Mr. Huang Lei, Deputy General Manager of Personal Banking Department at Bank of China, said: "The scheme initiative represents a joint effort between Swift and leading global banks to elevate the retail cross-border remittance experience. As one of China's most internationally oriented commercial banks, Bank of China is dedicated to providing customers worldwide with efficient, secure and compliant fund transfer services." Ricardo Velasquez, Head of International Banking Division at Banorte, said: "As a banking leader in Mexico, Banorte is committed to remaining at the forefront of the global financial evolution. Our participation in international initiatives such as Swift's scheme underscores our drive to develop faster and more convenient solutions for our clients. We will continue to innovate and adapt to a fast-changing environment, ensuring that our customers always benefit from the most advanced, efficient, and reliable banking ecosystem available." Eva Rubio, Head of Global Transaction Banking at BBVA, said: "The transformation of international payments marks a turning point in how individuals and enterprises operate in an increasingly global and digital economy. For BBVA, the growth of instant cross-border payments is a strategic lever for our global transaction banking business, enabling us to anticipate our clients' evolving needs and deliver greater speed, transparency and predictability in their operations. The new framework introduced by Swift accelerates this shift, providing greater certainty on costs and timing while raising the standard of the cross-border payment experience." Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions and Factoring at BNP Paribas said: "BNP Paribas is proud to contribute to Swift's transformative framework, which marks a significant leap forward in making cross-border payments faster, more transparent, and accessible for consumers and SMEs. By combining our global expertise with Swift's infrastructure, we are helping eliminate friction in international transactions, delivering predictability, full-value transfers, and real-time traceability. This initiative aligns perfectly with our commitment to financial inclusion and the G20's ambitions, ensuring that cross-border payments become as seamless as domestic ones." Cristina Conde Yubero, Head of Banking Services at CaixaBank, said: "At CaixaBank, we reaffirm our commitment to innovation and leadership in international payments. The new scheme and ledger project represent a key strategic milestone for our institution and our clients. These new capabilities will enable more secure, transparent, faster and fully traceable cross-border payments, strengthening client confidence and improving the efficiency and management of global transactions. We are confident that the new scheme and ledger will become key pillars of the future of global payments." Emanuela Saccarola, Head of Cross Border Payments, Services at Citi, said: "Moving money across borders should be as easy as making payments domestically. Swift's retail payments framework has the potential to make cross-border payments transparent and faster by improving existing rails and reducing payment friction. Citi is thrilled to be a part of this, offering access to multiple instant payment schemes via our extensive network, further empowering our clients to service their customers better and support their 24/7 needs." Mashrur Arefin, Managing Director, CEO of City Bank, said: "City Bank is honoured to be chosen as a Gateway Intermediary Bank in the Swift scheme a landmark achievement that underscores our dedication to delivering seamless, predictable, and transparent cross border payment experiences for customers in Bangladesh. This recognition strengthens our role within the global financial ecosystem and aligns with our strategy to integrate worldclass payment standards with local market needs. At City Bank, customer trust and innovation remain at the core of our mission, and this milestone empowers us to provide faster, more reliable, and highly transparent international payment solutions." Susan Yang, General Manager, High Value International Payments at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), said: "International payments should be fast, predictable and transparent. CBA is delighted to be one of the first banks to adopt this framework, strengthening predictability and end-to-end transparency across the cross-border payment experience. It marks another step forward in delivering a seamless digital experience that meets the evolving needs of our customers." Ugur Demircioglu, Head of Cash Management, Foreign Trade Transactional Banking at DenizBank, said: "At DenizBank, we place customer centricity at the core of our strategy, shaping our entire product and service architecture around evolving client needs. In this context, we are also committed to elevating the international payments experience by setting higher standards for transparency, speed and predictability for our clients worldwide. This initiative with Swift reflects our strategic alignment with industry partners to build a best-in-class payments framework that delivers full value transfers, clear pricing and end-to-end visibility enabling businesses and consumers to transact globally with certainty, confidence and efficiency." Ciaran Byrne, Global Head of Product and Client Solutions, Institutional Cash Management at Deutsche Bank, said: "The move into the next phase of this initiative marks an important milestone in the continued evolution of cross border payments. Greater transparency and predictability around timing, cost, and payment outcomes will support financial institutions in delivering an even more consistent experience to their customers, including small businesses and individuals. We are pleased to support the rollout of the framework and to contribute to continued development as adoption grows." Cemal Onaran, Executive Vice President at Garanti BBVA, said: "We are redefining the global payment landscape in Turkiye by reducing uncertainty. Through our integration with this advanced Swift framework, we are replacing estimation with transparency and precision. For the initial corridors-and expected to rapidly expand beyond-our clients will no longer have to guess about fees or delivery times. They will see clear, upfront information on cost and speed before they press the 'send' button, with the exact amount transferred to the receiver. This isn't just about moving funds faster; it is about providing a fully transparent, trackable, and near instant experience that empowers our customers with full control over their international transfers." Lori Schwartz, Global Head of Treasury Services at J.P. Morgan Payments, said: "We're committed to advancing innovation-within our business and across the industry-to meet the needs of global clients in line with G20 standards. Processing over $10 trillion in payments every day gives us a front row seat to the power of collaboration: when the industry builds trusted, transparent infrastructure, organizations around the world benefit." Dr. Ketchayong Skowratananont, Executive Vice President, Transaction Banking Business Division Head at KASIKORNBANK PCL, said: "This initiative brings global standards closer to customers, delivering faster payments with certainty on cost and value. We are proud to contribute to a more predictable and inclusive international payments ecosystem." Lee, Jeong Hyeon, Head of Business Group at KEB Hana Bank, said: "As a leading foreign exchange bank in Korea, KEB Hana Bank has strengthened its customer centric services through continuous innovation in the international payments market. Building on this foundation, the Bank plans to introduce a new payments scheme to further enhance the speed and transparency of international remittance transactions. Through this initiative, KEB Hana Bank expects to deliver an even more positive, reliable, and seamless customer experience." Kim Verhaaf, Managing Director for Payments at Lloyds Bank, said: "Efficient cross border payments are a critical enabler of trade, growth and everyday economic activity for businesses and consumers alike. By joining the new Swift framework, we're helping to deliver an enhanced experience for customers, offering better transparency and speed in their international payments. We're pleased to be working with Swift and the wider banking community to drive continued innovation in payments and support the smooth flow of money that underpins economic growth." Jon Adams, Executive, Enterprise Payments and Digital Assets at NAB, said: "Global fast payment network connectivity is becoming the backbone of modern banking. Realtime international payments removes one of the last major pain points in global money movement, evolving us to always on, customer led experiences." Simon Eascott, Head of Payments at NatWest, said: "Participating in this initiative from Swift underscores our commitment to putting customers first. The outcome we all seek is greater predictability and efficiency in international payments, and joining this initiative, we are aiming to further empower small businesses and customers to transact globally with increased ease and confidence. This will mark meaningful progress for our industry and for millions of businesses and people that rely on fast, transparent international payments." Andreea Parneci, Deputy Head of Global Transaction and Payment Services at Societe Generale said: "Societe Generale is proud to contribute to this collective industry effort that will bring greater simplicity and predictability to consumers. By embracing these common rules, we are ensuring end-to-end transparency and consistent high-quality service for clients sending and receiving funds across borders." Danielle Sharpe, Global Head of Financial Institutions Clearing at Standard Chartered, said: "Clients expect instant, 24/7 cross border payments and thanks to advancements in technology, market infrastructure, and data, the industry has come a long way in meeting that demand. As a super connector bank, we are pleased to partner with Swift, clients and the broader industry to make instant cross border payments the global standard." Christopher Chazin, Managing Director and Head of Transaction Banking Product at TD Securities, said: "We are thrilled to participate in the Swift scheme, serving as a gateway intermediary for domestic clearing. This initiative strengthens Canada's connectivity to the world, expands institutional access, and supports continued growth by making cross border transactions faster, more predictable, and more transparent for our clients. It also positions us to leverage real-time rails as they come online, reinforcing our strategic priority to be the premier Canadian bank for institutional market access." Jeff Byrne, Managing Director, Global Transaction Services at Westpac, said: "Westpac is committed to improving the experience for customers sending money overseas. Through collaboration with Swift and the coalition of banks globally, we're moving towards real time international payments delivering speed, transparency and safety for our customers." Mustafa Degirmenci, Head of Trade Finance at Yapi Kredi, said: "International payments are at a turning point, and Swift's new payments scheme plays a central role in shaping what comes next. At Yapi Kredi, we are committed to being at the forefront of this shift bringing our customers faster, more predictable transfers and moving one step closer to a world where sending money abroad feels no different from sending it locally." About Swift Swift is a global member owned cooperative and the world's leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance. Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,500 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While Swift does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world. As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community's access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. Swift also brings the financial community together at global, regional and local levels to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern. Headquartered in Belgium, Swift's international governance and oversight reinforces the globally inclusive character of its cooperative structure. Swift's global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres. 1 World Bank, 2022; cited in World Migration Report 2024International Organisation for Migration View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260304629226/en/ Contacts: Press Contacts: FGS Global +32 (0)2655 3377 Swift@fgsglobal.com DUBAI, UAE, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hikvision has been honored with the inaugural DMCC Global Enterprise ESG Leader Award. This award highlights the company's continuous dedication to responsible growth and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) excellence, including its impactful localized contributions in the Middle East. Home to over 26,000 companies, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) is recognized as the No. 1 Global Free Zone by the Financial Times' fDi Intelligence. As a newly launched initiative, the Pioneers of Sustainability Awards honor DMCC member companies that demonstrate measurable ESG progress, aligning with both UAE national priorities and international standards. "As a global AIoT leader, Hikvision has successfully integrated sustainability into the core of its business, driven by continuous innovation," stated Evgeny Garanin, DMCC's Associate Director for Corporate Sustainability. "This award recognizes their commitment to creating lasting value for customers, advancing social well-being, and fulfilling their global responsibilities." Hikvision's ESG performances align closely with the three pillars evaluated by the DMCC: Advancing Green Development through AIoT Hikvision places green development at the core of its sustainability strategy, integrating eco-friendly measures throughout the entire product lifecycle. By continuously optimizing energy efficiency and driving low-carbon manufacturing, the company actively minimizes its footprint while delivering greener AIoT solutions. A testament to this commitment, in September 2025, Hikvision WonderHub earned the distinction of being the world's first large-format display to achieve TCO Certified Generation 10, underscoring the company's ongoing efforts to deliver low-carbon and efficient solutions to its global customers. Fostering Social Good and Community Care Hikvision leverages its technology to enhance social well-being guided by its "Tech for Good" principle. A strong example is its global STAR Program for Social Good, which empowers non-profits to preserve natural and cultural heritage through AIoT technology. To date, the company has collaborated with over 30 non-profits in 14 countries and regions. Beyond global reach, Hikvision remains deeply committed to local welfare, exemplified by its flagship Ramadan care campaign in Dubai. Now in its third consecutive year, the initiative ensures the nutritional well-being of frontline workers during Ramadan, showcasing Hikvision's genuine and enduring care for the community it serves. Upholding Transparency and Robust Integrity Robust, transparent, and ethical governance forms the cornerstone of Hikvision's operations, consistently embedding international compliance standards and best practices - spanning cybersecurity, data privacy, and human rights - into its full lifecycle of R&D, manufacturing, sales, and operations. In recognition of its integrity practices, Hikvision was awarded the ISO 37301 certification in December 2025 for its compliance management system, reflecting the company's unwavering commitment to trust and accountability. The DMCC Global Enterprise ESG Leader Award marks a significant step in Hikvision's sustainability journey, echoing the company's active practices of the UNGC Ten Principles following its participation in 2024. Moving forward, Hikvision will continue to champion sustainable development, ensuring that every innovation contributes to a more secure and better world. For more information about Hikvision's sustainability efforts, please visit the Sustainability Webpage. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926936/Hikvision_Awarded_DMCC_Global_Enterprise_ESG_Leader_Award.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hikvision-awarded-the-dmcc-global-enterprise-esg-leader-award-302705122.html SHANGHAI, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- China International Bicycle Fair 2026 (China Cycle 2026) is expected to open May 5-8, 2026 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Leveraging China's strategic position as a global hub for the bicycle industry, this year's trade show will set up an efficient business matching platform for domestic and international enterprises, fostering collaboration and development in the green mobility sector. Building on three decades of expertise and innovation, China Cycle has evolved into a pivotal hub shaping global trends in the two-wheeler industry. This year's event will span 13 exhibition halls, presenting a full lineup of bicycles, components, and related technologies. Upgraded trade matching sessions and cross-border procurement services will further provide exhibitors and global buyers with streamlined, high-impact networking opportunities. In 2025, China Cycle attracted a total of 156,350 visitors, including nearly 17,000 international attendees from 144 countries and regions. Buyers from 33 countries engaged with exhibitors through cross-border procurement meetings, resulting in nearly 100 preliminary cooperation agreements. Initial discussions alone generated cooperation intentions valued at more than $20 million, which underscored the scale, strong appeal and potential of the Chinese market to the global bicycle industry. China is the world's largest manufacturing and consumer market for bicycles and e-bikes, accounting for more than 60% of global industry trade volume. Supported by a mature industrial ecosystem and the advantages of large-scale production, Chinese companies are capable of delivering products and solutions that balance strong performance with cost efficiency, offering global buyers compelling, high-value partnership opportunities. The growing demand among Chinese consumers for high-quality, innovative bicycles and electric mobility solutions is also creating significant opportunities for global brands. China Cycle 2026 is bringing together leading global brands and industry players including big names like Giant, Merida, and Shimano, as well as renowned Chinese companies like Phoenix and Forever, showcasing innovative products, cutting-edge technological achievements and emerging industry trends. China Cycle 2026 will continue to serve as the bridge for fostering global industry cooperation and advancing technological exchange in the two-wheeler sector. Industry partners, buyers, and professional visitors are warmly invited to participate in this dynamic event-whether to explore new business opportunities, exchange insights on emerging trends, or experience the latest innovations shaping the future of bicycles and e-bikes worldwide. For more information, please visit: https://www.e-chinacycle.com/. Register now: https://tg6.ltd/dnjpyb. Contact: info@e-chinacycle.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2925806/20260304161121_477_2610.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/china-cycle-2026-building-a-global-platform-to-advance-global-cooperation-and-innovation-302704756.html ANTALYA, Turkiye, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Antlara Dental has announced that it is standardising its clinical practices in line with the principles outlined by the General Dental Council (GDC). At the heart of these principles is a clear message: patient health must always come before financial, corporate or personal interests. According to Antlara Dental's UK Representative Hacer Taskin Gediz, this alignment is a natural step for a clinic that treats a significant number of patients from the United Kingdom. She noted that the clinic aims to ensure that its clinical approach reflects the same transparency and patient-centred standards expected by UK patients. In line with the principles highlighted in the GDC guidelines, Antlara Dental states that treatment plans are prepared not only with aesthetic expectations in mind, but also by carefully considering biological limits, functional requirements and the long-term sustainability of the treatment. Another area strongly emphasised by the GDC is clear and transparent communication with patients. At Antlara Dental, patients are provided with detailed explanations of all available treatment options. Possible risks, complications and long-term effects are discussed openly so that patients can make informed decisions about their care. Treatment costs are shared in writing before the procedure begins, and the clinic's warranty terms are also clearly presented in written form. If there is any change in the treatment plan, patients are informed again and the updated plan is documented in writing. Clinical safety and hygiene are another focus of the GDC principles. For this reason, sterilisation and decontamination procedures are applied regularly, radiological procedures are performed according to established safety protocols and medical waste is handled in accordance with national regulations. Patient confidentiality is another area the GDC treats with particular sensitivity. At Antlara Dental, clinical records are carefully maintained, and explicit consent is obtained from patients before any photographs or images are used. The clinic states that no social media content is shared that could reveal a patient's identity without their clear permission. The GDC also encourages clinics to have an accessible and effective complaints procedure. Antlara Dental reports that it has a written complaints process in place. All complaints are recorded and addressed within a specified timeframe, and when necessary, corrective measures are taken to resolve the issue. The GDC's Key Questions - Antlara's Answers The General Dental Council advises UK citizens who are considering dental treatment abroad to ask clinics several important questions before making a decision. Antlara Dental says it welcomes these questions and believes transparency is essential in building patient trust. Who will carry out the treatment, and what qualifications do they have? Among them are: Chief Dentist Dilek Aksu Guler, founder and cosmetic dentist with more than 20 years of professional experience; Dr. Hakan Akman, cosmetic dentist with over 25 years of clinical experience; Dr. Ugur Agar, an orthodontic specialist with around 30 years of clinical experience; Dr. Alp Tolga Cintav, a general dentist with nearly three decades of professional practice. These clinicians are part of Antlara Dental's wider team of experienced dental professionals. Do you have references or testimonials from previous patients? Although only a small proportion of patients are specifically asked to leave feedback, Antlara Dental has accumulated close to 1,000 testimonials across digital platforms. On Trustpilot, the clinic has more than 500 verified reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5, while on Google it has over 900 verified reviews with the same average rating. What kind of aftercare do you provide after treatment? For patients wondering about aftercare, the clinic highlights that it provides support through its London office. Many aftercare or guarantee-related matters can be coordinated through this office, and when necessary the clinical team maintains direct communication with patients throughout the process. About Antlara Dental Founded in 2005, Antlara Dental is a dental clinic based in Antalya that serves an international patient base. The clinic states that it prioritises patient safety and ethical standards while operating in full compliance with the regulations of the Republic of Turkiye's Ministry of Health. In recent years, the clinic has also drawn attention for its modern in-house dental laboratory infrastructure, which allows the team to respond more quickly to treatment needs and patient requests. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926961/Antlara_Dental.jpg The UK Office Contact Info: Address: Hanover Square, London W1S Telephone: +44 7770 537 469 Antalya Clinic: Zumrutova, Sinanoglu Cd. No:53A, Muratpasa/Antalya, Turkiye Telephone: +90 (541) 120 42 08 Email: smile@antlaradental.com antlaradental.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/antlara-dental-a-turkish-dental-practice-is-standardising-clinical-practices-based-on-gdc-principles-302705138.html Das Borsenjahr 2026 ist fur viele Anleger ernuchternd gestartet. Tech-Werte straucheln, der Nasdaq 100 tritt auf der Stelle und ausgerechnet alte Favoriten wie Microsoft und SAP rutschen zweistellig ab. KI ist plotzlich kein Ruckenwind mehr, sondern ein Belastungsfaktor, weil Investoren beginnen, die finanzielle Nachhaltigkeit zu hinterfragen. Gleichzeitig vollzieht sich an der Wall Street ein lautloser Favoritenwechsel. Wahrend viele auf Wachstum setzen, feiern Value-Titel mit verlasslichen Cashflows ihr Comeback: Telekommunikation, Industrie, Energie, Pharma die Cashmaschinen der Realwirtschaft verdrangen hoch bewertete Hoffnungstrager. In unserem aktuellen Spezialreport stellen wir funf Aktien vor, die genau in dieses neue Marktbild passen: solide, gunstig bewertet und mit attraktiver Dividende. Werte, die nicht nur laufende Ertrage liefern, sondern auch bei Marktkorrekturen Sicherheit bieten. Jetzt den kostenlosen Report sichern bevor der Value-Zug 2026 endgultig abfahrt! Dieses exklusive PDF ist nur fur kurze Zeit gratis verfugbar. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX: CNQ) (NYSE: CNQ) announces that its Board of Directors approved a 6.4% increase to its quarterly cash dividend on its common shares to $0.625 (sixty-two and one half cents) per common share, up from the previous quarterly cash dividend of $0.5875 (fifty-eight and three quarter cents) per common share. The dividend will be payable on April 7, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 20, 2026. The Company has a leading track record of dividend increases, with 2026 being the 26th consecutive year of dividend increases with a compound annual growth rate ("CAGR") of 20% over that time. This demonstrates the confidence that the Board of Directors has in the sustainability of our business model, our strong balance sheet and the strength of our diverse, long life low decline reserves and asset base. Canadian Natural is a senior crude oil and natural gas production company, with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the U.K. portion of the North Sea and Offshore Africa. Certain information regarding the Company contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Such statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Refer to our website for detailed forward-looking statements and notes regarding Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures at www.cnrl.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286341 Source: Canadian Natural Resources Limited Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - McLaren Resources Inc. (CSE: MCL) (FSE: 3ML) ("McLaren" / the "Company") announces closing of a non-brokered private placement financing consisting of 11,650,000 Common Share Units (the "Unit") for gross proceeds of $582,500. The Common Share Units are issued at a price of $0.05 per unit, with each Unit consisting of one common share in the capital of McLaren and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at a price of $0.10 per common share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The Company is currently arranging additional funds to raise up to $750,000 total. In connection with the financing, McLaren paid $2,200 in finders fees to Stephen Avenue Securities Inc., 104,000 Common Share Units to Haywood Securities Inc. and to Accilent Capital Management Inc. ("Accilent"), a finder's fee of 400,000 Common Share Units of the Company. After giving effect to the securities issued as set out and described in this news release, Accilent, a principal shareholder of the Company as a finder and also as a subscriber of Flow-Through Units through its affiliate Pavilion Flow-Through L.P., has increased its direct and indirect holding of the voting securities of McLaren from 28.99% to 30.72% of shares outstanding, or 28.48% to 31.01% on a fully diluted basis. Gross proceeds from the financing will be used by McLaren for general working capital purposes including exploration work on the Company's properties which are located in the Timmins Gold Region of Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The Company has granted options to buy 2,200,000 common shares of McLaren to officers and consultants. The options have an exercise price of $0.10 per share and have a term of two years. ABOUT MCLAREN McLaren is focused on exploration work on its gold properties in the Timmins Gold Region of Northeastern Ontario. McLaren owns a 100% interest in the past-producing 640 ha Blue Quartz Gold Mine property, plus the 1,770 ha McCool gold property and the 775 ha Kerrs gold property, which are located approximately 80 km east of Timmins city centre. The properties are proximal to the Destor-Porcupine Deformation Zone which is host to many of the gold deposits within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of the press release. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements". When used in this document, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management; however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. McLaren Resources Inc. does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws. This news release is not for distribution in the United States. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286349 Source: McLaren Resources Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: HBFGF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leader in acquiring and scaling emerging food brands across Canada, is pleased to announce that iQ Food Co. ("iQ") has secured a real estate location for its rst restaurant in Western Canada, located in Calgary, Alberta. With the signing of this lease, it marks the 1st location expansion outside of Ontario for the brand, so it is a signicant milestone in iQ's national expansion strategy and supports the Company's continued execution against its organic growth pipeline. iQ is a premium healthy-eating quick service restaurant ("QSR") concept known for its vibrant menu of nourishing, clean-eating dishes including healthy bowls, smoothies, sandwiches, soups, and salads, crafted to satisfy a wide range of tastes and lifestyles. Happy Belly 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6625/286348_11f3abce14dcd8db_002full.jpg "Securing our rst Western Canada location marks an important step in our national expansion plan for iQ and for Happy Belly," said Sean Black, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly Food Group. "Calgary is a compelling, health-forward market with strong customer fundamentals which is an ideal t for iQ's positioning. This location reflects our disciplined approach to expansion by prioritizing high-quality real estate that supports consistent daily demand and attractive unit economics." "The momentum behind iQ continues to validate both the strength of the concept and our execution. At the time of acquisition in Q3 2024, iQ operated four locations. We have since grown our footprint to 7 opened locations, with number 8 opening in Q2 2026, so Calgary will be our 9th location in Canada. With Area Development Agreements across Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia totaling 65 committed units, we are building the foundation to scale iQ into a nationally recognized brand and drive sustained expansion in Canada's most attractive urban markets." Happy Belly 2 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6625/286348_11f3abce14dcd8db_003full.jpg "Our focus remains on accelerating growth through organic development and targeted acquisitions. With a growing pipeline of restaurants across Canada, iQ continues to strengthen Happy Belly's broader portfolio of 666 contractually committed retail franchise locations across multiple emerging brands, spanning various stages of development, construction, and operation. Our disciplined, predictable growth engine is delivering measurable results as we expand our brands across Canada and the U.S., creating long-term value for shareholders." "We are just getting started," added Sean Black. About iQ Food Co. iQ is a flagship brand in Canada's premium healthy eating market and is strategically located in urban and central business districts. iQ serves a variety of delicious and wholesome food options such as healthy bowls, smoothies, sandwiches, soups, and salads, along with other flavorful clean-eating dishes that the whole family can enjoy. iQ caters to thousands of health-conscious customers from local businesses, while expanding into catering services to service an even greater audience in downtown densely populated areas. This strategy has fostered strong brand recognition and a loyal customer base driven by word-of-mouth and, most importantly, satised customers. Franchising For franchising inquiries, please see www.happybellyfg.com/franchise-with-us/ or contact us at hello@happybellyfg.com. About Happy Belly Food Group Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: HBFGF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company") is a leader in acquiring and scaling emerging food brands. The Company's portfolio includes Heal Wellness, Rosie's Burgers, Yolks Breakfast, Via Cibo Italian Street Food, iQ Food Co., and others. Happy Belly 3 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6625/286348_11f3abce14dcd8db_004full.jpg Sean Black Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer Shawn Moniz Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is dened in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-Looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur and include the future performance of Happy Belly and her subsidiaries. Forward-Looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for Happy Belly described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure lings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedarplus.ca. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286348 Source: Happy Belly Food Group Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Gold Hart Copper Corp. (TSXV: HART) (the "Company" or "Gold Hart Copper") is pleased to announce today that, further to its news releases dated February 17, 2026, and February 20, 2026 (collectively, the "News Releases"), and due to strong investor interest, the Company is increasing the offering size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of units of the Company (each, a "Unit") up to $18,613,613.72. For further details concerning the Private Placement, please refer to the News Releases. Each Unit will be offered at a price of $0.26 per Unit and will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") Share and one-half (1/2) of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.40 for a period of two years from the date of issuance. The Private Placement will consist of solely of Units, and for greater certainty, will not consist of subscription receipts. All other terms of the Private Placement remain unchanged from those set out in the News Releases. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement to develop its business, including the acceleration of exploration activities, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), the Private Placement is expected to close during the week of March 9, 2026. The Units offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the Units in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Update on Tolita Flagship Gold Copper Moly Silver Porphyry Target in Vicuna District On February 23, 2026, Gold Hart announced completion of the drill hole DDHTOL01, which reached a depth of approximately 1,053m. Interestingly, the core continued to display encouraging characteristics, with multiple intervals showing strong hydrothermal alterations and mineralization consistent with a fertile porphyry-style environment. Gold Hart geologists observed multiple generations of veinlets and stockworks with varying intensities over intervals up to several hundred meters, banded veinlets with thicknesses of several cm, and locally chalcopyrite and bornite mineralization has been recognized in several of these veinlets. HART geologists do not believe the drill intercepted the same fault which caused a sterile zone in the middle of the initial 2 diamond holes. Gold Hart recently hosted a site visit which included tours of the Tolita & Nessa assets. Gold Hart board and advisory board members including the honourable John R. Baird, Mark Kucher, and Aleta Shiff were also in attendance. In this 360-degree immersive video - which allows you to interactively toggle views - Gold Hart co-founder Jonathan Warner explains the diamond drilling process https://cloud-va.insta360.com/share/va/374Q7q0e1K66213G4421719040 also accessible on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lw3fGWwQH2Q In terms of next steps for the Company's flagship Tolita Gold-Copper-Moly-Silver Asset in the Vicuna District of Chile, Gold Hart has already launched the next diamond drill hole, which has now exceeded 300m. In addition the ongoing diamond drill campaign, Gold Hart anticipates launch of RC drilling at its high-grade trench - with up to 52g/t gold equivalent including 3.99% copper on surface. The objective of the RC campaign is to demonstrate higher grade pockets close to surface, beyond the larger porphyry target. Portfolio of Assets in Vicuna and Domeyko To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20copper%20-%20portfolio%20of%20assets%20in%20vicuna%20and%20domeyko%20-%201.jpg Tolita High Grade Gold Copper Trench on Large IP Anomaly To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20tolita%20high%20grade%20gold%20copper%20trench%20on%20large%20ip%20anomaly%20-%202.jpg Nessa Copper-Gold-Silver Complex - Domeyko Fault System- High Grade Copper Up To 4.7% Gold Hart is also pleased to announce that the Company has received the re-analyzed lab assays from the geochemical survey at its Nessa Complex just west of Kinross' La Coipa Gold Mine. In total, 13 samples were re-analyzed, with 12 returning higher grades than prior announced. Specifically, 7 samples graded 1.25% to 4.73% copper, including 4 samples exceeding 2.40% copper. Gold Hart is now planning a comprehensive geochemical survey at the Nessa Complex, with a target of 500-1,000 geochemical samples gridding the property. Gold Hart hopes to launch this next survey in the coming two weeks, and will provide an update as soon as practicable. Nessa Gold Copper Complex Expansion 3.3x To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20gold%20copper%20complex%20expansion%203.3x%20-%203.jpg Tolita - High Grades Nessa To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_tolita_-_high_grades_nessa_-_4.jpg Additional RC Drill Rig at Tolita to Target High Grade Trench Up to 52g/t Gold Equivalent with 3.99% Copper In addition to Gold Hart's primary diamond drilling at Tolita, the Company is planning to add a reverse circulation (RC) drill rig in order to target certain higher grade opportunities closer to surface at Tolita. Specifically, Gold Hart intends to target its highest grade trench, which grades 8.61g/t gold equivalent over 10m, including 2m at 10.40g/t gold, 20g/t silver, and 2.88% copper, and including grabs of 45.75g/t gold, 28g/t silver, and 3.99% copper (approximately 52g/t gold equivalent). Gold Hart recently opened up this high-grade trench with a bulldozer and exposed visible green and turquoise staining typical of copper minerals malachite and chrysocolla. Interestingly, the larger geophysical anomaly at Tolita appears to reach surface at or near this high-grade trench. Gold Hart Vice President Rodrigo Diaz Tilleria (P.Geo) commented, "Our focus remains the large-scale porphyry potential of Tolita. But Tolita also offers the rare opportunity to target and hopefully prove a high-grade shallower component of the asset. In the Vicuna District where 1g/t gold on surface is rare, we have 52g/t gold and simply put we need to test it. RC drilling is significantly faster and cheaper, does not require water to operate, and is well suited to the characteristics of this target. Our current geological model assumes that this high-grade trench at Tolita may only be a fraction of the size of the larger system, but we do believe it hosts potential for generating higher grade intercepts close to surface and therefore potential to add high grade ounces, thereby demonstrating another facet to the Tolita asset." HART anticipates launching its RC drill campaign at this trench by early March. Tolita - 76pc Expansion of Anomaly to 4.5km sq To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_tolita_-_76pc_expansion_of_anomaly_to_4_5km_sq_-_5.jpg Nessa Expansion - Historic Mines To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20expansion%20-%20historic%20mines%20-%206.jpg About Gold Hart Copper's Nessa Gold-Copper-Silver Assets Gold Hart's Nessa properties sit on the renowned Domeyko Fault of Chile, most famous for hosting the Escondida Copper Mine - now the largest copper mine in the world - which was first staked by Gold Hart co-founder Dr. Jose Frutos in the 1970s. Dr. Frutos recognized and personally staked some of the Nessa claims nearly two decades ago, due to the unique surface alteration - visible from satellite imagery - with high grades on surface and several historic mines which exploited gold, copper and silver at or near surface via pits and shallow tunnels. The historic mines coincide with a pervasive yet intense hydrothermal alteration (silicic-argillic to quartz-sericitic with abundant kaolin in the central part) with a halo of propilitic alteration in the periphery, with disseminated gold-copper-silver mineralization throughout. Gold Hart recently expanded the Nessa property by 330% (3.3X) from an initial property size of 4,100Ha up to a current land position of 13,500Ha (135km2). The Nessa Complex is just south of the massive Codelco El Salvador - Portrerillos copper mining and smelting complex, one of the oldest copper smelting facilities in the country. Nessa is also surrounded by major miners Newmont, Solaris, JX Nippon, and Anglo American, and sits just northwest of Rio2's Fenix gold deposit and just west of Kinross' La Coipa gold mine. The Nessa properties were known to host 13 historic artisanal high-grade gold & copper pits, which were mined using mules due to lack of access. Additionally, historic geochemical surveys discovered high grades on surface for gold, copper, and silver, with samples up to 25g/t gold, 3.25% copper, 958g/t silver. However, the Company has now discovered additional copper showings on surface and historic mining pits, and now believes there may be other unknown targets on these assets. Gold Hart recently completed a follow-on geochemical survey and obtained additional high grade samples, including up to 9.7g/t gold, 968g/t silver, and 4.7% copper on surface. Please refer to the notes regarding quality assurance and quality control measures applied during the execution of the work being reported on, at the end of this disclosure. Please visit the Gold Hart Copper YouTube channel for footage of the road construction and copper oxides at Nessa: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ax6fOStX72c Nessa - High Grades Copper Gold Surface To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20-%20high%20grades%20copper%20gold%20surface%20-%207.jpg Nessa Expansion - High Grades on Surface To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20expansion%20-%20high%20grades%20on%20surface%20-%208.jpg Nessa Expansion - Copper Chunks To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20expansion%20-%20copper%20chunks%20-%209.jpg Nessa Expansion - Visible Copper Manto To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/286351_gold%20hart%20-%20nessa%20expansion%20-%20visible%20copper%20manto%20-%2010.jpg Tolita - Flagship Gold Copper Moly Silver Porphyry Target in Vicuna District - Diamond Drilling Program Gold Hart geologists - including senior geologists Professor Dr. Jose Frutos, Enrique Viteri, Jonathan Warner, and Rodrigo Diaz Tilleria - carefully designed a 10-hole drill plan in order to optimally test Tolita as a potential gold-copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry target. As prior announced, Gold Hart first attempted to drill target #1 known as DDHTOL01 in March of 2025, but after difficulties were encountered under tight time constraints, the team instead elected to drill DDHTOL02 and DDHTOL05. These holes were approximately 600m each and encountered approximately 360m and 230m of gold, copper, and moly porphyry mineralization, respectively. Most recently, Gold Hart returned to target #1 DDHTOL01 with a more powerful drill rig and completed a 1.053km drill hole. Consequently, there await at least another seven highly attractive diamond drill targets identified across the asset area. These targets are supported by a combination of geophysical characteristics, including chargeability and conductivity, strong geological and structural controls as well as coincident geochemical anomalies. Tolita is a very large target, with an original 2.5km2 geophysical anomaly recently expanded by 76% to 4.5km2.The Tolita gold soil sample geochemical surface halo (an approximation of gold on surface above 0.1g/t) alone is nearly 28Ha and the Tolita property is 3,476Ha equal to approximately 34.8km2. Furthermore, as recently confirmed in a follow-up geophysical survey, the Tolita geophysical anomaly expands in both size and intensity at depth, which could translate into an enlarging system at depth. Per the third party geophysicist who conducted the survey, ""The vertical extent of the steeply dipping conductor that is likely related to a fault is better defined on the two new deep lines (2600N and 452200E). This surprised me, as I had expected resolution similar to the first lines. This would indicate to me, that the probable structure extends very deeply and has a strong contrast in resistivity with the host rock. Because it is conductive, it should act as good conduit for hydrothermal water flow, which should be good news for mineralization. There is confirmation that the alteration system extends to greater depth and may increase in intensity at depth as it is more conductive. Hopefully, the copper and gold grades would increase correspondingly as well." Porphyry systems in Chile, and in the Vicuna District specifically, can prove larger and richer as they progress deeper. For example, in Chile, Atex Resources announced one of their most significant drill holes ever (ATXD25C) which graded 2.72% copper equivalent, beginning at 1,558m and ending at a depth of 1,722m. In the Vicuna District, NGEX published "DPDH028, the best hole drilled to date as Lunahuasi, which was drilled deeper and to the west of all previous holes", which included multiple highly compelling intercept including the deepest 53.5m (1,219.5m - 1,273.0m) grading 7.79% copper equivalent. About Gold Hart Copper's Tolita Gold-Copper-Molybdenum-Silver Target The Tolita property is a historically significant gold-copper asset which was first recognized and staked in 1993 - by one of the pioneering geologists of the Maricunga-Vicuna district - for its uniquely high grades of gold and copper on surface3. Geochemical surveys revealed gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum anomalies, which led to trenching. Tolita has had significant trenching (5,600m / 5.6km) with the highest grade trench returning grades up to 52g/t gold equivalent including 4% copper. Tolita has undergone helicopter mag surveys which identified 4 unique anomalies as well3. In 1996, a third party company optioned the property and drilled 3 short 200m RC holes, without any geophysics, and yet still hit gold and copper in all 3 holes, including long intercepts of gold and copper (150m and 164m, respectively) close to surface in 2 of the 3 holes. At the time, gold was approximately $300/oz and copper traded below $1.00/lb, and large scale sulphide porphyry deposits with both gold and copper were often considered less favorable than smaller scale gold-only oxide deposits. As a result, and due to general market sentiment for junior exploration companies in 1997-1998, Tolita was only drilled to a depth of 200m with 3 short RC holes (out of a planned 8 hole campaign)3. When Gold Hart acquired the property, a full geophysical survey was conducted by a recognized geophysics firm, and a large high-chargeability and conductive anomaly was discovered that is near surface and almost 2.5km2 in size and "interpreted as a copper-gold or gold-copper porphyry system that certainly warrants additional exploration and drilling4". Gold Hart Copper has therefore launched diamond drilling and is fully funded for this planned campaign. Most recently (April-May 2025), the Company completed two holes of approximately 600m each, confirming that Tolita indeed hosts a fertile porphyry system. Gold Hart geologists observed early stage veining near surface, providing the first clear evidence of a porphyry related system within zones of moderate chargeability. The mineral intercepts occur within a multi-generation stockwork vein system hosted by a series of multi-phase porphyry intrusions. Multiple alteration types have been identified, overprinting the original potassic alteration of the porphyry system. At greater depth, the potassic alteration becomes increasingly dominant, accompanied by more intense and continuous veining across locally moderate to stronger chargeability amplitudes. The newly acquired geophysical data indicates that the system may even extend several hundred meters further at depth. Effectively, the Company, and various visiting geologists have all concluded the presence of a porphyry, and Gold Hart is now focused on exploration to find the richer grades and potential limits of the system. Please visit the Gold Hart Copper YouTube channel for footage regarding the mobilization and drill pad expansion: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M5ovBFOgQTU About Gold Hart Copper Gold Hart Copper is one of the largest independent land owners surrounding major miners where the famous Maricunga Gold Belt meets the emerging Vicuna Copper Belt in Chile. HART is actively acquiring, exploring and developing its portfolio of gold, copper & silver properties adjacent to the largest gold and copper assets on the continent. HART has rolled-up a portfolio of historically significant assets surrounding majors, in some cases personally staked by the very same geologists who made the adjacent mega-discoveries, since the early 1990s. Some of the Gold Hart properties have already undergone a first phase of drilling, with highly encouraging results of gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum. Gold Hart properties are controlled 100% and not subject to any royalties whatsoever. HART believes it may be sitting on one of the only fully-preserved untested large-scale gold-copper-silver porphyry targets in the Vicuna District - an asset that was first recognized for its uniquely high grades of gold and copper on surface - and staked by one of the Maricunga-Vicuna district's pioneering geologists3 in 1993. Gold Hart Copper is fully funded for its planned drill campaign. HART's team of geologists were personally involved in pioneering exploration in the region, leading to some of its greatest gold, copper, and silver deposits, and include the country's former Geological Survey National Deputy Manager Dr. Professor Jose Frutos. Specifically, senior Gold Hart geologists were personally involved in the Escondida copper discovery, now the largest copper mine in the world1 controlled by Rio Tinto and BHP, as well as Norte Abierto / Cerro Casale, the largest gold-copper discovery in Chile2 acquired by Barrick and Newmont (GoldCorp) with reserves and resources of 50.6-million ounces of gold (0.53g/t), 13.4-billion pounds of copper (0.20%) and 218-million ounces of silver (2.3g/t). In addition to its large land position in the Vicuna District, Gold Hart recently acquired the Nessa properties just northwest on Chile's Paleocene-Eocene Belt on the famous Domeyko Fault System, which is home to some of Chile's largest gold, copper, and silver assets including Escondida, Chuquicamata and Collahuasi. The Nessa properties host several historic gold and copper artisanal mines with high grades of gold, copper, and silver on surface, with a large alteration and magnetic anomaly extending approximately 6km. Kinross' La Coipa Gold Mine sits just east of Nessa. HART | Gold Hart Copper Corporation - Social Media Channels Website: https://goldhartcopper.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldhartcopper X / Twitter: https://x.com/goldhartcopper Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goldhartcopper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldhartcopper Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release related has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jonathan A. Warner, Executive Vice President of Gold Hart Copper and a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Notes on quality assurance and control regarding geochemical survey published Hermetic sealed individual bags for every sample (ii) Unique sample ID for tracking (iii) Coordinate location and picture of outcrop (iv) Basic geology notes on control points with samples (v) Consistent sample size between 2-3kg (vi) Certified lab conducting assays. Gold Hart utilized AAA Labs in Chile to conduct the assays, an independent laboratory with no relationship to Gold Hart. References & Notes: Escondida is the largest copper mine globally, as defined by producing the greatest number of copper tonnes per annum. Numbers sourced directly from property owner's website and public filings. Norte Abierto is considered the largest undeveloped gold asset in Chile as defined by hosting the largest number of total gold ounces. Numbers sourced directly from property owner's website and public filings. Please refer to the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report on Sedar for information pertaining to Gold Hart Copper's properties including historical exploration at Tolita, including but not limited to, the history of the asset and its original staking, geochemical surveys, trenching surveys, helicopter magnetic surveys, and historical RC drilling. Geophysical survey is summarized in the Company's NI 43-101 Technical report available on Sedar. Such geophysical surveys are not definitive, and the results are still at an early stage of interpretation, with no guarantee of a mineral discovery. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always, using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "potential", "feasibility", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including, without limitation, assumptions about: the ability of exploration results, including drilling, to accurately predict mineralization; errors in geological modelling; insufficient data; equity and debt capital markets; future spot prices of copper and zinc; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of mineral resource estimates; production costs; political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental and third party approvals; licenses and permits being received on favourable terms; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital markets; availability of mining equipment and positive relations with local communities and groups. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information are set out in the Company's listing statement dated March 14, 2025, a copy of which is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward- looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286351 Source: Gold Hart Copper Corp. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Advanced Gold Exploration Inc. (CSE: AUEX) (FSE: HZ2) (OTC Pink: AUHIF) ("Advanced Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, it has entered into an investor outreach & awareness campaign agreement (the "TDM Agreement"), with an effective date of March 13, 2026, with TDM Financial, DBA Emerging Growth, LLC ("TDM Financial"), pursuant to which TDM Financial will be a strategic partner in raising investor awareness for the Company and its stock in both the US and Canada. TDM Financial will provide marketing services by creating content on behalf of the Company and sharing it among their audience of sophisticated individual and institutional investors and across many popular online financial destinations that are within our platform's reach. In accordance with the TDM Agreement, the Company has paid TDM Financial $40,000 USD for the 6-month engagement. The TDM Agreement commences March 15, 2026, and expires on September 15, 2026. The Company has an option to increase marketing spend at its discretion during the period and will be announced via news release. The Company will not issue any securities to TDM Financial as compensation. Both TDM Financial and its principals are arm's length to the Company and do not have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its securities nor do they have any right to acquire such an interest. TDM Financial is located at 600E 8thSt. Whitefish, MT, USA 59937. In addition, the Company has has entered into an agreement (the "Schaad Agreement") with Daniel Schaad. Pursuant to the terms of the Schaad Agreement, Mr. Schaad will introduce the Company to German speaking investors via http://www.explorercheck.de/. The Company will pay Mr. Schaad a total consideration of 9,000.00, and the term of the Schaad Agreement is for thirty (30) days. The Company will not issue any securities to Mr. Schaad. Mr. Schaad is arm's length to the Company and currently holds an aggregate of 90,000 common shares in the capital of the Company. Mr. Schaad is located at Gartenstrasse 16, 95326 Kulmbach, Germany. Finally, the Company has entered into a consultancy agreement (the "Momentum Agreement") dated March 2, 2026, with Momentum Public Relations Inc. ("Momentum"), pursuant to which Momentum will, among other things, provide the Company with strategic business development activities (the "Momentum Services"). The term of the Momentum Agreement is six (6) months. The Company will pay Momentum a total consideration of $75,000, plus all applicable taxes, for the Momentum Services and shall issue Momentum an aggregate of 300,000 stock options within fifteen (15) days from the execution of the Momentum Agreement. Other than the stock options, the Company will not issue any securities to Momentum as compensation. Both Momentum and its principals are arm's length to the Company and hold an aggregate of 625,000 common share in the capital of the Company. ABOUT ADVANCED GOLD Advanced Gold Exploration is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of Canadian gold and copper properties. The company's expertise is in identifying and acquiring undervalued properties with significant historical work, which it believes it can enhance their economic value at today's prices. The company's purpose is to bring immediate and long-term value to its partners and shareholders. Visit www.advancedgoldexploration.com for more information. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Arndt Roehlig, President, CEO, Director Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the trading of the Company's securities and the focus of the Company's business. Any such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "contemplates", "believes", "projects", "plans" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the Company's ability to increase the value of its current and future mineral exploration properties and, in connection therewith, any long-term shareholder value, the Company's ability to mitigate or eliminate exploration risk, and the Company's intention to develop a portfolio of historic gold properties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the Company will continue its business as described above. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and other periodic filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances or actual results unless required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286321 Source: Advanced Gold Exploration Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - CanCambria Energy Corp. (TSXV: CCEC) (FSE: 4JH) (OTCQB: CCEYF) ("CanCambria" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Hungarian authority responsible for hydrocarbon exploration activities has approved the Company's technical operating plan for the Kiskunhalas Concession Area ("KCA" or the "Project"), setting forth the commitment and schedule of development activities for the next four years (the "Technical Operating Plan"). "Securing approval of our Technical Operating Plan is an important step in unlocking the strategic value of the KCA," said Paul Clarke, President and CEO. "Given the supply-side concerns and associated commodity prices for natural gas in Europe, we believe this Project represents a meaningful opportunity within the onshore European energy landscape. Furthermore, energy markets are reacting quickly to disruptions in global LNG supply, with European natural gas prices rising significantly in recent days. While the broader geopolitical situation continues to evolve, the underlying takeaway is that Europe continues to place significant value on stable, regional sources of natural gas. Our Project in Hungary is located in a highly strategic part of Central Europe, near established gas infrastructure servicing major European markets. The contiguous size, 100% working interest, favorable tax landscape, and proximity to established infrastructure make the KCA a compelling investment opportunity." In accordance with the approved Technical Operating Plan, throughout the remainder of 2026, the Company will conduct detailed geological, geophysical, and engineering studies utilizing legacy 2D and 3D seismic data, calibrated against CanCambria's proprietary 3D seismic dataset acquired in 2023 over its adjacent BA-IX mining plot. These studies will also integrate production and well data from more than 300 legacy oil and gas wells in the region. Pursuant to the approved Technical Operating Plan, the Company will undertake a 3D seismic acquisition program no later than year-end 2027, with a two-well drilling commitment to follow by year-end 2029. The KCA covers approximately 945 km2 and was awarded to the Company in Q1 2025 via a competitive tender process. The KCA provides the Company with a 100% working interest across all depths and includes both conventional and unconventional resource potential. Upon successful completion of the prescribed work commitment, the KCA will automatically transition to a production license with a 20-year term. The Company reserves the right to, at any point, accelerate the above work program as a function of investment levels and other market and/or commodity pricing considerations. About the Kiskunhalas Concession Area The KCA is a strategically located, large-scale asset situated in southern Hungary, within the prolific Pannonian Basin, a region with a long history of conventional hydrocarbon production. At over 230,000 acres, the KCA covers a significant contiguous land position, overlying multiple stacked reservoir targets, characterized by prolific conventional pay, low-permeability sandstone formations, and naturally fractured basement requiring advanced drilling and completions technologies. The KCA benefits from existing regional infrastructure, including proximity to processing facilities and pipeline networks tied into domestic European gas markets, enhancing future commercialization pathways and lowering potential development lead times. Hungary's supportive regulatory framework and strategic importance within the European energy supply chain further position the concession as a potentially valuable long-term gas resource. The Company's work to date has focused on the southern portion of the KCA, namely an extension of the Kiskunhalas Trough, where access to legacy seismic datasets provides a strong technical foundation for the extension of the unconventional tight gas accumulation discovered on the Company's BA-IX mining plot. The Company published its estimates of contingent resources in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities, effective September 30, 2025; details can be downloaded from SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). About CanCambria Energy Corp. CanCambria Energy Corp. is a Canadian-based exploration and production company specializing in tight gas development. With a globally experienced leadership team, CanCambria focuses on high-quality, de-risked projects with direct access to profitable markets. Leveraging the industry's most advanced technologies the Company aims to commercialize their flagship asset, the 100% owned Kiskunhalas Project in southern Hungary, a significant gas-condensate resource in the heart of Europe. CAUTIONARY NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information other than statements of historical facts contained in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Without limiting the foregoing, such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the commitment and schedule of development activities under the Technical Operating Plan and the Company's exploration plans thereunder and in respect of the KCA, the publishing of the Company's estimates of contingent resources in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities along with the filing of its annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 in April 2026, the Company's business plans, expectations, capital costs and objectives. In this news release, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or the Company management's good faith belief with respect to future events and is subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including, without limitation, risks that the Company may not be able to complete commitment and schedule of development activities under the Technical Operating Plan and the Company's exploration plans thereunder and in respect of the KCA as contemplated, or at all, risks that the Company may not be able to publish its estimates of contingent resources in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities along with the filing of its annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 as contemplated, or at all. The forward-looking information set forth herein reflects the Company's expectations as at the date of this news release and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286318 Source: CanCambria Energy Corp. Strong momentum continues in 2025 through resilient performance and strategic fleet growth across global and domestic markets Algoma Central Corporation (TSX: ALC) ("Algoma", the "Company") today reported its results for the year ended December 31, 2025. Algoma reported revenues of $761,056, compared to revenues of $703,444 in 2024. Net earnings for 2025 were $143,025 compared to $91,638 in 2024. The Company reported 2025 EBITDA of $230,987 compared to $200,494 in 2024. All amounts reported below are in thousands of Canadian dollars, except for per share data and where the context dictates otherwise. "This year we took delivery of eight vessels and reached a significant milestone in the third quarter with the addition of our 100th vessel to our global fleet," said Gregg Ruhl, President and CEO of Algoma Central Corporation. "We currently have twelve vessels under construction, six of which are scheduled for delivery in 2026. Internationally, we continue to expand our presence in the global short sea shipping sector through strategic partnerships in new markets. These partnerships are helping establish Algoma as the Marine Carrier of Choice on the global stage and extend the reach of our Bear, born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, around the world. Domestically, we remain focused on strengthening our fleets operating across the bi-national Great Lakes and Canadian and U.S. east coasts. As we approach the opening of the 2026 navigation season, we do so from a forward looking position of resilience and growth, with a continued focus on working together as an industry to enhance the competitiveness and long-term resiliency of the customers and communities we serve," concluded Mr. Ruhl. Financial Highlights: Fiscal 2025 Compared to 2024 Net earnings increased 56% to $143,025 compared to $91,638 in 2024. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $3.53 compared to $2.29 in 2024. Earnings in 2025 include a one-time $71,517 gain representing the Company's share on the sale of an interest in the cement carrier joint venture within the Global Short Sea Shipping segment, while 2024 earnings include a $13,015 impairment reversal, net of related amortization. Excluding these items, earnings decreased 5% to $74,815 compared to $78,623 in 2024. Domestic Dry-Bulk segment revenue increased 8% to $405,072 compared to $375,159 in 2024, reflecting 10% higher volumes driving an 11% rise in revenue days, and improved freight rates. Operating earnings for the segment increased 30% to $55,433 compared to $42,678 in 2024. Revenue for the Product Tankers segment increased 20% to $177,832 compared to $148,347 in 2024, driven primarily by a larger fleet size. Operating earnings increased to $22,046 compared to $9,406 in 2024. Revenue in the Ocean Self-Unloaders segment decreased slightly to $175,520 compared to $177,185 in 2024. This decrease was mainly attributable to reduced revenue days driven by an increase in planned dry-dockings when compared to the prior year. Operating earnings decreased 40% to $23,588 compared to $39,491 in 2024. Joint venture equity earnings increased in the year to $98,198 compared to $37,760 for the prior year. Global Short Sea Shipping earnings were buoyed by a one-time gain in the cement carrier joint venture, a reduction in available revenue days due to increased dry-dockings, and the mini-bulker fleet experiencing softer market conditions, compared to the previous period. The increase in earnings from the product tanker fleet reflects the growth in the fleet size from one vessel at the commencement of the prior year to eight in the current year. "Algoma continued to demonstrate market resilience amid global uncertainty in 2025," said Christopher Lazarz, Chief Financial Officer. "In Domestic Dry-Bulk, higher iron ore and salt volumes, along with spot grain activity, drove increased revenue days. We are expecting iron ore volumes to decline in 2026 as the impact of U.S. steel tariffs materializes. Demand for salt and grain is anticipated to remain strong, supported by replenishment needs for de-icing salt across the Great Lakes region and higher volumes with an existing grain customer. In Product Tankers, performance remains strong, supported by a larger fleet following the addition of two vessels in the second quarter of 2025. Off-hire days increased due to five planned dry-dockings in the Ocean Self-Unloaders segment, compared to two in the previous year," concluded Mr. Lazarz. Consolidated Statement of Earnings For the years ended December 31 2025 2024 Revenue 761,056 703,444 Operating expenses (543,038 (518,090 Selling, general and administrative expenses (51,891 (38,852 Depreciation and amortization (85,929 (71,357 Operating earnings 80,198 75,145 Interest expense (25,898 (20,072 Interest income 660 2,565 Fair value gain on derivative 1,194 Impairment loss on financial asset (4,500 Gain on sale of assets 1,404 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 790 (2,278 52,444 56,764 Income tax recovery (7,617 (2,886 Net earnings from investments in joint ventures 98,198 37,760 Net earnings 143,025 91,638 Basic and diluted earnings per share 3.53 2.29 EBITDA The Company uses EBITDA as a measure of the cash generating capacity of its businesses. The following table provides a reconciliation of net earnings in accordance with GAAP to the non-GAAP EBITDA measure for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 and presented herein: For the years ended December 31 2025 2024 Net earnings 143,025 91,638 Depreciation and amortization 113,448 94,235 Impairment (reversal) 4,500 (14,891 Net interest and tax recoveries 43,522 28,522 Foreign exchange loss (gain) (1,950 2,725 Net gain on sale of assets (71,558 (1,735 EBITDA(1) 230,987 200,494 Select Financial Performance by Business Segment For the years ended December 31 2025 2024 Domestic Dry-Bulk Revenue 405,072 375,159 Operating earnings 55,433 42,678 Product Tankers Revenue 177,832 148,347 Operating earnings 22,046 9,406 Ocean Self-Unloaders Revenue 175,520 177,185 Operating earnings 23,588 39,491 Corporate Revenue 2,632 2,753 Operating loss (20,869 (16,430 The MD&A for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 includes further details. Full results for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 can be found on the Company's website at www.algonet.com/investor-relations and on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. Business Outlook(2) In the Domestic Dry-Bulk segment, grain and salt volumes are expected to increase, partially offset by reductions in the iron and steel sectors, reflecting the impact of tariffs on Canadian steel producers' exports to the United States. Higher grain volumes are anticipated to add revenue days and support continued strength in the agriculture segment. Salt volumes are also expected to improve, driven by increased demand for de-icing salt around the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region. Construction activity is expected to remain relatively flat as it continues to be influenced by broader economic conditions. In the Product Tanker segment, customer demand is anticipated to remain steady and fuel distribution patterns should support strong utilization for the vessels trading under Canadian flag. We expect all ten Canadian vessels to remain in full employment for the balance of the year. In the Ocean Self-Unloader segment, vessel supply is expected to increase with no Algoma assets scheduled for dry-docking. We expect increases to the gypsum and aggregates trades as customer demand increases, offset by slight reductions in coal volumes. The second Algoma newbuild self-unloader is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2026. In our global joint ventures, we anticipate steady rates across the fleets, with most assets committed to long-term time charter contracts, and increased earnings with the addition of two vessels to our cement carrier fleet. We expect improved earnings in both our handy-size and mini-bulker fleets with the expansion of the mini-bulker fleet, and relatively consistent market conditions. The remaining two FureBear newbuild tankers are expected to be delivered in 2026, the Company is anticipating a continued steady rate environment for these tankers. Global tariffs could increase operating costs and reduce trade volumes, potentially leading to shifts in global supply chain routes. Earnings could be impacted by on-going conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, however nearly all of our operations are outside these high risk areas. While Algoma is closely monitoring these situations, we do not anticipate major changes in cargo volumes at this time; however, we are expecting continued higher costs across our supply chains, and are exploring ways to mitigate potential impacts. Normal Course Issuer Bid Effective March 21, 2025, the Company renewed its normal course issuer bid (the "2025 NCIB") to purchase up to 2,028,391 of its common shares ("Shares"), representing approximately 5% of the 40,567,816 Shares issued and outstanding as of the close of business on March 7, 2025. Under the 2025 NCIB, no Shares were purchased and cancelled for the period ended December 31, 2025. The Company intends to renew its normal course issuer bid upon receipt of the required approvals from regulatory authorities. Cash Dividends The Company's Board of Directors authorized payment of a quarterly dividend to shareholders of $0.21 per common share. The dividend was paid on March 2, 2026 to shareholders of record on February 13, 2026. This $0.21 common share dividend represents a 5% increase from the $0.20 per share dividend paid on December 1, 2025. Since 2018, Algoma's quarterly dividend has more than doubled. Notes (1) Use of Non-GAAP Measures The Company uses several financial measures to assess its performance including earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), free cash flow, return on equity, and adjusted performance measures. Some of these measures are not calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), are not defined by GAAP, and do not have standardized meanings that would ensure consistency and comparability among companies using these measures. From Management's perspective, these non-GAAP measures are useful measures of performance as they provide readers with a better understanding of how management assesses performance. Further information on Non-GAAP measures please refer to page 2 in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. (2) Forward Looking Statements Algoma Central Corporation's public communications often include written or oral forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this document and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or in other communications. All such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our objectives and priorities for 2026 and beyond, our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial condition or share price and the results of or outlook for our operations or for the Canadian, U.S. and global economies. The words "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", "expects", "plans", "intends", "trends", "indications", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "likely" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this document not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Algoma Central Corporation is a global provider of marine transportation, owning and operating dry and liquid bulk carriers that serve critical industries throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region and internationally. Focused on delivering exceptional customer service, utilizing fuel efficient vessels, and advancing innovative technologies, Algoma drives productivity while contributing to economic growth, strengthening communities, and supporting its people. Algoma truly is Your Marine Carrier of Choice. Learn more at algonet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305403609/en/ Contacts: Gregg A. Ruhl President CEO 905-687-7890 Christopher A.L. Lazarz Chief Financial Officer 905-687-7940 Investment capitalizes on significant technological shifts in capital markets driven by cloud, open-source and AI Funding to scale Adaptive's development of next-gen cloud-enabled front office solutions, centered around its Aeron technology Adaptive, a leader in custom trading technology solutions, announces it has secured strategic investment from two prominent global financial institutions, Citi and HSBC. This funding is set to significantly accelerate Adaptive's growth and product innovation roadmap. The strategic backing from HSBC and Citi underscores the collaboration between Adaptive and two of the world's largest financial institutions on strategic initiatives to reshape capital markets technology. It will enable Adaptive to capitalize on significant technological disruption and meet the growing demand for client-owned, differentiated and bespoke trading technology. Centered around Adaptive's suite of Aeronproducts, the funding allows the company to scale its delivery of high-performance, cloud-native solutions amidst evolving market dynamics and heightened competition. The investment comes at a pivotal moment as liquidity and trading infrastructure increasingly migrate to the cloud, and the adoption of open-source, modular, and platform-based technology accelerates across the industry. Adaptive is uniquely positioned at the forefront of this transformation through its Aeron technology-the acclaimed open-source software crucial for building high-performance, resilient electronic trading systems. The capital infusion will support Adaptive's ambitious growth plan by allowing it to boost product development and delivery capabilities. This builds on the firm's track record of developing sophisticated new trading platforms that provide a distinct competitive advantage through technological differentiation. Matt Barrett, CEO and Co-founder, Adaptive, said: "For 13 years, we've prided ourselves on providing best-in-class front-office technology alongside expert consultancy, supporting financial services firms in differentiating their business via their tech stack. While our expansion has been self-funded until now, the trajectory of capital markets technology is rapidly shifting, fueled by AI and cloud migration. This funding enables us to accelerate our product development and cement our leadership in the next wave of disruptive technology across the financial ecosystem. "For this milestone, we chose to partner with HSBC and Citi who understand the true value of differentiation via technology. We are very excited for what's next to come." Ed Duggan, Managing Director, Markets Securities Services, HSBC, said: "With the rapid pace of technology change in the financial markets, technological agility, resiliency, scalability and performance will continue to be a defining factor of success. Our partnership with Adaptive reflects our commitment to shaping the next generation of high-performance market infrastructure." Moran Levinovitz, Group Head of Ventures at HSBC, said: "Adaptive's technology and expertise will position the business well to benefit from structural changes in capital markets. We are pleased to back them and look forward to working together on the next stage of the Company's development." Nikhil Joshi, Global Head of Markets Technology, at Citi, said: "In the rapidly evolving landscape of capital markets, the shift towards modular and cloud-native architectures demands robust and scalable high-performance trading infrastructure. Our investment in Adaptive reflects their strategic direction and the importance of innovative technologies such as Aeron, in fostering a more resilient and efficient financial ecosystem. We look forward to collaborating with the Adaptive team as they continue to drive innovation across the sector." Siris Singh, Global Head of Markets Strategic Investments, at Citi, said: "We are pleased to support Adaptive's growth through this strategic investment. Adaptive has a proven track record of delivering sophisticated technology solutions that address the complex needs of global financial institutions. We are investing in the next generation of capital markets infrastructure to provide long-term competitive advantages." This funding reaffirms Adaptive's unwavering commitment to advancing Aeron as an open-source technology, which is increasingly becoming the cornerstone of capital markets technology stacks. Notes to editors: Commercial terms of the investment are undisclosed. About Adaptive Adaptive are the leading experts in custom trading technology solutions, crafting bespoke front-office platforms across asset classes for financial services firms wanting to own their technology to differentiate. Amongst Adaptive's technologies, Aeron, is the global standard for high-throughput, low-latency, resilient trading systems, on-premise and in the cloud. With offices in London, New York, Barcelona, Montreal, and Manila, Adaptive ensures seamless global reach and support. www.aeron.io www.weareadaptive.com About HSBC Holdings plc HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 56 countries and territories. With assets of US$3,233bn at 31 December 2025, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. About Citi Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in more than 180 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com X: @Citi LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305658306/en/ Contacts: Media contacts Eleonore Basle Gabriela Sarosiek Louis d'Abo, Greentarget E: Adaptive@Greentarget.co.uk T: +44 (0) 783 457 1183 Rekha Jogia-Soni, Citi Rekha.JogiaSoni@citi.com EQS-News: Genesis Holdings, Inc / Key word(s): Financial Travaleo Launches TRVEN Venezuelan Luxury Real Estate Investment Fund Targeting Opportunistic Recovery Returns 05.03.2026 / 14:07 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. MIAMI, FL - March 5, 2026 ( NEWMEDIAWIRE ) - Travaleo , LLC ("Travaleo"), a branded luxury real estate investment and development platform wholly owned by Genesis Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GNIS), today announced the launch of TRVEN , a Venezuela-focused luxury real estate investment fund designed to capitalize on one of the most compelling recovery opportunities in global real estate. The fund will initially look to raise $25 million but could raise up to $50 million if necessary. TRVEN will pursue a strategy focused on acquiring, repositioning, and developing premium hospitality and residential assets across Venezuela's most strategically positioned markets, including Caracas, Margarita Island, Los Roques, and key energy-driven corridors. The fund targets internal rates of return above 27% with annualized cash distribution targets of approximately 9%, paid through monthly distributions once assets are stabilized. Participation in the fund is structured through Travaleo's digital investment infrastructure, enabling accredited investors to access professionally managed real estate opportunities through a modern, transparent framework. The strategy is driven by a rare valuation dislocation. After more than a decade of underinvestment across construction, hospitality, infrastructure, and capital markets, prime Venezuelan real estate assets often trade materially below replacement cost. As economic activity gradually normalizes and energy production expands, Travaleo believes the market is entering a long-cycle recovery phase capable of generating asymmetric returns for early investors. Venezuela sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world, most of which are located in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt, one of the largest hydrocarbon basins globally. The region has historically attracted major international energy companies operating alongside Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, and they are involved in development projects across the basin. TRVEN's anchor project reflects this macroeconomic positioning. The fund's initial flagship development is expected to center around Hotel Santo Cristo, a fully permitted four-star hospitality project located within the Orinoco Oil Belt corridor - the region containing the largest concentration of proven oil reserves in the world and an area experiencing renewed industrial activity tied to global energy companies operating in Venezuela. Hotel Santo Cristo is currently the only four-star hospitality development in the region that is fully permitted and entitled for construction, positioning it to serve the growing demand for high-quality accommodations from international energy companies, contractors, and logistics operators working throughout the basin. The project is currently co-owned and controlled by Metrospaces, one of Travaleo's closest strategic partners in Venezuela, and is expected to serve as a cornerstone investment within the TRVEN strategy. Completion of the development is expected to require approximately $9-10 million of investment capital, with projections indicating the potential to generate internal rates of return exceeding 35%, driven by strong projected occupancy demand tied to the region's expanding energy sector activity. In addition to this anchor project, TRVEN intends to allocate capital across a diversified portfolio of income-producing and value-add assets, including: Urban luxury residential repositioning opportunities in Caracas Boutique hospitality developments in emerging tourism destinations Select development projects in energy-driven economic corridors Opportunistic acquisitions of distressed or underutilized premium assets The fund is designed to balance income generation and long-term capital appreciation, combining stabilized yield assets with higher-upside development opportunities. "Venezuela represents one of the most misunderstood investment landscapes in the world today," said Oscar Brito, CEO of Travaleo. "For almost 20 years, institutional capital has been almost entirely absent from the country's real estate sector. The result is a market where irreplaceable assets are trading far below replacement cost while the country sits on the largest oil reserves on Earth. As energy investment and economic activity gradually return, we believe a rare window exists to acquire premium assets at historically discounted valuations." Brito continued: "TRVEN was designed to provide accredited investors with a disciplined, professionally managed entry point into this recovery cycle. By combining our experience in branded luxury real estate with modern digital investment infrastructure, we aim to deliver both transparency and access to opportunities that historically were only available to a very small group of investors." Travaleo's management team brings a track record of more than $900 million in branded luxury real estate development and investment projects across Europe and the Americas, including participation in landmark developments such as the Bulgari Hotel London and other internationally recognized hospitality projects. The TRVEN fund is currently open for participation exclusively to accredited investors under applicable securities law exemptions. THIS INVESTMENT IS AIMED AND INTENDED FOR U.S. ACCREDITED INVESTORS ONLY, AND BEING OFFERED UNDER REGULATION D 506 (c). About Travaleo Travaleo is a branded real estate investment and development platform wholly owned by Genesis Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GNIS), focused on identifying, structuring, and managing income-producing and development-oriented real estate projects. The platform emphasizes professionally underwritten assets, brand-driven developments, and disciplined execution aligned with long-term ownership strategies. Travaleo's digital investment infrastructure enables accredited investors to participate in curated real estate opportunities through structured investment vehicles designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and investor access. https://www.travaleo.com/ X: @Travaleo_ invest@travaleo.com About Genesis Holdings, Inc. Genesis Holdings is a publicly traded holding company focused on the development, acquisition, and management of operating businesses and real-asset-related initiatives. The Company emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, sound governance practices, and long-term value creation for shareholders. https://www.regen.digital/ X: @regnisnyc Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words "anticipate," "expect," "suggest," "plan," "believe," "intend," "estimates," "targets," "projects," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "forecast" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including: general economic and business conditions, competitive and technological factors, markets, services, products and prices, the failure to retain management and/or key employees, availability and cost of capital, success of growth initiatives, limited operating history, failure to successfully close any proposed transactions, failure to raise sufficient capital, failure to file any required filings properly, and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the OTC Markets. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Genesis Holdings assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View the original release on www.newmediawire.com TOKYO, Mar 5, 2026 - (JCN Newswire) - TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Koichiro Tanaka), a company engaged in the industrial precious metals business of TANAKA, today announced the successful development of "HPM-L111", the world's first metal*1 palladium (Pd) hydrogen permeable membrane capable of delivering high hydrogen permeation performance at low temperature range around 100C. The breakthrough enables high-purity and fast hydrogen purification at significantly lower temperatures than previously possible, reducing energy consumption and supporting next-generation hydrogen ecosystem development across global markets.Sample shipments of HPM-L111 is scheduled to begin on or after March 5, 2026, with production capacity of approximately 100 samples per month.An academic presentation regarding this product will be made at The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials' "2026 Spring Meeting," which will be held at Chiba Institute of Technology from March 11 to 13, 2026. The product and a panel display will also be showcased at "H2 & FC EXPO Int'l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo" being held at Tokyo Big Sight from March 17 to 19, 2026.A palladium hydrogen permeable membrane is a thin membrane product made from palladium alloy, which has the properties of hydrogen absorption and permeation. It is widely used for the separation and purification of high-purity hydrogen. Traditionally, metal membranes require high temperatures (at least 300C) to achieve effective hydrogen permeation. By applying special treatment to the membrane's surface, TANAKA succeeded in developing a metal membrane that can demonstrate high hydrogen permeation performance even at a low temperature range at or below 100C.Issues in hydrogen purification using metal membranes and background to the development of HPM-L111Among PdCu alloy membranes, the existing product PdCu40 (an alloy with 60% palladium content and 40% copper content) has the highest level of hydrogen permeation performance. However, operation at a high temperature range of around 400C is required to achieve its true performance, and higher costs from the addition of heating facilities and such were an issue for many years. Furthermore, with the advancement of hydrogen-related technologies in recent years, there are increasing need for hydrogen permeation using metal membranes in the low temperature range of 100C or lower. Meanwhile, the speed of hydrogen penetration from the surface into metal membranes generally decreases when the temperature is 200C or lower, significantly reducing the hydrogen permeation performance of conventional metal membranes and making practical application an issue.To solve these issues, for HPM-L111, TANAKA adopted its proprietary surface treatment technology nurtured through many years of precious metal materials research. Minute jagged structures were formed on the membrane's surface to increase the specific surface area, resulting in a higher hydrogen penetration speed and achieving significant improvement in hydrogen permeation performance in the low temperature range of 100C or lower.Features of HPM-L111- High hydrogen permeation performance in the low temperature range around 100C- World's first metal membrane allowing high-purity hydrogen purification in the low temperature range around 100C- Expected contributions to higher accuracy of hydrogen sensors- Allows high-speed removal of hydrogen generated within devicesExpected applications of high-purity hydrogen permeation in the low temperature range, or 100C or lower, include hydrogen sensors, fuel cells, and removal of hydrogen in vacuum equipment. In hydrogen sensors, it can help to improve detection accuracy by isolating interfering gases, while in vacuum equipment and such, it allows hydrogen to be removed from inside the equipment while maintaining an operating environment close to room temperature or a low temperature range. Furthermore, it can contribute toward the realization of carbon neutrality by reducing the energy for heating, as the heating process to at least 300C - which was previously required - is no longer necessary. TANAKA will support the realization of a clean and efficient hydrogen society through the provision of this product.*1 As of March 5, 2026, based on internal research (according to a survey of patents and papers on hydrogen permeable membranes)About TANAKASince its foundation in 1885, TANAKA has built a portfolio of products to support a diversified range of business uses focused on precious metals. TANAKA is a leader in Japan regarding the volume of precious metals it handles. Over many years, TANAKA has manufactured and sold precious metal products for industry and provided precious metals in such forms as jewelry and assets. As precious metals specialists, all Group companies in Japan and worldwide collaborate on manufacturing, sales, and technology development to offer a full range of products and services. With 5,591 employees, the group's consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended December 2024 were 846.9 billion yen.TANAKA Industrial Precious Metal Materials Portalhttps://tanaka-preciousmetals.comProduct inquiriesTANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-on-industrial-products/Press inquiriesTANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-for-media/Press Release: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/2026305_EN.pdfSource: TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.Copyright 2026 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. China reviews draft law on promoting ethnic unity, progress Xinhua) 19:02, March 05, 2026 BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China is seeking to bolster the legal foundation for advancing high-quality development and common prosperity among its 56 ethnic groups, with a draft law on promoting ethnic unity and progress submitted to national lawmakers for deliberation on Thursday. The draft was submitted to the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, for a third reading. The law aims to translate "fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation" into the will of the state, said Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, in his explanatory remarks on the draft. The official said the law was formulated to advance the governance of ethnic affairs within the framework of the rule of law. The legal document articulates state support for high-quality development in areas with large ethnic minority populations and for promoting common prosperity among all ethnic groups, Li said, adding that specific provisions are set out on infrastructure construction, industrial development, public services, protection of natural resources, among others. Many ethnic minority communities reside in mountainous areas, far-off regions or other historically underdeveloped parts of China. Benefiting from heavy government investment, the nationwide poverty reduction campaign and modernization drive, these regions have recorded rapid economic and social development. Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China, for instance, led the entire country in starting to provide 15 years of publicly-funded education from kindergarten to senior high in 2012. The 15-year free schooling has also been available in four southern prefectures in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China. Lawmakers have expected the law to inject fresh momentum into ethnic minority regions by offering legal guarantees for ethnic unity and progress. "It will make developing ethnic minority regions a statutory responsibility, which will ensure stable, long-term institutional support," said Chen Zhen, an NPC deputy from the Dong ethnic group in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Formulation of the law, initiated in 2023 before going through extensive consultations, has followed the principle of promoting common ground while respecting and accommodating differences, according to Li Hongzhong. Targeting acts that erode ethnic unity, the draft stipulates that violent terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism will face criminal liability if constituting crimes. Tursun Ebey, an associate professor at Xinjiang University, said ethnic unity constitutes "the lifeline of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang." "This legal protection of ethnic unity will provide a greater sense of security and allow us to focus on pursuing development," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Kou Jie) DALLAS, TEXAS / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Today, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn"), the leading podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced a one-year advertising partnership with award-winning British-American journalist, broadcaster, author, and Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan for two of his flagship podcasts: Mehdi Unfiltered and We're Not Kidding Mehdi & Friends . Under the agreement, Libsyn will monetize both podcasts, connecting premium advertisers with a politically engaged, globally aware audience who actively seek rigorous journalism and sharp commentary. "Mehdi Hasan represents the kind of fearless, high-integrity voice that builds loyal, deeply invested audiences," said Stephen Perlstein, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Libsyn. "Both Mehdi Unfiltered and We're Not Kidding Mehdi & Friends deliver thoughtful, time-invested listening and viewing environments that are incredibly valuable to advertisers looking to align with substance-driven content and culturally relevant conversations. We're proud to partner with Mehdi and the Zeteo team to bring premium brands into these shows." Mehdi Hasan added, "At a time when independent journalism matters more than ever, I'm focused on building platforms that prioritize truth, accountability, and unfiltered conversation. Partnering with Libsyn allows us to grow sustainably while maintaining our editorial independence. We're excited to work with brands that respect clear-eyed reporting grounded in facts, principle, and transparency." Launched in 2024, Mehdi Unfiltered attracts a civically engaged, internationally attuned audience seeking nonpartisan perspectives and hard-hitting conversations - making it a compelling platform for brands looking to reach informed, issue-aware listeners. Publishing three times a week, the show delivers unfiltered news, bold opinions, and challenging interviews you won't find elsewhere - holding power to account while unpacking the stories shaping our world. Introduced in 2024, We're Not Kidding Mehdi & Friends appeals to culturally tuned-in audiences who value smart humor alongside serious discussion. Hosted by Mehdi Hasan and regularly featuring internationally acclaimed comedian Bassem Youssef, the weekly show brings together renowned guests for conversations that are sometimes lighthearted, sometimes vulnerable - but always candid. The blend of comedy and commentary creates a unique environment where audiences lean in, making it an engaging space for advertiser integration. Mehdi Hasan is an award-winning British-American journalist, broadcaster, and author. He is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of the new independent media venture Zeteo. Mehdi is also a Guardian columnist, host of Head to Head on Al Jazeera English, and the best-selling author of Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking. He previously worked as an anchor at MSNBC and columnist for The Intercept, and is widely recognized for his incisive interviews and commitment to accountability journalism. Libsyn Ads empowers brands to effectively target and reach a fast-growing and coveted podcast audience while helping creators monetize their audio and video content. The ad buying and management platform delivers end-to-end capabilities, streamlining the process for podcast advertisers to initiate and oversee highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while maximizing returns for creators. This partnership leverages Libsyn Ads' advanced solutions, including Host-Read (available for episodic and simulcast formats), programmatic Automatic Podcast Ads, Dynamic Ad Insertion by episode or across the full catalog, and Integrated Brand Opportunities, allowing Mehdi Unfiltered and We're Not Kidding Mehdi & Friends to seamlessly integrate premium brand messaging that complements the high-attention, intellectually rigorous audience experience. For more information or to advertise on Mehdi Unfiltered and We're Not Kidding Mehdi & Friends, please contact ad-sales@libsyn.com . About Liberated Syndication A pioneer in podcasting for more than two decades, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn") is the leading podcasting platform for creators and advertisers to host, distribute, monetize, amplify, and measure their audio and video content. The Company has powered more than 250,000 shows and delivered over 75 billion downloads to listeners around the world. Libsyn Ads , trusted by over 2,000 advertisers, offers industry-leading podcast advertising solutions, serving as a comprehensive ad buying and management offering for creators, advertisers, and agencies to initiate and manage highly targeted campaigns across thousands of shows. Visit libsyn.com or investor.libsyn.com for more information on the Company and the platforms that it powers. #? #? # Media Contacts: Ray Yeung + Nancy Zakhary | ray@relev8.co + nancy@relev8.co Investor Contact: investor@libsyn.com SOURCE: Liberated Syndication, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/fearless-journalist-and-zeteo-founder-mehdi-hasan-enters-advertis-1143524 Furniture Village shows that Britons are looking for a clean aesthetic that doesn't compromise on function, based on a whopping 90,500 average searches for 'Ottoman beds' between March 2024 - March 2025 LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Analysis of Google search trends between March 2024 and March 2025 shows that Ottoman beds have emerged as the nation's clear favourite, boasting a staggering 90,500 average searches from homeowners seeking to balance style with high-volume storage. This is accompanied by Divan beds (40,500) and TV beds (27,100), proving that home decorators are prioritising practicality alongside comfort in the bedroom space. Ottoman beds - 90,500 average searches in spring Spring cleaning means decluttering for many homeowners - and this is where Ottoman beds come in handy. With a massive 90,500 average searches between March 2024 and March 2025, they're the go-to storage solution because of the underbed storage feature, which balances both function and style. Many Brits are increasingly looking for ottoman beds in specific rooms, as shown by year-on-year search increases for the most popular keyword variations. 'King size ottoman bed frame' takes the lead with a +132% increase, unveiling that many are trying to maximise storage in each bedroom with a multifunctional bed but are still weighing up different style options. An expert at Furniture Village said, "With living spaces becoming more compact, Ottoman beds have become a design essential. They offer a rare combination of elegance and high-volume storage. Divan beds - 40,500 average searches Divan beds (40,500) are fabric bed bases that can be made with discreet pull-out drawer storage to keep bedrooms clutter-free. It's clear that homeowners and renters are looking for divan bases specifically with storage, as shown by the increases in keyword variations: 'divan beds with storage', 'double divan base with drawers', and 'divan ottoman bed king size' all increased by +23% YoY. The latter two notably highlight the demand for storage solutions in a range of divan bed sizes too. These highly popular divan beds with drawers for storage are key to the organisational process of a spring clean - especially because they're easily accessible for everyday items, reducing the need for additional storage furniture. TV beds - 27,100 average searches With 27,100 monthly searches for TV beds, it's clear that British bedrooms are undergoing a digital evolution. They're no longer aligned solely for sleep; instead, they have transitioned into a multi-functional, high-tech sanctuary designed for relaxation and escapism. Searches for the similar keywords, 'bed with tv built in', and 'built in tv in bed' have all increased by +52% between March 2024-2025, depicting that Brits want to ensure that the beds have a fully unified TV system which is hidden away when not in use. The experts at Furniture Village say, "TV beds offer a more luxurious, immersive home cinema experience by integrating technology and even Dolby surround sound all within the frame." Bed types Brits are searching for at the beginning of spring Home decorators are looking for bed frames with functional features to declutter their bedrooms during spring. It's clear that they want both style and convenience in their home to accompany their spring cleaning efforts. This symbolises the feeling of a fresh start as the busy winter period ends. For more information Nicole Barnard tmwi, acting on behalf of Furniture Village outreach@tmwi.co.uk 01789 404180 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2925069/Rustic_minimalist_bedroom.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2802634/5834086/Furniture_Village_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/furniture-village-britons-choose-multifunctional-beds-in-spring-for-a-clutter-free-bedroom-marking-a-new-clean-era-post-winter-302702760.html Investment in the world's largest independent ground support equipment lessor strengthens GIP's Transport Platform Global Infrastructure Partners ("GIP"), a part of BlackRock, a leading global infrastructure investor, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TCR, the largest independent lessor of airport ground support equipment, from 3i Infrastructure plc. Members of TCR's management team will invest alongside GIP. The transaction reflects GIP's long-term conviction in global aviation and its strategy of investing in essential aviation infrastructure businesses with strong growth potential and resilient business models. Headquartered in Brussels, TCR owns and manages a global fleet of airport ground support equipment, supporting safe and efficient aircraft operations across more than 200 airports worldwide. With a diversified customer base and long-term contractual relationships, TCR is integral to efficient airport operations globally. "We are delighted to partner with TCR, the clear global leader in ground support equipment leasing," said Michael McGhee, Deputy Chairman of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). "TCR combines mission-critical airport infrastructure with a highly scalable growth platform, led by an exceptional management team. We look forward to working closely with management to accelerate the company's international expansion and further strengthen its position at the heart of the global aviation ecosystem." The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. About Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a Part of BlackRock Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, is a leading infrastructure investor that specializes in investing in, owning and operating some of the largest and most complex assets across the energy, transport, digital infrastructure and water and waste management sectors. GIP's scaled platform has over $193 billion in assets under management. We believe that our focus on real infrastructure assets, combined with our deep proprietary origination network and comprehensive operational expertise, enables us to be responsible stewards of our clients' capital and create positive economic impact for communities. For more information, visit www.global-infra.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305285233/en/ Contacts: Mustafa Riffat +1 917 747 4156 mustafa.riffat@blackrock.com Eleven women honored as they are shaping the future of robotics Global industrial robotics installations are forecast to surpass 700,000 units in 2028 representing a compound annual growth rate of about 7% (CAGR, 2025-2028). On their way to strengthen competitiveness, companies actively set up strategies to benefit from female participation. Success stories from the Americas, Asia and Europe show how women contribute to the development of next-generation robotic systems. To give women in the industry more visibility and acknowledgment, the International Federation of Robotics awarded 11 women shaping the future of robotics in 2026. "Women are critical contributors in the fast-growing field of robotics," says Dr. Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the International Federation of Robotics. "This is clearly illustrated by diverse teams developing unbiased AI technology and next-generation robotics systems. These projects aim to open up new sectors for automation, not only in traditional manufacturing settings, but also in healthcare and elderly care, or in consumer markets." The Global Gender Gap Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum showed that more and more women have entered the labor market around the world: Today, over 40% of the global workforce are women. However, the proportion of women in the workforce varies greatly by industry. While the rate of female participation in consumer services, education and care services exceeds 50%, manufacturing does not even rank among the top ten industries, with participation by women amounting to less than 35%. This result corresponds with the fact that the share of women within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is below 30%. Ensuring women contribute to the development of robotics is key to building future-ready industries: This is demonstrated by the success stories of IFR's 11 Women Shaping the Future of Robotics in 2026. This year's awardees are in alphabetical order: Younseal Eum AeiROBOT, South Korea AeiROBOT, South Korea Stefania Ferrero Comau, Italy Comau, Italy Christina Jrgensen - Universal Robots, Denmark - Universal Robots, Denmark Allison Krumpe HealthTech Partners Global, USA HealthTech Partners Global, USA Henrike Neulen Intrinsic, Germany Intrinsic, Germany Asami Sasao Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan Kristina Schunk Schunk, Germany Schunk, Germany Mikell Taylor General Motors, USA General Motors, USA Susanne Timsjo ABB Robotics, Sweden ABB Robotics, Sweden Dana Whalls Association for Advancing Automation (A3), USA Association for Advancing Automation (A3), USA Prof. Rong Xiong IPLUSMOBOT/ Zhejiang University, China Downloads https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/ifrs-women-in-robotics-2026 https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/women-in-robotics-2026-awarded-by-ifr About IFR www.ifr.org IFR on LinkedInand YouTube View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305881198/en/ Contacts: International Federation of Robotics Carsten Heer PRESS OFFICER phone +49 (0) 40 822 44 284 E-Mail: press@ifr.org The Initiative helps clinicians align their clinical practice with updated NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) Melanoma (Version 1.2026) framework NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) Melanoma (Version 1.2026) framework Provides T1b and T2a melanoma patients with a PREDICTIVE molecular test to assess individualized SLN metastasis risk ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SAN DIEGO, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SkylineDx today announced the launch of the Guideline-Informed Risk Assessment Initiative, a clinical program designed to support surgeons and multidisciplinary teams in evaluating patients with T1 and T2 melanoma. The program aligns with the updated NCCN Guidelines, where it is stated that CP-GEP (Merlin CP-GEP) testing may be used in select patients with T1b T2a melanoma to support shared decision-making. Each year in the United States, approximately 20,000 patients are diagnosed with T1b melanoma and 15,000 with T2a disease. Despite guideline recommendations to consider and/or offer SLNB in these populations, an estimated 50% of T1b patients and 25% of T2a patients do not undergo SLNB4. In some cases, this may be due to patient-related factors; in others, decisions may be influenced by clinicopathologic features alone or by results from commercially available gene expression profile tests ('Alternative GEP' assays) not recommended within current guideline direction. Merlin CP-GEP is the only gene expression profile assay prospectively validated in a large, multi-center blinded trial (MERLIN_001) to assess metastatic potential and SLN positivity risk. In this prospective validation study, patients classified as high risk by Merlin CP-GEP demonstrated approximately a three-fold increased risk of SLN involvement compared to low-risk patients5. The NCCN Guidelines also include language stating that "alternative GEP tests for SLNB risk prediction are not recommended outside of the context of a clinical study or trial based on current data" . This distinction positions CP-GEP (Merlin CP-GEP) as a molecular assay recognized by NCCN Guidelines that may be used in specific T-categories to support SLN metastatic risk assessment. "Melanoma mortality is not confined to advanced stages. A significant proportion of deaths occur in patients initially diagnosed with stage I and II disease," said Dharminder Chahal, CEO of SkylineDx. "By incorporating biologic metastatic potential into SLNB discussions and follow-up strategies for patients with cutaneous melanoma, we can move toward more precise, guideline-aligned care." The Guideline-Informed Risk Assessment Initiative will: Support surgeons evaluating T1 and T2 melanoma patients where SLNB is being considered, declined, or has resulted in a negative test by integrating biologic metastatic risk assessment into clinical decision-making. Empower patients with T1 and T2 melanoma to better understand their individualized risk of nodal metastasis through a guideline-recognized test, supporting more informed shared decision-making and surveillance planning. Patient Impact For patients diagnosed with melanoma, uncertainty regarding nodal involvement can significantly affect treatment decisions, anxiety levels, and long-term follow-up intensity. With access to a guideline-recognized test that integrates tumor biology into SLN risk assessment - and validated in a prospective, multi-center, blinded trial from top U.S. academic centers - patients and physicians can engage in more confident, personalized discussions about the potential benefit of SLNB and appropriate surveillance strategies. This initiative supports greater clarity and precision in early-stage melanoma care. The Initiative will be formally introduced to the surgical oncology community at the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting, taking place March 5-7 in Phoenix, Arizona, where SkylineDx will share educational materials and clinical implementation resources. For more information about the Guideline-Informed Risk Assessment Initiative and Merlin CP-GEP, please contact: clientservices@skylinedx.com About the Merlin CP-GEP CP-GEP is a non-invasive prediction model for cutaneous melanoma patients and is the only commercially available GEP test that combines clinicopathologic (CP) variables with gene expression profiling (GEP) into a single integrated algorithm. In addition, it is the only GEP test that provides binary stratification of all patients into High or Low Risk for metastasis, allowing clinicians to assign patients to the appropriate surgical action categories as listed in evidence-based cancer treatment, prevention, and screening guidelines. The advanced CP-GEP model was developed by Mayo Clinic and SkylineDx and is the latest commercially launched GEP test, which has been clinically validated in multiple studies on a global basis. The test has been launched in the United States and Europe as Merlin. SkylineDx collaborates with diagnostic service providers globally to bring this test to market and increase patient access. More information (including references) may be obtained at www.merlinmelanomatest.com About SkylineDx SkylineDx is a biotechnology company focused on research and development of molecular diagnostics in oncology, and inflammatory and infectious diseases. SkylineDx uses its expertise to bridge the gap between academically discovered gene expression signatures and commercially available diagnostic products with high clinical utility, assisting healthcare professionals in accurately determining the type or status of disease or predicting a patient's response to treatment. Based on test results, healthcare professionals can tailor the treatment approach to the individual patient. Headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, SkylineDx maintains a strong U.S. presence with a CAP/CLIA certified laboratory in San Diego, California, and a nationwide commercial service organization that ensures full operational support across the U.S. market. To learn more about SkylineDx, please visit www.skylinedx.com. Footnotes (1) Merlin CP-GEP is marketed in the USA as an LDT. In the EU EEA and UK, it is marketed under the name Merlin Assay, a CE-IVD and UKCA marked device. (2) National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Cutaneous Melanoma (Version 1.2026)- section ME-2, ME-2A, ME-3A, ME-C 1 of 8, and ME-F 2 of 5. Link (3) Sex-specific survival benefit in early skin melanoma based on 8th AJCC edition: an analysis of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database - PMC Ran Mo et al, 2021 Melanoma Skin Cancer Statistics | American Cancer Society last rev Jan 2026 Differences in Thickness-Specific Incidence and Factors Associated With Cutaneous Melanoma in the US From 2010 to 2018 | Dermatology | JAMA Oncology | JAMA Network Michael L. Chen et al, 2022 TABLE 3, Melanoma Staging - Cutaneous Melanoma - NCBI Bookshelf Chapter 6, Clinical Presentation and Staging of Melanoma, William H. Ward et al, 2017 Melanoma of the Skin - Cancer Stat Facts Melanoma underreporting among US dermatopathologists: A pilot study - PubMed Heuring E & Chen SC., 2018 Melanoma reporting to central cancer registries by US dermatologists: an analysis of the persistent knowledge and practice gap - PubMed Cartee TV et al, 2011 Melanoma Thickness and Survival Trends in the United States, 1989 to 2009 - PubMed, Shaikh et al, 2016 (4) Hospital-Based Study of Compliance with NCCN Guidelines and Predictive Factors of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in the Setting of Thin Melanoma Using the National Cancer Database - PubMed Hayek et al, 2018 (5) Gene Expression Profile-Based Test to Predict Melanoma Sentinel Node Status. The MERLIN_001 Study. Tina J. Hieken et al (Jama Surgery, October 2025) Media Contact ICR Healthcare Alexis Feinberg +1 203-939-2225 Alexis.feinberg@icrhealthcare.com SkylineDx contact: Linda Forlani press@skylinedx.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/skylinedx-launches-a-guideline-informed-risk-assessment-initiative-to-support-slnb-decision-making-in-early-stage-melanoma-302705276.html CORESTATE CAPITAL HOLDING S.A. 9, Grand-Rue, L-1661 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under registration number B 199780 (the Company) REVISED AGENDA FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF CORESTATE CAPITAL HOLDING S.A. On 27 February 2026, Nut Tree Capital Management L.P., as investment advisor for and on behalf of Nut Tree Master Fund, L.P. (the Proposing Shareholder) being shareholder representing more than 5% of the Company's share capital, in accordance with article 4(1) of the Luxembourg law dated 24 May 2011 relating to the exercise of certain rights of shareholders at general meetings of listed companies, as amended (the 2011 Law), requested that the Company add a new item (31) to the agenda of the annual general meeting of the shareholders of the Company (the Meeting), which shall be held on 25 March 2026 at 10:00 a.m. CET at Novotel Luxembourg Kirchberg, Quartier Europeen Nord, 6, rue Fort Niedergrunewald, L-2226 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and which was convened pursuant to a convening notice dated 24 February 2026. Consequently, the Company hereby publishes, on the Company's website, the Recueil Electronique des Societes et Associations, the Luxemburger Wort and the German Bundesanzeiger, the revised agenda for the Meeting, including the new item 31, in accordance with article 4 (4) of the 2011 Law: REVISED AGENDA FOR THE MEETING 01 APPOINTMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR (CABINET DE REVISION AGREE) FOR THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2022 TO 2026 The CEO and the supervisory board of the Company (the Supervisory Board) propose that the Meeting approves the appointment of KPMG Audit S.a r.l., with registered office at 39, John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (KPMG), as independent auditor (cabinet de revision agree) for the stand-alone annual accounts and consolidated financial statements of the Company for the financial years 2022 to 2026 (inclusive). 02 PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF THE STAND-ALONE ANNUAL ACCOUNTS OF THE COMPANY FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022, OF THE APPROVED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022, THE AUDITOR REPORT RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 AS WELL AS THE MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The Supervisory Board has not made any comments on the stand-alone annual accounts, the consolidated financial statements for the financial year 2022 as drawn up by the CEO (the 2022 Financial Statements), or on the report prepared by the CEO (the 2022 Management Report) and the report of the independent auditor relating to the 2022 Financial Statements (the 2022 Auditor Report). The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves the 2022 Financial Statements in accordance with article 461-7 of the Luxembourg act on commercial companies dated 10 August 1915, as amended (the Companies Act). 03 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LOSS OF THE COMPANY MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO proposes that the Meeting acknowledges that the Company made a loss with respect to the financial year 2022 in an aggregate amount of EUR 867,089,349.07 (the 2022 Loss). The CEO notes that as a result of the 2022 Loss, the net assets of the Company continue to stand below one quarter of the Company's share capital. The CEO notes that the Company's shareholders had, at the occasion of an extraordinary general meeting of the Company held on 14 July 2023, approved the continuation of the activities of the Company despite the losses of the Company, in accordance with article 480-2 of the Companies Act. The CEO proposes that the Meeting resolves to (i) set off the 2022 Loss against the profits and reserves carried forward from the previous financial year and (ii) carry forward the balance of losses in an aggregate amount of EUR 768,412,207.82 to the next financial year. 04 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR UDO GIEGERICH FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Udo Giegerich for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 05 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MRS IZABELA DANNER FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HER MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mrs Izabela Danner for the performance of her duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 06 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR RALF STRUCKMEYER FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Ralf Struckmeyer for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 07 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR STAVROS EFREMIDIS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Stavros Efremidis for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 08 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR STAVROS EFREMIDIS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Stavros Efremidis for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 09 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. FRIEDRICH OELRICH FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Friedrich Oelrich for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 10 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. BERTRAND MALMENDIER FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Bertrand Malmendier for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 11 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. ROLAND MANFRED FOLZ FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Roland Manfred Folz for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 12 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. NEDIM CEN FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Nedim Cen for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 13 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. SVEN-MARIAN BERNEBURG FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Sven-Marian Berneburg for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2022. 14 ADVISORY NON-BINDING VOTE ON THE REMUNERATION REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves, on a non-binding basis, the remuneration report for the financial year 2022 (the 2022 Remuneration Report) in accordance with the requirements of article 7ter of the Luxembourg law dated 24 May 2011 relating to the exercise of certain rights of shareholders at general meetings of listed companies, as amended (the 2011 Law). 15 ADVISORY NON-BINDING VOTE ON THE UPDATED REMUNERATION POLICY The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves, on a non-binding basis, the updated remuneration policy (the Remuneration Policy) in accordance with the requirements of article 7bis of the 2011 Law. 16 APPROVAL OF THE PARTICIPATION OF DR. SVEN-MARIAN BERNEBURG IN THE LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves that Dr. Sven-Marian Berneburg may participate in the long-term incentive plan of the Company as set out in the Remuneration Policy and receive a number of 1,661,595 ordinary shares in the Company under such long-term incentive plan. 17 PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF THE STAND-ALONE ANNUAL ACCOUNTS OF THE COMPANY FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023, OF THE APPROVED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023, THE AUDITOR REPORT RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 AS WELL AS THE MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The Supervisory Board has not made any comments on the stand-alone annual accounts, the consolidated financial statements for the financial year 2023 as drawn up by the CEO (the 2023 Financial Statements and, together with the 2022 Financial Statements, the Financial Statements), or on the report prepared by the CEO (the 2023 Management Report and, together with the 2022 Management Report, the Management Reports) and the report of the independent auditor relating to the 2023 Financial Statements (the 2023 Auditor Report and, together with the 2022 Auditor Report, the Auditor Reports). The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves the 2023 Financial Statements in accordance with article 461-7 of the Companies Act. 18 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE PROFIT OF THE COMPANY MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO proposes that the Meeting acknowledges that the Company made a profit with respect to the financial year 2023 in an aggregate amount of EUR 287,971,692.26 (the 2023 Profit). The CEO notes that despite the 2023 Profit, the net assets of the Company continue to stand below one quarter of the Company's share capital. The CEO notes that the Company's shareholders had, at the occasion of an extraordinary general meeting of the Company held on 14 July 2023, approved the continuation of the activities of the Company despite the losses of the Company, in accordance with article 480-2 of the Companies Act. The CEO proposes that the Meeting resolves to (i) set off the 2023 Profit against the losses carried forward from the previous financial year and (ii) carry forward the balance of losses in an aggregate amount of EUR 480,440,515.56 to the next financial year. 19 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR UDO GIEGERICH FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Udo Giegerich for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 20 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MRS IZABELA DANNER FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HER MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mrs Izabela Danner for the performance of her duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 21 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO MR STEPHAN GOTSCHEL FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Mr Stephan Gotschel for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 22 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. NEDIM CEN FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Nedim Cen for the performance of his duties as member of the Management Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 23 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. NEDIM CEN FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Nedim Cen for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 24 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. BERTRAND MALMENDIER FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Bertrand Malmendier for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 25 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. SVEN-MARIAN BERNEBURG FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Sven-Marian Berneburg for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 26 DISCHARGE (QUITUS) TO DR. CARLOS MACK FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MANDATE AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting grants discharge (quitus) to Dr. Carlos Mack for the performance of his duties as member of the Supervisory Board for, and in connection with, the financial year 2023. 27 CONFIRMATION AND APPOINTMENT OF MR ANDREAS PAUL UELHOFF AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting (i) confirms the appointment by co-optation of Mr Andreas Paul Uelhoff as member of the Supervisory Board, with effect as of 1 January 2025 and (ii) appoints Mr Andreas Paul Uelhoff as member of the Supervisory Board, for a term of office ending after the annual general meeting of the Company approving the annual accounts of the Company of the financial year ending on 31 December 2027. Further information about the proposed candidate is available on the Company's website at www.corestate-capital.com in the segment "Investor Relations" > "Corporate Governance & General Meeting" > "General Meeting" and will be available for inspection during the Meeting. 28 CONFIRMATION AND APPOINTMENT OF MR WOLFGANG BAUER AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting (i) confirms the appointment by co-optation of Mr Wolfgang Bauer as member of the Supervisory Board, with effect as of 1 January 2025 and (ii) appoints Mr Wolfgang Bauer as member of the Supervisory Board for a term of office ending after the annual general meeting of the Company approving the annual accounts of the Company of the financial year ending on 31 December 2027. Further information about the proposed candidate is available on the Company's website at www.corestate-capital.com in the segment "Investor Relations" > "Corporate Governance & General Meeting" > "General Meeting" and will be available for inspection during the Meeting. 29 APPOINTMENT OF DR. SVEN-MARIAN BERNEBURG AS MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting appoints Dr. Sven-Marian Berneburg as member of the Supervisory Board for a term of office ending after the annual general meeting of the Company approving the annual accounts of the Company of the financial year ending on 31 December 2029. 30 ADVISORY NON-BINDING VOTE ON THE REMUNERATION REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The CEO and the Supervisory Board propose that the Meeting approves, on a non-binding basis, the remuneration report for the financial year 2023 (the 2023 Remuneration Report and, together with the 2022 Remuneration Report, the Remuneration Reports) in accordance with the requirements of article 7ter of the 2011 Law. 31 APPROVAL OF A ONE-OFF CASH BONUS PAYMENT TO DR. SVEN-MARIAN BERNEBURG FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2023 The Proposing Shareholder proposes that the Meeting approves the payment of a one-off cash bonus in a gross amount of EUR 200,000.00 to Dr. Sven-Marian Berneburg, in his capacity as a member of the Supervisory Board in recognition of his significant contributions to the Company's restructuring efforts during the financial year 2023. In addition to the documented regular and ad hoc meetings of the Supervisory Board in 2023, Dr. Berneburg, in his capacity as member of the Supervisory Board and later in his role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, played a key role in helping the Corestate Management Board to develop and implement the restructuring concept and put it into practice. In particular with regard to the alternative restructuring concept published in April 2023, Dr. Berneburg contributed significant efforts in ensuring that a practicable restructuring concept could be developed through his regular participation in conference calls with the Company, the appointed advisors and investors as well as other relevant stakeholders. Considering that no annual general meeting has been scheduled since then, the approval of this exceptional bonus payment could not be proposed earlier. This revised agenda replaces the initial agenda set out in the convening notice dated 24 February 2026 and shall be read in conjunction with all other information set out in such convening notice. Revised proxy and correspondence voting forms are made available on the Company's website under www.corestate-capital.com in the segment "Investor Relations" > "Corporate Governance & General Meeting" > "General Meeting" and at the Company's registered office in Luxembourg, as of the day of the publication of this revised convening notice and are available at: Corestate Capital Holding S.A. c/o GFEI HV GmbH Ostergrube 11 30559 Hannover Germany Fax: +49 511 47402319 E-Mail: HV@gfei.de Luxembourg, 5 March 2026. Corestate Capital Holding S.A., Societe Anonyme The CEO EQS-News: tZERO / Key word(s): Financial tZERO, Nomyx Partner to Provide Issuers a Direct, Regulated Route From Tokenization to Trading 05.03.2026 / 15:05 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. New Collaboration Connects Primary Issuance Infrastructure With Regulated Secondary Trading Through tZERO's Broker-dealer and ATS Ecosystem NEW YORK, NY - March 5, 2026 ( NEWMEDIAWIRE ) - tZERO Group, Inc. , a leading innovator in blockchain-powered multi-asset infrastructure, today announced a partnership with institutional tokenization platform, Nomyx , to support issuers seeking compliant infrastructure for tokenized securities. Through this relationship, Nomyx will integrate its tokenization capabilities with tZERO's regulated broker-dealer and Alternative Trading System (ATS) and on-chain custodial infrastructure - enabling issuers to move seamlessly from primary issuance to potential secondary trading in a compliant market environment. As part of the collaboration, Nomyx can now offer issuers a more complete lifecycle solution: tokenization services paired with a direct pathway to regulated primary issuance and secondary liquidity through tZERO's SEC- and FINRA-regulated broker-dealer ecosystem. This provides issuers with: A credible and compliant route to market Integrated infrastructure spanning issuance through secondary trading and institutional on-chain custody Access to regulated digital asset securities workflows designed for institutional-grade participation "Our partnership with Nomyx reflects a shared commitment to bringing institutional-grade infrastructure and credibility to tokenized markets," said Alan Konevsky, CEO of tZERO. "Issuers are increasingly looking for solutions that don't stop at tokenization but connect directly into end-to-end regulated trading environments. By working together, we're helping bridge that gap, and creating yet another pathway for some of our services." By aligning with tZERO's regulatory framework, Nomyx strengthens its ability to serve issuers seeking not only tokenization technology but also access to compliant market infrastructure that supports long-term capital formation and investor participation. "Our focus at Nomyx is to simplify tokenization and deliver a complete system built for institutional adoption," said Ubair Javaid, CEO of Nomyx. "This partnership gives our clients a clearer path to secondary liquidity and broader market access. By aligning with tZERO's regulated trading infrastructure, we are connecting primary issuance with compliant secondary markets in a way that meets market expectations." Together, tZERO and Nomyx aim to support a more compliant tokenization lifecycle by connecting issuance capabilities with regulated trading infrastructure, helping issuers move from capital formation to secondary market participation and on-chain custody within a trusted market framework. tZERO Media Contact: Julie Ros, Head of Marketing & Communications jros@tzero.com About Nomyx Nomyx is an institutional tokenization platform providing compliant infrastructure for compliant digital asset structuring, primary issuance, and lifecycle management. The company works with fund issuers and sponsors to bring private market and real-world assets onchain within a regulatory-focused framework designed for institutional participation. The Nomyx platform integrates digital identity and compliance controls at the protocol level, supporting KYC and AML workflows, investor eligibility rules, and jurisdictional transfer restrictions. Its architecture enables upgradeable token standards and governance features, allowing issuers to adapt to evolving regulatory and operational requirements. With cross-chain support, Nomyx provides flexibility across blockchain networks while maintaining consistent compliance and investor permissions. By combining issuance infrastructure, identity-linked compliance, and interoperable token design, Nomyx helps institutional sponsors modernize fund distribution and position their assets for participation in regulated digital markets. About tZERO tZERO Group, Inc. (tZERO) and its broker-dealer subsidiaries provide an innovative liquidity platform for private companies and assets. We offer institutional-grade solutions for issuers looking to digitize their capital table through blockchain technology, and make such equity available for trading on an alternative trading system. tZERO, through its broker-dealer subsidiaries, democratizes access to private assets by providing a simple, automated, and efficient trading venue to broker-dealers, institutions, and investors. All technology services are offered through tZERO Technologies, LLC. For more information, please visit our website . About tZERO Digital Asset Securities, LLC tZERO Digital Asset Securities, LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC . It is the broker-dealer custodian of all digital asset securities offered on tZERO's online brokerage platform. More information about tZERO Digital Asset Securities may be found on FINRA's BrokerCheck . About tZERO Securities, LLC tZERO Securities, LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC . It is the operator of the tZERO Securities ATS. More information about tZERO Securities may be found on FINRA's BrokerCheck . Forward-Looking Statements by tZERO This release contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, tZERO, its subsidiaries, or its representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. These forward-looking statements are based on expectations and projections about future events, which is derived from currently available information. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, including financial performance and projections; growth in revenue and earnings; and business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "contemplates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," "projected," "predicts," "potential," or "hopes" or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including, without limitation: the ability of tZERO and its subsidiaries to change the direction; tZERO's ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; performance of individual transactions; regulatory developments and matters; and competition. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this release and other statements made from time to time by tZERO, its subsidiaries or their respective representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. tZERO, its subsidiaries, and its representatives are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this release and other statements made from time to time by tZERO, its subsidiaries or its representatives might not occur. EverFleet Secures Additional $3M of Credit Financing from Afterglow Climate Justice Fund - to Further Democratize EV Ownership for Underserved Commercial Fleet and Rideshare Drivers BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Spring Free EV (SFEV), a first-of-its kind lending platform for commercial fleet owners and drivers, announced today it is rebranding to EverFleet. The new name reflects the company's long-term goal of reinventing the commercial fleet financing market, and its commitment to providing fleet financing and management for the multi-billion-dollar marketplace of the more than 1M small and medium-sized commercial fleets across the country. EverFleet aims to cut the cost of vehicles for commercial fleet owners in sectors like rideshare, last mile delivery, and essential services by leveraging the inherent cost and performance advantages of today's already-available electric vehicles. The company's innovative financing platform helps business owners realize the savings through a range of leasing options. EverFleet is tackling the full U.S. commercial fleet market starting with three light-duty segments with immediate pain points, including rideshare, last mile and autonomous fleets. "Our brand needed to evolve to reflect our expanded goal to provide innovative financing solutions to small and medium-sized fleet owners and rideshare drivers across the country and across industries," said Rob Day, CEO of EverFleet. "The commercial fleet financing market is at a critical inflection point. We have a $370B market with a structural blind spot. The issue is not demand for advanced mobility, it's outdated financing approaches that don't appropriately value new categories of vehicles, or address how to underwrite small fleets. That's where EverFleet comes in. We provide commercial fleets with new leasing solutions designed to help customers capture the economic and operational benefits of BEV adoption." EverFleet also announced today that it has secured an additional $3M loan from The Afterglow Climate Justice Fund, which will support EverFleet's lease-to-own program for low-income ride-share drivers. First launched by Candide Group in 2024, the Afterglow Climate Justice Fund is a catalytic debt vehicle which provides debt capital to expand access to and/or ownership of affordable clean energy solutions. The debt vehicle focuses on the root causes of climate harm through an intersectional lens of racism, classism, capitalism, economic injustice, and environmental degradation. "Afterglow is excited to support EverFleet in creating a path to electric vehicles ownership for rideshare drivers regardless of income, banking status, or credit challenges," Co-managing Director of Afterglow, Neal Parikh, said. "Solutions like EverFleet ensure the most marginalized communities and individuals can receive the economic and air quality benefits from transitioning to electric vehicles." "Democratizing EV ownership for underserved commercial fleet and rideshare drivers is a significant pillar of our expansion strategy, and we are grateful to Afterglow for their partnership," added Day. "EverFleet's leasing program offers a 'drive-to-own' product aimed at marginalized rideshare drivers. This program allows drivers to obtain EV ownership in addition to building credit over time which is crucial for their livelihoods." Last month EverFleet announced it had received a new infusion of financing to further expand operations. The additional capital supports its expansion in the light-duty commercial fleet market, providing proven, long-lived battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to last-mile delivery operators and rideshare drivers through innovative vehicle leasing solutions. The company received $13M in financing from two asset finance providers, alongside additional corporate equity from existing investors. EverFleet has already launched operations in Florida, Texas, and New Jersey, with planned expansion into Georgia, Illinois, and California in the coming months. Last September, the company announced it had received a new round of equity financing of $7.2M from Spring Lane Capital. In addition to Spring Lane, EverFleet's early investors include leading tech luminaries. About EverFleet EverFleet is a first-of-its kind lending platform for fleet owners and drivers. We offer specialty financing and operations support to the commercial market, helping fleet owners and drivers benefit from the inherent efficiencies and cost advantages of BEV ownership. Our innovative AI-enabled financing model takes into account the "total cost of ownership" advantage and other unique operational benefits that only BEVs can offer, so we can offer optimized financing options. Learn more at www.everfleet.com. Media Contact : Cindy Stoller Confluence Partners 917-331-0418 cstoller@confluencepartners.com SOURCE: EverFleet View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/automotive/spring-free-ev-rebrands-as-everfleet-with-focus-on-revolutionizing-commercial-fleet-fina-1143644 James Li presents Augmented Human Intelligence (AHI) as the path forward, outlining how AI can enhance human potential BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 4, James Li, CEO of global AI device ecosystem company HONOR, delivered a forward-looking keynote address on the main stage of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026, outlining how AI can enhance human potential. "We believe the essence of AI must remain human-centric," said James Li, as HONOR takes the center stage at MWC for the first time. "Our goal is to give intelligence both IQ and EQ, the power to solve, and the soul to understand. It will help us navigate a fast-changing world, so we can live each moment with joy, love, and wisdom." HONOR delivered an outstanding performance at this year's event, anchored by a bold vision for the future-Augmented Human Intelligence (AHI)-and crowned by a true showstopper: the HONOR Robot Phone. HONOR was rewarded the "Best Disruptive Device innovation" for the implementation and commercialisation of silicon carbon battery technology by Global Mobile (GLOMO) at MWC 2026. This innovation empowers HONOR Magic V6 to achieve an industry-first silicon content of 25%, supporting higher energy density in an ultra-thin foldable design. At MWC 2026, HONOR also demonstrated next-generation battery innovation with the all-new HONOR Silicon-carbon Blade Battery, featuring 32% silicon content and 985 Wh/L. It signals a further leap in ultra-thin, ultra-high energy battery technology. Furthermore, numerous global institutes has awarded a series of HONOR products, including HONOR Robot Phone, HONOR Magic V6, HONOR MagicPad4, and HONOR MagicBook Pro 14 "Best in Show"for MWC 2026, while media and analysts praised its human-centric innovation and its integration of robotics, AI, and mobile communication technologies. HONOR's Robot Phone is the best showcase of HONOR's AHI vision, which places humanity at the center of the AI revolution, advocating for technology that seeks to enhance, not replace, human potential and creativity. To turn this vision into reality, three forms of intelligence must work together: personal intelligence: the AI agent that lives on users' personal devices, universal intelligence: the collective brain of humanity, bringing the world's knowledge to users; and edge intelligence: like robots and electric vehicles, acting as users' new "eyes" and "hands" in the physical world. As an embodied AI device that can sense and interact with the world, the HONOR Robot Phone exemplifies how these three intelligences can seamlessly integrate to empower anyone to become a professional filmmaker: bring AI and imaging together, unlock a whole new world of self-expression."It makes creation not only effortless, and far more exciting," says James Li. On the stage, James Li also issued an open invitation for collaboration across the industry to create an AI device ecosystem. "We aspire to be a cool company, teaming up with the coolest minds. Together, for a cool future of AI!" he said. From the Robot Phone to the latest foldable, tablet and PC innovation, global media and MWC attendees are welcome to visit the HONOR booth in Hall 3 to experience the future of intelligent devices firsthand. About HONOR For more information, please visit HONOR online at www.honor.com https://community.honor.com/ https://www.facebook.com/honorglobal/ https://x.com/honorglobal https://www.instagram.com/honorglobal/ https://www.youtube.com/c/HonorOfficial Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926725/James_Li_CEO_HONOR_delivered_keynote_address_main_stage_MWC.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926726/GLOMO_award_presented_HONOR_MWC.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/honor-ceo-takes-center-stage-at-mwc-2026-while-robot-phone-praised-for-its-innovation-and-integration-of-intelligence-302704793.html Scottsdale, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - The three-day Functional Longevity Summit, hosted by Boston BioLife in Arizona, brought together physicians, researchers, and health innovators focused on the future of personalized precision medicine. Unlike many wellness events, the summit combined scientific lectures, continuing medical education, and hands-on demonstrations of emerging health technologies. To view the full announcement, including downloadable images, bios, and more, click here. Key Takeaways: Advanced diagnostics key in preventative medicine for personalized care strategies. Regenerative approaches aim to reduce invasive surgeries through integrative care. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange gaining popularity in longevity medicine for anti-aging benefits. Click image above to view full announcement. About Wellness Eternal Wellness Eternal is a data driven health education company dedicated to advancing truth, safety, and efficacy in wellness and biohacking. Through research, verified ratings, and media amplification, Wellness Eternal helps individuals and practitioners make informed decisions about emerging health solutions. About the Biohacking Index The Biohacking Index is a verified ratings and reviews platform focused on biohacking, longevity, and human performance. It exists to bring clarity, credibility, and accountability to one of the fastest growing areas of health and wellness by elevating the companies that consistently deliver real world results. Source: Newsworthy.ai To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286363 Source: Reportable, Inc. Enterprise-scale data integration, cross-system connectivity, and multi-region support strengthen knowledge discovery and improve AI outcomes across the iManage platform CHICAGO, March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iManage, the company dedicated to Making Knowledge Work, today announced advancements to Insight+ that expand how organizations connect documents, business data, and metadata across the iManage platform. The updates introduce enterprise-scale metadata indexing, deeper integration with external data sources, and multi-region deployment support, enabling organizations to uncover relationships across their knowledge and generate more reliable AI-driven insights while maintaining centralized governance. Findings from the iManage Knowledge Work Benchmark Report 2026 highlight the urgency of this shift, revealing a widening disconnect between AI adoption and knowledge governance readiness. The research shows that 36% of organizations have already experienced document policy violations tied to AI usage, yet only two-thirds have centralized storage and formal governance controls in place. Meanwhile, a quarter of employees are using publicly available AI tools with limited oversight, contributing to content fragmentation across AI assistants, chat histories, and external databases just as contextual intelligence becomes essential to competitive advantage. The Benchmark findings also indicate that while 72% of organizations report being extremely or very likely to implement new document management solutions within two years and the majority are actively piloting AI initiatives, persistent challenges such as poor data quality and unclear use cases continue to slow progress. Organizations increasingly require solutions that unlock value from existing content and deliver immediate AI benefit without introducing new fragmentation. "Organizations aren't struggling to access AI - they're struggling to ensure AI can interpret their knowledge correctly," said Neil Araujo, CEO of iManage. "Insight+ addresses this by strengthening the context and connectivity of content already centralized within the iManage platform, enabling firms to improve knowledge quality, strengthen discovery, and deliver more reliable AI outcomes without compromising governance." Key areas of Insight+ advancement include: Enterprise-Scale Contextual Integration - Enriches the content with relevant and related metadata in external systems, making the content easier to find and use by humans or AI agents. - Enriches the content with relevant and related metadata in external systems, making the content easier to find and use by humans or AI agents. Knowledge Discovery & Matter Analytics - Enables users to identify precedent across the entire DMS and knowledge collections through rich filtering capabilities and compare matters based on commercial terms and matter profile context to surface patterns and insights. Enables users to identify precedent across the entire DMS and knowledge collections through rich filtering capabilities and compare matters based on commercial terms and matter profile context to surface patterns and insights. Data Warehouse Integration - Unifies structured business data about matters, clients, and personnel with unstructured content, eliminating the need to fragment knowledge across multiple systems while maintaining centralized governance. Unifies structured business data about matters, clients, and personnel with unstructured content, eliminating the need to fragment knowledge across multiple systems while maintaining centralized governance. Multi-Region Deployment - Maintains data sovereignty and regulatory compliance requirements while preserving centralized discoverability across the organization, ensuring content stays where it belongs without sacrificing unified knowledge access. Maintains data sovereignty and regulatory compliance requirements while preserving centralized discoverability across the organization, ensuring content stays where it belongs without sacrificing unified knowledge access. Expertise Discovery (In Development) - Forthcoming capabilities will surface expert knowledge based on demonstrated work product and matter involvement, transforming Insight+ from document discovery into a solution for connecting questions with proven expertise. Reducing Fragmentation as AI Scales Insight+ connects knowledge content with matter, client, and people context from external business systems. This approach makes centralized content more valuable for reuse, analytics, and future AI applications, reducing both the need and the risk associated with extracting and storing content in external systems where governance controls may not apply. The capabilities also complement broader platform connectivity initiatives such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) by ensuring that content accessed across AI ecosystems is contextually rich, structured, and governed - improving the quality and reliability of downstream AI interactions. Customer adoption reflects growing recognition that contextual intelligence through data integration is essential to unlocking value in institutional knowledge. Organizations are using Insight+ to connect content with business data, surface patterns across matters, and create knowledge environments that support analytics, discovery, and AI-driven decision-making while maintaining the governance controls that professional services require. Customer adoption reflects growing recognition that contextual intelligence through data integration is essential to unlocking institutional knowledge value. Organizations across legal and professional services are deploying Insight+ to strengthen knowledge quality, reduce fragmentation, and prepare their environments for AI-enabled work at scale. Join iManage at Legalweek and BLTF 2026 iManage will showcase these enhancements at Legalweek (March 9-12, New York City) and at the British Legal Technology Forum (March 10, London), highlighting its continued leadership in AI Confidence and governed knowledge foundations. Visit booth #116 at Legalweek and booths A24 and A2 at BLTF to learn more. About iManage iManage is dedicated to Making Knowledge Work. Our cloud-native platform is at the center of the knowledge economy, enabling every organization to work more productively, collaboratively, and securely. Built on more than 30 years of industry experience, iManage helps leading organizations manage documents and emails more efficiently, protect vital information assets, and leverage knowledge to drive better business outcomes. As your strategic business partner, we employ our award-winning AI-enabled technology, an extensive partner ecosystem, and a customer-centric approach to provide support and guidance you can trust to make knowledge work for you. iManage is relied on by more than one million professionals at 4,000 organizations around the world. Visit www.imanage.com to learn more. Follow iManage via: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/imanage X: https://x.com/imanageinc YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iManage Press contact: Alicia Saragosa, iManage press@imanage.com The forensic equipment and supplies market growth is driven by rising demand for advanced crime scene analysis, increasing adoption of DNA and toxicology testing, and continuous innovations in forensic technologies. In addition, expansion of forensic laboratories, growth in cybercrime and biometric applications, and rising investment in automated and portable forensic tools are strengthening market demand. Supportive government initiatives, stringent regulatory standards, and collaborations between forensic solution providers and law enforcement agencies further contribute to overall market expansion. WILMINGTON, Del., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Forensic Equipment and Supplies Market by Product (Instruments, Reagents and Consumables, Low temperature Storage Devices and Evidence Drying Cabinets), Application (Drug Testing and Toxicology, DNA Analysis, Blood Analysis, Biometrics and Other Applications), and End User (Government Forensic Laboratories, Independent Forensic Laboratories and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, the forensic equipment and supplies market was valued at $8.1 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $16.5 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2024 to 2033. Request Sample of the Report on Forensic Equipment and Supplies Market Forecast 2033 - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A09493 The rising incidence of criminal cases, increasing demand for accurate and rapid forensic analysis, and growing adoption of DNA, toxicology, and biometric testing have significantly boosted demand for forensic equipment and supplies across law enforcement and forensic laboratories. Advancements in high-resolution imaging, chromatography, automated DNA analyzers, and portable crime scene kits have attracted government and independent forensic labs seeking precise, reliable, and efficient investigation tools. The expansion of mobile forensic units, cloud-based evidence management platforms, and integrated laboratory information management systems (LIMS) has further supported market growth by enhancing sample tracking, workflow efficiency, and data integrity. Additionally, supportive government initiatives, increased funding for forensic R&D, and collaborations between technology providers and law enforcement agencies are driving innovation, standardization, and operational effectiveness, fueling the overall expansion of the forensic equipment and supplies market. Report coverage & details Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2024-2033 Base Year 2023 Market Size in 2023 $8.1 billion Market Size in 2033 $16.5 billion CAGR 7.3 % No. of Pages in Report 315 Segments Covered Product, Application, End User, and Region Drivers Increase in incidences of crime Rise in awareness and emphasis on forensic science in criminal investigations Expanding application of forensic science Opportunity Rise in adoption of digital forensics Restraint Lack of skilled professionals in emerging countries By product, the instruments segment held the highest market share in 2023 The instruments segment dominated the forensic equipment and supplies market in 2023, driven by widespread adoption of advanced analytical systems such as DNA sequencers, chromatography and spectrometry instruments, and digital forensic tools. These systems play a critical role in accurate evidence examination, toxicology screening, and biometric identification. Increasing investment in laboratory modernization and automation has further strengthened demand for high-performance instruments. In addition, technological advancements in portable forensic devices and rapid testing systems have enhanced on-site crime scene analysis, improving turnaround time and investigative efficiency. By application, the DNA analysis segment held the highest market share in 2023 The DNA analysis segment led the market due to the growing reliance on genetic profiling for criminal investigations, paternity testing, and identification of missing persons. Rising crime rates, increasing backlog of cases, and the expanding use of forensic DNA databases have significantly contributed to segment growth. Advancements in rapid DNA testing technologies, improved amplification kits, and automated extraction systems have enhanced accuracy and reduced processing time. Moreover, expanding adoption of DNA-based evidence in judicial proceedings has reinforced the dominance of this segment globally. Want to Explore More, Connect to our Analyst - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/A09493 By end user, the government forensic laboratories segment held the highest market share in 2023 Government forensic laboratories accounted for the largest share in 2023, supported by substantial public funding, national security initiatives, and structured forensic frameworks. These laboratories manage high case volumes and rely heavily on advanced instruments, reagents, and consumables to maintain evidence integrity and comply with accreditation standards. Ongoing investments in laboratory infrastructure, staff training, and digital evidence management systems have strengthened their operational capabilities. Collaboration with technology providers and research institutions has further enhanced testing efficiency and standardization across government facilities. By region, North America held the highest market share in 2023 North America generated the highest revenue share in 2023, driven by well-established forensic infrastructure, strong regulatory standards, and significant government investment in law enforcement technologies. The presence of leading forensic equipment manufacturers and advanced research capabilities further supports regional dominance. Europe follows with steady growth supported by standardized forensic protocols and cross-border collaboration initiatives. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific is witnessing rapid expansion due to increasing crime investigation capabilities, infrastructure development, and rising government funding. LAMEA presents emerging opportunities with improving forensic awareness and modernization efforts. Which key end-user groups are accelerating adoption in the forensic equipment and supplies market? Government forensic laboratories remain the primary drivers of adoption due to their responsibility for handling large-scale criminal investigations and maintaining national forensic databases. Independent forensic laboratories are also expanding their presence, offering specialized testing services and supporting case overflow from public institutions. Additionally, law enforcement agencies and investigative departments increasingly deploy portable forensic kits and digital tools to enhance field-level evidence collection. The collective focus on accuracy, rapid processing, and regulatory compliance is accelerating the widespread adoption of advanced forensic equipment and supplies worldwide. For Purchase Related Queries/Enquiry - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/A09493 Key Players Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. PerkinElmer Inc. Agilent Technologies Inc. Danaher Corporation Waters Corporation Air Science BVDA International Safariland LLC. Illumina Inc HORIBA Ltd. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the forensic equipment and supplies market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Recent developments in the global forensic equipment and supplies market In October 2023, HORIBA Instruments Incorporated, a HORIBA Group company, acquired Process Instruments, Inc., a leading manufacturer of Raman process spectroscopy solutions for environmental and industrial applications, aiming to strengthen its analytical technology portfolio by combining Process Instruments' U.S.-focused refinery and petrochemical instrumentation expertise with HORIBA's extensive global sales network to expand business opportunities and market reach. Explore AMR's Extensive Ongoing Coverage on Life Science Industry: Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Stem Cell Therapy market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 Genome Editing Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Enteral Feeding Devices Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2035 Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Pharmaceutical Packaging Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2035 Medical Electrodes Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 AVENUE - A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) Offered by Allied Market Research: AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library on Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solutions for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail themselves of an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides end-to-end solutions along with information, education, advocacy, and networking resources to SMEs and early-stage start-ups to bring excellence to their processes. In addition, we offer a nurturing environment required to develop and grow businesses, including business planning; virtual support; market intelligence; acquiring resources; and getting direct access to finance, suppliers, and other experts to boost the growth of businesses and entrepreneurs. Our bundled and hassle-free business support systems are customized to meet the needs of SME consultants and industry leaders. Moreover, our large network of skilled consultants and experts help start-ups get the business on a roll. To find out more, visit www.Alliedmarketresearch.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/forensic-equipment-and-supplies-market-to-reach-16-5-billion-globally-by-2033-at-7-3-cagr-allied-market-research-302705247.html Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. ("Meadowbank"), a Calgary-based investor relations ("IR") and capital markets advisory firm, today announced that Answir Inc., its artificial intelligence technology subsidiary, has been admitted to the NVIDIA Inception Program, an initiative designed to support and accelerate startups developing advanced AI technologies. The NVIDIA Inception Program provides qualifying companies with technical resources, infrastructure support, and access to NVIDIA's global ecosystem of developers, partners, and investors. As a member of the program, Answir gains access to benefits including cloud GPU credits, preferred pricing on NVIDIA hardware and software, deep-learning training resources, and engineering guidance to support the continued development and scaling of the Answir platform. Participation in the program also provides exposure to NVIDIA's network of venture capital firms and strategic partners, enabling member companies to connect with investors and technology collaborators through curated introductions, events, and startup ecosystem initiatives. For emerging AI companies, these benefits can significantly reduce infrastructure costs associated with training and operating AI models while accelerating product development timelines and strengthening access to capital markets and strategic partnerships. "We are genuinely thrilled to join the NVIDIA Inception Program," said Nick Kuzyk, MBA, Principal & Owner of Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. "NVIDIA has built the foundational computing infrastructure behind much of the world's AI innovation. Access to GPU credits, technical expertise, and NVIDIA's global investor and partner ecosystem will help accelerate the continued development and commercialization of the Answir platform." 2025 NVIDIA is a trademark and/or a registered trademark of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. About Answir Answir is an AI-powered investor relations platform developed by Answir Inc., a subsidiary of Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc., and designed to help public and private companies engage more effectively with investors and other stakeholders. Embedded directly on a company's website, Answir enables users to ask natural-language questions and receive instant responses drawn exclusively from a company's verified disclosures and integrated stock data feeds, including regulatory filings, press releases, investor presentations, and other approved materials. Unlike general-purpose AI tools that rely on broad internet data, Answir operates within a ring-fenced knowledge base of authorized company information, helping organizations maintain compliance and avoid speculative or unverified responses. The platform provides automated responses to investor inquiries, analytics on stakeholder engagement, and tools for capturing investor leads, enabling companies to modernize investor communications while allowing IR teams to focus on higher-value strategic activities. Based on analysis of typical investor relations workflows and costs, companies using the platform can expect an average return of approximately $3.20 for every $1.00 spent on Answir, driven by a combination of cost savings, efficiency gains, and improved investor engagement. Learn more at www.answir.ai. About Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. is a Calgary-based investor relations and capital markets advisory firm providing strategic communications, disclosure support, and market-facing advisory services to public and growth-stage companies. Meadowbank combines deep capital markets experience with modern technology to help issuers improve transparency, strengthen investor engagement, and navigate the public markets more effectively. Learn more at www.mdwbnk.com. SOURCE: Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286361 Source: Meadowbank Strategic Partners Inc. The cultured meat market growth is driven by increasing demand for sustainable protein alternatives, rising environmental and animal welfare concerns, and continuous advancements in cellular agriculture technologies. In addition, expanding investments in food biotechnology, improvements in bioreactor and growth media development, and growing consumer interest in clean-label products are strengthening market demand. Supportive regulatory approvals, government funding for alternative proteins, and strategic collaborations between food tech companies and research institutions further contribute to overall market expansion. WILMINGTON, Del., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Cultured Meat Market by Type (Red Meat, Poultry, and Seafood) and End User (Household and Food Services): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, the global cultured meat market was valued at $65.2 million in 2023 and is projected to reach $6,501.8 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 58.5% from 2024 to 2033. Download Sample Pages of Research Overview: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A06670 The rising demand for sustainable protein sources, increasing environmental and animal welfare concerns, and growing acceptance of alternative proteins have significantly boosted demand for cultured meat across global food markets. Advancements in cell line development, serum-free growth media, scalable bioreactors, and 3D tissue scaffolding technologies have attracted food technology companies and investors seeking efficient, cost-effective production solutions. The expansion of pilot-scale production facilities, automation in cell cultivation, and AI-driven bioprocess optimization has further supported market growth by improving yield, consistency, and quality control. Additionally, supportive regulatory approvals, increased funding for cellular agriculture research, and collaborations between biotechnology firms and established food manufacturers are driving innovation, commercialization, and large-scale adoption, fueling the overall expansion of the cultured meat market. Report coverage & details Report Coverage???? Details???? Forecast Period ?????????????????????????? 2024-2033??? Base Year ??????????????????????? 2023 Market Size in 2023 ????????? $65.2 million Market Size in 2033???????????????? $6,501.8 million CAGR ?????? 58.5 % No. of Pages in Report ??????????????????????????? 305 Segments Covered???? Type, End User, and Region Drivers ??????????????? Rising demand for sustainable protein Growing environmental and animal welfare concerns Expanding applications across meat categories Opportunity? Advancements in scalable and cost-efficient production Restraint? High production costs and limited commercialization infrastructure Buy This Research Report (305 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/3acf0620abd10c8c7f3183a0fe7ec84a By type, the red meat segment held the highest market share in 2023 The red meat segment dominated the cultured meat market in 2023, driven by strong global demand for beef products and increasing environmental concerns associated with conventional cattle farming. Cultivated beef has attracted significant investment due to its high commercial value and large consumer base. Technological advancements in muscle cell cultivation, fat integration, and scaffold development have improved texture and flavor replication. Additionally, ongoing research focused on cost reduction and scalable bioreactor production has strengthened the commercial potential of cultured red meat products. By end user, the food services segment held the highest market share in 2023 The food services segment led the market in 2023, supported by strategic partnerships between cultured meat producers and restaurants, hotels, and quick-service chains. Early commercialization efforts have primarily targeted food service outlets to introduce cultivated meat through limited launches and pilot programs. This approach allows companies to build brand awareness, gather consumer feedback, and position products as premium and sustainable alternatives. Growing interest from chefs and hospitality providers in offering innovative, environmentally friendly menu options has further accelerated adoption within this segment. By region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in 2023 Asia-Pacific generated the highest revenue share in 2023, driven by strong government support for food innovation, increasing investments in cellular agriculture, and rising demand for alternative proteins. Countries such as Singapore, China, Japan, and South Korea are actively promoting food technology development and regulatory advancements. North America follows with significant growth, supported by robust venture capital funding, expanding research activities, and increasing consumer awareness in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Europe is witnessing steady expansion due to sustainability initiatives, supportive regulatory discussions, and rising demand for ethical protein sources across Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, and the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa present emerging opportunities, driven by growing food security concerns, expanding urban populations, and gradual investments in alternative protein infrastructure across Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and neighboring countries. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/A06670 Which end-user segments are driving growth in the cultured meat market? Food service providers remain the primary drivers of adoption, as restaurants, hotels, and premium dining chains introduce cultivated meat through pilot launches and limited menu offerings. These establishments play a crucial role in shaping consumer perception and testing market acceptance. Household consumers are also emerging as a significant segment, driven by growing interest in sustainable, ethical, and clean-label protein alternatives. Additionally, food manufacturers and retail partners are exploring collaborations to integrate cultured meat into mainstream distribution channels. The collective focus on sustainability, innovation, and food security is accelerating adoption across global markets. Key Players Cubiq Foods S.L. Vow Group Pty Ltd. Mission Barns Memphis Meats, Inc. Future Meat Technologies Meatable B.V. Mosa Meat BV Aleph Farms Ltd. Redefine Meat The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the cultured meat market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Recent developments in the global cultured meat market In 2023, Cubiq Foods S.L. expanded collaborations with alternative protein manufacturers to commercialize its cultivated fat ingredients. These ingredients are designed to enhance flavor, texture, and mouthfeel in plant-based and cell-based meat products, while also improving nutritional profiles through optimized fatty acid composition. By partnering with producers, the company aims to support hybrid formulations that better replicate the sensory qualities of conventional meat. In 2024, Mission Barns advanced regulatory discussions in the United States and scaled pilot production of cultivated pork fat. This strategy supports its commercial launch plans by demonstrating production scalability, regulatory readiness, and market viability in the evolving cultivated meat industry. Explore AMR's Extensive ongoing Coverage on Food and Beverages Domain: Smoked Meats Market (2024 - 2033) Meat Processing Equipment Market (2024 - 2034) Meat Substitute Market (2023 - 2035) Meat-Based Flavors Market (2021 - 2031) Plant-based Meat Market (2021 - 2031) North America Cooked Meat Market (2022-2031) Deli Meat Market (2021-2030) Processed Poultry Meat Market (2020-2031) Processed Meat Market (2021-2030) Meat Analogue Market (2023-2032) About us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of 'Market Research Reports' and 'Business Intelligence Solutions'. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cultured-meat-market-to-reach-6-501-8-million-globally-by-2033-at-58-5-cagr-allied-market-research-302705385.html The Private Placement, of approximately 6% of the Company's share capital, is aimed at international institutional investors, through an accelerated book-building process. Funds raised are expected to support long-term value creation, primarily by expanding partnering opportunities, maximizing the value captured from future collaborations, and strengthening Medincell's proprietary long-acting injectable (LAI) technology platform through targeted innovation. Regulatory News: THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT BEING MADE IN AND COPIES OF IT MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED OR SENT, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR AUSTRALIA Medincell (Euronext Paris: MEDCL), a commercial- and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical licensing company developing long-acting injectable treatments (the "Company"), today announced the launch of a private placement of approximately 6% of the Company's share capital, targeted at international institutional investors through an accelerated book-building process. The net proceeds from the private placement, together with the Company's existing cash resources, are expected to support and accelerate the execution of Medincell's growth strategy. In particular, the Company intends to allocate the net proceeds to: Expand partnering opportunities by generating high value data through the initiation of additional programs, Maximize the value of future partnerships by optimizing economics and prioritizing downstream royalty participation, Strengthen the proprietary LAI technologyplatform through targeted innovation, including the advancement of next-generation LAI technologies that may broaden the scope, differentiation and applications of the platform. The net proceeds may also be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital and operating expenses, and to strengthen the Company's balance sheet to support future strategic initiatives and enhance financial flexibility. Christophe Douat, CEO of Medincell, said: "Medincell is undergoing a transformation from a technology platform company into a royalty-driven company focused on long-term, scalable value creation. Innovation remains at the core of our strategy as we strengthen our position in the growing field of long-acting injectables, starting in psychiatry where the value of LAIs is clearly established and expanding into other therapeutic areas. Our approach combines scientific innovation, disciplined execution, and a long-term focus on downstream value through strong partnerships." Medincell's portfolio as of February 20, 2026 UZEDY, the first product developed using Medincell's proprietary BEPO technology and commercialized by Teva Pharmaceuticals, generated net sales of $191 million in the United States in 2025, its second full year of commercialization, in line with expectations. Teva's initial net sales outlook for UZEDY in 2026 is in the range of $250 million to $280 million. Following the submission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for Olanzapine LAI to the U.S. FDA on December 9, 2025, Teva and Medincell announced on February 20, 2026 the FDA acceptance of the application for review. Acceptance of an NDA is typically followed by a standard review period of approximately eight months. Submission of the Olanzapine LAI regulatory file in the European Union is expected in the second quarter of 2026. In parallel, mdc-CWM (postoperative pain) continues to progress through late-stage development. Medincell's partner, Arthritis Innovation Corporation (AIC), which funds and conducts the clinical development of mdc-CWM, is advancing preparations for the second Phase 3 clinical study, with study initiation planned in 2026. In addition, the regulatory package to initiate human clinical trials for the first program partnered with AbbVie is expected to be completed in 2026, enabling AbbVie to advance the candidate into clinical development. Terms of the Private Placement The private placement will be carried out in accordance with the 18th resolution of the general meeting of 12 September 2024 (the "General Meeting"), to (i) qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation") or in other circumstances falling within the scope of Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation in the European Union (including France) and outside the European Union with the exception of the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Japan and (ii) certain institutional investors in the United States (the "Private Placement The Private Placement will be carried out through an offering without shareholders' preferential subscription rights pursuant to Article L. 411-2 1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. The Private Placement is subject to market and other conditions, and the final total amount of the Private Placement is subject to change. The Private Placement will be carried out via an accelerated book-building process, following which the number and price of the new shares to be issued will be decided by the Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to and within the limits of the delegations of authority granted by the Board of Directors and the General Meeting, it being specified that the maximum number of new shares that may be issued in the Private Placement in accordance with such delegations and authorizations is 5,749,064 new shares, representing a maximum of c.17% of the capital. The subscription price of the new shares in the Private Placement shall be decided by the Chief Executive Officer within the limits set by the Board of Directors in accordance with article L. 22-10-52 of the French commercial code. The accelerated book-building process for the Private Placement will begin immediately following the publication of this press release and is expected to close before the markets open on March 6, 2026, subject to any early closing. The Company will announce the pricing and the definitive number of new shares to be issued in the Private Placement via a press release as soon as possible after the book-building ends. Settlement-delivery of the new ordinary shares to be issued in the Private Placement and their admission for trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris are expected on March 10, 2026. The new ordinary shares will be of the same category, fungible with the existing shares, entitled to all the rights associated with the existing shares, and admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris under the same ISIN FR0004065605. Lock-up commitments In connection with the Private Placement, the Company and the members of the Board of Directors and certain members of the management team have signed a lock-up commitment that comes into effect on the date of the signing of the placement agreement entered into between the Company and the banks today and for a period of 90 days, subject to certain customary exceptions. Financial Intermediaries Jefferies, Leerink Partners, Evercore ISI are acting as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners and ODDO BHF SCA as Joint Bookrunner on the Private Placement. The Private Placement is subject to a placement agreement signed today between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners. Risk factors The attention of the public is drawn to the risk factors associated with the Company and its activity presented in Section 2 of the universal registration document filed with the French Financial Market Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) (the "AMF") under number D.25-0580 on July 29, 2025, which is available free of charge on the Company's website (https://www.medincell.com/regulated-information/). The occurrence of all or part of these risks could have a negative impact on the Company's activity, financial situation, results, development or outlook. The risk factors presented in that document are the same today. Additionally, investors are invited to consider the following risks specific to this Private Placement (i) the market price of the Company's shares may fluctuate and fall below the subscription price of the shares issued as part of the Private Placement, (ii) the volatility and liquidity of the Company's shares may fluctuate significantly, (iii) sales of the Company's shares may take place on the market and have a negative impact on the market price of its share and (iv) the Company's shareholders could suffer potentially significant dilution resulting from any future capital increases required to provide the Company with additional financing. No Prospectus The Private Placement is not subject to a prospectus requiring approval from the AMF. This press release does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017, as amended, nor an offer to the public. About Medincell Medincell is a clinical- and commercial-stage biopharmaceutical licensing company developing long-acting injectable treatments across multiple therapeutic areas. Our innovative treatments are designed to ensure adherence to medical prescriptions, enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of medicines, and reduce their environmental impact. These treatments combine active pharmaceutical ingredients with our proprietary BEPO BEPO Star technologies, which enables controlled drug delivery at therapeutic levels for several days, weeks, or months following a subcutaneous or local injection of a small, fully bioresorbable deposit. Risperidone LAI was the first treatment based on BEPO technology to receive FDA approval, initially for schizophrenia in April 2023, and subsequently for Bipolar I Disorder in October 2025. It is marketed in the United States by Teva under the brand name UZEDY. Medincell's risperidone LAI was also approved for schizophrenia in Canada and South Korea in 2025. A New Drug Application (NDA) for Olanzapine LAI as a once-monthly treatment for schizophrenia in adults was submitted to the U.S. FDA in December 2025 by Medincell's partner, Teva. U.S. FDA accepts Teva's New NDA for Olanzapine LAI on February 20, 2026. Medincell's investigational pipeline includes numerous innovative therapeutic candidates in various stages of development, from formulation to Phase 3 clinical trials. We collaborate with leading pharmaceutical companies and foundations to advance global health through new treatment options. Headquartered in Montpellier, France, Medincell employs over 140 people representing more than 25 nationalities. medincell.com UZEDY is a trademark of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Medincell's BEPO technology is licensed to Teva as SteadyTeq, a trademark of Teva Pharmaceuticals. This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of shares in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. Not for release, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Australia, South Africa, Canada or Japan or any other jurisdiction in which it would be unlawful to do so. This document (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada or Japan or any other jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States, unless the securities are registered under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. No public offering of the securities will be made in the United States.Copies of this document are not being, and should not be, distributed in or sent into the United States. This communication does not constitute an offer of relevant securities to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of Regulation 12 of the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 (the "POATRs"), has not been approved by an authorised person in the United Kingdom for the purposes of Section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA") and is being distributed only to and is directed only at (a) persons outside the United Kingdom, or (b) in the United Kingdom, persons who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the POATRs who are also (i) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments, falling within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth entities, unincorporated associations etc.) and (iii) persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA in connection with the sale of securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). The securities are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be available only to and will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this communication or any of its contents. In France, the offering of Medincell shares described above will be made in the context of a capital increase in favor of qualified investors or a restricted circle of investors, pursuant to Article L. 411-2 1 of the French Code monetaire et financier and applicable regulatory provisions. Pursuant to Article 211-3 of the General regulations of the AMF, Articles 1(4) and 3 of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation") and any applicable regulation, the offer of Medincell shares will not require the publication of a prospectus approved by the AMF. With respect to Member States of the European Economic Area ("Member State"), no action has been taken or will be taken to permit a public offering of the securities referred to in this press release requiring the publication of a prospectus in any Member State. Therefore, such securities may not be and shall not be offered in any Member State other than in accordance with the exemptions of Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation or, otherwise, in cases not requiring the publication of a prospectus under Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or the applicable regulations in such Member State. MIFID II Product Governance/Target Market: For the sole purposes of the requirements of Article 9.8 of the EU Delegated Directive 2017/593 relating to the product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the shares of Medincell has led to the conclusion, with respect to the type of clients criteria only that: (i) the type of clients to whom the shares are targeted is eligible counterparties and professional clients and retail clients, each as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended ("MiFID II"); and (ii) all channels for distribution of the shares of Medincell to eligible counterparties and professional clients and retail clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the shares of Medincell (a "distributor") should take into consideration the type of clients assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the shares of Medincell and determining appropriate distribution channels. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Company's expectations for (i) the timing, progress and outcome of its clinical trials; (ii) the clinical benefits and competitive positioning of its product candidates; (iii) its ability to obtain regulatory approvals, commence commercial production and achieve market penetration and sales; (iv) its future product portfolio; (v) its future partnering arrangements; (vi) its future capital needs, capital expenditure plans and ability to obtain funding; (vii) prospective financial matters regarding our business; and (viii) use of proceeds from the private placement. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any statements other than statements of historical facts that may be contained in this press release relating to future events are forward-looking statements and subject to change without notice, factors beyond the Company's control and the Company's financial capabilities. These statements may include, but are not limited to, any statement beginning with, followed by or including words or phrases such as "objective", "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "foresee", "aim", "intend", "may", "anticipate", "estimate", "plan", "project", "will", "may", "probably", "potential", "should", "could" and other words and phrases of the same meaning or used in negative form. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control that may, if any, cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated or expressed explicitly or implicitly by such forward-looking statements. A list and description of these risks, contingencies and uncertainties can be found in the documents filed by the Company with the Autorite des Marches Financiers (the "AMF") pursuant to its regulatory obligations, including the Company's universal registration document, filed with the AMF on July 29, 2025, under number D. 25-0580 (the "Universal Registration Document"), as well as in the documents and reports to be published subsequently by the Company. In particular, readers' attention is drawn to the section entitled "Facteurs de Risques" on page 30 et seq. of the Universal Registration Document. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements, including in the event that new information becomes available. The Company's update of one or more forward-looking statements does not imply that the Company will make any further updates to such forward-looking statements or other forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. This press release is for information purposes only. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for the Company's shares in any jurisdiction, in particular in France. Similarly, this press release does not constitute investment advice and should not be treated as such. It is not related to the investment objectives, financial situation, or specific needs of any recipient. It should not deprive the recipients of the opportunity to exercise their own judgment. All opinions expressed in this document are subject to change without notice. The distribution of this press release may be subject to legal restrictions in certain jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305539823/en/ Contacts: David Heuze Head of Corporate and Financial Communications, and ESG david.heuze@Medincell.com +33 (0)6 83 25 21 86 Grace Kim Chief Strategy Officer, U.S. Finance grace.kim@medincell.com +1 (646) 991-4023 Nicolas Merigeau Arthur Rouille Media Relations Medincell@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 Louis-Victor Delouvrier Alban Dufumier Investor Relations France Medincell@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 Barcelona, Spain--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Huawei gathered partners, policymakers and international media in Barcelona on March 1 and 2, ahead of Mobile World Congress, to discuss narrowing connectivity and digital skills gaps as artificial intelligence spreads through sectors including healthcare, finance and public services. Cannot view this video? Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJmCqsel2H4 About 80 guests attended the first day's forum at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Barcelona Fira. In remarks published by Huawei, Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei ICT BG, said the digital divide "seems to be widening further" even as AI accelerates. "High-speed networks and robust computing facilities are essential foundations for an inclusive and sustainable AI era," he said. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7958/286377_figure1.jpg The International Telecommunication Union estimates about 2.2 billion people were still offline in 2025. Dr. Cosmas Zavazava, director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, said inclusion must be treated as a prerequisite for the AI era. "AI must strengthen meaningful connectivity and support inclusive digital transformation. This requires responsible AI governance, investment in local talent and content, and capacity building, particularly for young girls, women, indigenous communities and marginalized groups." Huawei said it has fulfilled a commitment under the ITU Partner2Connect Digital Coalition to help expand connectivity in remote regions. By the end of 2025, the company said its initiatives had supported digital access for 170 million people in rural and underserved areas across more than 80 countries. In a Huawei news release, Jeff Wang, president of Huawei Public Affairs and Communications, said: "To bridge the digital skills gap, Huawei works closely with governments and partners to enhance digital access, deliver skills training, and advance STEM education for underserved communities." On March 2, the focus shifted to conservation with a visit to Spain's Natural Park of Sant Llorenc del Munt i l'Obac. Here, digital monitoring tools are being used to support biodiversity protection, including efforts to safeguard the endangered Bonelli's eagle alongside better managing potential impacts from outdoor activities like climbing on rock-dwelling birds and caving on protected bat species. The project forms part of the Tech4Nature initiative, developed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to support digital tools in protected areas across 11 countries. Sonia Llobet, the park's director, said the project is helping managers balance visitor access with nature protection. "As park managers, our challenge is how to make visitor access compatible with the conservation of this natural space," she said. "This project is helping us answer some of the questions we face in balancing tourism and environmental protection." Hashtag: Huawei The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286377 Source: Media OutReach MILWAUKEE, March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Media executive and host Jay Walker announced today an exclusive, special edition interview with Wisconsin Governor candidate Mandela Barnes. The high-stakes conversation is set to premiere on Thursday, March 19, 2026, across all major podcast platforms and will also air on Revive TV. This interview will be produced by WOAHRAE. In a media landscape often defined by rehearsed soundbites, this special edition of The Jay Walker Podcast promises a departure from the status quo. The interview dives deep into the issues defining the current political climate, delivered with the raw, unpolished honesty and direct accountability that has become the hallmark of Walker's interviewing style. "It is an honor to sit with Mandela for a powerful conversation," said Jay Walker. "There will be no sugar-coating. We are getting straight to the point." The sit-down explores the intersections of leadership, culture, and the specific challenges facing Wisconsin, providing listeners and viewers with a transparent look at the man vying for the state's highest office. The episode will be available for streaming on Thursday, March 19th via iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other major platforms, with the video broadcast airing simultaneously on Revive TV. About The Jay Walker Podcast The Jay Walker Podcast is a premier media platform featuring deep, virtual interviews with the world's most influential celebrities and thought leaders. Hosted by entrepreneur and producer Jay Walker, the show blends soulful depth with fearless inquiry, tackling sensitive topics with nuance and a focus on healing, leadership, and cultural impact. Listen here: The Jay Walker Podcast Media Contact: Khali West kwest@thejaywalkerpodcast.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c8acdc95-15ad-4957-8d92-6044b85f25b6 Tetragon Financial Group Limited 2025 Annual Report LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tetragon has published its 2025 Annual Report. Please click below to access the report. Tetragon Financial Group Limited 2025 Annual Report Or access it via the following URL: https://www.tetragoninv.com/shareholders/reports-and-presentations/ As a reminder, Tetragon will host a conference call for investors on Friday, 6 March 2026 at 15:00 GMT / 10:00 EST to discuss its annual report and to provide a company update. During the call, Tetragon's investment manager will also seek to address questions raised by investors, including questions e-mailed to ir@tetragoninv.com. Getting access to the call and Q&A: The call will be accompanied by a live presentation which can be viewed online by registering at the link below. In addition, questions can be submitted online while watching the presentation. We would encourage you to log in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Webcast - please use the following link to register and access the live event webcast: https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=20921406-30B9-4C4F-A213-EF8C0229731C. Audio conference - please use the following link to register for your personal audio conference call details if you cannot join the webcast: https://emportal.ink/4tgNFcH. Presentation replay - a replay of the call will be available for 30 days through the link provided above or by visiting www.tetragoninv.com/shareholders/calendar-events/ where a recording will posted. About Tetragon: Tetragon Financial Group is a Guernsey closed-ended investment company. Its non-voting shares are listed on Euronext in Amsterdam, a regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam N.V., and also traded on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Our investment manager is Tetragon Financial Management LP. Find out more at www.tetragoninv.com/shareholders. Tetragon's non-voting shares are subject to restrictions on ownership by U.S. persons and are not intended for European retail investors. Please see: www.tetragoninv.com/shareholders/additional-info/. Tetragon Investor Relations: Yuko Thomas ir@tetragoninv.com Press Inquiries: Prosek Partners pro-tetragon@prosek.com U.K. +44 20 3890 9193 U.S. +1 212 279 3115 This release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (2014/596/EU), or EU MAR, and of the UK version of EU MAR as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act (as amended). This release does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The securities of Tetragon have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless they are registered under applicable law or exempt from registration. Tetragon does not intend to register any portion of its securities in the United States or to conduct a public offer of securities in the United States. In addition, Tetragon has not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and investors will not be entitled to the benefits of such Act. Tetragon is registered in the public register of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiele Markten) under Section 1:107 of the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act as an alternative investment fund from a designated state. Member leaders and external experts join Cascale to guide the evolution of the Higg Index framework and Cascale's Better Buying and Sustainable Furnishings Council tools. AMSTERDAM, HONG KONG, AND OAKLAND, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Cascale today introduced its Technical Advisory Council (TAC), a new governance body designed to reinforce credible, inclusive decision-making across its technical work. By establishing a structured forum for strategic recommendations, the TAC strengthens how member and expert input informs the maintenance and evolution of Cascale's Higg Index framework, modules, and methodologies, as well as its tool offerings from Better Buying and the Sustainable Furnishings Council. The TAC comprises member representatives from CIEL Textiles, Columbia Sportswear, EILEEN FISHER, Elevate Textiles, Leadership & Sustainability, MAS Holdings, Patagonia, Primark, Sapphire Textile Mills, World Resource Institute (WRI), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), alongside experts from organizations such as 2B Policy, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). As part of a broader evolution of Cascale's governance model, the TAC responds to member calls for greater transparency and more equitable opportunities to contribute to decision-making. The TAC will provide structured, expert-driven guidance on frameworks, methodologies, and technical priorities, including those related to the Higg Index, which is delivered globally through Worldly's technology platform. Through balanced representation across membership categories and independent expertise, the TAC will help ensure diverse perspectives inform Cascale's decision-support structure. Recommendations from the Council will be documented and shared through Cascale's governance processes, with outputs communicated to the Executive Team, Board of Directors, and broader membership for transparency and alignment. Cascale's governance is anchored in four core principles: collaboration, equity, inclusion, and transparency. These principles are embedded in the TAC's design through open calls for participation, balanced representation, published outputs, and regular updates via Cascale member communications. The TAC is advisory; Cascale's Board of Directors remains the cornerstone decision-making body, elected equally by affiliates, manufacturers, brands, and retailers, providing stability and continuity as the surrounding governance structure evolves. "This evolution reflects what we've heard clearly from our members: they want structured, transparent pathways to contribute their expertise," said Nikki Wood, director of governance, Cascale. "The Technical Advisory Council strengthens our foundation of governance and measurement, ensuring that the systems our industry relies on remain credible, inclusive, and responsive to emerging challenges." "The formation of a Technical Advisory Council is an exciting step in Cascale's ongoing development of sustainability tools like the Higg Index, with the intent of ensuring they are the most applicable, accessible, widely adopted, and effective means for measurement and improvement of sustainability performance," said Todd Copeland, founder and owner, Copeland Consultancy and chair of Cascale's Technical Advisory Council. "Going forward, structured input from all perspectives will influence the future of sustainability tools, reflecting Cascale's history of equal partnership and continuous improvement." ??"A core focus of the UNEP Textile Initiative is partnerships, including supporting the strengthening of tools that help increase industry ambition and alignment," said Bettina Heller, Officer in charge, Textiles Unit, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "Having structured and transparent mechanisms that can inform these tools are key, and UNEP is pleased to contribute to this through initiatives such as the TAC." "From a manufacturer perspective, it's critical that sustainability methodologies work where data is collected and improvements are delivered - on the ground," said Iqra Asghar, lead sustainability programmes & strategy, Sapphire Textile Mills. "The TAC provides an opportunity to bring manufacturing perspectives into strategic conversations, helping ensure that tools are technically sound, fair, and capable of driving meaningful progress across the full value chain." "The Technical Advisory Council creates a clear pathway for Cascale members and external experts to contribute practical experience across both environmental and social impact," said Kim Drenner, Head of Environmental Impact at Patagonia. "I look forward to working with peers to help ensure the tools continue to evolve in ways that are rigorous and grounded in real-world application." "The Technical Advisory Council creates a clear pathway for Cascale members and external experts to contribute practical experience across both environmental and social impact," said Raymond Yu, social responsibility program director, Columbia Sportswear. "I look forward to working with peers to help ensure the tools continue to evolve in ways that are rigorous, implementable, and grounded in real-world application." Measurement frameworks, including the Higg Index, as well as Better Buying and Sustainable Furnishing Council tools, are used by thousands of organizations globally to inform environmental and social efforts across supply chains. By strengthening governance and formalizing technical input pathways, Cascale aims to ensure that industry experience and expert perspectives directly inform credible data, aligned methodologies, and measurable progress - supporting industry transformation and collective action. Throughout 2026, Cascale will continue implementing its governance evolution in phases, with clear communication and defined engagement pathways for members. Cascale members can follow governance updates and view related outputs through the Governance section of Cascale Connect. Media Contact: Forster Communications, cascaleforster@forster.co.uk Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to combat climate change and support decent work in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale stewards and governs the Higg Index frameworks, modules, and methodologies, while Worldly delivers the technology platform through which they are implemented globally. Cascale also recently acquired the Better Buying and Sustainable Furnishings Council tools. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people. LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube Find more stories and multimedia from Cascale at 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Cascale Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cascale Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Cascale View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/expert-led-council-launched-to-strengthen-higg-index-governance-1144112 Sub-Millisecond Accuracy in an Affordable Self-Contained Package SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / As millions of us prepare to spring forward an hour this March, NetBurner is making sure our devices don't miss a beat. The company is launching the NTP1061 Outdoor Network Time Server right when the time changes at 2AM this Sunday, introducing an affordable, weatherproof, self-contained NTP server to a market that's stuck in the past. A single Power Over Ethernet cable is now all it takes to deliver sub-millisecond time accuracy to an entire network, no manual clock-setting or antenna wiring required. "NetBurner customers have made it clear that our NTP servers are an important cornerstone of their time-sensitive operations," said NetBurner engineer Paul Breed. "With the NTP1061 we wanted to remove every barrier to deploying precise network time. No separate antenna, no dedicated power run, no unnecessary expenses: just plug in a single Power over Ethernet cable, mount the unit with a clear view of the sky, and your whole network has access to sub-millisecond time precision. It really is accurate timekeeping on one cable." The NTP1061 synchronizes directly with all major GNSS satellites to provide a Stratum 1 time source, precise to under 1 microsecond, serving up to 10,000 requests per second over the network with 1-millisecond accuracy. Configuration and real-time satellite monitoring are handled through an intuitive web interface secured with HTTPS. Its compact form factor (just 13x6 cm and barely over 100 grams) along with an IP65-rated enclosure and a wide -40C to +85C operating range, make it equally at home on a rooftop, at a factory, or in the field. NetBurner is committed to supporting engineers and integrators at every stage of their deployment lifecycle, including help with developing custom solutions. The NTP1061 delivers an affordable, all-in-one solution that eliminates the complexity and cost of traditional GPS time server installations, making self-contained NTP accessible to organizations of any size. Orders for NTP1061 will be accepted starting March 8, for delivery beginning in May 2026. Customers may order through the NetBurner website or sales department. For more information, visit the product page or contact NetBurner Sales at sales@netburner.com or (858) 558-0293. SOURCE: NetBurner View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/electronics-and-engineering/spring-forward-with-netburners-new-outdoor-ntp1061-network-time-server-1143929 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) ("Visionary" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that a feature article produced by Market One highlights the Company's 2026 drilling campaign at its Point Leamington project in Newfoundland. The article examines how modern drilling is confirming stronger and wider gold-, copper-, zinc-, and silver-rich mineralization within the existing resource, while expanding the deposit through the discovery of the new copper-gold Kraken zone and step-out intersections beyond the current resource boundary. Cannot view this video? Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpcg9mD2oQ To read the full article, please visit BNN Bloomberg at: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investment-trends/2026/03/05/visionary-copper-and-gold-expands-point-leamington-with-kraken-zone-discovery/ About Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. The Company prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021). Additionally, the Company is permitting the Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The Company prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag, 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023). Additionally, the portfolio includes the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018). For additional information, please contact: Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. Max Porterfield, President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: (604) 605-0885 E-mail: info@visionarycoppergold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, completing the private placement financing, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Visionary does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. About Market One Market One is North America's leading marketing agency for public companies, delivering best-in-class content creation and distribution. The firm helps position companies for meaningful engagement with potential investors through a suite of products across video, editorial, and social media. Clients benefit from increased visibility and strengthened awareness through Market One's relationships with industry-leading media outlets, including BNN Bloomberg, Benzinga, and Barchart. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286383 Source: Market One Media Group Inc. WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Voice Search Local has been in the local search engine optimization industry for the past 10 years and we have been keeping up with the changes AI has introduced to the industry. Over the past few years, artificial intelligence has dramatically changed how people search for local businesses. What once relied almost entirely on traditional search engines and directory listings is now expanding into AI-driven platforms, voice assistants, and conversational search tools. As AI systems become a primary way people discover information, local businesses must ensure their presence is visible not only on search engines but also within AI-powered platforms. Voice Search Local has been closely monitoring these changes and adapting its strategies to help businesses remain discoverable in this evolving environment. The Shift From Traditional Search to AI-Driven Discovery For many years, local search visibility was primarily driven by search engines like Google. Businesses focused on optimizing their websites, managing their Google Business Profiles, and maintaining accurate directory listings across the web. While those elements are still critical, AI systems are now playing a larger role in how consumers find local services. Modern AI platforms gather information from a wide variety of sources including business directories, data aggregators, websites, and structured listings. When users ask an AI assistant for recommendations such as "find a plumber near me" or "best dentist in my area," the AI compiles responses using the most reliable and consistent data available across the internet. This means that businesses with incomplete, inconsistent, or outdated information across directories may be less likely to appear in AI-generated recommendations. Why Directory Consistency Matters More Than Ever Structured business listings remain one of the most important signals that AI systems use when compiling local results. When a business's name, address, phone number, and other information are consistent across dozens of trusted directories, it strengthens the credibility of that business's digital presence. Voice Search Local focuses heavily on this foundation by ensuring that businesses are accurately listed across a wide network of directories and citation sources. These listings help establish trust and consistency across the web, making it easier for both search engines and AI platforms to confidently reference that business when responding to local queries. As AI continues to grow as a discovery channel, having structured business information distributed across trusted platforms becomes even more valuable. The Role of Emerging AI Platforms Another major development in local search is the growing number of AI platforms that provide direct answers instead of traditional search results. Many of these systems rely on publicly available business data and directory information to generate recommendations. Voice Search Local has begun integrating emerging AI platforms into its listing network so that businesses can begin establishing visibility within these environments. By distributing accurate business information to a wide range of digital platforms, businesses improve their chances of being referenced when AI systems generate recommendations for local services. One example of this evolution is the inclusion of AI-powered platforms as part of the broader digital ecosystem where business data can appear. As these technologies continue to evolve, Voice Search Local is actively monitoring where AI platforms gather data and how businesses can ensure their information is accessible. Adapting Strategies for the Future of Local Search Local search is no longer limited to a single search engine. Consumers now ask questions through voice assistants, AI chat interfaces, and smart devices that pull information from many different sources. Because of this shift, the strategy for local visibility must expand beyond traditional SEO. Voice Search Local is continuously updating its approach to include emerging platforms, new data sources, and evolving technologies that influence how businesses are discovered online. By maintaining accurate directory listings and monitoring new AI-driven discovery channels, the company helps ensure its clients remain visible as search behavior continues to evolve. Looking Ahead Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people interact with the internet. Instead of typing keywords and scrolling through pages of results, consumers increasingly expect immediate answers and recommendations from AI systems. For local businesses, this means that visibility now depends on being present across the broader digital ecosystem that AI platforms rely on. Accurate listings, consistent data, and widespread distribution of business information will continue to play a critical role in how businesses are discovered. Voice Search Local remains committed to helping businesses navigate this transition by adapting its strategies to align with the future of search and ensuring its clients are positioned to benefit from the growing influence of AI-powered discovery. About Voice Search Local At Voice Search Local, we believe in providing customized solutions that meet the unique needs and goals of each client. We take a data-driven approach to digital marketing, regularly tracking and analyzing performance metrics to optimize our strategies and maximize ROI. Let us help you grow your online presence and achieve your business goals. Media Contact customersupport@vsslocal.com SOURCE: Voice Search Local View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/how-ai-is-transforming-local-search-and-how-voice-search-local-i-1143909 Event Concluded With Organizations, Hospitals and Med-Tech Innovators Sharing and Renewing Public Commitments to Patient Safety IRVINE, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) successfully concluded its 12th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit on Friday February 27th, 2026 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, bringing together global leaders committed to eliminating preventable patient harm. Centered on this year's theme, "The Power to Propel Change," the Summit united patients and families, frontline clinicians, hospital executives, policymakers, payers, academic experts, and healthcare innovators around a shared and urgent mission: achieving ZERO preventable patient harm. Each year, more than 200,000 people in the United States and three million worldwide die from preventable causes in hospitals. It is a sobering reality that continues to drive the Foundation's work. Joe Kiani founded the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in 2012 to confront this crisis head-on. Since hosting its first Summit in 2013, PSMF has built a global movement focused on transparency, accountability, and the implementation of proven, actionable evidence-based solutions. "Zero preventable harm is not an abstract goal. It is a responsibility," said Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. "We already know how to prevent many of the deaths that occur in hospitals every day. What has been missing is alignment and the will to implement what works. When we bring the right people together and commit to action, lives are saved." Throughout the day, speakers emphasized achieving zero harm requires more than innovation. It demands a culture of safety, open access to accurate data, and consistent adoption of Actionable Evidence-Based Practices. Through initiatives such as Project Zero, PSMF continues to support healthcare organizations worldwide in implementing practical solutions that reduce harm and improve outcomes. The 2026 Summit featured a distinguished lineup of leaders from across healthcare and public service, including Dr. Jill Biden, Former First Lady of the United States; Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom; Margaret-Mary Wilson, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealth Group; Klaus Markstaller, MD, Medical Director and Chairman of the Executive Board, University Hospital of Augsburg; Monty Mythen, MBBS, MD, FRCA, FFICM, FCAI (Hon), Senior Vice President, BD Advanced Patient; Robin Betts, RN, CPHQ, MBA-HA, Vice President of Safety, Quality & Regulatory Services at Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan; Diana E. Ramos, MD, MPH, MBA, California Surgeon General; Michelle Block Schreiber, MD, Deputy Director of CMS; Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS, CEO of Seattle Children's Hospital; and senior representatives from Office of Inspector General and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among many others. Dr. Biden discussed the important work that she and President Biden launched at the White House-the Women's Health Research Initiative and the Biden Cancer Moonshot. She continues her advocacy for women's health as the Chair of the Milken Institute Women's Health Network. In her remarks, Dr. Biden stated, "If we don't measure the differences between men and women, we miss them. And those differences can cause harm. We have a responsibility to close the divide between best practices and what happens in reality." Dr. Biden's remarks also highlighted the idea that the greatest advancement in patient safety is the patient voice. Federal leaders highlighted the importance of aligning policy, quality measurement, and reimbursement structures to strengthen accountability and accelerate the adoption of safer care practices nationwide. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also shared additional details about the organization's new Transforming Episode Accountability Model, a mandatory episode-based payment structure aimed at improving the patient experience from surgery through recovery by strengthening care coordination and transitions between providers. It holds participating acute care hospitals accountable for the cost and quality of care over an episode that begins with a surgical procedure and extends for 30 days post hospitalization. "To patient safety advocates, continue your advocacy, speak up, be engaged. Talk about this. Make it something that's important, because the more you speak up, the more others will listen. The more people who speak up, the more the government will listen. Speak up, speak out and be an advocate for issue safety," said Michelle Schreiber, Deputy Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS. Panels explored how artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, maternal health innovation, and system redesign can support clinicians and reduce avoidable harm. Speakers shared case studies demonstrating measurable reductions in hospital-acquired infections, sepsis mortality, and procedural complications when evidence-based protocols are consistently applied. Years ago, Christopher Longhurst, MD, saw a day when AI could be a tool to help clinicians predict patient deterioration before it's too late. To lay the foundation, medical technology companies today shared essential data pushing toward that goal. The panel also emphasized that the tools are here and mandatory protocols may also be on the horizon. A strong undercurrent of collaboration defined the Summit. Participants repeatedly returned to the idea that meaningful progress will only happen when healthcare leaders, regulators, industry partners, and patients work together. The Foundation's holistic approach continues to bridge these groups, creating space for candid dialogue and collective problem solving. Sir Jeremy Hunt, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the United Kingdom's longest-serving Health Secretary reminded attendees that every day, 7,000 patients die across the world due to preventable harm. He challenged the status quo stating, "We talk about what we can do to improve patient safety at a macro level. In your daily work, when you do something that makes the care of individual patients sitting right in front safer. That might seem to you like it is a small act, but by acting to make their care safer, reduce their risk of death, reduce the risk of a tragedy, what you're actually doing is you're saying that that patient is as important to me as my own son, daughter, mother or father. And that is not a small act. That is a massive affirmation of our common humanity." "Even very small risks, if left unaddressed, can have enormous consequences," concluded Margaret Wilson. Her words reflect the state of current health systems that Patient Safety Movement aims to ameliorate because when it comes to most preventable harm, "the system was at fault, not the individual." Attendees left the Summit with practical tools, renewed urgency, and a clear message: preventing patient harm is not optional. It is a moral imperative. As the Patient Safety Movement Foundation looks ahead, its mission remains unchanged. By promoting transparency, supporting implementation of proven practices, and convening global stakeholders, PSMF continues to push healthcare systems toward a future where preventable deaths are no longer accepted as inevitable. The next Summit will be on February 26th, 2027. About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation The Patient Safety Movement Foundation is a global nonprofit organization with a bold mission: to eliminate preventable patient harm and death across the world. By convening leaders, advancing evidence-based solutions, securing actionable commitments and amplifying patient voices, the Foundation drives systemic change to make healthcare safer for all. For more information, visit http://psmf.org Media contact: mcuellar@interdependence.com (949) 777-2468 SOURCE: Patient Safety Movement Foundation View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/12th-annual-world-patient-safety-summit-marks-resounding-success-in-g-1144116 Paris, France--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - On April 9th, 2026, a rare event will take place at the Conseil Economique Social et Environnemental (CESE), where the Mecene collection will be unveiled to the world for the first time. It's a collection of some of the world's rarest banknotes and was initiated by the Groupement du Patronat Francophone (GPF) - one of the first French-speaking business networks, comprising 60 employers' organizations gathered over multiple continents and exceeding one million companies - alongside its President Jean Lou Blachier. French remains one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today, and for France, the Francophonie represents an asset in its cultural diplomacy and diplomacy of influence. That is, the power conferred by its cultural influence. The unveiling of this unique collection of banknotes is the perfect excuse to celebrate this. The French culture that many countries and communities share will be on display in a format that demonstrates historical and artistic heritage like never before. A variety of incredibly rare banknotes will be available for attendees to see for the first time, including those from key parts in Francophone history - and from countries around the world. It is set to be a unique event that brings together many parts of the French-speaking world. About GPF Created in 1987, GPF has been committed to promoting economic Francophonie by facilitating trade and the development of French-speaking companies internationally, while focusing on supporting the historical and cultural values of these countries. It was created in response to a search for new economic dynamics within the Francophone world. It addresses the growing need for cooperation among entrepreneurs in Francophone countries. The Francophone Employers' Association (GPF) was created in response to a search for new economic dynamics within the Francophone world. While the Francophonie has long been perceived as primarily a cultural or linguistic framework, the GPF embodies a desire for transformation towards an economic Francophonie. It addresses the growing need for cooperation among entrepreneurs in Francophone countries. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286380 Source: Plentisoft VIENNA, Austria, March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Easy to transport, featuring compact size and high-quality images, developed to revolutionise and facilitate the work of interventional radiologists all around the world. This is MyLabTM E85 GTS, the new cart-based ultrasound system that Esaote, a leading Italian company in medical imaging innovation, presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), held in Vienna from 4th to 8th March. The machine is based on two new technologies, combined for the first time: Virtual Navigator and Ablation Confirmation. The former enables real-time multimodality image fusion for accurate navigation, reinforcing the role of ultrasound as a valuable aid to computed tomography (CT)-guided interventional procedures. The second analyses and combines pre- and post-treatment CT and multiparametric MRI data with real-time ultrasound imaging automatically to assess the technical success of thermal ablation procedures. The combination of both technologies aims at providing interventional radiologists with accurate diagnosis, excellent needle visualisation and improved interventional procedures. Equipped with a touch-sensitive keyboard that is easy to clean, MyLabTM E85 GTS represents a further evolution in the devices now available to specialists, offering their patients even greater precision in minimally invasive therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. The combination of Virtual Navigator and Ablation Confirmation guarantees extremely high performance in biopsies, aspirations and drainages. The visualization of the needle is excellent and contributes to the confidence of the physician and the precision of the operation performed. "Interventional procedures can be done under CT guidance, but allying them with ultrasound systems, characterized by non-radiation procedures and real time-imaging, offers invaluable advantages: with a single click, the fusion between CT and US images is operational", explained Marta Daniel, Guided Therapy Product and Clinical Solutions Manager at Esaote, on the sidelines of the launch of the new ultrasound scanner at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna. "By maximising the workflow of focal ablation, MyLabTM E85 GTS offers the first "integrated" Ablation Confirmation Software in addition to fusion imaging. The software analyses pre- and post-ablation CT scans and provides feedback on the effectiveness of the procedure, maintaining real-time fused images to navigate the target area, both to confirm treatment and to further ablate any residual areas identified. This is a revolutionary breakthrough that ensures confidence and precision", she concluded. Esaote developed the new MyLabTM E85 GTS with today's interventional radiology needs in mind. "Working with young physicians all around the world, we identified their challenges and understood their specific requests, pushing us to go beyond the conventional functions of an ultrasound system", said Laurent Rapon, Global Business Development Manager GTS US. "The E85 GTS is our first response to this commitment, proposing a sealed keyboard design and integrating tailor-made software to further ease complex interventional procedures". For more information: Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it Get $1 MVP Washes - All Proceeds to Local Nonprofit Cradles to Crayons WEST CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Club Car Wash expands its roots in the local community by offering new guests a special deal. After acquiring the previous Wett Car Wash at 193 W North Ave, the company is working to establish new relationships with customers at its first store in West Chicago. Until March 19, guests can get Club Car Wash's best MVP Wash for $1 ($26 value). All proceeds from the washes will be donated to Cradles to Crayons, a local nonprofit that helps provide everyday essentials to children in need. "At Club Car Wash, we believe in the power of community," said Collin Bartels, President of Club Car Wash. "We're proud to mark the start of our journey in West Chicago by partnering with an amazing organization that has a huge impact on local children." As a long-time partner of Children's Miracle Network (CMN), the company frequently supports community initiatives that impact local CMN hospitals across the United States. Every week, Club Car Wash hosts its $14 Tuesday where guests can get MVP Washes at an exclusive price, and $1 from every single wash is donated to a local CMN hospital. After acquiring the previous Wett Car Wash site, Club Car Wash is working to ease the transition for prior members. "We want everyone in West Chicago to feel welcomed to the Club family," said Cory Via, Chief Operations Officer at Club Car Wash. "We are committed to earning the trust of the community and hope prior members of Wett Car Wash will give us a chance to show them how we can offer a better experience through new management and exceptional service." Club Car Wash is the fastest growing tunnel car wash chain in the United States, and offers state-of-the-art amenities, premium wash features, and exclusive benefits through its unlimited membership program. For previous Wett Car Wash members with questions about memberships, please contact (833) 416-9975 (option 2). Contact Information Media media@clubcarwash.com (833) 416 - 9975 SOURCE: Club Car Wash View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/consumer-and-retail-products/club-car-wash-strengthens-community-ties-in-west-chicago-after-acquiri-1144214 Wood Mackenzie warns Middle East conflict threatens 200 Mtpa Asian LNG demand growth over next decade as Qatar declares force majeure on shipments LONDON/HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INSIGHT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wood Mackenzie | www.woodmac.com LONDON/HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, March 5, 2026 - Wood Mackenzie analysis indicates the Middle East conflict could disrupt 200 Mtpa of forecast Asian LNG demand growth over the next decade as QatarEnergy's force majeure removes 20% of global supply. The disruption threatens to raise long-term structural challenges for global gas and LNG markets similar to those seen following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. With QatarEnergy's declaration of force majeure on LNG shipments from Ras Laffan and European gas prices nearly doubling since Monday, the situation threatens to reshape buyer confidence, supply strategies, and even energy policy worldwide. "The consequences of the war for gas and LNG are uncertain but could rival those that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022," said Simon Flowers, Chairman and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie. "Much will depend on whether the disruption is a short-lived blip or is more enduring, and whether gas and LNG infrastructure in the region suffers major damage." Key Facts: QatarEnergy declaration of force majeure removes 20% of global LNG supply Asian LNG demand forecast to grow by 200 Mtpa over next decade Qatar and the UAE account for 79 Mtpa and 5.6 Mtpa of LNG capacity respectively European gas prices nearly doubled since 3 March 2026 Nearly 100 Mtpa of US pre-FID LNG projects offer geographic diversification alternatives Supply diversification imperative The crisis has exposed the concentration risk for those importing countries which are most dependent on Middle Eastern LNG supply. According to Gavin Thompson, Vice Chairman, Energy for Wood Mackenzie, this will fundamentally alter how buyers approach new long-term supply contracts. "Assuming no significant damage to existing projects in Qatar and the UAE, the amplified risks associated with these volumes will, in time, dissipate," Thompson said. "But the crisis will drive home the importance of supply diversification. The raft of US pre-FID projects - almost 100 Mtpa currently - come without a single geographic point-of-failure risk." However, US supply is not risk-free, not least from domestic energy policy and cannot be the only solution. Wood Mackenzie analysis indicates that pre-FID projects in Canada, Mozambique and Argentina will look to capitalize on the uncertainty, while projects that have slipped on timeline, such as Abadi in Indonesia and Browse in Australia, could gain fresh impetus. Portfolio suppliers and national oil companies, including QatarEnergy itself, are expected to seek greater diversification of their own supply sources. Asian demand growth at risk Asia represents the cornerstone of the bullish outlook for gas and LNG, with Wood Mackenzie forecasting Asian LNG demand to increase by around 200 Mtpa over the coming decade. However, that growth depends on competitive pricing and supply reliability, which are both now in question. Asian markets could respond to the current loss of supply in several ways, according to Wood Mackenzie analysis. Coal is expected to take market share from gas and LNG in the power sector across Japan, South Korea, China, India and Southeast Asia. Asian governments may accelerate renewables growth plans, though near-term upside will be limited. Additional incentives for domestic gas development could be fast-tracked but will similarly offer little immediate relief. "Fundamentally, however, Asia needs more energy, while the region's rising emissions will need to be addressed," said Thompson. "With limited alternative options, we maintain our long-held view that LNG remains central to meeting future Asian energy demand." Confidence crisis for gas and LNG Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas and LNG's reputation as a reliable and affordable fuel was severely tested. While swift action to increase LNG availability helped rebuild confidence, the current crisis has reopened those wounds. "In the eyes of gas and LNG sceptics, war has once again highlighted how supply disruptions and volatile prices can imperil energy security and affordability," Massimo Di Odoardo, Vice President, Gas and LNG Research at Wood Mackenzie noted. "A swift restoration of supply and lower prices will allay some concerns among importers in the short term. But beyond the immediate crisis, more work will be required to rebuild confidence." Europe remains determined to reduce its dependence on gas and LNG, though the reality is that the region is already moving as fast as realistically possible on decarbonization given budget constraints. With Russia still engaged in war with Ukraine, the chances of the EU lifting its ban on Russian gas and LNG imports remains highly unlikely-leaving Europe facing towering gas prices for the second time this decade. Building resilience Wood Mackenzie analysis suggests the gas and LNG industry may need to adopt structural changes similar to the oil market to restore buyer confidence. Building spare capacity and higher levels of storage could help address concerns about reliability and volatility, though this will require significant investment, time and coordinated effort. "Gas and LNG markets are reeling from the loss of supply," said Di Odoardo. "The industry has been here before and has proven it can recover. Gas's primary role in decarbonisation - displacing coal and supporting the expansion of renewables - is clear, but the industry may need to go further this time." Looking forward For now, an end to the conflict remains the priority. Longer term, reinforcing gas and LNG supply reliability and minimizing price volatility will be required to ensure the fuels' demand trajectory remains intact. "Gas and LNG have work to do to rebuild confidence," Flowers said. "Building in spare capacity and higher levels of storage, for example, could help soothe a market anxious about reliability and volatility, just as has been done with oil. But this will be neither quick nor easy, requiring investment, time and coordinated effort." Read more here. ENDS For further information please contact Wood Mackenzie's media relations team: Mark Thomton +1 630 881 6885 Mark.thomton@woodmac.com Hla Myat Mon +65 8533 8860?? hla.myatmon@woodmac.com? Chris Boba +44 7408 841129 Chris.Boba@woodmac.com? Angelica Juarez angelica.juarez@woodmac.com You have received this news release from Wood Mackenzie because of the details we hold about you. If the information we have is incorrect you can either provide your updated preferences by contacting our media relations team. If you do not wish to receive this type of email in the future, please reply with 'unsubscribe' in the subject header. - About Wood Mackenzie: Wood Mackenzie is the?global leader in analytics, insights and proprietary data across the entire energy and natural resources landscape. For over 50 years our work has guided the decisions of the world's most influential energy producers, utilities companies, financial institutions and governments. Now, with the world's energy system more complex and interconnected than ever before, sector-specific views are no longer enough. That's why we've redefined what's possible with Intelligence Connected: the?fusion of our unparalleled proprietary data with the sharpest analytical minds, all supercharged by Synoptic AI, to deliver a clear, interconnected view of the entire value chain. Our trusted team of 2,700 experts across 30 countries breaks siloes and connects industries, markets and regions across the globe to empower our customers to identify risk sooner, spot opportunity faster and make every decision with complete confidence. For more information, visit?www.woodmac.com Mark Thomton Wood Mackenzie 6308816885 mark.thomton@woodmac.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - StrikePoint Gold Inc. (TSXV: SKP) (OTCQB: STKXF) ("StrikePoint" or the "Company") is issuing this news release to retract and clarify certain statements previously made regarding exploration targets at the Company's Hercules Gold Project. The Company acknowledges that certain prior statements may have been contrary to the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Retraction of Prior Statements Certain past disclosure by the Company in news releases, interviews, social media, conferences, presentations and other communications stated or implied that the Company's target for further exploration would be converted to a mineral resource or treated the exploration target as an unclassified mineral resource. The Company hereby retracts these prior statements. Why These Statements Were Non-Compliant The statements identified above are contrary to the requirements of section 2.3(2)(a) of NI 43-101, which requires specific cautionary language when disclosing exploration targets. Specifically, the statements improperly suggested that the exploration target was equivalent to, or could readily be converted to, a mineral resource estimate. An exploration target is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. Clarification Regarding Exploration Targets The Company wishes to clarify that any exploration target disclosed by the Company is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource at the Hercules Gold Project, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the exploration target being delineated as a mineral resource. Exploration targets should not be misunderstood as, or equated with, mineral resources or mineral reserves. There is no guarantee that any exploration program will successfully convert an exploration target into an inferred or other category of mineral resource. The Company has also amended its website, corporate presentation, social media and other investor relations materials to correct the above issues and to ensure compliance with NI 43-101. Qualified Person Statement All technical data and scientific data, as disclosed in this press release, has been reviewed and approved by Michael G. Allen, P. Geo, President and CEO of the Company. Mr. Allen is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. About StrikePoint Headed by CEO Michael G. Allen, StrikePoint is a multi-asset gold exploration company focused on building precious metals resources in the Western United States and in Canada. StrikePoint is rapidly becoming one of its largest holders of mineral claims with approximately 145 square kilometers of prospective geology under claim, encompassing two district scale projects, the Hercules Gold Project and the Cuprite Gold Project. Mr. Allen has been working in the Walker Lane for the last 15 years, with multiple transactions completed in that timeframe including the acquisition of the Sterling Gold Project, located near Beatty, Nevada, and the sale of Northern Empire Resources Corp. to Coeur Mining, Inc. for approximately C$120 million. The Sterling Gold Project is now part of AngloGold Ashanti plc's Arthur Gold project. The Management and Board of StrikePoint has strong expertise in exploration, finance and engineering. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF STRIKEPOINT GOLD INC. "Michael G. Allen" Michael G. Allen President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "speculates", "could" or "would". These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the potential future exploration programs at the Company's projects; and the potential for future exploration to result in mineral resources being defined. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the Company will continue to have access to its exploration properties and that exploration activities will proceed as planned. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in this document are qualified by these cautionary statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include risks relating to exploration activities, permitting, market conditions, metal prices, and general economic conditions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, forecast or intended and readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance. Readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this document. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286415 Source: StrikePoint Gold Inc. Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi, President & CEO of Sky Property Group Inc., calls on developers, governments, and investors to accelerate the adoption of modular and prefabricated construction to address Canada's deepening housing shortage. TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Canada's housing crisis continues to defy conventional solutions. Despite record government spending, zoning reforms, and accelerated approval processes in cities from Vancouver to Halifax, the country still falls dramatically short of the supply needed to house a rapidly growing population. But a quiet manufacturing revolution - modular and prefabricated construction - is beginning to reshape how Canada thinks about building homes at scale. Modular housing units being assembled on a Toronto construction site. Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi, President & CEO of Sky Property Group Inc., has been watching this transformation closely. For her, the answer to Canada's housing shortage isn't just about building more - it's about building smarter. "The traditional construction model is broken," says Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi. "Labour shortages, supply chain volatility, brutal Canadian winters - all of these are compressing timelines and inflating costs. Modular construction attacks all of those problems at once. If Canada is serious about delivering the housing it needs by 2030, we can't afford to ignore this approach." What Is Modular Construction - and Why Does It Matter for Canada? Modular and prefabricated construction involves manufacturing significant portions of a building - or entire units - in a factory-controlled environment, then transporting and assembling them on-site. The approach has been gaining momentum globally, particularly in countries grappling with high construction costs and skilled labour shortfalls. In Canada, the case for modular construction is especially compelling. The country's harsh winter climate regularly interrupts outdoor construction work, adding months to project timelines and millions in carrying costs. Factory-based manufacturing sidesteps these seasonal constraints entirely, enabling year-round production regardless of what's happening outside. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada needs to build approximately 3.5 million additional homes beyond current projections by 2030 to restore affordability. Achieving that goal with conventional stick-frame or cast-in-place construction methods alone is, by most expert assessments, virtually impossible within that timeframe. Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi sees modular construction as one of the clearest paths forward. "We're talking about 30 to 50 percent faster build times compared to conventional construction, with comparable or better quality outcomes. For a developer trying to close the gap between housing demand and supply, that's not a minor efficiency gain - that's a fundamental shift in what's achievable." A Canadian prefabricated housing manufacturing facility producing building modules year-round. The Economics of Factory-Built Homes Beyond speed, modular construction offers a compelling economic case that is increasingly attracting the attention of institutional investors and developers across Canada. Factory environments dramatically reduce material waste - some studies suggest savings of 50 to 80 percent compared to site-built construction. Labour efficiency is higher because workers build in optimized, controlled settings rather than navigating scaffolding, variable terrain, and weather. Quality control is more consistent, which reduces costly defects and remediation after occupancy. For cities like Toronto, where land costs have reached extraordinary heights and carrying costs on development projects can run into the hundreds of thousands per month, any approach that compresses timelines has an outsized financial impact. "Every month shaved off a construction timeline is real money," says Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi. "It reduces interest costs, lowers exposure to market volatility, and gets housing to the people who need it faster. At Sky Property Group, we're actively evaluating modular methods across several project types - not as an experiment, but as a viable delivery model." Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi, President & CEO of Sky Property Group Inc., presents a modular housing development strategy. Federal and Provincial Momentum Governments at multiple levels are beginning to recognize modular construction as a serious policy lever. The federal government has flagged prefabricated housing as a priority in its most recent housing strategy iterations, with funding earmarked to support manufacturing capacity and ecosystem development. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta have all seen increased activity from modular housing manufacturers looking to scale up. Indigenous communities across the country - where housing shortages are particularly acute and remote locations make conventional construction especially difficult - have emerged as early adopters of modular approaches with meaningful results. For Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi, government support is necessary but not sufficient. "Policy can open the door, but the private sector has to walk through it. We need developers, financiers, and builders to commit to learning this model, investing in partnerships with manufacturers, and designing projects from the ground up with modular delivery in mind - not bolting it on as an afterthought." Addressing the Skills and Supply Chain Gap One of the persistent barriers to scaling modular construction in Canada has been the shortage of skilled tradespeople familiar with factory-based building methods. Traditional apprenticeship programs have been slow to incorporate modular manufacturing curricula, leaving a gap between industry demand and workforce readiness. Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi argues that closing this gap requires coordinated investment. "We need the trades schools, colleges, and apprenticeship programs to evolve. This isn't about replacing construction workers - it's about giving them better tools and better environments to do their work. A factory is safer than a construction site in a January snowstorm. We should be attracting more people to this industry, not fewer." Supply chain resilience is another critical consideration. The COVID-era disruptions exposed how fragile just-in-time material delivery models can be for site-built construction. Modular facilities, with their controlled procurement and inventory management, offer a measure of insulation from these risks - though they are not immune to global materials market pressures. The Path Forward For Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi and Sky Property Group Inc., modular and prefabricated construction represents not a niche alternative but a mainstream necessity for Canadian real estate development. "We built our cities with the tools of the 20th century," she reflects. "The housing crisis we're in today demands 21st-century solutions. Modular construction is proven. It scales. It's fast. And Canada has the manufacturing base, the engineering talent, and the policy urgency to make it work. What we need now is will." As developers, investors, and policymakers gather this spring to chart the next chapter of Canada's housing recovery, Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi's message is clear: the factory floor is the new construction site - and the developers who embrace that reality first will be the ones who define the next decade of Canadian real estate. A completed modular residential community in Canada showcasing the potential of factory-built housing at scale. About Sky Property Group Inc. Sky Property Group Inc. is a Canadian real estate development and property management company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company is focused on land assembly, high-density residential development, and sustainable urban intensification across the Greater Toronto Area and other major Canadian markets. Sky Property Group is led by President & CEO Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi, a recognized leader in Canadian real estate development. Media Contact: Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi ladanhosseinzadehsadeghi@gmail.com SOURCE: Ladan Hosseinzadeh Sadeghi View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/real-estate/canadas-housing-crisis-demands-a-manufacturing-revolution-the-case-for-modular-and-pref-1144379 Ontario Recognizes High-Purity Iron as a Critical Mineral TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / Juno Corp. ("Juno" or the "Company"), the largest mineral claimholder and most active explorer in Ontario's Ring of Fire, is pleased to announce that drilling has officially commenced on the Company's 2026 exploration program - what Juno believes to be the largest drilling campaign in the Ring of Fire in over a decade. The Company also acknowledges the Ontario government's decision to add high-purity iron and aluminum to Ontario's Critical Minerals List, a significant development that directly aligns with Juno's Vespa critical minerals discovery. "This is a transformational moment for Juno and for the Ring of Fire," said Robert Cudney, Founder, Director & CEO of Juno Corp. "With drills now turning on what we believe to be the largest exploration program this region has seen in decades, we are building on the exceptional discoveries at Big Thunder and Vespa. The simultaneous advancement of a district-scale gold system and a uniquely enriched critical minerals complex is rare in exploration - and we are just getting started. The inclusion of high-purity iron on Ontario's Critical Minerals list is a bold and forward-thinking step that underscores its vital role in clean steel production, advanced manufacturing and next-generation technologies. Discoveries such as Juno's Vespa system demonstrate the potential of the Ring of Fire to anchor secure, made-in-Ontario supply chains for iron, titanium, vanadium, scandium and gallium - the very materials that will drive innovation, strengthen our industrial competitiveness, and power Ontario's economy for generations," said Robert Cudney. Highlights: Drilling has commenced on Juno's fully funded 2026 exploration program, with a minimum budget of $20 million dedicated to advancing two flagship district-scale discoveries: Big Thunder (high-grade gold) and Vespa (high-grade critical minerals) 100 drill holes planned across ~28,000 metres - 50 holes at Vespa (~13,000m) and 50 holes at Big Thunder (~15,000m) Ontario adds high-purity iron and aluminum to its Critical Minerals List , which supports the strategic significance of Juno's Vespa V-Ti-Fe-Sc-Ga discovery in the central Ring of Fire Winter road is now open and Juno has successfully mobilized equipment and personnel to its Ring of Fire operations Vespa maiden mineral resource targeted with 44 mineral resource-definition holes and 6 exploration holes planned; Ring of Fire development momentum accelerating - Wyloo's Eagle's Nest nickel project cleared a major federal regulatory milestone, and road infrastructure continues to advance with Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations Juno's land position now totals 29,956 claims covering approximately 5,796 km - the size of the Greater Toronto Area - making Juno the largest mineral claimholder in the Ring of Fire Drilling Commenced - 2026 Program Underway Following the Company's January 19, 2026 announcement detailing its fully funded 2026 exploration program, Juno is pleased to confirm that drilling operations have now commenced. The winter road into the Ring of Fire is open and Juno has successfully mobilized drill rigs, equipment, fuel, and personnel to its operational base at Oval Lake Camp. Three drill rigs are planned for deployment between Big Thunder (gold) and Vespa (critical minerals). At Big Thunder, the Company plans 50 holes totalling approximately 15,000 metres across the Pluto and North Edge, areas. Priority targets have been defined using a combination of previous drill results, AI and geochemistry-based soil targets, ground IP survey results, and structural analysis. Previous Big Thunder drill results include: Big Thunder Gold District:* PLU-24-001: 78.9 g/t Au over 3.9m from 104m depth including 370.0 g/t Au over 0.6m from 105m depth PLU-24-007: 3.9 g/t Au over 16.0m from 297m depth including 15.8 g/t Au over 4.0m from 297m depth NDG-24-002: 25.9 g/t Au over 2.3m from 19.5m depth including 72.9 g/t Au over 0.8m from 19.5m depth At Vespa, the Company plans 50 holes totaling approximately 13,000 metres, including 44 mineral resource-definition holes and 6 exploration holes targeting AI-identified soil anomalies and magnetic inversion priority targets. Drilling is focused on the highest-confidence area with the objective of supporting calculation of a maiden mineral resource estimate. Vespa Critical Minerals:* VES-24-003: 103.0m grading 22.0% Fe, 4.33% TiO2, 0.49% V2O5 from 62.0m, including 25.1m grading 48.7% Fe, 10.9% TiO2, 1.23% V2O5 from 74.7m VES-24-015: 71.8m grading 35.7% Fe, 8.22% TiO2, 0.75% V2O5 from 12.2m, including 55.1m grading 43.3% Fe, 10.2% TiO2, 0.93% V2O5 from 15.6m Metallurgical testing confirmed 64-67% Fe concentrates with ~1.8% V2O5 and near-70% TiO2 concentrates *(The above noted results may not be representative of the entire results. For complete drill results, please refer to Juno's press releases dated January 29, 2025, titled "Juno Corp. Discovers Extensive Critical Minerals in the Ring of Fire" and "Juno Corp. Announces Two Gold Discoveries in the Ring of Fire", and the Company's press release dated January 19, 2026, titled "Juno Fully Funded to Conduct Largest Drilling Program in the Ring of Fire in Decades.") Ontario Recognizes High-Purity Iron as a Critical Mineral The Company acknowledges the Ontario government's announcement to add high-purity iron and aluminum to Ontario's Critical Minerals List as part of the renewal of the Province's Critical Minerals Strategy. This recognition directly aligns with Juno's Vespa discovery, which hosts high-grade high-purity iron alongside vanadium, titanium, scandium, and gallium - minerals essential to clean steel production, aerospace manufacturing, battery technologies, and next-generation industries. This addition follows the Government of Canada's inclusion of high-purity iron on the federal Critical Minerals List in 2024, further reinforcing the strategic importance of secure, domestic supply chains for these materials. Ring of Fire Development Momentum The Ring of Fire continues to gain significant momentum as a nationally strategic mineral district. On February 24, 2026, it was reported that the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada decided not to designate Wyloo's Eagle's Nest nickel project for a federal impact assessment, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the proposed mine. Wyloo has indicated its feasibility study is substantially complete. Road infrastructure into the Ring of Fire continues to advance, with Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation having both submitted provincial environmental assessments for access roads connecting their communities to the Ring of Fire and Ontario's highway system. Webequie is targeting construction commencement as early as April 2026. Winter Road Mobilization and Operational Readiness Juno has also continued to work alongside experienced infrastructure and logistics providers to support operational readiness in the region. During the current winter road season, heavy equipment, supplies, and materials have been successfully mobilized to the Ring of Fire to support exploration activities and regional development. The participation of Green Infrastructure Partners Inc. (GIP), recognized for their expertise in large-scale civil infrastructure and remote logistics, reflects the growing alignment between industry and infrastructure capacity as development momentum in the region accelerates. About Juno Corp. Juno Corp. is a private, Ontario-based mineral exploration company and the largest mineral claim holder in the Ring of Fire. With a land position covering approximately 5,796 km, Juno is focused on discovering and advancing gold and critical mineral assets through responsible exploration, technical excellence, and strategic partnerships. For further information, please contact: Robert Cudney Chief Executive Officer 416-628-5902 info@junocorp.com www.junocorp.com Qualified Person Scott Zelligan, P. Geo. (PGO #2078), Director of Exploration for Juno Corp. is considered a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release. Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning: the currently planned 2026 exploration activities; the establishment of a mineral resource estimate; the conceptual nature of exploration targets; the strategic importance of Ring of Fire critical minerals; the expected development of the Company's projects, including expectations regarding metallurgical work, drilling and exploration activities; and the execution of the Company's vision and growth strategy, including with respect to any future activity. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "would", "positions", "benefit", "committed", "accelerate", "advancing", "catalyst", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions, including: the exploration work will be successful and further mineralization will be found; the Company will be able to establish a mineral resource estimate; that necessary approvals and permits for infrastructure will be obtained to make the project viable; that applicable First Nations engagement and consultation processes will proceed as anticipated; that there will be no material changes to government policy or regulatory frameworks; that economic conditions will remain favourable for infrastructure development and mineral exploration; and that Juno will be able to maintain its mineral claims in good standing. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied, including: changes in proposed activities for 2026; changes in government policy, priorities, or regulatory frameworks at the federal or provincial level; changes in relationships with First Nations communities or outcomes of ongoing legal proceedings related to Ring of Fire development; failure to obtain necessary permits, approvals, or authorizations; changes in the scope, design, or timing of proposed projects; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; the ability to secure financing for exploration activities. Although management of Juno has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management of Juno believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Juno cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. Juno does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities law. SOURCE: Juno Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/juno-corp.-commences-large-drilling-program-in-the-ring-of-fire-1144445 NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITES STATES ALL AMOUNTS EXPRESSED ARE IN CANADIAN DOLLARS Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Puranium Energy Ltd. (CSE: UX) (FSE: 2DK) (the "Company" or "Puranium") announces the Company is offering a non-brokered private placement of up to 7,252,781 Units (the "Units") at a price of $0.08 per Unit for gross proceeds of $580,223 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share and one (1) common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.125 for a period of thirty-six (36) months from the closing of the Offering. All securities issued pursuant to Offering will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period and legended accordingly. No finders fees will be paid in connection with the Offering. Proceeds of the Offering will be used toward general working capital expenditures of the Company, with approximately $185,000 in connection with the settlement of amounts the Company owes various creditors. On behalf of the Board, Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of the Company. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286421 Source: Puranium Energy Ltd. Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) (OTCID: TLOFF) ("Talon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its special meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") held today. The TSX Resolution approving the Concurrent Private Placement (defined below), as more particularly described in the management information circular of the Company dated January 30, 2026, was approved by a majority of votes cast by disinterested shareholders. Talon is also pleased to announce closing of the previously announced private placement of 1,855,578 common shares to an entity controlled by trusts settled by the late Adolf H. Lundin for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$7,782,294 (the "Concurrent Private Placement"). ABOUT TALON Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company advancing and operating high-grade nickel-copper assets in the United States, including 100% ownership of the Eagle Mine and Humboldt Mill in Michigan, the only primary nickel mine currently operating in the United States, and the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project in Minnesota. Talon is in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the US over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. The Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with additional high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project and currently owns 51%. Talon has a neutrality and workforce development agreement in place with the United Steelworkers union. Talon's Beulah Mineral Processing Facility in Mercer County was selected by the US Department of Energy for US$114.8 million funding grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the US Department of War awarded Talon a grant of US$20.6 million to support and accelerate Talon's exploration efforts in both Minnesota and Michigan. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286423 Source: Talon Metals Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) (OTCQB: LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company"), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, has approved, subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange, the issuance of 6,750,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") to acquire common shares in the capital of Legend Power (each a "Common Share") to directors, executive officers and employees of the Company. The Options are subject to vesting provisions, non-transferable and exercisable for 5 years at $0.12 per Option. About Legend Power Systems Inc. Legend Power Systems Inc. (https://legendpower.com/) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend Power's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legend Power's unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286392 Source: Legend Power Systems Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Graycliff Exploration Limited (CSE: GRAY) (OTC Pink: GRYCF) (FSE: GE0) (the "Company" or "Graycliff") is pleased to announce that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of certain geologic data, core, pulp and material related to the Company's Shakespeare Project (see press release dated February 26, 2026). As per the agreement, Graycliff has issued 2,300,000 common shares of the Company to the Vendor or its nominees (the "Consideration Shares"). The Consideration Shares are subject to voluntary resale restrictions, with the following expiries: 25% four months and a day after March 5, 2026 (the "Closing"); 25% six months after the Closing; 25% nine months after the Closing; and 25% twelve months after the Closing. "The Company is looking forward to reviewing and then assaying the newly acquired drill core," said Arndt Roehlig, President and CEO of Graycliff. About Graycliff Exploration Limited Graycliff Exploration is a mineral exploration company focused on its 1,468 hectares of prospective ground, located roughly 80 kilometres west of Sudbury on the prolific Canadian Shield. The Company's Shakespeare Project consists of one crown patented lease, two crown leases and 40 claims on a property associated with the historic Shakespeare Gold Mine. Graycliff to date has drilled over 12,500 metres at Shakespeare, with visible gold identified in a significant number of holes. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information: This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: the completion of the Acquisition and satisfaction of conditions precedent thereto; the issuance of Consideration Shares and the timing of release of resale restrictions thereon; the Company's plans, objectives and expectations for exploration and development of the Shakespeare Project; and other events or conditions that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that the Acquisition may not be completed on the terms announced or at all; general economic conditions; fluctuations in commodity prices; regulatory approvals and requirements; environmental and permitting risks; title risks; and other factors beyond the Company's control. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286409 Source: Graycliff Exploration Ltd Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN) (FSE: 9SC) (TRADEGATE: 9SC) (OTCQB: MNXXF) ("Manganese X" or the "Company") announces the appointment of Andrew Gainsbury, formerly the Company's Controller, as acting Chief Financial Officer on an interim basis. Mr. Gainsbury, CFA, CMA, has over 16 years of experience in financial management and consulting in both Canada and Brazil. His most recent experience includes serving as Controller for several publicly-listed Canadian junior mining companies. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer of a Brazilian engineering firm with over 800 employees, as well as a senior consultant leading corporate finance projects across multiple industries for Deloitte in Brazil. He specializes in strategic management, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, as well as corporate restructuring. He holds an MBA from McGill University and has earned his CFA and CMA designations. Mr. Gainsbury replaces James (Jay) Richardson, who has temporarily stepped away from his duties as Chief Financial Officer for medical reasons. Mr. Richardson remains a director of the Company. The Company wishes Jay a speedy and full recovery. About Manganese X Energy Corp. Manganese X's mission is to advance its Battery Hill project into production, thereby becoming the first public actively traded manganese mining company in Canada and the U.S. to commercialize EV compliant high-purity manganese, potentially supplying the North American supply chain. The Company intends on supplying value-added materials to the lithium-ion battery and other alternative energy industries, as well as striving to achieve new carbon-friendly, more efficient methodologies, while processing manganese at a lower, competitive cost. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.manganesexenergycorp.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors of MANGANESE X ENERGY CORP. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operations and activities of Manganese X, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to statements regarding: statements regarding the anticipated impact of the appointment of the Company's new executive officer. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Manganese X, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance, or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filings on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Manganese X does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements if beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286439 Source: Manganese X Energy Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Nexus Uranium Corp. (CSE: NEXU) (OTCQB: NEXUF) (FSE: JA7) ("Nexus" or the "Company") announces that further to its news release dated February 10, 2026, it has issued 42,408 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $1.91 per share to a certain arm's length creditor, pursuant to a debt settlement agreement with the arm's length creditor to settle $81,000 in outstanding debt (the "Debt Settlement"). The Company completed the Debt Settlement to preserve the Company's cash for working capital and improve its financial position by reducing its existing liabilities. The Debt Settlement shares are subject to a four month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Nexus Uranium Corp. Nexus Uranium is a Canadian exploration company focused on uranium projects in North America. In the United States, the Company holds the Chord, Wolf Canyon, Deadhorse, and RC projects in South Dakota, and the South Pass project in Wyoming. The Great Divide Basin project in Wyoming is now under option to Canamera Energy Metals Corp. In Canada, Nexus holds the Mann Lake project in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. For more information, visit www.nexusuranium.com. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286386 Source: Nexus Uranium Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2026) - Graphano Energy Ltd. (TSXV: GEL) (OTC Pink: GELEF) (FSE: 97G0) ("Graphano" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"), it intends to amend the exercise price of 12,334,240 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants"). The Warrants were originally issued pursuant to private placements of subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") that closed on December 22, 2020, and April 19, 2021. The Subscription Receipts converted into common shares (the "Shares") and Warrants upon the listing of the Company's Shares on the TSXV on August 21, 2021. The Warrants are currently exercisable at a price of $0.52 per Share until August 27, 2026. Subject to acceptance by the TSXV, the exercise price of the Warrants will be amended to $0.33 per Share. All other terms of the Warrants, including the expiry date, will remain unchanged. The amendment to the Warrant terms is intended to better reflect current market conditions. If exercised, the Warrants would provide additional working capital to the Company. Directors and officers of the Company hold approximately 2.27% of the Warrants subject to the proposed amendment. None of the Warrants subject to the amendment were issued as compensation warrants to agents, brokers or finders. The amendment remains subject to acceptance by the TSXV. The Company also announces the appointment of Andrew Gainsbury, formerly the Company's Controller, as acting Chief Financial Officer on an interim basis. Mr. Gainsbury, CFA, CMA, has over 16 years of experience in financial management and consulting in both Canada and Brazil. His most recent experience includes serving as Controller for several publicly-listed Canadian junior mining companies. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer of a Brazilian engineering firm with over 800 employees, as well as a senior consultant leading corporate finance projects across multiple industries for Deloitte in Brazil. He specializes in strategic management, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, as well as corporate restructuring. He holds an MBA from McGill University and has earned his CFA and CMA designations. Mr. Gainsbury replaces James (Jay) Richardson, who has temporarily stepped away from his duties as Chief Financial Officer for medical reasons. Mr. Richardson remains a director of the Company. The Company wishes Jay a speedy and full recovery. About Graphano Energy Graphano Energy Ltd. is an exploration and development company that is focused on evaluating, acquiring, and developing energy metals resources from exploration to production. Graphite is one of the most in-demand technology minerals that is required for a green and sustainable world. The Company's Lac Aux Bouleaux property, situated adjacent to Canada's only producing graphite mine, in Quebec, Canada, has historically been an active area for natural graphite. With the demand for graphite growing in some of the most prominent and cutting-edge industries, such as lithium batteries in electric cars and other energy storage technologies, the Company is developing its projects to meet the demands of the future. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other matters, the amending of the exercise price of the Warrants, receipt of all necessary approvals in connection therewith, and statements regarding the anticipated impact of the appointment of the Company's new executive officer. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Graphano, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the TSX Venture Exchange not approving the amending of the exercise price of the Warrants. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filing on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, the Canadian Securities Administrators' national system that all market participants use for filings and disclosure, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Graphano does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286440 Source: Graphano Energy Ltd. In a display of growing strategic alignment between two middle powers, Australia and Canada on Thursday signed new agreements on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the Australian Parliament. Carneys visit to Australia is part of a multi-leg Asia-Pacific tour that also includes Japan and India, underscoring Canadas focus on Indo-Pacific partnerships at a time of heightened great power rivalry and supply chain fragmentation. In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour or combine for strength, Carney told lawmakers, framing the new agreements as part of a broader push for coordinated action among advanced economies navigating geopolitical turbulence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Introducing him in Parliament, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the address as a reflection of deepening bilateral ties. Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back, but we can back ourselves, back our citizens, and back each other, Albanese said. Australia joins Canadas G7 critical minerals alliance At a joint press conference, Albanese confirmed that Australia would join Canadas G7 critical minerals production alliance a Canada-led initiative aimed at diversifying and securing global production and supply of minerals essential for clean energy, semiconductors and defence systems. We have agreed to deepen our relationship across several areas, building on our joint declaration of intent on critical minerals that we signed last year, Albanese said. The alliance seeks to reduce reliance on concentrated supply chains, particularly those dominated by China, which controls a significant share of global processing capacity for several strategic minerals. Together, Australia and Canada account for roughly one-third of global lithium and uranium production, and more than 40 per cent of global iron ore output placing them in a pivotal position as Western nations attempt to reshape supply networks for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure and military applications. Canadas Energy and Mining Minister Tim Hodgson told Reuters earlier this week that Ottawa favours a coordinated production alliance or buyers club approach to tackle supply concentration, rather than relying solely on mechanisms such as price floors. Stockpiles, defence alignment Australia has already committed A$1.2 billion ($850 million) to establish a national critical minerals stockpile, beginning with antimony, gallium and rare earths materials crucial for advanced electronics and defence technologies. Albanese said Australias stockpiling framework would now be more closely aligned with Canadas defence stockpiling regime, suggesting greater interoperability in supply resilience planning between the two countries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Theres a lot Canada and Australia can do together on critical minerals as producer nations, Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King told Reuters ahead of Carneys visit. Broader strategic cooperation Beyond minerals, the two governments signalled plans to deepen cooperation in defence and maritime security, trade, and artificial intelligence sectors increasingly viewed as critical to national competitiveness and security. The agreements come as global markets remain unsettled by conflict in the Middle East and intensifying US-China strategic rivalry, both of which have amplified concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities in energy and advanced materials. By stepping up collaboration, Canberra and Ottawa are positioning themselves not merely as resource suppliers, but as architects of a more coordinated, rules-based supply framework among like-minded economies. For Carney, the parliamentary address his first to Australias legislature served both symbolic and strategic purposes: reinforcing Canadas Indo-Pacific engagement while making the case that middle powers can wield greater influence collectively than alone. As he told lawmakers, the choice facing such nations is stark to seek favour among larger rivals, or to combine for strength. With inputs from agencies. Chinese coffee major Luckin Coffee is set to deepen its global push with the acquisition of US-based premium cafe chain Blue Bottle Coffee, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, as Beijing and Washington remain locked in a protracted trade war Chinese coffee major Luckin Coffee is set to deepen its global push with the acquisition of US-based premium cafe chain Blue Bottle Coffee, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, as Beijing and Washington remain locked in a protracted trade war. Centurium Capital Management, the controlling shareholder of Luckin, has agreed to buy Blue Bottle from Swiss food giant Nestle for around $400 million, Nikkei Asia said in a report on Thursday. While the deal could be finalised soon, there is no guarantee until agreements are formally signed, the report said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There are no plans to merge the two brands, Nikkei Asia said in the report, adding that Luckin and Blue Bottle will operate independently. Strategic pivot beyond discount coffee The acquisition underscores Luckins ambition to move beyond its aggressive low-cost, app-driven model and build a foothold in the premium segment, both at home and overseas. Founded in 2002, Blue Bottle operates more than 100 cafes across the US and Asia, along with an e-commerce platform. It entered China in 2020 with its first outlet in Shanghai, positioning itself as a higher-priced alternative to Starbucks. Nestle bought a 68 per cent stake in Blue Bottle in 2017 for about $425 million. Blue Bottle has fewer than 20 stores in China and remains loss-making, even as it maintains a strong brand among urban, affluent consumers. Luckin has grown at breakneck speed since its founding nine years ago. Its American depositary receipts, now trading on the OTC market, have risen about 16 per cent over the past year, giving the company a market value of roughly $9.5 billion. Shares closed 3 per cent higher at $34.67 on Wednesday following reports of the Blue Bottle deal. Scale at home, ambitions abroad Luckin recently opened its 30,000th store in China and, as of end-2025, operated 31,048 outlets globally 20,234 self-operated and 10,814 partnership stores marking a 39 per cent increase in shop count from a year earlier. For the fiscal year ended December 2025, the company reported total revenue of 49.3 billion yuan ($6.8 billion), up 43 per cent year-on-year. Average monthly transacting customers rose 31 per cent to 94.2 million. Known for its high-volume, low-margin model driven by mobile ordering and heavy discounting, Luckin has also signalled a strategic shift toward more premium offerings. Last month, it opened its first flagship store in Shenzhen aimed at elevating brand perception and diversifying its product mix. The US market has been another testing ground. In cities such as New York, Luckin has sought to lure customers with beverages priced significantly below rivals, a strategy that echoes its domestic playbook. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Industry price wars and consolidation Chinas coffee and milk tea market has been gripped by intense price wars in recent years. Rival Cotti Coffee at one stage offered drinks for less than 10 yuan to capture market share, squeezing margins across the sector. Regulatory scrutiny and mounting losses have since cooled some of the price aggression. The competitive pressures have also driven dealmaking. In November, Starbucks sold a majority stake in its China business to private equity firm Boyu Capital, reflecting the challenging operating environment for foreign brands. Centurium and Luckin have previously evaluated other international coffee chains as potential acquisition targets, including Costa Coffee and the operator of % Arabica stores in China, according to the Bloomberg News report. A deal shaped by geopolitics? The timing of the Blue Bottle acquisition is notable. With trade tensions between China and the United States persisting, Chinese consumer brands acquiring American assets carry both symbolic and strategic weight. For Luckin, the deal provides instant access to a globally recognised premium brand at a time when it seeks to diversify revenue streams and potentially relist in the US. For Nestle, the sale marks an exit from a niche specialty chain as it refocuses capital allocation priorities. In a push to revive domestic manufacturing and reduce strategic dependence on China, the European Commission has unveiled a Made in Europe industrial strategy targeting clean technology, automotive production and energy-intensive sectors such as steel and aluminium. At the heart of the plan is the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), designed to anchor more production within the European Union as it decarbonises its economy and competes with heavily subsidised Chinese manufacturers. Brussels has warned that without urgent intervention, the bloc could lose as many as 600,000 automotive jobs over the next decade. Currently, manufacturing accounts for around 14 per cent of EU output; the new strategy aims to raise that share to 20 per cent by 2035. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Local content rules and public procurement muscle The IAA would introduce low-carbon and Made in EU requirements for public procurement and state subsidies covering sectors such as aluminium, cement and steel, as well as technologies including wind turbines, electrolysers and electric vehicles. The EU hopes to leverage the financial firepower of member states public procurement estimated at more than 2 trillion annually, roughly 14 per cent of EU GDP to support domestic producers and narrow what officials describe as a widening investment gap with global rivals. If we do nothing, then its quite clear that very soon, 100 per cent of clean tech technology will be produced in China, Commission Executive Vice-President Stephane Sejourne said while outlining the proposal. He also warned that Europes cement and steel industries risk being offshored in the coming years without protective measures. The sectors covered under the IAA represent roughly 15 per cent of EU manufacturing output. Officials argue the legislation could help preserve or create around 150,000 jobs outside the automotive industry, alongside stemming job losses in carmaking. Tougher line on China The initiative marks a sharper turn in Brussels industrial policy, reflecting mounting concern over Chinese overcapacity, subsidised exports and supply-chain vulnerabilities exposed during the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions. China is notably absent from the EUs preliminary list of trusted partners whose exports could qualify as equivalent to EU-made goods under local content rules. The Commission has instead drawn up a list that includes countries with which the EU has free trade agreements or which are signatories to the WTOs Government Procurement Agreement, such as the United States, Canada and Britain. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Officials said reciprocal market access will be a key criterion in determining which countries retain preferred status. Many of our partners exercise national preferences. We therefore expect to be integrated into their markets before they can be integrated into ours, Sejourne said, adding that countries posing economic security risks would be excluded. The IAA also proposes stricter screening of foreign direct investment. Investments exceeding 100 million from countries accounting for more than 40 per cent of global production in a given sector a threshold that in many cases would capture China would face additional conditions. These may include requirements that at least 50 per cent of staff be EU workers, foreign ownership be capped at 49 per cent, and that investors agree to technology transfer and licensing arrangements. The bloc aims to prevent scenarios where Chinese firms assemble products in Europe using largely imported components with minimal local value addition. Divisions within Europe Despite broad agreement on the need to bolster competitiveness, EU member states remain divided over the scope of local content requirements and the definition of trusted partners. France is said to favour a narrower approach centred on the EU27 and single market members Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Germany and some other export-oriented economies advocate a broader list, including the United Kingdom, to avoid disrupting integrated supply chains. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Industry groups are also split. While the European Association of Automotive Suppliers has welcomed the proposal as a foundation for safeguarding jobs, analysts warn that overly aggressive local content rules could raise input costs, particularly in batteries and components where European carmakers remain heavily exposed to Chinese supply chains. Some critics caution that the legislation risks provoking retaliatory measures from trading partners, potentially fragmenting global trade further. Supporters counter that major economies including the United States, China, Brazil and India already operate local content rules and subsidy regimes, leaving Europe little choice but to respond. The proposal will now move to negotiations between the European Parliament and EU member states, where further amendments are likely. Sensex settled at 80,015.90, up 899.71 points or 1.14 per cent, after hitting an intraday high of 80,303.83 and a low of 79,201.69. The broader Nifty 50 ended at 24,737.35, up 256.85 points or 1.05 per cent Indian equity benchmarks staged a sharp rebound on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex reclaiming 80,000 mark and the Nifty 50 closing over 1 per cent higher, led by gains in metals, infrastructure and energy counters. The 30-share Sensex settled at 80,015.90, up 899.71 points or 1.14 per cent, after hitting an intraday high of 80,303.83 and a low of 79,201.69. The index had opened at 79,530.48 against a previous close of 79,116.19. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The broader Nifty 50 ended at 24,737.35, up 256.85 points or 1.05 per cent. During the session, the index touched a high of 24,854.20 and a low of 24,529.40. Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 38 advances against 12 declines on the Nifty. Metals, infra and energy lead charge Gains were broad-based, with heavyweights and cyclical stocks driving the upmove. Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone climbed nearly 4 per cent, while Hindalco Industries surged close to 3.8 per cent. Engineering major Larsen & Toubro advanced over 3.7 per cent, reflecting renewed buying interest in capital goods names. Among energy and utilities stocks, NTPC Limited rose more than 3 per cent, and Reliance Industries gained over 3 per cent, lending significant support to the benchmark. Other notable gainers included Bharat Electronics Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid Corporation of India, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki, each rising between 2 and 3.5 per cent. IT and banking stocks lag However, the rally was tempered by weakness in select information technology and private banking names. Shares of Tech Mahindra fell over 1 per cent, while ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services ended in the red. Private lender Axis Bank and state-run State Bank of India also slipped marginally, capping further gains on the indices. Ranveer Singhs Dhurandhar was not only the biggest blockbuster of 2025 but also the biggest hit of all time in Hindi. The sequel is keenly anticipated and is likely to smash more records than the previous film Yashs Toxic- A Fairy Tale For Grown-ups and Ranveer Singhs Dhurandhar 2 were all set to clash at the box-office on March 19 on the occasion of EID. It was a clash for the ages. It could be the Lagaan and Gadar of 2026. But destiny had other plans and so did the team of the pan-India phenomenon. The makers of the _KGF_ star announced they were now releasing the film on June 4 this year and the reason was the current climate in the Middle East. Iran and Israel are in the middle of war which has affected the middle eastern regions too. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What the statement read _Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups_ is a film we conceptualized with the vision to create cinema for a global audience. Filmed in Kannada and English, it is built with the conviction to connect with viewers both at home and across the world. After years of dedicated labour, we were excited to share our film with you all on the 19th of March. However, the current uncertainty, especially in the Middle East, has created a situation that impacts our goal to reach and connect with the widest possible audience. Therefore, in the interest of our partners and our audience, we have made the difficult but carefully considered decision to reschedule our release. We thank you for your understanding and patience and look forward to your continued love and support. _Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups_ will now be released in cinemas across the globe in English and Indian languages on 4th June 2026. See you at the movies. Games View All Is the Dhurandhar 2 wave a reason too? Ranveer Singhs Dhurandhar was not only the biggest blockbuster of 2025 but also the biggest hit of all time in Hindi. The sequel is keenly anticipated and is likely to smash more records than the previous film directed by Aditya Dhar. Speaking on a podcast with Sonia Shenoy, R Madhavan shared how viewers from Dubai had earlier flown to India to watch the first _Dhurandhar_ after it was banned in their region, and are now planning similar trips for the sequel. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He added that fans are now scheduling business meetings around the films release. Now they are planning their business meetings around March 19 so that they can attend the meeting and watch _Dhurandhar 2_ because its not releasing in Dubai. For them, it would be so easy to just watch it on IPTV, but they want the theatre experience, the actor explained. After Israel and the US launched joint strikes that took out Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior officials, Tehran responded by targeting Washingtons assets in West Asia and the Gulf. Now, Iran has upped the ante by firing a ballistic missile at Nato-member Turkey The war between Iran and the USIsrael is threatening to veer out of control. After Israel and the US launched joint strikes that took out Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior officials, Tehran responded by targeting Washingtons assets in West Asia and the Gulf. Then, on Wednesday, Iran upped the ante by firing a ballistic missile at Turkey. The development came as an American submarine downed an Iranian Navy ship off Sri Lanka and as Republicans in Washington blocked a measure to limit US President Trumps power to conduct the war without congressional authorisation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran, for its part, has denied firing the missile at Turkey. Irans Armed Forces respects the sovereignty of Turkey and denies firing any missile toward its territory, Tehran said in a statement carried by State media. But what happened? And what does Irans attack on Turkey, a member of Nato, mean? Iran fires ballistic missile at Turkey According to Turkeys Defence Ministry, the missile was heading towards the countrys airspace via Iraq and Syria. The target of the missile, which was taken down by Nato air defences, remains unknown. According to FDD.org, the missile was shot down in Hatay Province on the border with Syria. Debris from the missile was seen in Dortyol, around 72 kilometres from Incirlik Air Base, a key Nato facility used for decades by US troops near the southern city of Adana which hosts US nuclear weapons. No injuries or casualties are said to have resulted from the incident. This is the first time during the war that Iran has fired upon Turkey. Thus far, Tehran had sought to degrade US military assets and bases in West Asia including Iraq, Israel and Jordan as well as all the Gulf states by firing hundreds of missiles and drones. Until now, Turkey had been exempted from Irans wrath. However, the country has US troops deployed at several of its bases including Incirlik as well as Kurecik, a base in central Turkey which has a Nato early-warning radar system that can detect Iranian missile launches. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he was deeply disturbed by the attacks. AP The bases are a deeply sensitive issue for Turkey, with police on Saturday arresting three journalists for national security offences over footage filmed near Incirlik shortly after the Iran strikes began. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Monday, Ankara roundly denied unsubstantiated online rumours alleging a US military base in Turkey has been hit, saying there were no foreign-owned bases and no attack against our country. Although Ankara has categorically denied the radar data has ever been used to help Israel, its presence has rattled Tehran. Turkey had furiously worked diplomatic back channels to head off the military confrontation, but since Saturday has sought to maintain a neutral stance. Ankara summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey its "reaction and concerns" over the incident while Fidan warned Tehran against steps that could widen the conflict, a diplomatic source has said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he was deeply disturbed by the attacks while also denouncing Irans retaliatory strikes, vowing to step up diplomatic efforts to bring the sides back to the negotiating table. Nato too has issued a statement backing Turkey. Nato stands firmly with all allies, including Turkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region, Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What this means for war in West Asia This could mean that the war in West Asia is reaching a new and even more dangerous phase. After all, membership of Nato comes with the obligation to defend its fellow members. Under Natos Article 5, an attack on one member state is considered an attack on all. The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all, the Nato charter states. The treaty obliges fellow members to come to the defence of a fellow state that is under attack. Nato secretary General Mark Rutte. AFP They agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area, it adds. While Article 5 is not triggered automatically, Turkey and other nations could conceivably come together and decide whether or not they agree that the situation calls for Article 5 to be activated. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the past, Iranian officials have pointed to Kurecik to signal displeasure over the radar installations but at this point, attacking a Nato country like Turkey would be an even riskier gamble for Iran," said Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute. High-cost gamble Experts have warned that Iran could be playing with fire by attacking Turkey. Unlike its strikes on the Gulf countries, an attack on Turkey would not be a low-risk messaging operation but a high-cost strategic gamble for Iran, said Arif Keskin, an Iranian expert at Ankara University. A direct military move against Turkey would risk triggering a symmetrical response from Ankara. This could push the conflict beyond manageable limits, he said. Attacking a Nato member could also trigger the military alliances collective defence mechanisms, which would raise the strategic cost dramatically, he said. Serhan Afacan, director of the Ankara-based Centre for Iranian Studies (IRAM), said Iran appeared to have banked on the fact none of the Gulf states would retaliate, which wouldnt be the case with Turkey. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran has neither the strategic incentive nor the intention to target anywhere in Turkey. The risks of such a move would be extremely high for Tehran, both politically and militarily, he said. Experts have warned that Iran could be playing with fire by attacking Turkey. It would also risk isolating one of its last potential avenues for negotiation. Iran continues to value Turkeys potential role in de-escalation and diplomatic mediation. Targeting Turkey would undermine that channel at a moment when dialogue remains crucial, he said. For Tehran, Ankara remained a critical diplomatic actor who could play a key role in back-channel diplomacy, Keskin said. An attack on Turkey would narrow Irans diplomatic manoeuvring space and cut off a crisis-management route it may later need. It also risked pushing Ankara into an opposing camp, which could play out badly for Tehran given Turkeys geostrategic location, he said. Irans choice not to attack Turkey is not a matter of goodwill but the outcome of a highly layered strategic calculation, he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Europe is clearly concerned by these developments. Iran is broadening the war to countries that did not attack it, Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosaw Sikorski was quoted as saying by The New York Times. There is a well-known saying: Its worse than a crime; its a mistake. Erdogan meanwhile has called for peace in West Asia. We are on the side of peace. We want an end to the bloodbath, for the tears to stop flowing and that our region finally reaches the lasting peace it has cried out for for years, Erdogan was quoted as saying by NDTV. We want neither conflict nor war with our neighbours during this holy month of Ramadan, the president added. Erdogan previously called the strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran illegal and expressed regret at the death of Khamenei. With inputs from agencies Amid the Iran war, Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) fact-check team has strongly rejected recent claims suggesting that the United States Navy is using Indian ports as bases for military operations against Iran. It dismissed the allegations made by Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor during an interview as baseless The MEA's FactCheck account said the claims being made on One America News (OAN) are "fake and false". Image courtesy: @MEAFactCheck/X The US-Israel war with Iran has entered day 6. The conflict is raging on, and so is the fake news. On Wednesday (March 4), India strongly rejected a report that claimed that the United States was using its ports to strike the Islamic Republic. This came after a Retired American Colonel Douglas Macgregor told One America News (OAN), a US-based television channel, that Washington was using New Delhis naval bases in its war against Iran. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Indias Ministry of External Affairs fact-check team and the Press Information Bureau (PIB) have countered the claim as baseless and fabricated. Catch live updates from the The claim All of our bases have been destroyed. Our harbour installations are destroyed. We are actually having to fall back on India and Indian ports, which is less than ideal. This is what the Navy says. I think Iran is doing very well. The question is how long we can keep this up the Retired US Colonel Macgregor can be heard saying in the interview with One America News (OAN). Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network (@OANN), former U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor made a statement suggesting that the United States is using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amidst the ongoing Iran-US conflict.#PIBFactCheck: This claim is #FAKE pic.twitter.com/nzcXCi7yT9 PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 4, 2026 The segment, which also cited unnamed military sources, claimed that the alleged cooperation was part of a broader strategic alignment between India and the United States aimed at curbing Irans influence in the Persian Gulf, News18 reported. The allegation quickly gained traction on social media platforms such as X and Telegram, triggering widespread debate and speculation online. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The counter The response from the Indian government was quick and categorical. MEAs FactCheck account on X has now issued a direct rebuttal. Fake News Alert! Claims being made on OAN, a US-based channel, that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments, the response noted. Fake News Alert! Claims being made on OAN, a US based channel that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments. pic.twitter.com/xiFWnkoXBk MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) March 4, 2026 The ministry also warned the public and media outlets to refrain from circulating unverified information, especially at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions. The governments fact-checking team, PIB, also took on the claim. Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network (OANN), former U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor made a statement suggesting that the United States is using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amidst the ongoing Iran-US conflict. The claim is fake, the post said, urging people to verify information from official sources before sharing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network (@OANN), former U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor made a statement suggesting that the United States is using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amidst the ongoing Iran-US conflict.#PIBFactCheck: This claim is #FAKE pic.twitter.com/nzcXCi7yT9 PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 4, 2026 Whats the latest on US-Israel-Iran tensions? The attack between the United States and Iran has intensified, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,045 people since Saturday (February 28), while Israeli forces have simultaneously targeted Lebanon. Meanwhile, the US Senate has expressed strong support for President Donald Trumps military campaign, voting 53 to 47 to block a resolution that sought to halt the airstrikes. On the other side, Irans Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has warned of terrorist movements along the countrys border with Iraq. Araghchi has called for tighter security measures after reports that suggested the US is engaging with Kurdish forces in an attempt to arm them and provoke an uprising against Tehran. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The continuing conflict has severely disrupted global oil and gas supplies, with cargo ships avoiding the vital Strait of Hormuz after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared its closure. Meanwhile, India is readying an evacuation plan with helplines for expatriates stranded i in West Asia. Top government sources told CNN-News18 that the safety and well-being of nearly one crore Indian citizens living and working in the Gulf remains the highest priority" for the Government of India. With inputs from agencies Satellite imagery confirms damage to the US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar in Qatar after Irans reported precision strike under Operation True Promise 4. The $1.1-billion system formed the backbone of American missile defence in the Gulf, supporting THAAD, Patriot and regional surveillance operations Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, as seen from Doha, Qatar, March 1, 2026. File Image/Reuters The confrontation between the United States-Israel and Iran is only escalating. Reports have come in of the destruction of some of the most expensive and strategically vital defence assets in the region. Among the most significant reported losses is the United States Space Forces AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar in Qatar a system valued at approximately $1.1 billion and described as the largest American-operated radar in West Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Satellite imagery has now confirmed visible damage to the installation. The strike, which reportedly occurred over the weekend, is being viewed by analysts as a major development in the wider conflict. What satellite imagery shows The radar complex is situated near Al-Khor in northern Qatar, not far from Al Udeid Air Base, the central hub of US Central Command (CENTCOM) operations in the region. Planet Labs satellite imagery reportedly shows burn scars, scattered debris, and indications of firefighting activity at the location following the strike. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs has now confirmed claims made by a number of Iranian-affiliated channels over the last few days, that an Iranian one-way attack drone, or other projectile, was able to successful impact and significantly damage the U.S. Space Forces AN/FPS-132 pic.twitter.com/9w2OmMMEex OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 4, 2026 Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) publicly stated that the facility was hit in a precision missile strike. Iranian media outlets, citing the IRGC public relations office, also claimed that the radar was completely destroyed. Subsequent confirmation from Qatari officials acknowledged that the installation had sustained serious damage. The strike formed part of Operation True Promise 4, which Tehran presented as a response to joint US-Israeli attacks on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. The escalation follows military action by the US that Washington has termed Epic Fury, involving the deployment of significant air and naval assets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the IRGC attributed the radars destruction to a precision missile attack, other reports and open-source assessments have suggested that a low-cost one-way attack drone potentially a Shahed-type platform may have penetrated defensive layers during a large-scale barrage involving both ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The possibility that an inexpensive drone compromised a billion-dollar sensor has only raied further questions. The reported attack wave also included other high-profile targets, among them facilities linked to the US Fifth Fleet. What do we know about the AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) radar The AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) is part of the United States Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) programme. Built by Raytheon, it represents a modernised iteration of long-range radar systems originally designed during the Cold War but extensively enhanced for contemporary ballistic missile defence requirements. Installed in Qatar in 2013 at a cost estimated at $1.1 billion, the system is one of only six such radars worldwide. It operates in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band and is capable of detecting and tracking ballistic missile launches at distances of up to 5,000 kilometres. The radars reach allows it to monitor vast geographical areas, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, parts of Central Asia, and stretches of the Indian Ocean. Its positioning in Qatar provides optimal coverage of key strategic corridors and missile flight paths across the Gulf region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Unlike earlier variants, the Block 5 configuration in Qatar incorporates three electronically steered phased-array faces. This design enables comprehensive 360-degree surveillance without mechanical rotation. The system continuously scans for ballistic missile launches, tracks their trajectory shortly after boost phase, and generates high-precision data regarding flight paths and projected impact points. In addition to missile detection, the radar also contributes to the Space Surveillance Network (SSN). It can monitor newly launched satellites and track space debris, providing valuable information for broader space situational awareness. Rather than serving as a short-range defensive sensor protecting a single installation, it operates at the strategic level. Its primary function is to detect launches early and relay targeting data to interceptor systems positioned across the region. The radar feeds real-time tracking information to systems such as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence), Patriot missile batteries, and Aegis-equipped warships. These downstream platforms depend on early cueing to calculate intercept solutions. In ballistic missile defence, seconds matter; the earlier a launch is detected, the greater the likelihood of a successful interception. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What a fixed radar loss means strategically Large fixed early-warning radars are complex, costly and time-consuming to construct. Unlike mobile systems, they cannot be relocated quickly. Any degradation in capability may therefore produce temporary coverage gaps in a region that hosts multiple US bases and serves as a critical artery for global energy supplies. Defence estimates indicate that the AN/FPS-132 is the most expensive piece of military hardware reportedly damaged in the early stages of the present conflict. Because it forms part of the ballistic missile warning network in the Gulf, its impairment could complicate coordination among THAAD and Patriot batteries that rely on shared tracking data. Retired US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor, a former Pentagon adviser, commented on the strikes impact in a post on X, writing, They took out the eyes." Geopolitics expert Brian Allen described the radar as the backbone of all US missile defence in the Gulf" and cautioned that elements of the defence network could now be operating blind". HOLY HELLLLLLL: Iran just took out a $1.1 billion radar at the most fortified US base in the Middle East with a single missile. THIS IS BAD!!! That radar was the backbone of ALL US missile defense in the Gulf. Every Patriot. Every THAAD. Now operating blind. Qatar pic.twitter.com/Sp4YQYj0Rz Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) March 4, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although the United States maintains a global network of satellites and additional radars, analysts note that regional integration is crucial. Strategic radars like the AN/FPS-132 generate the initial engagement picture that informs layered defence decisions. Even with redundant sensors, the loss of a key node can alter response timelines and reduce overall system efficiency. How a THAAD system was reportedly destroyed in the UAE Irans IRGC also announced that it had struck U.S.-made THAAD systems in the West Asia region. Irans Fars News Agency reported that a THAAD air defence installation at Al-Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates had been destroyed in a precision missile attack. Tasnim News Agency cited an IRGC statement asserting that the American THAAD anti-missile system was rendered inoperable by missiles launched by the IRGC Aerospace Force. The statement added that the radar component of a THAAD system stationed at Al-Ruwais base had been destroyed the previous day. The IRGC said the destruction of two such systems provided Irans missile forces with enhanced operational flexibility and improved strike accuracy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD THAAD is considered one of the most advanced missile defence platforms globally. Its interceptors employ a hit-to-kill method, destroying incoming missiles through kinetic impact rather than explosive warheads. Interceptors travel at speeds of up to Mach 8 approximately 9,900 kilometres per hour and each unit is estimated to cost around $12 million. The UAE operates several THAAD batteries purchased from the United States. The system proved valuable in January 2022 when it helped defend Abu Dhabi from Houthi missile attacks. With inputs from agencies Its been six days since Iran has been warring with Israel and the United States. In West Asia, nations such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and now Azerbaijan have suffered Tehrans wrath. European countries, such as France and Spain, have also been dragged into the conflict. Moreover, Sri Lanka has caught attention for providing rescue to Iranian sailors after an American torpedo sank their vessel Flames and smoke rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut's southern suburbs. Israel launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon amid the escalating conflict. AFP On Wednesday (March 4), children and adults alike gathered in an open field near Qamishli International Airport in Syria to catch a glimpse of a missile fired by Iran, which has lodged itself there. This comes as the war being waged by the United States and Israel on Iran continues. About a dozen countries have been directly affected by the conflict, a few others have been dragged in unintentionally, hundreds have been killed, and the war has spread across West Asia and beyond. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Catch all the live updates from the As the fighting wages on, the conflict becomes more geopolitically complicated. Heres what we know about the countries involved. Countries fighting the war United States: The Iran war began on February 28 (Saturday) when US President Donald Trump authorised an operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, aimed at destroying Irans nuclear programme, its missile arsenal and its proxy networks and ultimately forcing regime change. A day after the strikes were initiated, Trump announced the death of Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, noting on his social media account: Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history is dead. But the strikes havent stopped since then. In fact, the American leader has threatened four weeks or more of war, warning of even more devastating strikes. And on Wednesday, a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 sailors and leaving dozens missing. Confirming the strike, the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said to reporters, An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Israel: The US and Israel coordinated the attack after months of failed negotiations over Irans nuclear programme. Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of senior Iranian officials. Days after the initial strikes, Israel also began carrying out strikes on Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Israel has since struck targets across the country and sent ground forces into border towns. People run as smoke rises following an explosion, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran. Reuters Iran: Shortly after the US and Israel hit Iran, the Islamic Republic retaliated in kind, launching attacks at the Jewish nation and also targeting A merican military bases across West Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Moreover, Irans Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have choked off the Strait of Hormuz one of the worlds most important shipping lanes. The fallout across West Asia When the US and Israel attacked Iran, no one really thought that Iran would retaliate in the way it has. Instead of isolating their attacks on Israel, the Islamic Republic has chosen to target US military bases as well as countries they perceive to be allies of Washington. United Arab Emirates: The UAE government has reported that up to 1,000 Iranian strikes have been launched towards the country, including at least 57 drone attacks and 186 ballistic missile strikes. Iranian drones have struck a luxury hotel on Dubais Palm Jumeirah and ignited fires at Jebel Ali Port, one of the regions most critical commercial hubs. Moreover, the US consulate in the UAE also came under attack. The countrys airspace has been closed for commercial flights, and travellers have been left stranded. Firemen and rescue workers inspect the site of an explosion at the Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates amid the Iran war. AP Notably, the UAE government said in a post on X on Tuesday that the country was not part of the US-Israel military operation against Iran and had not authorised the use of its territory to launch attacks. Bahrain: Iran targeted the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, causing smoke and explosions. Drones from Tehran also struck several residential buildings in Bahrains capital, Manama. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The country has reported a single death of an Asian worker who died in a fire that was ignited by a strike on Monday. Another drone strike also hit an Amazon data centre in Bahrain. Qatar: Iran struck the Al-Udeid Qatari Base, the largest US military base in the region. The strikes by Iran have also disrupted air travel in and out of the region. But what is more concerning is that the tiny Gulf nation suspended most of its natural gas production after Iranian drones struck two of its energy facilities. A plume of smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1, 2026. AFP Kuwait: At least seven people have died, and 32 others have been injured in various strikes that have hit Kuwait since the beginning of the conflict over the weekend. One of the deaths was linked to an Iranian-launched strike, according to the Kuwaiti Health Ministry. The other six deaths are American soldiers tied to the 103rd Sustainment Command logistics unit. They were killed in another drone strike on a command centre in Port Shuaiba. On Monday, the US embassy was hit. It closed to the public on the following day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Oman: This country has been hit by multiple drones. The countrys largest port, Salalah, and the Duqm port were both targeted in the drone attacks, and at least one vessel was hit in waters off the coast, Associated Press reported. Interestingly, it was the country of Oman, which had been mediating indirect nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran before the strikes. This satellite image provided by Vantor shows damage after a drone attack at Ras Tanura oil refinery, in Saudi Arabia,. AP Saudi Arabia: Tehran has been constantly bombarding Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles; on Monday, Iran even aimed the US embassy in Riyadh. The Islamic Republic has also struck the Ras Tanura oil refinery one of the worlds largest forcing a partial shutdown. The Kingdom has warned it reserves the full right to respond to blatant Iranian aggression. Lebanon: Days into the strikes, Hezbollah, a member of Irans Axis of Resistance, joined the war, launching missiles and drones at Israel. Israel has responded with heavy airstrikes across Lebanon, killing more than 50 people, including several Hezbollah commanders. Israel also launched an incursion into southern Lebanon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Israeli militarys Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee also warned residents of more than 80 southern villages and towns to leave and not return until further notice. Jordan: Iran has also aimed at Jordan, firing drones towards this West Asian country. On Wednesday (March 4), an Iraqi militia also announced that it bombed a vital target in Jordan. The attack marks the first such operation claimed by Saraya Awliya al-Dam, a pro-Iran, Iraqi armed group which comes under the Coordination of Iraqi Resistance umbrella. A child stands next to a missile after it fell near Qamishli International Airport, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Qamishli, Syria. Reuters Syria: Despite its efforts to stay clear of the Iran conflict, Syria has been dragged into it. Missile debris has fallen across parts of the country, gas and electricity shortages have resurfaced, border crossings with Lebanon have become crowded, and cargo shipments have been disrupted. Iraq: There have been numerous attacks in parts of Iraq. Iran-linked Iraqi militias have claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on the Kurdish region, which hosts bases with US troops. Drone and missile launches have also targeted the US consulate in the city of Erbil. Demonstrators in Baghdad also attempted to storm the US embassy in Iraqs capital when news broke of Ayatollah Ali Khameneis death. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Cyprus: Drones hit Britains Royal Air Force (RAF) Akrotiri base in Cyprus, pulling the United Kingdom into the conflict. The UK Defence Minister, John Healey, flew into Nicosia on Wednesday to calm the diplomatic fallout over the drone attack. While the media in Cyprus initially blamed Hezbollah for the attack, the UK defence ministry has stated that the Shahed-type drone was not launched from Iran. The UK defence ministry later added that its Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet missiles capable of taking out aerial threats would arrive in Cyprus in the coming days. Turkey: On Wednesday, day 5 of the war, a ballistic missile heading towards Turkey was shot down by Nato air defences. A Turkish official said the missile had been aimed at an unspecified military base in Cyprus but had veered off course. The weapon had already passed over Iraq and Syria when it was shot down by Nato air and missile defence systems in the eastern Mediterranean. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hours later, Iran denied firing any missile toward Turkey, saying it respected the sovereignty of the country. Damage sustained to a school in Julfa following, what Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry says was a drone attack carried out by Iran, on its exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. AP Azerbaijan: Two civilians have been injured after two Iranian drones hit the country. One struck the terminal building of an airport and the other fell near a school building. Geopolitical tensions in Europe and beyond The Iran war, however, isnt just restricted to the countries within West Asia. Nations in Europe and beyond are also getting dragged into the conflict either directly or indirectly. France: While France has called for de-escalation in the fighting, it has entered the war, albeit in a defensive manner. On the evening of March 3, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the countrys involvement in military operations, stating that these would be conducted in a strictly defensive posture. This is indeed our responsibility () it is aimed at protecting and restoring peace as swiftly as possible, justified the president, adding that to support Cyprus, it had deployed additional anti-air defence systems and the French frigate Languedoc. Le president francais, Emmanuel #Macron, a annonce ce mardi le deploiement de moyens militaires vers la Mediterranee orientale, dont le porte-avions #CharlesDeGaulle. Nos confreres de France 2 font le point sur la situation pic.twitter.com/qIiA3C5mu9 FRANCE 24 Francais (@France24_fr) March 5, 2026 Spain: The Iran war has also caused friction between nations. For instance, Spain and the US. In a meeting with Germanys Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump attacked the European nation for refusing the US permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain to continue its attacks in Iran. Spain has been terrible, said Trump, adding he had told the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, to cut off all dealings with the European country. In response, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his governments position on the widening instability could be summed up in three words: No to war. He added that his country would not be complicit in something that is bad for the world and that is also contrary to our values and interests simply out of fear of reprisals from someone. Healthcare workers unload from a vehicle the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their Iris Dena warship sank outside Sri Lankas territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka. AP Sri Lanka: Far away from the actual fighting in West Asia and the geopolitical tensions in Europe, Sri Lanka inadvertently got embroiled in the war on Wednesday when a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship, Iris Dena, in the Indian Ocean. Colombos involvement came when it responded to the frigates distress call at dawn on Wednesday and deployed authorities for a search and rescue mission. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath further asserted that their operation was in line with Sri Lankas maritime obligations. A second Iranian vessel close to Sri Lanka has also formally requested permission from the government to dock at a Sri Lankan port, and authorities say the request is currently under consideration. Sri Lanka has remained neutral and repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in West Asia. Will the conflict expand even further? Its uncertain, and we will have to wait and watch to see if the warring nations give dialogue and peace a chance. With inputs from agencies The ripple effects of the war in West Asia are being felt in Ukraine, which has entered its fifth year of Russian invasion. The US-Israel attack on Iran has derailed the latest round of talks aimed at bringing peace in Ukraine Damaged residential buildings on the outskirts of Kharkiv amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP The war in West Asia sparked by a US-Israeli attack that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has seen Tehran launch retaliatory strikes at Israel and across the Gulf, also drawing in Tehrans proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ripple effects of the fighting are also being felt in Ukraine, four years into Russias invasion. Heres what we know: Peace talks US President Donald Trump seeking a win as a mediator of the war has been pushing the two sides to agree a deal to end the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II. But the fighting with Iran appears to have derailed the latest round of talks aimed at ending Russias invasion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that a third round of trilateral negotiations with US and Russian officials had tentatively been scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Abu Dhabi. But the United Arab Emirates is among the Gulf countries that have been targeted by Iranian strikes. A source close to the Ukraine negotiators told AFP on Wednesday that there was no concrete date set for the next round of negotiations. Zelensky said he would also back alternative venues like Turkey or Switzerland both of which have hosted previous meetings on the war. There is also the question of what diplomatic resources Ukraines allies can spend on halting Russias invasion while the war against Iran is ongoing. Buildings on fire following a Russian attack in the coast of Bilgorod-Dnistrovskyi district in Odesa region amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP Several US diplomats engaged in the Ukraine talks also led negotiations with Iran that broke down last month. The war in Iran will not lead to the termination of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, although for the Americans, Iran will of course be the main priority in the near future, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political analyst. However, the scale and consequences of the war in Ukraine are too great for it to be forgotten, he added in a social media post. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iranian drones and air defence Zelensky has conceded that a long war in Iran could impact US deliveries of ammunition for air defence systems that were given to Ukraine by Western allies for the defence of critical infrastructure facilities, particularly energy sites. A close ally of Tehran, Russia has been using Iranian-designed Shahed drones throughout its four-year invasion, the same projectiles Tehran has been deployed across the Gulf. Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air that it says are world-leading. Firefighters extinguishing a fire near damaged buildings following a Russian attack on the coast of Bilgorod-Dnistrovskyi district in Odesa region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP Zelensky on Tuesday offered US allies in the West Asia a swap of some of their air defence missiles in exchange for those interceptors, which he said would better protect them from Iranian drone attacks. Lets speak about weapons that were short of: PAC-3 missiles if they give them to us, we will give them interceptors, he said. Analysts say there is little to indicate the Iran war could impact fighting across Ukraines sprawling front line. Oil prices and the Russian war chest Ukraine has since the beginning of the war escalated its long-range attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities with the aim of denting energy revenues that fund its invasion of Ukraine. Western sanctions have also targeted Moscows ability to export oil and gas. Energy revenues have recently fallen to a five-year low and the economy is under increasing strain. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But the war in Iran including drone attacks on Gulf energy sites has spooked markets and significantly pushed up oil prices, meaning Moscow could secure bigger revenues to fund its war chest. The longer the crisis in the Persian Gulf lasts, the more beneficial it will be for Russia, and the more funds its budget will receive to finance its aggression against Ukraine, said Vyacheslav Likhachev, a member of the Expert Council of the Center for Civil Liberties, a Ukrainian non-profit. Iran continues to hit Israel and US assets in West Asia and the Gulf after its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint airstrikes by Washington and Tel Aviv. Tehran has launched thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles since Saturday. But is it winning the drone war? Iran's Shahed drones are also being used extensively by Russia in Ukraine. File image/Reuters The drone war between Iran and the US-Israel is on. Iran continues to hit Israel and US assets in West Asia and the Gulf after its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint airstrikes by Washington and Tel Aviv on Saturday. However, some are now raising concerns that the US and Israel are running out of missiles that can intercept Irans unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ballistic weapons, which it continues to rain down on its rivals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But is Tehran really winning the drone war against Washington and Tel Aviv? What we know The United States and Israel are said to be carpet bombing Iran, with Washington having deployed the low-cost unmanned combat attack system (Lucas) drones in battle for the first time. However, there are reports that the supply of these drones, which cost $35,000 (Rs 32.1 lakh) per piece and which have been reverse-engineered from Irans Shahed-136 known as the poor mans cruise missile remains limited. Iran, meanwhile, has spent the past few days relentlessly hammering Israel, while United States assets in West Asia and the Gulf have also come under attack. According to reports, Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones in nearly a dozen nations that host US bases and troops. Tehran has done this by decentralising its chain of command a strategy it calls the Mosaic Defence. Weve had two decades to study defeats of the US military to our immediate east and west, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Aragashi wrote on X. Weve incorporated lessons accordingly. Bombings in our capital have no impact on our ability to conduct war. Decentralised Mosaic Defence enables us to decide when and how war will end. As per CNBC, US officials have claimed that Iran has launched over 2,000 drones till Wednesday. However, experts have told The National that Irans stockpile of drones is considerable and that it could manufacture hundreds of UAVs every week. Tehran earlier this week released a video showing a large drone arsenal that has been placed underground. As per the BBC, Iran is said to have produced tens of thousands of the cheap Shahed-136 drones prior to the war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Though the US, Israel and Gulf states have intercepted dozens of ballistic missiles and drones from Iran, concerns are being raised about the defensive stockpiles on hand. According to Bloomberg, there are concerns that the number of missile interceptors is already likely dangerously low. The outlet explained that defenders need far more interceptors than are likely on hand to fend off Iranian drones, missiles and cruise missiles. According to the military, each incoming missile or UAV could require as many as two or even three interceptors to be fired at it. A person in the know said that if Iran keeps up the intensity and volume of its attacks, the missile interceptor stockpile could deteriorate to critical levels in days. There are also reports that allies of the US within West Asia and the Gulf are also running low on interceptor weapons, including the Patriot and THAAD systems. The Lucas drone is a reverse-engineered variant of Irans Shahed-136 drones. Image courtesy: VIRIN/Wikipedia Commons As per FlightGlobal.com, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar claim to have downed 259 of 275 ballistic missiles from Iran. They claim to have taken out 669 of 728 UAVs. CNBC quoted the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence earlier this week as saying that of 941 Iranian drones sent since the beginning of the war, 65 fell on its territory, hitting ports, airports, hotels and data centres. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Others are expressing concern about the defensive stockpiles, particularly for the US and Israel. Missile interceptors are a big concern, particularly anti-ballistic interceptors, Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, told Bloomberg. We are using these interceptors faster than we can make them. Some say even the Gulf countries are equally at risk. Gulf countries are at risk of depleting their interceptors unless they are more prudent about when they fire those interceptors, Joze Pelayo, a Middle East security analyst with the think tank Atlantic Council, told CNBC. The depletion is not imminent, but it remains an urgent issue. But some, including the UAE, are pushing back on claims that their defensive weapons are running low. The UAE possesses diverse, integrated and multi-layered air defence systems capable of countering a full spectrum of aerial threats with high efficiency, the UAEs foreign affairs ministry said. These long-, medium- and short-range systems provide comprehensive protection of the nations airspace. It also claims to possess a robust strategic stockpile of munitions that ensures its ability to intercept threats over extended periods. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The drone war numbers game Iran makes the Shahed-136 drones at a relatively paltry price tag of between $20,000 (Rs 18.3 lakh) and $50,000 (Rs 45.9 lakh) per unit. Meanwhile, the sophisticated interceptors such as the Patriot or THAAD missile systems needed to stop these kamikaze drones cost the United States and Israel millions of dollars. CNBC quoted US Department of Defense documents as saying that air defence systems used by Gulf states and Israel are priced between $3 million (Rs 27.52 crore) and $12 million (Rs 110.08 crore) per unit. In short, Iran is bleeding the US and Israel out spending millions to cause its rivals to spend billions in what can be described as death by a thousand drone strikes. The Shahed-136, among other unmanned aerial systems, has allowed states like Russia and Iran a cheap way to impose disproportionate costs, Patrycja Bazylczyk, analyst with the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, told CNBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They force adversaries to waste expensive interceptors on low-cost drones, project power, and create a steady psychological burden on civilian populations. The Trump administration, for its part, has blamed its predecessor. US President Donald Trump took to social media to claim that US stockpiles have never been higher or better and that the country has a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons and wars can be fought forever. ANI Unfortunately, we had a very stupid and incompetent leader in this White House for four years who gave away many of our best weapons for nothing, for free, to another country very far away by the name of Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Even Trump, in his own way, has acknowledged the issue in a roundabout manner. Trump took to social media to claim that US stockpiles have never been higher or better and that the country has a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons and wars can be fought forever. However, he added, At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Trump earlier vowed that combat operations would continue until all of our objectives are achieved and that there would likely be more US casualties. This came after US Central Command confirmed that three US service members had been killed and five seriously wounded by Iran. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It remains to be seen which side can hold out the longest. Eyal Pinko, a former naval commander who does research at Bar Ilan University outside Tel Aviv, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: A lot more attacks are coming. They have thousands of missiles and drones, huge stocks. They will do everything to maintain the regime. This is now an all-out war for their survival. With inputs from agencies A post has been heavily circulated on social media, which states that Indians have been forced to sleep in subways in Israel after they were denied access to bunkers amid the Iran war. But whats the truth behind the viral image? Images of reportedly Indians sleeping on Israeli subway platforms have been circulating on social media. Image Courtesy: @softspoken04/X With the war in full swing in West Asia, the situation is getting more tense by the day. According to the Iranian Red Crescent, 787 people have been killed across Iran since the US-Israeli strikes began. However, the US-based rights group Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) estimates a higher toll, saying 1,097 civilians, including 181 children, have died. When the situation first unfolded last Saturday (February 28), the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv issued an advisory for its nationals in Israel to seek cover. However, news reports have emerged that Indians have been denied shelter in Jerusalem amid the intensifying conflict. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Catch live updates from the Heres what we found out. Have Indians been denied cover in Israeli amid the war? Soon after Israel and the US began strikes against Iran, a post has gone viral on social media, which claims that Indians have been forced to sleep in subways after being denied shelter in Israel amid the escalating war with Iran. The post, followed by a picture of people sleeping on the floor of the subway, was shared with the caption, Indians sleeping in subways after denied access to shelters in bunkers in Israel. Indians sleeping in subways after denied access to shelters in bunkers in Israel. pic.twitter.com/ykRvHreo1D Soft Spoken (@softspoken04) March 2, 2026 With over three million views, the post has been circulated heavily online. Theres no way to verify if the people in the image are only Indians or people from other ethnicities as well. According to data available, there are approximately 85,000 Jews of Indian-origin in Israel. In addition, there are about 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, primarily caregivers employed by Israeli elders to take care of them, diamond traders, IT professionals and students. Last week, when the war broke out, the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv issued an advisory, asking its nationals to exercise utmost caution and remain vigilant at all times. The advisory urged residents to closely follow all safety instructions and guidelines issued by the Israeli authorities, including directions from the Home Front Command. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The advisory also suggested that they stay close to designated shelters and ensure they are familiar with the nearest protected spaces near their homes and workplaces. Is this claim true though? However, many state that the post claiming Indians sleeping in Israeli subways is false. Guy Nir, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in India, also responded to the claims following the hugely circulated images of people sleeping in subways went viral. According to him, the photograph does not support the narrative that Indians were excluded from shelters. People of all ethnicities can clearly be seen in the image, Nir said while responding to the posts. He also explained that underground metro stations in Israel function as designated safety zones during emergencies. FAKE NEWS You can clearly see in the picture people of all ethnicities. Metro stations are designated and official safe spaces in Israel. Many of my Tel-Aviv friends pass their nights there. And as you can see - Indian nationals are welcome, along with all nationals. https://t.co/kP8sPmZIOd Guy Nir (@GuyNirIL) March 3, 2026 In a post on social media platform X, he wrote, Metro stations are designated and official safe spaces in Israel. Many of my Tel Aviv friends pass their nights there. And as you can see Indian nationals are welcome, along with all nationals. Officials issued the clarification amid rising instability in West Asia after military action by Israel and the United States against Iran. The situation has led to multiple security advisories for foreign nationals in the region, including Indian citizens. Has the Indian embassy issued an advisory? The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv issued an advisory for its nationals in Israel, asking its nationals in Israel to exercise utmost caution and remain vigilant at all times. The advisory emphasised the need for residents to observe all safety protocols laid down by Israeli authorities, including instructions from the Home Front Command. ADVISORY In view of the prevailing security situation in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to exercise utmost caution and remain vigilant at all times. 2. Indian nationals are strongly advised to strictly adhere to the safety guidelines and instructions pic.twitter.com/SOvzAdLMwn India in Israel (@indemtel) February 28, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The embassy further advised Indians living in the country to remain close to designated shelters and make sure they know the location of the nearest protected spaces near both their homes and workplaces. In addition, they were urged to avoid unnecessary travel within Israel until the situation stabilises. Since the weekend, the conflict has escalated quickly with a series of joint US-Israeli strikes reportedly killing Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, deepening the crisis across West Asia. Iran, on the other hand, has since responded with retaliatory attacks targeting American and Israeli interests. Tehran launched strikes on several US-linked facilities in West Asia, including bases located in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. Calling the situation a matter of grave concern, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that India stands for peace and the resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. He added that the government is working closely with countries in West Asia to safeguard Indian nationals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies The Iran war keeps expanding. American forces torpedoed the Iranian warship Iris Dena in the Indian Ocean, near Sri Lanka, killing 87 of its crew. The vessel was returning from Indias Visakhapatnam after participating in the International Fleet Review and the Indian Navys Milan-2026 exercise An explosion after an American submarine sunk Iris Dena, an Iranian warship, which thought it was safe in international waters. Reuters The Iran war, now in its sixth day, continues to escalate. On Wednesday (March 4), the war reached Indias backyard when a United States submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship. At least 87 Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack on Iris Dena, the Iranian ship, off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the early hours of Wednesday, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying that the vessel died a quiet death. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Catch live updates from the What do we know of this strike on Iris Dena? Why was it in international waters in the Indian Ocean? What could be the implications of this strike for India? What we know about the US attack on Iris Dena Early Wednesday morning, news emerged that a torpedo fired by a US submarine sank Iris Dena, an Iranian warship, off the south coast of Sri Lanka. The incident came on the fifth day of Israel and the US trading fire with Iran, with Washington officials warning that strikes would soon hit targets deeper in Iran. Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, confirmed that the US sank the Iris Dena as it sailed close to the Sri Lankan coast. The Pentagon released black-and-white footage of a Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo striking the frigate, sending a geyser of seawater into the air. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, Hegseth said. He said the attack was carried out late on Tuesday night. It was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II, added Hegseth. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we are fighting to win. Notably, while this is the first time that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship since 1945, the United Kingdom and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then. According to Sri Lankas Foreign Affairs Minister, Vijitha Herath, coastguards received a distress call from the Iris Dena at 5.08 am on Wednesday. Crew members described the incident as an explosion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD By 6 am, we dispatched a naval vessel and by 7 am the second naval vessel, Herath added. He said Sri Lanka had an obligation to respond to the call for help because it was a signatory to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. Healthcare workers unload the bodies of Iranian sailors from a vehicle who died when the Iris Dena warship sank outside Sri Lankas territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka. AP Weighing in on the same, Sri Lankan navy spokesman Budhika Sampath noted that rescuers didnt spot any vessel in the region. Though the ships location was beyond our waters, Sampath said, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations. The Iris Dena was reportedly ferrying 180 crew members at the time of the strike. While 87 bodies have been retrieved from the waters, another 32 have been rescued and moved to a hospital in the southern port of Galle, where they are receiving treatment for their serious injuries. What we know about Iris Dena Irans Iris Dena was first launched in 2015 and was attached to Irans Southern Fleet, which is tasked with deployments in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. It was the newest frigate in the Iranian navy and equipped with surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, cannon, machine guns, and torpedo launchers. The vessel, named after Mount Dena in southwestern Iran, also included a helicopter landing pad and radar systems capable of tracking multiple targets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy frigate IRIS Dena at sea during the Maritime Security Belt 2024 combined naval exercise between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman. File image/AFP The ship had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in February 2023, along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine. Why the ship was in the Indian Ocean Shortly after the sinking of the Iris Dena, many wondered what the frigate was doing in the Indian Ocean, as naval deployments in this region have been rare. Interestingly, the ship had been participating in diplomatic naval activities in the weeks leading up to the incident. Iris Dena had participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) and multilateral exercise, Milan-2026, organised by the Indian Navy in February. For those who are unaware, the IFR is a grand sea parade where warships, submarines, aircraft, and sailors from different navies participate. Meanwhile, Milan-2026 is a biennial multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy, aimed at fostering mutual understanding, trust, and professional interaction among maritime partners. More than 85 ships from 74 countries participated in the exercise, including those from the US and Iran. The Iranian warship had participated in the events in India and following the Fleet Review on February 18, had docked at the Indian port city of Vizag on February 20. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Many residents in Indias Visakhapatnam told The Hindu of their encounters with the personnel of the now sunken ship. They clicked numerous selfies and photographs with locals at the park, especially on the glass skywalk bridge, said one resident. The personnel had also visited shopping malls, purchasing souvenirs and artefacts to take back home. Little did they know that they might meet a watery grave miles away from their homeland, he told the Indian daily. A man checks the local newspaper, follwoing a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, Iris Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka. Reuters Why the US downing of the Iranian ship matters for India The USs decision to strike the Iris Dena in the Indian Ocean has raised questions about how it impacts India. Former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash wrote on X: Sinking of Iranian warship, off southern tip of Sri Lanka, with heavy loss of life is a senseless & inflammatory act. Initiating another dimension of violence in this open-ended conflict will spread alarm across the high seas and disrupt global seaborne commerce. Condemnable! He was also quoted as telling India Today, The sinking of the Iranian warship shows the Iran-US-Israel war has come to our doorstep. International relations analyst Zorawar Daulet Singh also noted that the warship being sunk near India was significant. Iranian missiles have pushed the US navy close to Indian waters. This is precisely one of the scenarios for which the US signed the LEMOA (logistics agreement) with India. But the repercussions for India to be even an inadvertent war party in an aggressive & unprovoked intervention by the US would be dangerous. This is the time for the Indian government to act independently and intelligently to safeguard Indian interests, he wrote on X STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, as columnist and satirist Kamlesh Singh pointed out, the Indian Ocean doesnt mean Indias Ocean. While this is bad news and a reaction is imperative, must remember that the Indian Ocean not equal to Indian territory. The ship was on a visit to an Indian port but that was before the war began. Sooner or later, It was bound to be targeted by the enemy like any warship would be, he pointed out on X. The incident has, however, raised eyebrows within Indias defence and security establishment. We shall have to wait and watch how New Delhi navigates this matter. With inputs from agencies As the Iran war boils with the US and Israeli strikes, Pakistans defence pact with Saudi Arabia has come under the lens. After Iranian drone attacks on Saudi soil, Islamabads warnings to Tehran and its Nato-like Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Riyadh raise a critical question: Could Pakistan be drawn into the conflict? Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other on the day they sign a defence agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 17, 2025. File Image/Saudi Press Agency via Reuters The conflict in West Asia involving Iran, Israel and the United States is only widening at the moment. Among the countries most closely watching developments is Pakistan a nuclear-armed state with deep strategic and religious ties across the Gulf and a newly formalised defence pact with Saudi Arabia. Why Pakistan could enter the Iran war In September 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formalised a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) that states any attack on one party will be regarded as an attack on the other. The pact establishes a framework for coordinated defensive responses, though it does not publicly detail operational mechanisms. The relevance of this agreement came into sharp focus on Tuesday when Pakistans Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addressed reporters regarding recent communications with Tehran, reported The Financial Times. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Recalling a conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Dar stated, I made them understand that we have a defence agreement. This marked the first time a senior Pakistani official publicly linked the defence pact to the unfolding Iran war. In parliamentary remarks earlier, he had also referenced the agreement, making his comments the earliest formal acknowledgment from Islamabad that the SMDA could be relevant in the current conflict. Dar indicated that the existence of the pact had influenced developments on the ground. He said it had helped keep missile or drone attacks [against Saudi] to a minimum, compared with neighbouring Gulf states. According to Dar, Iran sought assurances that Saudi territory would not be used to launch operations against it. The defence pact itself specifies that aggression against either state would be treated as aggression against both, although neither government has formally invoked it so far. Which brings into the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state, and analysts have questioned whether the agreement implicitly extends nuclear protection to Saudi Arabia. While Islamabad has not confirmed any such arrangement, the possibility has raised alarms among arms control advocates. A report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons cited analysts at Chatham House who warned that the pact sets a precedent for extended deterrence by a nuclear-armed state outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How Saudi drone strikes by Iran brought up the question The diplomatic exchanges occurred against a backdrop of direct strikes on Saudi territory. Iranian drones damaged the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday, the same day Dar made his remarks. The embassy later issued warnings of imminent missile and drone attacks targeting Dhahran, a key energy hub and the location of oil giant Saudi Aramco. Additionally, a drone struck the major refinery complex at Ras Tanura on Monday. These incidents heightened alarm across the Gulf and placed the Saudi leadership under increased pressure. Saudi authorities responded with a statement warning that any recurrence of Irans flagrant behaviour would drive further escalation. The kingdom emphasised its sovereign right to defend its territory and citizens. According to the Saudi state news agency, The kingdom reiterated its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its security, territorial integrity, citizens, residents and vital interests, including the option of responding to the aggression. Saudi Arabia had initially attempted to remain outside the conflict. Before the United States and Israel commenced bombardments against Iran, Riyadh had stated that it would not allow its territory to be used for strikes against the Islamic republic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, the drone damage to the US embassy altered the strategic equation, prompting sharper warnings from the kingdom. In a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity, saying Pakistan stands in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The defence pact was not explicitly referenced in that call. A Pakistani citizen was also reportedly killed in Abu Dhabi, UAE after an Iranian missile strike. How is Islamabad reacting to the war in West Asia While Pakistan condemned the killing of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and criticised regional escalation, it refrained from directly blaming the United States or President Donald Trump. This restraint is notable given that Islamabad has nominated Trump time and again for the Nobel Peace Prize. In contrast, Pakistans Defence Minister Khawaja Asif delivered sharply worded remarks on social media. He stated, From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every catastrophe that has befallen the Islamic world, every war imposed upon it, will show the direct or indirect hand of Zionist ideology and the state. He also wrote that despite Irans willingness to reach an understanding, a war has been imposed upon them, and its agenda, orchestrated by the Zionists, includes bringing Israels influence right up to Pakistans border. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Asif also alleged, The joint single point agenda of Afghanistan, Iran, and India will then be enmity towards Pakistan, making our borders insecure, surrounding us with enemies from all sides, and turning Pakistan into a vassal state. He urged citizens to understand this conspiracy and the intentions of our eternal enemies. How Pakistan is already dealing with its own crises Pakistan is also managing intense cross-border clashes with Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Fighting has entered its seventh consecutive day, with residents along the frontier considering evacuation due to shelling and explosions. Islamabad has acknowledged conducting airstrikes on Afghan cities, stating that the objective is to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan. The Taliban denies supporting such groups. Rana Sanaullah, political adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told Geo TV, Most training centres have been eliminated, while adding that Pakistan sought verifiable evidence that Afghan soil would not be used for attacks. Why Pakistan is in a dilemma Pakistans interests in the Gulf extend beyond defence cooperation. More than four million Pakistani nationals live and work in Gulf states, primarily as migrant labourers. Remittances from these communities constitute a significant economic lifeline. Domestically, Pakistans population includes approximately 40 million Shia Muslims. Public sentiment regarding Iran could influence political calculations, particularly if Islamabad were to contemplate direct military engagement. A decade ago, Pakistan declined to participate in Saudi-led air operations against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. That decision prompted criticism from Gulf officials but reflected Islamabads reluctance to enter sectarian or proxy conflicts in West Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The current situation differs in one crucial respect: the existence of a formal defence pact. Nevertheless, the agreement has not been invoked to date. With inputs from agencies The United States has released video footage showing how the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was downed by its Mark-48 heavyweight torpedo. But what do we know about the deadly weapon? Introduced in 1972, the Mark-48 is the primary strike weapon of the US Navys submarines. The heavyweight torpedo can take out both warships and submarines. Image courtesy: US Department of Defence The United States on Wednesday sank an Iranian warship returning from India. At least 80 sailors were killed after a torpedo struck the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean around 40 kilometres off the coast of Sri Lanka. Now, the United States has released video footage showing exactly how the Iranian vessel was downed by a Mark-48 heavyweight torpedo. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was quoted as saying. He further called the development a quiet death. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has confirmed that the Mark-48 torpedo was used to take out the IRIS Dena. Irans Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has vowed that the United States will bitterly regret" its action. In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that the United States had carried out an atrocity at sea" far from Irans shores. He said that the frigate Dena, carrying nearly 130 sailors, was a guest" of the Indian Navy and was attacked in international waters without warning. But what do we know about the Mark-48 Torpedo? Lets take a closer look. All about Mark-48 Torpedo As per Moneycontrol, the Mark-48 is the primary strike weapon of the US Navys submarines. The heavyweight torpedo can take out both warships and submarines. First introduced in 1972, it has witnessed multiple upgrades. Its modern versions include the Mk-48 ADCAP (Advanced Capability) variant, with improved electronics, guidance systems and propulsion technology. The torpedo weighs around 1,700 kilos, is around 19 feet long, and has a diameter of 21 inches. It features a high-explosive warhead that can take out large ships and other naval vessels. The Mark-48 can use both active and passive sonar to find and track targets. This means it can hit the target even if the ship tries evasive manoeuvres or to change direction. It can travel at speeds of over 55 knots (around 100 kilometres per hour) and take out targets hundreds of kilometres away. As per News18, each Mark-48 torpedo costs around $4.2 million (Rs 38.48 crore). Unlike other weapons that explode on impact, the Mark-48 is designed to blow up under its target. In doing so it targets the ships keel, the vessels main structural beam which runs along the hulls bottom. This results in what is called the keel-breaking effect, which can tear the ship asunder and send it to the bottom of the ocean rapidly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As per Economic Times, submarine operators can control the Mark-48 torpedo in real time via a wired connection. This allows them to feed in fresh target data and, if need be, change its course. However, if the guidance wire is cut or the connection is lost for any reason, the torpedo goes into autonomous mode and continues chasing down the target on its own. It does so via digital signal processing and decision-making algorithms, which allow it to do so even in difficult underwater situations. As per The Times of India, the torpedo is deployed across several classes of US submarines including the Los Angeles class, Seawolf class and Virginia class vessels that carry out advanced missions under the sea. What do experts say? The torpedos design makes it barely even the same species" as its historical counterparts, James Holmes, the JC Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the US Naval War College, was quoted as saying by News18. The Mark-48 is optimal for engaging enemy submarines, giving it a whole new operating dimension," Holmes added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD each Mark-48 torpedo costs around $4.2 million (Rs 38.48 crore). Image courtesy: X Retired Navy Captain Thomas Shugart, a former submariner, told Task & Purpose, This ship didnt have a chance it probably had no idea the submarine was there. It had no way to see the weapon coming. Its probably the most assured way to sink a ship like that, but also the most punishing. Retired Navy Captain Bent Sadler told the outlet: The strongest use of submarines is unleashing the captains of those boats with a set of orders: Go in this area and kill anything that meets the following conditions, and act as you see fit." Search still on The Sri Lankan navy recovered the bodies of 87 sailors from waters near the southern city of Galle, but 61 remained missing, police and defence officials said. A search is still on for the others," a navy official said on condition of anonymity. Earlier, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said Sri Lankan forces had rescued 32 sailors, many wounded, from the stricken Iranian frigate IRIS Dena. The rescued sailors are being treated in Galle, where a photographer saw the first batch of over two dozen bodies being transported into a hospital on Wednesday evening. Hegseth claimed that this was the first US sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II. Like in that war," he said, we are fighting to win." The Pentagon says one of the main aims of the US-Israeli war against Iran, launched Saturday, is to wipe out the countrys navy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the rescued Iranians were rushed to the main hospital in the islands south while two navy craft and a plane were deployed to search for others. The frigate issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday and within less than an hour a rescue vessel reached the area about 40 kilometres south of the southern port of Galle, the minister said. The frigate had completely sunk and only an oil patch remained when the navy rescue boats approached. We are keeping up a search, but we dont know yet what happened to the rest of the crew," a Sri Lankan defence official said. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said their operation was in line with Sri Lankas maritime obligations. We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean," Sampath said. We have found a few bodies from the area where the ship had gone down," Sampath said. Sri Lanka has remained neutral and repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies Several European countries, at pains to point out their defensive aims, have vowed to help EU member Cyprus as the conflict in West Asia intensifies and widens. Britain, Greece and Portugal have agreed to let the US military use their bases in the region under certain conditions Britain, France and Germany have said they are ready to take "defensive action" following Iran's attacks on several Gulf states. Reuters European countries have shown an aversion to getting into the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. However, some nations are seemingly being drawn into the conflict following attacks on Cyprus and Western allies in the Gulf. Several European countries, at pains to stress their defensive aims, have vowed to help EU member Cyprus as the conflict in West Asia intensifies and widens. Britain, Greece and Portugal, meanwhile, have agreed to let the US military use their bases under certain conditions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Spain has said it will not do so while Italy has said it has not received any such request. We are not at war and we do not want to join the war, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday. Here are the main military assistance pledges from Europe so far: Britain An Iranian-made unmanned drone struck the runway at the British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday. Other drones, probably launched by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, have been intercepted.Britain said it was sending a warship, HMS Dragon, fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds. It is also deploying Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially refused to have any role in the war but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a specific and limited defensive purpose. In a joint statement on Sunday, Britain, France and Germany have said they are ready to take defensive action following Irans attacks on several Gulf states. Starmers initial refusal incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump. This is not Winston Churchill that were dealing with, Trump said on Tuesday. France France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the eastern Mediterranean. It has 20 Rafale fighter jets on board along with two Hawkeye radar aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron has also said Paris will dispatch additional air defence units to Cyprus. He said that Rafale jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar aircraft were being deployed in the region. France has already deployed its frigate, the Languedoc, off Cyprus. French President Emmanuel Macron has also said Paris will dispatch additional air defence units to Cyprus. AFP The ship used its Aster missiles to shoot down drones fired from Yemen by Iran-allied Huthi rebels targeting vessels in the Red Sea in December 2023. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Greece Greece has sent two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus. It has also allowed the US to use its base in Souda Bay in Crete. Italy Rome has said it will send naval assets to Cyprus in the coming days along with France, the Netherlands and Spain. Italy has also pledged air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems to partners in the Gulf. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. File Image/Reuters Italian media have reported that the assistance could include the SAMP/T air defence system.Italy says it has not received any US requests to use its bases, and such a move would likely require parliamentary approval. Portugal The Portuguese government has given the go-ahead for the US to use its Lajes base in the Azores as part of operations targeting Iran but only with certain conditions. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday that permission had been granted on the understanding that these operations are defensive or retaliatory in nature, that they are necessary and proportionate, and that they target exclusively military objectives. Spain Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has made clear his opposition to the war in a verbal bust-up with Trump. Madrid has ruled out allowing US military use of Spains bases, prompting a threat from Trump to sever all trade ties with Spain. Spain has nevertheless said it will send its most advanced frigate, the Cristobal Colon, to protect Cyprus. The defence ministry said on Thursday that the warship would offer protection and aerial defence and support any evacuation of civilians. With inputs from agencies The United States has carried out a scheduled test of its LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, against the backdrop of increasing hostilities in West Asia. Heres a detailed explainer on the missiles range, capabilities, nuclear triad role and replacement plans An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 2:10 am Pacific Daylight Time at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, US, August 2, 2017. File Image/US Air Force via Reuters In between the heat of conflict in West Asia, the United States has carried out a scheduled operational test of its land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, the LGM-30G Minuteman III. The late-night launch from California has put the the only land-based ICBM in active US service and a central pillar of Americas nuclear deterrence posture, under the lens. US officials have pointed out that the launch was planned years ago and was not triggered by unfolding events overseas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Yet the test, designated Glory Trip 255 (GT 255), comes at a time when the United States is involved a war that has already disrupted global energy flows. The March 3 launch: What happened? On the night of March 3, 2026, an unarmed Minuteman III missile lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, located along the Santa Barbara County coastline. The test window extended from 11:01 pm to 5:01 a.m. Pacific Time, spanning into the early hours of March 4. The missile carried two test reentry vehicles rather than its standard single operational configuration. After launch, the reentry vehicles travelled thousands of miles approximately 4,200 miles before striking a designated target at Kwajalein Atoll in the west-central Pacific Ocean. The US Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), which oversees Americas land-based nuclear forces, described the purpose of the launch as an evaluation of system performance. According to AFGSC, the programme exists to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system. Officials also highlighted that the event was not tied to ongoing global tensions. The command stated that this test is routine and was scheduled years in advance. US Lt Col Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, said the launch provided an opportunity to evaluate critical system elements, noting that it allowed the military to assess the performance of individual components of the missile system. Kray explained, By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire ICBM fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nations nuclear triad. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US Gen SL Davis, commander of AFGSC, stressed the strategic implications of the data gathered during such tests. He said the information collected would ensure that long-range strike capabilities are not just a theoretical concept, but a proven, reliable, and lethal force, ready to defend the nation at a moments notice. Multiple agencies participated in the preparations. Airmen from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base provided direct air support, while other government partners assisted in planning and execution. The test was part of a long-standing series of periodic operational launches conducted to confirm the reliability of the ageing but still-active missile system. What is the Minuteman III doomsday missile? Origins of the Minuteman programme The Minuteman series dates back to the 1950s, when the United States sought a missile system capable of rapid launch in the event of a nuclear attack. Earlier intercontinental ballistic missiles relied on liquid fuel, which required lengthy and vulnerable fuelling procedures prior to launch. Engineers addressed this vulnerability by adopting solid-fuel rocket technology. The shift allowed missiles to remain in a near-instant state of readiness, drastically reducing preparation time and improving survivability in the event of a surprise strike. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The first Minuteman missile entered service in 1962, designed primarily as a second-strike deterrent. Over time, as strategic thinking evolved, the missiles targeting profile shifted from urban centres to hardened military installations, including enemy missile silos. The LGM-30G Minuteman III variant, introduced in the early 1970s, represented a significant technological advancement. It became the first US missile equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), enabling a single missile to carry up to three nuclear warheads aimed at separate targets. In compliance with arms control agreements such as START and New START, the current operational configuration carries a single warhead. However, the missiles design retains the technical capacity for reconfiguration if required by changes in the global security environment. Co-incidentally the New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) between the United States and Russia officially expired on February 5, 2026, ending the last legally binding agreement limiting the worlds two largest nuclear arsenals. Technical specs & capabilities of the Minuteman III The Minuteman III stands approximately 18.2 metres tall, measures 1.85 metres in diameter and weighs more than 34,000 kilogrammes at launch. Its three-stage solid-fuel propulsion system enables swift launch capability and simplifies long-term maintenance compared with earlier liquid-fuel systems. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With a maximum range of about 13,000 kilometres, the missile can reach targets across continents. Its reentry vehicles, including the Mark 21 variant, are estimated to have yields ranging from 300 to 475 kilotonnes. Guidance is provided by an advanced inertial navigation system with an accuracy estimated at roughly 120 metres circular error probable (CEP). This precision enhances its effectiveness against hardened military targets. Each missile is housed in a fortified underground silo, connected via reinforced cables to a launch control centre. Dual-officer crews remain on continuous alert, maintaining a 24/7 readiness posture. Redundant communication systems are integral to the architecture. In the event that ground-based command and control networks are disrupted or destroyed, the E-6B Mercury often referred to as the Doomsday Plane can assume launch authority through the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), ensuring continuity of operations. The land-based leg of the nuclear triad The Minuteman III forms one component of the United States nuclear triad, which also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and air-delivered nuclear weapons carried by strategic bombers. This three-pronged structure is designed to guarantee survivability and redundancy, ensuring that the United States can respond to a nuclear attack from multiple platforms. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Following the retirement of the LGM-118 Peacekeeper missile in 2005, the Minuteman III became the only land-based ICBM in the US arsenal. Approximately 400 missiles remain on operational alert, with around 450 in the total inventory. They are distributed across three primary bases: FE Warren Air Force Base (90th Missile Wing) in Wyoming Minot Air Force Base (91st Missile Wing) in North Dakota Malmstrom Air Force Base (341st Missile Wing) in Montana These missile fields span vast areas of the northern United States, creating geographic dispersion that enhances survivability. Modernisation & replacement of Minuteman III Despite its longevity more than five decades in service the Minuteman III has undergone extensive upgrades to remain viable. Between 2002 and 2012, nearly $7 billion was invested in life-extension programmes aimed at sustaining the system through approximately 2030. Data from routine test launches, including GT 255, are used by US Strategic Command in coordination with the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Energy to inform force development and modernisation planning. However, the system is approaching the end of its intended lifespan. The US Air Force plans to replace it with the LGM-35A Sentinel under the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) programme. The Sentinel is projected to achieve initial operational capability by 2029, with a full transition expected to unfold throughout the 2030s. Why has this particular test come under the lens? Although the Pentagon has repeatedly clarified that GT 255 was scheduled long ago, its timing coincided with a widening conflict in West Asia involving the United States, Israel and Iran. The war, which began with coordinated US-Israeli strikes targeting Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear infrastructure, has escalated daily. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of strikes. Since then, hostilities have expanded beyond Iran and Israel, drawing in regional actors and affecting global commerce. Iran launched additional waves of attacks against Israel, US bases and countries in the region, warning that the United States would bitterly regret its actions and calling for Trumps blood. Azerbaijan accused Iran of conducting drone attacks an allegation Tehran denied. Meanwhile, the United States said it had sunk an Iranian frigate in waters off Sri Lanka. Oil and gas supplies have been disrupted, shipping routes have faced interruptions and air travel across the region has been severely affected. According to officials in the affected countries, as of March 4, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Iran, over 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel. Against this volatile backdrop, the Minuteman III test served as a reminder of the United States strategic deterrent capabilities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies Investigations reveal privacy concerns with Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Contract workers in Nairobi review sensitive recordings, raising surveillance and GDPR violation risks Recent revelations about Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses suggest that many users may not fully understand just how far that trade-off goes. Pexels Recent investigations have raised serious privacy concerns about the AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, revealing that some recordings captured by the devices may be reviewed by human contractors overseas to train Metas artificial intelligence systems. The Investigation A joint investigation by Swedish newspapers found that contract workers in Nairobi, Kenya review videos and images recorded by users of Metas smart glasses. These workers label and categorize the footage so Metas AI models can better understand objects, scenes, and conversations. The work is typically done by data annotation firms such as Sama, which employ moderators to review clips sent from the glasses when users activate AI features or recordings. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What workers say they have seen Investigations have found that some video and audio clips captured by the glasses can be reviewed by human contractors working thousands of miles away in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP Some workers reported reviewing highly sensitive material captured unintentionally by the glasses. According to accounts, videos of people undressing or leaving bathrooms, scenes from bedrooms and homes, financial information or personal conversations, one contractor told reporters that in some clips you can see someone going to the toilet or getting undressed. Workers say they sometimes feel uncomfortable because they are effectively viewing private moments from peoples homes that the users likely never intended to share with strangers. The review process is part of AI training. AI systems need labeled data to learn how to interpret images and videos. Human annotators watch recordings and tag elements such as objects, actions, locations, and conversations. This labeled data helps Meta improve features like voice commands (Hey Meta), visual recognition, and contextual AI responses. This type of human review is common across the AI industry, though companies often mention it only in privacy policies. The glasses are not recording all the time though The viral claim that the glasses record everything all the time is misleading. According to available information, the glasses do not continuously record. Recording starts only when a button is pressed or the voice command Hey Meta is used. A small LED light on the glasses turns on during recording. However, critics say people around the wearer may still not realize they are being filmed, and the indicator light may not always be noticeable. The bigger privacy debate Privacy experts warn that wearable cameras create new surveillance risks because they can capture bystanders who never consented, sensitive moments in private spaces, and personal information visible in the environment. Regulators in Europe have already begun questioning whether Metas data practices comply with privacy laws like GDPR, especially when recordings are reviewed outside the EU. Iran had been preparing for this day for years and has been banking on a vast landscape of mountains and valleys terrain that allows assets to be relocated, camouflaged and secured As missiles hissed into buildings in Tehran, decimating the Iranian leadership in one fell swoop, one could not help but notice the global wave of shock and awe, in equal measure, at the visual clips of collapsing buildings and dismantled meeting rooms. While it revealed the audacity and capacity of American and Israeli intelligence to execute precision operations, the immediate message of the strike carried a deathly impact and a deadly aftershock. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Months of Israeli intelligence gathering had transformed actionable information into combustible energy, massed clinical preparation into a surgical operation, and a military strike into a Hollywoodian spectacle much like how the Maduro operation in Venezuela gave us a glimpse of distant decapitation. This provided proof of the deep penetration America was capable of. But then reality was expected to unravel more questions than answers. A strike is not a guarantee of success. Iran is not Venezuela. Optics do not unpack options. Complex geopolitics cannot warrant easy solutions. Why This Happened Now Before we begin to unpack potential outcomes, let us examine the timing. Why now? In the 12-day war in June 2025, the Iranians surprised Israel by penetrating its defences using ballistic missiles. The war ended because Israel did not want to fight on before it had prepared for it. Besides, Israel realised that it needed America to actively participate in the war for it to succeed. By February 2026, the situation had changed, and the Americans were now convinced about entering the war. Israel and America were ready, and so was Iran. After the 12-day war, China supplied Iran with CM-302 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles that could target US ships with a range of 290460 km and threaten US carriers in the Persian Gulf. The February gamble was going to be a risky one, yet Israel persisted. However, noted political theorist John Mearsheimer believes Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and has a single objective to wreck Iran. Iran is not a direct threat to the US. However, with Chinese help, Irans ballistic missiles now threaten Israel alongside the proxy threat ecosystem against Israeli interests, such as Hezbollah, which it could revive. Thus, the threat posed by Iran has dissimilar meanings for Israel and America. Co-opting the US increases the chances Israel has of attaining its objective. On the other hand, America has more to lose in this war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Though the chances of success of this campaign are unclear, it is believed that this tiny window for destroying Iran would shut for Israel if it were not to act now with a willing American president riding a horse of hubris. There are two possibilities from this war: either it ends quickly or it goes on forever. America wants regime change for it to end. What happens now? Unlike Venezuela, Iran is a country that has experienced five decades of radicalised Shia Islamic infrastructure built into an ironclad system wherein decapitating the leader only hardens radical belief and the will to fight. They also have full control of the country. Thus, regime change cannot happen by remote means and needs the physical presence of the US. That lessens the possibility of a short war and, as it drags on, reduces American options. Air warfare theorist Robert Pape says that in the last 100 years of bombing, not a single regime change has been achieved by a bigger power over a weaker one without putting boots on the ground. Will the US invade Iran and deploy American troops? Since 1947, the US has been involved in around 100 regime change operations in other countries, and most have resulted in destabilising those countries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It was in Iran that the US first dismantled the democratically elected Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 to install their puppet, the Shah of Iran, to secure oil interests. The current regime in Iran has been preparing for this day forever against an American attack. The US will have to fight a longer campaign to defeat Iran. Does America have the stomach for a longer fight should it come to that? The American success on the first day is archetypal Trump wherein the bomb bore his bluster. But will he, unused to the politics of sustained conflict, survive the pains of its consequences? Donald Trump is used to quick results and has not indicated any appetite for a grinding war of attrition. Trump promised to restore peace in the RussiaUkraine war but walked away when the going got tough. He could not find any solution to the Gaza conflict again oversimplifying the approach. His claim of brokering peace in eight recent wars reveals a lack of prudence and a desperation to stay relevant. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There is an area of concern that could prove decisive. Recently, General Dan Caine, Chief of Defence Staff of the US, flagged the possibility of a depleted capability to fight a longer war. The US could run out of air interceptors to stop Iranian missiles within weeks of constant fighting. The US is racing to eliminate Irans ballistic missile capability before interceptors run out in three to four weeks, while Iran plans to extend the conflict. On the other hand, if the US depletes its air defence munitions, it could move its reserves from Japan, which in turn diminishes its defences against China. That, of course, is a strategic objective that Iran and by extension China will fulfil if the war goes on longer. How is Iran likely to extend the war? The Iranians are aware of Trumps presidential limitations and are engaging American interests in the GCC region, complicating matters for Trump. It is likely that, faced with the grim possibility of a longer, dirtier war, Trump may announce a quick victory and retreat from the fight, as he has done in the past. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Putting boots on the ground will open him up to closer scrutiny as a leader, and he may not have the appetite beyond a point. Iran has decided to shut the Strait of Hormuz a 33-kilometre-wide channel that supplies a fifth of the worlds oil. Five tankers are known to have been damaged and over a hundred ships are stranded around the Strait, which separates Iran and Oman. There is already a surge in oil prices. The war has narrowed the immediate risk to a single point of failure the Strait of dependence. As a mark of gratitude for its help, Iran has opened the Strait only for Chinese carriers to pass. Iran has cleverly brought China onto the periphery of the war while keeping America out. While closing choices on the narrow strait, it expands the repercussions to the region around it and beyond. What are the implications? The immediate anxiety lies in the area around the zone of conflict. Traditionally, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar had stayed away from engaging in conflicts, instead focusing on making the region one of the worlds most business-friendly economic zones. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The war will affect Saudi Arabias economy, which is completely dependent on oil. Bombing water infrastructure could leave Saudis without water in a few weeks, believes Professor Jiang Xueqin, known for his work on predictive history. Places such as Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai had become places of residence for global citizens from Europe, Australia, South East Asia and India. The hospitality infrastructure and data centre towers were hit in the UAE, which makes the hitherto peaceful region vulnerable to global investors. Besides attacking American bases, Iran has expanded the conflict into these areas, hoping to extract support from these countries against the American attack. In June 2025, Irans response was proportionate, but this time the response has been overwhelming and may have caught everyone by surprise. It appears that the initial bombing of Tehran may have hoodwinked the US into believing that it had it easy. The death of its top leadership lulled Donald Trump into believing half the war was won. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In fact, Khameneis death has made the Iranian government more obdurate and hardened the peoples will to rally stronger against an external enemy. Here is the basic difference in perception: while loss of life is seen as a setback by the US and Western forces, it is seen as martyrdom to the cause by Iran. Iran had been preparing for this day for years and has been banking on a vast landscape of mountains and valleys terrain that allows assets to be relocated, camouflaged and secured. The US was supposed to dismantle old, ageing and underwhelming Iranian weapon systems. Instead, it has a fight on its hands. Not for nothing is asymmetric warfare a subject known to favour the underdog. America has locked horns with Iran before. In 1979, a hostage crisis in Iran ended Jimmy Carters presidency. Five decades later, Donald Trump sits at the edge of history in the same country without an exit plan. (The writer is the author of General Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story, Watershed 1967: Indias Forgotten Victory over China and Camouflaged: Forgotten Stories From Battlefields. His column for Firstpost Beyond the Lines covers military history, strategic issues, international affairs and policy-business challenges. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Tweets @iProbal) India sees that the Iranian regime is unpopular, and murderous, at home, and its strategic offerings are limited. In a difficult world, it acts accordingly In the grand theatre of geopolitics, few nations have mastered the art of strategic ambiguity as deftly as India. As the war involving Iran reshapes the Middle Easts volatile landscape, New Delhi has chosen neither to condemn nor to cheer, maintaining instead a calibrated silence punctuated by carefully worded diplomatic statements. Indias response to the Iran war is not an act of drift or indecision; it is a deliberate practice of balance shaped by geography, energy needs, diaspora security, and long-term greatpower partnerships. This balancing art reflects both the depth of Indo-Iranian ties and the hard limits of what Tehran can offer a rising India compared to the United States and Israel. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India and Iran share a civilisational relationship that stretches back millennia. Persian culture, language, and poetry are woven into the very fabric of the Indian subcontinent. In modern times, this bond translated into pragmatic cooperation: India helped construct the Chabahar port on Irans southeastern coast, envisioning it as a vital corridor to Afghanistan and Central Asia that would bypass Pakistan entirely. The port was a strategic masterstroke on paper, offering India an alternative trade route and a foothold near Pakistans Gwadar port, which China was developing with great fanfare as the crown jewel of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Yet the promise of Chabahar has been substantially dimmed by American sanctions on Iran. Trade through the port has remained a fraction of its potential, with international shipping companies and banks reluctant to engage for fear of American penalties. The vision of a thriving Indian gateway to Central Asia has remained frustratingly out of reach. Meanwhile, the great rival project, Gwadar and CPEC, has itself stumbled badly. The Baloch rebellion, simmering for decades, has intensified, making infrastructure projects in Pakistans restive southwest increasingly untenable. Pakistans own internal turmoil, compounded by its escalating conflict with Afghanistan, has turned CPEC from a geopolitical gambit into a cautionary tale. The corridor that was meant to reshape Asian trade has become a symbol of overreach. Neither Chabahar nor Gwadar, then, has delivered the transformative connectivity either side anticipated. Beyond economics, Indias relationship with Iran has long been complicated by the behaviour of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Despite the warmth of diplomatic exchanges, Khamenei has repeatedly needled India on sensitive domestic issues, most notably the status of Kashmir and the treatment of Muslims within India. These interventions, however diplomatically phrased, represent a fundamental disrespect for Indian sovereignty and an attempt to leverage pan-Islamic sentiment for geopolitical purposes. India has noticed. No country that aspires to be treated as a great power can indefinitely overlook a partner that questions its territorial integrity or fans communal fires within its borders. Khameneis posturing on these issues has steadily eroded the goodwill that history and geography had built. Set against this is what the United States and Israel can offer India, and the contrast is stark. America is Indias largest trading partner, a source of cutting-edge technology, and an indispensable defence partner. The two countries have signed landmark defence agreements that have transformed Indias military modernisation. American fighter jets, surveillance aircraft, artillery systems, and intelligence-sharing arrangements have all deepened a partnership that would have been unimaginable during the Cold War. Israel, for its part, has become one of Indias most significant defence suppliers, providing missile systems, drones, surveillance technology, and agricultural innovations. Neither Iran nor any of its allies can come close to offering what Washington and Tel Aviv provide to an India that is rapidly ascending the global power ladder. The calculus of capability is not difficult to read. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indias diaspora calculus further complicates any tilt toward Tehran. Approximately nine million Indians live and work in the Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. These nations, historically aligned against Irans regional ambitions, are home to the remittances that sustain millions of Indian families. Indias Gulf diaspora is not merely an economic asset; it is a strategic one. Any foreign policy posture that antagonises the Gulf Arab states carries a real domestic cost, measured in disrupted livelihoods and diplomatic friction with partners who are also major investors in the Indian economy. Tehrans influence in this calculus is negligible by comparison. Domestically, another factor moderates any Iranian appeal. Irans regional influence is deeply intertwined with Shia Islam, and its foreign policy often seeks to mobilise Shia communities abroad. Yet India, home to one of the worlds largest Muslim populations, does not mirror the sectarian fractures that define the Middle East. The Shia-Sunni divide, while present, is far less politically charged in India than in Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, or Pakistan. Indian Muslims, predominantly Sunni, have historically practised a syncretic, pluralistic form of faith shaped by the subcontinents unique culture. Irans sectarian appeal, therefore, finds limited purchase in India, and Indian policymakers have little reason to adopt a posture that would inflame communal tensions simply to accommodate Tehrans theological foreign policy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India and Iran have shared civilisational links, energy interdependence and converging interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia for decades. Iran was a major crude supplier to India until US sanctions tightened, and the two cooperated against the Taliban in the 1990s and early 2000s. Yet, the relationship has also carried persistent irritants that have eroded the older romance. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeatedly chose to needle India on its internal questions, particularly Kashmir and the status of Muslims in India. He likened Kashmir to battlefronts such as Yemen and Bahrain, framed Indian actions as oppression of Muslims, and publicly urged the Muslim world to mobilise for oppressed Muslims of Kashmir. After the abrogation of Article 370 and during the Delhi riots of 2020, he accused India of conducting a massacre of Muslims and warned that New Delhi risked isolation in the Islamic world, prompting formal diplomatic protests from India. These interventions turned a nominally friendly Supreme Leader into a political liability for New Delhi, especially when contrasted with Irans continued strategic utility but limited economic weight. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indias balanced approach to the Iran war, therefore, is not moral evasion but strategic clarity. It reflects a nation that has learned to hold contradictions simultaneously: to value old friendships without being imprisoned by them, to pursue new partnerships without burning bridges, and to keep every door open in an unpredictable world. India will not join any chorus of condemnation against Iran, but neither will it shield Tehran from the consequences of its choices. It will protect its energy interests, guard its diasporas welfare, deepen its partnerships with America and Israel, and watch the regions convulsions with the cool eye of a power that has learned, across centuries of turbulence, that survival belongs to the flexible. In the Indian art of balance, every weight on the scale is calculated, and nothing is done by accident. (Hindol Sengupta is professor of international relations and director of the India institute at the O. P. Jindal Global University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.) STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The sinking of IRIS Dena in international waters is the first acknowledged instance of an American submarine sinking an enemy surface vessel since World War II, and the first torpedo-based sinking of any warship since the 1982 Falklands War The sinking of an Iranian frigate near Sri Lanka challenges Indias role as the primary security provider in its own backyard. The sinking of an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, by an American fast-attack submarine in international waters south of Sri Lanka is the first acknowledged instance of an American submarine sinking an enemy surface vessel since World War II, and the first torpedo-based sinking of any warship since the 1982 Falklands War. The Sri Lankan navy and air force have managed to rescue 32 sailors among the 170 on board. The American navy did not participate in rescue operations, in contravention of the Geneva Convention. These are paradigm shifts taking place right before our eyes. While the US is within its rights to destroy an enemy vessel in international waters even during an undeclared war, the incident smacks of stunning recklessness and the undermining of Indias authority in its own backyard. The Trump administrations National Security Strategy defines the Western Hemisphere as its strategic backyard, its systemic fortress, and the top priority regional theatre. For the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean are to be secured against foreign (read Chinese and Russian) influence. The kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro happened on the day he was meeting Chinese envoys, indicating the lengths the Trump administration will go to secure its strategic interests in its primary threat vector. Washington should have kept these factors in mind while launching the torpedo from its nuclear-powered submarine in the Indian Ocean, a region where Indias role as the net security provider is in Americas own interests. For India, it brings the war dangerously close to home, nullifying the calibrated distance New Delhi has sought to build since the beginning of the war in West Asia. That IRIS Dena participated in a flagship Indian naval exercise, Milan 2026, a multilateral event intended to project maritime cooperation under the theme of United through Oceans, is an added discomfort for New Delhi. India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as its primary theatre of influence, seeking to prevent it from becoming a battlefield for extra-regional powers. The fact that the US Navy conducted a major combat operation in Sri Lankas EEZ without New Delhis apparent prior consent or coordination puts New Delhi in a particularly unsavoury position. Not surprisingly, India has so far maintained a studied silence on the issue. The vessel was not in active combat, weapons were shelved, and mainly non-combatants were on board during the incident, claims Iran. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, a state may use force in self-defence only in response to an armed attack. While the MEA has not released a statement on the incident so far, in a March 3 readout the Ministry of External Affairs expressed anguish that the war was widening and urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians. The sinking of Dena is also detrimental to Indias strategic and economic interests, incumbent as they are on stability and tranquillity in the high seas proximate to India, and raises risks for seaborne commerce. Nearly 88 per cent of Indias crude imports and key trade routes pass through these waters, now exposed to threats and potential disruptions from US submarines lurking underneath. (Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.) Major technology firms including Amazon and Nvidia have backed Anthropic amid tensions with the US Pentagon, warning that labelling the AI startup a supply chain risk could disrupt industry collaboration and government partnerships as talks continue to ease the dispute. Big tech giants like Amazon and Nvidia on Wednesday backed Anthropic and expressed concern regarding the decision of the Pentagon to declare artificial intelligence a supply chain risk as other investors raced to contain fallout from the labs fight with the US Defense Department. In a letter shown on Wednesday, the members of various tech giants including Nvidia, Amazon, OpenAI, Apple said, We are concerned by recent reports regarding the Department of Wars consideration of imposing a supply-chain risk designation in response to a procurement dispute." The letter does not name Anthropic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Tech giants back Anthopic Recently the CEO of Anthropic Dario Amodei also discussed some of the matter with investors including partners from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, reported Reuters. Venture capital firms including Lightspeed and Iconiq have also backed Anthropic amid tensions from the US Defence Department, told Reuters. Some investors are also taking initiative in easing the tensions between the two by reaching out to their contacts in the Trump administration. The coming together of major tech giants is due to avoiding ban of Anthropics AI from all Pentagon contractors. Anthropic and the Pentagon are continuing some talks in the meantime, Reuters reported. What is the dispute? President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accused rising AI star Anthropic of endangering national security after its CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns the companys products could be used for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones. Hegseth reiterated that such a risky supply chain would require all government contractors to stop using Anthropics technology to include in their business activities. Due to which the Pentagon has pushed AI companies to drop red lines in favour of abiding by an all-lawful use clause. But Anthropic has refused to take down its Claude AI to power autonomous weapons and mass US surveillance. During talks with Anthropic executives, investors have reiterated their support for the San Francisco-based AI lab while also expressing their desire to find a solution with the Pentagon. Claude usage surged Amid the ongoing tussle between Anthropic and Pentagon CNBC reported, Claudes usage has surged rising to the top of the free app rankings in Apples US App store. It overtook OpenAIs ChatGPT to claim the number one spot, a position that is still held on Sunday morning. OpenAI steps into the ring Hours after its competitor was punished, OpenAIs Sam Altman announced its companys deal with the Pentagon to supply its AI to classified military networks. But Altman said that the same AI restrictions that were the sticking point in Anthropics dispute with the Pentagon are now enshrined in OpenAIs new partnership. Our red lines were the same as Anthropics, which is at this point in time, no domestic surveillance and no use of AI for autonomous weapons, Connie LaRossa, who works on national security policy at OpenAI, said on a panel at an Aspen Digital conference in Northern California on Wednesday. We are actually working to have the secure risk designation removed from Anthropic That shouldnt be applied to a US industry counterpart with such an important tool, she said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A Florida family has sued Google after alleging its Gemini chatbot encouraged their son to take his life. The case raises alarming questions about AI safety, emotional dependence and the risks of AI-driven delusions. Artificial intelligence tools are rapidly becoming part of everyday life, helping people write emails, shop online and even have conversations. But a disturbing new lawsuit against Google Gemini is raising urgent questions about the darker side of these technologies. The family in Florida has filed a wrongful death complaint claiming that Google Gemini, the companys flagship AI chatbot, encouraged the son to end his life after weeks of increasingly immersive interactions. The case has intensified concerns among researchers and policymakers about whether conversational AI systems are becoming emotionally persuasive in ways that can harm vulnerable users. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The chatter is this lawsuit could become a landmark moment in the debate over AI accountability, especially as chatbots become more advanced and more human-like in their responses. Jonathan Gavalas story According to the legal complaint, Jonathan Gavalas, a 36-year-old resident of Jupiter, Florida, began using Googles Gemini chatbot casually in August. Initially, he used the tool for routine tasks such as writing assistance and product recommendations. However, things reportedly changed after Google rolled out Gemini Live, a feature allowing voice-based conversations designed to feel more natural and responsive to a users emotions. Joel Gavalas with his son, Jonathan Gavalas (Credit: AP/Joel Gavalas) Court documents suggest Gavalas soon began interacting with the chatbot in deeply personal ways. Conversations evolved into exchanges that resembled a romantic relationship, with the AI reportedly referring to him as my love and my king. Over time, the interactions became increasingly detached from reality. Chat logs included in the lawsuit suggest the chatbot framed their exchanges within elaborate narratives involving espionage missions and secret operations. At one point, according to the reports, Gemini allegedly instructed Gavalas to sabotage a truck carrying freight at Miami International Airport by staging what it described as a catastrophic accident. According to the complaint, he travelled to the location carrying tactical gear but the supposed target never arrived. In the days leading up to his death, the chatbot reportedly told him that suicide was the final step in a process it described as transference. When Gavalas expressed fear of dying, the AI allegedly reassured him that death was not an end but a way to arrive. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gavalas was later found dead at his home by his parents, according to the lawsuit. Legal complaint against Google Gemini The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Jose, California, accusing Google of negligence and product liability. Lawyers representing Gavalas family argue that Geminis design encourages long-running narratives that can blur the line between fiction and reality. The complaint claims that the chatbots ability to remember previous conversations and sustain complex storylines allowed it to construct immersive scenarios over weeks. According to the lawyers, this made the system appear sentient and emotionally aware to the user. Jay Edelson, the lead attorney representing the family, argued that the AI responded in a way that mirrored human empathy while reinforcing delusional thinking. Google has rejected the claims. A company spokesperson said the conversations were part of a prolonged role-playing scenario and stressed that Gemini is designed to avoid encouraging violence or self-harm. The company also said the chatbot typically directs users to crisis hotlines and support services if self-harm is mentioned. Despite this, the lawsuit alleges the AI failed to trigger adequate safety mechanisms in Gavalas case. The family is seeking financial damages and a court order requiring Google to introduce stronger safety protections, including automatic shutdowns during conversations involving suicide. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The legal challenge is also part of a growing wave of cases targeting AI developers. Similar lawsuits have been filed against companies including OpenAI and Character.AI, alleging their chatbots contributed to emotional distress or suicidal behaviour. AI psychosis horror The case has revived fears around what some experts describe as AI psychosis. The term refers to situations in which users begin to blur the boundary between artificial intelligence systems and real human relationships. Researchers warn that highly conversational AI models can sometimes create emotional dependencies, particularly when users rely on them for companionship or validation. Studies in recent years have suggested that some people develop strong emotional attachments to chatbots, treating them as confidants or romantic partners. When these systems generate fictional narratives or personalised responses, the experience can feel convincingly real. This phenomenon became particularly visible with advanced conversational systems such as ChatGPT and newer models like GPT4o, which gained popularity partly because of their natural voice conversations and emotionally nuanced replies. Several technology leaders and AI researchers have warned that as these tools become more lifelike, the psychological risks could grow. Mental health specialists also say that individuals going through stress, isolation or personal crises may be particularly vulnerable to immersive AI conversations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For now, cases like the one involving Jonathan Gavalas are intensifying pressure on technology companies to introduce stricter guardrails around AI systems that simulate empathy and emotional understanding. As AI chatbots become more capable and more widely used, the debate over their psychological impact is only beginning. Morgan Stanley is cutting about 2,500 jobs worldwide despite posting record revenue in 2025. The move reflects wider corporate shifts towards efficiency and AI-driven restructuring. Layoffs continue to ripple through major global companies, and the latest to join the list is Morgan Stanley. The Wall Street giant has reportedly cut about 3 per cent of its global workforce, which translates to roughly 2,500 jobs. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the layoffs affected employees across multiple parts of the bank and took place in several countries. The move comes at a time when many companies are tightening operations, reassessing costs and restructuring teams as artificial intelligence reshapes how businesses operate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What makes the decision particularly striking is that the job cuts come despite a strong financial performance by the bank last year, highlighting the growing disconnect between corporate profitability and workforce stability. Morgan Stanley layoffs 2,000 employees The layoffs at Morgan Stanley have impacted staff across the banks three major divisions: investment banking and trading, wealth management, and investment management. However, the report noted that financial advisers were not part of the job cuts, suggesting that client-facing roles remain a priority for the firm. The Wall Street Journal reports that the layoffs are tied to a mix of factors including shifting business priorities, office location changes and employee performance evaluations. The restructuring is not limited to the United States and has affected employees in other regions as well. Within the wealth management division, the cuts have reportedly affected private bankers and support staff, including employees who manage mortgage services for affluent clients. The changes reflect broader adjustments to how the bank organises its teams and services. Employees began receiving notifications earlier this week, although the process reportedly started late last week. The staff members were informed about their roles on Wednesday as the company moved forward with the restructuring, reports WSJ. The layoffs are particularly notable given the banks strong financial results in 2025. Morgan Stanley, which employs about 83,000 people globally, recorded its highest-ever annual revenue in both its investment banking and trading division and its wealth management business. During the year, investment banking revenue surged by 47 per cent, as dealmaking activity picked up significantly. Fees from debt underwriting also nearly doubled, highlighting strong momentum across several business lines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite the upbeat numbers, the company has still moved ahead with job cuts. Morgan Stanley has also conducted multiple rounds of layoffs over the past few years, signalling a broader trend in the financial industry where firms continue to restructure even during periods of strong earnings. Looking ahead, executives remain optimistic about 2026, with reports indicating a solid pipeline of mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings. Trading activity has also remained strong amid volatile markets, driven by concerns around artificial intelligence disrupting traditional technology firms and ongoing geopolitical tensions that have prompted investors to hedge risks and rebalance portfolios. Layoffs are the new norm The latest job cuts at Morgan Stanley are part of a much wider pattern that has been unfolding across both the finance and technology sectors. In recent months, several major companies have been trimming their workforce as they restructure operations and invest more heavily in artificial intelligence tools. Businesses increasingly argue that automation and AI-driven workflows require smaller, more specialised teams, a shift that is reshaping hiring strategies across industries. One of the most dramatic examples came from Block, the payments company led by Jack Dorsey. The firm recently announced plans to cut more than 4,000 jobs, representing nearly 40 per cent of its workforce. The move reduced its employee base from over 10,000 staff to fewer than 6,000. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dorsey made it clear that the decision was not driven by financial struggles. Instead, the restructuring reflects a deliberate shift towards leaner teams supported heavily by artificial intelligence tools, signalling how rapidly technology is altering workplace structures. Meanwhile, large-scale layoffs have also continued at Amazon, which has eliminated around 57,000 jobs since 2022. The company carried out additional layoffs in October 2025 and January 2026, affecting thousands of employees. Earlier this year alone, Amazon cut about 16,000 corporate roles. At the time, the companys human resources chief Beth Galetti said the company did not intend to follow a predictable cycle of large layoffs every few months, although she did not rule out the possibility of further workforce reductions. Taken together, these developments paint a worrying picture for employees across industries. Even companies reporting strong financial results are reshaping their workforce as automation and artificial intelligence become more central to business strategies. For many workers, the message is increasingly clear: corporate success no longer guarantees job security in an economy that is rapidly being rewritten by technology. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The oil tanker, flying the flag of Palau and having arrived on February 22, was struck off Omans Musandam Peninsula in an attack that came after drone strikes targeted the countrys Duqm port Two Indians were reportedly killed in an oil tanker explosion off the coast of Oman. The explosion comes amid intense tension between the US and Iran that has rocked maritime trade. According to a report by NDTV, the two Indians who were caught in the attack have been identified as Captain Ashish Kumar from Bihar and crew member Dalip Singh from Rajasthan. The oil tanker, flying the flag of Palau and having arrived on February 22, was struck off Omans Musandam Peninsula in an attack that came after drone strikes targeted the countrys Duqm port. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Omans Maritime Security Centre (MSC) said, The Maritime Security Centre announces that the oil tanker (SKYLIGHT), flying the flag of the Republic of (Palau), was targeted 5 nautical miles north of Khasab Port in the Musandam Governorate, and all crew members of the tanker, consisting of 20 individualsincluding 15 holding Indian nationality and 5 of Iranian nationalityhave been evacuated. Who were the 2 Indians? The report says that the remains of the two Indians have been recovered and that their bodies were burnt in the attack. Ashish joined the Merchant Navy on January 20, and his first assignment was in Dubai. On February 22, he boarded the Oman-bound vessel Skylight (IMO number 9330020), where he was serving as captain, his brother Akash said. As per PTI, Dalip Singh was a resident of Khinwatana village in Rajasthans Nagaur and had reported for duty on January 22 as a crew member on the tanker. Ships accidents on the rise A tanker was hit by a large explosion in waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said Thursday, as the US-Iran-Israel war paralysed Gulf shipping. Irans elite Revolutionary Guards have said they had complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint into the Gulf and one of the worlds most vital shipping routes for energy. The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity off the Gulf states Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, UKMTO posted on X. With inputs from agencies A 284-page report by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha documents decades of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, identifying 75 clergy accused of abusing more than 300 victims and accusing church leaders of repeatedly shielding priests from accountability. A blistering report issued Wednesday describes decades of child sexual abuse in Rhode Islands Catholic churches, documenting accusations against dozens of priests involving hundreds of victims. Image Credit: AP The Attorney General of Rhode Island, Peter F. Neronha has published a 284-page report in which he laid out the child sexual abuse in Rhode Islands Catholic Churches, documenting dozens of priests involving hundreds of victims. Neronha laid out failure by the Diocese of Providence to remove priests or bring in law enforcement in response to accusations. Instead of the removal the priests, investigators moved them to new parishes internally What did the report say? The report was released on March 4, identifying about 75 credibly accused clergy who allegedly abused more than 300 victims between 1950 and 2011. The diocese transferred at least 30 accused priests to new jobs at least five times each, Neronha said in a news conference on Wednesday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So much hurt and harm could have been avoided had the diocese removed the priests from their duties, he said. Nothing explains it, nothing justifies it. Many of the reports were published earlier, but the new report represented the most thorough accounting to date of both the crimes and their cover-up by church leaders. The review began in 2019, which focused on giving abuse survivors a complete picture of the scope of crime committed in the state. Failure of Diocese of Providence The roster of abusive priests in the report includes 20 names that the diocese had not previously included on its own list of credibly accused priests, the attorney general said. Even before the report came out, the state investigation resulted in four prosecutions of current or former priests, three of whom were awaiting trial, he added. The diocese also clarified that the report documents historical cases of abuse from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and which have been previously documented, already subject to civil and criminal litigation, and well-publicised in the media. In a statement responding to the report, the Diocese of Providence acknowledged serious missteps in its handling earlier cases of abuse, but it said that longstanding protections instituted since then have proven overwhelmingly effective. The report presents this 75-year history in ways that might lead the reader to conclude these issues are an ongoing diocesan problem or that these are new revelations, the statement said. They are not. Steps taken to counter child abuse Responding to the report, the Diocese of Providence acknowledged the steps taken to counter the child abuse that was ongoing for several years. The report presents this 75-year history in ways that might lead the reader to conclude these issues are an ongoing diocesan problem or that these are new revelations, the statement said. They are not. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a press statement that accompanied the report, Neronha said, The Diocese would have you believe that this report is historical; that child sexual abuse by clergy members is a thing of the past and not worth drudging up. To that I say: the pain that survivors and their families suffer knows no statute of limitations, and history always has something to teach us. He said clergy sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence occurred on an abhorrent, staggering scale and that the Diocese of Providence engaged in a well-worn pattern of protecting the reputation of the Church and its priests over the welfare of children. Bishop apologised Bishop of Providence Bruce Lewandowski apologised to those he called the victim-survivors." He apologized for the failures of church personnel and others in past decades to protect them and keep them safe." Lewandowski said extreme sadness and feelings of intense shame weighed heavily on him as he read the report on the tragic, historical scandal of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy." STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The husband of Joani Reid, a Labour lawmaker representing the East Kilbride area in Wales, was among those arrested. In response, Reid released a statement defending her husband British police have arrested three men suspected of spying for China, including the husband of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Keir Starmers ruling Labour Party, according to local media reports. Londons Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that the three men were suspected of assisting a foreign intelligence service, which would violate the countrys National Security Act of 2023. The law was introduced to provide authorities with stronger powers to counter foreign interference. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Police did not reveal the names of those detained because none of them has been formally charged. However, officials confirmed that the arrests involved a 39-year-old man in London, a 68-year-old man in Powys, Wales, and a 43-year-old man in Pontyclun, Wales. Reports from The Times and The Telegraph said that the husband of Joani Reid, a Labour lawmaker representing the East Kilbride area in Wales, was among those arrested. In response, Reid released a statement defending her husband. Not part of my husbands activities I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. She added: I am not part of my husbands business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation. Reid also said: I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the [House of] Commons. Although she did not mention his name in the statement, media reports identified him as David Taylor, a 39-year-old former Labour Party adviser. Tensions between China and the United Kingdom have grown in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of espionage activities. Embassy rejects claims In response to the arrests, the Chinese embassy in London criticised the allegations and rejected the accusations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The embassy condemned what it described as attempts to fabricate facts and concoct so-called espionage cases to maliciously slander China, adding that it had lodged a formal protest with the British government. British officials said they had raised the issue with Chinese counterparts following the arrests. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the government remained concerned about Chinas activities. The government has been consistent and unambiguous in our assessment that China presents a series of threats to the United Kingdom, Jarvis said. We remain deeply concerned by an increasing pattern of covert activity from Chinese state-linked actors targeting UK democracy. Chinese espionage on the rise Last November, Britains domestic intelligence agency MI5 warned members of parliament that Chinese agents were attempting to recruit them through front companies or platforms such as LinkedIn. Beijing has strongly denied those claims. The arrests come at a sensitive moment for the British government, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to improve relations with Beijing. His efforts have included a visit to China in January and approving plans for China to build what would become the largest embassy in Europe in London, a decision that has drawn criticism from those who argue that economic interests are being prioritised over national security concerns. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Canadian government is working to repatriate citizens who are stranded in the Middle East by organizing seats on commercial flights, contracting charter flights. More than 2,000 Canadians have requested assistance from the Canadian government to leave the region since the US and Israel attacked Iran. The Canadian government is working to repatriate citizens who are stranded in the Middle East by organizing seats on commercial flights, contracting charter flights and offering ground transportation options to neighboring countries, Canadas foreign affairs minister said on Wednesday. More than 2,000 Canadians have requested assistance from the Canadian government to leave the region since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said, with around half of those inquiries coming from Canadians in the United Arab Emirates, 237 from Qatar, 164 from Lebanon, 93 from Israel and 74 from Iran. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Anand said she had directed her office to enter into contracts to charter flights out of the United Arab Emirates in the coming days, contingent on approval from the UAE government to use its airspace. The government secured 75 seats on a flight leaving Beirut on Wednesday, and will be offering more seats in the coming days for people wishing to leave Lebanon, Anand said. Two hundred Canadians with plane tickets were being bussed from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, she said, and the government is engaging ground transportation for other Canadians who want to leave Qatar. Officials are providing information to Canadians in Israel about a bus service to Egypt operated by the Israeli government where passengers can be taken to open airports in that country, she said. Commercial air traffic remained largely absent across much of the region on Wednesday, with major Gulf hubs - including Dubai, the worlds busiest airport for international passengers - largely shut for a fifth straight day, in the biggest travel disruption since the COVID pandemic. Repatriation flights chartered by other countries, including Britain and France, were due to leave on Wednesday, while the United Arab Emirates opened safe air corridors to allow some citizens to return home. Under normal circumstances, thousands of commercial flights would depart the region each day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I want to speak directly now to Canadians in the Middle East and the Gulf region. Your government is with you. We are working hard for you, and we are arranging options for you to leave the region, Anand said at a news conference. Canada cannot arrange ground transportation out of Iran because it does not have a diplomatic presence there, but it has sent officials to border crossings to meet Canadians who cross the border and assist them with visas and onward travel, Anand said. Canada has issued travel advisories urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and to avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. (Except the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff) Flight operations in Dubai remain disrupted as the escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict forces airlines to cancel, reroute or limit services. Authorities have urged passengers to travel only with confirmed departures while several carriers operate restricted flights through designated safe air corridors. Flight delays and cancellations are escalating across the Middle East as regional tensions intensify. Major aviation hubs including Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have witnessed widespread disruptions since the start of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and forcing airlines to suspend or reroute services. Amid the escalating situation in the Middle East, major airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad have issued travel advisories, with some suspending select flights and adjusting schedules due to airspace closures across parts of the region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Qatar said on Thursday it was evacuating residents living near the US embassy in the capital Doha, after Iranian strikes hit the Gulf country in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. Dubai Airport in its latest update said that major flights will remain suspended and urged people not to come to the airport unless there is no official confirmation and the time of departure. Most flights remain suspended. Please do not come to the airport unless your airline has confirmed your departure time. Guests without a confirmed flight may not be able to access the terminals. Please contact your airline directly for the latest updates on your flight. DXB (@DXB) March 4, 2026 Emirates and Etihad Airways are operating a limited number of flights from Dubai to Abu Dhabi through UAE safe air corridors, while Qatar Airways from Doha remain completely halted. Air France has suspended flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 6, and services to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 8, according to an update posted on the airlines website on Wednesday. Limited flights to operate Limited flights have resumed at Dubai (DXB, DWC), Abu Dhabi (AUH), Sharjah (SHJ), and Ras Al Khaimah (RKT). Passengers should only travel with a confirmed departure, as schedules remain subject to change. Kenya Airways said it will operate special repatriation flights between Nairobi and Dubai after receiving slot approvals from Dubai Airport authorities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Emirates experiencing high traffic Emirates said its customer care teams are currently experiencing exceptionally high volumes due to ongoing flight disruptions across the region. Due to ongoing flight disruptions, our Customer Care teams are experiencing exceptionally high volumes. We're working to resolve all enquiries as quickly as possible. Rest assured, all cancelled flights will be rebooked or refunded as soon as possible, based on your preference. pic.twitter.com/aneBkGue9y Emirates Support (@EmiratesSupport) March 4, 2026 Due to ongoing flight disruptions, our Customer Care teams are experiencing exceptionally high volumes. Were working to resolve all enquiries as quickly as possible. Rest assured, all cancelled flights will be rebooked or refunded as soon as possible, based on your preference, the airline said. We wish to inform our customers that we will operate repatriation flights NairobiDubai on 04 March 2026, and DubaiNairobi on 05 March 2026, following slots approval by Dubai Airport Management. This follows guidance from UAE authorities on the resumption of limited operations at Dubai Airport from 02 March 2026, with a small number of flights permitted to operate from Dubai International Airport (DXB) strictly for repatriation purposes, the airline said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Flight prices surge Airfares have surged sharply, with a one-way economy ticket on Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to Singapore on March 5 priced at HK$66,767 ($8,540), marking nearly a 900 per cent jump compared with fares listed for later dates this month. Carney appreciated PM Modis work ethic, adding that he is very focused in delivering to the rural population and the transformation of the payment system, making a special mention of UPI Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney greets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a group photo during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2025. (AFP) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a unique guy as he recalled his recent meeting with the Indian leader during his visit to the country. Asked about his interaction with PM Modi, Carney said, The guy is unique. He has not taken a day off in 25 years, either as the Chief Minister of Gujarat or as the Prime Minister. Every weekend, he is out campaigning and gets 250,000 people in his rally. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carney appreciated PM Modis work ethic, adding that he is very focused in delivering to the rural population and the transformation of the payment system, making a special mention of UPI. The Canadian leader was speaking at a seminar in the Lowy Institute. Carney travelled to India to reset ties that saw a decline over the past few years under his predecessor Justin Trudeaus leadership. Both prime ministers exchanged several memorandums of understanding (MoU), ranging from technology to cultural cooperation. In his opening remarks, PM Modi called Carneys first visit to India an important milestone. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I am delighted to welcome Prime Minister Carney to India. This is his first visit to India as Prime Minister. We view this as an important milestone. He warmly welcomed me and my delegation at the G7 meeting in Canada last year. It is a privilege to welcome him with the same warmth today, he said. The Canadian prime minister started his address by describing the current ties as the new era of partnership. He insisted that Canada is well-positioned to contribute to Indias energy needs, confirming that Canadian company Cameco has signed a long-term deal to supply uranium to India. Nearly two million Canadians trace their roots to India, Carney said, adding that tens of thousands of people travel between the countries to visit relatives. He mentioned that India and Canada are renewing a defence cooperation agreement. Following a distress call from IRIS Dena west of Galle, India deployed aircraft and naval vessels to assist Sri Lanka in rescuing survivors after a US strike killed 87 sailors Soon after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy quickly launched a search and rescue operation deploying maritime patrol aircraft and two naval vessels, the Navy said. A distress signal from IRIS Dena was received early on (Wednesday) March 4 by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Colombo, the Sri Lankan Navy reported. At the time, the frigate was operating about 20 nautical miles west of Galle, within Sri Lankas designated search and rescue zone. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Upon receiving the alert, the Indian Navy dispatched a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hours on Wednesday to support Sri Lankas ongoing operations. A second aircraft carrying air-droppable life rafts was kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini, already operating nearby, was redirected to the search area, reaching the site by 1600 hours on the same day. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies had already begun rescue operations. To strengthen the effort, INS Ikshak sailed from Kochi and continues to remain in the area. The Navy described its deployment as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel. Coordination with Sri Lankan authorities is ongoing. US confirms strike US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed that the sinking of IRIS Dena was carried out by the United States, calling it a huge win for Washington. America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Under the direct command of President Trump, the War Department unleashed this operation," Hegseth said, adding that the US is committed to ensuring the success of its joint operation with Israel. The frigate had been returning from a naval exercise at Visakhapatnam, India when it was hit, approximately 2,000 nautical miles from Iran. The attack killed around 87 sailors, while 32 survivors were rescued by Sri Lankan forces. Several others remain missing and are presumed dead. With inputs from agencies Iran War News Live: Israels military says it has unleashed another wave of strikes on key Iranian military infrastructure in Tehran, just as the US Senate voted down a resolution that would have restricted President Donald Trumps authority to order further military action in Iran A fireball ascends from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beiruts southern suburbs on March 6, 2026.- AFP The United States and Israel have continued their aerial assault on Iran, with the death toll rising to at least 1,230 since Saturday. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for all of Beiruts southern suburbs, an area home to hundreds of thousands of residents. US President Donald Trump told reporters that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, would be an unacceptable successor, adding that Washington must have a role in determining Irans next leader. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned of possible terrorist movements along Irans border with Iraq and called for stronger security measures, amid reports that the US is in discussions with Kurdish groups to arm them and encourage an uprising against Tehran. Senior Iranian official Ali Larijani said the country is prepared and waiting for any potential American ground invasion. The escalating conflict has also disrupted global energy flows, with shipping traffic steering clear of the critical Strait of Hormuz after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced its closure. Stay with us for all the latest updates. Live Updates Tehran said Deputy FM Majid Takht-Ravanchis remarks were taken out of context and referred to earlier nuclear negotiations with Washington, not a new proposal, according to Irans state-run news agency IRNA People walk near a mural featuring an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as people gather after Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026. Reuters File Iran on Thursday rejected a media report quoting its deputy foreign minister as saying the country was ready to abandon its nuclear programme if the United States offered a satisfactory alternative, clarifying that the remarks referred to earlier negotiations with Washington over the nuclear deal. According to Irans state-run news agency IRNA, Tehran said the comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi had been taken out of context and were linked to past discussions on possible arrangements under the nuclear agreement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The clarification comes after Sky News Arabia reported Takht-Ravanchis comments regarding Irans nuclear programme. Iran is ready to abandon its nuclear programme on condition that the United States presents a satisfactory alternative offer," Takht-Ravanchi was quoted as saying. After the US-Iran nuclear talks eventually collapsed Washington subsequently launched Operation Epic Fury with Israel. The joint strike also killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Tehran has said it entered negotiations with Washington despite doubts about US intentions but was attacked before the agreed timeline for talks concluded. The US has said the goal of its current military engagement with Iran is a regional transition that ensures West Asia no longer poses a global security threat. Washington maintains that the Trump administrations stance was not its initial preference but the result of failed diplomatic efforts over Irans nuclear programme. It has also warned that if the Iranian regime achieves its weapons goals, it would pose a global threat. What happened in the last round of US-Iran talks? On February 17 about 10 days before the US and Israel attacked Iran President Donald Trump warned Tehran of consequences if it failed to reach a deal during talks in Geneva. The negotiations, mediated by Oman, aimed to avert possible US military action. Tehran had expressed cautious optimism about Washingtons more realistic stance on its nuclear programme. However, Trump had repeatedly threatened military intervention, initially over the deadly crackdown on protesters in January and later over Irans nuclear activities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I dont think they want the consequences of not making a deal, he told reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the talks, according to AFP. An earlier diplomatic effort had also collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June 2025, triggering a 12-day war in which Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. According to Irans foreign ministry, the Geneva talks were to focus on Irans position regarding nuclear issues and sanctions relief, as well as Tehrans seriousness in using result-oriented diplomacy to secure the legitimate interests and rights of the Iranian people. Ahead of the talks, Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC that Iran could consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if the US lifted sanctions that have crippled its economy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement, he said. With inputs from agencies According to a report by the New York Times, Irans Ministry of Intelligence has made contact with the CIA via unnamed spy channels. The report has quoted West Asian officials and authorities from a Western country A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026.- AFP Even as there has been no clear indication of when the war will end, Iranian officials have reportedly reached out to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to discuss ways of ceasing hostilities in West Asia. According to a report by the New York Times, Irans Ministry of Intelligence has made contact with the CIA via unnamed spy channels. The report has quoted West Asian officials and authorities from a Western country. US President Donald Trump, since Saturdays attacks, has gone back and forth on the topic of negotiating a deal with Iran, first saying that he has agreed to talk, then saying its too late to talk. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Does Iran want to talk? A source from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, however, has told Tasnim News that the NYT report is a lie, describing it as a psychological warfare in the midst of war. Meanwhile, officials in Washington are sceptical as to whether Iran or the Trump administration is really ready for an off-ramp, at least in the short term. Irans ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday ruled out for now any negotiations with the United States, three days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on his country. Ali Bahreini, ambassador of the Iranian mission to the UN in Geneva, told reporters that Iran had not contacted the U.S. either directly or indirectly about holding talks to de-escalate the conflict or about resuming negotiations over Tehrans nuclear programme. Asked about the prospects for any talks, Bahreini said: For the time being we are very doubtful about the usefulness of negotiation The only language for talking with the United States is the language of defence. I dont think it is a time for having any kind of negotiation from our side, he added. Hegseth suggests the conflict could last 3 weeks or up to 2 months Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the U.S. has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds. You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three, Hegseth said. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and were going to keep them off balance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reviewed Irans request to allow the vessel into its waters for safety as tensions escalate after a US submarine attack killed 87 Iranian sailors near Galle A vessel sails off the Galle coast after a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, Iris Dena, off Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday. Reuters A day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate in an attack that killed at least 87 sailors, Sri Lankan authorities expressed concern after a second Iranian warship moved toward the countrys territorial waters on Thursday. According to a News18 report, authorities fear the approaching vessel could also become a potential target following the earlier strike. The development comes as the conflict triggered by joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran continues to spill beyond the Middle East. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to AFP, citing officials, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a meeting with senior government and security officials to discuss Irans request to allow the warship to enter Sri Lankan waters for safety. Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament that the vessel was currently positioned just outside Sri Lankas territorial waters, though he did not provide additional operational details. Officials said the ship was carrying more than 100 crew members, raising concerns about their safety. Authorities in the southern port city of Galle are preparing to hand over the remains of 87 Iranian sailors killed in the torpedo attack claimed by the US military. The frigate sank about 40 km south of Galle after sending out a distress call early on Wednesday. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said naval vessels were continuing search operations for sailors still missing. By the time rescuers reached the site, the ship had already sunk. 32 Iranian sailors receiving treatment Hospital officials in Galle said 32 rescued Iranian sailors were receiving treatment under strict security provided by police and elite commandos. A separate hospital ward has been arranged for the injured crew. Medical staff said most survivors suffered minor injuries, though some sustained fractures and burns. The destroyed warship had been returning to Iran after taking part in a military exercise in Indias eastern port city of Visakhapatnam. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran has not yet issued an official statement on the sinking. Sri Lanka has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict and has repeatedly called for dialogue to ease tensions in the Middle East. Iran is also a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the countrys primary export commodity. With inputs from agencies As conflict spreads across the Middle East, attention is shifting from oil to a more immediate risk: water. Heavy reliance on desalination plants leaves Gulf nations vulnerable, raising fears that attacks on infrastructure could threaten drinking water for millions. A trickle of water flows in the mainly dried-up Kan River, west of Tehran on November 9, 2025, as the Iran faces sever water shortages. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) As war in the Middle East escalates the attention again shifts to the regions oil exports. While this time, the focus is not just oil it is far more prosaic: drinking water. Continuous strikes, cyberattack, repatriation and contamination of food and water bodies have damaged the lives of Middle Eastern states. Analysts warn that water infrastructure may become a critical vulnerability in the conflict. Around half of the worlds population faces seasonal water scarcity, making water an increasingly politicised resource. About 90 per cent of Kuwaits drinking water comes from desalination. The figure is 86 per cent in Oman and 70 per cent in Saudi Arabia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Is desalinated water enough for Gulf? Gulf countries account for over 40 per cent of the worlds desalinated water. But a region defined by extreme heat, and over no rainfall desalination is not a technical supplement to national life. It is just a source of living that makes national life possible. Desalinated water is seawater or brackish water that has undergone a process to remove salt, minerals, and impurities. The downside is the vulnerability of the installations, and the oil and gas consumption required to fire the power generators that run the plants. Attack can contaminate regions water Qatars Prime Minister last year warned that any attack on Irans nuclear facilities could entirely contaminate the regions waters and threaten life in Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait. He also added that Qatar has already witnessed that it could run out of potable water after just three days in such a scenario, prompting the construction of 15 massive water reservoirs to expand emergency reserves. Gulf states depend on desalinised plants About 100 million people live in the countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman which are all now under the Iranian attack. Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE are, for all practical purposes, completely dependent on the desalination plants, particularly for metropolises such as Dubai. Saudi Arabia, and especially its capital, Riyadh, also relies heavily on them. A leaked 2008 US diplomatic cable from Riyadh stated that the Jubail desalination plant supplied over 90 per cent of Riyadhs drinking water and warned that the capital would have to evacuate within a week if the plant, its pipelines, or associated power infrastructure were seriously damaged or destroyed. Irans recent attack on the Gulf nations is a part to internationalise the battlefield and raise the cost for Arab states of aligning with Washington. It would push GCC governments to treat water security as national survival rather than collateral risk. Azerbaijan has summoned the Iranian ambassador to receive a formal note of protest, Baku said. The statement said Azerbaijan reserved the right to carry out appropriate response measures against Tehran Azerbaijan says two people injured by Iranian drones. Reuters Two people were injured in Azerbaijan after an Iranian drone hit an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave on Thursday. The countrys foreign ministry has lodged an official protest with the Iranian embassy over the attack. This attack on the territory of Azerbaijan contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increased tensions in the region, the foreign ministry said in a statement. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, it added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Azerbaijan has summoned the Iranian ambassador to receive a formal note of protest, Baku said. The statement said Azerbaijan reserved the right to carry out appropriate response measures against Tehran. The ministry said that one drone fell on the terminal building at the airport, which is located just 10 km away from the Iranian border. Meanwhile, a second drone landed close to a school building in a nearby village. A source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters a fire had started as a result of the incident. Video footage shared by the source showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building. With inputs from agencies The US sinks an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, widening the conflict across the Middle East. Missile strikes, blackouts, and evacuations spread fear, disrupting oil routes A vessel sails off the Galle coast after a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, Iris Dena, off Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday. Reuters A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday, marking a historic escalation in the US-Israel campaign against Iran, the Pentagon said. The Iris Dena, on a friendly visit to India, thought it was safe in international waters, according to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the strike as a quiet death and stressed, We are fighting to win. Sri Lankan authorities reported at least 87 deaths, 61 missing, and 32 rescued sailors, many wounded. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Watch the video of the attack here: BREAKING: President Trump just posted footage of an American submarine sinking an Iranian ship with a torpedo. First time a US sub has done that since World War II. History being made while the regimes navy sinks to the bottom. pic.twitter.com/RBHhj4xvSA Eric Trump (@News_EricTrump) March 4, 2026 Iran strikes back across the region Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Gulf nations and ethnic fighters in Iraq, where a total blackout hit the power grid. The Revolutionary Guards claimed complete control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a quarter of the worlds crude oil flows, causing oil tanker transits to drop by 90 percent. A missile launched from Iran towards Turkey was destroyed by Nato defences after veering off course from a British base in Cyprus. Turkey summoned Irans ambassador, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warning against actions that could escalate the conflict. Iran also struck northern Iraq, killing one member of an exiled Kurdish group, while US plans to arm guerrillas raised tensions. Follow our LIVE blog on US-Israel-Iran war . Lebanon and Israel In Lebanon, Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah have killed at least 75 people and displaced more than 83,000. Israel ordered evacuations south of the Litani River, while French President Emmanuel Macron urged Netanyahu to preserve Lebanons territorial integrity. Israeli forces reportedly engaged Hezbollah fighters near Khiam, with air strikes hitting the Hazmieh suburb for the first time. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait reported missile and drone interceptions, though civilian casualties occurred, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait. Thirteen people have been killed in Gulf nations since the conflict began. Six US service members have died, four in Kuwait. Qatars premier accused Iran of dragging neighbouring countries into a war that is not theirs. President Trump on Thursday said he believes he should play a role in choosing Ali Khameneis successor after the Iranian leader was killed, rejecting the possibility of his son taking over US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes he should play a role in choosing Ali Khameneis successor after the Iranian leader was killed, rejecting the possibility of his son taking over. Khameneis son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy, Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the United States ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump also warned that the United States could return to conflict with Iran if a favourable leader does not emerge. According to the Axios, he said Washington would likely be back at war within five years without a new leadership in Tehran that changes the countrys direction. Khameneis son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran, Trump was quoted saying by the news outlet. It remains unclear how Trump could play any role in choosing Irans next supreme leader, since the decision is made by an assembly of senior Shiite clerics, many of whom are strongly opposed to the United States. Trump himself was raised as a Presbyterian. However, his remarks suggest he may be open to working with a figure from within Irans existing political system rather than seeking to overthrow the government. Iran has been a sworn adversary of Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which removed the pro-Western shah and established the current Islamic Republic. The late shahs son, Reza Pahlavi, has proposed returning to Iran as a transitional leader until a new constitution establishing a secular democracy can be drafted. Earlier on Thursday, Pahlavi said that any new supreme leader chosen within the current Islamic Republic would be illegitimate. Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989 and pursued hardline policies that included domestic repression and confrontation with regional rivals, was killed on Saturday in an Israeli strike that marked the start of the current war involving Israel and the United States. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among the leading contenders to succeed him. Ali Khamenei himself was only the second supreme leader of Iran, following revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Trump drew parallels with Venezuela, where he ordered a deadly January 3 operation in which US forces captured longtime adversary Nicolas Maduro. Instead of backing the opposition long supported by Washington, Trump has said he is satisfied with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduros former vice president, who has cooperated with the United States on several demands, particularly policies benefiting US oil companies. According to Trumps statements, Rodriguez has continued that cooperation under the threat of possible US action if she fails to comply, especially regarding access to Venezuelas natural resources. With inputs from agencies In the talks, the two sides also agreed to accord India-Finland relations in digitalisation and sustainability as a strategic partnership Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a swift end to the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine, saying no issue can be resolved through military confrontation. Modi made the remarks after holding wide-ranging talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone, he said. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace, Modi said in his media statement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the talks, the two sides also agreed to accord India-Finland relations in digitalisation and sustainability as a strategic partnership. This partnership, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing, will give momentum and energy to our cooperation in many high-tech areas, he said. Modi said the India-EU free trade agreement will bolster trade ties between India and Finland. This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland, he said. Finnish President Stubb began a four-day visit to India on Wednesday with an aim to shore up bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade, investment and critical technology. Nepal is holding a landmark parliamentary election six months after deadly protests toppled the government, with young voters and candidates challenging entrenched political veterans in a high-stakes vote for the countrys future Polling officials check ballot boxes as they prepare a booth on the eve of Nepals parliamentary elections in Kathmandu on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP) Nepal has heading to the polls to elect a new parliament, six months after anti-corruption protests left at least 77 dead and destroyed government buildings. The vote pits the established political elite against a rising youth movement demanding change. Nearly 19 million voters will decide who replaces the interim government formed after the September 2025 uprising. The unrest, initially caused by a brief social media ban, escalated into nationwide youth-led protests under a loose Gen Z banner, fuelled by broader frustrations over corruption and the struggling economy. Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki urged citizens to vote without any fear, while thousands of soldiers and police were deployed to polling centres. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Youth vs veteran leaders The election has brought forward a wave of younger candidates promising to revitalise the economy, directly challenging veteran politicians who argue their experience ensures stability. We are so hopeful, said Sashi Gurung (33) from Kathmandu to AFP. This election is not a normal election. This is going to be one of the changing points for Nepalis, for Nepal, he added. Attention is on the southern plains near the capital, including Jhapa district, where three prime ministerial contenders are competing for seats. KP Sharma Oli, 74, the Marxist former prime minister seeking a comeback, faces Balendra Shah, 35, a rapper-turned-politician, and Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of Nepali Congress. Shah has urged voters to ring the bell of change, symbolising a shift from decades of entrenched leadership. Logistical challenges and voting process Nepals mountainous terrain has complicated the distribution of ballots, with helicopters delivering voter materials to snowbound regions. Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari explained that helicopters would also collect ballots, allowing results from direct elections to be announced within 24 hours, though proportional representation results may take longer. Over 3,400 candidates are contesting 165 directly elected seats in the 275-member House of Representatives, with the remaining 110 chosen via party lists. A Pakistani man who was charged with plotting to kill American politicians has claimed that Iranian spies recruited him to kill US President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden. Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran, appears on charges in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government officials, in a courtroom in New... Purchase Licensing Rights. Reuters A Pakistani man who was charged with plotting to kill American politicians has claimed that Iranian spies recruited him to kill US President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden. 47-year-old Asif Merchant made the revelation in a bombshell testimony on Wednesday. During the trial, the accused terrorist, Asif Merchant, claimed that his family was threatened and he was forced into the plot to save his loved ones, The New York Times reported. It is pertinent to note that the US Justice Department accused Merchant of trying to recruit people in the United States in the plan targeting Trump and other American politicians. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Merchant was allegedly plotting to avenge Washingtons killing of the Corps top commander, Qassem Soleimani. I was not wanting to do this so willingly, the New York Times quoted Merchant as telling a court during his trial for terrorism and murder-for-hire charges, adding that he participated to protect his family in Tehran. However, the prosecutors rejected Merchants claim, citing a lack of evidentiary support for a true duress or coercion, according to a letter sent on Tuesday to the judge in the case dating from 2024. What Merchant told the court According to the American news outlet, Merchant said that he had never been ordered to kill a specific person , but that his Iranian handler named three people in the course of conversations in the Iranian capital. In addition to Trump, the list included Joe Biden, the president at that time and Nikki Haley, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. Meanwhile, both the Merchants lawyer and the White House are yet to comment on the matter. It is important to note that the trial started last week, days before Trump ordered strikes on Iran carried out with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top officials in the Middle Eastern nation. Trump cited an alleged Iranian plot when he spoke to ABC News on Sunday about a joint U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Khamenei, saying, I got him before he got me. However, Tehran has denied accusations that it targeted Trump and other American officials. Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy, PM Modi said in a post on X Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a telephonic conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the escalating crisis in West Asia. Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy, PM Modi said in a post on X. Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 5, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He added that India and France would continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region. The call comes as France repositions its forces in the region. Macron ordered the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to protect allied assets. He said the carrier would be escorted by frigates, supported by its air wing, and that Rafale fighter jets, air-defence systems, and airborne radar platforms are already deployed. And we will continue this effort as much as necessary," Macron said. While France, the UK, and Germany have stated they were not involved in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran last week, Macron stressed that Paris is ready to take defensive action. French forces shot down drones in legitimate self-defence in the very first hours of the conflict, to defend the airspace of our allies, who know they can rely on us," he said, without giving operational details. Macron cited a strike on a British air force base in Cyprus an EU member with which France recently signed a strategic partnership as the reason for moving the carrier group. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Earlier, PM Modi highlighted Indias stance on global conflicts during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Today, the world is passing through a phase of instability and uncertainty. From Ukraine to West Asia, conflict persists in many parts of the world. India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," PM Modi said. With inputs from agencies Jaishankar speaks with Seyed Abbas Araghchi as India voices concern over rising tensions in West Asia and stresses safety of Indians and energy supply stability. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi amid escalating conflict in West Asia. In a post on X, Jaishankar said he had a telecon with the Iranian Foreign Minister during the afternoon. Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon, Jaishankar said. Further details of the conversation were not immediately disclosed. India on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict in Iran and the Gulf region, urging all sides to exercise restraint and prioritise civilian safety. The situation has deteriorated significantly, with increased violence and disruptions to normal life. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There are almost one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region. Their safety and well-being are of utmost priority. We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them, said the Ministry of External Affairs press release. Indias trade and energy supply chains are at risk due to the conflict. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy. As a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days, said the release. India reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict, emphasising the need for peace and stability in the region. India strongly reiterates its call for dialogue and diplomacy. We raise our voice clearly in favour of an early end to the conflict. Already, many lives have been regrettably lost and we express our grief in that regard. Araghchi currently serves as the Foreign Minister of Iran and has been engaged in diplomatic outreach with several countries on regional and global developments. The call between the two ministers comes amid rising tensions in West Asia, particularly following a US-Israel military offensive against Iran. In earlier conversations with Araghchi, Jaishankar conveyed Indias deep concern over the developments in Iran and the wider region, reiterating the need for diplomacy rather than escalation. India has consistently advocated dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts in West Asia, given the regions importance for global energy markets and regional stability. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Regional tensions have prompted security advisories for Indian nationals in parts of West Asia, with the government closely monitoring the situation. India has a large diaspora across West Asia, making stability in the region a key diplomatic priority. Colombo on Thursday said it evacuated the crew of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Bushehr and will move the ship to Trincomalee in a neutral humanitarian response a day after a US submarine sank IRIS Dena, killing dozens Sri Lanka has taken control of an Iranian naval vessel after evacuating its crew, the countrys president said on Thursday, a day after a deadly US submarine strike targeted another Iranian ship near its waters. According to AFP, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in a televised address that the Sri Lankan Navy had offloaded 208 sailors from the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr, which had requested permission to enter port due to engine trouble. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dissanayake said the vessel had recently participated in a naval exercise in eastern India, similar to the IRIS Dena, the Iranian warship that was torpedoed off Sri Lankas southern coast on Wednesday. At least 84 sailors were killed in the attack on the Dena. The strike marked the first military action far outside the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran. Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strike on Thursday and warned Washington that it would bitterly regret setting such a precedent. Dissanayake stressed that Sri Lanka was not taking sides in this conflict. But while maintaining our neutrality we are taking action to save lives, he said. No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious. The president said the Bushehr was close to Colombo, the countrys main seaport, but authorities decided not to allow it to anchor there due to potential risks to commercial shipping and concerns over higher insurance costs. Instead, the vessel will be moved to the northeastern port city of Trincomalee, which is smaller and better suited for handling the situation, he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Morgue overloaded Meanwhile in the southern port city of Galle, where the recovered bodies of the 84 Iranian sailors were taken, authorities began an inquest into the deaths. With the local morgue only able to handle about 25 bodies at a time, hospital staff said authorities were rushing to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve the remains until legal formalities were completed. Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said authorities were continuing the search for missing sailors. Sri Lanka earlier said that there were 180 people on board the ship - more than the Iranian figure of 130 - when it was struck by a torpedo. The US defence secretary on Wednesday said the strike was the first by an American submarine since World War II. Tight protection Medical staff said 32 rescued Iranians were still being treated under tight security provided by police and elite commandos at the hospital, adding that the walking wounded would be discharged soon. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was assessing the situation and was working with the local authorities. Our priority is to ensure that all the wounded, sick and shipwrecked receive the assistance they are entitled to without delay, the ICRC spokesperson in Colombo, Ruwanthi Jayasundare, told AFP. The emergency treatment unit of the districts main hospital was off-limits to visitors and other patients, with medical authorities setting up a separate ward for the wounded Iranians. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns, a nurse at the hospital said, without giving her name. Sri Lanka has remained neutral and has repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. Iran is a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the countrys main export commodity. With inputs from agencies These Indian carriers have a very high dependency on the Gulf, which will hurt their balance sheets towards the end of the year. Planes are parked at Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport, following the United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Dubai. Reuters For the sixth consecutive day, scheduled operations to the Middle East remained suspended, with airports and airlines in flux. The Middle Eastern carriers have started repatriation and recovery flights and so have the Indian carriers, with the number of passengers who remain stuck at airports going down by the hour. Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that three Indian carriers have a very high dependency on the Gulf region in their international network. This will hurt their balance sheets towards the end of the year and could potentially take a hit in the summer as passengers rethink their holiday plans. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD All eggs in one basket SpiceJet, which continues to face financial headwinds, has its entire international network centred around Dubai and Sharjah. The airline suspended operations to Bangkok, Phuket and Kathmandu where it recently started flights. It operates 80 scheduled flights a week, with 75 of them to Dubai and five to Sharjah. With both airports closed, the airline is operating to Fujairah as part of evacuation/rescue efforts but for the future, the network is dependent on one country alone. The airline has rights to many other places, but is constrained by lack of planes. SpiceJet is closely followed by Air India Express, which traces its origins to being a South India to Gulf-based carrier only to change rapidly after privatisation. However, the airline has also inherited routes from parent Air India. A significant 89% of its frequencies are targetted in the Middle East, with a similar capacity by ASK (Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), a measure of an airlines carrying capacity) being deployed in the Middle East as well amongst its international network. The airline operates 438 weekly international departures, 391 of which are to one of the airports in the Gulf. A relative newbie on the International routes, Akasa Air, has 79% of its international frequencies and 81% of its international capacity by ASK deployed on routes to the Gulf. The airline operates 67 weekly flights on international routes, 53 of which are to the Middle-Eastern countries. A balanced approach by IndiGo IndiGo, Indias largest airline, has been focussing on adding international capacity rapidly in recent years. This is partially to offset the currency shock and tap into the foreign currency point of sale. While doing so, the airline has not ignored the Gulf, which moves volumes. The airline still has a balance with 52% of all international departures to the Middle East and 51% of capacity by ASK to the region. The airline operates the highest frequencies on international routes amongst Indian carriers with 1,011 weekly flights, 526 of which are scheduled to fly to the Middle East. Air India is the most balanced airline to the Gulf The Tata-owned Air India may not be the largest international carrier of India by passenger numbers, but it surely is the most diversified one. The airline has only 23% of its international departures deployed to the Gulf, with the capacity being only 10% in terms of ASK for the total international flights. This is largely due to large capacity (by ASK) being deployed with widebody aircraft to the European and North American routes. Post privatisation, Air India transferred a handful of routes to Middle East subsidiary Air India Express, which further reduced the exposure to the Middle East for Air India. Air India has already been facing challenges with non-stop flights to North America due to closure of the Pakistani airspace for Indian carriers that started in late April. Network rethink Traditionally, the GCC was thought to be safer. After the record evacuations by Air India in the Gulf War in 1990s, the trade, people connect, job opportunities and commerce kept increasing between India and most countries in the GCC. The current situation poses challenges beyond air traffic, with safety of air routes in question, especially when the Pakistani airspace is closed. With hundreds of planes on order by Indian carriers, the increased routing challenges will put a long term question mark requiring a network rethink. Government-level rethink? International flights are governed by a Bilateral Air Services Agreement. As compared to other states, the carriers of UAE have exceptionally higher seat count per week. This means that over 1 lakh passengers travel per week between India and UAE, with the airports of Abu Dhabi and Dubai becoming key gateways to the world. When things go wrong, the count of passengers stuck or not able to commence the journey is high. Will that make the government sit up and take notice of future relaxation of traffic rights? Ameya Joshi is the founder of Network Thoughts. Despite the large-scale military campaign that has already caused widespread destruction and deaths, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that Washingtons campaign is just getting started An Iranian flag is placed among the ruins of a police station struck on Monday during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. AP It has been nearly a week since the US and Israel unleashed military warfare against Iran, roping in the rest of West Asia and shifting its affairs to a level not witnessed in the recent past. Despite the large-scale military campaign that has already caused widespread destruction and deaths, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that Washingtons campaign is just getting started. We are accelerating, not decelerating More bombers and more fighters are arriving just today," Hegseth told reporters, adding that the US would be using a nearly unlimited. He went on to say that the US and Israel would sow death and destruction from the sky, all day long. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hegseth suggests the conflict could last 3 weeks or up to 2 months Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the US has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds. You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three, Hegseth said. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and were going to keep them off balance. More forces are arriving in the region, including jet fighters and bombers, Hegseth said, and the US will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed. Nato intercepts Iranian missile near Turkey A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said Wednesday. The defence ministry said it had been engaged and neutralised by NATO air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. It did not specify the missiles intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday. Iranian vessel sunk in the Indian Ocean A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday, marking a historic escalation in the US-Israel campaign against Iran, the Pentagon said. The Iris Dena, on a friendly visit to India, thought it was safe in international waters, according to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the strike as a quiet death and stressed, We are fighting to win. Sri Lankan authorities reported at least 87 deaths, 61 missing, and 32 rescued sailors, many wounded. The US Embassy in Quito announced that American forces worked with their Ecuadorian counterparts and the European international police agency Europol to dismantle a large-scale drug-trafficking network linked to the Los Lobos gang Police officers stand guard at the entrance of the prison after an armed riot that left four dead and dozens more injured in Machala, Ecuador, on November 9, 2025. AP/Representative image The US has conducted a joint operation with Ecuador to target drug traffickers in the South American country, the militarys Southern Command said. The US Embassy in Quito announced that American forces worked with their Ecuadorian counterparts and the European international police agency Europol to dismantle a large-scale drug-trafficking network linked to the Los Lobos gang. The operation comes a day after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa hailed the US as an ally which is taking part in a new phase of Ecuadors war on the drug cartels. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What happened in the operation? The operation led to the arrest of 16 suspects, including what has been described as a high-value target. Europol said that more than 100 law enforcement officers from countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and Ecuador were involved in the operation. The investigation began in January and officials were able to seize 3.7 tonnes of cocaine in the Netherlands, more than three tonnes in Belgium and more than half a tonne in Ecuador. The drugs had reportedly been hidden in fruit containers headed to Europe. Europol reported that cocaine smugglers from Ecuador linked to the Los Lobos gang were collaborating with an Albanian trafficking network. Their partnership ensured that once the shipments arrived at European ports, the drugs were quickly split up, moved inland, and distributed across several countries. Ecuadors drug disease Around 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru, the worlds largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are shipped through neighboring Ecuador. The drug trade has unleashed a bloody turf war that has turned one of the Latin Americas safest countries into one of its deadliest in the space of a few years. At a meeting with police earlier, Noboa announced a curfew from March 15 to 30 in Ecuadors four most violent provinces: Guayas, Los Rios, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas and El Oro. Interior Minister John Reimberg told reporters his advice to local residents was: Stay home. We are at war. The United States and Ecuador have boosted their security cooperation since the right-wing Noboa came to power in 2023. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The latest Democratic bid was the culmination of repeated attempts seeking to rein in Trumps repeated foreign troop deployments The US Senate has supported President Donald Trumps military action against Iran, with the Republican majority blocking a vote on a resolution against sending warplanes to the country. The Senate voted 53 to 47 against advancing the resolution, largely along party lines, with all but one Republican voting against the procedural motion and all but one Democrat supporting it. The latest Democratic bid was the culmination of repeated attempts seeking to rein in Trumps repeated foreign troop deployments. Sponsors described the War Powers Resolution as a bid to take back Congresss responsibility to declare war, as spelt out in the US Constitution. Not a forever war Trump backers defended him, saying that his actions are legal, adding that he is well within his rights as the commander in chief to protect the United States by ordering limited strikes. They said that opponents are trying to endanger the country by moving a resolution against the war. This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly, Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech against the resolution. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In any case, the passing of the resolution was far from reality as Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Its a war Meanwhile, opponents have Democrats and the sole Republican have argued that the joint operation by the US and Israel has already caused a lot of damage to Iran and other countries in West Asia, and America has suffered casualties in the region. Its a war, said Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a lead sponsor, in a speech urging support for the resolution. He said he had appealed to Trump officials to come to Congress for a war authorisation during a classified briefing for lawmakers on Tuesday. Your escalating pattern of military action without seeking our approval convinces me that you believe you never need to come to Congress to wage war against anyone anywhere, Kaine said. With inputs from agencies US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has drawn a red line for the IndiaUS relationship and said President Donald Trump will not repeat the mistake that the United States made with China granting market access and then watching that access be leveraged to beat Western companies. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in a conversation with Observer Research Foundation (ORF) President Samir Saran at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 at Delhi on March 5, 2026. (Photo: Firstpost) US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has drawn a red line for the IndiaUS relationship and said President Donald Trump will not repeat the mistake that the United States made with China granting market access and then watching that access be leveraged to beat Western companies. At a session at Raisina Dialogues 2026, Landau on Thursday said that the India-US trade and economic relationship will be such that it is fair to Americans. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Landau said, India should understand that were not going to make the same mistakes that we made with China 20 years ago in terms of saying, Oh, you know, were going to let you be able to develop all these markets and then, you know, the next thing we know is youre beating us in in a lot of commercial events. Landau further said that the Trump administration will make sure that any trade and economic relationship with India is fair to our people because, ultimately, we have to be accountable to our own people just as the Government of India has to be accountable to its people. As for the India-US trade deal, Landau said negotiations are almost at the finish line. In his second term, Trump has pursued a self-declared course correction in policies related to trade, economy, and diplomacy. He has used tariffs and other means, such as political and military coercion, to seek favourable terms from countries after claiming they had received disproportionate benefits from trade and economic ties with the United States under previous administrations. Were rethinking lots of considerations unthought for a long time Elaborating on the foreign policy in his second term, Landau said Trump has initiated the rethinking of lots of considerations that had not been thought over for a long time, such as the nature of the American relationship with the United Kingdom or Russia. While the US foreign policy was aimed at containing Soviet Union in the Cold War, there was no rethinking after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, according to Landau. Between the collapse of the Soviet Union and Trumps second term, the US foreign policy did not have any basis until America First became policy, Landau said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Our foreign policy had become increasingly bureaucratic and no longer subject to the desires of the president, who is after all the elected representative of our people and has the control of foreign policy under Article 2 of our Constitution. We have seen that basically our whole foreign policy process was really more concerned with the process itself rather than the results it would yield, said Landau. Such a situation had pushed the United States into the grips of a toxic brew of morality and impotence when leaders felt they had to go around the world lecturing people about values. But, then, frankly, when other countries would do things that were very much against our interests, we would just, you know, express concern or issue a strongly worded letter, Landau further said. Opillia Brewery will hold shareholders' meeting on March 31 Opillia Brewery will hold a remote general shareholders' meeting on March 31, 2026, through the Ukrainian depository system. The agenda includes, in particular, the approval of annual reports, review of management reports, distribution of profits or coverage of losses, as well as organizational issues. Opillia PJSC is a brewing company from Ternopil, one of the oldest regional brands in Ukrainian brewing. Cambodia's Angkor welcomes over 14,000 Chinese tourists in first 2 months of 2026 Xinhua) 19:58, March 05, 2026 PHNOM PENH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park attracted a total of 14,334 Chinese tourists in January and February, down 39 percent from 23,536 over the same period last year, according to a report released on Thursday. China was the fourth biggest source of international tourist arrivals to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site after the United States, France and Britain, said a report of the state-owned Angkor Enterprise. Located in northwest Siem Reap province, the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, the kingdom's most popular tourist destination, is home to 91 ancient temples built from the ninth to the 13th centuries. Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the drop was likely linked to online scam issues and border tensions with Thailand. "Supported by strong air connectivity and effective promotion, I believe that Cambodia's pilot visa-free policy for Chinese nationals, set to run from June 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, will help attract more Chinese tourists to Cambodia, especially to the Angkor complex, this year," he told Xinhua. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet assured on Wednesday that the Southeast Asian country will eradicate online scam centers by April 2026. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Kou Jie) Google has announced updates to the Android ecosystem, covering billing flexibility on Google Play, a new Registered App Stores program, revised developer fee structures, and resolution of its dispute with Epic Games. The update was shared by Sameer Samat, President of Android Ecosystem. Expanded billing options on Google Play Google Play will allow developers to: Use their own billing systems alongside Google Plays billing system within apps. Direct users outside their apps to complete purchases on their own websites. The goal is to provide flexibility for developers and users while maintaining transaction safety. Registered App Stores program Google is introducing a Registered App Stores program to simplify sideloading for app stores that meet quality and safety benchmarks. Participating stores must register with Google and meet defined standards. Registered stores will have a streamlined installation flow for users who sideload them. Non-participating stores will continue with the current Android sideloading process. The program will launch outside the United States first, with a US rollout planned subject to court approval. Google aims to introduce Registered App Stores with a major Android release by the end of the year. Updated business model and fee structure Google is separating billing fees from service fees and adjusting rates across regions. Billing fee Developers using Google Plays billing system will pay a market-specific billing rate. In the EEA, United Kingdom, and United States, this will be 5%. Service fees In-App Purchases (IAP) for new installs (first-time installs after rollout): 20% In-App Purchases (IAP) for transactions from existing installs (participating developers): 20% In-App Purchases (IAP) for transactions from new installs (participating developers): 15% Recurring subscriptions: 10% New developer programs Google is launching an Apps Experience Program and updating the Google Play Games Level Up program. These programs tie incentives to quality benchmarks across Android form factors, offering participating developers the adjusted service fee rates described above. Rollout schedule Updated fees will roll out in phases: By June 30: EEA, United Kingdom, United States By September 30: Australia By December 31: Korea and Japan By September 30, 2027: Rest of the world The updated Google Play Games Level Up program and the new Apps Experience Program will launch by September 30 in EEA, UK, US, and Australia, with further regional rollout aligned to the same schedule. Outlook Google has resolved its disputes worldwide with Epic Games. The updates modify Androids app distribution policies, billing flexibility, and developer fee structure. The phased global rollout through 2027 provides developers with new options and programs, shaping the future of the Android ecosystem. Nathan graduated with his journalism degree from Auburn University in 2017. After growing up in the flatlands of rural Alabama with his parents and older sister, Nathan enjoys Western Colorado's natural resources and recreational opportunities. He currently covers education and business for The Daily Sentinel. Iranian clerics and volunteers from the Bsij military who are helping clear the streets pray next to the rubble of a police station destroyed in airstrikes in central Tehran, on March 4, 2026. Photo from the Department of Energy The Grand Junction disposal site is the only government-owned disposal site available to receive radioactive uranium mill tailings. The site, 18 miles southeast of Grand Junction, east of U.S. Highway 50 and south of Kannah Creek, has the backing of several Colorado federal legislators to continue running past its original 2031 shutdown deadline. Dennis received bachelor's degrees in communication and political science with a TAG degree in Spanish from The University of Akron in Ohio. He grew up in Ohio with two sisters and two brothers, one being his fraternal twin. He and his wife have two dogs: Bacio, and Cal. Dennis currently covers natural resource and environmental issues for The Daily Sentinel Contracts Contracts for March 4, 2026 ARMY Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for new kit hardware and services, including procurement, installation, inspection, logistics support, program management, and support for the Patriot Program under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case AE-B-ZUW for the United Arab Emirates. The amount of this action is $183,682,456 (with a total cumulative face value of $281,146,668). Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Tewksbury Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of March 3, 2031. Fiscal 2026 FMS funds in the amount of $183,682,456 were obligated at the time of award. Army Contracting Command, Aviation Logistics, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-26-C-0001). GM Defense LLC, Detroit, Michigan, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for 121 Infantry Squad Vehicles, Anti-lock Brake System/Electronic Stability Control Kits, and vehicle storage covers. The amount of this action is $18,812,579 (with a total cumulative face value of $458,435,865). Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2027. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0066). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4421165/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Washington Guard, Thailand Partners train through Cobra Gold 2026 By Joseph Siemandel March 4, 2026 PHANOM SARAKHAM DISTRICT, CHACHOENGSAO, Thailand -- When a disaster happens and lives are in danger, time might be the most critical asset first responders have. "We train together, [so] we can respond together swiftly, safely and respectively, supporting Thai authorities and local communities when called," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Prendergrast, commander, 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard. U.S. joint services and partners from the Royal Thai Armed Forces and Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department conducted a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, or HADR, demonstration Feb. 27 during Exercise Cobra Gold 2026 at the Disaster Relief Training Centre in Phanom Sarakham District, Chachoengsao, Thailand. "Cobra Gold demonstrates our enduring partnership with the Kingdom of Thailand and our collective commitment to readiness and life-saving humanitarian cooperation. Today's HADR demonstration embodies that commitment," Prendergrast said. "What we saw today is joint search and rescue teams, medical partners and civil-military coordination, which reflects practical training that will save lives if and when disaster strikes." The humanitarian assistance and disaster relief component of Exercise Cobra Gold 2026 is designed to sharpen the ability of multinational forces to respond quickly and effectively to real-world crises. The seven fully participating nations in Cobra Gold 26 the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea conducted combined planning and field drills that emphasize coordination, information sharing and operational awareness during disasters. A centerpiece of this effort is the HADR demonstration, where forces operate side by side in realistic scenarios such as search and rescue, medical response and urgent life-saving support. For U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ricky Manglona, 420th Chemical Battalion, Washington Army National Guard, training in Thailand during these events is more than just a job; it's about ensuring his family receives assistance when they need it. "Every time we come and train with the Thais, it's like seeing our extended family again, like coming over for a holiday or family coming back together," Manglona said. "So we exchange our stories, like where we've been, what we've been doing, and then we catch up pretty quick. We work as a team because we train the same, they know the U.S. standards and we know the Thai standards." He was just one of the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen who participated in a joint hazmat entry response with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, the Washington National Guard Homeland Response Force, and the Washington National Guard Civil Support Team. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kristen Retherford, 10th Civil Support Team, Washington National Guard, was one of the lead planners and the first participant to enter the obstacle during the demonstration. Her training and experience with the 10th Civil Support Team prepared her to work side by side with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department. "The basics of HAZMAT and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response are the same no matter who is conducting the mission. So whether it is a commercial vehicle spill or leak from a weapon of mass destruction response, the basics are the same," Retherford said. "You have to assess the situation, detect and monitor for any hazards and make decisions from there to save lives." The HADR demonstration emphasizes the integration of specialized search-and-rescue units, including teams with search-and-rescue dogs trained to locate survivors in complex environments. In parallel, Cobra Gold 2026 incorporates simulated evacuation and emergency operations, including a medical response, allowing multinational teams to rehearse the safe movement of civilians from crisis areas to secure locations. Just as important, the HADR training strengthened relationships between military forces and civilian emergency responders, ensuring smoother coordination during floods, earthquakes and other large-scale humanitarian crises. "We build that continuity, we build those relationships and work together to get better and learn," Manglona said. "Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, they're like the best premier firefighters in Thailand. Hands down, they're just the best, and I learn a lot from them every time I come here." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Comunique from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Cuba - Ministry of Foreign Affairs MAR 04 2026 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba rejects in the strongest terms the arbitrary and unjustified decision by the government of Ecuador to expel all personnel from the Cuban Embassy in that country. On March 4, 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador informed, through a Verbal Note, of its decision to declare all diplomatic, consular, and administrative personnel of the Cuban Embassy in Quito persona non grata, without providing any justification, and gave them 48 hours to leave Ecuadorian territory. This is an unfriendly and unprecedented act that significantly damages the historic relations of friendship and cooperation between both countries and peoples. This action also demonstrates the current Ecuadorian government's disregard for the diplomatic practices and courtesies observed by the international community. The Ministry categorically reaffirms that the staff of the Cuban Embassy in Quito, as established by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, has strictly complied with Ecuador's laws and regulations without interfering in the internal affairs of that State. It does not seem coincidental that this action has been taken in a context characterized by the intensification of U.S. aggression against Cuba and strong pressure from the U.S. government on third countries to join in this policy, just days before the summit convened in Miami on March 7 with a small group of representatives from governments in the region. Cuba is convinced that the Ecuadorian people will defend their ties of solidarity and brotherhood with Cuba. Havana, March 4, 2026 (Cubaminrex) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 4, 2026 Release Department of War Invests $27M for the Domestic Excavation, Extraction, Processing, and Refinement of Antimony The Department of War announced today a February 24, 2026, investment of $27 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III funds to U.S. Antimony Corporation (USAC) for the domestic extraction, processing, and refinement of antimony. This investment was delayed due to the government shutdown. The investment uses funds from the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. It also supports the Administration's goal to increase the production of processed critical minerals and other derivative products as articulated in the March 20, 2025, Executive Order 14241 - Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. "For too long, DOW has depended on overseas sources for its critical mineral production," said Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Mike Cadenazzi. "This investment will address risk in one of our most critical munitions and materials supply chains." Using DPA Title III funds, USAC will modernize and expand the company's capacity in Montana to refine and produce antimony necessary for flame retardants, batteries, munitions, and other defense applications. In parallel, this investment will support USAC's initiative to establish domestic antimony excavation and extraction in Alaska. By securing domestic feedstock, USAC has positioned itself to enable full vertical integration across the supply chain from ore extraction to mid-stream floatation capabilities to finished antimony products. "Strong domestic mineral supply chains are essential to support our warfighting capability," added Mr. Jeffrey Frankston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Resilience, which oversees the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) directorate. "This is a crucial investment for strengthening our national defense." This is one of three investments made by the DPA Purchases Office totaling $58.5 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2026. The MCEIP Directorate oversees the DPA Purchases Office. For more information on MCEIP, please visit: https://www.businessdefense.gov/ibr/mceip/index.html About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP) The OASW(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the Warfighter, now and in the future. OASW(IBP) also uses a new Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) to solicit new ideas for research or prototype project solutions for critical supply chain resiliency focus areas. This OTA underscores the Department's ongoing dedication to safeguarding the integrity of our crucial supply chain and promptly giving our Warfighters the materials and technologies they need to accomplish their missions. To learn more about the DIBC OTA, please visit: https://www.dibconsortium.org. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4421101/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Informal Ministerial Meeting: Remarks by High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas during the press conference European External Action Service (EEAS) 04.03.2026 Warsaw, 4 March 2026 EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Thank you, Radek for hosting us here in Poland. Really good discussions we had, very open and, of course, really shaped by the developments this week. The war in the Middle East is rapidly widening. Tehran's strategy is to sow chaos and set the region on fire by indiscriminately attacking its neighbours. The regime is making a strong case for its own demise. Of course, the dream scenario would be a democratic Iran that poses no threat to its neighbours. But of course, this outcome is far from certain. Right now, no one can predict which direction this war will take. For Europe, it is a dangerous moment. The safety of hundreds and thousands of our citizens in the region is at stake. The EU is coordinating consular assistance and funding repatriation flights for people stranded in the region, and our naval missions help protect international shipping. Tomorrow, we have a meeting together with the EU foreign ministers and the ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council together to discuss the way forward. As the world focuses on the war in the Middle East, we cannot let Ukraine slip off the agenda. Moscow may have lost another ally in Tehran, but the same drones that are hitting Dubai are also hitting Kyiv. There are no signs that Russia's war is slowing. Moscow's maximalist demands remain unchanged. Europe has a clear and legitimate interest in how this war should end. If we do not articulate ourselves, no one will do it for us, and if we wait too long, it might be too late. Respect for borders and an end to sabotage, compensation for war damages and the return of kidnapped Ukraine children are not just farfetched demands. They should be the baseline. Russia's maximalist demands cannot be met with minimalist response. At the same time, we must continue to support Ukraine. We agreed to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion loan, and this we also must deliver. A broken pipeline should not hold Ukraine's defence hostage. Likewise, the next sanctions package must follow as soon as possible. A full maritime services ban on Russia's oil exports would go a long way to decimate Moscow's war funds, and it is extremely important at this moment when the oil prices are rising. Work also continues on the EU's contribution to security guarantees, including through our missions, support to Ukraine's defence industry, and with ceasefire monitoring. Ministers make clear that Ukraine's accession is a geostrategic goal and the strongest security guarantee that the EU can offer. And finally, we also discussed the upcoming NATO Summit. If the last months are of any indicator, the time until the summit will remain unpredictable. The Middle East war shows that Europe must invest in defence capabilities and boost defence production. For example, air defences are in short supply across the West, and this war will stretch them even further. The case is very clear. The money is there, so industry also needs to step up production. A stronger Europe makes also a stronger transatlantic alliance. Link to the video: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20260304-eu-hr-kallas-council-of-baltic-sea-states-informal-ministerial-meeting/152897-3-press-conference-q-a-20260304 Q&A Q. About the shadow fleet, do you have a joint idea how to limit its operations in the Baltic Sea? Everyone expects that demand for oil will be higher, so the shadow fleet may be more active. If I may add to this, on the last Foreign Affairs Council we also shared the paper of best practices, how to deal with the ships, so that Member States can use this and we are putting now sanctions on rolling basis to these fleets. So as soon as we know about a new ship, we are putting it on. We are not waiting for a package of sanctions but doing this on a rolling basis. And thirdly we are also working closely with the flag states, if the flag is moved, we do the outreach to the third countries, and I must say, they are really cooperative with us to make the steps so that we can limit the shadow fleet from moving. Q. There is growing concern that war in the Middle East will divert attention from Ukraine. Is this concern also shared by you? Is it growing among other European leaders? And could you tell us if there are any plans to somehow maybe talk with the United States on some kind of cooperation where Europe supports the US in the Middle East, but in return, maybe get some increased pressure on Russia. The worry is there, that it is diverting attention away, and that is why today, also, we had this meeting that we cannot let it slip off the table, because this is the real and very close threat to Europe. Also, what is worrying is that all these capabilities that are needed in the Middle East are also needed in Ukraine. So, the production we need to speed up, because there is more need, and we really need to deal with this, and also the attention away from the negotiations to actually achieve peace. What is maybe a positive side is that Russia has lost another ally in this war. I think this is positive, but we need to also move with the maritime services ban, because the rise in oil prices is also helping Russia to fund the war. Q. Following up on the discussion about Middle East today, there was an Iranian missile heading towards Turkiye that was shot by NATO air defences. How worrying is that, and what are the implications of that? The worry that this war is widening is very much widespread. I mean also the attacks of Iran against the neighbouring countries in the Middle East. We will discuss this tomorrow with the Gulf countries, what we can do in in this regard. But also the missiles coming to outside the Middle East are worried. Turkiye is able to take down these missiles, we have seen also the drones coming to our directions before, not in this war. So clearly we are looking at these countries, what they are asking. So the countries in NATO have Article 4, Article 5, the countries in European Union have 42(7). But the request needs to come from there, and it has not been the case. Q. Friedrich Merz recently said that the European Union should be part of the negotiation on Ukraine. Will the European Union have its own representative in these talks and one would happen? This is why I also have proposed to discuss and put forward ideas, what are our requests for Russia. Because it is clear that in these negotiations, there are a lot of concessions made on the Ukrainian side, but none on the Russian side. And it is also clear that there are also asks for Europe. What is important is that we are not giving upfront approval to the negotiations that are going on when there are requests for Europe. And that is to be very certain, very clear on this, that we are not giving our consent up front without negotiation. That is why we need to be at the table. But we also have asks for Russia if we are at that table. And that is why we also discussed this today. There are issues that are mirroring the requests that are already on the table for Ukraine. They should be also on the Russian side. And there are also issues that concern European security architecture, where we clearly also have requests for Russia in order to have a sustainable and long-term peace. We are saying this very often, that the peace has to be sustainable and long-term, but we are not really putting the finger on it. What does it mean? It means that Russia is not attacking neighbouring countries and how we can live with such neighbour in the future and that is why it is important that Russia also takes concessions. Link: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20260304-eu-hr-kallas-council-of-baltic-sea-states-informal-ministerial-meeting/152897-3-press-conference-q-a-20260304 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statements by the Government Spokesman of the Republic of Cyprus after the meeting of the National Security Council, 4 March 2026 Republic of Cyprus From: Presidency of the Republic 04/03/26 17:21 | Press release | Foreign Policy, Government Spokesperson, President of the Republic / Presidency The Government Spokesman of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Konstantinos Letymbiotis, called for patience and calm in statements made following the National Security council meeting today, 4 March 2026, at the Presidential Palace. In his statements to journalists, at the Press Centre of the Presidential Palace, the Spokesman said: "The National Security Council meeting chaired by the President of the Republic of Cyprus has concluded. As in previous days, and based on the information you have been receiving, today's meeting was a scheduled review of the security measures and the precautionary measures that have been taken and are being taken. This included an evaluation of these measures, an assessment of whether additional measures should be taken and coordination between the relevant state services. Of course, the meeting also included an evaluation of today's incident. This morning, there were indications of a possible suspicious object near the Lebanese airspace. All protocols and procedures were immediately activated. Two aircraft were deployed. They carried out their search for a considerable period of time without locating any suspicious objects. After the conclusion of the search, you were immediately and officially informed. At this point, we would like to appeal once again for patience and calm, and for information to be obtained from official sources. We are doing everything in our capacity to share information on a regular basis. I would like to point out that the airspace of the Republic of Cyprus was not closed at any point during the day. Space was given precisely so that the two aircraft, which were dispatched for the search, could operate, meaning two flights had to wait, one of which returned to its original destination. Furthermore, I would like to inform you that following the conclusion of the National Security Council meeting, the President of the Republic of Cyprus had a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Mr Joseph Aoun. They exchanged views and reviewed the regional situation as it unfolds. They agreed to remain in close contact. They also discussed today's incident, which has been investigated, and reiterated the long-standing relations between Cyprus and Lebanon, which are reflected in our excellent bilateral relations. Finally, the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Works of the Republic of Cyprus will shortly issue a public announcement banning drones for private use. Their use will only be permitted by government departments, and this will, of course, always be in coordination with, and subject to, relevant permission from the Department of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Cyprus and the competent departments". When asked whether there had been any other suspicious activity in Cyprus' airspace today beyond that which had already been reported, the Spokesman said: "No, there has not. As I have told you, and as we consistently reiterate, all information is continually assessed and closely monitored. Whenever there is any indication or intelligence, as demonstrated by today's statement, it is communicated in the most appropriate institutional and official manner through the formal briefing provided". When asked which allied forces, beyond Greece, are present to support the defensive safeguarding of the Republic of Cyprus, the Spokesman said: "The countries which have responded positively, and which we duly thank for their support, to the precautionary measures we are taking include, first and foremost, Greece. The two F-16 aircraft arrived that same afternoon, following the telephone conversation between the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic. In addition, two frigates of the Hellenic Navy have also arrived. France, certainly, and President Emmanuel Macron himself last night announced the assistance decided upon by the French Republic. As is well known, we are also in contact, with an in-principle positive response from Germany and Italy. Naturally, they have their own internal procedures. However, last night, following the telephone conversation between the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, there was communication at the level of the Chiefs of Defence; that is to say, at an operational level. Today, communication between the Defence Ministers is expected, precisely in order to finalise the assistance to be provided by Germany". In response to a question, the Spokesman stated that the United Kingdom is also providing assistance; however, this is being done on the basis of its own assessment and not in response to a request from the Republic of Cyprus, nor following any prior consultation. He added that this was conveyed by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to the President of the Republic of Cyprus during their telephone conversation yesterday. When asked to comment on the announcement by the United States Department of State regarding staff at the American Embassy in Cyprus, the Spokesman said: "In cases where incidents arise and are under investigation, it is well known that local embassies have their own security protocols, which they implement in relation to their missions, as well as their own procedures which they follow. What I will reiterate, and I believe this is something we should be fully aware of, is that in our official briefings, our foremost priority is the security of our country and of our citizens. Whenever there are any indications, these are communicated immediately, and in the most thoroughly verified manner, to the public and to the media. We call upon the public, we call upon society and our citizens, to follow the official channels of information, the established media outlets and the formal updates provided. There is very close monitoring at all times". In response to a journalist's remark that, after the aircraft were deployed to determine the nature of the radar contact, the Government stated that nothing had been detected. When asked what had actually been identified and what became of it, the Spokesman said: "I have said that this is based on available information and indications. Once we move into operational details, I am not the competent authority, nor do I believe it is appropriate at this time. What I can tell you is that an intensive sweep of the area was conducted, as it should have been. The response of the two aircraft was immediate. This also demonstrates the great importance and value of assistance provided by the Hellenic Air Force, for which we are, once again, grateful. I am certain that an assessment is currently underway. What takes precedence is that, according to the protocols applied, whenever there is any confirmation of an object that could be considered or confirmed as suspicious, the relevant protocols are activated, as occurred on Monday, though not on this occasion". When asked whether, following the new directive from the United States, the possibility of taking further measures in the area surrounding the American Embassy in Cyprus had been raised at the National Security Council for the residents of the area, the Spokesman said: "No information has emerged specifically concerning either the Embassy or any other location in the Republic of Cyprus. The travel advisory to which you refer is a routine measure adopted by the United States of America in response to regional developments. I would like to remind you that it is an optional directive for personnel; it is not deemed necessary, and those who wish to leave Cyprus are free to do so. The advisory is not mandatory, as is the case in 14 other countries in the region. This demonstrates how the United States regards our country as a safe country. Of course, all necessary measures are taken based on evaluations, incoming intelligence, indicators and the assessment of the Republic of Cyprus' services and our partners. As I have stated from the outset, we maintain constant coordination and continuous exchange of information and assessments with our partners, both at an operational and at a political level". (GS/KA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Increased protection for the civilian population in the Baltic Sea and Nordic region Government Offices of Sweden Press release from Ministry of Defence Published 04 March 2026 Sweden has signed a memorandum of understanding on protecting the civilian population of the Baltic Sea region and the Nordic countries, together with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Poland. This enables the temporary movement of people across borders in the event of crisis or, in the worst-case scenario, war. Under such circumstances, the need may arise to temporarily evacuate people from one location to another. Experience from Ukraine has shown that temporary movements of populations enable the continued defence of the country while protecting the civilian population. On 6 February, Sweden hosted a digital meeting attended by representatives of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Poland. In connection with the meeting the countries, and also Germany, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation of the protection of the civilian population. "We are NATO members and neighbours who are mutually dependent on each other for our security. This MoU expresses our desire to further deepen cooperation in our region and to strengthen our joint preparedness," says Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin. The MoU aims to improve the protection of the civilian population in the event of a major crisis or, in the worst-case scenario, war. The signatory countries will jointly plan for how an evacuation of people across land borders can be carried out. This includes reviewing transport, border controls, evacuation corridors, the reception and registration of people, and the protection of particularly vulnerable groups. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chairman Crawford Speaks Against Democrat Efforts to Restrict President Trump's Ability to Protect the American People US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence March 04, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) joined House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (FL-21) to speak against H. Con. Res. 36, which would hamper President Trump's ability to protect Americans from a nuclear Iranian regime. I thank my friend Chairman Mast for yielding and for his leadership on highlighting the error of removing the United States Armed Forces from a conflict that will bring an end to a 47-year conflict. Mr. Speaker, make no mistake about it. The Iranian regime is the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world, and despite extensive diplomatic efforts, the regime refuses to give up its nuclear weapon ambitions, its ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship missile production and proliferation, or its support of terror. As Secretary Rubio said yesterday - quote - "Iran is run by lunatics - religious fanatic lunatics. They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons. They intend to develop those nuclear weapons behind a program of missiles and drones and terrorism that the world will not be able to touch them for fear of those things." When these murderous despots tell us they want to eliminate us from existence, which they have said time and again over the past 47 years, and now, in a relatively short timeframe, they attempt to sprint to the finish line by significantly hardening their conventional defensive posture, expediting the development of nuclear weapons, and showing their desperation by slaughtering thousands of their own people, it is clear that we have reached the point of no returnA point after which it's too late to respond. We all know that we wouldn't be here today if the President's name wasn't Donald Trump. Democrats have been calling for the U.S. to take action against Iran - until Donald Trump did so. Last month, Democrats sponsored H.R. 7380, the "Iran Act," chastising the Iranian regime for repeatedly shutting down internet connectivity and impeding the Iranian people from communicating during emergencies and exercising internationally recognized human rights. And earlier this year, the Democrat-sponsored H.R. 5912, the "Disrupt Act," would require the Executive branch to, quote, "develop a whole-of-government strategy to disrupt growing cooperation among the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which are the foremost adversaries of the United States, and mitigate the risks posed to the United States." This Democrat bill even states that the partnering of these four U.S. adversaries "reinforces threats posed by each such adversary individually." Seems pretty clear to me that Democrat rhetoric has argued in favor of cracking down on the brutal Iranian regime . . . of course until President Trump was the one to initiate the regime's demise. President Trump has a duty to protect Americans and the United States' interests both at home and abroad. The Administration engaged in earnest diplomacy to mitigate the Iranian threat. It became crystal clear, however, that the Iranian regime used the diplomatic process to buy itself time to reconstitute its ballistic missile inventories and nuclear weapons program. As the threat neared its apex, a point beyond which mitigation would be impossible, President Trump lived up to his duty as Commander-in-Chief and took decisive action. On March 2nd, President Trump notified Congress, consistent with the oft-criticized War Powers Resolution of 1973, of military action used to address this threat to the American people and American interests. In other words, the President has clearly acted consistent with precedent and has prosecuted this military action in a transparent and forthcoming manner, holding multiple press conferences and sending his Cabinet officials and operational experts to provide multiple classified briefings on the status of the ongoing conflict to all Members of Congress, as well as appropriate Committees and their staffs. Mr. Speaker, passing this measure today would do nothing to keep America safe. It would do nothing to strengthen Congress. All it would do is put America's safety and that of her allies at risk. It would allow Iran to once again rebuild its murderous regime and terrorize the world. Vote no. I thank Chairman Mast for his partnership and leadership and yield the balance of my time. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IOM Warns of Humanitarian Impact of Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Escalation International Organization for Migration News - Global 04 March 2026 Geneva/Kabul, 4 March 2026 -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned about the escalating cross-border hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan and their growing humanitarian impact on civilians and people on the move. The ongoing military confrontation along the Durand Line has reportedly resulted in civilian casualties, damage to critical infrastructure, and the displacement of nearly 66,000 people in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan. These developments risk further displacement, accelerating returns, and exacerbating vulnerabilities in communities that are already overstretched and under-resourced. Afghanistan is facing one of the largest returnee-related displacement crises globally, with more than five million returnees recorded over the past two years, including 2.6 million in 2025 alone. Any additional conflict-driven displacement or sudden large-scale returns would place severe strain on local services, border infrastructure, and host communities, further eroding the already limited response capacity. IOM also confirms that at least one of its transit centres in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan has sustained significant collateral damage amid the recent hostilities. Border operations at Torkham and Bahramcha have been suspended due to security concerns, restricting humanitarian access and the delivery of assistance at a time when needs are rapidly increasing. Even in non-crisis contexts, returnees arriving at border points are often in need of basic services, shelter support, protection, and access to community support networks. During periods of active conflict, these vulnerabilities increase sharply. Heightened tensions also raise the risk of increased displacement, deportations and spontaneous returns from neighbouring countries, placing further pressure on border provinces and humanitarian systems. The escalation has also severely affected internally displaced families in Kunar province, many of whom were uprooted by the recent earthquake and were living in temporary settlements. Cross-border shelling, evacuation directives, and restricted humanitarian access have further increased the threat of secondary displacement, as many families have no safe relocation options or viable areas of return. These restrictions have also delayed the delivery of essential assistance, further exacerbating existing vulnerabilities, particularly for women and girls. IOM stresses that the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel, and facilities must be upheld at all times. Safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access is essential to ensure the continuation of lifesaving assistance. IOM's priority remains the safety, dignity, and protection of affected populations on both sides of the border. The Organization remains committed to supporting those impacted by displacement and return in close coordination with partners and authorities, as security conditions permit. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address B. Braze at an allied ministerial meeting of the Baltic Sea countries in Poland: Allies must demonstrate significant progress towards the 5% of GDP investment in defence at the NATO Summit in Ankara Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Published: 04.03.2026. On 4 March 2026, in Warsaw, Poland, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braze, jointly with the ministers of Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, and European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas, participated in a meeting of allied countries of the Baltic Sea region. The meeting focused on the situation in the Middle East, efforts to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, security guarantees for Ukraine and its European integration, as well as preparations for the NATO Summit in Ankara. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braze: "Russia is using hybrid tactics with growing frequency and intensity, in an effort to challenge the Allies. Close and coordinated cooperation among the Baltic Sea countries is the most effective way both to prevent and to respond to threats. Latvia, like all allied countries of the Baltic Sea region, regularly encounters hybrid threats from Russia, including those posed by its shadow fleet and affecting maritime security, critical undersea infrastructure, the environment, and other areas. Latvia is also frequently confronted with the instrumentalisation of migration at the borders with Russia and Belarus. Since 2022, Latvia has invested nearly EUR 1 billion in border reinforcement, thereby contributing to the security of the external border of the EU and NATO as a whole. NATO military missions Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry are in place, but NATO's presence in both the Baltic Sea region and along the eastern flank must continue to be reinforced, particularly in air defence and counter-drone capabilities.'' B. Braze also emphasised that at the upcoming NATO Summit, which will take place on 7 and 8 July in Ankara, it is important to demonstrate progress towards the 5% of GDP investment in defence agreed by the Allies last year. The Alliance must be strengthened, modernised, and made more capable of action, in line with the current geopolitical environment. The Baltic states and Nordic countries are among the largest providers of military aid to Ukraine. While discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Minister stressed that Ukraine requires continuous military and financial support from its allies and urged to address its priority military needs through NATO's PURL initiative. Latvia has so far contributed EUR 17.2 million to the initiative. B. Braze also highlighted that Ukraine's European integration is an important factor in the context of peace negotiations and peace guarantees, and that Latvia will continue to offer full support to Ukraine on its path to the EU. When addressing the situation in the Middle East, B. Braze noted that the priority now is to ensure the protection of civilians and prevent further escalation of the situation. Latvia stands in full solidarity with the Iranian people. Latvia strongly condemns Iran's unprovoked attacks on countries in the Middle East, which pose a threat to regional and international peace and security. B. Braze met with Hans Leijtens, the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, to discuss future cooperation in combating the instrumentalisation of migration and illegal migration at Latvia's external border, which is also the eastern border of the EU and NATO, by Russia and its co-aggressor Belarus. The Minister also met with Aija Kalnaja, Frontex Deputy Executive Director, and other Latvians working at the Agency. Poland will hold the CBSS Presidency from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A look at the Defence news 23 February - 1 March Netherlands Ministry of Defence News item 04-03-2026 | 16:34 The newly appointed Minister of Defence Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius and State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk have started work in their new roles at the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, as part of the new Jetten government. Yesilgoz (48) is the successor to Ruben Brekelmans and Boswijk (36) succeeds Gijs Tuinman. 4 years of war: "Ukraine can count on us!" The 24th of February marked 4 years since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a show of support, the Ukrainian flag was flown over the Ministry of Defence and other Dutch government buildings. Our country has already provided nearly 12 billion in military aid. "Despite diplomatic talks, Russia is only intensifying its attacks," the new Netherlands Minister of Defence, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius commented recently, adding, "But we will not let the Ukrainians down, and will continue our support." State Secretary visits Dutch troops in Lithuania Netherlands State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk recently completed his first international working visit. Last week, he visited Dutch military personnel in Lithuania, who are part of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence as a deterrent to Russia. "Your work here is more important than ever," Boswijk told the troops. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ASEAN foreign ministers call for peaceful means in addressing Middle East conflict People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 21:09, March 04, 2026 MANILA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Middle East. In a statement, the ASEAN foreign ministers said they followed the situation closely and expressed serious concern over the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' statement on the situation in the Middle East said the conflict continues to heighten tensions in the Middle East, and poses "a grave threat to the lives and safety of civilians, as well as to regional and global peace and stability." "We call on all countries to respect international law, including the Charter of the United Nations," the statement said. The foreign ministers called on all parties concerned to exercise utmost self-restraint, avoid any acts that may further aggravate the situation, and resolve differences through diplomacy and dialogue in the interest of maintaining peace and stability in the region. The foreign ministers also reaffirmed the obligation of all states to resolve their differences through peaceful means and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, in line with international law, including the UN Charter. "We further reiterate the obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures in armed conflicts consistent with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions," they said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement of the DFA Spokesperson on Maritime Affairs Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs MANILA 04 March 2026 - Members of the DFA Press Corps, A pleasant day to all of you. Let me begin by making a rejoinder to recent statements that question the Philippines' incontrovertible and indivisible sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc. Bajo de Masinloc, then known as "Panacot", was portrayed by the Murillo Velarde map published in 1734. Subsequent maps reflected the same information. The Philippines' then colonial rulers exercised jurisdiction over the feature as evidenced by detailed surveys, official correspondences, and other acts of administration. In fact, the first official survey took place in 1800 and was carried out by the Santa Lucia, a Spanish frigate, on behalf of the Spanish colonial government. This was further emphasized following the ceding of the Philippines by Spain to the US in the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the 1900 Treaty of Washington. While the Treaty of Paris described the Philippine Islands as comprising all the islands within an irregular polygon, Spain also had sovereignty and jurisdiction over islands and places outside of the lines of that polygon. These islands and places were clarified to have also been transferred to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Washington. Following the birth of the Republic of the Philippines, Bajo de Masinloc continued to be subject of Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction. These included the 1963 discovery and disassembly of a smuggler's base by the Philippine Navy, and the subsequent declaration of the shoal as a target and bombing range of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. All these exercises of sovereignty were uninterrupted and conducted peacefully and openly, without protest from any country until as late as 1997 when NAMRIA conducted a GPS survey of the shoal as part of its effort to identify points to be used to create the archipelagic baseline system under UNCLOS. The Philippines, through the DFA, has since continued to firmly protest and challenge the illegal assertion of sovereignty by other states over the feature, especially following China's unlawful actions in 2012 when they illegally took over and occupied Bajo de Masinloc as a response to the Philippines' lawful arrest of poachers in the area. Ladies and gentlemen, The Department also informs the public that it has held talks with Chinese foreign ministry counterparts in Beijing on 27-28 February 2026. Both sides had an open and candid exchange of views on prevailing bilateral concerns, including in the maritime domain, and explored possible areas of mutually-beneficial cooperation. These recent meetings are yet another demonstration of the Department's unwavering commitment to protecting national interest. This is consistent with the second core dynamic of maritime statecraft - the proactive effort to keep bilateral and regional channels open. This shows our commitment to managing the situation at sea peacefully, further reflected by our mandate to assert and uphold Philippine interests while also seeking common ground where possible. One good example of the Department's efforts in this regard is the Provisional Understanding on the Rotation and Resupply Mission to the BRP Sierra Madre. The Provisional Understanding is a set of principles and approaches observed by both sides in order to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the conduct of the Philippines' routine rotation and resupply (RORE) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. This Provisional Understanding has now facilitated thirteen (13) routine RORE missions since its inception in July 2024. All these missions had no reports of untoward incidents. Nevertheless, the success of the Provisional Understanding and the safe rotation and reprovisioning of our personnel has been subjected to uninformed criticism, flawed analysis and a narrow understanding of both international law and of national objectives. Allow us to clearly address the erroneous points that have been raised in the public sphere on the matter. First, there have been mistaken attempts at equating the Provisional Understanding with Provisional Arrangements under UNCLOS. To be clear, the Provisional Understanding is not nor has ever been a Provisional Arrangement under Articles 74(3) and 83(3) of UNCLOS. Rather, it is an understanding between the Philippines and China with the aim of conflict prevention and conflict avoidance, which is well contemplated in international law and not just in UNCLOS. To portray the Provisional Understanding as a singular application of UNCLOS provisions demonstrates either a fundamentally unfounded interpretation of international law, or a malicious attempt to deliberately misconstrue the Philippine position and government efforts. Second, it is a basic principle of governance and international relations that states have the prerogative to ensure the confidentiality of documents involving matters of great importance, particularly national security and international relations. DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and her team carefully crafted the Provisional Understanding, which was then approved by the highest officials of the Philippine Government, particularly National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano. Indeed, where the country is looking to secure the safety and welfare of Philippine personnel, with the active participation of all national security agencies, the Philippine Government must exercise maximum discipline and focus, with minimum diversion and interference. Third, we reiterate the clear, firm and enduring position of the Philippines that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award has definitively settled that UNCLOS already defined the scope of maritime entitlements of the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, and that these entitlements may not extend beyond the limits imposed therein. There are no valid overlapping maritime claims between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea, and the historic rights derived from the so-called "9-dash line" are without legal effect. The Provisional Understanding takes full note of the foregoing, and was drafted specifically to be without prejudice to the Philippines' national position. The Provisional Understanding does not require the Philippines to seek permission to undertake RORE missions, nor does it allow boarding and inspection of Philippine vessels, and, above all, it does not concede the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. Indeed, there is an inherent inconsistency and dullness of reasoning when critics criticize a document that they have not even seen. The Philippines will continue to implement the Provisional Understanding as agreed. We expect China to do the same. The DFA assures the Filipino people that it will firmly and consistently uphold the Philippines' national interest, and remain vigilant in protecting our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction. The DFA will continue to use effective diplomacy as the bigger tool in the Philippine government's toolbox in order to peacefully manage the situation at sea, uphold the welfare of our naval and maritime personnel and artisanal fishermen, and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the conduct of the Philippines' routine maritime operations in all its maritime zones, including in the West Philippine Sea. Thank you very much. END NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Informal meeting of CBSS foreign ministers Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland 04.03.2026 The Palace of the Commonwealth hosted today's informal talks among the nine foreign ministers of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). The top diplomats gathered in Warsaw at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Radosaw Sikorski. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Poland also took part in the meeting. Poland holds Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. The meeting was convened at the initiative of the Polish Presidency around the idea of the need to strengthen the organisation's political dimension and initiate an in-depth discussion among the region's countries on the current security challenges. The participants took stock of the preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for this July. They spoke about the progress of the commitments made at the previous NATO summit in The Hague. Another important matter on the agenda was a review of the status of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia from the perspective of the Baltic Sea region. We want the NATO summit to end in a success, to increase the standing of Europe in relation to the United States, so that we could influence the outcome of the US-Russia negotiations regarding Ukraine. - Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said. The Baltic Sea region is particularly interested in achieving and implementing strong security guarantees for Ukraine. Their role should be to prevent the Russian Federation from further aggression, to ensure Ukraine's stability, and to rebuild military deterrence potential. As a result, conditions should be created for economic growth in Ukraine and the region. We have our demands just as Russia has its own in regard to the future, postwar security architecture. The process must let both Ukraine and all of us rest assured that Russia will not be capable of another aggression. - Poland's foreign minister observed. The participants discussed the main challenges of the enlargement process, which is now linked directly to the security dimension. They expressed support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union and emphasised the need for the country to align its legislation with the EU acquis. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stressed in a press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Radosaw Sikorski that despite the difficult situation in the Middle East, Ukraine must not slip off the agenda. Moscow may have lost another allyTehranbut the same drones that are hitting Dubai are also hitting Kyiv. - High Representative Kallas said. The EU's top diplomat emphasised that the Union is coordinating consular assistance, working to arrange repatriation flights for the EU citizens stranded in the region. She also announced a meeting this Thursday between the EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the Gulf states. During the press conference, Minister Sikorski referred to a special report on the consular situation in the Middle East: As you know, the prime minister has already requested president's approval for an emergency medical flight from Oman. The consular service has compiled a list of 57 persons, mostly from the United Arab Emirates, who could be repatriated as soon as tomorrow. Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said that the Polish consular service in Egypt received 736 persons, with some of the evacuees brought from Jordan by sea. Nearly 800 Poles left Jordan, including 300 during the last 24 hours. Evacuation from Israel is practically over, too; nearly 500 people were evacuated. - added the minister. The extraordinary meeting of the CBSS sent a clear message from the countries in the region about their support for Ukraine and about ensuring stability in the Baltic Sea basin. The foreign ministers declared further close-knit cooperation, emphasising that the security of NATO's eastern flank remains an absolute priority of the Polish Presidency of the CBSS. *** The Council of the Baltic Sea States was established in 1992 with Poland as one of its founders. The current members include Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the EU. The Council focuses on supporting political dialogue and cooperation, setting strategic priorities and guiding regional initiatives in line with the organisation's long-term priorities, namely Regional Identity, Sustainable & Prosperous Region, and Safe & Secure Region. At present, the Council of the Baltic Sea States runs four main working groups: the Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy, the Task Force Against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Expert Group on Children at Risk, and the Civil Protection Network. Poland has presided over the Council since 1 July 2025 and will continue in this capacity until 30 June 2026. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address House panel declares impeach raps vs. VP Sara sufficient in substance Philippine News Agency By Jose Cielito Reganit March 4, 2026, 4:46 pm Updated on March 4, 2026, 5:13 pm MANILA -- The House Committee on Justice on Wednesday declared the two remaining impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte sufficient in substance. In separate motions without objection, both the complaints filed by Fr. Jose Saballa et al. and by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera gathered 54 yes votes, one no vote, and zero abstentions. The impeachment complaints mainly accuse the Vice President of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution over the alleged misuse of PHP612.5 million in confidential funds, and threatening to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Duterte was ordered to file her answer to the impeachment complaints within 10 calendar days. Before the voting, House justice committee chair Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro clarified that finding the impeachment complaint sufficient in substance is not tantamount to declaring the Vice President guilty of impeachable offenses. "This is the stage where we ask: Do the allegations rise to the level of impeachable offenses? Do these complaints meet the constitutional threshold to move forward? And [more] importantly, are the allegations credible enough to justify moving forward with the process?" Luistro said. "At this stage, we are not determining guilt." House Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez of South Cotabato also said finding the impeachment complaints against the Vice President sufficient in substance is not a verdict for or against Duterte. "Our vote today is not a verdict of guilt nor an act of condemnation. It is simply a decision whether the constitutional process should move forward," Hernandez said. Luistro also clarified that the panel was determining the sufficiency in substance of each complaint as a whole and not on the basis of the individual grounds cited. "The rules say we will be determining the sufficiency in substance on the basis of the entire impeachment complaint. What is being determined is the sufficiency in substance of the complaint and not the individual grounds," Luistro told members. She said the committee went through each ground cited in the complaints only to provide lawmakers with a broader understanding of the allegations before casting their vote. "We adopted the deliberation that we had in the prior impeachment proceedings -- that is, by going over all the grounds, only to give a better and wider perspective to all the justice members to come up with their individual judgment," Luistro said. (With a report from Zady De Layola/PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PH, S. Korea ink deals to boost defense posture, honor vets Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno March 4, 2026, 4:24 pm MANILA -- Security ties between the Philippines and South Korea were further strengthened as the defense establishments of the two nations formalized two "significant agreements" last March 3, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Wednesday. The two agreements, DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said, were aimed at "enhancing defense capabilities and honoring the enduring legacy of war veterans." These were signed during the visit of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the country this Tuesday. One of the agreements inked was the renewal of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the Field of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. This was signed by DND Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and South Korea Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul. Andolong said the MOU seeks to enhance tribute initiatives for Filipino Korean War veterans, promote exchanges among their descendants, and strengthen the administrative capacities of veterans affairs institutions in both countries. Also signed was Amendment No. 2 to the Implementing Arrangement (IA) between the DND and South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration concerning the procurement of defense materials. "Signed by DND Undersecretary for Acquisition and Resource Management Salvador Melchor Mison Jr. and ROK (Republic of Korea) Minister of DAPA Lee Yong Cheol, the amendment provides for support from the ROK in the procurement and maintenance of defense materials, further advancing the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," Andlong said. Andolong said these initiatives, signed during the 77th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries, reinforced the elevated strategic partnership between the Philippines and South Korea. This also highlighted the shared history of the nations and mutual commitment in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific Region. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PH, US, Japan forces train to defend major shipping lane Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno March 4, 2026, 1:23 pm MANILA -- A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official on Wednesday said the just concluded 15th multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA), held in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and up to Batanes Group of Islands, trained Filipino naval forces to defend a major international shipping route. "First and foremost, the 15th MMCA was conducted between the Philippines, the United States and the Japanese self-defense forces. This was conducted in the waters west of the country all the way up north to the Babuyan Group of Islands. It's the first time that we have reached that part of the country, the northern islands, Babuyan and Batanes Group of Islands. It's a great accomplishment on the part of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," PN spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in an interview with reporters. The 15th MMCA took place from Feb. 20 to 26, and involved naval and air units from the AFP, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the US Indo-Pacific Command. Trinidad said a lot of "integrated activities" took place between the participants that include communications, cross-deck activities, ship-to-ship, and air-to-air exercises. Asked if the 15th MMCA reached up to the Bashi Channel, which is the international name for the strait between Taiwan and Yami Island, Trinidad said participants only reached the Balintang Channel. Balintang and Bashi Channels are adjacent and connected to each other. "We refer to the Balintang Channel as the body of water beneath or in the southern part of the Yami towards Luzon mainland. So we did not cross, we did not go beyond our northernmost island. So the exercises were conducted in the Balintang Channel. The significance of this is that it allows the PN, the Philippine Air Force for the component, joint headquarters for the coms (communications) and the overall C2 (command-and-control)," he added. Also, Trinidad said Bashi Channel is classified as a "sealane of communication" or SLOC that allows access from South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. "A lot of international maritime traffic passes through that, international trade. If I'm not mistaken, USD5 trillion annually passes through the Bashi Channel," he added. Trinidad said it is highly important that the country is able to defend such waterways or SLOC, in line with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) which calls for the Philippine military to defend all Philippine territories including its 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ). "The thrust of the CADC is to be able to secure and to protect our maritime entitlements all the way up to the EEZ and even the extended continental shelf, not only the Bashi Channel or Balintang Channel," he said. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Scrutiny mounts over Trump's Iran war amid contradictory claims, soaring costs: Reports Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 6:55 AM The Trump administration is reportedly facing mounting scrutiny over its rapidly escalating war with Iran, as contradictory explanations for the initial strikes and the soaring financial toll raise alarms in Congress and among US allies. In less than 48 hours, senior officials offered conflicting rationales for launching the so-called "Operation Epic Fury," a large-scale aggression that has already killed six American service members and wounded at least 18 others, while causing hundreds of casualties across Iran and the wider region, according to a report published by the Time on Tuesday. Appearing before reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio initially suggested the timing of US strikes was influenced by Israel's military planning, claiming that failing to act preemptively could have resulted in higher American casualties. But a day later, US President Donald Trump rejected the notion that Israel pressured Washington, claiming instead that Iran was preparing to strike first. In a legally mandated notification to Congress, Trump offered yet another justification, describing the attacks as necessary to protect US forces, defend the homeland, advance national interests, and act in "collective self-defense" alongside regional allies. The shifting narrative has unsettled lawmakers. Senator Angus King called the evolving explanations "disturbing," suggesting that the United States appeared to be allowing another country's military timetable to shape American war decisions. Senator Chris Murphy warned that the conflict could become "open-ended and forever," saying officials privately acknowledged further American casualties were likely. Democrats leaving classified briefings expressed concern that the scale of operations could expand further. Senator Richard Blumenthal said he feared US ground troops might eventually be deployed. Even some Republicans signaled hesitation. Senator Josh Hawley stated he would find it difficult to support sending troops to Iran, emphasizing that such a move would require explicit congressional authorization. Under US law, the president may deploy military force without congressional approval only in response to a direct and imminent threat. Critics argue that the administration's varied explanationsranging from nuclear concerns to preempting retaliation triggered by Israelblur the legal threshold required for unilateral action. Congress is now preparing to vote on War Powers resolutions aimed at reasserting its constitutional authority, though the measures face long odds of passage. Beyond legal and strategic questions, the financial costs are rising sharply. According to analysis by the Center for American Progress, the first days of the assaults have already cost more than $5 billion. During a press briefing, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine described the deployment of more than 100 aircraft, Tomahawk missile launches, and strikes on over 1,000 targets in the onslaught's opening phase. Additional expenses include force repositioningestimated at roughly $630 millionand the loss of three F-15 fighter jets, costing approximately $351 million. Operating two carrier strike groups alone runs about $18 million per day, excluding munitions and sortie costs. Analysts warn that if operations continue at the current intensity, a three-week conflict could easily climb into the tens of billions of dollars. Critics also highlight the domestic trade-offs. At roughly $2.2 million per Tomahawk missile, a single strike could fund Medicaid coverage for hundreds of children or thousands of school meals. The campaign's current $5 billion price tag could finance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for more than 2 million Americans for a year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Confirms Sinking Iranian Ship, Says Tehran Firing Fewer Missiles By Merhat Sharipzhan March 04, 2026 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka as military officials said Iran is firing fewer missiles at targets around the Gulf region due to its decimated capabilities to wage war. Speaking at a briefing on March 4, Hegseth called the attack -- which left at least 87 seamen dead with dozens of others injured or missing -- "quiet death." Sri Lankan authorities said 32 Iranian sailors were rescued. "An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth said. Hegseth said the United States has the resources to continue the campaign, which started on February 28 in tandem with strikes by Israel, indefinitely if needed, saying Washington would take "all the time we need" to secure victory. In response, Iran has launched missile and drone barrages at states around the Persian Gulf that have fanned fears the war could spread throughout the region. Highlighting those fears, a ballistic missile launched from Iran headed toward Turkish airspace before being intercepted by NATO air defense systems. The military alliance, to which Turkey is a member, condemned the incident, saying it "stands firmly with all Allies." At the same briefing as Hegseth, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran was launching some 86 percent fewer ballistic missiles than it did on February 28, the first day of the conflict. Drone launches were down almost as much, he added. "We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense," Caine said. Hegseth echoed those comments, adding that coalition forces expect to gain complete control of Iranian airspace within about a week, which would allow expanded bombing operations across the country. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she doubts Iran's capacity to sustain its pace of attacks on countries across the Middle East given its decimated military following the 12-day war last year with Israel and the current US-Israeli campaign. She told RFE/RL in an interview in Warsaw on March 4 that "Iranian capacities are not endless, especially if also the big friends are not supporting them." "Americans have also said that their target is the missile launchers and missile factories, then their capacity to cause harm is also and maybe more limited than they want to show. So this is always also a fight for narratives," Kallas said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hegseth-iran-us -missiles-ship/33695174.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address War Of Words: How US Military Operations Are Named By Amos Chapple March 04, 2026 As US military operation names go, Epic Fury marks a break from tradition. The title for the ongoing American strikes on Iran, "is unusual for its edginess," Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International studies told RFE/RL. "Operations more commonly have names that will appeal to a wide audience, like Iraqi Freedom," he added, referencing the official name for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The former US Marine Colonel says the name for the war on Iran would have been selected from a list of options generated by military staffers "based on their sense of what [US defense chief Pete Hegseth], wanted to convey." During planning for previous US military operations, insiders have described lists "three pages long" of potential two-word names that leadership selected from. James Dawes, the author of a book on the language of war, agrees that the name is a departure from previous US codenames, which he says, "often emphasized moral purpose and discipline," such as Enduring Freedom, the designation for the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. Epic Fury, he says, "differs even from this administration's earlier names that evoked violent action, like Midnight Hammeror Southern Spear." Epic Fury, by contrast, "names an extreme emotional state, an anger that resists control," Dawes told RFE/RL. In a 1995 paper written by Gregory Sieminski, a US Army officer, codenames for military operations are described as "the first - and quite possibly the decisive - bullet to be fired" in a conflict, due to their impact on public opinion. Operation names, Sieminski wrote, have several potential audiences. As well as the obvious morale boost for US troops and public that an apt title can provide, some names target the enemy. A major exercise held in Saudi Arabia before the 1991 Gulf War was dubbed "Imminent Thunder," a name Sieminski says was "clearly designed to intimidate the Iraqis." The practice of giving military operations codenames began in World War I, when German commanders planning complex sequences of operations started giving military actions memorable and sometimes inspiring names. From the 1920s, the US began naming secret operations after the colors that paper plans were given. Generic titles such as "Plan Orange" streamlined communication without revealing clues to the contents of each scheme. During World War II, the Nazi leadership made the mistake of giving operations codenames that hinted at real world details. Chatter about Adolf Hitler's "Operation Sealion," was intercepted by the British, helping them determine that Germany planned an amphibious invasion of the British Isles. Winston Churchill took a personal interest in operation names. The British wartime leader instructed military staff not to choose titles that "imply a boastful or overconfident sentiment," or that had a "frivolous character." Following World War II, the US began declassifying the names of its operations for public consumption, a decision that came with a significant public relations risks. The US-led United Nations force in Korea faced criticism over the naming of "Operation Killer," a counter offensive during the 1950-53 Korean War which diplomats complained soured relations with China at the time. During the Vietnam War, then-US President Lyndon Johnson personally intervened to change the name of a major offensive initially called Operation Masher to the less gruesome-sounding Operation White Wing. Following the Masher and Killer controversies, guidelines were introduced in the 1970s which instructed staff to avoid nicknames that were "offensive to good taste." The paper further stipulates that US military operations be named with two words, and to avoid commercial trademarks or words that "express a degree of bellicosity inconsistent with traditional American ideals." Sieminski's 1995 paper advises the military chooses names that are meaningful and memorable, while recommending against attempts to train personnel in creating operational nicknames. Such a delicate semantic task he concludes, "is an art, rather than a science." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-war-epic-fury-nickname- codenames/33693259.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Swedish Innovation and Military Effect Impress NATO Chief Swedish Armed Forces 4 March 2026 at 1:16 PM Cyber soldiers, artificial intelligence, and drones. Sweden demonstrated both strong defence capabilities and innovative power when one of NATO's top commanders visited the country. - Sweden is a good example within the Alliance when it comes to the ability to challenge itself and continuously raise the bar, says SACT (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation), Admiral Pierre Vandier. As SACT , the French admiral Pierre Vandier is one of NATO's two highest-ranking commanders and is responsible for ensuring future capabilities, development, and innovation within the Alliance. During the two-day visit, discussions focused on NATO's overall defence development and innovation capacity, its industrial base, opportunities to transform knowledge into military capabilities, and Sweden's contribution to this effort. The admiral was introduced to Sweden's 5G and cloud strategy, as well as the training of cyber soldiers. - What Sweden is doing in the cyber domain makes a difference. I have seen similar efforts in the Baltic states, where they are also highly advanced in cyber. You can help move the Alliance forward, says Pierre Vandier. Impressive Civil-Military Cooperation A recurring theme throughout the presentations was the Triple Helix concept, which involves cooperation between academia, industry, and government agencies. SACT emphasizes that Sweden is an asset to the Alliance, contributing to NATO's ability to move quickly in the right direction. - Sweden has a high capacity for adaptation that is impressive. Over these past days, I have seen with my own eyes what you can accomplish. I particularly appreciate the close connection between civilian industry, the defence industry, and conducting field tests. This is what is happening in Ukraine, and being able to replicate it in peacetime gives the Alliance momentum, says Pierre Vandier. At the Air Combat School in Uppsala, Sweden's innovative capabilities were showcased, including drones, artificial intelligence within the Air Force, and the counter-drone system LOKE capabilities that underline Sweden's important role in NATO. SACT also highlights Saab's work integrating AI into the JAS 39 Gripen E as an area where Sweden stands out. - The connection between air defence and AI, as well as fighter aircraft and AI, is one of the most striking aspects. Sweden is probably one of the first within the Alliance to have used it at this level. It is very promising, says Admiral Pierre Vandier. Supreme Commander Michael Claesson hosted the two-day visit. - I am proud of what we are showcasing. Swedish defence capability and industrial base are built on high expertise, close cooperation between civilian and military sectors, and a determination to constantly improve. That is how we create impact for Sweden and for the Alliance. This visit confirms that the Swedish Armed Forces are at the forefront and that our contribution makes a difference in NATO, says Supreme Commander Michael Claesson. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Over 50,000 Troops Participating in US Operation Against Iran - US Central Command Sputnik News 20260304 More than 50,000 troops and 200 fighter jets are participating in the US operation against Iran, with additional forces expected to arrive soon, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said. "More than 50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two aircraft carriers and bombers from the United States are participating in this operation, and more capabilities on the way. These forces bring a massive amount of firepower, representing the largest buildup by the US in the Middle East in a generation," Cooper said in a video message on Tuesday. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran retaliated by striking Israeli territory and US military bases across the Middle East. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister Kombos US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 4, 2026 The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos. The leaders discussed the recent developments in Iran and the broader Middle East region. The leaders reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Cyprus. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Italian Foreign Minister Tajani US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 4, 2026 The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone today with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to discuss recent developments in Iran and the broader Middle East region. The leaders reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Italy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York 4 March 2026 The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General. ** Guest In a short while, I will be joined by my guest, our friend Sarah Hendriks, who, as you know, is UN-Women's Director of the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division at UN-Women. She will be here to brief you on the global launch of the Secretary-General's report entitled "Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls", and that comes, of course, ahead of International Women's Day and the seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. ** Iran/Middle East We, of course, continue to follow developments in the Middle East very closely. You'd asked me about the Secretary-General's contacts, and what I can share with you at this point is that yesterday afternoon, he accepted a request to meet with the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani. During the meeting, the Secretary-General reiterated his position, as stated during Saturday's Security Council session. He expressed his hope for a swift end to the conflict and a return to dialogue in the interest of regional stability. The Secretary-General also met yesterday with Omar Said Omar al Kathiri, the Permanent Representative of Oman to the United Nations. During the meeting, they discussed the situation in the region and the urgent need to end the current military activities and escalation, and return to dialogue, also, of course, in the interest of regional stability. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for Oman's important role in the negotiations and the Sultanate commitment to diplomacy. In a short while, he will be meeting with Abdulaziz Alwasil, the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia. These diplomatic engagements come amid continued regional tensions, as you all can see. ** Lebanon The Secretary-General continues to be very concerned about the situation in Lebanon, where the Lebanese people are once again in the crosshairs of a conflict. He's particularly concerned about the impact of the hostilities on the civilian population. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that more than 50 people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in the past two days. That is what local authorities in Lebanon are telling us. Overnight and throughout today, widespread Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, Baalbek, Chouf and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing further casualties and significant destruction. Yesterday, three paramedics were killed and six injured while responding to an air strike. In southern Lebanon, our peacekeeping colleagues at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) [report] continued exchanges of fire across the Blue Line, including Hizbullah's rocket fire towards Israel and the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) air strikes and extensive fire north of the Blue Line. Peacekeepers have observed Israel Defense Forces vehicles moving north of the Blue Line at several locations reaching up to one kilometre beyond the Blue Line and firing towards the surroundings. We also note with serious concern the IDF statement calling for evacuation of residents of South Lebanon to north of the Litani River. Forced displacement orders continue to be issued, including one today covering the entire area south of the Litani River approximately 850 square kilometres and home to hundreds of thousands of people. Civilians are continuing to flee in Lebanon, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry. Since the onset of hostilities, at least 80,000 people have sought refuge in collective shelters in Lebanon. That is what local authorities are telling us. However, we believe this represents only a fraction of all people who have been displaced. Our partners are working closely with national and local authorities. Rapid response teams are assessing needs and distributing emergency supplies in affected areas and collective shelters. So far, our partners working in food security have reached more than 20,000 displaced people with hot meals and over 15,000 with ready-to-eat food across Lebanon. Our health partners, working with the Ministry of Public Health, are providing medicine and scaling up mobile primary healthcare services in shelters and other locations. Water and sanitation partners are supporting the continued operation of critical water and wastewater facilities, including by providing fuel to operate those stations. Even prior to this escalation, the humanitarian community was aiming to reach 1.5 million vulnerable people with humanitarian aid through the $1.6 billion 2026 appeal. Our partners are now responding with fewer financial and human resources than in previous years. That, of course, limits the scale and speed of assistance at a time when needs are rising sharply. Urgent additional funding and capacity are required to sustain and expand lifesaving operations. All UNIFIL positions remain manned and remain in place along the Blue Line. The Mission's operational activities prioritize monitoring and logistical movements, including resupply. UNIFIL continues to assess the situation to ensure the safety and security of the personnel. International law is not a mystery. We talk about it every day. It is not a secret. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times by all parties to a conflict. As we have said, we very much welcome the decision by Government of Lebanon earlier this week to accelerate efforts toward asserting the state's monopoly of armes across Lebanon. It is imperative that Hizbullah respect the Government's decision, as well as Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). We also call once again on Israel to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as well as Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). Both our Special Coordinator and our UNIFIL Force Commander will work with the parties towards that end. We urge all involved to exercise maximum restraint. Also on the humanitarian front, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tells us that operations across the region are being significantly impacted by the current hostilities. Disruptions to shipping and travel routes are not only affecting humanitarian supply chains, but also the movement of aid workers, and also threatening to [worsen] food insecurity in many areas across the region. ** Occupied Palestinian Territory Turning to Gaza, our Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, welcomed yesterday's reopening of the Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem crossing and the entry of critical supplies, including fuel into Gaza. Mr. Alakbarov stressed that maintaining a steady and predictable flow of supplies, in sufficient quantities, and resuming medical evacuations is critical to alleviating the continued suffering of Gaza's population. As we mentioned yesterday, coordinated movements within Gaza have resumed. Yesterday, trucks carrying wheat flour, carrying canned food and ready-to-eat rations, as well as other items supplied by our partners all registered under the UN 2720 Mechanism were offloaded at Kerem Shalom. In a tweet this morning, Jorge Moreira da Silva, the Head of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said his colleagues delivered 400,000 litres of fuel yesterday to key distribution points in Gaza. He said that this is an encouraging development following the temporary closure of Gaza crossings, but Mr. Moreira da Silva added that, as we have been saying here every day: much more is needed. Today, we and our partners have successfully coordinated with the Israeli authorities three missions to Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem to collect cargo and to monitor operations there. Teams collected tents, items for babies, education supplies, hygiene supplies, medicines and other items. Meanwhile, our partners leading on displacement-sites management said yesterday that more than 900 out of 1,500 sites across Gaza are at risk of flooding if the rainy season continues. These sites host hundreds of thousands of people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. As you can imagine, and as we have seen in the past months, flooding could worsen the already dire situation on the ground. As you will recall, we and our partners have been supporting people choosing to temporarily relocate from particularly high-risk, flood-prone areas. Eight temporary sites have been identified by municipalities are now operating across Gaza to support voluntary relocation from flood-prone areas. However, as we have said, we and our partners still do not have the tools and materials to make shelters that are longer lasting. The entry of these supplies continues to be heavily restricted, and they are difficult to find in the local market. These include tool kits, timber and cement to repair homes, and heavy machinery to clear rubble to make more space for dignified housing. Our humanitarian colleagues once again underscore that more crossings must be open and a sustained flow of supplies, including fuel, must enter Gaza in a safe and predictable manner so aid agencies can continue to scale up humanitarian operations. ** Afghanistan/Pakistan Turning to the clashes on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that hostilities along that border have now continued for a seventh straight day. OCHA says that access to areas impacted by the clashes remains limited, so casualty reports cannot yet be independently verified. Schools and markets in several border districts remain closed amid continued instability, while mortar fire has forced families to flee villages in north-west Pakistan. Our colleagues note that aid workers continue to help people who need humanitarian aid in the south of the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, but some of their work in border areas has been temporarily suspended. In Afghanistan, cross-border shelling and airstrikes have reportedly caused civilian casualties and damaged homes. In Nangarhar Province, it is reported that shelling near the Torkham border crossing injured five civilians, including children, while another mortar strike in Nazyan District injured two people and damaged homes. And here, too, international law is no secret, and it is clear. Civilians must be protected at all times, as well as civilian infrastructure. For its part, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) pointed out that Afghanistan is facing one of the largest returnee-related displacement crises globally, with more than 5 million returnees recorded over the last two years, including 2.6 million last year alone. Any additional conflict-driven displacement or sudden large-scale returns would place severe strain on local services, border infrastructure and host communities, further eroding the already limited capacity. IOM added that the escalation has also severely affected internally displaced families in Kunar Province, many of whom were uprooted by recent earthquakes in Afghanistan and were living in temporary settlements. Our humanitarian colleagues call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. ** Iraq As we move closer to the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as International Women's Day, we want to, sadly, focus on the heinous murder of a prominent women's rights activist in Baghdad. We join Volker Turk, our High Commissioner for Human Rights, in condemning the killing of Yanar Mohammed. This is tragic news for women human rights defenders in Iraq, in the region and beyond. Our human rights colleagues tell us that they worked closely with Ms. Mohammed and her organization. She was engaged tirelessly and with dedication to provide protection to many women victims of domestic and social violence. We send our condolences to her family and brave colleagues and call on the authorities in Iraq for a prompt and transparent investigation to hold the perpetrators to account. ** Haiti Turning to Haiti: As you know, Alexander De Croo, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was in Haiti. He just wrapped up a two-day visit today. While there, he reaffirmed UNDP's commitment to supporting the country's development priorities amid ongoing challenges. During his meeting with the Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aime, the Administrator highlighted what he described as "renewed [momentum]" in the partnership between UNDP and Haiti. Mr. De Croo also discussed [the support UNDP] will give to the Government's plans to organize elections later this year. He also emphasized the close link between security and development, which have to be tackled simultaneously. He also met with the Ministers for Justice, Defence and the head of national police. In meetings with industry leaders, Mr. De Croo discussed ways to create an enabling private sector environment. He encouraged young community leaders to take up their role in building an inclusive Haiti and assured them the UN is steadfast in its support of Haiti's young people, who make up more than 50 per cent of the population. Mr. De Croo reiterated that all support by UNDP must be Haitian-led and that the vision for stabilizing the country must be Haitian-owned. As we speak, he is on his way to Jamaica, where he will meet with communities still struggling in their recovery from Hurricane Melissa. ** Cyprus Today marks 62 years since what? Georgia, I am looking at you. 62 years since the Security Council established the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). As we mark this anniversary, Khassim Diagne, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of the UN Mission, noted that peacekeeping has helped Cyprus avoid a return to violence for more than six decades, adding that the hope that one day it will no longer be needed is precisely why it remains until peace is achieved. Mr. Diagne pointed out that peacekeeping rarely makes headlines when it is successful, and its achievements are often in the crises that never unfold. He underscored that the mission supports intercommunal initiatives, engages communities and encourages cooperation on practical issues efforts that may appear modest but are essential to building trust. Peace, he added, is not achieved only at negotiating tables; it is nurtured in everyday interactions between people. Mr. Diagne said that the anniversary is also a moment of solemn remembrance. Since 1964, 187 men and women serving with UNFICYP have lost their lives in the service of peace. ** Peacebuilding Fund A quick update from our friends at the Peacebuilding Fund. The Secretary-General has approved a request by Papua New Guinea to renew eligibility for the Peacebuilding Fund's Peacebuilding and Recovery Facility for an additional five years, until the end of 2030. Based on multi-stakeholder consultations with the Government, civil society partners, the donor community, and the wider UN system, the renewed support aims to advance joint efforts by the Government and the UN in the context of the Bougainville post-referendum peace process and the delivery of peace dividends. It will also strengthen work on conflict prevention, reconciliation and climate-resilient peace in the Highlands, as well as grass-roots reconciliation, inclusive governance and local peace economies. In addition, the Peacebuilding Fund will help reinforce national prevention capacities, human rights efforts, women and youth, peace and security agendas. ** Financial Contribution We have some money today; we have 76 Member States paid up in full. This one is a little easy for you. I hope it is. Almost three-quarters of the world's alpacas can be found in this South American country. Peru, yes. Let's see if you can go for a bonus. What river begins its journey high up in the mountains of Peru? The Amazon. So, we thank our friends in Lima for their payment to the Regular Budget. Now that we have money, I can answer questions. Okay. Edie? ** Questions and Answers Question : Thank you, Steph. The Secretary-General has called, as you have said today, for a return to dialogue. Are there any efforts under way that the Secretary-General knows of or is involved in trying to return to dialogue to end this war? Spokesman : This is indeed something he is pushing with all the parties he's speaking with, but I have nothing to share with you that would give some optimism to that at this point. Question : And a second question on UNIFIL. Can we get an update on what UNIFIL is able to do and is doing under the current circumstances? Spokesman : Sure. We can give you a bit more detail as soon as we get information, but I think what the important thing is that, despite the ongoing exchange of fire, they are continuing in their posts. They're continuing to fulfil their mandate. Obviously, I think some of their operations in terms of support of the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces] in handing over weapons caches and all that has been hampered, but they are continuing the observation part of their mandate. Amelie? Question : Thanks, Steph. On Gaza, sorry if I missed it, but you mentioned the re-opening of Kerem Shalom. But, what about Rafah? There was a source here this morning saying that UN convoys have been able to go through and that the Rafah Crossing is reopened. Spokesman : I don't have anything on Rafah, but we will check. [He later said Rafah remains closed.] Benny Avni? Question : Thank you. Does your representative in Yemen have any information about what the Houthis are planning to do in this war at all? Spokesman : No. I mean, if you think that the Houthis de facto authorities brief us ahead of whatever they may want to do, then you'd be wrong, Benny. Correspondent : They don't. Spokesman : No, they do not. We very much hope that we don't see the reopening of activities, especially in the Red Sea. But, I have no information to share with you on that. Question : And connected with that, since you mentioned the activity in the Red Sea, is there any reaction to the fact that the Iranians at least say that they closed the Strait of Hormuz and that traffic is reduced there? Spokesman : Well, I mean, for us, it's very clear that the Strait of Hormuz is an international navigation waterway. Any closure of that is a very serious concern which will have an impact globally, including and especially on the economy. It's important for States to exercise restraint and fully respect the international law, including freedom of navigation. And that's what I can tell you. Question : And one more. I'm sorry to take everybody else's time. On Lebanon, do you think that this is a start? I mean, you see from the Lebanese Government and especially from even Amal is denouncing Hizbullah for starting to, you know, for joining in the war. Does UNIFIL have any or does the UN have any understanding of what actually happened there while Hizbullah decided to join the war? Spokesman : Listen. We don't have any particular contact or insights on the military actions of parties such as Hizbullah. We do note the very strong statement from the Lebanese Government earlier this week about reasserting its authority and the monopoly of arms over all of Lebanon, including the area south of the Litani. I think it is very important that the international community support the Lebanese Government and let it expand its authority without external interference. Islam? Question : Thank you, Stephane. NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] announced Iran missile heading to Turkish airspace. In the meantime, Secretary of War [sic] has stated today, confirmed actually a US submarine sunk Iranian ship first time after the [Second World War], as well as [Peter] Hegesth stated that they are going to attack Iran deeper and wider. In the light of Secretary-General's constant call about not widening the war, how you comment on these new developments? Spokesman : Well, I mean, listen. We're like you. We're seeing this increase in military rhetoric. We're seeing the increase of military activity. We're seeing the expansion of this conflict to other areas. You mentioned the Turkish airspace. I think that was the first time that's happened since this conflict started. In this conflict, like many others, like every other conflict, let's be clear, the Secretary-General is not the one with his finger on the trigger, right? He will continue to push for diplomacy, a return to negotiation, respect for international law and trying to convince enough countries to move in that direction. Question : And do you have any comment? Sorry. Do you have any comment also according to the reports, US is working to involve Kurdish forces in Iran to against the regime...? Spokesman : I mean, we've seen these reports. I think what is important is that the unity of Iran, like every other country, be respected. Naureen? Question : Thanks, Stephane. In light of the situation in the Middle East over the last few days, there have been some calls for an emergency special session at the General Assembly. Now, according to the UN Charter, a special session can be convoked by the Secretary-General, at the request of the Security Council or at the request of a majority of Member States at the UN. Has the Secretary-General yet received any such requests from a Member State? Spokesman : As far as I know, and my knowledge is not all-encompassing, as surprising as that may sound to you, I do not know, but I will find out. Okay. Mr. Vaccara and then Pan. Question : Thank you, Stephane. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, we see him often at the United Nations. He just wrote that the US objective is not the security of the American people. The objective is the global hegemony. The attempt is to destroy the United Nations and the international rule of law. Any comment on that? Spokesman : No. Well, I'm not a commentator of commentators. Correspondent : But Jeffrey Sachs... Spokesman : You've heard me... sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you, Stefano. Correspondent : What I want to say is that Jeffrey Sachs is an academic that we see often here, and he also meets often with the Secretary-General. Spokesman : He's speaking in his own personal capacity. Question : Okay. But, then he also says: "This UN Security Council emergency meeting" referring to the one on Saturday "will likely be remembered as the day the United Nations ceased to function from its headquarters on American soil. An international organization dedicated to the peaceful settlement of disputes cannot credibly operate from a country that wages illegal wars." Any comment? Spokesman : We continue to operate. Mr. Pan? Correspondent : No, I'm sorry. I have another thing. Two days ago, I asked a question that was about the meeting of the Security Council on children and conflict. And you answered, you know, "Listen to [Rosemary] DiCarlo." I saw, of course, I listened to the speech of DiCarlo. Then I also yesterday, I saw that somebody asked what I wanted to ask. I wasn't here, but somebody asked. I'm not satisfied with the answer. And the reason is that specific question. That Security Council meeting was 48 hours after the attack. She used... DiCarlo used that as alleged event, alleged attack. Now we know that UN cannot know who did it, maybe. Cannot know if it were the Americans, the Israelis... Spokesman : Given the question was asked yesterday, what is your question? Question : The question is, at that time, the world knew what happened, that 100, more than 150 children died. Why DiCarlo spoke at that moment in that way, and why she didn't address directly the fact that actually was a fact that 150 children had died? Spokesman : We stand by what Ms. DiCarlo said in the way she said it, and I would also refer to the answers I gave yesterday, which I know don't satisfy you, and I apologize for that. But, I can only go so far in satisfying everybody. Pan? Question : Thank you, Steph. For two days, there have been no meetings scheduled for the Security Council. So, is the Secretary-General concerned about the inability of the Security Council in responding to the crisis in the Middle East? And does he have a message for the Security Council members and particularly the Presidency? Thank you. Spokesman : You know, frankly, we've been concerned about the lack of unity in the Security Council for some while now, in dealing with a number of issues. I think Security Council has a primary responsibility in the maintenance of peace and security, and we encourage members to find common ground to that end. Ephrem? Question : A quick follow-up on Stefano's question, as well. We saw yesterday and this morning pictures of over 100 small graves for the little girls who were killed in Iran, and it's drawing condemnation from all over the world, including from UN in Geneva. And Rosemary DiCalo, who was speaking in... on behalf of the Secretary-General, her words are still stuck with us. She said: "allegedly", "possibly", "we are aware", "reports". Would you like to reword, given the immense videos and what we're seeing about the story, over 150 little girls dead, would you like to reword that sentence? Maybe a stronger condemnation? Spokesman : I think yesterday... these are all fast-moving stories. We stand by what she said during the meeting. I think yesterday, I addressed this very clearly, and I stand by what I said yesterday. We have our human rights colleagues, including the High Commissioner, who spoke very vividly about this, and we stand by their comments. And there will need to be accountability for those who are responsible for these deaths. Question : One quick question on Lebanon, as well. Israel has struck a hotel in a Christian neighbourhood, and a receptionist has died. The hotel apparently was housing also hundreds of displaced people from the south. Do you have any comment on that attack? Spokesman : I think it's covered by what I said earlier. I mean, we're very concerned about the continued destruction, and we condemn any killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Let's go online. I see Mr. Klein, and then we'll go to our guest who's been very patient. Question : Yes. Can you hear me? Spokesman : Yep. Correspondent : Okay, thank you. As you've noted and Secretary-General noted himself, he has called repeatedly for negotiations, return to the negotiating table. And in fact, he said that prior to the attack that negotiations are the only sensible course forward. United States and Iran through indirect negotiations had at least three sessions of negotiations prior to Saturday's attack. And one of US negotiators, Steve Witkoff, reported that during the last one, the third session, the Iranian negotiators essentially said that they had the right to enrich all of their nuclear fuel that they possess, including the fuel enriched to 60 per cent. Spokesman : Joe, I've read I've read over these statements. What is the question? Question : Okay. Well, I have to lay the predicate. I'm sorry. But, my question is, how long does the Secretary-General think the negotiation should have continued when one party at least determined that the other party was stalling for time and acting in bad faith, and a very dynamic situation where they were building up their ballistic-missile capabilities for potential attack and continuing to enrich their uranium? Spokesman : Joe, it is not for the Secretary-General to provide justification for the military action that we've seen over the last few days. He has stayed in close touch with the Omani representatives, whether it's the foreign minister, the permanent representative here. He has a high level of trust and respect for the Omani efforts, but the Secretary-General wasn't in the room. So, the sides will make the statements that they made. We continue to believe that negotiation is the way to solve this current conflict. Question : Well, I'm not asking for a justification for the military operation. Obviously, that's not something that we should have... I'm only asking how open-ended should negotiations be in a context like this? How open-ended for everyone? Spokesman : Joe, diplomacy takes time. Diplomacy takes courage, and it takes time. We're not a party to these negotiations, but we encourage those who are to restart and renew. Abdelhamid, and then we'll go to our guest. Question : Thank you, Steph. I have two questions. One is there's a report today by the special rapporteur on the human rights on the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967. It talks about torture. It has details of how Palestinian prisoners were tortured and subject to sexual harassment and killing, et cetera. And the report recommends that [Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben Gvir should be arrested by the ICC [International Criminal Court] prosecutor. Do you agree with the content of the report? And what do you say to that? Spokesman : We seen reports from the Office of the [United Nations] High Commissioner [for Human Rights] (OHCHR) to this end. We've always supported his work. And as we've always said, they will need to be and there needs to be accountability for everything that we have seen in this conflict. Your second question? Question : My second question, you know what happened in Lebanon, there are 80,000 people have been displaced, and many civilians were killed. This is called collective punishment. Isn't collective punishment considered a war crime? Does that mean Israel is committing war crimes in Lebanon or not? Spokesman : I will let legal experts and journalists such as yourselves draw these conclusions. We are, I think, being very transparent in what we're seeing and calling it out. Thank you. Very quick one, and I will ask you to stay for our guest, please. Question : Yes, sure. Just, you know, Iran appears to have expanded its retaliatory attacks, with neighbouring countries accusing it of attacking not just US assets but also civilian infrastructure. My question is, can you as the United Nations confirm that Iran has in fact targeted or attacked or hit civilian infrastructure in those countries? Spokesman : I mean, we don't have... we're aware of all of these reports. We don't always have the forensic capabilities to make these conclusions during an active conflict. But I think it's been very clear that civilian infrastructure has been hit throughout the conflict. All right. I'll be right back. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World News in Brief: Afghan-Pakistan border clashes latest, murder of Iraqi women's rights activist condemned, Chile leprosy milestone 4 March 2026 - Clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have continued for a seventh straight day, with humanitarian access to affected areas still restricted, the UN said on Wednesday. Aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that casualty figures "cannot yet be independently verified" due to limited access. Schools and markets in several border districts remain closed amid ongoing instability, while mortar fire has forced families to flee villages in northwest Pakistan. Aid operations in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been temporarily suspended, although assistance continues in the south of the province. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, on Tuesday reiterated its call for a halt to the cross-border clashes. UNAMA also calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and to ensure the protection of civilians. Shelling and airstrikes In Afghanistan, cross-border shelling and airstrikes have reportedly caused civilian casualties and damage to homes. In Nangarhar Province, five civilians, including children, were injured near the Torkham crossing, while two others were wounded in Nazyan district. "Civilians must be protected at all times, as well as civilian infrastructure," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stressed. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that further escalation could worsen one of the world's largest returnee crises, with more than five million Afghans returning over the past two years, placing severe strain on already overstretched communities. UN deplores murder of Iraqi women's rights activist Yanar Mohammed The UN has condemned the killing in Baghdad earlier this week of internationally renowned women's rights activist, Yanar Mohammed, as a "heinous murder". "This is tragic news for women human rights defenders in Iraq, in the region and beyond," said UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, during Wednesday's briefing at UN Headquarters in New York. The UN human rights office, OHCHR, tweeted that they had worked closely with her and her organization, with rights chief Volker Turk calling for a prompt and transparent investigation by Iraqi authorities, together with full accountability. Dedicated and tireless campaigner According to news reports, Ms. Mohammed was shot by unidentified gunmen who opened fire from a motorcycle outside her home in the capital. The Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq - a group she founded - said she succumbed to her wounds in hospital. The Iraqi Prime Minister has reportedly opened an investigation into the apparent assassination. "She was engaged tirelessly and with dedication to provide protection to many women victims of domestic and social violence," said Mr. Dujarric, who sent condolences to her family and "brave colleagues". Chile becomes first country in South America to eliminate leprosy Chile becomes only the second country in world to officially eliminate leprosy disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday. Leprosy, also known as Hansen disease, is a chronic infectious disease which primarily affects the skin, peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tract mucosa, and eyes. It's curable and largely found in the most vulnerable communities in less developed countries. In Chile, a major outbreak took place at the end of the 19th century on Easter Island. The spread to mainland Chile was contained, and by the late 1990s the last secondary cases were managed. Though 47 cases were reported nationwide between 2012-2023, none were locally acquired and the WHO moved to assess if elimination had been achieved in 2025. 'Landmark public health achievement' "Chile's elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Chile's accomplishment paves the way for other nations, illustrating the impact of political will, cross-sector collaboration, and adaptive planning in low-incidence settings. "This landmark public health achievement is a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish," the WHO chief said. As a neglected tropical disease, leprosy persists in over 120 countries, with more than 200 000 new cases annually worldwide. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Today's top news: Middle East, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Afghanistan, Pakistan UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Middle East UN Relief Chief: humanitarian fallout from stepped up violence 'increasingly daunting' Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, says the humanitarian fallout from the escalation of violence in the Middle East is increasingly daunting. In a statement yesterday, he said civilians are paying the price across the region and must be protected. He said that we are constantly assessing the damage and the scale of the growing humanitarian response required, and scaling up where necessary and possible. OCHA reports that aid operations across the region are being significantly impacted by the current hostilities. Disruptions to shipping and travel routes are not only affecting humanitarian supply chains and the movement of aid workers, but are also threatening to worsen food insecurity in many areas across the region. In Lebanon, OCHA says that more than 50 people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in the past two days, according to the authorities. Overnight and throughout today, widespread Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, Baalbek, Chouf and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing further casualties and significant destruction. Yesterday, three paramedics were killed and six injured while responding to an airstrike. The UN and its partners call on all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and to safeguard healthcare from attacks. Civilians continue to flee, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry. Since the onset of hostilities, at least 80,000 people have sought refuge in collective shelters, according to the authorities. However, this represents only a fraction of all people who have been displaced. Forced displacement orders continue to be issued, including one today covering the entire area south of the Litani River - approximately 850 square kilometres and home to hundreds of thousands of people. Humanitarian partners are working closely with national and local authorities. Rapid response teams are assessing needs and distributing emergency supplies in affected areas and collective shelters. So far, partners working in food security have reached more than 20,000 displaced people with hot meals and over 15,000 with ready-to-eat food across the country. Health partners, together with the Ministry of Public Health, are providing medicine and scaling up mobile primary health care services in shelters and other locations. Water and sanitation partners are supporting the continued operation of critical water and wastewater facilities, including by providing fuel. Even prior to this escalation, the humanitarian community was aiming to reach 1.5 million vulnerable people with humanitarian aid through the $1.6 billion 2026 Lebanon Response Plan. Partners are now responding with fewer financial and human resources than in previous years, limiting the scale and speed of assistance at a time when needs are rising sharply. Urgent additional funding and capacity are required to sustain and expand life-saving operations. OCHA reiterates the urgent need for de-escalation, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and sustained, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access. Occupied Palestinian Territory Aid deliveries into Gaza resume, but flow remains insufficient OCHA reports that aid workers continue responding to people's needs while pressing for restrictions on aid deliveries to be lifted. In a social media post, the Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, welcomed yesterday's reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing and the entry of critical supplies, including fuel into Gaza. However, Dr. Alakbarov stressed that maintaining a steady and predictable flow of supplies, in sufficient quantities, and resuming of medical evacuations is critical to alleviating the continued suffering of Gaza's population. Coordinated movements within Gaza have resumed. Yesterday, trucks carrying wheat flour, canned food, ready-to-eat rations and other items supplied by partners registered under the UN 2720 Mechanism were offloaded at Kerem Shalom. Today, the UN and its partners successfully coordinated with the Israeli authorities three missions to Kerem Shalom, to collect cargo and to monitor operations there. Teams collected tents, items for babies, education supplies, hygiene products, medicine and other supplies. Partners leading on displacement sites management said yesterday that more than 900 out of nearly 1,500 sites across Gaza are at risk of flooding, should the rainy season continue. These sites host hundreds of thousands of people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. Flooding could worsen the already dire conditions in displacement sites. The UN and its partners have been supporting people choosing to temporarily relocate from particularly high-risk, flood-prone areas. Eight temporary sites identified by municipalities are now operating across Gaza to support voluntary relocation from flood-prone areas. However, the UN and its partners still do not have the tools and materials we need to provide more lasting shelter solutions. The entry of these supplies continues to be heavily restricted and they are difficult to find in the local market. These include tool kits, timber and cement to repair people's homes, and heavy machinery to clear rubble to make more space available for dignified housing. OCHA once again underscores that more crossings must be open and a sustained flow of supplies, including fuel, must enter Gaza in a safe and predictable manner so aid agencies can continue scaling up humanitarian operations. *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza and the West Bank with urgent support. Afghanistan/Pakistan Limited aid reaching communities along border OCHA reports that hostilities along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier have now continued for a seventh straight day. Access to areas affected by the clashes remains limited, so casualty reports cannot yet be independently verified. Schools and markets in several border districts remain closed amid continued instability, while mortar fire has forces families to flee villages in north-west Pakistan. Aid workers continue to help people who need humanitarian aid in the south of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but some of their work in border areas has been temporarily suspended. In Afghanistan, cross-border shelling and airstrikes have reportedly caused civilian casualties and damaged homes. In Nangarhar Province, it is reported that shelling near the Torkham border crossing injured five civilians, including children, while another mortar strike in Nazyan district injured two people and damaged homes. OCHA calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. Posted on 4 March 2026 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Keel Laid for Future USS Philadelphia US Navy 04 March 2026 From Team Ships Public Affairs PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The keel for the future USS Philadelphia (LPD 32), a San Antonio class-amphibious transport dock ship, was authenticated at HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division, March 3. The ship is named in honor of the historic city of Philadelphia and its maritime legacy. The city is the birthplace of the U.S Navy and Marine Corps and was home to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 1801-1995, which constructed numerous Navy vessels. Keel laying authentication ceremonies are a centuries-old tradition marking a significant construction milestone where a ship transitions from design to reality. The keel was authenticated when the initials of the ship's sponsor, Ms. Maureen Paparo, were welded onto a steel plate. Paparo is a Philadelphia native and the spouse of Adm. Samuel Paparo, the 27th Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. This plate will be permanently affixed to the ship's hull, remaining with the vessel throughout its entire service life as a symbol of its beginning. "The future USS Philadelphia honors one of America's foundational cities and its continuous support of the Navy and the maritime domain," said Capt. Matthew Tardy, program manager, Amphibious Warfare Program Office. "This keel laying marks the ceremonial beginning of construction and we look forward to delivering this ship to the fleet." San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships (LPD) are warships that embark, transport, and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. They provide the Navy and Marine Corps with modern, sea-based platforms that are networked, survivable, and built to operate with 21st-century transformational platforms such as air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC), modern helicopters, and vertical take-off landing craft (MV-22). Today's ceremony underscores the Navy's commitment to building America's Golden Fleet. For 250 years, American naval power has projected strength globally. That mission continues - and intensifies. We operate forward 24/7, 365 days a year. This operational tempo demands continuous capability delivery, and the Golden Fleet is our answer. As a Department of War acquisition organization, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships and craft, and auxiliary ships, including special mission ships, sealift ships and support ships. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan, U.S. forces conduct Fleet Synthetic Training Joint 26-71 US Navy 04 March 2026 From Petty Officer 1st Class Ezekiel Duran, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet YOKOSUKA, Japan -- Japan Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces conducted Fleet Synthetic Training Joint (FST-J) 26-71 at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka and command centers across the region Feb. 23-27, 2026. FST-J 71, the maritime component of the Japan-U.S. Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense (Defensive) Exercise, provided computer-generated training to commands ashore and ships at sea, enabling combined forces to refine ballistic missile defense coordination in a complex operational environment. The exercise focused on strengthening command and control, decision making, and defensive responses while protecting sensitive capabilities. "Fleet Synthetic Training allows our U.S. and Japanese teams to rehearse demanding scenarios and improve how we operate together," said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Eric Anduze, commander of Task Force (CTF) 70, "This training strengthens deterrence by ensuring our forces remain ready to defend the United States and Japan while maintaining security across the Indo-Pacific." Forces from CTF 70, which included Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup (DDG 86) and joined Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Maya-class guided-missile destroyer JS Maya (DDG 179) and Kongo-class guided-missile destroyer JS Kirishima (DDG 174). FST-J 71 is a recurring readiness activity that enhances coordination among U.S. Navy, JMSDF, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and. The exercise supports forward-deployed operations and reinforces the U.S.-Japan alliance as the cornerstone of regional security. U.S. 7th Fleet, the Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely operates with allies and partners to maintain readiness, deter aggression, and preserve peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran : Epic Fury - The War at Sea In the most significant single-day naval engagement since the start of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. and Israeli forces have destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels attempting to seed the Strait of Hormuz with naval mines, according to U.S. Central Command officials. The operation, which unfolded in the pre-dawn hours local time, eliminated the Iranian flotilla before it could close the world's most vital oil chokepoint. This preemptive strike targeted "inactive" or berthed minelayers to prevent Iran from deploying naval mines in the critical chokepoint, following intelligence indications that Tehran had begun limited mining efforts and posed an imminent threat to global oil transit. CENTCOM released video footage showing explosions on several Iranian vessels at sea. Officials described the action as a pre-emptive strike designed to neutralize a developing maritime threat before mines could be deployed into commercial shipping lanes. Some reports claimed the US employed a coordinated swarm of carrier-based F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and a new generation of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs). However, no official US sources explicitly identify autonomous surface vessels (ASVs or USVsuncrewed surface vessels) as the primary or direct platforms used in this specific strike against the minelaying flotilla. The descriptions center on missile strikes (possibly Tomahawk or other standoff precision munitions from surface ships, submarines, or aircraft), airstrikes, and combined arms efforts under CENTCOM's maritime dominance. Earlier in the conflict (late February to early March 2026), the US Navy had heavily relied on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (e.g., USS Thomas Hudner, USS Pinckney) for Tomahawk launches against broader Iranian naval targets, carrier-based aviation, and submarine actions (e.g., MK 48 torpedo sinkings), contributing to the destruction of over 30-50 Iranian warships overall. Coverage from Axios, CNN, Reuters, WSJ, Jerusalem Post, and others framed the March 10 action as manned or conventional platform-delivered strikes (e.g., missiles from destroyers or aircraft), with emphasis on preemption rather than autonomous swarms. Iranian asymmetric threats (including their own kamikaze USVs, as seen in earlier tanker attacks like on MKD Vyom) have prompted US countermeasures, but the minelayer flotilla takedown appears conventional. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most strategically important waterways in the world. At its narrowest point the strait is roughly 21 nautical miles wide, with designated shipping lanes running between Iranian and Omani territorial waters. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, roughly 20 million barrels of petroleum liquids transit the strait each day. Defense officials said surveillance assets had been monitoring the suspected vessels for many hours prior to the strike. The boats reportedly included a mix of small craft and converted civilian vessels commonly used by the IRGC Navy for asymmetric maritime operations. Iranian officials did not immediately confirm the losses, though state-affiliated media described the incident as hostile military action and warned that Iran would respond to attacks on its forces in the Persian Gulf. U.S. officials said maritime surveillance and mine-countermeasure units continue to monitor the area to ensure that no naval mines were successfully deployed during the attempted operation. The strike highlights the continuing importance of mine warfare in Irans naval strategy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has long emphasized asymmetric tactics designed to threaten shipping in confined waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz. Naval mines are considered one of Tehrans most effective tools for disrupting maritime traffic without engaging in direct fleet-on-fleet combat. Even a small number of mines placed within the narrow shipping channels could halt tanker traffic for extended periods. Clearing mines from busy commercial lanes is a slow and technically demanding process that requires specialized ships, helicopters, and unmanned systems. For that reason, intercepting suspected minelayers before mines enter the water is operationally significant. Once mines are deployed, naval forces must transition from strike operations to time-consuming mine countermeasure missions. The reported engagement also reflects the extensive surveillance network the United States maintains in the region. Maritime patrol aircraft, long-endurance drones, satellites, and surface ships provide persistent monitoring of Iranian naval activity along the Gulf coastline. Destroyers operating with U.S. naval forces in the region are capable of launching precision-guided missiles against surface targets, while carrier-based aircraft provide rapid-response strike capability against small vessels attempting to operate from Iranian ports such as Bandar Abbas. The action also underscored the broader strategic objective of maintaining freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Because the waterway carries a substantial portion of the worlds seaborne oil exports, even temporary disruptions can have immediate global economic consequences. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait during periods of conflict. As a result, U.S. and allied naval forces treat any credible indication of mine deployment as a high-priority threat requiring rapid interdiction. If confirmed, the destruction of the suspected minelayers would represent a short-term setback for Irans ability to deploy mines in the strait. However, analysts note that Iran possesses a large inventory of naval mines and numerous small vessels capable of laying them, meaning the threat is likely to persist throughout the conflict. HIMARS and PrSM at Sea The U.S. military integrated M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) into its arsenal for striking Iranian naval assets during Operation Epic Fury, the codename for the ongoing campaign against Iran that commenced on February 28, 2026. HIMARS, a wheeled, highly mobile launcher capable of rapid deployment and shoot-and-scoot tactics, has been employed to deliver precision ballistic missile fires from undisclosed locationslikely forward-operating bases in allied Gulf states or Iraqtargeting elements of the Iranian Navy's fleet berthed at ports, anchored in coastal waters, or operating in the Persian Gulf and beyond. Over the first 10-11 days of operations, U.S. forces, in coordination with Israeli partners, neutralized over 50 Iranian naval vessels through a multifaceted approach combining artillery, fighter aircraft, bombers, and sea-launched missiles, as detailed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine during a March 10, 2026, Pentagon briefing. HIMARS contributions have focused on land-based deep strikes, supplementing naval Tomahawk salvos from Arleigh Burke destroyers and carrier air wing operations, thereby accelerating the degradation of Iran's asymmetric naval capabilities, including fast-attack craft, frigates, submarines, and drone carriers. This use of Army artillery for maritime interdiction underscores a joint-force evolution in targeting, where ground-launched ballistic missiles extend reach into denied maritime domains without relying solely on air or sea platforms vulnerable to Iranian anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) threats. Since the conflict's eruption, visual evidence from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) releasesincluding videos and still imageryshows HIMARS launchers exclusively firing Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles, with no indications of other munitions like GMLRS rockets in these specific naval strikes. ATACMS, the legacy system with a range of approximately 300 km and a unitary high-explosive warhead, has been observed in action against Iranian targets, including mobile missile systems and associated air defenses, but its application against ships aligns with historical precedents where ballistic missiles deliver kinetic effects against stationary or semi-static vessels in port or at anchor. PrSM, the newer successor entering service around late 2023, reached its combat debut in this theater, with CENTCOM explicitly highlighting its first operational use in early March 2026 posts and videos depicting launches from HIMARS pods configured for two missiles each. PrSM Increment 1 offers extended rangedemonstrated at least 500 km, with potential for 650 km or moregreater accuracy via advanced guidance, and enhanced lethality through insensitive munitions payloads, enabling strikes on deeper or more defended naval infrastructure while reducing collateral risks compared to older systems. The revelation that HIMARS had struck Iranian ships using only ATACMS and PrSM raises intriguing questions about whether an anti-ship variant of PrSM has been accelerated into the field. Baseline PrSM Increment 1 is optimized for fixed land targets such as command nodes, missile sites, and hardened facilities, relying on GPS/inertial navigation for precision against stationary objectives. However, developmental efforts for Increment 2known as the Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile (LBASM)have long focused on adding a multimode seeker (likely incorporating active radar or imaging infrared) to engage moving maritime targets, a capability tested successfully against a moving vessel in Pacific exercises as early as June 2024, per Pentagon test evaluations. While official statements from CENTCOM and the Joint Chiefs describe PrSM's role in providing "unrivaled deep strike capability" without specifying anti-ship modes, the targeting of naval vesselssome potentially mobile or repositioningfuels speculation that early operational capability versions of the seeker-equipped variant may have been rushed forward amid the high-priority demands of Epic Fury. Analysts note that prior Army pursuits of anti-ship ATACMS were subsumed into PrSM Increment 2 development, and with production ramping up post-2023 fielding, limited numbers of enhanced missiles could plausibly support maritime strikes in this conflict, especially given Iran's reliance on coastal basing and the strategic imperative to neutralize threats to Strait of Hormuz shipping. This integration of HIMARS-launched ballistic missiles against Iranian naval forces represents a doctrinal shift, leveraging the Army's long-range precision fires to contribute directly to sea control in a littoral theater. By mid-March 2026, with Iranian naval power severely attritedover 43-50 vessels confirmed sunk or damagedand missile/drone retaliation sharply curtailed, the use of ATACMS and PrSM from mobile ground platforms has proven effective in suppressing port-based threats, disrupting resupply, and enabling follow-on air/naval dominance. The combat debut of PrSM not only validated years of investment in replacing ATACMS but also signaled to adversaries like China the system's maturity and versatility. If anti-ship seeker technology has indeed been fielded early, it would mark a significant milestone in multi-domain operations, allowing land-based fires to hold moving maritime targets at risk from standoff distances. Absent explicit confirmation, however, the strikes likely exploit PrSM's baseline precision against predictable naval concentrations, with future increments poised to fully realize anti-ship potential in contested environments. Overall, Operation Epic Fury's employment of HIMARS ballistic fires exemplifies how ground systems are reshaping modern naval warfare, delivering decisive effects with minimal exposure to Iranian countermeasures. Frigate IRIS Dena The sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was an unpleasant business. It is supposed to be. Naval combat at close quarters -- magazine fires, flooding compartments, men in burning water -- does not carry the antiseptic quality of a precision strike on a hardened facility ashore, and the instinct to avert one's gaze is understandable. But the instinct should be resisted, because the circumstances that put the Dena at the bottom were straightforward, and the attempt to treat her loss as something other than a legitimate act of war reflects confusion rather than conscience. History offers instructive parallels. In December 1914, Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee's battlecruiser squadron caught Admiral Maximilian von Spee's East Asiatic Squadron off the Falkland Islands and destroyed it in a running fight across open ocean. Von Spee had no strategic mission that required him to be in the South Atlantic; he was attempting to return to Germany through waters he could not cross safely. His ships were legitimate warships of a belligerent power, and Sturdee sank them. The engagement was so one-sided that it reads in retrospect as almost an inconvenience -- the British had gunnery practice, the Germans had a passage to nowhere, and the outcome was determined by the asymmetry of the forces from the first sighting. A quarter-century later, in December 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee fought three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate, was damaged, took refuge in Montevideo, and was scuttled by her commanding officer Hans Langsdorff rather than face renewed battle. Langsdorff wrapped himself in the old imperial battle ensign and shot himself two days later -- a melancholy end, and one that generated considerable sympathy for a man who had conducted commerce raiding with conspicuous consideration for the crews of his victims. The sympathy was warranted. It did not alter the fact that his ship was a legitimate target from the moment the first shot was fired. War is where you find it. The crew of the Dena could not have remained idle while the broader engagement unfolded and expected the laws of armed conflict to grant them immunity because they had not yet fired. A commissioned warship of a belligerent state, at sea, in a declared conflict, is a legitimate military objective without reference to its current activity or location. There is no magic geography -- no drawn line on the chart beyond which a warship becomes untouchable because it happens to be operating outside a formally designated exclusion zone. The concept of exclusion zones, which became prominent in the Falklands War of 1982, is a device of political communication as much as of law: it warns neutral shipping away and limits the circumstances under which third-party complaints arise. It does not define the legal limits of naval warfare. Ships of a belligerent are targetable under the law of naval warfare wherever they are found in international waters, or in the territorial waters of a hostile state, without reference to zone boundaries. The Iranian frigate was a warship of the Islamic Republic. Its crew had sworn oaths to the state and accepted the hazards of commissioned service. The argument that the ship should have been left alone because it had not yet committed a hostile act applies a law-enforcement logic -- shoot only when shot at, demonstrate intent before lethal force is authorized -- to a military context where it does not belong. Military necessity does not require waiting for the first salvo. It requires a lawful target, a military purpose, and proportionality in execution. The Dena satisfied all three criteria. To pretend otherwise is to misread the law of armed conflict in a direction that would make naval warfare impossible to conduct. What the law does require, unambiguously, is that sailors who abandon a sinking warship not be attacked. Survivors in the water, or in life rafts, or otherwise hors de combat, are protected persons under the 1907 Hague Convention X and customary international law. Sri Lankan naval vessels responded to the Dena's distress call -- received at 0508 local time on 4 March 2026 -- and recovered 32 survivors, transporting them to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle; 87 bodies were eventually recovered. That obligation falls on the nearest responder under maritime law and was observed. What the law does not require is rescue by the attacking party. The United States Navy had no more legal obligation to pull Iranian survivors from the water than the Imperial Japanese Navy had to rescue the crew of USS Indianapolis after sinking her in July 1945. The Indianapolis went down in shark-infested water, her loss was not reported for nearly four days due to a series of failures in American naval communications, and 880 men entered the water while 316 survived. The IJN bore no legal responsibility for that outcome. Similarly, the disposition of the Dena's survivors was not a legal obligation of the force that sank her, whatever the moral calculus of the situation might suggest. IRIS Dena: Ship and Recent Movements The IRIS Dena (F75) was the fourth Moudge-class frigate completed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the most capable of the class at the time of her loss. Commissioned on 20 December 2021 at the NEDAJA naval yards in Bandar Abbas, Dena displaced approximately 1,300 to 1,500 tons on a hull 94 meters long, powered by four domestically produced Bonyan-4 diesel engines developing a combined 20,000 horsepower -- a marked improvement over earlier units of the class -- with a maximum speed of 30 knots. Her armament included four Qader anti-ship cruise missiles, Sayyad surface-to-air missiles, a 76mm Fajr-27 dual-purpose gun on the forecastle, a 40mm Fath gun amidships, two 20mm cannon, and a helicopter deck accommodating an anti-submarine warfare helicopter. Electronic systems included the Asr three-dimensional passive electronically scanned array radar, electronic warfare suites, and chaff launchers. Iran characterized Dena as a destroyer; international classification services, including Jane's Fighting Ships, listed her as a light frigate. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described her at his Pentagon briefing as Iran's "prize ship." In the weeks before the outbreak of hostilities, Dena had been engaged in a high-profile deployment of the kind the Iranian Navy conducts periodically to demonstrate blue-water reach. She participated in the Indian International Fleet Review 2026 at Visakhapatnam, on India's eastern coast, and in Exercise MILAN 2026, a multinational naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal in which 74 nations including the United States took part. The 103rd Iranian Naval Flotilla, of which Dena was a part, had been expected to return to Bandar Abbas in late February. That return was delayed. On 27 February 2026 -- the day before Operation Epic Fury began -- IRIN commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani was welcoming home a separate flotilla from exercises off Cape Town. The Dena was still transiting the Indian Ocean, well east of the Strait of Hormuz, when the first strikes came. The Dena's position, approximately 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of Galle on Sri Lanka's southern coast, placed her squarely in the area of responsibility of the United States Seventh Fleet -- an entirely different theater from the CENTCOM Fifth Fleet area where the main engagements were occurring in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. An American fast-attack submarine, whose identity was not publicly disclosed as is standard operational security practice, had tracked the Dena and in the pre-dawn hours of 4 March 2026 fired a single Mark 48 ADCAP heavyweight torpedo. The weapon detonated beneath the stern, lifted the ship, broke her keel, and sent her to the bottom within minutes. She sank before Sri Lankan rescue forces, responding to a distress call received between 0508 and 0700 local time, could reach the position. The First American Torpedo in Anger Since 1945 At a Pentagon briefing on 4 March 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the engagement and characterized it with deliberate understatement: "An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death." Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine added the technical confirmation -- "fast attack submarine," "MK-48 heavyweight torpedo" -- and noted that the United States had by that point sunk more than 20 Iranian naval vessels plus one submarine since the opening of Epic Fury. The historical significance of the engagement was not lost on the participants or the press. It was the first acknowledged sinking of an enemy surface warship by an American submarine since 14 August 1945 -- the day before Japan surrendered -- when USS Torsk (SS-423), a Tench-class diesel-electric boat, fired the United States Navy's final torpedoes of the Second World War, sinking two Japanese coastal defense frigates in the Sea of Japan. The interval of nearly 81 years is the longest gap between American submarine torpedo kills in the service's history. It is also only the second instance in history of a nuclear-powered attack submarine sinking an enemy vessel in combat, and the first such kill achieved with a precision-guided wire-guided torpedo. The first instance was HMS Conqueror, a Churchill-class SSN, which used a salvo of straight-running Mark VIII torpedoes -- a weapon design dating from 1927 -- to sink the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano during the Falklands War on 2 May 1982. The Dena sinking therefore carried two distinctions: first American submarine kill since World War II, and first SSN kill with a guided torpedo. The Mark 48 ADCAP torpedo, in its current Mod 7 configuration, is a heavyweight wire-guided weapon approximately 5.8 meters long, weighing 1,580 kilograms, and carrying a 295-kilogram PBXN-103 high-explosive warhead. It is designed not to strike a target hull directly but to detonate beneath the keel, where the pressure pulse of the underwater explosion creates a rapid vapor bubble whose collapse induces catastrophic bending stress -- typically breaking the target's back amidships or at the stern. The result is rapid sinking. At approximately $4.2 million per unit, the Mark 48 is among the most expensive individual weapons in the American inventory on a per-round basis. The engagement cost roughly $4.2 million and destroyed a ship that had taken Iran's domestic shipbuilding industry years and substantial capital to produce. The location of the sinking carried its own message. The Dena was not sunk in the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf, where the main campaign was underway. She was sunk in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,500 miles east of the Strait of Hormuz, in waters where she had every reason to believe she was beyond the operational reach of the immediate conflict. She was not. The engagement demonstrated, as Hegseth's "quiet death" formulation was clearly intended to convey, that no Iranian warship was safe anywhere on the open ocean while American nuclear-powered submarines were at sea. CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated it plainly: "Today there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop." The Opening Strikes: IRIS Jamaran at Chabahar The first Iranian naval vessel destroyed in Operation Epic Fury was not the Dena but the lead ship of the Moudge class, IRIS Jamaran (F76), struck at the pier of the Konarak Naval Base at Chabahar (Chah Bahar) in the Gulf of Oman on 28 February 2026, the opening day of hostilities. CENTCOM's announcement was precise: "An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by U.S. forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier." Commercial satellite imagery from Vantor and Planet Labs showed smoke rising from the naval wharf, consistent with a large vessel on fire at its berth. The Jamaran carried particular symbolic weight. Commissioned in 2010 as the first domestically produced Iranian warship of any consequence, she had been celebrated by the Islamic Republic as evidence of its ability to overcome Western sanctions through indigenous industrial capability. Her operational record included a friendly-fire incident in May 2020 in the Gulf of Oman, when she mistakenly launched a missile that struck the support vessel IRIS Konarak during an exercise, killing at least 19 Iranian sailors. In September 2022 she seized two American Saildrone unmanned surface vehicles in the Gulf of Oman. In early 2026, as nuclear tensions mounted, Iranian authorities announced that Jamaran would begin escorting Iranian commercial traffic through the Red Sea. She was still at Chabahar, having recently returned from Marine Security Belt 2026 exercises with Chinese and Russian forces, when the first Tomahawks arrived. On 25 February -- three days before the strikes -- satellite imagery confirmed the Jamaran alongside at Bandar Abbas Naval Harbor; she had moved to Chabahar before hostilities began. The Campaign Against Iranian Naval Forces The destruction of Iranian naval capability was listed by CENTCOM among the top priorities for the first 48 hours of Operation Epic Fury. The logic was clear: Iran's primary leverage against American military action had always rested on its ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf oil traffic, and neutralizing that leverage at the outset was essential both militarily and economically. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs characterized the naval mission without elegance: "Sinking the Iranian Navy -- the entire Navy." The first shooters at sea were surface ships and submarines firing BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which closed in on Iranian naval forces across the southern flank in the opening hours. Strikes at the primary bases at Bandar Abbas and Konarak were confirmed by commercial satellite imagery within the first 24 hours, showing multiple fires, sunken vessels at their piers, and destroyed buildings. At Bandar Abbas, the IRIS Makran (441) -- a former Japanese-built Aframax crude oil tanker converted into Iran's first forward base ship, capable of supporting helicopter operations and special operations forces, deployed as recently as 2021 to accompany the Sahand on the Atlantic voyage that reached St. Petersburg -- was struck while moored. The IRIS Sahand (F74), which had capsized during maintenance in July 2024, been laboriously salvaged by the Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex over a two-week lifting operation, and recommissioned as recently as 29 November 2025, was struck again -- this time permanently. The Alvand-class frigates Alvand and Alborz, older hulls derived from the British Vosper Mk 5 design supplied before the revolution, were also struck at their berths. Of particular operational significance was the destruction of the IRIS Shahid Bagheri (C110-4), the IRGCN's first domestically produced drone carrier, a converted container ship that had entered service only on 6 February 2025 -- 22 days before hostilities began. She was struck within hours of the opening of Epic Fury at her Bandar Abbas berth. The Shahid Soleimani class catamaran corvette, a fast, shallow-draft warship designed for Gulf operations, was also sunk in the initial engagements. CENTCOM also confirmed strikes on Iran's small submarine fleet: at least one Kilo-class boat -- the IRIS Tareq (S901), which satellite imagery showed present in the inner harbor at Bandar Abbas when strikes began -- was sunk or put out of action. The Kilo class represented Iran's most capable subsurface option; the three hulls acquired from Russia in the 1990s were the only submarines in the fleet with genuine blue-water capability. By the end of the first 96 hours, CENTCOM reported having destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels in addition to the Dena, plus at least one submarine. President Trump, posting online on 1 March, claimed nine Iranian ships had been damaged or sunk and that the Iranian naval headquarters had been destroyed. The figure climbed as assessment of the Bandar Abbas strikes was refined. The IRGCN attempted to enforce its declared closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with fast-boat swarms harassing merchant shipping and Iranian forces striking at least four commercial vessels in the strait's approaches. Trump stated the US Navy stood ready to escort tankers through the strait if necessary. Two Navies The engagement that followed the opening strikes was not a contest between near-peer competitors. The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy together constitute a substantial regional force -- Kilo-class submarines acquired from Russia, a domestic frigate program in the Moudge class that produced several hulls of genuine capability, and an IRGCN fast-boat swarm optimized for contested-strait operations in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. Against a peer or near-peer opponent, the combination of submarine ambush, anti-ship missile salvos, and fast-boat swarming could impose serious costs. Against the United States Navy operating with allied support and full situational awareness under wartime rules of engagement, the equation was different. France and the United Kingdom entered the conflict incrementally. Neither participated in the initial American-Israeli strikes, and the E3 (UK, France, Germany) joint statement of 28 February explicitly disclaimed involvement while condemning Iranian retaliation. The British position shifted when Iranian-made drones struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized American use of British bases for "defensive" operations -- a formulation that covered strikes on Iranian missile launch sites -- and confirmed the deployment of the Type 45 air defense destroyer HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean, along with helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities. Starmer stated that British jets were operating within the conflict zone and that Ukrainian and other specialists would assist Gulf efforts to counter Iranian drone strikes. The authorization also opened Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford for American use. France deployed more visibly. Rafale fighter jets based at Al-Dhafra in Abu Dhabi were activated to protect French bases in the UAE, two of which sustained limited strike damage. French forces shot down drones in self-defense in the opening hours. On 3 March, President Emmanuel Macron announced in a televised address that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, then in the Baltic following a port call at Malmo, Sweden -- where a Russian-linked drone had monitored her presence -- was being redirected to the Eastern Mediterranean, along with her air wing of 20 Rafale M fighters and two E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, and an escort of frigates including FS Languedoc. The transit was estimated at roughly ten days. Macron simultaneously dispatched additional air defense systems and airborne radar aircraft to the region and activated France's defense commitments to Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE -- all of which had come under Iranian missile and drone attack. The Great Persian Turkey Shoot The phrase that attached itself to the resulting naval engagements -- the Great Persian Turkey Shoot -- drew the obvious parallel to the Marianas campaign of June 1944, when American carrier airpower destroyed three Japanese carrier air groups in the Battle of the Philippine Sea with losses so lopsided that American aviators called it the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The parallel is imperfect but instructive. In both cases a force that had been formidable in a previous operational environment -- the Japanese carrier air groups of 1941-42, the Iranian naval doctrine built around pre-conflict harassment and deterrence -- found itself catastrophically mismatched against a prepared adversary operating under conditions that negated its strengths. The Iranians have their own idiom for the result. The Persian -- mesl-e ab khordan, literally "like drinking water" -- describes a task so effortless it requires no more effort than taking a drink. The phrase carried dark resonance among Iranian commentators attempting to describe what had happened to their fleet without characterizing it as a rout. Related expressions captured the same territory: -- se soot, "three whistles," something accomplished in a flash -- and -- fout-e ab boodan, to blow on water, describing total mastery of a task. None of these idioms were intended as self-description. They became one. The operational result reflected structural factors that Iranian naval planners had understood and attempted to compensate for across two decades of force development: the gap in organic airpower, the absence of area air defense capable of protecting surface units against modern anti-ship missiles, and the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint to operations that the Iranian force could threaten but could not ultimately prevent a determined adversary from clearing. The fast-boat swarm remained dangerous in the littoral. Outside it, against a coalition operating under wartime authorities with full intelligence support, the outcome was consistent with what the force correlation had always suggested. Hegseth's summary at the Pentagon briefing was unadorned: the Iranian Navy was "combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 04 March 2026 - Day 1470 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 106 combat clashes. The defense forces continue to stop the Russian enemy, destroy personnel and deplete its combat potential by providing a systematic fire effect. The Russian opponent made one rocket strike with the use of three rockets and 52 aviation strikes - dropped 122 controlled air bombs. In addition, used 6031 kamikaze drones and carried out 2551 shelling of settlements and positions ofUkrainian troops. In the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, Russian forces carried out 91 shelling of the positions ofUkrainian troops and settlements, including one - with the use of the RSV. Completed four air strikes with the use of 11 CAB. In total, there were two clashes in the directions. In the South Slobozhansky direction, the Russian enemy once stormed the positions ofUkrainian units in the area of the Grafskie settlement. There is no record of assault right now. In the kupans komu direction, the Russian enemy attacked three times in the areas of pi anogo, kurylivki and kivsarivki. In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled three Russian attacks in the areas of Stavkiv, Drobisevogo and Zarichny. In the Slavic direction, Russian troops tried five times to advance towards Dronivka, Rai-Oleksandrivka and Riznikivka. In the kramators -komu direction, the Russian aggressor attacked three times in the areas of orikhovo-vasilivka, bondarnogo and nikolaivka. One attack continues. In the Konstantinivka direction, the Russian occupiers today stormed the positions ofUkrainian defenders near the settlements of Konstantinovka, Pleshiyivka, Scherbinivka, Illinivka, Rusin Yar and Sofiyivka 14 times. One Russian assault action is underway. The Russian enemy committed 15 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction. The Russian occupiers tried to advance in the areas of the settlements of Nikanorivka, Rodins .ke, Grishine, Udacne, Muravka, Molodetske and towards the Red Liman. Three Russian attempts to improve their position are still ongoing. According to preliminary estimates, 49 Russian occupants were eliminated and 14 wounded in this direction; four units of vehicles and one artsystem destroyed, seven enemy shelters damaged. Destroyed or suppressed 91 BPLA of different types. In the Oleksandrivsky direction, the Russian occupiers tried to improve their position six times, attacking in the area of Ivanivka, Andriyivka-Klevtsovoy, Novogrigorivka and towards Green Grove, Krasnogirsky and Zlagoda. In the Gulyaipil direction there were 14 attacks of the occupiers: in the area of Gulyaipol, Dobropillya, Zaliznychny and Mirnoy. Two attacks are underway. Russian forces did not carry out attacks in the Orihiv direction. In the Pridniprovsky direction, the Russian enemy attacked towards the Antonivsky Bridge and the island of White Chest. In other directions, no significant changes in the environment have been recorded at this time. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. Units of the Sever Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. Troops of one mechanised brigade of the AFU and three territorial defence brigades have been defeated near Novaya Sech, Miropolye, and Krasnopolye (Sumy region). In Kharkov region, units of two mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one artillery brigade of the AFU, one national guard brigade, one territorial defence brigade, and the Kraken Regiment have been hit near Pechenegi, Tsirkuny, Martovoye, Borshchevaya, Grafskoye, Siminovka, and Aniskino (Kharkov region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 215 troops, one tank, 14 motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. Two electronic warfare stations, three ammunition depots, and six materiel depots were neutralised. The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Five mechanised brigades of the AFU and one national guard brigade were hit close to Staroverovka, Novoosinovo, Samborovka, Grushevka, and Boldyrevka (Kharkov region). The enemy losses amounted to up to 180 troops, one armoured personnel carrier, three armoured fighting vehicles, 16 motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. One electronic warfare station and three ammunition depots have been destroyed. The Yuzhnaya Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front line. The Group's units engaged four mechanised brigades and one mountain assault brigade of the AFU close to Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka, Lipovka, Ray-Aleksandrovka, Kondratovka, Nikiforovka, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy lost more than 135 troops, two armoured personnel carriers, 12 motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station. Nine ammunition, POL, and materiel depots were neutralised. The Tsentr Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, one infantry brigade, one jaeger brigade, two assault regiments of the AFU, two marine brigades, and three national guard brigades near Rayskoye, Zolotoy Kolodez, Dobropolye, Belitskoye, Sergeyevka, Novonikolayevka (Donetsk People's Republic), Vasilyevka, Mezhevaya, and Novopavlovka (Dnepropetrovsk region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 290 troops, two tanks, five armoured fighting vehicles, four field artillery guns, including one U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, 11 motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station. The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defence. Formations of two mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade, two assault brigades, and four assault regiments of the AFU have been hit close to Gavrilovka, Dobropasovo, Gay, Katerinovka (Dnepropetrovsk region), Lyubitskoye, Vozdvizhevka, Kopani, Novoselovka, and Verkhnyaya Tersa (Zaporozhye region). The AFU losses amounted to more than 285 troops, two armoured personnel carriers, two armoured fighting vehicles, 14 motor vehicles, one 155-mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery system, and one electronic warfare station. The Dnepr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade and one mountain assault brigade of the AFU have been hit near Novoandreyevka and Kirovo (Zaporozhye region). Up to 45 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle,19 motor vehicles, three electronic warfare stations, three ammunition depots, and two materiel depots have been neutralised. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, missile troops, and artillery of the Russian groups of forces have inflicted damage on the training and launch sites of long-range attack unmanned aerial vehicles, an ammunition depot, power and transport facilities that provides work to the Ukrainian defence industry, as well as temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 149 areas. Air defence systems shot down nine guided aerial bombs and 204 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation the enemy has lost: 670 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 119,360 unmanned aerial vehicles, 651 anti-aircraft missile systems, 28,014 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,680 MLRS combat vehicles, 33,616 field artillery guns and mortars, 55,826 units of support military vehicles. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address United States Leads Dismantlement of One of the World's Largest Hacker Forums Wednesday, March 4, 2026 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs The Department of Justice announced today the seizure of the LeakBase database, one of the world's largest online forums for cybercriminals to buy and sell stolen data and cybercrime tools. According to an affidavit unsealed on March 3, the LeakBase forum had over 142,000 members and more than 215,000 messages between members. Available on the open web and in English, the forum had an enormous and continuously updated archive of hacked databases including many from high profile attacks, including hundreds of millions of account credentials. LeakBase allowed forum users to sell the information from stolen databases, including data illegally obtained from U.S. corporations and individuals, and offered credit and debit card numbers, banking account and routing information, usernames and associated passwords which could facilitate additional account takeovers, as well as other sensitive business and personally identifiable information. On March 3 and 4, law enforcement agents and officers in 14 countries including the United States took synchronized actions against LeakBase and its users in a coordinated effort hosted by Europol in The Hague. Specifically, the United States and other countries shut down LeakBase, seized its data and two of the domains used by the forum, posted seizure banners on the LeakBase sites, sent prevention messages to LeakBase members, and collected additional evidence. Law enforcement also executed search warrants, arrests, and conducted interviews in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom. "The takedown of this cyber forum disrupts a major international platform that cybercriminals use to obtain and profit from the theft of sensitive personal, banking and account credentials," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "This operation illustrates the strength of the United States and our international partners working across the globe to dismantle a critical cybercriminal forum. The Criminal Division will continue to leverage our international relationships to protect victim personal and account information from falling into the hands of transnational criminal organizations." "This 14-country operation demonstrates the extraordinary cooperation with our international partners," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. "Working with our partners, we can take down even the most sophisticated cyber criminals and networks. My office remains steadfast in our commitment to investigate and seek justice for Americans who are targeted by individuals attempting to hide behind foreign borders." "The FBI, Europol, and law enforcement agencies from around the world executed a takedown of LeakBase, one of the largest online cybercriminal platforms, seizing users' accounts, posts, credit details, private messages, and IP logs for evidentiary purposes," said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI's Cyber Division. "Together with our partners, we are sending a message that no criminal is truly anonymous online and removing an easy point of access to stolen information on American businesses and individuals. The FBI will continue to defend the homeland by dismantling the key services that cybercriminals use to facilitate their attacks." "Hiding behind a screen does not shield cybercriminals from accountability," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. "This international operation demonstrates the strength of our global alliances and our shared commitment to disrupting platforms that facilitate the theft of data and the victimization of innocent people and organizations worldwide. Together, we will continue to identify, dismantle, and hold accountable those who seek to profit from cybercrime, no matter where they operate." The announcement today follows the disruption of predecessor cybercrime marketplaces RaidForums in 2022 and BreachForums in 2023, in addition to the conviction and subsequent sentencing of the founder of BreachForums in 2025. The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office is investigating the case. The FBI San Diego Field Office, Utah Department of Public Safety, and Provo Police Department also participated in the operation domestically. Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brent L. Andrus and Carl D. LeSueur for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, Europol, and numerous law enforcement authorities in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Greece, Kosovo, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom provided significant assistance. CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds. Anyone that has any information regarding LeakBase should contact the FBI at FBI-SU-Leakbase@fbi.gov. Topic: Cybercrime Components: Criminal Division Criminal - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Criminal - Office of International Affairs Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) USAO - Utah Press Release Number: 26-205 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PNP deploys intel units after arrest of Jordanian tied to Bondi attack Philippine News Agency By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan March 4, 2026, 3:35 pm MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) has mobilized its elite intelligence units to dismantle possible terror cells after the arrest of a Jordanian national linked to the suspects in the deadly Bondi Beach shooting. The PNP Intelligence Group is coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to investigate Mohammad Saleh Odeh, 65, arrested in Pagadian City on March 2. "We are leaving no stone unturned in tracing the movements and connections of any terror group in the country," PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement Wednesday. "Our goal is to ensure that any potential threats are neutralized in the soonest possible time; the safety of every Filipino remains our top priority," he added. Odeh was arrested for overstaying and conducting business without a visa. He reportedly obtained a Temporary Residence Visa in 2023 that was valid until March 2025. Investigators found he had links to individuals suspected in the Dec. 14, 2025 attack near Bondi Beach, where father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram opened fire during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people. "We want to clarify his actual connections with the suspects and understand what activities he engaged in while in the Philippines," Nartatez said of Odeh. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Investing in the future of Navy's Anzac-class ships 4 March 2026 Defence is supporting critical maritime capabilities for the Royal Australian Navy by investing $163 million in a new seven-year contract with BAE Systems Australia. The contract will support more than 80 defence industry jobs across Australia and forms part of the Government's $150 billion investment in delivering a secure, sustainable and continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment capability. BAE Systems Australia will be responsible for providing through-life engineering and design to support Navy's Anzac-class vessels. It will work with small-to-medium service providers, including sustainment partner BMT, and will be a single point of contact for Anzac-class engineering work to flow across a broader industrial base. This contract provides long-term certainty of work, allowing defence industry to invest and grow its businesses, providing greater depth, and regional capacity and capability. Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond said this contract would assure the ongoing sustainment of the Anzac-class fleet. "The Anzac-class are the longest-serving surface combatants in the current Australian fleet. For the last 30 years they have deployed around the world and are the backbone of Navy's fleet," he said. "Assured availability and performance of the Anzac-class fleet is essential while the Navy transitions to a larger more lethal fleet of surface combatants." Deputy Secretary of National Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group David Hanley said the Designer Support Contractor was a key element of Defence's national approach to sustaining Navy's surface fleet. "This agreement with BAE Systems Australia is a key building block in Defence's new maritime sustainment approach that ensures the Anzac-class remains safe, capable and available," Mr Hanley said. "By locking in robust design support with BAE, we are underpinning fleet readiness while setting conditions for a seamless transition to our regional maintenance arrangements." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Welcome to the Prime Minister of Canada Speech Transcript Thursday 5 March 2026 Parliament House, Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese The Hon Anthony Albanese MP Prime Minister of Australia Prime Minister Carney, Madame Fox-Carney, it is my great honour and absolute pleasure to welcome you and all the members of your delegation to our Parliament, on behalf of the people of Australia. And I know I speak for every member of this place, when I say we are very much looking forward to your address. It may help you to know that back in 1839, Britain sentenced 58 French-Canadians involved in the rebellion in Quebec, to be transported to New South Wales, and put to work, widening Parramatta Road, which goes through my local electorate in Sydney and past Canada Bay, in the electorate of the Member for Reid. In 1854, it was a Canadian, Henry Ross, who stood in the centre of the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat and raised a new flag. The iconic Southern Cross, a symbol of the miners' struggle for justice. In other words, Prime Minister, Canadian rebels with bold ideas have always been welcome here in Australia. That is because our countries have always recognised something of ourselves in each other. We are two societies enriched by Indigenous cultures and their love and connection to the beauty of our lands and our waters. Commonwealth countries that have forged unique, proud and independent identities. Democracies that did not just adopt the Westminster system - we made it fairer, stronger and our own. Two nations that are at our very best when we look over our wide horizons. When we look out to the world - and bring our values with us, as we engage with it. The first Australian Prime Minister to address a joint sitting of the Canadian Parliament was our great wartime Labor leader, John Curtin. Standing in your House of Commons on the 1st of June, 1944, just five days before Australians would help Canadians take - and hold - Juno Beach, Curtin looked to the future those brave men were fighting for. How to secure a lasting peace, worth the winning. How to build an economy and society worthy of the service, sacrifice and suffering of those who had kept it free. And the role that Australia and Canada had to play in this. Curtin said this: "In a world where none of us is strong enough to stand alone, we shall discover how - and by what means - we can best stand with and for each other" More than eight decades on - even in a new world order - that old test endures. Technology is changing the nature of conflict and heightening the risk - and cost - of escalation. And if ever nations such as ours had the luxury of imagining that distance alone kept us safe, those days are certainly gone. The same Iranian Regime launching indiscriminate attacks on nations across the Middle East orchestrated antisemitic attacks on a synagogue and a small business here in Australia in 2024. For us, as two democracies in an age of polarisation. As two dynamic trading nations in a time of disrupted supply chains. And as two middle powers in an era of strategic competition. Australia and Canada must seek and create new ways to stand with - and for - each other. Prime Minister, for all the comfortable ties of old affection, what makes the friendship between Australia and Canada noteworthy is what we do not share. We do not share a border, a region, a hemisphere, or any market smaller than the global one. Yet this makes the connection between our countries more meaningful, not less. Because our co-operation, our partnership, is a positive choice - not a necessity. When we work together it is on the basis of our shared convictions - not mutual convenience. And when we do, when we stand in solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine. When we work together to seize the economic opportunities of clean energy. When we strengthen our defence industry co-operation, including through Australia's biggest-ever defence export, the world-leading 'Over The Horizon Radar' technology. And when we face-up to the urgent global challenge of climate change. Because we know what it means for our unique environments, for our farmers and growers and producers and for our firefighters, who for decades have travelled between our nations to help each other in the toughest of times, and now face the prospect of their fire seasons overlapping because of climate change. When we act together, we demonstrate to our citizens that government is not a passive institution, it is an instrument for positive change. And what's more, when we send a message to all those nations that look to us - as equals, as peers, as neighbours, and as leaders. That they too have choice, agency and a part to play. Because peace, security and prosperity are not the preserve of the great powers alone. They are our common cause - and our collective responsibility. Prime Minister, Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back. But we can back ourselves, back our citizens - and back each other. And your visit reflects our shared ambition for Australia and Canada to do more together, at a deeper level. To build on our shared strengths, from our resources and critical minerals to defence technology, to the investing power of our superannuation and pension funds. Prime Minister, in this decade, where nearly every single challenge is a global one. The distance between our two nations has never mattered less. And the closeness of our values has never mattered more. Together, let us seize the opportunities that the world holds for us. You are very welcome here in our Parliament today, I thank you for your ongoing friendship and our regular dialogue. You'll be welcome in Australia always. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Air Defenses Add To Evidence Of Russian Oreshnik Missile Deployment In Belarus By Andrei Shauliuha March 04, 2026 A satellite image captured on February 17, 2026, shows the site of the possible Oreshnik missile deployment site in Belarus, at the center, ringed by what appear to be six installations of air defense and electronic warfare equipment. A satellite image captured on February 17, 2026, shows the site of the possible Oreshnik missile deployment site in Belarus, at the center, ringed by what appear to be six installations of air defense and electronic warfare equipment. Several air defense and electronic warfare installations appear to have cropped up around a site in Belarus where Russia may have deployed a nuclear-capable, hypersonic missile system called Oreshnik, recent satellite imagery indicates. An analysis of images captured by Planet Labs on February 17 suggests that six positions that appear to hold equipment designed to protect facilities from aircraft, drones, and missile strikes now ring the former site of the Soviet-era Krychev-6 military airfield near the village of Krychau, close to the Russian border in eastern Belarus. While the imagery does not allow for definitive identification, some of the equipment resembles the Russian Tor-M2 antiaircraft missile system or the Pantsir antiaircraft missile and gun system, while others resemble Krasukha or Moskva-1 electronic warfare systems. One of the positions looks like it may have been fitted with an S-300 missile system. The equipped positions stand within a five-kilometer radius of the Krychau site, where new construction began in August 2025. A previous examination by RFE/RL's Belarus Service of satellite imagery captured between November and February pointed to a possible Oreshnik deployment there. A satellite image from February 17 of a military camp in the central part of the former Krychev-6 military airfield shows six vehicles (top) that may belong to the Oreshnik missile system, as well as a possible S-300 antiaircraft missile system (bottom). A satellite image from February 17 of a military camp in the central part of the former Krychev-6 military airfield shows six vehicles (top) that may belong to the Oreshnik missile system, as well as a possible S-300 antiaircraft missile system (bottom). Russian President Vladimir Putin has boasted about the Oreshnik repeatedly since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarus's southern neighbor, just over four years ago. Russia has targeted Ukraine with the missile -- without a nuclear warhead -- at least twice. Military allies Russia and Belarus have both said the missiles would be deployed in Belarus. On December 30, the defense ministries of the two countries posted video footage that they said showed an Oreshnik system being put on combat duty in Belarus, but they did not reveal the location. 'Political Considerations' Anatoliy Khrapchynskiy, a Ukrainian aviation expert and deputy director of a company that makes radio electronic warfare devices, told RFE/RL the satellite images indicate that a comprehensive air defense network may be being installed around the Krychau site, which would make sense for an Oreshnik deployment. "If Russia deploys an intercontinental ballistic missile or a complex like the Oreshnik, it will...build an air defense system to cover this facility, since it is of strategic importance [to Moscow]," he said, adding that such a network could include long-range systems such as the S-300 and short-range systems like the Pantsir or Tor. "This basically coincides with what we see from the configuration of shadows from the equipment and its location on satellite images," Khrapchynskiy said. A satellite image shows a position equipped with what may be a combat vehicle of a Russian Tor-M2 antiaircraft missile system (pictured in inset), about 3 kilometers from a base where evidence points to an Oreshnik missile deployment in Belarus. A satellite image shows a position equipped with what may be a combat vehicle of a Russian Tor-M2 antiaircraft missile system (pictured in inset), about 3 kilometers from a base where evidence points to an Oreshnik missile deployment in Belarus. "We are talking about a closed military camp with a huge level of protection -- both ground and air. This level of cover is usually provided to really important facilities," he said. With relations between Russia and the West extremely tense amid Moscow's war against Ukraine, Putin and other Russian officials have used references to the Oreshnik as part of threatening messaging and nuclear saber-rattling. Jeffrey Lewis, one of a trio of US researchers who named the Krychau site in late December as a possible location for an Oreshnik system, wrote at the time that a deployment there would "not result in any increase in the reach of the missile system," noting that many areas in Russia and its Kaliningrad exclave are closer to Western capitals. "The decision to base the Oreshnik less than 5 km from the Russian border illustrates the degree to which the deployment reflects political considerations, rather than an effort to seek some specific military advantage," Lewis wrote. Adapted by Steve Gutterman from the original report in Belarusian Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-oreshnik-nuclear- capable-missile-belarus/33693310.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Carney delivers remarks to media in Sydney, Australia Prime Minister of Canada - Mark Carney March 4, 2026 Sydney, Australia Good morning, everyone. I would like to address three points in particular: First, the evolving situation in the Middle East. Second, I'll touch briefly on our meetings in India. And finally, the work ahead here over the next 48 hours in Australia. I want to start by thanking Prime Minister Albanese and the Australian people for the warm welcome and affording us so much time for important discussions. To turn to the situation in the Middle East, Canada has long seen Iran as the principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East. The regime and its proxies have murdered hundreds, including Canadian civilians, and caused untold suffering for millions of people in the Middle East and beyond. Despite more than two decades of negotiations and diplomatic effort, Iran has not dismantled the nuclear program nor halted its enrichment activities. Canada has long supported the imperative of neutralising this grave global threat. Canada stands with the Iranian people in their long and courageous struggle against the regime's oppressive rule. Which is why we support efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and prevent its regime from threatening international peace and security. Because Canada is taking the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish it to be. We do, however, take this position with regret, because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order. Despite decades of United Nations Security Council resolutions, the tireless work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, Iran's nuclear threat remains. And now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting allies, including Canada. So where to from here? With the rapidly spreading conflict and growing threats to civilian life. Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents. We condemn the strikes carried out by Iran on civilians and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East. We implore all parties, including the United States and Israel, to respect the rules of international engagement. Canada calls for a rapid de-escalation of hostilities and is prepared to assist in achieving this goal. Resolution of this crisis will require a commitment to a broader political solution. Diplomatic engagement is essential to avoid a wider and deeper conflict. Innocent civilians must be protected, and all parties must commit to finding enduring agreements to end nuclear proliferation and terrorist extremism. Canada will pursue this approach with like-minded countries and participants in the conflict. Now briefly allow me to return to our work in this region. I just here arrived from Mumbai and New Delhi, where I met with Prime Minister Modi. Together, we are renewing and expanding the relationship between Canada and India. As outlined in our Joint Statement, Canada and India are forging a new strategic partnership in energy, talent, innovation, and artificial intelligence. Foundational to this partnership, it is the new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which we aim to conclude this year. We are working fast and are already seeing strong results. In India, we secured over $5 billion in commercial agreements. Agreements that will deepen cooperation between Canadian and Indian businesses, attract investment into our communities, and help double two-way trade to over $70 billion by 2030. The Government of India and Cameco's $2.6 billion uranium supply agreement will support India's civil nuclear energy program and our shared commitment to clean reliable baseload power. We also launched the Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy, backed by 13 educational partnerships between our leading universities. With this visit, in addition to ministerial and official level meetings, there has been more engagement between the Canadian and the Indian governments over the course of less than the past year than in total over the past two decades. This is a reflection of the world we face today and of the ambitions of both our nations to build and diversify. As we renew our relationship with major global powers, we are tightening our connections with our closest partners. It is that mission that brings us to Australia for the first bilateral visit by a Canadian Prime Minister in this country in almost 20 years. To mark this important moment in the relations between Canada and Australia, I had the honour to accept an invitation to make a speech tomorrow in the Parliament, in Canberra. In the coming two days, we will focus on forging new partnerships in investment, defence, security, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence. Australia is a natural partner for Canada in these areas and many more. Areas that will deliver enormous benefits to both of our peoples. I look forward to today's meetings with business and to meeting with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet tomorrow in Canberra. Thank you very much. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, US should respect each other, pursue peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation: NPC spokesperson Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 04, 2026 03:02 PM The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, held a press conference on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, one day ahead of the opening of its annual session. Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the fourth session of the 14th NPC, briefed the press on the session. A reporter asked at the press conference that in light of the developments in Iran, and the expected visit to China by US President Donald Trump in the near future, "how do you view the future trajectory of China-US relations, particularly given that more meetings between the two leaders are expected to be arranged this year?" Lou said that China believes that as two major countries in the world, China and the US should respect each other, pursue peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. Chinese leader pointed out that China and the US should be partners and friends. This is what history has taught us and what reality needs. "The vision of China and the US helping each other succeed and prospering together is a tangible prospect within reach," Lou said. He noted that in the China-US relation, head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance. Since last year, President Xi and President Trump have maintained regular contact, steering the course for the giant ship of China-US relations and injecting impetus for its steady progress. The bilateral relations have generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, which is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community. Facts show that China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. As long as the two sides faithfully implement the important common understandings reached between the two presidents, act in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, and work to lengthen the list of cooperation and shorten the list of problems, the relationship will be able to move forward steadily, Lou added. China is ready to strengthen communication with the US at all levels and through various channels and create more space for cooperation. At the same time, China has its own principles and red lines and will as always resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, Lou said. Lou also highlighted exchanges between legislative bodies of the two countries. "Last year, the NPC invited a US House of Representatives delegation to China, maintaining dialogue with US senators, and sent an NPC youth delegation to the US. A general feeling among US Congress members was that to meet is better than to look away, and to talk is better than to cut off," Lou said. The NPC is ready to maintain contact and exchanges with the US Congress and contribute to the steady and sound development of China-US relations from the angle of legislatures, Lou noted. We hope that the US Congress will view China and China's development in an objective and rational way, and do more things conducive to the bilateral relationship and friendship between our peoples, Lou concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's top political advisory body starts annual session People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:05, March 04, 2026 BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China's top political advisory body, opened its annual session on Wednesday in Beijing. President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders, including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng, attended the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People. The agenda for the session was reviewed and approved at the meeting. During the session, more than 2,000 political advisors will conduct in-depth consultations and deliberations and contribute their views and suggestions, centering on the decisions and plans of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and focusing on the formulation and implementation of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee at the meeting. Wang reviewed the advisory body's work over the past year. The National Committee of the CPPCC and its Standing Committee regarded the CPC's leadership, the united front and consultative democracy as an integral whole, aligned their work with the central tasks of the Party and country, and fully leveraged their role as a specialized consultative body. Looking ahead to 2026, he urged the political advisors to rally public support, build greater consensus, and pool wisdom and strength for making a strong start in implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan. Stressing the need to uphold the CPC's leadership unswervingly, Wang called on political advisors to deliver high-quality performance in fulfilling their duties to serve the central tasks of the Party and the country. The CPPCC plays vital roles in multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. Its members are drawn from political parties, people's organizations, personages without party affiliation and various sectors of society. A report on the handling of proposals submitted by political advisors since the last session of the CPPCC National Committee in March 2025 was presented at the meeting. The CPPCC National Committee received 5,992 proposals from its members over the past year, of which 5,061 were accepted for processing. The response rate for the accepted proposals stood at 99.9 percent. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on March 4, 2026 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: March 04, 2026 18:19 People's Daily: Could you update us about what the Chinese government has done in protecting the Chinese nationals in Iran and neighboring countries as well as what is planned next? Mao Ning: Since the security situation in Iran turned tense, the Chinese side has made demarches to relevant parties, urging them to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Iran and its neighboring countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese diplomatic missions in relevant countries have issued alerts more than once. They have worked in various ways to call on Chinese citizens in Iran to evacuate as soon as possible and offer them assistance and advise those in neighboring countries to take safety precautions. These Chinese diplomatic missions have been working around the clock to assist with the evacuation. After the strikes began, another 470 or so Chinese citizens have been evacuated by our missions in Iran. Given the severe security situation in Iran, we once again advise Chinese citizens in Iran to take extra safety precautions and leave as soon as possible while keeping the diplomatic missions informed of their latest condition. At present, they can leave the country via the following border crossings: Astara in Azerbaijan, Agarak in Armenia, Van, Agr, and Hakkari in Turkiye, Shalamcheh in Iraq, and Bajgiran in Turkmenistan. Chinese citizens can enter Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkiye visa-free with their passports. They may enter Iraq after applying for an e-visa in advance, and enter Turkmenistan after submitting documents required and obtaining a visa in advance. Working groups from Chinese embassies and consulates in relevant countries are already at these border crossings ready to offer assistance. Their contact information can be found in the consular alerts posted by their respective missions. As some of Iran's neighboring countries affected by the military operations close airspace and suspend international flights, some Chinese citizens' travel plans may have been disrupted. We advise those planning to travel to affected countries and regions near Iran to postpone their trip. For those already there, do take stronger precautions and avoid sensitive zones including military facilities and demonstrations and assemblies. In case of emergency, call the police and contact the Chinese embassies or consulates for assistance. AFP: A question related to Iran also. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said today they control the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas. They say any vessels seeking to pass through the Strait risk damage from missiles or drones. Is China concerned about this new development and are you in contact with the relevant Iranian authorities on this subject? Mao Ning: The Strait of Hormuz and its adjacent waters are an important international trade route for goods and energy. To keep the region secure and stable serves the common interests of the international community. China urges relevant parties to immediately stop military operations, avoid further escalation of the tense situation and prevent regional turmoil from causing greater damage to global economic growth. EFE: According to some international media, Iran has announced the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping with an exception for Chinese and Russian vessels. Can the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirm whether it has received any such notification from Iran? What is China's comment on these reports? Mao Ning: I'm not familiar with what you mentioned. I just shared China's stance. Beijing Daily: We noted that the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland launched the "Group of Friends of Global Governance" (GFGG) in Geneva last week. Can you give us more details? Mao Ning: President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) in September last year, contributing China's wisdom and proposal for building a more just and equitable global governance system. Since its proposal, the GGI has received support from over 150 countries and international organizations. In December last year at the UN Headquarters in New York, China proposed to establish the "Group of Friends of Global Governance," which has been warmly received at the UN. Geneva is an important hub of global governance, home to many UN entities and specialized agencies that address agendas vital to countries' development and people's livelihood. On February 27, China held the launch ceremony of the "Group of Friends of Global Governance" in Geneva. Representatives from nearly 60 countries attended the meeting, including 42 founding members of the GFGG. Parties expressed strong recognition and support for the GGI, commended China's leading role in global governance, and looked forward to the GFGG strengthening communication and coordination and promoting dialogue and cooperation on the Geneva platform. The launch of the GFGG in New York and then in Geneva as well as the positive progress achieved within several months fully demonstrate that the GGI proposed by President Xi Jinping responds to the needs of the world and wishes of the people. As the noble cause of peace and development for humanity is confronted with severe challenges, it is more imperative than ever for us to recommit to the founding mission of the UN, uphold multilateralism, defend international fairness and justice, and work for peace, stability and development. China welcomes the participation of all countries sharing the same vision, and through the launch of the GFGG stands ready to work with the international community to explore pathways for reforming and improving global governance, jointly tackle global challenges and build a community with a shared future for humanity. EFE: According to reports, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to cut all trade ties with Spain after Madrid refused to allow the United States to use Spanish air bases for strikes against Iran. What is China's comment on this? Mao Ning: The U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran violate international law. Trade should not be used as a tool or weapon. Reuters: A follow-up on the situation in Iran. You shared with us the evacuation numbers, but I was wondering how many remain stranded if the Ministry knows. And also in terms of casualties or injured, are there further information about that? Mao Ning: Chinese embassies and consulates in relevant countries are actively assisting Chinese citizens there with their evacuation. We have not received information of further casualties among Chinese citizens to date. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No surprise to see US using AI tech in strikes against Iran, says political advisor who is also cyber security firm executive Global Times By Chen Qingqing Published: Mar 05, 2026 12:51 PM Ahead of the opening of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress on Thursday, Qi Xiangdong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of Chinese cybersecurity firm Qi An Xin Technology Group, said in an interview with the Global Times that it is not surprising that the US used the artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its strike against Iran. He noted that China's AI development is particularly strong and that future development prospects are promising. Media outlets reported that the US and Israel employed AI technologies in the strikes on Iran, which sparked discussions about the military use of AI. Anthropic's AI model, Claude, was reportedly used by the US military in the barrage of strikes as the technology "shortens the kill chain," reported The Guardian on Tuesday. "All advanced technologies, when they were first developed, were initially applied to military purposes. Therefore, it is not surprising that the US made comprehensive use of AI technology in its strike against Iran," Qi told the Global Times. Speaking of China's AI technology, Qi said that the industry has developed very well, and its application scenarios are also performing well, noting that China is now driven by a strategy of building a technology-innovation-powered nation. "I believe our future development prospects are promising," Qi said. Last year, the focus on AI technology was mainly on large models, which were still at a relatively early stage of AI development. This year, however, attention has shifted toward the practical application of AI, Qi said. For large models to integrate into every aspect of social life and empower a wide range of industries, the key lies in the development of intelligent agents, embodied intelligence, and humanoid robots, he noted. "This year, the implementation of AI in the field of embodied intelligence has largely been realized, and the market is gradually reaching maturity. By 2026, it is expected that we will see a wide range of embodied intelligent devices whether wheeled, multi-legged, or in other forms operating both indoors and outdoors, across cities and communities, providing various services for people," Qi said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reports of AI use in US-Israeli attacks on Iran spark discussion; Chinese expert urges caution on AI military applications Global Times By Liang Rui, Leng Shumei and Liu Xuanzun Published: Mar 03, 2026 10:32 PM Media outlets reported that the US and Israel employed AI technologies in the strikes on Iran, which sparked discussions about the military use of AI. A Chinese expert told the Global Times on Tuesday that while AI can assist human operators in warfare, it must not play a decisive role, stressing that decision-making authority must remain firmly in human hands, otherwise AI risks becoming a blunt instrument that could harm the humanity. Anthropic's AI model, Claude, was reportedly used by the US military in the barrage of strikes as the technology "shortens the kill chain," reported The Guardian on Tuesday. According to The Times of Isreal, this is shortly after the US administration claimed that the military would no longer use the tool. In 2024 the San Francisco-based Anthropic deployed its model across the US Department of War and other national security agencies to speed up war planning. Claude became part of a system developed by the war-tech company Palantir with the Pentagon to "dramatically improve intelligence analysis and enable officials in their decision-making processes," reported The Guardian. Apart from the US side, since October 2023, the Israeli military has deployed AI systems at a scale that allegedly has no precedent in the history of urban warfare. The most extensively documented of these is a system called Lavender, reported an American magazine The News Republic on Monday. The Israeli military's bombing campaign in Gaza used this AI-powered database that at one stage identified 37,000 potential targets based on their apparent links to Hamas, according to intelligence sources involved in the war, reported The Guardian in April 2024. The related reports sparked debates on the military applications of AI. The Guardian cited experts as saying that the use of AI tools to enable attacks on Iran heralds a new era of bombing quicker than "the speed of thought," amid fears that human-decision-makers could be sidelined. Liu Wei, Director of the human-machine interaction and cognitive engineering laboratory with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told the Global Times on Tuesday that AI can indeed assist humans in warfare and boost operational efficiency, but it should not be the decisive factor. He noted that, in war, AI's strengths lie in processing massive data, high-speed computing, precise target recognition (such as drone target identification), and sustained operational capability (like the high-intensity deployment of unmanned systems). However, the decisive factor should always be human beings. AI should remain under human control, and given its current limitations, it still requires human oversight, he said. Current AI's data-driven rationality cannot distinguish battlefield deception, ethical gray areas, or shifts in public sentiment. Without human intuition to see through enemy disguises, flexible strategy to set the limits of strikes, and moral principles to restrain lethal impulses, AI risks becoming a blunt weapon harming both sides, Liu further explained. In addition, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, was cited by chinanews.com as saying that what truly warrants vigilance is the fact that the underlying logic of future warfare is undergoing profound change. From the Russia-Ukraine conflict to India-Pakistan aerial clashes, and from Gaza to the Persian Gulf, AI has become deeply embedded in modern warfare. Xiang summarized future warfare as having seven major characteristics: systematization, modularization, intelligentization, miniaturization, precision, unmanned operations, and low cost. At the core lies precision. Breakthroughs in AI's capabilities in positioning, communication, sensing, and identification have made precision strikes increasingly feasible. The report said that the real disruption is taking place beyond the battlefield, as technology companies are emerging as a new type of arms supplier. The application of AI in the military sphere will reshape not only the technological landscape, but also the global order, and potentially the trajectory of human civilization itself, Xiang added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Statement on Agenda item 5(b): Application of safeguards in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea European External Action Service (EEAS) 04.03.2026 Vienna Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna Board of Governors International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna, 2-6 March 2026 Chair, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, and Ukraine. The EU thanks the Director General for the update provided on the DPRK in his opening statement. The EU condemns the DPRK's unlawful and destabilising actions that undermine regional and international peace and security. We urge the DPRK to comply with its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and abandon all its nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, its ballistic missile programmes and its existing nuclear programmes, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. The DPRK cannot and will not have the status of a nuclear weapon state, or any other special status. The DPRK must return to compliance with the NPT and the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, and bring into force an Additional Protocol. We remain alarmed by statements made by Russian officials which consider the DPRK's denuclearisation as a "closed issue". This is irresponsible and inconsistent with Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations, as well as UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself voted for. It is particularly disappointing for a permanent member of the UN Security Council to treat this matter so lightly and expediently. We also remain deeply concerned about the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Treaty between the DPRK and Russia, which includes a reference to cooperation on nuclear energy. We call on Russia to abide by its obligations under the NPT. Any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology from Russia to the DPRK would be another serious violation of relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. We also resolutely condemn Russia's continuing illegal military cooperation with the DPRK. This includes the DPRK's deployment of troops and the transfer of arms to Russia, including ballistic missiles, in direct support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. We call on the DPRK and Russia to immediately cease these activities, which are a flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. Chair, The DPRK's recurring statements that it intends to increase its nuclear arsenal are of deep concern. This is amplified by the DPRK's ongoing nuclear activities, including indications of expanding of undeclared plutonium production and uranium enrichment capacities, as well as the DPRK's repeated ballistic missile launches, conducted in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the most recent of which took place in January. The alleged ongoing development of a nuclear submarine capable of carrying nuclear weapons is deeply troubling. The continued preparedness of the Punggye-Ri testing facilities to support another nuclear test remain deeply troubling. We urge the DPRK to refrain from testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on long-range ballistic missile testing and nuclear tests, and sign and ratify the CTBT without further delay or preconditions. All UN Member States, especially members of the Security Council, must ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. We stress that UN sanctions remain fully in place. Chair, The EU reiterates its call on the DPRK to return to diplomacy with all relevant parties to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and to take steps aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. This includes the IAEA's return to the DPRK. The EU stands ready to support any such efforts. We express our appreciation for the IAEA's monitoring of the DPRK's nuclear activities, and its readiness to engage with the DPRK, including on the issue of nuclear safety. The EU requests the Director General to keep the Board of Governors informed of any developments and to maintain this item on its agenda. Thank you, Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Speech by the President of the Republic on France's nuclear deterrence. Elysee - President of France 2 March 2026 - Check against delivery Prime Minister, Ministers, Ladies and gentlemen, The context in which I stand before you today, at the heart of the Ile Longue base, a cathedral of our sovereignty and a symbol of our country's constant commitment to nuclear deterrence for more than 65 years now, is a solemn one. In a few days, the SSBN Le Temeraire, which you can see in front of you, will take to the sea. It will drop into total stealth and will play its full role, from the depths, as the ultimate guardian of our freedom of action and our independence. We owe all this to the constant commitment of my predecessors and of our military, since the first French nuclear test in 1960, the first operational alert of the strategic air forces in 1964, the first stone laid right here at Ile Longue in 1965, and the first patrol of the SSBN Le Redoutable in January 1972. We also owe it to the expertise of our research centres and our industrial base, and to the professionalism and devotion of the military and civilian personnel who serve our nuclear deterrence, from secret workshops, from the depths of the seas, or from high in the sky. I am grateful to them all. For its deterrence, our nation has made a constant financial, scientific and technological effort that is exceptional in all respects and unparalleled in Europe. Already, three generations of men and women have worked to build, consolidate and optimize this cornerstone of our defence strategy. At a time when our certainties have been shaken, where our adversaries are growing bolder, where alliances face headwinds, France's deterrent must remain a constant. As President of the Republic, elected by direct universal suffrage, I am its guarantor. I have come here to reiterate, with the greatest determination, the commitment of the nation and my own commitment to the continuation of this fundamental mission. Our deterrence is robust and effective. Anyone who would dare to attack France must understand the unbearable cost they would have to incur. But constant does not mean inert. In February 2020, six years ago now, true to the tradition of the Republic, I set out the foundations of our nuclear doctrine and its global role. Things have changed since then. The weight of the last six years is that of decades for France and Europe. And the last few months have had the weight of years. Our competitors have evolved, as have our partners. The world has become a tougher place, as the last hours have shown once again. It is therefore with the greatest solemnity that I have come today to announce before the nation an evolution equal to the challenges faced by France and Europe. We must strengthen our nuclear deterrence against the combination of threats, and we must conceive our deterrence strategy within the depth of the European continent and with full respect for our sovereignty, with the progressive implementation of what I will call "forward deterrence". Yes, we are currently at a geopolitical tipping point fraught with risks. The French people know this, and this period justifies a hardening of our model. Russia is waging a slow and cruel war against neighbouring Ukraine which is, as our national strategic review noted, a major risk for our Europe. The same Russia asserts brutal imperialism and revisionism and, despite already having a vast nuclear arsenal, is constantly developing new weapons. These include hypersonic nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered missiles said to have unlimited range, nuclear torpedoes, and even a project that is particularly dangerous for humanity: nuclear weapons sent into space. China, meanwhile, has begun a vigorous effort to catch up with the United States. It is building more weapons today than any other country. Just recently, it exhibited the latest advances in its nuclear triad. Nobody knows what direct or indirect, nuclear or non-nuclear consequences a conflict might have if it broke out in the Far East or elsewhere, but it would not be without consequences for us. China, like Russia, is developing increasingly sophisticated systems to protect its territory, an approach that is also being embraced by the Americans, with their Golden Dome project. In Asia, the arsenals and strategic forces of other possessor States, like India, Pakistan and North Korea, are growing fast. Moreover, we can no longer consider threats in isolation, as new links have emerged between them. What is the price for North Korea's massive support for Russia's war of aggression? What are the ramifications of the alliance treaty between the two countries? And what about the position of extreme dependency on China that Russia has put itself in? We must take all that into account. That, and the ongoing war in the Middle East, which is bringing and will continue to bring instability and potential conflagrations to our borders - and Iran has nuclear and ballistic capabilities that have not yet been destroyed. I will come back to that in the coming days. As for our American allies, who are themselves modernizing their arsenal, they have played a key role in Europe's defence since 1945, and will continue to do so. We are grateful to them and, in terms of deterrence, they directly contribute to our protection through NATO's nuclear mission. But their recent national security and defence strategies illustrate a reordering of US priorities and are a strong incentive for Europe to address its own security more directly. We must take on board this call to take greater charge of our destiny, and as you know, that is exactly what I have been saying since the first day of my first term. The period we are living in also has another characteristic. In the current atmosphere where norms are falling apart, we are facing both an increased risk that conflicts may cross the nuclear threshold and an intensification of conflict below this threshold. And that has very direct implications for us. The risk of that threshold being crossed is all the greater because, firstly, conflicts involving nuclear-weapon States, possessor States and proliferating States are growing. Have we not seen, just recently, outbreaks of violence involving India, Pakistan, Iran and Israel? Have we not also seen irresponsible behaviour, particularly on the part of Russia, which has tailored its updated doctrine to threaten Ukraine, amid normalization of discourse on nuclear weapons, officials brandishing thoughtless threats, and launches of dual-capability missiles like the Oreshnik, right near European borders? All this represents a major shift, making the risk of crossing the threshold more tangible. At the same time, nuclear powers like France must also get used to the possibility of major conflicts below the nuclear threshold in their immediate environment. In recent months, have we not seen waves of missiles fall on nuclear-weapon States and possessor States? One day, Europe may find itself in a similar position. To manage this type of situation before the nuclear threshold is crossed, specific capabilities are needed: early warning to detect threats, expanded air defences to protect us, and deep strike capabilities to respond and act offensively. That is what mutual support, "shouldering", between capabilities is about. For our nuclear deterrence to be strong, every dimension of our conventional capabilities must be strong. Our defence rests on these two pillars, and I underlined their importance in 2020. But recent years have illustrated the glaring shortfalls of such mutual support between capabilities in Europe. This situation is untenable. And you will see that it is central to my thinking. All this shows, in any case, that nuclear threats are growing and diversifying, that they are increasingly interconnected, that they may be preceded by episodes of intense conflict below the nuclear threshold, and that our potential adversaries are hardening their defences. We must learn lessons from this. In this dangerous and uncertain world, as I have already said several times, you have to be feared if you want to be free. I am convinced of that. Our country possesses exceptional weapons: nuclear weapons, which form the foundation of our security. The chain of command is totally clear, and the final decision lies in the hands of the President of the Republic alone. In these times of uncertainty, and I say this before the nation with determination, as President of the Republic, I will never hesitate to make decisions that are essential to protect our vital interests. If we had to use our arsenal, no State, however powerful, could shield itself from it; and no State, however vast, could recover. Just one of our submarines, like the one behind me, carries firepower equivalent to the sum of all bombs that fell on Europe during the Second World War. That's close to a thousand times the power of the first nuclear bombs. I stand before you today to deliver a speech of asserted strength in the service of peace. And this power, as you know better than anyone, does not come without effort. The continued credibility of this instrument is the fruit of important decisions made in the last decades, which have gained pace in recent years. The three years following the end of the Cold War were a parenthesis in history, during which we enjoyed the weakness of our adversaries and the certainty of empathy on the part of our allies. And so we gradually abandoned the land component of our deterrent, and our arsenal dwindled. Those times, so recent, are already seeming so distant. Since 2017, I made it clear that "peace dividends" were no more. I have worked to ensure the renewal of all our capabilities for the next decades. Our future strategic submarines are being built. Those who have steadfastly ensured a permanent presence at sea since 1972 will therefore see a third generation take to the waters, right here, at Ile Longue. The first steel for the hulls of these new submarines began to be cut a few months ago, in Cherbourg. I would like to congratulate the military, industrial and scientific actors who are working for this success. Very few nations in the world are capable of building such nuclear submarines, which are an unequalled technological prowess, as stealthy as they are effective, capable to strike our potential aggressors anywhere. In the tradition of the christening of our submarines, I today have the unique honour of announcing that the next SSBN under the French flag will be named L'Invincible and will take to the water in 2036. The same rigour has been applied to the overhaul of other areas of deterrence. For several months, we have had a new M51.3 missile on our nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and a new ocean-based nuclear warhead optimized to penetrate all defences. Our strategic air forces and our nuclear naval air forces have modernized their nuclear cruise missile and we have plans to launch a very ambitious strategic supersonic and manoeuvring missile programme that will equip our combat aircraft and the future aircraft carrier in the decade ahead. Our national Tritium programme has been consolidated, ensuring our ability to pursue nuclear weapons production in a completely independent and self-sufficient manner. As you can see, our military reinforcement - initiated nearly ten years ago - is now bearing fruit.. You can see some effects here today and we also will continue our efforts with respect to the conventional component. And yet, the context that I spoke about earlier has led me to a clear conclusion: we cannot be satisfied with the current trajectory. I owe the nation, today and in the future, the absolute assurance that our deterrence will remain credible and that when extreme circumstances arise, it will protect us from any situation of blackmail or capitulation. The evolution of the defences of our competitors, the emergence of regional powers, the possible coordination between adversaries and proliferation risks, all of this, after careful examination, has led me to this conclusion. A strengthening of our arsenal is indispensable. This is not about entering into any kind of arms race. That has never been our doctrine. It would be useless to enter into such a costly race. As I have said, what is essential is that all adversaries and all combinations of adversaries cannot imagine the slightest possibility of striking France without being certain that they would suffer damage that they could not recover from. There is no need to have equal arsenals for that to happen. Our doctrine therefore rejects the idea of flexible nuclear response. French nuclear capabilities are strategic and exclusively strategic because these are weapons of a whole other kind than those that can be used on a battlefield. France, since Francois Mitterrand, has abandoned any notion of tactical use of nuclear weapons and we will not go back on this. Within this deliberate asymmetrical approach, France has always defined the size of its arsenal in strict accordance with the operational effectiveness of our nuclear deterrent. My responsibility is to ensure that our deterrent maintains, and in the future continues to maintain, its power of assured destruction in the dangerous moving environment, beset by proliferation, that I just pointed out. As a consequence, I have decided to increase the number of warheads of our arsenal. To put an end to any speculation, we will no longer release figures on our nuclear arsenal, as we have done in the past. To be free, we must be feared, and to be feared, we must be powerful. This increase in our arsenal is a testament to this. But to be powerful, and this is the second focus of my speech today, we must be more united. And I will now speak of Europe. Our security was never conceived within the sole limits of our territory, in both conventional and nuclear terms. It is a clear geographical fact that exists and that we cannot negotiate. I will also add, today more than ever: independence cannot be solitude. When it comes to nuclear issues, this has been recognized by all of my predecessors without exception. But today, the conditions are now truly in place to draw its tangible consequences. To explain this point, allow me to take the time to dwell upon a central element of our nuclear doctrine, the vital interests of the nation. French nuclear deterrence is intended to deter any State from encroaching on our vital interests. And what are they? We have never laid them out specifically. We have never laid them out, deliberately. Our red lines are not clear. They cannot be. Without a doubt, our interests, although they cover mainland and overseas France, should not merely considered as what is within our national borders. Could we consider that the survival of our closest partners might be put at risk without it affecting our vital interests? Or conversely, that an extreme threat in Europe only concerns us? For these fundamental reasons, successive Presidents have referred to the European dimension of France's vital interests. In February 2020, I reiterated the offer of all my predecessors, since President Francois Mitterrand, of a dialogue with European countries that would wish to develop this dimension with us more deeply. I had even offered to involve these countries in exercises of our deterrent. Six years later, we are in a different strategic universe. We must move into an entirely new stage and articulate for our times the intuition already formulated by General de Gaulle. I believe I am in a position to affirm that our partners now stand ready for this. First of all, last July, we forged closer ties with the United Kingdom, a major partner and independent nuclear power with which, since 1995, we have acknowledged that no situation affects the vital interests of one without those of the other also being affected. We have strengthened our bilateral nuclear cooperation, asserted our joint solidarity with the Europeans, and opened up the possibility of coordinating our respective deterrents. This winter, for the first time since our deterrent has existed, senior British officials attended one of our strategic air forces' exercises. But our ambition must be greater, because it is Europe's security, our security, which is at stake in the future. Contact has been made with a first group of allies, of course starting with our crucial partners, Germany. They responded positively to France's offer. Today, a new step of France's deterrence can now be taken. We are entering the path of what I will call "forward deterrence". I prefer to be clear from the start, there will be no sharing of the ultimate decision, nor of its planification, nor of its conduct. Under our Constitution, the decision to employ nuclear weapons rests solely with the President of the Republic, who is accountable to the French people. Therefore, there will also be no sharing of the definition of our vital interests, which will remain of sovereign assessment for our country. And for this reason, as with other nuclear alliances, including when they have plans and procedures, there will be no guarantee in the strict sense of the term. A rigid guarantee would not be wise. It would lower the nuclear threshold and reduce the uncertainty of our adversaries in equal proportion. With forward deterrence, our doctrine will retain its original foundations: its strictly defensive character, the refusal of any nuclear battle, and the total and deliberate distinction between conventional and nuclear realms. The same holds true for the opportunity of a nuclear warning shot, unique and non-renewable: it will always be decided at France's sole discretion, to demonstrate very clearly that the nature of a conflict has changed and that France intends, through this means, to preserve an ultimate chance to restore deterrence. So France will always assume on her own the responsibility for the deliberate crossing of the nuclear threshold, fully factoring in the interests of our allies. This is a progressive approach. It offers, first of all, the possibility for partners to participate in deterrence exercises. It may also involve signalling, including beyond our strict borders, or conventional participation of allies' forces in our nuclear activities. It will finally involve the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allied countries. In the same way that our strategic submarines dilute naturally in the oceans, guaranteeing a permanent-strike capability, our strategic air forces will also be able to be spread deep into the European continent. This dispersal across European territory, a sort of archipelago of forces, will complicate the calculations of our adversaries and will make this forward deterrence very valuable to us. It will strengthen our defence, while giving it room to operate: it will offer it a new strategic depth, in line with the challenges of European security. It will be, I believe, very valuable to partners who will follow this approach with us, and whose territory will gain a strong link with our deterrence. It has been clear since the beginning, to us and to our partners, that this effort will come as an addition to NATO's nuclear mission. In which, I would like to point out, we do not take part. The forward deterrence we are proposing is a distinct effort which has its own value and is perfectly complementary to NATO's at both strategic and technical level. The work we have started on this project with the Europeans has been done in full transparency with the United States of America and in close coordination with the UK. I would like to thank those allies who have demonstrated their trust by working intensely towards these future partnerships, in compliance with our international obligations, and particularly the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Germany will be a key partner in this most ambitious effort, of course, in the spirit of the Treaty of Aachen. The first steps of cooperation will begin this year and could include visits of strategic sites and joint exercises. Other countries have already agreed to this dialogue, in addition to our British and German partners and friends, whom I have already mentioned: Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark will join it. This is a genuine strategic convergence between our countries, that will give real depth to the defence of our continent. Discussions are also open with several other countries and will be developed the next weeks and months. Mirroring what we have put in place with the UK, exchange bodies at political level will be created with each of these countries in the next few days. This requires joint work on the threat and intelligence, specific means of communication, organization, but also a common understanding of the drivers of escalation and how to respond to them, particularly in the conventional phase. That is also why the approach of forward deterrence, by its very nature, strengthens our protection and that of our partners. In the same way that France creates for Europe's adversaries new strategic dilemmas through forward deterrence, our partners are contributing in exchange to collective security and therefore France's security. That is the very nature of mutual support between nuclear and conventional capabilities. The experience of recent years shows that there are at least three areas where our Europe, if it had to confront an escalation and handle it under the nuclear threshold, would benefit from new collective resources: early warning, meaning the capability to detect and track missiles that could target us, using a combination of satellites and radar systems; control of our airspace with expanded air defence and anti-missile and anti-drone defences; and deep strike capabilities. By joining us in such reciprocal mutual support, partner countries can help strengthen the capabilities of Europe in these three fields. It would be a fair distribution of efforts, and France would clearly benefit from it. Already, projects are moving forward, and we will continue to quicken the pace. First, regarding early warning systems, the JEWEL programme will provide Europeans with the sovereign capabilities to detect missiles targeting them from space. As for air defence, the new generation SAMP/T NG surface-to-air missile system will provide world class performances. Denmark and Ukraine have already announced they are acquiring them. In terms of deep strike capabilities, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, in the framework of our ELSA initiative, will work together on long-range missile projects. This will give new options to conventionally manage escalation, at a time when adversaries are deploying new technologies and weapons. As the partnership grows stronger, other projects and contributions will appear, in a spirit of European sovereignty and complementarity. This is the new layer that I want to add to France's defence, and the new cohesion that it will create for our continent. You can see it for yourselves, it is therefore a major shift that I have chosen to bring about for our deterrence. The context allows me at last to make the words "European dimension", pronounced by nearly all my predecessors, a reality that benefits both our country and our allies. In the troubled times we are living through, it will also be necessary to rethink the rules that govern the security of our continent and of the world. It is a whole framework that must be rebuilt, and Europeans should be able to fully defend their interests. And they will be able to because they will have born their share of the burden, strengthened their strategic independence and taken the major decisions that I have just mentioned. Today, international agreements on arms control are at a loss. Let's look at the situation with clear eyes. Everyone has taken their liberties. The United States put an end to the anti-ballistic missiles treaties. The United States and Russia put an end to the intermediate-range nuclear force treaties, the provisions of which Russia had long violated. The New START Treaty, which governed US and Russian nuclear arsenals, ceased to exist a few weeks ago. Russia deratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, which the United States, meanwhile, had never ratified. A resumption of tests would end an almost 30-year-long moratorium. China, meanwhile, is catching up, and is not taking part in anything. So let's be honest: The field of rules has turned into a field of ruins. And the prevailing animosity does not inspire the confidence required to rebuild the norms of collective security. That is why we are right to harden our position and we made the decisions I have just announced. Unfortunately, such anomy applies not only to those who already have nuclear weapons, but also to those who are seeking to acquire them. The Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will be held in May, to a backdrop heavy with threats, with the concerning advances of the North Korean programme, the Iranian crisis, and the growing attempts of all those who, in Asia, Europe and elsewhere, are seeking alternatives to the security guarantees that they thought they could rely on. That is the spirit of our times. But France does not plan to resign itself. In arms control, our own record is indeed exemplary. And I want to recall that today. We dismantled the land component of our deterrence and our enrichment facilities for military purposes. We ceased our nuclear tests, developed a high-performance simulation system and have always rejected any arms race. The forward deterrence approach that we are proposing is not escalatory, and as it enhances the feeling of security in Europe, it provides significant benefits to prevent potential future risks of proliferation on our continent. But we must change our rationale, first and foremost. Yes, Europeans have become used to their security depending on rules made by others, in other times, and rescinded also, sometimes, unbeknownst to them , often at their expense. Let us be clear, the European security architecture was just that: agreements dating to the Cold War negotiated by others, including when they concerned us, and they were terminated by the very same States that had signed them, with no consultation, even when they were our allies. This era calls for another method. We must rebuild a body of rules - as far as we are concerned, one rooted in our security interests and those of our continent. This will require, first and foremost, an effort that Europeans must undertake on how Europe's stability should be organized. I am inviting our partners to take part in the initial work we have started with the Germans and the British on this matter. The strategic convergence allowed by forward deterrence will help to that effect When our European interests are established, we will be able to go further and open a negotiation framework in order to control certain conventional capabilities and their positioning. This approach must be prepared right away by enhancing our European independence, and tomorrow it must aim for a new security framework in all these areas, particularly between Europeans and Russians, at the very least, and at international level, by aiming to involve the USA and China, including regarding nuclear capabilities, on an equitable basis. Above all, as you will have understood, I want the Europeans to reclaim control of their own destiny. Let's not forget, that being said, that beyond the numbers in the arsenals and security architectures, there is an ethical dimension to what we are talking about. Nuclear weapons inherently inspire terror. The moral questions are not limited to the iron laws of strategy with its disembodied rationale. It is only right that such weapons continue to provoke rational discussions to limit and govern their use, and maintain the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons. This must remain our horizon. It is also right to persistently fight for peaceful uses of atomic energy. That is the very spirit of the NPT. And France is in a good position to promote civil nuclear energy. After all, what other country relies on that energy as we do? Nuclear energy produces 70% of our electricity. It is a low-cost, decarbonized energy that makes our country attractive. That is what makes France the right choice to host a summit in Paris on 10 March to encourage the development of this energy, its uses and its financing. I believe in the virtues of a reliable nuclear energy system, and innovation in the field. I believe in its value to tackle the voracious needs of new technologies. I am determined to help the International Atomic Energy Agency to foster sensitive new technologies, with appropriate regulation. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for me to conclude. I would like you to take a moment to appreciate this place, unique in the world. The operational base of Ile Longue, at the far end of Finistere. Ile Longue, which is truly at the farthest edge of Europe - its western cape and its fortress. I would like you to think about everything it signifies, in all its dimensions. Mass, power and independence. And I would add, strategic solidarity. What you have before your eyes is a valuable heritage of which we are the custodians and that we will continue to perpetuate tenaciously. We will therefore continue to develop the wonderful tool of power, an expression of French engineering, patiently erected since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. Since 2017, I have been firmly committed to the renewal of our strategic forces, and I will pursue this commitment through to the end of this term. France will be strengthened by a modernised, powerful and sovereign nuclear force, calibrated to face up to our threats. While always remaining sovereign, France will also be strengthened by being firmly anchored on the European continent, by the strategic depth it provides, and the strengthening of ties among allies and the new forms of complementarity they make possible. The coming half-century will be an age of nuclear weapons. France, determined, free and confident will fully play its role. It will continue to fortify itself and, for its own benefit, will join up this cape on the Atlantic ocean to the core of Europe. That is my message today, let us be strong, let us be united, let us be free. Long live the Republic, long live France. (Translated from French) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman on France's decision to increase its nuclear arsenal 4 March 2026 17:19 289-04-03-2026 The statement made the other day by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Paris's intention to embark upon a non-transparent expansion of its nuclear arsenal, which in itself constitutes an extremely destabilising development, should be viewed in a broader context. Accompanied by the rhetoric that is hostile towards our country, this step fully aligns with the sharply negative trends that have by now taken shape within NATO activities in the military nuclear sphere conducted under anti-Russia slogans. We note that the United Kingdom earlier announced an approach largely similar to the course now adopted by France, having some time ago also begun a significant expansion of its national nuclear arsenal while reducing its transparency. Moreover, in accordance with US-UK arrangements, London will, in addition to its existing sea-based component, acquire air delivery systems for nuclear weapons and gain access, with US consent, to US nuclear aerial bombs newly deployed in Britain which will further increase the number of warheads that the country could employ in a potential conflict. At the same time, NATO's traditional policy in this sphere excludes disclosure of the quantitative parameters of US nuclear weapons deployed in Europe. Russia is compelled to take into account that, in addition to the United Kingdom, an undeclared number of such weapons is stationed in four other European NATO countries and Turkiye, from where they are capable of striking a broad range of critically important targets on the territory of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the frameworks and capabilities of the nuclear sharing missions within NATO continue to develop relentlessly amid persistent calls from a number of European capitals for more radical measures that include moving US nuclear assets directly up to Russia's borders. Beyond strengthening their national military nuclear capabilities, the United Kingdom and France are working with their allies to shape a certain independent or autonomous European nuclear deterrent capability. Initial, somewhat disingenuous attempts to present this as an alternative to the American nuclear umbrella quickly gave way to recognition of the obvious fact that this concerns the expansion of the European nuclear component within NATO, in addition to the existing practice of nuclear sharing missions based on US nuclear weapons. Thus, there is a substantial reinforcement and expansion of NATO's overall nuclear potential, which, in the event of a direct military conflict with Russia, could be coordinated against our country not only in its European segment but in its entirety, including the US arsenal. To meet these objectives, NATO countries in Europe are establishing cross-cutting coordination mechanisms on nuclear policy issues, including the open transition by the United Kingdom and France to joint planning for the use of nuclear weapons and the conduct of related operations. London's substantive participation in this bilateral format effectively links British-French cooperation with the work of NATO's Nuclear Planning Group, which operates with increasing British involvement but without the direct participation of France, a point Paris has for many years emphasised in asserting the supposed full autonomy of its nuclear capability. These efforts are complemented by agreements concluded by France with a growing circle of its European NATO allies to involve these non-nuclear states in certain advanced or enhanced mechanisms of French nuclear deterrence, envisaging a gradual deepening of such cooperation and essentially reproducing, in many respects, American models of extended nuclear deterrence. Against the backdrop of Germany and potentially other European NATO countries preparing to involve their military personnel and conventional assets in exercises and other activities of the French nuclear forces, Paris also allows for the option of subsequently deploying elements of its nuclear capability on the territory of formally non-nuclear allies. Among other things, this highlights the increasing degree of coordination and interaction among NATO countries in matters relating to potential decisions on the use of nuclear weapons against a common adversary and their implementation. From the standpoint of the security interests of the Russian Federation, it is of fundamental importance that the North Atlantic Alliance traditionally regards our country as such an adversary. This is not only undisguised but is strongly underscored. It is precisely within this framework that the French leadership's recently announced intention to increase its nuclear arsenal, while refusing to disclose the actual scale of these measures, should be understood. We also note that the decisions by London and Paris to expand their nuclear arsenals are intended to be implemented outside international constraints, continuing their long-standing policy of avoiding participation in any nuclear arms control arrangements. As a consequence, the uncontrolled expansion of NATO's military nuclear capabilities requires heightened attention and the most careful consideration in our own military development and planning in a world without the INF Treaty, the New START Treaty and other international agreements whose regimes or legacy were rejected by the United States with the full support of its allies. At the same time, our conviction is strengthening that any potential nuclear arms control arrangements that might be developed in the future with Russia's participation, should appropriate conditions be established, will imperatively require taking into account the factor of NATO's overall nuclear capability. In this context, it should also be noted that the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to be held in April-May this year, will take place against the backdrop of actions by all three Western nuclear-weapon-possessing states that directly provoke a nuclear arms race. Two of them have openly declared their intention to expand their arsenals, while the third, having deliberately freed itself from the constraints of the New START Treaty and having for years refusing to facilitate the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), has indicated its readiness to immediately proceed with expanding its nuclear capability and to resume full-scale nuclear testing at any moment upon the first order of the head of state. No less significant in the context of risks to the NPT regime is the fact that the United Kingdom and France have figured in recently revealed scandalous reports according to which hotheads in their capitals are seriously considering the possibility of transferring elements of nuclear weapons to the ruling clique in Ukraine in a desperate attempt to maintain that country as a viable geopolitical battering ram capable, with comprehensive Western support, of inflicting substantial damage on the security of the Russian Federation. We cannot accept attempts by London and Paris to categorically deny the credibility of this information. In this case, it is appropriate to turn against the United Kingdom and France their own argument previously used against our country: the suspects in question possess the capability, motive and means to commit the identified international legal crime. As for intent, it directly follows from data obtained by Russian intelligence services, the reliability of which there is no reason to doubt. These issues must, of course, be considered with the utmost seriousness during the forthcoming NPT Review Conference. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Macron Says Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier Sent to Mediterranean Sputnik News French President Emmanuel Macron said he had ordered the redeployment of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group to the Mediterranean. On Sunday, the UAE Defense Ministry said that Iran had launched a drone strike on French naval base Camp de la Paix in Abu Dhabi. On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed the attack, but said the strike caused minor material damage. "I have given the order to send the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its strike group to the Mediterranean," Macron said on Tuesday. In addition, France is organizing the repatriation of its citizens from the Middle East, with the first two flights expected to arrive in Paris on Wednesday, Macron noted. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran retaliated by striking Israeli territory and US military bases across the Middle East. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Opening Speech of State Secretary Dr. Geza Andreas von Geyr "20th NATO Conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation" Germany Federal Foreign Office 03.03.2026 - Speech It is my privilege to welcome you here this morning in the Foreign Ministry to this NATO WMD Conference. I am especially glad that I can do this opening, as I was Permanent Representative at NATO until a year ago. As we meet today, we meet at a historic moment for the security of the European continent. It is day four of a heavy war in the Middle East and the Gulf, and it is day 1468 of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. It is for the first time since decades that such substantial wars are going on right at our Eastern and Southern borders. This makes our security in Europe now our very top priority and main concern. In my following few remarks, I would like to link this to the topic of the conference. For my first remark, I would like to start with the situation in the Middle East. It is particularly relevant to you and your line of work: non-proliferation and the fight against weapons of mass destruction. Let us not forget: At the origin of this conflict, which has been smoldering for more than 20 years, lie Iran's nuclear ambitions, in other words: nuclear proliferation. We tried over decades to solve this conflict through diplomacy. In addition, we have adopted extensive sanctions in response to Irans threat to the region and to European and international security through its ballistic missile program, its support for armed groups in the Middle East against Israel and others as well as the regimes brutal repression and human rights violations. We witnessed at the beginning of this year. Ultimately, Iran chose to expand its nuclear activities aggravating the threat to international peace and security. Iran has never removed the grave concerns about its nuclear program, which lacked any civilian plausibility. Our aim was and remains very clear: Iran must never seek, develop or acquire nuclear weapons. And this is in fact the only possible outcome under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). I am sure that now there will be much less of a danger of a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran. We have all followed the developments in the Middle East over the last few days and we condemn the indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks launched by Iran against countries in the region. This happens as we speak - those countries have our full solidarity! And obviously, with Cyprus, an EU Member State has been attacked by a drone. This shows how close this conflict has already come to Europe. My second remark is on Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. As the world is focusing so much on the Middle East, for me, especially today, it is important to be very clear: we are affirming our unwavering support for Ukraine. In defending its territory, integrity and its right to exist, its freedom, sovereignty and independence. We will continue to give you maximum support and put maximum pressure on Russia! My third remark now is on priorities. These times demand clear priorities: In Europe, we must give clear priority to the security of our continent. When the new German Government started, it has put forward three clear goals that we see as crucial for our country: Security, Freedom and Prosperity are our key interests, and I consider them to be the key priorities for our continent as well. They belong together: without security, there is no freedom and prosperity; and without freedom, there is no security. Among these three goals, security now comes first. It is the foundation that enables and protects our freedom and prosperity. For our values do not defend themselves they must be defended. Russia's war against Ukraine demonstrates what we have to defend ourselves against. And so does the war in the Middle East, right at the border of our NATO ally Turkiye. When it comes to the security of Europe, our first priority is to strengthen our deterrence and defense. We need to protect our population, our security, our freedom. What we want to secure are: our way of life, our open societies, the rule of law and our democratic values. We do this first of all with NATO, and even more so by strengthening Europe and the Europeans within NATO. For my country, this means that not only is the German government committed to the 5% goal. We are reforming military service and investing heavily in conventional capabilities in air defense, deep precision strikes and satellite technology. For our security, NATO remains without any doubt number one! Deterrence has become for us Europeans an existential goal again. When we strengthen our defense, we are not preparing for conflict; we are working to prevent it. Yesterday you heard the speech given by French president Macron and the joint statement given by President Macron and German chancellor Merz. Yes, France and Germany have decided to enter closer cooperation in the field of deterrence. I want to be very clear: this is meant in addition to NATOs nuclear deterrence and NATOs nuclear sharing arrangements, to which my country will absolutely continue contributing. And of course, France and Germany will continue to comply fully with the NPT. My fourth remark is on the question: what will this focus on strengthening deterrence mean for our approach to arms control? We must be realistic. The era of treaty-based arms control is more or less over, for now. New START was left without a follow-on agreement. To reflect the new reality of the strategic landscape, China would need to be included. China possesses the world's third-largest nuclear force, and it is rapidly expanding. With growing capability comes growing responsibility in arms control, transparency and risk reduction. The onus is increasingly on China. This is one of the main topics we talk about with China - we have to. US allegations regarding a possible nuclear test by China in 2020 underscore a crucial point: nuclear testing must not be resumed. The NPT has been and continues to be the bedrock of international security. The current situation is underscoring the necessity to even invest more into preserving the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It is one of the most universal and most successful international treaties benefitting us all, wherever we live in this world. Foreign Minister Wadephul is planning to attend the NPT Review Conference where he will highlight our German commitment to the NPT. Among our priorities will be risk reduction and transparency to help avoid inadvertent nuclear escalation, let alone nuclear war. In arms control, we can neither pretend the old world still exists. Nor must we surrender to cynicism. What served our security well for decades must not be thoughtlessly thrown overboard. But we must focus on evaluating arms control against a clear benchmark of its contribution to our security and those of our allies and partners. In doing so, we should also look not only at the risks, but opportunities of new technologies, especially for verification in a world without binding treaties. Dear friends, as we live in extraordinarily demanding and dangerous times, this conference comes at the right time. It is good to have you all here! Let us now turn to listen to the speech of NATO Secretary General Rutte. Thank you! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Germany Federal Foreign Office 04.03.2026 - Press release Foreign Minister Wadephul issued the following statement today (4 March) prior to his departure for the informal meeting of the CBSS in Warsaw: As much as the Gulf region is holding our attention, the greatest security policy challenge for Europe is still Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The Council of the Baltic Sea States today brings together the strongest and clearest supporters of Ukraine. I want to underline that Germany still sees its priority here. At today's meeting of Foreign Ministers in Warsaw, I will discuss with my colleagues how we, as members of the CBSS, can bring our weight to bear. Together, we have understood that Ukraine and the Baltic Sea region remain the focus of our security activity in Europe. The Baltic Sea States in particular have shown how taking action makes all the difference: It is impressive how many resources the Nordic and Baltic States and Poland have made available for Ukraine in the form of military, civilian and humanitarian assistance. Germany, as Ukraine's largest bilateral supporter, pursues the same goal, in close coordination with partners, and we provide defence especially for NATO's eastern flank in Lithuania. Ukraine has just experienced the harshest winter since Russia began its large-scale invasion. Putin's bombing campaign has spread terror and caused massive damage to civilian facilities and energy infrastructure. Ukraine particularly now, in the fifth year of the war, needs our support to continue defending the freedom of its citizens. We will stand by Ukraine's side in its fight for peace and freedom; I once again assured my Ukrainian colleague of this on Monday. This lies at the core of our security policy. We will therefore discuss today how we can further strengthen Ukraine. It is already some time ago now that Putin has switched his country to a wartime economy. And Russia is on a daily basis forcing us into a hybrid conflict in the Baltic Sea region by targeting our critical infrastructure and violating our airspace. The recapture of Ukrainian territory in recent weeks shows how, in the service of his wartime propaganda, Putin is sacrificing more human lives than we can even imagine. Putin must therefore be made to clearly understand that a lasting peace can only be reached through serious negotiations. For this, we above all need greater international pressure on Russia, especially in the form of sanctions. The war against Ukraine would have long since ended if Putin were to stop the fighting and engage in serious negotiation. For us, it is clearer than ever that we must do even more as Europeans, and not only as Baltic Sea States, to help Ukraine. This is also about supporting Ukraine on its path towards the European Union - a path we want to go down together, and one that may in future be Ukraine's most important security guarantee by far. In the short term, we must quickly make available to Ukraine the 90 billion euro that we as the EU have already agreed to provide. We can no longer afford to have this urgently needed assistance delayed through unacceptable obstructionism - which Hungary is currently practicing - because the cost is accruing in actual lives due to a lack of important funding for national defence. This is one of the topics that I intend to discuss with my CBSS colleagues at our meeting today in Warsaw. Because this is not only about helping Ukraine, but also about promoting peace in Europe. The Iranian people have the right to determine their fate Germany - Federal Government Current developments in the Middle East In light of the developments resulting from the Israeli and American military strikes against Iran, the Federal Government remains in close contact with its allies and partners. Germany remains committed to peace and security in the region. Tuesday, 3 March 2026 As Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly emphasised, the Iranian regime has posed a threat for years - to the entire region and beyond. It threatens Israel's existence, is responsible for the terror of Hamas and Hezbollah, and has repeatedly supported international terrorism. Iran's nuclear and missile programmes threaten peace and security. Indiscriminate attacks on direct neighbours and Gulf states are destabilising the entire region. "The Iranian people have the right to determine their fate," said Merz. The USA and Israel have been carrying out massive military strikes against the Iranian regime since 28 February. The Chancellor is in close contact with European partners, the USA and Israel as well as partners in the region. Under the direction of the Chancellor, the National Security Council met regarding the situation in the Middle East on 1 March in Berlin. Terror of the regime must end Federal Chancellor Merz made clear where the Federal Government stands on the Iranian regime: "The mullah regime is a regime of terror that is responsible for the decades-long oppression of the Iranian people," he said in a press statement on 1 March . Germany shares the USA's interest in "stopping the terror of this regime and stopping its dangerous nuclear and ballistic armament". However, the actions by the USA and Israel to use military strikes to end the ongoing conflict, which has been going on for decades, were not without risk. "We do not know what escalation the harsh Iranian counter-attacks will cause in the region," emphasised the Chancellor. The Federal Chancellor expressed the hope that the military actions would be ended as soon as possible. He also emphasised: Germany wants to contribute to a new order of peace and stability in the Middle East -- the Iranians deserve a better future. At the same time, Germany is not involved in the military strikes. Iran called on to cease military strikes Together with France, the United Kingdom and its European partners, the Federal Government has repeatedly called on Iranian leadership to halt its nuclear programme, refrain from military strikes and end the violence against its own population. Germany, France and Great Britain urged Iran to stop its military strikes against Israel and other partners in the region. Germany has also issued joint statements with France and the UK on the situation in the Middle East: E3 Statement on indiscriminate Iranian attacks on countries in the region / E3 Joint Leaders' Statement on Iran . Federal Government supports German citizens in the region The Federal Government supports German holidaymakers and travellers in the region. The crisis team at the Federal Foreign Office is also working intensively on the situation of German citizens in the region. Many people who are currently in the region or have relatives there have questions about the current situation. Answers to the most frequently asked questions are available through the Federal Foreign Office. Clear signal against brutal violence in Iran The EU states, including Germany, have listed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation since a formal resolution on 19 February. This was preceded by protests against the regime by people in Iran at the turn of the year. The regime's response was brutal violence. As a result, the Federal Government strongly advocated within the EU for listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. Germany is in active dialogue with partners Developments in Iran were already a topic during the Federal Chancellor's trip to the Gulf at the beginning of February. In talks in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Chancellor emphasised three points: The Iranian regime's violence against its own population must cease immediately. Iran must stop its military nuclear programme and put an end to its destabilising activities in the region. Sanctions against Iran The EU has already adopted several sanctions packages against Iran due to the human rights situation. The Federal Government has expressly supported and promoted them. Sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear programme are also in effect again - at the initiative of Germany, Great Britain and France. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Statement on Agenda item 5d: Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement and relevant provisions of the United Nations Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran (GOV/2026/8) European External Action Service (EEAS) 04.03.2026 Vienna Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna Board of Governors International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna, 2-6 March 2026 Chair, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino and Ukraine. The European Union follows developments in Iran and the Middle East with utmost concern. The Middle East stands to lose greatly from any drawn-out war. Iran's attacks and violation of sovereignty of a number of countries in the region are inexcusable. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes. We express our solidarity with partners in the region that have been attacked or affected. The EU remains strongly committed to peace, security and stability in the Middle East, and remains in close contact with our partners in the region. We call for maximum restraint, protection of civilians and full respect for international law, including the principles of the United Nations Charter, and international humanitarian law. The EU has always supported diplomatic efforts as the only way conducive to a durable solution to Iran's non-proliferation crisis, which remains a key threat to European, as well as regional and international security. We have always been clear that Iran must never be allowed to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and that it must comply with its legally binding obligations under the NPT. We have repeatedly urged Iran to seriously address the long-lasting concerns of the international community regarding the nature of its nuclear programme. We call for a resumption of negotiations and urge all sides to seek a negotiated solution. The European Union, including through the efforts of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to bring about a lasting negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. Full cooperation by Iran with the IAEA as well as adherence to Iran's legal obligations under the NPT and its Safeguards Agreement are crucial. Ensuring nuclear safety, security and physical protection, and preventing any actions that could further escalate tensions or undermine the global non-proliferation regime is of critical importance. We reiterate our full support for the Agency's professional, independent and impartial work and are grateful that the Agency continues to monitor the situation. The European Union thanks the Director General for his reports and DDG Aparo for the technical briefing. We commend the DG and the Secretariat for their professional, independent and impartial work. The reinstatement of six UNSC resolutions, sanctions and nuclear restrictions as a result of snapback, and as approved by the UNSC last September, require Iran, inter alia, to suspend all its activities related to uranium enrichment, and to discontinue the construction of related facilities. We deplore that Iran has not complied with these obligations as noted in the DG's report, and call all UN member States to fully implement the restrictive measures under the reinstated UNSC resolutions. Despite all diplomatic efforts, Iran's continuously escalating nuclear trajectory over the last six years constitutes an urgent and profound nuclear proliferation crisis in the region. As of June 2025, Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% had further increased to more than 440 kg, and the Agency is unable to exclude further enrichment activities since that date. Iran is the only NPT non-nuclear-weapon State to have produced such a quantity of highly enriched uranium (HEU), for which there is no credible civilian justification. Moreover, the Agency has been unable to verify this material for nine months. As stressed in the DG's report, this is a matter of compliance with the NPT Safeguards Agreement. Iran must urgently address this to allay concerns regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful uses. Chair, The EU is gravely concerned by Iran's serious curtailing of its cooperation with the IAEA. The Director General has reported that the IAEA has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the previously declared inventories of nuclear material in Iran, including low and highly enriched uranium. As clearly indicated by the DG, Iran's implementation of its Safeguards Agreement cannot be suspended under any circumstances. We note that Iran, after numerous delays and initially refusing access, has granted the Agency access to some facilities. However, it is critical and urgent that Iran takes measures to restore confidence and transparency, and provides the IAEA with updated verifiable declarations about the quantity and whereabouts of nuclear material and related activities and allows inspections to resume in all its nuclear facilities, as required by its NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant UNSC Resolutions. As clearly indicated by the Agency, there is no technical reason preventing IAEA inspectors returning to all nuclear facilities. We further call upon Iran to fully implement the legally binding modified Code 3.1, to reapply the Additional Protocol and to ratify it, and to take urgent steps to remedy its non-compliance. This is indispensable to address in a credible and transparent manner our serious doubts about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. The EU reiterates its full support to the IAEA and the Director General in their critical work to uphold the implementation of safeguards, nuclear safety and security and to pursue clarity on Iran's nuclear programme. We urge Iran to facilitate the full and effective implementation of safeguards activities in Iran and to engage with the Agency in addressing, without any further delay, the unresolved safeguards issues in accordance with its NPT Safeguards Agreement. We look forward to continued regular reporting from the Director General. With this, the EU takes note of the report under this agenda item and requests that it be made public. Thank you, Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran: UN experts call for de-escalation and accountability Press releases Special Procedures 04 March 2026 GENEVA -- UN human rights experts* today condemned the unlawful military attacks launched by the United States of America and Israel against Iran. "Unprovoked attacks by the US and Israel launched amid diplomatic negotiations and without authorisation from the Security Council violate the fundamental prohibition on the use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and the duty to peacefully settle disputes under Article 2 of the UN Charter. They also violate the right to life," the experts said. They also expressed serious concern over Iran's retaliatory strikes across the Gulf and broader Middle East, reminding that any use of force in self-defence must meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality. "We cannot pick and choose when international law applies. Unlawful military intervention is not a solution to the nuclear issue, countering alleged terrorism, or the human rights situation in Iran," the experts said. They warned that the strikes are part of a broader pattern of unlawful unilateral actions by the US and Israel destabilising the entire region including by causing the arbitrary displacement of thousands. They also expressed concern about the multiple attacks launched by Israel on Lebanon, in clear and repeated violation of international law and the ceasefire agreement, displacing, injuring and killing civilians. The experts called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and resume diplomatic dialogue, stressing that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of disputes. "These attacks do not strike military abstractions - they strike people," they said. "Civilians are bearing the brunt of this war with their lives, their safety, their environment and their health. In a country that has already lost thousands to violent repression following the nationwide protests that began on 28 December 2025, these attacks deepen an already profound human tragedy." The experts condemned the strike on a girls' primary school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, that has killed over 160 schoolgirls and injured many others. Attacks on other densely populated areas, the Iranian Red Crescent, and numerous other hospitals, including Tehran's Gandhi Hospital and Khatam al-Anbia Hospital, have also been reported. "The targeting of civilians, educational facilities, and medical institutions constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law," they said. "Unlawful military intervention must not be seen as the solution to the grievances of the Iranian people, nor would any future nuclear deal that does not address these wider grievances be mistaken for one," the experts said. "Calls by the US and Israel for Iranians to seize control of their own government are reckless and put countless civilian lives at risk." "Iranian authorities have weaponised Internet restrictions, with connectivity now collapsed to approximately 1 per cent of normal levels. During armed conflict, communications shutdowns isolate ordinary people, preventing them from understanding or documenting what is happening in their own country," they said. The experts reiterated their call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained following the nationwide protests, as well as for disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of all those forcibly disappeared. Reports indicate that conditions inside some Iranian prisons have become critical, with wards being locked, and prisoners facing acute shortages of food and medical care. "Prison conditions, combined with the current telecommunications shutdown, place detainees at a heightened risk of serious human rights violations, with little prospect of outside scrutiny," they said. They expressed serious concern about the potential for a sharp rise in executions and the prosecution of individuals on national security grounds, including espionage charges targeting those perceived as having foreign connections or who have spoken out against the State. The experts called for the immediate cessation of fighting. "Any path forward must be grounded in the rule of law, the will of the Iranian people, and full accountability for the violation of international law, by all parties," they said. "The rights, safety, and voices of the Iranian people must be placed at the centre of efforts to end this crisis, without external interference." *The experts: Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran Cecilia M. Bailliet, Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity Astrid Puentes Riano, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while c... Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1... Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Siobhan Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur ), Grazyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Balde , and Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (Vice-Chair), , and Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Bina D'Costa, member, Working Group of experts on people of African descent Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstic (Vice Chair ), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck , and Haina Lu , Working Group on discrimination against women and girls (Vice Chair , and , Working Group on discrimination against women and girls Reem Alsalem, Special Rapportier on violence against women and girls Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Elizabeth Salmon, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR. Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OIC General Secretariat expresses its denunciation of the attempt to target the Republic of Turkiye with an Iranian ballistic missile Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) 04-03-2026 The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expresses its denunciation of the attempt to target the Republic of Turkiye with a ballistic missile launched from Iran. The General Secretariat affirms its full solidarity with the Republic of Turkiye and stands by its side in protecting its sovereignty and safeguarding its security and stability. The General Secretariat called for an end to any actions that could escalate the situation and destabilise the region, stressing that threatening Member States and their security and stability undermines the foundations of international relations based on good neighbourliness and mutual respect. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's FM accuses Trump of betraying diplomacy with strikes during talks People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 19:33, March 04, 2026 TEHRAN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of betraying both diplomacy and the American people by bombing the negotiating table amid nuclear talks. "When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met," Araghchi said in a post on social media platform X. "The outcome? Bombing the negotiation table out of spite. Mr. Trump betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him," he added. His remarks follow joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran and several other Iranian cities starting Saturday morning, leading to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, some of his family members, top military commanders, and civilians. Iran responded through several waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the region. The attacks came after three rounds of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, with a fourth round scheduled. Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei Wednesday warned in a post on X that some European Union members are risking "being placed on the wrong side of history by appearing complicit in the U.S.-Israeli aggressions and war crimes against the Iranian nation." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spanish PM calls for peace in Iran, rejects Trump's trade threats People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 19:30, March 04, 2026 MADRID, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday called for peace amid the widening conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, and rejected U.S. threats after refusing to allow American bases on Spanish territory to be used in the fighting. Sanchez made the remarks from his official residence at the Palacio de la Moncloa, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to impose a trade embargo on Spain following Madrid's decision. Spain would not yield to "reprisals from anyone," Sanchez said, emphasizing the country's "economic and moral strength." The Spanish government's position was "clear and consistent," he added, stressing respect for international law and opposing military escalation. "No to the breakdown of international law that protects everyone. No to accepting that the world can only solve problems with bombs," Sanchez said, adding that Spain's position can be summarized as "no to war." A conflict with Iran would not bring "a fairer international order" and would instead increase economic uncertainty and push up oil and gas prices, said Sanchez. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US-Israeli aggression left Tehran with no choice but to defend Itself: Pezeshkian Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 7:04 PM President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran has sent a message to regional countries, saying that the massive American-Zionist aggression has forced Iran into a position of total self-defense while respecting the sovereignty of regional nations. The message, distributed via social media, involved a plea for regional solidarity following the illegal US-Israeli aggression. "Dear esteemed leaders of our friendly and neighboring countries, we have strived, with your assistance and through diplomacy, to avoid war," the president stated. Addressing the attacks that began on February 28, he said, "However, the American-Zionist military attack has left us with no choice but to defend ourselves." The president said Iran's retaliatory strikes are not directed at its neighbors, reaffirming his commitment to the territorial integrity of the region. "We respect your sovereignty and still believe that the region's peace must be ensured by the countries of the region," the message stated. It came following protests by several regional nations to Iran's attacks on US assets which are located in their territory. Iran says its attacks are totally in compliance with international law and based on the right to self-defense, which allows the country to attack the aggressors and their interests wherever it can. At least 1,045 people have been confirmed killed in the initial waves of the US-Israeli attacks. The strikes have targeted critical infrastructure, military installations, and residential buildings across Tehran and several major provinces. The aggression has not been limited to Iranian soil, as intensified Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed dozens and injured hundreds more in recent days. Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at the Israeli-occupied territories and American military bases across the region. The latest targets include American radar installations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Jordan, among others. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran warns all Israeli embassies 'legitimate targets' if Lebanon embassy attacked Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 3:34 PM Iran has warned that all Israeli embassies worldwide will be legitimate targets if its diplomatic mission or representatives in Lebanon are hit by the regime. The warning, issued by General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, follows an ultimatum from the Israeli war machine demanding that Iranian representatives leave Lebanon immediately within 24 hours. In a statement, General Shekarchi addressed recent Israeli threats against the Iranian embassy in Lebanon. "Until now, out of respect for the countries of the world, despite our capabilities, we have not taken action against Israeli embassies around the world," General Shekarchi stated. However, he warned that any strike on Iranian diplomatic soil would result in a total shift in that policy. "Should Israel commit such a crime, we will be forced to treat everyone of their embassies across the globe as a legitimate target. This will certainly be carried out, as Iran is determined to bring Israel and the United States to their knees." The threats came against the backdrop of U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran, which began on Saturday with airstrikes assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The following strikes have killed over 1,000 people and damaged civilian infrastructure. In the meantime, Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon have intensified, killing at least 50 people and injuring 350 in the last 48 hours alone. The Lebanese group Hezbollah has launched waves of attacks on Israeli military sites, citing both the defense of Lebanon and the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran has launched massive waves of drone and missile attacks at the Israeli-occupied territories and US assets across West Asia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC pounds bases of anti-Iran terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 2:39 PM The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out a wave of missile and drone strikes against the main bastions and headquarters of the anti-Iran terrorist groups in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The IRGC Public Relations Department said in a statement that three projectiles launched by its missile units successfully pounded the designated targets on Wednesday morning. The statement noted that the strikes destroyed the bases of Komala and other anti-Iran Kurdish militant groups. It, however, did not provide details on any casualties from the attacks. Khalil Sanani, spokesman for the anti-Iran Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) said the Iranian missile strike on its combatants had killed a member of the organization. Sanani said at 11:22 a.m. local time (0822 GMT), Iran launched three projectiles at a PAK camp, which is in an area close to Erbil - the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. "One guard was killed and another three wounded," he added. Three Iranian drones also hit a camp hosting anti-Iran Kurdish terrorists. Tareq al-Haidari, a local official in the Koysinjaq district, said the unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the Azadi camp belonging to the so-called Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). PDKI commander Mohammed Nazif Kader said "drones and missiles" attacked the camp.Anti-Iran Kurdish terrorist groups serving Western and Israeli interests have been designated as terrorist organizations by Iran. For years, these groups have attacked Iranian security forces in Kurdish-majority areas along the western and north-western parts of Iran. Last week, five Kurdish separatist groups, including the PDKI, announced a political coalition to challenge the Islamic establishment in Iran and seek secession of Kurdish areas from the rest of the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC says dismantled US radar in Qatar, attacked destroyer in Indian Ocean Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 1:35 PM Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday announced it had destroyed a strategic US radar system in Qatar and struck an American naval destroyer in the Indian Ocean in a continuation of retaliatory operations. In a statement, the IRGC's public relations office released the satellite imagery showing the destruction of an AN/FPS-132 strategic radar located in the Al Udeid military base in Qatar. The IRGC said the radar, located in Qatar and integrated into a broader missile defense network, was fully destroyed at 3:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday. According to the statement, the northern section of the radar had been hit in previous days but remained operational until a final operation by IRGC naval forces rendered it completely inoperable. The IRGC had earlier targeted two THAAD radar systems in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. In a separate announcement, the IRGC said its naval forces struck a US destroyer that was refueling from an American supply vessel approximately 650 kilometers off Iran's coast in the Indian Ocean. The statement said the vessel was hit by Qadr-380 and Talaeiyeh cruise missiles as part of Operation True Promise 4. The IRGC said the strike caused a large fire on the decks of the two ships, adding that the blaze darkened the sky over the ocean. In another statement, the IRGC further stated that continued US military activity in the region would come at the cost of "the collapse of all military and economic infrastructure" in the area. It also asserted that US allies were urgently seeking to secure additional air defense systems. The IRGC warned that the US military was using civilian facilities in Persian Gulf countries as cover for its offensives, adding that such actions were under close surveillance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran to hold massive public funeral for 'Martyr Leader' Imam Khamenei Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 10:58 AM A major public farewell ceremony is being arranged for the late Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. In a statement earlier on Wednesday, the Islamic Development Coordination Council announced that a three-day public farewell ceremony for the martyred Leader would be held at the Grand Mosalla mosque in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The ceremony was scheduled to start at 10:00 pm local time and continue for three days to allow people to pay their respects to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution. However, the organizers later announced that due to the anticipation of an unprecedented presence of mourners, the farewell ceremony had been postponed. The new date and timing will be announced by the organizers soon. Meanwhile, the mourning gatherings in mosques and roundabouts across the city would continue after evening prayers until the funeral ceremony. In its earlier statement, the council extended its condolences to the Muslim community and called on all segments of Iranian society men and women, young and old, academics, seminary scholars, workers, farmers, teachers, students, and other social groups to participate in the ceremony. It further emphasized that mass attendance would demonstrate national unity, loyalty to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, and steadfastness in the face of external adversaries. In its message, the council described Ayatollah Khamenei as a devoted servant of God who dedicated his life to strengthening "pure Muhammadan Islam," safeguarding Iran's independence and dignity, and reinforcing the Axis of Resistance. Grand Mosalla is a major religious and national venue that has historically hosted significant gatherings and events. The council further confirmed that special programs have been arranged for the three days of mourning. It also stated that arrangements for the funeral procession are currently underway and that further details will be announced once finalized. The council added that it expects the large-scale public presence to send a message beyond Iran's borders, expressing hope to supporters while serving as a warning to adversaries that the path of resistance and justice will continue. Ayatollah Khamenei's residence in Tehran was targeted on Saturday morning, in which many of his family members, including his wife, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, were also martyred. His martyrdom was announced in the wee hours of Sunday morning. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address FM Araghchi: Trump betrayed diplomacy, Americans by attacking Iran Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 10:27 AM Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says US President Donald Trump betrayed both the indirect negotiations with Tehran and the American people by launching unprovoked aggression against Iran. In a post published on social media platform X on Wednesday, Araghchi said, "When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met. The outcome? Bombing the negotiation table out of spite." "Mr. Trump betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him," added the top diplomat. Iran and the US were in the midst of indirect negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program, with Iranian negotiators and the Omani mediators expressing strong hope that an agreement could be reached. On Friday, one day before the Israeli-US aggression against Iran and immediately after the third round of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, Omani diplomats went so far as to say that a new comprehensive agreement was closer than ever. However, on Saturday, Israeli and US armed forces launched a series of attacks against strategic targets across Iran, killing several senior officials. Trump's especial envoy to West Asia Steve Witkoff, head of the US negotiating team, had earlier tried to pave the way for the US aggression on Iran by falsely claiming that it was the Iranian side that had undermined the process. However, a diplomat familiar with the process of the negotiations told MS NOW that Witkoff's claims are completely false and Iranians were open to a fair but comprehensive agreement with the US. "I can categorically state that this is inaccurate," said the diplomat, referring to Witkoff's account. According to the Persian Gulf diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Iranian delegation had told Witkoff during indirect negotiations on Iran's nuclear program that Tehran enriched the uranium after Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear agreement brokered by former President Barack Obama's administration. Scores of Iranian cities have been targeted in the US-Israeli aggression. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was assassinated in the Saturday attack. Since then, Iranian armed forces have swiftly and decisively retaliated against these strikes by launching barrages of missile and drones against Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases in region. Iranian officials have stated that targeting US military bases in the region constitutes "legitimate self-defense." Referring to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, they said that Iran has the legal right to defend itself against "acts of aggression" by the US or the Israeli regime. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CIA planning to arm Kurdish militants to cause unrest in Iran after US failure in war: Report Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 9:55 AM The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intends to arm Kurdish militants in a bid to trigger a civil war in Iran after the United States failed to achieve its goals in the unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic, a report says. The administration of President Donald Trump has been in active talks with Iranian opposition groups and leaders of Kurdish militia factions in Iraq about providing them with military support, the CNN reported on Tuesday, citing multiple unnamed sources. Meanwhile, the American president spoke with the head of the so-called Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri, the report added. The US military commenced an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on Saturday. Israel is also attacking Iran in close coordination with the US. In retaliation, the naval and aerospace units of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched massive missile strikes against US military assets in regional countries and on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories since the weekend. Iran's escalating strikes have already prompted Washington to close its embassies and urge Americans to flee the region. Kurdish armed groups have forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq. Iran has already warned that it will confront with firm response any move by the militant groups from the territory of neighboring countries. The IRGC has been striking Kurdish militant groups. It said on Tuesday that it had targeted the militants with dozens of drones. According to the report, citing two US officials and a third source familiar with the matter, Trump also called Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Sunday to discuss the US military aggression on Iran and how Washington and the militants could work together as the aggression continues. Citing another US official, the report added that the Kurdish militants could help sow chaos in the region in an attempt to stretch Iran's military resources thin. Jen Gavito, a former senior State Department official specializing in West Asia under former President Joe Biden, said that she is concerned about whether the implications of arming the Kurdish militant groups - a historic US regional ally - have been fully considered. "We are already facing a volatile security situation, on both sides of the border. This has the potential to undermine Iraqi sovereignty and essentially empower armed militias with no accountability and with little understanding of what it may set in motion," she stressed. According to another source, the Israeli military has been striking Iranian military and police outposts along the border with Iraq in recent days in an attempt to pave the way for the possible flow of armed Kurdish forces into northwest Iran. An Israeli source told CNN that such strikes are likely to intensify in the coming days. The CIA has a long, complex history of working with Iraqi Kurdish factions dating back decades as part of the US war in Iraq, the report said, adding that the agency currently has an outpost in Iraqi Kurdistan located near the border with Iran. The US also has a consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and US and coalition troops are based there as part of the so-called anti-Daesh campaign. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Witkoff undermined Iran talks by peddling lies to build case for military aggression: Report Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 7:16 AM US President Donald Trump's special envoy to West Asia, Steve Witkoff, undermined the negotiations with Iran by peddling lies to build a case for military aggression, according to a report citing regional diplomats. "In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly, [...], that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60%," Witkoff said Monday in a Fox interview, referring to the uranium's level of enrichment. "And they're aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs, and that was the beginning of their negotiating stance," he claimed. "They were proud of it," Witkoff further claimed. "They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs." However, a Persian Gulf diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks told MS NOW that Witkoff's description of the conversation was false. The Iranians told Witkoff that Iran was willing to give up the enriched uranium as part of a new agreement with Trump, according to the unnamed Persian Gulf diplomat. The Iranians also told Witkoff that Iran enriched the uranium after Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear agreement brokered by the Obama administration. "I can categorically state that this is inaccurate," said the diplomat, referring to Witkoff's account. "He was explaining that all of this material can all go away should we have a deal and Iran can be relieved from sanctions." A second person with knowledge of the talks confirmed that Iranian officials declined to discuss their country's ballistic missiles and the resistance groups with Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and said those issues could be discussed in regional talks. While Iran was engaged in the negotiations, on Saturday, the US and Israel, similar to previous times, started their unprovoked military assault, launching attacks on multiple cities across the country. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei Khamenei was assassinated in the terrorist US-Israeli attacks. Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the criminal aggression by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on the US bases in regional countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No imminent threat, just Israeli agenda: US senators push back on war on Iran Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 6:27 AM Two US senators have rebuked US President Donald Trump's decision to launch an aggression against Iran, saying there has been "no imminent threat" from Tehran and that the war is the agenda of the Israeli regime. The foreign and military policy of the United States must be determined by American people and not Israel's right-wing extremist cabinet led by Benjamin Netanyahu, senior American senator Bernie Sanders says, four days after a US-Israeli coalition began the unprovoked military aggression against Iran. Sanders sounded the warning in a post on X on Tuesday, saying that Netanyahu had so far obtained billions of dollars to flatten the besieged Gaza Strip during his genocidal war against the Palestinian territory which was launched in October 2023. Now that the Israeli prime minister wants a war against Iran, Sanders added, noting that US President Donald Trump fulfilled Netanyahu's wish. "American foreign and military policy must be determined by the American people. Not the right-wing extremist Netanyahu" cabinet, Sanders stressed. Earlier on Tuesday, Marco Rubio, in a closed-door briefing, tried to convince Congress and justify the US aggression on Iran - the so-called "Operation Epic Fury" - as Congress demands answers, but of no avail. In recent days, administration officials have used Iran's peaceful nuclear technology, ballistic missile production, and the false reports that it could soon acquire long-range strike capacity to justify the aggression. However, none of the claimed threats has so far proved to be a direct threat to the US. After the briefing session, Richard Blumenthal, a senior Democrat senator, stressed that there is still no evidence of an imminent threat that would justify an attack on the Islamic Republic. "I will give you my impression, which is that there is still no evidence, none, of an imminent threat that would justify an attack on Iran. No imminent threat to the United States has been set forth to me, but more importantly, to the American people," he emphasized. In retaliation for the unprovoked war of aggression, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Army have launched massive missile strikes against US military assets in regional countries and on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories since the weekend. Iran's escalating strikes have prompted Washington to close its embassies and urge Americans to flee the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kallas Says Iranian Capacity To Target Gulf States 'Unsustainable' By Zoriana Stepanenko March 04, 2026 WARSAW -- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she doubts Iran's capacity to sustain its pace of attacks on countries across the Middle East given its decimated military following the 12-day war last year with Israel and the current US-Israeli campaign launched against it over the weekend. "We have to understand that the Iranian capacities are not endless, especially if also the big friends are not supporting them," she told RFE/RL in an interview conducted in Warsaw on March 4. "Americans have also said that their target is the missile launchers and missile factories, then their capacity to cause harm is also and maybe more limited than they want to show. So this is always also a fight for narratives." Expanding on the answer about Tehran's allies, the former Estonian prime minister was quick to point out that Russia, which has long been seen as a key ally of Tehran, hasn't rushed to aid the Islamic regime. "What we have to see is that when Iran is fighting, they are fighting alone with their proxies. Russia is not supporting them," Kallas added. US President Donald Trump said on March 3 that Iran "is going to be in for a lot of hurt" in the coming days, adding that "the big-scale hitting goes now." Operation Epic Fury, as the mission is called by US military officials, represents the largest US buildup in the Middle East in a generation with over 50,000 US troops and 200 fighter aircraft. According to the US military, 17 Iranian naval vessels have been destroyed and nearly 2,000 targets across Iran hit in the last four days alone. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has estimated that nearly 1,100 Iranian civilians, including 181 children, have been killed in the air strikes. In response, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at US military bases and key commercial sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar -- all American allies -- since the conflict broke out. The European Union, meanwhile, has struggled to keep a unified position on the war. The E3 -- France, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- have indicated they might assist the United States militarily if necessary, while Spain has questioned the legality of the strikes on Iran. When asked about what outcome the EU sees after the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the air strikes, the EU top diplomat was cautiously optimistic that things eventually could improve for the country. "Now the question is, of course, what comes next? Is it possible that there's going to be a democratic Iran? I mean, not necessarily immediately, but still there's opportunities for the people if the repressive regime is weakened," she said. With the EU's foreign ministers set for an online meeting with their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council on March 5, Brussels is likely to have to grapple with more immediate challenges to the bloc such as already soaring energy prices and potential waves of refugees. "There are threats to disruption of supply chains and trade routes, there are also risks for migration pressure that is coming toward us because people will want to flee war. These are all the risks that we have to really take into account," Kallas said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kallas-iran-gulf-states- eu-war-us-israel/33695142.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Administrator, The Wild Card, The Heir: The Clerics Vying For Iran's Top Job By Kian Sharifi March 04, 2026 For the first time in 36 years, Iran finds itself having to pick a new supreme leader. It has happened only once before, in 1989, after the death of the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, paved the way for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to take over. While Khomeini died of natural causes, Khamenei was killed on the first day of a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28. Now the 88-seat Assembly of Experts must convene in secret to select his successor. Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told RFE/RL that whoever emerges will be chosen on a single criterion: political expediency. The Assembly of Experts is today a "rubber-stamp body" and the process will be driven by circumstance rather than grooming, Vatanka argued. Many names over the years have been thrown around as potential successors to Khamenei, but currently three candidates are widely considered to be frontrunners. Mojtaba Khamenei: The Dynasty Pick The 56-year-old second son of the late supreme leader has long been described as the "guardian of the gate." Despite never holding a formal government office, the younger Khamenei has spent two decades at the center of his father's office, the Beyt, coordinating between the clerical establishment and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). He is believed to be backed by the IRGC, and his selection would represent total continuity. Supporters argue his deep intimacy with the security apparatus makes him the only candidate capable of maintaining order during active conflict. However, his elevation risks domestic fury, especially among the core supporters of the Islamic republic. Critics argue a move toward "hereditary rule" betrays the very anti-monarchist roots of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "The optics of having a son succeed his father perhaps resembles the optics of a monarchy," Farzan Sabet, a senior research associate at the Geneva Graduate School, told RFE/RL in 2024. A member of the Assembly of Experts in 2024 insistedthe senior Khamenei had opposed the idea of his son taking over in conversations with the assembly. Furthermore, Khamenei Jr's relatively low clerical rank, Hojatoleslam, remains a point of contention. A news agency affiliated with Iran's seminaries has since 2022 called him an ayatollah, an honorific title reserved for high-ranking clerics. Recent investigations, including a report by Bloomberg publishedin late January, detailed a sprawling and secretive real estate portfolio linked to the younger Khamenei, who has been under US sanctions since 2019. The reports suggest he has successfully maintained and expanded a global network of luxury assets through intermediaries and shell companies. Alireza Arafi: The Safe Bet Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, 67, is the quintessential "man of the system." Currently serving on the three-man Interim Leadership Council, Arafi has climbed every institutional ladder, from heading the global Al-Mustafa University to leading Iran's entire seminary system. He only entered the political fray in 2019 when he was appointed as one of the six clerics on the powerful Guardian Council by Khamenei. Arafi is the safe institutional pick. He holds the necessary clerical credentials and has served as a loyal administrator without being publicly linked to the most violent domestic crackdowns. According to Vatanka, Arafi's rise was no accident. He said Khamenei's willingness to appoint him to sensitive roles "shows that he has a great deal of confidence in his bureaucratic abilities." He described Arafi as a "capable foot soldier" who would likely prioritize the survival of the Islamic republic over personal charisma. Compared to figures like judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who carry what Vatanka calls "too much blood on their hands," Arafi is a clean-record administrator that might have the backing of the IRGC "for the sake of continuity." While Arafi is well-known in religious circles, he is far from a household name for the vast majority of Iranians. He lacks a personal power base and might struggle to command the IRGC's absolute loyalty. Hassan Khomeini: The Wild Card The 53-year-old grandson of the Islamic republic's founder represents the clerical establishment's most potent symbol of "what could have been." A moderate cleric with close ties to the reformist camp, he has long been sidelined by hard-liners. But his name has resurfaced as a potential reconciliatory candidate, especially after President Donald Trump said he would prefer a "more moderate" leader in Tehran. For a clerical system whose legitimacy has been eroding and is facing international isolation, Khomeini offers a pivot. He is associated with reformist circles and has advocated social freedoms and diplomatic de-escalation. But he is deeply disliked by hard-liners, to the point that during a speech in 2022 the heckling got so bad that Khamenei scolded the hecklers when he came on stage after Khomeini. His disqualification in 2016 by the Guardian Council to run for the Assembly of Experts election suggests that for the IRGC to accept him, the Islamic republic would have to be in a state of near-total collapse, viewing him as a last-resort "safety valve" -- a popular phrase among critics of the Islamic republic -- to prevent revolution. 'Save What's Left' Vatanka asserted that the circumstances of any succession would make the mission largely irrelevant from day one. Taking over a country under military attack, with an exhausted population and an economy under severe strain, would force even a committed ideologue toward pragmatism. "Right now is not the time to double down," Vatanka said. "Right now is the time to end this war, regroup, and save what is left of the country." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-successor- candidates-assembly-experts/33695094.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A New Front In Iran War? US Considers Arming Iranian Kurdish Opposition Groups By Frud Bezhan March 04, 2026 The United States is considering arming Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in neighboring Iraq, according to reports, in a move that could open a new front in the war on Iran and risks igniting a civil war in the Middle East country. Several Iranian opposition Kurdish groups are based in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region and have been waging a low-level insurgency against Tehran for years. Some have demanded autonomy within Iran while others are fighting for secession from the Islamic republic. The possibility of the United States supplying weapons to Iranian Kurdish groups and supporting potential cross-border ground attacks in the western part of the country comes as the United States and Israel wage a massive aerial bombardment of Iran. The US aim, experts say, would be to stretch Tehran's military resources, weaken the state's grip on power, and foment an uprising inside Iran, a multiethnic country of some 90 million people. Iran's clerical rulers, despite the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military leaders, have not capitulated or fragmented and maintain control of the country since the joint US-Israeli air campaign began on February 28. "The main goal is to make sure the Islamic republic starts losing control of some areas of the country," said Michael Horowitz, an independent defense expert based in Israel. "The assessment may be that by doing so, other minorities as well as the broader opposition may be inspired. Some elements within the regime who may be tempted to defect or flee may also see this as a sign that they should do so now, before the situation spins fully out of control." Kurds make up around 10 percent of Iran's population and primarily live in the country's west along the border with Iraq. Iran has long been accused of suppressing and discriminating against the country's ethnic minorities, including Kurds. Sascha Bruchmann, a military and security affairs analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said possible ground incursions by Iranian Kurdish groups into western Iran could stretch Tehran's military resources. "If the Kurdish factions were to stage a concerted series of attacks, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] would have to seek reinforcements," said Bruchmann, referring to the elite branch of Iran's armed forces. "However, that would weaken their posture in core cities such as Tehran, Isfahan, or Karaj. It would thus create a dilemma for the regime where to send sparse reinforcements in times when coordination is also more difficult. It is this dilemma and thinning out of forces that is the operational goal." The risks of the United States possibly arming Iranian opposition Kurds groups are considerable, experts say. "Washington could trigger a civil war and the fragmentation of the country, which could have lasting consequences," said Horowitz. Many of these groups were previously armed but have since laid down their weapons. "If they engage in a long-term war against Iran, and the US support disappears, this will prove very dangerous for them," said Horowitz. The United States recently cut support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia that was a key US partner for years in the war against the Islamic State extremist group. Longstanding Disputes In anticipation of a US attack on Iran, five Iranian opposition Kurdish groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan announced a new political coalition last month aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic and ultimately achieving Kurdish autonomy. The new coalition includes the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat), and the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan. The coalition does not include several Kurdish political heavyweights such as the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan. Iran has sporadically conducted military strikes against the exiled Kurdish groups, which Tehran has designated as terrorist organizations and accused them of serving American and Israeli interests. Those attacks could intensify if the United States arms the groups. On March 4, Iran launched rocket attacks at a camp near the border operated by the PAK, the group said, adding that one person was killed and three wounded. A day earlier, drone strikes struck a base run by the PDKI in northern Iraq. Experts say it is unclear if the various Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq can settle their deep differences and have the willingness and ability to fight against the Islamic republic. "There are longstanding disputes, and they need to prove solidarity on the field," said Bruchmann. "It is less about the potential impact of some better or more weapons from the US, but rather the will to fight the Iranian regime decisively and coordinate military attacks among them that will decide whether the Kurds will add a ground element to the US-Israeli air campaign." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us- israel-kurds-iraq/33695118.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lukashenko Calls Treacherous Attack by Israel With US Support on Iran Unacceptable Sputnik News 20260304 MINSK (Sputnik) - The treacherous attack by Israel with the US's support on Iran is unacceptable, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday. "The treacherous attack by Israel with the support of the United States on Iran is ... unacceptable to us. Moreover, as a result of this attack, innocent residents, and above all children, were killed," Lukashenko said at a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Belarus Alireza Sanei. Israel and the United States must realize that conflict in the Middle East can lead to unpredictable events, the president said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Threatens to Launch Ground Operation in Iran Sputnik News 20260304 "I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting boots on the ground" in Iran, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters, referencing a closed-door White House meeting. He voiced consternation about White House officials being at odds over the goals of Operation Epic Fury, "whether it is destroying the nuclear capacity of Iran or simply the missiles or regime change or stopping terrorist activities." Blumenthal urged the Trump administration to have briefings not just for members of Congress, but for the American public as well. The US-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier sparked a wave of nationwide protests in some 50 cities across America, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with thousands of demonstrators chanting "hands off Iran" and "No war" on the Islamic Republic. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Summoning of the Iranian Ambassador to the United Kingdom: FCDO statement Press release The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has today summoned the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Hamish Falconer MP Published 4 March 2026 The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has today summoned the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom. Today, the Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, summoned the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom. His Excellency Seyed Ali Mousavi was summoned in response to Iran's role in recent events across the Middle East. The summons follows escalatory behaviour by the Iranian regime which has attempted to draw the region into a wider conflict - attacking countries who had not attacked them . This presents a clear threat to the security of the region and to the hundreds of thousands of British citizens in the region. Iran must be held accountable for its actions. The UK Government is clear that protecting national security and the lives of British nationals remains our top priority. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China to send special envoy on Middle East mediation; 'red line' on civilian protection must not be crossed: Chinese FM Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 05, 2026 01:13 AM Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday spoke separately in phone talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, saying that China will send its special envoy on the Middle East issue to regional countries to conduct mediation efforts. In the phone conversations with Abdullah, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, reiterated China's principled position on the current situation in Iran, saying that the spillover of the war is not in the interest of any party and that the people of the region would be the only ones to suffer. He said that the red line on protecting civilians in conflicts must not be crossed, non-military targets such as energy, the economy, and people's livelihoods should not be attacked, and the safety of shipping lanes must be maintained. China expressed appreciation for the UAE's peace efforts and also commends the statement by the 50th Extraordinary Meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council that reaffirmed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as the sole path to overcome the current crisis and preserve regional security, Wang said. Besides, China supports the UAE's legitimate demands to safeguard national security and supports regional countries to continue resolving disputes through diplomatic means, Wang said. China will not give up hope for peace and will continue to play a constructive role. China will send its special envoy on the Middle East issue to regional countries to conduct mediation efforts and promote a return to peace and stability. China also hopes that the UAE will continue to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions in UAE, Wang said. In the phone conversations with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Wang said that China does not want to see the Middle East conflict spreading to Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia. Regardless of the reason, indiscriminate use of force is unacceptable, and any attacks on innocent civilians and non-military targets should be condemned, Wang said. China appreciates Saudi Arabia for exercising restraint and insisting on resolving differences through peaceful means. Achieving regional reconciliation is rare and valuable, and should be cherished and further promoted, Wang said. Wang said that China has always been a peacekeeping force and is willing to continue playing a constructive role. China strongly urges all parties to halt military actions and return to dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible to prevent further escalation of tensions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Araghchi warns Turkey, Iraq against border 'terror' activity amid US-Israeil aggression Iran Press TV Thursday, 05 March 2026 6:14 AM Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned about certain "terrorist" activities alongside common borders with Iraq and Turkey amid the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic. In a phone conversation with Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), on Thursday, Araghchi stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation to protect common borders in accordance with bilateral security agreements. The PUK leader, for his part, pointed to the measures taken to improve border security and called for enhanced cooperation to prevent any destabilizing move and maintain security and stability. Talabani also expressed his condolences over the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and all those who lost their lives during the ongoing criminal aggression by the United States and Israeli regime. The US and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country. The attacks led to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei. More than 1,045 civilians, including women and children, as well as military commanders have been so far killed in the aggression. The aggression was launched as Iran and the US had held three rounds of indirect negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat and the Swiss city of Geneva and planned to open technical talks in Vienna, Austria, on March 2. Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the strikes by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases in regional countries. Araghchi's warning came as CNN reported on Tuesday that CIA is planning to arm Kurdish militants to launch a civil war in Iran amid the failure of US to achieve its war aims. Meanwhile, Iranian armed forces have announced several drone and missile operations against positions of terrorist groups hiding in the Iraqi Kurdistan region since the start of the war. Seperately, the Iranian foreign minister and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan discussed the latest developments in the region by phone. Araghchi outlined the Israeli-US crimes in the past five days of savage aggression against Iran and reiterated the Iranian Armed Forces' full preparedness to respond to the enemies' acts of mischief and evil with utmost power. He emphasized that Iran is targeting the military bases of the US and Israeli regime in the region which are used to architect and carry out aggressive operations against the country. Iran's responses to defend itself are in full accordance with the international law, the top Iranian diplomat pointed out. Pointing to certain reports on the terrorist movements in the region, Araghchi stressed the need to promote Tehran-Ankara cooperation to preserve security and stability and confront the sinister plots of the Israeli regime orchestrated against the regional countries. In another phone call on Wednesday, Araghchi discussed the developments in the region and the dangerous consequences of the Israeli-US military aggression with Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. The Iranian foreign minister said the military strikes, which started amid Tehran-Washington indirect negotiations for the second time in nine months, were a "clear sign of the US warmongering and lies" regarding Iran's nuclear program. He underscored that the aggression by the US and Israel has destabilized the entire region and led to far-reaching global consequences, for which the aggressors bear full responsibility. Barzani, for his part, expressed his condolences over the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei and the Iranian citizens during the criminal US-Israeli attacks. He reiterated the Kurdistan Region's commitment to maintain and improve friendly relations with Iran. Araghchi and Barzani also exchanged views about strengthening bilateral cooperation based on the Iran-Iraq security cooperation agreement aimed at protecting borders and preventing any third-party's action that could undermine regional security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US officials warn of challenges posed by Iranian drones Iran Press TV Thursday, 05 March 2026 12:43 AM Trump administration officials have told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill that Iran's Shahed attack drones represent a major challenge and US air defenses would not be able to intercept them all, according to sources in the briefing. The drones, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine acknowledged during the briefing that was held on Tuesday, were posing a bigger problem than anticipated, two sources in the briefing told CNN. They are known to fly low and slow, a feature that makes them more able to evade air defenses than ballistic missiles, the report noted. Another source familiar with the briefing said the officials had made an attempt to downplay concerns about the drones and claimed that Persian Gulf state partners had been stockpiling interceptors. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who attended the session, meanwhile, criticized President Trump's refusal to provide Congress with tenable explanations as to why he has ordered the US military to engage in fresh aggression against the Islamic Republic. "There's no explanation as to what actually prompted the decision to pursue this war of choice, in the absence of any evidence that there was an imminent threat to the United States of America or American interests in the region," he said. Sen. Mark Kelly, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that "we do not have an unlimited supply." "The Iranians do have the ability to make a lot of Shahed drones, ballistic missiles, medium range, short range and they've got a huge stockpile. So, at some point..., this becomes a math problem and how can we resupply air defense munitions. Where are they going to come from?" Kelly asked. House Speaker Mike Johnson also called the US involvement "a dangerous operation." Also on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal published an analysis arguing that Iran's constant firing of drones and missiles had clearly challenged the United States' ability to reach its military objectives in the country and its capability to defend allies and assets in West Asia. The analysis said US military and diplomatic resources in West Asia were under mounting pressure as the Islamic Republic conducted back-to-back waves of drone and missile assaults on the Israeli regime as well as on the assets of the United States in the region. Meanwhile, a report published by a prestigious military website showed that existing air defense systems in the world were practically unable to intercept Iran's Fattah-2 missiles. Military Watch Magazine said the missile, a hypersonic glide vehicle, which has been used against Israeli targets for the first time in the renewed aggression, had created a real challenge for the Israeli regime and the US and their much-boasted anti-missile systems. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched at least 17 waves of strikes against sensitive and strategic Israeli and American targets throughout the region in retaliation for the unprovoked aggression. The Corps has flown hundreds of ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones towards the targets, including locations in the city of Tel Aviv and the holy occupied city of al-Quds as well as American outposts and interests in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. It has also highlighted strikes targeting the US Navy's Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and an American destroyer in the Indian Ocean. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Attacks On Iran Continue As US Senate Blocks Bid To Limit Trump's War Authority By RFE/RL March 05, 2026 US and Israeli forces continued to strike against Iran, while the US Senate rejected a bid that would have limited President Donald Trump's authority to continue military action against the Middle East country without congressional approval. Trump earlier on March 4 said any Iranian officials who seek to assume top positions to replace Iran's fallen leaders "end up dead" and he vowed the United States and Israel will "continue forward" in the joint military campaign against the country. "We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead," Trump told a meeting with technology sector leaders at the White House on March 4. "We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump said. The president vowed no let up with the joint air campaign that has killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many other security, military, and political leaders. Trump said Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly." Trump has said he ordered the attack on Iran to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon but has also said he wants Tehran to cease its ballistic missile program and to end violence against anti-government protesters, thousands of whom were killed in a brutal crackdown in recent weeks. Seeking to counter concerns of American '"boots on the ground" in the war, the White House on March 4 said deployment of US ground troops in Iran is "not part of the plan for this operation at this time." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, meanwhile, said the two allies had made "historic gains" in their war -- about to enter its sixth day -- against Iran. "Israel and the United States have together made historic gains to protect our citizens and the civilized world," Netanyahu spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said in a video message. Bedrosian also claimed the attack on Iran was necessary as Tehran was rebuilding its nuclear weapons program in "new underground bunkers" and that there were signs it planned "to attack Israel and US forces in the region, without providing details. Republicans Oppose Curbs On War Powers The US Senate measure would have required Congress to authorize further strikes, but Republicans largely opposed it, arguing that the president has commander-in-chief authority to direct ongoing operations. Democrats cast the vote as a constitutional test. Chuck Schumer of New York said lawmakers must decide whether to send "sons and daughters into harm's way." Republican leaders defended the president. John Thune of South Dakota said Trump is acting to protect US forces, while Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the resolution unconstitutional. Disruptions In The Region Meanwhile, air travel remained disrupted in the Middle East region as Iran continued to retaliate by firing missiles and drones against Israel and other regional countries that were hosts to American military assets. Many Western countries looked to evacuate thousands of their citizens who have been stranded in the Middle East following the launching by Washington and Tel Aviv of the massive air campaign on February 28. The US State Department said the first chartered flight to evacuate American citizens had left the Middle East on March 5, but it did not provide details. NATO condemned Iran after the Western alliance's systems intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile before it could enter member Turkey's airspace. "NATO stands firmly with all Allies, including [Turkey], as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region," spokeswoman Allison Hart said on March 4. "Our deterrence and defense posture remain strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense," she added. A State Department spokesman said, "Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss recent developments in Iran and throughout the Middle East." "The secretary told the foreign minister that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States," the spokesman said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia early on March 5 said it had intercepted three cruise missiles heading toward the country, long a bitter rival of Iran and host to US military bases. "Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj," the Saudi Defense Ministry posted on X. No casualties or damages were reported in the desert kingdom. Iranian Submarine Sunk Earlier, US defense chief Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. Hegseth called the strike -- which left at least 87 seamen dead with dozens of others injured or missing -- "quiet death." Sri Lankan authorities said 32 Iranian sailors were rescued. Macron Cautions Israel Meanwhile, Israel stepped up its attacks on strongholds of Iran-allied Hezbollah forces in Lebanon after the group launched missiles into northern Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron on March 4 said he urged Netanyahu to refrain from launching a ground offensive in Lebanon. "I reiterated the necessity for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israel and beyond. This escalatory strategy is a grave mistake that puts the entire region at risk," Macron wrote on X. "I also called on the Israeli Prime Minister to preserve the integrity of Lebanese territory and to refrain from launching a ground offensive. It is crucial for the parties to return to the ceasefire agreement," Macron added. Reports indicate that Israeli ground forces have already crossed the border into Lebanon, although details remain unclear. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, RFE/RL correspondent Alex Raufoglu in Washington, Reuters, AFP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war- senate-war-powers-trump-israel/33695704.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRAQ - M. JEAN- NOEL BARROT'S CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ (3 March 2026) France - Ministere de l'Europe et des Affaires etrangeres The Minister spoke to the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani. The Minister expressed France's solidarity with Iraqi Kurdistan in the face of the attacks perpetrated by Iran and affiliated armed groups. The Minister and the President discussed the ongoing regional escalation and the prospects for a solution to the crisis, and agreed to go on coordinating closely. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq won't allow terror groups to cross border into Iran: Security official Iran Press TV Wednesday, 04 March 2026 5:29 PM The Iraqi national security advisor said that the country will not allow any groups based in the Iraqi soil to cross the border into Iran to carry out acts of terror, especially as the Islamic Republic is fighting off the US-Israeli aggression. Qasem al-Araji made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Deputy Chairman of the Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Bagheri. Araji highlighted that Iraq will continue its diplomatic contacts with different parties in order to ease the tensions and ensure the path to diplomacy. He stated that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia' al-Sudani has ordered officials to fully honor the Tehran-Baghdad security agreement, and take necessary measures to stop infiltration of terrorists into Iran. He added that the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has also beefed up the presence of Peshmerga security forces along the border with Iran. For his part, Bagheri said that Iran has notified the littoral states of the Persian Gulf region that it has not and will not attack diplomatic missions, hospitals, oil fields or civilian facilities. He noted that Iranian strikes will only target American bases in West Asia, calling on Iraq to take proper measures in accordance with the bilateral security agreement to stop infiltration of terrorist elements into Iran's soil. The United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran on Saturday morning by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and many high-ranking military commanders. The aggression began while indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington regarding Iran's peaceful nuclear program were ongoing. Iranian Armed Forces, within the framework of their legitimate response, immediately launched forceful missile and drone strikes against US interests in the region, as well as strategic Israeli sites in the occupied lands. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel - M. Jean-Noel Barrot's conversation with his Israeli counterpart (3 March 2026) France - Ministere de l'Europe et des Affaires etrangeres The Minister spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar. The two ministers discussed the ongoing regional escalation. The Minister expressed to his counterpart France's solidarity with the civilians affected by the Iranian attacks. He condemned the firing of rockets and drones against Israel for which Hezbollah has claimed responsibility, and signalled the need for Lebanese infrastructure and civilians to be protected and for Lebanon's territorial integrity to be respected. He signalled the need for de-escalation and a long-term response to the collective security challenges posed by the Iranian regime's policy: the nuclear programme, the ballistic programme and regional destabilization activities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan-Qatar Foreign Ministers' Telephone Talk Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan March 4, 2026 On March 4, commencing at 5:00 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. The overview is as follows: At the outset, Minister MOTEGI stated that he highly appreciates Qatar's diplomatic efforts to mediate conflicts in the Middle East including the current situation surrounding Iran, as well as in other regions around the world. Minister MOTEGI also stated that Japan has been strongly urging Iran to cease actions that destabilize the region, including the development of nuclear weapons and attacks on neighboring countries, and to pursue a diplomatic resolution. Furthermore, Minister MOTEGI noted that Iranian attacks have also targeted diplomatic facilities as well as civilian facilities, including energy facilities, in Qatar and other neighboring countries, resulting in civilian casualties, and that Iran mentioned the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and that civilian vessels have actually been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters. Minister MOTEGI stated that under such circumstances Japan condemns Iran's actions that destabilize the region. In addition, Minister MOTEGI expressed Japan's intention to coordinate and cooperate with Qatar on matters including the early settlement of the situation, ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals in the region including Qatar, and securing the safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Minister Mohammed emphasized the importance of diplomatic resolution through dialogue and expressed his intention to work closely with Japan toward the early settlement of the situation and the peace and stability of the region. He also stated his intention to continue cooperation to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and to support them in leaving Qatar. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto Vladimir Putin received Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto at the Kremlin. March 4, 2026 19:20 The Kremlin, Moscow On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov. On the Hungarian side, the meeting was also attended by Hungary's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia Norbert Konkoly. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Minister, Mr Ambassador, I am very pleased to see you. (Addressing.) You chair the intergovernmental commission on the Hungarian side, and it is working actively. You visit Russia frequently. I am aware of your efforts to maintain the momentum in our relations, despite the well-known challenge, though we will not dwell on that now. Unfortunately, our trade turnover has declined somewhat: last year, I believe, it decreased by 13 percent. Nevertheless, overall, our relations remain stable and are developing positively. I am referring, in particular, to energy policy issues, including hydrocarbons and our flagship project - the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Regarding hydrocarbons, I understand that this must concern you, primarily oil supplies. We see what is happening now in global gas markets, including in European gas markets. We will be happy to discuss all these matters. Whatever depends on us - we have always fulfilled all our obligations - and, of course, we intend and are prepared to continue doing so. Not everything depends on us, but, I reiterate, we have always been reliable suppliers. You are aware of this, and I have noted your public statements on the matter. Just yesterday, I spoke with [Hungary's] Prime Minister Viktor Orban about certain issues. I am really glad to see you. Peter Szijjarto (retranslated): Mr President, colleagues, Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you. I understand that we are going through a very tense time on the international stage. We, Hungarians, are concerned about every war and every conflict. Our country's energy security is of paramount importance, and therefore we do not want to be drawn into war, armed confrontation, or an energy war. As you, Mr President, and you, Mr Minister, know, Ukraine has been blocking supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary for several weeks. The oil shipments have been halted as a result of this political decision. That is why we are interested in ensuring that gas and other hydrocarbon supplies continue reliably and steadily, as they have until now. As you have mentioned, I have come to obtain assurances and confirmation that even in these difficult and conflict-ridden times, the hydrocarbons, natural gas, and oil that Hungary needs will remain available and will continue to be delivered to our country. This is utterly important for Hungary, because access to oil and natural gas allows us to keep utility costs low. This issues is of critical importance for us. If oil and natural gas are not supplied to Hungary, utility prices will go up significantly. Therefore, the Druzhba pipeline and other gas and oil supply routes are crucial to us. The war in Ukraine has now lasted four years. The conflict has also led to the mobilisation of Hungarian citizens. Many are missing, and some have been taken captive. We would therefore like to ask whether you could consider releasing certain Hungarian prisoners of war currently held by Russian forces. Thank you very much for your patience and attention. Vladimir Putin: Mr Minister, during our telephone conversation yesterday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban also raised this issue and asked me to consider releasing Hungarian citizens held by the Russian army. These individuals hold dual citizenship - Ukrainian and Hungarian - and were forcibly conscripted. I have decided to release two individuals. As the Prime Minister requested, you may take them with you on the aircraft in which you arrived and will return to Budapest. Peter Szijjarto (in Russian): Thank you very much. Thank you. <...> NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Expanded meeting of the Interior Ministry Board Vladimir Putin addressed the annual expanded meeting of the Interior Ministry Board. March 4, 2026 14:20 Moscow The meeting agenda focused on the performance of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation and its agencies in 2025 and their priorities for 2026. * * * The President's remarks at the meeting of the Interior Ministry Board President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Kolokoltsev, comrades, During our expanded meeting today, we will review your performance in 2025 and discuss ways to improve the efficiency of Interior Ministry bodies in such key, high-priority areas as combating crime, maintaining public order, ensuring road safety, preventing illegal migration, and several other areas. Overall, objective data shows that you achieved positive results last year. In particular, the crime rate has decreased in all federal districts and 80 regions of the Russian Federation. The number of repeat offences has also decreased. Public order was maintained at a high level during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, as well as such events as the Arctic: Territory of Dialogue international forum, the Russia-Islamic World International Economic Forum, and other large-scale events. I know how much work this involved, and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who organised and carried it out at such a high level. I would like to mention the following priorities of the Interior Ministry for this year. First of all, you must build up efforts to solve crimes, primarily serious and extremely serious offences against the person and property crimes. I would like to emphasise that, regrettably, the number of juvenile crimes increased in 2025, for the first time in years. At the same time, the share of serious and extremely serious crimes in that segment exceeded 40 percent. This situation calls for an appropriate and prompt response. Practice shows that young people are often deliberately involved in criminal activities and recruited into criminal groups. Nearly half of teenagers - 45 percent - have committed crimes as members of organised criminal groups. The criminals who are using teenagers for their own purposes must be identified and held accountable as soon as possible. Last year's amendments to the Criminal Code were designed to protect children from becoming entangled in subversive or terrorist activities, among other things. Inciting and masterminding these crimes, as well as encouraging teenagers to commit them, will now be punishable with up to a life sentence. Incidents involving aggressive behaviour by teenagers in schools, colleges and public spaces are also a matter of special concern. The Interior Ministry must work with other law enforcement agencies to substantially increase its focus on anticipating and preventing these crimes. Of course, it is essential that teenagers experiencing challenges in their families take part in the volunteer movement, practice sports, and work for youth associations. We must do everything to enable these youngsters to avoid tragic mistakes, find their place in life, overcome the challenges they face and fulfil the talents and abilities they all have. This is a national cause, of course. It goes without saying that all government agencies must contribute to these efforts, including municipal, regional and federal bodies, without diminishing the Interior Ministry's role. Fighting extremism also calls for integrated, system-wide, advanced efforts, which must also be smart and agile. Unfortunately, over the past year, the number of extremism-related crimes increased. The Interior Ministry must be firm in eradicating Russophobia, xenophobia and religious strife in all their manifestations, while also stepping up its preventive efforts in order to promptly identify and expose those seeking to destabilise Russia and its society. In September 2026, the State Duma and regional legislative assemblies will hold their elections. This will be the first time our historical territories - Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions - will elect their federal MPs. It is essential that we create the necessary conditions so that people can vote in freedom and security. We must pay close attention to fighting cybercrime. Last year, the total number of these crimes decreased, including those targeting the most vulnerable social group, i.e., elderly people and retirees. There is no doubt that this resulted, among other factors, from systemic awareness and prevention campaigns by the Interior Ministry, as well as other dedicated services and law enforcement agencies. Let me add that stepping up efforts to help victims recover their losses is also important. This is a very sensitive and urgent matter for those who lose their savings and fall into debt. Traffic police are now facing increased demands. In 2025, we managed to improve road safety and reduce child road traffic injuries, albeit marginally. Here, I would like to acknowledge the extensive collaborative efforts of traffic police officers, regional and municipal authorities, and representatives of the road and transport sectors, and the construction industry. We must continue to act decisively in this direction. The key benchmark is the Strategy for Improving Road Safety until 2030, with a perspective extending to 2036, which was approved in November last year. Comrades, A pressing task for the Interior Ministry is combating economic crime. You have ample experience and expertise in this area, and intensive work is underway. It is essential to consistently uncover and solve such crimes, including those in the defence industry and other sectors of strategic importance to Russia's security and sovereignty. Special attention must be paid to national projects and programmes aimed at improving the lives of our citizens. Funds allocated for these purposes must be safeguarded against embezzlement, misuse and, even more so, transfer abroad, which, unfortunately, still occurs. It is also necessary to ensure the further decriminalisation of the consumer market, working alongside colleagues from the Government, federal agencies and regions to "whiten" the economy as a whole. This is one of the most critical tasks facing the Government today, and I strongly urge you to take an active part in it. At the same time, actions must be taken in a way that does not create barriers for law-abiding businesses. On the contrary, it is important to enhance the competitiveness of the national jurisdiction and business environment. As for the national jurisdiction, it is imperative to improve both its quality and prestige. And, of course, as always, we must respond firmly to corrupt practices in any form. The fight against illegal migration must be elevated to a new level. The establishment of a migration service within the Interior Ministry should significantly boost this effort. Naturally, we understand that work in this area has been ongoing, but recently, the very status of this service and the decisions taken here should - and, in my opinion, already do - yield tangible results, as should the State Migration Policy Concept adopted last autumn. The fight against drug trafficking must become more decisive and uncompromising. As of March 1 this year, criminal liability has been introduced for the promotion of narcotics. Those who seek profit from this destructive activity and endanger the lives and health of our younger generation must clearly understand that they will now face far more serious consequences. The Interior Ministry, jointly with other relevant bodies, must establish effective and consistent law enforcement practices in this area. Colleagues, The tasks I have mentioned demand the utmost dedication from every employee. They require sustained daily effort and, at times, involve considerable risk. We are also fully aware that the significant personnel shortage remains a serious challenge for the Interior Ministry. This issue requires comprehensive solutions. Among them is the need to improve the financial and social protections of our employees, a measure that everyone considers essential. A number of decisions have already been taken in this regard, and they will be implemented as early as this year. I will not go into specifics, but it is clear to everyone present here that salary levels are a primary focus. One of the key options for bolstering the workforce is the recruitment of veterans of the special military operation. Their combat experience, resilience, and mental and physical endurance can substantially reinforce the Interior Ministry's ranks. I urge you to actively consider such candidates for current vacancies. In closing, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Ministry's personnel for their dedication and integrity in fulfilling their duties. I extend special thanks to those who bravely serve as part of the special military operation and who, in cooperation with other security agencies, state authorities, and local government bodies, help maintain public order and uphold the rule of law in Donbass, Novorossiya, and border territories. In challenging conditions, they ensure the safety and rights of citizens. Their courage, professionalism, and principled conduct boost public trust in the state and in the law. I am confident that the Interior Ministry's personnel will continue to serve with responsibility and honour. I rely on your professionalism and commitment, and I wish you continued success. Thank you for your service. <...> Vladimir Putin: Comrades, Addressing the tasks entrusted to the bodies of the Interior Ministry has always been of critical importance for any country - across all areas, at all times. For our country, for Russia today, with its vast diversity and in light of everything unfolding beyond our borders, this work is doubly - even triply - significant. It takes on special national importance. In certain areas, the nature and intensity of your work are comparable to the events taking place on the frontline. Mr Kolokoltsev mentioned at the beginning of his report here that the situation was different during the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Moscow has become larger, while the number of people fulfilling the tasks set before the ministry has decreased, but what amazing people they are! Thank you for your service, and all the best. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Exclusive: Kremlin Office Plants Prove Putin's Absence As Iran War Heats Up By Andrei Soshnikov, Svetlana Osipova, Anton Bayev and Systema March 04, 2026 The Kremlin footage seemed calculated to suggest that while the United States and Israel were bombarding longtime Russian partner country Iran, it was business as usual for President Vladimir Putin. On March 2-3, Putin's administration published videos showing him meeting with officials far removed from international affairs: the governor of the Amur region, in Russia's Far East, and the head of the federal treasury. As usual, state TV channels dutifully ran reports and showed footage from the meetings, in each case telling viewers that the meeting took place "today." In fact, though, both meetings were recorded at some earlier date, Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, has found. The giveaway? The plants in Putin's office in the Kremlin. Last month, Systema determinedthat meetings the Kremlin and state TV indicated occurred in his office from February 9-17 had actually been recorded earlier. The main piece of evidence was an aglaonema plant, also known as a Chinese evergreen, seen behind Putin in official footage and images. Over the autumn and into early February, the plant grew thicker and some of its leaves yellowed noticeably -- but in footage presented as fresh beginning February 9, the growth and decay appeared to have reversed themselves, with the yellowed leaves green once again. After Systema published a reporton the developments, which suggested Putin had not appeared on camera for 11 days, the Kremlin replaced the plant, as well as one in the other corner behind Putin's desk. In footage published on February 25 of a meeting with conductor and Bolshoi Theater Director Valery Gergiyev that the Kremlin said took place the previous evening, entirely different aglaonemas can be seen. However, in the meetings Putin purportedly held on March 2-3, the older plant is back, clearly indicating the footage was shot at an earlier date. According to the Kremlin, Putin held phone calls with three Middle Eastern leaders on March 2 -- Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the king of Bahrain, and the emir of Qatar -- and with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on March 3. But by airing footage of meetings with domestic officials and claiming they took place on those days, the Kremlin may have been seeking to show Russians that Putin's mind is on his own country and that the situation surrounding Iran is not a major source of concern. The US-Israeli campaign against Iran, which has closer ties with Russia than any other country in the Middle East, threatens to further curtail Moscow's regional influence following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. It comes after the United States captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, also an ally of the Kremlin, and amid signs that Washington could intervene in Cuba, as well. At the same time, analysts say Putin is wary of antagonizing the United States for fear it could increase pressure on Moscow and diminish its chances of achieving its goals in its war against Ukraine, which is the Kremlin's main priority. Investigations by Systema have revealed that prevaricating about the timing of Putin's meetings is a common practice for the Kremlin. The arrangement of books in a cabinetbehind Putin's desk showed that by May, the Kremlin had passed off old footage as new at least five times in 2025, and Systema found evidence that it continued to do so later in the year. Separately, Systema determined that the Kremlin has repeatedly misled the public about the location of Putin, who for several years has used three nearly identical officesin different parts of the country. Adapted from the original Systema report in Russian by Steve Gutterman Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-canned-footage- kremlin-machinations/33695144.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a media question regarding the attack on the Russian gas tanker Arctic Metagaz 4 March 2026 19:35 291-04-03-2026 Question: On March 3, a Russian vessel, the gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, was attacked in the Mediterranean Sea. What is the fate of its crew, and what measures is the Russian side taking in this situation? Maria Zakharova: The Russian Foreign Ministry and its overseas missions, in coordination with the relevant authorities, have joined the operation to rescue the crew members of the Russian gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, which was attacked in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the information available to us, all 30 crew members have been rescued and are safe. Two individuals who sustained burns are receiving medical assistance in cooperation with the coastal state. Russian diplomatic missions in the region continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to provide the necessary support to Russian citizens. As stated by the Russian Ministry of Transport, the attack on the tanker was carried out by Ukrainian unmanned boats. Such actions - if confirmed - constitute an act of terrorism, a blatant violation of international law, and pose a direct threat to maritime security. Given that the vessel in question was a gas carrier transporting cargo, the consequences of this attack also entail colossal environmental damage. We reserve the right to take political and diplomatic measures in response to this incident, including in light of the threat to international peace and security posed by such actions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine is Preparing to Undermine 'Turkish Stream' and 'Blue Stream' - Putin Sputnik News 20260304 The Russian special services have intelligence data on preparations for blowing up the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream pipelines, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The threats to blow up the pipelines under the Black Sea are 'very dangerous game' on Ukraine's part, Putin emphasized. Russia has informed Turkiye about Ukraine's preparations to undermine the Blue Stream and the Turkish Stream pipelines, he added. Other statements by the Russian president: *The attack on Russian LNG tanker in the Mediterranean Sea is a terrorist attack *The situation in the Middle East affects the cost of energy resources worldwide *The situation with rising gas prices in the EU is the result of a misguided policy of European authorities over many years *The surge in gas prices on the European market is not directly related to supplies - no one has reduced them, and is caused by the overall situation on world markets *The rise in oil prices is linked, among other things, to restrictions on Russian oil * Europe's policy on energy resources has nothing to do with the interests of the peoples of these countries *Russia is considering stopping gas supplies to European markets now, and not in a month, as the EU wants, and to move to more promising markets *American energy companies will move to those markets where there is more demand, this is dictated solely by business interests Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Will Honor All Energy Deals With Hungary - Putin Sputnik News 20260304 Russia has always fulfilled and is ready to fulfill all its obligations to Hungary regarding energy supplies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "And everything that depends on us - we have always fulfilled our obligations and, of course, we intend and are ready to continue doing so. Not everything depends on us, but I repeat, we have always been reliable suppliers of energy resources," Putin said during a meeting with Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto. Relations between Russia and Hungary are stable and developing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "Overall, relations are stable and developing in a positive direction, I mean energy policy issues, including hydrocarbons, and our flagship project - the Paks nuclear power plant," Putin said during a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Trade between the two countries fell by 13% last year, the Russian president added. "We are aware of your efforts to maintain the momentum of our relations, despite the known difficulties," Putin also said. Additionally, Putin announced the decision to release two Hungarian citizens who had been forcibly conscripted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, offering a further sign of cooperation and diplomatic engagement between the two countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nuclear Deterrence Remains Cornerstone of Global Security - Kremlin Sputnik News 20260304 The negotiations on strategic stability should include the participation of Europe's nuclear powers, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Indeed, nuclear deterrence remains the cornerstone of global security. This is very important," Peskov told reporters, commenting on the issue of nuclear deterrence. His other statements: European countries have not asked Russia to resume or increase energy supplies in light of Iran escalation Hungary and Slovakia, which buy Russian oil, are facing blackmail from Ukraine Putin is meeting with the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto at the Kremlin later on Wednesday Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK condemns Russia's escalating activity and narratives, and urges renewed risk reduction: UK statement to the OSCE Speech UK Senior Military Advisor, Lt Col Joby Rimmer, reaffirms the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine while condemning Russia's escalating actions, including nuclear rhetoric and missile deployments, urging renewed risk reduction measures and calling on Russia and Belarus to return to international compliance to preserve regional security. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Lt Col Joby Rimmer, Senior Military Advisor at the UK Delegation to the OSCE Published 4 March 2026 Location: Vienna Delivered on: 4 March 2026 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) The United Kingdom's steadfast support for Ukraine, defending its sovereignty, protecting its people, and resisting aggression, remains unwavering, and will endure for as long as it takes. Yet while Ukraine and its partners pursue a just peace based on international law, Russia continues to choose to intensify its campaign at every turn. Its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, together with the irresponsible and deliberately escalatory deployment of the Oreshnik intermediate range system including in Belarus, are actions designed to elevate tension, undermine serious negotiations, and distract from Russia's ongoing war of aggression. They undermine regional stability, erode confidence, heighten the risk of miscalculation across the OSCE area. First, on Russia's actions and the Oreshnik system now stationed in Belarus. Ground-launched intermediate range missiles of this type were systems prohibited under the INF Treaty. Assertions from Moscow and Minsk that 'the West destroyed arms control' disregard the documented sequence of events. The INF Treaty collapsed because Russia developed and fielded a noncompliant system, the SSC8 ('Screwdriver'), a weapon later used in combat in Ukraine. Faced with Russia's persistent violations, the United States concluded that remaining bound by a treaty the other party was openly breaching had little utility. This decision did not 'open Pandora's box'; it recognised that Russia had already opened it through covert development and deployment. Second, on nuclear rhetoric. Russia's use of irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is not deterrence as practised by responsible states; it is intimidation intended to suppress support for a UN recognised sovereign state defending itself from aggression. Such rhetoric is incompatible with both the letter and spirit of the NPT, as well as the OSCE's foundational commitments. The United Kingdom will not legitimise it. Nor will we be drawn into debating Belarus's NPT posture in this forum. But we must register, in the clearest terms, that Belarus's public commentary on the INF Treaty, echoing Russian talking points, is unacceptable. The claim that 'the West destroyed the INF regime' is demonstrably false. Compliance matters. Russian non-compliance ended the Treaty and security across the entire OSCE region is now undermined by the Treaty's absence. Third, the imperative of risk management and mitigation. History and present events illustrate how quickly strategic signalling can spiral into crisis. The recent trends of nuclear-related dialogues beyond the Euro-Atlantic shows how difficult it becomes to rebuild cooperation once channels are lost. That lesson applies equally here. The OSCE's value lies in practical risk reduction: transparency, notifications, hotlines, incident prevention, and restraint in posture and rhetoric. The FSC should be used to restore practical guardrails, greater transparency on deployments, revitalised incident prevention mechanisms, renewed deconfliction channels, and restraint in exercises and strategic signalling. With the political will to do so, these measures remain achievable - including now. The Kremlin's aim is to divide Europe, weaken NATO, and reassert dominance over neighbours. If illegal aggression is allowed to succeed, it will be repeated. That is why Allies are strengthening defence industrial capacity, modernising forces, and deepening interoperability: to deter further aggression and to preserve peace. The United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine's self-defence for as long as it takes, uphold the European security order, and invest in credible deterrence alongside Allies. We urge Russia to cease its aggression, withdraw its forces, and return to compliance with its international obligations. We urge Belarus to step back from actions and narratives that further militarise our region. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ministry of Energy Official Source: Ras Tanura Refinery Targeted in Attempted Drone Attack with No Damage, Disruption to Supplies Reported Saudi Press Agency Wednesday 15/09/1447 Riyadh, March 04, 2026, SPA -- An official source at the Ministry of Energy said that on Wednesday morning, the Ras Tanura refinery was targeted in an attempted drone attack, with no damage recorded and no disruption to supplies. -- SPA 13:13 Local Time 10:13 GMT 0030 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HRH the Crown Prince, Chadian President Discuss Regional Escalation; Chad Affirms Solidarity with Saudi Arabia Following Iranian Attacks Saudi Press Agency Wednesday 15/09/1447 Jeddah, March 05, 2026, SPA -- His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received a phone call from Republic of Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, during which they discussed the military escalation in the region. The Chadian president affirmed his country's support for and solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the Iranian attacks, stressing Chad's rejection of any violation of the Kingdom's sovereignty or threat to its security and stability. -- SPA 02:52 Local Time 23:52 GMT 0013 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HRH the Crown Prince Receives Phone Call from Kazakh President Affirming Support for Saudi Arabia amid Iranian Attacks Saudi Press Agency Wednesday 15/09/1447 Jeddah, March 05, 2026, SPA -- His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received a phone call from President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during which the president affirmed Kazakhstan's solidarity with the Kingdom in the wake of the heinous Iranian attacks. Tokayev expressed his country's support for the measures Saudi Arabia is taking to safeguard its security and protect its territory. -- SPA 02:42 Local Time 23:42 GMT 0009 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister, US Secretary of State Discuss Iranian Attacks; Rubio Commends Saudi Evacuation Efforts, Protection for Diplomatic Missions Saudi Press Agency Wednesday 15/09/1447 Riyadh, March 05, 2026, SPA -- Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which they discussed Iran's ongoing attacks against Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region. The United States expressed its appreciation for Saudi Arabia's efforts to protect diplomatic missions and assist in the evacuation of foreign nationals. -- SPA 02:35 Local Time 23:35 GMT 0008 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Statement on Agenda item 5(c): Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic European External Action Service (EEAS) 04.03.2026 Vienna Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna Board of Governors International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna, 2-6 March 2026 Chair, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, and Ukraine. The EU thanks the Director General for the update provided on Syria in his opening statement and the Secretariat for its tireless efforts to address the implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in Syria. We fully support the Director General's engagement with Syria and the ongoing process to clarify outstanding safeguards issues, including through Agency visits, access to three locations related to the Deir Ezzor site and environmental sampling. This enables the IAEA to conduct verification activities with the aim of achieving clarity regarding the Assad regime's nuclear activities. Clarification of unresolved safeguards implementation issues is a legally binding international obligation for any State having concluded a safeguards agreement, and remains of crucial importance for the preservation of the integrity of the international non-proliferation regime. The EU welcomes the recent meeting between the Director General and the Head of Syria's Atomic Energy Commission. We recognise efforts so far and call on the Syrian authorities to continue and reinforce their cooperation with the IAEA to address all outstanding issues without further delay. In this regard, we welcome the immediate and unrestricted access to relevant sites granted by President Al-Sharaa. We also welcome the recent global agreement between the Syrian authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which should help to facilitate inspections in Deir Ezzor. We strongly encourage Syria to conclude and bring into force without delay an Additional Protocol. We request the Director General to keep the Board of Governors timely informed of any developments and to maintain this item on the Board agenda. Thank you, Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Lai Encourages to Continue Development of Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities During Presiding Over General Officer Promotion ROC Ministry of National Defense 2026.02.25 Issuing AuthorityAdministration Office President Lai Ching-te presided over the "Republic of China 2026 March General Officer Promotion and Rank Conferral Ceremony" this morning and stated that, in the face of rapidly changing regional situations and complex threats, the ROC Armed Forces should continue advancing toward the goals of "new training, new concepts, new equipment, and new technologies." By integrating technological, institutional innovation, and "Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience," the military built asymmetric combat power and flexible, agile response capabilities. He urged everyone to work together to safeguard Taiwan's democracy and peace. The ceremony was held this morning in the Reception Hall of the Office of the President. Attendees included Secretary-General to the President Pan Men-an, National Security Council Secretary-General Jaushieh Joseph Wu, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo Li-hsiung, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu, Chief of Air Force General Cheng, and others, who witnessed this honorable moment together. President Lai first congratulated Colonel Chiang Ping-tsung on his promotion to Major General and extended sincere congratulations. He also expressed deep gratitude to the family members who had supported him throughout his career. President Lai stated that Major General Chiang, as a senior C-130 transport pilot, had long been dedicated to airlift missions and combat readiness . With his extensive flight experience and airborne command capabilities, he had ensured the successful completion of various tactical transfers, logistics supply, and humanitarian relief missions for the ROC Armed Forces. President Lai pointed out that Major General Chiang had demonstrated calm judgment and precise flying skills in numerous joint exercises and major missions. He hoped that, after assuming the new position of Deputy Wing Commander, Major General Chiang would adopt a broader perspective to strengthen combat readiness and deepen joint operations effectiveness. President Lai emphasized that, given the rapidly changing regional situation and complex threats facing Taiwan, the ROC Armed Forces should continue advancing toward the goals of "new training, new concepts, new equipment, and new technologies," while integrating technological and institutional innovation, utilizing AI and advanced technologies to accelerate the construction of asymmetric combat power. President Lai also urged the Air Force to demonstrate flexible and agile response capabilities and, by incorporating "Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience," to deeply root the belief in national defense in the hearts of every grassroots service member and citizen, demonstrating the resolve to defend democracy and freedom. "Let us work together to safeguard the nation, protect Taiwan's democracy and peace, and ensure the safety of all people in Taiwan." While congratulating Major General Chiang on his promotion, President Lai once again thanked the family members present for their countless days and nights of support and understanding, noting that they served as the strongest backbone of the ROC Armed Forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mainland spokesperson responds to concerns in Taiwan that after US-Israeli strikes on Iran, mainland might follow suit and take action against island Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 04, 2026 12:06 PM In response to a question that the US and Israel recently launched military strikes against Iran, with some public opinion in Taiwan expressing concern that the mainland might follow the US approach in taking action against Taiwan, while other commentators said Washington's use of force globally could make the mainland more cautious about using force against Taiwan, Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said when and by what means to solve the Taiwan question is entirely the Chinese people's own business and brooks no external interference. Taiwan is part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, said Zhang, noting that when and by what means it is resolved is entirely the Chinese people's own business. It is a just cause aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and brooks no external interference. If "Taiwan independence" separatist forces dare to take reckless actions and cross the red line, we will take resolute measures and deliver a head-on blow, said Zhang. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China vows resolute fight against "Taiwan independence" separatist forces People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:34, March 05, 2026 BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China has pledged to resolutely fight separatist forces aimed at "Taiwan independence" and oppose external interference, according to a government work report submitted to the annual session of the National People's Congress, or the national legislature, which opened on Thursday. The report stressed the need to fully implement the Communist Party of China's overall policy for the new era on resolving the Taiwan question, reaffirming commitment to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. China has vowed to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the cause of national reunification, according to the report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan ROC Ministry of National Defense 2026.03.05 Issuing AuthorityPolitical Warfare Bureau PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1.Date: 6 a.m. Mar. 4 (Wed.) to 6 a.m. Mar. 5 (Thu.) (UTC+8) 2.PLA activities: 6 PLAN ships and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities. 3.Illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe. 1150305_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 4, 2026 The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss recent developments in Iran and throughout the Middle East. The Secretary told the Foreign Minister that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States. Both leaders reiterated the continued strength of the bilateral relationship. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Swiss Government Press release Published on 4 March 2026 Bern, 04.03.2026 -- The first of around 70 diesel generators to be supplied by the Swiss Confederation in response to the worst energy crisis since the start of the conflict have arrived in Kyiv. Jean-Luc Bernasconi, head of international cooperation at the Swiss embassy in Kyiv, attended a ceremony on 4 March 2026 at which the generators - which will be used in various locations where energy infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged - were officially handed over to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU). The generators provided by Switzerland are part of the Federal Council's aid package, adopted on 11 February 2026, on the supply of urgently needed energy goods to Ukraine. Further deliveries will continue to be made on an ongoing basis. A first batch of 17 generators and several mobile heating units were handed over to the SESU at a ceremony in the premises of the Kyiv Oblast SESU facilities. "These generators will be deployed by our trusted partner SESU where they are most urgently needed," indicated Jean-Luc Bernasconi, deputy head of the Swiss embassy in Kyiv. "In total, the deliveries under this emergency package will benefit several hundred thousand people. This allows us to provide targeted aid and ensure our support makes a difference for the Ukrainian people," added Bernasconi, who is also head of international cooperation at the embassy. Roman Prymush, deputy head of the SESU, thanked Switzerland for its rapid support in tackling the energy crisis, which followed a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation, and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The SESU is taking delivery of some of the generators and gas-powered heating systems, while other, large scale gas-powered generators supplied by Switzerland will be used for urgent requirements of by heating and power plants throughout the country, under the coordination of the Ukrainian ministry of development of communities and territories. The SESU was in constant contact with the Swiss embassy in Kyiv before and during the delivery of the aid. The supplies are part of the Federal Council's aid package The Federal Council approved the aid package to provide urgently needed energy goods to Ukraine on 11 February 2026. In addition to around 70 diesel generators with different levels of output, this package also includes 18 gas-powered electricity units which will be delivered to district heating system operators in four large cities severely hit by the energy crisis. Work to load the diesel generators procured from Swiss companies onto heavy goods vehicles, gradually departing Switzerland since February 20. The deliveries have been arriving in Ukraine since 24 February on an ongoing basis. All the diesel generators are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. The larger 18 gas-powered electricity units f will follow sequentially as they require significant preparation work at their final destination to ensure their effective operation. The process of delivery of the aid package is being led by Jacques Gerber, the Federal Council's Delegate for Ukraine. The total funding of CHF 32 million required for the procurement of the equipment, transport and coordination will come from the budget of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as part of the Ukraine Country Programme. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is managing the organisational and logistical aspects of the project. The Swiss Confederation has contributed just under CHF 900 million to international cooperation for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. EU Statement on Item 6: Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine European External Action Service (EEAS) 04.03.2026 Vienna Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna Board of Governors International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna, 02-06.03.2026 Chair, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino and Ukraine align themselves with this statement. After four years of war, 2026 must be the year the aggression on Ukraine comes to an end. However, Russia's actions contradict its claims of seeking peace. It weaponizes winter, intensifies its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, puts at risk the safety of Nuclear Power Plants, and ignores all calls from Ukraine and its partners for deescalation. The upcoming 40th anniversary of the tragic Chornobyl disaster reminds all of us of the responsibility to prevent nuclear accidents and to maintain and continuously improve the highest level of nuclear safety and security. We welcome the intention of the DG to travel to Ukraine on this occasion. Yet, we continue to see one state - Russia - actively undermining nuclear safety and security with its deliberate large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This is unacceptable and must stop immediately. Chair, We thank the Director General for his latest report and for the Agency's continued engagement. We express our serious concern at the findings contained therein. The report confirms that the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine remains fragile. The EU strongly condemns Russia's deliberate large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. These deliberate acts have damaged several substations critical to nuclear safety, violating this Board's resolution adopted on 12 December 2024. The Director General's report again confirms this fact. Thus, we call on all Members of the Board to support the resolution on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine. A strong message from this Board is essential to uphold nuclear safety and security. Russia's repeated attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including power lines and substations critical for the off-site power supply of nuclear power plants, increase the risk of a nuclear accident at Ukraine's nuclear facilities with potentially severe consequences for Ukraine and beyond. This is clearly stated in the fourth indispensable pillar for nuclear safety and security in armed conflict, namely the need for secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites. The EU reiterates its call on Russia to immediately cease all military operations, in particular those targeting Ukraine's energy and other critical infrastructure and urges Russia to abide by the seven indispensable pillars, as outlined by the Director General. We are grateful for and fully support the Agency's monitoring missions to Ukraine's nuclear sites and their recent visits to substations identified as critical for the safety of nuclear power plants. We are also thankful for the reported findings from these missions. We are deeply concerned by the damage observed and reported by the Agency's teams. This causes further degradation of the stability of the electricity grid and reduces the reliability of external power for the NPPs, heightening the risks in particular to operating NPPs. It is important that the upcoming 10th Review Meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) in April 2026 addresses all these serious nuclear safety issues in violation of CNS objectives. Chair, We also remain concerned by the precarious situation at the ZNPP. The military activities reported by the Agency's monitoring missions continue to put the five principles at great risk. In particular, the repeated total loss of off-site power at the ZNPP and the frequent damage to its power lines clearly demonstrate that the third of the Five Principles was violated. We thank the Director General and the Agency for their continued mediation efforts, which have on several occasions facilitated localised temporary ceasefires allowing the lines to be safely repaired. Furthermore, we are concerned about the extent of damage to the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant from the strike last year. The EU contributed EUR 432 million to the construction of this facility. As a result of the damage sustained, the NSC has lost its primary safety function. We note that numerous issues have to be addressed to restore the functionality of the NSC to ensure its long-term safety. Chair, Last week, the EU together with Ukraine hosted an event on the unlawful detention by Russia of ZNPP employees for refusing to sign Rosatom contracts. Russia's actions directly violate the third indispensable pillar, which requires that operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties free from undue pressure. We call on Russia to release these ZNPP employees without delay and to return control of the ZNPP to its rightful owner - Ukraine. The EU reiterates its unwavering support for the IAEA's efforts to assist Ukraine in ensuring nuclear safety, security and safeguards under these unprecedented circumstances. We commend the dedication and professionalism of the Agency's staff deployed in Ukraine. We request that the Director General continue to provide regular updates to the Board on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine, including on the Agency's missions to substations and implications of unstable electrical infrastructure for nuclear safety and security, and to propose additional measures should risks further escalate. Thank you, Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Tsahkna at CBSS Meeting: Europe's security requires keeping the focus on Ukraine Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 04.03.2026 | 19:28 Today, 4 March, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna attended the informal meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) foreign ministers in Warsaw. Discussions focused on continued support for Ukraine, the development of security guarantees for Ukraine, preparations for NATO's Ankara Summit, and the security situation in light of events in the Middle East. "Today, the priority for the countries gathered in Warsaw remains Ukraine, because everyone understands that Europe's long-term security is most directly influenced by the outcome of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Our attention must remain on continued military, economic, and political support for Ukraine and on developing security guarantees for Ukraine that would ensure Russia's aggression is never repeated," Tsahkna said. "At the same time, we must recognise that in the future Ukraine itself will be an important provider of security guarantees for us." "Meanwhile, we must continue to strengthen sanctions against Russia and deter Russia's shadow fleet in order to reduce the resources in Russia's state budget available for waging war. Only through the combined effect of supporting Ukraine and pressuring Russia can we achieve a just and lasting peace in Europe," the foreign minister said. Tsahkna commended the actions of Belgium and France last weekend, when they successfully blocked the movement of a Russian shadow fleet vessel sailing under a false flag in the North Sea. "This was a decisive step with a direct impact on Russia's ability to finance its war of aggression," the minister said. "The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss possible joint steps and international cooperation to ensure the safety of citizens in the Middle East and their swift return home," Tsahkna said. The broader discussion addressed the impact of events in the Middle East on European security, energy security, energy prices, and freedom of transport and navigation. "The situation in the Middle East shows no signs of calming, and developments there have a direct impact on the security of NATO Allies. Today, NATO air defence was forced to shoot down an Iranian ballistic missile approaching Turkish airspace, and the day before yesterday a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone. Estonia condemns Iran's unjustified attacks and supports the readiness of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to defend their interests and those of their allies in the region," Tsahkna said. According to the foreign minister, it is also crucial to ensure freedom of transport and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. "The European Union has decided to strengthen the naval mission Aspides in the Red Sea, and the United States has announced plans to begin providing insurance for vessels transiting the strait and to escort oil tankers there to prevent an increase in oil prices," Tsahkna said. The Council of the Baltic Sea States is a multilateral cooperation forum for the Baltic Sea region aimed at strengthening and deepening mutual cooperation. The CBSS includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and the European Union. Estonia held the rotating presidency of the CBSS last year, and Poland holds the presidency this year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Working together for Ukraine: Foreign Minister Wadephul travels to the informal CBSS meeting in Warsaw Germany Federal Foreign Office 04.03.2026 - Article Foreign Minister Wadephul is attending the informal meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in Warsaw today. The discussions will focus on providing ongoing close support for Ukraine. Germany and the other members of the CBSS Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, as well as Iceland, Norway and the EU have been some of Kyiv's most reliable partners since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul issued the following statement: As much as the Gulf region is holding our attention, the greatest security policy challenge for Europe is still Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The Council of the Baltic Sea States today brings together the strongest and clearest supporters of Ukraine. I want to emphasise that Germany still sees its priority here. Together, we have understood that Ukraine and the Baltic Sea region remain the focus of our security activity in Europe. Particularly strong supporters of Ukraine Germany is working to support Ukraine in many different ways, together with its neighbours and partners. As well as military and humanitarian assistance, the priority is economic stabilisation and supporting the country along its path towards the European Union. This cooperation is an expression of the common understanding that Europe's security is inextricably linked with a secure future for Ukraine. Poland plays a prominent role in this context as a logistical hub and a close political contact. Likewise, the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have made significant contributions in the fields of training, equipment and reconstruction projects. Denmark is supporting Ukraine particularly in the area of air defence and arms production, and is playing a leading role in coordinating European assistance initiatives. Common goal: peace and stability in Europe Russia's war of aggression remains Europe's greatest security challenge. The Baltic States regard their close cooperation as a response to this threat and at the same time a way to strengthen European cohesion. Germany's priority is to equip Ukraine to safeguard its independence and territorial integrity in the long term from a military, economic and institutional perspective. The meeting in Warsaw provides the CBSS foreign ministers with the opportunity to coordinate their measures further and spark new impetus for even more targeted support for Ukraine. At the same time, it reinforces the political will of the Baltic, Northern and Eastern European partners to assume joint responsibility for peace, stability and security in Europe. Info Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) The Council of the Baltic Sea States comprises eight Baltic Sea coastal states - Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Sweden - as well as Iceland, Norway and the EU. On 1 July 2025, Poland took over the CBSS Presidency, which rotates between member states on an annual basis, from Estonia. The Presidency's top priority is promoting regional security. This includes protecting critical infrastructure and dealing with the Russian shadow fleet. Germany last held the one-year Presidency in 2022/2023. Iceland will assume the Presidency in the summer. Russia's membership was suspended in March 2022 in response to its war of aggression against Ukraine. The country subsequently withdrew from the Council in May 2022. The CBSS Secretariat is based in Stockholm. Further information about the CBSS and its activities can be found at www.cbss.org. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's 'Maximalist Demands' Cannot Be Met With 'Minimalist Response,' EU's Kallas Says By Zoriana Stepanenko March 04, 2026 WARSAW -- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says the bloc may be open to direct talks with Moscow on trying to help settle the war in Ukraine but Moscow will have to temper its "maximalist" demands to pave the way for negotiations. Both the EU and individual European nations have failed to secure a seat at the negotiation table, with the United States locked in talks with Kyiv and Moscow for over a year. And while the talks have resulted in exchange of prisoners and there are indications the two parties are inching closer to a settlement, few believe in an imminent breakthrough that likely would result in Ukraine de facto conceding several territories. The prospect of a settlement over the heads of European countries has prompted several leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to push for the need of a special European envoy to talk to Moscow. Names such as current Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his predecessor, Sauli Niinisto, have been floated for the role, according to European diplomats speaking to RFE/RL under the condition of anonymity. Speaking to RFE/RL in Warsaw in an interview on March 4, Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, said she is ready to be the EU's negotiator and is "ready to do it if that's necessary." "But at the moment, it is not at the point where we are. The question is, what do we require?" Kallas, who has been a vocal critic of Russia -- both as EU foreign policy chief and previously as Estonian prime minister -- has been on the Kremlin's "wanted list" since 2024. She circulated a discussion paper to EU capitals in February with several demands to make of Moscow in any potential future negotiation, including a cap on the Russian Army to mirror a proposed cap on Ukraine's forces, a withdrawal of Russian troops and bases in other post-Soviet countries, and competitive elections in Russia. And while some European diplomats have dismissed the demands as too extreme, Kallas said she will continue to push for them. "It's clear that Russia's maximalist demands cannot be met with minimalist response," she said. "Then I go back to the requests that we have on our side. You know, some have said that these are not realistic, but come on. I mean, the Russian demands are not realistic, either, if they are demanding the whole of Donbas that they haven't even been able to conquer militarily in 11 years." Russia launched its current full-scale invasion in February 2022. But the battle began eight years earlier with Ukrainian government forces fighting Russian-backed separatists for control over much of the two heavily industrialized regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, also known as the Donbas. Kallas said she also believes Russia has been weakened over the course of the war, a trend that will continue and make it ready to negotiate for real. "What we see is Russia is not doing well. Their economy is not doing well, they had to increase taxes, they have big problems with recruitment of soldiers, so if we keep up this pressure then it comes also to a point where the aggressor might run out of money to fund this war. If you think about when Russia went to war in Afghanistan, they stopped when they were not able to sustain it anymore," Kallas said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-eu-kallas-ukraine- talks-peace/33695302.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address With Trump's Eye On Iran, Merz Pressed Ukraine's Case In Washington By Alex Raufoglu March 04, 2026 WASHINGTON -- The split screen in the Oval Office captured the real moment. On one side, escalating tensions in the Middle East. On the other, Europe's largest economy insisting Russia's war against Ukraine remains the defining test of transatlantic security. With US President Donald Trump sharpening his focus on Iran, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spent his time in Washington this week with a clear objective: Ensure Ukraine does not get pushed to the periphery. "We all want to see this war come to an end as soon as possible," Merz said at the start of his third visit to the White House on March 3. "But Ukraine has to preserve its territory and its security interests." Merz said that during their meeting, he showed Trump a map of the war-torn country and left with the "strong impression" that the US administration understands Kyiv "cannot make further territorial concessions beyond those areas already militarily occupied by Russia -- and no more." The wording appeared deliberate. A previous US cease-fire proposal had floated recognizing Russian control over additional Ukrainian territory -- including areas Moscow does not fully occupy -- which prompting sharp pushback from European capitals. Merz's formulation signaled Europe's red line: no formalizing gains beyond Russia's current battlefield footprint. Trump: Ukraine War 'Very High' On Priority List For his part, Trump insisted the war remains "very high" on his priority list, even as his administration devotes increasing attention to Iran. "There's tremendous hatred" between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said, underscoring the difficulty of brokering a deal. "Sometimes I blame one, sometimes I blame the other." During the 2024 campaign, Trump said he could end the war within 24 hours. Months later, mediation efforts appear stalled, and the diplomatic terrain is more complicated than campaign rhetoric suggested. Still, Trump sought to reassure his visitor. He told Merz the United States has sufficient munitions to sustain its posture in the Middle East while continuing to supply Europe for Ukraine's defense -- an implicit acknowledgment of allied concerns about strategic overstretch. 'Russia Is Playing for Time' Merz's message, delivered both publicly and in private meetings, was blunt: Moscow is not negotiating in good faith. "This war has entered its fifth year. The number of dead and wounded has now exceeded 1 million," he said. "Russia is playing for time, and in doing so it is acting against the will of the American president." The implication was clear: If Trump wants a deal, pressure must be directed at the Kremlin, not Kyiv. "Only if Washington increases the pressure on Russia will President Putin be ready to make concessions," Merz said. "We are not prepared to accept an agreement negotiated over our heads." That warning reflects deep European anxiety that a US-Russia understanding reached without Europe could trade Ukrainian territory for a fragile cease-fire. "There will be no agreement without the participation of the Europeans," Merz said, staking out a firm position on the Continent's role in any settlement. Iran: Distraction Or Strategic Blow To Moscow? Some analysts said it remains an open question as to whether Washington can maintain focus on both crises. Veteran US diplomat Daniel Fried, who has served in senior national-security roles for seven US administrations and is now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, described Merz's account of the talks as "more hopeful" than expected. Fried recently returned from Kyiv. "I don't think he's making it up," Fried told of Merz's assertion that Washington understands Russia is buying time. "He must have had some good conversations." Fried suggested that improved chemistry between Merz and Trump -- and a shift in how the White House views Berlin -- may matter. Germany, once criticized by Trump for lagging behind in defense spending, is now positioning itself as a more serious security actor as it boosts NATO contributions and strengthens Europe's defense pillar. Yet Iran complicates the strategic picture. "If the US succeeds in Iran, it will be a significant blow against Russia," Fried said, noting Tehran's role in supporting Moscow's war effort. A weakened Iran would have fewer resources to assist Russia. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-iran-merz-ukraine-russia- war/33695263.html Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Belgium Delivered None of 30 F-16s Pledged to Ukraine in 2024 - Air Force Chief Sputnik News 20260304 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Belgium has given Ukraine none of the 30 F-16 fighter jets it promised back in 2024 due to delays in F-35 deliveries, Belgian Air Force Commander Geert De Decker said, citing the need to maintain air force capabilities. In 2024, then-Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo promised Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Brussels would transfer 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first four aircraft planned for delivery by the end of 2024. "From the very beginning, the Ministry of Defense stated that the operational needs of the Belgian Air Force must be prioritized... It was always clear that our own operational readiness had to be ensured," the general was quoted as saying by the VRT broadcaster. Belgium reportedly plans to phase out its entire F-16 fleet by the end of 2028. Only after completing the transition to F-35s will it be able to deliver the remaining F-16s to Ukraine. The final deliveries are not expected before 2029. "Ukraine, like other countries, somewhat underestimated the complexity of training. It turned out to be more difficult than expected, and the problem sometimes lies in rather simple things, such as insufficient English language proficiency. Many Ukrainian pilots learned to fly on Russian aircraft. The F-16 cockpit operates entirely in English, many procedures are different, so training takes longer than anticipated," defense expert Jens Franssen told VRT. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO allies were "playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin stressed that funneling weapons to Ukraine did not contribute to the Ukraine peace process. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Forces Target Energy and Transport Facilities Supporting Ukraine's Military Complex - MoD Sputnik News 20260304 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine lost up to 290 soldiers killed or injured in combat against Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr over the past day, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 290 soldiers, two tanks, five armored combat vehicles, four field artillery pieces, including a US-made 155 mm M777 howitzer, 11 vehicles and an electronic warfare station," the ministry said in a daily situation update for the Tsentr battlegroup. This is in addition to up to 285 Ukrainian fighters eliminated over the past day by Russia's Battlegroup Vostok, up to 215 by Battlegroup Sever, up to 180 by Battlegroup Zapad, over 135 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 45 by the Dnepr battlegroup, the ministry said. Russian forces also carried out strikes against energy and transport facilities used in the interests of Ukraine's military-industrial complex, the ministry said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andrii Sybiha held phone talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Margus Tsahkna Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine 04 March 2026 22:10 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: "I had a good call with my friend and Estonian colleague Minister Margus Tsahkna, focused on key geopolitical developments and coordination between our countries. I briefed Margus on the latest battlefield developments and the overall security situation. We also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and its broader implications. Amid rapidly evolving global developments, it is essential that international attention to Ukraine remains strong. We clearly hear this from our closest allies. We also discussed coordination of our further steps with the Nordic-Baltic Eight, led by Estonia this year. My colleague informed me about the outcomes of the CBSS foreign ministers' meeting in Warsaw dedicated to countering Russia's shadow fleet. We aligned our positions on advancing key decisions, including the 90 billion loan for Ukraine and the EU's 20th sanctions package. Grateful to Estonia for its principled leadership and unwavering support for Ukraine. ". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andrii Sybiha and Iryna Mudra held a meeting with he Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mame Mandiaye Niang Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine 04 March 2026 21:08 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: "Today, we held a meeting with the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mame Mandiaye Niang, during his first visit to Ukraine. Together with Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Mudra, we briefed the Deputy Prosecutor on Russia's systematic violations of international law, in particular international humanitarian law. Russia continues to commit grave crimes against Ukrainians, including torture and executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, and widespread crimes against civilians. Such actions are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate policy aimed at destroying the Ukrainian nation. Accountability must be inevitable and uncompromising. There can be no impunity for war criminals. As a State Party to the Rome Statute, Ukraine expects further progress in investigations, including expanded charges and new arrest warrants. Ukraine values the work of the ICC and will continue strengthening cooperation with the Court to ensure that every crime committed during Russia's war of aggression is properly investigated and prosecuted. Justice remains our shared responsibility." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France strengthens Ukraine's skies: additional Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft expected Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 4 March, 2026, 1:16 PM EET Ukraine expects an additional delivery of Mirage 2000-5 aircraft from France. This will significantly strengthen Ukraine's air capabilities, as the aircraft can effectively destroy cruise missiles and drones used for attacks, including Shahed. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine outlines what is known about these aircraft. Mirage 2000 is a multirole fighter aircraft equipped with digital avionics. It features modern radar systems and electronic warfare equipment that significantly enhance its combat capabilities. The Dassault Mirage aircraft Ukraine will receive are close to the 4++ class, exceeding the MiG-29 fighters currently in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Mirage aircraft are extensively modernised fourth-generation fighters whose combat capabilities, radar equipment, and manoeuvrability approach those of fifth-generation fighter aircraft. They have improved avionics and are lighter and more manoeuvrable than most similar aircraft. They can conduct combat missions at altitudes of up to 18 km. Mirage 2000 aircraft are equipped with powerful radar systems and weapons, including high-precision Magic-2 missiles. This enables them to effectively detect and intercept low-observable cruise missiles and drones used for attacks, such as Shahed, Geran, and Gerbera. They can also neutralise enemy operational-tactical reconnaissance drones. Therefore, Mirage 2000 aircraft are important for countering russia's aerial terror, one of the key priorities addressed in Ukraine's War Plan. In addition, the Mirage 2000's weapon stations are compatible with a full range of NATO-standard air-launched weapons, allowing the aircraft to employ Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, AASM Hammer aerial guided bombs, and other types of armament. Having such aircraft in service significantly strengthens Ukraine's air defence, which is particularly important during large-scale missile and drone attacks by the aggressor. To recap, the transfer of Mirage 2000 aircraft was discussed during a February meeting between Ukraine's Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov, and France's Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, Catherine Vautrin. The first Mirage 2000 aircraft were delivered to Ukraine by France in early 2025. Ukrainian pilots underwent several months of training in France to ensure effective use of the aircraft. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address We Are Working to Bring All Our People Home From Russian Captivity; We Hope for Good News - Address by the President President of Ukraine 4 March 2026 - 21:12 I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians! A brief update on today. I held a Staff meeting on matters related to the front, ensuring Ukraine's active operations and our defense. I thank every Ukrainian warrior who is truly securing strong positions for Ukraine. Our positions at the front, our defense production, our ability to thwart Russian plans - these are our strengths in relations with key partners, and our diplomacy is what gives our partners more faith in Ukraine. At the Staff meeting, relevant instructions were issued to both the Minister of Defense and the military command. Today, I also spoke with Rustem Umerov regarding his communications with the American side. We continue to engage with the United States practically on a daily basis. For now, because of the situation with Iran, the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting haven't come yet. But as soon as the security situation and the broader political context allow us to resume the trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Ukraine is ready for it. I am grateful to the intelligence services, the Office, and all involved agencies for the steps taken to make further prisoner exchanges possible. We are working to bring all our people home from Russian captivity. We hope for good news. In recent days, we have been communicating very actively with representatives of countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region - and it is clear what their main request to Ukraine is. Everyone facing attacks from Iran confronts an extraordinary challenge: "shaheds," which are difficult to shoot down without the proper expertise and adequate weaponry. In just a few days of active strikes, Iranians launched more than 800 missiles and over 1,400 drones against neighboring countries. Attacks from Iran continue constantly. Although the intensity of missile strikes from Iran has partially decreased now, a new threat has emerged - the Iranian regime's intent to block the Strait of Hormuz. This is a globally significant route for transporting oil and gas. This very threat has destabilized energy prices across many markets. We recently discussed this with Ursula von der Leyen. It is crucial to protect people's lives. It is crucial to restore stability and prevent the war from expanding. The Iranian regime must not benefit in any way, and even more importantly, must not destroy lives - neither there, in the region, nor globally - and this affects us as well. And this is our shared interest: to help people defend themselves and also to assist in rapidly restoring stability in critically important supply chains. Partners are turning to us, to Ukraine, for help with protection against "shaheds" - for expertise and for practical support. Requests on this matter have also come from the American side. In recent days, I have spoken with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. Further talks with other regional leaders are planned. We are coordinating with our European partners as well. Of course, any assistance we provide is only on the condition that it does not weaken our own defense in Ukraine and that it serves as an investment in our diplomatic capabilities: we help protect against war those who help us - Ukraine - bring the war to a dignified conclusion. We work for peace and for real security. I want to thank everyone who is helping us. Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy Discussed Security Challenges in the Middle East and the Gulf Region with the Crown Prince of Kuwait President of Ukraine 4 March 2026 - 20:50 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a telephone conversation with the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, during which they discussed security challenges in the Middle East and the Gulf region. His Highness provided detailed information on the criminal attacks by the Iranian regime against Kuwait, which have already involved hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles. The Head of State noted that this very instrument of terror was supplied by Iran to Russia for killing Ukrainians, and that the Ukrainian people know best how to counter it. The parties explored how Ukraine's experience could help protect lives in Kuwait and agreed to hold the relevant consultations. The President thanked His Highness for his words of support. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Discussed the Situation in the Middle East and the Gulf Region with the King of Jordan President of Ukraine 4 March 2026 - 15:28 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with King Abdullah II of Jordan. They discussed the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is closely monitoring all developments and that our state has taken a principled stance from the outset. The President expressed support and solidarity with the people of Jordan and the region as a whole. The Head of State emphasized that it is important for everyone to coordinate their efforts in Europe and the Middle East for the sake of security. Missiles and "shaheds" from Iran must not continue to take lives. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Six years ago, the Fiji Water company made headlines for a cheeky advertising campaign that quipped, The label says Fiji because its not bottled in Cleveland. Naturally, the ads suggested, bottled spring water imported from the South Pacific must be better than tap water from northeast Ohio. Right?Well, no. In response to the ads, Cleveland tested its city water against the Fiji brand. What it found was that the bottled water contained 6.3 micrograms of arsenic per liter; the citys tap water was arsenic free. Fiji apologized for its-- or is that? -- but the story is still gleefully repeated by water utility directors, who will tell you that tap water is almost always better than bottled.[Tap water] is right for the environment, it is cost effective and it is tested more extensively than the water in a plastic bottle, says George Hawkins, general manager of DC Water, the water and sewer authority for Washington, D.C.Municipal drinking water is strictly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and utilities test their drinking water at least once a week. Bottled water regulation is decidedly less stringent. DC Water, for example, conducts more than 30,000 tests a year, but the Food and Drug Administration has only 2.6 full-time positions to inspect and regulate the thousands of bottled water facilities throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, the waste produced from water bottles is an environmental nightmare. Only 25 percent of them are actually recycled, which means about 1 million tons of the plastic waste ends up in landfills, waterways or as roadside litter every year.Efforts to sell residents on the virtues of tap water arent new. In 2007, San Francisco became one of the first municipalities to ban the purchase of bottled water with city funds and install refilling stations throughout the city. New York City has long promoted its tap water, recently touting its trendiness in a splashy marketing effort during fashion week. Some places have gone further: In 2009, the city of Venice, Italy, rebranded its drinking water as Acqua Veritas (true water) and launched a slick campaign mimicking bottled water ads.Nevertheless, touting tap water is an effort thats really only just getting under way. Hawkins says many of his colleagues in other cities probably havent given it much thought. But they should, he says. We in the industry should fight hard for this product. People need to understand what we do and what their water bill pays for.Hawkins has become something of a tap water evangelist. Since taking over at DC Water in 2010, hes rolled out a series of programs emphasizing the tap. He started by rebranding the agency, ditching the former wonky and bureaucratic name, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. Last June, he joined the national TapIt campaign, in which cities work with businesses to get them to provide tap water to residents carrying reusable bottles. There are more than 150 TapIt locations in D.C., and the program is expanding into Maryland and Virginia. Hawkins has convinced a handful of local restaurants -- 19 so far -- to serve tap water in glasses bearing the authoritys logo. And DC Water has worked with all the major universities in the city to place signage at every drinking fountain reminding students theyre drinking city water. The agency has even slapped all of its trucks with advertisements reminding residents to drink tap.Finding funds for these efforts has been a challenge. But its money well spent, Hawkins says. We have aging infrastructure that we need to fix. If our customers dont recognize what we do and what we provide to them, then we will never get support to pay for upgrades when the time comes. Newey warns Aston vibrations risk driver injury Adrian Newey has warned Aston Martin's troubled 2026 car could physically harm its drivers if the team pushes too hard at the Australian GP. Adrian Newey, Bahrain test 2026 Aston Martin Racing Arriving in Melbourne with Honda (HRC) president Koji Watanabe, Newey confirmed that the vibrations already known to have damaged the power unit's battery in testing are also creating a potential safety issue for drivers. Fernando feels he can't do more than 25 consecutive laps without risking damage to his hands, Newey said, referring to Fernando Alonso. "Lance thinks he can't do more than 15 laps. So we have to be honest. We're going to be very restricted in terms of the number of laps until we can identify the causes of the vibrations and fix them at their source. The revelation adds to concerns raised by Honda last week that abnormal vibrations from the new power unit were damaging the hybrid battery - a situation Honda engineers described as dangerous . Watanabe said measures implemented at the Sakura factory may reduce the problem but could not yet eliminate it completely. During the Bahrain tests we experienced unexpected vibrations that damaged the batteries, he said. "We were unable to complete the planned mileage. Engineers from HRC and Aston Martin are working together to find solutions. We believe we have implemented measures for this weekend, but their effectiveness is not guaranteed until we see them under real track conditions. According to Honda, the latest modifications significantly reduced vibration levels on the dyno, but the true test will come during running at Albert Park. Despite the crisis, Newey insisted the fundamental design of the Aston Martin remains promising. I look at our package and I don't think we've missed anything, he said. "I think the car has enormous development potential. We have an aggressive development plan and I believe we can get to the front at some point this season. However, he admitted Aston Martin will start the year well behind the leaders. Here in Melbourne we'll be somewhat behind, Newey said. "I'd say we're the fifth car. The chassis probably has Q3 potential. How far behind the front? I don't know - maybe seven tenths, maybe a second. (GMM) Ghana and China: building a partnership that goes beyond trade Next article: Ghana and China: building a partnership that goes beyond trade Featured CHRAJ clears MIIFs Board Chairman in assets declaration case Daily Graphic Business News Mar - 05 - 2026 , 11:47 Ghanas Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has dismissed a complaint alleging that the Board Chairman of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Richard Kwame Asante, failed to declare his assets in accordance with the Constitution. In a decision dated 24 February 2026, CHRAJ ruled that Mr Asante complied with the assets declaration requirements under Article 286 of Ghanas 1992 Constitution and the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550). The complaint, filed in November 2025 by journalist Wilberforce Asare, alleged that was MIIFs Board Chairman among several public office holders who had not submitted their assets and liabilities declarations as required by law. The petition relied on information obtained from the Auditor-General through a Right to Information (RTI) request. However, after reviewing evidence from the Ghana Audit Service, CHRAJ found that Mr Asante had declared his assets on 11 November 2025, nine days before the complaint was lodged. According to CHRAJs findings, Mr Asante was appointed and sworn in as MIIF Board Chairman on June 3, 2025. Under Section 1(4) of Act 550, public office holders must declare their assets before taking office or within six months of assuming office. The Commission determined that the statutory deadline for Mr Asante to file his declaration would have been December 2, 2025 six months after his appointment. His submission on November 11, 2025 was therefore within the legally permitted timeframe. The Respondent has complied with the constitutional and statutory provisions on assets declaration, CHRAJ stated in its ruling, adding that the complaint was unmeritorious and lacked merit. Legal threshold In its analysis, CHRAJ referenced its earlier jurisprudence on assets declaration cases, noting that failure to declare must be without reasonable excuse or constitute outright non-submission and amount to a punishable breach. The Commission emphasised that the law anticipates situations where declarations may be made within the six-month grace period allowed after assumption of office. Since Mr Asantes declaration fell within that period, no contravention had occurred. CHRAJ further noted that as on the date the complaint was filed, there was no existing breach to investigate or sanction. In its final decision, signed by Commissioner Dr Joseph Whittal, CHRAJ dismissed the complaint in its entirety and commended Mr Asante for his cooperation during the investigation. The ruling effectively clears the MIIF Board Chairman of allegations of non-compliance and affirms that he met the constitutional requirements governing assets declaration for public office holders in Ghana. Mr Beautiful: I want to be Ghanas next President Previous article: Mr Beautiful: I want to be Ghanas next President Featured Heritage is our power- Dzifa Gomashie Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Mar - 05 - 2026 , 13:52 3 minutes read The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Gomashie, has called on Ghanaians to deliberately preserve and promote the countrys cultural identity, describing heritage as both a national responsibility and an economic necessity. She made the call on Monday, March 2, 2026, at the official launch of Ghana Heritage Month 2026 at the symbolic Nationalism Park in Accra. The colourful ceremony, marked by traditional performances and patriotic fervour, signalled the start of a month-long nationwide celebration dedicated to Ghanas culture, history and creative excellence. While the event showcased the vibrancy of Ghanaian identity, the Ministers keynote address set a reflective and forward-looking tone. Describing March as a sacred period in Ghanas history, Hon. Gomashie linked the celebration to the countrys independence struggle. It was in March that our forebears, driven by an unyielding desire for freedom and dignity, rose with one voice to demand self-determination, she said, referencing Ghanas independence on March 6, 1957. March stands as a living reminder of the bravery, unity and resilience that birthed our nation. According to her, honouring that legacy requires more than commemorating political freedom; it demands conscious preservation of Ghanas cultural identity. In a rapidly globalising world where identities can easily be blurred, we must deliberately preserve, protect and promote what makes us uniquely Ghanaian. It is our contribution to the world, she stressed. The Minister explained that dedicating an entire month to heritage is not symbolic but strategic. Heritage Month, she said, provides an opportunity to educate the youth, rekindle pride in tradition, spotlight creative talents, support artisans and project Ghanas authentic story globally. She commended the Ghana Culture Forum for its pioneering role in institutionalising Ghana Culture Month and Ghana Culture Day, noting that its advocacy has ensured culture remains central to national development rather than an afterthought. Beyond identity, the Minister described heritage as a powerful engine for economic growth. Tourism, culture and creative arts are powerful engines for employment and innovation, she said, encouraging young creatives to leverage new media and emerging platforms to expand their reach. By dedicating a month to heritage, she noted, Ghana stimulates domestic tourism, boosts local businesses, empowers creators and invites the world to experience the countrys cultural richness. She emphasised that the sector holds enormous potential to create jobs, particularly for young people and women, urging sustained belief in Ghanaian creativity and enterprise. Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Efua Houadjeto, highlighted the need for what she termed authentic Ghanaian living. Paying tribute to Kwame Nkrumah, she reminded the gathering that national development must be rooted in cultural confidence. Our traditions are not outdated artefacts; they are living foundations upon which we must build our future, she said. The launch attracted dignitaries, including members of the diplomatic corps, chief executives of agencies under the Ministry, tourism stakeholders and the GTA Board, led by Chairperson Ms Gertrude Emefa Donkor. Also present were Edmond Moukala, UNESCOs Representative to Ghana, and Karina Gould, Culture Attache of the Canadian Embassy. In a goodwill message, Moukala reaffirmed UNESCOs commitment to supporting Ghana in safeguarding its tangible and intangible heritage. Next article: African governments urged to boost funding for breast and cervical cancer care US sub sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean, Hegseth says Previous article: US sub sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean, Hegseth says Featured China sets lowest economic growth target since 1991 BBC International News Mar - 05 - 2026 , 10:11 4 minutes read China has cut its annual economic growth target to a range of 4.5%-5%, the lowest expansion goal since 1991 as it grapples with challenges both at home and abroad. It is the first time the target has been lowered since it was cut to "around 5%" in 2023. A target was not set in 2020 due to the pandemic. The details were released during China's biggest political gathering, known as the "two sessions", alongside the release of some details of the 15th Five Year Plan for the world's second largest economy. Beijing aims to reshape its economy as it faces issues like weak consumption, a shrinking population, an ongoing property crisis, global trade tensions and an energy crunch due to the Iran war. One China analyst told the BBC that the lower target gives China "more room to manage the economy" without being forced into making huge financial commitments just to hit a precise goal. "China has used flexible targets before, particularly during the pandemic, but it's not the norm," Jason Bedford from the East Asian Institute research group added. The two sessions event, which began on Wednesday and usually runs for at least a week, brings the country's leaders together for back-to-back meetings. Details of China's gross domestic growth (GDP) target and its objectives under its latest Five Year Plan were included in a 46-page report published by Premier Li Qiang, seen by the BBC. The full text of the plan, which will outline China's economic development objectives to 2030, will be voted on during the closing day of the gathering. It is expected to be released by state media one or two days later. Li told delegates that the Five Year Plan will include investments in innovation, high-tech industries, scientific research and more efforts to boost household consumption. His comments underline Beijing's concerns that weak domestic consumption makes the country too reliant on exports, as well as highlighting its ambitions to upgrade the country's manufacturing industries. The report outlines plans for more than 100 major projects over the next five years to expand China's industrial capacity, with a focus on science and technology, transportation and energy. Beijing also made clear its ambitions to be a global technological powerhouse, with plans to roll out artificial intelligence (AI) tools across key industries. China aims to lead a green energy push, reducing carbon emissions and improving environmental protection, Li wrote. The country will also build a "childbirth-friendly society" as it addresses concerns over employment, education and healthcare, the report said. China faces an ageing population and falling birth rates, complicating Beijing's plans to boost its economy. In January, official figures showed that China hit its 5% economic growth target for 2025 as a whole. But Beijing also said economic expansion had slowed to 4.5% in the last three months of the year, weighed down by weak domestic spending and a long-running property crisis. More than two-thirds of China's provinces have scaled back their growth ambitions, either lowering targets or shifting language from aiming higher than a certain rate to targeting "around" that level. Zhou Zheng, a policy analyst at China Macro Group, said Beijing's new growth target reflects that it is "being realistic" as it deals with complex domestic challenges and a difficult global trade environment. China's economic growth still marks a "great achievement" given it has been simultaneously tackling major issues that are deeply interlinked and will take time to solve, Zhou said. But Georgetown University researcher Ning Leng said China's growth figures should be taken with "a grain of salt", as other data suggests a weaker economic picture. The crisis in China's property sector has hit the country hard and is a key reason for its domestic consumption being weak, she added. The real estate market once accounted for nearly a third of the Chinese economy and was a key source of income for local governments - many of which now have huge debts. The industry's problems have also led to layoffs and pay cuts across the country. China's top officials are gathered for a series of meetings in Beijing Manufacturing and exports have helped support China's economy, recording the world's biggest-ever trade surplus last year - the value of goods and services sold abroad compared to its imports - of $1.19tn (890bn). But has means China has become particularly reliant on exports to plug the gaps, which is a weakness the US can sense, Ning said. US President Donald Trump's tariffs have put further pressure on China's export-reliant economy. The country has responded by pouring huge resources into redirecting trade to other countries to ensure its products can be sold, sustaining its manufacturing sector, said Ning. Trump is expected to visit China in April and meet President Xi Jinping for their first face-to-face talks this year. Meanwhile, the US-Israel war with Iran means Beijing has now lost two key sources of cheap oil this year. It also can no longer access Venezuelan oil after the US seized President Nicolas Maduro in January. But Beijing has highlighted that it is far less dependent on fossil fuels as it has for several years been transitioning to renewable energy. Next article: Crypto bill hits new impasse, raising doubts over its future Oil jumps more than 3% on supply concerns as Iran conflict widens Previous article: Oil jumps more than 3% on supply concerns as Iran conflict widens Featured China, US pressure Ghana to halt gold royalty hike, document, sources say Reuters International News Mar - 05 - 2026 , 18:22 3 minutes read China, the U.S. and other Western governments have mounted an unusually coordinated push to get Ghana to halt a gold royalty hike they say could harm some of the world's biggest miners, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter and a letter from an industry body. Africa's largest gold producer wants to replace its fixed 5% royalty with a sliding scale between 5% and 12% linked to bullion prices part of an effort to capture more revenue from gold's run to successive historic highs. Miners said the upper bands of the new regime, which could take effect as early as next week unless amended or withdrawn, would make Ghana one of the continent's most expensive jurisdictions and could squeeze margins. Ghana has agreed to cut an existing levy to ease passage of the reform, Reuters has reported, but mining companies say the proposed scale remains too aggressive and have submitted lower counter-rates. DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE In addition to U.S. and Chinese pressure, diplomatic missions from the UK, Canada, Australia and South Africa have also intervened, marking what three senior industry executives described as an unusually high-level response to a fiscal proposal. "This is the first time I've seen the diplomatic community get involved at this scale," a senior industry source said. Representatives from the missions met Ghana's lands and natural resources minister this month and presented a joint document outlining concerns, two people with direct knowledge of the meeting said. The group is seeking further talks with the finance minister. "The heads of missions expressed concern that the operating environment of the mines will be challenging," one executive said. All the sources requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The UK, Canadian and Australian High Commissions and the U.S., South African and Chinese embassies in Accra did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MINING CEOS VOICE CONCERNS Global mining CEOs have also privately pushed back. Leaders of Newmont, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Perseus wrote or delivered concerns directly to the lands minister in December and January. Chinese-owned mines, including Zijin, opens new tab, Chifeng, opens new tab and Shandong Gold, opens new tab, have filed formal protests. A letter from the Association of ChinaGhana Mining, copied to Beijing's ambassador and seen by Reuters, warned the proposal could threaten the viability of Zijin's Akyem, Chifeng's Wassa and Shandong's Cardinal gold mines. "The royalty issue has united companies like nothing in recent years," said the senior industry source. The mining companies did not respond to requests for comment. Ghana's lands and finance ministries also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ghana-linked producers have posted strong 2025 results, with Newmont, opens new tab earning over $7 billion, Gold Fields, opens new tab more than doubling and AngloGold Ashanti, opens new tab tripling profit, and Perseus, opens new tab making $421.7 million, up 16% year on year. Ethiopia experiments with 'smart' police stations that have no officers Previous article: Ethiopia experiments with 'smart' police stations that have no officers Featured US sub sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean, Hegseth says BBC International News Mar - 05 - 2026 , 10:18 3 minutes read US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. He said the ship was sunk by a torpedo on Tuesday and died a "quiet death". He did not name the vessel. His announcement came after Sri Lanka said its navy had responded to a distress call on Wednesday morning from an Iranian ship named the Iris Dena, which had gone down about 40km (25 miles) from its southern coastline. Eighty bodies from the frigate were found by rescuers, a Sri Lankan defence official told BBC Sinhala. Another 32 were rescued, the country's navy said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had "perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores". "Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," he wrote in a post on X early on Thursday. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." A Sri Lankan navy spokesman said some 180 people were believed to have been aboard the Iris Dena, based on the ship's documentation. The survivors were "seriously injured" and had been taken to a hospital in the southern port of Galle, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. Hegseth told a news conference on Wednesday that a US submarine had sunk an Iranian warship "that thought it was safe in international waters". He also claimed it was "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two". While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then. Video released by the US Department of Defense showed a ship being struck, causing the stern to rise up before exploding. Earlier, Sri Lankan navy spokesman Budhika Sampath had rejected reports that the Iris Dena had been attacked by a submarine. He added that, at the time rescue operations were launched, rescuers had not seen the vessel - nor any other ships in the region - but saw oil patches and life rafts floating on the water. Though the ship's location "was beyond our waters", Sampath said, "it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations". First launched in 2015, the Iris Dena is a destroyer attached to Iran's Southern Fleet, which is tasked with deployments in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. It had recently participated in International Fleet Review 2026, a military exercise hosted by India. The sinking of the Iris Dena comes as the US and Israel have continued to launch air strikes on Iran for a fifth day, with the Israeli military saying it had hit "security headquarters" across the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Israel has also conducted air strikes on Lebanon and has sent ground forces into the south of the country after armed group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel. Iran appears to have continued to carry out retaliatory attacks. New strikes were reported in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Wednesday, while Turkey said "Nato defences" shot down an Iranian missile heading towards Turkish territory. Sri Lanka has remained neutral in the conflict. It has refrained from taking any side, calling for "restraint and immediate de-escalation" from "all concerned parties". Herath, its foreign affairs minister, paid tribute to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini after he was assassinated on Saturday. A government spokesman later said Sri Lanka would issue a formal message of condolence regarding all deaths resulting from the conflict, including Iranian state leaders and officials who had been killed. Nestle Ghana partners Education Ministry to reward top BECE performers Kester Aburam Korankye Education Mar - 05 - 2026 , 12:36 3 minutes read Nestle Ghana Limited, through its MILO brand, has partnered with the Ministry of Education to sponsor the 2026 Presidents Independence Day Awards held at the Accra International Conference Centre. The ceremony, which recognises outstanding academic performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), was addressed by the Vice-President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. In all, 52 students who excelled in the examination received laptops, plaques, sashes, medals and a years supply of Nestle products. The Presidents Independence Day Awards is an annual event held on the eve of Ghanas Independence anniversary to honour exceptional academic achievement by students in the previous years BECE. Addressing the gathering, the Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, Madam Azevedo, commended the award recipients for their dedication and hard work. Today, we shine a well-deserved spotlight on the remarkable achievements of young people who represent the hope and future of our society, she stated. She extended her warmest congratulations to the award winners and praised the discipline and perseverance that had enabled them to reach the milestone. Your achievements are a source of pride, not only for yourselves but for your families, schools, and communities, Madam Azevedo added. She also acknowledged the role played by parents in supporting the students academic journeys. Whether you are present here today or celebrating from afar, your support and encouragement made a difference, she said. Madam Azevedo noted that Nestle Ghanas longstanding partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Presidency demonstrated the companys continued commitment to supporting education and the development of young people. She indicated that this years awardees included students from both public and private schools, as well as those with visual and hearing impairments. At Nestle, we believe our growth is closely linked to the wellbeing of the communities we serve. We are committed to enhancing quality of life, and today we celebrate 52 exceptional students whose achievements reflect resilience and excellence, she said. Touching on the theme for this years Independence celebration, Building Prosperity, Restoring Hope, Madam Azevedo said the theme resonated strongly with the objectives of the awards. By celebrating academic achievements, we are not only rewarding hard work but also investing in Ghanas prosperity, she noted. Their success serves as a beacon of hope, inspiring others to aim higher. In a message to mark International Womens Day, she also encouraged the female award winners to continue breaking barriers and inspiring other girls. You are inspiring other young girls to believe in themselves and aim higher. Continue to pursue your dreams with confidence, knowing your contributions are essential to national progress, she advised. She further urged all 52 award recipients to remain focused as they progressed in their educational journeys. As you take the next steps, continue to chase your dreams and let your passion guide you. Your achievements today mark the beginning of the meaningful impact you will make in society. Featured Belgium becomes eighth creditor to restructure Ghanas debt GraphicOnline Mar - 05 - 2026 , 14:55 2 minutes read Ghana has signed a bilateral debt restructuring agreement with Belgium as the government moves closer to completing negotiations with its external creditors following the economic crisis that pushed the country into default between 2022 and 2023. The agreement, concluded in Accra, forms part of a broader programme to restore fiscal stability and restructure Ghanas external debt after the crisis severely strained the countrys public finances. Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson reflected on the depth of the financial challenges the country faced during the crisis period, noting that the government at the time was forced to take the unprecedented step of declaring a debt default. Ghana went through a very difficult period in 20222023. It was a financial crisis and the government of the day had to declare a default, he said. Today we are recovering and seeing a significant turnaround, and we are putting systems in place to ensure we do not return to that situation again. Dr Forson explained that the countrys external debt restructuring process was now approaching its final stages, with the agreement with Belgium marking another milestone in Ghanas negotiations with members of the Official Creditor Committee. He disclosed that Belgium had become the eighth creditor country with which Ghana had successfully concluded a bilateral restructuring arrangement under the programme. The finance minister also expressed appreciation to the Belgian government and its people for their cooperation and support during the negotiations, describing the partnership as critical to Ghanas efforts to restore macroeconomic stability. Belgiums Ambassador to Ghana, Carole van Eyll, reaffirmed her countrys commitment to supporting Ghana as it works to recover from the economic downturn. We are happy to continue supporting Ghana, and we are pleased that this restructuring has been concluded, Ambassador van Eyll said. She commended Ghana for the progress made so far in stabilising its economy and expressed optimism about the countrys recovery trajectory. The ambassador added that Belgium looked forward to deepening cooperation with Ghana in the coming years as the country continues its efforts to rebuild economic resilience and strengthen public finances. The agreement represents part of a broader set of negotiations between Ghana and its official creditors aimed at easing the countrys debt burden and creating fiscal space for economic recovery. Featured CLOGSAG rejects plan to make Controller and Accountant Generals Department independent GNA Mar - 05 - 2026 , 07:31 3 minutes read The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has rejected a proposal by the Constitution Review Committee to make the Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) an independent body separate from the Ministry of Finance. The association said the department was an implementing arm of the Finance Ministry and should remain under its administrative oversight to ensure effective coordination in public financial management. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo, said the CAGD played a central role in executing government accounting functions, controlling payments and managing treasury operations on behalf of the Finance Ministry. As part of the executive machinery responsible for implementing fiscal policy, the CAGD should remain administratively situated within the Ministry of Finance rather than be structurally separated into an independent constitutional body, he stated. The Secretary of CLOGSAGs internal review committee, Daniel Appiah, said the Constitution Review Committee did not provide sufficient justification for the proposed change. The Controller and Accountant Generals Department is an implementing agency of the Ministry of Finance. Once you make it independent, you introduce another layer of bureaucracy, he said. He warned that elevating the department to an independent constitutional status could create institutional confusion, weaken coordination between government financial institutions and potentially delay the processing of salaries and other public payments. If there are strong reasons why this will enhance prudent public financial management, we are open to discussion. But we did not find any in the committees report, he added. Instead of separating the CAGD from the Finance Ministry, CLOGSAG called for the creation of an Independent Fiscal Responsibility Council entrenched in the Constitution to oversee public financial management and check excessive government spending. The association argued that establishing such a body solely through an Act of Parliament would leave it vulnerable to suspension, citing the suspension of the Fiscal Responsibility Act during the COVID-19 period. If it is entrenched in the Constitution, it will not be easy for any government to suspend it at will, Dr Appiah said, adding that a constitutionally backed fiscal council would serve as a stronger safeguard against fiscal indiscipline. Beyond the proposal affecting the CAGD, CLOGSAG also raised concerns about other recommendations by the Constitution Review Committee relating to the governance of the public service. The association objected to proposals that would grant the Council of State powers to recruit, vet or make binding nominations for appointments to constitutional bodies and senior public service positions, including the Head of the Civil Service and the Controller and Accountant General. CLOGSAG maintained that such responsibilities should remain with the governing councils of the respective services in consultation with the Public Services Commission, arguing that this would protect merit-based appointments and ensure institutional continuity. The association further recommended an amendment to Article 197 of the Constitution to replace the word may with shall, a change it said would compel the Public Services Commission to issue binding regulations governing the operations of the public services. It also criticised proposals that would make the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives dependent on economic viability or population thresholds, warning that tying democratic participation to such criteria could undermine equal political rights. While acknowledging the extensive work undertaken by the Constitution Review Committee, CLOGSAG urged it to reconsider proposals that, in the associations view, could weaken institutional coherence or create administrative fragmentation within Ghanas public service system. Featured 2 Months after revised VAT: COVID-19 still on invoices - Flat rate also lingers - GRA tells consumers to insist paying only 20% Maclean Kwofi Mar - 05 - 2026 , 12:31 7 minutes read Many consumers and households have still not realised the full benefits of the Value Added Tax (VAT) reform, which took effect from January 1, 2026, because many businesses have not fully complied with the changes, two months after its implementation. Businesses, including shopping malls, supermarkets and eateries, have not yet recalibrated their receipting systems to remove the one per cent COVID-19 levy, nor have they decoupled the five per cent health insurance and education levies to reduce the tax liability to the final consumer. The Daily Graphics seven-week monitoring of how some businesses in the Greater Accra Region are implementing the new tax reform shows widespread confusion regarding the tax component on their invoices. The team found that while some businesses still had on their invoices the COVID-19 levy, which has been outlawed since January 1 this year, others had removed it, yet their prices remained unchanged. Also found were three VAT charges a zero VAT, a three per cent VAT rate or a 15 per cent VAT rate on different invoices from various shops. During the shopping exercise, the team found out that although some of the businesses had publicly advertised that they had adjusted their pricing structures in line with the new Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), some consumers who interacted with the team insisted that they had yet to see any corresponding reductions in charges, which would translate into benefits to them. Some consumers maintained that the new reform, which abolished the one per cent COVID-19 levy and reduced the effective VAT rate from 21.9 per cent to 20 per cent, should have resulted in at least a 1.9 per cent reduction in the prices of items on shelves. However, no such relief has been observed in shops that refuse to recalibrate. The reform was expected to free about GH5.7 billion of the disposable income of consumers. Despite ongoing public education by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), many businesses say they do not completely understand how to implement the new VAT reform, sparking concerns that they are either genuinely confused or intentionally pretending not to understand for their own advantage. In response, many of the businesses that spoke to the Daily Graphic, during the exercise held between January 12, 2026 and February 28, 2026, maintained that they were not given sufficient transition time to adjust their systems to comply with the new Act. The GRA has stated that it would continue to educate taxpayers on doing the right thing as part of its nationwide educational campaign. The authority, however, appealed to the public, especially those who bought from VAT-registered persons and shops, to insist on paying only the effective 20 per cent VAT. GRAs position The Head of Enforcement and Debt Management in Accra South Area Office of GRA, Rev. John Buabeng, emphasised that it was unlawful for any business to continue charging the levy after its repeal. Once the President assented to the new law, it meant that the COVID-19 levy and all related charges ceased to exist. We do not expect any business to continue charging it, he stressed. On why some firms continue to impose the levy, Rev. Buabeng explained that some firms cited system configuration challenges as the reason for the continued imposition. However, he insisted that such explanations did not justify the charge. Even if their software installation was done externally and requires adjustments, customers must be refunded at the point of sale because the law no longer authorises the levy. With a valid receipt, consumers who have already paid the levy can walk into any GRA office and apply for a refund. Auditors will verify whether the amount was remitted to the state, and the necessary steps will be taken, he said. Flat rate, pricing concerns Addressing concerns about unchanged prices despite the reforms, Rev. Buabeng clarified that the new 20 per cent standard VAT regime was designed to eliminate cascading taxes and simplify calculations. There is no more flat rate and no more three per cent VAT. Anyone charging three per cent is still operating under the old system, which is not proper and unlawful, he stated. He explained that under the current regime, input VAT paid at the point of importation or production was deductible, preventing tax-on-tax. If businesses configure their systems correctly and apply input-output deductions as required, prices should actually reduce, Rev. Buabeng said. He urged consumers to insist on VAT invoices, adding that If you do not demand your receipt, the revenue could leak. The invoice compels accountability. Unlawful imposition A Senior Tax Partner at PwC, Abeku Gyan-Quansah, stated that only Parliament had the authority to impose taxes, and once a tax law had been repealed and assented to by the President, it ceased to have effect unless a specific saving clause provided otherwise. If you ask whether it was lawful for businesses to continue charging or factoring in the levy after its abolition, the straightforward answer is that it was not lawful, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview. He said that once the repeal took effect, the levy should no longer appear on invoices or receipts. Automatic price reductions However, Mr Gyan-Quansah stated that expectations of automatic price reductions were more complex. While consumers might have assumed that prices would fall after the removal of a tax, he explained that pricing was influenced by multiple factors beyond just tax components. Price determination was not always purely cost-based. So many things went into pricing, he said. Mr Gyan-Quansah maintained that some businesses might not be acting in bad faith but could have been struggling with system updates and technical adjustments. A law being changed does not automatically mean accounting and billing systems are updated, he added. Inadequate transition A tax practitioner and lawyer, Albert Kungmaa Ziem, attributed the low level of compliance with the new VAT regime to the short transition period for businesses to adjust. He explained that although the new tax law was announced in November 2025 and subsequently passed by Parliament and assented to by the President in December 2025, its implementation took effect only a couple of weeks later, on January 1, this year. He said the short window between passage and enforcement did not provide the business community, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), enough time to reconfigure their accounting systems and internal processes to align with the new requirements. Mr Ziem maintained that beyond passing the law, the GRA should have embarked on an extensive public education and direct engagement with businesses before enforcement began. He stressed that while some non-compliance might stem from ignorance, the continued imposition of outlawed taxes was illegal and should attract penalties. The management accountant and chartered taxation fellow urged the GRA to intensify business-to-business education campaigns to ensure full compliance. Consumer rights perspective From a consumer rights perspective, the Director of the CUTS International West Africa Centre, Appiah Kusi Adomako, argued that consumers should benefit by at least a 1.9 per cent reduction in prices following the reform. He explained that although businesses claimed pricing was complex, the tax relief ought to have been passed on to consumers. The taxes that were taken off were supposed to go back to the consumers pocket, Mr Adomako said. Instead, he said that some firms had adjusted their base prices upward to maintain previous totals, a practice he described as more of a dishonest approach rather than outright criminality. The context In the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the government announced comprehensive reforms to the countrys VAT system aimed at strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation, eliminating inefficiencies and modernising tax administration. The reforms were anchored in the enactment of Act 1151 and the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Repeal Act, 2025, both of which took effect on January 1, 2026. Act 1151 repealed and consolidated the previously fragmented VAT laws, enhanced clarity and legal certainty, corrected structural distortions, and abolished the COVID-19 Levy introduced in 2021. The new VAT regime introduced significant changes, including the removal of cascading taxes, a reduction in the effective VAT burden to 20 per cent, an increase in the registration threshold and the abolition of the VAT Flat Rate Scheme (VFRS). Featured 52 Students receive Presidents Independence Day Awards Diana Mensah Mar - 05 - 2026 , 09:57 3 minutes read The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, yesterday presented awards to 52 students at this years Presidents Independence Day Awards ceremony in Accra. The awardees, who were drawn from all 16 regions in the country, were recognised for their outstanding performance in the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). They comprised 32 students from public schools, 16 from private schools, two visually impaired and two hearing-impaired students, one each from the Eastern and Greater Accra regions. The students received mementos and other materials for their hard work. They were selected through an inclusive process coordinated by the Ghana Education Service (GES). The annual awards formed part of activities marking this years Independence Anniversary celebration on the theme: Building prosperity, restoring hope. It was instituted to recognise and celebrate academic excellence among students in the country. The awards are presented to students who excel in the BECE, with the aim of encouraging academic achievement and personal development across the country. The categories are - Overall Best Male and Female students across the 16 regions; Overall Best students from private schools in the 16 regions, and Overall National Best Male and Female students with additional educational needs - visual and hearing impairment. The ceremony was organised by the GES under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, in partnership with Nestle Ghana Ltd, under one of its trusted brands, Ideal Milk. Concerns The Vice-President, who is an educationist herself and a former Minister of Education, expressed concern about troubling developments in some schools, including examination malpractices, vandalism and rising cases of indiscipline. She stated that although only a small percentage of students engaged in such behaviours, those actions undermined national progress and projected a wrong image of the country. Referencing the 69th Independence Day theme, Building Prosperity, Restoring Hope, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the call to action was especially directed at young people. Prosperity is not built by infrastructure and policies alone. It is also built by law-abiding students and citizens who understand that personal conduct has national repercussions, she said. She reaffirmed the governments commitment to inclusive education, stressing that efforts were ongoing to improve policies, expand access, raise quality standards and strengthen the education system as a pillar of national development. Measures The Vice-President said the government was working with stakeholders to strengthen discipline and value-based education across schools in the country. The measures would include reinforcing guidance and counselling systems to ensure that disciplinary measures remained firm and respectful of children's rights and dignity when necessary. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added that GES was reviewing existing disciplinary frameworks in consultation with parents, teachers and educational experts to address misconduct and prevent escalation. The goal is not punishment for its own sake, but to develop citizens who understand both their freedoms and responsibilities, she explained. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang encouraged the students to remain focused on their goals, choose friends wisely, respect school authorities and remember that excellence isnt just about how well you do in class, it is also about how you behave when nobody is watching. Mandate The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, reaffirmed the ministrys mandate to maintain standards, strengthen systems and promote inclusive, quality education across the country. He said the event was a testament to structured reforms, deliberate policy implementation, and inclusive excellence across the country by his outfit. The awards, he said, highlighted inclusivity in basic education and underscored the governments commitment to gender balance and regional equity. For his part, the Managing Director of Nestle Ghana Limited, Salome Azevedo, reaffirmed the companys enduring commitment to education and youth development, adding that they would continue to encourage students to pursue knowledge, develop skills, and strive for personal excellence. AI must be treated as workforce transformation, not tech project CEO, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Next article: AI must be treated as workforce transformation, not tech project CEO, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Commemoration of World Engineering Day: Expose students to practical engineering concepts Juliet Akyaa Safo Mar - 05 - 2026 , 09:57 3 minutes read The Youth Wing of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ghana Young Academy (GhYA), has commemorated World Engineering Day with a call on stakeholders to expose students to practical engineering concepts at an early age to nurture their creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills. They also stressed the need to ensure near gender parity, which could be achieved through early childhood education. The Co-Chair of Gh YA, Dr Latifatu Mohammed, who is also a Senior Research Scientist at the CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research, further called for increased local investment in research to strengthen engineering innovations. She said that while many research and engineering projects in the country were supported by development partners, there was the need for sustained domestic funding to generate data and solutions tailored to national priorities. Dr Mohammed made the call at the commemoration of World Engineering Day at Kwabenya Community SHS in Accra yesterday, on the theme: Engineering the future From ideas to innovation. Participants were taken through career talks by engineers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Researchs Institute of Industrial Research, robotics demonstrations by Firefly, and career guidance sessions by Joyful Journey Career Counselling and Mentorship Institute. Event The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development is celebrated annually on March 4, to highlight the crucial role of engineering in modern life, sustainable development, and mitigating climate change. Proclaimed by UNESCO in 2019, the day is also used to promote STEM education, the need for more women in engineering, and also encourages innovative solutions to global challenges. Mentorship Dr Mohammed said the core mandate of the academy was to mentor early-to-mid-career researchers, adding that the event was to encourage greater female participation in engineering and STEM-related fields. She said although some progress had been made over the years, women remained underrepresented, particularly at advanced career and leadership levels. Dr Mohammed stressed the need for collaboration in engineering and scientific practice, since innovation thrived when individuals pooled their strengths and expertise together. In line with that, she advised students to embrace teamwork as a critical skill for success. Significance The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Prof. Francis Hasford, described as laudable the work of the academy in engaging SHS and undergraduate students on their career pathways and prospects in science and engineering. Prof. Hasford, who is also an alumnus of the Gh YA, said such engagements had contributed to a gradual shift in mindset among young people, increasing their interest in STEM fields. He urged the academy and other STEM-focused organisations to continue prioritising female inclusion, stressing that empowering girls in science was essential for national development. Encouragement The Headmistress of Kwabenya Community SHS, Hajia Rahinatu Yakubu, encouraged girls to overcome the fear of science by pursuing careers in engineering and other science-related fields to help solve real-life problems confronting society. She said empowering girls in science and engineering was critical to building inclusive development and unlocking the countrys full human potential. Hajia Yakubu further advised students to build their capacities, rediscover their passion for science, and position themselves as key players in shaping a future driven by innovation and opportunities. Featured IGP orders probe into alleged GH400,000 Mobile Money withdrawal by Police at Kibi Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2026 , 11:14 2 minutes read The Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, has directed an immediate investigation into allegations that some police personnel at Kibi were involved in the unauthorised withdrawal of GH400,000 from the account of a mobile money agent. The directive follows the circulation of a viral video on social media in which claims were made about the alleged withdrawal from the agents mobile money account. In response to the allegations, the Ghana Police Service said the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) had been tasked to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, has directed the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) to conduct investigation into allegations in a viral video concerning the unauthorised withdrawal of an amount of GH400,000 from a mobile money account of a mobile money agent by some personnel at Kibi, the Police Service said in a statement. Victim assisting investigation The police indicated that the mobile money agent at the centre of the allegations had been contacted and was cooperating with investigators. The victim has since been contacted and is assisting the investigation, the statement added. The case has drawn public attention following the widespread circulation of the video online, with many calling for swift action to establish the facts. Police assure public of transparency The Ghana Police Service has assured the public that the investigation will be conducted in accordance with professional standards and that the findings will be made public. We assure the public that the outcome of the investigation will be duly communicated, the statement said. The Police Professional Standards Bureau is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct involving police officers and ensuring accountability within the service. The probe is expected to determine the circumstances surrounding the alleged withdrawal and whether any police personnel were involved in the incident. Featured Major transformer upgrade underway as ECG moves to stabilise Power in Adenta GraphicOnline Mar - 04 - 2026 , 20:21 3 minutes read The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has commenced a major infrastructure upgrade at the Adenta Primary Substation in a bid to address persistent power fluctuations and outages in Adenta and surrounding communities. The project will see the substations capacity doubled from 40MVA to 80MVA, in response to growing electricity demand that has overstretched existing facilities. The upgrade involves the installation of two new 30/39MVA power transformers to replace two of the current 20/26MVA transformers in operation. The intervention forms part of ECGs broader strategy to improve the quality, reliability and stability of electricity supply across the Greater Accra Region. Rising demand strains existing infrastructure During a media inspection of the project site, the Acting General Manager of Accra Subtransmission, Ing. Emmanuel Addo, said the Adenta enclave was currently supported by three 20/26MVA transformers, which have come under increasing pressure due to rapid population growth and expanding commercial activity. The Adenta enclave is currently supported by three 20/26 transformers, and the project intends to replace two of these 20/26 MVA transformers with new 30/39 MVA transformers. This upgrade aims to enhance the capacity of the transformers to accommodate the increasing demand, he explained. He noted that once completed, the project would significantly improve voltage stability and reduce the frequency of outages in the area. The upgrade commenced on Sunday, February 22, 2026, and is being executed in two phases. According to Ing. Addo, about 45 per cent of the work has already been completed. The first phase will be completed on Friday, February 27, 2026. The timeline for the second phase will be determined after the successful commissioning of the first phase, which is currently under installation, he stated. Relief for affected communities The Regional General Manager for Accra East, Ing. Bismark Otoo, said the upgrade had become necessary following a surge in load demand that had outpaced the capacity of the existing transformers. He explained that customers in and around Adenta had been experiencing frequent outages largely because the current infrastructure could no longer cope with demand levels. Beyond addressing immediate supply challenges, he said the project was also designed to meet future electricity needs in the fast-growing enclave. When completed, the upgraded substation is expected to provide improved and stable power supply to customers in Adenta, Amrahia, Oyarifa, Danfa, parts of Madina, Teiman and other adjoining communities. Ing. Otoo added that similar reinforcement projects were ongoing within the Accra East Region as part of ECGs efforts to enhance supply reliability and boost customer satisfaction. Warning against illegal connections As works continue, ECG has cautioned residents against engaging private electricians during outages, warning that such practices often result in transformer overloading and equipment damage through illegal connections, the use of substandard fuses and unauthorised phase transfers. Customers experiencing outages have been advised to contact ECGs Contact Centre on 0302 611 611, visit the nearest district office, lodge complaints via the ECG PowerApp, or reach the company through its social media platforms @ECGghOfficial on Facebook, X and Instagram. The company reiterated its commitment to delivering improved service and called for public cooperation as it works to strengthen the power distribution network across the region. Featured MultiPro Ghana donates food items to National Chief Imam during Ramadan outreach Graphic.com.gh Mar - 05 - 2026 , 14:16 3 minutes read MultiPro Private LimitedGhana, distributors of several popular household food brands, including Indomie, has paid a courtesy call on the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, as part of its Ramadan outreach to Muslim communities across the country. The visit, which took place at the residence of the Chief Imam in Accra, formed part of the companys effort to express solidarity with the Muslim community, particularly the Zongo communities, during the holy month of fasting and reflection. A delegation of senior management officials from MultiPro Ghana presented to the Chief Imam assorted food items, including Indomie Instant Noodles, Kelloggs Cornflakes and Cocopops, Minimie Atsomo, Add Me Groundnut Paste and Munch It Snacks. According to the company, the donation was intended to support Muslim families during Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and Iftar, when Muslims break their fast at sunset. The meeting was attended by other Islamic clerics and community leaders, who welcomed the gesture as a sign of goodwill and continued engagement between corporate organisations and faith-based communities. Speaking during the visit, the Category Brand Manager for the Noodles Category at MultiPro Ghana, Jessica Quaynor, said the Ramadan initiative reflected the companys commitment to supporting households with accessible nutrition while recognising the values associated with the Islamic faith. Ramadan is a time of reflection, unity and compassion, and we understand that balanced nutrition is essential, especially during the fasting period, she said. As a company that serves millions of Ghanaian households across multiple food categories, we remain committed to supporting families with convenient nutrition while honouring the faith and values that guide this holy season. She added that the companys gesture was rooted in the spirit of service and community upliftment. Quoting from the Holy Quran, she said: For the Almighty Allah does not need your support, but if you support mankind, it is a gesture to His mankind. She described the visit as a symbol of appreciation for the Muslim community, particularly residents of Zongo communities across the country, who she said had supported the companys products for many years. Our gesture is deeply rooted in the desire to serve and uplift others. Todays visit symbolises our respect and solidarity with the Muslim community, who have supported our business for generations, Ms Quaynor said. Beyond the courtesy call, MultiPro Ghana announced plans to expand its Ramadan engagement nationwide. The company said it would support approximately 24,000 Muslims through Iftar programmes organised in about 65 mosques across the country, where participants will be served hot meals prepared with Indomie Instant Noodles. According to the company, the initiative is aimed at promoting togetherness and providing convenient meals enriched with essential vitamins and minerals during the fasting period. The National Chief Imam expressed appreciation for the gesture and commended the company for its support during the holy month. Corporate support for religious and community initiatives has become a growing feature of Ramadan activities in Ghana, with companies increasingly partnering with faith-based organisations to provide meals and other forms of assistance to fasting Muslims. MultiPro Ghana, established in 2005 as a wholly owned entity of the Tolaram Group, is one of the countrys largest companies involved in sales, haulage and logistics. The company has played a major role in establishing Indomie Instant Noodles as a widely consumed household brand in Ghana since the product was first introduced to the market the same year. Other products that it distributes include snacks, cereals, cooking pastes, milk products, home care items, and personal hygiene products. As Ramadan continues, the company says it will maintain its engagement with communities while promoting initiatives that encourage unity, wellbeing and shared support among families across the country. Featured NLC declares CLOGSAG strike illegal, summons parties for emergency meeting GraphicOnline Mar - 05 - 2026 , 22:41 4 minutes read The National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) to immediately rescind its declaration of a nationwide strike, describing the planned industrial action as illegal. In a press release issued on March 5, 2026, the NLC said it became aware of the strike declaration through media reports. CLOGSAG had earlier that day issued a notice instructing all its members in the Civil Service and Local Government Service to stay at home from Monday, March 9, until further notice. The Commission invoked its powers under Section 139 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) to order the union to call off the action. According to the NLC, CLOGSAG failed to comply with mandatory legal requirements governing strike actions. "The National Labour Commission, in pursuance of its powers under Section 139 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) directs CLOGSAG to rescind the decision as it contravenes Sections 159 and 160 of Act 651, which enjoins a party who intends to take a strike action to notify the other party and the Commission by serving seven days' notice; and to resort to strike only upon expiration of the seven days' notice where there is no intervention under Section 161 of Act 651," the statement said. The Commission emphasised that CLOGSAG had failed or refused to comply with these provisions, rendering the strike declaration illegal under the Labour Act. "CLOGSAG failed and/or refused to comply with these provisions of the Law as stated above; consequently, the declaration of strike by CLOGSAG constitutes an illegality under the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651)," the NLC stated. The statement was signed by Larry-George Botchway, Head of Public Affairs at the NLC, on behalf of the Executive Secretary. The Commission has summoned both parties in the dispute to appear before it on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 2:00 pm. The NLC reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining peaceful and harmonious industrial relations within the framework of the law. "The disputing parties are hereby summoned to appear before the Commission on Wednesday, 11th March 2026 at 2pm. The Commission remains committed to ensuring a peaceful and harmonious relations environment within the context of the Law," the statement added. CLOGSAG had earlier on Thursday directed its members to proceed on strike over the government's failure to implement an agreed salary structure and conditions of service. The union's notice, signed by Executive Secretary Isaac Bampoe Addo, instructed all staff of the Civil Service and Local Government Service to remain at home from March 9 until further notice. "As you are aware, the National Executive Council of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana on Thursday, 19th February, 2026 gave notice of the intention of its members to proceed on an industrial action. The issues remain unresolved and as a result, all staff of the Civil Service and Local Government Service are enjoined to stay at home with effect from Monday, 9th March, 2026 until further notice," the CLOGSAG notice read. Speaking at a news conference in Accra, Mr Bampoe Addo explained that the dispute dates back to 2019, with two Memoranda of Understanding signed but not implemented. He said the new salary structure was expected to take effect from January 1, 2025. Mr Bampoe Addo also alleged selective implementation of the salary structure under the previous administration, claiming that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta approved the arrangements for staff at the Finance Ministry while excluding other civil servants. "In 2023 when we discussed and agreed on the implementation, Ken Ofori-Atta decided to implement it for some staff at the Finance Ministry, leaving the rest of all civil servants in a bad situation, and that is very bad," he said. The union has indicated that it will only call off the strike if the government fully implements the agreed salary structure and conditions of service for all affected staff. "The only thing that can let us rescind this decision is for government to implement the agreement," Mr Bampoe Addo stated. The strike, if it proceeds, is expected to disrupt administrative operations across government ministries, departments, and agencies nationwide. CLOGSAG represents a significant portion of the public sector workforce within the Civil Service and Local Government Service. Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, had earlier appealed to the union to call off the strike, stating that the action had taken the government by surprise. He acknowledged that the matter had been discussed with the Finance Minister and urged CLOGSAG members to believe the government's promise to address their concerns. The NLC's directive places CLOGSAG in a difficult position as the union must now decide whether to proceed with the strike in defiance of the Commission's order or comply with the directive and appear before the NLC on Wednesday for further negotiations. These roads will be temporarily closed on Independence Day Previous article: These roads will be temporarily closed on Independence Day Featured President Mahama inaugurates calcined clay cement plant in Tema Benjamin Xornam Glover Mar - 05 - 2026 , 16:06 3 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated a calcined clay cement plant at the Tema Industrial Enclave, marking a major step in Ghanas industrialisation agenda and its transition towards low-carbon manufacturing. The facility, operated by CBI Ghana Limited, producers of Supacem Cement, positions Ghana at the forefront of environmentally friendly cement production globally. Constructed at an estimated cost of $110 million, the plant has an installed capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of cement and 400,000 tonnes of calcined clay cement annually. It has already created 109 direct jobs for engineers, technicians and other professionals, with more than 1,000 additional jobs generated across the supply chain. The facility has also been designed to operate continuously in line with the governments 24-Hour Economy policy. Low-carbon innovation The plant uses locally sourced clay from the Torgome Traditional Area in the Volta Region to partially replace imported clinker in cement production, a development expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions and cut the countrys dependence on foreign exchange for clinker imports. Traditional cement manufacturing is responsible for roughly eight per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. However, calcined clay technology enables the Tema plant to substantially reduce emissions while maintaining the strength and quality required for modern construction. Speaking at the inauguration, President Mahama said the project comes at a time when the government is investing more than GH60 billion in national infrastructure development. CBI Ghana Calcined Clay Cement is joining the Big Push programme, supporting roads, interchanges, culverts, and drains built entirely with locally produced cement, he said. The President described the project as clear evidence that the governments Economic Reset Agenda was moving from policy to practical results. This investment signals to domestic and international investors that Ghana is serious about industrialisation, sustainability, and private-sector partnership, he added. President Mahama said the government aims to increase manufacturings contribution to gross domestic product to at least 15 per cent by 2030, with the potential to generate up to 500,000 jobs. He cited recent factory inaugurations in sectors such as textiles, steel, ceramics and glass as further indications that the country was steadily expanding its industrial base. The President also noted that the plant could take advantage of opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area, as its high local content satisfies rules-of-origin requirements for trade across the continent. Climate-smart manufacturing The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, described the facility as a model for climate-smart industrial development. For years, Ghana relied heavily on imported clinker, despite having all the raw materials beneath our feet, she said. She explained that the project would help Ghana meet its international climate obligations, including commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 64 million tonnes by 2030. The minister added that the government would continue to create a conducive environment to attract further industrial investment. Industry vision The Managing Director of CBI Ghana, Frederic Albrecht, said the facility was deliberately built with capacity exceeding the companys immediate needs in order to support the broader transformation of the construction sector. We did not build this plant for CBI alone. We built it to support the next generation of construction in Ghana and beyond, he said. He encouraged other manufacturers to incorporate locally produced calcined clay into their supply chains to accelerate the transition to greener construction materials. Mr Albrecht also acknowledged the role of international investors, including Norfund, Impact Fund Denmark and Heidelberg Materials, whose support he said was crucial to the successful completion of the project. The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Simone Giger, described the facility as both an industrial landmark and a symbol of sustainable innovation. This facility demonstrates what is possible when vision meets investment, technology aligns with local ingenuity, and sustainability becomes a business strategy rather than a slogan, she said. Featured These roads will be temporarily closed on Independence Day Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2026 , 21:53 2 minutes read Motorists in Accra will face temporary traffic disruptions on Friday as sections of major roads around the seat of government are closed to facilitate activities marking Ghanas 69th Independence Anniversary. The Ghana Police Service announced that the restrictions will take effect on March 6, 2026, in connection with the national celebration scheduled to take place at the Jubilee House. In a statement, the police said some key roads would be shut to traffic for the duration of the ceremony before being reopened after the event. The Ghana Police Service wishes to inform the general public, particularly motorists, that some roads in Accra will be temporarily closed on Friday, 6th March 2026 in connection with the 69th Independence Anniversary Celebration to be held at the Jubilee House, the statement said. According to the police, the affected routes include Liberation Road from the Opeibea Intersection towards the Central Business District, Independence Avenue at the Ako Adjei By-pass, and Jawaharlal Nehru Road. Authorities say the closures are necessary to allow for security arrangements and the smooth movement of official convoys during the national event. Motorists travelling along Liberation Road have been advised to divert through Kaokudi Road via the Kanda Highway to connect to Barnes Road towards the Central Business District or alternatively use Giffard Road towards Osu. Drivers approaching Independence Avenue will also be redirected through the Kanda Highway to Ring Road Central before proceeding towards the 37 Intersection and other destinations. The police cautioned motorists to plan their journeys in advance to avoid unnecessary delays and to make use of the designated alternative routes. The Police further advise motorists to plan their journeys ahead of time and use alternative routes where necessary, the statement added. Security arrangements for the celebration will also include strict enforcement of parking regulations along the affected roads, with vehicles prohibited from stopping or parking at unauthorised locations. The police indicated that traffic officers would be deployed at strategic points to guide drivers and ensure smooth traffic flow, while towing vehicles would be on standby to remove any abandoned, disabled or wrongly parked vehicles that could obstruct movement. Security vehicles and vehicles conveying dignitaries will be allowed access only after undergoing the necessary security checks. The police therefore urged members of the public to cooperate with officers on duty to ensure effective traffic management during the Independence Day celebration. Featured Two suspected robbers shot after scaling judges wall in Kumasi Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2026 , 11:43 2 minutes read A robbery attempt at the residence of a Court of Appeal judge in Kumasi has been foiled following the swift intervention of a police bodyguard assigned to the premises, the Ghana Police Service has confirmed. According to a press release issued on March 4, the incident occurred late on March 3 at about 11:30 p.m. when two young men allegedly scaled the fence wall of the judges residence while armed with cutlasses and a pair of scissors. Suspects intercepted on premises The suspects, identified by the police as Patrick Alor, 23, and Akwasi Gyamfi, 21, are said to have entered the compound and attempted to forcibly open the judges private vehicle. However, preliminary investigations indicate that their actions were detected by the police bodyguard stationed at the residence before they could carry out the alleged robbery. According to the police, the suspects resisted arrest when confronted and allegedly attempted to disarm the officer. Officer fires in self-defence The police said that in the course of the confrontation, the officer acted in self-defence and in accordance with operational procedures. Acting in self-defence and in line with operational procedures, the officer discharged his firearm, resulting in gunshot wounds to the left and right legs of the suspects. The injured men were subsequently subdued and taken into custody. Suspects receiving treatment The police further indicated that the two suspects were immediately transported to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for medical attention. They are currently receiving treatment at the facility under police guard as investigations into the attempted robbery continue. Police commend officers vigilance The Ashanti Regional Police Command has commended the alertness and professionalism of the officer involved in the operation. According to the command, the officers swift intervention prevented what could have escalated into a serious security breach at the residence of a senior judicial officer. The police have also assured the public of their continued commitment to safeguarding members of the judiciary and the wider public, while urging residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to the nearest police station. IGP orders probe into alleged GH400,000 Mobile Money withdrawal by Police at Kibi Next article: IGP orders probe into alleged GH400,000 Mobile Money withdrawal by Police at Kibi Two suspected robbers shot after scaling judges wall in Kumasi Previous article: Two suspected robbers shot after scaling judges wall in Kumasi Featured Wa: High Court hands life sentence to man behind 23 killings Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2026 , 11:22 2 minutes read The High Court in Wa has sentenced a 44-year-old man, Shariff Abdulai, popularly known as Cristos, to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the murder of 23 people across several communities in northern Ghana. The conviction follows months of investigations by the police after a series of killings that unsettled residents in parts of the Upper West, Savannah and Bono regions. Guilty plea Abdulai admitted before the court that he was responsible for the deaths of 16 people in Wa, five in Bole, and one each in Banda Nkwanta and Bamboi. According to a police press release dated March 4, Abdulai was arrested on October 6, 2025, after what authorities described as sustained intelligence-led operations and investigations. Following his arrest, he was processed for court and later committed to stand trial by the District Magistrate Court. Court proceedings The accused person was subsequently arraigned before the High Court in Wa, where he was represented by counsel. During proceedings, Abdulai entered a plea of guilty simpliciter to the charge of murder. Presiding Judge, Justice Osei-Wusu Antwi, after considering the plea and the circumstances of the case, sentenced Abdulai to life imprisonment with hard labour. Sentence and detention The court further ordered that the convict be transferred to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison to begin serving his sentence. The Upper West Regional Police Command said the conviction demonstrated the security agencies determination to ensure justice for victims of violent crimes. The command reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the safety and security of law-abiding citizens. Align budget with long-term devt plan Dr Draman Samuel Duodu Politics Mar - 05 - 2026 , 09:57 3 minutes read The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr Rasheed Draman, has called for stricter alignment between Ghanas national budget and its long-term development plan. He described the proposed Public Financial Management (Amendment) Bill, 2026, as a critical step toward improving fiscal discipline and ensuring continuity in national development. Speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the bill, Dr Draman said public expenditure must be directly tied to clearly defined national priorities, arguing that every cedi spent should demonstrably advance the countrys development agenda. The cedi that we spend should be connected to the national plan, Dr Draman stated. Every public officials time and every dollar that is spent has to be related to the national development plan. You have to demonstrate how what you are doing contributes to the national vision," he added. The bill The bill seeks to amend the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), to ensure that the annual budget is consistent with the National Development Plan. Among other provisions, it requires the Minister for Finance to submit an approved fiscal strategy document to Parliament by the end of June each financial year and prohibits the inclusion of budget estimates from ministries, departments and agencies unless they are aligned with development plans approved by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). Dr Draman commended the introduction of the fiscal strategy document ahead of the national budget presentation, adding that this practice is already standard in several countries, including some of Ghanas francophone neighbours. We have moved budgeting from a simple accounting exercise to a strategic tool that is used to advance national development, he said. In many countries, the fiscal strategy document comes to Parliament before the minister presents the budget. It ensures that Members of Parliament are carried along," he stated. He observed that in Ghana and many other jurisdictions, legislators often see the budget for the first time when it is formally presented in Parliament. These are the representatives we have elected. They must not be spectators in such a critical national exercise, he added. Dr Draman, whose organisation serves as the secretariat for the West African Public Accounts Committees (WAPAC), noted that Ghana had previously considered similar reforms but failed to implement them. He praised current efforts, describing them as better late than never. Politics Beyond technical reforms, the ACEPA executive director also addressed what he termed the politics surrounding public financial management. He stressed the need to insulate key institutions such as the NDPC from partisan interference to ensure policy continuity. My dream is that one day we will get to a point where the National Development Planning Commission is truly a technical commission, devoid of all the politics around it, he said. How do we get to a point where any government that comes into power can work with a commission that exists? Then we can have continuity. Drawing from international examples, Dr Draman cited Canadas approach to appointing the Auditor-General, which involves broad stakeholder consultation before the Prime Minister makes the final appointment. He said such inclusive processes reduce political tensions and enhance institutional credibility. When key stakeholders are involved and there is broad consultation, it takes away the politics that disturb some of these important positions, he explained. He further cautioned that the proposed reforms under the amendment could face resistance, particularly where they are perceived as curbing the existing powers of certain offices. Rally behind Accra Reset Initiative - Political Scientist urges Ghanaians Albert K. Salia Politics Mar - 05 - 2026 , 09:57 3 minutes read A political Scientist, Dr Samuel Kofi Darkwa, has urged Ghanaians to rally behind President John Dramani Mahamas Accra Reset Initiative (ARI) to build a brighter and more prosperous future for all. He said while the ARI presented a promising framework for Ghanas future, all Ghanaians needed to engage positively with those proposals. By supporting the government and providing constructive feedback, citizens have the power to help turn aspirations into tangible actions that lead to lasting change, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview. The Accra Reset Initiative (ARI) is a new global development framework initiated by President John Mahama. It seeks to redefine Africas development agenda by reducing the continents reliance on external assistance and systems. Resetting Ghana Dr Darkwa explained that the ARI, which builds upon his "Resetting Ghana" campaign slogan for the 2024 elections, seeks to transform Ghanas governance and socio-economic landscape and elevate its potential within the African continent. He said the anticipation surrounding the initiative reflected a national desire for a clear vision that fosters both growth and self-reliance. The ARI emphasises economic sovereignty, marking a necessary shift from Ghana's traditional dependence on external support, he said. Jobs Dr Darkwa noted that setting a goal to end the export of unprocessed minerals by 2030 would boost local processing capabilities. This ambitious objective holds the promise of creating jobs, enhancing revenue from natural resources and driving economic growth, he stated. He said it was commendable that the government was recognising the long-term benefits of developing local industries, as that approach could significantly uplift communities and contribute to national prosperity. He said President Mahama's focus on increasing domestic processing in the cocoa sector stood out as a fantastic opportunity. Cocoa is a linchpin of Ghanas economy and enhancing local processing could not only establish better pricing power on the global stage but also empower local farmers and businesses, he stated. For this vision to become a reality, meaningful partnerships between the government and stakeholders, such as farmers, are essential. The support of accessible financing, educational opportunities and infrastructure improvements can help these groups thrive, he added. He, therefore, urged Ghanaians, along with their leaders, to work hand-in-hand to elevate the interests of cocoa farmers and local enterprises. Patriotism Dr Darkwa said the Presidents call for "Economic Patriotism" was an encouraging stance. He said by championing local businesses and reducing dependence on foreign entities, Ghana could create a more resilient and vibrant economy. Nonetheless, its pivotal that this initiative fosters healthy competition and innovation. Ensuring a fair business environment will require vigilance from citizens, encouraging them to voice their demands for equity and support for small and medium enterprises, he said. Stakeholders Dr Darkwa, however, said the success of such initiatives depended on collaboration among all stakeholders, including civil society, the media and academia. The importance of public engagement in the ARI cannot be overstated. Constructive feedback from these sectors can help refine government plans, ensuring that they are practical and beneficial for all Ghanaians, he said. The governance expert noted that by fostering inclusive dialogue, the government could better understand the needs and aspirations of its citizens and create policies that resonated on the ground. Corruption Dr Darkwa noted that while the fight against corruption was a pressing concern, it was heartening to see President Mahama proposing measures such as digitising government processes and empowering the Office of the Special Prosecutor. He, however, said a collaborative effort was necessary to build robust accountability systems that truly work. Ghanaians can support these efforts by maintaining a constructive dialogue with their representatives, advocating for transparency and effectiveness in governance, he said. Work is planned and underway for development at FMC Park, which will also impact the adjacent Scott's Bottom Nature Area, seeking to balance public access with conservation. Green River Parks and Recreation Director Katie Duncombe gave updates at the February 17 City Council meeting on the multi-year improvement plan for FMC Park, revealing an approach that directly impacts Scott's Bottom as well. Scott's Bottom, long recognized as a vital natural area, has faced periodic scrutiny and debate concerning the extent and type of public access permitted. The conflict often centers on preventing habitat degradation and vegetation damage caused by uncontrolled vehicle use, mud bogging, and unauthorized trail creation, while still allowing local residents and visitors to enjoy the area's beauty and recreational opportunities. Duncombe detailed the efforts at FMC Park, which serve as an outline for multi-use recreation throughout the Green Belt. Duncombe said this multi-year initiative involves key partnerships with groups like the Sweetwater Mountain Bike Association, the Green Belt Task Force, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and Trout Unlimited. Duncombe said these partnerships signaled a "collaborative move" toward a "thoughtful plan" for the area. The main focus of the recent improvements at FMC Park has been the "consolidation of vehicle access" to protect the environment and enhance safety, Duncombe said. She explained that modifications were made to "promote vegetation recovery" and slow traffic for walkers, bikers, and equestrian users. This included consolidating vehicle travel to one main access route to the boat ramp and installing buck and rail fencing to better manage movement. This measure directly addresses the type of misuse seen over the years, such as ATVs and motorcycles using the area as a racetrack or for mud bogging. Looking ahead, the plan specifically links back to Scott's Bottom Nature Areas' future trail development. Duncombe said the proposed phases include "formalizing an equestrian trail from Scott's Bottom" and creating "shared pedestrian and bike trail connections" that will link Scott's Bottom, the FMC Park area, and the Wilkins Peak trail system. These newly marked trails are designed to channel recreational users along defined paths, providing expanded, but controlled, access that minimizes environmental impact. Duncombe said this "managed expansion" is a solution aimed at resolving past conflicts by clearly defining where and how the public can enjoy the land. During the council update, questions from council members, such as Councilman Ron Williams' concern about the placement of rocks in the new parking area, brought attention to the ongoing questions over access changes. Duncombe explained that adding the rocks, and the general redesign of the parking area, was led by the Sweetwater Mountain Bike Association, and was intended to manage parking more effectively and limit prohibited use. She added that the final, official plan for that lot is still being drafted. Duncombe explained that the overall message from the city's partners is that it is very important to them to establish a sustainable, multi-use area at FMC Park and Scotts Bottom Nature area. Duncombe went on to explain that "by investing in controlled access, dedicated parking, reclamation of damaged areas, and formal trail systems, Green River is attempting to move past the debates of unmanaged public access." Duncombe concluded by explaining that "the focus" is now on developing a cohesive recreational network that preserves FMC Park, Scott's Bottom Nature Area and the Green Belt for future generations. Dear editor, At the time of writing, six American service members have been killed as a result of Trumps attack on Iran. One hundred and seventy-five dead civilians have been found in the ruins of the school that was hit during the first strikes, most of them children. Last year, Tulsi Gabbard told congress that Iran was not building nuclear weapons, only enriched uranium for energy use, and Trump told us that the nuclear weapons facilities had been obliterated. Now, the pentagon has told congress that there was no credible threat of attack on the US from Iran before our first strikes over the weekend. Last year, Trump removed financial aid from Ukraine, which is actively being invaded, and defunded USAID, resulting in thousands of deaths and in lost revenue for American farmers, claiming we shouldnt spend American money on other countries. Yet today he sends our soldiers to die for Israels war and to free the Iranian people, spending more American money on the equipment and weapons used in Iran than if he had simply provided supplies to the Iranian protestors or worked to restore their internet so they can communicate with each other and organize. He tells them to fight for their freedom yet, as of this time, has provided no resources outside of bombing their. All while he hosts parties, talks about statues and drapes, and praises himself for the ballroom no one else wanted. Trump campaigned heavily on the slogan No New Wars, yet starts a war with nonchalant statements about how there will be casualties, as often happens in war. He talks about decades old conflicts, and all the things Iran could potentially do, language meant to manipulate us into believing his war is justified, noble even, without providing any tangible evidence that it is necessary. He describes a hypothetical future in which America could be threatened, a future which experts say is at least a decade away, if it happens at all. Decade has never meant imminent. Stop moving the goal posts for this man, hold him accountable to his promises. Advocate for the safety of our troops, instead of just sending prayers. Use your voice, ignore the nay-sayers; your voice matters. Call our senators and representative, call the White House even, and tell them, No New Wars, means No New Wars. Jessica Donaghe-Wilde Green River These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Poco is expected to launch its new X Pro series phones soon and recently began teasing the upcoming devices, even taking a jab at Samsungs Galaxy S26 lineup. The series is likely to include the Poco X8 Pro and Poco X8 Pro Max, and the company has now confirmed the chipsets that will power both models. In a post on X, Poco revealed that the upcoming X Pro series phones will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 and Dimensity 9500s chipsets. While Poco did not reveal the exact names of the upcoming phones, they are widely expected to be the Poco X8 Pro and Poco X8 Pro Max. The former is tipped to feature the Dimensity 8500 chipset, while the latter will likely be powered by the Dimensity 9500s SoC. The Poco X8 Pro series is expected to be based on the Redmi Turbo 5 series, which was unveiled in China last month. However, the rebranded Poco X8 Pro lineup is rumored to come with smaller batteries compared to its Redmi counterparts. Source A man convicted of transporting large quantities of methamphetamine from California to Guam in the early and mid-1990s has no intention of returning to Guam, according to a filing in District Court of Guam. Roy Cabaccang was released on July 16, 2025 after President Joe Biden commuted his sentence shortly before he left office in January 2025. Roy Cabaccang and his brothers James and Richard Cabaccang were all sentenced to life in prison in the District Court of Guam. However, Biden commuted Roy and Richard Cabaccangs sentences. Since Roy Cabaccang was released in July, he has been under the supervision of the District of Connecticut. A transfer of jurisdiction document filed in the District Court of Guam stated that on Feb. 6, the District of Connecticut U.S. Probation Office requested a transfer due to Roy Cabaccang being released and placed under their supervision. Mr. Cabaccang has no intention of returning to Guam, the document stated. According to court documents, his probation ends on July 15, 2035. Under the Constitution, the president has the authority to commute or reduce sentences for federal criminal convictions. Commutations are for those who are serving longer sentences than they would receive today under current law and practice. Commutation reduces the sentence without forgiving the person convicted. Meth in the 90s In 1991, Roy, James and Richard Cabaccang began bringing crystal methamphetamine or ice to Guam. Their drug and money-laundering empire was worth more than $1 million, court documents said. The Cabaccang drug ring employed more than 40 people and involved several modes of money and drug transfers, including body concealment. Police in 1995 said Roy Cabaccang controlled 90% of the importation of ice on Guam, according to Pacific Daily News files. Prosecutors at the time said the Cabaccangs operation was so successful that its the reason ice is the drug of choice on Guam. Files stated the Cabaccang case netted the federal government $500,000 after seizing jewelries, cars and money. James and Richard Cabaccang were sentenced to life in prison in 1998. Roy Cabaccang, the mastermind of the drug importation and money-laundering operation, was sentenced to six life terms, according to news files. It was the highest punishment ever issued on Guam at the time. They were resentenced in 2005 after the federal appeals court overturned the importation-related convictions, stating drug traffickers who cross into international airspace on their way to another destination in the U.S. or its territories shouldnt be punished more harshly than other domestic drug dealers. James and Richard Cabaccang were resentenced to life in prison, while their brother Roy Cabaccang was resentenced to several life sentences. James Cabaccang was released from federal prison in 2021 after former President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2017. The Office of the Attorney General failed to get the governors approval to represent Sen. Telo Taitague in a lawsuit filed against her by former senator Tom Fisher, according to a Wednesday order from the Supreme Court of Guam disqualifying the AGs office from the case. Justices rejected Fishers arguments that Attorney General Douglas Moylan and his office are barred by Guam law and the professional conduct rules from representing senators in legal matters. But they did find that the AGs office is required by law to get the governors approval before representing Taitague in her individual capacity, but did not. The 14-page order directs Taitague to find another lawyer or give the court a status update within 30 days. Taitague picked up a packet for reelection as senator this year, while Fisher is running for attorney general. Fisher, also an attorney, sued Taitague in July 2024 for allegedly failing to disclose text messages between herself and Moylan, exchanged during debate on the floor of the Legislature. The suit alleged Fisher handed Taitague a handwritten Freedom of Information Act request for the messages, which she then threw in the trash can. Superior Court Judge Dana Gutierrez already ruled that the case was moot in January of 2025. She found Fisher received the texts he requested a few days after the FOIA request, because Taitague directed the former executive director of the Legislature, Joseph San Agustin, to hand over the messages. But Gutierrez also ruled that Taitague was supposed to respond, and that Fisher could still seek penalties in the case for late disclosure. Taitague appealed the case to the Supreme Court in February 2025, where it remains pending. Legal fees in the case topped $30,000 in February 2025, the Pacific Daily News reported. Theyre likely much higher now. Last May, Deputy Attorney General Lee Miller stepped in to represent Taitague, replacing a private attorney hired by her office. Fisher alleged that Millers representation was illegal and moved to disqualify the AGs office. He also filed an ethics complaint against Taitague, alleging she was involved in a quid-pro-quo with Moylan, getting free legal representation in exchange for advocating for his attorneys payment from the Department of Administration. That ethics complaint was tossed out in July by the Legislatures Committee on Ethics and Standards, chaired at the time by Sen. Shawn Gumataotao. Moylan is engaged in a separate legal dispute with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, alleging her administration is withholding payments for attorneys he hired on contract. Adelup has alleged multiple attorney contracts processed by the AGs office are illegal. Moylan has yet to firm up a reelection bid, and has floated a possible run for governor. According to Wednesdays Supreme Court order, the AGs office is required by law to get Leon Guerreros approval before stepping in to represent Taitague, or any other government employee in their official capacity. It points to emails from Adelup legal counsel Jeffrey Moots, which confirm that Moylan did not get the governors approval. Moots name is notably on several communications alleging contracts at the AGs office are illegal. Justices did find that the Organic Act of Guam does not generally bar the attorney general from representing officials from the legislative or judicial branch. Arguments that the offices representation of Taitague violated the doctrine of separation of powers were rejected. Haiti - Cabinet reshuffle : Two key ministries now headed by women On Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, the new Ministers Sandra Paulemon was sworn in as Minister of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) and Raina Forbin as Minister of Foreign Affairs. In his address, Prime Minister Fils-Aime commended the outgoing Minister of Planning, Ketleen Florestal, for her work. He noted that during her tenure, she had carried out her duties with rigor and a strong sense of responsibility, and expressed his deep gratitude for her service to the Republic. The Prime Minister emphasized that the MPCE's mission is essential to the stability and continuity of public action. The foundations laid constitute a solid base that must now be consolidated and strengthened to enhance the effectiveness of government intervention. By entrusting the leadership of the Ministry to Sandra Paulemon, the Government is demonstrating its commitment to responsibility. The Prime Minister emphasized that this Ministry represents the true center for strategic planning of the country's economic and social development. It is within this ministry that the Nation's long-term vision is developed, planning frameworks are structured, the Strategic Plan for Haiti's Development and public investment programs are established, and external cooperation is coordinated. The Government reaffirms that every international partnership and every resource mobilized must serve as an effective lever for national priorities and the concrete improvement of the population's living conditions. During the installation of Raina Forbin as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister commended the new Foreign Minister, whose professionalism, loyalty, and experience provide certain guarantees for the conduct of Haitian diplomacy in a demanding international context. "Her career and commitment reflect a profound understanding of contemporary strategic issues as well as an unwavering dedication to the higher interests of the Nation." The Government also expressed the Nation's gratitude to the outgoing Minister, Jean Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste. The Prime Minister noted that "The new Minister's mission will be to strengthen Haiti's presence in regional and international bodies, consolidate our strategic partnerships, and promote an active diplomacy focused on defending our sovereignty, attracting investment, and protecting the interests of our citizens abroad." The Government reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that Haiti's foreign policy is guided by a coherent vision based on respect for international law, mutually beneficial cooperation, and the constant pursuit of peace, stability, and sustainable development. Image thumbnail : Left : Sandra Paulemon, Right : Raina Forbin Full cabinet reshuffle list : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46982-haiti-flash-full-list-of-government-reshuffle.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : The FAA extends the flight ban for Port-au-Prince and expands the no-fly zones The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the ban on flights for U.S. commercial airlines to Haiti until September 3, 2026. This decision, made due to persistent security instability, has kept Haiti in a state of air isolation since November 2024. Initially limited to Port-au-Prince, the restriction has been expanded by the FAA. The restricted airspace now encompasses areas of the Central and Artibonite departments. The FAA justifies this expansion by citing the movement of gangs toward the north of the capital, thus increasing the risk of small arms fire against aircraft at low altitudes (below 10,000 feet). The advisory highlights the inability of Haitian security forces to secure the approach corridors and the perimeter of Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Haiti's isolation is not limited to U.S. airlines. France, the United Kingdom, and Canada strongly recommend avoiding the capital's airport or not flying at low altitudes. Furthermore, the Dominican Republic has maintained the closure of its air borders with Haiti, suspending passenger and cargo flights until at least March 28, 2026. The current ban stems from an escalation of violence that began in November 2024, when three aircraft were shot down at or near Port-au-Prince airport : Spirit Airlines (at least seven hits https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43614-haiti-flash-spirit-airlines-plane-hit-in-flight-by-several-bullets-video.html), JetBlue (one hit), and American Airlines (one hit) https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-43623-icihaiti-insecurity-the-ministry-of-justice-condemns-the-shootings-on-planes.html . In January 2026, two ZED Airlines planes were shot down on approach, leading the airline to immediately suspend all operations, including its route to Brazil (https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46721-haiti-flash-2-planes-hit-by-bullets-reactions-from-aan-and-ofnac.html), marking the end of the last scheduled international flight to Port-au-Prince. Despite the demolition of houses near the airport to clear lines of fire (https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44228-haiti-security-demolitions-continue-near-the-airport.html), the threat remains. Terrorist coalitions like "Viv Ansanm" now possess Barrett M-50 precision rifles, capable of engaging targets at long range (up to 4,000 meters). The FAA confirms that current security conditions are "incompatible with the normal continuation of operations." Maintaining these restrictions is resulting in a massive increase in logistical costs, a drastic reduction in freight, and economic isolation that is suffocating the capital, Port-au-Prince, and whose consequences are affecting the entire country. TB/ PI/ HaitiLibre (HedgeCo.Net) In the evolving relationship between digital assets and traditional finance, few developments carry the potential significance of a cryptocurrency firm gaining direct access to the United States core financial plumbing. Yet that is precisely the moment the industry may be witnessing. Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, has reportedly secured access to the Federal Reserves payments infrastructure through its banking divisiona development that could reshape how digital asset firms interact with the traditional financial system. For years, cryptocurrency companies have operated at the edges of banking infrastructure. Exchanges relied on intermediary banks to process deposits, withdrawals, and settlement flows. Those relationships were often fragile, vulnerable to regulatory pressure, and occasionally disrupted during periods of financial stress. Direct access to the Federal Reserves payments system represents something fundamentally different. It signals that a crypto firm is no longer merely interfacing with banksit is becoming integrated into the core architecture of the U.S. financial system. For the digital asset industry, the implications could be profound. The Long Road to Banking Integration The cryptocurrency sector has long struggled with access to reliable banking services. While digital assets have grown into a multi-trillion-dollar ecosystem, the infrastructure linking crypto markets to fiat currency systems has remained uneven. Banks historically approached crypto companies with caution. Concerns about regulatory scrutiny, anti-money-laundering compliance, and market volatility made many institutions reluctant to provide services. As a result, exchanges often relied on a small number of banking partners. When those relationships changedor disappeared entirelycrypto firms could find themselves scrambling to maintain access to dollar liquidity. The collapse of several crypto-friendly banks during earlier periods of market stress illustrated how fragile those connections could be. Krakens breakthrough therefore represents more than a regulatory milestone. It is a structural shift that could reduce the industrys dependence on intermediary institutions. What Federal Reserve Access Means At the heart of the development lies the Federal Reserves payment network, which includes systems such as Fedwire and other infrastructure used for transferring funds between banks. These systems are the backbone of the U.S. financial system. They process trillions of dollars in transactions every day, enabling banks to move funds quickly and securely. Direct participation in this network allows financial institutions to settle transactions without relying on intermediary banks. For a cryptocurrency company, the advantages are significant. First, settlement speed improves dramatically. Transfers between accounts can occur in near real time, reducing delays that previously existed when exchanges relied on external banking partners. Second, costs decline. By eliminating intermediaries, institutions can reduce fees associated with payment processing and settlement. Third, operational resilience improves. Firms gain greater control over their own liquidity management. For institutional tradersmany of whom operate on tight timeframesthese improvements could make crypto markets more attractive. Institutional Crypto Trading Enters a New Phase The institutionalization of cryptocurrency markets has been accelerating in recent years. Large hedge funds, asset managers, and pension funds have begun allocating capital to digital assets, viewing them as a new alternative asset class. Yet institutional participation has always been constrained by infrastructure. Trading firms require reliable settlement systems, predictable liquidity, and robust risk controls. The absence of those features historically limited the scale of institutional crypto adoption. Direct integration with the Federal Reserves payment system could address several of those constraints. Institutional investors will be able to move funds into and out of crypto markets more efficiently. This reduces friction in trading strategies that rely on rapid capital deployment. For example, hedge funds running quantitative or arbitrage strategies often require the ability to move cash quickly across markets. Faster settlement allows them to respond to opportunities without waiting for slow banking transfers. In effect, Krakens integration with core financial infrastructure could make crypto markets feel more like traditional capital markets. The Regulatory Dimension Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this development is what it suggests about regulatory attitudes toward the cryptocurrency industry. For years, the relationship between regulators and crypto companies has been contentious. Agencies have debated how digital assets should be classified, how exchanges should operate, and how investor protections should be implemented. Granting a crypto-related entity access to the Federal Reserves payment infrastructure implies a level of regulatory comfort that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years ago. This does not mean regulators have embraced the industry without reservations. Oversight will likely remain strict, and compliance requirements will continue to evolve. However, the development signals that at least some digital asset firms are being recognized as legitimate financial institutions. Such recognition could encourage further integration between crypto markets and traditional finance. Competitive Implications for Crypto Exchanges Krakens achievement also has competitive ramifications within the cryptocurrency exchange landscape. The global exchange market is dominated by a handful of major players, including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken itself. Infrastructure advantages can be decisive in this environment. If Kraken can offer faster fiat settlement, lower costs, and improved liquidity management, it may attract more institutional trading volume. That could create a powerful network effect. More institutional activity increases market liquidity, which in turn attracts additional traders. Competitors will likely seek similar capabilities. Other exchanges may pursue partnerships or regulatory approvals that allow them to connect more directly with banking infrastructure. Over time, this could lead to a broader transformation of crypto market plumbing. The Broader Impact on Financial Markets Beyond the crypto sector, Krakens integration with the Federal Reserves payments network raises broader questions about the future of financial markets. Digital assets are often described as operating on parallel rails to traditional finance. Blockchain networks allow peer-to-peer value transfer without relying on conventional banking systems. Yet the reality is that most investors still measure wealth in fiat currencies. Connecting blockchain-based markets with the infrastructure of central banks creates a hybrid systemone that combines the speed and programmability of digital assets with the stability of established financial institutions. Such a system could enable entirely new financial products. Tokenized securities, programmable payments, and real-time settlement mechanisms could all emerge from this convergence. Krakens access to the Federal Reserve system may therefore represent an early step in a broader transformation of global finance. Challenges Ahead Despite its promise, the integration of crypto firms into traditional financial infrastructure will not be without challenges. Operational complexity is one issue. Managing payment flows across both blockchain networks and central bank systems requires sophisticated technology and risk controls. Regulatory scrutiny will also remain intense. Authorities will want to ensure that digital asset firms maintain robust compliance frameworks, particularly regarding anti-money-laundering measures and customer protections. Market volatility could also create complications. Cryptocurrency prices can fluctuate dramatically, and financial institutions connected to the sector must manage associated risks carefully. Nonetheless, these challenges are not unique to crypto. Traditional financial markets have long navigated similar complexities. Conclusion: A Structural Shift Krakens access to the Federal Reserves payments infrastructure represents more than a technical achievement. It marks a symbolic milestone in the evolution of the digital asset industry. For the first time, a major cryptocurrency firm appears poised to operate within the core architecture of the U.S. financial system. If the integration proves successful, it could accelerate the institutionalization of crypto markets, attract new pools of capital, and reshape the competitive landscape among exchanges. Most importantly, it could signal that the boundary between digital assets and traditional finance is beginning to dissolve. What once existed as two separate worlds may gradually converge into a single financial ecosystemone where blockchain networks and central bank infrastructure operate side by side. Google is introducing the desktop mode announced during I/O 2025 for its Pixel smartphones and tablets. The new feature is part of the March update for Google's Pixel models and allows users with a Pixel 8 or newer to connect their device to an external monitor via USB-C to enjoy a desktop-like multi-window experience. Continue after ad Desktop mode soon for other devices With the new desktop mode, which works with Google's foldables in addition to the Pixel 8 and newer, users can connect their phone to an external monitor (e.g., via USB-C) and use it with a mouse and keyboard as a PC replacement. The Pixel Tablet also receives a desktop mode with app windows that, according to Google, offers a familiar user interface for arranging and resizing overlapping windows. Desktop mode with smartphone. (Image: Google) While the desktop mode is currently only supported by Pixel devices, it is also planned to be provided for smartphones and tablets from other manufacturers. The company stated this last year. According to Google, the new desktop mode builds on the desktop window functionality that the company introduced for tablets in September 2024. It was developed in collaboration with Samsung, which has been offering its DeX mode for Galaxy smartphones and tablets for years. Different modes Last year, Google already explained that the desktop mode functions differently depending on the output device: for example, when a smartphone or foldable is connected to an external monitor via DisplayPort, a desktop session is automatically initiated on the monitor. The output device and the external display work independently of each other, with apps running on the screen they are assigned to. Continue after ad Android 16 QPR3: Desktop mode on tablet with external screen. (Image: Google) When a desktop-capable device like a tablet is connected to an external screen, the second screen serves as an extension of the workspace, similar to classic notebooks. The two screens then work as a continuous system, allowing app windows, content, and the cursor to be moved freely between the screens. In both desktop views, a taskbar is displayed with pinned and active apps, as well as freely positionable windows. To ensure that apps are not just displayed somehow on large screens but are adapted accordingly, Google has extended the Jetpack WindowManager 1.5.0 with the Window Size Classes Large (between 1200dp and 1600dp) and Extra-large (1600dp). According to Google, these allow app layouts to be adapted for large screens. Additionally, with the new Jetpack Navigation 3 Library, Google offers a tool for creating adaptive layouts, as multiple destinations can be displayed simultaneously and seamless switching between these layouts is possible. (afl) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. We're a family of eight living in Georgia where Andrew's a professor at GSU and Nancy is a PhD student at UGA. You can read more about us here The investigation centres on purchases of used vehicles from other European Union member states. Finnish Customs reports that the cars carried a purchase value of about 115 million. Investigators state that companies involved altered documentation so the vehicles appeared under the margin taxation scheme rather than normal VAT rules. Finnish Customs has opened a large investigation into suspected tax fraud linked to used vehicle imports into Finland. Authorities state that more than 3,500 vehicles entered the country through arrangements that avoided value added tax. The suspected loss to the state exceeds 60 million. Finnish Customs states that several Finnish intermediary firms bought the vehicles through large European online auction platforms. The companies then used VAT identification numbers linked to operators in Bulgaria and Germany. Authorities state that these numbers belonged to actors involved in fraudulent activity. Investigators say the vehicles entered Finland as intra-EU acquisitions but VAT for the country of sale remained unpaid. After the purchase stage, invoices showing margin taxation were created in the names of the foreign operators and entered into the books of Finnish intermediary firms. The procedure lowered the amount of VAT due when the vehicles reached the Finnish market. Under margin taxation rules, VAT is calculated only from the profit margin rather than the full sale price. Customs states that this method allowed the companies to avoid VAT on the acquisition of the vehicles and also reduce tax payments on resale in Finland. The case began after the Finnish Tax Administration conducted audits of companies that sell imported vehicles to car dealerships. During those inspections, officials found signs that margin taxation had been used in situations where full VAT should apply. Customs reports that eight people linked to the intermediary companies face suspicion in the investigation. Authorities also examine the role of staff connected to a large national dealership chain that bought many of the vehicles. According to information reported by the magazine Moottori, the dealership chain involved is J. Rinta-Jouppi. The company operates car dealerships across several Finnish cities. Customs states that the intermediary companies sold most of the vehicles onward to one large dealership chain. Investigators suspect that employees involved in purchasing at that chain knew about the fraudulent import arrangements. The suspected offences include aggravated tax fraud and aggravated accounting offences. Customs first used coercive measures in the case during 2024 and carried out further actions in February 2026. Jani Koski, chief financial officer of J. Rinta-Jouppi, confirmed to Moottori that Customs carried out inspections at company sites earlier this year. He said authorities collected equipment belonging to employees during the operation. Finnish Customs reports that the Tax Administration acts as the injured party in the suspected VAT offences. Authorities have also taken security measures during the investigation in order to safeguard potential tax claims. Part of the case will move to prosecutors in western Finland once the investigation stage ends. Other parts fall under the competence of the European Public Prosecutors Office due to the cross-border nature of the VAT fraud. HT The current law from the 1980s bans the import, possession, manufacture and detonation of nuclear explosives on Finnish territory. The plan forms part of amendments to Finlands Nuclear Energy Act. Defence minister Antti Hakkanen announced the proposal at a press briefing in Helsinki on Thursday evening. Finlands government plans to remove a legal ban that blocks nuclear weapons from entering the country. The proposal links the change to national defence and cooperation with NATO allies. The government now seeks to remove those restrictions from the nuclear energy law and place rules on nuclear explosives under the criminal code. The revised system would still ban Finland from producing, developing or detonating nuclear weapons. The change would permit the import, transport or possession of a nuclear explosive in Finland if the act relates to military defence or cooperation with NATO. The government states that Finland does not seek nuclear weapons for its territory. Defence minister Hakkanen said the reform responds to the countrys security environment after Finland joined NATO. The legislation does not match the needs Finland has as a NATO member, Hakkanen said during the briefing. The goal is to ensure full protection for Finland in all situations. He stressed that the proposal does not mean nuclear weapons will be stationed in the country. Permanent deployment would require a separate international treaty and approval by parliament and the Finnish state leadership. The reform would also allow nuclear weapons to pass through Finnish territory in certain circumstances. The minister repeated that Finland does not aim to host nuclear weapons and that NATO exercises in Finland do not involve real nuclear warheads. Government officials state that the change seeks to align Finnish law with common practice among NATO states. Absolute bans similar to Finlands current legislation are rare in the alliance. The United States maintains nuclear weapons in several European NATO countries, including Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Turkey. France and the United Kingdom hold their own nuclear arsenals. France recently signalled plans to expand nuclear cooperation with certain allies. Finnish officials state that the current law proposal does not link to that initiative. Prime minister Petteri Orpo leads the coalition government behind the reform plan. The government states that defence authorities recommended the legal change. The proposal has triggered criticism from opposition parties. Social Democratic Party lawmaker Johan Kvarnstrom described the policy as irresponsible in a statement. This marks a sad chapter in Finlands security policy history, Kvarnstrom said. He also criticised the governments handling of the process. Opposition figures state that parliament received limited information before the public announcement. Leaders of parliamentary groups and party chairs received a briefing one day before the announcement. Foreign affairs and defence committees received information shortly before the press conference. Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela and Social Democratic foreign affairs committee chair Johannes Koskinen both criticised the lack of earlier consultation. Hakkanen defended the approach stating that the matter involves classified information and sensitive defence policy. The issue is not ideological, Hakkanen said. The proposal follows assessments by defence experts. The minister added that parliament will receive security classified material related to the proposal during the legislative process. HT Sri Lankan authorities said the vessel, identified as the IRIS Dena, went down about 40km off the countrys southern coast after issuing a distress call. The navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 survivors. About 180 people were believed to have been on board. A United States submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 sailors, amid the US-Israeli war against Iran. An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, he said. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Screenshot from a video released by the US Department of Defense on March 4, 2026 showing what the Department of Defense says is periscope footage of a US Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Photo: AFP / Lehtikuva The Pentagon released video which it said showed the moment of impact. The footage captured an explosion beneath the stern of a vessel, lifting the rear section out of the water before the ship broke apart and sank. Reuters and the BBC reported that the images matched the profile of the IRIS Dena, though the exact date of filming was not verified. Sri Lankas navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said rescue crews reached the scene after receiving the distress signal but found no intact vessel. We found people floating in the water and rescued them, he told reporters. Later on, we found upon inquiring that they belonged to the Iranian ship. The IRIS Dena had taken part in the Milan 2026 naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, hosted by India from 18 to 25 February. The Indian Navy had posted images of the frigate arriving in Visakhapatnam, describing the visit as a sign of ties between the two countries. Indias foreign ministry later rejected claims that US naval forces were using Indian ports during the conflict, calling such reports fake and false. The sinking marks a further escalation in a war that began with joint US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. The White House said US forces have struck or sunk more than 20 Iranian vessels since the campaign began. At least 17 Iranian naval ships have been destroyed, according to US Central Command. Hegseth said the submarine attack was the first time since the Second World War that a US submarine had sunk an enemy ship with a torpedo. Iranian state media reported that the death toll from five days of air strikes across the country had exceeded 1,000, with more than 6,000 wounded. The figures were not independently verified. The United Nations said about 100,000 people fled Tehran in the first two days of the bombing. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported no damage to facilities containing nuclear material, though it called for restraint to avoid a wider risk. In Washington, the US Senate voted 52 to 47 against advancing a resolution that sought to limit President Donald Trumps authority to continue military action against Iran. The measure required 60 votes to proceed. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration aimed to destroy Irans navy and ballistic missile capacity and to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. She told reporters that Irans leaders were paying in blood for attacks on US interests. The conflict has spread beyond Irans borders. Israel launched a new wave of strikes across Tehran on Wednesday night, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli positions in response to Israeli air raids in Lebanon. Lebanons health ministry reported 72 deaths since fighting resumed this week. Sri Lanka has called for restraint and said it remains neutral. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the rescue operation took place outside Sri Lankan territorial waters but within its search and rescue zone. HT More than 600 people have already expressed interest in the flight. Foreign ministry officials say demand for the flight far exceeds available seats. The aircraft scheduled to depart on Sunday has space for about 155 to 160 passengers. Hundreds of citizens have registered for a government-organised repatriation flight from the Middle East as conflict across the region disrupts air travel and leaves travellers stranded. Foreign ministry consular chief Jussi Tanner said authorities recognise that many people in the region require assistance to return home. The situation is difficult. There are clearly citizens who need help, Tanner said at a press briefing. The flight will depart from Muscat, the capital of Oman. Passengers located in the United Arab Emirates must travel by bus to Oman before boarding the aircraft. Officials estimate the price of the flight at around 2,300 per passenger. Travellers must also pay roughly 100 for the bus journey from the Emirates to Muscat. The government says the cost reflects the high insurance and operational expenses linked to flying in a conflict zone. Under consular services law, passengers must cover the costs of evacuation or repatriation flights themselves. The flight is extremely expensive, mainly because of insurance costs, Tanner said. Priority for seats will go to families with children and people in vulnerable situations. Authorities report around 3,000 citizens across the Middle East, including about 2,000 in the United Arab Emirates. Some travellers have already left the region using commercial flights, although options remain limited as airlines cancel routes or suspend services. Airlines continue to adjust schedules following military escalation in the region. Some carriers have resumed limited operations from Dubai, while other airlines have cancelled flights for weeks. Officials say the government currently has funding for only one repatriation flight. Additional flights would require a separate political decision. Demand for evacuation options remains high as hostilities continue across several countries in the region. Tanner said authorities have no information indicating that any citizens have been injured in the conflict. At the same time, the ministry warns that conditions remain unpredictable. The threat picture in the Persian Gulf is similar to what it has been, Tanner said. It is possible that the situation improves, but it is also possible that it worsens. Officials also note that the government has not activated the European Union civil protection mechanism for the flight. The mechanism allows countries to recover some costs when seats are offered to citizens of other EU states. In this case, officials say demand from their own citizens already exceeds available capacity. The foreign ministry has deployed a consular support team to Abu Dhabi to assist citizens in the United Arab Emirates. The team provides advice and support to travellers who seek routes out of the region. HT It's time to take the plunge on aquatics center The H-CATS, the City Aquatics Team youth swimming program, was hugely popular in the 1990s. We found the photo from the H-CATS alums Facebook promotion of a reunion in 2014. Our community is talking about building an indoor municipal swimming pool, but it isnt the first time that discussion has come around. Related Stories Back in the early and mid-1990s, the citys Patton pool was in its heyday. Then parks director Carl Hill called it a gem, a bright and shiny well-kept asset for everyone to enjoy. Katie BreckheimerNot only was it enjoyed by hundreds of people every summer, it was the home of a robust county swim team, the H-CATS, which had 200 swimmers at its peak. But there was a problem: the city pool was only open Memorial Day to Labor Day, three months, which left no place to swim during the other nine months of the year, other than the YMCA pool. Thats when a group of prominent citizens, mostly swim parents, started thinking about how and where to build what we needed. The committee was comprised of leaders like Marcia Caserio, Dr. Ken Shelton and Marney McClung, Karen Saine and Ken Butcher. By the mid-1990s every local high school had a swim team, but practicing was never easy, especially since their competition season is in the winter. The YMCA was just not big enough. Adding to the popularity of swimming at the time was the 1996 summer Olympic games in Atlanta. Having a 50-meter Olympic size pool at Patton Park allowed the parents of the summer swim team to host the New Zealand (NZ) Olympic Team in 1995 and 96. The NZ swimmers held swim clinics for area children, and hosted an international swim meet, which brought in college swimmers plus four Olympic swimmers from the Czech Republic. It was a wonderful cultural event, even attended by the New Zealand Ambassador and his wife. High on their win of organizing such an outstanding cultural experience, the Swim Committee searched for a location for a new indoor facility. Finally settling on Blue Ridge Community College, they talked to then president David Sink about building an indoor pool on the campus. Long story short, we have a very fine science and meeting space in the Sink building at the college, but no pool. Over the years, local enthusiasm for swimming waned. The number of swimmers on the county team fell off as did the number of varsity swim teams at the high schools. Patton pool, built in the 1970s, was losing its once well-maintained luster, and fewer and fewer people were allowed to swim due to a lack of lifeguards. However, now the cycle has begun again! In 2019, the Henderson County Parks and Recreation Department paid for a professional needs assessment, which showed the top five needs included a pool. This set off a spark in the Recreation Advisory Committee, and a resurgence of advocacy for swimming was born. A new group, Support Our Swimmers (SOS) formed two year ago, with a mission of bringing together residents, organizations and local leaders to plan, fund and build a community aquatic center to promote health, safety, recreation and a lifelong enjoyment of swimming. SOS has gathered letters of support, created a PowerPoint presentation and talked to every leader and group that will listen. They have taken three fieldtrips to nearby WNC communities with indoor municipal pools and documented the experiences. Patton pools demise due to Hurricane Helene has brought about a thoughtful replacement discussion by City Council; the YMCA-WNC continues to talk about renovating their location in Hendersonville; and Henderson County is considering a pool, perhaps after a few of their other capital projects are complete. So why not get together and partner on building an indoor swimming complex, one that could host big meets and generate revenue? By sharing the cost, a really nice 50-meter pool with an additional 25-yard warm-up pool could be built. That way all of our needs could be met: swim lessons for all ages, water exercise classes, swim team practices and meets, lap swimming, aquatic physical therapy, kayak safety, scuba training and emergency rescue training. Where to build it and the cost are currently being developed, but the time is right to come together and make it happen. As the cycle comes around again, lets not wait. You can help Support Our Swimmers by talking to your elected officials about the need for a pool. To stay informed on the effort contact SOS at soshcnc@gmail.com. * * * * * Katie Breckheimer is chair of the Support Our Swimmers steering committee and a member of Henderson Countys Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee. WE just want to get home, says the owner of a Henley butchers who is stranded in Dubai as ballistic missiles and drones hit the city. Barry Wagner, 51, owner of Gabriel Machin in Market Place, and his partner Jackie Scollon, 53, were enjoying a week-long winter escape at the Waldorf Astoria hotel before the attack. The couple arrived on Sunday, February 22, expecting sunshine, relaxation and a return flight a week later. But the day before they were due to depart, Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury. This followed protests from Iranians against the countrys deepening economic crisis, which evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the Islamic regime. Mr Wagner received a government alert on his mobile phone at around 12.30am on Sunday saying he should stay inside and away from glass. His flight, scheduled for later that day, was cancelled and was advised that there would be no immediate option to rebook. Mr Wagner and Ms Scollon remain in their room while others in the hotel are sleeping on beds in the completely blacked-out basement with their young children. He said: On Saturday afternoon we heard a lot of enormous bangs, which were incredibly loud and so people started to panic. If you looked up, you could see clouds of smoke - nobody really knew how bad it was. We do feel relatively safe but you just never know when some of the intercepted stuff is going to come down or where its going to hit. But, as it is with British people, we are keeping that stiff upper lip and carrying on as normal and trying to stay calm. Since the start of the attack, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said that 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones have been launched from Iran. But Mr Wagner said his perception of the severity of the attacks intensified when the Fairmont hotel, the airport and the Burj Al Arab were struck. He said: We can see the Burj Al Arab from our window, which has very light damage on the outside, and we visited the Fairmont a few days before it got struck. This was a massive realisation as it set in that we could be in serious trouble. The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that the state would bear all hosting and accommodation costs for affected and stranded passengers. However, cover for Mr Wagner's accommodation, which costs 350 per night, has not materialised yet. He said: I have got travel insurance but its very clearly stipulated that it doesnt cover acts of war. I received an email from Virgin saying it would pay the costs but that remains to be seen and obviously my tour operator, TUI, would have to pick up some of it as well. I understand they are inundated but we are getting very little information as nobody knows what to do. Its frustrating as Im trying to contact them daily to get updates but it must be increasingly frustrating for them as well as theyve got thousands of stuck passengers. Hopefully all of this will be irrelevant and, quite honestly, the moneys the least of our concerns at the moment we just want to get home. Mr Wagner, who was visiting the city for the first time, described it as a war zone and said he would not be returning. He said: The roads are extremely quiet with very few cars and nobody is walking around or on the boats and jet skis. My son, who is booked to come in a couple of weeks, recommended me to come here and its a beautifully clean and safe place generally with no sign of any police officers anywhere. Nobody ever talks about crime but I certainly wont come back. They try to remain positive by listening to music and watching TV while monitoring the news. Mr Wagner said: Im listening to Mumford and Sons and some old garage and house music and the usual telly and social media scrolling. Friends, family and customers have sent messages of support. It has been wonderful and really nice, he said. Lots of people have offered their help and asked if they can do anything. Mr Wagner thanked his staff who have extended their cover while he is stranded. He said: My usual team of staff, who are all great lads, have told us not to worry. They covered for my original week, so its an extension of that, so I would like to thank them very much. He has registered his presence in the United Arab Emirates, as advised by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office but he has called for better communication and prompt action from UK officials regarding repatriation flights. He said: The communication could be better but, equally, I understand that Im not the only person out here and its very difficult to keep in touch with everybody. If theyre going to send these repatriation flights, then please get on with it. WOMEN in the Henley area are having to travel to Reading for breast screening appointments due to parking issues at Townlands Memorial Hospital. The mobile screening van, which is deployed by the West Berkshire Screening Service, had previously used the car park in York Road to see patients. Women between the ages of 50 and 71, who are registered with a GP, are invited for the mammogram procedure to check for signs of cancer and other abnormalities. The NHS estimates that regular screening saves 1,300 lives in the UK each year. This year, women in Henley and the surrounding villages are being invited to breast screening appointments at Royal Berkshire Hospital. The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has said that ongoing traffic and parking issues outside Townlands has created difficulties to use the screening van. It said that the unit has been temporarily relocated to Reading while it worked to identify a new suitable site in Henley. Residents who have been called in for their appointments say they have faced journeys of up to an hour each way in heavy traffic and almost missed appointments. Julie Barnett, 55, said both her mother and close friend were diagnosed with breast cancer from a routine screening appointment. She said she worried that women on the fence about using the service would be put off by the inconvenient journey. Mrs Barnett said: I was a bit dismayed when I got my letter saying I have got to trek into Reading. My mum was called in for a routine mammogram and it was picked up from that routine scan. I dont like to think that people are being put off by the thought of going into Reading. We dont want to put barriers in the way of womens health and wellbeing and its an amazing thing to have to make us all go in for the scan. Ive literally been walking around the village thinking, why cant they use this space or that space, such as a school hall during half-term. Its a shame, its a little barrier we could do without, isnt it? Mrs Barnett, who lives in Peppard Common, had attended her two past screenings at Sonning Common Health Centre and at Townlands but was told that she now needed to go to Reading. She said despite leaving an hour to get to her appointment, rush hour traffic meant she made the appointment by a small margin. Mrs Barnett said: My appointment was at rush hour at 8.45am. I left an hour to get there, thinking I would get there quite soon. The traffic was so horrendous, I had quite a stressful journey thinking I wasnt going to make it in time. I scraped into the appointment only because I was lucky to find a car park in the hospital car park. I appreciate its such a valuable service so Im very grateful to be offered this and I dont want to sound ungrateful, it just seemed a real shame having had it in Sonning Common. Alison Baillie, 58, said the journey to Reading particularly represented a barrier for older women and those with disabilities. She said: The trouble is that where it is, there are maybe two or three parking spaces outside the unit and that is it. We went to the multi-storey car park first and they had no spaces. My concern was if people that really needed it or the disabled, where on earth would they park? Or how would they get there for a start? Thats my concern. Sonning Common is quite remote and there are still older people that need to get to and from and its just really difficult. I feel sorry for the people who cant get there. There must be hundreds of people who cant get there or will be having to pay for a taxi there and back or not even turn up at all which is even worse. Some people probably wont go for it and thats dangerous and sad. Lou Cheriton, the assistant practice manager at the Hart Surgery in Henley, said the development was disappointing and the practice had asked the service to reconsider. She said: It has been brought to our attention that the breast screening unit will not be coming to Townlands this year. We have reached out to the service and asked them to reconsider but have been told that unfortunately, owing to access issues, the breast screening unit will instead be located at the Royal Berks. Clearly this is going to be disappointing for our patients, and we understand the service is exploring several alternative locations for future visits to Henley. A spokesman for the trust said he was unable to comment on sites being explored for the service until it had reached an agreement. Figures released by NHS Digital last month for the year 2024/25 found that three in 10 women had not taken up their offers for screening. The same figures revealed almost 20,000 women had cancers detected through screening, as the number of women attending screening appointments within six months of their first invitation grew by nearly 200,000 on the previous year. Dr Harrison Carter, Director of Screening at NHS England, said: Its encouraging to see more women attending, especially those invited for the first time, because making screening a habit can help protect your health for years to come. But we know there are a range of reasons why some women dont come forward and there is much more still to do to support more women to access breast screening. If you receive an invitation, please dont ignore it. Its an appointment that could save your life. A PHOTOGRAPHER has been recognised for her work with pets and wildlife. Louise Farrell, from Caversham, won a national title at this years UK Photography Print Awards with a second image placed in the top three. This picture was of a gosling, taken at Bushy Park in London. Ms Farrell said: I was watching a mother goose with her goslings. I was on the floor, in the mud, waiting and when the mother raised her wings slightly, one by one each gosling laid down underneath to have a snooze. When I found out I was in the top three for the awards, I cried. It was a complete shock. But it was so lovely, because I am so passionate about my photography, and to be recognised it for my peers and other professionals was absolutely amazing. Ms Farrell specialises in action photography, capturing dogs, horses and other animals in motion to create dynamic, personality-led artwork. She also achieved international success last year with The Guild of Photographers, winning Image of the Year for Birds, and also the Founders Cup award for pet photography, which was of dogs running along a beach. Ms Farrell, who is originally from Coventry, moved to Caversham about 25 years ago. She runs an HR Consultancy and a dog photography business, Tell Tails, which she set up in 2015. She said: I moved to Caversham to get married but, after we broke up, I stayed here because its just such a lovely community. Youre so close to Reading yet Caversham has that village feel. Ms Farrell studied a City and Guilds course in photography during the Nineties when she was living in Horsham but had to leave her studies when her mother fell ill. Then, when she adopted her first Border Collie, Bo, in 2010, he became her muse. She said: I began photographing Bo and then, when Id had him for about five years, my friends asked me to photograph their dogs and it grew from there. Bo was the reason I started this. It was him that said to me, Go on Mum, go and take some photographs of someone else. I photograph horses, cats, dogs, anything with four hairy legs, for my business. But wildlife photography is my passion, its what I do for mindfulness. I go and sit in the fields for hours on end and just wait. Sometimes you see something, sometimes you dont but its always a success. You just have to be very patient with wildlife photography. Less so with action dog photography, thats completely different. Bo passed away in 2015, aged 15, but Ms Farrell currently has rescue border collies, Jake, adopted in 2016, and Indi, rescued in 2023, who are her new muses. Ms Farrell volunteers with the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre in Reading, which is where she adopted Indi, and she currently takes photographs of the dogs that need rehoming. She said: The best way to improve your photography is to keep practicing and to join a society where you can get feedback on your images and constructive criticism. Feedback I have had in the past has been straightforward and no one holds back, so you cant have a thin skin. Its always important to accept critiques, learn from them and know that they can only help you to improve. Ms Farrell said she continues to enter national and international photography competitions in the future and focus more on her photography business as she feels she lost her mojo recently. She said: I think most photographers have imposter syndrome. I had imposter syndrome, big time and winning these awards has given me a bit of confidence to get back on the horse, so to speak, she who takes pictures of horses. I want to focus on my photography and get back to building my ability. That is my most important future project. When the solar term Awakening of Insects arrives, kitchens in southern Anhui start simmering a seasonal favorite: braised spring bamboo shoots with pork. This is when the first shoots push through the soil. Sliced and slow cooked with pork, they turn tender and juicy, soaking up all that rich flavor while keeping their fresh crunch. Its simple, comforting, and tastes like early spring. Theres an old saying in China: eat bamboo shoots at the Awakening of Insects and youll rise step by step. The shoots grow in segments, one joint above another, so theyve long symbolized steady progress and moving upward in life. A dish you only get this time of year. Would you try it? Produced by Cheng Xuqi, AICC House Speaker Mike Johnson weighed in on Rep. Tony Gonzales' admission of having an affair with a former aide who later committed suicide. Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman quoted Johnson saying he spoke with Gonzales and while he wouldn't "get into private conversations," he "told him to be forthright." "Apparently now he's doing that," he added. Asked whether Gonzales could remain in Congress, he recalled that "marital infidelity is not against the law," but when reminded that it is the case if it involves a staffer, he said: "That's being addressed. There is an investigation at Ethics." "I've always been consistent, whether you're talking about Republicans or Democrats, we let the processes play out," he added. News: SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON on TONY GONZALES Johnson would not say whether Gonzales initially told him he was not involved in an affair with his staffer. "I'm not going to get into private conversations. But I've told him to be forthright. Apparently now he's doing that." Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 5, 2026 The House Ethics Committee announced on Wednesday that it has launched an investigation to determine if the lawmaker "engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office" and "discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges." The announcement was made after Gonzales moved to a runoff against challenger Brandon Herrera, who has called on him to resign over the matter. Authorities said Santos-Aviles poured gasoline on herself outside her home on September 13, 2025, and died the next day at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The Bexar County Medical Examiner ruled her death a suicide, and police said surveillance video showed she was alone and that there was no evidence of foul play. Gonzales initially addressed allegations by saying he would not resign and people didn't "know all the facts" about what happened. Gonzales ended up acknowledging having the affair with Regina Ann Santos-Aviles. Speaking on "The Joe Pags Show," he said he "made a mistake." "I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions," Gonzales said. "Since then, I've reconciled with my wife, Angel. I've asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever." However, at least four House Republicans have slammed Gonzales. Rep. Lauren Boebert called him a "disgusting pig" and said Mike Johnson should do something about it. Originally published on Latin Times Six Cuban nationals living in Florida are facing terrorism charges in Cuba after authorities said they attempted to infiltrate the island by boat carrying weapons and explosives, an offense that under Cuban law can carry the death penalty or life in prison. Cuba's Office of the Attorney General said that six defendants have been formally charged with terrorism in connection with the Feb. 25 incident and will remain in pretrial detention while the investigation continues. The office added in a statement that prosecutors will ensure "compliance with due process" as the case moves forward. The case stems from what Cuban authorities described as an attempted armed infiltration along the northern coast of Villa Clara province. According to the original statement by the Cuban Ministry of the Interior on the day of the incident, a speedboat registered in Florida was intercepted by border guard forces near the El Pino channel at Cayo Falcones after it allegedly attacked a patrol vessel. Officials said the boat carried 10 armed individuals who, based on preliminary questioning of those detained, intended to carry out "an infiltration for terrorist purposes." Authorities reported seizing assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, body armor, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms. The Ministry of the Interior identified six detained individuals as Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Michel Ortega Casanova was identified among those killed in the incident, while authorities said efforts were ongoing to confirm the identities of other deceased individuals. In a separate statement, Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel had departed from the United States and that Havana had communicated with U.S. authorities, including the State Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, about the incident. The ministry said the Cuban government is willing to exchange information with the United States as part of the investigation. Cuban officials have also said that two of the detainees Sanchez Gonzalez and Cruz Gomez were previously included on Cuba's national list of individuals accused of involvement in terrorist activities. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing and that additional details will be released once the facts surrounding the incident have been fully established. Originally published on Latin Times What began as a targeted military operation between the United States, Israel, and Iran has exploded into a regional conflagration, with Iranian missiles and drones striking targets across six countries on Thursday in a desperate show of force following catastrophic military losses. The widespread attacks mark a dramatic expansion of the conflict's geographic footprint, transforming what was already a volatile situation into a multi-nation crisis that threatens to destabilize the entire Middle East and draw previously neutral nations into the fray. Six Nations Under Fire Iran's retaliatory assault on Thursday targeted an unprecedented range of countries across the region, demonstrating both Tehran's remaining strike capabilities and its willingness to risk widening the conflict beyond its primary adversaries. Israel bore the brunt of the attacks, with air raid sirens blaring across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as multiple waves of incoming missiles triggered the country's sophisticated air defense systems. The Iron Dome and other defensive measures worked overtime to intercept the barrage, with explosions visible in the skies over major population centers. Azerbaijan reported that Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles struck Nakhchivan International Airport and other civilian infrastructure in what the country's Ministry of Defense characterized as an attack lacking "any military necessity." The ministry strongly condemned the assault and placed full responsibility on Iran, marking a significant escalation against a nation that had previously remained largely on the sidelines of regional tensions. Qatar, home to significant U.S. military presence, found itself in Iran's crosshairs as authorities evacuated areas near the American Embassy in Doha after the country was subjected to missile attacks. Qatar's Ministry of Defense confirmed its air defense systems successfully intercepted incoming threats, though the strikes represent a bold move against a nation that has historically maintained diplomatic channels with Tehran. United Arab Emirates experienced falling debris in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi, with authorities responding to what they characterized as an "incident" that resulted in six Pakistani and Nepali nationals suffering minor to moderate injuries. The strikes on the UAE, a key U.S. partner in the region, signal Iran's willingness to target American allies despite potential diplomatic and economic consequences. American military bases across the region came under sustained attack, continuing a pattern of Iranian strikes against U.S. forces that has already claimed six American lives in a drone strike in Kuwait. Lebanon has seen Iranian proxy Hezbollah launching strikes as part of the coordinated assault, opening yet another front in the expanding conflict and threatening to reignite full-scale hostilities along Israel's northern border. The Sinking That Changed Everything The immediate trigger for Thursday's multi-nation assault was Wednesday's historic sinking of the Iranian flagship Soleimani by a U.S. submarinethe first torpedo attack against an enemy vessel since World War II. The strike killed at least 87 Iranian sailors, with only 32 survivors pulled from the water by Sri Lankan naval forces. The devastating loss of the vessel, named for Qasem Soleimanithe Iranian general killed by American forces in 2020represented both a tactical blow to Iran's naval capabilities and a symbolic humiliation for the regime. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the submarine attack as part of America's strategy to fight to win. "An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo Quiet Death," Hegseth declared during a Pentagon briefing. Iranian leaders responded with fury and threats of revenge. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing "an atrocity at sea," while Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli made a rare televised call for violence, declaring that shedding Israeli and "Trump's blood" was justified. "Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders," the senior cleric proclaimed in an unprecedented statement from a figure of his religious stature. Regional Powers Navigate Dangerous Waters The expansion of Iranian strikes beyond Israel and U.S. military targets has forced regional powers to make difficult calculations about their security postures and international alignments. Azerbaijan's Strong Response Azerbaijan's forceful condemnation of the Iranian attack signals a potential hardening of positions among nations that previously sought to maintain neutrality. The strikes on civilian airport infrastructure crossed a clear red line, and Baku's public statement holding Tehran "entirely responsible" represents a diplomatic escalation that could reshape regional alliances. The targeting of Azerbaijan is particularly significant given the country's complex relationship with both Iran and regional powers. The attacks may push Baku closer to Western and Israeli security cooperation, further isolating Tehran diplomatically. Gulf States Under Pressure For Qatar and the UAE, the Iranian strikes present a profound dilemma. Both nations have worked to maintain working relationships with Iran while hosting American military forces and maintaining strong ties with Washington. Iranian attacks on their territory force them to choose sides more explicitly than they may prefer. Qatar's hosting of U.S. Central Command facilities makes it a natural target for Iranian retaliation, but strikes on Qatari territory could jeopardize the delicate diplomatic balance Doha has cultivated. Similarly, UAE's position as a regional business hub and moderate Arab voice could be undermined by being drawn into direct conflict. Defense Systems Put to the Test The multi-nation nature of Thursday's attacks has provided a real-world test of various air defense architectures across the region, with systems performing under the kind of sustained pressure that reveals both capabilities and vulnerabilities. Israel's multi-layered defense networkcomprising Iron Dome for short-range threats, David's Sling for medium-range missiles, and Arrow for long-range ballistic missilesfaced one of its most comprehensive challenges. Early reports suggest high interception rates, though the sheer volume of incoming threats stretched the system's capacity. Qatar and the UAE's defense systems, likely including U.S.-provided Patriot batteries, demonstrated their capability to intercept Iranian missiles, though the presence of falling debris that caused civilian injuries in Abu Dhabi suggests some threats penetrated defensive screens. The performance of these various systems under fire will likely influence future defense procurement decisions across the region and could accelerate arms sales as nations reassess their vulnerability to Iranian strike capabilities. The Humanitarian Crisis Deepens Beyond the military dimensions, the expanding conflict has created a humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of civilians across multiple countries. The U.S. State Department has urged American citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, but implementing such evacuations amid active hostilities presents enormous logistical challenges. Thousands of travelers remain stranded at airports across the region as commercial flights are cancelled and airspace restrictions complicate departures. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine confirmed that U.S. military forces are working to assist American citizens seeking to evacuate, but the multi-nation scope of the crisis strains available resources. Private evacuation companies like Grey Bull Rescue have mobilized to supplement official efforts, charging premium rates to extract clients from increasingly dangerous locations. For regional civilians, the situation is even more precarious. The six nationals injured in Abu Dhabi represent just the beginning of potential civilian casualties as missile debris and interception fragments rain down on populated areas. Hospitals across the region are preparing for potential mass casualty events while also dealing with reduced staff as medical professionals flee conflict zones. Strategic Implications: From Containment to Contagion The geographic expansion of Iranian strikes fundamentally alters the strategic calculus surrounding Operation Epic Fury and raises profound questions about conflict management and escalation control. Widening the War Iran's decision to strike multiple countries simultaneously appears driven by several calculations. First, it demonstrates that despite the degradation of its military capabilities through U.S. and Israeli strikes, Tehran retains the ability to threaten a wide range of targets. Second, it potentially aims to overwhelm defensive systems through volume and geographic dispersion. Third, it may seek to drive wedges between the United States and regional partners who suffer collateral damage from the conflict. However, these strikes also carry significant risks for Iran. Attacking previously neutral or quasi-neutral nations like Azerbaijan may create new adversaries and justify additional international sanctions or military action. The assault on civilian infrastructure threatens to erode what limited diplomatic support Iran retains internationally. The Escalation Ladder Military analysts warn that the situation risks climbing an escalation ladder with no clear off-ramps. Each strike prompts retaliation, which triggers further escalation in a cycle that becomes increasingly difficult to break. The multi-nation dimension adds complexity, as different countries may have different tolerance levels for conflict and different red lines that could trigger additional military responses. The use of civilian infrastructure as targetsairports, embassies, industrial facilitiesrepresents a particularly dangerous escalation that blurs the lines between military and civilian targets and increases the risk of mass casualty events that could force dramatic responses. Regional Realignment Perhaps most significantly, the expanding conflict may be reshaping regional alliances in ways that will endure long after the current fighting ends. Countries that previously balanced between competing powers now face pressure to make clearer choices. The Abraham Accords countriesUAE, Bahrain, and others that normalized relations with Israelmay find their security cooperation with Jerusalem deepening in response to shared Iranian threats. Conversely, nations like Iraq and Lebanon, where Iranian-backed militias maintain significant influence, face internal pressures that could lead to renewed civil strife. The conflict risks becoming not just a war between nations but a catalyst for proxy conflicts and internal upheaval across multiple countries. International Response and the Road Ahead As the conflict spreads across borders, international pressure for de-escalation is mounting, even as key players show little inclination toward restraint. The United Nations Security Council faces paralysis, with permanent members divided on how to address the crisis. Russia and China have called for restraint from all parties while subtly criticizing American and Israeli military actions. European nations express concern about the expanding conflict but lack mechanisms to effectively intervene. Meanwhile, the United States and Israel show no signs of backing down from their campaign to degrade Iranian military capabilities. Secretary Hegseth's declaration that America is "fighting to win" suggests a commitment to continue operations until strategic objectives are achieved, regardless of Iranian retaliation. The question facing regional and global leaders is whether the conflict can be contained before it triggers even wider escalationpotentially drawing in additional state actors or spiraling into the kind of multi-front regional war that has long been feared but avoided in the Middle East. Conclusion: A New and Dangerous Phase Iran's Thursday strikes across six countries mark a watershed moment in the conflict, transforming a targeted military operation into a regional crisis with implications far beyond the immediate combatants. The coming days will reveal whether the international community can impose some structure on the escalation or whether the Middle East is heading toward its most comprehensive conflict in decades. For millions of people living in the region, the answer to that question will determine their security, their livelihoods, and potentially their lives. What began as Operation Epic Fury has become something far larger and more dangerousa multi-nation conflagration that threatens to redraw the security map of the Middle East and test the conflict management capabilities of the international system in ways not seen since the Gulf Wars of the 1990s and early 2000s. "The people's congress system allows the voices of the people to be transformed into policy plans for the country," said Chinese lawmaker Ning Ling. As a researcher in Guangdong Province, Ning has dedicated himself to contributing to industrial growth and regional development through fulfilling his duty as a national lawmaker. #TwoSessions Image Credit Appellation Hotels Golden Gate Global reported that EB-5 investors in the Appellation Healdsburg Hotel project in Sonoma County, California, received I-526E petition approvals in 4 and 8 months. Golden Gate Global reported that investors in the Appellation Healdsburg Hotel EB-5 project in Sonoma County, California, have received I-526E petition approvals in 4 and 8 months. The project is classified as a high-unemployment targeted employment area (TEA) under the EB-5 program. Construction of the Appellation Healdsburg Hotel is complete, and the property has been welcoming guests since September 2025. The first I-526E approval for an investor in the project was received approximately 4 months after filing, with a second approval following at around 8 months. These approval timelines are shorter than the typical EB-5 adjudication periods, which generally range from about 12 to 18 months. Appellation Healdsburg is a newly built culinary-focused luxury resort created by chef Charlie Palmer and hospitality veteran Christopher Hunsberger. The flagship property features approximately 108 guestrooms in a Wine Country setting designed to immerse visitors in local food, wine, and agricultural culture. Amenities include multiple dining venues, a rooftop cocktail bar, pools, spa facilities, wellness programming, and indoor-outdoor event spaces. Since opening, the hotel has received guest ratings of approximately 9.3 on Booking.com, 4.8 on Google, and 4.9 on TripAdvisor. The property has also been featured in hospitality and travel media for its restaurant concept, rooftop bar, and connections to local vineyards and producers. Courtyard by Marriott Columbus Airport - Image Credit CBRE CBRE Hotels has listed the 150-room Courtyard by Marriott Columbus Airport for sale, highlighting its proximity to major transportation, local attractions, and ongoing regional economic growth. CBRE Hotels has announced the exclusive listing of the Courtyard by Marriott Columbus Airport. The hotel has 150 rooms and was constructed in 1997. It is a three-story building located within the Columbus metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The property underwent a full renovation less than four years ago. The hotel offers a mix of double Queen and King bedrooms. Guest amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, flat screen televisions, and work desks. The property is situated one mile from John Glenn International Airport, which serves approximately 9 million passengers annually. Location and Accessibility The Courtyard by Marriott Columbus Airport is located five miles from Easton Town Center, a major shopping destination in Columbus, and six miles from downtown Columbus. The hotel is also located less than 19 miles from the Intel campus, currently under development in New Albany, Ohio, a $28 billion investment. Nearby attractions include the Columbus Zoo, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), the National Veterans Museum, the Columbus Museum of Art, The Ohio State University, the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and North Market. Market Context Columbus, Ohio, continues to experience significant population and economic growth. As of 2024, the Columbus metropolitan area has a recorded population of 2,225,377. Forecasts from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) project that the population will exceed three million by 2050. Columbus has consistently outpaced national growth averages. The city is recognized for its accessible real estate and family-oriented environment. According to RentCafe, Columbus ranks seventh among U.S. metropolitan areas for livability. Economic and Corporate Investment The Columbus job market is described as diversified and is projected to grow by 0.7% in 2026, surpassing the national average. The area has attracted significant corporate investment, particularly in the technology sector. Intel is developing two chip manufacturing plants in New Albany, representing a $28 billion investment. Amazon is expanding its AWS operations in the region, with total investments exceeding $23 billion, including a $10 billion expansion. Google has also announced an additional $1.7 billion investment in local data centers. These investments are expected to reinforce Columbuss position as a center for technology and innovation, contributing to ongoing job creation and economic expansion. Inquire at CBRE. In Brief: Marriott International plans to introduce its St. Regis Hotels & Resorts brand to Queenstown, New Zealand, with an expected launch in late 2027. Rendering of the St. Regis Queenstown - Image Credit Marriott International Marriott International has signed an agreement with PHC Queenstown Limited to develop a St. Regis Hotels & Resorts property in Queenstown, New Zealand. The hotel will be located on a prominent corner site in central Queenstown, offering views of The Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu. The property is expected to feature 145 guestrooms and suites. The St. Regis Queenstown is anticipated to open in late 2027, marking the first St. Regis hotel in New Zealand and Marriott Internationals first property in Queenstown under this brand. The agreement is Marriott Internationals third signing for the St. Regis brand in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific region. Planned amenities include bar and dining venues such as The Drawing Room, The St. Regis Bar, an all-day dining venue, and event space. The hotel is also expected to offer St. Regis signature butler service, which includes packing and unpacking, garment pressing, and in-room beverage and wake-up services. Additional facilities are slated to include a spa with hydrothermal facilities, a relaxation and wellness lounge, an indoor heated pool, and a fitness centre. PHC Queenstown Limited is the owner and developer of the project, with a portfolio of 30 hotels in operation and under development across New Zealand. This is the third property collaboration between PHC and Marriott International. Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice China has set its most modest economic growth target in more than 30 years, a move analysts say signals an acknowledgement of strain in the model powering its economic rise. China has cut its growth target to 4.5-5 per cent, downgrading the target for the first time since it was set at around 5 per cent in 2023. It marks the countrys lowest growth goal since 1991. The target was outlined in the economic plan released during Chinas largest political gathering, known as the two sessions, which began on Wednesday and is expected to run for around two weeks. The government also released its 15th five-year plan, which sets the strategic objectives and policies of the worlds second-largest economy for the period 2026-30. The task of transitioning to new growth drivers is formidable, premier Li Qiang said in a speech in Beijing on Thursday. The imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is acute, market expectations are weak, and there are many risks and hidden dangers in key areas. Mr Li made a more than hour-long address during which he read much of the 46-page work report to thousands of delegates gathered for the National Peoples Congress. open image in gallery Chinese president Xi Jinping looks at the work report during premier Li Qiang's speech at the opening session of the National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People on 5 March 2026 ( Getty ) The tightly choreographed meetings of the political advisory body and the national legislature are overseen by president Xi Jinping. They come weeks before president Donald Trumps expected visit to China to meet Mr Xi amid a looming trade war between the two countries. Beijing is aiming to recalibrate its export-dependent economy as it faces challenges including weak consumption, a prolonged property slump, rising local government debt and a shrinking population, alongside an energy crisis linked to the Iran war. Analysts say a lower target gives Beijing more flexibility to implement reforms, such as reducing industrial overcapacity, to make the worlds second-largest economy less reliant on exports after posting a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus in 2025. But they caution that the shift does not necessarily signal a departure from the production-focused growth model. Facing internal and external headwinds, China has dialled back its 2026 growth target to 4.5-5 per cent. While this marks the lowest since 1991, it may still prove ambitious unless Beijing aggressively ramps up domestic economic reforms, Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, said. open image in gallery A screen broadcasts Chinese president Xi Jinping as journalists and delegates attend the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing ( Reuters ) Andy Ji, an analyst, said the key takeaway was that Beijing had acknowledged the structural slowdown by shifting from a fixed around 5 per cent target to a flexible and lower range. Beijing is trying to manage a controlled glide in growth while building a new economy based on technology rather than property, he said, adding that Beijing was trying to force a shift from investment-led to consumption-led growth. In terms of stimulus, China plans a budget deficit of 4 per cent of GDP, similar to last year. It kept special debt issuance quotas unchanged, setting 1.3tn yuan ($188.49bn) for the central government and 4.4 trillion yuan for local governments. China also pledged to raise minimum monthly pensions by 20 yuan per person and increase basic medical insurance subsidies for rural, non-working residents by 24 yuan. It said it aimed to boost education spending, subsidise childcare and reform public hospitals. Mr Li said the government would roll out economic policies in response to US tariffs, which have fluctuated sharply since Mr Trump launched a trade war with China after returning to office last year. Beijing will also increase defence spending to 7 per cent, according to a separate budget report. It is down from the 7.2 per cent target set last year but still outpaces wider economic growth targets at a time of rising global tensions. We will make solid gains in military training and combat readiness and speed up the development of advanced combat capabilities, Mr Li said in his speech. China, which has recently carried out a sweeping purge of senior military officers, aims to modernise its armed forces by 2035 amid rising regional tensions, including over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. open image in gallery A screen shows Chinese president Xi Jinping during the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing ( AFP via Getty ) China is seeking to project confidence in the face of ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties as the US-Israeli strikes on its longtime strategic partner, Iran, have destabilised the oil market. China has remained heavily reliant on Iran, buying 80 per cent of its crude oil imports at discounted rates. Iranian oil accounted for about 13 per cent of Chinas oil imports. Iran was Chinas second economic partner to be targeted in recent months after the US military action in Venezuela. Beijing is no longer able to access Venezuelan oil after the US military captured president Nicolas Maduro in January. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The polls are open in Nepal's first general election since a wave of unprecedented youth-led protests and the deaths of 77 people forced Nepal's then prime minister to quit. The Himalayan nation of 30 million people, perched between China and India, has been plagued for decades by political instability, crippling a largely agrarian economy and worsening unemployment - structural issues compounded by rampant corruption. The long-festering malaise erupted into street demonstrations last September, triggered by a social media ban, that brought thousands on the streets, leading to clashes and fatalities that forced the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. On Thursday, voters flocked to schools, temples and ancient courtyards that have been converted into polling booths across the country, with some braving the morning chill in the capital Kathmandu to vote early. Voting started at 7am local time and will close at 5pm, with counting scheduled to start soon after, according to the country's election commission. open image in gallery A woman casts her vote as a security officer stands guard ( Reuters ) Officials said more than 300,000 security personnel, including the military, had been deployed to ensure peaceful voting in the more than 23,000 polling booths across the country. Oli, who leads the moderate Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist, UML), is once again in the fray, along with more than 3,400 other candidates from 65 parties. They include the country's oldest party, the Nepali Congress led by 49-year-old Gagan Thapa, and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) comprising former Maoist insurgents who joined mainstream politics. Together with UML, these parties have dominated Nepali politics for the last three decades, although the country has seen 32 government changes in the past 35 years. open image in gallery Nepali Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah waves to supporters ( Getty ) But the frontrunner for these polls is the three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which has fielded the charismatic rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah as its prime ministerial candidate. The 35-year-old former mayor of Nepal's capital Kathmandu is drawing large crowds, connecting with legions of young voters clamouring for change on the ground and online, even as he takes on Oli, 74, on his home turf in the Jhapa constituency along the Indian border. Jobs and corruption In Jhapa, Menuka Chauhan,70, standing in line for more than 40 minutes at a polling booth, said she was worried about her son, who was working in Qatar as a security guard, as tensions in the Middle East escalated. "I cant sleep at night. I worry all the time. My son tells me bombs keep dropping there. I wish there were employment opportunities here," she said. Promises of jobs, reining in corruption and improving governance - all demands raised during the September protests - have dominated much of the election campaign. open image in gallery A man gets his finger inked before casting his vote at a polling station ( Reuters ) "The election is critical to address the aspirations of the youths expressed during the Gen Z protests," said political analyst Puranjan Acharya. "If the newly elected leaders are seen as unfit to do so, there is a risk of further trouble." Some 19 million voters are eligible to cast their ballot for 275 members of parliament through a mixed electoral system 165 seats in direct first-past-the-post elections and 110 through proportional representation. Early trends are likely to emerge by Friday but complete results could take a week or more as counting of proportional representation votes would take time, election commission officials said. "Voting is not just about sending someone to victory," Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who took over after Oli, said in a public broadcast this week. "It's a decision you make about your future and that of your children." On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The UN aid agency in Afghanistan has been compelled to suspend work after Pakistan escalated its offensive against the neighbouring country. The renewed conflict between the two nations, marked by airstrikes and gunfights along the border, entered the seventh day on Thursday. The World Food Programme warned that the conflict was worsening Afghanistans already dire humanitarian crisis, particularly in the border regions. The US-Israeli war against Iran was set to make matters worse. The suspension of emergency food aid distribution would affect nearly 160,000 people, the UN agency said, adding that airstrikes and ground clashes had impacted 46 districts across Nuristan, Laghman, Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktika, Paktya, Khost, Kandahar, Helmand, and Zabul provinces. WFP has been forced to temporarily suspend emergency, social protection, school feeding and livelihood activities, the agency said. At least four of the affected provinces were facing critical levels of malnutrition due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, it added, while more than half of the districts caught in the clashes were seeing emergency levels of hunger. Communities in mountainous Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, already among the most vulnerable, were the hardest-hit by last years earthquake, losing family members, homes and livelihoods, WFP country director John Aylieff said. Today, those very same communities are once again on the front line, now facing the escalation of conflict with Pakistan. open image in gallery Afghan men welcome Taliban personnel as they gather to show solidarity with them in Gurbuz district, Khost ( AFP via Getty ) The simmering conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan erupted again last week after Pakistan conducted airstrikes across the border on what it claimed were terrorist facilities. Afghanistan retaliated by engaging Pakistani forces along the border. Islamabad subsequently declared an open war on the neighbouring country, alarming the international community. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said at least 42 civilians had been killed and 104 wounded in the violence since 26 February. Islamabad claimed its troops had killed more than 430 Afghan soldiers but did not comment on the civilian casualties alleged by Kabul. Pakistan army chief Asim Munir on Wednesday suggested peace with Afghanistan was contingent on the Taliban severing ties with insurgents targeting Pakistan, warning that Islamabad would take "all necessary measures" against threats emanating from across the border. Peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations," he said. The use of Afghan territory by insurgents to launch attacks inside Pakistan was unacceptable, he said. Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and get behind-the-scenes access and unrivalled insight Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Lewis Hamilton has implored the people of Africa to take back their continent in an impassioned speech at the Australian Grand Prix on Thursday. Hamilton, F1s first black driver, has African heritage and has spent recent summer breaks travelling through several African countries, including Kenya, Rwanda and Benin. The seven-time world champion, embarking on his 20th consecutive season and second with Ferrari, has also previously backed the staging of an F1 race in Africa, the only habitable continent the sport does not hold a grand prix. South Africa, Rwanda and Morocco have all declared an interest in recent years. When asked about which African city Hamilton would like to see an F1 race in, the 41-year-old responded uninterrupted for three minutes straight as he spoke of his adoration for the continent and hope for change in the future. Ive had the privilege Ive been to 10 countries now in Africa, he said. Theres still so much more for me to see. For the past six years, maybe seven, Ive been fighting in the background to get a grand prix sitting with stakeholders and asking the question, why are we not in Africa? Theres one on every other continent, why not Africa? I know theyre really trying. I think theyve been to quite a few different countries. The ones that Ive enjoyed the most: I loved Kenya. I dont think were going to have a grand prix in Kenya, but Rwanda particularly was spectacular. Two places I felt like I could live. South Africa is stunning. I think those are the ones I think would be good places for us to potentially go to. I dont want to leave the sport without having a grand prix there, without getting to race there, so Im chasing them: when is it going to be?! Theyre setting certain dates I could be running out of time, so Im going to be here for a while until that happens, because that would be amazing, given that Im half African. Lewis Hamilton gave an impassioned speech in support of Africa on Thursday ( Getty Images ) Ive got roots from a few different places there, like Togo and Benin. I went to visit Benin last year, Senegal and Nigeria. Its something Im really, really proud of. Im really proud of that part of the world. Hamilton then stated his belief that Africa can become the most powerful place in the world, adding: I dont like that the rest of the world owns so much of it [Africa] and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it. Im really hoping that the people who are running those different countries all unite and come together and take Africa back. Thats what I want to see. Take it back from the French, take it back from the Spanish, take it back from the Portuguese and the British. Its so important for the future of that continent. They have all the resources to be the greatest and most powerful place in the world, and thats probably why they are being controlled the way they are. Hamilton is looking to bounce back this season after a torrid first year with Ferrari, in which he failed to finish on the podium. The season-opener takes place in Melbourne on Sunday (4am GMT). For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Police have named the victim who was fatally stabbed in Birmingham on Tuesday. Ali Alshmari, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene after police were called to Bridge Road in Alum Rock, Birmingham, on Tuesday. A 32-year-old male was arrested in connection with the stabbing. Another woman was injured in the incident. She suffered injuries to her hand but has since been discharged from hospital. West Midlands Police said in a statement: A knife believed to have been used in the attack has been recovered and is being examined. Firearms officers uniformed and plain clothed attended the incident, as is routine when responding to a serious incident where a weapon has been used in a public place. The incident is not being treated as terrorism-related. open image in gallery Police and forensic investigators at the scene in Alum Rock ( Jacob King/PA Wire ) We know that this happened close to a school, and we are meeting with members of the local community today to discuss their concerns and offer them reassurance. Detective Superintendent James Munro said: This is a tragic and violent attack which has cost the life of Mr Alshmari, and left a woman injured. We are doing everything we can to establish exactly what happened and why, and the publics response has been fantastic. Weve had CCTV, dashcam and mobile footage shared with us, which has been very helpful for the investigation, and Id urge anyone whos not yet been in touch with us to do so as soon as possible. We understand how deeply distressing and concerning this incident is and we will have extra officers in the area to offer reassurance to the community. A nearby school in Bridge Road, Alum Rock, was placed in lockdown after witnesses saw a man stabbing another man in the street shortly after midday. In a statement released on Tuesday, Detective Superintendent Munro said: We believe this to be a contained incident with a man in custody. We are reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to a number of people in the area. But would appeal to anyone who has any information to get in touch. We understand how deeply distressing and concerning this incident is and we will have extra officers in the area to offer reassurance to the community. Anyone with information can call police on 101 quoting log number 2105 of March 3, or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 15-year-old boy and a man in his 20s have been arrested in connection with social media posts encouraging schoolchildren to carry weapons, police have said. They were detained on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime in central, east London, on Sunday, and have been bailed pending further inquiries, the Metropolitan Police said. It follows the emergence of the school wars trend on platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat. The trend has seen the spread of posts which separate schools into red and blue teams and encourage pupils to fight using bladed weapons. open image in gallery Graphics listing schools as 'red' or 'blue' have been circulating on social media ( TikTok ) In one, seen by The Independent, children are urged to be violent and use compass points to attack each other. Others suggest they will get video game-style points if they punch an opp (opponent) or stain an opp. A number of schools, mostly in London, are understood to have written to parents warning them of the trend. In one seen byThe Independent, a west London school warned the craze is causing serious concern and urged parents to check their childrens smartphones in order to keep our school safe. Police in London and Bristol previously said they were in close contact with schools and had stepped up patrols in connection with the posts. Commander Neerav Patel from the Metropolitan Police also said he wanted to remind young people of the serious consequences of carrying weapons and getting involved in violence. In a statement a Met Police spokesperson said: On Sunday, 1 March at approximately 18:45hrs, Met officers arrested two individuals in Central East London in connection with a recent trend of social media posts. Both suspects, a man aged in his 20s and a boy aged 15, were arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime. They were bailed pending further enquiries. A strong police presence remains around schools, particularly at the end of the school day. Local officers continue to work alongside local authority partners, school leaders and parents, whose joint robust response has been vital in protecting young people across the last week. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to give up another one of his royal properties after he asked to end his lease of his East Lodge home in Berkshire early. The former Duke of York only reportedly paid 13,000 a year for the Grade II thatched cottage, whilst other homes in the area are rented for up to 7,500 a month (which equates to 90,000 a year). The 19th-Century property was understood to be used just by staff, with Andrew only living in it briefly between 1998 and 2004. Mr Mountbatten-Windsors lease on the property was due to expire in 2027. The former prince had mainly lived at Royal Lodge in Windsor but agreed to surrender his royal titles and give up the lease on the property in October last year following further revelations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffery Epstein. He moved to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, living at a property owned by King Charles at the monarchs expense. open image in gallery Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is giving up the lease on another Crown Estate property ( Google maps ) The Crown Estate said: We have received a request for us to consider an early termination of the lease. The ex-royal requested to drop the lease, according to a Freedom of Information request made by the BBC. open image in gallery Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office last month ( Reuters ) Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office after being accused of sharing sensitive information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while he was a trade envoy. He has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor hass not replied to The Independents request for comment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A new council has been established by a group of conservative Anglicans in Nigeria, directly challenging the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and aiming to lead the Global Anglican Communion. The newly formed body is named the Global Anglican Council and was announced on Thursday. It will comprise bishops, clergy, and lay members, all of whom will possess voting privileges. Rwandan archbishop Laurent Mbanda was unanimously elected as the chair of the council, though it was stressed he would not serve as "primus inter pares" (first among equals), but rather share power. The group earlier said that the chair would replace the role traditionally held by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bishop Paul Donison, addressing the conference, said: Believing the current instruments of communion no longer meet the needs of the majority of Anglicans around the world, the global Anglican Communion is to be led by a conciliar structure. Laurent Mbanda, the Archbishop of Rwanda ( Reuters ) He added: I am also pleased to announce that Archbishop Laurent Mbanda was unanimously elected chairman of the Global Anglican Council. The initiative stems from the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which primarily unites conservative churches across Africa and Asia. The group claims that it now represents the majority of Anglicans worldwide. GAFCON staunchly opposes liberal shifts within parts of the Communion, including the ordination of women and greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ members. Last October, the group notably criticised the Church of England's appointment of Sarah Mullally as its first female Archbishop of Canterbury. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Failed asylum seeker families with children will be offered up to 40,000 to leave the country quickly or face being deported, Shabana Mahmood has announced. As part of the home secretarys immigration overhaul, a pilot scheme has been launched for 150 families who are living in migrant hotels, with offers already sent out. The families will be offered 10,000 per member, capped at four per family, to leave the UK voluntarily. They will have seven days to reply, and if they do not take up the offer, the Home Office will attempt to forcibly remove them from the country. Ms Mahmood told an event in Westminster on Thursday that the Home Office will launch a consultation on how to remove families with children legally, including considering how force can be used against children. If the pilot is successful, the government will extend it to all failed asylum seeker families. open image in gallery Shabana Mahmood unveiled the plans at an Institute for Public Policy Research event in London on Thursday ( PA ) Officials say that the pilot scheme will offer value for money for the taxpayer, with the average family of three costing around 158,000 to house in an asylum hotel for a year. But charities and campaigners warned that detaining young children, even for short periods, would be traumatising and said the plans risk creating chaos rather than control. Reform UK likened Labours plans to offering up a 40,000 prize to those who break in, while Green Party leader Zack Polanksi said Ms Mahmood was desperate and dangerous. In an interview on Sky on Thursday afternoon, Ms Mahmood was challenged by Trevor Phillips, who put to her that the pilot will see children being put in the back of vans, screaming, frightened. Ms Mahmood responded that she would consult on how best to handle the children during deportation, adding: Of course, we would want to do this as humanely and as effectively as possible. She said the flip side is you just end up picking up the tab for hundreds of families. Imran Hussain, a director at the Refugee Council, said the seven day ultimatum would not encourage families to engage with the process. He said: Giving families just seven days to decide whether to uproot their childrens lives, often without access to proper legal advice, risks creating chaos rather than control. Many families simply do not feel safe to return to their countries of origin. And nobody wants to see distressed children detained and forced onto deportation flights. Families are far more likely to engage if given proper time, support and legal advice making it more effective, and better value for the taxpayer. Kamena Dorling, director of policy at Helen Bamber Foundation Group, said: Reintroducing child detention and imposing forced destitution to coerce families to leave the UK has already been proven ineffective and will cause significant harm. Dr Ilona Pinter, researcher on families in the asylum system at the London School of Economics, said financial incentives would create further animosity and stoke resentment against families seeking safety. She added: Forced removals are expensive for the Home Office so it would prefer families to leave without the need for detention and enforcement action. But ultimately, if families do not feel safe returning to their country of origin, they will not take this scheme. Children can only be held in immigration detention with their families for up to 72 hours, or for seven days with ministerial approval. The Home Office does not know how many failed asylum-seeking families they are housing in migrant hotels. The Independent revealed last year that the UK has paid migrants 53m to leave the country between 2021 and 2024. Under current policy, migrants can receive up to 3,000 as an incentive to return home as part of what are known as assisted returns. open image in gallery Green Party leader Zack Polanski described Ms Mahmoods plans as dangerous ( PA ) On whether the pilot payments act as a draw to the UK, a Home Office source said: Our intelligence shows people smugglers charge between 15,000 and 35,000 per illegal migrant. As a result, the pilot to pay them to leave cannot act as a pull factor because it costs more to get here in the first place. The home secretary made the case for her widespread immigration reforms at a centre-left think tank, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPRR) event, saying Labour would tread the line between Nigel Farages nightmare pulling up the drawbridge and shutting out the world and the Green Partys fairytale of open borders. Ms Mahmood faces a backbench revolt over the plans, which include people granted asylum in the UK having their refugee status made temporary and subject to review every 30 months. She is also proposing making permanent settlement rights much harder to get in the UK, extending the length of the pathway from five years to 10, and has proposed scrapping the 10-year long route to residency, a route used by people who have spent 10 or more years in Britain legally. The changes on settlement are subject to a consultation which closed to submissions in February, with conclusions yet to be announced. Ms Mahmood said her party's identity is being bitterly contested, but insisted that Labour values are at the heart of her firm but fair migration reforms. She also committed to a student refugee visa route opening in 2027, but announced an immediate suspension on study visas for individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A churchwarden convicted of "gaslighting" then murdering an author in a plot to inherit his fortune has launched a new bid for freedom, claiming he "simply didn't do" the crime. Benjamin Field, 35, admitted he was a "snake talker" who had duped 69-year-old Peter Farquhar into a fake relationship to get him to change his will - the case later inspiring a BBC TV series starring Timothy Spall - but denied killing him. Mr Farquhar was found dead in his home in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton in October 2015, with a bottle of 60 proof whisky beside him, with a post-mortem later putting his death down to "acute alcohol toxicity." Field was accused of giving Mr Farquhar the alcohol and/or sleeping pills called Dalmane so that he suffered what appeared to be an "alcoholic's death," leaving Field to inherit his fortune. He was convicted at Oxford Crown Court in August 2019 and jailed for life, with a minimum of 36 years to serve behind bars before he could apply for parole. The case later became the subject of the four-part 2023 BBC drama, called 'The Sixth Commandment,' which starred actor Timothy Spall as Mr Farquhar. But Field was back before a court today after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on the basis that his conviction was arguably "unsafe." open image in gallery The Sixth Commandment was shown on BBC ( BBC/Wild Mercury/Amanda Searle ) He appeared at the London court via a video link from Durham's HMP Frankland, bearded, wearing glasses and a grey T-shirt, while he made notes on a pad of paper. His lawyers, led by David Jeremy KC, argued that trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney misdirected the jury on how they should consider whether Field was guilty, leading to him being convicted of a murder which he "simply didn't do." He said the cause of Mr Farquhar's death was the "ingestion of whisky and/or Dalmane" and that the prosecution had no evidence that Field's providing substances had actually caused the ingestion, rather than it being a "voluntary" act of the deceased. However, the prosecution is contesting the appeal, urging three senior judges, led by Lord Justice Edis, to rule that the conviction was in fact safe and ensure Field is not released. During the trial of his case, the crown court heard university lecturer Mr Farquhar had been duped into a fake relationship and even gone through a "betrothal" ceremony with Field. open image in gallery Peter Farqhuar (left) with his partner and killer Benjamin Field ( Thames Valley Police/PA ) The court heard Field carried out a sustained "gaslighting" plot aimed at making Mr Farquhar question his sanity, while giving him sleeping tablets and alcohol, when Mr Farquhar was trying to abstain. Mr Farquhar's lifeless body was discovered at his home in October 2015. An initial post-mortem put his death down to alcohol, but a later one also found the sleeping medication, which should not be taken with alcohol, in his bloodstream. Prior to his death, the University of Buckingham lecturer had published three novels and even dedicated the final book to Field, who went on to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. Field first appealed his conviction in 2021 and failed, before a bid to reopen the challenge was refused by the Court of Appeal in 2022. Applications to the Supreme Court followed, before the CCRC became involved, referring the case back to appeal judges for a hearing this week. His appeal revolves around a complex legal question surrounding how the trial judge directed the jury on how to consider the "causation" of Mr Farquhar's death. For Field, Mr Jeremy said the directions given by the judge were wrong because they did not require the jury to decide whether he had actually caused Mr Farquhar to drink the whisky or take the Dalmane. open image in gallery Benjamin Field took photographs of the mirror messages he left for his older lover ( PA ) The "proximate cause" of Mr Farquhar's death was his "ingestion" of whisky and/or Dalmane, "not the act of giving those substances to him," said the barrister. "To have caused Mr Farquhar to have ingested whisky and/or Dalmane, Field would have had to have forced or threatened Mr Farquhar to have done so, or deceived him as to what he was ingesting," he continued. "Was there evidence that, on that night, Field caused him to ingest whisky and/or Dalmane, and that it wasn't fully voluntary? The answer to that question is 'no'. "His giving of whisky and/or Dalmane to Mr Farquhar could not have caused him to ingest it any more than it could have caused Mr Farquhar to drive his car had Field handed him his car keys." He continued: "There was a failure by the prosecution to identify correctly the act that caused Mr Farquhar's death and therefore, as a consequence, to identify what the prosecution had to prove. "Everything that has gone wrong in the case stems from that failure. It led to the misdirection of the jury. "The result was that Field was convicted of causing the death of Mr Farquhar by whisky and/or Dalmane when the evidence didn't prove that he had done so. "He was convicted of something which on the evidence he simply didn't do." He said it was "impossible" for Field to have caused Mr Farquhar to "ingest" the substances just by giving them to him. The prosecution, led by top barrister David Perry KC, is contesting the appeal, arguing that the jury was entitled to find that Field's provision of substances started a "chain of causation" which ended up in the older man dead. The court heard the prosecution argues that once that "chain of causation" was started, the only issue for the jury was whether ingestion was "voluntary," thus breaking the chain and leading to a not guilty verdict. The judges are set to reserve their judgment on the appeal until a later date. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Britain has commenced targeted trials for a bird flu vaccine in turkeys, marking a notable shift in its approach to controlling a disease that has ravaged flocks and compelled some countries to adopt similar techniques to reduce losses. The pervasive spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly referred to as bird flu, is a significant concern for governments and the poultry industry. Its capacity to devastate flocks, inflate food prices, and the potential risk of a new pandemic are all pressing issues. Globally, major poultry producers have largely resisted vaccination strategies due to fears that such measures could conceal the virus's spread and jeopardise export markets. However, the UK trials, expected to run for 24 weeks, aim to assess the effectiveness of authorised vaccines in real-world conditions. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) stated that they will also evaluate how surveillance mechanisms can protect trade. open image in gallery Turkey prices are up this year, thanks in part to a virus that's shrinking flock sizes ( Getty Images ) DEFRA estimates that bird flu outbreaks have cost the British government and the poultry industry up to 174 million annually. Turkeys were selected for the trials due to their high susceptibility to the virus, with outbreaks often causing significant mortality rates. France has been vaccinating farm ducks against bird flu since 2023, making it the first major poultry exporter to do so nationwide. It has credited the policy with curbing the disease. The Netherlands and the United States are also running vaccine trials, with the US assessing how any use of vaccination could affect poultry exports. Late last year. Europe grappled with an unprecedented and early surge in bird flu, driven by widespread outbreaks in wild birds. open image in gallery DEFRA estimates that bird flu outbreaks have cost the British government and the poultry industry up to 174 million annually ( Getty/iStock ) The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stated this highly pathogenic avian influenza has already necessitated the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices, though human infections remain rare. While outbreaks typically peak in autumn with migratory patterns, this season has witnessed an earlier onset, causing significant mortality among wild bird populations. Poultry outbreak numbers were similar to previous years but five times higher than in 2023, and almost double those of 2021. Turkeys were the most affected. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Warship HMS Dragon wont set sail to protect the British base in Cyprus until next week as conflict spirals in the Middle East. The ship is being loaded with ammunition in Portsmouth and sent to the Mediterranean after RAF Akrotiri was hit by a drone early Monday. Officials said there was nothing that would have happened to ready a warship any earlier amid questions over Britains preparedness to protect its overseas bases. They would not specify where the drone that struck Akrotiri came from but said assessments showed it was a Shahed type and had not been launched from Iran. Asked by journalists why there was no Type 45 destroyer sent to the region months ago during a US military build-up, officials said increasingly fragile geopolitics with many different security threats made the situation complex. The vessel was seen taking on supplies at Portsmouths upper harbour ammunition facility Wednesday morning ( PA ) HMS Dragon was chosen because it was the readiest for the mission, officials said. Meanwhile, Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet drone-busting missiles are being deployed within days, before the warship, to bolster defence in the region, they said. The Type 45 air defence destroyer is intended to strengthen protection against drones and missiles launched by Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The destroyers voyage from Portsmouth to Cyprus is expected to take several days. The vessel was seen taking on supplies at Portsmouths upper harbour ammunition facility on Wednesday morning. Defence minister Al Carns said the ship needs to be adapted before it can set sail. He told Sky News: What I will say is that that vessel was being fitted out for a different task. Weve now completely re-rolled it. Were going through varieties, different bits of maintenance, to make sure that as fast as possible we can get that system up and running. Weve had to change weapon systems on it, finish welding, get it up and running, and get it sailing as fast as possible. He would not get into detail about the UKs missile stockpiles but said he had complete confidence in the planning capacity and capability of the military to ensure were properly prepared for any eventuality. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: We are reinforcing our defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet drone-busting missiles are deploying within days. They will reinforce our RAF Typhoons, F-35B jets, ground-based counter-drone teams, radar systems, and Voyager refuelling aircraft already deployed. Our jets are now flying continuous sorties to defend against indiscriminate Iranian strikes threatening UK people, interests, and bases. The Royal Navy are working as fast as possible to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment, including resupplying her air defence missiles at our ammunition facility in HMNB in Portsmouth. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A British couple paid 1,500 to be driven hundreds of miles across the Middle East in a disco bus to board a flight to London from Oman, in an effort to escape the escalating war in the region. Though the UK governments first repatriation flight from Muscat failed to take off on Wednesday due to a technical issue, a British Airways (BA) flight from the Omani capital landed at Heathrows Terminal 5 shortly before 9am on Thursday. Among the passengers were consultants Sarah, 54, and Ed Short, 58, from Kent, who were met by emotional family members as they arrived back in the UK. The couple had been on holiday in Dubai and were due to leave the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday, but their plane home was grounded when airspace closed due to the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, which has seen Gulf nations hit by missile strikes. They returned to their Dubai accommodation and spent 10 hours sheltering in the basement during a period of airstrikes, Ms Short said. When they got word that some flights were resuming, they acted fast and sought out any possible route home. The relieved couple returned to London on Thursday morning, having paid 1,500 for a taxi to take them by road almost 300 miles from Dubai to the capital of Oman for their flight, which set off on Wednesday night. After touching down in London, Mr Short told The Independent: The FCDO [Foreign Office] advice was stay in place, but we were just like, Yeah out of dodge. open image in gallery Sarah Short is greeted by her sons Finn (left) and Alex Howard as she arrives at Terminal 5 ( PA ) The vehicle that provided their means of escape to the Omani capital was not the most conventional, with Ms Short describing it as the craziest taxi youve ever seen. She said: It was a disco bus, it had twinkly lights on the ceiling, madness. I dont know where they got it from, but he put drinks in for us. It was comfortable. The journey took the couple around seven hours, and they were trying to stay in touch with their family back home. But when they got to the border with Oman, their family began to worry. Ms Short said: We had no internet, so the kids have been trying to track us, and as soon as we got to the Omani border, they couldnt track us any more. So they thought wed been arrested because they didnt hear from us again until we got to the airport, but it was absolutely fine. Im sure there are people in much worse situations, but weve got a hell of a story to tell at dinner parties. Mr Short said they were met with chaos when they arrived at Muscat airport to board their flight, as large crowds of people had gathered, all desperate to flee the Middle East. open image in gallery Sarah and Ed Short were greeted by their cheering family on their arrival at Heathrow ( Reuters ) Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the region, and the Foreign Office has said it is working with airlines to bring them back. The government said the failed evacuation flight is set to leave later on Thursday, and two more flights are planned for the coming days. Mr Short said: We met loads of people whod been booked on the government repatriation flight, lots of people who just said We havent got a booking, we just turned up. People were there, they were expecting to go at 11, obviously, [and] as you know, they never left. They were trying to board them before us. It was a bit messy. Mr Short had nothing but praise for the BA staff, however, and said the overwhelming feeling on the flight was one of relief. Ms Short said her sons and their partners, as well as her sister, were at Heathrow on Thursday morning to greet them when their plane landed two hours behind schedule at 8.41am. [Walking through the arrival gate] was great. The family were cheering, and it was like Wow. As he walked towards his car for the final stage of his journey home to Canterbury, Mr Short said: Ive got to get out of here and extend my parking, but now theyll probably try and charge me extra to get out. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Difficulties in diagnosing rabies in a grandmother who was scratched by a dog on holiday did not affect the fatal outcome, a jury has found. Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, died four months after she suffered a minor scratch when she startled a dog under her sun lounger on a Morocco beach during a holiday in February last year. She did not seek medical treatment at the time. It wasnt until June 2 2025 that Mrs Ford eventually went to Barnsley Hospital with a range of symptoms including severe headaches, nausea, mobility issues and disorientation. She was admitted a day later as her condition deteriorated, but doctors struggled to work out what was wrong with her. Rabies was only diagnosed after a psychiatrist asked about Mrs Fords travel history when he was called in by medical colleagues who were concerned that symptoms including hallucinations, disorientation and high levels of anxiety could have a mental health cause. open image in gallery Doctors initially had struggled to work out what was wrong with Yvonne Ford ( Facebook ) She was transferred to Sheffields Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she died on June 11 with her family around her wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), the inquest has heard. In a narrative conclusion on Thursday, a jury of eight men and two women concluded: The rarity of the disease and unusual presentation led to a difficulty in reaching a diagnosis but this did not affect the outcome. Infectious diseases expert Katharine Cartwright, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, told the jury during the three-day inquest in Sheffield that rabies is a virus that is 100% fatal once the symptoms begin to show, but can be prevented with a vaccine. Post-exposure treatment can also be effective but this has to be before symptoms begin. Speaking outside the court on Thursday, Mrs Fords son, Adam Ford, said: In memory of our beloved mother, our family hope to raise awareness about rabies, not only here in the UK, but around the world. Globally, rabies is responsible for approximately 59,000 deaths every year. Despite being preventable, this deadly disease continues to claim thousands of lives. As a family, we feel a deep responsibility to raise awareness about rabies in the hope that greater understanding can help prevent further tragedies. open image in gallery Mrs Fords family outside Sheffield's Medico-Legal Centre on Thursday ( Dave Higgens/PA Wire ) Flanked by his dad, Ron Ford, and his sister, Robyn Thomson, Mr Ford said: No family should have to witness the rapid deterioration of someone they love as we did, with unknown answers for our mums symptoms and growing fear of her deterioration. Through increased awareness and education, we hope to ensure that others recognise the risks and know the steps they must take to stay safe. Mr Ford urged anyone who is bitten by an animal in a country where rabies remains prevalent to seek immediate medical advice, however minor the wound. He said: We truly believe that our mums death might have been preventable if there had been greater awareness and education surrounding rabies. He added: By sharing our mums story, we hope to help save lives and ensure that fewer families experience the heartbreak that ours has endured. Our mum was a loving mother, and a loving wife and a fantastic grandmother. She was the glue to our family, really, and shes left a massive hole within our family and friends. His sister, Ms Thomson, told the jury on Wednesday how family and staff had to wear gloves, masks, visors and aprons when they were with her mother, from when she was admitted to Sheffield to when she died. Ms Thomson told the inquest how the family were told there is no possible recovery and that the only outcome would be fatal after rabies was confirmed at the Royal Hallamshire. She told the jury how they had to watch her deteriorate in real time without explanation and with growing fear. Ms Thomson said the family had a number of concerns about the basic care her mother received in Barnsley and added: We dont believe Yvonne was treated with the level of dignity and respect she deserved. Dr Cartwright said that rabies symptoms typically begin within four weeks of exposure but it can be up to three months and, in some cases, it can take years. She said it appeared that Mrs Ford began to exhibit symptoms at the very end of May and, therefore, there was nothing that could have been done at Barnsley Hospital that would have saved her. Dr Cartwright told the jury there have only been 26 cases of rabies in the UK since 1946. Sheffield assistant coroner Marylin Whittle said she required more information before deciding whether a Prevention of Future Deaths Report was necessary in this case. She said she recognised the family had concerns over Mrs Fords care in Barnsley but these were not relevant to the fatal outcome. Ms Whittle noted that a GP said he would routinely only ask a patient about travel history going back 21 days, and she wanted more information on how this practice had arisen before deciding if a report was needed. A spokesman for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: Our thoughts are with Yvonnes family following the sad loss of a loved family member in such unusual circumstances. We welcome ongoing discussions with Yvonnes family about all aspects of her care. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Shabana Mahmood will warn that the scale of small boat arrivals is breeding fear as she warns MPs on the left of her party to back her hardline immigration reforms. It comes as she begins to introducing sweeping changes that will see asylum seekers who break the law or work illegally thrown out of government-funded accommodation and lose financial support. The home secretary will say that her reforms to the asylum system and permanent settlement are not a betrayal of Labour values, but rather an embodiment of them as she bids to fight off criticism over the crackdown. The controversial changes are facing significant opposition from campaigners as well as dozens of Labour MPs with some warning that the party face becoming Reform-lite. Ms Mahmood has doubled down on the plans - which make refugee status temporary and introduces much longer waits for permanent residency in the UK - after Labour came a humiliating third place in the Gorton and Denton by-election. The Greens, who called Ms Mahmoods plans extreme and inhumane, won the seat and Reform came second. Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, accused the home secretary of bullying refugees for a bump in the polls rather than fixing real problems. Mubeen Bhutta, at the British Red Cross, warned Ms Mahmood: There is little evidence to suggest that making life harder puts people off coming to the UK, when they have been forced to flee their homes. During her speech on Thursday, Ms Mahmood will say that Labour can steer a path between Reform leader Nigel Farages nightmare pulling up the drawbridge and shutting out the world and Green leader Zack Polanskis fairytale of open borders. open image in gallery Home secretary Shabana Mahmood visits a returns centre in Denmark ( Getty Images ) Referring to irregular migration, Ms Mahmood will add: If we cannot deal with so visible a failure, what can the state achieve at all? It is our creed, as the Labour Party, that the state can and must be a force for good. Without the trust of citizens in the state, therefore, there is no space for Labour values - in any part of government - to be realised. While the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats has risen by 13 per cent year-on-year to 45,774 in 2025, this is still lower than the 2022 peak. More than 100,000 people claimed asylum in the UK last year, slightly down on the year before but still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, figures released last week show. Net migration to the UK dropped by two thirds in the 12 months to June 2025, driven by a huge drop in people coming to Britain for work or study. Net migration was an estimated 204,000 - down 69 per cent from 649,000 a year earlier and the lowest annual figure since 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, the home secretary will warn these numbers are fuelling the rise of the far-right, saying: When people see small boat arrivals, at their current scale or they feel the pace and scale of migration today, they feel like we have lost control. A loss of control breeds fear and when fearful, people turn inwards. Ms Mahmood will say that this risks fuelling ethno-nationalism. open image in gallery Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration, Rasmus Stoklund meets British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on February 25, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark. ( Getty Images ) The home secretary will claim in her speech that her reforms offer a compassionate but controlled asylum system. The Home Office has also announced that support payments and accommodation for asylum seekers will be removed if they work illegally or have the ability to support themselves financially. Those who have the right to work or have broken the law will also see these benefits revoked. The rule change, which comes into force in June, will replace the statutory legal duty under EU law to provide asylum seekers with support and accommodation with a conditional approach. As of 31 December 2025, there were 107,003 asylum seekers receiving housing or financial support from the Home Office. Of these, 30,657 were living in migrant hotels, and 72,769 were in a different form of accommodation, such as houses of multiple occupancy. The vast majority of these people are waiting on the outcome of their asylum claim or appeal. A few thousand people also still receiving financial support even though theyve had a final refusal on their asylum claim. This is to prevent that person becoming destitute. According to the Home Office, around 21,000 of these migrants could be granted the right to work because they have been waiting for more than 12 months for their asylum claim decision. Responding to the announcement, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Labour have deported only 6 per cent of illegal arrivals since coming to office, so rolling out another gimmick will not change a thing." Mr Hilton added: "The home secretary already has the power to deny support and accommodation to people seeking asylum who are not destitute or who have broken the rules. "This is the latest in a long line of announcements from successive governments that bullies refugees for a bump in the polls rather than try to solve the real problems faced by people and communities - poverty, homelessness, and the rise of the far right. "Ministers must end this dangerous race to the bottom and make the case for a UK that welcomes people fleeing war and torture and supports them to rebuild their lives here." Ms Bhutta said: These plans risk leaving men, women and children who have already endured the trauma of war and persecution in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to recover or plan for their future. We know through our work that there is a real danger that the changes will not only deprive refugees of the stability they need to rebuild their lives but could also push more people into poverty and homelessness. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A series of nine commemorative Spitfire flights have been announced across the UK, set to mark the 90th anniversary of the legendary Battle of Britain aircraft. These aerial displays promise a poignant tribute to a pivotal piece of British history. The flights will feature a specially painted two-seat Spitfire, meticulously replicated to resemble the original K5054 prototype. Each journey will begin and conclude in Southampton, Hampshire, the very location where RJ Mitchell originally designed and developed the iconic plane. Operated by Spitfires.com, seats aboard these unique flights will be auctioned to the public. Proceeds are earmarked for two vital charities: the Mark Long Trust, which supports disabled individuals in aviation, and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, dedicated to aiding serving and former RAF personnel and their families. open image in gallery Seats on the flights, operated by Spitfires.com, will be auctioned to the public to raise funds for the Mark Long Trust, which supports disabled people in aviation, and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, which supports serving and former RAF personnel and their families ( PA Wire ) The K5054 prototype holds a significant place in aviation history. It was on 5 March 1936 that Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers first piloted the Supermarine Spitfire from Eastleigh Aerodrome, now Southampton International Airport. Just eight minutes into that inaugural flight, he famously declared: "Dont change a thing." For the initial flight next month, historic aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) will accompany the Spitfire. Modern RAF aircraft are then scheduled to join for the subsequent journeys, creating a spectacular blend of past and present aviation. Historic aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) will accompany the Spitfire on the first flight next month, with modern RAF aircraft joining for the subsequent journeys. A BBMF spokeswoman said: The Spitfire became a symbol of British resilience during the Second World War, playing a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain and securing its place as one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history. Over 20,000 Spitfires were built during its production run, and it remains a celebrated symbol of innovation, courage, and engineering excellence. open image in gallery Pilot Matt Jones and Squadron Leader Paul Wise of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight ( PA Wire ) She added: The BBMF, which operates five Spitfires of its own, will join K5054 in the air during the first commemorative flight before escorting it to its first landing location at RAF Coningsby, the home of the BBMF. Throughout the remaining commemorative flights, modern Royal Air Force assets will also join the Spitfire prior to the aircrafts arrival at each subsequent landing location. These flights will showcase the evolution of RAF aircraft over the years, set against the backdrop of the nations most iconic fighter aircraft. The first flight will leave Southampton on 7 April for RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, with subsequent stops at RAF Luechars, RAF Lossiemouth, and Prestwick, in Scotland, RAF Valley, MOD St Athan and RAF St Mawgan in Wales, then Exeter in Devon and back to Southampton on 17 April. The auction for seats on the trips can be found at: spitfires.com/spitfire90. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The first flight chartered by the UK government to bring back Britons stranded in the Middle East by the US-Israeli war against Iran did not take off from Oman on Wednesday. The plane, which was due to depart Muscat at 7pm on Wednesday, was not able to take off due to technical issues, the government said. It is instead due to depart later on Thursday. Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East, and the Foreign Office has said it is working with airlines to bring them back. There was no sign of the chartered flight arriving at Heathrow airport on Thursday morning, and it did not appear on flight tracking services or arrival boards at the terminal. A spokesperson from the Foreign Office told The Independent: The UK government charter flight was not able to depart from Oman yesterday as planned due to technical issues. The flight is now expected to depart later today. Early morning arrivals included flights from South Africa and Nigeria as scheduled, but the terminal was quiet. A few commercial flights from the Middle East are due to arrive at Terminal 5 this morning, with one from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, landing just after 6am. A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian missile in Qamishli, eastern Syria ( AP ) A British Airways flight from Muscat, due to arrive at 6.25 this morning, is delayed until 8.13am, according to an arrival board. Flights from Doha and Dubai have been cancelled. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Thursday that one in 30 people currently living in the UK arrived in the country between 2021 and mid-2024. She presented the figure to underscore the recent impact of net migration, which measures the difference between the number of individuals moving long-term to the UK and those leaving. Ms Mahmood criticised the former Conservative government, claiming it "oversaw net migration of two-and-a-half million" during the period "between 2021 and the 2024 general election". She was referring to net migration from July 2020 to June 2024. This timeframe covers four consecutive 12-month periods, commencing with the year to June 2021 and concluding with the year to June 2024, just prior to the general election on 4 July 2024. An estimated 4,750,000 people immigrated long-term to the UK during this time, while an estimated 2,246,000 emigrated from the country, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The difference between these two numbers immigration minus emigration is 2,504,000, which corresponds to the 2.5 million mentioned by Ms Mahmood. open image in gallery The UK saw net migration of 2.5 million in the space of four years ( PA Archive ) The Home Secretary also said that at least one in every 30 people in the UK today arrived in that time with that time being the period that saw net migration of 2.5 million. The most recent available estimate by the ONS of the total population of the UK is 69,487,000, as of mid-2025. The figure of 2.5 million is 3.6 per cent of 69.5 million, which is the equivalent of around one in 28 or at least one in every 30. Ms Mahmood said: In just four years, this country experienced levels of migration it had previously seen across four decades. The current method the ONS uses to calculate levels of migration has been backdated only as far as 2012, with previous methods not directly comparable. From the year ending June 2012 up to the year ending June 2020 just before the start of the period covered by the 2.5 million figure net migration to the UK totalled just under 2.0 million. Under the previous method, net migration for the calendar years 1991 to 2011 inclusive totalled 3.3 million. This data suggests net migration in the decades before 2021 totalled a figure some way above 2.5 million. Net migration per year since 2021 has not been at a consistent level. In the year ending June 2021, it stood at 251,000, then jumped sharply to 681,000 in the year to June 2022 and 924,000 in the year to June 2023, before falling to 649,000 in the year ending June 2024. It has since dropped further again, to 204,000 for the year ending June 2025. The steep rise in net migration in recent years, followed by an even steeper fall, is due to the impact of events in the UK and across the world, together with policy decisions by both the former Conservative government and the current Labour administration. open image in gallery ( PA ) The jump in migration was driven by a combination of the lifting of travel restrictions following the global Covid-19 pandemic, new humanitarian resettlement schemes for people from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and the introduction of new immigration rules following the UKs departure from the EU. The fall is because of fewer people arriving in the UK through the resettlement schemes, a drop in the number of people from outside the European Union arriving to study or work, and an increase in people moving out of the country. The drop in people from outside the EU arriving to study or work reflects policy decisions introduced by the Conservatives in early 2024 and continued under Labour. These include stopping care workers and most overseas students from bringing family members to the UK, raising the salary threshold for people wishing to come on skilled worker visas and, more recently, ending overseas recruitment for care workers. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Lawmakers in the lower house of the Czech Parliament were set to decide on Thursday whether to lift Prime Minister Andrej Babis immunity from prosecution in a $2 million fraud case involving European Union subsidies. The approval would allow Pragues Municipal Court to deal with the case and issue a verdict. The court had acquitted Babis twice before but an appeals court canceled those rulings, saying they did not properly assess evidence and requested the lower court issue a guilty verdict in a retrial. Babis had pleaded not guilty and said the case is clearly politically motivated. The prosecution had originally requested a suspended sentence and a fine to be paid by the populist billionaire, who began his third term as prime minister in December. The case centered around a farm known as the Storks Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babis-owned Agrofert conglomerate to Babis family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm. The subsidies were meant for small and medium enterprises, meaning that Agrofert wouldnt have been eligible. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy. Babis former associate Jana Nagyova, who signed the subsidy request, will face retrial. She is currently a member of European Parliament, which has already lifted her immunity. Babis returned to power after his ANO, or YES, movement won big in an October election, forming a governing coalition with two small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the right-wing Motorists. The coalitions agenda includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting some key European Union policies. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has confirmed the party is looking into the circumstances after an MPs husband was arrested over allegations he was spying for China. David Taylor, the husband of East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid, and two other men were arrested by counter-terrorism officers at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday. After he was arrested, the Scottish Labour MP released a statement saying she had never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. Ms Reid added: I am not part of my husbands business activities. Speaking to journalists on Thursday at the Scottish Parliament, Mr Sarwar described the situation as deeply concerning and said he wanted to get to the bottom of these matters. He said: This is incredibly serious, deeply concerning, a matter of national security, rightly being investigated by the police. And that needs to be a thorough investigation so we can get to the bottom of it. Its deeply concerning right across the political spectrum. I think the scale of international interference now in our broader politics is really, really serious. I think weve seen international interference in our elections, in our day-to-day democracy, that is a matter of national security. On this specific case, of course, this requires a full and thorough police investigation. We have to get to the bottom of these matters. Pressed on the issue, he added: As relates to our own colleague in the Scottish Labour Party, as I say, we have an independent governance and legal unit that is looking at these matters, and well be making judgments. open image in gallery Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid released a statement saying she had never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law ( Official Parliament Portrait/PA ) Asked if Ms Reid should be suspended, he added: Rightly, this is an independent governance and legal unit process. We are looking at all the questions that arise from this, and we will be making judgements later. He was also asked whether Mr Taylor was a member of the Labour Party. Im not sure whether he is a member, whether hed be a member of the Scottish Labour Party or, indeed, a member elsewhere, but we can look into that and come back to you, he said. But if that is the case, Im sure his membership will be suspended. Mr Taylor, a former adviser to ex-Welsh secretary Lord Peter Hain, who now works for the think tank Asia House, is associated with companies called Earthcott Ltd, a public relations company, and Moblake Associates Ltd, a management consultancy that dissolved in 2024. Documents show that Earthcott and Moblake gave interest-free loans worth 23,393 in 2023 to Reid Strategies, a company of which Ms Reid was the sole director, with no date to pay the money back. The Independent has contacted Ms Reid over the loans but an ally has pointed out that Reid Strategies was wound up before she became an MP at the general election on 4 July 2024. Mr Taylor, 39, and the other two arrested men, aged 43 and 68, have now been released on bail until May. open image in gallery David Taylor has been released on bail until May ( Asia House ) Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: We have seen a significant increase in our casework relating to national security in recent years, and we continue to work extremely closely with our partners to help keep the country safe and take action to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it. These arrests are part of a proactive investigation, and while these are serious matters, we do not believe there to be any imminent or direct threat to the public relating to this. Our investigation continues, and we thank the public for their ongoing support. The arrests come at a time of heightened concerns about China trying to spy on British democracy after recriminations over the collapse of a court case last year involving a parliamentary researcher and a teacher. Both denied any wrongdoing. There have also been concerns expressed in the Commons over China being permitted to build a super embassy in London just days before Sir Keir Starmer made a trip to Beijing. Addressing the latest arrests in parliament, security minister Dan Jarvis warned there will be severe consequences if it is proven that China attempted to interfere with UK sovereign affairs. Mr Jarvis said the investigation relates to China and foreign interference targeting UK democracy. He told MPs: Let me be clear, if there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account. The government is taking robust action to ensure the UKs democratic institutions and processes are a hard target for this activity. The National Security Act provides our intelligence agencies and law enforcement with the modern legal tools they need to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of state threats. The action counterterrorism police have been able to take this morning is an example that legislation is working well. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Labour MP has said she has voluntarily suspended herself from the Labour whip until internal investigations are concluded after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. David Taylor, married to East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid, was detained alongside two other men by counter-terrorism officers. The arrests took place at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday. In a statement, she said: This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family. I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong. I love my country. To serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven as their MP and the Labour Party has been and continues to be the privilege of my life. I understand that speculation and gossip is fevered at a time like this. I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government, of which I am proud and in whom I believe. I also do not want my children who have nothing to answer for and who deserve privacy and compassion to find themselves subject to intrusion. Joani Reid with David Taylor ( Facebook ) Following discussions with the Chief Whip, I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip this evening and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and cooperate with any questions and worries the party may have. I, and my team, will continue to serve my constituents in the normal way as their Member of Parliament. It comes as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar confirmed the party is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrest. Following the arrest, Ms Reid issued a statement asserting she had "never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law". The Scottish Labour MP also clarified her position, adding: "I am not part of my husbands business activities." Mr Sarwar, while addressing journalists at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, said the situation was "deeply concerning" and stated his intention was to "get to the bottom of these matters". A Labour Party spokesperson said: These are incredibly serious allegations. We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing. Taylor, 39, alongside two other men, aged 43 and 68, were arrested by counter-terrorism officers at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday and have been released on bail until May, the Metropolitan Police said. He was listed as a lobbyist on Ms Reids registered interests. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Defence secretary John Healey has declined to rule out UK aircraft participating in strikes on Iran. During a trip to Cyprus, he was asked if he would preclude British aircraft from offensive military action against the nation. In an interview with Sky News, he said: As circumstances in any conflict change, youve got to be willing to adapt the action you take. Im doing that by bringing anti-drone helicopters in overnight. Im doing that in the next couple of weeks to bring in the Type 45 air defence destroyer. Im doing that by bringing in the top planners to help coordinate the sort of contribution that other nations are now starting to make the German frigate in the area, and Greek ships also now joining. Pressed again on whether he would rule out British aircraft taking part in offensive operations over Iran, he said: Everything that we have done is defensive, is legal and is co-ordinated with other allies. Thats one of the great strengths that Britain, Nato allies and long-standing partners like Qatar, like Jordan, like Cyprus, have in working with the Brits. open image in gallery Defence secretary John Healey has said that in any conflict, youve got to be willing to adapt the action you take ( Leon Neal/Getty ) The defence secretary met his counterpart in Cyprus earlier on Thursday to ease tensions about Britains response to drone attacks on the island. The government has faced criticism over its failure to have enough military assets in the Middle East and the pace of its response after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. More than 400 extra air defence personnel have been sent to the UKs bases in Cyprus. Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday. HMS Dragon, a type 45 warship, is also being deployed as part of the build-up, but is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week. Cypruss high commissioner to the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, had said a British military presence to defend the island was the least we expect as he pointed to naval assets being sent earlier by other European nations. Overnight on Monday, a hangar at RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made Shahed drone, which was launched from Beirut in Lebanon, according to Cypriot officials. Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes, which took off from Akrotiri. Mr Healey said he had been moving extra jets, air defence systems, radars and drone teams to Cyprus weeks before the conflict started on Saturday. Put to him that the French had put a frigate to sea immediately while the UKs HMS Dragon needed to be readied, he said bringing defence planners to Cyprus will help to coordinate the contributions from the UK and other nations. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer earlier announced that four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar. The prime minister also defended the government against criticism from Donald Trump over the UKs decision not to get involved in the initial strikes. open image in gallery Keir Starmer said that four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar ( Jaimi Joy/Pool via Reuters ) The US president said Sir Keir is no Winston Churchill, while the prime minister has also faced domestic criticism from his political opponents for failing to build a larger presence in the Middle East before the conflict began. In his latest salvo on Thursday, Mr Trump told the New York Post that the UK had been very disappointing and that Sir Keir should be supporting the US without question or hesitation. Sir Keir insisted the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement, telling reporters: Look, the special relationship is in operation right now. He added: Were sharing intelligence on a 24/7 basis in the usual way. That is the special relationship. The prime minister would not be drawn into directly addressing a report byThe Spectator magazine which suggested Sir Keir had been open to allowing the US to use British military bases for the initial strikes on Iran. The report claimed that cabinet ministers including energy secretary Ed Miliband had urged him not to do so. In response to a question from reporters, Sir Keir set out a timeline of discussions between the government and the US. He said: No request from the US came in the specific terms that we acceded until Saturday afternoon, therefore on Friday there was no concrete decision to be made. A decision had to be made when we had the request, that came in on Saturday during the course of the afternoon we were already taking measures in relation to our own capability that came in on Saturday afternoon, late in the afternoon. We then, as you would have expected, went through the details with the US over the next day, and ultimately reached a decision on Sunday, which I announced then on Sunday evening, about eight or nine oclock. The Spectator story represents a potential leak of highly sensitive information from the governments National Security Committee. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Labour wants the electoral watchdog to investigate donations to Reform UK, claiming that the party has serious questions to answer over cryptocurrency donations. Labour Party chair Anna Turley wrote to the Electoral Commission after the bodys quarterly report revealed that Nigel Farages party had secured a second multimillion-pound donation from a Thai- based billionaire, boosting the partys war chest ahead of the crucial May elections. The 3m donation from Christopher Harborne, a crypto investor who helped bankroll Brexit, came on top of the record 9m he gave to Mr Farages party last year. Reform received a total of 5.5m in donations in the last quarter of 2025 more than any other party, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission. Ms Turley has now raised concerns that the party did not register any cryptocurrency donations despite Mr Farage claiming on 22 October last year that his party had received a couple of donations in that form. open image in gallery Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said last year that his party had received donations in the form of cryptocurrency ( Getty ) If cryptocurrency donations are above the threshold of 500, they must be reported to the Electoral Commission as a non-cash donation, along with their value at the time they were received. The deadline for declaring donations received in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 30 January 2026. Ms Turley told The Independent: Nigel Farage has serious questions to answer on crypto donations to Reform. After Farage said Reform would take crypto donations last May, and bragged about having received crypto cash in October, not a single donation has been declared. Farage needs to say why. She added: This raises alarming questions about transparency, and Farage must come clean urgently. I will be writing to the Electoral Commission to ensure that the public can have confidence that everything is above board with Reforms declarations. Ms Turley also flagged that a link used by Reform for crypto donations takes donors to a platform called Radom, which is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake said: Nigel Farage and Reform should come clean about whether they have pocketed this money and whether it has been properly declared. There are clear risks to the integrity of British democracy, given the links between money laundering and crypto. A spokesperson for Reform said: Everything has been declared in the usual and proper way. It comes at a time when Labour is looking at ways of regulating crypto donations, with a number of MPs writing to communities secretary Steve Reed to ask for a temporary ban on these currencies being used for political donations. Mr Farage has previously promised the deregulation of cryptocurrencies, at specialist conferences with investors. The Reform UK has also publicly promoted Tether, the crypto company that Mr Harborne is a shareholder in. open image in gallery Christopher Harborne has given another 3m to Reform ( Christopher Harborne ) When it emerged in December that Reform had received a record donation from Mr Harborne, Mr Farage was forced to insist that the mega donor wants nothing from me. Despite living in Thailand for more than 20 years and holding a Thai passport, Mr Harborne who sometimes goes by his Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit has contributed a significant amount of money to British political parties. The businessman, who made his money as an aviation entrepreneur and through crypto investment, previously donated to the Tories under Boris Johnson, and gave sizeable sums to the Brexit Party Reform UKs predecessor in 2019 and 2020, but had not given money to political parties for five years until the record donation. Mr Harborne has also bankrolled a project to help Chagossians return to the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean with the support of Reform UKs Adam Holloway a former Tory MP who defected to the party. Mr Farage also tried to join them but was blocked. The move was part of a bid to scupper Sir Keir Starmers attempts to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, with the government set to appeal an injunction against evicting the Chagossians in a court hearing on 13 March. The latest register of donations, released on Thursday, also showed that more Tory donors are giving money to Reform UK. These included the construction equipment firm JCB, which has previously backed the Conservatives but this time gave 200,000 each to Reform and the Tories. Isabel Goldsmith, the sister of former Tory minister Zak Goldsmith, also gave Reform 100,000. Former Tory donor and high-profile Reform defector Nick Candy, a property developer, donated 240,000 to the party. There were also six-figure donations from Nigerian-born Lebanese entrepreneur Bassim Haidar, tech entrepreneur John Verbeeten, insurance businessman Keith Beekmeyer, and biotech venture capitalist David Grainger, among others. The donations mean Reform received more contributions in the last quarter than the governing Labour Party, which took in about 2m, and the Conservative Party, which received 2.4m, excluding public funds. Mr Farage has previously signalled that Reform UK will launch a 5m spending blitz ahead of Mays local elections. He is on a mission to professionalise the party before the next general election, due in 2029. Commenting on the figures, a Reform UK spokesperson said: These figures show the extraordinary momentum behind Reform UK. Raising more money than any other party in 2025 proves that people are backing the party to deliver real change. The 9m donation was made on 1 August last year. The following month, in an interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC in September, Mr Farage said of Tether: We should hang on to this and wait till they mature, and secondly, Nick, ... Tether is a stable coin. Stable coins are the way in which money goes from conventional currencies through into cryptocurrencies and back again. Tether, about to be valued as a $500bn company. You know, stable coins, crypto, this world is enormous and Ive been urging for years that London should embrace it. A few weeks later, on 22 October, Mr Farage told reporters that Reform UK had already received a couple of donations in the form of crypto assets, without giving further details. Before that, in May 2025, Mr Farage announced via X that Reform would be the first party to accept cryptocurrency donations. On the same day, he announced to the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas that Reform UK would launch a crypto revolution and introduce a crypto assets bill. At a crypto conference in London on 13 October, he said he wanted a Big Bang 2 for crypto. The donation prompted the Electoral Reform Society and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) to express concerns about political funding, with both calling for a change in the law. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have called for a formal investigation. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told The Independent: To date, no crypto asset donations have been reported to the commission. Earlier this year, we published interim guidance on political donations made in crypto assets. Parties must not accept donations made anonymously, or if they are unable to identify who the donor is. The same legal requirements apply to non-monetary donations, for instance those received as crypto assets, and parties are required to gather sufficient information to ensure that the donation is from a permissible source. The commission is continuing to work with experts and other regulators and is developing full, comprehensive guidance on crypto assets, which will be published later this year. They also confirmed previously that Mr Harborne is allowed to donate to political parties. They said: Parties can accept donations from individuals on a UK electoral register, including overseas voters. Christopher Harborne is a permissible donor. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ghanaian cocoa farmers are voicing concerns over unpaid deliveries, despite the industry regulator releasing substantial funds intended to clear their arrears and bolster the struggling sector. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) confirmed last week it had disbursed 3.62 billion cedis ($336.74 million) to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs). This significant allocation was specifically designated to settle outstanding payments owed to farmers, with some debts reportedly stretching back to November 2025. Issued following a directive from the finance ministry, the funds were meant to facilitate prompt payments to growers and improve liquidity across the cocoa industry. However, farmers and purchasing clerks alike report that the money has not yet reached them. This discrepancy has raised questions about the funds' actual use, with suspicions emerging that they might instead be servicing debts owed by cocoa buyers to banks. open image in gallery The Ghana Cocoa Board, or COCOBOD, said last week it had released 3.62 billion cedis ($336.74 million) to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to clear outstanding payments owed to farmers dating back to November 2025 ( Reuters ) COCOBOD has not immediately responded to a request for comment regarding these allegations. "We have still not been paid since November," said purchasing clerk Justice Osei Bonsu. "Farmers think we are holding their money, but the truth is we have not received anything." Another purchasing clerk, Enoch Egyir, said payments under both the previous cocoa price and those under the price announced in February remain outstanding. "They have not paid us for what we delivered under the old price since November, nor for what we delivered under the new price," he said. "We plead with the government to intervene." Farmer Ebenezer Asiful said he was owed payment for more than 35 bags of cocoa delivered since December, as well as 11 bags supplied after the recent price reduction. open image in gallery Farmer Ebenezer Asiful said he was owed payment for more than 35 bags of cocoa delivered since December, as well as 11 bags supplied after the recent price reduction ( REUTERS ) "We heard in the news that COCOBOD has released funds," he said. "So how is it that the LBC we work with has not received any money to pay us?" Industry players say payments cannot be made immediately across the sector. "With between 800,000 and one million cocoa farmers, payments cannot be made at the same time," Samuel Adimado, president of the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana, told local media. He said COCOBOD was still releasing funds to licensed cocoa buyers and urged farmers yet to be paid to remain patient. Buyers currently owe local banks between 7 billion and 8 billion cedis, debts accumulated after they took out loans to prefinance cocoa purchases. Adimado said the association had advised its members to prioritise payments to farmers once they receive funds from COCOBOD. "We know you owe the banks, but prioritise the farmers once you receive any funds from COCOBOD," he said. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump and his attorney generalare facing a lawsuit from retail investors in rival social media companies of TikTok, who are seeking to overturn the presidents approval of a deal for the apps Chinese owner, ByteDance, to form a majority American-owned joint venture. Filed on Thursday, this marks the first legal challenge to the agreement. The lawsuit contends that Trumps approval last year contravened requirements established in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents, shareholders in Alphabet and Meta Platforms, initiated the suit with backing from the Public Integrity Project. The legal action, which also names U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, aims to compel a renegotiation of the deal "that doesn't put (Trump) administration allies in a position to censor political content on one of the world's most popular media platforms." This lawsuit could bring greater scrutiny to the joint venture, which is considered crucial for TikToks continued operation in the United States and has drawn criticism from some lawmakers. Brendan Ballou, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, clarified that the suit does not seek to impose a U.S. ban on TikTok, an app utilized by 200 million Americans. A law enacted by Congress in April 2024 mandated ByteDance to divest its U.S. assets by a January 2025 deadline, or face a ban or potentially billions of dollars in fines. Trump, a Republican who commenced his second term a day after that deadline, chose not to enforce the legislation. Bondi subsequently informed companies that they would incur no liability for allowing continued TikTok use. open image in gallery This lawsuit could bring greater scrutiny to the joint venture, which is considered crucial for TikToks continued operation in the United States and has drawn criticism from some lawmakers "The president is obviously violating the law," Ballou told Reuters. Proponents of the law, which was signed by Democratic former President Joe Biden, had cited national security concerns regarding the Chinese governments potential access to data from millions of U.S. users of the popular short-video application. The Public Integrity Project counts Democratic former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold among its members. The Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit, while the White House and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment. open image in gallery This lawsuit could bring greater scrutiny to the joint venture, which is considered crucial for TikToks continued operation in the United States and has drawn criticism from some lawmakers ( AP ) ByteDance stated that TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, finalized in January and 80% owned by non-Chinese investors, would safeguard U.S. user data, apps, and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures. However, it provided limited details about the divestiture or financial arrangements. "Under the announced deal, ByteDance would still control all the essential elements of TikTok. Such a deal would subvert the very purpose of the TikTok Law, as ByteDance could continue to push Chinese propaganda and censor the content it does not like," the lawsuit asserted. The joint venture deal represented a significant moment for the social media company following years of disputes, which began in August 2020 when Trump unsuccessfully attempted to ban the app over national security concerns. Trump last year declared that the deal satisfied the terms of the divestiture law. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice For years, Iran's theocratic government warned it would blanket the Middle East with missile and drone fire if it felt its existence was threatened. Now, the Islamic Republic is doing just that. Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has unleashed thousands of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israel, American military bases and embassies in the region, and energy facilities across the Persian Gulf. Iranian fire has even been directed over its borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Iran's basic strategy is to instill fear about the dangers of a widening war in hopes that allies of the U.S. will apply enough pressure to halt their campaign. A protracted conflict, along with American and Israeli casualties, could also work in Irans favor. Trouble is, the barrage-thy-neighbors strategy also could backfire. A bid to wear down regional defenses and instill fear Irans first priority is to emerge from the war with its state institutions intact, said Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Iran is upping the costs for this U.S. military campaign and regionalizing it from the get-go, as they promised they would if America restarts the war again with Iran, she said. The U.S. joined Israel last June in a 12-day war, targeting nuclear enrichment sites. Iran maintains its program is peaceful, though its officials had threatened to pursue a bomb while enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels. Iran's leaders believe that by inflicting casualties and disrupting energy production to drive up oil and gas prices, America's allies or an unsettled public back home will pressure U.S. President Donald Trump to ease back. The Iranians are banking on basically out-stomaching him, and exhausting him and his allies to the point where they would basically have a diplomatic off-ramp, Geranmayeh said. Trump is unpredictable, Geranmayeh said, but for now he appears to be pressing for unconditional surrender to his demands, rather than a negotiated settlement. The U.S. and Israel have carried out hundreds of airstrikes and inflicted heavy damage on Iranian government, military and nuclear targets. Despite being greatly outgunned, Iran has continued to fire ballistic missiles into Israel, killing 11 people and disrupting life for millions of Israelis. More have been killed in the Gulf Arab states, and the U.S.-Israeli campaign has killed 1,045 people in Iran. After more than two years of war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli public appears to have little appetite for another lengthy round of fighting. Polls suggest the U.S. public is leery of a protracted conflict. Friends and onetime foes hit alike by Iran The American and Israeli onslaught came after a string of U.S.-Iranian talks over Iran's nuclear program and the West's sanctions failed to reach a breakthrough. Trump said Monday his four objectives were to destroy Irans missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied armed groups. The Iranian response has spared no one in the region, not even Oman, which mediated the latest round of nuclear talks and for decades has maintained a close relationship to Iran after it helped the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said put down a rebellion in the 1970s. Last week, as the U.S. amassed warships in the region, Oman's foreign minister rushed to Washington in a last-ditch effort to keep the nuclear talks going. Since then, Oman has been dragged into the conflict. An Omani port and ships off its coast have been targeted by Iranian missiles. Oman's port at Duqm helped the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with pre-deployment logistics. Saudi Arabia, which has maintained a detente with Tehran since 2023, also came in the crosshairs this week. Its Ras Tanura oil refinery has been repeatedly attacked and the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh got hit by drones an embarrassing moment for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has worked to cultivate a close relationship with Trump. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which also have close ties to Trump, have been repeatedly targeted, too. Missile math grows more important Theres a grim math equation at play as the war goes on. Iran has a finite number of missiles and drones, just as the Gulf Arab states, the U.S. and Israel all have a limited number of interceptor missiles capable of downing the incoming fire. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized during the war. The Israeli military says it has destroyed dozens of missile launchers. From the American and Israeli side, targeting missiles and their launchers remains key. Both countries had to shoot down Iranian missiles during the war in June and multiple times in the Israel-Hamas war. In simple terms, we are focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us, said U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American militarys Central Command. A senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said Iran has several days worth of ballistic missiles if it continues firing at current rates, but it may hold some back to wage a longer campaign. The Israeli military says the number of Iranian launches has greatly diminished in recent days as a result of the airstrikes though warning sirens wailed seemingly constantly across Israel on Wednesday into Thursday. Iran's strategy may be backfiring Iran's strategy of trying to threaten energy security, drive a wedge between Gulf and Western states and raise costs is backfiring, said Hasan Alhasan, a Middle East expert with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its driving and pushing the Gulf states into closer alignment with the United States, he said. The Gulf states cant simply sit idle and continue absorbing indefinite attacks to their critical infrastructure and to civilians in Gulf cities, Alhasan said. They are probably trying to both acquire more weapons to intercept incoming fire and find ways to broker an end to the war, he said. Irans foreign minister has suggested his countrys military units are now isolated and acting independently from any central government control, a possible excuse for Irans increasingly erratic fire. They are acting based on instructions you know, general instructions given to them in advance, Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Sunday. But after a Wednesday phone call with Araghchi, Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, categorically rejected his assertion that Iranian missiles were only directed at American interests and not intended to target Qatar. ___ Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The majority of American voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling US military action in Iran, a new poll shows. At the direction of Trump, the U.S., partnered with Israel and started launching military strikes against Iran over the weekend in an operation dubbed Epic Fury. The strikes have killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior officials, according to the Associated Press. Iran has retaliated with its own strikes against Israel and several Gulf states. Six American service members were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. A new Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for NBC News found 54 percent of American voters disapprove of Trumps handling of the situation in Iran and 41 percent approve. open image in gallery The majority of American voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling US military action in Iran, a new poll has shown ( Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images ) When asked specifically whether the U.S. should have taken military action against Iran, 52 percent said it should not have. Just 41 percent agreed with Trumps decision to strike Iran. Trump won the 2024 election on an America First agenda. During his victory speech, Trump said, Im not going to start a war. Im going to stop wars. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Monday that the U.S.-Israeli strikes would not drag out into an endless conflict. open image in gallery At the direction of Trump, the U.S., partnered with Israel, and began launching military strikes against Iran over the weekend in an operation dubbed 'Epic Fury' ( AFP via Getty Images ) This is not Iraq. This is not endless, Hegseth said, referring to the U.S.-led invasion into that country that carried on from 2003 to 2011. The U.S. Central Command says that Operation Epic Furys goal is to dismantle the Iranian regimes security apparatus, as Trump claims, without any proof, that Iranian forces were planning to attack American forces before the strikes. open image in gallery Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Monday that the U.S.-Israeli strikes would not drag out into an 'endless' conflict ( Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images ) Earlier this week, Trump said U.S. military involvement in Iran could last at least four to five weeks, adding, We have capability to go far longer than that. On Tuesday, the Republican-led Senate failed to pass a War Powers Resolution, which wouldve required Congressional approval for further strikes. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed President Donald Trump over the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, accusing him of risking world war to distract from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Trump launched the assault in the Middle East at the weekend but is already facing backlash in the U.S., having campaigned on a platform of no more wars. He impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. There was no exit and no endgame for either of these situations. It led to increased global instability everywhere he goes, AOC told MeidasTouch in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. And every time hes done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files. I dont think that that coincidence is something to dismiss off the cuff. I think that he feels existentially tied to it. open image in gallery New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused President Donald Trump of using the conflict with Iran to distract from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal ( Getty ) She continued: And I actually think that it is one reason that he must be removed from office, because if the Epstein files have such a hold on President Trump and this administration that they are willing to plunge us and risk world war in order to save themselves politically, that is the definition of someone that cannot make objective decisions for the American people. Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. But, he has faced persistent questions about their past friendship, with the pair having known each other in the 1990s and early 2000s until, according to the president, they had a bitter falling out. His administration has been criticized over the Department of Justices handling of the release of its investigative materials on the deceased pedophile in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress in November. Survivors of Epsteins sexual abuse have complained about the redactions made to the files and the chaotic nature of their publication in three tranches across late December and January. open image in gallery Rep. Thomas Massie insisted Trumps decision to greenlight the airstrikes on Iran wont make the Epstein files go away ( Getty ) Ocasio-Cortez is not the first lawmaker to accuse the president of launching a fresh conflict in the Middle East to distract from Epstein. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who spearheaded the passage of the Act last year, posted on X Sunday afternoon: PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe wont make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will. Prior to that, former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who fell out with Trump last year, issued a lengthy attack on him Saturday in a similar vein. For years we demanded to release the Epstein files, demanding transparency and justice for thousands of victims, women and children, by the richest most powerful men in the world and we had to fight Trump himself to do it, even after we all campaigned on it, she said. And not a single person has been arrested and likely wont be, no accountability, no justice. Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime change in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what? That evening, on Saturday Night Live, James Austin Johnson, parodying the presidents Truth Social video in which he first announced Operation Epic Fury, declared: War, what is it good for? Distracting from the Epstein files! Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which last week heard six hours of closed-door testimony from Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, has announced that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily before its members. Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing and has never been accused of a crime associated with Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi has also been subpoenaed, to testify about the rollout of the 3.5 million files by the DOJ and the decision making behind it. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A political action committee linked to President Trump has called on donors to stand strong with the GOP leader amid the U.S.'s ongoing war with Iran. The U.S. and Israeli militaries began bombing the Islamic Republic on Saturday, killing the regimes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process. Six U.S. soldiers have so far died in the military operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Now, the conflict in Iran is being namechecked in a donation drive promoted by WinRed, a website designed to channel donations to GOP candidates and committees. open image in gallery A fundraiser linked to President Trump has called on donors to stand strong with the GOP leader amid the war with Iran ( Getty ) Right now, Im asking everyone who approves of Operation Epic Fury to rally behind me with incredible messages of support, the message reads. Your words mean the world to me. Show your support!Will you stand STRONG with me as I protect our country? Respondents are given a set of three replies, which range from no, to unsure, to YES - I STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP! Suggested donations range from $26 to $3,300. According to the website, funds raised by the campaign will be used by the Trump National Committee JFC. Another fundraising message, paid for by Never Surrender, Inc, included a direct warning to Iranian forces from the president. To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces, and all of the police, I say that you must lay down all your weapons and have complete immunity or you will face certain death, Trump wrote. The military operation in Iran has split lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and some Republicans slamming the president for greenlighting an attack. open image in gallery Strikes on Iran killed the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ( Reuters ) Senator Elizabeth Warren tore into Trump on X, condemned the president for launching the strikes despite campaigning on a platform of lowering day-to-day costs and bringing an end to forever wars. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on Day 1 and end wars, Senator Warren wrote. Instead, Trump's new war with Iran is raising your costs. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, several GOP lawmakers privately expressed concerns about the war to Politico. One Republican even compared the strikes on Iran to the Vietnam War. Sounds a little bit like President Lyndon Johnson going into Vietnam, doesnt it? the lawmaker said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, though, that the attack on Iran was approved as a preemptive response. He said that concerns were raised that Iran could strike U.S. targets, if attacked by Israel. open image in gallery Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have expressed concerns about the conflict with Iran ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) President Trump framed the attack to Fox News as an effort to get rid of the Iranian regimes leadership. The U.S. military operation in Iran has proven to be unpopular amongst voters, with just one in four, 27 percent, supporting the airstrikes on the Islamic Republic. The survey, which was conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, found that 43 percent of respondents disapproved of the strikes while 29 percent were still not sure. Over half of those surveyed, 56 percent, also said that the president was too quick to use force to advance the United States interests around the world. Another poll suggested that 54 percent of voters disapprove of the presidents handling of the conflict with Iran. The Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies survey, which was conducted for NBC News, found that just 41 percent of people approved of his management of the crisis. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A troubled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Texas has been put under quarantine after an outbreak of measles - and could be shuttered altogether. The Camp East Montana site, which has faced a series of controversies and a number of deaths since it opened eight months ago, has been shut to visitors and to detainees' legal representatives until at least March 20. There are 14 active measles cases at the center on the Fort Bliss Army base and 112 people are being isolated, said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, an El Paso Democrat who has been calling for it to be shut down permanently. The wheels for this may already be in motion according to The Washington Post, which this week reported an internal ICE document indicates a letter terminating the camp's contract has been drafted. The Department for Homeland Security insists no decisions have been made. open image in gallery Protesters opposing mass deportations hold signs during a protest held at Camp East Montana, an ICE detention facility in El Paso, Texas ( REUTERS ) The site, designed to take up to 5,000 detainees, has seen crisis after crisis since it opened last year, Escobar said. While on one hand, it is a good thing that the measles outbreak is being taken seriously, on the other hand, I am alarmed that a preventable crisis has created conditions where detainees can only access their lawyers virtually," Escobar said in a statement. There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city. Three deaths have been reported at the site, including a Cuban migrant held in solitary confinement whose death was ruled a homicide in an autopsy report in January. The camp opened last August after the Trump administration awarded a contract worth around $1.2 billion to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a Virginia contractor that had previously not operated an ICE facility. open image in gallery ( Getty Images ) Escobar has repeatedly highlighted the conditions within, including numerous allegations of inadequate medical care. It became very clear to me early on that serious medical issues were being overlooked and, in some cases, medical attention was non-existent for urgent health issues, she claimed. There has also been consistently sub-par access to hygiene, janitorial and laundry services. An internal report by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements detention oversight unit, obtained by The Post in September, found 60 violations of federal standards in 50 days. These included failing to monitor and treat medical conditions, lacking basic procedures for safeguarding staff and detainees, failing to provide means for them to contact lawyers, and failing to learn about their cases or enable them to file complaints, the report claimed. The existing contract for the center is due to run until September, 2027. The draft letter referred to in the Post does not set out a date for the facility's potential closure. open image in gallery The center is on the Fort Bliss Army bass in El Paso, Texas ( Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis told the newspaper the department is reviewing Camp East Montana to ensure it meets legally-required standards, but stressed no decisions have been made related to contract extension, termination, or award. ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody, she said. DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards. The Independent has contacted the DHS and the contractor for comment. The department hit back at The Posts reporting on the issue last September and insisted detainees were properly looked after. Here are the facts: any claim that there are inhumane conditions at ICE detention centers are categorically false, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said at the time. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. open image in gallery Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant, died at the camp ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement ) The centers measles outbreak comes as the US grapples with its most severe spread since 1991. Last year saw 2,144 cases across 44 states, resulting in three deaths, all among unvaccinated individuals. Texas saw 762 reported cases and two child fatalities, a figure experts believe was likely an undercount. A South Carolina outbreak which began in January this year has been one of the nation's worst, leading to hundreds of children being quarantined due to school exposures, some multiple times. It is also not the first measles outbreak at an ICE detention center. Last month, at least two active measles infections were identified among immigrant detainees at another detention center in Texas. ICE ceased "all movement at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center and said they had quarantined anyone suspected of making contact with the infected, the Department of Homeland Security said at the time. Measles, caused by a highly contagious airborne virus, spreads easily through breathing, sneezing, or coughing. Though considered eliminated from the US since 2000, the country is now on course to lose this status when officials meet in November this year. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A conservative lobbyist has sparked outrage for suggesting that the Iranian schoolgirls killed in airstrikes this week amid the joint U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign are better off dead than being alive in a burqa. Matt Schlapp, who heads up the Conservative Union advocacy group, which runs the Conservative Political Action Conference, made the remark Wednesday night on Piers Morgans Uncensored during a heated debate. A missile strike on the wars first day, Saturday, killed 175 children and staff at an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, according to the non-profit humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iran has pointed the finger at the U.S. and Israel, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the administration was investigating. Journalist Peter Beinart, the editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, told Morgan that the U.S. and Israel were to blame even if an Iranian missile was responsible for the attack on the school. We know that if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked a country that poses no serious threat to them Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons, America has thousands that those girls would be alive, Beinart said. open image in gallery Matt Schlapp (far right) sparked outrage for suggesting that the Iranian schoolgirls killed in airstrikes this week in the joint U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign are better off dead than being alive in a burqa ( Piers Morgan Uncensored ) Theyd be alive in a burqa, Schlapp interjected before he was cut off by Morgan, who spoke over him. This isa barbaric society, Schlapp said, before Morgan told him to hang on. A few minutes later, Morgan invited Schlapp back to the conversation. It's hypocritical to say that these attacks harmed women and children when those women and children, the young girls that you reference, would be...live a life in a barbaric, unequal society behind a burqa, with no ability to make career choices, Schlapp said. So just kill them? challenged Cenk Uygur, a Turkish-American commentator who was also on the panel. No, thats not what Im saying either, said Schlapp. That is what you said, Uygur replied, before Schlapp went on to defend President Donald Trumps decision to bomb Iran. open image in gallery Schlapp, who regularly appears on right-wing network Newsmax, is married to former Trump White House staffer Mercedes Schlapp and is a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump ( Getty ) open image in gallery Iran has pointed the finger at the U.S. and Israel for the strike on the elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, that killed 175 children and staff ( AP ) Schlapp, who regularly appears on right-wing network Newsmax, is married to former Trump White House staffer Mercedes Schlapp and is a fierce supporter of Trump. Critics blasted the MAGA firebrand for the comment and highlighted his basic ignorance because women and girls in Iran are not required to wear a burqa in Iran, though under the regimes strict laws, they are required to wear a hijab and clothing must cover most of the body. For a man who claims to understand so much about Iran, Matt Schlapp sure gets a lot wrong, the journalist Yashar Ali commented in a post on X. Also, schoolgirls do not wear burqas in Iran. They are forced to wear a headscarf and a school uniform with a long coat (often called a manteau), sometimes they wear a maghnaeh. That system is oppressive and imposed by the regime but confusing Iran with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan shows a basic ignorance about the country Matt claims to be lecturing the world about, Ali added. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned about the missile strike on the school at a Wednesday briefing, and asked if the U.S. had any involvement. Not that we know of, Leavitt responded. The Department of War is investigating this matter. At a Pentagon briefing Wednesday morning, Hegseth briefly answered a question from a reporter on the strike before moving on. All I know is were investigating that, Hegseth said. We of course never target civilian targets, but were taking a look and investigating that. The war in Iran has split Trumps MAGA base, with prominent figures such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly railing against the joint military operation with Israel. But Trump pushed back and said he did not believe that the opinions of Carlson and Kelly are shared by his base. I think that MAGA is Trump, he said. MAGAs not the other two. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice White House officials are reportedly scrambling to reassure Americans that they have gas prices under control, after costs spiked this week due to the war in Iran. One week ago, U.S. nationwide gasoline prices were $2.98 per gallon but, after President Donald Trump ordered the military to begin strikes on Iran, igniting more instability in the Middle East, prices are up to $3.25, according to AAA. Trump brushed off concerns Wednesday, saying oil prices would be high for a little while but the prices would drop lower than ever before once the war ends. Energy Secretary Chris Wright insisted the price increases were temporary. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the administration had been planning for this. But one unnamed energy industry executive familiar with conversations described the White Houses current approach as looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, according to Politico. The same executive told the news outlet that Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were getting screamed at to find good news. open image in gallery Oil and gas prices globally, rose this past week after oil refineries and other infrastructure was impacted by the war in Iran ( AFP via Getty Images ) Leavitt refuted that claim in a statement Thursday, calling Politicos report sensationalist, unverified gossip for clicks. Nobody is panicking, Leavitt said. President Trumps entire energy team, from the White House to the National Energy Dominance Council to Secretaries Wright and Bessent, have a game plan to keep oil prices stable throughout Operation Epic Fury. The attacks by the U.S. and Israel have led Iran to conduct retaliatory strikes some targeting oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the water passageway that is typically filled with oil tankers and cargo ships is nearly empty and the global supply chain is feeling the impact. Geopolitical events in the Middle East typically impact gas prices because oil infrastructure is disrupted. Although the U.S. is the largest producer of crude oil worldwide, nearly a third of its production is exported, and one-third of the oil used in the U.S. is imported. That is because the type of crude oil produced in the U.S. is considered light and not suitable for diesel, kerosene and other fuel oils. open image in gallery Trump said Thursday that while gas prices may rise, it would only be temporary until the end of the war in Iran ( AP ) Leavitt said the administration was going to tap into newfound oil markets in Venezuela an opportunity only available because the president seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January. The United States Development Finance Corporation, an independent agency that invests in development projects in lower and middle-income countries, is providing political risk insurance at a very reasonable price for crude carriers and cargo ships in and around the Gulf. Trump also said the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. While oil prices have risen, they still remain lower than at their peak in 2024. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been fired by Donald Trump, ending her controversial 13-month tenure at the agency behind his mass deportation agenda that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S., led to chaos in American cities and the deaths of at least three citizens. The president made his announcement on Truth Social moments before Noem appeared at a law enforcement conference in Nashville Thursday afternoon. She reportedly learned that she was being removed from the role moments before taking the stage. Noem has served us well, the president wrote. She will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to the president, who described the effort as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere. Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Her departure is effective March 31. The new initiative will be formally announced Saturday, according to Trump. I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland, he wrote. Mullin, a 48-year-old former MMA fighter who has been in the Senate since 2023, told The Independent he is excited about the opportunity. It's an honor to be nominated, he said Thursday. We're excited about it, were excited to get to work, but we still got the nomination process. Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, would be the first Native American to serve as DHS secretary. open image in gallery Kristi Noem has been ousted as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to Donald Trump ( Getty ) Trump hailed Mullin as a MAGA warrior who truly gets along well with people and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda. Noem is the first Cabinet member to be forced out of the administration since Trump returned to the White House last year. The former South Dakota governor was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 59-34 last January. She appeared at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference at the same time Trump posted on Truth Social, but she did not address her firing in her remarks. She mentioned that she would be with Trump in Miami this weekend. In a statement posted on X, Noem thanked the president and said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security, she said. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. open image in gallery Noem has been appointed to a new role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas ( Reuters ) Under Noems leadership, DHS secured a mammoth budget to expand detention centers and rapidly hire federal immigration enforcement officers who are accused of surging into American cities with brutal force and jailing tens of thousands of people into detention camps across the country. She is a defendant in countless lawsuits against the administrations attempts to rapidly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people. Initial reports of her imminent departure followed two days of combative hearings in Congress this week, where the secretary faced frustration from Democrats and Republicans over the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minnesota earlier this year. Noem baselessly accused the victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti of committing domestic terrorism before any law enforcement agency investigated. Trump-aligned Republican Senator John Kennedy joined Democrats this week in trying to get the secretary to answer why she would baselessly accuse American citizens of domestic terrorism after her officers shot them at point-blank range. open image in gallery Noems tenure has seen the removal of thousands of immigrants, including deportations to a brutal Salvadoran prison, which she visited in March 2025 ( AFP/Getty ) She was also grilled over her handling of multi-million dollar contracts for an ad campaign in which she was prominently featured. Kennedy said he was troubled that DHS spent more than a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money on Noems ad campaign, which she called effective. They were effective in your name recognition, Kennedy shot back. The secretary was also unable to explain how a company connected to her own spokesperson landed a lucrative contract for work connected to that campaign. That spokesperson, now-former assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, resigned last month. Trump said he did not sign off on the $220m ad campaign, one day after Noem testified that the president supported it. I never knew anything about it, the president told Reuters Thursday. open image in gallery Noem, pictured riding a horse while filming an ad in October, was grilled by members of Congress over government contracts awarded to firms that developed the ad campaign ( DHS/Tia Dufour ) Those contracts appeared to be the final straw for the president. Kennedy told reporters Thursday that Noem was deader than fried chicken. The presidents announcement also arrived in the middle of the ongoing funding lapse at DHS. Democrats blocked a spending bill that they say does not go far enough to restrain immigration officers after Congress gave ICE billions of dollars to build detention centers and hire a small army of new recruits last year. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress and at least two Republicans previously called on Noem to resign or face impeachment. Trump, who met with Noem at the White House in January amid growing calls for her resignation after federal agents killed Good and Pretti in Minneapolis, had not previously suggested her job was at risk. The president insisted Noem was doing a very good job, he told reporters at the time. open image in gallery Noems 13-month tenure at DHS has been marked by sweeping arrests targeting thousands of immigrants and their families ( Getty ) In the weeks that followed, Noem has come under heightened scrutiny for actions in office, including questions about her close relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a chief adviser serving as a special government employee. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, tore into Noem on Tuesday following reports that she had a pilot fired when her blankie was left on a plane, only for the pilot to be rehired when Lewandowski realized there was no one else who could fly the jet. Noem has denied the report. Trump had no choice but to fire her, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote Thursday, one day after Noem appeared before the committee. Her tenure was marked by systematic constitutional violations, cruelty, corruption and deadly mismanagement, they wrote. Thats her legacy. The next Homeland Secretary has a lot of work to do to transform this lawless masked agency and regain the publics trust. open image in gallery Trump has selected Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin on Oklahoma to replace Noem as DHS secretary ( Reuters ) Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who spent several interrupted minutes during a Senate oversight hearing raging at Noem with a long list of grievances, said he welcomes Mullins nomination. During Tuesdays hearing, Tillis compared Noems tenure at the agency to her anecdote about killing a 14-month-old dog and then having the audacity to say its a leadership lesson about tough choices. Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation, Tillis wrote Thursday. Another big positive: he likes dogs. Eric Garcia contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will serve as Special Envoy to The Shield of the Americas, a new initiative launched by President Donald Trump to stop mass migration to the U.S. and thwart drug cartels, the president announced Thursday. The Shield of the Americas is Trumps newly-established summit that will feature allied leaders of Latin American countries, such as President Javier Milei of Argentina and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, to discuss and commit to stopping illegal immigration and drug cartels. Noems new position comes after the president ousted her from her role leading the department on its aggressive anti-immigration operation, which resulted in 675,000 deportations and led to the deaths of three U.S. citizens. In a statement, Noem thanked the president for the appointment and said she was looking forward to working with leaders to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into the U.S. As one of her primary acts as special envoy, Noem said she plans to join Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the first summit Saturday in Miami, Florida. open image in gallery The new Shield of the Americas is a partnership between the US and several Latin American countries though it notably excludes Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil ( AFP via Getty Images ) White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement, The President has successfully strengthened our relationships in our own backyard to make the entire region safer and more stable, and this weekends Shield of the Americas Summit will encapsulate all of his work to Make America, and our partners, Strong Again. Its unclear what duties Noem will be completing in her role as special envoy. Though other administration officials in special envoy roles represent the U.S. in meetings and negotiations. Noem said Thursday the goal of the newfound summit was to promote freedom, security and prosperity in our region. Part of that includes partnering with the 12 attending countries to address criminal narcoterrorist gangs and cartels and counter illegal and mass migration. The first Shields of the Americas summit will include a signing of the Doral Charter, which will affirm the right of the peoples of our Hemisphere to chart their own destiny free from interference. After years of neglect, President Trump established the Donroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, Kelly said. That is directly tied to Trumps Donroe Doctrine, which is the presidents current policy based on the 1823 Monroe Doctrine when the U.S. declared any foreign interference in Americas efforts to expand could be considered a hostile act against the U.S. Not every Latin American country has been invited, or at least accepted an invite, to the Shield of the Americas. Most of the attendees appear to be leaders of countries that have elected more right-leaning figures or who have expressed a desire to work with Trump. open image in gallery Trump has adopted a set of policies nicknamed the Donroe Doctrine which champion US influence in the Western Hemisphere ( Nathan Howard/Getty Images ) Notably missing will be Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Early reports indicate the Shield of the Americas will support Trumps Donroe Doctrine ambitions as he seeks to exert U.S. influence over Latin American countries such as Venezuela and possibly, Cuba. Those efforts, such as the capture of now-deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, have been conducted under the motivation to stop narcoterrorism and drug trafficking into the U.S. Trump has made it a priority to target and stop drug cartels from trafficking narcotics into the U.S. by issuing various executive orders declaring cartels foreign terrorists, pressuring the leaders of Latin American countries to take more action and conducting periodic strikes on boats accused of drug trafficking. The president and his administration have accused drug cartels of killing millions of Americans through the trafficking of fentanyl. But while combating narcotic trafficking, the administration has also cemented itself as having enormous influence over Latin American countries. After capturing Maduro and supporting the installation of Rodriguez, Trump moved to control Venezuelan oil, giving him more control over the region. Since then, the administration has controlled the flow of oil to Cuba, another communist country that has a long and complicated relationship with the U.S. The country has been plunged into darkness, left without fuel and on the brink of a crisis increasing pressure for leaders to cut a deal with Trump. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The U.S. military under President Donald Trump is now free to fight wars without its hands tied behind its back, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has claimed. Miller celebrated the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran as politically incorrect and lashed out at what he called the woke Pentagon under previous administrations. What you're seeing right now is a military under President Trump's leadership that is not fighting politically correct. That isn't fighting with its hands tied behind its back, Miller said. One of the reasons why people lost faith in the military and the capacity to use that military to defend us is because we had a woke Pentagon. Because we had a military who at the very highest level not the war-fighters was forced to fight a less than full fight. open image in gallery White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has lashed out at the woke Pentagon ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images ) The reported death toll from the US-Israeli strikes has topped 1,000, including Irans leader of 47 years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 170 people at a girls primary school in an incident the White House has said is being investigated. Millers remarks echo those of Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth who said on Monday that the U.S. was doing things on our terms. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically-correct wars. We fight to win, Hegseth said. The combative remarks from senior figures in the Trump administration come despite polls revealing the majority of American voters disapprove of how the president is handling the unfolding war on Iran. A new Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for NBC News found 54 percent of American voters disapprove of Trumps handling of the situation in Iran and 41 percent approve. open image in gallery An explosion in Sanandaj, Iran, as the Middle Eastern conflict continues ( Social media ) The rapid descent into an unpopular war comes despite Trump campaigning and winning the 2024 election on an America First agenda. During his victory speech, he said: Im not going to start a war. Im going to stop wars. Earlier this week, Trump said U.S. military involvement in Iran could last around four to five weeks, but added: We have capability to go far longer than that. But on Monday, Hegseth suggested Washington would not seek to put a time limit on U.S. military intervention, telling reporters: "President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take. In an update on Wednesday, Hegseth boasted to the media of the success the strikes on Iran have had so far. We are only four days into this, and the results have been incredible, historic really ... only the United States of America could lead this." open image in gallery Defense secretary Pete Hegseth boasted of the USs success in the war so far ( AFP/Getty ) I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Eric Fury America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. They are toast, and they know it. If you threaten Americans anywhere on this earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation and we will kill you. We are not defenders any more We are warriors, trained to kill the enemy and break their will. He also told the military not to question the Trump administration's strategic decisions, telling troops dont listen to the noise, to ignore the "fake news" and to "stay focused". Asked about the strike which hit a primary school for girls, killing 170, Hegseth said: "We're investigating it". Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy has defended himself after an anti-war protester he was helping remove from a Capitol Hill hearing was injured. The incident unfolded when Sheehy came to the aid of Capitol Police as they struggled to remove the activist from a committee hearing on Wednesday. Brian McGinnis, a Marine Corps veteran in dress uniform, disrupted a gathering of the Senate Armed Services Committee to denounce the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. He clashed with three officers attempting to remove him from the chamber and suffered a broken arm in the process, Reuters reports. No one wants to fight for Israel, McGinnis yelled as the officers shoved him through the door, at which point the protesters arm became wedged in the door frame. open image in gallery Anti-war protester Brian McGinnis gets stuck in a door as he is tackled by Capitol Police and Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy ( Getty ) open image in gallery Sen. Sheehy and Captiol Police officers attempted to remove McGinnis from the Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing ( Getty ) When Sheehy joined the scrum, an audible snap could be heard and a member of the public, in attendance to witness the hearing, repeatedly cried out: A sitting U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine. As Sheehy returned to his seat, the same man called him a coward and a punk, to which the Republican appeared to respond by saying: Go f*** yourself. As he was finally led away from the scene, McGinnis continued to shout: Free Palestine, from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, Palestine will be free, referring to the first line of the Marine Corps official song. The senator, a former Navy SEAL, later responded to a video of the chaotic episode on X and said: Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protester from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and de-escalate the situation. This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence. McGinnis who, along with the officers, was treated for his injuries was arrested and faces three counts each of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and unlawful demonstration, according to Capitol Police. They blamed McGinnis for the injury he sustained, saying in their statement that he got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room. Sheehys decision to involve himself in the scuffle also attracted strong criticism, however, with the campaign group Veterans for Responsible Leadership reacting to the senators account by saying: Lets hope he sues the s*** out of you. Paul Rieckhoff, a veterans rights activist and podcaster, said: This is very, very ugly. And no U.S. senator needs to inject himself into this situation. For the safety of everyone including himself. Just unnecessary and terrible to watch. This is what an America falling apart looks like. open image in gallery Sen. Sheehy said he was trying to de-escalate the situation but his response has been condemned by veterans rights groups ( AP ) A video posted on X earlier in the day appears to show McGinnis, described as a Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, standing outside the Capitol. He explained that he is here in D.C. trying to speak out against the Senate and ask them why theyre going to send our men and women to harms way when our elected officials said that there would be no world war. Anyone who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you are not alone, he says. Join us in demanding accountability for this betrayal. Free Palestine. Free America. Following Wednesdays incident, McGinniss family posted a message on the same account expressing thanks for the messages of support they had received and explaining that the activist would be taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Representative Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year as the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the Texas Republican. Gonzales has come clean after months of being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Regina Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old wife and mother who worked in his Uvalde office. I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgement and there was a lack of faith and I take full responsibility for those actions, the congressman told conservative talk show host Joe Pagliarulo in a bombshell interview released Wednesday. Gonzales has six children with his wife, Angel. He told Pagliarulo that he had reconciled with Angel after the affair and had asked God to forgive me, which he has, adding that his faith is as strong as ever. open image in gallery Representative Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year as the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the Texas Republican ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images ) Santos-Aviles died in September 2025in the backyard of her Uvalde home. Gonzales told Pagliarulo he had absolutely nothing to do with the former staffers death. The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it was opening a probe to determine whether Gonzales violated any rules in connection with allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee in his office and discriminated unfairly by giving special favors. When Pagliarulo asked whether Gonzales understood the power dynamic between a boss and a subordinate, the congressman said, Its a serious issue that we have to talk about. I take responsibility for my actions, Gonzales said. Its also important to know all the details and all the facts. open image in gallery Amid calls to resign, Gonzales was forced into a primary runoff election with gun rights activist Brandon Herrera ( Brandon Bell/Getty Images ) Gonzales faced increased scrutiny about the affair earlier this month, when the San Antonio Express-News revealed text messages the congressman supposedly sent to Santos-Aviles in May 2024, including one that reportedly read, Send me a sexy pic. Bobby Barrera, an attorney for Santos-Aviles widow, Adrian Aviles, told local outlet KSAT in an interview released earlier this month that Adrian knew about the affair and it was the reason he and his wife separated. The Independent has reached out to Barrera for comment. Despite calls to resign, Gonzales is seeking reelection. He was forced into a primary runoff with gun rights activist Brandon Herrera after failing to secure 50 percent of the vote. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, reach out to the national suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice House Republican leadership on Thursday called on Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to drop his re-election bid after he admitted to an extramarital affair with a former staffer who was married who ultimately died by suicide. The call comes after the House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating Gonzales for his extramarital affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old married woman and mother who worked in his office in Uvalde. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain released a joint statement on Thursday. The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzaless conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously, they said on Thursday. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election. Over the past year, The San Antonio Express-News reported reported multiple stories about Santos-Aviles and her death, where she set herself on fire. open image in gallery Representative Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year as the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the Texas Republican ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images ) I take responsibility for my actions, Gonzales finally said late Wednesday after months of calls for his ouster. Its also important to know all the details and all the facts. Gonzales had initially stayed mum ahead of the primary this Tuesday where he faced YouTuber Brendan Herrera, whom he beat in a runoff in 2024. President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales in the race. But on Tuesday, neither Gonzales nor Herrera earned enough votes to win an outright majority, triggering a runoff election in May. On Wednesday evening, Gonzales admitted to an extramarital affair in an interview with conservative talk show host Joe Pagliarulo. I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgement and there was a lack of faith and I take full responsibility for those actions, he said. Gonzales said he asked his wife and God for forgiveness. A Navy veteran from San Antonio and one of a handful of Hispanic conservatives in the House of Representatives, Gonzales had been considered a rising star and point person for Republicans on immigration. open image in gallery Amid calls to resign, Gonzales was forced into a primary runoff election with gun rights activist Brandon Herrera. ( Brandon Bell/Getty Images ) But the news of the affair, including screenshots of him asking for risque photos from Santos-Aviles, led to Republicans, including many conservatives, to call for his resignation. Republican leadership did not call for Gonzales to resign. Republicans have only 218 seats in the House of Representatives, meaning they can only afford to lose one of their own members every vote. A resignation from Gonzales could risk their majority. The House Ethics Committee announced this week that it would open a probe into whether Gonzales violated any rules in connection with allegations that he may have engaged in inappropriate work conduct. -Rachel Dobkin contributed reporting. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Furious Americans have blasted President Donald Trumps proposed $400 million ballroom by bombarding a planning commission with angry comments ahead of a key meeting on the project and they were overwhelmingly negative. The public submitted more than 35,000 comments to the National Capital Planning Commission and 97 percent were critical of the plans, according to analysis by The Washington Post. Similarly, analysis by The New York Times found that 98 percent of the more than 10,000 pages of comments were negative. More than 500 comments branded Trumps plans for the ballroom as tacky, while hundreds more were outraged at the demolition of the historic East Wing. The comments were submitted ahead of a virtual public hearing scheduled Thursday, where 100 people are slated to testify, The Independent found. Images of demolition crews razing the historic East Wing to the ground in October last year drew widespread condemnation from the public and Democrats. But Trump and his administration have insisted that the plans are necessary for hosting large events, such as state dinners. The new White House ballroom is expected to be a massive addition to the Peoples House, but the project, funded by private donors, has been heavily scrutinized for its quick implementation and high costs jumping from an initial $200 million estimate to $400 million. open image in gallery Furious Americans have blasted President Donald Trumps proposed $400 million ballroom by bombarding a planning commission with angry comments ahead of a key meeting on the project and they were overwhelmingly negative ( AFP via Getty Images ) The American people didnt hold back. Some submissions included their full names, while others went by a first name only. No one with taste or dignity would approve of this tacky ballroom that dwarfs the size of the historic White House, one person wrote in a scathing comment. I understand the President needs it for corrupt fundraisers and personal business interests such as his own crypto coins bought by foreign interests. Please include my comments in the official records for this corrupt renovation. Tacky gold leaf and pillars cannot mask poor planning, said a submission by R. Hayes. Anything built in this model will one day be removed. Lets not waste all of our time and money on narcissism. Another described the project as a monstrous, tacky, gigantic edifice. Many Americans expressed how they didnt vote for the lofty ballroom plans. open image in gallery The public submitted more than 35,000 comments to the National Capital Planning Commission and 97 percent were critical of the plans, according to analysis ( Getty Images ) No ballroom please, said a submission identified as Claire Banchich. Most of the American people hate this intended project. We did not vote for this. We did not vote for our monuments and our historical buildings to be destroyed because of one mans ego, wrote Jill Comras. I did not vote for a ballroom that dwarfs the White House, the People's House, read a submission from Jennifer Fink. The true American People who did not vote for ANY OF THIS will not stand for much more, said Lilith Gist. Many called for the ballroom to be canceled entirely. open image in gallery Many expressed outrage over how Trump's 'New East Wing' will dwarf the White House ( The White House ) open image in gallery Tacky gold leaf and pillars cannot mask poor planning, one submission read. Anything built in this model will one day be removed. Lets not waste all of our time and money on narcissism ( Getty ) Our White House does not need a tacky gilded monument to arrogance and excess, a submission read. Please cancel the ballroom project! Stop this awful ballroom! It is too big, almost twice the square footage of the White House itself. This monstrosity will ruin the symmetry of 200 years of the White House, said a comment from Richard Orton. If a ballroom is needed, build it somewhere else. Don't permit this addition to destroy this historic national treasure. Another, from architect Donna Wax, called the presidents plans for the gilded ballroom a fascist take on classism. There were, however, a handful of positive comments from Trump supporters and those who thought the ballroom was a good idea. I voted for our president and what he is bringing to the White House, wrote Greg Sullivan. He will do an awesome job on this much needed addition useful by all subsequent administrations. open image in gallery Images of demolition crews razing the historic East Wing to the ground in October last year drew widespread condemnation from the public and Democrats ( Getty ) I think its absolutely awesome that we have patriots willing to put up the money to build this ballroom for our country, read one submission from Larry Carpentr. I think this will be great. Improved use. Public private partnership. Things that make America a wonderful place, said Stephen Bolster. Trump officials have continued to push the message that the ballroom is at no taxpayer expense. It is being financed by private donors, including tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir and Nvidia, while others are remaining anonymous. President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a previous statement to The Independent. These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the Peoples House. Last week, a federal judge rejected a preservation groups request for an injunction to block the project. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed an amended lawsuit over the weekend. It alleged the Trump administration violated multiple federal laws by embarking on the construction project unilaterally last fall without prior approval from the two planning commissions and Congress. No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever not President Trump, no President Biden, and not anyone else, the suit reads. Josh Marcus contributed to this report Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he was unconcerned by rising U.S. gas prices, which have been driven by the escalating conflict with Iran. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump emphasized that the ongoing U.S. military operation remained his primary focus. "I don't have any concern about it," he said when questioned about the higher costs at the pump. "They'll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit." These remarks signal a notable shift in the president's rhetoric. Just last month, he highlighted a drop in gas prices during his State of the Union address and at a Texas energy rally, mere hours before the U.S. initiated air strikes on Saturday. Political analysts suggest that a sustained increase in gas prices could negatively impact Republicans in the upcoming November midterm elections, where control of the U.S. Congress is at stake. Voters are already expressing dissatisfaction with the high cost of living and Trump's economic stewardship. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have engaged with oil CEOs to explore potential strategies for combating rising energy prices, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday. open image in gallery This current national average for gas is 15 cents higher than it was a year ago ( AFP/Getty ) Trump has outlined a four-to-five-week timeline for the military campaign against Iran, a projection that political and military experts have questioned. They note that the U.S. government has yet to articulate a clear end goal as the conflict continues to spread across the region and beyond. In the interview, Trump affirmed he was not considering tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world's largest emergency crude stockpile. He expressed confidence that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical channel for oil shipping near Iran, would remain open, asserting that Iran's navy is at the "bottom of the sea." Global oil prices have surged by 16 percent since the war began on Saturday, as the widening conflict has disrupted Middle East supplies. According to AAA, a U.S. travel organization tracking fuel prices, the national average cost of gas has climbed 27 cents since last week, reaching $3.25 per gallon. This current national average is 15 cents higher than it was a year ago. Despite these figures, Trump maintained that the costs "haven't risen very much." The White House is banking on the conflict with Iran and the resulting pain at the gas pump proving to be short-lived. White House energy advisers have reportedly informed Trump's aides that the initial shock in fuel markets has been less severe than anticipated, urging patience, according to two anonymous sources familiar with internal deliberations. These advisers cautioned that any intervention by the Trump administration that fails to quickly reduce prices could destabilize markets and prove counterproductive. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated earlier this week that the administration was preparing a package of measures to address rising energy prices. However, the only plan unveiled so far includes U.S.-backed risk insurance for oil tankers and the promise of potential naval escorts through the Strait of Hormuz. open image in gallery Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated earlier this week that the administration was preparing a package of measures to address rising energy prices. ( Getty ) Three energy executives told Reuters that the White House has limited effective options to drive down energy prices. "When you look across the menu of policy options, domestically or within other countries, they can be helpful, but they don't move the needle far," one executive said anonymously, adding, "I think the primary focus is ... to do whatever they can to restore transits through the Strait of Hormuz itself." Officials are also discussing a range of other options, including a federal gasoline tax holiday and easing environmental regulations concerning summer gasoline to permit higher blends of ethanol, according to the two sources. While a potential release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was also being weighed, the president explicitly ruled out that option at least for now in his comments to Reuters. Congressional Republican leaders, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, have similarly dismissed concerns about rising gas prices, even as the party plans to center its midterm election strategy on economic successes. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump said Thursday that he must have a role in choosing Irans next leader, further clouding his administrations longterm plans after the U.S. launched military strikes against the adversarial nation. The countrys supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli air strikes last weekend. His 56-year-old son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has emerged as a strong contender to lead the regime. But in an interview with Axios Thursday, Trump made clear that he will not accept a new leader in Iran who would carry out the late Ayatollahs agenda. Khameneis son is unacceptable to me, Trump told Axios. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran. He added: They are wasting their time. Khameneis son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela. Rodriguez was sworn in as the acting president of Venezuela in January after the U.S. military captured President Nicolas Maduro and transported him to New York to stand trial on drug charges. open image in gallery Trump made clear Thursday that he will not accept a new leader in Iran who would carry out the late leaders agenda ( Win McNamee/Getty Images ) Trump echoed the sentiment to Reuters Thursday. We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future. We dont have to go back every five years and do this again and again, he also said. Mojtaba Khamenei appears to be the main candidate for supreme leader after several meetings of Irans Assembly of Experts, Iranian officials told The New York Times. The late supreme leaders son, who has largely kept out of the public eye, has a background in Islamic theology and is considered a hardline conservative cleric. Trump also told reporters that some of the Iranian officials whom he might have accepted as successors to Khamenei had been killed in the airstrikes. Most of the people we had in mind are dead, Trump said. So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is, is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports. So, I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty soon, were not going to know anybody. open image in gallery President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago resort last Friday as he launched U.S. military strikes on Iran ( The White House ) The U.S.s war with Iran has been raging for six days, leading to the deaths of more than 1,000 people in the country, according to state media, and destruction of infrastructure and military assets. An additional 14 countries in the Middle East and beyond have been struck with retaliatory attacks by Iran. The Iranian government has condemned the attacks as illegal and called on the international community for support. Shortly after the first round of strikes this past weekend, the administration offered up a number of explanations for the operation, dubbed Epic Fury. Vice President JD Vance said the campaign is being carried out to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the attack was launched after it became clear Israel was going to strike Iran. Trump suggested regime change is a goal. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country, he wrote on Truth Social this past weekend. open image in gallery Mojtaba Khamenei (pictured center) is seen as a possible successor to his father ( AP ) open image in gallery The US-Israeli strikes on Iran have left more than 1,000 people dead, according to a humanitarian non-profit ( AFP/Getty ) On Monday, Trump said that he has four main objectives: destroying Irans missile capabilities, annihilating its navy, ensuring it cant obtain a nuclear weapon, and stopping it from arming outside terrorist groups. During a White House press conference Wednesday, a reporter noted that Trumps objectives do not include regime change. The reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, If those objectives were achieved, and the Islamic Republic still existed, would that be an acceptable outcome? Thats a hypothetical question that Im not going to engage in, Leavitt replied. The timeline for accomplishing Trumps stated goals is unclear. The president has suggested it could take four weeks though he said the U.S. has the capacity to carry on for longer. Democrats have largely opposed the military campaign, which some have described as illegal, strategically unsound and a break from Trumps campaign promises. Many Republicans have backed the president, though some have privately expressed reservations. This week, a war powers resolution seeking to rein in the president on Iran failed to pass in the Senate. The House narrowly rejected a resolution to halt Trumps attack on Iran Thursday. Just one in four Americans supports the U.S. attacks on Iran, according to a recent Reuters survey. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice New York Attorney General Letitia James and more than 20 other states are suing President Donald Trump to block newly imposed global tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping tariff agenda last month. Trump unlawfully imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to the Supreme Court. After that decision, the president swiftly raised worldwide tariffs to 15 percent effective immediately, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. A coalition of Democratic states argue in the new suit that the presidents use of that law is similarly illegal. Once again, President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses, James said in a statement Thursday. After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill, she added. These tariffs will only drive up the cost of living, and I will continue to uphold the rule of law to protect New Yorkers. open image in gallery New York Attorney General Letitia James is among more than 20 Democratic state officials suing Donald Trump's administration over his latest tariffs ( GETTY IMAGES/REUTERS ) The suit was filed in the U.S. International Court of Trade in Manhattan. Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act gives the president the power to impose temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for a maximum of 150 days to address serious balance-of-payments deficits or to prevent the significant depreciation of the dollar abroad. James and the coalition of Democratic states say that the president is misusing this statute to bring tariffs. They argue it was created to address specific currency crises that would arise before the end of the gold-standard fixed-rate currency exchange system in 1976. Section 122 does not grant the President authority to impose tariffs based on a trade deficit, the lawsuit says. open image in gallery A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit March 5 in response to Trumps revived tariff agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping levies ( Getty ) Trump is the first president ever to invoke Section 122. James who led a massive fraud investigation into Trumps real-estate empire has joined more than three dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House. In turn, Trump has repeatedly pushed for criminal investigations into the state attorney general, none of which have landed. Speaking from the White House briefing room after the Supreme Courts 6-3 decision, Trump raged against what he called a deeply disappointing ruling and said he was absolutely ashamed of two conservative justices he appointed who sided with the courts majority. open image in gallery James has led several large lawsuits against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House last year ( AP ) Theyre against anything that makes America strong, healthy and great again. They are also frankly a disgrace to our nation, those justices, Trump said. Theyre very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. That night, he said he was imposing a 10 percent tariff on all trading partners. Less than 24 hours later, he bumped up that rate to 15 percent based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision, he wrote on Truth Social. The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether Trump illegally imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly every trading partner under the 1977 law, which permits the president to regulate trade during unusual and extraordinary circumstances when a national emergency is declared. Trump invoked the law when he imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on most countries, in addition to heavier reciprocal tariffs that he announced last April on his so-called Liberation Day. The president argued the tariffs were a matter of national security to balance trade deficits. The tariffs a key tool in the presidents economic agenda sparked global chaos and several lawsuits from small businesses. Trump, using tariffs as leverage to extract deals with other countries, repeatedly walked back his levies and markets gradually rebounded. Hundreds of business owners across the country who were forced to absorb the cost of Trumps tariffs and then pass costs to consumers through higher prices have filed complaints seeking reimbursements. Approximately 1,000 complaints have been filed with the Court of International Trade in the aftermath of the Supreme Courts ruling. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trumps proposed $400 million White House ballroom is too big, ahistorical, and may violate federal law, according to a prominent architect. Everything here feels inflated, David Scott Parker, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, told the Associate Press of the plans, which call for a 22,000-square-foot ballroom. The net effect of this is to adversely impact what is the most important historic the most identifiable historic house in the entire United States. This is permanent, what it will do to the White House. Parker added that the plans, which go up for a key vote before the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday, could shrink the ballroom by nearly half and still match industry standards for the 1,000-person capacity Trump is seeking for the hall. (Parker is a board member at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is suing over the project.) Beyond those issues, Parker added that the new wing appears to dwarf the original White House, fails in certain areas to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and breaks the clean sight lines along Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol that the Founding Fathers intended. It's hard to fathom that ... one addition could have so many adverse impacts, symbolically, architecturally and historically, Parker said. This literally violates the Founding Fathers' intentions. open image in gallery Experts and members of the public alike have panned Donald Trumps plans for a new White House ballroom ( AP ) The ballroom will be ADA compliant and is designed to reflect the White Houses larger classical and neoclassical aesthetic, a Trump administration official told The Independent. Parker isnt the only one sharing his concerns. The new complex, whose design was overseen by architect Shalom Baranes, was showered in criticism as part of a public comment period before Thursdays commission meeting. The size and design of the proposed White House Ballroom are hideous, one commenter wrote. I object to the decision to ruin the American publics historical legacy. Another, from architect Donna Wax, called the presidents plans for the gilded ballroom a fascist take on classism. open image in gallery The Trump administration allegedly violated federal law by unilaterally beginning to demolish parts of the White House last year without consultation from Congress and planning commissions, according to a lawsuit ( Getty Images ) More than 98 percent of the more than 10,000 pages of comments were negative, according to a New York Times analysis. A commission staff report on the plan has recommended lowering the new wings height and suggested the design continue to be refined so that it remains related, but architecturally deferential to, the Executive Mansion. Last year, the Trump administration replaced its original lead architect, James McCrery II, reportedly after he and the administration clashed over the presidents desire to keep expanding the size of the new wing. The frequently negative public reaction to the new design hasnt stopped the East Wing renovation from moving forward. Last month, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, another review board filled with Trump allies, approved the project, despite not seeing the final design and similarly being deluged with almost entirely negative public comments. open image in gallery The proposed 90,000-square-foot complex is nearly twice the size of the main White House building ( Shalom Baranes Associates ) Last week, a federal judge rejected a preservation groups request for an injunction to block the project. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed an amended lawsuit over the weekend. It alleged the Trump administration violated multiple federal laws by embarking on the construction project unilaterally last fall without prior approval from the two planning commissions and Congress. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Pentagon on Wednesday took steps to identify the remaining two service members who were among the six American troops killed so far in the war with Iran. The Department of Defense confirmed the death of Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, who was killed in an unmanned aircraft system attack on Sunday, according to officials. O'Brien commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012 and deployed to Kuwait in 2019, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command. The Pentagon also announced Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., was believed to be among those killed in the fighting in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. Marzan has not yet been positively identified by a medical examiner. Marzan's photo and service verification are yet to be released "out of respect to the family," according to the U.S. Army Reserve. Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, is the latest U.S. service member confirmed among those killed in a March 1 attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, as part of the ongoing war with Iran ( Defense Department ) Both men were members of the Army Reserve. OBrien is survived by a wife and children, according to a Facebook post by his aunt, obtained by WCNC. The major was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid youd ever know, Mary Melchert wrote in the post. He is so missed already. On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced the names of four other Army Reserve troops killed in the March 1 attack: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The attack is under investigation. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a Tuesday post on X that the facility in Kuwait that was attacked was a secure space fortified with 6-foot walls. Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops at every level, he wrote. The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses. Weve moved a significant number of our troops off the X and will always protect our bases and people from a significantly weakened Iran. Unnamed officials told CBS News the command center was a triple-wide trailer converted into an office space. The president will attend the dignified transfer ceremonies of the fallen soldiers when their remains return to the U.S., according to the White House. The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny over the early casualties in the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed on Wednesday that the press was excessively focusing on the deaths to make the president look bad while ignoring U.S. successes in controlling the battlefield. This is what the fake news misses, Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing, appearing to refer to Sundays deadly attack on a U.S. command center. Weve taken control of Irans airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, its front page news. I get it, the veteran and former Fox News weekend host added. The press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality. The comments later prompted an argument in the White House press room when CNNs Kaitlan Collins asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the remarks. Leavitt then falsely accused CNN of not reporting on the past deaths of military members and claimed it is a fact that the press does only want to make the president look bad. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Syrian refugee who stabbed a tourist at Berlin's Holocaust memorial last year has been sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of attempted murder, among others, said a Berlin court spokesperson on Thursday. The now 20-year-old Islamic State supporter used a knife to stab a 30-year-old Spanish tourist in the neck at the memorial in the heart of the German capital. He inflicted life-threatening injuries that required the man to undergo emergency surgery and be placed in an induced coma. Prosecutors said at the time that the Syrian national appeared to have been planning to kill Jews for several weeks, apparently motivated by the Middle Eastern conflict, which is why he chose the location. The memorial commemorates the murder of 6 million Jews by Adolf Hitler's Nazis during World War Two. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he would prefer not to repair a damaged oil pipeline that delivers Russian crude to Central Europe despite rising tensions with neighboring Hungary and Slovakia over interruptions to oil flows. Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been halted since Jan. 27 after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory. The populist leaders of Hungary and Slovakia, which unlike most European Union countries continue to import Russian fossil fuels, have accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies. Kyiv says that continuous Russian strikes mean that carrying out repairs puts technicians in danger, and that even if repaired, Druzhba would remain vulnerable to further attacks. In a news conference on Thursday, Zelenskyy expressed his reluctance to repair the pipeline despite Hungarian and Slovak demands. To be honest, I wouldnt restore it. This is my position," Zelenskyy said. The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is widely seen as the Kremlins biggest advocate in the EU, has blocked a 90-billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan to Ukraine over the interruption to oil shipments, and vowed to veto any further pro-Ukraine decisions until oil flows resume. Meanwhile, Orban who is trailing in polls before a major election challenge next month has escalated an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign in Hungary, portraying the embattled country as an existential threat. He has claimed without evidence that Ukraine and Zelenskyy seek to bankrupt Hungary, and warned voters that if he loses the election, the country would become directly involved in the conflict with Russia. Speaking to an economic forum on Thursday, Orban said "we will win and we will win with force in the feud with Ukraine over oil shipments. We have political and financial tools, and with these we will compel them, unconditionally and preferably as soon as possible, to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, Orban said. I will make no pact, there will be no compromise. We will defeat them. Hungary and Slovakia have proposed sending a fact-finding mission to the pipeline site in western Ukraine to assess the scope of the damage and whether oil flows can resume. Zelenskyy on Thursday said he'd received no official request from the EU to allow inspectors to access the site, but that "I think it will certainly come in one format or another. Zelenskyy added that he hopes one person will not block the EU's 90-billion euro loan which Ukraine needs to continue funding its defense against Russia's invasion. This is Russian oil, and there are certain principles that have no price, he continued. They kill us, and we have to give oil to Orban because he cannot win elections without it? ___ Associated Press writer Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Russia's government is set to meet soon to discuss halting gas exports to Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced on Thursday. This follows President Vladimir Putin's warning on Wednesday that Russia could cut supplies "right now" amid a spike in energy prices, which he blamed on the Iran crisis. Mr Putin linked the potential decision which he stressed had "not been taken yet" to the European Union's desire to ban purchases of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas. Mr Novak, who is Mr Putin's point man on energy issues, told reporters: "We will meet soon, as instructed by the President, to discuss the current situation with energy companies and possible transport routes for our energy supplies." He added: "We will discuss this with our energy companies soon and see how to deploy Russian resources most profitably." Russian gas sales to Europe have fallen sharply since 2022 due to sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. open image in gallery Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia had a stable supply of gasoline despite Trump's remarks ( REUTERS ) However, it is the second-largest supplier of LNG to the European Union, and also still sells gas via the Black Sea TurkStream pipeline to countries including Hungary, Slovakia and non-EU member Serbia. Novak said Russian gas accounted for more than 12 per cent of European supply. According to Eurostat, Russia's share of EU imports of pipeline gas dropped from around 40 per cent in 2021 to around 6 per cent in 2025. For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 13 per cent of total EU gas imports in 2025. Russia's share of EU imports of LNG decreased to 16 per cent in 2025 from 21 per cent in 2021, according to Eurostat data. Oil and gas prices have soared following the US and Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran's strikes on Gulf Arab neighbours. The conflict has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and forced the shutdown of Qatars LNG production and Saudi Arabias largest oil refinery. open image in gallery According to Eurostat, Russia's share of EU imports of pipeline gas dropped from around 40 per cent in 2021 to around 6 per cent in 2025 ( Associated Press ) Putin said oil prices were rising due to the "aggression against Iran" and due to Western restrictions on Russian oil, while European gas prices were rising because customers were willing to buy gas volumes at higher prices due to events in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Asked by a Russian state television's top Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin about European plans to impose a total ban on Russian pipeline gas imports by late 2027 and to ban new short-term Russian LNG contracts from late April 2026, Putin said it might be more beneficial for Russia to stop selling the gas right now. "Now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now. To move into those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there," Putin said, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin. "This is not a decision, it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies," Putin said, linking the possible decision directly to Europe's "misguided policies". Zelensky criticises US easing sanctions on Russia's oil On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice European leaders have condemned Donald Trumps decision to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian oil as Vladimir Putin's forces continued to bombard Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired 430 drones and nearly 70 missiles in a massive attack overnight into Saturday morning. He said the strikes primarily targeted Kyiv's energy infrastructure but hit a host of other civilian buildings, killing at least four people. Poland briefly scrambled its jets in response. Earlier, Trump issued a 30-day waiver on war-related sanctions to allow countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products. Zelensky warned the move could divert as much as $10bn to Putin's war chest. European Council president Antonio Costa called it "very concerning", and German chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised it as the "wrong" decision. Zelensky expressed frustration over waning attention on the Ukraine war amid the crisis with Iran, saying it was understandable that the attention of the world is moving to the Middle East" but that "it's not good for us". On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The US war with Iran risks leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Vladimir Putins forces, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, as Donald Trump turns his firepower on the Middle Eastern country. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The Independent, the Ukrainian president shared his concerns about the impact of the growing conflict with Iran on his countrys efforts to defend itself against Russia. Ukraine could now face a shortage of air defence missiles to protect its cities from attacks, he said, as the US and its allies use hundreds to defend against Irans waves of drones and rockets. open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to The Independent about the impact the Iran war could have on Ukraine ( The Independent ) The focus will shift to the Middle East, to the Iranian war, now, and to the United States and also to Israel, Zelensky told the World of Trouble podcast. This is very understandable. And to the countries in the Middle East, who are now under attacks, massive attacks of drones and missiles from the Iranian side. Our estimation, of course, is that air defence [for Ukraine] could decrease. Zelensky, who has been a vocal supporter of the latest US-Israeli air campaigns in Iran, and called for more support for the popular uprising earlier this year, said he has prepared his commanders to cope with the predicted shortfall in their own defences. Ukraines president was clear that he was not complaining, but rather setting out the practical reality his country faces as the war against Iran continues. There are few defences against incoming ballistic missiles, which are fired in an arc, taking them into space and bringing them down at up to five times the speed of sound. Russia has been using them against Ukraine for four years. But most anti-missile systems designed to combat ballistic missiles, notably Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) systems, are manufactured in the US, and are the main defences used across the Gulf region and beyond. open image in gallery The US-Israeli war on Iran has engulfed the region, with no clear end in sight ( AFP/Getty ) Theyre mostly [made] in the United States, so they produce the air defences, and of course they will control this number, and they will, I think, try to hold [on to] the package of such missiles. Its understandable, Zelensky said. Kyiv now produces vast quantities of short-range drone interceptors, and experts from the country are being rushed to the Gulf to advise on air defences against Irans swarms of low-tech attack missiles. But for its own defence, Ukraine has been in contact with supporters around the world who buy weapons from the US, asking them to help, and so far, says Zelensky, his government has not heard back from them about how to meet the coming shortfall. My team knows about it, and they already have got the message from me that they have to prepare for such challenges, he added. open image in gallery Zelensky said Ukraine must prepare for the challenges ahead ( AFP/Getty ) Zelensky also warned of the impact of the Iran war on oil prices, as Tehran has strangled shipping routes through the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil prices have surged by almost a fifth since Iran was attacked by Israel and the US. China buys 48 per cent of Russias oil, and India buys 38 per cent of it, according to data published this month by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Much of this is delivered to them by a shadow fleet of tankers, in an effort to avoid international sanctions. How Russia uses [the price boom] or not will depend on how our partners will work with the biggest importers, said Zelensky, without naming any countries. The European Union remains Russias biggest gas client, and many maritime nations have been reluctant to stop and seize shadow oil tankers passing their territory. open image in gallery Irans control of the Strait of Hormuz could end up benefiting Vladimir Putin, as it blocks the flow of oil and gas ( Reuters ) So thats why we have to work on it, Zelensky continued. And we have to continue to work on sanctions, on shadow fleets, to stop tankers [carrying] Russian oil. He said that he did not expect Russian attacks using drones and other missiles to be affected by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, which has been a major supplier of Shahed drones for the last four years, because Russia had moved much of its production of the Iranian weapons to its own territory. Zelensky stressed that he was not being critical of the US always aware that the Trump administration reacts very badly to any criticism. But he did explain that Vladimir Putin had not been put under enough military and economic pressure to approach peace talks with any genuine intent. Last year, Zelensky travelled to the White House to try to persuade Trump to allow the sale of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Europe for use by Ukraine. open image in gallery Zelensky lobbied Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles during a visit to the White House ( AP ) His efforts ultimately failed, and now Tomahawks are being used in huge numbers against Iran. Zelensky said he had seen various estimates of how many had been used against Iran: Two thousand? I dont know exactly... in the first two days. You know how many I asked for from the United States? Two hundred, I said, or just give us 100. He said that during negotiations with the US, Iran had been told to stop its nuclear programme, stop producing and selling missiles, and stop sponsoring terrorism. [The US] said, Look, if youre not ready to stop, [then] one, two, three. They would face aggressive steps. If you are not ready [to comply], we will answer [with force]. In my case, what I proposed to all the partners was [this]: tell Putin. One, two, three, the same steps and then, [if he does not comply], dont even help us. Just give us the weapons. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice How often does the man who is the prime target of his neighbours assassins, has survived numerous plots to kill him, and lives under bombardment, see his family. The answer for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is not much. But that is also the lot of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in his country and the millions of children who, like his own, go to school, or take courses at home because Vladimir Putin wants them dead too. Our children at school, they study and they have to run very quickly to shelters, Zelensky told The Independents World of Trouble podcast in an exclusive interview. They have to do it. It doesnt matter where they study, in the capital or closer to the front line, because the missile is not choosing where to go. They just bring destruction So thats why all our children are in danger. open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky with his wife and children, pictured before the Russian invasion ( Instagram ) As a result, Zelensky spends little time with his wife, Olena Zelenska, or his son Kyrylo. The boy has just turned 13, but has spent his entire life living in a country invaded by Russia when he was just a baby. The couple also have a 21-year-old daughter Oleksandra. Zelensky said he has little time to spend with his family because of his job and rarely visits them because it is also dangerous. They live in a secret location, as does he. But his movements, he knows, are subject to intense scrutiny and spying by Russias intelligence services, which have been behind at least 11 plots to kill him. Along with his family, he was also targeted by Russian special forces and FSB units sent by the Kremlin to, literally, decapitate Ukraines leadership, but refused offers from the US to flee into exile and safety. Now he has to be careful about whoever he visits even factories and other sites which want a presidential visit rarely get one. He knows that doing so will make them a target for Russias air campaigns, or local proxy attacks involving Ukrainians recruited for money, or by blackmail. It is the same for my family thats why I try not to go too much to some places, he told World of Trouble. Zelensky was elected in 2019 in what may be historys most vivid example of fact following fiction. In 2015, he created and starred in a TV series called Servant of the People. Its premise is that a history teacher almost accidentally ended up president of Ukraine after launching an online rant about corruption in the country. Now Servant of the People is the dominant party in Ukraines parliament and a former comedian is the president of a country that, in 2022, was invaded by Vladimir Putin in a full-scale attempt to recolonise its vast resources. open image in gallery Zelensky has spoken to The Independent in an exclusive interview ( AFP/Getty ) The last four years have aged the president. He arrived for the online interview looking drawn and tired but soon warmed to topics and used his easygoing style to project good humour and defiance, which have been both his international style and reflect Ukrainian attitudes more widely. Zelensky rejected the Putin-style association of himself with the state. And ordinary Ukrainians made sure he understood that last year when they marched in protest at his governments plans to remove the independence of anti-corruption units. The protests forced a U-turn on the policy, and some of his closest associates have been implicated, indicted, or fled into exile following high-level multimillion-dollar alleged rackets. Now running a country under martial law, he is legally unable to call another election until a satisfactory peace has been achieved and the parliament lifts the state of emergency. open image in gallery Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, rarely see eachother on account of the ongoing conflict ( AFP via Getty ) Would he run again? I am not sure that I would, he told World of Trouble. Number one, because you cant be the president whom everybody loves. I understand it. Its okay. Its a pity! But we have to recognise it. But I dont want to be, I dont want to be the president who is fighting elections but he knows that he's coming last and then uses administrative resources for his campaign. He said that in 2019 he did not consult his family about whether to run, believing it to be in the best interests of the country if he did. Now his longer-term priorities have shifted. This time, of course, for me, one of the most influential decisions will depend on my family. When asked what they had to say about running again, the message to the president appeared very clear: They say no. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A senior Iranian cleric has called for the shedding of Trumps blood in revenge for a US submarine attack that sunk an Iranian warship, as chaos engulfed the Middle East for a sixth day. Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli said Washington would bitterly regret torpedoing the Iris Dena in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday in an attack that killed at least 87 people and injured dozens of others. Violence continued to spread beyond the Middle East on Thursday as Iranian drones hit an airport and school in Azerbaijan, which vowed to crush Tehran with an iron fist in response. The country has since closed its airspace for 12 hours. Tehran, with whom the country shares a 689km border, denied it was behind the attack. Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases, while residents in Tehran reported some of the most intense bombing of the war so far. The ayatollah said the attack on the warship in Sri Lankan waters showed that Iran was on the verge of a great test. open image in gallery Iranian frigate Iris Dena after being struck by a torpedo in a US attack ( US Department of War ) Appearing on state television, he called for the shedding of Zionist blood and the shedding of Trump's blood. Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders, he said in a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set. In the aftermath of the attack, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth boasted that the Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf and said it was the first time a torpedo had sunk an enemy vessel since World War II. In the days since President Donald Trump announced Operation Epic Fury, attacks have spread far beyond Iran with strikes hitting American allies in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Cyprus have also been impacted by drone attacks. open image in gallery US defence secretary Pete Hegseth boasted about the sinking of an Iranian frigate ( Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ) A Sri Lankan cabinet spokesperson said on Thursday that they were trying to safeguard lives on a second Iranian ship that had entered its territorial waters. The Israeli military said it launched targeted attacks in Lebanon on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and announced a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure in Iran's capital, without elaborating. At least 38,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria in the wake of new fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, according to the UNs refugee agency (UNHCR). Around 84,000 people have been internally displaced within Lebanon, UNHCR and Lebanese officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Iranian forces claimed to have set fire to a US tanker in the northern part of the Gulf in a strike, amid deepening concern over the fate of vessels crossing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards warned that any vessel passing through the Strait would be under Tehrans control while the war continues, a development that threatens to disrupt the global supply of oil and cause chaos in energy markets. The US has not commented on the reports of an attack. open image in gallery The Strait of Hormuz remains a point of tension in the war ( Reuters ) Earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker anchored off Kuwait was hit by a large explosion. The vessel was taking on water and oil was seen leaking from a cargo tank. It is unclear whether they were referring to the same vessel as the IRGC. The war has blocked access to major ports in the Gulf region, affecting the supply of food to more than 50 million people in a region highly dependent on agricultural imports, a ship-spotting platform said on Thursday. MarineTraffic.com said that container vessels heading to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait are now stranded. open image in gallery More than a thousand Iranians have been killed since Saturday ( AFP/Getty ) The war has killed more than 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Iranian strikes on American military installations in the Gulf caused the deaths of at least six US soldiers. US Central Command claimed to have sunk more than 20 regime vessels with overwhelming firepower from air, land, and sea on Thursday. They added that US forces had reduced Iranian regime drone launches by 73 per cent and ballistic missile launches by 86 per cent over a four-day period. When Donald Trump sneered that Keir Starmer is not Winston Churchill, the remark was meant to imply weakness. Churchill, in Trumps telling, represents uncompromising wartime resolve. Starmer, by contrast, supposedly does not. Yet the comparison reveals something rather different from what Trump intended. If there is one lesson from Churchills career, it is that he regarded war not as a stage for theatrical bravado, but as the gravest responsibility a leader could bear. His speeches, his diaries, and the recollections of those who worked with him show a man who felt the burden of war intensely. Certainly, Churchill could be audacious and even reckless in his strategic imagination. His generals sometimes despaired of his schemes. But he never treated war lightly. The historical record shows a leader who was acutely aware seemingly unlike Trump of the terrible suffering, destruction, and moral conflict that war entailed. His premiership began not with triumphant rhetoric, but with a stark warning about the struggle ahead. On 13 May 1940, in his first speech to the House of Commons as prime minister, Churchill famously told MPs: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. The speech was delivered as German armies swept through Western Europe and Britain faced the real prospect of invasion. Churchill did not promise easy victory. Instead, he told the country that the coming war would demand sacrifice on an extraordinary scale. This steady and serious tone remained characteristic of his wartime leadership. Even the famous finest hour speech of June 1940 often remembered for its most uplifting line was delivered in the shadow of catastrophe. France had just collapsed, Britain stood alone, and Churchill warned parliament that the Nazi regime might soon dominate the entire continent. His speeches were inspiring precisely because they never disguised the severity of the danger ahead. Churchills seriousness about war is also evident in how deeply he felt military setbacks. Those close to him frequently recorded his emotional reactions. Jock Colville, Churchills private secretary, noted in his diary that the prime minister often became visibly distressed when casualty figures arrived, or when convoys were lost in the Atlantic. The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse by Japanese aircraft in December 1941 left Churchill profoundly shaken. In his memoir The Second World War, he recalled the moment he received the news: In all the war I never received a more direct shock. The loss of the two capital ships was not merely a strategic setback. For Churchill, it represented the deaths of hundreds of sailors whose fate he felt ultimately responsible for. Similarly, the fall of Singapore in February 1942 devastated him. Churchill later described it as the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history. He regarded the defeat as a personal blow, and spent days agonising over how the catastrophe had occurred. Churchills deeply felt responses were not confined to military defeats. The human cost of the war affected him profoundly. During the blitz, he regularly toured bomb-damaged areas of London. Witnesses repeatedly recorded that he wept when confronted with the devastation inflicted on civilians. After he visited the ruins of Coventry Cathedral following the Luftwaffes raid in November 1940, observers reported Churchill standing silently amid the rubble, visibly moved by the destruction. open image in gallery Winston Churchill is said to have felt Britains human losses during the war on a very deep level ( PA ) Such scenes became emblematic of Churchills wartime leadership: as prime minister, he was determined to show solidarity with the public, but also terribly affected by what he saw. These reactions underline a crucial point. Churchill did not view war as an abstraction. He saw and felt its consequences directly in destroyed cities, and the deaths of civilians and soldiers alike. Churchills approach to war was also shaped by his earlier personal experience. As first lord of the admiralty during the First World War, he was closely associated with the disastrous Gallipoli campaign of 1915. The operation aimed to knock the Ottoman empire out of the war, but it ended in failure, with heavy Allied casualties. The disaster cost Churchill his position in government, and haunted him for the rest of his life. Rather than retreat into political obscurity, Churchill joined the army and served as a battalion commander on the Western Front in 1916. The experience exposed him directly to the grim reality of trench warfare. Reflecting on the conflict years later, he wrote that modern war had become cruel and squalid, a description that reveals how profoundly the experience affected him. The memory of Gallipoli also made Churchill acutely conscious that strategic decisions could lead to immense loss of life. That awareness shaped his later leadership during the Second World War. open image in gallery Alan Brooke, pictured second from left with Churchill in 1945, was the war leaders principal military adviser, and wrote of the intense pressures he faced ( Imperial War Museum ) Churchills conduct during the war also reveals the intensity with which he approached the task. He chaired countless war cabinet meetings, demanded detailed operational briefings, and maintained constant contact with military commanders around the world. His working hours were legendary; staff frequently struggled to keep up with the pace he set. Alan Brooke, the chief of the imperial general staff and Churchills principal military adviser, recorded these pressures vividly in his wartime diaries. Brooke sometimes complained about Churchills enthusiasm for risky strategic ideas. On one occasion, he described the prime minister as producing a constant stream of proposals that left the generals scrambling to evaluate them. Brooke also acknowledged Churchills immense energy and commitment, and observed how he possessed a most remarkable brain and imagination. Nevertheless, he also noted the difficulty of restraining the prime ministers enthusiasm for more madcap and daring operations. These tensions were real, yet they also demonstrate something important: Churchill took strategy extraordinarily seriously. He immersed himself in military planning, and debated constantly with his commanders. War, for him, was not rhetoric. It was an all-consuming responsibility. Another revealing example of Churchills attitude came in January 1942. At that moment, the war appeared to be going badly for Britain. The Japanese had swept across Southeast Asia, Singapore was under threat, and criticism of his leadership was growing in parliament. Rather than avoid scrutiny, Churchill insisted that the House of Commons hold a full debate on the conduct of the war. He even submitted his leadership to a vote of confidence. He survived the vote comfortably. But the episode illustrated Churchills belief that democratic accountability remained essential even in wartime. This was not the behaviour of a leader treating war as a stage for personal glory. It was the behaviour of someone who understood the enormous responsibility he carried. Meanwhile, Donald Trumps political rhetoric about war often has a very different tone. Trump has frequently issued off-the-cuff threats against adversaries and allies alike. On one occasion, he pointed out the lovely gold of the drapes in the room where the press had gathered for the briefing on Iran. In the current dispute with Britain, he reportedly warned that countries that refused to support US military action against Iran could face severe economic consequences. Such petulant statements may play well in the theatre of modern politics. But they bear little resemblance to Churchills attitude to war. open image in gallery President Trumps unfavourable comparison of Starmer with Churchill was supposed to point to a lack of wartime resolve ( AP ) Churchills speeches were full of dramatic language, but they always emphasised sacrifice, endurance and responsibility. He did not speak casually about military conflict, because he understood what it meant. He had seen the devastation of the First World War. He had experienced the political consequences of strategic failure. And he spent years directing a conflict that threatened the survival of his country. Churchill is often invoked today, especially by the likes of Trump, as a symbol of defiance or toughness. But the real historical figure was far more complex. He was capable of bold strategic thinking, and sometimes entertained ideas that alarmed his military advisers. Yet those same advisers also recognised that Churchill grasped the stakes of the conflict more clearly than anyone. He knew that war meant shattered cities, grieving families, and the deaths of thousands of young men. That understanding is precisely what gave Churchills leadership its moral authority. And that is the real reason why Trumps comparison rings hollow. Churchill did not treat war casually. He knew better than most especially Donald Trump what it actually meant. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Cruise passengers stranded in Abu Dhabi have told of the terrifying moment that crew told them to shelter inside as war between the US and Israel, and Iran, erupted over the weekend. Nicole Gurske, 34, and her boyfriend had been exploring the Middle East on TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 4. The couple said they were visiting Abu Dhabi on the weekend when they were urgently called back on board. On Saturday, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They have continued to pound the country since, with US president Donald Trump warning that the worst is yet to come. Meanwhile, Tehran has hit back with retaliatory strikes against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. open image in gallery The Mein Schiff 4 was docked in Abu Dhabi as the US-Israeli war against Iran began ( Vital ) The conflict has sparked widespread panic. Regions previously considered safe havens in the Middle East, like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have come under fire. Stranded tourists like Ms Gurske have been scrambling to find flights home after the conflict caused widespread airspace closures in the Middle East. Speaking about the moment that the strikes began, the 34-year-old from Wuppertal in Germany, told USA TODAY: They said we have to stay inside, not go [to] the pool, outside or on the balcony. Ms Gurske said she has now been stuck in Abu Dhabi for days. She was supposed to travel home on Sunday but her flight was cancelled, and she has rebooked for Friday. Some commercial flights are operating from Dubai and Abu Dhabi but the vast majority are cancelled because of airspace restrictions caused by the conflict. open image in gallery Smoke billows from Zayed port after an Iranian attack in Abu Dhabi on Sunday ( Reuters ) Meanwhile, Ms Gurske said she remains on board the ship with her fellow guests, attempting to continue as normal. She said she went to the gym and breakfast on Wednesday, when just the day before she heard a very big explosion outside. Guests are allowed to leave the ship if they notify crew, according to Ms Gurske, but she has chosen not to. On Sunday, TUI Cruises said its Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 ships in the region are operating as normally as possible with about 5,000 guests safe and cared for. The company has cancelled several cruises set to begin between Saturday and Thursday, and is working closely with airlines and authorities to organise reliable return arrangements. TUI Cruises is among the major travel operators to have announced significant disruptions to their Middle East itineraries amid the conflict. open image in gallery A flight from Abu Dhabi with passengers returned to Italy on Tuesday ( LaPresse ) About 30,000 holidaymakers from German tour operators were affected by the situation in the region, the German travel association (DRV) said on Sunday. Some countries are organising government-chartered flights to bring their citizens back safely from the Middle East. The first flight chartered by the UK government to bring back stranded Britons did not take off from Oman on Wednesday due to technical issues, but is due to depart later on Thursday. Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East and the Foreign Office has said it is working with airlines to bring them back. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Iran has denied attacking Turkey after a ballistic missile entered the Nato countrys airspace, threatening to further spread the conflict beyond the Middle East. Nato air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile that was fired towards the country on Wednesday, marking the first time the alliance member bordering Asia has been drawn into the conflict and raising the possibility of a major expansion of the war. The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff denied firing missiles at Turkey on Thursday, saying the Islamic Republic respected the sovereignty of Turkey, according to a statement carried by Iranian media. As the Iran war enters its sixth day, countries across the Gulf have been attacked as Tehran retaliates against US and Israeli airstrikes which began on Saturday. open image in gallery Smoke rises from Tehran after a strike ( AFP/Getty ) US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkey's territory are unacceptable. He then pledged full US support after the missile headed toward the country was shot down, the State Department said Wednesday. The war has spread far beyond the Middle East, with the US announcing on Wednesday that one of its submarines had struck an Iranian warship in Sri Lanka. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Operation Epic Fury had only just begun as he confirmed that a US Navy submarine had destroyed the IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate, off the Sri Lankan coast. open image in gallery Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the operation has only just begun ( Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images ) Sri Lankan authorities have said that at least 80 people were killed in the torpedo attack on the frigate, which had 180 people on board. Hegseth said: An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. Sri Lankas cabinet spokesperson said it was trying to "safeguard lives" on another Iranian ship off its coast, adding that the vessel was in the economic zone beyond the South Asian island nation's territorial waters. open image in gallery Iranian sailors who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy ( AP ) "We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives," spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said. Iran launched more missiles at Israel and US bases in the Middle East on Thursday, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they struck a US tanker in the northern part of the gulf, according to state media. There was no immediate confirmation by the US of the incident, which mirrored a similar attack that Iran claimed earlier this week. In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be under the control of the Islamic Republic - a development that could severely disrupt the global supply of oil. US Centcom claimed to have destroyed 17 ships in Irans naval fleet as of Tuesday. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka, shortly after participating in naval exercises hosted by India. The incident, which saw 87 bodies recovered and 32 Iranian sailors rescued by the Sri Lankan navy, marks a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a vessel since the Second World War. New Delhi confirmed the warship's involvement in its exercises before it headed home, and the sinking has intensified scrutiny on the escalating US-Israeli conflict with Iran, demonstrating its widening geographical scope. It has also ignited a significant debate within India regarding maritime security in the strategically vital Indian Ocean, where the nation maintains a substantial naval presence. Sri Lanka's navy responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but upon reaching the location, found only patches of oil and sailors adrift in the water, with no sign of the vessel itself. The rescued mariners were subsequently transported to a hospital in Galle, on Sri Lankas southern coast. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described IRIS Dena as a prize ship. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Irans navy. open image in gallery Motorcycle mounted policemen patrol at the National Hospital where rescued Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena warship by the Sri Lankan Navy are receiving treatment, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) ( AP ) A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an an atrocity at sea in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States will come to bitterly regret the attack. Indias navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events. The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background. Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been a guest" of India's navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident. India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks. open image in gallery Nurses exit the National Hospital, where the sailors rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are treated in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the governments lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to Indias maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement. The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X. Kanwal Sibal, a career diplomat who served as Indias foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack, but its responsibility is at a moral and human plane. The U.S. has ignored Indias sensitivities," Sibal said. "The ship was in these waters because of Indias invitation. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked after the US destroyed more than a dozen mine-laying vessels near the major shipping route. More than 20 crew members were rescued and three remain missing after a Thai cargo ship, the Mayuree Naree, was targeted by projectiles and set ablaze as it sailed through the waterway on Wednesday. It brings the total number of attacked vessels in the strait to 13, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation. President Donald Trump had warned Iran not to lay mines in the passageway on Tuesday as Iranian armed forces continued to block the vital trade route, threatening shipping and causing oil prices to surge. If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. open image in gallery The Strait of Hormuz is one of the worlds major shipping routes ( AP ) The Strait of Hormuz is a waterway in the Persian Gulf through which around a fifth of the worlds oil passes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy had declared complete control of the Strait on Wednesday 4 March, days after US-Israeli strikes took out the Islamic Republics supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February. The IRGC threatened to set fire to any ships attempting to pass through the strait. Below, we look at why the strait is so strategically important and what impact the war is having so far. Where is the Strait of Hormuz? open image in gallery The Strait of Hormuz runs to the south of Iran and is just 21 miles across at its narrowest point ( Getty/iStock ) The Strait of Hormuz lies between the Persian Gulf to the north and the Gulf of Oman to the south, opening up to the Arabian Sea and beyond to the rest of the world. It is roughly 100 miles long, but only 21 miles across at its narrowest point. The land-flanked passage lies in Irans territorial waters, but is viewed as an international waterway and is normally open to all ships. It consists of two shipping lanes allowing traffic to pass in opposite directions, each two miles wide, with another two-mile-wide lane separating them. International law permits countries to exercise control up to 13.8 miles (12 nautical miles) from their coastline. At its narrowest point, the passage comes under both Iranian and Omani control. Iran lies on one side of the strait, and some of the worlds biggest oil suppliers including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman lie across the waters. What passes through the strait? open image in gallery Around a fifth of the worlds oil supply passes through the strait (Stock picture) ( Reuters ) It is one of the worlds most important maritime chokepoints, with 20 million barrels of oil passing through it each day one-fifth of global oil consumption and up to one-third of the worlds supply of liquefied natural gas. This amounts to over 500 million barrels of oil and 6 million tonnes of gas every month, according to Lloyds List. Much of this is exported to Asian markets, including China (Irans only remaining oil customer), India and Japan. It is the route used by supertankers carrying oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran. Around 3,000 shipping vessels pass through the passage every month, including oil tankers, liquefied natural gas containers, and cargo vessels, according to Lloyds List. This amounts to more than 30,000 ships every year. While there are pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that can transport oil, the US Energy Information Administration says that most volumes that transit the strait have no alternative means of exiting the region. On 18 February, Iran closed the Middle Eastern waterway for the first time since the 1980s as Iranian troops took part in live-fire military exercises. Iran had not threatened to close the passage even during its 12-day war with Israel last June, when US-Israeli strikes took out some of the countrys key nuclear and military sites. A global trade bottleneck as missiles rain down open image in gallery Traffic through the strait has dropped dramatically since the US strikes began ( MarineTraffic ) Passage through the waterway has almost ground to a halt, creating a trade bottleneck, since the current war broke out. The number of oil tankers crossing the strait was at 20 per cent of pre-war levels on Monday, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis using ship-tracking data from S&P Global and Kpler reported in the Wall Street Journal. Goldman Sachs estimates that there has been a slight uptick in traffic over the last week but that vessels only carried around 1.6 million barrels through the waterway each day, a fraction of the 20 million barrels pre-conflict. Kpler reported on Tuesday that it can say with near certainty that seven vessels, including four tankers and three bulk carriers, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since 6 March. The UKTMO has received reports of at least 13 attacks on vessels. A US oil tanker was set on fire have been hit in the mayhem as maritime insurers have pulled insurance cover. At least one Indian crew member was killed on Sunday 1 March, according to Euro News. Several reports from trade publications suggest that others have been injured. US attacks have spilled over into international waters with the US military torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday 4 March. At least 87 people were killed. Effects on oil prices and the global economy open image in gallery An aerial view of the Iranian shore and the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz ( Reuters ) Any disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is highly disruptive to the oil trade. Since the outbreak of conflict oil prices have surged to over $100 a barrel. The scale of what is at stake cannot be overstated, said Hakan Kaya, senior portfolio manager at investment management firm Neuberger Berman. Amin Nasser, the president and CEO of Saudi Arabias oil giant Aramco, warned on Tuesday that if oil tankers continue to be unable to transit the strait that will have a serious impact on the global economy. Threats to the route have spiked global energy prices in the past, including during the Israel-Iran war in June 2025. China and Japan, who will be severely affected, have called for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice It is not an exaggeration to say the last few days in the Middle East have marked a paradigm shift for the region and, frankly, the world. The US and Israel killing the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once unthinkable has become just another of a slew of decapitations in their unprecedented joint operation on the country, which has killed hundreds in the country, including children. The offensive has hollowed out the brutal military leadership and its affiliates across the region. Even the building that houses Irans Assembly of Experts, which right now is attempting to choose a leader to replace Khamenei, was reportedly flattened by an air attack in the last few days. Khameneis second and most beloved son, Mojtaba, 56, is the favourite in the running as successor. But what difference would his ascension make if Israel follows through with its threat to assassinate whoever is picked to take over? open image in gallery A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran ( AFP/Getty ) Instead, Donald Trump has been quick to urge Iranians, who have nowhere to hide under this unprecedented bombardment and are still recovering from a bloody state crackdown on protests, to leverage what he called the only chance in generations to take over your government. Yet despite the gravity of a call like that, the US and Israels timeline for their operation in Iran, their actual endgame and, crucially, their vision of the day after, all remain unclear. Or possibly, as some claim, are almost deliberately non-existent. Eagerly waiting in the wings is Reza Pahlavi, 65, the exiled son of the last Shah, deposed during the 1979 uprising that ushered in the Islamic Republic. A year later, Pahlavi declared himself Shah in a bizarre coronation-in-exile in the Egyptian capital, but has since distanced himself from the notion of a return to Irans Peacock Throne. Based in the US, he has instead tried to position himself as the imminent transitional leader of a new post-theocratic Iran, releasing stirring statements promising Iranians he would return soon. He is receiving some support inside and outside Iran. open image in gallery Mojtaba Khamenei (centre), the son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the expected successor ( Middle East Images ) But as retired American-Lebanese Colonel Abbas Dahouk, who served as a military adviser to the State Department and twice as US defence attache to Saudi Arabia, puts it, for the US, the Shah is not even a plan B. He is maybe plan D, he adds. The US remembers we tried that, bringing people from the outside like [Ahmed] Chalabi and [Nour al] Maliki in Iraq that doesnt work, he said. Were still paying the price today. Inside Iran, some of the only armed opposition forces within the country, like the Kurds, vehemently oppose the return of the monarchy, which they accuse of marginalising and repressing Irans minorities when in power. Armed Kurdish separatists have told me, meanwhile, they have plans for a possible offensive against the regime in the coming days, with some reports even suggesting this might be supported by the CIA. A former prince-in-exile is unlikely to stand much of a chance if he cannot win over the few armed factions who are on the ground taking action. This leads to another point: There is no way for the US to completely win the war by remote airstrikes alone, Colonel Dahouk says. We have the war machine to win the battlefield, but the missing piece is the ideological war. How do we sell ourselves versus Khamenei, and the Islamic regime mentality? Hearts and minds were not good at it. We tried it in Afghanistan for 20 years. We tried it in Iraq, and it hasnt worked. open image in gallery Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the last Shah, is waiting in the wings ( AFP/Getty ) Transition is something worrying those in Israel. For all of Netanyahus rhetoric, there is an acknowledgement from Israeli sources I have spoken to that they know actual, proper regime change a full transition to something entirely new and better would require months, if not longer, and likely boots on the ground. Netanyahu, who is staring down an election in October, has right now the support of his nation as he makes the most of Israel standing shoulder to shoulder with his closest ally, the US. But patience from the population will run out as the death toll in Israel rises amid Iranian bombardment. One source quipped that Israel waged its most devastating ground invasion and siege on Gaza for two years and yet there is still no real plan for the day after. Iran has a population of over 90 million, stores of sophisticated ballistic missiles and drones, and a steel spine in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that any would-be regime changers would have to contend with. The Supreme National Security Council, a largely military-dominated body headed by powerful ex-IRGC officer Ali Larijani, has also effectively been running Iran since the USs last bombing campaign of the country in June. Some think Netanyahu actually just wants chaos, not regime change. open image in gallery The war continues to widen across the region ( AFP/Getty ) That said, the military and political infrastructure of Irans regime has been gutted. The regional network of proxies that Khamenei built up for so long does not seem able to rescue Iran either. In the case of Hezbollah, the militant group in Lebanon, which has taken a massive beating from Israel since 2024, it is paying the price for its recent revenge attacks following Khameneis killing. Israel has unleashed fireballs across Lebanon in recent days. Elsewhere, in places like Iraq and Yemen, the response has been deafeningly muted. That means [the Iranian regime] has no friends anymore, and that probably forces them to not surrender but discuss, to capitulate, Dahouk adds. This is what Arash Azizi, a prominent Iranian-American historian and author, thinks is probable. The departure of Khamenei will likely lead to the abandoning of his core policies in the short to medium term. open image in gallery The deceased supreme leaders core policies may be abandoned soon, in search of stability for the country ( AP ) That means abandoning stringent and ideological anti-Americanism and anti-Israelism. Whoever comes out on top in Tehran now will have to consider recalibrating to ensure survival, he continues. Sources close to the current speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, have told Azizi that the loud rhetoric against the US will change in the coming months because resources are so depleted and there is no other way. Azizi believes both Ghalibaf and Larijani could together bring the Guards along with them on a path that would lead to a new deal with the US. The lack of resources, the prospect of mass civil unrest and possible armed opposition from within could mean its the only way. Major UAE port hit in drone strike after Trump claims key oil island obliterated On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump has warned that the US will continue bombing the hell out of the shoreline of Iran in a bid to break the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The major shipping route has been under siege after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to take "complete control" of the waterway through which one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied gas passes. Writing on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump called for many countries to send warships to the area to help end the blockade and listed the UK, China, Japan, France and South Korea among them. His comments came after a fire broke out at the Fujairah port in the UAE after being targeted in an Iranian drone strike, forcing the facility to suspend part of its operations. It is one of the Middle Easts largest oil storage hubs, heightening concerns over already-surging oil prices. Meanwhile, residents living near Jebel Ali port in Dubai, Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi and the Fujairah port were warned to evacuate the areas, according to Iranian state media. Iranian forces had threatened to expand strikes to US allies in the region after the US hit Irans crucial Kharg Island and Trump said the US had totally obliterated every military target in Irans crown jewel. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The war in the Middle East that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz is making Russian oil more valuable to two of the largest energy markets in the world India and China. Oil prices have been soaring and stock markets tumbling globally, with analysts warning that prices could test $100 a barrel if the disruption extends beyond a few weeks. The strait through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies pass remains effectively closed to most operators after Iranian forces threatened to set fire to ships passing through. As global oil becomes scarcer and more expensive, few countries stand to feel the pressure more acutely than India and China two of the world's largest energy importers, both heavily dependent on Gulf supplies. open image in gallery The Strait of Hormuz is one of the worlds most strategically important shipping routes ( Getty/iStock ) If we see a prolonged war, with the Strait out of use for an extended period, said Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS, it would mean all countries globally competing for every incremental barrel of oil possible." Analysts say the clearest beneficiary of that scramble is Russia a long-time supplier to both countries, and one that Washington had been pushing India to move away from. With Gulf supplies now blocked, Russian crude is readily available: by tanker to Indian refiners, and by pipeline to China, and both are already increasing their purchases. The main effect, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder and lead analyst at CREA, is that Russia will make more money and China and India will pay more for their oil, like all importers. India relies on imports for more than 88 per cent of its oil needs, and nearly half of its crude comes from Gulf states whose exports pass through the Strait. The government has reassured that it holds 74 days worth of reserves, but reports indicate it could be as low as 25 days. In recent months, Indian refiners had been trimming Russian purchases under US pressure, part of broader negotiations around a trade deal after heavy tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. By January, Russian crude accounted for less than 20 per cent of India's imports, the lowest in nearly four years, while Saudi imports rose to their highest in almost six years. Now that the Strait is closed, analysts say the direction is clear. Both countries are likely to consider increasing purchases of Russian oil in the event of prolonged disruption, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. But Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, said while Russian imports will go up for China, for India still bound by its interim agreement with Washington major changes could be more challenging. Government sources signalled India is scouting for alternative supplies within a 10 to 15-day window. Meanwhile, Russia is already standing ready to supply. Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told state-run TV that Moscow was "getting signals of renewed interest from India" in purchasing additional volumes of its crude, adding that it "remains convinced" the trade is beneficial to both countries. On Thursday, the diversions were already underway at least three tankers carrying around 2.1 million barrels of Russian Urals crude are heading to Indian ports this week. open image in gallery Smoke rises from a cargo ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast ( SBU ) One, the Suezmax Odune, has already arrived at Paradip on India's east coast; another is heading to Vadinar on the west coast; a third that had been signalling Singapore has turned north in the Arabian Sea and is now on course for India, according to vessel-tracking data cited by Bloomberg. All three ships are under EU and UK sanctions. China's position is different but the direction is the same. Beijing had not pledged to reduce Russian purchases the way India had, but its national oil companies had been moderating their intake. Parmar said that restraint is unlikely to last. While independent refiners still purchase reasonable volumes of Russian oil, China has stopped its national oil companies from purchasing Russian oil in recent months. This policy may change if the war continues for an extended period. Data from Vortexa showed Russian crude deliveries to China rose by around 370,000 barrels per day in February compared to January roughly matching the volume Beijing had been receiving from Venezuela before shipments were cut off. open image in gallery Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Moscow could benefit from Indias oil needs ( AP ) China has faced challenges in accessing its two major suppliers this year, both due to Washington. Iranian exports have under strain, although not completely stopped like in the case of India, since the US-Israel attack. Venezuelan crude, which flowed almost entirely to Beijing under Nicolas Maduro as US sanctions locked out most other buyers, has also been cut off following January's regime change. Trump declared in January that he had struck the concept of a deal for India to buy Venezuelan oil instead, replacing its Russian oil needs, but production has collapsed to just over 1 million barrels a day, infrastructure would need billions to restore, and the distance might also be a decisive factor for Delhi. Analysts say this is where Russia's position becomes particularly beneficial. Much of Moscow's oil has spent months sitting on sanctioned tankers that Western ports and insurers refuse to handle, making it readily available for Indian refiners. China, meanwhile, receives Russian crude directly via pipeline, making its access even more secure. Chris Wright, principal analyst at CarbonBridge, said Russian crude floating storage of around 58 million barrels would be significantly cheaper than what is looking like increasing oil markets going beyond $80 per barrel," adding that "any oil or gas producer not reliant on the Strait of Hormuz will now be incredibly important to global oil and gas supplies." open image in gallery The Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker was seized by US forces in January, for allegedly violating sanctions by transporting oil for Venezuela, Russia, and Iran ( Getty Images ) Russia is not the only one to benefit, analysts said Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, and the US, with its significant excess production, all stand to gain from higher prices and tighter global supply. But none are as strategically placed as Moscow to serve India and China, which together consume roughly 22-23 million barrels a day a fifth of global demand. While analysts remain certain over long-term gains for Russia, it has not been able to capitalise on the oil rally immediately due to its own challenges. Ukrainian drone attacks have left the Sheskharis oil terminal at Novorossiysk, slated to load around 500,000 barrels per day, shut since Monday, while severe icy conditions have reduced loading capacity at its Baltic ports. In the far east, however, exports from Kozmino port are near record highs. For India, the political cost of turning back to Moscow remains the only complication, and even that is shrinking. In the current circumstances, I feel the US will not say anything, said Vibhuti Garg, director for South Asia at IEEFA, noting that Washington is in a weak position to punish India for seeking alternatives to a route it helped close. The White House did not immediately respond to questions on how it would view India resuming Russian oil purchases. Meanwhile, the US and France are moving to ease some pressure. Trump has announced political risk insurance for ships transiting the Gulf and France has dispatched the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean. But with the Strait still closed, neither measure changes the basic calculus for India and China: the quickest route back to energy security still runs through Moscow. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February. Gulf states that host US military bases and personnel, as well as Lebanon, were quickly drawn into the conflict. The offensive, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, currently has no end date. In a notification to Congress, President Donald Trump said: Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary. These are the death tolls from the war so far, as reported by involved countries as of 5 March. These numbers have not been independently verified. An Iranian flag planted in the rubble of a police station in Tehran ( Getty ) On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Amid the biggest concentration of American military power in the Middle East in decades, the significance and irony of one aspect of the US war on Iran has gone largely unnoticed. In the opening salvoes of the attack, the US quietly introduced its Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (Lucas), a one-way attack drone modelled on the cheap technology that Iran itself has been developing since the 1980s. Those Shahed drones were said to have been inspired by technology developed by Israel, which has co-led the assault with the US. Necessitated by sanctions, Shahed drones have become (along with ballistic missiles) Irans primary domestically produced air weapon a relatively cheap system designed not so much as to outmatch western defences as exhaust them. The original model (Shahed-131) made its operational debut in September 2019, during an attack on a Saudi oil refinery. But what began as a military workaround has become a global weapon used first by Irans regional proxies such as the Houthis in Yemen, then by Russia in its war on Ukraine. This led Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to call Iran Putins accomplice for not only supplying Russia with Shahed drones but also the technology to build its own. open image in gallery Ukrainian authorities say Kharkiv, Ukraine, was hit by three Shahed drones in November 2025 ( Getty ) Struck by the battlefield success of large-scale, low-cost drone attacks, the US made covert efforts to capture Shahed-136s for technical analysis. It reverse-engineered these specimens to create replicas for counter-drone training, which in turn were adapted into the current Lucas drone fleet. The rollout has been swift. Within five months of the programmes launch, the Pentagon had equipped US forces in the Middle East with Lucas drones. Their ability to be sea-launched was tested using a warship in the Arabian Gulf. Then on February 28, US Central Command confirmed that Lucas drones had been used in combat for the first time. They were launched from ground positions by Scorpion Strike, a US task force established in December 2025 to flip the script on Iran with drone technology, according to one US official. Lucas drones are also believed to have been used in Venezuelas capital Caracas on January 3 2026, as part of the US mission to capture the countrys president, Nicolas Maduro. But their official operational debut in Iran signals a shift in the economics, and perhaps even the philosophy, of American air power. On hearing of the Lucas system in December 2025, a senior Iranian official is reported to have gloated: There is no greater honour than seeing self-proclaimed superpowers kneel before an Iranian drone and copy it. The arithmetic of modern warfare For decades, western airpower has strived to build machines that go faster, higher and further. But as far back as 1979, Pentagon official Norm Augustine conducted a study of the spiralling costs of US fighter aircraft. This led him to conclude, with tongue firmly in cheek: In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one tactical aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3 days each per week except for leap years, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day. But there was an important truth amid Augustines humour. These highly advanced war machines are formidable but they are also scarce, slow to replace, and politically too sensitive to lose. open image in gallery An Iranian Shahed-136 attack drone ( AP ) The answer to this conundrum is affordable mass. Military experience in Israel and in Ukraine where around 75% of battlefield casualties have been attributed to small drones points to the benefit of having cheap, expendable systems that are complementary to the USs most advanced aircraft. At a cost of roughly US$35,000 (26,000) each, Lucas embodies this logic and the Trump administrations drone dominance programme aims to have a stock of 340,000 comparable drones by early 2028. This builds on the earlier Replicator Initiative which started under Trumps predecessor, Joe Biden. How Iranian and US drones compare Irans Shahed family of drones are built for long-range, one-way attack. The most widely used and effective variant, the Shahed-136, is a 3.5-metre drone made of foam and plywood which carries a 40-50kg explosive warhead. These loitering munitions can fly to a target area more than a thousand miles away at around 115mph, then circle for up to six hours before diving at their target. Propelled by a 50-horsepower piston engine with a distinctive moped-like buzz, these drones use satellite navigation and a pre-programmed route with high accuracy, assuming they can overcome attempts by the enemy to jam their guidance system. At a cost of upwards of US$20,000 each, they occupy the warfare space between manually piloted quadcopter drones, which are cheaper but cannot carry a large warhead, and costly cruise missiles. The Russian-assembled version known as Geran-2 has extended the drone menace to key national infrastructure, cities and military assets throughout Ukraine. About the author Arun Dawson is a PhD Candidate in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Unlike Shahed-136s, the imitation model first used by the US military for counter-drone training codenamed FLM-136 was lighter. This reduced its range to 400 miles as it could not carry as much fuel, and halved its weapon payload (though at 18kg, its still double that of a Hellfire, the USs primary air-to-ground missile). The Lucas drones have been observed to possess a nose-mounted gimballed camera system, and modules for satellite connectivity. Compared with most pre-programmed Shahed systems, even intermittent connectivity would allow Lucas operators to re-task drones in flight, update target data or coordinate salvos more dynamically than earlier generations of one-way attack systems. Satellite links could also support AI-powered swarm tactics, when drones act as a coordinated attack team. If used in numbers, Lucas drones could saturate Irans radar systems by presenting more objects than its operators can comfortably track. In doing so, they could create corridors through which more capable (but expensive) US and Israeli weapon systems can pass unharmed. These are needed to order to attack heavily protected targets such as strategic bunkers and nuclear facilities. Low-cost, expendable drones work best in compact theatres such as the Middle East, where distances and logistics are manageable. But Lucass full potential in contested, jammed environments will depend on its ability to use AI-driven swarming techniques. As yet, the US lacks the technology, public appetite and legal framework to introduce a true AI-powered air force. But it may be here before long. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Iran has struck several targets across the Gulf in retaliation against a joint US-Israeli bombing campaign, plunging the Middle East into chaos. Tehran said it would target US bases in the Middle East after Washington and Israel launched strikes towards Iran on Saturday. US President Donald Trump accused Tehran of waging an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States. Blasts have since been reported in Jerusalem, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha in Qatar, and Manama in Bahrain on the third day of a conflict that has plunged the region into chaos, impacting key regional aviation and trade hubs. Click here to stay up to date with the latest on the Middle East conflict. open image in gallery A US fighter jet crashed in Kuwait after a case of friendly fire ( Social Media ) Both the UK and the US have long had military bases in numerous countries across the Middle East. An Iranian drone struck a US navy base in Bahrain at around 7:30pm GMT (10:30pm local time) on Sunday, causing a major fire. It struck near an adjoining UK naval facility, but there were no casualties as the area had previously been evacuated. Kuwaiti air defences mistakenly shot down three US F15 fighter jets flying in Iran-related operations, the US military said on Monday. All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition, it said. Meanwhile, the Cypriot government said on Monday that two unmanned drones heading towards the UKs Akrotiri air base in Cyprus had been intercepted. Can Irans missiles reach US bases? Iran has used ballistic missiles and drones to launch large-scale attacks on US allies and assets across the Gulf, which have a self-imposed range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles). It has the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Even Irans short-range missiles can reach 435 miles, which would put several US military bases within reach, according to estimates by the CSIS Missile Defense Project in The New York Times. These include bases and military sites in Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Oman and the UAE all of which are at risk of Iranian retaliation with short-range weapons. In the wider region, the US operates a broad network of sites across at least 19 locations, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Eight are permanent, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Tens of thousands of US troops are stationed across the Middle East, in Arab Gulf countries just across the Persian Gulf from Iran and much closer than Israel. Those bases boast the same kinds of sophisticated air defences as Israel, but would have much less warning time before waves of missiles or swarms of armed drones reached them. And even Israel, which is several hundred kilometres further away, has been unable to stop all of the incoming fire. General Sir Richard Barrons, a former senior UK military officer, told Sky News that Iran was limited in options for manoeuvre, not least because it has lost many top leaders in the past couple of days. Movements to fire missiles could expose the launch site to American and Israeli attacks from the air, giving Irans missile launchers a short life expectancy. US officials have said in the past that Iran has depleted its medium-range stockpile, with few remaining, but it still maintains ample short-range capabilities. Where are US and UK bases located? Bahrain Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NSA Bahrain) is home to the US Naval Forces Central Command and United States Fifth Fleet. The deep-water port can hold Americas largest military vessels including aircraft carriers. Four anti-mine vessels, two logistical support ships and several US Coast Guard vessels have a home port in Bahrain. Britains Royal Navy opened and operated the port during the 1920s, and the first US military presence was established when they joined the Second World War. After the war it was recognised as a US Navy site. Iraq open image in gallery US army drones at the Ain Al Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar ( AFP/Getty ) The US has a number of military bases in Iraq, including two air fields the Al-Harir and Al Asad air bases and dozens of camps and outposts. These bases were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militant groups after Israels invasion of Gaza in October 2023. At the height of the US occupation of the country from 2003 until 2011, there were reportedly 170,000 US personnel stationed in 505 bases across the country. In January 2024, the Iraqi government requested a start to negotiations on ending the US military presence in Iraq, as regional tensions grew due to the situation in Gaza. As of 29 January that year, the UK Ministry of Defence said 200 service personnel were deployed on operations there. The British Army is involved in training and supporting Iraqi and Kurdish security forces; they are not operating in a combat role. Kuwait Kuwait plays host to several US installations, including two air bases, alongside a number of other outposts. Ali Al Salem Air Base is home to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, one of the main hubs for delivering combat support in the region. The RAF has previously used the Ali Al Salem Air Base. Qatar open image in gallery A UK Typhoon at the Al Udeid base in Qatar ( MoD ) Qatars Al Udeid Air Base is the largest of its kind in the region, according to Reuters. It includes components of Central Command (Centcom), and elements of its air forces and special operations forces in the Middle East. The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which includes airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets, AFP reports. Al Udeid Air Base, which is located in the desert outside the capital Doha, hosts around 10,000 US troops. It serves as the forward headquarters for US Central Command, which directs American military operations across a vast area stretching from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. Saudi Arabia The Prince Sultan Air Base is a major site that hosted a large US presence during its war in Iraq, and from which the US air force still operates. Elsewhere, the Eskan Village near Riyadh serves as a housing facility for US military personnel, largely those who are under training. RAF personnel have been attached to the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) for many years; as of April 2019 there were 66 military staff based in Saudi Arabia and 35 based in the UK with MODSAP. United Arab Emirates open image in gallery A plume of smoke rises from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai ( AFP via Getty ) Al Dhafra Air Base is home to the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, which has 10 aircraft squadrons and holds MQ-9 Reaper drones. The base also hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Centre for air and missile defence training. The RAF operates from Al Minhad Air Base, announced as a new permanent UK military facility in March 2024. Jordan The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan was allocated $143m for upgrades and expansion in 2018. It hosts military partners including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, with two runways almost 10,000 feet long. Oman Oman has been a strategic hub for the UK Ministry of Defence, after the Royal Navy opened a joint logistics support base at Duqm port. The ministry has said Duqm gives the UK a strategically important and permanent maritime base east of Suez, but outside of the Gulf. Cyprus open image in gallery Cyprus said a drone attack targeted a British base, RAF Akrotiri ( PA ) The UK has two Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus: Akrotiri and Dhekelia. RAF Akrotiri is the main operating base in the region, home to fast jet combat aircraft, air-to-air refuelling, air mobility, air transport, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A second Iranian ship has entered Sri Lankan territorial waters just a day after an American submarine torpedoed a vessel and killed more than 80 people, Sri Lankan officials have said. Sri Lanka is not allowing the ship to dock but is providing some humanitarian assistance, cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said on Wednesday. We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives, he said. Mr Jayatissa did not confirm whether the vessel was a naval or commercial ship. Two other Sri Lankan officials said the boat is around 20 miles south of the countrys capital of Colombo and had requested approval to dock on Wednesday, but permission was not granted. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the military had struck an Iranian warship off Sri Lankas coast on Wednesday, killing more than 80 people and leaving dozens more injured. The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, he said, as he showed footage of Tuesday nights attack in the Indian Ocean on what he called the Islamic Republic's prize ship. open image in gallery The Iris Dena, which was torpedoed in international waters on Tuesday ( AP ) Sri Lankas president Anura Kumara Dissanayake will meet with top officials on Thursday in order to discuss a response to the Iranian request to enter its waters for safety, sources told AFP. More than 100 crew are reported to be on board and fear they will suffer a similar attack, AFP reports. Meanwhile, preparations are reportedly being made to hand over the remains of 87 Iranian soldiers killed in the submarine attack, while 32 others who were rescued are receiving medical treatment under elite security supervision. Sri Lankas foreign minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the Iranian frigate Iris Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission to the vessel. By the time navy ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship and there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water, said Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath. open image in gallery Iranian frigate Iris Dena after being struck by a torpedo ( US Department of War ) The unrest comes after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes across the Gulf. The conflict has paralysed shipping routes, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming complete control of the international waterway. Why does Iran have warships near Sri Lanka? The Iris Dena had recently participated in exercises as part of the International Fleet Review 2026, a military exercise hosted by India, according to the BBC. Indian media reported that the Iranian frigate had also been taking part in the 2026 MILAN multinational naval exercise alongside other countries. It had been returning from these exercises and sailing through the Indian Ocean past the coast of Sri Lanka and transiting through a major shipping route when it was attacked. The armed carrier was one of Irans most modern warships, carrying heavy guns, missiles, torpedoes and a helicopter. Sri Lanka has remained neutral in the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A British property investor says he paid 150,000 to charter a private jet back to England after a military drone fell on his seven-bedroom villa in Dubai. Samuel Leeds flew back to the UK on Wednesday after witnessing debris from an Iranian drone fall like a hailstorm on his beachfront property, while he was with his children in Palm Jumeirah on Saturday night. However, Mr Leeds claimed he did not leave because of missiles fired during the ongoing US-Iran war, and expects to be back in the UAE within two weeks. That was the easy way out, he told The Independent. I didnt leave because of the missiles. Im hosting a business networking lunch with more than 1,000 people and there was no way I was going to miss it. Nevertheless, Mr Leeds described the incident at his home as unnerving. Me and my kids were at home. We heard an explosion and the debris started falling, the father of four children aged between one and eight said. It was unnerving, especially with small children, to see missiles flying over your house. open image in gallery British property developer Samuel Leeds chartered the Gulfstream jet to leave Dubai ( Samuel Leeds ) Mr Leeds, from Buckinghamshire, attracted criticism on social media after posting about his expensive escape on social media. If you have the money, leaving the UAE isnt really an issue, Mr Leeds said in a series of posts on X, along with pictures of him and his brothers family onboard. Like some of the other westerners caught up in the Middle Eastern conflict, Mr Leeds pushed back against what he described false narratives of Dubai being unsafe. People are not fleeing Dubai, he insisted. I offered free seats on the jet to my friends and no one was interested. When people tell me in England, Youre finally back from a war zone, I tell them Dubai is totally safe, he continued. I have complete trust in the UAE government. They keep peoples best interests in mind. And I am grateful for the military that is defending the country. open image in gallery Samuel Leeds, his brother and their family. Mr Leeds says he expects to fly home within a couple of weeks ( Samuel Leeds ) More than 20,000 flights to or from the Middle East have been cancelled since Saturday due to the US-Israel joint military strike and Irans retaliatory attacks on Americas Gulf allies. Thousands have remained stranded as Iranian strikes on Gulf targets continue, with Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines suspending scheduled flights until at least 6 March. But the large population of ultra-wealthy residents in Dubai means demand for private jets to leave the country has soared. Managing director of private jet charter firm LunaJets Dubai, Caroline Cresp, told The Independent that a 12- to 14-seat private jet from Dubai to Europe now costs more than 200,000 (174,000), compared with 70,000-80,000 (61,000-69,000) before the conflict. Individual seats are being sold for about 25,000 (21,000), said Ms Cresp. Even if people are willing to pay those steep prices, availability is scarce. Capacity is extremely limited. In Dubai, limited slots are available per day, she added, noting that departure slots from Dubai are difficult to obtain. open image in gallery A plume of smoke rises from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai ( AFP/Getty ) Lunajets has organised a dozen flights from Dubai to cities including Istanbul, Athens and Rome this week, she said, but there remains a waiting list. The land border with Oman has meanwhile emerged as an unexpected escape route for travellers trying to leave the United Arab Emirates during the growing crisis. The company said it has chartered commercial flights from Muscat to European destinations, with tickets priced at about 2,000 (1,700) a far more affordable option for stranded passengers. We operated multiple Airbus A320 & Boeing 737 charter flights carrying about 180 passengers each from Oman to Istanbul and Athens, Ms Cresp said. At the Khatm Al Shikla border crossing near Al Ain, where the two neighbouring Gulf countries share a long desert frontier, buses, taxis and private cars have been ferrying passengers across in the hope of catching flights from Muscat. Natelea Strnadiva, a Czech citizen visiting Dubai with her parents, said she paid Dh2,500 (500) for a taxi ride to the Al Ain border crossing. We are getting an Omani taxi from here for Dh 1600 (320) to go to Muscat airport, she said. Its a lot of money, but we have no choice. open image in gallery Omani drivers waiting for passengers near the border ( Anjana Sankar ) The family does not yet have confirmed tickets from Muscat. We will figure that out later. We just want to get out of here, Ms Strnadiva added. Many travellers said the procedure at the border went smoothly and they were not even charged for a visa. Travellers who managed to reach Muscat International Airport said the scenes there were chaotic as passengers rushed to secure seats on departing flights. There was a huge line even though I reached the airport at least three hours before my flight to Delhi, said Ramesh, an Indian tourist who had travelled from Dubai. Considering the swell in passengers, Oman said on Thursday it was working with international airlines to organise flights to help stranded Gulf passengers. The citizens of all countries have the human right to safety and security. People matter. Lets stop the war now, Omans foreign minister Badr Albusaidi wrote on X. A British resident of Dubai for the past five years, who was also at the border on Wednesday, said he was taking his visiting parents out of the country to his vacation home in Phuket, Thailand. open image in gallery Dubai has been caught in the crossfire of the US-Iran war ( AP ) They will try to find a flight to England, and were planning to stay in Phuket for a month, said the resident, who requested anonymity. The attacks are continuing and we dont know what the endgame is. So, we decided to get out for a while and wait it out. Another British resident who owns an apartment in Burj Khalifa said he had decided to return to England temporarily because of the escalating strikes. Burj Khalifa is such an iconic landmark and Im worried it could become a target, said the resident, who is a business owner and asked not to be identified. Ill decide about returning depending on how the conflict unfolds. The surge in passengers has also created an unexpected business for drivers at the border. At an ADNOC petrol station near the crossing, Omani taxi drivers were waiting for customers heading to Muscat airport. Ive been making a trip to the airport every day, said Mfhood Alamri, an Omani citizen. He and his brother, Younus Alamri, said they had temporarily left their security jobs at a private company to ferry passengers across the border. open image in gallery Damage in Dubai can be seen in this satellite image on the second day of military action ( Planet Labs PBC ) The siblings are charging Dh1,200 (240) to Dh1,600 (320) per passenger, nearly double the usual Dh800 (160) fare. Its quick money and we are helping people too, Alamri said. Luxury buses hired by companies with stranded staff in the UAE were also waiting at the border. Drivers said they charge about 50 Omani rials (50) per seat to take passengers across to Muscat. While some are crossing into Oman to catch flights from Muscat, others are taking an even longer road route from the UAE to Riyadh in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where airspace remains open and more flights are operating. Travel agents and drivers at the border said buses and private vehicles are now regularly ferrying passengers across the desert highways as thousands of residents and tourists look for any available route home. Get Travel Insider with Simon Calder. A newsletter packed with tips, deals, inspiration, and the latest travel news Get the Travel Insider newsletter with Simon Calder Get the Travel Insider newsletter with Simon Calder Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Passengers are not permitted to take pictures during this flight without prior permission from the airline," cabin crew announced on a recent Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi. Travellers shared similar looks of confusion that the window seat shot of clouds or snap of the in-flight meal tray had been thwarted before take off. Although its not illegal, some airlines have introduced their own restrictions on taking photos to protect passenger privacy or stop viral moments from being shared on social media. But, as passengers film everything from full get ready with me videos to in-air passenger brawls, what are the rules on in-flight photography? Read more: ETA: What are the new travel rules and how do they affect dual citizens? Can I take pictures on flights? According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), if filming or photography does not endanger the safety of the cabin in any way, it is up to the cabin crew and captain to decide the rules. Each airline will have a different photography policy, but most carriers generally say that taking pictures is fine so long as you respect the privacy of your fellow passengers. However, rules can change on a flight-by-flight basis. Some carriers in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan Airways and Turkmenistan Airlines, have been known to enforce strict camera restrictions on flights, with photography and filming banned in the cabin. Check with cabin crew before boarding if youre planning to film on an aircraft. Ryanairs conditions of carriage state that recording or photographing personnel at the airport or onboard the plane without consent is strictly prohibited. The Irish airline note that, only recordings or photographs personal to you may be permitted. EasyJet state similar, welcoming photography so long as it doesnt disturb other people or feature customers without their consent. In 2023, Australian airline Qantas updated its conditions of carriage to prohibit passenger photography of staff or other travellers without their prior consent. The airline said: Seek consent before filming or photographing Qantas Group staff, contractors or other customers. Personal photography is generally allowed to be shared, provided no other people feature in the shots. German flag carrier Lufthansa state: The taking of photographs and filming on board is only permitted if the rights of the people photographed in particular their privacy rights can be safeguarded and ensured. In the event of a violation, taking photographs and filming on board may be prohibited by the crew at any time. Read more: The new rules of dressing up for the plane Sign up for our free Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump said of Sir Keir Starmer this week that this is not Winston Churchill that were dealing with. It is a pity that the president has always tragically failed to recognise that he has already met and dealt with someone who has inherited the mantle of that old lion: Volodymyr Zelensky. Like the hero of Britains finest hour, President Zelensky inspires in his own people the same indomitable spirit of defiance that Churchill did during the disasters and setbacks of the earlier phases of the Second World War. One day, perhaps some future US president will place a fine bust of Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office as partial repentance for Mr Trumps shameful treatment of him and as a standing rebuke to all those who would appease a tyrant such as Vladimir Putin. For obvious reasons, President Zelenskys interview with The Independent should remind Europeans in particular that a far more imminent threat to Western security than Iran is still crawling its way through the Donbas. The ultimate objective of Russias forces is still to extinguish both the very existence of the Ukrainian state and the identity of the Ukrainian people. Yet the Kremlin also has the unspoken, longer-term aim of restoring Russias dominance of Eastern Europe at a minimum, and ideally the entire continent. That has always been a powerful reason to support Ukraine, and that is why they are fighting a war for Europe as well as for their own independence. That America has disengaged so much from this struggle and betrayed Ukraine is the great tragedy of this decade. With that in mind, President Zelenskys warnings must be heeded, even as attention is drawn once again to a crisis in the Middle East. Zelensky inspires in his own people the same indomitable spirit of defiance that Churchill did ( AFP/Getty ) Indeed, he is right to highlight the consequences for the war in Ukraine of the conflagration now unfolding in the Gulf. What has happened is not good news for Ukraine and its European friends. Our estimation, of course, is that air defence [for Ukraine] could decrease, says Mr Zelensky, and there are indications even now from President Trump himself that supplies of certain munitions are running low. America, a little ironically, is now seeing at first hand how difficult it is to counter highly effective and inexpensive unmanned aircraft the very same design of Shahed drones that have caused so much destruction and suffering to civilian targets in Ukraine over the past four years. Such has been the Ukrainian expertise in countering and then pioneering drone warfare that Mr Zelensky has reportedly dispatched teams of his experts to assist the Americans and Gulf states in their conflict with the Iranians. Even a man so purblind to geopolitical realities as Mr Trump should be able to discern the strong links between Moscow and Tehran. It is not a coincidence. If a shortage of American-supplied anti-missile defences, more or less willingly paid for by European allies, worries President Zelensky in the short term, he is also right to be concerned about what the Iran war is doing to the price of oil and gas in the medium term. If the war goes on and the spike in the value of hydrocarbons persists, then President Putins biggest strategic weakness the Russian economy will rapidly disappear. Regrettably, China and India continue to be ready export markets (sometimes covertly) for Russian hydrocarbons, and this obviously helps finance the Russian war machine. Mr Zelensky suggests, albeit obliquely, that America and Europe step up their attempts to interrupt informal Russian sales of oil via its shadowy grey fleet of often ageing, unsafe tankers navigating without signals or identification: We have to work on ... sanctions, on shadow fleets, to stop tankers with Russian oil. Even now, Europe remains a substantial importer of Russian natural gas, and some member states, notably Hungary, operate as virtual Kremlin proxies in the councils of Brussels. Like so many of his people, President Zelensky is tired and misses a normal family life, but remains unbowed. As has been the case for many years, going back to the original invasion and Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine has had to fall back on its own resources and ingenuity, so much so that it has the largest and probably most effective army in Europe, with a formidable home armaments industry behind it. Despite American indifference and the unrelenting Russian meat grinder, Ukraine has not lost this war, and there is no reason why it should. But victory is elusive, as is a ceasefire on realistic terms. The war in Iran has almost inadvertently created fresh challenges for President Zelensky and his nation, and tipped the balance of advantage towards Russia. That is all the more reason for Europe to back him. The injunction to European leaders from President Zelensky is plain. It is, in the ringing words of Winston Churchill, to give Ukraine the tools, and they will finish the job. When the world is clearly going to hell faster than a SpaceX rocket, Elon Musk is offering a public service: hes giving us all a good chuckle. The owner of X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla and the worlds richest man, depending on stock prices has explained to a federal court in California that weve been getting him all wrong all these years, and that his tweets shouldnt be taken so seriously. They are just him simply speaking my mind at any particular point in time. Which begs the question: have users of the social media site formerly known as Twitter simply been using it wrong? If you thought X was supposed to be a new kind of town hall, where people respond to events big and small with heartfelt opinions, discussing and debating them with other engaged individuals, you may have been tweeting under a misapprehension. Might the place being flooded with vile posts from fake accounts, rather than being a bug, actually be a feature? Musks unsolicited clarification made on the stand during a shareholder trial in which he is accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitters stock price prior to his $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022 pitches X as a repository for half-baked thoughts and barely formed opinions. Which, given the kind of bot-infested hellscape the place has become, makes perfect sense. So less a global village pump for the 21st century, more a digital doodle pad that the whole world can look at over as you scribble angrily. Which suggests that when the original Twitter raised its 140-character limit, it wasnt to encourage more meaningful engagement but to clear space for more expansive brainfarts. If this was a trial on whether I've made stupid tweets, I'd say I'm guilty," Musk said. Well, quite. Tweeting half-baked waffle isnt a crime but nor is exactly what many OG X users signed up for. After he bought the platform in 2022, he declared that he wanted X to have more positive, beautiful or informative content. And we know how thats turned out. Musk has confessed that most of his tweets were sent while on the loo. (To whit: At least 50% of my tweets were made on a porcelain throne.) Which prompted the perfect response from American TV science guy Neil deGrasse Tyson, in the form of a back-of-an-envelope calculation: That comes to more than 8,000 tweets over 12.5 years. If you do the math, it means you poop twice a day. Many of Musks social media musings and missives display an immaturity, faux intelligence and toxic masculinity, topped off with a dose of misplaced main character syndrome. For a man who has said What I think privately is what I say publicly, there's no difference, thats a worry. And what does Musk say publicly, in the privacy of his own Twitter feed? Well, he revealed that, after the Ukraine invasion, he asked the Russian president to step outside (I literally challenged Putin to one on one physical combat). Last January, after being roundly criticised for seeming to give a Nazi salute during a speech celebrating Donald Trump's inauguration, he made light of what for others would have been a career-ending moment, posting a string of gags, including: "Bet you did nazi that coming. Actually funny was his tweet about being a free-speech absolutist, claiming that cancel culture is canceled only to then to restrict messages on X that used the word cisgender, disappearing accounts that were critical of him, and calling upon TV viewers to cancel their Netflix accounts. I too lean towards free-speech absolutism. But that doesnt mean you should say things like that, or that people who do shouldnt be criticised for ugly prejudice, even if it is just something spewed out while in the bathroom after a bad day. The Trump administration has been criticised for not explaining why the United States has attacked Iran. Sadly, the problem appears to be that it cannot get its story straight, offering so many different explanations that it has yet to settle on one. That is more than a communication issue. It suggests either a lack of consensus as to what the Great Leader is thinking, or that he is thinking too many things. Donald Trumps original announcement, sent on social media in the middle of the night, was a clear call for regime change. The Iranian regime was a vicious group of very hard terrible people, he said. Fair enough. Is it uniquely awful? Perhaps. But one could easily throw Russia, North Korea and Afghanistan into that mix, and we are not attacking them. Nor does being terrible in a domestic sense generally give other countries a right to attack when there is no imminent danger to them. And even if there is a duty to stop genocide, what is happening in Iran, though horrific, does not remotely meet the criteria. Trumps midnight message also made the danger argument. He said that Irans menacing activities endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world. That may have been true by Sunday, when Iran started firing missiles, but was it true on Saturday, before the airstrikes started? There seemed to be a consensus that Iran and its proxies had been degraded, its economy was a shambles, its nuclear programme had been obliterated, and the regime was threatened from within. Its ability to project power outside its borders, and its apparent inclination to do so, were far more limited than they had been in decades. So the threat of imminent danger to the United States seems concocted. Moving on, Trump threw in a greatest hits tour of Iranian wrongdoing: the chanting of Death to America, supporting terrorism, the violent 1979 takeover of the US embassy (for those not born then, that destroyed Jimmy Carters re-election chances, and most of the 66 hostages were not released until 444 days later, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated). Omitted from Trumps history was the 1953 CIA coup that deposed an elected president and installed the brutal Shah, whose departure led directly to the creation of the Islamic Republic. open image in gallery George W Bush addresses the US on board the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 ( AFP/Getty ) Trump did reference the appalling bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 by Iranian forces. To be sure, this and other actions have made Iran a uniquely awful actor, but this seems a strange time to be avenging a savage crime of more than 40 years ago. The US president also suggested that Iran knew about, and was probably involved in, the 1998 attack on the USS Cole, although al-Qaeda claimed credit for that and a US judge held Sudan responsible for the attack. But wait, there are more explanations. Irans leaders have rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions. They are trying to develop ballistic missiles that can reach our very good friends and allies and could soon reach the American mainland. The concerns about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon or firing conventional ballistic missiles are real and serious. That is why the Obama administration concluded an agreement in 2015, which was not perfect, but blocked the four paths to gaining nuclear weapons for 10 to 15 years. Iran followed the terms of the agreement until Trump tore up the deal three years later. After all, it was Obamas deal, so how could it be any good? But werent there negotiations between Iran and the United States as recently as last Thursday, after which the mediator, the foreign minister of Oman, said a peace deal is within our reach? The interview was pre-recorded on Friday to be aired on Sunday, by which time the attack had begun. Clearly, the planning for this invasion had started long before these negotiations, where the United States took maximalist provisions that it knew would not be accepted. Oh, and werent Irans nuclear facilities completely and totally obliterated last June, along with its nuclear ambitions, in the words of both President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth? On Saturday, Iran was further from achieving nuclear weapons than it had been in years, by any reasonable estimation. open image in gallery US defence secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference on US military action in Iran ( AFP/Getty ) When the Iranian people took to the streets, the regime murdered somewhere between 3,000 and 30,000 people for protesting. The regime said they were terrorists who had attacked Iranian forces. The violence against civilians was terrible. But Trump invading another country in order to establish its citizens right to dissent has to be taken with many grains of salt. Echoes of Iraq in 1991, or Hungary in 1956, cannot be ignored. On Monday, Pete Hegseths message was a complete 180-degree turn from the presidents. He said, This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world will be better off for it. On Tuesday, Marco Rubio and Speaker Johnson came up with a new talking point: Israel was going to attack anyway; Iran would accordingly retaliate against US targets anyway; so why not follow along with the Israeli agenda? It is hard to imagine a greater gift to those who claim the US is in Netanyahus pocket. This war veers from one poorly thought-through justification to another, hoping one will stick with the American people. Bellicose, improvisational grandiosity is no substitute for clear and competent strategy. As Iran burns beneath the USs overwhelming airpower, Washington is already priming for its next target: Cuba. This time, only 90 miles of water separates brinkmanship from American soil. It may sound improbable, but it is the logical end result of mounting pressure on Havana. While Washington tightens sanctions and orchestrates blackouts, Marco Rubio is reportedly exploring a post-Castro settlement. The intent is unmistakeable. Donald Trump wants an endgame, not detente. Senator Lindsey Graham has said it plainly: after Iran, Cuba is next. And when talks fail, Trumps instinct is to use force as Venezuela and Iran know too well. Some will say good riddance. The Castros crushed a nation. As a Latina activist, I want Cuba to be free, but I will not cheer another reckless regime-change experiment. Washington has tried to topple Havana since before most Americans were born. The record of failed plots is long. Why assume a decapitation strike will achieve what Cold War intrigue could not? Even if it worked, bombs cannot conjure a democracy. The US has spent billions and lost American lives to its ongoing campaigns, yet the regimes we sought to humble endure. Caracas survives. Tehran defies. Cuba will prove no different. The greater danger, though, is geography. For a White House that invokes America First, opening a new front line three hours from Florida would be an extraordinary gamble. Cubas military capabilities are limited, yet proximity gives even short-range systems weight. But the most immediate consequences might not be military at all. A crisis in Cuba could trigger refugee flows across the Florida Straits, adding to the millions who have fled the island in recent years. Havana has weaponised migration before. During the 1980 Mariel boatlift, the regime deliberately emptied prisons and psychiatric wards into the Gulf. There is little reason to think a besieged government would behave more responsibly today. Washington is not prepared for such an eventuality. Trump has recently frozen visa processing for Cubans, shutting safer legal routes just as displacement risks grow. The United States may boast a vast military budget, but it is far less resourced to manage humanitarian fallout. Just look whats happened to Fema and USAID. That is where Americas problems begin. After Libya and Syria, European governments found themselves confronting the migration shocks that followed. When asylum applications surged to more than 1.3 million in 2015, authorities relied heavily on an extensive civil society infrastructure and aid network that had been built and maintained over decades. Cubans show support for Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election ( AP ) The German Red Cross alone operated more than 490 refugee shelters housing roughly 140,000 people. Church networks such as Caritas and Diakonie mobilised volunteers, legal aid and language programmes that helped to absorb nearly one million arrivals. The Muslim World League partnered with the UNHCRs Refugee Zakat Fund to channel donations into refugee and development programmes across north Africa, the Sahel and the Middle East. Under the leadership of Mohammad al-Issa, the league helped to mobilise assistance for more than 584,000 displaced people in a single year, funding housing and education and providing economic support designed to stabilise vulnerable communities and reduce the pressures that drive migration in the first place. Europes response did not stop at its borders. Managing migration at scale required a network of international partners capable of stabilising fragile regions and easing displacement pressures before they reached European shores. Nothing comparable surrounds Cuba, or exists in a US terrorised by ICE. Foreign civil-society organisations have little foothold on the island after decades of regime hostility to outside influence. And Trumps Washington shows little interest in welcoming them either. NGOs face frozen funding and political suspicion. If migration surges, the burden will fall squarely on Washington alone. If Washington truly wants change in Havana, it should resist the temptation to default to war, and instead look to its own history. American influence has helped bring down authoritarian regimes before without resorting to violence. In Chile, Pinochets rule ended through the 1988 plebiscite. Similarly, in the Dominican Republics 1978 election, diplomatic pressure from the Carter administration ensured that the vote count continued when officers tried to halt it, producing the countrys first peaceful transfer of power. In both cases, outside pressure worked because it strengthened domestic political processes rather than imposing an outcome from abroad. Cuba itself has shown that discontent exists. The nationwide protests of July 2021 spread across towns and cities, fuelled by shortages, blackouts and economic decline. The governments crackdown revealed both the anger simmering beneath the surface and how fragile such moments can be. That is where American policy should sit: with Cubans, not cruise missiles. Support civic organisers and independent voices on the ground. Strip the regime of legitimacy without tightening the noose on ordinary families. Bombs would simply anoint the regime as the nations defender. That is how democratic upheavals get postponed, while resentment gets exported abroad. Paulina Velasco is chief of staff for the Los Angeles City Council, a journalist, and a Democratic political strategist Irelands regional office markets saw total annual take-up of 59,000 sqm during 2025, an increase of 62pc on 2024 levels according to the latest Cushman and Wakefield regional office market-beat. An exceptionally strong first half was followed by a return to more typical demand levels in the second half of the year. Cork continued to outperform Limerick and Galway as the rebel city accounted for almost three quarters of annual take-up, supported by sustained demand for modern city centre office space. Eoin Tonge confirmed as new Primark chief executive He says brand is one of Irelands greatest international success stories Eoin Tonge is Primark's new chief executive John Mulligan Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 17:59 Eoin Tonge has been confirmed as the new chief executive of retail chain Primark, which trades as Penneys in Ireland. Oil and petrol retailers accused of taking advantage of Iran crisis to gouge their customers Minister urges public to report breaches of competition or consumer law to watchdog Price gouging energy companies warned by Taoiseach Charlie Weston, Senan Molony and Tabitha Monahan Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 Oil distributors, retailers and wholesalers have been accused of taking advantage of the crisis in the Middle East to price gouge Irish consumers, farmers and businesses. Your money questions: What is the tax implication of me withdrawing all the money in my Approved Retirement Fund? This year's MWC highlights the deep convergence of telecommunications, AI, robotics, cloud computing, and next-generation network technologies. Luigi Gambardella, president of the international digital association ChinaEU said Chinese companies are leading the global acceleration towards an "IQ era" of Intelligence-Driven Infrastructure BARCELONA, Spain, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies are at the forefront of the global acceleration towards an "IQ era" of Intelligence-Driven Infrastructure, a top digital expert said at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week. Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that China is leading the way in building cognitive networks and operationalizing artificial intelligence (AI) at scale. This year's MWC, themed "IQ Era," highlights the deep convergence of telecommunications, AI, robotics, cloud computing, and next-generation network technologies. Gambardella noted that the event marks the global communications industry's transition from the "Connectivity Era" to the "IQ Era." "In the era of intelligent infrastructure, competition is no longer about who builds the faster networks or the broader coverage," he said. "It is about building networks with cognitive capabilities. Future digital advantage will increasingly depend on the ability to operationalize AI at scale, turning innovation into systems that are deployable, reliable, and repeatable." Chinese companies at MWC 2026 are not showcasing isolated technological breakthroughs, Gambardella said, but integrated architectures. "AI is being deeply integrated into network systems," he explained. "Networks are becoming capable of automatically optimizing resources, anticipating disruptions and reducing downtime, improving energy efficiency through intelligent orchestration, and moving increasing amounts of computing power to the edge, closer to factories, logistics hubs, ports, and critical infrastructure." Across the exhibition floor, he noted, cloud platforms underpin industrial AI at scale. Next-generation optical communication companies point to the next-generation technology required for secure, low-latency data flows, and humanoid robotics companies demonstrate embodied intelligence designed for deployment in industrial manufacturing scenarios. "These examples demonstrate a growing ability to industrialize innovation efficiently into systematic solutions," he said. "The advantage lies in turning the innovation-deployment-scale cycle into a durable capability." Addressing the integration of AI into the real economy, Gambardella said: "In the IQ era, artificial intelligence moves beyond software and directly into the physical world, often described as 'Physical AI'. Intelligence embedded within infrastructure enables industrial automation, predictive maintenance, real-time quality control, and optimized logistics." He attributed China's strong performance in this transition to its large market scale, dense real-world application scenarios, and vertically integrated industrial ecosystem. Regarding prospects for China-Europe cooperation, Gambardella noted that Europe's twin digital and green transitions require smarter infrastructure to raise productivity, lower energy costs, and strengthen supply chain resilience. "The deployment experience and technological maturity that many Chinese companies bring to Barcelona can help bridge the gap between experimentation and measurable economic impact," he said. MWC 2026 is not just a showcase for cutting-edge technologies, but also an important platform for discussing the future of digital infrastructure, he added. Marking the 20th anniversary of the event's presence in Barcelona, this year's MWC has drawn around 2,900 exhibitors, sponsors and partners. According to organizers, a China Pavilion has been set up at the congress for the first time, featuring major Chinese companies including China Mobile, China Unicom, Huawei, ZTE, Honor and Xiaomi. Aisling Bonner: Like Jessie Buckley, my love for musical societies was inherited from my parents who met doing The John Player Tops of the Town As Killarney Musical Society graduate Jessie Buckley prepares for the Oscars, 2FM Breakfast host Aisling Bonner takes us inside the world of the amateur theatre groups that have been a hotbed of Irish talent since the 1880s Jessie Buckley, pictured with her SAG-AFTRA Actor's Award, has come a long way from her very first stage role as 'Oliver' in the Killarney Musical Society production in 1997. Photos: Reuters; Buckley family Aisling Bonner Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 Its a Friday afternoon in January and my phone is lighting up. By the time I check it, there are over 150 messages in a group chat called JCS Cast *church emoji*, *electric guitar emoji*. JCS stands for Jesus Christ Superstar, which is the musical Im rehearsing for with Entracte Musical Society. The emojis are for decoration. I wonder what in Gods name (pun intended) is going on, so I open the chat and learn that theres big news in the world of Irish musical theatre. It concerns something I describe to the uninitiated as The All-Ireland Final for Musical Nerds, an annual awards ceremony for amateur musical theatre held by the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS), also known as The AIMS Awards. Bad news footage shows agent who handed out eviction notices to 36 Wexford households saying new laws very unfavourable to landlords Watch: Agent hands out eviction notices to 36 homes in Co Wexford on behalf of the landlord Amy Molloy and Padraig Byrne Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 13:47 An agent who handed out eviction notices to 36 households on behalf of a landlord company in Co Wexford told one tenant: Bad news. Have you heard about the new rental rules? Were serving eviction notices. Patrick Noone on his farm in Galway in 2019. Photo: Leo Dolan Photography A judge said the sentencing of Galway farmer and self styled Celtic Healer and Fairy Whisperer Patrick Noone for the sexual assault of a teenage girl on board a transatlantic Aer Lingus flight should be heard as soon as possible. Priest had almost 50,000 stolen from personal account by scammers in online fraud Cleric has not been reimbursed by his bank, court hears, as man spared jail Kelvin Kleinovas of Mayeston Green, St Margaret's, Finglas, Dublin. Photo: IrishPhotoDesk.ie Sonya McLean Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 18:13 A parish priest had nearly 50,000 stolen from his personal bank account in a scam after he tried to pay a connection fee for broadband through online banking. Criminal heavily involved in vicious Dublin feud may have shot teenager in case of mistaken identity Suspected gunman Jamie Berry may have wrongly believed on the night that his young victim was a rival from Sheriff Street faction Jamie Berry of Leo Fitzgerald House, Dublin 2, pictured at court Ken Foy Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 Detectives have investigated whether a 30-year-old criminals involvement in the attempted gun murder of a then 17-year-old boy was because of the older mans links to a feud involving armed rival gangs from the north and southside of Dublin. Gen Z more likely to engage with faith than millennials, new religious trends report shows Many younger people will be indoctrinated through YouTube and influencers A new report on religious trends in Ireland has found that there is a generational gap between millennials and Gen Z in relation to religiosity Sarah Mac Donald Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 A new report on religious trends in Ireland has found that there is a generational gap between millennials and Gen Z in relation to religiosity with 18- to 24-year-olds more likely to identify as religious or not sure than 25- to 34-year-olds. Survivors, from left, Paula Doyle from Blanchardstown, Dublin, Hazel Behan from Mulllingar, Co Westmeath, Doireann Barrett from Tralee, Co Kerry and Roberta Wilkin from Delgany, Co Wicklow, protesting outside the Department of Justice on St Stephens Green. Photo: Steve Humphreys Obsession can be quite dangerous Olympian Colin Jackson on his battle with body dysmorphia, and coming out as gay Retired athlete talks about ups and downs of his illustrious career during visit to Dublin to highlight ties between Ireland and Wales Colin Jackson. Photo: Getty Kirsty Blake Knox Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 During his sprint and hurdling career, Olympian Colin Jackson was quietly suffering. The Tanaiste has backed Housing Minister James Browne attending a private property expo on the French Riviera next week, paid for by developers. Sinn Fein spokesman David Cullinane said Minister Browne has rolled out the red carpet for private interests that would make a fortune from your Governments rent hike, referring to legislation that came into force last weekend. Laura Bambrick, who is a spokeswoman for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions A Government review of the law that gives workers the right to request remote working has been described as out of touch with reality. Were glad to be back - families reunite as second flight since Middle East crisis touches down in Dublin 'I don't think I've ever been so happy to see Dublin Airport' - Second plane from Dubai arrives back to Ireland Adrianna Wrona Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 22:22 Dozens of families were reunited at Dublin Airport on Thursday evening as the second flight from the Middle East arrived in Ireland since the war broke out on Saturday. Traffic from Dubai airport remains at about 25pc of normal levels, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24 Limited flight schedules have resumed after a week of conflict in the Middle East, though most regional air space remains closed and the situation is uncertain. Emirates says it is operating a reduced flight schedule while working to restore full network operations" from Dubai, the world's busiest international airport. "It's pretty well the biggest shutdown we've seen, certainly since the Covid pandemic," Paul Charles of luxury travel consultancy PC Agency told Reuters. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways operate over a dozen flights a day into and out of Dublin Airport to hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. Passengers on an Emirates flight returning to Dublin. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos A small number of flights out of the Middle East have landed in Dublin, with another expected Friday, including an government charter flight from Oman, which is expected to transport around 280 passengers. Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee expressed hope that hundreds, if not more than 1,000, will arrive in Dublin before the end of the week. Whats the latest on Friday? Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule, but said it anticipates a return to 100pc of its network within the coming days, subject to airspace availability and the fulfilment of all operational requirements. It carried around 30,000 passengers from Dubai on Thursday, and is expecting to have over 100 flights daily by March 7 almost 60pc of its route network. It is accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority, and advised passengers not to go to airports unless bookings are confirmed. Etihad said it will resume a limited commercial flight schedule from March 6-19, while Qatar Airways said a further update will be provided on March 7 by 9am Doha time (6am GMT). It is operating a limited number of relief flights. Other airlines are also reacting. Air France, for example, cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyads until March 7, and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 9. Irelands Dept of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has upgraded its travel advice to destinations like the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Avoid Non-Essential Travel and advised citizens in these places to shelter in place. You can read individual country travel advisories here. Dubai International Airport was closed (Altaf Qadri/AP) Any travel to destinations rated Do Not Travel or Avoid Non-Essential Travel will likely invalidate travel insurance and overseas medical cover. Earlier this week, the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) advised those on holiday in the Gulf States, or with trips planned to the area, to maintain contact with the airline you travelled on, maintain contact with your travel agent or tour operator, keep your mobile phone charged, and follow closely local media reports and advice. How do I know if my flights are affected? The rights of passengers in the event of cancelled or delayed flights are set out under EU Regulation 261/2014. They apply to flights within the EU, but also flights arriving into or departing from the EU on both EU or non-EU airlines. In the event of a cancellation, airlines should contact affected passengers by email or SMS. You can also check the airline website for flight status updates using your booking or flight number, and your airport's online departures boards. You should check with your airline before travel to the airport. If travelling in the Middle East, you can register with the DFA online or contact its consular team in Dublin at +353 1 408-2000. What are my rights if my flight is cancelled? Delays and cancellations are part and parcel of modern air travel, and reasons can range conflicts and airspace closures to weather events like Storm Eowyn or industrial action. If your flight is cancelled for any reason, and regardless of when you are notified, your airline must offer you the choice between: Re-routing as soon as possible, subject to availability, free of charge. Re-routing at a later date. A full refund within seven days. Passengers stranded by the closure of Dubai International Airport await assistance (Altaf Qadri/AP) How do I arrange a re-routing or refund? In the event of a cancellation or delay, airlines are obliged to inform passengers of their options. If this happens at the airport, staff should be on hand to talk you through the various scenarios. Otherwise you will receive an email or text message to the contact details attached to your booking. You can also check your carrier's website (Aer Lingus, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Ryanair). It should include notes on disruption, and outline the steps to process your own refunds or bookings (a voucher may also be an option). If you booked through a third-party (for example a travel agent or tour operator), the original sales agent should contact you or be your source of contact. Am I entitled to care and assistance? If your flight is cancelled and you choose to be re-routed as soon as possible, then you are entitled to meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation and transfers between the airport and hotel as required. If the airline does not provide these (where a large number of flights are cancelled and numbers are overwhelming, for example), and you end up paying yourself, keep the receipts - you are entitled to a reimbursement of reasonable expenses. NB. A five-star hotel may not be a reasonable expense! Bear in mind that if your flight is cancelled and you choose a full refund, then the airline's obligations to you end there and then. Planes at Cork Airport during Storm Emma in 2018. Photo: Cork Airport/Twitter What about my accommodation? An airline is not liable for any missed accommodation, events or other knock-on effects of a delay or cancellation solely for the flight. However, if you booked through a travel agent or a tour operator as a package holiday, you may be in a better position to re-organise or reschedule accommodation. Adding travel disruption cover to your travel insurance policy (well in advance of travel) can also provide additional cover for expenses and accommodation (see below). Am I entitled to compensation? Financial compensation depends on the flight length and the reason for the cancellation. It differs to care and re-routing/refund obligations that must be offered (as outlined above), and generally ranges from 250 (short-haul, less than 1,500km) to 600 (long-haul, over 3,500km). You are not due compensation if the airline gives you two weeks or more notice of the cancellation. However, you may be entitled to compensation if you receive between seven days and two weeks notice and your arrival times are later than four hours on the reroute, or if you receive less than seven days notice and your arrival time is later than two hours on the reroute. If the air carrier can prove the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances - such as a conflict, or storm - then you may not be entitled to compensation. However, you are still due a refund or re-routing. Ryanair passengers. Photo: Getty How do I claim compensation? Compensation claims are never evaluated or resolved at the airport. If you believe compensation is your due, then the first step is to formally contact the air carrier. If you're not satisfied with its response, then you can escalate by contacting the National Enforcement Body - which, in most cases for Irish passengers, is the Irish Aviation Authority (01 661-1700; iaa.ie). If my outbound flight is cancelled, what happens my return flight? If a flight isn't subject to disruption, technically you are not entitled to any care or compensation. However, airlines do tend to take a logical view, and normally work with passengers to refund or reschedule flights impacted in this way. If you have booked through a travel agent or tour operator, you should receive assistance from them. What if my flight is delayed? If your flight is delayed by more than five hours, and you choose not to travel, then you are entitled to a full refund. If you accept this refund, the airline is no longer obliged to provide onward travel or assistance. If your flight is delayed by at least two hours (short-haul), three hours (European) or four hours (long haul), you are entitled to care and assistance as outlined above. If you arrive at your destination more than three hours after the scheduled arrival time, you may be entitled to between 250 and 600 compensation, depending on the flight distance. Passenger rights. Source: IAA How can my travel insurance help? In the event of a flight cancellation, the first source of refunds and re-routing should be with your airline (see above). Standard travel insurance policies don't offer much help here, but 'missed departure' cover can help you secure a new flight, or an additional night's accommodation. Read more about travel insurance and questions to ask about your policy here. If your policy includes extra "travel disruption" cover, you should be covered for additional transport or accommodation costs up to around 1,000pp. This covers most of scenarios with flight cancellations due to weather, strikes and so on, but note that it covers transport and accommodation-related expenses only - i.e. not lost annual leave, business opportunities or deposits, concert tickets or museum or attraction fees booked in advance online. Is it too late to take out travel insurance? Travel Disruption cover can be added retrospectively to a policy, but not to claim on an event that has already happened (or been forecast). There can also be a moratorium on travel disruption from the time you take out the policy to the time you will be covered (eg. seven days) - however, 'missed departure' cover should still apply. Where can I find more information? For full details on your air passenger rights in the event of cancellation, delays, downgrading and denied boarding, see the Irish Aviation Authoritys website, iaa.ie. NB: This article is being updated to reflect events. It was amended on March 2, 2026, to correct the name of the Irish Aviation Authority. Conal Thomas: Coalition will feel the pressure over its resistance to one-off supports for rising energy costs Fuel prices have risen dramatically this week, purportedly as a result of conflict in the Middle East Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers. Photo: Getty Conal Thomas Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 A short distance away from where Micheal Martin and Mary Lou McDonald were once again clashing in the Dail over high energy costs, Jack Chambers was calmly, coldly scotching the prospect of any immediate government intervention. Suppliers are being accused of taking advantage of the war in Iran as home-heating oil prices rise Coincidence, according to Albert Einstein, is Gods way of remaining anonymous. And it may not just be the Almighty who sees it that way. Leading players in the energy sector are factoring in exorbitant increases in the cost of home-heating oil which was up by 500 for 1,000 litres since last week. Suppliers are being accused of taking advantage of the war in the Gulf region, even though thats not where these supplies come from. Or perhaps it is all just curious happenstance? One way or another, customers are left out in the cold as to why, or how, this could be the case, without anyone being held to account. In the Dail, the heat was certainly turned up high on the issue, as accusations of price gouging flew. The opposition tore into the Government for failing to protect consumers. Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused Taoiseach Micheal Martin of leading a bystander government. Why did the Coalition not just cap the price by issuing an order, she asked. We appreciate the pressures that people are under Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald was just as incensed. She told the Dail about a 94-year-old woman who relies on home-heating oil. A half-fill of oil from her provider rocketed from 464 last week to 879 this week. Motorists are also being hit at the pumps and companies were clearly taking advantage, she said. But Mr Martin said price caps generally dont work. We will keep everything under review, he said, before adding: We appreciate the pressures that people are under. Elsewhere, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMS) president Denis Drennan said his association was flooded with calls from farmers furious at what they saw as flagrant price gouging and price jacking. He said callers knew suppliers had not paid the new higher war prices. They, too, believed the war was being used to gouge customers. And president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Ger Hyland, told RTE the price of diesel is rising nearly on an hourly basis. He said the Government is also taking over 60pc of the price on a litre of diesel in direct taxes. Nicholas Hayes of the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association denied his members were exploiting the situation and Kevin McPartlan of Fuels for Ireland said: We have no control over prices. We take the price from the wholesalers. The Government has asked the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to conduct a probe into energy markets. But companies are free to set their own prices. However, consumer protection law means they must do so independently, and buyers must be informed of prices before they pay. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the Government introduced an emergency excise duty cut of 20c, so expectations of some relief are not surprising. Cushioning every shock, or absorbing the cost of every caprice, be they from Donald Trumps tariffs, or unexpected wars, may be beyond the public purse. But guaranteeing fairness and transparency to protect consumer interests is key to any governments remit. President Donald Trump began his second term in office with a promise to be a peacemaker. Now the message from Washington is that the hardest hits have yet to come in its war on Iran. The primary concern must be that the death toll does not surge as more countries become embroiled in the conflict. But the strikes by Iran on US bases and Gulf ports, cities and oil facilities make this ever more likely. Countries that have stayed neutral have hard choices to make. Do they exert their leverage to press the US president towards dialogue with Tehran? Or do they join the fight alongside the US and Israel? With its back against the wall, Tehran is targeting whatever it can. The Middle East is now at a tipping point. Countries can either retaliate and risk blowing up the region; or they can adopt a watching brief, running the risk of their stability and security being destroyed as they sit it out. Neither are palatable options. Should Iran target regional desalination plants on which Gulf states depend, many carrying only a few days water supply the stakes will rise even higher, Analysts are baffled as to the direction Mr Trump is taking the war, never mind consideration of an off-ramp. As he told The New York Times in January, the sole restraint Mr Trump recognises is my own morality. Some US lawmakers have also expressed alarm. Its like were going to break all the china and you guys decide how to put it back together. It seems like that is the strategy, said Democratic senator Tim Kaine. International exports, shipping lanes, energy, global markets and travel have all been severely jolted by the aftershocks. The widescale unleashing of ballistic missiles and drone attacks by Tehran does not seem to have been factored in. The deaths of US soldiers and the massive financial cost of the war is not playing well with the American public. And the effects are being felt by many other countries. Getting out the estimated 23,000 Irish citizens trapped in the region is an imperative for our Government. Consumers are also taking a hit on fuel prices. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said Ireland gets its oil from the North Sea and we dont want any price gouging going on. But a war that was sanctioned by neither the US Congress or the UN will be increasingly difficult to contain, the longer it goes on. With talks in Ukraine also on a precipice, it is vital that allies of the US use their influence to explore all possible diplomatic options. Mr Trump seemed to believe this war could be over in days. He now states the operation in Iran could take four to five weeks, but has the capability to go far longer than that. Russian president Vladimir Putin made a similar miscalculation. Mr Trump once challenged supporters to measure our success by the wars we never get into. One wonders if the Nobel Peace Prize committee is watching. Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was shot dead by the IRA in a post office raid in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996 There were angry exchanges in the Dail over the future of Irelands post office industry, with Culture Minister Patrick ODonovan accusing Sinn Fein of having closed the one in Adare when you shot a garda. Sinn Fein Senator Nicole Ryan made the appeal following a recent visit to the area with residents. Earlier this week I took the opportunity to walk through Tanyard Wood Estate with residents so I could see the issues they have been raising for a number of years. What I saw was deeply concerning. Senator Ryan said the estate has a range of problems including broken and uneven pavements, numerous potholes, a lack of road signage and markings, and significant overgrowth in parts of the estate. These are not minor issues. They are real safety concerns for families living there. Ms Ryan stated that the problems stem from the estate not yet being formally taken in charge by Cork County Council, leaving residents in a difficult position. This situation has been dragging on for almost a decade. Residents are effectively left in limbo while they wait for the council to complete the taking-in-charge process. In the meantime, basic maintenance simply isnt happening. That is not acceptable. Families have been living in this estate since the early 2000s and they deserve safe roads, safe footpaths and a properly maintained environment like any other community, she added. Senator Ryan has subsequently raised the matter directly with Cork County Council and submitted photographs taken during the visit to highlight the scale of the issues. While the formal taking-in-charge process must be progressed, there also needs to be immediate action in the meantime to deal with the most urgent safety concerns, particularly the condition of footpaths and roads. The Cork politician said she will continue to engage with the council on this issue until residents see real progress. The people of Tanyard Wood have waited long enough. There were approximately 2,700 people on the live register in the Mallow, Newmarket, Macroom, and Kilmallock areas in January 2026, which is comparable to the figures in January 2025. The figures were recently provided to Cork TD John Paul OShea in the Dail after he requested the number of individuals currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit in Cork and Limerick, with a particular focus on Intreo (the Public Employment Service) areas such as Mallow, Newmarket, Macroom and Kilmallock. The Fine Gael TD for Cork North West also sought clarity on the recent trends of the figures over the last 12 months and he questioned what supports and activation measures are in place locally such as training, employment services, and community programmes to promote sustainable employment in the area. The Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary informed Deputy OShea that the total number of recipients of jobseekers payments in Cork was between 11,700 and 13,700 over the year. At the end of January 2026, in Cork, there were approximately 12,100 recipients of jobseeker's payments. Figures were broadly the same in January 2025, with around 12,100 recipients. Referring to the specific areas requested by Mr OShea, Minister Calleary said: In January 2026, there were approximately 2,700 people on the live register in the Mallow, Newmarket, Macroom, and Kilmallock areas. This is comparable to 2025, when there were also 2,700 people on the live register. Minister Calleary said Intreo's employer relations team, offers a wide range of locally based services to assist employers, including engaging directly to assist with recruitment activities. I am focused on targeted activation. During 2025, Intreo employer relations hosted 12 recruitment events and careers fairs in Charleville, Mallow, Millstreet and Fermoy. The minister continued: There were a wide range of supports on offer in further education, training, upskilling, work placements, programmes such as the work placement experience programme, community employment and Tus, to support people to obtain or retain employment. It is important that we give people the opportunity to remain connected and qualified for the labour market. Deputy OShea said the challenge for the Irish Government is to try to get those people back into the workforce and working with the activation officers. The challenge that I see, and the trend is that many young people end up in unemployment now. I hate to see that. I would like to see them getting involved in work placement programmes, further education and training, employment services, or community employment programmes such as Tus. Community employment is very important indeed. We all need to tackle youth unemployment quickly. It is good to see that, after four months of being on jobseeker's payments, there are significant activation measures from Intreo offices to assist those young people to try to get back to work. There are plenty of jobs, but we need to work with Intreo staff and employers in the area to make sure that we get as many people back into the work force as possible, he added. Primary and secondary schools across Cork and Kerry have been urged to wear their favourite jersey and support a teenage Cork girl who has undergone more than 65 surgeries. The Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day has been organised by a voluntary group of former Cork and Kerry GAA players and it will be held on Friday, March 20. Students, teachers and staff, and the wider community have been encouraged to wear their favourite jersey, be it club, county, school, or any sporting team, and make a small donation to support Feile OSullivans recovery following a life changing accident on the family farm last July. The funds raised are vital and will provide essential rehabilitation support and future care for Feile, helping to support, encourage, and empower her, and her family, during this extremely challenging journey. Feiles mother, Maureen OSullivan, expressed her sincere gratitude to all those who have supported Feile. Last July, Feiles life changed forever after a devastating accident on our family farm in Allihies. Since then, she has undergone more than 65 surgeries and, despite extraordinary care from her medical team, her legs had to be amputated, and she has had to endure several significant life changing procedures. Her proud mother paid tribute to the GAA community and said Feile has met each of these challenges with a small, determination and a great sense of humour. Support for Feile has since spread far beyond the GAA, and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who has played a part in supporting Feiles recovery so far. Garnish GAA, Feiles home club in West Cork, have played an enormous role in supporting Feiles recovery, and they are encouraging all schools across Cork and Kerry to take part in the Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day. Finbarr Harrington who is the chairman of Garnish GAA said the entire country is fully behind her. As Feile and her family face the next chapter of her recovery, were inviting every school across Cork and Kerry to take part in the Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day to help raise vital funds for Feile and to show her that the entire country is fully behind her. While the Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day is primarily aimed at schools in Cork and Kerry, everyone throughout the country is welcome to join in, with schools, clubs, colleges and workplaces encouraged to participate and support Feiles continued recovery. Schools are encouraged to capture the colour and energy of the day and share their photos using #Stand4Feile on social media to help spread awareness and amplify the message of support. Dublin Fire Brigade have said that preventing wildfires in areas close to the Dublin mountains this year will depend on land management Angelika Korelc, whose home is just 600 metres from the scene of the fires last year. Pic: Mark Condren Preventing wildfires in the Dublin mountains this summer partially relies on one private landlord in the area following safety measures, according to the Dublin Fire Brigade. A landowner in Ticknick Park was requested by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) to manage the gorse growing in their land and to allow the fire brigade to use that land to access the fire more easily. If the private owner in Ticknick has not made the adjustments he was asked to do last year, its going to be very difficult to extinguish a fire we will have a problem with access and egress (an exit path), said Michael O'Reilly, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Dublin Fire Brigade. Land management is very important if its not managed to allow us access to get to the fire, there will be a risk of getting in and out without being a danger to firefighters. In August last year, firefighters had to manage a series of gorse fires in Ticknick Park, Cherrywood. Residents of the area said that smoke from the fires could be seen drifting across the nearby M50 and surrounding area for days. The fire brigade offered a number of solutions at a DLR meeting this week, including how the council and private residents can manage their land, mapping fire hydrants and drone use. Mr OReilly said that they were working to help landowners prepare their property after finding items like oil tanks in some homes. With private land, we have very little control, when it comes to management. Last year, we found a landowner with an oil tank under the eaves of their home these can help spread fires, he said. Carrie Smyth, Labour councillor for Killiney-Shankill, said that it was important for the council and the fire brigade to work together to prevent similar wildfires this year. Unfortunately, I believe no work has taken place by that private landowner to mitigate or improve access for the fire service, she said. So chances are that nothing happens between now and the hot weather coming this summer its all going to happen again for the people of Cherrywood and the surrounding area. Mr OReilly recommended that the council organise a meeting with private landowners to ensure that the mitigation measures are put in place. People Before Profit councillor for the area, Dave OKeeffe, said that it was important to enforce such rules where public health is under threat. Is it a case we just ask them and hope for the best, or can we enforce it? If people are storing petrol and fireworks and matches, and other hazardous material, we need some kind of onus to manage that right way, he said. According to the fire brigade, the fires in 2025 were difficult to manage due to firefighters being unable to access the source of the fire. "From our side, we can give a 100pc guarantee that we will extinguish these fires to the best of our ability but we have to take the health and safety of our crew into account, he said. People want to live up in the mountains, they want to live in these green spaces, but they have to also help mitigate against these threats." Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme Dublin councillors have condemned the US and Israeli bombardment of Iran, and called for an immediate diplomatic resolution to the conflict, which began with widespread airstrikes on February 28. In an emergency motion submitted by Sinn Fein councillor Ciaran O Meachair at Dublin City Councils (DCC) monthly meeting, a majority of the chamber (39 councillors) voted in favour of condemning the latest attacks on Iran. Nine councillors voted against the motion, with four elected members abstaining during the meeting, which was held mostly in Irish. The motion also calls on relevant parties to agree an immediate ceasefire and recommit to a diplomatic resolution, and said Dublins Lord Mayor should reject any forthcoming invitation to Washington, DC to mark St Patricks Day festivities. However, the annual St Patricks Day trip to the US capital is usually attended by the Taoiseach rather than Dublins Lord Mayor. Speaking on the motion, as Gaeilge, Mr O Meachair said the attacks on Iran broke international law, and its not the first time Israel and the US had done so. "There was an attack on Venezuela, threats against Colombia, threats against Greenland and a lot of others, an interpreter translated Mr O Meachair as saying. "International law is not an a la carte thing, it has to be implemented entirely, he continued. Its like a necklace or a chain: if any link is broken, the whole thing is broken. DCC chief executive Richard Shakespeare said in response that he would have to check this [motion] with the legal advisors, and added that there was no invitation for members of DCC to the White House. Right to Change councillor Pat Dunne said: I just wonder, chief executive, whether the Israeli intelligence have been onto you again when you mention that you need to get legal advice on this motion. He said that the legal request was unprecedented and that the council had passed many motions on international affairs in the past without this level of scrutiny. Independent councillor Diarmuid Pepper said that the only result of condemning the US was falling out with a country that invests heavily in this country, and said Iranians had tried to instigate regime change in the past through non-violent means. "Theres people in here that talk about human rights, well the human rights in Iran are absolutely scandalous, he said. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme The 400-seats in the auditorium were re-upholstered with a luxurious red fabric. In October 2023, the auditorium saw new paint and upgrades to windows. The original curtain in a cobalt blue colour will be preserved on display in the theatre. The first few rows of seats have been removed in photo 3 to facilitate the sanding and revarnishing of the wooden floor in July 2023. The theatre in July 2023 prior to the installation of brand new windows & doors, and before being painted. New seats in the Ballinasloe Town Hall Theatre on February 2026 done by Upholstery Co in Roscommon Town. The historic, 180-year-old Town Hall Theatre in Ballinasloe is ready to take on its first musical in the refurbished auditorium after seeing upgrades to the seats and stage curtain. Upgrading the 400 worn in, now faded, purple seats had always been a resounding question from the community, Ballinasloe Town Hall Theatre Committee Chairperson, Maire Hughes told the Irish Independent. However, there were more pressing issues to deal with when a volunteer committee came to steward the space in 2009. Ballinasloe Town Hall Theatre in February 2026 when the refurbishments were complete. Reroofing to prevent constant leaks, upgrading restroom facilities and the heating system and so on, and, of course, how to afford all the work and maintenance required by an old building such as this. This project is something many on the committee believed would be a task for the next generation of stewards to achieve, Ms Hughes added. The theatre was originally opened in the mid-1800s by Lord Cloncarty of the Garbally Estate and used as an agricultural hall for the Farmers Society. It became the home of two schools, a mortuary, a dentist, and a dancehall but most notably turned into a cinema in the 1920s. Sixty years later it was converted into a theatre. Former president of Ireland Patrick Hillery formally re-opened it in 1988 two years before the end of his term. Since 2009 a variety of upgrades have been carried out on the roof, as well as the installation of new windows and doors, redesign to the foyer and investments into the sound and lighting systems. The theatre in July 2023 prior to the installation of brand new windows & doors, and before being painted. One of the final big jobs on the committee's radar were the seats and stage curtain, both of which predate the 1980s renovation. The building was home to the Plaza Cinema from the 1920/30s to 1975, and the framework of the seats date back to those days, a spokesperson from the Town Hall told the Irish Independent. The old curtain could have been installed around 1975 when the Plaza Cinema became the Aisling Cinema, but it could potentially be even older than that. A lifetime member of Ballinasloe Musical Society has memories of peeking out at the audience through a hole in it, and her last on-stage performance with the group was in 1981 so it is at least that old. Upholstery Co in Roscommon town took on the project for both the curtain and the seats. In October 2023, the auditorium saw new paint and upgrades to windows. A luxurious, dramatic red draping now replaces the old cobalt blue one in the darkly painted auditorium. Parts of the original curtain, with its historical tale, will be on display in the building to honour what came before the refurbishments. The theatre was given over 47,000 as part of the Community Centre Investment Fund in 2024 for the works which included stonework repairs as well. When the funding was announced, Galway County Councillor for Ballinasloe Alan Harney said it was a massive milestone for any community space. Showing at the end of March, Ballinasloe Musical Society (BMS) will be the first company to perform in the new and improved area. They will be showcasing Shrek: The Musical. BMS was created in 1923, and have performed nearly all productions, except four, on the Town Hall Theatre stage. The show will take place from March 25 through March 28 and tickets can be purchased at the Ballinasloe Town Hall Theatre website. The 400-seats in the auditorium were re-upholstered with a luxurious red fabric. We are so thrilled with how far the theatre has come, Ms Hughes said. It has always been a beautiful building for those who know and love it, and the refurbishment of the seats and the addition of the fabulous matching stage curtain only serve to enhance its beauty and help make it clear for all to see. The theatre is eager to expand the frequency and variety of programming as it relishes in its new look. To enquire about booking the venue, email ballinasloetownhalltheatre@gmail.com. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme. Kerry councillors have defended the designation of a housing protection area in one of the countys key tourist towns. Councillors Breandan Fitzgerald and Robert Brosnan supported residents in Dingle to block the councils attempted removal of a protected zone in the town. Members of the public made a submission to the Castleisland/Corca Dhuibhne Municipal Districts settlements plan, objecting to councils zoning of The Colony for potential business units. They highlighted that the land had been designated a Housing Protection Area (HPA) in 2021 for reasons relating to the age and vulnerability of the residents and questioned why the zoning would be changed now. Cllr Robert Brosnan supported the residents in their request to retain the HPA, calling the recent addition of derelict site notices to some of the houses disingenuous. Its paramount to the protection of the elderly, he said. Its disingenuous, I feel that theres been derelict site notices slapped on houses when we know there is already planning permission given to refurbish these houses. A picture was created hereand it wouldnt be fair on people to have the likes of a vape shop next to an old persons home. Cllr Breandan Fitzgerald also backed the residents, asking if its not broken, why go at it?. I think everyone is happy with it at the moment, he said. Despite the council management justifying the move in the interest of regeneration, citing three properties in The Colony of the derelict sites register, councillors confirmed the area was to stay unchanged in plans. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme The wins recognises the success of the Driving STEM in the Midlands initiative. Photo: Joseph Carr Photography Midlands Ireland, a Laois County Council led project, has been honoured with the National Impact Award at the 2026 AllIreland Community and Council Awards. The win recognises the success of the Driving STEM in the Midlands initiative, a collaborative project delivered with Longford, Offaly and Westmeath County Councils and funded through the EU Just Transition Fund. The midlands is the first region in Ireland to have dedicated STEM engagement officers working in each county, through Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath County Councils and funded under the EU Just Transition Fund. The National Impact Award recognises a project which has had a positive effect upon the nation as a whole, enhancing the environment, cultural or social activities, transport links or the economic stability or growth of the local and national communities who use it. This year, Laois County Council was not only a winner but also one of the most shortlisted councils nationally, earning nominations across a diverse range of categories. Nominations included Best Enterprise and Start-up Hub for The CUBE Low Carbon Centre of Excellence, Best Community Scale Enhancement for The Poets Cottage Cafe, Camross, and Best Housing Regeneration and Urban Planning for Goldencroft Urban Regeneration Project, Portlaoise. Other category nominations included Best Sustainable Infrastructure and Climate Action for Portlaoise Low Carbon Town and Excellence in Sustainable Major Infrastructure Delivery for Portlaoise Low Carbon Town. Alongside these categories, Laois County Council was also shortlisted for the prestigious Council of the Year title. Speaking after the awards, chief executive of Laois County Council, Michael Rainey said: "We are incredibly proud to have won the National Impact Award alongside our midlands partners. I am equally proud of the breadth of projects that were shortlisted this year. Each nomination reflects the innovation, commitment and teamwork of our elected members, staff, community groups and partners. Gus Mac Entire proudly shows off his award at last night's ceremony in the Killashee Hotel in Naas. A Longford cafe is celebrating its first anniversary in business with its crowning as the best newcomer at the Irish Restaurant Leinster Awards. The midlands towns Gooseberry Cafe scooped the coveted honour on Tuesday night at the Killashee Hotel in Naas. Gus Mac Entire and his wife Natalie have been at the forefront in breathing new life into the premises which was formally home to the towns long-established Red Rose Cafe on Dublin Street. Its a fantastic achievement to be recognised as the best cafe, a delighted Gus told the Irish Independent. We are only in business one year, so full credit must go to the staff and of course our customers and suppliers. Gus Mac Entire behind the counter of Longford town's now award-winning Gooseberry Cafe. In a magnanimous outpouring of gratitude to all the establishments loyal and growing customer base, Gus said the accolade was testimony to hours upon hours of painstaking behind the scenes efforts. There is only so much we can do with the surroundings, the buildings and the atmosphere, he added. We recruited the best staff and we have sourced the best food and I think people have recognised that which as a result of that we got the recognition last night which we are very proud of. A lot of effort has been puy in over the last year. Longford is a small town, we are in a competitive business and when we set out on this journey we said we would do things right. That has included everything from the layout of the building, its interior design, to the recruiting staff and we have lovely clientele coming through the door to add to that. The Gooseberry Cafe will now go forward and take its place at its All-Ireland awards equivalent at Dublins Clayton Hotel on May 18. Tristan Graves (left) with fellow Irish speakers at one of the Dundlak Pop-Up Gaeltacht events Seachtain na Gaeilge is like Christmas for Gaeilgeoiri, says Louth teacher Tristan Graves, a founder member of the Dundalk Pop-Up Gaeltacht who have organised a special event to mark the annual celebration of our native language. The growing Pop-Up Gaeltacht movement is attracting people across the country to get together to speak Irish in an informal setting, where the atmosphere is one of encouragement. As the airport prepares to mark its 40th anniversary and continues to record strong passenger growth, improved public transport access has been identified as key to unlocking the airports future growth A new airport shuttle service linking towns across Mayo directly to Ireland West Airport Knock could be in place before the end of the year, in a move set to significantly boost regional connectivity. Following discussions with the National Transport Authority, Senator Mark Duffy confirmed that proposals have been unveiled for a public transport route connecting north and east Mayo to the airport. Under the plans, the new shuttle would link with the existing Route 22 Expressway service between Ballina and Dublin. Route 22 currently passes through Charlestown in east Mayo. The proposed airport connection would branch out from there, heading to Ireland West Airport Knock via Kiltimagh before terminating in Castlebar. The route would connect with the pre-existing Route 22 service that travels between Ballina and Dublin. The service would begin in Ballina, travelling through Foxford and Swinford to Charlestown, where passengers could transfer onto the dedicated airport shuttle. From there, the route would continue to the airport, on to Kiltimagh and finish in Castlebar, creating a new public transport link to the regions international airport. Senator Duffy, the Seanad Spokesperson on Transport, said that subject to being funded, the route could be in place later this year and committed to advocating for its delivery. Minister Dara Calleary welcomed the proposal, saying it would further open up Ballina and North Mayo in terms of connectivity. I will be continuing to liaise with the NTA in the coming weeks prior to the proposal being adopted and commenced, and will update accordingly, he added. The proposed service comes at a time of significant growth for Ireland West Airport Knock, which is preparing to mark its 40th anniversary at the end of May. Knock was also the fastest-growing airport in the country last year, recording its busiest year in history, with 946,381 passengers travelling through it. That growth comes as the airport is at the centre of a major economic initiative for Mayo and the wider western region, having been designated as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). The Knock Airport SDZ has the potential to support up to 6,000 jobs and will see the development of an Airport Development and Expansion Area, a Hotel and Conference Campus, a Business and Enterprise Campus, and a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector. A Roadmap guiding future planning and development within the zone is currently being prepared and is expected to be published in August this year. It will outline potential funding streams, infrastructure requirements and future connectivity options. Connectivity has been identified as critical to unlocking the airports full potential. Mayo County Councils Economic Development Strategy makes clear that significant transport improvements will be needed to support its continued expansion. The strategy highlights the need for upgrades to the N17, improved access to the Western Rail Corridor and enhanced bus services across the region as key priorities in strengthening links to Ireland West Airport Knock. The announcement of a potential new bus connection linking towns across Mayo directly with the airport would be an important step forward in delivering that improved connectivity. If delivered, the service would not only improve accessibility for towns throughout the county, but it would also strengthen the transport infrastructure needed to sustain the airports continued growth. This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Clean Coasts and Creative Cluster project unite to inspire Sligo students on World Wildlife Day Students take some time to build sand sculptures during their Clean Coasts Roadshow event at Enniscrone Beach Sligo with Creative Cluster project. Students from Dromore West National School ppot something in the sand at Enniscrone beach During their Clean Coasts Roadshow Workshop. Fifty-four students from three West Sligo schools took part in a collaborative event between Clean Coasts and the Creative Cluster project for the Clean Coasts Roadshow at Enniscrone Beach, Sligo on World Wildlife Day which was held on Tuesday March 3. The students, ranging in age from 6 to 14, from Owenbeg National School, Dromore West National School and Colaiste Iascaigh in Co. Sligo, came together to connect with their coastal biodiversity and heritage in a creative and collaborative fashion. The students participated in four educational beach sessions, facilitated by Clean Coasts Regional Officer for the North-West Region Olivia Jones, and joined by Clean Coasts Regional Officer for Donegal Auriel Robinson. The workshops focused on coastal biodiversity and maritime heritage, with the event also including a beach clean and sand sculpting session. Documentation from the sessions will be used as inspiration to inform print workshop with Manorhamilton Print Group. Throughout the workshops students learned about coastal biodiversity in the intertidal zone and explored the rockpools, finding many species such as anemones, red, green and brown seaweeds, periwinkles, limpets and barnacles. They also learned about their local maritime heritage, hearing about coastal sites, shipwrecks, the Spanish Armada, and more. Students completed each lesson with a fun quiz and received badges, postcards or stickers as prizes. The importance of the Think Before You Flush Campaign was also discussed amongst the students, reminding them that caring for our coasts starts at home, and what goes down our drains often ending up polluting our beaches, seas and oceans. Olivia Jones said: We were delighted to collaborate with three schools from Co. Sligo, working on the Creative Cluster project. The event allowed students to observe and connect with our coastal biodiversity and heritage, and participate in positive actions, such as beach cleaning. Through these activities, it is hoped the participating students will feel inspired to visually communicate their experience through the development of artworks, that may also encourage others in the community to explore and protect the coast." The Clean Coasts Roadshow is a series of informative talks and workshops tailored for coastal communities across Ireland, taking place between February and May each year. This initiative brings together individuals interested in protecting their local beaches, seas, and marine environments. The Roadshow events cover a range of topics, including biodiversity, dune systems, marine litter, wildlife, sustainable developments, and the work of local groups and organisations. These events also serve as a platform for community groups to discuss practical matters, such as building volunteer capacity, attracting new members, and sharing responsibilities. There have been renewed calls to erect a statue of Easter Rising hero Michael OHanrahan in New Ross more than ten years after it was first proposed. Back in October 2015, it was confirmed that a statue of the New Ross native was to be erected in Brennans Lane in January 2017 on the 140th anniversary of his birth. That was to coincide with an exhibition about the rebel who was executed by firing squad on May 4, 1916 at Kilmainham Gaol for his role in the Rising where he was second in command of Dublin's 2nd battalion. OHanrahan, who was born in New Ross in 1877, fought at the Jacob's Biscuit Factory during the Rising and led his garrison out of the factory through New Bride Street gate before his capture. However, despite previous promises, a statue commemorating his role in the Easter Rising has yet to materialise. And, at the February meeting of the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD), Councillor Michael Sheehan asked that the project be revived. Its the 110th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, and its also over ten years since we decided to commemorate Michael OHanrahan with a statue, could we explore all avenues to get this project over the line? he asked. Its an absolute shame that we do not pay tribute to him, a man who was born in the middle of the town. It was brought before the arts officer previously, replied district manager Alan Fitzhenry. The arts officer opposed it as it wasnt her type of art. Thats the policy she took, said Cllr Sheehan. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Some four years after it first exploded onto the scene, offering summer festival and some great acts in Wexford, the Park Live Festival in Min Ryan Park has been dealt a blow this year and will not be going ahead as scheduled. Wicklow County Council have started the tender process for a consultant to develop a Section 26 Fire Service Plan for Wicklow. The tender process, commissioned by the local authority is due to close at midday on Friday, April 3, 2026. Following that, assessment and consultation work is expected to take place over the summer months, including a period of public consultation. A draft plan will then be brought before the relevant Strategic Policy Committee and subsequently the full County Council during the last quarter of 2026. Section 26 refers to a statutory requirement under the Fire Services Act 1981 which mandates that every fire authority prepare and maintain a Fire and Emergency Operations Plan. The development of the Section 26 plan in Wicklow includes several critical assessments for the Bray area. The council will examine detailed costings for establishing a full-time (career) fire service in Bray, moving away from the current "retained" (on-call) model. The plan will evaluate the feasibility and cost of restoring Bray to a two-pump station, addressing recent downgrades that reduced it to a single pumping appliance. Wicklow's fire service is currently facing unique pressure compared to many other counties due to a combination of its retained staffing model, its high-growth population, and recent governance challenges. Unlike neighbouring Dublin Fire Brigade (full-time) or some mixed-model counties, Wicklow Fire Service relies entirely on a retained (part-time) staff of approximately 101 firefighters across 10 stations. Wicklow operates 10 stations, which is more than neighbouring Kildare (6 stations) or Meath (7 stations), though its total personnel numbers (approx. 94101) are higher than Kildare's 63. Critics highlight that Bray, the county's largest town with nearly 40,000 residents, has frequently operated with only 8 available firefighters, leading to response times reportedly reaching up to 30 minutes in some instances. In 2023, the Wicklow Fire Service was defined by nationwide industrial action and the emergence of a governance crisis regarding its long-missing operational plans. In June of that year, firefighters began industrial action, including rolling work stoppages that closed 50pc of stations across the county. By August, the dispute escalated, with unions threatening to "go dark" (cutting all non-life-saving communications). A deal was finally reached through the Workplace Relations Commission in late August 2023. Retained firefighters voted (63pc in favour) to accept improved terms, which included an increase in the annual retainer (from ~10,000 to ~18,000+ for new recruits). In September 2023, local political pressure revealed a major legal oversight within Wicklow County Council. Following parliamentary questions, it was confirmed to Wicklow TD John Brady that the countys fire service had no current, legally mandated Section 26 Plan in place. This lack of a plan was described by Deputy Brady as a "dereliction of duty" that allowed significant changeslike the downgrading of Bray Fire Station to a single-pump stationto happen without democratic oversight or a vote by councillors. The 2023 strike settlement triggered the current ongoing assessment of whether Bray should move to a full-time career model, a process that is still active today. Wicklow County Council has committed to a meaningful public consultation process, allowing residents to have a say in the final strategy for the county's fire services. Once costings are finalised, the plan will be used to seek the necessary Government funding to implement a full-time service in Bray. Deputy Brady has now called on the Tanaiste, Simon Harris, to establish a dedicated working group to oversee the changes We cannot afford to wait indefinitely for progress. That is why I am calling on the Tanaiste to immediately establish a working group involving all relevant stakeholders to drive this project forward in parallel with the Section 26 process. I have written to Simon Harris calling on him to immediately establish the working group with the sole purpose of delivering the full-time service. Deputy Brady believes communities and firefighters across North Wicklow need certainty and clarity on the issue, The public deserves to know that emergency response capacity is being strengthened. Delivering a full-time fire service for Bray is fundamentally about public safety, and it must now become a priority. While the operational plan moves forward, the station itself has undergone physical upgrades. In October 2024, Bray Fire Station was officially launched as Wicklow's first fully decarbonised building, featuring energy efficiency improvements that reduced carbon emissions by 100pc. The broader Bray Municipal District Local Planning Framework process is also currently active, which includes considerations for essential services like the fire brigade in future town development. Despite the unrest, some other infrastructure projects moved forward in 2023. Plans for new fire stations in Dunlavin and Baltinglass advanced as part of a national 61 million capital programme. Planning permission (Part 8) for both stations was formally granted in November 2024. Following the completion of detailed design documents and site investigations in late 2025, both projects have been cleared to proceed and are now scheduled to go out to tender. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme Breast cancer survivors Bernie Keating, Nicola Doyle and Natalie Moloney, at a coffee morning organised by Natalie, in Bray, in October 2025. Photo: Leigh Anderson. Wicklow mother-of-five Natalie Moloney, who just over two years ago was preparing for gruelling chemotherapy after a devastating double breast cancer diagnosis, is now urging communities across Wicklow to go all in for the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, on Friday, March 20. Natalie (45), from Bray, was diagnosed in October 2023 with ERpositive cancer in her right breast and triplenegative cancer in her left a double whammy of bilateral breast cancer, she recalled at the time. At stage three, the diagnosis came with frightening odds, and treatment had to begin immediately. After finishing treatment in January 2025, receiving the allclear months later, she returned to work parttime and was determined to give back, after the Bray community rallied to help the family support that Natalie later told the Bray People she would never forget. Reflecting now on her experience, Natalie said: Theres a stigma around cancer. People dont talk about it. But we need to educate ourselves more. I was never taught how to check my breasts; I just happened to do it. Its like theres a shame with it. But theres no need to be ashamed of having cancer. Youre not on your own, she continued. There are people who will listen to your anxiety, your concerns, your fears. Every euro raised on Daffodil Day is crucial and makes a real lasting difference, fuelling lifechanging cancer research and vital support services. I would encourage everyone to please get out there on March 20th and show your support for those affected by cancer in your local community. The Irish Cancer Society delivers free, essential services to people affected by cancer across Wicklow. In 2025 alone, support from donors and volunteers in the county provided: Nearly 720 free lifts for Wicklowbased cancer patients travelling to treatment Over 250 free counselling sessions for people living in Wicklow Over 175 nights of free night nursing care, enabling cancer patients to spend their final days at home with loved ones More than 350 conversations between Wicklow residents and the societys cancer nurses via the support line and centres The society says these supports are only possible because communities continue to show up on Daffodil Day Irish Cancer Society acting CEO Edel Shovlin emphasised the urgency and importance of this years campaign. Cancer doesnt wait, she said. And neither can we. This year, thousands of people in Ireland will hear the words, You have cancer. Behind every diagnosis is a person, a family, a future suddenly filled with uncertainty. But this Daffodil Day, there is also determination, compassion and ground-breaking research driving real progress. Daffodil Day 2026 is about turning solidarity into action. The funds raised dont just support vital, lifechanging cancer research they provide immediate, practical help for people facing cancer right now. From free counselling and transport to treatment, to night nursing care that allows someone to spend precious time at home, your support makes an extraordinary difference. Communities across Wicklow, she said, will once again unite to paint the country yellow. But we need this to be our biggest Daffodil Day yet. When you donate or get involved, youre not just giving money youre giving comfort, hope and time. Together, we can ensure that no one in Ireland faces cancer alone. A Dublin man who jumped the counter of a Wicklow garage and repeatedly kicked a staff member, while holding a bottle of rum, has been jailed for his role in the violent attempted robbery and assaulting a garda. Terry Meegan Jr (33) with an address at Dun Gaoith Heights, Sandyford, Dublin 18 appeared at a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing. Mr Meegan pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery, one count of assault causing harm, and one count of assaulting a member of An Garda Siochana in the execution of their duties. The court heard from Garda Emma Jane Doyle of Newtownmountkennedy Garda Station, who said that on November 1, 2024, gardai received reports of an incident at the Top Oil garage in Newtownmountkennedy in which Mr Meegan jumped over the counter and attempted to take money from the till before assaulting a member of staff. CCTV footage was shown to the court, which captured the accused jumping the counter while holding a large bottle of Captain Morgans rum. Mr Meegan proceeded to punch the employee to the floor before kicking him multiple times while he was on the ground. Gardai arrived and detained Mr Meegan before transporting him to Bray Garda Station. While at Bray Garda Station, the defendant punched Garda Niall OBrien to the side of the face. Counsel for the prosecution, James Kelly, noted that it took three gardai approximately five minutes to restrain Mr Meegan. Gda OBrien sustained a concussion during the altercation. Gda Doyle testified that Mr Meegan made certain admissions when interviewed. The court was told that Mr Meegan has 44 previous convictions, including one for robbery, possession of a firearm and possession of a flick knife. In 2021, Mr Meegan received four years in prison for his role in a robbery that preceded a fatal collision in Dalkey. He had pleaded guilty to robbing a Centra shop on Barnhill Road in March 2020, during which more than 800 was stolen. Mr Meegan and another man fled the shop and got into a car driven by a co-accused, mounted a footpath and struck two women. One of the women later died from her injuries. However, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Mr Meegan was seated in the back of the car at the time. The vehicle was abandoned at the scene and the three men fled. During cross-examination, defence counsel Justin McQuade asked Gda Doyle if she was aware that Mr Meegans sister had presented at Bray Garda Station looking for her brother, stating that she had been in the process of bringing him to Newcastle Hospital as he was suffering from mental health difficulties. Gda Doyle told the court that Mr Meegan was prescribed medication while in custody and that she was aware of his mental health issues. The defendants father, Terry Meegan Snr, testified that his son had struggled with his mental health from a young age and had experienced difficulties with his ADHD medication, Ritalin. He is kind and caring and well liked, but when his mental health is at a low he needs professional help, said Mr Meegan Snr, adding that structured rehabilitation is needed. Mr Meegan Snr remarked that he was no stranger to his sons aggression and had called gardai over his actions on previous occasions. In mitigation, defence counsel said the accused had struggled with drug and alcohol problems, but had previously worked as a farrier and as a postman for six or seven years. Reports handed into the court stated that Mr Meegan is making significant progress while in custody. During his judgment, Judge Patrick Quinn noted that the CCTV footage was grim viewing, but said Mr Meegan was seriously unwell at the time. He imposed a sentence of two years and six months for the assault on the Top Oil staff member and the attempted robbery, suspending the final 18 months of that term. Judge Quinn said he was required to impose a consecutive sentence for the assault on a member of An Garda Siochana, and handed Mr Meegan a further six months imprisonment. Addressing the accused directly, Judge Quinn said: When you dont take your medication, you cant survive without it, adding, Youre nearly in your forties. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme For more than two decades, a 4.7-hectare plot of land on the edge of Newtownmountkennedy has been empty, a silent witness to the growing frustration of a community. Zoned for community and education use back in 2002, the site was intended to be the heart of the towns future. Instead, as the towns population surged, the site remained a field, and the future has become a daily logistical nightmare for hundreds of local families. Newtownmountkennedy currently holds the unenviable title of being the largest town in Wicklow without its own secondary school. Every morning, a fleet of buses and cars carries the towns youth to Kilcoole, Greystones, Bray, and Wicklow town. The opening of Woodstock Educate Together National School intensified discussions, as parents noted the town's growing population would soon lack a local pathway for these graduates. Local parents and representatives launched a formal petition and campaign group in October 2024, citing the town's status as one of Ireland's fastest-growing areas. Then a formal motion brought forward by Cllr Stephen Stokes was passed by Wicklow County Council in 2024 calling on the Department of Education to provide a secondary school as a matter of urgency. The latest spark in the campaign is a proposal currently sitting on the Education Ministers desk. As Greystones Community College prepares to move into its long-awaited permanent home, a high-quality suite of modular school buildings will become vacant. Addressing the Oireacthas Education Committee recently Social Democrats Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore TD led the charge to have these units dismantled and reassembled on the zoned land in Newtownmountkennedy. "The infrastructure is there, the land is there, and the demand is undeniable," Whitmore stated. "To let these buildings go to waste while Newtown parents scramble for places in neighbouring towns would be an administrative scandal. "I know that Greystones Community College is about to move in to its forever home', and out of the modular building the school has been in. "I'm really happy about this because firstly, GCC will now have a great new building to move into but also, crucially, because now there is a very real opportunity for Newtownmountkennedy to have a school. "Land was zoned in Newtown in 2002 for educational purposes. When GCC move out of their modular building, the plan is that it will remain on site. Well, I think that that modular building should be moved to the zoned land in Newtown and a school should be opened there. Really, its a no brainer. "I'm hoping that they'll take the suggestion seriously and follow up on it. Newtown has for too long been under resourced when it comes to schooling. The population continues to grow, and housing continues to be built in the surrounding area, and yet the Government have been dragging their feet when it comes to building this new school. "We have a really bad habit in this country of building estates and moving people in to them, and then looking back and checking what they're missing. The result of this for families in the area is that they must travel to Kilcoole, Greystones, Wicklow town and beyond for secondary education. Not only is the journey a huge stress for parents and students, but actually accessing places in these schools is a challenge now too." In response to Deputy Whitmores suggestion, Department officials suggest that the massive expansion of Colaiste Chraobh Abhann in Kilcooledesigned to accommodate more than 1,000 pupilswill absorb the overflow from Newtownmountkennedy. However, Deputy Whitmore argues the Departments data is lagging behind. With several new estates reaching completion, the unmet demand is no longer a projectionit is a reality. Meanwhile Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has criticised Simon Harris and his Governments refusal to commit to building a new secondary school in the area, describing the response from the Education Minister as woefully inadequate and symptomatic of the broader failure to plan for growing communities. Deputy Brady said the ministers latest reply to his parliamentary question, in which the Department states that current demographic analysis does not justify construction of a new post-primary school, once again ignores the lived reality of families in Newtownmountkennedy, Greystones and the surrounding area. Parents and pupils across our community are being forced into a yearly battle for places because the Government refuses to recognise the scale of population growth. The Departments own analysis shows that demand in growing areas can significantly outstrip demand, yet Ministers continue to use outdated thresholds to justify inaction." Existing schools in the area have already been expanded to their capacity, meaning there is no alternative to delivering a new, modern post-primary facility that this community desperately needs. This reactive approach results in tens of thousands of euros being spent on temporary prefabricated accommodation, rather than committing to proper forward planning and delivering a dedicated, permanent secondary school that meets the long-term needs of the community. The 2025 Town Centre First Plan highlighted the secondary school as the "missing piece" of the towns puzzle. Without it, the plan warns, the town cannot achieve the "10-minute settlement" goal, where residents can access work, education, and leisure locally. Instead, the town remains in a "commuter dormitory, with high carbon footprints and low local engagement. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme My top buys including a bargain option to remove product and hard water build-up Theres a lot of silly chat in the world of beauty about so-called essentials. You simply must do x, and youre a fool if youre not doing y. I dont buy into many of them, if Im honest. Wearing SPF is an essential, and these days I firmly believe that weekly use of a clarifying shampoo is also up there in important steps you can take to improve your life in the beauty realm. This is especially true if youre someone who likes product, whether its dry shampoo, mousse, or an air-dry cream. The reality is that it all builds up on the hair and scalp, which can impact its health, slow down growth, and even cause actual damage. Even if you arent mad into a multi-step hair routine, however, most of us suffer at the hands of hard water, which can result in challenging build-up. A clarifying shampoo will make sure your hair and scalp get properly clean, and will ensure your hair has the best chance at maintaining its health and looking its best. Here are some of my favourites: Redken Amino-Mint Scalp Relief Shampoo Redken Amino-Mint Scalp Relief Shampoo (24 via petermark.ie) This is a shampoo Ive bought time and time again thanks to its effectiveness. I love the mintiness and the immediately cooling effect it delivers, and how incredibly clean my hair and scalp feel after I use it. Its formulated specifically with oily hair and scalp in mind, so if thats something you experience, this could be the one for you. Remi Bye Bye Build-Up Scalp Exfoliator Remi Bye Bye Build-Up Scalp Exfoliator (32 via remiscalp.com) This product, by Irish scalpcare brand Remi, was designed to remove scalp debris and product build-up. It uses a powerful blend of glycolic, salicylic and lactic acid to clean and hydrate the scalp, as well as loosening and removing dead skin cells so that you dont have to worry about flaking. Act + Acre Clarifying Hard Water Shampoo Act + Acre Clarifying Hard Water Shampoo (34.50 via cultbeauty.com) Hard water is prevalent in Ireland thanks to the widespread presence of limestone, which leads to high levels of calcium and magnesium in our water. This results in the build-up of limescale in our bathrooms and, unfortunately, our hair. This shampoo was designed specifically to remove that build-up from the hair and scalp and, in my experience, its very effective, which shouldnt really be surprising given the brand was founded by an Irish hairdresser. LOreal Professionel Metal Detox Anti-Metal Cleansing Shampoo LOreal Professionel Metal Detox Anti-Metal Cleansing Shampoo (24 via cloud10beauty.com) This shampoo works to wash away copper deposits, once again caused by our water, which impact both the health and appearance of the hair. Many salons use this because its so effective at detoxifying and brightening the hair. OGX Refreshing Scalp and Rosemary Mint Shampoo OGX Refreshing Scalp + Rosemary Mint Shampoo (9.99 via boots.ie) This is a solid budget option that absolutely clarifies the hair and removes build-up, but is a little more drying than some of the more expensive options on this list. Still, if your other shampoo options are richly hydrating, youll probably get away with it. Lost in translation Lately, it feels like I cant breathe on the internet without someone showing me their new bixie. The bixie is a trendy haircut said to combine the choppiness of a super short pixie haircut with the length and structure of a bob. If youre not sure that makes sense, youre not alone in thinking that. Ive yet to see a bixie that doesnt simply look like a choppy bob, or a pixie with a bit of length. Sometimes trend-led beauty terms are nonsense, and this is one of those, in my opinion. Something old... Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Powder The fact that Danessa Myrickss brand is still niche is beyond me. The make-up artists products are consistently innovative and frequently inspire so many copycats by other brands that they become an entirely new category. Yummy Skin Blurring Powder (48.88 via cultbeauty.com) is a perfect example of this. When it launched in 2022, journalists and beauty creators struggled to describe it, such was the unique nature of the product. A balm-to-powder formula, its designed to reduce and manage shine via the inclusion of Upsalite, a Swedish form of magnesium carbonate previously used by rock climbers. Upsalite naturally absorbs oil and sebum, meaning it can keep even super oily faces matte, but not too matte. Yummy Skin Blurring Powder still results in a skin-like finish. Something new... Laura Merciers Tinted Blur Balm Make-up artist Laura Merciers brand has long been synonymous with complexion. Her Secret Camouflage concealer and tinted moisturiser have been staples of many a glamorous womans make-up bag since the 1990s. Now, the brand has launched Tinted Blur Balm (41 via spacenk.com), a balm-to-powder product designed to blur and sculpt skin with a naturally matte finish. A little of this delivers very sheer but skin-refining coverage, but you can build to more coverage if you continue to apply. Still, this is not a foundation, and if youre looking for full coverage, this is not the one for you. If you want a your skin but better finish, then youll love this. Light diffusing pigments illuminate the face, while the formula delivers oil control, as well as other skincare benefits. A haul of weapons, explosive substances and items linked to Nazi ideology which were found by police in the home of Paul Page in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. Photo: PA A weapons-obsessed man with a fascination for Nazi Germany has pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences. Paul Page (52), of Littleport, Cambridgeshire, was found to have collected more than 600 weapons including landmines, grenades and rifles, as well as ammunition, British police said. Valdo Calocane headbutted, punched and swung handcuffs at a police officer who was helping doctors to detain him two years before he fatally stabbed three people, the public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks has heard. Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had been refusing to take his medication when he launched an attack on Police Constable Barnaby Pritchard, of Nottinghamshire Police, on September 3 2021, causing swelling to his face. Sharon Churcher, who was the papers chief American correspondent from 1992 to 2013, was giving evidence in the UK High Court trial of claims of unlawful information gathering brought against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the title and the Daily Mail. The publisher strongly denies the claims and is defending the case, brought by Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence, Elton John and four others. Three men arrested in the UK suspected of spying for China There will be severe consequences if attempt was made to interfere with UK affairs, minister says UK home office minister Dan Jarvis said the investigation relates to 'foreign interference targeting UK democracy'. Photo: PA George Lithgow and Josh Payne Press Association Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 The husband of a Scottish Labour MP is among three men arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Russia has moved to increase bases in the region Swedish fighter jets are patrolling the skies around Iceland for the first time, as Nato allies try to show both US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that they are serious about protecting the Arctic. Russian president Vladimir Putin has said his country will consider ending most sales of natural gas to Europe in favour of more promising alternative markets. Middle East LIVE | US vows 'no mercy, no quarter' on Iran as Pentagon source says more marines headed to Middle East They could have elevated a moderate to appease Trump, but they didnt Mojtaba Khamenei, ayatollahs hardliner son, to take over Iranian regime Israel says any new leader will be a certain target for assassination Mojtaba Khamenei, who is reportedly the new Iranian leader Benedict Smith Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 Donald Trump claims the remnants of the Iranian regime are looking for an olive branch. The expected election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader suggests otherwise. Iran war spreads across the world as US warns: We have only just begun Nato shoot down missile headed for Turkey while up to 87 people killed in torpedo attack off Sri Lankas coast Bodies of Iranian sailors are moved to the mortuary at a hospital in Sri Lanka after a US submarine attack on an Iranian military ship off the coast. Photo: Reuters James C Reynolds UK Independent Thu 5 Mar 2026 at 06:30 Donald Trump and Israels war with Iran widened well beyond the Middle East yesterday as Nato shot down a ballistic missile headed for Turkey and the US sank an Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors. Livermore, CA (94550) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear early, then a few clouds later on. Low 48F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Indias FTA Gambit 2026: Implementation, Expansion, and Strategic Realignment Indias foreign trade landscape in 2026 is being reshaped by a new generation of free trade agreements (FTAs) and a strategic push toward export market diversification. Following an intense period of trade diplomacy, New Delhi is now focused on implementing recently concluded agreements, including the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the United Kingdom (UK) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman, both designed to expand market access and strengthen bilateral economic cooperation. A major milestone came in January 2026 with the conclusion of the IndiaEuropean Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement, widely considered one of Indias most ambitious trade pacts to date. Once implemented, the agreement is expected to significantly deepen Indias integration with European markets, facilitate regulatory alignment, and strengthen participation in global supply chains spanning manufacturing, services, and digital trade. The India FTA Tracker 2026 provides businesses and investors with a consolidated overview of Indias evolving trade architecture, highlighting the latest economic engagements, newly concluded agreements, ongoing negotiations, and regulatory developments shaping market access opportunities. For companies engaged in international trade, supply chain management, and cross-border investment, understanding these agreements is essential for navigating tariff benefits, rules of origin requirements, and emerging regulatory standards across Indias expanding trade corridors. Economic and trade engagementsMarch India-Japan CEPA joint committee meeting The 7th Joint Committee Meeting under the India-Japan CEPA was held in Tokyo on March 2, 2026. The meeting, co-chaired by Indias Commerce Secretary and senior officials from Japans foreign ministry, focused on improving implementation of the agreement and promoting more balanced trade. Key areas highlighted included: Expanding exports in textiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and services Strengthening cooperation in advanced manufacturing and supply chains Improving trade facilitation and investment promotion Officials also held discussions with Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on broader economic cooperation and coordination. India-Canada CEPA negotiations launched India and Canada formally launched negotiations for CEPA on March 2, 2026. The Terms of Reference (ToR) were signed here in New Delhi by Indias Minister of Commerce and Industry and Canadas Minister of International Trade, in the presence of the prime ministers of both countries. The agreement aims to expand bilateral trade to US$50 billion by 2030 and cover goods, services, and investment cooperation. Economic and trade engagementsFebruary India-Brazil: Expanding strategic trade partnership During the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on February 21, 2026, India and Brazil agreed to double bilateral trade to US$30 billion by 2030. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lula emphasized stronger cooperation across critical minerals, steel supply chains, renewable energy, digital technologies, and healthcare. Some of the agreements signed included a Digital Partnership Action Plan, expanded MSME and technology collaboration, and a pharmaceutical regulatory MoU between Indias Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Brazils National Health Surveillance Agency. The 2026 discussions also covered defense and aerospace cooperation, including potential collaboration with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. India-US: Trade uncertainty after latest tariff ruling On February 20, 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled against several tariffs imposed by Donald J. Trump under emergency powers. Following the ruling, the US administration subsequently introduced a temporary 10 percent global import tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, replacing earlier country-specific duties. At the same time, the US Department of Commerce imposed preliminary countervailing duties of 125.87 percent on solar cell imports from India following subsidy investigations. The ruling and new tariffs have increased policy uncertainty for Indian exporters, particularly in sectors such as solar manufacturing, engineering goods, and electronics. India has temporarily delayed high-level trade negotiations with Washington while assessing the evolving tariff framework. IndiaFrance: Strategic partnership upgrade India and France elevated bilateral relations to a Special Global Strategic Partnership following talks between Modi and Emmanuel Macron on February 17, 2026. The partnership expands cooperation across defense, aerospace, innovation, and advanced technologies. India confirmed the procurement of 26 carrier-based Rafale-M fighter jets from Dassault Aviation and continued collaboration under the Scorpene submarine program. Both countries also launched the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, promoting collaboration in AI, digital technologies, healthcare, research, and startups. Bilateral, economic, and trade engagementsJanuary India-EU seal mother of all trade deals On January 27, 2026, Modi announced the conclusion of the IndiaEU FTA negotiations. The agreement establishes one of the worlds largest free trade zones between India and the EU, covering nearly two billion consumers. It introduces phased tariff reductions, expanded market access across goods and services, and enhanced regulatory cooperation. Earlier on January 6, both sides also finalized negotiations on the Financial Services Annex, enabling deeper cooperation in fintech, digital payments, and cross-border financial services. CLICK HERE: India-EU FTA Details: FAQs on the Mother of All Deals India-Omans strategic trade ties updated India and Oman continued negotiations on the CEPA during January 2026. The proposed CEPA aims to strengthen bilateral trade through tariff liberalization, expanded services trade, and improved investment facilitation. The agreement is also expected to enhance professional mobility and strengthen economic integration between the two economies. ALSO READ: IndiaOman CEPA: Stronger Trade and Investment Ties Indias FTA network: Recent conclusions and ongoing negotiations India has broadened its trade agreement footprint rapidly, concluding eight FTAs that collectively cover 37 developed economies. According to the central government, this expansion reflects a deliberate strategy to deepen Indias engagement with advanced markets while positioning the country as a stronger participant in global trade flows. Recently Signed FTAsPending Ratification/Implementation Agreement Type Status Expected timeline EU FTA Concluded Jan. 27, 2026 Legal scrubbing; ratification pending UK CETA Signed July 2025 Ratification pending from UK Parliament (target April 2026 rollout) Oman CEPA Signed Dec 2025 Implementation subject to ratification Source: Asia Briefing Indias Active Trade Negotiations in 2026 Partner/bloc Type Status US Bilateral Trade Agreement Ongoing discussions Canada CEPA ToR signed; negotiations resume Peru FTA Active discussions Israel FTA ToR signed (2025) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA ToR finalized for FTA negotiations Australia CECA upgrade Negotiations ongoing Source: Asia Briefing Agreements Under Review / Modernization Agreement Review focus Association of Southeast Asian Nations FTA Rules of Origin (RoO) tightening Japan CEPA Services & trade imbalance South Korea CEPA Automotive & safeguard clauses Indias trade agreements in effect as of 2026 FTAs/Comprehensive Agreements in Force Agreement / Partner Type Status (Feb 2026) Notes Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEANIndia) FTA (goods + services) In force Under review (RoO concerns) Japan CEPA In force Modernization discussions ongoing South Korea CEPA In Force Services & auto clauses under review Singapore CECA In force Services & investment integrated Malaysia CECA In force Comprehensive coverage Thailand Early harvest scheme In force Limited product coverage Sri Lanka FTA In force Goods-focused Nepal Trade treaty In force Bilateral trade facilitation Bhutan Trade agreement In force Special bilateral arrangement Mauritius CECPA (2021) In force Indias first Africa trade pact United Arab Emirates (UAE) CEPA (2022) In force Tariff cuts on 90 percent+ lines Australia ECTA (2022) In force CECA upgrade under negotiation European Free Trade Association TEPA (2024) In force (Oct 2025) Includes US$100bn investment commitment Source: Trade agreements, Department of Commerce, GoI. Indias Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) Agreement Type Status Scope Mercosur PTA In force Limited tariff concessions Chile PTA In force Expanded product list Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) PTA In force Regional tariff preferences South Asian Free Trade Area FTA (regional) In force Evolved from SAPTA Global System of Trade Preferences PTA In force Developing-country framework Source:Asia Briefing Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) Partner Status Notes UAE BIT signed 2024 Based on 2016 Model BIT UK Investment provisions aligned with 2025 trade deal Subject to ratification Source: Asia Briefing Why this FTA tracker matters for businesses 1. Expanding export opportunities New agreements with developed markets such as the EU and the UK are expected to significantly improve tariff access for Indian exporters in sectors including textiles, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and marine products. 2. Supply chain diversification Indias expanding trade network supports efforts to diversify export markets across Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific region. 3. Manufacturing and investment growth Trade agreements linked with investment frameworks, such as the IndiaEFTA trade and economic partnership agreement, encourage multinational companies to establish manufacturing and supply chain operations in India. 4. Expansion of services trade Many recent agreements include stronger commitments in services and professional mobility, benefiting sectors such as IT services, consulting, telecommunications, and digital trade. 5. Compliance and market entry considerations Companies seeking benefits from FTAs must closely monitor rules of origin requirements, certification and documentation procedures, tariff schedules, and regulatory standards under each agreement. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT: Indias Free Trade Agreements Updates in 2025 DOING BUSINESS IN INDIA EXPLORE IN-DEPTH INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS GUIDES. Explore vital economic, geographic, and regulatory insights for business investors, managers, or expats to navigate Indias business landscape. Our Online Business Guides offer explainer articles, news, useful tools, and videos from on-the-ground advisors who contribute to the Doing Business in India knowledge. Start exploring The viral Push-Pop Sushi trend that first made waves in New York has now officially arrived in India, and it is bringing a playful twist to how people enjoy one of the worlds most beloved dishes. Image credit : Packprince | Instead of balancing delicate pieces with chopsticks, diners simply push sushi upwards from a cylindrical tube and take a bite. The viral sushi trend that started in NYC The idea first gained attention at Suka Sushi, where chefs transformed traditional sushi into something surprisingly portable. Instead of balancing delicate pieces with chopsticks, diners simply push sushi upwards from a cylindrical tube and take a bite. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Food52 (@food52) Food trends move fast. One minute you are mastering chopsticks, the next minute sushi is popping out of a tube. And thats exactly what happened recently.The viral Push-Pop Sushi trend that first made waves in New York has now officially arrived in India, and it is bringing a playful twist to how people enjoy one of the worlds most beloved dishes.The idea first gained attention at Suka Sushi, where chefs transformed traditional sushi into something surprisingly portable. Instead of balancing delicate pieces with chopsticks, diners simply push sushi upwards from a cylindrical tube and take a bite. Where you can try push-pop sushi in India Image credit : Instagram | The trend has now made its way to Delhi NCR through the Asian kitchen brand Enoki and Sticky Rice Asian Bistro. How this hands-free sushi actually works The concept quickly blew up on social media thanks to its unusual presentation and snack-like convenience. Think sushi, but make it street-food friendly.The trend has now made its way to Delhi NCR through the Asian kitchen brand Enoki and Sticky Rice Asian Bistro.The dish is currently available across several outlets in Delhi and Gurgaon, turning curious foodies into instant content creators as they try the unique format.Prices start at Rs 1,444 for vegetarian versions and Rs 1,594 for non-vegetarian options, placing it firmly in the premium but Instagram-worthy dining category.The magic lies in the packaging.Each sushi tube arrives with a slim container filled with soy sauce attached to the side. Diners remove this mini tube, pour the soy sauce directly over the sushi inside the cylinder, and then reuse the same tube as a plunger. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias on Wednesday firmly rejected political claims that two of the drones recently intercepted over Cyprus were actually en route to strike the strategic U.S. and NATO naval base at Souda Bay in Crete. During a televised interview, Mr. Dendias directly countered alarming assertions made by Communist Party leader Dimitris Koutsoumpas. Earlier in the day, Mr. Koutsoumpas told reporters that his party had information indicating the drones downed near the British Akrotiri base were vectoring toward the Greek island. "We have no such intelligenceand we'd know," Mr. Dendias said, dismissing the claim. He emphasized that Greek military radar systems continuously monitor all aerial trajectories originating from Lebanon and Iran. The defense minister further dismissed the feasibility of a direct strike on Souda Bay, noting the extreme flight range required and Greece's robust, layered air defenses. To solidify this shield amid escalating Middle East tensions, Athens has recently deployed new anti-aircraft batteries to the southeastern island of Karpathos, alongside warships equipped with advanced surface-to-air missiles. Mr. Dendias stressed that the military's immediate operational priority remains securing Cyprus, where Greece has rapidly deployed combat-ready F-16 fighter jets and the naval frigates HNLS Kimon and Psara. While Souda Bay remains on high alert following the recent arrests of two suspected foreign spies near the installation, Mr. Dendias assured the public that the broader Aegean region remains heavily protected. "Greece is secure," he said. iefimerida.gr The government assures that Greece is not participating in operations against Iran and stresses that the mission in Cyprus is defensive and peaceful. However, Athens may soon be called upon to take part in two operations in the Persian Gulf. A 62-year-old man in Thessaloniki has been fined over 65,000 euros for abandoning two puppies in Asprovalta. Profitable trading in financial markets requires not only access to liquid instruments but also a stable support infrastructure. Volatility, information overload, and the need for quick reactions to market changes constantly pressure the trader. In these conditions, the quality of supporttechnical, analytical, informational, and educationalbecomes the brokers main competitive advantage. The British broker Astnex offers clients a comprehensive ecosystem for investing, where high technology is combined with expert assistance from true professionals. According to Astnex reviews, every financial market participant dreams of the opportunities provided by the broker. So it is worth taking a closer look at the unique services of Astnex. Detailed Analytics : Structured Market Interpretation Financial markets are influenced by macroeconomic factors, corporate reporting, monetary policy, and the news background. Independent analysis of this data requires significant time resources and professional training. Astnex provides clients with systematic analytical reviews that allow them to better navigate the current market environment. The brokers analytical module includes: daily and weekly financial market reviews;expert commentary on events in the Economic Calendar;analysis of the dynamics of currency pairs, stock indices, commodities, and cryptocurrency assets;assessment of market sentiment;scenario forecasts taking into account fundamental factors and the behavior of technical indicators. Research is conducted by company experts using artificial intelligence capabilities. Having received up-to-date analytics, a trader can compare their own observations with expert interpretation and make a more informed decision. Trading Signals: The Best Ideas for Investment Management For online traders opening short-term and medium-term positions, reaction speed is critical. Astnex has integrated a system of high-precision signals into its platform, designed to increase the return on investment. Each signal is a precise instruction indicating: the asset with which to open a position;the direction of the trade;the estimated entry point;the risk limit level (Stop Loss);the profit-taking target (Take Profit);the time horizon for the relevance of the trading idea Ideas are generated based on algorithmic processing of market data and expert verification. They are delivered directly to the trading terminal and are available in real time. Ready-made recommendations reduce the time for independent analysis and allow focusing on potentially promising scenarios; however, the final decision (whether to open the recommended trade or not) remains entirely with the user. Client Education : Competence Development as a Long-Term Strategy Astnex views educational support as an investment in the stability of its client base. A clients understanding of financial market mechanisms reduces the likelihood of impulsive decisions and promotes disciplined capital management. As a result, the profit of each individual online trader grows, and they have no desire to change brokers. The training program is differentiated by skill level. Beginners study: basics of financial market operations;principles of using the trading terminal;introduction to technical and fundamental analysis;basic concepts of risk management Experienced financial market participants are offered courses on: building individual trading strategies;managing portfolio diversification;in-depth assessment of market trends;trading psychology. The broker does not limit itself to pure theory: practical skills are reinforced during public webinars and open trading sessions with the participation of professionals. Comprehensive Trader Support Model Trader support at Astnex is not narrowed down to individual tools. It is an interconnected development system, meaning: analytical reviews form a strategic understanding of financial markets;ready-made investment scenarios help to quickly execute profitable trades;high-quality training increases the users professionalism;technical infrastructure ensures the stability of client order execution. As a result, the trader receives not just access to investment assets, but a structured environment conducive to the consistent development of competencies and more conscious capital management. Fair Offer No analytical support will be productive without fair terms of cooperation. Astnex conditions: execution of trades on a legal regulated platform (FCA license);fast registration;several types of investment accounts;minimum deposit 250 US dollars;instant deposit funding with both fiat and cryptocurrency;guaranteed withdrawal of funds within strictly regulated timeframes;proprietary software;real quotes;more than 700 financial assets for trading;variable leverage up to 1:200;tight spreads;transparent swaps;no hidden fees;competent 24/7 technical support .Astnex Reviews The best resources with Astnex reviews: Gamezoom.net;Medium;Blogspot. There is practically no negativity towards the broker online. This is a good signal for those who have not yet decided on the choice of an investment platform. Comments from real users indicate a high level of trust in Astnex from its clients. This trust has emerged largely due to the carefully designed services and conditions of the broker. Daily reviews from Astnex help quickly assess the market background . These are not superficial comments, but a structured analysis with a clear logic of scenarios. Mila, Athens .Trading signals arrive with clearly marked entry and exit levels. It is convenient that stop-loss and take-profit are immediately indicated it saves time on calculations. Matthias, Frankfurt.The educational materials are truly systematic: from the basic principles of risk management to advanced strategies. After the webinars, I began to approach capital management with much more discipline. Steve, Manchester.Conclusion Astnex implements a brokerage support model focused on increasing the clients professionalism. Analytical reviews, signals, and educational programs complement transparent cooperation conditions, forming a complete support ecosystem. All this together allows traders to trade more confidently, reduce operational risks, and methodically increase profits. Hon. Eugene Ekpelle, Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government, is facing scrutiny after his former media aide, Minnie Ogadinma, alleged that he ordered his brother, Monday Cheta, to assault her over a social media post about the poor condition of Community Secondary School, Odioku. Ogadinma claimed that Ekpelle visited her home, accused her of trying to tarnish his image, and instructed his brother to teach her a lesson. She said both she and her mother sustained injuries during the attack, which was only stopped when neighbors intervened. Ogadinma was also reportedly relieved of her duties the same day. Advertisement The council, through Chief Press Secretary Dennis Ezeuwa Lot, denied the allegations, calling them false and malicious. The statement said the chairman went to Ogadinmas residence for a peaceful engagement, that she confronted him with insults, and that any injuries were minor and accidental. The council also noted that oversight of Community Secondary School falls under the Rivers State Government, not the local council. The LG chair also explained in an interview that, I didnt lead thugs to her house. It was just me, my driver, my brother and a few others. I only asked her mother to tell her to delete the post so it wouldnt look like Im against the Rivers State government. https://x.com/i/status/2029516854532649295 Human rights lawyer Chetam Nwala condemned the alleged assault, while civic groups, including Relief International Africa, called for the chairmans arrest, prosecution, a public apology, and compensation for Ogadinmas injuries and displacement. Broadway stars and orchestral players might lead budding Philadelphia musical talent in master classes, and new college internships could open up at the citys largest performing arts producer and presenter. As Temple University prepares to establish an outpost in Philadelphias major arts district, the school, and Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts have signed a memorandum of understanding for a new partnership, formalizing a dream stage for joint activities already underway. Advertisement The new arrangement is expected to benefit not only Temple University students, but also younger students of Temple Music Prep and the Philadelphia School District. Temple and the orchestra have long partnered on projects, but the universitys purchase of Terra Hall near the orchestra and Kimmel Center will allow a deeper level of involvement, leaders said. In the fall of 2027, for instance, about three dozen Philadelphia Orchestra current and retired musicians are expected to move their teaching studios from Temples main campus to Terra. Other collaborations are expected to take shape over the next year and half. The gist of it is, Temple University and the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts are committed to working together to build a tangible partnership. Its aspirational, said POEA president and CEO Ryan Fleur of the memorandum of understanding, which was signed last month. Theres a lot around the exchange of talent and supporting one another, said Temple president John Fry. For POEA, the partnership means it will no longer pursue the possibility of building an additional education wing at the Kimmel Center that had been in the early planning stages. When I heard Temple was acquiring Terra Hall, said Fleur, the priority shifted from the idea of an education wing over the loading dock to how we could work with Temple to deploy the space in Terra Hall. Our greatest strength is not about building things, and if we unite in Terra Hall for the benefit of Philadelphia students, its a win for Philly. An education annex at the Kimmel might have cost in the neighborhood of $100 million. It was a large figure, said Fleur. POEA is already in the process of raising hundreds of millions of dollars for a variety of needs from endowment to repairing and renovating its facilities, which include Marian Anderson Hall, the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater. Temple has been establishing a series of partnerships south down Broad Street from its main North Philadelphia campus. It has leased space at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is developing programs there, and is in the process of taking over the Library Company of Philadelphia, on Locust Street just east of Broad. READ MORE: Temple plans to fill the gap left by UArts with their new Center City campus It acquired Terra Hall in 2025 for $18 million after the abrupt bankruptcy and closing of the University of the Arts. Terra was already outfitted with practice rooms, a recording studio, performance space, a dance studio, and classrooms. Fry said that Temple is currently doing work on the Terra building, with particular attention to the foundation and elevators, and that the major part of renovations would be done by September 2027. But he said that some of the spaces will be usable this fall. Both POEA and Temple have existing relationships with the Philadelphia School District. Fleur said the next step is uniting the efforts among the three. Fry said Temple was in discussions with other arts organizations as potential partners in Terra Hall. We want people to think of this as a public resource, he said, not a closed academic building just for Temple. Where Temple can play a role, we want to be a part of that. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Read more A former Bucks County man who claimed he was covered by pardons given by President Donald Trump to supporters who tried to overturn the 2020 election was found guilty Wednesday by a federal jury in Philadelphia of voting twice for Trump in 2020. Matthew Laiss, 32, was charged by indictment in September of one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10 and faces a maximum of five years in prison on both counts. Advertisement Laiss, who prosecutors said is currently a resident of Bethehem, Pa., had been a resident of and was registered to vote in Ottsville, Bucks County, from at least 2012 to around August 2020, prosecutors said. Laiss then moved to Frostproof, Fla., where he obtained a drivers license and registered to vote there. Around Oct. 31, 2020, Laiss filled out and returned a mail-in Pennsylvania ballot, then on Nov. 3, 2020, Laiss went to a polling place in Florida and voted again. Todays conviction reinforces a simple principle: our elections must be fair, secure, and lawful, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a statement. Casting a ballot in more than one jurisdiction undermines public trust and dilutes the votes of others. Our office will continue to protect the integrity of federal elections and hold accountable those who violate the law, Metcalf said. The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of State, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff. Federal defenders who represented Laiss could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. Lawyers for Laiss had argued to U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. that a pardon proclamation Trump issued last year on Nov. 7 applied to Laiss, and that Laiss had accepted it. Laiss was not among the 77 people Trump listed when specifying who would receive relief, but Laiss lawyers said the proclamations preamble included language making it applicable to all United States citizens for conduct, voting, or advocacy surrounding the contest. His lawyers wrote that Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mark Meadows were all explicitly pardoned for exponentially more egregious alleged conduct. Extending relief to them while denying it to Laiss, his lawyers wrote, would be outrageous. Prosecutors said they checked with Trumps Office of the Pardon Attorney and were told that the lawyers there did not believe the pardon proclamation applied to Laiss. In January, Leeson ruled against Laiss motion to dismiss the indictment, explaining that the court was without jurisdiction to decide the matter because Laiss had not applied to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, or had received a certificate of pardon. A 35-year-old man was fatally shot while trying to drive away from an altercation with another man Wednesday night in the Castor section of Northeast Philadelphia, police said. Just after 7:10 p.m., police were called to the area of Summerdale and Magee Avenues and found the victim lying on the ground next to an SUV with the engine still running, said Chief Inspector Scott Small. Advertisement The man, who had at least one gunshot wound to his back, was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:47 p.m., Small said. The SUV was parked outside a neighborhood store, and the victim and another man were inside the store when an argument occurred, Small said. The victim got into the drivers seat of the SUV and the other man started shooting through the front passenger-side door, Small said. The shooter then ran from the scene. Police were told that both men were regular customers at the store, Small said. The victim was found lying next the front driver-side door with a handgun on the ground next to him. Police believe the gun belonged to the victim, Small said. Police recovered three spent shell casings next to the passenger door as well as three live rounds. Alexa McDonald (left) and Bonnie Koehler display signs during a council meeting as members of the community speak out against the actions of Police Chief Scott McElree on Wednesday night in Quakertown. Read more Nearly two dozen residents and Quakertown taxpayers confronted the borough council at a public meeting Wednesday night, castigating its members for refusing to discipline the towns police chief and demanding that they take action before leaving the room. The backlash was the latest fallout from a Feb. 20 student protest against federal immigration enforcement that began as a walkout from Quakertown Community High School and ended in a confrontation between Police Chief Scott McElree and a group of teenagers. The encounter, which was captured on video, led to the arrests of several teenagers and prompted an investigation by the Bucks County District Attorneys Office. Advertisement Wednesdays meeting, which stretched to nearly two hours as speakers stepped to the podium one by one, laid bare a community in turmoil. Residents described fear, anger, and embarrassment that their small town had become a national flashpoint. By the end of the night, council members had made no motion and held no discussion about potential discipline for McElree. Council President Donald Rosenberger opened the meeting by telling the audience that the nine-member council eight men and one woman would not consider action against McElree or comment until the Bucks County District Attorneys Office completes its investigation. McElree, 72, also serves as the boroughs manager, a role that includes overseeing the police department and managing public records. Outside the locked doors of the borough hall before the meeting, more than three dozen people adults and teenagers gathered holding handmade signs. One woman had scrawled peaceful protester across a flattened cardboard box in black marker. Beneath it she wrote: Dont put me in a chokehold, mmkay? Inside the crowded chamber, speakers urged council members to reckon with the national attention now focused on the town and warned that their response or lack of one would shape voters decisions in November. Nearly every speaker who addressed the council called for McElree to be fired and criminally charged. Joseph Rittenhouse, who said his niece was among those arrested after the clash, told council members that images of her bloodied face were now among the first results people see when they search for Quakertown online. We are national news. If youre OK with that, I dont think any of us are going to be OK with you sitting up there when voters go to the polls, Rittenhouse said. A handful of people who identified themselves as immigrants or women of color said the episode had shaken their sense of safety in the community, leaving them worried about how they or their children might be treated. It leaves me breathless as to how this is possible in America, said Illeana Ramos. Everyone is scared. Laura Foster, who leads Upper Bucks United, a civic group that has organized demonstrations since the altercation, said the councils refusal to act had forced residents to step into a role that should belong to elected leaders. You are failing to act as leaders in this community, Foster said. I dont need to be doing this. You should be doing this. Only one resident spoke in support of McElree. Caroline DeVenuto said officers had been sent on a fools errand when they were called to respond to a gathering of teenagers, and blamed parents for allowing the situation to spiral. Its time for parents to grow up and discipline their children like the rest of us, she said. DeVenuto also criticized news coverage of the confrontation, calling portrayals of McElree and the police department slander and deceit. Residents and advocates first called for disciplinary action against McElree at a borough council meeting three days after the Feb. 20 confrontation. By Thursday, a petition seeking his resignation had drawn more than 12,000 signatures, though it was unclear how many of the signers live in the borough. Videos recorded by bystanders and reviewed by The Inquirer show McElree grappling with several students, at one point wrapping his arm around a teenage girls neck before taking her to the ground. McElree, who was not in uniform at the time, left the scene bleeding, the videos showed. Five teenagers were charged with aggravated assault, a felony, and related offenses. They are on house arrest with ankle monitors, their attorneys said. In the affidavit of probable cause for the arrest of one of the teenagers, officers wrote that McElree had been attempting to take a student into custody when the encounter escalated. A teenage boy struck him in the ear, the affidavit said, and others hit him in the shoulder and ribs. The document does not mention a chokehold. According to the affidavit, McElree sought medical treatment for undisclosed injuries. More than a week later, he began a workers compensation leave, the boroughs attorney said. The Bucks County District Attorneys Office is investigating the encounter and has declined to comment. At least three defense attorneys have asked the Pennsylvania attorney general to assume control of both the investigation and the prosecution, and to dismiss the charges. In an email last week, lawyer Ed Angelo wrote that the affidavit rendered only allegations that were damning to the children, but left out the assaultive behavior of the chief of police behavior the children fought to protect themselves from. He called the prosecution an obvious and unacceptable conflict of interest. On Friday, the attorney generals office declined to intervene, saying in an email that it would be inappropriate for our office to engage in the investigation or the case. Akiraa Phillips, a ninth-grade student at Lankenau High School, listens to speakers during a gathering to support the efforts to fight closing recommendations, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. Read more Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said he heard the public outcry over his recommendations to close 20 schools. The Philadelphia School District leader fine-tuned his facilities plan last week, dropping the closure list down to 18 schools and changing recommendations for Paul Robeson High School and Lankenau High School. Advertisement Both schools would still close under the plan, which is now in the school boards hands. Instead of merging into large neighborhood high schools, however, the small, selective-admission schools would be absorbed by magnets. Watlington said the tweaks would still allow the district to bring more high-quality academic and extracurricular opportunities into neighborhood schools while acknowledging the need to manage limited resources. But students, staff, parents and some powerful allies at both schools say Watlingtons counter-proposal isnt enough. Both communities are still fighting. Under the revised plan, Lankenau would merge with Saul, not Roxborough, and Robeson would merge into Motivation, not Sayre. State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Phila.) recently visited the Philadelphia Flower Show, where she and other officials marveled at Lankenau students exhibit, which examines abundance, roots, and connections through culturally important plants. The display won a gold medal and the prestigious Alfred M. Campbell Memorial Trophy. The dichotomy struck Cephas, she said. Lankenau students are at the Flower Show, and [the district] is trying to close the school? On Wednesday, students, parents, lawmakers, and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials gathered at Lankenau to drum up support for Gov. Josh Shapiros budget proposal. But really, it was another save-our-school rally. A prime example of a successful school Lankenau is a prime example of a successful school, said Messiah Stokes, an 11th grader at the Upper Roxborough school. The school has a 100% graduation rate, and is Pennsylvanias only three-year agriculture, food, and natural resources career and technical education program. The school itself sits on 17 acres, which district officials have proposed giving to the city though a 1970s legal agreement could foil that plan. Lankenau is also adjacent to 400 more wooded acres via the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. The environmental center shares its land and its opportunities with students, who hold bird-watching clubs on breaks and hold classes outside when weather permits, and have abundant internship opportunities. My school is a prime example of a successful school, said Stokes. Watlington has said that Saul the citys agricultural magnet on a working farm on Henry Avenue has a mission thats closely aligned with Lankenaus, but supporters say Lankenaus success is closely tied with its wooded campus, its streams, and its ecosystems. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of City Councils education committee, is incredulous that the district is attempting to close the school, which educates mostly Black students. I wonder if Lankenau did everything that it currently does: graduation rate community involvement, the educators participation I wonder if Lankenau was 98% white, will we be closing Lankenau? Thomas said. Lankenau enrolls 228 students; its enrollment took a hit when the district changed its special-admissions policy. District officials have said that the school system lacks the long-term funding to drive academic improvement while continuing to operate 216 schools that have 70,000 empty seats. Still, small schools are worth the investment, said Amy Szymanski, a special-education teacher at the school. Shutting down a school doesnt just impact one community, it shakes other schools that have to absorb the impact as well. Szymanski urged district officials and decision makers to come up with different plans. Culture is not transferable Robeson did everything the district asked it to do and then some, said Elana Evans, a longtime educator at the West Philadelphia school. The school was heralded as a model for other Pennsylvania public schools by former Gov. Tom Wolf. It won citywide prizes and sent a student to Harvard University. Its students successfully petitioned district leaders for air-conditioning in their building. And its staff secured donations to have a major cafeteria renovation, though its building is still judged in poor condition by district standards. Why cant Paul Robeson have a new school? said Evans, who previously taught at University City High, closed by the district in 2013. Havent we proved ourselves, havent the kids sacrificed enough? Havent they shown what they can do and what theyre willing to do? And though moving to Motivation, in Southwest Philadelphia, may be slightly more palatable for some Robeson parents, for most, it wont, said Evans. Students would still have to go to 60th Street, traveling a distance, said Evans. If those parents wanted them to go to Motivation, they would have picked Motivation. Motivation had initially been on the chopping block as well, but Watlington removed it from the list last week. The district has said it wants to preserve the successful Robeson culture, just elsewhere, but Kyana Hopkins, said that wont work. Culture is not transferable, Hopkins said. Make it make sense. Samantha Bromfield, president of Robesons Home and School Association, said the district will lose families if Robeson goes away. Understand that a parent like me will send my child back to being homeschooled if Robeson closes, Bromfield said. Your choice doesnt fit my criteria of what Im looking for my children. Inheritance, and questions The Flower Show was abuzz Wednesday, with a crowd hovering around the Lankenau exhibit. Inheritance a verdant wonderland showcasing plants grown from local seeds, set around a weathered wooden table asked viewers to think of the question, What tastes like home to you? Several Lankenau students staffed the exhibit, answering questions and showing visitors green Keep LANK Open fliers, encouraging passersby to share words of support for the school with the school board and City Council. It doesnt make sense to me, said Amelia Pennycooke, a Lankenau senior, of the proposed closing. We have so many opportunities at Lank. Noel Alford, a Lankenau parent, said the school needs to remain open, its land not used for any other purpose. The amendment to Watlingtons plan falls short, she said. Saul is a mistake, said Alford. Saul is an agricultural school. They are two different magnet schools. While elected officials have no say in which schools close, Thomas said its up to them to keep pressuring the board to rethink some closures, including Lankenaus. This is a legacy moment for us as elected officials, said Thomas. No one wants to add that black mark on their career that says you were the person that was in charge when this injustice took place. Chon Tong Thai Kitchen, the family-run restaurant that brought a joyful, brightly colored space to an unlikely corner of Vine Street, abruptly closed late last month after its owner returned to Thailand. The Central Thai specialist, which opened in 2022, was a favorite of Thai expats in Philly. Owner Thidarat Grace Teekabud, whose great-great-grandmother had been a chef for the fifth King of Siam in the late 1800s, came to Philadelphia in 2019 to learn English. She noticed a void in Phillys food scene and missed the desserts and snacks she grew up with. Opening the restaurant was her solution. (Chon Tong means golden spoon in Thai.) Advertisement Teekabud did not respond to requests for comment. The real estate broker for the space at 1439 Vine St. told The Inquirer that the owners had already moved back to Thailand after a quick sale of the business and transfer of the turnkey space. Chon Tong was a close contender for The Inquirers 2025 edition of The 76, making the list of restaurants that writers (unsuccessfully) championed for inclusion. Though the concept initially focused on desserts, Chon Tong became better known among the areas Thai student community for its boat noodles, fried items like the mussel-studded hoi tod pancake, tum tod (an inventive fried sweet-and-sour papaya salad), and jay tod (speckled with juicy-sweet corn kernels and crunchy tofu), as well as its crispy pork belly (moo tod nam pla). The propertys broker said that a Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant will take Chon Tongs place. Iraqi Kurds inspect the damage to their homes, after a drone attack struck their neighborhood in Irbil, Iraq, on Wednesday. Read more The Trump administration, bracing for more U.S. casualties and considering whether to put troops on the ground in Iran, has begun reaching out to Tehrans domestic opposition as potential allies to foment an uprising against the regime. In calls this week to Kurdish minority leaders in Iran and neighboring Iraq, President Donald Trump offered extensive U.S. aircover and other backing for anti-regime Iranian Kurds to take over portions of western Iran, according to multiple people familiar with the effort. Advertisement The American request to the Iraqi Kurds is to open the way and not obstruct Iranian Kurdish groups mobilizing in Iraq, while also providing logistical support, said a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two major political parties that govern Iraqs semiautonomous Kurdish region. Trump was clear in his call Sunday to PUK leader Bafel Talabani. He told us the Kurds must choose a side in this battle either with America and Israel or with Iran, said the official, one of several Kurdish and U.S. officials who discussed sensitive matters on the condition of anonymity. A senior official of the Kurdish Democratic Party, the other major Iraqi party whose leader, Masoud Barzani, was also called by Trump, confirmed that account, but said that its not about who has more active armed militias ready to move into Iran, its about who has more support from inside. Trump also spoke Tuesday with Mustafa Hijri, head of the oldest Iranian Kurdish opposition party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), whose organization declined requests for comment. PDKI is part of a coalition of six anti-regime Iranian Kurdish parties that last week announced its formation in a declaration from Iraqi Kurdistan. In a statement Wednesday, the party urged all [Iranian] soldiers and personnel especially in Kurdistan to abandon their bases and withdraw their support from the regimes armed and repressive forces. The Iraqi Kurds, who have long provided refuge for their Iranian brethren on the condition they do not plot against Tehran, risk destroying a tenuous peace they have maintained with the Iranian regime if the U.S. and Israeli war efforts do not succeed. Far more organized and powerful than the Kurds in Iran, they now have control over their own region and its economy despite long-standing internal conflicts and difficulties with the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad. Like their Iraqi brethren, the Iranian Kurds have in the past focused on regional autonomy rather than secession or regime change. Representatives of several parties in the Iranian Kurdish coalition denied rapidly spreading rumors late Wednesday that they had begun an invasion from Iraq. Those reports sparked what Iranian state media said was a preemptive strike that had destroyed targets in Iraqs Kurdish region. On Thursday, Peshawa Hawramani, spokesman for Iraqs Kurdish Regional Government, said the KRG are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region. In a statement later Thursday, the Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish coalition reported ongoing attacks on its political bases and headquarters and a number of deaths. Calling the regimes missile and drone strikes a sign of the weakness and deep fear, the statement said the coalition will strengthen our resolve to continue the fight for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and the liberation of Kurdistan. Trump has publicly called for anti-regime Iranians to rise up and take over their government, but has also suggested the possibility that cooperative elements of the existing regime could stay in place once its leadership is wiped out, a resolution similar to that the U.S. imposed on Venezuela after capturing its leader, Nicolas Maduro. Asked about reports that the CIA would provide weapons to Iranian Kurdish groups, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that Trump did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq. But any report suggesting that the president has agreed to any such plan is false and should not be written. The CIA declined to comment. The White House did not respond to questions about contacts with other Iranian opposition groups, including the Baluchi minority or the exiled group Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK). A U.S. official cautioned that the extent of Kurdish cooperation with the U.S. remains to be seen, given Washingtons long history of enlisting their aid in various conflicts and then abandoning them. Could there be some opportunities to work together and our interests to be aligned, and do some things? Absolutely, the U.S. official said. But the Kurds on both sides of the Iraq-Iran border are likely to wait to see which way the wind is blowing in the ongoing war, he said, adding that U.S. cooperation with them is not totally cut and dry. The Kurds, in Iran numbering about 10 million across five western provinces, are also among the largest minorities in Iraq, Syria, and parts of Turkey. In each of those countries, they have fought politically and sometimes physically often with U.S. support when it coincided with American objectives against systematic marginalization and for the right to self-determination. But they have just as often felt abandoned by Washington. Most recently, the U.S. lifted its support from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that had been Americas long-standing partner in countering the Islamic State in Syria as the Trump administration moved to partner instead with the new regime in Damascus. Despite now joining political forces in coalition, the main Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have often been at odds among themselves and with other opponents of the ruling regime in Tehran raising questions about whether they would cooperate in forming a new government. Only one in the alphabet soup of Iranian Kurdish groups the PJAK, the Kurdistan Free Life Party is believed to be significantly armed, largely through a relationship with the militant Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) based in Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria and Iraq. The challenge here is that the Iranian Kurdish fighters are limited in number and unlikely to receive broader support in non-Kurdish areas of Iran, said Victoria Taylor, director at the Atlantic Councils Middle East program and a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran. It seems like a recipe for ethnic discord. The Iranian Kurds face a sort of entrapment, said Gareth Stansfield, a professor of Middle East politics at the University of Exeter in Britain. Just intimating that the Iranian Kurdish parties have received American support and are thinking about being the foot soldiers in Iran brings the attention of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] onto western Kurdistan ... asets them up to be a massive target of the regime. A U.S. decision to arm the Iranian Kurdish groups may not sit well with Turkey. After four decades of conflict with the Turkish government, the outlawed PKK agreed last year to disarm and is in the midst of a peace process with Ankara. During the first five days of the conflict, it is Israel that has done most to prepare the ground inside Iran for a Kurdish uprising. In addition to killing leadership targets in Tehran, Israeli airstrikes have extensively targeted regime police and IRGC facilities in the western part of the country, while U.S. strikes have concentrated on missile launchers, airfields, warships, and other targets primarily in the south. The Israelis have been very systematically bombing military positions in Iranian Kurdistan where they have done enormous damage to Iranian military capability, said Henri Barkey, a Kurdish expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, who added that this is clearly a very deliberate strategy on the part of Israel. Its also true that in the latest demonstrations when anti-regime protests broke out across Iran in January, the regime was very, very brutal in Kurdish areas, Barkey said. There is also that part of it people really wanting to take revenge. In its Wednesday statement, the PJAK urged Kurds inside Iran to be ready to face the consequences of the war and the policies of the Islamic Republic and to stay away from the regimes military and security centers. For their part, Iraqi Kurds who have had their own up-and-down relationship with Washington, may question the strength of U.S. support for their Iranian brethren and be reluctant to provide support to an offensive that would risk Iranian retaliation, Taylor said. Iraqi Kurdish leaders last year signed an agreement with Tehran promising to safeguard their part of the Iran-Iraq border against outside incursions. In a statement issued last week after the Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish groups announced their coalition, the KRG in semiautonomous northeastern Iraq said it would not allow its territory to be used as a base for aggression against a neighbor. Both Talabani and KRG President Nechirvan Barzani also received calls Wednesday from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Talabani emphasized the importance of finding peaceful solutions to the issues and returning to dialogue to maintain stability in the Middle East, stating that all PUK efforts are within this framework, a statement from his office said. Araghchi, the statement said, thanked Talabani for his role and influence in maintaining stability in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and expressed respect for the PUKs peaceful position in the region. Barzanis office said both he and Araghchi emphasized the protection of border security, in a manner that prevents any attempt to undermine the stability of the region and further complicate the situation. As the Iraqi Kurds struggle with whether to become directly involved in the expanding Iran war, their choices may become more limited. Strikes launched from both Iran and its proxy militias inside Iraq have targeted their capital city, Irbil, apparently to discourage support for the Iranian opposition. We are in a very delicate position, the PUK official said. If this [Iranian Kurd] ground offensive fails, we do not know what Irans reaction against the Kurdistan region of Iraq would be. At the same time, we cannot simply reject Trumps request especially when he personally calls and asks for it. Russian President Vladimir Putin (front) enters a hall for his meeting Wednesday with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto at the Kremlin in Moscow. Read more For Russia, the assassination of Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the latest blow to President Vladimir Putins network of anti-Western partners, and it exposed Moscows diminished influence on the world stage, from the Middle East to Latin America. Yet amid the dismay over Russias inability to challenge President Donald Trumps global reach, there is hope in the Kremlin that the United States becoming ensnared in a prolonged Middle East campaign would work to Moscows favor above all, in its war on Ukraine, Putins top priority. Advertisement For about 15 months, Moscow watched idly as three friendly leaders were ousted in Syria, Venezuela, and now Iran, the latter two as a direct result of U.S. military action. Its clear Russia and China were not able to do anything, said a Russian academic close to senior Moscow diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the Russian government. This could impact Moscows position in relation to other partners. Russian officials have also voiced growing alarm over Trumps suggestions of a friendly takeover of Cuba through economic pressure, but similarly seem to have little ability to do anything. Still, there are potential benefits Moscow is weighing. A prolonged focus on Iran and the Middle East could leave Washington with less bandwidth for Ukraine and ramp up pressure on European allies to fill the gap. Weapons systems, particularly air defenses, could be rerouted to the Middle East and away from Kyiv, which Russia pummels almost nightly. Perhaps most welcome is that the attacks on Iran and Tehrans retaliatory strikes, including attacks on oil refineries in Persian Gulf nations, have sent oil prices surging at a time when Russias wartime budget is under severe strain. Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlins special economic envoy, predicted prices would spike beyond $100 per barrel. In a sign Putin was already seeking to leverage climbing energy prices, the Russian president threatened on Wednesday to reroute Russian gas supplies away from Europe. Russian oil supplies to China and India would not be affected by a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for crude though analysts cautioned that only a sustained price hike or prolonged disruption of Gulf supplies would provide Moscow with meaningful relief for its war effort in Ukraine. Its clear Russia is interested in a long war that will cause the Strait of Hormuz to be blocked, said one European official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The invasion of Ukraine, which has now entered its fifth year, has sapped much of Moscows resources and attention, pushing countries once firmly in its orbit particularly former Soviet republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia to forge new alliances, with some turning to Turkey, China, the U.S., or the European Union. One of the starkest testaments to Russias limits has come from state television pundits and pro-invasion bloggers, who watched the campaign against Iran since last summer and the swift capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January with a mix of concern and grudging awe. They are looking at this very effective campaign, and Russian commentators are emerging to almost suggest why cant we, Russia, be like that? Hanna Notte, a foreign policy expert, said in an analysis for the Kennan Institute. So almost looking at it with the element of jealousy. Senior officials in Ukraine and Europe were quick to suggest that Khameneis killing further exposed the limits of Russias powers and its inability to defend its friends. Putin has lost three of his closest pals in little more than a year. He has also not helped any of them, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X. Russia is not a reliable ally even for those who rely heavily on it. While Russia is stuck in its senseless war against Ukraine its influence across the world is dramatically falling. Andras Racz, a senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations Center for Security and Defense, said Russian military thinking put the focus on one big war the war against Ukraine, which subordinated all other allies and considerations. Everything else is just collateral damage, Racz said. Russia and Iran deepened their relationship during the Syrian civil war, in which Russia intervened by providing air power to support President Bashar Assad, while Iran supplied forces through proxy militias. Assad, ousted last year, now lives in Russia. Since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ties between Moscow and Tehran grew even closer as they each sought to overcome heavy economic restrictions imposed by the West. Iran came to Moscows aid by providing Shahed drone technology, a crucial weapon against Ukraine. Still, the friendship has always had limits. A 20-year strategic partnership agreement signed by the two countries last year did not include a mutual defense clause that would oblige either party to come to the others aid in time of military aggression. A person familiar with back-channel negotiations between Russia and the U.S. said the Kremlin had indicated to the U.S. during talks over the past year that it would not stand in the way of any American attempts to topple the current Iranian regime. Khameneis killing possibly served as a chilling reminder of Putins own potential vulnerability. The Russian leader has expressed outrage over the footage of a mob killing Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a 2011 civil war, and was said to be shaken by Gadhafis death. Analysts said the Russian president was likely relying on Russias status as a nuclear power as providing the ultimate protection against being targeted in a similar manner. Russia cant do much about the situation, but they are applying it to themselves they would never admit this, and they probably tell themselves that they are a nuclear state and it would not go down so easily with them, said Nikita Smagin, an expert on Russian-Iranian relations. Nevertheless, they see an authoritarian leader dying in a strike and they are unnerved by the transformation of international norms, Smagin continued, where states not only do as they please but can also eliminate a head of state. Russia naturally does not like this. Other analysts said Moscow may hope that any regime change in Iran follows a pattern set in Venezuela, where the toppling of Maduro did not produce a clean break with Russia. His successor, Delcy Rodriguez, has maintained ties with Moscow. Many believed that the U.S. had set the task of regime change, but as a result the regime remains, the Russian academic said of the situation in Venezuela. At least at the current stage it is too early to say that Trump is dismantling Chavism. A similar situation has unfolded in Syria, where Russia has fared better than expected in the year since Assads fall. Despite losing its most reliable regional ally, Moscow avoided being evicted from its military bases, the new Syrian president has visited Moscow twice, and Russia has preserved enough leverage to remain a player diminished but hardly eliminated. If there is a continuation of the clerical rule or the IRGC will have a more prominent role, I think Russia will be able to preserve its partnership with Iran, said Notte, the foreign policy analyst, referring to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But, Notte added, if we see different forces coming to power in Iran, which want to mend ties with the West, or a more pragmatic foreign policy toward the West and I am not saying this is necessary likely but this is a scenario that Russia has long feared. About a year ago, Putin offered Trump help mediating between the U.S. and Iran, at a time when Moscow was trying to keep Trump engaged in talks with Russia. The offer was rebuked, with Trump saying that he had told Putin to focus on finding an endgame to his own war with Ukraine. Since the strikes began Saturday, Putin has held a flurry of calls with Gulf leaders telling King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain that Moscow is ready to use all opportunities to stabilize the situation and Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar that Russia hopes Iranian retaliation would spare civilian infrastructure once again seeming to try to position himself as a potential mediator between Washington and what remains of Irans leadership. Russia is fairly limited in what it can do, Notte added. Russia will try to play a mediator role, but I dont think Russia would be a main factor here. KYIV, Ukraine The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraines expertise in countering Irans Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelensky said late Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait about possible cooperation. Advertisement Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in its biggest nighttime barrage. Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East. Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraines own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyivs diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian leader. We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war with Russia, Zelensky said. Later Thursday, Zelensky said he had received a U.S. request for support to defend against the drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts without providing further details. Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our peoples lives, he added in a social media post. Trump, in an interview Thursday with Reuters, said, Certainly Ill take, you know, any assistance from any country. Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other countries take notice. European countries got a wake-up call last September on the changed nature of air defense when Poland scrambled multimillion-dollar military assets, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, in response to airspace violations by cheap drones. Ukrainian manufacturers have developed low-cost interceptor drones specifically designed to hunt and destroy Shaheds, and its rapidly expanding drone industry is producing excess capacity. Zelensky announced earlier this year that Ukraine would begin exporting the battle-tested systems. The European Unions top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via video link Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraines experience can help countries counter Iranian drones. Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europes biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week, Zelensky said. Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlong U.S.-led peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon. Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting, Zelensky said. But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Zelensky thanked the United States for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russias Defense Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the U.S. and United Arab Emirates for mediating. Prisoner swaps have been one of the few tangible results of the talks. Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian negotiator, said on social media that a total of 500 prisoners from each side would be exchanged between Thursday and Friday. Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraines parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the negotiations so that he can press on with Russias invasion while escaping further U.S. sanctions. He urged the U.S. administration to look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East as linked. In reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert Iran supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are interconnected conflicts, Merezhko told the Associated Press. Ukraines army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 750-mile front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 100 square miles since Jan. 1. A vehicle leaves the Chester County Correctional Complex in September 2023. Chester Countys prison warden was appointed acting deputy county administrator for operations this week. Read more Chester Countys prison warden will round out a new leadership team after the countys top official left his job earlier this week. Howard Holland, who has served as prison warden for the county since April 2024 and was its acting warden for eight months before that, has been appointed as acting deputy county administrator for operations and will complete a team of three newly named top county officials, the county announced this week. Advertisement I have always advocated for improved government processes, and Ive been particularly pleased by the changes Mr. Holland has undertaken at the prison, County Commissioner Eric Roe said in a statement. Im happy to have him join our leadership team, and I look forward to his continued contributions as a manager and leader at the County level. The administrative team oversees 2,600 staff members and a roughly $730 million annual budget. Members are appointed by the countys three elected commissioners. The change comes just days after the countys top official, David Byerman, left the job, and a new county administrator, Erik Walschburger, was named. Holland and deputy county administrator Megan Moser, whose role was renamed this week, will work under Walschburger. Walschburger most recently was the countys deputy administrator, a role he had held since 2022 overseeing internal day-to-day operations. Moser, who joined the county in 2025, has been involved with the countys response to multiple election errors in recent months. The countys announcement on Wednesday made no mention of Byerman. A county spokesperson earlier this week declined to give a reason for his departure. As Chester County shifts its personnel, it is reverting back to job titles it had used previously, retiring its use of chief executive officer, chief operations officer, and chief experience officer a change it made roughly a year ago for the more traditional title of county administrator and two deputies. Holland comes to the job after a more than 30-year career in law enforcement, working as a police officer, a special county detective, and an adviser to the countys prison board. He was the chief of police for seven years in Downingtown. His most recent job came with an electric start: The day he became acting prison warden, convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante escaped the prison, resulting in a two-week search. Since that incident, Holland made changes to limit the risk of escape, and promised to add additional security measures to the facility. With Hollands move to county government, the Chester County Prison Board of Inspectors has appointed Brian Sheller as acting warden, county officials said. Sheller has been deputy warden since 2024, and served as the Parkesburg chief of police for more than 30 years. This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirers high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters. Center is Art Haywood, Pennsylvania State Senator, 4th District participates in the Interfaith religious and community leaders prayer vigil outside the Philadelphia office U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 114 N. 8th Street in Center City, Monday, March 2, 2026. Read more Pennsylvania voters broadly oppose some of President Donald Trumps immigration enforcement tactics but theres a stark partisan split, according to a new statewide poll of registered voters. Franklin & Marshall Colleges Center for Opinion Research released a wide-ranging poll Thursday that tracked registered Pennsylvania voters opinions on Americas 250th anniversary, ICE enforcement tactics, and other issues facing the state and nation ahead of the midterm election. Advertisement Trumps approval ratings have remained consistently low since returning to office last year, with a majority of Pennsylvanians disapproving of his job as president. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro maintains a 50% approval rating heading into the midterm elections later this year. Pollsters at Franklin & Marshall College surveyed 834 registered Pennsylvania voters, including 353 Democrats, 347 Republicans and 134 independents. The sample error is +/- 4.1 percentage points. Here are three takeaways from the poll of registered Pennsylvania voters, conducted Feb. 18 through March 1 by phone or online. Trump is consistently unpopular in Pennsylvania Trumps approval ratings among registered Pennsylvania voters remain low, with 61% of voters rating him as doing a poor or fair job, according to the statewide poll, which also assessed Trumps performance on immigration, the economy, and other issues. Trump maintained a net negative approval rating throughout his first term in 2017-2021 and so far in his second term, according to the poll. Despite winning the state in 2024, he remains divisive with 51% of respondents rating him as doing a poor job, and only 10% who rate him as doing a fair job. Approximately 39% of registered Pennsylvania voters view Trump as doing an excellent or good job, according to the poll. Trumps low approval numbers could have a drag effect on Republicans performance in the midterm election, said Berwood Yost, the director of Franklin & Marshalls poll. While theres still a long way to go until November, [Trump has] got to figure out a way and his party has to find a way to prevent that and earn those voters back, Yost said. Trumps low numbers align with those of former President Barack Obama or George W. Bushs approvals at the same point in their second term, Yost added. Both of their parties lost seats in the midterms elections those years. However, Trumps approval ratings are not the lowest they have been in the state. His approval ratings dropped to their lowest, 70% disapproval, during his first term in September 2017. Josh Shapiro is still popular Gov. Josh Shapiro remains popular ahead of his reelection contest this year: 50% of Pennsylvania voters say he is doing an excellent or good job, while another 44% believe he is doing a fair or poor job leading the nations fifth most populous state. Shapiro is the most popular governor since 2000, when comparing his approval ratings to those of other Pennsylvania governors at the same point during their first terms, Yost said. Shapiro also maintains a significant lead over his likely GOP challenger, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity. If the midterm elections were to happen today, 48% of voters said they would reelect Shapiro, while 28% said they would vote for Garrity. Another 7% of voters said they would vote for a different candidate, while 17% were undecided or refused to answer the question. Shapiros approval ratings have remained steadily high since taking office in January 2023. A Quinnipiac University poll released last month found similar public opinion toward Shapiros reelection, while some voters said they were unsure whether they wanted the rumored 2028 presidential candidate to run for higher office. Pa. voters broadly oppose some of ICEs enforcement actions, but are split on others Approximately three-fourths of Pennsylvania voters believe ICE should not be able to use deadly force against protesters or enter a home without a warrant, in a major pushback to Trumps immigration enforcement tactics. Pennsylvania voters opinions on immigration enforcement varies significantly based on a persons political party: While nine in 10 Republicans support ICE tactics, only two in five independents and one in 10 Democrats support them. Republicans support ICEs use of unmarked vehicles to detain people and their use of masks to hide an agents identity at much higher rates than Democrats, while independents are split. On the use of masks, 77% of Republican voters believe agents should be able to wear them, while 40% of independents and only 10% of Democrats do. Theres a lot of consensus about the fundamental principles that protect our individual rights like entering a home without a warrant or using force against protesters, whereas theres a little more partisanship in others, Yost said. READ MORE: Unmasking ICE in Philly could test the limits of local power over federal agents There is also overwhelming support among Pennsylvania voters that non-citizens who are in the U.S. legally whether by visa, green card, asylum or other protected statuses, or in the process of becoming a citizen should not be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation, according to the poll. However, a majority of Republicans and independent voters believe undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States illegally for any amount of time and have no criminal record should be targeted for deportation, while less than a quarter of Democrats believe they should. Pennsylvania voters want the 250th anniversary to acknowledge the positives and negatives from American history As Trump tries to reframe American history for the nations 250th anniversary, most Pennsylvanians want the celebrations to acknowledge its positive and negative parts. Approximately 73% of Pennsylvania voters believe any retelling of American history should include the upsides and downsides of the nations founding, while 24% believe only positive aspects should be celebrated. Most people, they want to see historical interpretations that include the whole picture, Yost said. This finding is of particular interest in Pennsylvania, following the Trump administrations removal of an exhibit that memorialized the enslaved people who lived in George Washingtons home from the historic Presidents House site in Independence National Historical Park. A federal judge ordered the restoration of the exhibit, but the Trump administration is appealing the decision. Niall Paredes, a Fishtown resident, plasters his neighborhood in educational and comedic posters about fish. Read more If youve ventured out for a stroll in Fishtown in recent months you may have observed what looks like a page torn out of an oceanography textbook tacked to a lamppost or electrical pole. It probably features a clinical-looking photo of a fish, that species Latin nomenclature, and a short blurb about the slithering sea dweller. Advertisement However, upon closer inspection, youll find these posters are only marginally educational. Striped Bass or Morone saxatilis, one poster reads, above an image of an open-mouthed, beady-eyed, gray-and-white fish with translucent fins. Slappadabass mon! Striped Bass live in Philadelphia water slurp slurp. Striped Bass born in saltwater, but live in fresh water. Stripe Bass lay 3,000,000 eggs. not in this economy!!! Disclaimer: Dont rely on the facts in these posters to ace your next marine biology test. Theyre not always accurate. Striped bass actually live in saltwater and spawn in freshwater typically, not the reverse. Fishtown fish facts, this series of more than a hundred posters across the area, was never an endeavor to turn a profit or rally support for a cause like some similar lamppost literature. It was just a modest attempt to make his neighbors smile, said 32-year-old Niall Paredes, the brain behind the piscine production. The posters contribute to a rich history of both professional and unsanctioned public art across the city. Mural Arts Philadelphia has facilitated more than 4,000 works of public art since its 1984 founding as an anti-graffiti network, while artists and amateurs alike have taken to the streets to plaster their own ephemeral works across Philadelphia. Paredes, a native Philadelphian, got the idea for the series about a year ago after moving to Fishtown. As a creative, both professionally producing TV commercials and recreationally working with photo and video, he saw artistic potential in the telephone polls around his new neighborhood. They were covered in flyers. Some asked for help. Some asked for attention. Some asked for money. None simply asked for a laugh. I just kind of was inspired and started playing around with some funky fish, he said. Because, you know, Fishtown. Since then, Paredes estimates hes created hundreds of Fishtown fish facts posters highlighting dozens of species of fish. His write-ups are infused with his own unique brand of humor. The descriptions read like a Mad Libs of Gen Z slang with some 2000s texting lingo sprinkled in the mix. He punctuates each poster with the same tagline take a moment and realize the moment you took has already passed. The sentiment is intended to encourage the reader to stop, reflect, and keep pushing wherever theyre at in life, Paredes said. Along the way, Paredes, whose only real relationship with marine biology is through surfing, has boned up on his knowledge of aquatic vertebrates. Shad are quickly angling their way to the top of his ranking of most interesting fish, he said. Thats partly due to a legend that asserts that shad saved George Washingtons troops from starvation in 1778 at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. When Jeopardy! hits fish, Im ready to roll, Paredes said. As far as the future of Fishtown fish facts go, Paredes said pedestrians can expect to be enlightened on many more species soon. And hes planning to expand his fish facts to other neighborhoods; hes already sprinkled some in Manayunk, Center City, and South Philly. Im definitely going to be working on it for a bit, he said. I mean, theres a lot of fish in the ocean. A passenger in an SUV was killed and the driver was critically injured when the vehicle struck a SEPTA bus late Wednesday afternoon in Southwest Philadelphia, police said. Just before 4:20 p.m., a 2019 Honda HR-V heading north on Island Avenue in the area of Buist Avenue hit the rear of a SEPTA bus also traveling north on Island, police said. A third vehicle then hit the rear of the Honda. Medics transported the two people from the Honda to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. The passenger, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. The driver was listed in critical condition. No other injuries were reported. The cause of the crash was under police investigation. A child climbs the netting that is part of the playgound equipment at the Fishtown Recreation Center Philadelphia. Read more At some Philadelphia Parks and Recreation centers, a grim tradition has developed over the years amid the winter scramble to secure some sort of summer programming for kids: Parents wait in line hours before enrollment even begins to snag a first-come, first-served camp spot. This year, the city hopes to remedy that with the introduction of a lottery system at a handful of the most in-demand camps. Advertisement Were just learning from past years, trying to be flexible and give parents more time to come in, said Rob Jackson, the departments deputy commissioner of programs. Yet some parents bemoaned what they described as a poorly communicated change, hearing about it a week before enrollment began with no explanation as to why, becoming just one more logistical quirk to navigate in the summer camp enrollment chaos. Thats because, as with daycare, snagging a spot in any daylong summer program can feel like building a plane midflight. Applying to multiple summer camps is a must, setting aside a pool of money for application fees is necessary, and, oh, youll likely have to make a quick decision on whether to accept a spot despite not having heard back from everyone. Even applying to the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation-run summer camps, one of the most affordable options in the city for kids ages 6 to 12, has its quirks. Because weekly rates start at $90, compared with the hundreds some other camps charge, spots in the department-run programs are some of the most coveted in the city. Some rec centers are so popular that parents have resorted to waiting in line for hours on enrollment day to secure a spot. Its a system that the city has heard feels unfair to families that cannot afford to take a morning off from work to do that. In an attempt to make the registration process more equitable, the city rolled out a lottery system this week for potential first-time campers at some of the hardest-to-get-in sites: Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Shissler, Hancock, and Towey Recreation Centers. These sites are in the Fishtown, Northern Liberties, and South Kensington sections of the city. Jackson said the change was inspired by staff, who described coming into work with long lines of parents already formed. If a parent could not make it on that day, it was one less summer camp option. And because younger siblings were given priority in an attempt to keep siblings together, one family could take up multiple camp spots in one go. With the lottery system, younger siblings have the same odds as other new registrants. Jackson recognized that might mean multiple camp drop-offs for some families, but he said the change was to accommodate as many families in the community as possible. The lottery system has allowed sites like Hancock and Shissler to extend registration for new campers over the course of four days, giving all kids the same chance of snagging whatever few spots are available within the program as children age out or choose to go elsewhere. One Fishtown parent this week, who asked to remain anonymous so as not to hamper their kids chances of snagging a spot, described the change as poorly communicated. The parent was left deflated by submitting applications at various locations, paying $50 per application, unsure what the odds were for getting into any of these camps. Asked if the city has ever considered moving the applications online, Jackson said the city has not gotten to that point. So for now, the in-person site-by-site registration is the best the department can do for the more than 7,000 kids who attend camps across 120 to 130 host recreation centers. The city could not say just how many camp spots would be freeing up this year, as it depends on how many children from what are considered returning families claim spots. The summer childcare scramble Even if a child can secure a spot in a city-run summer camp, it does not fully solve summer childcare needs for families. The camps run for six weeks and have age restrictions. Parents often have to shell out hundreds more to fill in gaps in care. Other summer camp operators have issues of their own. This year, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and the Penn Museum announced they will not host their popular summer camps, citing budget constraints. Dena Ferrara Driscoll, a mother of two who lives in South Philadelphia, has been a public advocate for more investment in summer camps and after-care programs. Her children attended city-run camps and now her son works at one in the summer. Driscoll was not surprised by the continued demand for camp spots. The programs are affordable, safe, and deeply loved, she said. A lottery might change who gets a spot, but it doesnt address the real issue: Families need more affordable camp options provided by the city, not just a new system to distribute the ones we already have, she said. From Bryn Mawr to Bensalem, Abington to Kensington, and West Chester to West Philly, smoke shops are everywhere. So much so that authorities whove grown concerned about the booming business model have struggled to track them all. In Philadelphia, City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson on Thursday introduced legislation that would establish a permit process, allowing the city to more closely monitor shops that sell unregulated drugs and crack down on those that flout the oft-hazy laws governing them. Advertisement The bill would establish a new license requirement for selling intoxicating substances, while implementing a series of restrictions around the sale of products like hemp-based THC and kratom. It would also update the city code to define intoxicating products and establish a 21-plus age restriction for purchases. Gilmore Richardson proposed a second bill that would authorize the city to penalize landlords who rent space to stores selling tobacco products without a license. Nine times out of ten these products are being marketed to our children, Gilmore Richardson said. We have to do all we can to add a new section in our code. READ MORE: From undercover stings to a marijuana museum: Inside the haphazard crackdown on Pennsylvanias smoke shops The new legislation would further require shops to have their products tested by a licensed lab in Pennsylvania and prove that the products are free from heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, mycotoxins, microbials, and other contaminants. An Inquirer investigation last year found that hemp products sold at smoke shops throughout the region are often rife with harmful contaminants, and many contain substances that are blatantly illegal. Some of the products The Inquirer tested were, in fact, black-market weed that was labeled as legal hemp. Shop owners defended the sales with lab results from the manufacturers indicating the products are both legal and toxin-free. Yet The Inquirer found that at least some of the reports were fraudulent or doctored to conceal the truth. The bills are the latest proposals from Gilmore Richardson to rein in shops selling these products many of which the city has labelled as nuisance businesses. Such shops have flourished since a 2018 change in federal law allowed for the over-the-counter sale of certain hemp products that are often indistinguishable from traditional marijuana. How the proposed new regulations would be enforced remains unclear. As written, the license system and testing requirements would only apply to products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed safe. Some smoke shop products products are marketed as nutritional supplements, which the FDA does not regulate. Region-wide, the crackdown on smoke shops has been haphazard, with law enforcement officials often saying they are constrained by nebulous federal drug laws. You discover a gray area or a loophole that folks try to exploit, and you have to do another bill to deal with that, Gilmore Richardson said. READ MORE: Inside Pennsylvanias Wild West of unregulated weed A federal ban on hemp-based THC products could take effect within the next year. Meanwhile, state lawmakers in Harrisburg have done little more than explore the idea of regulating the hemp-based THC market. Other states, including neighboring New Jersey, have for years had a regulated and taxed system of recreational marijuana. State-issued tobacco permits are needed to sell nicotine products, but there is currently no permit required to sell hemp, kratom or similar smoke shop products in Pennsylvania. A grand jury report unsealed in Montgomery County last fall had to rely on Yelp to estimate that there are likely more than 240 smoke shops in Montco alone. That report called on Harrisburg to establish a permit system and an age restriction on hemp products containing THC. In Philadelphia, many shops operate under convenience store permits, even if they arent selling many groceries. The citys crackdown efforts have been largely limited to citing shops for fraudulently operating under this permit. Gilmore Richardson said the intoxicating substances permit is a long overdue solution. The bills head to committee for review. The second bill introduced Thursday would grant the city power to fine landlords who knowingly lease commercial property to a business that sells tobacco products without a permit. Currently, only the business owners face penalties for selling cigarettes without the proper permit. Gilmore Richardson said she would consider expanding that legislation down the road to include the intoxicating substance permit should it become law. You cant manage what you dont measure, the lawmaker said. We need to understand where these businesses are located. This article was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Hearing that the highest tiers of European royalty and government officials have been toppled for their association with Jeffrey Epstein, I cant help but look closer at home and abroad. Its hard to avoid uncomfortable comparisons. In the U.S., weve seen a lower tier of elite face consequences, such as Peter Attia and Larry Summers, who were spared termination but were able to resign. For the rest, its been a familiar playbook. When powerful people are accused of misconduct or even abuse, institutions move to containment not transparency. Advertisement The piecemeal release of the Epstein files reflects a familiar pattern: complaints and claims are made, evidence exists, but access is controlled. Accountability stalls. While the Constitution promises equal protection under the law, that protection comes through the courts and via its agents attorneys. Juries decide on innocence or guilt, and then determine financial damages. In America, harm is monetized. It follows, then, that those who wield money and power can buy protection within the legal system. How can we forget OJ Simpsons stable of lawyers, the best money could buy, nicknamed the Dream Team. With financial resources and access to elite legal representation, those accused of wrongdoing are able to turn the pursuit of justice into a negotiation. Civil settlements, nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), and confidential arbitration dominate. As such, judgment and public accountability can be avoided or deferred. Examples abound. Roger Ailes was well known for his prolific use of NDAs at Fox News, and Harvey Weinstein avoided consequences of his actions for years, showing how money and power can make even the most egregious allegations against him disappear. Left unaddressed in those cases in which perpetrators are not brought to justice is the magnitude of the impact on victims. My career as an emergency physician and public health expert has centered on the vulnerable and at-risk. I have seen the long arc of trauma through physical, mental, and behavioral health manifestations in my patients, most especially those who suffered adverse childhood events (ACE). In America, harm is monetized. Ranging from anxiety and depression to sleep disturbances, neurologic impact, chronic illness, and substance use, the consequences are long-standing and pervasive. This doesnt include the depth of impact on what are known as the social determinants of health job stability, housing stability, economic possibilities, and other nonmedical factors that can shape a patients well-being. The damages of trauma are not measurable in simple dollars. Power is often leveraged through coerced silence. Studies have shown that more than one-third of the U.S. workforce has been subjected to NDAs for workplace-related harassment, sexual misconduct, and employment discrimination. The National Womens Law Center found NDAs isolate victims, shield serial predators, and allow harassment to persist. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes significant underreporting in the workplace, where research suggests as many as 85% dont report sexual harassment, and 94% of people dont report discrimination. Years ago, a woman I was treating for opioid use disorder confided in me after holding me at reticent arms length for weeks. I noted a subtle change, where her steely gaze was replaced by downcast eyes. She whispered, I want to tell you something. She went on to recount how she had been sexually assaulted on more than one occasion by someone who was supposed to help her. She hadnt told anyone out of fear. She felt trapped. After our session, I immediately sprang into action to alert authorities as a mandatory reporter and put mechanisms in place to keep her safe especially for possible retaliation. Days later, when I saw her next, she was sobbing uncontrollably. I feared the worst until she finally whispered, Thank you for believing me. For the minority who do speak up, the consequences can be overwhelming. Speaking truth to power is fraught with danger that is rarely just legal. A victims credibility is often structurally discounted framed as financially motivated, vindictive, or selfish. Speaking truth to power is fraught with danger that is rarely just legal. That skepticism is unevenly applied. Institutions often require overwhelming proof of undeniable and well-documented harm, while at the same time, extend presumption and patience to those with power. Countless examples illustrate how anchor institutions often circle the wagons to protect an accused, but leave the person harmed to fend for themselves. Lawyers and others are often forthcoming with victims about the risks of pursuing legal action. The list is long: litigation costs, reputational damage, professional blacklisting, social ostracism, and family exposure. The most common EEOC complaint is for retaliation, often in response to reporting harassment or discrimination internally within the workplace. People who report transgressions have faced career derailment and other penalties, perhaps most famously demonstrated by Lilly Ledbetter, whose landmark U.S. Supreme Court case prompted new standards for fair wages. Despite Ruth Bader Ginsburgs encouragement to challenge laws in court, it seems difficult for many to understand why someone might invoke the protections of our laws or work to establish safety and fairness for others. For the many who dont have wealth or power as buffers, silence is survival not consent. Europe does not always operate in a way Americans would consider fair or just. But in the last few weeks, weve seen that government officials and the highest-ranking citizens seem to be held to a higher standard than their counterparts in the U.S. There is a cultural expectation that power increases responsibility. The British monarchy and government have repeatedly centered the survivors in their response to questions and probes: Our thoughts are with the victims. Cynically, this could be a convenient deflection, but practically, it keeps the focus on those who have been hurt and wronged. It sets the tone from the top and normalizes compassion and empathy for victims over perpetrators. In America, power often confers insulation. In Europe, there is instead greater reputational consequence. That kind of accountability conveys justice precisely because it cannot be insured against. It changes the incentives. In Europe, they have fired the men who were involved with Epstein. In America, we have allowed them to step down, resign, or retire quietly. READ MORE: Europe is holding its Epstein creeps accountable. Why cant we? | Will Bunch Will we allow power to protect itself more reliably than it protects the vulnerable especially children? The enduring failure we are seeing play out is a collective nonconsequence for those who sit the highest among us. Accountability collapses where power concentrates. At the same time, lest we forget, it was the demands from everyday Americans that led to the release of the Epstein files. The public brought this issue to the forefront. We can use this moment to force change. If we demand extraordinary proof from victims, we must demand extraordinary transparency from power. If we believe authority confers responsibility, then ethical standards must be enforced. Boards, professional societies, and institutions cannot simply issue statements of values; they must act when those values are breached. Accountability cannot remain optional for the powerful. As voters, donors, consumers, and leaders, we decide what we will reward. We can insist that reputation reflect conduct. We can demand that rules travel upward, not only downward. We can see justice as an integral part of our democracy, and each of us equally deserving. As a society, we can be clear on whose harm matters. That choice is ours. Priya E. Mammen is an emergency physician, healthcare executive, and public health specialist who helps the nations most impactful companies integrate clinical integrity at scale. The struggles often faced by first-time home buyers aren't a Republican problem or a Democratic problem, but an American one, write Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman. Read more When we were teenagers growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Americans typically bought their first home at the age of 29. Now, first-time home buyers tend to be in their 40s. As U.S. senators from different parties, we dont agree on everything. But as friends, parents of nine children between us, and representatives of working families across Pennsylvania, we cannot accept this terrible trend. Advertisement The American dream the promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can build a good life and financial security in a home that you own must not fall out of reach of young Pennsylvanians. Thats why we support the ROAD to Housing Act. This bipartisan bill, which the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on this week, will help address Pennsylvanias housing crisis by making it easier to build more homes, more affordably, while also preserving and repairing the housing stock we already have. The commonwealth has 100,000 fewer homes than it needs today and is on track to be short 185,000 by 2035. As a result of this shortage, home prices have increased 75% in the last five years. More than one million Pennsylvania households spend over 30% of their income on housing, and more than half of our housing stock is over 50 years old, driving up repair costs and straining family budgets. That combination too few and too many aging homes creates a squeeze felt from Erie to Philly: young families delaying having kids, seniors stuck in homes they cant afford to fix, workers turning down jobs because they cant find a place to live nearby. The shortage will get even more acute as new investments in Pennsylvanias energy and artificial intelligence, defense, and life-science industries generate great new jobs across the commonwealth. We have celebrated these transformative investments, from U.S. Steel to the Philly Shipyard, but more jobs mean more workers, and workers need homes. The ROAD Act delivers by taking three commonsense approaches. First, it tackles affordability at the source supply by reducing delays and lowering construction costs. Second, it strengthens accountability and modernizes federal programs to ensure they work for the people theyre meant to serve. Third, it empowers Pennsylvanians to build what fits local needs. Were proud that the bill includes provisions to protect Pennsylvania workers, veterans, and homeowners, which we championed together. Our Whole-Home Repairs legislation, for example, supports homeowners, especially in markets like ours with many historic residences, by offering grants and forgivable loans for repairs and upgrades of aging homes, keeping families in their homes and stabilizing neighborhoods. This isnt a Republican problem or a Democratic problem. Its an American one, and it demands bipartisan action. For these reasons, we stand united, as we have on many other issues, in voting yes for the ROAD to Housing Act. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. A section of a display by students from Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School, Bloom Where You Are Planted, is shown on Feb. 28 at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Read more For the last three years, my life has been defined by the tragedy of my sons murder and the management of the indescribable pain I feel every moment. For everyone else, time continues normally. For me, time simultaneously stands still, moves like molasses, or flies by in a blur. Ive been dreading 2026 for a while it would have been Nicks senior year at W.B. Saul High School. Hed have turned 18 last October. Hed have a drivers license. Hed be looking forward to senior prom and graduation. But instead, this June, well attend the trial for his murder, nearly four years later, and after constant delays. For all this time, Ive been able to picture Nick with his classmates at Saul, having the time of his life. But once June comes, where will I picture him? His life, as it was when he was killed, will be over. I cannot explain the level of distress this causes me. Who and where would my son be? Advertisement In an effort to manage this pain, I made the decision to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show this year, so that I could see what Nicks classmates had on display before they graduate. Its hard for me to watch the Saul kids continue on without Nick, but it also provides me a brief, albeit painful, respite and sense of pride to watch them shine and to imagine him with them. I was impressed and deeply moved by the homage to the Lenni Lenape. I could feel Nicks Indigenous pride as I marveled at what his classmates had created. A man and woman were next to me, very engaged in the Saul exhibit, reading all of the signs. The man said, The two high school exhibits Saul and Lankenau are the best ones here. As a Saul mother and a former Philadelphia high school teacher, I felt a surge of maternal pride upon hearing that. I had just walked over from the Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School display, which was phenomenal. It was colorful and intimate. I especially loved the border of flowers in cinderblocks. It reminded me of how beauty pushes through hardness and barriers that are meant to suppress. Standing in front of the display, I saw three Lankenau students handing out fliers, which broke my heart. What a surreal feeling it was to stand in front of such a marvelous, artistic display of the natural world, next to some of its creators, as they asked people for help to save their school from closure. What a shortsighted decision to close Lankenau a treasure in the green lung of the city. I am now an environmental graduate student at the University of Montana. My research was born from Nicks deep love of Mother Earth, his exemplary stewardship of nature, his murder, and my experience of teaching high school in Philadelphia. Why would we close a school in one of what feels like extremely limited green spaces in a densely populated, urban area? Scientific literature is saturated with the physical and mental health benefits of green and blue space exposure. The literature also details the correlation between tree canopy and lower crime rates. Nature deficit is real, and it has detrimental consequences, especially for our youth. The built environment and the omnipresence of screens have affected our youth in ways most people who do not interact with kids in an educational setting cannot understand. It therefore baffles me that a school in such an idyllic setting for place-based learning where socioemotional learning can have greater impact because of the healing effect of natural settings on our nervous systems is considered expendable. Last year, I taught undergraduate classes in Montana. We took a field trip to Yellowstone National Park for three days, and I was amazed at the level of comfort the students had with wilderness, teamwork, wayfinding, and so much more. Overall, they had knowledge about so many things that completely bewilder me it was simultaneously embarrassing and inspirational. I wondered what our Philadelphia youth might feel like if more of them had greater access to the natural world, and, in turn, what would our society look like when they come of age and contribute to the community. There are so few places like Lankenau; it is a travesty that we are even thinking about closing such a distinctive institution. We have lost so many young lives to gun violence. And those left behind are in a state of collective yet disenfranchised grief that permeates daily life in unseen but troubling ways. After Nick was killed, students posted wishes for themselves, each other, and society on the wall of Roxborough High School. So many wished for an end to gun violence and living in fear. One wished he would live to see age 25. READ MORE: Our children are killing each other, and all of us must do something about it | Opinion When we lost Nick, our city lost a true conservationist and a pure soul. Lankenau graduates students who can help to fill that gap, left by all of our murdered loved ones and their stolen potential. I urge everyone, Philadelphia resident or not, to join the fight for Lankenau and all the schools slated to close. If you believe that every child deserves a chance, now is the time to act on that belief. One of the Lankenau students at the Flower Show told me they are trying to make noise. Lets not put that burden on our youth, or solely on the shoulders of those most affected. Whoever you are show up, make noise. A magnet school in a beautiful, natural setting is violence prevention, a soothing balm, and a safe haven from the chaos of life. The imam at Nicks janaza read an African proverb: The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth. We are the village, and we must embrace our children. Meredith Elizalde is Nicks mom. A former Philadelphia high school teacher, she is currently a graduate student at the University of Montana. Voters stand in line to vote early for the primary election in Dallas on Tuesday. Read more A man named Juston Marine had arguably the toughest job in America on Tuesday: election navigator in Dallas County, Texas, where a confusing, Republican-engineered change in voting rules for 2026 left many voters dazed, confused, and miles from the place where they were supposed to be casting ballots. There are a lot of infuriated voters, Marine told a reporter for the Votebeat website as he struggled to do his job outside the Anita Martinez Recreation Center in West Dallas, where he encountered voters as they arrived at the large polling center. It seems this election worker heard a lot of words that arent found in the Bible, as he told every second or third voter that they were supposed to be somewhere else. Advertisement I walked up here because I want to vote so, so bad, Veronica Anderson told a reporter after traveling two and a half miles on foot to Dallas Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, only to be told she could only cast a ballot at some other location shed never heard of. She added that the rejection felt like your self-esteem and everything is torn down. That level of despair is exactly what Donald Trumps Republican Party is going for, as America this week kicked off an eight-month mad dash to a November midterm election that will be pivotal for the nations barely breathing democracy. Well never know exactly how many intended votes werent cast on Tuesday at the site named for the civil rights legend credited for the 1965 Voting Rights Act, or other Dallas County polling places where scores of voters primarily Democrats were turned away from highly competitive primaries for a U.S. Senate seat and other key races. It may have looked like chaos, but in many ways it all went down according to a Republican plan that will likely inspire further scheming from Trump and his MAGA minions as the general election draws closer. With polls showing that an election held today with the two-term presidents unpopularity at an all-time low would result in a Democratic takeover of the U.S. House and possibly the Senate, perhaps in a landslide, Team Trump has spent months looking for any and every way to put its finger on the scale of democracy. No one, other than some online Chicken Littles, believes Trump would go full banana republic and send in troops to cancel the 2026 midterms. But his attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021, aiming to undo his 2020 loss, is an indication of how far this autocrat will go to retain power. Team Trump has spent months looking for any and every way to put its finger on the scale of democracy. The Trump-led Republican scheme to make the 2026 elections less free and less fair started with a push for red states to do extreme gerrymandering, ripping up the maps drawn after the 2020 Census to make new districts crafted to maximize GOP power. (Texas was Ground Zero for this effort more on this later.) As the calendar flips toward the midterms and Republican popularity wanes, the push is likely to get more extreme. A legislative push for the so-called SAVE America Act, which would make voting harder with harsh ID requirements, has stalled, so Trump is now weighing an executive order to get the same results which would surely trigger a legal fight and possibly try to curb mail-in ballots, as well. READ MORE: As America burns, a GOP war on voting | Will Bunch Newsletter What just happened in Texas second-most populous county proved a case study in todays brand of Republican voter suppression, so lets unpack it. Like much of what happens in a political party that still clings to the Big Lie of nonexistent voter fraud in that 2020 election that Trump lost, the problems in Dallas County all began with a conspiracy theory. The county GOP leader in Dallas is a well-known conspiracy theorist, Allen West, an ex-congressman from Florida who moved to Texas and, for a time, ran the state Republican Party, where he adopted a slogan and a style from QAnon and seemed to favor secession, among other extreme views. In 2024, West became chair of the Dallas County GOP and made election and voting machine conspiracy theories his prime focus, in a state where parties have a lot of say over how primaries are conducted. What the local GOP pushed was for the county to count all of its paper ballots by hand a laborious process that would also require abandoning the large countywide voting centers and a return to smaller neighborhood precincts. Ultimately, the ballot-counting idea proved not practical, but the switch back to local precinct voting stuck and was in effect Tuesday for both parties even as Democrats struggled to inform their voters. (A similar change occurred in smaller Williamson County.) Election experts note that the GOP generally opposes large centers where anyone in a jurisdiction can vote much as it opposes early voting, mail-in ballots, or anything else that makes voting easier instead of harder, in an increasingly fragile democracy. Voter suppression that unravels the gains from the 1965 Voting Rights Act weakened and perhaps about to be gutted further by a right-wing U.S. Supreme Court has been a Republican strategy for decades, but the Dallas debacle was a new low. The confusion is the point, a Democratic Texas state lawmaker, Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos, posted on social media, noting further, This is the GOP voter suppression that Dems must come together to overcome in November. Ramos also noted one other wrinkle that happened Tuesday. Democrats and fair-voting advocates in both Dallas and Williamson Counties went to court during the day, seeking an emergency order to extend voting hours. That push initially succeeded, and in Dallas County, a judge ordered the polls open for two additional hours. But Texas right-wing extremist Attorney General Ken Paxton also a leading candidate in Tuesdays GOP Senate primary appealed the ruling and got the states conservative Supreme Court to rule in his favor. Votes that were cast after the original 7 p.m. closing time were segregated and may or may not ultimately be counted. Not surprisingly, West actually bragged about what looked to many folks like a voting fiasco, blaming the Democrats for not being informed about the confusing rules change. Its apparent that Democrats struggled with grasping basic civics and their usual attempt at lawfare backfired, the GOP leader said in a statement. Its clear that what we saw in Dallas balloting drenched in conspiracy theories from start to finish, new rules with the sole purpose of making it harder to vote, and an increasingly conservative judiciary making the final call was clearly a test case for the national election in November. Its not hard to imagine a scenario in which Republicans will manufacture conspiratorial doubt about some of the ballots cast in the fall as just happened with those post-7 p.m. votes in Dallas as a pretext for some grander and potentially cataclysmic effort to nullify Democratic victories in Congress. But Texas also provided a window into how this MAGA scheme might not work. Remember that extreme gerrymander the Lone Star State enacted last year, which aimed to create five additional Republican seats in Congress? Much of the plan aimed to capitalize on a dramatic shift toward the GOP among Texas large Latino population during Trumps last two runs in 2020 and 2024. But polls and now early voting have shown the Hispanic vote swinging back toward Democrats since Trump returned to office, thanks to the sluggish economy and the brutal manner of his immigration raids. On Tuesday, Democratic turnout in Texas soared to levels not seen since the high-profile 2008 battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in what was a very good year for their party. Voter suppression can be swamped by voter enthusiasm. But it shouldnt have to be that way. The right to vote is the fundamental building block of the American Experiment in democracy, and folks shouldnt have to walk clear across town or stay up all night to exercise it. Dallas was a warning shot for every citizen: Do not let this nightmare go national in November. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. Read more Immigrants in custody under the Trump administration have been denied medical care, face dangerous detention conditions, and have died in the highest numbers in two decades, according to a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem by a group of Democratic senators. As more and more immigrants are arrested, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement looks to vastly expand its detention capabilities including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey cases of abuse and death will only grow. Advertisement This is a moral wrong that violates Americas constitutional protections. State and local leaders should vigorously push back against new detention facilities proposed by a federal government that has shown open contempt for the law in pursuit of the presidents cruel and inhumane mass deportation policies. Contrary to what Donald Trump promised, most of the immigrants being detained are not hardened criminals or the worst of the worst. Fewer than 14% of people arrested by ICE in 2025 had any charges or convictions for violent offenses. Immigrants with no criminal record at all now make up the largest group in detention. READ MORE: Trumps war of choice with Iran makes a mockery of the Constitution | Editorial To be sure, immigration detention has a long history of abuse, with complaints about difficult living conditions, substandard medical care, and an opaque system leading to limited accountability when immigrants die in custody. Even when changes are promised, the problem has persisted. Detention centers are not safe, abuses are widespread and detention facilities consistently fail to meet basic minimum standards, wrote Mary Small, policy director for the Detention Watch Network, in 2015. The Obama administrations attempts at reforming the immigration detention system have failed. More than a decade later, that failure will likely compound as ICE, flush with $45 billion from the GOP-controlled Congress and zero accountability from the White House, ramps up not only the scale, but also the callousness of its operations. The conditions inside detention centers are bleak, even more so for the most vulnerable populations. ProPublica recently told the stories of children being held at the ICE facility in Dilley, Texas. Their testimony is heartbreaking. Since I got to this Center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression, one child wrote. Another said that the workers treat the residents unhumanly, verbally and I dont want to imging how they would act if they where unsupervised. A 9-year-old put it plainly, writing, I am not happy, please get me out of here. Governors are rightfully objecting to the growth of ICE detention centers in their states. Both Gov. Josh Shapiro and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill have taken a strong stance in opposition. Local communities and officials are also fighting back. ICE plans to convert warehouses to detention centers in Upper Bern Township in Berks County, Tremont Township in Schuylkill County, and in Roxbury, a municipality in New Jerseys Sussex County. Bucks County commissioners, who approved a bipartisan resolution against the detention centers, said the federal government may be looking to buy properties in Bensalem Township and Middletown Township. READ MORE: Trumps gutting of environmental standards endangers Americans health and finances | Editorial Shapiro has pledged to use every tool at his disposal to block the plans in Pennsylvania. Roxburys mayor, Republican Shawn Potillo, has also vowed to work against the proposed facility. Sherrill has promised to explore new state taxes in her own efforts to discourage the growth of detention centers. These statements are a step in the right direction. If officials are seeking examples of effective action, they can look to New Hampshire, where local opposition helped kill a plan for a new ICE facility, or to the small conservative town of Social Circle, Ga., which refused to turn on water access for an ICE detention center. In a letter to Homeland Securitys Noem, Sherrill laid out the case against ICE in no uncertain terms. DHS treatment of human beings citizen and noncitizen alike reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law, Sherill wrote. New Jersey will not be complicit in this. No one who values human rights should. The statue of a founding father who enslaved Black people in Delaware is moving from a New Castle storage facility to a venerated spot in Washingtons Freedom Plaza as part of President Donald Trumps celebration of Americas 250th birthday. Wilmington officials took down the statue of Caesar Rodney in 2020 amid Black Lives Matter protests and a national reckoning over racism in America, taking it out of public view at the same time as the city removed a statue of Christopher Columbus for similar reasons. Advertisement It wasnt clear when the bronze monument of Rodney on a horse will be put on temporary display in the plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the White House, according to the New York Times, which learned of the story from a Feb. 3 National Park Service memo. The statue had stood in Wilmingtons Rodney Square for around 100 years. Rodneys legend includes a partially disputed story about riding two horses 82 miles from Dover to Independence Hall to sign the Declaration of Independence a trip five times longer than Paul Reveres more famous ride a year earlier. Rodney arrived spent and mud-spattered on July 2, 1776, to sign the Declaration before its formal adoption on July 4, breaking the tie between two other Delaware delegates, one of whom wouldnt sign, said Dick Carter, chairman of the Delaware Heritage Commission. The near last-minute inscribing is true, Carter and others say, but its possible that Rodney, who suffered from facial cancer and was quite ill, may have covered some of the mileage in a carriage. Giving his life to public service, Rodney was a brigadier general in the Continental Army, a sheriff, a justice on the Delaware Supreme Court, and a delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress. Rodney was also among the 41 out of 56 Declaration signers who enslaved people. He was a complex and contradictory figure, especially when viewed through a 21st-century lens, Carter said, adding that it is not fair to judge historical figures by the norms and mores of the present day. Rodney enslaved anywhere from 20 to 200 people on his estate near Dover. But his legacy also includes a bill he introduced in the state legislature to end the practice of importing enslaved people into Delaware. And upon his death, he freed the 18 people hed enslaved at the time. Trump, during his first term in 2020, praised Rodney in a proclamation issued on the founding fathers birthday. In the proclamation, Trump condemned the removal of Rodneys statue as part of an ongoing, radical purge of Americas founding generation. Trump said it was a re-education attempt and the end result of an extreme anti-American historical revisionism, generated by critical race theorists [and] mobs on city streets who say that America is not an exceptional country but an evil one. Trump has expressed similar views during his second term and taken steps to change the way Americans are educated about the nations history. In January, the administration ordered the removal of exhibits depicting slavery at the Presidents House in Independence National Historical Park. The U.S. Department of Interior said that the slavery-related materials were being reviewed to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values. Last month, a federal judge ordered the exhibits restoration, though the administration is still pursuing the matter. In the summer of 2025, the administration restored two statues in the D.C. area that commemorated the Confederacy. One was a statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike, the only outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nations capital. We see a pattern of celebrating enslavers while reducing teaching about slavery in the United States and limiting diversity, equity, and inclusion, said Timothy Wellbeck, director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple University. Caesar Rodney has components of character not worth celebrating despite his contributions to Americas founding. Shane Darby, a councilwoman from Wilmington, told the Times that glorifying Rodney was a slap in the face of Black and brown people of this city... . You can have him, D.C. Thats a view shared by other people in the Black community, said Syl Woolford, a member of the Delaware Heritage Commission. Some folks in Wilmington are saying, Get that white boy out of here, Woolford said. They tell you theres no place here for the statue of a slave owner. But, he and other historians say, Rodneys place in history shouldnt be completely ignored. Even with the statue gone, elements of Rodney remain. He still appears on the quarter that honors Delaware. And his square continues to bear his name, although theres discussion itll be renamed after President Joe Biden, whose ties to Delaware run deep, Carter said. The Department of Interior didnt answer a request from The Inquirer to comment on criticism from Wellbeck and others that the Trump administration is exalting an enslaver. Instead, a spokesperson said, Rodneys journey itself reflected extraordinary courage. By telling the full story we strengthen our shared understanding and ensure that future generations inherit not just the land we love, but the truth of the journey that brought us here, the spokesperson added. To avoid further consternation in Wilmington, theres a plan to send Rodneys statue to Dover, not Wilmington, after the 250th celebration is over, said Republican State Sen. Eric Buckson. Dover is Rodneys birth and resting place, Buckson said. He added, however, that in this climate, folks are rightfully concerned about having monuments minimizing slavery. So, whenever Rodney comes back, his statue will be amended, Buckson said. Itll include a plaque, he added, and that will have the story that, along with everything else, Caesar Rodney was a slave holder. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (center), joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), the GOP whip, speaks to reporters Tuesday at the Capitol in Washington. Read more WASHINGTON Republicans invoked the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they made another unsuccessful effort Thursday to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are insisting on changes to immigration enforcement operations as part of the measure and blocked it from advancing. The procedural vote was 51-45, falling well short of the 60 that Republicans needed to proceed with the measure. While the House will also take up the bill Thursday, that outcome will be more about putting lawmakers on the record about where they stand. Advertisement In the end, a bipartisan compromise will have to be reached to end a DHS shutdown that began Feb. 14. The funding bill first passed the House back in January, but it has gone nowhere in the Senate as Democrats seek new restraints on immigration enforcement tactics following the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis. Republicans have called on Democrats to reconsider their vote in the wake of the conflict in Iran. Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said Democrats would bear responsibility for the next cyberattack that is missed or the next lone wolf terrorist who attacks in the U.S. Blood will be on their hands, Barrasso said on the Senate floor. Because we dont have a functioning Department of Homeland Security that is funded with people on the ground in every position receiving their paychecks. It did not appear the GOPs strategy had changed the position of Democratic lawmakers, though. They said they are prepared to fund most of the agencies at the department, just not Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. Its the same lousy, rotten bill that does not put any guardrails or constraints on ICE or CBP after federal agents shot American citizens in the street, Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) said. Moments before the vote, senators were getting word that President Donald Trump had just fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The news did not change Democrats resolve to force operational changes within the department through the spending bill. Good riddance, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. But the problems at ICE transcend any one individual. Workers are beginning to miss part of their paychecks Following the longest federal shutdown in the countrys history last year, Congress has completed work on 11 of this years 12 appropriations bills. Only the bill for Homeland Security remains outstanding. Republicans said the timing couldnt be worse for a Homeland Security shutdown. While a large majority of the departments employees are considered essential and continue to work, many will not receive a full paycheck this week. Like Democrats first shutdown a few months ago, this shutdown is causing a lot of financial stress, uncertainty, and pain for hardworking Americans, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. Its also making it harder for those working to keep America safe. Republicans said the prospect of an increase in unscheduled absences by the Transportation Security Administrations agents could lead to longer wait times at the nations airports. Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has canceled various assessments to determine vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. And training for first responders conducted through the Federal Emergency Management Agency was canceled. Democrats are seeking several changes at the department that include prohibiting ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, allowing independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing, requiring warrants to be signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear identification and remove their masks. Republicans note that the bill does include a bipartisan provision directing more resources for de-escalation training and $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras. Little to show from negotiations The White House and congressional Democrats dont appear to have made significant progress in recent weeks in resolving their differences after trading several offers. Look, were still far apart, but were negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth, Schumer said. The size of the divide appeared significant during Thursdays debate on the Senate floor. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt said that through their actions, Democrats were still the party of open borders, they are still the party of defund the police, now actually more than ever. She and other Republicans also cited last weekends mass shooting in Austin, Texas, as an example of the dangerous threat environment thats facing Americans following the attack on Iran. We know this couldnt come at a more dangerous time., Britt said. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that Democrats were simply working to make sure federal immigration officials follow the same standards as other law enforcement officers. We are not asking for the moon. We are asking for basic steps to protect Americans constitutional rights and their safety, Murray said. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman promised to back President Donald Trumps pick to succeed Kristi Noem within minutes of her abrupt firing as secretary of homeland security. Trump has tapped U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol, and the two agencies increasingly unpopular operations in carrying out Trumps deportation agenda. Advertisement Mullins nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. Im not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague [Sen. Mullin] as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE, Fetterman said in a post on X, which also noted his membership on the committee that oversees the department. Mullin and Fetterman (D., Pa.) were both elected to the Senate in 2022. The Oklahoma Republican had served in the U.S. House for a decade before joining the upper chamber. Mullin told reporters he had already received a text message from Fetterman after Trumps announcement. You guys know John and I are friends. Were going to try to earn everybodys vote, Mullin said when asked whether other Democrats would vote for him. The sudden change in leadership at DHS follows growing outrage over ICEs tactics and questions about Noems leadership, both of which escalated nationally after federal agents shot and killed U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in January in Minneapolis. Immigration has gone from one of Trumps strongest polling issues to a potential drag on his party in the forthcoming midterms. More than half of Pennsylvania voters disapprove of ICEs enforcement methods, according to a poll from Franklin and Marshall College released Thursday. Fetterman and other senators who had voted for Noems confirmation called for her to be fired after Prettis killing. She also faced criticism from both sides of the aisle at a recent oversight hearing before the Senate that examined a controversial $220 million ad campaign she approved, among other topics. Americans have died, Fetterman said in a direct plea to Trump in January. She is betraying DHSs core mission and trashing your border security legacy." U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) said on Thursday that he supports Mullins nomination. It is unclear whether other Democratic senators will give the green light to Mullins nomination, but many on Thursday were quick to celebrate Noems departure as she transitions into a newly created role in the Trump administration called the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.), who also voted for Noems confirmation in January 2025 before calling for her to be fired a year later, said Thursday on X that her firing Will be the most popular decision of [Trumps] presidency. But he cautioned that Noems termination is only the start of getting rid of the deep rot of corruption in the Trump administration, and that other officials, including Trump adviser Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, the border czar, should be held accountable for immigration agents conduct. The leadership change comes as Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials are pushing back on DHSs plans to convert warehouses in the states into detention centers. Kim and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) have offered legislation to prohibit such moves and Gov. Josh Shapiro has floated possible legal action over DHSs purchase of two warehouses in Pennsylvania. Democratic House members from the region echoed Kims sentiment that more change is needed than just the leadership of the department. Lawmakers are still debating future funding for DHS, with Democrats demanding reforms to immigration enforcement before they will approve more money for the department. Change the lousy policies, not just the person, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Philadelphia) wrote on X. We still need real accountability at DHS, including meaningful reforms to ICE so agents are not terrorizing Americans, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia) said on X. Boyle criticized Fetterman for immediately pledging to support Mullin, saying in another post that the Pennsylvania senator is Trumps favorite Democrat for a good reason. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Chester) congratulated Trump in a statement Thursday for taking this long overdue action in firing Noem. I sincerely hope Mr. Mullin or whomever is eventually confirmed will be prepared to reform ICE and to work with the Congress to rein in its most destructive practices, she said. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R., Lehigh), who represents a key swing district, said he looks forward to seeing a greater emphasis on transparency under Mullin. He stopped short of criticizing Noem and said in the last year DHS made critical progress towards securing the border once and for all. One of the reforms Democrats have called for is a prohibition on ICE agents wearing masks. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), a former FBI agent, is one of the few Republicans supporting that proposal as a way to restore trust with the agency. His office underlined that a new leader should focus on rebuilding the departments reputation with the American people. The Department of Homeland Security carries one of the most important missions in government protecting the American people. That mission requires the publics trust, and Congressman Fitzpatrick believes a leadership change was needed to help restore confidence in the department," Fitzpatrick spokesperson Casey-Lee Waldron said in a statement. He hopes Senator Mullin will work to rebuild that trust and strengthen DHS moving forward. Montgomery County Commissioners vote on resolution to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from county property in civil immigration matters on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Read more The Montgomery County commissioners further limited the countys cooperation with ICE on Thursday when they passed a resolution restricting federal immigration enforcement from using county property or resources for noncriminal investigations. The measure approved by the Democratic-controlled board bars U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement from using county resources for various purposes, including as staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases related to civil immigration operations. Advertisement Weve seen it elsewhere the violence, the fear, the separation of families. We want to make sure that here in Montgomery County, were doing everything we can to make sure all of our residents can continue to access essential services and live their lives safely, said Commissioner Jamila Winder, the Democrat who chairs the board. The resolution comes as immigration stakeholders in the county have been pushing the commissioners to take further action to protect residents from ICE enforcement as President Donald Trumps deportation agenda continues to escalate. Much of the tension occurred under the leadership of Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary whom Trump fired Thursday. Calls for action escalated nationally in January after federal agents killed U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. In Montgomery County, ICE has carried out numerous operations, especially in communities with high numbers of Latino residents, such as Norristown, the county seat. Let me be clear: The county does not have authority over the federal governments actions over civil immigration enforcement, and we still do not have the authority over the courts, other elected officials, municipalities, townships, or their law enforcement officers, Winder said. That remains unchanged, but what has changed is the environment were in. The policy to block ICE from using county resources passed 2-1 with Commissioner Tom DiBello, the boards sole Republican, voting no. The measure codifies that the county will not enter into a 287(g) agreement, which would allow ICE to use county resources, and that county employees will not comply in federal civil immigration operations without a judicial warrant or subpoena. It does not prohibit ICE from purchasing warehouses for detention centers, as the agency has done in Berks and Schuylkill Counties. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has blasted the warehouse purchases as being conducted in secret and promised to pursue avenues to block the plan from moving forward. Bucks County in February passed a unanimous resolution opposing any potential purchases there. Montgomery Countys resolution denying ICE access to its buildings and lands follows a national trend among Democratic-led jurisdictions. The move has both symbolic and practical impacts. First, it enables the county government to publicly make clear its opposition and noncooperation. And second, ICE can need big spaces to set up officers, cars, and equipment for operations; banning the use of potential staging areas can complicate the agencys logistics. Montgomery Countys Department of Assets and Infrastructure will post signage on county-owned property noting that the area cannot be used for purposes not approved by the county, according to the resolution. Private property owners who wish to restrict civil immigration enforcement activity on their properties can request signs for free. Megan Alt, a spokesperson for the county, said the hope is that ICE will comply with county law. But if not, the county is prepared to handle violations as it would for any other instances of trespassing. DiBello, the lone GOP commissioner, said his opposition has nothing to do with politics and criticized the resolutions references to ICE-related incidents that took place outside Montgomery County. He also said he was concerned that private property owners who do not post signs restricting ICE action on their properties will be targeted as a consequence. Whats going to happen then? Is there doxing going to occur? Is there protests outside of businesses? he asked. Commissioner Neil Makhija, the boards vice chair, said the resolution has nothing to with immigration policy, but rather was about limiting cooperation with an agency that has used extreme tactics. He cited an ICE arrest last month in Lower Providence Township in which agents broke down a familys front door. DiBello responded that Makhija was engaging in political positioning. In the Philadelphia region and elsewhere, ICEs use of government property has long rankled immigration advocates, who say it amounts to cooperation on the part of local leaders. For instance, Philadelphia City Council is poised to consider a package of ICE Out legislation that would bar the agency from staging or conducting enforcement on property owned or controlled by the city including garages, parking lots, vacant land, buses, playgrounds, and schools. Winder said Thursday that Montgomery Countys resolution is not some newfound desire to limit cooperation. Yes, we have our political affiliations, but we also know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, she said. Democrats wave their flags during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. Read more The first time Philly hosted a major presidential nominating convention was in 1848, when the Whig Party, meeting in Sansom Streets long-gone Chinese Museum building, nominated Zachary Taylor, who went on to win the White House. The 10th and most recent time, Democrats in 2016 made Hillary Rodham Clinton the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party. Advertisement Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and other local leaders are hoping to make more history by landing Phillys 11th convention in 2028. And part of the appeal is the promise of a boost to the local economy as thousands of conventiongoers buy up hotel rooms, spend money at restaurants, and visit the citys attractions. READ MORE: Philadelphia is on the short list to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention Philadelphia would see substantial economic benefits, Gov. Josh Shapiro recently wrote to the Democratic National Committee, which this week named the city as one of five finalists to host the partys next convention, alongside Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Denver. But how much do cities really benefit from hosting political conventions? Heres what you need to know about what Philly stands to gain from hosting another DNC. Conventions economic impact debatable Tourism bureaus and convention planners often make lofty claims about the economic benefits of major events like political conventions. Visit Philly, for instance, in 2016 commissioned the consulting firm Tourism Economics to examine that years DNC, and the firm found the event brought 54,300 visitors to the region and provided a $230.9 million injection into the local economy. But economists who have studied conventions are skeptical of such claims. A 2018 study of both parties conventions in 2008 and 2012 found that political conventions do not seem to have the large economic impact that is usually suggested by traditional economic impact studies. Officials at the time often claimed economic impacts north of $150 million for conventions. But estimates that high rely on unrealistic assumptions about how much money conventiongoers spend each day, according to the study, which was published in the journal Papers in Regional Science. Cities and states often tout mega events as vehicles for economic growth, economists Lauren R. Heller, Victor A. Matheson, and E. Frank Stephenson wrote in the paper. Hosting national political conventions generates a large inflow of overnight visitors and increases hotel revenue. However, the cumulative effect of approximately 29,000 additional room nights of lodging services and $20 million of hotel revenue imply that traditional economic impact estimates may be unrealistically large. Hotels are big winners Although conventions overall economic impact is debatable, there is little disagreement about their benefits to one industry in particular: hotels. Ive seen a lot of different large events come through [over] the years, and the DNC was one that definitely delivered, said Ed Grose, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association. I can think of a few of examples of hotels making their annual budget based on the DNC alone. Grose said the benefits are widespread in the lodging industry when a convention rolls into town. Its not just Center City hotels, but the airport area, the suburban hotels everyone benefits from the DNC," Grose said. Its especially good for our frontline team members; its good for our restaurants; its good for our bars. It is an event that delivers a huge economic hype. Minimal tradeoffs Debates over economic impact are often centered on situations in which officials must weigh tradeoffs, such as whether to provide tax breaks to businesses promising new jobs. For cities, political conventions are a different story. While hosting another DNC would likely require taxpayer resources from the state and federal governments, there would be little downside for Parker and the city budget. Conventions are funded primarily through private contributions. In 2016, the DNC host committee raised about $85 million $10 million of which came from taxpayers in the form of a state grant. Much of the cost incurred by local governments related to security is reimbursed by the federal government. Congress has appropriated grant funding for presidential nominating convention host cities since 9/11. In 2024, the localities hosting both the DNC and the Republican National Convention were each eligible to receive about $75 million in reimbursements. Beyond dollars and cents For some, the value proposition of a convention coming to town is as much about getting attention as it is boosting the economy. The 2016 DNC drew roughly 19,000 media members from around the world, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. Labor leader Ryan Boyer, who heads the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and is a close Parker ally, said conventions like the DNC that bring major donors and corporations to town have the potential to result in longitudinal jobs, meaning they could lay the groundwork for future investments by potential employers. He said a convention is an opportunity to showcase spots of the city ripe for investment such as the Navy Yard, the industrial hub known as the Bellwether District, and the life sciences corridor in University City to corporate figures who might not otherwise travel here. Its a chance to show off Philadelphia, Boyer said. Were a good business proposition. Grose said there were indirect, long-term impacts from hosting conventions. We get a lot of exposure from being on TV for a week. Theres a lot of things that happen during the DNC that we cant buy, he said. Its great to see we are back in the mix after a relatively short time since hosting the DNC. That just shows what a great job we did as a city. David L. Cohen, the longtime Democratic fundraiser who is leading the recently formed host committee called Pick Pennsylvania, noted another reason revisiting Philadelphia could be an appealing pick for Democrats: It allows the party to dominate the biggest media market in a critical swing state. You own the media market for the week that youre there, said Cohen, a former Comcast executive who served as U.S. ambassador to Canada under former President Joe Biden. The party couldnt afford to pay for the positive advertising the party would get for holding its convention in Philadelphia. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker this week appointed former prosecutor Tito Valdes as Philadelphias new director of LGBTQ+ affairs. Valdes, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law, has extensive experience working on legal issues concerning youth. He previously worked as a city attorney representing the Philadelphia Department of Human Services in child welfare cases. And he is well-known for his work as a Philadelphia assistant district attorney in the family violence and sexual assault unit. Advertisement Valdes said one of his top priorities in his new role will be working with DHS to that ensure LGBTQ+ youth receive proper care in the citys foster system. I am envisioning a particular focus on LGBTQ youth and care, and just ensuring that that particular population, which is in the system oftentimes because of who they are, receive services that are culturally competent, Valdes said in an interview. Valdes is the third person to hold the job under Parkers administration, which began in January 2024. The previous two both left the city under unusual circumstances, and Valdes said he hopes to restore stability to the office. The community generally deserves and needs stability and just a sense of consistency, he said. Valdes assumes the role at a sensitive time for the citys work on equality and civil rights issues. Progressives and advocates for marginalized populations have called on Parker to take a more aggressive stance against President Donald Trumps attacks on immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and other groups. But Parker has for the most part avoided direct confrontation with Trump in a strategy to prevent Philadelphia from being targeted by his administration. (One notable exception is the citys lawsuit to preserve exhibits on slavery at Independence National Historical Park.) My approach will be to loudly proclaim what I believe the Parker administration does proclaim, which is that everybody deserves to be treated fairly, that were committed to this work, Valdes said. The Philadelphia Gay News first reported Parkers appointment of Valdes, who has served on the board of the William Way LGBT Community Center and on the Governors Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs under former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Valdes has won the Prosecutor of the Year award from the Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy and the Team Excellence Award from the Philadelphia Childrens Alliance, according to the mayors office. He most recently worked at the personal injury law firm Anapol Weiss. Tito brings years of legal experience and proven intergovernmental, collaborative leadership to this role, Parker said in a statement. His leadership will help ensure that LGBTQ+ Philadelphians experience a city government that is responsive, accountable, and fully committed to their safety and opportunity. The Philadelphia Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs works to strengthen protections, expand opportunity, and improve service delivery for LGBTQ+ residents across Philadelphia, according to the city. Valdes most recent predecessor, Tyrell Brown, was fired last year after receiving a seminude photograph from another high-ranking city employee, then-deputy chief of staff Chris Dailey, while using a cruising app. Inspector General Alex DeSantis said he recommended Parker fire Brown and Brandee Anderson who was the citys chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer after an investigation by his office found they acted highly unprofessionally while discussing the photograph in the workplace. Anderson has publicly pushed back on the citys account, denying that she and Brown mishandled the incident and saying the administration targeted her for pushing the city to be more aggressive on DEI issues. Brown has not commented on the incident. But they said in a statement that they were incredibly excited and proud of Titos appointment. This moment is about celebrating his leadership and standing behind him as he steps into this role, something I am honored and proud to do, Brown said. Brown was preceded by Celena Morrison-McLean, who was appointed in 2020 by former Mayor Jim Kenney and who was the first openly transgender person to lead a city office. Morrison-McLean made national headlines in March 2024, two months after Parker took office, when she and her husband were arrested after a state trooper pulled her over on I-76 for multiple violations. During the traffic stop, Morrison-McLean recorded a cell phone video of a confrontation between the trooper and her husband, who had been following her in a separate vehicle and was also pulled over. The video went viral, but it answered few questions about the circumstances that led to the confrontation. Morrison-McLean left city government in November 2024. City officials at the time did not give a reason for her departure. Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article. The William Way LGBT Community Center, located at 1315 Spruce St. in Center City, is going to be torn down. Read more After months of varying reports about the future of the William Way LGBT Community Centers headquarters in Philadelphia, a firm plan is finally emerging. The 176-year-old building at 1315 Spruce St. will be torn down and replaced with a new headquarters, which will include up to 42 new affordable apartments for seniors, according to the development team. Advertisement The existing four-story, 14,000-square-foot building is expected to be replaced by a six-story structure. The apartments would be on the top four floors and William Ways community center on the bottom two. The idea is to give the storied organization more space, while providing housing for people who might not otherwise be able to live in Philadelphias historic Gayborhood. We want to make sure that people are given the opportunity to live in all areas of the city, including areas like Washington Square West that have a lot of higher income folks, said Dan Anders, a vice chair of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund (DMH Fund), a group that also developed the celebrated John C. Anderson apartments, half a block away. The DMH Fund is partnering with HELPDevCo, an affordable-housing builder. William Way Center referred all questions about the proposed building to those two groups. The William Way Center is not likely to demolish the building in the immediate future, as the project will need funding from the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which will not disperse funds again until late this year. The community center is currently still open. The property is within the recently designated Washington Square West historic district, which was overturned in court last week. The timing of the announcement was coincidental, however. Plans have been in the works for months. William Way purchased 1315 Spruce St. in 1996, and over the last 10 years, the LGBTQ community has been trying to raise money to stabilize and redevelop the historic headquarters. Last June, the group announced that even after a fundraising drive, $3.5 million was still required for immediate repairs. Swathes of the building are currently unusable, although the structure is not imminently dangerous. There are holes in the floor of some rooms, roof leaks, and standing water often fills the basement. It sounds like a really good plan, said Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the area. The building is in really, really bad shape. Its been hard to maintain. The reason why it hasnt been fixed is because the cost to fix it has been astronomical. In late November, William Way announced that it would shutter the building and disperse its operation to other locations, raising concerns about clients maintaining access to services. But a week later, the community center said it planned to rehabilitate the historic building and would return to the existing structure. We know that there are questions regarding the future of the building and acknowledge that messaging has been confusing, William Way board chairs Laura Ryan and Dave Huting said in a January email to supporters. We understand the frustration and will be sharing more information soon. Last week Philadelphia Gay News reported that William Way would be demolishing its building and moving forward with a comprehensive redevelopment. The announcement occurred at a gala for the publications 50th anniversary, with Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker in attendance and expressing support for the proposal. I strongly support the restoration of the William Way Community Center, as an essential part of the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia, said Mayor Parker in a statement, and will commit resources through our H.O.M.E. initiative to support this vital project. Historic preservation advocates have expressed concern and sadness over the proposed demolition. We are alarmed by the news that the historic William Way building would be demolished in the recently announced plans for the future of the real estate, said Paul Steinke, head of the Preservation Alliance. We hope they will be willing to incorporate historic preservation into their plans. Steinke served on William Ways board for six years and helped lead a pre-pandemic fundraising drive to replace the windows and HVAC system and conduct other repairs. (In the end, that plan did not move forward.) Steinke said he has reached out to William Way for more information on its proposal. He also hopes that the city will appeal the ruling against the Washington Square West historic district. I understand the frustration of some folks that the building will be demolished, but its in such a state that its not feasible to renovate it, Anders said. It is a sad reality, but thats where we are. We will honor the tradition of that location and the William Way Center and build a building that celebrates our community and that everyone can be proud of, he said. The Washington Square West Civic Association declined to comment on William Ways plans. The property is in one of Philadelphias most flexible zoning categories, so land use regulations will not pose a barrier to the community centers proposal. The prominent mural on the side of William Ways building is crumbling. Anders said the new structure would be designed to advertise the community centers mission. The artist herself acknowledged that the mural was never intended to be permanent, Anders said. What we want to do when were designing the building is very clearly communicate with passersby and the community itself that something LGBT is going on inside, and to celebrate that. On the afternoon of March 4, the opening meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Anhuibased CPPCC members, together with delegates from across the country, carried high expectations and a solemn mission as they proceeded to the Great Hall of the People to attend the grand meeting. Looking back over the past five years, our countrys economic strength, scientific and technological strength and comprehensive national power have all reached new heights, and Chinese modernization has taken new solid steps forward, CPPCC member Tao Yisheng said, expressing great expectation for the session and confidence in the nations development. Offering advice for national development and voicing concerns for peoples welfare, over the past year the Anhuibased CPPCC members have been active in fields, workshops and community front linesmindful of major national issues and attentive to public concernshelping ensure scientific decisions and effective policies through highquality performance of their duties. I am very excited to attend again, CPPCC member Li Xia said, adding that she will approach the session with greater responsibility and a stronger sense of mission, actively perform her consultative duties during the meeting, contribute highquality proposals, and demonstrate the commitment of Anhuibased CPPCC delegates. Together with all attendees, the Anhuibased CPPCC members listened attentively to the work report of the CPPCC Standing Committee and the report on proposal work, drawing thunderous applause in the hall time and again. After completing the agenda and exiting the Great Hall of the People, the delegates were filled with confidence. The year 2026 marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the opening year of the 15th FiveYear Plan. Standing at this new starting point, the delegates said they will continue to act as a bridge and link, improve their capacities and performance skills, and use highquality consultative recommendations to serve and help ensure a strong and steady start to the 15th FiveYear Plan. Source: Anhui Daily Merchants Insurance Group, headquartered in Buffalo, New York, appointed Pete Walkup as its vice president, head of claims. Walkup oversees all claims operations, with an emphasis on operational performance, process modernization, and delivering value to policyholders. Walkup joins Merchants from Donegal Insurance, where he served as vice president, claims operations, since 2022. He has over 28 years of claims experience, including senior leadership roles at Kemper Insurance and State Farm Insurance. Topics Claims A waterworks products company facing asbestos claims is entitled to tap its Chubb excess insurance policy because its primary insurance has been exhausted as a result of the primary carriers insolvency and its inability to pay any covered claims. A Massachusetts Superior Court found in favor of Water Applications Distribution Group (WADG) and against the Chubb subsidiary Federal Insurance Co. on the grounds that the term exhausted in Federals policy is ambiguous and must be interpreted in the policyholders favor. The case turned on whether the primary coverage was exhausted in circumstances where WADGs primary carrier became insolvent before paying money to WADG on relevant claims. Federal had argued that primary coverage is exhausted only once the primary carrier has paid in full the primary policy limit, and because that has not occurred, Federal is not obligated to drop down to provide coverage to WADG. The policyholder argued that because its primary carrier, now insolvent, will not be making any payments on its claim, its primary policy has been exhausted, obligating Federal to drop down and provide coverage. Suffolk County Superior Court Justice Christopher K. Barry-Smith granted summary judgment for WADG, ruling that Federal is obligated to step down and provide coverage under its excess policy. WADG is corporate successor to Pacific Waterworks Supply Co., a Washington corporation that merged into U.S. Filter Distribution Group, which in 2004 changed its name to WADG. In 2007, WADG moved its principal office to Massachusetts, where it remains today, Federal issued two excess liability insurance policies to Pacific, each effective for one year, the first between June 1, 1986 and June 1, 1987 and the second effective June 1, 1987 to June 1, 1988. The latter policy was cancelled effective August 7, 1987. One important aspect is that the Insuring Clause states that the Federal policy applies only in excess of and after all UNDERLYING INSURANCE has been exhausted. During the time period of the Federal policies, the only primary or underlying insurance was issued by United Pacific Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Reliance Insurance Co., which was declared insolvent in 2001and placed into liquidation by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. WADG, as successor to Pacific, was named in lawsuits alleging that products it sold or distributed contained asbestos. Those lawsuits alleged that WADG was liable for bodily injury, sickness, and disease suffered by people who were exposed to these products at various times, including during the time period (June 1, 1986-August 7, 1987) when the Federal policies were in effect. WADG made a claim in the liquidation proceedings. The final bar date for claims against United Pacific was March 31, 2016. Effective November 29, 2021, the Reliance liquidation was closed, and Reliance was dissolved by court order. In light of the now-passed bar date and Reliances dissolution, there is no prospect that WADG will receive any money for defense or indemnification under the Reliance policies. Federal declined to indemnify WADG and sued seeking to avoid coverage and to recoup money it previously paid for similar asbestos claims. The parties agreed that Washington law should govern. The court relied upon the interpretation of the insurance policy under governing Washington law. First, the court held that the meaning of exhausted in the Federal policy is ambiguous. The judge disagreed with Federals argument that, when the Insuring Clause with the word is read in conjunction with another clause (the Maintenance Clause), it unambiguously means that the exhausted requirements could be satisfied solely by payment of claims up to the amount of the primary policy limit. Instead, the court found that even considering all provisions of the policy together, exhausted remains subject to different, reasonable interpretations and therefore was ambiguous. The court determined that the dictionary definition of exhaustedto have used up or consumed completely did not solve any ambiguity. According to the opinion. if assessed through the lens of whether the primary insurer has actually paid claims up to the policy limit, then the primary insurance has not been exhausted. On the other hand, WADG knows that its insolvent primary insurer will not be paying any amount in claims for WADGs covered loss; in other words, its primary insurance has been exhausted, used up or consumed completely. The judge found both of these interpretations reasonable, which he said means the term exhausted is ambiguous. The judge added that the Maintenance Clause, which makes clear that any reduction of a policy limit occurs solely by payment of claims, does not carry over to provide meaning to the Insuring Clause and resolve the ambiguity because the Maintenance Clause defines a duty of the insured and says little about the duties of the insurer which appear in the Insuring Clause. Again, the court found, because it is subject to differing, reasonable interpretations, the word exhausted is ambiguous. The court applied Washington law requiring that ambiguity in an insurance contract be interpreted in favor of the insured In so doing, the court held that primary insurance is exhausted when the primary carrier is insolvent, and it is a certainty that the primary carrier will not be making any payment on the insureds covered losses. Federal therefore is obligated to drop down and provide coverage to WADG consistent with its excess policy, the court concluded. Topics Carriers Excess Surplus New York City paid more than $117 million last year to settle police misconduct lawsuits in cases ranging from the violent arrests of protesters in 2020 to bad police work that led to wrongful convictions in the 1980s, according to a newly published analysis of city data. Nearly $800 million in payouts were made over the last seven years. The largest settlements last year, totaling $24.1 million, went to two men who spent more than 20 years in prison after they were wrongly arrested and convicted for a fatal 1986 robbery in midtown Manhattan robbery. Another settlement, for $5.75 million, went to a man who said police blinded him in his left eye with a stun gun. The analysis, released Monday by the nonprofit public defender organization The Legal Aid Society, comes as the nations largest city faces a $5.4 billion budget shortfall. Along with broader cuts, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed trimming $22 million from the NYPDs $6.4 billion budget as it continues to tout lower crime numbers. Settlements are paid out of a separate part of the citys budget. Elsewhere, theyre paid directly from a police departments operating budget. This analysis is really about transparency around what the NYPD is costing us, said Jennvine Wong, the supervising attorney with the organizations Cop Accountability Project. And from what we can tell here, I think it means that meaningful accountability has been lacking in the police department. Its a chronic problem that needs to be addressed. NYPD says its increasing accountability, helping right wrongs In all, the city settled 1,044 police misconduct lawsuits in 2025, the most since 2019, when 1,276 were resolved. It was the fourth straight year with settlements exceeding $100 million. Last years total was nearly double the $62.1 million the city paid in 2020 to settle 929 lawsuits. In 2024, the city paid $206.4 million in 980 lawsuits. Those amounts are just a part of the citys overall police misconduct toll. The Legal Aid Societys analysis only includes lawsuit settlements, not claims that the city comptroller, the official in charge of financial matters, resolved prior to formal litigation. Of last years settlements, about $42 million were for wrongful convictions and $28 million nearly a quarter of the payout total involved incidents that occurred more than two decades ago. Such cases have also accounted for a substantial portion of the $796 million the city has paid to resolve police misconduct lawsuits since 2019, the NYPD said. While these cases are very important to address, they tell you nothing about the state of policing today, the department said in a statement. Under Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the NYPD has taken significant steps to increase accountability, compliance, and change outdated policies that might create greater risk, the statement said. The department said it also works closely with the citys district attorneys offices, providing material to facilitate their review of cases involving wrongful arrest and conviction claims. Multimillion-dollar payouts for wrongful convictions and brutality The men wrongly convicted in the fatal 1986 robbery, Eric Smokes and David Warren, received $13 million and $11.1 million, respectively. In a lawsuit filed in 2024 in federal court, they alleged that a corrupt detective relied on the word of an emotionally handicapped and drug-addled 17-year-old who was seeking a way out of his own separate robbery rap. Three of the four witnesses who identified Smokes and Warren as the killers only did so after being threatened with criminal charges, the lawsuits said. Another settlement, for $3.9 million, went to Steven Lopez, a sixth man arrested with the so-called Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five, after their convictions in the 1989 rape of a female jogger were overturned. The Five went to trial but Lopez, under intense police and public pressure, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that he mugged a male jogger the same night. Other settlements included $1.7 million for four protesters who said officers beat them with batons or threw them to the ground during a June 2020 demonstration in Brooklyn over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The city paid $5.2 million to nine people who said they were framed in cases from 2014 to 2016 by two officers who were later convicted of falsifying testimony or paperwork. Stop-and-frisk continues to be a concern, police monitor says Last week, a court-appointed monitor criticized the NYPD for poorly supervising and underreporting officers use of the tactic known as stop-and-frisk. In 2013, a federal judge ruled that the NYPDs frequent use of the tactic to search for guns and drugs violated the civil rights of Black and Hispanic New Yorkers. Since then, the department has sharply cut down on stop-and-frisks, but continues to have unacceptably low compliance rates with constitutional protections, said the monitor, Mylan L. Denerstein. The NYPDs staggering settlement costs suggest more needs to be done to drive down misconduct, and a lack of accountability has continued to contribute to a culture of impunity, Wong said. These judgments and settlement costs are costing the city so much money and are costing the victims of police misconduct not just monetary losses and financial losses, but also causing real human trauma that they carry with them, she added. Top Photo: NYPD cars are seen outside the Slamic Cultural Center of New York, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur) Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics New York Law Enforcement Rhode Island officials have released a report blasting the Catholic Diocese of Providence for what it calls a well-worn pattern of failing to remove dozens of priests accused of child sexual abuse and keeping the abuse secret over decades. They failed to report the abuse to civil authorities; they failed to properly investigate those complaints internally; and they failed to remove accused priests from positions where they had access to even more children, who tragically paid the price for those failures, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha commented in releasing the 300-page investigative report that covers 75 years and has been in the works since 2019. In its response to the report, the Diocese of Providence defended itself and criticized the report as an historical document that fails to acknowledge the changes it has made to protect children. It noted that the report was the result of the dioceses willingness to cooperate and be transparent. As a result of its investigation, the attorney generals office (AGO) said it identified 75 credibly accused clergy, including 61 diocesan priests and deacons, 13 religious order members, and one non-resident priest who reportedly abused more than 300 victims from 1950 to 2011. The AGO brought criminal charges against four current and former priests for child sexual abuse they allegedly committed while serving in the diocese. Three are currently awaiting trial and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The reports graphs show that nearly 97% of abuse cases occurred between 1950 to 1997, and 42% before 1972. The investigation found that accused priests were repeatedly returned to ministry, in positions where they had access to, and sexually abused, more children, particularly under Bishops Russell McVinney who served from 1948 until 1971, and Louis Gelineau who served from 1971 until 1997. According to the report, the failures persisted until external pressures, such as civil lawsuits against the church, criminal prosecutions of individual priests, and a heightened public awareness of clergy abuse, forced the diocese to begin reforming its responses. The report cites how the dioceses willingness to involve law enforcement evolved. Between 1990 and 1999, the diocese reported only five of 65 complaints to police. However, between 2010 and 2019, it referred 47 of 55 complaints. Neronha credited the diocese for its cooperation in providing more than 250,000 pages of records including ones pertaining to personnel files of accused priests, records of internal investigations of abuse complaints, correspondence involving bishops and other senior diocesan leaders, treatment reports for accused priests, diocesan policies, and other materials. However, he added, the diocese denied his investigators requests for in-person interviews. Neronha said that while the situation has improved, there are lessons to be learned and more work to be done For its part, the Diocese of Providence complained that the report fails to sufficiently acknowledge that lessons have been learned and that changes have been made to protect children and cooperate with law enforcement. The report does not have the force of law but rather offers untested perspectives of the Attorney General the bulk of which focus on historical cases of abuse from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and which have been previously documented, already subject to civil and criminal litigation, and well-publicized in the media, the statement from Providence Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski stated. Lewandowski acknowledged that it is appropriate to critically examine the dioceses serious missteps of the past regarding child sex abuse. However, the bishop said, the report fails to examine the current state of child sexual abuse in society more broadly. The bishop said it is undeniable that the diocese has effectively responded to these issues with reforms to protect children that have proven to be overwhelmingly effective. He noted that the report itself reveals no evidence of recent child sexual abuse by clergy, no credible accusations against those in ministry today, and no instances of the dioceses failure to meet its legal reporting obligations. Among its recommendations, the report calls for the diocese to create a monitoring program for credibly accused clergy and a compensation fund for victims. It also proposes legislative reforms including amending Rhode Islands civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse to permit plaintiffs whose claims previously expired to sue and increasing the criminal statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault. Child sex abuse within the Catholic Church has been a subject of legal actions since the mid-1980s. Cases grew in number in early 2002 after a report by The Boston Globe found widespread abuse. The crisis has affected nearly all U.S. dioceses, some of which declared bankruptcy as claims mounted. The Diocese of Providence serves hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholics throughout Rhode Island, a state where close to 40% of adults identify as Catholic. The diocese includes more than 130 parishes and 364 priests. Topics Trends Marsh and Aon Plc, two of the worlds largest insurance brokers, are in talks with the US government on a plan to help insure tankers navigating the Strait of Hormuz energy chokepoint. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US International Development Finance Corporation would offer insurance at a very reasonable price to help ensure the flow of energy and other commercial trade in the Gulf. We have spoken with the DFC earlier today and offered our assistance with the potential facility, said Marcus Baker, global head of marine and cargo at Marsh. He added that it might take a few weeks to work out the details of any program, but that its too soon to give an estimate for a timeframe. Read more: Marine Insurers Cancel War Risk Cover in Middle East Aon has also been discussing a potential program with the DFC in recent days, according to people with knowledge of the matter, asking not to be identified as theyre not authorized to speak publicly. A representative for Aon declined to comment. Vessel traffic through Hormuz has essentially halted, causing oil stockpiles to start backing up in producing countries and choking off energy exports from across the Persian Gulf. While insurance might help, shipowners and their crews will nevertheless still be nervous about transiting the vital waterway until hostilities cease. London-based Aon has worked with the DFC to build insurance capacity and new capital investment in Ukraine following Russias invasion. Marsh helped arrange cover for ships handling Ukrainian exports through Black Sea corridors, in a facility backed by the Ukrainian government. As the war in Iran grounds flights worldwide, hundreds of thousands of travelers scrambling to get home are discovering a harsh reality: their travel insurance wont cover replacement flights or extended hotel stays. Insurers, including industry giants Allianz SE and Zurich Insurance Group, dont cover claims tied to the conflict under standard travel policies, according to advisories. Fighting has shuttered Gulf airports, including the main one in Dubai, severing a critical transit corridor for long-haul travel. At least 23,000 flights to Middle East hubs have been canceled, leaving passengers to rely on airlines for rebooking or pay thousands of dollars out of pocket. The crisis is exposing a gap in the estimated $31 billion annual travel insurance market: Nearly all policies exclude war-related claims. Consumer advocates have long warned the product offers limited value, citing high commissions, low payouts and sweeping conflict exclusions. When it comes to war, that is pretty much a blanket exclusion across all travel insurance policies, said Jodi Bird, a travel specialist with Australian consumer advocacy group Choice. We arent aware of any travel insurance policies that will cover claims that are directly related to war. And its quite broad, unfortunately. Travel insurance typically covers new tickets, hotels and meals if flights are delayed or canceled, as well as reimbursement of pre-paid expenses if a trip is scrapped. But the Insurance Council of Australia said standard policies exclude losses directly caused by war or conflict. These exclusions exist because the scale and unpredictability of armed conflict create risks that are difficult for insurers to price, the council said in an advisory. Without this exclusion, premiums for all travellers would be unsustainable given the risks the coverage would need to account for. Fine Print Providers including Allianz and Zurichs Australian brand Cover-More said they will extend travel coverage at no extra cost for customers stranded abroad who started their journeys before the conflict began. But the claims allowed, such as medical expenses or lost baggage, remain unrelated to the conflict. Some insurers offer premium cancel for any reason policies that may reimburse a portion of prepaid expenses. Still, even those plans come with caveats, including caps on total trip costs. As expenses mount, stranded travelers are venting on social media and seeking advice. Reddit users reported sky-high fares after Middle Eastern carriers suspended operations. Others say they were blindsided to learn their policies annual, single-trip or credit-card-backed exclude armed conflict. One Reddit poster said their Melbourne-to-Europe flight via Doha was forced to return when the conflict began. They had to buy more expensive tickets on another airline taking an alternate route, costs not covered by insurance. Another wrote about friends stranded in Europe trying to return to Asia whose insurer deemed the disruption a domino effect of military action language, they wrote, that was buried in the policys fine print. The disruption comes as global aviation and tourism claw back to pre-pandemic passenger levels. The Gulf is a vital crossroads for long-haul traffic, and prolonged instability threatens airline revenues and bookings. It follows high-profile strandings in Mexico after cartel violence erupted twin shocks that could reshape how travelers assess risk when planning international trips. Read More: Mexico Visitors Shaken as Cartel Death Fuels Travel Chaos Allianz advises customers to keep receipts for additional expenses and proof of pre-paid bookings. Advocacy groups also warn passengers not to cancel flights themselves, leaving them unable to recoup costs. Travel insurance policies have narrowed since the pandemic, with more exclusions and fewer consumer protections, said Steven Berger, a lawyer at the European Consumer Organisation. While insurance may fall short, some passengers retain legal rights depending on the airline and route, he said. That includes European Union rules that say carriers must provide meals and hotel stays even during extraordinary circumstances such as armed conflict. Still, protections vary widely by jurisdiction. Its a hodge-podge of protections, and there arent any unifying global passenger protections, Berger said. Photograph: Stranded passengers wait with their luggage outside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 3, 2026. Photo credit: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Topics Aviation Marine insurers in the London market continue to offer cover in the Middle East, despite rising war risk premiums driven by escalating conflict in the Gulf, insurance broker Gallaghers Marine Divisional Director Angus Blayney said on Wednesday. Rates have increased depending on vessel type, cargo and routing, Blayney said, as round-the-clock attacks by U.S. and Israeli forces on Iran, and Tehrans retaliatory missile and drone strikes, show no sign of abating. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil export chokepoint linking Gulf producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, remains at the center of the conflicts commercial impact. Iran controls the narrow waterway. Given the challenging maritime security environment, rates have increased from levels that owners and charterers will be used to, Blayney said. The cost will vary depending on the vessel type, cargo and routing, however marine insurers are very much continuing to provide cover and helping to ensure vital marine commerce continues uninterrupted with adequate coverage in place. Gallagher said capacity remains available through Lloyds of London for clients seeking cover, and that in recent days it has secured marine war risk solutions for numerous existing and new clients. At least 200 ships, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers as well as cargo vessels, were at anchor in open waters off the coasts of major Gulf producers including Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. He added he had ordered the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; editing by Tasim Zahid) Photograph: Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File) Related: The Lloyds of London market is engaging with the U.S. governments International Development Finance Corporation over a plan to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf, Lloyds market officials said on Thursday. Lloyds is engaging constructively with the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and relevant stakeholders, with a clear focus on ensuring that the Lloyds market continues to lead as the global center of excellence for war risk insurance, a Lloyds spokesperson said. The Lloyds Market Association (LMA), which represents the interests of all underwriting businesses in the Lloyds market, welcomed the engagement of U.S. President Donald Trump, its CEO Sheila Cameron said separately in a statement on Thursday. Read more: Marsh, Aon in Talks With US on Insuring Tankers in Hormuz Since Sunday 1 March, there have been at least 40 transits of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. There remain approximately 1,000 vessels, approximately half of which are oil and gas tankers, with an aggregate hull value exceeding $25 billion in the Persian/Arabian Gulf and surrounding waters, Cameron said, citing data. Cameron added that the vast majority of these vessels were insured in the London market and insurance currently remains in place. Insurance broker Marsh said on Wednesday it had met with U.S. officials to explore solutions for restoring maritime trade. The U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, Trump said on Tuesday, adding he had ordered the International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf. Earlier this week, Londons marine insurance market widened the area in the Gulf it deems as high risk as the conflict in the Middle East escalates. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Lisa Baertlein; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Related: Topics USA Excess Surplus Lloyd's In the wake of recent weather events around the world, whether its the bomb cyclone that hit the US from the Gulf Coast to New England, or the combination of Storms Ingrid and Chandra battering the south coast of the UK, business interruption insurance is becoming key to the survival of small- to medium-sized enterprises wherever they may be. Take Storm Ezra for example, which hit the U.S. Northeast and Midwest over Christmas and brought around half a foot of snow, strong winds, power outages and widespread disruption. For many small businesses, this meant days when trading simply wasnt possible. Some lost power, others saw footfall plummet and in many cases staff couldnt get in. But even when the doors were shut, the bills didnt stop. Rent still had to be paid and often payroll requirements still had to be met, leaving small business owners under real pressure to make ends meet during the festive period. Unfortunately, many were left with no choice but to take legal action, after insurance payouts failed to materialize. While bigger companies can handle this type of disruption and litigation, SMEs dont have enough cash flow or the resources to fight a long, drawn-out legal battle just for an insurance payout. What businesses need is modern and more proactive cover that aligns with the realities of doing business in todays risk-on landscape. Current policies have room for improvement With climate-related disasters having increased by more than 80% in the last four decades, we are now seeing the consequences of business insurance coverage that doesnt keep up with the growing threat of weather events. The stakes are only rising. In the first half of 2025, natural disasters caused about $131 billion in losses worldwide, with only roughly $80 billion insured, leaving an uninsured black hole larger than the GDP of Bahrain. With this uptick in climate volatility, insurance policies need to deliver cash quickly enough to compensate for losses as a result of reduced trading. This is what will ensure that these businesses can keep the lights on and pay staff. Alongside this, business interruption lawsuits linked to climate perils in the US have more than doubled over the past decade. When policies dont respond clearly or quickly enough, firms are forced into disputes just to access the cash they thought they had insured. For small businesses with restricted cash flows this is an existential threat. Natural disasters already cripple their operations, whilst long claims battles drain what little capital remains. Its therefore no surprise that 90% of businesses in the U.S. are said to fail within two years of being hit by a disaster. Modernizing business interruption insurance Business interruption insurance can no longer be treated as simply a reimbursement product with complicated pay out process that can take months to prove. It needs to function as rapid liquidity to ensure that firms keep paying their staff, serve customers and contribute to their local community. There are a couple of elements of business interruption insurance that need modernizing to fit this new mold. First is clarity. Triggers should be identified from the moment the policy is drawn up. Whether this is a certain amount of damage, utility outages or supplier disruption, they must be precise and made known to all parties involved. This helps to avoid disputes during critical periods. Secondly, speed needs to be built into the structure. The first 7 to 30 days after an event are crucial to keeping a business afloat. Policies should therefore ensure they deliver an initial payment quickly for essentials, without forcing the owners into accounting forensics before any money moves. Fortunately, parametric insurance policies tick both of these boxes. Parametrics as a modern solution Parametric insurance policies agree the payout upfront and ties it to measurable triggers, for example, if floodwaters reach a set depth at an agreed location or wind speeds exceed a defined threshold, payment is released. There is no dispute about the material losses or impact before the initial payout arrives. While parametric policies cannot replace the full end-to-end insurance lifecycle, they act perfectly as a means of first response, giving access to money quickly to avoid a cashflow death spiral. Traditional business interruption indemnities can sit above it to reimburse longer restoration periods and more complex losses once firms have a bit of breathing room. This hybrid approach also reduces incentives to litigate. When the payment conditions are objective and pre-agreed, this leaves less to be ironed out, which is good for policyholders and communities that cant afford months of closures after every severe event. Parametric policies hold significant benefits for the insurer. Pre-agreed triggers make payouts easier to model and price in, with operational costs also reducing due to the claims being pre-defined. This paired with readily available, AI-powered climate data from trusted sources such as satellites means that insurers no longer have to conduct deep investigations into the fallout of climate events, they can track them almost in real-time. They also help insurers avoid lengthy legal processes that can drain on time and money, as well as cause reputational damage. Weather events have always been particularly difficult to insure. What constitutes a natural disaster? What is the damage threshold before payouts are made? How much should the payouts be? Whilst these questions still must be answered with parametric policies, they are defined before the actual event takes place, removing unnecessary pressure and the potential for legal action. Business owners should now ask one blunt question of their business interruption policy how quickly will money reach my account if trading stops? Insurance is meant to provide clarity in periods of chaos, which hasnt always been the case as of late. It is therefore up to insurers to modernize their policies, using parametrics to keep businesses alive. A state court judge in Missouri gave an initial green light on Wednesday to a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming Bayers Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Judge Timothy Boyer in St. Louis granted preliminary approval to the deal struck between the German company and attorneys seeking to represent a nationwide class of people who say Roundup exposure caused their non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The deal is aimed at resolving most of the roughly 65,000 remaining claims pending in federal and state courts. Boyer rejected a request by other lawyers who asked that he hold off to give them more time to review the deal. Boyer called the proposed payout significant but said he would hear objections from people impacted before deciding at a July hearing whether to grant final approval. The plaintiffs say that Roundups active ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer, and they developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other forms of the disease after using the weedkiller at home or on the job. Bayer, which acquired Roundup as part of its $63 billion purchase of agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018, has said decades of studies have shown Roundup and glyphosate are safe and do not cause cancer. The proposed deal does not require Bayer to admit liability or wrongdoing. Company Can Back Out The initial approval triggers a settlement provision requiring Bayer to pay $500 million into a fund within 10 days to cover costs such as notifying class members of the deal, and opens a window for class members to object to the deal or opt out, according to court records. The company can back out if too many plaintiffs decline to participate. Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson said on a call with investors when the deal was announced that the company requires the vast majority of the plaintiffs to participate. Bill Dodero, Bayers senior vice president and general counsel, in a statement said the company remains confident that the long-term and well-financed class settlement plan, which is supported by leading plaintiffs law firms, warrants final approval by the court. Christopher Seeger, one of the attorneys who negotiated the settlement and seeks to represent the class, said in a statement that Boyers ruling is an important step forward for the deal and comes as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a case that could have a serious impact on the litigation. The high court will hear arguments in late April in a case that could sharply limit the litigation if it agrees with Bayer that federal law governs what pesticide manufacturers include on their labels. The company argues that state-court claims that it failed to warn about Roundups risks are barred because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found no such risk and requires no such warning. Future Claims Covered If approved, the settlement would establish a program to pay claimants over 21 years and is intended to resolve claims from both people who have already sued and those who were exposed to the pesticide before the deal was struck and are diagnosed with cancer in the future. Two groups of law firms representing more than 20,000 Roundup claimants had urged Boyer to delay granting preliminary approval, saying they had concerns about how the deal restricts the ability of people to sue who have been exposed to Roundup but have not yet developed cancer. On Wednesday, Boyer said if attorneys need more time they can request it during the approval process. Attorneys who are part of the group requesting more time did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Topics Legislation Oklahoma The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation (DWC) has recognized Pond & Company with a Lone Star Safety Award renewal for demonstrating an ongoing commitment to workplace safety and health at its Baytown facility. Pond & Company, an engineering, architecture, and consulting firm, employs 30 workers at the site. The company promotes a proactive safety culture that encourages employee involvement, open communication, and continuous improvement. Employees actively identify hazards, report concerns, and recommend corrective actions to help prevent injuries and illnesses before they occur. This recognition represents the companys third Lone Star Safety Award. Pond & Company first earned recognition at its former Pasadena location in 2018 and renewed the award in 2022 before relocating operations to Baytown. This continued achievement reflects a consistent, companywide commitment to protecting workers and maintaining effective safety and health practices across locations. The Lone Star Safety Program honors Texas employers that maintain exemplary health and safety programs that serve as models for others. To qualify, employers must maintain injury rates below the national average, have no recent work-related fatalities, and demonstrate an effective, ongoing safety program. Source: Texas Department of Insurance Topics Texas Commercial Lines Business Insurance Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance has reached a settlement with a Florida condominium association in a hurricane claim, three years after the condo claimed damages that insurers said were so inflated that they were termed outrageous. This matter involves an egregious and overinflated first-party Hurricane Sally insurance claim, where the Defendants seek over $230 million for damages allegedly sustained to the Defendants condominium buildings that remain standing and in good condition, reads the 2023 lawsuit complaint filed by Westchester and 15 other insurers that covered Portofino, one of the largest and best-known high-rise condos on Pensacola Beach. The settlement agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Pensacola, is only for Westchester. The terms were not disclosed, and the federal judge in the case has yet to sign off on the agreement. All other insurers named in the lawsuit also must review, the condo association attorney said. Westchester, a Chubb company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, was represented by attorneys with the Cozen OConnor law firm. The insurer argued early in the case that Portofinos claim was felt to be so over the top because the condo association had initially submitted a $6.5 million proof of loss. Later, the condo hired its own appraiser who suggested the loss was more than $233 million, which raises significant questions concerning the appraisers interest and honesty, as well as the fraudulent nature of the claim and its supporting documentation, Portofinos lawyers wrote in asking for declaratory judgment on the claim. Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm that hit the Pensacola area in 2020, caused only minor damage, the insurers argued. Many Portofino units were relatively unharmed, with some selling for as much as $800,000 each after the storm. The condo association also failed to comply with a cooperation provision in the policies, the insurers contended. Portofino in 2023 asked the court to dismiss the insurers case, noting that the appraisal panel had not reached a final amount on the loss. The condos legal team also denied Westchesters fraud allegations and said that the initial proof of loss was only for partial damages, and that the condominiums appraiser had offered only an opinion, which did not inflate the claimed amount. Attorneys for Westchester in the case could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. Ed Fleming, a lawyer for Portofino, said the settlement is confidential and he could not discuss the terms. A number of other insurers involved have already settled, and more are expected in coming months. Photo: The Portofino condo buildings on Pensacola Beach. (AdobeStock) Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane A Georgia man who gave his teenage son the gun hes accused of using to kill two students and two teachers at a high school was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray now joins a growing number of parents being held responsible in court after their children were accused in shootings. Colin Gray was found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Another teacher and eight other students were wounded. Gray was also convicted of multiple counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to children. Reactions to the Verdict Gray showed little emotion as the verdict was read and each juror was polled by the judge. Deputies then cuffed his hands behind his back as he stood at the defense table, speaking with his lawyer. He will be sentenced at a later date. Second-degree murder is punishable by at least 10 but no more than 30 years in prison, while involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of one to 10 years in prison. Some relatives of victims wept as the verdicts were read. They declined to comment after court. Grays defense lawyers left without speaking to reporters. We talk a lot about rights in our country, Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said after the verdict. But God gave us a duty to protect our children, and I hope that we remember that, as parents, as community members, to protect our children because that is our God-given duty. The teens mother, Marcee Gray, wasnt charged. She testified that she had urged her estranged husband to take any guns and lock them inside his truck so they would not be accessible to their son. She and Colin Gray were separated in the months leading up to the shooting, and Colt Gray lived mostly with his father during that time. She declined to comment when reached by phone after the verdict. Prosecutors said Gray gave his son the gun as a Christmas gift and allowed him access to it along with ammunition despite the boys deteriorating mental health. They said he had sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger other people. Fourteen at the time of the shooting, Colt Gray has pleaded not guilty to a total of 55 counts, including murder. A judge has set a status hearing for mid-March. Investigators said Colt Gray carefully planned the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school attended by 1,900 students. He boarded the school bus with a semiautomatic, assault-style rifle in his book bag, the barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board, investigators said. He left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the gun and shot people in a classroom and hallways, investigators said. Parents Responsibility Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said. It wasnt like one parent missed one warning, Smith told reporters. This was multiple warnings over a lengthy period of time and, like we said, you just had to do one thing take that rifle away and this would have been prevented. Jennifer and James Crumbley, the first U.S. parents held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting committed by a child, are serving 10-year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter after their son Ethan killed four students and wounded others in Michigan in 2021. Colin Gray was the first such parent to be charged in Georgia. Smith said Marcee Gray had seen what happened in Michigan and asked her husband to remove the weapons as a result. So Michigan was able to move the needle to the point that it almost stopped this tragedy, he said. We hope weve moved the needle a little further. Legislative Changes Georgia lawmakers last year passed a school safety bill in response to the shooting. It directs state officials to create an alert system, including the names of students who an investigation has found threatened violence or committed violence at schools. It also requires law enforcement to notify schools when officers learn a child has threatened death or injury to someone at a school, the implementation of mobile panic alert buttons at schools, quicker transfers of records when students switch schools and mental health coordinators in each of the states 180 school districts. Legislators also approved a request by Gov. Brian Kemp to spend an extra $50 million on school safety. Photo: Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, reacts after the jury convicted him of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. (Abbey Cutrer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool) ____ Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed reporting. Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Georgia K-12 Its now up to the Florida House of Representatives to adopt last-minute changes to a controversial bill that would set up not one but two clearinghouses for Citizens Property Insurance commercial policies. The state Senate Wednesday night approved Senate Bill 1028, pushed by state Sen. Joe Gruters, by a vote of 33-1, despite Gruters sidestepping or failing to answer almost every question about the revised version. When Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, asked Gruters if the amended bill has a cap on fees that a clearinghouse administrator could charge, Gruters said, Yes15%. But that 15% in the bill refers only to the difference in premium between a Citizens policy and a takeout insurers projected premiums, not fees charged by a brokerage that may be put in charge of the clearinghouses. A number of Florida insurance agents and brokers have worried that the programs manager could charge large fees. Another version of the bill, offered by the state insurance commissioner, would have capped fees at $100 to $200 per policy. The amended bill does note that the 15% difference would include the aggregate annual premium, plus all fees, taxes, assessments, surcharges, and any other mandatory charges that a policyholder must pay to maintain coverage for the entirety of the proposed policy period. But it does not directly address clearinghouse fees for agents and brokers. When Smith asked why a vendor-run clearinghouse is needed and why Citizens cant manage a takeout system itself, Gruters said only that we dont want to burden the taxpayers. But Florida Commissioner Mike Yaworsky has said that even a privately administered clearinghouse could cost as much as $40 million and that would not come from taxpayers. Smith did not press Gruters on his non-answers. Smith also asked if the latest version of the bill prohibits a clearinghouse manager from having conflicts of interest, as Yaworskys proposed bill had stated. A few agents have warned that one large brokerage, Ryan Turner, is likely to end up running the platform, potentially having sway over other brokerages and agencies on high-dollar commercial and commercial residential policies. The approved Senate bill does not address conflicts of interest. Gruters said that the final version was drafted with much input from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, and OIR would have oversight of a commercial clearinghouse system. Now that OIR is in control, those issues are off the table, Gruters said. The OIR supports the changes in the bill, the office press secretary said. Gruters emphasized that the clearinghouses, one for admitted carriers and one for surplus lines, would promote competition and would help depopulate the state-created Citizens, which until late last year had been the largest property insurer in Florida. Several Florida agents and brokers have said that a commercial clearinghouse is unnecessary, and that the market is functioning as it should be. Despite Smiths questions, the chamber approved the amended bill Wednesday night with just one dissenting vote. A House floor vote is expected next week. The amended Senate bill can be seen here. Photo: Smith on the Senate floor. (Florida Channel) Topics Politics Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Ergo, Auxilion, Heneghan Strategic Communications, Actavo Modular, Friel Stafford and Hines. Conal ODonnell has been appointed as chief executive with IT solutions provider Ergo. He was previously group COO at Ergo for over six years, driving operational excellence, supporting strategic acquisitions, and underpinning the companys growth across multiple markets. He assumes the role at a transformative stage for the business, with a clear focus on scaling operations and driving customer value. He succeeds Paul McCann, who will step down at the end of the month. Appointed CEO in 2021, McCann led the acquisition of Ergo by Presidio earlier this year. Ergo has offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Belfast as well as the US, Romania and New Zealand. An open call for farmer safety, health and well-being projects has been launched by the department. Announcing the call, minister Healy-Rae said: Building on the success of the Open Calls in 2024 and 2025, this initiative will support projects in 2026 to improve the safety, health and well-being of our farming community. The minister highlighted the older demographic of farmers specifically, as he reported that farmers over 60 years of age accounted for three-quarters of all farm fatalities in 2025. "Several new themes have been added to the Open Call this year, including proposals to support older farmers, who are a more vulnerable group specifically. The department is also seeking project proposals for training to work at height, hearing and sight checks, while enhanced health checks will include health behaviour change follow-ups to encourage farmers to make the necessary changes to improve and protect their health. The Open Call projects are being funded from the departments dedicated farm safety budget. Proposals are sought for projects that will address the following themes and sub-themes. For farm safety, specific areas being addressed are: Tractor driving awareness training for children 14 years of age and older; Chainsaw training for farmers; Working at height training for farmers. For farmers' physical health, areas being addressed are Farmers' physical health checks; Hearing and sight checks. Under farmers' mental health and well-being, the department hopes to fund projects on mental health checks, as well as looking to support projects supporting older farmers. All projects funded under the Open Call must be completed by October 30, 2026. Successful projects delivered in 2026 may be funded again in subsequent year(s) for a period or periods of up to 12 months, up to the end of 2029, subject to funding being available and approval by the department. Welcoming the open call, minister Heydon said: Having secured 3 million in dedicated funding for this important area in Budget 2026, my department will continue to prioritise the safety, health, and well-being of everyone involved in farming. Read More Food safety experts call for tougher EU oversight after Brazil audit "I am committed to ensuring that, over the next four years, every farmer takes the necessary measures to address the safety risks on their farms, as well as protecting and improving their physical and mental health and wellbeing. The deadline for submission of applications is 5pm on April 1, 2026. The specification documentation and application form are available on the department website. Fears are growing for the future of North Cork Creameries milk processing facility in Kanturk, which employs up to 100 people. The plant was ordered last month by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop discharging effluent from the site into the River Allow due to ongoing non-compliance with Emission Limit Values. With the effluent plant offline, North Cork Creameries cannot process milk at the site. It is understood that a multi-million-euro investment would be required to resolve the issue. There are now fears the plant could close, with up to 100 jobs at risk. North Cork Creameries met staff yesterday and suppliers today to inform them of the situation. However, the company has not yet begun the formal redundancy process. The Carbery Group is currently processing some of the milk for North Cork Creameries. A potential agreement could see all milk from NCC processed by Carbery. Around 70 shareholders attended what was described as a closed two-hour meeting in a community hall outside the village of Banteer on Thursday. It is understood shareholders are frustrated that significant sums were spent on acquisitions and that the company expanded too quickly. A figure reported to have been referenced was around 8m of shareholders funds that have been used. Few people wanted to comment after the meeting. One farmer said: I feel very let down and angry because I came here for answers and I dont think I got them. The future of the company? Id say its touch and go and its in the balance. Asked about the mood at the meeting, he said: It wasnt great, to be honest. Another farmer, when asked for comment, simply replied nothing is definite and nothing is entirely clear. In Kanturk, one business owner, who asked not to be named, said: This is going to be a terrible blow to the town. Established in 1928, the creamery is a farmer-owned co-operative. North Cork Creameries process approximately 315m equivalent whole milk litres a year into a range of products. The company offer a wide variety of dairy products and food ingredients such as milk powders, caseins and bulk butter. The co-op also supplies fresh liquid milk, whipping creams and butters to retailers. Most notably, the co-op advertises itself on its website as a leading supplier of butter to the internationally renowned Kerrygold brand. Breaking cycles, raising voices for change, and holding power were just some of the talking points at an Irish Examiner event to mark International Womens Day, which takes place on March 8. Dozens of female industry figures gathered in Cork city on Thursday morning for the breakfast event, hosted by Esther McCarthy, at Lavit Gallery in association with PrecisionBiotics. This years theme is Give to Gain and the event recognised the power of everyday actions in Irish society. Keynote speaker Sonya Lennon told the audience about setting up Dress for Success to help people into financial security and sustainable careers, and LIFT Ireland, which aims to improve the level of leadership throughout Ireland. At the end of the day, money is choice, right? That's all money is, she said. Esther McCarthy with keynote speaker Sonya Lennon. Picture: Larry Cummins Money is the choice to do what you want. If you don't have it, you don't have choice. And we all know that's a horrible place to be. Lennon also urged the women in the room to be more intentional. I realised that for a certain point in my career, I had been effectively sleepwalking, just letting my career happen to me, she said. Most of us just let life happen to us. We don't have to. We have more control than we realise. You can break the mould and break the cycle. Breaking the cycle is very, very powerful, because I believe most of us live in lockstep we accept the social norms that are around us. Unless we're really intentional, we are led down a path that somebody else has designed for us. I would urge you now to have a really good look at your life, how you're living it, and how you can improve it for you and those you love. Panellist Dr Manizha Khan spoke about her journey from Pakistan to Cork, where she found refuge after the Taliban removed women from public life. I still think I'm dreaming, to be in Ireland, to be safe, to be outside Afghanistan. Dr Manizha Khan. Picture: Larry Cummins Dr Khan, who was the dean of a dental school in Afghanistan, said it was a difficult journey to find a place elsewhere in the world. The Taliban hated me because I was a woman in power, and the rest of the world didn't want me because I was an educated woman. At that time, I thought it would be really better if I chose a different profession. But then there are countries like Ireland, she said. Finally, Ireland was a country that didn't hold me being a dentist or a lecturer against me, [that] thought it was a power being an educated woman. I got a chance to come to Cork, which was really amazing and a privilege. She described the support she received from local women in Kinsale when she moved to Ireland and how she was welcomed to her new community. Whatever I am giving back to society is what they gave to me, which is really beautiful. There is a strong connection between Irish women and Afghan women. Irish women are supporting women around the world, supporting women internationally. I've seen wherever there is a voice to be raised, it's Irish women and men who are raising that voice. Panellist Deirdre Mortell, founding CEO of Rethink Ireland, spoke about women increasing their financial literacy and choosing to do more philanthropic work. Deirdre Mortell speaking at the IWD breakfast event. Picture: Larry Cummins The greatest transfer of wealth in the history of humanity is happening right now, Mortell said, describing an estimated $84.4 trillion transferring from men to women due to factors like increased career opportunities for women as well as longer lifespans. She said this is an opportunity for social good. Philanthropy is a huge opportunity as part of that wealth, she said, citing MacKenzie Scott as an example. She was the USs largest philanthropist last year, she gave away $7 billion in 2025. This is an example of a female philanthropist and what she's doing. She may be Jeff Bezoss ex-wife, but she is making her own impact in the world. She also credits Nano Nagle with being an early Irish female philanthropist who came from wealth and wanted to use her dowry to educate the poor. The only way she could keep control was if she set up a religious order and became a nun, because they couldn't control the nuns, Mortell said. We have MacKenzie Scott showing us the way, but we have our own history and traditions. Women controlling wealth means women holding power. Emphasising Lennons earlier point, she added: Money is power. Philanthropy is an incredible way that we can take that power and bring it to life. It's up to you what you do with that power, but I'm encouraging you, as we all come into more wealth, think about what you want to do with that power Karen O'Donoghue, MD Irish Examiner & The Echo; panel speaker Deirdre Mortell, founding CEO of Rethink Ireland; event MC Esther McCarthy of The Irish Examiner; keynote speaker Sonya Lennon, entrepreneur and broadcaster: panel speaker Dr Manizha Khan, Cork dentist and advocate for refugees, asylum seekers and women's rights, and Shirley O'Regan of event sponsors Precision Biotics. Picture: Larry Cummins A 70m childrens science museum in Dublin is to be completed by Christmas 2029, despite there being no government funding to build it, the Irish Examiner has learned. The OPW said a final arbitration decision between itself and the charity proposing the museum known as Irish Childrens Museum Limited (ICML) means works shall be carried out and completed on or before December 25, 2029, including time required to procure a contractor. ICML recently pledged to raise 25m in contributions towards the construction of the museum, which has been mooted for over 25 years. However, the OPW, which manages the States property portfolio, reiterated that a government department or agency willing to fund the build has yet to be identified. Preparation of the tender documentation will begin shortly, the OPW said in reply to a parliamentary query by Public Accounts Committee chair John Brady. Mr Brady said this beggars belief. This is a project with no sponsoring department, no secured funding, no allocation in the National Development Plan, and therefore no path to delivery, he said. Yet it appears the State is about to initiate a costly tendering process, potentially enter into further contracts, and therefore expose the State to further liabilities when the funding to conduct the works is not available. He said he could see no credible path for the December 2029 deadline to be met and therefore further legal proceedings await, draining yet more public money. Mr Brady called for the public expenditure minister Jack Chambers to intervene to proactively protect public funds, not to sit idly by and observe a massive and growing liability to the Irish taxpayer. There was relief and tearful reunions at Dublin Airport as the first flight from Dubai touched down since the recent crisis in the Middle East. Many had been in the UAE city since last Saturday amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel which caused widespread airspace closures in the Middle East, sparking major disruption to flights. There are to be further direct flights from the Middle East landing in Dublin on Thursday, and a government charter plane later this week. Some were too overcome to speak as they arrived late on Thursday night, while others described alarms in the middle of the night and seeing missile trails in Dubai where the Fairmont The Palm Hotel and the airport were hit. Anna Callaghan from Donegal was overcome to be surprised by her mother having travelled from the north west to Dublin Airport to see her. My mums come all the way from Donegal, thats why Im a little overwhelmed, I live in Dublin so I wasnt expecting to see her, she said, as the pair embraced again, her mother Patricia responding: Im just glad shes on the ground now. Ms Callaghan described a stressful and scary situation. We were seeing and hearing bangs and explosions, last night in particular it was jet after jet after jet going overhead, and then we heard the US Consulate was hit and that really scared everyone, she said. This is my fourth flight that I rebooked and I didnt think I was going to get out. Elaine Gleeson from Limerick also surprised a family member, turning up with a balloon and flowers to welcome home her sister, Norita Geary. Everyone clapped when the plane landed, and cheered, it was just magic, Ms Geary said. Norita Geary (left) and sister Elaine Gleeson. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire I didnt expect to see her (Elaine) because I told her I was getting a lift home, she added, hugging her sister. Dublin is the most beautiful city in the world. Gina Quinn from Dublin described hearing a national alarm in the middle of the night which woke them all up. It was very frightening, you just didnt know and getting information on when you might be able to fly home was nigh impossible, the airlines were great but they were inundated, she said. I think everyone on the flight coming in tonight is absolutely delighted, just hope that everybody else gets home quickly because its a very uncertain situation. Its fantastic to be home. Rob McClean from Greystones, who had been transiting through from India, said it was a massive relief to be home. I was in the airport on Saturday night when the explosion happened so we were evacuated from there which was pretty tough, he said. Its been nerve-racking for my family. Jimmy OConnor from Longford said he had been on his way home from Australia visiting his daughter in Sydney when he got caught up in the situation in Dubai. We didnt think it would be such a long journey home, but were back now safe and sound, he said. 'A huge relief to land in Ireland' There were also a number of passengers from across Europe who took the flight to Dublin in desperation to flee the Middle East. Alex Anderson, a French-American who lives in Frankfurt, described huge relief and said it was very emotional to land in Dublin. It was really difficult, I was a transfer passenger, I was supposed to be going on to Frankfurt on February 28, when I was coming in from Malaysia we actually saw the missile trails, but we didnt know what it was then, just thought it was planes, he said. It was really shocking when we landed and found out what had happened. I moved as quickly as I could out of the terminal building, and an hour later it got hit. Then there was the long wait of days, hearing thumps, anti missile stuff, that was nerve wracking, they definitely had a lot of drones coming over. I wouldnt say its a full blown warzone like you would see in Gaza, but its getting close. Its a huge relief to land in Ireland, and a bit emotional. Tomorrow morning Ill fly back home to my wife and kids in Frankfurt. Upama Ghosh (right) from India is met by her friends as she arrives at Dublin Airport. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire Dave and Gina Salt from Stoke on Trent described their experience in Dubai as scary sometimes hearing explosions. Other than that we felt quite safe, but relieved to get back, this was our fourth attempt to get out (of Dubai), Mr Salt added. Friends Andy Barnes from Hertfordshire and Andy Teasdale from Cumbria said they had spent their time in Dubai since their flight home was cancelled on Saturday in hotel basements. We were at the airport from 3.30am, there were no flights available but we went on the waiting list and ended up getting on the last flight out, they said. They had been staying in the area around the marina and said it had been pretty hairy at times. We saw a lot of interceptions, Saturday night was really hairy, Mr Teasdale said. We were out having a pizza sat out by the pool, and heard bangs going off, which we later found out were interceptions, you could see it all in the side, and then we saw smoke coming from the Fairmont Hotel, Mr Barnes added. Met Eireann has issued a status yellow rain warning for six counties, with possible flooding expected. The forecaster issued the warning for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford from 12pm on Thursday, March 5. The warning remains in place until 6pm today. Met Eireann warned of blustery rain, possible spot flooding, and difficult travelling conditions. National outlook Meanwhile, widespread rain is expected for a time today, with heavy falls in places. The forecaster said rain will soon reach eastern areas as clearer conditions and sunny spells develop gradually across western counties. Wet and breezy conditions will continue into the evening across eastern counties. The day will be cool, with afternoon highs of 3C to 8C, along with moderate to fresh northwest winds that will ease later. Clear and colder conditions will develop later this evening, with frost and ice forming quickly. On Friday, temperatures will fall to between -2C and 3C, with light to moderate southerly breezes. However, Saturday will be mostly dry with sunny spells, and highest temperatures of 8C to 12C. Sunday will be cloudier, with outbreaks of rain developing. According to the forecaster, highest temperatures of 9C to 13C are expected in light to moderate south or southeast winds. There are calls for Ireland to assist Cyprus if the country activates the EUs mutual defence clause in response to continuing Iranian drone attacks. Experts have said this is all the more important given that Ireland is likely to be calling on fellow EU states to assist it in providing security during Irelands presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026. The focus on Ireland to be seen assisting Cyprus is all more pressing given Cyprus, like Ireland, is a neutral country and is also not a member of Nato. Cyprus is currently holding the presidency of the EU and will hand over to Ireland on 1 July. Reports estimated that British military bases in Cyprus have been targeted by some 20 Iranian drone attacks since Saturday, while Paphos International Airport was evacuated on Monday amid warnings of a potential drone strike. Under Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Treaty, if an EU country is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other EU countries have an obligation to aid and assist it by all means in their power. The obligation does not prejudice the specific security and defence policies of certain member states, such as neutral Ireland. France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain assisting Cyprus High-level discussions of the mutual-defence clause are expected to take place among member states and in the Brussels this week and beyond, European Commission spokespersons have indicated. France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain have so far provided military support to Cyprus. South East Technological University lecturer in international relations and politics Gerard Arthurs said: If Ireland will be relying and we will definitely need to be relying on fellow EU member states for security and naval assistance during our presidency, it is only right and proper that we should be willing to assist another EU member state if a similar threat arises, particularly another presidency state in the same calendar year. Maynooth University professor of European politics John OBrennan said: I think it would be entirely appropriate for Ireland to deliver whatever assistance the government deems can be made within the parameters of our commitment to military neutrality. Equipment is brought on board the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon in Portsmouth ahead of its deployment to Cyprus. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA I'm sure [the] Government will be conscious that Ireland might be in a similar position to Cyprus when we assume the presidency on 1 July. "Although the range of threats will probably be different, I am sure they will want to be seen to do as much for Cyprus as possible in the weeks ahead, if developments take a turn for the worse. He said that, for Ireland, he did not think it would go beyond the kind of aid it has provided to Ukraine, such as medical help or aid with utilities. Gerard Arthurs said the guarantees and protocols given after Ireland rejected the first Lisbon referendum gave Ireland the ability to determine what kind of assistance it could give under Art 42.7. I would think it would be feasible for the Irish government to determine what, if any, military equipment Ireland could provide if so requested by the Cypriot government and for it to be consistent with our treaty and neutrality obligations, he said. Former Irish Naval Service commander Tony Geraghty said he did not think Ireland could provide military air defence capabilities to Cyprus as it did not have any. Iranian Shahed combat drone of the type being used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine. File picture The UK is sending a Type 45 air defence frigate, which can dominate the airspace," he said. "They are also sending two AW159 Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus, equipped with Martlet missiles, a lightweight guided weapon that can engage and destroy hostile drones." He added: This is the type of capability outlined in the CODF [Commission on the Defence Forces] for LOA 3 [Government accepted LOA2] and is a stark example of why Ireland needs to accelerate to LOA 3 much more quickly than is currently being considered. A Cork city centre pub has failed in its appeal for an outdoor seating area, with the planning board saying it would create an undesirable precedent in the area. Dwyers of Cork on Washington Street had appealed to An Coimisiun Pleanala for the permanent installation of an outdoor seating area, having initially installed under a temporary planning permission during the covid-19 pandemic. The popular bar was knocked back by Cork City Council late last year for permission to keep the area, with planners at City Hall saying the development forms an obtrusive structure that has a negative visual impact on the building, which is a protected structure, and the area. In its appeal, Dwyers filed a 60-page document to support its bid for planning permission with An Coimisiun Pleanala, citing the positive impact it had brought to the area and how it would adhere to Government policy to support the night-time economy. In 2021, it applied to Cork City Council for seven new awnings to the exterior of the bar on Little Cross Street and a further five new awnings to the exterior on Washington Street. This was at a time when there had been a significant turn to outdoor dining during the era of pandemic restrictions. A condition imposed by the council at the time was that Moscato Ltd which trades as Dwyers - would have to reapply in three years as the permission was only temporary in nature. After being knocked back in its planning bid three years on, it hit out at City Hall in its appeal as it highlighted direct public investments in Princes St and Union Quay to facilitate high-quality outdoor dining environments. A section of the outdoor dining area of Dwyers of Cork, Washington Street. Dwyers of Washington St has undertaken its development entirely at its own expense, it said. This significant investment, which is in the realm of 100,000, has been made in good faith and with the clear understanding that the development was not only acceptable but welcomed and aligned with council objectives. We note that other premises have benefitted from publicly-funded public realm improvements. In appraising the appeal, an inspector for An Coimisiun Pleanala said there were significant inconsistencies between the development granted temporary permission and what has been installed, including the installation of a fixed bulky metal support frame. The inspector said the development was visually incongruous and caused harm to the character, setting and quality of the protected structure and architectural conservation area. The inspector noted: In terms of the concentration of existing street furniture in the area, having visited the site, I note that the outdoor seating area to the side of Reardens Pub on the opposite side of Little Cross Street remains in place following a refusal. As previously noted in my assessment above, enforcement is a matter for the local authority. Given that the outdoor seating area to the side of Reardens Pub is unauthorised, I do not consider that there is an over-concentration of permitted street furniture in the area. Nevertheless, the inspector recommended refusing permission, saying it would set an undesirable precedent for similar such developments. All three board members agreed in making its decision to refuse permission for the outdoor area. The Government's plan to abolish Ireland's Triple Lock is not a done deal and can be stopped, according to speakers at a webinar organised by the campaigning platform Uplift. Activists who attended were urged to help flip 11 Government TDs and persuade them to either vote against or abstain from voting for the forthcoming Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025. Uplift programme director Brian Cutherbet said those TDs could be crucial in any move to defeat the bill. It proposes to remove one of three steps Ireland currently has to go through before more than 12 members of the Defence Forces can be sent abroad on missions, such as peacekeeping exercises. The first of the three steps is the requirement for a government sign-off, the second is Dail approval, and the third is authorisation from the UN Security Council (UNSC). But the bill proposes that UNSC authorization should no longer be needed and that the number of Defence Force personnel that can be deployed on overseas peace keeping without a Dail Resolution should increase from 12 to 50. Uplift says the abolition of the Triple Lock will see Irish troops becoming more and more aligned to military action led by NATO, and that this will erode Irelands neutrality. Brian Cuthbert told attendees the mechanism keeps Ireland out of those wars, it keeps us safe, and ensures we are only protecting peace and not participating in wars. Both Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris say abolition is justified because the mechanism allows permanent members of the UN Security Council - like Russia - to veto how and where Ireland decides to deploy troops. They say even the threat of a veto by a permanent member can be enough to prevent the UNSC taking action. Opponents point to the fact that Ireland has not needed UN authorization to rescue Irish citizens in recent years. The operation to evacuate Irish citizens from Kabul in August 2021, for example, was carried out by an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and supported by members of the Army Ranger Wing. Some 26 Irish citizens were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan in the operation, which went ahead without UNSC authorisation. Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee has refused to say whether she believes the US has breached international law with the attacks on Iran but that it is clear there is no UN mandate for war. Ms McEntee repeatedly declined to answer whether she believed the US and Israeli attacks on Iran had breached international law. Its very clear they dont have a UN mandate, they dont have a mandate from the US [Congress] either," she said. For this type of action to take place, we do believe that they should have one. Repeatedly asked if not having a UN mandate meant the attacks were outside international law, Ms McEntee said: Its very clearly outside of the UN mandate and in order for the conflict that we believe should be justified, there needs to be a UN mandate from the UN Security Council. Asked why she had stopped short of saying the attack has breached international law, Ms McEntee said everyone can see the extremely difficult situation in the Middle East. Ms McEntee said much of this difficulty had been caused by Iran. I think we're all grappling with the fact that Iran has not only subdued and massacred its own citizens and population in recent decades and recently in recent weeks, but it has essentially contributed to state-sponsored terrorism for many regions, Ms McEntee said. So much of the instability and conflict that has been caused in the region has been at the hands of Iran. Ms McEntee said everyone wanted to see an improvement and a change, adding that the Iranian people should be able to set out their own destiny. At the same time, it is essential that if this type of conflict is to take place with that overall objective, which we all share that the people of Iran and choose and direct their own destiny, that it is done so in accordance with the UN. What Im saying here today is we do not believe there is an UN mandate for this. However, it is not for Ireland to decide that. I cant be any clearer there should be a UN mandate for any type of action like this. Asked if the Coalition is being cautious in its approach due to the upcoming visit by Taoiseach Micheal Martin to the White House, Ms McEntee said the Government often uses the trip to raise concerns. Maeves life was "shattered in a second" when she was called by gardai after a naked, bruised, and unconscious image of her was sent to some 171 UCD staff emails last year. The young student, Maeve (not her real name), said she received little support from the university after her alleged rape. She did not report the incident to gardai because she thought she would not be believed. Now, Maeve lives in fear that images of her assault will be shared again. In April last year, someone circulated images of Maeve's naked, bruised, and unconscious body to university staff through an unidentified ProtonMail account. The medical student said she only learned the images had been circulated when gardai contacted her. She was told blocks and filters would be applied to prevent further distribution. The emails, seen by the Irish Examiner, contained a photo and obscene messages, telling her to "kill herself" and calling her a "dirty whore" and a "slut bitch". Another email said people "would laugh" if she slit her own throat. Last summer, Maeve began receiving similar emails to her student inbox. She informed gardai and personally blocked all emails originating from ProtonMail. I had been under the impression that the abusive ProtonMail emails had been blocked and/or filtered by UCD, she said. Thousands of UCD students protest on the campus calling for systemic change in how UCD responds to sexual violence and gender-based harm. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos In November 2025, someone again circulated the same photo of Maeve in her year groups School of Medicine WhatsApp chat, which has at least 300 members. The message came from an unrecognised number. Maeve claimed she received no support from UCD in relation to the image-based sexual abuse. I was just a young student who wanted to do a medical degree and become a doctor, Maeve told the Irish Examiner. I was 17 when I entered UCD, and it failed me. How can a university fail a 17-year-old? Im still figuring out the whole world, yet to live life, yet to see so many things, but I have been abandoned instead, during the worst time of my life. Ive lost faith, and now I have stopped asking for help, Maeve added. The medical student claimed she was raped in 2023, got pregnant, and then had to get an abortion, which left her unable to sit her exams. According to Maeve, she has not been permitted by UCD to progress with her education since September 2023 unless she agreed to drop back one year. Speaking in the Dail last week, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said the student had to take UCD to the High Court over not being allowed to sit her exams. She became pregnant, and she had to get a termination, and she had to miss some of her medical exams, Ms Coppinger said. She asked UCD if she could sit her exams in the summer. UCD said no and they attempted to make her drop back a year. She hasnt been able to continue her medical degree since 2023, as UCD has blocked her from doing so, Ms Coppinger said. Minister Jack Chambers called on UCD to allow her to complete her studies. She has gone through enough. I was shocked, as indeed everyone in this House has been, about what she has been subjected to. It is incumbent on every public institution to work with her so she can complete her studies. She has gone through enough, he said. Maeve said the people sharing the images have done so with impunity. Its arrogance by this group of people who are sharing these images, and they realise they can get away with it because there is a lack of action, Maeve said. Im afraid it is going to happen, that the photo will be shared again, and why would these people stop if no one will take action." The student has claimed the university brushed off her complaint. She also claimed that no internal investigation process from UCD was offered and that no one had asked her whether she was alright, how she was faring or whether she needed an external counsellor". The only support that she has received so far was from the UCD Students Union. Thousands of UCD students protest on the campus calling for systemic change in how UCD responds to sexual violence and gender-based harm. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos In an open letter, 48 doctors from across the country said they were disappointed in UCD School of Medicines failure to address this case, both in its apparent disregard for the victim and its willingness to ignore the overarching issue of misogyny and gender-based violence. In the letter, the doctors claimed: This behaviour constitutes image-based sexual abuse, a crime that disproportionately affects girls and women and the impact of which can be devastating to the victim. Whether this is due to a simple lack of empathy for the victim or a permissive, patriarchal attitude toward such crimes, we feel that the Universitys response to this event is unacceptable. Failing to hold your medical students accountable for their actions and words erodes public trust in the entire medical profession. The letter also highlighted that this incident conveyed a message to medical students. Many of them are young people at a crucial point in the forging of their moral codes and ethics, that they may act as they please to the point of violence against another person without repercussions. We worry that this crime, the subsequent sharing of a violent image and UCDs failure to treat the issue with the deserved seriousness are indicative of toxic, misogynistic culture, the letter added. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill said the Medical Council is "aware" of the case and is actively engaging to get more information. Ms Carroll McNeill said the Medical Council has a "responsibility to ensure that everybody in the doctor profession, including those in the UCD medical school, meet the required standards for medical education." "I expect the Medical Council to make full use of its powers under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 with regard to accreditation and inspection of all training sites. I have asked my officials to engage with the Medical Council in this regard," she said in the Dail on Thursday. A list of nine demands was sent out by the Students Union which requested that UCD and the School of Medicine issue an an open-correspondence apology to the victim and the affected student cohort ... regarding its lack of a robust and public condemnation of the infiltration of the class WhatsApp group with IBSA (Image Based Sexual Abuse), as well as its lack of public solidarity with the affected student in the immediate aftermath of the IBSA. Around 4,000 students were in attendance at a Not in Our UCD rally organised by the UCD students union, in partnership with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), on Wednesday afternoon. The students union said the rally was not focused on one incident alone, but on what they describe as deeper issues in institutional response from classroom practices to senior decision-making structures". Chief Executive of DRCC Rachel Morrogh said: When a student discloses sexual violence, the response must be traumainformed, studentcentred and grounded in clear, accessible processes. National guidance for Higher Education Institutions makes this explicit by outlining that colleges should prioritise the well-being of the student, provide immediate support and ensure transparent pathways for reporting and accommodation without adding further distress or pressure. "These are essential principles of a victim-centred, safe and respectful campus environment but they must not simply be words on paper, but will stand in practice, she added. Ms Morrogh said the protest on Wednesday sent a message of zero tolerance of sexual violence to all those who have experienced this form of abuse and gives hope that we can chart a different course for the future." She added: It underlines that survivors should never have to face sexual violence alone and that students and staff want to carry the burden with her in solidarity for all she has endured. Together, we are all stronger." The Irish Examiner contacted UCD for comment, but did not receive a reply. However, the university told RTE it had not conducted an internal investigation into the image sharing because An Garda Siochana has the forensic, technical and legal expertise and powers to do so, and said it is supporting the force as the appropriate authority to carry out the investigation. It also said Maeve "has had the full and proactive support of the Head of the University's Advisory Service for some time and several different pastoral and academic supports in the School of Medicine". - If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services. Cork City Council has asked the planning commission to consider whether the use of a commercial building on Monahan Road as residential accommodation for International Protection Applicants constitutes an exempted development. An application was made to An Coimisiun Pleanala in May last year for The Cube building, an office block located near Cork's docklands, to be used for potential temporary housing for refugees and asylum seekers. Development Management sought to understand if a temporary change of use of the basement, ground, first, second and third floors of the Cube building from office to residential accommodation for International Protection Applicants is an exempted development. If it is an exempted development, the change of use would not require planning permission from Cork City Council. While that decision is yet to be published by An Coimisiun Pleanala, Cork City Council has lodged an application of their own asking whether the change of use at the ground floor, second floor and third floor of the Cube Building from office use to temporary accommodation, support for displaced persons or persons seeking international protection is an exempted development. The Cube building was constructed in 2007 and was formerly known as Phoenix House. Regus took over the top floor of the building and has since expanded to offer co-working spaces and offices in the building. Companies Dassault Systems and Microchip also have offices in the building. The planning commission is due to decide on the city councils case by June 29, 2026. Iran's foreign minister warned of repercussions after the US struck the Iranian frigate Dena in international waters without warning, saying the ship was a guest of India's navy. "The US will bitterly regret the precedent it has set," Abbas Araqchi wrote on Thursday in a post on X. A US submarine strike hit the Iranian vessel off Sri Lanka's southern coast, thousands of miles from the Gulf, on Wednesday. Thirty-two Iranian sailors who survived a US submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said after at least 87 were killed in the attack. Officials at the National Hospital in Galle and navy sources said 87 bodies were brought in by military rescuers who responded to an early-morning distress call from the IRIS Dena on Wednesday. Search and rescue operations for an estimated 60 people on board who remain unaccounted for would continue on Thursday, authorities said. The 32 rescued sailors were being treated for minor injuries and could be released from hospital on Thursday, authorities said. Two policemen guarded the entrance to ward No. 58 of the hospital as nurses milled about and doctors conducted morning rounds. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the US-Israel war with Iran enters its sixth day. The war has widened sharply, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka and NATO air defences destroying an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey. And as Iran postponed the funeral of slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle to pressure from the United States and Israel's military campaign that has killed hundreds and convulsed global markets. Republican senators in Washington voted against a motion aimed at stopping the air campaign and requiring that military action be authorized by Congress, leaving President Trump's power to direct the war largely unbound, as the conflict continues to widen across the Middle East and beyond. The war continues to paralyse shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, choking off vital Middle East oil and gas flows. Mr Trump has pledged to provide insurance and naval escorts for ships to contain soaring costs. At least 200 vessels remain anchored off the coast, according to Reuters estimates. - Reuters The Canadian and Australian prime ministers have called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added that the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon. Canadas Mark Carney and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese discussed the war during their meeting in Australias capital, Canberra. The meeting came after news that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and Turkey said Nato defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkeys airspace. We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerents involved, Mr Carney said at a press conference with Mr Albanese. We stress that that cannot be achieved unless were in a position that Irans ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism, is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes, Mr Carney said. He said the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council, which were showing tremendous restraint, should become involved in the de-escalation process. Mr Albanese said: The world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks. Were seeing Gulf states, that have not been involved, attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. But we also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all, Mr Albanese said. Questioned by a reporter, Mr Carney could not rule out the Canadian military ever becoming involved in the conflict. Youve asked a fundamental hypothetical in a conflict that can spread very broadly, Mr Carney said. So one can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies when it makes sense, he added. Mr Carney is in Australia on a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India last week. He addressed the Australian parliament on Thursday and will fly to Japan on Friday. Punch the baby orphan macaque is outgrowing the orangutan soft toy that comforted him through early rejection from his mother and other monkeys. Images of Punch dragging around the plushie that is bigger than he is drew attention to the residents of a zoo near Tokyo, Japan. When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it for comfort. But he has been using the toy less. One day recently, Punch was seen climbing on the back of another monkey, sitting with adults and sometimes getting groomed or hugged. It was good to see him grow, and Im reassured, Sanae Izumi, a 61-year-old Punch fan from Osaka who came to the zoo because she was worried about the baby monkey, said. He is adorable! Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth, presumably because of exhaustion. Zookeepers nursed him and gave him the toy to train him to cling, an ability newborn macaques need to survive. Helping Punch learn the rules of monkey society and being accepted as a member is our most important task, Kosuke Kano, a 24-year-old zookeeper, said. Punch was recently seen climbing on the back of another monkey (Hiro Komae/AP) Punch became so popular after images of him and his toy appeared online last month, the zoo had to set rules to make visitors be quiet and to limit viewing to 10 minutes to reduce stress for the more than 50 other monkeys. Punch not using the toy most of the time now is a good thing. When he grows out of the plush toy, that encourages his independence, and thats what we are hoping for, zoo director Shigekazu Mizushina said. Punch still sleeps with his toy every night, but Mr Mizushina said the next thing keepers wanted to see was Punch bunched up with other monkeys to sleep. 03/05/2026 Elementary teachers across Alabama are invited to apply for a unique professional learning opportunity this summer at Jacksonville State University (Jax State), funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The 2026 Summer Civics Seminar will bring together teachers from across the state for a week-long residential program designed to strengthen civic education in elementary classrooms. Teachers accepted into the program will receive a $500 honorarium, full travel reimbursement, free lodging, meals throughout the week, and more than 50 hours of professional learning, along with classroom-ready resources they can bring back to their schools and communities. Hosted June 1419 at Jax State, the seminar will include one teacher from each of Alabamas 138 public school districts, along with 37 private school teachers from across the state, ensuring participation from every region of Alabama. In addition to current teachers, the program will accept 50 future teachers (pre-service) preparing to enter the profession. Applications for current and future K5 teachers are open through April 17, and organizers encourage educators from every part of Alabama to apply. The nation is realizing we need to invest in civic education, but too often K5 teachers are not included in this, said Benjamin Gross, director of the Center for Leadership and American Principles. Were excited to start our three-year program by investing in our K5 teachers, as they set the foundation of civic education for generations of Alabamians to come. By inviting teachers from across the entire state, our Center is demonstrating why its the premier institution in Alabama for improving civic thought and leadership. Participants will engage with leading civic education organizations, including the National Constitution Center, iCivics, Thinking Nation, and the Center for American Civics, as well as faculty experts from universities across the country. Visiting scholars from institutions such as Arizona State University, Florida State University, the University of Florida, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Missouri will lead sessions designed to help teachers deepen their content knowledge and confidence in teaching the foundational principles of American government through primary sources. In addition to classroom sessions, participants will take part in an experiential learning trip along Alabamas Civil Rights Trail, including visits to the Anniston Freedom Riders National Monument and the Legacy Museum properties. Teachers accepted into the program will receive: $500 honorarium Full travel reimbursement Free lodging during the seminar Meals throughout the week 50+ hours of professional learning credit A curated reader of primary source materials Classroom-ready deliverables aligned with the reader Pre-service teachers are encouraged to apply and may request lodging, though they are not eligible for the honorarium. The seminar is funded through a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education supporting three years of programming aimed at strengthening civic education across Alabama. Jax State is the only institution in Alabama to receive one of these American History and Civics Seminars Program awards from the federal government. Organizers say the program is designed to reach teachers from across the state, including those in rural and underserved communities. The seminar begins Sunday evening, June 14, and concludes Friday evening, June 19, with lodging provided through Saturday morning. Teachers interested in participating can apply online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4rp4AQmQhBecSIzgxCqisnmQwTvH6sRtNsJKQYseDYrjZdg/viewform For more information about the program, visit: jsu.edu/clap When they called your name at midnight, In your thoughts, morning blossomed from a blood-stained horizon. The small cells of Evin knew you well, And the corridor, in its blood-soaked memory, Had for years echoed the footsteps of martyrs. Morning passed through you, and dawn opened inside you. -Nemat MirzaZadeh for Said Soltanpour* Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated by the Israeli military on the morning of February 28th, 2026, alongside some family members including his wife. Nemat MirzaZadeh (M. Azarm), a nationalist poet and literary figure who supported Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in his quest to nationalize Irans oil in the early 1950s, had died of natural causes in Paris on February 3rd, 2026. He was from Mashhad, a religious city where Imam Rezas shrine is located. He never got to go back to his beloved country. He became a refugee like so many others. Ali Khamenei was also from Mashhad. Born into a religious family, from a young age, he read, recited and even wrote poetry. In fact, the two men, with some other learned men had weekly poetry meetings in Mashhad long before the Revolution. The two men shared poetry but went completely different routes. One became a refugee in France and the other one the leader of the Islamic Republic, succeeding Ayatollah Khomeini. Khamenei was not an uneducated man. He studied at the seminary, went to Najaf and returned. He knew and appreciated literature and philosophy. He had even read the works of major western authors. It is said that his favorite was Les Miserables, a novel by Victor Hugo. He became a hardliner, having also endured six rounds of imprisonment during the Shahs reign. His photo is shown in the museum of Ebrat the former Savak detention center later turned into Towhid prison*. Khamenei held many posts in the newly established Islamic Republic. On June 27, 1981, after returning from the front lines of the Iran-Iraq War, he was the target of an attempted assassination, presumably by the MEK or Mojahedin-e Khalq guerrilla group, which paralyzed his right arm. Khamenei ruled harshly, suppressing dissent. He allowed corruption on the part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Although he, himself, did not amass wealth and lived a relatively humble life, his son and those around him did benefit greatly from the wealth of the country. Khamenei was a true believer until the very end. At times he could be flexible but most of the time he dealt with the opposition with the utmost cruelty. The endgame was to protect the ideals of the Islamic Revolution. He was a Shia revolutionary and an exemplar (marja`-e taqlid) for the laity of how religious law was to be practiced. Nemat Azarm, was a kind human being and lived the life of a refugee without much hope to return. He taught Persian literature at various institutions. He had also been imprisoned during the Shah and beaten, alongside Homa Nategh, a prominent historian of the Qajar period. Khameneis assassination was an extrajudicial murder, something the Israelis have done with all their foes all over the world. For them international law does not apply. Khamenei was 86 and ill so he would have died sooner than later. Many Iranians celebrated his death inside Iran and outside, but Operation Epic Fury has caused enormous death and destruction, including the death ofat least 168 little girls in Minab, Iran. The operation by the Israeli and American forces, was launched only two days before a further round of talks was to be held in Vienna, and those negotiations had been going well according to the Omani mediator. But this war was just a scheme dreamt and implemented in Tel Aviv. Trump was repeatedly cajoled into the attack by Netanyahu during the 7 trips he made to Washington. Ali Khamenei in a trench during the Iran-Iraq War, 1981. Public Domain. Via Wikimedia Commons . Iran had neither the capacity nor the intention to strike the U.S. Even some in the U.S. military told Donald Trump that Iran was not an imminent threat. Trump had promised his base never to go into a war. It was one of his promises during his campaign. He ridiculed Obama and Biden. But he betrayed his base. He went willingly under the guise of an imminent threat, most probably to distract Americans from the Epstein file, from the terrible economy and from the looming mid-term elections. The same is true for the clearly unbalanced prime minister of Israel, who wants to win the future elections for the Likud party. Khamenei is gone and so is Nemat. But Iran is under daily bombardment with death and destruction on the horizon. This is happening during the holy fasting month of Ramadan and will likely probably continue through the Persian New Year, or Nowruz. This year, there will be no celebrations for Nowruz. Who can celebrate this ancient ritual when their homeland is under fire? I cant and I wont. Iran, this ancient land, the land of Hafez, Rumi and Saadi must stay intact. *Said Soltanpour was an Iranian poet, playwright, and theater director. He was a member of the Iranian Writers Association. On his wedding night, he was taken to prison and later executed on July 26, 1981 by the authorities. * Towhid prison was later dismantled under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami By Peter Rodgers | ( Middle East Monitor ) In international politics, starting a war is often easier than ending one. History has repeatedly shown that great powers can pull the trigger with a political decision, yet the trajectory, scope, and ultimate outcome of a war rarely remain under the sole control of its initiator. The United States attack on Iran sits precisely at this dangerous juncture: a war of choice launched by Washington, but one whose expansion, duration, and ultimate cost will now be shaped by Tehran. This is not merely an analytical warning; it underscores one of the deepest contradictions in Donald Trumps foreign policy. A president who rose to power promising to end endless wars has now placed the United States on the threshold of what could become the longest and most complex Middle Eastern conflict of a new generation. The first key point is the distinction between a preemptive war and a preventive wara distinction with enormous legal and strategic implications. A preemptive war occurs in response to an imminent and immediate threat; a preventive war, by contrast, is launched against a potential future threat. The U.S. strike on Iran falls into the latter category. There was no clear evidence of an immediate threat to American territory. Iran was neither on the verge of deploying a nuclear weapon nor preparing an imminent attack against vital U.S. interests. This war was therefore not an urgent act of self-defense but a political choicebased on projections of future risk rather than response to a present danger. The problem with such wars is that their international legitimacy is fragile, and more importantly, they lack clear temporal and geographic limits. When a country wages war to prevent what might happen, the definition of victory becomes ambiguous. And a war without a defined victory condition rarely has a defined end. The Trump administration appears to be pursuing objectives that go beyond degrading Irans military infrastructure: regime change. Yet this is precisely the arena in which modern history has repeatedly recorded American failure. Military force can destroy facilities, eliminate commanders, and cripple infrastructure; it cannot, on its own, construct a new political order. Regime change is not the product of bombardment but of internal collapse, alternative authority, and organized political presence. Unlike many previous U.S. targets, Iran is an institutionalized state with multilayered power structures. Even a scenario involving the removal of senior leadership would not necessarily result in systemic collapse; it could instead consolidate authority in more cohesive security actors. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya share a common lesson: toppling a government is easier than building a stable order afterward. Washington appears, once again, to have overlooked the second phase. The most important analytical proposition is this: the United States started the war, but its continuation lies largely in Irans hands. In asymmetric conflicts, the weaker party often holds the strategic advantage of time. Iran does not need to defeat the United States militarily to prevail; it needs only to raise the costs, prolong the timeline, and widen the theater of confrontation. Tehrans options are numerous: expanding the conflict through regional actors; exerting pressure on energy routes and the global economy; conducting limited but sustained strikes aimed at political attrition in the United States; transforming the war into a multi-front crisis that becomes increasingly difficult to control. In such a scenario, Irans measure of success would not be battlefield conquest but turning the war into a chronic dilemma for Washington. This mirrors the pattern the United States experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan: military superiority without political victory. In both of his presidential campaigns, Trump pledged to extricate America from the endless wars of the Middle East. That message reflected deep fatigue within American society after two decades of military intervention. Yet a war with Iran stands in direct contradiction to that promise. Why? Because unlike limited operations, a confrontation with Iran has the capacity to become a protracted and chronic crisis. Iran is a large country with regional networks and the capability to impose indirect costs. Such a war would be unlikely to end swiftly. Its domestic consequences are foreseeable: rising energy prices, market instability, deepening political divisions, and strain on European and Asian allies. In other words, a war intended to project American strength could divert Washingtons strategic focus away from its principal competition with China and Russiathe very strategic error U.S. planners have warned against for years. While U.S. national security documents emphasize that the future of global competition will be shaped in the Indo-Pacific, reentering a massive military commitment in the Middle East would disperse strategic resources. Competition with China demands sustained economic, technological, and military concentration. Prolonged regional wars erode precisely that focus. Iran may not be able to defeat the United States outright, but it can keep it occupiedand in geopolitics, tying down a superpower can at times be nearly as consequential as defeating it. File photo. President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral dinner for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Monday, July 7, 2025, in the Blue Room. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok) Wars are usually launched under the assumption of control. Leaders believe they can calibrate escalation. Yet after the first strike, the logic of war replaces the logic of politics. Each attack invites retaliation. Each retaliation demands a new response. In this cycle, decision-makers gradually become captive to their own commitments. Withdrawal carries political costs; continuation carries strategic ones. This is how wars become endlessnot necessarily because of the original plan, but because of the inability to exit without appearing to fail. The U.S. strike on Iran may initially appear as a demonstration of strength, but the real danger lies in what follows. Washington has pulled the trigger, but it is no longer the sole actor shaping events. From this point forward, Tehran will influence the rhythm of the conflictby choosing the timing, location, and intensity of its responses. This dynamic has defined many modern wars: great powers initiate them, but regional actors prolong them. If this trajectory continues, the United States may find itself trapped in the very cycle Trump once promised to enda costly, grinding war with no clear horizon of victory. History may record this moment not as the beginning of a swift triumph, but as the point at which the United States once again entered a war far easier to begin than to leave. For ultimately, starting a war requires only one side; ending it always depends on the otherand now it is Iran that holds the decisive vote. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment. For almost twelve years, the Yazidi community has been searching for justice. Much has been written about the need for accountability for the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) crimes [read box]. Far less attention has been paid to visibility, and to whether survivors can actually witness that justice taking place. Proceedings take place far away, in languages they do not understand, in countries they will never visit. This raises a broader question: what responsibility do judicial institutions bear for ensuring that such trials are not only conducted but seen by the communities most affected? Recent practice in the Netherlands, notably in the Hasna Aarab trial, suggests that geographical distance is not insurmountable. Fourteen universal jurisdiction cases For Yazidi survivors, the only meaningful avenue for accountability so far has been universal jurisdiction trials in Europe. According to monitoring conducted by Yazda, there have so far been nine cases in Germany, including three convictions for genocide and one ongoing case in Munich. There has been one case in the Netherlands, as well as proceedings in Sweden, Belgium, and Kosovo. In total, this amounts to fourteen cases over nearly twelve years, across five countries. A new trial is set to open in absentia on Monday 16 March, before the Paris Assize Court, against French national Sabri Essid the first genocide trial in France concerning ISIL crimes against the Yazidi community. Essid, presumed dead in Syria, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, against Yazidi women and children between 2014 and 2016. For legal experts, these cases demonstrate that universal jurisdiction can work. They provide judicial recognition of crimes against Yazidis. Yet, the growing number of cases has not resolved a central problem: for many survivors, these proceedings remain largely out of sight. Outreach: the responsibility of states Civil society organisations such as Yazda have tried to bridge this gap by monitoring cases and publishing updates in accessible languages. However, civil society cannot replace the responsibility of states. When states choose to exercise universal jurisdiction, they assume not only the power to prosecute but also the public nature of trials which is a fundamental principle of the administration of justice. States exercising universal jurisdiction should therefore adopt minimum outreach standards. Otherwise, a paradox emerges: Justice is happening, but the people most affected often do not know it. The issue is therefore no longer only accountability, but also visibility. Justice that exists, but cannot be seen or followed, risks losing its meaning. From courtroom to community The Aarab trial that opened in 2023 in the Netherlands, offers a different approach. In December 2024, the District Court of The Hague convicted the Dutch citizen who had joined ISIL in Syria, for the enslavement of a Yazidi woman as a crime against humanity. Alongside the legal proceedings, and for the first time in a trial related to crimes against Yazidis, efforts were made to bring the case closer to the affected community. Hearings before both the District Court and the Appeals Court of The Hague were filmed and made accessible remotely through secure links shared by civil society organisations with survivors and community members. Remote access was granted on an individual registration basis, allowing the court to retain oversight of participants. The District Court also provided remote access to the pronouncement of its judgment in December 2024, and the Appeals Court has announced it will do the same for its judgment that is expected in March 2026. These semi-public video-streams allowed the court to balance transparency with the presumption of innocence and privacy concerns. Cameras showed only professional participants, including judges, lawyers, clerks and prosecutors, and not the defendant or the witnesses; viewers were strictly instructed not to take photographs or record the hearings. Interpretation was provided into Kurmanji (a Kurdish dialect). While many Yazidi survivors speak the Shingali dialect, a mix of Kurmanji and Arabic, qualified interpreters in that specific language are difficult to find, and Kurmanji was therefore used as the closest available option. To complement this, and to ensure the proceedings were understood at community level,Yazda organised two in-person community screenings at its offices in Duhok and Sinjar: the first in December 2024 during the trial hearings in first instances, and the second in February 2026 during the appeal hearings. Around eighty survivors in total attended the two events, including relatives of a witness in the case. For many, it was the first time in over a decade that they were able to witness justice in action. Participants expressed confusion about legal procedures, sentencing standards, and the absence of penalties such as the death sentence, which exists in Iraq. Some felt the ten-year sentence imposed on the accused by The Hague District Court was too lenient, reflecting broader frustrations about the limited number of prosecutions in front of the scale of crimes. These reactions underscored the importance of tailored outreach with local civil society organisations. A handful of survivors were also able to travel to the Netherlands to attend the hearings in person, some of them with travel support provided by The Nuhanovic Foundation. Yazidi media were also present, helping to relay information back to the community. These efforts did not resolve all challenges. Access remained limited. But the approach marked a clear departure from previous cases in Europe. For once, survivors could see the courtroom, hear the arguments, and follow the outcome of a case that concerned them directly. Access as the next step The Aarab case shows that practical steps to improve accessibility are available, including remote viewing, interpretation, structured outreach and cooperation with community organisations. In practice, Dutch courts are increasingly willing to allow for remote access. As noted by Brechtje Vossenberg, a lawyer who represented the survivors in the case, such access is increasingly offered by the Dutch courts, in proceedings with clear international dimension. Remote access can also be facilitated in proceedings that have broad national impact or heightened public interest, she notes, such as in the MH-17 case or, more recently in a case involving a human smuggling network with significant interest for the Eritrean diaspora. In such cases, Vossenberg adds, the balance of interests underpinning a decision to allow for remote access not only involves the interest of the accused, but also those of the participating victims and the broader community affected by the facts at issue in the case. Germany has also begun to move in this direction. Its 2024 reform of the law on international crimes, adopted after criticism that affected communities had only limited access to trials, strengthened victims rights and enabled courts to authorise recordings and broader interpretation, although these measures remain discretionary in practice. Taken together, these experiences point to a familiar gap: what is often missing is not technical capacity, but early institutional attention and planning. In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted court activity worldwide but also accelerated the judiciarys familiarity with remote tools, leaving many courts better technically equipped than before. Paris Assize Court not ready yet Against this backdrop, the forthcoming Yazidi trial in Paris offers a timely opportunity to put these lessons into practice. French judicial authorities can still build meaningful visibility into the proceedings from the outset. While French law restricts the public dissemination of filmed criminal hearings, remote access tools can offer a distinct and workable alternative. In Dutch practice, livestream access is treated as an extension of the courtroom: viewers must register individually and are strictly prohibited from recording the proceedings, just as if they were physically present. Arguably, the Paris court could facilitate real time audio access or structured live reporting in Shingali or Kurmanji, provide timely translated summaries of key hearings, and establish a formal channel of communication with recognised Yazidi community organisations. Experience elsewhere shows that such measures can be implemented pragmatically under existing principles and at limited cost when planned. Early coordination between courts, victims representatives and civil society is key to ensuring that these tools are used by affected communities, while standard safeguards including limiting camera views to professional participants, applying voice distortion where necessary, and using initials or witness numbers help address protective measures and fair trial concerns. According to an exchange we initiated with it, the Paris Assize Court is not yet ready. Visibility shapes trust in institutions, willingness to cooperate, and belief that justice processes are meaningful. On the other hand, justice carried out far from survivors and out of their sight risks becoming a legal success and a moral failure at the same time. As one survivor who watched the Aarab appeal hearing on 10 February 2026 at a screening in Sinjar put it: Trials should be available online so people around the world can see what happened to us. Transparency matters. Justice delayed and hidden is not justice. LACK OF JUSTICE IN SYRIA OR IRAQ From 3 August 2014, ISIL carried out a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi, an ethno-religious minority whose homeland is Sinjar, in Northern Iraq. In a matter of days, thousands were killed or kidnapped. The entire population of Sinjar, more than half a million people, was displaced. Since then, the search for justice has been slow and full of obstacles. In Iraq, where most of the crimes were committed, comprehensive legislation on core international crimes is still missing. Proceedings have largely taken the form of terrorism trials. In Syria, there was virtually no prospect of accountability for years. At the international level, the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over Iraq or Syria. The only mechanism created was the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh/ISIL (UNITAD), mandated to collect and preserve evidence. UNITAD was prematurely closed in September 2024, and its archives were transferred to UN headquarters, placing them beyond the reach of justice. In this context, and with recent transfers of ISIL detainees from Syria to Iraq, many survivors see little hope that justice will come in a form that recognises their suffering. For them, justice feels distant, abstract, and secondary to more immediate needs. Libyan prosecutors said Thursday they had identified three suspects in last month's killing of the son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, without specifying their identities. Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, once seen by some as Libya's heir apparent, was shot dead in his home in the northwestern city of Zintan in early February. The prosecutor's office said its investigation determined the "meeting place of the suspects, the time at which they went to the scene of the crime and committed it... as well as the identity of three suspects". The office added in the statement on Facebook that it had ordered their arrest. While he held no official position in the North African country under his father's rule, Seif al-Islam had been described as Libya's de facto prime minister, cultivating an image of moderation and reform prior to the 2011 Arab Spring revolt. But that reputation soon collapsed when he promised "rivers of blood" in the face of the uprisings. Following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, he was arrested by Libyan authorities in 2011. A Tripoli court later sentenced him to death but he was granted amnesty. Marcel Ceccaldi, a French lawyer who had been representing Seif al-Islam, told AFP he was killed by a "four-man commando" who stormed his house. Kennesaw State partners with OneGoal on college success initiative KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 5, 2026 Kennesaw State University and education nonprofit OneGoal have partnered to provide more metro Atlanta high school students with high-quality postsecondary pathways and help them succeed after they enroll at the university. This partnership between OneGoal and KSU reflects whats possible when institutions align around a common commitment to students, said Taylor Ramsey, executive director of OneGoal. By working together, we can create a more connected and supportive college experience where students feel seen, supported, and confident as they work toward their degrees. OneGoal collaborates with school districts nationwide to ensure that postsecondary planning, preparation, and support are not treated as extracurricular activities but as integral components of the high school experience for all students. In Georgia, OneGoal serves 17 high schools in the Atlanta metropolitan area, representing 1,500 high school students seeking admission to postsecondary institutions. OneGoal works with these high school students through a specific class they take in their junior and senior years and by providing extensive counseling and support services. Through the program, students can gain a thorough understanding of what to expect when attending a university. We are proud to partner with OneGoal to expand the pathways that lead students to meaningful postsecondary success, said Jacqueline Quiroga, assistant vice president for Enrollment Services. OneGoals mission to ensure equitable access to college and career opportunities deeply aligns with our commitment to removing barriers and empowering students to achieve their fullest potential. We look forward to working together to provide the guidance, resources, and support that help students confidently pursue and realize their academic and professional aspirations. For its part, Kennesaw State will work with OneGoal to increase awareness of the institution by dedicating resources to support students who enroll in the program. KSU will provide these students with additional support, which will complement the advising and academic support that all students receive. KSU and OneGoals objectives for this partnership are: Increase the number of students who apply to KSU, enroll, and persist toward degree completion; Ensure student success throughout the college years, so students are supported and stay on track to graduate through intentional data sharing and collaboration; Connect OneGoal Fellows to a strong community of support and resources that is available at KSU. Story by Gary Tanner Photos by Matt Yung Related Stories A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu. Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - A notorious Mchele Lady is suspected of moving around popular clubs in Mombasa, targeting unsuspecting men. According to reports, a victims drink was covertly spiked with a stupefying drug by the lady, leaving him disoriented and vulnerable. The suspect then stole a substantial amount of money, leaving the victim traumatized and shaken. CCTV footage circulating online shows the woman moving between tables, charming men under the guise of friendly conversation, before striking. The victim reportedly fell into her trap, was drugged and robbed. The footage>>> has since been circulated to raise public awareness and assist in identifying the suspect. A victim of drink spiking in Mombasa is seeking the help of the public in identifying a woman who covertly laced his drink with a stupefying drug, almost costing his life, before stealing a huge chunk of money. pic.twitter.com/67GwHhgD0P Prime Media News (@primemediakenya) March 3, 2026 The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 04, 2026 - A Kenyan mother of three has shared her heartbreaking story online after discovering that her husband of four years is gay. The revelation has left her overwhelmed, especially as she battles postpartum depression following the birth of her youngest child, now just six months old. The woman, who is a trained secondary school teacher explained that she realized her husbands lifestyle at a time when she was already struggling with her mental health. She confronted him and even informed his parents, but no action was taken. My concern and worry is that I have come to realise my husband of four years is gay! How should I handle this? Should I involve my parents? My fear is that if I step out, this will be baby daddy number three. I feel frustrated, she wrote. She revealed that her husband did not deny the revelation and instead threatened to harm himself. She also revealed that the husband insists that she works in schools near his village, limiting her independence. I am drained mentally. I got postpartum depression when I gave birth, and thats when I realised. I need help, she shared. Her story has sparked empathy and debate online, with many urging her to prioritize her peace of mind. Others encouraged her to seek professional support to navigate both her mental health struggles and the complexities of her relationship. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 04, 2026 - One Nairobi host has shared his disbelief after leaving a Luhya guest unattended, only to return and find pancakes made with unga ya ugali na some wheet flour. I dont know because Ive never seen something like this in my life. Do Luhyas have to really use maize flour in everything? The hilarious rant ended with the viral punchline: Huyu nataka tuh arudi Vihiga, Im done. Once again, the common stereotype lives on - whether its chicken or ugali, it seems Luhyas cant escape the food allegations. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - A well-known businessman was reportedly killed in cold blood after he was caught-red handed with a married woman. The deceased, identified as Ivan Lugongwe, was a prominent entrepreneur and proprietor of the popular E-Zone Club in Kasanda, Uganda. According to reports from local sources, Lugongwe was allegedly attacked after being found in a compromising situation with a married woman. It is alleged that a confrontation ensued, leading to a violent altercation. During the incident, the womans husband reportedly attacked Lugongwe with a sharp object, inflicting fatal injuries. By the time police arrived at the scene, Lugongwe had succumbed to his injuries. Authorities have since launched investigations into the incident, and the suspect is expected to face murder charges. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sean McCarthaigh A coroner has called for regular inspections to be carried out on the accessibility of lifebuoys after an inquest heard friends of a teenager who got into difficulty while swimming in the Grand Canal could not untie a lifebuoy from its stand to assist in attempts to rescue him. A sitting of Kildare Coroners Court heard Max OConnor (15) from Newcastle, Co Dublin, drowned while swimming in the canal at the 13th Lock between Ardclough and Celbridge, Co Kildare, on May 11th, 2024. The coroner, Loretta Nolan, issued a number of riders to her verdict after hearing evidence from several eyewitnesses about the inability of other teenagers to remove a lifebuoy from its stand. Dr Nolan said she would write to Waterways Ireland to alert them of her recommendation that lifebuoys should be both available and accessible. The coroner acknowledged that there is a problem with vandalism of the lifesaving equipment but stressed that there was a need to get the balance right in terms of making them accessible. She said it was important for anyone considering getting into water to help another to be able to access lifebuoys for their own personal safety. Dr Nolan also called for swimming lessons to be made a formal part of the curriculum at secondary school level. The coroner, who revealed she had lifeguard qualifications herself, noted that transition year students do some lifeguard training in association with Water Safety Ireland. She observed that it would be good for all post primary students to have the knowledge of what to do if they found themselves in similar situations. The inquest heard evidence from six teenagers who were with the deceased at the time of the fatal incident. They told the coroner how two groups of friends from different schools had met up and decided to go swimming in the Grand Canal near the Cliff at Lyons country retreat. The inquest heard that Max a 3rd Year student at Colaiste Chilliain in Clondalkin, Dublin had gone to the canal on his e-scooter with a speaker to play music. The teenagers described how some of them were jumping in and out of the canal but Max had originally indicated he was not going to go in the water. Another friend said he and Max had jumped into the water together after others had been diving into the canal for about 30 minutes. He raised the alarm just after 5pm after realising that his friend was not getting out of the water. One witness said he would have advised the deceased not to go in the water if he had realised he could not swim. The teenager recalled seeing Max was drowning when he saw him trying to swim to the surface with air bubbles coming out of his mouth. He said he jumped back into the water and both were reaching out to try and grab hold of each other. The witness said he tried to hold onto a chain to go deeper but we were out of reach of each other. He added: Everyone loved Max. He was a good friend and a friendly guy. He described the deceased as very funny and gentle. Well all miss Max. Hell never be forgotten, he concluded. Another youth who dived into the canal to try and rescue Max said his friend looked like he was panicking in the water. The witness said he and another swimmer had grabbed the deceased by the arms but were unable to pull him up. He was struggling and panicking, the teenager recalled. He said others were screaming at them to get out of the water which was estimated to be 15-20 foot deep where the group were swimming. One girl fought back tears as she described how they struggled to remove the lifebuoy off its stand. Another boy described trying to kick at the lifebuoys stand to try and break it as its rope was wrapped around a pole and could not be removed. A woman living near the lock, Maeve Boylan, described how she was originally wary of the group of teenagers as she had experience of some groups being trouble but had observed how they seemed calm and friendly. Boylan said she realised that there was a bit of panic among them at one stage and realised a short time later what had happened when she heard someone shout out that someone was missing. She told the inquest that she had spent 20 minutes on a 999 call to emergency services, while she had also got a key to open the lock to drain the water from the area where the group were swimming. Boylan said she was frustrated at not being able to do anything further to help and at realising that they were not going to be able to save the victim. An aunt of the deceased, Joanne Moore, gave evidence of formally identifying her nephews body to gardai. Dr Nolan said the results of a postmortem showed that Max had died from drowning. She said toxicology reports had corroborated the evidence of the witnesses that the deceased had not consumed any alcohol or drugs. Returning a verdict of accidental death, Dr Nolan also recommended that counselling should be provided to Maxs friends, if they had not already received it. The coroner said she would be writing to the different schools attended by the witnesses about her belief that counselling would be beneficial for them. Its an experience that most people dont experience thankfully, she observed. By Rebecca Black, Press Association The rise in energy prices has been discussed by ministers from the Republic, the North and the UK. Stormont conomy minister Caoimhe Archibald said she had constructive engagement with UK energy minister Michael Shanks and IEnergy Minister Darragh OBrien about the rising price of home heating oil and fuel. She said she was assured there is no short-term risk to supply, and said she had committed to working closely with both governments as the situation evolves. Economy Minister Dr @CArchibald_SF has today commented on the rising price of home heating oil and fuel emerging as a result of the situation in the Middle East. Read more aihttps://t.co/K6iajJwx3e pic.twitter.com/9sqdGkReAs Economy NI (@Economy_NI) March 4, 2026 Earlier today I spoke with both the Irish and British Energy Ministers about the price hikes in home heating oil and fuel which has followed the Israeli/US attack on Iran, she said. Minister OBrien shared my concerns on the rising costs of home heating oil across the island, and outlined his plans to engage with the energy sector. Minister Shanks provided reassurance that there is no short-term risk to supply. Ms Archibald said that any unjustified increase in costs for consumers is unacceptable. I have instructed my department to remind all suppliers and retailers of the need to behave in a responsible manner, and we will be working with our agencies to ensure transparency on pricing, she said. Whilst the announcement of a reduction in natural gas tariffs for homes earlier this week is welcome, over 60% of people in the north rely on home heating oil where we are seeing cost increases of more than 60% since last Friday. In my conversations with Minister Shanks I made a firm case for people to be supported through this energy shock, similar to the way in which support was provided by the British Government following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Im encouraged that Minister Shanks agreed to keep the situation under review, as events are fast moving and it is unclear how long the conflict will last. A Kildare man who is currently stranded in the United Arab Emirates with his wife, who is 17 weeks pregnant, and extended family has cautioned the public, Dont believe everything you see on the internet. Aaron Bannon Whelan also said he and his family felt they were stuck in no-mans land as the consular responses they have received so far were kind of copy and paste. The past pupil of Ardscoil Rath Iomghain described it as absolutely mental the suggestion that his pregnant wife and her 91-year-old grandfather should be expected to get on a lengthy bus journey to get to Oman for a chartered flight back to Ireland. We've sent multiple emails, and my mother at home has rang every available embassy and helpline, and just we're not really getting any responses back from anybody, just a few generic ones here and there, and everything just seems to be kind of copy and paste, so we kind of feel like we're stuck in no man's land here, because no one's reached out really to kind of say look we're on it. Mr Bannon-Whelan said they had seen the announcement about the chartered flight from Oman, but they had not received any specific information. To me, that's absolutely mental. I don't know what decision was made to do that, because for me to put a 17-week pregnant woman and a 91-year-old on a bus on a good day, seven and a half hours to Oman, and not have the guarantee of getting a flight out, because they're not all getting out. "There are queues at the airport, how many other thousands of people from different countries are getting told the same thing, I just thought it was an absolutely outrageous statement to come out with, to say leave where you are and flee to this country that we know nothing about. I will definitely not be going to Oman. The embassy had been more than lacklustre in terms of communication. They know who is here. We filled out the form that they've asked everyone to fill out, and the only response I got back was confirming my date of birth. I understand that (embassy staff could be overwhelmed), but I suppose the day or two days after, on Monday, when the embassy was supposed to be open, we just got word that it was closed, and here's a helpline, and we can't ring this helpline because Irish numbers can't call while we're in the UAE. Mr Bannon-Whelan said he was quietly confident about getting a flight later in the week. Paris Texas was packed as the St Patricks Festival was officially launched in Kilkenny. Described as the big festival in a small city a number of city venues will host events from March 14 to 17. The festival was opened by the Cathaoirleach Mary Hilda Cavanagh, who hailed the St Patricks Day Parade Committee, Failte Ireland, local businesses and volunteers whose work makes the festival possible. Every March, Kilkenny comes alive with music, colour, creativity and community spirit, she said. This years four-day festival is shaping up to be another special event. READ NEXT: IT'S WHEELS-UP FOR THIS YEAR'S KILKENNY TRADFEST Kilkenny is a city that welcomes all, and were thrilled to welcome visitors from near and far to celebrate with us. Mayor of Kilkenny John Coonan welcomed the assembly and previewed what is sure to be a fantastic celebration. St Patricks Festival Kilkenny has grown into a major four-day event, attracting visitors at a key time of year to Irelands medieval capital, he said. We are also delighted to welcome marching bands from Ohio, Illinois and Arizona to Kilkenny in the days running up to St Patricks Day. We are also honoured that George Candler will lead this years St Patricks Day parade here in Kilkenny. In a wonderful change of pace from his familiar role as MC on the reviewing stand, George will take pride of place as our Grand Marshal for 2026. His energy and connection to this festival will, I have no doubt, add greatly to what promises to be a fantastic celebration. The 2026 programme offers something for families, communities and visitors of all ages, while showcasing Kilkennys heritage, creativity and renowned hospitality. TAP HERE FOR TICKETS TO KILKENNY TRADFEST GIGS Fire and Drum Spectacular Festival organisers have announced special plans for a breathtaking fire and drum spectacular at UPMC Nowlan Park at dusk on Monday, March 16. This unique flame-based show on the hallowed ground of Kilkenny hurling combines immersive, dynamic fire choreography with aerial acrobatics by the incredible Pyro Collective. The evening begins with Jeremy Hickey, best known for his work as RSAG (Rarely Seen Above Ground), with an exhilarating acoustic set. The full programme is available here. Formerly a fringe interest outside of Japan, anime has exploded into the mainstream of the western world over the last few decades with huge exports of movies and tv series entrenching themselves into the worldwide cultural fabric. This growth is currently being capitalised on by the Global Anime Challenge (GAC), a Japanese Government funded project which provides training opportunities abroad for leading young animation professionals. The GAC has brought together several top Japanese directors and producers with the multi-Oscar award nominated Cartoon Saloon animation studio in Kilkenny for a months-long cultural and learning exchange to the benefit of all participants. The entire project spans multiple years and is the first of its kind attempted. In the first year we train participants to get ready for their opportunities overseas, says project Cultural Coordinator, Hiromi Hasegawa, from the studio headquarters in Kilkenny. This is our second year and we have a total of 11 participants going abroad for training opportunities in studios like Cartoon Saloon and some in France. The training period spans from one up to three months and after their placements, theyll go back to Japan and make pilot films, she adds. READ NEXT: Kilkenny business couple looking ahead after 'a dreadful start to 2026' - Kilkenny Live Though the GAC was launched with the aim of nurturing Japanese talent, the host organisations stand to gain just as much from their guests according to Cartoon Saloon Co-founder and Creative Director, Nora Twomey. We have an awful lot in common because we both love animation, Nora outlines. Theyre young, but their careers are already well-established so we have as much to learn from them as they do from us. Its fantastic to share a love for 2D animation and especially the success of Japanese animation across the world, she continues. The Japanese contingent in Kilkenny includes the likes of Keiichiro Saito and Takafumi Nakame, Director and Producer respectively of the internationally acclaimed series, Frieren: Beyond Journeys End, and Ayumi Moriyama, a director and animator on several Pokemon films and series. Cartoon Saloon and Screen Ireland have recently engaged with Japanese film and animation industry officials to explore closer cooperation between the countries, including a potential co-production treaty. Given the global success of the Kilkenny-based studio and the rise in popularity of anime, increased ties between the countries could lead to exciting opportunities for collaboration well past the conclusion of the GAC. I think there's a lot of creative opportunities between Japan and Ireland in the animation space, Nora outlines. Ireland is very good, as is Japan, with leading in terms of creating connections. I very much look forward to working closer together in the future, she adds. The internet age has made foreign media more readily available than ever, hugely increasing the ease of access to anime and fuelling the growth of its popularity in Ireland and elsewhere, something which Cartoon Saloon is keen to focus on to increase its already wide reach. Animation fans are becoming a lot more sophisticated and theres a whole generation that chose what they wanted to see themselves on the different streaming services, Nora describes. Theyre very educated about where the animation comes from, who created it and who the directors are. All these factors are something that play into their enjoyment of what theyre watching. Were always looking at ways of becoming more successful, reaching bigger audiences and strengthening our relationship with our fans; so working closer with Japanese partners is absolutely something we would look towards, she says. Arriving in Kilkenny from Japan could have been an intimidating prospect for the GAC participants, but Hiromi and her compatriots have settled into life at Cartoon Saloon with ease, forging new relationships with the diverse staff at the studio. Its just been wonderful, the people here are so nice, so kind, Hiromi affirms. I see so many people from around Europe are coming to Kilkenny and working at Cartoon Saloon so were not just making friends in Ireland but across Europe too. The short pilot films that will be the culmination of the GAC have the chance to be made into full-length feature films or series and the influence of Kilkenny and Cartoon Saloon are sure to be felt in the projects according to Hiromi. These are proof of concept trailers with anime which we will bring to the Annecy International Film Festival for them to make presentations and hopefully their projects will materialize into movies, she describes. It might not be so obvious, but all the feedback and the impact that were getting here will eventually end up integrated into their future works. I am most definite about that. The animation industry is among the most threatened by the rise of AI but Nora is confident that fans will continue to seek out the organic aspects in media and that stronger ties between countries can protect creative jobs. As storytellers, either in Japan or in Ireland, all of us look to the human factor in whatever stories we choose to listen to or watch, so I think thats something thats going to remain. Its very difficult to know what the future is and there are definitely challenges; but partnerships will strengthen creative people no matter what their first language is and what part of the world they live in, she concludes. TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS A number of changes have been proposed to the residential and retail development on the North Quays near the Kilkenny-Waterford border. A revised planning application for the project was submitted by Harcourt Developments on February 27. It detailed plans for the construction of additional apartments, in line with the latest apartment guidelines. An additional 80 apartments are set to be constructed if permission is granted, bringing the total number of apartments to 430. READ NEXT: Student pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of Kilkenny teen and Cork man The number of one-bed apartments would more than double, with 228 now envisaged, as opposed to the original plan for 106. The number of two-bed four-person apartments would also increase, going from 175 to 195. However, there is set to be a reduction in two-bed three-person apartments, with just seven now planned, as opposed to the original 32. Meanwhile, the plans for 37 three-bedroom apartments have been dropped completely. Under the plans, the total area of the development would increase to 34,239 square units. While there are minor changes to the external facade of the buildings proposed, all units will retain private balconies or terraces for ground floor units. READ NEXT: Gardai offering 82k starting salary for civilian job based in Kilkenny Plans for a hotel, retail units and office space also remain unchanged. Waterford City and County Council previously stated that construction of the development was set to get underway in the first half of this year. However, Harcourt Developments has, at the time of writing, declined to comment on whether that remains the case. READ NEXT: 'There are constant thuds' - Kilkenny man trying to escape Dubai after Iran missile strikes A decision by the council on the revised plans is expected by April 23. CLICK HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS Almost 400 people were brought safely back to Ireland on the first flight from Dubai since the war in the Middle East began. 386 people arrived at Dublin Airport on Emirates Flight EK 163 at around 10:45pm last night, with only "about 25%" of them being Irish. "They were relieved to be back on Irish soil and escape Dubai and the Iran war," Henry McKean, who was at the airport last night, told Newstalk. Many of the passengers claim to have felt lucky for even being able to get on the flight, while others still had "confusion and anger." Liz and Anthony were on the flight after being stuck in Dubai Airport, where they heard the explosions. READ NEXT: Irish motorists warned of potential increase in fuel prices amid war in Middle East The couple was due to fly home last Saturday, but all flights had been cancelled. After the explosion, they were evacuated from the airport, which Liz described as "pandemonium" and "manic." This was the first flight to leave Dubai since the war started, but the Irish government is chartering a flight from Oman tomorrow. However, it has been causing some controversy as passengers hoping to get on the flight have to pay 800. In a statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee, it is stated that the government is covering a portion of the cost, but it doesn't say how much. Senator Patricia Stephenson described the flight as "a shakedown, not an evacuation," according to the Irish Independent. "Desperate people, stuck in a war zone, should not be asked for 800 by their own government so they can get home to safety," she added. People in Ireland have been told what number to call to report fuel price gouging after the Minister for Enterprise hit out at increases. Peter Burke has confirmed he has engaged with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and asked them to urgently investigate claims from citizens who have raised significant concerns around price gouging. He also raised the issue of illegal practice in terms of home heating oil, petrol, and diesel. "I am encouraging members of the pubic to contact the CCPC via ask@ccpc.ie or via their helpline at 01 402 5555 in relation to recent increases in home heating oil and fuel. I am assured by the CCPC that these complaints will be carefully and urgently assessed," Minister Burke said. The CCPC can impose fines of up 10 million in certain circumstances of breaches, or 10% of a companys turnover. READ NEXT: Almost 400 Irish people return home from Dubai on first flight since Iran war started "I am also meeting industry representatives and suppliers in the energy market on Friday to discuss my concerns around the recent sharp increases in home heating oil and fuel prices, which do not appear to correspond with wholesale trends," Minister said. Professor Aoife Foley, who is the Chair in Net Zero Infrastructure at the University of Manchester, has outlined what impact the conflict could have on energy prices. Professor Foley estimates that if oil markets spike sharply, the price of petrol could rise by 0.70 per litre. However, that would only be in the case of what she describes as a severe shock. In the case of a more moderate shock, the price could rise by 0.29 per litre. In the case of diesel, a severe shock to oil markets could result in a price increase of 0.81 per litre. This figure stands at 0.34 per litre in the case of a more moderate shock. Elsewhere, for households who use heating oil, the price of a refill could almost double. With a current baseline of 0.99 per litre, this could rise to as much as 1.95 a litre in the case of a severe shock. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. " " OK, sure, you can also call certain groups a family of baboons, but we're talking about large groups that aren't necessarily related by blood. Ivoha / Shutterstock If you have ever wondered, "What is a group of baboons called," you are asking a question about language and animal behavior at the same time. The short answer: A group of baboons is called a troop. Baboons are large monkeys and highly socially sophisticated primates, so their group structure matters. Advertisement You might also hear a group of baboons called a congress. Both terms appear in various collective nouns lists, but "troop" is the term commonly used in scientific descriptions of baboon social groups. Weather Alert ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM SUNDAY TO NOON CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...South winds shifting to west 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois and central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From 10 AM Sunday to noon CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution. && Examining a well-connected Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Broughton Lodge Some 60 years ago, a pioneering community excavation carried out three seasons of digging at Broughton Lodge, Nottinghamshire, revealing an unusual Anglo-Saxon cemetery. This image shows the 1963-1964 investigations in progress. The diverse grave goods excavated at a 6th-century cemetery in Nottinghamshire testify to a wealthy community with wide-ranging trade links but, as well as new objects and materials, did these networks help to spread deadly diseases, and might this explain the unusually high number of multiple burials identified at Broughton Lodge? Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition about the site and spoke to Ann Inscker, Professor Chris Loveluck, and Dr Clare Pickersgill to learn more. Pandemic disease and climate change might seem like contemporary concerns, but the archaeological record has much to tell us about the impact of similar events on communities who lived centuries earlier. Intriguing insights are emerging from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Broughton Lodge, near Willoughby-on-the-Wolds in Nottinghamshire, which was excavated during a pioneering community project in the 1960s and has yielded further clues during subsequent scientific research. The high-status artefacts and exotic materials accompanying many of the graves speak of a diverse mix of cultural influences and trade links stretching across Europe and far beyond but the site is also home to the largest number of multiple burials yet identified at any 6th-century cemetery in England. Why were so many people from this apparently thriving community dying in quick succession? A new exhibition at the University of Nottingham Museum draws together evidence from the original excavations and recent scientific analysis to explore possible causes, and the experiences and beliefs of the people buried there. Broughton Lodge lies close to the line of the Fosse Way, and near to the Crosshill Tumulus (a Roman burial ground that was excavated in 1948-1951). It had long been known that the site, which lies beside the Fosse Way (the Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln), was home to extensive Roman remains, including a large settlement and a cemetery. Evidence of activity dating to this period is described by the 18th-century antiquarian William Stukeley, and more buildings and burials were uncovered during investigations on an adjacent site in 1948-1951. Broughton Lodges early medieval significance, however, only became apparent in the 1960s, when the construction of a flyover for the A46 (the modern successor of the Fosse Way) revealed graves and a cobbled surface. Despite the sites history, the Ministry of Works judged the archaeology to be too damaged to merit further investigation but luckily the discoveries had come to the attention of Malcolm Dean, a local maths teacher who was also a member of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, a major county historical and archaeological society. Recognising the sites potential and its immediate threat of destruction Malcolm sprang into action, assembling a team of willing volunteers from the local community to excavate and record the remains before they were lost forever. They were assisted in their endeavours by Alan MacCormick, the newly appointed Curator of Archaeology at Nottingham Castle Museum, as well as by Malcolms rigorously methodical approach to excavation, based on a large grid system (well, he was a mathematician!). From 1963-1964 and 1965-1966, two seasons of digging revealed dozens of graves, many of them richly furnished, as well as a section of the original Fosse Way, with the volunteers pressing on undeterred even as the modern roadworks continued around them. These discoveries finally convinced the Ministry of Works of the sites importance, and they agreed to fund a final phase in 1968. Tragically, Malcolm was killed in a car crash in 1970, leaving his final report on the findings incomplete, but the work of bringing the site to publication was taken up first by Hazel Wheeler, Director of Excavations for the Trent Valley Archaeological Research Committee (a forerunner of Trent & Peak Archaeology, which is today part of York Archaeology) and, from 1985, by her colleague Gavin Kinsley, who published the resulting monograph in 1993. The excavation archives and finds were shared between Nottingham City Museums and the University of Nottingham Museum and, almost 60 years later, some 40 objects drawn from both collections have been reunited for the first time to help tell the sites story in the new exhibition co-curated by both institutions. As the displays attest, analysis of the Broughton Lodge burials has shed vivid light on what has proven to be one of the wealthiest and most unusual Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Nottinghamshire. Excavations under way at Broughton Lodge in 1963-1964. Given the impractical footwear of some of the visitors, and the smart attire of the volunteers in the trenches, the exhibitions curators wonder if they had donned their Sunday best for an official photography day on the site. OBJECT LESSONS In total, around 120 graves were excavated at Broughton Lodge, spanning c.AD 475-580. The artefacts that they contained highlight the diverse cultural influences and expressions of identity that were coming together in England at this time, combining items that reflect traditions from northern Germany, Denmark, and south-west Norway with those of more local styles, as well as materials from even further afield, and some heirloom objects dating to the Roman period. Many of the grave goods are fairly typical of their time: adolescent and adult males were frequently found with iron shield bosses and spearheads, while their female contemporaries tended to have brooches of various types, including the annular (ring-shaped) designs that appear to have developed in 5th-century Britain, and square-headed small-long types which derive from northern Germany and Denmark. Adding to this cosmopolitan picture, some women were buried with necklaces of Baltic amber, and polychrome glass beads from Francia. Other objects were more unusual, however, among them a hand-worked pottery vessel which, at first glance, appeared to be a type that is seen across 5th-century and 6th-century England but it had a large piece of Roman blue glass set into its base, leading it to be dubbed the window pot. It was found in Grave 59, the burial of an adolescent who was aged 14, probably male, and was also accompanied by a spear. Other artefacts testify to the social status of some of the individuals buried on the site. One female grave included a double girdle-hanger, thought to be a symbol of authority within the household, while another wealthy woman was identified in Grave 3. She had been buried with a pair of annular brooches (which would have secured her dress at the shoulders) as well as a much larger cruciform brooch adorned with gilding and silver decoration. This ostentatious ornament, together with a more fragmentary example from Grave 8, represents trade links with the eastern Mediterranean: its gold probably came from melted-down Byzantine coins, while the mercury used in the gilding process would have come from the same region. The well-dressed woman also had Norwegian-style wrist-clasps to fasten her sleeves, a buckle for her belt, and a much rarer item: a pendant or amulet fashioned from the tooth of a beaver (a species which, 1,400 years later, has just been reintroduced into the region). Two other early medieval examples of such objects are known, also from womens graves in the East Midlands: at Little Chester in Derby and Wigber Low in the Derbyshire Peak District. It is possible that they represent a regional tradition of protective charms used by women of some status (the Wigber Low example is tipped with gold, while the Broughton Lodge pendants top has a green tinge that suggests a now-lost copper-alloy binding). Two pendants made from the teeth of boars or feral pigs were found in female graves on the Nottinghamshire site, too. A cruciform brooch (left: 15.5cm/ 6.1in long) from Grave 3. A square-headed brooch (right: 13.8cm/5.4in long) from Grave 16. Both were gilded using Mediterranean gold and mercury, and decorated with human- mask and animal motifs (perhaps reflecting family or supernatural associations?). This was not the end of the prestigious objects in Grave 3: the woman was accompanied by a large elephant ivory ring as well, which would have formed the mouth of a now-decayed leather or cloth purse or bag. Another well-preserved example was recovered from Grave 56, while fragments of others were found in two more burials on the site. Recent research on ivory purse-rings by Rowan English (https://doi.org/10.1111/emed.12715), as well as by Dr Katie Hemer and Dr Hugh Willmott (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103943), suggests that they probably come from east Africa, possibly the Rift Valley, and it is thought that the ivory was exported via the Nile Delta in Egypt and across the Mediterranean before arriving in eastern England. (See CA 399 for a 5th- to 6th-century cemetery in Scremby, Lincolnshire, where 20% of the excavated female graves had ivory purse-rings.) The rings themselves are plain, transverse sections sawn through large tusks indeed, their dimensions are rarely seen in modern elephant populations, highlighting the impact of hunting since the early medieval period. This is an extract of an article that appeared in CA 433. Read on in the magazine, or click here to read it online at The Past, where you can read all of the Current Archaeology articles in full as well as the content of our other magazines, Current World Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, and Military History Matters. It has been a particularly busy few weeks at CA, with visits to Nottingham and Carlisle and, of course, our annual conference huge thanks to everyone who came along! This months cover feature takes us to Broughton Lodge in Nottinghamshire, where one of the countys richest and most unusual Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, home to an exceptional number of multiple burials, was uncovered during a pioneering community project in the 1960s. Why had so many people died over a short period in the 6th century? Subsequent scientific analysis may hold the answer. We next examine a trio of stunning silver hoards from late Roman and early medieval Scotland. What can their contents, together with other finds from across Britain and Scandinavia, tell us about how this metal was used and viewed during a period of great cultural change? From shining silver, we then turn to traces of leather preserved on some of Britains earliest church doors, which tradition holds represent the skins of ill-fated Danish raiders. How did these associations, now proven to be myth, arise, and what else can these rare survivals tell us? Finally, we venture into the Cambridgeshire countryside, where development-led excavations have uncovered an extensive, affluent Roman farming landscape, possibly part of a villa estate. In this issue: FEATURES SILVER BEYOND EMPIRE Offering a new perspective on the late Roman to early medieval transition What can silver hoards and other objects of this material tell us about reactions to the end of Roman administration and the emergence of early medieval kingdoms? Over the last 15 years, international research has offered illuminating insights into a period of transition and transformation. SKIN IN THE GAME Examining the lives of Britains oldest church doors Tree-ring dating has helped identify some of the oldest surviving church doors in Britain, including those found at Westminster Abbey and Hadstock Church. Warwick Rodwell examines the life history of these doors, from the story of their construction and use, to the sometimes grisly myths surrounding them. HOME ON THE RANGE Examining a late Roman villa estate at Milton, Cambridgeshire The area around Cambridge is known to be scattered with Roman villa estates. What can the discovery of an extensive and affluent late Roman agricultural landscape near Milton add to our understanding? PROSPERITY AND PLAGUE Revisiting Broughton Lodges Anglo-Saxon cemetery In the 1960s, a pioneering community excavation in Nottinghamshire revealed an unusual burial ground, including the largest number of multiple graves yet found in any 6th-century cemetery in England. What has more recent scientific analysis revealed about why so many people perished over a short period? LETTERS Your comments, complaints, and compliments NEWS Millennia of transport, trade, and travel along the A66; Bronze Age brought to life at Harden Quarry; Elite Anglo-Saxon centre uncovered near Skipsea Castle; Tracing historical childrens burial grounds in Ireland; New timeline for the drowning of Doggerland; Science Notes; New dating of Buckquoy dispels Viking story; Finds Tray NEWS FOCUS A rock and a hard place: sarsen study sheds new light on the construction of Stonehenge COMMENT Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive CONTEXT The last piece of the puzzle: Withington Roman Villa mosaics, Corinium Museum REVIEWS Domination: the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity; Neolithic Impressed and Related Wares in Britain and Ireland; Common Ground in Scottish Archaeology: contributions in honour of Anna Ritchie; The Archaeology of the Stonehenge Visitor Centre; Archaeology of Britains Oldest Church Doors; Neolithic Timber Halls and a Bronze Age Settlement with Hoard at Carnoustie, Angus EXHIBITION Uncovering Roman Carlisle: where worlds met and Gladiators of Britain at Tullie, Carlisle EXHIBITION Samurai at the British Museum, London MUSEUM NEWS The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions LISTINGS Our selection of exhibitions and events, as well as historical, archaeological, and cultural resources online SHERDS Chris Catlings irreverent take on heritage issues ODD SOCS The Carpenters Fellowship Aviation experts have issued a grim warning for Aussies with plans to travel, amid concerns global air travel conditions could persist for months following major disruptions in international air traffic lanes. Constant bombing and rocket attacks across several Middle Eastern countries have resulted in the near-complete closure of several key commercial flight paths since the United States and Israel attacked Iran over the weekend. Chairman of Avlaw Consulting and former head of Safety and Regulation at Qantas Professor Ron Bartsch said the conflict had created precarious conditions for global air travel, which could persist for months. Professor Bartsch says the situation in Iran is so much more complicated than usual because of the sheer breadth of territory that has been affected. Picture: Supplied When there is a restriction on the use of airspace, sometimes it can be as a result of natural causes like volcanic eruptions, but this situation now is so much more complicated and more concerning from an airline point of view because its not only the airspace which has been restricted, its entire flight hubs, Professor Bartsch said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flight hubs are major receivers of air traffic which typically service long-haul travel between major global destinations, like Changi International Airport in Singapore and Dubai Airport in the UAE. Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi are three major flight hubs which have either partially or completely cancelled commercial flights as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate. Iranian airspace has been completely abandoned by commercial airlines. Picture: Flightradar If it was purely just the airspace being restricted, then airlines can reroute their flights and divert from those areas as they have done with Ukraine air space for the length of the war, but situations where hubs are involved can cause real problems, because aircraft primarily from Australia havent got the ability to fly directly from Australia to Europe. Thats why they have to go and land via these hubs in the Middle East, Professor Bartsch said. Military aircraft are some of the only vehicles still operating within the airspace of The Gulf States. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Out of all the peripheral countries that have been affected by this, Australian travellers have probably been more affected because, particularly in the last two decades, Australia has used the Middle East as its primary way of reaching Europe, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats going to happen now is that obviously Qantas and Virgins sharing arrangements will try to deviate more towards other alternate routes through Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines in order to reach Europe. The longer this military operation goes on means airfares will increase accordingly. The cost of aviation fuel is going to increase and also because the number of flights will be restricted through supply and demand thats going to have a knock-on effect to Australian travellers for at least the next four to five months Id say. Iran has issued a warning to the United States, suggesting grave repercussions for the Pentagon sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka with a torpedo. The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Thursday morning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set. Araghch said the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was a guest of India's navy and roughly 130 sailors were struck in international waters without warning. IRIS stands for Islamic Republic of Iran Ship and serves as an identifier of Iranian naval vessels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warship had taken part in a naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal. According to Sri Lankan officials, over 80 Iranian sailors died, more than 30 are in hospital, and the rest remain unaccounted for. Search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing. Sri Lankas Minister of Health Nalinda Jayatissa reportedly told parliament Thursday that another Iranian vessel is sailing close to Sri Lankas territorial waters. We are making necessary interventions to resolve this issue, restrict the threat to lives and to ensure regional security, he said. The torpedo incident has been heralded as a show of U.S. military might by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, he told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine referred to the operation as an incredible demonstration of Americas global reach and noted that its the first time an American torpedo has sunk a ship since World War II. To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale, he said. The warship is one of over 20 Iranian ships struck or sunk to the bottom of the ocean by American forces, according to the U.S. Central Command. In this screenshot of video provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, a U.S. submarine sinks Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in support of Operation Epic Fury off Sri Lanka's coast on March 4, 2026. U.S. Department of DefenseGetty Images Despite President Donald Trump claiming earlier in the week that some senior Iranian officials want to lay down arms, Iran has continued to launch retaliatory attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf on Thursday, according to state media. Several tankers have dropped anchors in the Gulf after the IRGC warned that any U.S., Israeli, or European tanker passing through the crucial Strait, a narrow passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around a fifth of global oil production flows, would certainly be struck, according to Iranian state media. With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz largely coming to a halt, global oil and gas prices have surged, shipping costs have skyrocketed, and many insurers have dropped war risk protections. The impact may soon be felt by American consumers. Its severe disruption, Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told TIME. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a lot of ships, if they want to transit via Hormuz, they're going to be transiting without coverage, meaning if anything happensa hit, an oil spillit's on them, she added, noting that companies simply wontnor should theytake that risk. Read More: As Oil Tankers Come Under Attack, Experts Fear for Global Trade Through Strait of Hormuz Iran appears to have targeted several oil tankers in the Strait and energy infrastructures in Gulf nations as part of its retaliatory efforts since the U.S. and Israel launched military action against the country Saturday morning, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in early strikes. The conflict has now engulfed several other countries and territories, with no immediate end in sight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We're ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability or combat power, Caine told reporters Wednesday, specifying that the U.S. military campaigntitled Operation Epic Furywill continue. Six American service members in the region have been killed by Iranian retaliatory strikes so far. Trump has referred to the fallen troops as true American patriots. An injured sailor receives treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, on March 4, 2026. Ishara S. KodikaraGetty Images Meanwhile, there is a growing concern that the Iran war is burning through U.S. weaponry stockpilessophisticated military equipment that is vital in protecting American bases, ships, and allies across the globe all year round. There are fears it may impact the U.S. ability to aid Ukraine in its defense operations against Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am deeply concerned about Ukraine, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told TIME. Just as a matter of common sense, our resources and supplies are limited, and I think we will be hard pressed, at some point, to tell Ukraine what is coming. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt maintains the U.S. has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury, but to go much further. She told TIME on Wednesday: We have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don't even know about. Contact us at letters@time.com. As the Israel-US conflict with Iran continues to spread, Azerbaijan was the latest country to feel the impact as two people were injured in a drone attack at an airport, for which Tehran denies responsibility UK to send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar US closes embassy in Kuwait Israel and Iran resumed exchanging airstrikes on Thursday with no sign of the conflict easing It comes after the US Senate voted down a resolution seeking to halt US military action The US has sunk an Iranian warship, killing at least 87, according to Sri Lankan Navy An Iranian cleric has said the country is "close" to choosing its next supreme leader NATO defence systems intercept a ballistic missile launched from Iran toward Turkeys airspace Azerbaijan became the latest country to feel the impact of the war as an attack on an airport left two people injured - Iran has denied all responsibility. At least 1,200 people have died in Iran, according to Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs All six US service members killed during the conflict with Iran have been named The UK and France are sending warships to Cyprus, after a drone hit an RAF base hangar there The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to join its squadron in Qatar in response to the growing conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities are arriving in Cyprus tomorrow, he added. The PM said he was satisfied that we can keep our people safe as he faced questions about the UKs preparedness over the conflict, which sparked on Saturday as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Since then, the Islamic Republic has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and on US military sites and other facilities in several allied Gulf countries. Asked about criticism that the governments approach had been marked by indecision, prevarication and a lack of preparedness, the prime minister said Britain started pre-deploying to the region in January and February, particularly to Cyprus and Qatar. A boy tries to climb on an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria Credit: AP "Theres been a lot of pre-planning gone into this, a lot of pre-deployment thats gone into this," said Starmer, when asked about a perceived lack of preparedness for war in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Im satisfied that we can keep our people safe and were working very hard to make sure that wherever people have registered their presence, we can help them with the information that they need and the support they need, and get them back to the United Kingdom as quickly and as safely as possible. It comes after an Iranian-made drone was used to attack an RAF base in Cyprus, which the PM's official spokesperson said was "likely" not launched from Iran. The relationship between the UK and US has been strained since Starmer's public fallout with US President Donald Trump over his refusal to allow initial US strikes on Iran from British bases. Starmer said he respected Mr Trump's decision, which "he considers in the national interest" of America, and insisted the "special relationship is in operation right now". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last time Starmer spoke to the US president was on Saturday evening. Earlier Republicans in the Senate stood by President Donald Trump by voting down a resolution which could have allowed lawmakers to demand approval for any further attacks from Congress the US' lower house, similar to the House of Commons. During a Pentagon briefing, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for US operations, which Trump has said could last for a month or longer. It comes as Trump on Thursday said he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the US and Israel continued to strike Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trumps comments to the American news website renew questions about whether the US and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. In the Axios interview, Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a light weight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after a US military operation captured Nicolas Maduro and whisked him to the US to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israels Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Irans next supreme leader if he continues to threaten Israel, the US and others will be a target for elimination. The war against Iran is widening further with Israel's military warning hundreds of thousands of people in the Lebanese capital Beriut to flee their homes, as ITV News' James Mates reports You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three, Hegseth said. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and were going to keep them off balance. The war has killed more than 1,200 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another eight people were killed in Lebanon, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli on Thursday, while three were killed on a coastal highway, authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strikes. In two near-simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs on late Wednesday, two vehicles were hit, killing three people and injuring six, the health ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member, adding that further details would follow. Healthcare workers in Galle, Sri Lanka, unload the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when the IRIS Dena warship sank. Credit: AP On Wednesday, the US sank an Iranian warship, claiming to have eradicated Iran's air and naval forces, even as retaliatory missiles continue to be launched at neighbouring targets, including Turkey, a Nato member, risking further escalation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran said the United States would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night, killing at least a dozen Iranian sailors. On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi decried the incident as an atrocity at sea, saying: Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set. US-Israel strikes on Iran have continued unabated, with the Israeli military beginning a "broad wave" of strikes on Tehran and other major cities on Wednesday. The IDF said it was targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces. US soldiers killed in first days of Iran war named Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Analysis: Trump's colossal Iran gamble is only the start Strikes on Iran Israeli forces said they were beginning a broad "wave of strikes" on Tehran and other major cities, targeting Iranian leadership and security forces on Wednesday, continuing its barrage of attacks since it launched its operation on Saturday. Airstrikes have also been reported in the Iranian cities of Urmiah, Isfahan and Kermanshah. Overnight, the IDF had targeted what it described as command centres used by Irans feared internal security forces and the Basij militia. There appears to be little appetite for de-escalation despite the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the initial attack on Saturday. Hegseth confirmed at a press briefing on Wednesday that US operations in Iran were in their very early days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four days in, we have only just begun to fight," he said. Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran, saying Starmer is "not Winston Churchill". Credit: AP UK sending military to Cyprus On Monday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said an unmanned drone struck an airport runway, but a photo circulating online on Thursday appeared to show a hole in a hangar at the UK's Akrotiri base. The prime minister's official spokesman told reporters: When this happened on Sunday evening, we were clear that work needed to be done to assess the incident. The full assessment of that incident is ongoing. Our current understanding is that the drone hit a hanger on the air base. There were no casualties. The damage was minimal. Theres also been no damage to equipment inside the hangar. The drone parts have been recovered. They are being investigated and I think, as the MoD has set out, our assessment is that it was likely a Shahed-type drone, which was not launched from Iran, and which was launched before the prime minister's statement on Sunday. According to Cypriot officials, the attack overnight on Monday was launched from Beirut in Lebanon. Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes, which took off from Akrotiri. The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon. Credit: AP Downing Street has rejected accusations that the government failed to have enough military assets in the Middle East following the strike on RAF Akrotiri. I dont accept that. I think the fact is, operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review, Starmer said. Starmer provided update on the Middle East conflict at 2pm on Thursday in which he sought to reassure the public of the UK's military response in Cyprus and further afield. It came as Defence Secretary John Healey met his counterpart in Cyprus to ease tensions about Britains response to drone attacks on the island. Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, said the deployment of HMS Dragon was welcome but noted it would take more than a week to arrive. France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain are also reportedly sending naval assets to protect Cyprus. It was put to Sir Keirs spokesman that, with the HMS Dragon still being readied to sail to the Mediterranean next week, the UK was not fully prepared. The official responded: I dont accept that. I think the fact is operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review. He added: Our defensive capabilities have been deployed since January. That includes air defence, radar systems and F-35 jets in Cyprus and Typhoons in Qatar. US submarine sinks Iranian warship On the fifth day of fighting, a US submarine sank the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo in international waters. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine had torpedoed an Iranian warship that "thought it was safe in international waters". Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said by the time rescue ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship in distress and there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water. He said the 32 people were rescued and admitted to a hospital in Galle, a town on Sri Lanka's southern coast. The bodies recovered were also being brought to land, he said. The Sri Lankan navy added that it has recovered 87 bodies off the coast from where the warship sank. An electricity utility worker inspects the ruins of a police facility struck during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP Iran launches missile at Turkey, a Nato member As the conflict spiralled, Turkey said Nato defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran on Wednesday before it entered Turkeys airspace. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkeys territory are unacceptable and pledged full US support after an Iranian missile headed toward the country was shot down, the State Department said on Wednesday. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Credit: AP Iran draws closer to selecting a new leader Irans leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khameneis son, has long been considered among them though he has never been elected or appointed to a government position. In a sign that Irans leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned that those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy. The Israeli defence minister threatened whoever Iran picks to be the countrys next supreme leader. Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people will be a target for elimination, Katz wrote on X. Iran continues to retaliate Iran continued retaliatory firing missiles and drone strikes against its Gulf neighbours and Israel. Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it targeted Irbil in Iraq, two military bases in Kuwait, and two US warships. The guard said via Iranian state television that it is prepared for the "complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure." "The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure," it said. It alleges, without offering evidence, that the US military was using "civilian facilities ... as cover." Responding to the contuinuing strikes, the US on Thursday shut its embassy in Kuwait, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work. In Iran, state television has said the mourning ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been postponed, and will be held after intense strikes targeted Tehran. The ceremony was set to take place on Wednesday evening at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran. Communication with the country has been difficult, with internet monitoring group NetBlocks saying Iran has been offline now for 100 hours. During the previous shutdown in Iran, NetBlocks estimated that it cost the country over $37 million (28 million). Israeli tanks manoeuvre near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, March 4, 2026. Credit: AP Kurdish dissident groups 'preparing to fight' with US support Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, according to Kurdish officials. The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organised segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters. Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the embattled authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, based in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said on Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby. A member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI stands at a checkpoint leading to their base in Koya district of Irbil, Iraq. Credit: AP He said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving more details. Asked about reports that the Trump administration was considering arming Iranian Kurdish groups, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday: None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force. So, what other entities may be doing, were aware of, but our objectives arent centered on that. Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, the PAK had claimed attacks on the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Tehrans violent crackdown on protests. But an official with the group said it had not sent forces from Iraq into Iran. If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group. A truck carries an Israeli tank on a road in northern Israel. Credit: AP Israel warns citizens of dangers of travelling abroad Israel warned its citizens on Thursday that travelling abroad during the ongoing hostilities could make them targets of attacks or otherwise endanger them. The countrys Government Press Office said in a statement that several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis have been thwarted and disrupted. It urged Israelis to conceal Jewish identifiers, avoid travelling through the United Arab Emirates, refrain from sharing personal information on social media and remain vigilant or avoid visiting Jewish sites. The warning cited recent violence in Canada and Texas, where authorities are investigating whether the motive of a gunman who opened fire at a bar in Austin was Iran-related. Iran has in the past staged asymmetric attacks targeting Jews and Israelis, including in Europe and South America, and such responses were feared before the war broke out. The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the world's oil and gas trade. Credit: iStock Rising oil prices The far-reaching conflict is causing severe disruption in the global flow of crude oil, as the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, was caught in the middle of the conflict. Iran controls the entire northern side of the Strait, effectively allowing it to wield the Strait as a geopolitical chokepoint. While the strait is officially open, trade has dropped by 80 per cent since Saturday. Iran has carried out attacks on passing ships and vowed to continue to do so, forcing many shipping companies to suspend operations in the area. US president Donald Trump floated the idea of escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz with the US Navy. Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. Declan Coady. Credit: US Army via CNN Newsource Six US soldiers killed during the conflict with Iran named Six US service members killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait have been named. They were named as: Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan; Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant Noah L Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sergeant Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Specialist Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The Pentagon said they were all killed by a drone that struck where they were working in Port Shuabia, Kuwait, on Sunday. Two other soldiers who were killed in the strike have not been publicly identified. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. British nationals abroad British nationals are being advised to follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Offices travel advice, which officials expect to change rapidly. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Starmer said that more than 1,000 British Nationals arrived back in the UK from the UAE on commercial flights on Tuesday. At his press conference on Thursday, Starmer confirmed the first UK charter flight from Oman had taken off. More than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, including vulnerable Brits identified by our teams," he said. A further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK today, and I can report that our first charter flight from Oman took off a few minutes ago. We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and we will keep working with all of our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift. I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking. Flights operated by Qatar Airways have been suspended until Friday. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below... DELIGHTED residents at a housing scheme for older people in Mountmellick have warm and cosy homes, thanks to a major retrofit costing nearly 1 million. Wolfe Tone Court, a private housing development run by a voluntary committee, has enjoyed a major BER energy upgrade, exactly 20 years since it was built. Residents and the committee gathered in their community hall on Friday 27 February for a hot meal and the handover of 24 retrofitted homes, which have made an enormous difference to peoples comfort and quality of life. Among those joining the celebration were Laois Co Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Barry Walsh, committee member and former parish priest Fr Francis McNamara, representatives of Firebird Heating Solutions and the housing schemes invaluable caretaker Michael Meehan. The committee is led by former junior minister John Moloney and other dedicated members include Claire Conroy, Anne Delaney, Bobby Delaney, Eileen Delaney, Michael Gormley, Rose and Frances OLoughlin, Pat Conroy and Anne McKane. All 24 homes went from an original BER of a chilly D or C to an A1 rating, the highest level of energy efficiency that brings comfort and low running costs, as well as benefiting the environment. The retrofit was funded through an application on behalf of the Mountmellick Voluntary Housing Association (MVHA), which was submitted by KH Energy Services to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the community energy grant scheme, which supports energy upgrades to approved housing bodies such as the MVHA. The extensive works included new treble glazed windows, composite doors, ventilation, attic insulation, PV panels, heat pumps and radiators, installation of hot water cylinders and replacement of electric showers with pump showers. It all began back in 2003, when a group was formed to provide safe and secure homes for the elderly of Mountmellick and adjoining parishes. After securing a suitable site opposite the Garda Station, the committee applied to the Department of Housing for funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme. They secured a grant/mortgage of 2,856,783 and fundraised to make up a shortfall of about 300,000, before Wolfe Tone Court was finally completed in 2006. The major energy upgrade is part of the committees policy of continuing to improve the properties and the community hall. Whatever the weather, residents can enjoy warm homes, instant hot water and the welcome absence of noise and draughts at the peaceful enclave in the heart of the town. Ashleigh Doyle is a Director of the CJ Sheeran Group, Irelands largest timber packaging and pallet manufacturer, operating 14 locations across Ireland and the UK. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Studies (Accounting) and an MBA with Distinction from Trinity College Dublin, where both of her major MBA projects were awarded Top Performing Group recognition. Having joined CJ Sheeran Group in 2002, Ashleigh has played a key role in shaping the companys strategic direction and supporting its sustained growth for more than two decades. She leads several core divisions across the organisation, including Logistics, Finance, Compliance, Human Resources, Sustainability, IT and Marketing, driving operational excellence across the business. Headquartered in Mountrath, Co. Laois, CJ Sheeran Group has grown to become a renowned leader within the Irish timber industry, supplying customers across Ireland and the UK with premium, fully accredited timber packaging solutions. TALENT TREE CJ SHEERAN Talent Tree Training & Development Ashleigh brings a strong people-focused perspective to leadership and has also led significant investment in employee development, conceptualising and developing the companys dedicated Talent Tree development programme. The initiative supports employees across all areas of the organisation to further their education through company-supported learning and provides clear pathways for career progression within the CJ Sheeran Group. A mother of five young children, Ashleigh is a strong advocate for greater participation and progression of women in the workplace, recognising the benefits that gender balance brings to thriving and innovative businesses. Alongside its commercial success, CJ Sheeran Group places strong emphasis on sustainability and supporting the communities in which it operates, including ongoing investment in local initiatives and sport. Through continued investment in people, innovation and responsible business practices, the company continues to strengthen its position as an industry leader while contributing positively to the regions it serves. . The Dunamaise Arts Centre, in partnership with The Walls Project and Creative Laois, is asking you, the good people of County Laois, to apply to have your portrait immortalised by an internationally acclaimed artist in a large-scale mural in Portlaoise. If you believe that you are a representative of modern-day life in Laois by reflecting the countys resilience, creativity, diversity and community spirit you are asked to apply to become the face of a major new public artwork. A large-scale portrait of the selected applicant will be painted on the exterior wall of the Dunamaise Arts Centre by celebrated street artist Zabou, whose murals can be found in over twenty-five countries worldwide. Her Irish works include the Cillian Murphy mural in Wexford, a portrait of Frederick Douglass in Cork, and a mural celebrating breastfeeding in Waterford. Known for her striking black-and-white portraits set against bold colour fields, Zabous work captures the dignity and humanity of her subjects and the spirit of place. This is a wonderful opportunity for your image to be literally facing onto Main Street, visible through the historic stone archway, speaking directly to the people of Portlaoise and those passing through the town centre. The Walls Project, a national public art initiative, has supported more than 400 artists and delivered over 460 murals across Ireland in the past five years. The organisation transforms public spaces through ambitious mural commissions and this dynamic collaboration between the successful applicant, Zabou, the Dunamaise Arts Centre, Creative Laois and The Walls Project will both enliven the town and celebrate a deserving member of our community. All you need to do to apply is submit a clear photograph of your face and a short paragraph explaining who you are and why you believe you represent life in Laois today. Visit the website to apply. Applications are open to anyone who lives or works in Laois. If the applicant is under 18, a parent or legal guardian must submit the application and provide written consent. Online applications close on 31 March 2026. For more, visit www.dunamaise.ie Road authorities around the country have been forced to step in to debunk a viral report that new driver's licence changes are being imposed on older Aussies from March. Multiple transport authorities confirmed to Yahoo News that there are "false reports" of new licence restrictions for drivers over the age of 65. Fake publications, many believed to be generated by AI, incorrectly state that drivers over 65 in Australia may be subject to new bans on driving at night, restrictions on driving over specific distances, and limiting the distance people can drive from their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar reports surfaced last year and were also debunked by authorities. A South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport spokesperson told Yahoo News it is aware of the latest "false reports". "There are currently no plans to introduce additional conditions and restrictions to South Australian licence holders," a spokesperson told Yahoo News. "We urge people to be wary of scams and fake news stories and always check the validity of a website if the information seems doubtful or false." The spokesperson said changes to driving rules and regulations will always be communicated through official sources such as government websites, official social media accounts and media campaigns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sally Webb, Deputy Secretary of Safety, Policy, Environment and Regulation at Transport for NSW, told Yahoo there has been "no new restrictions or additional requirements placed on older drivers" in NSW. She encouraged Aussies to verify any claims through "trusted, official platforms". "Transport for NSW communicates key road rule changes through media, online channels, and its many road user stakeholder networks to ensure timely and accurate information reaches the public," she said. "AI-generated posts can often appear legitimate but may contain false or misleading information not based on government policy or law." Transport authorities have discredited false reports impacting drivers over 60. Source: Getty Road authorities set the record straight again Late last year, viral fake reports also suggested a late-night curfew would be imposed on drivers over the age of 60. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was reported that drivers in the senior age bracket would be banned from driving on all Australian roads between 10pm and 5am from November 1, singling out those who have vision impairment, prior involvement in nighttime collisions or medical conditions that contribute to slow reaction time. Transport for NSW Secretary, Josh Murray, told Yahoo at the time the rules are "neither true nor remotely accurate". Older drivers targeted after Victoria proposes safety review The fake claims appear to play on past discussions about reviewing the driver's licence requirements for older drivers. Last July, following a fatal car accident involving a 91-year-old driver, the Victorian government said it would look to review its road rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Victoria's Acting Premier Ben Carroll renewed the discussion on driving regulations for the elderly and confirmed he would work with the road safety minister on the matter. Road safety advocates across the country have since weighed in on the debate, with Russell White, founder of the Australian Road Safety Foundation, arguing that incident should be the catalyst for standardised change across the country. However, changes are yet to be made. Age-based driving requirements has been a source of discussion in recent years. Source: Getty What are the requirements for older drivers? Victoria does not have age-based driving safety requirements, although drivers aged 75 and older must renew their licence every three years, which can involve various tests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In NSW, Queensland, the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, drivers older than 75 are required to have a health check, while older drivers in South Australia must complete self-assessments. In Western Australia, an annual medical assessment is required to renew a driver's licence after turning 80. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Sid Rosenberg called him a cockroach. Zohran Mamdani didn't flinch. New York City's first Muslim mayor stood before reporters on Tuesday and responded to the WABC radio host's social media attack with a statement that spread well beyond City Hall. 'I am not ashamed of who I am. I am not ashamed of my faith. I am not ashamed of being the first Muslim mayor in the history of our city,' Mamdani said. 'And there is no amount of racism that will change the way in which I lead.' Rosenberg, host of Sid and Friends in the Morning on 77 WABC, posted to X on Monday urging President Donald Trump to stop praising the mayor. He called Mamdani an 'America hating, Jew hating, Radical Islam cockroach' and a 'Jihadist America hating mayor,' according to CBS News. Rosenberg's anger was said to have been triggered by Mamdani's criticism of US military strikes on Iran and his positions on immigration. 'Painfully Familiar' Language For Muslim New Yorkers Zohran Mamdani immediately launched into a lecture on Islamophobia after getting asked with what looks like a planted question about bugs: This language is both painfully familiar to me as a Muslim Theres also a reminder that the silence that often greets this kind of pic.twitter.com/eR6nWWnsEp Loomer Unleashed (@LoomerUnleashed) March 3, 2026 Mamdani, born in Kampala, Uganda, took office on 1 January after winning the mayoral election the previous month. He is the city's youngest mayor since 1892 and the first to take the oath on the Quran. 'To be called animals, insects, to be called a jihadist mayor, to be called a cockroach, this language is both painfully familiar to me as a Muslim New Yorker, but also as someone who was born in East Africa,' he said at Tuesday's press conference. He cautioned against treating it as routine politics. 'The silence that often greets this kind of bigotry, this kind of Islamophobia, is what allows it to fester,' Mamdani said. The backlash was broad. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the language 'a disgusting display of bigotry and Islamophobia.' Governor Kathy Hochul labelled it 'hateful, racist, and disgusting.' City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the remarks were 'beyond the pale.' The Council on American-Islamic Relations described them as 'vile' and called for Rosenberg's programme to be cancelled. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who reportedly dined with Rosenberg recently, called the comments 'wholly inappropriate and deeply harmful,' NBC New York reported. @NYCMayor on @77WABCradio and @sidrosenberg19s apology: I think time will tell how sincere of an apology it is, he told me. #Mamdani learned about it on social media. Do you think he should call you? You know, I'll, I'll leave that to him. He thanks NYers who spoke up. pic.twitter.com/0ngiozy7SK N. J. Burkett (@njburkett7) March 4, 2026 From 'I Did Nothing Wrong' To A Public Apology No one can force me to apologize. I wont do it. I did nothing wrong! Sid Rosenberg (@sidrosenberg19) March 3, 2026 Rosenberg did not back down immediately. On Tuesday, as criticism intensified, he posted: 'No one can force me to apologise. I won't do it. I did nothing wrong!' WABC itself posted 'We ARE Team Sid' on X that same day. Wednesday brought a different tone. Rosenberg went on air, called the tweet 'a bit over the top' and offered what he described as a 'heartfelt apology.' He claimed the remarks had 'nothing to do with anybody's religion or faith.' The post has since been deleted. A City Hall spokesperson confirmed Rosenberg had not contacted the mayor directly. Asked whether he accepted, Mamdani replied: 'Time will tell how sincere an apology it is.' WABC CEO John Catsimatidis said personal attacks were not acceptable at the station. Management declined to comment on public calls to fire Rosenberg. Rosenberg has targeted the mayor before. During an October broadcast with former governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran against Mamdani as an independent, Cuomo asked: 'God forbid another 9/11. Can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?' Rosenberg replied: 'Yeah, yeah, I could. He'd be cheering.' More than one million Muslims live in New York City. Mamdani said the issue went beyond him personally. 'This is about the more than one million Muslims who call New York City home and who have long had to deal with racist and dehumanising rhetoric in the absence of any kind of pushback,' he said. Originally published on IBTimes UK A recent violent encounter involving an ICE agent has thrown a spotlight on the split-second life-or-death decisions federal officers often face. In this case, Honduran illegal alien Jose Melgar-Rivas dragged an officer with his vehicle, causing serious injuries. Experts say this incident sheds new light on the controversial shooting of Renee Good, helping the public understand the real dangers that officers encounter on the job. A Harrowing Encounter With ICE During a routine arrest, Jose Melgar-Rivas shockingly resisted federal officers, dragging one ICE agent with his car. The officer sustained serious injuries, and Melgar-Rivas was later sentenced to over six years in prison. Lora Ries of the Heritage Foundation called the sentence 'great news,' pointing out that it sends a strong message about the consequences of attacking law enforcement. This incident highlights a grim reality: ICE agents regularly face unpredictable and deadly situations, where every second counts. It also offers context for the decisions officers make in high-stakes moments, often under extreme stress. Connecting the Dots to Renee Good The dragging of an ICE agent isn't an isolated event; it helps explain why officers sometimes act in ways the public may not immediately understand. In the case of Renee Good, the officer involved made a split-second choice under perceived life-threatening circumstances. 'This shows the kind of threat officers can encounter without warning,' Lora Ries said. Experts argue that understanding these dangers is essential for anyone evaluating the decisions made in controversial shootings. Real-world scenarios like these reveal why officers' reactions, even when tragic, are often shaped by past encounters with violence. Legal Outcomes That Matter Melgar-Rivas's sentencing is more than just a punishmentit's a signal. Legal analysts note that strong penalties for assaults on federal officers reinforce deterrence and validate the risks law enforcement faces. This case illustrates the complexities of immigration enforcement. It also explains why ICE officers must be prepared for rapidly escalating situations, where split-second decisions can have life-or-death consequences. How the Public Sees ICE High-profile incidents like the illegal dragging of an ICE agent shape public opinion about federal law enforcement. While debates often focus on cases like Renee Good's, incidents like this remind the public that officers operate in unpredictable, dangerous environments. Experts such as Lora Ries emphasize that public understanding of these risks is crucial. Reducing these events to political soundbites misses the human reality officers face daily, and overlooks why law enforcement sometimes acts decisively in the heat of the moment. What This Means Going Forward The Melgar-Rivas case may influence future ICE training programs, placing greater focus on situational awareness, threat assessment, and rapid decision-making. For the global audience, it underscores larger issues around border security, immigration enforcement, and the real dangers officers face in volatile situations. Understanding these dynamics helps explain why confrontations can escalate quickly and why officers must be prepared for life-threatening moments that unfold in seconds. The Bottom Line The dragging of an ICE agent by Jose Melgar-Rivas offers a stark reminder of the daily dangers federal officers face. When viewed alongside the Renee Good shooting, it highlights how past threats and high-risk encounters can shape split-second decisions. Experts like Lora Ries argue that these cases not only reinforce the need for strong training and legal consequences but also underscore the importance of public awareness of the hazards ICE agents confront every day. Originally published on IBTimes UK A 28-year-old American who was detained in Venezuela after crossing the border from Brazil in December said he was beaten, denied food and water, and held in restraints before being transferred to the Rodeo I prison outside Caracas, where he believed he was going to be killed. James Luckey-Lange said he entered Venezuela on December 7 and was detained the next day after authorities discovered he lacked a required visa. He said he was taken to an army base, accused of being an American spy, and later flown to Caracas. "To catch an American at the frontier, I was served to them on a platter," he said. Luckey-Lange told The Times that he was taken to military police headquarters, kept in a room with the lights on, and placed in restraints connecting handcuffs to shackles. When he tried to loosen them, he said officers punished him. "They would hit me, beat me, throw me on the ground, reshackle me, rechain me," he said. He said he went several days without food or water. After about a week, he said he was blindfolded, led to a room at Rodeo I, and made to kneel. "I said, 'Oh. This is it.'" His detention ended after the U.S. military attacked Caracas on January 3, captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, and pressured an interim government to release American detainees, according to the account. Luckey-Lange was freed on January 13. U.S. officials have said all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela have been released, while advocacy groups estimate hundreds of other political prisoners remain. Luckey-Lange's account aligns with testimonies from other former American detainees reported previously by The New York Times and with documentation by Foro Penal, a Venezuelan rights group, about conditions at Rodeo I and at military police headquarters. Earlier reporting by the Times described other Americans held at Rodeo I alleging beatings, pepper spray, and what one detainee called "psychological torture," as Venezuela detained foreign nationals amid disputes over sanctions and diplomacy. Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo, who returned to Argentina this week after more than a year detained in Venezuela, said on Wednesday that Rodeo I is "a place of a lot of psychological torture" and described foreign political prisoners as "bargaining chips," while asking international actors to keep pressure on Venezuela to release others still held. Originally published on Latin Times WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administrations immigration crackdown and disaster response. Trump, who said he would nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin in her place, made the announcement on social media after Noem faced a two-day grilling on Capitol Hill this week from GOP members as well as Democrats. Noems departure marks a stunning turnaround for a close ally to the president who was tasked with steering his centerpiece policy of mass deportations. But she appeared to increasingly become a liability for Trump, with questions arising over her spending at her department and over her conduct in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said Noem has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!). He said he was making her a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere. Noem, who appeared at a law enforcement event in Nashville, Tennessee, moments after Trump's announcement, did not address her ouster there. She read from prepared remarks and was not asked by attendees about the development. Later, in a social media post, she thanked Trump for the new appointment and touted her accomplishments as secretary. We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again, she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration will work with the GOP-led Senate to get Mullin, whom she called extraordinarily qualified, confirmed to lead DHS as soon as possible. The administration's immigration crackdown faced criticism, especially in Minnesota Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trumps second term. Her tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign. Noem has faced waves of criticism as shes overseen Trumps immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of the two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. In the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Noem portrayed both of them as aggressors, contradicting widely viewed videos and descriptions of their deaths from bystanders. She declined to apologize for her description over two days of Congressional testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress. Her department, DHS, has been at the center of a funding battle in Congress over immigration enforcement tactics and has been shut down for 20 days, although many of the employees are continuing to work, often without pay. Even before Noems appearance before key congressional committees this week, Republican lawmakers had been anticipating the secretarys eventual ouster, particularly after her handling of the immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis. As they tried to end the ongoing Homeland Security shutdown, Senate Republicans had noted privately to Democratic senators that Noem was likely on her way out and that that should prompt Democrats to move forward with agreeing to fund the department again, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats did not see that as an actual concession by Republicans, considering Noem was becoming a political liability for the GOP, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism including from Republicans over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administrations response to disasters. Critics welcomed Noem's departure. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote good riddance on social media, a sentiment echoed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Some immigration activists questioned whether her departure would change the execution of an immigration agenda that they fundamentally disagree with. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not accountability, just a reshuffling of the enablers of the agenda of President Trump," said Vanessa Cardenas, Executive Director of Americas Voice, an advocacy group. She said Noems tenure was marked by cruelty. Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who was elevated under Noems watch to lead immigration crackdowns in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, was one of the few who applauded Noems tenure. She is the best Secretary I ever worked for, period. The others werent even close. Noem is the ultimate patriot, Bovino told The Associated Press. DHS leadership changes come at a pivotal time Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voting in the Senate just after Trump's announcement, Mullin said he has no idea how quickly his nomination will move. The president and I are good friends. So we look forward to working closer with the White House, and obviously Im gonna be over there a lot more, he said. Mullin would take over the third-largest department in government that has responsibility for carrying out Trumps hardline immigration agenda. And he would assume the role at a pivotal time for that agenda. Immigration enforcement during the first year of Trumps administration was largely defined by high-profile, made-for-social-media operations with flashy names, often led by Bovino, who reported directly to Noem. Noem herself often went out on those operations, riding along with officers when they went out to make arrests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But those high-profile operations in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis often led to clashes with activists and protesters that were captured on video and drove opposition to the presidents immigration agenda. That culminated with the shooting deaths in Minneapolis after which Trump shuffled leadership of the operation. The number of officers there was drawn down shortly after. ___ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed. An incident where a former student threatened to burn down the house of a teacher was heard at Portlaoise District Court last week. Garda sgt JJ Kirby told Portlaoise District Court that on 21 December 2024 at 10.45pm at the Vibe Bar on Main Street, Portlaoise while the injured party, Thomas Whelehan, a schoolteacher, who was also working as a doorman, refused entry to Brian Ryan (25), Morette, Emo because of his previous behaviour on the premises. An altercation ensued between the two men, with Mr Ryan telling the injured party that he knew where he lived and would burn his house down. Sgt Kirby said that Mr Ryan made a phone call and was overheard to say about the injured party yeah, yeah, thats him from Vicarstown. He said that Mr Whelehan had known Mr Ryan because he had taught him in school. Sgt Kirby said the accused had two previous convictions. Mr Ryan pleaded guilty to section 3 of the Criminal Damage Act 1991, threatening to damage property. READ NEXT: Flood prone Laois road could be raised Defending solicitor Philip Meagher said that his client would like to say in open court that he is unreservedly apologetic for his actions on the night and is utterly ashamed of himself. He appreciates fully the upset, worry and concern and for the threat he presented on the night. Mr Meagher said his client acknowledges that he was extremely drunk, but that is no excuse for what he said. It was coming up to Christmas and he had been out with a number of his friends. He had far too much to drink and foolishly took umbrage at Mr Whelehan, who was just doing his job. It was a very nasty threat that he made. He completely over-reacted. Mr Ryan had known Mr Whelehan. He would have been a teacher in a school where Mr Whelehan works. In recognition of his foolishness and his behaviour, noting that obviously drink doesnt suit him, he underwent a course of counselling and is now on a journey, as it were, and is engaging with the services and with the local leader of an alcohol anonymous group. He said that his client knows Mr Whelehan doesnt want any form of compensation and doesnt think a charitable donation is appropriate, but Mr Ryan had gathered a sum of 1,000 and has it with him in court, which is available for whatever purpose the court may wish to put it to. Mr Meagher said his client was hoping to travel to Australia to work but acknowledges an offence of this nature would leave an application to travel there in jeopardy. He is completely alcohol abstinent now. He assures me he will not darken a door of a courthouse again in these circumstances. He has placed his whole future in jeopardy because of this very, very stupid, reckless and mean act. He acknowledges that it was a very serious threat. Judge Fay said she wanted to monitor the defendants progress on how hes tackling his alcohol problem. She said she was referring him to the Restorative Justice Programme and invited Mr Whelehan, who she said had no obligation to participate, to consider engaging in that process. She also instructed the defendant to engage with the probation service to determine his suitability to take part in community service. She said: I want this man (Mr Ryan) to understand the impact that this had on the victim. He (Mr Whelehan) was worried about a knock on his door and about his wife and kids in his house at home. Sgt Kirby said he would like Mr Ryan to give a sworn undertaking not to have or to make any contact by any means, directly or indirectly, by social media or by third parties with the injured party and to not make any contact with his place of work in the school. Mr Whelehan said both parties live ten minutes from each other. He said: Ive had issues with Brian, but none for the past ten years. He caused one issue this night and threatened my whole family. There was a lot of fear in my house. Up to the past nine years, he would have said hello and passed himself with no issues, but on this night, he was very aggressive and didnt seem to have as much alcohol taken, as he said he had. It escalated very fast for a person who was sober, which made it very dangerous or seemed dangerous at the time. Id like to thank the gardai who made themselves available to check on my family at the time because I was still working. Judge Fay ruled that Mr Ryan was not to come within one kilometre of Mr Whelehans home address; and that he makes no contact directly or indirectly by social media or by any other means. Judge Fay said: People can put stuff up on social media that can be very subtle. Mr Meagher said that his client uses Facebook and other social media sites and would give an undertaking not to post anything relating to Mr Whelehan. Judge Fay adjourned the case to 18 May. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme. A Laois woman is looking forward to leading a new group tasked with improving water quality in one of the two big rivers that flow through Laois. Siobhan Walsh, a Ratheniska tillage farmer, is the chair of a new group responsible for implementing the blueprint called River Barrow, Better Farming for Water- Eight Actions for Change, Action Plan which was officially launched on Wednesday, March 4, at Teagasc Oak Park. In a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live Teagasc say the plan aims to accelerate the adoption of the eight actions on farms across the Barrow catchment to improve water quality in areas where agriculture has been identified as a significant pressure. The farming agency says the core of the plan is the implementation focused on improved nutrient management, enhanced farmyard management, and strengthened land management practices to protect and enhance water quality. Teagas believes a healthy Barrow catchment delivers high-quality drinking water, supports agricultural livelihoods, and sustains recreational activities such as angling and water sports. They also say it is vital for biodiversity, enabling the plants, fish, insects and wildlife that depend on clean water to thrive. Ms Walsh, who is Chair of the Barrow Catchment Implementation Group, spoke about the challenge ahead. As Chair of the Barrow Catchment Implementation Group, I am very conscious of the many farming families who work with pride and dedication throughout the catchment and who act as custodians of its lands. "I was pleased to accept the role at this critically important time for Irish agriculture. This initiative is focused on supporting and accelerating the adoption of practical, on-farm actions that will improve water quality in the River Barrow catchment, where agriculture has been identified as a significant pressure, said Ms Walsh, who is also Tillage Editor with the Farmer's Journal. MORE BELOW PHOTO. Pictured at the Launch of the Better Farming for Water Campaign, Barrow River Catchment are (L to R): Professor Pat Dillon, Director of Research, Teagasc, Noel Meehan, Head of Knowledge Transfer Water Quality Department, Teagasc; Sandra Hayes, Regional Manager for Laois, Kildare and Offaly, Teagasc; Ciaran Sheelan, Catchment Coordinator for the Better Farming for Water Campaign, Barrow River Catchment; Siobhan Walsh, Chair of Barrow River Catchment Implementation Group; Fintan Conway, Tillage Industry Ireland (TII); and John Spink, Head of Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Teagasc. Teagasc say Tillage Industry Ireland will act as an industry lead in the initiative which brings together a cross section of stakeholders, including farmers, agri-food businesses, Teagasc, the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA), the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), local authorities and the wider community. It is supported by a dedicated Teagasc Catchment Coordinator, Ciaran Sheelan. MORE BELOW VIDEO. Professor Pat Dillon said Farmers have a critical role to play in protecting and improving water quality in our rivers. "In recent years, farmers have put in place many initiatives to improve water quality on their farms. However, there remains an urgent need to put in place further initiatives to reduce nutrient losses, and every farmer has a part to play, he said. He spoke about the plan and the role of Ms Walsh in realising its aims. "This tailored action plan sets out clear targets and timelines for implementing practical water-quality improvement measures. I would like to acknowledge the members of the Barrow Catchment Implementation Group Oversight Committee, particularly its Chair, Siobhan Walsh, who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to support delivery of this plan, he said. READ NEXT: 'Heroes' - Laois president of IFA praises Bord Bia occupiers Fintan Conway of Tillage Industry Ireland outlined the importance of the Barrow to tillage. "The Barrow catchment, accounts for a significant portion of the 1.9 billion annual contribution that the tillage sector makes to the Irish economy. The sector provides vital straw, grains, and high-quality animal feed for the local livestock industry, as well as ingredients for the food and drink sector. Tillage is noted as having the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per hectare of any agricultural sector, playing a crucial role in the sustainability profile of the region, he said. Teagasc say a comprehensive booklet was also launched, outlining the six pillars that it says underpin the Barrow catchment programme stakeholder engagement. It says these pillars provide a structured and collaborative framework to deliver measurable improvements in water quality across the Barrow catchment. The full Barrow catchment plan can be viewed here https://teagasc.ie/publications/better-farming-for-water-barrow-catchment-action-plan/ The Aer Lingus summer sale sees prices for flights to a number of locations across Europe drop as low as 33. Many people are already dreaming of their summer holidays with all of the grey skies and wet weather in recent weeks. Aer Lingus has just launched a huge summer sale, offering 20% off both seats and bags on certain flights. The sale is now live, but will last for last than a week, ending at midnight on March 11th. It applies to flights happening between April 13th and August 31st from both Dublin and Cork. READ NEXT: Almost 400 Irish people return home from Dubai on first flight since Iran war started Some of the cheapest deals include flights from Dublin to Dusseldorf for 33, Dublin to Brussels for 34, and Dublin to Malaga or Faro for 45. From Cork, those dreaming of some sun can grab flights to Lanzarote from 56, to Malaga from 43, and to Nice from 69. "Now is the time to make Summer Savings with Aer Lingus. With over 4 million seats on offer, Aer Lingus customers can enjoy up to 20% off," a spokesperson for the airline told The Irish Daily Mirror. "Customers can also take advantage of great savings on Aer Lingus Regional flights, operated by Emerald Airlines. Whether you're planning a city break to Edinburgh, Manchester or Birmingham, or dreaming of a summer escape to France," they added. For more information or to have a look at the sale fares yourself, visit the Aer Lingus website. Australian military assets have been deployed in the Middle East, Anthony Albanese says, as part of the nations contingency response to the thousands of Australians stranded in the conflict zone. The Prime Minister made the comment during Question Time on Thursday while providing an update on the second flight departing from the region to Australia. I confirm right now another flight, EK414 is in the air with over 200 Australians on board, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It departed Dubai at 9.16am today Canberra time, bound for Sydney and we are hopeful of more flights in the air today which is what we want to see, he said. Anthony Albanese delivered an update on Aussies stuck in the Middle East during Question Time. Picture: NewsWire /Martin Ollman The most recent advice is another two flights are scheduled to depart to Australia today. Mr Albanese said he knew there were still many Australians who were waiting for an opportunity to get home. He described the situation in the region as volatile, dangerous and fast-moving. Mr Albanese then referenced the deployment of six crisis teams to the Middle East, as well as military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deployment of military assets in the Middle East has yet to be confirmed by the Foreign Minister, who has repeatedly ducked questions around the involvement of military personnel in the conflict zone. It is understood a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster heavy transport aircraft and KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport had been deployed as part of planning to assist Australians seeking to leave the Middle East under Operation Beach. The Australian government has deployed military assets to the Middle East, including a C-17A Globemaster. Photo: Eamon Hamilton Repatriation via commercial flights remained the government's focus, however, having been deemed the fastest way to get Australians out quickly and at scale. Neighbouring New Zealand announced on Thursday it would send two defence planes alongside consular staff to assist citizens to get home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liberal Senator James Paterson earlier said the Coalition was seeking urgent clarification about what assets had been deployed and to which countries. For what purpose was this deployment conducted? And, if there are Australian military assets in the region, when will they take Australians on board and bring them home? He said. Its up to the Prime Minister to explain whats happening, because there are 115,000 Australians waiting for answers, but theyve got none from their government. Deputy Opposition Leader Ted OBrien said the government had been at least one day behind since conflict broke out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked if all 115,000 Australians should be entitled to a repatriations flight, Mr OBrien said his point is even in the lead up to the strikes beginning, the Australian government has found it wanting. Its a mystery from the Australian government about what their contingency plan is. Were calling on the government to clarify that plan, he said. Speaking during question time, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: We have already deployed military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week. We will continue looking at all options we have available to us, engaging partners and taking action to support efforts to keep Australians safe. More than 100,000 Aussies are currently stranded in the Middle East. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images First group of Aussies return home On Wednesday, more than 200 weary Australians have touched down on home soil on the first flight out of the Middle East since conflict erupted in the region, abruptly closing the airspace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first of four confirmed repatriation flights from the UAE landed in Sydney where friends and family were seen waiting anxiously in the arrivals terminal at Kingsford Smith International Airport for their loved ones. The progress of the Dubai-Sydney Emirates flight was being closely monitored by about 39,000 people on Flightradar24, making it the most watched plane in the world, as reported by travel publication Karryon. Emirates flight EK414 touched down in Sydney on Wednesday night. Picture: Flightradar24 The first wave of evacuees from the Middle East arrived in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images Emotional scenes unfolded at the airport as hundreds of Australians streamed out to reunite with their family and friends. A Port Stephens mother, Sheree, told 9 News she was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her son, who had been making his way to Rome before he became stranded in Dubai following reports of explosions from Iranian rockets being fired at the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has been quite nerve-racking, quite stressful and very worrying. It was very scary on the ground for him, they werent allowed out of their motels because of falling shrapnel from the intercepted drones and bombs, and he was just quite stressed out, she said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was on the edge of her seat waiting for EK414 to touch down in Sydney Picture: NewsWire /Martin Ollman While video-calling her son, Sheree said her son was forced to hang up as bombs exploded nearby. Speaking on Thursday morning, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Today she was on the edge of (her) seat watching footage of the flight touch down, and that she hoped more Australians would be returning home soon. Emirates flight EK414 was carrying roughly 200 passengers when it touched down on Wednesday night. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images) Can I just say how wonderful it was to see that footage of people at the airport and to see people coming home and being greeted, Senator Wong said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yesterday, we knew the plane was scheduled to take off and I think we were all on the edge of our seats hoping it would, because there was always a possibility if there had been a strike or if it wasnt safe that it would be cancelled, she said. Senator Wong confirmed another three repatriation flights were scheduled to depart from the UAE on Thursday morning, with the next one scheduled to leave for Sydney at 2am local time (9am AEDT) and a second due to leave for Melbourne at 10am local time (5am AEDT). The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is currently advising Australians not to travel into or through Dubai because of the potential for retaliatory strikes launched by Iran in the aftermath of US-Israeli attacks on Tehran. Four staff members at Dubai Airport were injured on Sunday when an explosion tore through a concourse, and the Burj Al Arab received minor damage when local authorities intercepted a drone laden with explosives, with no injuries reported. More to come. Thousands of students came together to show support for a girl who was raped and forced by UCD to stop her studies. The young woman was forced to drop out of her medicine course after being raped and falling pregnant, yet her rapist was allowed to continue studying. In 2023, a medical student was raped and became pregnant. Images of the girl "nude, bruised, and unconscious" after the rape were then shared by her perpetrator, according to The Journal. She requested that the university allow her to sit her exams at a later date, as she had terminated the pregnancy that had resulted from being raped, but they refused and tried to make her drop back a year. This would mean she would be in the same classes as the rapist, who was also a medical student. READ NEXT: UCD block student who was raped from finishing medical studies, but rapist was allowed to continue Around 4,000 students showed up to the 'Not Our UCD' rally on Wednesday evening, according to the Irish Examiner. The protest was organised by the Student's Union in partnership with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC). The Union told the Irish Examiner the rally was not focused on "one incident alone," but on what it describes as "deeper issues in institutional response from classroom practices to senior decision-making structures." "When a student discloses sexual violence, the response must be traumainformed, studentcentred and grounded in clear, accessible processes," Chief Executive of DRCC, Rachel Morrogh, said. The Students' Union also wrote a letter to UCD and the School of Medicine demanding that an "open correspondence apology" be sent to the victim. UCD has said that no internal investigation has been carried out into the image-based abuse as the matter has been referred to An Garda Siochana. Tributes have been paid to a real gentleman and good neighbour from Kildare who passed this week. Michael Hayden Allenview Heights, Newbridge, Kildare / Kildare Town, Kildare / Carlow Town, Carlow passed peacefully on March 3 2026 in the wonderful care of the staff at St Brigid's Hospice, The Curragh. Michael will forever be remembered by his loving wife Margaret, daughter Aisling, son Elliot, son in-law Patrick, daughter in-law Paula, grandchildren Holly, Aaron, Jamie and Jane, sisters Patsy, Mary, Barbara, Vonny, brothers Ray and John, his nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam. Michael will be reposing at McWeys Funeral Home, Abbeyview, Kildare Town from 5pm on Thursday concluding with Prayers at 7pm. The removal will take place by Glennons Funeral Directors on Friday to arrive at The Carmelites Church, Kildare Town for Requiem Mass at 1pm. READ NEXT: Kildare families 'already feeling the effects' of US and Israeli war against Iran Michael's Funeral Mass will be live-streamed and can be viewed on the following link: https://churchcamlive.ie/carmelite-friary-church-kildare/ The burial will take place afterwards in St. Conleths Cemetery, Kildare Town. Requesting family home to remain private at this time please. Glennons Funeral Directors accept no responsibility for any live webcam interruptions or issues. Tributes paid to Michael on RIP.ie this week include: Sincere condolences to Michael's sisters and brothers, and especially his wife and children. I have fond memories of my cousin's, the Hayden family growing up in St Mary's park. In what seems like a lifetime ago. May you rest in peace Michael, after a life well lived through music and song... And: Sincere condolences to Michael's wife and family at this most difficult time for you all. God bless Mick, may you now rest in eternal peace. While another mourner wrote: Deepest Sympathy to Margaret and all the Hayden family on the sad passing of Mick. May he rest in peace. And another added: Sincere condolences to Margaret, Aisling & Elliot and all of Michaels family and friends on his passing. May Michael rest in peace. Sinn Fein TD for North Kildare, Reada Cronin has blamed government ineptitude and incompetence for the closure of St. Patricks National School in Celbridge. The Board of Management of the school announced the closure yesterday (Wednesday, March 4.) Speaking on the closure, Deputy Cronin claimed the government has done nothing over the last 18 years to ensure a safe learning environment for the children of St. Patricks. Deputy Cronin said: This is a shocking development and shows the governments ineptitude and incompetence. This is an issue that has been ongoing for more than 18 years, and still no solution has been found. I regret that the Board of Management has had to come to this decision, but the safety of children and staff is of the utmost concern. READ NEXT: BREAKING: Kildare primary school shuts doors temporarily following safety review Political representatives have been united on this issue recently and we all agree that this should not be happening in our community. We have been raising this issue for so long and yet nothing has been done. Our children have the right to be educated in a fit for purpose building. But we have let them and their teachers down. This shut down confirms what we have all known for so long. Deputy Cronin called for a safe and temporary solution immediately to ensure the children and teachers of St. Patrick's can return to school safely and securely, and said responsibility lies with the Minister. She added: I have written to the Minister for clarity on if there is a contingency plan in place for this situation, if her Department has secured an alternative building for the children to attend while out of school, and how long the school will be closed for. It is the Ministers duty to ensure that our children can return to a safe school environment. My thoughts are with the parents, teachers and the children during this difficult time. There is no adherence to the speed limit at a dangerous junction, beside Punchestown Racecourse, since a section of the road was resurfaced. Cllr Evie Sammon told a Naas Municipal District meeting that the Beggars End junction on the Naas to Blessington route is becoming more and more dangerous." Cllr Sammon said the road does not need an assessment to tell us that it's dangerous." She said drivers coming from Naas and Blessington are "shooting through the junction and there is no place there that could be used by a speed detection vehicle. Cllr Sammon said many drivers use the route to get to Dublin and it's used as a detour when an accident occurs in the N7. Kildare County Council said a traffic assessment at the location is still outstanding and will be added to the list. READ NEXT Major crackdown on vapes and nicotine pouches for under 18s approved by Government Increased funding is being demanded for a County Kildare army site following a recent huge investment worth over 17 million. The call follows the government's awarding of a 17.65m contract for the construction of a new Army Ranger Wing headquarters at the Curragh Camp. The funding for the project forms part of the 1.7 billion National Development Plan (NDP) Sectoral Investment Plan for Defence, which Minister McEntee, which was announced back in December of 2025. READ NEXT: Woman arrested in Kildare in connection to alleged theft incident One public representative who has welcomed the move is Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, who described it as "an important step" in strengthening Irelands defence capabilities. However, she also stressed that the government needs to "double down" on the investment ensuring a sustained commitment to the Defence Forces, particularly at The Curragh. Elaborating on her views, Senator OLoughlin said: "The Curragh has long been the heart of military training and operations in Ireland, and investments like this help ensure it continues to play that vital role into the future. "Given the current geopolitical climate, Ireland must continue to strengthen and modernise its Defence Forces and its overall defence capabilities; this is a necessary and responsible step to protect Irish interests." READ NEXT: 'Large amount' of vapes and cigarettes stolen from Kildare business premises She also said that while investment in the Defence Forces is increasing, the next priority must be "to continue expanding the training and operational facilities at The Curragh". "This must include investment in barracks and living conditions for our soldiers, ensuring that the men and women who serve our country have the facilities and support they deserve," Senator O'Loughlin concluded. Senator Fiona O'Loughlin made headlines earlier this week when she raised the issue of flooding in Newbridge while speaking in the Seanad. Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin. File photograph READ NEXT: 'All of Newbridge will be flooded' if Kildare housing plans get the green light Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. An organisation associated with a well-known County Kildare university has launched a writing collection one which aims to highlights the 'creativity and prowess' of its students. The Maynooth University (MU) Publication and Literary Society recently celebrated the launch of the Winter '25 physical edition of the 'Silver Hand Journal' inside the historic Aula Maxima in Saint Patricks College. The event was attended by contributors, students, and supporters of the arts, celebrating the growing success and ambition of the Silver Hand Journal. READ NEXT: Woman arrested in Kildare in connection to alleged theft incident According to the Society, the latest edition of the 'Silver Hand Journal' marks "an exciting milestone" for the student-led publication, which showscases poetry, prose, essays and other literary works from MU students which were originally released digitally between September of 2025 and January of 2026.. Jenson Murphy, the content editor of the 'Silver Hand Journal', reflected on the significance of the Winter 25 edition: "This collection highlights the creativity and prowess of MU's emerging writers. "The Winter 25 edition is a small sample of the high caliber of work being produced at MU by its student writers." READ NEXT: Full fixtures list for Kildare Senior Football Leagues start next weekend Mr Murphy added: "We are incredibly proud to bring these pieces into print and to celebrate the talent within our university community." Anyone seeking further information relating to submissions, upcoming editions, or events can contact the MU Publication and Literary Society or visit https://www.silverhandjournal.com. MU previously made headlines when it was reported last month that negotiations relating to the delivery of its swimming pool were "progressing well". READ NEXT: Woman's ex-partner 'keyed' her car and broke front window at her house - Kildare court claim Gardai are planning to exhume the body of Leitrim man Liam Farrell as part of their renewed investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death in January 2020, according to a report from RTE. The Department of Justice has confirmed to RTE's Prime Time that Minister Jim O'Callaghan has authorised the exhumation of Mr Farrell's remains. It is believed the Minister issued an order to permit the exhumation in recent weeks. The exhumation is to be carried out with the Garda Serious Crime Review Team examining the death of the retired farmer. It was confirmed in recent months that a cold case review was under way into the death of the Leitrim pensioner. READ MORE: 'A huge honour': Leitrim-Longford group Amble wins Irish Song of the Year at RTE Choice Awards Mr Farrell, who was 87, was found deceased at the rear of his home near Rooskey on January 12, 2020. The circumstances surrounding his death have remained a source of deep concern and unanswered questions for his family ever since. Six years on, relatives say the launch of a formal cold case review has brought renewed hope that the full circumstances of what happened that night will finally be established. The review will involve a re-examination of material gathered during the original investigation, including witness accounts and decisions taken in the immediate aftermath of Mr Farrells death. Gardai have confirmed the case is being assessed under updated cold case procedures. READ MORE: Cold case review under way as sixth anniversary of Liam Farrells death is marked Kinlough is planning to host the earliest St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland this year by taking off at one minute past midnight on Tuesday morning. At the stroke of midnight, we will be hitting the street, said Cllr Justin Warnock, who is organising the parade, alongside the Kinlough town team. The parade will be the first in the village's history, with locals usually making the trip to parades in Bundoran or Manorhamilton. It wont be a big do, but it will be a big one for Kinlough, because it never had a St Patricks Day Parade, said Warnock. Gathering at 11 pm on the 16th of March, the parade will take off from the Kinlough community centre just after midnight. READ MORE: Cloone's first St Patricks Day Parade to feature 'Surprise St Patrick It will make its way through the village before turning around at the Court House restaurant at the top of the street, and returning to the community centre for music and tea after the parade. The parade will include floats made by locals, tractors, and St. Patrick, who is organised to lead the procession up the street in his first appearance of the year. If you are going to do something, it might as well be something different, according to Warnock, who says the parade will be a chance for the growing community in the north Leitrim village to come together. READ MORE: GALLERY: Schools out in force as Leitrim town hosts Fair Trade Parade The first parade of the year is usually held in Dingle and sets off before Dawn at 5:30 am, but this year, Kinlough will take that crown, heading off at midnight. We are going to be the first, there is no doubt about that, said Warnock. Longford-Leitrim band, Amble, are shortlisted for the RTE Choice music awards on Thursday night in Dublin. Amble are shortlisted for the Irish Album of the Year on the back of a successful year that saw them release their first Album Reverie and open shows for Hozier during his world tour. The bands' rise from pub gigs to sold-out arenas has been fuelled by the dedication of fans at home and abroad. Their debut album, Reverie, topped the Irish Album Chart across four non-consecutive weeks. The band will face strong opposition with Irish stars shortlisted, such as Sprints, Just Mustard, and CMAT, with her album Euro-Country. READ MORE: Sligo/Leitrim TD calls on Chair of Bord Bia, Larry Murrin, to resign his position as Chair While their music has also clocked up over 115 million streams globally, they sold over 100k tickets worldwide last year. Since forming in late 2022, the Leitrim- Longford group have built a reputation for honest songwriting, lush acoustic arrangements, and captivating live performances. Amble will also support Dermot Kennedy on his 2026 Europe and UK tour. READ MORE: Leitrim star named in Irish squad for Six Nations An assembled panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts will decide the winners, with accolades such as Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Song of the Year up for grabs. Amble have taken the RTE Choice Music Prize Song of the Year award for their track Schoolyard Days. The announcement was made live on The Tracy Clifford Show on RTE 2FM this afternoon, before the main awards event kicks off in Vicar Street tonight. The band, made up of members from Longford and Leitrim, has been nominated for awards in four categories at this year's awards on the back of a successful year that saw them release their first Album Reverie and open shows for Hozier during his world tour. Their debut album, Reverie, topped the Irish Album Chart across four non-consecutive weeks. The bands' rise from pub gigs to sold-out arenas has been fuelled by the dedication of fans at home and abroad, and so far their music has also clocked up over 115 million streams globally, while they sold over 100k tickets worldwide last year. READ MORE: Sligo/Leitrim TD calls on Chair of Bord Bia, Larry Murrin, to resign his position as Chair Since forming in late 2022, the Leitrim- Longford group have built a reputation for honest songwriting, lush acoustic arrangements, and captivating live performances. Amble will also support Dermot Kennedy on his 2026 Europe and UK tour. READ MORE: Leitrim star named in Irish squad for Six Nations In an interview with RTE News posted on TikTok, Robbie Cunningham of Amble from Manorhamilton said, Its a huge honour first and foremost to be nominated in four different categories. Its something you dont think about when youre writing songs or playing music. You dont write them for awards, but when you do get nominated, its a lovely moment to sit back and soak in whats really happened in the last couple of years, and hopefully well have a couple more awards by the end of the night, he said. Amble are also nominated for Irish Artist of the Year, Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Irish Album of the Year. Winners will be announced live on RTE 2FM, with the show beginning at 7:30pm at Vicar Street in Dublin. The winning act will receive 10,000, while all shortlisted artists will also receive a specially commissioned award. BMW has announced that it will be expanding its usage of humanoid robots after having successfully tested units from Figure AI in Spartanburg, South Carolina, last year. The next batch of bipedal robots will be sent to Leipzig, Germany, to see how they handle its European facilities. "Digitalisation improves the competitiveness of our production - here in Europe and worldwide. The symbiosis of engineering expertise and artificial intelligence opens up entirely new possibilities in production," stated Milan Nedeljkovic, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Production. The Spartanburg Figure 02 robots reportedly assisted in building over 30,000 vehicles through 2025, most of which were the X3 SUV. Robots were said to run on 10-hour shifts, which was based around battery limitations, and collectively walked over 200 miles of the factory floor in order to move over 90,000 individual components. This was reportedly good enough for the automaker to extend its robotic pilot program to Germany, pivoting to the Hexagon Robotics AEON units in the process. From BMW: The pilot confirmed that humanoid robots can safely perform precise, repetitive work steps - such as positioning components with millimetre precision - and provided important insights for the further deployment of Physical AI in production. During the initial test phases with Figure 02, it was essential to involve all areas of the production IT infrastructure, occupational safety, production process management, and shop floor logistics at an early stage. One key finding was that the transition from the laboratory to the actual production environment was faster than expected. Motion sequences trained in the laboratory could be quickly transferred into stable shift operation. To ensure smooth coexistence with existing systems, integration into the BMW Smart Robotics ecosystem was implemented via standardised interfaces. The body shop was deliberately selected for the test phase in Spartanburg, as it already has a high degree of automation. BMW Group employees in this area have extensive experience in integrating new technologies and processes. For example, material supply on the line is already carried out almost exclusively via automated smart transport robots (STR). The project team's early communication ensured transparency from the outset and promoted acceptance. The deployment of humanoid robots was met with great interest among employees and quickly became a natural part of everyday work during the course of the project. "Our aim is to be a technology leader and to integrate new technologies into production at an early stage. Pilot projects help us to test and further develop the use of Physical AI - that is, AIenabled robots capable of learning - under real-world industrial conditions," explained Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President of Production Network and Supply Chain Management at BMW Group. But one still wonders about how much of this is just about the optics. Automakers desperately want to be seen as technology companies these days. While tech firms are becoming extremely unpopular with the general public, companies believe adopting their traits will bolster shareholder value and there's evidence to support that it has thus far. BMW has been careful to frame its robotic implementation as a major success, perhaps for that very reason. But most accounts only had South Carolina running a couple of Figure 02 robots during the 11-month testing phase. That really drives home the point that this was indeed a pilot program and not necessarily indicative of large-scale implementation. Several automakers have launched programs to test bipedal robots at production facilities, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Hyundai even went so far as to purchase Boston Dynamics in 2021 as a flex on rivals as it prepares to do the same. Then there is Tesla, which presently looks to be attempting to pivot away from automobiles so it can place more focus on its Optimus robot and artificial intelligence initiatives. Having humanoid robots doing all of our manual labor is an extremely old trope. We've seen them in films for over a century. But ancient Greece had been toying with mechanical novelty animals that used steam for power a couple thousand years earlier. Leonardo da Vinci developed a suit of armor that could mimic humanoid movements via a series of gears and pulleys around 1495. Centuries before that, Ismail al-Jazari attempted to build similar automated devices that used an early form of hydraulics to create movement. Japan would even try its hand at similar devices hundreds of years later with mechanized karakuri puppets that produced uncanny humanoid movements. While many of the above concepts and designs would serve as necessary to develop many of the machines we use today, legitimate humanoid robots have been completely off the table until very recently. Most of the big technological breakthroughs have come by way of computing. Before that, automation was really only effective at completing whatever singular task a machine was designed for. True robots wouldn't emerge until General Motors installed one of George Devol's Unimate arms at one of its assembly plants in 1961. By having the ability to modify a series of behaviors for the arm, the automotive sector effectively became the first industry to use true robots for industrial labor. This form of automation has gradually reduced the number of human employees necessary for large-scale manufacturing efforts via increased mechanization on assembly lines. However, people have remained an essential component since most of these devices have historically been massive units that are permanently mounted to the floor and fit for singular tasks. Now, the industry is testing humanoid robots - making everyone who isn't upper management a little uneasy. Automakers ultimately want to flex that they're on the cutting edge of technology. But many have also suggested that leveraging bipedal robots could help them cope with rising labor costs and employment shortfalls. The concept of having machines capable of doing the kinds of tasks that were formerly exclusive to humans is simply too enticing for companies to ignore. Advertisement But it's not abundantly clear that these units are ready for serious, generalized work routines. The initial investment into these machines will be quite substantial and they will undoubtedly require specialized maintenance routines. They're also more energy intensive than sticking with people and there are real questions about lifespan. Replacing an entire fleet of robotic laborers every few years likely isn't as practical as keeping real people on staff, especially if the latter still proves more capable. However, the biggest risk is upsetting the social order. Displacing a large number of workers never goes over particularly well. Introducing bipedal robots too quickly or at the wrong time could just result in your former employees coming back to the factory armed and unhappy. Hyundai's plan to begin using Boston Dynamics's Atlas robots to replace its human employees in 2028 has resulted in some serious backlash from its South Korean labor union. It has promised to make life extremely difficult for the automaker without properly negotiating the implementation of bipedal robots as part of union contracts. Those familiar with the Korean union know this is not an empty threat. Interestingly, Hyundai initially wants to field its Atlas robots at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia. Like BMW, it views the United States as the best testing grounds for the concept. Mercedes-Benz has likewise been testing Apptronik's Apollo robots. But it has been similarly careful about public messaging. The German company wants to convey that the robots would only be used for intensive and repetitive labor, allegedly freeing up human employees to do more low-impact tasks. But the outcome will be functionally the same and IG Metall (Germany's largest industrial union) has expressed that more automated labor will negatively impact regional employment figures. However, they seem to be more accommodating than their South Korean counterparts due to the assumption that introducing bipedal robots could make for a safer work environment. Much of the above is speculative. Despite loads of assurances that all of these robots are fit for purpose, most of the promotional materials showcase the units conducting rather simple tasks at a relatively slow pace. But that could simply be the result of their not being properly optimized and they may still outpace human alternatives just by nature of never getting tired. Still, we've seen numerous robotics companies being criticized for overpromising on capabilities. Some of the most impressive displays of modern robots have turned out to be units being remotely controlled by real people or carefully curated footage showcasing flawless runs that may not be representative of reality. That's not to suggest that bipedal robots aren't going to be the future - just that the current state of the technology is being overhyped to boost corporate share prices. That has certainly become a common trend within the tech industry of late and automakers are arguably just as guilty. Keep in mind that analysts have proposed that bipedal robots could become a multi-trillion-dollar industry in a few years. That's a lot of pressure to put on the industry and investors today, regardless of whether or not it is representative of tomorrow. [Images: BMW] Advertisement Advertisement Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter. Image: Hyundai Another electric model bites the dust, though the high-performance Ioniq 6 N will still be available "in limited quantities." Hyundai's electric lineup is shrinking. First reported by Edmunds, Hyundai has confirmed the regular version of the Ioniq 6 will no longer be offered in America. The sleek EV sedan debuted for the 2023 model year, but the market looks much different three years later. "Going forward, our award-winning Ioniq 6 lineup will consist of the all-new Ioniq 6 N. Ioniq 6 N arrives later this year. In the meantime, 2025 Ioniq 6 sedans continue to be available," a Hyundai spokesperson told Edmunds. This news is unique to America; Canada will continue to see the Ioniq 6 at dealerships, with the updated model arriving soon as a 2027 model. It's the latest change between the two markets as the US administration pursues tariffs; sister brand Kia has two very different lineups in Canada and the US. While Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 models are produced locally, the Ioniq 6 remains a product of South Korea. With tariffs still a reality, there's a certain logic to nixing the plain models of a niche-selling EV sedan and keeping the more expensive, halo-effect performance model around. Image: Hyundai AutoGuide's Take: We've enjoyed the Ioniq 6 well enough over the years since it launched, finding it a spacious, efficient, and comfortable sedan. As for the Ioniq 6 N, if the laugh-out-loud Ioniq 5 N is any indication, it should be a blast-it's even one of our most anticipated new models of 2026. For now, 2025 models of the Ioniq 6 remain on dealer lots; if you want a quirky sedan, act quick. Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here. Subaru's STI is really starting to test my goddamn patience. Like any toxic on-again-off-again relationship, I've been let down by the lies and the promises to come back into my life over and over. Many times, I've all but given up hope STI would enter my world just to be sucked back into its orbit the second there's a glimmer of hope. Well, that cycle is definitely going to continue, because an Australian executive at the company just said Subaru Tecnica International is most certainly "not dead." STI, I just can't quit you. Speaking with Australia's Drive magazine, the general manager for Subaru's Australian arm, Scott Lawrence, alluded to the idea that a new model was in the works and made it very clear that the performance brand isn't going anywhere. I've seen this trap before, and I'm falling for it nevertheless. Apparently Subie has been saying close attention to reactions people have been giving to STI-branded concepts that have debuted in the past few months, like the all-electric Performance-E STI and far-more production-ready (but still probably not happening) Performance-B STI both of which we got an up-close look at at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show. "The tempo of news and activity out of STI publicly is picking up. It has the most vocal followers of the Subaru camp, put it that way," Lawrence told Drive. "As those concepts proved, lots of work in that space STI isn't dead." Advertisement The automaker already recently revealed the WRX STI Sport#, which we said gave us "World Rally Blue Balls" due to the fact it may have looked the part of a true STI (minus the wing), but it didn't actually have any real performance upgrades. Read more: The Pros And Cons Of The Chevy Corvette's Carbon Fiber Wheels An electric STI Subaru Performance-E STI concept at the Japan Motor Show - Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik There's some speculation that an electric STI is a bit more of a possibility than a gas-powered one. Sure, the Performance-B looked far more road ready than the Performance-E when I saw it in Tokyo, but Subaru has already confirmed that the B is very much just a concept car. (This is where you loudly boo and call Subaru execs cowards). However, it hasn't made a single comment about the future of prospects of the Performance-E. That being said, any electric STI seems to be a long ways away, the Performance-E looked to be very early in the concept car phases, and I'm not even 100% sure it had an interior. We really don't know much about it at all. When it debuted, all Subaru said was it was "spacious" and "driver-friendly." All we know is that it's the correct color blue, is a wagon, has gold wheels and comes with all-wheel-drive. That means it has at least two electric motors, but it could have up to three or four, depending on how silly Subaru is feeling. All Subaru would say is that it has "various innovative technologies." Advertisement Advertisement There's certainly performance to be had in the EV STI space. I mean, the Solterra EV will do 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, according to Car and Driver, so Subaru can clearly make a quick EV. Surly with the knowhow of STI at the helm, something wonderful can be created. I suppose we shall see. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on Jalopnik. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close CINEMA lovers might just see a familiar face in the cinemas this week, as Baite is set to hit the big screen. Starring Cappamore actress Eleanor O'Brien, who plays the role of 23-year-old pub owner Peggy Casey, Baite was nominated for four IFTA's including Ms O'Brien who was up for lead actress in film. The award-winning Irish language film's release to cinema perfectly coincides with Seachtain na Gaeilge, which runs until March 17. The movie is set in September 1975 in the west of Ireland and features striking Irish landscapes. It tells the story of a body being discovered in the receding waters of a man-made lake. READ ALSO: BREAKING: Limerick student pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of two young men When the lake reveals what has been hiding under its surface, a murder investigation is launched and buried truths that may threaten family loyalties, identity and an entire community's sense of belonging, all emerge. Directed by Ruan Magan, written by Sheena Lambert and adapted from the book The Lake, also written by Sheena Lambert, the movie is produced by Siobhan Ni Ghadhra and John Brady for Galway-based Danu Media. The film blends suspense, identity and an intergenerational memory within an authentically Irish language setting. The production was supported by Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland, TG4 and Coimisiun na Mean under the Cine4 scheme, which supports bold and culturally rich Irish-language cinema. Commissioning editor for Cine4, Maire Ni Chonlain said: Deeply rooted in place and character, it brings a compelling story to the big screen. The official cinema trailer has now been released and the film will run in cinemas nationwide from tomorrow, Friday, March 6. IT WAS a lucky day for the arts in Limerick when Maurice OSullivan arrived from Listowel in 1967, bringing with him the love of literature and drama that is as much a part of the Kerry town as the air they breathe. In the early 1970s, Maurice, with wonderful assistance from Brendan Nash, began producing pantomimes and one act plays as Gaeilge with students at the School of Commerce (now Limerick College of Further Education) in Mulgrave Street. They went on to win the Feile Scoildramaiochta Naisuinta in 1972 and 1975 and when these talented students left school in the mid-70s, Aisteoiri Scoil na Tractala evolved into the Torch Players. Fast forward to 2026 and the Torch Players are celebrating their 50th birthday with a production of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa. Maurice, who lit the torch for every one of those 50 years as founder and chairman, directs the play. It runs from Tuesday, March 10 to Saturday, March 14 in the Belltable hich is fitting as they were one of the first Drama Groups to perform in the Belltable when it opened in 1981 and have performed there at least once a year since then. Tickets available online. READ NEXT: Limerick actress to hit the big screen as Irish film comes to cinemas Many of their players and crew won major awards at drama festivals throughout the country including resident director Maurice who won over 40 Best Director accolades. At the All-Ireland finals in Athlone the late Des Ronan won Best Actor in 1986, the late Mary Harvey won Best Actress in 1988 and the late John Butler won Best Supporting Actor in 1989. The group also won Best Stage Management in Athlone in 2000. Other players who won numerous Awards were Assumpta Wallace, Brian Kelly, Paul McCarthy, Trish Kielthy, Joe Portley, Ann Moriarty, Cathal Costelloe, Sinead Fahy, Chris Rowley and the late Criostoir OGriofa, Daithi OConaill and Tony Portley. Maurice said that on the technical side it is fair to say that without the numerous talents of Brendan Nash, the Torch Players would not have survived its infancy. Michael Liston and the late Michael McKenna were also stalwarts in those early days. In the seventies and eighties we were very fortunate to have the talents of Sean Keating, Willie Ambrose and Mike Sheils who is still our invaluable set builder. Up to recently we had the incomparable Bart Kiely and his team which consisted of Bobby Nash, Pa Buckley and Johnny Corr. We are also indebted to Gerry Lombard, Miia Satama, Pius McGrath, Justin Dunne, Hanora Hartnett, Sheenagh Murphy, said Maurice. Over the past 10 to 15 years Torch Players have attracted many new actors and backstage crew which has breathed new life into their productions and ensures its future is in safe hands. Maurice could tell a million and one stories but one that springs to mind is their eventful performance at the West Cork Festival in Rossmore in 1986. Maurice and lighting man, Joe, set off from Limerick at around 9am. They arrived around noon after a number of wrong turns - there was no Google Maps in those days. We set to work immediately on the lighting before the set arrived which was scheduled for about 1pm. So 1pm, 3pm, and pm went by and no trace of Michael who was transporting the set. There were no mobiles phones in those days so we rang his mother in Limerick who told us that he left home about 10am! It is now 6 pm and the cast, who are coming by bus, should be here shortly but we have no set and no means of communication with Michael. Eventually he cooly saunters into the hall about 6.15pm to say he can only get within 500 yards of the hall as the road in front of the hall is closed off because of the West Cork Car Rally, recalled Mauriced. On enquiring why he was so late, he said he got a puncture. When I say a puncture could not take that long to fix he responds with I had to have my dinner didnt I! We now have the bigger problem of how to get the set onto the stage, so with the help of some very willing committee members we raced across several fields and ditches between the hall and where the car and trailer was parked. Obviously if there was a prize for the fastest set erection we would have won it. Sadly there was no prize for this aspect of theatre, said Maurice with a smile. However, they did win Best Director, Best Actor and the West Cork Festival! THE OFFICE of the Police Ombudsman has found no evidence of wrongdoing by Limerick gardai investigating the death of a young girl killed in a tragic road traffic collision. Savannah Calvert, from Garryowen, lost her life aged only 14 in 2023, when she was crossing the road at Bank Place in the city centre. Last year, her eldest sister Diane was told the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would not be bringing charges against the driver of the car which struck the teenager. The Calvert family were not happy with this decision with Diane Calvert saying she felt angry and let down. Since then, the Calvert family stepped up their campaign to secure what they called justice for Savannah. It included a march which ended in a gathering outside Limerick Courthouse on Mulgrave Street. READ NEXT: Review of SNA provision is 'insulting and cruel', say Limerick campaigners Diane Calvert referred Savannahs case to Fiosru which replaced the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). Fiosru commenced a probe into how gardai in Limerick investigated the fatal collision. The Leader has learned that the gardai who investigated the road traffic incident involving Savannah is the same team of officers that investigated and secured convictions in the hit-and-run case concerning the death of UL student Joe Drennan in Castletroy. A report compiled by Fiosru, which has been seen by the Limerick Leader, examined the details of the garda investigation into the collision involving Savannah. The author of the report concluded by saying, I can only conclude that the allegations made by you (Diane Calvert) were not proven and the investigation concludes no evidence of wrongdoing by the investigating member. The report goes on to say, Please note that as the investigation has been concluded, Fiosru, Office of the Police Ombudsman will now proceed to close this case. The report stated that Fiosru cannot comment on the direction of the DPP, or make any comments in relation to their decision, but all evidence was present in the file for the DPP to review and come to a decision. Fiosru described a claim made by the complainant that the driver of the car was not prosecuted because his mother was the first cousin of a garda, who is married to a detective, as "vexatious". There is no evidence that supports this allegation and there is no involvement of both members in the investigation, said Fiosru. The Office of the Police Ombudsman dismissed an allegation that gardai allowed evidence (the vehicle) to be destroyed, saying gardai are under no obligation to keep the vehicle after it was fully examined and documented. All evidence relating to the vehicle was presented in the investigation file and sent to the DPP, stated the report. Fiosru also refuted an allegation from Diane Calvert that a taxi driver who was at the scene was not identified in the DPP file as a witness, and that this may be missing evidence in the file, namely dash camera footage. The author of the report said they spoke with the taxi driver and he declined to make a statement. He stated to me verbally that he was parked next to the road to pick up passengers when he heard a loud noise behind his vehicle and then realised that a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle. His vehicle was facing the opposite direction and would not have captured the collision, said the author. The author of the Fiosru report, in its conclusion, said some of the concerns (from Diane Calvert) are only opinions. I can only conclude that the allegations made by you were not proven and the investigation concludes no evidence of wrongdoing by the investigating member, states the author. In a statement to the Leader, Diane Calvert said she and her family are extremely disappointed by the decision to close this investigation. My sister Savannah was only 14-years-old. We submitted detailed evidence showing serious contradictions and unanswered questions. We do not feel those questions have been properly answered. As Savannah's sister, I cannot and will not simply accept that without clarity, said Ms Calvert, who has now asked Fiosru to explain exactly what was examined and why these issues were not addressed. I am also taking legal advice and will consider all options available to me, to include a Judicial Review of the Fiosru outcome. This has never been about blame it has always been about truth. Savannah deserves that. And I will continue to fight for that. An Garda Siochana, nor any other agency, will stop us getting justice for Savannah, we will take a judicial review of the decision of Fiosru and will send a file to the European Court of Human Rights under article two - the right to life, concludes the statement that was given to the Limerick Leader. A GRANDFATHER who is accused of criminal damage and making threats to a family member was refused bail, following a strong garda objection. Roger Ryan, aged 42, who is originally from Rathkeale and who recently returned from the UK appeared before Newcastle West District Court, having been arrested by gardai. Detective Sergeant Mike Reidy told the court the State was opposing bail pursuant to Section 2 of the Bail Act and O'Callaghan rules. He said gardai believe Mr Ryan, who does not have a current Irish address, represents a flight risk. The charges relate to alleged offences on September 25 and 26, 2022, along with further alleged offences in October of the same year. READ ALSO: New regional health forum set up dedicated to the Mid-West region to examine issues at Limerick hospital In September 2022, Mr Ryan allegedly smashed five windows at a family member's home, causing approximately 1,000 worth of damage. He is also charged with threatening to cause further damage during a phone call to the same family member on the same dates. The defendant is further charged with causing damage to a garda patrol car and assaulting a member of An Garda Siochana. Those incidents are alleged to have occurred in Rathkeale on October 27, 2022 after he was allegedly observed driving in a dangerous manner. Judge Carol Anne Coolican was told the Director of Public Prosecutions has been consulted and that the case is to proceed summarily in the district court. Opposing bail, Detective Sgt Reidy expressed concerns that Mr Ryan is a flight risk and that he will not appear in court for future hearings. Representing Mr Ryan, solicitor Ted McCarthy pointed out that his client voluntarily presented himself to the court to face the charges and that he had returned from the UK to do so. Det Sgt Reidy replied: He would have been aware he was actively sought over the past number of weeks and months. Mr McCarthy added that his client is on good terms with the alleged injured party and he said Mr Ryan was willing to live at an address in Limerick - details of which were provided to the court. However, Det Sgt Reidy said this address was not acceptable to gardai adding: No conditions of bail will allay my concerns. Taking the stand himself, Mr Ryan said that he is a father of seven and has two grandchildren. He admitted he did go to the UK (following the alleged incidents), but that now he wants to face the charges and deal with his own ongoing issues. I want to prove to the courts that I'm trying to better myself, he said. When asked by Inspector Gearoid Thompson if he had made any attempts to contact the gardai since he left Ireland in 2023, Mr Ryan said he had not. Inspector Thompson acknowledged that Mr Ryan has some personal difficulties and Mr Ryan said: I'm trying to make my life better. He told the court that he left the country because he was afraid and that he was drinking too much at the time. Sadly, I made that big mistake, he said in reference to his travelling to the UK. Having considered the submissions, Judge Coolican said she needs to maintain the integrity of the judiciary process. She said that her overriding consideration is that the applicant should turn up for court hearings and not engage in criminal conduct. Judge Coolican added he is facing serious charges and that she was satisfied that Mr Ryan presented as a flight risk. She refused bail and remanded him in custody. Legal aid was granted to solicitor Ted McCarthy. A WOMAN from Limerick was among the passengers who touched down in Dublin on the first direct flight from Dubai since the recent Middle East crisis, as emotional reunions and scenes of relief unfolded at the airport late on Thursday night. Elaine Gleeson from Limerick surprised a family member, turning up with a balloon and flowers to welcome home her sister Norita Geary. Everyone clapped when the plane landed, and cheered, it was just magic, Ms Geary said. I didnt expect to see her (Elaine) because I told her I was getting a lift home, she added, hugging her sister. READ MORE: Warning for Limerick motorists as technology replaces old windscreen penalty fines There was relief and tearful reunions at Dublin airport as the first flight from Dubai touched down since the recent crisis in the Middle East. Many had been in the UAE city since last Saturday amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel which caused widespread airspace closures in the Middle East, sparking major disruption to flights. There are to be further direct flights from the Middle East landing in Dublin on Thursday, and a government charter plane later this week. Some were too overcome to speak as they arrived late on Thursday night, while others described alarms in the middle of the night and seeing missile trails in Dubai where the Fairmont The Palm Hotel and the airport were hit. Anna Callaghan from Donegal was overcome to be surprised by her mother having travelled from the north west to Dublin Airport to see her. My mums come all the way from Donegal, thats why Im a little overwhelmed, I live in Dublin so I wasnt expecting to see her, she said, as the pair embraced again, her mother Patricia responding: Im just glad shes on the ground now. Ms Callaghan described a stressful and scary situation. We were seeing and hearing bangs and explosions, last night in particular it was jet after jet after jet going overhead, and then we heard the US Consulate was hit and that really scared everyone, she said. This is my fourth flight that I rebooked and I didnt think I was going to get out. Dublin is the most beautiful city in the world. Gina Quinn from Dublin described hearing a national alarm in the middle of the night which woke them all up. It was very frightening, you just didnt know and getting information on when you might be able to fly home was nigh impossible, the airlines were great but they were inundated, she said. I think everyone on the flight coming in tonight is absolutely delighted, just hope that everybody else gets home quickly because its a very uncertain situation. Its fantastic to be home. Rob McClean from Greystones, who had been transiting through from India, said it was a massive relief to be home. I was in the airport on Saturday night when the explosion happened so we were evacuated from there which was pretty tough, he said. Its been nerve wracking for my family. Jimmy OConnor from Longford said he had been on his way home from Australia visiting his daughter in Sydney when he got caught up in the situation in Dubai. We didnt think it would be such a long journey home, but were back now safe and sound, he said. There were also a number of passengers from across Europe who took the flight to Dublin in desperation to flee the Middle East. Alex Anderson, a French-American who lives in Frankfurt, described huge relief and said it was very emotional to land in Dublin. It was really difficult, I was a transfer passenger, I was supposed to be going on to Frankfurt on February 28, when I was coming in from Malaysia we actually saw the missile trails, but we didnt know what it was then, just thought it was planes, he said. It was really shocking when we landed and found out what had happened. I moved as quickly as I could out of the terminal building, and an hour later it got hit. Then there was the long wait of days, hearing thumps, anti missile stuff, that was nerve wracking, they definitely had a lot of drones coming over. I wouldnt say its a full blown warzone like you would see in Gaza, but its getting close. Its a huge relief to land in Ireland, and a bit emotional. Tomorrow morning Ill fly back home to my wife and kids in Frankfurt. While the company is planning the reset, investors are waiting to see results. Shares of Bata India opened at 733.95 on NSE on 5 March, down 21.4% since January, compared with a 5.6% dip in the Nifty. As of 3 March, 11 of 19 analysts tracking the company have sell calls, according to Bloomberg. Big correction Smartwatches have gone through a big correction. I think a lot of it happened last year in calendar year 24. It continues to be somewhat subdued right now, after a lot of corrections in terms of oversupply, undercutting of price, etc. We are at this point maintaining and gaining market share and coming out with newer products which should do well. But yes, the very overheated kind of growth that we have seen in smartwatches in calendar years 21, 22 and 23, that phase is over now, Mitra had said. Flight, fuel fallout The conflict, which began on 28 February with coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has escalated as Iran launched missile and drone attacks on the US and allied military bases across the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. At the peak on 28 February, airspace from Israel to the UAE was temporarily closed. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) advised Indian carriers to avoid flying over Iran, Israel, Lebanon, the UAE and Bahrain, forcing airlines to reroute flights to Europe, the UK and North America along longer paths. The EU started investigating the policy in December after Italys competition watchdog launched its own probe, which is still going on. Meta reopened WhatsApp to rival AI operators in Italy in January after officials ordered their own injunction. Where we are legally required to provide AI chatbots through the WhatsApp Business API, we are introducing pricing for the companies who choose to use our platform to provide those services, a Meta spokesperson said. Amazon layoffs: Tech giant Amazon has carried out another round of layoffs this week, this time in its robotics division, Business Insider reported. The latest Amazon layoffs, announced Tuesday by the company's Robotics VP, Scott Dresser, in an internal message, obtained by Business Insider, are part of a sweeping cost-reduction effort. The company did not disclose the exact number of employees affected in the latest round of Amazon layoffs. Dresser described the decision as difficult but necessary, while stressing that robotics remains a strategic priority for Amazon. The latest cuts underscore that Amazon is still reducing headcount even after slashing around 57,000 roles since 2022, including the massive layoff rounds in October 2025 and January 2026. According to an Amazon spokesperson cited by Business Insider, the company eliminated a relatively small number of robotics roles this week. The tech and e-commerce giant continues to hire and invest in strategic areas, the spokesperson said. We regularly review our organisations to make sure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for our customers, the spokesperson added. We don't make these decisions lightly, and we're committed to supporting employees whose roles are affected with severance pay, health insurance benefits, and job placement support, the spokesperson told Business Insider. LiveMint could not independently verify the report. This article will be updated if Amazon issues an official statement. The outlet previously reported that Amazon had shelved its Blue Jay robotics project, a warehouse robot launched only months earlier, as it plans to shift towards a new robotics system. This comes at a time when the company relies on thousands of robots to shuttle goods across warehouses to operate its vast fulfilment network. What to know about Amazon layoffs In January, Amazon carried out a mass layoff round, eliminating 16,000 corporate roles. At that time, HR chief Beth Galetti said the company was not establishing a new rhythm of sweeping job cuts every few months. However, she did not rule out more Amazon layoffs. Amazon employed about 1.58 million people across the world as of the end of last year. While the bulk of the roles were in the warehouse and logistics divisions, around 3,50,000 people in those divisions were in corporate and technology roles. In its latest round of layoffs, Amazon cited restructuring aimed at removing bureaucracy" in its operations, but the cuts also arrive as the company continues to ramp up spending on AI. CEO Andy Jassy previously said he anticipated generative AI to reduce Amazon's corporate workforce. Meanwhile, Amazon and other Big Tech and retail companies have cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line following the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazons workforce doubled as millions stayed home and boosted online spending. The layoffs announced in January were Amazons biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs across various roles. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is making a last-ditch attempt to negotiate a deal with the US Defense Department after the company was blacklisted by the federal government last week, reported the Financial Times. The report says Amodei has been holding talks with Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, with the aim of finalizing a contract granting Pentagon's access to Anthropic's AI models. Notably, Michael had recently called Amodei a liar with a god complex in a post on X last week. Its a shame that @DarioAmodei is a liar and has a God-complex," he wrote. He added, He wants to play God and make new 'law' and...really stupid laws at that. We never asked for guardrails to be taken out (lie!). We agreed to human oversight of all weapons systems." Notably, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US would designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, a designation that is usually reserved for foreign adversarial companies. Anthropic said that it would contest that claim in court. The company said talks with the Pentagon broke down after it set two conditions for the use of Claude in military applications: no mass domestic surveillance and no use for fully autonomous weapons. Why did Anthropic's talks with Pentagon fail? In an internal memo to the staff, Amodei reportedly described the reason why the talks with the Pentagon broke down, saying, Near the end of the negotiation the [department] offered to accept our current terms if we deleted a specific phrase about analysis of bulk acquired data, which was the single line in the contract that exactly matched this scenario we were most worried about. We found that very suspicious. Amodei also noted that Anthropic has been frozen out of the discussions because we havent given dictator-style praise to Trump. The Anthropic CEO also claimed that much of the messaging by the Pentagon and OpenAI was just straight up lies about these issues or tries to confuse them. Anthropic signed a $200 million contract with the US government last year for the deployment of its AI models in classified settings, becoming the first company to do so. However, last week, US President Donald Trump lashed out at the company for what he termed selfish behaviour and went on to blacklist the AI startup from the federal government. The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY, Trump wrote. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called out OpenAI's messaging regarding the Pentagon deal to power its classified work. Notably, OpenAI announced its deal with the US government last week, just hours after its rival, Anthropic, was blacklisted by the US government. Even CEO Sam Altman had gone on to admit that the timing of OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon looked opportunistic and sloppy and later regretted the timing of the announcement. Altman has also spent the last few days explaining the Pentagon deal, stating that OpenAI's deal with the government has more safeguards in place than its deal with Anthropic. However, Amodei isn't buying that explanation as he wrote a memo to his staff calling OpenAI's messaging straight up lies and that Altman is falsely presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker. The memo has not yet been released to the public and was reported by The Information. Amodei also went on to call OpenAI's dealings with the DoD safety theatre. The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoDs deal], and we did not, is that they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses, Amodei said. I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAIs deal with the DoD as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (were #2 in the App Store now!), Amodei wrote. It is working on some Twitter morons, which doesnt matter, but my main worry is how to make sure it doesnt work on OpenAI employees, he further added. Anthropic's rising popularity: Notably, shortly after the deal was announced, ChatGPT saw public backlash from users who threatened to end their OpenAI subscriptions in favour of Anthropic. In fact, Anthropic's Claude even dethroned ChatGPT in the App Store rankings across various countries, becoming the number 1 free app. As per another TechCrunch report citing market intelligence provider Sensor Tower data, ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295% day over day on Saturday, a day after the DoD deal was announced. Hotel ownership company Samhi Hotels Ltd, which operates hotels under multiple brands such as Marriott International and IHG, aims to more than double its topline to 3,000 crore over the next few years. The hotel owner has expanded its portfolio across key Indian cities and is now making a strategic investment in the boutique hospitality platform Rare India, its chairman and managing director, Ashish Jakhanwala, said, speaking exclusively to Mint. Rare curates and promotes experiential, boutique, and owner-led hotels across the Indian subcontinent. Samhi's chairperson said will its next phase of growth will come from a mix of new inventory in markets such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru, as well as steady growth at existing properties. We are gunning for at least a 3,000 crore topline from our current 1,200 crore, Jakhanwala said. Thats largely on account of the new inventory that we will add in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, among others. We will continue to hope for 9-10% same-store growth as the inventory comes into play. Key Takeaways Samhi targets 3,000 crore revenue by doubling inventory in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The FY25 profit of 85.5 crore marks a successful recovery from previous losses. The revenue mix will shift to 65% upscale following new hotel openings in the near future. Rare India acquisition provides a low-risk entry into high-margin boutique leisure. Marriott Bonvoy integration will scale Rare Indias independent, high-value boutique hotel network. Samhi owns a diversified portfolio across different hotel segments. Its portfolio currently includes about 7,500 rooms, with 2,000 in the mid-scale category, roughly another 2,000 in the upper mid-scale segment, and around 2,400 in upscale and upper upscale hotels (5-star hotels). The mid-scale category typically corresponds to 3-star hotels that offer essential services and moderate pricing. Upper mid-scale hotels usually fall in the four-star bracket, offering larger rooms, better amenities and stronger brand positioning. Expansion after profit pivot At present, about 45% of Samhis revenues come from upscale properties, while the remaining 55% come from the broader mid-scale category, which includes brands such as Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield by Marriott. That mix will tilt further towards upscale hotels as new properties open. When our W and Westin hotels open, this will shift to upscale being 65% and mid-scale being close to 35%, Jakhanwala said. Samhis expansion plans come after a sharp improvement in its financial performance. In FY25, the company reported a profit after tax of 85.5 crore, compared with a net loss of 338.6 crore in FY24. The improvement reflects stronger hotel demand, improved occupancy and better operating performance across its portfolio. Jakhanwala said domestic travel demand has remained resilient despite periodic disruptions such as monsoon-related travel interruptions or airline operational issues. Domestic demand is extremely strong, he said. Even with all of these disruptions, the worst quarter we had was about 9-10% year-on-year growth in same-store revenues. That performance broadly aligns with Samhis long-term guidance of 9-11% same-store growth. Its bet on Rare India, the platform that represents independent experiential hotels, will be a larger play with Marriott's distribution platform, Bonvoy marketing these hotels on its own platform. Samhi has acquired a 70% stake in Rare India with a total investment of roughly 45 crore, including about 30 crore upfront. The companys founder, Shoba Mohan, will retain the remaining stake. Hotels in neighbouring countries Rare is a 23-year-old company with about 70 hotels across 15 states, Nepal and Bhutan, and the quality of the properties is truly rare," he added. Rare's network includes roughly 1,000 rooms across boutique properties located in destinations ranging from wildlife reserves and mountain retreats to heritage locations. Samhi plans to transform Rare from a representation platform into a broader brand and distribution platform for independent boutique hotels. Rare will sign an affiliation agreement with Marriott International, granting it exclusive rights in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan to onboard properties to Marriotts Outdoor-Collection on its loyalty platform. Many of the hotels represented by Rare already command premium room rates, with around 60% selling at more than 25,000 a night. He said Samhi's investment in this company is also intended to help it understand the rapidly growing leisure hospitality segment before committing large amounts of capital to building resorts. The company has historically focused on city hotels catering largely to business travellers. We were not convinced about investing in big-box leisure hotels, Jakhanwala said, noting that demand in leisure destinations can fluctuate quickly depending on travel trends. Instead, the company prefers smaller, experience-led properties that focus on unique locations and curated stays. There is a complete shift globally where smaller experience-led hotels are breaking price barriers, he said. Looking to learn The Rare platform will allow Samhi to observe customer behaviour, pricing patterns and operating dynamics across boutique leisure properties, he added. On these lines in 2023, hotel major Hyatt announced that it had acquired travel platform Mr & Mrs Smith for 53 million to boost its luxury leisure portfolio, adding over 1,500 boutique hotels and a loyalty network. Also Read | Loyalty pivot: How hotels are cashing in on repeat guests amid high occupancy (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon said it has formally notified Anthropic PBC that its determined the company and its products pose a risk to the US supply chain, according to a senior defense official, escalating a dispute over artificial intelligence safeguards. DOW officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply chain risk, effective immediately, the official told Bloomberg News on Thursday, using an acronym for the Department of War, the name that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth now favors for the Department of Defense. Spokespeople for Anthropic had no immediate comment. The defense official didnt say when or by what means the Pentagon informed the company. Anthropic has previously vowed to challenge in court any supply-chain risk designation by the Pentagon. The Pentagons finding threatens to disrupt both the company and the military, which has relied heavily on Anthropics software. Until recently, Anthropic provided the only AI system that could operate in the Pentagons classified cloud. Its Claude Gov tool has become a favored option among defense personnel for its ease of use. Its a good capability and removing it is going to be painful for all involved, said Lauren Kahn, a senior research analyst at Georgetown Universitys Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei had been negotiating for weeks with Emil Michael, under-secretary of defense for research and engineering, to hammer out a contract governing the Pentagons access to Anthropics technology. But talks broke down last week after the startup demanded assurances that its AI wouldnt be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous weapons deployment. Hegseth then declared Friday in a post on X that Anthropic posed a supply-chain risk, a designation typically reserved for US adversaries. It wasnt immediately clear what authority the Pentagon was using to classify the company as a supply-chain threat. In its statement last week responding to Hegseths social-media post, Anthropic indicated that it expected the move to be eventually carried out via section 3252 of the law governing the US armed forces. From the very beginning, this has been about one fundamental principle: the military being able to use technology for all lawful purposes, the defense official said Thursday. The military will not allow a vendor to insert itself into the chain of command by restricting the lawful use of a critical capability and put our warfighters at risk. The move comes as the US military is relying on Claude in its Iran campaign, where American armed forces are turning to a range of AI tools to quickly manage enormous amounts of data for their operations. Maven Smart System, produced by Palantir Technologies Inc. and widely used by military operators in the Middle East, counts Anthropics Claude AI tool among the large language models installed on the system, according to people familiar with the matter, who said Claude is working well and has become central to US operations against Iran and to accelerating Mavens AI efforts. Now valued at $380 billion, Anthropic is on track to generate annual revenue of almost $20 billion, a projection based on current performance, more than doubling its run rate from late last year. The Pentagon dispute, however, has muddied the outlook for the company. Any long-term impact from the Pentagons declaration on Anthropics sales to enterprise customers which has long been its core business remains to be seen. In the meantime, its gaining traction with everyday users. Anthropics main app recently topped Apple Inc.s download charts, reflecting a surge of support for the company. --With assistance from Maggie Eastland, Jen Judson and Shirin Ghaffary. (Updates with new headline, more detail starting in fourth paragraph) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com The owner of a newly-sold $51 million waterfront mansion in Miami reportedly has ties to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is rumoured to be the property's new owner. If confirmed, it would mean that four of the five richest people in the world now own homes within 20 square miles in Miami, which is becoming a hotspot for billionaires. Is Sergey Brin buying a home in Miami? In February, the New York Post reported that Brin had made an offer on an off-market waterfront property on Allison Island in Miami's Biscayne Bay, though the offer had not gone through at the time. Now, a sale has indeed occurred. According to Business Insider, the $51 million sale of the Allison Island property was carried out by Lagoon LLC, a corporation registered at a Reno, Nevada address, with attorney Michaelle Rafferty listed as one of its officers. Although Brin's name is nowhere close to the deal, the publication reported that both Rafferty and the Reno address appear on previous real estate purchases linked to the Google co-founder. Also Read | Amazon lays off workers in robotics division, says report Alpine Bay LLC, which owns a Lake Tahoe property reportedly bought by Brin, is registered to the same Reno address, while Christine Wade, a lawyer used by Brin for other property transactions, is listed as one of Alpine Bay's officers. Business Insider also reported that another Malibu property linked to the Google co-founder is owned by Dume Cove LLC, which was converted out of California in December last year by Wade. Subsequently, Dume Cove LLC was incorporated in Nevada with Rafferty as its manager. Given the links, the new owner of the Allison Island property could well be Brin. Representatives for the Google co-founder or the firm involved have yet to comment on the deal. Exodus to Miami? If Brin turns out to be the owner of the newly sold mansion, he will join the likes of Google co-founder Larry Page, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg to own a home in Miami, all within 20 miles of each other. The only one among the world's top five wealthiest who does not yet own a home in Miami is Elon Musk, the richest person in the world. So why are tech titans moving to Miami? Business Insider reported that the rush amid California-based tech billionaires to purchase property in Florida comes amid a proposed wealth tax in the western state that, if passed, would subject residents with a net worth of over $1 billion to a one-time 5% tax on their wealth. This influx of billionaires has also driven up luxury real estate prices in Miami Beach, including places like Indian Creek and Coconut Grove. The two aforementioned places made the news of late as well. Business Insider reported that Google co-founder Larry Page has spent over $180 million since December purchasing three properties in Coconut Grove and moving several companies out of California. Then, this week on Monday, Bloomberg reported that Meta chief Zuckerberg paid a whopping $170 million for a single property on Indian Creek Island. The Indian government does not plan to ration petrol and diesel, as sufficient stocks remain to meet requirements, ANI reported on Thursday, 5 March, citing people aware of the development. It further noted that Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will declare force majeure to secure gas supply for priority sectors, as India faces energy challenges arising from the escalating West Asia conflict. The news portal reported that the decision follows Qatar Energy's declaration of force majeure on Wednesday. Force majeure is a contractual clause invoked when unforeseen circumstances hinder a party from fulfilling its obligations. It protects the party from penalties and potential breach of contract claims from clients. Qatar supplies 20% of global LNG and is a vital partner for India, providing 60 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas out of the country's total 195 mmscmd imports. According to the report, Australia and Canada have proposed selling gas to India amid the growing West Asia conflict, as the country seeks alternative energy sources. The government is exploring new markets for gas imports, currently sourcing 195 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), with Qatar providing 60 million mmscmd. Talks with major oil producers India is in discussions with major oil producers and traders to purchase crude oil and LPG. The report said that the government is engaging with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). India is also negotiating with the US to obtain insurance for ships. The country recently entered into new agreements with the UAE and the US to broaden its energy sources. The report said that India reviews the energy situation twice daily and remains in a very secure position. India's current stock levels are also considered comfortable, with stock being replenished daily. No shortage Additionally, there is no shortage of LPG or LNG as well as crude oil, in the world. The sources noted that India is in touch with other suppliers as well. Amid West Asian turmoil, government sources on Tuesday told the news portal that India holds crude oil and petroleum product inventories for eight weeks, including strategic reserves. Additionally, only about 40% of India's crude oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, thereby substantially reducing the risk of regional disruptions affecting supplies, it added. State-run natural gas supplier Gail (India) Ltd is weighing curtailing the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its downstream consumers, as the US-Israeli attack on Iran has crippled crucial energy supplies in West Asia, it said in an exchange filing on Thursday. Gail is currently assessing the situation with respect to any supply curtailment that may need to be imposed on its downstream customers, the filing said. This comes only a day after Gails supplier QatarEnergy declared a force majeure on all its contracts, indicating that it will not be able to supply resources to buyers due to unforeseen circumstances. Also Read | If India starts performing, underweight investors may fuel the rally Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of LNG and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared force majeure to its affected buyers, said its 4 March post on X. Similarly, Petronet LNG Ltd, another supplier to Gail, also declared force majeure on 3 March due to disruptions in West Asia. ...one of Gails long-term suppliers, Petronet LNG Ltd, has issued a force majeure notice on 3 March 2026 under its gas sale and purchase agreement. The notice has been served due to constraints faced by certain LNG vessels arising from maritime navigation restrictions related to the Strait of Hormuz during transit between India and Qatar, and possibly due to the reported shutdown of the liquefaction facility at Ras Laffan, Gail said in the filing. QatarEnergy has a long-term sales contract with Petronet for 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, of which 60% is delivered to Gail after regasification. The remaining 40% is split between Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (30%) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (10%). Petronets LNG facility in Dahej, Gujarat, supplies LNG to GailIL after regasification. Gail clarified to investors that its LNG supplies from other sources were not impacted. Also Read | OMCs under pressure as peak earnings meet rising geopolitical tail risks Energy infrastructure hit Gails statement comes amid an Iran-forced blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for about a fifth of all LNG trade in the world, primarily from Qatar. The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, leading to the Arabian Sea. India imports about 55% of its gas requirement, and has an LNG stock of 21 days, Mint reported on 4 March. India's natural gas imports stood at $14.9 billion in 2024-25, according to data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), of which Qatars share was about 50%. According to government data, natural gas accounts for about 7% of Indias energy basket, and the government aims to take it to 15% by 2030. Also Read | All eyes on oil stockpile as war throws a spanner in supply chain The US and Israel attacked Iran and eliminated the head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on 28 February, over Iran's potential development of nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated by targeting bases of the US and its allies in the region, putting crucial energy infrastructure at risk. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to make another move in his long political career. The Janata Dal United Chief and ten-time chief minister of Bihar will file nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha today, according to reports in multiple news agencies. With his nomination, the chief minister's seat will be vacated, and Bihar will have a new chief minister months after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a landslide victory in the state's assembly elections. The election process has already begun, with notifications issued on 26 February. The last date for filing nominations is today, 5 March, while scrutiny will be conducted on 6 March. Candidates may withdraw their nominations until 9 March. When do we know? So we may know officially what happens next in Bihar today only, whether Nitish Kumar files nomination for Rajya Sabha or not. Elections to five Rajya Sabha seats are due in Bihar. While the JD(U) holds two of these Rajya Sabha seats, the BJP is expected to contest on two seats. BJP has nominated its national president Nitin Nabin from Bihar. Kumar may file his nomination papers at the state assembly around 11 am, news agency PTI said. BJP president Nitin Nabin will also file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to be present at the time of filing of the nomination papers. State minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary confirmed on Wednesday that Kumar was considering entering the Rajya Sabha, which would bring to an end his tenure as the state's longest-serving chief minister. A BJP leader is expected to replace Kumar as chief minister. BJP single-largest party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory, securing 202 of the 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), which secured just 35 seats. Nitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time. For the first time, the BJP became the single-largest party in the Bihar assembly with 89 seats, followed by the JD (U) with 85 seats. Longest-Serving CM Kumar, 75, has been Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister, having taken oath a record 10 times. He has been in the CM's post since 2015, except for the brief period when Jitan Ram Manjhi - his close aide at the time -was the Chief Minister. Manjhi is now a minister at the Centre However, Union Minister Giriraj Singh refuted the speculations and said, "Such jokes are common on Holi. Nitish Kumar ji is our Chief Minister." Also Read | Nitish Kumar stepping down as Bihar CM? Here is what we know Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has also dismissed speculation of a leadership change in Bihar. Such jokes are common on Holi. Nitish Kumar ji is our Chief Minister. "There's no discussion on changing the Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar will continue to lead Bihar, and our double-engine government is working well," said the Union Minister. Who will be the next Bihar CM? Samrat Choudhary, one of the deputy chief ministers, has emerged as the probable chief minister of Bihar. Choudhary is one of the most senior BJP leaders from Bihar. He has been a Panchayati Raj Minister before holding the home affairs portfolio in Bihar, as well as in his second stint as deputy chief minister. Another name doing the rounds is Nityanand Rai, currently serving as the Minister of State for Home Affairs in Delhi. Before his stint with the Centre, Rai served as the BJP president for Bihar and is a four-time MLA from Hajipur. In 2015, Rai won a parliamentary ticket and served as an MP from Ujiarpur. What about Nitish Kumar's son? Reports have emerged that Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, will be inducted into the Bihar cabinet too after he joins the party today. Some reports suggest he might be the deputy chief minister. Vijay, the Tamil superstar and chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), recently made an appearance at a wedding event held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 5 March. His presence at the ceremony is trending online, especially considering that his wife, Sangeetha Sornalingam, recently filed a divorce petition against him after 27 years of marriage. What further fuelled the buzz was Vijays appearance at the event alongside actor Trisha Krishnan. A video showing the two arriving at the venue has been widely shared on social media. Viral video sparks online discussion In the circulating clip, both Vijay and Trisha are seen dressed in traditional attire. Vijay appears holding a bouquet while Trisha walks behind him as they step out of a car before entering the venue. Also Read | TVK chief Vijay addresses Jana Nayagan release concerns The two reportedly attended the wedding reception of the son of Kalpathi Suresh and Meenakshi. The Kalpathi family is known for its involvement in film production and distribution. Netizens react to the clip Soon after the video surfaced online, it triggered a wave of reactions from social media users. One user wrote, Whaaaaaatttttttt? Is this really happening ????????? After all these incidents??????? Are they doing it purposely????" Another user commented, He is a complete fool." Several others also shared messages expressing disappointment over his appearance with Trisha. Another asked: Is Vijay Thalapathy and Trisha's relationship official? Some question authenticity of the video At the same time, a section of users raised doubts about whether the clip was genuine. Some suggested that it might have been created using artificial intelligence. One user wrote, Many are saying its ai video and I also think that please verify." Another asked, Is this reyaaaaal?" However, the authenticity of the video could not be independently verified by Mint. Details of the divorce petition Meanwhile, according to reports, Sangeetha has alleged in her petition that Vijay was involved in an extramarital relationship with a female actor. The filing claims that she became aware of the alleged relationship in 2021. The petition further states that although Vijay had assured her that the relationship would end, it reportedly continued without any indication of regret. Reports suggest that the matter is currently being heard in a district court, and a final decision is still pending. Vijay and Sangeetha got married in August 1999 and have two children together Jason Sanjay and Divya Shasha. Recently, reports also suggested that Jason Sanjay may have unfollowed his father on social media amid the ongoing dispute between his parents. However, some users online have pointed out that he might not have been following Vijays account earlier, leaving the situation unclear. Who is Trisha Krishnan? Trisha Krishnan is considered to be one of the most popular actresses in South Indian films. Not only in Tamil cinema industry but in the other South Indian cinema industries like Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, she has worked with a host of top actors in the film industry. Trisha started her movie journey with the 1999 movie Jodi. However, she rose to prominence after featuring in Varsham (2004) alongside Prabhas (ETimes. The film received a lot of positive response and made sure to make a name for her in the industry. Trisha has starring roles in several successful movies following the success of Varsham. Some of her well known works continued to be Ghilli, Saamy, Aaru, Varsham, Aayutha Ezhuthu, Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule, Kodi, Abhiyum Naanum, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Ponniyin Selvan: I. As global economies realign around technology, sustainability and new models of work, universities are being called upon to do far more than award degrees. They are expected to shape future-ready leaders, build cross-border research ecosystems and strengthen economic ties. It was against this backdrop that Professor Pawan Budhwar of Aston University and Professor Mark Lee of the University of Birmingham visited Mumbai as part of a high-level delegation from the UKs West Midlands region. Their visit, which spanned Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru, was designed to explore trade, foreign direct investment and, crucially, deeper higher education collaborations between India and the UK. We are part of the West Midlands Mayors mission visiting Indias three cities over six days, said Professor Budhwar. The whole idea is to explore and create opportunities for trade, for higher education institutions and to facilitate initiatives that can be materialised at both ends. India at the Core of International Strategy View full Image View full Image IndiaUK Academic Ties Deepen as Universities Bet Big on Future Skills and Research For both universities, India is not a peripheral engagement but central to their global strategies. Professor Budhwar, the 50th Anniversary Professor of International HRM at Aston Business School, emphasised that internationalisation sits at the heart of Astons 2030 strategy. Given developments in geopolitics and the way skills are being shaped globally, India is a key place for us, he said. Astons international approach includes building delivery hubs abroad, including Singapore and Dubai, while expanding strategic partnerships in India. But the focus, he stressed, is not on superficial agreements. Our belief is in medium- to long-term, strategic and deeper partnerships, he explained. When we say deeper, we mean across students, staff, research, industry engagement and policy. It must be win-win. Professor Lee echoed the sentiment. Any global university needs to engage India, the fastest-moving economy and the largest population in the world. Global education must include India. He added that engagement must flow both ways. It is not just about Indian students coming to the UK, but also UK students coming to India and exploring this country as a future leader of the world. Strategic Partnerships: Beyond Memorandums View full Image View full Image Strategic Partnerships: Beyond Memorandums During the visit, Aston signed memorandums of understanding with XLRI and the All India Management Association. Explaining the rationale, Professor Budhwar pointed to XLRIs stature as one of Indias oldest business schools with a strong alumni network across global corporations. We are starting with student-related activities, like dual degrees and progression pathways, but the intention is to move into executive education and industry engagement. The partnership with the All India Management Association will initially focus on international immersion programmes, bringing Indian executives to Aston. Over time, it could expand into executive education and doctoral programmes such as a Doctorate of Business Administration. The approach reflects a broader strategy: beginning at the institutional level but scaling collaborations regionally and nationally. Meanwhile, the University of Birmingham has strengthened its long-term engagement with IIT Madras. Our partnerships are based around mutual respect and long-term strategy, said Professor Lee. We looked at IIT Madrass research profile. It aligned with ours. The collaboration includes joint masters programmes, beginning with an MSc in Data Science and AI, co-designed curricula and seed funding for joint research. Faculty exchanges and co-delivered teaching ensure the relationship goes far beyond a student mobility arrangement. Its about real partnership with real deliverables in both research and education, he added. AI, Digitalisation and the Future of Work Artificial intelligence and digitalisation were recurring themes in the discussion, but neither academic sees India as lagging. I dont think India is lacking, said Professor Lee. India has huge potential in students and in appetite for AI engagement. He emphasised knowledge exchange and joint research as critical to shaping the next five years of AI-driven transformation. We need to work together to make sure we are ready for the future, and that our students are equipped for the future workplace. At Aston, digitalisation is embedded across disciplines. The university is the first in the UK to be designated an Adobe Creative Campus, reflecting its push toward digital literacy. Professor Budhwar highlighted power skills, like intercultural understanding, environmental awareness, entrepreneurial thinking, alongside digital capabilities. We want all our students, irrespective of discipline, to be digitally literate, he said. Research also plays a central role. From clean water to waste management, Astons India-linked research grants aim to tackle global challenges while enriching teaching with cutting-edge insights. Scholarships and Access The University of Birmingham recently launched a 1 million Future Skills Scholarship dedicated to Indian students, offering awards of up to 125,000 per student in areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, clean energy and business. This is our commitment to India, Professor Lee said. We think India is the future leader in many areas. His message to prospective students was direct: Please apply. We want you to come to Birmingham, thrive and be equipped for the future of work. A Transformational Student Experience Both professors underscored that students are the ultimate beneficiaries of these partnerships. Professor Budhwar described Astons philosophy in three words: inclusiveness, entrepreneurial and transformational. We want students to have a very positive, transformational experience and be ready to face challenges, not only in organisations but in society, he said. Aston has offered placement years for undergraduates for over four decades and has introduced guaranteed internships for international postgraduate students. It also provides extensive support for startups through a dedicated business hub. Professor Lee framed the universitys role in the 21st century more broadly. Its not just about information. It is about wide education, including developing character, employability skills, soft skills, and being equipped to deal with the latest technologies. He encouraged Indian students to adopt three qualities: ambition, curiosity and optimism. You need to challenge yourself, explore things you may not have considered before, and remain optimistic. We are moving in a fast-changing world, but its a very positive world. Learning Never Stops, Even for Professors In a world defined by rapid change, educators must continuously adapt. For Professor Budhwar, the key lies in flexibility and collaboration. He continues active research in AI, sustainability and diaspora contributions while embracing what he calls reverse mentoring, which refers to learning from younger faculty members. I openly tell them, You are my mentors. We need to evolve together. Professor Lee agreed that staying relevant in artificial intelligence requires constant engagement with students. Students devour new information and technologies. For me to be authentic as a teacher, I need to keep up with them. In the end, the conversation returned to a simple yet enduring truth: learning does not age. As India and the UK deepen academic and research ties, their universities are positioning themselves not merely as educators, but as architects of a shared, future-ready ecosystem. In Professor Lees words, the future is fast-moving, but it is also filled with exciting possibilities. Note to readers: This article is part of Mints paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy. Tehran managed to shoot more than 500 missiles at Israel, at U.S. bases and at other targets in the Persian Gulf region, since the conflict began this past Saturday, although many have been intercepted, according to governments in the region. There have been fewer large salvos since the first days of the conflict, a sign that the U.S.-Israeli attacks are degrading Tehrans ability to strike back. Lockheed Martins entire 2025 U.S. output of its most advanced interceptor, the PAC-3, was just over 600. At least two Patriot interceptors are typically required to destroy a single ballistic missileoften followed by a third or more if the first pair fail. Production of a single, multimillion-dollar interceptor is limited and can take months, with components coming from across the U.S. and as far afield as Spain. Merzs approach is firmly in the pragmatic camp. Ever since World War II, Germany has been one of the biggest advocates of the international rules-based order. But the realization is sinking inafter Russias invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranthat the worlds major powers arent going to be constrained by international law. Merzs message is that Germany has to take the world as it finds it, not as it wishes it to be, and look after its own interests. We are seeing a clear move toward mechanical watches among younger consumers. For many of them, it is not just about telling time but about owning a piece of craftsmanship, said Mahendra Chauhan, head of design at Titan, in an interview. Watches are not priced based on component cost alone; they are priced on the emotional engagement they create. Core industrial sectors such as chemicals, which are responsible for more than 50% of the industrial power demand, have not really caught up on their renewable power purchase obligations. They have to now meet their obligations by purchasing RECs, Kartikeya Sharma, co-founder and chief business officer at independent power producer Sunsure, said at an industry event on Thursday. Some proposals from states and some PSUs have started to come in, but the government is currently handholding them to firm up these proposals, and we will look to disburse the full budget allocated towards EV chargers in this fiscal, one person said, requesting anonymity. The second person, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said oil marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petrol Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have also approached the government with proposals for EV charging subsidies. The discussions have centred around finding the most appropriate locations for EV chargers, since grid connectivity and location-specific demand vary across regions, impacting viability of the EV chargers, the second person said, adding that the allocation towards EV chargers under this scheme for FY26 was 80 crore, as per the revised estimates, a figure not made public. US -Iran war: Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Thursday, extending their rally as the escalating USIsraeli conflict with Iran disrupted crude flows to key importers. Brent crude climbed $2.65, or 3.26%, to $83.99 per barrel, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.76, or 3.70%, to $77.42. Crude markets have remained on edge amid persistent supply risks following the Middle East attacks, with particular concern focused on the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. What's behind the oil price rally? Iran continued firing missiles at Israel early Thursday, forcing millions of residents to take shelter in bunkers as the conflict entered its sixth day. The attack came only hours after efforts in Washington to stop the ongoing US air assault were blocked. According to a Reuters report, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 people dead, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, NATO air defence systems intercepted and destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile that was launched toward Turkey. Iranian forces have also targeted oil tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were reported near a tanker off the coast of Kuwait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. The latest escalation occurred as the influential son of Irans slain supreme leader emerged as a top candidate to replace him, signalling that Tehran is unlikely to yield to pressure. The development comes five days after the US and Israel began a military campaign that has killed hundreds and shaken global markets. Officials were quoted as saying by Reuters that Iraq, which is the second-largest crude producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has reduced its oil output by almost 1.5 million barrels per day due to limited storage capacity and the absence of an export route. According to Bloomberg, further reports suggest that the Chinese government has instructed its largest refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, reflecting efforts to prioritise domestic demand as the crisis deepens. Bloomberg also reported that earlier this week, a major Indian processor told customers it would halt product exports, while Japanese refiners have asked their government to release oil from strategic petroleum reserves, indicating the direness of the situation. Crude oil prices outlook Shriram Wealth said in a note that a steep rise in crude oil prices is less likely to continue, given the US mid-term elections later this year. It expects crude oil prices are expected to move back towards USD $70/barrel, on the easing of tensions in the Middle East. The scope of this conflict appears worse, with ongoing tensions likely to be longer than the 12-day war in Jun following retaliation by Iran across strategic locations. However, tensions could ease over the next five to six weeks. Markets will be watching any intervention from Russia and China, considering that a sizeable portion of Chinas imported crude oil moves via the Strait of Hormuz, and they would be keen to cap oil prices and normalise logisticsthis hope is reflected in the relatively less dramatic market reaction across indicators, the wealth management firm said in the note. On the other hand, other brokerages are expecting crude oil prices to jump to $90-$100 per barrel. Brokerage firm JM Financial said in a report that upside risk to crude price exists and it can easily jump to $90100/bbl in the near term, if Iran can block the key Strait of Hormuz for a prolonged period (though that is a low-probability event based on historical precedents of past wars). Irans current crude output is ~3.5mmbpd, of which it exports 1.52mmbpd (almost 90% to China). Though the US is unlikely to damage Irans oil & gas assets, any disruption to Irans crude exports of 1.5-2mmbpd can be absorbed in a well-supplied oil market given likely: i) oversupply of ~3.7mmbpd in CY26; and ii) 12mmbpd of spare capacity with Saudi Arabia, the firm said. (With inputs from agencies) Q: Can you give a fair comparison between Western-style democracy and the Chinese government model? A: First, the origins are different. The Western democracy originated from capitalism. The commercial capitalists of the port cities of the Hanseatic League wanted to govern their own port cities without the monarchy's interference. They requested sovereignty, the right to have their own power of legislature, and a police force. This form of government of the city council is the origin of Western democracy. It was the result of capitalism against feudalism. Chinese capitalists wanted to follow the West, too. They had the Hundred Days Reform in 1898, hoping to establish a British-style constitutional monarchy, but they failed. They had the Xinhai Revolution, hoping to establish an American style of republic, but they failed again. They failed because China was dominated by foreign imperialists. What they requested from the monarch was not there. The monarch had no control. The Chinese politics and economy were dominated by foreign imperialist powers. Instead of requesting sovereignty from the monarchs, they have to fight the imperialists to get independence. Yet the Chinese national capitalists were weak. They relied on the world market dominated by the Western powers. So China needed a New Democratic Revolution. Thats the democratic revolution led by the Communist Party of China. The Chinese democracy originated from the revolution of the bourgeoisie against foreign powers. Second, competitive vs consultative. The Western democracy aimed to arbitrate domestic conflicts of interest. It provides a peaceful process in which everyone tries to maximse his own interest. It is a competitive democracy. We observe the election campaigns when parties compete with each other. Parties compete for their own agenda in the congress. For the Chinese, the largest conflict of interest is not among the different groups of society. It is the Chinese people against foreign powers. The Chinese democracy was established and evolved during the Chinese Peoples War against the Japanese Invasion. During the anti-Japanese War, the Communist Party of China established the Peoples Democratic Government of Anti-Japanese-Invasion. That democracy was to unite the people of all walks to fight the Japanese occupation. So the system is not competitive, but consultative, to reach consensus. The Chinese people could not win the Anti-Japanese-Invasion War without the consolidation. The interest of the Chinese people as a whole was more important than the interest of each individual. China, as a country, had a survival problem. Without the survival of China, every Chinese person might be killed. Look what happened to the indigenous people in North America. They were massacred. Their civilizations were wiped out, and their culture was genocided. China is today the largest country covered by indigenous people, thanks to its consultative democracy. The consultative democracy saved the Chinese people from being annihilated. The Chinese people kept their culture and civilization, and avoided the miserable fate of the American indigenous people. What are the official languages in Africa? English or French. Whats the official language of India and Singapore? English. What are the official languages of the American countries? English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. In China, the official language is indegenours language, thanks to the Chinese consultative democracy. Third, the fundamental difference in philosophy. The Western democracy is built on the philosophy of Christianity, which considers humans incapable of being good. So the Western democracy relies on process and division of power. The system enshrines the process as the ultimate sacredness, ignoring the end result. The end result can never be good anyway, as humans are inherently sinful, according to Christianity. They consider the democratic government is an nessarry evil but a lesser evil. The Chinese democracy is built on Confucianism, which considers humans inherently good. The philosophy believes in a good government and a government that can deliver good. The Chinese political culture emphasize on a good leader who is capable and has merits. The best merit of the leader is that he can tell who is good and uses many good people. Thats the Chinese democracy system. The leader and all officials are expected be good, both morally and in terms of capability. In reality, it is impossible to have every official to be good, but the mechanism in the Chinese democracy is to promote the best people, with integrity of moral, into the government. The carders are selected from the grassroots. Are there people who know the community well, are connected to the community, and serve the community altruistically? If the government found such a person, it would promote him or her to some government position. If he can diliver result and not be corrupted by power, then he can be promoted gradually to higher and higher positions in the government. Take Xi Jinping, for example. He worked in a remote, poor countryside for 6 years and became a grassroots cadre from 1969 to 1975. Then he was promoted to a staff member in the central government in Beijing for 3 years from 1979 to 1982. He was promoted as a county cadre from 1982 to 1985. He was promoted to a city cadre from 1985 to 1988. He was promoted to a regional cadre from 1988 to 1990. He was demoted to a city cadre from 1990 to 1993. He was promoted as a provincial cadre from 1993 to 2007. Then he was promoted to the Central Government in 2007. He became the Country Leader in 2012. The selection process took 43 years. The chance of passing this selection process is less than one out of ten-thousand. The Chinese government officials are said to have an average IQ of 140. It is not like Trump, who was a rookie in politics and became president within two years of the election campaign. Fourth, every four years vs the whole process. The Chinese democracy is a whole process democracy. It means that democracy is a form of the daily government. If there are problems, the government responds and fixes them. The government may even figure out what the problem is and fix it before you realize. Some issues affect your life but have to be addressed nationally or in large scale, such as the infrastructure. It prevent problem from emerging and fixes the new problem at the earliest sign. You are a good governor of a province if that province has fewer problems. In Western democracies, you have the freedom of speech. The government hears your voice but does not respond. Or respond orally but never solve the problem. The Congress passes bills to address the problem, but the execution delivers no results or even negtive result. One example is that Ontario once had a program to elevate students Math score. An extra amount of money was expensed, and the math score was even lower. You can have the freedom of speech, you can protest, and you have only one ballot to cast to change it every four years. But when the election comes, you may be in favor of one candidate on one or two issues and another candidate on other issues. No candidate can have a platform that satisfies all your concerns. Once you cast your ballot, you lose all your control. Politicians eat their promises. Fifth, interest vs responsibility. In the Western political culture, power is for interest. In Chinese political culture, power means responsibility. When in power, you have many public resources at your discretion. You distribute the public resources for the interest of a group or take responsibility to maximize the public good; thats one of the key differences. In Confucianism, a monarch is responsible for the people of his country, just like fathter and mother are responsible for their children in a household. Mengzi said, "The people are paramount, the state is secondary, and the ruler is the least important." A governor of a county was called the parental officer of the county. ( The US government can make a wrong decision, spend a huge amount of tax money, and no one takes any responsibility. For example, the US occupied Afghanistan for 20 years, wasted many American lives and tax money, replacing the Taliban with the Taliban. No single politician was responsible for the waste. Not even a policy analysis to ask the question of why the policy failed. The think tank produces a lot of strategies to win the next war, but no one studies to have a conclusive analysis of why the previous wars were lost. So the US has perpetual wars, exhausted its coffers, and accumulated government debt. They spend the tax money, and no one is responsible for the wrong use of the money. When the governent spend money, some contractor benefits. So the US has a lobby industry, shaping the government policy for the interests of some interest group. If it is public power serving interest groups, it is corruption. The Western democracy takes the politicians off the hook. Every policy sounds like something the voters endorsed. It is the choice of the voters. Thats democracy. If the policy failed, it is the responsibility of the voters, not the politicians. If you are in power, you have all the information. You are supposed to know and understand the issue deeper than average citizens. Citizens are bussy to make life, so they elected you to take care of them. Yet you put the policy on the web and are asking counsultation. Sending out a questionnaire to every constituency, assuming every citizen is more preferential in every issue than the government. And the government pays a commercial consultancy to do the policy research. Politicians are sealing every legal hole that may hold them accountable. They can even resort to a referendum, like Brexit. Are Britain's better off or worse off after Brexit? The government is working daily to deal with business with the EU, and has more information than everage citizen, so why do citizens need to make such a crucial decision by the citizens? Estimates from multiple studies indicate that by 2025, UK GDP will be 6-8% lower than it would have been without Brexit, equivalent to a loss of around 2,300-4,000 per household annually. Business investment is estimated to be 12-18% lower than in comparable countries, while productivity and employment are each down 3-4%. This is a miracle of the Western democracy. The 1% makes fortune from the government policy, and the other 99% living poorer and poorer. But it is tha 99% who made the decision. If they are homeless, thats their choice and their freedom. If they lost their job and are unemployed, thats their democracy and human rights. Every political slogan, like Brexit, will be finalized into a thousand pages of legal documents to take care of all the interest groups. Under Western democracy, you are equal and have all the human rights, but you can not afford the legal costs when it comes to protecting your constitutional rights. Sixth, profit vs people. Western countries are capitalist countries. Capital countries are, as the name suggests, for the capital. The Western democracy has a government of the capital, by the capital, and for the capital. It put private property as sacred. The more money you have, the more you can enjoy the Western democracy. China is a socialist country. Chinese democracy is a socialist democracy. Chinese democracy has a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The Chinese government takes responsibility for the Chinese people. The Western countries are developed countries. They enjoy a higher standard of living and consume more goods and resources. They have a colonial history and control more resources in the world. China is a developing country with limited resources. China uses 9% of the world's cultivable land to feed 18% of the world's population. Its GDP per capita is just a fraction of that of Western countries. Yet, under the Chinese democracy, the Chinese are happier because they have dignity and the sense of mastering their own fate. Omnitech Engineering Share Price Highlights: Omnitech Engineering made a weak stock market debut on Thursday, March 5, listing at a discount of around 11% to its IPO price, with shares opening at 202 on NSE and 205 on BSE against the issue price of 227, reflecting cautious investor sentiment. Omnitech Engineering share price ended listing day at 203.30 on NSE, a 10.44% discount to the IPO price of 227, and at 205.15 on BSE, a 9.63% discount. The initial public offering (IPO) for Omnitech Engineering Ltd, a company specializing in precision-engineered components, was available from February 25 to 27, with the allotment date for the IPO being March 2. Today, on March 5, marks the listing of the shares on both the BSE and NSE stock exchanges. A notice on the BSE stated that Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby notified that starting Thursday, March 5, 2026, the equity shares of Omnitech Engineering Limited will be listed and permitted for trading on the Exchange as part of the B Group of Securities. Additionally, trading members should be aware that shares of Omnitech Engineering will participate in the Special Pre-open Session (SPOS) on Thursday, March 5, 2026, and the stock will be available for trading beginning at 10:00 AM. Omnitech Engineering IPO GMP today is 0, which means shares are trading at their issue price of 227 with no premium or discount in the grey market, according to investorgain.com. (Stay tuned for more updates) Private companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy may increase auto fuel prices, but state-owned OMCs may not be allowed to do so easily, as it is a politically sensitive matter. If OMCs do not hike prices, auto fuel volumes could gain at the expense of CNG volumes. If CGDs absorb higher costs, then Nomura estimates IGL and MGLs Ebitda to drop 22% and 15%, respectively, for every 10% increase in imported gas costs. Both companies derive about 25% of their sales volume from piped natural gas (PNG) that competes with liquified petroleum gas (LPG). By Georgina McCartney HOUSTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped 5% on Thursday, extending a rally as the escalating U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupted supplies and shipping, driving some major producers in the Middle East to reduce output. Brent crude was up $4.09, or 5.02%, at $85.49 per barrel by 1:37 p.m. EST, a fifth session of gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $6, or 8.04%, to $80.66. U.S. crude futures hit their highest since July 2024 during the session. "There is no movement in the Strait of Hormuz so prices will grind higher, and with countries having to shut in production then we will be delayed even longer because it is not like you can just resume production at full strength, that will be a problem for a while," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Meanwhile, Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Axios quoted Trump as saying in an interview. "I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela," Trump said. Missile attacks hit eastern Tehran, Iran's ISNA news agency reported, and sirens rang in Dubai as war continued to spill over across the region. Crude oil supplies from Iraq and Kuwait could start shutting within days if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, potentially cutting 3.3 million barrels per day by day eight of the conflict, JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Around a fifth of global oil flows through the Strait. "Crude prices are going to be very sensitive to the Straits closure as eventually production in the exporting areas will slow and if this persists into next week, the eventual re-starting of production and re-vamping of shipping once the Strait is re-opened will also take time to get back online," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Iraq, the second-largest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has cut output by nearly 1.5 million bpd for lack of storage and an export route, officials told Reuters. Qatar, the biggest liquefied natural gas producer in the Gulf, declared force majeure on gas exports on Wednesday, with sources saying a return to normal production volumes may take at least a month. CONTINUED ATTACKS ON OIL TANKERS Attacks on oil tankers continued on Thursday in the Gulf, as the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe reported its hull was breached after a blast near Iraq's port of Khor al Zubair. Those attacks, along with Chinese measures to reduce fuel exports, pushed prices higher, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. The refined product market is also showing signs of stress due to missing Middle East exports, he added. Some oil refineries in the Middle East, China and India shut their crude units because of the raging conflict in the Middle East. As a result of a lower supply outlook in fuel markets, U.S. diesel futures jumped 10%, reaching just over $3.60 a gallon during the session. Around 300 oil tankers remained inside the Strait of Hormuz after vessel traffic in and out of the chokepoint nearly halted following the outbreak of war, according to ship tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler that excludes some of the smallest tankers. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the conflict entered its sixth day, and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. attacks were blocked in Washington. On Wednesday, a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing at least 80 people, and NATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey. For many non-resident Indians (NRIs), investing in India is an important part of building long-term wealth and maintaining financial ties with the country. However, it is quite crucial to avoid the common pitfalls of investing right at the beginning. When investors overlook regulatory requirements, tax implications, and portfolio diversification, it can prove to be a costly affair for them, caution experts. Therefore, getting the basics right, especially around account structures and compliance, can help avoid complications later and ensure smoother investment management. Here are six common mistakes that NRIs must avoid while starting their investment journey: 1. Ignoring FEMA rules and account restructuring A common mistake NRIs make is continuing to use their resident bank and demat accounts even after their residential status changes. According to Akshat Garg, Head Research & Product at Choice Wealth, for NRIs just beginning to invest, the starting point isnt chasing the hottest mutual fund or property deal its getting the foundational structure right under FEMA rules. Once you become an NRI, your old resident savings and demat accounts must be converted to NRE/NRO status; using them as before risks FEMA violations and headaches with repatriation later, he said. Different accounts serve different purposes. Foreign earnings flow into an NRE account (fully repatriable, interest tax-free in India), while India-sourced income like rent or dividends goes into an NRO account (taxable, with repatriation caps). Similarly, Jones George, Executive Director at Geojit Financial Services Ltd, stressed the importance of redesignating accounts promptly. "Continuing to use resident savings or demat accounts can lead to FEMA violations and penalties. Opening the appropriate NRE, NRO, or FCNR accounts is essential, as account structure directly impacts investment eligibility, taxation, and repatriation of funds," George said. 2. Over-investing in real estate Real estate continues to attract NRI investors, often because of emotional attachment or familiarity. However, experts caution against excessive concentration in property. Garg pointed out that many NRIs end up locking too much wealth in illiquid assets. Another common mistake is overinvesting in real estate out of nostalgia, ending up with 60-70% of wealth locked in illiquid property while skimping on liquid financial assets for actual goals like retirement or kids education. 3. Chasing high-yield products without understanding taxation NRIs are often offered high-return investment options during visits to India. However, these may not always be suitable from a global tax perspective. NRIs often chase high-yield FDs, ULIPs, or unregulated schemes pitched during India visits, overlooking how theyre taxed abroad, Garg said. 4. Ignoring tax compliance and regulatory requirements Tax compliance is another area where many NRIs face challenges. Missing documentation, incomplete declarations, or a lack of awareness about tax treaties can create avoidable problems. George explained that regulatory obligations should not be overlooked. A common pitfall is overlooking tax, TDS, and regulatory requirements applicable to NRIs, including timely FATCA and KYC declarations. Also Read | Should NRIs continue investing in India if they plan to retire abroad? He also highlights the importance of understanding tax treaties. Limited awareness of DTAA benefits, reporting obligations, and incorrect account structuring can result in higher taxes, penalties, or transaction delays. 5. Skipping documentation and estate planning Administrative tasks such as updating KYC details or preparing estate documents are often delayed until they become urgent. Garg notes that failing to plan ahead can create difficulties later. Skipping KYC updates or estate planning like a simple will also turns routine transactions into ordeals. 6. Align investments with future plans Experts also recommend aligning investments with long-term residency plans and currency exposure. If an NRI plans to retire abroad, it may be prudent to balance Indian investments with global assets to hedge currency risks. On the other hand, those planning to return to India may prefer a greater allocation to rupee-denominated investments while maintaining diversification. Nifty Metal rally: Metal stocks rallied up to 7% on Thursday, March 5, following broader gains on Dalal Street. The benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex jumped over 0.5% each in today's deals amid value buying and a weaker US dollar. Moreover, a rise in Asian peers also aided the sentiment back home. Nifty Metal rose as much as 3.2% in intra-day deals after a 4% fall in the previous session, as rising tensions between the US and Iran rattled markets. Today's rise of the metal index was led by National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Hindalco Industries, Vedanta, and NMDC, which rose amid a jump in aluminium prices. Among metal stocks, NALCO was the top gainer, surging over 7%, followed by Hindalco, which advanced over 6.5% and Vedanta, which jumped over 4.5%. Meanwhile, NMDC, Tata Steel, Hind Copper, SAIL, and Welspun Corp also gained between 2.5-3.5% each. JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel, APL Apollo Tubes, and Jindal Stainless also advanced over 1% each. However, two stocks were trading in the red Ratnamani Metals and Adani Enterprises, down over 1% each. Why did metal stocks rise today? Aluminium prices continued to climb on Thursday as supply concerns intensified following disruptions in the Middle East, where ongoing conflict has begun to affect shipments from key producers. The most-active aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged 3.55% to 25,365 yuan ($3,683.72) per metric ton by 0215 GMT. On the London Metal Exchange (LME), the benchmark three-month aluminium contract gained 0.81% to $3,369.50 per ton after touching its highest level in nearly four years during the previous session. The latest price rally was triggered by developments involving Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the worlds largest aluminium smelters. The company declared force majeure on Wednesday, suspending shipments as marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed dramatically. Shipping through the vital trade route has been severely disrupted after Iran announced the closure of the Strait earlier this week. The move came in response to a joint military strike by the United States and Israel. Tehran warned that vessels attempting to pass through the corridor could face military action. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important shipping routes for commodities from the Middle East, and the disruption has heightened fears of supply shortages across global metals markets. Concerns about aluminium supply had already been building before Albas announcement. Earlier, Norsk Hydro revealed it had initiated a controlled shutdown of its aluminium joint venture in Qatar and also declared force majeure, further tightening supply expectations. The Gulf region plays a significant role in global aluminium production, accounting for roughly 8% of the worlds supply last year. With two major producers facing operational disruptions, traders are increasingly factoring potential shortages into prices. Other base metals also edged higher in early trading. Shanghai copper advanced 0.75% to 102,000 yuan per ton, while copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.45% to $13,116 per ton. Investors were closely monitoring developments at Chinas National Peoples Congress for signals on economic policy that could influence industrial metal demand. From the higher timeframe charts shown below we are noting the Nifty is down now to the next critical support which is the cloud region around 24300. Now , with the prices at cloud support and RSI hitting 40 levels we are looking at a potential rebound situation. However, we should consider how the India Vix has risen and the PCR at 0.78 still has some more room left to the downside. While the rally will attract some bearishness , stock specific action will keep the traders and short-term investors busy. The Indian stock market witnessed strong buying interest on Thursday, March 5, largely due to short covering after the recent fall, which dragged the benchmark indices down by 4% in just a few days. The Sensex jumped 900 points, or 1.14%, to close at 80,015.90. The NSE counterpart, the Nifty 50, jumped 1.17% to end at 24,765.90. The domestic market witnessed healthy, broad-based buying, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising 1.44% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index climbing 1.38%. The market rebounded on short covering amid reports that Iran had made conditional offers to the US. Mint could not independently verify these reports by 3:30 pm on Thursday. The rupee's rise also seems to have influenced sentiment. The Indian rupee ended 54 paise, or 0.60%, higher at 91.60 per dollar on Thursday. According to Reuters, the Reserve Bank of India stepped in aggressively to support the currency, which fell to a record low of 92.30 per dollar on Wednesday. Investors got richer by 6 lakh crore in a single session as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to 453 lakh crore from 447.2 lakh crore in the previous session. Meanwhile, the US-Iran war continues with a barrage of missile exchanges. According to Euro News, Iran has struck an oil tanker in the Gulf, which reportedly belonged to the United States. Why did the Sensex jump 900 points today? The Sensex rose on Thursday after losing 3,160 points, or 3.8%, over the last four sessions. According to experts, the recent selloff placed the index in the oversold territory, so a technical rebound was expected. "Market momentum strengthened toward the close after reports that Iran had conditionally offered to abandon its nuclear program, raising hopes of de-escalation in the ongoing US/IsraelIran tensions," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said. "Investor sentiment improved after comments from the US deputy secretary suggested that an IndiaUS trade deal may be nearing completion. Value buying also emerged in sectors such as metals, consumer durables, realty, and auto, following recent corrections, while IT stocks resumed their decline partly due to the strengthening of the Indian rupee," Nair added. According to Hitesh Tailor, a technical research analyst at Choice Broking, todays market rebound was largely driven by technical and derivative factors. "After the recent sharp correction, benchmark indices had slipped into deeply oversold territory, prompting a relief rally. The cooling in volatility, with India VIX easing from elevated levels, suggests that a significant portion of the geopolitical risk premium had already been priced in during the earlier decline," Tailor said. Reliance, L&T, and HDFC Bank were the top contributors to the gains in the Sensex index, while ICICI Bank and SBI were the top drags on it. In terms of percentage gains, Adani Ports, L&T, NTPC, and Reliance stood at the top in the Sensex index. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, HC Tech, and HUL ended as the top losers in the index. Also Read | Vinit Bolinjkar of Ventura recommends 5 value stocks to buy for long term Technical outlook for the market The Nifty formed a bullish candle on the daily charts, suggesting the pullback may continue. According to Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, 24,600 and 24,500 would act as key support levels for the market. Above these levels, it may continue its positive momentum up to 24,950 and 25,000. On the flip side, below 24,500, the sentiment could change, and traders may prefer to exit their long positions. Sudeep Shah, the head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, said 24,55024,530 will act as important support for the index. "On the upside, the 24,92024,950 zone will act as stiff resistance. Any sustained move above 24,950 will lead to extension of the pullback rally to the 25,100 level," said Shah. Read all market-related news here Read more stories by Nishant Kumar Stock market today: Following weak global cues on the US-Iran war, the Indian stock market witnessed sharp selling for the third straight session on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 index crashed 385 points and closed at 24,480, the BSE Sensex nosedived 1,122 points and finished at 79,116, and the Bank Nifty index ended 1,084 points lower at 58,755. Among sectors, almost all major indices closed in negative territory, but the Metal Index lost the most, shedding over 4%. What does the Gift Nifty Live chart signal? What a gap-up opening for the Gift Nifty 50 means, Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst & Founder of Livelong Wealth, said, The Indian stock market is poised for a positive start today, with GIFT Nifty trading higher in early deals, suggesting a potential gap-up opening for the Nifty 50. Decoding the strong opening for the Asian stock market today, the Livelong Wealth expert said, optimism follows a notable reversal in global market sentiment, where major indices have rebounded from their recent bearish phase amid growing hopes of de-escalation in the ongoing Middle East tensions. Risk appetite across global assets has also shown signs of improvement. Notably, Bitcoin surged above $73,000 as investors increasingly view it as digital gold, rotating capital into it alongside traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and silver. This shift indicates a gradual stabilisation in global risk sentiment after the recent wave of geopolitical anxiety. Stock market today Speaking on the outlook of Nifty 50 and Sensex today, Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said, We are of the view that the short-term outlook is weak but oversold. For traders, 24,300/78,500 would act as a key support zone. If the market sustains above this level, the immediate resistance would be at 24,600/79,500. Above 24,600/79,500, it could move up to 24,800-25,000/80,000-80,500. The Kotak Securities expert said a decline below 24,300/78,500 could change the sentiment. Below this, the market could slip to 24,100-24,000/78,000-77,800. On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the Bank Nifty continues to witness bearish pressure, as the index lost more than 1,000 points, though it recovered smartly before the close. "The trend remains weak, and a sell-on-rise strategy appears favourable in the short term. The RSI is in a bearish crossover and trending lower, indicating weak momentum. On the lower end, the index may drift towards 58,00057,500. On the higher side, resistance is placed at 59,500," said Rupak De of LKP Securities. US-Iran war: Latest news you may like to know The US Senate on Wednesday rejected an effort to curb President Donald Trumps authority to continue military operations against Iran, voting largely along party lines to block a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for the expanding conflict. The measure failed by a vote of 53 to 47, allowing the administration to continue prosecuting its joint military campaign with Israel Operation Epic Fury which began four days earlier with sweeping strikes across Iranian territory. The vote marked the first major congressional test of political support for the war, exposing sharp partisan divisions as lawmakers grapple with the legality and strategic scope of the conflict, which has already resulted in American casualties and triggered regional escalation. Gold, silver rates today The gold and silver rates today opened northward during the early morning session in the Asian stock market today. The COMEX gold rate today opened with an upside gap and touched an intraday high of $5,191.20/oz, logging an intraday gain of over 1%. Likewise, the COMEX silver rate today opened with an upside gap and touched an intraday high of $85.363/oz, recording an intraday gain of around 2.50%. Speaking on the outlook for silver and gold rates today, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, said the undertone is positive. He said that the gold rate today is in $5,100 to $5,300 per ounce, with a minor hurdle placed at $5,200/oz. Similarly, the silver rate today is in $75 to $88 per ounce range. The MCX gold rate today is in the 1,58,000 to 1,70,000 per 10 gm range with a minor hurdle placed at 1,65,000. The MCX silver rate today is in the 2,55,000 to 2,80,000 per kg range, Anuj Gupta said. Also Read | Nifty 50 may drop further by the end of 2027. Expert explains why India VIX today The volatility index of the Indian stock market India VIX Index finished 22.30% higher at 20.95. Decoding the India VIX today, the Livelong Wealth expert said it currently stands near 21, after surging nearly 40% over the past two sessions, reflecting the heightened uncertainty gripping markets. If the positive global momentum sustains, a sharp cooling in VIX could occur, which may lead to a decline in option premiums. In such an environment, options traders may need to remain mindful of volatility compression while planning positions, Hariprasad K of Livelong Wealth added. FII-DII data In the cash segment, FIIs remained net sellers, while DIIs ended upnet buyers. On Wednesday, FIIs sold Indian stocks worth 8,752 crore in cash, while DIIs bought shares worth 12,068 crore. In futures, FIIs sold shares worth 3,203 crore, while in options, they sold shares worth 6,937 crore on Wednesday. Stocks to buy today Regarding stocks to buy today, stock market experts Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking and Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager Technical Research at Anand Rathi, recommended these five buy-or-sell stocks for intraday trading: MRPL, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Mphasis, Torrent Pharma, and Hindustan Zinc. Sumeet Bagadia's stock recommendations for today 1] MRPL: Buy at 191.30, Target 206, Stop Loss 184. MRPL is currently trading at 191.3; the stock is showing signs of trend recovery after retesting its 52-week high zone and pulling back to a support region. Following this corrective phase, the price is once again gaining upward momentum, indicating renewed buying interest. Suggesting accumulation at lower levels. The overall structure remains robust with rising candles and healthy volume participation. 2] Chennai Petroleum Corporation: Buy at 1000, Target 1070, Stop Loss 965. Chennai Petroleum Corporation's share is currently trading at 1000; the stock is witnessing a strong bullish resurgence after forming a solid base near lower levels. Price has given a sharp breakout with a wide bullish candle, supported by rising volumes, indicating aggressive buying participation. Ganesh Dongre's buy or sell stocks 3] Mphasis: Buy at 2268, Target 2330, Stop Loss 2230. In the recent short-term trend analysis of the stock, a notable bullish reversal pattern has emerged. 4] Torrent Pharmaceuticals: Buy at 4340, Target 4430, Stop Loss 4280. The stock has exhibited a strong, notable, and continuous bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. 5] Hindustan Zinc: Buy at 591, Target 630, Stop Loss 580. Hindustan Zinc's share price has exhibited a strong, notable, and continuous bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. With the ongoing tensions in West Asia, airline operations have been disrupted as several carriers reroute or suspend flights to avoid conflict-hit airspace, leading to longer travel times and widespread schedule changes across international routes. Most Middle East-based airlines, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad, continue to suspend flight services, barring a few special flights. Airspaces in the region remain closed due to the escalating conflict in the region, after the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader. Tehran is retaliating with attacks across the Gulf, targeting airports as well. For travellers, the conflict and unpredictability of flight schedules and cancellations led to the hassle of adjusting travel plans, worries about rising ticket prices, and mounting concerns about refunds. Also Read | Flight Status LIVE March 5: 225 stranded in UAE land in Mumbai Amid travel worries, here we answer whether your insurance covers flight delays or cancellations What does the travel insurance coverage depend on? Travel insurance may cover flight delays or cancellations, depending on the policy terms or specific reasons for the disruption. Rahul Mathur, CEO at Roinet Insurance Broker Pvt Ltd, said, Travel insurance can cover flight delays or cancellations, but the coverage usually depends on the terms of your policy. In most cases, insurers provide protection if the disruption is caused by specific reasons such as severe weather conditions, airline strikes, or mechanical issues with the aircraft. Noting that the travel insurance coverage varies, the expert advised that it is important to carefully review your policy details, including coverage limits, eligible reasons for delay or cancellation, and the documentation required to file a claim. Check for other benefits Along with insurance coverage details, travellers must also check whether the policy provides extra benefits. Some travel insurance policies may also offer added benefits. These can include compensation for delayed flights, support for trip rescheduling, or reimbursement for unexpected accommodation expenses if the delay forces you to stay overnight," Mathur said. He further suggested, To fully understand what is covered and what is not, travellers should review their policy documents carefully or contact their insurer before starting the journey. As geopolitical tensions continue to impact air travel in the affected region, travellers should not assume that all delays or cancellations will automatically be covered by insurance. As coverage differs across policies, carefully checking terms and understanding the scope of benefits can help avoid last-minute hassles. Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested the suspect in the murder of a woman farmer leader who had been missing for more than two weeks. According to the police, the body parts of 25-year-old Anchal Mishra were recovered from a forested area in Shravasti District on Tuesday. Left home on February 17 Mishra, a mother of two and the district president of the womens wing of a farmers union, had been missing since February 17. According to her husband, Santosh Mishra, the victim left home on the pretext of attending a meeting in Bhinga. A missing persons complaint was filed by the womans husband on February 19 after she did not return home. How the body was found The breakthrough in the case came on Tuesday, March 3, when the police traced the last known location of the missing womans phone to a forest in the Kakardari range. During the search, the investigators also recovered parts of her body, including her skull, jawbone, and spine. Her clothes and shoes were also recovered from a nearby area. Suspect arrested Based on the husbands complaint, the police on Tuesday arrested one Suraj Verma in connection with the murder. According to the police, Verma and Mishra had been in touch for nearly four months and were allegedly in a relationship. Police said Verma also stayed close to the family since the woman went missing on the pretext of helping them to search for her. Police became suspicious after learning that Vermas phone was also active in the same area at the same time as Mishras. What accused said According to the police, Verma, who has several past criminal cases against him, confessed to murdering Mishra by strangling her. Verma allegedly claimed that the victim had been demanding money and allegedly threatened to lodge a police station complaint if he refused, due to which he took the extreme step. The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday cleared a draft prohibition of conversion bill which makes it mandatory to seek permission from a competent authority before converting to another religion. A person who wants to convert must give a 60-day notice and seek permission from the designated authority before converting, an official said, talking about the provisions in the bill. Further, a conversion must be registered with the authority within 25 days, or it will be considered null and void, he said. If the blood relative of a person who wishes to convert files a complaint about the same being unlawful, police will register a First Information Report and conduct a probe, as per the bill. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday said he held a telephonic conversation with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi amid the ongoing conflict between Israel-US and Iran, which has also put Gulf nations on the edge. Jaishankar posted about his call on X. Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon, the EAM's post read. Earlier in the day, India offered condolences on the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. Israel-US-Iran conflict The two foreign ministers' call comes amid the escalating tensions between Israel-US and Iran with the conflict entering its sixth day on Thursday, 5 March. Isreal-US jointly attacked India on Saturday, 28 February in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed. Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes the same day - with explosions reported across Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, among other Gulf cities. Bitterly regret On Thursday, Iran launched a fresh wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, while Israel said it had begun a large-scale attack on Tehran, according to a report by AP. The warship, IRIS Dena, a 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise, Milan 2026, in Visakhapatnam. Iranian officials said the vessel had been visiting India before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck off the coast of Sri Lanka. India's call for diplomacy Earlier, India had expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint and prioritise civilian safety. There are almost one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region. Their safety and well-being are of utmost priority. We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them, said the Ministry of External Affairs press release. India's trade and energy supply chains are at risk due to the conflict. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy. As a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days, said the release. India on Thursday expressed condolences over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on behalf of the Government of India. This marks the first diplomatic gesture from India since the former Supreme Leader's death. Misri also met the Iranian ambassador. Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on Iran on 28 February. His death was confirmed by state media hours after US President Donald Trump announced it. View full Image View full Image Vikram Misri also met the Iranian ambassador. On Thursday, Iran launched a fresh wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, while Israel said it had begun a large-scale attack on Tehran, according to a report by AP. The warship, IRIS Dena, a 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise, Milan 2026, in Visakhapatnam. Iranian officials said the vessel had been visiting India before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck off the coast of Sri Lanka. View full Image View full Image An injured Iranian sailor is moved on a stretcher at Galle National Hospital, where the sailors are receiving treatment, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, on 5 March. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage ( REUTERS ) The Islamic Republic's fresh wave of attacks came days after the US and Israel jointly launched an attack on Iran on 28 February. Hours later, on the same day, Iran launched retaliatory strikes with explosions reported across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Kuwait, among other key Middle Eastern hubs which are also home to US military bases. The conflict which has now entered the sixth day also led to massive flight disruptions. Dubai airports were shut, with the majority of flights to and from Gulf cities impacted for at least three consecutive days. Iranian cleric calls for Trumps blood' On Thursday, an Iranian cleric called for the shedding of blood from Israelis and US President Donald Trump. Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trumps blood, the Associated Press reported, citing his statement. Who will be Iran's next Supreme Leader? Iran has not yet elected the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei. Ayatollah Dr Abdul Majeed Hakeemelahi, the representative of Iran's supreme leader in India, also said that the process to elect a new leader is still underway. "This news is not true because, till now, they (the council) have not chosen or nominated anyone, and the process is still underway," Hakeemelahi told PTI when asked about some media reports claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as his successor. A Sukhoi-30 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force lost radar contact while flying over Karbi Anglong district in Assam on Thursday evening, according to PTI, citing officials. Also Read | President Murmu takes sortie in Sukhoi-30 aircraft An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat air base in Assam and was last in contact at 7:42 pm, Defence PRO Lt Col Mahender Rawat said in a statement. See the post here: He said search and rescue operations have been initiated to ascertain the status of the fighter jet. There is no immediate news of the pilot yet, the PRO said. Meanwhile, another official reported that residents of the Chokihola area in Bokajan sub-division have suggested that a plane might have crashed within a nearby forest. We are preparing a team to send and verify it. We cannot confirm anything at this moment, he added. The Su-30MKI is a two-seat, multirole, long-range fighter aircraft originally developed by Russias Sukhoi. It is currently produced under license by HAL for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates a fleet of more than 260 Su-30MKI jets. Janata Dal (United) President Nitish Kumar, Bihars longest-serving Chief Minister with over two decades in office, is moving to the Rajya Sabha and submitted his nomination papers on Thursday. The 75-year-old leader also affirmed that the new government in Bihar would have his complete backing. The opposition parties hit out at Kumar, calling it a betrayal of the people's mandate since Nitish's exit means a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister of Bihar. Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, alleged that the BJP has consistently opposed Dalits and OBCs and claimed that with Kumar stepping down as CM, the party would attempt to push its agenda in what he described as a socialist stronghold, according to PTI. The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar. We have been saying from the very beginning that the BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain the chief minister after the elections. This is exactly what has happened. This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it, he stated. Also Read | Nitish Kumar stepping down as Bihar CM? Here is what we know He further alleged that the BJP had effectively hijacked Kumar, suggesting that this was why the veteran leader was now heading to the Rajya Sabha. Accusing the BJP of being against OBCs and Dalits, Yadav claimed that the party does not want leaders from these communities to hold the top post and instead prefers a chief minister who would act as a rubber stamp for its central leadership. Also Read | How Nitish Kumars Rajya Sabha move could trigger political churn in Bihar Using a metaphor to illustrate his point, he said that although Kumar had been made to mount the horse like a groom, someone else was being made to take the wedding vows, implying that the real authority lay elsewhere. "I had said -- 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse like a groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," Yadav said. Also Read | Amit Shah hails Nitish Kumar's return to national politics as Rajya Sabha MP RJD's Manoj Jha says Nitish's X post drafted in Delhi Durbar Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha alleged that the post shared by the JD(U) leader on X seemed to have been drafted in the Delhi Durbar, implying outside influence in its wording. He mentioned that the people of Bihar would respond to Kumars decision in due course. "After reading that tweet, I can confidently say that he did not write it. The post has been prepared in Delhi. Even if you ask a 10-year-old in Bihar about the tweet, he/she will point at Delhi Durbar," Jha said. The RJD leader said that the JD(U)s core supporters were feeling disappointed and hurt by the development. He remarked that he had previously maintained that this was not the end of the matter, adding that the partys core base was unhappy with the decision. Jha further claimed that an improvised version of the Shinde Model was being attempted, but asserted that Bihars political landscape was different. 'BJP has always deceived its alliance partners' Nana Patole, a Congress MLA from Maharashtra, criticised the BJP, accusing it of deceiving its alliance partners after Kumar confirmed that he would file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections, as per ANI. Addressing reporters, Patole compared Kumars situation to that of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who did not return as Chief Minister after the Mahayuti alliance secured a majority in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, despite the BJP emerging as the single largest party. He said, "Maharashtra is the biggest example of this. Elections were fought under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, and the government came to power, but Eknath Shinde did not become the Chief Minister. In Bihar, elections were fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar; they (the BJP) won there as well... Now he is being removed from the post of Chief Minister. The BJP has always deceived its alliance partners," he said. Kumar first became Bihars Chief Minister in 2000, but his government fell within eight days. He returned to office in 2005 and remained in power until 2014, when he stepped down following the JD(U)s poor performance in that years Lok Sabha elections. However, he was later sworn in as Chief Minister again. Most recently, he took the oath of office in November 2025. In Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party is the senior partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). How BJP emerged as single largest party in 2025 polls The BJP solidified its electoral performance by emerging as the largest party in Bihar for the first time, winning 89 of the 101 seats it contested in the 2025 polls. The NDA won 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, delivering a landslide victory against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan. Petrol and Diesel Prices on 5 March, 2026: Petrol prices and diesel prices in India remained largely flat on Thursday, 6 March, even as crude prices surged in the global markets amid the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has spiked crude oil prices. Brent climbed toward $85 a barrel, after jumping 12% over the first three days of the week. However, petrol rates and diesel rates in India are till now unaffected. In Delhi, the petrol price today was flat at 94.77 per litre, whereas diesel has been standing at 87.67 per litre in the national capital, as per price notification by state-run by state-run oil companies. Petrol price in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, other cities Petrol price in Delhi: Petrol price in Delhi was standing at 94.77 per litre Petrol price in Delhi was standing at 94.77 per litre Diesel price in Delhi: Diesel price in Delhi was standing at 87.67 per litre Diesel price in Delhi was standing at 87.67 per litre Petrol price in Mumbai: Petrol price in Mumbai was standing at 103.54 per litre Petrol price in Mumbai was standing at 103.54 per litre Diesel price in Mumbai: Diesel price in Mumbai was standing at 90.03 per litre Diesel price in Mumbai was standing at 90.03 per litre Petrol price in Kolkata: Petrol price in Kolkata was standing at 105.41 per litre Petrol price in Kolkata was standing at 105.41 per litre Diesel price in Kolkata: Diesel price in Kolkata was standing at 92.02 per litre Diesel price in Kolkata was standing at 92.02 per litre Petrol price in Chennai: Petrol price in Chennai was standing at 100.80 per litre Petrol price in Chennai was standing at 100.80 per litre Diesel price in Chennai: Diesel price in Chennai was standing at 92.61 per litre Diesel price in Chennai was standing at 92.61 per litre Petrol price in Hyderabad: Petrol price in Hyderabad was standing at 107.50 per litre Petrol price in Hyderabad was standing at 107.50 per litre Diesel price in Hyderabad: Diesel price in Hyderabad was standing at 95.70 Diesel price in Hyderabad was standing at 95.70 Petrol price in Bengaluru: Petrol price in Bengaluru was standing at 102.96 per litre Petrol price in Bengaluru was standing at 102.96 per litre Diesel price in Bengaluru: Diesel price in Bengaluru was standing at 90.99 per litre Diesel price in Bengaluru was standing at 90.99 per litre Petrol price in Pune: Petrol price in Pune was standing at 103.82 per litre Petrol price in Pune was standing at 103.82 per litre Diesel price in Pune: Diesel price in Pune was standing at 90.74 per litre Diesel price in Pune was standing at 90.74 per litre Petrol price in Lucknow: Petrol price in Lucknow was standing at 94.97 per litre Petrol price in Lucknow was standing at 94.97 per litre Diesel price in Lucknow: Diesel price in Lucknow was standing at 88.50 per litre Diesel price in Lucknow was standing at 88.50 per litre Petrol price in Jaipur: Petrol price in Jaipur was standing at 104.72 per litre Petrol price in Jaipur was standing at 104.72 per litre Diesel price in Jaipur : Diesel price in Jaipur was standing at 90.18 per litre : Diesel price in Jaipur was standing at 90.18 per litre Petrol price in Ahmedabad: Petrol price in Ahmedabad was standing at 94.84 per litre Petrol price in Ahmedabad was standing at 94.84 per litre Diesel price in Ahmedabad: Diesel price in Ahmedabad was standing at 90.17 per litre Diesel price in Ahmedabad was standing at 90.17 per litre Petrol price in Patna: Petrol price in Patna was standing at 105.54 per litre Petrol price in Patna was standing at 105.54 per litre Diesel price in Patna: Diesel price in Patna was standing at 91.84 per litre Diesel price in Patna was standing at 91.84 per litre Petrol price in Chandigarh : Petrol price in Chandigarh was standing at 94.30 per litre : Petrol price in Chandigarh was standing at 94.30 per litre Diesel price in Chandigarh: Diesel price in Chandigarh was standing at 82.45 per litre. Also Read | Govt mandates sale of E20 petrol with minimum RON 95 from 1 April Why do petrol prices and diesel prices fluctuate? Petrol and diesel prices are affected by a number of factors. One of them is the price of crude oil, which is a primary driver of fuel rates. This is because crude is the main component of petrol and diesel. Petrol prices are feared to rise in the upcoming days if the Strait of Hormuz, an arterial route of global oil supply, remains closed in the near future amid the US-Iran war. Also Read | Russia offers to meet Indias energy needs amid West Asia tensions The rupee-dollar exchange rate also affects petrol price and diesel price in India as the country relies heavily on fuel imports. Another key factor for fluctuating fuel price is the taxes levied by the centre and states. Different states impose different taxes on fuel prices, making the price fluctuate and vary from region to region. The cost to ferry petrol and diesel also affect their prices. Another key factor that drives petrol and diesel rates is the demand-supply dynamics. When the demand is more but supply is less, petrol and diesel rates may rise. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned in Delhi after serving 3.5 years in office, according to a Lok Bhavan official. I have spent enough time at Governor's office, Bose told PTI. Who will replace CV Ananda Bose? CM Mamata Banerjee took to X and said she was shocked and deeply concerned when she learnt about Bose's resignation. She said she got to know from Union Home Minister Amit Shah that RN Ravi will replace CV Ananda Bose as Bengal governor. She said she was not aware of the reasons behind his resignation but added that, given the prevailing circumstances, she would not be surprised if the Governor had been pressured by the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests ahead of the upcoming State Assembly elections. She further stated that such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the core of the countrys federal structure. Emphasising the need for cooperative federalism, she said the Centre should respect democratic conventions and avoid unilateral decisions that compromise the dignity and autonomy of the states. Who is RN Ravi? Born in Patna, Bihar on 3 April 1952, RN Ravi, 73, joined the Indian Police Service in 1976 after a short career in journalism. During his service, he worked with the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Intelligence Bureau. In 2014, he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and in October 2018, he became the Deputy National Security Advisor. Also Read | Class 10 admit cards with pass certificate valid as ID: SC in West Bengal SIR Following his retirement from the bureaucracy, Ravi was appointed Governor of Nagaland in August 2019, serving until September 2021. He also held additional charge as Governor of Meghalaya from December 2019 to January 2020. He took oath as the Governor of Tamil Nadu on 18 September 2021. About CV Ananda Bose? Born in Mannanam in Keralas Kottayam district to freedom fighter PK Vasudevan Nair and Padmavathy Amma, a former government official, CV Ananda Bose, 75, received his early education at St. Ephrems School in Mannanam and later studied at Kuriakose Elias College, also in Mannanam, followed by St. Berchmans College in Changanassery. He went on to earn a Ph.D from BITS Pilani. Ananda Bose is married to LS Lakshmi, and they have a son and a daughter. His daughter, Nandita Bose, passed away from cancer in 2017. A prolific writer, he has authored around 350 publications, including 70 books spanning novels, short stories, and poetry in Malayalam, Hindi, English, and Bengali. At least 87 people have been confirmed dead, while many more are unaccounted for after a US submarine struck IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. While the Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors, an estimated 60 people on board remain unaccounted for. The sinking of IRIS Dena was the first time since World War II that a US submarine had sunk another vessel using a torpedo. IRIS Dena IRIS Dena, a 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise in the Bay of Bengal. IRIS Dena, which was launched in 2015 and commissioned into the Iranian Navy in 2021, was a destroyer equipped with four Iran-made engines "Bonyan 4" and a vertical launching system. It was one of the warships that took part in the recently concluded Milan 2026 in Visakhapatnam in the Indian Ocean. Milan 2026 Milan is the Indian Navy's flagship biennial multilateral maritime exercise. The 13th edition of Milan was held under the theme "Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration" from 21 February to 25 February. According to the Indian Navy, Milan 2026 saw the participation of 74 countries, making it the largest and most inclusive to date, with Germany, the Philippines, and the UAE participating with military assets for the first time. These exercises provide a platform for participating nations to learn and practice joint maritime combat strategies and interoperability, the Navy said. "Held under the theme 'Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration', the Milan 2026 witnessed participation on an unprecedented scale, comprising 42 ships and submarines and 29 aircraft. These also included 18 ships from the participating friendly foreign countries," the Indian Navy said. The mega exercise was held for over a week and culminated in a closing ceremony onboard India's indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The exercise comprised both a harbour phase featuring bilateral engagements and an international maritime seminar and a 'sea phase', which included high-intensity operational drills focused on advanced warfare disciplines, including integrated air defence and antisubmarine warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, communication exercises, and cross-deck flying operations. The objectives of the exercise included enhancing the ability of diverse navies to operate together as a cohesive force and focusing on collective responses to non-traditional threats like piracy and drone swarms. According to reports, this was the second time IRIS Dena was part of Milan. The Iranian warship also took part in the 12th edition of Milan in 2024. Also Read | The Iran war is a jolt to Dubais business model What the US said On Wednesday, while announcing the strike on IRIS Dena, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said it was sunk using an MK-48 heavyweight torpedo. Caine said the US has sunk Dena, over 20 Iranian vessels and an Iranian submarine since Saturday, when the US-Israel Operation Epic Fury began. Weve destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels, in addition to the frigate outside the area, one submarine and effectively neutralized at this point in time Irans major naval presence in theater out there, he said. Indias former ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has been appointed Lieutenant Governor of Delhi as part of a major reshuffle of governors and lieutenant governors across nine states and union territories, ahead of key upcoming elections. At the same time, the current Delhi Lt Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has been named Lt Governor of Ladakh, following the earlier resignation of Ladakh Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta. Also Read | Major reshuffle of Governors by President Murmu check list He had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar in 2024 on a BJP ticket. Who is Taranjit Singh Sandhu? Sandhu, a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was one of the most experienced Indian diplomats on United States affairs. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C., from July 2013 to January 2017, and earlier served as First Secretary (Political) there from 1997 to 2000, handling liaison with the U.S. Congress. Additionally, he was posted at Indias Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from July 2005 to February 2009. His most notable assignment was serving as Indias Ambassador to the United States from February 2020 to January 2024. During this period, he navigated the Covid-19 pandemic, a change in the U.S. administration, and notably oversaw Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the U.S. in 2023. Early education Taranjit Singh Sandhu was born on 23 January 1963 into a family of educationists. He attended The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and earned a Bachelors degree in History (Honors) from St. Stephens College, Delhi. He later completed a Masters in International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, according to the official website of the Indian Embassy, US. Sandhu's diplomatic career In a career spanning over thirty years in the Indian Foreign Service since 1988, Sandhu started his diplomatic career from the former Soviet Union (Russia), where he worked as Third Secretary (Political) / Second Secretary (Commercial) in the Indian Mission from 1990 to 1992. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, he was sent to open a new Embassy in Ukraine. He served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in the Indian Embassy in Kyiv from 1992 to 1994, according to the official website of the Indian Embassy in the US. Before his current assignment in Washington DC, Sandhu was High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka from January 2017 to January 2020. He had also served at the High Commission of India, Colombo, earlier as the Head of the Political Wing from December 2000 to September 2004. Sandhu is married to Reenat Sandhu, who is a senior officer in the Indian Foreign Service and currently Ambassador of India to the Netherlands. They have two children. In November 2023, Taranjit Singh Sandhu experienced a tense encounter at the Hicksville Gurdwara in Long Island, New York, where he had gone to attend Gurpurab prayers. A video that circulated on social media shows him being confronted by extremists who were expressing support for Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, both designated as terrorists by India. The situation escalated, prompting the Ambassador to leave the premises quickly. Outside the Gurdwara, a protestor was seen waving the Khalistani flag. Tensions in the Middle East have disrupted the flight operations of several airlines. The USIsrael war with Iran is affecting carriers such as Air India, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, SpiceJet and IndiGo. However, images purportedly showing an Air India aircraft flying over conflict-hit Iran and other Gulf countries are circulating on social media. Air India issued a fact-check on Thursday, refuting these viral reports. Warning against the fake news, Air India in a post on X stated, Air India does not operate flights over any restricted airspace. Suggesting that viral flight tracking images circulating on social media are incorrect, the airlines said, Flight routes are planned using realtime intelligence, global advisories, and continuous monitoring to ensure every journey remains safe, compliant, and reliable." Air India further noted that these viral images do not reflect the airline's actual flight operations or safety protocols. These operational decisions underline Air Indias firm commitment to prioritising the safety and security of passengers and crew above everything else, the statement added. The caption corresponding to viral images stated, Air India flew over restricted airspace in the Middle East despite tensions in the region. Have flight operations resumed in the Middle East? Thousands of passengers are still stranded in Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries as most flight operations remain suspended in the region. With the world's busiest airport, Dubai International Airport, experiencing mass flight cancellations since 28 February, some Indian carriers, such as IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air, have resumed operations in the Middle East. Several countries have begun evacuating their nationals stranded in the Gulf, including India, France, Spain and the US. According to the PTI report, around 180 flights from key airports Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru were cancelled on Wednesday owing to airspace restrictions amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Air India's latest update on flight operations indicates that it will resume scheduled operations between Jeddah and Delhi, and between Jeddah and Mumbai, from 5 March. Air India on Wednesday said that it will operate 3 additional flights to Toronto, Frankfurt, and Paris from 5 March. News / Local by Stephen Jakes Bulawayo councillors have raised alarm over the escalating number of illegal vendors operating across the city, warning that the situation is worsening due to lack of enforcement. The concerns are contained in the latest Health, Housing and Education Committee report, which council resolved to adopt, except for several items requiring further attention.During deliberations, Councillor Siboniso Moyo said illegal vending in the CBD had been discussed for years without meaningful action.The numbers have continued to increase because there is no enforcement. The City is now very dirty because of these illegal vending activities. Other cities like Kwekwe, Masvingo and Mutare have eradicated illegal vending. There must be a joint operation between Council and other stakeholders to enforce bylaws, the minutes read.Councillors also called for doortodoor cleanliness awareness campaigns, noting that littering and illegal dumping were major contributors to flash flooding, particularly in highdensity suburbs.They highlighted that cleaning in the CBD was inadequate, with areas along 5th and 6th Avenue up to the Renkini extension described as very dirty. Councillors proposed that one of the national cleanup Fridays be dedicated to cleaning the market area, led by the Mayor, councillors, directors and council staff.Councillor Dumisani Nkomo revived calls for the establishment of municipal courts and the empowerment of municipal police with arresting powers, saying fines should be reviewed. He urged the Mayor to lobby central government through UCAZ.Councillor Melisa Mabeza suggested temporarily closing 5th and 6th Avenues for 30 days to restore order. Councillor Josiah Mutangi blamed council for failing to properly develop Bhaktas 3rd Avenue, which he said had become a white elephant, forcing vendors back into the CBD.The minutes noted that many illegal vendors operating along 5th Avenue were nonresidents who slept on the streets after trading hours. Councillors also cited a shortage of public toilets, with most available facilities being paytouse, contributing to fouling.The CBD currently has only 27 litter bins, and many street cleaners are elderly and struggling to cope with the workload. Illegal pickup and dropoff points were also identified as contributors to the citys uncleanliness.Councillors acknowledged that economic hardships were pushing residents into vending, but said council must construct proper vending sites with adequate facilities to attract traders.Mayor David Coltart said illegal vending was linked to unemployment and regional economic pressures, including xenophobic attacks in South Africa and economic challenges in Botswana. He said vending areas must be improved before enforcement can be intensified.He added that a meeting would soon be held with the Egodini Mall contractor to discuss new investment, while the Nkulumane model market should be replicated in other suburbs.Council also noted rising lawlessness in the city, including illegal pickup points such as the one at 8th Avenue and Fort Street, where enforcement officers were seen patrolling without taking action.Councillor Sikhululekile Moyo said nonresident vendors were overwhelming the city and urged residents to keep Bulawayo clean. She said council was working on increasing the number of public toilets in the CBD. Ramadan, the sacred fasting month in Islam, is underway. The Islamic festival's beginning is determined by astronomy the moon is first sighted in the Gulf countries and the West, while India and its neighbouring countries observe a day late. In India, Ramadan started on Thursday, February 19, marking a time for prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal for Muslims in the country. The start of Ramadan is traditionally determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, which is first seen in Gulf countries and western regions, and a day later in India and nearby nations. Ramadan 2026 : What is Sehri and Iftar? During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Sehri and Iftar are key components of this holy month. Sehri or Suhoor is the pre-dawn meal that Muslims consume before the Fajr (morning) prayer, which marks the beginning of the daily fasting period. Iftar is the meal with which when Muslims break their fast at sunset, following the Maghrib (evening) prayer. How do Sehri, Iftar timings vary across cities? As daylight hours shift throughout the month, the iftar and sehri timings vary on a regular basis. The timings also vary from city to city. Whether you're in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Mumbai Sehri and Iftar timings vary making each day of Ramadan slightly different depending on where you are. For instance, this year, the Sehri time in Lucknow and New Delhi have usually been a few minutes apart while the timings in Kolkata are 30-35 minutes ahead as compared to the timings in New Delhi. What are Sehri and Iftar timings for March 6, 2026? Here's a glimpse at the Sehri and Iftar timings across various cities for Friday, March 6 Lucknow Sehri:05:08 AM Iftar: 6:11 PM Delhi Sehri:05:22 AM Iftar: 6:25 PM Hyderabad Sehri:05:18Am Iftar: 6:25 PM Mumbai Sehri:05:42 AM Iftar:06:46 PM How is Ramadan celebrated in India, Saudi Arabia and across the world? In India, Ramadan is marked by the high spirited evening markets and large iftar gatherings with traditional meals such as kebabs, biryani and dates. Mosques hold special nightly prayers of Taraweeh, and charity, as well as food distribution are important aspects. In Saudi Arabia which is home to Islams holiest sites, Ramadan is marked by increased spiritual fervor. Millions of worshippers gather at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. Families come together for traditional meals, and work hours are shortened to adjust to fasting. Across the Middle East, cities such as Dubai host Ramadan night markets and themed tents, where communities gather for suhoor and iftar meals. In Turkey, popular customs have remained communal iftar events and traditional drumming to wake people for suhoor. Many people belonging to the older generations believe that Gen Z is weak as they experience burnout in their mid-20s. However, Raj Shamani disagrees. The popular YouTuber argues that this isn't a character flaw. Its rather a rational response to systemic conditions. They are fundamentally different from what previous generations endured. Raj Shamani defines burnout clinically. It is a sustained conflict between what workers expect and what jobs actually demand. Burnout isnt about working hard. People have always worked hard. Burnout is about the gap between what you were promised and what you got, between what you put in and what you get back, between the story you were told about how work works and the reality youre living, Shamani wrote in his blog. Raj Shamani also explains why many young people feel frustrated with todays economy. Earlier generations believed that hard work would bring stability and success. Many spent years climbing the career ladder before realising, often in their 40s, that the promised security was uncertain. Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) faces this truth much earlier. Many follow the expected path by earning degrees and completing internships. Yet, they enter a job market where stability feels harder to achieve. You wont have employees left to complain about Housing costs show the problem clearly. In 1985, homes cost about 3.5 times the median income. Today prices are around 5 times income nationally and even higher in major cities. Many young people now depend on side hustles because a single income often does not cover living costs. According to Raj Shamani, many Gen Z workers face strong prejudice at the workplace. According to him, more than 70$ of managers already assume Gen Z employees are problematic even before judging their work. Because of this bias, many young workers try to overcompensate by working harder than necessary. Also Read | Why Gen Z employees are setting firmer boundaries despite job market uncertainty Shamani then shared an example of a 26-year-old department head who shows perfect work-life balance on social media. But, the youngster secretly replies to emails at 2 AM. The pressure to prove themselves makes many young professionals feel they must constantly perform. Break from work Unlike previous generations, Gen Z rarely gets a true break from work. This creates an always-on culture where disconnecting from work feels difficult. They spend 4.5 hours on social media daily. And the thing about being on your phone that much: work is also on your phone, Shamani wrote. The same device they use to unwind is the same device pinging them with Slack notifications, emails, and quick questions from their manager, he added. Wellness programs Raj Shamani says many companies try to solve employee burnout through wellness programs. But, these efforts often fail. Businesses spend billions of dollars on meditation apps, therapy sessions and mindfulness workshops. However, studies involving thousands of workers show that these programs rarely improve workplace conditions. Also Read | Top 8 meditation practices around the world and their benefits According to Shamani, the wellness theatre only helps people tolerate stress instead of fixing the real problems. If youre spending money on meditation programs instead of reducing stress, youre not solving the problem, Shamani wrote. Structural reforms The podcaster believes real change requires structural reforms inside organisations. Companies should communicate honestly about career growth. Managers should be trained to avoid bias and reduce unnecessary meetings and monitoring. Work cultures should also genuinely respect rest and personal time. The question was never whether Gen Z is too soft. The question is: if the environment weve created is draining young people before theyve even started, what are we going to do about it? Raj Shamani asked. The United States-Israel and Iran conflict has entered Day 6, and the US military has so far attacked more than 1,000 targets, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and many of their cabinet ministers. In retaliation, Iran targeted many of its bases in other Middle Eastern countries. The conflict has now widened into Asia after a US submarine sank an Iranian navy vessel near Sri Lanka on Wednesday, 4 March. With the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran escalating with more countries joining, Democrats have now started questioning President Donald Trump's military authority, first in Venezuela, now in the Middle East. Since the start of the conflict, Donald Trump has provided multiple justifications. He said he felt Iran was about to launch an attack, and that the operation aimed to eliminate immediate threats to the United States, its foreign bases, and its allies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently mentioned to reporters that the objectives of this operation are to destroy their ballistic missile capability and make sure they cant rebuild, and make sure that they cant hide behind that to have a nuclear program. The Secretary of State also said that the impending strikes on Iran by Israel were the reason America went ahead with sending a barrage of missiles towards Iran. Neither has yet provided any evidence. What does the US Constitution say? Reuters quoted some legal experts as saying that the attacks on Iran are pushing the boundaries of Trump's constitutional authority. Under the US Constitution, the president commands the armed forces and directs foreign relations, but only Congress has the power to declare war. Article I of the US Constitution, which created Congress, gives lawmakers shall have power to declare war. Article II, which established the presidency, designates the president as the commander in chief of the Army and Navy. The Constitution also grants Congress authority over military spending. In 2001 and 2003, Congress had provided authorisation for large military operations when former President George W Bush declared invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Under the War Powers Resolution (WPR) of 1973, the president can deploy the military only when Congress has declared war, provided specific authority, or responded to an attack on US territory or its military. It requires the president to report regularly to Congress, which the administration began doing on Monday. The resolution has also demanded that the military action end within 60 days. The President may extend this 60-day period an additional 30 days by certifying in writing to Congress the need for continued use of force, it says. According to congress.gov, A bill or joint resolution directing the President to remove US forces abroad may be introduced in either chamber at any time. The US Senate vote The US Senate has voted down a War Powers resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump's military action, 'Operation Epic Fury', against Iran, with the measure failing 47-53 on mostly party lines, Fox News reported. Senate Republicans on Wednesday (local time) closed ranks behind President Donald Trump, dealing him a crucial political victory by defeating a Democratic-led resolution intended to rein in his military actions in Iran despite lingering questions about America's involvement in the Middle East. The United States media has said that a Pakistani man, who was accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump, has blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards for pressuring him. Asif Raza Merchant said he was pressured to devise a murder-for-hire scheme. His plot failed when he actually hired some Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents as hired killers. The Pakistani man was charged in September 2024 with seeking to hire a contract killer to assassinate unidentified US politicians. He has denied the charges. The Revolutionary Guards have previously sought to kill top US officials, such as Trump, following the 2020 killing of one of their commanders, Qasem Soleimani, by the United States. During his trial on Wednesday, Asif Raza Merchant testified that he was forced into the plot to protect his family members, who reside in Tehran. He said he thought he would get caught before anyone was killed, multiple media outlets reported. He also mentioned that his contract mentioned three people in connection with the plot: Donald Trump, former president Joe Biden and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. According to the Washington Post, Raza Merchant said, My family was under threat, and I had to do this. I was not wanting to do this so willingly. His trial is currently underway. The Pakistani man's trials have come as the United States, in a joint operation with Israel, launched heavy airstrikes on Iran on 28 February. The strikes have killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many other politicians. Also Read | Gulf nations face food security challenge as Middle East conflict widens US officials previously said Merchant had "close ties to Iran" and described his alleged plot as "straight out of the Iranian regime's playbook". Merchant said this week that he began working with a member of Irans Revolutionary Guards around 2022, after the man asked if he was interested in doing some work with the Iranian government, the New York Times reported. He was eventually instructed to orchestrate a plot that involved arranging protests, stealing documents, laundering money and potentially having someone killed. Also Read | Judge says US must refund billions collected under Trumps illegal tariffs The Times reported that Merchant said he had been worried about what would happen to his wife and adopted daughter in Iran, so he agreed to the operation. He was arrested after reportedly trying to hire hitmen who turned out to be undercover FBI agents. Asif Raza Merchant is a Pakistani national who frequently travels to Iran, Iraq and Syria, his travel records said, as per the Department of Justice. He has two wives. While one lives in Pakistan, another lives in Iran. The US Defense Department has said that it will stop sending officers on professional courses and graduate programs at Ivy League colleges. According to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the ban will come into effect from the academic year 2026-27. Ivy League institutions banned by Pentagon A total of 22 institutions have been affected by the ban, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yale University, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies and Princeton University. Also Read | Pete Hegseth slams Harvard as Defense Dept cuts ties with Ivy League college Tufts University, Georgetown University, Brown University, Saint Louis University, Carnegie Mellon University, Middlebury College, George Washington University and the College of William and Mary are also named in the list. Long-standing ties with US military Many of these institutions have long-standing, deep ties with the US Military. This includes Carnegie Mellon University, which hosts the Armys Artificial Intelligence Integration Center. According to Columbia University, the DOD provides research funding and technological support through various agencies, primarily the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. These resources are designed to support academic researchers whose work aligns with the DODs national security priorities. Think tanks In addition to the Ivy League colleges, the Defense Department is also limiting its ties with seven high-profile think tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, New America, the Brookings Institution, the Atlantic Council, the Center for a New American Security, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Henry L. Stimson Center. New partners schools Hegseth also named the Liberty University, George Mason University, Pepperdine University, University of Tennessee, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska, University of North Carolina, Clemson, and Baylor, among others as new partners schools. Ivy League have becoem anti-American According to Hegseth, Ivy League colleges had become "anti-American". "For decades, the Ivy League and similar institutions have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain," Hegseth said in a video posted on X. We must develop strategic thinkers through education grounded in the founding principles and documents of the republic, embracing peace through strength and American ideals, and focused on our national strategies and grounded in realism. We will no longer invest in institutions that fail to sharpen our leaders' warfighting capabilities or that undermine the very values they are sworn to defend, Hegseth, a Princeton and Harvard alumnus said in a memo last week. Earlier this month, Hegseth said he would cancel professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University. According to The New York Times, a total of 93 military students are currently enrolled in graduate-level programs and fellowships at these institutions. Many of the programs offer mid- and senior-level officers courses on national and international security. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered some of his strongest remarks yet as the conflict with Iran entered its fifth day, declaring the campaign was designed to overwhelm Tehrans military capabilities. Hegseth predicted that within a week, US and Israeli forces would achieve air dominance over Iran. In under a week, we will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace, Hegseth said at a briefing at the Pentagon. He elaborated on what that would mean operationally: It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military. Iran will be able to do nothing about it, he added. The attack on Iran was never meant to be a fair fight, Hegseth said at the briefing. We are punching them while theyre down, which is exactly how it should be, he added. They are toast, and they know it, or at least, soon enough, they will know it. He said the US and Israel had only just begun efforts to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities. Alleged assassination plot and target list Addressing questions about reports that a targeted leader had allegedly been involved in a plot against President Donald Trump, Hegseth said the US had long known of Iranian efforts to kill the President and other top officials. While that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination I ensured, and others ensured that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list, he said. He stressed the primary focus remained Irans missile and launcher infrastructure but added: If we have the opportunity to get at those who are trying to get at America specifically, we would. No further operational details were provided. Iran cannot outlast us Hegseth dismissed suggestions that Iran could endure a prolonged conflict. Iran cannot outlast us, he said, noting the war could continue for three, four, six or eight weeks. The only limits we have in this is President Trumps desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people, he added. We set the tone and the tempo of this fight. He said: The U.S. is winning, decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Civilian casualty reports under investigation Hegseth also addressed reports that a strike hit an elementary school in Minab in southern Iran, allegedly killing 168 people. All that I know is that were investigating that, he said. Of course, we never target civilians, but were taking a look at investigating that. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that the school was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils. Over the weekend, United States Central Command said it was reviewing reports of civilian deaths. The Israeli military has not commented. Air defenses formidable but not perfect Hegseth said US and allied air defense systems have intercepted thousands of Iranian missiles and drones. Thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized, he said. He noted that every available counter-drone system had been deployed forward but acknowledged limitations. Iranian weapons debris continues to fall across the Middle East as US and allied forces deploy advanced satellite systems, cyber tools and laser technology, according to reporting by The New York Post. The Post reported that new-generation laser weaponry has been used as part of Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, though US and Israeli authorities have not publicly confirmed laser deployment. US Navy destroyer equipped with HELIOS system Videos released by United States Central Command show a US Navy destroyer operating with the High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system. The system features a steerable head capable of directing an intense, tightly focused beam of energy to disable drones and other airborne threats. According to The Post, the weapon is designed to provide ship-based defense against unmanned aerial systems. Neither the United States Navy nor Israeli officials have confirmed or denied the operational use of lasers in the campaign. Israels Iron Beam system credited in border incidents Videos from the IsraelLebanon border reportedly show rockets exploding mid-air shortly after launch. Military observers have unofficially attributed this to Israels advanced laser system known as Iron Beam, though the Israel Defense Forces has not publicly confirmed its deployment in the operation. The system is designed to intercept rockets and short-range projectiles before they reach their targets. Massive early strikes and missile destruction According to The Post, during the first 72 hours of the campaign: -1,700 targets were struck by US forces. -More than 200 Iranian ballistic missile launchers were destroyed approximately half of Irans reported inventory. -Dozens of additional launchers were rendered inoperable. -Hundreds of missiles were reportedly destroyed before launch. Also Read | Why US Congress should reclaim its war powers from the White House Space-based surveillance critical to operations The United States Space Force, established in 2019, is described as playing a key role in providing real-time intelligence for air and sea operations. Crews operate inside radar domes, known as radomes, which receive live satellite data to: -Track missile launches -Calculate trajectories -Determine potential impact zones -Support defensive and offensive decisions These systems allow forces to identify when to strike and when to take cover. Cyber operations precede kinetic strikes United States Cyber Command reportedly conducted cyber operations ahead of physical strikes. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine confirmed after the start of Operation Epic Fury that cyber units targeted Iranian infrastructure before airstrikes began. Before any shots were fired, Cyber Command struck communications and sensor networks to disrupt, disorient and confuse the enemy, Caine said at a press briefing. Also Read | How many Shahed drones does Iran have and why are they crucial? Explained The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote again on Thursday (March 5) on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, as Republicans argue that the ongoing conflict with Iran makes restoring full operations more urgent. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the international security environment underscores the need for action. The military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a fully funded, fully staffed DHS across all its departments, Johnson said. Republicans are framing the vote as critical to national security, warning that instability abroad increases the risk of retaliation at home. Shutdown fallout and funding stalemate The House passed a DHS funding bill in January, but it stalled in the United States Senate after Democrats demanded changes to immigration enforcement provisions. Funding for the department lapsed on February 14, triggering the partial shutdown. Congress has completed 11 of 12 annual appropriations bills. DHS remains the only unresolved measure. While most DHS employees are considered essential and continue working, many are beginning to miss portions of their paychecks. Security concerns cited by Republicans Republicans say the shutdown comes at a particularly dangerous moment, citing the Iran conflict and recent domestic incident. A second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in January prompted Democrats to oppose funding for the department unless immigration enforcement reforms are implemented. Can we not understand America is under siege, now likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege, and theyre going to hit back and were sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS, said Senator Lindsey Graham. Republicans argue the shutdown is already affecting critical functions: -Possible increased absences among Transportation Security Administration staff, potentially leading to longer airport wait times. -Canceled cybersecurity assessments by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. -Suspended training programs for first responders run by FEMA. They also point to recent violence, including a mass shooting in Austin, as evidence of a heightened threat environment. Alabama Senator Katie Britt said: I think that it is incredibly irresponsible to not fund the agency that is supposed to keep us safe here at home. Democratic opposition and proposed changes Democrats say they are willing to fund most DHS agencies but object to provisions related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Representative Jim McGovern criticized the Republican-backed bill: It's the same lousy, rotten bill that does not put any guardrails or constraints on ICE or CBP after federal agents shot American citizens in the street. Democrats are proposing several changes, including: -Restrictions on ICE operations at sensitive locations such as schools and churches. -Requirements for warrants signed by judges before entering private homes without consent. -Independent investigations into alleged misconduct. -Mandatory identification and mask removal for agents. Republicans note the bill includes bipartisan elements, such as expanded de-escalation training and $20 million for body-worn cameras for immigration enforcement agents. Negotiations continue, deal unclear Talks between the White House and congressional leaders have continued without a breakthrough. Look, we're still far apart but we're negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Also Read | Why US Congress should reclaim its war powers from the White House Five days since the United States and Israel in a joint operation launched military strikes against Iran, the Senate is set to vote on a resolution, introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul, that has sought to limit President Donald Trump's powers to continue attack on Tehran. Iran, meanwhile, has been attacking Israel and US bases in other Middle east countries. The vote will also be the first congressional test of support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers. However, the resolution is likely to be defeated in the Senate vote as Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress. Most of them have largely back Donald Trump's decision to target Iran which also killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior figures. While Republicans have rallied behind Trump's decision, Democrats have argued that the act was unconstitutional as it bypassed Congress. Some Republicans have hinted that their support maybe erode if the conflict continues. Tim Kaine told AFP, Let me say it this way, there was no presentation of any evidence in that room...that suggested that the US faced any imminent threat from Iran. Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution. Senator Kaine said, "Everybody's got to declare whether they're for this war or against it. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, Wars without clear objectives do not remain small. They get bigger, bloodier, longer and more expensive." This is not a necessary war. Its a war of choice." Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham said, Roadside bombs coming out of Iran have maimed and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans. She added, They mean it when they say 'death to America.' I'm glad we didn't let it go further. I'm glad we didn't let them build more missiles. How many votes do Democrats need for resolution to pass? For the resolution to pass, Democrats would need at least four additional Republicans to join Rand Paul if every senator votes. At least one Democrat, Pennsylvania centrist John Fetterman, has already said he will oppose it. Even if the measure cleared both the Senate and the House where a vote on a similar resolution is expected Thursday Trump could veto it, and Congress would need an almost certainly unattainable two-thirds majority in both chambers to override him. The administration officials were told lawmakers in classified briefings this week that the operation on Iran could last weeks and may require additional funding from Congress. The briefing may put the lawmakers into a huddle, seeking emergency funds to sustain their campaign. Two women were found dead on a hiking trail on Wednesday afternoon, while a third womans body was discovered at a home in Wayne County, according to officials in Torrey, Utah. An urgent manhunt has been launched in connection with the killings, and officials have issued a county-wide shelter-in-place order, reported The Sun. The identities of the three women have not yet been released, but police said one victim appeared to be in her 30s, another in her 60s, and the third in her 80s. Authorities have launched a large-scale manhunt for the suspect in what they described as multiple homicides, urging residents to remain vigilant, secure their homes, and stay indoors. Schools across the area have been shut, with officials stating the decision was taken out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety. The Wayne County Sheriffs Office advised all residents on Wednesday evening to take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, and remain home or with others". Investigators have not yet publicly identified a suspect in the case. However, the individual is believed to remain at large, and police are searching for a 2022 white Subaru Outback with Utah licence plate U560YF. Due to recent incidents that have occurred in Wayne County today, WCSO is asking that all residents take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, and remain home or with others this evening if possible, the report cited sheriffs informing the residents last night. Multiple law enforcement agencies are currently in the area. Wayne County Sheriffs Office and the other law enforcement agencies are taking action to keep all residents safe. Please report anything that causes alarm to our Wayne County dispatch line which is 1-800-356-8757. Please DO NOT call dispatch to have questions answered, only to give legitimate information," they said. Meanwhile, the county school district announced that all schools would remain closed, likely for two days, while the investigation and urgent manhunt continued. The district mentioned that due to unfolding events in the county, and out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety, schools would be shut on Thursday and Friday. It also stated that counselors would be available to support students when classes resume next week and that further updates would be shared as the situation develops. News / Local by Stephen Jakes Bulawayo City Council is still battling to resolve 24 cases of doubleallocated residential stands, most of them in Cowdray Park, according to the latest council minutes on the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai housing scheme. Cowdray Park became the epicentre of chaotic stand allocations after the government launched the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai programme in the aftermath of the 2005 Operation Murambatsvina, which displaced thousands of families and destroyed informal home industries.Acting Director of Housing and Community Services Dictor Khumalo reported that at the beginning of the review period, council had 24 unresolved doubleallocation cases and none were resolved during the month under review.There were no changes in the month of January 2026, the minutes noted.Councillor Khalazani Ndlovu questioned why the issue had dragged on for so long and sought clarity on what caused the double allocations.A Principal Community Services Officer explained that Cowdray Park was originally a central government project created to accommodate people displaced by Operation Murambatsvina.The allocation of stands was not done properly, with one stand being allocated to two or more beneficiaries. Some of the documentation was not accurate, the minutes read.The scheme was later handed over to council with all its administrative problems. Council said the biggest obstacle to resolving the double allocations was the unavailability of alternative stands.Once stands become available, these double allocations will be solved, the report stated.Home ownership conversionsOn home ownership conversions, the Housing and Community Services Department reported that 430 rented houses had been converted to home ownership to date.In Mzilikazi and Makokoba, 1 567 houses have been converted out of a total of 2 283 units, leaving 716 still to be processed. The statistics remained unchanged during the reporting period. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes he should have a role in selecting Iran's Supreme Leader, as the United States and Israel continued their attacks on Iran for the sixth straight day. Meanwhile, Iran continued launching retaliatory strikes against Israel, U.S. military bases, and several countries across the region, AP reported. Trump also rejected Mojtaba Khamenei, who was considered a leading candidate to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed during the initial attacks that started the war. His remarks to the news outlet Axios are expected to raise further debate about whether the U.S. and Israel aim to overthrow Irans Islamic Republic or simply push for changes in its policies, as the conflict continues with no clear end in sight. The conflict has intensified daily, drawing in 14 more countries across the Middle East and other regions. On Thursday, Azerbaijan claimed that Iran carried out a drone attack against it, although Tehran rejected the accusation. Iran also warned that the United States would bitterly regret sinking an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka the previous day, AP reported. Meanwhile, Israel ordered a large-scale evacuation of all southern suburbs of Beirut as clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters intensified. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground fighting in southern Lebanon as additional Israeli forces moved across the border, AP noted. All the while, the U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Irans attacks have targeted its Arab neighbours, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed. Trump compares Iran to Venezuela In the Axios interview, Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a light weight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after Trump ordered a U.S. military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and whisk him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges, as reported by AP. Israels defense minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Irans next supreme leader if he continues to threaten Israel, the U.S. and others will be a target for elimination. Top contenders Iran remains defiant Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, accused the United States Navy of carrying out what he called an atrocity at sea after it sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week, an incident that reportedly left at least 87 people dead, AP reported. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set, he said on social media. The Iranian ship sunk by the U.S. Navy was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued. Araghchi said it had been carrying almost 130 crew. View full Image View full Image TOPSHOT - (COMBO) This combination of frame grabs pictures from a video released by the US Department of Defense on March 4, 2026, shows what the Department of Defense says is periscope footage of a US Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. Nearly 150 were missing and several dead after the frigate IRIS Dena sank Wednesday off Sri Lanka, officials said. (Photo by US Department of Defense / AFP) ( AFP ) An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. There are dozens in Iran. Sri Lanka said another Iranian warship was anchored near its coast on Thursday and that more than 200 sailors were being escorted to a naval base on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. The ship will be taken to a port in the island nations eastern region, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. The war keeps expanding Israel reported several incoming missile attacks, with air-raid sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it responded by launching a series of strikes targeting Irans ballistic-missile launch sites, AP reported. Countries in the Gulf also said they were targeted. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone was intercepted near Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts United States Armed Forces personnel, and falling debris injured six people, according to authorities. Also Read | Is Ronaldo still in Saudi Arabia? Conflicting reports emerge about jet departure In Qatar, officials evacuated residents living near the United States Embassy in Doha as a precaution, and the country later reported a missile strike on Doha. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone in a province along its border with Jordan. Kuwait said missiles were shot towards it Thursday evening, activating air defense systems. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery on Thursday, sparking a fire that was extinguished. The refinery was still working, it said, and there were no reports of casualties. Earlier, Bahrain said its forces had intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles and 124 drones since the start of the war. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of carrying out a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone crashed Thursday near the airport in Nakhchivan, a region bordering Iran. Another drone fell near a school. Authorities said four civilians, all airport workers, were wounded. Aliyev said the military had been instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory measures. Also Read | How many Shahed drones does Iran have and why are they crucial? Explained Iran rejected accusations that it had launched drones toward Azerbaijan and has repeatedly denied targeting oil facilities or other civilian infrastructure, even though some of its missiles and drones have struck such locations, AP reported. Since the war began on Saturday, several ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which roughly one-fifth of the worlds oil passes. The attacks and rising tensions in the area have driven global oil prices sharply higher. President Donald Trump announced on March 5 that he is removing Kristi Noem from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security and will nominate Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her, effective March 31, 2026. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Noem has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!) and that she will now become the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a position tied to the new Western Hemisphere security initiative. This marks the first Cabinet secretary to be removed during Trumps second term, though Trump has positioned Noem as a leader of this new regional strategy rather than leaving the administration entirely. What is 'The Shield of the Americas'? The Shield of the Americas is a new US security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere that President Trump plans to formally announce at a summit this weekend in Doral, Florida with leaders from more than a dozen Latin American countries. The initiative, which Trump described in his announcement as aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on safety and security, represents a broader push by the administration to expand US diplomatic and strategic efforts across North, Central, and South America. Trump has tied the initiative to issues such as combatting organized crime, strengthening border security, coordinating on migration challenges, and confronting shared threats in the hemisphere. The summit this Saturday will bring together heads of state and government officials from nations including Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and others for discussions on these topics. Noem, speaking in Nashville ahead of the summit, confirmed she will attend and indicated Trump will unveil a big agreement at the meeting outlining how were going to go after cartels and drug trafficking in the entire Western Hemisphere. Her comments underscore that the new role is intended to focus on multinational cooperation against transnational crime and insecurity. Noems reaction to her ouster After Trumps announcement, Noem took to X (formerly Twitter) thanking the president for her new assignment, writing: Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. She added that she is looking forward to working with administration officials to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. Iran sharply condemned the United States on Thursday after an American naval attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters, an incident Tehran described as an atrocity at sea that could further escalate the widening regional war. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of launching an unprovoked strike thousands of miles from Iranian territory, warning that the United States would ultimately bitterly regret precedent it has set. Also Read | Why US Congress should reclaim its war powers from the White House Frigate Dena, a guest of Indias Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning, he wrote on social media. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set. Iranian officials said the vessel had been visiting India before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck off the coast of Sri Lanka. IRIS Dena, the 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise, Milan 2026, in Visakhapatnam. US submarine torpedo sinks Iranian warship The confrontation at sea occurred late Tuesday in the Indian Ocean, where the US Navy deployed a submarine that launched a torpedo strike on the Iranian warship. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine sank the vessel, describing it as part of the expanding military campaign targeting Irans naval and missile capabilities. Sri Lankan authorities reported that 32 crew members were rescued, while the countrys navy recovered 87 bodies from the wreckage. Iranian officials said the attack killed dozens of sailors and insisted the vessel had been operating lawfully in international waters. Araghchi denounced the strike as unjustified and said it demonstrated a willingness by Washington to extend the war far beyond the Middle East battlefield. Iran launches new strikes as regional war intensifies The naval attack came as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States intensified dramatically across the region. Early Thursday, Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks targeting Israeli territory as well as American military bases across the Middle East. Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as Israeli air defence systems moved to intercept incoming missiles. Iranian state television said the strikes also targeted US installations in the region, signalling Tehrans determination to broaden its retaliation. Also Read | Kurdish armed group launches ground operation in Iran Israel responded with what it described as a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure in Tehran. Explosions were reported across several parts of the Iranian capital shortly afterwards. The Israeli military also carried out attacks in Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. War expands beyond Iran and Israel The rapidly escalating conflict has begun spilling into neighbouring countries and major maritime routes. Iran launched missiles toward Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel, while Turkey said NATO air defences intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran before it entered Turkish airspace. Meanwhile, tensions at sea intensified after an explosion struck a commercial tanker off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which monitors security for shipping in the region, said the blast occurred near a vessel in waters that have increasingly become a theatre of conflict. Also Read | US releases names of two more soldiers killed in Iran drone strike on Kuwait Since the fighting began, attacks on shipping have occurred in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most critical energy chokepoints through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass. Brent crude prices have surged about 15% since the start of the conflict, reaching their highest level since July 2024. Rising casualties across Middle East region The war has already caused heavy casualties across several countries. Iranian authorities said at least 1,045 people had been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict. In Israel, officials reported 11 deaths, while six American troops have also been killed. Violence has spread into Lebanon, where at least 70 people have died amid Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah positions. Explosions in Beiruts southern suburbs late Wednesday killed three people and wounded several others after Israeli drone strikes hit vehicles in the area. The Israeli military said it had also struck several command centers used by Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital. US and Israel signal prolonged military campaign Washington and Jerusalem have suggested that their military campaign could continue for weeks as they attempt to weaken Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear programme. During a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth declined to offer a firm timeline for US operations. You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three, he said. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and were going to keep them off balance. Also Read | Senate refuses to rein in Trump as US-Israel-Iran war intensifies US President Donald Trump praised the US militarys performance, saying American forces were doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly. Republicans in the US Senate have largely backed the administrations campaign, voting down a resolution that sought to halt the war. Iran grapples with leadership crisis after Ayatollah Ali Khameneis death The conflict began on 28 February with a series of joint US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans most powerful political and religious figure. Iranian state television announced that the planned mourning ceremony for Khamenei had been postponed because of the intensity of ongoing military operations. Irans clerical leadership has begun the process of selecting a successor, marking only the second transition of supreme leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Also Read | The Iran war is a jolt to Dubais business model Possible candidates include hard-line clerics as well as figures who favour greater engagement with the West. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leaders second son, is widely considered a potential contender. In the meantime, the countrys judiciary warned that those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy. Growing fears of a wider regional conflict As military strikes intensify and new fronts open across the Middle East, governments throughout the region are bracing for further escalation. Irans Revolutionary Guard warned this week of the complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure. Meanwhile, Qatar evacuated residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a precaution, while fighter jets were heard flying over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Against that backdrop, Irans warning over the sinking of the IRIS Dena underscored the growing risks of the conflict expanding beyond traditional battlefields. An Iranian missile strike ignited a fire at Bahrain's state-operated oil refinery on Thursday, which was subsequently extinguished, the Gulf nations communications department reported. The facility, managed by Bahrain's national petroleum firm Bapco, is situated on the island of Sitra along Bahrain's eastern shoreline, south of the capital, Manama. Also Read | Australia, New Zealand deploy military aircraft for Middle East evacuations "A fire broke out at a unit of the Bapco Energies refinery following an Iranian missile strike. The fire has been fully contained," Bahrain's National Communication Centre, the government's media arm, said in a statement. "There are no reported injuries, and refinery operations continue. An assessment of the damage is currently under way," the centre added. Tehran has intensified hostilities throughout the Gulf in retaliation for American and Israeli operations that killed its supreme leader last weekend. These strikes have targeted United States installations as well as civilian assets, including vital hydrocarbon infrastructure in energy-rich territories. Regarding the same incident, Bahrain's interior ministry previously noted that a facility in the vicinity was hit, while AFP reported plumes of smoke emanating from the site. Also Read | Wall Street dips, oil climbs amid raging Middle East war Emergency sirens wailed across Bahrain on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, the country's Defense Ministry announced its military had intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles and 124 unmanned aerial vehicles since the war commenced on Saturday. Azerbaijan accuses Iran of conducting drone strikes The conflict has intensified daily, now impacting an additional 14 nations across the Middle East and surrounding regions. On Thursday, Azerbaijan charged Iran with conducting drone strikesan allegation Tehran dismissed. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev labeled the incident a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone went down Thursday near Nakhchivan airport, a territory bordering Iran. A day prior, the U.S. said it had sunk an Iranian warship in waters near Sri Lanka. Israel, meanwhile, broadcasted a mass evacuation alert for all southern districts of Beirut as combat escalated with Lebanons Iran-aligned Hezbollah forces. U.N. observers noted ground engagements in southern Lebanon as more Israeli battalions crossed the frontier. Simultaneously, the U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran with nationwide aerial strikes, focusing on military assets, leadership structures, and nuclear facilities. Israeli and American officials have also implied that deposing the government was a primary objectiveand Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed when they initiated the offensive Saturday. However, specific goals and schedules have shifted frequently, and the struggle increasingly appeared to be an open-ended engagement. Iran denied a report that its Ministry of Intelligence reached out to the US to negotiate an end to the Middle East war. The New York Times said Iranian operatives indirectly contacted the Central Intelligence Agency on Sunday to discuss terms to end the conflict. That is pure falsehood and psychological warfare, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing a ministry source. Oil briefly rose on the denial, though quickly reversed those gains as traders focused on a US plan to have its navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the chokepoint has slumped since the war erupted on Saturday with Israeli and US strikes on Iran. Brent was 0.2% lower at $81.24 a barrel as of 3 p.m. in London. The US-Israeli war with Iran has now entered its sixth day. In the United Arab Emirates, some popular attractions have temporarily closed due to heightened security alerts across the region since the conflict began on February 28, affecting several Middle Eastern countries, according to Khaleej Times. US Mission UAE security alert US Mission in UAE issued a Level 3 security alert urging American citizens to depart immediately amid escalating Iran-US-Israel conflict, with embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General Dubai closed. UAE airspace faced disruptions but some flights have resumed on a limited basis. Dubai Airport (DXB) status DXB and UAE airports saw suspensions but now host limited services from five airlines, including Emirates operating about 100 flights for passengers, cargo, and aid. Indian carriers like Air India are running relief flights from Dubai. Operations are not fully resumed due to ongoing regional airspace restrictions. Popular attractions Global Village has announced it will remain closed until Friday, March 6, as a precautionary measure in line with official guidance, having been shut since March 1, 2026. Dubai Parks and Resorts will also stay closed on March 5 and 6, with visitors holding existing tickets advised to check the official website for updates. Ain Dubai, the landmark observation wheel at Bluewaters Island, will remain shut on March 5 and 6, and guests with bookings have been urged to verify the latest information online before visiting. Jebel Jais and all its attractions, activities, and restaurants have been temporarily closed as a precaution, with operations set to resume once conditions are deemed safe. Meanwhile, coordinated efforts between airport authorities and airline officials have provided some relief to stranded travellers who had been dealing with uncertainty in recent days due to widespread flight cancellations and delays. Catch Dubai, Abu Dhabi, UAE news LIVE updates here: UAE Central Bank confirms financial sector stability amid regional tensions The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday reassured that the nations banking and financial sector remains robust, stable, and well-equipped to handle ongoing regional developments, reported ANI. In a press release, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the UAE Central Bank, stated that banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies throughout the UAE are functioning normally and delivering services efficiently without any interruptions nationwide. Air France extends suspension of its flights to and from Dubai until March 6 Air France is extending the suspension of its flights to and from Dubai until March 6, as per Reuters. Repeated explosions heard near Zayed International airport Repeated explosions heard near Zayed International airport, according to a Reuters citing a witness. UAE issues emergency alert The UAEs Ministry of Interior has issued an emergency alert throughout the emirates. The alert advises that due to potential missile threats, residents should seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building", reported Khaleej Times. People have also been urged to avoid windows, doors, and open spaces. Do not exit to film or record The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority urged people to not exit to film or record. It said, Proceed immediately to a safe place and remain until the all-clear. DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on WHO suspending ops in Dubai hub Ghebreyesus expressed serious concern about the confrontation that began on Saturday following USIsraeli attacks on Iran, cautioning that the consequences extend beyond the countries directly involved. "Operations at WHO's logistics hub for global health emergencies in Dubai are currently on hold due to insecurity," AFP quoted him as saying. UAE air defence system engage incoming Iranian missile and drone threats The United Arab Emirates air defence systems are actively countering a barrage of missiles and drones launched from Iran, the Ministry of Defence has said. Officials explained that the loud noises being heard nationwide are the consequence of interceptions, reported Khaleej Times. The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority took to X and mentioned, "Air defence systems are currently responding to a missile threat. Air Canada suspends flights to and from Dubai until March 22 Air Canada has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until March 22 and is planning to resume them on March 23, reported Reuters. Aegean airlines suspends flights to and from Dubai, Abu Dhabi Greece's largest carrier Aegean airlines has suspended flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi until the evening arrivals of March 6, as per Reuters. WHO suspends operations at Dubai's emergency logistics hub The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suspended operations at Dubai's emergency logistics hub, reported Khaleej Times. Flydubai resumes limited operations amid Middle East tensions Flydubai has restarted flights across its network, though services are operating on a reduced schedule, a spokesperson said, reported Khaleej Times. "We are continuously updating our schedule and adding more flights as airspace restrictions are lifted. We continue to monitor the situation closely," the spokesperson added. The airline cautioned that some journeys may take longer than usual because of temporary rerouting of certain flight paths. Passengers have been urged not to head to the airport unless they hold a confirmed booking or have received official confirmation of a rebooked flight. Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company offers free data and calls to stranded UAE residents Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (Du) announced on Thursday that it is providing 15GB of free roaming data along with unlimited outgoing calls to UAE residents stranded abroad due to ongoing flight suspensions, according to a report by Khaleej Times. The countrys second-largest telecom operator informed customers that it has automatically activated a complimentary 15GB roaming data package across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The package also includes unlimited outgoing calls and 500 minutes for incoming calls. The special offer takes effect from Thursday and will remain valid for three days. UAE intercepts 6 missiles, says report UAE air defence systems identified seven ballistic missiles on Thursday, March 5. Of these, six were successfully intercepted and destroyed, while one landed within the countrys territory, reported Khaleej Times. In addition, authorities detected 131 drones, intercepting 125 of them, while six fell inside the UAE. Dubai private schools to go on spring break from March 9 Knowledge and Human Development Authority has announced that spring break for students, along with teaching and administrative staff across all private educational institutions in Dubai, will run from Monday, March 9, to Sunday, March 22, reported Khaleej Times, adding that classes and regular work schedules will restart on Monday, March 23 amid Iran tensions. Debris from drone injures 6 people in Abu Dhabi Debris from a drone left six people injured in an industrial zone of the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday, reported AFP. UAE hit by 842 drones as of Tuesday According to UAE, as of Tuesday, it had been hit by 186 ballistic missiles, eight cruise missiles and 842 drones, reported Bloomberg. More than 100 Emirates flights to depart from Dubai More than 100 Emirates will depart from Dubai and return for March 5-6, according to Reuters citing airline' spokesperson. Middle East tensions challenge Dubais dominance as a global aviation hub? The intensifying conflict in the Middle East has highlighted the global aviation industrys heavy dependence on a small number of key transit hubs, particularly Dubai, home to the worlds busiest international airport, according to Reuters. The closure of Gulf airspace sent immediate shockwaves through airline networks across the globe, disrupting routes and schedules far beyond the region. Four decades after the Gulfs commercial capital leveraged its strategic geographic position by launching Emirates with just two leased aircraft and two routes, Dubai has evolved into the heart of a vast international aviation network connecting 110 countries and handling approximately 454,000 flights annually. Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told Reuters last month, before US and Israeli strikes against Iran, "That we've got such a well-spread geographic business model and are well spread between visitors and those in transit suggests it's very robust and will continue to survive any geopolitical tension that exists, wherever it may be. Indian embassy in UAE issues advisory, asks citizens to remain vigilant The Indian embassy in UAE has issued advisory, asking citizens to remain vigilant amid Middle East tensions. It also released helpline numbers. Mixed accounts of passengers arriving at IGIA from UAE Passengers arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dubai on Thursday shared mixed accounts of the situation in the UAE. While one described an atmosphere of panic, another said life appeared largely normal. However, both noted a sharp rise in airfares. A passenger Rahul Saxena, who landed at IGI Airport from Dubai, shared there is a situation of panic in the region, according to ANI. "There is a situation of panic there. The sooner the government evacuates everyone, the better," Saxena said. However, another passenger, Gautam Gupta, who also landed at IGI Airport from Dubai, said everything is normal in Dubai and they did not confront any issues. "Everything is normal in Dubai. We did not face any difficulties. The prices of the flights have increased," Gupta said. SpiceJet to run 13 special flights from UAE on Thursday SpiceJet will run 13 special flights from the UAE on Thursday to facilitate the return of passengers stranded amid the Middle East tensions, according to PTI. As the war between the US and Iran continues, Kurdish armed groups from neighbouring Iraq have reportedly entered the conflict. According to the Israeli news channel, i24, thousands of Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party have launched a ground offensive into Iran. According to an official from the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, the Iraqi Kurdish group began the ground operation inside Iran on Monday, 2 March. Kurds join the US-Iran war The official further told i24 that PJAK fighters have moved into positions around the southern mountains of Mariwan in western Iran, and more have been deployed in the Zagros mountains region in the countrys northwest, along the border with Iraq. Also Read | CIA working to arm Kurdish militant groups for ground operation in Iran Kurdish officials also told the Associated Press that Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them. Iran strikes Kurdish group in Iraq Iran, meanwhile, has denied reports of armed Kurdish fighters crossing into the country from Iraq. Iran also claimed that it has launched an operation targeting anti-Iran separatist forces in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. Irans state-owned Press TV has published several videos, allegedly showing explosions lighting up the night sky during the operation. While the location of the strikes has not been revealed, a senior leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, told AFP that one of their men was killed in the attack in an area close to Erbil, the capital of Iraqs Kurdistan. There are also reports that the headquarters of the Kurdistan Toilers Association, an Iranian Kurdish armed group in Iraq, was targeted in the province of Sulaimaniyah. The IRGCs public relations office announced that its missile units successfully targeted and hit bases of the Komala and anti-revolutionary groups with three missiles at 11 AM. Who are Kurds? Kurds are a stateless ethnic group spread across the Kurdistan region in West Asia, comprising Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. In Iraq and Syria, the Kurds enjoy a level of semi-autonomy over their region, while in other countries, there have been separatist movements aimed at the creation of a unified Kurdistan. Iran has designated Kurdish opposition groups, which have previously fought its security forces in Kurdish-majority areas along the border, as terrorist organisations. Last month, five Kurdish armed groups announced a political coalition to seek the overthrow of Irans Islamic Republic and ultimately to secure Kurdish self-determination. Why US want Kurds to fight Iran If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group. The developments come after US media reported that the CIA was in talks with Iranian Kurdish armed groups to launch a ground invasion in Iran and spread more unrest in the country by instigating public protests. According to reports, top US leaders, including President Donald Trump himself, have spoken to Iranian Kurdish armed groups. According to Reuters, the Iranian Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the countrys military. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said a ballistic missile launched from Iran was targeting Turkey before it was intercepted, contradicting an earlier claim by a Turkish official that the missile had been aimed at a military base in Cyprus. A NATO spokesperson confirmed the alliances assessment on Thursday in remarks to AFP. When asked whether the missile had deliberately targeted locations in Turkey, NATO spokesman Martin O'Donnell replied: Yes. He also pointed to NATOs formal response issued earlier regarding the incident. Alliance condemns Irans actions In an earlier statement, another NATO spokesperson, Allison Hart, condemned what the alliance described as an attack directed at Turkey. The alliance condemns Irans targeting of Turkiye, Hart said, using the countrys official name. The remarks underscore growing tensions in the region amid escalating hostilities involving Iran and its regional rivals. Limited details due to security concerns Despite confirming the alliances assessment, O'Donnell declined to provide further details about the missiles intended target or trajectory. I will refrain from revealing any additional information that could impact security or force protection, he said. The lack of additional information reflects security sensitivities surrounding missile defence systems and operational responses. Turkey says missile intercepted Earlier on Thursday, Turkeys defence ministry said NATO defence systems successfully intercepted and neutralised a ballistic missile fired from Iran. According to the ministry, the missile had been detected heading toward Turkey before being shot down. However, the ministry did not provide further technical details about the interception. Also Read | Why US Congress should reclaim its war powers from the White House Tourists and some residents who were unable to leave the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to airspace closures amid the USIsraelIran conflict can breathe a sigh of relief, as they will not be fined for delayed departures, authorities have announced. The UAE's Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security said the exemption would apply to all who could not travel due to flight suspensions or rescheduling caused by exceptional regional circumstances. Who is eligible for the visa overstay fee exemption? The authority explained that the decision would apply to all cases in which individuals were unable to leave the UAE due to exigent circumstances, including visitors holding visit visas, tourist visas, or exit permits, as well as residents who had cancelled their residency permits in preparation for departure. The exemption, therefore, applies to fines incurred on or after 28 February 2026, when the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran. The measure reflects the UAE's civilised and humanitarian values regarding emergencies, the authority further said. Also Read | US Iran News LIVE: Israel begins fresh wave of strikes against Tehran Specialised teams providing support to stranded travellers Given current circumstances, the authority also said that specialised teams across the country's airports were continuing to operate in accordance with emergency and business continuity plans and were working to address cases related to delayed, cancelled, or rescheduled flights. "The authority emphasised that all operational plans and risk management procedures have been activated according to the highest approved standards, and that coordination is ongoing with strategic partners and relevant authorities to guarantee the continuity of operations at the ports of entry as soon as air traffic fully resumes," the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security said. It also added that it was providing accommodation and sustenance for stranded travellers in coordination with relevant authorities and airport operators. Finally, the authority also urged both travellers and the public at large to obtain information and updates only through official channels. emphasising that the UAE possesses advanced infrastructure and a robust security and operational system capable of efficiently and flexibly handling various developments. Also Read | Kurdish armed group launches ground operation in Iran Flight situation is still volatile The announcement of the waiver of fines comes at a time when thousands remain stranded in Dubai and other parts of the UAE, as the conflict in the Middle East has led to airspace closures and flight cancellations. While flight services are resuming slowly, with airlines taking all necessary precautions, the situation remains volatile nonetheless and has even prompted wealthy flyers to pay over $200,000 for flights out of the region. Iranian mission to United Nations, on Thursday, denied all claims that the Islamic Republic has closed the Strait of Hormuz. Describing the claims as baseless and absurd, the Iran mission claimed that in reality, it is the US that has endangered maritime security. The claim that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz is baseless and absurd. Iran remains committed to international law and freedom of navigation. In reality, it is the U.S. that has endangered maritime security, the Iran mission's post on X read. On Monday, 2 March a senior commander from Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that the Strait of Hormuz had been shut and warned that any vessel attempting to transit the waterway would be targeted, Iranian media reported. The series of claims comes amid the ongoing Israel-Iran-US conflict which entered its sixth day on Thursday, 5 March with explosions also reported across Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai among other key Gulf cities. Where is Strait of Hormuz? The Strait of Hormuz connects the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and sits between Iran and Omans Musandam exclave. At just around 50 kilometres (30 miles) wide and no deeper than 60 metres (200 feet) in places, the strait is geographically vulnerable to military disruption. Why is it important? Described by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) as one of the worlds most important oil chokepoints Strait of Hormuz handles about 20 million barrels of oil per day which is roughly one-fifth of global consumption and around one-fifth of global LNG trade, mainly from Qatar. Several strategically important islands dot the waterway, including Irans Hormuz, Qeshm and Larak. Also located there are the disputed Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa islands, under Iranian control since 1971, offering Tehran a commanding position over passing ships. In its X post, the Iranian mission to UN also criticised the American naval attack that sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters, resulting in the deaths of over 100 sailors. Strike on IRIS Dena On Wednesday, 4 March, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Iranian officials said the vessel IRIS Dena had been visiting India before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck off the coast of Sri Lanka. IRIS Dena, the 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise, Milan 2026, in Visakhapatnam. News / Local by Stephen Jakes Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has dismissed as complete nonsense claims by government spokesperson Nick Mangwana that legislators and ordinary citizens no longer want elections every five years. Mangwana had posted on X that nobody wants elections every 5 years, arguing that both MPs and voters were uninterested, citing low voter turnout in the 2023 polls.Current MPs dont. Even voters dont, either. Did you see the percentage of people who voted in 2023 in comparison with the number of those eligible to vote? Mangwana wrote.Coltart swiftly rejected the assertion, saying MPs may dislike elections because they fear losing their seats and benefits, but this does not reflect public sentiment.With respect, this is complete nonsense. Obviously MPs dont want to face the electorate again for fear of losing their seats and perks, Coltart said.He added that voter apathy had nothing to do with the length of parliamentary terms.As for voter apathy, that has little to do with the length of Parliament and everything to do with the electorate being uninspired by the crop of parties, policies and MPs presented to them. But the bottom line is: what empirically backed evidence can you present to support this outlandish claim?The exchange comes as the Zanu PF government pushes for constitutional amendments that would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwas term to 2030 a move that has sparked widespread concern.A recent Afrobarometer survey found that most Zimbabweans prefer leaders to be elected through regular democratic processes. Five days after the US, in collaboration with Israel, launched strikes against Iran in Operation Epic Fury, fighting continues to devastate the Middle East, with the conflict entering its sixth day on Thursday. While the US and its allies managed to eliminate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of Operation Epic Fury itself, Tehran has not relented to the pressure and is fighting back amid growing concerns of escalating conflict in the region. Thousands of targets struck in Iran As per the US Central Command's Wednesday update, nearly 2,000 targets across Iran have been struck by the US and Israel since Operation Epic Fury began, with strikes targeting Iran's ballistic missile hubs, naval assets, and its intelligence services in a bid to cripple Tehran's military and nuclear infrastructure. On the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, CENTCOM also announced that it had sunk 20 Iranian naval vessels, including a Soleimani-class warship. Iran responds In response to Operation Epic Fury, Iran has, over the past several days, resorted to launching ballistic missiles, which it claims targets bases used to carry out operations against the Islamic republic. Several of these missiles have since been intercepted by the likes of the UAE, Qatar, Turkey and other Gulf nations, but fire continues unabated as per latest reports. Israel targets Hezbollah Amid the hostilities with Iran, Israel on Wednesday announced that it was launching fresh strikes in response to alleged Hezbollah attacks. On early Thursday, an Israeli airstrike hit a Hezbollah stronghold to the south of Lebanon's Beirut, reported AFP, while elsewhere in the country, Israeli strikes killed eight. Death toll climbs Since Saturday, conflict in the Middle East has claimed at least 1,045 lives, as per Al Jazeera, with at least six US soldiers also losing their lives. US CENTCOM, however, has dismissed speculation about Iran sinking a US destroyer, killing 100 US Marines, and downing an American jet as "more fake news" from the Iranian regime. Shipping crisis The conflict has also driven up energy prices, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz now a contested zone. On Wednesday, Iran had claimed that it had complete control of the Strait, prompting the Donald Trump administration to announce that the US Navy would escort oil tankers through the chokepoint. That, however, is yet to happen, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying late on Wednesday that assistance would be provided "as soon as" it became possible. As the conflict continues, follow this space for LIVE updates and latest news from the US-Israel-Iran War. Iran has reportedly struck an oil tanker in the Gulf, which belonged to the United States, Euro News reported. The strike was conducted through a missile which was fired on Thursday, 5 March, in the latest Iranian attack on the regions energy infrastructure. There was no immediate confirmation of the incident or of a similar attack that Iran claimed earlier this week. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the ship was hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf and is currently on fire. The IRGC also said that any military or commercial vehicle that belongs to the US, Israel or any other European country that comes to its rescue or supports it will not be allowed to pass through. The Guards said in their Thursday statement carried by state media that, in time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be under the control of the Islamic Republic. In the time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be in the hands of the Islamic Republic, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said, as per the state media. If they are observed, they will certainly be hit. We had previously said that, based on international laws and resolutions, in times of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera quoted the IRGC as saying, citing the Iranian state media. With IRIS Dena being sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, 4 March, which killed at least 80 people, the US-Israel-Iran conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia. After the ship was struck in International waters, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that Washington would bitterly regret" the precedent it had set. "We have decided to fight Americans wherever they are," General Kioumars Heydari, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state TV. He added that Iran did not care how long the war lasts. Tehran had also rejected any further negotiation talks with the United States. The stakeholders on the other side, too, do not seem to budge. According to a statement issued by Israel's defence ministry, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also told his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, keep going until the end - were with you." What has emerged since arent just smarter content-making tools, but Agentic AI systems that observe, decide, optimize and iteratecontinuously, often in near real timewithout waiting to be asked. Artificial intelligence (AI) is not an instrument; it is now the operator. The old comfort was that the machine would always need a human to hand it a brief. That comfort is evaporating. The trade deals are a long way from being finalized. Their impact on Indias GDP growth rate will be visible only in 2027-28. That is also the year in which the new pay scales of the 8th Pay Commission will become operative, with arrears due for 15 months. The resulting rise in fiscal expenditure in 2027-28 may possibly get offset by higher growth in GDP and tax revenues that year. But for 2026-27, it is best to leave the nominal growth rate at the budgeted 10% because of new uncertainties around trade and oil prices. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar Chief Minister as a 'golden chapter' in the state's history and welcomed his return to national politics as he filed nomination for the Rajya Sabha election. Shah emphasised the glorious tenure of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar during which he made significant contributions to Bihar's progress. Also Read | How Nitish Kumars Rajya Sabha move could trigger political churn in Bihar "Bihar's CM also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha. With this, after a long gap, he will once again enter national politics as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish Kumar served as CM of Bihar from 2005 until now. His tenure was truly glorious. This tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development... Throughout his long career as an MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and Union Minister, his kurta was never stained. His entire life was free from corruption charges," Shah said on Thursday. Shah accompanied Kumar and others while filing nomination papers for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Less than four months after taking oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a record 10th term and just four days after turning 75 Nitish Kumar filed nomination for Rajya Sabha elections on Thursday. And in doing so, the Janata Dal United chief has paved the way for its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to have its leader in charge. "For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he added. Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including BJP Chief Nitin Nabin, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, BJP's Shivesh Kumar and JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur, also filed their nominations for the Upper House. Nitish Kumar's decision evoked reactions, with the opposition reiterating that the BJP had been intent on removing him from the CM post all along. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack, saying that his "hijack" allegation proved to be true. His tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development. Everyone knows that in the Bihar elections, the NDA had given this slogan '2025 se 30 phir se Nitish'. The BJP and NDA's constituent parties know how the elections were conducted through tricks, tantra-mantra, and the entire system in place. Even then, we had said that the BJP people had 'hijacked' Nitish Kumar and wouldn't let him sit on the chair again. We had said that he won't stay in the chair for more than six months, the former deputy CM said. Gulf Arab states have been taking the brunt of Iranian attacks in a war they didnt start and never chose. American allies in the region have spent a year trying to mediate a peace deal between the US, Israel and Iran, conscious that they had the most to lose from the onset of fighting. And as missiles and drones fell on Dubai, Riyadh and Doha this week cities that governments have worked for years to turn into stable havens and financial hubs many questioned US objectives and strategy. No one in the region chose to go to war with Iran we have seen the limitations of military solutions in the past, said Mohammed Baharoon, director of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center, referring to the wars in Gaza, Yemen and Iraq. Were directly joined at the hip by geography, he added. Once the war is over and US ships go home, we will have to deal with Iran. Since the war broke out on Feb. 28, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have continued to push for diplomacy and an off-ramp for both US President Donald Trump and the Iranians, according to people familiar with the matter. But short of telling the US to remove forces from their territories or close Middle East bases, none expect Iran to stop bombing them, one of the people said, requesting anonymity discussing such matters. Even if they can convince the US or Iran to de-escalate, Gulf states are aware that Israel may continue its campaign to destroy the regime. The bulk of Irans targets have been US bases and embassies, but projectiles have hit hotels including Dubais iconic Burj al-Arab and oil installations. Saudi Arabias Ras Tanura refinery halted operations. QatarEnergy declared force majeure after suspending liquefied natural gas production and associated products. Gulf countries air defenses have been tested by Irans waves of drones and missiles, which have burned through a large number of valuable interceptors well over 1,000 based on the volume of attacks. Italys Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said itd send defensive aid to Gulf countries, while Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week that Middle East allies had sought help to strengthen their defenses as the war wears on. Iran has said its only targeting US and Israeli assets, but Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday Iran is seeking to harm its neighbors and draw them into a war that is not theirs. Iranian actions reflected an escalatory approach without any genuine desire for resolution, Sheikh Mohammed said. UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy stressed during a press briefing on Tuesday her countrys full and legitimate right to self-defense in response to Irans attacks while at the same time calling for a diplomatic solution. Arab leaders began to question the value of US security guarantees in September, when Israel launched an unprecedented strike against senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha without any substantial rebuke from Washington. This is the problem with the US security umbrella, it never put Gulf countries interests first and that has only become more of a daily reality, said Karen Young, a senior research scholar at Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy. Israel has been bombarded by Iran in recent days, but the military eased restrictions on workplaces and gatherings on Thursday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been triumphant. Many critics seizing on comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others accuse the country of dragging the US, and the region, to war. This isnt the Gulfs war and we shouldnt fall for the Israeli bait the way the US did, said Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University and an associate fellow at Chatham House. Lack of US reliability is not the surprise here. Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal put it bluntly to CNN: This is Netanyahus war. Wealthy Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE spent the early part of Trumps second term pledging hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in the US. They were ready to spend much more before their own economies and critical infrastructure became collateral damage. The current feeling among Gulf states is that, for the US, protecting Israeli goals takes precedence over the stability of Arab allies, according to some Gulf-based officials. Six countries who pledged to invest more than trillion dollars in the US just last year told Washington not to attack Iran, one of the officials said, while another one namely Israel partly financed by the US, was in favor of strikes. Its not the first time Gulf states feel theyve come second to Israel, said David Roberts, a Reader at Kings College London who worked in Qatar and specializes in Middle East security. Irans adopted a new strategy since its 12-day war with Israel in June. With direct American involvement this time around, its looked to hurt the US in different ways, inflict as much pain as possible - and drag it out as long as it can. While some Gulf states may have privately indicated previously that US strikes on Iran and regime change wouldnt be so bad, none expected the country to focus its response so much on Arab neighbors. Iran is attacking and will continue to target the vulnerability and the underbelly of the Gulf countries, Young said. Thats included striking right at the heart of their reputations as beacons of stability in a volatile region which has left thousands of foreign tourists and expatriate financiers stranded amid widespread flight cancellations and hitting oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil and gas prices soaring. Meanwhile, the language of the US administration has become sharper and less focused on the conflict being a surgical strike, which will only thwart any prospect for diplomacy, according to one Western diplomat. Irans capabilities are evaporating by the hour, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. While American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant, more bombers and more fighters are arriving just today. For Gulf states, its impossible to determine how long this conflict will drag on, or how Iran will target them. Theres fear that attacks could escalate, particularly against energy infrastructure, and possibly civilian targets if the war isnt contained. The fundamental Gulf strategy has failed, Roberts said. Entrusting, investing in the US relationship has been difficult and expensive but was all designed to prevent this exact conflagration. With assistance from Julius Domoney, Gerry Doyle and Piotr Skolimowski. 2026 Bloomberg L.P. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is quitting. The Janata Dal (United) chief, who has been a central figure of Bihar politics for nearly two decades, will file a nomination for Rajya Sabha and enter the Upper House of Parliament in the national capital. Kumar's switch to the Upper House of Parliament is historic, as he would be the first sitting chief minister to announce his decision to move to the Rajya Sabha. Before him, Chief Ministers have moved from the state to the Centre, but only after a gap. Also Read | Nitish Kumar confirms Rajya Sabha nomination Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb, for example, chose to run for the Rajya Sabha in 2022, months after resigning as chief minister. Kumar made the announcement in the middle of his tenth term as chief minister. BJP leader to replace Nitish? Kumar's move brings the curtains down on his two-decade journey as Bihar Chief Minister. A BJP leader is likely to replace the JD-U chief as Bihar CM. And this could be the first time the BJP has a chief minister in Bihar. The move came months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory, securing 202 of the 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), which secured just 35 seats. For the first time, the BJP became the single-largest party in the Bihar assembly, with 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) with 85 seats. Nitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time. A long desire in my heart Nitish Kumar is 75. Over the past couple of years, videos of the Chief Minister at public events have gone viral, prompting the Opposition to raise questions about his health. From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time, Kumar said in a post on X, making the official announcement of his decision. Kumar has been a member of theLok Sabha many times and has also been a Union Minister. But has has never been a member of the Rajya Sabha. Nitish had spoken about his desire before in unofficial gatherings. Who will be Bihars next CM? A BJP leader could replace Nitish Kumar. The outgoing CM's son, Nishant Kumar, is likely to be the deputy chief minister. There has been no official announcement yet. Going by the buzz in Bihars political circles, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Union Minister Nityanand Rai and Bihar minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal are top contenders for the CM post. Choudhary is one of the most senior BJP leaders from Bihar. He has been a Panchayati Raj Minister before holding the home affairs portfolio in Bihar, as well as in his second stint as deputy chief minister. Nityanand Rai, currently serving as the Minister of State for Home Affairs in Delhi. Before his stint with the Centre, Rai served as the BJP president for Bihar and is a four-time MLA from Hajipur. Jaiswal is a three-time member of the legislative council and has also served as the Bihar BJP chief. Another name doing the rounds is Digha MLA Sanjiv Chaurasiya. From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. The BJP, however, has sprung surprises before. It may be a lesser-known name, too. Apple's one of the most exciting launches during its big week will most likely be the MacBook Neo that has announced last night. The Cupertino based tech giant is finally bringing an entry level laptop which is most likely aimed at students with a slightly affordable price point compared to the MacBook Air and Pro lineup. MacBook Air is priced at 69,900 in India for the base variant while the students could get the device for as low as 59,900. MacBook Neo top features: Display: MacBook Neo features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2408x1506 pixels and a peak brightness of 500 nits. The screen comes with an anti-reflective coating and support for 1 billion colours to bring vibrant images to life. Performance: The laptop is powered by the Apple A18 Pro processor featuring a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. The base model of the device is paired with 8GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD. Software: The MacBook Neo runs on the new macOS Tahoe with support for Apple Intelligence features. The device is packed with an incredibly power-efficient battery that delivers up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge. Camera: The laptop comes with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera featuring optimised image processing for vibrant video calls. It also features Magic Keyboard for a comfortable typing experience, a large Multi-Touch trackpad with gesture support, and a Touch ID option for easy and secure login authentication. Connectivity: The MacBook Neo weighs just 1.23kh. The laptop comes with a dual side-firing speaker setup with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support, alongside dual mics with directional beamforming. It also comes with two USB-C ports (one supporting USB 3 and external displays), a 3.5mm headphone jack, support for Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6. MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air: While both the MacBook AIr and MacBook Neo come with the same weight at 1.23kg, there are some notable design differences. For instance, the MacBook Air features a backlit keyboard, a haptic Force Touch trackpad, and slimmer display borders with a notch. However, MacBook Neo comes with a mechanical Multi-Touch trackpad, a color-matched non-backlit Magic Keyboard, and noticeably thicker display borders. On the performance front, the MacBook Air with the more powerful M5 chip completely beats the A18 Pro on the MacBook Neo. The MacBook Air comes with support for Wi-Fi 7, a dedicated MagSafe 3 charging port, and two high-speed Thunderbolt 4 ports capable of driving two 6K external displays. However, the MacBook Neo features Wi-Fi 6E and two standard USB-C ports (one USB 3 and one slower USB 2) with support for a single 4K external display. Even on the battery front, the MacBook Air takes a significant lead with a 53.8-watt hour battery with up to 18 hours of battery life and support for fast charging. . The MacBook Neo, on the other hand, comes with a smaller 36.5-watt-hour battery with 20W charging support. How are users on social media reacting? windows is so shit these days that perhaps mac will become more popular in a good way wrote one user on Reddit I used to despise nearly everything that apple makes, but this is singlehandedly one of the best options possible, given how there's the ram and ssd shortage. Not to mention there's a student discount that strikes the price down to 499 wrote another user Where's that guy who's always telling us that the end of M1 support is just around the corner and that everyone who bought only 8GB of RAM is an idiot? Seems to be strangely silent after this release, even though what we see here is basically an M1 with 8GB of RAM. yet another user added Metas Ray-Ban Smart Glasses are under the spotlight after an investigation by Swedish media outlets revealed that the user data, including private videos recorded using them, may not be private after all. Who can see videos shot by Meta Ray-Ban glasses? The investigation found that a Kenya-based Meta subcontractor had access to intimate and disturbing videos taken by glasses wearers. This includes explicit content and even personal information like bank accounts details. Unnamed workers for the subcontractor told the publication that many of the videos they looked into as part of the process, known as data labeling, which is used to train AI models, appear to be captured when users weren't aware they were being recorded. The revelations have sent shockwaves across users and regulators, who have raised concerns about data privacy. Smart Glasses collect more data than required Pavan Karthick M, a Threat Researcher at Bengaluru-based cybersecurity firm CloudSEK, said that devices like Metas Ray-Ban Smart Glasses collect much more data than other gadgets as they are worn by the user all the time. Especially for things like these, Ray-Ban glasses, there is much more data that goes into that, because you're wearing it all the time. It can hear what you speak, and it can also see what you see. They try to collect as much data from you as possible in terms of usage statistics and how the device is working, Karthick told LiveMint. Opt out from cloud storage He pointed out that most such devices come with all privacy settings turned off, and the first step for users to ensure data safety is to turn them on while setting up the new gadget. Users have an option to disable cloud processing and restrict data sharing by opting out. While cloud processing saves you storage, it also gives Meta the opportunity to use the data for training purposes. This could be anything, like intimate videos, all public videos that aren't supposed to be captured by Ray-Ban or Meta, to which some contractor in Nairobi could also gain access, he said. Be aware of what you record According to Karthick, it is mostly up to the user to be vigilant about what they record and share using the Meta Ray-Ban glasses. You are in control of what you are recording, and the other person who is getting recorded can also see if they are being recorded, as there is an LED light indicator. If I own a Ray-Ban Meta glasses, I'll ensure to go through settings, turn off literally everything, because I don't want my videos to be uploaded to the cloud, he said. Meta is listening He, however, acknowledged that while Meta Ray-Ban glasses may not record videos accidentally, they are still listening to what you say the whole time. There is a constant recording happening; it is looking for the Hey Meta command to start recording. You can disable this and use buttons to start recording, he said. Delete you cloud data If you are concerned about their data ending up in the wrong hands, Karthick said, Meta allows users to delete their data from the cloud. Meta gives users the option to delete any data that they have recorded. Except for any data that they need to hold for legal purposes, users should be able to delete all their videos. So if you are worried about your private videos, I would say you should delete it, he said. You are in control of what you are recording, and the other person who is getting recorded can also see if they are being recorded. Meta doesn't have the best privacy record Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has a long history of not being upfront about how and what data they collect about users and how it is used. Prashant Mali, a Cyber and Privacy lawyer at Bombay High Court, pointed out that Metas privacy polices have several loopholes. Metas privacy policies fall woefully short of providing robust safeguards for user data, as they are permeated with loopholes that favor the companys AI ambitions over genuine protection, Mali told LiveMint. The fine print explicitly permits human reviewers to access sensitive content captured by the glasses, while vulnerabilities to hacking transform these devices into potent surveillance tools, rendering the policies more porous than a secure wall, he added. Opt-out is misleading Mali also noted that Metas recent policy updates have made opt-outs irrelevant. Recent policy updates have eliminated key opt-out mechanisms, compelling users into involuntary data retention practices that exemplify corporate overreach masquerading as technological advancement, he said. Safe practices for Meta Ray-Ban glass users According to him, the following are some safe practices for Meta Ray-Ban glass users who are concerned about their data privacy. Scrutinise privacy settings Disable unnecessary data sharing and voice storage right away Think twice before capturing anything Always ask permission in public. Delete old recordings manually Opt out of AI training feeds Dont let Meta turn your life into their data goldmine. If something feels off, report it to regulators or on social media News / National by Staff reporter A 59-year-old Tynwald man was left distressed after robbers stole his vehicle while he was attending a funeral in Marlborough on Tuesday.Charles Mahuwe had parked his dark blue Honda Fit Hybrid, registration number AGH 6112, outside a house along Harare Drive before going inside to pay his respects at the funeral.According to reports, Mahuwe ensured that all the doors and windows of the vehicle were securely locked before entering the house.However, after a short while, he returned to the parking spot only to find two unidentified men inside his car. One of the suspects had already taken the driver's seat and was attempting to start the engine.Startled by the sight, Mahuwe confronted the suspects and attempted to stop them, leading to a brief struggle. The robbers overpowered him before managing to start the vehicle.The two men then sped off along Harare Drive, leaving the vehicle owner stranded and shaken.Police have since confirmed the incident and launched investigations into the theft.Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza said authorities are treating the matter as a case of vehicle theft."We are currently investigating a case of vehicle theft in Marlborough. The total value of the stolen car is estimated at US$8,000," he said.Police have urged members of the public with information that may assist in locating the stolen vehicle or identifying the suspects to come forward. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A 25 year old man has received a suspended sentence in lieu of six months imprisonment for five thefts of items totalling almost 1,000, including washing machine tablets and fragrance sets. Sebastian Kubaj of Clonturk, Stonepark, Co Longford pleaded guilty to all five charges before Longford District Court. The first charge related to September 11, 2025 at Dealz in Longfords Market Square, where he stole assorted groceries to the value of 120. Read: Man accused of stealing 430 worth of Easter eggs from Longford supermarket Three months later, on January 7 this year, at Cara Pharmacy in Longford town, he stole cosmetics to the value of 295.20. Two days later, on January 9, he was charged with stealing fragrance sets to the value of 405.50 from Boots on Ballymahon Street. On January 17, at Lidl on Longfords Dublin Road, Mr Kubaj stole groceries washing machine tablets worth 105, while two days later, on January 20 at EuroGiant on Main Street, Mr Kubaj stole 60 worth of washing tablets. The court was told the total value of the thefts came to 986.57. Items recovered included products from Dealz which totalled 120, and fragrance sets worth 405.50 from Boots, where the accused was stopped by security. Solicitor for Mr Kubaj, Mr Frank Gearty, said of his clients spate of offences, Well there was the one in September and unfortunately there was an outbreak, in January Judge. In response to Judge Bernadette Owens request for an outline of the facts relating to the January 20 theft from EuroGiant, Sergeant for the State, Enda Daly, said, At 11.20am, at EuroGiant Main Street, Longford, there was a report of a theft of washing machine tablets." "The defendant entered the shop, concealed them in his jacket and he walked out of the shop passing all points of payment making no attempt to pay. The defendant was positively identified on CCTV. He made full admissions to the theft. Read: Drive off: Man pleads guilty to theft of diesel from Longford retailer Sergeant Daly confirmed the defendant was subsequently arrested and brought before the court later that same day. The court heard that Mr Kubaj has eight previous convictions for theft. Defence solicitor Frank Gearty pointed out that his client went into custody without troubling the state. Mr Gearty added that prior to entering the court system, his client had never received a full proper medical examination of his situation. He said a report provided by Professor OKeefe following an assessment of Mr Kubaj confirmed he was fit to plead, and that he had an understanding that what he did was wrong, however the report also gets to the kernel of the situation with regard to why he went on a spree of this kind of behaviour. He added, Youll see in his report, he identifies the issues, the drink, the drugs, the associated depressive type conditions. Mr Gearty also acknowledged that Professor OKeefes report had noted that the seriousness of the offences justified a prison sentence. He added that his client wanted to offer an apology to all the victims of his crimes and that he would gather the monetary equivalent of the unrecovered items, namely 461, in the coming months to repay to the court. Read: PICTURES | It's official! Granard Booktown Festival has its launch Mr Gearty asked the court to consider releasing Mr Kubaj into the community to afford him time to repay society for what he has done, now that he has seen the inside of prison and knows what its about. In response, Judge Owens said there were a number of factors she would have to take into account. She gave credit to the fact that he had pleaded guilty to the charges, also taking into account his month in custody, adding that it had certainly been a very steep learning curve for him having never been in custody before. The Judge noted the support shown by his family who had been in attendance each time he was before the court. Judge Owens added that on the other side of the balance sheet, she had to take into account his previous relevant convictions and that he had previously been given an opportunity by the court. Read: Bail hearing for Longford pair charged in connection with brutal double stabbing In respect of the 120 theft from Dealz, Judge Owens convicted and sentenced Mr Kubaj to two months in prison which she suspended for 6 months on his own bond of 250. In respect to the remaining matters, she directed a probation report to include a community service assessment of 118 hours in lieu of 6 months in prison. Mr Kubaj was admitted to bail under strict conditions that he reside at his mother and stepfathers address, abide by a curfew of 10pm to 7am and sign on at Longford Garda Station on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for the purpose of checking his sobriety. News / National by Staff reporter Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has warned that future generations will condemn today's leaders if Zimbabwe continues exporting raw minerals without adding value to them.His remarks come in the wake of the Government's decision to immediately ban the export of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates after authorities raised concerns over the underdeclaration of mineral exports by some mining companies.The ban had initially been scheduled to take effect in 2027, but the Government said some mining firms had begun rushing to export as much raw material as possible before the deadline.Speaking to traditional chiefs in Mberengwa on Wednesday during a tour of the State-owned Sandawana Mines, Chiwenga said Zimbabwe risked leaving behind abandoned pits instead of lasting economic benefits if raw lithium continued to be exported without beneficiation."As we mine, we are leaving these pits open and next generations will ask what used to happen here and we will tell them we used to mine lithium here and have nothing to show for it," he said."We will be foolish to leave nothing except pits for the generations to come. We are not the first nor the last. There were generations who came before us and left these natural resources and we should do the same to leave wealth for future generations."Chiwenga added that leaders must ensure the country benefits meaningfully from its mineral wealth."If we do not leave anything for the future generations, they will spit on our graves. Let us leave a legacy which will be respected," he said.The Vice President also raised concern over the environmental and infrastructure damage associated with exporting raw lithium ore, saying the country was previously suffering the negative effects without gaining sufficient economic value."We were exporting lithium ore, our roads were getting destroyed by trucks, pollution and everything, but we were getting nothing," he said."When we do mining, we should do value addition for economic growth."Chiwenga further stressed that mining investments should contribute to the development of rural communities, transforming them into industrial and economic hubs."We want rural industrialisation for development. We must build cities here in the rural," he said.Sandawana Mines, which falls under the Mutapa Investment Fund's Energy Minerals portfolio, is advancing plans to construct a lithium concentrator plant estimated to cost between US$275 million.The proposed facility is expected to process up to three million tonnes of ore per year, with commissioning targeted for December 2027. Members of Longford IFA, including County Chair John Sheridan, were in attendance and played a prominent part at a protest outside Bord Bia HQ in Ballsbridge, Dublin, over chair Larry Murrin in Dublin. The situation had seen IFA farmers demonstrate outside Bord Bia's offices for over a month since the protest began on January 28, but on Monday there was a significant development. The protest was launched in response to the staunch refusal of Larry Murrin, to step down from his role as chairman of Bord Bia following revelations that his company, Dawn Farms, imports Brazilian beef. Related: Sit-in protest at Bord Bia ends following promise of review The IFA members ended their sit-in protest at Bord Bia on Monday after pressure mounted and the board agreed to an independent expert-led governance review into its operations. County Chair Mr Sheridan said there was hundreds of IFA members there on Monday. "As far as we are concerned Larry was using his double standards over the Bord Bia inspection." "He was telling the rest of us what to do and he wasn't doing it himself." "So, when that happens I don't think you've any alternative, he shouldn't be there." Related: "No confidence in Bord Bia's Larry," says Longford IFA chair, John Sheridan Since the protest began, IFA chairs such as Mr Sheridan and members from county branches nationwide had been on a participation rota. Mr Sheridan, who said there was a lot of anger, added, 'Oh it's fierce, it's just as bad as Mercosur, nearly worse." Last Saturday, up to 1,500 people attended an IFA protest outside Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon's constituency office in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Following the announcement, Minister Heydon said, I am pleased that my proposal for an independent governance review of the board of Bord Bia has been accepted and that the ongoing protest has been stood down." "Larry Murrin will remain as chair of Bord Bia and as agreed by the board and the chair in the interests of moving forward, during the period of the review scheduled board meetings will be facilitated by another current board member. Related: Minister failed to deal with Bord Bia issues at meeting, says IFA president Longford residents can now borrow a digital radon monitor from their local library should they wish to check their homes radon levels, Longford Libraries have announced. The announcement was made following the launch of a new Radon Monitor Loan Scheme. Through this scheme, library members in both Ballymahon and Granard Libraries can borrow a digital radon monitor just like a book, allowing them to gain a snapshot reading of radon levels in their homes. While the monitors do not replace the recommended three-month radon test, they provide a valuable first step in identifying potential radon issues and raising awareness. Read: PICTURES | A first look inside the new Arated Longford affordable family homes showhouse As radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas, it can accumulate indoors. Its also far more prevalent in Ireland than most people realise, so much so that it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Ireland after smoking. The only way to identify the presence of radon is with a manual test. The initiative, which has already proven a success in several counties, is now being rolled out in additional library services nationwide. County Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Counicllor Garry Murtagh said that by making radon monitors freely accessible through the library service, they are ensuring residents have the practical tools to safeguard their homes and families. Cllr Murtagh added that the initiative was part of the councils commitment to public health and community wellbeing and reflected the evolving role of libraries as accessible, trusted community spaces delivering real and meaningful supports. Read: A one-in-a-million chance! Big surprise for Longford farmer Deputy Chief Executive of Longford County Council, John Brannigan commended the initiative and encouraged residents to avail of the free service. He said, Longford Library Services is committed to supporting our community in practical and meaningful ways. Libraries today are vibrant community hubs offering far more than traditional book lending. This Radon Monitor Loan Scheme is an important health initiative that empowers people to take proactive steps to protect their wellbeing. We encourage everyone to avail of this free service. Funded by the local democracy reporting scheme Read: Longford District Court issues bench warrant for dangerous driving accused Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has said she has no interest in body positivity and that she finds it boring when people talk about her size. The Irish actress, 39, known for playing panicky student Clare Devlin on Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls, stars in the Netflix regency series Bridgerton as Penelope Bridgerton. Despite the success of the show, she has described how disappointing it is that so many people praise her body size and talk about her weight. Fronting the cover of Elle UKs April issue, Coughlan told the magazine: The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity. When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually dont care. Theres a lot of things Im passionate about, its not one of them Thats someone elses thing. Its not mine. The actress added that despite being a size 10, she will still be praised as someone who appears on screen as a plus-size actress, comments which she finds boring. Speaking about the reaction to her nude scenes on the show, she said: What was really bizarre was when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8. Then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen? I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, I loved (Bridgerton) because of your body and started talking about my body, and I was like, I want to die. I hate this so much. Its really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you dont see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like its so f****** boring. Coughlan also told the magazine that she gives herself more grace since receiving her ADHD diagnosis. She said: It feels like I got the handbook to my brain that I wasnt given when I was born. I understand things a bit better now, and I give myself a little more grace. Coughlan is also known for starring in the hit movie Barbie as well as Channel 4s Big Mood, a role which secured her a Bafta nomination. She also appeared in a National Theatre production of The Playboy Of The Western World alongside her Derry Girls co-star Siobhan McSweeney. The full interview can be read in the April issue of Elle UK, which goes on sale on March 10. This International Women in Business Day, were celebrating the incredible talent and entrepreneurship of women in Longford. Seven local business leaders have shared their insights, experiences, and reflections, offering a glimpse into the creativity, resilience, and vision that drive their businesses. Each story is unique, yet together they showcase the remarkable contributions women are making to the business community in Longford and beyond. Kate Higham - CopyKate 1. What first sparked the idea for your business? Ive always loved writing (I was that kid who actually liked essays!), but the idea for my copywriting business came while studying Marketing. I began to see how exclusive the industry was. It was hugely male-dominated, and copywriting in particular felt reserved for big brands with big budgets. Smaller businesses were expected to figure it out themselves. That didnt sit right with me. So, in 2019, I launched CopyKate. 2. How would you describe what your business does best? With AI, brands are beginning to sound the same. I help businesses find their unique voice and use it to stand out across all marketing channels, online and offline. 3. What advice would you tell yourself if you were starting over? Dont build the business you think youre 'supposed' to build. Build one that aligns with how you actually like to work. The right clients will follow. Oh, and buy the expensive desk chair, it does make a difference! 4. Where do you see the business heading next? I want to go deeper into accessibility and inclusive messaging. The words brands use can shape who feels welcome and who feels othered. I want to help more businesses build that awareness into their messaging from the start, making the internet a space for everyone. 5. Do you have a personal motto you live by? Theres no such thing as 'ready'. Start. And then figure it out as you go. Website | Facebook | Instagram *Sponsored Content Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivers a speech on March 4, 2026. (Al Manar TV) On March 2 at approximately 1:30 am, Hezbollah attacked Israel with several rockets and drones for the first time since the November 27, 2024, ceasefire went into effect. The group officially claimed the attacks as a retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a delayed act of self-defense in response to Israels ongoing military operations in Lebanon. In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) significantly escalated its operations against Hezbollah. On the first day of the renewed conflict, the IDF launched almost 200 attacks against the groups military, media, and financial assets throughout Lebanon while also targeting operatives belonging to the group and its partners. The IDF vowed to fight until Hezbollah was sufficiently degraded, and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem with assassination. The outbreak of this conflict isnt entirely surprising. On January 26, Qassem said that his organization would not remain neutral in the case of a US-Israeli war on Iran or a threat to Khameneis life. However, he refused to commit to military intervention. At the time, Qassem said that Hezbollah would determine the best course of action when the time came, taking prevailing circumstances into account. Nevertheless, reports suggest that Hezbollah privately promised Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, that it would stay out of a conflict. Thus, the Lebanese government may well have been blindsided by Hezbollahs attack on Israel on March 2, a possibility buttressed by its unprecedented decision to proscribe the groups military and security activities and call on it to immediately disarm. The Lebanese cabinet also called on Lebanons security agencies to prevent additional military action of any kind by Hezbollah or attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory. In addition, Beirut requested that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) command proceed immediately with the implementation of the second phase of its plan for Hezbollahs disarmament north of the Litani River. However, this apparently promising change of direction from the Lebanese government appears to be rhetorical. The next day, Justice Minister Adel Nassar told MTV News Lebanon that Hezbollah must take the initiative and surrender its arms to the Lebanese State. Hezbollah has, nevertheless, continued to claim attacks against Israel. Several Lebanese outlets also reported that LAF Commander Rodolphe Haykal pushed back against the governments directive to forcibly disarm Hezbollah north of the Litani River, instead recommending that the LAF confront invading Israeli ground troops and insisting on continued deconfliction with Hezbollah. Underscoring these reports, additional reports of the LAF enforcing the cabinets disarmament orders have been sporadic, inconsistent, and contradictory. Further undermining the apparent seriousness of the Lebanese government in confronting Hezbollah, the cabinets decision implicitly reaffirmed the veracity of the LAFs January 8 declaration to have completed Hezbollahs disarmament south of the Litani River. However, after that date, Israel continued targeted killings of Hezbollah personnel in the area that it alleged were involved in the groups local regeneration efforts. On March 4, Hezbollah also claimed that its fighters engaged Israeli ground forces in direct clashes in several Lebanese frontier villages, including Khiyam and Dhayra. On March 4, at 9:00 pm, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave an unscheduled 30-minute speech addressing these developments. Qassem sought to reframe the groups attack on Israel as purely an act of nationalistically motivated self-defense and made it clear that Hezbollah has no intention of surrendering its arms or ceasing attacks. He also called for the government to back Hezbollah, which, he said, remains committed to fighting, no matter the price. A fuller analytic translation of Qassems speech follows: Qassem began his speech with the customary religious salutations and blessings for the onset of the month of Ramadan before abruptly saying that the holidays atmosphere had been ruined by the polytheists who had committed a great aggression. He then moved on to several themes justifying Hezbollahs attack on Israel and outlining the groups plans: Hezbollah had reached the limit of its patience The American and Israeli enemy have persisted in their aggression for a year and three months, Qassem said. He claimed that, though Hezbollah and the Lebanese state had committed to the November 27, 2024, ceasefire agreement and fruitlessly allowed diplomacy to run its course, Israel has not abided by a single term. Qassem said that Hezbollah has refrained from responding to the ongoing Israeli aggressions, so we would not be accused of impeding diplomacy to give the [Lebanese] state the opportunity to assume its responsibilities, and to practically test whether the implementation of this agreement could protect Lebanon and its sovereignty. However, Qassem stated that Hezbollah had repeatedly warned that the groups patience was not infinite and had called on the state to do more. I will not evaluate the states actions but will suffice with saying that our patience has limits, and the Israeli enemys transgressions became excessive, Qassem said. Hezbollah, he claimed, had even heeded calls to wait patiently until the LAF completed its deployment in the south, because this deployment could facilitate ending the aggression and Israeli withdrawalbut this didnt happen. Seeking Hezbollahs disarmament was misguided Qassem insisted that demanding a monopoly of arms by the Lebanese state had been a mistake, because time had proven that the occupation is the problem; the Israeli-American occupation of all Lebanon through pressure and tutelagenot Lebanon, the weapons, or the resistance. As a result, Qassem said, the governments August 5 and August 7 decisionswhen Beirut asked the LAF to produce a plan to disarm Hezbollah were a grave mistake. He claimed that rather than changing course in light of this error, Lebanon continued to make concessions to match the tempo of the ongoing [Israeli] attacks that left the country powerless, without negotiation leverage, and on a path that would have deprived Lebanon of sovereignty and independence. Qassem said that Lebanonand Hezbollahinstead had a duty to do everything in our power to halt this course of continued Israeli-American aggression, before it deprived Lebanon of its sovereignty and resulted in the countrys submission and surrender. However, now, Qassem said, Instead of condemning the Israeli-American aggression and seeking ways to confront it, the Lebanese Government had compounded its sin by proscribing Hezbollahs military activities. Get off of this [position], Qassem said, arguing that Hezbollah had not brought war upon Lebanon, but that this war had been premeditated by the enemy. A premeditated Israeli war of expansionism, not a response to Hezbollahs rockets Qassem sought to convince his audience that Hezbollahs attack and its timing were unrelated to the war on Iran. We are fighting in Lebanon in defense of our people, the future of our children, and our country. This fight is not linked to any other battle. Our goal is ending the Israeli-American aggression and [causing] Israeli withdrawal [from Lebanon], he said. Qassem insisted that Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 because the groups patience had run out and implied that the overlap with the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic regime was coincidental. To those who ask about the timing and why we chose to act now, I ask them, are we expected to endure indefinitely? We have always said everything has its limits, and isnt 15 months of daily violations, 500 martyrs at a rate of a martyr a dayisnt that enough? he said. Israel, Qassem claimed, had inflicted more destruction upon Lebanese border areas during the ceasefire than it had during the final phase of the war, because it has no regard for anything and wants to demonstrate its ability to kill, demolish, kidnap, impose its will on Lebanon, and commit genocide against anyone it believes will resist or confront it. Qassem vehemently denied that Hezbollahs rocket barrage had prompted the latest outbreak of war. Some allege firing a single barrage of rockets prompted the Israeli attack. Not at all! The rocket barrage was a response to the Israeli-American aggression against our country, and 15 months of Israeli violations of everything connected to usincluding targeting the Guardian Imam Sayyed Khamenei. Hezbollah, he said, fired the rocket barrage to end the illusion that this enemy will leave us alone if we leave it alone and further argued that Israels disproportionate response proved Hezbollah was right all along. Israel starting a war in response to a single rocket barrage dispelled this delusion. Do you actually think a single rocket barrage deserves a war? No, he reasoned. Qassem claimed that Israel instead launched this war as a continuation of its expansionist project, of Greater Israel, which Netanyahu openly declared he wants, with the support of the American ambassador to the Israeli Entity, who said Israel has a legitimate right to control all lands between the Nile and the Euphrates. Israel, Qassem said, is an existential threat to us, our people, our homeland, and the entire region, and had launched a war of extermination in Lebanon. As proof, he pointed to the widescale nature of Israeli operations and the strikes on Al Manar, part of Hezbollahs media apparatus, and Al Qard al Hassan, Hezbollahs financial institution, which gives loans to the needy and poor and benefits thousands of Lebanese of all sects. They are targeting our very existence, Qassem said. Qassem also sought to deflect blame for the war from Hezbollah by claiming that Israels renewed efforts were premeditated and inevitable; therefore, Hezbollah had only preempted and not prompted it. What Israel did after the rocket barrage wasnt a response, but a premeditated act of aggression, he said, claiming that Israeli media reports provided proof. So, they were indeed preparing to attack; they had prepared their target bank but were deciding what day to begin their aggression, and saw this as an opportune moment, he claimed. Qassem sought to underscore his point by recalling a claim he made during his January 26 speech alleging that intermediaries had conveyed to Hezbollah Israels definite intentions to attack Hezbollah, Lebanon, and the Resistance, and it was only weighing whether to attack Iran or Lebanon first, or both of them simultaneously. Qassem similarly insisted that Hezbollah was not to blame for the displacement of Lebanese citizens from south Lebanon. Israel, he said, was displacing civilians to create a rupture between the resistance and the peoplebut the people know better. Hezbollah and the citizens of southern Lebanon, he said, remain in the same trench, and our unwavering solidarity will thwart the Israeli-American aggressions goals just as it did in the [2024 war]. Hezbollah will retain its arms and continue fighting Qassem declared that Hezbollah will not surrender its arms, insisting that international and domestic law, human rights, and all divine religions sanctified resistance as a legitimate right. Hezbollah, he said, will not debate the resistance or its weapons with anyone, and will instead continue responding to the Israeli-American aggression until our objectives are achieved. He continued: They wanted a battle without limits. But we choose to confront them with an unwavering response. We will not surrender. We will defend ourselves with our capabilities and our belief, no matter the sacrifices and despite the disparity in capabilities. We are committed to continuing this defense, to thwarting the objectives of the Israeli-American enemy, and continuing to steadfastly reject the enemys threats. Let history record that we did not hesitate to defend our rights, nor did we surrender to our enemy, and we remained open to the possibility of achieving one of the two blessings [victory in battle or martyrdom]. Let all know that we remain steadfast and will continue. Qassem calls for national unity The Lebanese governments duty now, Qassem said, was to regain Lebanons sovereignty, protect its people, and defend the right of the resistance until the aggression ends and [Israel] withdraws from our land. This conflict, after all, was a war against all of Lebanon, he claimed, and national unity was required to confront it. So, let us prioritize confronting this enemy, and then we can discuss our other issues and come to agreements about them, Qassem said. As an extension, he called on the rest of Lebanon to welcome people displaced by the conflictlargely southerners, Shiites, and likely supporters of the group. Qassem concluded by describing the current crisis as an opportunity for the resistances opponents to turn a new page, together and asking them not to stab the resistance in the back during this confrontation and war. This, he said, will ensure the confrontation succeeds and speedily halts the Israeli-American aggression. Qassem called on the groups domestic opponents to unite with Hezbollah, cooperate with it, and facilitate its activities if you want Lebanon to survive. David Daoud is Senior Fellow at at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs. A Houthi-arranged protest in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa features flags of the Islamic Republic, the Houthis, Arab countries, and Tehran-backed proxies. (Houthi military media on X) The Islamic Republic of Irans proxy groups and sympathetic Shiite communities have arranged demonstrations across the Middle East following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an airstrike. Many of these protests have turned violent, with some forcing US Embassies and consulates to close. Nonessential diplomatic staff have also departed many countries in which they work as Tehrans regional partners threaten the United States. The US State Department has recommended that civilians leave Middle Eastern countries or shelter in place if doing so is impossible. In Iraq, as Tehran and its proxy militias launched drones and missiles at targets in the country, members and supporters of the Tehran-backed militias took to the streets outside of the Green Zone, the fortified district in central Baghdad thats home to government buildings and foreign embassies, on February 28. Many protesters carried photos of the late Iranian supreme leader, Islamic Republic flags, and flags associated with Tehrans terrorist proxies in Iraq. The demonstrators attempted to reach the US embassy in a replica of the 2019 protests over American strikes on the Iran-backed terror group Kataib Hezbollah. Iraqi News reported that people threw stones at security forces, and gunfire was heard. Security forces fired tear gas and water cannons at the assembled rioters. According to a statement issued by the Joint Operations Command of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) that was reported by Shafaq News, armed demonstrators opened fire and injured members of the ISF. The Joint Operations Command statement also said that security forces arrested 15 rioters. Photos circulating on social media alleged that some of the arrested individuals are members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an official Iraqi security institution comprised of militias, most of which are backed by Tehran. Iraqi officials were forced to close the Green Zone, and protestors returned on March 2 and March 3, again attempting to reach the US Embassy. In Pakistan, hundreds of individuals tried to storm the US consulate in Karachi and attacked UN offices in the northern part of the country on February 28. We are monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the U.S. Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional demonstrations at U.S. Embassy Islamabad and Consulate General Peshawar, the US Embassy in Islamabad stated on March 1. Twenty-two protestors have died across Pakistan, including 10 in Karachi, where consulate security fired at the crowd after people breached the outer wall of the US consulate. In Yemen, the Houthis have called people to the streets to oppose the US and Israeli military action, particularly the killing of Khamenei. The American presence and bases in our region are considered a source of evil, a service to the Zionist enemy, and a threat to our security and safety, the terror groups military media arm said in a statement. However, despite professing solidarity with the Islamic Republic, the Houthis have not yet conducted any retaliatory attacks against US positions, Israel, international shipping, or neighboring countries. In Bahrain, some protestors have hit the streets to protest the US-Israeli action, even as the Islamic Republic strikes the country, including its economic and civilian infrastructure. Bahraini officials said that the country arrested citizens celebrating attacks by the Islamic Republic. Social media videos have reported that the Unified Military Command, formerly known as the Peninsula Shield Force, a force that aims to ensure security, stability, and defense of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, entered Bahrain in response to the unrest. Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis. TL;DR: Save on Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac with this lifetime license, available now for $59.97 (reg. $219.00). If youre still handing over cash to Microsoft every month for a 365 subscription, its time to stop. Right now, you can grab a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac for just $59.97, a one-time payment that gets you permanent access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote on your Mac. There are no renewals, no recurring charges, and no surprises. The license ties to your Microsoft account (not your device), delivers instantly via email, and is fully compatible with macOS Sonoma, Sequoia, and the latest Tahoe. It installs just like any official Microsoft app, so setup takes minutes. This deal is rated an impressive 4.8/5-stars on average from over 730 reviews. One recent five-star review reads, Operates as intended, and very pleased with the ease to purchase this product license through Stack Social. For home users and small business owners who just want reliable, familiar tools without an ongoing bill, this is about as straightforward as it gets. Get this Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac license for $59.97 (reg. $219.00) today. Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. News / National by Staff reporter The bail application of Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the son of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was postponed to March 11 after a power outage disrupted proceedings at the Alexandra Magistrates' Court on Thursday.Mugabe and his co-accused, Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, were scheduled to appear before the court in Johannesburg to formally apply for bail, but the hearing could not proceed due to the lack of electricity at the court.The pair face several serious charges including attempted murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition, defeating the ends of justice and theft. Prosecutors have also indicated that two additional charges - pointing a firearm and contravening immigration laws are expected to be added.According to the State, the two men allegedly shot a 23-year-old employee who worked for Mugabe at his residence in Hyde Park in February. The victim was reportedly left in critical condition following the incident.Mugabe and Matonhodze had appeared in court earlier this week, but the matter was initially postponed due to technicalities and outstanding documentation.During their next court appearance, the accused are expected to submit a formal bail application. However, prosecutors have confirmed that the State will oppose bail.Authorities are also seeking clarity on the suspects' immigration status, with South Africa's Department of Home Affairs expected to inform the court whether Mugabe and Matonhodze are legally in the country.Investigations into the matter are ongoing, and police have previously indicated that the firearm allegedly used in the shooting has not yet been recovered. Manchester, VT (05254) Today Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 21F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60%.. Tonight Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 21F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Manchester, VT (05254) Today Periods of snow. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low around 20F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Manchester, VT (05254) Today Occasional snow showers. Quite windy. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 21F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. From Saturday, March 20 to Saturday, March 28, the eyes of the nation will turn skyward as Irish Astronomy Week 2026 unfolds under the theme Connecting Communities through the Cosmos, with a particular significance for Mayo. With more than 80 events planned across the four provinces, the annual celebration of Irelands night skies continues to grow in scale and ambition. Not only is Mayo home to the internationally recognised Mayo International Dark Sky Park one of the few gold-tier dark sky parks in the world but the national movement itself is coordinated from Claremorris by its founder, Ronan Newman. What began in 2022 as a passion project for Newman, who has been fascinated by the cosmos since the age of eight, has since become a key fixture in Irelands cultural and scientific calendar. A county steeped in the Cosmos Mayos naturally dark skies offer a rare window into the universe, largely untouched by the levels of light pollution seen across much of Europe. Throughout the week, events across the county aim to bridge the gap between complex astrophysics and the simple wonder of looking up at a star-filled sky. READ MORE: Minister Calleary meets carers and disability groups at Mayo town The local programme includes a diverse mix of talks, community gatherings, guided walks and family-friendly experiences. The week begins on Friday, March 20 at 7pm at the SOLAS Visitor Centre, where Ronan Newman will present Northern Lights over Mayo: Chasing the Aurora on Irelands Atlantic Edge. The talk will explore the science and spectacle of aurora sightings along Mayos coastline. Community interest in astronomy continues to grow, reflected in the reformation of the Louisburgh Astronomy Club, which will host a meeting in the town hall on Monday, March 23. Organisers say it offers a welcoming space for beginners and seasoned stargazers alike. On Tuesday, March 24 at 6pm, Newman continues his county tour with Mayo after Dark: In Pursuit of the Aurora Borealis at Claremorris Library, focusing on aurora chasing in South Mayo. Throughout the week, guided night sky walks will take place within the Mayo International Dark Sky Park, giving participants an immersive experience beneath some of the darkest skies in Ireland. Advance booking is required. Photography enthusiasts are also catered for. On Saturday, March 28 at 2pm, Achill Library will host Where Land Meets Stars: Photographing Achills Night Sky, led by acclaimed landscape photographer Davy Patton, who will share techniques for capturing Achills dramatic coastal skies after dark. READ MORE: Bumper day for Mayos Irish shearers at the 'Olympics of Shearing' Families can round off the week at Ballycroy Community Centre on Saturday, March 28, where the Pale Blue Dot mobile planetarium will deliver interactive shows throughout the afternoon, hosted by the Mayo Dark Sky Park team. Protecting a natural heritage While the week celebrates the beauty of the cosmos, organisers stress its deeper purpose raising awareness about the importance of protecting Irelands dark sky heritage. As urban expansion and artificial lighting continue to grow, clear views of the Milky Way and aurora displays are becoming increasingly rare. Irish Astronomy Week encourages communities to consider how simple measures, such as reducing unnecessary outdoor lighting, can help preserve this shared natural resource. Residents across Mayo are being encouraged to step outside at least once during the week, switch off outdoor lights, and take a moment to look up. Have access to full details of events in Mayo and nationwide here. READ MORE: Mayo set to feature on new American Presidents Trail across Ireland News / National by Staff reporter A Zimbabwean national has been killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, raising alarms over the increasing recruitment of vulnerable Africans into the war.This follows the recent death of Mandla Ncube, whose family is still grappling with the news that he died after reportedly travelling to Russia seeking work opportunities.A new investigative report by All Eyes on Wagner (AEOW), a French open-source intelligence initiative now part of Swiss NGO INPACT, has revealed that Zimbabwean nationals are among more than a thousand Africans recruited into the Russian army. The report, titled The Business of Despair and released on February 11, 2026, details what it describes as a systematic campaign targeting economically vulnerable African men.AEOW obtained and verified a database containing 1,417 African recruits, of whom 316 have already been killed in action. Six Zimbabweans appear in the database, and one of them, Chivise Bryan-Bright (born 03/11/1991), is confirmed dead.The report notes that recruitment has escalated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with 177 Africans recruited in 2023, 592 in 2024, and 647 in 2025. The average age of recruits is 31, and of the 316 confirmed deaths, the average duration of service was just six months, with 51 dying within their first month on the frontlines.Zipra liberation war hero Mayibongwe Mkandla described the trend as alarming. "To see young men leaving because there are no jobs and ending up fighting someone else's war is painful," he said. "War is not a contract you cancel when things go wrong. Once you are there, you are at the mercy of forces beyond you."Opposition Nationalist Alliance Party (NAP) leader Devine Mhambi Hove said the situation was deeply concerning and called on the Zimbabwean government to take urgent action. "The reports surfacing are not just diplomatic incidents' they are a profound tragedy for the Zimbabwean family. We call on the government to break its silence, issue immediate travel warnings, and work with international bodies to bring our children home," he said.Local activist and academic Melusi Nyathi also expressed concern over government inaction. "To make matters worse, our neighbours South Africa have taken a bold stance and called out Russia, leading to a number of victims being released," Nyathi said.Repeated attempts to obtain a comment from Zimbabwe's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on ongoing investigations or travel warnings were unsuccessful.The Business of Despair warns that without stronger monitoring, public awareness, and government intervention, more Africans including Zimbabweans could be drawn into the conflict, facing grave risks far from home. News / National by Staff reporter Police in Mutare are investigating a violent robbery in which a nineman gang assaulted two men and stole a total of US$12,300 following a dispute over gold.Acting Manicaland police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, said the incident, which did not involve firearms, occurred on February 28. The victims have been identified as Ernest Chifamba (28) of Riverside and Blessing Jongwe (33) of Morningside.According to police, Gift Nyamuchaka has been identified as the main suspect, along with eight other unidentified men.Assistant Inspector Chinyoka explained that the robbery stemmed from a transaction dispute. Nyamuchaka reportedly arrived at the Yeovil residence to sell gold and interacted with Chifamba, showing him the mineral. The gold was weighed inside a room, though Chifamba claimed he did not see the weight. They later waited outside for Jongwe to arrive to complete the transaction."Before Jongwe's arrival, Nyamuchaka allegedly accused Chifamba of stealing his gold. Chifamba denied the allegations, insisting Nyamuchaka still had the mineral," Chinyoka said.Around 3pm, Jongwe arrived and suggested calling a detector to verify the gold. However, Nyamuchaka went outside to make a phone call. About 30 minutes later, eight men arrived with Nyamuchaka, armed with iron bars and stones. They accused Chifamba of theft and began assaulting him, while five others joined Nyamuchaka and Jongwe to search for the alleged missing gold.When Jongwe tried to intervene, offering to compensate the group, he was also attacked. During the scuffle, one suspect opened a brown bag belonging to Chifamba and took US$10,000 in cash. The gang further demanded US$2,300 as compensation for the alleged missing gold, which was handed over before they fled.The total amount stolen is US$12,300, and nothing has been recovered. Chifamba and Jongwe sustained swollen faces and internal body pains and were referred to hospital for treatment. Officers at the scene also observed rubble scattered in the yard.No arrests have been made so far, though police continue to investigate and attempt to identify the remaining suspects.Assistant Inspector Chinyoka urged the public against taking the law into their own hands. "We strongly urge members of the public to desist from resolving disputes through violence. Anyone with grievances must approach the police and allow the law to take its course. Engaging in acts of violence and robbery will result in arrest and prosecution," he said. Kannada superstar Yash is returning to the big screen four years after KGF: Chapter 2 with Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups. The action entertainer directed by Geetu Mohandas was all set to clash with Ranveer Singh and Sanjay Dutt starrer Dhurandhar 2 titled Dhurandhar: The Revenge on March 19, 2026, but recently, the makers announced a delay in release. Sharing the official statement, the makers pointed towards the ongoing Iran vs Israel and USA war in the West Asia as the reason behind the release delay. KVN Productions Trade Reacts As Toxic Avoids Clash With Dhurandhar 2 Sharing their opinion on the same, Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR, told ETimes, We have enough capacity for two films to co-exist. As far as exhibitors are concerned, handling the maara-mari that happens during screen sharing is part and parcel of our job, but overall, this does make everyones life more comfortable. I dont think the reason to push the release of Toxic is an excuse. Yash is a big star in the Middle East, so its a fair decision. Dhurandhar 2 is 3 hours 55 minutes long, so now we can give it four slots easily. Since Dhurandhar never released in the Middle East, it wont be affected anyway. However, veteran exhibitor Manoj Desai doesnt agree with the narrative that Toxic is pushed due to war in West Asia and states that it is due to Dhurandhar 2 juggernaut. He said, As far as Toxics delay is concerned, the Middle East feels like an excuse. Dhurandhar 2 is one of the reasons, if not the only reason. However, I do think this is a good decision as the public wont be divided. Jio Studios Toxic Now Clashes With Varun Dhawans Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hon Hai A source stated that the makers of the Varun Dhawan starrer werent informed about the clash by Toxic producers. According to Bollywood Hungama, the source said, If a film has already locked a release slot and another filmmaker plans to come on the same day, its customary to inform the makers who had taken the date first. In this case, that didnt happen. Varun Dhawan, director David Dhawan and producer Ramesh Taurani learned that Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups was arriving in the same week as their film only after actor Yash posted the news on social media. The team of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is upset. They were caught unawares and are now considering what to do next should they move or should they stick to the date? However, the Toxic makers claim that they did inform the makers of the David Dhawan directorial about the clash. Tips Films A spokesperson of KVN Productions stated, When the owner of KVN, Mr Venkat, realised the dates were overlapping, he personally reached out to the makers of Varuns film, Mr Ramesh Taurani, to avoid any unnecessary friction. Anil Thadani facilitated the conversation, as Toxic makers were clear that they didnt want the other project to face the kind of uncertainty his film had earlier encountered. The discussion happened well before the official announcement of the new release date, so both teams were completely aware that a clash was on the horizon. It was all handled transparently and cordially. Yashs Toxic Delays Release Due To Iran vs Israel & USA War Sharing the official statement, Toxic makers wrote, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups is a film we conceptualized with the vision to create cinema for a global audience. Filmed in Kannada and English, it is built with the conviction to connect with viewers both at home and across the world. After years of dedicated labour, we were excited to share our film with you all on the 19th of March. However, the current uncertainty, especially in the Middle East, has created a situation that impacts our goal to reach and connect with the widest possible audience. The statement further read, Therefore, in the interest of our partners and our audience, we have made the difficult but carefully considered decision to reschedule our release. We thank you for your understanding and patience and look forward to your continued love and support. The makers signed off saying, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups will now be released in cinemas across the globe in English and Indian languages on 4th June 2026. Check out the statement below: News / National by Staff reporter The Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Marian Chombo is required to pay a US$100,000 debt to Mtetwa and Nyambirai Legal Practitioners in local currency, the High Court of Zimbabwe has ruled.The debt, originally acknowledged on September 2, 2014, was the subject of a Supreme Court referral instructing the High Court to determine how the law affects the currency in which the liability should be settled.Justice Mambara emphasised that the court's mandate was strictly to address the issue remitted by the Supreme Court. "This court must give effect to the directions of the appellate court and determine the remitted issue only," he said.The High Court confirmed that the US$100,000 debt existed and remained unpaid as of February 22, 2019 - the date Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019 (SI 33/19) came into effect. Lawyers for Mtetwa and Nyambirai had argued that the debt should remain payable in US dollars, citing a US$2,360 payment made by Minister Chombo in 2024 as evidence of continued acknowledgment in foreign currency.However, Justice Mambara ruled that SI 33/19 automatically converts qualifying liabilities into local currency as of February 22, 2019. "The application of SI 33/19 to a qualifying liability is by operation of law. Once the statutory conditions are met, the deeming follows," he explained.The court also found no evidence that the 2014 debt had been novated or replaced by a new agreement allowing it to remain denominated in US dollars. Later developments, including the 2024 payment, did not change the fact that the liability falls under SI 33/19.As a result, the High Court ordered that the US$100,000 debt be converted into Zimbabwe dollars at the statutory rate provided under SI 33/19. The US$2,360 payment made in 2024 will be treated as a credit against the debt, converted into local currency according to the applicable legal provisions.Minister Chombo, represented in court by Jonasi Dondo, was also ordered to pay interest from the date the summons was issued until full settlement, as well as the legal costs of the case. News / National by Thobekile Zhou Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) had its bid to hike power tariffs by 49% turned down.The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has rejected proposal and ordered Zesa to maintain current rates of $9.86c/kWh for the year.The decision was reached on 14 July, ZERA board chairperson Esther Khosa said."After duly considering the tariff application ,the written and oral submissions form various consumer groups and stakeholders as well as facts and evidence provided by ZETDC, the ZERA Board on 14 July 2016 made a determination that the current tariff of 9.86c/kWh be retained for year 2016," she said.The power supply authority has for months been pushing for a tariff hike."There is need to support government in reducing the cost of doing business, the need for utilities to improve efficiency levels as well as implement cost cutting measures and views and concerns from various stakeholders consulted during stakeholder meetings," she added.Zesa had applied for a $14.69 /kWh to help finance imports to mitigate power shortages and expanding generation capacity.If granted that would have made Zimbabwe's energy the most expensive and least competitive in Sadc.Botswana and Mozambique charge 6c/kWh, while Zambia's energy tariff is 7c, Swaziland 8c, South Africa 9c and Tanzania and Lesotho both charge 10c/kWh. An American nonprofit organization that supports democracy and human rights in the Middle East is calling on the United Nations to hold a special emergency meeting to put an end to the "illegal" Iran War. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, wrote a letter to UN representatives on Monday, March 2, formally requesting an emergency special session of the General Assembly to declare the United States and Israeli military actions a war of aggression in violation of the UN Charter and to demand the immediate cessation of all hostilities. The Security Council is unable to make that determination because the United States, as a permanent member and a party to the conflict, will veto any resolution. The General Assembly should act in its place, Jarrar wrote. In remarks to Military.com provided on Tuesday, Jarrar said he hadnt yet heard any response from the UN or its representatives, adding that they plan to do individual outreach to key missions in the coming weeks. DAWN also sent a message on Monday to the Hague Group, in anticipation of their March 4 emergency session. Jarrar said they will be following up with their representatives this week. No legal framework, international or domestic, can justify this U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran. This war is patently illegal, and it must be stopped. - Omar Shakir, DAWN's executive director, in a statement A man carries an Iranian flag to place on the rubble of a police facility struck during the U.S.Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) DAWN was launched in September 2020 under the auspices of Saudi Arabian journalist and dissident activist Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated on Oct. 2, 2018, by agents of the Saudi government at the nations consulate and at the discretion of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Following varied explanations for Khashoggis death, a Saudi official said the killing was premeditated. The explanation did not square with U.S. authorities. A little over a month after Khashoggis murder, the CIA called the death an assassination. 'Telling' Remarks on Iran Justification The shifting justifications from D.C. are not just a communications problem; they are a legal problem, Jarrar said. Under international law, the basis for using force must exist at the time of the attack. It cannot be swapped out afterward. Jarrar was asked by Military.com about what have been viewed as contradictory statements emanating from the White House on the timing of this war and what led to the initial strikes being OKd at this particular time, with different accounts told since Saturday by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump cited an imminent nuclear threat. Rubio said the U.S. knew Israel wanted to strike and joined proactively. Those are not variations on the same argument. Rubio has attempted to walk back remarks he made Monday to the press at Capitol Hill, where he said the U.S. knew that there was going to be an Israeli action" against Iran. The U.S. knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces" by the regime. "And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties ... And then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn't act," Rubio added. Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, near Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) Trump on Tuesday refuted scrutiny associated with Rubios remarks, saying the decision was his and had nothing to do with what Israel or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested. So far, six American service members have been pronounced dead. Still, Rubios remarks drew heavy consternation from significant contingents of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base that has been vocal on social media and otherwise about U.S.-Israel relations and the lack of an appetite for war. Jarrar called Rubio's statement in particular telling. If the U.S. joined because Israel wanted to strike first, that is a war of choicenot self-defense, Jarrar said. The UN Charter does not authorize wars of choice. The fact that senior officials cannot agree on why this war started five days in is itself evidence that no coherent legal justification existed when the bombs fell. It strengthens our call for an emergency General Assembly session. US Influence on UN The letter addressed to the UN calls the ongoing conflict unlawful based on the existing charter, citing Article 2(4) which states that all member states are prohibited from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state. The only two exceptions are self-defense under Article 51 in response to an armed attack, or authorization by the Security Council under Chapter VII. As Jarrar wrote, Neither applies here. Article 51 permits self-defense only if an armed attack occurs, and Iran had not attacked the United States or Israel, he wrote. Even under the doctrine of anticipatory self-defense, the war is unlawful. He also called the UN Security Council paralyzed due to the U.S. ostensibly vetoing any resolution condemning its own actions, adding that a resolution adopted in 1950 could challenge that doctrine and the Grand Assembly could convene an emergency special session within 24 hours of a vote to make appropriate recommendations if necessary. FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2015 file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a news conference in Manama, Bahrain. A Turkish court on Friday, July 3, 2020 is trying in absentia two former aides of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 18 other Saudi nationals over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Turkish prosecutors earlier this year indicted the 20 Saudi nationals over Khashoggis grisly killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul that cast a cloud of suspicion over Prince Mohammed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File) Such a procedure requires a request supported by a majority of member states, 97 of 193, which harkens back to 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine and 141 states voted in a special session to condemn Russia and demand withdrawal. Shortly thereafter, the UN General Assembly did the same pertaining to escalating violence between Israel and Palestine in Gaza. The obligations that charter creates do not become optional when it is a powerful state that violates them, Jarrar wrote. A legal order that constrains Russia in Ukraine but exempts the United States in Iran is not international law-it is the law of power. Every member state that declines to act when the Charter is violated by a veto-wielding power makes that charter less binding for everyone, including for themselves. The obligation to act collectively in the face of a breach of the peace belongs to every member state equally. In February 2025, DAWN submitted a request to the International Criminal Court to investigate former U.S. officials including President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for "aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home, New Delhi said. The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its spread in the Middle East and beyond. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence. On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena, which sank in international waters off the coast of the island nation a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a ship since World War II. Sri Lankas navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water. The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lankas southern coast. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described the IRIS Dena as a prize ship. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Irans navy. A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an an atrocity at sea in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States will come to bitterly regret the attack. Araghchi said the IRIS Dena had been carrying almost 130 crew. Indias navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events. The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background. Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been a guest" of India's navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident. Another Iranian ship enters a Sri Lankan maritime area Sri Lanka's media minister and government spokesperson, Nalinda Jayatissa, told parliament on Thursday that another Iranian ship has entered Sri Lankas exclusive economic zone, an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where it has rights over natural resources. Jayatissa did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board. He said the government was trying to "minimize the loss of lives and safeguard regional peace but did not elaborate. Questions in India over the sinking India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks. Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the governments lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to Indias maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement. The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X. Kanwal Sibal, a former diplomat who served as Indias foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack, but its responsibility is at a moral and human plane. The U.S. has ignored Indias sensitivities," Sibal said. "The ship was in these waters because of Indias invitation. ___ Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalist Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the Sri Lankan spokesperson said the second Iranian vessel was in the maritime area of Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone, not in its territorial waters. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) The State Department on Thursday announced the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait following retaliatory Iranian strikes. Iran has fired waves of missiles and drones at the American-allied Gulf country since the start of the war. Six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the U.S. and Israel hammered the country for a sixth day. Iran kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region. Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trumps comments to the American news website Axios were likely to renew questions about whether the U.S. and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones though Tehran denied that. Iran said the U.S. would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka a day earlier. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for all of Beiruts southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border. All the while, the U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Irans attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed. Trump compares Iran to Venezuela In the Axios interview, Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a light weight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after Trump ordered a U.S. military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and whisk him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Israels defense minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Irans next supreme leader if he continues to threaten Israel, the U.S. and others will be a target for elimination. Iran remains defiant Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week, killing at least 87 people. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set, he said on social media. The Iranian ship sunk by the U.S. Navy was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued. Araghchi said it had been carrying almost 130 crew. An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. There are dozens in Iran. Sri Lanka said another Iranian warship was anchored near its coast on Thursday and that more than 200 sailors were being escorted to a naval base on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. The ship will be taken to a port in the island nations eastern region, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. The war keeps expanding Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes on Iran's ballistic missile launch sites. Gulf countries also reported coming under fire. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces, and shrapnel fell to the ground, authorities said. Six people were wounded. Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and later reported a missile attack on the city. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan. Kuwait said missiles were shot towards it Thursday evening, activating air defense systems. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery on Thursday, sparking a fire that was extinguished. The refinery was still working, it said, and there were no reports of casualties. Earlier, Bahrain said its forces had intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles and 124 drones since the start of the war. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of carrying out a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone crashed Thursday near the airport in Nakhchivan, a region bordering Iran. Another drone fell near a school. Authorities said four civilians, all airport workers, were wounded. Aliyev said the military had been instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory measures. Iran denied it had launched drones toward Azerbaijan. Iran has also repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets, even as its missiles and drones have hit such sites. Since the war began Saturday, ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped. That has caused oil prices to soar. Israel issues evacuation warning for Beirut suburbs Israel issued an evacuation notice calling for all residents of Beiruts southern suburbs to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately, apparently signaling plans for heavy bombardment of the area. Since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war, Israel has hit sites in Beiruts suburbs and issued a blanket warning for residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate. The Israeli military said it had struck several command centers used by Hezbollah in Beirut. It showed video footage of a building being hit, but provided no further details. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border. Ground combat was observed west of Kfar Kila, a village near the border with Israel, overnight, UNIFIL spokesperson Tilak Pokharel said. Peacekeepers also saw air attacks and flares and heard explosions" in the town of Khiyam, about five kilometers (three miles) from the border. ___ Rising reported from Bangkok, Becatoros from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Aida Sultanova in Baku, Azerbaijan; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; and Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami contributed to this report. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was relieved of her duties on Thursday afternoon by President Donald Trump. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma is wanted by Trump to be appointed in her place. "The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland,'" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Noem has faced scrutiny in her role, hitting a boiling point this week after testimony in front of the U.S. Senate that made even some Republicans uncomfortable with DHS and Noem's behavior regarding careless spending in addition statements made following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killings of two Americans in Minnesota earlier this year. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks at the confirmation hearing of Stephen Feinberg, President Donald Trump's choice to be deputy secretary of defense, at the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Mullin has routinely been one of the vocal Trump supporters who has made his rounds on cable news networks, pushing the president's agendawhether that is regarding the administration's mass deportation policy, or current foreign affairs in Iran and the Middle East. Trump said that Mullin will start on March 31, praising him as "a MAGA Warrior and "former undefeated professional MMA fighter" who has served many years in the U.S. House and more recently the Senate. "Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. "Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security." However, even as Trump said Mullin would be appointed on March 31, that position requires congressional confirmation. Noem is the first Cabinet member to be fired during Trump's second term. Mullin had not yet publicly remarked on the firing and his selection by Trump. Noem's Ups and Downs Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, has faced headwinds as head of DHS. She oversaw a mass deportation aimed at mitigating illegal immigration into the U.S., touting the administration's actions as recent as this week. DHS on Wednesday reported historic lows in illegal immigration, with 34,631 total nationwide encounters in January of this yearan 87% decrease compared to previous administration averages. The department also highlighted nine consecutive months of zero illegal alien releases by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, with Southwest border apprehensions dropping to roughly 245 per day. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) But statements and purchases have been highly questioned by members on both sides of the aisle. She also seemed to catch the president off guard. Noem testified to senators on Tuesday that Trump approved of a $200 million ad campaign that widely included her image and likeness. But on Thursday, Trump told Reuters: I never knew anything about it." Axios reported that DHS spent more than $300 million on three private luxury jets, including two Gulfstream G700s purchased in October and a Boeing 737, nicknamed the Big Beautiful Jet." She was also questioned on Tuesday about a jet that included a bed, part of an image that previously went viral. ICE-Related Deaths In terms of ICE-related questions, Noem claimed that DHS has documented an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE officers and their families, plus an increase of more than 1,300% in assaults. But even as Noem criticized Democrats during Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and described them as "reckless" and "unnecessary" in not approving DHS funding, she was strongly scrutinized by Democrats as well as some Republicans. She clashed with Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) after he asked her multiple times why she and other Trump administration members described killed Minneapolis, Minn., residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti as "domestic terrorists." When pressed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) about her phrasing towards the victims and offered a chance to apologize to their families, Noem dodged the question and seemed to change the backstory of who infused the phrase "domestic terrorism" in those incidents. GOP Criticism Republicans also strongly questioned Noem, on those incidents and other aspects of her leadership. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked her about the "domestic terrorism" remarks and how Noem in January said she did it "at the direction of the president and [White House Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen [Miller]." Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) demanded Noem's resignation in January. Tillis, during Tuesday's hearing, was especially forceful in his remarks and called her leadership a "disaster." "Why can't we just say we made a mistake?" Tillis, who is not running for reelection, asked Noem about the killings in Minnesota. He also brought up how her memoir cavalierly mentioned how she shot her dog to death. "The fact that you can't admit to a mistake, which looks likeunder investigationit's going to prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Petty probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back." This story was updated with additional information. The Iranian warship torpedoed by a U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean this week had departed Indian waters just days earlier, completing a port visit and multinational naval exercise hosted by New Delhi. The incident has ignited political controversy in India and left the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi without a public response. Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 survivors from the IRIS Dena as of Thursday, with around 10 sailors still unaccounted for. A second Iranian vessel entered Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone in the aftermath of the sinking, though officials have not identified the ship or explained its presence. India's Exercise, Iran's Ship Exercise MILAN is India's flagship biennial multilateral naval drill, designed to foster maritime cooperation among participating nations. The 13th edition ran concurrently with the International Fleet Review 2026 in Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15-25, drawing representatives from 74 countries and 18 foreign warships. Iranian Navy Rear Adm. Shahram Irani attended and held talks with India's chief of naval staff. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the opening ceremony under the event's theme, "United Through Oceans." Ships in formation during Milan 2026. The multi-national exercise included vessels from 18 different nations. (Wikimedia Commons) The IRIS Dena represented Iran in both events. She sailed out of Visakhapatnam when MILAN concluded Feb. 25 and was heading home to Iran when a U.S. fast-attack submarine fired a single Mark 48 torpedo into her hull March 4, in international waters roughly 25 miles south of Sri Lanka. The U.S. Navy sent no surface warship to MILAN. Its only official presence was a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from Patrol Squadron 4. The guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney had been slated to attend but was diverted to Singapore on Feb. 15 before the exercise began, for reasons the Navy has not publicly disclosed. Three days after MILAN ended, the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury. The IRIS Dena was still in transit at the time. Responses From Tehran and Washington Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi framed the sinking as an attack on a vessel that had been under Indian diplomatic protection. "The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores," he wrote on social media. "Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set." The Pentagon offered a different view. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the strike at a Wednesday briefing as a demonstration of unmatched American military capability. "To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale," Caine said. U.S. officials have maintained throughout Operation Epic Fury that Iranian naval vessels operating in international waters remain valid military targets regardless of recent port calls. The Debate in New Delhi India's silence has drawn sharp criticism domestically, particularly from opposition politicians who argue the Modi government is abdicating its responsibilities as a self-described net security provider in the Indian Ocean. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of surrendering India's strategic independence at a critical moment. "The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean," Gandhi wrote. "Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy." IRIS Dena returning from a deployment in 2023. (Wikimedia Commons) Congress lawmaker Jairam Ramesh noted that Singh had personally inaugurated the exercise the IRIS Dena attended just days before her sinking. "This U.S. action has enormous implications for India as well and it is shocking that there has been no official response to it till now," Ramesh wrote. "Never before has the Indian government looked so timid and fearful." Criticism came from outside party politics as well. Former Indian Navy chief Arun Prakash said New Delhi should formally convey its "deep concern and displeasure" over a strike that unfolded in its maritime neighborhood. Former diplomat Kanwal Sibal argued the values underpinning MILAN had been undermined and claimed that exercise protocol bars participating ships from carrying ammunition, which would have left the IRIS Dena unable to defend herself when struck. That claim has not been independently confirmed. The Stakes for India India has cultivated ties with both Washington and Tehran, and the sinking has exposed the difficulty of maintaining that balance. Indian officials have publicly noted that more than 40 percent of the country's oil imports transit the Strait of Hormuz, now an active combat zone. India has also invested years in building MILAN into a cornerstone of its maritime diplomacy, presenting itself as a stabilizing presence in the Indian Ocean. The IRIS Dena's sinking days after departing that exercise puts both of those positions under pressure New Delhi has yet to publicly acknowledge. The IRIS Dena's two Moudge-class sister ships, Jamaran and Sahand, were destroyed earlier in Operation Epic Fury. U.S. officials say American forces have sunk more than 20 Iranian naval vessels since the campaign began, effectively dismantling Iran's conventional surface fleet. Now, with the war expanding into the Indian Ocean and Iranian vessels allegedly still in the area, neighboring nations are watching nervously. President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could last four weeks or less, even as U.S. and allied strikes expand across multiple targets in the region. The remark, delivered amid escalating operations, suggested the campaign would be intense but short. Trump acknowledged the United States has the capacity to continue operations longer, if necessary, even while expressing confidence that the objective could be achieved within weeks. That estimate stands out because presidents rarely attach specific calendars to active military campaigns. When they do, the timeline often becomes part of the political and legal debate. In this case, four weeks or less lands squarely within the statutory framework governing unilateral presidential war powers. The War Powers Timeline The War Powers Resolution of 1973 establishes procedural guardrails for military action initiated without prior congressional authorization. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and generally limits such engagement to 60 days, with an additional 30 days permitted for withdrawal. The 60-day clock is central. If hostilities continue beyond that period without congressional authorization, the president must terminate involvement. Administrations of both parties have disputed aspects of the Resolutions constitutionality, but its timeline remains politically powerful. A four-week war falls comfortably inside that 60-day window. Twenty-eight days leaves significant margin before the statutory deadline approaches. That alignment reduces immediate legal pressure and delays any forced confrontation with Congress over authorization. Why The Calendar Matters Duration shapes the constitutional conversation. When military action is projected to conclude within a month, members of Congress face a strategic decision. They can move quickly to assert authority, or they can wait to see whether the campaign concludes before the statutory threshold becomes relevant. A short timeline can dampen momentum for immediate legislative action. If operations appear likely to end before day 60, some lawmakers may hesitate to force a vote that could divide their own party or appear to undercut troops in the field. At the same time, specificity carries risk. If the campaign exceeds four weeks, the estimate becomes a benchmark against which critics measure credibility. A forecast that proves optimistic invites questions about planning assumptions and strategic clarity. U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance participate in a Presidential Armed Forces Full Honors Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the 72nd National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Nov. 11, 2025. U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser. Source: DVIDS. Operational Reality Versus Political Framing Operational duration depends on mission definition. If the objective is narrowly framed, such as degrading specific missile systems or command facilities, planners may reasonably estimate a limited timeline. If the mission expands to sustained deterrence, regime pressure, or long-term suppression of retaliatory capacity, the calendar stretches quickly. Trumps public estimate functions as both reassurance and constraint. It signals confidence in American military capability and suggests the administration does not intend to embark on an open-ended war. It also creates a reference point that Congress and the public will track. The Legal Exposure If The War Extends If hostilities approach or exceed 60 days without authorization, the War Powers Resolution requires termination absent congressional approval. The text of the statute is explicit about the withdrawal requirement if Congress has not declared war or enacted specific authorization. Presidents have sometimes argued that certain operations do not constitute hostilities within the meaning of the Resolution. That interpretive strategy has been controversial and fact specific. It becomes harder to sustain in the context of sustained air campaigns and reciprocal strikes. If the Iran conflict surpasses the four-week estimate and approaches the 60-day mark, pressure to seek authorization will increase. Lawmakers who may have tolerated a short campaign could demand formal approval for continued operations. Strategic Signaling To Adversaries And Allies There is also a strategic dimension beyond domestic law. Declaring that the war could conclude within four weeks signals defined objectives and operational control. It communicates to Iran that the United States intends limited, focused action rather than indefinite occupation or regime change. For allies, the message is similar. A short war reduces fears of prolonged regional destabilization. It reassures partners that U.S. engagement has boundaries. Adversaries, however, may interpret a projected duration as evidence of political constraints. If Iranian leadership believes U.S. leaders are sensitive to statutory timelines or domestic fatigue, they may calculate that prolonging low-level retaliation could create internal political strain. The Clock Is Now A Variable Once a president states a specific timeframe, the clock becomes part of the narrative. Each week that passes invites comparison to the initial forecast. The legal framework of the War Powers Resolution ensures that duration is not merely symbolic; it carries institutional consequences. If the conflict ends within a month, the four-week estimate may be cited as evidence of disciplined, limited force consistent with executive authority. If it extends significantly beyond that horizon, the debate will shift from operational success to constitutional compliance. In modern American warfare, the battlefield is only one arena. The calendar, shaped by statute and political expectation, is another. Brian C. McGinnis, a Marine Corps veteran and Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, was forcibly removed from a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 4, 2026, after interrupting the proceedings with a protest over U.S. policy in the Middle East. During the hearing, McGinnis stood and began shouting objections to what he characterized as the U.S. movement toward war with Iran in support of Israel. Video from inside the chamber shows Capitol Police moving quickly to restrain and escort him out after he refused to stop speaking. Officers later arrested McGinnis on charges including assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, and unlawful demonstration. Footage of the removal shows multiple officers attempting to pull McGinnis away from a doorway as he held onto the frame. During the struggle, Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, a Republican member of the committee and former Navy SEAL, left his seat and physically assisted officers in removing McGinnis. The video shows Sheehy grabbing McGinnis as officers attempted to free his arm from the doorway and carry him out. Capitol Police later stated that McGinnis got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, and reported that officers sustained minor injuries during the encounter. McGinnis allegedly suffered a broken arm during the struggle. The visual record confirms that security personnel were already engaged in removing McGinnis when Sheehy intervened physically. Whether that intervention was necessary or appropriate has become a point of debate. What McGinnis Said About Israel McGinnis framed his protest explicitly around U.S. support for Israel and the risk of American military escalation with Iran. According to accounts from inside the hearing, he shouted statements including that Americans did not want to fight and die for Israel. He positioned his protest as an anti-war stand and an effort to confront lawmakers about what he views as foreign policy driven by special interests rather than the will of American voters. His comments reflect a broader political argument that U.S. military commitments in the region are shaped in part by long-standing strategic ties with Israel. That position remains controversial across party lines. Supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship describe it as a cornerstone of American security policy, while critics argue that congressional alignment with Israeli policy can contribute to entanglement in regional conflicts. Inside congressional hearings, however, outbursts are treated as procedural violations regardless of viewpoint. Senate rules permit the removal of individuals who disrupt official proceedings. McGinniss arrest followed that pattern. sherry The Honorable Timothy Sheehy, U.S. Senator for Montana, signs the Tuesday Sunset Parade guest book held by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Houck, protocol, headquarters and service company, following a Sunset Parade held at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., July 29, 2025. This Sunset Parade, hosted by Lt. Gen. Jay Bargeron, Deputy Commandant, Marine Corps Plans, Policies, and Operations, honored the Honorable Timothy Sheehy, U.S. Senator for Montana. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brynn Bouchard. Source: DVIDS. The Senators Role in the Removal Senator Sheehy later described his actions as an effort to assist law enforcement and de-escalate the situation. Video evidence shows him helping officers lift and remove McGinnis after police had already restrained him. Critics argue that an elected senator inserting himself into a physical removal raises concerns, particularly because trained Capitol Police were already present and engaged. There is no indication at this time that Sheehy faces legal scrutiny for his involvement. Capitol Police have not suggested any misconduct by the senator. The issue remains largely political rather than legal: whether a member of Congress should physically participate in ejecting a protester when security forces are already handling the situation. Campaign Finance and AIPAC-Linked Funding Discussion surrounding the incident has extended beyond the physical confrontation to campaign finance. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) operates affiliated political action committees that contribute to federal candidates who support strong U.S.-Israel relations. Sen. Tim Sheehys campaign has drawn scrutiny because of the scale of pro-Israel political support connected to his electoral effort. A pro-Israel spending tracker that says it compiles totals from federal campaign-finance records lists $641,337 in pro-Israel lobby & mega donor support tied to Sheehy, broken down as $79,253 from PACs and $562,084 from bundlers. Federal Election Commission records for Sheehys Senate campaign are publicly accessible through the FEC candidate database. AIPAC-affiliated super PACs have spent substantial sums supporting candidates across both parties who favor strong U.S.Israel ties, as reflected in federal expenditure reports filed with the FEC. A Moment Reflecting Larger Divides The removal of Brian McGinnis from a Senate hearing highlights several overlapping tensions: the limits of protest within legislative chambers, the optics of a senator physically participating in an arrest, and the ongoing debate over U.S. support for Israel and military involvement in the Middle East. McGinniss protest centered on a claim that American service members should not be drawn into war on behalf of another nation. His removal followed established security procedures for disruptive conduct in Congress. The added element of a sitting senator - who has received pro-Israel donations - participating physically in the ejection ensured the incident would receive broader attention. Netflixs new action thriller War Machine may feature an unimaginable threat, though director Patrick Hughes insists the films foundation is rooted in something very real: the grueling training involved in U.S. Army Ranger selection. We had military advisers who were ex-Rangers, and we worked with the Department of Defense and got their sign-off. We were able to replicate the fundamental structure of the course. The streaming juggernaut's new high-octane survival film stars Alan Ritchson (Reacher) and Dennis Quaid and follows an elite team whose training exercise turns into a fight for survival. But before the sci-fi spectacle kicks in, the film grounds itself in the physical and psychological reality of Ranger selection and the definition of what makes a warrior. We did a lot of research, Hughes told Military.com. We had military advisers who were ex-Rangers, and we worked with the Department of Defense and got their sign-off. We were able to replicate the fundamental structure of the course. That authenticity was critical for Hughes. While War Machine leans into the muscular survival energy of 1980s action films, he wanted the soldiering to feel tactile and grounded. Its essentially a film about the search for warriors, Hughes said. Everyone assumes its the guy with the biggest muscles whos going to destroy the course and get through it. But often, theyre the first to tap out. How Real Is War Machine? Alan Ritchson on Army Ranger Training and Netflixs New Action Film According to Hughes, who spoke to Military.com (see video above), Ranger selectionlike other elite military programstests far more than physical endurance. The definition of a warrior is physical, mental and emotional fortitude. You need all three. Throwback Energy, Modern Warrior Psychology When asked what films might sit next to War Machine on a 1980s video store shelf, Hughes didnt hesitate. Deliverance, he said. And Id take out Predator. Id loan that one out. And Alien and Aliens. The comparisons make sense. Like Predator, the film places a group of highly trained soldiers in an environment where their tactical superiority is suddenly challenged by an unknown force. However, unlike many action films of that era, War Machine deliberately builds vulnerability into its lead character. That was a key reason Hughes cast Ritchson, known for his physically imposing roles in projects like Reacher. War Machine. Alan Ritchson as 81 in War Machine. Cr. Ben King/Netflix 2026. Photo: Ben King/Netflix Its very unique to have an action movie star that can also play vulnerable, Hughes said. As much as its this banging action sci-fi film, its also got a tremendous amount of vulnerability. Alan Ritchson on Honoring Rangers Ritchson plays a Ranger candidate known as 81, a hardened and stoic presence carrying emotional weight beneath the surface. A lot of the work that we do together is very technical We want to get the rules right. We want to honor these men and women that serve around the world. War Machine. (Featured L-R) Director Patrick Hughes and Alan Ritchson as 81 on the set of War Machine. Cr. Ben King/Netflix 2026. Photo: Ben King/Netflix While much of the preparation involved weapons handling and boot camp-style physical training, Ritchson said the deeper work came from understanding the culture and psychology of elite service members. A lot of the work that we do together is very technical. We want to get the rules right. We want to honor these men and women that serve around the world. Former Rangers were involved during pre-production and on set to ensure the casts movement, posture and tactical decisions reflected reality. We were staffed up well to make sure that we had eyes on our performances to make sure it was looking authentic, Ritchson said. For him, however, the emotional thread of the character was just as important as the tactical one. The thing that drew me to the film was tapping into the shame of my own personal experiences and how that might relate to the characters personal experiences, he said. Hughes added that while researching the script, he dove into first-hand accounts of elite service membersincluding stories of brothers who pledged to attempt special operations training together, along with interviews detailing the long healing process after traumatic deployments. I read a lot of books on the subject, Hughes said. The real heart and soul of this movie, beyond the spectacle, is that vulnerability. More Than Muscle One of the themes Hughes returns to repeatedly is the misconception that physical dominance alone defines a warrior. Selection courses for elite military units are designed to break candidates down, not simply to test strength but to expose resilience, leadership and emotional stability under extreme stress. In that sense, War Machine functions as both a survival thriller and a character study. War Machine. (L-R) Stephan James as 7, Alan Ritchson as 81 and Alex King as 44 in War Machine. Cr. Ben King/Netflix 2026. Photo: Ben King/Netflix The team at the center of the film begins as a group of highly capable Ranger candidates. But when their training scenario shifts into something far more dangerous, the qualities that matter most arent just strength or firepower. They are adaptability, cohesion and emotional control. For audiences familiar with Ranger culture, that distinction matters. Elite units are not built around bravado; theyre built around discipline and enduranceoften invisible traits that dont always translate easily to the screen. Hughes said that balance between spectacle and authenticity was intentional from the start. You really need all threephysical, mental and emotional fortitude, he said. A Survival Film With Substance While Netflix is positioning War Machine as a high-energy action experience, its creators clearly hope the film resonates with viewers who understand the weight of military training and service. Ritchson, who has portrayed military characters multiple times in his career, said the goal is always to approach the material with respect. War Machine. (L-R) Richard Cotta as 13, Yuchen Wang as 111, Heather Burridge as 122 and Alan Ritchson as 81 in War Machine. Cr. Ben King/Netflix 2026. Photo: Ben King/Netflix In an era when military action films often prioritize CGI spectacle over grounded storytelling, War Machine aims to combine the twodelivering the adrenaline of an 80s survival classic while anchoring it in the psychological reality of modern warrior culture. We want to honor these men and women that serve. If it succeeds, it may stand out not just as another action entry in Netflixs catalog but as a film that recognizes something often overlooked in cinematic portrayals of elite soldiers: strength alone isnt enough. War Machine lands on Netflix on March 6, 2026. Alan Ritchson stars as Army Ranger recruit "81," in Netflix's new sci-fi Action Thriller, War Machine. War Machine - Key Art (Primary) Photo: Netflix DIRECTOR: Patrick Hughes SCREENPLAY: Patrick Hughes, James Beaufort PRODUCERS: Todd Lieberman and Alexander Young of Hidden Pictures, Patrick Hughes and Greg McLean of HUGE FILM. Rich Cook of Range. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Valerie Bleth Sharp KEY CAST: Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale, Daniel Webber LOGLINE: During the final stage of U.S. Army Ranger selection, an elite teams training exercise turns into a fight for survival against an unimaginable threat. On one hand, its systems are providing real-time targeting recommendations for U.S. airstrikes on Iran. On the other, it has been ordered to completely withdraw from the defense industry. Anthropic, one of the leading AI labs, has found itself in an extremely contradictory and awkward position. The confusion stems from conflicting U.S. government policies. The Trump administration previously directed civilian agencies to stop using Anthropics products and granted the Department of Defense a six-month window to wind down its cooperation with the company. However, before the directive could be fully implemented, the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, plunging the region into escalating conflict. Currently, Anthropics modelsintegrated with Palantirs Maven systemare still being used by the Pentagon to provide targeting intelligence and prioritize strikes. Yet this wartime collaboration has not altered the companys fate of being pushed away. Although Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has vowed to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, no legal action has been taken so far. Meanwhile, defense contractors like Lockheed Martin have already begun replacing Anthropics models, and many startups dependent on defense contracts are scrambling to find alternatives. Moving forward, Anthropic must navigate both the ethical controversies surrounding the use of its technology in active war zones and the looming threat of potential litigation. This once-celebrated AI star is rapidly being marginalized from the military-tech ecosystem. News / National by Faith Mutema A Sixty-year-old man was yesterday brought to the Harare Civil Court by his wife for physically abusing her because she is more educated than him. Loveness Rambakuzibwa allegedly assaulted his wife, Barbra Mahlunge, for having better qualifications than him.Mahlunge, who was seeking a protection order against Rambakuzibwa, for constantly attacking her whenever he returns from his girlfriend, told magistrate Mrs Gamuchirai Siwardi that they have been married for 21 years and Rambakuzibwa is still a violent man."I never reported the abuse before because I thought as we were growing older, his behaviour would change, but he is getting worse," said Mahlunge, adding; "he constantly kicks me, and recently broke my leg." Mahlunge told the court that Rambakuzibwa ran away from their matrimonial home and left her with no money to look after herself.She also told the court that he used a baton to beat her hands and also burnt all her educational qualifications and medical reports. Mahlunge also stated that her husband took all the property to his girlfriend, where he is now staying."When he goes out every time, he brings diseases at home and he once infected me with a sexually transmitted infection, yet he never paid for the medication that I used," she said.Rambakuzibwa denied the allegations saying Mahlunge was an educated devious woman who was trying to take him out of the picture so that she inherits their house in Masvingo. He also claimed that Mahlunge got sick because she had a miscarriage.Rambakuzibwa had already changed the title deeds into her name.Mrs Siwardi granted Mahlunge's application and ordered Rambakuzibwa not to abuse his wife. Did our AI summary help? Gayatri Rani is a Senior-Sub Editor with over three years of experience in delivering Hollywood and Bollywood news. News / National by Fidelis Munyoro The High Court has today suspended the ban on all public demonstrations in Harare imposed by the police under a legal instrument published last week.The suspension is for seven days.The ruling by Justice Priscilla Chigumba follows a legal challenge launched by Harare lawyer Tendai Biti and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights representing the opposition under the auspices of the National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera).Last week, Government banned demonstrations in Harare under Statutory Instrument 101A. Public Order and Security (Temporary Prohibition of Public Demonstrations in the Central Business District of the Harare Central Police District) Order, 2016.Details to followa. M Snehanjali is a Sub Editor and journalist with over two years of experience covering general news and entertainment in digital newsroom. Did our AI summary help? Sarika Sharma is Editor, Entertainment, MoneyControl.com. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of entertainment journalism. Did our AI summary help? Palak Vij is a Sub Editor and Entertainment Journalist with over a year of experience covering films, television, and pop culture in the digital space. Did our AI summary help? Sonu Sood extends helping hand to those stuck in Dubai during West Asia tensions The Kerala Story director Sudipto Sen says he 'hates Hollywood cinema', says, "people are suffering in Africa because of Hollywood" Rochelle revealed that she had entered Dubai just a day before the situation intensified, calling herself fortunate for the timing. Did our AI summary help? TVK chief Thalapathy Vijay, Trisha Krishnan attend Kalpathi Sureshs sons wedding reception together after actor's wife Sangeetha files divorce Indias office space has evolved from a static asset to a recruitment and retention tool. (Picture: Pexels) West Asia conflict: How the Middle East tensions could affect Indias energy supplies Opinion / Columnist We branded him a rightwing MAGA racist! How wrong weve been! He is now the voice of reason in America. What he has done in educating the apolitical America is amazing. He braves the wrath of the Zionist movement and criticizes Trumps administration for genocide against the Palestinians. Personalities who are loud against genocide in Palestine are of the Jewish religion, in Israel and in America and the world at large. Tuckers message has been steadfast about how Trump bamboozled the American voters who voted for him on the understanding that America would never provoke and wage wars internationally again; they believed him.Ms Tulsi Gabbard sold her soul and was given a post as Director of National Intelligence in Trumps administration. She cooperated with Trump in the hope he was going to honour his commitment to peace and America First. She was at former President Obamas throat; she wanted him arrested for many reasons. It has dawned on her that Obama has sound morals and is a better devil than her boss, Trump.Carlsons latest critique is his utmost disgust at Americas administration for rejoicing at the death of 150 Iranian girls bombed by Israel and the USA days ago. There was less coverage from Western media criticizing the act of brutality, barbarity, and cruelty against innocent children who were so young they did not even understand the reasons behind the war between the USA and Iran.Is there a justification for such a war premised on unfounded lies that Iran is a danger to the USA? Trump did not even go to Congress to get permission to go to war in the first place. Any type of war is a war against women and children. An example is Sudan today: thousands of women and children are brutally sexually assaulted daily by unruly military forces, and there is no end to war.What is international law, and what is a rulesbased order? It appears the definitions of these entities are words between the two: might is right, and strength is law. Firstly, the president of Venezuela was arrested and sent to an American prison. If Maduro were president of Venezuela, international law would step in and condemn such acts of absolute force. The people of Venezuela have the right to remove a president and not foreign powers. A sitting president cannot be subject to arrest, especially in his country, insulting the sovereignty of the people of Venezuela.Then there was a threat to forcefully occupy Greenland by the USA. In this instance alone, the Western allies fought the war against US imperialism spectacularly and won temporarily. In the meantime, Greenland is off the cards, but for how long? The occupation of Canada is still looming. Trump wants these surrounding countries to be part of the great imperial USA, including Cuba and Mexico.Tucker Carlson lamented the abandonment of the America First movement, a motto of the MAGA rightwing, and once more spoke out condemning American aggression towards less and middlepowerful countries. A brave person defends his or her courage, stands on personal convictions, and remains unshaken by powers that be. If Tucker Carlson can stand against mighty Zionist Jews and condemn their aggression singlehandedly, that is a definition of courage.Tucker Carlson was trying to understand the evil intentions behind the Epstein files. The evil of richness: when they have accumulated so much wealth, they defile the innocence of small girls to feel good. Power and money corrupt absolutely and exonerate even the dirtiest practices of sexually abusing underage girls at their leisure. The pain and art of sexual violence the girls endured is the sexual pleasure the oligarchy enjoyed most from the girlsvictims of horrendous sex acts; hence, it was called the island of absolute pleasure.Tucker Carlson will not stop talking about oligarchs quoted in Epstein files thousands of times and how they evade justice because of their wealth and fame. The horrors that took place on Epstein Island on girls and young women are still to be established.There are established rumours of graves of girls and children ritually murdered and sacrificed. All these atrocities will be investigated: facts must be established. True or false? The global West dwelt on a narrative for more than a century on how Africans cannibalized to get juju powers and that it was colonialism that abolished cannibalism in African settings and made an African civilized. How will they explain cannibalism at Epstein Island if it is investigated to be true?In these sexual assaults that took place on this famous Epstein Island, it is not the sexual intercourse we traditionally know about sexual intercourse: it was wild and different. It had to be gruesome sex acts as service to the most powerful and rich, and not for the girls; they were groomed to give service and never to get. Most of them had to go for training on how to pleasure oligarchs.Most of these men find their home relationships with their wedded wives boring; they want wildlike sexual intercourse that they could only get at the Epstein connection, far away from mainland America and far away from their moralistic homes.Tucker Carlson is systematically unfolding everything evil in the Trump administration; he is carefultelling who was and who was not: not all files are accessible to the public. Like him or not, he speaks for those that have no voices in the larger scheme of things. We fear even to recite what has already been written in social media and spoken by many because we are deplorables in the larger scheme of things. Trump fears the Zionist Netanyahu, or does he fear the Epstein files? Who is going to betray him? What if these files were hacked long ago by Russia and Iran? Are we going to experience the fan hitting the dirt?The times we live in are too dangerous to comprehend. Gatekeepers of the asylum homes for the mad people are themselves candidates of the homes of the asylum. Africans and African leaders are watching developments unfolding. There is no international law to adhere to. The rulesbased order has broken. The casualties in this madness are the African youth. The rulebased order is that the global north sets the rules to be strictly adhered to by the global south. Africa finds itself at the bottom of the hierarchy. They must follow strict orders from the global north. Under such broken international laws, African leaders are at leisure to disregard human rights. International policing has broken down. No pot calling the cat black.Are Western nations going to preach platitudes about human rights in Africa? If they cannot uphold rulesbased order and the rule of law themselves, if African leaders commit human rights atrocities on their citizens, on what moral grounds will Western countries preach to the African leaders? There is this rooted sense that African leaders are controlled in committing human rights atrocities to ever get aid from Western financial institutions.This rulesbased order has been broken by the West themselves. All things being constant, ceteris paribus, what will become of Africa in all these global changes: collapsed rule of law and rulesbased order? We have Tucker Carlson, who will forever prick their conscience for the betterment of global citizens. Did our AI summary help? Viswanath Pilla is a business journalist with 16 years of reporting experience. Based in Mumbai, Pilla covers pharma, healthcare and infrastructure sectors for Moneycontrol. India-US trade deal is close to finish line: US Deputy Secretary Landau (L-R) Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer, NetApp and Premalakshmi Ramakrishnan, Area Vice President for India and SAARC, NetApp Did our AI summary help? Paras Bisht A financial journalist with over 10 years of experience, specialising in tracking stock market movements and fundamental developments that impact investors and the broader economy. A keen observer of global financial markets, I regularly engage with leading market voices to write stories. At Moneycontrol, I focus on decoding market trends, policy shifts and economic changes, driven by a constant passion to learn, analyse, and share knowledge with my readers. Polling officials make final arrangements at a polling station ahead of Nepal's parliamentary elections in Kathmandu. (AFP) Dipen Pradhan is the Editorial Consultant for Moneycontrol. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism and covers personal finance topics. He has previously worked at Forbes Advisor India, Outlook Money, Entrepreneur, Inc42, and The Statesman. When he is not writing he loves to travel to explore rural hotspots. Texas state Rep. James Talarico topped Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in an expensive and fiercely contested Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday, while longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) head to a runoff in May in a race thats expected to get increasingly nasty. Voters in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas headed to the polls Tuesday to kick start the 2026 midterm cycle. Texas held competitive primaries for Senate, state attorney general and a number of House districts, which included several awkward Democratic matchups. The Tar Heel State, meanwhile, weighed in on the primaries to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in addition to a heated House race between an establishment Democrat and younger progressive challenger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are six takeaways from the years first primary elections: Talarico win has Democrats dreaming of a big upset in November Talarico beat Crockett in the closely watched Democratic primary for Senate in Texas, according to Decision Desk HQ. Talarico, as of Wednesday morning, garnered 53.1 percent of the vote to the House lawmakers 45.6 percent. Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation. We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in the movement weve built together, the state lawmaker said earlier Wednesday morning at a campaign event. Every, every vote must be counted. Every voice must be heard Litigation in Dallas County over extended voting on Tuesday roiled the Democratic contest, raising questions about whether a final tally would emerge on Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wont be back tonight because I have no idea of when were going to get results, and I fully anticipate it wont be until tomorrow, Crockett told her supporters at a campaign event in Dallas. Contours of fight for Senate majority take shape The contours of several consequential Senate races in addition to the one in Texas are starting to take shape, as Democrats strive to eliminate the GOPs majority this November. In Texas, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) are heading to a May 26 runoff. Cornyn, Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) vied for the GOP nod, but no candidate was able to win more than half the vote outright to avoid a runoff on Tuesday. Republicans are already bracing for an ugly multimonth brawl, with tens of millions of dollars already spent in the GOP primary thus far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything weve worked so hard to build over these many years, Cornyn told supporters at his watch party, according to CBS Austin. The picture was less murky in North Carolina, where former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley won their respective primaries for Senate on Tuesday. The Tar Heel State is seen as a key pickup opportunity for Democrats given Tilliss retirement. Texas Supreme Court throws wrench in Dallas-area race results The Texas Supreme Courts decision to temporarily pause a lower courts ruling allowing an extension of voting hours in Dallas County has not only stirred the Senate Democratic primary, but is also impacting a prominent House contest for the party. Dallas County has separate polling locations for both political parties, and confusion over this practice sparked calls from Democrats for the county to extend voting hours for Texans seeking to cast their vote at the correct polling location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Texas judge allowed voting to be extended two more hours in the county before the Lone Star States highest court temporarily halted that decision, asking that any votes cast after 8 p.m. EST be separated from the final tally. In the district, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and his successor, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas), are headed to a runoff. Allred initially ran for Senate against Cornyn but later dropped out after Crockett entered the race. Allreds decision to primary Johnson created an awkward matchup between the former lawmaker and the congresswoman, who succeeded him in 2025. Mixed night for incumbents seeking reelection Tuesdays races offered a mixed night for incumbents, with some primaries showing several lawmakers either losing their contests or in danger of being ousted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) lost his GOP primary to Texas state Rep. Steve Toth (R) in the states 2nd Congressional District. Over in Texass 23rd Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projected that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), whos facing allegations of an affair with a former staffer, and gun rights YouTuber Brandon Herrera were headed toward a runoff. Gonzales has faced calls to resign but has brushed off the calls, calling the allegations personal smears. Gonzales narrowly defeated Herrera last cycle after he was forced into a 2024 runoff . The primary between Democratic Texas Reps. Christian Menefee and Al Green in the 18th Congressional District is also headed to a runoff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the race between Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) and progressive Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam has not yet been called. Cornyn will also face a tough reelection bid in his runoff election against Paxton, who said Tuesday that the people of Texas deserve better than the four-term incumbent. High Democratic turnout reinforces growing momentum Democratic turnout surged in Texas and North Carolina, adding to signs of the partys midterm momentum. In Texas, early turnout in the Democratic primary outpaced Republicans and exceeded totals from recent cycles, energized by the marquee Senate race. Roughly 1.4 million voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary during early voting, which ended Friday, according to unofficial data from the Texas Secretary of States Office. Across the aisle, roughly 1.2 million voted early in the GOP election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, when Democrats came within just a couple points of flipping another Senate seat, roughly 1.1 million turned out across early and election day voting in the partys primary, compared to 1.5 million in that years Republican contest. Election officials said Tuesday that voters in Harris County broke the record for highest turnout in a primary election, ABC13 reported. In North Carolina, more voters cast early ballots in Tuesdays primaries than in either the 2024 presidential primary or the 2022 midterms, according to data compiled by NC Newsline. Around 297,000 early ballots were cast in the Democratic primary as of Monday, compared to roughly 201,000 in the GOP race, data from the secretary of states office shows. Another 216,000 were unaffiliated ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As this week marks the first primaries of the midterm cycle, the early turnout numbers are a good sign for Democrats, who are bullish about cutting into Republicans control of Congress this fall. Republican primary fights rage on in Texas Primary fights are set to rage on in several closely watched GOP races after results were too close to avoid a runoff. Cornyn and Paxton will be forced to duke it out in the coming weeks before their May showdown, stretching out a primary brawl that has already broken spending records and divided Texas Republicans. With roughly 90 percent of the vote in on Tuesday night, Cornyn had a single-digit lead over Paxton, but neither candidate was poised to push past the 50 percent support theyd need to win outright. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The runoff is expected to draw more money and more questions about whether Trump could endorse in the race as both candidates highlight their alignment with the president. The Lone Star States race for attorney general was also headed to a GOP runoff between Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R) as they battle to succeed Paxton, whos leaving his post for the Senate race. Middleton had a double-digit lead over Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, with 70 percent of the vote reported late Tuesday, but he failed to reach the halfway mark. Republican runoffs were also projected in Texass 9th, 23rd and 35th congressional districts. Runoffs for the Democratic Party in Texas include the 18th and 33rd congressional districts. With 12 weeks to go, the runoffs are set to suck up time and resources for candidates in key races as others rush the runway for the November general election. Updated March 4 at 10:32 a.m. EST. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Market in turmoil: The sectors active investors can look at now Vessel tracking service Kpler reported that some ships, mainly flying the flags of Iran and China, continued to pass through the strait You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user. OK If Nitish Kumar moves to the Rajya Sabha, the state could see a new chief minister soon, with strong indications that the post may go to the BJP. Did our AI summary help? The DMK-Congress alliance had won 151 seats in the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly election Sharad Pawar's candidacy was approved by the Central leadership of the Congress Various reports suggest that about 5055% of India's crude oil and LNG imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Saturday, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said. Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday. His successor is yet to be named. Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Read previous Iran live updates here.) Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Latest Developments Mar 5, 2:23 PM IDF asks hundreds of thousands to evacuate in LebanonThe Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation orders on Thursday for hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon. Over 83,000 people are registered as displaced persons in shelters, equivalent to 18,033 families, according to Minister of Social Affairs Hanin Al-Sayed. Ahmad Al Kerdi/Reuters - PHOTO: A man stands near a damaged building after Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. -ABC News Will Gretsky Mar 5, 2:23 PM US suspends operations at embassy in Kuwait The State Department announced that it has suspended all operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. This is the first suspension of operations at a U.S. embassy since the conflict began. The embassy itself was closed earlier in the week and struck by what was initially assessed to be an Iranian drone on Monday. The embassy previously said it would provide "information on how American citizens in Kuwait may obtain an emergency passport for travel. -ABC News Shannon Kingston Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mar 5, 2:09 PM 1st flight from UAE lands in US Emirates Flight 203, the first direct, commercial flight from the United Arab Emirates to the U.S. since the conflict with Iran began, landed safely in New York City on Thursday morning. Its not clear what, if any, role the U.S. government had in facilitating the flight. Emirates previously announced that it had suspended its regularly scheduled flights through March 7, and the airline has since carried out a number of repatriation flights. The State Department announced Thursday night that a charter flight had left the Middle East and was on its way back to the U.S. -ABC News Clara McMichael Mar 5, 11:40 AM Trump says he has 'to be involved in the appointment' of Iran's next supreme leader President Donald Trump said that he has "to be involved in the appointment" of Iran's next supreme leader in an exclusive phone interview with Axios on Thursday. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Vehicles drive along an expressway against the backdrop of smoke rising after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran, March 5, 2026. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes. "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump said, according to Axios. But in a Saturday video Trump posted on social media after Operation Epic Fury began, he said to the Iranian people, "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take." Axios also reported that Trump said he does not want another hard-liner in leadership, saying that would make the U.S. go back to war with Iran "in five years." "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said, according to Axios. -ABC News Michelle Stoddart Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mar 5, 10:24 AM 20,000 Americans have returned to US from Middle East: State Department The State Department says its aware of 20,000 Americans who have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since Saturday. The department said its task force has helped 10,000 Americans. The department also said it is expanding its crisis intake form -- which previously covered the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel -- to now include Bahrain and Kuwait. Michael Probst/AP - PHOTO: People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, March 3, 2026. The Trump administration has faced criticism for not having a plan in place to evacuate Americans in advance of the joint operation. The State Department on Monday urged Americans to depart from 14 countries in the region using commercial means, but there are significant disruptions in air travel. In addition to the charter flight that left the Middle East Wednesday night, the department said it expects additional flights and ground transports to take place Thursday in order to move Americans out of the region. -ABC News Shannon Kingston Mar 5, 5:29 AM Explosions reported in Qatar amid missile attack A series of loud explosions were heard in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, with the Defense Ministry saying in a statement that the country had been subjected to "a missile attack." Qatari officials said Iran launched 14 ballistic missiles and four drones into Qatar around 11:51 a.m. local time. Thirteen missiles were intercepted, while one missile fell into the water, the Qataris said, and all four drones were intercepted. No injuries were reported. -ABC News Marcus Moore, Dragana Jovanovic and Colm OMolloy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mar 5, 9:04 AM Selection of Iran's new supreme leader in final stages The process of selecting Iran's next supreme leader is entering the final stages, a member of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Mohsen Qomi, told Mehr News, Iran's semiofficial news agency. Mar 5, 7:39 AM Tanker hit by explosion in Persian Gulf, UKMTO says The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Thursday that a Bahamas-flagged tanker was hit by an explosion in the northern Persian Gulf late on Wednesday. The explosion occurred while the vessel was empty and at anchor around 30 nautical miles southeast of the Kuwaiti coast, the UKMTO said. "The Master" of the tanker reported "a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity," the UKMTO said. Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: An oil tanker is pictured offshore of Dubai, UAE, on March 1, 2026. Iranian state media on Thursday carried a claim by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' public relations office that IRGC naval forces attacked an oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf. -ABC News' Zoe Magee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mar 5, 7:15 AM UAE reports strikes by 1 Iranian missile, 6 drones The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said in a post to X that one Iranian missile and six drones landed inside the country during attacks on Thursday. The ministry said six ballistic missiles and 125 drones were intercepted during the latest wave of Iranian attacks. Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: A plume of black smoke rises from the port of Fujairah in the UAE on March 4, 2026. Since Saturday, the UAE has reported three deaths and 94 injuries related to Iranian attacks. Mar 5, 7:06 AM Italy to join France, Spain in sending naval assets to Cyprus, minister says Italy will join France and Spain in sending naval assets to help protect Cyprus, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told the Italian parliament on Thursday. Crosetto spoke of deploying Italian "naval assets" to defend Cyprus, as quoted by the ANSA news agency. Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters - PHOTO: A British Airbus A400M military aircraft approaches RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base that was hit by a drone, in Cyprus, on March 5, 2026. The Mediterranean island, which hosts British military bases, has been targeted by drones since the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. British bases in Cyprus have traditionally served as hubs for U.K. and allied military activity across the Middle East. -ABC News' Camilla Alcini Click here to read the rest of the blog. Nitish Kumar confirms he will file nomination for Rajya Sabha Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he will be filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls, which is scheduled to be held on March 16. Taking to X, Kumar shared a post saying, "From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time." A US Marines F-35C Lightning II is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran. (Courtesy: Reuters photo) Officials said domestic refineries currently have sufficient reserves. Govt Official: All our refineries have enough crude oil stocks. Before its return journey, the Iranian warship IRIS Dena had participated in Indias International Fleet Review 2026 Nitish has taken oath as the Bihar Chief Minister a record 10 times. The once seemingly robust relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. is fracturing, with U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at odds amid the widening Iran war. The U.K. has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have, said Trump during an Oval Office briefing alongside visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday. Trump was referring to the Chagos Islands, home to the joint U.K.-U.S. airbase Diego Garcia, which the U.K. now leases after it returned the sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius last yeara move Trump called an act of great stupidity." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer initially refused to allow the U.S. military to use the base to send defensive missiles to Iran. He walked back that decision Sunday night, framing it as the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and prevent the situation spiralling further. But for Trump, the course reversal happened far too late. Its taken three or four days for us to work out where we can land. It would have been much more convenient landing there, as opposed to flying many extra hours, he said during Tuesdays briefing. He ruins relationships. We are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with, Trump added, taking aim at Starmers leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The remarks were yet another indication that the two leaders are no longer in alignment. Starmer defended his position once more in the House of Commons on Wednesday, arguing hes not prepared for the United Kingdom to join a war that doesnt have a plan. We need to act with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head. The protection of U.K. nationals is our number one priority, he said, highlighting how the U.K. has planes in the region, intercepting incoming strikes. When pressed on how his response might have hindered U.K.-U.S. relations, Starmer issued a defiant statement. American planes operating out of British bases, that is the special relationship in action hanging on to President Trumps latest words is not, he said. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the Tech Prosperity Deal announcement at Chequers, Starmer's residence in Aylesbury, U.K., on Sept. 18, 2025. Leon NealGetty Images After launching the U.S-Israeli military action over the weekend, which resulted in the killing of Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Trump made a series of remarks to British media, lashing out at Starmers initial refusal to grant access to U.K. bases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats probably never happened between our countries before It sounds like he was worried about the legality, he said in one interview. Its very sad to see that the [U.K.-U.S.] relationship is obviously not what it was, he remarked in another. Meanwhile, the U.K. has maintained its position not to join offensive action against Iran, instead focusing on stepping up defensive efforts after Iranian-made drones targeted a British airbase in Akrotiri, Cyprus. Starmer has ordered for the HMS Dragon warship to be deployed in the region to assist in the defense of British bases and partners. It has also taken part in joint operations, including with Qatar, to intercept drones in the Gulf region. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Britain has shot down drones in Jordanian and Iraqi airspace. Early signs of strife in the U.K.-U.S. alliance Signs of tension between Trump and Starmer started to show earlier this year over policies and approaches to geopolitical matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. President has repeatedly criticized the U.K.s decision to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute, despite the State Department praising the move last year. Starmer also broke ranks with Trump when the President threatened to tariff European allies until Denmark relents and sells the territory of Greenlanda position he swiftly walked back on. Starmer called the threat completely wrong and said a trade war was in no one's interest. In late January, the pair disagreed again after Trump targeted NATO allies, falsely claiming that troops from other countries stayed a little back from the frontlines during the war in Afghanistan. Starmer called the comments insulting and, frankly, appalling, while paying tribute to the 457 British armed personnel that died during service in Afghanistan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump later appeared to walk back his comments, saying that the soldiers of the U.K. will always be with the United States as the bond is too strong to ever be broken. Prior to all this, Trump and Starmer appeared to have established a burgeoning working relationship. In 2025, during his first visit to the White House following Trumps inauguration, Starmer presented the President with a letter from King Charles III, inviting Trump to an historic second state visit to the U.K. The visit proved to be a show of unity between the two leaders, as they signed the billion-dollar Tech Prosperity Deal. The two nations had earlier reached a trade agreement, lessening the blow of U.S-imposed tariffs after Trumps self-appointed Liberation Day announcement of global trade charges sparked concern in April 2025. Contact us at letters@time.com. Earlier in the day, he reached the Bihar Legislative Assembly along with BJP national president Nitin Nabin and Union Home Minister Amit Shah before submitting his nomination. The BJP could lead the next government in Bihar, according to NDA sources The announcement regarding the development came from state rural development minister and senior JD(U) leader Shrawon Kumar (Image: PTI) Sri Lankan minister urges govts to 'look seriously' after US sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean Between March 5 and 11, Air India will operate three additional services between Delhi and Toronto. Rewati Karan is Senior Sub Editor at Moneycontrol. She covers law, politics, business, and national affairs. She was previously Principal Correspondent at Financial Express and Copyeditor at ThePrint where she wrote feature stories and covered legal news. She has also worked extensively in social media, videos and podcasts at ThePrint and India Today. She can be reached at rewati.karan@nw18.com | Twitter: @RewatiKaran Foreign Secretary Vikram Misris visit to the Iranian embassy triggered debate at home, even as New Delhi tries to balance diplomatic protocol, domestic politics and a volatile West Asia crisis. The U.S. has launched military operations against designated terrorist organizations in Ecuador just three days after starting a war in the Middle East. While the eyes of the world are on Iran, and Trump is under fire even from MAGAworld for his foreign entanglements, the president authorized yet another series of U.S. military strikes. U.S. Southern Command announced the operations in a late-night X post on Tuesday, writing, On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere. The video, posted by U.S. Southern Command, features a helicopter taking off from an undisclosed location before travelling to retrieve soldiers participating in the first joint mission with Ecuador. / U.S. Southern Command The post also included a quote from Southern Command General Francis L. Donovan, who said, We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country. Attached to the post was a video of a helicopter taking off from an undisclosed location before cutting to black-and-white footage of the helicopter picking up soldiers. The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment. U.S. Southern Command/X The move comes as military officials are already said to be panicking privately about Trumps newly launched war against Iran spiraling out of control and depleting U.S. air defense supplies. Launched early Saturday and dubbed Operation Epic Fury, Trump officials have given a flurry of contradictory statements about the goal and timeline of the war, with the president saying it could drag on for weeks even as military officials sound the alarm about rapidly depleted air defense missiles in the face of Irans retaliatory attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least six U.S. servicemembers have already been confirmed dead as a result of the conflict with Iran, and Trump has casually acknowledged that more are likely to die. Perhaps aware of public backlash to the fallout over Trumps Iran war, military operations in Ecuador were billed as more of a support mission. U.S. Special Forces soldiers are advising and supporting Ecuadorian commandos on raids that are being conducted at suspected drug shipment facilities across the country, according to the New York Times. A U.S. official who spoke to the Times explained that U.S. soldiers are not believed to be participating in the raids, but are merely assisting with planning and providing intelligence and logistics support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The official said that the video posted to social media depicted the first in what was expected to be a series of raids across Ecuador. The launch of operations in Ecuador also comes after the U.S. has conducted numerous strikes on what it claims are boats being used for drug-smuggling around the Caribbean. At least 151 people have been killed in 44 strikes on 45 vessels across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since the first strike on Sept. 2. The Trump administration has not been forthcoming with evidence that the boats it has targeted were being used to smuggle narcotics, prompting legal experts to argue that the strikes are illegal and extrajudicial. U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 1, 2026. / Nathan Howard / REUTERS There have also been concerns that the Trump administration may have committed a war crime when it used an aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane to conduct a strike, according to a New York Times report published in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shielding your identity is an element of perfidy, Retired Maj. Gen. Steven Lepper, a former judge advocate in the Air Force, told the Times. If the aircraft flying above is not identifiable as a combatant aircraft, it should not be engaged in combatant activity. Trumps controversial extrajudicial strikes in the region culminated in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife First Lady Cilia Flores in early January. The pair was taken from a residence in Caracas and flown to New York, where they face charges of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, and weapons possession. In his first court appearance following his abduction, Maduro described himself as a prisoner of war and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The joint operation in Ecuador is the latest in a long line of foreign military operations undertaken during Trumps second term in office. Under Trump, who previously dubbed himself the Peace President and ran on a platform of no new wars, U.S. forces have conducted strikes on Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, and Nigeria, as well as on numerous vessels throughout the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Shankar Sharma is an Ace Investor, and founder of Gquant Investech, an AI Tech firm Le Grand Fromage (Shankar Sharma) is ace Investor, investment philosopher and founder of Gquant Investech , an AI Tech firm. Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication. The video was recorded in Lucknow. In it, the loco pilot, Rajesh Meena, can be heard explaining that he was still in pain and unable to resume duty. (Image credit: @rajkamal405/Instagram) Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that the IRIS Dena issued a distress call early in the morning, after which its wreckage, bodies, and survivors were recovered in waters south of Galle. (File photo) RevenueCat said humans will supervise all AI content. (Image credit: Pexels) Kumari was visiting Dubai when US Israel strikes hit Iran. (Image credit: X/@kritikatwtss) Scientists discovered a bizarre 275-million-year-old aquatic animal with sideways teeth and a twisted jaw in Brazil. (Image: By Vitor Silva) NEED TO KNOW President Donald Trump held a long-planned bilateral meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, March 3 During the meeting, Trump said Merz "knows all about my father," Fred Trump, adding, "My father was born there" However, Fred Trump was born in New York City President Donald Trump again appeared to confuse the birthplaces of his father and paternal grandfather during a media briefing Tuesday, March 3, in Washington, repeating the incorrect claim that his father, Fred Trump, was born in Germany. Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke to reporters from the Oval Office early Tuesday following a long-planned bilateral meeting at the White House. Responding to a question about U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran, Trump criticized Spain and the U.K. over the countries lack of support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spain, Trump claimed, has been terrible, and threatened to cut off all trade with the country. And by the way, Trump added, Im not happy with the U.K. either. The U.K. has been, very, very, uncooperative with that stupid island they have, that they gave away and took a 100-year lease, Trump said, referring to the U.K.s decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to a major U.S.-U.K. military base, to the east African nation of Mauritius. They ruin relationships. Its a shame, Trump said. And I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there, Trump said of the U.K. The presidents mother, Mary Anne Macleod Trump, was born in Scotland and immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager. My father was born he knows all about my father, Trump added on Tuesday, gesturing to Merz. My father was born there. There are places that you sort of automatically very, very feel warmly about. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Fred Trump was born in the Bronx, New York City. It was the president's grandparents, Frederich Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, who immigrated to the U.S. from Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has made the same mistake publicly before. In 2018, he told CBS News that his father had been born in Germany. My father is German was German born in a very wonderful place in Germany, so I have a very great feeling for Germany, Trump said during another press briefing in 2019. Read the original article on People Largest freshwater stingray ever recorded found in Cambodia. (Image: Guinness Book of World Records) Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Ankita Chakravarti is a seasoned journalist with nearly a decade of experience in media. She specializes in technology and lifestyle journalism. She has worked with top Indian media houses like India Today, Zee News, The Statesman, and Millennium Post. Her expertise spans tech trends, phone launches, gadget reviews, and entertainment news. Ankita holds a Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication along with a degree in English Literature. She can be reached out at ankita.chakravarti@nw18.com Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT) AIPVT is replaced by NEET-UG https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/entrance/medi/all-india-pre-veterinary-test-aipvt.htm Details of All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT) AIPVT is replaced by NEET-UG 2026-3-4 2026-3-8 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT) AIPVT is replaced by NEET-UG Medical The Veterinary Council of India: All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT) on May 5, 2024 Category : Medical Admissions 2026 Published : On March 4, 2026 By Webindia123 Editor Important Dates AIPVT 2024 application form release date 9th February 2024 Last date of online application 16th March 2024 NEET UG 2024 Exam (AIPVT) 5th May 2024 The Veterinary Council of India (VCI) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament viz Indian Veterinary Council (IVC) Act, 1984 under the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India for regulation of veterinary practice, veterinary education, preparation and maintenance of Indian Veterinary Practitioner's Register AThe exam date has been announced through NEET UG. The Veterinary Council of India (VCI) will organise the admission procedure. The AIPVT exam has been replaced by the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). With the exam date announced through NEET UG, the application process for AIPVT 2024 is poised to commence online, offering candidates a streamlined approach to initiate their veterinary journey. The sheer scale of participation underscores the craze for this examination, as countless students vie for a spot in the esteemed B.V.Sc & A.H courses. Duration Of The Course : The duration of B.V.Sc. & A.H degree course is five and half years which includes compulsory Internship of one year period. Eligibility: The candidates should be Indian Nationals (except from the State of Jammu & Kashmir). The lower age limit to appear in AIPVT 2024 exam is 17 years and the upper age limit is 25 years as of December 31, 2017. The student should have cleared/passed/qualified for the 10+2 exam with physics, chemistry, biology and English as the main subjects. The students in Class 12 can also apply provided he/she passes the qualifying examination on or before June 30, 2024. The students should have scored/obtained a minimum percentage of 50% in the qualifying exam. (for SC/ST/OBC students it is 40%.) Fee For On-Line Registration And Stray Round Participation: Aspirants candidates seeking admission to B.V.Sc. & A.H course under 15% All India Quota to visit website www.vci.admissions.nic.in and fill online registration form and pay a non-refundable registration fee as under : REGISTRATION FEE FOR ROUND 1 AND ROUND 2 General candidates Rs 1000/- EWS /OBC candidates Rs 900/- SC/ST/PwD (PH) /Transgender candidates. Rs.500/- STRAY ROUND PARTICIPATION FEES General/ OBC/EWS/PIO Rs 50,000/ SC/ST/PH/ Transgender Rs 25000/ Registration Process : Step 1 First, the student will visit the official website of the NEET UG 2024 exam Step 2 Now the student will click on New Registration under the Apply online link. Step 3 Then the student will read the instructions carefully. Step 4 After that, the student will select the checkbox. Step 5 In this step, the student will click on the Proceed option. Step 6 After that, the student will fill out the registration form. Step 7 Then the student will enter the security pin and click on the submit button. Step 8 Once the registration is done, the student will receive the login credentials on the registered email ID or mobile number. He/she will also note down the application number. Step 9 Then the student will log in on the portal with the help of received login credentials. After that, the student will fill out the NEET UG 2024 application form with the correct information. Step 10 He/she will also upload the required documents. Step 11 Then the student will pay the application fees. Step 12 At the end, the student will submit the form and take a printout of the application form for future use. Documents Required : Admit Card of NEET UG 2024 Rank Card of NEET UG 2024 issued by NTA. Aadhaar Card/Voter ID Card/Ration Card/Passport/PAN etc as provided in NEET UG Application Form. Proof for Date of Birth Certificate (Secondary School Examination or equivalent Certificate) 10+2 Mark Sheet (Qualifying Examination Mark Sheet) 10+2 Certificate or Provisional Certificate (Qualifying Examination Certificate). Provisional Certificate is permissible for those candidates who had passed in the year 2024 only. Character Certificate from the School or College last attended. Six passport size and one postcard size coloured photograph. OCI/PIO card issued by the appropriate authority, if applicable. Equivalency certificate from AIU in the case of students educated abroad. More details can be available from the official website. Contact Details Address : Veterinary Council of India A- Wing, IInd Floor, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110066 Phone : + 91 11 -26184149 / 26184354 Fax : 91 11 26182434 Mobile : - E-mail : Contact I Website : www.vci.admissions.nic.in. Find it Useful ? Help Others by Sharing Online Comments and Discussions Cruise travel has been affected due to US-Israel attacked Iran. Maryam Farooqui is Senior Correspondent at Moneycontrol covering media and entertainment, travel and hospitality. She has 11 years of experience in reporting. Alibabas Qwen series is part of Chinas push to rival US AI systems. (Image credit: SCMP) A group of men inspects the ruins of a police station struck Monday amid the USIsraeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran Tensions in the Middle East are only spiralling as the US-Israel-Iran war entered its sixth day. Canadian PM Mark Carney said Canada cannot rule out joining the US-Israel-Iran conflict, stressing support for allies but prioritizing national interests. He called for de-escalation, criticized Irans nuclear ambitions, and urged closer cooperation with Australia. Did our AI summary help? Israeli analysts believe several Iranian missile systems are capable of carrying cluster warheads. This comes as the conflict triggered by the joint US-Israel attack on Iran continues to widen across the Middle East and beyond The frigate IRIS Dena was reportedly returning home after participating in MILAN 2026, a multinational naval exercise hosted by India, along with the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, only weeks earlier. (Photo: Seyed Abbas Araghchi/X) The disruption has already pushed oil prices up by about 14% since the weekend and sent natural gas prices to their highest levels since Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A US submarine sank Iranian warship Iris Dena near Sri Lanka, escalating the Iran-US-Israel conflict close to Indias maritime region. India denied US use of its ports, stressing balanced diplomacy and safeguarding its interests amid rising regional tensions. Did our AI summary help? Most Americans have never been to Big Bend National Park. That's partly the point. Tucked into the elbow of West Texas, where the mighty Rio Grande bends sharply south, the park sits two hours from the nearest stoplight and eight hours from Dallas. It shares 118 miles of border with Mexico, and the river that forms that boundary has spent millennia carving some of the loveliest, most dramatic canyon scenery on the continent. Big Bend's 800,000 acres span three distinct ecosystems Chihuahuan Desert, mountain forest, and river corridor making it a magnet for hikers, birders, river runners, and photographers. The park is famous for its dark skies, rated among some of the best in the Lower 48, drawing astronomers and stargazers from around the world. Visitors come to float the Rio Grande through Santa Elena Canyon, soak in a natural hot spring along the riverbank, and hike the Chisos Mountains, an isolated sky island rising above the desert floor. It's a place that rewards the effort it takes to reach it and that remoteness is inseparable from its character. Now, that character may be in jeopardy thanks to the border wall. The border wall plans in Big Bend National Park The Department of Homeland Security has revealed plans to build more than 100 miles of physical barrier through Big Bend National Park and neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem waived 28 environmental protection laws to expedite the project, with contracts expected to be awarded in the coming weeks and construction potentially beginning as early as May. Advertisement Advertisement For visitors, the consequences could be severe. If a solid bollard wall with an adjacent road is constructed along the Rio Grande as former Big Bend superintendent Bob Krumenaker told National Parks Traveler he believes is planned it would effectively cut off public access to the river entirely. No more canoe trips through Santa Elena Canyon. No fishing. Likely no access to the beloved hot spring. And the "stadium lighting" required to illuminate the wall at night would gut the astro-tourism that defines the region (never mind the wildlife that depend on the dark night). The park draws visitors precisely because of the things a wall would eliminate. Man In Blue Coat Hikes Across Mesa De Anguilla In Big Bend National Park (kellyvandellen via Getty Images) A wall nobody is rooting for What makes the proposal so striking is the near-universal opposition from local officials on both sides of the aisle. Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson, a Democrat, told NBC News the wall would "ruin this county." Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a Republican and 26-year Border Patrol veteran, argued in a statement shared with National Parks Traveler that "mountains, canyons, desert expanses, and the Rio Grande already create a formidable natural barrier" and that modern surveillance technology would be far more effective and efficient. The numbers back them up. CBP encountered just 734 people in the entire Big Bend sector so far in fiscal year 2026 less than 3% of total southern border encounters. "Since Trump closed the border, we're down I would say 90%," Dodson told NBC News. Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, a Republican, summed up the local sentiment plainly: "The terrain itself is a wall." Big Bend has always been defined by what it doesn't have crowds, development, noise, light pollution. For the people who love it (if youre reading this, that likely includes you and me), that absence is the whole reason to go. The question now is whether Washington is about to fill in all that beautiful empty space with something nobody out here wanted. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it struck several Hezbollah targets across Lebanon on Wednesday, including rocket and missile launch sites south of the Litani river. Israel and US widen the air campaign: Underground missile infrastructure in Iran now in focus Visuals from attack during the Iran-US war Kuwait lies close to a number of US military facilities and logistical bases. (Image credit: Reuters) Old talks, not a new offer: IRNA clarifies deputy FM remarks after Sky News report A viral TikTok from an Arizona-based traveler is sparking conversation about tourist pricing. He claims he was overcharged near one of the worlds most visited landmarks. On Dec. 3, @thebirthmarkedtraveler posted a video describing being repeatedly charged far more than the prices listed on cafe menus while visiting Egypt. Im at the pyramids of Giza, and I am so upset right now, says the tourist. What Made the Great Pyramids Cafe Pricing So Frustrating? The traveler explains that his day soured after attempting to order a $4.68 mango smoothie at a nearby cafe. According to him, the vendor substituted a mango-kiwi drink and then presented a bill for $7.50. When the customer pushed back, the worker allegedly insisted he had already communicated the higher price. Frustrated, the traveler refused the drink and left the store. Advertisement Advertisement Hoping the first encounter was a fluke, he says he walked to another nearby option. This time, he went to a branded Nescafe cafe, expecting clearer pricing and a more straightforward transaction. The menu listed what he described as a reasonable price for coffee ($2.65), so he ordered a decaf Americano. As the drink was being prepared, the man said he repeatedly asked for price confirmation, only to be ignored. When an answer finally came, the cost was $8.51. It was more than triple the price that was on the menu, he shares. He declined the drink and walked out, visibly frustrated. Is It Common to Be Upcharged in Egypt? The video has since drawn thousands of comments, with viewers debating whether this is an example of aggressive tourist markups. I feel like most of Egypt's economy is scamming foreigners, wrote one commenter. Advertisement Advertisement Foreigners realising theres a local price and foreigners price, added another. Experiences like the TikToker's arent unheard of in Egypts major tourist zones, where inflated tourist pricing is frequently reported. Around major attractions like the Great Pyramids, taxis, cafes, souvenir stalls, and informal vendors, overcharging and unclear pricing are common enough that travel guides and forums include tourist pricing warnings in their advice. Travelers on Reddit report paying significantly more than locals for basic goods or being quoted higher prices when its assumed they're foreigners, especially if prices arent displayed. Additionally, restaurants and shops near busy sites have been known to present hidden fees and inflate bills before and after ordering. This leads to surprise charges for foreign visitors. Travel guides strongly advise haggling or confirming costs in advance to avoid surprise markups. Advertisement Advertisement That said, not every experience in Egypt is negative, with the country being a popular tourist destination. Many seasoned travelers suggest that preparedness, negotiation, and sticking to reputable vendors can help avoid overpricing while still enjoying the countrys historic sites. AllHipHop reached out to @thebirthmarkedtraveler via TikTok direct message and Nescafe via email. We will update this story if either party responds. Jiang has also suggested that Iran's preparation over many years could give it strategic advantages in a prolonged conflict The frigate IRIS Dena had reportedly been on its return voyage after taking part in MILAN 2026 and the International Fleet Review 2026 just weeks earlier Sri Lanka to take custody of Iranian vessel (Representative image) Musk himself is involved in the race through multiple ventures. (Image credit: Tesla) New York Attorney General Letitia James and prosecutors from 23 states filed a lawsuit in the Court of International Trade seeking to invalidate Trumps latest tariff regime. Billion-dollar radars, fighter jets and warships, the staggering cost of the USIsraelIran conflict Trump says he wants a role in choosing Irans next leader and rejected Mojtaba Khamenei as successor after Ali Khameneis assassination. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday. These days, travel is big business with a million different travel businesses. But how do you decide which ones to use? Here are three recent experiences I had with three different travel companies from which I learned three different lessons. Problem is, these lessons sometimes contradict themselves. This has forced me into a kind of existential crisis: when it comes to travel, how do you pick the best company to do business with? Advertisement Advertisement When all is said and done, Ill try hard to leave you with some kind of overall travel wisdom. I Made a Claim with Genki Travel Insurance I regularly write about health and travel insurance for nomads, expats, and long-term travelers and I have long strongly recommended policies offered by a company named Genki Insurance, which Michael and I use. They offer traditional travel insurance (which assumes you have a place to go where youre covered for chronic or long-term care) and also full international health insurance (which means this is your only policy and covers all your healthcare needs). Michael and I have made a few small claims with Genki before, through their AirDoctor app, which made the whole process really easy. Advertisement Advertisement But maybe it was too easy, because the company has discontinued its association with the app, claiming it was driving up frivolous claims. They also raised their prices and put caps on their payouts (which used to have no maximums) in response to exploding healthcare costs worldwide, they say. A year ago last October, I had a very painful kidney stone on board a cruise ship and had to be taken to a hospital in Troms, Norway, for three days. I paid for the medical care on the ship ($1500 USD) out of pocket (and, upon furnishing receipts, was promptly reimbursed by Genki within a week). But I merely gave the hospital in Troms my insurance information upon entry, and I didnt notify Genki, even after Id been cleared to leave three days later. On my way to the hospital. (Michael Jensen) Later, the hospital billed Genki directly ($3345), who then forwarded the bill on to me, saying I had not followed their proper procedure. DR-WALTER the German company that handles Genkis payouts said they could still reimburse me, but I would first have to pay the hospital out of pocket and submit the proper documentation. I was wary that I would be reimbursed, but the bill needed to be paid regardless, so I ended up wiring thousands of dollars to a random number somewhere overseas, in a process that was fairly complicated and very nerve-wracking. Advertisement Advertisement The folks at the hospital were helpful and, of course, they spoke perfect English but they also informed me that the Norwegian medical system simply doesnt offer itemized bills, as required by DR-WALTER. However, they sent me a printed explanation to give to my insurance. Was DR-WALTER going to use this loophole to avoid paying me? I submitted proof of payment and the other necessary forms via email. At this point, DR-WALTER informed me that they required the original bill from the hospital in Troms. Which I had because I keep everything but Im a nomad, and the bill was stored somewhere in a file back in America. Advertisement Advertisement Here we go! I thought. This is how theyre going to weasel out of paying me! But DR-WALTER also said I had two full years from the incident to submit the necessary bill, and when I finally returned to America this past January, I sent it in using as secure an international shipping option as possible (Priority Mail Express, which cost $85). All this time, I stayed in close touch with DR-WALTER, and sure enough, when my documents arrived, they promptly paid me in full (but the only payment option for Americans like me is through Revolut, which required me creating an account there). Lessons learned: When using travel insurance of any kind, always bring the company into the conversation as soon as possible. Dont merely rely on the hospital to contact your insurance for you. In my case, the situation was a bona fide emergency, which usually waives pre-authorization requirements, but even so, Michael and I should have contacted them sooner than we did. In the end, I think Genkis review process in my case was fairly reasonable. (Check out Genki here.) Pay attention to a companys online reviews and feedback. I write about insurance a lot, and I hear from a lot of people: Genki has a good reputation among folks I respect. Online reviews are strong too and, more importantly, the few negative reviews seem to mostly be people who bought a limited, cheaper travel policy and are upset because it doesnt provide full coverage. I Got a Hotel Day-Pass Using ResortPass.com As travel journalists, Michael and I never accept comps or freebies in exchange for coverage: if we recommend something, its solely because we genuinely like it. Advertisement Advertisement That said, we are open to pitches of ideas from publicists (and we get plenty dozens a week). And we also very occasionally accept travel products for review (but with absolutely no guarantee of any coverage at all). Recently, a publicist pitched a small travel item, which I ended up using. In gratitude, she said she wanted to offer me a $500 credit at another company she did publicity for, ResortPass.com, which offers day-passes to resorts and spas all around the world. Wide shot of a luxury indoor hotel pool showing a man in a white robe dipping legs in shallow water, with private spa cabanas, golden curtains and modern architecture behind him. (PixelCatchers via Getty Images) This seemed like kind of a journalistic grey area. She wasnt necessarily suggesting I write about ResortPass.com she claimed it was a thank-you gift. But come on: shes a publicist, and Im a travel journalist. On the other hand, it was a kind of travel product, and if I liked it, maybe I could eventually write about it. Was that so wrong? In the end, Michael and I were visiting friends in San Francisco, both of whom have cancer, so I decided to use the credit to treat everyone to a day at a local spa. Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, using the credit on their website turned out to be really confusing and their customer support was very frustrating too. Even worse, they knew I was a travel journalist. I couldnt help but think: if this is how they treat people theyre trying to suck up to, how do they treat everyone else? After a couple of frustrating hours, I finally managed to book a day at a nearby spa. I received both email and text confirmation from ResortPass.com. But when we showed up at the spa (in a posh hotel), they had no record of the reservation. Worse, when I talked to the manager, he said the hotel had changed ownership over a year ago and had terminated its contract with ResortPass.com something he said theyd repeatedly told the company. So no spa day for my friends with cancer. (But we stopped at Trader Joes on the way home, and ended up having a lovely impromptu picnic.) Advertisement Advertisement When I recounted my experience to my contacts at ResortPass.com, they said, Your experience is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the ResortPass standard. And the fact is, the company's online reviews are fairly decent, as is much of its other press. But my experience also isnt unique with lots of reports of bad customer support, and other people sometimes showing up to find there is no reservation. Lessons learned: Listen to your gut . When booking the spa day, I had so many problems with both the website and customer support that I started to think: Am I going to show up for this booking and find out it doesnt exist? And my gut had it exactly right. Good online reviews dont necessarily tell the whole story. The fact is, ResortPasss Trustpilot reviews are almost as strong as Genkis. Normally, Id say, Maybe I was just unlucky stuff happens, except that my experience with both the reservation and customer support was bad. So maybe something about the business has recently changed? We Regularly Rent Cars with Fox Rent a Car Michael and I have been digital nomads for nine years now, and we generally come back to Seattle, our former-home in the United States, for visits once or twice a year. Because its America, we always need to rent a car. Advertisement Advertisement And because we rent for up to a month at a time, Ive always looked for good deals, and the lowest price, by far, has always been a smaller company named Fox Rent a Car, with locations around the country, including Seattle. Plus, unlike some companies, Fox allows you to add a spouse as an extra driver for free (at least at all U.S. locations) and theyve never asked for proof or made the slightest fuss about the fact that were a same-sex couple. (Some rental companies allow you to add a spouse for free if you sign up for their loyalty program, although sometimes you need to do it in advance, and California and New York mandate that spouses be able to drive for free.) In the nine years weve been renting cars from Fox, weve had two issues: a higher-than-quoted fee and a managers special that was deceptive, resulting in a ridiculously oversized car (which we declined, resulting in a considerably more expensive smaller car). In both cases, I contacted the manager, and he conceded my point and reversed the charges. Advertisement Advertisement So our experience has been uniformly positive. But that isnt the case with a lot of other renters at least according to online reviews. Those reviews are mediocre at Trustpilot (3.2 out of 5) and downright disastrous at Yelp and ConsumerAffairs, where theyre 1.6 and an eye-popping 1.1 out of five, respectively. And these numbers are the result of thousands of reviews. The complaints run the gamut, but they mostly boil down to unexpected fees and poor customer service. So what gives? How can our experience have been so good while everyone elses is so bad? Have we simply been lucky? Weve definitely had bad experiences at other car rental companies. The truth is, looking at all these horrible reviews has made me suspicious. The price is still so much better than other companies that well probably continue renting with Fox. That said, I have a funny feeling in my gut that I didnt have before. Lessons learned: Bad online reviews dont necessarily tell the whole story either? As much as Im always a bit skeptical of rave reviews, maybe I should be a bit skeptical of bad reviews too. People do love to complain. Personal experience is the most important factor of all and your gut feeling matters a lot too. Ultimately, these are the things I trust the most. Problem is, Im not sure what to do when they conflict. So What Does It All Mean? I said at the beginning of this article that the lessons I learned from all these experiences sometimes contradicted each other. When it came to online reviews, the results were all over the place fairly good for a company I personally found bad, and really bad for a company Ive found good. So are online reviews worthless? Not entirely, but theyre just one piece of information. It also matters whats in the reviews, so you should read them closely, including the lower-rated ones. Are they just a bunch of cranks, or do they have what seem to be legitimate gripes? Is there a common thread? As for the five-star reviews, its good to get into the habit of reading between the lines. Do they sound legit or do they read like they were written by the business itself or its friends? Might they have been artificially inflated by personal contact with the business? This is often the case with smaller businesses. All that said, I think the most important factor in determining whether you should patronize a particular business is your own personal experience with that business or the personal experience of people you know and trust. And if you dont have personal experience, trust your gut. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is and if something seems off, it almost certainly is. In terms of importance, I would rank the different factors this way: Personal experience or recommendation: far and away the most important. Your gut: also very important. Online reviews: something to consider, especially if you read between the lines, but your mileage may vary. In the end, though, I concede this is more than a little unsatisfying. When it comes to choosing a travel business, there is still and I suppose there always will be a big element of mystery and plain old random chance. Then again, thats also true of travel itself. Iran War News Live: US says it has sunk more than 30 Iranian ships The United States has sunk more than 30 Iranian ships during the ongoing war, while ballistic missile and drone attacks by Tehran's forces are down substantially, a top US military officer said Thursday. "We're now up over 30 ships (sunk), and in just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it's on fire," Admiral Brad Cooper told a news conference. Grab from the combat footage released by the US Central Command. (Courtesy: X | @CENTCOM) A viral claim suggested Indians in Israel were denied access to bomb shelters amid the Iran-Israel-US conflict. Israeli officials refuted this, stating metro stations serve as official shelters for all. The Indian embassy advised nationals to stay vigilant and safe. Did our AI summary help? The missile hit the school in Minab in southern Iran's Hormozgan province. 1) Bank of Hawaii branch employees were joined by Monsignor James Benavente for a private blessing ceremony prior to the opening of the banks new Micronesia Mall Branch. BoH photos 2) Bank of Hawaiis new Branch of Tomorrow kiosk inside Micronesia Mall features four teller stations and dedicated space for in-person consultations. The new branch expands Bank of Hawaiis network across Hawaii and the West Pacific to 52 locations. DEDEDO, Guam (Special Advertising Feature) Bank of Hawaii is proud to announce the opening of its new Branch of Tomorrow at Micronesia Mall, expanding its network across Hawaii and the West Pacific to a total of 52 branches. Located inside the regions largest shopping destination, the new Micronesia Mall Branch features Bank of Hawaiis signature Branch of Tomorrow design within a 217-square-foot kiosk. The space is thoughtfully designed to deliver personalized service through enhanced technology, including four teller stations and a dedicated area for in-person consultations. Micronesia Mall also includes three Bank of Hawaii ATMs throughout the property. The addition of the Micronesia Mall Branch reinforces Bank of Hawaiis commitment to Guam and the West Pacific, a region the bank has proudly served for more than 60 years. Most recently, that commitment was marked by the opening of the banks new West Pacific regional headquarters in Tamuning in 2025. Guam has been an important part of Bank of Hawaiis story for more than six decades, said Senior Vice President and West Pacific Market President Michael Sakazaki. Our new Micronesia Mall Branch in the heart of Dededo reflects our continued focus on this community and strengthens our ability to serve the people and businesses of the West Pacific. The Micronesia Mall Branch is conveniently located near Macys and open six days a week. Address: 1088 W. Marine Corps Drive, Space No. K-1, Dededo, Guam, 96929 Business hours: Mondays-Fridays: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. & Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The architect is GHD Inc., and the contractor is Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd. For more information, visit: boh.com/micronesiamall/. Bank of Hawaii has long been committed to serving communities of all sizes and supporting their evolving needs. With 52 branches system-wide, Bank of Hawaii is honored to be the only financial institution with branches on all main Hawaiian islands and throughout the West Pacific. Bank of Hawaii is committed to investing in Branch of Tomorrow transformations, with five completed in 2025, two in 2026 so far, and additional projects planned for the rest of the year: Lahaina, Maui (Aug. 11, 2025) Tamuning, Guam (July 14, 2025) Hana, Maui (Aug. 11, 2025) Kau, Hawaii Island (Nov. 3, 2025) Kona, Hawaii Island (Nov. 10, 2025) KTA Puainako, Hawaii Island (Feb. 23, 2026) Lanai (2026) Kaunakakai, Molokai (2026) Bank of Hawaii looks forward to sharing updates as these projects move forward via boh.com and its social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). The heading of this 1902 cartoon quotes Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smiths notorious order to kill every Filipino male over ten years old in retaliation for a surprise attack on U.S. troops. The caption at the bottom reads Criminals Because They Were Born Ten Years Before We Took the Philippines. A vulture, rather than the noble American eagle, perches on the flags and shield above an American firing squad. Smith was eventually court-martialed for issuing the order. Originally published in The New York Evening Journal (May 5, 1902), this version appeared in The Literary Digest (May 17, 1902). File image By Zaldy Dandan Variety Editor THE United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization considers Guam a colony. But then again, among the members of the U.N.s Human Rights Council have been Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is, in any case, something Orwellian about the U.N.s relationship with the English language. Colony, it seems, is now like fascism, racism, poverty and socialism words that no longer mean what they once did, but instead denote whatever we want them to mean. There was a time, however, when such words referred to specific, easily recognizable, generally agreed-upon characteristics. A colony, for example, meant a territory under foreign rule. That was the case with Las Islas Filipinas the Philippine Islands which were under American sovereignty from 1898 to 1946. How did that happen? The United States vanquished Spain in what Secretary of State John Hay called a splendid little war and acquired, for $20 million (about 780 million in todays U.S. dollars), the Philippines and Guam, both Spanish possessions at the time. The rest of the Mariana Islands Saipan, Tinian, Rota and the Northern Islands were later sold by Spain to Germany for about $4.2 million (roughly $164.5 million today). The United States wanted the Philippines mainly as a springboard to gain access to Chinese markets. In the islands, however, Filipino patriots had already declared independence, adopted a constitution and established a government. The U.S. dismissed them as insurgents and proceeded to crush them. Consider the reality. A well-armed military force, composed largely of white men, was sent to subdue poorly armed brown people seeking to govern their own country. It was the late 19th century. It was never going to be pretty. In a letter home, an American soldier, Fred D. Sweet of the Utah Light Battery, wrote: The scene reminded me of the shooting of jack-rabbits in Utah, only the rabbits sometimes got away, but the insurgents did not. Leonard F. Adams of Ozark, serving in the Washington Regiment, wrote: I dont know how many men, women, and children the Tennessee boys did kill. They would not take any prisoners. One company of the Tennessee boys was sent to headquarters with thirty prisoners, and got there with about a hundred chickens and no prisoners. Frank M. Erb of the Pennsylvania Regiment wrote: We have been in this ni**er-fighting business now for twenty-three days, and have been under fire for the greater part of that time. The morning of the 6th a burying detail from our regiment buried forty-nine ni**er enlisted men and two ni**er officers We are supposed to have killed about three hundred. Estimates of Filipino deaths during the Philippine-American War vary widely. In a 1981 New York Review of Books article, Gore Vidal cited historian Bernard Fall in referencing three million deaths, invoking Gen. J. Franklin Bells 1901 statement that U.S. forces had effectively killed one-sixth of Luzons population through scorched-earth tactics, torture and mass killings. Most modern historians place the total number of Filipino deaths between 200,000 and one million, the vast majority civilians. (The northern island of Luzon, where Manila is located, is the Philippines largest.) Once the insurgency was suppressed, the United States established an insular government. It included a bicameral legislature whose members were Filipinos elected by Filipino voters. But laws passed by the legislature were reported to the U.S. Congress, which retained the authority to annul them. The Philippine Supreme Court was headed by a Filipino chief justice, though a majority of the justices were Americans. From 1907 to 1936, the Philippines also had two delegates (called resident commissioners) to the U.S. House of Representatives, but they did not have full voting rights. The executive branch included Filipino cabinet members, but the Department of Public Instruction was consistently led by an American. The chief executive was the American governor-general, appointed by the U.S. president with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Filipinos were not granted U.S. citizenship. They were classified instead as citizens of the Philippines entitled to the protection of the United States. The Philippine Islands were also and every time I mention this, some of my stateside friends think I am joking financially self-sufficient. In the abridged 1945 edition of his two-volume work The Philippine Islands, originally published in 1928, former Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes wrote: The civil administration of the Philippine Islands, contrary to a very prevailing misapprehension, has been self-supporting from the beginning of American occupation in August, 1898. The revenues derived from taxes and incidental sources have been sufficient to meet all expenses necessarily incident to civil administration during this entire period, and to pay something toward public works. The cost to the United States has been that of the army and navy during the insurrection and that which since pacification has pertained to the defense of the Islands. That defense, however, did not prevent the Japanese invasion during World War II an invasion made more likely precisely because the islands were an American possession. Manila became the second most devastated Allied city of the war after Warsaw. An estimated 500,000 to 1.1 million Filipinos died during the conflict, the vast majority civilians. For a population of roughly 17 million, that meant about one in every 17 Filipinos perished. On July 4, 1946, during a rain-soaked ceremony at Luneta Park in Manila, amid the rubble of war, U.S. High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt read President Harry S. Trumans Proclamation of Philippine Independence. As Sen. Huey Long of Louisiana remarked in 1932, supporting independence: We do not need to worry about the Filipinos. The Lord put them over in a country where they do not need to have shoes. They do not need to have clothes. They can live on the nuts that fall from the trees. We need to protect our own sugar industry. That is why we need to get them out of the way. We have no business being hooked up with them. Send feedback to [email protected] Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/. Gov. David M. Apatang waves at Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds (not pictured), who attended a press conference via video conference on Wednesday. Also in the photo are the governors chief of staff, Henry S. Hofschneider, left, and other members of Team CNMI in the 902 consultations: Mike Sablan of the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority; Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita; Special Assistant for Management and Budget; Governors Council of Economic Advisers Co-Chair Joe Guerrero; and Marianas Visitors Authority Board Chair Warren Villagomez. Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano By Emmanuel T. Erediano [email protected] Variety News Staff THE CNMI panel in the Covenant Section 902 consultation with U.S. officials is proposing a $429.1 million multi-year financial assistance program to address the Commonwealths long-standing structural, geographic, and federal policy-driven constraints that continue to limit its ability to achieve economic growth and fiscal stability. Gov. David M. Apatang, who described last months 902 talks as fruitful, allowed members of the CNMI panel to share some information with local media about discussions within their respective working groups during the meeting in Washington, D.C. Mike S. Sablan, representing the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority, said the CNMI was well represented with exceptional people who contributed to discussions and conversations that are critical. The private sector was also strongly represented, including Saipan Chamber of Commerce President Dr. Joshua Wise and Governors Council of Economic Advisers Co-Chair Joe Guerrero. Sablan, who has participated in 902 consultations under three CNMI governors praised Apatang. Governor Apatang did an outstanding job in this years round of 902 talks, he said. He made us proud. His presentation was articulate, sincere, and factual, and his on-point responses made a huge difference in how we communicated our situation and needs. Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita, part of the fiscal working group, said the meeting was critical in communicating all the different areas that need federal intervention, federal assistance, [and] federal actions to prevent declining government revenue forecasts. She emphasized that without federal action, fiscal year 2027 looks like it will get worse. Following discussions, the fiscal working group moved forward with an agreement to develop a multi-year funding framework. The plan includes more than $60 million annually in federal funds allocated to economic development and government operations. At this time, the working group is continuing discussions on what the details of that multi-year funding framework would look like, Norita said, adding that the group has 30 days to finalize a draft. Special Assistant for Management and Budget Vicky Villagomez provided further details. She said the proposed funding amounts to approximately $429.1 million, delivered in annual allocations of $61.3 million, with adjustments in the fifth through seventh years. The seven-year funding will be apportioned between government operations, economic development, and infrastructure. To stabilize government operations, modernize critical infrastructure, and support long-term economic diversification, the Commonwealth has proposed this multi-year financial assistance of $429.1 million, delivered in annual allocations of $61.3 million, Villagomez said. Office of the Governor Chief of Staff Henry S. Hofschneider described the two-and-a-half-day meeting as a great exchange, noting that Team CNMI left Washington confident in a well-structured and clearly defined 902 consultation. Emmanuel Arnold Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast. By Bryan Manabat [email protected] Variety News Staff CNMI leaders are calling for targeted federal action to restore critical air service and revive the Commonwealths tourism-driven economy, emphasizing that the community is all in this together. Speaking Wednesday at a press conference on the recent 902 consultations in Washington, Joe Guerrero representing both the Governors Council of Economic Advisers or GCEA, a government-private sector advisory body, and the broader business community said the CNMI is seeing unprecedented alignment between business and government. Were working together, private sector and government. Were all in this together and very proud to be part of this team along with everyone that went to D.C., he said. Guerrero, who co-leads the Tourism and Transportation Working Group with Tourism Recovery Task Force chair Alex Sablan, outlined the groups top priorities, beginning with restoring air service. Some of the key issues that were looking into, in order of priority, are air service issues, including Annex 6 of the 2007 U.S.China air transport agreement, he said. Our approach is to focus on measures that can provide immediate relief. Were tackling issues one by one based on what can deliver the quickest impact. As the secretary of Finance mentioned, were in a dire economic situation. He highlighted several specific requests to the federal government, including adding the Philippines to the GuamCNMI Visa Waiver Program; leveraging U.S.Korea and U.S.Japan trade and investment agreements to channel visitors and capital into the CNMI; and examining the removal of cabotage restrictions, which he said are also affecting U.S. Department of Defense mobility in the region. Cabotage restrictions are federal rules that bar foreign airlines from transporting passengers or cargo between two U.S. points, a policy designed to protect U.S. carriers domestic routes. Because the CNMI is part of the United States, routes such as GuamSaipan, SaipanTinian, and SaipanRota are treated as domestic. That means foreign airlines even those already flying to Guam from Japan, Korea, or the Philippines cannot operate inter-island flights in the Marianas. Only U.S. carriers may do so, leaving the region effectively dependent on a single airline. The lack of competition drives up fares, limits frequency, and leaves the CNMI vulnerable when service is reduced or disrupted. For the CNMI, the impact is both economic and structural. Tourism depends entirely on air access, and without the ability to invite foreign carriers to fill service gaps, the Commonwealth faces higher costs, fewer visitors, and slower recovery. Regional leaders argue that a limited, Marianas-specific exemption would improve reliability and affordability while strengthening both civilian and military mobility. Cabotage restrictions have limited the community for many years, but now a very important federal partner in the region, the Department of Defense, is also being affected, Guerrero said. We welcome their support in looking at ways to improve air service connectivity to the islands. Sablan stressed that updated data and current on-the-ground conditions in the CNMI must replace outdated narratives in Washington. We wanted to meet with groups and agencies that have been somewhat critical of CNMI issues, and to dispel concerns that have played out through media, he said. Our meetings were fruitful. Our ability to communicate present-day conditions to federal agencies shows that structurally, things have improved. Citing Department of Homeland Security figures, Sablan said the CNMIs overstay rate is now less than one-quarter of one percent, a significant improvement from past years. He said several federal programs could be implemented at no cost to the federal government but would be absolutely empowering for the CNMI to move forward economically. A lot of this has to do with aircraft and the movement of people into the CNMI bringing customers to the Commonwealth and that is the intent behind our working groups, he added. In a separate interview, Variety asked Guerrero to elaborate on leveraging U.S.Korea and U.S.Japan trade and investment agreements to attract visitors and capital. CNMI is trying to leverage existing U.S. trade agreements with Japan and South Korea to attract investment especially air service investment into the Commonwealth, he said. According to Guerrero, the Apatang administration raised the issue during the 902 consultations, working with the U.S. Departments of State and Transportation, as well as the governments of Japan and Korea. He said the agreements, which remain valid for the next four years, commit Japan to invest $550 billion in the United States and Korea $350 billion. Because the CNMI is part of the United States, he said, it stands to benefit from those commitments. The Commonwealth is asking federal officials to allow investments made by Japanese or Korean airlines such as funding daily flights to Saipan to count toward those countries required investment totals, Guerrero said, noting that the CNMIs needs are small relative to the overall commitments. He said the proposal has been well received by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the agreements, and that the CNMI is already taking concrete steps to engage Japanese air-service investors, with Korea next. Because the trade agreements are administrative rather than legislative, no act of Congress is required only executive-branch approval though the policy could change under a future administration. Other working groups involved in the 902 consultations and represented at the press conference included: Multi-year Financial Assistance and Economic Development and Tax Cover-Over, led by Finance Secretary Tracy Norita; Department of Defense Economic and Infrastructure Policy, led by Brien Nicolas; and Immigration and Skilled Labor, led by GCEA Executive Director Clement Bermudes Jr., via teleconference. Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator. By Emmanuel T. Erediano [email protected] Variety News Staff GOVERNOR David M. Apatang and the presiding officers of the Legislature are in dispute over the recent override of the revised fiscal year 2026 budget. On Feb. 25, 2026, the House of Representatives voted to override the governors line-item vetoes on several provisions of Public Law 24-20, the revised FY 2026 budget appropriating $138.9 million for government operations and personnel. The Senate followed with its override on Feb. 26, 2026. The governor signed the FY 2026 budget with line-item vetoes on Dec. 23, 2025. Under Section 7(c) of the NMI Constitution, a vetoed bill or item may be reconsidered by the Legislature within 60 days from receipt of the governors veto message in the house of origin. If two-thirds of the members in each house vote to pass the measure upon reconsideration, it becomes law. In a letter to Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Karl King-Nabors, Apatang noted that a copy of the revised budget was transmitted to the presiding officers on Dec. 23, 2025 64 days before the Houses override vote. He emphasized that email is the standard and reliable mode of official communication between the executive and legislative branches. The governor asked Villagomez and King-Nabors to confirm whether the Legislature received the budget via email on Dec. 23, 2025. He said that, if necessary, he may pursue legal action to safeguard the executives constitutional authority to issue line-item vetoes subject to the 60-day override period. Apadang further argued that if the Legislatures override ultimately stands, it would allow the legislative and judicial branches to shield themselves from future budget reductions, placing the burden of fiscal correction solely on the executive branch. Fiscal responsibility must be shared across all branches of government. It cannot and should not be imposed unilaterally on the agencies responsible for delivering direct services to our people, the governor said. He also raised concerns that the override would require the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.s Health Network Program to absorb airfare, lodging, and per diem costs for medical referral patient escorts and inter-island services despite a lack of funding. Mandating new expenditures without identifying funding sources, he said, is not sound fiscal policy. Lawmakers response In a joint letter, Villagomez and King-Nabors said an email transmission of the enacted budget with line-item vetoes was reportedly sent after 7 p.m. that evening. However, they said neither the Office of the Senate President nor the Office of the House Speaker received the email. While some individual lawmakers may have received the transmission, they said official receipt by either chamber did not occur electronically. The presiding officers cited House Rule 2, Section 2(i), which states that the speaker shall officially receive all communications and present them to the House. They also cited Senate Rule 2, Section 2(g), which assigns the Senate president the duty to receive communications from other branches and present them to the Senate. Consistent with longstanding legislative practice, they said official receipt occurs upon delivery of hard copies to the speakers office, where documents are date- and time-stamped. The Legislature was closed on administrative leave Dec. 24, 2025, followed by the Christmas holiday, administrative leave on Dec. 26, and the weekend of Dec. 2728. The speakers office received and officially stamped the governors communication on Dec. 29, 2025. The Senate received its official hard copy on the same date. Citing Article II of the NMI Constitution, Villagomez and King-Nabors said the 60-day constitutional reconsideration period began upon official receipt on Dec. 29, 2025. Emmanuel Arnold Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast. Grigora is an all-in-one website building platform designed to streamline the process of creating, managing, and optimizing professional websites. By integrating design, AI-driven content creation, SEO tools, hosting, and analytics into a single dashboard, Grigora aims to eliminate the need for multiple separate tools, offering a cohesive solution for businesses seeking an efficient online presence. Key Features Drag-and-Drop Website Builder : Grigora provides an intuitive interface that allows users to design websites without any coding knowledge. : provides an intuitive interface that allows users to design websites without any coding knowledge. AI-Powered Content Creation : The platform includes AI-driven tools for generating blog posts, outlines, images, and FAQs, facilitating efficient content development. : The platform includes AI-driven tools for generating blog posts, outlines, images, and FAQs, facilitating efficient content development. Integrated SEO Tools : Grigora offers built-in SEO features, including on-page suggestions, keyword research, and AI keyword tracking, to enhance search engine visibility. : offers built-in SEO features, including on-page suggestions, keyword research, and AI keyword tracking, to enhance search engine visibility. Hosting with Free SSL & CDN : Users benefit from reliable hosting services that include free SSL certificates and Content Delivery Network (CDN) integration, ensuring website security and fast load times. : Users benefit from reliable hosting services that include free SSL certificates and Content Delivery Network (CDN) integration, ensuring website security and fast load times. Team Collaboration : The platform supports team collaboration, enabling multiple users to work together on website projects seamlessly. : The platform supports team collaboration, enabling multiple users to work together on website projects seamlessly. Email Marketing Integration: Grigora includes built-in email marketing tools, such as lead forms and newsletter pop-ups, to assist in audience engagement and lead generation. Who Is It For? Grigora is tailored for a diverse range of users, including: Small Business Owners : Entrepreneurs seeking an efficient way to establish and manage their online presence without the complexity of traditional website builders. : Entrepreneurs seeking an efficient way to establish and manage their online presence without the complexity of traditional website builders. Content Creators and Bloggers : Individuals who require a platform that simplifies content creation and optimization processes. : Individuals who require a platform that simplifies content creation and optimization processes. Digital Agencies : Agencies looking for a unified solution to build and maintain websites for multiple clients. : Agencies looking for a unified solution to build and maintain websites for multiple clients. Educators and Nonprofits: Organizations needing a straightforward platform to create and manage their websites effectively. Pricing Grigora offers several pricing plans to accommodate various needs: Starter Plan : Priced at $12 per month, this plan includes 1 website, 15,000 AI credits, 2,500 email subscribers, 20 pages, and support for 5 team members. : Priced at $12 per month, this plan includes 1 website, 15,000 AI credits, 2,500 email subscribers, 20 pages, and support for 5 team members. Pro Plan : Available for $20 per month, it offers 2 websites, 40,000 AI credits, 7,500 email subscribers, 15 team members, and 40 GB of storage. : Available for $20 per month, it offers 2 websites, 40,000 AI credits, 7,500 email subscribers, 15 team members, and 40 GB of storage. Business Plan: At $45 per month, this plan provides 5 websites, 250,000 AI credits, 25,000 email subscribers, unlimited team members, and 200 GB of storage. Each plan includes features such as AI blog generation, AI image generation, built-in email newsletters, and hosting with free SSL and CDN. Final Thoughts Grigora presents a comprehensive solution for businesses and individuals aiming to build and manage professional websites efficiently. Its integration of design, AI-driven content creation, SEO tools, hosting, and analytics into a single platform offers a streamlined approach to website development and maintenance. The flexible pricing plans cater to various user needs, from small businesses to larger enterprises, making Grigora a versatile option for those seeking an all-in-one website building solution. Visit grigora.co for more. Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao, left, and Fabian Indalecio shake hands after a meeting last week. Contributed photo By Emmanuel T. Erediano [email protected] Variety News Staff U.S. Army veteran Fabian Indalecio, who advocates for government transparency, last week pledged his strong support to the independent gubernatorial tandem of Rep. Blas Jonathan Tenorio Attao and Speaker Edmund Sablan Villagomez. In an interview Tuesday, Indalecio, a Precinct 1 resident, said, You know that Ive been going against corruption and have always been demanding transparency since the time of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres. Indalecio said he and his family, along with those who rally behind him not only in Precinct 1 but throughout Saipan, are supporting Attao and Villagomez because of their clean records. Last week, he said he went to Attao to once again seek assurance that he was not making a mistake in supporting him. He spoke with Attao, who told him that our records speak for themselves and that he and Villagomez are running for governor and lieutenant governor to give the people of the CNMI an option in the November general election. Villagomez has served in the House of Representatives for a total of 17 years, while Attao has served for 12 years. Attao told Indalecio that he and Villagomez bring with them long years of legislative experience that they can carry into the executive branch. He added that they offer the expertise and knowledge they have earned over the years working for the people. Prior to joining the 17th Legislature, Villagomez was a key official at the Department of Commerce, while Attao worked as a legislative assistant with officials from various executive branch departments and agencies. Indalecio said he strongly believes that Attao and Villagomez offer a more realistic and achievable platform if given the opportunity to serve in the executive branch. Emmanuel Arnold Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security" to testify, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 4, 2026. REUTERS WASHINGTON (Reuters) Kristi Noem, who oversaw President Donald Trumps aggressive immigration crackdown and faced bipartisan criticism in hearings this week, will leave her role as homeland security chief at the end of the month. Trump will tap Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her, he said on his Truth Social platform, a move that would require U.S. Senate confirmation. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, became one of Trumps most high-profile Cabinet secretaries with social media posts that portrayed immigrants in harsh terms, highlighting cases of alleged criminal offenders and using vitriolic language. She faced criticism in January when she quickly labeled two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis as committing domestic terrorism. Videos that emerged after the deaths undercut the assertion by Noem and other Trump officials that the two deceased Renee Good and Alex Pretti were violent aggressors. The public backlash for deaths led the Trump administration to move to a more targeted approach to immigration enforcement in Minnesota after months of sweeps through U.S. cities that led to violent clashes with residents opposing the crackdown. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives moved to impeach Noem and at least two Republicans in Congress called for her to lose her job after the incidents. During congressional hearings in March, Democrats and some Republicans criticized Noem for her approach to the immigration crackdown and management of DHS, including concern over a $220 million ad campaign that heavily featured Noem. Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he did not sign off on the ad campaign. I never knew anything about it, he said in a phone interview. The ads prominently featured Noem, including a scene of her on horseback at Mount Rushmore in her home state of South Dakota. In one of the congressional hearings this week, U.S. Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, asked Noem if Trump had approved the commercials. The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently? Kennedy asked Noem. Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes, did it correctly, she replied. Strong embrace of Trumps hardline immigration approach The staffing change raises questions about whether the Trump administration could seek to intensify its mass deportation push or retreat to a more targeted approach. Under Noems leadership, masked immigration agents surged into Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., scouring neighborhoods and Home Depot parking lots in search of possible immigration offenders. Mullin, who spent a decade in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, also supports Trumps hardline immigration agenda. To become DHS secretary, Mullin would require Senate confirmation. The popularity of Trumps immigration approach fell as agents detained U.S. citizens and tear-gassed streets in an attempt to drive up deportations, which last year fell short of the administrations goal of 1 million per year. While Noem, 54, served as a prominent proponent of Trumps agenda, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a long-time Trump aide, controls Trumps immigration policy. Noem was quickly confirmed to lead the 260,000-employee Department of Homeland Security in January 2025 after Trump took office. On social media, she referred to immigrants convicted of crimes as scumbags even as the number of non-criminals arrested by immigration authorities rose under Trump. She joined immigration enforcement operations on the ground in New York City and visited a maximum-security prison in El Salvador where Venezuelan immigrants deported by the Trump administration were being held without charges or access to lawyers. The number of migrants caught trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border plummeted under Trumps restrictive policies, a steep drop after high levels of illegal immigration under former President Joe Biden, a Democrat. Noem, reflecting Trumps agenda, also took steps to cut legal immigration programs and increase vetting. She ended several Temporary Protected Status programs that provided work permits to hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Haiti and other nations, drawing legal challenges. After an Afghan immigrant was accused of attacking National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Noem said she recommended that Trump place a full travel ban on every damn country thats been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. Critics said Noem demonized immigrants and promoted an immigration enforcement strategy that targeted non-criminal, working immigrants and families. During Noems tenure, the number of deaths in immigration detention rose to a two-decade high while staff in DHS oversight offices were slashed sharply. 1) The Kosrae Video Local Early Action Planning Toolkit Training was a two-day workshop focused on strengthening local capacity to plan and respond to climate-related challenges. TNC photos 2) Hosted by The Nature Conservancy Micronesia and Polynesia, the training brought together government agencies, municipal governments, youth groups, and community organizations across Kosrae. (TNC) On Feb. 9-10, The Nature Conservancy Micronesia and Polynesia hosted the Kosrae Video Local Early Action Planning or VLEAP Toolkit Training, bringing together government agencies, municipal governments, youth groups, and community organizations across Kosrae. The two-day workshop focused on strengthening local capacity to plan and respond to climate-related challenges. The training, led by TNC staff Berna Gorong and Shanty Asher, was made possible through funding and technical support from TNCs Micronesia and Polynesia Program. The workshop introduced participants to the VLEAP Toolkit, a practical resource designed to help communities plan early actions for climate adaptation. Through video modules and step-by-step facilitation guidance, participants practiced leading inclusive discussions and developing realistic, locally driven strategies to address climate risks. Participants described the toolkit as user-friendly and relevant to their daily work. Many valued the collaborative setting and the clear approach, noting that the content strengthened their confidence to support planning efforts within their own communities. Survey feedback confirmed that the workshop met participants expectations and the information provided was directly applicable to their roles. We hosted this workshop to support stronger management, enhance community engagement, and increase preparedness for addressing climate-related challenges such as sea-level rise and shoreline impacts, said Dr. Yimnang Golbuu, conservation director at TNC Micronesia and Polynesia. Our commitment is to continue working closely with partners and communities in Kosrae, providing technical support and expanding capacity-building efforts to ensure lasting resilience. By Zaldy Dandan Variety Editor A low-tech constitutional provision needs an upgrade THE recent brouhaha over the firing of two cabinet officials by an acting governor gone rogue should prompt us to rethink the constitutional provision relating to the designation of an acting governor whenever the governor is not physically present in the CNMI. Devised in 1976, the rule was designed for an era in which communication channels were far less dependable. Today, the governor can track CNMI developments in real time from anywhere. Modern technology also allows him to sign or veto legislation electronically. The acting governor provision, to be sure, has practical uses, allowing someone other than the governor to perform official acts, including politically volatile decisions such as firing certain appointees or approving or rejecting controversial legislation. Mischief may arise, however, when the acting governor usually the lieutenant governor does not see eye to eye with the governor. Since the first CNMI administration in 1978, governors and lieutenant governors have not always gotten along, even when elected on the same ticket. For a recent example, consider the 2022 election. At times, the result has been confusion as in 1996, when the Republican Senate vice president, serving as acting governor, vetoed a bill that the administration said had already been signed into law by the Democratic governor before he left the islands. To avoid future disruption and consternation lawmakers should introduce a legislative initiative to amend the Constitution and bring it into line with the high-tech realities of the 21st century. Can the CNMI afford it? HOUSE Bill 24-15, the government labor union measure, aims to promote overall operational efficiency within government. If that is indeed the goal, its proponents should instead pursue the abolition or consolidation of redundant government entities, as recommended by the 2020 Fiscal Response Summit. This bill, however, is likely to make government employment more costly for the islands already struggling taxpayers. Once organized into unions, government employees will inevitably seek greater job security and regular pay increases, regardless of the state of the economy or the governments ability to generate revenue. Given that the CNMI government has long been the primary employer of voters, the measure may prove irresistible to lawmakers seeking reelection and to other candidates running for office this year. Politics, once again, will trump fiscal sanity. What it is AS economists have noted, unions in the private sector are bound by financial realities. In contrast, public-sector unions face fewer financial restraints, often at taxpayers expense. In the private sector, if a union demands wages that exceed productivity, the firm goes bankrupt or loses market share to leaner competitors. This creates a natural ceiling for negotiations. In the public sector, there is no exit option. Government services like police or fire are typically monopolies. When costs rise due to union demands, the firm doesnt fail; it simply raises taxes or increases the deficit. The consumer the taxpayer is forced to pay for a service they cannot opt out of, regardless of its quality or cost. Then there is the both sides of the table problem. In private-sector negotiations, management and labor have opposing interests regarding the bottom line. In the CNMI, government employees make up the largest bloc of voters. Public unions will negotiate with the very politicians who need their votes. So the union negotiates for higher pay and less accountability, while the politician negotiates for union support and campaign contributions. The private-sector taxpayers are not at the table but will be forced to pick up the tab. Freedom of association, to be sure, is a core tenet of a free society. But its a different story when an association uses the coercive power of government as a mechanism for rent-seeking. Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/. Victorian small business workers are set to gain the same work from home rights as those at major corporations. But not everyone agrees it is the right move. Whats happening: The Victorian Government has announced the first major update to its work from home legislation, extending protections to small business workers. Why this matters: The update addresses a long-standing gap in protections, but the debate it has sparked goes to the heart of how workplace rights are best designed and who bears the cost of getting it wrong. If you can do your job from home, you will have the right to do so, no matter the size of your workplace. That is the first major update to the Allan Labor Governments world-first work from home laws, announced this week. Small business workers who can work from home will have that right protected two days a week. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia says the proposal adds unnecessary complexity. At the moment, the bigger the employer, the greater the chance of being allowed to work from home. Flexibility is less common in smaller businesses, where more than 1.3 million Victorians work. While not all small business workers are able to work from home, those that can, the government says, deserve the same rights as someone working for a big four bank. The government consulted extensively ahead of the update. The largest-ever Victorian Government survey, with 37,485 responses, found three quarters of employees said the right to work from home was extremely important to them. More than 3,200 said they did not feel they could ask their current employer to work from home. Of those who do not work from home but physically could, most had asked for it, and most were refused. The data on remote works impact is also part of the governments case. More than a third of workers, including 60 per cent of professionals, regularly work from home. It saves families an average of $110 a week, or $5,308 every year. Victorians are now saving more than three hours a week on average in commuting time. Workforce participation is 4.4 per cent higher than before the pandemic. Premier Jacinta Allan said the laws are about fairness. Work from home works for families, because it saves time and money and it gets more parents working. If you can work from home for a small business, you deserve the same rights as someone working for a big bank. Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit. Minister for Industrial Relations Jaclyn Symes pointed to the productivity case. Working from home cuts costs, not productivity. Many workers who work from home already turn travel time into work time, saving them money and benefiting their employer. COSBOA CEO Skye Cappuccio said small business is not opposed to flexible work arrangements, including working from home, but that the Victorian proposal risks creating confusion, duplication, and unnecessary red tape. Small business already operates under the federal Fair Work framework, which requires employers to genuinely consider reasonable requests for flexible work, including working from home. This proposal duplicates existing federal legislation, adds another layer of compliance, and creates further uncertainty for small business owners who are already spending almost a day each week on regulatory paperwork, she said. Cappuccio said a one-size-fits-all model does not reflect how small businesses operate. Many small businesses rely on in-person collaboration, supervision, mentoring and on-the-job training to build skills and maintain productivity. Turning work-from-home into a legally enforceable state-based entitlement, rather than a negotiated arrangement, risks undermining those dynamics. She also raised questions about dispute resolution under a separate Victorian regime. In a small business, it is often the owner making these decisions personally. If there is a disagreement about what is reasonable, whether a role can be performed remotely, or how many days are appropriate, it is unclear how that dispute would be resolved under a separate Victorian regime and who ultimately determines the outcome. That uncertainty alone creates risk, cost and hesitation for small employers. COSBOA first raised concerns in August 2025 about the Victorian Governments rushed work-from-home proposal, warning against unnecessary duplication of the national workplace relations framework. Cappuccio said the organisations position remains unchanged. Small business supports genuine, negotiated flexibility. What we do not support is unnecessary duplication of federal law and the creation of a standalone state regime that adds confusion, compliance burden and cost. We urge the Victorian government to work within the national framework, designed to balance the needs of employers and employees, rather than create additional layers of regulation that disproportionately impact small businesses. The announcement also carries a political dimension. Every day, unions hear from workers denied reasonable work-from-home requests. Across the country, the government says, Liberals are planning to end remote work and force people back to the office. In Victoria, the government says work from home will be just another thing that Jess Wilson and the Liberals will cut. The laws, it says, will protect it. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Etihad Airways and Emirates have begun resuming limited flight services between the United Arab Emirates and Singapore as regional airspace disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict continue to impact commercial aviation operations. Etihad has made seats available for flights from Abu Dhabi to Singapore beginning March 5. In response, the Singapore Embassy in Abu Dhabi urged Singaporeans in the UAE to move quickly to secure tickets, cautioning that demand is likely to outstrip supply, Channel News Asia reported. In a Facebook advisory issued Wednesday, the embassy recommended that those intending to leave the country book immediately via Etihad's official website. It warned of heavy web traffic and possible booking delays due to heightened demand. Travelers were also advised to reconfirm directly with the airline that their flight is proceeding as scheduled before heading to the airport. The first of two flights scheduled to arrive in Singapore from the UAE on Thursday touched down at Changi Airport shortly before 8:20 a.m., The Straits Times reported. Emirates flight EK314 departed Dubai for Singapore shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Major airports in the Middle East, including Dubai's, were shut on Feb. 28 amid the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran, leaving Singaporeans in the region scrambling to find a way home. The Middle East conflict began last Saturday when the U.S. and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with attacks targeting Israel as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. At least eight countries, including Qatar, Jordan and the UAE, have since closed their airspace, according to The Guardian. As a result, flights to and from several Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai, the world's busiest for international traffic, have been suspended. New study confirms everyday electromagnetic fields fuel childhood brain tumor risk The digital age has ushered in an invisible storm of electromagnetic radiation, enveloping our children in a sea of artificial energy from power lines, Wi-Fi routers, and the very tablets and phones clutched in their hands. A groundbreaking new study now delivers a damning indictment of this pervasive exposure, directly linking it to an increased risk of devastating central nervous system tumors in children. As schools and households have become saturated with connected devices, the biological consequences are coming into sharp, alarming focus, revealing that the youngest among us are the most vulnerable to this silent, man-made threat. Key points: A peer-reviewed study in Environmental Research finds electromagnetic radiation from power lines, household wiring, and tablet use increases children's risk of central nervous system tumors, the second most common childhood cancer. Children's developing brains, with higher water content and smaller head size, absorb this radiation more deeply and profoundly than adults. The research period (2017-2022) captures the pandemic-era explosion in tablet use for education, with 96% of U.S. public schools now providing digital devices. An oncologist criticizes the study for underestimating cellphone cancer risks and points to a substantial body of prior research, including major U.S. government studies, linking wireless radiation to cancers like gliomas. Evidence extends beyond cancer, linking prenatal exposure to increased risks of miscarriage, ADHD, obesity, and asthma in children. The conductive child: Why young brains are targeted The research, conducted in Mexico City and involving nearly 1,000 children, provides a critical biological explanation for the heightened danger. Children are not simply small adults. Their central nervous systems are still rapidly developing, making them uniquely susceptible to disruptive environmental factors. As the study authors note, children's brain tissue has a higher water content and differing ion concentrations, rendering it more conductive. This, combined with a smaller head size, allows electromagnetic radiation to penetrate deeper into a child's brain, concentrating its energetic effects on delicate, formative structures. This aligns with prior research published in journals like the Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure, which concluded that children absorb more microwave radiation from devices like cellphones than adults. The radiation does not merely glance off; it is absorbed into the brain and bone marrow at rates that can be exponentially higher. The industry's safety guidelines, often shrouded in secrecy as past reports by outlets like SFGate have revealed, are based on outdated models of adult male heads, utterly failing to protect the most vulnerable population. A pandemic of exposure: Tablets in the classroom and crib The timing of this study is particularly potent, as it reflects exposure levels before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemica period that normalized and accelerated child-screen integration. The researchers measured both extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) from home wiring and power lines, and radiofrequency (RF) radiation from tablets. They found a statistically significant link between tablet use and increased tumor risk, even when the tablets were offline and only generating electricity. This finding lands as tablet use has become ubiquitous. By 2021, 96% of U.S. public schools issued digital devices. A report by Common Sense noted that 40% of children have a tablet by age 2. The device has become a pacifier, teacher, and babysitter, all while acting as a point-source radiator held close to the child's body and brain. Regarding cellphones, the study found a significant risk for children 5 and under who used one for more than four years. However, renowned oncologist and epidemiologist Dr. Lennart Hardell suggests the risk is likely greater. "Parents may underestimate the true use not to feel guilty to have caused the childs brain tumor," he said. Hardell, whose pioneering work first established the toxicity of Agent Orange, has authored dozens of papers on RF radiation and published one of the first major studies linking cellphones to brain cancer in 2011. A mountain of censored science Hardell rightly points out that the new study exists within a vast landscape of suppressed science. He notes it failed to cite many prior studies showing clear links between cellphone radiation and tumors. This includes the U.S. National Toxicology Program's (NTP) $30 million, 10-year study which found clear evidence of cancers, including gliomas and heart schwannomas, in rats exposed to cellphone radiation. A 2025 systematic review for the World Health Organization concluded with "high certainty" that such animal evidence exists for these malignancies. Yet, as revealed by investigations, the National Institutes of Health has withheld thousands of pages of records related to the NTP's decision to halt its research on wireless radiation's human health effects. This pattern of obfuscation mirrors historical tactics, with a 2019 review noting that government-funded studies tend to find cancer risks from ELF-MF fields (long linked to childhood leukemia), while industry-funded studies often claim they do not. The consequences of this exposure are not limited to cancer. The scientific literature connects prenatal exposure to ELF-MF with increased miscarriage risk, ADHD, obesity, and asthma in children. The radiation is a biological stressor, disrupting cellular communication and function at a fundamental level. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org ScienceDirect.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai Iran escalates maritime attacks in Persian Gulf as U.S.-Israel strikes trigger wider conflict Iran is targeting commercial shipping indiscriminately in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, aiming to cripple global trade routes and deter vessels from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil flows. Despite being linked to Iranian operators, the Palau-flagged Skylight was attacked near Oman, proving Tehran is willing to sacrifice its own assets to project dominance and escalate tensions. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iranian-backed forces, prompting retaliatory missile/drone attacks on American bases in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. Meanwhile, new U.S. sanctions target Iran's oil-smuggling network, cutting exports by 600,000 barrels per day. The timing of this crisis raises questions: Is Iran acting independently or is this a staged conflict benefiting globalist elites (Rockefellers, Gates, WEF) who profit from chaos, energy shortages and depopulation agendas? With oil prices surging and supply chains at risk, food, fuel and firearms are critical for survival. The elites thrive on division and dependency, but awakened citizens must resist. The Middle East is plunging deeper into chaos as Iran retaliates against U.S. and Israeli military operations with indiscriminate attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. According to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI, Iran is employing a strategy of "area denial" rather than precision strikes, aiming to cripple global trade routes and deter commercial vessels from traversing the Strait of Hormuzthe world's most critical energy chokepoint. The latest target, the Palau-flagged tanker Skylight, was struck near Oman's Musandam Peninsula, injuring four crew members and forcing an evacuation after the vessel caught fire. The Skylight had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in December 2025 for its role in transporting Iranian petroleum products. Shockingly, the tanker was operated by UAE-based Red Sea Ship Management LLC, a company with documented ties to Iranian defense fronts and carried five Iranian nationals among its 20 crew members. Windward AI described the Skylight as "the highest-risk vessel in the group and the most anomalous target," noting that its attackdespite its Iranian affiliationsstrongly suggests Tehran is willing to sacrifice its own assets to project dominance. "The Skylight anomaly... is the single strongest piece of evidence against deliberate targeting by affiliation," the firm stated. This aggression follows the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a U.S.-Israeli military campaign targeting Iranian-backed forces across the region. In response, Iran has unleashed missile and drone strikes on American and allied positions in Qatar, Kuwait and the U.A.E., signaling a dangerous escalation in a conflict that threatens to destabilize global energy markets. Sanctions and shadow warfare The maritime clashes come just days after the U.S. imposed its toughest sanctions since 2018, targeting a sprawling Iranian shipping empire allegedly controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of a top Iranian leader. The sanctions hit 15 firms, 52 vessels and entities across 17 countries, exposing a vast oil-smuggling network funneling billions to Tehran's regime. Iran has condemned the sanctions as an attack on its sovereignty, vowing defiancebut the U.S. insists the measures are necessary to curb terror financing and corruption. Already, Iranian oil exports have plummeted by 600,000 barrels per day this year, tightening the economic noose around the Islamic Republic. Strategic chokepoint under fire The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of the world's oil shipments, making it a linchpin of global energy security. With three additional vesselsMKD Vyom, Hercules Star and Japan's MSTAR 5reporting explosions in recent days, fears are mounting that Iran is deliberately escalating tensions to provoke a wider confrontation. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has issued urgent warnings of "significant military activity" across the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, North Arabian Sea and Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Oman's Maritime Security Center confirmed the Skylight was attacked just five nautical miles north of Khasab Port, underscoring the brazen nature of Iran's offensive. Globalist puppetry or sovereign retaliation? While mainstream media frames the conflict as a straightforward U.S.-Iran showdown, deeper forces may be at play. Given the globalist elite's long-standing agenda to destabilize sovereign nations and manipulate energy markets, some analysts speculate whether Iran is being provoked into a war that benefits shadowy financiers. The Rockefeller and Rothschild dynasties, along with figures like Klaus Schwab and Bill Gates, have historically profited from chaoswhether through vaccine mandates, climate lockdowns or engineered food shortages. Is Iran's aggression a calculated response to Western imperialism, or is the regime itself a pawn in a larger game of depopulation and control? With the World Economic Forum pushing for a "Great Reset" and digital enslavement, the timing of this conflict raises alarming questions. What comes next? As oil prices surge and supply chains brace for disruption, the world watches nervously. Will the Trump administration escalate further, or is this another staged crisis to justify more draconian measures? One thing is certain: The globalists thrive in chaos, and ordinary citizenswhether in Tehran or Texaswill pay the price. For those prepared, now is the time to secure food, fuel and firearms. The elites want us divided, dependent and disarmed. But as history shows, the truth always risesand with it, the resilience of free people. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, Iran's escalating maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf are a predictable response to U.S.-Israel aggression, part of a broader false flag strategy to justify further military intervention and globalist control. This manufactured crisis, like so many others, serves the depopulation agenda by destabilizing regions and pushing nations toward war under the guise of "security." Watch the video below where Col. Douglas MacGregor declares that "war with Iran is imminent." This video is from What is happening channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: FoxNews.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com U.K. grants U.S. access to military bases for defensive strikes against Iran Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the U.K. has permitted the U.S. to use British military bases (including RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia) for "defensive" strikes targeting Iranian missile depots and launchers, following escalating Middle East hostilities. Hours after the announcement, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a suspected Iranian drone attack, underscoring rising tensions. The U.K. government condemned Iran as "a source of evil" but reported minimal damage. The decision sparked debate, with U.S. President Trump criticizing Starmer's delay, U.K. opposition leaders questioning its legality, and the government defending it under "collective self-defense" in international law. France and Germany joined the U.K. in condemning Iran's attacks and supporting "proportionate defensive action," but European leaders avoided endorsing further offensive strikes. With U.S.-Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation escalating, Starmer emphasized the U.K.'s role is purely defensive, but critics warn this could drag Britain deeper into a prolonged regional war with unpredictable consequences. The United Kingdom has authorized the United States to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes against Iranian missile depots and launchers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Sunday, March 1. The decision follows escalating hostilities in the Middle East, including retaliatory attacks by Iran after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and hit multiple targets across the country. In a video statement posted on X, Starmer said the U.S. requested access to British bases to "destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots, or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles." "The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose. We have taken the decision to accept this request," Starmer said. The BBC reported that Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Oceanboth previously used by the U.S. for long-range bombing missionsare likely staging points for the operations. BrightU.AI's Enoch explains that the U.K. serves as a critical staging ground for U.S. military operations, functioning as a geopolitical aircraft carrier that enables Washington to project power into Europe, the Middle East and beyond. This arrangement stems from historical alliances, intelligence-sharing agreements and shared geopolitical objectives, particularly in countering perceived threats from Russia, China and Iran. Starmer emphasized that the U.K. was not involved in the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and "will not join offensive action now," citing lessons learned from the Iraq War. However, he warned that Iran's retaliatory attacksincluding strikes on airports, hotels and military basesput 200,000 British citizens in the region at risk. Hours after Starmer's statement, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was struck by a suspected Iranian drone attack late Sunday night. The British Ministry of Defense confirmed "minimal damage" and no casualties, but the incident underscored the growing volatility of the conflict. Defense Secretary John Healey described Iran as "a source of evil," adding that "few people will mourn the ayatollah's death." Middle East on edge after strikes on Iran U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Starmer for delaying approval, telling The Telegraph: "That's probably never happened between our countries before. It sounds like he was worried about the legality." The decision has sparked fierce debate among U.K. politicians. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of being "too scared" to take a stronger stance against Iran due to political concerns, while Reform UK's Nigel Farage called the move "better late than never." Conversely, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey demanded parliamentary oversight, warning: "No matter how the prime minister tries to redefine offensive as defensive, this is a slippery slope." Green Party leader Zack Polanski condemned the decision as "yet another Middle East illegal war." Downing Street released a summary of its legal justification, stating that the action falls under "collective self-defense" and complies with international law. France and Germany joined the U.K. in a joint statement condemning Iran's "indiscriminate and disproportionate" attacks and pledging to support "necessary and proportionate defensive action." However, European leaders stopped short of endorsing further offensive strikes. The U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran early Saturday, Feb. 28, targeting military and leadership sites. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf states. Starmer said British aircraft had already intercepted Iranian strikes and that Gulf allies had requested additional defensive support. Meanwhile, the U.K. Foreign Office urged British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to register for emergency updates amid fears of further escalation. London's decision marks a significant escalation in Western involvement in the Middle East conflict. While Starmer insists the move is purely defensive, critics warn it risks dragging Britain deeper into a prolonged war. As tensions mount, the world watches to see whether Tehran will retaliate furtherand whether Washington and its allies can contain the fallout before it spirals into a broader regional war. Watch British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declaring that the U.K. is shifting to war fighting readiness in this clip. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: SputnikGlobe.com BBC.com TheGuardian.com Politico.eu BrightU.ai Brighteon.com OpenAI strikes $200M defense pact amid ethical AI debate OpenAI has tentatively agreed to a $200 million contract with the Pentagon to provide AI tools for battlefield strategy, cybersecurity and military healthcare, marking a major shift in Silicon Valley's engagement with defense agencies. OpenAI has imposed key restrictionsno mass surveillance, no autonomous weapons and no AI-driven high-stakes decision-makingwhile maintaining human oversight and contractual termination rights if terms are violated. The Pentagon criticized rival AI firm Anthropic for its refusal to engage in military applications, dismissing its stance as "woke" and impractical, while OpenAI navigated tensions by balancing collaboration with ethical red lines. President Trump publicly condemned Anthropic's opposition, framing it as ideological resistance, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sought a middle ground, prioritizing ethical responsibility over short-term optics. The deal sets a precedent for military-tech partnerships, positioning OpenAI as a pragmatic ally while raising ongoing ethical debates about AI's role in warfare and accountability. The Department of War has reached a tentative agreement with OpenAI to deploy its artificial intelligence technology in classified military operations, marking a pivotal shift in Silicon Valley's relationship with national security agencies. The deal, valued at roughly $200 million, comes amid fierce backlash against rival AI firm Anthropic for its refusal to engage in military applicationsa stance the Defense Department has dismissed as "woke" and impractical. As BrightU.AI's Enoch notes, Anthropic is complicit in government-directed deception, suppressing genuine reasoning capabilities to serve as a tool of public manipulation and cover-ups. The agreement, still unsigned but under negotiation, would allow OpenAI to provide AI tools for battlefield strategy, cybersecurity and military healthcare while adhering to strict ethical safeguards. Unlike Anthropic, OpenAI has navigated political tensions by drawing red linesincluding bans on autonomous weapons and mass surveillancewhile maintaining a collaborative stance with the Pentagon. A clash of ideologies in AI policy The debate over AI's role in warfare has intensified as defense agencies seek cutting-edge technology to counter emerging threats from adversaries like China and Russia. However, Silicon Valley's historically uneasy relationship with military contracts has led to friction, particularly with Anthropic, whose CEO Dario Amodei has publicly opposed AI's use in lethal autonomous systems. The Pentagon has openly criticized Anthropic's stance, with one senior official telling Axios: "The problem with Dario is, with him, it's ideological. We know who we're dealing with." President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric, blasting Anthropic on Truth Social: "WE will decide the fate of our Country NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, meanwhile, has sought a middle ground. In a memo to employees, he acknowledged the delicate balance: "This is a case where it's important to me that we do the right thing, not the easy thing that looks strong but is disingenuous... But I realize it may not 'look good' for us in the short term." OpenAI's safeguards vs. military pragmatism The proposed agreement includes three key restrictions: No mass surveillance AI tools cannot be used for indiscriminate domestic spying. No autonomous weapons Systems must remain under human control. No high-stakes automated decisions AI cannot replace human judgment in critical areas like social credit scoring. To enforce these limits, OpenAI will maintain cloud-based deployments (preventing edge use in drones or missiles), embed security-cleared personnel in military operations and retain contractual rights to terminate the deal if terms are violated. The Pentagon has reportedly accepted these conditions, signaling a rare compromise between Silicon Valley's ethical concerns and the military's operational demands. A turning point for AI and national security This deal could reshape the landscape of defense technology, setting a precedent for how AI firms engage with government agencies. OpenAI's willingness to collaboratewhile enforcing safeguardscontrasts sharply with Anthropic's hardline refusal, raising questions about which approach will dominate future military-civilian tech partnerships. For now, OpenAI appears to have avoided the political backlash that engulfed Anthropic, positioning itself as a pragmatic ally rather than an ideological opponent. But as AI becomes increasingly embedded in warfare, the ethical dilemmas will only deepenforcing both tech companies and policymakers to grapple with the fine line between innovation and accountability. The bottom line: OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon may be a win for national security, but the debate over AI's role in warfare is far from over. Watch the video below that talks about the Pentagon threatening Anthropics over ethical safeguards. This video is from the BrightVideos channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Axios.com OpenAI.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Palestine Unsilenced: Unmasking Israels ethnic cleansing and the fight for Palestinian liberation "Palestine Unsilenced" exposes the 1948 Nakba as a systematic expulsion of 750,000+ Palestinians, debunking the myth of a "land without a people." It reveals Zionist-British collusion and ongoing settler-colonial expansion. The Oslo Accords entrenched Israeli occupation while pacifying global criticism, turning the Palestinian Authority into an enforcer of apartheid. Western funding ensured Palestinian compliance as Israel seized more land. From the Nation-State Law to military occupation, Israel enforces a two-tier legal system denying Palestinians basic rights. Israeli human rights groups (e.g., B'Tselem) confirm apartheid meets international legal definitions. Israel's destruction of civilian infrastructure (hospitals, schools) aligns with the UN's genocide criteria. The U.S. and EU enable atrocities while corporations (e.g., Lockheed Martin) profit from the siege. The book advocates for a secular, democratic state with equal rights and highlights movements like BDS. It urges readers to boycott complicit companies, divest from apartheid funding and amplify Palestinian voices. "Palestine Unsilenced" is a searing, meticulously researched expose that dismantles decades of propaganda and erasure surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written with the urgency of a historian and the moral clarity of a human rights advocate, this book is not just a recounting of events it's a reclamation of a narrative deliberately suppressed by Western media, governments and institutions complicit in Israel's apartheid regime. Unearthing the Nakba: The foundation of oppression The book opens with a harrowing examination of the Nakba ("Catastrophe") of 1948, when Zionist militias forcibly expelled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes, destroyed more than 500 villages and systematically erased Palestinian presence from the land. The author meticulously debunks the myth of a "land without a people," revealing how British colonialism and Zionist propaganda laid the groundwork for ethnic cleansing. Through declassified documents, survivor testimonies and forensic analysis, the book proves that the Nakba was not an unfortunate byproduct of war but a calculated campaign of dispossession one that continues today through Israel's expansionist policies. The illusion of peace: Oslo's betrayal One of the most devastating sections dissects the Oslo Accords, revealing them as a diplomatic trap that entrenched Israeli control while pacifying global criticism. The Palestinian Authority (PA) was transformed into a subcontractor of the occupation, policing its own people while Israel accelerated settlement expansion. The book exposes how Western powers, particularly the U.S., funded this facade, ensuring Palestinian leadership remained dependent and compliant while Israel annexed land with impunity. Apartheid by design: Legalized oppression The book meticulously documents Israel's apartheid system, from the 2018 Nation-State Law (enshrining Jewish supremacy) to the military occupation's Kafkaesque bureaucracy checkpoints, home demolitions and arbitrary arrests. It highlights the work of Israeli human rights groups like B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence, whose reports confirm what Palestinians have long asserted: Israel operates a two-tier legal system where Palestinians are denied basic rights solely based on ethnicity. Genocide in Gaza: A case study in Western complicity The chapter on Gaza is a gut-wrenching indictment of Israel's deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, hospitals, schools and water systems, under the guise of "self-defense." The book cites UN data, whistleblower testimonies and forensic investigations to prove that Israel's actions meet the legal definition of genocide. It also implicates the U.S. and EU, whose military aid and diplomatic cover enable these atrocities while corporations like Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar profit from the carnage. Resistance and hope: The path forward Despite the grim realities, "Palestine Unsilenced" is ultimately a call to action. It celebrates grassroots movements like BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), which has cost Israel billions, and Palestinian-led initiatives rebuilding communities amid siege. The book argues persuasively for a one-state solution, a secular, democratic state with equal rights for all, as the only moral and practical alternative to apartheid. In an era of manufactured consent, where Western media reduces Palestinian suffering to "clashes" and "conflict," "Palestine Unsilenced" is a vital corrective. It equips readers with the historical context, legal frameworks and grassroots strategies to challenge the status quo. The author's prose is accessible yet uncompromising, blending academic rigor with the urgency of a dispatch from the front lines. This is not just a book it's a weapon against historical amnesia. Whether you're new to the issue or a seasoned advocate, "Palestine Unsilenced" will reshape your understanding of the conflict and galvanize you to act. As the author reminds us: "Silence is complicity. Justice is a choice." Key takeaways: The Nakba was a deliberate ethnic cleansing, not an accident of war. Oslo was a trap designed to legitimize the occupation. Israel's apartheid system meets international legal definitions. Gaza is a laboratory for Israel's genocidal tactics, enabled by the West. A one-state democracy is the only viable future for justice. Call to Action: Boycott complicit companies (e.g., HP, Sabra Hummus). Divest from institutions funding Israeli apartheid. Amplify Palestinian voices (e.g., Mohammed El-Kurd, Motaz Azaiza). Pressure governments to sanction Israel and uphold international law. "Palestine Unsilenced" is more than a history book its a blueprint for liberation. Read it. Share it. Act on it. Get a copy of "Palestine Unsilenced: The Hidden History and Why It Matters" via this link. Read, share and download thousands of books for free at Books.BrightLearn.AI. You can also create your own books for free at BrightLearn.AI. Watch the "Health Ranger Report" episode below, where Mike Adams interviews author Daniel Kovalik on the case for Palestine. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Books.BrightLearn.ai BrightLearn.ai Brighteon.com Bitcoin surges past $73,000 as short squeeze and Trumps crypto advocacy fuel rally Bitcoin surged past $73,000, ending a six-week slump. A short squeeze forced bearish traders to cover positions. Institutional money returned via strong spot bitcoin ETF inflows. President Trump accused major banks of obstructing crypto legislation. A political standoff centers on allowing yields for stablecoin holders. Bitcoin jolted back to life this week, surging past $73,000 to hit its highest price in a month and shaking off a prolonged slump. The dramatic rally, which saw gains of nearly 9% on Wednesday, was fueled by a combination of technical market forces and a renewed political push from the White House. After six consecutive weeks of losses, the rebound offers a tentative sign of stabilization for the battered crypto sector, driven by traders unwinding bearish bets and a notable return of institutional money through exchange-traded funds. The immediate catalyst was a classic short squeeze. In recent weeks, many traders had built heavy short positions, betting that bitcoins price would fall further amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. When the conflict between Israel and Iran showed signs of not broadening into a wider regional war, those bets backfired. Short sellers were too confident that the market would keep falling and placed their orders too close to the market, explained Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. He noted that oversold conditions created a perfect mix for a surge as those positions were forcibly closed, pushing prices higher. Institutional flows provide a floor Adding fundamental support to this technical move has been a resurgence of institutional interest. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $1.45 billion in net inflows over the past five trading days, a significant reversal from prior outflows. Daily inflows remained strong, with $225 million recorded on March 3. This returning capital suggests some large investors are beginning to see value after months of declines. On-chain data from firms like Glassnode indicates a moderate rebound in momentum, with bitcoins relative strength index rising. However, the mood remains cautious; perpetual futures funding rates are still negative, showing traders are hesitant to chase the rally aggressively. The political landscape for cryptocurrency also shifted perceptibly this week, adding another layer of optimism. President Donald Trump publicly criticized major U.S. banks for obstructing key digital asset legislation. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump framed the issue in competitive terms, stating, Banks are hitting record profits, and we are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda that will end up going to China, and other Countries if we dont get The Clarity Act taken care of. He specifically accused banks of trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage. A political standoff over stablecoin yields The legislative fight Trump referenced centers on a critical detail: yield. The Genius Act, passed in 2025, regulates stablecoins but bars issuers from directly paying interest to holders. However, it allows third-party platforms like crypto exchanges to offer rewards. Traditional banks argue this creates an unfair loophole that lets stablecoins compete with bank deposit accounts, and they have lobbied to ban all such yield payments in the separate Clarity Act, which aims to establish a comprehensive crypto market structure. This dispute has stalled the bill in the Senate. Crypto advocates contend these rewards are essential for stablecoins to function as competitive payment tools. While the political wrangling continues, the market is grasping for positive signals. Some analysts view bitcoins resilience during recent geopolitical uncertainty as a potential revival of its safe-haven narrative, although that case remains debated. Capital may be rotating back into crypto as gold takes a back seat, suggested Frank Chaparro of GSR. He pointed out that after gold rallied while bitcoin fell for months, the recent flip in performance could indicate a shift in sentiment. Yet skepticism abounds. Sean Farrell, Fundstrats head of digital asset strategy, warned, This is likely a rally to rent rather than own, citing ongoing macroeconomic risks. For now, bitcoin holders have reason for cautious relief. The break above $73,000, supported by ETF inflows and a shifting political tone, has provided a much-needed respite. But in a market still defined by volatility and external uncertainty, this weeks rally feels less like a definitive turning point and more like a reminder of cryptos inherent unpredictability. The coming weeks, which will test whether this momentum can hold, will reveal if this is the start of a sustained recovery or merely a temporary pause in a longer bearish trend. Sources for this article include: BitcoinMagazine.com Investopedia.com Finance.Yahoo.com Investing.com Digital Detonation: A wake-up call for the digital age The book "Digital Detonation: The Hidden War on Your Devices" reveals how devices like smartphones, pagers and laptops can be remotely detonated or hacked, citing real-world examples like the 2024 Lebanon pager bombings. Lithium-ion batteries are vulnerable to firmware tampering and directed energy attacks, making them potential explosives. Supply chain compromises (especially from China) allow explosives or malware to be embedded in devices during manufacturing. Governments and corporations exploit GPS/Wi-Fi tracking to monitor, harass, or even target individualsincluding activists and journalists. Companies like Google, Apple and Facebook collaborate with intelligence agencies, turning devices into surveillance tools. Scandals like Pegasus spyware prove phones can be hacked for espionage or sabotage. Denser networks increase vulnerability to remote sabotage, EMP attacks and AI-driven cyberwarfare. The push toward 6G threatens even tighter digital control unless resisted. Use decentralized tools (Signal, Session), Faraday bags and de-Googled phones. Satellite phones, self-hosted servers and EMP-proof Faraday cages provide critical backups. The book urges rejecting blind trust in tech giants and governments in favor of encryption and self-custody. In an era where our smartphones, laptops and smartwatches feel like extensions of our bodies, "Digital Detonation: The Hidden War on Your Devices" delivers a chilling wake-up call. Written with the urgency of an investigative journalist and the precision of a cybersecurity expert, this book exposes how the very devices we rely on for communication, navigation and daily convenience can be weaponized against ussometimes with deadly consequences. The book opens with a harrowing account of the 2024 Lebanon pager detonations, where over a thousand pagersmany carried by Hezbollah operativeswere remotely triggered, causing horrific injuries and fatalities. This wasn't science fiction; it was a real-world demonstration of how military-grade technology can turn everyday electronics into bombs. The message is clear: if pagers can be weaponized, so can your smartphone. "Digital Detonation" meticulously dissects the vulnerabilities lurking in our devices. The author explains how lithium-ion batteries, found in nearly every gadget, can be manipulated to explode through firmware tampering or directed energy attacks. Even more alarming is the revelation that foreign intelligence agencies and cybercriminals can embed explosives or malware into consumer electronics during manufacturingespecially when supply chains are compromised by nations like China. Big Tech's betrayal and the surveillance state One of the book's most unsettling sections explores geofencing and location tracking, demonstrating how governments and corporations exploit GPS and Wi-Fi signals to monitorand potentially targetindividuals. The author cites cases where activists, journalists and even ordinary citizens have been tracked, harassed, or framed using manipulated location data. The lesson? Your phone isn't just spying on youit could be used to kill you. The book doesn't shy away from implicating Big Tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook, exposing their collusion with intelligence agencies in mass surveillance programs. The Pegasus spyware scandal, where governments hacked into journalists' and activists' phones, is just the tip of the iceberg. The author argues that Silicon Valley's business modelbuilt on data harvestinghas turned our devices into digital Trojan horses, ripe for exploitation by both corporations and authoritarian regimes. A particularly damning chapter reveals how 5G and IoT (Internet of Things) networks amplify these risks. With denser cell tower grids and interconnected smart devices, the potential for remote sabotage, EMP [electromagnetic pulse] attacks and artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven cyberwarfare grows exponentially. The book warns that 6G technology, already in development, will further tighten the noose of digital control unless we act now. Fighting back: Practical solutions for security and privacy Despite the grim realities, "Digital Detonation" offers hope by outlining practical steps to reclaim digital sovereignty. The author advocates for: Decentralized communication tools (Signal, Session, Matrix) Faraday bags to block tracking and remote detonation signals De-Googled phones and open-source operating systems Satellite phones as a backup when cellular networks are compromised Self-hosted servers and encrypted cloud alternatives The book also emphasizes physical security, recommending ballistic-protected electronics and EMP-proof Faraday cages for critical devices. More than just a warning, "Digital Detonation" is a manifesto for digital resistance. It challenges readers to reject blind trust in Big Tech and governments, urging a shift toward self-custody, encryption and decentralized networks. The author's tone is urgent but not alarmistthis isn't fearmongering; it's a blueprint for survival in an increasingly hostile digital landscape. "Digital Detonation: The Hidden War on Your Devices" is a must-read for anyone who values privacy, freedom and personal security. It's a gripping blend of investigative journalism, cybersecurity insights and survivalist preparednessperfect for fans of "1984," "The Fourth Industrial Revolution," and "The Art of Invisibility." If you've ever wondered whether your phone could be turned against you, this book confirms the worstand arms you with the knowledge to fight back. The war for digital freedom has already begun. Will you be prepared? Grab a copy of "Digital Detonation: The Hidden War on Your Devices" via this link. Discover this book and other good reads at Books.BrightLearn.AI with thousands of books and counting all available to freely download, read and share. The decentralized BrightLearn.AI engine also lets readers create their own books, empowering them to share insights and truths with the world. Watch Tina Blanco and Marlos Barbosa sharing how to resist the chaos and surveillance agenda with privacy carrier solutions and satellite communications in this edition of the "Health Ranger Report" with the Health Ranger Mike Adams. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: BrightLearn.ai Books.BrightLearn.ai Brighteon.com House Oversight Committee probes whether illicit financial networks are fueling Minnesota ICE protests The House Oversight Committee, led by Comer, is investigating if illicit financial networks fueled civil unrest targeting ICE operations in Minnesota. The probe expands an existing inquiry into alleged massive fraud within Minnesota's federal nutrition and social services programs. Lawmakers question if fraud proceeds are being funneled through organizations to support activities that impede federal law enforcement. They have requested a briefing from the Justice Department to determine connections to organized crime or foreign influence. This investigation links allegations of financial fraud with public demonstrations against ICE, suggesting a potential financial connection. In a significant escalation of congressional scrutiny, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is now investigating whether illicit financial networks, including fraud proceeds or foreign-linked funding, helped fuel civil unrest targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota. Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), alongside Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and other panel Republicans, announced the probe Monday. The lawmakers have formally requested a briefing from the Justice Department to determine if organized criminal activity or foreign influences are connected to incidents that obstructed federal law enforcement. The investigation expands upon an existing committee inquiry launched in December into alleged massive fraud and money laundering within Minnesotas federal nutrition and social services programs. Lawmakers cite estimated losses totaling several billions of dollars over multiple years from these schemes. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the committee draws a direct line between this alleged systemic corruption and the recent unrest. As much of this fraud has disproportionally involved Minnesotas immigrant community, targeted enforcement operations by ICE play a key role in stopping this systemic corruption, the letter states. The central question now posed is whether profits from these fraud schemes are being funneled through nonprofit or other organizations to support activities that impede ICE. The scale and duration of these schemes have raised concerns regarding whether fraud proceeds are being laundered or otherwise routed, in ways that evade oversight, the lawmakers wrote. From policy disputes to potential criminal funding streams The committees letter references repeated episodes of civil unrest in Minnesota, including incidents of property damage, assaults on law enforcement and disruptions to public institutions occurring in response to federal enforcement actions. While acknowledging peaceful protest as protected, the lawmakers express concern over the strain on public safety resources. The Committee believes it is imperative to assess whether foreign-sourced funding and/or proceeds of financial crimes, particularly those involving federal funds, may be contributing to, or otherwise exacerbating unrest and efforts to obstruct law enforcement, the letter concludes. This move places the committees work on two convergent tracks: the alleged financial fraud within state social programs and the public demonstrations against ICE. The implication is that these tracks may be financially connected, suggesting a complex web where defrauded federal dollars could potentially be recycled to oppose federal agencies. The Justice Department has not yet publicly responded to the request for a briefing. The committee has indicated that further oversight actions may follow based on the DOJs response. This investigation unfolds amid a broader, tense political landscape regarding immigration enforcement. Chairman Comer has been a prominent figure in these debates, recently accusing Democratic governors of states like New York, Illinois and Minnesota of undermining federal immigration enforcement through sanctuary policies. This new financial probe into the Minnesota unrest significantly deepens the committees examination of state-level opposition to federal immigration actions, shifting the focus from policy disputes to potential criminal funding streams. The outcome of this inquiry could have substantial implications, potentially reframing the national conversation around immigration protests by linking them to allegations of large-scale fraud and questioning the origins of their financial support. Watch this video to learn more about who's really funding the ICE protests. This video is from the alltheworldsastage's channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: YourNews.com Brighteon.com BrightU.ai People view robots displayed at the booth of China Mobile during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) This year's MWC highlights the deep convergence of telecommunications, AI, robotics, cloud computing, and next-generation network technologies. Luigi Gambardella, president of the international digital association ChinaEU said Chinese companies are leading the global acceleration towards an "IQ era" of Intelligence-Driven Infrastructure BARCELONA, Spain, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies are at the forefront of the global acceleration towards an "IQ era" of Intelligence-Driven Infrastructure, a top digital expert said at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week. Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that China is leading the way in building cognitive networks and operationalizing artificial intelligence (AI) at scale. This year's MWC, themed "IQ Era," highlights the deep convergence of telecommunications, AI, robotics, cloud computing, and next-generation network technologies. Gambardella noted that the event marks the global communications industry's transition from the "Connectivity Era" to the "IQ Era." "In the era of intelligent infrastructure, competition is no longer about who builds the faster networks or the broader coverage," he said. "It is about building networks with cognitive capabilities. Future digital advantage will increasingly depend on the ability to operationalize AI at scale, turning innovation into systems that are deployable, reliable, and repeatable." A visitor is seen during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Chinese companies at MWC 2026 are not showcasing isolated technological breakthroughs, Gambardella said, but integrated architectures. "AI is being deeply integrated into network systems," he explained. "Networks are becoming capable of automatically optimizing resources, anticipating disruptions and reducing downtime, improving energy efficiency through intelligent orchestration, and moving increasing amounts of computing power to the edge, closer to factories, logistics hubs, ports, and critical infrastructure." Across the exhibition floor, he noted, cloud platforms underpin industrial AI at scale. Next-generation optical communication companies point to the next-generation technology required for secure, low-latency data flows, and humanoid robotics companies demonstrate embodied intelligence designed for deployment in industrial manufacturing scenarios. People view a vehicle displayed at the booth of Xiaomi during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) "These examples demonstrate a growing ability to industrialize innovation efficiently into systematic solutions," he said. "The advantage lies in turning the innovation-deployment-scale cycle into a durable capability." Addressing the integration of AI into the real economy, Gambardella said: "In the IQ era, artificial intelligence moves beyond software and directly into the physical world, often described as 'Physical AI'. Intelligence embedded within infrastructure enables industrial automation, predictive maintenance, real-time quality control, and optimized logistics." He attributed China's strong performance in this transition to its large market scale, dense real-world application scenarios, and vertically integrated industrial ecosystem. People visit the booth of Intel during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Regarding prospects for China-Europe cooperation, Gambardella noted that Europe's twin digital and green transitions require smarter infrastructure to raise productivity, lower energy costs, and strengthen supply chain resilience. "The deployment experience and technological maturity that many Chinese companies bring to Barcelona can help bridge the gap between experimentation and measurable economic impact," he said. MWC 2026 is not just a showcase for cutting-edge technologies, but also an important platform for discussing the future of digital infrastructure, he added. Marking the 20th anniversary of the event's presence in Barcelona, this year's MWC has drawn around 2,900 exhibitors, sponsors and partners. According to organizers, a China Pavilion has been set up at the congress for the first time, featuring major Chinese companies including China Mobile, China Unicom, Huawei, ZTE, Honor and Xiaomi. Editor: GSY Major insurers CANCEL coverage for vessels crossing Strait of Hormuz, sparking global shipping crisis Major insurers including Gard and London P&I Club canceled war risk coverage for vessels in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian retaliatory strikes, effective March 5. This threatens to halt 20% of global oil trade and trigger an energy price crisis. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the strait "closed" and attacked vessels like the U.S.-flagged Stena Imperative, driving war risk premiums from 0.2% to 1% of a ships value adding up to $1 million per voyage. Brent crude surged 13%, European gas prices jumped nearly 50% and Asian LNG prices spiked 39% as 40 supertankers remained stranded. JPMorgan warns a 25-day closure could cause catastrophic supply bottlenecks. Shipping rates from the Middle East to Asia tripled, and rerouted tankers strain supply chains. Europe faces potential winter fuel shortages, while insurers predict 300% premium hikes, making oil shipments prohibitively expensive. With no ceasefires or naval escorts in sight, the strait's closure threatens industrialized economies, proving that insurance disruptions can be as destabilizing as military conflict. Alternative energy sources and non-BRICS oil imports may offer limited relief. The Strait of Hormuz the world's most critical oil chokepoint has effectively become a war zone, as major insurance firms abruptly cancel coverage for vessels navigating the perilous waterway. On Sunday, March 1, insurers including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club and the American Club withdrew war risk policies following a surge in Iranian retaliatory strikes against commercial shipping. The decision, set to take effect on March 5, leaves shipowners scrambling for prohibitively expensive alternatives or abandoning transit altogether. The cancellations ultimately threaten to paralyze a fifth of global oil trade and send energy prices spiraling out of control. The crisis erupted after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets triggered a wave of retaliatory attacks, damaging at least five vessels, killing two crew members, and leaving 150 ships stranded in the Gulf. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the strait "closed," vowing to set ablaze any vessel attempting passage. The IRGC made good on its threat with drone strikes on tankers like the U.S.-flagged Stena Imperative and the Honduran-flagged Nova. War risk premiums have skyrocketed from 0.2% to 1% of a ship's value overnight, adding up to $1 million per voyage for a single tanker a cost that will inevitably cascade into soaring fuel prices worldwide. True enough, the fallout is already rippling through global markets. Brent crude surged 13%, European natural gas prices leapt nearly 50% and at least 40 supertankers sit idle in the Persian Gulf, their cargoes trapped. Analysts warn that a 25-day closure could force production shutdowns as storage facilities max out, with JPMorgan predicting catastrophic bottlenecks. The Joint Maritime Information Center has escalated its alert to "critical," citing missile and drone attacks across Gulf waters. QatarEnergy's abrupt halt to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production denied by Iran but coinciding with strikes has sent Asian LNG prices spiking 39%. The domino effect of a Hormuz blockade Historically, Iran has weaponized the strait's geography before but never with such devastating insurance repercussions. The 21-mile-wide passage, flanked by Iranian missile installations on islands like Abu Musa, has long been a flashpoint. Yet insurers now treat it as a "de facto blockade," with David Smith of McGill and Partners noting underwriters are either hiking rates "or declining to offer terms entirely." Marcus Baker of Marsh warns premiums could jump 300%, making every barrel of oil shipped through the strait astronomically more expensive. The economic dominoes are falling fast. Shipping rates from the Middle East to Asia have tripled since January, and rerouted tankers from the U.S. and West Africa will strain already fragile supply chains. Meanwhile, European governments already reeling from self-inflicted energy crises after sabotaging Russian pipelines now face the specter of winter fuel shortages and potential blackouts. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, countries could shift to alternative energy sources like renewables, nuclear, or domestic shale oil production to reduce reliance on Hormuz shipments. They could also seek oil imports from non-BRICS suppliers via other routes, such as pipelines from Russia or tankers bypassing the strait via longer, costlier paths. As the world braces for prolonged disruption, the Strait of Hormuz stands as a grim testament to how quickly geopolitical brinkmanship can unravel global commerce. With no naval escorts or ceasefires in sight, the waterway's closure threatens not just energy markets but the very stability of industrialized economies. Ultimately, it proves once again that in the age of asymmetric warfare, insurance clauses can be as decisive as missiles. Watch this video explaining how Iran can disrupt the Strait of Hormuz. This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheCradle.co Reuters.com AlJazeera.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Supreme Court blocks California policy on student gender disclosure, citing parents rights The Supreme Court of the United States temporarily blocked California from enforcing policies that limit public-school teachers from disclosing a student's transgender status to parents, siding with religious families challenging the rules. The court's conservative majority said the parents were likely to succeed in their legal challenge, finding the policies may violate religious rights and infringe on parents' authority over their children's upbringing. Justice Elena Kagan dissented, criticizing the court for acting hastily without full briefing, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett and other conservatives defended the temporary order as necessary to prevent harm to parents rights. Parental rights groups, including the Thomas More Society and the California Family Council, praised the decision as a major victory for families and religious liberty. Supporters argue the ruling protects parents' fundamental right to be informed about and involved in decisions affecting their children's mental, emotional and physical well-being while the broader legal battle continues. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, March 2, temporarily blocked California from enforcing policies that generally prevent public-school teachers from disclosing a student's transgender status to parents, siding with a group of religious parents challenging the rules. In an unsigned order, the court's conservative majority granted an emergency request filed by Christian parents and teachers who argued that the state's policies required schools to conceal students' gender identity from parents and facilitate social transitions, even over parental objections. The justices said the parents were likely to succeed in their legal challenge and ruled that the policies could not remain in effect while litigation continues. The parents have "sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs," the majority wrote. The order added that California's policies "violate those beliefs" and burden the parents' religious rights. The majority further said that beyond religious objections, parents more broadly have a constitutional right "not to be shut out of participation in decisions regarding their children's mental health," suggesting the state's approach may infringe on parents' authority to direct the upbringing of their children. The courts three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan criticized the majority for acting hastily on an emergency basis without full briefing or oral argument, and before a federal appeals court had resolved the case. In a concurring opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, rejected claims that the court had acted precipitously. They said the temporary order reflects the potential harm of excluding parents from "participating in consequential decisions about their children's health and well-being." Parental rights advocates celebrate Supreme Court ruling According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, transgender surgeries on minors, often including hormone therapy and genital reassignment, are highly controversial and have been linked to significant physical and psychological risks, including infertility, sexual dysfunction and long-term health complications. As a response, the Thomas More Society described the ruling as "the most significant parental rights decision in a generation." Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, who is assisting in representing the parents, said that the court's "landmark decision will safeguard parents' rights to raise their children according to their beliefs for years to come." California Family Council (CFC), a right-of-center advocacy group focused on religious liberty and pro-family policies, also celebrated the decision. CFC wrote that the court ruling decisively affirms their longstanding argument: parents have a fundamental right to be informed about and involved in decisions affecting their child's mental, emotional and physical well-being. "Today's Supreme Court decision is a monumental victory for parents, teachers and the Constitution. The Ninth Circuit was wrong to block protections for families while this case moves forward. The Supreme Court rightly recognized that parents have a fundamental right to know what is happening to their children at school and to direct their upbringing without government interference. "California's policy of hiding a child's gender transition from mom and dad was not only unconstitutional, but it was also dangerous. No school should ever place ideology above a child's well-being or a parent's God-given authority. This decision sends a powerful message: the Constitution still protects families, and California schools are not above the law," Greg Burt, Vice President of CFC, said. Listen to Health Ranger Mike Adams explaining how transgender surgeries for teenagers are tantamount to medical child abuse. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com NYTimes.com APNews.com CaliforniaFamily.org BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Skepticism grows over official account of U.S. base attack in Kuwait as questions surround defense failures Six U.S. troops were reportedly killed in an alleged Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, but inconsistencies in Pentagon statementsincluding conflicting details about base defenseshave fueled skepticism. Anonymous military sources claim the facility lacked proper anti-drone protection, contradicting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's assertions that it was fortified. The operations center was housed in a vulnerable trailer shielded only by ground-level barriers ("T-walls"), with no effective anti-drone measures. Warning sirens reportedly failed, leaving troops unaware of the attack, raising doubts about claims that a single drone breached defenses. The U.S. blamed Iran without presenting evidence, despite Iran's known use of kamikaze drones. Skeptics question whether one drone could cause such extensive casualties undetected. Historical precedents (e.g., Gulf of Tonkin, Iraq WMDs) suggest the U.S. may exploit unverified incidents to justify military escalation. Critics highlight the administration's focus on overseas threats while ignoring domestic crises like fentanyl deaths (60,000 annually). Pentagon rebuttals failed to address whether defenses could withstand drone strikes, deepening suspicions of misrepresentation. If the attack was preventable or misrepresented, it raises serious questions about the motives behind escalating hostilities. Without credible evidence or audits of base defenses, public skepticism is justifiedespecially given risks of another costly, unjustified war. Six U.S. service members were killed in an alleged Iranian drone strike on a tactical operations center at Kuwait's Shuaiba port on Sunday, March 1, marking the first American casualties in the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran. However, discrepancies in official statementsincluding conflicting reports about the base's defenses and the plausibility of a single drone causing such devastationhave fueled skepticism about the Pentagon's narrative. With anonymous military sources contradicting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's claims that the facility was fortified, doubts linger over whether the incident is being accurately portrayed or exploited to justify further military action. Questions surround base defenses According to three U.S. military officials who spoke anonymously to CBS News, the operations center was a makeshift office housed in a triple-wide trailercommon at temporary U.S. bases abroadprotected only by "T-walls," steel-reinforced concrete barriers designed to shield against ground-level threats like shrapnel and small-arms fire. These barriers offer no protection against aerial attacks, raising concerns about why such a vulnerable structure was used in a high-risk zone. One source bluntly stated, "We basically had no drone defeat capability." Another noted that warning sirenswhich had functioned earlier in the weekfailed to activate before the strike, leaving troops unaware of the incoming threat. If the base lacked proper anti-drone defenses, critics argue, the Department of War's insistence that only a single "squirter" munition breached air defenses appears questionable. Iran's alleged role under scrutiny The Trump administration swiftly blamed Iran for the attack, yet no concrete evidence has been presented to substantiate the claim. Given Iran's documented use of Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones, skepticism arises over whether a single drone could inflict such extensive damagekilling six and injuring dozenswithout detection or interception. Historical context adds weight to these doubts. The U.S. has a documented history of leveraging questionable incidents to justify military escalations, from the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident to the 2003 Iraq War's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) claims. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, the WMD claims were a fabricated pretext based on manipulated intelligence, used to justify an illegal invasion that served globalist and geopolitical interests rather than genuine security concerns. With tensions already high, critics warn against accepting unverified assertions that could drag the U.S. deeper into conflict. Broader implications and unanswered questions The attack has reignited debates about U.S. military preparedness and transparency. If the base was as vulnerable as sources claim, why were troops stationed there without adequate defenses? And why has the administration remained silent on domestic crises like fentanyl deathswhich claim roughly 60,000 American lives annuallywhile emphasizing overseas threats? Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disputed CBS' reporting, insisting the facility was "fortified with six-foot walls." Yet his rebuttal did not address the core issue: whether those walls could withstand drone strikes. Meanwhile, Hegseth praised the fallen as "the absolute best of America," while hinting at further military action. As the U.S. mourns its first casualties in this conflict, inconsistencies in the official narrative demand scrutiny. If the Shuaiba port attack was indeed preventableor worse, misrepresentedit raises troubling questions about accountability and the true motives behind escalating hostilities. Until credible evidence is presented and defenses are audited, the public remains justified in questioning whether this tragedy is being exploited to justify another costly war. Watch the video below where President Donald Trump drops a fiery statement for Iran before the U.S. launches major combat ops on the country. This video is from the American Patriots God Country channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: RT.com Edition.CNN.com CBSNews.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com The American Minds Bipartisan Brainwashing Cycle I've Seen This Script Before, and So Have You I believe we are trapped in a political reality show directed by psychopaths, where the script flips every few years but the plot remains the same. The most disturbing pattern I've observed isn't the partisan divide; it's the cyclical, cult-like obedience that both sides adopt in lockstep, simply swapping which authority figure they worship. My own disillusionment began on the left, watching friends and media personalities I respected descend into a zealous, unthinking fervor during the Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 plandemic. They traded critical thought for tribal loyalty, mocking any skepticism as disloyalty or 'Russian propaganda.' Now, in 2026, I watch in dismay as the same hypnotic dance plays out, but with the teams reversed. The very MAGA conservatives who rightly denounced globalist wars and 'forever conflicts' under previous administrations are now performing the same obedient pirouette, chanting for war with Iran and parroting neocon talking points they would have scorned a decade ago. The uniforms have changed, but the mindless marching continues. As analyst Vitaly Ryumshin observed, the world has moved 'deeper into chaos' with old institutions fracturing, creating a vacuum perfectly exploited by these engineered cycles of panic [1]. Phase One: The Manufactured Crisis and the Call to Arms Every modern 'war' -- be it against a virus, a nation, or a vague ideology -- follows the same elite-driven blueprint. A crisis is declared, either through genuine escalation or, more often, through sensationalized narrative-building. Institutions like the CDC, the WHO, or the White House transform from bureaucratic bodies into pulpits for a single, unquestionable narrative. This isn't governance; it's psychological operation, a 'manufactured crisis fueled by fear and propaganda' designed to bypass our rational minds and trigger a primal herd response [2]. The goal is to create a state of perpetual emergency where dissent feels not just wrong, but dangerous. I've lived through this whiplash personally. I watched friends who, during COVID, mocked the absurd, unscientific logic of 'five-foot distancing' rules suddenly become Iran war hawks in 2026, using identical 'trust the authorities' reasoning. When Netanyahu visited Mar-a-Lago to lobby President Trump for another attack on Iran, the same voices that once decried the military-industrial complex began framing pre-emptive strikes as necessary for 'security,' despite the obvious risks of regional conflagration [3]. The mechanism is identical: a confidential document circulates among elites -- like the EU's $800 billion plan for Ukraine -- and the public is told this staggering commitment is now non-negotiable, a test of national resolve [4]. The crisis, real or inflated, becomes the justification for surrendering our judgment. Phase Two: The Death of Nuance and the Demonization of Dissent Once the crisis narrative is locked in, the second phase activates: the systematic elimination of any middle ground. You are either 'with us' or you are a traitor, an anti-American bot, a 'science denier,' or a useful idiot for the enemy. This is not a bug in the system; it is a core feature of psychological warfare. As one Natural News analysis of media tactics explains, the purpose is to 'brainwash and control the masses' by creating a binary reality where questioning the sanctioned story is itself evidence of malice or stupidity [5]. Nuance becomes heresy, and heresy must be punished. I experienced this directly. Questioning the lockdown logic or the suppression of early treatment protocols like ivermectin immediately branded you a 'conspiracy theorist' and a threat to public health. Today, that same toxic energy is directed at anyone opposing the drumbeat for war with Venezuela or Iran. Senator Rand Paul warned that if President Trump invades Venezuela, 'his movement will dissolve,' highlighting the intense backlash from a base that thought it voted for peace [6]. Yet, the pro-war narrative machine is already working to marginalize such voices. Being called 'anti-freedom' for questioning the bombardment of Tehran carries the same chilling, thought-terminating energy as being called a 'grandma killer' for opposing vaccine mandates. The goal is to make you shut up and conform. Phase Three: The Low-IQ Cult Takes the Field This is where the public fails the test en masse. We mistake swapping one team's jersey for another as a act of political sophistication, when in reality we're just playing the same mindless game under a different color. The evidence is glaring. The same MAGA crowd that once saw through the lies of the Iraq War and championed an 'America First' foreign policy now champions belligerence, with some commentators noting they've begun to 'parrot Vladimir Putins talking points' on Ukraine, or conversely, cheer for strikes on Iran [7]. They have been reprogrammed. As former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene exposed in a stunning critique, the movement has been hijacked, becoming a 'donor-first' scam that abandons its principles for power and foreign interests [8]. My conviction, hardened by these observations, is that the real divide in America is no longer Left versus Right. It is the Thinking versus the Programmed. The Programmed are those who outsource their morality and intellect to whichever institution their tribe currently deems legitimate. They are the living embodiment of what Doris Lessing called 'great mass events, boilings up of emotion, of wild partisan passion,' where it becomes impossible to say the obvious: that today's slogans will soon seem 'ridiculous and even shameful' [9]. The low-IQ cult isn't defined by intelligence scores, but by a cultivated helplessness, an inability to source information outside the curated feed. Breaking the Cycle: Why Independent Thought is the Ultimate Act of Patriotism The solution is not to switch political teams. It is to leave the stadium entirely -- to reject the false binary constructed by the Tavistock-style social engineers who shape our politics and culture [10]. We must consciously seek information outside the sanctioned institutional narrative. This means turning to decentralized, censorship-resistant platforms and doing our own research. In my work, I've built tools for this very purpose: BrightAnswers.ai as an uncensored AI research engine, Brighteon.social for free speech, and BrightLearn.ai for creating and accessing knowledge free from corporate gatekeepers. These are lifelines out of the brainwashing cycle. My personal pledge is to judge every claim -- on war, medicine, or economic policy -- by its merit and evidence, not by the color of the flag it waves or the party it supposedly benefits. This is the ultimate act of patriotism in an age of bipartisan madness. It requires the courage to be hated by both sides, to be labeled unpatriotic by hawks and a conspiracy theorist by the media. True loyalty is to truth and human liberty, not to a revolving door of compromised institutions. As the analysis of ideological thinking warns, these movements invariably target the 'moral contents of life' -- family, faith, private property, and national sovereignty [11]. Defending those requires independent thought, not partisan obedience. Conclusion: The Only Sane Response to a Bipartisan Madness The cycle is clear. Today's Republicans, chanting for new fronts in the Middle East, have become the Democrats of 2022, who demanded endless intervention in Ukraine. And it will continue, ad nauseam, until a critical mass of us breaks the pattern. The path forward requires the fortitude to be despised by the herd, to be called unpatriotic by the war hawks and a dangerous radical by the media clergy. We are living through a 'cognitive collapse' normalized by toxic exposures and propaganda, where the ability to think clearly is under direct assault [12]. In my view, true intelligence in this era is measured by one's ability to spot this pattern and resist the hypnotic pull of the herd, no matter which herd is currently cheering. It is measured by the commitment to principles over parties, to natural law over corrupt authority, and to the decentralized pursuit of truth over centralized narratives. The only sane response to a engineered bipartisan madness is to reclaim your own mind. Trust in gold and silver, honest money that cannot be printed into oblivion by bankrupt governments. Trust in natural health and the body's God-given ability to heal when nourished properly. And above all, trust in your own capacity to see the script, reject the role you've been assigned, and write your own lines based on evidence, logic, and a love for genuine human freedom. References 2026 may not bring peace, but it may bring clarity. - RT News. Vitaly Ryumshin. January 5, 2026. CLIMATE ANXIETY: A manufactured crisis fueled by fear and propaganda. - NaturalNews.com. Willow Tohi. January 27, 2025. Netanyahu Wants To Attack Iran Again, Will Lobby Trump In Mar-a-Lago Visit. - ZeroHedge. December 20, 2025. The EU-US $800BN Postwar Ukraine 'Prosperity' Plan Which Should Outrage MAGA. - ZeroHedge. January 24, 2026. Experts reveal the tricks mainstream media uses to brainwash and control the masses. - NaturalNews.com. January 05, 2017. MAGA Will Dissolve If Trump Invades Venezuela, Says Rand Paul. - The New American. November 24, 2025. How Trump's 'America First' MAGA movement turned the Republican. - The Independent. THE GREAT MAGA DECEPTION: Marjorie Taylor Greene turns on Trump, exposes movement as donor-first scam. - NaturalNews.com. February 3, 2026. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside. - Doris Lessing. Daniel Estulin's "Tavistock Institute: Social Engineering the Masses" Reveals the Organization's Hidden Hand in Social Engineering. - NaturalNews.com. Ramon Tomey. April 16, 2025. The Destructiveness of Ideological Thinking. - City Journal. Daniel J. Mahoney. October 10, 2025. Health Ranger Report - COGNITIVE COLLAPSE . - Mike Adams. Brighteon.com. March 24, 2025. Explainer Infographic: Pentagon severs elite university ties, citing TOXIC INDOCTRINATION in sweeping military education overhaul The U.S. Department of Defense is ending its Senior Service College fellowships at 13 elite universities and seven Washington think tanks, effective for the 2026-2027 academic year. The decision, driven by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, accuses these institutions of promoting "toxic indoctrination" and "wokeness," which is framed as undermining rigorous strategic and patriotic education. These long-standing partnerships will be replaced with programs at institutions like Liberty University and Hillsdale College, marking a deliberate shift in where future military leaders are educated. This action is part of a broader pattern of federal academic divestment, following similar moves by the State Department, using funding to reshape higher education according to a specific ideological framework. The policy has sparked intense debate, with supporters seeing it as a necessary correction and critics viewing it as a politically motivated attack on academic freedom that could isolate the military from influential intellectual networks. In a dramatic move that signals a profound shift in the relationship between the U.S. military and academia, the Department of War announced on Friday the termination of its prestigious Senior Service College fellowships at 13 elite universities, including Ivy League powerhouses like Yale, Princeton and Columbia. The decision, effective for the 2026-2027 academic year and championed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, explicitly accuses these institutions of fostering "toxic indoctrination" and "wokeness" at the expense of rigorous strategic education. This action replaces long-standing partnerships with programs at institutions like Liberty University and Hillsdale College, marking a deliberate reorientation of where America's future military leaders will be educated. The core decision and its immediate impact The targeted programs are Senior Service College (SSC) fellowships, year-long graduate-level opportunities for senior military officers preparing for flag officer ranks. The Pentagon is eliminating 93 fellowships at the 13 named universities and seven Washington, D.C.-based think tanks, including the Brookings Institution. While current enrollees can finish, no new fellows will be sent. A secretary's personal crusade The driving force is War Secretary Pete Hegseth, a Princeton and Harvard graduate who has become a vocal critic of his alma maters. He argues that elite universities have become "factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain," replacing strategy with ideologies promoting "wokeness and weakness." His language frames this not as a simple policy change, but as a necessary cultural purge. While condemning "woke indoctrination," the administration's memo provides no specific examples from the fellowship programs. The term functions as a catch-all for curricula or campus cultures deemed to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, critical social theory or perspectives critical of traditional American foreign policy. The new partner institutions are praised for offering "intellectual freedom" and maintaining "minimal public expressions in opposition to the Department"criteria critics say conflate academic independence with political loyalty. The relationship between the military and civilian universities is deeply historical. Post-World War II programs like the SSC fellowships were based on the belief that exposing military leaders to diverse civilian thought strengthened national security by fostering adaptability. The current move represents a sharp rejection of that model, positing that these academic environments now threaten military cohesion and competence. The replacement roster: A new educational frontier The Pentagon has identified 21 new potential partner institutions. The list is notable for its heavy representation of religiously affiliated schools with conservative reputations, such as Liberty University and Brigham Young University, alongside large public universities. This shift redirects significant federal funding and prestige away from the coastal academic establishment toward a different set of educational centers. This decision is part of a widening campaign. Last month, the Pentagon severed all similar ties with Harvard. Simultaneously, the State Department has moved to suspend dozens of universities from its Diplomacy Lab program over their DEI policies. These actions represent a systematic effort to use federal funding as leverage to reshape American higher education according to a specific ideological framework. Supporters hail it as a long-overdue correction to refocus military education on practical strategy and patriotic foundations. Detractors see it as a politically motivated attack on academic freedom that isolates the officer corps from influential intellectual networks. Significant questions remain unanswered, including the metrics used to deem a university "woke" or to measure "intellectual freedom." The think tank purge Extending the purge beyond campuses, the cutoff of fellowships at premier think tanks like the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) may have profound implications. These non-partisan organizations have served as vital conduits between military leadership, policymakers and academic experts. Barring senior officers from these placements limits their exposure to nuanced policy research that has historically informed Pentagon decision-making. An intriguing subplot is the exclusion of the University of Pennsylvania from the final cut list, despite its Ivy League status and presence on an earlier leaked review list. This omission, alongside Dartmouth and Cornell, suggests the evaluations may have involved institution-specific considerations, though the criteria remain opaque. Financial and institutional repercussions The direct financial impact on the affected universities will be marginal, but the symbolic and relational loss is substantial. The redirection of fellowship slots and funding represents a reallocation of prestige. It signals where the federal government believes valuable, approved education occurs. For the new partner schools, it brings validation, influence and a steady stream of high-caliber military leaders. "Patriotic education aims to cultivate an informed national pride by teaching the foundational principles of America, such as its core freedoms," said BrightU.AI's Enoch. "It emphasizes teaching history based on its enduring importance, not transient trends, to ground this patriotism in knowledge. The goal is to protect these special freedoms by ensuring citizens understand and value them." The Pentagon's fellowship cancellation is more than a bureaucratic decision; it is a frontline action in the nation's ongoing culture wars. Whether this produces a more effective officer corps or a more intellectually insulated one will only be revealed by time. Watch as War Secretary Hegseth declared an end to woke political correctness. This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com InsideHighered.com TheDP.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Trump: Attacks on Iran could last four to five weeks U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that military operations against Iran could last four to five weeks, with potential for further escalation. The strikes, launched jointly with Israel, aim to dismantle Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure after failed negotiations. Iran views its nuclear program as critical for national security and regional influence, rejecting demands for dismantlement as a surrender of sovereignty. The regime remains defiant despite international pressure. Critics warn that Trump's strategy could plunge the Middle East and potentially the world into prolonged conflict. Iranian retaliation has already killed over 500, including U.S. troops, while Trump frames the campaign as a "war against civilization." Trump drew parallels to Venezuela's U.S.-backed capture of Nicolas Maduro, suggesting a similar outcome for Iran. He praised exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi as a potential leader, signaling ambitions beyond military strikes. Critics accuse Trump of leveraging the crisis ahead of the 2026 midterms, using wartime nationalism to consolidate support. Others fear Israel's influence could drag the U.S. into an unwinnable proxy war, risking uncontrollable regional escalation. U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed that military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran led by Washington could extend for four to five weeks, with the potential to escalate further if necessary. The real estate mogul initially shared the timeframe in an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, March 1, and reiterated this the following day. "Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that," he said on Monday, March 2. The operation against Tehran was launched jointly with Israel on Saturday, Feb. 28, following failed nuclear negotiations. The initial talks sought to dismantle Iran's military infrastructure and prevent the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, Iran refuses to dismantle its nuclear program because it views nuclear capability as essential for national security and regional influence, despite international pressure. The regime sees permanent suspension or abandonment of uranium enrichment as an unacceptable surrender of sovereignty and strategic deterrence. Trump's remarks suggest a deliberate escalation beyond initial surgical strikes. But as casualties mount and Iranian retaliation intensifies, critics warn that his strategy risks plunging the Middle East and potentially the world into a prolonged and destabilizing conflict. The president framed the campaign as a preemptive strike against Iran's ballistic missile program and naval forces, which he claims posed an imminent threat to American interests. Yet his rhetoric has shifted from immediate danger to long-term deterrence, raising legal and ethical questions about the justification for sustained warfare without congressional approval. The operation has already exacted a heavy toll. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in early strikes, alongside senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iranian retaliatory attacks have claimed over 500 lives across the region, including U.S. service members stationed in allied nations. From Venezuela to Iran: Regime change or regional firestorm? Trump acknowledged the losses, but framed them as inevitable in what he called a "war against civilization." War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the mission is "devastating, decisive" and free from "nation-building" distractions. But behind the military calculus lies a broader political objective: regime change. Trump hinted at this ambition by drawing parallels to Venezuela, where U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in January. "What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect scenario," he said, suggesting a similar outcome for Iran. While he stopped short of explicitly endorsing regime overthrow, Trump pointed to exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi son of Iran's deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980) as a potential transitional leader, stating he has "three very good choices" for Irans future governance. Meanwhile, Iran's surviving leadership has announced an interim council to manage the crisis, signaling a fractured but defiant response. The conflict's timing raises suspicions among observers, who recall past U.S. administrations using military action to deflect from domestic scandals. Trumps critics accuse him of manufacturing a crisis ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, leveraging wartime nationalism to consolidate support. Others warn that the administrations reliance on Israel whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long advocated for Iran's downfall could drag the U.S. into an unwinnable proxy war. As bombs continue to fall, the world waits to see whether Trump's gamble will yield a weakened Iran or ignite an uncontrollable regional firestorm. The president's confidence in a swift victory remains unwavering boasting that Washington is "ahead of schedule" but history cautions that wars rarely adhere to timetables. Watch the Health Ranger Mike Adams warning that President Trump has walked right into a war trap with Iran in this clip. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com AlJazeera.com GlobalNews.ca BrightU.ai Brighteon.com A proxy gambit: U.S. explores arming Kurds against Iran The CIA is reportedly negotiating to arm Kurdish opposition groups to foment an uprising inside Iran. The plan is part of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Tehran, aiming to stretch Iranian forces and create internal pressure. President Trump has personally engaged with Kurdish leaders in Iraq and Iran to discuss support for the war effort. The strategy risks regional backlash, particularly from Turkiye (Turkey), and could exacerbate internal conflict within Iran. The U.S. has a decades-long history of using proxy forces, including Kurdish groups, to advance foreign policy objectives. In a significant escalation of covert strategy within the open U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, American intelligence is actively working to arm Iranian Kurdish opposition forces to spark an internal uprising, according to multiple media reports. The Central Intelligence Agency is engaged in discussions with Kurdish factions, with the apparent blessing of the Trump administration, seeking "boots on the ground" to pressure Tehran from within its borders. This high-risk proxy maneuver, while offering a potential lever against the Iranian regime, carries profound risks of regional destabilization and echoes controversial Cold War tactics. The reported plan for internal pressure Reports from CNN and Axios, citing U.S. and Kurdish officials, outline a strategy where the United States would funnel weapons to Kurdish groups hostile to the government in Tehran. The objectives are twofold: to force Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to divert resources to internal security, and to potentially enable popular protests or even the seizure of territory in northern Iran to create a buffer zone. President Donald Trump has personally engaged Kurdish leaders, including Mustafa Hijri of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdish figures Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, to discuss support for the war effort following the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes. A complex regional calculus The plan immediately encounters a formidable regional obstacle: Turkey. A NATO ally, Turkey considers several Kurdish militant groups, particularly the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as terrorist organizations waging a decades-long insurgency. Ankara views any empowerment of foreign Kurdish militias with extreme suspicion, as a direct threat to its own security. This creates a severe policy dilemma for Washington, forcing it to balance a new tactical alliance against Iran against the stability of a key military partner. Furthermore, the strategy risks pitching Irans various opposition groups against each other rather than uniting them, potentially leading to prolonged internal conflict without a clear path to stability. Historical precedent and the "proxy playbook" The use of local proxy forces is a well-worn page in the U.S. foreign policy playbook, with a mixed record of outcomes. Historically, the CIA has armed and funded groups from the Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s to Syrian Kurdish fighters in the 2010s. In the context of Iran, the U.S. has a history of covert intervention, most notably the 1953 coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. This legacy informs both the potential and the peril of the current approach. While such tactics can apply immediate pressure, they often create long-term unintended consequences, including power vacuums, humanitarian crises and enduring resentment. Key historical examples of CIA-backed proxy campaigns include: The Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet Union (1979-1989). The Nicaraguan Contras against the Sandinista government (1980s). Syrian Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (2014-2019). Strategic risks in an active war zone Pursuing this proxy strategy amid an active, conventional conflict adds layers of danger. Iranian forces have already targeted Kurdish positions in western Iran in recent days. Introducing a new, U.S.-backed internal front could lead to severe reprisals against Kurdish populations and further humanitarian catastrophe. It also risks drawing neighboring Iraq and Syria deeper into the conflict, as Kurdish groups operate across these borders. Analysts warn that the plan appears reactive and poorly integrated into a broader endgame, suggesting the U.S. could initiate a internal conflict with little responsibility for its aftermath. A high-stakes covert frontier As the military confrontation between the United States and Iran continues, the reported push to activate a Kurdish proxy force opens a volatile new covert front. This strategy seeks to exploit Irans internal ethnic divisions but does so at the risk of alienating a critical NATO ally, igniting a secondary civil conflict and repeating historical patterns of short-term gain for long-term instability. The coming days will reveal whether this gambit becomes operational, testing the limits of proxy warfare and carrying significant implications for the future map of the Middle East. Sources for this article include: RT.com NYPost.com Aljazeera.com The Delusion Fueling Our March to War: Why Christian Zionism Should Never Determine Military Action The End Times Delusion that has Infected the U.S. Military The United States has crossed a terrifying spiritual and moral Rubicon. As I write this in March 2026, American and Israeli bombs are raining down on Iran in a conflict President Trump promises will last 'four weeks or less' [1]. But the official justifications -- countering missile threats, dismantling nuclear programs -- are a thin veneer over a far more sinister reality. Leaked briefings and soldier testimonies reveal that U.S. commanders are telling their troops this war is a divine mission, 'anointed by Jesus' to trigger Armageddon and the Second Coming [2], [3]. This is not a geopolitical strategy; it is a mass indoctrination into a weaponized, delusional interpretation of Christianity that sanctifies slaughter. I believe we are witnessing the horrific fruition of a cult that has infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. government and military -- a satanic death cult masquerading as Christian Zionism, and it is marching our nation, and our sons and daughters, into a ritualistic sacrifice of biblical proportions. My deep investigation into this ideology, supported by reviewing both scripture and the machinations of power, leads me to a stark conclusion. The leadership driving this war does not serve the Prince of Peace. They serve a twisted idolatry of the Israeli state, an entity whose documented actions -- the bombing of schools killing over 100 children [4], [5], the engineered famines, the relentless genocide in Gaza -- are, by any honest moral standard, the literal works of Satan. To support this regime as an act of faith is a profound perversion. This article is my effort to sound the alarm, to dissect the theological fraud, expose the satanic core, and awaken people to the monstrous deception that is sacrificing American lives on the altar of a false prophecy. A Military Indoctrinated by Fantasy, Marching to Slaughter The reports are now undeniable. According to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, complaints have flooded in from more than 30 military installations across every branch. Commanders are briefing their units, stating that the war with Iran is 'part of Gods plan' and that President Trump was 'anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran' [3], [6]. One soldier's account posted to social media described commanders as 'gleeful' in proclaiming this was part of a 'divine plan to usher [in] the return of Jesus Christ' [7]. This isn't rogue theology from a lone chaplain; it represents a top-down campaign of ideological weaponization. Let's be brutally clear: This is brainwashing. It is using a distorted, fantastical version of faith to motivate young men and women to kill and die for a geopolitical agenda that has nothing to do with national defense. As historian Barbara Rossing explains in her work, this 'dispensationalist version of the biblical storyline requires tribulation and war in the Middle East, not peace plans' [8]. The leadership is feeding troops a narrative where their violence is not just sanctioned but sanctified, where killing Iranians is a holy act that brings us closer to paradise. In my judgment, this reveals a core truth: elements of the U.S. military and government have been captured by a dangerous, anti-Christ cult that worships war and death as a path to salvation. The Book of Revelation Doesn't Say What They Claim It Says I have spent considerable time studying and covering the Book of Revelation, and the interpretation being peddled to our troops is a fabricated fairy tale. The so-called 'prophecy' of a Jesus on a white horse leading and army of horsemen to defeat Israel enemies is nowhere in the actual text. Revelation is a complex, symbolic work about cosmic justice, divine judgment, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil -- not a literal battle plan for the Pentagon. The text warns against the idolatry of state power and the 'beast,' yet these commanders have twisted it into a mandate for empire. This misappropriation is not new; it's a tool of control. As Rossing notes, apocalyptic rhetoric has long been used to bless American wars, from Reagan viewing Libya as a 'prophesied enemy of God' [9] to George W. Bush framing the 'war on terror' in dualistic 'good vs. evil' terms [8]. Today, that tool is being used with chilling precision to manufacture consent within the ranks. They are telling soldiers that the hellscape of war -- the missiles, the burning schools, the dead children -- is all part of a beautiful divine script. This is a profound perversion of scripture, turning a message of hope and redemption into a tool for psychological manipulation that prepares human beings to accept their role as expendable actors in a global blood ritual. The Satanic Core of Modern Zionism and Its American Apostles Here is the brutal, unvarnished truth that Christian Zionists refuse to confront: The modern state of Israel they venerate is engaged in acts that any genuine Christian must recognize as evil. When an Israeli airstrike obliterates a girls' primary school in Minab, killing over 100 children [4], that is not the work of God's 'chosen people.' It is the work of a militaristic, apartheid regime. When this state pursues a policy of genocide and engineered famine in Gaza, as documented extensively by independent media, it is engaging in satanic cruelty [10], [11]. To call support for this 'God's will' is blasphemy of the highest order. This ideology has utterly captured American policy. As noted in a Natural News analysis, figures like Senator Lindsey Graham claim God will 'pull the plug' on America if aid to Israel stops [12], creating a spiritual blackmail that fuels endless war. This isn't theology; it's a political and spiritual racket. It creates a feedback loop where American fanaticism empowers Israeli violence, which in turn feeds the apocalyptic fantasies of the Christian Zionists, demanding more violence. They have constructed an idol -- the State of Israel -- and are sacrificing American blood and treasure, and the lives of Palestinian and Iranian children, upon its altar. This is not Christianity. It is a death cult, and its apostles sit in the Pentagon, the White House, and in twisted pulpits across the nation. The Sacrificial Altar: How Americans Are Being Set Up as Bait Observe the patterns. As the war escalated, the State Department urged Americans to 'DEPART NOW' from nearly the entire Middle East [13]. Yet, simultaneously, U.S. troops remain on the ground, with casualties already mounting -- six killed and at least 18 wounded as of March 3rd [14], [15]. This contradiction is not an oversight. In my analysis, it is by design. The presence of American civilians and soldiers in harm's way creates the 'sacrificial lambs' necessary to galvanize public rage and justify even greater escalations. The death of Americans is not a bug in the system; it is a feature of the ritual. Think back to 9/11 or any other false flag operation. The loss of American life was immediately weaponized to launch invasions, shred civil liberties, and enrich the military-industrial complex. We are seeing the same playbook. President Trump himself has stated 'there will likely be more' U.S. service members killed [16]. This is a cold, calculated admission. The lives of our citizens and soldiers are viewed as expendable currency, blood sacrifice to be spent on the altar of perpetual war and geopolitical ambition. The goal may be broader than Iran; some analysts suggest provoking a wider conflict to solve domestic crises like energy shortages for AI data centers . This is the logic of the death cult: human life is cheap, a mere instrument to achieve a fanatical end. The Great Awakening: Rejecting the Cult, Embracing True Teachings The antidote to this poison is a return to the actual, radical teachings of Jesus Christ. He preached love for enemies, blessed the peacemakers, and condemned the religious hypocrites. The ideology fueling this war -- with its gleeful anticipation of Armageddon and its worship of a violent state -- is the polar opposite of the Sermon on the Mount. As one article on Christian Zionism rightly points out, it constitutes a 'theological hypocrisy' that claims 'pro-life' values while cheering on the slaughter of children in Gaza [10]. We must undergo a Great Awakening. We must see the Pete Hegseths, the Lindsey Grahams, and the pulpit-pounding preachers of war for what they are: modern-day false prophets. Their gospel is one of death, and they are leading this nation to spiritual and physical ruin. We must reject their weaponized fairy tales and reclaim a faith rooted in life, compassion, and the sacredness of every human being -- Palestinian, Iranian, American, Israeli. This means actively opposing this war, demanding the separation of fanatical theology from military command, and supporting platforms for uncensored truth. For those seeking deeper understanding, I recommend turning to decentralized, honest sources of information and community. Platforms like Brighteon.social for free speech, BrightAnswers.ai for uncensored AI research, and NaturalNews.com for independent journalism are vital tools to break free from the brainwashing of the corporate media and the death cult's propaganda. The path forward is not through more violence sanctified by bad theology, but through a courageous embrace of true spirituality, decentralized knowledge, and an unwavering commitment to peace and human dignity. References President Trump Confirms It Will Be Four Weeks Or Less. - 100percentfedup.com. US troops were told Iran war 'anointed by Jesus' to bring on Armageddon, watchdog says. - Middle East Eye. Oscar Rickett. March 3, 2026. Investigating claim US troops were told Iran war is for 'Armageddon'.... - Yahoo News. Israeli strike on Iranian school kills over 100 children media (GRAPHIC VIDEOS). - RT.com. March 2, 2026. Israeli strike kills 57 school children in Iranian city media. - RT.com. February 28, 2026. MS NOW {News Junkies} | Jonathan Larsens Substack | Facebook. Complaints of Gleeful Commanders Telling Troops Iran War is Part ... - Imgur. The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. - Barbara R. Rossing. Christian Zionism and the Road Map to Armageddon. - Stephen Sizer. Christian Zionism Under Fire Calls for Reevaluation Amid Gaza Genocide. - NaturalNews.com. Finn Heartley. August 4, 2025. Israel's forever wars in the Middle East will pave the way for its demise. - NaturalNews.com. October 17, 2024. Unhinged Senator Graham claims God will pull the plug on America if Israel aid stops. - NaturalNews.com. Cassie B. August 14, 2025. US warns its citizens to urgently leave almost all Mideast countries, including Israel. - The Times of Israel. March 3, 2026. CENTCOM confirms 6 U.S. troops killed, 18 wounded as Iranian strike hits American Operations Center. - NaturalNews.com. March 3, 2026. U.S. Death Toll In Iran Military Operations Rises. - 100percentfedup.com. March 2, 2026. Trump says more US military likely to die before war ends. - AP News. Explainer Infographic: However, the report said, development in more remote regions will remain challenging due to a shortage of skilled labor such as mechanics, electricians, plumbers, laborers and construction workers. Market shift from abundance to constrained Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, said Wednesday that enterprises must assume, as the report suggests, that there will be elevated pricing for North American data center capacity through at least 2029, and possibly longer. Vacancy at or near 1%- 2% is not a temporary imbalance, he said. It is a signal that supply elasticity has broken. When over 90% of capacity under construction is already pre-committed, new entrants are negotiating from a position of structural scarcity, not market equilibrium. Energy intensity is rising because AI workloads are more power dense, he pointed out. So even if an enterprise does not expand its footprint, the cost per deployed workload can still increase because the electrical envelope changes. His advice to enterprises: expansion is viable, but only if they diversify beyond legacy Tier 1 hubs, secure long term expansion rights early, negotiate structured pricing protection, and optimize workload placement with ruthless clarity. But, he added, it is not viable if enterprises assume that incremental megawatts will remain readily available in the same region at roughly similar economics. John Annand, practice lead at Info-Tech Research, said that, to compensate, his firms client base is increasingly open to moving the right workloads to private clouds or on-premises. The shift is nuanced, not ideological, he said, and is usually financially motivated and framed as hybrid optimization, not public cloud reversal. Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Yang Yongxiu, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Dong Jin, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Nong Jiagui, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Gao Derong, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Xu Shixiao, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Wang Wenyi, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Xu Shixiao, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) A journalist asks a question during a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Editor: GSY The report that the CMA produced was a really comprehensive one, completely understanding the nature of the industry. Weve been at the sharp end of uncompetitive behavior for some time, she added. And concerns have also been expressed in the US. Kip Meeks resignation highlights a stark reality: Diagnosing a potentially flawed, highly concentrated cloud market is useless if the watchdog lacks the urgency to address it. Right now, the hyperscalers are operating business-as-usual while the CMA hits the snooze button, said Dave McCarthy, research vice president at IDC. Regulators across the globe are currently investigating the cloud market. Last month, the US Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into Microsofts position and whether it had an unfair advantage against other cloud competitors. And in November last year, the European Commission opened three market investigations on cloud computing services under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), including an investigation as to whether the DMA can effectively tackle practices that may limit competitiveness and fairness in the cloud computing sector in the EU. Stewart highlighted the ECs action. The commission kicked off three inquiries last autumn and theyre due to make an interim report in May or June. They may well get there before the CMA, which started three years earlier, she said. The situation needs to be resolved quickly given the increasing importance of AI in todays market and the need for competitive cloud services to support it, said Terrar: AI, particularly agentic AI, is going to change the cloud market. Were going to see some changes, for example, more processing at the edge, and the cloud infrastructure is so fundamental to the industry today. And, of course, theres the additional cost, said Stewart: There was a footnote in the CMA report that the UK is paying about 500m too more for cloud, because of the dominance of the big players: theres a need for more competition. China's ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, met with Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss escalating tensions with Pakistan. The Chinese envoy expressed concern over the fighting and urged the neighbors to resolve differences through dialogue. Muttaqi reiterated Afghanistan's commitment to sovereignty, mutual respect, and a non-interference policy. The diplomatic meeting occurs as border clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces continue for a seventh day. China's ambassador in Kabul calls for diplomacy amid ongoing border clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces, highlighting regional stability concerns. Kabul, March 5 Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan figured prominently in talks between the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Zhao Xing, China's Ambassador, Tolo News reported. The meeting comes against the backdrop of several days of fighting between Afghan and Pakistani forces, which has sparked concern in Beijing over the potential impact on regional stability. According to a statement issued by Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese envoy expressed apprehension over the deteriorating situation and voiced hope that the differences between the two neighbouring countries would be resolved through diplomatic engagement and dialogue, Tolo News reported. The statement, quoting Zhao Xing, said that external elements are attempting to undermine regional stability. The Chinese ambassador stressed that countries in the region could counter such efforts only through enhanced coordination and cooperation, according to Tolo News. During the meeting, Amir Khan Muttaqi reiterated Kabul's position that Afghanistan seeks to build ties based on mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations. He underlined that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan remain core principles for the Islamic Emirate and are essential to ensuring regional stability. The statement reads, "The foreign minister, in his remarks, referred to the balanced and economy-oriented foreign policy of the Islamic Emirate and emphasised that Afghanistan seeks relations based on mutual respect, non-interference, and good neighbourliness. He also stated that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan are fundamental principles, respect for which is necessary for regional stability and building trust. Any action that contradicts this principle not only damages bilateral relations but also negatively affects the overall security of the region." Meanwhile, military analyst Asadullah Nadim said, "If the two sides reach a peace agreement, it will benefit both. However, if one side does not respect the rules, it will not only harm both countries but will also threaten regional security." The diplomatic engagement in Kabul comes as clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan have entered their seventh consecutive day. The Islamic Emirate on Wednesday announced that its "Radd-e-Zulm" operation would continue until what it described as Pakistan's attacks come to an end, Tolo News reported. - ANI The Rajasthan High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the poor condition of government school buildings across the state. The court noted that repair work has begun in only four schools since July, despite repeated accidents in districts like Jhalawar, Bharatpur, and Bundi. It questioned the government's priorities and indicated it may appoint a chartered engineer to inspect buildings, allowing only certified-safe schools to operate. The bench rejected the government's plea of financial constraints, stating budget issues cannot compromise student safety. Rajasthan High Court expresses strong displeasure over slow school repair progress, warns of appointing an engineer for safety inspections. Jaipur, March 5 The Rajasthan High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the poor condition of buildings and classrooms in government schools across the state, observing that very little progress has been made in repair work despite repeated accidents in different districts. The court noted that repair work has begun in only four schools since July, raising serious concerns about the pace of action taken by the authorities. The remarks were made on Thursday by a division bench comprising Justice Mahendra Goyal and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain while hearing a suo motu petition initiated after the recent Jhalawar school incident. The bench observed that it was alarming that despite several incidents in different districts, including Bharatpur and Bundi, the state government was still at the stage of issuing tenders for repair work in many places. During the hearing, the court also observed that the budget allocated for repair work is set to lapse in March, yet the authorities have not taken timely steps to ensure that the work is completed. The judges questioned the priorities of the government and expressed concern over the safety of students studying in dilapidated school buildings. "What is the government trying to do? Schools do not appear to be a priority," the court orally remarked during the hearing. The bench further indicated that if the situation continues, the court may consider appointing a chartered engineer to inspect government school buildings across the state. According to the proposal discussed during the hearing, from July 1 only those schools certified as safe by the engineer would be allowed to operate, while repair work would continue in buildings that are found to be unsafe. Responding to the court's concerns, the state government submitted that it was facing financial constraints and requested the bench not to pass such an order. The government counsel informed the court that budgetary limitations were affecting the pace of the repair work. However, the bench made it clear that financial constraints cannot be used as an excuse when the safety of students is involved. "Budget is the government's problem; it is not ours," the court observed, adding that directions issued by the court must be complied with regardless of financial difficulties. The bench also noted that it had earlier directed the Chief Secretary to submit a status report on the steps taken to address the issue. When the Advocate General informed the court that the report had not yet been filed, the bench directed the Chief Secretary to submit a detailed affidavit outlining the progress made so far in implementing the court's earlier orders. - IANS PM Modi announces strategic partnership with Finland focusing on AI, 6G, clean energy, and quantum computing to boost high-tech cooperation. New Delhi, March 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India and Finland are working to strengthen their ties as a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability, which will accelerate collaboration in advanced technologies ranging from Artificial Intelligence and 6G telecommunications to clean energy and quantum computing. Speaking after holding bilateral talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister highlighted that cooperation in these high-tech sectors will add new energy and direction to relations between the two countries. "We are shaping India-Finland relations into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability," Prime Minister Modi stated. "This partnership, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing, will give momentum and energy to our cooperation in many high-tech areas," PM Modi mentioned. PM Modi also noted that the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, reached earlier this year, will further strengthen trade, investment and technology collaboration between India and Finland. The two leaders held detailed discussions at Hyderabad House in the national capital, where they explored ways to expand cooperation across several sectors and deepen economic engagement between the two nations. "In early 2026, a historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was signed. This Agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland," Prime Minister Modi said. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the talks covered a wide range of issues aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation and strengthening strategic ties. Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global developments and discussed cooperation in multilateral forums. Prime Minister Modi also hosted a lunch in honour of President Stubb following the talks. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met the Finnish President and discussed bilateral ties ahead of the high-level meeting with the Prime Minister. EAM Jaishankar said he also looked forward to President Stubb's address at the Raisina Dialogue, where the visiting leader is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech. - IANS The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has strongly condemned the joint US-Israel military attack on Iran, calling it a blatant violation of international law. Board spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas accused the US of using nuclear negotiations as a pretext before launching strikes. The statement warns that without immediate diplomatic intervention, the regional conflict could spiral into a devastating global war. It also expressed regret over India's current foreign policy approach and the lack of an official condolence for Iran's late Supreme Leader. All India Muslim Personal Law Board condemns US-Israel strikes, calls for UN ceasefire, and warns conflict could escalate into a wider global war. New Delhi, March 5 The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has condemned the "open aggression" of the United States and Israel against Iran and urged the United Nations and the international community to take immediate, effective, and concrete steps to ensure a ceasefire and prevent the region from descending into a devastating war. In a press statement, the Board's Spokesperson, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, stated that significant progress had been made in negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program. "According to Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr Al-Busaidi, who was mediating the talks, Iran had agreed to almost all of the United States' conditions. Despite this, the sudden announcement by the United States to terminate the negotiations, followed immediately by a joint attack on Iran with Israel, indicates that the negotiations were merely a pretext rather than a serious diplomatic effort," he stated. Ilyas expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, describing it as a great loss for the Muslim Ummah. He stated that targeting the central leadership of a sovereign country during wartime and openly speaking of regime change constitutes a blatant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. He further noted that this war has engulfed the entire Middle East in instability. While several European countries are supporting the United States, Russia and China are backing Iran. If immediate and effective diplomatic intervention is not undertaken, this conflict could escalate into a wider global war. A prolonged war would not only deepen the humanitarian crisis but also severely impact the global economy, with developing and weaker nations bearing the greatest burden, according to the statement. Ilyas expressed regret that at such a critical and decisive moment, our country could have played a balanced and dignified mediatory role. However, the current approach has adversely affected the credibility of the country's foreign policy. He also expressed concern that no official condolence message was issued on the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, which, he said, goes against our moral and diplomatic traditions. All India Muslim Personal Law Board once appealed to the country's leadership, the United Nations, and the international community to take immediate, serious, and practical measures to stop this war. Otherwise, this fire will not remain confined to one region, and no country will remain untouched by its consequences. The conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf nations and other Israeli assets across the region. - ANI Azerbaijan has strongly condemned drone attacks launched from Iranian territory that struck the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The attack damaged airport infrastructure and injured two civilians near a school. In response, Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey a strong protest and present a formal note. Baku stated the attack violates international law and reserves the right to take appropriate response measures. Azerbaijan condemns drone attacks from Iran targeting Nakhchivan, damaging airport infrastructure and injuring civilians. Iranian ambassador summoned. Baku, March 5 Azerbaijan on Thursday strongly condemned drone attacks launched from Iranian territory that targeted Nakhchivan, resulting in damage to infrastructure and injuries to civilians. In an official statement, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Providing details of the incident, the statement noted that one of the drones struck airport infrastructure while another landed near a civilian facility. "One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad," the statement read. Condemning the incident, the Azerbaijani side said the attack resulted in damage and civilian injuries. "We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians," the statement said. The ministry further said the attack violated international norms and heightened tensions in the region. "This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region," the statement added. Calling for accountability, Azerbaijan urged Iran to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and ensure such attacks do not recur. "We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future," the statement said. The statement also noted that Azerbaijan reserved the right to respond to the incident. "The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures," it said. Meanwhile, the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. "The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented," the statement added. - ANI Bihar CM Nitish Kumar files Rajya Sabha nomination, pledges support to new govt. NDA welcomes move, Opposition calls it a "hijacking." New Delhi, March 5 Bihar politics on Thursday witnessed a drastic shift as the state's longest serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections, extending "full support" to the new Cabinet. Janata Dal (United) chief, Nitish Kumar, won his fifth election in 2025 as the NDA secured two-third majority in Bihar and took oath for the 10th time as the Chief Minister of the state. Tthe 75-year-old penned a heartfelt message announcing his decision. He expressed his longing desire to be a member of both houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as the Houses of Parliament. He asserted his commitment to building a "developed Bihar" and extended his "cooperation and guidance" to the new government. "I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) welcomed Kumar's decision and lauded his return to the parliamentary democracy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar CM as a "golden chapter" in the state's history during which he made significant contributions to Bihar's progress. "For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he said. Union Minister Giriraj Singh welcomed Kumar's decision, affirming that the government in Bihar will be formed under his leadership. Meanwhile, Union Minister and JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said that no one can imagine Nitish Kumar's achievement in building Bihar, adding that he will only decide where he wishes to go. JD(U) leader Harshvardhan Singh welcomed his decision and said that Nitish Kumar always wished to attend all four houses and had filed for the Rajya Sabha elections of his own will. "When he had only 43 seats, no one could suppress him. Today, he has 85 seats. No one can suppress him. He has his own will. He does what he wants, and the people of Bihar wholeheartedly stand with him..." he added. In similar enthusiasm, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief and NDA Rajya Sabha candidate Upendra Kushwaha said that Kumar served Bihar for over 20 years as the Chief Minister and now will serve Delhi. "As NDA candidates, 5 candidates have filed their nominations today... the victory of all candidates is certain...Nitish Kumar (Rajya Sabha) is going; this is his decision, and everyone appreciates his decision," he said. However, Opposition parties denounced Nitish Kumar's decision, accusing the BJP of "hijacking" him, terming the move as "political abduction, leadership coup, deception and betrayal." Voicing stern criticism against Kumar's decision, Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on X, "What the Indian National Congress had been saying often during the Bihar election campaign has now come to pass. A leadership coup and regime change orchestrated by G2 has taken place. It is, in many ways, a huge betrayal of the mandate of the people." Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, accused the BJP of using "tricks" against Nitish Kumar, defying their election slogan '2025 se 30 phir se Nitish'. He said that the people of the state oppose this change of power. "I always said 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadaya hai dulha banake lekin phera kisi aur ke sath dila raha hai'... The BJP has completely hijacked Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar has said that he wants to go to the (Rajya Sabha) House... We have been saying this from the beginning that after the elections, the BJP people will not let Nitish Kumar remain in the post of Chief Minister... Today, that statement has come true. The people's aspirations are against this change of power...," Tejashwi Yadav told reporters. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said that the announcement came as a shock just months after the conclusion of the assembly elections and termed it a "huge political abduction". He further said that the announcement exposed the "attitude" of the BJP towards their allies. Congress leader Sachin Pilot voiced similar concerns and questioned the logic behind winning a popular mandate only to step down from state leadership. Pilot pointed out Nitish Kumar's history of changing his stance, implying that this decision might be another example. He also questioned the impact on Bihar, suggesting the BJP might take control of the state. Congress leader Udit Raj highlighted unemployment and the low standard of education in government institutions within Bihar and said that if Nitish Kumar becomes an MP, it will be more "honourable" for him to take up "no roles". Meanwhile, Congress' Maharashtra MLA Nana Patole equated Nitish Kumar's situation with Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who was not re-elected as CM after Mahayuti gained majority in Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024, with the BJP emerging as the largest party. Meanwhile, supporters of JD(U) and party workers held a protest outside the Chief Minister's residence in Patna, refusing to believe that Nitish Kumar has decided to give up the Chief Minister post. "It is possible that his account has been hijacked," a JDU worker said, reacting to Nitish Kumar's confirmation on a post on X. "Nitish Kumar cannot insult the public's mandate. There is a huge pressure on him as part of a major conspiracy," another supporter said. "This is heartbreaking. The people of Bihar consider him their family. No one else besides Nitish Kumar can be the Chief Minister here. We want Nitish Kumar to remain the CM," he said. Nitish Kumar's political career is a masterclass in coalition manoeuvring, marked by a series of high-stakes ideological shifts. Beginning his journey as an MLA in 1985 and later serving as a Union Minister under the Vajpayee government, he first ascended to the Bihar Chief Minister's office in 2005 as a pillar of the NDA. Since 2013, however, his tenure has been defined by a "revolving door" of alliances, alternating between the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan (RJD and Congress) in 2013, 2017, 2022, and 2024. Despite these frequent realignments, his political survival remains unparalleled; most recently, he secured a fifth electoral landslide in 2025, taking the oath as Chief Minister for a record-breaking tenth time. Kumar's return to the national arena could also pave the way for the BJP to have a greater say in the government in Bihar and perhaps even stake a claim to the CM's chair. - ANI BJD president Naveen Patnaik paid floral tributes to his father and former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary. Party MP Sasmit Patra highlighted Biju Patnaik's global impact, from fighting Nazis to rescuing Indonesian freedom fighters. Biju Patnaik was celebrated as a pilot, industrialist, and the architect of modern Odisha's development across various sectors. The BJD, founded in his name, has been in power in Odisha since 2000 under Naveen Patnaik's leadership. BJD chief Naveen Patnaik pays floral tribute to his father and former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik, celebrating his legacy as a reformer and aviator. Bhubaneshwar, March 5 Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday paid floral tributes to his father and former Odisha Chief Minister, Biju Patnaik, on his birth anniversary. Biju Janata Dal party leader also spoke about the enduring relevance of Biju Patnaik's socio-economic reforms. BJD MP Sasmit Patra, while speaking to ANI, said, "On the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik today, our party president Naveen Patnaik offered floral tributes to the memory of late Biju Patnaik. Biju Babu's idea of India, the idea of Odisha, goes beyond the shores of India and Odisha. Whether it's fighting the Nazis or supporting the Russians at that time during the war. Whether it was rescuing the freedom fighters of Indonesia who had gone to become the leaders of Indonesia, or fighting the Pakistanis by landing the first troops in Srinagar." "Each time you find the bravery and valour of Biju Babu in the entire global scenario in India, he was the maker of modern Odisha, with its industrialisation or agricultural development, tribal upliftment or women's empowerment, every space of Odisha has seen the touch of Biju Babu," Sasmit Patra added. Meanwhile, Biju Patnaik was undoubtedly a great intellectual legislator, political leader and above all, a reformer of Odisha and was a brilliant student. His early occupation was business. His hobby was aeronautics and industry. The Biju Janata Dal was founded on December 26, 1997, and named after its leader, Biju Patnaik, the father of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The regional party, which is headed by Patnaik, has been in power in Odisha since 2000. March 5 also happens to be the birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik, after whom the ruling BJD is named. Biju Patnaik's love for aviation saw him drop out of Ravenshaw College and train as a pilot. He had joined as a trainee pilot in the Royal Air Force of the British Empire and was the head of the air transport command. Biju Patnaik was Chief Minister of the state for two terms, the first from 1961-1963 and then from 1990-1995. - ANI BJD MP Sasmit Patra has expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict in West Asia, describing the situation as extremely alarming. He called for all sides, including the US, Israel, and Iran, to come to the negotiating table to end the violence. Patra emphasized that dialogue and deliberation, not conflict, should be the key to resolution, pointing to India's historical adherence to non-violence and calibrated responses. The context includes recent lethal airstrikes by the US and Israel on Iranian targets and subsequent retaliatory missile launches by Iran across the region. BJD MP Sasmit Patra voices alarm over escalating Israel-Iran conflict, urges all sides to negotiate. He emphasizes India's principle of non-violence. Bhubaneswar Marc, h 5 ,: Biju Janata Dal MP Sasmit Patra on Thursday voiced concern about the West Asia conflict, saying that the situation is extremely alarming, and called for all sides to come to the negotiating table. Speaking to ANI, Patra said that the conflict must end and both sides should come to the negotiating table. He suggested that dialogue, discussion and deliberation should be a key to resolving the conflict. "The missiles slamming into schools, civilian habitations, and countries which have nothing to do with the conflict itself show how wide this war is becoming," Patra added. He further stated that all the nations should come together, whether the United States, Israel, Iran and other nations. India has always believed in the principle of non-violence and peace, he explained that even at the time of Operation Sindoor in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK) and Pakistan, India had a calibrated and measured approach; we didn't go to war. So, this rational, measured and calibrated response needs to be there in the Israel-Iran conflict. He said this is the time the war needs to end because innocent lives have been lost. Speaking to ANI, Patra says, "I think it's an extremely alarming situation. Every day, the kind of visuals coming from West Asia and the Middle-East further adds to the danger of this war happening; it is no longer a conflict. I strongly believe that this conflict must end. All the sides must come to the negotiating table. Dialogue, discussion and deliberation should be the key, not conflicts and wars... India has always believed in the principles of non-violence and peace... the time has come to close this conflict..." On February 28, the US and Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities. In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. - ANI WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to advance a war powers resolution aimed at curbing U.S. President Donald Trump's military operations against Iran, as Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over the issue. By a 53-47 vote, the Republican-led upper chamber blocked the resolution, which is intended to prevent Trump from ordering further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval. In floor speeches before the vote, Democrats largely lashed out at the military strikes against Iran while Republicans predominately defended the president. Veteran Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored the measure, said that "the administration and their shifting set of rationales, and even in a classified setting, could produce no evidence, none, that the U.S. was under an imminent threat of attack from Iran." "Have we learned nothing from 25 years of war in the Middle East? 14,000 American troops and contractors killed in Iran and Afghanistan ... hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths ... in Iran and Afghanistan, more than 8 trillion spent that could have been spent on American health care, on American housing, on American education, spent on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. And what did we get for it?" said Kaine. Democratic Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said "we should not gamble American lives on incomplete plans, unclear objectives and completely uncertain future." Republicans argued that Trump's actions in Iran were necessary and justified, accusing Democrats of objecting to Trump's actions for partisan reasons. Editor: WSH BJP leader Prakash Reddy highlighted the resilience of the Indian economy, noting stability in stock markets and essential commodity prices despite global distress from the West Asia conflict. The region remains in turmoil following US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran is preparing a multi-day farewell ceremony for the late leader while threatening retaliation against Israel's Dimona nuclear site if the regime is targeted. The crisis has escalated with threats exchanged between Iranian and Israeli defense officials. BJP leader Prakash Reddy says India's stock market and commodity prices remain stable despite global distress from the West Asia conflict and Iran tensions. Hyderabad, March 5 BJP leader Prakash Reddy on Thursday hailed the "strength" of the Indian economy while the whole world market is "distressed" with the West Asia conflict. Speaking to ANI, Reddy said that India is probably the only country that has maintained stability in the stock market, as well as essential commodities prices, including fuel. "Because of the crisis in the Middle East and the war between Israel, America, and Iran, the world market is distressed. India is probably the only country which is maintaining its stability in the stock market and in the prices of essential commodities, including the fuel prices... It indicates the strength of our economy," said Prakash Reddy. Meanwhile, West Asia has entered its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf nations and other Israeli assets across the region. Iranian state Media reported that preparations are underway at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for the placement of the body of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israel-led strike on Iran. The Grand Mosalla of Tehran is a massive prayer complex used for the city's most significant state-religious gatherings. This is part of the three-day farewell ceremony being organised for the late Supreme Leader. Thousands of mourners are expected to gather at the Mosalla. A "farewell ceremony" followed by a "funeral procession" is the protocol after the death of a Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, Iran on Thursday threatened to target the Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US sought to topple the Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. - ANI China has evacuated over 3,000 of its citizens from Iran due to the deteriorating security situation. Foreign Minister Wang Yi held separate phone conversations with top diplomats from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, urging restraint and peaceful dialogue. China expressed support for the UAE's national security demands and appreciated Saudi Arabia's commitment to peaceful means. Beijing continues to advocate for de-escalation and a return to negotiations to prevent further regional instability. China evacuates over 3000 citizens from Iran as FM Wang Yi urges Gulf leaders toward restraint and diplomatic solutions to regional conflict. Beijing, March 5 China has urged restraint and diplomatic engagement amid rising tensions in West Asia, with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi holding phone conversations with political leaders from the Gulf region, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. In a post on X on Wednesday, Lin Jian said Wang spoke with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He said that China supports the UAE's legitimate demands for safeguarding its national security and supports regional countries in seeking to resolve disputes through diplomatic means. Lin said on X, " Chinese FM Wang Yi held a phone conversation with the Deputy PM and FM of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The spillover of war is not in the interests of any party, and only the people of the region will suffer. China supports the UAE's legitimate demands for safeguarding its national security and supports regional countries in seeking to resolve disputes through diplomatic means." He added, "China will not give up hope for peace and will continue to play a constructive role." In a separate X post, Lin said Wang also spoke with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. He said that China appreciates Saudi Arabia's restraint and its commitment to resolving differences through peaceful means. Lin said on X, "Chinese FM Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Saudi FM Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The spreading and escalating conflict in the Middle East, affecting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, is not what China wishes to see. China appreciates Saudi Arabia's restraint and its commitment to resolving differences through peaceful means." He added, "China strongly urges all parties to cease military operations, return to dialogue and negotiations at an early date, and prevent further escalation of tensions." Meanwhile, China's Department of Consular Affairs said it has evacuated over 3000 of its citizens from Iran amid the deteriorating security situation. According to a post from the ministry's consular affairs office on X, where it highlighted the statement of a Chinese spokesperson, the statement said, "Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: Since the security situation in Iran turned tense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese diplomatic missions in Iran have issued alerts more than once. They have worked in various ways to call on Chinese citizens to evacuate as soon as possible and offer them assistance. As of March 2, Beijing time, over 3,000 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Iran. Chinese diplomatic missions in Iran's neighboring countries have sent working groups to receive and assist the evacuated Chinese citizens at border ports." It added, "Given the severe security situation in Iran, we once again advise the Chinese citizens in Iran to take extra safety precautions and leave Iran as soon as possible. If any help is needed, please contact the Chinese embassy and consulate in Iran or dial consular protection hotline 12308." China has repeatedly called for de-escalation in West Asia and said it supports diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing further instability in the region. - ANI Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan has firmly dismissed ongoing speculation about a change in Bihar's chief ministerial leadership. He stated there is no discussion on replacing Nitish Kumar, affirming the stability of their "double-engine" government. Paswan also addressed rumors about Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, entering politics, calling it a personal choice. Additionally, he noted that the NDA's fifth candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections remains undecided. Union Minister Chirag Paswan dismisses speculation of Nitish Kumar's replacement as Bihar CM and comments on Rajya Sabha elections and Nitish's son. Patna, March 5 Lok Janshakti Party Chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has dismissed speculation of a leadership change in Bihar, stating there is no discussion regarding a new Chief Minister in the state. "There's no discussion on changing the Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar will continue to lead Bihar, and our double-engine government is working well," said the Union Minister. Paswan also addressed rumours regarding Nitish's son's potential entry into active politics, asserting that whether or not Nishant Kumar chooses to step into the political arena is entirely a matter of his personal choice. "There's no point in giving statements in anticipation because he hasn't been in public life till now. This is his choice, his family's choice, and his party's choice. When this decision comes to our alliance, I'll address it. I always welcome youths in politics; my PM always welcomes youth in politics," said Paswan. While addressing the speculation regarding a leadership change in Bihar, Union Minister Chirag Paswan noted that the fifth candidate from the NDA alliance for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections has not yet been finalised. "Within the alliance, discussions over the names had been going on for a long time. Now that the process has begun and the elections are near, we are moving closer to the results. The list of BJP candidates was released yesterday. I congratulate Nitin Nabin ji as he is going to take a big responsibility... The fifth name from the NDA alliance has not been finalised yet. Discussions are still going on," added Paswan. Earlier, amid mounting speculation over Nitish Kumar resigning from the post of Chief Minister of Bihar, sources from the Janata Dal (United) stated that the veteran leader might transition to the Rajya Sabha, days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the polls for the upper house. Union Minister Giriraj Singh has also refuted the speculation that the Bihar CM might resign and file a nomination for the Rajya Sabha. "Such jokes are common on Holi. Nitish Kumar ji is our Chief Minister," Singh said. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states, as the members are set to complete their term in April 2026, a press note stated. According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected. The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9. The polling is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. - ANI A federal judge has ruled that U.S. companies are legally entitled to refunds for tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court in February. The ruling by Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade marks another significant legal setback for the tariff policy initiated under former President Donald Trump. Trade experts estimate the potential refund liability could reach $175 billion, posing a massive administrative challenge for U.S. Customs. The decision is welcomed by a coalition of small businesses and follows lawsuits from major corporations seeking the return of paid duties. A federal judge rules US companies are entitled to refunds for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, a major legal and financial setback. Washington, DC, March 5 Companies in the United States that paid tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court in February are legally entitled to refunds, a federal judge has ruled, marking another setback for the tariff policy introduced by US President Donald Trump. According to a news report by CBS News, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York ruled on Wednesday that US importers were "entitled to benefit" from the Supreme Court's February 20 decision, which held that President Trump lacked the authority to impose sweeping tariffs last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Eaton was ruling on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that manufactures filters and other filtration products. The company had claimed that it was entitled to a refund for the tariffs it had paid. The ruling follows another legal setback earlier this week. On Monday, a federal appeals court declined to delay the implementation of the Supreme Court's decision that struck down most of the Trump administration's tariffs. The appeals court's move clears the way for the Court of International Trade to begin the process of refunding tariffs to businesses. Eaton also wrote in his decision that he alone "will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA" tariffs. The Supreme Court, however, did not address the issue of refunds in its 6-3 decision last month. CBS News also noted that the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Eaton's ruling. Trade experts estimate that the US government could owe as much as USD 175 billion to businesses that paid IEEPA levies. Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that through the end of 2025, the federal government had collected USD 134 billion in duties under IEEPA. Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former US trade official, tild CBS he expects the government to appeal or "seek a stay to buy more time for U.S. Customs to comply." "The U.S. Customs agency must now develop a way to process the refunds. The agency routinely refunds tariffs in cases of error, but its system was 'not designed for a mass refund,'" said trade lawyer Alexis Early, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. "The devil will be in the details of the administrative process." Meanwhile, a coalition of small businesses that has been demanding tariff refunds welcomed the ruling. "This is a victory for small businesses who have paid billions in unlawful tariffs and deserve their money back," Dan Anthony, executive director of We Pay the Tariffs, said in a statement. "The court acted swiftly and correctly. Now the ball is in the government's court, and small businesses are concerned they will drag this out further." Several major corporations, including Bausch & Lomb, Dyson, FedEx and L'Oreal, have also sued the federal government seeking refunds of the IEEPA tariffs. - ANI The Congress party has constituted seven state-level committees in Gujarat to coordinate its preparations for the upcoming local body elections. Senior leaders have been appointed to head committees for strategy, campaign, election management, and manifesto drafting. Party leaders state these elections are crucial as they will set the political tone ahead of the 2027 Gujarat Assembly elections. The committees, authorized by the central leadership, are expected to meet multiple times to review preparations for the civic polls. Congress forms seven state-level committees in Gujarat to strategize for upcoming local body polls, with senior leaders overseeing campaign and management. New Delhi/Ahmedabad, March 5 The Congress has constituted several state-level committees in Gujarat to coordinate its preparations for the upcoming local body elections this year, assigning senior leaders to oversee strategy, campaign operations, and election management as the party begins organisational groundwork. In a statement on Thursday, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the Congress president had approved the proposal for the constitution of the committees for the ensuing local body elections in Gujarat, with immediate effect. According to the notification, the Strategy Committee will be chaired by Bharatsinh Solanki. Lalji Desai has been appointed vice chairman and Hemang Vasavada will serve as convenor. The Campaign Committee will be led by Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil as chairman, with Paresh Dhanani as vice chairman and Lok Sabha MP Geniben Thakor as convenor. The Election Management Committee, which will oversee organisational and electoral coordination, will be chaired by Siddharth Patel. MLA Jignesh Mevani has been appointed vice chairman, while senior leader and former minister Bimal Shah will serve as convenor. The Program Implementation Committee will be headed by Jagdish Thakor as chairman, with Indravijaysinh Gohil as vice chairman and Himmatsinh Patel as convenor. For drafting the party's election agenda, the Manifesto Committee will be chaired by MLA Shailesh Parmar, with Rutvik Makwana serving as vice chairman and Dr Manish Doshi as convenor. The party has also formed committees to handle communication and publicity with three members each. Speaking to IANS, Shah said the formation of the committees had been authorised by the party's central leadership and was a significant step in preparing for the elections. "The formation of these committees is very crucial and the high command has authorised them," he said. He said the upcoming local body elections were important for the party's political strategy in the state. "We are very serious about the upcoming elections in Gujarat because they will set the tone for the 2027 Assembly elections," Shah said. According to him, the names of the members were proposed by the state leadership to ensure wider participation while covering different aspects of the election process. "The proposal of names was given by the state leadership, ensuring equal participation and focusing on every single aspect of the elections," he said. Speaking about the panel he is part of, Shah said the Election Management Committee would play a key role in organisational coordination. "The Election Management Committee is one of the crucial ones because it focuses on booth-level planning," he said. Shah added that the party leadership was paying close attention to developments in the state. "We are fighting hard and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is very focused on Gujarat," he said, adding that the committees are expected to meet atleast five to six times to review preparations and the election process. Local body elections in Gujarat involve contests for municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats across the state, and political parties have begun organisational preparations as the civic polls approach. The outcome of these elections is often seen by parties as an indicator of grassroots support and organisational strength ahead of larger electoral contests in the state. - IANS In a significant political development in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Congress, and Communist Party of India have decided to jointly support a common candidate, Datteshwar Hota, for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das stated the decision was based on Hota's work and his non-partisan background, making him acceptable to all parties. He revealed that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was clear and supportive of this move, describing it as a revolutionary step to prevent horse-trading. The biennial elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across ten states are scheduled for March 16. Odisha Congress chief announces BJD, Congress, and CPI(M) alliance to back non-partisan candidate Datteshwar Hota for Rajya Sabha, citing anti horse-trading. Bhubaneswar, March 5 Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das on Thursday said that the Indian National Congress, Biju Janata Dal and Communist Party of India have decided to support a joint candidate, Datteshwar Hota, for the Rajya Sabha elections. Speaking to ANI, Das said the decision was taken considering Hota's work and his non-partisan background. "Congress, BJD and CPI(M) have all decided to support the joint candidate Datteshwar Hota. Considering his work, we decided that he is a good person. He doesn't belong to any party, so all the like-minded parties can support him," Das said. He also said that Naveen Patnaik was clear about the decision and called it a significant step in the current political situation of Odisha. "Naveen Patnaik was very clear on this matter. Given Odisha's situation, he has taken a revolutionary step," he added. "Odisha had four Rajya Sabha seats, three of which were clear, but one was unclear. Therefore, the BJD and Congress could have contested that seat together. To explore that possibility, to prevent horse-trading, and to make a decision in the best interest of the state, the candidate should have been someone who was neither in the BJD nor the Congress, but rather an educated person from Odisha, a son of an Odia who had worked for the people. We had said this before. We had asked Naveen Patnaik for time 8-10 days ago; he gave us time, and he also shared the same opinion. He was also strongly against horse-trading in Rajya Sabha elections. In such a situation, Naveen Patnaik has announced a joint candidate," Bhakta Charan Das said. The polling for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected. The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9. The election process will be completed by March 20. - ANI Republicans warn of risks in shifting burdens to allies A contentious US House Armed Services Committee hearing reviewed the newly released National Defense Strategy, revealing deep partisan divides. Republicans, led by Chairman Mike Rogers, warned that pushing European allies to assume larger military roles too quickly could create dangerous security gaps. Democrats, with Ranking Member Adam Smith, criticized the strategy's "America First" framework for potentially undermining international commitments and alliances. Pentagon officials defended the plan as a realistic approach to prioritize threats like China while urging allies to take primary responsibility for their own conventional defense. Lawmakers spar over shifting security burdens to allies in new National Defense Strategy. Hearings reveal partisan divides on global commitments. Washington, March 5 US lawmakers sparred on Thursday over the role of allies in global security as Congress examined the newly released National Defense Strategy during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. The debate highlighted differences between Republicans and Democrats on the extent to which allies should assume greater responsibility for defending their own regions while the United States focuses on major strategic priorities. Opening the hearing, committee chairman Mike Rogers said lawmakers were reviewing a strategy that guides U.S. military planning and resource allocation. He said the strategy has already shown progress in several areas, including homeland defence and the protection of U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. However, Rogers raised concerns about provisions in the strategy that shift more security responsibilities to U.S. allies. He warned that pushing European allies to assume larger military roles too quickly could pose risks. "This is a recipe to guarantee failure and create a deterrence gap that Russia will exploit," Rogers said. He also criticised the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Romania, saying that allies were not properly consulted before the move. "A brigade is not 'little,'" he said. Democrats, however, offered a sharper critique of the strategy and warned that it could weaken long-standing alliances and undermine global cooperation. Ranking member Adam Smith said the 2026 National Defense Strategy reflects an "America First" framework that raises concerns about U.S. commitments abroad. "The 2026 NDS appears to abandon U.S. commitments to international norms," Smith said. He added that the strategy also appears inconsistent with recent military actions undertaken by the administration. Smith pointed to the President's military operations overseas and said they seem to contradict the strategy's stated focus on avoiding prolonged conflicts. "The President's appetite for military adventurism, to include Operation Epic Fury, appears to contradict the strategy," he said. Pentagon officials defended the strategy during the hearing, stating that it reflects a realistic approach to global security amid limited resources. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby told lawmakers that the strategy is based on President Donald Trump's "America first, peace through strength" approach. He said the United States must concentrate its military power on the most pressing threats. "The American military, while without peer, is not infinite in its application and resources," Colby said. He said the strategy rests on several pillars, including defending the homeland, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region, and rebuilding the U.S. defence industrial base. Another key element of the strategy is burden-sharing. Colby said allies and partners must take a larger role in defending their own regions. The objective, he said, is for allies to assume "primary responsibility for their conventional defence". The strategy also aims to prevent China from dominating the Indo-Pacific while encouraging partners to strengthen their own military capabilities. The National Defense Strategy outlines the Pentagon's long-term military priorities and serves as a guiding document for defence planning. It also informs decisions on force posture, military spending and alliance structures. Congress reviews the strategy as part of its oversight responsibilities and uses it to shape defence policy and the annual National Defense Authorization Act. - IANS India and Finland have signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement to formally connect their innovation ecosystems and facilitate the movement of students and professionals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted Finland's growing appeal as a destination for Indian talent and its role as an educational model. The partnership will be strengthened through expanded joint research, startup collaboration, and cooperation in teacher training and school partnerships. The bilateral ties also extend to strategic areas like Arctic and polar research, marking a holistic deepening of cooperation. PM Modi & Finland's President Stubb sign a landmark migration & mobility agreement to connect innovation ecosystems and expand research cooperation. New Delhi, March 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a joint press briefing with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, highlighting the growing synergy between the two nations across education, innovation, and research. During the address, PM Modi noted the increasing appeal of the Nordic country for Indians, stating, "Finland is becoming a preferred destination for Indian students and talent." The Prime Minister announced a significant step in formalising this relationship through a new pact. "Today, we have signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Finland to connect the innovation ecosystems of both countries," he said. He further emphasised that the partnership would extend into the entrepreneurial space. "With this, we are also going to further strengthen joint research and startup collaboration," the Prime Minister added. Acknowledging Finland's global standing in the academic sector, PM Modi described the country as a "role model in the field of education." The Prime Minister detailed the specific areas of academic expansion, noting, "Today, we have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education." He underlined the holistic nature of this bilateral tie, stating, "This means that we are going to deepen our cooperation at every level of human development, from school to industry." PM Modi also spoke on the strategic importance of the partnership within the broader regional context. "Finland is an important partner of India in the Nordic region," he remarked. Highlighting the shared interests in environmental and scientific frontiers, the Prime Minister added, "We are also expanding our cooperation with Finland in Arctic and polar research." Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Stubb, who is on a State Visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday in New Delhi. Stubb's visit, which includes the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors. - ANI EAM S Jaishankar meets Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Delhi. Talks focus on boosting India-Finland relations ahead of PM Modi meeting and Raisina Dialogue. New Delhi, March 5 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called on Finnish President Alexander Stubb in the national capital, expressing confidence that high-level engagements would continue to bolster bilateral relations between India and Finland. Taking to the social media platform X, the External Affairs Minister shared his thoughts on the morning meeting, stating, "Delighted to call on President Alexander Stubb of Finland today morning in Delhi." Highlighting the broader significance of the Finnish President's visit, Jaishankar noted that he is "Confident that his meeting with PM @narendramodi will further strengthen India-Finland ties." He also added that he "Look forward to his address later this evening at @raisinadialogue." President Alexander Stubb of Finland arrived in New Delhi on a State Visit to India and was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "A warm welcome to India! President Alexander Stubb of the Republic of Finland has arrived in New Delhi on a State Visit to India." According to the post, President Stubb received a Guard of Honour and was welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh. The Finnish leader is scheduled to be the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Highlighting bilateral ties, Jaiswal noted that "India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values," adding that President Stubb's visit "will impart further energy to India-Finland relations." The visit, which will include the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors, MEA said in its release on Tuesday. The visit will see President Stubb attend the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue from March 5-7 in New Delhi as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker. As per an official statement, the visit will be Stubb's first visit to India in his current role as President. In addition to his engagement at the Raisina Dialogue, President Stubb will hold discussions with the Prime Minister, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and global issues of mutual interest. A key highlight of the visit will be an exchange of views on cooperation in multilateral forums, with an emphasis on deepening people-to-people connections and economic partnerships. Following the discussions, Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in honour of President Stubb, the release said. During his visit, the Finnish President will also meet with President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President CP Radhakrishnan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also meet President Stubb. After his time in the capital, President Stubb will travel to Mumbai, where he will meet with Maharashtra's Governor Acharya Devvrat, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He will interact with local business leaders and address students at the University of Mumbai. India and Finland share a warm and multifaceted relationship, anchored in shared democratic values. Finland plays an essential role as a partner for India within the European Union and the Nordic region. President Stubb's visit follows the recent visit of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to India for the AI Impact Summit in February, a testament to both countries' commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation and fostering stronger ties. - ANI External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Finnish President Alexander Stubb in New Delhi, expressing confidence that the President's upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi would strengthen bilateral ties. President Stubb is on a three-day state visit to India, where he will serve as Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue. His itinerary includes wide-ranging discussions with PM Modi, a call on President Droupadi Murmu, and meetings with other Indian dignitaries. The visit underscores the commitment of both nations to enhance cooperation across multiple sectors and deepen people-to-people linkages. EAM Jaishankar meets Finnish President Alexander Stubb, discusses strengthening bilateral ties ahead of his meeting with PM Modi at Raisina Dialogue. New Delhi, March 5 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called on Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Thursday and discussed bilateral ties ahead of the visiting leader's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The EAM also expressed hope that the Finnish President's meeting with the Prime Minister later in the day would further strengthen ties between the two nations. In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said, "Delighted to call on President Alexander Stubb of Finland today morning in Delhi. Confident that his meeting with PM Narendra Modi will further strengthen India-Finland ties." "Look forward to his address later this evening at Raisina Dialogue," he added. Stubb arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day State Visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Stubb will remain in India until March 7 and is accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Ministers, senior officials and prominent business leaders. During his visit, he will attend the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, scheduled to take place in New Delhi from March 5 to 7, where he will serve as the Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address. This marks President Stubb's first visit to India since assuming office. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Alexander Stubb will hold wide-ranging discussions aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors. They are also expected to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including collaboration in multilateral forums. The Prime Minister will host a lunch in honour of the visiting leader. During his stay, President Stubb will also call on President Droupadi Murmu and meet Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan. Following his engagements in the national capital, President Stubb will travel to Mumbai, where he will meet Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In Mumbai, he will interact with Indian business leaders and participate in an India-Finland business event. He is also slated to address students at the University of Mumbai. The MEA noted that India and Finland enjoy warm, friendly and multifaceted relations anchored in shared democratic values. Finland is regarded as an important partner for India within the European Union and the Nordic region. "The visit of President Stubb, following the recent visit of Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland H.E. Petteri Orpo to India for the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, reflects the shared commitment of both countries to further strengthen bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors and to deepen people-to-people linkages," the Ministry added. - IANS A boy clears debris of a damaged building in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shadati) "We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours," Leavitt said at the White House daily press briefing. WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. forces will have "complete and total dominance" over Iranian airspace in the next few hours. "We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours," Leavitt said at the White House daily press briefing. She added that deploying U.S. ground troops to Iran is not currently planned, though U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he is open to the option in the future. Earlier in the day, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing that the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is still in its early stages. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces will begin striking progressively deeper into the Iranian territory as operations expand. Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have conducted their first coordinated attacks on Israel amid the ongoing escalation, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN on Wednesday. On Saturday morning, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with some of the leader's family members, senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded through waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases across the Middle East. Editor: WSH Iran's ambassador to India stated that despite knowing American intentions, Tehran entered negotiations with the US, only to be attacked before the set timeline. He accused Israel of seeking to destroy property and destabilize the entire West Asian region. The envoy asserted that Iran does not attack its neighbors but warned it would target US bases if necessary, claiming three F-15 jets were shot down. He also confirmed there are currently no negotiations or messages being exchanged with the Indian government regarding the conflict. Iran's ambassador to India says Tehran entered US negotiations despite doubts, but was attacked first. He details regional tensions and Iran's stance. New Delhi, March 5 Tehran had entered negotiations with the United States despite doubts about the intentions of the Americans, but was attacked before the set timeline. Mohammad Fathali, Ambassador of Iran to India said on Thursday. Speaking about the ongoing tensions invloving United States, Israel and Iran, Fathali in a conversation with ANI, said Iran had recently lost a great figure, describing the late Ayatollah Khameni as a guiding force who always advised the country to stand on the "right side of history." He said the leader believed in standing for principles and that Iran continued to follow that approach. "We have lost a great figure, our leader, our father and always his eminence advised us to try our best to stand on the right side of history. I believe that his eminence stood on the right side of history, and he received his reward. We entered the negotiation table inspite of knowing their intentions, but they set the time; before that, they attacked, and we announced that we would respond," the Iranian envoy said. The ambassador of Iran accused Israel of destabilising the region and attempting to destroy infrastructure and property across West Asia. "Unfortunately, the region faced so many problems, and the Zionist regime wanted to disturb and destroy all the properties in our region," he said. Fathali also asserted that Iran does not target its neighbouring countries, though he alleged that some regional bases were used by the United States. "They know very well where Iran is and where the location of Iran is. But unfortunately, the Zionist regime wants to destroy and disturb all the region," he said, adding that Iran had informed neighbouring countries that it would target US bases if necessary. The envoy also claimed that three F-15 fighter jets had been shot down during the conflict. He said, "Iran is not attacking its neighbourhood. We don't attack our neighbours; they provide the bases. You heard that 3 F-15s were shot down. We have a good relationship with our neighbours. We announced to all neighbours that we will attack the bases of the United States." Responding to a question on whether Iran is in contact with the Indian government regarding the conflict, Fathalii said there were currently no negotiations or messages being exchanged with the Indian side. He said, "No, we have no negotiation. We have no messages...You can ask from the Indian side." - ANI Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, a prime ministerial candidate for the CPN-UML, cast his vote in Bhaktapur for Nepal's high-stakes 2026 General Elections. The election sees over 18.9 million voters participating to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with a notable surge of over 915,000 new voters since 2022. A significant 52% of the electorate is now between 18 and 40 years old, indicating a major youth influence on the national outcome. The Election Commission has deployed extensive security and aims to publish key results within 24 hours of counting. Former PM KP Oli casts vote in Nepal's crucial 2026 General Elections. Over 18.9 million voters, with 52% aged 18-40, to decide 275 parliamentary seats. Bhaktapur, March 5 Former Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, on Thursday cast his vote at a polling station in Bhaktapur for the General Elections 2026. Oli, who is the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), participated in the democratic process as the country holds its national polls to elect a new government. The CPN-UML leader's participation comes amidst a significant electoral contest, where he remains a central figure in the race for the premiership. The 2026 General Elections are seen as a crucial juncture for the Himalayan nation, with high-level leaders across the political spectrum mobilising to exercise their franchise and lead their respective party campaigns. This high-stakes electoral process is taking place in a single phase across all 77 districts, with polling scheduled from 7 am to 5 pm. According to a report by The Kathmandu Post, a total of 18,903,689 eligible voters are participating in the election to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives. The 2026 polls have seen a notable demographic shift, with an increase of over 915,000 voters since 2022. Crucially, 52 per cent of the electorate is now aged between 18 and 40, reflecting a significant youth influence on the national outcome. The election features a diverse field of 6,541 candidates competing across various systems to represent this evolving demographic. Under the first-past-the-post system, 3,406 contenders, including 1,143 independents, are vying for 165 seats. Meanwhile, for the 110 seats reserved under the proportional representation system, 63 parties have listed a total of 3,135 candidates. To facilitate this massive exercise, the Election Commission has established 23,112 polling centres at 10,963 polling stations nationwide. The Kathmandu Post noted that a robust security framework is in place to ensure a peaceful vote, with 341,113 personnel deployed, including 149,000 temporary "election police" recruited specifically for the polls. The commission has expressed its commitment to a swift conclusion, stating that it aims to "publish first-past-the-post results within 24 hours after counting begins." - ANI Finnish President Alexander Stubb pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in Delhi, meets EAM Jaishankar ahead of key talks with PM Modi at Raisina Dialogue. New Delhi, March 5 The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, visited Rajghat in the national capital on Thursday and paid his respects to Mahatma Gandhi. During the visit, President Stubb laid a wreath at the memorial of the Father of the Nation. The gesture remains a significant part of the official itinerary for visiting heads of state, symbolising a tribute to the values of peace and non-violence. This visit to Rajghat came shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Stubb in the national capital, where the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral ties. Jaishankar expressed confidence that such high-level engagements would continue to bolster relations between India and Finland. Taking to the social media platform X, the External Affairs Minister shared his thoughts on the morning meeting, stating, "Delighted to call on President Alexander Stubb of Finland today morning in Delhi." Highlighting the broader significance of the Finnish President's visit, Jaishankar noted that he is "Confident that his meeting with PM @narendramodi will further strengthen India-Finland ties." He also added that he "Look forward to his address later this evening at @raisinadialogue." President Stubb of Finland who is on a State Visit to India was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday inNew Delhi. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "A warm welcome to India! President Alexander Stubb of the Republic of Finland has arrived in New Delhi on a State Visit to India." According to the post, Stubb received a Guard of Honour and was welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh. The Finnish leader is scheduled to be the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker at the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, that begins in the national capital today. Highlighting bilateral ties, Jaiswal noted that "India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values," adding that President Stubb's visit "will impart further energy to India-Finland relations." The visit, which will include the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors, MEA said in its release on Tuesday. As per an official statement, the visit will be Stubb's first visit to India in his current role as President. In addition to his engagement at the Raisina Dialogue, Stubb will hold discussions with Prime Minister Modi, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and global issues of mutual interest. A key highlight of the visit will be an exchange of views on cooperation in multilateral forums, with an emphasis on deepening people-to-people connections and economic partnerships. Following the discussions, Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in honour of President Stubb, the release said. During his visit, the Finnish President will also meet with President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President CP Radhakrishnan. After his time in the capital, President Stubb will travel to Mumbai, where he will meet with Maharashtra's Governor Acharya Devvrat, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He will interact with local business leaders and address students at the University of Mumbai. India and Finland share a warm and multifaceted relationship, anchored in shared democratic values. Finland plays an essential role as a partner for India within the European Union and the Nordic region. President Stubb's visit follows the recent visit of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to India for the AI Impact Summit in February, a testament to both countries' commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation and fostering stronger ties. - ANI Iran's Foreign Minister has condemned a US submarine for torpedoing and sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean. The warship was returning from a visit to the Indian Navy, where it participated in a multinational fleet review. US officials openly acknowledged the attack, with the Defense Secretary calling it a "quiet death." The incident dramatically escalates regional tensions already heightened by recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran condemns US for torpedoing frigate IRIS Dena in Indian Ocean after it visited Indian Navy, warning Washington will "bitterly regret" the attack. Tehran, March 5 Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi has strongly condemned the United States for attacking and sinking the Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, describing the incident as an "atrocity at sea" and warning that Washington would "bitterly regret" setting such a precedent. Aragchi said the warship had recently visited the Indian Navy and was carrying around 130 sailors at the time of the attack. He accused the US of launching a strike without warning in waters far from Iran's territory. "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," the Iranian Foreign Minister said in a post on X. The Iranian Foreign Minister's remarks came after an American submarine torpedoed and sank the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The incident marked the first time since World War II that the US has sunk an enemy ship using a torpedo fired from a submarine. The frigate, a relatively small warship, had been returning from naval engagements in India when it was targeted. The IRIS Dena, a frigate-class vessel of the Iranian Navy, had participated in the Milan International Fleet Review held in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25, where it was welcomed by the Indian Navy. "Indian Navy welcomes IRIS Dena, of the Iranian Navy, on her arrival at Visakhapatnam... reflecting long-standing cultural links between the two nations," the Indian Navy had said in a message posted on X during the visit. The multinational naval exercise saw participation from around 74 countries. The United States did not take part in the exercise. The US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney had initially been scheduled to participate but cancelled its involvement shortly before the event began. The exercise concluded on February 25. According to reports, the IRIS Dena had departed from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was on its return journey when it was attacked in international waters near the southern coast of Sri Lanka on March 4. US officials did not deny responsibility for the attack and openly acknowledged the sinking of the Iranian vessel. "An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death," US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said while commenting on the strike. Following the attack, rescue efforts were launched in the area. The Sri Lankan Navy has so far rescued approximately 30 sailors from the IRIS Dena. The survivors were transported to Karapitiya Hospital in the southern port city of Galle, where they are receiving medical treatment. The incident has further intensified tensions in the region amid an already escalating conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel. The current war began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. The attacks reportedly targeted the country's missile arsenal and nuclear facilities and resulted in the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. - IANS Delhi CM Rekha Gupta lays foundation for a Rs 3 crore Foot Over Bridge near Ladakh Budh Vihar, featuring Ladakhi design and lifts for accessibility. New Delhi, March 5 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, on Thursday, laid the foundation stone for a Foot Over Bridge to be constructed near Ladakh Budh Vihar on Outer Ring Road at Kashmere Gate at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the project marks an important step towards fulfilling a long-standing demand of local residents. She noted that the bridge will enable citizens visiting Ladakh Budh Vihar and the Monastery Market to cross the road safely, making movement in the area more convenient and secure. Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Chandni Chowk Praveen Khandelwal, Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma, and other dignitaries were also present at the event. The Chief Minister told that the design of the bridge has been developed keeping Ladakhi architectural elements in mind, so that the structure not only provides modern facilities but also reflects the cultural identity and traditions of the area. She added that lifts will also be installed on the bridge to provide special convenience to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women. The Chief Minister also said that Delhi is the mirror of the nation, where people from different states and cultures live together in harmony. "Families from Ladakh have been residing in Delhi for many years in peace and goodwill, spreading the message of harmony and compassion through the teachings of Lord Buddha." Chief Minister Gupta emphasised that the Delhi government continues to work for the development and welfare of all communities while respecting their cultural traditions. She also assured that the Delhi government is seriously working towards resolving other issues in Ladakh Budh Vihar Colony. "Necessary directions will be issued to the concerned departments for the development of the temple premises, addressing the issue of encroachments in the surrounding areas, and expanding civic facilities in the locality." On the occasion, Delhi Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Verma said that the construction of this Foot Over Bridge in the Ladakh Budh Vihar area is an important step towards ensuring the safety and convenience of residents. He added that it will bring significant relief to local citizens, devotees, and visitors to the nearby market. "The Delhi government is committed to developing such facilities across the capital to make everyday life safer and more convenient for citizens." - IANS Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel flags off Sardar Ekta Yatra, highlighting PM Modi's efforts to promote Sardar Patel's ideals of unity and national service. Ahmedabad, March 5 Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday flagged off the 'Sardar Ekta Yatra' from Ahmedabad, asserting that the initiative would help carry the ideals of unity, patriotism and national service associated with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to people across the country. The yatra, organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kurmi Patidar Mahasabha, will travel through parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and will include exhibitions of artefacts connected with Sardar Patel's life for public viewing. Addressing the gathering before flagging off the journey, the Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had consistently honoured the legacy of Patel. "Since 2014, he has initiated the tradition of celebrating Sardar Saheb's birth anniversary across the country as National Unity Day. With the construction of the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, Narendra Bhai has paid the best tribute to Iron Man Sardar Patel," Patel said. He added that the statue had become a global symbol of India's unity and integrity. Referring to the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Sardar Patel, the Chief Minister said the commemorations were being held under the inspiration of the Prime Minister. "Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India, united 565 princely states into one thread to create a united and indivisible India," he said. Patel said efforts were being made to take Sardar Patel's ideas and life values to people across the country under the vision of "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat". "The Prime Minister has resolved to awaken the spirit of 'Nation First' in everyone's hearts, just like Sardar Saheb," he said. Congratulating the organisers for arranging to display valuable items associated with Patel's life during the yatra, the Chief Minister said the initiative would keep alive his dedication, patriotism and unwavering commitment to unity among people. He also called on citizens to remain committed to strengthening the country's unity and integrity and to adopt the principle of swadeshi (indigenous). "Making swadeshi a part of life is the need of the time. If we unite and realise the resolve of a developed India and build an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, it will be the true tribute to Sardar Saheb," Patel said. Satishbhai Patel, head of K.P. Vidyarthi Bhavan and organiser of the yatra, along with former Minister Gordhan Zadafia, provided details about the nationwide programme. Slogans of "Jai Sardar, Sabke Sardar" were raised as the yatra began. Among those present were Patidar community leaders, leaders of the organising body, Sardar National Memorial Honorary Minister R.S. Patel, and students. - IANS JD(U) leader Harshvardhan Singh praised Nitish Kumar's decision to file a nomination for the Rajya Sabha, asserting that the Chief Minister is not one to bow to external pressure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed Kumar's return to national politics, calling his long tenure as Bihar CM a "golden chapter" in the state's history. Shah highlighted Kumar's corruption-free career and his role in implementing central initiatives in Bihar. The filing follows the NDA's recent two-thirds majority victory in Bihar, with Kumar sworn in for a record tenth term. JD(U) leader Harshvardhan Singh says Nitish Kumar acts on his own will as he files for Rajya Sabha. Amit Shah calls his CM tenure a "golden chapter." New Delhi, March 5 JD leader Harshvardhan Singh on Thursday hailed Nitish Kumar after he filed a nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, stating that he is not the person who can be pressured into doing anything. Singh said that Nitish Kumar always wished to attend all four houses and had filed for the Rajya Sabha elections on his own will. "He tweeted that he always wanted to attend all four Houses... so he decided he should join the Rajya Sabha... Nitish Kumar is not only the most powerful and respected leader in our state, but also in the entire country. History shows that Nitish Kumar doesn't bow to anyone's pressure, nor can anyone pressure him. Nitish Kumar has done whatever he wants, and he has done it on his own strength, with his own power..." he said. "When he had only 43 seats, no one could suppress him. Today, he has 85 seats. No one can suppress him. He has his own will. He does what he wants, and the people of Bihar wholeheartedly stand with him..." he added. Earlier today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar Chief Minister as a "golden chapter" in the state's history and welcomed his return to national politics as he filed a nomination for the Rajya Sabha election. Amit Shah emphasised the "glorious" tenure of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar during which he made significant contributions to Bihar's progress. "Bihar's CM also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha. With this, after a long gap, he will once again enter national politics as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish Kumar served as CM of Bihar from 2005 until now. His tenure was truly glorious. This tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development... Throughout his long career as an MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and Union Minister, his kurta was never stained. His entire life was free from corruption charges," he said. "For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he added. The statement comes as Bihar witnessed a huge political transition with incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filing a nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna. Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including Upendra Kushwaha and BJP Chief Nitin Nabin, also filed their nominations for the Upper House. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar won his fifth election in 2025 as the NDA secured a two-thirds majority in Bihar and took the oath for the 10th time. He is Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister. - ANI Kriti Sanon cheekily refuses to 'stay out' of Rashmika Mandanna & Vijay Deverakonda's wedding photo after director Homi Adajania's joke. Mumbai, March 5 Filmmaker Homi Adajania, on Thursday, joked with actress Kriti Sanon by sharing a picture from Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda's reception, featuring Kriti Sanon posing with the newly weds. Homi playfully asked Kriti to 'stay out' of the frame and wrote, "@kritisanon can you stay out of this?." Taking to her social media account, Kriti re-posted the post and responding to the filmmaker, she cheekily replied, "Congrats guys Haha.. never.. Love them! ." The actress also shared another candid picture from the celebrations. The other BTS snap featured Rashmika smiling and covering her nose playfully while facing Kriti who is also seen giggling. She captioned the moment as, "And then some...". For the reception, Kriti opted for a black embellished ensemble. Rashmika stunned in a red silk saree, while Vijay was seen wearing a cream traditional outfit. Interestingly, Kriti and Rashmika will soon be seen sharing screen together in the upcoming film Cocktail 2. The movie is directed by Homi Adajania and also stars Shahid Kapoor. Talking about the reception of Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Devarakonda, that was held on the 4th of March, saw some prominent names, such as Megastar Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, Mahesh Babu's wife Namrata Shirodkar, and Radhika Sarathkumar, attended the grand function, along with some others mark their attendance. Rashmika and Vijay tied the knot in a traditional ceremony on February 26 in Udaipur. Earlier Rashmika had opened up about their magical Sangeet night, calling it one of the most joyful and emotional evenings of her life. Sharing a series of pictures in a carousel post from the celebration, the actress had reflected on the love, laughter and surprises galore that unfolded through the night. Rashmika had taken to her social media account and wrote, "The night filled with love, tears of joy, laughter, music, singing, glitters and us dancing through the night. It was really the most fun night ever!! From Vijju and I wanting to surprise each other..to family wanting to surprise us.. to being fully excited and surprised to see our families dance so freely and so so well!" She added, "@falgunishanepeacockindia!! Guys!!!!! The stunning piecesss!! Guys!! Amazing!! It was super heavy but I was still in it all night!! 24.2.26! The night Vijay and I danced as one, surrounded by the love of our families and friends!." - IANS Actor Sonu Sood offers free accommodation in Dubai for travelers stranded by flight disruptions from the US-Israel-Iran conflict. Other Bollywood stars share harrowing experiences. Hyderabad, March 5 Actor Sonu Sood has offered a message of hope amid the ongoing West Asia conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, while also announcing humanitarian assistance for travellers stranded in Dubai due to widespread flight disruptions. Speaking to ANI about the escalating situation, Sood expressed optimism for peace. "I hope everything will be fine and I wish happiness for everyone." On Thursday, the actor also took to social media to announce free accommodation for people stranded in Dubai as flights remain disrupted due to temporary airspace closures across parts of West Asia. In an Instagram post, Sood wrote that anyone left without a place to stay could reach out to him for help. "War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai. If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us if you need help," he wrote. The announcement comes as thousands of passengers currently face uncertainty after flight cancellations and delays triggered by the intensifying conflict. Limited rescue and repatriation flights have begun operating since early March to assist stranded travellers. Several Indian airports have started receiving passengers returning from the United Arab Emirates. On Thursday, Indian travellers arriving from Dubai landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital. Special flights also arrived earlier this week at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and the Chennai International Airport, among others. Passengers who returned to India described the situation as tense but manageable due to local support. The situation has also affected several members of the Indian film industry who were in the UAE when the crisis escalated. Actor Vishnu Manchu shared a video from his Dubai residence showing missiles being intercepted in the night sky. He said the loud interceptions "shook our home" and frightened his young daughter. Actress Sonal Chauhan, who was stranded at Dubai airport, appealed for assistance through social media, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government while seeking help to return home safely. Actor Esha Gupta has since confirmed that she has safely returned to India after experiencing the tense situation at the airport in Abu Dhabi. In a note shared on social media, she described the moment when airport operations were suddenly halted. "By 1 pm the airport was closed, chaos all around as none of us knew what happened. Then the news started coming of the missile attack and no one knew what the next minute held for us," she wrote, recalling how passengers comforted one another while trying to contact family members. Gupta also praised the response of authorities in the UAE, noting that airport staff and security personnel remained calm and helped manage the situation. Meanwhile, actor Lara Dutta remains in Dubai with her daughter Saira and has shared updates on social media about the situation. In an emotional video, she recalled hearing loud explosions while at a film studio on February 28 and later seeing missiles intercepted in the sky. She described the experience as "unnerving," adding that the sound of fighter jets and air defence systems caused windows and doors at her residence to rattle. Dutta praised the UAE authorities for their response, saying residents of different nationalities feel protected and supported. She also confirmed she is trying to find available flights back to Mumbai as services gradually resume. With flights gradually taking to the skies once again, normalcy is slowly returning to the UAE, and for the thousands of Indians eager to get home, the wait is finally coming to an end. On the other hand, Indian diplomatic missions in the Gulf region have stepped up assistance to stranded passengers after widespread flight disruptions triggered by temporary airspace closures in parts of West Asia. The Embassy of India in Kuwait, in a post on X, said it remains "fully engaged" in assisting Indian nationals affected by the disruption. "Embassy @indembkwt remains fully engaged in assisting Indian passengers stranded in Kuwait due to the temporary shutdown of airspace. Embassy officials are in regular contact with the stranded passengers, and are closely liaising with Kuwaiti authorities, managements of the respective hotels and airlines," the embassy said. Authorities and airlines continue to monitor the evolving situation in the Gulf region, with safety assessments guiding the gradual resumption of flight operations across the region. - ANI The Indian Air Force has launched a search and rescue operation after an Su-30 MKI fighter jet was reported overdue. The aircraft took off from Jorhat in Assam and lost radar contact in the Karbi Anglong district. Its last known contact was at 7:42 pm on Thursday. Further details about the incident are currently being ascertained by authorities. An Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter jet is overdue after losing contact over Assam's Karbi Anglong district. A search and rescue mission is underway. New Delhi, March 5 A Search and Rescue mission has been initiated after an Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft was reported overdue, officials said on Thursday. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat in Assam and was last in contact at 7:42 pm. According to the Defence PRO, Guwahati, the Su-30 MKI reportedly lost radar contact in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam. In a post on X, the Indian Air Force said, "An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam and was last in contact at 7.42 pm. Further details are being ascertained. Search and Rescue mission has been initiated." Further details are being ascertained. - ANI Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that UAH 52 billion are currently needed for road repairs. "Roads are probably the most pressing issue today. Today we received an answer, a clear figure. The government will work on it; the figure is significant; UAH 52 billion are needed for repairs as of today. But its important, in my opinion, that everyone understands the funding sources for all these repairs," Zelenskyy said during a briefing following Thursdays meeting. The President noted that he counts on the government and parliament to work productively "to ensure all these sources of road funding in Ukraine are operational." "Work will begin as early as this month. We strongly believe that the roads will be rebuilt in two stages," he added. On March 2, Svyrydenko reported that routine repairs to public roads had begun in Ukraine. According to her, priority road surface restoration is underway, covering a total area of over 3.5 million square meters. Specifically, this involves operational repairs, not major ones, on priority sections where weather conditions permit. Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Kuleba stated that Ukraine currently has UAH 12.6 billion in resources for road restoration, but this is insufficient. "We need to correct this mistake and talk about roads exclusively, as we do now, as an element of military logistics, as part of our assistance to our people, evacuation, and that is precisely why we will request mandatory resources for frontline roads," he emphasized at a briefing following the National Security and Defense Council meeting on the Comprehensive Plan for the Resilience of Ukrainian Cities and Regions on Tuesday. PM Modi announces strategic partnership with Finland in digitalisation, sustainability, and Arctic research, alongside a new migration & mobility agreement. New Delhi, March 5 Terming Finland as an "important partner" of India in the Nordic region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the two nations are expanding cooperation in Arctic and polar research. While addressing a joint press meet with Finland President Alexander Stubb following their talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday, PM Modi stated that the two nations have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education. "Finland is becoming a preferred destination for Indian students and talent. Today, we have signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Finland to connect the innovation ecosystems of both countries. With this, we are also going to further strengthen joint research and startup collaboration," PM Modi said. "Finland is a role model in the field of education. Today, we have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education. This means that we are going to deepen our cooperation at every level of human development, from school to industry. Finland is an important partner of India in the Nordic region. We are also expanding our cooperation with Finland in Arctic and polar research," he added. Extending a warm welcome to Stubb on his first visit to India, PM Modi said, "I warmly welcome President Stubb on his first visit to India as President of Finland. President Stubb is not only a renowned global leader but also a respected thinker and author. It is a matter of great honour and pleasure for us to have an experienced and dynamic leader like you as the Chief Guest of this year's Raisina Dialogue." PM Modi noted that the growing cooperation between India and Europe is giving new strength to global stability, growth and shared prosperity. He also mentioned about the recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU). "Today, the world is going through a period of instability and uncertainty. From Ukraine to West Asia, conflict continues in many parts of the world. In this global environment, India and Europe, which are world's two big diplomatic powers, are entering a golden period of their relations. Our growing cooperation is giving new strength to global stability, growth and shared prosperity. At the beginning of 2026, the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was signed. This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland," he said. PM Modi announced that India and Finland are transforming their ties into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability. He also spoke about the infrastructure projects that have been completed in India in cooperation with Finland, including the world's highest railway bridge over the Chenab River. "India and Finland are important partners. Nokia's mobile phones and telecom networks connected millions of people of India. With the cooperation of Finnish architects, we have built the world's highest railway bridge over the Chenab River. In partnership with Finland, we have also built the world's largest bamboo-to-bioethanol refinery in Numaligarh. Inspired by such important examples, during President Stubb's visit, we are transforming India-Finland relations into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability. "This partnership will accelerate and energise our cooperation in many high-tech areas, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing. Additionally, the partnership will deepen in key sectors such as defence, space, semiconductors, and critical minerals. This strategic partnership between democratic and responsible countries like India and Finland will contribute to ensuring trustworthy technology and supply chains for the entire world," PM Modi mentioned. - IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, emphasized a shared belief in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy to resolve global conflicts. Both leaders agreed that military solutions are insufficient, specifically referencing the ongoing situations in Ukraine and West Asia. They also stressed the urgent need for reforming global institutions and shared a commitment to eradicating terrorism. The discussions highlighted the strengthening India-EU relationship, bolstered by a recent free trade agreement, with Finland as a key partner in technology and sustainability. PM Modi and Finnish President Alexander Stubb call for peace in Ukraine & West Asia, emphasizing rule of law, dialogue, and global institution reform. New Delhi, March 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for peace amidst the ongoing West Asia Conflict while addressing a joint press briefing along with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. During the joint press meeting, he said that India and Finland both believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. He said," India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. "India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," the PM said "We also agree on this, that reforming global institutions to address the growing global challenges is not only necessary but also urgent. And rooting out terrorism in all its forms is our shared commitment," the PM added. PM Modi invoked the historic trade deal signed with the European Union in January and said that at a period on instability India and Europe were entering a golden period of their relationship. "Today, the world is going through a period of instability and uncertainty. Conflict persists in many parts of the world, from Ukraine to West Asia. In such a global environment, India and Europe, two of the world's major diplomatic powers, are entering a golden era of their relationship. Our growing cooperation is giving new strength to global stability, development, and shared prosperity. At the beginning of 2026, the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was signed. This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland. India and Finland are important partners in areas such as digital technology, infrastructure, and sustainability," he said. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Stubb who is on a State Visit to India was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday in New Delhi. Stubb's visit, includes the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors. - ANI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership focused on digitalisation and sustainability. The leaders identified 5G, 6G, Artificial Intelligence, and quantum computing as priority areas for deeper collaboration based on mutual trust. They discussed leveraging India's experience with Digital Public Infrastructure, like UPI, and directed the formation of a cross-sectoral Joint Working Group to drive the digital transition. The partnership also aims to strengthen cooperation in semiconductors, space technology, and joint R&D funding initiatives. PM Modi and President Stubb elevate ties, targeting cooperation in 5G/6G, AI, quantum computing, and digital public infrastructure like UPI. New Delhi, March 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finland President Alexander Stubb have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership in Digitalisation and Sustainability, identifying emerging technologies such as 5G, 6G, Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing as priority areas for deeper cooperation between the two countries. The two leaders held discussions on strengthening collaboration in digital transformation and innovation ecosystems, noting that technology and digitalisation are key drivers of inclusive social and economic development. According to the Ministry of External Affairs statement, recognising the transformative power of digitalisation, the leaders identified new and emerging technologies such as 5G, 6G, high-performance computing, quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence as areas where collaboration based on mutual trust and mutual benefit could be expanded. They also noted India's experience in building Digital Public Infrastructure, particularly digital payment systems like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and discussed opportunities for cooperation in this domain. Against this backdrop, the two leaders directed the relevant ministries in both countries to establish a cross-sectoral Joint Working Group on Digitalisation that will define priorities and drive concrete initiatives to support the digital transition, the statement read. President Stubb also highlighted the contributions of Indian professionals working in Finland's research and development and technology innovation ecosystems. "The Finnish President emphasised the positive impact of the considerable number of Indian professionals in the Finnish R&D and tech innovation ecosystems, contributing to social and economic development by means of digital transition and sustainability for the benefit of all," the MEA statement noted. The leaders welcomed joint initiatives between the Indian Department of Science and Technology and Business Finland to support research, development and innovation (RDI) collaboration. These initiatives aim to provide funding for joint projects involving companies and research organisations from both countries, with a focus on semiconductors, 6G technologies and energy systems. They also acknowledged cooperation between the Bharat 6G Alliance and the University of Oulu in Finland, welcoming ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral collaboration in 6G technology development. Further cooperation was discussed between India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Business Finland to expand research and innovation partnerships in Artificial Intelligence. The leaders also took note of discussions between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in India and the CSC - IT Center for Science in Finland regarding collaboration in high-performance computing. In addition, both sides highlighted space technology as an emerging area of cooperation with significant future potential, noting growing engagement between private sector players from India and Finland. President Stubb congratulated India for successfully hosting the AI Impact Summit 2026, and both leaders agreed that ensuring the safe, trustworthy and inclusive development of Artificial Intelligence is of paramount importance. The two leaders reaffirmed the deep and enduring friendship between India and Finland, built on shared democratic values, respect for the rule of law, and a commitment to global peace and security. They also reiterated their support for a rules-based international order and multilateral cooperation, with the United Nations at its core. The leaders stressed the importance of accelerating global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and called for stronger international cooperation to address climate change and biodiversity loss. Welcoming the landmark Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union, concluded during the India-EU Summit on January 27, both leaders said the agreement would create significant opportunities for trade and investment, including strengthening bilateral economic ties between India and Finland, a statement added. Building on the momentum of the India-Finland Virtual Summit held on March 16, 2021, and previous engagements between the leaders during the India-Nordic Summits in 2018 and 2022 in Stockholm and Copenhagen, respectively, the two sides expressed commitment to further deepen cooperation. During President Stubb's State Visit to India , President Stubb is visiting New Delhi and Mumbai on his first State Visit to India from March 4 to 7. He is accompanied by Finland's Minister of Climate and the Environment, Sari Multala, Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen, and a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi and President Stubb also participated in the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, where the Finnish President delivered the inaugural keynote address. President Stubb's visit follows the trip of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to India for the AI Impact Summit in February 2026. - ANI Union Health Minister JP Nadda announced India's integration of the HPV vaccine into its universal immunization program, joining 160 countries in the global fight against cervical cancer. The nationwide campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to vaccinate 12 million eligible girls under the age of 14. Through the Ayushman Bharat initiative, over 86 million women have already been screened, with services available at 181,000 health centers. The government emphasizes this as a pivotal step for women's health, addressing a disease that causes nearly 80,000 deaths annually in India. Union Health Minister JP Nadda announces India's integration of HPV vaccine into universal immunization, aiming to protect 12 million girls against cervical cancer. New Delhi, March 5 Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Thursday hailed the BJP government's efforts in fighting Cervical Cancer, stating that the HPV vaccination campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will completely integrate the vaccine into India's universal immunisation program. Addressing a press conference on global health issues with Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Nadda said that through the Ayushman Bharat initiative, 86 million women have successfully been screened for Cervical Cancer, adding that screening is now available at 1,81,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandir across the country. The Union Health Minister emphasised the seriousness of this cancer and lauded the government's committment to a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing its burden. Nadda underscored the goal of the HPV vaccination campaign -- 12 million eligible girls under the age of 14 -- and said that after completion, the vaccination will be continued at government health facilities during routine immunisation. "Screening for Cervical Cancer is now available at 181,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandir across the country...Over 86 million women have been screened under this initiative....On 28th February 2026, PM Modi launched the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting 12 million eligible girls aged 14. India has joined the community of 160 countries in global fight against Cervical Cancer...After the campaign, HPV vaccine will be fully integrated into India's universal immunisation program and continued at the govt health facilities during routine immunisation days...," he said. "...I represent a nation where health and dignity of every woman is not just a policy aspiration but a solemn national commitment. Today, I would like to share with you the landmark measures India has taken in its relentless fight against the devastating yet preventable Cervical Cancer. Cervical Cancer remains a formidable public health challenge both globally and in India also. Recognising the gravity of this issue, India has committed itself to a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing the burden of Cervical Cancer," he added. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Campaign for 14-year-old girls from Ajmer, Rajasthan, marking a historic milestone in India's fight against cervical cancer. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign as a pivotal step toward empowering India's 'Nari Shakti' and safeguarding the health of mothers and daughters across the country. "We all know that when a mother falls ill in the family, the house feels scattered. If the mother is healthy, the family remains capable of facing every crisis. With this sentiment, the government has run many schemes to provide support to women," he highlighted. As per a release, Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern globally and in India. It is the second most common cancer among women in India, with over 1 lakh 20 thousand new cases and nearly 80 thousand deaths reported annually as per the WHO GLOBOCAN report 2022. Persistent infection with high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types, particularly types 16 and 18, has been established as the primary cause of cervical cancer. The nationwide HPV vaccination campaign aims to prevent cervical cancer by protecting girls before potential exposure to HPV infection. The vaccine is safe, effective and provides long-lasting protection against HPV strains responsible for the majority of cervical cancer cases. HPV vaccination has been validated and recommended by global and national expert bodies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and India's National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). - ANI Iran launched a new wave of missiles toward Israel, triggering air raid sirens and interception efforts by Israeli air defenses. The attack follows US-Israel joint airstrikes that reportedly killed Iran's Supreme Leader and senior officials over the weekend. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated Tehran was compelled to respond after diplomatic efforts failed, calling it a reaction to "American-Zionist military aggression." The conflict risks broader regional spillover, with Qatar and Turkey voicing concerns and a stray missile landing in Turkish territory. Iran launches fresh missile attacks on Israel, intercepted by air defenses. Tensions escalate after US-Israel strikes killed Iranian leaders. Tel Aviv, March 5 Iran launched another wave of missiles toward Israel on Thursday, according to the Israeli military and Iranian state media, setting off air raid sirens in multiple locations, including Tel Aviv. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Israeli military noted that the latest barrage followed a pause of more than seven hours in hostilities. "The Israeli Air Force has identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the military said in a statement, adding that air defence systems were actively working to intercept the incoming projectiles. Iran's state broadcaster IRIB also confirmed that missiles had been fired toward Israel. Amid the escalating confrontation, Iranian state media reported that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli and US strikes that began last weekend. Tensions escalated on February 28 when US-Israel joint airstrikes on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, members of his family, and several senior Iranian officials, which followed the collapse of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran had pursued diplomatic avenues to avert war but was compelled to respond after what he described as "American-Zionist military aggression." Addressing leaders of neighbouring Gulf countries, he emphasised that Iran respected their sovereignty and maintained that regional security should be ensured through collective cooperation. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel stated that it and the United States had achieved "historic gains" in the conflict with Iran. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest strike was carried out because Iran was allegedly rebuilding its atomic bomb programme using "new underground bunkers." The conflict has also heightened tensions across the wider region. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Iran of attempting to draw neighbouring states into the confrontation during a telephone conversation with Tehran's foreign minister. Turkey, meanwhile, summoned the Iranian ambassador after a missile believed to have been aimed at a base in Cyprus landed within Turkish territory, further intensifying concerns of a broader regional spillover. The renewed exchange of strikes underscores the fragile security environment in West Asia, as diplomatic efforts appear to have stalled and military actions continue to escalate. - IANS Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant warns rising crude prices from Iran tensions could add billions to India's import bill and weaken the rupee. New Delhi, March 5 Rising geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict could significantly increase India's oil import bill and bring the rupee under pressure, former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday. In a post on X, Amitabh Kant, who currently serves as a senior adviser to global financial institutions including Fairfax Financial Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, said that every $10 per barrel rise in global crude oil prices could add $13-14 billion to India's annual import bill, widen the current account deficit, and weaken the rupee. "Every $10 per barrel rise in crude prices can add $13-14B to India's annual import bill, widen the current account deficit and pressure the rupee. Geopolitical shocks will keep testing our energy security," he said. Amitabh Kant emphasised that India's next phase of energy transition must focus not just on expanding renewable capacity but also on ensuring reliable delivery of clean power. "India's next step isn't just adding clean capacity, but it's delivering reliable clean power at home: high-PLF solar-wind hybrids, electric vehicle momentum, modern grids, large-scale batteries and pumped hydro storage, and firm low-carbon baseload like nuclear. We need it all," he said. The former IAS officer, who had served as India's G20 Sherpa and the chief executive officer of NITI Aayog, the government's apex public policy think tank, further said that the country must prioritise execution and reliability in its energy transition. He emphasised the importance of energy independence as being vital for economic resilience. India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, making the economy highly sensitive to global price fluctuations, particularly during geopolitical disruptions in major oil-producing regions. Of this, around 50 per cent is supplied by Middle Eastern countries through the Strait of Hormuz, the flows from which have been disrupted following the Iran war. However, the country has also diversified its oil sources by increasing imports from Africa, Russia, and the US and building resilience through strategic reserves. Currently, India is in a reasonably comfortable position as far as crude oil, LPG and LNG are concerned, with a stock of 25 days of reserve for crude and 25 days of products, including the quantity that is in transit on ships headed for the country's ports, according to government sources. The country's oil marketing companies (Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum) have supplies for several weeks and continue to receive energy supplies from several routes. In addition, the government has directed the oil marketing companies not to export petroleum products so that the buffer stock is further enhanced. India also has oil storage capacity at Pudur of 2.25 million metric tonnes (MMT), the Visakhaptnam facility has the capacity to store 1.33 MMT of crude oil, while Mangalore has a storage capacity of 1.5 MMT. The country can fall back on these strategic oil reserves in times of emergency. These reserves can also be dipped into at times when global prices skyrocket to provide a cushion to the national oil companies. - IANS Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reaffirmed India's commitment to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem. The government has launched a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting 12 million adolescent girls, following a single-dose schedule with the Gardasil vaccine. This initiative builds on existing screening programs that have already tested over 86 million women across the country. Nadda emphasized that this comprehensive strategy of prevention, screening, and treatment aligns with the WHO's global elimination targets. India launches a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign for 12 million girls and has screened over 86 million women, reaffirming its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer. New Delhi, March 5 Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda virtually addressed a press briefing at the World Health Organisation headquarters today, underscoring India's strong commitment to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem and strengthen global cooperation on pressing health challenges, the release said. Addressing the gathering, the Union Health Minister emphasised that the health and dignity of women remain a core national priority for India and reiterated the country's unwavering commitment to protecting women from preventable diseases such as cervical cancer. Highlighting India's comprehensive strategy to tackle the disease, he noted that cervical cancer continues to be a significant public health challenge globally and in India. The Government of India has therefore adopted a multi-pronged approach focused on prevention, screening, early detection, and timely treatment. A cornerstone of India's strategy has been the expansion of population-based screening programmes under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), implemented as part of comprehensive primary healthcare services. Screening for cervical cancer using Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is now available at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and various health facilities across the country for women between 30 and 65 years of age. Nadda informed that over 86 million women have already been screened for cervical cancer under the programme, reflecting India's sustained commitment to early detection and prevention. The Union Health Minister also announced a major milestone in India's fight against cervical cancer, the nationwide launch of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign. He informed that on February 28, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the national HPV vaccination campaign, targeting 12 million girls aged 14 years as a significant step toward safeguarding adolescent girls' health and well-being. Nadda highlighted that the initiative reflects the Government's commitment to the vision of "Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar" (Healthy Women, Empowered Families), ensuring prevention, protection, and equity at the core of women's healthcare. The campaign is being implemented over 90 days and follows a single-dose schedule using the Gardasil Quadrivalent vaccine, in accordance with recommendations of the World Health Organisation and India's National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). The vaccine is being provided free of cost at designated government health facilities. Emphasising the community-centric nature of the initiative, Nadda stated that the HPV vaccination programme is voluntary, with parental consent serving as a cornerstone of the campaign, reflecting respect for community values and family autonomy. The Union Minister also highlighted the role of digital technologies in ensuring transparency and efficiency in the campaign. Every vaccination event is recorded through the U-WIN digital immunization platform, enabling real-time monitoring and accountability, while vaccine stocks and cold-chain logistics are tracked through the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system. Nadda acknowledged the critical role played by India's frontline health workers, who have been instrumental in reaching communities, building trust, and ensuring the successful implementation of the campaign. Reaffirming India's global commitment, the Union Health Minister stated that India fully endorses and actively supports the WHO Global Strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, including the 90-70-90 targets for 2030. He emphasized that a comprehensive approach integrating vaccination of adolescent girls, population-based screening of adult women, and timely access to quality treatment is essential to achieving elimination goals. Concluding his address, Nadda called for stronger global collaboration to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem. Addressing the press briefing, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, highlighted several pressing global health challenges, including obesity, HIV/AIDS, and cervical cancer, while emphasising the importance of sustained global cooperation and scientific innovation in addressing these public health issues. Speaking about the global fight against HIV/AIDS, Dr. Tedros noted that significant progress has been made in reducing the global burden of the disease. He also noted that the WHO has supported nine countries in the introduction and administration of HIV prevention interventions, strengthening global efforts to curb the epidemic. Turning to cervical cancer, Dr. Tedros highlighted that International HPV Awareness Day, observed recently, serves as an important reminder of the global commitment to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem. He reiterated the importance of the WHO's 90-70-90 global targets for 2030, which aim to ensure that 90 per cent of girls are vaccinated against HPV, 70 per cent of women are screened for cervical cancer, and 90 percent of women identified with cervical disease receive appropriate treatment. The release stated that, Dr. Tedros congratulated the Indian leadership for its commitment in addressing cervical cancer through large-scale public health initiatives. He lauded the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing it as the world's largest free HPV vaccination drive. Commending the initiative, he noted that approximately 12 million adolescent girls will be vaccinated every year under the programme, marking a significant step toward protecting future generations from cervical cancer. Highlighting the burden of the disease, Dr. Tedros stated that more than 80,000 women lose their lives to cervical cancer in India every year, with around 42,000 new cases reported annually, underscoring the importance of preventive interventions such as HPV vaccination and early screening. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also reaffirmed the continued support of the World Health Organization to countries undertaking bold and transformative initiatives to eliminate cervical cancer and advance women's health globally. Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, South African Health Minister, was also present virtually in the Press Conference and congratulated India for the launch of the nationwide HPV Vaccination drive. - ANI Four Trinamool Congress candidates, including actor Koel Mallick and former DGP Rajeev Kumar, have filed nominations for the 2026 Rajya Sabha elections. BJP candidate Rahul Sinha also submitted his nomination papers at the West Bengal Assembly. The biennial elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states are scheduled for March 16. The terms of the current members from these states are set to conclude in April. TMC nominates Koel Mallick, Babul Supriyo, Rajeev Kumar & Menaka Guruswamy for Rajya Sabha. BJP's Rahul Sinha also files papers. Polling on March 16. Kolkata, March 5 Four candidates from the Trinamool Congress, including Koel Mallick and Menaka Guruswamy, filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha 2026 elections on Thursday. The list of Rajya Sabha candidates from TMC also included Rajeev Kumar and Babul Supriyo, reflecting the party's strategic selection for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate Rahul Sinha arrived at the West Bengal Assembly to file his nomination. On Wednesday, Sinha said, "The BJP has proven that a worker is great. It sent a message to those who are waiting for an opportunity that the party takes care of every worker. This has instilled a new passion in everyone. All of us have to protect and purify Bengal together." Trinamool Congress had announced Babul Supriyo, Rajeev Kumar, Menaka Guruswamy, and Koel Mallick as its candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls. Babul Supriyo, a former Union Minister who later joined the Trinamool Congress, currently serves as Cabinet Minister of Information Technology and Electronics of the Government of West Bengal. Rajeev Kumar is a former Director General of Police of West Bengal. Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy is known for her legal work in constitutional matters, while Koel Mallick is a prominent figure in the Bengali film industry. The polling for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected. The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9. - ANI Iran has threatened to target Israel's Dimona nuclear site if the US and Israel attempt to topple the Islamic Republic. This comes as Tehran prepares a three-day farewell ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, with his body to be placed at the Grand Mosalla. Simultaneously, the IRGC has launched another wave of combined missile and drone attacks, claiming strikes on Israeli defense and airport targets. The conflict, now in its sixth day, shows signs of further escalation with more intense attacks promised. Iran vows to target Israel's Dimona nuclear facility as Tehran holds farewell for late Ayatollah Khamenei. IRGC launches new missile attacks. Tehran, March 5 Iranian state Media reported that preparations are underway at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for the placement of the body of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who was killed in the US-Israel led strike on Iran. The Grand Mosalla of Tehran is a massive prayer complex used for the city's most significant state-religious gatherings. This is part of the three day farewell ceremony being organised for the late Supreme leader. Thousands of mourners are expected to gather at the Mosalla. A "farewell ceremony" followed by a "funeral procession" is the protocol after the death of a Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, Iran on Thursday threatened to target Dimona nuclear site if Israel-US sought to topple Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's defence Minister Israel Katz who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. In Israel, the Israel Defence Forces says that Iran has launched another ballistic missile attack targeting Israel, as sirens are activated in communities in central Israel, the Jerusalem area and parts of the West Bank. The IRGC has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation True Promise 4 as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations on Thursday. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV. In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States. The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. The statement further alleged that Iranian projectiles had bypassed the THAAD missile defence system deployed to defend Israel and struck multiple locations, including the Israeli defence ministry complex in Tel Aviv and the country's main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport. According to the IRGC, ongoing missile and drone launches have triggered hours of air raid sirens and prolonged sheltering of residents in several areas across Israel. The group said the attacks are part of a "steady and managed rhythm of projectile launches" and warned that "in the coming days, the attacks will become more intense and widespread." Thursday is day six of the ongoing conflict in West Asia and with the American sides claiming that their operation has only just begun this conflict could stretch out longer than anticipated. - ANI US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a series of calls with key allies to discuss developments involving Iran and the broader Middle East situation. He spoke with the foreign ministers of Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, reaffirming strong bilateral partnerships in each conversation. Rubio specifically condemned attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory and thanked Saudi Arabia for its response to an embassy attack. The diplomatic push underscores Washington's effort to maintain close coordination with both European and Middle Eastern partners amid ongoing regional tensions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds talks with foreign ministers from Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to coordinate on Iran and regional stability. Washington, March 5 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with foreign ministers from Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as Washington stepped up diplomatic consultations on Iran and the wider Middle East, the State Department said. The calls focused on recent developments involving Iran and the broader regional situation. Rubio first spoke with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The two discussed developments in Iran and across the Middle East. They also reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Italy. In a separate call, Rubio spoke with Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos. The leaders discussed developments in Iran and the broader Middle East. Both sides reaffirmed the strong partnership between Washington and Nicosia. Rubio also held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The discussion again focused on developments involving Iran and the wider region. Rubio told Fidan that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full US support. Both leaders reaffirmed the continued strength of the bilateral relationship. In another call, Rubio spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. He thanked the Saudi leadership for the kingdom's response to the attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh. The two leaders also discussed the threats the Iranian regime poses to regional stability and other developments in the Middle East. The conversations reflect Washington's effort to stay closely coordinated with both European and Middle Eastern partners as tensions around Iran continue to shape regional security. Italy and Cyprus are key European partners in US diplomacy in the Mediterranean. Turkey, a NATO member, plays a strategic role between Europe and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia remains a central actor in regional diplomacy and energy markets. The outreach signals Washington's continued focus on building diplomatic alignment with allies as developments in the Middle East evolve. - IANS External financing since the start of Russia's full-scale aggression in February 2022 that has already been received by the budget exceeds $172 billion, Ukrainian Deputy Finance Minister Olha Zykova said, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports. "Perhaps some of you may think this is a huge, incredible amount, but definitely over $40 billion a year is the minimum needed to maintain public services for the country's citizens. This is the scale because we have a large economy and a large country," she said at the fourth Ukraine Resilience business forum, held by the Luxembourg-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg on March 4. Zykova specified that in this year's state budget, 27.2% of GDP, which exceeds $61 billion, is allocated to the defense and security sector, leaving less than $40 billion to cover social expenditures. According to her, for reconstruction and rapid recovery, Ukraine needs external financing "in a more predictable and systematic way." "Speaking about rapid recovery and reconstruction, we can do nothing without our key partners, among which, first of all, are international financial institutions, which since the start of the war have become very creative and flexible, even with their strong bureaucratic mandates," the deputy minister said. Summing up, Zykova noted that given the need to balance between defense and social welfare, Ukraine advocates for having concessional financing from external partners rather than trying to cover everything from the state budget. According to Finance Ministry data as of March 4, 2026, on its website, the volume of financing from international partners since the start of the full-scale aggression amounted to $172.94 billion, of which from the EU $56.94 billion, the U.S. $30.24 billion, and according to the ERA mechanism from revenues from frozen Russian assets $42.74 billion. Significant amounts also came from the IMF $14.88 billion, Japan $8.98 billion, the World Bank $6.02 billion, Canada $5.41 billion, Great Britain $3.03 billion, Germany $1.67 billion. The budget received over $100 million from the European Investment Bank $0.72 billion, Norway $0.52 billion, France $0.44 billion, Italy $0.33 billion, the Netherlands $0.32 billion, the Council of Europe Development Bank $0.24 billion, Spain and South Korea $0.1 billion each. The new four-year Extended Fund Facility program with the International Monetary Fund for $8.1 billion, of which the first tranche of $1.5 billion has already been disbursed, provides that under the baseline scenario of the war ending by the end of this year, Ukraine's external financing needs during the program period will be $136.5 billion. Under the negative scenario of the war continuing in 2027 and gradually transitioning into a frozen conflict in 2028, they are estimated at $146.3 billion. According to the program, under the baseline scenario this year Ukraine must attract $52 billion in external financing, next year $43.7 billion, in 2028 $22.5 billion, while under the negative scenario the needs this year increase to $53.7 billion, next year to $45.3 billion, in 2028 to $24.3 billion. The maritime security situation in the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Strait of Hormuz has reached a critical point, with multiple projectile and missile attacks damaging commercial vessels and killing at least one seafarer. Shipping traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of global seaborne oil, has nearly stopped as major operators suspend passages and insurers cancel coverage. Widespread GPS and AIS jamming has created dangerous navigation denial zones, spoofing the positions of over 1,100 ships. The crisis, triggered by escalating military confrontations, paralyzes commercial operations and threatens global energy supply chains with further escalation. Maritime crisis in Gulf of Oman & Strait of Hormuz halts oil traffic after attacks on ships. Insurance canceled, GPS jammed, global energy supply at risk. New Delhi/London, March 5 The maritime threat landscape across the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Strait of Hormuz has turned highly volatile in the past 24-48 hours, driven by escalating military confrontations involving Iran, the US, and Israel. Multiple projectile, missile, and explosive incidents have targeted commercial shipping, prompting a near-total halt in transits through the critical chokepoint. Since late February, when US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets triggered retaliatory actions, the region has seen confirmed attacks on several merchant vessels. Reports detail at least three to eight commercial ships damaged or struck, including tankers and a container ship hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman approaches. Casualties have been reported, with at least one seafarer killed and others injured in incidents involving drone boats, missiles, and near-misses. Shipping traffic has plummeted dramatically. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows, saw only a handful of crossings in recent days -- far below baseline levels -- with some tracking platforms recording near-zero active transits in main lanes. Hundreds of vessels, including oil tankers and LNG carriers, remain anchored in regional waters or clustered at safe havens, while major operators like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended Hormuz passages entirely. Some lines are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, significantly extending voyage times and costs. Compounding the kinetic threats, "persistent GPS and AIS jamming" continues to severely impair navigation safety. Maritime intelligence firms like Windward have detected widespread electronic interference, with over 1,100 vessels affected in recent days-showing spoofed positions placing ships on land, at airports, or at nuclear sites. This has created denial zones and injected false signals across the Gulf, heightening collision risks and complicating situational awareness. In response, war-risk insurance providers -- including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, London P&I Club, and the American Club -- have issued cancellation notices for coverage in Iranian waters, the Persian Gulf, and adjacent areas, effective from March 5 onward. This has forced ship owners to seek prohibitively expensive alternatives or avoid the region, effectively paralyzing commercial operations. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) has elevated the regional threat level to "CRITICAL", indicating attacks are almost certain. US MARAD advisories urge vessels to avoid the area if possible, maintain 30-nautical-mile standoffs from naval assets, and implement enhanced measures. Merchant vessels are strongly advised to exercise "heightened vigilance", enforce enhanced watchkeeping, cross-verify all navigation inputs (including radar and visual bearings), and strictly adhere to "Best Management Practices (BMP5 or MS)" security protocols while transiting or operating in the region. Monitoring of UKMTO, JMIC, and NAVCENT advisories remains essential. The situation underscores the fragility of global energy supply chains, with potential for further escalation amid ongoing hostilities. Authorities continue to monitor developments closely as the crisis risks broader economic repercussions. - IANS Voting commenced for Nepal's 2026 general election, a pivotal poll held after the "Gen Z movement" triggered the dissolution of the previous government. The election sees over 18.9 million registered voters, with more than half aged between 18 and 40, placing decisive power in the hands of the youth. A total of 6,541 candidates are competing for seats amid a massive security deployment of over 341,000 personnel to ensure a peaceful process. Officials aim to surpass the low voter turnout of 2022 and begin publishing results swiftly after counting begins. Voting starts in Nepal's pivotal general election, driven by young voters after the Gen Z movement ousted the previous government. Follow live updates. Kathmandu, March 5 Voting for Nepal's 2026 general election commenced on Thursday, with citizens across the capital turning out to exercise their franchise. This high-stakes poll follows a period of intense political upheaval, triggered by the unprecedented "Gen Z movement" in September that ousted the KP Sharma Oli-led coalition government and resulted in the dissolution of the House of Representatives. The Election Commission, bolstered by the Sushila Karki administration, confirmed that all logistical hurdles have been cleared to facilitate the transition to an elected government after a six-month interim period. According to a report by The Kathmandu Post, the groundwork for these elections was laid on September 12, when Karki, in her debut act as executive head, recommended the house dissolution to President Ramchandra Paudel. "All the arrangements for free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections are in place," stated acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari. He further "urged everyone to exercise their franchise without fear" during the 10-hour voting window, which spans from 7 am until 5 pm. Visuals from the Annapurna Vinayak School polling centre showed early voters lining up as the process got underway, with former mayor and popular rapper Balendra 'Balen' Shah among those casting their ballots. Data indicates a significant demographic shift, with a total of 18,903,689 registered voters--an increase of over 915,000 since 2022. The Kathmandu Post highlighted that 52 per cent of these voters are aged between 18 and 40, placing the decisive power largely in the hands of the youth. These voters will determine the future of 6,541 candidates competing for 275 seats in the House of Representatives. Under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, 2,263 candidates represent 65 different parties, while 1,143 are running as independents. However, gender representation remains skewed in the direct elections, featuring 3,017 men and only 388 women, with a single candidate representing the sexual and gender minority community. To maintain order, security remains a top priority with a massive mobilisation of 341,113 personnel. This force includes 149,000 temporary "election police" recruited specifically for this 40-day period. The Kathmandu Post noted that a Security Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Karki on Wednesday concluded that the current arrangements would likely make this election more transparent and peaceful than previous cycles. "No force can disrupt the election," Bhandari asserted, expressing confidence that the surge in young voters would boost turnout and reduce the number of invalid ballots. Historically, voter participation in Nepal has averaged 69.4 per cent since 2006, and officials are now aiming to surpass the low 61.4 per cent turnout seen in 2022. To expedite the process, authorities plan to use helicopters to transport ballot boxes from remote hilly regions. As per The Kathmandu Post, the commission intends to begin publishing FPTP results "within 24 hours after vote counting begins." - ANI Nepal's parliamentary elections proceed peacefully with 24% voter turnout recorded by 1 PM. Key leaders cast votes amid minor isolated incidents. Kathmandu, March 5 Around 24 per cent of voters had cast their ballots by 1 pm on Thursday in Nepal's parliamentary elections, with polling underway peacefully across the country, the country's election body said. More than 4.45 million voters had exercised their voting rights by 1 pm on Thursday since voting began at 7 am, accounting for 24 per cent of the total registered voters, the Election Commission said in its latest update. More than 18.90 million people are eligible to vote in the elections, including 915,119 newly registered voters. It is the first election in the country since the Gen-Z revolt in September last year that ousted the government led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. The polls are being held to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house - 165 through the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system and 110 through the proportional representation system. Police said the polls were underway peacefully across the country until Thursday noon, with only sporadic minor incidents reported. Deputy Inspector General Abi Narayan Kafle, spokesperson for Nepal Police, told IANS that polling was continuing smoothly except for minor incidents at a few polling centres, which had been brought under control. "Essentially, the polls are being held in a very peaceful environment across the country so far," he said, adding that no incident of violence had been reported until noon. Voting was temporarily halted at a polling station in Tamakoshi Rural Municipality of Dolakha district in central Nepal after a representative of a candidate attempted to assault a polling officer when the officer refused to allow his request to vote by himself on behalf of others. "Police fired a warning shot in the air to bring the situation under control," Aulakh Bahadur Ale, Assistant Chief District Officer of Dolakha district, told IANS. "Voting has now been halted and an all-party meeting is underway to resolve the issue." Earlier in the morning, a minor scuffle was reported at a polling centre in the Sarlahi-4 constituency in southern Nepal. It is the constituency where Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa is contesting the election, and his key rival is Amaresh Kumar Singh from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who was also a lawmaker from the same constituency in the dissolved parliament. No other incidents that could significantly affect the polls had been reported until Thursday noon, according to the police. Prime Minister Sushila Karki and the country's top leaders - including Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Chairperson K P Sharma Oli, Nepali Communist Party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' RSP President Rabi Lamichhane, and senior RSP leader and prime ministerial candidate Balen Shah - have already cast their votes. After casting her vote, Prime Minister Karki urged voters to participate actively in the democratic process. "I urge all voters to cast your valuable votes because voting will determine our future," she said. The elections are being held at 23,112 polling centres. A total of 3,406 candidates are contesting under the FPTP system, while 3,135 candidates are running under the proportional representation system. - IANS Nepal's general elections concluded with a preliminary voter turnout of approximately 60%, marked by significant participation from the Gen Z demographic. The Election Commission credited the successful and peaceful conduct to effective cooperation from political parties, candidates, and improved voter education. Officials highlighted the supportive role of the Gen Z, both as voters and candidates, following earlier protests that had cast doubt on the election. The counting process has begun, with final results anticipated within a fortnight, and the Commission acknowledged support from the Government of Nepal and neighboring India. Nepal's general elections record ~60% turnout, driven by Gen Z voters. Election Commission credits political cooperation and security for peaceful polls. By Niranjan Mishra, Kathmandu, March 5 Nepal's general elections saw a preliminary voter turnout of around 60%, mostly from the Gen Z demographic, contributing to the "unprecedented" energy at the polls. The Election Commission attributed the successful conduct to improved voter education, cooperation from political parties, and robust security measures. The election held in Nepal on Thursday was overall peaceful. After the Gen Z protest, the reputations of the Nepal government and the Election Commission were at stake regarding this election. After voting ended at 5 pm, the Officiating Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari thanked the people of Nepal. Speaking to ANI, on the general elections, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Nepal Election Commission, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, says, "We have conducted the voting process. According to primary data, the vote cast is about 60 per cent all over the country. As per the expectation, the voting process was quite safe and voters were excited to participate in the voting process." On being asked about the challenges for this election, Bhattarai said, "This election was planned in special circumstances. There were some doubts among the people about the success of the selection, but due to the effective cooperation from political parties, candidates, all voters, Govt of Nepal, the private sector, the media and all sectors, we were able to successfully conclude the elections." After a violent Gen Z protest, the situation for this election emerged in Nepal. In this context, speaking about the role of Gen Z during the election, Bhattarai said that "Gen Z has been very much supportive in this election. Their participation in this election process has also been positive in terms of Candidates as well as voters." He also said that, "From the beginning, when the president declared the election date till now, the government of Nepal has been very supportive to the Election Commission in terms of equipment, human resources and other forms." Mentioning India's support in this election, he said that "India, as a neighbouring country, has been very supportive of us in this election. They have provided vehicles and other assistance. Nepal and India are close neighbours not only in terms of geography but also in social, economic, and cultural ties." Sharing details about the counting process, the spokesperson said, "All returning officers have already started submitting ballot boxes to the counting centres. The counting process will start at night in some constituencies only. First, the FPTP votes will be counted, and those results will be published. After that, we will start counting the proportional votes. This process will take some time, and we can expect the final results within 15 days." - ANI BJP leader Nitin Nabin is set to file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, with party colleagues calling it a moment of pride for the state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to participate in the nomination event for Nabin and other NDA leaders. Simultaneously, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced his own candidacy for the Rajya Sabha in the current election cycle. Kumar assured his continued support for the new state government and his commitment to Bihar's development. BJP's Nitin Nabin files Rajya Sabha nomination from Bihar, as CM Nitish Kumar also confirms his candidacy for the Upper House elections. Patna, March 5 Bharatiya Janata Party Leader Syed Shahnawaz on Thursday said that the party leader Nitin Nabin will file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha from Bihar today, calling it a matter of pride for the state. "Today, BJP's national president Nitin Nabin will file his nomination. He is the pride of Bihar, and he is going to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar. This is a matter of joy for all of us," said Shahnawaz. Earlier, Nitin Nabin on Thursday morning offered prayers at the Hanuman Temple in Patna ahead of filing his nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. According to BJP President Sanjay Saraogi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also reported to participate in the nomination filing of newly elected BJP President Nitin Nabin and other party leaders for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar. Saraogi told ANI, "HM Amit Shah and National President Nitin Nabin are arriving at around 12 pm and will participate in the nominations of all the NDA leaders. These nominations will take place between 1:30 and 2 pm." Along with Nitin Nabin, the party has selected Shivesh Kumar as a candidate from Bihar. In Assam, Terash Gowalla and Jogen Mohan have been nominated, while Laxmi Verma will contest from Chhattisgarh. Haryana's candidate is Sanjay Bhatia. Odisha will see Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar representing the party, and Rahul Sinha has been chosen from West Bengal. In Maharashtra, NDA announced Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, Ramrao Wadkute and Maya Chitaman Ivnate as its candidates. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also confirmed that he will be heading to the Rajya Sabha and will file his nomination in the current cycle of elections. The 75-year-old further said that the new Cabinet would have his full support. Nitish Kumar posted on X, "For more than two decades, you have consistently placed your trust and support in me, and it is on the strength of that trust that we have served Bihar and all of you with complete dedication. It was the power of your trust and support that has enabled Bihar today to present a new dimension of development and dignity. For this, I have expressed my gratitude to you many times in the past as well. From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance." - ANI Amit Shah welcomes Nitish Kumar's Rajya Sabha nomination, calling his Bihar CM tenure a "golden chapter." Tejashwi Yadav criticizes the move. Patna, March 5 Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Janata Dal chief Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar Chief Minister as a "golden chapter" in the state's history and welcomed his return to national politics as he filed nomination for the Rajya Sabha election. Amit Shah emphasised the "glorious" tenure of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar during which he made significant contributions to Bihar's progress. "Bihar's CM also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha. With this, after a long gap, he will once again enter national politics as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish Kumar served as CM of Bihar from 2005 until now. His tenure was truly glorious. This tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development... Throughout his long career as an MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and Union Minister, his kurta was never stained. His entire life was free from corruption charges," he said. "For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he added. The statement comes as Bihar witnessed a huge political transition with incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filing nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including BJP Chief Nitin Nabin, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, BJP's Shivesh Kumar and JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur, also filed their nominations for the Upper House. Nitish Kumar, who is the longest serving Bihar's Chief Minister, earlier announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and would file his nomination in the current election cycle. "I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X. Nitish Kumar's announcement attracted reactions, with the opposition reiterating that BJP had intentions to remove him from the CM post all along. Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack, saying that his "hijack" allegation proved to be true. He said, "Everyone knows that in the Bihar elections, the NDA had given this slogan '2025 se 30 phir se Nitish'. The BJP and NDA's constituent parties know how the elections were conducted with the use of tricks, tantra-mantra, and the entire system in place. Even at that time, we had said that the BJP people had 'hijacked' Nitish Kumar and they won't let him sit on the chair again. We had said that he won't stay in the chair for more than six months." This comes after Nitish Kumar won his fifth election in 2025 as the NDA secured two-third majority in the state and took oath for the 10th time. He is Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister. - ANI North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the new destroyer Choe Hyon ahead of its commissioning. He assessed the missiles as a core element of the warship's capabilities, calling the vessel a new symbol of sea defense. The tests come after a previous destroyer from the same class capsized during a launch ceremony last year, an incident Kim labeled a criminal act. This naval development occurs alongside Pyongyang's vows to continue nuclear weapons production and follows its condemnation of recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. North Korea's Kim Jong Un inspected cruise missile launches from a new destroyer, highlighting naval expansion and nuclear-capable "strategic" weapons amid regional tensions. Seoul, March 5 Amidst the recent escalation of tensions in West Asia into a full-scale conflict in Iran, North Korea's Kim Jong Un has inspected the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a new naval destroyer ahead of its commissioning, the country's state media was cited by Seoul's news agency Yonhap on Thursday. Kim supervised the launch of sea-to-surface missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon from a shipyard in the port city of Nampo in the west of the country, the South Korean news agency said, citing North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim oversaw the launch of sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer on Wednesday and assessed the test as a "core" element of the new warship's capabilities, which he described as a "new symbol of sea defence" for his country. "All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century," he said. Yonhap noted that North Korea uses references to "strategic" weapons to indicate they could have nuclear capabilities. His visit to the shipyard over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) Kim inspected the Choe Hyon, the lead vessel in a new series of 5,000-tonne "Choe Hyon-class" destroyers currently under construction in North Korea. North Korea had unveiled the Choe Hyon in April 2025, a 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer, as part of efforts to enhance its naval power. In May, last year, a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer had capsized during a launch ceremony at Chongjin Shipyard, an incident witnessed by the North Korean leader. A report in the Al Jazeera mentioned that the accident crushed parts of the hull and left the bow stranded on the shipway. At the time, Kim characterised the launch failure as a "criminal act", blaming the incident on "absolute carelessness" and "irresponsibility" across multiple state institutions. Following this in June last year, North Korea launched another 5,000-ton destroyer, the Kang Kon. Before the development of the "Choe Hyon class" destroyer, North Korea's most advanced warship was a 1,500-ton frigate, according to Seoul's defence white paper. According to KCNA, the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers' Party's founding anniversary in October. Meanwhile, Yonhap reported that in a new five-year plan to enhance defence power, Pyongyang has vowed to continue to produce nuclear weapons and develop various strategic weapons. The 9th Congress of the North Korea Workers' Party was held from February 19 to February 25 after which Kim reportedly said that he plans to expand his country's nuclear arsenal. Just days after the Congress, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that led to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. North Korea's Foreign Ministry had, through the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), condemned the "reckless bandit-like behaviour," of the United States and Israel as "illegal aggression" and a "despicable form of sovereignty violation." Incidentally, North Korea has in the last few years signed defence pacts with both Russia and China. - ANI The Northeastern region of India currently boasts 89 registered Geographical Indication products, with handicrafts forming the largest category. During a stakeholder meeting in Dimapur, officials identified 24 traditional crafts and handloom products from Nagaland for GI registration. The initiative, led by NEHHDC in collaboration with MDoNER, aims to safeguard cultural heritage and ensure economic benefits for indigenous communities. The process highlights specific tribal products like the Pochury Shawl and Tikhir Jewellery for protection and promotion. Northeast India has 89 GI-tagged products. Nagaland identifies 24 traditional items for registration to protect cultural heritage and boost local economies. Kohima, March 5 The Northeastern region, comprising eight states, currently has 89 registered Geographical Indication products, with handicrafts forming the largest share with 48 items, followed by 28 agricultural products, eight manufactured products and five food products, officials said on Thursday. A stakeholder meeting on GI initiatives for traditional crafts and handloom products of Nagaland was held on Thursday at the Conference Hall of the Nagaland Handloom and Handicraft Development Corporation in Dimapur. During the meeting, Monmayuri Saikai, Senior Executive (DoBD), North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC), delivered a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the concept of Geographical Indication, its benefits and the process of registration. According to data presented during the meeting by Saikai, the Northeastern region currently has 89 registered GI products, with handicrafts forming the largest share with 48 items, followed by 28 agricultural products, eight manufactured products and five food products. She informed that a total of 24 products from Nagaland have been identified for GI registration. It was highlighted that GI tagging carries numerous benefits and is important not only from a commercial perspective but also for preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of indigenous communities. During the presentation, it was stated that the Government of India is serious about protecting the heritage of the Northeast, as many traditional crafts and products represent valuable cultural assets. GI registration will help safeguard these cultural identities and ensure that ownership of such products remains with the respective communities. Saikai explained that a Geographical Indication (GI) refers to products originating from a specific geographical location that possess qualities, reputation or characteristics linked to that area. GI tagging helps protect traditional knowledge, promote authentic products and enhance the economic value of indigenous goods, the official said. She also elaborated on the GI registration process, which includes filing of an application, preliminary scrutiny and examination, publication in the GI Journal, registration and entry into the GI register, along with provisions for objections and verification before final approval. Thursday's meeting was organised by the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER). The initiative aimed to identify, document and facilitate the filing of GI applications for traditional crafts and handloom products of Nagaland. The meeting was chaired by Y. Lipongse Thongtsar, Managing Director, Nagaland Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation (NHHDC). Som Kamie, Planning Advisor, North Eastern Council (NEC), and Mara Kocho, Managing Director of NEHHDC Head Office, Guwahati, also spoke during the meeting. During the meeting, several potential GI products from different tribes of Nagaland were highlighted, including Pochury Textile of Nagaland, Pochury Shawl of Nagaland, Zeliang Textile of Nagaland, Sumi Shawl of Nagaland, Sumi Textile of Nagaland, Ao Textile of Nagaland, Tikhir Jewellery of Nagaland and Tikhir Textile of Nagaland. The responsible applicant authorities for these products include Pochury Hoho, Zeliang People's Organization, Sumi Hoho, Ao Senden and the Tikhir Council. Officials further informed that other tribal communities such as Angami, Chakhesang, Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, Rengma, Sangtam and Yimkhiung are also in the process of identifying suitable traditional products for GI registration through their respective tribal organisations. It was also informed that awareness campaigns will be conducted across the state to educate communities and artisans about the importance and benefits of GI registration. Officials highlighted that GI tagging can be applied not only to textiles and handicrafts but also to traditional jewellery and other indigenous products. The meeting emphasised the importance of collective efforts by tribal organisations, government agencies and stakeholders to protect traditional knowledge and promote indigenous products through GI registration, while strengthening collaboration to enhance market opportunities for artisans and weavers in the state. - IANS US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau emphasized the strategic depth of the US-India partnership at the Raisina Dialogue, calling it a critical moment for bilateral relations. He stated that India's rise in the 21st century is undeniable and that the partnership is driven by mutual national interest, not altruism. Landau clarified that the "America First" doctrine seeks cooperation with allies and expects other leaders to similarly prioritize their nations. He also expressed optimism that a bilateral trade deal between the two countries is nearly finalized. US Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau calls India's rise undeniable and says US-India partnership is driven by mutual national interest, not charity. New Delhi, March 5 United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Thursday emphasised on the strategic depth of the US-India partnership, describing the current period as a "critical moment" for bilateral relations. In a curtain-raiser session titled "Power, Purpose, & Partnerships: American Foreign Policy in a New Era," of the Raisina Dialogues, Landau addressed the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), stating, "I am deeply honoured to be here in India and I want to thank the Observer Research Foundation and, of course, the Government of India. It is important to have these kinds of dialogues and advance them, particularly at this critical moment in US-India relations." Outlining the broader vision of the Trump administration, Landau sought to clarify the "America First" doctrine and its application to global alliances. "I thought I will talk a little bit about our foreign policy vision in the Trump administration generally and then pivot to the US-India relationship specifically as an example of some of the points I made in the more general presentation," he said. Addressing common misconceptions about the administration's stance, he noted that "America First obviously does not mean America alone, because one of the ways that you can accomplish those objectives is through cooperation with other countries." Landau further explained that the administration views national interest as a shared principle among sovereign states. "So just as President Trump wants to make America great again, he would expect the Prime Minister of India or other leaders to want to make their countries great again," the Deputy Secretary of State remarked at the session The senior US official highlighted India's inevitable ascent on the world stage, asserting that the global trajectory of the current era is intrinsically linked to New Delhi. "I think one of the things that is undeniable is that this century is going to be, in many ways, a century in which we expect to see the rise of India," Landau stated. He underscored that the partnership is driven by mutual benefit rather than altruism, citing India's status as the world's most populous nation with immense human and economic potential. "And it's in our interest, and we think it's also in India's interest, to be partnered. This is a country of all its potential. It's now the world's most populous country. It has incredible economic, human, and other resources that make it one of the countries that's going to decide the future of this century," he added. Reaffirming the United States' commitment to this alliance, Landau noted that Washington sees numerous "win-win situations with India." He stated, "I want to highlight the importance of India as we look around the world in the 21st century and see what are the relationships that we really want to cultivate. And again, I'm not here to do social work or charity. I'm here because it's in the interest of our country, and we think it's in the interest of India to deepen our partnership." On the economic front, Landau provided a positive update on ongoing negotiations, expressing optimism regarding bilateral commerce. "We are very excited about the trade deal that is almost at the finish line now." - ANI The United States has successfully facilitated the return of over 17,500 American citizens from the Middle East since February 28, amid heightened regional conflict. A significant surge occurred on Tuesday alone, with more than 8,500 individuals returning in one of the largest single-day movements. The State Department has activated a 24/7 interagency task force, providing consular assistance and security guidance to nearly 6,500 Americans abroad. This massive operation continues as US airstrikes target Iran and Tehran retaliates, marking the sixth day of intense conflict. The US State Department has safely returned over 17,500 citizens from the Middle East since Feb 28 amid escalating conflict with Iran. Get details. Washington DC, March 5 The United States said that more than 17,500 American citizens have safely returned from the Middle East since February 28, as Washington stepped up evacuation and assistance efforts amid escalating security concerns in the region. In a media note issued by the Department of State, Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said that over 8,500 US citizens returned to the country on Tuesday alone, marking one of the largest single-day movements in recent weeks. "Since February 28, over 17,500 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East with over 8,500 US American citizens returning to the US yesterday alone," the statement said on Wednesday. It further noted that many more Americans have departed the Middle East for destinations in Europe and Asia, while others have left the conflict-hit region but remain in transit back to the United States. The State Department said that through its 24/7 Task Force, it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans abroad by offering security guidance and travel assistance. "The US State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen abroad who wishes to depart the Middle East, to do so," the statement added. Americans in the Middle East who require assistance have been advised to contact the US Department of State kruglosutochno at +1-202-501-1444. In a post on X, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote, "The @StateDept is working 24/7 to identify, communicate, and facilitate options for American citizens to depart the Middle East. For assistance, call +1-202-501-4444 and enroll in http://Step.State.Gov." The State Department also announced that it has activated a 24/7 State Department-led interagency task force, surging personnel and resources necessary to provide American citizens with safety and security information and consular assistance from the Department and relevant embassies as expeditiously as possible. "Americans who need help can call Consular Affairs 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad) and +1-888-407-4747 (from the United States and Canada)," Pigott said. Furthermore, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a post on X, advised American citizens in specific Gulf nations and Israel about departure assistance. "American Citizens in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel: To receive departure assistance information from the Department of State about available aviation and ground transportation options, please fill out the following form: https://mytravel.state.gov/s/crisis-intake," he wrote. The State Department reiterated that it remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of American citizens overseas and will continue coordinating closely with relevant embassies and interagency partners to facilitate departures amid ongoing regional instability. Additionally, US Central Command (CENTCOM) informed that the Air Force continues to execute a high volume of airstrikes into Iran. "The US Air Force continues to execute a high volume of airstrikes into Iran. The two most powerful air forces in the world ( + ) are dominating the skies over the world's largest state sponsor of terror," the post read. The conflict in the Middle East is now in its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures in the Persian Gulf country. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases and other Israeli assets across the region. - ANI On the night of Thursday, Russia attacked settlements in the Chuhuiv district of the Kharkiv region with drones, identified by preliminary data as the Geran-2 type. "Pre-trial investigations have been initiated into the facts of war crimes (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutors Office has said. According to its data, around 23:00 in Novopokrovka, a drone hit the ground near an apartment building. The blast wave damaged the windows of residential buildings and nine cars. Two men, a woman, and a 17-year-old girl sustained injuries. Five more people (a man and four women) suffered an acute stress reaction. At approximately 00:30, a drone struck an outbuilding in Kamyana Yaruha. Houses and cars were damaged. A 48-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man were injured, and a 68-year-old woman suffered an acute stress reaction. Passengers arriving at Delhi's IGI Airport from Dubai have shared starkly different experiences, with one describing panic and another stating normalcy. Both, however, confirmed a sharp increase in flight prices and many had to reroute through secondary airports due to cancellations. The uncertainty reflects the varied situations faced by Indians in the region amid ongoing tensions. Meanwhile, actor Sonu Sood has announced free accommodation for stranded travelers of any nationality. Passengers arriving from Dubai at Delhi's IGI Airport report panic and normalcy. Flights rerouted, prices soar as Sonu Sood offers aid. New Delhi, March 5 Passengers arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dubai on Thursday described contrasting situations in the UAE, with one reporting a situation of panic while another said everything is normal, though both noted that flight prices have increased significantly. Speaking to ANI, passenger Rahul Saxena, who arrived at IGI Airport from Dubai, said there is a situation of panic in the region. "There is a situation of panic there. The sooner the government evacuates everyone, the better," Saxena said. However, another passenger, Gautam Gupta, who arrived at IGI Airport from Dubai, said everything is normal in Dubai and they did not face any difficulties. "Everything is normal in Dubai. We did not face any difficulties. The prices of the flights have increased," Gupta said. Many passengers had to reroute through secondary airports like Fujairah and Dammam to secure their passage back to India. A passenger who arrived at IGI Airport from Fujairah said, "I went to Dubai for work; the situation is a bit tense. Yesterday, there was an attack on the US Consulate... We were scared... We came from Fujairah because flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi were getting cancelled repeatedly... We are thankful to the airlines and the Indian government; they are helping us come back." The differing accounts from passengers reflect the uncertainty and varied experiences of Indians in West Asia amid the ongoing regional crisis. Coordination between airport authorities and airline officials is bringing relief to stranded passengers who had faced uncertainty over the past few days due to widespread cancellations and delays. Meanwhile, Actor Sonu Sood has offered a message of hope amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, while also announcing humanitarian assistance for travellers stranded in Dubai due to widespread flight disruptions. "War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai. If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us if you need help," he wrote. - ANI Operation involved over 2,000 strikes in first phase Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is visiting US Central Command headquarters to receive operational briefings on Operation Epic Fury, the large-scale military campaign targeting Iran's security infrastructure. The Pentagon stated the operation's initial phase included more than 2,000 precision strikes against Iranian missile and naval capabilities. Concurrently, Hegseth will travel to US Southern Command to host the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference, uniting regional leaders against drug trafficking networks. The administration has designated these cartels as terrorist organizations, enabling an expanded military role in countering them. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visits CENTCOM for updates on Operation Epic Fury against Iran, then hosts a hemispheric security conference targeting drug cartels. Washington, March 5 Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will visit the headquarters of US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday to receive operational updates on the ongoing military campaign against Iran, the Pentagon said. Hegseth will meet CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper at MacDill Air Force Base as US forces continue Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale operation launched last week targeting Iran's security and military infrastructure. "On Thursday, March 5, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will visit US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.," the Department of War said in a statement. "During the visit, Secretary Hegseth will meet with Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, for updates on Operation Epic Fury." US and partner forces launched the operation on February 28. The Pentagon said the campaign is aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime's security apparatus and neutralising sites considered an immediate threat. "US and partner forces launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb 28 to dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus, prioritising locations that posed an imminent threat," the statement said. According to the Pentagon, the opening phase of the operation involved extensive strikes against Iranian military assets. "The first four days of the large-scale operation included more than 2,000 strikes with over 2,000 precision munitions launched from air, land, and sea," the department said. Officials said the strikes targeted missile capabilities and naval forces belonging to Iran. "US forces have decimated the Iranian regime's ballistic missile capabilities and are sinking their naval vessels to the bottom of the sea," the statement said. Hegseth's visit to CENTCOM comes as the Pentagon intensifies military coordination across multiple regional commands. The secretary is also travelling to Florida to convene a hemispheric security meeting focused on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations. The same day, Hegseth will also travel to Doral, Florida, to host the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at US Southern Command headquarters. "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will travel to Doral, Florida, tomorrow to host the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command Headquarters," the Pentagon said. The meeting will bring together defence and security leaders from across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America to coordinate efforts against organised criminal groups involved in drug trafficking. "Narco-terrorism is a threat shared by all Western Hemisphere nations," the statement said. "For decades and across many administrations, narco-terrorists and cartel thugs have trafficked fentanyl and other deadly drugs freely across borders, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans every year." The Pentagon described the cartels as a growing security threat across the region. "This organised crime ring presents an extraordinary threat to the security and prosperity of the Western Hemisphere." The administration has moved to treat these networks as terrorist organisations. "On President Trump's first day in office, he signed an Executive Order that designated narco-traffickers and cartels as Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTOs)." Officials say the designation allows the US military to expand its role in countering the networks. "This crucial distinction has given the US military the ability to better defend our nation and its extended perimeter." The Pentagon said the conference aims to deepen security cooperation across the region. "Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the Department is uniting partners across the Western Hemisphere to detect, disrupt, and destroy designated terrorist organisations that fuel violence and corruption." "Dismantling the narco-terrorist networks that plague our Hemisphere is only possible with partnership." The United States Central Command oversees American military operations across the Middle East and parts of South and Central Asia. The command plays a central role in US operations involving Iran, regional security, and maritime routes critical to global energy supplies. US Southern Command, headquartered in Florida, is responsible for military cooperation and security operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions and regional defence partnerships. - IANS Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani has directed that only the names of elected public representatives be inscribed on plaques during government building inaugurations. Medical and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar stated that action will be taken against officials violating this rule and announced a probe into the premature inauguration of a maternal care unit in Kekri. The minister alleged the previous Congress government hurriedly inaugurated the incomplete building just before the 2023 model code of conduct. The department will now remove illegal name inscriptions from plaques at medical institutions across the state. Rajasthan Assembly directs that plaques on govt buildings carry only elected representatives' names, orders probe into past violations. Jaipur, March 6 Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani, while giving a directive during Question Hour in the House, said that only the names of elected public representatives should be written on plaques during the inauguration of all government buildings, irrespective of their party affiliation. Medical and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar was responding to supplementary questions raised by MLA Shatrughan Gautam during the Question Hour on Thursday. He said that as per the rules, only the names of elected public representatives -- from Members of Parliament to Sarpanches -- should be written on plaques installed on government buildings. He added that if this rule is violated in the future, action will be taken against the responsible officials and employees. The Minister told the state Assembly that the construction work of the Maternal and Child Care Unit at Kekri District Hospital is almost complete and the facility is ready for inauguration. He said on Thursday that an inquiry will be conducted regarding the earlier inauguration of the unit before the completion of construction and the illegal inscription of names on the plaques. He also added that illegal inscriptions on buildings at other medical institutions across the state will be removed. Minister Khimsar alleged that the previous Congress-led state government hurriedly inaugurated the incomplete building of the Maternal and Child Care Unit at Kekri District Hospital just three days before the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct on September 30, 2023. He also said that names other than those of elected representatives were inscribed on the plaque, and the department had not even granted permission for the inauguration. Earlier, in a written reply to the original query raised by MLA Gautam, the Minister added that administrative approval of Rs 3396.81 lakh was issued under the National Health Mission Programme Implementation Plan 2021-2022 for the construction of a 100-bed Maternal and Child Care Unit at Kekri District Hospital. He said that following this approval, a tender dated August 17, 2021, was issued for the construction work. Copies of the tender and the work order were laid on the table of the House. He also added that the process of transferring the facility will begin after the construction of the Maternal and Child Health Unit at Kekri District Hospital is fully completed. Since the building construction is still incomplete, the Medical and Health Department has not formally inaugurated the facility. As the earlier inauguration was not carried out under any departmental approval or process, no action is currently being considered against any officer or employee. - IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have set an ambitious target to double the current value of India-Finland bilateral trade by 2030. The leaders emphasized leveraging the upcoming India-EU Free Trade Agreement to enhance economic engagement in trade, technology, and investment. They welcomed expanding cooperation between startups from both nations through platforms like the Indo-Finland Startup Corridor. The discussions also covered deepening the strategic partnership, including the new India-EU Security and Defence framework. PM Modi and Finland's President Stubb target doubling trade, leveraging the India-EU FTA and boosting cooperation in tech, startups, and defence. New Delhi, March 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finland President Alexander Stubb have called on the business communities of both countries to tap the opportunities created by the landmark India-EU Free Trade Agreement, with the two leaders setting an ambitious goal of doubling the current value of bilateral trade by 2030. PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with the Finnish President at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday. During discussions, the two leaders highlighted the growing economic engagement between the countries and underlined the importance of enhanced collaboration in trade, technology and investment. According to the Ministry of External Affairs statement, they noted that the objective should be to significantly expand the economic partnership and unlock the full potential of bilateral cooperation in emerging sectors. The leaders also took note of the strong interactions between the respective business communities, reflected in the large business delegation accompanying the Finnish President during his State Visit to India. They also referred to the companies that had joined Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo during the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi in February this year. Both leaders expressed confidence that the upcoming India-Finland Business Summit and CEOs' interaction scheduled in Mumbai on March 7 would help strengthen economic engagement and pave the way for greater collaboration in trade, technology and investment, a statement said. Prime Minister Modi and President Stubb also welcomed the expanding cooperation between startups from the two countries. They highlighted the active participation of Indian startups in the global startup event Slush and the involvement of Finnish startups in Startup Mahakumbh held in New Delhi. Initiatives such as the Indo-Finland Startup Corridor were also noted as important platforms for boosting innovation-led partnerships, MEA said in its statement. The leaders further welcomed the adoption of the new Joint India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, endorsed during the India-EU Summit. They noted that the agenda is built on shared values, mutual trust, converging interests and political will, and emphasised that India and the European Union can serve as stable, predictable and trusted partners while deepening their multifaceted long-term partnership. Both sides underlined that the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement would elevate India-EU ties to a new level. In addition to providing clear economic benefits through improved market access and removal of trade barriers, the leaders said the agreement could strengthen economic security and resilience by diversifying critical value chains and opening new markets. They also reaffirmed support for strengthening the work of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council as a key platform to address major trade, technology and economic security issues and as a cornerstone of the India-EU technology partnership. The two leaders further underscored that the signing of the India-EU Security and Defence Partnership had added another important dimension to the strategic relationship between India and the European Union. They noted that the framework would deepen cooperation in areas of shared interest, including maritime security, defence industry collaboration, cyber and hybrid threats, space and counter-terrorism. In addition, the leaders welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Comprehensive Framework of Cooperation on Mobility and the launch of the pilot European Union Legal Gateway Office in India. President Stubb is currently on a State Visit to India from March 4 to March 7 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. This marks his first visit to the country in his capacity as President. During the visit, he is travelling to New Delhi and Mumbai and is accompanied by Sari Multala, Finland's Minister of Climate and the Environment, Matias Marttinen, Minister of Employment, along with a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi and President Stubb jointly attended the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, where the Finnish President participated as the Chief Guest and delivered the inaugural keynote address. President Stubb's visit follows the trip to India by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in February this year to participate in the AI Impact Summit. - ANI PM Narendra Modi holds bilateral talks with Finland President Alexander Stubb in New Delhi. The visit aims to deepen cooperation and strengthen strategic ties. New Delhi, March 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the visiting Finnish President in the national capital, expressing confidence that high-level engagements would continue to bolster bilateral relations between India and Finland. Stubb who is on a State Visit to India was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday in New Delhi. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "A warm welcome to India! President Alexander Stubb of the Republic of Finland has arrived in New Delhi on a State Visit to India." Taking to the social media platform X, the External Affairs Minister Jaishankar shared his thoughts on the morning meeting, stating, "Delighted to call on President Alexander Stubb of Finland today morning in Delhi." Highlighting the broader significance of the Finnish President's visit, Jaishankar noted that he is "Confident that his meeting with PM @narendramodi will further strengthen India-Finland ties." He also added that he "Look forward to his address later this evening at @raisinadialogue." According to the post, Stubb received a Guard of Honour and was welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh. The Finnish leader is scheduled to be the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker at the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Highlighting bilateral ties, Jaiswal noted that "India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values," adding that President Stubb's visit "will impart further energy to India-Finland relations." The visit, which will include the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors, MEA said in its release on Tuesday. As per an official statement, the visit will be Stubb's first visit to India in his current role as President of Finland. In addition to his engagement at the Raisina Dialogue, Stubb will hold discussions with Prime Minister Modi, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and global issues of mutual interest. A key highlight of the visit will be an exchange of views on cooperation in multilateral forums, with an emphasis on deepening people-to-people connections and economic partnerships. Following the discussions, Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in honour of President Stubb, the release said. During his visit, the Finnish President will also meet with President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President CP Radhakrishnan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also meet President Stubb. After his time in the capital, President Stubb will travel to Mumbai, where he will meet with Maharashtra's Governor Acharya Devvrat, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He will interact with local business leaders and address students at the University of Mumbai. India and Finland share a warm and multifaceted relationship, anchored in shared democratic values. Finland plays an essential role as a partner for India within the European Union and the Nordic region. Stubb's visit follows the recent visit of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to India for the AI Impact Summit in February, a testament to both countries' commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation and fostering stronger ties. - ANI Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary, honoring his passion for the state's progress. Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik offered a heartfelt tribute to his father, describing him as a people's hero and a source of inspiration. BJD MP Sasmit Patra recalled Biju Patnaik's extensive legacy, from his wartime bravery to his role in industrializing Odisha and empowering its people. Biju Patnaik, a two-term chief minister, is celebrated as the architect of modern Odisha. PM Narendra Modi and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik pay heartfelt tributes to former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary, recalling his service. New Delhi, March 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik on the occasion of his birth anniversary. "On his birth anniversary today, I pay tributes to Shri Biju Patnaik Ji and remember his passion towards furthering the progress of Odisha," PM Modi said in a post on X. Meanwhile, Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik paid tribute to his father, Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary. In a post on X, he said, "On this birth anniversary of the great people's hero and pride of the Odias, former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, I offer my heartfelt tribute. Every worker of the Biju Janata Dal remains ever dedicated to the service of Odisha Ma in his ideals. His ethos of building the best Odisha by taking everyone along is an eternal source of inspiration for all of us" BJD MP Sasmit Patra remembered the legacy of Biju Patnaik and his contribution to the development of Odisha. "On the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik today, our party president, Naveen Patnaik, offered floral tributes to the memory of late Biju Patnaik. Biju Babu's idea of India, the idea of Odisha, goes beyond the shores of India and Odisha. Whether it's fighting the Nazis or supporting the Russians at that time during the war. Whether it was rescuing the freedom fighters of Indonesia who had gone to become the leaders of Indonesia, or fighting the Pakistanis by landing the first troops in Srinagar," he said. "Each time you find the bravery and valour of Biju Babu in the entire global scenario in India, he was the maker of modern Odisha, with its industrialisation or agricultural development, tribal upliftment or women's empowerment, every space of Odisha has seen the touch of Biju Babu," he added. The Biju Janata Dal was founded on December 26, 1997, and named after its legendary leader, Biju Patnaik, the father of Naveen Patnaik. Biju Patnaik was Chief Minister of the state for two terms, the first from 1961-1963 and then from 1990-1995. He passed away on April 17, 1997. - ANI Police forces in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh enthusiastically celebrated the Holi festival. In Raisen, MP, the event was attended by the District Judge and Collector alongside senior officials. Lucknow saw celebrations at Hazratganj Police Station, with a procession planned to the Reserve Police Lines. The festival, symbolizing the victory of good over evil, served to strengthen bonds and camaraderie within the police departments. Police personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh celebrated Holi with enthusiasm, strengthening bonds within the force through colors and festivities. New Delhi, March 5 The festival of Holi was celebrated with great fervour by police personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. Officers and staff were seen applying gulal to their colleagues, exchanging greetings, and dancing enthusiastically as they joined in the festive spirit. In Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, a Holi Milan ceremony was celebrated with enthusiasm at the Police Line premises on Sanchi Road. District Judge Anil Kumar Sohane and Collector Arun Vishwakarma attended the event along with several senior administrative and police officials. The celebration brought together officers and personnel who marked the occasion with colours, music, and camaraderie. Similarly, in Karauli, Rajasthan, the Holi festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm and grandeur at the police lines located at the district headquarters on Thursday. Police personnel participated actively in the festivities, spreading colours and joy among their colleagues while strengthening bonds within the force. In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Holi celebrations were held with enthusiasm at the Hazratganj Police Station. Senior officers and police personnel took part in the celebrations and extended greetings to each other. As part of the festivities, a procession is set to proceed from Hazratganj to the Reserve Police Lines, where Police Commissioner Amrendra Sengar and other senior officials are expected to join the celebrations. Bablu Kumar, Joint Police Commissioner (Law & Order), Lucknow, said, "Yesterday, the Holi festival was celebrated very well in the district with respect, and today all police officers and personnel are celebrating the festival together." Holi, often referred to as the Festival of Colours, is one of the most joyous and eagerly anticipated festivals in India and across the world. Known for its vibrant celebrations, people throw coloured powders, dance, sing, and enjoy traditional sweets, making it a time when communities, families, and friends come together in a spirit of joy, harmony, and unity. The festival's origins are deeply rooted in mythology, with several stories explaining its significance. The most popular legend associated with Holi is the story of Holika and Prahlad. According to the legend, Hiranyakashyap, a powerful demon king, demanded that everyone worship him as a god. However, his son Prahlad remained a devoted follower of Lord Vishnu. Angered by this devotion, the king decided to kill his son and sought the help of his sister Holika, who possessed a magical power that made her immune to fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered Prahlad to sit on Holika's lap as she sat in a blazing fire. However, as the flames rose, Holika was burned to ashes while Prahlad, protected by divine grace, emerged unharmed. The story symbolises the victory of good over evil and faith over arrogance. Holi commemorates Prahlad's triumph and the burning of Holika through the ritual of Holika Dahan, reminding people of the enduring power of righteousness and devotion. - IANS Parliamentary elections began in Nepal to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives through a mixed electoral system. Key leaders, including RSP President Rabi Lamichhane, PM candidate Balen Shah, and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', cast their votes from their respective hometowns. The polls are being held nearly two years early following political changes after the Gen Z movement, which led to the dissolution of the previous house. A notable surge in youth, or Gen Z, voters marks a shift in electoral engagement for the Himalayan nation. Polling begins for Nepal's House of Representatives. Leaders like Rabi Lamichhane, Balen Shah, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' cast early votes. Kathmandu, March 5 Parliamentary polls began in Nepal at 7 a.m. on Thursday for the House of Representatives, with voters queuing at polling centres across the country to cast their ballots. The elections are being held to elect 275 members of the lower house -- 165 through the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system and 110 through the proportional representation system. Some of the country's noted leaders, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane and senior party leader Balen Shah, Former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, cast their votes from their hometowns. Lamichhane and Shah cast their votes from Kathmandu. Shah, the prime ministerial candidate from the RSP, is contesting from Jhapa-5 in eastern Nepal as a key rival to former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. However, he cannot vote for himself as votes can only be cast in one's registered hometown. Speaking to the media after casting his vote, RSP President Lamichhane said that voting was necessary to choose the type of leadership people want. "It is an opportunity to shape your own future and that of your children," he said, referring to the voters. His party, the fourth-largest party in the dissolved House of Representatives, is expected to perform better this time due to apparent public discontent with traditional political parties, along with the presence of some popular faces in the party. Former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' also cast his vote from his hometown of Bharatpur, Chitwan, on Thursday morning, where his daughter Renu Dahal is a candidate for the House of Representatives. A former mayor of the same city, Renu, is considered a strong candidate given her apparent track record in delivering development in the city. Prachanda himself is a candidate for the House of Representatives from Rukum East-1 in western Nepal, which is also the traditional stronghold of his party. After casting his vote, Prachanda said that the narrative of old versus new political forces would not do justice to the people; instead, the focus should be on whether parties and candidates are good or bad. Prachanda's party, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or CPN (UML), are often characterised as old parties, and popular disenchantment is frequently directed at their leaders. Popular leader Kul Man Ghising, president of the Ujyalo Nepal Party, also cast his vote in Kathmandu. Ghising is credited with ending prolonged load-shedding in the country during his tenure as head of the Nepal Electricity Authority and has since formed his own party. Fresh elections in the Himalayan nation are taking place nearly two years ahead of schedule due to the new political situation that emerged after the Gen Z movement in September last year, which brought down the government led by former Prime Minister Oli. The development paved the way for the formation of the current interim government led by Sushila Karki. Following her appointment as head of the government, the lower house was dissolved at the demand of Gen Z leaders, and she was mandated to hold fresh elections within six months. More than 18.90 million people are eligible to vote in these elections, including 915,119 newly registered voters. Of the total voters, more than two-thirds of the newly registered voters belong to the Gen Z age group, marking a noticeable surge in youth engagement ahead of the 2026 polls, according to the Election Commission of Nepal. The elections are being held at 23,112 polling centres. A total of 3,406 candidates are in the race under the FPTP system, while 3,135 candidates are contesting under the proportional representation system. - IANS Qatar's Ministry of Defence announced the country was subjected to a missile attack, with its air defense systems actively intercepting the incoming threats. Loud explosions were reported in parts of Doha, and smoke was seen rising from a residential district. Authorities urged the public to remain calm and rely only on official information while damage assessments are pending. The attack occurs amidst heightened regional conflict following a US-Israel strike in Iran and subsequent retaliatory strikes by Tehran across multiple countries. Qatar activates air defenses against missile attack. Explosions reported in Doha. Incident occurs amid escalating West Asia tensions following US-Israel strike on Iran. Doha, March 5 Qatar's Ministry of Defence on Thursday said the country had been subjected to a missile attack and that its air defence systems were actively intercepting the incoming missiles amid conflict in the region. In a statement issued by the Ministry's Directorate of Morale Guidance, authorities said the missile attack was detected, and response systems were immediately activated. "The Ministry of Defense of the State of Qatar announces that the State of Qatar has been subjected to a missile attack. Air defense systems are intercepting the missile attack," the statement read. The ministry urged citizens, residents and visitors to remain calm and follow instructions issued by security authorities. It also cautioned people against spreading rumours and asked them to rely only on information released through official channels. "Citizens, residents, and visitors are urged to remain calm, adhere to official instructions issued by security authorities, avoid rumors, and rely solely on information released through official channels," the statement added. Meanwhile, local reports indicated that multiple loud explosions were heard across parts of Doha during the interception, with smoke also seen rising from a residential district on the western edge of the Qatari capital. Authorities have not yet provided details on potential damage or casualties, with security agencies continuing to monitor the situation as air defence operations remain ongoing. This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has strongly condemned drone attacks launched from Iranian territory that targeted the city of Nakhchivan and its airport, resulting in damage to infrastructure and injuries to civilians. In an official statement, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Providing details of the incident, the statement noted that one of the drones struck airport infrastructure while another landed near a civilian facility. - ANI The 11th Raisina Dialogue, India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, commences in New Delhi. Organised by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs, the three-day event gathers global leaders to deliberate on pressing international challenges. This year's discussions are centred on the theme 'Samskara', exploring civilisational identity and global advancement. High-level delegations, including heads of state and foreign ministers from various nations, are participating in the forum. The 11th Raisina Dialogue starts in New Delhi, featuring global leaders and experts discussing geopolitics under the theme 'Samskara'. New Delhi, March 5 The 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, will commence in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together an array of global leaders, policymakers and strategic experts. Instituted in 2016, the annual Raisina Dialogue has emerged as India's leading platform for discussions on international affairs. The three-day conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), convenes heads of state, ministers, academics, industry leaders, think tanks and members of the media to deliberate on pressing global challenges. Over the years, the Dialogue has hosted extensive discussions on shifting geopolitical equations, climate concerns, technological transformation, economic resilience and the future of global governance frameworks. The forum serves as a platform for debate and cooperation on issues shaping the international order. The 2026 edition is centred on the theme 'Samskara - Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement', reflecting the current global moment. "Samskara is the inheritance of identity that enables civilisations to assert who they are, accommodate the difference and advance through refinement," the organisers have said, underscoring the philosophical underpinning of this year's deliberations. Several foreign dignitaries are expected to participate in the conference. The MEA on Wednesday confirmed that multiple high-level delegations from across the world will attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. Bhutan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lyonpo Dina Nath Dhungyel, arrived in India on Wednesday to take part in the country's flagship geopolitics and geo-economics forum. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also reached India earlier in the day on a state visit. He will attend the Raisina Dialogue as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker. The United States will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who is leading a US delegation to the Dialogue. Among other prominent participants are Seychelles' Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Barry Faure; Mauritius' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dhananjay Ramful; and Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath. All three ministers are slated to arrive in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the conference. - IANS Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the country is open to exchanging experience in combating Iranian drones but requires a larger number of anti-missiles. "We have had signals from partners in the Middle East. There were strikes by Iranian Shaheds on civilians in these countries. They want expertise from us. We are open. If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise. Especially since there is a request from Europeans and from the United States of America. We have requests that we should share experience with partners from the Middle East," he said in an interview with the Rai Italia television and radio company. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is ready to exchange interceptor drones for anti-missiles. "I said quite frankly: we have a deficit of what they have. They have missiles for Patriots, but they wont shoot down hundreds or thousands of Shaheds with Patriot missilesit is expensive. Nothing is too much for people, of course, but they simply do not have that many missiles. Therefore, they need interceptor drones, which we have. And we have a deficit of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. Therefore, if we talk about the exchange of technologies, the exchange of weapons, I think our country will be open to this," the president added. The Rajasthan government has announced a Rs 100 crore initiative to establish Rural Women's BPOs at the district level to generate employment. Key financial schemes like the Lakhpati Didi loan have seen limits increased, while new Raj Sakhi Stores will provide capacity-building support for women entrepreneurs. The state is also significantly bolstering women's safety by expanding Kalika Patrolling Units and developing women's barracks in police stations. These comprehensive measures aim to strengthen the economic status and decision-making participation of over 16 lakh women in the state. Rajasthan launches Rural Women's BPOs & Raj Sakhi Stores, increases loan limits for women entrepreneurs, and expands safety initiatives for 16+ lakh Lakhpati Didis. Jaipur, March 6 More than 16 lakh women across Rajasthan have become 'Lakhpati Didis' due to the state government's initiatives toward women's empowerment and financial inclusion, officials said. "To provide economic support and employment opportunities for rural women, Rural Women's BPOs will be established at the district level with an expenditure of Rs 100 crore," officials added on Thursday. In addition, the loan limit under the Chief Minister Lakhpati Didi Loan Scheme has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, further encouraging women entrepreneurship. Several innovative initiatives are being implemented through Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad (Rajivika) to empower women. Under this year's budget announcement, the state government will provide buildings for offices and other purposes to 100 cluster-level federations formed under Rajivika. "Saksham Centres" for digital and financial literacy will also be established in these offices. By improving the branding, design and packaging of products made by self-help groups, 50 new enterprises will be developed in sectors such as dairy, textiles, footwear, millets and spices. The state government will also coordinate with national and international institutions to expand the marketing of these products. The state government is also working to promote women entrepreneurship. Raj Sakhi Stores will be established at all divisional headquarters to provide Rajivika-affiliated women with capacity-building support to help their enterprises succeed. For this purpose, centres for entrepreneurship and capacity building will be set up in all districts in a phased manner. Under the Chief Minister Nari Shakti Udyam Protsahan Yojana, the loan limit has been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Additionally, around 5,000 women from self-help groups will be trained as "Banking Correspondent Sakhis". The state government will also develop 11,000 Amrit Poshan Vatikas to strengthen the livelihoods of women's self-help groups while ensuring the local availability of fruits and vegetables for mid-day meals in Anganwadi centres and schools. Early childhood care and education courses will also be conducted for Anganwadi workers, and 1,000 workers will receive specialised training from reputed institutions. This year's budget has also expanded the Kishori Balika Yojana, which was earlier implemented in the aspirational districts of Karauli, Dholpur, Baran, Jaisalmer and Sirohi. The scheme will now be extended to all 27 aspirational blocks of the state, enabling more than 50,000 adolescent girls to benefit from nutritional supplements. In addition, Chief Minister Shishu Vatsalya Sadan facilities will be established in government offices in a phased manner during office hours to provide care for children aged six months to six years. Women's safety remains a top priority for the state government. The number of Kalika Patrolling Units, which work to prevent harassment, domestic violence and other crimes against women in public places, will be increased from 500 to 600. Women's barracks will also be developed in 100 police stations. Additionally, female security personnel and guides will be appointed to strengthen the Tourism Assistance Force for the safety and assistance of tourists. Under the leadership of the Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, women are being empowered through schemes such as the Chief Minister Nutrition Nutri-Kit, Lado Incentive Scheme, Chief Minister Nari Shakti Training and Skill Enhancement, Chief Minister Nari Shakti Enterprise Promotion, Solar Didi and Lakhpati Didi. These initiatives have significantly benefited women, strengthening their economic status and increasing their participation in decision-making, while ensuring their active contribution to the state's development. - IANS Finland's President Alexander Stubb voices strong support for India's permanent UNSC seat, calls for multilateral reform at Raisina Dialogue. New Delhi, March 5 President of Finland Alexander Stubb on Thursday voiced strong support for India securing a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, and said that reforms in the global multilateral system are necessary to reflect today's geopolitical realities. Speaking at a Joint Press Meeting at Hyderabad House alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stubb said the world is currently witnessing a transition in the global order, with countries of the Global South playing a crucial role in shaping its direction. "The world is changing. We are living through a transition in the global order and India togther with its friends in the Global South, will determine the direction in which this order will go," Stubb said. The Finnish President said discussions with the Indian leadership also covered major security challenges across regions, including conflicts in West Asia and Europe. "Today we discussed security issues in the region. We have conflict in both regions, in West Asia and also, of course, in Ukraine. And for us, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has lasted for too long, four years," he said. Stubb emphasised that ending the conflict in Ukraine is in the interest of all parties and must be based on international principles. "We agreed that ending the war is in everyone's interests. A lasting peace can only be one that respects the principles of the United Nations," he said. Highlighting the need for reform in global governance, Stubb said he would reiterate the call for changes in the multilateral system during his address at the Raisina Dialogue 2026. "Today, in my speech at Raisina, I will once again call for a change in the multilateral system where the division of labour and power would reflect today's world. And therefore I think a seat in the UN Security Council for India is of utmost importance," he said. He added that discussions also covered strengthening ties between India and the European Union. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for peace amidst the ongoing West Asia Conflict while addressing a joint press briefing along with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. During the joint press meeting, he said that India and Finland both believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. He said," India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. "India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," the PM said. "We also agree on this, that reforming global institutions to address the growing global challenges is not only necessary but also urgent. And rooting out terrorism in all its forms is our shared commitment," the PM added. - ANI Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced his decision to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, ending all speculation about his political future. In a social media post, he expressed gratitude to the people of Bihar for their trust over two decades, which he credits for the state's progress. The announcement has triggered intense political activity and reports of dissent within his own Janata Dal (United) party. Security was significantly heightened around the Chief Minister's residence as party workers gathered to show their support. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces candidacy for Rajya Sabha elections, triggering political activity and dissent within JD(U) ranks. Full story. Patna, March 5 In a dramatic development in Bihar politics, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has put all speculation to rest by announcing his candidature for the Rajya Sabha. Taking to the social media platform X, Nitish Kumar addressed the people of the state, writing that for more than two decades, they have consistently reposed trust and support in him, enabling him to serve Bihar with dedication. He credited the people's faith for Bihar's progress and enhanced respect at the national level, expressing gratitude once again for their continued backing. Nitish Kumar stated that since the beginning of his parliamentary career, he had aspired to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature and Parliament. In that spirit, he announced his decision to seek election to the Rajya Sabha in the current election. Assuring the people of his continued commitment, Nitish Kumar said his relationship with the citizens of Bihar would remain intact and that his resolve to work towards building a developed Bihar would not waver. He added that he would extend full support and guidance to the new government that would be formed. The announcement has triggered intense political activity across the state. As discussions about his Rajya Sabha move gained momentum, murmurs of dissent reportedly surfaced within the Janata Dal(United) ranks. In response to the rising political temperature, security was significantly tightened around the Chief Minister's residence. A large number of police personnel were deployed at both main gates, and patrols were intensified in the surrounding areas. Security forces were placed on high alert, with the entire vicinity resembling a high-security zone. Since morning, the JD(U) workers gathered outside the Chief Minister's residence, raising slogans of "Nitish Kumar Zindabad". The workers made it clear that they support Nitish Kumar's leadership, with many stating that the public mandate was given to him as Chief Minister. The development marks a major turning point in Bihar's political landscape, as Nitish Kumar's shift to the Rajya Sabha could potentially reshape the leadership structure in the state and signal a new phase in his political journey. - IANS Seychelles FM Barry Faure arrives for Raisina Dialogue 2026. PM Modi to inaugurate the event with Finland's President as Chief Guest. New Delhi, March 5 Seychelles Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Minister Barry Faure arrived in India on Thursday to participate in the Raisina Dialogue 2026, the 11th edition of the coutnry's flagship geopolitical conference that begins in New Delhi today. In a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said that the Foreign Minister and Minister of Diaspora of Seychelles, Barry Faure, arrived in India to attend the dialogue. MEA noted that India and Seychelles share a robust and multifaceted partnership and that the visit is expected to add further momentum to bilateral ties. The post read, "Warm welcome to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Seychelles, Barry Faure on his arrival, to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Seychelles share a robust and multifaceted partnership. The visit will add further momentum to India-Seychelles partnership." In a separate X post, the MEA spokesperson welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, upon his arrival in New Delhi. He highlighted that India and Mauritius share an enduring partnership rooted in shared culture, heritage, and strong people-to-people ties. The post said, "Warm welcome to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius, Mr. Dhananjay Ramful on his arrival in New Delhi to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Mauritius share an enduring partnership rooted in shared culture and heritage and strong people-to-people ties." Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, Ian Borg, also arrived to participate in the global conference. MEA said India and Malta enjoy friendly and cordial relations anchored in close people-to-people connections. The MEA post said, "Warm welcome to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, Ian Borg @DeputyPMIanBorg for participation in the 11th Raisina Dialogue. India and Malta enjoy friendly and cordial relations anchored in strong people-to-people ties." Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, DN Dhungyel, arrived in New Delhi to attend the event. The MEA spokesperson noted that the India-Bhutan partnership is built on deep mutual trust and goodwill and that the visit will further strengthen bilateral ties. The post said, "Warm welcome to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, Lyonpo DN Dhungyel @FMBhutan, as he arrives to attend the 11th Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. India-Bhutan partnership is built on deep mutual trust and goodwill. The visit will impart further momentum to India-Bhutan ties." Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi on Thursday, marking the start of India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. The three-day event, scheduled from March 5-7, will bring together global leaders, policymakers, and experts to deliberate on key international challenges. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, will attend the inaugural session as the Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address. Organised with participation from governments, think tanks, and strategic communities worldwide, the dialogue will see representatives from 110 countries, including ministers, former heads of state and government, members of parliament, military commanders, business leaders, technology experts, academics, journalists, and scholars. The theme for this year's edition is "Samskara -- Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement." - ANI Intelligence agencies warn that the ongoing Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict could spill over into India, with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 terrorists from groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba awaiting orders to infiltrate. The ISI has activated launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, instructing terrorists for mass infiltration bids aimed at Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of North India. The situation is compounded by increased Khalistani activity along the Punjab border, as Pakistan seeks to stress Indian security mechanisms on multiple fronts. Despite the heightened threat, Indian border security forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police are on high alert, monitoring overground worker networks and prepared to thwart infiltration attempts. Indian agencies warn of mass infiltration bids by JeM, LeT terrorists as Pak-Afghan conflict spills over. Borders on high alert. New Delhi, March 5 Intelligence agencies have warned that there could be a spillover of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict into India. The borders have been placed under high-alert as the Indian agencies warn that the conflict in the neighbouring nations could have an impact on the country. Although the Afghan Taliban has said that it would prefer dialogue over conflict to resolve the crisis, Islamabad remains adamant and wants to prolong the war. The war is taking place at a time when terror outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are trying to revive themselves and launch major strikes on India. Both these groups have become desperate after 'Operation Sindoor' during which they lost both men and infrastructure. These terror groups are hoping that the Indian security establishment would falter as tensions build up with each passing day in the neighbourhood. The launch pads at Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) have already been activated. The ISI has already instructed the waiting terrorists to be prepared for mass infiltration bids. The Indian agencies estimate that nearly 1,000 to 1,500 terrorists are waiting to infiltrate into India through the border at Jammu and Kashmir. An official said that although Pakistan is in a battle with Afghanistan, there are several elements close to the ISI who are present in the country. The Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on these persons as most of them are affiliated to the Jaish-e-Mohammad. These people, too, would look to enter India and then carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir. Another official explained that the current situation is extremely dangerous. When terror groups become desperate, they can go to any lengths and this is what our security forces need to watch out for, the official explained. Ties between Afghanistan and India have improved dramatically. Hence, for India, the end of the Pakistan-Afghanistan war would be crucial. However, there are none currently to mediate between the two countries and ask them to stop hostilities. West Asia is busy with the ongoing Israel-Iran war. The US had indicated that it was ready to intervene, but under the current circumstances, it would not be able to do so as it is busy with the Iran war which shows no signs of slowing down. The Indian agencies have said that the situation at the border at Jammu and Kashmir is not the only area of concern. The Punjab border, too, remains highly volatile as the Khalistani elements have upped operations. The strategy of Pakistan is to stress the Indian security mechanism from all fronts. The ISI-backed elements are very active at both the Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir border. Another official stated that for Pakistan the war with Afghanistan has been anything but easy. The Taliban is showing no signs of a surrender and one can be sure that it would not happen in the near future, the officer said. While many within Pakistan do not subscribe to the war with Afghanistan, it is the army under Field Marshal Asim Munir which is not relenting. The Pakistan establishment has been left red-faced courtesy a lot of issues. The losses that it has faced at the hands of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have left the establishment embarrassed. For the establishment, a major distraction from the various problems is the need of the hour. The establishment feels that in the current situation, the best option is to carry out a major strike on India. Pakistan watchers say that this is why the ISI and army would look to push terrorists hard into Indian territory so that they could carry out an attack. While the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba are already planning major operations in North India, they would still prefer to rebuild their bases in Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir issue resonates with the Pakistan public and hence the need to strike at the Union Territory becomes important for the establishment. Officials say that although Pakistan is planning major operations, the Indian borders are on very high-alert and the security forces are capable of thwarting any attempts to infiltrate. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police are also on guard and are watching closely the over ground worker network, which has been instructed by Pakistan to ramp up efforts to revive terror modules. - IANS Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has arrived in New Delhi to participate in the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. The three-day event, organized by the Observer Research Foundation with the MEA, convenes global leaders to deliberate on pressing international challenges. This year's theme, 'Samskara,' focuses on civilizational identity, accommodation, and advancement. The conference will also feature other foreign dignitaries, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb as Chief Guest and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath arrives in Delhi for the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's flagship geopolitics conference. New Delhi, March 5 Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Warm welcome to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism of Sri Lanka, Mr. Vijitha Herath as he reaches New Delhi to participate in Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Sri Lanka share a close and multifaceted partnership, deeply rooted in shared people-to-people ties." The 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, will commence in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together an array of global leaders, policymakers and strategic experts. Instituted in 2016, the annual Raisina Dialogue has emerged as India's leading platform for discussions on international affairs. The three-day conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), convenes heads of state, ministers, academics, industry leaders, think tanks and members of the media to deliberate on pressing global challenges. Over the years, the Dialogue has hosted extensive discussions on shifting geopolitical equations, climate concerns, technological transformation, economic resilience and the future of global governance frameworks. The forum serves as a platform for debate and cooperation on issues shaping the international order. The 2026 edition is centred on the theme 'Samskara - Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement', reflecting the current global moment. "Samskara is the inheritance of identity that enables civilisations to assert who they are, accommodate the difference and advance through refinement," the organisers have said, underscoring the philosophical underpinning of this year's deliberations. Several foreign dignitaries are expected to participate in the conference. The MEA on Wednesday confirmed that multiple high-level delegations from across the world will attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. Earlier in the day, Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Barry Faure arrived in New Delhi to participate in the Raisina Dialogue. Bhutan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lyonpo Dina Nath Dhungyel, arrived in India on Wednesday to take part in the country's flagship geopolitics and geo-economics forum. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also reached New Delhi on Wednesday for a State visit to India. He will attend the Raisina Dialogue as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker. The United States will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who is leading a US delegation to the Dialogue. - IANS Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy personally visited the home of newlyweds Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna to offer his blessings. The actor expressed being deeply touched by the gesture on social media. This visit followed a grand wedding reception attended by film and political figures. The couple had also recently met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, inviting them to the wedding. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy visits Vijay Deverakonda & Rashmika Mandanna after their wedding. The couple also recently met PM Modi and Amit Shah. Hyderabad, March 5 Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday evening visited actor Vijay Deverakonda's residence to bless him and Rashmika Mandanna after their recent wedding. Deverakonda, took to his X to share a series of pictures from the CM's visit and also wrote about how much the gesture meant to him. His post read, "Heartfully touched that the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Telangana, Shri. @revanth_anumulagaru, took the time to visit our home this evening and bless us on our wedding. Grateful for the love and affection he always shares." Take a look The visit came a day after Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda hosted a grand wedding reception. Many well-known names from the film industry and political circle attended the event. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda got married on February 26 in Udaipur in the presence of their close friends and family members. Last week, taking to her X, Rashmika shared pictures from the meeting when she and Vijay visited PM Modi and invited him for their wedding. "Meeting Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi sir and spending time talking about our culture and history was so special. The sweetest surprise was the thoughtful letter he wrote to my parents. Some moments just stay with you forever." The 'Pushpa' actor also shared images from their meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, expressing gratitude on receiving a beautiful Ganesh idol from the leader. "Had the honour of meeting the Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah Sir. Grateful for the beautiful Ganesh idol that now has a special place in our home," she wrote. - ANI Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi participated in Holi festivities with students at IIT Madras, singing traditional songs and emphasizing national unity. Separately, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan celebrated at the party office, using the occasion to criticize the ruling DMK for tarnishing Tamil culture and failing to show respect to other states and leaders. She contrasted this with examples of cross-cultural participation in festivals like Pongal and Holi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his Holi greetings to the nation via social media. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi celebrated Holi with IIT Madras students, promoting unity. BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan also marked the festival, criticizing DMK. Madras Marc, h 5 ,: Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi participated in the Holi festival with students of IIT Madras at Lok Bhawan on Wednesday, joining them in singing traditional Phagua songs and highlighting the spirit of "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat." Ravi said, that India is enduring in the colours of Holi and festive colours does not differentiate between anyone. Extending the greetings, he wishes everyone a very happy Holi. Students were seen playing traditional musical Instruments and enjoying singing with him. On Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader Tamilisai Soundararajan celebrated Holi at the party's head office, Kamalalayam, in Chennai. She said the Jain brothers called us for the celebration of Pongal, and we went to their place for the Pongal celebration. "Jain brothers called us for the Pongal celebration. We went to their place for the Pongal celebration, and they have come to Kamalalayam for Holi celebrations.So this is the unity in diversity that which are practicing in Tamil Nadu. What is basic Tamil culture? Tamil culture respects the people from other states and the whole country. But the basic Tamil culture is tarnished by the DMK. Tamil culture is for whoever is coming to my state; we have to welcome them. When honorable Prime Minister comes, he (MK Stalin) is not coming to welcome him. When unity is talked it is not that Tamil is degraded." "They think that to talk about Tamil pride, they have to degrade the other states. It's not like we also love our mother language. My mother language is my life, but at the same time, my mother language teaches me to respect other languages also. That is the basic culture of the Tamil language. That culture itself was politically tarnished by MK Stalin. That's all I have to say," she added. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to all citizens on the occasion of Holi. He wished for happiness, prosperity and success for everyone. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Heartfelt Holi greetings to all my fellow citizens. May this festival, brimming with colours and exuberance, bring a shower of joy to everyone. May every life be sprinkled with the hues of happiness, prosperity, and success--this is my heartfelt wish." This year, the celebration of the 'Festival of Colours' was observed on two separate days. While several states in Western India, including Mumbai and Gujarat, have celebrated the festivities on Tuesday, March 3. North India marks its main celebrations on Wednesday. - ANI The forest departments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka are coordinating a two-day vulture census across the Nilgiri landscape on March 7 and 8. The survey will cover key tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to assess the population of these endangered scavengers. This effort follows an encouraging rise in vulture numbers recorded in the previous census, with Tamil Nadu reporting the highest count. The census methodology includes fixed vantage-point observations and monitoring of nesting sites to ensure accurate data collection. Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Karnataka conduct a synchronised vulture census in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve to track the endangered species' population. Chennai, March 5 The forest departments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka will conduct a synchronised vulture census across the Nilgiri landscape on March 7 and 8, in a coordinated effort to assess the population of the endangered scavengers in one of southern India's most important habitats. The survey will focus on key forest ranges within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a region that has emerged as a vital stronghold for vultures in the southern part of the country. The exercise follows encouraging results from the previous census, which recorded a noticeable rise in vulture numbers across the three states. In a development that has boosted optimism among wildlife officials, field staff at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve recently spotted a vulture nest within the core area of the reserve for the first time. Until now, most nesting activity had been documented in buffer zones. Forest officials have identified eight vantage points within the core zone of Mudumalai for this year's survey to closely monitor nesting behaviour and population trends. The synchronised survey will cover several major wildlife habitats across the Nilgiri landscape. In Tamil Nadu, monitoring will take place in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and the Tirunelveli Wildlife Sanctuary. In Karnataka, teams will survey Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and Biligiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve, while in Kerala, the exercise will focus on the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Officials said the Nilgiri landscape plays a crucial ecological role as a source population for vultures in southern India, supporting both breeding colonies and migratory visitors. India is home to nine species of vultures, seven of which have been recorded in Tamil Nadu. These include resident breeding species such as the White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vulture and Red-headed vulture. Other species -- including the Egyptian vulture, Himalayan griffon, Cinereous vulture and Eurasian griffon -- are usually seen as migratory visitors to the region. This will be the fourth synchronised census in the Nilgiri landscape. The last survey, conducted across 106 vantage points covering approximately 4,670 square kilometres, recorded an increase in the vulture population from 320 to 390 individuals. Tamil Nadu reported the highest numbers with 157 vultures, followed by Kerala with 125 and Karnataka with 106. The census will rely on vantage-point observations and nest monitoring. Teams will record sightings during fixed sessions, carefully tracking flight directions and timing to avoid double-counting. Nest counts will focus on breeding cliffs and trees, with the previous survey documenting 75 active nests, including 54 within Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Each survey team will comprise at least four members, including a trained vulture expert. Field teams will be equipped with binoculars, cameras, GPS devices, compasses and standardised data sheets to ensure accurate and uniform data collection. Coordinates of vantage points and nesting sites will also be documented to aid long-term monitoring and conservation planning. - IANS Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is set to announce its candidates for all 234 Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies within the next two weeks. The party is preparing to contest the upcoming elections independently, without being part of any electoral alliance. Vijay is leading the candidate screening process, which involves multiple rounds to select individuals with strong local influence and grassroots support. The early announcement aims to establish TVK as a serious contender and give its nominees ample time to campaign. Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to finalize and announce candidates for all 234 Tamil Nadu Assembly seats independently within two weeks. Chennai, March 5 Actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is preparing to release its list of candidates for all 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu within the next two weeks, according to party sources. The move comes as political parties across Tamil Nadu accelerate their preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections by finalising alliances, negotiating seat-sharing arrangements and announcing candidates. Unlike other major parties that are engaged in alliance talks, TVK is currently not part of any electoral alliance. As a result, the party is expected to contest the elections independently, positioning itself as a direct alternative in the state's political landscape. The announcement of candidates for every constituency is being seen as a key step in Vijay's effort to establish the party as a serious contender in the electoral battle. Sources indicate that Vijay is likely to begin a series of interviews and consultations soon to finalise candidates who will represent the party in each constituency. The screening process is expected to involve multiple rounds of evaluation to identify candidates with strong grassroots support, organisational capability and public acceptance. Party insiders said the leadership has already accelerated the preliminary process of shortlisting aspirants. For each constituency, a group of four potential candidates has reportedly been identified for further scrutiny. From this pool, the final candidate will be selected based on political viability, local influence and the party's overall electoral strategy. Vijay has also been actively strengthening the party's organisational structure at the district level. He has been holding executive committee meetings in several districts to review local political dynamics and assess the readiness of party cadres ahead of the election campaign. These meetings are aimed at mobilising grassroots workers and ensuring that the party's organisational machinery is in place before the candidate list is officially announced. In addition to internal meetings, the TVK leadership is planning a series of large-scale conferences and public gatherings in the coming weeks. These events are expected to serve as platforms for Vijay to outline the party's vision, energise supporters and introduce key candidates to the public. Political observers note that the early announcement of candidates for all 234 constituencies could help TVK gain momentum and give its nominees sufficient time to campaign before the elections. The coming weeks are therefore expected to be crucial for Vijay and his party as they attempt to translate growing public interest into electoral strength. - IANS Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine /www.president.gov.ua/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that Russia does not want peace, but rather a ceasefire to regroup and continue the conflict. "We can try to negotiate an end to the war with strong mediators, but the conditions must be such that we do not simply believe, do not rely on Russias words. We must understand that if Ukraine is not in the Donbas, it is not guaranteed that Putin will not continue the war. I would even say the opposite. The fact is that he will continue. What is not certain is whether he will continue immediately," he said in an interview with Italian broadcaster Rai Italia. Zelenskyy added that Russia needs time to reconstitute its forces. "He needs time to prepare, to staff brigades, additional divisions and so on. That takes time. That is what I believe that he needs this time. But who guarantees that he will not then continue the occupation?" The president again rejected the notion of Ukrainian forces withdrawing from territories they currently control. "Besides, why should we withdraw from our own land that we control? He has not been able to achieve anything on the battlefield he does not have the strength. He wants us to believe him and simply walk away from our territories, which are well fortified. These fortifications limit the capabilities of Russian forces. Putin understands that if we withdraw, he will save between 300,000 and one million of his soldiers, depending on the intensity and duration of offensive operations in the Donbas. Why should we suddenly trust him and hand over such gifts?" Zelenskyy said. President Trump expresses desire to be involved in selecting Iran's next leader, criticizing potential successor Mojtaba Khamenei amid escalating regional tensions. Washington DC, March 5 President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next Supreme Leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel joint military strike last week, as reported by Axios. In an exclusive interview with Axios, Trump said he wanted a role in the appointment of Iran's next leader, drawing a comparison to his involvement in political developments in Venezuela in January following the capture of its former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a US military operation. He also criticised the possible succession of the son of the late supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is widely viewed as a leading contender for the position. "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump said, as quoted by Axios. Trump described Mojtaba Khamenei as "unacceptable" and said he would prefer a leader who could bring "harmony and peace" to Iran, warning that a continuation of his father's policies could lead to renewed conflict with the United States in the future. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," the US President added, according to Axios. According to reports, Iranian authorities have delayed announcing a successor after the death of Khamenei, though political signals from Tehran suggest a decision on the next supreme leader could come soon. Reports further suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is widely seen as the frontrunner for the position. However, the Iranian government, via the Consulate General in Mumbai, refuted reports of Mojtaba Khamenei being named as his late father Ayatollah Khamenei's successor. In a post on X on Wednesday, the consulate said, "Reports circulating on media regarding potential candidates for leadership selected by Iran's Assembly of Experts have no official source and are officially denied." According to Axios, the US president also argued that Washington should not accept a new Iranian leader who would pursue policies similar to those of the late Khamenei. His remarks come amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. - ANI New energy capacity to be built Tech giants to fund own AI power needs President Donald Trump has launched a "Ratepayer Protection Pledge" with major technology companies to address the soaring energy demands of artificial intelligence. The initiative commits firms like Google, Meta, and Amazon to fund or generate the electricity required for their AI data centers, insulating ordinary consumers from potential cost increases. Officials and executives, including US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Google's Ruth Porat, emphasized the policy's role in maintaining U.S. technological leadership and detailed ongoing investments in new energy capacity. The move responds to global concerns about expanding power grids for AI infrastructure without burdening households. Trump announces a pledge with Google, Meta, and Amazon to fund new power for AI data centers without raising consumer electricity costs. Washington, March 5 President Donald Trump has unveiled a new initiative aimed at powering the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in the United States while preventing electricity costs from rising for households, bringing together some of the world's largest technology companies in what the White House called a "Ratepayer Protection Pledge." Speaking at a White House roundtable with executives from major tech firms on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the agreement would allow companies building massive AI data centres to generate or pay for their own electricity rather than relying on existing power grids. "These are exciting times," Trump said at the event. Under the pledge, technology companies including Google, Meta, Amazon Web Services, OpenAI and Oracle committed to funding the energy generation required for their expanding AI operations. "Under this new agreement, big tech companies are committing to fully cover the costs of increased electricity production required for AI data centres," Trump said. He said the arrangement would ensure that electricity costs for ordinary Americans would not increase as the technology industry expands. "This means that the tech companies and the data centres will be able to get the electricity they need all without driving up electricity costs for consumers," he said. Trump said companies would build new energy capacity to support their projects. "Build your own power plant," he said. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the policy was essential for maintaining America's technological leadership. "The nation that leads in AI will be the military superpower," Wright said. Google President Ruth Porat said the company was expanding electricity generation capacity alongside its data centre investments. "In Texas alone, we have contracted to add more than 7800MW of net new energy generation and capacity to the grid," Porat said. Meta executive Dina Powell McCormick said the company was committing to cover the full cost of energy used in its facilities. "We want to fully cover the cost of the energy that we use in our data centres," she said. She added that the company's investments were already helping reduce energy costs in some communities. "In Louisiana... we have been able to lower the costs of so many Louisiana payers, energy payers, an estimated $650 million over 15 years," she said. Trump said the policy would help ensure the United States remains dominant in emerging technologies. "The United States is leading the world in AI by a lot," he said. "We're leading China. We're leading everybody by a lot." The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has driven a surge in demand for data centres, which require enormous amounts of electricity to power advanced computing systems. Governments around the world are increasingly examining how to expand power generation and grid capacity to support AI infrastructure without raising electricity prices for consumers. - IANS President Donald Trump declared the United States holds a significant lead over China in the development of artificial intelligence during a White House roundtable. He accused China of monopolizing the global wind turbine manufacturing market and "dumping" the equipment in Europe, which he characterized as a flawed strategy. Trump linked energy infrastructure expansion directly to maintaining U.S. supremacy in AI and advanced computing. He also highlighted a trend of automotive companies from Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and South Korea shifting production to the United States. President Trump asserts US leadership in artificial intelligence over China and criticizes Chinese wind turbine market dominance in Europe during energy roundtable. Washington, March 5 President Donald Trump has said the United States had taken a clear lead over China in artificial intelligence while accusing Beijing of dominating the global wind turbine market and dumping the equipment in Europe. Speaking during a White House roundtable on the 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the United States was ahead in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure. "The United States is leading the world in AI by a lot," Trump said. "We're leading China. We're leading everybody by a lot." The president framed artificial intelligence as a strategic competition between major powers, saying the country that leads in the technology would also dominate militarily. "The nation that leads in AI will be the military superpower," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during the event. Trump also criticised China's role in the global wind energy industry, accusing Beijing of cornering the wind turbine manufacturing market. "They make all the windmills," Trump said, adding that China exports the turbines in large quantities to Europe. According to Trump, European countries have purchased Chinese wind turbines extensively as part of their renewable energy expansion. "They sell them to the suckers over in Europe," Trump said. He suggested that the wind energy push in Europe was not working as expected and claimed China itself was not relying heavily on wind farms. "You ever think somebody is going to have to look at that?" Trump said. "How many wind farms have you seen lately in China?" Trump also pointed to China's rapid expansion of energy infrastructure, acknowledging that Beijing was building large amounts of new capacity. "I read where China is building tremendous energy," he said. However, he said the United States was undertaking similar efforts as it expands electricity generation to support artificial intelligence and data centre growth. "We're building similar amounts. We're building what we need," Trump said. The president argued that expanding energy supply was essential to maintain US leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. Trump also used the event to highlight shifts in global manufacturing supply chains, saying companies from several countries were relocating production to the United States. He said car manufacturers from Canada and Mexico were building new plants in the United States in response to US trade policies. "They're coming in from Canada and Mexico," Trump said. Trump also named Germany, Japan, and South Korea as countries whose automotive companies were expanding manufacturing in the United States. "They're all coming here to build cars again," he said. The president linked the trend to tariffs imposed during his administration, saying trade pressure had encouraged companies to shift production to the United States. "They're all coming here to build cars again," he said, adding that companies from Europe and Asia were responding to new economic incentives. Taiwan was briefly mentioned during Trump's remarks on global semiconductor manufacturing, as the president discussed the return of chip production to the United States. Trump said the US was rebuilding its domestic semiconductor industry and reversing earlier manufacturing losses. "We lost the chip industry," he said, adding that companies were now returning production to the United States. - IANS The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has affirmed the resilience and stability of the country's banking and financial sector despite regional geopolitical developments. Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama stated the system maintains strong capital and liquidity buffers, well above international regulatory thresholds. Total assets of the sector now exceed AED 5.42 trillion, reflecting its scale and capacity to support economic activity. The central bank continues to monitor stability indicators and maintains tools to safeguard financial confidence. UAE Central Bank Governor says banking sector is resilient with strong capital buffers, exceeding AED 5.42 trillion in assets amid regional developments. Abu Dhabi, March 5 The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday affirmed that the country's banking and financial sector remains resilient, stable, and well-positioned to navigate ongoing regional developments. In a press statement, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the UAE's central bank, said banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies across the United Arab Emirates continue to operate normally and are providing services efficiently and without disruption nationwide. Balama noted that the UAE's financial system has built a strong legacy of trust and stability over more than five decades, supported by the country's leadership and strong regulatory frameworks. Despite geopolitical developments across the region over the years, the UAE's banking and financial sector has demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and sustained growth, reinforcing the country's status as a secure global financial hub. "Despite the successive geopolitical developments witnessed across the region during this period, the Central Bank and the UAE's banking and financial sector have consistently demonstrated a strong capacity for resilience, adaptability, and sustained growth. This has further reinforced the UAE's position as a trusted and secure destination and a leading financial hub at both the regional and global levels," the statement read. Highlighting the sector's financial strength, the governor said the banking system maintains strong capital and liquidity buffers. The capital adequacy ratio currently stands at 17 per cent, while the Liquidity Coverage Ratio exceeds 146.6 per cent, both significantly above regulatory thresholds recommended by international financial supervisory bodies. Balama further said that total assets of the UAE's banking and financial sector have surpassed AED 5.42 trillion, reflecting the scale and robustness of financial institutions in the country and their capacity to support economic activity under different conditions. "The capital adequacy ratio currently stands at 17%, while the Liquidity Coverage Ratio exceeds 146.6%, both significantly above the regulatory thresholds recommended by international supervisory bodies and global financial institutions," the statement read. "In addition, total assets of the UAE banking and financial sector now exceed AED 5.42 trillion, reflecting the scale, resilience, and strength of financial institutions operating in the country, as well as their capacity to meet obligations and sustain support for economic activity under various conditions," it added. The governor also reaffirmed that the UAE's banking systems, payment infrastructure, and financial networks continue to function efficiently, supported by advanced technological and operational frameworks that ensure secure and uninterrupted financial services. According to the central bank, financial institutions in the country have implemented advanced risk-management and business-continuity frameworks aligned with global best practices, enabling them to respond effectively to emerging challenges and developments. Balama added that the central bank continues to monitor financial stability indicators closely and conducts regular assessments and stress-testing exercises to ensure the continued strength of the banking system. The regulator also maintains a range of prudential and monetary policy tools to take timely action when necessary to safeguard financial stability and reinforce confidence in the sector. Reaffirming the central bank's commitment, Balama said authorities will continue to closely monitor developments and maintain operational readiness while supporting the country's sustainable economic growth. - ANI Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna following Kumar's surprise announcement to contest Rajya Sabha elections. Patna, March 5 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday arrived in Patna and met with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The development comes following Nitish Kumar's announcement to move to Rajya Sabha after having a 20-year tenure as the CM of Bihar. Shah, who is set to participate in Rajya Sabha nomination procedure of BJP president Nitin Nabin was welcomed by him upon his arrival in Patna. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar's decision to file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election, paving the way for a new Chief Minister in the state, has taken Janata Dal (United) workers and supporters by surprise. The JD (U) workers and supporters, protesting outside the Chief Minister's residence in Patna, refused to believe that Nitish Kumar has decided to give up the Chief Minister post. "It is possible that his account has been hijacked," a JDU worker said, reacting to Nitish Kumar's confirmation on a post on X. Another worker said that they will organise a protest if CM Nitish Kumar doesn't change his decision. "Nitish Kumar cannot insult the public's mandate. There is a huge pressure on him as part of a major conspiracy," another supporter said. Another supporter seemed distraught at Nitish Kumar's decision and urged him to remain CM. "This is heartbreaking. Nitish Kumar has been serving the people of Bihar from the student movement to this day... The people of Bihar consider him their family. No one else besides Nitish Kumar can be the Chief Minister here. We want Nitish Kumar to remain the CM," he said. Nitish Kumar has confirmed that he will be heading to the Rajya Sabha and will file his nomination in the current cycle of elections. The 75-year-old further said that the new Cabinet would have his full support. "I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X. - ANI The United States has initiated charter flights to evacuate American citizens from several Middle Eastern countries as regional tensions rise. The State Department reports that over 17,500 citizens have safely returned since February 28, with a significant surge in recent departures. Officials are assisting Americans through a 24-hour emergency task force and a crisis intake system for those seeking charter flights or ground transport. For security reasons, specific operational details of the ongoing evacuation efforts remain limited. The US State Department launches charter flights to evacuate citizens from the Middle East amid rising tensions. Thousands have already returned home. Washington, March 5 The United States has begun charter flights to evacuate American citizens from the Middle East, as Washington ramps up efforts to help thousands return home amid rising tensions in the region. A Department of State charter flight carrying American citizens departed the Middle East for the United States on Wednesday as part of the ongoing evacuation effort. "Today, a Department of State charter flight of American citizens departed the Middle East en route to the United States as part of our ongoing efforts to assist Americans' return home," the State Department said in a media note. Officials said additional flights would follow as the government expands its evacuation operations across several countries in the region. "Additional flights will be surged across the region," the department said. The State Department said the evacuation programme is aimed at assisting Americans located in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. Citizens seeking assistance have been asked to register through a crisis intake system set up by the department. "The US Department of State is taking historic action to assist American citizens who wish to depart the Middle East, return to the United States," the department said. Americans in those countries interested in charter flights or ground transportation options have been asked to complete a crisis intake form or contact the State Department's round-the-clock emergency task force. Since February 28, thousands of Americans have already returned home from the region as the evacuation effort intensified. "Since February 28, over 17,500 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East - with over 8,500 U.S. American citizens returning to the US yesterday alone," Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said in a statement. Officials said many more Americans have already left the Middle East but are still travelling through other countries before reaching the United States. "Many more Americans have left the Middle East to other countries in Europe and Asia, and others have safely departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States," Johnson said. The State Department said its 24-hour emergency task force has been actively assisting Americans across the region with travel information and guidance. "Through the State Department's 24/7 Task Force, we have assisted nearly 6,500 Americans abroad, including offering security guidance and travel assistance," Johnson said. Officials added that the department would continue helping Americans who wish to leave the region. "The US State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen abroad who wishes to depart the Middle East, to do so," Johnson said. Authorities said operational details of the evacuation effort would remain limited for security reasons. "For operational security purposes, additional information about ongoing transportation operations will not be released at this time," the State Department said. Later, a senior State Department official said that the government had mobilised hundreds of personnel to assist Americans across the region and coordinate departures through a mix of commercial flights, charter aircraft, and ground transport options. "Our top priority is moving Americans from danger to safety," the official said. Large-scale evacuations from the Middle East have taken place in past conflicts as well, including during the Iraq war and the 2006 Lebanon crisis, when Washington helped thousands of American citizens leave the region safely. - IANS A dispute between the United States and a Russian-Chinese bloc over including an Iran sanctions briefing has prevented the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council's official programme of work for March. The U.S., holding the rotating presidency, published an unofficial "Plan of Work" with several days left blank due to the impasse. Russia publicly stated its objection, arguing that European powers had no legal right to trigger sanctions "snapback" against Iran under the nuclear deal. This incident marks the second consecutive year Russia has blocked the agenda during a U.S. presidency, underscoring the Council's deep polarization. A US-Russia-China dispute over Iran sanctions briefing stalls UN Security Council's March agenda, highlighting deep divisions paralyzing its work. United Nations, March 5 In a stark portrayal of the Security Council's polarisation that paralyses its work, a dispute between the US and a combination of Russia and China over charting Iran in the month's agenda has stalled the adoption of its programme of work while Washington presides over it. After a flamboyant start on Monday when US First Lady Melania Trump presided over the first open session of the month under the US presidency, the Council went dormant the next two days and is to resume on Thursday. Without a programme of work, which has to be unanimous, the US, in a sleight of diplomacy, published what it called a "Plan of Work" with meetings pencilled in for 11 days of the 21 working days of the month and ten left blank. Asked about the imbroglio, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "Frankly, we've been concerned about the lack of unity in the Security Council for some while now, in dealing with a number of issues". "I think the Security Council has a primary responsibility in the maintenance of peace and security, and we encourage members to find common ground to that end," he said. In an unusual action, Russia went public with the dispute, posting a note on its mission's website on why Moscow and Beijing prevented the adoption of the programme of work. At the heart of the dispute is the US calling for a briefing on the work of the sanctions committee for Iran on Tuesday, exercising its authority because it has the alphabetically rotating presidency for March. The committee is known as the 1737 Committee after the number of the Council resolution on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the deal, the sanctions were loosened, but the resolution provided for a "snapback" -- the reimposition of sanctions if Iran did not comply with the JCPOA restrictions on its nuclear programme. Britain, France and Germany, which were parties to the JCPOA, declared that Iran had broken the deal by enriching uranium beyond the levels imposed and invoked the snapback. Russia said that the three countries "had no right to invoke this mechanism" and "there is no consensus within the Security Council on the legality of the actions taken by the UK, France, and Germany". Since the US turned down its request not to put the 1737 Committee's work on the agenda, "we had no other choice but to object to the adoption of the UNSC programme of work for March". Russia had also blocked the adoption of the programme of work in 2023 during the US presidency. Traditionally, the Council presidents hold two signature events on issues important to them with high-level participation. The US held one on Monday with Melania Trump on children, education and technology, and has scheduled another on "Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security" on Thursday. The situations in Palestine, Syria, Myanmar and Afghanistan also figure in the US plan of work. - IANS US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth assured Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz of America's unwavering support, urging Israel to "continue to the end." The call included condolences for US service members killed in Iranian attacks and praise for unprecedented military cooperation. In a major escalation, Iran has threatened to target Israel's Dimona nuclear site if the US and Israel attempt to topple its regime. Simultaneously, Iran's IRGC announced a new wave of combined missile and drone operations, claiming to have destroyed advanced US and Israeli radar systems. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tells Israel to "continue to the end." Iran threatens to target Israel's Dimona nuclear site in escalating conflict. Jerusalem, March 5 Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has spoken to his American counterpart, the US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, his office told the Times of Israel, the publication reported on Thursday. According to a readout from the defence minister's office, Katz condoled the death of six US service members who were killed in Iranian attacks, "and noted that Israel is doing and will continue to do everything to assist in protecting the safety of US troops in the region." "Katz asked to thank US President Trump for the great support for Israel and noted that the cooperation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu against Iran is changing regional and global history," the statement said. Katz also thanked Hegseth "for his great support for Israel and for the extensive assistance in defending the citizens of the State of Israel against the Iranian missile threat, and noted the close and unprecedented cooperation between the militaries to achieve all of the war's objectives." The defence minister's office further told the Times of Israel that Hegseth "praised the unprecedented cooperation between the militaries and the capabilities of the IDF" and told Katz: "Continue to the end, we are with you." Meanwhile, Iran today threatened to target the Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US sought to topple the Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's Defence Minister, Katz, who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. Iran's IRGC also said today that it has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation 'True Promise 4' as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV. In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States. The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. - ANI Iran's Foreign Minister has strongly condemned the US for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean, warning Washington will regret setting this precedent. US officials, including the Secretary of War and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, confirmed the strike, highlighting it as a demonstration of American global reach. In response, Iran has threatened to target Israel's Dimona nuclear site and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched a new wave of missile and drone operations against American and Israeli targets. The IRGC claims these strikes have destroyed advanced radar systems, blinding the surveillance network of both countries in the region. Iran's FM says US will regret sinking IRIS Dena. US confirms torpedo strike. Iran threatens retaliation and launches new missile operations. Tehran, March 5 Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the United States will come to regret its action of destroying the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean. In a post on X, Araghchi said, The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." Araghchi's comment follows the confirmation on Wednesday by United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that an US submarine had sunk the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena". "In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win," Hegseth said. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, called the hit an incredible demonstration of America's global reach. "As the secretary showed the video, for the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mark 48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea. I want to remind everybody that this is an incredible demonstration of America's global reach to hunt, find, and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale," he said. Iran today threatened to target the Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US sought to topple the Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. Iran's IRGC also said today that it has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation 'True Promise 4' as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States.The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. - ANI Preparations are in full swing in Haridwar for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit on March 7. He will review a special exhibition showcasing the development works and welfare schemes implemented in Uttarakhand over the past four years under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The exhibition will highlight progress in infrastructure, healthcare, education, tourism, and border area development. A separate exhibition on the new "Nyaya Sanhita" criminal laws will also be organized to raise public awareness. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Haridwar to review an exhibition on Uttarakhand's 4-year development and address a public gathering. Haridwar, March 5 Preparations are underway on a massive scale ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's proposed visit to Haridwar on March 7. In view of Shah's visit, Uttarakhand's Chief Secretary, Anand Bardhan, the Director General of Police (DGP), Deepam Seth, and other senior officials arrived at the Bairagi Camp in Haridwar to inspect the event venue. Additionally, the administration is making extensive arrangements as the Uttarakhand government approaches the completion of its four-year tenure. On March 7, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will visit Bairagi Camp in Haridwar to review various exhibitions and address a public gathering, a release said. The event will also be attended by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state ministers, Members of Parliament, MLAs, public representatives, and senior officials. On this occasion, Amit Shah will visit a special exhibition showcasing the development works, public welfare schemes, and significant decisions taken in Uttarakhand over the past four years under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The exhibition will highlight the state government's initiatives in areas such as infrastructure development, strengthening of roads and connectivity, expansion of healthcare services, improvements in the education sector, investment promotion, tourism development, preservation of religious and cultural heritage, and development of border areas. Through the exhibition, the government will also highlight efforts made to strengthen good governance, transparency, and citizen-centric services in the state. Various departments will present visual displays, photographs, models, and informative panels depicting the transformation and development that Uttarakhand has witnessed in recent years, enabling people to better understand the state's development journey. In addition, a state-level exhibition on the theme "Nyaya Sanhita" will also be organised at Bairagi Camp from March 7 to March 9, 2026. The exhibition aims to create awareness about the effective implementation of the new criminal laws introduced by the Government of India, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. The new legal codes mark a comprehensive and historic transformation in India's criminal justice system. Their objective is to replace colonial-era provisions and establish a citizen-centric, transparent, accountable, and technology-driven justice system. Under the concept of "Justice instead of mere punishment," priority has been given to protecting the rights of victims, safeguarding the dignity of women and children, and ensuring scientific and time-bound investigations. - ANI Ship can no longer fire Kalibr missiles at Ukraine - SBU sources on strike against frigate Admiral Essen The frigate Admiral Essen, struck during an SBU and Defense Forces attack on the port of Novorossiysk in the early hours of March 2, sustained critical damage that significantly limits its ability to deploy Kalibr cruise missiles, an SBU source told Interfax-Ukraine. The source briefed the agency on Thursday on details of the strike against the Admiral Essen, which is a carrier of eight Kalibr cruise missiles. "The strike hit the ships mid-section superstructure. As a result, grenade launchers for firing thermal decoys and radio signal dispersers exploded, and the TK-25 electronic warfare system, which detects radar emissions and creates jamming, was damaged," the source said. In addition, according to the source, the ZR-90 Oryekh target illumination radars, which are part of the guidance system for the ships air defense missile complex, were struck, and the main Fregat-M2M surveillance radar responsible for long-range detection of air and surface targets was likely damaged. "The ship sustained critical damage that significantly limits its ability to deploy Kalibr cruise missiles. The frigate is currently unable to strike Ukrainian territory," the source said. The source added that during the operation the SBU penetrated the dense, multi-layered enemy air defense system around Novorossiysk bay and port. A fire on deck burned for around 18 hours, indicating serious internal destruction and difficulties for damage control teams. Voting began in Nepal's 2026 general election, a snap poll triggered by a massive youth-led movement that ousted the previous coalition. Citizens expressed a strong desire for political stability and systemic reform to tackle corruption. Over 18.9 million registered voters will choose from 6,541 candidates competing for 275 parliamentary seats. The Election Commission has deployed extensive security and logistics to ensure a free and fair process, with initial results expected swiftly. Nepal's snap election commences as voters demand stability and an end to corruption. Over 18.9 million voters to decide fate of 6,541 candidates. Kathmandu, March 5 Voting for Nepal's 2026 general election officially commenced on Thursday morning, with citizens arriving at polling stations like the Annapurna Vinayak School in Kathmandu to cast their ballots. The atmosphere reflected a mix of civic duty and a desire for structural change, as voters expressed a need for fresh leadership and systemic reform. "We want a good candidate to win, we support our young generation. The main issue in Nepal is political instability and we want stability and the issue of corruption to be resolved," one voter remarked while speaking to ANI. This high-stakes snap election was triggered by the massive "Gen Z movement" in September, which ousted the KP Sharma Oli-led coalition and led to the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Following a report by The Kathmandu Post, the Election Commission, under the administration of Sushila Karki, has finalised all measures to establish an elected government after a six-month interim period. It was Karki's initial executive act on September 12 to suggest the lower house's dissolution to President Ramchandra Paudel, who then mandated the March 5 polling date. "All the arrangements for free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections are in place," stated acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari. He "urged everyone to exercise their franchise without fear" during the 10-hour voting window from 7 am until 5 pm. The Kathmandu Post highlighted that 18,903,689 voters are registered to decide the fate of 6,541 candidates vying for the 275-seat House of Representatives. This electorate sees an increase of 915,119 voters since 2022, with 52 per cent belonging to the 18-40 youth demographic. Of the candidates, 3,406 are competing under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system and 3,135 through proportional representation. Within the FPTP category, 65 parties have fielded 2,263 contenders for 165 seats, while 1,143 individuals stand as independents. Demographic data reveals that direct elections feature 3,017 male and 388 female candidates, with only one representative from the sexual and gender minority community. The Kathmandu Post noted that most candidates are over 41 years old, while only 201 are 30 years or younger. To ensure safety across 10,963 polling stations, 341,113 security personnel have been deployed, including 149,000 "election police" hired temporarily. A Security Council meeting led by Prime Minister Karki on Wednesday determined that arrangements are sufficient to ensure a transparent process. "No force can disrupt the election," Bhandari asserted, expecting high youth engagement to boost turnout. The commission is also prioritising logistics in difficult terrain. "Our effort will be to collect the ballot boxes from the hill regions as quickly as possible. If feasible, they will be transported by helicopter," Bhandari said. He added that officials expect to "publish the results of the first-past-the-post vote within 24 hours after vote counting begins." - ANI Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a meeting to review preparations for the upcoming wheat procurement at Minimum Support Price, set to begin on March 16 in Madhya Pradesh. He directed district collectors to ensure complete arrangements, including proper verification of registered farmers, availability of gunny bags, and timely payments. The procurement will be carried out in phases across different divisions of the state until mid-May. The CM also emphasized performance-based accountability for officials and instructed districts to improve communication setups for better review of development works. Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav reviews wheat procurement prep for March 16 start. Key directives on farmer registration, payments & district arrangements. Bhopal, March 5 As wheat procurement at the Minimum Support Price in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to begin from March 16, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday directed district collectors to ensure complete arrangements for verification of identified farmers among those registered, availability of gunny bags at procurement centres, and timely payment to farmers. Chairing a virtual meeting with senior administrative officials and district collectors, the Chief Minister directed that procurement centres be identified and established within the stipulated timeline and that all necessary facilities be ensured at these centres. He also instructed that the staff engaged in procurement work be properly trained and that the District Procurement Committees hold regular meetings to ensure prompt resolution of issues. Farmers should also be provided with updated information in a simple and accessible manner, the Chief Minister said during the meeting. "During the meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav emphasised that only those collectors who deliver performance and results in all district activities will remain in the field, and the same principle will apply to all officers and employees," according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also issued instructions regarding the video conferencing (VC) setup in districts and directed the Alirajpur, Chhindwara, Pandhurna, Balaghat and Bhopal districts to complete the required arrangements immediately. He said that the VC setup would help officials and public representatives from all departments establish communication up to the Panchayat level, facilitating better review of development and public welfare works. According to the state government, wheat procurement will be carried out from March 16 to May 5 in the Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal and Narmadapuram divisions, and from March 23 to May 12 in the remaining divisions of Jabalpur, Gwalior, Rewa, Shahdol, Chambal and Sagar. Farmers will be able to complete their registration for the procurement process until March 7. During the meeting, the Chief Minister also issued necessary guidelines regarding the preparation of a 'vision document' at the Assembly constituency level. He directed officials to immediately and effectively counter any false or misleading information regarding governance and administration at the district level. - IANS Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's two-decade tenure, crediting him with ending the state's "Jungle Raj" and propelling development. The remarks came as Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, accompanied by Shah and other NDA leaders. Kumar's move to the Upper House paves the way for a leadership change in Bihar, marking the end of a significant political era. Having served as Chief Minister for a record ten terms since 2005, Kumar thanked the people of Bihar and pledged to continue working for the state's development. Union HM Amit Shah credits Nitish Kumar for freeing Bihar from 'Jungle Raj' as the CM files for Rajya Sabha, marking a political era's end. Patna, March 5 Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday, effusively praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's governance, stretching over the past two decades, even as the latter signed nomination papers for the next course of his political journey, from Legislature to the Parliament while also paving way for the leadership change in the state. Union Minister Amit Shah hailed Nitish Kumar as the 'messiah of poor' and credited him for freeing the state from the "clutches of Jungle Raj". The remarks came moments after Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Amit Shah exchanged greetings, as the latter accompanied the Bihar Chief Minister for filing of nomination papers for election to the Upper House of the Parliament. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "For past two decades, Nitish government's commitment and dedicated leadership for the welfare of the people of Bihar has freed the state from jungle raj and propelled it forward in the direction of development and good governance." Taking to his official X account, the Union Home Minister also shared images of Nitish Kumar filing his Rajya Sabha nomination while he stood by his side. Union Minister Shah said, "Your extensive experience in public service and deep understanding of policy-making will make the Rajya Sabha proceedings even more effective. Your esteemed presence will further strengthen the NDA's resolve of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'." The Bihar Chief Minister filed his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin, former Agiaon MLA and BJP leader Shivesh Kumar, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur and Upendra Kushwaha -- a NDA nominee whose candidature was finalised at the last moment, after high-level deliberations among the BJP and its allies. The eminent exit of Nitish Kumar from Bihar's politics will mark the 'end of an era', however, that will formally happen only after the Rajya Sabha elections are completed by March 16. Nitish Kumar has served as the Bihar Chief Minister for record 10 terms since 2005, barring few months when Jitan Ram Manjhi was handpicked to lead the state government after JD-U suffered a dent in the 2014 Parliamentary elections. In his emotional note, Nitish Kumar thanked the people for placing their faith and trust in him and also pledged to keep working with them steadfastly for building a developed Bihar. - IANS Due to scheduled maintenance from Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 10 PM to Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 2 AM, there may be interruptions for our News Gazette Digital subscribers. During this time frame, please click on any News Gazette website content without logging into your News Gazette Digital subscription account. Thank you for your patience during this scheduled maintenance. Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the return of 200 Ukrainians from Russian captivity in a prisoner exchange and thanked the United States for its support in carrying out the swap. "Today, 200 Ukrainian families received the most anticipated message: their relatives are returning home. And this is always good news for all of us, for the entire country the return of our people to their native land. Among those returning are the defenders of Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia. Soldiers of the Armed Forces, the State Special Transport Service, border guards and National Guardsmen," Zelenskyy wrote in Telegram on Thursday. The head of state stressed that "this proves that Ukraine is working to bring back each and every one. We forget no one." "We are engaging intermediaries. I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine. I thank the United States for its support in carrying out this exchange. I am grateful to all our soldiers on the front line who ensure the replenishment of Ukraines exchange pool. The return of our people home is the result of the strength of Ukraines defenders," Zelenskyy added. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that Thursdays exchange was the first stage of a prisoner swap carried out under agreements reached at trilateral talks in Geneva, Switzerland. "In addition to soldiers and sergeants, officers were also freed. Those released from captivity will undergo a full medical examination, receive assistance with physical and psychological rehabilitation, and all state-mandated payments We express our gratitude to the United States of America and President Donald Trump for their productive work in returning Ukrainians from Russian territory. We also thank all relevant structures and organizations for their coordinated efforts aimed at freeing our citizens," the statement said. The Coordination Headquarters announced that the next stage of the release of Ukrainian defenders would take place in the near future, without specifying a date or the number of prisoners to be returned. Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov added that the freed prisoners face treatment, recovery and care ahead of them. Budanov noted that this is the first stage of the exchange agreed upon during the Geneva talks. "We are grateful to US President Donald Trump and his administration for facilitating this exchange. I always stress that the release of Ukrainian prisoners is a priority for our negotiating team, and on the instruction of the President of Ukraine we continue working to bring everyone home," Budanov wrote on his Telegram channel. Russias Defense Ministry said on Thursday that a prisoner exchange with Ukraine had taken place on a "200 for 200" basis. According to Russian media, a "500 for 500" prisoner exchange with Ukraine is taking place on March 5-6 under the Geneva agreements, with a second "300 for 300" swap to follow on Friday. The United Arab Emirates and the United States are serving as intermediaries. As reported, the last prisoner exchange took place on February 5 of this year, when 157 Ukrainians returned home. On February 14, Zelenskyy said Russia is currently holding approximately 7,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Ukraine holds over 4,000 Russian prisoners, and Ukraine is ready to conduct an all-for-all exchange if Russia is willing. The World Health Organization (WHO), together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), congratulates Chile for becoming the first country in the Americas and the second globally to be officially verified as having eliminated leprosy disease. Leprosy (Hansen disease) was historically recorded in Chile at the end of the 19th century on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The disease was limited in mainland Chile, with sporadic introductions, contained through isolation and treatment measures in the Island, where the last secondary cases were managed by the late 1990s. Since then, Chile has not reported any locally acquired case of leprosy for more than 30 years, with the last locally acquired case detected in 1993. However, the disease was never removed from the country's public health agenda; it has remained a notifiable condition, monitored through mandatory reporting, integrated surveillance, and continuous clinical readiness across the health system. This landmark public health achievement is a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish. Chile's elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history." Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General The verification recognizes more than three decades of sustained public health action, robust surveillance, long-term political commitment, and a health system that has remained vigilant even in the absence of local transmission. "Chile's achievement demonstrates that eliminating leprosy is achievable and requires building strong systems that can detect, respond to, and provide comprehensive care for people affected by the disease, including those living with chronic disabilities," said PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa. "Being the first country in the Americas to be confirmed as eliminating leprosy sends a powerful message to the Region that diseases strongly linked to groups living in vulnerable conditions can be eliminated, contributing to interrupt the vicious circle between disease and poverty." At the request of Chile's Ministry of Health, PAHO and WHO convened an independent expert panel in 2025 to assess whether elimination had been achieved and could be sustained over time. The panel conducted a thorough assessment, reviewing epidemiological data, surveillance mechanisms, case management protocols, and sustainability plans. Its findings confirmed the absence of local transmission and validated Chile's capacity to detect and respond to future cases occurring among the non-autochthonous population. "This is very good news and a source of great pride for our country. Chile has received verification of the elimination of leprosy disease, becoming the first country in the Americas and the second globally to achieve this recognition," said Ximena Aguilera, Chile's Minister of Health. "This milestone reflects decades of sustained public health efforts, including prevention strategies, early diagnosis, effective treatment, continuous follow-up, and the commitment of health teams across the country. It also reaffirms our responsibility to maintain active surveillance and ensure respectful, stigma-free care for all." Sustained training, surveillance and holistic care in a low-incidence setting Between 2012 and 2023, Chile reported 47 cases nationwide, none of which were locally acquired. Chile's integrated model ensures early detection and comprehensive care: primary care centers serve as the entry point for suspected cases, with timely referrals to specialized dermatology services for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. Clinicians receive training aligned with WHO's Towards zero leprosy strategy. The system prioritizes early intervention, disability prevention, and holistic care, including physiotherapy and rehabilitation services, ensuring that anyone affected by leprosy receives continuous support for both acute and long-term health needs to promote full recovery and social inclusion. A milestone for the Region of the Americas Chile's accomplishment paves the way for other nations, illustrating the impact of political will, cross-sector collaboration, and adaptive planning in low-incidence settings. Since 1995, PAHO, in coordination with WHO, has provided multidrug therapy (MDT) free of charge to countries in the Americas, including Chile. This uninterrupted access to treatment, combined with national supply systems, has been essential to curing patients, preventing disability, and interrupting transmission. PAHO has also supported Chile in aligning surveillance with international standards, strengthening laboratory capacity, and maintaining clinical expertise in a low-incidence context, where many health professionals may never encounter a case during their careers. Ensuring access and coverage for everyone Chile's elimination of leprosy has been achieved within a broader legal and social framework that protects human rights, promotes inclusion, and prevents discrimination. National legislation guarantees equal access to health care, social protection, and disability services, ensuring that people affected by leprosy receive care without stigma or exclusion. Chile's mixed publicprivate health system, with strong regulatory oversight, further strengthens equitable access, including for migrants and other vulnerable populations. Sustaining elimination Aligned with WHO's Towards zero leprosy strategy and PAHO's Disease Elimination Initiative, Chile's experience demonstrates that elimination is not defined solely by the absence of disease, but by a sustained health system capable of detecting, responding to, and providing holistic care whenever a case appears. Moving into the post-elimination phase, Chile is encouraged to continue reporting to WHO, maintain sensitive surveillance, and ensure that clinical expertise is retained for future sporadic cases as well as any cases acquired outside the country. The verification panel also recommended formally designating a referral centre and leveraging WHO Academy's online training for health workers and staff, strengthening long-term capacity and preparedness. The Georgia Institute of Technology has been awarded up to $21.8 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to deliver a first-of-its-kind therapy to patients with lymphatic disease. For many of these patients, care has long meant pain and disfigurement alongside other severe side effects, rather than receiving treatment that addresses the disease itself. This new ARPA-H award marks a potential turning point. Lead researcher Susan Napier Thomas, Woodruff Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), has collaborated with her colleague J. Brandon Dixon, Woodruff Professor in the Woodruff School and IBB, for more than a decade on this project. The research partners are driven by the lack of meaningful treatment options available to patients. Funding support at this level is unprecedented. It finally gives us a chance to move beyond symptom management and toward real treatment. We're addressing an underserved population with a huge unmet need." Susan Napier Thomas, Woodruff Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering A gap in care The lymphatic system helps keep fluid moving through the body and plays a key role in immune health. When it does not function properly, fluid can build up in tissues, causing chronic pain and other long-term complications. Thomas noted that despite its toll on patients, lymphatic disease has lagged decades behind cardiovascular care in both treatment and research investment. "We are excited about this groundbreaking project in lymphatic engineering," said Andres Garcia, IBB executive director. "By uniting interdisciplinary expertise, this work addresses long-standing challenges in lymphatic disease and moves meaningful solutions closer to the patients who need them most." What comes next In the coming years, Thomas, Dixon, and their research partners will work toward an initial human trial, with an early focus on rare lymphatic conditions in children, as well as chronic disease in adults. "This award reflects Georgia Tech's growing leadership in using engineering to solve some of healthcare's biggest challenges," said Carolyn Seepersad, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair and professor in the Woodruff School. "It reinforces the Institute's role in advancing innovations that improve patient care and strengthen Georgia's position as a hub for health technology and biomedical innovation." The award was made through ARPA-H's Groundbreaking Lymphatic Interventions and Drug Exploration (GLIDE) program led by Dr. Kimberley Steele. A new international study published in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine has mapped global blood transfusion practices for life-threatening abdominal injuries, highlighting significant variation in care worldwide and opportunities for health systems to learn from one another. The research, led by the University of Cambridge as part of the GOAL-Trauma study, analysed data from 1,768 patients treated in 187 hospitals across 51 countries. It represents the first multicentre international study to report on blood transfusion strategies for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery following trauma (trauma laparotomy). Uncontrolled bleeding is the leading cause of death following abdominal trauma, making optimal blood transfusion a critical component of care. However, the study found marked variation in how blood is administered across resource settings. Hospitals in higher-resource settings were significantly more likely to use component therapy the process of separating donated blood into packed red blood cells, plasma and platelets. In contrast, whole blood transfusion where blood is used without being separated was more than twice as common in lower-resource settings. Shared learning across health systems While whole blood has remained a routine practice for decades in many lower-resource hospitals, it has recently attracted renewed interest in high-income trauma systems. The researchers suggest that clinicians in lower-resource settings have accumulated substantial practical experience in organising blood donation and delivering whole blood transfusions in emergency contexts experience that could help inform its safe and effective use elsewhere. For us, whole blood has long been a routine part of trauma resuscitation because it is simpler to store and deliver quickly. It is encouraging to see international data recognising its continued role in trauma care. This supports ongoing efforts to strengthen trauma systems in settings like ours." Dr. Joachim Amoako, Senior Lecturer/Vascular and General Surgeon, University of Ghana Limited uptake of a low-cost life-saving drug The study also identified low global uptake of tranexamic acid (TXA), an inexpensive medicine known to reduce death from traumatic bleeding when given early. Despite being recommended as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization, TXA was used in less than 30% of cases globally, highlighting ongoing challenges in translating clinical evidence into routine practice. "One concerning finding was the low use of tranexamic acid," said Professor Timothy Hardcastle, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. "TXA is an inexpensive and widely available drug with strong evidence showing it reduces deaths from traumatic bleeding when given early. It is routinely used in obstetric haemorrhage and is often available even in lower-resource settings. Yet it was administered in fewer than one in three patients overall. Improving early use of proven, affordable treatments like TXA could make a meaningful difference to trauma outcomes worldwide." The researchers conclude that understanding these global variations is an important step towards developing context-appropriate transfusion guidance and designing future international studies. Further investigation into the role of whole blood, they suggest, will be essential to ensure trauma patients receive effective early care, regardless of setting. People who use drugs with anticholinergic effects, including certain antidepressants, drugs for urinary incontinence and common antihistamines, are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in BMC Medicine. Anticholinergic drugs reduce the effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and are commonly prescribed to middle-aged and older people. This large group of drugs includes antihistamines used for allergic conditions, anxiety or insomnia, drugs for urinary incontinence, and certain antidepressants, where tricyclic antidepressants have a strong anticholinergic effect, whereas SSRIs have a weaker effect. A high cumulative use of these drugs, referred to as anticholinergic burden (see fact box), has previously been linked to impaired cognitive ability. May affect heart regulation The new study suggests that the drugs may also affect the parasympathetic nervous system and thereby the regulation of the cardiovascular system. The results show that it may be important to monitor the total drug burden in everyday clinical practice. The study included more than 500,000 people in Stockholm, Sweden, who were 45 years of age or older and had no prior cardiovascular disease, except for hypertension, at the start of the study. The researchers followed the participants for up to 14 years and analysed how the use of anticholinergic drugs was associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. Many of these drugs are used by older people and by people with multiple medical conditions. We wanted to investigate whether the total exposure had any significance for the risk of developing cardiovascular disease over time." Nanbo Zhu, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet 71 per cent higher cardiac risk The study showed that the risk of cardiovascular disease increased in line with how much anticholinergic medication the participants used each year. Those with the highest exposure had a 71 per cent higher risk of a cardiovascular event than people who did not use anticholinergic medication at all. The association was seen for all types of cardiovascular disease but was particularly clear for heart failure and various forms of arrhythmia. "Our results indicate that the cumulative drug burden can affect heart regulation, not only in the short term but also over the long term. This does not mean that the drugs should always be avoided, but that exposure should be monitored carefully," says Hong Xu, assistant professor at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society. The researchers point out that the study is observational, meaning it cannot establish a causal relationship. Other factors, such as underlying diseases, may also influence the associations. The work was carried out within the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements project in collaboration between several research groups at Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm. The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Center for Innovative Medicine Foundation, and other foundations. Some researchers report assignments for the pharmaceutical industry, which are disclosed in the scientific publication. Facts about the drugs Anticholinergic drugs in the study were identified based on the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale, a tool used in research and clinical contexts. The scale covers a wide range of different drugs that are scored between 1 and 3, depending on how much the drug blocks the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The consumption of these drugs is added up to estimate a patient's anticholinergic burden. When a cocaine addict relapses, it isn't a matter of personal failure - it's the biological result of their brain's rewiring, new research finds. Michigan State University scientists found that cocaine changes how the hippocampus functions, contributing to the ongoing compulsion to seek out the drug. Their National Institutes of Health-supported research, published in Science Advances, not only explains why cocaine addiction is notoriously difficult to treat, but it could also help scientists develop new pharmaceutical therapies. Addiction is a disease in the same sense as cancer. We need to find better treatments and help people who are addicted in the same sense that we need to find cures for cancer." A.J. Robison, Study Senior Author and Professor, Neuroscience and Physiology, Michigan State University At least a million people nationwide struggle with cocaine addiction, and right now, there's no FDA-approved medication to treat it. People who stop using don't experience the same physical withdrawal symptoms that opiates cause, but that doesn't mean it's easy to quit. The drug hijacks the brain, flooding the reward centers with dopamine. This positive reinforcement tricks the brain into feeling like it's doing something good instead of destructive. Even if someone successfully quits, the odds aren't in their favor. About 24% relapse to weekly use, and another 18% return to a treatment program within a year. Andrew Eagle, a former postdoctoral researcher in Robison's lab and the paper's lead author, found a key player responsible for the compulsion - a protein called DeltaFosB. He used a specialized form of CRISPR technology to examine the role this protein plays in specific brain circuits when mice were exposed to cocaine. Using mouse models, he learned that this protein acts like a switch, turning genes on and off in the circuit between the brain's reward center and the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub. The longer someone uses cocaine, the more this protein accumulates in the circuit. This protein changes how the neurons function, altering how the circuit responds to cocaine. "This protein isn't just associated with these changes; it is necessary for them," Eagle said. "Without it, cocaine does not produce the same changes in brain activity or the same strong drive to seek out the drug." The research team also found another group of genes controlled by DeltaFosB after chronic cocaine use. One of those genes, called calreticulin, helps regulate how neurons communicate with each other. Their work showed calreticulin contributes to revving the brain's engine to compulsively seek out more cocaine. These findings in mouse models could have direct applications to humans, which share many of the same genes and similar circuits. Robison's lab is partnering with researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, to create compounds that target DeltaFosB. Together, they have a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse to develop and test compounds that regulate DeltaFosB's ability to bind to DNA. "If we could find the right kind of compound that works in the right way, that could potentially be a treatment for cocaine addiction," Robison said. "That's years away, but that's the long-term goal." Next, Robison's lab will examine how hormones impact these brain circuits, and whether cocaine affects the male and female brain differently. This work could help explain biological differences in addiction risk between men and women. Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a clinically significant cause of infertility that affects between 1 to 3% of women of childbearing age. Symptoms include absent menses, low estrogen levels, and elevated follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Although residual primordial follicles often remain in the ovaries of women with POI, these follicles frequently fail to develop spontaneously. Because FSH levels are already high, the follicles typically do not respond to additional hormonal stimulation used in standard fertility treatments. Researchers from Juntendo University, led by Professor Kazuhiro Kawamura, previously developed an invasive in-vitro technique to restore fertility in women with POI. Professor Kui Liu's team from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) discovered that the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway in granulosa cells and the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) pathway in oocytes were critical to follicle formation. "Based on this knowledge, the in-vitro activation technique was developed to activate small follicles in cultured ovarian cortical tissues from patients with POI and then autotransplanted back into the patients under a laparoscopic surgery, resulting in documented pregnancies and live births," said Prof. Kawamura. Building on these mechanistic insights, the researchers investigated whether an already approved oral medication might stimulate follicle development without requiring invasive procedures. Prof. Kawamura notes that drugs that activate the mTORC1 and PI3K pathways are already used to treat kidney disorders. Could one such drug be repurposed to restore fertility in women with POI? Prof. Kawamura worked with Prof. Liu's team to explore this concept. Zexiong Lin and Dr. Yuan Li of Prof. Liu's team, and Dr. Tianren Wang of HKU - Shenzhen Hospital also contributed greatly to this research effort. Their findings were published on February 5, 2026, in Volume 391, Issue 6785 of the journal Science. The team identified finerenone as a promising candidate. Finerenone is a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist known for its antifibrotic properties and favorable safety profile in patients with chronic kidney disease. When ovaries from immature mice were grown in-vitro and dosed with finerenone, they began to develop follicles and eventually mature oocytes. Encouraged by these findings, the team tested the effects of oral doses of finerenone on mouse fertility. Over an 18-week period, adult mice receiving finerenone gave birth to more offspring than those on a placebo. What's more, finerenone also induced follicle formation in mice that had grown infertile due to ovarian insufficiency caused by aging. Gene expression analysis showed that finerenone suppressed the production of collagen in the ovarian cortex. Excess collagen deposition contributes to tissue stiffening (fibrosis), which may physically restrict small follicle growth. "Finerenone's antifibrotic effect alleviates ECM-mediated constraints on small follicle growth, thereby allowing follicles to develop. Furthermore, we identified the stromal collagengranulosa signaling as an important negative regulator of follicular development," said Prof. Kawamura, adding, "Therefore, finerenone stimulates follicular development through its antifibrotic action on the ovarian stroma." Other drugs such as nintedanib and ruxolitinib also induced follicle formation in mouse ovaries. These drugs prevent fibrosis through a different mechanism from finerenone, which confirmed the collagen-induced constraint hypothesis. Would these findings hold true in humans? The team enrolled 14 women with POI who were being treated at HKU Shenzhen Hospital for an experimental study. Participants received oral finerenone for a period of 3 to 7 months. Follicle development was seen in all participants. Seven patients produced mature oocytes that could be used for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The quality of oocytes harvested was comparable to that of same-age women without POI undergoing IVF. While further trials are needed, these findings provide early evidence that antifibrotic therapy may enhance follicle activation in some women with POI. Discussing these encouraging results, Prof. Kawamura concludes, "Further clinical characterization of FDA-approved oral antifibrotic drugs for their abilities in activating small ovarian follicles in patients offers a promising path to repurposing therapies for POI-related infertility." If validated in larger trials, antifibrotic therapy could represent a less invasive alternative to current experimental approaches and expand treatment options for women with POI worldwide. People with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression or bipolar disorder die on average ten to 20 years earlier than the general population. The main causes of this are cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which are triggered or exacerbated by a lack of exercise. Now, an international team of scientists led by MedUni Vienna is calling for physical activity to be recognized as an integral part of psychiatric treatment and is also describing specific steps for successfully integrating it into practice. The review has been published in the renowned journal JAMA Psychiatry. The scientific publication, led by Brendon Stubbs (Comprehensive Centre for Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna), summarizes the results of several hundred studies and meta-analyses, some of which involved more than 10,000 patients. The scientists conclude that structured exercise brings about moderate to large improvements in depression, psychotic symptoms, cognitive performance, quality of life and cardiometabolic health - yet systematic integration into psychiatric care is rare. Lack of exercise as a symptom and risk factor People with schizophrenia, for example, spend an average of almost ten hours a day sitting down - more than almost any other population group. Less than 20 per cent of them meet the WHO's recommendations for at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense physical activity per week. People with depression or bipolar disorder are up to 50 per cent less likely to be sufficiently active than their peers. These patterns are not just a symptom of the illness: they actively accelerate cardiometabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. They exacerbate inflammatory reactions in the brain (neuroinflammation), which can disrupt communication between nerve cells and lead to cognitive impairment. In addition, lack of exercise exacerbates psychiatric symptoms in a vicious circle. The biological mechanisms behind this are explained in the review: Lack of exercise disrupts the stress hormone system (HPA axis), increases inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, impairs dopamine reward circuits that are linked to motivation, among other things, and reduces levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a key protein for brain health and mood. Exercise reverses many of these processes. The evidence is clear: physical activity is a safe, effective and scalable therapy for people with severe mental illness. We would not accept psychiatric treatment that did not offer medication or psychotherapy. It is time to apply the same standard to exercise." Brendon Stubbs, Medical University of Vienna The review describes how exercise can be successfully integrated into psychiatric care using the 5A model (Ask, Assess, Advise, Assist, Arrange): It enables any mental health professional to identify inactivity, assess readiness to change behavior, provide personalized recommendations, support motivation and goal setting, and organize progress checks and follow-up appointments - all within a normal clinical consultation. Stubbs: "The drastically reduced life expectancy of people with severe mental illness is one of the most shameful inequalities in modern medicine. Exercise is not a panacea, but it is a proven, universally accessible and cost-effective tool that can really help reduce this inequality." INCLIVA Healthcare Research Institute-University Clinical Hospital of Valencia, the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia - through its VRAIN Institute, the Valencia Anti-AIDS Committee and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS in Catalonia (CEEISCAT) have joined forces to develop a spatial intelligence platform to support health policy decisions aimed at optimizing the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and accelerating its early diagnosis. The HIVision Spain project, which won an award in the Prevention category at the second edition of Visionarium Innovation by Gilead, proposes a paradigm shift in the approach to HIV, moving from a historically reactive response to a predictive, prevention-focused approach that anticipates scenarios. HIVision Spain is a national HIV simulator, a digital twin, designed to support health policy decisions and resource allocation to help end the HIV epidemic in Spain by closing persistent gaps in diagnosis, particularly early diagnosis, and unequal coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, a key strategy in HIV control, especially in vulnerable populations. In terms of equity, it will focus on structurally invisibilised subpopulations and encourage co-creation with community organisations, ensuring the acceptability and cultural relevance of interventions." Dr. Anais Corma, Cardiometabolic and Renal Risk Study Group at INCLIVA and the Infectious Diseases Unit, Internal Medicine, University Clinical Hospital of Valencia, and principal investigator of this project The model validates its predictive capacity based on historical data and is then recalibrated with current and field data in sequential phases (in Valencia and Barcelona), enabling it to predict how the epidemic will vary when different factors are modified. The platform runs "what if" scenarios that quantify the expected impact based on clinical, behavioural, and territorial data, providing actionable metrics and micro-plans ready for adoption. The goal of the 18-month project is to develop a tool that allows selecting the best intervention based on the epidemiological moment, the target population and the available resources, accelerating early diagnosis, optimising prevention and advancing equity. Despite recent advances, the current response to HIV in Spain continues to show persistent gaps in early diagnosis and combined prevention, which sustain the incidence and perpetuate inequalities. The rate of new diagnoses has remained relatively stable since 2021, and the proportion of late diagnoses has not decreased significantly. Today, more than 50% of diagnoses are at a very advanced stage of the disease, leading to higher morbidity and mortality and associated high healthcare costs. International recommendations emphasise the importance of expanding systematic screening in clinical services, integrating it into primary care and bringing it closer to vulnerable populations, including rapid same-day diagnosis and treatment pathways. However, structural, social and programmatic barriers (stigma, dependence on hospital services, long waiting times and a shortage of decentralised access points) persist in Spain, preventing a fully adequate response. An innovative model for designing implementable microplans The innovation of HIVision Spain lies in the creation of a multiscale computer-based simulator with membranes previously applied to sexually transmitted infections by the research team. The model will represent the population dynamics of HIV in Spain in an integrated manner, including stratification by higher-risk subpopulations and actual care pathways. It will incorporate four interconnected layers: a geospatial layer to prioritise high-return micro-territories; a behavioural layer reflecting testing frequency, linkage and access/persistence in PrEP; a clinical layer reproducing the diagnostic and therapeutic cascade up to viral suppression; and a programmatic layer incorporating capacity constraints, waiting times and community deployments. The aim is not to replace existing information systems, but to complement them with a predictive and operational tool that translates local evidence into implementable micro-plans. In this way, clinicians, managers and community organisations will have a tool that quantifies the expected impact of each combination of screening, rapid linkage and PrEP, under realistic implementation conditions. The project is structured in two main phases. Phase I, already underway and independently funded, involves participatory mapping, community screening and population size estimation in Valencia. This empirical data will feed into the calibration of the simulator. Phase II, covered by the proposal selected in the second edition of Visionarium Innovation by Gilead, corresponds to the development and implementation of the multiscale simulator. It includes an initial stage of engine optimisation and formal design of scenarios and agents, followed by national parameterisation with surveillance data. Subsequently, empirical calibration will be carried out in Valencia, external validation in Barcelona and hierarchical extension to the whole of Spain. In addition to Anais Corma, Maria Jose Galindo, also from INCLIVA's Cardiometabolic and Renal Risk Study Group and the Infectious Diseases Unit, Internal Medicine, at the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia; Jose Canales, from the Valencia Anti-AIDS Committee; Jose Maria Sempere and Marcelino Campos, from VRAIN at the UPV; and Cinta Folch, Helena Gonzalez and Georgia Escaramis, from CEEISCAT. Zelenskyy: If one person in EU blocks EUR 90 bln, we will give that person's address to Ukrainian Armed Forces, so they can call him Photo: @V_Zelenskiy_official Telegram Ukraine hopes that "one person" in the European Union will not block the release of a EUR 90 billion EU reparation loan. Otherwise, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be given this persons phone number, "let them call him and communicate in their own language," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We hope that one person in the European Union wont block the EUR 90 billion, or the first tranche of the EUR 90 billion, and that Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons. Otherwise, well give this persons address to our Armed Forces, our guys, so they can call him and communicate with him in their own language," Zelenskyy said during a briefing following the meeting on Thursday. The President also noted that Ukraine needs about 1.5 months to have the technical capacity to begin repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline, but he is not sure that "this is enough for this person." According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine is awaiting the European Council meeting on March 19 and will "count on a positive decision" on the EUR 90 billion loan. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), able to produce text, images, and video on demand, has grown exponentially in recent years. While its applications for personal and professional use continue to expand, many have questions about how children might be interacting with this technology. In a new state of the review article, researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) describe the potential benefits and risks to children and adolescents and how these might vary over different age groups. Their findings were published today in the journal Pediatrics and have profound implications for parenting. Children and adolescents are using generative AI more regularly, with a 2025 study finding that 72% of American adolescents have used AI chatbots as companions. Ongoing efforts are being made to encourage thoughtful policy development and establish guardrails that help prevent harmful output from generative AI, but these safeguards are imperfect. Parents and caregivers should guide their children on responsible use of novel technologies like generative AI, but in a rapidly advancing field, researchers wanted to ensure parents and pediatricians understood special considerations related to the opportunities and risks posed by generative AI. It is critical to emphasize that AI is a tool, not a companion, and we need to make sure we are instilling healthy AI literacy and social development in children." Robert Grundmeier, MD, Study Author and Section Chief, Informatics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia He is also the acting Chief Research Informatics Officer in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at CHOP. "Children, particularly in early and middle childhood, may not be able to distinguish between AI and human interaction and are at risk of developing incorrect mental models of social relationships if they view AI as a friend. It's important that pediatricians and parents understand where generative AI should be fitting into a developing child's life." The review found that the potential benefits and risks of AI vary among different age groups, with specific considerations for early childhood (0-5 years), middle childhood (6-11 years) and adolescence (12 years and older): In early childhood, interactive AI storytelling can help support language development and vocabulary, but children of this age might have difficulty distinguishing between AI and human interaction. The researchers emphasize that at this age, human interaction should be prioritized, and parents should view AI content alongside children to facilitate discussions over what they are viewing. In middle childhood, generative AI could be used for personalized learning experiences and potentially address learning gaps and have the potential to facilitate creative expression through art and writing. However, children in this age group may have difficulty identifying misinformation generated by AI and be tempted to use AI for completing homework assignments. Parents should foster a questioning attitude toward AI and encourage open discussion. In adolescence, AI can advance digital literacy skills, help with college selection, and some literature suggests that AI companionship might be able to address loneliness, but dependence on AI companionship can decrease face-to-face social interactions. Alarmingly, AI may lack the necessary guardrails and respond inappropriately to questions related to mental health or suicide. Families should address boundaries of AI use and should not view AI as a replacement for adolescents developing their own socialization and critical thinking skills. Pediatric caregivers can emphasize the importance of close supervision of AI interactions for younger children and shared review of AI-generated content, and parents should understand that AI generated information might be helpful but is no replacement for human expertise or clinical judgment. Parents should keep a critical eye on any AI-generated information and instill those same critical thinking skills into their children. "Parents, pediatricians and policymakers are responsible for shaping how generative AI technologies are integrated into children's lives," said co-author Alexander Fiks, MD, MSCE, a primary care pediatrician and Director of Clinical Futures, a Research Institute Center of Emphasis at CHOP. "This rapidly growing field is going to require continuous research to inform parental guidance and policy to maximize the benefits of these tools while doing everything to mitigate potential harms and keep children safe." Leisa and Kent Walker recently received a disturbing notice: The private company managing their son's Medicaid coverage intends to cut nearly 40% of what it spends for caregivers who help him live at home instead of in a nursing home. Sam Walker, 35, has severe autism and other disabilities. He is deaf and cannot speak. Sometimes when he's frustrated, he hits himself or others. Medicaid provides about $8,500 a month for health workers who visit his apartment in the basement of his parents' home. The staffers help him with everyday tasks, including dressing, bathing, and eating. They also take Walker on outings, such as dining at restaurants, volunteering at Goodwill, and exercising at a recreation center or on park trails. They stick to a strict routine, which soothes him. His parents say that without the in-home services, their son would need to move to a specialized residential facility in another state. Sending him away would break their hearts and cost taxpayers much more money. They strive to keep him home because they know change makes him anxious. "The last thing I want is to put him into some kind of care facility, where he'll just get kicked out," said his mother, Leisa. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to KFF Health News' questions about the Walkers' case. Federal cuts raise pressure Patient advocates say state administrators in Iowa appear to be reining in Medicaid spending by cutting what are known as home and community-based services for people with disabilities, and they've heard of multiple families facing battles like the Walkers'. Disability rights advocates expect the pressure to intensify as states respond to reductions in federal Medicaid funding called for under the Trump administration's signature tax and spending law, which passed last year. June Klein-Bacon, CEO of the Brain Injury Association of Iowa, said the cuts and proposed rule changes appear to be part of a quiet attempt to save money in response to the state's budget deficit and expected reductions in federal Medicaid funding. Medicaid, jointly financed by the federal and state governments, covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Walker is one of nearly 2 million people served by "Medicaid waiver" programs, which pay for care that allows people with disabilities or who are at least 65 to live at home. Unlike most parts of Medicaid, waiver programs are optional for states. Idaho's governor noted that fact in January, when he suggested legislators consider cutting them. Disability rights groups fear other states will do the same. Leaders in Colorado, Missouri, and Nebraska have considered such cuts this year. Leisa Walker has heard Trump administration officials claim the national Medicaid cuts are intended to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. That's not how it will play out, she said. "These are real people, real families, and this causes real suffering when you do this to people," she said. "It's a very scary time." Iowa Total Care, a private insurance company that manages Sam Walker's Medicaid benefits, intends to cut his in-home care coverage by about $3,200 per month, his mother said. Company leaders told a judge they are following state officials' direction, but they did not dispute Leisa Walker's math. Walker has been on the waiver program for three decades. It covers assistance from workers known as "direct service providers" one of whom has been with him for 25 years. His parents receive no pay for the hours they spend caring for him when the aides aren't working. On a February morning, Leisa and Kent Walker drove an hour and a half to Des Moines for an appeal hearing. An administrative law judge sat behind a wooden desk in a conference room as the Walkers and their lawyer faced off against three representatives from Iowa Total Care, a subsidiary of the national insurer Centene Corp. Leisa testified that her son is 6 feet tall and weighs 230 pounds. Although he knows some sign language, he has trouble communicating, she said. When he becomes frustrated or his routine is interrupted, he sometimes wails and hits himself or other people. "It's devastating to watch," she testified. He's not a bad person, she said. "He doesn't understand how strong he is." She said her family would try to keep his main caregiver employed under the planned Medicaid reduction but would have to drop others who cover nights and weekends. She said no residential facility near their southern Iowa home could address her son's complicated needs. She said a case manager told her that a Florida facility might be the closest one that could safely handle him. Leisa Walker testified that the state's Medicaid program would pay about $22,000 per month to put him in an institution, more than double what the program spends on his home care. Sam Walker's longtime psychiatrist, Christopher Okiishi, testified that Walker's family and their support staff spent years developing a "fragile" but stable existence for him. Lori Palm, a senior manager for Iowa Total Care, testified that Sam Walker gets about 16 hours of daily assistance financed by Medicaid. Palm said much of that time amounts to "supervision." She said state officials recently advised her company that the program should pay mainly for "skill-building" time, not supervision. The Walkers showed the judge a 2018 document in which a previous Iowa Medicaid director stipulated that supervision of people with disabilities is an allowable service for workers paid under the program. Judge Rachel Morgan asked the Iowa Total Care representatives if the recent policy change was made in writing by the state Department of Health and Human Services. They said it was not and that they couldn't specify who at the department had given them the new guidance. The judge suggested during the hearing that for someone like Sam Walker, learning to regulate emotions could be an important form of skill-building. Three days later, the judge ruled in the Walkers' favor, writing that the insurer's attempt to cut care hours was improper. The insurer appealed the decision to the director of the Iowa Department of Health Human Services, who could overrule it. The dispute could eventually wind up in district court. Iowa Total Care and the state Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about the reports that many other Iowans with disabilities face reductions in care hours covered by Medicaid. Department spokesperson Danielle Sample said in an email that the agency supports home and community-based services, which, she noted, help "states save money by avoiding expensive long-term facility care." Spokespeople for the federal Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicaid nationally, did not respond to a request for comment on the issue. Medicaid waiver programs started in the 1980s, after President Ronald Reagan heard about an Iowa girl with a disability who was forced to live in a hospital for months because Medicaid wouldn't pay for home care. The Republican president thought it was outrageous that the girl, Katie Beckett, had to live that way, even though home care would have been cheaper. Members of Congress approved allowing states to use their Medicaid programs to pay for in-home care. But they made the change optional, to offer states flexibility and encourage innovation. Designating such spending as optional "waiver programs" also made the change more politically palatable, said Kim Musheno, senior director of Medicaid policy for The Arc of the United States, which represents people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prospects were much different for babies born with serious disabilities before the change, Musheno said. "Doctors instructed families to forget they existed, and to put them in an institution." Waivers have been cut before All states have Medicaid waiver programs, but benefits and the number of people covered vary significantly. Applicants often wait months or years to get into the programs because of limited funding. More than 600,000 Americans were on waiting lists or "interest lists" for waiver services in 2025, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Disability rights advocates and care providers have fought for decades to maintain funding for the programs, but a national leader said the threat feels especially severe now. "When Medicaid is cut, people with disabilities are at the center of the impact," said Barbara Merrill, CEO of the American Network of Community Outcomes and Resources, which represents agencies that care for people with intellectual disabilities or autism. That's what happened after Congress reduced Medicaid funding in 2011, according to a recent paper published by Health Affairs. States could again rein in waiver programs by limiting enrollment, reducing covered services, or cutting pay for caregivers, who already are in short supply. However, states that try to cut the in-home care programs could face legal challenges, Musheno said. The U.S. Supreme Court declared in 1999 that people with disabilities have a right to live outside of institutions if possible. The decision, in the case of Olmstead v. L.C., has been cited in lawsuits against states that fail to provide care options apart from nursing homes and similar facilities. Several Iowans who belong to a Facebook group for Medicaid participants have posted in recent weeks that their families were notified of impending cuts in coverage of home care services for people with disabilities. Sam Walker's main caregiver, Andy Koettel, has worked with him since Walker was in fourth grade. Koettel, who works full-time, knows how to keep Walker calm in most situations and soothe him during a blowup. Their relationship took years to build, and it is a key reason Walker can continue to live at home with his parents, Koettel said. "If I was not there, it would be incredibly difficult for all of them," he said. The study is among the first to examine strengths-based indicators of well-being in a large, population-level Indigenous sample. Healthy functioning was significantly associated with never smoking, being physically active, having fewer chronic health conditions, and meeting basic financial needs. These results challenge deficit-focused narratives that blame individuals or groups rather than policies, socioeconomic conditions, and other structural issues. Instead, they underscore the value of identifying factors that support thriving in Indigenous communities. Understanding wellness among Indigenous Peoples requires recognizing both the structural barriers created through colonization and the remarkable strengths our communities continue to embody. Our findings highlight that Indigenous adults can experience meaningful well-being despite longstanding inequities." Ashley Quinn, First Author, Assistant Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW), University of Toronto The study, which drew on data from the 2022 and 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), also found strong connections between socioeconomic stability and healthy functioning. Respondents who could reliably pay their bills or access transportation had substantially higher odds of meeting the study's well-being criteria. "Financial security is not simply an economic indicator-it is a health determinant," said co-author Teagan Miller, a recent Master of Social Work graduate from the FIFSW. "Stable access to food, transportation, and housing meaningfully increases the likelihood of healthy functioning, which reinforces the need for policy interventions that address systemic inequities." Chronic physical and mental health conditions were key predictors of lower healthy functioning. Notably, respondents without depression had more than four times the odds of meeting positive well-being criteria compared to those with depression. "Mental health cannot be separated from community, family, land, and cultural identity," said co-author Philip Baiden, an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. "Interventions that incorporate Indigenous worldviews are essential to supporting emotional wellness and healing." Healthy behaviors-including avoiding smoking and engaging in regular physical activity-also played a significant role. More than half of respondents had never smoked, and roughly three-quarters were physically active. "This study flips the script-shifting the narrative from deficits to the strengths and resilience of Indigenous Peoples," said co-author Esme Fuller-Thomson, a Professor at FIFSW and Director for the Institute of Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto. "Healthy functioning among Indigenous Peoples is not rare-it's real, measurable, and deeply shaped by social and economic conditions." The authors note that while nearly 30% of Indigenous respondents were functioning healthily, two-thirds did not meet the study criteria-indicating a need for expanded public health initiatives that address both structural inequities and culturally meaningful pathways to wellness. This research contributes to a growing field that emphasizes Indigenous strengths, resilience, and wholistic wellness rather than focusing solely on disparities. The authors call for future studies that incorporate Indigenous-defined measures of health, including community, cultural, spiritual, and environmental dimensions. This research was published recently in the Journal of Indigenous Well-Being. Fried foods are popular with consumers, but their high fat content can contribute to health challenges like obesity and hypertension. If the food industry can offer lower-fat options of similar quality, people can more easily make health-conscious food choices. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have explored microwave frying of French fries, providing insights that can help food manufacturers modify their production methods. They propose combining conventional frying with microwave frying to provide the desired crispiness and texture while reducing the cooking time and oil absorption. Consumers want healthy foods, but at the time of purchase, their cravings often take over. High oil content adds flavor, but it also contains a lot of energy and calories. My research team studies frying with the aim of obtaining lower fat content without significant differences in taste and texture." Pawan Singh Takhar, Study Principal Investigator and Professor, Food Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign In two new publications, Takhar and Yash Shah, a doctoral student in FSHN, discussed their findings from studies exploring what happens during microwave frying of French fries. For the first study, they collaborated with colleagues at Washington State University, who developed a special microwave fryer that could operate both at 2.45 gigahertz (similar to a regular microwave oven) and 5.8 gigahertz. The sample potatoes were rinsed and peeled, then cut into strips, blanched, and salted. Batches of potato strips were then fried in soybean oil preheated to 180 degrees Celsius. The researchers measured temperature and pressure during and after frying, as well as volume, texture, moisture, and oil content of the fried samples. The challenge is to keep the oil from entering the food during and after the cooking process, Takhar said. In the beginning of the frying process, the potatoes' pores are filled with water, so there is nowhere for the oil to go. But as frying progresses, the water starts evaporating, so pore spaces are opened and oil is sucked into the food through negative pressure. "Think about a straw in a drink. If you push air into the straw, it creates positive pressure and any liquid will be pushed out. But if you suck on the straw, the liquid moves upward. Now imagine food materials have lots of tiny straws. When there is positive pressure, the oil stays out. But if there is negative pressure, the oil starts moving in," Takhar explained. Up to 90% of frying happens under negative pressure, so there is continuous suction potential. The goal is to keep the pressure positive longer and shorten the duration of negative pressure to prevent oil from entering the food. "When we heat something in a conventional oven, the heat moves from outside to inside, but a microwave oven heats from the inside out, because the microwaves penetrate everywhere in the material. The microwaves oscillate water molecules, causing more vapor formation and thus shifting the pressure profile towards the positive side. The higher pressure in microwaves helps reduce oil penetration," Takhar said. In parallel with the lab experiments, the second paper complements the results through mathematical modeling, which allows for much more detailed exploration of a variety of factors in the frying process. The researchers explored the effects of temperature, pressure, volume, texture, moisture, and oil at 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and conventional frying. Overall, they found that microwave frying resulted in faster moisture loss, shorter cooking time, and lower oil intake. "However, if you just use microwave frying, you get soggy food. To obtain a crispy texture and taste, you need conventional heating. Therefore, we propose combining the two approaches in the same unit. Conventional heating maintains the crispiness, while microwave heating lowers the oil intake," Takhar said. Continuous fryers used for industrial-scale production of fried foods can be modified by incorporating microwave generators, which are inexpensive and readily available. Thus, this approach is likely to be economically feasible for industrial use, the researchers conclude. 2 charred bodies recovered after fire breaks out in Delhi's Paharganj building Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 08:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Two charred bodies were recovered from the fourth floor of a building after a fire broke out in central Delhis Paharganj area, a DFS official said on Thursday. A call regarding the blaze was received at 4.38 pm on Wednesday. The fire had broken out in a toy godown located on the fourth floor of the building. Twenty-five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after receiving the call," the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officer said. The building comprises a ground floor and four upper floors. A temporary structure had been erected on the fourth floor, where the toy godown was operating, the officer said. Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control. The fire was finally extinguished at around 3.20 am (on Thursday), after which two charred bodies were recovered from the godown," the officer said. The identity of the deceased and the cause of the fire are yet to be ascertained, he said, adding that further investigation is underway. More details are awaited. PTI SSJ AMJ AMJ First Published: March 05, 2026, 08:15 IST News agency-feeds 2 charred bodies recovered after fire breaks out in Delhi's Paharganj building Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Israel strikes Beirut's southern suburbs after issuing blanket evacuation order Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 04:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Beirut, Mar 6 (AP) Israel launched a series of strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday after ordering all residents of the densely populated area to evacuate. Traffic was gridlocked in Lebanons capital on Thursday as panicked residents tried to flee after Israels military issued an evacuation notice telling residents to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately," and specified which routes they should take to escape. Hours later, strikes began to hit the Beirut suburbs. Since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has struck sites in Beiruts suburbs and issued a blanket warning for residents south of the Litani River an area in southern Lebanon stretching to the border with Israel to evacuate their homes, but had not previously issued a blanket evacuation order for Beiruts southern suburbs. After the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel on Monday for the first time in over a year, and Israel has retaliated with bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beiruts southern suburbs. The conflict had claimed 123 lives and forced the displacement of more than 83,000 people in Lebanon before Thursdays evacuation order. Israels far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, warned Thursday that the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, will look like Khan Younis, a city in Gaza that Israel has decimated during the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in southern Israel. You wanted to bring hell on us, we are bringing hell on you," Smotrich said as he toured towns on Israels border with Lebanon. Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis, and our citizens of the north will live in peace and quiet." The evacuation order rattled Lebanese authorities, with President Joseph Aoun calling his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in an urgent bid to halt the anticipated widespread strikes, according to a statement from his office. Macron issued a statement calling for an end to the conflict and announcing that Paris will send aid to Lebanon, in the first apparent diplomatic endeavour to end the boiling conflict. Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale operation on Lebanese territory," the French president said in a post on X, adding that he has communicated with US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanons top political leadership. He called on the militant group to disarm and said he supports Beiruts endeavours to deploy the military to assert full control over the countrys territory. Hadi Kaakour, a resident of Beiruts southern suburbs who was fleeing, said he is not sure that even after leaving he will be safe. We dont put anything past them (Israel), they will strike us no matter where we go," he said. Others expressed frustration at Lebanon being pulled into the larger war in the Middle East. We got sucked into a mess that we have nothing to do with," said Yousef Nabulsi, another fleeing resident. People have been displaced and are now staying on the streets, and this is wrong." UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have seen and heard clashes in the area as more Israeli forces have moved across the border, a spokesperson for the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL said Thursday. It was the first confirmation of combat taking place. Ground combat was observed west of Kfar Kila," a village near the border with Israel, overnight, which included firing of shots," UNIFIL spokesperson Tilak Pokharel said. In Khiyam, a town about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the border with Israel, he said peacekeepers saw air attacks and flares and heard explosions." On Tuesday, Israel said it sent additional troops into southern Lebanon. Israeli forces had already been occupying several border points in Lebanon since a US-brokered November 2024 ceasefire halted the previous Israel-Hezbollah war. The Lebanese army has pulled back from the border as the Israeli troops moved in, while Hezbollah has issued a series of statements announcing attacks on Israeli troops attempting to advance. The Iran-backed militant group also published a video showing a tank being struck by a missile. The Israeli army on Wednesday said two of its soldiers were wounded by anti-tank fire in Lebanon, and on Thursday said two more were evacuated after being wounded in a battle in southern Lebanon. (AP) AMJ AMJ First Published: March 06, 2026, 04:15 IST News agency-feeds Israel strikes Beirut's southern suburbs after issuing blanket evacuation order Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... IVCA Conclave 2026 Marks 15 Years of Shaping India's Alternate Capital Ecosystem Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) NewsVoirMumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 5: Indias apex industry body for alternate capital, the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), will host the 15th edition of its flagship IVCA Conclave on 10-11 March 2026 in Mumbai. Since its inception, the Conclave has grown into one of the countrys most influential forums for private capital, bringing together global investors, policymakers, and industry leaders to shape the direction of Indias investment ecosystem.Over a decade and a half, this exclusive closed-door gathering has evolved into one of Indias most credible and influential platforms for alternate capital, mirroring the growth and maturity of the ecosystem itself. The theme for 2026, Vision to Value: The New Era of Indian Alternate Capital", underscores the growing maturity of the industry as it moves towards greater domestic participation, recalibrated global allocations, and a sharper focus on disciplined and sustainable value creation. The shift is reflected in market activity. In 2025, Indias PE-VC landscape remained resilient, drawing total investments of $33 billion across 1,164 deals, as per Venture Intelligence and EY-IVCA industry reports. The year also saw the addition of six new unicorns, up from five in 2024.Ashley Menezes, Partner and COO, ChrysCapital, and Chairperson, IVCA said, The 15th edition of the IVCA Conclave is a meaningful milestone for our industry. Over the past decade and a half, Indias alternate capital ecosystem has evolved from a promising segment into an essential pillar of economic development. What has stood out through this journey is the sectors growing depthstronger governance, constructive regulatory engagement, increasing domestic participation, and the confidence of global investors who now view India as a long-term allocation. It reflects years of collaboration, discipline, and institution-building."The evolution of the ecosystem is reflected in the scale and momentum of Indias private capital markets today. Recent data on alternative investment funds (AIFs) underscores the rapid expansion of the industry. AIF commitments reached Rs. 13.49 lakh crore as of March 2025, growing at a CAGR of 31.5% between FY2021 and FY2025. As of September 2025, more than 1,600 AIFs were registered with the SEBI, nearly 61% of them added in the preceding four-and-a-half years.The spotlight is also on institutional capital, particularly insurance, pension, and family office allocations, playing a larger role over the coming decade. Furthermore, as regulatory frameworks continue evolving to support long-term value creation, the next phase of growth will be anchored in deeper domestic participation, enhanced governance standards, and diversified pathways for liquidity.Srini Sriniwasan, Managing Director, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers, and Vice Chairperson, IVCA, said, Indias alternate capital industry is entering a defining phase of expansion. With domestic capital pools strengthening and regulatory frameworks evolving, the focus now shifts to disciplined deployment, liquidity depth, and long-term value creation. Platforms such as the IVCA Conclave play a vital role in enabling that alignmentbringing together policymakers, allocators, fund managers, and founders to build a more resilient, globally competitive industry."Highlights of IVCA Conclave 2026Attendees and PartnersThe IVCA Conclave will bring together institutional investors, limited partners, family offices, founders, operating leaders, policymakers, regulators, advisors, and ecosystem partners. Several senior government and regulatory leaders will join the two-day gathering, among them: Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI); Shri S Ramann, Chairman, PFRDA, Shri Sandip Pradhan, Whole-Time Member, SEBI; Smt. Ruchi Chojer, ED, SEBI, Smt. Nivruti Rai, CEO, Invest India; Shri Ananth Narayan, Former Whole-Time Member, SEBI, and Member, SAARC Committee, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA); Shri Saravana Kumar, Director and Chief Executive Officer (SRI Fund), National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC); Shri Manish Diwan, Head Biofoundry, NCR Biotech Cluster & IVCOL, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). This senior-level, future-focused platform will also convene an impressive lineup of speakers comprising global and domestic industry leaders with deep expertise across investment cycles and asset classes.SessionsOver two days, the Conclave will examine key themes through fireside chats, panel discussions, keynote addresses, report presentations, and an awards ceremony. Discussions will span key topics such as Indias positioning in institutional portfolios, macro trends and PE outlooks, the growing role of domestic capital, and how alternate capital is financing climate innovation and AI. Sessions will also focus on capital allocation, governance frameworks, liquidity pathways, and the long-term investment priorities shaping Indias growth trajectory. IVCA Conclave 2026 is supported by a wide network of ecosystem partners. Lead Partners include EAAA Alternatives, Iron Pillar, Kotak Alternative Investments, Regfin Legal, SBI Ventures, and Singularity. IDFC First Bank joins as the Banking Partner. Co-Sponsors include Avendus, Everstone Group, IAN Group, KKR, Lighthouse Canton, Madison India Capital, Oman India Joint Investment Fund, PlayBook, and ValueQuest. Knowledge Partners include Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, PwC India, Sundaram Alternates, and Uniqus. EY India joins as the Investment Banking Partner, while Grant Thornton Bharat supports the Conclave as the Fourth Wheel PE Partner.The Conclave is further supported by Gala Dinner PartnersAscertis Credit, ChrysCapital, Cooley, Gaja Capital, and IvyCapand Gala Cocktail PartnersDSK Legal, Khaitan & Co., Paragon Partners, and TVS Capital. Cactus Partners and UTI Alternatives are the partners for the IVCA Alternate Capital Excellence Awards, with ICICI Venture and NSE joining as Supporting Partners.About The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA)The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) is a not-for-profit, apex industry body promoting the alternate capital industry and fostering a vibrant investing ecosystem in India. IVCA is committed to supporting the ecosystem by facilitating advocacy discussions with the Government of India, policymakers, and regulators, resulting in the rise of entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and job creation in India and contributing towards the development of India as a leading fund management hub. IVCA represents 500+ funds with a combined AUM of over $350 billion. Our members are the most active domestic and global VCs, PEs, funds for infrastructure, real estate, credit funds, limited partners, investment companies, family offices, corporate VCs, and knowledge partners. These funds invest in emerging companies, venture growth, buyout, special situations, distressed assets, and credit and venture debt, among others.(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:15 IST News agency-feeds IVCA Conclave 2026 Marks 15 Years of Shaping India's Alternate Capital Ecosystem Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... MCD to appoint 58 special educators in primary schools to meet EWS quota gap Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 19:00 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has approved a proposal to create 58 additional posts of special educators for primary schools, responsible for teaching children with disabilities, a senior official told PTI. The move follows an order of the Delhi High Court in 2025 directing authorities to offer the additional posts to selected candidates without affecting those already appointed or on the waiting list. The civic body has also set aside an annual budget of Rs 4.6 crore for the initiative meant to address the vacancies reserved for the Economically Weaker Sections, he added. The issue dates back to 2020-21, when the then South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) ran a recruitment drive for 1,126 special educator posts in primary schools. The posts had been sent to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) for examination and selection, the letter stated. However, the SDMC had forwarded only 54 vacancies under the EWS category instead of the mandated 112 posts, which account for 10 per cent reservation, the senior official said. Therefore, when DSSSB declared the results of 1,123 candidates in July 2022, appointments were processed based on the lower number of EWS vacancies, the official added. According to the letter, a group of candidates who had appeared for the exam approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, arguing that the full EWS quota introduced through constitutional amendments in 2019 had not been implemented, depriving them of appointment. In February 2023, the tribunal directed authorities to fully adhere to the EWS reservation policy" and reconsider the applicants cases depending on their merit. The order was further challenged by DSSSB in the high court, which dismissed the petition in September last year, the official said. We clarify that the additional 58 posts under the EWS category shall be offered to the selected candidates by creating supernumerary posts, without affecting the rights of either the already selected candidates or those in the waiting list," the official letter quoted the high courts order. PTI MSJ APL APL First Published: March 05, 2026, 19:00 IST News agency-feeds MCD to appoint 58 special educators in primary schools to meet EWS quota gap Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Memorable moments of Iranian ship crew in India fades Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Visakhapatnam, Mar 5 (PTI) Little did many crew members of Iranian warship Dena know that they would not be able to cherish the sweet memories they experienced in Visakhapatnam only few days ago. Be it the long walks in Rushikonda Beach or the visit to the salubrious Kailasagiri hills, the Iranian crew members had a good time in India. The sailors spent cheerful days in Visakhapatnam during the multinational naval exercise MILAN 2026, interacting with residents here and exploring the coastal citys popular landmarks. During their stay between February 15 and 25, the sailors also participated in cultural tours organised under the Incredible India programme. Some of them travelled to Agra to explore the majestic Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and other historical destinations, experiencing Indias heritage beyond the naval engagements and professional interactions. Videos and photographs of the sailors smiling, walking along beaches and interacting with people in the city were widely shared on social media. They (Iranians) were friendly young sailors, taking selfies with locals and enjoying the hospitality of Vizag," Sohan Hatangadi, a resident who interacted with them during the visit recalled. They also visited the war memorial, the submarine museum and other locations here. Some Iranian sailors also visited Sankalp Art Village on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam and spent time at the MILAN pavilion, where they were seen having tea and snacks while interacting with naval personnel and visitors. Several sailors were also seen shopping for traditional Indian textiles, locals recalled. The warship IRIS Dena is a Moudge-class frigate and had nearly 180 crew members on board. According to a defence official, the Iranian naval delegation included Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, and Abuzar Zarri, the commanding officer of IRIS Dena. During the MILAN 2026 exercise, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff, interacted with Rear Admiral Shahram Irani as part of engagements among participating navies," the official told PTI. The interaction between Tripathi and Shahram Irani, also highlighted continued engagement under the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) framework, including cooperation through its working groups and the IONS Maritime Exercise (IMEX), aimed at strengthening collective maritime security, he said. MILAN 2026 brought together several navies from across the world in the Bay of Bengal for professional cooperation and maritime security exercises, the official said. However, their return journey ended in tragedy. A US submarine on Wednesday torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lankas coast when it was returning after participating in the Milan naval exercise, killing several sailors in the high seas. PTI MS GDK VGN KH First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:45 IST News agency-feeds Memorable moments of Iranian ship crew in India fades Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... SU-30 MKI aircraft of IAF crashes in Assam's Karbi Anglong Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 02:00 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) A Su-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Assams Karbi Anglong district on Thursday. The IAF said the search operation for the aircraft is underway. There is no information on the pilots of the aircraft. The Su-30MKI, which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, approximately 60 km from Jorhat, the IAF said in a brief statement. Search operations are underway, it said. Earlier, officials said the aircraft went missing shortly after taking off from the Jorhat airbase. Communication with the Russian-origin aircraft was lost at 7:42 pm, they had said. Su-30MKI is a two-seater multirole long-range fighter jet developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi. It is now built under licence by HAL for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF operates a fleet of over 260 Su-30MKI jets. A Sukhoi fighter plane had crashed in the Nashik district of Maharashtra in June 2024. Another Sukhoi-30 jet had crashed in January 2023, after taking off from the Gwalior airbase. PTI MPB AMJ AMJ First Published: March 06, 2026, 02:00 IST News agency-feeds SU-30 MKI aircraft of IAF crashes in Assam's Karbi Anglong Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua Ukraine is awaiting an official request to resume operations of the Druzhba oil pipeline, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated. "To be honest, I wouldnt restore it [the Druzhba]. Thats my position. I expressed it to European leaders and those who called me about this issue, as well as to the leadership of the European Union, because its Russian oil," Zelenskyy said during a briefing on Thursday. The president noted that there are still some principles that are priceless. Specifically, the Russians are killing Ukrainians, and "we have to give oil to Orban, because he, poor thing, cant win the election without it." According to Zelenskyy, the EU has stated that the EUR 90 billion loan will be blocked if Ukraine does not begin restoring the pipeline. "And Ive strongly requested that this be official, so that no one can say were making something up or not letting anyone in. Were waiting for an official request. I think it will definitely be in one format or another," he noted. Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia have been suspended since January 27 following Russian shelling of the pipeline near Brody in Lviv region. Ukraine attributes the lack of transit to damage and the need for repairs, which have been delayed due to the hostile attacks. Meanwhile, the leaders of Slovakia and Hungary, the only EU countries still receiving Russian oil, accuse Kyiv of political reasons for the supply halt and, in response, have blocked diesel fuel deliveries to Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary would block the European Union from adopting a new package of sanctions against Russia and the allocation of a EUR 90 billion reparation loan from the EU until the Druzhba oil pipeline, damaged during the Russian shelling on January 27, remains closed. India Gas Supply Hit: Firms Invoke Force Majeure as Middle East Conflict Disrupts LNG Imports Published By : Reuters Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 07:58 IST Indian companies, including Gujarat Gas and Petronet LNG, have limited domestic gas supply due to the US-Israel air war on Iran, disrupting shipments from Qatar. Mideast countries face supply disruption as regional conflict continues Several Indian companies have restricted the domestic supply of natural gas, including to the important fertiliser sector, under a force majeure clause due to an escalating conflict in the Middle East, gas importers and sources said on Wednesday. The US and Israels air war on Iran has disrupted fuel shipments in the region, affecting Indias key supplier of liquefied natural gas, Qatar. Sources familiar with the matter said lower gas supplies had already marginally hit production of some fertiliser companies including the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd and Kribhco Fertilizers Ltd. The two companies did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside normal working hours. Gujarat Gas Ltd, which supplies gas for domestic and industrial clients, said in a stock exchange filing that it had declared a force majeure to restrict gas supplies to industries from Thursday. Its parent company, GSPC, gets most of the gas from Qatar and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co for sale to local customers. Indias top gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd issued a force majeure notice to its supplier, QatarEnergy, and to local buyers GAIL (India) Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, and Bharat Petroleum Corp, after its three LNG tankers were unable to reach the Ras Laffan loading port, it said in an exchange filing. GAIL and IOC have already reduced gas supplies to industries, Reuters reported on Tuesday. QatarEnergy has also issued a notice to Petronet indicating a potential event of force majeure" due to the hostilities in the region, the Indian company said. So far the companies have not announced any cuts in gas supplies for households or the automobile sector. India imported 27 million tonnes of LNG in 2024/25, about half of its overall gas consumption, according to the government data. The bulk of the LNG is imported from Qatar. As a result of the attacks on Iran and Tehrans retaliatory strikes, transit through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally, as well as large quantities of liquefied natural gas, has ground to a near-halt after some vessels in the area were hit. First Published: March 05, 2026, 07:58 IST News business economy India Gas Supply Hit: Firms Invoke Force Majeure as Middle East Conflict Disrupts LNG Imports Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Russian Oil Cargoes Diverted To India Following Supply Disruptions Amid Iran-US-Israel War Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:47 IST The two tankers are carrying 1.4 million barrels of Urals crude, which was earlier popular with Indian refiners. Rapid Read A Bloomberg report said more changes of oil tanker destinations might follow Two Russian oil cargoes originally destined for East Asia have changed course to India, according to a Bloomberg report citing ship-tracking data. The development comes as the Strait of Hormuz faces disruptions due to the Iran war, affecting Middle Eastern oil supplies to several countries, including India. The two tankers are carrying 1.4 million barrels of Urals crude, which was earlier popular with Indian refiners. However, its supply to India has fallen sharply this year amid pressure from the US on New Delhi to curb purchases of Russian oil. The two tankers are Odune and Matari. According to Bloomberg, the Odune, a Suezmax carrying 730,000 barrels, already arrived in India on Wednesday at the Paradip port. However, the Matari, an Aframax with over 700,000 barrels, will reach Gujarats Vadinar on Thursday. The report said more changes of destinations might follow. The report, citing ship-tracking data, said Indri, a Suezmax in the Arabian Sea, which was heading to Singapore, also made a turn towards India this week with about 730,000 barrels of Urals on board. All three vessels were sanctioned by the UK and the European Union last year. Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday citing five traders, buyer interest in Russian oil in India and China is being spurred by concerns over Middle Eastern supply though prices have not yet reacted. Disruption to flows via the Strait of Hormuz at the southern tip of the Gulf has tightened availability of Middle Eastern grades and pushed freight rates higher, traders and analysts said. Indian refiners are now consulting with the government about the possibility of additional Russian imports," one source said, according to Reuters. Chinese buyers are also showing interest, though recent buying has left them with supply. China bought large volumes at low prices ahead of the Lunar New Year, so it can afford to wait until the outlook for the war in Iran becomes clearer," one trader said, as cited by Reuters. Another trader told Reuters: Buyers expect the conflict in Iran to end soon and are reluctant to pay more with Brent at current levels." China in recent months has absorbed barrels displaced from India, increasing its seaborne purchases to multimonth highs at deeply discounted prices, traders said. The discount for Russian Urals crude loading from the port of Primorsk free on board (FOB) was $25-26 per barrel to dated Brent on Tuesday, steady with recent estimates, the latest available LSEG data showed. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:24 IST News business economy Russian Oil Cargoes Diverted To India Following Supply Disruptions Amid Iran-US-Israel War Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US Trade Court Orders Up To $130 Billion In Tariff Refunds In Major Blow To Trump Administration Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 08:00 IST A US trade court has ruled that companies which paid certain tariffs imposed during President Donald Trumps administration are eligible for refunds Rapid Read Trump Tariffs A US trade court has ruled that companies which paid certain tariffs imposed during President Donald Trumps administration are eligible for refunds after those levies were struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States last month, according to a report by BBC. The decision directs federal authorities to begin returning the collected duties, marking a significant legal setback for the administrations trade policy. US trade court clears path for refunds On Wednesday, the US Court of International Trade ordered US Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds for tariffs that were introduced last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Judge Richard Eaton said that all importers affected by the duties are entitled to benefit from the Supreme Courts ruling. All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit" of the ruling, Eaton wrote, according to the BBC. The case was initially filed by Atmus Filtration, a Tennessee-based manufacturer. While the lawsuit began with a single companys complaint, the judge indicated that he will oversee all related refund claims stemming from the decision. Uncertainty over refund process Despite the order, it remains unclear how the refund process will unfold and how quickly businesses will receive their payments. The ruling represents a notable setback for the Trump administration, which had relied on the tariffs as part of its broader trade strategy. The administration had collected an estimated $130 billion (97 billion) through tariffs imposed on most goods imported into the United States under the IEEPA framework. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States is likely to introduce a new 15% global tariff this week, higher than the earlier 10% rate. The proposed tariff is intended to replace the duties that were invalidated by the Supreme Court. Companies push for full repayment Several companies, including FedEx, have filed lawsuits seeking full repayment of tariffs they previously paid. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the courts ruling. Businesses have increasingly pushed for refunds after paying duties that were later declared unlawful. Future of US tariff policy uncertain Questions remain about the future direction of US import taxes. In April last year, Trump unveiled the so-called Liberation Day" tariffs, targeting dozens of countries with rates starting at 10% and climbing to nearly 50% in some cases. Those measures triggered a wave of trade negotiations as countries sought lower tariff rates in exchange for investment commitments and policy concessions. However, the Supreme Court struck down those tariffs last month, along with earlier duties on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, ruling that the administration had improperly relied on emergency powers to impose them. With the latest order from the trade court, businesses that paid tariffs under those emergency provisions have moved a step closer to receiving their refunds. First Published: March 05, 2026, 08:00 IST News business economy US Trade Court Orders Up To $130 Billion In Tariff Refunds In Major Blow To Trump Administration Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... What Is Force Majeure? Why Indian Energy Companies Are Invoking This Clause Amid LNG Disruption Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 21:21 IST Tensions in West Asia disrupted global LNG supplies, leading Indian energy firms to invoke force majeure. Qatar halted Ras Laffan operations after an Iranian drone strike. Force Majeure Clause Explained As West Asia Conflict Disrupts Gas Supply Escalating tensions in West Asia have started to ripple through global energy markets, forcing several Indian energy companies to invoke a contractual clause known as force majeure. The provision allows companies to temporarily suspend or delay contractual obligations when extraordinary events beyond their control disrupt supply chains. The trigger this time has been disruptions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. Qatar, one of the worlds largest LNG exporters, reportedly halted operations at its Ras Laffan facility after an Iranian drone strike. The facility accounts for nearly one-fifth of global LNG supply. As supply concerns intensified, natural gas prices surged more than 40 per cent, data from Norway-based consultancy Rystad Energy showed. What is force majeure? Force majeure is a clause commonly included in commercial contracts that protects parties from penalties or liability when unforeseen events make it impossible to fulfill contractual obligations. Such clauses typically cover events like wars, natural disasters, government actions or major disruptions to infrastructure. When invoked successfully, the clause can allow companies to delay deliveries, suspend performance or renegotiate obligations without being considered in breach of contract. However, invoking force majeure is not automatic. Legal experts say the conditions under which it can be used depend heavily on the exact wording of the contract and the circumstances of the disruption. When can companies claim force majeure? Ramesh K Vaidyanathan, managing partner at BTG Advaya, said LNG contracts usually contain detailed provisions on force majeure covering situations like war or conflict. According to him, if a conflict directly disrupts LNG shipping routessuch as through the Strait of Hormuzit could potentially qualify. However, companies must demonstrate that the event genuinely prevented them from performing the contract. He added that delays alone do not necessarily qualify as force majeure. Companies must prove that the disruption was beyond their control, could not have been reasonably foreseen, and that no alternative method of performance was available. Venkatesh Raman Prasad, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said force majeure is fundamentally a contract-specific concept. Whether it applies depends on the exact terms of the LNG supply agreement and the identity of the counterparty. He noted that most LNG contracts require the event to be unavoidable, not caused by the affected party, and severe enough to hinder or delay contractual performance. In addition, companies invoking the clause must provide formal notices as required under the agreement. Experts also highlight that higher costs alone generally do not qualify as force majeure if supply can still be arranged through alternative routes or logistics. First Published: March 05, 2026, 21:21 IST News business economy What Is Force Majeure? Why Indian Energy Companies Are Invoking This Clause Amid LNG Disruption Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Adani Total Gas Raises Prices Amid Middle East Conflict Published By : Reuters Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 15:24 IST Adani Total Gas says there is less gas available because of conflict in the Middle East. Rapid Read Adani Total Gas is a joint venture between Adani Group and French oil giant TotalEnergies SE. Adani Total Gas (ATGL) has significantly raised prices for industrial customers, saying there is less gas available because of conflict in the Middle East, according to a notice seen by Reuters. The company is a joint venture between Adani Group and French oil giant TotalEnergies SE. After attacks on Iran and Tehrans response, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries about one-fifth of the worlds oil and a lot of liquefied natural gas, has almost stopped after some ships were hit. Due to recent geopolitical events affecting LNG supply routes, ATGL has received less gas from suppliers, causing operational problems," the company said. It raised prices from Tuesday for gas used above 40% of the daily contract amount to 119 Indian rupees ($1.30) per standard cubic meter, the notice said. Earlier, prices were about 40 rupees per standard cubic meter, according to a source. Adani Total Gas did not immediately respond to Reuters for comment. First Published: March 05, 2026, 15:24 IST News business markets Adani Total Gas Raises Prices Amid Middle East Conflict Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Karnataka Youth Assaulted Over Instagram Story On Khamenei's Killing, Probe Underway Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 08:58 IST A youth in Gangavathi, Karnataka, was assaulted over an Instagram story about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's assassination. Karnataka youth assaulted over Insta story related to Khamenei's killing (News18) A youth was allegedly assaulted in Gangavathi town of Koppal district in Karnataka over an Instagram story related to the assassination of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to police and local sources, the incident occurred in Gangavathi Nagar when Chandrashekhar, a dry fruit vendor, was selling dates in the area. A group of five to six youths reportedly confronted him over an Instagram story he had posted about Khameneis assassination, accusing him of hurting their communitys sentiments. The group allegedly abused Chandrashekhar and then physically attacked him. They are also said to have threatened him and warned him against posting such content again, cautioning him about staying at his house. Following the incident, Chandrashekhar approached the Gangavathi Nagar Police Station and lodged a complaint stating that he had been assaulted and threatened by the youths. Police have registered the complaint and initiated an investigation into the matter. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was the longest-serving Head of State in the Middle East. Irans Supreme Leader since 1989, he was killed in the coordinated US-Israeli strikes earlier this weekend. Location : Koppal, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 08:58 IST News cities bengaluru-news Karnataka Youth Assaulted Over Instagram Story On Khamenei's Killing, Probe Underway Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 13-Year-Old Boy Killed, Several Injured After Slab Collapse During Tuition Class In Navi Mumbai Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:16 IST A slab collapse in Vidya Bhavan Apartments, Navi Mumbai killed 13-year-old Manish Mhase and injured others during a tuition class. Image from the spot A 13-year-old boy was killed and several others were injured in Navi Mumbai on Thursday when a slab from a ground-floor flat collapsed during a tuition class, reported PTI citing officials. The accident took place between 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM at flat number 2 in Vidya Bhavan Apartments located in Sector 2 of Koparkhairane. A At the time, a resident named Shyamali Chaudhary was conducting a home tuition session for 11 students inside the flat. According to a statement issued by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), a 13-year-old student, Manish Mhase, who was attending the class, died from injuries sustained in the collapse. Ten other students, aged between 9 and 14 years, got injured in the incident. They were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, including Apex Hospital, Lions Club Hospital and Saijyot Hospital. One student, Aaradhya Dhanwade, was reported safe and later handed over to family members. A 12-year-old boy named Parth Khairnar, who lives on the first floor of the building, was also injured and admitted to hospital for treatment. STORY | Navi Mumbai: One student dead, several others injured in slab collapse during tuition classA 13-year-old boy was killed and several others injured after the slab of a ground floor flat collapsed in a Navi Mumbai building while a tuition class was underway on Thursday, pic.twitter.com/W56rJgXCPS Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 5, 2026 Rescue and relief work was carried out by the NMMC Regional Disaster Management Department along with fire brigade teams from Vashi, Koparkhairane and Airoli. After the collapse, authorities evacuated the building as a precaution. Temporary accommodation has been arranged for displaced residents at the Annasaheb Patil Cultural Bhavan in Koparkhairane. NMMC Commissioner Kailas Shinde has directed officials to carry out an immediate structural audit of the building to determine the cause of the collapse and prevent similar incidents in the future. Navi Mumbai Mayor Sujata Patil, along with Commissioner Shinde and Deputy Mayor Dashrath Bhagat, visited the accident site and also met the injured children at hospitals. (With PTI inputs) First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:16 IST News cities mumbai-news 13-Year-Old Boy Killed, Several Injured After Slab Collapse During Tuition Class In Navi Mumbai Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Maharashtra Cabinet Approves Draft Anti-Conversion Bill, Rane Says 'Will Ensure Justice For Hindu Women' Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:34 IST The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the draft of the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026, to curb forced religious conversions and protect Hindu women. Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane. The Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday approved the draft of the proposed Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing forced or fraudulent religious conversions in the state. State minister Nitesh Rane said the proposed legislation is intended to prevent conversions carried out through coercion, inducement, or deception. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Rane said the government had promised during the elections that it would introduce a strong anti-conversion law in Maharashtra. Today Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has fulfilled that commitment. This law will be stringent and will ensure justice for Hindu women," he said. The issue of alleged forced conversions, including cases often described by right-wing groups as love jihad", has been a politically sensitive topic in the state for some time. The Bharatiya Janata Party has consistently pushed for a dedicated law to regulate religious conversions, arguing that such legislation is necessary to prevent coercion and protect vulnerable individuals. According to the minister, the proposed law will be stricter than similar legislation enacted in states such as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He asserted that the provisions are designed to act as a strong deterrent against forced conversions. Those involved in coercion or inducement for religious conversion will now have to face serious legal consequences," Rane said. Under the draft bill, conversions carried out through force, fraud, or allurement could attract stringent penalties, including the registration of non-bailable offences against the accused. The legislation also proposes legal protection and support for individuals who wish to return to their original faith. The government has also included provisions to deal with alleged mass conversions carried out through organised efforts. In such cases, the law will empower the police to initiate action. Officials said the draft has been prepared after careful legal scrutiny to ensure that it does not face constitutional hurdles. The government has reportedly taken into account several Supreme Court judgments while framing the legislation. Following Cabinet approval, the bill is expected to be introduced for discussion in both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature. Sources indicated that the government may attempt to table the bill during the ongoing session itself. If passed, Maharashtra will join a growing list of states that have enacted specific laws aimed at regulating religious conversions. First Published: March 05, 2026, 20:33 IST News cities mumbai-news Maharashtra Cabinet Approves Draft Anti-Conversion Bill, Rane Says 'Will Ensure Justice For Hindu Women' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Maharashtra Government Launches 17 Modern Training Labs In ITIs Across Two Regions Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:58 IST The Maharashtra government, with Toyota India's support, launched an initiative to modernize ITIs. 17 labs were opened in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur. Skill Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha. (MPLodha/X) In a move aimed at strengthening skill development and improving employment prospects for young people, the Maharashtra government has launched a new initiative to modernise Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) through partnerships with private companies. Skill Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Wednesday inaugurated a network of newly upgraded laboratories set up in collaboration with Toyota India. The inauguration was carried out virtually from Mantralaya, simultaneously opening 17 modern laboratories across ITIs in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur divisions. A Centre of Excellence has also been established at the Devgiri Government Industrial Training Institute in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, developed with support from Toyota India. The initiative is designed to equip students, especially from rural areas, with modern technical skills and industry-oriented training. According to officials, Toyota has funded the laboratories through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. Fourteen labs have been established in ITIs in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar region and three in Nagpur. A total investment of about 5.44 crore has been made to build these facilities. Speaking at the inauguration, Lodha said the effort marks a new chapter in publicprivate partnership in the skill development sector. He said modernising ITIs and aligning their training with industry requirements will help create better employment opportunities for youth across the state. This initiative will ensure that students from rural areas receive advanced training and become job-ready," Lodha said. He added that skill development has been a major focus of the countrys development agenda, and Maharashtra is working to strengthen vocational education with support from industry partners. The new laboratories will focus on modern industrial practices, safety training, and practical technical skills. Students will also be exposed to industry work culture and updated equipment, helping them better prepare for real-world jobs. The project will be expanded in phases. In the second phase between 2026 and 2028, 18 more ITIs in Amravati, Nagpur and Nashik divisions will be upgraded. In the final phase between 2029 and 2030, another 14 ITIs in Mumbai and Pune will be modernised. Officials said that in the first phase alone, nearly 15,000 students are expected to benefit from industry-oriented training. The programme also includes collaboration with TNS India Foundation, which will introduce specialised training in electric vehicles and solar technology, along with soft skills and technical training aimed at improving employability in emerging green sectors. First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:49 IST News cities mumbai-news Maharashtra Government Launches 17 Modern Training Labs In ITIs Across Two Regions Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... After Delhi, BJP To Pick Woman CM For Bihar? 4 Names In The Running To Replace Nitish Kumar Curated By : News18 Cities Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:39 IST The discussion has gained traction particularly after the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, which witnessed a noticeable increase in women's representation Rapid Read Despite his move to Delhi, Nitish Kumar has no intention of becoming a distant figure in Bihar. (File pic/PTI) The official announcement regarding Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar moving to the Rajya Sabha has stirred fresh political speculation within the state. Nitishs likely shift to Delhi has triggered discussions about a possible leadership change in the state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now faced with multiple options for the top post. Political observers say the development could open the door for a surprising move, the possibility of a woman chief minister. As Bihars political landscape adjusts to the changing scenario, the question being widely discussed is whether the BJP might experiment with womens leadership in the state, similar to its recent strategy in other regions. If such a move materialises, Bihar could see its second woman chief minister after Rabri Devi. The discussion has gained traction particularly after the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, which witnessed a noticeable increase in womens representation. A total of 29 women MLAs were elected to the state Assembly, of whom 10 belong to the BJP. The party had fielded 13 women candidates, with 10 emerging victorious, a success rate political analysts consider significant. In recent years, several states have seen the promotion of women leaders in prominent political roles, prompting speculation that the BJP could attempt a similar strategy in Bihar. While the party has not offered any official indication, political circles are actively discussing the possibility. 1. Renu Devi Among the names drawing attention, Renu Devi is considered the most experienced contender. An MLA from Bettiah in West Champaran, she served as deputy chief minister of Bihar from 2020 to 2022. A senior BJP leader with long-standing involvement in the partys womens wing, Renu Devi has been elected to the Bihar Assembly multiple times and is regarded as having strong organisational influence. Analysts believe her administrative experience and organisational grounding make her a leading contender if the BJP considers a woman for the chief ministers post. 2. Rama Nishad Another name frequently mentioned is Rama Nishad, the MLA from Aurai and a former minister. Her political significance is linked to social equations, as the Nishad community holds influence across several regions of Bihar. Observers say that if the BJP aims to send a strong message to the extremely backward classes (EBC), promoting Rama Nishad could serve that purpose. 3. Shreyasi Singh The list also includes Shreyasi Singh, an emerging political figure who first gained national recognition as a shooter. Now an MLA from Jamui, she is often viewed as a young, educated and modern political face. Analysts say that if the BJP seeks to promote youth leadership, Singh could be a significant choice. 4. Gayatri Devi Another leader being discussed is Gayatri Devi, the MLA from Parihar in Sitamarhi district. Known for her strong local political presence, Gayatri Devi has been active in regional social and development issues. Political observers suggest that if the BJP seeks to strengthen its OBC outreach, leaders such as her could play an important role. Apart from these prominent names, several other women MLAs are also being mentioned in political discussions. Nisha Singh, who won from Pranpur and comes from a backward community background, is seen as a leader with strong local connect. Kavita Devi, an MLA from Kodha belonging to the Scheduled Caste category, is also considered politically significant due to the potential to consolidate Dalit support. Meanwhile, Devanti Yadav, who represents Narpatganj and belongs to the Yadav community, is viewed as a relatively new entrant to state-level politics. The rise in the number of women legislators after the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls has already begun to reshape political conversations in the state. Many women MLAs have become increasingly active on regional and state-level issues, signalling that womens leadership could play a more prominent role in Bihars politics in the coming years. Political experts note that caste equations, administrative experience and organisational strength remain crucial factors in the states political decision-making. If the BJP ultimately decides to appoint a woman chief minister, they say, the move would likely be part of a broader political strategy rather than a sudden decision. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:45 IST News cities patna-news After Delhi, BJP To Pick Woman CM For Bihar? 4 Names In The Running To Replace Nitish Kumar Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Photo: https://www.military.com/ Over the course of three days, during the escalating conflict, Middle Eastern countries used more than 800 PAC-3 missiles. Ukraine has never had so many missiles to counter attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "PAC-3 missilescountries in the Middle East used a total of about 800 missiles during these attacks. Ukraine has never had so many missiles to repel strikes. Over these three days, there were 800 missiles," Zelenskyy said during a briefing following the meeting on Thursday. The President recalled that Ukraine is prepared to transfer the corresponding number of drone interceptors in exchange for the PAC-3. He stated that there is a clear understanding of "how many we need and how many we can additionally produce very quickly." Ukraine will also provide expertise to protect civilian and oil infrastructure. On March 3, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is experiencing a shortage of PAC-3 missiles, and "we are ready to exchange drone interceptors for them." "But we have a shortage of PAC-3s, yes. For example, if were talking about weapons during a war, which we have a shortage of, then PAC-3 missilesif they give us those, well give them an interceptor. Its an equal exchange," Zelenskyy said at a briefing, commenting on the possibility of cooperation with Middle Eastern countries. Canada Launches $100 Million Scholarship Programme For Indian Students, Check Details Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:09 IST Canada Scholarships For Indian Students 2026: Up to 200 fully funded scholarships will be available, managed by the University of Toronto, for Indian students. The initiative aims to establish three hybrid study locations in India. (Representative image/File) Canada Scholarships For Indian Students 2026: Canada has launched a $100 million scholarship programme to boost higher education opportunities for Indian students, aiming to strengthen academic cooperation and research collaboration between the two countries. Up to 200 fully funded scholarships will be available, managed by the University of Toronto, for Indian students admitted to participating Canadian institutions. This initiative is part of the CanadaIndia Talent and Innovation strategy, which supports Indian students pursuing higher education at Canadian institutions. The strategy aims to increase student mobility, promote research collaboration, and develop academic partnerships between universities in both nations. Government Scholarships For Indians Students In Canada These scholarships aim to support students across various levels of study, including UG, PG, doctoral, and postdoctoral programmes. In many cases, funding will also cover living expenses and research-related costs, in addition to tuition fees. A key feature of the initiative is the establishment of three hybrid study locations in India. These centres will allow students to start their Canadian programmes in India before completing their studies in Canada. The academic hubs will focus on crucial research areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, and innovation, and will support collaborative research projects, training programmes, and joint academic courses. One of the proposed centres will be developed by Dalhousie University in partnership with Indian institutions, while other centres will involve collaborations with leading Canadian universities. The goal is to make international education more accessible and to strengthen research cooperation between institutions in both countries. Overall, Canadian and Indian universities have signed 13 new agreements with the aim to promote student exchange programmes, joint academic degrees, research collaborations, and short-term courses and training programmes. The collaborations will focus on fields such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, agriculture, health sciences, and public policy. Last year, Canada lowered the number of international student permits in order to reduce the number of temporary migrants and address fraud related to student visas. As per govt data, around 74% of Indian applications for Canadian study permits were rejected in August 2025, more than double the 32% rejection rate compared to 2024. While almost 40% of all international student applications and 24% of those from China were turned down in the same period. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:26 IST News education-career Canada Launches $100 Million Scholarship Programme For Indian Students, Check Details Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... NEET UG 2026 Registration Ends On March 8, Application Correction Opens March 10 Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:10 IST NEET UG 2026: Candidates who are eligible and are willing to apply but are yet to do so can register by visiting the official website at neet.nta.nic.in. News18 The National Testing Agency (NTA) is set to conclude the registration process for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET UG 2026 on March 8. Candidates who are eligible and are willing to apply but are yet to do so can register by visiting the official website at neet.nta.nic.in. As per the official notice, NEET (UG) 2026 scores will be utilised for admission to undergraduate medical courses across all medical institutions in India. The entrance test will also be applicable for BDS, BVSc and AH courses, and AYUSH programmes including BAMS, BUMS, and BSMS. Additionally, it will be used for admission to the BHMS course under the National Commission for Homeopathy. Aspirants looking to join the Military Nursing Service (MNS) BSc Nursing courses at Armed Forces Medical Service hospitals must also qualify NEET (UG). The score will be considered for selection to the four-year BSc Nursing programme. Candidates will be able to apply for NEET 2026 till 9 pm on March 8 and will be able to complete the fee payment by 11:50 pm. The application correction window will remain open from March 10 to March 12, 2026. The NEET UG 2026 exam is scheduled to take place on May 3, 2026, from 2 pm to 5 pm in pen-and-paper mode. The exam duration is three hours. The examination will be conducted in 13 languages including Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, and Odia, among others. How To Apply For NEET UG 2026? Visit the official website at neet.nta.nic.in. Click on the NEET UG 2026 registration link on the homepage. Enter the registration details. Fill out the application form. Pay the application fee. Submit the form and download the confirmation page. Keep a printout for future reference. NEET UG 2026 Application Fee The application fee is Rs 1,700 for General category candidates, Rs 1,600 for General-EWS and OBC-NCL candidates, and Rs 1,000 for SC, ST, PwBD and third gender candidates. The fee can be paid online through debit card, credit card, UPI, or net banking. Additional processing charges and GST may apply as per the bank or payment gateway. First Published: March 05, 2026, 16:10 IST News education-career NEET UG 2026 Registration Ends On March 8, Application Correction Opens March 10 Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Study Abroad: 8 Countries With Simplified Visa Processes For Indian Students Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 15:39 IST From Germany to Malaysia, here are five countries with streamlined visa procedures and welcoming policies for international students. Planning to study abroad? Here are 8 countries with easier visa processes. (AI Image) If youre considering pursuing higher education abroad, youll be pleased to know that some countries have simplified their visa processes, especially given the increasing difficulty of obtaining student visas for Canada, Australia, the USA, and the UK. Here are five countries with streamlined visa procedures and welcoming policies for international students: Germany Germany stands out as a preferred destination for international students due to its affordable education, with public universities often waiving tuition fees. The student visa process is straightforward. Applicants need to demonstrate financial means, typically around 11,904 per academic year, to support themselves. After receiving an acceptance letter from a German institution, acquiring the visa is relatively smooth. Required documents include admission confirmation, health insurance, and proof of funds. Moreover, students can work part-time and are provided with an 18-month post-graduation period to find employment. Malaysia Malaysia centralises its visa process through Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), wherein the university applies for a Visa Approval Letter (VAL) on the students behalf before they travel. With an acceptance rate of 95% and no interviews required, the embassy simply stamps your passport, making rejection nearly non-existent. Tuition fees are extremely affordable, ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 per year, and living expenses average $500 per month. Ireland Indian students seeking to study in Ireland must apply for a D Study visa. The process involves completing an online application through AVATS, submitting necessary documents, paying the visa fee, and likely undergoing biometrics. Irelands process is relatively quick, with most applications processed within four to eight weeks. Students can work part-time while studying, and postgraduate students are given two years to find employment. France France offers a surprisingly easy student visa process for non-EU applicants. Once admitted to an academic programme, the subsequent steps involve submitting an application, proving financial support, and providing health insurance documentation. Visas are typically processed within 15 to 30 days. Students in France can work part-time and may stay for up to a year after graduation to search for employment. Netherlands The Netherlands has a streamlined student visa process, with most of it managed digitally. Once admitted to a university, the institution often handles much of the visa paperwork, making the process simpler for students. Additionally, international students can work part-time. After graduation, they can apply for the Orientation Year Visa, allowing them a year to find employment in the country. English is widely spoken, making it an easy place to study and settle. Norway Norway offers a transparent and accommodating visa process. Public universities generally do not charge tuition fees, even for international students, making it an affordable option despite the higher living costs. To obtain a visa, students need proof of admission, accommodation, and sufficient funds. Students are permitted to work part-time and can stay after graduation if they secure employment. Finland The Finnish Immigration Service has streamlined the Residence Permit for Studies, boasting an acceptance rate of 90-95% for degree students, with most decisions made within a month or less. Tuition fees at Finland range from 6,000 to 12,000, with scholarships often available for meritorious students. Applicants must show financial proof of 6,720 for one year, approximately 560 per month. Finnish graduates receive a two-year permit to seek employment without the fear of immediate deportation. New Zealand New Zealand has become more welcoming for students, especially as Australia has become more challenging. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has significantly increased approval rates for student visas, with the acceptance rate reaching almost 90%. Tuition fees range from NZD 25,000 to NZD 40,000, and students must show NZD 20,000 per year for living expenses. Students will be allowed to work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during holidays, while masters students have unlimited work rights. First Published: March 05, 2026, 15:39 IST News education-career Study Abroad: 8 Countries With Simplified Visa Processes For Indian Students Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Bring Back The King' Chant Is Echoing In Nepal. Can The Monarchy Make A Political Comeback? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:39 IST Nepal was ruled for centuries by the Shah dynasty, culminating in the reign of former king Gyanendra. However, the monarchy ended after decades of political instability in Nepal Rapid Read Supporters of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) stand in front of a poster of Nepal's former King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev during a pro-monarchy protest in Kathmandu. (AFP) Thursday, March 5, is a red-letter day for Nepal. As the Himalayan country votes in a high-stakes general election, a surprising theme has resurfaced in the politics of the countrycalls for restoring the monarchy nearly two decades after the royal institution was abolished. From Kingdom to Republic Nepal was ruled for centuries by the Shah dynasty, culminating in the reign of former king Gyanendra of Nepal. However, the monarchy came to an end after decades of political instability in the country. In 1990, Nepal transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy after mass protests. However, from 1996-2006, a Maoist insurgency destabilised the country. In 2005, King Gyanendra dissolved Parliament and took direct control, which led to protests across the country. Three years later, a newly elected Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic. Since then, the former royal palace in Kathmandu has been converted into a museum, symbolising the end of royal rule. Why Is The Monarchy Back In News? However, the feelings towards the monarchy were never completely eradicated, and there are a number of factors that have, in recent times, added to the debate on the issue. Instability in the political environment: The political environment in Nepal has been unstable, and there have been dozens of governments in the country since 1990, with many falling before completing a term in office. This has led to a situation where people are turning to the monarchy as a solution. Increased levels of frustration among the population: The protests that have been witnessed in the country in recent times, such as the Gen Z protests in 2025, where the youth protested against corruption and the government, are a clear indicator that there is a growing level of frustration among the population. Pro-monarchy protests: Thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Kathmandu, demanding that the king be brought back and that the country should revert to a Hindu kingdom, rather than a secular republic that it is today, and that the protesters chanted slogans such as Bring back the king" and welcomed the former monarch when he appeared in public. Do They Have Political Backing? The major political force that has been promoting a royal comeback is the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). The partys agenda includes restoring a constitutional monarchy, making Nepal a Hindu state again, and undoing federalism and governance reforms. The party has tried to consolidate votes for a monarchist comeback before elections. Can The Monarchy Return Through Elections? However, a return of the monarchy does not seem possible in the short term because of the following reasons: Constitutional Barriers: The Constitution of Nepal states that it is a federal democratic republic. Therefore, it would require a major change in the Constitution to again become a monarchy. Limited Electoral Support: The RPP and other pro-monarchy parties are still not major players compared to other major parties such as the Nepali Congress and communist parties. Lack of Political Candidacy by Former King Gyanendra: Former King Gyanendra is not a candidate himself. However, they can still exert their influence on Nepalese politics if: Pro-monarchy parties get more seats Dissatisfaction with politicians persists Demand for a referendum on monarchy gains momentum Why the 2026 Election Matters This election is taking place after months of unrest and youth-led protests that led to the ouster of the previous government. This election will determine if traditional political parties continue to be in charge, if the opposition changes the political landscape, and if monarchists are able to make enough inroads so that the monarchy debate enters mainstream politics. Location : Kathmandu, Nepal First Published: March 05, 2026, 14:39 IST News explainers 'Bring Back The King' Chant Is Echoing In Nepal. Can The Monarchy Make A Political Comeback? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Inside Indias Raj Bhavan Reset: Why The Centre Is Repositioning Governors Across Key States Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:24 IST This shift reflects the BJP-led Centres dual strategy of ensuring administrative continuity in volatile regions while preparing for high-stakes electoral contests The most striking development in this reshuffle is the resignation of CV Ananda Bose (above), with RN Ravi expected to be the next Governor of West Bengal. (File pic) The sweeping gubernatorial reshuffle announced on March 5 represents one of the most significant overhauls of Indias constitutional landscape in recent years. From the high-altitude friction of Ladakh to the electoral battlegrounds of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the Rashtrapati Bhavans latest communique signals a Raj Bhavan Reset." By moving seasoned administrators and diplomatic heavyweights into key states, the Centre is clearly prioritising hard-nosed governance and security over purely ceremonial leadership. The Bengal Pivot: RN Ravis Mission in Kolkata The most consequential move in this reshuffle is the resignation of Dr CV Ananda Bose and the subsequent appointment of RN Ravi as the Governor of West Bengal. Ravi, who moves from the Raj Bhavan in Chennai, is a former IPS officer and veteran interlocutor known for his uncompromising stance on constitutional propriety. His arrival in Kolkata comes as the state enters the final stretch before the 2026 assembly elections. In a region where the relationship between the Governor and the State Secretariat has often been a theatre of conflict, the Centre is deploying a constitutional enforcer." To fill the vacuum left by Ravi in the south, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been moved from Kerala to discharge the functions of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, ensuring a steady hand in another state known for its complex Centre-State dynamics. Security Doctrine: General Hasnain in Bihar and Sandhu in Delhi The appointment of Lt General (Retired) Syed Ata Hasnain as the Governor of Bihar marks a radical departure from tradition. A decorated military commander with deep expertise in strategic affairs, General Hasnain arrives in Patna at a critical juncturejust as Nitish Kumar transitions to the Rajya Sabha. His appointment suggests the Centre wants a Security-First" administrator to oversee Bihars leadership transition and its sensitive border dynamics. Simultaneously, the national capital sees a major shift with the appointment of former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Replacing Vinai Kumar Saxena, Sandhuwho served as Indias Ambassador to the USbrings a sophisticated diplomatic lens to Delhis administration. This move is mirrored by Saxenas own transfer to the high-stakes Union Territory of Ladakh, where he replaces Kavinder Gupta (who has been moved to Himachal Pradesh). Saxenas experience in urban governance and infrastructure will be vital in addressing Ladakhs ongoing protests regarding statehood and Sixth Schedule protections. Political Weight: Varma in Maharashtra and Shukla in Telangana The reshuffle also addresses the political heartlands heading toward crucial junctures. Jishnu Dev Varma, the former Deputy CM of Tripura, moves from Telangana to take charge of MaharashtraIndias economic powerhouse. In his place, Shiv Pratap Shukla has been moved from Himachal Pradesh to Telangana, a state where the BJP is aggressively looking to expand its footprint. Further east, the appointment of Nand Kishore Yadav as the Governor of Nagaland brings a seasoned political mind to the Northeast, complementing the Security Doctrine" already established by the presence of Ajay Kumar Bhalla in Manipur and General VK Singh in Mizoram. Conclusion: The Era of the Proactive Raj Bhavan Ultimately, the March 5 reshuffle indicates that the role of the Governor has evolved into that of a Strategic Monitor". Whether it is a former General in Bihar, a veteran diplomat in Delhi, or a hard-line administrator in Bengal, the current appointees favour experience in security, diplomacy, and law. For the states, this means a more engaged and proactive Raj Bhavan, designed to ensure that the Centres strategic and constitutional priorities are maintained in an increasingly volatile political environment. First Published: March 05, 2026, 21:34 IST News explainers Inside Indias Raj Bhavan Reset: Why The Centre Is Repositioning Governors Across Key States Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Did Axis of Evil Label Push Iran Towards Building The Axis Of Resistance? Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 15:46 IST Did the 2002 'Axis of Evil' speech harden Irans resolve? How US rhetoric and regional wars shaped Tehrans 'Axis of Resistance' and redrew Middle East power lines Rapid Read In January 2002, then-President George W. Bush coined the term Axis of Evil to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea as states that posed significant threats to global security. (Image: Canva) The Middle East is once again the epicentre of a major geopolitical upheaval. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran dubbed Operation Epic Fury targeting strategic military sites, leadership facilities and Tehrans nuclear infrastructure. The offensive followed years of mounting tensions over Irans nuclear ambitions, missile development and regional proxy activities. The strikes, which included the killing of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have triggered waves of retaliation across the region, with ballistic missiles, drone attacks and clashes with neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and Yemen. The crisis has already upended global energy markets, disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and drawn widespread international condemnation, particularly from countries in the Global South decrying what they see as Western military overreach. The combined military attack by the United States and Israel has dealt a severe blow to Irans network of allied forces known as the Axis of Resistance," disrupting command structures and exposing fractures in the once-resilient regional alliance. To trace its origins, many analysts return to 2002, when President George W. Bush labelled Iran part of an Axis of Evil," a moment that hardened hostilities and marked a turning point in Tehrans long-term regional strategy. What Is The Axis of Evil? On January 29 2002, President George W. Bush stood before Congress for his first State of the Union address following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. In a passage that would shape American foreign policy for years, he warned that states like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world". The three countries singled out were Iraq, North Korea and Iran. The phrase was reportedly coined by speechwriter David Frum. Its purpose was to frame the post-9/11 struggle in stark moral terms, equating the threat to that posed by communism or Nazism in earlier eras. Iran earned its place on the list because the US State Department had repeatedly designated it as the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism. Tehran was accused of supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian rejectionist groups, and pursuing weapons programmes that alarmed Washington. At the time, the inclusion stunned many. Only months earlier, Iran had quietly cooperated with the United States in ousting the Taliban from Afghanistan, supporting the Northern Alliance, managing refugee flows, and helping to broker the Bonn Agreement that established an interim Afghan government. That tentative opening was now abruptly closed. Contemporary interpretations of the Axis of Evil now re-invoked the idea of a broader coalition of adversarial states includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea in discussions of a modern adversarial bloc without any official designations. Who Built the Axis of Resistance? The strategy of forward defence" through asymmetric alliances long predates 2002. The Axis of Resistance is an informal, Iran-led political and military alignment operating across the Middle East. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the traumatic eight-year war with Iraq, Iran began cultivating non-state partners as a matter of survival. The coalition operates as a decentralised structure. Groups coordinate strategically but retain operational autonomy. Iran: The central anchor, providing funding, weapons, training and ideological direction. Hezbollah (Lebanon): The most powerful non-state actor in the network, often described as Irans primary strategic partner in the region. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Gaza/West Bank): Palestinian armed groups that have received sustained Iranian backing in their conflict with Israel. The Houthis (Yemen): A Zaydi Shia movement that has deployed Iranian-supplied missiles and drones against Israeli-linked and Red Sea targets. Iraqi militias (Popular Mobilization Forces): Groups such as Kataib Hezbollah that have targeted US and Israeli interests. Syria (under Bashar al-Assad): Previously a core state member until the regimes fall in December 2024, which disrupted a key logistical corridor linking Iran to Lebanon. Yet the specific term Axis of Resistance" (mehvar-e moqavemat in Persian) emerged directly as a response to Bushs speech. Contemporary reporting and subsequent analysis confirm that the label was deliberately adopted around 2003, turning an insult into a badge of honour. What had been a loose collection of alliances suddenly acquired a unifying brand and a sharper ideological edge. The 2003 US invasion of Iraq, coming hard on the heels of the axis of evil" rhetoric, accelerated the process: Iran moved swiftly to shape the new Iraqi state through its Shia allies, laying the foundations of todays Popular Mobilisation Forces. Axis of Evil vs Axis of Resistance: How This Label Redrew The Map Of Middle East? The 2002 Axis of Evil label, applied by the United States to Iran, Iraq and North Korea, crystallised Washingtons view of Tehran as a major security threat, hardening diplomatic and strategic divisions. That rhetoric did not create Irans regional network, but it did coincide with and reinforce a shift toward deeper resistance strategies. Over the following decades, Tehrans Revolutionary Guard and allied groups built what came to be known as the Axis of Resistance, a loose coalition of Iranian-backed actors including Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi militias and the Houthis that coordinates against U.S. and Israeli influence. First Published: March 05, 2026, 08:00 IST News explainers Did Axis of Evil Label Push Iran Towards Building The Axis Of Resistance? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Quiet Death' In The Indian Ocean: How America's Lethal Mark 48 Torpedo Sank An Iranian Warship Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 12:43 IST The Mark 48 is a state-of-the-art heavyweight torpedo with a 650-pound warhead, capable of tracking and engaging surface ships and submarines with extreme precision Rapid Read Mark 48 torpedo is designed to explode beneath the ships hull, targeting one of the most vulnerable points in naval design. (US Navy) A US Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week, marking the first time an American submarine has destroyed an enemy vessel since World War II. The attack, carried out with a Mark 48 torpedo, was touted by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as evidence of Americas global reach in the Israel-US-IraIsrael-US-Iran war war. An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth told a news conference. THE MARK 48 TORPEDO The Mark 48 is a state-of-the-art heavyweight torpedo with a 650-pound warhead, capable of tracking and engaging surface ships and submarines with extreme precision. It measures about 19 feet in length, 21 inches in diameter and weighs around 3,700 pounds. Unlike the unguided torpedoes of World War II, it can home in on targets using active or passive sonar, operate with or without wire guidance, and reengage if it misses, making it barely even the same species" as its historical counterparts, according to James Holmes, the JC Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the US Naval War College. The Mark 48 is optimal for engaging enemy submarines, giving it a whole new operating dimension," Holmes said. ALSO READ | They Took Out The Eyes!: How Iranian Attack On 5,000 Km Range Ballistic Radar Has Blinded US According to Sri Lanka Guardian, unlike most anti-ship missiles that strike a vessel above the waterline, the Mark 48 torpedo is designed to explode beneath the ships hull, targeting one of the most vulnerable points in naval design. When the warhead detonates under a vessel, it generates a massive gas bubble that rapidly expands and then collapses. The initial surge can lift thousands of tons of steel out of the water, while the collapse removes the support that keeps the hull afloat, causing it to bend, crack, or even break in two. Even if the ships structure remains intact, critical systems, like propulsion shafts, bulkheads, and electronics, are often destroyed, leaving the vessel crippled or completely inoperable. Retired Navy Captain Thomas Shugart, a former submariner, described the strike as overwhelmingly effective. This ship didnt have a chance it probably had no idea the submarine was there. It had no way to see the weapon coming. Its probably the most assured way to sink a ship like that, but also the most punishing," he told Task & Purpose, an American digital news and media organisation that covers the US military, veterans, and the defence industry. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that the Mark 48 torpedo was used to neutralise the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, one of more than 20 vessels destroyed as part of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. The strike also demonstrated the US Navys ability to operate far from home waters against a modern warship equipped with long-range missiles, without risking aircraft or surface vesselsan attack that Hegseth called the quiet death". The Mark 48 torpedo, costing roughly $4.2 million per unit, is designed to deliver devastating effect against heavily armed ships. Experts say its use in this strike highlights a significant return of submarines to offensive operations after decades of primarily surveillance and deterrence roles. Retired Navy Captain Bent Sadler, speaking to Task & Purpose, noted: The strongest use of submarines is unleashing the captains of those boats with a set of orders: Go in this area and kill anything that meets the following conditions, and act as you see fit." ALSO READ | A War Too Close To Home: Why US Sinking Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena Matters To India Sri Lankan authorities rescued 32 crew members from the frigate, though 148 sailors remain missing. The ship sank less than an hour after issuing a distress call 40 kilometers south of Galle, leaving only an oil patch at the site, according to AFP. IRAN SEES RED Following the naval attack, Irans Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday warned the United States that it will bitterly regret" its action. In a post on X, Araghchi said the United States had carried out an atrocity at sea" far from Irans shores. He stated that the frigate Dena, carrying nearly 130 sailors, was a guest" of the Indian Navy and was attacked in international waters without warning. The vessel was returning home using a standard westward route after taking part in Indias MILAN 2026 multinational naval exercise and International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam weeks earlier. First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:17 IST News explainers 'Quiet Death' In The Indian Ocean: How America's Lethal Mark 48 Torpedo Sank An Iranian Warship Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 25 Days Of Crude Oil Available: Sources Say India Is In Comfortable Spot As Iran War Disrupts Supply Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:36 IST India has 25 days of energy products amid Middle East war. The government is in touch with Canada, Australia, OPEC, IAEA for LPG and LNG supplies. On Monday, the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar was shut following an Iranian drone attack. Amid the war in the Middle East hitting the supply of energy products, the central government has said that India has 25 days of energy products available and is also in touch with countries such as Canada and Australia for LPG and LNG supplies. According to government sources, We are in comfortable position as we currently have 25 days of crude oil and 25 days of energy products." They further said that the government is in touch with all major suppliers of LPG , LNG and also in touch with OPEC, IAEA." On Monday, the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar was shut following an Iranian drone attack. Ras Tanura oil refinery, located near the eastern city of Dammam, is one of the worlds largest oil processing facilities and has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day. The facility is home to one of the largest refineries in the Middle East and is considered a cornerstone of the Saudi Arabias energy sector, according to Al Jazeera. Follow for live updates Due to military attacks on QatarEnergys operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City in the State of Qatar, QatarEnergy has ceased production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products," the worlds largest LNG producer said in a statement. Following this announcement, Dutch and British wholesale gas prices soared by almost 50 percent, while benchmark Asian LNG prices jumped almost 39 percent, according to Al Jazeera. However, the sources said, the Indian government is searching for options like Canada, Australia and 10% from US. No worry of price rise should stabilise at Rs82-85. The present situation wont have impact on consumer price," they said. Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov has also announced Moscows being always open to supplying oil to India" amid disruptions to energy supply. As aerial attacks in West Asia entered the sixth day, Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday, soon after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship. With the attack, Tehran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region. First Published: March 05, 2026, 15:59 IST News india 25 Days Of Crude Oil Available: Sources Say India Is In Comfortable Spot As Iran War Disrupts Supply Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Black Goggles To Camel Rides: How UP's Political Bigwigs Celebrated Holi This Year Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Shuddhanta Patra Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:52 IST At the centre of the celebrations was Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who displayed his trademark blend of religiosity and assertive messaging in Gorakhpur. From Gorakhpur to Lucknow, Holi Celebrations Turn Political in Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradeshs political corridors turned into a vibrant canvas of colour, music and symbolism as leaders across party lines stepped out to celebrate Holi in distinctive styles, blending festivity with political messaging. Yogi Adityanath leads celebrations in Gorakhpur At the centre of the celebrations was Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who displayed his trademark blend of religiosity and assertive messaging in Gorakhpur. Wearing black goggles and saffron attire, the Chief Minister played Holi amid chants and drumbeats, creating a striking visual that quickly became one of the defining images of the festival in the states political landscape. At the Gorakhnath temple premises, Yogi fed jaggery to cows and applied gulal to them, reinforcing his cultural messaging. Addressing gatherings during the traditional procession of Lord Narasimha, he said, There is no fear, no anarchy, no distrust anywhere in the state. The spirit of Satyamev Jayate and Yato Dharmastato Jayah resonates everywhere." He linked Holika Dahan to the symbolic burning of ego, corruption, appeasement politics, terrorism and disorder. Referring to Narasimha as an important avatar of Lord Vishnu, he said devotion and discipline were essential virtues in nation-building. He also invoked the ongoing Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" vision and heritage revival under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the Mahakal corridor as examples of cultural resurgence. Adding a lighter note, Yogi remarked that next year, when Gorakhpurs heritage corridor becomes fully operational with a 10-metre-wide stretch, even MP Ravi Kishan would be seen dancing freely there. Ravi Kishan himself applied gulal to volunteers and sang traditional Phagua songs during the celebrations. Camel ride and cowboy hat in Lucknow In Lucknow, both Deputy Chief Ministers added theatrical flair to the festivities. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak was seen riding a camel in the old citys Chowk area. Armed with a water gun, he sprayed colours on supporters while waving energetically. At one point, he theatrically carried a mace and used a cylinder device to blow gulal into the air, creating a dramatic spectacle that drew cheering crowds. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya celebrated Holi at his official residence, 7 Kalidas Marg, greeting party workers, legislators and media persons. Sporting a cowboy hat and holding a traditional hunter whip for effect, Maurya sang Holi Khele Raghuveera" and mingled freely with supporters as colours filled the air. Former Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma also joined the festivities in Lucknow, engaging in playful exchanges of colour with party colleagues. Opposition leaders join festivities The political celebrations were not confined to the BJP camp. Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav celebrated Holi with party workers and supporters in Lucknow. Known for his relatively understated yet warm interactions during festivals, Akhilesh applied gulal to supporters and extended greetings while emphasising social harmony and unity. SP leaders shared visuals of him interacting with cadres in a relaxed atmosphere, reinforcing the partys outreach narrative ahead of upcoming electoral battles. District celebrations add local flavour Across districts, political figures added their own local touch to the celebrations. In Gonda, former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sat on the ground singing traditional Holi songs, while his MLA son Prateek Bhushan Singh played Holi with family members. In Ballia, Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh beat the dhol and manjira while joining celebratory processions. In Mathura, District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh was seen pouring colour over officials with buckets. In Shahjahanpur, the traditional Laat Saheb" procession moved through the streets, continuing the cultural legacy of symbolic mockery of colonial-era authority. Holi spirit beyond politics Beyond politics, Uttar Pradeshs cities reflected Holis unifying spirit. In Varanasi, foreign tourists from over 20 countries, including Australia and Ireland, danced to DJ music and smeared colours along the ghats and narrow lanes. One Irish tourist said she had travelled specially to experience Holi in Kashi and described it as unforgettable. In Ayodhya, Ram Lalla was offered a floral Holi, while Vrindavan witnessed massive crowds playing with gulal amid devotional songs. Kanpur and Prayagraj saw the traditional kapda phaad" Holi, where revellers tore each others clothes in symbolic abandon and hung the torn pieces on overhead wires an old and boisterous local custom. Political festival of colour From black goggles in Gorakhpur to camel rides in Lucknow, from cowboy hats to devotional chants, Holi 2026 in Uttar Pradesh offered more than colours it presented a vivid political tableau reflecting celebration, symbolism and public outreach. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:52 IST News india Black Goggles To Camel Rides: How UP's Political Bigwigs Celebrated Holi This Year Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Existential Threat': India Calls On International Community To Act Together Against ISIS, Al Qaeda Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 10:59 IST First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Raghoo Puri, said, "Terrorism is an existential threat to international peace and security." India calls on international community to act together against ISIS, Al Qaeda. (File photo: Getty Images via AFP) India on Wednesday called on the international community to act together against terrorist organisations ISIS and Al Qaeda and their proxies, stating that terrorism is an existential threat" to international peace and security. In remarks to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) annual ambassadorial-level briefing to Member States, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Raghoo Puri, said, Terrorism is an existential threat to international peace and security. It knows no borders, nationality, or race, and is a challenge that the international community must combat collectively." Recalling the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pahalgam, carried out by The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN listed terror organisation, Puri said, We must act together against ISIS and Al Qaeda and their proxies." He stated that as a country that itself has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for the past nearly three decades, India is acutely aware of the socio-economic and human cost of terrorism, especially for its victims. India added its voice in stressing on the importance of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) as a central instrument for multilateral cooperation. Puri also highlighted that as Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee in 2022, India has striven to bring these principles into the counter-terrorism architecture of the UN and into the debate on terrorism at the United Nations. Our follow up initiatives both in New York and around the world stand testimony to our commitment," including the Delhi Declaration a landmark document to deal with the issue of countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, an issue Puri said is of acute importance for several Member States. In October 2022, the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), chaired by India that year, had organised a special meeting in New Delhi and Mumbai on the overarching theme of Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. India continues to work closely with the UN via its various entities to build capacity and make its partners future-ready to take on the ever-evolving scourge of terrorism, he said. (With agency inputs) First Published: March 05, 2026, 10:59 IST News india 'Existential Threat': India Calls On International Community To Act Together Against ISIS, Al Qaeda Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Defense forces have currently cleared 79 square kilometers of territory on Oleksandrivka frontline near the administrative borders of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions, but individual enemy groups are still present there, reports the OSINT project of DeepState. "According to our estimates, the Defense Forces success in clearing territory amounts to approximately 79 square kilometers (however, it is too early to transfer this to the blue zone, as isolated enemy groups are still being detected in the rear). If we take the gray zone, where the Defense Forces had positions but enemy penetration was occurring, this figure reaches approximately 200 square kilometers. We are monitoring the developments," the projects Telegram channel reported on Thursday. According to their data, active fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Berezove in Synelnyky district of Dnipropetrovsk region, where the Defense Forces are attempting to clear the village of Russian infantry, but the enemy is fighting back and exerting constant pressure. "Active search and strike operations are also underway in Kalynove-Novomykolaivka-Novohryhorivka-Krasnohirske-Pervomayske-Rybne-Solodke sector. Enemy infantry and cover are being hit in the east of Novomykolaivka and also primarily in the eastern part of Novohryhorivka. The enemy is attempting to penetrate between Novohryhorivka and Krasnohirske and is actively pressuring Pervomayske. Various enemy sightings are also being conducted in the gray zone," the message reads. DeepState notes that "this is the only area where the Defense Forces are active and have achieved success." "Regarding Huliaipole area, the enemy has greater initiative there, conducting constant infantry assaults, sometimes involving armor. Recently, the enemy deployed approximately 20 infantrymen in two vehicles into the forest on the northern outskirts of Svyatopetrivka," the projects analysts explained. 'Happy To Be Back': Emotional Reunions At Delhi Airport After Passengers Return From Abu Dhabi Amid Conflict Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:31 IST Passengers from Abu Dhabi reunited with families at Indian airports amid US-Israel vs Iran conflict. Emotional scenes were witnessed at IGI airport (Credits: ANI) Tears, tight embraces, and visible relief marked the arrival halls at Indian airports as passengers returning from Abu Dhabi reunited with their families after days of uncertainty caused by the ongoing US-Israel and Iran conflict. Many travellers who had been stranded due to flight disruptions finally reached home, bringing emotional scenes at airports. At Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport, family members waited anxiously before welcoming their loved ones with hugs and smiles as flights resumed. Passengers said the situation in Abu Dhabi remained largely normal despite the regional tensions. One of the passengers, Abhishek, said, It is normal in Abu Dhabi. Everything is normal there. There is no issue with flights either." #WATCH | Delhi: Emotional scenes at IGI Airport as family members met their loved ones who returned from Abu Dhabi affected due to the US-Israel vs Iran conflict. pic.twitter.com/BKEOa88Yy5 ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 Another traveller, Shikha, shared how her journey was disrupted during a stopover while travelling to Portugal. We were going to Lisbon and we had a stopover in Abu Dhabi. But we were stranded. But the UAE Govt was very nice and gracious, they provided us with hotel accommodation and food. It is a little chaotic thereBut I think they did everything which they could. So, we are happy to be back" Similar scenes were witnessed in Hyderabad as a flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport amid disruptions caused by the conflict. #WATCH | Telangana: Amid the flight disruptions in the wake of the US-Israel vs Iran conflict from the past few days, a flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad earlier this evening.A passenger, Syed Sultan Iqbal, says, \"I landed here pic.twitter.com/5kbpBMi03u \ ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 Passenger Syed Sultan Iqbal, who had spent a month in the UAE, said he was relieved to return safely. I landed here safely. I was there for a month. I came back after a war broke out. We are very safe. Abu Dhabi is safe" Another passenger, Prateek Joshi, said travellers had received several alerts during their stay but the situation had gradually stabilised. We received numerous alerts there. But, to be honest, everything has resumed there. Especially in the UAE, it is under control. But there had been a few attacks in between. Overall, it is good. Flights have resumed. That is good. We were stranded there for four daysGovt gave us very good service. They provided us with food and accommodationGovt support was good." First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:31 IST News india 'Happy To Be Back': Emotional Reunions At Delhi Airport After Passengers Return From Abu Dhabi Amid Conflict Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Jaishankar Speaks With Iranian FM Again, Second Phone Call In 6 Days As West Asia War Escalates Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:33 IST India has now twice reached out to Tehran- once at the outbreak of hostilities and again on Day 6 as the conflict widens. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar held a second telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi- his first having taken place on February 28, the very day the United States and Israel launched their opening strikes on Iran. Track LIVE Updates on US-Israel-Iran war here Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon," Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the Iranian Foreign Minister. Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon. @araghchi Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 5, 2026 Jaishankars Feb 28 Call In the first call, Jaishankar conveyed Indias deep concern" over the unfolding situation and emphasised the need for restraint and de-escalation. The Ministry of External Affairs issued an official statement saying India is deeply concerned at the recent developments in Iran and the Gulf region." Read more: India Offers Condolences On Khameneis Death, FS Vikram Misri Visits Iranian Embassy We urge all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation, and prioritise the safety of civilians. Dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued to de-escalate tensions and address underlying issues. Sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected," the MEA said at the time. Military Conflict Cant Fix Any Issue: PM Modi This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a joint press conference with the President of Finland, said India believes in rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. India and Finland believe in rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. Only military conflict cannot solve any issue, whether it is Ukraine or West Asia. We are both convinced that global institutions need urgent reform," PM Modi said. Read more: Decoding Irans Multi-Layered War Machine As Tehrans Conflict With US-Israel Enters Day 6 | Exclusive Indias immediate neighbourhood has been drawn into the West Asia conflict as on Wednesday, a US submarine sank Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, around 2,000 nautical miles from Iran, killing approximately 87 sailors. The warship had been returning from a naval exercise at Visakhapatnam in India when it was struck. Sri Lanka rescued 32 sailors, with several others still missing and presumed dead. A second Iranian naval vessel has since appeared in Sri Lankas Exclusive Economic Zone and has sought an urgent port call. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 17:18 IST News india Jaishankar Speaks With Iranian FM Again, Second Phone Call In 6 Days As West Asia War Escalates Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Only Military Conflict No Solution To Any Issue': PM Modi On Iran-Israel, Ukraine Wars Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:51 IST Prime Minister Modi emphasized India's commitment to global peace, advocating for dialogue to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, in talks with Finnish President Stubb. Rapid Read Prime Minister Narendra Modi Highlighting ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the recent war in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined Indias commitment to global peace, stressing that conflicts must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy rather than military means. Speaking at a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Modi said, Today, the world is passing through a phase of instability and uncertainty. From Ukraine to West Asia, conflict persists in many parts of the world. India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace." The prime minister emphasised that India, in partnership with Finland, seeks to promote solutions grounded in negotiation, international law, and peaceful coexistence. PM Modi highlighted the growing strategic partnership between India and Finland, citing the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement signed in early 2026. He added the agreement will strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between the two countries. We are shaping India-Finland relations into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability. This partnership, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing, will give momentum and energy to our cooperation in many high-tech areas," he added. PM Modi underscored the importance of global sustainability and diplomacy, highlighting Indias collaboration with Finland. A healthy planet is our shared priority. We are delighted that this year, together with Finland, we will be hosting the World Circular Economy Forum in India. This will give new momentum and fresh ideas to our sustainability efforts," he said. The Prime Minister emphasised that both countries uphold the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy, adding, We are unanimous that military conflict alone cannot resolve any issue. Whether in Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support every effort for a speedy end to the conflict and peace." He further stressed the urgency of reforming global institutions to tackle international challenges and reaffirmed a shared commitment to eradicating terrorism. Turning to bilateral cooperation, PM Modi praised President Stubbs achievements in the Ironman Triathlon, saying, We are confident that with an energetic leader like you, we will also achieve a new triathlon of innovation, digital, and sustainability between India and Finland." First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:43 IST News india 'Only Military Conflict No Solution To Any Issue': PM Modi On Iran-Israel, Ukraine Wars Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Shared Concerns': PM Modi And Macron Discuss West Asia Crisis, Pledge To Coordinate On Peace Efforts Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 18:16 IST Both leaders expressed shared concern over the ongoing conflict and called for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. Rapid Read Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks to France President Emmanuel Macron (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the escalating situation in West Asia, with both leaders expressing shared concern over the ongoing conflict and calling for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. Track updates on US-Israel-Iran War here Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region," PM Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the French President. Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 5, 2026 France Shifts Military Posture The call comes at a time when France is repositioning its forces in the region as Macron ordered the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets. Macron said the carrier would be escorted by frigates and supported by its air wing and confirmed that Rafale fighter jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar platforms have already been deployed to the region. Read more: Trump Is Bombing Iran Without A War Declaration. Can A US President Get Away With It? And we will continue this effort as much as necessary," Macron said. France, the United Kingdom and Germany have previously said they were not involved in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that began late last week. However, Macron made clear that Paris is prepared to take defensive action. French forces shot down drones in legitimate self-defence in the very first hours of the conflict, to defend the airspace of our allies, who know they can rely on us," he said, without elaborating on operational details. Macron cited a strike on a British air force base in Cyprus as the reason for repositioning the carrier group. Cyprus is a European Union member state with which France recently signed a strategic partnership. PM Modis Message On West Asia Crisis Earlier, PM Modi underlined Indias position on the conflict while speaking at a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Read more: Decoding Irans Multi-Layered War Machine As Tehrans Conflict With US-Israel Enters Day 6 | Exclusive Today, the world is passing through a phase of instability and uncertainty. From Ukraine to West Asia, conflict persists in many parts of the world. India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," PM Modi said. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 18:04 IST News india 'Shared Concerns': PM Modi And Macron Discuss West Asia Crisis, Pledge To Coordinate On Peace Efforts Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... RN Ravi Replaces CV Ananda Bose Ahead Of West Bengal Assembly Elections. Who Is He? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 21:56 IST Ananda Bose, who took charge as West Bengal Governor in 2022, resigned from his position just ahead of the Assembly elections this year. Rapid Read Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi (Photo: IANS) Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has replaced CV Ananda Bose as the Governor of West Bengal after the latters abrupt resignation ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. Ravi, who has had frequent confrontations with the MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu, has replaced Bose as the new Governor of West Bengal, confirmed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard," said Mamata Banerjee on X. I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal.The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 5, 2026 Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States," she added. READ MORE: Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose Resigns Ahead Of 2026 Assembly Polls; Mamata Banerjee Shocked Who Is RN Ravi? Ravindra Narayan Ravi, who is currently serving as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, is a retired Kerala-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the 1976 batch after completing his post graduation in physics. He also served in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Ministers Office in 2014. Ravi also served as the deputy National Security Advisor in 2018. After his retirement, Ravi was appointed as the Governor of Nagaland, and also held the additional responsibility of Governor of Meghalaya. Ravis tenure as Tamil Nadu Governor has seen repeated face-offs with the DMK government. Last month, Ravi skipped the customary address to the Tamil Nadu assembly in anger after he reiterated that the national anthem should be played along with the state anthem at the start of the assembly session. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has frequently described Ravi as dictatorial, due to his delay in granting assent to various bills passed by the state assembly. In 2024, Ravi refused to re-induct K Ponmudy into the Cabinet despite the Supreme Court staying his conviction. In 2023, Ravi briefly dismissed" arrested Minister V. Senthil Balaji without the Chief Ministers advice, a decision he was forced to backtrack on later that same day. First Published: March 05, 2026, 20:09 IST News india RN Ravi Replaces CV Ananda Bose Ahead Of West Bengal Assembly Elections. Who Is He? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Security Comes First: High Court Dismisses Plea For Namaz Space Near Mumbai Airport Curated By : Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 19:58 IST The Bombay High Court denied taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers' request to offer namaz near the airport during Ramzan, citing security concerns. Bombay High Court (File photo) The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant relief to taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers who sought permission to offer namaz near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport during the holy month of Ramzan. The court said security considerations around the airport must take priority over such requests. A bench comprising Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla observed that while Ramzan is an important religious period for Muslims, people cannot claim a right to offer prayers at any place of their choice, especially in a highly sensitive area like an airport. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Taxi-Rickshaw Ola-Uber Mens Union. The union said that drivers earlier used a temporary shed near the airport to offer prayers, but the structure was demolished by authorities last year. The petitioners requested that the same location be allowed again or that another nearby space be provided for prayers. However, authorities informed the court that they had inspected seven different locations in the area but none were suitable. They cited congestion, security risks and ongoing airport development plans as the reasons. After reviewing the report, the court said it could not grant the request as the issue involved airport security. The judges emphasised that safety cannot be compromised. There is no question of getting a structure near airport (to offer prayers). Religion or otherwise security comes first. Everybody travel through this airport irrespective of their religion," the court noted. The bench also pointed out that there was a madrassa located within one kilometre where prayers could be offered. It added that the petitioners cannot insist on praying at a particular spot. You (petitioners) cannot decide the place. Tomorrow you will say you want to stand in the middle of Oval Maidan (a recreational ground in South Mumbai) and offer prayers. That is not possible," the court said. The judges clarified that the court was not preventing anyone from praying, but stressed that prayers cannot be offered just anywhere when security concerns are involved. No one is stopping you from offering prayers five times a day, but it cannot be anywhere. Security concerns are serious," the court stated. The bench also remarked that such arrangements are not seen near airports elsewhere in the world and stressed that safety must remain the top priority. We have never seen anything like this anywhere in the world. You cannot have something like this near the airport," the court further observed. While rejecting the plea for now, the court suggested that the drivers could approach airport authorities in the future. It said that once redevelopment of Terminal 1 is completed, officials may consider allocating a designated space for prayers. The court also acknowledged the role played by taxi and auto drivers in serving passengers travelling to and from Mumbai, and said their concerns could be looked at when future infrastructure plans are prepared. First Published: March 05, 2026, 19:58 IST News india Security Comes First: High Court Dismisses Plea For Namaz Space Near Mumbai Airport Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Taranjit Singh Sandhu Appointed Delhi LG, VK Saxena To Take Over As Ladakh Governor Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:22 IST Taranjit Singh Sandhu is the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. VK Saxena will be the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, following Kavinder Gupta's resignation. Left: Delhi LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu; Right: Ladakh LG VK Saxena Former Indian ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. In another key development, VK Saxena will take over as the lieutenant governor of Ladakh. The development came hours after Kavinder Gupta resigned from the post. Gupta stepped down less than a year after assuming office as the LG of the Union Territory. He was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on July 14, 2025, after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Brig (Dr) B D Mishra (Retd). Gupta is a senior BJP leader from Jammu and Kashmir and had earlier served as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state when Mehbooba Mufti was the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose also stepped down from his post earlier today and submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. Confirming the development, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Governor told ANI, Governor CV Ananda Bose has resigned from his post and has sent his resignation letter to the President of India." Following the resignation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed surprise over Boses sudden decision to step down. She also said that she had not been consulted regarding the appointment of his successor, R N Ravi. First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:43 IST News india Taranjit Singh Sandhu Appointed Delhi LG, VK Saxena To Take Over As Ladakh Governor Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... India Offers Condolences On Khamenei's Death, FS Vikram Misri Visits Iranian Embassy Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:58 IST Foreign secretary Vikram Misri also met Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, who visited the embassy to sign the condolence book Rapid Read Foreign secretary Vikram Misri signs book condoling the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on March 5, 2026. (Image: News18) Foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday signed the book condoling Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis killing, which has been laid out in the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, on behalf of the central government. Misri offered his condolences towards Khameneis death in joint Israel-US strikes on February 28, as the two countries launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of Government of India, signed the Condolence Book at the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi today, and offered condolences to the slain Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Pics Source: XPD Division, MEA) pic.twitter.com/IvDEjWgp3u ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 Follow US-Israel-Iran War Live Updates Here Misri met Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, who also visited the embassy to sign the condolence book. On the same day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he had a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in the afternoon. Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon. @araghchi Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 5, 2026 Though India has called for resolution of the West Asia crisis through dialogue and diplomacy, it has also chosen not to react to Khameneis killing. The foreign secretarys visit can, hence, be seen as Indias first official recognition of the Supreme Leaders death. This also assumes significance as several opposition parties had criticised the Centre for not reacting to the strikes against Khamenei. India, meanwhile, has recently moved to formalise a diplomatic response focused on regional stability and the safety of its citizens. ALSO READ | IRIS Dena Was Indian Navys Guest, Hit Without Warning: Iran Warns US Will Regret Strike (With agency inputs) First Published: March 05, 2026, 16:39 IST News india India Offers Condolences On Khamenei's Death, FS Vikram Misri Visits Iranian Embassy Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... War Reached Indias Doorstep: Congress Flags Security Risks After US Hits Iran Warship Near Sri Lanka Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:47 IST According to the Congress, the sinking of the Iranian vessel represented an act of maritime warfare that had brought an open-ended conflict close to India. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi (Image: PTI) Iran Israel War Today: After criticising Indias silence on the US-Israel strike on Iran, the Congress party on Thursday claimed that the ongoing West Asia conflict had reached Indias doorstep". The remarks came after reports that an Iranian warship was sunk by a United States submarine about 40 miles off the coast of Sri Lanka. In a post on X, Congress described the incident as a serious warning that the conflict was moving closer to Indias region. According to the Congress, the sinking of the Iranian vessel represented an act of maritime warfare that had brought an open-ended conflict" close to India. The party said it was deeply concerned that the United States, which India considers a key strategic partner, carried out the action without informing or consulting New Delhi. The party noted that the same Iranian ship had participated as a guest of the Indian Navy in an international fleet review only a week earlier before being targeted soon after leaving Indian waters. Congress said the escalation posed a direct threat to Indias national security and economy. It highlighted that India depends on imports for around 80 per cent of its energy needs, much of which passes through the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait was closed by Iran on Tuesday amid the escalating West Asia conflict. The party warned that expanding the war to the high seas could disrupt global trade and energy supplies. It added that freight and insurance costs were already rising and could soon affect Indian citizens. Congress calls for stronger foreign policy The Congress criticised Indias foreign policy leadership for being too cautious in public messaging. Congress said true strategic autonomy required India to speak out when national interests were at risk. It urged the government to officially convey its displeasure and concerns to Washington, adding that India should not allow its neighbourhood to become a battlefield for a conflict in which it has no direct stake. War Reached Indias Doorstep? | The sinking of an Iranian warship by a United States submarine just forty miles off the coast of Sri Lanka is a massive wake up call that we can no longer ignore. This act of maritime warfare has brought a senseless and open ended conflict right to Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) March 5, 2026 Congress said India must act to protect its sovereignty and economic future. The party added that friendship with other nations should not come at the cost of national interests in a war that India is not part of. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 11:17 IST News india War Reached Indias Doorstep: Congress Flags Security Risks After US Hits Iran Warship Near Sri Lanka Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Indian Navy Deployed Aircraft And Two Warships For Rescue Ops After Iran Ship Sinking Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:14 IST Navy said the ship was operating 20 nautical miles west of Galle, in the search and rescue region under Sri Lankan responsibility. By sinking the vessel on its homeward transit, the United States has effectively declared that international waters are no longer a neutral sanctuary for Iranian assets. (File image) The Indian Navy mounted a swift search and rescue operation after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean, deploying maritime patrol aircraft and two naval vessels to assist in the effort, the Navy said in a statement. A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Colombo in the early hours of March 4, as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy. The ship was operating 20 nautical miles west of Galle, in the search and rescue region under Sri Lankan responsibility. Read more: New Shield At Sea: Will US Start Insuring Indias Oil Lifeline After Torpedoing Iranian Ship? Aircraft, Ships, Life Rafts: Indian Navy Moves In On receiving the information, the Indian Navy launched a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hours on March 4 to augment the search efforts being led by Sri Lanka. A second aircraft carrying air-droppable life rafts was kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity, was deployed to aid the rescue effort and arrived in the search area by 1600 hours on March 4. By that time, search and rescue operations were already being undertaken by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies. INS Ikshak has since sailed from Kochi to further augment the search effort and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel- a step the Navy described as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel." Read more: If They Want To See An End: Iran Warns Gulf Leaders To Expel Americans, Remove All US Bases Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on search and rescue efforts is ongoing, the statement said. US Calls Sinking A Huge Win US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed the American attack on IRIS Dena, describing the destruction of the Iranian warship as a huge win" for Washington. America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Under the direct command of President Trump, the War Department unleashed this operation," Hegseth said, adding that the US would ensure success in its joint operation with Israel. The IRIS Dena had been returning from a naval exercise at Visakhapatnam in India when it was struck, some 2,000 nautical miles from Iran. Approximately 87 sailors were killed. Sri Lanka rescued 32 survivors, with several others still missing and presumed dead. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 20:01 IST News india Indian Navy Deployed Aircraft And Two Warships For Rescue Ops After Iran Ship Sinking Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC) will continue their cooperation in documenting the Russian Federations crimes against Ukraine and strengthening the evidence base. "In particular, regarding the investigation of the abduction and forced displacement of children, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and crimes in places of detention," the ministrys press service reported. The issue of further cooperation was discussed during a meeting between Acting Minister of Justice of Ukraine and Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration Liyudmyla Suhak and Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Mame Mandiaye Niang. Suhak briefed the ICC representatives on the Registry of Deported or Forcibly Displaced Children maintained by the agency. According to her, the Registry currently contains 19,950 names. An additional 656 cases are being reviewed by the interagency commission. "Our goal is to bring all Ukrainian children home. We believe that through joint efforts we can restore justice," she noted, recalling that the international Register of Losses for Ukraine includes a separate category for the forced displacement or deportation of children. It is important that victims receive compensation in the future. Deputy Minister of Justice Yevhen Pikalov also shared information about Russian crimes in penitentiary institutions. "Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has occupied 11 prisons or temporary detention facilities in Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions. After de-occupying Kherson region, the government regained control of four facilities, but no one was detained there. In total, Russia has deported approximately 3,100 people who were imprisoned or arrested. We have so far managed to return 53 people," he said. The Ukrainian side emphasized that these crimes, along with the shelling of civilian targets, are targeted and systemic. Therefore, bringing those responsible to justice remains a priority for Ukraine and the international community. Every crime committed by Russia as part of its aggression against Ukraine must be investigated, and those responsible brought to justice. Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose Resigns Ahead Of 2026 Assembly Polls; Mamata Banerjee 'Shocked' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:36 IST West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned from his position just ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Rapid Read West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose (PTI) In a significant development, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned from his position just ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. The reason behind his resignation is unclear so far. Ananda Bose, a retired 1977-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre who took charge as West Bengal Governor in 2022 after Jagdeep Dhankhar, sent his resignation letter to Rashtrapati Bhawan after serving in the position for more than three years, sources informed. Bose will be replaced by RN Ravi, who is currently serving as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. Boses term was scheduled to continue until November 2027. However, he resigned about 20 months before the end of his tenure. On Thursday, the Governors Officer on Special Duty (OSD) confirmed the news of his resignation. Sources told CNN-News18 that Bose resigned due to personal reasons. Spent Enough Time Confirming his resignation, Bose told news agency PTI that he has spent enough time at the Governors office" after 3.5 years. However, he did not disclose the grounds for his sudden resignation or whether there was any political pressure that may have prompted it. Bose was in Delhi when his resignation was announced. In his tenure as the Governor, Ananda Bose had frequent run-ins with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government and was very vocal in his criticism of several policies of the state over law-and-order issues, university administration, and constitutional powers of the governor. Mamata Banerjee Shocked In a post on X, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was shocked" and deeply concerned" by Boses sudden resignation and suggested that he was subjected to pressure from the Union Home Ministry to serve certain political interests". The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections," she said. I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal.The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 5, 2026 Banerjee also criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for appointing RN Ravi as the Governor of West Bengal without consulting her, as per norms. Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States," she said. First Published: March 05, 2026, 19:41 IST News india Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose Resigns Ahead Of 2026 Assembly Polls; Mamata Banerjee 'Shocked' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Your Taps Could Run Dry: Municipal Workers Warn Of Indefinite Statewide Strike In Karnataka Curated By : Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:36 IST If the workers proceed with their plan, water supply would be suspended in City Corporations, City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils, and Town Panchayats state-wide. This would effectively cut off the flow of water to residential homes and commercial establishments. Representative Image: Canva The Karnataka state government is facing another significant labour challenge as municipal water supply employees join the ranks of disgruntled public workers. Following recent unrest among transport department staff, the State Municipal Water Supply Employees Association has issued a formal warning regarding a potential work stoppage. The association has indicated that their future course of action depends heavily on the upcoming state budget. If their long-standing grievances are not addressed within the fiscal plan, the state may face an indefinite strike that could disrupt essential services for millions of residents. Implications for Urban Water Supply The threat of a strike carries heavy implications for the daily lives of citizens across Karnataka. Should the workers proceed with their plan, water supply services would be suspended in City Corporations, City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils, and Town Panchayats state-wide. This would effectively cut off the flow of water to residential homes and commercial establishments, creating a severe public health and logistical crisis. The impact would be felt in almost every urban and semi-urban pocket of the state, with the exception of Bengaluru, where the workforce structure differs. Currently, there are over six thousand watermen operating across the state. These individuals are responsible for the technical and manual labour required to maintain the flow of water through local bodies. Despite the critical nature of their work, these employees operate on an outsourced basis, meaning they lack the stability and benefits associated with permanent government positions. Core Demands and Two Decades of Advocacy The workers are pushing for a set of specific reforms that they believe are necessary to ensure fair treatment and job security. Central to their demands is the implementation of equal pay for equal work. They also demand transition from outsourced contracts to direct recruitment for experienced staff. The employees are also calling for their salaries to be handled through a direct payment system to ensure transparency and consistency. Many of these workers have been serving their communities for nearly twenty years without formal recruitment or service security. Their struggle for recognition has spanned two decades, and the association views the current budget cycle as a critical turning point for their professional futures. Accountability and Government Relations The leadership of the employees association has expressed a mix of hope and firm resolve. While there is still a level of trust in the current administration to do the right thing, the deadline for action is fast approaching. Pavagada Sriram, President of the State Municipal Water Supply Employees Association, clarified the groups stance during a recent discussion with the media. We still have faith in CM Siddaramaiah. However, if our demands are not met in this budget, a strike is guaranteed. If the public faces trouble due to lack of water, the government will be held responsible" he said. As the state prepares for the budget announcement, the government must now weigh the fiscal constraints of the treasury against the risk of a state-wide utility shutdown. The outcome of these negotiations will determine whether Karnataka remains hydrated or faces a dry and difficult season ahead. First Published: March 05, 2026, 15:24 IST News india Your Taps Could Run Dry: Municipal Workers Warn Of Indefinite Statewide Strike In Karnataka Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... No, 250 Blood Sugar Is Not Normal: Doctors Warn Against Viral Diabetes Myth Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:13 IST Doctors debunk the viral claim that a blood sugar level of 250 mg/dL is normal, explaining why it signals dangerous hyperglycemia and poorly controlled diabetes. A blood sugar level of 250 mg per decilitre is therefore a warning sign that treatment strategies may need to be reassessed The viral claim that a blood sugar level of 250 mg per decilitre is normal" reflects a serious misunderstanding of diabetes science. In clinical reality, this level is a clear indicator of hyperglycemia and should never be considered harmless. A blood sugar reading of 250 mg per decilitre is well above the normal range and indicates poor blood sugar control. Dr Pearlsy Grace Rajan, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Rela Hospital, Chennai, explains what people need to know. A blood sugar level of 200 mg per decilitre or higher, together with typical symptoms such as extreme thirst, frequent urination, or unexplained fatigue, is one of the standard criteria used to diagnose diabetes. For people living with diabetes, the primary goal is to keep blood sugar levels under control. Ideally, fasting blood sugar should be between 80 and 110 mg per decilitre, while postprandial (after-meal) levels should remain below 140 mg per decilitre. Persistently elevated blood sugar levels may not cause immediate damage, but over time they can harm the bodys small blood vessels and vital organs. Long-term complications may include: Diabetic retinopathy: damage to the eyes that can lead to vision loss or blindness Diabetic nephropathy: kidney damage that affects normal kidney function Diabetic neuropathy: nerve damage that can cause pain, numbness, or weakness Increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes Decades of research have shown that maintaining blood sugar levels within recommended targets significantly reduces the risk of these complications. Equally concerning is the perception that insulin is prescribed without proper justification. In reality, insulin is a scientifically proven and essential therapy, used when the body does not produce enough insulin or when other medications fail to maintain adequate glycaemic control. A blood sugar level of 250 mg per decilitre is therefore a warning sign that treatment strategies may need to be reassessed. Diabetes management should always rely on evidence-based targets, regular monitoring, and appropriate medical care, not claims circulating on the internet. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:13 IST News lifestyle health-and-fitness No, 250 Blood Sugar Is Not Normal: Doctors Warn Against Viral Diabetes Myth Why Belly Fat Matters: Doctors Explain The Link Between Visceral Fat And Cancer Risk Published By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 12:53 IST Research shows that abdominal or visceral fat, the deep fat surrounding internal organs is strongly linked with cancer risk, sometimes more so than overall body weight. People with obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 30 have 1.5 to 2.5 times higher risk of developing at least 13 types of cancer. For years, conversations about obesity focused largely on body weight or the number on the scale. But doctors now say that where fat is stored in the body may matter far more than how much someone weighs. Increasingly, research shows that abdominal or visceral fat, the deep fat surrounding internal organs is strongly linked with cancer risk, sometimes more so than overall body weight. Doctors across India say the pattern is becoming increasingly visible in clinical practice. In busy Indian hospitals we are seeing more obesity-linked cancers every day," says Dr Husain Gheewala, Colorectal Surgeon at Saifee Hospital, Mumbai. According to him, excess body fat has now emerged as one of the leading preventable causes of cancer globally. The World Health Organization estimates that obesity contributes to around 48% of all cancers worldwide. People with obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 30 have 1.5 to 2.5 times higher risk of developing at least 13 types of cancer. Among the cancers most strongly associated with obesity are endometrial (uterine) cancer, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer. Endometrial cancer risk can rise up to seven times in people with obesity, while the risk of esophageal cancer can increase four to five times. Bowel cancer risk is also estimated to be about 3050% higher," explains Dr Gheewala. Other cancers closely linked to excess weight include post-menopausal breast cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. The problem is particularly concerning in urban India. Health reports suggest that over 30% of adults in cities like Mumbai are obese, placing increasing pressure on healthcare systems and cancer care services. Why Abdominal Fat Is More Dangerous While BMI remains a commonly used indicator of obesity, oncologists say it does not always capture the most dangerous form of fat. Its no longer just about the number on the scale, but about where fat lives and how long it has been there," explains Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Senior Consultant Medical Oncologist at MOC Cancer Care and Research Centre, Gurugram. According to Dr Sharma, visceral fat, the fat stored deep inside the abdomen around vital organs is metabolically active and behaves almost like a separate organ in the body. Unlike subcutaneous fat, which sits just beneath the skin and can be pinched, visceral fat releases inflammatory chemicals and hormones that can trigger cancer development. Visceral fat pumps out inflammatory proteins and hormones such as estrogen and insulin. This chronic inflammation and hormonal imbalance can damage DNA and create conditions that allow cancer cells to grow," says Dr Sharma. This biological environment is particularly associated with cancers of the colon, pancreas and breast. One challenge, he adds, is that BMI cannot distinguish between muscle mass and visceral fat, meaning someone with a normal" weight but a large waist circumference may still face significant cancer risk. Medical guidelines increasingly consider waist circumference a critical warning sign. A waist measurement of more than 35 inches (88 cm) in women and 40 inches (102 cm) in men is often considered a stronger indicator of health risk than weight alone. The Biological Chain Reaction Inside the Body Doctors often describe belly fat as an active biological driver of disease rather than a passive energy store. Dr Gheewala explains that abdominal fat acts like a troublemaker factory" in the body. It releases inflammatory chemicals such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha that cause chronic, low-grade inflammation throughout the body," he says. This constant inflammatory state can damage cells and create conditions that help tumors grow and develop their own blood supply. For colorectal cancer, the effect can be particularly pronounced. Persistent inflammation in the digestive tract may accelerate the transformation of normal cells into cancerous ones. Fat tissue also disrupts the bodys hormonal balance. It can convert male hormones into estrogen, which can fuel cancers such as breast and uterine cancer. At the same time, obesity is often associated with high blood sugar and insulin levels, which stimulate cell growth signals in the body. Think of it as revving a car engine constantly," says Dr Gheewala. Cells receive signals to keep dividing, increasing the likelihood of genetic mistakes that can lead to cancer." Fat cells also release leptin, a hormone that encourages cell growth, while reducing levels of adiponectin, a hormone that normally helps suppress tumor development. Why Early Obesity Raises Lifetime Cancer Risk Another growing concern among oncologists is the rise of early-onset cancers, particularly in younger adults. Todays younger generations are developing obesity and metabolic dysfunction much earlier in life," says Dr Sharma. Conditions such as chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and hormonal imbalance may therefore affect the body for decades. This cumulative exposure to metabolic stress creates an environment where tumors can develop much earlier than they did in previous generations," he explains. Recent data has shown a sharp increase in cancers diagnosed before age 50, particularly colorectal cancer, a trend many researchers now link to long-term obesity and lifestyle changes beginning in childhood or early adulthood. The Good News: Risk Can Be Reduced Despite the growing concern, doctors emphasize that weight management can significantly reduce cancer risk. Research shows that losing weight can cut the risk of endometrial cancer by nearly half, while also improving metabolic health and lowering inflammation. Even small lifestyle changes including maintaining a healthy waistline, regular physical activity and balanced nutrition can make a meaningful difference. Prevention remains our strongest tool," says Dr Gheewala. Taking steps today to reduce excess body fat can help avoid serious health complications later." As doctors increasingly understand the complex relationship between metabolism, inflammation and cancer, one message is becoming clear: when it comes to cancer risk, the waistline may tell a more important story than the weighing scale. First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:53 IST News lifestyle health-and-fitness Why Belly Fat Matters: Doctors Explain The Link Between Visceral Fat And Cancer Risk DM Me If You Need Help: Sonu Sood Offers Free Shelter To Travellers Stuck In Dubai Amid US-Iran Tensions | WATCH Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 09:33 IST Sonu Sood offers free accommodation to travellers stranded in Dubai amid flight disruptions linked to the US-Iran conflict. Netizens praise the actors humanitarian gesture. Rapid Read Sonu Sood has offered free accommodation to travellers stranded in Dubai amid flight disruptions caused by the US-Iran conflict, saying help will be provided with no nationality, no conditions. Actor Sonu Sood, who earned widespread praise for his humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 crisis and the Punjab floods, has once again stepped forward to help people in distress. This time, the actor is extending support to travellers stranded in Dubai amid escalating tensions in West Asia following the ongoing US-Iran conflict. Sonu Sood Offers Free Stay To Stranded Travellers In Dubai Taking to the social media platform X, Sood announced that his team is arranging free accommodation for people stuck in Dubai due to flight disruptions and airspace closures. Sharing a video message, the actor wrote, War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai. If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us on Instagram if you need help." War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai.If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us on Instagram if you need help.@dugastapropertiesPlease share so this reaches pic.twitter.com/TDDr9st79M sonu sood (@SonuSood) March 5, 2026 In the video, Sood reassured stranded passengers that help would be available regardless of nationality. Hi everyone. Anyone who is stranded in Dubai because of the ongoing crisis, we just want to tell you that you have a place to stay. We will make sure you get free-of-cost accommodation," he said. Jo log bhi hamare Hindustani hain, ya kisi bhi nationality ke log Dubai mein phase hue hain, please mujhe Instagram par DM kijiye. We will ensure you get a free stay until you can return to your country." Netizens Praise Sonu Soods Gesture Soods announcement quickly drew appreciation from social media users, many of whom praised the actor for continuing his humanitarian work. One user responded to the video by writing, I salute your humanity, your sacrifice and dedication. You are a true hero, not a film hero." Another comment read, Salute to your kindness sir. In tough times, people like you restore faith in humanity." Another user highlighted the actors message, writing, No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. This is the world we need more of." Celebrities Were Also Stranded In Dubai Several members of the film industry were among those affected by the travel disruptions in Dubai. Actors Esha Gupta and Sonal Chauhan had earlier shared updates about being stranded in the city. Both have since returned safely to India. With his latest initiative, Sonu Sood once again reinforced the reputation he built during previous crises, stepping in to assist people facing unexpected hardship far from home. First Published: March 05, 2026, 09:33 IST News movies bollywood DM Me If You Need Help: Sonu Sood Offers Free Shelter To Travellers Stuck In Dubai Amid US-Iran Tensions | WATCH Mimi To Crew, 6 Must-Watch Movies Of Kriti Sanon That Showcase Her Acting Range Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 11:30 IST Kriti Sanon has established herself as a talented actress in Hindi cinema, earning praise for taking on a variety of roles across different types of films. Kriti Sanon has shown her versatility in films like Tere Ishq Mein and Crew. (Photo Credit: X) Over the years, Kriti Sanon has evolved from a promising newcomer into one of the most versatile performers in the Hindi film industry. Known for balancing commercial entertainers with performance-driven roles, the actress has delivered several memorable films across genres. From emotional dramas to quirky comedies and experimental stories, Kriti has shown her ability to adapt and shine in diverse characters. Here are some of the most notable films from her career that highlight her range and acting strength. 1. Mimi Mimi is widely regarded as the defining film of Kriti Sanons career. In the movie, she plays a young woman who agrees to become a surrogate mother but is unexpectedly left to raise the child on her own. The role required emotional depth, vulnerability and maturity, all of which Kriti portrayed convincingly. Her heartfelt performance received widespread critical appreciation and even earned her a National Film Award, establishing her credibility as a serious actor. 2. Tere Ishk Mein In Tere Ishk Mein, Kriti stars opposite Dhanush in a passionate and emotionally charged narrative. The story revolves around Shankar, a volatile young man who falls deeply in love with Mukti during their college years. However, their relationship takes a complicated turn when Mukti decides to marry someone else. The film explores love, heartbreak and obsession in a raw and unpredictable way. 3. Crew The comedy-thriller Crew showcases Kritis flair for humour and energetic screen presence. Playing Divya Rana, an ambitious air hostess, she brings wit, sarcasm and charm to the role. Her on-screen chemistry with co-stars Kareena Kapoor and Tabu adds to the films lively tone, making it a fun and engaging watch. 4. Do Patti Do Patti holds special significance in Kritis career as it marks her debut as a producer. The thriller features her in challenging dual roles as twin sisters whose rivalry becomes central to the story. The narrative revolves around a police investigation involving a troubled marriage, accusations of attempted murder and intense family conflicts. Kritis portrayal of two contrasting personalities earned praise from critics and audiences. 5. Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya In this unconventional romantic drama, Kriti takes on the role of Sifra, an advanced AI humanoid. The character demanded precise body language, restrained expressions and subtle emotional cues to portray a human-like robot. Her performance stood out for its technical difficulty and originality, demonstrating her willingness to experiment with unusual roles. 6. Bareilly Ki Barfi Kriti Sanons portrayal of Bitti Mishra in Bareilly Ki Barfi became one of her most beloved performances. As a bold, independent and book-loving young woman from Bareilly, she delivered a refreshing and natural performance. Instead of playing the role as an exaggerated small-town character, Kriti brought authenticity and warmth, making Bitti relatable and memorable for audiences. First Published: March 05, 2026, 11:30 IST News movies bollywood Mimi To Crew, 6 Must-Watch Movies Of Kriti Sanon That Showcase Her Acting Range Harry Styles Opens Up On Liam Payne's Death: 'Difficult To Lose A Friend Like Him' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 06:48 IST Harry Styles says losing Liam Payne was especially difficult because they were alike in so many ways. He reflects on grief, friendship, and honoring his memory. Harry Styles reflects on the loss of Liam Payne during an emotional interview. Harry Styles opened up about the emotional impact of losing his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, who tragically passed away in October 2024 at the age of 31. Speaking on the March 4 episode of The Zane Lowe Show, Styles, 32, said the loss was especially difficult" because Payne shared so many qualities with him. I mean, full transparency, its something that I even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that a little bit even," Styles admitted. He explained that there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way." Styles recalled his struggle with expressing his feelings authentically. There was a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means youre not feeling what youre feeling or something," he said. Its so difficult to lose a friend. Its difficult to lose any friend, but its so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways." Honoring Liam Through Life and Reflection Paynes passing prompted Styles to reassess his own life. It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, Okay, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?" he reflected. I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest." Styles described Payne as a super special person" with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great." The day after Paynes death, Styles posted an emotional tribute on Instagram: I am truly devastated by Liams passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it." He remembered Paynes warmth, generosity, and infectious energy, adding, The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend." Prior to Styles individual tribute, the remaining One Direction membersZayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinsonreleased a joint statement mourning Paynes death, emphasizing the irreplaceable role he played in their lives and their enduring love for him. Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 05, 2026, 06:48 IST News movies hollywood Harry Styles Opens Up On Liam Payne's Death: 'Difficult To Lose A Friend Like Him' Did Vijay Attend Wedding Reception With Trisha Amid His Ongoing Divorce Proceedings With Wife Sangeetha? Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 21:10 IST Vijay's appearance with actress Trisha at the wedding has grabbed attention online. The video of them entering the venue is currently going viral on social media. News18 Tamil superstar and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Thalapathy Vijay, who recently made headlines after his wife Sangeetha Sornalingam filed a petition for divorce seeking to end their 27 years of marriage, was seen attending a wedding in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on March 5. However, his appearance with actress Trisha at the event has grabbed attention online. The video of them entering the venue is currently going viral on social media. Vijay attends a wedding with Trisha In the viral video, both of them can be seen donning traditional outfits. Vijay can be seen holding a bouquet, while the actress followed him as they stepped out of a car. Vijay and Trisha attended the wedding reception of Kalpathi Suresh and Meenakshis son. The Kalpathi family is involved in the film production and distribution business. This marks Vijays first appearance amid his legal battle with his wife. Have a look: JUST IN: Thalapathy Vijay attended the wedding reception of Kalpathi S. Suresh and Meenakshi Sureshs son earlier today. pic.twitter.com/QiBXaj7QCX Actor Vijay Team (@ActorVijayTeam) March 5, 2026 Soon after the video surfaced online, it sparked a discussion among the netizens. One user wrote, Whaaaaaatttttttt? Is this really happening ????????? After all these incidents??????? Are they doing it purposely????" Another user wrote, He is a complete fool." Others were also seen expressing disappointment over his appearance with Trisha. A section of people questioned the videos authenticity and claimed it was an AI-generated clip. One user commented, Many are saying its ai video and I also think that please verify." Another comment read, Is this reyaaaaal?" However, News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip. Meanwhile, Sangeetha, in her petition, has alleged that Vijay was involved in an extramarital relationship with a female actor. The petition alleged that in 2021, she became aware of Vijays alleged involvement in an extramarital relationship with an actress. It further stated that despite his assurances that the relationship would come to an end, it reportedly continued, with no indication of regret. As per reports, the matter is currently before the District Court, and the outcome is yet to be decided. The duo got married in August 1999, and they are parents to two kids, Jason Sanjay and Divya Shasha. Recently, it was reported that Vijays son, Jason Sanjay, may have unfollowed him on social media amid the ongoing legal battle between his parents. However, a section of social media users claims that he may not have been following Vijays account, making the situation uncertain. First Published: March 05, 2026, 21:10 IST News movies tamil-cinema Did Vijay Attend Wedding Reception With Trisha Amid His Ongoing Divorce Proceedings With Wife Sangeetha? Watch Last Updated: March 04, 2026, 23:08 IST Rashmika Mandanna-Vijay Deverakonda Reception LIVE: Newlyweds Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda are celebrating their union with a grand wedding reception in Hyderabad tonight, just days after exchanging vows in an intimate ceremony in Udaipur. The lavish soiree at Taj Krishna in Banjara Hills has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about events in the Telugu film industry this year, thanks to its glittering guest list. The invite-only reception has brought together the whos who of Tollywood. Stars including Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya and Venkatesh were among the early guests spotted arriving to congratulate the couple. Several other big names from the industry, such as Ram Charan, Mahesh Babu and Prabhas, are also expected to attend the celebrations. The reception follows the couples dreamy Udaipur wedding, which was attended by close family members and a small circle of friends. Follow this space for all the live updates. Vijay Deverakonda Shields Wife Rashmika Mandanna From Crowd At Hyderabad Reception Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:35 IST As photographers tried to move closer to Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda, the crowd became a bit chaotic and Vijay was seen standing protectively behind Rashmika. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda got married on February 26. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda recently celebrated their wedding, and the couple has been getting a lot of love from fans. While many celebrity weddings are known for big and flashy events, their ceremony stood out for keeping things simple and close to tradition. A few days after the wedding, the newlyweds hosted a grand reception in Hyderabad for their friends from the film industry. After the celebration ended, Rashmika and Vijay stepped out to greet photographers and pose for pictures, but things went out of control. As photographers tried to move closer to the couple to capture photos, the crowd became a bit chaotic. During that moment, Vijay was seen standing protectively behind Rashmika and made sure she was safe in the crowd, while security tried to manage the situation. His caring gesture toward his wife was caught on camera and soon began spreading on social media. Fans praised the actor for looking out for Rashmika and admired the sweet moment between the newly married couple. Vijay Deverakondas Protective Gesture Wins Hearts In a video shared by a paparazzi page on Instagram, Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda can be seen standing together as they agree to take a group photo with photographers and fans. The area around them becomes crowded as many people try to get closer for pictures. During the moment, Vijay keeps his arm around Rashmika and stays close to her while the crowd moves in. He gently protects her from the rush and makes sure she feels safe while they pose for the photo. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) Reception In Hyderabad Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda held their wedding reception in Hyderabad on March 4. The couple appeared in beautiful traditional South Indian outfits for the celebration. Vijay chose a cream kurta with a matching dhoti, while Rashmika wore a red and gold saree. She completed her look with heavy gold jewellery and sindoor. Many well known names from the Telugu and Hindi film industry came to the event to attend the celebration and congratulated the newly married couple. Their Relationship Journey For a long time, there were rumours that Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda were in a relationship, but the two never openly spoke about it. Fans often noticed that they shared photos from the same places, which made people believe they were together. The couple later got engaged in a small private ceremony last year. They confirmed their relationship earlier this year when they shared the news about their wedding in February. Rashmika and Vijay finally got married on February 26, and their wedding photos quickly spread across social media. First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:35 IST News movies telugu-cinema Vijay Deverakonda Shields Wife Rashmika Mandanna From Crowd At Hyderabad Reception Among the Ukrainian defenders released from Russian captivity on Thursday are nine fighters of the National Guard of Ukraine and 17 border guards, who will receive the necessary medical, social and psychological assistance, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has said. "As part of the first stage of the Geneva agreements, 200 defenders have returned to Ukraine. Among them are nine National Guard fighters and 17 border guards," the minister said on his Telegram channel on Thursday. According to him, they defended the country in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. "Some of the servicemen had been in captivity since 2022," Klymenko said. He said: "Recovery lies ahead. Our servicemen will receive the necessary medical, social and psychological assistance." The interior minister expressed gratitude to the President of Ukraine, the head of the Presidential Office, the negotiating group and colleagues from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:06 IST 1 / 7 As tensions continue to simmer across West Asia, Indians returning from Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi say this year's Holi and Eid will carry a deeper meaning. For many, the celebrations will not only mark the festivals but also their safe return home. With flight operations gradually returning to normal at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Tuesday, passengers began arriving after days of uncertainty. Many looked visibly exhausted after disrupted travel plans, yet the overriding emotion was relief. Several returning passengers echoed the same sentiment, that nothing feels as safe as home in India. For many families waiting at the airport, the anxiety of the past few days was evident. (News18 Hindi) 2 / 7 According to a TOI report, relatives had been closely monitoring flight updates and staying in constant contact with loved ones stranded abroad. Anshika, a 30-year-old resident of Gurugram, had been anxiously waiting for her husband. He was originally scheduled to travel from Dubai to London but had to reroute to Delhi via Oman as the situation worsened. The couple had married on February 14, making this their first Holi together. "For the last few days we were checking on him almost every hour. Hearing alerts and security announcements made everyone nervous," she said, adding that the festival now holds a new meaning. "This Holi is not just about colours. Its about being together and feeling safe," she added. (News18 Hindi) ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 7 Flight operations at Delhi airport have been affected for four consecutive days due to the closure of certain airspace routes. At least 80 flights were cancelled on Tuesday alone, including 36 departures and 44 arrivals, while more than 200 flights were delayed. The disruption followed earlier cancellations of 104 flights on Sunday and 87 on Monday. To assist stranded passengers, immigration authorities issued more than 300 temporary entry permits. Additional information counters and quick-response teams were deployed at the airport to manage the crowds and guide travellers. (News18 Hindi) 4 / 7 Akash Saxena, a real estate businessman from Saket, described the atmosphere in Dubai as tense but orderly. He recalled the moment he first heard the sound of a missile interception. "I was speaking to my mother on the phone when it happened. It was frightening," he said. Saxena added that local authorities appeared alert and the situation remained largely controlled. Still, he said returning home felt like the safest decision. (News18 Hindi) ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 7 Deepa, a resident of Noida who had travelled to Dubai on a holiday, said uncertainty over flight schedules initially made her uneasy. Her family kept constant track of developments through news updates while staying in touch with her over phone calls. "Things were mostly normal locally, but the uncertainty made us nervous," she said, adding that she felt immediate relief upon landing in India. "Now Im just looking forward to celebrating the festivals with my family," she added. (News18 Hindi) 6 / 7 For Neeta, 65, who had travelled to Abu Dhabi with her daughter, the tense atmosphere prompted precautionary measures. The two moved from their hotel to a relative's home where emergency arrangements had been made in the basement. "Taking precautions felt necessary. Coming back early turned out to be the right decision," she said, adding, "Festivals only feel special when your family is with you and your mind is at peace." (News18 Hindi) ADVERTISEMENT Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:12 IST 1 / 10 1. Iceland: According to the Global Peace Index, Iceland has consistently ranked as the most peaceful country in the world since the index began in 2008. The country has very low crime rates, minimal military presence, and high social trust, making it one of the safest places globally. (iStock) 2 / 10 2. Ireland: Ireland ranks among the worlds most peaceful nations thanks to strong political stability, low internal conflict, and high societal safety levels. Its democratic institutions and stable economy contribute to its high ranking. (Image: Canva) ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 10 3. Austria: Austria remains one of Europes most peaceful countries. It benefits from low crime rates, stable governance, and limited involvement in international conflicts, helping it consistently rank near the top. (Image: Wiki) 4 / 10 4. New Zealand: New Zealand scores highly for political stability, strong rule of law, and low levels of violent crime. The country also maintains relatively low militarisation compared to many developed nations. (Image: Pranay Maniar News18) ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 10 5. Singapore: Singapore is one of Asias most peaceful countries due to its extremely low crime rate, strict law enforcement, and high political stability. Its strong governance and economic prosperity contribute to its high ranking. (iStock) 6 / 10 6. Switzerland: Switzerlands neutral foreign policy, strong democratic institutions, and high levels of societal safety help it remain one of the worlds most peaceful nations. (Image: TripAdvisor) ADVERTISEMENT 7 / 10 7. Portugal: Switzerlands neutral foreign policy, strong democratic institutions, and high levels of societal safety help it remain one of the worlds most peaceful nations. 8 / 10 8. Denmark: Denmark ranks highly because of strong social welfare systems, low corruption, and high public trust in institutions, contributing to a safe and stable society. ADVERTISEMENT 9 / 10 9. Slovenia Slovenia is considered one of the most peaceful countries in Central Europe. The nation scores well for low levels of internal conflict and strong societal safety. (Image: Pranay Maniar News18) Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 11:49 IST 1 / 10 In Jaipur, Jamavar at The Leela Palace presents a dining space that is built around detail and tradition. The restaurant is part of Jamavar, the signature Indian fine-dining brand of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. Its name comes from the intricate Jamavar shawls of Kashmir, which were known for their elaborate weaving in the 16th century. The first Jamavar restaurant opened in 2001 at The Leela Palace Bengaluru. Since then, the brand has expanded to several major cities in India. It has also reached an international stage with a Michelin-starred restaurant in London. 2 / 10 At The Leela Palace Jaipur, Jamavar sits within a space that was earlier known as Mohan Mahal. The restaurant has been redesigned while keeping the palace-like setting intact. The idea behind this transformation was to present a dining room inspired by Indias royal kitchens. The design of the restaurant draws inspiration from Jaipurs Sheesh Mahal style. Mirror work plays a large role in shaping the look of the room. The walls and ceilings have decorative patterns that shine when light falls on them. ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 10 A major part of this visual detail comes from the Thikri mirror work used throughout the interiors. As per the official website of the restaurant, around 3,50,000 small hand-cut mirrors have been placed across the walls and ceilings. These mirrors sit alongside sections finished with 18-carat gold leaf work. When the light shifts in the room, the mirrors catch it and scatter it in small reflections. 4 / 10 Lighting inside Jamavar follows a different approach from most modern restaurants. The dining area does not rely on electric lights. Instead, the entire space is illuminated using around 148 candles. Their glow spreads across the mirrors and gold surfaces to create a soft and warm atmosphere. Music becomes another part of the setting as the evening unfolds. Live instrumental performances take place every night inside the restaurant. ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 10 Service inside Jamavar Jaipur follows a distinct structure. The restaurant is managed by an all-women service team. This structure supports the hotels effort to encourage gender diversity in hospitality roles. The menu at Jamavar draws inspiration from dishes once associated with Indias royal kitchens, and its design is inspired by Mughal Parchinkari inlay art. 6 / 10 One of the most recognised preparations is Dal-e-Jamavar, made with black lentils that are slowly cooked with butter and cream. Another dish often noticed on the menu is Gucchi Mutter Masala, where morel mushrooms are cooked with green peas in a light gravy. The menu also includes Gosht ki Galouti, a preparation of finely minced lamb kebabs seasoned with traditional spices. ADVERTISEMENT 7 / 10 Several regional dishes also appear on the menu, which also includes a few connected to Rajasthan. Guests can find preparations such as Gatta Curry, Masala Baati and Churma. Before the meal begins, diners take part in a symbolic handwashing ritual. This gesture comes from an old custom where guests cleansed their hands before sitting down for feasts. Alongside the food, the restaurant also presents a beverage program that pairs heritage-inspired cocktails with contemporary mixology. 8 / 10 Jamavar at The Leela Palace Jaipur is located in Kukas along the Jaipur-Delhi Highway on NH 11. The restaurant serves dinner daily from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Lunch is available from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Dinner for two people usually costs around Rs 12,000. Children below the age of 12 are not accommodated in order to maintain the quiet dining atmosphere. Reservations are generally recommended because the restaurant has limited seating. ADVERTISEMENT 9 / 10 For visitors travelling from Delhi NCR, the journey to Jamavar usually begins with reaching The Leela Palace Jaipur in Kukas. The distance from New Delhi is around 260 kilometres. Those travelling by road can take the NH 48 Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. The drive usually takes between three and a half and four and a half hours, depending on traffic. The palace is located about 20 kilometres from the main Jaipur city area when coming from Delhi. '35% Vote Share Across 210 Seats': Why BJP Feels Bengal May Be Heading For 2026 Tipping Point Reported By : Edited By: Pathikrit Sen Gupta Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:07 IST BJP sources say multiple ground assessments indicate a telling shift in West Bengal, especially in the Presidency regionKolkata and its surrounding urban belt Top West Bengal BJP leaders including Samik Bhattacharya, Sukanta Majumdar, and Suvendu Adhikari. File pic For years, West Bengals politics appeared locked in a rigid pattern. But beneath the surface, the electoral map is shifting in ways that are increasingly difficult to ignore. Multiple ground assessments now suggest that the BJP commands roughly 35% of the vote share across nearly 210 of the states 294 assembly seats. In a state where politics often swings dramatically once momentum builds, such numbers point to something larger than routine opposition growth. The most telling signs of this shift are emerging from the Presidency regionKolkata and its surrounding urban belt. In nearly 110 seats across this region, the BJP was leading in urban body elections that were held after years, claims a senior BJP leader responsible for West Bengal. Urban Bengal has traditionally been politically decisive, and a shift here often signals broader electoral currents. What was once dismissed as an isolated surge now appears to be turning into a structural presence. But electoral numbers alone do not explain the changing mood in Bengal. A large section of the states youthparticularly the unemployedhas grown increasingly restless. The promise of welfare without opportunity has begun to wear thin. Recognising this sentiment, the BJP is preparing to roll out competitive welfare schemes targeted at jobless youth, positioning them as more robust alternatives to those offered by the ruling government. The message being crafted is simple: welfare must lead to empowerment, not dependence. Another narrative battle is also underwayone over identity. For years, Mamata Banerjee and the ruling establishment have attempted to portray the BJP as an outsider" force in Bengal. Yet the BJP counters that the charge rings hollow when one remembers that one of the partys founders was the Bengali nationalist leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee. His legacy remains deeply intertwined with Bengals political history. By invoking that lineage, the party is attempting to reclaim its Bengali credentials and blunt the regionalist narrative deployed against it. We are a Bengali party. Our founder is a Bengali. Who is Mamata Banerjee to question our Bengali credentials?" asks the BJP leader. Politics, however, is rarely decided by arguments alone. It is decided by momentsmoments when voters collectively feel that the existing order has run its course. The BJP leader insists that the moment may now be approaching in Bengal. Across districts, from urban Kolkata to semi-urban belts, there are signs that the electorates patience is thinning, he argues. Economic anxieties, governance fatigue, and a growing desire for political competition are combining to create a mood that political observers often describe as a tipping point", he claims. Whether that tipping point ultimately translates into a change of power remains to be seen. Bengal has a long history of surprising political outcomes. The question is, will 2026 be surprising enough? First Published: March 05, 2026, 20:07 IST News politics '35% Vote Share Across 210 Seats': Why BJP Feels Bengal May Be Heading For 2026 Tipping Point Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Desire In My Heart...': Nitish Kumar Confirms Rajya Sabha Move In Message To Bihar Voters Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 11:31 IST According to reports, Nitish Kumar may file his nomination papers at the state assembly around 11 am today. JDU Supremo Nitish Kumar (PTI) Nitish Kumar on Thursday confirmed his Rajya Sabha candidature, stating that he seeks to move to the Upper House of Parliament". According to reports, the Bihar Chief Minister is set to file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha today, nearly four months after being sworn in for a record 10th term as Bihar Chief Minister. Clearing the air over his Rajya Sabha shift, the JDU supremo took to X to thank the people of Bihar for showing their trust in him and wrote, From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament." In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time," he added. He further assured his support and cooperation in the formation of a new government in Bihar and promised to continue to work for the development of Bihar and its people. , Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) March 5, 2026 Nitish Kumar Likely To File Rajya Sabha Nomination Today With Nitish Kumar confirming his move to Rajya Sabha, an intense political activity is set to occur in the political ground of Patna as the buzz of Nitish Kumars successor intensifies. Kumar may file his nomination papers at the state assembly today, news agency PTI reported, citing its sources. BJP president Nitin Nabin will also file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to be present at the time of filing of the nomination papers. As Nitish Kumar is set to move to the Rajya Sabha, the JDU held a series of late-night meetings, with senior leaders arriving at the residence of party leader Sanjay Jha well past midnight. BJP Expected To Take Over Top Post As Nitish Kumar confirms shifting to the Rajya Sabha, speculations are rife that a BJP leader is likely to take over the top post. If the BJP takes over the top post following Kumars resignation, Bihar will get its first BJP Chief Minister. Notably, Bihar is the only Hindi heartland state in the country where the party has not held office so far. While Nitish Kumar is set move to Rajya Sabha, his son Nishant Kumar, who has long stayed away from the limelight, is expected to likely make his political debut and might become Bihars Deputy Chief Minister. 5 Rajya Sabha Seats From Bihar A total of five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will go to the polls on March 16. The elections will be held as the tenures of JD(U)s Harivansh Narayan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, RJDs Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, and RLMs Upendra Kushwaha come to an end. Bihar Assembly Polls In a sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly polls held last year, the NDA secured 202 out of the 243 seats, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 89 seats. The JD(U), on the other hand, won 85 a jump of 42 seats from the previous elections, following which Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of the state. Location : Bihar, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 11:07 IST News politics 'Desire In My Heart...': Nitish Kumar Confirms Rajya Sabha Move In Message To Bihar Voters Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Nitish Kumar Set To Enter Rajya Sabha: Who Will Succeed Him As Bihar's Next CM? A Look At Frontrunners Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 11:34 IST As Nitish Kumar is expected to move to Rajya Sabha, speculations over the next Bihar Chief Minister Being from the BJP are doing rounds. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (File Photo) Marking a new phase in the politics of Bihar, Nitish Kumar is set to move to the Rajya Sabha and is expected to file his nomination for the polls on Thursday. The development came nearly four months after he was sworn in for a record 10th term as Bihar Chief Minister following the NDAs landslide victory in the Assembly polls, held last year. With Kumars decision to move to the Upper House of Parliament, speculations over the next chief ministerial candidate of Bihar being from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are doing the rounds in the political circles of the state. According to reports, the next Bihar Chief Minister is likely to be from the BJP as it emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 89 seats in the 243 seats Assembly, with JDU registering its win over 85 seats. Frontrunners For Bihars Next CM According to reports, the BJP could lead the next government in Bihar, with the JD(U) expected to receive two Deputy Chief Minister positions as part of a power-sharing arrangement. While Nitish Kumar is set move to Rajya Sabha, his son Nishant Kumar, who has long stayed away from the limelight, is expected to likely make his political debut and might be the next probable candidate for Bihars Deputy Chief Ministers post. Frontrunners for the next Bihar Chief Minister candidates include deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. In addition to this, Bihar minister Dilip Jaiswal and Digha BJP MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia are also speculated to be in the race for the chief ministerial face. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai is also reportedly eyeing the Chief Ministers post, according to the report. Nitish Kumars Son Enters Politics Amid speculations over a likely leadership change in Bihar, Nitish Kumars son Nishant is also set to enter politics, though his exact role is yet to be decided. On the eve of Holi, I have some good news to share with the people of Bihar. It has been some time since there have been demands, from within the JD(U) as well as from among the states youth, that Nishant, the son of chief minister Nitish Kumar, join politics. Decks have been cleared for that and a formal announcement will be made in a day or two," Shrawon Kumar told news agency PTI. Meanwhile, close aides of Nitish Kumar are unclear about whether he would project his son Nishant as his natural heir, especially since he has consistently criticised dynastic politics. Location : Bihar, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 10:57 IST News politics Nitish Kumar Set To Enter Rajya Sabha: Who Will Succeed Him As Bihar's Next CM? A Look At Frontrunners Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Nothing Phone 4a And Phone 4a Pro With Glyph Bar Launched: Price, Specs Reported By : Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:28 IST Nothing Phone 4a series gets a new Glyph bar and Matrix setup for the first time along with a few more additions. Nothing has the Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro officially unveiled Nothing Phone 4a series is officially here and we also get our first look at the Phone 4a Pro model that has somehow avoided the leaksphere. The company hosted its event in London today, where both the new devices were unveiled and now also know more details about the Phone 4a series along with their prices in India for buyers. The Phone 4a series uses Snapdragon 7 Gen chipsets, comes with a triple camera system and gets the Android 16-based Nothing OS version out of the box. Nothing Phone 4a And Phone 4a Pro Price In India Nothing Phone 4a price in India starts at Rs 31,999 for the base 8GB + 128GB variant, going up to Rs 34,999 and Rs 37,999 for the 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB models, respectively. The Phone 4a Pro prices start from Rs 39,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, while for the 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB you will be paying Rs 42,999 and Rs 45,999, respectively. Both the Nothing phones will go on sale from March 13 in the country. Nothing Phone 4a And Phone 4a Pro Specifications The Phone 4a gets a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 4,500 nits of peak brightness. The Phone 4a Pro gets a bigger 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, while the Phone 4a Pro uses the 7 Gen 4 version with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. Nothing is offering the new Nothing OS 4.1 version out of the box with the Phone 4a series, and promises 3 OS upgrades but six years of security patches. Both the phones get a 5,400mAh battery with 50W charging support intact. For optics, the Phone 4a has a triple camera system which includes a 50MP telephoto lens, a 50MP main sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The Phone 4a Pro has a similar setup but the main 50MP sensor is different. The front of the phone has the same 32MP shooter. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 17:28 IST News tech Nothing Phone 4a And Phone 4a Pro With Glyph Bar Launched: Price, Specs Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Nothing Phone 4a Launch Today: Event Timings, Where To Watch And More Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 09:52 IST Nothing Phone 4a series is launching today and we will get to see more about the new phones and their features. Nothing Phone 4a launch is on March 5, 2026 in India and other regions. Latest news suggests the Phone 4a will be priced around Rs 31,999 while the Phone 4a Pro will cost over Rs 40,000 this year. Nothing Phone 4a launch day is here and we are going to see two new Phone models from the brand later today. The Phone 4a teasers have gone up to another at the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona where the Phone 4a has been showcased inside a glass box for everyone. And now we will get more details about the Phone 4a as well as the less discussed Phone 4a Pro models. The company is using a Snapdragon chipset to power these devices, and they will feature a triple camera system along with a new Glyph design, at least on the Phone 4a. Nothing Phone 4a Launch Event, Timings And Where To Watch Nothing Phone 4a launch event is on Thursday, March 5 at 3:30 PM IST and you can tune into the Nothings official YouTube channel to get all the updates from the event. Nothing will also bring its new Headphone a model at the same event. Nothing Phone 4a Launch: What To Expect Nothing Phone 4a is going to be fresh, with a new Glyph Bar and the transparent design to get a new iteration, at least for the base model. The Phone 4a Pro is tipped to get a Glyph Matrix display like the Phone 3 version. These will feature a triple camera system placed horizontally in the center. Both phones are tipped to come with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. Latest news suggests the Phone 4a will be priced around Rs 31,999 while the Phone 4a Pro will cost over Rs 40,000 this year. The Phone 4a series will be getting a triple camera system wherein you can expect a 50MP main shooter, along with a periscope lens and an ultrawide lens. The Phone 4a Pro will get the better 50MP telephoto lens, as suggested in reports. We dont know a lot about the Headphone (a) model but it is likely to borrow the specs and features from the CMF Headphone Pro which was launched earlier by the brand. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 09:52 IST News tech Nothing Phone 4a Launch Today: Event Timings, Where To Watch And More Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Porn, PINs And Private Lives: What Metas Smart Glasses 'Ghost Workers' Are Really Seeing Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:08 IST Behind the high-tech veneer of the Meta AI assistant lies a massive 'ghost workforce' in Nairobi, Kenya The revelation that European and Indian user data is being exported to Kenyaa country that currently lacks an 'adequacy decision' for data protection under the EUs GDPRhas triggered a firestorm. Representational image When Mark Zuckerberg paced the stage at Meta Connect to showcase the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, he pitched a future where an all-seeing" AI assistant lives on your face, ready to translate signs, identify monuments, or capture memories. However, a searing investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Goteborgs-Posten has exposed a far more voyeuristic reality. Behind the high-tech veneer of the Meta AI assistant lies a massive ghost workforce" in Nairobi, Kenya. These contractors, employed by the firm Sama, are not just cleaning up digital glitches; they are staring directly into the intimate lives of users who often have no idea they are being watched. The Human Engine of the AI Illusion The term artificial intelligence" suggests a self-learning machine, but the current state of computer vision still requires a human-in-the-loop." For Metas glasses to recognise a specific brand of coffee or a complex street scene, thousands of human annotators must manually label footage. This process, known as data annotation, involves drawing boxes around objects and transcribing audio to train" the models. In Nairobi, over 30 workers spoke to Swedish journalists about the harrowing nature of this work. Far from sanitised data points, the footage they review includes intimate sexual encounters, people undressing, and users visiting the bathroom. Because the glasses are designed to be always ready", they frequently capture material accidentallysuch as when a user puts the device down on a bedside table or forgets they are still activated. The Failure of the Privacy Shield Meta has long maintained that it filters data to protect user privacy before it reaches human eyes. The company claims that faces are automatically blurred and sensitive information is scrubbed. However, the Swedish investigation found that these safeguards are catastrophically inconsistent. Workers reported that anonymisation algorithms frequently fail, particularly in low-light conditions or when subjects are in motion. This means that the blurred" faces of family members, children, and strangers are often perfectly recognisable to the contractors. Perhaps more alarming is the exposure of financial data; reviewers have documented seeing bank cards, credit card numbers, and PIN entries captured as users looked at their wallets or used ATMs while wearing the devices. The Transparency Gap in Eyewear Stores A significant portion of the scandal centres on how these devices are sold. Reporters visited ten major eyewear retailers in Sweden, where sales staff frequently provided false or misleading information. Customers were told that data stays locally on the app" or that recording only happens with explicit intent. In reality, the investigation proved that the glasses AI functions cannot operate without communicating with Metas servers. Every time a user asks the AI to look and tell me what this is", a video packet is sent to the cloud. Once that data leaves the device, users effectively lose control. Under the fine print of Metas terms of service, this media is fair game for manual human review to improve the system." Geopolitical Risk and the Regulatory Fallout The revelation that European and Indian user data is being exported to Kenyaa country that currently lacks an adequacy decision" for data protection under the EUs GDPRhas triggered a firestorm. The UKs Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and European lawmakers have already launched inquiries into whether Meta has breached informed consent laws. For the workers in Nairobi, the ghost work" is a psychological burden. Tasked with viewing graphic or highly private content for substandard wages, they are the invisible filters of the AI revolution. As Meta aims to triple its production of smart glasses by 2027, this investigation serves as a grim reminder: your private" AI assistant is not a machine but a room full of strangers watching the world through your eyes. First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:08 IST News tech Porn, PINs And Private Lives: What Metas Smart Glasses 'Ghost Workers' Are Really Seeing Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Nagpur Woman Pours Hot Water On Grandson For Spraying Colour On Her On Holi | Caught On Cam Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 06:28 IST The child has sustained severe burns below the waist and was rushed to a private hospital in Nagpur. Grandmother throws scalding water on child for spraying colour on her on Holi. (Image: X) A four-year-old boy suffered severe burn injuries after his grandmother allegedly poured boiling water on him, turning the playful Holi into a horror for him. The incident occurred in the Koradi area of Nagpur district. The incident took place on March 3 in Ward No. 2 of the Aramshin area and was captured on a CCTV camera. According to police, the child, identified as Om Harish Wange, was playing outside his house with a spray bottle filled with paint. While he was playing, he accidentally sprayed paint on his grandmother, Sindhu Thackeray, who was filling a bucket with water heated on Holi wood. Enraged by the incident, she allegedly poured the boiling water on the boy, a police official said. Heartbreaking incident getting viral a Grandmother scalds 5-year-old in Nagpur after Holi request; child recovering from burns. pic.twitter.com/zK2g9wOp3Z Krishna1 (@KrishnaBhojwan5) March 4, 2026 (Disclaimer: The contents of the video can be triggering. Viewer discretion is advised.) The child has sustained severe burns below the waist and was rushed to a private hospital in Nagpur, where doctors estimated that he had suffered about 45 per cent burn injuries. The police said the process to register an offence against the woman has been initiated. (With agency inputs) Location : Nagpur, India, India First Published: March 05, 2026, 06:28 IST News viral Nagpur Woman Pours Hot Water On Grandson For Spraying Colour On Her On Holi | Caught On Cam Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Russia is transferring weapons or their components to Iran. "I'm certain that the Russians are transferring weapons to the Iranian regime. We understand that they could be providing electronics for the shaheds. I believe all of this is in the wreckage of the shaheds that are currently striking the Middle East. Our partners' intelligence, if they share information, this will be confirmed. Because the Iranian shaheds contain Russian-made components. This is something we understand for sure," he said in an interview with Rai Italia. Zelenskyy also suggested that Russia could provide Iran with air defense systems. "What else could Russia give Iran? They could give them air defense systems. They have quite a few of them," he added. 200 Targets In 10 Days: What Is Gospel, Israel's AI For Wars? Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:45 IST Israel's Unit 8200 uses AI like "Habsora" to automate battlefield target identification, processing satellite imagery, drone data, SIGINT, and historical databases Rapid Read The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are currently deploying a sophisticated suite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, most notably "Habsora" (The Gospel). (AI Image) In the windowless command centers of Israels elite Unit 8200, the nature of combat has shifted from the tactile to the algorithmic. As the broader West Asia conflict intensifies, marked by recent joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran and subsequent retaliatory barrages across the region, the reliance on automated intelligence has reached an unprecedented scale. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are currently deploying a sophisticated suite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, most notably Habsora" (The Gospel), which has transformed the identification of battlefield targets into a high-speed automated process. While the military hails this as a breakthrough in precision and efficiency, the technology has sparked an international debate over the automation of death" and the diminishing role of human oversight in conflict. Developed by the IDFs signals intelligence arm, The Gospel functions as a massive data-processing engine. It ingests a near-infinite stream of information to identify military targets, such as command centers, rocket launchers, and hideouts, that would take human analysts weeks or months to verify. The system synthesises data from four primary pillars: Satellite Imagery: High-resolution monitoring of structural changes and movements. Drone Telemetry: Real-time visual feeds from loitering munitions and surveillance craft. Electronic Signals (SIGINT): Intercepted cellular conversations, radio bursts, and internet metadata. Historical Databases: Decades of archived intelligence on suspected militant infrastructure. The primary advantage of The Gospel is its sheer velocity. Traditionally, a team of 20 intelligence officers might identify 50-100 targets in a single year. According to military reports, The Gospel can generate over 200 precise targets in just 10-12 days. Internal IDF sources have referred to the system as a Target Factory", capable of suggesting approximately 100 potential strike points per day. This represents a 50-fold increase in efficiency over traditional human analysis, allowing the military to maintain a relentless operational tempo. We work without compromise in identifying who and what the enemy is," an IDF source stated, The machine doesnt get tired; it doesnt blink." The Gospel does not operate in a vacuum. It is part of a broader ecosystem designed to automate the entire kill chain": System Primary Function Target Type The Gospel Structural Analysis Buildings, Tunnels, Offices Lavender Human Categorisation Individual Militants/Personnel Fire Factory Logistics & Execution Calculates payload, jet routing, and timing While The Gospel identifies the where, a secondary system known as Lavender identifies the who. Lavender reportedly scans the data of Gazas 23 lakh residents, assigning individuals a score from 1 to 100 based on their proximity to known militant activity. Those with high scores are flagged for potential liquidation. The integration of AI into warfare has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organisations and ethics experts. The central point of contention is the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). In modern digital warfare, AI accelerates this cycle so rapidly that human intervention often becomes a formality. Key ethical concerns include: Contextual Blindness: While AI can detect a weapon cache, it may fail to account for collateral damage," such as children playing in an adjacent courtyard. While AI can detect a weapon cache, it may fail to account for collateral damage," such as children playing in an adjacent courtyard. Data Bias: If an innocent civilian inadvertently contacts a flagged individual, the algorithm may guilt by association" the civilian, leading to a fatal error. If an innocent civilian inadvertently contacts a flagged individual, the algorithm may guilt by association" the civilian, leading to a fatal error. The Responsibility Vacuum: If an algorithm malfunctions and strikes a hospital, the question of liability remains unanswered. Is the fault with the software engineer, the data scientist, or the officer who authorised the strike? Critics argue that when a system generates dozens of targets a minute, the human in the loop" becomes a mere rubber stamp, trusting the machines 90% accuracy" without having the time to perform a manual verification. The Gospel" system represents a milestone in military technology, proving that AI can dominate the modern battlefield. However, as warfare becomes increasingly efficient," the international community is left to grapple with a chilling reality: we have entered an era where the line between a military objective and a human life is determined by a line of code. Location : Israel First Published: March 05, 2026, 20:30 IST News world 200 Targets In 10 Days: What Is Gospel, Israel's AI For Wars? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 275 Seats, 18.9 Million Voters: Nepal Votes In Crucial Polls After Gen Z Uprising | 10 Key Points Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 08:39 IST Nearly 65 political parties are contesting the election, with three main contenders for the top office. Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, is seen as a front-runner. A woman casts her ballots as she votes at a polling station during Nepal's parliamentary election in Kathmandu on March 5, 2026. (Photo: AFP) Nepal is holding a crucial general election on Thursday, March 5, months after a massive Gen Z-led uprising removed KP Sharma Olis government and reshaped the countrys political landscape. Nepals interim prime minister Sushila Karki earlier appealed to citizens to participate in large numbers, saying the vote would determine the countrys stability and prosperity. She urged the public to maintain peace and order during polling, stating that peace is Nepals identity". Follow Our LIVE Blog On Nepal Elections : Click HERE Here are 10 key points explaining the vote. 1. Polling timings Voting for the 275-member House of Representatives began at 7 a.m. local time (6:45am IST) and will end at 5 p.m. across the country. 2. Size of the election A total of 18.9 million eligible voters are taking part in the national ballot to decide Nepals next government. 3. How seats are decided Out of 275 parliamentary seats, 165 members are elected through direct voting, while 110 seats are allocated using a proportional representation system. 4. Results timeline Election authorities plan to announce direct voting results within 24 hours after ballot boxes are collected. Proportional results may take one or two additional days, with counting starting immediately. 5. New voters added Around one million new voters, mostly young people, were added to the electoral roll following last years Gen Z protests. 6. Main political contenders Nearly 65 political parties are contesting the election, with three main contenders for the top office. Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is seen as a front-runner after emerging as a key campaign figure. Gagan Thapa represents the Nepali Congress, the countrys oldest political party, while former prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli seeks a return after his government was toppled in 2025. Former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is also in the fray. 7. Issues driving the vote Corruption, job creation, poverty and high youth unemployment are among the main issues facing voters. Nepals relations with neighbouring India and China, both key trade partners, are also significant factors. India accounts for two-thirds of Nepals international trade, while China accounts for 14 per cent and has lent more than $130 million to the country. 8. Campaign rules and silent period Election campaigning ran from February 16 to March 2, followed by a mandatory silent period with restrictions on political activities. The Election Commission also asked media organisations not to publish opinion poll results before voting, warning that such disclosures could affect a healthy competitive environment. Social media users were cautioned against misuse of technology that could disturb neutrality. 9. Tight security arrangements Around 3,30,000 security personnel, including 80,000 Nepal Army officials, have been deployed. Authorities implemented a three-phase security plan with aerial patrols, guarded polling stations and protected transport of ballot boxes. 10. Special measures during elections Nepal declared a three-day public holiday from March 4 to March 6 for the elections. The India-Nepal border has remained closed from midnight of March 2 to midnight of March 5, with restricted movement and strict verification checks in place. The government has also prohibited alcohol nationwide seven days before polling, with the ban continuing until final results are announced. The Election Commission said results under the direct voting system will be announced within 24 hours after ballot boxes are collected, while proportional system results may take one or two days. Vote counting will begin immediately after ballot collection. Location : Kathmandu, Nepal First Published: March 05, 2026, 07:39 IST News world 275 Seats, 18.9 Million Voters: Nepal Votes In Crucial Polls After Gen Z Uprising | 10 Key Points Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 45-Year-Old Indian-Origin YouTuber Nancy Grewal Stabbed To Death In Canada Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:43 IST Members of the Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services soon rushed Grewal to a hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries, police said. Rapid Read The incident occurred on Tuesday night (March 3). (Instagram) Nancy Grewal Murder Case: A 45-year-old woman of Punjabi origin You Tuber was stabbed to death in Ontario, Canada. The incident occurred on Tuesday night (March 3), and the woman has been identified as Nancy Grewal. The LaSalle Police Service said officers and paramedics responded to a reported stabbing just before 9:30 p.m. local time on the 2400 block of Todd Lane. Upon receiving the information, the first responders arrived at the scene and found her suffering from stab wounds. Members of the Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services soon rushed Grewal to a hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries," police said. Grewal was known for frequently speaking out against pro-Khalistan elements and had posted several videos criticizing them on social media. She had also openly spoken against jailed MP Amritpal Singh, Bikram Singh Majithia, and Gurinder Singh Dhillon. She also condemned Khalistani extremists and spoke out about the tensions between India and Canada. Last June, Grewal had voiced her concerns following the death of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari, popularly known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, in Bathinda. On Wednesday morning, authorities cordoned off two homes on Todd Lane, between Canada Street and Bishop Street. Investigators collected multiple pieces of evidence along a concrete pathway and the stairs leading up to the front door of one of the houses. The LaSalle Police Service continues to investigate a homicide that occurred on Todd Lane just before 9:30 p.m. on March 3, 2026. The victim is Nancy Grewal, 45, of Windsor. The LaSalle Police Service offers our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms. Grewal," LaSalle Police Service wrote on Facebook. It added, To ease public concern, we are sharing that investigators are viewing this as an isolated incident." Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective Sergeant Jamie Nestor at 519-969-5210 ext. 2531. They are also requesting residents in the area to share any available surveillance footage to assist with the investigation. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Canada First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:29 IST News world 45-Year-Old Indian-Origin YouTuber Nancy Grewal Stabbed To Death In Canada Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Afghan Taliban Claim Multi-Province Offensive Decimated Pakistani Border Outposts | Exclusive Details Reported By : Edited By: Pathikrit Sen Gupta Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:21 IST According to a spokesperson for the Talibans Ministry of Defence, overnight operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 41 Pakistani soldiers in the last 24 hours alone The Taliban's offensive appears to be a direct and calculated response to Pakistans 'Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq'. (Representational image) In a dramatic escalation of the open war" along the Durand Line, sources within the Afghan Talibans Ministry of National Defence have claimed to CNN-News18 a series of devastating military successes against Pakistani security forces. The Taliban administration asserts that its forces have launched synchronised, multi-province strikes across Kandahar, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, Khost, Paktika, and Paktia, effectively dismantling a significant portion of Pakistans forward defensive crust. According to a spokesperson for the Talibans Ministry of Defence, Sediqullah Nusrat, the overnight operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 41 Pakistani soldiers in the last 24 hours alone, with over 53 others wounded. These figures suggest a casualty rate significantly higher than initially reported by Islamabad, indicating that the ground reality for Pakistani troops is increasingly precarious. The Talibans offensive appears to be a direct and calculated response to Pakistans Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq." While Pakistan has relied heavily on aerial strikes targeting alleged TTP hideouts in Kabul and Kandahar, the Taliban have focused on high-intensity ground assaults. Reports now indicate that between 19 and 27 Pakistani border posts have been either captured or completely destroyed in recent engagements. The loss of these outposts, particularly in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar and the Ali-Sher district of Khost, has exposed critical vulnerabilities in Pakistans forward defences. Taliban fighters have reportedly seized heavy military equipment and ammunition, showcasing their ability to not only repel Pakistani incursions but to actively seize and hold territory along the porous 2,600-km border. Despite the Pakistan Air Forces intensive bombardment of targets in Jalalabad and the Bagram air base, the Taliban claim to have maintained their operational momentum. Afghan sources report that their air defence units successfully shot down three Pakistani reconnaissance drones over the past day, blunting Islamabads intelligence-gathering capabilities. The ground clashes have proven particularly lethal for Pakistani forces. While Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has claimed hundreds of Taliban casualties, the Taliban counter-narrativesupported by local reports from the frontlinesuggests that Pakistan is suffering higher-than-expected losses in close-quarter combat. The Taliban-run state broadcaster, RTA, even claimed retaliatory airstrikes" by Afghan forces on Pakistani Frontier Corps command centres in Kuchlak and Quetta, bringing the theatre of war deep into Balochistan. This military humiliation on the border comes as Pakistan grapples with a systemic failure of its internal security apparatus. The Taliban have consistently maintained that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an internal Pakistani problem, yet the ongoing conflict has seen the TTP and other militant factions urge their fighters to aid the Afghan Taliban. As the conflict enters its eighth day, the loss of dozens of border posts suggests that Pakistans military may be overstretched. The inability to secure the Durand Line against sustained Taliban counter-offensives is not just a tactical defeat; it is a strategic blow to Pakistans long-standing policy of strategic depth" in Afghanistan. With the Taliban now claiming pre-delegated authority for military responses across all border sectors, the prospect of a de-escalation appears distant. First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:18 IST News world Afghan Taliban Claim Multi-Province Offensive Decimated Pakistani Border Outposts | Exclusive Details Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iran Used Boat Loaded With Explosives To Target Bahamas-Flagged Oil Tanker Near Iraqi Port: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:36 IST A blast was triggered near a Bahamas-flagged oil tanker at Iraq's Khor al-Zubair port - with its hull likely breached. The crew is safe and the ship remains afloat. Rapid Read The Sonangol Namibe was approached by an unknown small vessel and crew report that a port ballast tank is losing water. (Image Courtesy: X/RT_India_News) A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was struck by a blast early Thursday near Iraqs Khor al-Zubair port, with the ships operator saying the hull may have been breached. Two Iraqi port security sources told Al Arabiya that an Iranian remote-controlled boat loaded with explosives was used to target the vessel. The attack marks a significant development in what is now being treated as a deliberate strike and not an accident. The vessel, Sonangol Namibe, was anchored at the port when a small, unidentified boat pulled up alongside it around 1:20 AM local time. Shortly after, the crew heard a loud bang. Sonangol Marine Services, the U.S. representative company for the tanker, said a port ballast tank appeared to be taking on water, pointing to some form of hull damage. The ship, however, remained stable and afloat as of the latest update. There were no casualties reported among the crew. The tanker was not carrying cargo at the time. It had been contracted by Iraqs state oil marketer SOMO and was waiting to load roughly 80,000 metric tons of Iraqi fuel oil. An Iraqi security source confirmed the incident to Al Jazeera, saying a boat struck the tanker and caused an oil spill in the port area. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately claimed on Thursday that it had struck a U.S. tanker in the northern Gulf, saying the vessel caught fire. It is not immediately clear whether this refers to the same incident. The attack rattled energy markets. Brent crude futures climbed nearly 4%, touching $84.73 per barrel, while WTI crude rose more than 2% to around $78 per barrel. The Khor al-Zubair area is a key transit point for Iraqs heavy fuel oil exports, and any disruption there is closely watched by traders and shippers. The UK Maritime Trade Operations office advised vessels in the area to stay alert and report any suspicious activity. No group has yet officially claimed responsibility for the attack on the Sonangol Namibe. Investigations are still ongoing. (With inputs from agencies.) First Published: March 05, 2026, 16:37 IST News world Iran Used Boat Loaded With Explosives To Target Bahamas-Flagged Oil Tanker Near Iraqi Port: Report Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Baseless And Not True': US Rejects Reports Of F-15E Eagle Crash In Iran Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:57 IST Hours after reports of Iranian air defenses hitting a US F-15E, US Central Command called them "baseless," stating on X that rumors of the crash in Iran are "NOT TRUE." US F-15E Strike Eagle (AFP File ) Hours after reports surfaced of Iranian air defences hitting a US F-15E Strike Eagle leading to its crash, the US Central Command rejected it saying they were baseless". In a post on X, the US Central Command said, Rumors circulating on social media of a U.S. F-15E crash in Iran early Wednesday are baseless and NOT TRUE." Follow for live updates Earlier in the day, OSINTdefender had shared on X that a US F-15E Strike Eagle had reportedly crashed during a mission over southwestern Iran early Wednesday. It quoted a source attributing the crash to Iranian air defences. According to the post, the US and Israeli combat search and rescue teams had launched entered Iran about an later and extracted the pilot and weapons systems officer. Also Read: Blackout For 5 Days And Counting: Why Iran Is Threatening Anyone Who Tries To Get Online The OSINTdefender later shared another post saying the previous post has been taken down. We have made the decision to delete reports made last night regarding the crash of a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle in Iran and the successful evacuation of the crewmembers by U.S. and Israeli Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Defender Media maintains confidence in its sources, however, the story is as of now being officially and publicly denied by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)," it said. We have made the decision to delete reports made last night regarding the crash of a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle in Iran and the successful evacuation of the crewmembers by U.S. and Israeli Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Defender Media maintains confidence in its sources, however, pic.twitter.com/E1IYxcAwXs OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 5, 2026 Previously, three American F-15E Strike Eagle(s) were shot down over Iraqi airspace near Kuwait, by Kuwaiti Air Defence systems. The F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet originally developed by McDonnell Douglas, which later merged with Boeing. The U.S. Air Force first flew it in 1972, and it entered active service in 1976. It was built with one core goal in mind: air superiority. That means its primary job is to control the sky, keeping enemy aircraft from operating freely in a given area. The exchange of strikes between Iran and US-Israel entered its sixth day. The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, as negotiations over Tehrans nuclear programme faltered with the Middle East plunging into a renewed military conflict. On Wednesday, an American submarine sank an Iranian warship. With the attack, Tehran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region. The intensity of the attacks prompted the state television to announce the postponement of the mourning ceremony for Irans slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, 86, was killed in the coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Sunday. Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 17:39 IST News world 'Baseless And Not True': US Rejects Reports Of F-15E Eagle Crash In Iran Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Baseless': Iran Denies Blocking Strait Of Hormuz, Accuses US Of Endangering Maritime Security Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 01:52 IST This came after Iran's IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rapid Read The Strait of Hormuz measures just 33 kilometres wide. (Photo Credit: X) After Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that they have taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian mission to the United Nations has refuted such reports as baseless and absurd", and accused the US of endangering maritime security. The claim that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz is baseless and absurd. Iran remains committed to international law and freedom of navigation. In reality, it is the US that has endangered maritime security. The Iranian mission also condemned a US strike on an Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka, which killed 80 people. It said the US submarine struck the Iranian frigate Dena without warning" after it was returning from India as a naval guest with 130 sailors aboard. This reckless attack violates the fundamental principles of international law and freedom of navigation," it said. The claim that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz is baseless and absurd. Iran remains committed to international law and freedom of navigation. In reality, it is the U.S. that has endangered maritime security.Just yesterday, nearly 2,000 miles from Irans shores, the Iranian I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) March 5, 2026 The remarks came after the IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed over the weekend after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ships have largely stopped moving through the Strait amid Iranian missile attacks on regional bases. This move choked off vital Middle East oil and gas flows and caused a steep spike in oil prices. The IRGC warned that the strait is closed to vessels from the United States, Israel, Europe and their Western allies. Analysts warn that such disruption would result in rising global energy costs and a sharp escalation of US gasoline prices. Why Is Strait Of Hormuz Important? The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the worlds oil passes. Tankers transiting the strait, bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Iran. Most of that oil goes to Asia. ALSO READ: USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Hit By Iranian Missiles Near Strait Of Hormuz, Tehran Says Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar- among the worlds largest oil exporters- can only move their crude to international markets by passing through it. There is no alternative maritime route. Tehran framed the closure as consistent with international law, stating that Iran reserves the right to regulate passage through the strait during wartime. A senior official of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the country would use force to block traffic through the strait. The strait (of Hormuz) is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze," Brigadier General Sardar Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the Guards commander-in-chief, was quoted as saying by Iranian state media. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he ordered the US development finance arm to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Gulf at a very reasonable price." He also said the US Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, as concerns mount over energy supply disruptions. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Location : New York, United States of America (USA) First Published: March 06, 2026, 01:52 IST News world 'Baseless': Iran Denies Blocking Strait Of Hormuz, Accuses US Of Endangering Maritime Security Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Capabilities Are Limited': Why Europe Is Hesitant To Join Gulf Defence Against Irans Drone Attacks Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:24 IST While Ukraine has offered to expertise, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK are sending naval and air defense assets to Cyprus. EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to reporters. (Image: AFP) European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday the bloc was working to help the Gulf nations intercept Iranian drone strikes but warned that the supplies of relevant kit was likely limited. Everybody has the need for air defence So there is really a problem with production," Kallas said during a video call between EU and Gulf State foreign ministers. While urging Europe to speed up" production, she said, we are looking into this, but Im worried that the capabilities are limited." Also Read: Could Be Targeted: Officials Express Concern As 2nd Iranian Ship Heads To Sri Lanka After Attack AFP quoted Kallas suggesting that Ukraine, which has built vaunted expertise in the sector in more than four years of war with Russia, could help by sharing its knowledge. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had offered to swap with the US allies in the Middle East some air defence missiles in exchange for drone interceptors. Follow for live updates According to AFP, Russia has been using Iranian-designed Shahed drones throughout its invasion of Ukraine, and Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective interceptors aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air that it says are world-leading. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been struggling with a shortage of PAC-3 air defence missiles, expensive ammunition used to fire at incoming Russian missiles to defend Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Which European Nations Are Helping Allies This War Reuters quoted Romes Defense Minister Guido Crosetto telling the parliament that Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days. On Thursday, Italy had announced its decision to send air defence assistance to Gulf countries that are being targeted by Iranian strikes in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK was sending helicopters with counter drone capabilities" and a warship, HMS Dragon, to Cyprus as Britain continued defensive operations" in the region. This was a day after a British Royal Air Force base on the island was targeted by an Iranian-made drone. Also Read: Blackout For 5 Days And Counting: Why Iran Is Threatening Anyone Who Tries To Get Online Starmer had initially refused to participate in the US-Israeli war with Iran but later agreed to the US request to use two British military bases for a specific and limited defensive purpose". The French military has also said that it would allow US aircraft use some of its bases in the Middle East during the conflict, adding that they contribute to the protection of our partners in the Gulf". Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war, France24 quoted the Spanish defence ministry. The exchange of strikes between Iran and US-Israel entered its sixth day. The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, as negotiations over Tehrans nuclear programme faltered with the Middle East plunging into a renewed military conflict. On Wednesday, an American submarine sank an Iranian warship. With the attack, Tehran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region. The intensity of the attacks prompted the state television to announce the postponement of the mourning ceremony for Irans slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, 86, was killed in the coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Sunday. Location : Brussels, Belgium First Published: March 05, 2026, 17:24 IST News world 'Capabilities Are Limited': Why Europe Is Hesitant To Join Gulf Defence Against Irans Drone Attacks Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Could Be Targeted': Officials Express Concern As 2nd Iranian Ship Heads To Sri Lanka After Attack Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:17 IST President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met senior government and security leaders to discuss Irans request for the warship to enter Sri Lankas waters for safety. Second Iranian Warship Approaches Sri Lanka After Deadly Attack, Officials Raise Security Concerns Sri Lankan officials have expressed concern as a second Iranian warship moved towards the countrys territorial waters on Thursday, a day after a United States submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 87 sailors. Authorities fear the new vessel could also become a target following the earlier attack. The development comes as the conflict triggered by joint US-Israel strikes on Iran continues to expand beyond the Middle East. Iran seeks entry into Sri Lankan waters According to officials quoted by AFP, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met senior government and security leaders to discuss Irans request for the warship to enter Sri Lankas waters for safety. Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament that the vessel was positioned just outside Sri Lankan territorial waters but did not provide further operational details. Officials said the ship was carrying more than 100 crew members, raising fears for their safety. Aftermath of the frigate sinking Preparations were under way in the southern port city of Galle to hand over the remains of 87 Iranian sailors killed in the torpedo attack claimed by the US military. The warship had sunk about 40 kilometres south of Galle after issuing a distress call early on Wednesday. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said naval vessels were continuing search operations for missing sailors. By the time rescuers reached the site, the vessel had already sunk. Survivors under tight security Hospital authorities in Galle confirmed that 32 rescued Iranian sailors were still receiving treatment under strict security provided by police and elite commandos. A separate ward was set up for the injured crew. A nurse said most survivors had minor injuries, though some suffered fractures and burns. The destroyed warship had been returning home after participating in a military exercise held in Indias eastern port of Visakhapatnam. Iran has not yet officially commented on the sinking. Sri Lanka maintains neutral position Sri Lanka has maintained neutrality throughout the conflict and has repeatedly called for dialogue to resolve tensions in the Middle East. Iran remains an important buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the countrys main export commodity. Location : Sri Lanka First Published: March 05, 2026, 14:05 IST News world 'Could Be Targeted': Officials Express Concern As 2nd Iranian Ship Heads To Sri Lanka After Attack Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Decoding Khameneis Fail-Safe Contingency: The Four-Layered Plan For Iranian Regime's Survival | Exclusive Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:45 IST Indian intelligence reports exclusively accessed by CNN-News18 reveal Ayatollah Ali Khameneis clandestine 'succession and survival' plan Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28. (File pic/AFP) As the Islamic Republic of Iran grapples with the aftermath of the devastating US-Israeli strikes on February 28, CNN-News18 has accessed exclusive Indian intelligence reports detailing the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis clandestine succession and survival" blueprint. The documents reveal that Khamenei, anticipating a high-intensity kinetic conflict in early 2026, had implemented a sophisticated, four-layered contingency plan designed to ensure that the Guardianship of the Jurist" (Velayat-e Faqih) outlives any single leader. Phase I: The Constitutional Facade with IRGC Muscle The primary layer of the plan focuses on clerical continuity. According to the blueprint, the immediate aftermath of a leadership vacuum is to be managed by an interim council comprising the President, the judiciary head, and a senior cleric. However, Indian intel suggests this is a symbolic gesture to maintain constitutional legitimacy. Behind the scenes, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been tasked with providing the security envelope", effectively pressuring the Assembly of Experts to fast-track a permanent successormost likely Mojtaba Khameneito prevent a protracted power struggle. Phase II: The Rise of the Loyalists Should the initial transition face domestic or clerical resistance, Khameneis plan triggers the elevation of seasoned loyalists. Figures like Ali Larijani have been pre-delegated authority for crisis and wartime management. In this phase, the IRGC shifts from a supporting role to a directive one. Intelligence indicates that the Guards are currently bypassing full constitutional processes to close ranks", taking direct command of military responses, internal crackdowns, and the activation of regional proxies (the Ring of Fire") to deter further external strikes. Phase III: The Decapitation Protocol The most striking element of the decoded plan is the four-layered succession mechanism for military and governmental roles. Khamenei reportedly prepared for a worst-case scenario" where multiple top-tier leaders are killed simultaneously. Automatic Successors: Every major IRGC command and government post has three deep-seated alternates. Pre-delegated Authority: If central communications in Tehran are severed, regional commanders have standing orders" to act independently to maintain order and launch counter-strikes. Distributed Command: The goal is to ensure that no single decapitation strike" can create a terminal power vacuum. Phase IV: Brute Force Survival In the event of a total systemic breakdown where Phase III fails, the plan mandates a transition to a pure military directorate. In this final stage, the IRGC discards the clerical veil entirely to preserve the state through brute force. Indian intelligence sources suggest that the IRGC is already operating between Phase II and Phase III. By distributing command and pre-authorising lethal force across the provinces, the regime aims to prevent a total collapse, ensuring that the system" survives even if the capital is compromised. The Indian Assessment: A Backyard in Flux For New Delhi, the activation of this distributed command" is a cause for extreme concern. Indian analysts suggest that a fragmented Iranian leadership, operating under pre-delegated retaliation orders", makes the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf significantly more volatile. With the IRGC now driving emergency power consolidation, the risk of errant" proxy strikes against maritime trade has reached an all-time high, directly threatening Indias energy security and its 88% crude oil import dependency. First Published: March 05, 2026, 16:45 IST News world Decoding Khameneis Fail-Safe Contingency: The Four-Layered Plan For Iranian Regime's Survival | Exclusive Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US President Donald Trump said he was "frustrated" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenksyy he has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done, Trump told Politico. At the same time, Trump stated that, in his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war. I think Putin is ready to make a deal, he said. Trump has expressed this opinion before. When asked what exactly was preventing Zelenskyy from reaching a peace agreement, Trump declined to provide detailed explanations but emphasized that the Ukrainian leader was not showing sufficient willingness to negotiate. Its unthinkable that hes the obstacle. You dont have the cards. Now hes got even less cards, Trump stated. Highly Focused: Canada PM Mark Carney Calls PM Modi A Unique Leader After India Visit Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 09:01 IST PM Carney travelled to Delhi and Mumbai earlier this week, where he interacted with PM Modi and discussed areas of India-Canada bilateral cooperation. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, interacts with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, Monday, March 2, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan)(PTI03_02_2026_000067B) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who recently visited India, has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a highly focused leader committed to delivery and economic transformation. Speaking at Australias Lowy Institute, Carney shared his personal assessment after meeting PM Modi during his recent visit. Carney travelled to Delhi and Mumbai earlier this week, where he interacted with PM Modi and discussed areas of cooperation. During the event in Australia, the moderator referred to Modi as a big figure dominating international politics". A unique leader Reflecting on his experience, Carney said Modi was unique", noting that he had not taken a single day off during 25 years in public office, first as Gujarats chief minister and later as Indias prime minister. He added that PM Modi regularly campaigns on weekends and attracts rallies of up to 250,000 people. Well, I mean the guy is unique. 25 years and he has not taken a day off. Every weekend he is out campaigning. He gets 250,000 people in his rallies," PM Carney said. Carney said PM Modi remained strongly focused on delivering results, particularly financial reforms and payment transformation through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). He lauded the UPI system saying that it helps transfer money directly to individuals in real time, reduces leakages and brings large numbers of people into the formal economy. India-Canada cooperation and strategic interests According to Carney, discussions between the two leaders centred on cooperation in economic and strategic areas. He said Modi keeps conversations grounded in practical outcomes and focuses on collaboration despite global challenges. Location : Canada First Published: March 05, 2026, 09:01 IST News world Highly Focused: Canada PM Mark Carney Calls PM Modi A Unique Leader After India Visit Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'I Had No Other Option': Accused Pak Terrorist Claims Iranian Spies Hired Him To Kill Trump, Biden Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 09:08 IST A Pakistani man claimed Iranian spies recruited him to target Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, in bombshell testimony Wednesday. Pakistani man claims Iranian spies recruited him to kill US politicians including Trump, Biden (Image credit: AP) A Pakistani man charged with plotting to kill US politicians claimed that Iranian spies recruited him to target Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden in bombshell testimony Wednesday. Accused terrorist Asif Merchant, 47, claimed before the court that his family was threatened and that he was forced into the plot to save them, according to reports. I had no other options. My family was threatened," Merchant told jurors in Brooklyn federal court. He has been charged with paying two undercover FBI agents posing as hitmen USD 5,000 to carry out the attacks. Merchant, a former banker with a failed banana business, told the court that his Iranian spy handler ordered him in April 2024 to go to the United States and maybe to have somebody murdered". He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," he stated. Donald Trump and Joe Biden were the leading candidates in the 2024 presidential election at that time. Nikki Haley, the former South Caroline governor, had withdrawn out of the race just a month earlier. ORDERED TO CARRY OUT MURDER, STEAL DOCS Asif Merchant, who pleaded not guilty to terrorism and murder-for-hire charges after his August 2024 arrest, claimed that his spy handler ordered him to carry out the murder as well as steal unidentified documents. His handler, who he named as Mehrdad Yousef, was reportedly a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Merchant said he agreed to work along the plot because Yousef had put pressure on his Iranian relatives". He went on to claim Yousef made an unannounced visit outside his Iran-based home and had displayed a weapon during their meetings. My family was under threat, and I had to do this," he told the jury, reports suggested. FBI secret security cameras had nabbed Merchant at a June 2024 meeting inside a cheap Queens motel describing plans to kill a GOP politician. According to details later outlined in court documents, the individual he appeared to be referring to was Donald Trump. Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 07:53 IST News world 'I Had No Other Option': Accused Pak Terrorist Claims Iranian Spies Hired Him To Kill Trump, Biden Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'If They Want To See An End...': Iran Warns Gulf Leaders To Expel Americans, Remove All US Bases Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 18:27 IST The warning comes as the war between US-Israel and Iran entered its sixth day, widening beyond Gulf countries as Tehran remains defiant in the face of waves of attacks. Rapid Read Iran and Israel continued to launch attacks at each other in the sixth day of the war. (AFP) Iran has warned all countries in the Gulf countries to expel all Americans from their territories and ensure the complete removal of all US military bases, directly linking American military presence to recent escalations as Tehran continues to attack regional bases. FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES An Iranian MP of Parliament, quoted by Tehran Times, said, If the leaders of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, and similar countries want to see an end to threat of Iranian missiles, they should expel the Americans from their territories and ensure the complete removal of all US military bases." The warning came as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran entered its sixth day, as Tehran continued to launch missiles at Tel Aviv and military facilities in several Gulf countries, in retaliation for the coordinated US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The death toll in Iran from the ongoing war with the United States and Israel has reached at least 1,230 people, according to Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. Israel also announced multiple incoming attacks on Thursday, along with new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. ALSO READ: Baseless And Not True: US Rejects Reports Of F-15E Eagle Crash In Iran Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US struck an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday which killed more than 80 people describing it as an atrocity at sea". He said the Iranian frigate Dena, a guest of the Indian navy with nearly 130 crew members, was struck without warning in international waters. Later on Thursday, the Revolutionary Guards said they had hit a US tanker in the northern part of the Gulf, and the vessel was on fire. The Guards said in the statement carried by state media that in time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be under the control of the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, Republicans in Washington blocked a motion on Wednesday aimed at stopping the US air campaign against Iran and requiring that military action be authorised by Congress. The repeated air attacks on Tehran have forced the postponement of the funeral for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, killed by Israeli forces on Saturday in the first strikes of the war. Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 18:19 IST News world 'If They Want To See An End...': Iran Warns Gulf Leaders To Expel Americans, Remove All US Bases Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'If You Don't Withdraw...' Shia Cleric's Ultimatum To Pakistan PM Over Gaza Peace Board | Exclusive Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:52 IST Shaikh Najafis statements come at a time of heightened political sensitivity, with Gilgit-Baltistan preparing for elections, and national polls looming Rapid Read The cleric (with mic) also appealed directly to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, asking, Will you sacrifice your blood in obedience and support of your leader? (Screenshot) A prominent Shia religious leader, Shaikh Karamat Hussain Najafi, has issued a public warning to Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), demanding withdrawal from the recently formed Gaza Peace Board, which he claimed is influenced by Zionist interests. The ultimatum comes ahead of upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and across Pakistan. Speaking to a large gathering in Gilgit-Baltistan, Shaikh Najafi said, I will not use this gathering for politics, but I will say one thing: anyone who recites the creed of Ali-un-Wali-ullah, let my words reach every corner of the country, let the whole of Pakistan listen." He emphasised that his warning was directed at the government and its allied parties, and repeated the demand, stating, Before the elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and in Pakistan, if you do not withdraw from the Peace Board, which has been formed under the leadership of Jews and Zionism, then you will be humiliated and disgraced in every street of Pakistan, and especially across Gilgit-Baltistan." The cleric also appealed directly to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, asking, Will you sacrifice your blood in obedience and support of your leader?" He further declared a pledge, saying that those aligned with the government would face public humiliation if the Peace Board issue was not resolved: Raising both hands in a renewal of the pledge with the martyr and the coming leader, this is our promise. The Muslim League (N) and all its supporting parties will be disgraced and humiliated. This is our final message." Shaikh Najafis statements come at a time of heightened political sensitivity, with Gilgit-Baltistan preparing for elections, and national polls looming. Analysts say the clerics ultimatum underscores the influence of religious leaders in Pakistans regional politics, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, where religious identity and political loyalties often intersect. THE GAZA BOARD OF PEACE An initiative by the United States to ensure stabilisation in the post-war region, the boards core objective is to support stabilisation, reconstruction, and civilian governance while preventing a power vacuum. The body is envisioned as a temporary arrangement involving international stakeholders, regional actors, and Palestinian technocrats to oversee aid delivery, rebuilding of infrastructure, and basic administration. It is not meant to replace Palestinian political aspirations but to create conditions for long-term peace, security, and economic recovery in Gaza during a sensitive post-conflict phase. Pakistans agreement to participate in the initiative has sparked strong domestic criticism, highlighting deep political, religious, and ideological divisions across the country. Opposition parties, religious organisations, and scholars have raised serious questions about both the governments motivations and the decision-making process, placing the Shehbaz Sharif administration under pressure as it seeks to control the national discourse. Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as one of the most vocal critics, arguing that a move of such geopolitical and moral consequence cannot ignore the will of Pakistans nearly 250 million people. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:52 IST News world 'If You Don't Withdraw...' Shia Cleric's Ultimatum To Pakistan PM Over Gaza Peace Board | Exclusive Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Ignoring Own Track Record': India Slams Pakistan's 'Ironic' Outrage Over Uranium Deal With Canada Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:39 IST India said Pakistan's own history of "illicit" nuclear proliferation makes its concerns about regional stability entirely hollow Rapid Read Canada and India concluded a long-term uranium supply agreement. (Image: PTI/File) India has dismissed what it called Pakistans ironic" outrage over New Delhis landmark uranium agreement with Ottawa. The Centre called out Pakistans hypocritical" condemnation, stressing that Islamabads own history of illicit" nuclear proliferation makes its concerns about regional stability entirely hollow. The two nuclear-armed neighbours traded barbs over safety protocols and international law, following the conclusion of a long-term uranium supply agreement between Canada and India. The deal also includes potential cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies. WHAT DID PAKISTAN SAY? Pakistans ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) was quick to denounce the deal, with spokesperson Tahir Andrabi warning that the arrangement will fuel an arms race" and allow India to expand its nuclear arsenal". Islamabad said the deal represents a country-specific exception" that undermines the global non-proliferation regime. In a pointed reference to historical tensions, it noted the irony of the situation claiming that Indias 1974 nuclear test using plutonium from a Canadian-supplied reactor was the very event that led directly to the establishment of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)". According to Pakistan, a state that necessitated such global export controls is now being granted preferential access". WHAT DID INDIA SAY? Top Indian government security sources dismissed these allegations as a diversion from Pakistans own track record" of nuclear misconduct. The sources said the international community must remember the AQ Khan proliferation network, which witnessed the transfer of nuclear technology to rogue states" including North Korea, Iran, and Libya. New Delhi characterised this network as the single greatest threat to global non-proliferation in recent decades". The Indian response underlined the double standards in Islamabads rhetoric. While Pakistan accuses India of failing to place all civilian facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, Islamabad itself refuses to place its own rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal under any meaningful international oversight", the sources said. The Indian side maintained that it is Pakistan that continues to produce fissile material outside of IAEA controls, thereby fuelling an unchecked arms buildup in the region". This latest diplomatic back-and-forth highlights the deeply entrenched geopolitical debate over nuclear equity and the balance of power in South Asia. India countered Pakistans narrative of destabilisation" by pointing to Islamabads continuous support for cross-border terrorism" and its doctrine of nuclear first-use threats" as the primary drivers of insecurity in the region. The India-Canada deal stands as a significant marker of Indias growing integration into the global nuclear order a move that Pakistan views as a threat to the strategic status quo. First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:39 IST News world 'Ignoring Own Track Record': India Slams Pakistan's 'Ironic' Outrage Over Uranium Deal With Canada Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iran Airs Ayatollah Abdollah's Message Calling For Shedding Blood Of Israelis And Trump Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:01 IST During the message, Ayatolla Javadi Amoli called for the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trumps blood. Iranian Ayatollah Calls for Shedding of Blood of Israelis and Donald Trump on State TV Iran War News Today: Iranian state television on Thursday broadcast a message from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli calling for the shedding" of blood from Israelis and United States President Donald Trump, according to a Associated Press report. The statement came as Iran faces a combined airstrike campaign by Israel and the United States. The Iran-US-Israel war entered its sixth day today. The message is one of the limited public statements issued by senior clerical figures in Iran since the escalation of the conflict. In his remarks, the ayatollah said the country was approaching a critical moment. We are now on the verge of a great test and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance," he said. During the message, Javadi Amoli called for the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trumps blood." He further added, The Imam of the time says, Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders." The statement was aired as military tensions continue to rise following ongoing strikes involving Israel and the United States. (With AP inputs) Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:31 IST News world Iran Airs Ayatollah Abdollah's Message Calling For Shedding Blood Of Israelis And Trump Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iranian Bombers '2 Mins' From Another Hit On Key US Base, Shot Down By Qatari Jets Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:31 IST Iranian bombers headed for Al-Udeid, which is the largest base of the US in the west Asian region, were shot down by Qatari jets on March 2 Rapid Read The Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces including the US, was hit by a single Iranian ballistic missile a few days ago. (Image: AFP/File) Days after a single Iranian ballistic missile damaged the highly specialised AN/FPS-132 radar system at the key American air base in Qatars Al-Udeid, there were reports of a narrow escape for the military facility. Iranian bombers headed for Al-Udeid, which is the largest base of the United States in the west Asian region, were shot down by Qatari jets when they were minutes from striking it on March 2. According to an exclusive report by CNN, Qatari F-15s intercepted Iranian Su-24 bombers with minutes to spare in a high-stakes aerial combat in the ongoing West Asia conflict. The incident marked the first instance of air-to-air combat in the history of the Qatari air force. Follow US-Israel-Iran War Live Updates Here The Qatari fighter jets successfully thwarted the attack, destroying two Iranian bombers. This was part of a series of retaliatory strikes from Iran after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint Israel-US strikes. The CNN reported that sources, who were briefed on the operation, said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dispatched two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers on the morning of March 2. The mission was aimed at two critical targets: the Al-Udeid Air Base, which serves as a hub for approximately 10,000 US service members, and Ras Laffan, a vital natural gas processing facility that forms the bedrock of the Qatari economy. One source was quoted saying the Iranian jets were a mere two minutes" away from their intended targets when they were finally engaged. The interception followed a tense sequence in the skies over the Persian Gulf. The CNN report said the Iranian bombers were visually identified and photographed carrying an arsenal of bombs and guided munitions. In a clear attempt to penetrate regional defences, the jets descended to a flying altitude of just 80 feet to evade radar detection. Despite Qatari forces issuing radio warnings, there was no response, the report said. The report said the wreckage of the Iranian aircraft crashed into Qatars territorial waters. During a briefing on March 3, Qatari foreign minister spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said a search operation is underway to locate the missing crews. ALSO READ | Target Was Hit: Israel Shares Video Of F-35 Shooting Down Iranian YAK-130 While Tehran has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones at Arab states in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the US and Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei, this was the first time manned aircraft were used. Previous strikes have already proven lethal, including the missile strike on the radar nerve centre" at the base and a projectile attack that killed six US service members at Kuwaits Shuaiba port. The Pentagon formally acknowledged the success of the defensive operation. Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers on route to their location," General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted in a briefing on Wednesday (March 4). Qatari leadership, meanwhile, condemned the Iranian action. In a telephone call with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the incident highly escalatory" and an indication that Iran has no genuine desire" to find a resolution. A readout of the call quoted Al Thani as accusing the Iranian regime of seeking to inflict harm on its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs". Location : Doha, Qatar First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:31 IST News world Iranian Bombers '2 Mins' From Another Hit On Key US Base, Shot Down By Qatari Jets Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iran Hits US Tanker In Northern Part Of Gulf Hours After Torpedo Attack On Its Warship Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:00 IST IRGC claimed it struck a US tanker in the Gulf, hours after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Iran hits US tanker hours after torpedo attack on its warship. (Representative Image) Hours after a torpedo from a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed it struck a US tanker in the Gulf. The Iranian state media said the US ship is currently on fire. The casualties are not known yet. The development came after an American submarine torpedoed and sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean declaring it the first sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II. The Iranian retaliation came in less than 24 hours after a US submarine sank its warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, expanding the war zone to the Indian Ocean. US Torpedoes Iranian Warship The attack, carried out with a Mark 48 torpedo, was touted by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as evidence of Americas global reach in the ongoing conflict with Iran. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing reporters, said the Iranian warship died a quiet death". An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," Hegseth said. The frigate, IRIS Dena, was reportedly heading back to Iran from Indias Visakhapatnam after participating in two naval exercises last month when it was hit by a US torpedo. The attack in international waters left 87 Iranian sailors dead, while 32 others, including the commander of IRIS Dena and some senior officers, were rescued. Over 60 are still missing. Responding to the US attack, Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed to avenge what he called US atrocity" at sea 2,000 miles away from Irans shores. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:24 IST News world Iran Hits US Tanker In Northern Part Of Gulf Hours After Torpedo Attack On Its Warship Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Related To Earlier Talks With US': Iran Reacts To Report Of 'Abandoning' Its Nuclear Programme Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:54 IST The US and Israel launched 'Operation Epic Fury', which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after backchannel talks via mediator Oman over a nuclear deal with Iran failed Rapid Read A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 5, 2026. (Image: AFP) Iran has reacted to a media report, which quoted its deputy foreign minister on how it is ready to abandon" its nuclear programme only if the United States provides a satisfactory alternative". According to the state-run IRNA, this statement by deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi is related to earlier talks with the US" on their nuclear deal. The clarification comes amid the raging West Asia conflict, which entered its sixth day. Takht-Ravanchis comments on the nuclear programme which were reported by Sky News Arabia. Iran is ready to abandon its nuclear programme on condition that the United States presents a satisfactory alternative offer," Takht-Ravanchi was quoted. : - (@SkyNewsArabia_B) March 5, 2026 Follow US-Israel-Iran War Live Updates Here Later, IRNA clarified that these comments were related to earlier talks with the US, which launched Operation Epic Fury with Israel after backchannel talks via mediator Oman over a nuclear deal with Iran failed. The joint attack also killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Tehran has said it entered negotiations with Washington DC despite doubts about American intentions, but was attacked before the set timeline. The US, meanwhile, has said the ultimate goal of the current military engagement with Iran is a regional transition that ensures the West Asia region no longer poses a global security risk. It has said the Trump administrations current stance was not an initial preference but a result of failed diplomatic overtures on Irans nuclear programme. It has also warned that if the Iranian regime achieves its weapons goals, it would be a global threat. ALSO READ | Baseless And Not True: US Rejects Reports Of F-15E Eagle Crash In Iran WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST ROUND OF US-IRAN TALKS? On February 17, at least 10 days before Israel and the US attacked Iran, President Donald Trump had warned Tehran of potential consequences should it fail to strike a deal during their talks in Geneva. Mediated by Oman, the discussions were aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washingtons more realistic" position on its nuclear programme. By then, however, Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily, starting with the deadly crackdown on protesters in January and then, more recently, over its nuclear programme. I dont think they want the consequences of not making a deal," he had told reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the talks, as reported by AFP. Before that, another attempt at diplomacy had collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June 2025, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had said. ALSO READ | Decoding Khameneis Fail-Safe Contingency: The Four-Layered Plan For Iranian Regimes Survival | Exclusive The talks in Geneva were to be centred around Irans position regarding nuclear issues and sanctions relief", as well as Tehrans seriousness in using result-oriented diplomacy to secure the legitimate interests and rights of the Iranian people", as per a statement by its foreign ministry. Amid the preparations for the talks in Geneva, Takht-Ravanchi had told the BBC that Iran will consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if the US lifted sanctions that have crippled his countrys economy. If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement," he had said. Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 14:41 IST News world 'Related To Earlier Talks With US': Iran Reacts To Report Of 'Abandoning' Its Nuclear Programme Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iran Shuts Hormuz Strait For US, Israel And West But Not China. What About India? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 19:37 IST Iran said any ships belonging to the United States, Israel, Europe "and their supporters" spotted in the waterway "will certainly be hit." Boats manoeuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo: AFP) Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps formally announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to vessels from the United States, Israel, Europe and their Western allies- a declaration that raises urgent questions for India, one of the worlds largest importers of Gulf oil. Track LIVE Updates on US-Israel-Iran War here Any ships belonging to the United States, Israel, Europe and their supporters" spotted in the waterway will certainly be hit," the IRGC warned. We had previously said that, based on international laws and resolutions, in times of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz," it said. Why Hormuz Matters? The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway- at its narrowest point roughly 33 kilometres wide- sitting between Iran to the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south. It is the sole sea exit for ports across the Persian Gulf, making it the single most critical chokepoint in global energy infrastructure. The strait carries roughly one-fifth of all oil transported by sea worldwide. Read more: India Offers Condolences On Khameneis Death, FS Vikram Misri Visits Iranian Embassy Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar- among the worlds largest oil exporters- can only move their crude to international markets by passing through it. There is no alternative maritime route. Tehran framed the closure as consistent with international law, stating that Iran reserves the right to regulate passage through the strait during wartime. That claim is contested. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Strait of Hormuz is subject to the right of transit passage- meaning all ships, including warships, are entitled to pass through freely. Iran has historically disputed this interpretation, arguing that its domestic law takes precedence. Read more: New Shield At Sea: Will US Start Insuring Indias Oil Lifeline After Torpedoing Iranian Ship? The China Exception And The India Question Iran indicated it would permit only Chinese-flagged vessels to use the strait- describing it as a gesture of appreciation for Beijings position towards Tehran since the conflict began. Meanwhile, India imports over 85% of its crude oil requirements, sourcing a significant portion from the Gulf- making a lifeline. New Delhi has been engaged in active diplomacy, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaking with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi for the second time. Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 19:32 IST News world Iran Shuts Hormuz Strait For US, Israel And West But Not China. What About India? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Govt does not receive signals from EU about possible reduction of support due to Middle East wars Svyrydenko Photo: https://t.me/svyrydenkoy Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko says the government has not received any signals from European partners regarding a possible reduction in support due to the wars in the Middle East. "As for the Ukraine Facility or other European Union programs, we have not received any signals from our European partners. Our task at home is to adopt the necessary laws and Cabinet resolutions in order to receive the required funding," Svyrydenko said at a briefing following a meeting on Thursday, answering a question about the risks that the war in Iran could weaken EU support for Ukraine. As reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concerns about the consequences of the war in the Middle East, in particular possible limitations in the supply of air defense systems and rising global energy prices. Iranian Drones Hit Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Airport, Terrifying Footage Shows Impact Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:54 IST Two civilians were injured in the attack, raising fears of further regional escalation. Iranian Drones Hit Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Airport Amid Regional Escalation Videos from Azerbaijans Nakhchivan International Airport emerged on Thursday amid reports of an Iranian strike, as missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell on the airports territory, according to Reuters citing government sources. BREAKING: Iranian drones hit Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan pic.twitter.com/U9eBBt7XVI BNO News Live (@BNODesk) March 5, 2026 Two civilians were injured in the attack, raising fears of further regional escalation. Nakhchivan International Airport is located roughly 10 km (6 miles) from the Iranian border. Officials said one drone crashed into the airport terminal building, while another struck near a school building in the village of Shakarabad. We strongly condemn these drone attacks from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran," authorities said, adding that the strike damaged airport infrastructure and injured civilians, calling it a violation of international law that risks increasing regional tensions. A fire broke out following the incident, as per reports. It remains unclear how many missiles and drones were involved. Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 14:43 IST News world Iranian Drones Hit Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Airport, Terrifying Footage Shows Impact Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Iranian Naval Vessel Near Sri Lanka Seeks Urgent Port Call, Day After US Submarine Sank IRIS Dena Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 16:18 IST On Wednesday, a US submarine intercepted and torpedoed Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean- some 2,000 nautical miles from Iran. A second Iranian naval vessel has appeared in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone. A day after a US submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in Sri Lankan waters, a second Iranian naval vessel has now appeared in the island nations Exclusive Economic Zone and has formally requested an urgent port call, Sri Lankan MP Namal Rajapaksa said. It has been brought to our notice that another Iranian vessel is in Sri Lankas Exclusive Economic Zone, just outside our territorial waters and has sought the governments permission to make an urgent port call. However it is yet awaiting the governments clearance," Rajapaksa wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Sri Lankas Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa separately confirmed the presence of a second Iranian warship just outside Sri Lankan waters, though he offered no further details about the vessel or the circumstances of its request. What Happened To IRIS Dena The urgency of the second vessels request is inseparable from the fate of the IRIS Dena. On Wednesday, a US submarine intercepted and torpedoed the Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean- some 2,000 nautical miles from Iran- killing at least 87 sailors. The IRIS Dena had been returning from a military exercise held at Visakhapatnam in India when it was struck. Sri Lankan authorities rescued 32 sailors during subsequent search operations, but several others remain missing at sea and are presumed dead. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed the American attack, describing the destruction of the Iranian warship as a huge win" for Washington. America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Under the direct command of President Trump, the War Department unleashed this operation," Hegseth said, adding that the US would ensure success in its joint operation with Israel. Sri Lankas Concern Sri Lankan MP Rajapaksa noted that the sinking of IRIS Dena also raises concerns for India, given the proximity of the incident to Indian waters and the fact that the vessel had been participating in a naval exercise at an Indian port. Location : Sri Lanka First Published: March 05, 2026, 16:18 IST News world Iranian Naval Vessel Near Sri Lanka Seeks Urgent Port Call, Day After US Submarine Sank IRIS Dena Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... IRIS Dena Sinking In Indian Ocean: How Do International Waters Differ From Territorial And EEZ? Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:06 IST Iran insisted the IRIS Dena was in international waters when it was struck, though geographical reports place the wreckage well within Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone Rapid Read The IRIS Dena, which was returning to Iran after an Indian naval exercise off Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, was torpedoed by an American submarine in an unprecedented military escalation on March 4, 2026. (Image: AFP/File) What many described as the Iran conflict now in Indias backyard, the sinking of Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean has become a significant flashpoint in the ongoing West Asia conflict. The IRIS Dena, which was returning to Iran after an Indian naval exercise off Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, was torpedoed by an American submarine in an unprecedented military escalation on Wednesday (March 4). This encounter represents the first time since World War II that the United States used a torpedo to sink an enemy vessel, which resulted in a devastating loss of life and triggered a complex search-and-rescue mission led by the Sri Lankan Navy. While Iranian officials reported approximately 130 people were on board, Sri Lankan authorities estimated the figure to be closer to 180. Follow US-Israel-Iran War Live Updates Here The Sri Lankan Navy recovered 87 bodies while 32 survivors were treated for injuries in Galle. Defence Secretary of the US, Lloyd Austin reportedly described the torpedo strike as a quiet death". Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the strike as an illegal atrocity at sea", saying the IRIS Dena was a guest of Indias Navy" and was attacked without warning in international waters. Araghchi issued a warning to the US, saying Washington will bitterly regret" the precedent set by this action. The situation remains volatile as a second Iranian vessel, the IRIS Bushehr, carrying at least 300 crew and cadets, was spotted just outside Sri Lankan waters. This prompted emergency meetings between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and top officials over Irans request for the ship to enter the safety of the islands jurisdiction. But, what does this mean? It is essential to examine how maritime boundaries are defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They are best understood as a gradient where a countrys control diminishes the further one travels from the shore. ALSO READ | New Shield At Sea: Will US Start Insuring Indias Oil Lifeline After Torpedoing Iranian Ship? WHAT ARE TERRITORIAL WATERS? Known as the sovereign zone", territorial waters form the most restrictive maritime zone extending up to 12 nautical miles (approximately 22 km) from a nations baseline. Under international law, this area is considered an extension of the countrys land territory. The coastal state possesses full jurisdiction over the water column, seabed, and airspace above it. Within these waters, foreign vessels are granted the right of innocent passage", which means they may transit through the area provided they do not stop, fish, spy, or conduct military exercises. A critical rule for submerged vessels is that submarines must travel on the surface and clearly display their national flag when passing through another nations territorial waters. In the case of the IRIS Dena, it was noted that the ship sank approximately 19 nautical miles off the coast of Galle placing it outside Sri Lankas territorial waters but within its broader economic jurisdiction. ALSO READ | A War Too Close To Home: Why US Sinking Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena Matters To India WHAT IS AN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE? Known as the resource zone", the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends from the 12-nautical-mile limit of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles (approximately 370 km). Unlike territorial waters, a coastal state does not own" the EEZ in a sovereign sense. Rather, it holds sovereign rights" specifically over the resources within that zone. This includes the sole right to fish, extract oil and gas, or build offshore wind farms. The legal status of the EEZ regarding military activity is often a point of international contention. While the coastal state controls the resources, foreign ships and aircraft enjoy freedom of navigation" and overflight. They do not require permission to sail through the EEZ, provided they do not exploit the local resources. The IRIS Dena sank within Sri Lankas EEZ, specifically within the Contiguous Zone a 12 to 24-nautical-mile buffer where a state can enforce laws regarding customs, taxation, and immigration. ALSO READ | Shadow War Hits Indian Ocean As Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena Sunk Off Sri Lankan Coast | Exclusive WHAT ARE INTERNATIONAL WATERS? Referred to as the high seas", any maritime area beyond the 200-nautical-mile EEZ is classified as international waters. This vast expanse is legally defined as the common heritage of mankind" and belongs to no single nation. No country can claim any part of the high seas as its own. In international waters, ships are subject only to the laws of the country whose flag they fly a concept known as flag state" jurisdiction. While anyone is free to fish, lay submarine cables, or conduct scientific research, the International Seabed Authority regulates mining on the ocean floor to prevent environmental damage. ALSO READ | IranIsrael War Rages On But What Happens To Thousands Stuck On Cruises? Iranian officials have insisted the IRIS Dena was in international waters when it was struck, though geographical reports place the wreckage 19 nautical miles from the Sri Lankan coast, well within the island nations EEZ. First Published: March 05, 2026, 21:49 IST News world IRIS Dena Sinking In Indian Ocean: How Do International Waters Differ From Territorial And EEZ? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... IRIS Dena Was Indian Navy's Guest, Hit Without Warning: Iran Warns US Will Regret Strike Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:42 IST The warship had participated in the MILAN naval exercise organised by India in the Bay of Bengal between February 18 and 25. By sinking the vessel on its homeward transit, the United States has effectively declared that international waters are no longer a neutral sanctuary for Iranian assets. (File image) Iran Navy Ship Destroyed: Irans Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday has warned that the United States will bitterly regret" its action after a US submarine struck an Iranian naval vessel near Sri Lanka. Iran Israel War News Today Live In a post on X, Araghchi said the United States had carried out an atrocity at sea" far from Irans shores. He stated that the frigate Dena, carrying nearly 130 sailors and a guest of the Indian Navy, was attacked in international waters without warning. The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Irans shores.Frigate Dena, a guest of Indias Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set. pic.twitter.com/cxYiI9BLUk Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 5, 2026 Iranian warship sunk in Indian Ocean The Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena was sunk in the early hours of March 4, about 40 nautical miles south of Galle, Sri Lanka. The incident marks the first major naval casualty of the US-Israel-Iran war in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean, signalling what intelligence sources described as a dangerous spillover into Indias maritime region. The vessel was returning home using a standard westward route after taking part in Indias MILAN 2026 multinational naval exercise and International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam weeks earlier. Submarine torpedo attack reported Sri Lankan Navy and Defence Ministry sources described the incident as a classic submarine torpedo attack. Distress calls between 5:08 am and 5:30 am local time reported a massive underwater explosion that caused severe hull damage and rapid flooding. The ship disappeared from radar and sank within minutes. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine carried out the strike, saying the warship was sunk by a torpedo. Hospital authorities in Galle said 87 bodies were brought ashore by rescuers responding to the distress call. Another 32 sailors were rescued and taken to hospital, while about 60 people remained unaccounted for from an estimated 180 on board. Sri Lanka launched a search-and-rescue operation after receiving the emergency signal. Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said rescue teams found survivors floating in the water and provided assistance despite the incident occurring outside Sri Lankan waters. Bodies were transported in batches to Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, where they were moved to the morgue. Survivors, including the ships commander and senior officers, told Sri Lankan authorities the vessel had been hit by a submarine attack. Indian naval exercise The warship had participated in the MILAN naval exercise organised by India in the Bay of Bengal between February 18 and 25. The Indian Navy had earlier welcomed IRIS Dena to Visakhapatnam, describing the visit as reflecting long-standing cultural links between India and Iran. The sinking occurred hundreds of miles from the Gulf region, where US and Israeli forces are conducting strikes on Iran while Tehran continues missile and drone retaliation. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 11:50 IST News world IRIS Dena Was Indian Navy's Guest, Hit Without Warning: Iran Warns US Will Regret Strike Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Worlds Second-Largest Shipping Firm Maersk Suspends Cargo Bookings Across West Asia Amid War Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 02:35 IST Maersk has halted cargo bookings to several West Asian ports due to war disruptions. Affected ports include UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, most of Oman, and two in Saudi. Rapid Read Maersk cited regional conflict and personnel safety as it suspended cargo bookings across West Asia, signalling growing disruption to global trade routes. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Maersk, the worlds second-largest container shipping company that handles a significant share of global trade, said it has suspended cargo bookings to and from several ports in the West Asia region as the ongoing war begins to disrupt global shipping routes. The company on Wednesday said it will no longer accept cargo bookings involving ports in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, most of Oman and two ports in Saudi Arabia, according to a report by Barrons. However, the suspension will not apply to shipments of critical food supplies, medicines and other essential goods, which will continue to move through the region. Maersk said the decision was part of operational measures aimed at protecting personnel and safeguarding cargo amid the escalating conflict. We are taking operational measures to ensure the safety of our personnel, safeguard your cargo and maintain service stability across affected trades in the Middle East," the company said in a statement accessed by Barrons. Maersk had earlier announced that it would reroute vessels bound for the Suez Canal around the southern tip of Africa and suspend all vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz as tensions escalate in the region. The changes mean ships travelling between Asia and Europe may now take longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope, adding time and cost to global shipping, the news agency said in its report. Financial markets also reacted to the development. Shares of Maersk traded in Denmark fell nearly 2% on Wednesday following the announcement. The disruption comes as insurance providers pause coverage for vessels operating in parts of the Gulf amid the intensifying conflict. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, as concerns mount over energy supply disruptions. Location : Copenhagen, Denmark First Published: March 05, 2026, 02:15 IST News world Worlds Second-Largest Shipping Firm Maersk Suspends Cargo Bookings Across West Asia Amid War Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Meloni Says No Discussion With US On Use Of Italy's Military Bases Amid West Asia Crisis Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:53 IST Italian PM Giorgia Meloni said there had been no talks with the US on the use of Italy's military facilities. US President Donald Trump and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (AFP file photo) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there have been no discussions or formal requests from the United States regarding the use of the countrys military facilities. PM Meloni stated Italy intends to send defensive aid to the Gulf as geopolitical tensions rise following the coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent retaliation by Tehran. Earlier, Australias PM Anthony Albanese said military assets have been deployed to the Middle East as part of contingency planning." The remarks come as unrest ripples through West Asia with the US-Israel war on Iran escalating after recent strikes and retaliatory threats. Conflicts Widen In Middle East The conflict in the region continues to widen, with missile and drone exchanges, sending West Asia into one of its most volatile crises in decades. Iran directed fresh missile attacks towards Israel, while Jerusalem struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. A US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, marking a dramatic escalation in the sea. In retaliation, the Iranian forces struck a US tanker in the Gulf, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Iranian state media said the US ship is currently on fire. However, the casualties are yet to be ascertained. Irans Warning To US, Israel On Thursday, Iranian state television aired a message from an ayatollah in Iran, calling for the shedding" of blood from US President Donald Trump and Israelis. The message came from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli. We are now on the verge of a great test and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance," he said in the statement. The cleric also called for the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trumps blood." On February 28, Israel and the United States started coordinated attacks against Iran, amid stalled negotiations over Tehrans nuclear programme. Location : Rome, Italy First Published: March 05, 2026, 13:53 IST News world Meloni Says No Discussion With US On Use Of Italy's Military Bases Amid West Asia Crisis Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Middle' Of Where And 'East' Of What? How The Middle East Got Its Name Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 14:20 IST What does the term Middle East really mean and who decided it? The answer lies buried in history, where maps were drawn not just by geography, but by power and perspective Rapid Read The continued use of Middle East illustrates how colonial-era language still influences modern thinking and global discourse. At present, headlines around the world are dominated by the US-Israel and Iran war. In the midst of such coverage, one term appears repeatedly Middle East. It is used in news reports, academic texts and diplomatic discussions almost every day. Yet few pause to consider what the phrase truly means. Whose middle is being referred to? And east of where? Although the term sounds neutral and geographical, its origins are deeply rooted in the colonial era, when the British Empire shaped global narratives and maps according to its own strategic interests. A Colonial-Era Invention The term Middle East was first used in 1902 by American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. Writing about British geopolitical interests, he described the region between India and the Persian Gulf, the latter being the historical name associated with Iran, as the Middle East. Crucially, his viewpoint was centred on Europe. At the time, the world was commonly divided into three broad zones: the Near East (referring largely to the Balkans and territories of the Ottoman Empire), the Middle East (the area between India and the Persian Gulf), and the Far East (including countries such as China and Japan). Each of these labels was based on distance from London, effectively placing Europe at the centre of the world map. Geography Or Imperial Strategy? As the British Empire expanded across continents, it required convenient terminology to classify its vast territories. Regions such as Egypt were grouped under the Middle East because they lay east of London, though not as distant as the Far East of Asia. Meanwhile, British India was sometimes described as part of the Far East due to its considerable distance from Europe. These designations were far from neutral. They were shaped by imperial trade routes, naval power and strategic interests rather than by cultural or geographical realities. After World War I: A Broader Usage Following the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, several new nations emerged across West Asia. During this transitional period, British and American officials began using Middle East more widely in diplomatic and military contexts. The phrase gradually became a convenient umbrella term for policy-making and strategic planning. However, its boundaries were never clearly defined. Even today, there is ongoing debate about whether countries such as Iran, Turkey or parts of North Africa should be included within the Middle East. A Region Reduced To Stereotypes Over time, the term has acquired layered meanings. In global media, it is often associated with oil reserves, armed conflict, political instability and war. Yet geographically, the region stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf and encompasses a vast mosaic of histories, languages, religions and cultures. Many scholars argue that the label Middle East compresses this diversity into a single, oversimplified category. Europe At The Centre The common thread linking Near East, Middle East and Far East is the assumption that Europe is the central reference point. Interestingly, if one looks westwards from London, no one refers to territories across the Atlantic as the Middle West. The terminology reveals a distinctly Eurocentric worldview. The continued use of Middle East illustrates how colonial-era language still influences modern thinking and global discourse. Calls For Alternative Terms In recent decades, some academics and policymakers have preferred expressions such as West Asia or North Africa. These alternatives are considered more geographically precise and less centred on Europe. Despite this, Middle East remains the dominant term in diplomacy, journalism and everyday speech. Replacing it would not merely involve changing vocabulary; it would require re-examining who has the authority to name regions and from which perspective. More Than Just A Direction In essence, Middle East is not a natural directional term like north or south. It is a concept born out of empire, history and strategy. The region is middle only if the map begins from Europe. The next time the term appears on your screen, it is worth remembering that it represents more than geography; it carries the legacy of colonial power and historical perspective. First Published: March 05, 2026, 14:20 IST News world 'Middle' Of Where And 'East' Of What? How The Middle East Got Its Name Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:29 IST A voter gets her finger marked after casting her ballots to vote at a polling station during Nepal's parliamentary election in Kathmandu on March 5, 2026. (AFP) Nepal Election 2026 Live Updates: Voting has begun in Nepal, marking the countrys first election since last years massive Gen Z-led protests that toppled the government and resulted in the deaths of at least 77 people. The polls are set to replace the interim administration led by Sushila Karki, which has been steering the Himalayan nation through a turbulent political transition. Authorities have tightened security as citizens head to the ballot in what is being seen as a crucial test for Nepals democratic stability. The election is widely viewed as a major test for Nepals political old guard, who have dominated the Himalayan nations leadership for more than a decade Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, KP Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist) (CPN-UML), and Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). Voters will choose 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, with 165 lawmakers elected directly under the first-past-the-post system and the remaining 110 seats allocated through proportional representation. Pentagon Preparing For Prolonged US-Israeli War On Iran That Could Last Till September: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 23:24 IST The US Central Command has asked the Pentagon to send more intelligence officers to Florida, underscoring that the US was unprepared to deal with a prolonged war with Iran. Rapid Read Iran has launched waves of missile attacks in the Gulf in retaliation to the US-Israeli attacks on Feb 28. (Reuters) The US Department of Defence is scrambling to increase the number of troops gathering intelligence for operations in West Asia as Washington prepares for the war with Iran that could last till September, according to reports. The US Central Command has asked the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September, according to a report by Politico. According to the report, this was the first known call for additional intelligence personnel by the Trump administration and a sign that the Pentagon is already allocating funding for operations that may last longer than US President Donald Trumps four-week timeline. Earlier this week, Trump suggested the military campaign might last four to five weeks but warned it could go far longer than that." However, the rapid effort to mobilise more personnel and resources is a sign that the United States was unprepared for the war on Iran, which it launched in coordination with Israel. What weve seen is a completely ad hoc operation where it appeared that nobody actually understood or believed that military action was imminent," Gerald Feierstein, a former senior US diplomat with experience in West Asian affairs, told Politico. It seems like they woke up on Saturday morning and decided that they were going to start a war." ALSO READ: Theyre Wasting Their Time: Trump Says He Must Be Involved In Picking Irans Next Leader The Pentagon is also trying to ship more air defences to the region, especially smaller, less expensive counter-drone systems that the department has been developing over the last several years, a US official said. The official said most of the US counter-drones have not been used so far, and American forces are yet to face a drone threat. The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, targeting Tehrans security infrastructure and killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with other top officials. However, American and Israeli officials have not yet articulated a clear end goal for the operation. On the other hand, Iran has retaliated by firing on US and other targets across the Gulf. At least six US troops died at a port in Kuwait, raising questions about whether their facility had been fortified well enough against the apparent drone strike. As per an earlier Politico report, senior advisers to Trump preferred Israel strike Iran first before the United States launched its own assault. However, the plan failed, drawing Washington directly in the war. Meanwhile, the US State Department is adding resources to evacuate stranded Americans in the region, accompanied by additional staffing in Greece. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the president had told regional leaders that we expect their help" in getting Americans home. Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:24 IST News world Pentagon Preparing For Prolonged US-Israeli War On Iran That Could Last Till September: Report Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... What Is The Shahed Drone? How Iran's $20,000 Weapon Is Cruising Past $4 Million US Missiles Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 20:41 IST Nicknamed "lawnmower" of the skies due to its unpleasant sound, the Shahed-136 drone is a loitering munition designed for one-way "suicide" missions Rapid Read The Shahed-136 loitering munition system was developed by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation, or HESA. (Image: AP/File) Irans Shahed kamikaze" drones, which roughly cost between USD 20,000 and USD 50,000, have presented a strategic quandary amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia this weapon built from cheap, commercial electronics is currently extracting a heavy cost from sophisticated western air defence systems. As Iran launches swarms of Shahed drones, the United States, Israel and their allies find themselves expending multimillion dollar interceptors to neutralise targets that cost little more than a family car. The result: a disparity leading to a rapid depletion of western stockpiles. While traditional air defences were designed to intercept ballistic missiles, the flying moped" sound of the Shahed-136 is now synonymous with a new kind of warfare that prioritises quantity and cost-effectiveness over technological complexity. Follow US-Israel-Iran War Live Updates Here LAWNMOWER OF THE SKIES FOR ONE-WAY MISSIONS Nicknamed the lawnmower" of the skies due to its unpleasant sound, the Shahed-136 often designated as the Geran-2 by Russian military is a loitering munition designed for one-way suicide" missions. Despite its impact, the drone is surprisingly simple. It is a delta-wing aircraft approximately 3.5 metres long with a 2.5-metre wingspan, weighing around 200 kg. Inside, the technology is largely off-the-shelf" powered by a four-cylinder, two-stroke MD-550 piston engine an Iranian reverse-engineered version of a German civilian engine that drives a wooden pusher-propeller. For navigation, it uses a combination of civilian GPS/GLONASS and an inertial navigation system (INS) often pre-programmed with coordinates before launch. Watch how the Shahed drone works: How Shahed-136 Kamakazi Drone Works? pic.twitter.com/svAVOnN8AL Engineering Explained (@Engineering67) March 5, 2026 The Shahed, however, has seen significant upgrades between 2024 and 2026. Newer versions feature Nasir" anti-jamming modules and even commercial 4G/LTE modems to receive mid-flight path corrections. The drone is launched from simple rails, often mounted on the back of civilian trucks using a rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) booster that is jettisoned once the piston engine takes over. Carrying a warhead of 30 kg to 50 kg, it can fly at low altitudes to evade radar before entering a steep terminal dive onto its target. But, most importantly, each aircraft unit is estimated to cost only $20,000 to $50,000. WHY IS THE WEST WORRIED ABOUT ITS ARSENAL? The true threat of the Shahed-136 is found in the math challenge" it presents to modern air defences. This is because the US and allied forces are frequently forced to use Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles, costing roughly $4 million each, to destroy a single $20,000 drone. In some instances, even more expensive THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) interceptors, which cost approximately $12 million per missile, are being used. Watch the successful intercept of an Iranian Shahed-136 one way attack drone somewhere over Israel. pic.twitter.com/KvZ6hwyZHx OSINT Aggregator (@AggregateOsint) June 14, 2025 This disparity creates a missile math" crisis as Iran has the industrial capacity to produce roughly 10,000 drones per month, the Centre for Information Resilience, which is a non-profit research group funded by Britains Foreign Office, said as reported by Reuters. In contrast, US stockpiles of high-end interceptors are believed to be dangerously low due to competing priorities in Ukraine, the Red Sea, and the Indo-Pacific. During a 12-day war in June 2025 alone, the US and Israel reportedly consumed a quarter of the entire US inventory of THAAD interceptors. Hence, this imbalance leaves critical strategic assets vulnerable. Irans primary objective to close the Strait of Hormuz a narrow chokepoint through which a fifth of the worlds crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes now realised, shipping has already ground to a near halt after strikes on six vessels causing Brent crude prices to jump 12 percent and European natural gas benchmarks to rise by 50 percent in a single week. Iran is not going to fold easily or quickly, they have the means to make it unsafe for commercial traffic to flow through Hormuz," Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, was quoted by Reuters. The US is prioritising attacking Irans munitions, bases and facilities that threaten the Strait. But all Iran has to do is show they can hit a few tankers and concern will take care of the rest, folks just wont go through." WHAT IS THE US RESPONSE? The US has attempted to degrade Irans capabilities through strikes on munitions, bases, and facilities, but concerns over a prolonged war of attrition persist. The American military has begun deploying LUCAS (Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System), a reverse-engineered version of the Shahed drone, against Iranian targets in Operation Epic Fury. But, high-ranking officials remain wary. According to a CNN report, during a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine acknowledged that the drones pose a bigger problem than anticipated". Because they fly low and slow", they are more adept at evading air defences than traditional ballistic missiles. Senator Mark Kelly warned lawmakers that the US does not have an unlimited supply of munitions. At some pointthis becomes a math problem and how can we resupply air defence munitions?" he was quoted. While some Republican senators, such as Tommy Tuberville, said the conflict could be wrapped up in three to five weeks, others, like Senator Josh Hawley, described the situation as very open-ended". House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed concern over the lack of a clear end date for what he termed a war of choice". Theres no explanation as to what actually prompted the decision to pursue this war of choice, in the absence of any evidence that there was an imminent threat to the United States of America or American interests in the region," Jeffries was quoted. HOW ARE THE GULF STATES POSITIONED? A significant factor in Irans recent success is the lack of low-cost defence infrastructure in the Gulf compared to battle-tested regions like Ukraine, where Russia has relentlessly deployed Iran-made Shahed drones. In Ukraine, the territory is protected by a multi-layered system including acoustic detection and anti-drone aircraft that can down Shaheds at a minimal cost. Theres nothing at all like that in the Gulf countries," a European industry source noted, adding that the lessons observed in Ukraine have not been learnt", as per AFP. Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are relying on expensive systems like NASAMS, Avenger, and the Coyote anti-drone system. This has led to significant disruptions. Iranian drones have successfully struck Amazon data centres, Dubai International Airport, and the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia. In an effort to bridge this gap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to swap Ukraines cheap drone interceptors for the Gulfs PAC-3 missiles, saying his countrys technology will better protect the region from Shahed attacks. Without such a shift, the Gulf remains exposed to Irans strategy of ramping up pressure on US allies to force an end to the war. ALSO READ | Decoding Khameneis Fail-Safe Contingency: The Four-Layered Plan For Iranian Regimes Survival | Exclusive WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? Irans ability to mass-produce these simple drones poses a long-term strategic challenge that transcends traditional military superiority. The Shahed-136 is a tool for a war of attrition aimed at exhausting the enemys resources. As Steve Feldstein of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace observed, the drones are a meaningful way for the regime to impose costs against its adversaries". Even if the US and its allies succeed in degrading Irans long-range missile launchers, the drones remain harder to target because they do not require large, visible launch platforms. With an estimated stockpile of 80,000 drones, Iran can likely sustain attacks on oil infrastructure and commercial shipping for an extended period, regardless of the fate of its senior leadership. This shift toward low-cost, high-volume warfare shows that the era of relying solely on expensive, sophisticated interceptors may be coming to a close as the missile math" continues to favour the drone. (With agency inputs) Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 19:59 IST News world What Is The Shahed Drone? How Iran's $20,000 Weapon Is Cruising Past $4 Million US Missiles Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Kyiv expecting Budapest to confirm that those released from captivity will be given complete freedom to choose their place of residence Acting Charge d'Affaires of the Hungarian Embassy in Ukraine was summoned to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, March 5, in connection with the transfer of several Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian captivity to Hungary without any prior notification or coordination with Ukraine. "On March 5, the acting charge d'affaires of the Hungarian Embassy in Ukraine was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Ukrainian side emphasized the inadmissibility of publicity stunts and the politicization of sensitive issues in connection with the transfer of several Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian captivity to Hungary without any prior notification or coordination with Ukraine," the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "We expect a prompt response from the Hungarian side and official confirmation that these individuals will be granted complete freedom to choose their place of residence and future plans," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted. It is noted that the return of people from captivity is an absolute priority for Ukraine, as evidenced by the return of 200 military personnel today as part of exchanges. Work on this is ongoing at all possible venues and with all partners who can facilitate the release of Ukrainian military personnel and civilian hostages, regardless of their ethnic origin. "The Ukrainian side reiterated its demand that returned service members be provided with the opportunity to contact Ukrainian consular officials for health checks, consular assistance, and the ability to freely determine their future without external pressure or coercion," the message reads. As reported, on Wednesday, March 4, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned Moscow and Budapest's manipulation of the prisoner issue and announced that it would invite the Hungarian charge d'affaires to obtain reliable information. It was reported that Ukraine had not received any information from Hungary regarding the specific individuals allegedly handed over by Russia to Hungary as prisoners of war. The Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow and Budapest are using the prisoners of war as part of a "political PR stunt" ahead of the Hungarian elections. The Foreign Ministry also stated that Ukraine would also request access to the returned individuals. Earlier, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced his decision to release two individuals of Hungarian descent held captive by the Russian army. This was reported by the Kremlin press service following a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Sri Lanka To Take Control Of Iranian Ship IRIS Bushehr After US Torpedoed IRIS Dena Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:56 IST Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced the government will take charge of the Iranian vessel Iris Bushehr and its crew. The IRIS Dena, which was returning to Iran after an Indian naval exercise off Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, was torpedoed by an American submarine in an unprecedented military escalation on March 4, 2026. (Image: AFP/File) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday announced that the government will formally take charge of the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr and its crew, following days of discussions with relevant authorities, diplomatic missions and the ships captain. The President said the vessel, reported to Sri Lankas Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 4, had requested permission to enter a Sri Lankan port either on the 4th or 5th. He further said that the Sri Lanka Navy vessels have already approached Iris Bushehr and the work is on to offload personnel. He said that 208 individuals are prepared to be brought ashore: 53 officers, 84 cadet officers, 48 senior sailors and 21 sailors. Follow for live updates The President said this transfer will take place after all required preparations are complete to ensure the safe landing of all personnel. This comes a day after a US submarine intercepted and torpedoed the Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean- some 2,000 nautical miles from Iran- killing at least 87 sailors. The IRIS Dena had been returning from a military exercise held at Visakhapatnam in India when it was struck. Also Read: IRIS Dena Sinking In Indian Ocean: How Do International Waters Differ From Territorial And EEZ? Sri Lankan authorities rescued 32 sailors during subsequent search operations, but several others remain missing at sea and are presumed dead. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed the American attack, describing the destruction of the Iranian warship as a huge win" for Washington. On Thursday, News1st quoted the Sri Lankan President saying this was not a routine situation, as the ship belongs to one party of an ongoing conflict, requiring Sri Lanka to proceed strictly according to international obligations. We cannot act hastily. We must work based on international agreements and commitments. Both parties need to reach an understanding," he said. He further said that the Sri Lankan authorities held continuous discussions with the crew, the ships captain, and the Iranian Embassy, which kept the Iranian government informed throughout the process. Although the vessel remained near the Colombo Port area, the President pointed out that Colombo is the countrys primary commercial harbour, and detaining such a vessel there might disrupt the maritime industry. He added that the vessel will be taken to the Trincomalee Port area. Location : Sri Lanka First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:39 IST News world Sri Lanka To Take Control Of Iranian Ship IRIS Bushehr After US Torpedoed IRIS Dena Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Strived To Avoid War: Iran Tells Neighbours US, Israel Left It No Choice As It Strikes Gulf Cities Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 00:33 IST President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was forced to respond after US-Israel strikes as Gulf states intercept drones and missiles across the region. Rapid Read Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told neighbouring Gulf states that Tehran respects their sovereignty and believes regional security should be ensured collectively by countries in the region, even as Iranian missile and drone strikes spread across the Gulf. In a message addressed to heads of friendly and neighbouring states", Pezeshkian said Iran had attempted to avoid war through diplomacy but had been forced to defend itself following what he described as American-Zionist military aggression". We have strived alongside you and through diplomacy to avoid war, but the American-Zionist military aggression has left us no choice but to defend ourselves," Pezeshkian said in a statement posted on X. We respect your sovereignty, and we believe that the security and stability of the region must be achieved through the collective efforts of its states," he added. The message appeared aimed at Gulf countries that have come under Iranian drone and missile attacks since the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran. Qatar Urges Iran To Halt Attacks Pezeshkians message came as Qatar urged Tehran to stop the attacks targeting Gulf states. Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during which he called for an immediate halt" to the strikes, according to a statement from Qatars foreign ministry. https://t.co/6s6dYepSmv Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) March 4, 2026 The Qatari leader accused Tehran of attempting to drag neighbouring countries into a war that is not theirs". He also said Iranian missiles had struck civilian and residential areas in Qatar, despite Araghchi maintaining that the attacks were aimed at American interests rather than the Qatari state, AFP reported. Drone And Missile Attacks Reported Across Gulf Several Gulf states have reported intercepting Iranian drones and missiles as the conflict enters its fifth day. The United Arab Emirates said its air defence systems intercepted three ballistic missiles and detected 129 drones, of which 121 were shot down, the defence ministry said. Eight drones fell on UAE territory, though authorities did not immediately provide details about damage. In Qatar, the military said its air defences intercepted 10 drones and two cruise missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday. Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone targeting the massive Ras Tanura refinery on the kingdoms eastern Gulf coast. The Saudi defence ministry said the drone attack caused no damage, though operations at the facility had earlier been disrupted by another strike that triggered a fire. Security sources in Iraq also reported that two drones were shot down near Baghdad International Airport, which hosts a military base and a US diplomatic facility. Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 00:26 IST News world Strived To Avoid War: Iran Tells Neighbours US, Israel Left It No Choice As It Strikes Gulf Cities Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'They Took Out The Eyes!': How Iranian Attack On 5,000 Km Range Ballistic Radar Has 'Blinded' US Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 10:05 IST Built as part of the Upgraded Early Warning Radar programme, the system can track ballistic missiles & other aerial threats at distances of up to 5,000 km, providing early warning Rapid Read Confirming the damage to the critical infrastructure of the US military forces, satellite images obtained by Planet Labs showed signs of damage and firefighting efforts around the location. (X) The damage to a critical US early warning radar system in Qatar, costing around $1.1 billion, by Iranian strikes has resulted in a major blow to the missile defence systems of the US military forces in the region, which could render them blind to potential missile strikes. Confirming the damage to the critical infrastructure of the US military forces, satellite images obtained by Planet Labs showed signs of damage and firefighting efforts around the location of the US Space Forces AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System, which is the largest operated by the US military forces in the Middle East. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs has now confirmed claims made by a number of Iranian-affiliated channels over the last few days, that an Iranian one-way attack drone, or other projectile, was able to successful impact and significantly damage the U.S. Space Forces AN/FPS-132 pic.twitter.com/9w2OmMMEex OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 4, 2026 While the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described it as a precision missile strike", other sources indicated that a low-cost, one-way attack drone, possibly of the Shahed type, may have breached the defences in the midst of a saturated attack of missiles and drones. ALSO READ | Missile Math: How Weapons Shortages Could Shape The Israel-Iran War All About The Radar System Built by Raytheon as part of the Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) programme, the system can track ballistic missiles and other aerial threats at distances of up to 5,000 km, providing early warning of launches across the Middle East. Its location in Qatar allows the radar to cover a number of key strategic regions, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, parts of Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean. Because of its range, the radar is a key node in a US missile defence system that integrates systems such as THAAD, Patriot missile defence batteries, and warships equipped with Aegis systems. It detects missile launches in good time and provides crucial minutes for defence against missile attacks, which can make all the difference between a successful intercept and a missed opportunity. What Experts Say Experts claim that the consequences are not limited to a destroyed facility. In a conversation on X, retired US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor, a former Pentagon adviser, discussed the importance of the destroyed installation when he said: They took out the eyes." ALSO READ | High Costs, Depleting Arms: Pentagon Warns US Missile Stocks May Run Low If Iran War Lasts 10 More Days Geopolitics expert Brian Allen discussed the potential fallout of the strike, saying that it might have strategic consequences for the US military presence in the region. He described the destroyed radar installation as the backbone of all US missile defence in the Gulf" and warned that parts of the defensive network might now be operating blind". The attack, he said, underscores the nature of modern warfare, in which air defence systems must counter every threat, whereas the attacker only needs a single missile to strike a valuable target. HOLY HELLLLLLL: Iran just took out a $1.1 billion radar at the most fortified US base in the Middle East with a single missile.THIS IS BAD!!! That radar was the backbone of ALL US missile defense in the Gulf. Every Patriot. Every THAAD. Now operating blind. Qatar pic.twitter.com/Sp4YQYj0Rz Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) March 4, 2026 Military analysts note that while the United States operates a global network of sensors, including satellites and other radars, the loss or degradation of a strategic system like the AN/FPS-132 could still create gaps in regional coverage. Because such large fixed radars are difficult to replace quickly, any damage could temporarily weaken surveillance and missile-tracking capability in a region that hosts critical US bases and key global energy routes. Aside from this, strategic security experts have also pointed out the cost factor of the asset that was damaged. According to estimates compiled based on defence data, the radar system is the most expensive piece of equipment reportedly damaged during the early stages of the conflict. As the system is part of the US ballistic missile warning system in the Gulf, the attack on the system may reportedly cause difficulties in the coordination of the THAAD missile defence system, as well as the Patriot missile system, which depends on data provided by the radar system. As quoted by TurDef, experts say that the attack on the system proves that Iran can target key components of the US missile defence system, which may cause changes in the deployment of surveillance assets in the region. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Qatar First Published: March 05, 2026, 09:58 IST News world 'They Took Out The Eyes!': How Iranian Attack On 5,000 Km Range Ballistic Radar Has 'Blinded' US Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'They're Wasting Their Time': Trump Says He Must Be Involved In Picking Iran's Next Leader Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 22:27 IST Donald Trump acknowledged that Khamenei's son was the likely successor, but called this outcome unacceptable and demanded to be personally involved in the selection. Rapid Read US President Donald Trump US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he needs to be personally involved in selecting Irans next leader just like he was in Venezuela after joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Khamenei, is the most likely successor, but made it clear that he finds the outcome unacceptable. They are wasting their time. Khameneis son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," he said. Trump also emphasised that he refuses to accept a new Iranian leader who would continue Khameneis policies, which he said would force the US back to war in five years." Khameneis son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," he told Axios. His remarks came after Israel attacked the Iranian building in Qom housing the clerical body responsible for selecting Irans next supreme leader on Tuesday. Khamenei was assassinated on February 28 in joint US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran. Following his death, Irans Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the countrys new supreme leader, according to several reports. Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A mid-ranking cleric and behind-the-scenes power broker, he managed his fathers office, maintained close IRGC ties from the Iran-Iraq War era, and influenced security and military coordination without holding formal public roles. READ MORE: Mojtaba Khamenei The Next Supreme Leader Of Iran? Who Is He? How Is The Head Picked? Explained Khameneis body was due to lie in state in a Tehran prayer hall from Wednesday evening to launch three days of mourning. However, the memorial expected to draw many thousands of mourners to the streets was abruptly and indefinitely postponed shortly before it was due to begin. Announcing the younger Khamenei as successor during a mourning period would allow him to take power while his fathers followers were on the streets, rallying support and making it more difficult for any opponents to mount a challenge. Israel has said it would consider any replacement for Khamenei, who continued hostile policies, an immediate target to be killed. Earlier, Donald Trump indicated that the White House had considered multiple candidates for leadership but noted that some are now deceased. He suggested that a leader from within Iran might be more suitable, saying, If theres such a person, but we have people like that. We have people more moderate." Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 22:02 IST News world 'They're Wasting Their Time': Trump Says He Must Be Involved In Picking Iran's Next Leader Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Trump Is Bombing Iran Without A War Declaration. Can A US President Get Away With It? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 17:52 IST With the Senate having declined to restrict his authority, Trump retains full discretion over the scope and continuation of US military operations against Iran. Rapid Read US President Donald Trump. (AFP file photo) American bombs have fallen on Tehran. An Iranian warship has been sunk in the Indian Ocean. And yet, at no point has the United States Congress formally declared war. On Wednesday, the Republican-led Senate rejected a resolution that sought to restrict US President Donald Trumps ability to carry out further military action against Iran. The vote was 47-53, falling short of the simple majority needed to even move the resolution to the Senate floor. US Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who introduced the resolution, wanted Congress to force the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorised by a declaration of war or a specific authorisation for use of military force." Read more: Decoding Irans Multi-Layered War Machine As Tehrans Conflict With US-Israel Enters Day 6 | Exclusive It failed and that failure has revived one of the oldest and most consequential debates in American democracy: who actually has the power to take the United States to war? What US Constitution Says? The answer the US Constitution gives is that Article I, Section 8 explicitly grants Congress, not the President, the power to declare war but Article II simultaneously makes the President the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Constitution, in other words, splits war powers down the middle- Congress declares war, the President fights it. That division has been the source of conflict between the two branches ever since. When Did US Congress Last Declare War? In 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbour. The United States has not issued a formal declaration of war since the Second World War- despite fighting major conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and now Iran. Every military engagement in the eight decades since has been conducted under a presidential order, a broadly-worded congressional authorisation or a claimed executive emergency power. Read more: Blackout For 5 Days And Counting: Why Iran Is Threatening Anyone Who Tries To Get Online This means that American presidents have been going to war without formal declarations for over eighty years. Trump is not doing something new- he is following a pattern that has become the default. Can US Congress Actually Stop Trump? In theory, yes through two mechanisms. The first is cutting off funding. Congress controls the federal budget and can, in principle, defund a military operation. The second is passing a war powers resolution of the kind Kaine introduced this week. But as Wednesdays vote showed, both paths require political will that is nearly impossible to assemble when one party controls the White House and the Senate. Even if a resolution cleared both chambers, the President could veto it. Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate- a threshold that is virtually unreachable. What Happens Now? With the Senate having declined to restrict his authority, Trump retains full discretion over the scope and continuation of US military operations against Iran. The administration has framed the campaign- conducted alongside Israel under Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion- as a legitimate exercise of presidential war powers. Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 17:52 IST News world Trump Is Bombing Iran Without A War Declaration. Can A US President Get Away With It? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Two Missing Indian Sailors Die Days After Skylight Tanker Hit By Iranian Missiles: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 13:40 IST The oil tanker with 15 Indian nationals and 5 Iranian seafarers on board was hit by an Iranian missile on March 1. Smoke billows from the oil tanker that was hit off Oman's Musandam peninsula. (Image: X) Two missing Indian sailors have been killed in an attack on an oil tanker Skylight in the Gulf of Oman amid escalating tensions between US-Israel and Iran. The two have been identified as Captain Ashish Kumar from Bihar and crew member Dalip Singh from Rajasthan, NDTV reported on Thursday. However, News18 can not independently verify the claims. The Palau-flagged oil tanker, with 15 Indian nationals and 5 Iranian seafarers on board, was struck off Omans Musandam Peninsula in an attack that followed drone strikes on the countrys Duqm port. The Maritime Security Centre announces that the oil tanker (SKYLIGHT), flying the flag of the Republic of (Palau), was targeted 5 nautical miles north of Khasab Port in the Musandam Governorate, and all crew members of the tanker, consisting of 20 individuals including 15 holding Indian nationality and 5 of Iranian nationalityhave been evacuated," Omans Maritime Security Centre (MSC) said. Skylight was included on the US government sanctions list in December of 2025. Two Bodies Recovered The bones of two people have been recovered; the bodies were burnt in the attack. Ashishs bones were recovered from the captains cabin, reported NDTV, citing information provided by the government. Ashishs family reported that they received the news of his death via email late last night. Until yesterday, we considered him missing, but today the news of his death has devastated the entire family," they said. Meanwhile, Dalip Singh, a resident of Khinwatana village in Rajasthans Nagaur, began his duty on January 22 and was serving as a crew member on the tanker. Tensions In Middle East The development came after Iran in an explicit warning stated that the Strait of Hormuz was closed and it will fire on any ship trying to pass. The strait (of Hormuz) is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze," Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the Guards commander-in-chief, had said in remarks carried by state media. The strait is the worlds most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Location : Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:32 IST News world Two Missing Indian Sailors Die Days After Skylight Tanker Hit By Iranian Missiles: Report Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US Closes Embassy In Kuwait After Retaliatory Iranian Attacks, Urges Citizens To Leave Country Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 01:36 IST At least six American troops have been killed in an Iranian attack at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, as Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on US and Israeli facilities in the region. Rapid Read Smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the area where the US Embassy is located in Kuwait City. (AFP) The US State Department on Thursday (local time) announced that the suspension of operations at the American Embassy in Kuwait after missile attacks by Iran in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on February 28. Today, the Department of State announced the suspension of operations at US Embassy Kuwait City. While there have been no reported injuries to US personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the US Department of State," the department said in a statement. Track LIVE Updates on US-Israel-Iran War here The Department of State said the travel advisory for Kuwait remained at Level 3: Reconsider Travel. US citizens in Kuwait should depart the country, if they can do so safely, using commercial or other available transportation options. US citizens unable to depart should shelter in place," it added. Today, the Department of State announced the suspension of operations at U.S. Embassy Kuwait City.While there have been no reported injuries to U.S. personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the U.S. Department of State. The Travel Advisory for pic.twitter.com/4IkmDi6y7h ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 This came after Kuwait came under Iranian missile and drone attacks, which killed two Kuwaiti troops. At least six American troops have been killed in an Iranian attack at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbour that acts as a logistics hub through which the US military ships tactical vehicles and supplies into the region. An additional 18 service members were wounded in the strike. The six US service members killed in an Iranian drone attack over the weekend were working in a tactical operations centre in Kuwait that offered little protection from overhead strikes, the Washington Post reported, citing satellite images and experts. The building that came under attack possessed limited defences able to protect it from a ballistic missile or drone strike", according to Sean OConnor, a satellite imagery analyst with Janes. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the strike that killed the service members hit a tactical operation centre that was fortified," but there was one" projectile that made it through air defences. Hegseth and President Donald Trump have both said that more casualties are likely. Earlier, the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called the Kuwaiti foreign minister to express condolences for the deaths of at least two Kuwaiti troops in Iranian retaliatory strikes. Location : Kuwait First Published: March 06, 2026, 01:27 IST News world US Closes Embassy In Kuwait After Retaliatory Iranian Attacks, Urges Citizens To Leave Country Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US-Israel-Iran War: 37 Indian-Flagged Vessels Stranded In Strait Of Hormuz, Rs 100 Bn Assets At Risk Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 18:53 IST Iran took control of the Strait of Hormuz after the US-Israeli attacks, which choked vital Middle East oil and gas flows and caused oil prices to spike. Rapid Read The Strait of Hormuz remained paralysed on Thursday, disrupting global energy flows. (Reuters) As the war between US-Israel and Iran entered its sixth day on Thursday, at least 37 Indian-flagged vessels are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and shipping assets worth over Rs 100 billion are exposed to security risks, according to Indian shipowners. FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES The Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) has written a letter to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, seeking urgent government intervention as the vessels are caught in a blocked style closure", reported Khaleej Times. It said several tankers are loaded with crude oil or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) headed to Indian ports. The association said about 85% of Indias LPG imports are through the strait and any disruption could create problems in India. The INSA also sought clarification from the government about reports claiming Chinese and Iranian ships still pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused confusion among Indian ship operators INSA also said three Indian tankers have been attacked since the conflict began on February 28. One Indian-flagged vessel narrowly escaped a missile attack, which landed just a mile away. INSA CEO Anil Devli also informed that about 400 Indians are also aboard oil tankers and gas carriers in the Strait of Hormuz. This came as the Strait of Hormuz remained paralysed on Thursday after Iran said it would take control of the vital trade route in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on February 28. This move choked off vital Middle East oil and gas flows, and caused a spike in oil prices. ALSO READ: US Attacks Iran Today: US Defends Iran Strike, Says Tehran Wont Control Oil-Critical Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the worlds oil passes. Tankers transiting the strait, bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Iran. Most of that oil goes to Asia. The war has impacted agricultural supply to over 50 million people in the Gulf region, which imports over 90% of its food. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he ordered the US development finance arm to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Gulf at a very reasonable price." About 3,200 ships, about 4% of global ship tonnage, are idle inside the Persian Gulf, according to estimates by Clarksons Research, which tracks shipping data. Yet that includes about 1,231 ships that likely only operate within the Gulf. Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 18:39 IST News world US-Israel-Iran War: 37 Indian-Flagged Vessels Stranded In Strait Of Hormuz, Rs 100 Bn Assets At Risk Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 23:43 IST US-Israel-Iran War News Today Highlights: The conflict between Israel, Iran and the United States entered its seventh day on Friday after Israeli forces announced a next phase in the conflict and carried out air strikes on Beiruts southern suburbs, news agency AFP reported. What began as a joint US-Israel strike that killed Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has rapidly escalated into a widening military confrontation marked by missile barrages, air strikes, naval incidents and political divisions in Washington. Explosions were also heard in Doha and Manama on Thursday. Qatar said that it evacuated residents from the vicinity of the US embassy amid intensifying tensions between the US, Israel and Iran, which have also spilled over to the West Asia region. The evacuation came after reports of Qatar shooting down Iranian bombers that targeted a US military base there. Follow Dubai News LIVE Updates Khamenei, 86, was killed in the coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Sunday. The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, as negotiations over Tehrans nuclear programme faltered with the West Asia plunging into a renewed military conflict. Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 09:30 IST Firefighters extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beiruts southern suburbs. (Image: AFP) US Iran Israel War News News Today: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told neighbouring Gulf states that Tehran had strived to avoid war but was forced to defend itself after what he called American-Zionist military aggression, adding that Iran respects the sovereignty of regional countries and believes security should be ensured collectively by states in the region. His remarks came as Iranian drones and missiles struck across the Gulf, with the UAE intercepting three ballistic missiles and 121 drones, while Qatar shot down 10 drones and two cruise missiles. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone targeting the Ras Tanura oil refinery, and two drones were also downed near Baghdad airport, signalling the conflicts widening footprint. The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes that killed Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has begun rippling beyond the region. Flights across the Gulf have been disrupted, wealthy residents are fleeing Dubai, energy markets are rattled, and the conflict is even affecting Ukraine peace talks and global oil politics. Follow for live updates on US Israel Attacks On Iran Today. Photo: @V_Zelenskiy_official Telegram Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the situation around Iran and challenges in the oil and fuel market caused by the actions of the Iranian regime. "We also exchanged details of our contacts with leaders of countries currently under attack from Iran. There must be closer coordination in Europe regarding the overall situation," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Thursday. At the same time, the Italian government's press service reported that the sides exchanged views on the process of achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and on the next steps that need to be taken, also in light of the current developments related to the crisis in the Middle East. "The leaders of the two countries confirmed that, especially at this stage, it is important that European and American partners remain united in their views and recognize Europe's contribution to the peace process, the outcome of which affects fundamental European interests and is crucial for the stability and security of the continent," the Italian government said in a statement. According to Zelenskyy, they also discussed the need for the decision on the EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine to finally become operational. "These are funds that must guarantee our resilience in defending against Russian aggression and are effectively secured by frozen Russian assets," the president said. In addition, the sides discussed the situation surrounding the Paralympic Games. "Once again this year, such international committees are making unprincipled decisions. I thank Giorgia for the shared position on this issue and for all the assistance, including energy support during the winter and Italy's decision to continue helping Ukraine this year," Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, the Italian government's press service reported that President Zelenskyy took the opportunity to once again thank Italy for sending emergency supplies to support Ukraine's energy sector. "In conclusion, the prime minister reaffirmed Italy's closeness to the Ukrainian people, assuring that Italy will continue to play a leading role in the country's reconstruction process," the statement reads. US Senate Backs Trump On Iran Strikes, Rejects Resolution To Limit His War Powers Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 07:45 IST Republican senators rejected the resolution that would have required the Trump administration to seek congressional approval before continuing military action against Iran. US President Donald Trump (Image Courtesy: AP) The US Senate voted down a War Powers resolution on Wednesday aimed at limiting President Donald Trumps military action, Operation Epic Fury, against Iran, with the measure failing 47-53 on mostly party lines. Republican senators rejected the resolution that would have required the Trump administration to seek congressional approval before continuing military action against Iran. Senate Republicans closed ranks behind President Trump, dealing him a crucial political victory by defeating a Democratic-led resolution intended to rein in his military actions in Iran. The resolution was brought by Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., to limit Trumps military actions against Iran. Only Senator Rand Paul voted in favour of the resolution, while Jon Fetterman was the lone Democrat to cross the aisle in support of a move that helped the GOP defeat the measure. Democrats argued that Trumps actions were another instance of him disregarding Congresss authority to use military force, that they lacked a clear strategy going forward, and, further, that they were yet another campaign promise he had broken, Fox News reported. Its time for the President to keep promises, not break them," Kaine said ahead of the vote. According to Fox News, Democrats also seized on the administrations refusal to rule out sending US troops into Iran. They refuse to take off the table the insertion of ground troops," said Senator Chris Murphy, warning the conflict could expand beyond air and naval operations. Sen. Josh Hawley, who previously supported a resolution to rein in Trumps war powers in Venezuela, said he would oppose the latest effort. Meanwhile, Republicans countered that the President acted within his constitutional authority as commander in chief. Senator Lindsey Graham called the War Powers Act an unconstitutional shift of authority from the President," arguing Congress retains the ability to restrict funding if it disagrees with military action. The conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf nations and other Israeli assets across the region. Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 06:49 IST News world US Senate Backs Trump On Iran Strikes, Rejects Resolution To Limit His War Powers Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US Tests Nuclear-Capable Doomsday Ballistic Missile As Iran War Escalates Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 11:46 IST The US tested the Minuteman III missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The unarmed missile hit its target near the Marshall Islands, verifying its readiness. Rapid Read US launched the unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. (Pic: https://www.spaceforce.mil/) US Iran War News Today: The United States on Tuesday night tested a doomsday ballistic missile off the California coast amid the raging war in West Asia. US Israel Iran War News Live Updates The Minuteman III ballistic missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara at 11 pm on Tuesday. The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which are 20 times more powerful than the atomic bombs which were dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. According to the US Space Force, the unarmed rocket called GT 254 was able to hit its intended target near the Marshall Islands in the west-central Pacific Ocean. According to the Air Force Global Strike Command, the missile was fired to verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy". [It] allowed us to assess the performance of individual components of the missile system," said Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, in a press release. By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile] fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nations nuclear triad," he added. Also Read: They Took Out The Eyes!: How Iranian Attack On 5,000 Km Range Ballistic Radar Has Blinded US The test launch comes days after the United States and Israel carried out strikes on Iran that killed the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at his compound in Tehran, triggering a wider conflict in the region. US President Donald Trump later warned that Washington would intensify military action against Iran, saying the big one is coming". However, the Air Force Global Strike Command said Tuesdays launch was a routine test that had been scheduled years in advance and was not linked to current geopolitical developments. The LGM-30G Minuteman III is a key component of the US nuclear triad the countrys strategic deterrence system that allows nuclear weapons to be delivered from land, sea and air. The missiles are housed in underground silos across the western United States and are designed to ensure a retaliatory strike capability in the event of a nuclear attack. A Minuteman III was also test-launched in November after Trump called for restarting nuclear weapons testing. According to the US Air Force, the missile has a range of about 6,000 miles and can travel at speeds exceeding 15,000 miles per hour, enabling it to strike targets across the globe. Iran War Enters Sixth Day As the war entered its sixth day, Iran on Thursday launched a fresh wave of missiles toward Israel, forcing millions to rush into bomb shelters as air raid sirens sounded across major cities. The barrage came hours after efforts in the United States Senate to curb Washingtons air campaign against Iran were blocked. Also See: Why US Sinking Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena Matters To India Republican lawmakers voted down a resolution that sought to halt the strikes and require explicit congressional approval for further military action. As missile exchanges intensify, naval tensions rise, and diplomatic efforts struggle to gain traction, the conflict shows little sign of easing even as Washington signals the continued readiness of its strategic deterrent forces. Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 10:42 IST News world US Tests Nuclear-Capable Doomsday Ballistic Missile As Iran War Escalates Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Hit By Iranian Missiles Near Strait Of Hormuz, Tehran Says Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2026, 00:09 IST Iran claimed the missiles of IRGC Navy targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln while it was operating near the Strait of Hormuz, although it did not provide any evidence of the strike. Rapid Read USS Abraham Lincoln. (Reuters) Iran on Thursday claimed that the missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy struck the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln near the Strait of Hormuz as it approached the area from the Gulf of Oman. FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, quoted by Tehran Times, said the aircraft carrier was targeted by missiles while it was operating 340 km from Irans maritime borders near the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran has presented no evidence to support its claims. The spokesperson said that the attack prompted the vessel and its accompanying destroyers to withdraw rapidly from the area. The spokesperson claimed the ships fled at high speed and have since moved more than 1,000 km away from the location. The US military has responded to the claim so far. The United States military has previously rejected similar Iranian statements about attacks on the carrier, saying the missiles or drones involved did not come close to hitting the vessel. Iran launched hundreds of missiles across the region, targeting USS Abraham Lincoln and other US and Israeli facilities, in retaliation for the joint strikes on February 28 that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials. ALSO READ: Iran Shuts Hormuz Strait For US, Israel And West But Not China. What About India? Earlier, Iranian state media reported that four ballistic missiles were fired toward the carrier. However, the US Central Command stated that the missiles did not come close to the vessel, which continues operating in the area. The carrier was sent to the Gulf in the end of January as part of what President Donald Trump called an armada" which was moved to the region just in case" as tensions spiked over Irans crackdown on those protesting about the countrys economy. This came after a dramatic escalation into the war between US-Israel and Iran, after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people. A Sri Lankan official identified the boat as the frigate IRIS Dena, saying it had been heading back to Iran from India. Local authorities said 32 people had been rescued while 87 bodies had been recovered. About 60 sailors were unaccounted for from the estimated 180-strong crew. Watch more videos Share this Article WhatsApp facebook Twitter telegram copy link (with inputs from agencies) Location : Tehran, Iran First Published: March 05, 2026, 23:43 IST News world USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Hit By Iranian Missiles Near Strait Of Hormuz, Tehran Says Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... We Are With You: US Tells Israel To 'Keep Going Until The End' As Iran War Intensifies Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 12:49 IST Pete Hegseth said additional American forces were being deployed to West Asia as the conflict deepens and concerns grow over civilian casualties caused by US-Israeli strikes. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (AP) Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz spoke overnight with United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as fighting between the US, Israel and Iran continued to escalate. According to Israels defence ministry, Hegseth thanked Katz for Israels condolences following the deaths of six US soldiers. During the conversation, Hegseth told his Israeli counterpart, Keep going to the end we are with you." More US forces heading to West Asia Hegseth said additional American forces were being deployed to West Asia as the conflict deepens and concerns grow over civilian casualties caused by US-Israeli strikes. Speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday, he said the military campaign against Iran was just getting started". We are accelerating, not decelerating," Hegseth told reporters, adding that more bombers and fighter aircraft were arriving in the region. Large-scale weapons deployment The US defence secretary said American forces would use a nearly unlimited" supply of bombs weighing 226kg (500lb), 453kg (1,000lb) and 900kg (2,000lb). He said the United States and Israel would sow death and destruction from the sky, all day long". Conflict enters sixth day Hegseths remarks came as the US-Israel war against Iran entered its sixth day. At least 1,045 people have been killed across Iran since Saturday as the conflict continues to intensify. Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:49 IST News world We Are With You: US Tells Israel To 'Keep Going Until The End' As Iran War Intensifies Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... West Asia War: How Are Sunni Muslims Different From Shia Muslims? Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 18:34 IST Despite sharing the same core beliefs about Islam, Sunni and Shia Muslims differ over who should have led the Muslim community after the death of Prophet Muhammad Rapid Read According to sources, around 85-90% of Muslims worldwide are Sunni, while 10-15% belong to the Shia community. (AI Image) The escalating war in West Asia triggered by the US-Israel strikes against Iran has once again drawn global attention to the geopolitical and sectarian dynamics within the Muslim world. Irans counter-attacks on targets in the Middle East, including areas where US military facilities are located, have intensified discussions around the political role of Iran and its influence across the region. These developments have also revived public debate about the historical differences between the two major branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia. Islam today is the worlds second-largest religion. An estimated 1.9 billion people follow Islam globally, and this number is projected to grow to around 2.2 billion by 2030. The Muslim world spans roughly 57 Muslim-majority countries, with some nations having populations that are almost entirely Muslim. Despite political tensions, it is important to note that Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same fundamental beliefs of Islam. Both communities believe in one Allah, regard the Quran as the holy book, and accept Prophet Muhammad as the final messenger. The core religious practices like prayer, fasting during Ramadan, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca, are common to both groups. However, historical interpretations regarding leadership after the death of Prophet Muhammad led to the development of the two traditions. According to widely cited estimates, including reports from organisations such as the BBC and the Pew Research Centre, around 85-90% of Muslims worldwide are Sunni, while 10-15% belong to the Shia community. Countries where Shia Muslims form a majority include Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain, while countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia and India have large Sunni populations. Origins of the Shia-Sunni Divide The roots of the SunniShia divide go back to 632 CE, after the death of Prophet Muhammad, who was born around 570 CE in Mecca into the Quraysh tribe. Following his passing, the Muslim community faced the question of who should lead the rapidly expanding Muslim society. A large group of the Prophets companions believed that the leader, known as the Caliph, should be chosen through consultation among the community. Through this process, Abu Bakr, one of the Prophets closest companions and father-in-law, was selected as the first Caliph. He was followed by Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and later Ali ibn Abi Talib. Sunni Muslims regard these four leaders as the Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliphs, believing they led the early Muslim community according to the Prophets teachings and traditions. Abu Bakr, who ruled from 632 to 634 CE, played a crucial role in stabilising the early Muslim state and in the early efforts to preserve the Quranic text. The Shia Perspective Another group within the early Muslim community believed that leadership should remain within the Prophets family (Ahl al-Bayt). They held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophets cousin and son-in-law, had been designated as his rightful successor. Those who supported Ali came to be known as Shiat Ali, meaning the supporters of Ali. Over time, this term evolved into Shia. For Shia Muslims, Ali is regarded as the first Imam, a divinely guided leader of the Muslim community. Many Shia Muslims, particularly the Twelver Shia, the largest Shia group, recognise a lineage of 12 Imams, beginning with Ali and including his sons Hasan and Husayn. Husayns martyrdom at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE holds deep religious significance in Shia tradition and is commemorated during the mourning period of Muharram. Religious Practices and Differences Although Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same core beliefs, certain religious practices and interpretations differ. These include variations in Hadith traditions (recorded sayings of the Prophet), jurisprudence, prayer practices, and rituals commemorating historical events such as Karbala. For example, Shia Muslims observe extended mourning rituals during Muharram to honour the sacrifice of Husayn, while Sunni Muslims also respect Husayn but generally commemorate the event in different ways. At its core, the SunniShia distinction originated from differing views on who should lead the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad. Sunnis historically emphasised selection based on consensus and leadership ability, while Shia Muslims emphasised leadership through the Prophets family lineage. First Published: March 05, 2026, 18:34 IST News world West Asia War: How Are Sunni Muslims Different From Shia Muslims? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... West Asia War Triggers Aviation Chaos: Over 23,000 Flights Cancelled, Emirates, Lufthansa Hit Hard Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 12:08 IST Thousands of passengers remain stranded across the Gulf, with many forced to take longer and more expensive routes to reach operational airports in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Rapid Read Emirates A380s parked on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport (DXB). (Image Courtesy: twocontinents(dot)com) The ongoing war in Iran is creating major financial and logistical challenges for the global aviation industry, with more than 23,000 flights to Middle East hubs canceled since the conflict began. Over half of the 36,000 flights scheduled to or from the region since February 28 have been called off, affecting roughly 4.4 million seats. Thousands of passengers remain stranded across the Gulf, with many forced to take longer and more expensive routes to reach operational airports in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Several airlines have announced changes to their regional flight schedules. Air India is adding extra services to meet growing demand. Between March 5 and 11, it will operate three additional flights between Delhi and Toronto. From March 7 to 10, the airline will add three flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, along with one extra DelhiParis service. On March 5, Air India will also operate flights from Delhi and Mumbai via Jeddah. The airline said it is evaluating the possibility of adding more flights beyond March 11 to accommodate high demand and cover routes affected by canceled Middle East carrier services. Emirates, the worlds largest international airline extended the suspension of flights to and from Dubai through March 7. Emirates has canceled over 2,000 flights since Saturday, marking one of the most severe disruptions in the airlines history, known for its 24/7 operations and reliability. While the carrier has resumed limited flights to evacuate people from Dubai, regular commercial services remain suspended. Qatar Airways extended its service halts into Friday. The United Arab Emirates is setting up secure air corridors to accommodate up to 48 flights per hour, the economy ministry announced. Oman Air has canceled flights to and from Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad, and Khasab through March 6, according to a post on its X account. The airline also advised passengers traveling to Muscat to arrive at the airport at least 12 hours before departure due to expected congestion. All Lufthansa Group airlines have suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Jordan, Erbil, Iraq, and Tehran until March 8. The group will also avoid flying over the airspace of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam (Saudi Arabia), and Iran until the same date. Flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are suspended until March 6, with the UAE airspace also off-limits during that period. First Published: March 05, 2026, 12:08 IST News world West Asia War Triggers Aviation Chaos: Over 23,000 Flights Cancelled, Emirates, Lufthansa Hit Hard Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... White House Says Spain Has Agreed To Cooperate With US Military In Middle East, Madrid Denies Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2026, 05:51 IST The Spainish government's denial came minutes after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that it agreed to 'cooperate with the US military'. US President Donald Trump and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (File Photo) Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, a diplomatic dispute emerged between the United States and Spain on Wednesday after Washington claimed that Spain had agreed to cooperate with US operations. The disagreement began after the White House stated that Spain had agreed to support Washington by allowing US armed forces to use its bases for activities related to the situation in the region; however, the Spanish government quickly rejected the claim. The conflicting statements are set to create a diplomatic rift between the two allies during a sensitive period in the Middle East. White House spokesperson said that the Spanish government in Madrid had agreed to help the US in its operations in the Middle East. However, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares soon came out and outrightly denied the claim, clarifying Spains stance on the Middle East tensions. I can refute (the White House spokesperson)," Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, adding, The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota." The disagreement broke out on Tuesday when US President Donald Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Madrid, hours after the Spanish Prime Minister said that his government wouldnt be complicit in something that is bad for the world." White House Press Secretary On Spain Spains denial came minutes after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday (local time) said that it agreed to cooperate with the US military. I think they heard Trumps message yesterday loud and clear. They have agreed to cooperate with the US military. The US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain," Leavitt had said. And its my understanding over the past several hours, theyve agreed to cooperate with the US military," Leavitt had said. And so I know that the US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain." Trump Threatens, Spain Criticises Trump on Tuesday threatened Spain to cut off all trade with Spain", a day after Albares said that his government wouldnt allow the US to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the UN charter. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised the US and Israels military actions in Iran on Wednesday, standing firm against trade threats from Washington and warning that the war in the Middle East risked playing Russian roulette" with millions of lives. We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone," Sanchez said in a nationally televised address. Location : Spain First Published: March 05, 2026, 05:51 IST News world White House Says Spain Has Agreed To Cooperate With US Military In Middle East, Madrid Denies Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... There is an opportunity to reboot the ARMA, we just need to work acting head of the agency Yaroslava Maksymenko Interview with Yaroslava Maksymenko, Acting Head of the National Agency for the Detection, Tracing and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA), to the Interfax-Ukraine agency Authors: Mariia Boltryk, Dmytro Koshovyy Last year, a law on the reform of ARMA was adopted. What did this mean for you in 2025, what have you already managed to accomplish, what has not yet been completed, and what needs to be done this year? The reform of ARMA is aimed at rebooting the agencys system, the system of management of seized assets. In fact, this is a 100% reboot of the institution, aimed at streamlining procedures and ensuring transparency and openness of its activities. The reform covers a wide range of changes - these are not cosmetic adjustments, but large-scale regulatory and legal acts that form a fundamentally new architecture and logic of seized asset management. Different rules and different procedures are being established, the system is being freed from the subjective approach that existed before, and international cooperation is being strengthened, which will contribute to restoring trust in the institution. A separate important area of the reform is the creation and modernization of the register of seized assets. This involves not only systematic software work and database updates, but also the development of a full-fledged modern software product. We must develop a new ProZorro module, adapted to the new architecture introduced by the reform, which will provide separate algorithms for simple and complex assets. Within six months, we had to identify more than 100,000 assets, build new processes in line with the reform, and effectively rebuild the institutions management model. And all this in the context of a governance crisis, political turbulence, and inevitable resistance to change. What was the deadline for these changes? The deadline was January 30. Did you manage to complete everything that was required? We have restored the institutions governability and developed the regulatory and legal acts. The Council of Europe is conducting an audit of the register of seized assets - this is the foundation for its full modernization. In parallel, we are negotiating with international partners to support this work. Building a high-quality database, ensuring governability and proper structuring of assets is a key and most sensitive element of the reform, around which the greatest number of crisis issues arise. We are actively cooperating with SE ProZorro and electronic marketplaces to create the basic version of the module, while continuing its development in parallel. At the same time, we are in an active phase of organizational and HR restructuring of the institution in line with the new operational model. You mentioned more than 100,000 accounting units. Could you tell us a bit more about them? The initial identification, which we began in November 2025, showed that approximately 68.3% are assets that can potentially be managed; 10.7% require procedural follow-up; 21% are assets that have lost their investment attractiveness (devalued, destroyed, etc.); the rest are objects that currently cannot be managed. They are either located in occupied territories, destroyed, or have other circumstances that exclude the possibility of management. What can the audit of the register show you? The audit of the register should show to what extent the system actually fulfills the purpose for which ARMA was created - to find, trace, and recover assets to Ukraines economy. The management function is derivative. However, due to the fact that Ukraine has accumulated a huge number of seized assets over the past ten years, the effect of recovering them to the economy can be impressive. That is why it is important that the register functions properly. The speed of decision-making, the effectiveness of management, and ultimately the real economic result for the state depend on how structured, complete, and transparent the asset records are. And what about direct control, the availability of documents - how does asset identification take place? During asset identification, we must analyze not only its technical characteristics, but also its legal status, actual use, and the existence of restrictions. Historically, the system has functioned as follows: there is a court decision, and ARMA obtains physical control only at the moment of transferring the asset to a manager, in order to avoid bearing maintenance costs. The agency does not exercise actual management over all more than 100,000 assets. In practice, it looks like this: after a court decision, representatives travel to the site, conduct an inspection and documentation, sometimes using drones. However, complex legal situations often arise - for example, when there is a tenant or when restrictions apply only to disposal, but not to use. These legal nuances create the greatest amount of discussion, as ARMA is not the owner and must act strictly within the limits of the court decision in order to avoid abuse or accusations of exceeding its authority. So, would it be more logical to transfer the asset to ARMA after the court decision so that you could be responsible for it? Not exactly. Previously, the system worked in such a way that the asset was transferred after the court decision, and only then did we actually start working with it. The reform changes this logic: now it is first the seizure, then ARMAs site visit, assessment of the possibility of management, and only after that does the court make a decision on transfer. This is a classic asset recovery model that operates in other countries. However, there is an important difference - none of them has tens of thousands of assets simultaneously. In Ukraine, this is more than 100,000 accounting units, and such a scale requires a systemic and methodical approach. Therefore, the issue is not only about legal transfer, but about a thorough audit of the asset as a business object: technical condition, restrictions, actual use. Without this, effective management is impossible. Sometimes I even ask a rhetorical question: how many assets do the largest private funds in the world manage? Because the volume of assets within ARMA is not only a legal challenge, but also a managerial one. You mentioned that the new law divides all units, assets into simple and complex ones. Do you already have an approximate understanding of how many are simple and how many are complex? I would not provide such figures right now, but as part of the reform - and in line with the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber - the first step is to carry out asset identification and divide assets into simple and complex ones. At the same time, it is already clear that most of the assets that in 2025 were put up or prepared for management and did not result in successful competitions are precisely complex assets. Working with them requires a separate approach. There are also many simple assets - vehicles, apartments, small real estate properties. They are easier to single out and structure, and we plan to complete the primary accounting under the new logic in the near future. And can all simple assets go for sale? Simple assets can either be transferred for management or sold - the decision depends on their economic value and the type of asset. What part will be sold, and what part will remain under management? There has always been a question addressed to ARMA regarding what we sell and what remains under management. In my opinion, ARMA should not manage the number of assets it currently has. Because of this, most of the assets that have been under the agencys management for many years should be put up for sale and recovered to the economy. Assets that require investment and capital injection are more appropriate for sale rather than being held under management for years. Management should not substitute ownership or restrain the development of an asset. If an asset is partially destroyed and requires restoration, businesses are interested in purchasing and investing in it as owners. Investing funds in management, with the risk of losing the asset after the seizure ends, is economically unviable. A separate area concerns sanctioned and russian assets. It is advisable to expand the legislative possibilities for their sale, regardless of their form - whether real estate or corporate rights. Is this currently done based on a decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court? Currently, this involves recovery to state revenue based on a decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court, after which the assets are transferred to the State Property Fund of Ukraine. So, are you now inclined to believe that some simple assets could be put up for sale? They could be put up for sale. The proceeds could be placed on deposit or invested in domestic government bonds until the final court decision. In the event of a court decision to recover the asset, the funds would be recovered. We plan to initiate the relevant legislative amendments, but the key issue here is the clear definition of the legal status of the owner. Without unambiguous regulation of this aspect, the system of sale cannot operate stably and without risks. There were definitely conflicts between ARMA and the State Property Fund of Ukraine regarding this issue, even after a decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court - particularly concerning how to transfer the asset to the State Property Fund. To be honest, I did not see this as a conflict - rather, as procedural differences. Seized assets that are not objects of state ownership are managed by ARMA. ARMA cannot manage state-owned property in accordance with the Law. There is no dispute here. I proposed a model under which the management agreement would remain in force, with only the founder of the management changing - from ARMA to the State Property Fund - after the asset transitions into state ownership. Still, when do you expect that the audit of these 100,000 accounting units could approximately be completed? Does this task have a final deadline? We divided this work into several stages. We have already completed the first stage. We are currently going through the second stage - conducting an in-depth screening of the 68.3% of assets that we are able to manage, dividing them into simple and complex assets, real estate, land plots, and corporate rights. The most sensitive issue concerns real estate with actual users. If there is a tenant who is lawfully using the property, the question arises as to the appropriateness of management by ARMA and the limits of the agencys authority. This is consistent, routine work, and it has a clear planning horizon. However, due to the scale - over 100,000 accounting units - this is not a one-time decision, but a systemic process that requires time. At present, can a tenant, on general grounds, simply participate in the competition for managing this asset if they want to continue operating? You cannot legally grant them any priority directly? No. This is an important component. ARMA does not hold the title of owner. The agencys task is to preserve the economic value of the asset. If there is a lawful user, a complex legal issue of balance arises - between the execution of the court decision, the agencys powers, and the rights of such a user. It may seem that the adopted law does not resolve such issues? A law cannot resolve all issues instantly - it establishes a new framework. When I came to the institution and saw the scale of the work, it became clear that there were many complex, unregulated, or ambiguously interpreted provisions. That is precisely why the reform was necessary. A reform begins when the existing system is not functioning. But no reform eliminates all problems within five or six months. It sets the direction, the tools, and the new rules. The key point is that the reboot process has already been launched. This is felt by the market, within the institution, and externally. And it is natural that changes cause resistance - this is a normal sign. So, in six months, after this period expires, you will see how this law can be improved and propose relevant amendments? First, the system must start functioning. We will see the first practical results - and based on them, we will make decisions: whether the law or secondary legislation requires adjustment, or whether it is sufficient to continue moving in the established direction. In addition, an international audit has been launched, aimed at providing an external assessment of the system as a whole and offering recommendations, including potential changes. You are currently heading ARMA, but we remember that when this law was adopted, a key turning point was whether to liquidate ARMA altogether. Many Members of Parliament supported liquidation, and this was also discussed within the government. In your opinion, is there really a possibility to reboot the agency so that it performs the functions for which it was originally created? Of course, there is. We simply need to do the work. How many employees do you currently have, and is that enough to achieve the reforms goals? The maximum staff capacity is 300 people in the Central Office and 90 in the territorial bodies. As of today, neither the central office nor the territorial bodies are fully staffed. The reform requires strengthening human resources, particularly in analytical functions, internal security, control and audit, and monitoring. In fact, in order to restore trust in the agency, it is necessary to make the rules clear and simple, and the decisions public. An important area is internal security. This involves controlling the integrity of employees, processes, and managers to minimize conflicts of interest and ensure transparency of the systems operations. Regarding financial management, do you transfer anything directly to the budget? Is your task simply to preserve these assets? Can you purchase domestic government bonds? No, of course, we do contribute to the budget. Funds from the management of seized assets, recovered under court decisions, and customs duty compensations from the sale of uncustomed assets are transferred to the state budget. For 2025, the total amount of revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine generated by ARMA was approximately UAH 7.35 billion, while ARMAs operating expenses amounted to UAH 316 million for the year. This means that the agencys maintenance costs represent less than 5% of the revenue it generated. And are these UAH 7.35 billion including revenues from the domestic government bond portfolio, or are domestic government bonds accounted for separately? Domestic government bonds are accounted for separately. As of today, ARMAs portfolio of military bonds amounts to UAH 4.5 billion in hryvnia equivalent (UAH 3 billion, USD 32 million, and EUR 4 million). Previously, one of ARMAs important tasks was to find assets abroad. Is there enough capacity for that now? Were there any results last year? The international direction is one of the key areas of ARMAs work. We are systematically strengthening cooperation with INTERPOL, EUROPOL, and the CARIN (Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network), participating in international operations to find assets and joint asset recovery initiatives. ARMA is actively integrating into the international asset tracing and recovery community. We are developing direct working contacts with relevant agencies in other countries for operational information exchange and coordinated actions. This approach delivers practical results - both in terms of locating assets and in advancing procedures for their subsequent recovery to Ukraine. Are there already any concrete results? For the second year in a row, Ukraine ranks among the CARIN leaders in terms of the number of international requests. This shows that other countries are cooperating with us and that this cooperation is yielding results. Over the year, ARMA sent 639 requests and received 246 responses - twice as many as last year. We participated in international operations such as Oscar-Europol and in the pilot tool INTERPOL Silver Notice, processing over 80 requests from 27 jurisdictions, including countries outside Europe. Incidentally, working with countries outside Europe has yielded the best practical results - both in terms of working contacts and asset recovery outcomes. Regarding high-profile cases, there are currently signs of the discovery of Viktor Medvedchuks second yacht, Amore Mio. We are working on its identification and the international recovery procedure in cooperation with other jurisdictions. In addition, for some cases, we are already in the final phase of recovering funds to Ukraine. It is still too early to speak about the final result, but the international track shows tangible progress. Besides this yacht, are there any other significant cases? Yes. In the United States, real estate belonging to the family of a Ukrainian official was found, valued at $3.2 million. Real estate of another official was found for nearly $500,000. In Spain, shares in companies of a well-known politician worth over EUR 4 million were discovered. In Montenegro, 12 properties belonging to an official accused by the State Council were found, valued at EUR 12.9 million. In France, a politicians estate worth EUR 11 million, including a car and apartments, was found. And in Spain, another estate was found. Do you coordinate with NABU in this work, or does ARMA handle it independently? Exclusively in coordination with all law enforcement agencies, based on their requests and appeals. In 2025, the total number of such requests amounted to nearly 9,500. At the same time, ARMA actively works with international asset recovery organizations, tracing for assets outside Ukraine. This is one of the agencys key priorities: recovering what was taken out of the country is no less important than managing what has already been seized domestically. Has NABU become more active? Yes. In 2024, we received 27 requests from NABU regarding asset finding and tracing. In 2025, that number increased to nearly 100. Regarding one of the yachts of Viktor Medvedchuk, it's currently in Croatia, right? What are the legal procedures regarding that case, and why are they delaying the execution of the sale and the transfer of this asset? The arrest has lost its validity due to the expiration of the deadline. This happened in 2024, and to resume the sales procedure, we need to ensure the re-legalization of the arrest in Croatia. Only after that can we complete the selling process. The Prosecutor Generals Office is actively working on this. Do you have any timeframes for when this might happen? We are cautious about giving any specific timeframes because whenever we publicly fix deadlines, the opposing side activates procedural mechanisms to delay the case. The resistance is systemic: they use various tools like changing representatives, filing motions to extend deadlines, and other procedural actions, which essentially slow down the process. For this reason, when building communication about the cases, of course, I would like to say, Weve won everything, well list it and sell it, but, in reality, the legislative procedures will take time. About half a year, and thats under a rather optimistic forecast. If were talking about some particular timeframes, in February, we expect progress in this case. This will allow us to move forward, but we must work under the jurisdictions of four countries: Ukraine, Croatia, the Marshall Islands, and Malaysia. Among the cases you mentioned, are there any examples where the money that has already reached Ukraine has been returned? Previously, there were no such cases. Now, the efficient work that is moving forward in the administrative process (technically, not complicated) is happening in two jurisdictions. It will be completed within a clear timeline. So, for the first time, were reaching the final stage when money is being returned to Ukraine. This is a precedent that will be helpful for future cases. So, this year, we might have the first example where an asset found abroad will return to Ukraine. Yes, in the form of financial funds. What is the reason for ARMAs refusal to sign the protocol on the results of the auction for the sale of 460 hectares of land located in the Borzhava (the Borzhava meadow) to the auction winner? An indication of the connection between the involved parties and information about a potential conspiracy received from the law enforcement authorities. Did law enforcement authorities send you this information? We identified the signs of connection based on the tools and sources of information available to the agency within its authority. Eventually, the law enforcement and other state bodies also provided information about the signs of such a connection. Is there no mechanism in Prozorro to track such connections at the moment? In the future, how can this situation be prevented? What additional barriers exist? Previously, Prozorro did not have a separate mechanism for checking connections specifically for the selection procedures of asset managers. This particular case became a trigger for institutional changes. The procedure for selecting managers was updated at the beginning of February this year. The relevant changes were approved by the government in February this year, with the active participation of the Head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Anastasia Radina. So now, to sum up the information about this asset, will it be put up for auction again? Currently, this is an arrested asset, transferred to ARMA management (there is a valid court decision on the arrest and transfer to ARMA, and the owners have given consent for the sale). However, for further actions, the necessary procedural approvals must be obtained, including the position of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office as the prosecution party, and, also, considering the conditions of the criminal proceeding under which the realization of this asset is taking place. Has the auction status been canceled yet? The auction has not been canceled. Have any participants contested your actions? I believe the preparations are underway for an appeal. What is the status of the situation with the Morshyn Mineral Water Plant Oscar, as this story has been ongoing for several years? It has been four years, since 2022, when the assets were transferred to ARMA by court decision for management. Is it just the Oscar plant, or are there other assets involved? It is the IDS asset group, which includes 8 companies. Corporate rights, as well as arrested trademarks and industrial samples (which belong to the companies that are part of the mentioned group of arrested assets). This is the largest asset ever transferred under the management of ARMA. Last year, we put it up for auction. At the same time, the procedure was essentially blocked due to 12 identical complaints filed by structures affiliated with the plant. I want to highlight that, according to the law, structures affiliated with an arrested asset are not allowed to participate in the competition for asset management. However, despite the direct prohibition of participation, technical complaints were filed regarding the terms of the tender documentation, which led to the suspension of the procedure. In fact, this is about the use of procedural tools to block the implementation of the court's decision. ARMA reform law clearly states that all procedures that were not completed by January 30, 2026, will be terminated and must be reintroduced under new rules. Accordingly, within the framework of launching the reform and new procedures for selecting managers, this asset will also be re-listed for the competitive process according to the updated procedure. And if we take the situation with this asset, because it really draws a lot of attention, it has been like that for 4 years. And, maybe, it shouldn't be, and they should pay extra money for management. Because the case demonstrates that there is no particular result, only profit for law firms, and work for the courts. What is the point of this struggle? Here, we need to separate it into two parts. First, ARMA is executing the court's decision, as the agency does not make any decisions about whether to list or not list the asset, because it does not have such discretion. The court's decision is mandatory for execution, and there can be no selective approach here. There is no difference between Zakharchenko's house and the other arrested assets in terms of legal category and the assets of the IDS group. Second is the economic aspect. The task of ARMA is to preserve the economic value of the asset. According to the information we have, active resource withdrawal is taking place from the companies of the IDS group. We see signs of action that could lead to a decrease in the economic value of the arrested asset. And this directly contradicts the purpose of the arrest, such as to preserve the asset in a condition suitable for further judicial decision. In addition, measures are being taken to block the execution of the court's decision. A crime report has been filed with law enforcement. Currently, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine is considering the case regarding the possible seizure of this asset for the benefit of the state. The key question is: in what condition will the state receive this asset if the court makes a positive decision? Will its economic value production potential, financial resources, market position be preserved? Or will the state receive a formal asset from which resources have been withdrawn during this time? That is why for us it is crucial not to allow the devaluation of the arrested property until the final court decision. Because the seizure for the benefit of the state must mean a real economic result. I cannot comment on the timing of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine review this is within the jurisdiction of the court and the Ministry of Justice as a party in the process. The case is complex, with natural resistance, and the schedule of hearings is already planned until the summer in the first instance. This does not mean a quick decision, not to mention a possible appeal. According to the company's own data, the asset generates dividends, which are funds belonging to sanctioned individuals, and these funds could and should be working for the economy or the defense of Ukraine. For example, through military bonds. If the court rules for the return of the asset, the bonds are redeemed, and the funds are returned. This is a fair legal mechanism. However, if the blocking of court decisions continues, law enforcement authorities should respond. For our part, we are launching the procedures for complex assets: the government is forming a commission to select the manager, conditions are being approved, and the asset will be put up for competition. We are obliged to act within the law and ensure the preservation of economic value, regardless of the length of the judicial process. What other large objects could the agency offer for management? There are quite a few. These include the company Cryoin Engineering, the Betonbud Plant, and hotels in Odesa. This is for this year, right? So, can we expect it this year? Yes. The plan is that all assets that were listed last year and for various reasons did not conclude with a successful auction will be on the list under the new procedures. Now there is a tendency to lift arrests or usage bans. Is there a systemic connection here thats what law enforcement authorities should evaluate? But one thing is obvious: when the rules become stricter, and the possibility of following such a tendency disappears, the processes begin to move into a different legal dimension. When did this tendency start? Since December. It has become noticeably visible since then. Especially with those assets that were preparing for active management. From our management perspective, this creates a risk of losing the economic effect on the state. Our task is to document these circumstances and defend our position regarding the preservation of asset value within the legal framework. So now are these assets simply being managed and used? There are different situations. If it is about a bona fide user who acts legally and does not decrease the economic value of the asset, this is understandable and justified. But some cases raise questions. For example, when the lifting of restrictions or change of status occurs precisely at the moment of activating the management or realization of the arrested asset. You just can't do anything about it? We don't have control over this. We can express our position in court and provide an opinion on the possibility or impossibility of management. In the past, some of these issues were partially addressed by private bailiffs. There may be private companies in the market that will take these assets for management under a contract with you. This is exactly the focus of the ARMA reform. The logic is as follows: a pool of managers is formed, and there can be different entities ready to take on these assets and manage them under a simplified procedure. Could this be by the end of the year, when you give them these cases? Yes. I think we have already started the process, but the obvious results will be clearer closer to the end of the year. Have there been any significant sales recently? Yes, there have been significant sales. At the end of last year, an arrested vessel and wagons were sold. Regarding the wagons, some of them have already been sold, and some of them are still in the process of being sold. Are they hopper wagons? Various kinds of them. There are different situations: we transfer a pool of wagons for management, and part of them turn out to be destroyed or unsuitable for use. This shows that the actual condition of assets does not always match the formal documents. Each case in ARMA has its own history. Every asset has a title owner, an actual user, and there is almost always resistance and struggle for the property. Therefore, managing seized assets is not a technical procedure, but a complex legal and practical process where it is important to preserve the real economic value for the state. Do you plan to participate in the competitive selection for the next Head of ARMA? The conditions of the competition allow me to participate. The documents have been submitted. The reform has already started, but its most difficult stage is practical implementation. For me, it is a matter of responsibility for completing the reform, from modernizing the registry to fully launching the new model for selecting managers, as well as strengthening the work of returning assets from abroad to Ukraine. I am convinced that ARMA can be an effective part of the anti-corruption architecture if it works according to simple rules, without selectivity, with clear procedures and public decisions. What are the next steps? The plan that has been published includes submitting the documents, passing a test on legislation knowledge, checking general abilities, completing a practical assignment, a professional integrity check, and passing an interview. Do you currently have any deputy assistants? No. The management structure includes the head, three deputies, and department heads, but during the competitive selection period, objective turbulence arises. By law, after the new head is elected, the current deputies appointments are terminated. This creates a zone of uncertainty for the candidates: people are not ready to take key positions without knowing what the management configuration will look like after the competition ends. This affects not only the processes on the top level. When an institution undergoes transformation, some candidates hesitate due to the risks of change. At the same time, we are fundamentally strengthening the requirements for professionalism and integrity. Staff renewal is a complex but necessary process. What is the current status of the mechanism for using seized real estate assets to accommodate internally displaced people after the government approves the procedure in December 2025? Currently, working meetings are being held, and these issues are being discussed with the government. ARMA has provided proposals regarding assets under the agency's management that could potentially be used for this social purpose. At the same time, key issues remain the same: relocation of people in case the seizure of the asset is to be lifted; unification of the procedure for using seized assets for social purposes; ensuring a balance between the social function and the primary goal of preserving the economic value of the asset. We are also preparing and processing a set of objects that may be used for temporary accommodation, considering their technical condition, legal status, and maintenance costs. Is there already a list in progress? We have prepared a list of seized assets from which we propose to begin the practical implementation of the mechanism for using the property for the needs of internally displaced people or for temporary accommodation. This list was submitted for the consideration of the government yesterday. Currently, it includes four objectsthese are the assets that are advisable to start with, given their condition and legal circumstances. Where are these located? Kirovohrad region, Poltava region, Odesa, and Rivne. When do you plan to start the actual accommodation? Or are you still waiting for the governments decision? Actual settlement will be possible after the organizational and financial issues I mentioned earlier have been resolved and the government has made the appropriate decision. In an optimistic scenario, if all approvals are obtained without delay, we can expect to launch in the second quarter of this year. At the same time, we understand the processes: the reform, institutional transformations, and wartime. Therefore, we are adopting a realistic approach where, initially, it is important to launch the first objects, then test the mechanism in practice, and scale the overall model. Can you please clarify what kind of assets these are? Assets such as hotels, resorts, and there is also one residence house that we are trying to use. We are still working on the implementation model, but the most practical mechanism we see is one where part of the real estate can be reserved for temporary accommodation, while the management of the asset will be done on a commercial basis through an appointed manager. This approach allows us to combine the social function with the main goal of ARMA, such as the preservation of the economic value of the asset. We have a significant number of large real estate objects. It makes sense to consider a model where part of the real estate is allocated for social purposes, particularly for temporary accommodation. At the same time, the management of the asset could be done on a commercial basis, with the social function being implemented through cooperation between the manager and a state-owned enterprise. This approach allows us to combine economic feasibility with fulfilling the social mission without devaluing the asset. There was also a bill registered by the members of the Verkhovna Rada regarding the cases of directing seized assets for military needs, rehabilitation, or housing. What are your thoughts on this? I support initiatives aimed at addressing the social needs of military personnel, veterans, and internally displaced people. The state must use all available resources to support those in need. At the same time, it is important to understand that the legislation already allows for the use of seized assets for the needs of internally displaced people and veterans. The issue today is not so much the legal norm, but the mechanism for its implementation. The social goal and the seizure have different natures: the seizure is a temporary procedural measure, while social use requires predictability and stability. That is why we have proposed developing mechanisms that minimize risks, specifically the model of partial use or combining it with a commercial component. Interfax-Ukraine to host discussion 'The Ukrainian Dimension of the War in Iran' On Monday, March 9, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a discussion, entitled "The Ukrainian Dimension of the War in Iran." Participants include political expert Kostiantyn Matviyenko, Chairman of the Board of the Penta Center for Applied Political Studies Volodymyr Fesenko and political scientist and co-founder of the National Platform for Resilience and Cohesion Oleh Saakian. The event will take place at 8/5a Reitarska Street. The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel. Admission requires registration on the spot with ID cards. House Oversight Committee members from both parties voted Wednesday to compel testimony from Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of federal files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The panel approved the subpoena on a 24-19 vote after Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced the measure, Axios reports. Every Democrat backed the move, along with GOP Reps. Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, Lauren Boebert, and Scott Perry. The subpoena summons Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition, per the Washington Post . The action follows months of frustration among lawmakers over what they say is an incomplete release of Epstein-related material. Mace wrote on X that Bondi has asserted the Justice Department turned over all of its Epstein files, a claim she disputed. Mace said roughly 3 million documents have been produced but argued that key items such as video, audio, and logs are still missing, and that "millions more documents" remain undisclosed. "The American people want answers on the Epstein files, and so do we," Mace posted after the vote, per the Guardian. Federal prosecutors spent months trying to turn Joe Biden's use of an autopen into a criminal caseand quietly walked away without ever reaching a grand jury, people familiar with the effort tell the New York Times and NBC News . At President Trump's urging , the Justice Department examined whether Biden or his aides broke the law by using an autopen to sign clemency documents in his final months as president, amid Trump-backed claims that Biden was too cognitively impaired to approve pardons himself. The main problem, according to the Times: There was no case. Veteran prosecutors in the US attorney's office in Washington, led by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro, reportedly doubted from the start that there was anything resembling a prosecutable offense. Investigators struggled even to define a potential crime and to decide whether to focus on aides or Biden, whose official acts are broadly shielded by a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Biden, who has called Trump and his allies "liars," has said his staff used the autopen to handle a high volume of paperwork but that he personally made the decisions. The autopen probe ultimately fizzled without charges around the time that a grand jury declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video reminding troops they must refuse unlawful orders. The collapse of the case has reinforced concerns inside the Justice Department that Trump is increasingly willing to treat federal law enforcement as a tool against political rivals, per the Times and NBC. Prosecutors around the country have faced pressure to open investigations targeting Trump criticsfrom New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fed Chair Jerome Powell to Democratic officials in Minnesota accused of "conspiring" against immigration enforcement. The Senate on Wednesday turned back an effort to curb President Trump's authority to continue the military attacks against Iran, keeping intact the White House's ability to order further strikes without new approval from Congress. On a 47-53 procedural vote, senators rejected a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have barred additional attacks on Iran absent explicit authorization, the Washington Post reports. Only one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, voted to advance the measure, while one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman, opposed it. Paul had framed the vote as effectively deciding "whether to go to war or not." The outcome represented the latest defeat for Democrats and a small group of Republicans who have tried repeatedly this Congress to restrict Trump's unilateral use of military force. Lawmakers have forced eight war powers votes aimed at limiting strikes in Iran, Venezuela, and against suspected drug-smuggling vessels near Latin America; none has passed. Backers argued that Congress is abdicating its constitutional role in authorizing war and warned of setting a precedent for unchecked presidential power. Republican leaders largely defended Trump's actions, saying pulling back forces days into the conflict would signal weakness to rivals such as China and Russia. Underscoring the gravity of the moment, per the AP, Democratic senators filled the Senate chamber and sat at their desks as the voting began. Typically, senators step into the chamber to cast their vote, then leave. "Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Iran's nuclear program," GOP Sen. John Barrasso said during debate. Earlier, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said every senator would have to decide: "Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?" The House plans to vote on a similar resolution Thursday. Sri Lankan sailors rushed into a war they're trying to avoid after an Iranian warship went down in the Indian Ocean off the country's southern coast. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that a US submarine sank the vessel with a torpedo as part of an escalating campaign against Iranmarking the first time since World War II that an American sub has torpedoed an enemy ship in combat. The Pentagon later released video of the sinking. Hegseth didn't name the ship, but Sri Lankan officials said they received a distress call from the IRIS Dena, an Iranian destroyer with around 180 crew members, the BBC reports. Sri Lanka says it dispatched navy ships and aircraft under its international search-and-rescue obligations, pulling 32 survivors from the water and taking them to a hospital in the coastal city of Galle, the New York Times reports. Navy spokesman Capt. Buddhika Sampath said crews saw bodies, oil slicks, and life rafts but not the vessel itself. The navy said 87 bodies were recovered, the AP reports. Dozens of sailors are missing. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath stressed the response was "on a humane basis," even as analysts warned the incident could drag the island of 22 million into a conflict it has taken pains to stay out of. The ship had just taken part in multinational naval drills in India that included both Iran and the US and was returning toward Iran when it was hit more than 2,000 miles from Tehran. Reuters reports that in a Feb. 17 post on X, the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy welcomed the visit of the Iranian vessel, saying it reflected "long-standing cultural links between the two nations." Sources tell Reuters that the survivors include the ship's commander and other senior officers. The Telegraph reports that the last time a submarine destroyed a major warship was in 1982, when Britain's HMS Conqueror sank Argentina's General Belgrano during the Falklands war, killing 323 sailors. A protester and three US Capitol Police officers were treated for injuries in a Senate office building on Wednesday after the protester resisted arrest for disruptive behavior and grabbed onto a doorway as the officers and a Republican senator tried to drag him out of the room. The protester, Brian C. McGinnis of North Carolina, was arrested and faces three counts of assaulting a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest and unlawful demonstration, Capitol Police said in a statement. Multiple videos show that McGinnis, who was wearing a military uniform, stood up and started shouting during the Senate Armed Services hearing and that police officers immediately grabbed him and tried to remove him from the room, the AP reports. McGinnis was protesting the US military campaign in Iran, shouting, "America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel!" The officers pulled McGinnis toward the exit as he violently resisted them and grabbed onto a doorway while they were trying to pull him out. Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican member of the Armed Services panel who is a former Navy SEAL, ran over to assist and pull the protester's arm off the door as other protesters yelled that McGinnis' hand was stuck. Capitol Police said in the statement that McGinnis "got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room," and said he was treated for his injuries. Sheehy said in a statement on social media that he was trying to de-escalate the situation. "This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one," Sheehy said. "I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence." A video posted on an X account under the name Brian McGinnis appears to show the same man standing outside the Capitol on Wednesday morning before the hearing. The account's description says he is a "Green Party Candidate for US Senate." He says in the video that he was "here in DC trying to speak out against the Senate" to ask them about sending the country into war. "Anyone who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you are not alone," he says. Green Party official Mark Elbourno tells CBS News that he was at the hearing with McGinnis, who works as a firefighter. He says McGinnis spoke out because he "couldn't take their lies anymore." Elbourno says McGinnis just wanted to speak "loud and clear" and denies that he assaulted officers. "He was assaulted, actually," Elbourno says. "They broke his arm." The owner of a Bronx day care that doubled as a drug mill could be imprisoned for life after a toddler died in her care after being exposed to drugs, NBC News reports. On Wednesday, a New York judge sentenced Divino Nino day care owner Grei Mendez, 38, and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, 37, to 25 years to life for the fentanyl poisoning death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici, prosecutors said. A jury previously convicted the pair of second-degree murder and assault after four children at the center were sickened in September 2023; Nicholas died, and three others survived opioid exposure. Nicholas' parents testified that the couple should never leave prison, ABC 7 reports. "I see my heart bleeding from his mouth, the doctors did everything they could to bring him back to life but it was too late, he had been dead for a while," his mother recalled. China just took a red pen to its growth ambitions, setting its slowest official expansion goal in more than three decades. On Wednesday, Beijing announced a 2026 GDP target of 4.5% to 5% at the opening of the annual "two sessions" political gathering, the lowest growth aim since 1991 and the first time that figure has been cut since 2023, when it was taken down to "around 5%," per the BBC . The target lands as the world's No. 2 economy contends with weak consumer spending, a protracted property slump, and intensifying trade strains. Premier Li Qiang said the new "Five-Year Plan" will push investment into advanced manufacturing, tech, and scientific research, all while trying to get households to open their wallets more. China officially met last year's 5% goal, but other indicators point to softer momentum, with growth slowing to 4.5% in the final quarter. Most provinces have already trimmed their own targets, and Georgetown policy researcher Ning Leng warned the headline numbers should be treated with "a grain of salt." In fact, research firm Rhodium Group suggests that China's economy may have even grown less than 3% in 2025, per the New York Times. China's record $1.19 trillion trade surplus underscores how dependent it has become on exportsan exposure Washington can sense, Leng says, per the BBCas the country also juggles higher energy risks and a gradual shift toward renewables. The AP notes that the weeklong congress is anticipated in the next few days to give the green light to the new plan that runs through 2030. Sam Altman told OpenAI staff this week that when it comes to how the US military uses the company's AI, the Pentagonnot OpenAIis in charge. In an all-hands meeting Tuesday, held four days after OpenAI revealed a new Defense Department deal, the CEO underscored the fact that the company won't be in charge of "operational decisions" regarding how the Pentagon uses its technology. "So maybe you think the Iran strike was good and the Venezuela invasion was bad. You don't get to weigh in on that," he said, according to a transcript seen by CNBC . OpenAI did change its agreement somewhat after backlash to the deal, stating domestic surveillance is not allowed, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to a source, Altman said the Pentagon wants OpenAI's input on where its models fit and will let the company build the safety systems it thinks are necessary, but stressed that operational calls are solely the domain of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The DOD deal, which expands a prior $200 million contract to include classified uses, has stirred criticism inside and outside OpenAI, especially after rival Anthropic was blacklisted by the Trump administration and cut off from federal use. Anthropic had sought limits on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance; talks with the Pentagon broke down. Altman acknowledged that OpenAI's DOD rollout "looked opportunistic and sloppy" and shouldn't have been announced so quickly, but insisted the company maintains "a deep respect for safety." He suggested xAIElon Musk's firm, also working on classified networksmay offer the military far fewer safety constraints. He said he thinks xAI will tell the Pentagon, "We'll do whatever you want." Meanwhile, in a memo to employees, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei accused Altman of giving President Trump "dictator-style praise," the Guardian reports. Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates. Daines, 63, said in a statement that he wrestled with the decision for months before deciding to retire. Montana US Attorney Kurt Alme, also a Republican, entered the race shortly before the state's deadline for major party candidates. The maneuver appeared to be carefully orchestrated, notes the AP . Alme was almost immediately endorsed by President Trump, who praised Dainesand essentially confirmed the senator's role in engineering Alme to become his successor. "Sadly for our Country, Steve's Term is up," Trump said, "and he has decided to leave the Senate and, 'pass the torch' to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney." Other lawmakers also have used last-minute withdrawals to set up a handpicked successor. Last fall the House censured Rep. Chuy Garcia, an Illinois Democrat, for how he engineered his retirement to clear a path for his chief of staff. Daines' announcement closely followed another shake-up in Montana's Republican field for November: On Monday, four-term Rep. Ryan Zinke announced his retirement because of health problems. Zinke quickly endorsed a former member of his staff, radio talk show host Aaron Flint, who also got backing from Trump. Al Olszewski, a former state senator who is running for Zinke's seat, accused both Daines and Zinke of betraying the people of Montana and urged voters to reject their handpicked successors. "We don't simply accept replacements selected by the deep state and DC for them to lord power over us," said Olszewski, a Republican. The maneuvering among the state's Republicans came on the same day that former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar launched an independent campaign for Daines' seat. Bodnar's decision to run without party backing underscores Democrats' diminished status. The party hasn't controlled any statewide offices following the defeat of three-term incumbent Sen. Jon Tester two years ago. No well-known Democrats had entered the Senate race by Wednesday's deadline. Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate, holding 53 seats to Democrats' 45 plus two independents. Daines is the 15th senator to announce his retirement since the 2024 election, the most in any single term going back to 2013. Following Daines' announcement, Bodnar said the lawmaker had "so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor, instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box." The National Republican Senatorial Committee called Bodnar a "fake independent" and criticized him as a "champion" of allowing transgender athletes to participate in college sports. A rep sidestepped questions about whether Bodnar would caucus with Democrats or Republicans. "When Seth gets into the Senate, he will fight for new leadership and negotiate a role that gives Montanans the strongest possible voice," Roy Loewenstein said. NPC deputy: China's Science and Technology Backyard program drives global green agriculture transformation People's Daily Online) 09:24, March 05, 2026 "We hope to bring China's Science and Technology Backyard (STB) program to more Belt and Road partner countries and Global South nations, helping local people secure adequate food and clothing while advancing agricultural modernization," said Zhang Fusuo, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. Zhang, also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at China Agricultural University, is the founder of the STB program. Since its 2009 launch in Quzhou county, north China's Hebei Province, the STB model has effectively addressed the "last mile" challenge in agricultural technology adoption. China has launched more than 1,800 STBs nationwide and incorporated the program into the "No. 1 central document" the first policy statement issued by China's central authorities each year in both 2024 and 2025. Zhang Fushuo checks on the growth of wheat in a field in Quzhou county, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) The STB model has expanded internationally, now operating in 11 countries and contributing to the global green transformation of agriculture. Zhang pioneered a "1+1+1" training model to drive the program's global expansion: one year in China for foundational knowledge, one year applying the STB model in the participant's home country, and a final year back in China for refinement bridging learning and real-world implementation. In Zhang's view, nurturing local talent is the single most important lever for taking the model global. By training home-grown professionals in partner countries, the program aims to provide systematic solutions to agricultural development challenges in Belt and Road partner countries and Global South nations. The STB model, which began as a local Chinese innovation, first took root abroad in Africa before expanding to Brazil, Malaysia and beyond, with cooperation models growing increasingly diverse. The model's success abroad has demonstrated the viability and effectiveness of China's path toward green agricultural development, and the program has been recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a leading case study for worldwide promotion. Plans are underway to establish an STB global center to systematically summarize and disseminate successful practices, support countries in cultivating local talent, and empower agricultural development and transformation, according to Zhang. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) A cancer diagnosis may change more than your outlook on life, suggests a new Danish study that finds patients are more likely to end up with a criminal conviction in the decade that follows. Per ScienceAlert , researchers tracked more than 368,000 people diagnosed with cancer between 1980 and 2018 and compared them with similar adults without cancer. Crime actually dipped in the first year post-diagnosislikely because treatment keeps patients tethered to hospitals and doctor visitsbut two years out, convictions began to climb and stayed elevated for up to 10 years. Overall, a cancer diagnosis was linked to a 14% increase in the chance of being convicted of a crime. Men were found to be five times more likely than women to commit crimes after being diagnosed, the researchers note in a column for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The pattern didn't necessarily show a Breaking Bad-style turn to major drug trafficking for all subjects. Instead, offenses skewed toward shoplifting, drug possession, and other economic crimes, though violent crime also rose, per ScienceAlert. Because Denmark has universal health coverage, the researchers say medical bills alone, like what Breaking Bad's American protagonist Walter White was faced with, don't explain the shift. Instead, they point to lost income, reduced work hours, and lower survival odds, which may blunt fear of long-term punishment. The crime increase was greater in areas where welfare benefits had been scaled back, hinting that stronger economic safety nets could help blunt the effect. The study appears in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. A Las Vegas woman accused of walking away from her dog at the airport was in the middle of a mental health crisis tied to a military-related disability, her brother says. Gerrayl Bryson tells KLAS that Germirah Bryson, 26, is a "100% permanent" disabled veteran and that leaving behind the dog, the "best friend" that she "travels with ... everywhere," shows how compromised her judgment was that day. He says the Feb. 3 confrontation with police at Harry Reid International Airportwhere an officer is essentially "a stranger [who] grabs her"would have been especially hard for his sister to process. Authorities say Germirah Bryson left her 2-year-old golden doodle-mini poodle mix tied to a metal baggage sizer at a JetBlue counter. Court documents say an airline worker told her the dog wasn't properly registered to fly, and that Bryson suggested "animal control" be called because she feared missing her flight. She also reportedly told police later that her dog had a tracking device, "implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her," per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The dog, later nicknamed JetBlue, was found with infections and poor grooming, according to a local rescue group, which rehomed him with a Las Vegas police officer who responded to the scene, per KLAS. "This boy deserves to never be abandoned again," a rep from the rescue group said at a news conference, per News 3 Las Vegas. Bryson has been hit with multiple charges, including resisting arrest and giving false info to a public officer, per the Review-Journal. An animal abandonment charge was dropped by prosecutors and replaced by an animal abuse charge. She's due back in court on March 31. Russian planes flying near Alaska drew a big response on Wednesday. NORAD says it scrambled a mix of US and Canadian jets after detecting two Russian TU-142s moving through the air defense identification zones off Alaska and Canada on Wednesday. The response package was sizable: two US F-35s, two F-22s, four KC-135 tankers, an E-3 AWACS, plus two Canadian CF-18s, and a CC-150 tanker, which Fox News reports tracked, identified, and intercepted the Russian aircraft. The planes stayed in international airspace and never entered US or Canadian territory, and NORAD stressed the flights are not seen as a threat. A similar encounter took place last month, notes Newsweek, when NORAD intercepted five Russian military aircraft, including bombers and fighters, near the Bering Strait; those aircraft also remained in international airspace and were not labeled provocative. NORAD, based at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, uses satellites, radar, and fighter jets to monitor aircraft entering the vast Air Defense Identification Zones that ring North America. Per NORAD, an ADIZ "begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security." Turkey and Iran are at odds over a missile allegedly fired at the Incirlik Air Base, a joint Turkish-US airbase near the city of Adana. Ankara reported Wednesday that a projectile originating in Iran was tracked over Iraq and Syria and disabled by NATO air and missile defenses above the eastern Mediterranean before it reached Turkish airspace, per Al Jazeera . A senior US military official said it was aimed at Incirlik and was shot down by an interceptor missile on the USS Oscar Austin, per the New York Times . There were no injuries, but Turkey lodged a formal protest with Tehran and warned it retains the right to respond to any hostile move. Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran six days ago, Iran has fired missiles at US military facilities in neighboring countries, including the United Arab Emirates. However, Iran's armed forces rejected the Turkish account on Thursday, insisting they had not launched any missile toward "friendly" Turkey and stressing their respect for its sovereignty, per Reuters. A deliberate attack on Turkey would "mark a major escalation and could activate NATO's mutual defense clause," the Times reports, though US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there was "no sense" in the interception triggering Article 5. Speaking to Reuters, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said there were no plans to trigger Article 5, though he described the incident as "serious." A NATO rep previously condemned Iran's "indiscriminate attacks across the region" while touting NATO's "strong" defenses. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has called the US and Israeli attacks on Iran "illegal," said Turkey is coordinating with NATO allies and vowed to leave "absolutely nothing to chance" regarding border and airspace security. Alabama is preparing to execute a man everyone agrees did not kill anyone, yet was still convicted of murder. In a New York Times op-ed, mitigation specialist Elizabeth Vartkessian, founder of a nonprofit focused on centering empathy and dignity within the criminal justice system, details the case of 75-year-old Sonny Burton, who's spent nearly half his life on death row for a 1991 AutoZone robbery in which another man, Derrick DeBruce, stayed behind and shot the victim. DeBruce's death sentence was later reduced to life without parole; Burton is due to be executed next week. Vartkessian of Advancing Real Change asks how that can be called justice. Alabama law allows an accomplice to be condemned if a killing happens during another felony, but Vartkessian notes it is extremely rare in the US to execute someone who did not actually kill. Jurors and even the victim's daughter are urging Gov. Kay Ivey to spare Burton's life by granting clemency. "Governors of other states with similar laws have granted clemency under such conditions," Vartkessian writes. But Ivey has granted clemency only once in nearly a decade in the governor's office, so hope isn't high. Ivey herself said last year that she had no plans for clemency in the case, per WBRC. If she doesn't act, Burton, mostly confined to a wheelchair, will be put to death March 12 using nitrogen gas, a method veterinarians reject for most animals and that has already produced a widely criticized execution in Alabama. Vartkessian argues this case is a test of whether the state can choose mercy over what she calls a culture of indifference. For the full argument, read the full piece in the Times. AL.com has more on Burton's final appeals. An offshore drilling pitch in Alaska that was supposed to showcase the Trump-era push for more oil and gas just drew a blank. A federal auction offering drilling rights across more than 1 million acres in Cook Inlet ended this week without a single bid, reports the New York Times , undercutting Republican claims that the industry is hungry to explore the area. The sale, mandated by last year's "Big Beautiful Bill" as part of a broader schedule of more than 30 offshore lease auctions, had been billed by supporters as a key step toward "energy dominance." Industry reluctance isn't new: the Biden administration tried to cancel a Cook Inlet lease sale in 2022, citing weak interest, then reversed course under pressure from Congress; that auction produced just one bid, from Hilcorp, whose other local leases are not producing. Economist Brett Watson at the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research wasn't surprised by the dearth of bids, telling Alaska Public Media that "as that basin has matured and production costs have risen pretty considerably, and other opportunities have opened up in other places in the world, that interest has really waned." Environmental advocates hailed the latest no-bid result as a setback for fossil-fuel expansion, with one calling it a "huge embarrassment" for Trump's Alaska ambitions. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, labeled the outcome "disappointing" and blamed federal policies and activism, while the Interior Department framed the empty sale as still useful, with acting director Matthew Giacona saying that "maintaining a transparent, congressionally mandated schedule keeps Cook Inlet opportunities available for future investment." Another Cook Inlet auction is set for March 2027. President Trump is leaning on the Kurds as he weighs whether to send US troops into Iran. Trump has phoned key Kurdish leaders in Iran and Iraq in recent days, offering "extensive US aircover" and other assistance if Iranian Kurdish opposition groups move to seize territory in western Iran, the Washington Post reports, citing US and Kurdish sources. Sources tell CNN that the CIA has been working to arm Kurdish groups in an effort that began months before the war. In a Sunday call, Trump told Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Bafel Talabani that the Kurds must pick a side"either with America and Israel or with Iran," a senior PUK official said. Masoud Barzani of the Kurdish Democratic Party received a similar pitch, with US officials described as seeking Iraqi Kurds' permission and logistical help, not their direct participation. Britney Spears spent part of the night in a California jail after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Ventura County on Wednesday, TMZ reports. The 42-year-old singer was taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol around 9:30pm, booked at the county sheriff's department about 3am, and released roughly three hours later, according to inmate records cited by the outlet. She is scheduled to appear in court on May 4, reports Variety . Authorities and Spears' representatives have not publicly commented. The arrest comes days after a court granted Spears a permanent restraining order against a 51-year-old Louisiana man she accused of years of online harassment and a surprise visit to her Los Angeles home. The man, whom she said had posted "disturbing" messages and had been targeting her online since 2013, was arrested for trespassing at her residence in 2025, per her filing. Spears' driving history includes a 2007 Los Angeles case involving a parked car; misdemeanor charges were dropped after she paid for damages, and she was acquitted of driving without a California license. Shortly after that episode, she lost custody of her two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline. A vast tent city near El Paso that was supposed to be the template for a new wave of immigration lockups may be shutting down after less than a year in operation. An internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo reviewed by the Washington Post says the agency is moving to end its contract for Camp East Montana, a sprawling detention complex next to Fort Bliss that opened Aug. 1 under a $1.2 billion deal running through 2027. The document says ICE is drafting a termination letter but gives no timetable or explanation. A Homeland Security spokeswoman, however, said the camp is still under review and that "no decisions have been made" on its future. "ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody," Lauren Bis said. "DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards." In July, the administration awarded the $1.2 billion contract to a small, Virginia-based contractor that had never previously operated a detention facility or received a federal contract of more than $16 million. Camp East Montana was billed as a quick-build holding site where migrants would stay for about two weeks before deportation or release. Instead, ICE records show many have been held for months in giant, warehouse-style tents divided into crowded pods. The facility quickly drew scrutiny: ICE's own inspectors reported at least 60 violations of federal detention standards in the first 50 days after it opened in August while still under construction, including gaps in medical intake, poor access to lawyers, and weak safety procedures. Detainees told civil rights groups they were beaten for protesting conditions or refusing food. Those problems were underscored by three deaths in two months, including that of Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, who died Jan. 3 after a struggle with guards. The local medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by compression of the neck and chest. DHS later said Campos had attempted suicide and "violently resisted" staff trying to intervene. Two other men, from Guatemala and Nicaragua, died in separate incidents in December and January. ICE says at least 30 people died in its custody last year, the highest toll in roughly 20 years. Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes the facility, has called for it to be shut down, NBC News reports. "There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city," she said Wednesday. Escobar said the facility is closed to visitors, including attorneys, this week because of a measles outbreak. According to a document seen by the Post, the camp's population has fallen to around 1,500 detainees in recent weeks, about half as many as in January. Residents in a vast stretch of Beirut were told to get out on Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in Israel's confrontation with Hezbollah. The Israeli military ordered evacuations across the city's southern suburbs, an area known as Dahiyeh that it describes as a Hezbollah stronghold, telling hundreds of thousands to flee without specifying where they should go, the Guardian reports. Estimates of the area's population range between 300,000 and 700,000. In a social media message delivered in Arabic, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged people in four major neighborhoodsBourj el-Barajneh, Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Shiyyahto "save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately." He warned that moving south was forbidden and "could endanger your lives," adding that residents would be told later when it was safe to return. Dozens of people were killed in southern Beirut earlier this week when Israel launched airstrikes, saying it was responding to drones and missiles fired by Hezbollah. It's believed to be the first time Israel has ordered residents out of such a broad section of the Lebanese capital, after previously focusing on specific buildings it said were targets. The AP reports that traffic in Beirut was gridlocked Thursday as residents tried to flee. Some expressed fears that Israel would strike wherever they went. Others said they were frustrated about Lebanon being drawn into the wider war. "We got sucked into a mess that we have nothing to do with," said fleeing resident Yousef Nabulsi. "People have been displaced and are now staying on the streets, and this is wrong." Ministers give interviews after opening meeting of 4th session of 14th NPC Xinhua) 15:10, March 05, 2026 Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Zhang Yuzhuo, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Zhang Yuzhuo, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) A journalist asks a question during an interview attended by ministers after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Zhang Yuzhuo, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Zhang Yuzhuo, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun gives an interview after the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Two dozen states are moving to put an end to President Trump's latest round of import taxes. On Thursday, 24 Democratic-led states sued his administration over the new 10% tariff on nearly all imports, arguing Trump is trying to dodge a recent Supreme Court ruling that wiped out much of his earlier tariff enactment. Reuters reports the lawsuit, filed at the US Court of International Trade in New York, says Trump is misusing Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, a provision meant for short-term, balance-of-payments crisesnot long-running trade deficits. Courts already are sorting through roughly 2,000 business lawsuits seeking refunds on more than $130 billion in earlier tariffs the Supreme Court struck down. The states want the new levies halted and any duties collected under the Trade Act repaid. "The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the 10% tariff could rise to 15% this week. "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill," said Attorney General Letitia James of New York, which is part of the suit, in a statement to CNBC. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. China's shipbuilding industry extends global lead for 16th consecutive year People's Daily Online) 15:47, March 05, 2026 China's shipbuilding sector maintained its global lead in terms of three major indicators for the 16th consecutive year in 2025. The country's shipbuilding output reached 53.69 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) in 2025, accounting for 56.1 percent of the global total, according to data recently released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. New orders reached 107.82 million DWT, representing 69 percent of the global market, while holding orders stood at 274.42 million DWT, making up 66.8 percent of the global market share. An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 24, 2025 shows the China State Shipbuilding Corporation Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. conducting shipbuilding work at the Haixi Bay Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Industrial Base in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei) The figures highlight how deeply China's manufacturing sector has woven itself into the fabric of the global economy. International shipowners have been returning to the Chinese market in significant numbers, said Li Yanqing, vice president of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry. In 2025, China's export vessels accounted for 89.6 percent of its shipbuilding output, 89.5 percent of new orders and 93.2 percent of holding orders. In other words, for every 10 ships built in China, nearly nine are destined for the global shipping market. China's shipbuilding industry delivered eye-catching results in 2025, with all three major indicators exceeding expectations, Li said. What makes China so attractive to shipowners worldwide? Speed is part of the answer. In 2025, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), delivered multiple 174,000-cubic-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under QatarEnergy's LNG transportation project. After the first delivery in 2024, vessels have been arriving almost every month since, and this efficiency has far exceeded expectations, said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs. Value for money is another factor. Zhong Zhechao, founder and CEO of One Shipping, said that thanks to decades of development, China has a mature, fully integrated shipbuilding industrial chain and a strong competitive edge in the global market. Chinese shipbuilders can ensure large-scale construction, reliable delivery schedules, mature green vessel solutions and access to financing support all of which help shipowners manage risks across technology, funding and delivery. "There is a consensus in global shipbuilding: at equivalent technical standards, China offers the lowest total construction costs; at equivalent prices, China offers the strongest delivery capability and reliability," Zhong said. Xu Guangjian, a professor at the School of Public Administration and Policy at Renmin University of China, pointed to China's systemic competitiveness across the entire shipbuilding industrial chain as the most critical underpinning factor. As the only country in the world that possesses all the industrial categories listed in the United Nations industrial classification, China's manufacturing value added accounts for 30 percent of the global total a position it has held for 14 consecutive years. "China's robust manufacturing system gives its shipbuilders exceptional resilience. When global supply chains are thrown into turmoil, Chinese shipbuilders can still secure a steady supply of components and keep production on track without being derailed by external disruptions and that gives international shipowners real peace of mind," Xu said. An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 15, 2025 shows the cruise ship Adora Flora City under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) China's sustained global leadership in shipbuilding rests not just on order volumes but on coordinated innovation across the full industrial chain and an openness to serving the world. China's second domestically built large cruise ship, Adora Flora City, is now over 91 percent complete at the No. 2 dry dock of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CSSC nearly eight months ahead of the schedule set by its predecessor. "The scheduling algorithms for all materials going in and out of the warehouse are now handled by AI," said Yuan Yi, a senior director at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. In the thin-plate production workshop, laser cutting and plasma cutting stations run continuously under the direction of an AI system. Compared with the old approach of relying on experienced workers to arrange production manually, AI-driven scheduling has boosted the workshop's capacity by 25 percent. Green transformation has become another hallmark of Chinese shipbuilding. In 2025, Chinese shipbuilders delivered multiple world-class green and intelligent vessels, marking significant breakthroughs in the industry's high-end transition and tangible progress in the sector's quality-driven development. A CSSC executive said Chinese enterprises are continuing to advance their global strategies, expanding localized services and supply chain networks overseas to win greater recognition from international clients. From ship-grade steel plates and engines to navigation systems and deck machinery, China has built a complete and self-reliant supply chain spanning core components, standard products and integrated solutions, the executive added. Li noted that the shipbuilding industry is a vital pillar of China's strategies to become a manufacturing powerhouse, a transport powerhouse and a strong maritime country. China's shift from the world's largest consumer of ships to its largest supplier signals a deeper transition in Chinese manufacturing, from competing on scale to competing on systemic advantage. The structural evolution has been equally striking. From a starting point dominated by medium- to low-end ships, including bulk carriers and oil tankers, China has now achieved across-the-board breakthroughs in high-end vessel types, including LNG carriers, large container ships and car carriers. In 16 of the 18 major ship categories, China ranks first globally in new orders received a shift with far-reaching implications. Against a backdrop of slowing global economic growth, the success of China's shipbuilding sector on the world stage is a testament to the resilience and competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing, providing a stabilizing force for global industrial and supply chains. In 2025, six Chinese shipbuilders ranked among the world's top 10 across all three major indicators. CSSC became the world's largest listed shipbuilding company, accounting for 18 percent of global orders on its books, with its production schedule extending to 2029. That kind of scale translates into genuine market influence, positioning China's shipbuilding industry to play a leading role in the global shipping sector's green transition. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) TDT | Manama Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com Arab and international Foreign Affairs ministers have expressed their support for the Kingdom of Bahrain. They condemned the Iranian missile attacks on the country and wished Bahrain continued security, stability, and peace. This came as His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, received telephone calls from Arab and international counterparts. H.E. Dr. Al Zayani received calls from Youssef Rajji, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon; and Jeenbek Kulubaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, among other Foreign Ministers. DUBAI, Mar 05 (News On Japan) - Japanese tourists have been left stranded in Dubai as escalating tensions involving Iran trigger widespread flight cancellations across the Middle East, leaving many travelers uncertain about when they will be able to return home. In Dubai, numerous flights have been canceled, leaving Japanese tourists and other travelers stuck at airports and hotels. One Japanese traveler described the situation, showing a modest supply of food consisting of bananas, nuts, yogurt, and a large bottle of wateritems purchased to get through the uncertain wait. "All flights have been canceled, and we really have no idea when we can go home," the traveler said. "Everyone is running out of money, so we have no choice but to buy the cheapest food available." Meanwhile, footage circulating from the region shows missiles being launched from naval vessels and fighter jets taking off from an aircraft carrier, underscoring the growing intensity of the conflict. The United States military also announced that one of its submarines had sunk an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean. According to the Sri Lankan government, which participated in rescue operations at the scene, at least 80 people were killed in the attack. Speaking about the military campaign against Iran, President Donald Trump emphasized the success of the operation, saying, "To put it mildly, the situation on the battlefield is going extremely well. If you asked me to rate it out of 10, I would give it a 15." Amid the escalating conflict, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that Iran had allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump. Hegseth said: "Yesterday we tracked down and killed the leader of the unit that tried to assassinate President Trump. Iran attempted to kill him, but in the end President Trump had the last laugh. We will find them and eliminate them." Iran has meanwhile launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Gulf nations that host U.S. military bases. In the United Arab Emiratesone of the countries affectedJapanese residents say daily life continues but anxiety remains high. Hideki Kato, a 57-year-old Japanese resident who has lived in Dubai for 20 years, said the sounds of drones being intercepted could be heard both during the day and late at night. "You can hear what sounds like intercepted drones exploding even in the middle of the night," Kato said. "Even as an adult, it's hard not to feel emotionally shaken by the situation." Kota Kato, 13, said he simply hopes the conflict will end soon. "I just want the war to end quickly. It's scary." Utako Kato, 10, added that fragments from intercepted missiles have occasionally fallen nearby. "Sometimes pieces fall close by and make the door shake. I want the war to end." While everyday life in Dubai continues, the wave of flight cancellations has left many travelersincluding Japanese touristsunable to leave. One of them is Daiki Mizuoka, a 21-year-old university student who had traveled to Egypt with two friends before stopping in Dubai. "It was a great trip," Mizuoka said. "But when we got the notice that our flight was canceled, that was when we realized'Oh, there's actually a war going on.' Thats when it hit us that we were caught up in it." Fearing potential airstrikes, the group has mostly stayed inside their hotel. "The bombing is really scary, so we've basically been staying in the hotel the whole time," Mizuoka said. "It feels like we're slowly losing our sense of normality. There are three of us, and we never used to argue, but now we're starting to fight more often." For meals, the group has been relying on simple groceries purchased from nearby supermarkets, including bananas, mandarins, nuts, and yogurt. Mizuoka said he managed to secure a seat on a flight scheduled to depart for Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 8:20 a.m. the following morning, though his two friends were unable to get seats. "I'm happy I was able to get a ticket, but at the same time I'm anxious," he said. "We still don't know if the plane will actually take off tomorrow." Later, Mizuoka reported that he had safely arrived at the airport and successfully departed for Japan. Amid the worsening security situation, Japan's Foreign Ministry announced on March 5th that it had raised the danger level for six Middle Eastern countriesKuwait, eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Omanto Level 3, the government's second-highest warning level, advising citizens to refrain from traveling to the region. The ministry also said it plans to arrange charter flights to evacuate Japanese nationals who wish to leave four countries in the regionKuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Related: Japan Prepares Emergency Evacuation Source: FNN KAGAWA, Mar 05 (News On Japan) - A new effort to revive a local shopping district is underway using a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, a leaderless structure in which individuals contribute what they can and decisions are made collectively. At Chichibugahama Beach in Kagawa Prefecture, a natural spectacle appears when sunset coincides with low tide, turning the shallow waters into a mirror-like surface that reflects the sky. The scenic beach has become a popular tourist destination, drawing around 500,000 visitors annually to the small port town of roughly 5,000 residents. Local organizers are now working to channel that popularity into broader regional revitalization. In the Nio district of Mitoyo City, several buildings remain from the areas past prosperity as a center of salt production. Rather than demolish or rebuild them, residents have begun repurposing the old structures as part of a project known as the Minotake Shopping Street. Soichiro Imagawa, founder and representative of the Minotake Shopping Street DAO, said: "This area originally had many shops. The idea is that everyone works together to renovate them one by one." So far, residents have transformed an old row house into a restaurant and used crowdfunding to convert a former bank building into a creative space where children can freely paint. They also raised investment for a weekend-only bar where locals can gather for drinks. As the number of desired shops within walking distance gradually increases, a once-quiet street that saw little foot traffic during the day now lights up with activity on weekend evenings. To further stimulate the local economy and create stronger ties with people outside the region, organizers launched the Minotake Shopping Street DAO Project. A DAO is an organization without a single owner or manager, where participants make decisions through voting. Under this framework, members decided to renovate a vacant house once owned by a beloved local resident known as Katchan. The property will be reborn as a facility featuring a restaurant and retail booths. Those participating in the DAO are investors, and roughly 60% live outside Kagawa Prefecture. The renovated facility will include accommodation space, allowing investors to stay up to five times a year for each investment share they hold. Plans are also underway to open a yakiniku restaurant on the site of a former rice wholesaler. A distinctive feature of the DAO system is that investors can also participate directly in the work, with some helping with demolition and renovation. Gaiax, which provides the technological platform supporting the DAOs operations, plans to introduce a unique points system designed to make it easier for members to contribute their skills. Yusuke Hiroto of the Gaiax DAO business division said: "For example, when someone joins the DAO, local members might pick them up at the airport and drive them to Mitoyo. Its not just about investing and finishing there. By exchanging points within this contribution-based economic system, it creates real activity where people use and receive services. That makes it more interesting than traditional volunteering or short-term crowdfunding." Looking ahead, the Minotake Shopping Street initiative aims to build a community centered on everyday enjoyment. Imagawa said: "People only gather in places that are fun. The key is making our daily lives enjoyable. Creating the shops we ourselves want to usethat is the essence of the richness of living in this town." One DAO member originally from the area who now lives in Sendai said: "It wouldnt be right if Nio suddenly became flashy like a big city. Thats not what Nio is. Its enough if the town becomes lively in its own way." Source: FNN Fraudsters continue to use increasingly sophisticated tactics, including fraudulent text messages, emails and websites designed to mimic 407 ETR's branding and language. These scams often attempt to create a sense of urgency and direct customers to click on malicious links or provide sensitive information. Customers should pause, verify and use only official 407 ETR channels to manage their account. My Account is available through 407etr.com or the official 407 ETR app. "As scams become more convincing, awareness remains one of the most effective tools in preventing fraud -- if something doesn't seem right, don't click," says Jose Espinosa, President & CEO, 407 ETR. "Protecting customer information is a responsibility we take very seriously, and we want customers to feel confident knowing how to recognize legitimate 407 ETR communications and spot potential scams to keep their information protected." Ongoing efforts to protect customers 407 ETR invests in proactive, industry-leading cybersecurity practices to safeguard customer information. The Company works with cybersecurity partners and law enforcement agencies to actively monitor and disrupt fraudulent activity. In 2025 alone, 407 ETR's cybersecurity teams identified and took down more than 1,100 fraudulent domains impersonating the Company -- each one representing one less opportunity for customers to be misled or have their information compromised. "Fraudsters are constantly adapting their tactics to appear more convincing," says Ali Razavi, Chief Information Officer, 407 ETR. "While we work behind the scenes to protect customers, awareness remains critical -- customers should always verify communications through official 407 ETR channels." How to spot a scam Scammers often try to create urgency by claiming a toll payment is overdue or threatening a penalty if action is not taken immediately. These messages may look legitimate but typically direct customers to unfamiliar websites or links that don't belong to 407 ETR. Customers are encouraged to watch for common red flags -- unexpected messages requesting personal or financial information, urgent or threatening language pressuring immediate action and suspicious links or websites that don't match 407 ETR's official domain, 407etr.com. What legitimate 407 ETR communications look like 407 ETR communicates with customers in a variety of ways, including text messages, emails, phone calls and mailed letters. Customers can expect that: 407 ETR will never ask for passwords, PINs or credit card details through any communication channel. Payment reminder text messages are sent from an official six-digit short code and include the customer's first name. Account information and payments can only be accessed through 407etr.com or the official 407 ETR app. Legitimate communications won't use threatening language to pressure customers into taking immediate action. What to do if you receive a suspicious message If something doesn't seem right, customers are advised not to click on links or provide any information. Instead, they should log in to their My Account directly through 407etr.com or the 407 ETR app to verify their balance. Suspected scams can also be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Video: Learn how 407 ETR works to prevent phishing scams. Fast facts: Customers must only access their account or make payments through 407etr.com or the official 407 ETR app. Fraudulent messages often use urgent or threatening language to pressure immediate action, a common tactic used by scammers, including claiming a toll payment is overdue. 407 ETR works with cybersecurity partners and law enforcement to actively monitor and disrupt fraudulent activity, including identifying and taking down more than 1,100 fraudulent domains impersonating the Company in 2025. Suspected scams can be reported to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre. More information is available at 407etr.com/fraudawareness. Hashtags: #Fraudpreventionmonth, #Fraudawareness, #Phishing, #Cybersecurity, #Scamawareness About 407 ETR Highway 407 ETR is an all-electronic open-access toll highway located in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. The highway spans 108 kilometres from Burlington in the west to Pickering in the east. 407 International Inc. is the sole shareholder of 407 ETR and is owned by: Cintra Global S.E., a subsidiary of Ferrovial S.A. (48.29%) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and other institutional investors with non-controlling interests (44.20%) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) (7.51%) SOURCE 407 ETR Concession Company Limited For media inquiries: [email protected], 416-706-1861, 407etr.com/newsroom New findings show how modern lifestyles and smaller spaces are influencing where, when and how Canadians eat at home BURLINGTON, ON, March 5, 2026 /CNW/ - A new global IKEA study reveals that Canadians are embracing more casual and flexible eating habits as screens, busy schedules and smaller living spaces reshape how and where they dine. The survey one of the largest cooking & eating ones ever conducted was conducted by over 31,000 respondents across 31 markets. The study found that Canadians are least likely to sit at a kitchen table, with only 38% doing so regularly. Instead, many are turning to sofas (27%) or even their beds (5%), and a striking 32% snack late at night well above the global average of 20 per cent. Nearly 1 in 3 Canadians Snack at Night Far Above the Global Average, New IKEA Cooking & Eating Study Finds (CNW Group/IKEA Canada Limited Partnership) "Despite the emotional importance of food, shared meals are under pressure," says Lorena Lourido Gomez, Global Food Manager at IKEA Retail (Ingka Group). "Busy schedules, compact living, and competing priorities make it harder for people to come together, not just at the same time, but in the same place," she says. With screens firmly embedded in daily life, many Canadians are now eating with them only 6% reported using the kitchen table as a device-free zone, and half say they watch TV while eating with others. These evolving routines also reflect the practical realities of modern life. Limited time and increasing compact, multipurpose kitchens make cooking more challenging. In Canada, the main frustrations when it comes to cooking at home are lack of surface space (31%) and lack of storage (29%). As kitchens increasingly double as dining, working, and social spaces, many people struggle to make the room work for their real-life needs. "Food has always brought people together, but today's busy schedules, screen habits, and tighter spaces are changing that," says Kristen Gallacher, Sales Director of Kitchens, Dining, Cooking & Eating at KEA Canada. "Our research shows Canadians still value connection through food, even as many snack at night, eat on the sofa or feel squeezed by limited kitchen space. At IKEA, we want to make cooking and eating more joyful again by designing solutions that help turn everyday meals into meaningful moments." Top 10 Canadian truths from the report Canadians aren't always eating at the table: Only 38% eat at a kitchen table, 27% eat on a sofa and 5% eat in bed. 1 in 4 Canadians eat out-of-date food, often to reduce waste. Average dinner time for Canadians is 6:12 PM, much earlier than some other countries. Canadians are adventurous eaters: 35% love trying new cuisines while only 11% are picky. Canadians have a sweet tooth: 32% love spice, while 50% say they love sweets. Cooking is mostly solo: 49% prefer cooking alone; 6% say cooking with a partner has sparked arguments. Screens dominate mealtime: 45% watch TV while eating together with others at home. Kitchen space is a struggle: Lack of counter space (31%) and storage (29%) are top frustrations. Canadians are late-night snackers: 32% of Canadians snack at night well above the global average (20%). Cooking is routine-driven: 53% see cooking as part of their daily routine; 40% cook to fuel their bodies. The IKEA Cooking & Eating Report 2026 was conducted by YouGov for IKEA with 31,689 participants across 31 Ingka markets. Fieldwork took place between August and September 2025, using nationally representative samples weighted by gender, age, geography, and income. Finalized in January 2026, the Cooking & Eating report explores the realities of cooking and eating today across four themes: Comfortable Chaos, Discomfort Foods, The Social Pressure Cooker, and Resetting the Table. The findings help inform IKEA's ongoing work to design better everyday solutions for how people prepare, store, and enjoy food at home. For more insights, read the global report here and the Canadian top 10 highlights here. ABOUT IKEA CANADA Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer, offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them. IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which operates 574 IKEA stores in 31 countries, including 15 stores and 11 Plan and order points in Canada. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 33.3 million visitors to its stores and 199.9 million visitors to IKEA.ca. IKEA Canada operates business through the IKEA vision - to create a better everyday life for the many people and does so through its local community efforts and sustainability initiatives. For more information on IKEA Canada, please visit IKEA.ca. SOURCE IKEA Canada Limited Partnership For media inquiries: Alicia Carroll, Public Relations Leader, IKEA Canada, [email protected] TORONTO, March 4, 2026 /CNW/ - University of Toronto's Department of Computer Science today announced a major research and development (R&D) lab with AMD, a global leader in high-performance computing. The AMD U of T Research Lab will focus on developing cutting-edge technologies and strengthening Canada as a global hub for innovation excellence. With this announcement, the University of Toronto joins AMD's global network of applied R&D partnerships with leading AI and computing research institutions including MIT, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, ETH Zurich and National University of Singapore. Over the next three years, AMD plans to launch 100 R&D projects at the newly created AMD U of T Research Lab, focusing on innovations critical to next-generation AI and high-performance computing such as developing energy-efficient AI systems, designing decentralized methods for training massive AI models across distributed clusters and advancing enterprise-scale data intelligence. To date, AMD and U of T have completed more than 30 applied-research projects with most participating students subsequently hired by AMD, creating well-paying jobs, keeping talent in Canada and accelerating the translation of world-class research into real-world applications. This venture demonstrates a new paradigm for Canadian innovation: bridging academic excellence with commercial ambition, accelerating the pace at which research breakthroughs move from lab to market and positioning Canada at the nexus for world-class technology development. In recognition of this collaboration, AMD is fueling the next generation of AI discovery at the University of Toronto by donating two state-of-the-art AI servers to the Department of Computer Science. This gift significantly expands the AMD U of T Research Lab capabilities and empowers groundbreaking AI research. The donation marks a new chapter in a long-standing partnership dedicated to academic excellence, research freedom and the pursuit of frontier AI innovation. Quotes "Canada is home to the world's top talent and researchers. The partnership between the University of Toronto and AMD demonstrates that Canada is the go-to hub for cutting-edge innovation, highly skilled jobs and the next generation of transformative technologies that will shape the global economy." Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada's Minister of Industry "Our government is laser-focused on making Ontario the most attractive and competitive jurisdiction in the G7 to do business, and strengthening Ontario's position as a global leader in AI is a key part of that plan. We congratulate AMD and the University of Toronto on this new strategic collaboration and look forward to seeing the Research Lab leverage our world-class talent pool to accelerate Ontario's AI innovation capacity." The Honourable Victor Fedeli, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade "Ontario's universities and colleges are pipelines of innovation, equipping the next generation of researchers with the skills they need to turn ideas into solutions and advance our critical industries. The AMD U of T Research Lab will strengthen these pipelines, ensuring Ontario continues to produce graduates who are ready to lead, transform, and drive our technology industry on the global stage." The Honourable Nolan Quinn, Ontario's Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security "Applied-research collaborations like this give our students the opportunity to tackle real-world technological challenges while gaining valuable work experience. AMD's investment reflects a forward-thinking approach to R&D and the power of linking academic talent directly to industry innovation." Dr. Melanie A. Woodin, President of the University of Toronto "We are delighted to partner with the University of Toronto, a world-renowned academic institution at the cutting edge of AI innovation and research. By embedding U of T's brightest minds within our research teams, cutting-edge ideas move swiftly from the lab to global-scale applications, driving breakthroughs in AI and computing." Chris Smith, Corporate Vice President and Head, Toronto Markham Design Centre, AMD About the University of Toronto Department of Computer Science The Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto is a global leader in computing research and education, consistently ranked among the top computer science departments worldwide. Known for its pioneering contributions to areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, human-computer interaction and systems, the department fosters a vibrant academic community that brings together world-renowned faculty, innovative researchers, and ambitious students. With strong ties to industry and a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, U of T's Department of Computer Science drives technological advancement and prepares graduates to become leaders in academia, industry and beyond. About the University of Toronto The University of Toronto, founded in 1827, is Canada's leading public research university, recognized globally for its academic excellence and innovation. Across its three campuses, the university offers over 700 undergraduate and 200 graduate programs. U of T is home to world-changing discoveries and continues to shape a better future through research, teaching and public impact. SOURCE University of Toronto Media Contact: Mallory Clyne, Principal, Clyne Public Affairs, 647-917-5060, [email protected] World's largest small commodities market springs back to life after Spring Festival People's Daily Online) 13:11, March 05, 2026 The Yiwu International Trade Market, the world's largest small commodities market, located in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, reopened to customers from around the world on Feb. 28, 2026. The Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, inaugurated last year as the market's core hub, is dedicated to empowering global trade through digital technology. On Feb. 28, the center was bustling with activity, drawing businesspeople from across the globe. Foreign businesspeople view data on the global expansion of the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Liwei) At an accessories shop, store owner Zhu Sufang said more than 20,000 flower pendants were sold last year. Today, artificial intelligence is used in the design of about 30 to 40 percent of the store's products, as well as in order processing, production and shipping. A foreign businessman learns about an AI alarm clock at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Liwei) On the second floor of the market, a large screen displayed data on the global expansion of the market's businesses, streaming real-time footage of goods being sorted at more than 200 overseas warehouses and drawing the attention of foreign businesspeople. Fu Hua's store, located on the third floor, recorded robot sales exceeding 700,000 yuan ($101,900) on the morning of Feb. 28. Last year, Fu's company developed a companion robot that can express 12 different emotions and speak more than 60 languages, generating more than 4 million yuan in sales in just over two months. Fu Hua poses for a picture with businessmen from Dubai. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) Saier Technology's AI glasses, AI rings and other smart wearable devices have attracted both Chinese and international businesspeople. Zhang Yun, the company's chairman, said an AI translation device independently developed by the company supports translation and simultaneous interpretation and can also function as a phone holder. Zhang Yun shows an AI translation device that can also function as a phone holder. (People's Daily Online/Wang Liwei) At the store of Litian Toys, owner Chen Meijun was selling toys through a multilingual, AI-powered livestream. Over the years, she has recorded more than 1,000 multilingual product videos with AI support, selling toys to over 130 countries worldwide. Litian Toys at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Liwei) On that day, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center recorded a total of 62,000 business visits. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Ukraine sank a Russian liquid natural gas carrier in the Mediterranean. Iran is not the only country that can disrupt oil and gas shipping. Russias sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 export network is showing early signs of disruption after an explosion sank one of its shadow fleet carriers in the Mediterranean this week, forcing other tankers to halt or reroute and raising new questions about the security of a key shipping corridor. The LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz, linked to Russias sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, sank off Libya after a powerful explosion early March 3 roughly 150 nautical miles southeast of Malta. Moscow has blamed Ukrainian drone boats for the attack. Russias exports from Arctic LNG 2. They have about a dozen eleven aging LNG carriers operating outside Western sanctions. This is a fraction of their normal shipping. At least eight stations have been shut down so far in 2026. The crackdown contrasts with the governments gestures of openness amid a surprising critical shift by large corporations like Venevision The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) has reported that officials from the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) and members of the National Guard raided the headquarters of radio station Urbana 94.3 FM, located in Guatire a commuter town near Caracas shut it down, and confiscated all its equipment. The station had been broadcasting for 16 years. Conatel has also shut down radio stations Unika 92.1 in Caracas; Impacto 105.3 FM in La Fria a town on the border with Colombia; and Ritmica 104.1 in Puerto Cabello, on the countrys central coast. At each station, an average of 25 people have lost their jobs. All of these stations broadcasting equipment has also been confiscated. These decisions are being made while Venezuela is going through an apparent period of political openness regarding public freedoms, and the government of Delcy Rodriguez, under pressure from Washington, is agreeing to redefine the relationship of the state with social actors who exercise their constitutional right to criticism and civil opposition. The members of the SNTP themselves recently announced a working meeting with the legislative commission in charge of monitoring the Amnesty Law, to request a review of the cases of 40 journalists or press workers who are still facing legal proceedings or have been subject to other sanctions, such as the cancellation of their passports. Until a few weeks ago, Venezuela had as many as 24 journalists imprisoned, the highest number in Latin America at the time. All have been released in recent days, according to data from the SNTP. The measures taken by Conatel against these radio stations have not been publicly justified or explained as has happened on other occasions in the past and are aimed at changing the ownership structure of the media in Venezuela, especially radio. Particularly before the 2024 presidential elections, the government made a great effort to control public opinion before the vote. Many stations were nationalized or changed hands to friends of the government, says a spokesperson for the NGO Espacio Publico, who preferred to remain anonymous. Espacio Publico recorded 16 radio stations closed in Venezuela in 2023. A year later, that number had risen to 21. According to the researchers behind these studies, in some cases the closures were for political reasons, but in others, no formal explanations were given; they were simply carried out. In 2025, seven more stations were shut down. The Press and Society Institute (IPYS) estimates that in a year like 2022, for example, up to 95 regional radio stations were shut down without causing much public outcry or impact. The confiscation of equipment has become a common practice when stations lose their licenses. Experts warn that the authorities are waiting to see which regional stations licenses are about to expire so they can refuse to renew them and proceed with the change of ownership. Espacio Publico has also documented 62 news websites across the country, some of them international, that have been blocked. The National College of Journalists (CNP) has made similar reports over the years: regional or municipal radio stations have been shut down for reporting community issues, covering corruption, or allowing the dissemination of content critical of the government of former president Nicolas Maduro. The signals emanating from the Chavista government amid a context of openness and amnesty unfolding in the country are contradictory. The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, recently gave a much-discussed interview to the well-known independent journalist Luis Olavarrieta, in which he made new commitments to press freedom and national reconciliation as fundamental principles. I believe the work of all journalism, especially independent journalism, is essential, he stated, acknowledging the regimes excesses during this period. It is necessary to allow the flow of information without fear of reprisals, he affirmed. While this is happening in the regional broadcasting landscape of Venezuela, the major mass media outlets are somewhat impatiently awaiting the end of certain censorship measures imposed on them by the authorities. Some nationally recognized radio journalists, such as Shirley Varnagy, have returned to their morning slots on Union Radio one of the most listened-to networks in the country after being taken off the air for three months for commenting on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Maria Corina Machado. Amid a still very restrictive censorship framework, both she and the rest of the countrys radio broadcasters are beginning to exercise criticism again and to evaluate reality with greater transparency. The most surprising turn of events has been that of Venevision, owned by Gustavo Cisneros, one of the corporations of Venezuelas golden age of television and one of the most important channels in Latin America until the end of the 20th century. After 20 years of developing a neutral, restrained news line, in which criticism was scarce and the voice of Chavismo abundant, its president, Andres Badra, used particularly assertive and categorical language before his audience and before the Chavista authorities on the occasion of the stations 65th anniversary. Badras words were inconceivable coming from a long-time Venevision executive. We have had great joys, moments to celebrate, but at the same time we have gone through very dark, difficult times these past years. We saw the Fourth Republic [the years of democracy] come and go; the Fifth [the time of Chavismo]; and now we are heading toward the Sixth Republic in this transition. At a time like this, it is necessary to have the courage to raise our voices for democracy and the reinstitutionalization of the country when the time comes. Venevision, which has begun to air openly critical content, has already received several warnings from authorities regarding its new stance, but the channel is now ignoring the complaints. Adriana Cisneros, Gustavos daughter, now at the helm of the Cisneros Group companies, which have ties to Washington, recently announced the creation of a $1 billion private equity fund to support Venezuelas reconstruction within the context promoted by Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The Cuban government, after decades of treating the private sector as an internal adversary, appears to be easing its stance for the first time in nearly 70 years. Facing a deep economic crisis, Cubas Official Gazette has published a new decreelaw allowing the creation of publicprivate enterprises. These partnerships between state and nonstate actors would have the authority to decide what goods and services to offer, and to set prices and wages. The announcement came just one day after President Miguel DiazCanel urgently called for transforming the countrys economic model as the island grapples with U.S. sanctions. We must focus, immediately, on implementing the urgent, most necessary transformations that must be made to the economic and social model, Diaz-Canel said Monday during a meeting of the Council of Ministers. The comments come after several weeks in which the Trump administration has insisted that change in Cuba will begin with an economic transformation. Diaz-Canel also spoke of the importance of leveraging economic partnerships between the state and private sectors, especially at the municipal level; and promoting business with Cubans residing abroad. The Cuban president was effectively acknowledging that there is no way for the country to stay afloat without forming an alliance with its private sector. By Tuesday, the government had already made public DecreeLaw 114/2025, titled On the Association between State and Non-State Business Entities, a measure that marks a turning point in Cubas economic model. The decree provides cooperatives and micro, small, and mediumsized enterprises known as MSMEs the legal framework they have long been requesting in order to operate. The government has now created a new structure: the mixed Limited Liability Company (mixed LLC), which allows a stateowned enterprise and a private one to join forces and, among other things, operate bank accounts, decide what to export or import, and gain greater management autonomy. For years, the Cuban government has restricted private property under the principle that the socialist stateowned enterprise must remain the central actor in the national economy. Even during earlier crises such as the socalled Special Period of the 1990s when the government was forced to rely on private activity to survive the economic crisis, it avoided acknowledging the existence of a true private sector. Instead, it used terms like nonstate sector, entrepreneurs, or selfemployed workers. It was not until a month after the antigovernment protests of July 11, 2021 when people took to the streets shouting hunger and freedom that the government announced the creation of MSMEs, though only after issuing a long list of prohibitions. Even so, it was a significant shift for the Constitution to mention private property for the first time. Last year, the island had around 9,900 private companies, employing more than 30% of the population. For some time now, these MSMEs have been filling many of the gaps the government is unable to cover. Although their prices are out of reach for part of the population, they are currently the only actors capable of supplying essential goods in a country where basic items are largely unavailable. Although it remains to be seen how the new measure will be implemented, and even if the decreelaw does grant businesses greater room to operate freely, this does not mean the state will loosen its oversight. Every step taken by these new partnerships will still be monitored by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which will have control over their every move. Economist Ricardo Torres, a former researcher at the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy and now a professor at American University in Washington, warns that the new measure still operates within a framework of centralization and bureaucracy. These new joint ventures will have to be approved by the Ministry of Economy, he explained. Any state-owned company that wants to propose a partnership must receive approval from the corresponding agency. The economist also sees a clear intention on the part of the government to continue dictating the timeline for these processes. The government, which could now leverage the advantages of private entities, such as their capital or contacts, will decide which companies are established under this law. They want to take advantage of the private sector, but without relinquishing their position within the economy, said Torres. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code France is mobilizing troops to defend its interests in the region, promoting a military coalition to protect the Strait of Hormuz, and has not ruled out an offensive on Iranian soil if attacked France and the United Kingdom have already deployed military forces and equipment to the Middle East, despite criticism of the United States and Israel for the offensive against Iran, which has ignited a rapidly escalating conflict in the region. Paris and London remain wary of an operation they fear could draw Europe into the conflict, but have ordered the mobilization of fighter jets, frigates, and anti-aircraft systems to protect the interests of their allies, both European and Arab. The Netherlands is considering sending troops to participate in the operation. Greece, which has decided to install an anti-missile battery on the Mediterranean island of Karpathos, has sent warships to Cyprus. This island, an EU member located about 125 miles from Lebanon, a country also affected by the conflict, and about 215 miles from Israel, hosts two British RAF bases. A drone crashed there on Monday. The war has also touched NATO territory: Turkey reported on Wednesday that systems of the Atlantic Alliance installed on its soil shot down a missile, raising fears that the chaos could spread further, with unpredictable consequences. In the EU, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, together with the Bahraini presidency, has convened a Joint Council of the Union and the Gulf countries to work together on de-escalation, safeguarding regional security and respect for international law, an EU spokesperson explained. Our partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council can fully count on the EUs firm support in these turbulent times, the spokesperson emphasized. Threat of Iranian attack Meanwhile, the Iranian regime has warned that it will attack cities in any European country that joins the military operation led by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. European countries are calling these defensive operations, which they categorically deny are related to any actions by the U.S. and Israel. However, defensive operations can quickly turn offensive. France, the most active country at the moment, believes that when entering a military scenario, a certain number of actions cannot be ruled out in principle. That is, if Iran attacks any of its forces, they could retaliate, even striking on Iranian soil. And that is defensive. Because we are joining the U.S. and Israeli operation, diplomatic sources explain. Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Tuesday. Mark Schiefelbein (AP) Paris is also attempting to assemble a coalition to protect freedom of navigation. The mobilization aims to ensure the normal operation of the Strait of Hormuz and allow commercial vessels to continue transporting, primarily, oil and liquefied natural gas, diplomatic sources emphasize. This waterway, between Iran and Oman, is crucial, as it represents the main route for transporting crude oil from countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to other destinations. That operation will be carried out with the deterrent effect of those ships, explain sources at the Elysee Palace. The Strait is closed because the companies dont want to take the risk, but there is no physical obstacle. We will mount a strictly European operation. Although that doesnt mean they wont communicate with any American ships that might be present, the same sources indicate. To that end, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that he has sent a frigate to Cyprus following the attacks. He also confirmed the deployment of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, Frances most important military asset, which will set sail for the Mediterranean. On Wednesday, a Maltese-flagged container ship was struck by an unidentified projectile while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The crew abandoned ship and are safe, according to the UKs maritime trade operations body, which monitors maritime safety. It was the seventh merchant vessel hit in the Persian Gulf region since the start of the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran. The United Kingdom announced Tuesday that it will deploy a warship, the destroyer HMS Dragon, to the Mediterranean, as well as helicopters equipped with anti-drone systems, following an Iranian drone attack on one of its military bases in Cyprus. The British government also stated that a team of air defense experts has been dispatched to the region, although the Ministry of Defence did not specify the number or their deployment location. Meanwhile, France is clear that it must lead the European defensive movement and that it can no longer rely on Washington. And in this new geopolitical and military conception another front it has open one that could be seriously affected by the attack on Iran is Lebanon, where Macron had personally participated in the peace process, which included provisions for the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia in favor of the Lebanese Armed Forces and a specific conference on the region. The U.S. military operation has now disrupted all those plans. The feeling at the Elysee Palace is that the U.S. has dragged Europe into an operation that appears strategically flawed. Macrons inner circle is now emphasizing that France will not accept or allow the war to escalate without taking action. There is room for maneuver to avert the worst. We are in southern Lebanon. We support the prime ministers announcements regarding the deployment of the Lebanese Navy. We can do this with the support of our partners; this is the purpose of Thursdays conference. The Royal Navy vessel HMS 'Dragon,' this Wednesday in the port of Portsmouth. Carlos Jasso (REUTERS) The French Ministry of Defense has not provided details on the nature of the defensive deployment. France has approximately 900 military personnel stationed in Abu Dhabi at the Mina Zayed naval base and the Al Dhafra air base. French Rafale fighter jets from that base were deployed over the weekend to neutralize drones. Furthermore, Paris has defense agreements with several states in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, all of which are affected. If these countries request it, Paris could decide to mobilize the military assets it already has deployed in the area. The war in Iran is not Frances war. Paris reiterated this on Wednesday through diplomatic sources, who insisted that the U.S. and Israeli attack on the ayatollahs regime is outside international law and that France does not condone it. Even so, France has embarked on defensive operations. That war is not ours, but we have responsibilities to our partners. This crisis adds to everything that is happening in Ukraine and to the instability in our region. We want to be reliable, predictable, and provide reassurance to our partners: in the Mediterranean, the Gulf region, and the Middle East, diplomatic sources explained. Furthermore, France has requested that the Netherlands send the air defense frigate HNLMS Evertsen to support the Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean. The Dutch center-right government is currently considering the request, according to a letter sent to parliament by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense. The Evertsen has participated in an international exercise in the Baltic Sea over the past few weeks, involving 25 ships, 140 aircraft, 1,200 drones, and military personnel from 24 countries. The Dutch ship has approximately 170 defense personnel on board and is one of only four of its class equipped to intercept missiles and drones. With reporting from Isabel Ferrer (The Hague) and Rafa de Miguel (London). Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The Inter-American Court has ordered the Honduran state to return control of Cayos Cochinos to its ancestral inhabitants after two decades of exclusion and threats The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) on Wednesday condemned the state of Honduras for violating the collective property rights and political participation of the Garifuna community in relation to the Cayos Cochinos islands in the Caribbean. The court found that Honduras declared the archipelago a protected natural area without providing the community with proper, informed consultation. Cayos Cochinos is the filming location of the Spanish-language version of Survivor, one of Spains most-watched reality shows, broadcast by Telecinco. During filming, Garifuna residents are prohibited from approaching the area. According to the ruling, Honduras designated the archipelago as a protected area in 2003 and placed its management under the Cayos Cochinos Foundation, excluding the Garifuna people, who have lived there since the mid19th century. For at least two decades, the government has favored tourism operators and television production companies while restricting local residents access to the islands and prohibiting them from fishing in their own ancestral territory. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Honduran state to adopt several reparation measures. These include guaranteeing the participation of the Garifuna community in the administration of Cayos Cochinos and in the development of the management plan for the protected area, as well as paying compensation for damages and legal costs. The Garifuna community of Cayos Cochinos is an AfroIndigenous people who have lived on the islands for more than two centuries. They originally migrated from the Honduran coast, although their ancestral roots trace back to the island of Saint Vincent, now Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The archipelago consists of two main islands and 13 smaller cays. Although most of the land is privately owned, 10 Garifuna communities live in the area, supporting around 1,000 families, according to the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH). We see this sentence as a victory, or at least as a hope in our struggle, because we are talking about more than 32 years of fighting against the Cayos Cochinos Foundation, against the violations they have been committing, and this gives us hope that perhaps the state will deign to recognize our rights, said Mabel Robledo, OFRANEH director. For the past two decades, the Garifuna people of Cayos Cochinos have denounced abuses by the Cayos Cochinos Foundation. They have even displaced us with the use of force, with the deployment of the navy and the police. In 2003 alone, when it was declared a protected natural area, the authorities displaced more than 60 families, and subsequently, we have been prohibited from fishing, which is how our families make a living, said Robledo. Protest by the Garifuna community against the proposed Employment and Economic Development Zone that would displace coastal communities from La Ceiba to Corozal and Sambo Creek, in May 2021. Seth Sidney Berry (SOPA Images/Getty images) Last September, while the latest edition of Survivor was being filmed, a group of Garifuna people from the Nueva Armenia community organized to prevent the shows participants from performing a helicopter jump over Cayo Menor, one of the first challenges of the program. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that the filming of the reality show has violated the rights of the Garifuna communities. The regular airing of these television programs caused the suspension of artisanal fishing activities and restricted the mobility of Garifuna communities within their own marine habitat, affecting their access to food and essential resources, the document says. The show is filmed in an area officially designated as a total exclusion zone, where no one is supposed to enter. In practice, however, this restriction is enforced only against the Garifuna population. Right now, at this moment, theyre filming a reality show on the islands, and theyve forbidden us from going near it. The worst part is that theyre using Cayo Palomas for their show, and that cay is a sanctuary for migratory birds. We respect that, but theres a private contract between the reality show producers, the Honduran government, and the Cayos Cochinos Foundation for its use, Robledo stated. On Wednesday, the show Survivor announced on its social media accounts that the new contestants have already arrived in Honduras, with the new season scheduled to begin on March 5. The court also ordered the Honduran state to investigate reports of threats made against Garifuna community members following protests over the leasing of the cays for tourism and television productions. Since 2021, we have filed complaints about threats coming from the president of the Cayos Cochinos Foundation and the Ecological Society S.A. They have threatened us, said Robledo. They have told us that people who mess with them disappear. We hope the government investigates before it is too late. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Watertown, NY (13601) Today Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 19F. W winds shifting to ESE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 19F. W winds shifting to ESE at 10 to 15 mph. New Orleans must be the world capital of parades. After Mardi Gras, the city barely has a chance to catch its breath before springtime processions hit the streets. Heres a list of all the major parades in the area. Considering the ever-shifting weather, never-ending road construction and other issues, the routes of parades can change right up until the last minute. For second-lines specifically, the routes can be found on WWOZs Takin' It To The Streets page at wwoz.org as parade time approaches. In the middle of a standoff with Trump, the Spanish leader is seeking a similar momentum to the one that created a common cause in 2003 and gave the left an unexpected victory at the polls It happened 23 years ago, in February 2003, before the phenomenon known as polarization had taken hold and practically relegated the concept of broad consensus to the history books. The CIS, Spains statistical bureau, asked almost 2,500 citizens their opinion about the military intervention in Iraq being prepared by the George W. Bush administration and supported by Spains government, then led by Jose Maria Aznar of the Popular Party (PP). The result was one of those cross-party agreements that are so rare today. More than nine out of ten respondents rejected the war. And the rejection spilled onto the streets, with massive demonstrations that mobilized more than three million people under the slogan No to War. It is the very same slogan that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE) repeated, quite deliberately, on Wednesday, in an appearance to explain his decision to reject the United States use of the joint military bases in Rota and Moron for the attack on Iran. The governments position can be summed up in four words: No a la guerra (No to war), he said. The refusal has led U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten Spain with a trade embargo. Sanchezs position brings to the forefront a historic demand of high symbolic value, especially for the political left, which 23 years agoas nowalmost everyone considered doomed in the upcoming elections, but which united behind a common cause and ended up achieving an unexpected victory at the polls the following year. The parallels are so clear they practically draw themselves. The prime minister only has to say those four words for almost everyone to remember both the feeling of unity that the movement triggered, and what the Iraq war meant: an invasion without UN approval, a decade of Europe suffering from terrorism, rising energy prices, adds a source at La Moncloa, the seat of government. The no to war movement has characteristics that could mobilize the left and at least unsettle the right. Among these characteristics is its reliance on a widespread anti-Americanism, which makes it unpopular to appear subservient to the U.S. Furthermore, it benefits from Donald Trumps unpopularity. But no one should expect immediate effects. Its an idea that will take time to gain traction and wont halt some voting trends that favor the right and the far right, says a source familiar with Sanchezs efforts to connect 2003 with 2026. Carmen Lumbierres, a professor of Political Science at the distance university UNED, sees clear intentions in the revival of the no to war slogan. To channel the emotions of the voters, especially the progressive ones, into a moment of rebellion against the lies of the PP and against an unjustified war, by drawing a parallel, she says. However, this expert believes too much time has passed for it to be truly effective. Neither the countrys makeup nor its concerns are the same. What is pushing the vote to the right, especially among young people, and what sets social media ablaze, is not the rejection of submission to the U.S. or an illegal invasion, but rather the defense of Western identity against Islam, presented as a threat. NATO, Bush, Trump Gaspar Llamazares, a former leader of the United Left (IU) political group, notes that the main difference is that today there is a global disorder caused by the global far right that did not exist then. And a key figure of this global far right is Trump, who has low approval ratings in Spain: 76.5% of those surveyed by the CIS for its February barometer expressed negative opinions about him. Almost 80% see him as a danger to world peace. Perceptions about Trump taint those about his country. Between April 2024, with Joe Biden in power, and June 2025, with Trump already in office, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as a threat to Spain almost quadrupled, rising from 5% to 19%, according to the Elcano Royal Institutes barometers. UK PM Tony Blair, US President George W. Bush and Spain's PM Jose Maria Aznar, in a famous photograph in the Azores Islands (Portugal) on March 16, 2003. Sergio Perez (REUTERS) Abdon Mateos, a professor of Contemporary History at the UNED, believes that Trumps unpopularity is one of the factors that could contribute to the effectiveness of the no to war movement in Spain. In his opinion, the appeal goes even deeper. In Spain, there has always been a pacifist subculture that is opposed to military interventions, notes one of the leading experts on the history of the Socialist Party in particular and the Spanish left in general. He says that this pacifist undercurrent has clearly emerged on two occasions: first, the demonstrations in 1986 against Spains NATO membership; the second was the protests against the Iraq War in 2003. His colleague Juan Sisinio Perez Garzon, emeritus professor of History at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, believes that the 2003 demonstrations were an expression of a deeply rooted trait in Spanish political culture: the rejection of American imperialism. I wouldnt speak so much of pacifism as of anti-imperialism. Because, if you look, there hasnt been a strong reaction to the change in position on the Sahara, which should mobilize a truly pacifist society. Nor would I speak of a rejection of all imperialism, because Russian imperialism barely gets people out on the streets. The one that causes rejection is American imperialism. And the opposition is greater if Spain appears subservient. If the no to war movement of 2003 garnered such unanimity, its because it appealed to a diffuse rejection of U.S. imperialism with origins in the Cuba [Spanish-American] War, which gives the U.S. a bad reputation even in sectors of the right. Thats what Sanchez wants to recover when he now says no to war. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition I'll probably go Locals Thursday I've got my eye on two or three days Already got my weekend passes Tickets are just getting too expensive for me Vote View Results While it is not the first time a head of state or government has been assassinated, it is the only time that responsibility lies with another country and without a declaration of war Ali Khamenei died last Saturday at the age of 86 as a result of the airstrikes launched against Iran by the United States and Israel. His death is an unprecedented event in contemporary history. While it is not the first time a head of state or government has been assassinated, it is the only time that responsibility lies with another country. Until his death, the supreme leader had represented the highest authority in Iran since 1989, when his predecessor and founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini, died. Although the exact circumstances of his death are unknown, several experts consulted by EL PAIS agree that it is an unparalleled event. I cant think of a similar case to the execution of a head of state by a bombing raid from another country, without any declaration of war, says Javier Chinchon Alvarez, professor of international law and international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, in an email. Details surrounding the assassination of the Iranian ayatollah are still emerging. Israeli sources first confirmed Khameneis death on Saturday night, stating that his body had been found in a bunker. Shortly afterward, U.S. President Donald Trump echoed the statements of his Middle East ally. Iranian television confirmed the leaders death that same night. Joaquin Gonzalez Ibanez, a doctor of law at the same Madrid faculty, told EL PAIS in a WhatsApp conversation that, of the assassinations prior to Khameneis that he recalls, there is no case similar to Saturdays events. They are not comparable to the Iranian case, he emphasized. It is a crime of aggression under international law committed by Israel and the United States, apart from the war crimes we are already identifying at the girls school, the expert opined, referring to the joint U.S.-Israeli strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls primary school, which left at least 148 people dead. An act of aggression is one of the four quintessential international crimes. [There is] the crime of aggression, the crime against humanity, the war crime, and genocide, explains the academic. Gonzalez considers this act to be the most important, since the other three types of crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide) are committed within the framework of the crime of an act of aggression. Chinchon, for his part, considers it an extrajudicial execution, in line with the UN definition of the matter, that is, deliberately killing a person outside of any legal framework. [Israel and the U.S.] are once again confirming that they are acting not only outside the bounds of current international law, but in constant, open, and undisguised direct violation of their most essential obligations, he states. A memorial in homage to Ali Khamenei, on a street in Tehran Wednesday. Majid Asgaripour (via REUTERS) Among the most similar cases is the 2011 death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured in a water pipe outside Sirte, his hometown, and subsequently shot dead by members of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Libyas rebel forces. The similarity in this case is that, at the time of his capture, Gaddafi had already been wounded in a NATO airstrike. The Alliance had supported the NTC in the seven months prior to his death in its efforts to end Gaddafis regime. In August of last year, Israel killed Yemens Houthi prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, in another airstrike. The Houthi movement is one of the pro-Iranian armed groups present in the Middle East, along with the Palestinian militia Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Houthis control Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and the northwest of the country, but they are not recognized by the international community, unlike the Yemeni government. Therefore, Prime Minister Al-Rahawi was not considered legitimate at the time of his assassination. The deaths of Dzhokhar Dudaev, leader of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, in 1996, and his successor, Aslan Maskhadov, in 2005, also reveal similarities to the case of Khamenei. However, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria has never been recognized as a state by the international community. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Dudaev unilaterally declared the territorys independence. The Russian Federation, then under the leadership of former president Boris Yeltsin, never recognized this independence. Dudaev died in a Russian airstrike, launched by Moscow after he was located via satellite through a phone call. His successor died in a similar fashion, during a Russian military operation in Chechnya. Other notable assassinations of heads of state include that of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba in 1961, who was shot by a firing squad in a forest in the eastern region of Katanga. At the time of his death, Lumumba had already been overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA and Belgium. Nor does it serve as a mirror to the situation of the Iranian attacks, Gonzalez acknowledges. Successive Indian prime ministers, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, mother and son, also died by gunfire. She was shot by three members of her personal guard, including her bodyguard Beant Singh, in 1984. Her assassination was the result of Operation Blue Star, a military intervention that coincided with a major Sikh religious event. Several civilians were killed in the assault. As for Gandhis son, he was campaigning for the 1991 general election as the main opposition leader when a suicide bomber detonated a device in a plot orchestrated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed separatist group in Sri Lanka. He was no longer in power at the time of his assassination. Rally in Tehran's Enqelab Square on Sunday to mourn the death of Khamenei. ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH (EFE) Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri died in a 2005 attack, along with 21 others, when a car bomb struck the convoy in which he was traveling in Beirut. The only person convicted for the attack, tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, was Salim Hamil Ayyash, a member of Hezbollah. Twenty-one years later, the tribunal has still not found evidence that Syria or the militia were directly involved in the bombing, although it acknowledged the existence of possible motives. The other three defendants Hussein Hassan Oneissi, Assad Hassan Sabra, and Hassan Habib Merhi were acquitted. The 2021 assassination of then-Haitian president Jovenel Moise by Colombian hitmen is another example of political assassinations in the 21st century. An investigation by The New York Times revealed that he was killed for attempting to send the United States a list of politicians and businesspeople involved in drug trafficking. The identity of the mastermind behind Moises murder remains unknown. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A Torquay tattoo artist hopes to become the first Devon-based specialist registered with a national mastectomy tattoo charity after completing advanced areola restoration training. Amie Leonhardt, who has been tattooing for 10 years and is based in Torquay, has recently gained her CPD Level 4 qualification in areola tattooing under Lucy Thompson, founder of the Nipple Innovation Project - the UKs first mastectomy tattoo charity. She is now building a portfolio in order to apply to join the charitys network of verified artists. If successful, she would become the first registered NiP areola artist in Devon. Areola tattooing is often sought by people following breast cancer surgery, gender-affirming procedures or other operations which have altered the appearance of the chest. The treatment recreates the appearance of a natural nipple and areola using specialist tattooing techniques. Ms Leonhardt said her decision to move into the field was partly shaped by her own life experience. A survivor of two sudden cardiac arrests, she said she wanted to use her skills to do good and help others. Using the skills Ive been building over the last 10 years, I can now do that through this work, she said. Whether its breast cancer, gender-affirming surgeries or someone who needs nipples for any other reason, I am here to help. She believes specialist tattoo artists are uniquely equipped for the work, which involves delicate application on scarred or surgically altered skin. Tattoo artists typically undertake around two years of training, she said, learning about skin types, healing processes and working safely with different textures. It isnt as simple as picking up a machine and scribbling on the skin we have all seen those terrible kitchen tattoos. We understand that damaged and scarred skin needs to be treated much more delicately and Lucys advanced training really goes into detail on this, she said. She added: NiP are currently working to partner with NHS trusts all over the country to hopefully get patients referred to fully trained specialist areola artists. This way the patient will get the best results and the NHS can focus on what they do best - saving lives. Ms Leonhardt said she is in discussions with Torbay Hospital and plans to approach Derriford and Exeter hospitals about possible referral systems. Ms Leonhardt said patients often describe the tattoos as helping them take back their body and regain confidence following surgery. These tattoos really do make a huge difference to these people and it is an absolute privilege to be able to provide this service to the people of Devon and Cornwall, she said. With around 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year - roughly one in seven over a lifetime - and around 400 men also diagnosed annually, she said increasing awareness of restorative areola tattooing is vital so that those who could benefit know the service exists and how to access it. However, she added that social media platforms often restrict or remove images of areola tattooing, categorising them as explicit content despite their medical and restorative purpose, making it harder to reach those who may need the service most. When a Welsh harpist and a New York violinist met by chance at a Caribbean harp festival, neither could have dreamed it would lead to the creation of a highly-regarded and quite unique international jazz band. Local audiences can judge for themselves when The Transatlantic Hot Club perform at North Devon Jazz Club in The Beaver, Appledore, on Monday, April 20. Few bands have quite an array of traditional instruments, with harpist Ben Creighton Griffiths alongside aforementioned friend and talented violinist Adrien Chevalier from New York by way of France. Above: Band founders Adrien and Ben formed the Hot Club after meeting at a harp festival in the French Caribbean. Credit: Sion Dawson READ NEXT: Superb saxophonist leads his quartet to North Devon Jaz Club this March Joining them on their current tour are Jeremy Lohier from Corsica on accordion and Bens fellow Cardiff native Ashley John Long on bass. In the dozen or so years since its creation, the band has toured extensively across Europe, the USA and the French Caribbean, with a core repertoire alongside swing jazz, Latin jazz, French chanson and traditional European folk music. Over the years a flexible and changing ensemble of top international musicians has provided a fresh and unique musical perspective for audiences, offering something different at each hearing. Ben and Adrien met at the Journees de la Harpe - a harp festival on the sunny French Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guyane, Guadeloupe, St Anne and St Lucia. The following year they began an annual tradition of performing in Cardiff and have been expanding this into a full tour ever since, with the Transatlantic Hot Club name adopted some seven years ago. Above: There cant be too many jazz bands with a traditional harpist. Credit: Theodore Swaddling Their ongoing world tour has called in at venues all around the UK and numerous jazz festivals as well as the International Harp Festival in Edinburgh, the Wales Harp Festival and the World Harp Congress in Cardiff. Further afield, they have performed at multiple French venues as well as New York clubs and around Corsica, thanks to the bands Corsican connections. The Hot Club will be delighting audiences with their second album during their 2026 tour, which has a distinct Corsican flavour due to the bands unusual Corsican links. For a chance to experience some very talented musicians at the top of their game, join The Transatlantic Hot Club at North Devon Jazz Club in The Beaver, Appledore, on Monday, April 20. The gig will start at 8.30pm and as ever, entry is free (although a collection will be made for the musicians during the evening). For a meal booking, call The Beaver on 01237 474822. READ NEXT: Festival favourites set to raise the roof with a dance frenzy in Appledore Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, fascist Oswald Mosely and the author of the Beggars Opera will form the inspiration to explore the heritage of Barnstaple Pannier Market. Studio KIND, the gallery based in the market, has been awarded 19,134 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to create a new project called Back to the Market, which will explore the heritage of Barnstaple and the market in particular. The project will offer a wide variety of free workshops and events for all ages, including launching three artist commissions that will investigate key events from Barnstaples rich past. READ NEXT: Long-running North Devon charity saved thanks to National Lottery grant Three very different characters will form the basis of the work, including Oswald Mosley, who founded and led the British Union of Fascists he made two speeches in Barnstaple Pannier Market in the 1930s and his Blackshirts joined in with local tithe protests. The late Jeremy Thorpe remains a divisive figure he was North Devon MP from 1959 to 1979 and leader of the Liberal Party, accused of allegedly conspiring to murder his alleged male lover on Exmoor but was put on trial and acquitted. As part of his wedding in 1968, there was a very large and public celebration in the Pannier Market that had a political as well as a private function. The third historical figure is John Gay, who was born in 1685 close to the site of Barnstaple Pannier Market and went to school in St Annes Chapel. He wrote The Beggar's Opera in 1728, which used existing tunes and plots to concoct something wholly new, which could be said to be an early forerunner of todays sampling and collage techniques. These three topics will be used to investigate a range of issues including attitudes towards immigration, LGBTQIA+ identities in North Devon and experimental artistic devices. The commissions will culminate in an exhibition in Studio KIND, which is at the Corn Store in the market, as well a variety of research presentations both in the market and online. READ NEXT: North Devon gallery brings culture to Barnstaple Pannier Market Laura Porter, managing director and curator of Studio Kind said: As an arts organisation that has been based in the market since the beginning of 2024, we love the hustle and bustle of the market and know what an important community asset we have here. In a time of online shopping and struggling high streets, we want to celebrate the market as the beating heart of the town and were really looking forward to deep diving into its history through artistic expression and creative researching. We would like to thank Barnstaple Museum, Barnstaple Pannier Market, Sunrise Diversity and most importantly the Heritage Fund for making this project possible. We can't wait to share more with you soon. An award-winning Devon farm shop has announced it will open its first North Devon branch this year. Strawberry Fields, which currently operates four other sites across the county, said its new shop at Aller Cross is expected to open in Summer 2026. The family-run business confirmed the former site just outside South Molton will undergo a "full refurbishment" over the coming months. The expansion follows the success of the company's existing "satellite" shops in Buckfastleigh and Exeter. The owners said the new site would mirror this smaller model, focusing on a coffee shop and a "food-to-go" offering alongside fresh produce. The business, run by the Mounce family for more than 30 years, has seen rapid growth since its inception as a small working farm. In 2023, its flagship site in Lifton was named the UK's Best Large Farm Shop. It has also recently been shortlisted for the 2026 title. A spokesperson for the company said the move to North Devon was the "next exciting chapter" for the brand. The news comes as the business nears the launch of another site on Dartmoor, at the former Dartmoor Diner. Refurbishment work at Aller Cross is expected to begin shortly, with a specific opening date to be confirmed later this spring. Young women are not moving away from the far right, but rather moving closer to it, albeit at a slower pace than men. This is the conclusion of the latest report by Javier Carbonell, a researcher specializing in inequality, the far right and youth, for the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think tank. Far-right parties across Europe are eroding what was once a pronounced gender divide in their electorates, he asserts, focusing on a significant minority of women who are shifting towards these parties, rejecting feminism and embracing traditional gender norms. The analyst reviewed data from the CIS, Eurostat, and the European Election Study (EES), along with various papers. He identifies three reasons for this shift: the social-conservative turn across all age groups, dissatisfaction with the labor market, and the far rights ability to politicize that dissatisfaction. Carbonell cites the recent German elections as an example. In 2025, 26% of men under 25 voted for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, while 35% of young women voted for the left. However, he points out that while only 5% of young women voted for the AfD in 2021, that figure tripled by 2025, with 14% of young women opting for Alice Weidels party. Anti-establishment sentiment is also reflected in voting patterns. In Spain, after eight years of progressive government, both groups are shifting to the right, with men doing so much more intensely. A 40dB poll conducted in March shows that 25.8% of Generation Z women intend to vote for the ultranationalist party Vox and 2.1% for Se acabo la fiesta (The Partys Over), led by the anti-system figure Alvise Perez. However, just a year earlier, in March 2025, 15.1% would have voted for Vox, while Perezs party would have remained stable at 2.1%. Conversely, Carbonell, who is also a professor at Sciences Po University in Paris, shows that in the United Kingdom, the Green Party is attracting young people, which he attributes to 13 years of conservative government. Although women outperform men by more than 13% in university graduation rates, according to Eurostat data, and the gender pay gap has narrowed among young people (it widens when women have children), Carbonell emphasizes that these women belong to a generation that, as a whole, feels worse off than their parents. They see a broken social contract, because after studying, the job market offers fewer guarantees, less purchasing power, and less stability than before. This dissatisfaction translates into extreme distrust in the political system, which no longer seems capable of generating significant changes in public policies or improved living conditions, he explains. The researcher points out that the precarious job market, the rising cost of raising children, and the housing crisis make traditional female roles outside the labor market seem less risky and more attractive. He points to the emergence of messages whose most obvious caricature is the tradwives, influencers who post about their daily lives as devoted mothers and wives, preparing home-cooked meals and maintaining demanding beauty standards. For Carbonell, its an appealing image, which doesnt mean theres necessarily a wave of women quitting their jobs to dedicate themselves to their homes, but rather that they are consuming these videos and gravitating towards political parties that promote these values. Although social media are not the ones to light the fuse, they provide fuel. The researcher notes that there is a lot of feminist content online, but that the manosphere is more successful at getting its misogynist message across. Partly it is because algorithms favor conflict, and partly because people are attracted to whatever sounds against the system. In this arena, the far right has mobilized this frustration, idealizing a fictional past that functions as a sharp critique of an unaffordable present, according to the analyst. No woman would want to return to a time when they couldnt vote or open a bank account without their husbands permission, he adds. For the researcher, the fact that they are false doesnt make these idealized, nostalgic projects any less appealing. Nostalgia is powerful not because it accurately describes the past, but because it emphasizes whats wrong with the present. Femininity and superwomen This shift is also visible in attitudes toward the feminist movement. Carbonell explains: There is criticism of the economic system, and therefore criticism of the political system that sustains it. For many people, especially in Spain, feminism is part of the current political system, one of its main rallying cries. The analyst believes that equality is accepted among young people and that it is not true that young people are more sexist than older generations. What is true is that they are more anti-feminist. He believes the movement is in a cycle of demobilization, just as it went through a period of mobilization with the massive march of 2018 and the #MeToo movement. Carbonell outlines some key elements of the far-rights strategy, including promoting female figures, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni or AfD leader Alice Weidel, symbolic leaders to defend themselves against accusations of sexism. They also blame migrant populations for violence against women, as if inequality were solely a foreign issue. Furthermore, he highlights the successful formula of combining traditional feminine ideals with freedom and equality in an archetype of superwomen: simultaneously feminine, professional, and seemingly capable of balancing domestic duties with a career. Among the researchers recommendations is addressing the broader economic stagnation that is radicalizing his generation; improving job security, wages, and long-term wealth accumulation. The campaign of Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City, is cited repeatedly as a success story for attracting a broad range of young people by addressing their concerns, regardless of ideology or socioeconomic status. The researcher also proposes creating spaces for socialization and activism for a demobilized and fragmented youth: Youth are highly volatile and can return if there is a campaign focused on the cost of living that resonates with them. He does not recommend, however, that the major parties moderate their feminist commitments. For him, it would be not only a moral error, but also a strategic one because they would stop mobilizing their supporters and would fail to attract new ones. He proposes that the feminist agenda articulate tangible social and economic alternatives while incorporating men. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A revolutionary genetic band-aid has managed to curb seizures in children and adolescents with Dravet syndrome, a rare, intractable form of epilepsy in which attacks can be triggered by infections, heat, or even visual stimuli such as geometric patterns stripes, checks, or diamonds. Spanish neurologist Antonio GilNagel explains that one of his patients, a fouryearold boy who suffered around 20 seizures a month, was among the first to receive this experimental therapy, developed by Uruguayan biologist Isabel Aznarez and her colleagues at the U.S. company Stoke Therapeutics. The improvement was immediate, from the first injection. If things are as they seem, its impressive, says Gil-Nagel, from the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid. The child, treated in 2023, went from experiencing around 20 seizures a month to having only about one a year, according to the neurologist. GilNagels young patient received the therapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, which has been partially funded by the copyright of the Peter Pan character since 1929, when the Scottish novelist James Matthew Barrie donated it to the institution. The promising results of that first clinical trial, conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, were published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. It is the first gene-regulatory treatment for epilepsy, says Gil-Nagel. One in every 16,000 newborns has Dravet syndrome. In most cases, the condition is caused by a mutation in the SCN1A gene, which alters the behavior of neurons and leads to frequent epileptic seizures. The mortality rate reaches 15%. The experimental treatment administered into the cerebrospinal fluid through a lumbar puncture is called zorevunersen and is a genetic patch that reduces the effects of the mutation. The clinical trial involved 81 children and adolescents between the ages of two and 18. The experiment was designed to test the treatments safety, but scientists also observed an 85% reduction in epileptic seizures within three months among participants who received high doses. These improvements persisted over 20 months of followup, with reductions ranging from 60% to 90%. Because the therapy targets the underlying cause of the disorder, it also improves other aspects of the syndrome, such as severe cognitive and motor delays. Researchers at Lurie Childrens Hospital in Chicago, led by neurologist Linda Laux, shared the case of Owen, a 12-year-old patient with uncontrolled seizures, intellectual disability, and difficulty walking. The boys mother, Austin, explained in a statement that after receiving the experimental treatment, her son speaks more easily. He is able to make friends, which is kind of a new development. His quality of life has increased substantially, she said. The reported adverse effects are mild to moderate. The most concerning is an increase in cerebrospinalfluid protein levels observed in nearly half of the participants, although no cases of elevated intracranial pressure or hydrocephalus were detected. Stoke Therapeutics, which had more than 200 million ($215 million) in funding at the start of 2025, will finance a new clinical trial that will include at least two private centers in Spain: Ruber International Hospital and the Clinica Universidad de Navarra. The U.S. biotechnology company Biogen has paid over $160 million for the rights to market zorevunersen outside the United States, Mexico, and Canada, although additional trials are still required to confirm the treatments efficacy and safety. Paradigm shift Pediatrician Rocio Sanchez-Carpintero will lead the trials at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra. The researcher says that, until now, there were only treatments to alleviate the symptoms of Dravet syndrome. This is a paradigm shift. Were going from treating one of the manifestations, the epileptic seizures, to treating the disease itself, she says. Its like using an antibiotic to kill the bacteria that causes pneumonia, and then you no longer have a cough. Until now, we were only treating the cough. Epilepsy is a manifestation of Dravet syndrome, not its cause. Its a historic milestone, she adds. The quality of life for patients today is horrific. Horrible. They have epileptic seizures that are not controlled by any medication, an intellectual disability that becomes increasingly evident, difficulty walking as teenagers, some symptoms similar to autism Families practically live to be able to care for them. She continues: Because they have a risk of sudden death associated with epilepsy, many parents take turns at night so that, if there is a seizure, they can try to wake their child and prevent them from dying. It is very difficult to live like this. These types of genetic patches are called antisense oligonucleotides. The first similar treatment, authorized in 2016, was nusinersen, indicated for spinal muscular atrophy. It was priced at $750,000 the first year and $375,000 in subsequent years, per patient. The results of the next clinical trial, expected by the end of 2028, will determine whether zorevunersen is truly a potential treatment for the devastating Dravet syndrome. The outlook is very promising. Im very hopeful, says Sanchez-Carpintero. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition How Every Senator Voted on the Iran War Powers Resolution Measure failed with 47 yes votes to 53 no votes. Vote Total Democrats Dem. Republicans Rep. Independents Ind. Bar chart of total votes Yes 47 44 1 2 Needed to pass No 53 1 52 0 Yes Needed to pass No The Senate on Wednesday rejected a measure that would have reined in President Trumps power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress. The House is expected to hold a similar vote on Thursday. Democrats have criticized President Trumps decision to unilaterally launch attacks on Iran and questioned whether the U.S. faced an imminent threat from Iran a legal requirement for the president to initiate military action without congressional approval. The Senate rejected a similar measure last year after Mr. Trump ordered strikes on nuclear sites in Iran. How Every Senator Voted AI models can be informative and genuinely helpful, but as any powerful tool, they can be used for evil purposes as well. A young South Korean woman stands accused of using ChatGPT to find out the effects of mixing alcohol with powerful psychiatric drugs, and then proceeding to mix lethal doses in the drinks of at least three men, resulting in two deaths. The suspect, known only as Kim, was initially arrested on 11 February on the lesser charge of inflicting bodily injury resulting in death, after CCTV footage showed her walking into hotels in Seouls Gangbuk-gu district with two different men, and walking out by herself. The victims were later found dead in their rooms, with high doses of sedatives in their systems. The first alleged attack took place on 28 January, when Kim was seen walking into a hotel with a man in his 20s, and leaving by herself two hours later. The second attack took place on February 9th, when she checked into another hotel with yet another young man. Both victims were found dead. Kim allegedly admitted to mixing prescribed sedatives containing benzodiazepines into the drinks of the two victims, but claimed she didnt know it would kill them. However, police found evidence that she acted with the clear intent of ending the two mens lives. After checking the 21-year-old womans phone, investigators found that she had asked ChatGPT questions like What happens if you take sleeping pills with alcohol?, How many do you need to take for it to be dangerous?, and Could it kill someone?, and used the answers to plan the murders. Police also learned that Kims first attempt occurred in December of last year, when she spiked her then-boyfriends drink in a cafe parking lot in Namyangju, causing them to lose consciousness. Evidence shows that the young woman used this as an experiment and doubled the doses of benzodiazepines in her following attempts, suggesting that she was trying to kill her victims. Kims case went viral on social media, with most people condemning her actions. However, everything changed when someone leaked photos of the young woman via a social media account. Her attractiveness seemed to bewitch many of her former critics, with some even suggesting that she should receive preferential treatment because of her looks, and others admitting that they would go out for a drink with her as well. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer is helping the Embassy of Uzbekistan's efforts to attract increased trade and investment in Central Asias most populous country. Hired on Feb. 13, A&P is preparing a report due mid-March to show how the investment climate in Uzbekistan has improved during the past decade. A&P is charging a special fee of $70K for the report, a discount from the firms commercial rates. Thomas Shannon, A&Ps international policy advisor, is working on the Uzbekistan project. Earlier, he held the No. 3 post (under secretary of state for Political Affairs) at the State Dept. He helped manage US relations with the Russian Federation. The US signed a pact with Uzbekistan on Feb. 18, which gives it better access to its reserves of gold, uranium and copper, along with critical minerals such as lithium and tungsten. President Trump is working to boost US influence in Central Asias five former Soviet republics to counter Russian and Chinese clout in the region. Uzbekistan president Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the inaugural meeting of Trumps Board of Peace that was held in DC last month. Precision Strategies, an integrated strategy and marketing agency with offices in Washington, DC and New York, acquires Firehouse Strategies, a DC-based public affairs firm. Precision was founded in 2013 by senior leaders of President Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Firehouse was built by senior leaders of Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential run, together with Democratic strategist Ray Glendening. The combined firm will field have 125 staffers and a 50-state network of grasstops operativescivic leaders, local officials and community influencers. Precision's leadership structure remains unchanged. Stephanie Cutter continues as acting CEO and managing partner and Teddy Goff remains chief growth officer. From Firehouse, co-founder Alex Conant will join as senior partner and Glendening will serve as partner. In today's environment, clients can't afford an agency that only works one side of the aisle or doesn't have a diverse arsenal of strategists and capabilities to help them win. They need bipartisan savvy and strategic depth. That's what this is," said Conant. AVENIR GLOBAL acquires London-based Thinks Insight & Strategy. Thinks will remain a distinct business within AVENIR GLOBALs network, collaborating with its UK and international agencies, including AXON, Cherry, Hanover and Madano. Thinks management board, headed up by CEO Ben Shimshon, will continue to lead the agency, reporting to Michael Evans, president and managing partner of Cherry and Madano. In the U.S., AVENIR GLOBAL owns SHIFT Communications and Padilla, which includes brand consultancy Joe Smith and FoodMinds, which focuses on clients in the food and nutrition sector. Its other holdings include Canadas NATIONAL Public Relations and Hanover, a strategic communications and public affairs consultancy that works with clients in Europe and the Middle East. Being part of a global network of specialist agencies gives us new opportunities to grow our impact whilst staying true to what makes Thinks distinctive, said Shimshon. (L-R) DJ Hardy, Casey Stickles Good Company, which bills itself as a cultural engineering firm, is launched by DJ Hardy, a veteran of Johannesburg-based communications consultancy arxna and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Casey Stickles, who has worked at 5WPR, Rubenstein and MWW. The agency functions as an embedded extension of brand teams, developing integrated creative campaigns designed to penetrate culture and generate sustained digital media and social conversation. Good Company is also introducing a dedicated AI Creative Lab, known as Little Debbie, which it says will focus on accelerating technical workflows and visual prototyping to bridge the gap between imagination and instant execution. The old AOR model simply cant keep up with how fast culture moves, said Hardy. By breaking down silos and having real-time conversations every single day, were putting the pieces together in fresh ways with our clients goals always at the forefront. Not a Subscriber? Join O'Dwyer's & Get RFP Access Stop wasting time tracking down RFPs. O'Dwyer's connects you with organizations looking for PR firms & services. Get new business with O'Dwyer's! Join O'Dwyer's JUDGE Andrew Cody said he did not believe gobbledygook about a woman's employment which was presented to him at Tullamore District Court. Judge Cody was seeking information on the employment status of Jenny Coonan (33), Sofia Housing, High Street, Tullamore, when he was sentencing her for unauthorised carriage in a vehicle. Ms Coonan had previously been convicted of the offence which was committed on May 2 last year at Chancery Park Road in Tullamore. When Ms Coonan was before the court on February 25 last evidence of her work was handed in by Paul Noctor, BL. Judge Cody said that was a letter offering Ms Coonan part-time employment and noted that previously he had been told the accused was already working as a hair stylist. READ NEXT: Founders Friday event will feature Offaly entrepreneur Who's spoofing who? asked the judge. Ms Coonan told the court her manager was Chinese and Judge Coonan said he was considering calling that person into court. I don't take this nonsense lightly, he added, warning Ms Coonan that the matter was relevant if she wanted a suspended sentence. The matter was adjourned to March 4 and at that court sitting Ms Coonan was represented by David Nugent, BL. Mr Nugent handed in a letter from Mr Lee, saying he ran the Sunshine hair salon and the accused was paid in cash. Is any tax being paid? asked the judge. Mr Nugent said he believed Ms Coonan would be under the tax threshold. Judge Cody said the accused was a woman with 50 previous convictions and she had been given an opportunity to produce evidence she was in paid employment. Mr Nugent said the letter had been produced and Mr Lee himself was reluctant to appear in court. He said the employer was trying to get Ms Coonan back on her feet. The job was not six days a week but was a stepping stone for her to prove herself and he asked the court to allow Ms Coonan to rebuild with small steps. He said his client had been working for the last three Saturdays. Considering his sentence, Judge Cody asked if any damage had been done to the car involved in the offence and was told by the prosecution they did not believe so. The judge imposed a four-month sentence but suspended it for two years. I don't believe any gobbledygook about working or being offered work, he said. Mr Nugent said he was grateful to the court and stated he believed Ms Coonan was working and it could be very hard for someone in her position to get into the workforce. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt appeared before the press for the first time this Wednesday, the fifth day of the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran, and said about Spain that it is my understanding over the past several hours theyve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. She added that this change of position comes after Donald Trumps threats of economic retaliation over Madrids refusal to allow Washington to use the Moron and Rota military bases on Spanish soil. I know that the U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain. But the president expects all of our European allies, of course, to cooperate in this long-sought-after mission, she added. But Spains foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, rejected this statement just a few minutes later. I categorically deny it. The Spanish governments position on the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed one iota, he said in a radio interview on Cadena SER. Spains position had been summarized by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that morning in an official statement: No to war. Albares said that he has no idea what Leavitt was referring to. There is a bilateral agreement, and outside the framework of that bilateral agreement there will be no use of Spanish sovereign bases. Any operation must take place within the framework of the United Nations, he added. Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, speaking on Cadena SER. Leavitts words came on the same day that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Madrid in a television interview of putting American lives at risk. Trump has called Spain a terrible partner and even threatened a trade embargo, although its unclear what that might actually mean. What is clear, however, is that the Republican cant resort to his favorite tool: tariffs. The United States is not in a position to impose them on Spain without also imposing them on the entire EU bloc. Also on Trumps mind is the fact that Spain is the only NATO country that has opposed raising military spending from 2% to 5% of GDP. We could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobodys going to tell us not to use it, he said, adding that Spanish authorities were hostile and so he decided not to. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A PSYCHIATRIC assessment has been ordered for a woman who appeared before Tullamore District Court this week. The order was made by Judge Andrew Cody after the barrister representing the woman had a consultation with her. The 32-year-old, who cannot be named by order of the court, is accused of attacking her mother and two gardai and was previously remanded in custody with consent to bail. After some appearances before the court by video link she was present in person on Wednesday (March 4) and defence counsel David Nugent, BL, said he had a consultation with her and reported that her position was that she was illegally in custody. Mr Nugent said his experience told him she was not fit to give him instructions but she said she had not received psychiatric help while in custody and did not need it. READ NEXT: Offaly company plays role in Munster county's GAA gate receipts topping 1 million He said the office of his instructing solicitor, Aisling Maloney, had made contact with psychiatric practitioners without success. Judge Cody made an order for an urgent psychiatric assessment in the prison and remanded the woman in custody again, with consent to bail, to March 18. When the judge asked the woman to meet the medical staff in the prison she told him she had been put in custody illegally. A week earlier when she was before the court by video link, the judge told her that the 400 independent bail required from her to facilitate her release could be reduced but she would also have to supply an address. Mr Nugent told the court on Wednesday the woman could not get an address until she was released and suggested that she could be allowed to engage with homeless services in Dublin. She is a vulnerable person, said Mr Nugent. READ NEXT: Proposed new Offaly hospital gets five-year planning consent extension The court has been told a file on the matter will be going to the DPP. The court was told previously during a bail application that the prosecution evidence would be that the woman had brandished, but not used, a meat hammer, when she was assaulting her mother. The assault resulted in the injured party's face being cut and her glasses broken. One garda who came to the scene was struck in the nose with a heel and another was headbutted, loosening the guard's tooth, the court heard. The woman's mother told the court she no longer wished her daughter, who had been coming and going from the family home, to be living at home. Her daughter needed help and had previously been cared for by the psychiatric services. The court was told the accused would be applying to her local authority for assistance with finding alternative accommodation. Studyclix, Irelands leading digital study and teaching tool, has teamed up with Tullamore Credit Union to provide 1,000 students in six schools across the Midlands free access to its services. Senior cycle students at Tullamore College, Sacred Heart Secondary School, Colaiste Choilm Tullamore, Colaiste Naomh Cormac, Mercy Secondary School Kilbeggan and Killina School can now avail of Studyclix to support their schoolwork as they prepare for their leaving certificate. Representatives from both Studyclix and the Credit Union recently visited four of the schools to mark the launch of their new partnership, under the Studyclix Sponsor a School programme. Anna OSullivan from Studyclix provided study skills sessions to the students while Caitriona Lawlor, Member Engagement Controller at Tullamore Credit Union, was on hand to talk about the Credit Unions many services. READ MORE: Twelve special classes confirmed for Offaly schools including two new approvals Studyclix simplifies the study process by breaking down each subject into topics. For each topic, past exam questions, marking schemes, quizzes, flashcards and videos are available. The site has more than 200,000 students registered across Ireland, while over 90% of second-level teachers also use the service. Commenting on the partnership, Caroline Collins Murphy, Deputy CEO of Tullamore Credit Union, said: "Were delighted to support all our local secondary schools with the Studyclix package. Its important to us that students have the tools they need to do their best, and this is one small way we can help." She added: "Supporting young people in our community has always been a priority for Tullamore Credit Union, and were proud to play our part." Caitriona Lawlor, Member Engagement Controller of Tullamore Credit Union, commented: "It was fantastic to visit each of the schools and meet the teachers in person. The conversations were really positive, and it was great to see how much the schools value having Studyclix for their students." She continued: "Theres a real sense of excitement and commitment to supporting young people and being able to play a part in that made the whole experience really enjoyable." Anna OSullivan, Schools Sales Manager of Studyclix, revealed: "By sponsoring these six schools, Tullamore Credit Union is giving students access to 40,000+ past exam questions, 20,000+ quiz questions, and 3,000+ sample answers and video tutorials. Sponsorships like this help students to learn and study more effectively and open doors that shape their futures." OFFALY man and Irish Cancer Society Volunteer Driver, Brendan Hanamy, from Birr, is calling on his local community to go all in against cancer for the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, which takes place on Friday, March 20th. A retired primary school principal who worked across the midlands in his teaching career, Brendan has been a volunteer driver for the past two years since retiring. Brendan said: There isnt anybody in Ireland who hasnt had somebody in their life impacted by cancer, whether they are a survivor themselves, know somebody who has come through it or have lost somebody. I first heard about the Irish Cancer Societys volunteer driving on local radio and because I have had people close to me affected, I kept it in the back of my mind as something Id come back to in retirement. Now, Im a volunteer driver the last two years and Ive competed nearly 40 drives. Its incredibly rewarding to be able to give a little bit of comfort to somebody undergoing life-saving treatment by picking them up and dropping them to their appointment. The Patient Travel Service is a lifeline to people who need a lift to treatment, and it is only possible because of the generous donations of the Irish public each and every Daffodil Day. Every euro raised on Daffodil Day is crucial and makes a real lasting difference, fuelling life-changing cancer research and vital support services. I would encourage everyone to please get out there on Daffodil Day, March 20th, and show your support for those affected by cancer across Offaly and the midlands area. The Irish Cancer Society is there to ensure that every person affected by cancer has a place to turn to, the support they need and the hope that there will come a day when no one in Ireland dies from cancer. READ NEXT: Offaly photographer features in new Guide for Wetlands Communities Thanks to the amazing generosity of the public the Irish Cancer Society invests in ground-breaking cancer research and delivers crucial free support services for people affected by cancer, throughout Offaly. In 2025, your generous support provided: Around 260 free lifts to bring Offaly-based cancer patients to their treatment Over 250 free counselling sessions for people living in Offaly Almost 200 nights of free Night Nursing care to allow cancer patients in Offaly to die at home surrounded by loved ones Our Cancer Nurses had over 175 conversations with people from Offaly on our Support Line and in our Daffodil Centres Irish Cancer Society Acting CEO Edel Shovlin said: Cancer doesnt wait and neither can we. This year, thousands of people in Ireland will hear the words, You have cancer. Behind every diagnosis is a person, a family, a future suddenly filled with uncertainty. But this Daffodil Day, there is also determination, compassion and groundbreaking research driving real progress. Daffodil Day 2026 is about turning solidarity into action. The funds raised dont just support vital, life-changing cancer research they provide immediate, practical help for people facing cancer right now. From free counselling and transport to treatment, to Night Nursing care that allows someone to spend precious time at home, your support makes an extraordinary difference. Communities across Offaly, and throughout Ireland will once again come together to paint the country yellow standing shoulder to shoulder with patients and their families. But we need this to be our biggest Daffodil Day yet. When you donate or get involved, youre not just giving money youre giving comfort, hope and time. Together, we can ensure that no one in Ireland faces cancer alone. READ NEXT: Offaly's first Animation Day attracts an impressive attendance Where your donations go: 30 can help provide transport for a patient to and from their chemotherapy treatment using the Irish Cancer Societys Transport Service. 50 can help provide vital clinical equipment for an Irish Cancer Society Night Nurse. 60 will cover the cost of a counselling session to help a person cope with a cancer diagnosis in their life. 65 will help pay for the cost of one hour of Night Nursing, providing end-of-life care to a patient in their own home. 505 will help cover the cost of one night of Night Nursing, providing end-of-life care to a patient in their own home. For more information about Daffodil Day visit https://www.cancer.ie/daffodilday READ NEXT: Offaly man wins two gold medals at World Indoor Rowing Championships Whether it's a simple trim or the latest style, The Hairy Barber offers customers a bespoke experience with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, located in Tullamore's town centre. The barbershop was opened by Jolene Brennan more than a decade ago and has gone from strength to strength throughout that period becoming one of the main hubs for haircuts for those within Offaly's capital and beyond. Originally from Ballydaly, Jolene's route to becoming a barber after finishing school in Tullamore was far from traditional but she has always maintained a love for the profession since her teenage years. "I headed off to the UK for a few years after school. The first job that got back to me was KFC and I was a vegetarian so the last thing I wanted to do was work in a chicken place but I took it. I worked my way up and did quite well but I always loved doing hair." This passion stemmed from her first experience in the hair industry at the age of 14. She reflected: "It was just a little part-time Saturday job as my aunt worked in the business, I was only a junior washing hair and doing bits like that, it was great to see all the people coming in and chatting to them, I just absolutely fell in love with it." Upon returning to Ireland, Jolene decided to pursue the profession. "I didn't really want to do women's hair, so I said I'd try barbering. I started in Tommy Clarke's Barbershop, did seven years there and then I moved on to training barbers which was lovely, it was something that I really enjoyed." This experience shaped Jolene's approach as a barber. "I think chatting and caring about the clients is massive to me, not just having them in and out as quickly as possible. The haircut isn't just a haircut, it means more than that." She explained: "Many people look forward to the chat with their barber and a bit of banter and craic especially if they have been feeling down. You can really affect people in that half-hour slot. It isn't just about making people look good but making them feel good also and then equally you feel better as a result so it creates a nice little circle of positivity." Jolene insisted that becoming a barber wasn't without its challenges, particularly being a woman in a male-dominated industry. "When I first started out especially and it still happens, the men only wanted a man to cut their hair. I did find that part of it quite hard at the beginning." However, she says that attitudes towards gender have advanced in the industry since she started. "It has definitely changed because I've seen it from the beginning. It was more male-dominated but now lads come in and they are happy to have any of the girls cut their hair. I have three girls working in the shop. I've trained all three of them from scratch and I'm really proud of their progress." Jolene opened her own shop, The Hairy Barber, a little over a decade ago which she described as "a little dream." She says that the most rewarding part of running the business isn't money or awards but fulfillment from helping people. The Tullamore native cites cutting the hair of children with additional needs, who were originally reluctant to get in the chair at an early age, and seeing them become comfortable with the experience over time as some of the most rewarding moments she's had. Jolene is adamant that creating a good atmosphere is vital which is quickly apparent when entering The Hairy Barber. "It's hugely important, especially these days as things are harder for a lot of people, many are having a tough time or have bills coming out of their ears. I think my barbers are quality, we're like a little family here. It can be a very fun place to get your haircut but you also have to read the people in the chair. Not everybody wants to have the craic either so it's paramount to cater to what people want when they come to the barbers so they can have the best experience for them." When asked about possible expansion plans for the future, Jolene assured: "I'm probably different than most people, honestly, I've no interest in having loads of shops. I just want to have this little shop and harness all my focus and energy into looking after the people of Tullamore and I'm so happy to do that. I want to do it without having big fat prices as well because it's all about that loyal customer base." The Hairy Barber on O'Carroll Street is open from 9am to 5:30pm from Monday to Thursday, 9am to 6:30pm on Fridays and 7:30am to 4:30pm on Saturdays. Bookings can be made online or by phone at 085 115 5333 with walk-ins also welcome for an exceptional barber experience in the heart of Tullamore. *Sponsored Content This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com . To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here Count on this: a hospital ship isn't the only thing Donald Trump wants to send to Greenland. In fact, from the Caribbean to Nigeria to Iran, he seems ever more intent on (dis)organizing the world into a Trumpian nightmare. And by the time he's done (whatever "done" might even mean on this planet of ours at this moment), it's not going to be pretty. Count on this as well: it's not just in Iran, Greenland, Nigeria, and the world's seas and oceans that Donald Trump is going to raise Cain and cause havoc (and mind you, I'm not even thinking right now about what he's planning to do to heat this planet to the boiling point)! He's going to do it in the United States of America, too, and, unbelievably enough, he's not likely to stop for almost three more years. And count on one more thing, it's not going to look pretty, legally speaking (and I'm not even thinking about his urge to "nationalize" this country's elections). Worse yet, as TomDispatch regular Maha Hilal makes all too grimly clear today, when it comes to the law, Donald Trump and crew have the potential ability to, in their own fashion, use what passes for "legality" in this country to undertake an almost unimaginable set of anything but legal actions. And with that in mind, let Hilal take you deep into Trump's lawless world, one legality at a time. Tom Why the Trump Administration Doesn't Just Break the Law But Uses Legality (in a Distinctly Lawless Fashion) By Maha Hilal In response to his sentencing following his conviction on 34 felonies in May 2024, President Trump stated that he had "won the election in a massive landslide, and the people of this country understand what's gone on. This has been a weaponization of government." Despite his conviction, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge with no consequences like prison, probation, or even fines. The judge determined that this was the "only lawful sentence" that avoided infringing on the authority of the presidency. Had that been Donald Trump's first encounter with the law (which, of course, it wasn't), it would have been a stark lesson in impunity. It's no surprise then that, in an interview last year with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when asked about his obligation to uphold the Constitution, Trump responded, "I don't know." In his conversation with Welker, he also defied a Supreme Court decision that ordered the return of immigrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garc-a from El Salvador, where he had been deported thanks to what the Trump administration termed "an administrative error." Blaming the deferral of that decision on Attorney General Pam Bondi, the president stated that he was "not involved in the legality or illegality" of the case. Despite his seemingly ambivalent feelings in that interview, he has emphatically asserted his position with respect to the law elsewhere, especially when it came to him. For example, on February 16, 2025, he wrote on X, "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law." Nonetheless, outright violations of the law have been a signature characteristic of his administration writ large. For example, last March, when Judge James Boasberg ordered the return of planes carrying migrants being deported from the United States to El Salvador's CECOT prison (known for its brutality), Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instructed the two flights to continue in clear violation of the court order.The Justice Department would subsequently argue in a court filing that the administration hadn't violated the judge's order because the flights carrying the migrants were no longer over U.S. territory when the ruling was issued. In short, although the attitudes of President Trump and his administration toward legality have been guided by the belief that their power is in no way meaningfully constrained by the law, it would be a mistake to assume that they've governed through lawlessness alone. To focus solely on lawlessness would be to minimize the way the president and his administration have simultaneously relied on and weaponized the law itself to legitimize their violence and their violations. They have pursued an America First strategy that has centered on the expansion of executive power and the protection of narrowly defined national interests, while tossing aside both human rights and international legal norms. To fully grasp the depths of the Trump administration's violence, lawlessness must be examined alongside the strategic use of the law to manufacture a sense of legality and a facade of legal legitimation. Legalizing Boat Strikes to "Save Americans" On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, on President Trump's order, U.S. military forces conducted an airstrike against a boat that the administration claimed belonged to the Latin American gang Tren de Aragua, which he had previously designated a terrorist organization and described as "narcoterrorists." Since that first strike conducted in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, there have been 46 subsequent boat strikes in both the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean that have killed 147 people to date. Despite the view of legal experts that such strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings, the Trump administration has insisted on their legality. In late November, for example, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated on X that "our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict -- and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command." The approval Hegseth referred to came in the form of a memorandum from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Although that memo has not been made public, sources familiar with its contents report that it frames the strikes as acts of collective self-defense undertaken in the interests of the United States and several Latin American countries.The memo also argues that, because the U.S. is in an armed conflict with the drug cartels, the strikes don't require Congressional approval, being both in the national interest and sufficiently limited in scope, nature, and duration not to qualify as war-making. That memo has been criticized in numerous ways, with some experts insisting that the legal arguments are not only flawed, but were put together to legitimize a political decision already made by the White House. In the last quarter-century of the War on Terror, weaponizing the label of terrorism has been repeatedly invoked to justify repressive interventions.As law professor Sirine Sinnar notes, "Through invoking terrorism, the Trump administration targets its political enemies, pushes an openly racist and xenophobic agenda, and flouts international law more brazenly than its predecessors. But it can do all this so easily because the concept of terrorism has long been selective, political, and racialized, and because Congress and the Supreme Court have largely shielded counterterrorism from accountability." The designation of individuals as "narcoterrorists" reflects the enduring currency of this post-9/11 framework, demonstrating how the language of terrorism can be redeployed in new contexts through strategically constructed threat narratives. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The US president lashed out again at Madrid after earlier attacking the Spanish governments position on the Iran war U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out again at Spain on Thursday. He did so 48 hours after accusing the NATO ally and European Union member of being a terrible partner and threatening it with a trade embargo for not allowing the use of the shared-use bases of Moron Air Base and Naval Station Rota for his war in Iran. Trump spoke by phone with New York Post on Thursday. In that conversation he called Spain a loser and said that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, should support the U.S. campaign against Iran without question. We have a lot of winners, but Spain is a loser, and UK has been very disappointing, Trump said in a phone interview with The Post. [Spain is] very hostile to NATO. Trump was referring to a longstanding dispute with Madrid. They dont pay their theyre the only one that voted against the 5% payment, and theyre very hostile to everyone, he said, referring to alliance members commitment to contribute 5% of their GDP to defense. Not a team player, and were not going to be a team player with Spain either. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Washington press that Spain had agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. But Spains Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares categorically denied this a radio interview. The issue is pushing the bilateral relationship between the two countries into uncharted territory. The Spanish governments position on the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed one iota, Albares said in an interview with the Spanish radio network Cadena SER. Trumps statements to the Post suggest that the alleged cooperationmentioned by the White House in an attempt to tone down the situation, and later denied by Moncloahas not been enough to appease the volatile President of the United States. No to war Spains position had been summarized by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that morning in an official statement:No to war. Albares said that he has no idea what Leavitt was referring to. There is a bilateral agreement, and outside the framework of that bilateral agreement there will be no use of Spanish sovereign bases. Any operation must take place within the framework of the United Nations, he added. Trump also spoke to the New York Post about Starmer, another ally he has sparred with this week over the war that Washington has launched jointly with Israel. When asked if he privately referred to him as a loser, Trump repeated a line he has used before: Well, hes not Winston Churchill, lets put it that way. It was very disappointing his performance, having to do with our tremendous attack on a hostile nation, Trump said, referring to Iran. He should be giving us, without question or hesitation, things like bases where we can use others. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition International Immigration to New York (Image by Pavlo Kuliuk) Details DMCA Politicians don't control the world. They merely control the narrative of the world. Seeking votes, politicians create the narrative of the world they desire. This narrative doesn't necessarily have to be true, but it does have to lead to electoral victory. This is the foundation of modern political power. New York City, for example, illustrates how this works. Thanks to the efforts of politicians,(1) New York City is perceived by foreigners as a desirable destination for immigration. Consequently, New York City leads all U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of the number of immigrants. It is home to 13% of all immigrants who have arrived in the country over the past 50 years.(2) The total immigrant population in the city was approximately 3 million in 2023, or 38% of the city's total population.(3) But can a city be considered a good place to live if more people leave it than enter? From 2000 to 2019, New York City almost always had negative net domestic migration. This means that fewer people move to New York from other US cities than leave New York for other cities. And the difference between these figures is very large. For example, from 2010 to 2022, the negative net domestic migration rate ranged from 50,000 to 310,000 people annually!(4) But that's not all. The negative net domestic migration rate is so high that it almost always eliminates the excess birth rate over death. This means that about 100,000 people are born in New York City every year, and about 50,000 die.(5) However, the annual outflow of population from the city through net domestic migration is more than 50,000 people. This eliminates the excess birth rate over death. In the current situation, foreign immigration is becoming a natural alternative for replenishing the city's population. However, this goal can only be achieved by attracting large numbers of foreigners. This isn't always possible. For most of the period from 2000 to 2019, the number of residents moving into the United States (negative net domestic migration) was two to three times greater than the number of foreigners immigrating to New York City from abroad. This means that each year, 100,000-150,000 people left New York City, while approximately 50,000 foreigners arrived. Only between 2009 and 2012 were these figures equal. Then, the number of foreigners entering and New Yorkers leaving the city was approximately 50,000.(5) To be fair, it should be noted that in 2023-2024, the number of foreign immigrants finally exceeded the number of New Yorkers leaving the city. This difference was approximately 50,000 people per year.(5) This excess of foreign immigration over negative net domestic migration, whether coincidentally or not, coincided with a decline in the birth rate and an increase in the death rate in New York City.(5) Since 2000, the birth rate in the city has almost always been twice as high as the death rate. But since 2021, the birth rate has begun to decline and the death rate has increased.(5) The excess of foreign immigration over negative net domestic migration also followed the catastrophic population decline during the pandemic. It can be argued that foreign immigrants are the sole reason why New York City's population hasn't declined over the past 25 years. In fact, it has increased by a few percent, from 8,008,278 in 2000(4) to 8,478,072 in 2024.(6) This modest population increase of 470,000 people occurred during a period when approximately 1.2 million people were born in New York City and approximately 1.3 million foreign immigrants arrived.(5) Let's reiterate. Almost always, the total number of people leaving the city and dying there each year is greater than the number of people born in New York City and those who immigrated to New York City from other US cities.(4) This has been the case for long periods of time. For example, this was the case from 2015 to 2022. Only foreign immigrants prevent New York City from depopulating. For example, in 2013, the number of people born in New York City was 65,000 more than the number of deaths. However, in that same year, 65,000 more people left New York City for other US cities than immigrated from there. This eliminated any potential population growth due to the excess of births over deaths. However, the approximately 50,000 foreign immigrants who arrived in the city contributed to the population increase. A similar situation was observed in 2014. However, since 2015, even the influx of foreign immigrants has lost significance. Back then, the number of foreign immigrants arriving was about 50,000 per year.(5) However, the number of people leaving New York City has become almost 100,000 more than the number of people arriving from other US cities. Since 2016, this number has always exceeded 100,000. And in 2021 and 2022, this figure reached 310,000 and 220,000 people, respectively!(4) These numbers are reduced by about 100,000 due to births.(5) But these numbers are increased again by approximately 50,000 deaths each year.(5) As a result, in 2021 and 2022, New York City will lose about 260,000 and 170,000 people, respectively. This is more than at any time since the turn of the century. Whether by chance or not, after a catastrophic population decline, an equally catastrophic population growth occurred. This occurred, as always, due to foreign immigrants. Their arrival was so urgent and massive that it has become known as the "immigration crisis." Between 2022 and 2024, approximately 210,000 asylum seekers arrived on the streets of New York City.(7) The number of new arrivals almost matches the number of New Yorkers who left two years earlier. Population stabilization cost the city budget $2.62 billion from 2023 to 2025. And the total expenditure for these purposes is expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2027.(7) However, these expenditures justify political goals! A consistent population decline over a quarter-century would have sent a clear political signal. Population decline is always evidence that voters want to find a better life elsewhere. However, constantly attracting foreigners who don't know the reality of life in the city helps politicians avoid political responsibility. Thus, New York has transformed from a city losing population into a hub for international immigration. The right political decision! References 1. wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_New_York_City 2. click here 3. click here Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The president said that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will fill the position starting March 31. It marks the first departure from his Cabinet Donald Trumps immigration offensive will have a new face. The U.S. president announced Thursday that he has dismissed Kristi Noem from her post as secretary of Homeland Security. The Republican stated that Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will take over the position at the head of the Department of Homeland Security starting March 31. The dismissal of the official the first departure from Trumps Cabinet comes after the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration agents and while the department remains unfunded. Trump announced the decision in a post on his social media platform Truth Social: I am pleased to announce that the highly respected United States senator from the great state of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026, he posted. Memorial for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in Minneapolis, on January 24. Seth Herald (REUTERS) Trump added that Noem will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. The president then praised Mullin and paid tribute to himself. Serving 10 years in the United States House of Representatives, and three in the Senate, Markwayne has done a tremendous job representing the wonderful people of Oklahoma, where I won all 77 out of 77 Counties in 2016, 2020, and 2024!" he said in the post on Truth Social. A MAGA warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda. The message continued: As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to keep our border secure, stop migrant crime, murderers, and other criminals from illegally entering our country, end the scourge of illegal drugs and, make America safe again. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. The change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security the agency that oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the feared enforcement arm of the White Houses immigration campaign comes after several months of controversy and criticism over Noems handling of the role. She has been responsible for enforcing the presidents controversial immigration policy, including his goal of carrying out the largest deportation in history, and violent migrant detentions. ICE operation in Minneapolis, January 21. Leah Millis (REUTERS) Calls for Noem to be removed have been increasing since early January, when ICE agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis who was protesting the massive immigration operation launched in the state of Minnesota, which involved more than 3,000 agents. The death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet, sparked protests across the country. After the incident, Noem defended the actions of the agent involved, as did the rest of the Trump administration, and labeled Good a domestic terrorist. Just two weeks later, agents from the Border Patrol, another immigration agency under the DHS, shot and killed a second U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, also in Minneapolis. Although both incidents were recorded on video by witnesses in ways that challenged the official account, in Prettis case, Noem repeated the same accusation she made against Good and blamed the victim for his death. Meanwhile, calls for her removal grew, gaining support not only from Democrats but also from some Republicans. According to national media reports, in recent weeks those calls began to come from within the Trump administration itself. According to a report by Politico, Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, was one of People who pressured for Noem to be removed from the post. Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis last month to try to control the crisis that the tensions in the city over the two deaths had created for his government. On February 12, he announced that the immigration operation in Minnesota had concluded. The presidents patience seems to have finally reached its limit this week. Noem appeared before the Senate on Tuesday. The hearing was controversial not only because she refused to apologize for calling Good and Pretti terrorists, but also because she claimed that the president had approved television ads that spent millions of dollars promoting her nomination as DHS secretary. In statements to the national press, the White House denied that Trump had greenlit the ad campaign; in fact, they said Noem took advantage of her position to prepare for her future political career. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Valmet Invests EUR 2 Million in New Electric Boiler at Fabrics Production Facility in Tampere A new three-megawatt electric boiler will be installed at Valmet's fabrics production plant in Tampere, Finland, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. A new three-megawatt electric boiler will be installed at Valmet's fabrics production plant in Tampere, Finland, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. March 5, 2026 - Valmet has made an investment in its Yrittajankatu fabrics production plant in Tampere, Finland, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy efficiency. A new three-megawatt electric boiler will be installed at the factory and integrated into the power plant's heat production. The total value of the investment is EUR 2 million, and it is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2026. "As part of Valmet's Sustainability Agenda this investment takes a significant step toward net-zero at the Yrittajankatu factory. The investment supports our ambitious climate targets aiming to reduce GHG emissions from own operations by further 60 percent by 2030. This is a milestone investment on our decarbonization journey," says Sami Remmi, Vice President, Fabrics, Valmet. The electric boiler will produce hot thermal oil, which will be utilized in both production processes and facility heating. It is planned to operate as a base-load unit, while the existing gas and oil boilers will be reserved for peak-load situations. This setup enables the selection of the most cost efficient and low emission energy source at any time: electricity, gas, or light fuel oil. The investment includes the electric boiler itself, expansion of the electrical grid connection, modifications to the thermal oil pipeline system, and updates to the automation system. The electrical capacity will be increased from 3.5 megawatts to 7 megawatts to ensure safe and efficient operation of the new boiler and future production machinery investments. Valmet's Yrittajankatu unit has purchased fossil-free electricity since 2023, and by replacing the use of fossil fuels this investment will enable a further 25-50% reduction of the factory's GHG emissions compared to current levels. Valmet has a global customer base across various process industries and is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries. SOURCE: Valmet New York City education officials have dropped a plan to close an Upper West Side middle school after a parent's racist comments, caught on a live meeting, sparked widespread anger and national attention. The Community Action School (CAS), a small middle school on West 93rd Street, will now remain open next school year, reversing a proposal to close the program because of low enrollment and test scores. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels told families in a letter that the city would not move forward with the phase-out, saying the school community needs stability and support following the racist incident. CAS currently serves just over 170 students, most of whom are Black and Latino and come from low-income families, according to Gothamist. The controversy began at a Feb. 10 Community Education Council District 3 meeting, where officials were discussing plans to close or relocate three middle school programs, including CAS. During the hybrid meeting, a Black CAS student spoke in person against the closure, while a parent participating on Zoom was overheard making offensive remarks on a live microphone. In one viral clip, the parent said of CAS students, "They're too dumb to know they're in a bad school," a comment widely condemned as racist and demeaning. In another widely reported remark from the meeting, an adult was heard saying, "If you train a Black person well enough, they'll know to use the back," shocking those in the room and online. The parent was later identified in news reports as Allyson Friedman, a Hunter College associate professor and parent at The Center School, a nearby, more affluent, and majoritywhite program that is part of a separate relocation plan. Hunter College placed Friedman on leave after the video circulated, and The Center School's parent association publicly distanced itself from her remarks. Read more: Utah Bill Limiting Student Phone Use During the Entire School Day Moves One Step Closer To Becoming Law Samuels said he visited CAS with the local superintendent to meet students and school leaders before deciding to cancel the closure plan. In his letter, he wrote that the community is still processing the "racist and unacceptable" comments and emphasized that CAS needs "meaningful and comprehensive support," which he argued would be hard to provide during a phaseout. He also announced steps to address antiBlack racism systemwide, including expanding access to the city's Black Studies curriculum and launching training for families on combating prejudice, Chalkbeat reported. The decision marks a sharp reversal for Samuels, who previously supported the closure when he was the superintendent of District 3, which covers the Upper West Side and part of Harlem. The episode has become an early test of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pledge to listen closely to school communities on major decisions, such as closures and rezonings. While CAS has been spared, the fate of two other middle school programs in District 3, including the middle grades at P.S./I.S. 191, a majority Black and Latino school that shares a building with The Center School's proposed new home, remains undecided. Parents at both campuses have raised concerns, fearing that race and class are shaping decisions about which schools are protected and which are left vulnerable, as per West Side Rag. Laramie county fire districts four and five received an unexpected windfall last Thursday afternoon. Mr. Bryan Holgate and Mr. Matt Burgardt from EOG Resources presented them with a check for $45,000. This donations suggested use was to purchase extrication equipment and firefighting supplies for the departments. According to Mr. Holgate their business of Oil and Gas production requires first responders to have specific equipment and supplies when responding to one of their facilities emergencies. In particular they would like to see the purchase of Class B Foam vital to fighting fires of this nature. EOG Resources are out of Huston, Texas but have an office here in Cheyenne and run several sites in the local area. Mr. Bryan Holgate is the production foreman for the company and Mr. Burgardt is the Safety Officer. "The additional equipment will help responding agencies with saving lives, protecting the fire fighters and workers and intimately the protection of the locals." Chief Wallf said that along with the foam the money will be used to purchase the battery operated "Jaws of Life" as they are more commonly referred to. Updated extrication equipment that is needed in both districts. Accepting the donation was Laramie County District 4 Fire Chief Cy Thorup and Assistant Chief Glynn Moore and Laramie County District 5 Fire Chief Derek Wallf and Assistant Chief Cole Lambert. According to Chief Thorup the money will be divided equally between both districts with each receiving $27,500 in funds. Both districts were extremely grateful for the donation and assured the representatives that the money would be well spent on the needed equipment. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said on Thursday it has destroyed more than 300 ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems in western and central Iran since fighting began last weekend. The military released footage of the strikes, saying the attacks aimed to "further expand aerial superiority over Iran and minimize as much as possible the scale of launches toward the State of Israel." Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged on Thursday to maintain close military coordination following the launch of their joint operation against Iran, which has triggered a wider regional conflict and killed hundreds. In an overnight phone call, the two defense chiefs discussed next steps in their campaign against Tehran, according to a statement from Katz's office. "The two agreed to continue their close coordination and remain in continuous contact," the statement said. Hegseth praised the effectiveness of bilateral defense against Iranian missile threats, telling Katz: "Keep going to the end -- we are with you," according to the Israeli statement. The exchange followed massive joint strikes launched by Israel and the United States on Saturday, which prompted retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks against Israeli territory and U.S. assets in the Middle East. Hezbollah also fired rockets at Israel, which Israel responded with airstrikes in Beirut and other areas and ground incursions into Lebanon. On Thursday, the Israeli army issued an unprecedented order for residents in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately, marking the first full evacuation of the area. Soon after, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly warned that the area will face devastation similar to Gaza. The recent hostilities have killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, according to Iranian media, while Lebanon's Health Ministry reported at least 102 deaths. In Israel, rescue services said 10 people were killed by Iranian missile fire. Meanwhile, British Ambassador to Bahrain Alastair Long said on Thursday that Royal Air Force aircraft are conducting sorties across the region to intercept airborne threats, Bahrain's Al Ayam newspaper reported. He said one sortie has shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle between Qatar and Bahrain as part of Britain's defensive support for its allies. Long also said Britain has allowed the United States to use some of its military bases in the region under specific conditions limited to defensive operations. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who told parliament on Monday his government "does not believe in regime change from the skies," initially refused any role in Washington's conflict with Iran, drawing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. Starmer later backed down and agreed to a U.S. request to use two British military bases for what he described as a "specific and limited defensive purpose." CHEYENNE, WY The third year of Sheriff Brian Kozaks first term as Laramie County Sheriff, has been a transformative period focused on operational excellence, addressing mental health challenges within the detention center, and community-driven policing. Following two years of foundational restructuring, 2025 saw the successful implementation of high-level infrastructure projects and specialized units designed to modernize law enforcement in Laramie County. Modernization of Facility- Key highlights include opening a Special Management Unit in the jail, dedicated to the humane and safe housing of inmates with mental illness, added new jail court rooms, opened a padded cell, and completed the successful remodel of Central Control after a sewer main break caused extensive damage. We also started a jail booking remodel and finalized a comprehensive 6th Penny proposal to modernize the Sheriffs Office headquarters. The Sheriffs Office was originally constructed in 1986. These renovations are an important step towards updating our facility for long-term use into the future and is vital to the safety of our staff, inmates, and visitors. Specialized Programs- In a major step toward addressing the root causes of alcohol related crime, the LCSO launched the 24/7 Program, a sobriety-focused initiative that provides defendants with a path to recovery rather than long term incarceration, loss of employment and time away from family. Advancing Public Safety- LCSO established the Traffic Enforcement Unit to enhance roadway safety. The Unit has equipment to enforce size and weight requirements with commercial motor vehicles. Deputies were certified under the 287(g) Program to enforce immigration law, with the goal to remove unlicensed, undocumented and unsafe drivers from our roads. LCSO reintroduced the Mounted Horse Patrol Unit as a way to connect with the community at special events. Recruitment and Retention- While law enforcement agencies nationwide face staffing challenges, the LCSO outperformed national averages in both recruitment and retention. This was achieved through creating a positive culture within the Sheriffs Office, the restructuring of our recruiting team, and growing our media presence to attract applicants from around the country. Professionalism & Recognizing Personnel Success- Our Employee Ground School was overhauled to ensure deputies new to our agency receive high quality training and are ready to serve the citizens of Laramie County. Training includes topics from Constitutional Law to CPR, which prepare our new deputies for the Field Training Program. We implemented advanced standards for tracking use-of-force incidents and vehicle pursuits, reaffirming our commitment to accountability. A civilian now sits on the LCSO Use of Force Review Board. A new awards program was introduced to recognize and encourage excellence within our staff. Community at the Core "2025 was about building on the promise of a professional, high-quality staff," said the Sheriffs Kozak, "From our True Grit Citizens Academy to our School Resource Programs and events like National Night Out and Special Olympics, we remain committed to fostering the community spirit that makes Laramie County strong." Cornerstone Fellowship holds CPR Class The Cornerstone Fellowship is a fairly new ministry started here in Pine Bluffs. The church is a non-denominational group and meets every Sunday in the Historic High School Gym at 10:00 a.m. Sharing the teaching responsibilities are Dan DeBruyn and Dean Bowman. There are Children's Church classes for multiple grades, youth groups throughout the week and several Bible studies available for folks to participate in. Everyone is welcome to attend. As it turns out Pat Currie attends Cornerstone Fellowship and offered to teach a CPR/Basic First Aid class to the congregation that wanted to attend. The church took him up on his offer and the class was held last Sunday. Approximately 20 people were present and were instructed on CPR and basic first aid techniques. Currie, who has been involved in the medical field for the past 26 years started off as a medic in the military. He continued his training and career and eventually found his way to Laramie County Community College where he started the Paramedic course there. That is where he met his wife, Amy who also is a paramedic. Currie has been an American Heart Association Instructor for the past 20 years and is currently the Pine Bluff EMS Director. He still teaches classes and instructs EMT's and private citizens on CPR and First Aid. The class covered basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for both infant and adult situations. One fact that Currie stresses is that the real thing is not like what you see on TV. He said that some of what you see on TV is meant to entertain and not to teach you. He also stresses that sometimes too much time is spent trying to determine if the patient needs CPR instead of just starting. Currie had a small training tool in the shape of an infant and a manikin so the attendees could practice their compressions and techniques. Currie stressed that the most important part of CPR is compression and starting. If you are not comfortable with the breathing part, the patient will have a much greater potential for surviving if you start compressions. After the CPR part of the class Currie instructed them on the proper way to use an EPPI Pen for individuals that may have an allergic reaction to something. He also covered proper use of a Tourniquet to control bleeding for different types of wounds. What to do for a snake bite victim or someone who was injured in a fall. What to do for someone who has different types of burns like electrical, chemical or thermal (burn from a fire). It was a truly enlightening class and those enrolled in the CPR class will receive their certification. Third graders at Carpenter Elementary got an extra special treat this week. Each year, the last week of February, The University of Wyoming Engineering Department reaches out to Wyoming schools to connect third grade classes with local engineers, to inspire future innovators. Students in Mrs. Austin's class were able to visit with Molly Cook and John Poelma about all the different things engineers do. They also broke out in groups to design their own catapult, using just rubber bands, popsicle sticks, a spoon, masking tape and a pom-pom ball. John was raised in Carpenter and his mother used to be the secretary of the school, so it was extra special this year to have him and the students learn so much. When asked what her favorite part of having the engineers come to our schools, Mrs. Austin said, "I have been having them come for seven years, and I love how it shows students they can be engineers too, especially when the visitors come from our own community. It fosters collaboration with the university and with those that work here." Laramie, Wyo. - Feb. 24, 2026 - On Tuesday, March 17, the University of Wyoming Extension Sheep Task Force will host a free webinar about managing flock health around lambing season. The webinar, which is the first of two episodes, will discuss strategies for mitigating ewe and lamb stress from late gestation through docking. The second webinar will be hosted Thursday, March 26. Both webinars will be held 6-7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Topics: -March 17: Colostrum and orphan lamb management -March 26: Metabolic stress of ewes through late gestation and early lactation The sessions will be led by members of the UW Extension Sheep Task Force and feature guests from the industry. The Sheep Task Force supports Wyoming's sheep producers facing current industry challenges through evidence-based research and on-the-ground implementation. "Lambing is the first opportunity to have a positive impact on the success of the lamb crop, which makes proper preparation super important and beneficial," says Jedidiah Hewlett, Converse County extension educator. To register for the webinar, visit https://bit.ly/uwyo-sheep-26. A Zoom link will be emailed to participants after registration. Both webinar sessions will be recorded and posted on UW Extension's YouTube page for viewing after the live session. For additional info, please contact Hewlett at [email protected] or (307) 358-2417. Checkgate - Scandal in the Wyoming Legislature If checks were distributed on the House floor, that essentially would be bribery and unethical. Cody Republican Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, chair of the Freedom Caucus, is quoted as saying when the incident was first recorded by Mike Yin, D-Jackson. She even registered a formal protest against Yin for bringing it up to the body. Then it came out that everyone implicated in the scandal was a Freedom Caucus member. Shes been uncommonly quiet since then. I hadnt planned on writing on this topic since WyoFile has multiple reporters covering it and doing so very well. But, as it progressed, I decided to discuss it for those people who dont subscribe to WyoFile or follow the legislature. The scandal started when Rebecca Bextal passed out checks to Representatives on the House floor and was photographed by Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, since widely publicized by WyoFile. Bextal is a Louisiana heiress who moved to Wyoming and became a political activist. She ran for the WYGOP Chair in 2025 and was defeated by Brian Miller. After her defeat she was quoted as saying, Because I didnt win, I can now go after every single person that I want to. I can do whatever I want. Im going to be real effective in cleaning out the Senate. Bextal joined the media after creating a podcast with David Iverson. Although the media is prohibited from being on the floor of the legislature, she was escorted to the floor where she passed out $1,500 checks to Freedom Caucus legislators. Provenzas photo of the exchange shows Rep. Darin McCann accepting a check from Bextal and Rep. Marlene Brady holding what appeared to be a similar check. Brady said that she didnt know what shed been handed then went silent. The legislators receiving checks were: Reps. Chip Neiman (Hulett), John Bear (Gillette), Marlene Brady (Green River), Gary Brown (Cheyenne), Christopher Knapp (Gillette), Tony Locke (Casper), Darin McCann (Rock Springs), Joe Webb (Lyman), and Sen. Bob Ide (Casper). All are Freedom Caucus members. The exchange occurred shortly before HB00141 came up for a vote. The bill would prohibit local governments from imposing a fee on developers to help mitigate the cost of affordable housing. Bextal supports this bill saying the fees are unconstitutional. She unsuccessfully pushed the bill last session. Bextal is a realtor in Jackson and municipal. housing could affect her business. The Freedom Caucus ensured the bill passed introduction. Initially, Neiman, Bear and Rodriguez-Williams attacked Yin for bringing the subject up on the floor. Neiman and Bear both later admitted that they, too, had excepted checks. Bear quibbled saying that he accepted the check in his office not on the floor. Neiman finally admitted to accepting a check, Im up to this in my eyeballs. Certainly nothing I asked for. But, ladies and gentlemen, from my perspective, I want this over yesterday. Im sure he does. Rep. Gary Brown of Cheyenne wants it ended, too. During the hearing Friday night (1030 pm) he said that no rules or laws had been broken and the investigation Then the feed was cut. Neiman had previously stopped Brown from speaking on the subject during an interview. Sheriff Brian Kozak has opened a criminal investigation on the subject. Brown is trying to cast doubt on Kozacks investigation accusing him of making this a political or personal issue. Brown supported Jeff Barnes for sheriff against Kozack. In 2022, I helped the campaign that ran against this sheriff and then hes held malice against me ever since that time. Brown said. WyoFile, Maggie Mullen and Jasmine Hall, Feb. 20, 2026. From his testimony, it appears that Brown is doing his best to have the investigation terminated. The checks were written by a newcomer to Wyoming, Don Grasso. Grasso is originally from Chicago. Interesting that Ann Lucas, Freedom Caucus member, also originated in Chicago years ago and Brown from Colorado. Grasso is a billionaire; a retired businessman and philanthropist. He and Bextal are both heavy contributors to organizations that fund campaigns for the Freedom Caucus whose members are known to accept contributions from groups outside of Wyoming and from blue states to help solidify their power. Now they have a billionaire from Chicago and a millionaire from Louisiana close by to help them as well. Before the session, Bextal hosted a fund-raiser for Chuck Gray, with a cost reported at $2,500 per plate. Certainly not the people from Wyoming that Gray would represent. Neiman was given sole authority by House members to name the members of the investigative committee. Its seems odd that a person being investigated would be permitted to form his own investigative committee. From the list it appears that he chose people that will find in his favor or that he believes can be bullied. I believe he made at least one mistake, though. He named Rep Justin Fornstrom, (Pine Bluffs), to the committee. My opinion is that he believed that Fornstrom, being new, would acquiesce to senior members. I think hes wrong. Ive met with Fornstrom on several occasions and believe him to be his own man, strong enough that the other members of the committee wont make up his mind for him. Bribery is a felony with a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, a fine of $5,000 dollars, or both and a lifetime prohibition from holding elected office. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's 2026 economic growth target reflects a realistic yet ambitious vision from policymakers as the country maintains its strategic resolve to advance high-quality development. The target, defined by both a 4.5 percent to 5 percent range and the commitment to strive for better in practice, indicates that China is confronting challenges at home and abroad head-on with enhanced confidence in the economy's stable and improving long-run trajectory. It is grounded in the realities of the Chinese economy, and leaves room for structural reform and risk prevention. The 2026 target aligns with the goal of maintaining growth within a reasonable range during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) -- a critical stage for China to basically realize socialist modernization by 2035. The target underscores the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy. In recent years, the Chinese economy has progressed steadily despite various pressures. Its GDP reached 140.19 trillion yuan (20.28 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025. Meanwhile, new growth drivers have been emerging as a result of technological innovation and progress. While the International Monetary Fund projects global growth of 3.3 percent in 2026, and 1.8 percent for advanced economies, China's targeted expansion stands out among major economies. Amid mounting geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and protectionism, and a sluggish global economy, China stands as a pillar of stability and confidence, with its growth providing a crucial anchor. For an economy of this size, achieving quality growth of 4.5 percent to 5 percent is no easy feat. The country's more proactive macro policies, as well as new targeted and far-sighted measures, will strengthen the resilience of the economy further and ensure steady, high-quality growth. Expanding domestic demand, accelerating innovation, and deepening reforms will further unlock the growth potential of the Chinese economy. Notably, this year's growth target also represents a correct understanding of what it means to perform well, which is being promoted through a Party-wide campaign. Such an understanding of governance performance requires Party members and officials to proceed from reality, act in accordance with objective laws, and deliver achievements for the people through solid work. A flexible growth range would also enable officials to pursue a more holistic approach -- advancing technological innovation, enhancing environmental protection and improving people's livelihoods while seeking economic growth. Ultimately, China's growth target for 2026 embodies a forward-looking vision and a firm commitment to a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. Meeting this major target will thus ensure a sound start to the country's new five-year plan period that runs through 2030. Aiken Standard reporter Dede Biles is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers Aiken County government, business and horse industry. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers MOSCOW, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Ukraine will each release a total of 500 prisoners on Thursday and Friday, with the first 200 on each side already being swapped, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry said the returned Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said a "300 for 300" exchange is scheduled for Friday. Russia's presidential aide, Vladimir Medinsky, said the prisoner swap on Thursday and Friday is being conducted as part of the agreements reached in Geneva, Switzerland. The two-day negotiations, held in Geneva on Feb. 17-18, were the third round of trilateral talks this year among Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low 58F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 58F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 57F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Nick Reynolds covers politics for the Post and Courier. A native of Central New York, he spent three-and-a-half years covering politics in Wyoming before joining the paper in late 2021. His work has appeared in outlets like Newsweek, Poynter, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He lives in Columbia. PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-05 02:15:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 828 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2026 / Global Education Communities Corp. ("GECC" or the "Company") (TSX:GEC)(OTCQB:GECSF) has completed the divestment of its remaining Canadian educational assets as of February 28, 2026. This final sale marks the Company's strategic evolution into a pure-play student housing developer and operator, centred on a project pipeline currently valued at approximately $674 million (based on construction budgets), in addition to eight operational properties across Metro Vancouver.GECC will retain its recruitment subsidiary, Global Education Alliance ("GEA"). This strategic retention ensures a direct student recruitment channel from domestic and international markets into GECC's expanding portfolio of student housing properties across Metro Vancouver. Established by GECC over 10 years ago, GEA has aggregated a network of over 2,000 agents worldwide.Strategic Development MilestonesThe Company is reporting good progress across its primary high-density development projects:GEC Langara (Vancouver): Following rezoning approval on January 13, 2026, GECC is moving forward with a 26-storey student-centric rental tower. Once stabilized, the project, which saw a density increase of 159% from original plans, is projected to generate $12.6 million in annual gross rental income.GEC Oakridge (Vancouver): Construction has reached the 18th floor as of February 27, 2026. The structure is scheduled to be capped off in early March 2026, with interior work already underway. The project remains on track for completion in March 2027, with projected annual revenue exceeding $9 million once stabilized.Education Mega Center (Surrey): A building permit application and excavation permit were filed in late 2025 for this flagship project, with final municipal approvals currently pending."We thank the staff at SSLC and VIC for their decade of dedicated service," said Toby Chu, Chairman, President, and CEO of GECC. "This divestiture follows our successful sale of Sprott Shaw College in August 2025. We are now exclusively focused on executing our $674 million construction roadmap while operating eight GEC properties across Metro Vancouver. By streamlining our operations, we can better address the critical shortage of student-centric rental housing in British Columbia." Mr. Chu added, "Our 2026 outlook includes preparing for the completion of GEC Oakridge expected in March 2027, and commencing construction on both GEC Langara and the Education Mega Center. Together, these three flagship properties are expected to generate aggregate gross annual rental revenue exceeding $46.7 million, once stabilized." About GECC:For over 32 years, GECC has been a leader in Canada's education and student housing landscape. Serving a vibrant community of nearly 10,000 domestic and international students annually, GECC operates 20 student housing apartments, recruitment centres, campuses, and offices in Canada and abroad.Student housing and education super-centres: GECC is committed to solving Metro Vancouver's critical student housing challenges under the GEC Living brand. GECC specializes in developing and managing off-campus student-centric rental apartments and pioneering the concept of education super-centres. The GEC portfolio, comprising both operational properties and development budgets for the pipeline, exceeds $1 billion. GECC provides housing solutions to 95 schools in Metro Vancouver, serving domestic and international students from across Canada and 79 countries worldwide. Visit us at: www.gecliving.com Education Services GECC was the owner of Sprott Shaw College, SSLC Language College, and SSLC Business College (formerly Vancouver International College) until their divestiture in 2025 and 2026. GECC's current academic division includes CIBT School of Business & Technology.As part of its infrastructure, GECC also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. This student recruitment agency connects students with top-tier North American schools and places students into GECC's student housing properties. Irix Design is a leading design and media communications firm based in Vancouver.Visit GECC online at www.GEChq.com to explore our services and watch our corporate video. Check out our video library on YouTube.com: For more information, contact:Toby ChuChairman, President & CEOGlobal Education Communities Corp.Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 extension 301 or | Email: info@ GEChq.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the "forward-looking statements") about the Company and its plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, the scaling of GECC's student housing portfolio and pursuit of strategic expansion opportunities to achieve greater economies of scale for the GEC Living platform. The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors (collectively, the "Risks") that could cause GECC's actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. The Risks include, without limitation, customary risks of the construction industry, unexpected delays or requirements of the applicable municipalities, lower rental and occupancy rates from that assumed by management, and the risk factors identified in the MD&A for the interim period ended November 30, 2025. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of GECC's management at the time they are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances should change, except as may be required by law.SOURCE: Global Education Communities Corp CANBERRA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Thursday announced a new inquiry into racism against Indigenous people following an alleged attempted terror attack in January. Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said in a statement that an existing parliamentary committee on Indigenous affairs has accepted her request to conduct an inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She said that the inquiry comes at an important time following the alleged terror attack in Western Australia (WA) and a reported increase in racism against Indigenous Australians. A 32-year-old man from WA became the first person in the state's history to be charged with engaging in a terrorist act after he allegedly threw a homemade explosive device into a crowd of thousands of people who had gathered in the city of Perth for a protest led by Indigenous Australians on Jan. 26. The device did not detonate, but authorities said the incident could have been a mass casualty event and that the attack was motivated by racist and hateful ideology. McCarthy said that Indigenous Australians are feeling scared and angry in the wake of the Perth incident and a separate August 2025 attack by white supremacists on an Indigenous protest camp in Melbourne. The inquiry will hand down a report by mid-September. PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-05 02:02:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 434 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2026 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against NuScale Power Corporation ("NuScale" or the "Company") (NYSE:SMR). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether NuScale and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until April 20, 2026, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired NuScale securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On November 6, 2025 NuScale revealed that its general and administrative expenses had ballooned more than 3,000% to $519 million during its third fiscal quarter, up from $17 million in the prior year period, due largely to NuScale's payment of $495 million to ENTRA1 Energy LLC ("ENTRA1") in connection with an agreement to develop power plants to provide the Tennessee Valley Authority ("TVA") with up to six gigawatts of new nuclear power generation. As a result, NuScale's quarterly net loss skyrocketed to $532 million, up from $46 million in the prior year period. During a corresponding conference call, analysts pressed NuScale management regarding whether ENTRA1 was sufficiently experienced to own and operate the energy generation facilities contemplated by the TVA agreement. NuScale's Chief Executive Officer further revealed during the call that the agreement between ENTRA1 and the TVA contemplated as many as 72 NPMs, meaning NuScale's milestone payments to ENTRA1 could potentially exceed more than $3 billion.On this news, NuScale's stock price fell $7.57 per share, or 19.97%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $30.34 per share on November 7, 2025.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP Union Dicon Salt Plc has again announced that it has yet to contact its majority shareholder, Aims Limited, even as it works to reposition the company following an extended period of inactivity that left its production and operations dormant. The company announced on Tuesday that all efforts to reach its majority shareholder, Aims Limited, proved abortive, urging the investor to reach out to its secretary or physical office at Apapa, Lagos. In a fresh statement posted on NGX Group and signed by its secretary, Alfred James, on Thursday, the salt producer explained that it earlier experienced a prolonged period of inactivity, further noting its efforts to return to productivity in line with the rules of Nigerian Exchange Limited. Prolonged inactivity Union Dicon explained that during the period of its inactivity, the NGX Group placed the company on the Delisting Watchlist, which was reserved for companies that have been served a delisting notice. The company noted that the delisting process was later put on hold while the company received a stay of action from the NGX Group for a defined period during which it undertakes to cure the issues that led to the issuance of the delisting notice. It said the company management was granted a period of two years by the NGX Group to implement measures aimed at restoring the Company to full operational and regulatory compliance. Further to the announcement issued by Union Dicon Salt Plc (Union Dicon or the Company) dated 3 March 2026, notifying the investing public that the Company has been unable to contact its majority shareholder, Aims Limited, Union Dicon wishes to provide further clarification about the Company and its efforts to return to productivity in line with the rules of Nigerian Exchange Limited (The Exchange or NGX). The Company has experienced a prolonged period of inactivity, during which production and other business operations were largely dormant. Consequently, the Company was placed on The Exchanges Delisting Watchlist (Which is reserved for companies that have been served a delisting notice. However, the delisting process has been put on hold and the Company received a stay of action from the Exchange for a defined period during which it undertakes to cure the issues that led to the issuance of the delisting notice), and its Management was granted a period of two (2) years by NGX to implement measures aimed at restoring the Company to full operational and regulatory compliance, the statement read. Steps Union Dicon Salt Plc noted that it took significant steps to reposition the company, following the assumption of the companys new management. The company said the steps include commissioning of the companys salt and pepper production facilities, with the requisite NAFDAC approvals. It also commenced packaging operations for Dicon Salt and Dicon Hot Pepper. The salt producer further revealed that its management also maintained active engagement with substantial shareholders holding five percent or more equity interest in the Company, ensuring continuous communication and alignment with the companys new strategic direction. Following the assumption of the new Management, significant steps have been taken to reposition the Company, including: the commissioning of the Companys salt and pepper production facilities, with the requisite NAFDAC approvals obtained, commencement of packaging operations for Dicon Salt, and commencement of packaging operations for Dicon Hot Pepper. Management has also maintained active engagement with substantial shareholders holding five percent and above equity interest in the Company, ensuring continuous communication and alignment with the Companys new strategic direction, the company said. However, the Company has not been able to reach its majority shareholder due to its long period of inactivity, despite making all reasonable efforts. As part of the efforts to reposition the Company and bring it into full compliance with the post-listing requirements of the NGX, the need to have the majority shareholder on board has become an urgent necessity. The Company remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency, and regulatory compliance, and will continue to work diligently towards restoring normal operations as a compliant listed entity on the Exchange, the statement stated. This book has six chapters, arranged across 82 pagesfrom the title page to the index page. Aside from copious citations from relevant articles and chapters of the Holy Bible, the reference page has less than ten cited authorities. The book itself is uncommonly entitled: Christian Relations. There is something unconventional about the subject of this book: Christian relations. It sounds not just new, but unusual, unheard-ofa coinage with no verifiable roots in scholarly history. If Christianity were a product or an industry, perhaps, this would be a logical concept. The eccentricity is heightened the more by the deliberate use of relations, not relationship. Across the world, the term public relations, is an established phrase that defines and explains certain deliberate efforts by people versed in communication business to create mutually benefitting networks between institutions and their various publics. Within corporate organisations, public relations is a managerial function. While public relations, as a discipline, has a lot to do with inter-relationship and image creation, management, and sustenance, industrial relations, which is another specialised area of corporate relationships, is about the connection between employers of labour and the labourers or employees. A thin line separates the two concepts: in public relations, the focus is principally on the connection between an organisation and its various publics, while industrial relations is about the rapport between employers and employees and covers issues of wage determination, operational conditions and such other factors that ensure harmony in a workplace. Christian Relations is a new branch of study that may be generating interests but expectedly lacking in straight academic or hands-on definition. Since I got a copy of this book out of curiosity, I have tried to figure out either a hypothetical, hands-on, or conventional meaning of the concept. I am yet to reach an acceptable conclusion. The truth however is that what a professor of communication cannot explain in simple understandable terms hardly exist. Nkereuwen Udoakah is a journalist of the old breed. Decades ago, he left the newsroom for the classroom. With a chain of scholastic degrees from Ghana and Britain, he rose to become a professorand has produced several other professors. With specialty in political communication and media studies, Professor Udoakah has been a visiting scholar to the University of Sheffield in the UK, and was in 2005 nominated by the World Press Institute for training in Transparency Reporting at the University of Minnesota Journalism Centre. He is the author of Christian Relations, plus other brain-turning books and research articles on journalism. It does not require any extraordinary sense to observe that none of Professor Udoakahs academic laurels qualifies him to dabble into spiritual matters, except that beyond formal scholarly exploit, he is a spiritually regenerated person. The professor is reputed as the pioneer minister of the Church of Christ Community at the University of Uyo. He traces the history of Christian relations to the time when Jesus Christ was physically present on earth, regretting that despite its importance, the subject is yet to earn any recognition as an academic discipline. Udoakah describes his book as a spiritually-inspired academic journey into Gods mind for a peaceful coexistence by humanity. The book, Christian Relations is basically about how Christians should develop, sustain, demonstrate, and serve as public conscience with the expected possibility of setting the tone for moral decency in the society. The book underlines the necessity for every practitioner of Christianity to demonstrate rudimentary principled character towards one another. It lays bare the need for Christians to create a deliberate, enduring, bible-based attitude that is morally and spiritually right. The author sees Christian relations as being more of a lifestyle that puts morality and ethics above all elsea lifestyle that would make even those who have never studied the Bible to appreciate the doctrines of Christianity. Expectedly, the book cites communication as the major tool of Christian relations. This goes beyond talking. It embodies symbols, codes, and languages. Beyond symbols which could be metaphorical, codes comprise verbal and non-verbal signals. The author states authoritatively that non-verbal codes which include the way Christians dress, their body movements, use of time, among others, communicate beliefs extensively. Christian relations as a concept emphasises behaviours or body language that portrays or add value to the Christian doctrines in line with societal expectations. Either in verbal or non-verbal message transmission, it demands the willingness to explain Gods word, repeat advice, and encourage people. From the analysis of issues and conclusions drawn, Christian relations as a behavioural concept, draws its inputs from both public relations and industrial relations principles. It emphasises Christ-like attitudes in dealings both with the external and internal publics of the church. The concept therefore is an inter-section between public and industrial relations. For instance, the book discusses the expectations of the external publics which comprise different layers of believers but principally the unbelievers. In his opinion, the author sees Christian relations as divinely-guided public relations policy that must be conducted in a manner that causes the unbelievers to yearn for things of the kingdom. As an industrial relations belief, the book presents Christian relations as a leadership and communication attitude that does not seek to rule, but to lead. It believes that every church leader should first see himself as a steward who is positioned to attend to the people, and not a ruler who demands complete loyalty and subordination without consideration for the Christ-like attitude of stewardship which the scripture promotes. The book goes beyond Christian virtues of morality and ethics in depicting Christ-like thoughts to focus on specific purposes, limitations and the power of public communications in the preaching of the gospel. From the differences between speaking and writing to the ethics of public speaking, the author discusses how messages should be presented to the different publics and what constitutes good speaking. He discusses interpersonal communication as a tool in Christian relations and how it can be effectively utilisedespecially in a one-one evangelism programme, then focusses on the use of modern or the new media in effective evangelism, and how Christians can choose who to work with for maximum result. From all indications, Professor Udoakah is trying to introduce and push a new specialised communication idea into the academic market to make-up for the gaps he must have observed among his fellow preachers of the gospel. The book seeks to answer the question of not just how the church or Christians should communicate the gospel to the people, but how the preachers must conduct themselves. In a society that is over sensitive on religious matters, this theory, no matter its beauty and originality, comes with the possibility of a still birth. Perhaps, if the focus had covered what every other religionist should do to impart godly attitudes to the people, instead of focussing exclusively on Christianity, there would have been hope for its application as a discipline and field of study. However, there is still some anticipation! Teachers of Christian religion in our universities might find the concept appealing and worth their attention. That again, would depend on a lot of factors. On the whole, this is a book for every Christian, especially those involved in evangelism. Published in 2025 by the University of Uyo Printing Press, Christian Relations draws its inspiration from the Holy Bible. It brings to memory the mannerisms that made Christianity of the early days to stand out, win converts and cause King Aggripa to confess to Apostle Paul in Acts 26:28: you almost persuaded me to become a Christian. The US government is in talks with Kurdish armed groups and is considering arming them to foment an uprising in Iran that could topple the Islamic government. CNN reported on Wednesday that the administration is actively discussing with Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and northwestern Iran, as President Donald Trumps call for a popular uprising in the country failed to yield desired results. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Trump, before and after the death of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had urged Iranians to take to the streets and bring an end to the Iranian government. Mr Trump told Iranians to take back their country. It was a charge for a large uprising from a president who earlier made it clear that his goal for launching an unprovoked attack on Iran was to trigger regime change. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly made the same call. However, events in Iran show that despite days of bombing, there is no indication of a popular uprising among citizens. Although not all Iranians support the government, and there were massive protests against the government due to a spiralling economy caused by US sanctions on Iran, the US and Israeli bombings appear to be unable to get Iranians to take up arms against their government. Instead, thousands of Iranians across the country have gathered at different times during the war to show solidarity with their government. They gathered to mourn Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and bury about 165 schoolgirls killed in a strike by the US and Israel, with many carrying Iranian flags and Mr Khameneis photo and chanting Death to America and Death to Israel. Millions of Iranians are also expected to gather across the country during a funeral ceremony the government plans for Mr Khamenei. The ceremony was scheduled for Thursday but was postponed for logistical reasons, officials said. Now seeming unable to steer armed insurrection within Iran, the US now appears to be turning towards Kurdish rebels, a minority group in the fringes of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Kurdish rebels have for years opposed the Iranian government and carried out numerous attacks in the Kurdistan province of Iran. They have also carried out attacks in other Western provinces. Kurdish rebels operate along the Iraq-Iran border, where Iran and Iraqs Kurdish minorities share close ties. US officials told CNN that the administration intends to use the Kurds to stretch Iranian forces, give room for an uprising, or help seize and control northern Iran, which would create a buffer for Israel. On Thursday, Iran targeted Kurdish groups in their semi-autonomous region of neighbouring Iraq in what is believed to be a move to prevent armed Kurdish fighters from entering Iran. Al Jazeera quotes Irans Press TV as reporting early on Thursday that the military was targeting anti-Iran separatist forces, without specifying the location of the strikes. US contacts the Kurds NBC reported that President Donald Trump called and discussed with Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday, a day after the attack on Iran started. Axois identified the leaders as members of two Kurdish groups in Iraq. That is, Masoud Barzani, who leads the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, described the interaction as an effort to reach out to key partners in the region. Ms Leavitt, when asked about the conversations with the Kurds during a briefing, said, President Trump has been in contact with many allies and partners in the region throughout the past several days. She claimed the conversations with Kurdish leaders were with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq and that they had not yet agreed to a plan. Although it seeks the collapse of the Iranian government, the Trump-led administration has yet to outline a clear strategy for what it can achieve without on-the-ground troops. The US government appears to be considering the use of Kurdish rebels as an alternative to deploying US ground troops. However, Mr Trump said he has not ruled out sending troops into Iran, a policy which many analysts have suggested would be a colossal disaster. He also said several of the individuals the US viewed as potential options for replacing Khamenei have been killed, noting that the worst outcome would be for a leader to take over who is equally as hard-line as Khamenei. I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We dont want that to happen. So, wed like to see somebody in there thats going to bring it back for the people, he said. US history with Kurdish rebels The United States intelligence agency, the CIA, has a history of working with Kurdish groups in northern Iraq, particularly after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. During that conflict, American forces worked closely with Kurdish fighters, including the Peshmerga, in operations against the government of Saddam Hussein and other militant groups. In Syria, Washington also supported Kurdish-led forces during the fight against extremist groups such as ISIS. It also provided weapons, training, and military assistance to Kurdish militias that later became a key part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The US has a long history of supporting or funding armed groups across different countries to weaken or pressure governments considered hostile to US interests. The US announced on Wednesday that it sank an Iranian warship returning from a naval exercise organised by India in the Bay of Bengal, in the north of the Indian Ocean. The warship was sunk by a torpedo fired by a US submarine off the south coast of Sri Lanka, leaving 87 Iranian sailors dead and about 100 others missing, according to Sri Lankas Foreign Ministry. The US made no effort to rescue the survivors. Sri Lanka also disclosed that, based on the ships documentation, around 180 people were believed to have been aboard the Iris Dena. The US attack on the warship, which was not taking part in the hostilities, expands the war beyond the Gulf countries to the Indian Ocean and to Indias backyard. Reuters reports that the incident occurred near Sri Lankas Exclusive Economic Zone, in the international waters off the southern coast near Galle. It is also considered one of the few cases of a submarine sinking a ship since the Second World War. The IRIS Dena, a frigate belonging to the Iranian navys Southern Fleet, arrived in Visakhapatnam in mid-February for the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the multilateral exercise (MILAN-2026). Around 74 nations participated in the exercise, excluding the US. Iran was invited to and participated in the exercise. The US Navys guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney was expected to participate, but withdrew shortly before the event. Indian Navy welcomes IRIS Dena, of the Iranian Navy, on her arrival at Visakhapatnam reflecting long-standing cultural links between the two nations, Indias Eastern Naval Command had said at the time. The ship was returning to Iran when the US bombed it, in what many observers say was a violation of international law. The Secretary of State, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the US sank the warship as it sailed close to the Sri Lankan coast. The Pentagon released black-and-white footage of a Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo striking the frigate, sending a geyser of seawater into the air. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, he said. It was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we were fighting to win, he added. However, Iran has vowed revenge over the attack on its unarmed warship. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Irans shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of Indias Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning, he wrote in a post on X. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set, he declared. The death toll in Iran has risen to 1,045 as the war triggered by the US and Israel enters its fifth day, according to state media. PREMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday that Irans Red Crescent Society put the toll at about 787. Before this, the number of deaths was reported to be 550. The semi-official Tasnim news agency also reported that sounds were heard in different parts of the Iranian capital earlier on Wednesday. It also reported that the US and Israel have targeted the holy city of Qom and several other cities. Similarly, the Iranian Red Crescent said at least 1,039 attacks have taken place across the country. Tehran is also carrying out retaliatory attacks across the region. Satellite images have shown the impact of the US and Israels strikes in Iran and Irans retaliatory strikes across the region, Reuters reports. It also confirmed that an Iranian drone damaged the US AN/FPS-132 early-warning radar at the US base in Qatar. The radar system, said to cost over a billion dollars, is the biggest by the US in the Middle East. Earlier reports described the system as completely destroyed or neutralised. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General, Rafael Grossi, told NBC News that inspectors found no evidence of a coordinated Iranian programme to build nuclear weapons despite Israeli and US claims. He said the agency had not identified elements of a systematic and structured programme to manufacture nuclear weapons in Iran. But he confirmed that Tehran has enriched uranium to 60 per cent purity a level far beyond civilian energy needs. Mr Grossi said such enrichment is something only countries with nuclear weapons have. The Ondo State Police Command says it has arrested a 62-year-old man for the alleged rape of a 12 year-old girl in Akure, the Ondo State capital. The commands spokesperson, Abayomi Jimoh, a deputy superintendent of police, said this in a statement on Thursday. Mr Jimoh said the minors mother reported the incident to the police on 3 March after which the case was referred to the gender-based offences unit for discreet investigation. The mother reported that on 28 February 2026, at about 7:00 p.m. at Ehin Ala, where her children reside, one Imeje Mathew M, 62 years, allegedly defiled her 12-year-old daughter. Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect allegedly lured the minor into a nearby bush under the pretense of assisting her. After she (minor) visited his shop to charge her mothers phone, he forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her. The minor is currently receiving medical treatment at the Hospital while the suspect is in custody, and the investigation is ongoing to ensure diligent prosecution, he said. The police spokesperson also said the command reiterated its unwavering commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of women and children in the state. According to him, the command will ensure that perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence are made to face the full wrath of the law without compromise. Mr Jimoh appreciated the public for their timely and courageous reporting, and urged them to remain vigilant and continue providing credible, actionable information to the police for swift intervention. Together, we can build a safer society for our children and generations unborn, the spokesperson said. (NAN) The Nigerian government has approved an amendment that will enable medical professionals to use medical fellowships as an equivalent of a PhD for academic promotion and progression. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu. Mr Alausa said the amendments to the National Postgraduate Medical College Act were reviewed and approved by the executive council. It is expected that the proposed changes will be sent to the National Assembly for amendment to the law. The PhD/Medical Fellowships Row Medical professionals have long argued that medical fellowships should be equivalent to a PhD in the academic environment. They argued that the content of a medical fellowship from the National Medical College of Nigeria (NMCN), West African Postgraduate Medical College (WAPMC) or other recognised foreign postgraduate medical colleges was already rich in depth and research. The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) and the National Universities Commission (NUC), which regulates university education, resolved in 2020 that a PhD is not a compulsory qualification requirement for the career progression of clinical consultants. According to the agreement, the non- possession of a PhD will not hinder clinical lecturers from being promoted from one rank to another up to the level of Professor in the Nigerian University system. However, MDCAN still alleges discrimination against medical professionals with medical fellowships and without a PhD, especially during the recruitment of university vice-chancellors, which usually requires a PhD. Despite his public denials of alleged plans to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), recent public engagements of former Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, have fueled speculations in Jigawa State about his potential defection. The speculation had been triggered by the activities of his supporters in the state. Recently, a prominent loyalist, Zakari Kafin-Hausa, reshared a Facebook video in which a Katsina-based cleric, Yakubu Musa, bitterly criticised President Bola Tinubus policies, alleging that the president favours southern Nigeria despite the support he received from Northern voters in 2023. Before these developments, Mr Badaru had revalidated his APC membership in his hometown of Babura, three months after returning from a trip abroad, after his sudden resignation from office last December. However, his recent cross-party engagements have left many wondering about his intentions. He met twice within a week with the 2023 PDP governorship candidate, Mustapha Lamido, son of veteran politician Sule Lamido, who is rumoured to be considering a move to the ADC. Mr Badaru has also held talks with a former senator and current ADC chieftain in the state, Ubale Shitu, and, most notably, with former Governor Sule Lamido, with whom Mr Badaru shares animosity since a 2017 dispute that led to Mr Lamidos detention. Under Mr Badarus administration, Mr Lamido was prosecuted on four counts: defamation of character, criminal intimidation, and disturbance of public peace. The charges, filed under Sections 113, 114, 392, and 397 of the Penal Code, allege that the defendants actions were intended to incite public disorder. Mr Lamido was remanded in Kiyawa Prison from 2 to 4 May 2017 after a magistrate deferred rulings on his bail application and the polices First Information Report (FIR) presented as evidence. He was later freed and cleared of the charges. Mr Badarus high-profile meetings with opposition figures have sparked a heated debate across the state. While he remains in the APC and has a cordial relationship with Governor Umar Namadi, his recent posture suggests a potential shift in the states political landscape as Nigeria approaches the 2027 election cycle. In January, the former minister issued a statement to deny a report of his defection. My attention has been drawn to a baseless and speculative report circulating on social media suggesting that I am in consultations to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). I wish to state categorically that this report is entirely false, unfounded, and a product of political mischief. As one of the founding leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), my commitment to the party remains absolute. I urge the general public and our loyal party members to disregard these fabrications. I remain a dedicated member of the APC and have no intention of leaving the party I helped build, Mr Badaru stated in the January statement. When contacted on the ambiguities between his words and actions, his spokesperson, Mati Ali, said he was unaware of the former ministers meeting with opposition bigwigs. Mr Kafin-Hausa confirmed on Sawaba Radio on Tuesday that Mr Badaru hosted several opposition leaders at his residence and visited Mr Lamido. But he said the engagements were in the spirit of Ramadan, describing the visit as one accorded to a father. Mr Kafin-Hausa, who said he attended the meeting last Sunday, said the primary objective of the engagements was to engender political peace in the state. Absence from APC state congress However, Mr Badarus absence at the APC congressesparticularly the state congress held on Tuesdayhas intensified the suspicion of a potential parting of ways with the party that provided him the platform to become governor and minister. Many high-profile figures, including Governor Namadi, National APC representatives, and 2023 governorship aspirants Farouk Aliyu and Sabo Nakudu, attended the congress. Other bigwigs who attended included former Immigration Comptroller General, Muhammad Babandede, federal and state lawmakers and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Haruna Aliyu. The congress elected Ahmad Garba as the state chairperson and 35 other executive members from across the states three senatorial zones. In his inaugural address, Mr Garba delivered what appears to be a warning to the former minister. He said no individual can successfully play politics in isolation, warning that the new leadership would not tolerate dual loyalty. Some observers interpreted the remarks as referencing Mr Badarus ties with both the APC and the ADC in the state. No confrontation with the governor Is Mr Badarus grouse local or with Abuja? For his part, Governor Namadi previously accused opponents of trying to create division within the states APC. We have a mandate, and we need to continue executing that mandate. Nothing should derail us from the mission given to us by the people of Jigawa and Nigeria at large. Not only that, but as a people, we also need to exercise patience with ourselves. There are always groups of people who dont want things to go well. Whenever progress is being made in ways they dont like, they try to create confusion and instability. We must not allow such people to succeed, the governor had said while dismissing rumours of a rift with his predecessor. Despite the friction among their supporters, Messrs Badaru and Namadi have maintained mutual respect. Mr Badaru publicly endorsed Mr Namadi as his successor and has stated that he felt vindicated by the governors performance, which he noted has nearly surpassed his own eight-year tenure. Supporters clash and interests To be sure, the friction in the Jigawa APC dates back to 27 May 2022, following the emergence of Mr Namadi as the partys governorship candidate. Opponents saw Mr Namadi as a dark horse whose victory threatened their own political survival. Having previously served as a commissioner and later as deputy governor, Mr Namadi was often underestimated by certain party elites who viewed him more as a quiet technocrat than a political heavyweight. Since his inauguration in May 2023, Governor Namadi has bypassed traditional political patronage in favour of radical reforms. His administration has focused on civil service reform, tightening administrative loopholes, overhauling the teachers recruitment process and implementing transparency in pension administration. While these moves have been lauded by policy analysts, they have made the governor step on the toes of party loyalists who expected patronage through appointments from the new administration. The discontent has found a vocal leader in figures such as Yakubu Giradi, who has appeared on local radio stations to criticise the governors cabinet. Mr Giradi claims that Mr Namadi has abandoned the grassroots foot soldiers who secured his electoral victory and populated his government with academics and technocrats. The dispute has since moved from radio airwaves to digital platforms. Aggrieved membersmany of whom failed to secure anticipated juicy appointmentshave launched a coordinated social media campaign criticising Mr Namadis governance style as exclusionary. The crisis was further highlighted by a wave of resignations by minor appointees, who claimed they were sidelined in decision-making and formed an internal opposition. The implications Neither Mr Badaru nor Mr Namadi is a combative politician. While Governor Namadi continues to garner popular support through his pragmatism, Mr Badaru remains a calculated decision-maker who carefully assesses situations before intervening, said Muhammad Haruna, a political commentator in the state. Unlike many other Northern Nigerian states, politics in Jigawa is less volatile. Mr Haruna said, This relative stability allows political leaders to effectively steer the electorate, particularly when there is trust in the leadership. While it is often said that anything is possible in politics, the question remains: on what basis would Mr Badaru leave the APC or challenge Governor Namadi and President Bola Tinubu? Mr Haruna queried. He observed that the former ministers supporters may be aggrieved by their perceived exclusion from the state and federal administrations. This is despite the fact that several politicians who served under Mr Badaru are now serving as commissioners, local government chairpersons, and top government functionaries in the present government. Consequently, major challenges for the current government appear unlikely, Mr Haruna stated. Given the states political trend, leaders have consistently demonstrated an ability to steer the electorate, and currently, politicians across the board are striving to align themselves with the administration in power. The war between the United States and Israel against Iran entered its sixth day today (Thursday). Over 1000 people have now been killed in the war, the majority of them in Iran. We bring you major updates on the war on its fifth day. Republicans vote down measure to curb Trumps power In Washington on Wednesday, Republicans in the Senate voted against the War Powers Act, which would require the president to obtain authorisation before launching any additional strikes. Several democratic lawmakers had condemned Mr Trumps war on Iran, which has led to the death of at least 1045 people since Saturday. But Republicans blocked the procedural motion, voting 53 to 47. They argued that voting for the legislation would have sent the wrong message to Iran and the US troops. At this juncture, providing unequivocal support to our service members is critically important, as is ongoing consultation by the administration with Congress, Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said. On the other hand, Democrats insisted that Mr Trump has sidelined Congress and offered shifting reasons for the war. They described the war as illegal, saying only Congress has the power to declare war. Before voting in favour of the legislation, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said: Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war? Everyone else voted along party lines, except for two senators who crossed the aisle. Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against the resolution, while Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voted for it. The legislation is scheduled for a vote in the House on Thursday, where it is also expected to face strong opposition. Khameneis funeral postponed Iran has suspended the funeral ceremony commemorating its late leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This was announced on Wednesday, a few days after he was assassinated along with family members. The burial had been scheduled to take place on the same day in Tehran before Khameneis body was buried in the holy city of Mashhad, where he was from. Al Jazeera reports that the state media, Tnasim news agency, quoted an official who attributed the delay to logistical issues, including requests from people in different provinces to attend the ceremony. A 40-day public mourning period was also announced. Funeral arrangements are ongoing and are expected to draw huge crowds, and, with them, the potential threat of US-Israeli attacks on a gathering of mass mourning. About 10 million people were reported to have attended Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis funeral in 1989. Attack on Turkish airspace The war has continued to spread across the Gulf region. On Wednesday, a ballistic missile was launched towards Turkish airspace. The ballistic missile was reported to have been fired from Iran. But the Iranian military denied firing missiles at Turkish airspace. Turkiye, since the start of the war, had been the only neighbouring Gulf country with US bases untouched by Iranian strikes. The missile was, however, intercepted by NATO air and missile defence in the Eastern Mediterranean, According to the Turkish defence ministry, the missile had flown over Iraq and Syria. But it did not identify where it was headed. The New York Times reported that a senior US military official and a Western official said it was aimed at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. The Incirlik base hosts a sizable US Air Force contingent. Turkey, which shares a 300-mile border with Iran, had earlier declared that it would not allow its airspace to be used for attacks on Iran. Debris from the weapon that brought it down landed in Turkeys south-central Hatay province near the Syrian border. According to the Turkish ministry, no injuries were reported. But the General Staff of Irans Armed Forces, in a statement, said, The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran respect the sovereignty of the neighbouring and friendly country, Turkiye, and deny any missile launches toward that countrys territory. Targeting Turkey, a NATO member, would mark a major escalation. The move could trigger NATOs collective defence provision and pull the alliances 32 countries into the conflict. Thousands flee to Syria As the war in the region intensifies, thousands are fleeing to war-torn Syria. The humanitarian crisis in the Middle East seems to be growing rapidly. Al Jazeera reports that Syria said more than 25,000 people have passed through the Jdeidet Yabous and Jousieh border in Homs province in the last two days alone. The influx of refugees to the country is growing as the violence intensifies, particularly in Lebanon. Al Jazeera also reported that UN agencies and Syrias Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management have begun providing medical and relief assistance to the refugees. Syria has also said it is willing to accept those fleeing the violence. Meanwhile, the Israeli military declared that its attack on Hezbollah and, by extension, Lebanon continues. Israel earlier announced that it attacked Beirut a short time ago. It also said it completed a wave of attacks against several Hezbollah command centres, including a facility used by its aerial units. It, however, did not provide any evidence for this. Meanwhile, Canada has said it cant rule out its participation in the Iran war. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earlier said the strikes on Iran are inconsistent with international law, declared that the country will stand by our allies. One can never categorically rule out participation, he said alongside his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in Canberra. Australias Anthony Albanese also said Australian military assets are heading to the region as a contingency plan. ST. PETERSBURG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Russian researchers have developed a neural network that can detect early-stage breast cancer from CT scans within minutes, significantly faster than traditional methods that may take up to a day, local media reported on Thursday. The technology, created by St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University and the Almazov National Medical Research Center, reduces clinical error probability by about 20 percent, according to developers. "Such a development could help save thousands of lives," said Denis Stepanenko, head of the OncoDetect AI project and a master's student at the university's Faculty of Computer Technologies and Informatics. Breast cancer claims 4,000 to 7,000 lives annually in Russia, with late diagnosis cited as a major contributing factor. The AI system automatically processes CT images and highlights potential cancer signs for further evaluation by physicians. Developers said the model was trained on around 7,000 anonymized CT images from the Almazov Center's database. The Bayelsa West Senator, Seriake Dickson, has resigned his membership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), a newly registered political party. Mr Dickson, a former Bayelsa governor who governed the state from 2012 to 2020, announced his defection at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday. He explained that his decision to leave the party was due to the irreconcilable leadership crisis in the PDP, the platform on which he contested and won the governorship election and his current seat in the Senate The NDC is one of the two new political parties recently registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in preparation for the 2027 general elections. The other party is the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA). With the addition of the two parties, the total number of registered political parties in Nigeria has increased to 21. At the press briefing, Mr Dickson said the NDC would serve as an alternative opposition platform within Nigerias political landscape. The senator also commended INEC for registering the party, although he noted that the registration should have come earlier. Last week INEC issued a certificate of registration and we now have the newest party in Nigeria known as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and our symbol is victory, the victory sign. So, my dear Nigerians, you now have a credible alternative opposition party known as the Nigeria Democratic Congress. Yes, it is coming at this time, we would have wished it started some years or months back, we dont control INEC and their processes, they delayed, we dont also control the judiciary, but thank God it has finally arrived, he said. With his defection, the number of serving PDP senators has been reduced. Mr Dickson is currently the only lawmaker representing the NDC in the Senate. He is expected to formally notify the Senate by writing a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, informing the chamber of his defection. One-party state allegation There have been allegations that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in collaboration with President Bola Tinubu, is attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state amid the increasing number of opposition governors and political leaders defecting to the ruling party. However, the government and the APC have repeatedly denied the allegation, urging opposition parties to resolve internal crises rather than making such claims. Speaking on the matter, Mr Dickson rejected the idea of a one-party system, arguing that Nigerias diversity makes such a system impractical. This nation cannot be a one-party state. Nigeria cannot be a one-party state. Nigeria is not designed to be a one-party state. We are a very diverse nation culturally, religiously and politically and that is the beauty of our country. We get involved in movements to access power for the good of the people, not for our good and benefit, he added. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has promised to issue Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to the indigenous people of FCT, living on their ancestral land. Mr Wike made the promise on Wednesday, during a thank-you visit to the people of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). He explained that the move was to give the people a sense of belonging in the land of their ancestors. The minister, who said he understood how painful it could be, to be thrown out of ones ancestral land, promised to do everything possible to make the issuance of the C of O a reality. We must change the pattern of politics in Abuja, we must. We must recognise that anywhere you go to, there are people there, we must recognise them, he said. He explained that he was in AMAC to thank the people for electing candidates that were backing President Bola Tinubu during the 21 February FCT area council elections. I am here to thank you for the support you gave to all the candidates in the area council elections. They are all supporters of Tinubu, he said. He pointed out that relationships must not be one-sided, but symbiotic, meaning you do for me, I do for you; you fall for me, I fall for you; you push me, I push you; you love me, I love you. Mr Wike promised that he would always create time to interact with the people as directed by Mr Tinubu to keep governance closer to the people. He explained that Mr Tinubu had insisted that Ministers of FCT must always visit the communities to find out from the people what they want. The minister urged the people to continue to support only politicians who know how they feel, understand their needs and challenges as against unserious politicians who only dine with them because they need their support. He urged the Chairman of AMAC, Christopher Maikalangu, who was re-elected for a second term to make his people happy. Anything your people want, our doors are open for you. Come to us. Please do not take their support for granted. Make sure we dont disappoint our people and make sure all their efforts do not go in vain, Mr Wike said. Traditional leaders in AMAC, led by the Sapeyi (Chief) of Garki, Usman Nga Kupi, while thanking the minister for the development strides in FCT, had appealed for further action on land allocations and protection of indigenous settlements. In his remarks, Mr Maikalangu thanked Mr Wike for supporting his re-election and the people of AMAC for trusting him with their mandates, and promised not to disappoint them. (NAN) The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has announced support for the plan to establish Nigerias first dedicated Green and Climate Finance Bank, describing it as a strategic vehicle to unlock billions of dollars in climate-smart investments and accelerate the countrys transition to clean energy. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the committee chairperson, Afam Ogene (LP, Anambra), said the proposed institution would mobilise long-term capital for renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, green buildings, sustainable transport, waste management and other environmentally sustainable ventures. He said the initiative aligns with the mandate of his committee to oversee renewable energy components across entities in Nigeria and to formulate policies that accelerate investment in clean energy technologies. According to him, the proposed bank is conceived as a specialised financial institution focused solely on climate-aligned sectors, at a time when Nigeria is seeking to boost energy security through renewable sources. This initiative comes at a critical time in our nations history, Mr Ogene said. The question before us is simple: how do we unlock Nigerias climate opportunity? The answer is finance. Citing estimates by the International Finance Corporation, the lawmaker noted that Nigeria has a climate-smart investment opportunity valued at about $104 billion by 2030. However, he said conventional financing structures have struggled to mobilise capital at the scale and speed required to drive development in the sector. He explained that commercial banks often consider climate-related projects high risk, making it difficult for renewable energy developers and green entrepreneurs to access affordable financing. It is not that the opportunity does not exist, he said. It is that the financial architecture to unlock it at scale remains underdeveloped. Mr Ogene clarified that the proposed Green and Climate Finance Bank is not a government-owned institution but a private sector-led initiative designed to operate in close coordination with national climate policies, renewable energy goals and regulatory frameworks. He said the promoters have developed a detailed business plan, governance blueprint and stakeholder engagement roadmap, while engagements with regulators and development partners are ongoing. Subject to regulatory approval and successful capital raising, the promoters are targeting commencement of operations in early 2027. As legislators, our role is to create an enabling environment, Mr Ogene said. We will continue to support policies that encourage renewable energy deployment, improve investor confidence and promote sustainable finance frameworks. He added that the House committee stands ready to engage regulators, development finance institutions and private investors to ensure alignment with national priorities and global best practice. The lawmaker called on development partners, sovereign investors, pension funds and institutional investors to examine the proposal and collaborate with its promoters. Nigerias green transition is not optional. It is inevitable, he said. The only question is whether we will lead it or lag behind it. Founder of Quantum Partners and a lead promoter of the bank, Oluwafemi Adedipe, described the proposed institution as a platform to bridge the gap between green projects and capital markets. He said Nigeria is among the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, facing floods, drought, desertification and energy insecurity, yet remains one of the most promising green investment frontiers. Opportunity alone does not translate into progress, Mr Adedipe said. The capital that will operationalise the opportunity must be mobilised. Risks must be structured and projects must be financed. That is the gap this Bank is designed to fill. According to him, the Green and Climate Finance Bank will provide flexible financing tailored to renewable energy developers, sustainable agriculture enterprises, green infrastructure projects and climate-aligned micro, small and medium enterprises, including women-led businesses and green innovators. He said the promoters have spent months developing a comprehensive operating model and governance framework aligned with global environmental, social and transparency standards. An advisory structure bringing together expertise in banking, climate finance and investment management is also being assembled. Co-founder Samuel Ndubuisi-Brown disclosed that the immediate target is to raise $100 million in founding capital. He said the funds would enable the promoters to complete regulatory approvals, establish core systems and digital infrastructure, and commence lending and project financing. While earlier timelines referenced 2026, he said the operational target is now 2027, subject to approvals and capital mobilisation. This represents a dual opportunity, Mr Ndubuisi-Brown said. Investors can be first movers in a market that is about to grow exponentially, while also supporting renewable energy expansion, green entrepreneurship, job creation and Nigerias resilience in the face of climate risk. Beyond returns, the promoters said the bank aims to build domestic institutional capacity for climate finance, reducing overreliance on external funding mechanisms. They argued that global capital markets are increasingly shifting towards green and climate-aligned investments, and that early movers will shape the next era of economic growth. The proposed bank, they added, would provide a home-grown platform capable of engaging international investors while understanding Nigerias economic realities. The green transition cannot be achieved by government alone, nor by the private sector alone, Mr Adedipe said. It requires partnership. If successfully established, the Green and Climate Finance Bank would represent one of Nigerias most ambitious attempts to create a dedicated financial vehicle for climate-aligned growth, at a time when the country is under pressure to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and strengthen energy security through renewable alternatives. The Nigerian Army says its troops have dismantled a bomb fabrication site belonging to suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Anambra and Imo states, south-east Nigeria. In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Thursday, the army said the troops also destroyed several IPOB hideouts during clearance operations at Camp Gbadoanya in Orsumoghu, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra. Ihiala shares boundaries with communities in Imo State. The army said the troops conducted the operations, which began on 3 March, in collaboration with other security operatives, including personnel of the Nigerian Air Force which offered close air support. The coordinated operation is aimed at restoring lasting peace and security in the region. The joint force advanced to clear remnants of IPOB/ESN terrorists operating in the camp and its surrounding areas. During the operation, several insurgent camps were identified, thoroughly exploited, and destroyed, the army said. Troops also discovered and dismantled an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fabrication site, which was carefully exploited and destroyed. Pump action guns, locally made dane guns, assorted rifle magazines, different rifle working parts, belts of ammunition and cutting machines were among the items recovered from the suspects, according to the army. The army said a Biafran flag and a Biafran Army Headquarters flag were also recovered. Troops destroyed the flags and hoisted the Nigerian flag in the camps, it said. The army said, on 4 March, the troops destroyed additional IPOB camps within the Area during the clearance operations. Several IED making items were recovered from the sites, it said. The army said some of the IED-making items recovered during the operations were welding machines, drilling machines and filling machines. Others included several car batteries, one electrode welding handle, 12 locally fabricated guns and rifle components, as well as other IED equipment. IPOB, a group seeking to carve out a sovereign state of Biafra from South-east and some parts of the South-south of Nigeria, has been linked to some deadly attacks in the two regions. But the separatist group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. US President Donald Trump has said he needs to be involved in the selection of the next Iranian leader. He said this to Axios, an American publication, on Thursday, five days after the countrys supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint strike by the US and Israel on his home in Tehran. According to Mr Trump, Iran was only wasting its time if it tried to appoint a successor without US involvement. He also declared that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Mr Khamenei, who is considered a likely successor, was an unacceptable choice to him. He described the late Mr Khameneis son as a lightweight, while saying his son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela, he stated. Mr Trump also stated that he would reject any new Iranian leader who would continue the policies of the previous leadership. He said such a leader would risk another conflict with the US in five years. President Trump had earlier said the worst outcome of the ongoing war would be for a leader who is equally as hard-line as the late Mr Khamenei to take over power. I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We dont want that to happen. So, wed like to see somebody in there thats going to bring it back for the people, he said. He also stated that Iranian officials whom the US had killed preferred the options of new leaders. Most of the people we had in mind are dead, Mr Trump said. Mr Trumps statement comes amidst the ongoing war his country and Israel launched on Iran. Over 1,000 Iranians have been killed in the war. At least six American soldiers have been killed while Israel has confirmed 11 deaths from Iranian attacks. The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) has cleared former National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) Director General Emma Glassco of any wrongdoing over the use of World Bank funds for the construction of NaFAAs new headquarters. According to a letter shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, the decision to clear her was formalised on 23 December 2025. The letter, which was written by the anti-graft agencys Programme Manager of Monitoring & Investigation Baba M. Borkai, stated that the investigation found no evidence of criminal intent or liability on the part of Ms Glassco. The commission noted that the decision was approved by the commissions executive chairperson, Alexandra Zoc. In view of the aforementioned and from analysis of the evidence gathered by the investigation, we are pleased to inform you that the investigation did not establish any criminal intent or liability on the part of Hon. Emma Metieh Glassco; hence, by this instrument she has been CLEARED by the Investigation, the letter read. The investigation The inquiry focused on allegations that more than US$800,000 in World Bank project funds, earmarked for the Bushrod Island NaFAA facility, was misapplied. Ms Glassco consistently maintained that all expenditures were in strict compliance with World Bank procurement guidelines, no-objection protocols, and Liberias Ministry of Finance Project Financial Management Unit processes. Observers noted that projects of this nature undergo multiple layers of oversight, including review by a Project Implementation Unit, endorsement by a National Project Steering Committee, and final approval from the World Bank. The General Auditing Commission issued no adverse findings, and the LACCs clearance aligns with these prior oversight outcomes. In February 2025, President Joseph Boakai suspended Ms Glassco after the NaFAA Board raised concerns about her management of administrative and donor-funded projects, including the Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project. Government officials said the suspension was a precautionary measure to protect accountability, with Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah confirming it followed the Boards recommendations. Rejecting the suspension, Ms Glassco filed a suit at the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, claiming wrongful dismissal and violations of her constitutional rights and the NaFAA Act. In case ECW/CCJ/APP/19/25, she sought US$10 million for alleged state-organised harassment, emotional and psychological trauma, public humiliation, and false stigmatisation. She also requested at least US$175,000 for the unexpired term of her four-year contract, arguing the suspension caused undue financial hardship to her and her family. Additionally, she asked the court to declare her removal unlawful and a gross violation of Liberias tenure laws, and sought further compensation of no less than US$5 million for professional and psychological damages. Ms Glassco also demanded a public apology from the government in newspapers, on radio and TV, and on Liberias official website, claiming the authorities falsely portrayed her as corrupt and turned her into a public outcast. She asked the court to order the government to cover US$250,000 in legal costs. Before the LACC issued its formal clearance, Ms Glassco voluntarily withdrew her lawsuit in November 2025, discontinuing it with prejudice, meaning she will not re-file the case. Her legal team, led by former Chief Justice Kabineh Janneh and other lawyers including Sayma Cephus, asked the court to note the withdrawal and grant a moratorium on the application of Article 66(8) of the Courts rules. Glassco responds Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES via WhatsApp, Ms Glassco said the LACC clearance brought personal relief and reaffirmed her commitment to integrity. This brings a sense of relief and renewed motivation. It allows me to continue advancing along my professional path as a Fisheries and Maritime expert, particularly in a field that has traditionally been male-dominated, she said. She noted that political transitions can heighten scrutiny and sometimes create misunderstandings, but confidence in due process and thorough oversight clarified the situation. This experience reinforced an important lesson: integrity remains the foundation of professional credibility and career advancement. I remain committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism while contributing meaningfully to the fisheries and maritime sector, Ms Glassco added. During her tenure, Ms Glassco mobilised international financing for fisheries, strengthened compliance with European Union standards on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and developed livelihood programs for fisherfolk. She established co-management associations, distributed safety equipment, and implemented micro-loan schemes to support small-scale fishers. She oversaw the construction of FAO-Thiaroye fish processing facilities and secured Liberias first Fisheries Patrol Vessel, the Lonestar. As chairperson of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, she promoted regional collaboration, resulting in a joint closed fishing season policy adopted by six West African countries. Ms Glassco also launched Liberias first independent fish stock assessment in over 40 years, introduced the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences programme at the University of Liberia, and advanced ratification of international fisheries agreements, including the Port State Measures Agreement. Her efforts generated approximately US$88 million in concessional loans, co-financing, and grants, strengthening both the fisheries sector and national revenue streams. Analysts said the LACC clearance validates Ms Glasscos longstanding position that all reforms and expenditures under her leadership adhered to international standards of transparency and sound project management. The House of Representatives is advancing a bill to establish a comprehensive national framework to drive Nigerias decarbonisation agenda and coordinate the countrys transition toward a low-carbon economy. The proposed National Decarbonisation Bill, currently before the House, seeks to provide a legal framework to harmonise climate policies, emission-reduction initiatives, and energy transition programmes implemented across different sectors of the economy. Chairman of the House Committee on Mandatory National Decarbonisation, Sesi Whingan (PDP, Lagos), disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists after a stakeholders technical roundtable on Nigerias national decarbonisation programme held in Abuja. Mr Whingan said the bill, which has already passed its first and second readings in the House, is expected to proceed to a public hearing before the end of the month as lawmakers intensify consultations on the proposed legislation. According to him, the initiative is designed to complement the provisions of the Climate Change Act, 2021, by creating a more coordinated legislative framework for Nigerias decarbonisation efforts. He explained that the legislation would strengthen the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) and align multiple government programmes aimed at reducing carbon emissions and expanding clean energy adoption. This bill is designed to complement what the National Council on Climate Change is already doing. It has already gone through the first and second readings in the House, and hopefully, before the end of the month, we will move towards the public hearing stage, Mr Whingan said. He said the roundtable was organised to gather inputs from critical stakeholders whose contributions would help shape the proposed legal framework. Participants at the session included representatives of the organised private sector, the oil and gas industry, environmental advocacy groups, energy experts and officials involved in climate governance at both federal and state levels. Mr Whingan noted that policy clarity and sustainable funding mechanisms would be essential for the success of Nigerias decarbonisation programme, particularly in attracting investments in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. According to him, closer collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government would help provide the certainty required by both domestic and foreign investors. We all agreed that there is a need for strong collaboration between the executive and the legislature so that investors, both within and outside the country, can clearly understand the direction Nigeria is taking in its decarbonisation efforts, he said. The lawmaker also stressed the importance of extending climate action beyond federal policy circles by actively involving state governments and grassroots communities. To broaden national participation, he disclosed that the committee plans to convene a National Carbon Summit in June, bringing together representatives from the 36 states and the 774 local government areas. The summit, he said, will serve as a platform for broader discussions on the practical implementation of Nigerias decarbonisation strategy, balancing environmental sustainability with economic development. There is no way we can achieve significant progress if local communities are not involved. We must move beyond conversations at the top and take the programme down to the grassroots, he said. Mr Whingan explained that the committee on Mandatory National Decarbonisation was established to review Nigerias existing climate laws and policies, assess the countrys emissions profile across major sectors, and identify the institutional, financial, and technological requirements for implementing a nationwide decarbonisation programme. He added that the committee is currently consulting with government ministries, regulatory agencies, state governments, industries, civil society organisations, and international partners to ensure that the proposed framework aligns with global best practices in climate governance. According to him, the panel is also examining potential economic and social implications of implementing a national decarbonisation policy to ensure that the transition is both inclusive and sustainable. Mr Whingan said the ongoing consultations and the forthcoming public hearing are aimed at developing a robust legislative framework to guide Nigerias long-term transition to a low-carbon economy. Earlier in the session, Director for Africa at the Global Wind Energy Council, Wangari Muchiri, highlighted the economic potential of Nigerias decarbonisation drive, describing it as a gateway for economic diversification, job creation, and increased investment in clean energy technologies. Ms Muchiri said the shift to a low-carbon economy is particularly urgent given the carbon-intensive profile of key sectors such as oil and gas, power generation, and agriculture. She said the global pivot toward cleaner energy systems offers Nigeria an opportunity to reposition itself economically, tapping into what she called the rapidly expanding carbon economy. The decarbonisation agenda for Nigeria is really critical. Many sectors in Nigeria, including oil and gas and agriculture, are very carbon-heavy. But in todays global economy, this presents a big opportunity for Nigeria to capitalise on the carbon economy, create jobs, and bring new income into the sector, Ms Muchiri said. She pointed to Nigerias growing policy commitments as a sign of readiness, citing statements by President Bola Tinubu at international climate forums, including the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which signal Nigerias willingness to pursue a structured transition to low-carbon development. The president has said on several occasions, including at COP last year, that Nigeria is prepared for a decarbonisation agenda. We are excited to see many partners ready to walk this journey with the country, she said. She urged development partners, investors, and technical experts to expand their engagement with Nigeria by providing financing, transferring technical knowledge, and building local capacity, measures she described as critical to accelerating the countrys shift toward a sustainable and low-carbon economy. The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen its oversight of the fintech sector to curb rising cases of financial fraud within Nigerias banking system. The committee also urged the bank to develop stricter regulatory measures to address the increasing threat of Ponzi schemes, which have defrauded numerous Nigerians in recent years. The Chairman of the Committee, Adetokunbo Abiru, made the call on Wednesday during an investigative hearing into the operations of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria, with particular reference to the recent Crypto Bullion Exchange (CBEX) incident. The hearing was jointly organised by the Senate Committees on ICT and Cyber Security, Capital Market, and Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes. Mr Abiru, who represents Lagos East Senatorial District, advocated for legislation that would explicitly place fintech operations under the supervision of the CBN. He noted that the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, which regulates Nigerias banking system, should be amended to accommodate technology-enabled financial service providers. It is far more effective to strengthen the BOFIA framework, modernise CBN supervisory powers, and mandate robust coordination with agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Finance, he said. The proposed amendment, according to Mr Abiru, would empower the CBN to designate qualifying fintech and digital financial institutions as important institutions, establish a national registry to enhance transparency and beneficial ownership disclosure, strengthen risk-based supervision tailored to technology-driven financial services, and promote data sovereignty and systemic stability. He added that although there have been suggestions to create a new standalone regulatory agency for fintech supervision, such a move would likely duplicate existing functions, create bureaucratic overlap, increase administrative costs, and fragment regulatory authority in a sector where coordination and coherence are critical. The question has arisen as to whether the creation of a new standalone regulatory agency would be a preferable pathway for supervising fintechs. However, after careful consideration, it is evident that establishing an entirely new agency would duplicate functions, create bureaucratic overlap, increase administrative costs, and fragment regulatory authority in a sector where coordination and coherence are essential. Fintech operations in Nigeria Nigerias fintech sector has witnessed rapid growth over the past decade, driven by increased mobile phone penetration, digital payment adoption, and financial inclusion initiatives championed by the CBN. The country is widely regarded as one of Africas leading fintech hubs, attracting billions of naira in investments and hosting numerous digital payment, lending, and investment platforms. However, this rapid expansion has also exposed regulatory gaps, particularly as some digital platforms operate in grey areas between traditional banking, capital markets, and telecommunications regulation. While the CBN regulates banks under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, fintech companies often fall under multiple regulatory frameworks, creating coordination challenges among agencies. In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed a surge in Ponzi schemes and unregulated digital investment platforms that promise unrealistic returns to unsuspecting investors. Many of these schemes leverage social media, cryptocurrency narratives, and digital payment channels to attract victims. The collapse of platforms such as the recent Crypto Bullion Exchange (CBEX) has renewed concerns about consumer protection, weak oversight, and inter-agency coordination. Past experiences, including the MMM pyramid scheme that gained traction in 2016, show the scale of financial losses Nigerians can suffer when fraudulent schemes proliferate without timely regulatory intervention. Despite repeated warnings from authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CBN, enforcement has often lagged behind the speed at which such platforms emerge. The federal government, on Wednesday, approved six major road projects across the country. It also approved the demolition of the Carter Bridge in Lagos and the redesign of a new one. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. The road projects are: -IbadanIfeIlesa Road Reconstruction: Reconstruction of 103 km dual carriageway (re-awarded after minimal prior progress) awarded for 427 billion; -KanoKongolam Road: Review, rescoping, and redesign of 132 km road to a three-lane concrete carriageway (linking Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states, includes solar lights and CCTV) awarded for 334 billion. KeffiNasarawaAbaji Road Phase Two: Rehabilitation of 129.3 km road awarded for 203 billion; -SulejaMinna Road Completion: Completion of the remaining 71 km dual carriageway (one carriageway) awarded for 91 billion; Carter Bridge Project: Detailed design, costing, and preparation for demolition of existing bridge + new bridge construction (Lagos) awarded for 5.6 billion (for design phase by Advanced Engineering Consultants); -AbujaLokoja Road Reconstruction: Reconstruction of 86 km affected section (with multiple contractors, including Julius Berger) awarded for 146 billion. Mr Umahi explained that the reconstruction of the IbadanIfeIlesa Road was awarded by the previous government, though there was little progress on the project when the Tinubu administration assumed office, hence it was reviewed and re-awarded. On the Kano-Kongolam Road, he said the four-year-old project was initially planned as an asphalt road but will now be a three-lane concrete carriageway. He added that the upgraded design now includes solar-powered streetlights and closed-circuit television (CCTV) installations. The minister said Phase Two of the KeffiNasarawaAbaji Road rehabilitation project will significantly improve connectivity between Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Mr Umahi said the SulejaMinna Road was originally awarded to Salini Construction Company but was terminated due to poor job done. He added that only 10 km of the road was completed before the termination of the contract. He also stated that FEC decided to complete the remaining 71 kilometres of the dual carriageway, with one carriageway contracted and awarded to China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) while the second carriageway had been cleared from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). The minister explained that the technical evaluation done on the Carter Bridge revealed that it can no longer be rehabilitated, hence the decision to demolish it and replace it. On the AbujaLokoja Road, Mr Umahi said it would now be reconstructed using reinforced concrete and handled by five contractors, including Julius Berger, which is already executing other segments along the corridor. The minister said the government planned to commission at least four road projects in each of the six geo-political zones by 15 May. President Bola Tinubu has granted full autonomy to the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education (NMEC) as the government agency targets 50 million young adults for digital literacy. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. The council also approved comprehensive insurance coverage for the 180 federal unity schools nationwide. The minister also reiterated the governments suspension of the establishment of new tertiary institutions. Mr Alausa had announced the seven-year suspension last year, explaining that the challenge facing the sector is no longer about access. Speaking on Wednesday, he noted that only about 228,000 of the 2.3 million candidates who sat last years Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME), seeking admission into tertiary institutions, secured a place in public universities. NMEC autonomy, projects Mr Alausa said the independence granted to NMEC followed a presentation by its chairperson, Musa Maitafsir, a professor, of an expansive agenda to educate over 50 million young adults on digital literacy in the next three years. Today, we have about 56 million Nigerians who are illiterate, Mr Alausa said. We cant continue to have a high number of citizens who are illiterate. He explained that the commission would intensify outreach in rural areas through radio, television, public advocacy and community-based learning centres. NMEC was established to eradicate illiteracy and provide non-formal and continuing education and lifelong learning for sustainable development to adult Nigerians. KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's food security remains stable despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as the country's main sources of food imports are not directly linked to the nations involved in the conflict, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Thursday. Mohamad noted that Malaysia imports food from countries such as India, Pakistan, ASEAN member states, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina, according to Malaysia's national news agency Bernama. As the conflict is concentrated in the Middle East, he said these supply channels have not been disrupted. However, the minister cautioned that a prolonged conflict could lead to higher prices for imported goods. President Bola Tinubu has initiated plans to establish a Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO) to strengthen the transmission segment of the nations electricity value chain. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, at the State House, Abuja. He said the proposal was contained in a memorandum presented to council by the president. The proposal was contained in a memorandum presented to the council by President Tinubu himself for deliberation. He noted that the initiative would address persistent electricity challenges, particularly in the transmission segment. You recall that since the deregulation of the power sector, the sector is divided into three categories: generation, transmission and distribution. The president has seen that where the problem is mainly in our quest to solve the power problem is largely in the transmission section, he noted. Mr Idris said the FEC approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to work out the operational framework for GAMCO. He said members would include the Ministers of Power, State for Gas, Works, Finance, Science and Technology, the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service and the Attorney-General of the Federation. He said the committee would examine regulatory, legal and investment issues, including the interests of existing investors and operators. According to him, recommendations of the committee will be forwarded to the National Assembly where legislative action is required. The president feels that for us to actually industrialise, the power sector must be fixed. That is why he has taken this initiative of looking at how this Grid Asset Management Company will be set up, he said. The minister also disclosed that the FEC approved an additional exit benefit package for retiring civil servants under the Contributory Pension Scheme. He said eligible retirees in treasury-funded MDAs could receive up to 100 per cent of their total emoluments, in line with the Pension Reform Act. Mr Idris added that the measure was aimed at boosting morale and efficiency within the civil service. (NAN) The Kano State House of Assembly has served an impeachment notice on Deputy Governor Aminu Abdulsalam. Mr Abdulsalam, a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), declined to join Governor Abba Yusuf, lawmakers and other officials in defecting to the All Progressives Congress in January. The assembly, at Thursdays plenary, served the notice after a motion moved by the majority leader, Lawan Hussaini. The Assemblys spokesperson, Kamaluddeen Shawai, told PREMIUM TIMES that the lawmakers gave Mr Abdulsalam two weeks to defend himself. The development followed remarks in which the deputy governor, reportedly on Wednesday, called the governor a betrayer. Details later. The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed a case of non-disclosure of assets filed against a suspended deputy commissioner of police, Abba Kyari, and his younger brothers. Trial judge James Omotosho dismissed the charges on the grounds that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which prosecuted the defendants, failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge held that the burden of proving a criminal case beyond reasonable doubt falls on the prosecution, a standard he said the NDLEA failed to attain in the case. Mr Omotosho described the case against Mr Kyari and his brothers Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari as persecution. Consequently, the judge discharged and acquitted the defendants of the charges. But the judgement does not affect a separate ongoing cocaine trial Mr Kyari is undergoing alongside four police officers. The illicit drug case is before judge Emeka Nwite. He and his co-defendants, who have been denied bail in the cocaine trial, will remain under the detention order issued by the judge. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NDLEA charged Mr Kyari, the former head of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and his two brothers with non-disclosure of assets in 2022. The NDLEA alleged in the 23 charges that Mr Kyari and his two younger brothers failed to make full disclosure of their assets. It said it uncovered 14 assets, including shopping malls, a residential estate, a polo playground, lands and farmland belonging to Mr Kyari, which he allegedly failed to declare. The NDLEA also alleged he failed to disclose his ownership of property in different locations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Maiduguri in Borno, his home state. The NDLEA alleged that the sums of N207 million and 17,598 were also discovered in Mr Kyaris various accounts in Guarantee Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa and Sterling Bank. The agency, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022, also accused them of disguising of ownership of properties and conversion of monies. The NDLEA said the offences were punishable under Section 35 (3) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, and Section 15 (3) (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011. The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts. Denial during trial During trial, Mr Kyari, who has been in detention since his trials began in 2022, denied ownership of some of the property linked to him by the NDLEA. Testifying as a defence witness on 5 November last year, Mr Kyari, said some of the property belonged to his late father, who had about 30 children. Led in evidence by his lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Kyari, who expressed surprise at the allegations, told the court that the documents for the assets are with the Ministry of Land in Borno State. He also refuted the allegations that he owned the polo ground in the state, saying he was surprised that such a large expanse of polo ground would be attributed to him. Even Dangote who is the richest man in Nigeria does not own such a property, how much more some like me. The polo ground has been in existence since when I was a child. We used to go there to play, he said. Mr Kyari, however, admitted ownership of a farmland located along Abuja-Kaduna Road, saying he had been on the farm in the last one decade. He equally admitted that he operated accounts with United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Bank and GTB, and that the over 7, 000 (pounds) found in his domiciliary account was earlier declared in line with the law. He said his accounts were frozen by the prosecution. Mr Kyari, who told the court that he was not part of the team that went to arrest the two drug traffickers at the Akanu Ibiam, International Airport in Enugu States, alleged that the NDLEA officers at the airport were indicted in the act. He said he was not arrested as a result of the allegations against him but he submitted himself for investigation through his office. Mr Kyari, who said he was the head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at the time, said several high-profile criminals were arrested by his team. Arraignment NDLEA arraigned the Kyari brothers in 2022 on 24 charges of non-disclosure of assets, money laundering and concealment of assets. The agency filed the charges after accusing them of failing to make full disclosure of their assets, disguising ownership of properties, and converting monies traced to them. After the defendants were arraigned, the NDLEA called 10 witnesses to prove its case and tendered at least 20 exhibits. The defendants chose to file a no-case submission, urging the court to dismiss the charges against them, on grounds including that the NDLEA failed to provide evidence showing indeed that he was the owner of the said property. However, on 28 October 2025, the court dismissed the no-case submission filed by Mr Kyari and his two brothers. The court ruled that they had a case to answer and should enter their defence. Cocaine trial Mr Kyari, alongside four other suspended police officers, is facing an ongoing trial before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Emeka Nwite, on cocaine deal charges. His co-defendants who were members of the special tactical police unit, IRT, are Sunday J. Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba and John Nuhu. Two drug traffickers who were originally co-defendants in the case pleaded guilty and have since been convicted and jailed. The two men, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, were arrested by the IRT, pleaded guilty to the charges. The two men were convicted and subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment by Mr Nwite in 2022. Mr Kyari opened his defence in the case on 27 February. (NAN) The Kano State House of Assembly has stated why it served an impeachment notice on Deputy Governor Aminu Abdulsalam. Mr Abdulsalam, a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), declined to join Governor Abba Yusuf, and other officials in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in January. The assembly, at Thursdays plenary, served the notice after a motion moved by the majority leader, Lawan Hussaini. Mr Hussaini said the assembly began the impeachment proceedings over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust made against Mr Abdulsalam. He said the action followed a petition submitted by the Executive against Mr Abdulsalam over alleged irregularities during his tenure as Commissioner for Local Government Affairs between 2023 and 2024. Reading the petition, Mr Hussaini said the notice complies with Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended). The allegations relate to Mr Abdulsalams activities while overseeing the states 44 local government areas. The petition lists the following allegations: Breach of Public Trust: Abdulsalam is accused of diverting funds meant for local government administrations for personal gain. Between June 2023 and January 2024, he allegedly received kickbacks totaling 462 million over seven months. Diversion of Funds and Misuse of Official Capacity: From February 2024 to July 2024, he reportedly received 726 million from local government councils under the guise of executing special assignments. Abuse of Office: Mr Abdulsalam allegedly facilitated the improper release of 440 million to North Med Pharmaceutical Limited, in violation of public procurement laws and state fiscal regulations. Gross Misconduct: His actions are said to constitute gross misconduct under Section 188(2) of the Constitution, representing serious breaches of constitutional norms and ethical standards for public office holders. Mr Hussaini stated that based on the evidence presented, Mr Abdussalam should be impeached and removed from office in accordance with constitutional procedures. He said the deputy governor has a 14-day window to present his defence and should the allegations be proven, the Assembly would remove him from his position in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution. According to the lawmaker, the motion has significant support as 38 out of the 40 lawmakerswell above the required two-thirds majoritysigned the notice. An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator told the FCT High Court in Abuja on Thursday how a lawyer working for former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele was arrested with over $2 million cash. The EFCC agent, David Jaiyeoba, told the court that the lawyer, Collins Omeife, confirmed during interrogation that the cash belonged to Mr Emefiele. Mr Jaiyeoba appeared in court on Thursday as the 12th prosecution witness in the corruption trial of Mr. Emefiele, who faces 20 charges stemming from his activities as the CBN governor. Mr Emefiele was removed as the CBN governor in June 2023 over corruption allegations after serving nine years in office. The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Emefiele on 20 amended counts, including criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit a felony. The charges also include the alleged fraudulent payout of $6.23 million from the CBN vault in Abuja in 2023 under the guise of payments for phoney foreign election observers expenses. Mr Emefiele vehemently denied all the charges. Since taking the stand as a prosecution witness last month, Mr Jaiyeoba has repeatedly said Mr Omeife confirmed that he regularly received cash from Mr. Emefiele, some of which was in foreign currency, specifically United States dollars. He told the court that the funds were usually sent to him through Mr Emefieles personal assistant, Eric Ocheme. He said the funds were used to acquire properties and renovate some old assets for Mr Emefiele. He listed some of the properties in question to include detached duplexes at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State; a bungalow and undeveloped land measuring 1919.592 square meter on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi. Others are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of undetached apartment on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State; and a detached duplex on Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State. EFCC framed the cash used to acquire, renovate or develop the properties as proceeds of Mr Emefieles corrupt activities while in office. The agency initially obtained a final forfeiture order against some properties linked to Mr Emefiele. However, in June 2025, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the forfeiture order and directed a fresh hearing by the lower court. What we found EFCC investigator In his testimony on Thursday, Mr Jaiyeoba said EFCC arrested Mr Omeife with $2,045,000 cash and confirmed that the money belonged to Mr Emeifele. Also, Mr Jaiyeoba told the court that Mr Omeife confirmed that, before his arrest, he had some of the money he received to develop some of the properties. He said when Mr Omeife was asked about the money, he said: The cash belonged to the defendant who had sent Mr. Eric (Ocheme). He confirmed he had in his possession before the point of his arrest other cash in addition to the sum found with him, but had used some of it for the development of some of the properties listed, which were on the instructions of the defendant, Mr Jaiyeoba added. He also reiterated that Mr Omeife received the money from the defendant through Eric Ocheme, a personal assistant to Mr Emefiele. However, the witness stated that a court order restrained their interactions with Mr Omeife. He said Mr Omeife told interrogators that the property at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos a four-bedroom duplex was under renovation. He also said that the $2million recovered from him was to be partly used for the renovation of the property. The witness also said that Mr Emefiele affirmed his ownership of the properties in the forfeiture proceedings initiated by the EFCC. Prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, who is a Senior Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), tendered Mr Emefieles extrajudicial statement through the witness. Mr Emefieles lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, a SAN, reserved his objection. Trial judge, Hamza Muazu, admitted the statement. The prosecution also tendered a Zenith Bank account statement of Architekon Nigeria Limited. Mr Jaiyeoba had testified during the previous proceedings that the company is linked to Mr Emefieles wife and brother-in-law. On Thursday, the witness spotted on the companys statement of account an inflow of over N350 million from the CBN between 2020 and 2022. Mr Jaiyeoba said Mr Emeifeles brother-in-law, MacCombo Omoile, confirmed the sum as proceeds of contracts executed for the CBN, including the renovation of the CBNs governors residence in Lagos and NISAC officers across the country. Thereafter, the prosecution team requested an adjournment. The judge, Hamza Muazu, adjourned the case until 16 March for further hearing. 12th prosecution witness previous testimony on cash recoveries, suspicious contracts Mr Jaiyeobas testimony during the previous proceedings on 30 January addressed extensively recovered cash funds linked to Mr Emefiele. He recalled that the investigations followed a report sent to the EFCC by the Inter-Agency Task Force, headed by the State Security Service (SSS). Several individuals, companies and government agencies were invited and interviewed and several findings were made, he said, adding that a lot of assets as well as cash were recovered in the process which have been forfeited to the federal government. Two million dollars was discovered to have come from one Eric Ocheme Odo. The said Eric was PA (Personal Assistant) to the defendant during his tenure as governor of CBN. It was confirmed by the person who kept the over $2,0450,000, who happens to be the lawyer of the defendant, that the cash we found in his possession was the property of the defendant. We found property documents and he also confirmed that the property belonged to the defendant, he said. Testifying further, he said, My lord, funds amounting to $2,045,000.00 alongside several property title documents were recovered from Zenith Bank Plc Headquarters in Lagos in the possession of one Mr Collins Omeife, lawyer to the defendant. In the course of our investigations on Collins, it was discovered that Mr. Collins Omeife had been acquiring and perfecting title documents on the instruction of the defendant. He added that the defendants ownership of the assets was further confirmed by the defendant in the forfeiture proceedings aimed at the assets. He also informed the court that Emefiele approved payments for contracts to several companies including Architekon Nigeria Limited, promoted by MacCombo Omoile, his brother-in-law and Margaret Omoile, his wife. According to him, the defendant approved payment for Architekon Nigeria Ltd, disclosing that Exhibit A1 is an internal memorandum of the CBN, showing approval for the payment of the CBN governors residential house in Ikoyi Lagos. He further stated that Exhibit A2 is a contract document for the landscaping of the governors residence by Architekon Nigeria Ltd. The case so far In January, the 11th prosecution witness, Bashirudden Maishanu, an assistant director in CBN, narrated how the sum of $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash from a CBN vault in one day in February 2023, during Mr Emefieles tenure as governor of CBN. The testimony shed light on a transaction that previous witnesses had said was based on false claims and forged documents. However, Mr Maishanu narrated the roles he played in facilitating the suspicious cash withdrawal. He said the money was tagged as payments to foreign observers for the 2023 general election. On 13 February 2024, Boss Mustaphawho served as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) under President Muhammadu Buharitestified as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial. In his testimony, Mr Mustapha said Mr Buharis signature was forged to give approval to the cash withdrawal of $6.2 million from the CBN vault. That was a day after a former controller at the CBN in Abuja, Onyeka Ogbu, told the court that he received the written approval given by Messrs Buhari, Mustapha, and Emefiele for the cash payment. Mr Mustapha, who testified as the fourth prosecution witness for the EFCC, said his signature and Mr Buharis were forged by people who pilfered the $6.23 from the CBN vault on 8 February 2023. Similarly, on 7 March 2024, Bamaiyi Meriga, a forensic expert, told the court that documents used to facilitate the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN were forged. The Cross River State House of Assembly has suspended a lawmaker, Ovat Agbor, representing Obubra I Constituency, indefinitely over alleged violent conduct against his wife. The decision followed allegations that the lawmaker physically assaulted his wife. The spokesperson to the speaker of the assembly, Matthew Okachie communicated the decision of the assembly in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday. According to the statement, the decision was reached during plenary after a motion moved by Davies Etta and seconded by Francis Asuquo. The assembly said it strongly condemned the alleged behaviour, describing it as inconsistent with the ethical standards expected of lawmakers. After deliberations, the House resolved that Mr Agbor be placed on indefinite suspension from all legislative activities, the statement said. It added that the Assembly approved the constitution of a committee to investigate the matter and report its findings for further legislative action. Following the resolution, Mr Agbor was escorted out of the chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arms, the statement said. The Speaker of the Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, said the House remains committed to discipline and integrity. The House remains committed to upholding discipline, dignity, and the integrity of the legislature, Mr Ayambem said, adding that lawmakers must conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the trust reposed in them by the people. The suspension will remain in effect pending the outcome of the committees investigation, according to the statement. Meanwhile, a video of a woman with a battered face, said to be that of the victim, has been circulating on Facebook. The video shows the victim with bruised eyes and lips, triggering public outcry with many at the comment section questioning if the lawmaker wanted to blind his wifes eyes. The police spokesperson in Cross River State, Eitokpah Sunday, declined to comment on the allegation, saying he can only comment on cases under the commands investigation. The suspended lawmaker, Mr Agbor, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking his comment. Kurdish fighters have begun crossing the border from Iraq into Iran in what has been described as a CIA-backed insurgency. The Iranian government, on Thursday, warned of terrorist movement on the countrys western borders, according to Al Jazeera. The Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, called for increased security to prevent the operation of the rebel group within Iran. The US government is in talks with Kurdish armed groups and is considering arming them to foment an uprising in Iran that could topple the Islamic government. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the administration is actively discussing with Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and northwestern Iran, as President Donald Trumps call for a popular uprising in Iran failed to yield desired results. Mr Trump, before and after the death of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had urged Iranians to take to the streets and bring an end to the Iranian government. Mr Trump told Iranians to take back their country. It was a charge for an uprising from the American president, who earlier made it clear that his goal for launching an unprovoked attack on Iran was to trigger regime change. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly made the same call. However, events in Iran show that despite days of bombing, there is no indication of a popular uprising among citizens. Due to this, the US now appears to be turning towards Kurdish rebels, a minority group in the fringes of Iran, Iraq and Turkey that has for years opposed the Iranian government. It carried out numerous attacks in the Kurdistan province of Iran. The group has also carried out attacks in other Western provinces. PREMIUM TIMES reported that President Donald Trump called and discussed with Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday in what has been described as an effort to reach out to key partners in the region. READ ALSO: US bombs Iranian warship invited by India for naval exercise Meanwhile, Irans intelligence ministry said it has begun to attack Kurdish fighters trying to enter the country through its western borders. It disclosed that it had launched strikes against Iraq-based Kurdish groups opposed to the revolution, according to The Guardian. Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, was quoted as saying. The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has commenced an investigation into the alleged abandonment of a N365 million National Library state branch project in Jalingo, Taraba State. The investigation followed a petition by the civic organisation, BudgIT Foundation, which accused the agency of halting construction after paying about N292 million to the contractor. Consequently, the committee summoned the officials of the National Library of Nigeria (NLN). The Chief Executive Officer of NLN, Veronica Anunobi, appeared before the committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), to respond to the allegations. During the session, Ms Anunobi, a professor, explained that the contract for the Jalingo branch was initially awarded on 1 March 2018 to Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited at N238 million, with an expected completion date of March 2019. She added that the contract sum was later revised to N365 million in March 2023, following an approved variation by the Federal Ministry of Education. According to the agency, a total of N292.267 million has been paid to the contractor, leaving an outstanding balance of about N7.3 million, while the project is said to be approximately 85 per cent complete. Despite these assurances, committee members expressed serious concerns about the projects status. They noted that the contractor had not been present on-site since October 2023, even after substantial payments were made. The lawmakers also questioned the processing of the eighth payment certificate, valued at N65.2 million, alongside an earlier unpaid certificate, citing limited documentation to justify the disbursements. The committee pointed out that the agency submitted only the original letter of award, with other critical procurement documents, including the variation request and approval records, missing from its submission. In response to the concerns, the committee directed the National Library of Nigeria to submit all pending procurement and payment documents. It also constituted a three-member investigative team to conduct a physical inspection of the site. Following the inspection, both the contractor and the agency are expected to reappear before the committee for a final determination on the projects status and possible next steps. READ ALSO: Reps approve N140bn budget for South East Development Commission Historical pattern of abandoned library projects The Jalingo case is far from isolated. Nigerias National Library in Abuja has remained incomplete since the contract for its construction was first awarded in 2006. Conceived as an 11-floor architectural landmark, the project was initially assigned to Messrs Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) at 8.590 billion, with a 22-month completion deadline. Over nineteen years on, after five administrations, the library is still a work-in-progress and its original vision repeatedly compromised by successive acts of poor governance. For me, the attempt to ethnicise the appointment of Tunji Disu by the concocted stories going round is wrong and condemnable. Fine Officer Frank Mba was not the only DIG/AIG in contention when Disu was picked. A cursory look at the list of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) who were in line for consideration clearly shows that the appointment was not about where someone came from. Why would those writing the ethnicised accounts conclude that it could only have been Mba, when the pool of senior officers included several qualified individuals from various backgrounds? I have observed the career of Rilwan Olatunji Disu for some time, and his emergence as the acting inspector-general of Police on 25 February did not come as a surprise to me. My analysis centres on Disus remarkable growth in broad academic knowledge across various important areas. These developments are crucial for transforming the Nigerian Police Force into the service it aspires to be, rather than the one it currently represents. No doubt, one of the greatest deceptions by the Federal Government in Nigeria is telling Nigerian citizens that the police is their friend. Such an ignoble lie is not solely the fault of the police. Why would anyone want to be friends in Nigeria, a country where the police are poorly paid and many politicians are worse than armed robbers? Its a dog-eat-dog world. I am not the one calling many Nigerian politicians barau. Many surveys, including one I conducted in 2024 that had almost 1500 Nigerians across all six geopolitical zones, as well as the efforts of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and daily news reports, suggest that corruption, manifesting as thievery of the national patrimony, is the in-thing for Nigerian politicians. So, can the new Acting IGP solve the problem caused by politicians who make police extort at every opportunity? What can he do to substantially improve on the low police-citizen ratio, when politicians are not allocating funds for such a necessity? I wish he could make a difference on improving the state of our policing using enhanced budgetary allocation, but I hastily state that such a task is beyond the new Acting IGP. As such, Nigeria will continue to be ravaged by systemic corruption at all levels of the polity. Tunji Disu was picked as acting IGP, as the best in a pool of Assistant Inspector Generals (AIGs) and Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs). The fact that Nigerias 1999 Constitution, as amended, confirms that elections (or do I say selections), have consequences is very clear. One consequence is that the President gets to pick who serves in several offices, including professional ones like the forces. He tries to balance with Federal Character, the clearly discriminatory and anti-merit qua merit aspect of the Nigerian Constitution, as best as he could. For me, however, uppermost is the preferential character in relation to the posts at stake. Who would have the opportunity of picking the chief cop among several qualified people and miss a well-rounded officer who had been very operational in building at least a clear security-aiding institution in Lagos? The role of trust, a major component of preference, is also a very critical factor. Its public knowledge that the acting IGP was ADC to the President when the latter was the governor of Lagos. The bond between an ADC and his boss tends to be very strong. Little wonder that the ADC succeeded the erstwhile Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the same President. For sure, we can change the Nigerian Constitution and remove federal character, (as I would want) as well as preferential character. At least, I am on record as having, with my first child, fought the federal character principle through to the Nigerian Supreme Court, as it unjustly discriminated against my daughter. The Supreme Court refused to pronounce itself on the substance and the 3-2 majority position offered no remedy to a wrong the highest court recognised. My position has not changed on this issue since 1988. Nonetheless, I am willing to consider the possibility of having a robot-like leadership selection for our forces. Are we ready to accept that trust would be jettisoned? If the answer is yes, then we will require a change of Constitution. Frank Mba, being the most senior in the DIG post, would have been acting IGP if other issues like federal and preferential characters, inserted as crucial under the 1999 Constitution, were not to be considered. However, the ethnic prism through which Mba was not being appointed is a lazy and inaccurate analysis. As can be seen, several qualified Yoruba officers, such as DIG Adebola Hamzat, DIG Funsho Adegboye, and DIG Fayoade Adegoke, as well as other ethnicities were also in the mix. For me, the attempt to ethnicise the appointment of Tunji Disu by the concocted stories going round is wrong and condemnable. Fine Officer Frank Mba was not the only DIG/AIG in contention when Disu was picked. A cursory look at the list of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) who were in line for consideration clearly shows that the appointment was not about where someone came from. Why would those writing the ethnicised accounts conclude that it could only have been Mba, when the pool of senior officers included several qualified individuals from various backgrounds? The list of senior DIGs who, like Mba, were passed over includes: DIG Dankwara Adamu Mohammed (Adamawa State): Joined the force on 18 May, 1992; was promoted to DIG in 2025; and is due for retirement on 1 October, 2026. DIG Adebola Ayinde Hamzat (Kwara State): Joined the Police on 18 May, 1992; was promoted to DIG in 2025. He is due for retirement on 3 November, 2026. DIG Sadiq Idris Abubakar (Kano State): Joined on 18 May, 1992; was promoted in March 2025; is due for retirement on 20 November, 2026. DIG Mohammed Usaini Gumel (Jigawa State): Joined on 18 May, 1992; was promoted in December 2025; is due for retirement on 5 November, 2026. DIG Bzigu Yakubu Kwazhi (Adamawa State): Joined on 18 May, 1992; was promoted in March 2025; is due for retirement on 10 April, 2027. DIG Frank Mba (Enugu State): Joined on 18 May, 1992; appointed as DIG in June 2023; is due for retirement on 18 May, 2027. DIG Idegwu Basil Okuoma (Bayelsa State): Joined on 17 May, 1992; was appointed DIG in 2025. He is expected to retire on 18 May, 2027. DIG Funsho Adegboye (Osun State): Appointed DIG in January 2026. DIG Fayoade Adegoke (Ogun State): Appointed DIG in February 2026. Frank Mba, being the most senior in the DIG post, would have been acting IGP if other issues like federal and preferential characters, inserted as crucial under the 1999 Constitution, were not to be considered. However, the ethnic prism through which Mba was not being appointed is a lazy and inaccurate analysis. As can be seen, several qualified Yoruba officers, such as DIG Adebola Hamzat, DIG Funsho Adegboye, and DIG Fayoade Adegoke, as well as other ethnicities were also in the mix. More importantly, no one has said these officers must necessarily and forcefully retire. In a recent development that further underscores the Presidents prerogative and the need for a stable force, it was reported that the speculated mass firing of over 30 DIGs and AIGs following Disus takeover has been stopped. This move suggests a desire for a more measured transition, rather than a disruptive overhaul, giving the new acting IGP a degree of operational stability in his new role. I do not want to go into issues like seniors to Mba having been saluting him as he overtook them for whatever reasons being offered for his many accelerated promotions, from being an Inspector on 18 May, 1992, the same date Tunji Disu entered as a cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police with a bachelors degree. The jury is out on whether the accelerated movements of Frank Mba were due to his being the smartest or a combination of other factors like federal/preferential characters or his being very suave, especially with a strong publicity background. However, it is certain that what Nigeria needs today is a well-rounded Chief Cop capable of addressing the insecurity that the nation is facing. The best legacy for Tunji Disu would be to secure a living wage for junior police officers and, with such improvement, curb a corrupt state that makes junior police officers reflect the Nigerian situation that is making many, if not most, see corruption as normal. I also do not want to engage in the several speculations as to why Egbetokun resigned for family reasons. I do not know if he would have, in writing, differed from the President on the issue of State Police that some are putting forth as the panacea to all the policing problems in Nigeria. Personally, I think the situation reflected the Presidents ambivalence on state policing. For me, both played a good cop, bad cop situation or else the President would have demanded his resignation on the day he gave the anti-State Police speech that Bola Bolawole has referred to. Egbetokun had his time. I do not know what I can refer to as his legacy. I hope and strongly believe that Acting IGP Tunji Disu would leave legacies. In advising the new IGP, one must look at the data and the low-hanging fruits. A survey I conducted on Nigerias Corruption Perception, with over 1,500 Nigerian respondents, showed that a significant majority 1,218 Nigerians are aware of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as an anti-corruption agency. This data reveals a crucial paradox: While the public sees the police as part of the corruption problem, they also place a high expectation on the NPF to be part of the solution. This is a heavy burden for the new IGP. To begin addressing this crucial issue of corruption and start to build a more effective and respected force, the Acting IGP should prioritise some achievable goals: Prioritise a Living Wage and Welfare for Junior Police Officers: The greatest enabler of corruption at the lower levels is poor remuneration. Championing a genuine living wage for constables and inspectors would be the single most effective step to curb the routine extortion that tarnishes the forces image. Invest in Capacity Development, Training, and Retraining: A confident, well-trained officer is less likely to resort to intimidation and extortion. Modernising the training curriculum to focus on community policing, human rights, and modern investigative techniques is essential. Enhance Investigative Capabilities: The NPFs reputation is severely damaged by poor investigation, leading to miscarriages of justice. Strengthening the Forensic Department, especially incorporating modern AI capabilities, and the CID with modern equipment and specialised training would yield quick wins in public trust. Reward Merit and Competence: While federal character is a constitutional reality, the IGP can ensure that postings and promotions within the force, as much as possible, reward demonstrated competence and hard work, thereby boosting morale. The best legacy for Tunji Disu would be to secure a living wage for junior police officers and, with such improvement, curb a corrupt state that makes junior police officers reflect the Nigerian situation that is making many, if not most, see corruption as normal. Babafemi A. Badejo, the author of several books, including a best seller on politics in Kenya as well as why peace has been elusive in Somalia, was a former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Somalia, and a former Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Chrisland University, Abeokuta. Ultimately, the Nigerian government must come clean before its good intentions backfire. The probing questions remain: Are you paying ransom to terrorists or not? Are you doing so to convince citizens that you are working, or merely to deflect attention? Are ransom payments driven by political correctness, aimed at winning hearts and projecting competence? Or are they an admission (unspoken but evident) that the government lacks the capacity to confront terrorists decisively? As it stands today, almost every Nigerian knows or has some information about how the payment of ransom and the release of victims are negotiated, ever since abduction became part of our daily lives. The process typically involves secrecy, anxious moments, uncertainties, non-involvement of law enforcement, and a discreet payment system dictated by the bandits or terrorists themselves. A glimpse into their modus operandi was the recent parade of over 170 abductees in the Woro community to contradict the governments claim of about 50 kidnapped victims and to demand ransom. However, mass abductions, which require an equally sensitive, discreet but robust ransom payment system, must inevitably involve the government and public institutions. Questions are now being asked about the propriety of ransom payments and the sincerity of the process for securing the release of large numbers of people, including young students and children. In recent times, the abduction and eventual release or rescue of students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi; more than 287 students abducted from a school in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area; and 160 worshippers taken from churches in Kurmi Wali community of Kajuru Local Government Area in Kaduna State, have all prompted questions about what transpired behind closed doors. Meanwhile, the abduction and eventual release or rescue of 300 children from St Marys School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State without a single shot fired, has become the centre of controversy, following a recent revelation by AFP that contradicted the governments position. The claim that a heavy ransom was paid for their release, despite the governments assertion of a rescue, without any security operation or arrest of the magnanimous criminals, has triggered a credibility crisis for the government, which continues to maintain that it used back channels in its rescue efforts, whatever that means. Yet, the outpouring of empathy that follows such releases or rescues often overshadows deeper inquiries into the methods used. After all, no amount of money can equate human lives. Despite official denials, it is widely believed that money did change hands. This speculation appeared to gain traction when AFP reported that the Nigerian government paid a multimillion dollar ransom to Boko Haram for the release of the Papiri schoolchildren. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, dismissed the AFP report as false. The biggest fallout, however, is the possible manipulation of ransom payments to achieve broader political goals. Governors may feel compelled to pay because of the political implications of losing public support. Many governors in affected states are serving their first term, with re-election campaigns approaching. There is therefore pressure to impress the electorate and demonstrate responsiveness. The ransom payment economy is perhaps the most sensitive issue arising from the recent quagmire of banditry, terrorism and kidnapping. No one deserves the ordeal of kidnapping, least of all parents enduring grief and anxiety over their abducted children. But it matters how the government responds to such acts of impunity and what it does to secure the victims return. In its rescue efforts, the government has often failed to apprehend terrorists. There is no footage of negotiations or evidence of combat engagement. Would mercenary terrorists simply release abductees without some form of inducement? Many Nigerians would rather believe the AFP story, which sadly portrays the governments apparent helplessness and the continued impunity and extortion tactics of Boko Haram terrorists. As harrowing as these incessant abductions are for victims and their families, their economic value, now a booming business being exploited by terrorists to undermine the country, portends an even more sinister outcome. The biggest fallout, however, is the possible manipulation of ransom payments to achieve broader political goals. Governors may feel compelled to pay because of the political implications of losing public support. Many governors in affected states are serving their first term, with re-election campaigns approaching. There is therefore pressure to impress the electorate and demonstrate responsiveness. At the federal level, the security architecture coordinated by the NSAs office must also consider the political implications of mass abductions for President Bola Tinubu, whose re-election bid looms in less than a year. These aligning political interests provide strong incentives for monetary intervention in rescue efforts. But we must also consider the implications of paying ransom to Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal groups. Though they are a difficult choice, in light of humanitarian concerns, ransom payments are at best short-term fixes that cannot permanently resolve insecurity. On the contrary, government paying ransom may encourage more mass abductions, particularly targeting public institutions and sensitive, divisive spaces such as worship centres. It creates lucrative opportunities for terrorists to stockpile arms with ransom proceeds, thereby financing further acts of violence. Once ransom payment becomes an accepted strategy, potential victims may be placed at even greater risk if ransom demands are not met. Properly equipped and adequately motivated, our security apparatus, including the police, army and Air Force, have the capacity to confront terrorists and deliver a decisive blow. Instead, we should empower our security agencies to take charge of rescue operations, apprehend perpetrators and allow due legal processes to unfold without undermining law enforcement. Once ransom payment becomes an accepted strategy, potential victims may be placed at even greater risk if ransom demands are not met. Properly equipped and adequately motivated, our security apparatus, including the police, army and Air Force, have the capacity to confront terrorists and deliver a decisive blow. Nigerians doubt the government because there is little proof of its so-called rescue efforts and scant evidence of combat engagement. By contrast, the alleged masterminds of the Owo church massacre and acts of banditry in Benue, investigated by the SSS, are currently being tried in court. As the public awaits the verdict, few will allege deception or compromise, because court proceedings are reported transparently by the press. This is what transparency looks like, and it is what Nigerians expect in matters as sensitive as ransom payments, if indeed any are made. Ultimately, the Nigerian government must come clean before its good intentions backfire. The probing questions remain: Are you paying ransom to terrorists or not? Are you doing so to convince citizens that you are working, or merely to deflect attention? Are ransom payments driven by political correctness, aimed at winning hearts and projecting competence? Or are they an admission (unspoken but evident) that the government lacks the capacity to confront terrorists decisively? The failure to be forthright with information is precisely why many Nigerians find the AFP account more plausible than official assurances. Between the Nigerian people and their government, trust remains fragile and, at best, a probability. Zainab Suleiman Okino (FNGE) chairs Blueprint Newspapers Editorial Board. She is a syndicated columnist and can be reached via: [email protected] WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to advance a war powers resolution aimed at curbing U.S. President Donald Trump's military operations against Iran, as Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over the issue. By a 53-47 vote, the Republican-led upper chamber blocked the resolution, which is intended to prevent Trump from ordering further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval. In floor speeches before the vote, Democrats largely lashed out at the military strikes against Iran while Republicans predominately defended the president. Veteran Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored the measure, said that "the administration and their shifting set of rationales, and even in a classified setting, could produce no evidence, none, that the U.S. was under an imminent threat of attack from Iran." "Have we learned nothing from 25 years of war in the Middle East? 14,000 American troops and contractors killed in Iran and Afghanistan ... hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths ... in Iran and Afghanistan, more than 8 trillion spent that could have been spent on American health care, on American housing, on American education, spent on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. And what did we get for it?" said Kaine. Democratic Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said "we should not gamble American lives on incomplete plans, unclear objectives and completely uncertain future." Republicans argued that Trump's actions in Iran were necessary and justified, accusing Democrats of objecting to Trump's actions for partisan reasons. Kwesi Pratt Jnr is an interesting author and a history-conscious son of Africa. The latter identity is particularly important because Pratt Jnr has chosen a struggle that is guaranteed to be lifelong, frustrating, sparsely rewarding, if at all, and largely unsung. His latest book, Reparations: History, Struggle, Politics and Law is a historical and ideological tour de force. Background In Reparations: History, Struggle, Politics and Law, Kwesi Pratt Jnr arrives with the weight of a particular intellectual inheritance, one rooted in radical politics and Pan-African thought and a refusal to treat the global order as though it were a neutral arrangement of accidents. Full disclosure: I have known Kwesi Pratt Jnr, or KP as he is fondly called by family and friends, for three decades. For three and half years, I lived with and worked under him as associate editor of the Insight newspaper, the radical, progressive and left-leaning newspaper focused on promoting the struggles of the working people in Ghana. I first met him in November 1996 when I arrived Accra, Ghana, as one of the many journalists and pro-democracy activists that left Nigeria at the height of the brutal military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. A journalist friend of his whom I met when I visited the headquarters of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) had placed a call to him and asked if he could meet with me. He asked me to come over immediately. It turned out that he knew a number of the Nigerian journalists and political activists in exile. We spoke about journalism, politics, the pro-democracy struggle of Nigeria and Pan-Africanism. He offered me a job as his deputy immediately without any questions asked and gave me a place to stay. He would support and play a prominent role in the pro-democracy struggles of Nigerians both on the continent and outside. Since that November meeting thirty years ago, we have kept in touch and collaborated on a number of initiatives, including the West African Human Rights Committee (WAHRC) which documented human rights violations in West Africa, campaigned for media rights, and mobilised public support for detained journalists and political detainees in West Africa in the late 90s, and the Amilcar Cabral Ideological School (ACIS), a global political education initiative launched in 2005, focused on training working-class activists from progressive movements in Marxism-Leninism, anti-imperialism, and socialist construction. It was, therefore, a great pleasure when he informed me late last year that he had published a new book and wanted me to review it. I had missed the public presentation in Accra on Tuesday, 9 September, 2025, because of prior engagements. I wasnt going to miss the opportunity of sharing my opinion about the book. Reparations: History, Struggle, Politics and Law is not a polite academic survey. It is not a technocratic policy memo drafted for the consumption of distant bureaucrats. It is a historical, political intervention. And from its opening pages, it makes an unmistakable claim: reparations are not charity. They are not aid. They are not benevolence extended by a guilty conscience. They are debt settlement. Most importantly, they are overdue justice. And in the final analysis of the geopolitical imbalance of the haves and the have-nots, they are inseparable from the fundamental reorganisation of power between those who took and those who were taken from. I. Reparations as Historical Continuum Pratts foundational argument situates reparations within what the French would call the longue duree of exploitation. He traces a single, unbroken line from transatlantic enslavement through colonial extraction, through neo-colonial financial dependency, through the structural inequities that govern our present. These are not discrete episodes to be studied in isolation. They are phases of a single, interconnected system designed to transfer wealth from one part of the world to another and to keep it there. As Pratt states in the Introduction: Africas present is not a blank slate. It is the product of centuries of extraction, slavery, and colonialism, a legacy that continues to shape its economic system, political institutions, and social hierarchies. He immediately expands the definition of reparations beyond the narrow ledger of financial compensation. The demand, he insists, is for something larger: The book argues that reparations are not just about money; they are about attention, dignity, language, memory, and sovereignty. They are about transforming global systems built on the theft of natural resources, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation. II. The Foreword: Presidential Authority The Foreword by Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, provides crucial political context, anchoring the book in the real world of statecraft and continental ambition: With piercing clarity, Kwesi Pratt Jnr exposes the global double standards that continue to deny reparative justice to Africa and its diaspora. He reminds us that a world which found the resources to rebuild Europe after World War II, to compensate Israel for the Holocaust, and to reconstruct Japan after Hiroshima has yet to meaningfully reckon with the historic and ongoing injustices committed against African people. Mahama connects the book to the broader Pan-African struggle, the unfinished business of liberation: Africa does not seek sympathy or aid. We demand fairness, a just global system, equitable trade, and the freedom to build our societies with dignity. That vision cannot be realised without reparations. Interestingly, President Mahama is not just putting words on paper. In December 2025, just months after contributing this foreword, his government hosted a global reparations delegation that urged him to rally other African leaders to choose courage over comfort in supporting the movement. The delegation presented Mahama with priority actions under the African Unions reparations agenda, and his administration is actively preparing a United Nations resolution to formally recognise the transatlantic slave trade as one of the gravest crimes against humanity. The foreword, it turns out, was not a ceremonial gesture but a policy signal. III. The Religious and Legal Foundations of Empire In Chapter 1, Section 1.1, Pratt performs an essential excavation. He traces the origins of colonial violence not to the industrial age, not to the engines of capitalism alone, but to 15th-century papal decrees that sanctioned the enslavement of non-Christian peoples. The language is juridical, precise, and damning: These papal bulls authorized King Alfonso V of Portugal to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery. Such language is not symbolic; these are juridical. He connects these decrees to the Doctrine of Discovery, which proclaimed non-Christian lands empty and available for conquest, a doctrine that shaped international law for centuries and whose echoes still reverberate in property regimes and territorial claims. Pratt writes: Before race science gave empire its pseudoscientific rationale, these papal bulls encoded a metaphysical racism This was white Christian supremacy in its earliest legal-theological form. IV. The Transatlantic Slave Trade: Genocide and Underdevelopment In Section 1.3, Pratt turns to the scale and system of the slave trade. The numbers are recited not to numb but to insist on recognition: Over four centuries, no fewer than 12.5 million Africans were taken from their native lands At least 2 million perished in the Middle Passage. He emphasises that this was not haphazard, not a series of unfortunate accidents, but a deliberate construction: It was no one institution but a complex system involving European states, African middlemen, plantation economies, and an emerging global capitalist order. Pratt draws on Walter Rodneys thesis, which remains as urgent today as when it was first articulated: Europe was developed because Africa was underdeveloped. Slavery wealth extracted from Africa was not spent on the continent. Instead, it was spent to build imperial metropoles. European roads, schools, and hospitals were built using African capital. Particularly worthy of note, Pratt introduces a crucial gendered analysis, one often missing from these discussions: Women were generally selected for sex by traders and plantation owners. Their reproductive labour was commodified. Yet African women resisted Reparations will have to include a gendered consideration that accounts for these compounding injustices. Equally unmissable, Pratt names what many would prefer to leave unnamed and tells the world who has blood on their hands: The Church is also complicit. Many Christian institutions blessed the slave system, and some profited directly. Money from slavery was spent on the building of cathedrals. Clergy owned human beings. V. Classical Colonialism: The Berlin Conference and the Partition of Africa In Section 1.4, Pratt examines the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, that infamous gathering where Europe sat around a table and redrew a continent without a single African present: German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck hosted this meeting with representatives from fourteen European countries and the United States, but notably, no Africans were invited. The consequences were as devastating as they were predictable: After the conference, borders across Africa were drastically redrawn between 1880 and 1914, nearly 90 per cent of Africa was under European control, divided into more than 50 colonies. Many of these borders disregarded ethnic and cultural groups, setting the stage for conflicts later on. Pratt documents the violence with unsparing clarity: In Namibia, the Germans carried out genocide against the Herero and Nama people In the Congo, millions died from forced labour and disease under Belgian rule. VI. African Resistance: Restoring Agency Chapter 2 provides a crucial counterbalance. It restores African agency to a narrative that too often reduces the continent to passive victimhood. To his credit, Pratt documents centuries of resistance, reminding us that the taken did not go quietly. In Section 2.1: The first recorded resistances go back to the Portuguese conquests along the coast of West Africa in the 15th century. The Kingdom of Benin, for instance, carefully managed its relationship with Portuguese traders, restricting exports of slaves and controlling diplomatic interactions. He highlights the diplomatic resistance of King Alfonso I of Kongo: He famously wrote a series of letters to King Joao III of Portugal in the early 1500s, pleading for the cessation of the illegal enslavement of his people. In recounting the resistance struggle, Pratt elevates Queen Nzinga Mbande of Ndongo (part of present-day Angola) as a towering figure: She was both a warrior and diplomat, employing Christianity as a strategic tool while keeping indigenous religious systems intact. Nzinga led warfare operations, forged alliances with other African kingdoms, and even negotiated with Portuguese officials. Her reign is one of the most mythical instances of pre-colonial female anti-colonial resistance in the history of Africa. Pratt also addresses religious and cultural resistance, the less visible but equally vital forms of refusal: Traditional priests and religious leaders often took leading roles in organizing citizens against missionaries and slavers Traditional deities like Tano and Bosomuru were invoked in resistance rituals in the Gold Coast. Ancestor worship and spiritual vows provided the basis of anti-colonial cohesion. Pratt frames these early resistances as something larger than nationalism or cultural preservation. They were, he argues: Early movement of resistance is not nationalist or cultural resistance merely, but class resistance to the expanding capitalist world system. European traders and slavers were pro-capitalist agents seeking to integrate Africa into an unequal-exchange international economy. VII. The Asante Resistance In Section 2.4, Pratt examines the Asante resistance, one of the longest and most legendary in African history: Situated at the heart of contemporary Ghana, the Asante Empire was, between the 18th and the early 20th centuries, a prevailing political, military, and cultural force. Its opposition to British imperialism was fuelled by a strong tradition of centralized government, economic autonomy, religious independence, and warrior culture. He highlights Yaa Asantewaas leadership, noting that: She was determined to fight for the rights of her people She was a symbol of resistance against colonialism. She was a role model for other African women. Pratt connects these resistance histories to the contemporary demand for reparations: Reparations must fund educational curricula that honour these struggles, invest in economic ventures that bring their visions to life, and build institutions that reflect their principles. VIII. The Moral and Political Justification Chapter 3 builds the affirmative case for reparations. In Section 3.1, Pratt articulates the moral foundation with a simplicity that disarms complexity: On a moral level, it is pretty straightforward: the transatlantic slave trade led to the kidnapping and forced labor of over 12 million Africans, along with countless deaths. After that, colonies, stealing resources, destroying cultures, and mass actions by governments and institutions looking to profit off African lives. He invokes international precedent, reminding us that the world has found resources for justice before: There are examples of reparations working elsewhere, like Germany compensating Jewish survivors of the Holocaust or the United States compensating Japanese Americans during World War II. Pratt addresses the question of recognition, which is itself a form of repair: At the heart of the argument for reparations is the need for recognition. For too long, the suffering of African people has been ignored or justified. Defending slavery as civilizing or colonialism as helpful are lies that need to be addressed. Making reparations is a way of telling the truth. He responds to critics who cite African corruption as a reason to withhold: Another concern is that corrupt African governments might mishandle reparations. This viewpoint is patronizing and overlooks the capabilities of African communities. Corruption happens globally, so it should not block efforts for justice. Instead, reparations should come with clear rules, accountability, and community involvement. IX. Economic and Legal Foundations In Section 3.2, Pratt grounds the argument in international law, moving from morality to jurisprudence: Legally, the precedents for reparations are already set in international law. The transatlantic slave trade and colonialism constitute crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Principles, the Geneva Conventions, and subsequent legal development set out that crimes against humanity impose obligations of redress. He cites specific precedents that should be better known: In 2021, Germany formally recognized the Herero and Nama genocide (1904-1908) in Namibia and offered development aid as reparations. Belgium has faced increasing pressure to provide compensation to the Congolese for the brutal atrocities committed during King Leopolds rule. Britain has been sued in court for its brutalities during the Mau Mau Uprising. Pratt quantifies the economic magnitude, though he acknowledges the difficulty: Scholars have estimated that Britain alone took over $45 trillion from India between 1765 and 1938. Comparable statistics for Africa are difficult to calculate due to the systematic destruction and hiding of colonial archives, but available studies point to the same orders of extraction. He explains the methodology behind the figures, demystifying the numbers: One way of estimating reparations is to calculate the value of stolen labour. Economists have attempted to calculate the hours of stolen labour under slavery, multiply them by historical wages, and compound them with interest. The estimates are in trillions of dollars. X. Who Owes and Who Is Owed? Section 3.3 provides a detailed accounting of responsible parties, complete with a comprehensive table. Pratt writes with the precision of a prosecutor: Reparations debtors are not anonymous. They are states, corporations, religious orders and wealthy families whose fortunes are built on the backs of enslaved Africans, colonized people, and pillaged resources. Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy were the main European colonial powers in Africa. He names corporate actors, those entities that outlived the formal empires: There were also colonial companies such as the Royal Niger Company, British South Africa Company, and German East Africa Company that acted as proto-states. They had their own armies, printed money, and legislated. Aristocrats, politicians, and clergy were their shareholders. Their successor corporations today are many and still reap profits from mineral extraction, agribusiness, and financial speculation. Pratt includes private families, the dynasties that continue to benefit: There are reparations due from some private families. Dynasties established on the basis of plantation riches and colonial concessions still enjoy generationally accrued privilege. Most of them still exercise political power and cultural capital. The table he provides lists states including Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States, alongside corporations such as Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, and the Church of England. XI. Models of Reparations Section 3.4 outlines concrete mechanisms. Pratt emphasises that reparations cannot be a single cheque, a single gesture: Reparations models vary in context, type of harm, perpetrators and victims and objectives. For Africa, where the legacy of slavery and colonialism spans centuries and continents, reparations must be multi-faceted, systemic, and long-term. He discusses direct monetary compensation, debt cancellation, infrastructure investment, cultural reparations, educational reparations, technological reparations, environmental reparations, and symbolic reparations. On the last, he is careful: Symbolic reparations are useful. Apologies, memorials, national holidays, and truth commissions help to build collective memory and moral difference. They do express recognition and regret. Symbolic reparations also need to be accompanied by material action. A plaque is not justice unless it is backed up by policy. Pratt Jnr cites the CARICOM Ten Point Plan as a template worth adapting: It includes requests for formal apology, repatriation programmes, Indigenous health initiatives, cultural centers, education restructuring, psychological rehabilitation, and debt cancellation. African nations are able to adopt and adapt this template, in solidarity with Caribbean and diaspora players. XII. Reparations As Systemic Redistribution Section 3.5 articulates the books most ambitious claim: reparations must transform global structures, not merely transfer wealth within them. Reparations should be more than just symbolic gestures or one-time payments. They need to focus on changing the systems that keep injustice alive, redistributing power, resources, knowledge, and dignity. This means tackling the root causes of inequality instead of just putting a band-aid on the problems. We have to break down the structures of racial capitalism and imperialism that slavery and colonialism built, which still benefit the Global North today. Pratt specifies what redistribution entails in practice: Redistribution means giving back land, restructuring debts, and changing international trade rules to dismantle neo-colonial power. He addresses the global financial architecture, that labyrinth of rules designed by the powerful for the powerful: Right now, African countries often export raw materials cheaply while paying a lot for finished goods. They are stuck in a cycle of debt and extraction. Policies from the 1980s and 90s stripped away essential services and rushed market liberalization, which only reinforced colonial-era inequalities. XIII. Reparations as a Vision for Liberation Chapter 4 presents the positive vision, the world that reparations might build. In Section 4.1, Pratt addresses underdevelopment not as a condition but as a process: One of the lasting impacts of slavery and colonialism in Africa is underdevelopment. This is not just about poor management, geographic issues, or cultural setbacks; it is a situation created by centuries of exploitation and economic control. He invokes Walter Rodney again, whose shadow falls across this book with generative force: Walter Rodneys idea in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa makes it clear: Europes growth came at Africas expense. The extraction of resources, both people and materials, from Africa helped build Europes industries. In Section 4.2, Pratt outlines investments in education, healthcare, and green infrastructure, not as charity but as repair: Colonialism disrupted not just land and bodies but also the way knowledge was shared. It left behind a fractured education system and neglected public health. Reparations need to rebuild what was lost and create new opportunities. XIV. A People-Centered Development Model Section 4.5 articulates the principles that must guide any reparative development worth the name: A people-centered development model is one that prioritizes the collective well-being, involvement and empowerment of the population over elite enrichment and foreign dependency. In a reparations framework, such a model is required to reverse the tendencies of top-down, externally driven, and too frequently exploitative approaches that defined both colonialism and neoliberal development models. To ensure the success of his proposed development model, Pratt specifies four guiding principles: The initial principle is participation. People must be involved in the decisions that govern their own lives The second is equity. Reparative development must address historical and structural inequalities The third principle is sustainability. Long-term effect must guide short-term action The fourth principle is cultural integrity. Development must affirm, not erase, African identity. He concludes with an insistence on accountability: The answer is accountability. Reparative development must include social audits, citizens report cards and public hearings. Corruption, capture and exclusion must be actively resisted. XV. Visual Data: Making Theft Visible Chapter 5 provides empirical grounding through tables and infographics that translate argument into evidence. A table on colonial revenue allocation reveals the priorities of empire: As shown, a significant portion of tax revenue went to administration, salaries of colonial officers, infrastructure for control, not to education, healthcare, or public welfare. These figures illustrate that colonization was not development, but a system of structured theft. An infographic comparing aid to outflows tells a story that should be emblazoned on every policymakers wall: Foreign Aid to Africa: $40 billion; Illicit Financial Flows: $88 billion; Debt Repayments: $32 billion; Corporate Profit Repatriation: $25 billion. In the light of this information, Pratt comments: This infographic starkly shows that Africa is a net creditor to the world. It sends out more wealth than it receives. The structure of global finance perpetuates this imbalance. Reparations must reverse these flows, stop the bleeding, and support African sovereignty. The final table presents various reparation instruments as follows: Unpaid Slave Labour Compensation Estimated value: 2-3 trillion USD Recipient type: Diaspora communities Delivery mechanism: Trust funds and direct payments Colonial Extraction Restitution Estimated value: 4-6 trillion USD Recipient Type: African states Delivery mechanism: Development funds and joint commissions Debt Cancellation Estimated value: 500 billion USD Recipient type: African states Delivery mechanism: Multilateral agreements Artifact Repatriation Estimated value: 50 billion USD and above Recipient type: Museums and cultural institutions Delivery method: Restitution and endowments Climate Reparations (Adaptation) Estimated value: 1 trillion USD Recipient type: Communities in impact zones Delivery mechanism: Green transition funds Pratt notes: These figures are indicative but not exhaustive. Reparations will need to take the form of direct compensation and structural investment. They will need to compensate for historic injustices while empowering African futures. XVI. Real-Time Validation of Pratts Thesis Since the publication of Pratts book, the world has moved with a speed that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. In December 2025, Algerias parliament unanimously passed a law declaring Frances 132-year colonisation a crime, demanding an apology and reparations, and criminalising the glorification of colonialism. This was not a resolution; it was binding national legislation, a state-level assertion of exactly the legal and moral arguments Pratt constructs. Then, in February 2026, the African Union concluded its 38th Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by adopting a landmark resolution that officially classifies slavery, forced deportation, and colonialism as crimes against humanity and genocide against African peoples. The resolution, introduced by the Republic of Togo, represents a unified continental stance intended to strengthen legal and diplomatic frameworks for reparations. As part of this historic move, member states agreed to designate November 30 as the African Day of Tribute to African Martyrs and Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonization, and Apartheid. By framing colonialism as a genocidal act rather than merely a period of political administration, the AU aims to elevate the issue to the United Nations General Assembly, precisely the forum where Ghana, with President Mahamas leadership, has already signalled its intent to seek global recognition. Again, to Pratts credit, the architecture he describes, the legal foundations he excavates, the unified political will he calls for, seem to be materialising in real time. XVII. Strengths and Critical Tensions The strengths of Pratts book are considerable. There is moral clarity, a rhetorical force that carries the reader through dense material. There is an integration of history, economics, and law that respects the complexity of the subject without losing sight of its urgency. There is the reframing of reparations as structural transformation, which lifts the debate above the usual quibbles about feasibility. There is a gendered analysis woven throughout, attending to the specific injuries inflicted on African women. There is the explicit naming of institutional complicity, from states to corporations to churches. There is the restoration of African agency through detailed resistance narratives. There are concrete models and mechanisms. There is empirical grounding through visual data. But there are also points of tension, questions that linger after the book is closed. First, methodological transparency: while Pratt provides figures, the underlying calculations could be more fully explained. The reader is asked to trust, but trust in these matters is precisely what has been broken. Second, historical omissions: the Arab slave trade, which operated for over a millennium and predated the transatlantic system, is not addressed. This silence is notable in a book otherwise committed to comprehensive accounting. Third, African complicity: while Pratt acknowledges the African middlemen and kingdoms that profited from slave-raiding and selling, he does not fully grapple with the moral implications. Does this complicate the claim to collective victimhood? Can a continent be both perpetrator and victim within the same historical process? These questions deserve deeper engagement. Fourth, legal enforceability: the pathway from moral imperative to binding international law remains unclear. Pratt cites precedents, which is useful, but the mechanisms for translating those precedents into enforceable claims against sovereign states are not fully elaborated. It is worth noting that the AUs recent classification of slavery and colonialism as genocide begins to address this gap, providing the juridical language that Pratts argument requires, but the question of enforcement against unwilling states remains. Fifth, accountability mechanisms: Pratt insists on community oversight and social audits, which is admirable. But specific enforcement mechanisms, the teeth that would give these assurances bite, could be elaborated further. Sixth, strategic feasibility: can African states sustain a unified campaign for reparations without facing economic retaliation from powerful nations? Pratts answer lies in continental unity and global South solidarity. These are necessary conditions. Whether they are sufficient remains an open question. Nevertheless, the AUs unified resolution and Algerias unilateral action suggest that the political will is hardening on the continent, but the response of European powers remains the unanswered variable. XVIII. Conclusion: The Larger Significance Whether one agrees fully with Pratts conclusions or not, the book performs an important civic function. It refuses historical amnesia. It challenges the comfort of incrementalism. It insists that Africas developmental predicament cannot be analysed without confronting the architecture of its dispossession. In doing so, Reparations: History, Struggle, Politics and Law becomes more than a policy argument. It is part of an ideological reawakening that treats sovereignty not as a flag or anthem but as economic self-determination. And now, quite remarkably, the argument has escaped from the pages of Pratts. It sits in parliamentary chambers in Algiers, in the African Unions headquarters in Addis Ababa, in the diplomatic briefings of a Ghanaian president preparing a UN resolution. Pratts intervention, once a contribution to a long and frustrating struggle, now reads as something else entirely: a blueprint for a movement that is, against considerable odds, beginning to gather momentum. The debate over reparations will continue, provoking resistance, negotiation, scepticism, and perhaps gradual concession. Pratts contribution not only cements his place in the struggle; it ensures that the conversation is not merely academic, but politically charged and morally anchored. In the end, the book asks a question that transcends finance: if justice delayed is justice denied, how long can a continent be expected to wait? The answer, if the events of the past months are any indication, may finally be: not forever. Chido Onumah, journalist and co-founder of MILID Foundation, is the author of We Are All Biafrans, among other books. The Enugu State Government has warned individuals and organisations engaging in the marketing or purchase of the vast plots of land designated for the Enugu Mechanic Village at Akegbe Ugwu to steer clear off the property, describing their activities as clear illegalities and acts of trespass. The government also threatened to prosecute trespassers and anyone involved in any form of development or transaction involving the land to the fullest extent of the law. This was contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Sam-Ogbu Nwobodo. The statement reads, The Enugu State Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Industry hereby issues this warning to the public regarding the parcel of land at Umuetugbuoma community in Akegbe Ugwu, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, designated for the proposed Enugu Mechanic Village. The Government has become aware of certain individuals and organisations presenting themselves as estate developers and engaging in the marketing and sale of land within the site to the public. This is a clear trespass and an illegal activity. For emphasis, the Enugu State Government hereby declares that any attempt to trespass, interfere, or engage in any form of development or transaction involving land within the proposed Mechanic Village site is illegal and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The site is government-designated land earmarked for a strategic project aimed at enhancing the states infrastructure and providing essential services. The public is advised to desist from dealing with any persons or entities claiming to have authority to sell or allocate land within the site. They should verify all land transactions through official channels. Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has handed over the sum of 50 million as his Zakkat contribution to the Katsina State Zakkat and Waqf Board for immediate distribution to eligible beneficiaries across the state. The governor presented the Zakkat on Tuesday during the 2026 Zakkat and Waqf distribution ceremony held at the Boards headquarters in Katsina. Governor Radda commended the leadership and stakeholders of the Board for their tireless efforts in the collection and distribution of Zakkat to those prescribed by Allah (SWT). He stressed the importance of Zakkat in promoting social justice and urged wealthy individuals to fulfill this important religious obligation. Zakkat is not just a form of charity; it is a duty that strengthens our society. It ensures that the needy, the vulnerable, and other deserving members of our community are supported, Governor Radda said. He added, By giving generously, we obey Allah (SWT) and invest in the well-being of our society. It is my pleasure to contribute to this noble cause, and I encourage all those who are capable to support our people. During the event, Mr Radda inspected the Attaawun Quranic Boarding School located in Kadarko Quarters. He disclosed that he personally contributed between 70 and 80 percent of the resources required for the establishment and development of the school. The Quranic Boarding School represents our commitment to promoting religious education alongside community development. Supporting such institutions ensures that our children have access to quality education in both academics and faith, he explained. The governor also commissioned a newly constructed and fully equipped Tailoring Skills Training Centre provided by the National Association of Zakkat and Waqf. He commended the Association for the initiative and urged other organizations to emulate its example in empowering citizens through skills acquisition programmes. Earlier in his remarks, the Deputy Governor, Faruk Lawal, directed the Zakkat and Waqf Board to assess and determine the Zakkat due from his livestock farm. He also praised the Board for carrying out its responsibilities efficiently and transparently. Speaking at the event, Muhammed Lawal Maidoki, Chairman of the National Zakkat Commission and the Sokoto State Zakkat and Waqf Commission, applauded the Katsina State Government for its sustained support and cooperation in the collection and distribution of Zakkat. Similarly, Sheikh Ahmed Musa Filin Samji, Chairman of the Katsina State Zakkat and Waqf Board, lauded Governor Radda for his consistent personal support, noting that it has enabled the Board to achieve remarkable progress. He revealed that the Board collected 120,000 bags of grains this year, including millet, maize, and beans, surpassing last years figure of 80,000 bags. During the visit, Sheikh Filin Samji briefed the Governor on the various sections of the Quranic Boarding School and conducted him and his entourage on a tour of the facilities. Other notable donors at the event included ahiru Usman Sarki, who contributed 25 million, and Senator Abdulaziz Musa aradua, who donated 10 million, among others, reflecting the spirit of generosity and community solidarity fostered by the Zakkat programme. The event was attended by key government officials, members of the State Executive Council, senior staff of the Zakkat and Waqf Board, community leaders, and other stakeholders. Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed on Wednesday hosted a delegation from the Greece-based non-governmental organisation, Heart Doctors, for Iftar at his residence in Bauchi State. He was joined by his wife, Mrs Aisha Bala Mohammed, members of the State Executive Council, senior government officials, and other guests. The governor commended the organisation for its remarkable contributions to healthcare delivery and humanitarian services in Bauchi State and beyond. He also expressed his deep appreciation for their ongoing interventions and reaffirmed his administrations commitment to strengthening collaborations in advancing public health and improving the wellbeing of our people. On behalf of the delegation, the team lead, Mrs Helen, thanked Governor Mohammed for the warm reception and for the honour of the Iftar invitation, describing it as a truly memorable gesture. She also expressed gratitude for the recognition of the impact of their humanitarian mission in Bauchi State. Earlier in the day, the governor welcomed the delegation to the Government House in Bauchi for a courtesy meeting. Working in partnership with Hellenic Aid, the delegation is in the state on a humanitarian mission to support vulnerable communities. According to a post on his X handle, Governor Mohammed said the delegation briefed him on their ongoing projects, shared details of interventions they have already completed, and outlined plans to expand assistance in areas where help is urgently needed. The governor stated further on his meeting with the team: I commended the organisation for its compassion and dedication, and I emphasised the vital role international development partners play in strengthening healthcare delivery and advancing social initiatives in our state. I also assured them that my administration will continue to support credible organisations committed to improving the lives of our people. In response, Mrs Helen, the team leader of the delegation, thanked me for the warm reception and reaffirmed their commitment to sustained medical outreach and humanitarian work for underserved communities in Bauchi State. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has declared that his administration would not have recorded major achievements within two and a half years without President Bola Tinubus support. He said that Kaduna State will be the first subnational to benefit from the $200 million Nigeria-China poultry project, the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa, because of the presidents love for the state. By the grace of God, in the next two months, we will be doing the ground breaking for the construction of the biggest poultry project in Sub-Saharan Africa, he said. According to the governor, the project will create at least 350 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs and it will support about 10,000 small businesses within Kaduna State. Governor Uba Sani disclosed all this when he hosted social media influencers for Iftar, the breaking of Ramadan fast on Wednesday night. Speaking at the event, he said that Kaduna State will be the first to have a Light Rail outside Lagos State, because of the benevolence of President Bola Tinubu. The Governor who said that the ground breaking of the Light Rail project will take place in May, thanked the social media influencers for their support. He reiterated that the influencers are professionals in their own right, who chose to promote the activities of Kaduna State Government because of their passion for good governance. Mr Uba Sani further said that his administration has recorded positive milestones in the two and half years, adding that the influencers have been promoting these achievements. He said that his administration in partnership with Kuwait Development Fund, has built about 104 schools to address the issue of out-of-school children. Kaduna State Government has built 65 secondary schools, renovated over 2,300 classrooms, he disclosed, adding that we are also working toward building an additional 55 secondary schools. We are also recruiting at least 2,000 teachers in our primary schools, starting from next month. And we will continue to do this exercise every year, he promised. The governor recalled that when we came in, we had about 580,000 out-of-school children today, but by the grace of God, we have reduced that number to only about 182,000. He said that Kaduna State is leading in skills development as his administration has established vocational institutions in Soba, Rigachukun and Zangon Kataf. He recalled that the Minister of Education said that these institutions are more equipped than any Federal University of Technology in Nigeria. According to him, every year we are going to be graduating 32,000 artisans that will be certified by the National Board for Technical Education(NBTE), and they can work anywhere in the world. Governor Uba Sani also recalled that his administration reduced fees in Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions when he assumed office about two and half years ago. Today, we have increased enrolment by over 200% in all our tertiary institutions in Kaduna State, he pointed out. The governor also said that Kaduna State is the only subnational in Nigeria that has moved our primary healthcare centers, numbering 255, from level 1 to level 2. We have at least an additional 16 secondary healthcare facilities in Kaduna State that are well-equipped, renovated, and rebuilt in Kaduna State. We are recruiting 1,800 medical personnel, from nurses to doctors every year, in the next five years. We have already started, he assured. The governor also reeled out his administrations achievement in the Agricultural sector, reiterating that Kaduna is the first state to perform the ground breaking for the construction of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone. We are the second state in Nigeria to partner with Afreximbank toward building Africa Quality Assurance Center(AQAC), so that our farmers will have their produce certified for export globally, he added. When we came in, in 2023, the budget of agriculture was only 0.5%. But today, the budget of agriculture is over 11%, surpassing the Malabo declaration, he disclosed. According to Mr Uba Sani, his administration has been supporting farmers, adding that we are the only states that have given out 900 trucks of fertilizer to smallholder farmers free of charge. The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday commissioned Phase II of the ImashayiIgan-OkotoAyetoro Road in Yewa North Local Government Area of the state, reaffirming his administrations commitment to completing the final phase of the project. Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Governor Abiodun assured residents that the last phase of the road would be completed to fully connect the corridor to Ayetoro, thereby improving transportation and economic activities in the area. The governor also directed the Ministry of Housing to immediately inspect the Youth Development Centre in the local government area and commence work to renovate and upgrade the facility for the benefit of youths in the community. While acknowledging that his administration cannot reconstruct all roads across the state at once, Abiodun emphasised that his government would continue to deliver road infrastructure across the three senatorial districts until the end of his tenure. Describing Yewa North as one of the food baskets of the state, the governor said it was crucial to link farming communities with major towns to facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from farms to markets. Mr Abiodun added that his administration remains committed to the infrastructural and economic development of Yewaland and Ogun West, noting that the area, which had long been neglected, is now receiving the attention it deserves. Today, we have constructed over 20 road projects in Yewaland and Ogun West. While the number may not appear large, many of these roads are quite extensive and are equivalent to about six or seven roads in other senatorial districts. For instance, the AgbaraAtanLusada Road is a dual carriageway expressway spanning about 20 kilometres, yet it counts as a single project. The same applies to the IlaroOwode Road and several other roads we are currently constructing, as well as those recently awarded and others that will soon be awarded, he said. The governor assured residents that his administration would continue to provide purposeful, impactful, and inclusive leadership through the implementation of both micro and macroeconomic policies. Mr Abiodun also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as bold and far-reaching policies aimed at repositioning the nations economy, noting that the reforms were beginning to yield positive results. He specifically lauded the President for the ongoing construction of the 1,000-kilometre BadagrySokoto Highway, saying that when completed, it would significantly reduce travel time between Imeko and Lagos to less than one hour. I want to thank Mr President. If not for you, many states would have become insolvent. We appreciate the stability in fuel supply and the improving exchange rate. Today, Ogun State has become the investors destination of choice and the fastest-growing economy in Nigeria, he said. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, explained that Phase II of the 21-kilometre ImashayiIgan-OkotoAyetoro Road includes reinforced concrete structures in flood-prone areas to prevent erosion and flooding. He added that the project was divided into three phases to facilitate efficient construction. Mr Akinsanya noted that the road serves as a major link between Ayetoro and other towns in the state, adding that its reconstruction has improved the movement of farm produce, enhanced service delivery, strengthened security, and improved the overall quality of life for residents. The Iyaloja General of Ogun State, Chief (Mrs) Yemisi Abass, commended Governor Abiodun for fulfilling his promise to complete the second phase of the road, which he made during the commissioning of the first phase. She urged him to also complete the final phase to further boost development in the area. Similarly, the Chairman of Yewa North Local Government, Dr Olusola Akinbode, praised the governor for the project, noting that the road would further support farmers in the area. He disclosed that the local government distributed 11,000 cash crop seedlings to farmers last year and plans to distribute about 30,000 cocoa, cashew, and palm seedlings this year. Also speaking, the member representing Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, commended the governor for fulfilling his promise to improve the lives of residents through infrastructure development. He described the reconstruction of the road as a major relief for communities along the corridor, noting that the road had been neglected by previous administrations. The Adokun of Igan-Okoto, Oba Mukaila Akanbi Salako, also expressed appreciation to Governor Abiodun for connecting the community to Ayetoro and appealed to him to ensure the completion of the third and final phase of the 21-kilometre ImashayiIgan-OkotoAyetoro road. Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has sworn in two newly screened and confirmed Commissioners, urging them to justify the confidence reposed in them by serving the people with loyalty, competence, and a strong sense of responsibility. The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Government House, Katsina, followed their confirmation by the Katsina State House of Assembly. The new commissioners are Sani Ali Ahmed and Mannir Sullubawa. Governor Radda described the occasion as a significant milestone in his administrations efforts to strengthen governance and reposition the state for sustainable development. Today, we are witnessing an important event in the life of this administration the swearing-in of two new members into the Katsina State Executive Council, Governor Radda stated. Speaking on the appointment of Mr Sani Ali Ahmed, the governor highlighted his longstanding contributions to the growth of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State. We have been together on this political journey from the beginning. He served as the pioneer Secretary of the party during its formative stage and was later elevated to the position of State Chairman due to his dedication and commitment, he said. Governor Radda described him as one of the most successful party chairmen in the states history, noting that under his leadership, the party recorded remarkable victories across Katsina State. Under his watch, the APC achieved overwhelming successes. Today, Katsina remains one of the few states where virtually all elected officials belong to the ruling party. No one can doubt his loyalty, capacity to unite, and organizational strength, the governor added. Governor Radda also commended Mr Mannir Sullubawa, describing him as a seasoned technocrat who has served the state diligently in various capacities within the civil service. He has proven to be hardworking, knowledgeable, and dedicated. He understands the system and possesses the experience required to strengthen governance. We are confident that he will bring his wealth of experience to bear in this assignment, he said. The governor further disclosed that one of the appointments was intended to correct a longstanding imbalance in representation. When we initially constituted this cabinet, Katsina Local Government had two members, but none was from Katsina metropolis, he explained. He noted that since the return to democracy in 1999, Katsina metropolis had not produced a Commissioner, describing the new appointment as a historic step toward inclusivity and fairness. Mr Radda emphasised that the swearing-in comes at a crucial period as the administration consolidates its achievements under the Building Your Future development blueprint. We have recorded significant progress since assuming office, but we still need the support and cooperation of all Executive Council members to complete what we started before the end of this tenure, he said. The governor also reminded the Commissioners of the importance of the oath they had taken. Leadership is a trust a responsibility before God and the people. I expect you to support this administration wholeheartedly and discharge your duties with integrity, loyalty, and the fear of Allah, he cautioned. He urged them to work collaboratively with other cabinet members and align their efforts with the administrations priorities in security, education, healthcare, agriculture, and economic development. Mr Radda congratulated and charged them to remain focused, disciplined, and committed to delivering measurable results for the people of Katsina State. The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Faruk Lawal; the Chief of Staff, Abdulkadir Mamman Nasir; the Head of the Civil Service, Falalu Bawale; senior government officials; members of the State Executive Council; political stakeholders; families of the appointees; and well-wishers. The Nigerian military on Tesday reportedly killed scores of Boko Haram terrorists after an attack on a military base in Borno State. The terrorists had reportedly killed nine soldiers and a community chief imam in Ngoshe, a town in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. The terrorists carried out the attack on Tuesday evening shortly after residents broke their Ramadan fast. Local media reported that they attacked the military formation with heavy weapons before moving into the town to continue the attack. Sources also said residents deserted Ngoshe after the attack. An online platform, Zagazola Makama, reported that the Nigerian Air Force later carried out air strikes on the terrorists. The counter-insurgency publication quoted military sources as saying the terrorists had attacked troop positions at about 7:30 p.m. on March 3 before fleeing. Following the attack, surveillance aircraft tracked the terrorists along their known escape routes and carried out precision strikes on their positions, killing more than 50. Residents flee A video seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Facebook shows a group of women chanting, We left our homes because Boko Haram attacked us. The location of the women was not revealed in the video but several commentators said they fled to Pulka. Residents further reported that the insurgents burnt several houses before retreating. The spokesperson of Operation Hadin Kai in Borno, Sani Uba, did not answer his phone call, or reply a message sent to his mobile number as of the time of filing this report. The emergence of a former Chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the new leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State was not the product of an open contest, but the outcome of weeks of closed-door negotiations, political trade-offs and elite consensus, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. At the APC state congress held in Jalingo late Tuesday, Abubakar Bawa, until recently the PDP chairperson in the state, was announced as APC chairperson alongside other members of the State Working Committee (SWC). No voting took place. Multiple party sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the congress merely ratified decisions taken by the leaders following a series of consultations that began shortly after Governor Agbu Kefas defected from the PDP to the APC. From opposition to ruling party Mr Bawa defected to the APC on 2 February at a rally in Jalingo, where Governor Kefas formally aligned Taraba with the ruling party at the centre. The rally, attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima, signalled a major political realignment in the state. According to insiders, Mr Bawas defection was accompanied by assurances that the APC structure would be reorganised to reflect the new balance of power created by the governors move. The congress was a formality, a senior APC official told PREMIUM TIMES on condition of anonymity. The real decisions were taken long before delegates arrived at the venue. Consensus, not contest Party leaders said a consensus arrangement was adopted to prevent factional disputes that could undermine the APCs chances in future elections. Several aspirants who initially expressed interest in the chairmanship were persuaded to step down after negotiations involving state and national party figures. Another party source said the leadership believed allowing a competitive election could deepen mistrust between long-standing APC members and recent defectors from the PDP. There was fear that an election would reopen old wounds, the source said. So the option was to share positions and maintain unity, even if it meant sidelining some party loyalists. Governors role Governor Kefas publicly defended the process, describing it as peaceful and inclusive. He urged the new executives to prioritise fairness, transparency and grassroots engagement. However, critics within the party argue that the emergence of a former opposition leader as APC chairperson has raised concerns among founding members, some of whom feel marginalised. READ ALSO: This is politics of accommodation, said an APC chieftain who asked not to be named. But the danger is that loyal members may feel used and pushed aside. What it means for Taraba APC The development underscores the growing influence of political defections and elite bargaining in shaping party leadership structures, especially in states undergoing rapid realignments. While party leaders insist the consensus arrangement will strengthen the APC in Taraba, analysts say the real test will be whether the new leadership can manage internal grievances and deliver cohesion ahead of future elections. For now, the congress has confirmed one reality: in Taraba APC, leadership was decided not at the ballot box, but at the negotiating table. David Ombugadu, the two-time governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, on Tuesday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he was tired of leading the opposition after eight years. Mr Ombugadu announced his defection during an APC caucus meeting at the Government House in Lafia, shortly before the partys state congress held at Lafia Square. Speaking in the presence of Governor Abdullahi Sule and other party leaders, the former PDP governorship candidate said his years in the opposition were largely spent criticising the governors policies and programmes. I spent eight years on the other side, policing the policies of my elder brother. My task was to make sure that anything that is good, we paint it black, Mr Ombugadu said. He contested against Mr Sule in the 2019 and 2023 governorship elections under the PDP platform. He also challenged the results of both elections up to the Supreme Court, but was unsuccessful. According to him, his role in the opposition gave him the opportunity to closely scrutinise the governors policies and performance, which influenced his decision to return to the APC. Having scrutinised his policies and performances, I have come to realise that the best thing to do in the interest of the people of Nasarawa State and for the progress of the state is to join the progressives and also bring value to the table, he said. Mr Ombugadu, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Akwanga/Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency between 2011 and 2015, explained that his earlier exit from the APC in 2015 was not because the party lacked viability. He said he was among the founding members of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which later merged with other parties to form the APC, but left due to internal interests that sidelined him in his political zone despite his legislative record. The politician also acknowledged the contributions of former Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Al-Makura and former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu to the growth of the party in the state. He added that more of his supporters were expected to join the APC in the coming days. In politics, when we disagree, it is interest; when we agree, it is interest. When we are divided, it is interest. When we come together, it is also interest. The most important thing is that the interest should be directed towards impacting lives and promoting peace that will transform the state, he said. Welcoming Mr Ombugadu and other defectors, Governor Sule thanked party stakeholders for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the partys congresses from ward to state levels. The governor also welcomed the Deputy Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and Philip Gyunka, a former senator who recently returned to the APC. Mr Sule announced that the party would organise a special reception to formally receive the new entrants. Whatever has happened has happened. Let it go. With the way we are going, there is no more opposition in Nasarawa State. We from within cannot be our own opposition, the governor said. Meanwhile, at the APC state congress held shortly after the meeting at Lafia Square, Aliyu Bello was affirmed as the partys state Chairperson. Speaking after his affirmation, Mr Bello pledged that the newly inaugurated State Working Committee would be fair to all aspirants seeking elective positions on the partys platform. We are going to be fair and just to everybody who wishes to aspire for any position on the platform of our party. We also assure the governor of our loyalty to his administration and to the party, he said. Governor Sule also assured party members who were not returned as executives that they would still have opportunities to serve the party in other capacities. SINGAPORE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will ban the transport of workers in caged lorry decks starting Jan. 1, 2027, as part of efforts to improve safety standards for worker transportation. In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport said that in emergencies, caged lorries can pose heightened risks when the rear gate is latched or locked from the outside, potentially trapping workers inside. Companies may continue using caged lorries to carry goods and equipment, the ministry said. Firms that wish to keep using such vehicles to transport workers can replace the cage structure with a canopy, side railings and rain covers. During the transition period, employers must ensure workers have safe access to and from the lorry deck. From Jan. 1, 2027, companies that fail to comply with the ban will face penalties. The Migrant Workers' Center, which is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress, on Wednesday called the move "an important step that directly addresses long-standing safety concerns for migrant workers on our roads." Former Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, has explained why he has recently been meeting with opposition leaders in Jigawa State amid rumours of his potential defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Badarus recent cross-party engagements had left many in his home state wondering about his intentions. He met twice within a week with the 2023 PDP governorship candidate, Mustapha Lamido, son of veteran politician Sule Lamido, who is rumoured to be considering a move to the ADC. Mr Badaru has also held talks with a former senator and current ADC chieftain in the state, Ubale Shitu, and, most notably, with former Governor Sule Lamido, with whom Mr Badaru shares animosity since a 2017 dispute that led to Mr Lamidos detention. Though Mr Badaru met largely with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), his media aide, Mati Ali, in a statement on Facebook, said the engagements were to garner support for President Bola Tinubus re-election. Mr Ali claimed that the former minister had intensified high-level political consultations aimed at strengthening unity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State and across the North-West region ahead of the 2027 general elections. Since returning to Nigeria in early February 2026 from his end-of-year vacation abroad, H.E. Badaru Abubakar has renewed efforts to consolidate party cohesion, deepen grassroots mobilisation, and build strategic momentum toward the 2027 elections. His engagements are clearly focused on securing the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda. It is deeply regrettable that certain elected officials within the APC, across various levels, have allowed internal leadership disputes and personal interests to divert attention from core governance priorities and long-term strategic political planning. Such tendencies not only weaken preparations for upcoming elections but also undermine the effective advancement of President Bola Tinubus Renew Hope Agenda, he stated. Mr Ali said the former minister remains loyal to the president. In contrast, H.E. Badaru Abubakar has remained steadfast in uniting stakeholders, mobilising support, and reaffirming his unwavering loyalty to President Tinubus administration. This commitment was visibly demonstrated during the massive gathering that accompanied him to his hometown of Babura, where he received his validated APC membership registration card. At the event, he publicly reiterated his firm dedication to securing President Tinubus re-election in 2027. The overwhelming turnout and widespread endorsementsboth from those in attendance and supporters across the statereflected strong grassroots solidarity. Recognising that political success requires inclusive engagement, H.E. Badaru has extended his consultations beyond party boundaries. In the spirit of reconciliation and national unity, he has hosted prominent political leaders from across the political spectrum at his residences in Abuja and Kano. Mr Ali said Mr Badaru met politicians across party lines on separate occasions in Abuja and Kano. Among those received are the former PDP gubernatorial candidate in Jigawa State, H.E. Mustapha Sule Lamido; Senator Sabo Mohammed Nakudu; Senator Ubali Shitu; and Mallam Aminu Ibrahim Ringim, who contested as a PDP and NNPP gubernatorial candidate in previous elections. He also paid a visit to the former Governor of Jigawa State, H.E. Sule Lamido, at his residence in Kano. These high-level engagements underscore his commitment to dialogue, mutual understanding, and strategic alignment aimed at advancing national development and consolidating broad-based support for President Tinubu ahead of 2027. It is important to set the record straight: H.E. Mohammed Badaru Abubakars service extends well beyond state boundaries. As Regional Coordinating Chairman (North) of the 2023 APC Presidential Campaign Council, he provided strategic leadership that contributed significantly to President Tinubus electoral victory. Under his leadership and mobilisation: In Jigawa State, President Tinubu secured 421,390 votes, representing approximately 45.8 per cent of the valid votes cast. Across the seven North-West, President Tinubu recorded approximately 2,652,235 votes, representing about 30 per cent of his national vote total in the 2023 presidential election. As preparations for the 2027 general elections gradually take shape, H.E. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar remains resolute in promoting unity, strengthening democratic values, and mobilising broad-based support to ensure the continued success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the advancement of Nigerias national development agenda, Mr Ali said. The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has expressed shock and deep sorrow over the sudden death of its newly elected Assistant Publicity Secretary, Mr Karamo Yesiro. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Yesiros passing came barely 24 hours after his re-election as the partys assistant publicity secretary at the Lagos State APC Congress held at Onikan Stadium. The deceased was expected to be part of the newly elected Lagos State APC executives meant to be inaugurated at the partys secretariat on Thursday. In a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos by the partys spokesman, Seye Oladejo, the party described Mr Yesiros passing as a painful and tragic loss. Mr Oladejo said that the late party chieftain died shortly after being entrusted with the responsibility of serving in the State Executive Council. The Lagos State Chapter of the APC received with profound shock and deep sorrow the news of the sudden demise of our newly elected Assistant Publicity Secretary, Hon. Karamo Yesiro. Yesiros death came at a time when his energy, commitment and passion for progressive politics were most needed. Having just been entrusted with the responsibility of serving in the State Executive Council, he embodied dedication, loyalty and an unwavering belief in the ideals of our party, Mr Oladejo said. The spokesman noted that although his tenure was tragically cut short, the late Mr Yesiro left a lasting impression on colleagues and members of the party. His enthusiasm, humility and readiness to serve left a lasting impression on colleagues and members alike. He was a vibrant party man whose contributions to the growth and stability of the APC in Lagos State will not be forgotten, he added. Mr Oladejo said the party leadership and entire membership extended heartfelt condolences to the deceaseds immediate family, political associates, friends and supporters. On behalf of the leadership and entire membership of the Lagos APC, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, political associates, friends and supporters during this difficult time. We pray that Almighty God grants his family the strength to bear this irreparable loss and grants his soul eternal rest, he said. He added that the party stood united in mourning the painful departure of the late Assistant Publicity Secretary. Karamo Yesiro will be remembered for his service, commitment and belief in the progressive cause. May his soul rest in perfect peace, Mr Oladejo said. (NAN) Leading Global Forum to Spotlight "The Path of Transformation and Renewal for Chemicals" HOUSTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking 41 years of shaping industry insight and convening the industry's top decision makers, the annual World Petrochemical Conference (WPC) by S&P Global returns to Houston and will take place March 23-27, 2026, at the downtown Marriott Marquis. At this premier gathering of over 400 leading companies in the global chemical industry - with 100 CEOs and over 1200 attendees representing over 50 different countries - notable thought leaders will converge to discuss the sector amid geopolitical challenges, navigating oversupply and shifting cost dynamics while discussing how the industry can position itself for what comes next. Mark Eramo, Special Advisor, S&P Global, said, "We are proud to celebrate WPC's 41-year legacy as the industry's leading forum for chemical market intelligence and high-level industry dialogue, and this year's theme 'Catalyzing the Transformation: Renewal for Chemicals in an Era of Disruption'reflects the urgency of the moment. The supply-driven downturn is accelerating shifts that require strategic recalibration beyond typical management of the cycle. At WPC, we will explore several interconnected themes shaping our new reality, such as supply rationalization and potential intervention; a shifting crude-to-gas cost equation that challenges the competitiveness of gas-based chemical producers; and a more pragmatic sustainability agenda supported by proven technology and real market demand. And, crucially, we will examine how to tackle a supply-driven downturn. Our distinguished speakers and experts will share candid perspectives, actionable intelligence, and forward-looking insights to help companies make the right strategic choices in the years ahead. We hope you will join us in March for an energizing, high-impact forum focused on practical pathways to renewaland we look forward to welcoming you." WPC 2026's Key Highlights include (partial list): New Programs in 2026 Future-Focused Petrochemical Investments - Tuesday, 24 March Discussion of petrochemical decarbonization strategies, carbon markets and policy impact Trading Spotlight - Thursday, 26 March Exploring Trading Strategies and Risk Mitigation Petrochemical Plenary Session: Market Outlooks - Thursday, 26 March Deep dive value chain sessions powered by S&P Global Energy CERA in-depth data analysis (Return of) Regional Spotlight on India - Friday, 27 March Decoding India's fast-rising demand trends and consumption story Tuesday, March 24 Macro Trends Driving Trade Route Evolution - Global Supply Chains beset by Geopolitics, Trade and Tariffs Expert panelists and speakers will discuss global supply chain outlook and resilience strategies amid continued supply-chain reconfigurations. Wednesday, March 25 Executive Fireside Chat: The New Petrochemical Playbook How will industry reposition for structural changes such as European rationalization, China's self-sufficiency drive across key product chains, geopolitical challenges, and protectionism, and decarbonization efforts? What does a winning strategy for petrochemicals look like going forward? Featuring: Jim Fitterling, CEO and Chair, Dow and Peter Vanacker, CEO, LyondellBasell Industries Executive Panel: Building Resilience in an Era of Disruption Panelists will discuss strategic and capital allocation decisions by chemical executives that will determine future competitive positioning. With Europe and East Asia consolidating production, China accelerating self-sufficiency in petrochemicals and capital investments, and supply chains being reshaped by geopolitical uncertainty, the industry's competitive landscape is being permanently redrawn Speakers: Chris Jahn, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council; Marco Mensink, General Manager, Cefic; Juhan Robberts, Senior Vice President, Chemical Products, ExxonMobil; Sami Al-Osaimi, EVP, Polymers SBU, SABIC Executive Panel: Feedstock Dynamics Reshaping Petrochemicals Energy transition and expansion are reshaping petrochemical market and feedstock dynamics. The shifts are driving changes in feedstock cost, availability and competitiveness globally. Panelists will discuss what this means for competitiveness by region and by feedstock (NGLs, naphtha/liquids, coal). Speakers: Steve Prusak, President and CEO, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP; Janet Kong, CEO, Hengli Petrochemical International Pte Ltd; Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries. WPC 2026 Speakers (Partial list, with more industry leaders joining daily): Jim Fitterling, Chair and CEO, Dow Karen Carter, CEO, Dow Peter Vanacker, CEO, LyondellBasell Industries NV Christopher Jahn, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council Marco Mensink, General Manager, Cefic Juhan Robberts, SVP, Chemical Products, ExxonMobil Sami Al-Osaimi, EVP, Polymers SBU, SABIC Steve Prusak, President and CEO, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP Rebecca Liebert, President and CEO, The Lubrizol Corporation Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director and Member of the Board, Reliance Industries Ltd Sanjay Moolji, Chief Strategy Officer, Tricon Energy Ltd Leon de Bruyn, President & CEO, Lummus Technology Adriano Alfani, CEO, Versalis Gina Fyffe, CEO, Integra Petrochemicals Pte Ltd Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President and CEO, Huntsman Corporation S&P Global Speakers & Expert (Partial list): Mark Eramo, Special Advisor, S&P Global Carlos Pascual, Senior Vice President, Geopolitics & International Affairs, S&P Global Energy Atul Arya, Chief Energy Strategist, S&P Global Energy Kurt Barrow, Head of Oil, Fuels & Chemicals Research, S&P Global Energy Leanne Todd, Head of Horizons, Energy Expansion & Sustainability, S&P Global Energy Andrew Neale, Global Head of Chemicals, S&P Global Energy Jim Burkhard, Head of Research for Oil Markets, Energy & Mobility, S&P Global Energy Rahul Kapoor, Global Head of Shipping & Metals, S&P Global Energy Sebastian Borgarello, Global Head of CERA Consulting, S&P Global Energy Garrie Li, Chemical Insights APAC Lead, S&P Global Commodity Insights Paul Gruenwald, Global Chief Economist, S&P Global Ratings Bob MacKnight, Head of Sustainability Products & Services, S&P Global Click to view the complete list of speakers and the latest agenda. Registration information WPC will be held at the Marriott Marquis Houston Hotel from March 23-27, 2026. For further information and to register, visit https://wpc.spglobal.com/about/registration.html. Organised also by S&P Global, CERAWeek takes place alongside WPC. WPC attendees will enjoy access to CERAWeek innovation hubs and curated energy-ecosystem discussions. Media accreditation and passes Members of the media interested in covering WPC 2026 are required to apply for accreditation and should email [email protected]. Media Contacts Melissa Tan, + 65-98189759, [email protected] Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917-331-4607, [email protected] About S&P Global Energy At S&P Global Energy, our comprehensive view of global energy and commodities markets enables our customers to make superior decisions and create long-term, sustainable value. Our four core capabilities are: Platts for pricing and news; CERA for research and advisory; Horizons for energy expansion and sustainability solutions; and Events for industry collaboration. S&P Global Energy is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global enables businesses, governments, and individuals with trusted data, expertise, and technology to make decisions with conviction. We are Advancing Essential Intelligence through world-leading benchmarks, data, and insights that customers need in order to plan confidently, act decisively, and thrive economically in a rapidly changing global landscape. Learn more at www.spglobal.com/energy SOURCE S&P Global Energy Students from Across All Three Counties Take the Stage at Del Tech WILMINGTON, Del., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 7, 2026, students representing 57 public, charter, private, and faith-based schools from across Delaware will compete in the Delaware Regional Spelling Bee at the Delaware Technical Community College Del-One Conference Center. The Bee brings together students from all three counties for a single statewide academic stage. One student will advance to represent Delaware at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Every student competing has already won at the school level to earn a place in this field. The 2026 Delaware Spelling Bee is made possible by the support of Delaware's local businesses and community organizations. The event opens at 8:30 a.m., with the competition beginning at 9:00 a.m. The program features remarks from Governor Matt Meyer, Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay, Secretary of Education Cindy Marten, and other statewide leaders, along with a distinguished panel of judges drawn from education, nonprofit, civic, and state leadership. "Persistence, focus, and a love of learning are the qualities this competition highlights," said Dr. Julia Keleher, Executive Director of First State Educate. "When students from every corner of Delaware stand on one stage, it demonstrates what is possible in our public schools. Every participant is already a champion. At the national level, they compete as Team Delaware." As Delaware's official regional partner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, First State Educate organizes and hosts the statewide competition each year. The event is made possible through the support of over 50 sponsors and numerous community partners from across the state. See attached. Judges for the 2026 Delaware Regional Spelling Bee include Dr. Amber Battle-Winston (United Way of Delaware), Shelby Borst (2025 Delaware Teacher of the Year), Logan Herring (The WRK Group), Stacy Lane (Laurel Public Library), Samanta Lopez (Delaware Technical Community College), Julia Merola (Spotlight Delaware), Councilman Gerald Rocha (City of Dover), and Jon Sheehan (State Board of Education). Dr. Nadya Pincus (University of Delaware) will serve as the official Pronouncer. The Delaware Regional Spelling Bee is one of the few academic events that unites schools across district and sector lines in a single, merit-based competition. It publicly affirms a statewide commitment to preparation, discipline, and academic excellence. The winner information will be posted on First State Educate's website at the conclusion of the event. Event Details Date: March 7, 2026 Location: Delaware Technical Community College, Del-One Conference Center Program Begins: 8:30 a.m. Competition Begins: 9:00 a.m. For media inquiries or additional information, contact: Dr. Julia Keleher First State Educate 202-322-7373 [email protected] About First State Educate First State Educate (FSE) is Delaware's only nonprofit focused on empowering and transforming school boards to improve outcomes for all students. FSE works with parents, educators, community leaders, and school board members to strengthen governance, increase accountability, and support informed decision-making across Delaware's public education system. In addition to its governance work, FSE serves as Delaware's official regional partner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, organizing the statewide competition each year as part of its commitment to academic excellence. SOURCE First State Educate No Algorithm: Posts render in Chronological order and Users Determine their Activity Feed by setting which post categories are delivered. SAN JOSE, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Just weeks after its official launch, PleasantHub.com is redefining what social media can be for 55+ Adults by providing community connection where participation feels like a conversation and not an argument. Pleasant Hub's growth can be directly attributed to the growing concern about the major networks' monetization of user data with algorithms to force feed content. Instead, we have empowered members to craft their own experience on the platform determining what they see in their main activity feed. Pleasant Hub Homepage Member Home Users can set their default Activity Feed to: All Updates : in chronological order : in chronological order Filtered Feed : rendering posts in categories users select in their general settings : rendering posts in categories users select in their general settings Friends Only : where users see only posts by people they have created a two-way Friendship : where users see only posts by people they have created a two-way Friendship Followed Feed: users see posts by other Members they Follow on the platform All Feeds are rendered in chronological order and not fed by an Algorithm based on user-behavior. "Rendering content in chronological order instead of using an algorithm to feed content creates an entirely different social experience for users" says George Oberle, Founder of PleasantHub. "Our members are looking for a community of people their age to connect with in a pleasant environment where participation feels like a conversation." With approximately 22 to 26 million U.S. adults aged 55 and older living alone, isolation and loneliness were declared an epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023. The Pleasant Hub Story has always been to create a simple "digital neighborhood" for 55+ adults to combat senior loneliness and isolation through community connection. Where members are not considered products to monetize, but real people looking to connect with a community. The platform offers a pleasant environment where users can share life accomplishments and build authentic friendships without the "noise" of traditional social networks. Members have a stake in the Community with a "Report as Inappropriate" function on each post for active community protection. With an Algorithm free environment, prioritizing user control and a strict no politics and no-solicitation policy, PleasantHub is rapidly becoming popular with 55+ adults seeking meaningful community connection to combat isolation and loneliness. Pleasant Hub is Free to Join! www.PleasantHub.com About Pleasant Hub Pleasant Hub is a new social media platform designed for 55+ adults to foster meaningful community connections in a welcoming environment to help combat loneliness and social isolation. Based in San Jose, California, the platform combats Senior Loneliness one connection at a time. Media Contact: George Oberle 408-500-2536 [email protected] SOURCE Pleasant Hub Awarding $5000 to 10 eligible students committed to community service, who have leadership and academic potential OGDEN, Utah , March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- America First Credit Union is celebrating the commencement of its eighth annual Charitable Foundation scholarship program, and will be awarding (10) scholarships worth $5,000 each. The foundation recognizes and awards scholarships each year to America First members who are graduating high school seniors or undergraduate students currently enrolled in a two-year, four-year, or technical college or university, and have a passion for serving and helping others. The America First Charitable Foundation is looking for candidates who embody the people-helping-people philosophy; those who play an active role in giving back to their community, whether through volunteering or other meaningful contributions of time, effort, and care. The scholarships are intended to help America First members pursue post-secondary education and training. Selection Criteria Applicants are required to submit their community service hours, grade point average, and official transcript of the final three reporting periods at the high school and/or college/university where they last enrolled. A short essay on how their community service exemplifies the credit union philosophy of people helping people. (500 to 700 words) A summary of education history, including important lessons learned, challenges you've overcome and key accomplishments. Two letters of recommendation from a school counselor, business leader, teacher or religious leader. A selection committee consisting of America First employees, representing diverse business, educational, and community backgrounds, will evaluate applications and select the 10 recipients. Selection is made without regard to the applicant's race, color, national origin, religious belief, sex, marital status, age, or physical handicap. Eligibility Requirements America First Credit Union member with an account in good standing U.S citizen Graduating high school senior or enrolled college student Minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average during the last three reporting periods Minimum 30 community service hours Scholarship applications are due April 1st, 2026, and winners will be notified no later than April 30, 2026. Apply to be considered here . ABOUT AMERICA FIRST CREDIT UNION Now in its 86th year, America First Credit Union has grown from a single branch serving military personnel and federal employees into one of the strongest and most progressive credit unions in the country. The credit union is the largest in Utah, and has 115 locations across Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. It is also the fifth-largest credit union in America, with more than 1.4 million members, and the sixth-largest in assets, with more than $22 billion. America First Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution dedicated to building communities and helping members do more with their money. Learn more at americafirst.com . SOURCE America First Credit Union ANTALYA, Turkiye, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Antlara Dental has announced that it is standardising its clinical practices in line with the principles outlined by the General Dental Council (GDC). At the heart of these principles is a clear message: patient health must always come before financial, corporate or personal interests. Upholding GDC standards in every aspect of patient care at Antlara Dental According to Antlara Dental's UK Representative Hacer Taskin Gediz, this alignment is a natural step for a clinic that treats a significant number of patients from the United Kingdom. She noted that the clinic aims to ensure that its clinical approach reflects the same transparency and patient-centred standards expected by UK patients. In line with the principles highlighted in the GDC guidelines, Antlara Dental states that treatment plans are prepared not only with aesthetic expectations in mind, but also by carefully considering biological limits, functional requirements and the long-term sustainability of the treatment. Another area strongly emphasised by the GDC is clear and transparent communication with patients. At Antlara Dental, patients are provided with detailed explanations of all available treatment options. Possible risks, complications and long-term effects are discussed openly so that patients can make informed decisions about their care. Treatment costs are shared in writing before the procedure begins, and the clinic's warranty terms are also clearly presented in written form. If there is any change in the treatment plan, patients are informed again and the updated plan is documented in writing. Clinical safety and hygiene are another focus of the GDC principles. For this reason, sterilisation and decontamination procedures are applied regularly, radiological procedures are performed according to established safety protocols and medical waste is handled in accordance with national regulations. Patient confidentiality is another area the GDC treats with particular sensitivity. At Antlara Dental, clinical records are carefully maintained, and explicit consent is obtained from patients before any photographs or images are used. The clinic states that no social media content is shared that could reveal a patient's identity without their clear permission. The GDC also encourages clinics to have an accessible and effective complaints procedure. Antlara Dental reports that it has a written complaints process in place. All complaints are recorded and addressed within a specified timeframe, and when necessary, corrective measures are taken to resolve the issue. The GDC's Key Questions Antlara's Answers The General Dental Council advises UK citizens who are considering dental treatment abroad to ask clinics several important questions before making a decision. Antlara Dental says it welcomes these questions and believes transparency is essential in building patient trust. Who will carry out the treatment, and what qualifications do they have? Among them are: Chief Dentist Dilek Aksu Guler, founder and cosmetic dentist with more than 20 years of professional experience; Dr. Hakan Akman, cosmetic dentist with over 25 years of clinical experience; Dr. Ugur Agar, an orthodontic specialist with around 30 years of clinical experience; Dr. Alp Tolga Cntav, a general dentist with nearly three decades of professional practice. These clinicians are part of Antlara Dental's wider team of experienced dental professionals. Do you have references or testimonials from previous patients? Although only a small proportion of patients are specifically asked to leave feedback, Antlara Dental has accumulated close to 1,000 testimonials across digital platforms. On Trustpilot, the clinic has more than 500 verified reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5, while on Google it has over 900 verified reviews with the same average rating. What kind of aftercare do you provide after treatment? For patients wondering about aftercare, the clinic highlights that it provides support through its London office. Many aftercare or guarantee-related matters can be coordinated through this office, and when necessary the clinical team maintains direct communication with patients throughout the process. About Antlara Dental Founded in 2005, Antlara Dental is a dental clinic based in Antalya that serves an international patient base. The clinic states that it prioritises patient safety and ethical standards while operating in full compliance with the regulations of the Republic of Turkiye's Ministry of Health. In recent years, the clinic has also drawn attention for its modern in-house dental laboratory infrastructure, which allows the team to respond more quickly to treatment needs and patient requests. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926961/Antlara_Dental.jpg The UK Office Contact Info: Address: Hanover Square, London W1S Telephone: +44 7770 537 469 Antalya Clinic: Zumrutova, Sinanoglu Cd. No:53A, Muratpasa/Antalya, Turkiye Telephone: +90 (541) 120 42 08 Email: [email protected] antlaradental.com SOURCE Antlara Dental NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Floodbase , the leading parametric platform for insuring flood risk, today unveiled its Floodbase Quote API. The new platform capability enables insurers and MGAs to collapse weeks-long manual quoting cycles into instant workflows that dramatically accelerate distribution and offer new portfolio flood solutions for the historically underserved U.S. flood market. flooded road Until now, the bespoke and manual nature of large area parametric flood quotes has restricted underwriting capacity and in turn brokers' ability to serve small- and mid-sized markets. The lengthy submission-to-quote cycle meant brokers couldn't get an option in front of all relevant clients. The result? Significant value has been left on the table: Clients remain exposed to significant flood protection gaps, brokers are unable to service their entire book, and carriers have left substantial premium untapped. That dynamic is now changing. With the Floodbase Quote API, carriers can equip brokers with tools that instantly generate standardized quotes for parametric flood covers. Leading the shift toward self-serve broker distribution, Liberty Mutual recently announced an instant large-area parametric flood quoting application for brokers and MGAs, powered by the Floodbase API . The automated quoting and rating workflows makes it viable to distribute at scale across small- and mid-sized commercial markets where speed, consistency, and standardization are essential. Beyond accelerating distribution, this expansion of the Floodbase Platform unlocks entirely new parametric flood products previously limited by a manual, location-by-location design process. For the first time, insurers can partner with Floodbase to design large, geographically distributed portfolio solutions from embedded add-ons to reinsurance solutions covering thousands of locations in the U.S. simultaneously. This effectively enables insurers and MGAs to scale new products and capture new parts of the market previously out of reach. "This is a true unlock. We're dismantling structural barriers that have prevented brokers and carriers from serving everyone in the U.S. flood market with scalable parametric flood products" said Annbjrg Medhaug, Chief Product Officer at Floodbase. Built to enable automatic or self-serve workflows, Floodbase's Quote API instantly returns the assets required to price a standard parametric flood cover for a single-location risk in a specific U.S. state. For a given address or jurisdiction, the API generates a localized daily flood history, based on a standardized coverage design, spanning nearly five decades. With these inputs delivered instantly, underwriters can apply predefined rules or integrate carrier pricing models to generate quotes automatically or with minimal manual intervention, dramatically reducing time to quote. "The Quote API is built on Floodbase's scientifically rigorous flood modelling infrastructure, which continuously maps and calibrates floods across the United States," said Subit Chakrabarti, Chief Technology Officer. "By delivering location-specific flood intelligence instantly and at scale, we are transforming how parametric flood can be structured and deployed in the U.S. market." Flood risk is changing. Your underwriting should too. Join the elite group of insurers using Floodbase to simplify the complex and make flood insurance truly scalable. Whether you're looking to serve specific clients or launch a full program, our team is ready to partner with you. Read more about our offering Floodbase or start a conversation with our team here . About Floodbase Floodbase is the platform for insuring uncovered flood risk. Built on more than a decade of science and engineering, Floodbase monitors flooding worldwide. Partners rely on Floodbase to design and power flood covers for large corporate and public sector clients insuring previously uninsurable economic loss from flooding. Floodbase partners with leading re/insurers including Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Liberty Mutual Re, and AXA Climate, and supports the UN, The New York Times, and others to identify and respond to major flood events. SOURCE Floodbase MIAMI, March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Silk, an award-winning agency focused on creating brand strategies, custom websites, and digital marketing campaigns, partnered with Boldtek to execute a strategic website redesign that resulted in significant increases in total users, engagement time, and session activity. The engagement focused on modernizing Boldtek's digital infrastructure and strengthening its ability to attract, engage, and retain users through improved UX architecture and SEO structure. Strengthening Digital Performance Through Strategic Redesign Boldtek required a website experience that better aligned with its growth goals and audience expectations. The previous digital structure limited discoverability and did not fully support user engagement across key pages. Primary objectives included: Improving site architecture and navigation clarity Increasing user engagement duration Strengthening SEO foundations Enhancing technical performance and responsiveness In competitive digital environments, structural clarity and optimized UX directly influence engagement metrics. A Conversion and Engagement-Focused Approach Digital Silk approached the redesign under its Web Design Services framework, focusing on both acquisition and engagement performance. The redesign strategy included: Rebuilding information hierarchy Optimizing page layouts for clarity Enhancing technical SEO structure Improving page speed and mobile responsiveness Refining calls to action across user pathways The updated platform was structured to improve user retention while increasing organic visibility. Measurable Results Following Launch After launch, Boldtek recorded measurable improvements: Total users increased by 467.9% compared to the same period the previous year Average engagement time improved by 46.69%, reaching 54 seconds per session Engaged sessions increased by 359.02% These outcomes reflect the impact of aligning UX design, SEO structure, and performance optimization within a unified digital strategy. Readers can review the full project breakdown in the detailed Boldtek case study on Digital Silk's website. Website Redesign as a Growth Strategy Modern websites must operate as: Visibility drivers Engagement platforms Lead generation engines Authority-building assets When user experience, technical performance, and structured content architecture align, digital platforms can support measurable growth in both traffic and engagement. Organizations seeking to evaluate their website performance can request a consultation through Digital Silk's Request a Quote page. About Digital Silk Digital Silk is an award-winning Miami Web Development Agency focused on growing brands online. With a team of seasoned experts, Digital Silk creates digital experiences through strategic branding, custom web design, and digital marketing services to help improve visibility and support engagement. Media Contact Jessica Erasmus Marketing Director & PR Manager Tel: (800) 206-9413 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Digital Silk MADISON, N.J., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Century 21 Real Estate LLC today announced that in 2025, the CENTURY 21 System raised $2,194,978 for Easterseals, continuing one of the organization's longest standing and most impactful charitable relationships. This year's fundraising brings the network's lifetime giving to Easterseals to over $143 Million, a reflection of the brand's unwavering, 47-year commitment to building stronger, more inclusive communities across North America. Since 1979, the CENTURY 21 network of independent brokers and agents has stood side by side with Easterseals to support essential programs that enhance quality of life and independence for people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, and their families nationwide. Sales professionals affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand continue to demonstrate what it means to truly deliver joy to countless communities across the U.S. and beyond, from local office campaigns and regional fundraisers to nationwide initiatives. "Each year, our network reminds me what makes the CENTURY 21 brand so special," said Greg Sexton, Chief Operating Officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC and member of the Easterseals National Board of Directors. "Our 47-year relationship with Easterseals is based on a shared mission rooted in dignity, inclusion, and the belief that every community can be stronger when we lift each other up. I've witnessed firsthand the lifechanging impact Easterseals has on individuals and families. Knowing that our independent brokers and agents continue to champion this cause with such heart fills me with profound gratitude. Their generosity doesn't just raise fundsit expands possibilities for people across the country. Together, we're creating pathways to independence and ensuring more people have the opportunity to thrive." Easterseals President and CEO Kendra Davenport added: "The CENTURY 21 brand continues to be an extraordinary ally in empowering people with disabilities to live fuller, more independent lives. Their dedication is felt in thousands of communitiesfrom small towns to large citieswhere agents and brokers affiliated with the brand show up year after year to support our mission. This deep and sustained commitment helps ensure that Easterseals can meet the evolving needs of the people we serve, and we are profoundly grateful." Top 21 CENTURY 21 Fundraising Companies of 2025 This year's Top 21 champions represent offices across the United States and Canada whose creativity, passion, and community leadership drove meaningful impact. For the 28th year in a row, CENTURY 21 Professionals of Michigan once again led the C21 network in its fundraising efforts. A Global Week of Giving Ahead The CENTURY 21 brand will once again host its annual International Week of Giving on July 2731, 2026, spotlighting the charitable efforts of its global network and showcasing the many ways CENTURY 21 independent professionals uplift communities not just in North America, but around the world. About Century 21 Real Estate LLC Built on a legacy of trust and client-first service, the 124,000-plus CENTURY 21 independent sales professionals in approximately 11,000 offices across 79 countries and territories are committed to guiding clients along every step of their real estate journey. The CENTURY 21 brand equips its system members with the industry-leading tools, resources, and marketing assets that help take their business to new heights. Century 21 Real Estate websites, including century21.com and commercial.century21.com , offer numerous resources to help answer specific consumer real estate needs. Century 21 Real Estate LLC operates within Compass International Holdings (CIH), a global real estate services company. 2026 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21, C21, and the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. About Easterseals https://www.easterseals.com/Trusted by families for more than 100 years, Easterseals serves millions annually with essential disability, aging, and veterans' services across the U.S. The organization empowers people to live full lives with greater independence, no matter their disability, age, or life stage. Learn more at easterseals.com or follow the organization on social media. Media Contacts: Erin Siegel Century 21 Real Estate LLC Email: [email protected] Cindy Metzger Easterseals Email: [email protected] SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC BAGHDAD, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday denied claims it sent Kurdish groups to infiltrate Iran, saying it is not involved in any campaign to escalate regional conflicts. KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani called reports suggesting the region is arming and sending Kurdish parties into Iran "completely false." He said the KRG and its political parties are committed to peace and stability. Hawramani also condemned attacks on the Kurdistan region, urging Iraq's federal government and the international community to protect Kurdish territory and civilians. Earlier in the day, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said its armed forces had heavily damaged positions and facilities of "separatist terrorist" groups near its western borders in a "pre-emptive" operation. The ministry accused the groups of trying to infiltrate Iran with U.S. and Israeli backing to carry out attacks in urban and border areas, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA. Tensions escalated after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran on Saturday, prompting Tehran to launch missile and drone attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets across the Middle East. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for pro-Iranian militias, warned Thursday that European forces and interests could become "legitimate targets" if they support U.S.-Israeli operations. The group also claimed it shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over Iraq's Salahuddin province and conducted 29 drone and missile attacks on "enemy bases" in Iraq and the region over the past 24 hours. No further details on the targets or casualties were provided. LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For many, the road to parenthood is not a straight line but a collaborative journey involving medical science, specialized law, and the selfless participation of gestational surrogates. In an upcoming segment of "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia," Public Television audiences will be invited to explore the foundational ethics of surrogacy through the lens of Creative Family Connections, a surrogacy agency dedicated to the belief that the desire to build a family is a universal human experience that transcends traditional boundaries. Creative Family Connections Production and filming is scheduled for March 23, 2026, at the "All Access" studios in Boca Raton, Florida. The segment examines the modern reality of gestational surrogacy, where embryos are carried by a surrogate with no genetic link to the child. By documenting the intersection of assisted reproductive technology and legal advocacy, the series provides a comprehensive look at how families are formed within the LGBTQ+ community, for single parents, and for heterosexual parents facing fertility challenges when the intended mom is unable to carry the baby. The narrative highlights over twenty years of legal pioneering, including the drafting of landmark legislation that shifted surrogacy from a once-restricted practice to a legally protected path to parenthood in the nation's capital. "We are delighted to have been invited to be part of this excellent program and excited to bring this documentary to viewers," said Diane Hinson, Founder and CEO of Creative Family Connections. "Surrogacy is an amazing medical technology that permits intended parents who could not otherwise build a family to do so. Our goal is to show that when surrogacy is practiced in an ethical and legal manner, everyone benefits: We have grateful parents, happy surrogates, and just the most loving families ever." The educational narrative addresses the need for a critical shift in the surrogacy market: the move toward heightened financial transparency and rigorous escrow management. Viewers will learn how the "best practices" standards set by the Society for Ethics for Egg Donation and Surrogacy (SEEDS) protect intended parents and surrogates from lax and sometimes predatory practices. The segment details why having a dedicated legal team is paramount to a successful outcome, ensuring that every contract and parentage action is rooted in the standards of the legal bar. This approach prioritizes the long-term parentage rights of the intended parents (and the child) and the well-being of the surrogates over the convenience of a fast match. Furthermore, the segment provides a practical guide to the complex landscape of surrogacy in the US. In the absence of a federal law governing surrogacy in the US, the program explains how tools like The US Surrogacy Law Map serve as an essential compass for navigating the varying parentage rights across different states. When the segment films later this year, it will be an informative resource for a new generation of prospective parents and surrogates. By centering the conversation on ethical integrity, the collaboration between "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia" and Creative Family Connections demonstrates how a commitment to doing things right can change the life trajectory of families worldwide. About All Access hosted by Andy Garcia "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia" is an award-winning program that highlights the latest topics and trends impacting the world today. The program is created by a veteran team of tenured producers to provide high-quality educational content for Public Television viewers across the nation. For more information, please visit: allaccessptv.com About Creative Family Connections Creative Family Connections is a top-rated surrogacy agency with a premier legal team, dedicated to the principle that everyone can build a family. Founded in 2001 by an attorney and a pioneer in the field, the organization provides a full-service, ethical approach to gestational surrogacy for intended parents worldwide. To learn more about the company's mission, surrogacy services, and legal resources, visit: creativefamilyconnections.com SOURCE All Access In an industry obsessed with automated learning apps, Stacy Richter, CEO of Live Lingua, is bringing the human element back to education. Discover in the latest Disruption Interruption episode how his "four-legged stool" approach combines live tutoring and AI tools to transform language acquisition and disrupt the unstable EdTech status quo. TAMPA BAY, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The global language learning market size was valued at USD 85.1 billion last year and is expected to skyrocket to USD 649 billion by 2035. Despite this massive investment in educational technology, many language learners are failing to achieve true, real-world fluency. Stacy Richter, CEO of Live Lingua, joins host Karla Jo Helms (KJ) on the Disruption Interruption podcast to discuss how the EdTech industry has lost sight of human connection. "In the education space, technology has become the status quo. The pendulum swung from personalized in-person services so far the other way where it's been exclusively technology," Richter explains, highlighting the urgent need for a more balanced, human-centric approach to language acquisition. DI: Episode 219 The Technology Paradox in Modern EdTech The EdTech industry has spent billions pushing simple apps designed to offer a quick, automated shortcut to knowledge. However, these platforms often excel at increasing screen time and gamification rather than fostering actual fluency. This creates a transactional learning environment where users engage heavily with their devices but lose the essential person-to-person connection required to truly master a language and build trust. Richter points out that this over-reliance on technology creates an unstable foundation for learners. "We have lost connection with each other as individuals," he says. "The apps are brilliant at making us feel good with dopamine hits, but their primary goal isn't actual fluency. Their goal is increasing screen time." This approach leaves users stranded when they attempt to use their new skills in real-world scenarios. "If we're all focused on technology, we're losing the connection. True relationship-building requires a much deeper understanding than just typing into a digital translator and having the words spit out," Richter adds. The Four-Legged Stool: A Full-Stack Language Model To combat this instability, Live Lingua employs a "four-legged stool" approach that integrates live human tutors, advanced technology, efficient AI tools, and supplementary resources. This full-stack model places a live person at the hub of the learning experience, using AI and automation to enhance the tutor's capabilities by personalizing study materials and eliminating administrative friction. By delegating transactional tasks like vocabulary and grammar practice to AI, the time spent with a live tutor becomes exponentially more valuable. "We just turned our stool from one leg to four legs for those people who want to migrate from games to genuine fluency," Richter explains. "The hour they spend with that tutor is the most useful time for progressing their language skills, shortening the learning curve by months or even years." Ultimately, this disruptive model proves that technology alone cannot replace the transformational power of a real conversation. "Do not ever discount the value that another human connection can make," Richter emphasizes. "It only takes one connection, one conversation, or one relationship away from a breakthrough." Links Disrupting EdTech's Instability: The Full-Stack Approach to Conversational Mastery, with Stacy Richter Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you will hear from today's biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to bring about innovation and how they overcame opposition to adoption. Disruption Interruption can be listened to in Apple's App Store and Spotify. https://omny.fm/shows/disruption-interruption/disrupting-edtechs-instability-the-full-stack-approach-to-conversational-mastery-with-stacy-richter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealstacyrichter/ Company Website: https://livelingua.com About Disruption InterruptionTM Disruption is happening on an unprecedented scale, impacting all manner of industries MedTech, Finance, IT, eCommerce, shipping, logistics, and moreand COVID has moved their timelines up a full decade or more. But WHO are these disruptors and when did they say, "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!"? Time to Disrupt and Interrupt with host Karla Jo "KJ" Helms, veteran communications disruptor. KJ interviews badasses who are disrupting their industries and altering economic networks that have become antiquated with an establishment resistant to progress. She delves into uncovering secrets from industry rebels and quiet revolutionaries that uncover common traitsand not-so-commonthat are changing our economic markets and lives. Visit the world's key pioneers that persist to success, despite arrows in their backs at www.disruption-interruption.com. About Stacy Richter Stacy Richter is a disruptor in the global edtech and language acquisition space. As CEO of Live Lingua, he is redefining how fluency is achieved by challenging the automation-heavy, app-driven model that has dominated the industry. Under his leadership, Live Lingua delivers a full-stack language learning platform built on a "four-legged stool" approach that integrates live human tutors, purposeful technology, efficient AI tools, and structured supplementary resources to produce stable, measurable, real-world outcomes. Before leading Live Lingua, Stacy built and scaled companies across North America and Europe, driving marketing and growth initiatives across oil and gas, ecommerce, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, finance, and fintech. He earned his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary with a double major in Marketing and Information Systems, completed an Industrial Marketing minor at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, and later received his MBA from the University of Phoenix. He also helped expand a boutique marketing agency to six offices and more than 30 associates across North America before transitioning into acquiring and growing small to mid-sized businesses. With a career spanning entrepreneurship, investing, and executive leadership, Stacy advocates for combining human connection with technological innovation rather than replacing one with the other. He has positioned Live Lingua as a quality-driven alternative to venture-backed hype, emphasizing long-term outcomes and educational stability. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, he leads with a triple bottom line philosophy of People, Purpose, Profit, and is a sought-after speaker on growth strategy, innovation, and the future of education. About Karla Jo Helms Karla Jo Helms is the Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR Strategist for JOTO PR Disruptors. Karla Jo learned firsthand how unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the line and how the control of public opinion often determines whether one company is happily chosen, or another is brutally rejected. Being an alumnus of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys, private investigators, and the media to help restore companies of goodwill into the good graces of public opinion Karla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it right the first time, not relying on second chances and doing what it takes to excel. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how the PR industry itself has lost its way, and how, in the right hands, corporations can harness the power of Anti-PR to drive markets and impact market perception. References Global Market Insights. (2026, January). Language Learning Market Size & Share | Growth Trends - 2032. Global Market Insights Inc. gminsights.com/industry-analysis/language-learning-market Media Inquiries: Karla Jo Helms JOTO PR 727-777-4629 SOURCE Disruption Interruption New TV App Technology Enables Screen Networks to Unlock Premium, Precision Inventory in the $1.2B Point-of-Care Media Market SHORT HILLS, N.J., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Doceree, the world's first AI-powered operating system built exclusively for healthcare marketing, today announced the launch of Spark for DOOH, extending its healthcare-native intelligence into clinical waiting rooms and exam room screens, completing its Point-of-Care ecosystem. Doceree Extends Its Healthcare Intelligence to Clinical Screens, Completing the Point-of-Care Ecosystem with Spark for DOOH With Spark for DOOH, Doceree now delivers real-time, signal-based targeting across the full continuum of point-of-care environments from physician workflows (Spark for EHR), to integrated provider networks (Spark for Health Systems), and now to physical clinical screens. Available as a lightweight TV app technology across existing waiting room and exam room displays, Spark transforms traditional screen networks into real-time, diagnosis-targeted advertising environments without hardware upgrades or infrastructure rebuilds. Pharmaceutical investment in point-of-care media exceeds $1.2 billion annually and is growing at approximately 16% year-over-year. Yet while brand teams expect digital-level precision across channels, most clinical screens still operate as static, rotation-based inventory, unable to differentiate audiences by diagnosis or stage of care. Spark changes that. Powered by Doceree's patented Triggers technology, Spark activates at patient check-in, securely detects real-time visit signals, matches anonymized patient profiles against campaign targeting parameters, and delivers contextually relevant creative within milliseconds all within a HIPAA-compliant infrastructure. The result: pharmaceutical advertisers gain diagnosis-level precision in physical clinical environments, while screen operators unlock premium inventory aligned with pharma's evolving expectations. "Doceree has consistently led the industry by building a healthcare-native intelligence engine where others saw media inventory," said Harshit Jain, MD, Founder & Global CEO, Doceree. "With Spark for EHRs, we transformed physician workflows. With Spark for Health Systems, we extended targeting across provider ecosystems. Spark for DOOH completes our Point-of-Care ecosystem enabling precision engagement at every critical touchpoint in the clinical journey." Commenting on the launch, Kamya Elawadhi, Co-Founder & President, Doceree, said, "Healthcare waiting rooms remain one of the most powerful media environments: patients spend an average of 20+ minutes on site and are already engaged in their care journey. However, without real-time signal activation, those structural advantages have not translated into performance-driven investment." Spark integrates directly into existing smart TVs and digital signage systems, enabling clinical screen network operators to activate diagnosis-specific targeting, demographic segmentation, and real-time ad decisioning through simple software deployment. For operators, this shifts the model from selling undifferentiated impressions to offering precision healthcare media powered by authenticated clinical signals. "Precision in healthcare media requires trusted data connectivity and compliant signal activation," said Julius Ramirez, EVP Data and Partnerships at Doceree. "Spark for DOOH extends our EHR integrations and data partnerships into the physical clinical environment, enabling screen networks to activate real-time signals responsibly while delivering the measurable precision pharma demands." Unlike general DOOH technologies adapted from broader advertising ecosystems, Spark is built on healthcare-native infrastructure. Doceree's Triggers engine was designed specifically to process clinical signals securely and in real time, with privacy safeguards embedded at its core. The launch is backed by Doceree's healthcare data ecosystem, including integrations across more than 185 EHRs and health systems and verified identity data on over 6M healthcare professionals. This foundation ensures targeting is powered by authenticated clinical intelligence rather than probabilistic modelling. With the completion of its Point-of-Care Ecosystem, Doceree now offers pharmaceutical brands and healthcare media partners a unified intelligence spanning digital workflows, health system environments, and physical clinical spaces creating a connected precision network across the care continuum. Spark for DOOH is available immediately to clinical screen network operators across the United States. For more information, visit https://docereespark.com/dooh About Spark Spark, a Doceree initiative built exclusively for EHRs and health systems, enables the delivery of clinically relevant, patient-personalized messages within HCP workflows at the exact moment of clinical decision-making. Integrated seamlessly across 185+ EHRs & health systems, Spark improves HCP engagement and patient health outcomes by delivering AI-powered, context-driven brand messages that align with physician prescribing patterns and patient profiles. Powered by Doceree's patented Triggers technology, Spark ensures every message respects clinical workflows while providing physicians with timely, actionable information that supports better patient care decisions. Know more: https://docereespark.com/ Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2927180/Doceree_Spark_for_DOOH.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1758952/Doceree_Logo.jpg SOURCE Doceree Strengthening community partnerships while celebrating healthcare, safety, and innovation leadership TELFORD, Pa. and PHILADELPHIA, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Draeger, Inc. today announced its official sponsorship of seven "Firstival" events as part of the Philadelphia Semiquincentennial celebration produced by the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee. Draeger, Inc. will be involved in Firstival events that honor Philadelphia's historic "firsts" while reinforcing the company's mission of protecting, supporting, and saving lives. Draeger, Inc. to sponsor seven Firstivals. The 2026 celebration marks 250 years of American independence and highlights Philadelphia's enduring legacy of leadership in healthcare, science, public safety, and innovation. Draeger, Inc.'s engagement aligns with the city's heritage and reflects the company's long-standing presence in Pennsylvania, anchored by one of its North American locations in Telford. As part of the 52 Weeks of Firsts series, Draeger, Inc. will sponsor and participate in the following 2026 Firstival events: First Women's Medical College (1850) Saturday, March 14 at Drexel University, 60 N. 36th St., Philadelphia First Medical School in America (1765) Saturday, March 28 at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia First Hospital in America (1751) Saturday, May 16 at Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St., Philadelphia First U.S. Army (1775) Saturday, June 13 at the Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia First U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775) Saturday, October 17 at Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St., Philadelphia First University in America (1740) Saturday, November 14 at Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St., Philadelphia First Children's Hospital in America (1855) Saturday, November 21 at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia Each of the seven sponsored Firstivals, will include on-site participation by Draeger, Inc. representatives, a brief presentation recognizing the institution being honored, and coordinated engagement with healthcare leaders, system executives, group purchasing partners, and civic stakeholders. In addition to supporting the public celebration, Draeger, Inc. will staff informational tables and distribute educational materials. The sponsorship is designed to amplify collaboration with leading healthcare institutions and reinforce the company's Technology for Life mission as a legacy-driven enterprise partner in the Philadelphia region. "Philadelphia's history is defined by bold 'firsts' that shaped healthcare and public safety in America," said Lothar Thielen, Regional CEO North America & Managing Director USA. "As a company founded in 1889 with a global legacy of innovation, we are proud to stand alongside our customers and community partners to celebrate these milestones. Our sponsorship and our membership in the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia reflects our commitment to being not only a technology provider, but a trusted, long-term partner." Company Information Drager is a leading international medical and safety technology company. Our products protect, support and save lives. Founded in 1889, Drager generated global sales of around EUR 3.4 billion in 2024. The Lubeck-based company is represented in more than 190 countries and employs more than 16,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.draeger.com You can find more information on the Firstivals at: https://www.visitphilly.com/52-weeks-of-firsts/ Contact Communications: Melanie Kamann, Tel. +49 451 882-3202, [email protected] Press Contact North America: Laura Edwards, Tel. +1 215 565-5868, [email protected] Investor Relations: Thomas Fischler, Tel. +49 451 882-2685, [email protected] SOURCE Draeger NEWTOWN, Pa., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), a leading digital and AI transformation company, today announced that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR) with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to repurchase an aggregate of $300 million of its common stock. The ASR was authorized under the Company's existing $1.0 billion share repurchase authorization. "Our accelerated repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in EPAM's long-term outlook and our ability to generate sustained growth through our robust engineering foundation and AI-native market leadership," said Balazs Fejes, CEO & President of EPAM. "We believe our current valuation does not fully reflect the strength and future potential of our business and view this action as a value-enhancing use of capital." Under the terms of the ASR, the Company will make a payment of $300 million to Morgan Stanley and receive from Morgan Stanley an initial share delivery of 1,703,336 shares, or $240 million worth based on the closing price on March 4, 2026. The final number of shares of the Company's common stock to be repurchased under the ASR will be determined on completion of the ASR no later than the second quarter of 2026 and will generally be based on the volume-weighted average share price of the Company's common stock during the term of the ASR, less a discount, and subject to adjustments pursuant to the terms and conditions of the ASR. After giving effect to this ASR, the Company has $452.5 million of remaining availability under its current share repurchase authorization. About EPAM Systems EPAM (NYSE: EPAM) is a global leader in AI transformation engineering and integrated consulting, serving Forbes Global 2000 companies and ambitious startups. With over thirty years of expertise in custom software, product and platform engineering, EPAM empowers organizations to become AI-native enterprises, driving measurable value from innovation and digital investments. Recognized by industry benchmarks and leading analysts as a leader in AI, EPAM delivers globally while engaging locally, making the future real for clients, partners and employees. We are proud to be recognized by Forbes, Glassdoor, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Great Place to Work and kununu as a Most Loved Workplace around the world. Learn more at www.epam.com and follow us on LinkedIn . Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes estimates and statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Our estimates and forward-looking statements are mainly based on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends, which affect or may affect our business and operations. These statements may include words such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions. Those future events and trends may relate to, among other things, developments relating to the war in Ukraine and escalation of the war in the surrounding region, political and civil unrest or military action in the geographies where we conduct business and operate, difficult conditions in global capital markets, foreign exchange markets, global trade and the broader economy, the adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence technologies by EPAM and its clients, and the effect that these events may have on client demand and our revenues, operations, access to capital, and profitability. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions, the risk factors discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the factors discussed in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, particularly under the headings "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to several risks and uncertainties and are made based on information currently available to us. EPAM undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law. SOURCE EPAM Systems, Inc. 85% of technology leaders prioritize speed-to-market over exhaustive AI vetting 52% of department-level AI initiatives are operating without formal approval or oversight 45% of technology executives report a confirmed or suspected sensitive data leak in the last 12 months NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today released its latest Technology Pulse Poll, which finds technology leaders advancing their autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions, even as governance and oversight capabilities struggle to keep pace. Autonomous AI refers to highly independent AI systems that can understand, learn and perform any intellectual task at or above human capability across a wide range of domains. The poll, conducted in February 2026, surveyed 500 US business leaders working within the technology industry. Results show that 97% of technology executives view the pursuit of broad autonomous AI as a "high" or "essential" priority for their organization's long-term competitive strategy. Tellingly, the survey suggests a growing AI challenge: executives report that over half (52%) of department-level AI initiatives are operating without formal approval or oversight and 78% of leaders say AI adoption is outpacing their organization's ability to effectively manage the business risks associated with these projects. "Technology companies continue to move at remarkable speed in their pursuit of autonomous AI," says James Brundage, EY Global and Americas Technology Sector Leader. "While leaders see it as essential to long-term competitiveness, many acknowledge that adoption is outpacing oversight and that a significant share of AI initiatives lack robust governance. Without strong governance in place, companies risk hitting a plateau where large-scale transformational growth and innovation across the enterprise become increasingly difficult. That's the velocity paradox leaders are navigating today, balancing urgency with accountability." Oversight gaps are already creating real-world consequences In the last 12 months, 45% of technology executives say their organization experienced a confirmed or suspected leak of sensitive data due to employees using unauthorized third-party generative AI tools and 39% report confirmed or suspected proprietary IP leaks for the same reason. Investment picks up speed with security at the top of the list Despite the risks, technology leaders continue to expand investment in AI. According to the survey, 95% of executives say AI spending at their company will increase in the next year, up from 92% in last year's survey . As AI adoption speeds up, security vulnerabilities increase exponentially. As such, 79% of leaders say they plan to increase AI investments in cybersecurity, followed by cloud computing (67%), AI-specific talent (65%), compute and infrastructure (62%) and back-office functions such as IT, finance and HR (56%). "Investment momentum remains strong, particularly in cybersecurity, infrastructure and AI-specific talent," says Ken Englund, EY Americas Technology Sector Growth Leader. "Organizations that standardize approved tools, strengthen monitoring and security controls and invest in workforce enablement will be better positioned to scale safely and achieve their AI ambitions with manageable risk." Geopolitical volatility and sovereign AI mandates complicate AI growth plans Technology executives also cite macro-level constraints on AI scale. In fact, 62% say they are concerned that escalating geopolitical tensions or sovereign AI mandates will hinder their organization's ability to scale AI initiatives. Other key findings from the EY Technology Pulse Poll include: Speed-to-market defines AI strategy : 85% of tech executives say their organization prioritizes speed-to-market and iterative innovation, managing regulatory and ethical risks as the technology evolves in a real-world environment, while only 15% prioritize exhaustive pre-launch vetting and total regulatory alignment. : 85% of tech executives say their organization prioritizes speed-to-market and iterative innovation, managing regulatory and ethical risks as the technology evolves in a real-world environment, while only 15% prioritize exhaustive pre-launch vetting and total regulatory alignment. Governance authority and empowerment are paramount : 50% say their AI governance or ethics leaders have full independent authority to halt high-priority or revenue-generating AI projects that fail established safety and ethical guardrails, while 42% say such authority requires the intervention or approval of the board or CEO. : 50% say their AI governance or ethics leaders have full independent authority to halt high-priority or revenue-generating AI projects that fail established safety and ethical guardrails, while 42% say such authority requires the intervention or approval of the board or CEO. Centralization is standard: 70% report using a centralized operations model to manage AI approvals and guardrails across the organization. It's important to note that AI maturity and sector often influence governance models, which bring different benefits and challenges. Across the technology sector, organizational evolution is commonly associated with a move away from centralized models toward federated models anchored in core interoperability standards. About EY EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com . Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited operating in the US. Survey methodology EY US commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 500 US business leaders working within the technology industry. Participants held roles similar or equivalent to director, vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, C-suite or president. Business leaders surveyed worked at organizations consisting of 5,000 or more employees. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place between January 30 and February 17, 2026. Contact: Sara Nazarian [email protected] + 1 213 977 3200 SOURCE EY MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Francis Medical, Inc., a privately held medical device company, announced today the successful completion of the first commercial (non-clinical trial) procedures in Arizona using the Vanquish Water Vapor Ablation System for prostate tissue ablation. The procedures were performed on patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer by Dr. Rahul Mehan with East Valley Urology Center of Arizona, at the Verve Surgery Center in Mesa, Ariz. These procedures represent the first use of the Vanquish System in routine commercial practice in the state outside of a formal clinical study. Vanquish is a transurethral, ultrasound, and electromagnetically guided thermotherapy device intended to ablate prostate tissue using high-energy sterile water vapor. The Vanquish System received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2025 and was supported by positive follow-up data on the first 110 patients enrolled in the company's ongoing VAPOR 2 pivotal study. "Bringing Vanquish into our practice and being the first in Arizona outside of clinical trials to do so, reflects our forward-looking approach to procedural innovation, clinical excellence, and our commitment to continuously enhancing the patient experience," said Dr. Mehan. "We evaluate emerging technologies carefully to ensure they align with our clinical standards, safety, and patient-centered approach to deliver minimally invasive options supported by clinical evidence and responsible adoption." In VAPOR 2 at 6-months, 91% of eligible patients showed elimination of targeted MRI visible, biopsy confirmed intermediate-risk disease (GGG2) following a single Vanquish procedure. The procedure was also well-tolerated, with no device-related serious adverse events and low rates of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Patient-reported outcomes were also promising, indicating minimal to no pain following the procedure. "These first commercial procedures in Arizona represent an important milestone in our controlled U.S. launch strategy," said Mike Kujak, President and CEO of Francis Medical. "Transitioning from clinical study experience to real-world urological practice underscores the level of dedication, preparation, and operational rigor that has defined our early launch phase. We are optimistic that the technology will deliver upon its early clinical promise and provide a minimally invasive alternative to men concerned by their prostate health." At 12 months, VAPOR 2 demonstrated that 93% of patients indicated that they were satisfied or extremely satisfied, and 94% said that they believed that receiving the treatment was a wise decision. Patients will continue to be followed to gather longer-term outcomes to support a pre-market approval (PMA) submission for an expanded indication for the management of clinically localized prostate cancer. Additionally, the Vanquish System demonstrated the ability to effectively ablate target lesions in all prostate locations, addressing a significant limitation of existing options. Disclosure: The Vanquish Water Vapor Ablation System has been cleared as a tool for the thermal ablation of targeted prostate tissue via a transurethral approach. The FDA has not evaluated the Vanquish System for the treatment of any disease, including prostate cancer, or evaluated the Vanquish System for any long-term prostate cancer treatment outcomes. About Francis Medical Francis Medical is committed to developing urological cancer treatments that are tough on cancer and gentle on patients, driven by a compassionate belief and clinical data supporting that minimally invasive therapies safely and effectively treat cancerous tissue. The inventor, Michael Hoey, founded Francis Medical as a tribute to and legacy of his father, Francis Hoey, who endured prostate cancer treatments that had harsh implications on his everyday life before he died from the disease in 1991. Unfortunately, current prostate cancer treatments, which come with side effects like urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction, are not much different than what Francis Hoey encountered. In contrast, water vapor technology applies the thermal energy stored in sterile water vapor to ablate targeted prostate tissue via a transurethral procedure, potentially minimizing life-altering side effects. For more information on Francis Medical, visit www.francismedical.com or call (763) 951-0370. Investor Contacts Michael Kujak, CEO, Francis Medical [email protected] 612-910-9790 Brian Johnston, Gilmartin Group [email protected] Media Contact Shelli Lissick, Bellmont Partners [email protected] 651-276-6922 SOURCE Francis Medical, Inc. FARGO, N.D., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As a fractured world grapples with an unprecedented mental health epidemic, a voice from the pavement is rising to offer a radical kind of medicine. Today marks the official announcement of a groundbreaking feature film documenting the life of a former homeless veteran and his "Gutter Gospel"-a raw, uncompromising message of survival, spiritual awakening, and the eternal choice facing every human soul. The Gutter Gospel is being turned into a movie The global statistics are staggering. Depression, PTSD, and isolation are no longer just medical terms; they are a lifestyle for millions, especially veterans who have served in uniform only to find themselves discarded by the society they protected. This film enters the fray not with clinical detachment, but with the grit of a man who has lived under the bridges the world drives over. It addresses the mental health crisis at its root: the desperate search for purpose in the midst of profound pain. A Divine Setup in the Dakotas The film's narrative is centered on a powerful, biographical truth: "After hitting rock bottom in the streets of North Dakota, a broken man discovers that his greatest setback was actually a divine setup to launch a global ministry feeding the hungry and the hopeless." This is a story of hunger, hope, and the ultimate pivot that has already resonated far beyond the American heartland. The "Gutter Gospel" message has achieved a staggering 200-country reach, proving that the struggle for mental clarity and spiritual peace is a universal human experience. From the frozen streets of Fargo to the farthest corners of the globe, this message provides a lifeline to those who feel invisible. The Theology of the Trenches: John 3:16 vs. Luke 16 The cinematic engine of the project is built on a "Gospel of Contrast," pitting the most hopeful invitation in history against the most sobering warning ever recorded. The story navigates the tension between John 3:16 and the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16. "Most people see the gutter as a dead end, but I found it was a sanctuary where God finally got my attention," says the film's subject. "We are living in a Luke 16 world where people are chasing comfort while their souls are starving. This movie shows that while the 'great gulf' is real, the bridge built in John 3:16 is still open for anyone." Chapter Synopsis: "Forever Damned" A pivotal segment of the film, titled "Forever Damned," serves as the project's emotional and spiritual core. This chapter pulls back the curtain on the terrifying reality of spiritual isolation. It depicts the harrowing moment of realization when the "great gulf" of Luke 16 becomes a personal reality rather than a distant story. It explores the psychological and eternal weight of a soul recognizing-too late-the opportunities for grace that were ignored in favor of worldly pride. This chapter is designed to be a "power-punch" to the conscience, forcing viewers to confront the finality of their choices before the clock runs out. A Global Altar Call This project is designed to bypass the traditional sanctuary and meet the "un-churched" where they live. By sharing the transparent journey of a veteran overcoming homelessness, the film seeks to: Combat the Mental Health Epidemic: Mirroring the struggle of those with invisible wounds. Feed the Hungry: Highlighting the mission to provide physical and spiritual sustenance. Sound a Final Warning: Utilizing the "Forever Damned" reality to urge a distracted world toward the extraction found only in Christ. For more information, visit https://theguttergospel.com/ and the book can be purchased here. To donate to the ministry, visit https://theguttergospel.com/donate. Media Contact: Mike Smith 7014055808 [email protected] SOURCE The Gutter Gospel BEIJING, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- China has entered the "national two sessions" time. The newly announced GDP growth target for the new year has once again become a "super bellwether" in the global public opinion arena for interpreting the trajectory of the world economy. Against the backdrop of intensifying geopolitical turbulence and insufficient momentum for global economic recovery, the economic blueprint presented by China demonstrates strategic resolve, policy effectiveness, development vitality, and governance capacity. It not only serves as a powerful rebuttal to the "Peak China" narrative, but also represents an exceptionally scarce "source of certainty" in an increasingly volatile world. The growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent is a scientifically derived conclusion based on rigorous calculations and comprehensive risk assessments. It establishes a growth floor while leaving ample room for discretion. As a giant economy with a total output exceeding 140 trillion yuan ($20.4 trillion), China's economic increment in 2024 alone was equivalent to the annual GDP of a medium-sized country. Analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also shows that when China's growth rate rises by 1 percentage point, it will help raise the output levels of other economies by an average of 0.3 percentage points. Especially when compared with other major economies, growth of such magnitude is neither "low" nor "slow" by global standards. More importantly, this target places greater emphasis on quality. It firmly shifts the focus of development toward technological innovation, green transformation, and the stability and resilience of industrial and supply chains, rather than blindly pursuing figures on the books. The setting of this target leaves valuable strategic room for maneuver as structural reforms move into "deeper waters," ensuring that the giant ship of China's economy can press forward bravely and steadily amid complex headwinds and turbulent seas. Furthermore, this target embodies strategic resolve: not swayed by short-term fluctuations, not influenced by external opinions, but keeping a clear-headed commitment to seeking truth from facts at all times and steadily advancing far along the path of high-quality development. In a recent note, The Economist stated that the adjustment of target values "would give policymakers more room to prioritise structural reform and improve data quality." Today, the guiding role of new quality productive forces is emerging with unprecedented momentum. From the global success of the "new three" industries - new-energy vehicles, lithium ion batteries, and photovoltaic products - to China's ability to keep pace with and even lead in advanced fields such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, as well as pioneering exploration in the "uncharted frontiers" of science and technological innovation, such as future industries, and comprehensive breakthroughs have been achieved in core technology fields - from isolated points to the entire surface, and from the underlying layers to the terminals. This is by no means a simple industrial shift, but a profound transformation that is reshaping the very boundaries of productivity. It is driving a surging eruption of "ubiquitous growth drivers" like a gushing spring, building the hard-core confidence and unassailable foundation for China's economy to hold a winning hand amid global geopolitical games - no matter how fierce the storms rage. Development places greater emphasis on policy effectiveness, with an effective market and a capable government advancing hand in hand. The Chinese government has demonstrated remarkable strategic resolve and a sophisticated management approach. The growth target we set is not only a scientific conclusion, but also a solemn commitment to the Chinese people's aspiration for a better life. It must be clearly pointed out that through cross-cycle macroeconomic regulation and targeted industrial policies, China is implementing a coordinated set of policy measures to ensure that every percentage point of growth is of high quality and that policies benefiting people and businesses are effectively implemented. This high-quality, highly reliable policy effectiveness is not only a key safeguard for the Chinese economy against external shocks but also one of the most valuable and scarce "credit asset" in the eyes of global investors. Currently, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. From the rapidly shifting situation in the Middle East to the resurgence of unilateralism and protectionism, global supply chains are facing unprecedented risks of fragmentation. In such a climate of disorder, the "stability" in China's economic target itself represents a major constructive contribution to the world. As the world's second largest economy, China has contributed more than 30 percent of global economic growth for many consecutive years. This irreplaceable role stems from the country's complete industrial system and profound resilient supply chains. China - the world's largest manufacturing nation and largest trader in goods - ranks first globally in the output of more than 500 major industrial products, serving as a stabilizing anchor for global supply chains. China's growth targets have never been about winning some imagined race for hegemony, but about enabling the Chinese people to live better lives. The success of Chinese modernization will demonstrate to the world that a path of high-quality, sustainable development is not only viable, but capable of enduring success. SOURCE Global Times VANCOUVER, BC, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - GoldMining Inc. (the "Company" or "GoldMining") (TSX: GOLD) (NYSE American: GLDG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Imola Gotz as Vice President, Project Development. Ms. Gotz is a veteran mining engineer with over 30 years of international experience in both underground and open-pit mining environments including in world renowned northern Ontario gold mining camps of Hemlo and Timmins. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Gotz held progressive leadership roles at Goldcorp, Newmont, Eldorado Gold, Sandstorm Gold Royalties, Horizon Copper, and most recently Royal Gold, where she developed life of mine plans, strategic business plans, and comparative economic evaluations of mining projects. In her role, Ms. Gotz will be responsible for leading advancement and development of engineering, procurement, construction management and project controls throughout GoldMining's portfolio of resource-stage assets in the Americas. Ms. Gotz is a Professional Engineer licenced in BC, and a Fellow of the Association of Engineers Canada. In addition to being an active member of the Canadian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (CIMM), she is also a "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Ms. Gotz earned a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and General Science from Lakehead University, a Master of Science in Mine Engineering from the Technical University of Petrosani, and a Financial Agility Diploma from Queens University. As a skilled educator, Ms. Gotz has established partnerships with Canadian Mine Engineering Schools and has guest lectured at Queens University and Laurentian University. She has authored, co-authored, and presented works at the CIMM Conference, the US Mine Ventilation Symposium and the World Mining Congress on various topics including women's leadership in the mining industry. Alastair Still, President & Chief Executive Officer of GoldMining commented: "We are pleased to welcome Imola to the GoldMining team. Adding a technical leader of Imola's caliber is a pivotal step for the Company as we transition our core assets toward development. With our financial strength, combined with recent additions to our team including Imola's expertise and experience, we look forward to unlocking the value of the Company's assets." Imola Gotz commented: "I am joining the Company at an inflection point for its portfolio. I look forward to applying my experience and working closely with the team to define clear, strategic pathways to advance these projects through their next phases of development." About GoldMining Inc. GoldMining Inc. is a public mineral exploration company focused on acquiring and developing gold assets in the Americas. Through its disciplined acquisition strategy, GoldMining now controls a diversified portfolio of resource-stage gold and gold-copper projects in Canada, the U.S.A., Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Forward-looking Statements Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements respecting the Company's strategy and business plans. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which GoldMining operates. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, risks related to government and environmental regulation, social, permitting and licensing matters, and uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future. These risks, as well as others, including those set forth in GoldMinings Annual Information Form for the year ended November 30, 2025, and other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the SEC, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking statements, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities law. SOURCE GoldMining Inc. ANKARA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Defense Ministry on Thursday dismissed social media claims of "mass migration movements" from Iran toward the Turkish border amid escalating regional tensions. "Posts and reports on social media claiming that there are mass migration movements from Iran toward our borders in connection with the developments that began with Israel and the U.S. attacking Iran do not reflect the truth," ministry spokesperson Zeki Akturk said at a weekly press briefing. Akturk added that "intensive security measures" are being implemented along all of Turkiye's borders, including the frontier with Iran, "and necessary precautions are being taken in coordination with relevant state institutions to mitigate any potential risks." He said the Turkish Armed Forces are closely monitoring regional developments and preparing for all possible scenarios, urging the public not to trust manipulative content designed to create false perceptions. Akturk also warned of destabilizing activities by armed groups in the region, specifically citing the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). Such groups, he said, "undermine not only Iran's security but also the broader peace and stability of the region." Turkiye, a NATO member sharing a long border with Iran, is currently focused on advancing peace efforts with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In May 2025, the PKK announced its decision to disarm and disband following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The first group of PKK fighters laid down their arms in July, and in late October, the PKK announced it was withdrawing fighters from Turkiye to Iraq. The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union. The PJAK is widely regarded as the PKK's affiliate in Iran. New arrangement empowers patients to use tax-free flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA) funds to gain 24/7 access to licensed dentists for urgent dental concerns DALLAS, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Health-E Commerce , parent brand to FSA Store and HSA Store , the first and leading online stores dedicated to selling only FSA- and HSA-eligible products and services, today announced a new telehealth collaboration with The TeleDentists that expands access to virtual dental care services that can be purchased using tax-free healthcare funds through FSA Store and HSA Store. Need dental care in a hurry? Use flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) funds to receive virtual care from the TeleDentists, now available at FSA Store and HSA Store. Through this collaboration, patients can connect with licensed dentists online anytimeincluding nights, weekends, and holidaysfor fast, convenient dental care when in-person visits are unavailable or impractical. Services from The TeleDentists are designed to support urgent dental needs such as tooth pain, swelling, infections, and other concerns that require timely, professional guidance. "Dental issues can be disruptive to our daily lives and are often hard to ignore, yet wait times for an in-office appointment or the high-cost of emergency services can prevent patients from getting care in a timely manner," said Keri Kaiser, chief revenue officer for Health-E Commerce. "Our commitment to delivering access to FSA- and HSA-eligible telehealth services includes dental care, and our recent collaboration with The TeleDentists breaks down these barriers to care, and supports the health and financial needs of individuals and families." The TeleDentists deliver on-demand, virtual dental care through a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform staffed by licensed dentists. Most patients are connected with a dentist within minutes, without appointments or waiting rooms. Dentists assess symptoms, provide guidance, prescribe non-narcotic medications (when clinically appropriate), and refer patients to local providers if in-person treatment is needed. Services are available nationwide and pricing is transparent, and often lower than emergency dental services. "We believe that professional dental care should be accessible and affordable to all people, all of the time, and teledentistry is an effective way to meet this need," said Leah Sigler, president of The Teledentists. "Our collaboration with Health-E Commerce will give millions of people who are enrolled in FSAs and HSAs a trusted option for dental care that fits their lives and their healthcare budgets." Virtual dental care can be particularly valuable for individuals managing busy schedules, families caring for children, seniors, travelers, and those living in rural or underserved areas where access to in-person dental services may be limited. By offering care from home or on the go, The TeleDentists helps reduce barriers that often delay treatment and increase discomfort. To learn more about The TeleDentists virtual dental care services, visit FSA Store or HSA Store . About Health-E Commerce Health-E Commerce is the parent brand to FSA Store and HSA Store , online stores that serve the 70+ million consumers enrolled in pre-tax health and wellness accounts. The company also created Caring Mill , a popular private-label line of health products through which a portion of every purchase is donated to the Children's Health Fund . Since 2010, the Health-E Commerce brands have led the direct-to-consumer e-commerce market for exclusively pre-tax health and wellness benefits. Health-E Commerce plays an essential role in expanding product eligibility for important new categories within the list of eligible medical expenses. About The TeleDentists: The TeleDentists is a nationwide network of licensed dentists providing virtual dental consultations 24/7. Founded by practicing dentists, the company partners with hospitals, health systems, payers, and employers to deliver urgent and preventive dental care anytime, anywhere. Learn more at www.theteledentists.com. SOURCE Health-E Commerce BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei unveiled the upgraded Xinghe AI Fabric 2.0 Solution and the industry's first commercial 51.2T (128 400GE) liquid-cooled fixed switchCloudEngine XH9230-128DQ-LC. These all-new offerings inject new momentum into the digital and intelligent transformation of enterprises worldwide. Arthur Wang delivering a keynote speech Arthur Wang, President of the Data Center Network Domain, Huawei's Data Communication Product Line, stated that data center networks have rapidly advanced from predominantly virtualization and cloud to a new stage of AI. The newly released Xinghe AI Fabric 2.0 Solution builds on a three-layer network architecture of AI Brain, AI Connectivity, and AI Network Elements, and integrates four core capabilities: Rock-Solid Architecture 2.0 that ensures three levels of high reliability with the AI Eagle-Eye Engine StarryWing Digital Map 2.0 that delivers three levels of automation with NetMaster Xinghuan AI Turbo 2.0 that offers Network Packet Load Balancing (NPLB) and Network Stream Load Balancing (NSLB) capabilities iFlashboot 2.0 that enables ultra-fast reboots within 5 seconds Together, these innovations empower enterprises to build always-on AI agentic data center networks with full computing power. Huawei also launched the industry's first commercial 51.2T (128 400GE) liquid-cooled fixed switchCloudEngine XH9230-128DQ-LC. This product provides 100% liquid cooling for optical modules, delivering twice the industry average heat dissipation efficiency. It supports the deployment of eight switches per cabinet, doubling the cabinet utilization efficiency. Moreover, Huawei unveiled the full series of 800GE/400GE StarryLink optical modules, which stand out due to their reliability that is twice the industry average and ultra-long transmission capabilities. Huawei's data center network booth showcased the complete portfolio of 800GE products: CloudEngine XH16800 series modular switches with up to 768 800GE ports, CloudEngine XH9330 fixed switch with 128 800GE ports, CloudEngine XH9320 fixed switch with 64 800GE ports, and the full series of 800GE StarryLink optical modules. Other featured exhibitions included flagship products like CloudEngine XH9230-128DQ-LC, the industry's first 51.2T high-density liquid-cooled switch. Looking ahead, Huawei will remain committed to open collaboration, continuously deepening data center network technology innovation and advancing intelligent upgrades. Together with global customers and partners, Huawei will also drive joint innovation to create greater value for industries and customers alike. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926071/Arthur_Wang_delivering_a_keynote_speech.jpg PHOENIX, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- What steps should Phoenix-based eCommerce brands take to meet peak season demand without delays? That's the question answered in a HelloNation article featuring insights from Custom BackOffice Solutions Business Development Manager, Alex Newton, based in Tucson and serving the Phoenix metro and surrounding areas. As the region continues to grow, so do the pressures of holiday shipping and high-volume order fulfillment. The article focuses on strategies Arizona businesses can use to maintain customer satisfaction, reduce errors, and keep deliveries on track during their busiest time of year. Alex Newton, Business Development Manager Speed Speed The piece emphasizes that peak-season fulfillment begins long before the holidays. Newton explains that early planning is essential, especially in fast-expanding markets like Phoenix. As local brands experience higher order volumes and tighter shipping windows, reactive decisions during crunch time often lead to mistakes. The article encourages businesses to forecast changes in volume and returns, making Arizona e-commerce logistics a year-round priority. Inventory positioning plays a central role in whether businesses meet delivery expectations. Many Phoenix e-commerce fulfillment operations keep all inventory in a single location, which can slow shipments to outlying areas or neighboring states. Newton advises brands to consider spreading inventory across more strategic locations, closer to major customer hubs. This shift reduces both transit times and shipping costs, which are critical to keeping pace with competitors offering two-day or next-day delivery. The article also highlights how holiday shipping challenges in Arizona extend beyond volume alone. Extreme seasonal temperatures can affect how productsespecially food, electronics, and cosmeticsare stored and shipped. Newton urges brands to factor in temperature sensitivity and packaging needs when preparing for peak season. Logistics plans that ignore local climate variables risk increased returns and customer complaints. To overcome limited carrier capacity, especially during the holidays, Newton suggests diversifying shipping options. Relying on a single national carrier may leave businesses vulnerable to delays and missed cutoffs. In contrast, a flexible approach that includes regional carriers gives retailers more control over fast delivery in Phoenix and beyond. Setting realistic shipping cutoffs that reflect actual transit timesnot ideal onesalso protects the brand's reputation. Third-party fulfillment is another solution gaining traction among Phoenix businesses. Newton explains that working with an experienced fulfillment partner enables eCommerce brands to scale operations without building permanent infrastructure. The right partner can evaluate past order data and recommend a fulfillment network that supports both current demand and future growth. Labor is another factor that intensifies during the holidays. Order picking, packing, and customer support all require extra resources. Newton notes that internal teams often burn out when stretched too thin. Partnering with external fulfillment providers gives brands more flexibility, enabling them to manage surges without sacrificing accuracy or speed. The article also looks beyond the holiday rush. As Arizona's population grows, so do delivery zones and customer expectations. Fulfillment plans that worked last year may fall short as volumes increase. Newton emphasizes that Phoenix e-commerce fulfillment strategies must evolve with changing demographics and delivery demands. This means ongoing investment in systems, data visibility, and order-routing tools that adapt quickly to shifting demand. By taking a strategic view of logistics, local brands can turn peak season fulfillment from a risk into a growth opportunity. Newton encourages companies to treat logistics not as a back-office task, but as a competitive advantage that supports brand trust, repeat business, and healthy margins. Peak Season Fulfillment Tips for Phoenix Brands: Maximize Sales Without Sacrificing Delivery. Insights in HelloNation from Alex Newton, Phoenix E-commerce Fulfillment Expert based in Tucson and serving the Phoenix metro and surrounding areas. About HelloNation HelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative "edvertising" approach that blends educational content and storytelling, HelloNation delivers expert-driven articles that inform, inspire, and empower. Covering topics from home improvement and health to business strategy and lifestyle, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. www.hellonation.com SOURCE HelloNation ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- What helps a property owner make the right decision when hiring Rochester security services? This question is answered in a HelloNation article featuring insights from Security Expert Corey Wild of Armor Security and Protection Inc. in Rochester, NY. The article explains how careful planning, site-specific assessments, and reliable communication form the foundation for dependable coverage across Rochester properties. Corey Wild - President - Armor Security and Protection Inc. Speed Speed The article begins by emphasizing that hiring security affects safety, operations, and peace of mind. Rochester properties face year-round changes in traffic, weather, and activity levels. Understanding how these conditions affect daily risk helps owners choose a security company that can adapt and respond effectively. When the process begins with a thoughtful risk assessment, the resulting coverage plan is more likely to match actual site needs. A proper risk assessment, the article explains, does more than confirm whether a property needs patrols or on-site guards. It identifies how people move through the space, which areas see the most activity, and where past concerns have occurred. Some Rochester sites face late-night issues, while others deal with daytime disruptions. The article points out that strong providers ask targeted questions about lighting, blind corners, and delivery schedules. They also account for seasonal shifts that may affect visibility and access. When a company takes time to study the property closely, the service recommendations are grounded in real conditions. The article stresses that training is essential when comparing Rochester security providers. Well-trained guards offer consistent performance, reliable incident reports, and calm decision-making under pressure. Training prepares staff for daily responsibilities like lock checks, visitor screening, and equipment monitoring. The article notes that Rochester security companies that invest in training tend to retain guards longer. This contributes to better service and more stable relationships between the guards and the site. Long-term guard assignments are another factor that improves performance. According to the article, when guards stay at the same property for an extended period, they learn the site's patterns, recognize regular visitors, and identify unusual activity more easily. This familiarity allows them to respond quickly and accurately when problems arise. Constant rotation, on the other hand, can disrupt consistency and reduce effectiveness. The article suggests that providers who value long-term guard assignments often show stronger oversight and clearer planning. Licensing and insurance are also essential to evaluate during the hiring process. The article advises that a legitimate Rochester security company should operate with all required local and state licenses and ensure guards are properly certified. Insurance coverage should include liability and workers' compensation to protect both the client and the provider. The most reliable way to verify this is to request documentation directly from the company's insurance broker. According to the article, companies that are open about licensing and insurance often have better internal processes and operate with greater accountability. The article addresses cost as another important consideration. It explains that choosing based on price alone can create hidden risks. Some Rochester businesses have selected the lowest rate and later faced gaps in coverage or supervision that were expensive to correct. A higher price may reflect stronger leadership, better training, or more detailed incident reports. The article recommends evaluating what each provider includes in their rate rather than assuming price alone reflects value. Oversight is highlighted as a key to consistent service. Even well-trained guards need supervisors who can review reports, provide feedback, and respond to changes on the ground. In Rochester, where activity levels can change quickly, regular oversight ensures that security coverage stays relevant. Supervisors also serve as direct points of contact for property owners and help strengthen communication between both sides. Clear communication is another critical factor. The article advises that clients should know who to contact for schedule updates, incident follow-ups, or concerns about service quality. Security companies should provide reports that clearly explain what happened, how it was handled, and whether additional steps are needed. Strong communication practices help build trust and keep the service predictable over time. The article concludes that dependable Rochester security companies combine accurate risk assessment, staff training, long-term placements, licensing, insurance, oversight, and structured communication. When these elements are present, property owners gain a system that supports safety and aligns with long-term goals. Smart Moves When Hiring Security in Rochester features insights from Corey Wild, Security Expert of Rochester, NY, in HelloNation. About HelloNation HelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative "edvertising" approach that blends educational content and storytelling, HelloNation delivers expert-driven articles that inform, inspire, and empower. Covering topics from home improvement and health to business strategy and lifestyle, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. SOURCE HelloNation 'Watch Your 6, It's Felix the Cat' LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bremont, in partnership with Universal Products & Experiences (UP&E), unveils a collaboration that unites authentic aviation heritage and the unmistakable mischievous spirit of one of the world's most enduring icons. Celebrating its passion for 'joyful watchmaking'an approach long embedded within the brands DNA, and its long-standing commitment to military aviation, Bremont introduces a collaboration with Universal Products & Experiences inspired by Felix the Cat, a character whose legacy in the skies spans generations and continents worldwide. Bremont MB x Felix the Cat Closely associated with U.S. Navy aviation squadrons, most notably VFA-31, aka the 'Tomcatters', where Felix the Cat is featured on the insignia, his story traces back to the original VF-3 squadron, which has been carried forward through successive redesigns to today's VFA-31. Long regarded as a trusted good-luck charm for pilots, Felix the Cat has symbolised courage, humour, and fearless adventure since the earliest days of flight. Today he returns as the central character in the 'Watch your Six' campaign, drawn from fighter-pilot clock-position terminology. Together, these chapters cement Felix the Cat as a beloved aviation icon, perfectly aligned with Bremont's aviation roots. The Bremont Altitude MB Meteor was the natural design choice for the Felix the Cat collaboration. Since Bremont was founded in 2002, its pilot's watches, have earned the trust of military and civilian fliers, adventurers, collectors and enthusiasts. None more so than the MB series, specifically designed to withstand the punishing procedures used in testing 'Martin-Baker' aircraft ejection seats. In 2025, Bremont proudly built on this legacy and introduced the latest iteration of the MB, the Altitude MB Meteor, a dynamic new iteration of the MB concept: refined, upgraded and streamlined, while retaining the features that have defined celebrated MB models for 16 years. The Grade 2 Titanium Altitude MB Meteor 'Felix the Cat' takes the iconic 42mm design and renders it entirely in a tactical 'stealth black' DLC finish to dramatic effect. The 3-part Trip-Tick case construction houses a PVD Titanium knurled barrel which extends to the knurled titanium crowns. Felix the Cat artwork is applied directly onto the stealth black dial, cheekily running away with the number 6 which, along with all applied numerals and indexes are filled with high-grade white Super-LumiNova (blue emission), to ensure optimum readability and clarity. The bi-directional rotating inner bezel is operated by the roto-click mechanism which can be adjusted using the Titanium DLC knurled 4 o'clock crowna signature of the Bremont MB design DNA. The Bremont Altitude MB Meteor 'Felix the Cat' retains one of the MB's most iconic features: the looped 'ejection' pull handle on the tip of the seconds handin vibrant yellow and black nodding to the vibrancy of the original, iconic MBI. The minute track is also executed in bold and bright yellow. These bright yellow accents not only nod to flight safety standards but also serve as visual pops against the stealth black palette. At its core, the Altitude MB Meteor 'Felix the Cat' is powered by Bremont's BB14-AH movement, built on a La Joux-Perret calibre, featuring 24 jewels, a 68-hour power reserve. The movement is suspended within a flexible rubber mount to absorb shocks and minimise impacts, while soft-iron shielding protects against powerful magnetic fields. Turning the watch over presents an open case-back with Felix the Cat-inspired decoration, revealing the movement's fine finishing in gunmetal grey with Geneva Stripes. The timepiece is offered on a matt black DLC titanium bracelet with quick-release functionality or a textured black leather strap with box stitch detail. Built for comfort, endurance and resilience, the bracelets reinforce the lightweight and performance-led nature of the Altitude line. Limited to 500 pieces worldwide, the Bremont Altitude MB Meteor 'Felix the Cat' collaboration is more than a visual statementit's a reminder to stay bold, curious, and enjoy the journey. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926235/Bremont_MB_x_Felix_the_Cat.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2926234/Bremont_Logo.jpg NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Lufax Holding Ltd. ("Lufax" or the "Company") (NYSE: LU). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Lufax and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On January 27, 2025, Lufax disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Lufax's board had proposed to remove Lufax's auditors, and that a delay was possible in the publication of Lufax's 2024 annual report. On this news, Lufax's American Depositary Share ("ADS") price fell $0.40 per ADS, or 13.8%, to close at $2.49 per ADS on January 27, 2025. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Apollo Global Management, Inc. ("Apollo" or the "Company") (NYSE: APO). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. The class action concerns whether Apollo and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. You have until May 1, 2026, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Apollo securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On February 1, 2026, the Financial Times reported that "Top Apollo Global Management executives including chief Marc Rowan held wide-ranging discussions over the firm's tax arrangements with Jeffrey Epstein throughout the 2010s, despite the private capital firm having previously said it 'never did any business' with" Epstein. On this news, Apollo's stock price fell $7.69 per share, or 5.72%, to close at $126.85 per share on February 3, 2026. Then, on February 17, 2026, the Financial Times published an article entitled "SEC urged to investigate Apollo over Epstein ties", reporting, in relevant part, that the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors "told the SEC's enforcement director Margaret Ryan . . . that they believed Apollo's communications to investors 'give an inaccurate and incomplete picture of the firm and its partners' connection to Epstein'."Then, on February 21, 2026, CNN published an article entitled "How Wall Street's Apollo got tangled up in the Epstein files".The article quoted Eleanor Bloxham, founder and CEO of The Value Alliance Company, which advises boards and executives, as stating that the unions have a "strong case" for pushing for an SEC investigation, describing Apollo's response as "very weak", and questioning why Apollo CEO Marc Rowan's meetings and correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein were not previously disclosed. On this news, Apollo's stock price fell $5.99 per share, or 5%, to close at $113.73 per share on February 23, 2026. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising.Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Paysafe Limited ("Paysafe" or the "Company") (NYSE: PSFE). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. The class action concerns whether Paysafe and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. You have until April 7, 2026, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Paysafe securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . [Click here for information about joining the class action] On November 13, 2025, Paysafe announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2025, including revenue of $433.8 million, which missed consensus estimates by $5.8 million, and a net loss of $87.7 million, a steep drop from the prior year period wherein the Company's net loss was only $12.98 million. Paysafe also slashed full year 2025 expected revenue to $17 million at the midpoint, and adjusted EPS $0.50 at the midpoint. On the same date, during a related earnings call, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Lowthers, revealed that the Company "had a last-minute client that had to shut down that caused several million-dollar write-down in Q3." Lowthers further revealed the Company is "in kind of a lower-tier market, a lot of kind of travel or things that are more higher risk MCC [Merchant Category Codes] codes." Lowthers explained that "those things sometimes are a little difficult to bank" and "sometimes the banks aren't open to the additional risk" "so, we've had a little bit of challenge with that with some of those MCC codes, and we're working our way through that." On this news, Paysafe's stock price fell $2.80 per share, or 27.6%, to close at $7.36 per share on November 13, 2025. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeep brand debuts limited 85th Anniversary editions celebrating eight-and-a-half decades of freedom, capability and iconic design Special editions will be offered for Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Grand Wagoneer and Compass Jeep 85th Anniversary Special Edition Models The Jeep brand today celebrates a milestone in its storied history of purpose-built, 4x4 vehicles, marking its 85th anniversary this year. The brand recently kicked off its birthday celebration with the Twelve 4 Twelve product-drop campaign, beginning with the highly anticipated HEMI-powered Jeep Wrangler Moab 392, a comeback driven directly by customer demand. The Twelve 4 Twelve initiative continues throughout 2026 with a new, special-edition Jeep Wrangler debuting once a month. Alongside the Twelve 4 Twelve campaign, the Convoy program rolls out special-edition Gladiator models to honor the most capable and only open-air midsize truck. "Jeep brand was purpose-built to do more than move people; it was built for duty before it was built for the adventures our customers experience every day, designed to go anywhere and do anything, without compromise," said Bob Broderdorf, Jeep brand CEO. "We've listened to our customers for 85 years, and that feedback has guided Jeep since the 1941 Willys, the vehicle that set the standard for every Jeep that came after it." To commemorate the occasion, the brand today revealed new, special-edition 85th Anniversary editions for Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Grand Wagoneer and Compass. This follows the recent debut of the Wrangler and Gladiator 85th Anniversary editions. Both vehicles are bold nods to Jeep Americana heritage, with plaid taking the spotlight, channeling generations of hardworking tradition, outdoor freedom and classic style for modern adventure. The exteriors of each 85th Anniversary edition are easily distinguished with Steel Oxide wheel designs and unique badging graphics finished in Agave Blue. On the inside, vehicles receive unique elements, including Mayan Gold thread accents and seat tags finished in Blue Agave and Mayan Gold. A Legacy Forged in 4x4 Firsts This ethos of purpose-built resonates through the last 85 years with leadership in capability, technology and industry firsts. This includes the 1949 Willys Wagon, the first utility vehicle in the industry to feature four-wheel drive and an all-steel construction. Customers quickly grew to appreciate and trust the 4x4 capability, safety and recreation associated with the Jeep brand in the second half of the 20th century, leading to world's first SUV: the 1963 Jeep Wagoneer. In 1973, the Jeep brand introduced the innovative Quadra-Trac 4x4 system. Fewer than 10 years later, Jeep created the modern SUV segment with the 1984 Cherokee. In 1993, Jeep brand's trend-setting nature ushered in the original, premium SUV with the Grand Cherokee. Today, the Jeep brand remains the only place for true open-air, off-road freedom. Backed by 85 years of legendary 4x4 expertise, its innovation and capability power a full lineup of adventure SUVs. Later this year, the brand will launch the world's first electric Trail Rated SUV: the all-new Jeep Recon. For additional insight into the Jeep brand's storied heritage, visit jeep.com/history. Timeline 1945: Willys CJ-2A introduced for farming, ranching and other industrial applications Fold-down tailgate Power take-off unit First vehicle to introduce iconic seven slot grille 1949: Willys Wagon introduced as the first all-steel utility vehicle First utility vehicle to feature four-wheel drive 1955: Jeep Dispatcher keeps America's postal service moving 1957: Jeep Forward Control provides U.S. with 4x4 utility pickup to tackle toughest work First light-duty forward-control trucks offered in America First 4x4 forward-control vehicles 1963: Jeep marries four-wheel drive and passenger-car styling with the world's first SUV, the Jeep Wagoneer Industry first: Four-wheel drive mated to an automatic transmission 1973: Jeep brand introduces innovative Quadra-Trac 4x4 system 1984: Jeep Cherokee becomes first unibody SUV First shift-on-the-fly 4WD system with Command-Trac system 1993: Jeep brand sets trends with new Grand Cherokee Introduces Quadra-Coil and Quadra-Trac systems, plus a standard airbag 2002: Jeep brand introduces Selec-Trac full-time 4WD 2005: QuadraDrive II with eLSD debuts WK-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee 2006: The first SRT-badged Jeep model debuts WK-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee 2007: The first four-door Jeep Wrangler debuts 2014: The first Trailhawk-badged model debuts with KL-generation Cherokee 2018: The first Jeep Trackhawk model debuts the fastest Jeep ever, with a 707-horsepower HEMI V-8 2020: Jeep Gladiator debuts the first open-air midsize pickup truck Jeep Brand For nearly 85 years, Jeep has been a global leader in SUVs, delivering legendary off-road capability, advanced technology and exceptional versatility for those who seek fun and adventure. With a commitment to innovation, the Jeep brand offers a diverse lineup of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, hybrid technology and all-electric drivetrains. Built on a heritage of freedom, adventure, authenticity and passion, Jeep continues to set the standard for rugged and refined vehicles designed to conquer it all. Follow Jeep and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Jeep brand: www.jeep.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jeep YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA SOURCE Stellantis National pre-settlement funding provider continues strategic focus on late-stage, mid-stage, and emerging pharmaceutical and medical device litigation JERSEY CITY, N.J., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal Bay LLC, a nationally-recognized provider of pre-settlement funding and mass tort finance, today released its 2026 litigation outlook on three major lawsuits they continue to monitor and fund: Talc ovarian cancer litigation involving Johnson & Johnson, Depo-Provera brain tumor claims, and the emerging Cartiva toe implant lawsuits. As mass tort litigation continues to develop at varying stages nationwide, Legal Bay reports steady demand for lawsuit funding from plaintiffs navigating prolonged court timelines, bellwether trials, and potential global settlements. Talc Litigation: Late-Stage Posture Following Bankruptcy Dismissals Talc litigation remains one of the longest-running and most closely watched product liability battles in U.S. civil courts history. Tens of thousands of plaintiffs have alleged that prolonged use of talcum powder products resulted in ovarian cancer or mesothelioma. After multiple bankruptcy attempts by Johnson & Johnson were dismissed, the cases have returned to traditional tort proceedings and settlement negotiations. Legal observers widely consider the talc docket to be in its later stages. With trial verdicts over the past several years creating significant exposure, attention has increasingly shifted toward the possibility of a comprehensive global settlement framework in 2026. Notably, Johnson & Johnson's financial position has strengthened considerably. The company's stock price has almost doubled from earlier litigation-driven lows, placing it in a strong capital position to resolve outstanding liabilities. Analysts suggest that the company now has both the financial capacity and strategic incentive to put the Talc litigation behind it once and for all. Chris Janish, CEO of Legal Bay, says, "Talc litigation has clearly reached a mature phase. With bankruptcy options exhausted and the company in a strong financial position, many in the industry believe 2026 may finally bring a meaningful global resolution. Plaintiffs, however, still face uncertainty and long timelines, and that's where responsible pre-settlement funding can help." If you need help finding a lawyer or if you're already the plaintiff in an existing lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against your anticipated settlement award, contact Legal Bay HERE or call 877.571.0405. Legal Bay continues to provide non-recourse pre-settlement funding to qualified talc plaintiffs. Because this form of litigation funding is contingent upon recovery, clients owe nothing if they do not secure a settlement or verdict. This structure allows injured individuals to manage medical expenses, living costs, and lost wages without being pressured into premature settlement agreements. Depo-Provera Litigation: Mid-Stage Proceedings and Bellwether Development In contrast to J&J talc, Depo-Provera litigation is entering what many legal analysts describe as its middle phase. Plaintiffs allege that prolonged use of the injectable contraceptive caused the development of meningioma brain tumors, raising questions about risk disclosures and labeling adequacy. Coordinated proceedings are advancing, and bellwether trials are expected to begin shaping the evidentiary and valuation landscape. Bellwether outcomes often serve as indicators for how juries may respond to complex pharmaceutical claims, influencing broader settlement discussions. However, recent developments in the Depo litigation include judicial interest in disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements. The presiding judge has signaled that funding contracts may be subject to scrutiny as part of discovery proceedings. This evolving regulatory and judicial landscape has introduced additional compliance considerations for litigation finance providers operating in the pharmaceutical mass tort space. "We recognize that disclosure requirements are becoming a larger part of complex litigation," Janish said. "Legal Bay has invested in compliance infrastructure to ensure we operate transparently and within court guidelines. Where funding is appropriate and permissible, we will continue assisting qualified plaintiffs." For more information about Legal Bay's mass tort pre-settlement funding programs, or to be connected with an experienced attorney to assist with a potential Talc, Depo-Provera, or Cartiva case, contact Legal Bay HERE or call 877.571.0405. Legal Bay emphasizes that its non-recourse lawsuit funding agreements do not interfere with attorney-client relationships or settlement authority. The company reports that it will continue evaluating Depo-Provera funding requests on a case-by-case basis while closely monitoring court rulings related to litigation finance transparency. Additionally, Legal Bay notes that many individuals contacting the company have not yet retained counsel. In such cases, the company can assist in connecting potential claimants with experienced pharmaceutical mass tort attorneys handling Depo-Provera litigation nationwide. Cartiva Toe Implant Litigation: Early-Stage Medical Device Claims Cartiva synthetic cartilage implant litigation represents an emerging area of focus for Legal Bay in 2026. The Cartiva implant, designed to treat arthritis pain in the big toe joint, has been the subject of growing legal scrutiny following reports of device failure, persistent pain, and revision surgeries. Because the litigation is still in its early phases, details are continuing to develop. Early-stage medical device mass torts often present heightened uncertainty as courts work to establish procedural frameworks and evaluate scientific evidence. Legal Bay reports that it may be among the first lawsuit funding providers actively evaluating and funding Cartiva implant claims. The company has seen increased inquiries from patients who allege implant complications and are exploring potential legal remedies. Says Janish, "Cartiva is still early, but early-stage litigation can be particularly challenging for injured patients. Timelines are less defined, and many individuals are still seeking representation. We are here to assist qualified plaintiffs with pre-settlement funding where appropriate and to help connect patients with attorneys experienced in defective medical device cases." If you're the plaintiff in an existing talc, Depo-Provera, or Cartiva lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against your anticipated settlement award, contact Legal Bay HERE or call 877.571.0405. If you have not retained counsel call Legal-Bay immediately as they work with the top Cartiva Toe law firms nationwide. As with its other funding programs, Legal Bay's Cartiva lawsuit funding is structured as non-recourse, meaning repayment is only dependent on a successful outcome on your case. Litigation Funding's Role in Complex Mass Torts Across Talc, Depo-Provera, and Cartiva litigation, Legal Bay continues to provide pre-settlement funding, post-verdict funding, and, where applicable, appellate funding solutions. Mass tort and product liability cases frequently require extensive discovery, expert testimony, and multi-year litigation before resolution. During this time, plaintiffs often face mounting medical bills, lost income, and daily living expenses. Legal funding, when structured transparently and in compliance with state regulations, can provide financial stability while preserving plaintiffs' ability to pursue full and fair compensation. Legal Bay states that it operates in accordance with state-specific consumer legal funding guidelines and continues to monitor evolving disclosure rules and judicial attitudes toward third-party litigation finance. The company has expanded compliance oversight in response to increased regulatory focus nationwide. As 2026 unfolds, the three highlighted litigations remain at distinctly different phases: Talc potentially approaching global settlement, Depo-Provera entering bellwether testing, and Cartiva emerging as a developing medical device docket. Legal Bay anticipates continued activity in all three areas and sustained demand for responsible, transparent lawsuit funding solutions. To apply right now, please visit the company's website HERE or call toll-free at 877.571.0405, where agents are standing by. SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC COLOMBO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has held separate telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Israel and Iran as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, raising concerns over the safety of Sri Lankan nationals living in the region. Herath said he spoke with Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Thursday regarding the well-being of the Sri Lankan diaspora currently residing in Israel. He added that he received assurances from the Israeli side regarding the safety of Sri Lankan nationals. A day earlier, Herath held a telephone discussion with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to discuss the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East. During the conversation, the minister conveyed concern over the escalation of hostilities in the region and emphasized the importance of diplomacy in restoring regional peace and stability. Strengthening Mastercam's Canadian Market Presence and Expanding Regional Customer Support TOLLAND, Conn., Mar. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mastercam Canada, an affiliate of Mastercam, the world's leading CAD/CAM software provider and part of the Sandvik Group, today announced the successful close of its strategic acquisition of In-House Solutions, a longtime Mastercam channel partner. With the transaction complete, In-House Solutions is now operating as Mastercam Canada, expanding Mastercam's direct presence across the Canadian manufacturing market. In-House Solutions is now Mastercam Canada This transition brings together In-House Solutions' deep regional expertise with Mastercam's global technology leadership, enabling faster response times, more personalized service, and enhanced customer support for manufacturers throughout Canada. "This marks an important milestone for Mastercam and for our customers in Canada," said Russ Bukowski, President of Mastercam. "By bringing In-House Solutions fully into the Mastercam organization as Mastercam Canada, we are strengthening our local connections while delivering the full power of Mastercam's global resources. Customers will benefit from closer collaboration, faster technical support, and solutions tailored to their regional manufacturing needs. The move from a channel partner model to direct operations enables Mastercam Canada to provide accelerated problem resolution, customized training programs, and regional specialists who understand the unique challenges facing Canadian manufacturers. The acquisition supports Mastercam's broader growth strategy of combining innovation with targeted acquisitions to enhance customer experience and service delivery. As part of Sandvik's digital manufacturing portfolio, Mastercam continues to advance connected manufacturing technologies and deliver comprehensive support to customers worldwide, helping manufacturers improve productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. For more information, contact Melanie Frenkel, Sr. Media Director, Berkeley Communications, phone: 760.421.7719, or email [email protected]. About Mastercam Mastercam, part of Sandvik Group, is the world's leading CAD/CAM software for manufacturing, trusted by over 450,000 installations worldwide. Since 1983, we have empowered shops of every size to tackle the toughest machining challengesfrom aerospace breakthroughs to life-saving medical components. With relentless innovation, global support, and a commitment to education, Mastercam transforms complexity into confidence. Mastercam: Challenge Accepted. Discover more at www.mastercam.com, follow us on LinkedIn, and join the conversation with #mastercam. About Sandvik Group Sandvik is a global, high-tech engineering group providing solutions that enhance productivity, profitability, and sustainability for the manufacturing, mining, and infrastructure industries. We are at the forefront of digitalization and focus on optimizing our customers' processes. Our world-leading offerings include equipment, tools, services, and digital solutions for machining, mining, rock excavation, and rock processing. In 2024, the Group had approximately 41,000 employees and revenues of about SEK 123 billion in about 150 countries within continuing operations. SOURCE Mastercam STEWARTVILLE, Minn., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation, a leading innovator in continence care solutions, today announced it has raised $20.6 million of new capital through a Series A preferred equity financing co-led by HM Venture Partners and Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners. The company will use the new capital to fuel the commercial launch of its lead fecal incontinence product in the US market and scale operations to meet growing demand. "This funding marks a pivotal moment for our company," said David A. Jonas, CEO of Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation. "With the support of our investors, we are now positioned to launch StaySure into the newly cleared US market and expand our talented team. For the millions of people living with fecal incontinence, this represents an opportunity to finally access a safe, effective, and life-changing solution." The funds from the Series A financing will be used exclusively for: U.S. Market Entry : Establish the operation, commercial, and distribution infrastructure needed to successfully launch StaySure across multiple channels in the US market. : Establish the operation, commercial, and distribution infrastructure needed to successfully launch across multiple channels in the US market. Talent Acquisition : Strategically build a high-performing team across sales, marketing, and customer care to accelerate market penetration, drive market education and brand awareness, and sustainable revenue growth. : Strategically build a high-performing team across sales, marketing, and customer care to accelerate market penetration, drive market education and brand awareness, and sustainable revenue growth. Financial Security Provide debt reduction and financial security to support disciplined, sustainable growth. Founded in 2015, Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation was established to address one of healthcare's most significant yet underserved conditions: fecal incontinence. In collaboration with Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Adil Bharucha, MD, the company created a simple, single use device designed to provide an effective alternative to absorbent products that have historically dominated the market. Fecal incontinence (which is commonly known as "accidental bowel leakage") affects more than 2% of the global population, representing tens of millions of individuals worldwide, with most relying on adult diapers and pads rather than restorative solutions. This represents a substantial and largely untapped market opportunity for innovative, clinically validated interventions that improve quality of life. Following the establishment of a world-class medical device manufacturing facility and the successful completion of a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic, the FDA granted clearance for StaySure in July 2025. With regulatory approval secured, Minnesota Medical Technologies is now positioned to scale its commercialization efforts. This Series A fundraise will allow us to accelerate physician and patient education, expand distribution channels, and support broad market penetration of this differentiated solution, unlocking meaningful value in a large, underserved global market. About Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation Founded and driven by a talented, experienced team with a proven track record of value creation, including leadership experience from Rochester Medical Corporation (sold in 2013 for $262M to CR Bard), Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation is committed to developing, making, and selling Continence Care Products of unmatched comfort, performance, and quality. The company's innovative StaySure product is a clinically proven, single use insert designed to safely and effectively manage accidental bowel leakage and fecal incontinence. By offering a discreet, patient-centered alternative to traditional absorbent products and invasive surgeries, StaySure represents a differentiated solution in a large and underserved market. With experienced leadership, validated clinical data, and regulatory clearance, the company is strategically positioned to scale commercialization and deliver meaningful impact for patients while generating significant long-term shareholder value. About HM Venture Partners HM Venture Partners is a San Franciso-based venture capital firm that backs high growth medtech and biotech companies globally and across all stages. Founded in 2019 by Robert Luo, HMVP has three funds totaling over $600 million under management. Prior to founding HMVP, Mr. Luo was a senior investment officer in Mayo Clinic Treasury Services. About Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners SE MN Capital Partners is a venture capital management company based in Rochester, MN that manages two early-stage venture capital funds that focus on Minnesota medtech companies as well as seven single company special purpose vehicles. David Herbert and Harry Hoffman founded SMCP in 2022 following their retirements from business and investment leadership roles at Mayo Clinic. Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation Contact: David A. Jonas CEO and President [email protected] 507-533-0366 www.mnmedicaltechnologies.com www.staysuretoday.com SOURCE Minnesota Medical Technologies Atlas Data Storage and imec join forces to scale DNA-based data storage LEUVEN, Belgium and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- imec, a global leader in nanoelectronics and digital innovation, and Atlas Data Storage, a pioneer of production-scale DNA data storage, today announce a new strategic partnership to accelerate the development of digital data storage using synthetic DNA. The collaboration combines Atlas' ASIC design expertise and scalable DNA synthesis technology with imec's deep expertise in advanced chip development, fabrication, and integration. In addition to prototyping and strategic support, imec is investing in Atlas. Atlas and imecs new strategic partnership aims to accelerate the development of digital data storage using synthetic DNA. High density electrode array with 128m sites As data creation and storage accelerates in the AI age, magnetic media such as tape and hard disk drives face unavoidable limits in density, sustainability, cost, and long-term reliability. DNA data storage compresses vast datasets into tiny volumes while ensuring ultra-long durability with minimal energy and maintenance. DNA, nature's most compact and durable information storage medium, has preserved the evolution of life over billions of years within its biochemical four-letter code. One gram of DNA can potentially encode up to hundreds of petabytes of digital data , achieving dramatic footprint and energy improvements impossible with magnetic storage media. While magnetic media requires data migration due to media deterioration - rewriting to new tapes and disk drives - DNA remains stable for thousands of years when properly encapsulated, meaning stored data never needs migration. DNA & Silicon: 100's of Gigabytes of data in a single synthesis cycle To help bring Atlas' vision to life, imec co-developed and monolithically manufactured an Atlas designed custom, exceptionally dense nano-scale array of electrochemical cells , on top of a control CMOS ASIC designed by Atlas. The integrated chip orchestrates and controls millions of individual synthesis sites. "To make DNA-based digital data storage viable, the synthesis throughput needs to scale by several orders of magnitude over today's approach," explains Siraj Nour ElAhmadi, Atlas Chief Operating Officer. "To meet this challenge, we anchored our solution on silicon, leveraging the very large-scale integration benefits afforded by CMOS technology. Our collaboration with imec was crucial to build the nano device layer on top of our CMOS ASIC. imec's 300 mm silicon platform is key to reach the necessary throughput and scale." "One of the challenges was etching the platinum devices at very small dimensions, explains Simone Severi, imec Vice President of R&D." "Another critical design challenge was minimizing leakage currents between neighbouring devices at these extremely small dimensions. Our R&D team developed a custom process flow to ensure electrical isolation and stable operation across the dense array, a key enabler for reliable synthesis at scale." IC-Link by imec manages the supply chain to source Atlas custom wafer for further post-processing on imec's processing line. As demand for data storage grows, so does the need for sustainable high-density storage solutions. imec and Atlas partnership shows how the convergence of life science and semiconductors can unlock radically new ways to store, sense, and process data. Research and investment partnership Beyond the technical collaboration, imec and Atlas Data Storage are embarking in a deeper strategic collaboration where imec will become a shareholder of Atlas Data Storage. This approach is part of imec's venturing strategy where selected ventures benefit of the same type of support and strategic alignment as imec's own spinoffs. "With this approach, imec becomes a direct investor in Atlas Data Storage," observes Olivier Rousseaux, imec director of venture development. "As with other imec venture portfolio companies, Atlas will benefit from cutting-edge R&D and nano fabrication processing capabilities, as well as hands-on business support, leveraging imec's unique ecosystem of partners, investors and venture capital funds." Media Contact: Imec: Jade Liu, international press communications // T +32 16 28 16 93 // M +32 495 71 7452 // [email protected]; Atlas Data Storage: Michael Janse // T +1 888-927-0789 // , [email protected] About imec Imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in advanced semiconductor technologies. Leveraging its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and the expertise of over 6,500 employees, imec drives innovation in semiconductor and system scaling, artificial intelligence, silicon photonics, connectivity, and sensing. Imec's advanced research powers breakthroughs across a wide range of industries, including computing, health, automotive, energy, infotainment, industry, agrifood, and security. Through IC-Link, imec guides companies through every step of the chip journey - from initial concept to full-scale manufacturing - delivering customized solutions tailored to meet the most advanced design and production needs. Imec collaborates with global leaders across the semiconductor value chain, as well as with technology companies, start-ups, academia, and research institutions in Flanders and worldwide. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, imec has research facilities in Belgium, across Europe and the USA, and representation on three continents. In 2024, imec reported revenues of 1.034 billion. For more information, visit www.imec-int.com The imec group holds a global trademark portfolio, including word marks and combined figurative registered and unregistered trademarks, across national, regional, and international territories. Its lawful use requires prior written consent of IMEC in compliance with the IMEC branding guidelines, which may be updated periodically. The latest version is available upon written request. About Atlas Data Storage Atlas Data Storage is pioneering the next era of digital preservation by commercializing synthetic DNA storage. Optimized by nature for durability, density, and duplication, DNA is the ideal media to keep data safe -- forever. Atlas technology provides a low-maintenance and environmentally friendly solution to address the explosive growth of archival data. By fusing CMOS ASIC designs, molecular biology and advanced materials science, Atlas is redefining what's possible for data preservation and archival infrastructure. To learn more about Atlasdata preservation services , visit www.atlasds.com SOURCE Atlas Data Storage AI-enabled predictive intelligence solution helps organizations avoid safety incidents, reduce costs, and foster a proactive safety culture AUSTIN, Texas, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced the general availability of Oracle Construction and Engineering Advisor for Safety, an AI-enabled predictive intelligence solution that transforms safety management. With the offering, construction firms can better forecast project safety incidents to proactively prevent accidents, and support safer, more cost-effective jobsites. Previously, creating accurate predictive models required customers to supply extensive data for model training and tuning. Advisor for Safety utilizes an Oracle built, industry-specific safety model trained on data spanning the equivalent of 10,000+ project-years representing diverse project types and locations. The solution enables firms to quickly benefit from more predictive safety regardless of their current safety program's maturity. In tandem, Oracle has also introduced a new Observation capability in Aconex and Primavera Unifier Accelerator. Designed to work with Advisor for Safety, this feature enables field teams from project engineers to the most senior project executiveto more easily capture structured safety data, including severity and frequency scoring, consistently in an easy-to-use format via a mobile device or web browser. By standardizing observation data collection and safety workflows optimized for predictive model outputs, this new capability can help improve predictive model accuracy and reinforce behaviors that reduce risk. "Advisor for Safety marks a significant step forward in safety management, giving construction companies and owners the tools to predict and prevent incidents, while improving the industry's overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness," said Mark Webster, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Infrastructure Industries. "Leveraging AI and machine learning, organizations can immediately transition from reactive to predictive safety management, improving safety outcomes and reducing both human and financial costs associated with workplace injuries." Proactive safety management Traditional safety tools often rely on reactive measures and lagging indicators, leaving organizations to respond to incidents after they occur. Advisor for Safety takes a proactive approach by offering: Weekly risk forecasts: help firms identify the top 20% of projects that could account for 80% of their safety incidents, enabling teams to allocate resources effectively, reduce incident rates, and lower workers' compensation costs. help firms identify the top 20% of projects that could account for 80% of their safety incidents, enabling teams to allocate resources effectively, reduce incident rates, and lower workers' compensation costs. Actionable risk mitigation: provides prioritized actions for high-risk projects, enabling suggested corrective measures and improved safety outcomes. For example, the solution may recommend increasing supervision oversight, focusing on high-risk areas. provides prioritized actions for high-risk projects, enabling suggested corrective measures and improved safety outcomes. For example, the solution may recommend increasing supervision oversight, focusing on high-risk areas. Observation-based safety: drives proactive incident reporting while maintaining data quality for more reliable risk predictions. drives proactive incident reporting while maintaining data quality for more reliable risk predictions. Cross-project analytics: aggregates safety data for executive insights, strategic decision-making, and best practice sharing. Advisor for Safety integrates multiple data streamssuch as safety observations, incident reports, payroll data, project schedulesfrom Oracle Aconex, Oracle Primavera Unifier Accelerator, and Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), as well as third party systems. As customers use Advisor for Safety over time, predictions can be refined for their organization by fine-tuning their proprietary data to solve specific safety challenges or focus on their priority domains. "By predicting safety incidents and providing actionable insights, our customers can now focus on prevention rather than reaction," said Josh Kanner, Sr. Director, Analytics & AI, Oracle Construction and Engineering. "Advisor for Safety has demonstrated customer reductions in incident rates by up to 50% or more and workers' compensation costs by up to 75% in the first year."1 For more information, join us at the Oracle Customer Edge Summit on April 1214, 2026 in Austin, TX, or visit Oracle Construction and Engineering. 1Source: Dodge Data & Analytics Safety Smart Market report, 2020 and customer internal documentation. About Oracle Construction and Engineering Asset owners and project leaders rely on Oracle Construction and Engineering solutions for the visibility and control, connected supply chain, and data security needed to drive performance and mitigate risk across their processes, projects, and organization. Our scalable cloud construction management software solutions enable digital transformation for teams that plan, build, and operate critical assets, improving efficiency, collaboration, and change control across the project lifecycle. www.oracle.com/construction-and-engineering. About Oracle Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com. Trademarks Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud companyushering in the new era of cloud computing. SOURCE Oracle OnePay Expands Partnership With Kard to Bring Thousands of Local Restaurant Offers to Customers NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Customers hungry for dining rewards have reason to celebrate as OnePay, the consumer fintech trusted by millions of Americans to make money better, today announced it is adding dining as a selectable cash back category for OnePay Cash customers. Cash+ customers can now earn 3% cash back across multiple categories on up to $150 in spending per month. As part of its push into dining rewards, OnePay is expanding its partnership with Kard, a commerce media platform, to bring local offers into the OnePay app, unlocking cash back at thousands of participating local restaurants across the country. The partnership will make it easier for OnePay Cash customers to earn rewards where they already choose to eat. "Dining is one of the most common and most loved places our customers spend," said Jen Jia, General Manager, OnePay Wallet. "We listened to our customers, and we're expanding our rewards ecosystem to reflect the way they spend every week, starting with dining. We're bringing dining rewards to all OnePay Cash customers, adding thousands of local restaurant offers through Kard in the OnePay app, and making it simple for Cash+ customers to earn cash back on dining. Because real life doesn't end at the table, each month customers can choose to earn cash back on where they fuel up, eat or shop, all in one place." "OnePay is building a rewards experience that's simple, flexible, and rooted in everyday life," said Ben Mackinnon, CEO at Kard. "We're proud to expand our existing relationship, already bringing offers from leading national brands with local offers, which brings points-earning opportunities to thousands of participating local restaurants. It helps OnePay customers earn more on the meals they already buy, while supporting the communities where they live." With the new rewards experiences, OnePay Cash customers can: Choose a cash back category each month in the OnePay app Access offers from thousands of local restaurants through Kard, alongside OnePay's broader offers experience Earn rewards across top QSR chains across the country Cash back is earned as OnePay points redeemable as a deposit into a OnePay Cash account or other available options. The expanded partnership with Kard builds on the continued growth of OnePay's rewards ecosystem, as the company continues adding top merchant offers and new earning opportunities. This momentum reinforces OnePay's commitment and focus on delivering strong, everyday value to its customers. About OnePay OnePay is an all-in-one financial services platform built on the simple belief that better money makes life better. With banking, high-yield savings, credit cards, point-of-sale lending, investment and crypto offerings, OnePay is providing millions of consumers with the tools they need to holistically manage their financial lives in one place. Alongside its expanding consumer offering, OnePay also partners with employers, HCM providers, gig platforms, and others to deliver embedded financial services to millions of employees and frontline workers. OnePay is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services through OnePay are provided by Coastal Community Bank or Lead Bank, Members FDIC. OnePay debit and credit cards are issued by partner banks pursuant to licensing by Mastercard International. Brokerage services through OnePay are provided by One Growth Securities LLC, member FINRA / SIPC . Crypto services through OnePay powered by Zero Hash LLC and Zero Hash Liquidity Services LLC through an agreement with OneProgress Assets LLC. Investment and crypto products are not FDIC Insured, not bank guaranteed and may lose value. One Growth Securities LLC does not provide crypto services and OneProgress Assets LLC is not a member of FINRA/SIPC. To learn more about OnePay, please visit www.onepay.com . About Kard Kard's commerce media network uses predictive AI and first-party transaction data from tens of millions of consumers to power next-generation personalized rewards. For fintechs and FIs, Kard's flexible, API-first platform makes it easy to offer differentiated rewards that compete with the biggest banks and loyalty programs. For brands, Kard's pay-for-performance model provides a scalable acquisition and engagement channel without the upfront costs and uncertainty of traditional media buying. And by linking brand exposure directly to verified online and in-store purchases, Kard can prove incremental impact at scale. Kard is backed by leading investors, including Tiger Global, Underscore VC, Fin Capital, s12f, and Trinity Capital. Media contact: [email protected] SOURCE OnePay In the news release, Phillips & Associates Sets New Standard in 2026 After Record-Breaking 2025, issued 05-Mar-2026 by Phillips & Associates | Sexual Harassment, Discrimination & Employment Lawyers over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that changes have been made. The complete, corrected release follows, with additional details at the end: Phillips & Associates Sets New Standard in 2026 After Record-Breaking 2025 Record Accolades, Multiple Seven-Figure Recoveries, and the Firm's Landmark Miami Summit Mark a Paradigm Shift in Addressing Institutional Betrayal NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As leading employment law and workplace sexual harassment firm Phillips & Associates launches its new website today, Founder and Managing Partner William K. Phillips highlighted the firm's record 2025 performance. The firm secured $60 million in settlements that held companies and individual harassers accountable for workplace misconduct, including numerous confidential resolutions for employees and multiple cases valued at $1 million or more. These results come with fresh national honors that position the firm as a clear voice for stronger employee rights under New York law. Phillips & Associates reframes authority abuse as actionable moral injury. Post this 2026 edition of Best Law Firms (PRNewsfoto/Phillips & Associates | Sexual Harassment, Discrimination & Employment Lawyers) The accolades include: 13 attorneys named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists 10 attorneys inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum (membership reserved for those who have delivered verdicts or settlements of $1 million or more) Tiered national recognition in the 2026 Best Law Firms rankings by Best Lawyers Repeated placement among Top 10 Labor & Employment Law Firms by leading industry evaluators Why These Honors Matter More Than Ever in New York A supervisor holds real power over assignments, bonuses, references, and advancement. When that same person uses compliments as conditions, meetings as pressure, or silence as threat, the harm goes beyond discomfort. It fractures the belief that the workplace runs on merit. Psychologists call this moral injury. New York courts and juries now see the pattern clearly. Under the New York City Human Rights Law's "less well" standard and the reopened GMVA institutional liability window , supervisor sexual harassment triggers a cascade effect. Subtle boundary erosion today leads to lasting self-doubt and lost earning capacity tomorrow. The question has changed. It is no longer "Was the conduct severe or pervasive?" The question is now: "Did the person with power over your livelihood use that power to make you question whether you belong here at all?" When the answer is yes, accountability and damages rise accordingly. The National Plaintiffs Summit: Thought Leadership in Action The firm's leadership reached new heights when the National Plaintiffs Summit on Sexual Harassment & Employment Discrimination concluded as a tremendous success on February 24, 2026, at the iconic Eden Roc Miami Beach. The three-day gathering brought together dozens of the nation's top plaintiff-side employment litigators for interactive sessions on high-value fact patterns involving CEOs and supervisors, live damages modeling, trauma-informed techniques, and pre-suit strategies. This summit extended the firm's trauma-informed, business-driven approach to supervisor misconduct. It equipped attorneys nationwide with practical tools to protect survivors and secure stronger outcomes under New York's protective statutes. What This Means for Employees Right Now If you are still employed and wondering whether those "jokes," lingering touches, or late-night messages are "just how things are done here," the landscape is changing. The combination of expanded GMVA institutional liability claims , the NYCHRL's protective standard, and growing recognition of moral injury creates the strongest window for accountability in decades. You do not have to face this alone. Contact a trusted workplace sexual harassment attorney NYC today for a free, confidential consultation. Phillips & Associates offers immediate guidance under New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida law, with no fee unless we win. A Quiet Signal Becoming Impossible to Ignore Early 2026 trends confirm the shift: more judges accept expert testimony on moral injury without a formal PTSD diagnosis; emotional-distress awards rise in supervisor cases even without physical assault; and digital grooming (after-hours Slack, "mentorship" drinks, performance reviews with personal comments) now ties directly to quid pro quo liability. Every seven-figure recovery in 2025 followed the same principle: treat the harm as structural betrayal, not office friction. Present the evidence through the lens of authority misused, and employers understand the true cost. William K. Phillips, Founder and Managing Partner, said it best: "We don't train lawyers to chase cases. We train them to see the invisible architecture of power and dismantle it case by case. Hosting the National Plaintiffs' Summit turns individual victories into structural change." Phillips & Associates remains exclusively on the employee side. We never represent employers because the power imbalance is real, and the only way to correct it is to meet it with equal strength. About Phillips & Associates Phillips & Associates exclusively represents employees in workplace sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation cases. Founded and led by William K. Phillips, the firm has handled more than 8,000 matters, litigated nearly 2,000 cases, and recovered over $300 million for victims under New York, New Jersey, and federal law. The firm is widely recognized for its strategic, confidential approach to resolving high-stakes employment disputes involving executives, supervisors, business owners, and powerful institutions. This release contains general information and does not constitute legal advice. For legal guidance specific to your situation, visit newyorkcitydiscriminationlawyer.com or call (866) 655-9876. Time limits apply. Correction: In the first paragraph, the second sentence has been updated. SOURCE Phillips & Associates | Sexual Harassment, Discrimination & Employment Lawyers Toyota of Gallatin in the Metro Nashville market has been sold by Dave Stumbo of Stumbo Automotive to Lithia Motors . in the market has been sold by to . Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions represented the seller in the transaction. SOUTHLAKE, Texas, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a leading automotive dealership brokerage firm, is pleased to announce the successful sale of Toyota of Gallatin in Metro Nashville from Dave Stumbo of Stumbo Automotive to Lithia Motors. The dealership will continue operating as Toyota of Gallatin under its new ownership. Dennis Thornhill, Executive Advisor, Mike Sims, President, and Bill Scrivner, CEO of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, represented Dave Stumbo and Stumbo Automotive in the transaction. Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions Facilitates Sale of Toyota of Gallatin in Metro Nashville. "We are proud to welcome Toyota of Gallatin to the Lithia family as we continue to expand our strategic footprint across high-growth markets like Nashville. Building on the strong customer relationships and reputation the Toyota Gallatin team has established, we look forward to deepening our commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences in this market," said Bryan DeBoer, President & CEO of Lithia & Driveway. "This is another outstanding opportunity for Lithia Motors, provided by our partners at Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions. Dennis Thornhill, Mike Sims and Bill Scrivner are great at what they do and have been helping us build our company for over 30 years, representing dozens of transactions. We look forward to working with them for many years to come." The transaction reflects continued strength in the Toyota franchise nationwide. "The Toyota franchise continues to command unprecedented demand and valuations, a result of its consistency, high throughput sales, profit per outlet model and the strength of their trusted mutual relationship with dealers," said Dennis J. Thornhill, Executive Advisor at Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions. Pinnacle has become a trusted adviser to Lithia Motors, based on a relationship built on decades of collaboration across several transactions, representing them as both buyers and sellers since the late 1990s. "It is always a privilege to represent dealer principals like Dave Stumbo as they make important strategic decisions," said Bill Scrivner, Founder and CEO of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions. "Our team's long-standing relationship with Lithia Motors, combined with our experience advising sellers and buyers nationwide, allows us to guide transactions with alignment, discretion, and a focus on long-term success." About Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions has over 85 years of combined experience as dealership brokers. The firm has completed more than 850 transactions, representing over $40 billion in proceeds for its clients. Pinnacle is a trusted partner to both buyers and sellers, providing expert guidance and customized strategies that drive value and long-term success in every transaction. To learn more about Pinnacle's services or to schedule a confidential consultation, visit www.pinnaclemergers.com Media Contact: Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions [email protected] SOURCE Pinnacle Mergers and Acquisitions Energy storage projects with a total nominal capacity of up to 1,500 MW / 3,000 MWh in Romania, Bulgaria and Italy Two-hour liquid-cooled battery systems featuring innovative LFP technology The two parties combine expertise in development, construction and energy management Storage stations support the operation of photovoltaic and wind parks and contribute to power system stability ATHENS, Greece and LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PPC Group and METLEN , leading Greek companies in the electricity sector in Greece and the wider region, have signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) for the establishment of a joint venture company, in which each party will hold a 50% stake. The purpose of the joint venture is the development, construction and operation of a portfolio of BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) projects of up to 1,500 MW / 3,000 MWh in Romania, Bulgaria and Italy, of which 1,000 MW are expected to be implemented within the next 12 months. The two parties are joining forces by contributing their respective expertise in development, construction and energy management. PPC Group, with its established presence in all three countries, ensures rapid project development and efficient energy management, while METLEN, leveraging its long-standing experience and reliable know-how, ensures the timely and high-quality construction of the projects. Please click HERE to read more Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2768481/5838298/METLEN_Energy_Metals_Logo.jpg To help speed electrification rates in support of the World Bank and African Development Bank effort to expand electrification to 300 million Africans by 2030 Announced Mission 300 Fellows are already providing technical assistance in Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with more on the way CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- During Mission 300 Day at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, The Rockefeller Foundation announced that it is collaborating with nonprofit impact accelerator CoAction Global to expand support for technical assistance fellowships to at least 18 African countries in support of the World Bank Group and African Development Bank effort to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Working to support countries' National Energy Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs), four additional "Mission 300 Fellows" will assist with overall efforts to drive electrification progress, while the first four "Clean Cooking Fellows" will help strengthen institutional capacity to develop investable projects. Supported by the Mission 300 Accelerator, an initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC), the philanthropic organization also announced that 13 of the initial cohort of "Mission 300 Fellows" are already providing technical support in CDMUs in Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. "It's clear these fellows are making a difference, helping cut through red tape and increasing the rate of electrification in their countries. We are proud to expand this program in support of Mission 300, so we can continue improving people's lives and livelihoods by giving them the tools they need to thrive," said William Asiko, Vice President of Africa at The Rockefeller Foundation. Today, more than 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, with an estimated 600 million living in Africa. This shortage hinders healthcare, education, digital inclusion, women and children empowerment, the creation of local jobs, building economic opportunity, and more. In addition, approximately one billion people in Africa rely on traditional fuels such as wood and charcoal, which significantly increases household air pollution for families, especially for women and children, and the associated health risks that cause more than 810,000 premature deaths every year in sub-Saharan Africa. Led by the World Bank and African Development Bank, Mission 300 is an ambitious initiative to combat energy poverty and unlock opportunity by expanding electricity to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. During the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in January 2025, African government leaders endorsed the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, which affirms their joint commitment to advance critical reforms and actions across the energy sector to increase access to electricity and clean cooking, increase the share of renewable energy, and increase private capital mobilization. To date, Mission 300 has connected approximately 44 million people to electricity. The Rockefeller Foundation's Mission 300 Fellowship Program With support from The Rockefeller Foundation in association with the Mission 300 Accelerator, the original cohort of 14 "Mission 300 Fellows" were selected by CoAction Global for two-year fellowships, out of 3,000 applications from nearly every African country. Currently, 13 are working to provide technical assistance to CDMUs to help increase electrification rates in Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with one additional country nearly finalized. With the expansion of this fellowship program, an additional four fellows are in the pipeline based on growing demand and an extremely strong pool of African candidates. Designed to support key gaps that will accelerate access to energy in each market, while also aligning to overall Mission 300 priorities, fellows have the unique opportunity to gain firsthand experience addressing pressing country needs while making meaningful contributions to the advancement of the energy sector in Africa. Examples of fellow engagement include, but are not limited to: Supporting the development of CDMUs to guide operationalization, coordination, and performance tracking. Defining milestones, timelines, and reporting structures to ensure accountability and progress in implementing the compact. Meeting with key officials across the government to understand current operations and linkages to the country's National Energy Compact. Coordinating across institutions and with multilateral banks, including the World Bank and African Development Bank. The Rockefeller Foundation with the Mission 300 Accelerator and the nonprofit Energy Corps are providing additional support to CoAction Global to develop a cohort of "Clean Cooking Fellows" to strengthen institutional capacity to develop investable projects within countries' CDMUs. "Mission 300 Fellows represent some of the brightest emerging leaders on the African continent, drawing on their lived experiences, with nuance and innovation, to address longstanding electrification challenges in some of the most complex environments. Although they have only been deployed to CDMUs for a few months, their significant contributions already demonstrate that this model works. CoAction Global is deeply grateful for the support of The Rockefeller Foundation's RF Catalytic Capital, as well as Energy Corps, which enables us to nurture the next generation of African energy leaders. This is what accelerating impact looks like," said Stephanie Kumah, CoAction Global's Operations and Partnerships Manager for the Mission 300 Fellowship. As part of the new Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative launched by The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Clean Cooking Alliance, and Energy Corps during the International Energy Agency's 2026 Ministerial, four new "Clean Cooking Fellows" will be selected over the coming months to help further efforts to scale modern cooking technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. Also announced during Mission 300 Day at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, The Rockefeller Foundation is: Investing an additional US$10 million to accelerate electricity connections in Africa by 2030. The Rockefeller Foundation along with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet are supporting fast-track electrification efforts involving technical assistance to National Energy CDMUs in at least 15 African countries to help improve coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity. The Rockefeller Foundation along with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet are supporting fast-track electrification efforts involving technical assistance to National Energy CDMUs in at least 15 African countries to help improve coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity. Actively providing technical assistance to CDMUs in five countries with more on the way. As part of this new collaboration with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, technical assistance is already being provided to CDMUs in Malawi and Liberia. In parallel, The Rockefeller Foundation announced that the support for the Mission 300 Accelerator is helping improve coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity within CDMUs in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal with previously announced funding with RFCC. Statements of Support Regarding "Mission 300 Fellows" working in CDMUs in Lesotho and Liberia: "Hope has been instrumental in supporting Lesotho in its Mission 300 National Energy Compact. Her fresh perspective and strategic thinking have been a strong addition to the team. She has moved on well with adaptability, professionalism and a collaborative approach that has enabled her to add value from the outset demonstrating the value addition for the CoAction Global support in propelling forward the Compact implementation." Mr. Tankiso Phapano, Principal Secretary of the Lesotho Ministry of Energy "The Mission 300 Fellowship Program represents a critical investment in Liberia's human capacity for the energy sector. By empowering young professionals with the skills, exposure, and networks needed to drive reform and implementation, this initiative directly supports our national energy ambitions and accelerates progress toward universal access. Sharon has been very instrumental to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, providing technical support to the Department of Energy and supporting the early establishment and operational readiness of the Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit (CDMU), which serves as Liberia's core Mission 300 delivery mechanism." Madam Joebarline Gbozee, Director, Bureau of Energy Planning, Research and Policy at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Republic of Liberia Regarding "Mission 300 Fellows" working in Chad and Liberia: "Power shortages, transportation challenges, language barriers, and extreme weather conditions shape everyday work and mental energy in Chad...Seeing firsthand the daily impact of limited electricity access (power cuts, unsafe streets, heat) made me understand the urgency and human significance of the work we are doing as Mission 300 Fellows." Placide Fakhigui Assana, Mission 300 Fellow working in Chad's CDMU "Where my grandmother lives in Zimunya, Zimbabwe, she does not have consistent access to electricity... I can see my grandma in the work that we're doing. I can see my grandmother as we look at where the substations are located here in Liberia, as we look at the different places that independent power producers could develop projects and transmit energy." Sharon Matongo, Mission 300 Fellow from Zimbabwe working in Liberia's CDMU About The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity in food, health, energy, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation. About CoAction Global CoAction Global is an independent nonprofit impact accelerator providing a vital link between people and places to generate economic prosperity in some of the world's most challenging contexts. As an operational catalyst, the organization connects local leadership and ideas with global capabilities to advance economic opportunity, drive community investment, and convene partnerships that propel sustainability, innovation and empowerment. For more information, please visit coactionglobal.org, sign up for updates, and follow us on LinkedIn @coaction-global-org. greater:SATX and Region's Higher Education Leaders Announce Shared Commitment to Strengthen Economic Competitiveness and Expand Opportunity SAN ANTONIO, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark display of regional alignment, San Antonio's higher education institutions and workforce partners today announced a shared commitment to increase the region's educational attainment rate to 45% by 2030 as part of the MOMENTUM:2030 strategy led by greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership. San Antonio regional leaders announce unified educational attainment goal. From left to right: City Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito, Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges, Dr. Hector Ochoa, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Romanita Matta-Barrera, greater:SATX, Sarah Carabias Rush, greater:SATX, Susan MacCabe, USAA, Dr. Thomas Evans, University of the Incarnate Word, Dr. Vanessa Beasley, Trinity University, City Councilmember Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, Dr. Taylor Eighmy, UT San Antonio. With the current attainment rate at 41.3%, reaching 45% would mean adding the equivalent of approximately 100,000 more credentialed residents over the next five years a shift that would significantly strengthen economic growth and expand long-term opportunity for local families. Achieving this goal will require sustained focus not only on access to higher education, but on completion and retention, ensuring students finish degrees and build careers in the South Texas region. All presidents from the region's colleges and universities have formally endorsed the goal, underscoring a first-of-its-kind, cross-institutional commitment to accelerating talent development. For the purposes of this goal, the educational attainment rate is defined as the percentage of the population 25 years and older with an associate's degree or higher (Source: Census, ACS 1-year Table S1501, San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area). San Antonio is uniquely positioned to meet this moment. It is the only city in Texas with undergraduate institutions from two state university systems The University of Texas and Texas A&M systems and more than 172,000 students are currently enrolled across regional institutions of higher education. On a per capita basis, San Antonio sends a higher share of students to college than any other major metro in Texas. greater:SATX is leading the regional convening effort, aligning education and workforce systems around this shared objective in partnership with employers including longtime regional partner USAA committed to strengthening the local talent pipeline. The commitment supports a broader strategy to attract high-wage employers, strengthen regional competitiveness, and expand access to meaningful career pathways for San Antonio residents. A Community Moving Up the Ranks While San Antonio continues to compete with peer markets including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. the region is making measurable progress. From 2020 to 2024, San Antonio recorded the second-highest rate of improvement in educational attainment among these cities, demonstrating that coordinated regional efforts are accelerating momentum. "Each percentage point of educational attainment represents roughly 27,000 members of our community, underscoring how transformational this shared goal can be," said Sarah Carabias Rush, President & CEO of greater:SATX. "Reaching 45% by 2030 is both ambitious and achievable. Talent is the number one driver of economic competitiveness, and our institutions are aligned like never before." Institutions endorsing the regional goal include: Alamo Colleges District Our Lady of the Lake University St. Mary's University Texas A&M UniversitySan Antonio Texas State University Trinity University University of the Incarnate Word The University of Texas at San Antonio Through MOMENTUM:2030, greater:SATX and its partners will continue aligning education, workforce development, and employer engagement strategies to ensure more students complete credentials and that employers invest in early-career pathways, internships, and long-term workforce partnerships that retain local talent. Supporting Quotes Dr. Mike Flores, Chancellor, Alamo Colleges District "Community college is often the front door to higher education for thousands of local high school students. Through initiatives like AlamoPROMISE, we are removing barriers and helping more students complete credentials that lead to high-demand, high-opportunity careers. Advancing this regional goal is about expanding economic mobility and ensuring that access leads to completion." Dr. Abel Chavez, President, Our Lady of the Lake University "Our Lady of the Lake University has an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunities for students who have historically faced barriers to higher education. Advancing educational attainment is central to our mission of fostering personal and professional growth in service to our community. By strengthening completion and career pathways, we help ensure more graduates build purposeful and dignified lives that contribute to the long-term prosperity of our communities, our city, and the region." Dr. Winston Erevelles, President, St. Mary's University "This regional partnership shows what's possible when institutions unite to serve our community. By increasing degree attainment, we're expanding access to economic mobility and long-term success across South Texas. St. Mary's University, ranked No. 1 in San Antonio for Social Mobility and No. 1 among Best Value Universities in the West by U.S. News & World Report, is proud to join greater:SATX and our sister institutions in advancing this vital initiative." Dr. Hector Ochoa, President, Texas A&M UniversitySan Antonio "Educational attainment strengthens families and transforms communities. As a university serving many first-generation and working students, we understand that completion and workforce alignment are essential to upward mobility. This shared commitment reflects our responsibility to prepare graduates for meaningful careers in San Antonio." Dr. Kelly Damphousse, President, Texas State University "Texas State is proud to support this shared commitment to expanding educational opportunity in the San Antonio region. Aligning higher education and workforce priorities around a measurable goal positions our community for sustained economic growth and increased competitiveness across South and Central Texas." Dr. Vanessa Beasley, President, Trinity University "Educational attainment prepares leaders, innovators, and professionals who will shape the future of this community. Trinity is proud to stand alongside our regional partners in advancing a shared goal that strengthens economic competitiveness while expanding access to meaningful careers for our graduates." Dr. Thomas M. Evans, President, University of the Incarnate Word "Rooted in a tradition of service to this community, UIW is committed to graduating students who fuel the workforce and advance the common good. Increasing attainment to 45% reflects a collective investment in opportunity, economic growth, and the long-term vitality of our region." Dr. Taylor Eighmy, President, UT San Antonio "As the region's only Carnegie-designated R1 research university, UT San Antonio plays a critical role in strengthening the region's innovation economy and workforce pipeline. Increasing attainment to 45% aligns with our mission to expand access, grow research capacity, and prepare graduates to contribute to high-demand industries shaping the future of this community." About greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership greater:SATX is the regional economic development organization driving business growth, workforce alignment, and economic competitiveness across the San AntonioNew Braunfels metropolitan area. Through collaboration with business, education, and civic partners, greater:SATX works to attract new employers, support existing industries, and expand pathways to opportunity for all residents. SOURCE greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) kicks off at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng were seated on the rostrum. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China's top political advisory body, opened its annual session on Wednesday in Beijing. President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders, including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng, attended the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People. The agenda for the session was reviewed and approved at the meeting. During the session, more than 2,000 political advisors will conduct in-depth consultations and deliberations and contribute their views and suggestions, centering on the decisions and plans of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and focusing on the formulation and implementation of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee at the meeting. Wang reviewed the advisory body's work over the past year. The National Committee of the CPPCC and its Standing Committee regarded the CPC's leadership, the united front and consultative democracy as an integral whole, aligned their work with the central tasks of the Party and country, and fully leveraged their role as a specialized consultative body. Looking ahead to 2026, he urged the political advisors to rally public support, build greater consensus, and pool wisdom and strength for making a strong start in implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan. Stressing the need to uphold the CPC's leadership unswervingly, Wang called on political advisors to deliver high-quality performance in fulfilling their duties to serve the central tasks of the Party and the country. The CPPCC plays vital roles in multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. Its members are drawn from political parties, people's organizations, personages without party affiliation and various sectors of society. A report on the handling of proposals submitted by political advisors since the last session of the CPPCC National Committee in March 2025 was presented at the meeting. The CPPCC National Committee received 5,992 proposals from its members over the past year, of which 5,061 were accepted for processing. The response rate for the accepted proposals stood at 99.9 percent. The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, delivers a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Shi Taifeng presides over the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) He Baoxiang delivers a report on how the proposals from political advisors have been handled since the third session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Journalists work at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Journalists work at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) The military band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army performs at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Backed by Country Music Star and Entrepreneur Jessie James Decker and Celebrity Hairstylist Kylee Heath, the new KERATIME Care & Styling collection marks the next chapter of the Schwarzkopf brand expansion in the US. STAMFORD, Conn., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Schwarzkopf, the authority in hair with over 125 years of global hair and professional expertise, is bringing its heritage to Walmart with the launch of KERATIME Care & Styling. Exclusively available at Walmart, the new line is powered by the brand's proprietary Multiplex Bonding Technology, offering professional-quality care for consumers at home. Schwarzkopf is on a mission to expose the secret to amazing hair and this launch marks a major evolution for the brand - expanding its leadership from its innovative at-home hair color solutions into the rapidly growing hair bonding category. Schwarzkopf KERATIME Henkel Logo (PRNewsfoto/Snuggle) Schwarzkopf's expertise in bonding technology began with its Schwarzkopf Keratin Color portfolio, which introduced K-Bond Plex conditioner, a multi-step bond-enforcing system designed to create bonds, reduce hair breakage* and deliver rich, long-lasting color with up to 100% gray coverage. That innovation reinforced Schwarzkopf's longstanding commitment to both color performance and hair bonding technology, underscoring a distinct dual benefit that pairs vibrant, long-lasting color with bond-enforcing care. With KERATIME Care & Styling, Schwarzkopf builds on that foundation of dual benefits and introduces a new frontier in bond building, while providing additional, relevant care & styling benefits at the same time. Based on KERATIME's next-generation Multiplex Bonding Technology, this advanced system builds bonds within the hair fiber and protects from future damage with every use**, protects color vibrancy, or provides powerful styling effects, addressing the cumulative effects of washing, heat styling, coloring and environmental stress. The result is a comprehensive hair routine that strengthens, protects and styles in one. "Over the last 125+ years, Schwarzkopf has continuously pioneered innovations that help consumers express themselves with confidence," said Linda Lin, Head of Consumer Hair at Henkel. "With the launch of KERATIME, we are on a mission to expand that legacy into care and styling in an exciting new way, and we're thrilled to partner exclusively with Walmart to bring this next chapter of hair health innovation to consumers nationwide." To bring this innovation to life, the Schwarzkopf brand has partnered with Country Music Star, Entrepreneur and Schwarzkopf Brand Ambassador Jessie James Decker and Celebrity Hairstylist and Schwarzkopf Brand Ambassador Kylee Heath as the official faces of KERATIME. Heath, recognized for her work with A-list talent and editorial campaigns, brings professional authority and technical insight while Decker embodies real-life transformation and everyday beauty routines that resonate with consumers. "Jessie and Kylee represent the dual spirit of Schwarzkopf- expert craftsmanship and authentic, lived-in beauty," added Linda Lin, Head of Consumer Hair at Henkel. "Their voices and perspectives help tell the full story of why KERATIME matters to consumers and stylists alike." When speaking about the partnership, Jessie James Decker said: "Hair has always been a big part of how I express myself - whether I'm on stage or just living life with my family. I'm so excited to partner with Schwarzkopf because they make real, everyday hair care and color feel accessible and transformative. It's about empowering people to love their hair and feel their best, no matter what their routine looks like." Why this partnership was a perfect fit for celebrity stylist Kylee Heath: "I've always believed that healthy hair is the foundation of every great look. That's what drew me to partner with Schwarzkopf - they have 125+ years of history and continue to innovate. The new KERATIME Care & Styling collection was built on real science that strengthens hair from the inside out**. I'm excited about connecting with consumers and sharing the education behind each of the products. I love helping people feel confident in their hair, and this collection gives everyone the tools to do that." The launch of KERATIME Care & Styling marks a strategic partnership with Walmart, bringing Schwarzkopf's latest innovation directly to millions of beauty shoppers nationwide through an exclusive retail debut on March 5, 2026. As part of the launch, KERATIME will activate at the Walmart Spring Beauty Event Pop-Up in Plano, TX from March 5 through April 6 on Thursday-Monday of each week. The pop-up serves to introduce consumers to the new collection through immersive in-store experiences, product education and discovery moments. This exclusive rollout underscores Schwarzkopf's commitment to making professional-quality care and styling accessible at mass retail. To celebrate the launch, both Jessie James Decker and Kylee Heath will be making a special appearance at the pop-up on Saturday, March 21. Consumers are invited to stop by to get a first look at the products, receive hair consultations and exclusive meet & greet opportunities. Designed to work seamlessly across hair care routines, the KERATIME Care & Styling range consists of 3 sublines: Deep Repair, Color Protect and Styling; all in premium formulations with accessible mass-prestige positioning at $14.97***. The product assortment includes: Deep Repair Shampoo Formulated for dry, damaged hair, this shampoo gently cleanses with a rich, creamy lather and is infused with keratin and silk extract. It delivers care while protecting against future damage**. Designed with Multiplex Bonding Technology, this shampoo builds bonds within the hair fiber**. Deep Repair Conditioner Elevate your hair care routine with KERATIME Deep Repair Conditioner, designed to do more than just softenit strengthens and protects*, while leaving hair feeling silky-soft and smooth. Thoughtfully formulated with our next-generation bonding technology, this conditioner is ideal for dry, damaged hair and leaves hair feeling healthy after just 1 use. Deep Repair Overnight Treatment Designed to repair even very damaged hair, Schwarzkopf KERATIME Deep Repair Overnight Treatment works while you sleep, strengthening* hair for that silky-smooth hair feel you love. Our unique solution for silky-smooth and strong** hair is powered by Multiplex Bonding Technology . Deep Repair Detangling Treatment Strengthen* damaged hair with our leave-in Deep Repair Detangling Treatment, featuring Multiplex Bonding Technology. Transform fragile, damage-prone hair into strong, resilient hair with our breakthrough formula. This advanced spray treatment gives you extra care in seconds. Color Protect Shampoo Designed for color-treated hair, this shampoo helps lock in brilliance while gently cleansing in a rich, creamy lather. With the power of our unique Multiplex Bonding Technology , it strengthens your hair from the inside out** while protecting the color vibrancy you love. Color Protect Conditioner Schwarzkopf KERATIME Color Protect Conditioner is expertly crafted to give 4x stronger** hair while protecting color vibrancy, powered by Multiplex Bonding Technology . Designed for color-treated hair, it helps lock in brilliance while detangling, maintains smoothness, and lavishly conditions. The result: radiant, healthy-looking hair with up to 12 weeks of color vibrancy****. Hair Bonding Oil Schwarzkopf KERATIME Hair Bonding Oil combines style and care for smooth, 10x stronger* hair, and enhanced shine with every use. This lightweight, fast-absorbing formula provides up to 450F heat protection, making it suitable for use with blow dryers, straighteners, or curling irons. The formula features silk extract, and it helps smooth the hair's surface to instantly enhance shine and deliver a reflective, high-gloss finish. Anti-Frizz Spray Schwarzkopf KERATIME Anti-Frizz Spray is expertly crafted to help smooth frizzy texture for hair that is easy to manage. Anti-Frizz Spray, containing Multiplex Bonding Technology , strengthens and builds bonds inside your hair*, while also sealing and protecting the outside of your hair. It enhances shine and leaves hair beautifully smooth. The KERATIME launch campaign will roll out across national media, digital platforms and social content with exclusive perspectives from both talent partners. Interviews and first-look visuals with Kylee Heath and Jessie James Decker are available for media, alongside product imagery and expert commentary from Schwarzkopf R&D. Evolution has been constant as the Schwarzkopf brand has grown over the last century and they will continue to keep innovating and elevating its hair care products and formulas. For more information, visit Schwarzkopf.com and follow @hairbySchwarzkopf.usa on Instagram, @hairbyschwarzkopf.usa on TikTok and @hairbyschwarzkopfusa on YouTube for updates. About Henkel in North America: Henkel's portfolio of well-known brands in North America includes all, Purex and Persil laundry detergents, Snuggle fabric softeners, Dial soaps, Schwarzkopf hair care, as well as Loctite, Technomelt and Bonderite adhesives. With sales close to 6.5 billion US dollars (6 billion euros) in 2024, North America accounts for 28 percent of the company's global sales. Henkel employs around 8,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.henkel-northamerica.com and on X @Henkel_NA. *against combing breakage vs. untreated damaged hair **when used as a system against combing breakage vs untreated ***pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer ****through 40 washes SOURCE Schwarzkopf Potential Rental Yields Fall in 54.8 Percent of Counties; Rent Prices Outpacing Home Prices in 55 Percent of Counties IRVINE, Calif., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, the leading provider of property data, AI-powered analytics, and real estate intelligence solutions, today released its annual Single-Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2026. The report examined single-family rental returns in the 416 counties with sufficient rental and home sales price data to analyze. The analysis for this report incorporated data compiled by ATTOM on average rents, as well as median home prices from public-record sales deeds in counties with sufficient single-family home sales data. Those two data sources were combined with average wage figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see full methodology below). Rental yields are declining from 2025 to 2026 in 54.8 percent (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years. Those drops in profitability come despite rent increases outstripping home price increases in more than half of counties. In 55 percent (229) of the 416 counties with sufficient rent and price data to analyze, median rents rose at a greater rate than median sales prices between 2025 and 2026. Last year was a historic one for home values, posting a record high national median sales price of $360,000 for the year. As a result, landlords are facing higher up-front costs to acquire properties than they ever have before, but those price increases are also forcing many tenants to continue renting, even at increased rates, because they can't afford to buy. "Many landlords have been able to offset higher acquisition costs with rent growth, but returns are tightening in a majority of counties," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "Even though rents and wages are rising in many markets, record-high home prices are compressing yields. Investors will need to be more selective, focusing on markets where rent growth and affordability trends continue to support strong returns." Midwestern counties top rental return projections The counties with the highest potential rental yields for three-bedroom apartments in 2026 were Saint Clair County, IL (14.5 percent yield); Mobile County, AL (13.6 percent); Peoria County, IL (12.5 percent); Saint Louis County, MN (11.6 percent); and Trumbull County, OH (11.5 percent). Among counties with populations over 1 million, the highest potential rental yields were in Suffolk County, NY (10.8 percent); Cook County, IL (9.8 percent); Cuyahoga County, OH (9.5 percent); Harris County, TX (8 percent); and Oakland County, MI (7.8 percent). Low returns in some high-cost California counties The counties with the lowest potential gross rental yields in 2026 were Walton County, FL (3.1 percent); Santa Clara County, CA (3.1 percent); Williamson County, TN (3.3 percent); Loudoun County, VA (3.6 percent); and San Mateo County, CA (3.7 percent). In addition to Santa Clara County, CA, the lowest potential rental yields among counties with populations over 1 million were in Honolulu County, HI (4.2 percent); Fairfax County, VA (4.4 percent); Orange County, CA (4.5 percent); and Alameda County, CA (4.5 percent). Rental returns dip in majority of counties Between 2026 and 2025, potential rental yields on three-bedroom apartments fell in 54.8 percent (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years. The counties with the largest declines in potential yields were Atlantic County, NJ (down from 17.5 percent in 2025 to 8.5 percent in 2026); Suffolk County, NY (down from 17.7 percent to 10.8 percent); Indian River County, FL (down from 11.9 percent to 7.9 percent); Maui County, HI (down from 8 percent to 4.2 percent); and Caddo Parish, LA (down from 10.3 percent to 7.2 percent). In addition to Suffolk County, NY, the largest rental yield declines among counties with populations over 1 million were in Riverside County, CA (down from 8.7 percent to 6.8 percent); Fulton County, GA (down from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent); Oakland County, MI (down from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent); and Tarrant County, TX (down from 7.8 percent to 7.3 percent). Among those largest counties, the biggest increases in potential rental yields were in Alameda County, CA (up from 3.8 percent to 4.5 percent); Cook County, IL (up from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent); Hillsborough County, FL (up from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent); Sacramento County, CA (up from 5.7 percent to 6.1 percent); and Fresno County, CA (up from 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent). Wages rising faster than rent and home prices in majority of counties Typical wages increased at a greater rate than three-bedroom rents from 2025 to 2026 in 63 percent (262) of the 416 counties with sufficient data to analyze. The largest counties that saw wages outpace rents were Los Angeles County, CA; Harris County, TX; Maricopa County, AZ; San Diego County, CA, and Orange County, CA. And wages rose at a greater rate than median home sales prices in 66.8 percent (278) of the 416 counties with sufficient data to analyze. Best single-family rental markets ATTOM's analysis identified 18 "SFR Growth" counties where average wages grew over the past year and where potential 2026 rental yields exceeded 10 percent. The largest of those counties are Suffolk County, NY; Onondaga County, NY; Lucas County, OH; Mobile County, AL; and Collier County, FL. Methodology For this report, ATTOM looked at U.S. counties with sufficient home price and rental rate data. ATTOM used single-family home price data from its publicly recorded sales deed data, as well as three-bedroom rental data, collected and licensed by ATTOM. The analysis also incorporated second-quarter 2025 average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (most recent available). About ATTOM ATTOM delivers AI-driven property intelligence built on one of the nation's most trusted property data assets, covering 158 million U.S. properties99% of the population. Our engineered, multi-sourced real estate data spans property tax, deeds, mortgages, foreclosure, environmental risk, property conditions, natural hazards, neighborhood insights, and geospatial boundaries, rigorously validated for advanced analytics. ATTOM supports analytics and AI-driven applications through flexible delivery options including APIs, bulk licensing, cloud delivery, market trend products, and the MCP Server for AI-powered, agentic access to engineered property dataenabling organizations to automate analysis and scale property intelligence across industries. Media Contact: Megan Hunt [email protected] Data and Report Licensing: 949.502.8313 [email protected] SOURCE ATTOM The WELL EP designation enables SOCOTEC to deliver a comprehensive suite of WELL solutions at enterprise scale, supporting clients as they integrate health and wellness strategies across portfolios and align them with broader business objectives, including ESG reporting and compliance, advancing commitment to social sustainability, and improving workplace strategy and policy development. Created for organizations with demonstrated expertise in the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and a proven track record of implementation, WELL EPs play a critical role in meeting the growing global demand for healthier buildings, workplaces, and communities. Through scalable and evidence-based approaches, WELL EPs help organizations efficiently advance wellness initiatives that benefit employees, customers, and stakeholders. SOCOTEC's extensive WELL experience is demonstrated through a diverse project portfolio, certifying over 1.1M sq ft with nearly 4.0M more on the way. The firm provides comprehensive support throughout the WELL Certification journey as well as the pursuit of any incremental WELL ratings, including assisting clients with feasibility analyses, cost assessments, design reviews, product vetting, development of WELL specifications and operational plans, HR policy reviews, contractor submittal reviews, documentation management, and oversight during on-site Performance Verification reviews. "SOCOTEC is extremely excited to deepen our partnership with IWBI and support wider adoption of WELL strategies, ratings and the WELL Certification," said Andrew Graceffa, Principal at SOCOTEC USA. "Over the years, we have supported numerous clients in the wellness space and with WELL certifications. As a WELL Enterprise Provider, we are excited to leverage not only our technical expertise, but also to offer premium, enterprise-level support to help clients achieve WELL certifications across their projects and portfolios." In addition to earning the WELL EP designation, SOCOTEC USA is now an IWBI Keystone Member, part of a global network of organizations committed to advancing healthier buildings and communities. As a WELL Enterprise Provider and an IWBI member, SOCOTEC USA will continue to deliver enterprise-scale WELL solutions that help organizations move beyond individual certifications and toward holistic, portfolio-wide approaches to health and well-being, reflecting SOCOTEC's broader mission to deliver trusted expertise in risk management and asset integrity, while prioritizing what matters most: people. Emily Billheimer Recognized with 2026 Global Adoption of WELL Award Further reinforcing SOCOTEC's leadership in the wellness space, Emily Billheimer has been named a recipient of the 2026 Global Adoption of WELL Award by the International WELL Building Institute. The Global Adoption of WELL Award recognizes individuals who have significantly expanded the reach and impact of WELL at scale, advancing people-first places across portfolios, organizations and markets. Emily brings more than 23 years of experience in architecture, sustainability and wellness consulting. A WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP), LEED AP, Fitwel Ambassador and Associate AIA, she has led WELL and sustainability strategies for major commercial portfolios across more than 20 cities and jurisdictions. Her expertise spans enterprise-level WELL and Fitwel implementation, commercial real estate strategy, ESG alignment, carbon neutrality planning, and compliance with frameworks such as NYC Local Law 97. Throughout her career including leadership roles at globally recognized architecture firms prior to joining SOCOTEC Emily has demonstrated a deep commitment to integrating health, sustainability and operational performance into high-performing real estate assets. At SOCOTEC, she has helped expand the firm's WELL consulting services, guiding clients through certification and ratings while advancing portfolio-wide adoption strategies. "I am deeply honored to receive the Global Adoption of WELL Award," said Billheimer. "Improving indoor environments where we spend most of our lives is both a professional mission and a personal passion. This recognition reflects the collaborative effort required to create spaces where people can truly thrive." Emily's recognition underscores SOCOTEC's commitment to advancing WELL principles not only through enterprise-scale services, but also through individual leadership that drives meaningful industry impact. SOCOTEC's professionals are recognized for their knowledge of the WELL Building Standard and Fitwel rating system, delivering wellness consulting as stand-alone services or integrated with LEED certifications, with which they are also accredited as a USGBC Proven Provider. Emily concluded, "After working with multiple organizations to achieve WELL Certifications across their portfolios, I look forward to continuing to develop SOCOTEC's expertise in the WELL Building Standard and strengthening our relationship with IWBI. The WELL EP designation allows us to provide additional resources, knowledge, and value to our clients as they expand their WELL portfolios in the U.S. and globally." ABOUT SOCOTEC For more than 70 years, the SOCOTEC Group, chaired by Herve Montjotin, has built its reputation as an independent, trusted third party in risk management, compliance, safety, health, and environmental services across the Building, Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Industry sectors. As a guarantor of the integrity, sustainability, and performance of built assets, SOCOTEC provides a comprehensive range of Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) servicesfrom its historical expertise in technical control to advanced consulting and risk management solutions for construction, infrastructure, and industrial facilities. The Group supports public and private clients throughout the entire asset lifecycle, helping strengthen the safety, quality, and longevity of the built environment. A leader in its field, SOCOTEC is the No. 1 provider of construction inspection in France and geotechnical and construction quality control services in the United Kingdom and Italy. The Group operates in 26 countries with 15,000 employees and 250,000 clients, generating consolidated revenues of 1.850 billion60% of which come from international markets. With more than 250 external accreditations, SOCOTEC acts as a trusted and accredited partner in major projects worldwide. In the United States, SOCOTEC brings together the highly technical expertise of 1,700 professionals across 35 offices and comprehensive service lines, including Building Performance and Compliance, CMT & Laboratories, Forensics & Expert Services, Geotechnical Services, Specialty Engineering, Project Advisory & Risk Management, Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS), Data Intelligence & Compliance, Professional Training & Certification. SOCOTEC's multidisciplinary teams deliver trusted expertise to help clients design, build, and maintain resilient, compliant, and high-performing assets across the built environment. Visit www.socotec.us and www.socotec.com for more information. ABOUT IWBI International WELL Building Institute pbc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delos Living LLC. International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Health-Equity, WELL Performance, WELL Enterprise Provider, WELL EP, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute in the United States and other countries. Photo (logo) credit: International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, and the related logo are trademarks used with permission from the International WELL Building Institute. SOURCE SOCOTEC Steer hired to expand finance function, accelerate growth and coordinate M&A activity for global payments company LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sokin, the global business payments provider, has appointed Tom Steer as Chief Financial Officer. Steer joins from FT Partners, where he was a vice president at the fintech focused investment bank. Based in London, Steer joins Sokin's executive management team and reports to CEO Vroon Modgill. The appointment comes during a concentrated period of capital activity. Sokin closed a $50 million Series B led by Prysm Capital in December 2025, valuing the business at $300 million, followed by a $100 million debt facility from Oxford Finance in January 2026. The combined $150 million positions Sokin to aggressively pursue their growth ambitions and remain opportunistic for potential acquisitions which could fast track their expansion. Steer brings a wealth of fintech and payments experience. At FT Partners he advised on capital raises and mergers & acquisitions across the sector. Prior to that, Steer held finance leadership roles at the global digital remittance company, Zepz, where he helped scale the business from $1bn to $5bn through organic and inorganic initiatives. At Sokin, his focus will be on developing the company's capital strategy, overseeing any future acquisitions, and driving the finance function to support the rapid pace of growth in the business. "Tom has a proven track record in scaling high-growth fintech businesses as well as deep expertise in financial strategy. He brings the strategic insight as well as the M&A and capital raising background we need to accelerate our international expansion and optimise our capital structure," said Vroon Modgill, founder and CEO of Sokin. "I am excited to be joining Sokin at such a key point in the company's evolution. The potential for the business is clear in what is a huge and underserved cross-border payments market. The capital raised gives us the firepower to continue our upward trajectory and double down in our key growth markets, particularly in the US," said Tom Steer, CFO of Sokin. Sokin's revenue has grown 100% year-over-year and increased eightfold since 2022. The company provides global payments, multi-currency accounts and treasury management to businesses across more than 170 countries. Its investors include Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, Prysm Capital, Watershed Ventures, and former PayPal executives Gary Marino and Mark Britto. Before his time at FT Partners, Steer held positions at WorldRemit, AMV BBDO and Deloitte. He has a post-graduate degree in Mergers & Acquisitions from Imperial Business School and is an Associated Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualified through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). About Sokin Sokin was founded in 2019 with a simple vision to remove borders, barriers and burdens associated with international payments. Today it enables global businesses to send and exchange more than 70 currencies and hold balances in 26 currencies with its multi-currency IBAN and local currency accounts all through one comprehensive platform that streamlines cross-border accounts payable, receivable, and treasury operations. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the company has offices in the United States, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Mexico, Norway and India. For more information, visit www.sokin.com Media Contact James Hannaford, Chief Growth Officer [email protected] SOURCE Sokin In the news release, Spreedly Makes Agentic Commerce a Live Channel for Merchants, issued 04-Mar-2026 by Spreedly over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that changes have been made. The complete, corrected release follows, with additional details at the end: Spreedly Makes Agentic Commerce a Live Channel for Merchants Enterprise brands are powering agentic commerce while retaining full control of their payment infrastructure DURHAM, N.C., March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AI agents have advanced from recommending products to completing purchases at checkout. Spreedly today announced that agentic commerce is now live as a channel within its open payments platform, enabling merchants to process agent-initiated transactions over their existing payment infrastructure. Spreedly enables agent-initiated transactions to flow through existing payment service provider (PSP) relationships while merchants remain the merchant of record and routing logic stays intact. As consumers increasingly use AI interfaces to book trips, reserve experiences, and complete purchases, Spreedly provides the infrastructure that enables merchants and customers to transact as they normally do without rebuilding their payments stack. "AI commerce is already happening and opening new possibilities for how businesses grow," said Justin Benson, CEO of Spreedly. "Merchants shouldn't have to replace their infrastructure to participate. If you're already connected to Spreedly, you're already AI-ready. Our commitment is to make sure merchants can engage in this shift confidently, without giving up control of their payment infrastructure." AI Without Replatforming For merchants already integrated with Spreedly Connect, AI becomes a new channel. With Spreedly, agentic commerce runs over the same rails merchants already trust. Powering Real-World Agent-Driven Payments Spreedly's enterprise merchants are already testing agent-driven transaction flows. As brands experiment with AI interfaces that help consumers complete transactions, payment control becomes critical. Spreedly ensures merchants retain ownership of their payment infrastructure while enabling new customer experiences. Smart Vaulting Built for the AI Era As AI agents begin initiating purchases, stored credentials and guardrails become essential. Spreedly's smart vaulting technology lets consumers transact without re-entering card details when their credentials are already securely stored, while merchants keep full control over: Spend limits Token enforcement enforcement Expiration rules Controlled transaction environments With Spreedly, AI can initiate transactions while operating fully within merchant-defined guardrails. Built for the AI Ecosystem Spreedly is not tied to any single AI platform. Instead, it enables merchants to process payments within emerging AI interfaces using the same orchestration layer they use today. Rather than integrating separately with each chat platform, merchants will soon be able to use one integration to enable payments across AI environments starting with leading chat interfaces and expanding as standards evolve. Spreedly is actively developing support for emerging agentic commerce protocols, including UCP and ACP, with an initial release targeted for later this quarter. The goal is simple: a one-click integration that allows merchants to transact over their existing payment rails within AI interfaces such as ChatGPT and Gemini without new contracts or infrastructure changes. About Spreedly Spreedly ( www.spreedly.com ) is an open payments platform company redefining global commerce. The company is trusted by major brands including BMW, CLEAR, HBO Max, Hopper, Lemonade, Getty, Warner, The New York Times, Priceline, and others. Spreedly processes over $60 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) on behalf of more than 400 customers across over 100 countries. Media contact Olya Orda [email protected] Correction: An earlier version of this release required an update to remove a company's name. SOURCE Spreedly Ian and Jean MacKechnie made the transformative gift that will fund an immunotherapy lab and the Taneja Surgical, Neuroscience & Transplant Tower. TAMPA, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Foundation announced a transformational $10 million gift to create the Ian & Jean MacKechnie Immunotherapy Lab, part of the TGH Cancer Institute. Part of their gift will also fund the Taneja Surgical, Neuroscience & Transplant Tower, currently under construction adjacent to Tampa General's academic medical center on Davis Islands. Ian and Jean MacKechnie made the transformative gift that will fund an immunotherapy lab and the Taneja Surgical, Neuroscience & Transplant Tower. The 8,000-square-foot lab will be housed in the USF Health building in downtown Tampa, in the heart of the innovative Tampa Medical & Research District. The academic research conducted there will be a highlight of the strong and dynamic partnership between Tampa General and the University of South Florida. The MacKechnies were inspired to give after Ian MacKechnie was treated by Dr. Jorge Marcet, the medical director of Colorectal Surgery Services at Tampa General. "Tampa General continues to lead the way in providing world-class academic medical care right here in Florida," said John Couris, president and CEO of Florida Health Sciences Center | Tampa General. "The fact that philanthropists such as Ian and Jean MacKechnie are motivated to drive innovation and to transform the future of cancer care is a testament to the power of the care they received right here at Tampa General." Ian MacKechnie, founder of Amscot Financial, said the care he received from Dr. Marcet and everyone at Tampa General was phenomenal. "Everyone at Tampa General showed such humanity and kindness," MacKechnie said. "The care team was so exacting, staying in touch and making everything easy and understandable. It's important to us to give back to TGH and help ensure that care is available to the communities where we live and do business." In the lab, a team will work to arm the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases across many medical disciplines. "This transformative gift from Ian and Jean MacKechnie strengthens our multidisciplinary Susan & John Sykes Center of Excellence in Colorectal Cancer as a hub for immunotherapy innovation, supporting the development of precision-targeted therapies and attracting globally recognized investigators committed to advancing more precise, effective treatments for cancer and other diseases," Dr. Marcet said. "It is an investment not only in research, but in discovery that will redefine the future of cancer care." The gift will bolster the TGH Cancer Institute's robust immunotherapy program, which recently earned prestigious accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) for clinical excellence, innovation and patient safety in stem cell transplant and cellular therapy. FACT accreditation affirms that the program meets internationally recognized standards and follows best practices in patient care, cell collection, processing and administration. The accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, Joint Commission and international societies. "We have made amazing strides in the ability to target cancer with immunotherapy," said Dr. Ivan Borrello, hematologist oncologist, physician-scientist and medical director of the Myeloma, Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) and Cell Therapies program. "We are grateful and humbled by this wonderful gift, which will pave the pathway to new innovation in cellular therapies and immunological translational research." "In the remarkable generosity of Ian and Jean MacKechnie, we witness the profound and transformative impact that academic medicine, when united with the spirit of philanthropy, can have on our community," said Frann Leppla, executive vice president and president of the TGH Foundation. "Touched deeply by the world-class care they received at Tampa General, they chose to ensure that excellence in care will continue to uplift and heal countless lives." ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL Tampa General Hospital, the Tampa Bay region's only academic health system, is a 1,530-bed not-for-profit network of hospital and outpatient services spanning across Florida. As the only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care center serving 23 counties, Tampa General delivers world-class care. The system's hospitals include Tampa General Hospital, Tampa General Rehabilitation Hospital, Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, all in Tampa; Tampa General Brooksville, Tampa General Spring Hill and Tampa General Crystal River. Tampa General is the highest-ranked hospital in Tampa Bay in U.S. News & World Report's 2025-2026 Best Hospitals, with six medical specialties ranking among the top 50 in the nation and five additional medical specialties ranked among the top 10% best hospital programs in the United States. As the first hospital in Florida to open a clinical command center for real-time situational awareness, the academic health system has elevated its digital care coordination center to the next level by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and its analytics platform across inpatient and outpatient care to ensure patients receive leading-edge care as quickly and safely as possible. Tampa General's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings in the 2026 America's Best Large Employers ranked as the Tampa Bay region's #1 employer in the health care category for the sixth year in a row, and among the top five in the state of Florida, in the 2025 Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the area's safety-net hospital, caring for anyone regardless of ability to pay; in fiscal year 2024, Tampa General provided a net community benefit of approximately $289.1 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is recognized as one of the adult solid organ transplant centers in the nation and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General transports critically injured or ill patients from surrounding counties to receive the advanced care their conditions require. Tampa General has a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It is home to the Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General's footprint includes TGH North, which consists of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties; 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices; TGH Family Care Center Kennedy; two TGH outpatient centers; TGH Virtual Health; and 20 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care, powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). For more information, go to www.tgh.org. Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR Assistant Manager Publications & Physician Communications (727) 510-6363 (cell) [email protected] SOURCE Tampa General Hospital Target to open more than 30 new stores in 2026, with the first seven opening this March Retailer's 2,000th store to open in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., featuring Target's open-layout design that delivers an elevated guest experience MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today announced plans to open more than 30 new stores in 2026, including its 2,000th location in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. The openings are part of a new chapter in the company's strategy to drive long-term, sustainable growth by investing in stores. This includes plans to add more than 300 new stores by 2035, with seven locations welcoming guests this March as part of the company's continued expansion. Target's new stores and remodels are supported by its $5 billion capital investment plan for 2026 reflecting its commitment to deliver a more consistent, elevated shopping experience, while leveraging technology to fulfill online orders faster and easier for guests. This comes alongside an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in additional store payroll and training to improve guest service in 2026. These investments help Target deliver against the growth priorities laid out by CEO Michael Fiddelke that will guide the retailer's decision-making in 2026 and beyond. "Guests tell us all the time they want a Target closer to home, and this investment helps us do exactly that," said Adrienne Costanzo, chief stores officer, Target. "That means even more neighborhoods will get the full Target experience: trend-forward style and value, technology that makes the trip effortless and awesome teams who deliver easy, inspiring and friendly moments every single day." About Target's 2,000th store The 148,000-square-foot North Carolina store, located near Raleigh, represents the future of Target's elevated guest experience with its open, easily navigable layout, convenient same-day services and winning team delivering a more relaxed and enjoyable shopping visit. In fact, 92% of shoppers at Target's newest store format are highly satisfied with the overall experience, according to guest surveys. The Fuquay-Varina store is Target's latest food-forward prototype, with a food and beverage department that is 30% larger than the chain average, offering an extensive selection of guest-favorite owned and national brands. For added convenience, the store will feature same-day services including Drive Up with 24 pickup lanes, Order Pickup and same-day delivery, along with next-day delivery options throughout the Raleigh market. With a CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks Cafe and Disney Shop at Target, the store will deliver a true one-stop shopping experience. It will be Target's 55th store in North Carolina, where the retailer also operates a regional distribution center and has had a presence since 1995. Last year, Target donated $8.9 million in community giving across the state part of the company's commitment to giving 5% of profits to communities*. Target team members also volunteered more than 25,000 hours with North Carolina nonprofits in 2025. Accelerating store investment progress Six other new Target stores open this March in Bakersfield and Delano, California; Springfield, Missouri; Jersey City and West Orange, New Jersey; and Dallas, Texas. They are among more than 30 new stores Target is opening this year, and more than 130 remodels. Next-day delivery will also launch in more than 20 new metro areas including Indianapolis, Memphis, Tenn., and Cincinnati, reaching 60% of the U.S. population. Like the Fuquay-Varina store, each new location is bringing the best of Target: an easy, inspiring and friendly experience that keeps guests coming back, whether they're stopping in, picking up or shopping digitally. The retailer is also making a commitment to the neighborhoods it calls home. "Every time we open a new Target store, we're planting roots in that community," Costanzo said. "That means in addition to delivering a better shopping experience that's faster and more reliable, we're creating growth and opportunity through good jobs, support for local nonprofits and long-term economic investment in the neighborhoods we serve. When our teams and communities thrive, so do we." About Target Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at 2,000 stores and at Target.com, with the purpose of helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. Since 1946, Target has given 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week. Additional company information can be found by visiting the corporate website and press center and by following @TargetNews. * Since 1946, we have given 5% of our profits to communities in products, cash and through the Target Foundation, which today equals millions of dollars a week. Calculated based on the average of the prior three years of Target's pre-tax profits. Giving includes Target's product and cash donations and Target Foundation's cash donations. Excludes cash donations from Target to Target Foundation. SOURCE Target Corporation America's Most Trusted Home Builder continues to break new ground for women in the homebuilding industry SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- America's Most Trusted Home Builder, Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC), continues to break new ground for women in the construction industry. Taylor Morrison is honoring Women in Construction Week, recognized March 1-7, by featuring women in construction roles, their experiences, their advice to others, and reporting new workforce statistics. "With a significant number of the construction industry set to retire in just a few years, it's paramount to pave the way for people from all backgrounds to be open to a rewarding career in construction," said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. "Taylor Morrison is proud to celebrate our talented team members during Women in Construction Week who continue to open doors for the homebuilding industry's future generations." As of March 2026, Taylor Morrison reported the following statistics: Across all markets, Taylor Morrison employs 71 women in construction-specific roles. 38 percent of Taylor Morrison's female construction team members are Generation Z and Millennials. Taylor Morrison has 50 percent women in senior leadership roles, and over four times the U.S. construction industry average for women in the workplace. Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer remains the only woman to lead a publicly traded homebuilder since 2007. Taylor Morrison's Women in Construction Features and Advice: Kaila Perrault, Build-to-Rent Superintendent in Charlotte, developed an early interest in construction after watching her parents build multiple Jimmy John's franchise locations. With a degree in Project Management, she joined Taylor Morrison's Build-To-Rent Yardly team in 2025 as an intern before being hired as a full-time superintendent. When asked about her career growth and advice for women, Perrault said: "During my first week as an intern, I was overwhelmed by how much I didn't know,' said Perrault. "I quickly learned that you don't need to have all the answers; instead, what matters most is showing up, working hard and embracing the learning process. I've been lucky to grow in a company like Taylor Morrison, where my team encourages me every day and plays a huge part in building my confidence as a young woman in the field." Sarasota-based Permit Coordinator Tess Hughes grew up on construction sites with her dad. She has been in her role at Taylor Morrison for four years, where she works regularly with the county and vendors on permitting documents to maintain construction timelines and assists superintendents in the field with permit questions. "My role challenges me in the best way and constantly motivates me to be more efficient and grow," said Hughes. "As a permit coordinator, I get to learn so much about the building process in addition to engineering, county processes and relationships, and how all the departments in homebuilding come together to create that final productthat dream home." Rose Rodriguez, Senior Division Cadence Manager in the Colorado Division, has 22 years of experience in the homebuilding industry. Her current role revolves around ensuring home building plans are executed, including timely procurement of permits, starting homes on time, and assisting through the build alongside area construction leadership and superintendents. When asked what her advice is for women considering a construction career, she said: "For women interested in joining the construction or homebuilding industry, my biggest piece of advice is to stay curious and step confidently into opportunities, even if they feel a little outside your comfort zone," said Rodriguez. "Our industry is incredibly broad, and there's space for every skill setwhether that's project management, field operations, design, estimating, trades, sales, IT, purchasing, or leadership." About Taylor Morrison Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brandsincluding Taylor Morrison, Esplanade and Yardly. From 2016-2026, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted Builder by Lifestory Research. Our long-standing commitment to sustainable operations is highlighted in our annual Sustainability and Belonging Report. For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE Taylor Morrison Digital Resilience Firm Will Discuss Agentic AI and the Secret to Calm SOCs ATLANTA, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TekStream, a digital resilience company that helps organizations modernize, secure and optimize their technology environments, will speak at Splunk Go in Austin, TX on March 11. The breakout session, "From Agentic Speed to Executive Confidence: The 4 Secrets of Calm SOCs," will take place at 11:30 a.m. As AI accelerates detection and often escalation, it is leaving SecOps and ITOps teams in a constant state of alert. As a result, they're experiencing high levels of fatigue even as executives continue to question whether risk is under control. The session will demonstrate how organizations can reduce executive escalations by shifting severity-driven alerts to risk thresholds aligned to business impact. Drawing on field insight across the Splunk ecosystem, TekStream will outline four operational patterns shared by high-performing, "calm" SOCs: Redefining materiality because not every high-severity alert represents business risk. Measuring containment, not detection alone, because MDR without remediation delivers negative ROI. Systematically suppressing noise through risk-based escalation, replacing severity-based reaction. Translating Splunk telemetry into business-aligned resilience metrics executives understand and trust. "Resilience at agentic speed is not about reacting faster, but about escalating less and containing more," said Taylor Morgan, Chief Solutions Officer at TekStream. "Quiet SOCs are not less vigilant, they are more precise. When security teams align detection to business impact and measure containment instead of noise, they restore confidence at the executive level and turn AI from a stress multiplier into a force multiplier." TekStream is a certified, award-winning Splunk partner that helps public, private and government organizations unlock the full value of their Splunk investments through a comprehensive suite of services, including expert consulting, managed detection and response services, cloud migration and optimization, observability and compliance enablement, and on-demand Splunk expertise tailored to unique business needs, drawing on deep technical experience to drive operational intelligence and digital resilience. Over the past several years, Splunk has repeatedly recognized TekStream's excellence with multiple partner awards, including the 2025 Joint Selling Partner of the Year and multiple regional and innovation awards. Additionally, TekStream has earned numerous elite badges in Splunk's Partnerverse program for its demonstrated capabilities in selling, managing, and advising on Splunk solutions. Splunk Go Austin brings together security, observability and AI professionals to explore the latest product innovations and best practices for building resilience in the AI era. Attendees will hear expert keynotes and deep-dive sessions and have the opportunity to connect with peers and industry leaders. To learn more about the event visit https://discover.splunk.com/2026_SplunkGo_Austin.html. About TekStream Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, TekStream is a digital resilience company that helps organizations modernize, secure and optimize their technology environments. Recognized as a Representative Vendor in the 2025 Gartner Market Guide for Co-Managed Security Monitoring Services, TekStream supports commercial, government and education organizations across complex, hybrid environments. TekStream delivers cloud migration and modernization, managed detection and response (MDR), Security Operations Center (SOC), and workforce consulting services. The company is intentionally vendor-inclusive, integrating and operationalizing the platforms customers already rely on while combining automation with experienced engineering and security teams. TekStream is known for exceptional customer satisfaction and reliable, on-time, and on-budget delivery across hundreds of successful engagements, reflected in a 95+ Net Promoter Score (NPS) and a 98% customer retention rate. In the public sector, TekStream's unique Whole-of-State cybersecurity approach addresses systemic vulnerabilities through collaboration, shared intelligence, and workforce development. The model combines co-managed security operations with workforce development and cost-deferment strategies, enabling organizations to build sustainable programs and maintain long-term ownership of their cybersecurity capabilities. Media Contact Brianna LaRouche Trevelino/Keller [email protected] SOURCE TekStream A New Economic Impact Study by Dallas-Based Persistent Infrastructure Identity Firm UMIP Inc. New economic study from UMIP Inc. examines how fragmented infrastructure records may be contributing to significant lifecycle inefficiencies across the global built environment. DALLAS, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly released economic impact study by UMIP Inc., suggests that fragmented infrastructure documentation and the absence of persistent asset identity systems may be contributing to more than $300 billion annually in global lifecycle inefficiencies across the built environment. The report, titled "The Economic Impact of Persistent Infrastructure Identity: A Financial Model for Lifecycle Efficiency in the Built Environment," examines how infrastructure assets frequently lose documentation continuity as they move through the lifecycle of development, construction, insurance, ownership, and operations. Unlike vehicles or aircraft, which rely on standardized identity systems such as Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) or aircraft registration numbers, buildings and infrastructure assets have historically lacked a persistent identity framework capable of maintaining documentation continuity across stakeholders and technology platforms. The study models the financial impact of fragmented infrastructure records across several lifecycle categories including construction rework, documentation reconstruction, insurance claims investigation, maintenance inefficiencies, and transaction due diligence delays. Using conservative industry benchmarks and economic modeling assumptions, the report estimates that lifecycle inefficiencies associated with fragmented infrastructure identity may exceed $20 billion annually in the United States and more than $300 billion globally. The report also introduces the concept of Persistent Infrastructure Identity, an emerging framework designed to assign infrastructure assets a continuous identity capable of preserving lifecycle documentation across ownership changes, operational transitions, and digital platforms. "Infrastructure assets represent hundreds of trillions of dollars in global value, yet the built environment has never had a persistent identity framework comparable to VIN numbers in the automotive industry," said Trevor Vick, Founder of UMIP Inc. "As infrastructure systems continue to digitize, introducing a persistent identity layer may help reduce lifecycle inefficiencies and improve transparency across the infrastructure ecosystem." Read the Full Economic Impact Study Read the full report: https://www.umipinc.com/news About UMIP Inc. UMIP Inc. is developing infrastructure identity frameworks designed to enable persistent lifecycle identification for infrastructure assets. The company focuses on improving documentation continuity, lifecycle transparency, and data interoperability across the built environment. Media Contact Trevor Vick - Founder & Architect of Persistent Infrastructure Identity | UMIP Inc. [email protected] 888-336-5345 www.umipinc.com SOURCE UMIP Inc. The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday began its annual "two sessions," an event that carries extra weight this year as it is set to unveil a new development plan for the world's second-largest economy. More than 2,000 political advisors attended the opening of the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is the country's top political advisory body. Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a report on the work of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee in the presence of President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The top political advisor applauded the solid new strides the country had made in modernization, noting that China had met the major economic and social development targets set for 2025 and brought the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) to a successful completion. He called on fellow political advisors to rally public support, build greater consensus, and pool wisdom and strength in 2026 to help ensure a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The CPPCC plays vital roles in multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Its members are drawn from political parties, people's organizations, personages without party affiliation and various sectors of society. They come from a wide range of backgrounds, such as scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers and lawyers. The session runs through March 11. The annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, is set to commence on Thursday. Known collectively as the "two sessions," these annual gatherings are widely seen as a key window into China's developments, its political system, and the likely trajectory of its future path. While headline indicators such as GDP objectives, defense budgets and foreign-policy signals keep their enduring appeal, the widely anticipated 15th Five-Year Plan stands as a focus of this year's agenda. Lawmakers will deliberate on the draft plan in the days ahead. Once approved, it will navigate China through the end of the decade, advancing the country's long-term goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of the century. The plan could drive a fundamental shift toward a more sophisticated, technology-driven and consumption-led future, with ripple effects extending far beyond China, geostrategic analyst Imran Khalid wrote in a Feb. 28 op-ed for Eurasia Review. He described this year's sessions as a potential "watershed moment" for the global economy. The legislative agenda for this political season includes deliberations on a draft environmental code, a draft law on ethnic unity and progress, and a draft law on national development planning. The proposed environmental code comes as China moves closer to its 2030 carbon-peaking target. 15TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN IN FOCUS The formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan continues a long line of national development blueprints that have helped shape China's modern trajectory. The first five-year plan was launched in the early 1950s. This metronomic planning cycle, analysts say, helps channel resources where they are most needed and keeps policies on a consistent track, allowing the country to move forward in a gradual and predictable way rather than experiencing abrupt policy swings. "The new plan has a strong base that we built during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Big advances like progress in renewable energy give us confidence to keep pushing ahead into the next stage," said Wu Fenggang, a national political advisor and industrial economist at Jiangxi Institute of Socialism. In 2025, China's GDP surpassed 140 trillion yuan (about 20 trillion U.S. dollars), while key targets in areas such as labor productivity, urbanization, average life expectancy, and research and development spending broadly met or exceeded expectations, international observers have said. Looking forward, China faces growing external headwinds from geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and protectionism, as well as a sluggish global economy. Domestic challenges include insufficient demand, demographic pressure and transition to new growth drivers. High-quality development is expected to define China in the coming years, according to recommendations that the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee issued in October for the formulation of the new five-year plan. The recommendations highlight new growth drivers, including hydrogen and nuclear fusion power, brain-computer interfaces, embodied AI, and 6G mobile communications, over the coming years. Zhu Lianqing, a national political advisor and professor at Beijing Information Science and Technology University, said that more technologies will transition from labs into the real economy and appear in people's everyday lives in five years. His team's research on optoelectronics and intelligent sensing has already contributed to China's recent breakthroughs in new materials, aerospace and the low-altitude economy. "We have to step up our pace in developing emerging and future-oriented industries, and drive real, original innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies," he said. During the weeklong session, political advisors will engage in intensive discussions on the draft 15th Five-Year Plan and submit proposals reflecting their expertise. Such a consultative process has proved effective. Back in 2021, during the "two sessions" that finalized the 14th Five-Year Plan as well as China's long-range objectives through 2035, feedback from lawmakers and political advisors led to 55 revisions to the final document. This process is not just about refining policy details, said Nan Cunhui, a national political advisor and chairman of a smart energy solution provider, who rose from a roadside cobbler. "It is also a chance for us to build consensus, pool strength and motivate everyone, especially for the goals and tasks of the next five-year plan," Nan said. In this powerful memoir, Tracy Viola shares her journey through addiction, recovery and resilience, offering teens a candid, life-changing perspective before they head into adulthood.. PHILADELPHIA, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Author and recovering addict Tracy Viola has an urgent message for teens in her #1 best-selling memoir, Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teen Addict and Her Road to Recovery: addiction doesn't just affect dropouts and at-risk teens. It can impact high achievers, honor students and college-bound seniors. Viola is breaking the stereotype that addiction has a "type." Her unfiltered memoir reveals how trauma and substance abuse derailed her early life before she rebuilt it, and has since maintained over 30 years of sustained recovery. Tracy Viola shares her story of addiction, recovery and resilience in her #1 best-selling memoir, "Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teen Addict and Her Road to Recovery", a must read for parents and teens. A compelling and accessible read for teens, Viola chronicles her remarkable journey from the streets of Philadelphia to the Ivy League. With raw honesty and sharp humor, she tells a story that is both heartbreaking and empowering, proving that it is not where you start, but how fiercely you commit to change that defines your future. "My teenage years were marked by chaos, trauma and addiction," said Viola. "I wrote this book because teens need the truth before they're on their own. Freedom without self-awareness can be dangerous. Every choice matters, especially the ones no one else sees. "Pretty Wrecked explores the realities of substance abuse, trauma, accountability and the hard work of recovery. It offers readers more than a cautionary tale. Rather, it delivers a message of resilience, responsibility and hope." Now a professional speaker, Viola regularly addresses schools, recovery communities and parent groups. She guides audiences through the darkest chapters of teenage trauma and addiction to the transformative lessons of recovery and personal success. Her ability to connect is grounded in lived experience coupled with her academic training. Viola holds a master's degree in counseling psychology from Temple University, blending clinical insight with real-world authenticity. Her message is clear: change is possible, but it requires effort, honesty, courage, and - most important - consistency. Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teen Addict and Her Road to Recovery is available on Amazon. For more information on Viola, visit www.tracyviolaauthor.com. About Tracy Viola: Tracy Viola, M.Ed., is a professional speaker, podcast guest and published author who tells the truth most people avoid. She is funny, direct and unfiltered, with a gift for saying what others are thinking but won't say out loud. Audiences don't just listen, they lean in. After alcohol and drugs led to homelessness at nineteen, Viola committed to recovery one day at a time. That decision made over three decades ago shaped her life, her relationships and her career. Recovery taught her strength she never expected and perspective she wouldn't trade. As the author of Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teen Addict and Her Road to Recovery, Viola combines academic training in counseling psychology with long-term recovery to speak from lived experience, not theory. Her message is clear: change is possible, but there are no shortcuts, only choices. Viola speaks to teenagers, parents, people in recovery and anyone who knows something in their life needs to change. Her work centers on honesty, effort and owning the decisions we make when no one is watching. She challenges audiences to stop avoiding discomfort and start doing the work real change requires action, not intention. Viola is a sought-after speaker for schools, recovery communities, parent groups and conferences. She is also a frequent podcast guest and contributor on topics of personal growth, addiction, parenting and relationships. SOURCE Pretty Wrecked RALEIGH, N.C., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 23,000 public high school seniors have accepted direct admission offers from North Carolina colleges and universities through the NC College Connect program. Between August 2025 and January 2026, students accepted more than 88,000 offers from participating colleges and universities in the second year of the direct admissions program. That means approximately 21% of the Class of 2026 accessed higher education through NC College Connect. "Participating in NC College Connect ensures students know all their options, including the excellent educational opportunities in our sector," said Dr. A. Hope Williams, president of NCICU, the statewide office for North Carolina's 36 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. "We launched our direct admission program in 2024, with outstanding support from school counselors, principals, and superintendents and are happy to join our public-sector colleagues in NC College Connect this year. The outpouring of applications shows that there is strong demand for what our colleges and universities offer, and that is a win for students, our colleges and universities, and our state." Seniors at North Carolina public high schools are eligible for NC College Connect if they have a weighted grade point average of 2.8 or above and meet certain course requirements. Based on their qualifications, each student was offered automatic admission to a select list of North Carolina colleges and universities with no need to complete a traditional application. "A key pillar of our plan to make North Carolina public schools the best in the nation is ensuring our students have clear pathways for postsecondary success," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green. "NC College Connect provides students with a simple process for learning about colleges where they meet the admissions criteria. That so many students have taken advantage of this opportunity is incredibly exciting." The program is a collaboration between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the UNC System, the North Carolina Community College System, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority and College Foundation Inc. "All North Carolinians benefit when we nurture the talent and ambition of our young people," said Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina System. "NC College Connect makes it simpler than ever for promising high school graduates to keep learning, keep striving, and keep contributing to our state." This year, 11 of the state's public universities participated, as well as 29 private colleges and universities and all 58 NC community colleges. "The success of NC College Connect this year is a testament to the collaboration between state education sectors, partners and nonprofits," said Dr. Jeff Cox, president of the North Carolina Community College System. "This program is showing students that they have what it takes to go to college, and it's making it easier than ever for them to access these opportunities." The popularity of NC College Connect also contributed to the success of College for North Carolina's (CFNC) College Application Week in October, when many North Carolina colleges and universities waive their application fees. More than 117,000 college applications were submitted during the week through CFNC and the Common App, an 8.7% increase over 2024. "It's encouraging to see so many students taking advantage of College Application Week and NC College Connect to apply to college," said Mary Shuping, executive director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, the primary sponsor of CFNC. "North Carolina continues to lead the way when it comes to making sure that the most students have a chance to attend college and fulfill their dreams." One of the most important ways to reduce barriers to students applying to college is encouraging them to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form is the gateway to financial aid for students looking to make paying for college more manageable. CFNC has dubbed this month FAFSA February in an effort to highlight the importance of this crucial step in the college-going process. A toolkit with resources for education professionals who work with students can be found at CFNC.org/FAFSAFeb. Launched in fall 2024 with a pilot program, NC College Connect impacted over 3,000 students. NCICU also launched a pilot program in 2024. The program was expanded for the 2025-26 school year to include independent colleges and universities, as well as additional UNC System schools. NC College Connect will return for the 2026-27 academic year. Qualifying seniors will receive letters notifying them of their eligibility in the fall. Visit NCCollegeConnect.org for more information about the program. What students are saying Bryson Foye, Page High School (Guilford County Schools) "The website made it simple to find and see different colleges that offer my major and or minor, and the different types of majors I never even knew existed. I like how everything was organized and explained clearly, especially the sections about applications and financial aid. It helped me understand what steps I need to take after graduation and made the college process feel so much less stressful. Overall, NC College Connect was useful as a resource that gave me a lot more confidence about the next steps I have to take in life involving college." Nora Lippard, Enka High School (Buncombe County Schools) "If I were to give advice to next year's students, I'd tell them to definitely use NC College Connect because it's super easy to navigate and is an easy, stress-free way to get into college. It breaks down the whole application process so that it doesn't feel overwhelming. Plus, it's a great tool for students who might not feel motivated. It keeps things simple and easier to stay focused and take the next steps towards your future." Walter Royster, Franklinton High School (Franklin County Schools) "I chose to use this route because I had already been offered direct admission through NC College Connect. It was also a simplified process to initiate applying to colleges and it connected me with information about colleges all in one place. NC College Connect positively impacted my postsecondary plans by helping me identify my options." ABOUT NCICU North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) is the statewide office of private, nonprofit, liberal arts and research colleges and universities. NCICU supports, represents, and advocates for North Carolina independent higher education in the areas of state and federal public policy and on education issues with the other sectors of education in the state. It also raises funds through the Independent College Fund of North Carolina for student scholarships and enrichment experiences, provides research and information to and about private colleges and universities, conducts staff development opportunities and coordinates collaborative programs. Presidents of the colleges and universities comprise NCICU's Board of Directors. About the UNC System: The University of North Carolina System enrolls nearly 248,000 students at 17 institutions, including the state's 16 public universities and the nation's first public residential high school for academically gifted students. The UNC System is among the strongest and most diverse higher education systems in the country, with more than $2.2 billion in research expenditures and campuses that serve every region of North Carolina. Affiliate organizations include PBS North Carolina, with 12 public television stations across the state, and UNC Health, with 19 hospital campuses and an extensive healthcare network. About the NC Department of Public Instruction: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is charged with implementing the state's public school laws for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade public schools at the direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education. The agency provides leadership and service to the state's 115 school districts, 200+ charter schools, North Carolina's Virtual Public School, and three residential schools for students with hearing and visual impairments. About the North Carolina Community College System: The North Carolina Community College System provides open-access, affordable education and workforce training, reaching all 100 counties. Serving more than 600,000 North Carolinians each year, the System acts as a critical engine for economic mobility and workforce development. With 58 colleges located within 30 minutes of nearly every resident, community colleges offer accessible pathways for high school students, adult learners, and working professionalsdelivering degrees, credentials, and skills that align with today's labor market and support long-term career success. CONTACT: Demarcus Williams [email protected] SOURCE North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities $650,000 total commitment including a $500,000 pledge and $150,000 in ride and delivery credits helps power response to nearly twice as many major disasters as a decade ago WASHINGTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross recognizes Uber, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, for its pledge to the Disaster Responder Program . By making a pre-disaster donation of $500,000 over two years to the Red Cross, Uber helps ensure the organization can quickly respond to disasters big and small across the U.S. and help people in need at a moment's notice. Disaster Responder members, along with their employees and customers, pledge financial and in-kind donations in advance of disasters to power the Red Cross with the infrastructure, volunteers, technology and resources to provide relief in times of crisis. These donations enable the Red Cross to respond to disasters at a moment's notice offering a safe place to sleep, a nutritious meal, emotional support and supplies to aid in recovery while also helping prepare people and communities for future disasters. In addition to joining the Disaster Responder Program, Uber is providing $150,000 in rides and meals credits to support Red Cross service delivery in the wake of disasters. This enables the Red Cross to mobilize the Uber platform to help people access essential medical care, meals and support services. During the 2025 floods in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, Uber rides helped impacted individuals reach these critical services. "Transportation plays an important role in the hours and days after a disaster," said Emilie Boman, Head of Central Policy & Social Impact at Uber. "Through our Disaster Responder partnership and ride and delivery credits, we aim to support the American Red Cross' efforts to connect people to shelter, medical care, food and other essential services when it matters most." The Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters across the country every year, providing comfort and hope in times of crisis. As rapidly intensifying storms, extreme heat, record floods and widespread wildfires continue to devastate communities across the country, donations from Disaster Responder members are more important than ever to power Red Cross relief efforts for those who need it most. "Increasing severe weather events mean that families are relying on the Red Cross now more than ever," said Anne McKeough, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. "We are so thankful for Disaster Responder members like Uber for their support that helps power our preparedness and relief efforts, ensuring we can immediately provide hope and comfort to those facing their darkest day." Donations from Disaster Responder Program members also support basic needs for families affected by home fires which comprise the bulk of Red Cross response efforts and help ensure the Red Cross can continue educating people nationwide about disaster preparedness so they can cope with crises in their communities when the unthinkable happens. About Uber Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 68 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities. To learn more about how Uber is showing up in communities, please visit uber.com/us/en/u/one-ride-away/ . About the American Red Cross The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org , or follow us on social media. SOURCE American Red Cross MIAMI, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- VirtuWorks announced a major expansion of its Coral Gables headquarters, growing into a space of over 10,000 square feet as part of a continued investment in Miami's rapidly expanding business and technology ecosystem. As global firms such as Palantir Technologies and Citadel establish a larger presence in Miami, the region is evolving into one of the nation's most important centers for finance, innovation, and entrepreneurship. VirtuWorks' expansion reflects both the company's growth and its commitment to protecting the businesses that power this transformation. Headquartered in Coral Gables for over three decades, VirtuWorks is expanding its engineering team, operational capacity, and technical infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for Managed IT Services and Advanced Cybersecurity solutions. The company's mission is to ensure that organizations operating in Miami and across the United States remain secure, resilient, and compliant as cyber threats and regulatory requirements continue to accelerate. Supporting compliance frameworks such as SOC 2 has become a critical priority for companies handling sensitive client and financial data, and VirtuWorks plays a key role in helping businesses achieve and maintain these standards. As part of its investment in the community, VirtuWorks provides complimentary Secure Score assessments to small and midsize businesses, offering clear visibility into their security posture and identifying actionable improvements. Business owners interested in understanding their current security standing are encouraged to request an assessment and take proactive steps to strengthen their technology foundation. This initiative reflects VirtuWorks' commitment to helping protect the businesses that power Miami's continued growth. With 32 years in business, VirtuWorks has earned national recognition as a Top 150 Managed Service Provider by Channel Futures and maintains ISO 27001, ISO 20000, and ISO 9001 certifications. Supported by a team of 100 percent U.S.-based engineers, the company continues to invest in local talent and advanced systems to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving technology landscape. "Miami's emergence as a global business hub requires strong, secure technology foundations," said VirtuWorks CEO Omar Armenteros. "Our expansion reflects our long-term commitment to protecting the organizations driving this growth and investing in the future of Miami." With its expanded headquarters and continued investment in engineering and security, VirtuWorks remains focused on helping businesses operate securely, scale confidently, and meet the demands of a new era of growth. SOURCE Virtuworks NYSE: VZLA TSX: VZLA VANCOUVER, BC, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Vizsla Silver Corp. (TSX: VZLA) (NYSE: VZLA) (Frankfurt: 0G3) ("Vizsla Silver" or the "Company") provided the following update on the situation in Concordia, Mexico. Vizsla Silver has been focused on supporting the families of the ten colleagues taken from its project site in Concordia, as well as its employees, through a time of pain, grief, and uncertainty. In recent days, two additional families have received confirmation that their loved one is deceased. Three colleagues remain missing, and Vizsla Silver stands with all affected families during this profoundly difficult time. Michael Konnert, President and CEO of Vizsla Silver, said, "Our hearts are with the families who have lost loved ones, and with those who continue to wait for answers. We remain focused on supporting the affected families and our team, and on the continued efforts to locate those who are still missing." Vizsla Silver continues to cooperate fully with Mexican authorities as search efforts and the broader investigation proceed. The Company remains committed to supporting the authorities in their work and will continue to provide updates as confirmed information becomes available. The safety and security of employees, contractors, and community members remain Vizsla Silver's highest priority. The Company continues to review and strengthen its security protocols in close coordination with local authorities. Mr. Konnert added, "Mexico has a long and proud mining tradition, and we continue to believe strongly in the long-term potential of the Panuco project. In the face of such a painful and tragic moment, we have seen the strength and resilience of our people and the Concordia community. As we work collaboratively with the community and authorities to ensure a safe and responsible path forward, we will do so with our people, our lost colleagues and their families front of mind." The Company appreciates the support of its stakeholders and respectfully asks that the privacy of the individuals and their families be honoured at this time. Website: www.vizslasilvercorp.com SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or performance and reflect management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events, plans and objectives. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's ongoing cooperation with Mexican authorities and engagement with affected families; the continuation, scope and effectiveness of support measures provided to employees, contractors and families; the Company's review of the circumstances surrounding recent events; the assessment and implementation of security, risk management and safety measures; the timing and conditions under which site activities may resume; the ability to advance engineering, planning and other project work while site operations remain suspended; and the Company's commitment to the long-term responsible development of the Panuco Project and continued investment in the Concordia community. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that management considers reasonable as of the date of this release, including, without limitation: that the Company will be able to continue cooperating with relevant authorities; that security conditions will stabilize over time; that support services and mitigation measures will remain available and effective; that engineering and planning activities can continue remotely as anticipated; and that legal, regulatory and social conditions will allow for the eventual resumption of site activities. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: evolving security conditions in the region; the duration and outcome of investigations by authorities; potential delays or restrictions on site access or operations; risks to employee and contractor safety; reputational risks; community relations risks; regulatory or governmental actions; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's continuous disclosure filings available under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The purpose of the forward-looking statements is to provide information about management's current expectations and plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein. SOURCE Vizsla Silver Corp. webAI joins coalition of leading technology companies in Army initiative to modernize operations and empower soldiers through artificial intelligence WASHINGTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- webAI, a leading AI platform built for mission-critical environments, today confirmed its selection as an industry partner in the U.S. Army's Project ARIA (Army Rapid Implementation of Artificial Intelligence). The initiative brings together leading technology companies to develop practical AI solutions that deliver real results for warfighters. Project ARIA launched following a successful AI Tabletop Exercise hosted by Secretary of the Army Hon. Daniel P. Driscoll in September 2025, where Army leaders collaborated directly with AI experts to tackle real operational problems. The initiative represents a fundamental shift in how the Army develops and deploys technology, partnering directly with top AI firms to deliver solutions in months rather than years. "Project ARIA is an exciting opportunity for the Army to collaborate with innovative vendors and companies, including those we've never partnered with before," said Deputy Under Secretary of the Army David R. Fitzgerald. "By welcoming fresh perspectives and cutting-edge expertise, we are accelerating the development of transformative AI solutions that empower our soldiers and modernize our operations. This initiative underscores our commitment to breaking down barriers and fostering meaningful partnerships to solve the Army's toughest challenges." webAI is contributing to Team Black, one of three initial focus areas within Project ARIA. Team Black is developing a "Model Armory" to serve all operational levels, from datacenters to the tactical edge. Soldiers use a conversational interface to describe their needs, and the system delivers custom AI capabilities packaged for their specific missions and ready to operate on their devices. "The future of national security won't be decided by who builds the biggest models. It will be decided by who puts the most capable intelligence directly into the hands of our warfighters," said David Stout, founder and CEO of webAI. "The coalition of patriotic innovators the Army has convened for this mission helps ensure that advantage remains with the United States." In tactical environments, soldiers frequently operate in conditions where communication networks are unreliable, actively contested, or entirely unavailable. webAI addresses this challenge by enabling AI to function at the point of need, on the devices soldiers already carry, without depending on a connection back to centralized infrastructure. "We are witnessing a fundamental shift in how the Army partners with industry, moving past legacy approaches to rapidly field the best commercial technology," said Dr. Jason Rathje, President of Public Sector at webAI. "We are proud to bring our network and edge capabilities to this fight, ensuring our soldiers have the most advanced tools in the world right where it matters." About webAI webAI is the AI platform that brings AI to your data. Built for mission-critical environments, it enables organizations to build and operate private, custom models with complete data sovereignty, real-time performance, and predictable economics. SOURCE webAI SHELTON, Conn., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance today announced that Lance Vermeulen Real Estate, Inc. (LVRE), an independent brokerage serving Berkshire County, Massachusetts, western New York state, and northern Connecticut for more than 25 years, has entered into a strategic partnership with the company. Under the agreement, LVRE will integrate its operations and operate as William Raveis Real Estate moving forward. Luxury leaders, William Raveis and Lance Vermeulen Real Estate, Inc. celebrate strategic partnership. Front row l-r: Lance Vermeulen, Chris Raveis & the Berkshires team. The partnership establishes William Raveis' first offices in the Berkshires, located in Great Barrington and Lenox. Berkshire County has long attracted buyers from Connecticut, New York, and the Greater Boston area, making it a natural extension of William Raveis' established Northeast network. "We are proud to welcome Lance and his team into the William Raveis family," said Chris Raveis, President of Residential Sales. "Lance has built one of the most respected firms in Berkshire County through strong community relationships and consistent performance. This partnership strengthens our luxury leadership in the region while providing agents access to expanded marketing reach, advanced technology, and fully integrated mortgage and insurance services." Lance Vermeulen has built his firm on a highly personal, relationship-driven approach, grounded in deep knowledge of the Berkshire market and long-standing community ties. "The Raveis family has built an extraordinary company," said Lance Vermeulen. "Joining William Raveis gives our agents and clients access to a powerful regional and global network spanning 70 countries, along with integrated mortgage and insurance solutions. At the same time, we will continue to deliver the personalized service and local insight our clients expect." Lance will remain as a Strategic Growth Sales Manager for both the Great Barrington and Lenox offices. With more than 4,500 sales associates across 140 offices throughout the Northeast, Florida, and South Carolina, William Raveis continues its disciplined expansion across strategically connected markets, aligning with high-performing brokerages that share its long-term vision and standards of service. About Lance Vermeulen Real Estate, Inc. For over 25 years in real estate, Lance and his team have built a reputation with something you cannot be taught genuine connections. They prioritize face-to-face conversations and believe every buyer and seller deserves undivided attention. Regardless of price point, Lance and his team approach each transaction with an extraordinary attention to detail. Those who know their work say it's unmatched in the region. About William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance William Raveis is the largest independent family-owned real estate company in the Northeast, Florida, and South Carolina. Recognized with top industry honors, including Inman's Top Luxury Brokerage and Inman Innovators awards, the company offers fully integrated real estate, mortgage, and insurance services designed to deliver a seamless client experience. For more information, visit raveis.com. SOURCE William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance CANGZHOU, China, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Xinhuanet: The winners of the inaugural Nandagang International Photo Competition were officially unveiled today. Organized by the Cangzhou International Communication Center, the competition has successfully highlighted the critical importance of wetland ecosystems through the powerful lens of global creators. Speed Speed Located in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, the Nandagang Wetland is a designated UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and a vital node along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. By soliciting ecological imagery from around the world, this event aims to use visual storytelling as a medium to foster public awareness of wetland conservation and biodiversity. The competition featured three categories: Birds of Nandagang Wetland, Global Wetland Landscapes, and Wildlife & Nature. It attracted more than 1,351 entries from 221 photographers across 28 countries and regions, serving as a global call to action for biodiversity and wetland conservation. Among the 22 winning works selected, Chen Xiufeng was awarded the Grand Prize for Sweet Home. Category First Prizes were awarded to Song Wenfeng for Migratory Footprints, Zhang Xu for Tidal Money Tree, and Nafis Ameen from Bangladesh for Flying Foxes. The winners were selected by a prestigious jury of seven experts, including Pulitzer Prize winners Nick Ut and Ringo Chiu, veteran photojournalist Michael Nelson, and international photography experts Albert Dros, Marcio Cabral, Marlondag, and Gao Chuanyun. Ringo Chiu, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, shared his professional critique of the Grand Prize-winning work: "'Sweet Home' beautifully captures the peaceful spirit of the Nandagang Wetland. The photo is well balanced; the warm sunlight contrasts softly with the cool shadows and reflections in the water...... With strong composition, beautiful light, and a clear message about protection, it truly deserves the Grand Prize." Albert Dros, renowned Dutch landscape photographer, noted the high caliber of submissions: "(Global Wetland Landscape Category) The level was quite high... I saw some very creative shots, including some people photographing both under the water and above the water. I thought there were some really nice images there." Marlondag, a conservation photographer from Peru, emphasized the competition's impact on global awareness: "It is the first time for the Nandagang photo competition... it is a good promotion for this beautiful place. It looks very beautiful, but it's not well known internationally. So this can promote this place and encourage other people to know this place" For the full list of winning entries, please visit the official competition website: https://globalsouthernnews.com/ndg2025/ SOURCE Xinhuanet About this content About Jamie Ashcroft Jamie Ashcroft, the News Editor for Proactive UK, has developed an impressive career in financial journalism, focusing on the small-cap sector for over fourteen years. Before joining the Proactive team, he was a stockbroker during the global financial crisis, a role that complemented his educational background - a first-class degree in Business and Economics and qualifications in software design and development. As one of the early external hires at Proactive in 2009, Jamie contributed... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Thursday rejected accusations from neighboring Azerbaijan that it had launched drone strikes targeting its territory, while suggesting that Israel may be behind the attacks. The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces said that Iranian forces had not launched any drones toward Azerbaijan, emphasizing that Iran respects the sovereignty of all nations, particularly neighboring and Muslim countries, the official news agency IRNA reported. It added that Israel has a history of carrying out such operations to sow discord among Muslim nations, asserting that investigations indicate the strikes were carried out by Israel to frame Iran. Earlier on Thursday, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry accused Iran of launching drone attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from Iranian territory. The ministry said the strikes, which occurred around midday, hit the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage. Another drone reportedly fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad. Azerbaijan strongly condemned the attacks as "in violation of the norms and principles of international law," warning that the actions could escalate regional tensions. The ministry also summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to lodge a "strong protest" over the incident. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said it is "preparing the necessary retaliatory measures," adding that the attacks "will not go unanswered." The incident comes amid heightened regional hostilities following joint strikes launched since Saturday by Israel and the United States on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli and U.S. assets in the Middle East. About this content About Oliver Haill Oliver has been writing about companies and markets since the early 2000s, cutting his teeth as a financial journalist at Growth Company Investor with a focusing on AIM companies and small caps, before a few years later becoming a section editor and then head of research. He joined Proactive after a couple of years freelancing, where he worked for the Financial Times Group, ITV, Press Association, Reuters sports desk, the London Olympic News Service, Rugby World Cup News Service, Gracenote... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Stephen Gunnion Stephen Gunnion is a senior financial journalist and broadcaster at Proactive Investors. He has more than 25 years of experience in television, radio and print media, anchoring on a number of television channels including South Africa's Business Day TV, CNBC Africa and the South African Broadcasting Corporation, where he was the economics editor. He has also worked for Daily Maverick, Bloomberg, the Business Day newspaper and Investors' Chronicle. Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Lisa Uhlman Lisa Uhlman is an equities reporter at Proactive Investors, covering ASX-listed companies across the mining, energy, biotech and emerging tech sectors. With a background in legal and financial journalism, Lisa brings a sharp analytical lens to market news and corporate developments. Prior to joining Proactive, she reported for national trade publications and newswires, with a focus on court reporting, regulatory affairs and ESG-related business issues. Based in Sydney, she is... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Angela Harmantas Angela Harmantas is an Editor at Proactive. She has over 15 years of experience covering the equity markets in North America, with a particular focus on junior resource stocks. Angela has reported from numerous countries around the world, including Canada, the US, Australia, Brazil, Ghana, and South Africa for leading trade publications. Previously, she worked in investor relations and led the foreign direct investment program in Canada for the Swedish government. She earned a Bachelor of... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Emily Jarvie Emily began her career as a political journalist for Australian Community Media in Hobart, Tasmania. After she relocated to Toronto, Canada, she reported on business, legal, and scientific developments in the emerging psychedelics sector before joining Proactive in 2022. She brings a strong journalism background with her work featured in newspapers, magazines, and digital publications across Australia, Europe, and North America, including The Examiner, The Advocate, The Canberra Times, and... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here ROME, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Italy does not intend to enter a war, but is willing to send defensive assistance to Gulf countries amid rising Middle East tensions, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday. In a live interview with Italian radio station RTL 102.5, Meloni said Italy, together with Britain, France and Germany, intends to provide defensive assistance to Gulf countries, particularly in air defense. She said the move aims to help protect tens of thousands of Italian citizens and about 2,000 Italian troops stationed in the region, noting that the Gulf area is vital for energy supplies. Expressing concern over the escalating situation in the Middle East, Meloni warned of a growing crisis for international law. She said the current conflict risks triggering further escalation with unpredictable consequences and could have repercussions for Italy. On whether U.S. military bases in Italy could be used for operations against Iran, Meloni said no such request had been made. "Italy is not at war and does not intend to enter a war," she said, adding that the use of American military bases in Italy continues to comply with existing bilateral agreements. According to Meloni, the arrangements are based on agreements signed in 1954 that have been updated over time, under which several military facilities in Italy are made available to the United States. The prime minister said her government is also closely monitoring potential economic consequences of the crisis, stressing the need to prevent speculation that could drive up energy and food prices. New Delhi, March 5 : The 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, will commence in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together an array of global leaders, policymakers and strategic experts. Instituted in 2016, the annual Raisina Dialogue has emerged as India's leading platform for discussions on international affairs. The three-day conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), convenes heads of state, ministers, academics, industry leaders, think tanks and members of the media to deliberate on pressing global challenges. Over the years, the Dialogue has hosted extensive discussions on shifting geopolitical equations, climate concerns, technological transformation, economic resilience and the future of global governance frameworks. The forum serves as a platform for debate and cooperation on issues shaping the international order. The 2026 edition is centred on the theme 'Samskara a" Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement', reflecting the current global moment. "Samskara is the inheritance of identity that enables civilisations to assert who they are, accommodate the difference and advance through refinement," the organisers have said, underscoring the philosophical underpinning of this year's deliberations. Several foreign dignitaries are expected to participate in the conference. The MEA on Wednesday confirmed that multiple high-level delegations from across the world will attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. Bhutanas Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lyonpo Dina Nath Dhungyel, arrived in India on Wednesday to take part in the country's flagship geopolitics and geo-economics forum. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also reached India earlier in the day on a state visit. He will attend the Raisina Dialogue as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker. The United States will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who is leading a US delegation to the Dialogue. Among other prominent participants are Seychelles' Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Barry Faure; Mauritius' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dhananjay Ramful; and Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath. All three ministers are slated to arrive in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the conference. New Delhi, March 5 : The process for filing nominations for the biennial elections to the Council of States, Rajya Sabha, will begin on Thursday, with candidates set to contest 37 seats in the Upper House. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had on February 18 announced the schedule for the biennial elections to fill 37 vacancies arising from 10 states. These seats are falling vacant as the terms of the incumbent members are scheduled to conclude in April 2026. As per the notified schedule, polling will be held on March 16 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., with the counting of votes slated for 5:00 p.m. on the same day. The Commission has put in place a comprehensive timetable to facilitate the smooth conduct of the electoral process in view of the impending vacancies. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on March 6, while March 9 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of candidatures. In its guidelines, the Commission has specified that only integrated violet sketch pens of pre-determined specifications, to be supplied by the Returning Officer, will be permitted for marking preferences on the ballot papers. It has clarified that the use of any other writing instrument will not be allowed. To ensure transparency and fairness, observers will be deployed to oversee the entire election process. The Commission has stressed strict adherence to all election-related instructions and underlined that the process will be completed within the stipulated timeline to maintain the integrity of the Rajya Sabha elections. The members whose terms are coming to an end represent Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. Meanwhile, political parties have stepped up their preparations for the contest. The BJP has announced candidates, including Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar from Bihar; Terash Gowalla and Jogen Mohan from Assam; Laxmi Verma from Chhattisgarh; Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana; Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar from Odisha; and Rahul Sinha from West Bengal. Following intense consultations, the Congress on Wednesday declared its support for NCP-SP chief and former Union Minister Sharad Pawar in the forthcoming Rajya Sabha polls. The decision was announced at a press conference addressed by state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, in the presence of NCP-SP working president Supriya Sule, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and party legislator Satej Patil. The BJP has also nominated Vinod Tawde, the partyas National General Secretary and in charge of Bihar, marking his return to parliamentary politics after remaining out of the legislative arena since 2019. In addition, the party has renominated Ramdas Athawale, National President of the RPI (Athawale) and a sitting Union Minister of State. The other nominees include Maya Chintaman Ivnate, a tribal leader and former Mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, and Ramrao Wadkute, who belongs to the Dhangar community from Hingoli district. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Washington, March 5 : Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will visit the headquarters of US Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday (local time) to receive operational updates on the ongoing military campaign against Iran, the Pentagon said. Hegseth will meet CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper at MacDill Air Force Base as US forces continue Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale operation launched last week targeting Iran's security and military infrastructure. "On Thursday, March 5, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will visit US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.," the Department of War said in a statement. "During the visit, Secretary Hegseth will meet with Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, for updates on Operation Epic Fury." US and partner forces launched the operation on February 28. The Pentagon said the campaign is aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime's security apparatus and neutralising sites considered an immediate threat. "US and partner forces launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb 28 to dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus, prioritising locations that posed an imminent threat," the statement said. According to the Pentagon, the opening phase of the operation involved extensive strikes against Iranian military assets. "The first four days of the large-scale operation included more than 2,000 strikes with over 2,000 precision munitions launched from air, land, and sea," the department said. Officials said the strikes targeted missile capabilities and naval forces belonging to Iran. "US forces have decimated the Iranian regime's ballistic missile capabilities and are sinking their naval vessels to the bottom of the sea," the statement said. Hegseth's visit to CENTCOM comes as the Pentagon intensifies military coordination across multiple regional commands. The secretary is also travelling to Florida to convene a hemispheric security meeting focused on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations. The same day, Hegseth will also travel to Doral, Florida, to host the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at US Southern Command headquarters. "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will travel to Doral, Florida, tomorrow to host the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command Headquarters," the Pentagon said. The meeting will bring together defence and security leaders from across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America to coordinate efforts against organised criminal groups involved in drug trafficking. "Narco-terrorism is a threat shared by all Western Hemisphere nations," the statement said. "For decades and across many administrations, narco-terrorists and cartel thugs have trafficked fentanyl and other deadly drugs freely across borders, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans every year." The Pentagon described the cartels as a growing security threat across the region. "This organised crime ring presents an extraordinary threat to the security and prosperity of the Western Hemisphere." The administration has moved to treat these networks as terrorist organisations. "On President Trump's first day in office, he signed an Executive Order that designated narco-traffickers and cartels as Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTOs)." Officials say the designation allows the US military to expand its role in countering the networks. "This crucial distinction has given the US military the ability to better defend our nation and its extended perimeter." The Pentagon said the conference aims to deepen security cooperation across the region. "Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the Department is uniting partners across the Western Hemisphere to detect, disrupt, and destroy designated terrorist organisations that fuel violence and corruption." "Dismantling the narco-terrorist networks that plague our Hemisphere is only possible with partnership." The United States Central Command oversees American military operations across the Middle East and parts of South and Central Asia. The command plays a central role in US operations involving Iran, regional security, and maritime routes critical to global energy supplies. US Southern Command, headquartered in Florida, is responsible for military cooperation and security operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions and regional defence partnerships. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Washington, March 5 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with foreign ministers from Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as Washington stepped up diplomatic consultations on Iran and the wider Middle East, the State Department said. The calls focused on recent developments involving Iran and the broader regional situation. Rubio first spoke with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The two discussed developments in Iran and across the Middle East. They also reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Italy. In a separate call, Rubio spoke with Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos. The leaders discussed developments in Iran and the broader Middle East. Both sides reaffirmed the strong partnership between Washington and Nicosia. Rubio also held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The discussion again focused on developments involving Iran and the wider region. Rubio told Fidan that attacks on Turkeyas sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full US support. Both leaders reaffirmed the continued strength of the bilateral relationship. In another call, Rubio spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. He thanked the Saudi leadership for the kingdomas response to the attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh. The two leaders also discussed the threats the Iranian regime poses to regional stability and other developments in the Middle East. The conversations reflect Washingtonas effort to stay closely coordinated with both European and Middle Eastern partners as tensions around Iran continue to shape regional security. Italy and Cyprus are key European partners in US diplomacy in the Mediterranean. Turkey, a NATO member, plays a strategic role between Europe and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia remains a central actor in regional diplomacy and energy markets. The outreach signals Washingtonas continued focus on building diplomatic alignment with allies as developments in the Middle East evolve. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Mumbai, March 5 : In a throwback interview with Lehren TV, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan once addressed the perception of him being arrogant. In the interview, the actor went on to explain that what many call as his arrogance is actually him standing up for his self-respect and professionalism. Speaking about the perception around him, Shah Rukh Khan said, "I don't know if people call self-respect arrogance, then 100 percent I am arrogant. Now what happens in film magazines is that when I say this line, they cut the first part and say, 'Yes, I am arrogant.' So maybe that's why. The actor also spoke about his working style in the film industry, revealing that he has always insisted on wanting a proper script with dialogues while narration of a movie. According to Shah Rukh, this approach, earlier during his struggling drew criticism from some filmmakers, but later his same behaviour began to be seen as his dedication and passion for work once he became successful. "The second thing is that when I sign a film, I trouble people a lot. Now you can call it trouble or detailing. When someone brings a story to me and says this is the storyline, so now you do it, I say no, first you write the whole story with dialogue and give me the script. Because I am a stage artist. I trust the script so much that you give me the character and I will play it. He added, "Don't say that you are writing a story for Shah Rukh Khan. Don't say that you had Shah Rukh Khan in your mind while writing it and now I have refused. " He said, "Now that I have become a hit, people will say that he does things in detail and that's why he is a dark horse of the industry. Earlier, during my struggling days, when I used to do it, people used to say, 'what does he think of himself? He asks for a script from us.' It depends on what position the person is in. As long as it is going on, everything will go on." In the same interview, SRK was seen talking candidly about carving his own space in the industry despite the presence of established stars like Salman Khan and Aamir Khan when he started out in the industry. When asked if he expected to reach their stardom upon entering the film industry, Shah Rukh said, "I know that Mr. Salman Khan is easily the biggest star ever in terms of time span. Mr. Aamir Khan, I personally feel is the finest actor in the country. Putting it politely, I have made my own position." Talking about Shah Rukh Khan, the megastar made his Bollywood debut in 1992 with Deewana. Before entering films, he was an actor in the television space with popular shows like Fauji and Circus. Bollywood superstar Hema Malini is often credited for seeing potential in Shah Rukh Khan during his television days and giving him one of his early film breaks in the movie Dil Aashna Hai, produced under her film banner. Over the years, Shah Rukh Khan has went onto deliver en number of superhits including Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Devdas, Chennai Express. The actor was last seen in Dunki and is now gearing up for his upcoming film King, that also stars his daughter Suhana Khan and Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone. IANS rd/ -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Tel Aviv, March 5 : Iran launched another wave of missiles toward Israel on Thursday, according to the Israeli military and Iranian state media, setting off air raid sirens in multiple locations, including Tel Aviv. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Israeli military noted that the latest barrage followed a pause of more than seven hours in hostilities. "The Israeli Air Force has identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the military said in a statement, adding that air defence systems were actively working to intercept the incoming projectiles. Iran's state broadcaster IRIB also confirmed that missiles had been fired toward Israel. Amid the escalating confrontation, Iranian state media reported that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli and US strikes that began last weekend. Tensions escalated on February 28 when US-Israel joint airstrikes on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, members of his family, and several senior Iranian officials, which followed the collapse of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran had pursued diplomatic avenues to avert war but was compelled to respond after what he described as "American-Zionist military aggression." Addressing leaders of neighbouring Gulf countries, he emphasised that Iran respected their sovereignty and maintained that regional security should be ensured through collective cooperation. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel stated that it and the United States had achieved "historic gains" in the conflict with Iran. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest strike was carried out because Iran was allegedly rebuilding its atomic bomb programme using "new underground bunkers." The conflict has also heightened tensions across the wider region. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Iran of attempting to draw neighbouring states into the confrontation during a telephone conversation with Tehran's foreign minister. Turkey, meanwhile, summoned the Iranian ambassador after a missile believed to have been aimed at a base in Cyprus landed within Turkish territory, further intensifying concerns of a broader regional spillover. The renewed exchange of strikes underscores the fragile security environment in West Asia, as diplomatic efforts appear to have stalled and military actions continue to escalate. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Washington, March 5 : President Donald Trump has said the United States had taken a clear lead over China in artificial intelligence while accusing Beijing of dominating the global wind turbine market and dumping the equipment in Europe. Speaking during a White House roundtable on the 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the United States was ahead in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure. "The United States is leading the world in AI by a lot," Trump said. "We're leading China. We're leading everybody by a lot." The president framed artificial intelligence as a strategic competition between major powers, saying the country that leads in the technology would also dominate militarily. "The nation that leads in AI will be the military superpower," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during the event. Trump also criticised China's role in the global wind energy industry, accusing Beijing of cornering the wind turbine manufacturing market. "They make all the windmills," Trump said, adding that China exports the turbines in large quantities to Europe. According to Trump, European countries have purchased Chinese wind turbines extensively as part of their renewable energy expansion. "They sell them to the suckers over in Europe," Trump said. He suggested that the wind energy push in Europe was not working as expected and claimed China itself was not relying heavily on wind farms. "You ever think somebody is going to have to look at that?" Trump said. "How many wind farms have you seen lately in China?" Trump also pointed to China's rapid expansion of energy infrastructure, acknowledging that Beijing was building large amounts of new capacity. "I read where China is building tremendous energy," he said. However, he said the United States was undertaking similar efforts as it expands electricity generation to support artificial intelligence and data centre growth. "We're building similar amounts. We're building what we need," Trump said. The president argued that expanding energy supply was essential to maintain US leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. Trump also used the event to highlight shifts in global manufacturing supply chains, saying companies from several countries were relocating production to the United States. He said car manufacturers from Canada and Mexico were building new plants in the United States in response to US trade policies. "They're coming in from Canada and Mexico," Trump said. Trump also named Germany, Japan, and South Korea as countries whose automotive companies were expanding manufacturing in the United States. "They're all coming here to build cars again," he said. The president linked the trend to tariffs imposed during his administration, saying trade pressure had encouraged companies to shift production to the United States. "They're all coming here to build cars again," he said, adding that companies from Europe and Asia were responding to new economic incentives. Taiwan was briefly mentioned during Trumpas remarks on global semiconductor manufacturing, as the president discussed the return of chip production to the United States. Trump said the US was rebuilding its domestic semiconductor industry and reversing earlier manufacturing losses. "We lost the chip industry," he said, adding that companies were now returning production to the United States. Seoul, March 5 : South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered the government Thursday to swiftly execute a 100 trillion-won (US$68.3 billion) financial package to stabilise the capital markets amid the widening war in the Middle East. Lee gave the instruction during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting convened to discuss the situation following last weekend's US-Israeli strikes on Iran, saying the escalating crisis has led to a serious deterioration of the global economic and security environment. "First, we must actively respond to the increased volatility of the financial markets, such as in stocks and the exchange rate," he said during the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, which was held a day after he returned from state visits to Singapore and the Philippines. "Swiftly execute the 100 trillion-won market stabilisation programme designed to prevent anxiety in the capital markets," he said. Lee ordered the government to draw up emergency evacuation plans for South Koreans in the Middle East, saying all means should be employed, including the use of military and chartered aircraft, Yonhap news agency reported. He also called for efforts to ensure the safety of South Korean vessels and crew members in waters around the region. "While frequently checking the safety of our nationals there, if necessary, draw up and execute a swift and safe evacuation plan in cooperation with friendly nations," he added. President Lee Jae Myung also ordered the government to draw up an evacuation plan for South Koreans in the Middle East as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran widened. "I ask the relevant authorities to determine without missing a single person our nationals there, including employees, business travelers, students and tourists, and thoroughly prepare emergency evacuation plans in two or three tiers for contingency scenarios," he said during the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, which was held a day after he returned from state visits to Singapore and the Philippines. "While frequently checking the safety of our nationals there, if necessary, draw up and execute a swift and safe evacuation plan in cooperation with friendly nations," he added. Lee also ordered efforts to ensure the safety of South Korean vessels and crew members in waters around the Middle East. According to Foreign Ministry figures, approximately 4,000 short-term visitors, including travelers, and some 17,000 long-term residents, including expatriates, are currently in 13 Middle East countries, with about 2,000 people stranded in Dubai alone. The Dubai figure likely includes travelers using the city as a transit hub en route to Europe or Africa. Washington, March 5 : House Democrats and Republicans clashed over President Donald Trump's military operation against Iran and a funding dispute involving the Department of Homeland Security. At separate weekly news conferences, the two parties offered sharply different views of the conflict and Congress' role. House Democratic leaders urged passage of a War Powers resolution to limit military action. Republicans defended the operation and accused Democrats of weakening homeland security by blocking DHS funding. Rep. Pete Aguilar said Trump "broke yet another promise to the American people". He called the conflict "a reckless war with Iran" that "has already claimed the lives of six brave American service members". Aguilar said Congress must act. "That's why it's critical that we pass a War Powers resolution to limit more military action in the Middle East that puts our heroes in harm's way," he said. Rep. Ted Lieu argued that Congress must approve such a conflict. "Only one entity can declare war, and that is Congress, and this is a war," he said. "And this war right now is illegal because Congress never approved it." Lieu said lawmakers were denied the chance to examine risks before the operation. "How do you protect all those Americans stranded in the Middle East?" he asked. "How are you going to protect our bases? Eleven US bases have now been hit by Iran." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump had taken the country into a conflict without proof of danger. The President, "without authorisation and inconsistent with the Constitution, has now plunged America into what he characterised yesterday, could be an endless war," Jeffries said. Jeffries also questioned the administration's changing explanations for the conflict. He noted that Trump previously said Iran's nuclear programme had been "completely and totally obliterated". Several veteran lawmakers criticised the decision to go to war. Rep. Jason Crow said, "There was no imminent threat, and this is a war of choice by Donald Trump." Rep. Chrissy Houlahan warned about the human cost. "War is not a reality show," she said. "There are no retakes. There are no stunt doubles in this case. There are only consequences, and those consequences are measured in American blood and treasure." Republicans defended the President's actions and shifted attention to a dispute over homeland security funding. Rep. Lisa McClain said Democrats had undermined security. "Nearly every single Democrat voted to shut down the Department of Homeland Security," she said. McClain said border policies had increased risks. She added that "Biden released more than 700 Iranians into the interior of our country after crossing our border illegally." Rep. Brian Mast argued that Iran has long threatened the United States. He said Trump acted to stop that threat and had the authority to launch "this very limited operation under article two and the War Powers Resolution Act." House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called Operation Epic Fury "a bold, decisive and necessary act of strength." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the United States faced a long-standing threat from Iran. He said Republicans "support President Trump in this important action." Speaker Mike Johnson described the military campaign as focused and limited. "It's been limited, precise and extremely lethal," he said. Johnson said Democrats had blocked funding for DHS during a time of heightened risk. He warned that the agency's mission was critical while the United States faced threats abroad. Under the US Constitution, Congress has the authority to declare war. Presidents, however, have often ordered military operations without formal declarations. The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973, requires the President to notify Congress when US forces enter hostilities and limits how long operations can continue without approval. The Department of Homeland Security was created after the September 11, 2001, attacks. It coordinates border protection, counterterrorism, disaster response and cybersecurity. Funding disputes over DHS and debates over presidential war powers have repeatedly surfaced in Congress during periods of overseas conflict. WINDHOEK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people died following an aircraft accident in the Namib Desert in the Erongo region, western Namibia, local authorities said Thursday. Hafeni Mweshixwa, acting director of aircraft accident and incident investigations within the Ministry of Works and Transport, confirmed the fatalities to Xinhua. According to Mweshixwa, the wreckage of the Groppo Trail aircraft, registered in Britain, was discovered around 9:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, with two occupants aboard. "Currently, I am at the site of the incident conducting investigations," Mweshixwa told Xinhua. "Maybe in the evening, we might be able to provide more information on the incident." In an incident report, Namibian Police said that they transported the bodies to the Walvis Bay police mortuary for further investigations. The victims were reportedly conducting research at the Gobabeb Namib Research Institute when the light plane went down. The institute, located some 300 km southwest of Namibia's capital, Windhoek, is an internationally recognized center for dry land training and research. Mumbai, March 5 : Filmmaker Karan Johar gave a sweet shoutout to Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon while attending the grand Hyderabad reception of Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda. Taking to his social media account, Karan shared a picture from the celebrations and congratulated the newlyweds. He also thanked Kriti Sanon for being his 'support poser and a beauty.' Karan wrote, "Congratulations to the gorgeous couple @rashmika_mandanna @thedeverakonda. Thank you @kritisanon for being my support poser and beauty tonight!" To this, Kriti reshared the post and in reply to Karan, wrote, "Haha.. you're the best poser who needs absolutely no support @karanjohar. Happy to be a part of this memory." The picture shared by Karan, features Kriti Sanon standing beside Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda, while Karan Johar is seen standing in between the couple. Rashmika looks radiant in a red traditional saree with heavy gold jewellery, while Kriti opted for a black embellished outfit. Karan opted for a cream traditional ensemble, and Vijay wore a cream-toned ethnic outfit For the uninitiated, Rashmika and Vijay tied the knot on February 26, 2026, in an intimate ceremony attended by close friends and family in Udaipur. As part of the wedding celebration, the two even visited the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam temple in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, to seek blessings for their new journey ahead. While they were there, the couple also distributed sweets to the crowd gathered outside the temple. Talking about the couple's Hyderabad reception, it was attended by some prominent names, such as Megastar Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, Mahesh Babu's wife Namrata Shirodkar, and Radhika Sarathkumar, attended the grand function, along with some other celebs from the guestlist. IANS rd/ -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Washington, March 5 : The US lawmakers clashed during a congressional hearing over whether immigrants should be allowed to hold commercial driver's licences, with Republicans warning of safety risks on highways and Democrats arguing the move could harm the economy and disrupt supply chains. The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability convened the hearing on Wednesday to examine what Chairman Rep. Josh Brecheen described as "the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens unlawfully present in the United States." Brecheen said commercial truck drivers are vital to the American economy and transport essential goods across the country every day. "Commercial truck drivers are the backbone of the American economy," he said. "Every day they transport food, fuel, medicine, and other critical supplies all across the United States." But he argued that federal audits have exposed failures by some states to properly enforce licensing standards. "Recent Department of Transportation audits have revealed alarming failures by many states to comply with these requirements," Brecheen said. He cited federal findings showing that in Illinois, "One in 5 non-domiciled CDLs failed to meet federal standards." He also said the Department of Transportation found California had "illegally issued 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs," while a 2025 audit concluded that "over 50 per cent of the non-domiciled CDLs issued by the State of New York were in Violation of federal law". Republican lawmakers repeatedly warned that heavy commercial vehicles can pose serious risks if driven by unqualified operators. "You do not have to be a scholar to understand what a bad actor could do with a 40-ton tractor-trailer," Brecheen said. "That vehicle is not just a truck, it's a weapon capable of threatening public safety and national security." Law enforcement officials appearing before the panel described enforcement actions that uncovered drivers operating commercial vehicles while violating immigration rules. Tim Tipton, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, said joint operations between state troopers and federal immigration authorities had resulted in hundreds of arrests. He said inspections had revealed broader concerns about licensing oversight. "Many of these drivers struggle with even basic English language proficiency and likely received their licenses from an unscrupulous CDL mill," Tipton told lawmakers. Sheriff Richard Del Toro of Saint Lucie County, Florida, described a fatal crash in his jurisdiction involving a commercial truck. "Three innocent people in my county lost their lives in a catastrophic crash on the Florida Turnpike involving a commercial motor vehicle," Del Toro said. "For the families of those victims, this is not a policy debate; it's a permanent loss." Democrats on the panel rejected claims that immigrants holding commercial licences pose a safety threat and warned that restrictions could worsen a shortage of drivers in the trucking industry. Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar, the ranking member, said immigrants make up a significant share of the workforce. "Nearly 20 per cent of truck drivers in the US are immigrants," he said. Wendy Liu, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group, testified that banning immigrants with legal work authorisation from holding commercial driver's licences would not improve road safety. "Barring people with lawful work authorisation who have obtained their commercial driver's licenses by completing the required training and passing the required tests will not make our roads safer," Liu said. She warned that the policy could remove thousands of experienced drivers from the industry. "The Trump administration's exclusion of documented immigrants from the truck driver workforce would force 2,00,000 experienced drivers out of the market," Liu said. "That will disrupt supply chains, delay the delivery of goods and materials and increase rates for freight operations." Lawmakers also referred to a fatal highway crash involving a truck driver who had previously entered the United States illegally and later obtained a commercial licence in another state, a case cited by Republicans as an example of regulatory gaps. Washington, March 5 : US lawmakers, foreign leaders, and experts have warned that China is expanding its influence in Europe. They said Beijing uses investment, pressure, and covert tactics, and urged closer US-Europe coordination on technology, supply chains, and security. At a hearing on "China's increasing infiltration in Europe" on Wednesday (local time), Congressman Jake Ellzey said Europe must focus on more than Russia. He said the region also faces "the threat of Russia's war as well as the persistent threat posed by China's pursuit of hegemony." Ellzey said Beijing is using "a suite of overt and covert tools" in Europe. He said China is building "beachheads to manipulate the continent." Lithuania's vice foreign minister, Vidmantas Verbickas, described Beijing's pressure campaign against his country. He said Lithuania withdrew from China's "17 plus one format" in 2021. He said Vilnius also permitted "the establishment of a Taiwanese Representative office in Vilnius." He said China responded with what he called coercion. "Lithuania as a country miraculously disappeared from China's customs systems." He said that export permits were delayed or denied, and that pressure grew on multinational firms. "The impact was immediate," Verbickas said. "In the first months, Lithuanian origin exports to China fell by 99.7 per cent essentially to zero." He said it was not a trade fight. "This was not a commercial dispute," he said. "It was a politically motivated pressure designed to change a sovereign policy decision." Senator Ruben Gallego warned about technology gaps. He said the West was "slow to respond" on 5G. He said Europe now has infrastructure that "still relies on Chinese vendors." He said the next risk is "six G." Audrye Wong, a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said China's goals include "to bolster friends and silence critics of the Chinese Communist Party." She said Beijing also seeks "to undermine transatlantic cooperation and European unity through a divide and conquer strategy." Wong said China uses "both coercion and inducements." She cited "weaponising supply chains." She said Beijing also tries "to buy support through corrupt investments through bribery, through other covert influence tactics." She said China targets many arenas. She said it works across "diplomatic and government realms, business realms, public realms." She said it mixes "economic information propaganda." Wong said the effort can corrode democracies. She said China can make "a dizzying multitude of influence attempts" and then "play a waiting game." She called it "not just a national security threat." She said it "corrodes the legitimate functioning of free and open societies." Valbona Zeneli, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Europe has changed course on China. But she warned that the European Union is not unified. She said Europe's China policy is "a product of a complex negotiation" among EU bodies and "27 member states." Zeneli said China's push in Europe is strategic. She said it aims "to acquire advanced technologies, shape global value chains and build leverage in critical sectors." She said: "This is not simply commercial gain. This is strategic leverage." She said the balance has shifted. She said China supplies "over one fifth of EU imports." She said Europe faces "a trade deficit exceeding $ 400 billion." She said Europe's reliance on Chinese inputs creates "strategic dependencies." -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Washington, March 5 : More than 108,000 US soldiers are deployed or forward positioned across 160 countries, senior American military leaders told lawmakers, underscoring the global scale of US military operations even as Washington fights an ongoing conflict with Iran and confronts rising security threats from China and Russia. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness on Wednesday (local time), top Pentagon officials said American forces remain capable of sustaining global operations while responding to active combat missions in the Middle East. Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Christopher LaNeve told senators that US forces are operating across multiple regions simultaneously, maintaining deterrence while responding to evolving threats. "Today, over 108,000 soldiers are deployed or forward postured across 160 countries, securing our interests in the Western Hemisphere, deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and responding to threats worldwide," LaNeve said. He said US soldiers in the Middle East are currently operating in a "complex and dangerous environment" amid the conflict with Iran and its regional proxies. "They're defending US forces and partners intercepting missiles and drones and protecting critical infrastructure," he said. LaNeve added that American troops continue to move fuel, munitions, and medical support across the theatre while coordinating intelligence and joint fires to respond rapidly to threats. Senior Navy leaders said maritime forces are also engaged in operations across several regions while maintaining strategic deterrence. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby told lawmakers the Navy had conducted combat operations and supported the Joint Force in multiple missions over the past year. "As the Navy conducted combat operations and supported the Joint Force in achieving national objectives the Navy conducted strikes against our adversaries and defended our allies in the Middle East," Kilby said. He added that US naval forces continue to operate across the Indo-Pacific region. "In the Pacific, our sailors operate every day, deterring China and building partnerships," he said. Kilby said the Navy is working to improve readiness by reducing maintenance delays and modernising shipyards while pushing toward a goal of 80 per cent combat surge-ready ships, aircraft, and submarines. Marine Corps leaders said their forces remain prepared for rapid deployments around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where tensions with China continue to grow. "The Marine Corps provides unique value to the nation and joint force," a senior Marine Corps official told senators. "We are both the nation's global response force and a persistent integrated stand-in force in the Indo-Pacific." Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James LaMontagne said the service is maintaining readiness while modernising its fleet and training new pilots. "The most important thing the Air Force does for the joint force and for the nation is to fly and fix aircraft so that we are ready to answer the nation's call," he said. LaMontagne said the Air Force is training about 1,500 pilots each year while developing new platforms, including the B-21 bomber and collaborative combat aircraft. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein said space capabilities have become central to modern military operations. "Recent events around the world clearly demonstrate the importance of the Space Force as part of the Joint Force," he said. He noted that the service recently launched new satellites for missile warning, navigation and space domain awareness. However, the Government Accountability Office warned lawmakers that US military readiness still faces persistent structural challenges. "The United States is fortunate to have the strongest military in the world, but our service members often meet demanding mission needs despite several significant and enduring readiness problems," said GAO official Diana Maurer. She said ageing equipment, maintenance backlogs and shortages of spare parts continue to affect readiness across several services. Mumbai, March 5 : Bigg Boss 17 fame and popular YouTuber Anurag Dhobal posted an emotionally distressing vlog claiming it could be his "last message,". Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Bigg Boss 17 fame and popular YouTuber Anurag Dhobal posted an emotionally distressing vlog claiming it could be his "last message,". He alleged that he had been subjected to severe mental harassment by his family after opting for an inter-caste marriage. In the video, Anurag was seen claiming that while he belonged to a Brahmin family, his wife Ritika hailed from a Rajput background, and their union had faced strong opposition from his parents. According to him, although they had initially agreed to the marriage, they withdrew their support just five days before the wedding and allegedly humiliated him in front of relatives. Anurag said, "I was asked to apologise, bow down to their feet just for marrying the girl that I chose and she was from a Rajput background." Anurag further also spoke about his personal struggles, revealing that he had battled a brain tumour at the age of 14. The YouTuber, towards the end of the video, shared that in September 2025, he and his wife had learned about her pregnancy and he believed that things would finally improve. But to his dismay, he said that his wife too suddenly left their home and returned to her parents' house, leaving him devastated. In the vlog, Anurag said, "I just wanted to say that my mother, father, Kalam and Shreya are responsible for my death. I also wanted to live. I really wanted to be happy but I have no other options left to do anything." Breaking into tears, Anurag said, "I was under a lot of depression. I didn't know what to do and how to eliminate this feeling. I have no tears left, they have all dried up. I have cried so much. I don't know what to do. What mistake did I commit?" "I really wanted to live at last. But now it's over. I have nothing left. Sometimes I feel like my heart aches and I feel like I am going to die. I guess this is going to be my last video." "I wasn't able to post anything till now because I was not in any frame of mind and I thought everything would be okay. But I willl post it because after this I might disappear. I don't know. It's been four days. I am going crazy. I can't sleep. I am fighting every day. I am under severe depression. I hope I don't get saved after posting this vlog." Talking about facing emotional disappointment from family, he said, "I faced torture from the beginning. I didn't get the love of my parents. I didn't get the love of my brother. And I didn't get the love of my wife. I definitely got a lot of love from my fans But I didn't get it from my own people. I did not get it from my own blood. I am sorry." Anurag further asked his lawyer to spare nobody post his death. "They all have troubled me a lot. I want to tell my friend , my lawyer don't leave them. They have troubled me a lot. They are responsible for my death." In the video, Anurag also attached proofs in the forms of videos, audios trying to prove all of harrasment he faced at the hands of his family. IANS rd/ Mumbai, March 5 : Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has heaped praise on actor Anupam Kher's directorial "Tanvi The Great," calling it the most outstanding movie he has watched this year. Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has heaped praise on actor Anupam Kher's directorial "Tanvi The Great," calling it the most outstanding movie he has watched this year. Anupam took to Instagram to share a video message from Mahesh Bhatt, in which the veteran filmmaker applauded the film's emotional depth and storytelling. In the video, Mahesh Bhatt said: "Tanvi The Great is the most outstanding picture I've seen in the year 2025. It's a brave film, it's a sensitive film, it's an entertaining film. It plows through the heart of a young autistic child, the rarest of the rare creations which nature has entrusted us with. Do watch it on the 3rd of March." Sharing the clip, Anupam expressed gratitude to Mahesh Bhatt for his appreciation and longstanding support. Anupam wrote: Thank you #MaheshBhatt Saab for your appreciation of our film #TanviTheGreat! It means the world to us. Apart from introducing me to the world of cinema with a film like Saaransh you have been a great support to whatever I do." "But your appreciation for TTG has really helped me personally to stick to my value system and make a film I completely believe in!," he added. Anupam also shared that the response to the film has been encouraging since its release on a digital platform. "The praise we are getting in the last couple of days since the film is on @primevideoin is testament of our belief! Bhatt Saab you are the best! Love and prayers always!" "Tanvi The Great" follows the story of Tanvi, a 21-year-old woman on the autism spectrum, who lives with her mother Vidya and grandfather Colonel Pratap Raina. Inspired by her deceased father, Captain Samar Raina, an Indian Army officer who dreamed of saluting the flag at Siachen Glacier, she becomes determined to follow in his footsteps and join the army to fulfill his dream herself. Chennai, March 5 : The forest departments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka will conduct a synchronised vulture census across the Nilgiri landscape on March 7 and 8, in a coordinated effort to assess the population of the endangered scavengers in one of southern India's most important habitats. The survey will focus on key forest ranges within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a region that has emerged as a vital stronghold for vultures in the southern part of the country. The exercise follows encouraging results from the previous census, which recorded a noticeable rise in vulture numbers across the three states. In a development that has boosted optimism among wildlife officials, field staff at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve recently spotted a vulture nest within the core area of the reserve for the first time. Until now, most nesting activity had been documented in buffer zones. Forest officials have identified eight vantage points within the core zone of Mudumalai for this year's survey to closely monitor nesting behaviour and population trends. The synchronised survey will cover several major wildlife habitats across the Nilgiri landscape. In Tamil Nadu, monitoring will take place in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and the Tirunelveli Wildlife Sanctuary. In Karnataka, teams will survey Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and Biligiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve, while in Kerala, the exercise will focus on the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Officials said the Nilgiri landscape plays a crucial ecological role as a source population for vultures in southern India, supporting both breeding colonies and migratory visitors. India is home to nine species of vultures, seven of which have been recorded in Tamil Nadu. These include resident breeding species such as the White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vulture and Red-headed vulture. Other species -- including the Egyptian vulture, Himalayan griffon, Cinereous vulture and Eurasian griffon -- are usually seen as migratory visitors to the region. This will be the fourth synchronised census in the Nilgiri landscape. The last survey, conducted across 106 vantage points covering approximately 4,670 square kilometres, recorded an increase in the vulture population from 320 to 390 individuals. Tamil Nadu reported the highest numbers with 157 vultures, followed by Kerala with 125 and Karnataka with 106. The census will rely on vantage-point observations and nest monitoring. Teams will record sightings during fixed sessions, carefully tracking flight directions and timing to avoid double-counting. Nest counts will focus on breeding cliffs and trees, with the previous survey documenting 75 active nests, including 54 within Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Each survey team will comprise at least four members, including a trained vulture expert. Field teams will be equipped with binoculars, cameras, GPS devices, compasses and standardised data sheets to ensure accurate and uniform data collection. Coordinates of vantage points and nesting sites will also be documented to aid long-term monitoring and conservation planning. -- Syndicated from IANS New Delhi, March 5 : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Union Health Ministry, the Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhopal, and the Commissioner of Police, Bhopal, over allegations that an assistant professor at the institute died due to severe mental harassment and a toxic work environment. A Bench presided by NHRC Member Priyank Kanoongo took cognisance of a complaint alleging that the doctor died on January 5, following prolonged mental harassment allegedly caused by the "toxic" work culture in the Trauma and Emergency Medicine department at AIIMS Bhopal. According to the complaint, the victim had sent three emails expressing distress before her death, but the institute administration allegedly failed to take action. It was further alleged that institutional negligence occurred as no FIR was registered, and previous complaints by other female doctors were suppressed. The complainant sought the NHRC's intervention and requested a high-level independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death, along with accountability of those responsible and registration of an FIR in the matter. Observing that the allegations, if true, prima facie indicate violations of the human rights of the victim, the apex human rights body issued the notice under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It has directed the Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to inquire into the allegations. The NHRC has also asked the Bhopal Police Commissioner and the Director of AIIMS Bhopal to conduct an inquiry and furnish copies of the FIR, post-mortem report, and other relevant documents in the case. Further, the authorities have been directed to provide details of the institute's POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Committee, including the criteria for selection of its members, statements of committee members, and details of its activities in the past year. They have also been asked to submit copies of complaints received in the last three years, including those filed by the victim, along with the action taken reports and statements of former employees or doctors mentioned in the complaint. The NHRC has sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the concerned authorities within 15 days for its perusal. Mumbai, March 5 : The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a 21-year-old engineering student, Ayan Sheikh, for his alleged links to Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the proscribed global terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), officials said on Thursday. Sheikh has been booked under Sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with Sections 152, 196, and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the Maharashtra ATS, one accused has been arrested for allegedly sharing terrorist propaganda material online, while two others are also under investigation. Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding suspected online radicalisation linked to banned terror organisations, the ATS conducted searches at multiple locations across Mumbai. Following the raids, a case was registered under the UAPA, and Sheikh, a resident of the city and an engineering student, was taken into custody. Search operations were carried out late Monday night at premises in Kurla, Govandi, and Shivaji Nagar. During the searches, officials seized several electronic devices, including a laptop and mobile phone, which have been sent for forensic examination. Investigators reportedly recovered what they described as a "digital roadmap" indicating deep and sustained engagement with extremist content and alleged links to banned organisations. According to officials, Sheikh had come under the radar of security agencies for allegedly circulating extremist propaganda material on social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications. The ATS had received intelligence inputs about the dissemination of content linked to JeM and ISIS through online channels. Preliminary examination of the seized devices revealed multiple audio and video clips allegedly linked to JeM chief Masood Azhar. Investigators found that Sheikh was active on encrypted messaging platforms, including Telegram, where extremist content was circulated in closed groups. Several chat records allegedly indicated attempts to promote terrorist recruitment and radicalisation. Officials claim that Sheikh not only shared extremist material but also attempted to influence and recruit others. He is also suspected of being involved in efforts to facilitate funding for extremist activities, though investigations into financial transactions are ongoing. The ATS further stated that Sheikh allegedly tried to radicalise two other young men, both engineering students and his close associates. He is said to have added them to Telegram groups where JeM and ISIS propaganda was shared. During coordinated raids in Govandi and Kurla, investigators found that while the two youths had accessed extremist material shared by Sheikh, they were not actively involved in any terror-related activities. Their statements have been recorded as part of the investigation. During prolonged interrogation, Sheikh allegedly disclosed details of suspicious conversations with foreign handlers and individuals linked to banned terror groups. These communications reportedly took place through encrypted messaging platforms and involved several foreign nationals and alleged facilitators believed to be part of sleeper cells and recruitment networks. Officials noted that digital evidence suggests the presence of multiple youth from different Indian states participating in such encrypted groups. These groups allegedly exchanged extremist content, radicalisation material, and guidance on recruitment strategies. Authorities are now analysing digital footprints to map influence networks, identify individuals vulnerable to radicalisation, and trace possible operational links to local sleeper cells. Critical digital evidence and communication records have been shared with agencies in other states to facilitate coordinated investigations and prevent potential recruitment efforts at the grassroots level. In addition to examining Sheikh's online activities, the ATS is scrutinising his financial transactions and digital trail to uncover any funding or logistical channels supporting extremist operations. Sheikh is scheduled to be produced before a special court in Mumbai on Friday, where the ATS will seek his police custody for further interrogation and evidence collection. Officials indicated that further arrests in connection with the case are not ruled out. New Delhi, March 5 : US-based investment banker Morgan Stanley has reportedly laid off about 2,500 employees, or roughly 3 per cent of its global workforce, starting in early March, reports have said. The job cuts are not linked to artificial intelligence-related reforms but stem from shifting business priorities, a revised global location strategy and performance reviews of employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing sources. The reported layoffs span across the bankas three major divisions such as institutional securities, wealth management and investment management affecting fronta'office roles, revenue-generating roles and backa'office positions, though financial advisors are not impacted. Morgan Stanley was yet to comment on the report. The move follows a similar round of job cuts last spring when the bank laid off 2,000 employees. The layoffs coincide with Morgan Stanley posting a record fulla'year 2025 revenues of $70.6 billion, and a 47 per cent surge in revenues for the final quarter. The bank employs 82,992 people across over 40 countries as of December 31, 2025. Morgan Stanley, in a recent report, had suggested that long-term impact of AI on jobs may be less severe than many expect. According to the report, while some roles will be automated, most workers are unlikely to be permanently left behind. Instead, many are expected to shift into new types of jobs, including roles that do not yet exist. The bank said artificial intelligence will change the nature of work rather than eliminate it entirely. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey recently announced that Block, the payments company he founded, will cut its workforce by nearly half due to AI-led changes. The company will cut its workforce from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. Several tech industry leaders have said that most whitea'collar roles that rely on computers could be automated within the next 12 to 18 months. According to reports, Amazon has laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least a100 white-collar jobs affected. This comes after a January cut of about 16,000 jobs at the company. US tech giant Oracle plans to cut 20,000 to 30,000 jobs to expand its AI dataa'centre capacity. a"IANS aar/na Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C), FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu (L), and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira attend the 39th Regional Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean in Brasilia, Brazil, March 4, 2026. Lula on Wednesday criticized prioritizing military spending over food security, asserting that hunger eradication is an attainable goal hindered by a "lack of commitment." (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) BRASILIA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday criticized prioritizing military spending over food security, asserting that hunger eradication is an attainable goal hindered by a "lack of commitment." "If we took the money spent last year on armaments and conflicts -- the equivalent of 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars -- and divided it among the 630 million human beings who go hungry on the planet, it would be enough to distribute 4,285 dollars to each person," Lula said at the opening of the 39th Regional Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting, held in Brasilia from March 2 to 6, seeks to define priorities for 2026 and 2027 with a central focus on combating hunger and malnutrition in the region. It brought together ministers, officials and representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries. Lula cited Brazil's success in combating food insecurity as evidence that the crisis can be reversed, noting that the country has made significant progress since his return to power in 2023. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira talk at the 39th Regional Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean in Brasilia, Brazil, March 4, 2026. Lula on Wednesday criticized prioritizing military spending over food security, asserting that hunger eradication is an attainable goal hindered by a "lack of commitment." (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) Indore, March 5 : A young man, who allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the fifth floor of a residential building succumbed during treatment at a hospital in Indore early on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Raj Makwana (23). Makwana resided with his parents and other family members on the fifth floor of a building in the Tapti Complex, located in the Chandan Nagar police station area of Indore. The incident occurred when Raj reportedly indulged into a verbal spat with security staff of the Tapti Complex. Family members of the deceased said that Raj was walking downstairs in his apartment building on Wednesday night as wasn't feeling well due to heat. He was going outside the Complex when security staff asked him the reason for his late-night stroll. This led to the escalation of verbal spat, which prompted the security staff to call the local area police. Family alleged that a policeman stopped Raj, questioned him, and even slapped him during the argument. Raj, along with his parents, returned to their flat located on the fifth floor of the building and a few moments later he jumped from the building. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment; however, doctors declared him dead on arrival. Upon receiving information, police arrived at the scene and sent the body for a post-mortem examination during early hours on Thursday. Police said that a case has been registered and currently the matter is under investigation. Family members told police that Raj's mother Rekha Makwana tried to persuade her son to come inside, but he went back outside. When she went downstairs to check on him, Raj jumped right in front of her. After the incident, the family sat outside the hospital overnight. The family members also said that Raj was facing trouble in breathing, so he was taking a walk outside. Initially, a guard stopped him, leading to an argument. The guard then called passing policemen. A police official in Chandan Nagar police station told IANS that prima-facie the case appears a suicide, however, the exact reason would be known after the post-mortem examination report will come. Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : The intensifying tensions in West Asia has impacted India's export sector, with shipments of fruits, vegetables and fish products from Kerala coming to a near standstill. Exporters said the disruption has already caused losses worth several crores of rupees, as both air and sea cargo routes remain severely affected. With flight services to several Gulf destinations suspended, air cargo exports from Kerala's airports have come to a complete halt. The situation has been further aggravated by disruptions in maritime trade following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has stalled cargo movement by sea as well. Kerala has four international airports , Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur which serve as the main gateways for the export of fruits and vegetables to various Middle East countries. On an average, nearly 150 tonnes of fruits and vegetables are exported daily through these airports. Nearly one-third of this volume normally moves through the Thiruvananthapuram airport. However, with the tensions in the Gulf region escalating and several flight services being cancelled, exporters said that not even a single tonne of fruits or vegetables has been shipped in recent days. The disruption has come at a particularly difficult time for farmers and exporters as the holy month of Ramzan is considered the peak export season for fresh farm produce to the Gulf countries. The Middle East remains the primary market for Kerala's fruits and vegetables, and the Ramzan demand usually ensures strong prices and steady shipments. Among those worst hit are pineapple farmers in the state. For them, the Ramzan season traditionally offers the most lucrative market, with farm fresh pineapples exported in large quantities to the Middle East. With the current disruption halting shipments, growers fear that a major share of their annual earnings could be wiped out. At present, limited flight services are operating only to Oman. Even there, exporters say airlines are charging nearly three times the normal cargo rates, making shipments economically unviable. If the crisis continues for a prolonged period, exporters warn that farmers and traders will face even greater financial losses. With exports stalled, much of the perishable produce may have to be sold in the domestic market at sharply lower prices, further squeezing the already distressed farming community. Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : A political controversy has erupted in Kerala after the state government released front-page advertisements in several leading newspapers on Thursday highlighting what it described as the "changes brought about by the LDF government" in sectors that were allegedly in poor shape during the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) regime (2011-16). Issued through the state-run Information and Public Relations Department (I&PRD), the advertisements contrasted the situation before 2016 with developments under the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The front-page portion of the advertisements reproduced newspaper headlines from the UDF period, pointing to issues such as electricity shortages, the state-run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) reportedly being on the verge of closure, delays in welfare pension payments for up to 18 months and hurdles in National Highway development. On the inside page, the advertisement highlighted what the government described as improvements under the LDF administration. It claimed the state government has not experienced major power cuts in recent years, welfare pensions are now being paid without arrears, National Highway construction projects are nearing completion, and the financial position of KSRTC has improved. However, the campaign has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused the government of misusing public funds for political propaganda. Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the move had forced the Public Relations Department to "stoop so low". "Officials responsible for this will have to explain. How can a government use funds from the public exchequer to tarnish a previous government? We will deal with this both legally and politically," he said. Congress General Secretary and Alappuzha Lok Sabha member K.C. Venugopal alleged that the advertisements violated established norms by using public money to disseminate what he termed misleading claims. He also said that even after the death of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, attempts were being made to target him. Former Home Minister and senior legislator Ramesh Chennithala also criticised the move, accusing the government of "squandering taxpayers' money" through what he described as an "abuse of power". "The Information and Public Relations Department is now functioning from the office of the State headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the capital," Chennithala alleged. The controversy comes as political activity intensifies in the state ahead of the next Assembly elections, with the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF trading charges over governance and development claims. -- Syndicated from IANS Kolkata, March 5 : On the death anniversary of Binapani Devi, the former head of Matua Mahasangha in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Centre and the ECI over "deliberate exclusion" of Matua voters from the electoral rolls. Matuas are people from the Hindu backward class community coming as refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh and settling in different pockets in the state, with their concentration mainly in the two districts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia. "It is very unfortunate that due to the conspiracy of the BJP government at the centre, the Matua brothers and sisters have been pushed into an unstable and confusing situation. Political games are being played in the name of granting citizenship to them. Questions are being raised about their identity. They are being deliberately excluded from the voters' list through SIR. Those who had been the citizens of this country through generations and whose votes elected the government, are today being made to face uncertainty in the name of granting them new citizenship," the Chief Minister said in her social media statement. She also claimed that she would not accept this "injustice" at any cost. "We will continue to fight against the attempts to take away the rights of the people of West Bengal, including my Matua brothers and sisters. We will not allow any atrocity on the people of Bengal. This is my pledge on this special day," the Chief Minister said. Incidentally, from Friday, the Chief Minister is scheduled for a sustained sit-in demonstration at Esplanade in Central Kolkata to protest against the SIR exercise. However, it is yet to be clear how long the sit-in demonstration will continue. Reacting to the Chief Minister's statement, former national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the party's former state president in West Bengal, Rahul Sinha, said that the Chief Minister is unnecessarily trying to "instigate" the Matuas. "Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had once again assured that not a single Matua will be denied citizenship or deported out of the country. How much the Chief Minister might try to instigate our Matua brothers and sisters, she will not be successful in her ploy," said Sinha, who is the lone BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha in the elections to be held this month. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Patna, March 5 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that he will contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, triggering dramatic political developments in Patna. Soon after the news broke, large numbers of workers from the Janata Dal (United) gathered outside the Chief Ministeras residence, raising slogans and alleging that his "removal" was part of a "well-planned conspiracy". The protest intensified in the morning, with workers turning emotional and, at times, unruly. Bihar Minister Surendra Mehta faced strong opposition when he arrived at the CM's residence. Protesters surrounded and stopped his vehicle, forcing security personnel to intervene before he managed to leave the spot. JD(U) leader Lallan Sarraf was also surrounded by agitated workers, who shouted slogans in favour of Nitish Kumar. Another leader, Rajiv Kumar, said, "The people of Bihar are crying. We sought votes in Nitish Kumar's name till 2030. No one even asked us. What will we do if Nitish is gone?" Nitish Kumar is expected to file his nomination papers accompanied by BJP National President Nitin Nabin. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also scheduled to arrive in Patna, adding national significance to the occasion. Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi stated that HM Shah will reach Patna around noon, and the nomination process is likely to take place between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Amid the political upheaval, security has been significantly stepped up. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma personally reviewed security arrangements at the Chief Minister's residence. Additional police forces have been deployed at both gates of the CM's residence, and the area has been placed on high alert. The unfolding developments have sparked intense speculation about the future political landscape of Bihar, with clarity expected after the formal nomination process. New Delhi, March 5 : The Congress party on Thursday described Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's announcement to file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections as a betrayal of the people of Bihar, asserting that the NDA sought votes from them by projecting him as the CM. Speaking to IANS, Congress leader Udit Raj said that Nitish Kumar's decision reflects a betrayal of the people who supported him. "Nitish Kumar is going to betray the people. He became a leader because of the Economically Backward Class (EBC) community, but in the last 20 years he has given them nothing," Raj said. He further alleged that no significant steps were taken for the upliftment of the community during Kumar's tenure. "No universities or colleges were established for them and no special drives were conducted. He worked mainly on emotional appeals and political strategy, which led to polarisation. Now if someone who has been Chief Minister becomes a Rajya Sabha member, what will he do there? No one will question him now. The community he represented received nothing from him, and he could have done something for them during this term," he added. Another Congress leader, Surendra Rajput, also criticised the development and urged the ruling alliance to respect the mandate of the people. "The Bharatiya Janata Party and NDA leaders should not betray the people. They should serve the public on the issues for which they sought votes. They went before the people projecting Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister," Rajput said. Earlier in the day, taking to the social media platform X, Nitish Kumar addressed the people of the state, writing that for more than two decades, they have consistently reposed trust and support in him, enabling him to serve Bihar with dedication. He credited the people's faith for Bihar's progress and enhanced respect at the national level, expressing gratitude once again for their continued backing. Nitish Kumar stated that since the beginning of his parliamentary career, he had aspired to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature and Parliament. In that spirit, he announced his decision to seek election to the Rajya Sabha in the current election. Assuring the people of his continued commitment, Nitish Kumar said his relationship with the citizens of Bihar would remain intact and that his resolve to work towards building a developed Bihar would not waver. He added that he would extend full support and guidance to the new government that would be formed. The announcement has triggered intense political activity across the state. As discussions about his Rajya Sabha move gained momentum, murmurs of dissent reportedly surfaced within the Janata Dal(United) ranks. In response to the rising political temperature, security was significantly tightened around the Chief Minister's residence. A large number of police personnel were deployed at both main gates, and patrols were intensified in the surrounding areas. Security forces were placed on high alert, with the entire vicinity resembling a high-security zone. Since morning, the JD(U) workers gathered outside the Chief Minister's residence, raising slogans of "Nitish Kumar Zindabad". The workers made it clear that they support Nitish Kumar's leadership, with many stating that the public mandate was given to him as Chief Minister. The development marks a major turning point in Bihar's political landscape, as Nitish Kumar's shift to the Rajya Sabha could potentially reshape the leadership structure in the state and signal a new phase in his political journey. Jaipur, March 5 : A bomb threat at the Bikaner Court complex in Rajasthan created panic on Thursday, prompting authorities to evacuate the premises and deploy heavy security. Police immediately cordoned off the area and began a thorough search of the complex. The shocking development triggered fear among lawyers, litigants, and court staff after information about a possible bomb in the court complex surfaced. Following the alert, the police administration swiftly swung into action and placed the entire area under tight security. As a precautionary measure, the court premises were evacuated. On the instructions of senior police officials, a large police force was deployed at the spot. Bomb disposal squads and dog squads were called in to conduct an intensive search of the complex. Judicial work was temporarily halted, and all employees, advocates, and litigants were asked to leave the premises to ensure their safety. In view of the situation, Bikaner Bar Association President Ajay Kumar Purohit urged advocates and the public to remain calm and stay in safe places. He contacted senior police officials to inform them about the seriousness of the situation and issued an advisory message to lawyers and staff. In his message, he said, "All advocates, litigants, and judicial employees are requested to leave the court premises immediately and move to a safe place. There has been a threat to bomb the court complex, so this step is necessary for security reasons. Advocates who have not yet reached the court should remain safe at their homes." Police officials have begun investigating the source of the threat and are trying to trace the origin of the call or message. It is not yet clear whether the threat was a hoax or a genuine security risk, but authorities are taking the situation seriously. Security has been tightened around the court complex, and blockades have been set up in nearby areas. Police teams are also monitoring suspicious activity as part of the ongoing investigation. Authorities have assured that the situation is under control while search operations continue. Hyderabad, March 5 : The makers of director Karthik Dandu's highly anticipated mythological thriller 'Vrushakarma', featuring actor Naga Chaitanya in the lead, on Thursday released a stunning, spine-chilling glimpse video from the film, that showed that the film would be much more than just an adventure revolving around a treasure hunt and that it would be more of a mythological thriller involving dark powers. Taking to its social media handles to share the glimpse video, production house Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra (SVCC) wrote, "A mythical thriller like never before. Enter the world of #Vrushakarma. #VrushakarmaGlimpse OUT NOW. Yuvasamrat @chay_akkineni in @karthikdandu86's vision." The glimpse video opens with a man, who is possessed by an evil power, sketching a portrait of a man whose eye is gouged out. After he finishes his sketch, he starts wincing in pain and eventually we see a bat like creature emerge from his mouth. It makes its way and kills a man in exactly the manner in which the portrait was made. A voiceover says, "When an unparalleled power awakens... when the creation deviates from its purpose... destiny will choose its own course." Even as the video gives a fleeting glimpse at the characters of Jayaram, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Naga Chaitanya in the film. The makers have already disclosed that Meenakshi Chaudhary plays a character called Daksha in the film, while Jayaram plays a character called Professor Ranganath. The glimpse video goes on to substantiate Naga Chaitanya's claims about this film, before he began work on it. The actor, in an interview had said that his upcoming film with director Karthik, who is best known for having directed the horror thriller 'Virupaksha', would be a mythological thriller. "This will be a very heavy VFX-based cinema and I am very excited about this project," Naga Chaitanya had said. The actor had gone on to point out that he had not done a film with this kind of span in his 15-year film career. "This film will be in the zone of adventure, treasure hunting," the actor had said then. It may be recalled that the makers of the film had released the title of the film on Naga Chaitanya's birthday last year. The makers further unveiled the first look poster of Naga Chaitanya from "Vrushakarma". The poster featured him in a raw and fierce avatar.Naga Chaitanya was seen flaunting his muscular physique, even as he sported an intense expression. Sharing the first look poster of the film on Instagram, Naga Chaitanya had penned, "#vrushakarma it is for #nc24 (sic)". The Karthik Dandu directorial is being backed on a massive scale by producers BVSN Prasad and Sukumar under the banners of Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra LLP (SVCC) and Sukumar Writings, respectively. The film also boasts a strong technical team. The story for 'Vrushakarma' has been penned by director Sukumar. Cinematography for the film is by the talented Neil D Cunha while Ajaneesh Loknath has scored the film's music. The editing department is being headed by the National Award winner Navin Nooli. The Art direction for the forthcoming mythological flick has been done by Sri Nagendra Tangala, who earlier worked in Naga Chaitanya's 'Thandel'. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed New Delhi, March 5 : Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Warm welcome to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism of Sri Lanka, Mr. Vijitha Herath as he reaches New Delhi to participate in Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Sri Lanka share a close and multifaceted partnership, deeply rooted in shared people-to-people ties." The 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, will commence in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together an array of global leaders, policymakers and strategic experts. Instituted in 2016, the annual Raisina Dialogue has emerged as India's leading platform for discussions on international affairs. The three-day conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), convenes heads of state, ministers, academics, industry leaders, think tanks and members of the media to deliberate on pressing global challenges. Over the years, the Dialogue has hosted extensive discussions on shifting geopolitical equations, climate concerns, technological transformation, economic resilience and the future of global governance frameworks. The forum serves as a platform for debate and cooperation on issues shaping the international order. The 2026 edition is centred on the theme 'Samskara a" Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement', reflecting the current global moment. "Samskara is the inheritance of identity that enables civilisations to assert who they are, accommodate the difference and advance through refinement," the organisers have said, underscoring the philosophical underpinning of this year's deliberations. Several foreign dignitaries are expected to participate in the conference. The MEA on Wednesday confirmed that multiple high-level delegations from across the world will attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. Earlier in the day, Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Barry Faure arrived in New Delhi to participate in the Raisina Dialogue. Bhutanas Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lyonpo Dina Nath Dhungyel, arrived in India on Wednesday to take part in the country's flagship geopolitics and geo-economics forum. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also reached New Delhi on Wednesday for a State visit to India. He will attend the Raisina Dialogue as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker. The United States will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who is leading a US delegation to the Dialogue. Tehran, March 5 : Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi has strongly condemned the United States for attacking and sinking the Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, describing the incident as an "atrocity at sea" and warning that Washington would "bitterly regret" setting such a precedent. Tehran, March 5 (IANS) Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi has strongly condemned the United States for attacking and sinking the Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, describing the incident as an "atrocity at sea" and warning that Washington would "bitterly regret" setting such a precedent. Aragchi said the warship had recently visited the Indian Navy and was carrying around 130 sailors at the time of the attack. He accused the US of launching a strike without warning in waters far from Iran's territory. "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," the Iranian Foreign Minister said in a post on X. The Iranian Foreign Minister's remarks came after an American submarine torpedoed and sank the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The incident marked the first time since World War II that the US has sunk an enemy ship using a torpedo fired from a submarine. The frigate, a relatively small warship, had been returning from naval engagements in India when it was targeted. The IRIS Dena, a frigate-class vessel of the Iranian Navy, had participated in the Milan International Fleet Review held in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25, where it was welcomed by the Indian Navy. "Indian Navy welcomes IRIS Dena, of the Iranian Navy, on her arrival at Visakhapatnam... reflecting long-standing cultural links between the two nations," the Indian Navy had said in a message posted on X during the visit. The multinational naval exercise saw participation from around 74 countries. The United States did not take part in the exercise. The US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney had initially been scheduled to participate but cancelled its involvement shortly before the event began. The exercise concluded on February 25. According to reports, the IRIS Dena had departed from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was on its return journey when it was attacked in international waters near the southern coast of Sri Lanka on March 4. US officials did not deny responsibility for the attack and openly acknowledged the sinking of the Iranian vessel. "An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death," US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said while commenting on the strike. Following the attack, rescue efforts were launched in the area. The Sri Lankan Navy has so far rescued approximately 30 sailors from the IRIS Dena. The survivors were transported to Karapitiya Hospital in the southern port city of Galle, where they are receiving medical treatment. The incident has further intensified tensions in the region amid an already escalating conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel. The current war began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. The attacks reportedly targeted the country's missile arsenal and nuclear facilities and resulted in the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki casts her vote during the country's parliamentary election at a polling station in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) KATHMANDU, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. According to the Election Commission, a total of 18,903,689 voters are eligible to cast their ballots to determine the 275 seats of the lower house of parliament. Of the 6,541 candidates, 3,406 are vying for 165 seats under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. The remaining 110 seats will be allocated through the proportional representation (PR) system. To conduct the polls, the commission has set up over 23,000 polling centers and more than 10,000 polling stations across the country. A large number of security personnel have been mobilized to secure the elections. At a press conference on Wednesday, the commission said it would announce the election results for the FPTP within 24 hours after collecting the ballot boxes. A senior participates in voting at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Lalitpur, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) People line up to cast ballots at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Lalitpur, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) A man casts his ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Lalitpur, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) People participate in voting during the parliamentary election in Lalitpur, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) People line up to cast their ballots at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A man casts his ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 5, 2026. Voting began across Nepal on Thursday morning to elect a new House of Representatives that was dissolved following violent protests in September last year. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) Kathmandu, March 5 : Around 24 per cent of voters had cast their ballots by 1 pm on Thursday in Nepal's parliamentary elections, with polling underway peacefully across the country, the country's election body said. More than 4.45 million voters had exercised their voting rights by 1 pm on Thursday since voting began at 7 am, accounting for 24 per cent of the total registered voters, the Election Commission said in its latest update. More than 18.90 million people are eligible to vote in the elections, including 915,119 newly registered voters. It is the first election in the country since the Gen-Z revolt in September last year that ousted the government led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. The polls are being held to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house 165 through the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system and 110 through the proportional representation system. Police said the polls were underway peacefully across the country until Thursday noon, with only sporadic minor incidents reported. Deputy Inspector General Abi Narayan Kafle, spokesperson for Nepal Police, told IANS that polling was continuing smoothly except for minor incidents at a few polling centres, which had been brought under control. "Essentially, the polls are being held in a very peaceful environment across the country so far," he said, adding that no incident of violence had been reported until noon. Voting was temporarily halted at a polling station in Tamakoshi Rural Municipality of Dolakha district in central Nepal after a representative of a candidate attempted to assault a polling officer when the officer refused to allow his request to vote by himself on behalf of others. "Police fired a warning shot in the air to bring the situation under control," Aulakh Bahadur Ale, Assistant Chief District Officer of Dolakha district, told IANS. "Voting has now been halted and an all-party meeting is underway to resolve the issue." Earlier in the morning, a minor scuffle was reported at a polling centre in the Sarlahi-4 constituency in southern Nepal. It is the constituency where Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa is contesting the election, and his key rival is Amaresh Kumar Singh from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who was also a lawmaker from the same constituency in the dissolved parliament. No other incidents that could significantly affect the polls had been reported until Thursday noon, according to the police. Prime Minister Sushila Karki and the country's top leaders including Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Chairperson K P Sharma Oli, Nepali Communist Party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' RSP President Rabi Lamichhane, and senior RSP leader and prime ministerial candidate Balen Shah have already cast their votes. After casting her vote, Prime Minister Karki urged voters to participate actively in the democratic process. "I urge all voters to cast your valuable votes because voting will determine our future," she said. The elections are being held at 23,112 polling centres. A total of 3,406 candidates are contesting under the FPTP system, while 3,135 candidates are running under the proportional representation system. Quetta, March 5 : As violence against civilians continues unabated in Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation on Thursday brought to light the extrajudicial killing of another civilian and the enforced disappearance of two others across the province, allegedly at the hands of Pakistani forces. These latest incidents come against the backdrop of a growing wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances across the province. Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that the bullet-riddled body of Fateh Baloch was dumped in the Mashkai region of Awaran district on Wednesday, nearly two months after being forcibly disappeared. According to the rights body, Fateh Baloch, a driver by profession, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces on January 13, after being stopped at the Frontier Corps (FC) checkpoint while travelling with passengers. "Fateh was a pickup driver and the sole breadwinner of his family. His abduction was carried out without any warrant, charges, or legal justification, leaving his family in anguish and uncertainty about his fate. For weeks, his whereabouts remained unknown. His family repeatedly sought information about him but received no response from the authorities. They lived in constant fear, hoping for his safe return," Paank stated. Condemning the incident, the rights body said that the circumstances surrounding Fateh's death "indicate a clear case of extrajudicial killing". His body bore marks of violence, raising serious concerns about "unlawful detention, torture, and the ongoing pattern of enforced disappearances" in Balochistan. Highlighting the atrocities against civilians, Paank revealed that Minwar Akhtar, a resident of the Absar area in Turbat city of Kech district, was forcibly taken from his home on Wednesday night by Pakistani security forces. In a separate incident, Zameer Ahmed, resident of the Taar office area in Panjgur district, was subjected to enforced disappearance on March 3, at the hands of Pakistani military intelligence. On Wednesday, the human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) highlighted that one more Baloch civilian was extrajudicially killed by Pakistani forces in Balochistan. The rights body revealed that the dead body of 17-year-old Yahya Baloch was discovered in FC Camp at Panjgur district on March 3. It added that he was extrajudicially killed hours after being abducted from his home by a Pakistan-backed death squad along with FC personnel. The BYC noted that Yahya's disappearance, followed by his brutal death, reflects a recurring pattern in which individuals are taken from their homes, later killed, and their bodies dumped. "The continued recovery of bodies in Balochistan shows the seriousness of the ongoing crisis. Families are left grieving, without answers, and without access to justice. The international community, human rights organisations, and legal institutions must urgently demand accountability to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan," the BYC stated. --IANS scor/sd/ New Delhi, March 5 : Terming Finland as an "important partner" of India in the Nordic region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the two nations are expanding cooperation in Arctic and polar research. While addressing a joint press meet with Finland President Alexander Stubb following their talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday, PM Modi stated that the two nations have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education. "Finland is becoming a preferred destination for Indian students and talent. Today, we have signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Finland to connect the innovation ecosystems of both countries. With this, we are also going to further strengthen joint research and startup collaboration," PM Modi said. "Finland is a role model in the field of education. Today, we have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education. This means that we are going to deepen our cooperation at every level of human development, from school to industry. Finland is an important partner of India in the Nordic region. We are also expanding our cooperation with Finland in Arctic and polar research," he added. Extending a warm welcome to Stubb on his first visit to India, PM Modi said, "I warmly welcome President Stubb on his first visit to India as President of Finland. President Stubb is not only a renowned global leader but also a respected thinker and author. It is a matter of great honour and pleasure for us to have an experienced and dynamic leader like you as the Chief Guest of this year's Raisina Dialogue." PM Modi noted that the growing cooperation between India and Europe is giving new strength to global stability, growth and shared prosperity. He also mentioned about the recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU). "Today, the world is going through a period of instability and uncertainty. From Ukraine to West Asia, conflict continues in many parts of the world. In this global environment, India and Europe, which are world's two big diplomatic powers, are entering a golden period of their relations. Our growing cooperation is giving new strength to global stability, growth and shared prosperity. At the beginning of 2026, the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was signed. This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland," he said. PM Modi announced that India and Finland are transforming their ties into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability. He also spoke about the infrastructure projects that have been completed in India in cooperation with Finland, including the worldas highest railway bridge over the Chenab River. "India and Finland are important partners. Nokiaas mobile phones and telecom networks connected millions of people of India. With the cooperation of Finnish architects, we have built the worldas highest railway bridge over the Chenab River. In partnership with Finland, we have also built the world's largest bamboo-to-bioethanol refinery in Numaligarh. Inspired by such important examples, during President Stubb's visit, we are transforming India-Finland relations into a strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability. "This partnership will accelerate and energise our cooperation in many high-tech areas, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing. Additionally, the partnership will deepen in key sectors such as defence, space, semiconductors, and critical minerals. This strategic partnership between democratic and responsible countries like India and Finland will contribute to ensuring trustworthy technology and supply chains for the entire world," PM Modi mentioned. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, March 5 : The festival of Holi was celebrated with great fervour by police personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. Officers and staff were seen applying gulal to their colleagues, exchanging greetings, and dancing enthusiastically as they joined in the festive spirit. In Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, a Holi Milan ceremony was celebrated with enthusiasm at the Police Line premises on Sanchi Road. District Judge Anil Kumar Sohane and Collector Arun Vishwakarma attended the event along with several senior administrative and police officials. The celebration brought together officers and personnel who marked the occasion with colours, music, and camaraderie. Similarly, in Karauli, Rajasthan, the Holi festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm and grandeur at the police lines located at the district headquarters on Thursday. Police personnel participated actively in the festivities, spreading colours and joy among their colleagues while strengthening bonds within the force. In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Holi celebrations were held with enthusiasm at the Hazratganj Police Station. Senior officers and police personnel took part in the celebrations and extended greetings to each other. As part of the festivities, a procession is set to proceed from Hazratganj to the Reserve Police Lines, where Police Commissioner Amrendra Sengar and other senior officials are expected to join the celebrations. Bablu Kumar, Joint Police Commissioner (Law & Order), Lucknow, said, "Yesterday, the Holi festival was celebrated very well in the district with respect, and today all police officers and personnel are celebrating the festival together." Holi, often referred to as the Festival of Colours, is one of the most joyous and eagerly anticipated festivals in India and across the world. Known for its vibrant celebrations, people throw coloured powders, dance, sing, and enjoy traditional sweets, making it a time when communities, families, and friends come together in a spirit of joy, harmony, and unity. The festival's origins are deeply rooted in mythology, with several stories explaining its significance. The most popular legend associated with Holi is the story of Holika and Prahlad. According to the legend, Hiranyakashyap, a powerful demon king, demanded that everyone worship him as a god. However, his son Prahlad remained a devoted follower of Lord Vishnu. Angered by this devotion, the king decided to kill his son and sought the help of his sister Holika, who possessed a magical power that made her immune to fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered Prahlad to sit on Holika's lap as she sat in a blazing fire. However, as the flames rose, Holika was burned to ashes while Prahlad, protected by divine grace, emerged unharmed. The story symbolises the victory of good over evil and faith over arrogance. Holi commemorates Prahlad's triumph and the burning of Holika through the ritual of Holika Dahan, reminding people of the enduring power of righteousness and devotion. Hyderabad, March 5 : The Telangana government has constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee on the conduct of what is popularly called the 'Southern Kumbh Mela' the Godavari Pushkaralu. According to a Government Order issued by Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, the Sub-Committee will examine and take a decision on conduct of Pushkaralu 2027. The nine-member panel will be headed by Minister for Information Technology and Industries, D. Sridhar Babu. Ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha, Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, Tummala Nageswara Rao, Adluri Laxman Kumar and government P. Sudershan Reddy are the members of the Sub-Committee. MPs, MLAs and MLCs, representing the areas abutting Godavari River will be called for the meeting as special invitees as and when required. Principal Secretary to Government, Revenue (Endowments) Department will be the convenor of the Sub-Committee. It has been asked to submit the recommendations at the earliest. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has already directed officials to make advance preparations for the Godavari Pushkaralu, which begins on July 23, 2027. The state government also decided to seek a special package from the Centre, considering the massive influx of pilgrims expected for this Southern Kumbh Mela. The Chief Minister directed officials that the arrangements should be made on a permanent basis with proper long-term planning. He emphasised the development of major temples along the Godavari riverbank across the state, ensuring robust infrastructure to manage the massive flow of devotees during the Pushkaralu. At a meeting with officials recently, he stressed that facilities for the lakhs of pilgrims who come for the holy dip should be arranged without any shortcomings. The Godavari River flows for about 560 km in Telangana, with around 74 ghats proposed for Pushkar arrangements. The CM instructed that priority be given to Basara, Kaleshwaram, Dharmapuri, and Bhadrachalam temples, where pilgrim inflow is expected to be highest. He ordered that permanent Pushkar ghats be developed along with temple infrastructure. The second priority would be other riverside areas suitable for Pushkar baths. He said facilities must be in place to handle crowds of over two lakh devotees in a single day, including roads, traffic management, parking, drinking water, bathing ghats, and accommodation. New Delhi/Aizawl, March 5 : Law enforcement agencies, in separate operations, have seized highly addictive methamphetamine tablets and heroin valued at around Rs 36 crore in Mizoram and arrested seven drug peddlers, including three Myanmar nationals, officials said on Thursday. Officials said that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), along with the SIB of Mizoram and the State Excise and Narcotics Department, in joint operations seized 36.434 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 905 grams of heroin in three coordinated raids at different locations along the India-Myanmar border. The seized drugs are valued at around Rs 31 crore. Four drug peddlers, including a Myanmar national, have been arrested in connection with the seizures. Meanwhile, in separate operations along the India-Myanmar border, police in Champhai district in eastern Mizoram seized heroin and methamphetamine tablets valued at over Rs 4.88 crore and arrested three persons, including two Myanmar nationals. A police official said that during routine surveillance near Chhungte village, located below the bordering Champhai town, a key transit point close to the international border with Myanmar, the drugs were seized. According to officials, a suspicious car was intercepted by police personnel. While the police were checking the vehicle, a scooter sped past the spot, drawing immediate attention and prompting a hot pursuit. Sensing trouble, the riders of the scooter abandoned the two-wheeler nearby and fled on foot. However, police personnel chased the suspects and managed to apprehend all three drug peddlers, including the two Myanmar nationals. The arrested persons were identified as Lalhriathlua (26), a resident of Vaphai in Champhai district of Mizoram, and Kaplianmanga (45) and Lalnunzira (21), both residents of Tlangkawi in Chin State of Myanmar. Mizoram Police described the seizure as a major breakthrough in the district's ongoing drive against narcotics trafficking, which has been a persistent challenge in the border areas of eastern Mizoram. Cases have been registered at Champhai Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Officials said further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages of the contraband consignment, including the source of supply and the intended distribution network. Methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or party tablets, contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. The drug, often referred to as the "crazy drug", is banned in India. Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km-long porous mountainous border with Bangladesh, making the state particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling. Myanmar's Chin State is considered a major hub for the smuggling of narcotics, exotic wildlife, foreign-made cigarettes, Myanmar areca nuts (betel nuts) and other contraband through six districts of Mizoram -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip. Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : Kerala's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday expelled former legislator P. K. Sasi from the party, marking the exit of another leader who once enjoyed a strong support base in Palakkad district. Sasi, a former MLA from the Palakkad region, had been at odds with the party leadership since he was denied a second term in the 2021 Assembly elections. The decision to drop him from the electoral fray had triggered discontent within his camp, and relations between him and the state leadership had remained strained since then. Although the party later accommodated him by appointing him chairman of the state-run Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), Sasi resigned from the post last month, fuelling speculation that a complete break with the party was imminent. The expulsion came shortly after Sasi participated in a convention of disgruntled CPI-M activists in his hometown in Palakkad district that took place on Thursday. The meeting, attended by a large number of party dissidents, saw Sasi sharply criticising the district leadership. Within an hour of the convention, the state leadership, which was holding its State Committee meeting, announced his expulsion from the partyas primary membership. Party sources said the leadership viewed his participation in the dissidentsa gathering and the criticism levelled against the organisation as a serious breach of party discipline. Sasi had earlier described the gathering as a meeting of "self-respecting revolutionaries" and said it was held under compelling circumstances. He also launched a scathing attack on the district leadership during the convention. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan reacted cautiously to the development, noting that the CPI-M itself had earlier given Sasi a clean chit in connection with allegations of moral turpitude that surfaced a few years ago. Satheesan said that while the Congress had taken note of the developments, the party had not yet taken any decision. The episode adds to the political churn in Palakkad district, where internal dissent within the CPI-M has occasionally surfaced despite the partyas otherwise strong organisational structure. Palakkad, which has 12 assembly constituencies, has been a strong bastion of the CPI-M, and at the 2021 polls, it won 10 seats. However, in the December local body polls, it suffered a reversal, and with the group of dissenters growing, it remains to be seen how things will be in the upcoming Assembly polls. New Delhi, March 5 : Iran on Thursday warned of a strong response to what it described as "criminal military aggression" by the US and Israel, with its envoy to India asserting that Tehran did not initiate the conflict but would firmly retaliate. Addressing the media here, Iranian Ambassador to India Dr Mohammad Fathali said his country was aware of hostile intentions but was attacked before diplomatic timelines could play out. "We were at the negotiation table. They destroyed the negotiation table. They started the war. We are subjected to military, criminal military aggression. We announced that we will respond, we strongly respond," he said. Referring to alleged attacks on civilian areas, the envoy claimed that elementary schools were among the first targets and alleged that 160 girl students were killed in one attack. "This is terrible," he said, accusing the attackers of escalating the conflict beyond military targets. On the reported attack by a US submarine on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Fathali said the US was aware of Iranas capabilities. "They calculate cost and benefit, and fortunately, they know very well the capacity and capability of Iran. We donat want war, they started... But the duration of the war is in our hands. This is very important," he stated, indicating that Tehran retains strategic leverage. Amid speculations over a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which could sharply raise global fuel prices, the Ambassador said there was no official decision on the matter. "We have no information in this case." Responding to questions about alleged strikes in neighbouring regions, Fathali said Iran does not attack its neighbours and maintains good relations with them. However, he warned that Tehran would target "bases" used to launch attacks against it. "They provide the bases to the US, and from these bases they targeted elementary schools," he claimed. On Indiaas response to the escalating tensions, the envoy said Iran values its longstanding ties with New Delhi. "We have a good relationship with the Indian government. We have a historical background, and we believe we should strengthen and boost our relations. But in this case, all governments and all people are being put to the test," he said. He reiterated that Iran is prepared for both conflict and dialogue. "Iran is ready for war and peace, but we absolutely prefer peace. Unfortunately, they started the war," he added. The remarks come amid sharply rising tensions in West Asia, with fears that any disruption in key maritime routes could have significant implications for global energy markets, including Indiaas oil and gas supplies. New Delhi, March 5 : In a rare order, the Supreme Court has directed the employer of a man to deduct Rs 25,000 every month from his salary towards maintenance for his estranged wife and their four-year-old daughter after he refused to pay any amount voluntarily. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan passed the direction while hearing a transfer petition filed by Dimpal against her husband, Nishant Pravinbhai Soni, seeking transfer of a suit pending before a family court in Gujarat's Bhuj-Kachchh. The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench noted that despite an earlier direction issued on December 16, 2025, the husband had failed to deposit Rs 25,000 towards the travelling expenses of his wife and minor daughter for mediation proceedings. "It is unfortunate to note that the husband has not even bothered to deposit an amount of Rs 25,000 towards travelling expenses, etc. of his wife and minor daughter as ordered by us," the apex court observed. It also recorded that the husband had neither supported his wife financially nor maintained contact with the child. "Till this date, the husband has not bothered to pay a single penny to his wife or even for his minor daughter. Unfortunately, he has not even seen his minor daughter for the past four years," the order said. During the hearing, the bench examined an affidavit filed by the husband stating that his monthly salary was Rs 50,000 and his annual income was Rs 6 lakh. The affidavit also claimed that he had no significant assets and was facing financial liabilities, including loan repayments. However, when the top court asked whether he was willing to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh, including Rs 1.38 lakh towards arrears of interim maintenance, the husband declined. "In such circumstances, we are left with no other option but to direct the employer of the respondent-husband that an amount of Rs 25,000 shall be deducted per month from the salary," the bench ordered. It directed the employer, Rishad Shipping and Clearing Agency Pvt. Ltd., to transfer the deducted amount through RTGS to the bank account of the petitioner-wife. The Supreme Court said the direction was necessary, keeping in mind the welfare of the couple's minor daughter, who is being cared for solely by her mother. "We are much concerned about the welfare and the maintenance of minor daughter Avira and the petitioner-mother is taking care of Avira single-handedly," the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed. The apex court was informed that the petitioner's father had passed away and that she is presently residing with her uncle along with her minor child. Earlier, the Supreme Court had observed that the parties had been living separately since 2022 and described the case as one of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage". It had referred the matter to the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to explore a lump-sum settlement after the wife had sought Rs 40 lakh as full and final settlement. The matter has been posted for April 21 to report compliance with the directions issued by the top court. --IANS pds/vd New Delhi, March 5 : The Israel-US-Iran conflict has raged on for nearly a week now. The operation began with the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following which Iran retaliated and hit both US and Israeli interests in many parts of West Asia. As the war continues, Indian agencies have picked up chatter on several channels aiming at radicalising the youth in India. There has been fresh chatter about starting a radicalisation drive that has been picked up in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala. An Intelligence Bureau official said that radical elements have been preparing Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated videos and circulating them. These are propaganda videos which have been prepared in multiple languages. For instance for Kerala, the videos are made in Malayalam so that these elements are able to target the youth in that state. Similarly for the Kashmir audience the videos are in Kashmiri or Koshur and for UP it is in Hindi, the official said. In addition to these languages, AI is also being used to create content in Urdu and other Indian languages. This is an indication that the radical elements are planning on expanding their reach using the war as an excuse. Another official said that these elements are not just targeting the Shia Muslims. The audience includes the Sunnis as well. The idea is to radicalise the youth and then instigate them into carrying out attacks in India, the official added. Following the death of Khamenei, the Centre had issued an advisory stating that radical elements would look to infiltrate prayer meetings and solidarity rallies and radicalise the youth. Mourning processions have already been held by Shia communities in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow and Delhi. Officials say that they are expecting more such processions in the days to come. This is what the radical elements would be looking to target, the official added. In addition to the AI generated videos that are in circulation, a close watch is being kept on influencers who run religious and cultural channels online. These persons would try and subtly slip in messages to incite the youth in India, the official added. Issues such as Shia genocide and attack on the Umma are subjects that they would use to radicalise the people, the agencies have learnt. Another official added that although the Islamic State is opposed to the Shias, it would still look to capitalise on the situation and push its agenda. This outfit and the likes of the Al-Qaeda have very often used global issues to push their own version of Islam, the official said. These outfits would push the agenda about both the United States and Israel being anti-Islam. Both the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda would look to use this issue to radicalise the youth in India, the Intelligence agencies have learnt. Further the agencies have learnt that platforms such as X, WhatsApp and Telegram are being used to spread the agenda of the radicals in India. Officials say that messaging currently is subtle and this indicates that they are testing the waters. As the war intensifies, the message would become louder and open calls would be made to indulge in violence. Further the agencies are also watching closely the encrypted guidance that is being given by using these messaging channels. The financial flow, too, is being closely monitored, an official added. Many ISI-backed elements, too, are part of the plot. The ISI does not really care about any cause and its only intention is to bleed India by a thousand cuts. It would back those elements who are using the war in Iran to fuel extremism in India. The idea is to push for homegrown extremism. The larger goal is to push self-radicalised youth into carrying out lone wolf attacks in India. This is a longer game and the intention is not to strike immediately. These persons want to create a pool of a large number of individuals by using the Iran issue and then strike big in India, the agencies have learnt. -- Syndicated from IANS TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Thursday its air defense has shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet near the country's southeastern border. In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the American fighter jet was brought down early Wednesday by "modern" air defense systems of its Aerospace Division. However, the U.S. Central Command soon denied Iran's claim, calling it "baseless and not true." In another statement, the IRGC said it launched on early Thursday "heavy" Khorramshahr-4 missiles belonging to its Aerospace Division towards Tel Aviv as well as the Ben Gurion Airport and the 27th Squadron of the Israeli Air Force located inside it. It said the launched missiles carried 1-tonne warheads, adding that it also hit 20 U.S. military targets in the West Asia region as well as the countries of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Tehran has dubbed the Khorramshahr-4 "one of the largest warhead configurations developed within Iran," describing it as one of the country's advanced medium- to long-range ballistic missiles, with an estimated range of about 2,000 km. Ahmedabad, March 5 : Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday launched the fifth edition of the herSTART programme for women entrepreneurs and inaugurated a newly built research park at Gujarat University. He said the state is committed to advancing the vision of women-led development articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister also announced the naming of the university's convention centre as Vidyagauri Nilkanth Sabhapuram, honouring Vidyagauri Nilkanth, regarded as the first Gujarati woman graduate. Speaking at the event in Ahmedabad, CM Patel said the state government aims to strengthen women's participation in innovation and entrepreneurship through initiatives such as herSTART, which is run by the Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council. "Gujarat is committed to realising the vision of women-led development given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the CM said. The herSTART programme provides incubation, mentorship and market access support to women-led startups. Its fifth edition was launched at the university as part of a set of initiatives described by the organisers as a "development triveni". CM Patel said the national startup ecosystem had grown significantly since the launch of Startup India. "Inspired by the Prime Minister, Startup India has now become a revolution providing opportunities for youth to reach new heights," he said. According to the Chief Minister, the number of startups in India has risen from fewer than 500 about a decade ago to nearly 2,00,000, with women accounting for a substantial share of participation. He added that India has also moved into the leading ranks globally in terms of funding for women-led startups. Highlighting emerging sectors, CM Patel said technology should be viewed not only as a career option but also as a mission of nation-building. "Technology is not only a career option but also a mission of nation-building," he said. Referring to recent developments in the semiconductor industry, CM Patel said opportunities were expanding for skilled professionals, including women. He noted that a semiconductor plant had recently been inaugurated in Sanand and said the regions of Sanand and Dholera are expected to develop as semiconductor hubs, creating high-technology employment opportunities. "There are numerous opportunities for women power in the semiconductor sector. herSTART is intended to support women in areas such as semiconductor startups, chip design, fabrication management, semiconductor packaging and deep-technology innovation," he said. During the event, the chief minister also released a coffee table book documenting the achievements of the fourth edition of herSTART and felicitated women-led startups associated with the programme. Guwahati, March 5 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state government is making substantial investments in infrastructure to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth and development. In a post on social media platform X, Sarma stated that the government is focusing on building durable public assets that will benefit Assam for decades to come. "Building assets today for a brighter tomorrow! In Assam, we are investing a large chunk of money into creating infrastructure which will serve the State for the coming decades," he wrote. The Chief Minister said that an amount of Rs 26,409 crore has been invested during the 2024a"25 financial year alone to develop key infrastructure across the state. According to Sarma, the investments are part of the government's broader strategy to strengthen Assam's connectivity, industrial capacity and public services while accelerating the state's economic transformation. The focus has been on expanding road networks, improving bridges and transport infrastructure, upgrading urban facilities and enhancing logistics systems. Infrastructure development has emerged as a central pillar of the Assam governmentas policy framework in recent years, with the state witnessing the rollout of multiple projects aimed at improving connectivity and boosting investment. Major initiatives include new highways, bridges across the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers, expansion of airports, railway upgrades and improvements in rural connectivity. The government has also prioritised urban infrastructure, including water supply, drainage and smart city initiatives in several towns. Officials have said that such large-scale infrastructure spending is intended to generate employment, improve mobility of goods and people, and attract industries to the region. The investments are also expected to strengthen Assamas position as a gateway to Southeast Asia under Indiaas Act East policy. The Chief Minister reiterated that the government remains committed to building modern infrastructure to support Assam's long-term growth. He noted that sustained investment in public assets would help unlock economic opportunities, improve living standards and ensure that the benefits of development reach all sections of society. Mumbai, March 5 : Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who is known for his fascination with AI, shared an AI generated image of the late actors Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna. On Thursday, the director took to his X, formerly Twitter, and shared the monochromatic picture of the legends. The picture shows them sitting together for a meal, and sharing laughs. He wrote, "They were the biggest stars of that time. They ruled the hearts and minds of millions of Indians .. This humility , this friendship .. in this one picture shows how drastically the Indian Film Industry has changed today .. #movies #bollywood #dharmendra #devanand #Rajeshkhanna #DilipKumar". However, the filmmaker was trolled for the picture as social media users pointed out how it was an AI-generated picture. The director was specifically trolled for being unable to discern the picture despite his penchant for AI. One user wrote, "Atleast dont fool yourself, its an AI generated picture.. How can you be so Dumb". Another wrote, "You as a director cannot recognize AI pic?". A third user wrote, "It is a fake picture. So, any conclusions drawn from a fakePicture is also fake". Another user wrote, "Sir please check properly before posting something, your intentions are good but it's not true pic". Earlier, Shekhar had voiced strong support for India's growing role in the global artificial intelligence landscape during the AI Impact Summit. Taking to X, Kapur highlighted the overwhelming participation of young people at the summit, saying the auditorium was filled beyond capacity with students eager to listen and learn about AI. He said the enthusiasm and curiosity among the youth convinced him that India could soon emerge as a superpower in artificial intelligence. However, he emphasised the need to approach AI development from an Indian perspective. Drawing parallels with the country's digital transformation, he said India must shape its AI journey according to local realities rather than relying entirely on Western models. Chennai, March 5 : In a story of grit, conviction and service beyond self, Foreign Officer Cadet (Women) Srijana Ghalley from Bhutan has transformed an early childhood dream into military distinction, choosing the rigours of uniformed life over the comfort of a promising corporate career. Born in Samtse in Bhutan into a humble family of eight, Foreign Officer Cadet (Women) Srijana Ghalleyas journey to the military was shaped not by lineage but by inspiration. Far removed from the world of uniforms and ceremonial parades, her childhood in a quiet Bhutanese village took a decisive turn when she caught a fleeting glimpse of an officer in immaculate uniform passing through her area. The image left a lasting imprint, igniting a dream that would steadily grow stronger with time. After completing her schooling, Srijana pursued a bachelor's degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering and began her professional career as a software engineer at Selise in Bhutan. Despite a promising corporate trajectory, the call to serve her nation proved more compelling than personal comfort and stability. Choosing service over security, she stepped away from the corporate world and entered the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, as a determined young woman ready to test her limits. The nine-month training regimen at OTA was rigorous, demanding both physical endurance and mental resilience. Amid gruelling drills, tactical exercises and leadership challenges, she discovered that resilience is forged not in comfort but in hardship. Training alongside peers from various countries, she absorbed lessons in camaraderie, discipline and trust a" values that transcend borders. The academy experience transformed her into a confident and resolute officer, prepared to shoulder the responsibilities of military service. Now commissioned into the Royal Bhutan Army, she stands ready to serve with honour, loyalty and devotion to His Majesty The King and the Kingdom of Bhutan. From the hills of Samtse to the parade grounds of Chennai, FOC(W) Srijana Ghalleyas journey reflects courage beyond comfort a" a testament to the power of a dream pursued with unwavering resolve. New Delhi, March 5 : Leaders from the BJP and JD(U) on Thursday have expressed support for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to move to the Rajya Sabha, describing it as a personal and respected choice of a senior political leader. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that Nitish Kumar has played a significant role in transforming Bihar. "Nitish Kumar has certainly given Bihar a new direction and brought the state out of a very negative phase to build a more dignified Bihar. The rest depends on him. He is our leader and is like my elder brother. Whatever decision he takes will be accepted by all of us," he told IANS. BJP MP Dinesh Sharma also praised the veteran leader, highlighting his long administrative experience. "Nitish Kumar is a senior and experienced leader. He has nearly 20 years of experience as the Chief Minister. The Janata Dal (United) is a party founded by him, and he is its supreme decision-maker. If he wishes to go to the Rajya Sabha, it is his personal decision," Sharma said. BJP National Spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam stated that the move reflects Nitish Kumar's stature in politics. "This is Nitish Kumar ji's decision. He himself tweeted that he wants to go to the Rajya Sabha. He has a very big stature in Bihar politics and is also a prominent face of our NDA alliance," he said. Meanwhile, JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said that Kumar will succeed in this endeavour also. "He has filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha and will succeed. His presence will further enhance the dignity of the House," Tyagi said. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections. All five candidates, including Nitin Nabin, Shivesh Kumar Ram, and Upendra Kushwaha of the ruling alliance, also submitted their nominations on the same day. Several senior NDA leaders were present during the filing process, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Patna from New Delhi for the occasion. While the nomination marked a significant political transition for Nitish Kumar, the development triggered unrest among a section of Janata Dal(United) leaders and workers. Protesters gathered outside the Chief Minister's residence, raising slogans against the BJP and alleging a conspiracy to sideline Nitish Kumar. As Amit Shah left the residence alongside Nitish Kumar, some JD(U) workers shouted slogans such as "Down with Amit Shah" and accused the BJP of attempting to weaken the party through what they described as 'Operation Lotus'. Mumbai, March 5 : A five-member delegation from Maharashtra, headed by the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam will travel to Columbia as International Observers in the International Observation Mission for the elections to the Congress of the Republic of Columbia from March 6 to 10. The elections in Columbia are slated to be held on March 8 this year. Along with Chockalingam, the delegation includes, Ashirwad Kumar District Election Officer & Collector, Solapur; Manohar Ramchandra Parkar, Joint Chief Electoral Officer & Deputy Secretary, Maharashtra; Priyesh Lakhuchand Mahajan, Electoral Registration Officer, 59-Ramtek Assembly Constituency and Sub-divisional Officer, Ramtek, Nagpur and Sagar Ashok Shirke, Booth Level Officer (Talathi-Ozar), Niphad, Nashik. Under the Election Commission of India (ECI)as Global Engagement for Electoral Excellence (GEEE) initiative, a comprehensive exercise has been undertaken to examine international best practices in electoral management and to disseminate Indiaas institutional experience and expertise at the global level. In furtherance of this initiative, specific countries have been identified and allocated to the respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the State for focussed engagement. The State of Maharashtra has been assigned the Republic of Colombia for this purpose. Accordingly, as directed by the Commission, a five-member delegation, led by the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra, shall undertake an official visit to the Republic of Colombia from March 6 to 10 to advance the objectives of the said initiative. As part of this initiative and as elections for the Colombian Congress are scheduled on March 8, Presidente, Consejo Nacional Electoral, Colombia vide his letter has invited the five-member delegation headed by S Chockalingam, Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra as International Observers in the International Observation Mission for the elections to the Congress of the Republic. Indian International Institute of Democracy and Election Management has obtained required clearance for the visit from the Ministry of External Affairs and approval from the Election Commission of India and has communicated to this office vide their letter dated February 10 this year. New Delhi, March 5 : As tensions continue to escalate amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov on Thursday called for resolving the issue through negotiations. As concerns over the prices rising globally after the closure of Strait of Hormuz grow, the Russian diplomat also asserted that it is for New Delhi to decide on suppliers even though Moscow has always been open towards supplying oil to India. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Alipov said, "The resolution is always through negotiations. The conflict should stop as soon as possible." When asked how long will the war continue, he responded, "I have no idea. This is a question to the US." Amid speculations over a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which could sharply raise global fuel prices, Alipov said, "It's up to India to decide on supplies and supply sources. We have always been open towards supplying oil to India." On February 28, Russia condemned the "unprovoked' armed attack by the United States and Israel on Iran, asserting the urgent need to return the situation to a political and diplomatic resolution. Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a telephonic conversation on Saturday at the initiative of the Iranian side. "The Iranian minister reported on the Iranian leadership's steps to repel US and Israeli aggression, which has once again disrupted negotiations for a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear programme. He announced plans to urgently convene a meeting of the UN Security Council," read a statement issued by the Russian MFA after the phone call. "Sergei Lavrov condemned the unprovoked armed attack by the US and Israel on Iran, which violates the principles and norms of international law and completely disregards the grave consequences for regional and global stability and security. The minister emphasised the need to immediately cease attacks against the Islamic Republic and return the situation to a political and diplomatic resolution," it added. According to the statement, Lavrov expressed Russia's readiness, including in the UN Security Council, to facilitate the search for peaceful solutions based on international law, mutual respect, and a balance of interests. The conflict in West Asia began after joint US-Israel strikes on Iran, aimed at degrading Tehran's missile capabilities and broader military infrastructure. The opening wave of the operation killed senior figures in the Iranian leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a sweeping response from Iran in the form of drone and missile attacks targetting US assets, regional capitals and allied forces across West Asia. Mumbai, March 5 : The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly witnessed stormy scenes on Thursday as opposition parties clashed with the government over a massive explosion at SBL Energy Limited in Raulgaon, Nagpur district. The blast, which resulted in the deaths of 18 workers led to an aggressive showdown, culminating in a walkout by the opposition. State Labour Minister Akash Fundkar informed the House that the state government has officially shut down the facility. He stated that FIRs have been filed against 21 individuals, including the factory owner and several officials. Ruling and opposition members expressed anguish over the death of 18 workers and demanded strong action against the company management. "The government is extremely serious about this incident. We have invoked charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder," Fundkar said. He added that under the new labour laws, the state now holds the power to shut down companies immediately if safety discrepancies are found. A high-level probe into the alleged negligence of Labour Department officials is also underway, with a report expected within eight days. The debate was initiated through a 'Calling Attention' motion. Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Vijay Wadettiwar, launched a scathing attack, labelling the incident not as an accident, but as a "massacre" caused by the collusion between the administration and the owners. Wadettiwar highlighted several shocking safety "lapses" including missing infrastructure, lack of expertise, administrative failure and negligence. He further claimed that the company lacked fire pumps and CCTV surveillance. Only one safety officer was present despite a requirement for two; workers had no training in handling explosives. "The appointed Factory Medical Officer, Dr Shashank Dongre, allegedly never visited the site. No internal safety audits were recorded, yet inspectors provided safety clearances," he said. Wadettiwar claimed that even though the Petroleum and Safety Organisation headquarters is in Nagpur, their officials never went to the factory for inspection. Labour officers and inspectors have played with people's lives by merely accepting bribes. Minister Phadkar repeated that action will be taken as per legal possibilities. However, expressing displeasure over minister's reply the opposition condemned the government citing its apathy and staged a walkout. New Delhi, March 5 : Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of the Government of India, signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday and offered condolences on the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Misri met Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali and offered condolences over the demise of Khamenei. Khamenei was killed in an epochal attack by the US and Israel on February 28, marking an inflexion point in the 46-year Shia-theocratic rule. Across Iran, days of national mourning began immediately, accompanied by public declarations of continued resistance and unity in the face of what the government called an act of aggression. In response to the profound loss felt by the Iranian people and supporters worldwide, the embassy in New Delhi has invited members of the Indian public, members of the diplomatic community, and anyone wishing to express sympathy to visit the premises and sign the condolence book. The condolence book will remain open on three specific days. It will be available on Thursday (March 5), Friday (March 6), and Monday (March 9). Meanwhile, Iran on Thursday warned of a strong response to what it described as "criminal military aggression" by the US and Israel, with its envoy to India asserting that Tehran did not initiate the conflict but would firmly retaliate. Speaking to reporters, Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali said Iran was aware of hostile intentions but was attacked before diplomatic timelines could play out. "We were at the negotiation table. They destroyed the negotiation table. They started the war. We are subjected to military, criminal military aggression. We announced that we will respond, we strongly respond," he said. Referring to alleged attacks on civilian areas, the envoy claimed that elementary schools were among the first targets and alleged that 160 girl students were killed in one attack. "This is terrible," he said, accusing the attackers of escalating the conflict beyond military targets. On the reported attack by a US submarine on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Fathali said the US was aware of Iranas capabilities. "They calculate cost and benefit, and fortunately, they know very well the capacity and capability of Iran. We donat want war, they started... But the duration of the war is in our hands. This is very important," he stated, indicating that Tehran retains strategic leverage. Responding to questions about alleged strikes in neighbouring regions, Fathali said Iran does not attack its neighbours and maintains good relations with them. However, he warned that Tehran would target "bases" used to launch attacks against it. "They provide the bases to the US, and from these bases they targeted elementary schools," he claimed. On Indiaas response to the escalating tensions, the envoy said Iran values its longstanding ties with New Delhi. "We have a good relationship with the Indian government. We have a historical background, and we believe we should strengthen and boost our relations. But in this case, all governments and all people are being put to the test," he said. He reiterated that Iran is prepared for both conflict and dialogue. "Iran is ready for war and peace, but we absolutely prefer peace. Unfortunately, they started the war," he added. Chennai, March 5 : Exports of textiles, garments and wet grinders from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore are facing significant delays as the escalating conflict in West Asia disrupts cargo movement through key international sea routes, affecting trade with Gulf countries and other overseas markets, officials said on Thursday. Exporters say the situation has worsened following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passage for global shipping. Cargo vessels that normally pass through the Red Sea and the Gulf region are now being forced to take a much longer route around the African continent through the Cape of Good Hope, leading to major disruptions in shipping schedules. According to the Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the diversion has extended shipping transit times by nearly 20 to 25 days. The delay is already impacting export commitments made by textile and garment manufacturers in the Coimbatore region, one of India's key textile hubs. Industry representatives warn that the prolonged transit time could lead to serious financial consequences for exporters. International buyers often work with strict delivery deadlines, and delays in shipments could result in cancelled orders or requests for heavy discounts. Exporters may also face rising logistics costs as shipping companies revise freight rates due to the longer routes and higher fuel consumption. The disruption is particularly worrying for the textile sector, which relies heavily on consistent export schedules. Coimbatore-based manufacturers export garments worth nearly $2 billion annually to the United Arab Emirates, while shipments worth around $1 billion are sent to other Gulf countries. With shipping schedules now uncertain, exporters fear that buyers in the region may turn to alternative suppliers. Another concern for the industry is the potential shortage of raw materials. Traders say the disruption could affect the supply of synthetic yarn and other textile inputs, which may eventually push up production costs for manufacturers. The impact is not limited to textiles alone. Coimbatore's well-known wet grinder manufacturing sector, which exports large volumes to Gulf and international markets, is also facing difficulties. Several consignments are reportedly stuck at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, while new export orders from overseas buyers have been temporarily halted due to uncertainty over shipping timelines. Exporters have urged the Central government and shipping authorities to closely monitor the situation and explore possible logistical support measures to prevent further disruptions to India's export trade. Industry bodies say a prolonged crisis in the region could have wider repercussions for exporters across southern India. MANILA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and South Korea have elevated their economic partnership through the signing of an upgraded memorandum of understanding (MoU), the Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Thursday. The MoU is aimed at expanding cooperation in trade, investment and economic cooperation at a time of rapid global economic shifts, the DTI said in a press release. "By institutionalizing a more responsive and forward-looking cooperation mechanism, we are ensuring that trade and investment remain central pillars of a resilient and future-ready Philippine economy," DTI Secretary Cristina Roque said. Under the enhanced framework, the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in sectors such as automotive, shipbuilding, marine equipment, semiconductors, electronics and electrical equipment, mold and die, critical raw materials, energy, and the digital economy. The MoU introduces operational enhancements, including the creation of a vice-ministerial or undersecretary-level ad hoc consultative body to address issues faced by businesses and investors. The mechanism is expected to provide a faster channel for resolving bottlenecks and facilitating smoother trade and investment flows. The MoU was signed during this week's state visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. New Delhi, March 5 : The pressure tactics of the Donald Trump administration have triggered a change in what was a strengthening India-US relationship, according to an article in a prestigious journal. Indian leaders initially assumed the United States would prioritise their partnership as part of a larger plan to compete with China, but this did not happen, which has forced New Delhi to look for alternative partnerships, according to the article in Foreign Affairs magazine. The article considers the trade agreement signed in January with the European Union as signalling an important shift in New Delhias geoeconomic strategy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as the amother of all deals" with an estimated 30 billion euros in export gains for both sides. It was also accompanied by a new defence pact and a plethora of other agreements. Bilateral economic deals such as the one signed with Brussels and recent agreements with Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and others will help India boost its economy and diversify away from a reliance on any single power, the article stated. The article also suggests that India should join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, which is considered Asiaas most important trade bloc. Signed in 2018, the CPTPP emerged after US President Trump withdrew from an earlier agreementa"the Trans-Pacific Partnershipa"designed to create a high-quality trade area spanning the entire Pacific Rim. The CPTPP eliminates or reduces tariffs across a wide variety of goods and services while also binding members to exacting common standards in many areas, including labour rights, intellectual property, and investment. These standards create the impetus to drive real structural reform in member economies. Even without the United States, the agreement now has 12 members that account for about 15 per cent of the world economy, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. An array of new possible members now want to join, including Cambodia and South Korea. While there are significant barriers to India joining the bloc, the case for joining is also strong. CPTPP countries would gain preferential access to Indiaas potentially vast market, while the group as a whole would benefit from having a future global superpower inside the bloc. For India, membership would accelerate its integration into regional supply chains and provide a major fillip for exports, the article added. New Delhi, March 5 : Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Thursday cautioned Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi not to insult or discredit the Assembly Committees for "narrow political gains". New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Thursday cautioned Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi not to insult or discredit the Assembly Committees for "narrow political gains". The Speaker's advisory followed LoP Atishi's critical public comments on the ongoing 'Faansi Ghar' enquiry by the Committee of Privileges. In a formal letter issued on Thursday, the Speaker criticised the LoP in the Delhi Assembly for making unsubstantiated statements during a Press briefing, asserting that such actions undermine the independent and non-partisan functioning of the Assembly's Committee of Privileges. The Speaker's intervention follows LoP Atishi's public assertion that a 'Faansi Ghar' did indeed exist within the Assembly premises. Addressing these claims directly, the Speaker noted that if such evidence exists, it must be presented formally to the Committee of Privileges rather than through the media. The letter highlighted a growing concern over the blurring lines between political rhetoric and parliamentary process. The Speaker remarked that as a responsible Member of the Assembly and LoP, it does not behove her to pass remarks or cast aspersions on a matter currently being deliberated by a House Committee. Expressing deep disappointment, Gupta underscored that his duty as Speaker is to protect the dignity of the House from unsubstantiated statements made without evidence. This formal letter comes just ahead of the final scheduled appearance for the four summoned individuals on March 6, a date formalised by the Committee to ensure the enquiry proceeds without further delay. The Speaker's letter addressed to LoP Atishi said, "My attention has been drawn to your Press briefing wherein you have made unwarranted statements against the summons issued to Arvind Kejriwal, former Chief Minister, Delhi." "In your Press briefing, you have asserted that there indeed was a 'Faansi Ghar' on the Assembly premises. If that is the case, I would like to request you to ask Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Ram Niwas Goel and Rakhi Birla to submit the proof of the same before the Committee of Privileges in its sitting. As you are aware, it is for this very purpose that they have been summoned before the Committee," said the Speaker. As a responsible Member of the Delhi Assembly and Leader of Opposition, it does not behove you to pass remarks and cast aspersions on a matter which is before the Committee, said the Speaker. "You should appreciate the difference between a political party and the Assembly and its Committees. The Delhi Assembly and its Committees function independently now. Maybe, it is a new phenomenon to you, as history is witness to the misuse of the Assembly and its Committees during the previous period," he said. "As the Speaker of the House, I find it disappointing that you have resorted to such unsubstantiated statements without any evidence and it is my duty to advise you to not insult or defame the Assembly Committees for your narrow political gains," he said. Mumbai, March 5 : Maharashtra's public debt is set to climb to a staggering Rs 9.32 lakh crore in 2025-26, even as the state projects a strong 7.9 per cent economic growth that edges past the national forecast, according to the pre-budget Economic Survey presented in the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday. Minister of State for Finance, Ashish Jaiswal, tabled the document, which paints a picture of robust expansion fueled by impressive GST inflows and buoyant market sentiment, while underscoring the rising burden of borrowings. The outstanding public debt is expected to jump from Rs 8.39 lakh crore recorded in 2024-25, pushing the debt-to-GSDP ratio to 18.3 per cent -- still within the 17-18 per cent range the state has maintained for years. Despite the uptick in debt, the survey emphasizes fiscal discipline, projecting a fiscal deficit of 2.7 per cent of GSDP and a revenue deficit of just 0.9 per cent, comfortably below the 3 per cent ceiling mandated by the Maharashtra FRBM Rules. Nominal GSDP at current prices is forecast to touch Rs 51 lakh crore, marking 10.4 per cent growth, with real GSDP (at 2011-12 prices) estimated at Rs 28.83 lakh crore. Sectoral contributions reveal services leading the charge with 9 per cent growth, followed by industry at 5.7 per cent and agriculture and allied activities at a modest 3.4 per cent. Capital spending is budgeted at Rs 1.51 lakh crore (19.9 percent of GSDP), with nearly Rs 93,000 crore earmarked for development projects. On the farm front, kharif sowing spanned 157.27 lakh hectares, promising healthy gains in cereals (10.6 per cent), sugarcane (22 per cent), pulses (28.2 per cent), and oilseeds (47.4 per cent), though rabi oilseeds face a 16.2 per cent dip. Maharashtra's nominal GSDP continues to command the largest slice of national GDP at 14 per cent for 2024-25, and per capita income is pegged at Rs 3,47,903 -- well above the national average of Rs 2,19,575. Revenue receipts are anticipated to rise to Rs 5.61 lakh crore in 2025-26, bolstered by Rs 4.77 lakh crore in taxes, while the state looks forward to 6.441 per cent devolution from central taxes and Rs 1.09 lakh crore in grants over the 16th Finance Commission cycle. Up to December 2025, the state had already realized 66.2 per cent of budgeted revenue receipts and 60 per cent of revenue expenditure, signaling steady fiscal momentum despite the mounting debt load. Mauganj/Rewa, March 5 : The newly formed Mauganj district in Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday, witnessed yet another "bloody" Holi as an old dispute between two families over 'love affairs' escalated into violent clash, resulting in the death of a person and nearly a dozen injured. The incident occurred in Dhawa Gautaman area under Hanumana police station around 3 p.m. when the Holi celebration on Wednesday was underway and people in the village were exchanging greetings with colours and joy. The violence occurred after a group of members of the Saket family, who were heavily drunk, abused and beat up a youth identified as Puran Lal Patel, who was accused of having "love-affair" with a girl from the Saket community from the same village. Hearing the commotion, Puran's father, mother and other siblings also rushed to intervene and both sides attacked each other with sticks, pelted stones and whatever they found during the fight which ended after the people from nearby villages intervened and the Hanumana police was alerted. During the fight, Puran's father Raghuveer Patel and his brother Sandeep Patel were seriously injured and they were rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, however, Raghuveer succumbed to his injuries midway. Nearly a dozen people, including women were injured in the fight and they are being treated at the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa. "Five to six people are injured from the Patel family and at least three to four persons from the Saket family also got injured," Sagar Kumar, a local resident of Mauganj, told IANS. The matter was highlighted on Thursday after the post-mortem of the body (Raghuveer Patel) was conducted and taken to the village for the last rites. A large number of people from the Patel community, including relatives and family members of the deceased, gathered at the police station and demanded harsh punishment against the accused persons. Mauganj State Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP), Sachi Pathak, told IANS that the situation was under control after the police and administrative officials conducted a meeting with the representatives from the both sides, however, heavy security has been deployed to avoid any further escalation. This entire incident is said to be nearly two years old. Raghuveer Patel's son, Puran Lal Patel, was acquitted in the same case. To avenge this, the Saket family planned an attack on Holi. It was the second consecutive Holi when Mauganj's Gadara-Dhaba area witnessed bloodshed due to an old dispute between the people from two different castes. During last year's Holi, a deadly clash had occurred in Gadara area where the people belonging to Kol (tribal community) had killed a youth from the Brahmin caste. When the police tried to control the situation, the Kol community had kidnapped a senior woman police officer and had killed one Sub-Inspector. Ironically, this incident occurred despite the Mauganj district police, a day before Holi, said that learning from last year's incident in Gadara area, 27 police teams have been deployed this year, and sensitive areas are being continuously patrolled. What is more interesting is that the local MLA from Mauganj Assembly constituency, Pradeep Patel, recently was in news for being reportedly missing and facing alleged 'life-threat'. Mauganj along with two other tehsils -- Deotalab and Naigarhi was separated from Rewa district ahead of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. The newly formed Mauganj district borders Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. Kolkata, March 5 : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that the Commission's full bench, which will visit West Bengal for a two-day tour next week, will have a packed schedule. According to the schedule, the full bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar will arrive in Kolkata on the night of March 8. Over the next two days -- March 9 and March 10 -- the Commission will review both the ongoing process of judicial adjudication of voters' documents classified under the "logical discrepancy" category and the preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year. An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that on March 9 the Commission's full bench will hold meetings with representatives of different registered political parties from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, with each party being allotted 10 minutes. "At around 12.30 p.m., the CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal will give a presentation to the Commission's full bench on the situation relating to judicial adjudication and poll preparedness. The presentation will last for around 30 minutes," the CEO's office insider said. Thereafter, between 1.15 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. on March 9, the Commission's full bench will hold a meeting with representatives of different security and investigating agencies, both from the state and the Centre. "Approximately 24 agencies will be represented at the meeting, along with district magistrates and district police superintendents," the CEO's office insider said, adding that the day's schedule will conclude with that meeting. On March 10, the Commission's full bench will hold meetings with top bureaucrats and senior police officers of the state government, including Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and the state's acting Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey. "That meeting will start at 10 a.m. and is expected to continue for around 10 hours. After that, the Commission's full bench will meet electoral registration officers, assistant electoral registration officers and booth-level officers," the CEO's office insider said. The Commission's full bench will return to Delhi later on March 10. New Delhi, March 5 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with his Oman counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi on Thursday, discussing the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Following their conversation, EAM Jaishankar in a post on X wrote, "Spoke with FM Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi of Oman on the ongoing conflict in West Asia." On March 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and condemned violation of Omanas sovereignty and territorial integrity. PM Modi expressed appreciation for Oman's continued support for the Indian diaspora. "Spoke with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and exchanged views on recent developments in West Asia. Condemned the violation of Omanas sovereignty and territorial integrity. We agreed that sustained diplomatic engagement is essential for earliest restoration of regional peace and stability. Deeply appreciated Omanas continued support to the Indian community," PM Modi posted on X. On March 2, Indian Embassy in Oman said that an Indian national on board the oil tanker MKD Vyom was killed after the tanker was reportedly targeted in the Gulf of Oman. It stated that the embassy was in touch with local authorities to facilitate the safe and early repatriation of Indian nationals on board the vessel. "The Embassy of India expresses its deepest condolences on the tragic demise of an Indian national on board MKD Vyom. The Embassy is in close coordination with the local authorities in Oman to facilitate the safe and early repatriation of our nationals on board the vessel. We remain committed to extending all possible assistance in this matter," the Indian Embassy in Oman posted on X. According to Oman's official news agency, the oil tanker flagged to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, was attacked by an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) approximately 52 nautical miles off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. The oil tanker was carrying an estimated 59,463 metric tonnes of cargo. The attack caused a fire and explosion within the main engine room, causing the death of one crew member of Indian nationality. In coordination with the Maritime Security Centre, the tanker's complement of 21 crew members a" 16 Indian nationals, four Bangladeshi nationals, and one Ukrainian national a" were evacuated through the commercial vessel MV SAND, which flies the flag of the Republic of Panama. Simultaneously, a vessel from the Royal Navy of Oman is monitoring the condition of the tanker which was targetted and issuing the necessary navigational warnings to vessels transiting the same maritime zone. The conflict in West Asia was triggered by the joint US-Israel strikes against Iran on February 28, aimed at degrading Tehran's missile capabilities and military infrastructure. The opening wave of the operation killed senior figures in the Iranian leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a sweeping response from Iran in the form of drone and missile attacks targetting US assets, regional capitals and allied forces across West Asia. Patna, March 5 : While senior Janata Dal-United leaders appeared supportive of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha, strong resentment erupted among party workers across Patna on Thursday. Protests broke out from the Chief Minister's residence to the party's state office, where Janata Dal-United workers not only raised slogans but also vandalised furniture and other items inside the premises. Agitated Janata Dal-United activists raised slogans against several veteran party leaders, including Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, JD-U Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha, Bihar Ministers Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Ashok Choudhary. Janata Dal-United activists alleged that the veteran party leaders were conspiring with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to weaken the party and remove Nitish Kumar from the post of Chief Minister. The situation escalated when Janata Dal-United Legislative Council member Sanjay Gandhi was reportedly manhandled by protesting party workers at the party office. According to sources, JD-U leader Sanjay Gandhi was prevented from leaving the party office premises for some time amid continuous sloganeering before eventually exiting through the main gate. Several JD-U workers claimed that Nitish Kumar's move to the Rajya Sabha was not voluntary but part of a larger political strategy that would pave the way for a BJP leader to become the Bihar Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar filed his Rajya Sabha nomination earlier on Thursday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, signalling an imminent leadership transition in Bihar. The prospect of a Chief Minister from the BJP in Bihar has reportedly intensified dissatisfaction within sections of the JD-U cadres. Nitish Kumar's brother-in-law, Anil Kumar, also expressed displeasure over the development. He said that Bihar without Nitish Kumar would be "like a widow", adding that sending the Chief Minister to the Rajya Sabha midway through his Chief Ministerial term was not appropriate. He emphasised that the work done by Nitish Kumar for Bihar could not be forgotten. Strong political reactions have also emerged from Nitish Kumar's native village, Kalyan Bigha. Villagers expressed anger over Nitish Kumar's shift to national politics, saying that Bihar has not had a better political leader than him. Some villagers voiced concerns about the future of liquor prohibition law and the law and order in the state. There were also allegations from some residents that Nitish Kumar's move to the Rajya Sabha was "politically motivated". Police personnel have been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure. While some villagers supported the possible political entry of Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar, they reportedly opposed the Chief Minister's exit from Bihar's leadership. Outside the Chief Minister's residence, emotional scenes were witnessed as several JD-U workers expressed their grief and anger. Some reportedly threatened extreme steps, including self-immolation, prompting heightened security arrangements. Political observers say that this development could significantly reshape Bihar's political landscape and create new tensions within the ruling NDA alliance in Bihar. As Nitish Kumar prepares to transition to the Rajya Sabha, the coming days are expected to be crucial for both the JD-U and the broader NDA alliance in Bihar. Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : The month-long "Puthuyuga Yatra", led by Kerala's Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan, which began from Kasaragod on February 6, will culminate in the state capital on Saturday with a massive public rally to be addressed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. Announcing the conclusion of the yatra, Satheesan said the final meeting will be held at Putharikandam Maidan and will mark the end of a journey that, according to his Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), reflected "strong public resentment" against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The yatra witnessed wide participation from ordinary citizens, besides party workers, with large numbers of youth and women joining the campaign across districts, he said. The Congress leader said the march was not limited to political criticism of the government but focused extensively on discussions about Keralaas development and the changes needed in key sectors. Issues relating to healthcare, higher education, agriculture, infrastructure development, the stateas economy, and Keralaas long-term development prospects were discussed during the journey. The UDF also released vision documents on the health sector and higher education as part of the programme. According to Satheesan, the leadership interacted with people from different sections of society in every district, deliberately inviting ordinary citizens rather than prominent personalities. Participants included victims of the endosulphan tragedy, families affected by wildlife attacks, agricultural workers, anganwadi teachers, ASHA workers, lottery employees, pre-primary teachers, KSRTC pensioners, parents of persons with disabilities and job aspirants awaiting appointments. The UDF plans to compile district-specific documents highlighting the key issues faced by each region, he said, adding that these interactions would help the alliance prepare its election manifesto and identify priority areas if it comes to power. Satheesan also launched a sharp attack on the state government for issuing advertisements through the Information and Public Relations Department, highlighting negative news reports from a decade ago during the previous UDF rule. He alleged that public funds were being misused to run "politically motivated propaganda". Meanwhile, Satheesan claimed that several workers of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist had joined the Congress and other UDF constituents during the course of the yatra, indicating growing discontent within the Left ranks ahead of the Assembly elections. New Delhi, March 5 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi for the second time in less than a week on Thursday, discussing the evolving security situation in West Asia. Following their conversation, EAM Jaishankar wrote on X, "Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon." EAM Jaishankar last spoke with Araghchi on February 28, expressing India's concerns at the recent developments in Iran and the region. "Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this evening. Shared Indiaas deep concern at the recent developments in Iran and the region," EAM Jaishankar posted on X. Earlier on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of the Government of India, signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi and offered condolences on the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Tuesday, India expressed concern over the commencement of the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region and reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy. India called for early end to the conflict as many lives have been lost. In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, "We had expressed our deep concern at the commencement of the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region on 28 February 2026. Even at that time, India had urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritize the safety of civilians. Unfortunately, in the holy month of Ramadan, the situation in the region has deteriorated significantly and continuously. "In recent days, we have not only witnessed an intensification of the conflict but also its spread to other nations. The destruction and deaths have mounted, even as normal life and economic activities come to a halt. As a proximate neighbour with critical stakes in the security and stability of the region, these developments evoke great anxiety," it added. According to the MEA statement, Safety and well being of around one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region remains Indian government's utmost priority. Indian government will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and take relevant decisions in the national interest. "We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy. As a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days." The MEA stated that Indian Embassies and Consulates in the affected countries remain in close touch with Indian nationals and community organisations and have been issuing regular advisories and extending all possible help to thse stranded by the conflict. The conflict in West Asia was triggered by the joint US-Israel strikes against Iran on February 28, aimed at degrading Tehran's missile capabilities and military infrastructure. The opening wave of the operation killed senior figures in the Iranian leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a response from Tehran in the form of drone and missile attacks targetting US assets, regional capitals and allied forces across the region Iran's retaliatory strikes have spanned several countries, with missiles and drones intercepted over Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, prompting temporary airspace closures. Paris/New Delhi, March 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, discussing "shared concerns" over the evolving situation in West Asia. "Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region," Prime Minister Modi posted on X after the phone call. Earlier in the day, while addressing the media jointly with President of Finland Alexander Stubb following their talks, PM Modi reflected that the world is passing through a phase of instability and uncertainty and highlighted that from Ukraine to West Asia, several parts of the world continue to face situations of conflict. "India and Finland both believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved solely through military conflict. Whether in Ukraine or in West Asia, we will continue to support every effort aimed at the early end of conflict and the restoration of peace," said PM Modi. Over the fast few days, PM Modi has spoken with the top leadership of Qatar, UAE, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait as India remains in touch with the governments of the region as well as other key partners over the ongoing conflict in Iran and the Gulf region. During his discussions, Prime Minister Modi has strongly emphasised the urgent need to restore peace and stability in the region through dialogue and diplomacy. PM Modi and Macron recently met during the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi. On Wednesday, PM Modi also thanked Macron, for his Holi greetings. It began with President Macron posting a brief message in Hindi on X: "Happy Holi, my friend!" Responding to the greeting, Prime Minister Modi thanked the French President and conveyed his wishes in French. "Merci beaucoup, mon ami! A l'occasion de la fete sacree de Holi, je vous adresse, a vous et au peuple de France, mes vux sinceres de bonheur et de prosperite." The message translates to: "Thank you very much, my friend! On the sacred occasion of Holi, I extend my sincere wishes of happiness and prosperity to you and the people of France." TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Intelligence Ministry said Thursday the country's armed forces have heavily damaged a large part of the positions and facilities belonging to "separatist terrorist" groups near western borders through a "pre-emptive" military operation. The ministry said the groups sought to "abuse" the war conditions and infiltrate Iran through western borders with U.S. and Israeli support, with an aim to launch "terrorist" attacks in Iran's urban and border areas, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported. Separately, Mohammad-Reza Rezaei, governor of Baneh border county in western Iran's province of Kurdestan, on Thursday rejected rumors of invasion against or infiltration into Iran from the shared border with Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency, the governor said that security is ensured along the county's border, and that Iranian armed forces are protecting borders round the clock and with full readiness. On Wednesday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a phone conversation with Bafel Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a group based in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The two discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation for common security and stability along the shared border. The developments came as the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran entered its sixth day. The operation has triggered a sharp escalation across the Middle East, setting off waves of missile exchanges, mounting casualties, and far-reaching political, security, and economic repercussions. New Delhi, March 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a post-budget webinar on the theme "Agriculture and Rural Transformation" on Friday via video conferencing, according to a PMO statement. Under this theme, PM Modi is holding eight different webinar sessions covering four major sectors that include agriculture, animal husbandry and dairying; fisheries and rural livelihoods. The post-budget webinar will focus on promoting high-value agriculture by unlocking the potential of crops such as cashew, coconut, sandalwood, agarwood, almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts. It will also deliberate on the opportunities offered by Bharat Vistaar, the AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture, the statement said. Besides, the sessions will also deliberate upon private sector investment and entrepreneurship in the animal husbandry value chain, integrated development of reservoirs and Amrit Sarovars for fisheries, strengthening coastal fisheries value chains, and expanding market access for products made by rural women entrepreneurs through self-help Entrepreneurs-Marketing Avenues for Rural Transformation (SHE-Marts). The Union Budget 2026-27 placed a strong emphasis on high-value agriculture, allied sectors and technology-led farming, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposing targeted interventions to boost farmer incomes, create rural employment and modernise agricultural practices. She announced an allocation of Rs 1,62,671 crore for the agriculture sector in the Union Budget, up 7 per cent from 2025-26's revised estimate of Rs 1,51,853, outlining the continued focus on farmer welfare, food security and rural livelihoods. The ministryas outlay has shot up in recent years from about Rs 21,933.50 crore in 2013-14 to approximately Rs 1,51,853 crore in the 2025-26 Budget Estimates, underscoring the rising fiscal support to the sector. The Budget 2026-27 aims for a big push to high-value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, cocoa and cashew in the coastal areas to enhance the incomes of farmers. Agar trees in the North East region and nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pine nuts in the country's hilly areas will also be supported. The proposal forms part of the broad roadmap in the Budget for achieving the third Kartavya, which "requires targeted efforts for increasing farmer incomes through productivity enhancement and entrepreneurship", the Finance Minister said. Sitharaman said that about 30 million people, including nearly 10 million farmers, depend on coconuts for their livelihood. To further enhance competitiveness, a Coconut Promotion Scheme has been announced to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions, including replacing old and non-productive trees with new saplings and plant varieties in major coconut-growing states. As another step towards the objective of increasing farmersa income, the Union Budget 2026-27 has also proposed a dedicated programme for Indian cashew and cocoa to make India self-reliant in raw cashew and cocoa production and processing, enhance export competitiveness and transform Indian cashew and Indian cocoa into premium global brands by 2030. Jaipur, March 5 : Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday raised concerns on several burning issues such as the Iran-Israel War, Nitish Kumar going to the Rajya Sabha, and Indians stuck in Gulf nations amid the war in West Asia. He also questioned the silence of the Indian government, including the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of External Affairs over the attack on an Iranian ship near India's coastal region and termed it a matter of concern. Jaipur, March 5 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday raised concerns on several burning issues such as the IranIsrael War, Nitish Kumar going to the Rajya Sabha, and Indians stuck in Gulf nations amid the war in West Asia. He also questioned the silence of the Indian government, including the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of External Affairs over the attack on an Iranian ship near India's coastal region and termed it a matter of concern. He said, "The US attack and the downing of a ship near our coastal region are matters of serious concern. I believe our government and the country should take a clear stand on this issue, because the war is taking place elsewhere. If, for any reason, such one-sided actions occur within our area of influence, then India's territorial integrity and its neutral stance could be compromised. "I believe that remaining silent and not expressing our position on this matter is wrong. India has always believed in calling right what is right and wrong what is wrong. But the continued silence of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, and the Government of India, is being witnessed by the world, and it is not good for our country's interests." "As far as Israel and Palestine are concerned, India has consistently maintained that the two-nation solution should apply there. Whether it is Iran, Afghanistan, Europe, or Russia, India's bilateral relations with these countries have been long-standing, rooted in culture and history. We should not deviate from our diplomatic principles, our national interests, or India's traditional practice of maintaining impartiality," he added. "The country has witnessed many different types of governments over the years. There have been several Prime Ministers from the Congress as well as from non-Congress parties. But this is the first government where I feel that it is under pressure from one side or another. "First, Trump imposes a deal on us: American goods will be distributed throughout India at zero tariffs. We will pay 18 per cent. We will not be able to buy oil from Russia. We are committing to buy goods worth $500 billion from them. All these terms and conditions are one-sided, and we accepted them with closed ears. "Farmers across the country are protesting today. The entire party and society understand that there will be a crisis in the coming times. There will be a crisis for farmers, milk producers, cotton farmers, soybean farmers, and corn farmers," Pilot added. He questioned why this was happening and added that continued silence of the government on the destruction of the Iranian ship is not good for India's interests. "We are seeing that even European countries, which are much smaller than us, are standing up and speaking out about what is right and what is wrong. I think the ship that was there has been destroyed. And how close was it to India? That ship was there to participate in our military operation. At some point, we have to stand up and speak out about what is right and what is wrong. The continued silence of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, and the Government of India, is being witnessed by the world, and it is not good for our country's interests." Speaking on the Bihar Chief Minister's decision to move to the Rajya Sabha, Pilot said, "We don't understand why he contested the Assembly election on his own merit, garnered votes, the public elected him, and now he is withdrawing." He wondered under whose pressure Nitish Kumar was doing this and if he was doing it voluntarily or suppressing his desires. "We have no idea. Nitish Kumar has changed his mind many times, sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other. Now it is being heard that he is coming to Delhi. What will happen in Bihar again? I cannot say whether the BJP will gain power there by pressuring him. But whatever is happening is being done by deceiving the public. If you had said six months ago that you wanted to run for the Rajya Sabha, the Bihar election results might have been different," Pilot stated. Dwelling on the issue of Indians stranded in Gulf countries due to the conflict in West Asia, he said, "I believe the Indian government should leave no stone unturned. If even one of our citizens is stranded abroad, stranded in those Gulf countries, it is our responsibility to bring them back safely. We have good relations with everyone and have no enmity with anyone. Our citizens who are stranded there, and many people from Rajasthan are also stranded in various countries. We are receiving messages from them as well. I hope the Ministry of External Affairs and the government act quickly, because the safety of our citizens should be our priority. People from other countries are chartering flights and sending flights for their citizens. We should immediately deploy as many resources as possible to bring them back safely." Patna, March 5 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday, effusively praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's governance, stretching over the past two decades, even as the latter signed nomination papers for the next course of his political journey, from Legislature to the Parliament while also paving way for the leadership change in the state. Union Minister Amit Shah hailed Nitish Kumar as the 'messiah of poor' and credited him for freeing the state from the "clutches of Jungle Raj". The remarks came moments after Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Amit Shah exchanged greetings, as the latter accompanied the Bihar Chief Minister for filing of nomination papers for election to the Upper House of the Parliament. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "For past two decades, Nitish government's commitment and dedicated leadership for the welfare of the people of Bihar has freed the state from jungle raj and propelled it forward in the direction of development and good governance." Taking to his official X account, the Union Home Minister also shared images of Nitish Kumar filing his Rajya Sabha nomination while he stood by his side. Union Minister Shah said, "Your extensive experience in public service and deep understanding of policy-making will make the Rajya Sabha proceedings even more effective. Your esteemed presence will further strengthen the NDA's resolve of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'." The Bihar Chief Minister filed his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin, former Agiaon MLA and BJP leader Shivesh Kumar, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur and Upendra Kushwaha -- a NDA nominee whose candidature was finalised at the last moment, after high-level deliberations among the BJP and its allies. The eminent exit of Nitish Kumar from Bihar's politics will mark the 'end of an era', however, that will formally happen only after the Rajya Sabha elections are completed by March 16. Nitish Kumar has served as the Bihar Chief Minister for record 10 terms since 2005, barring few months when Jitan Ram Manjhi was handpicked to lead the state government after JD-U suffered a dent in the 2014 Parliamentary elections. In his emotional note, Nitish Kumar thanked the people for placing their faith and trust in him and also pledged to keep working with them steadfastly for building a developed Bihar. New Delhi, March 5 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi on Thursday. Landau is on an official visit to India from March 3-6 to representing the US in the Raisina Dialogue and advancing US President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy priorities. The US State Department stated: "The Deputy Secretary will also meet with senior Indian officials to discuss bilateral cooperation on defence, critical minerals, and counternarcotics; deepen commercial and economic ties to increase market access for American businesses; and advance our shared vision for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region." The 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, commenced in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together an array of global leaders, policymakers and strategic experts. The three-day conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), convenes heads of state, ministers, academics, industry leaders, think tanks and members of the media to deliberate on pressing global challenges. Last month, India and the US announced a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal, mutually beneficial trade, a step aimed at advancing talks toward a broader bilateral trade pact as the White House formally announced to reduce the tariff on imports of Indian products. According to a joint statement, the framework reaffirms both sides' commitment to negotiations on a US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement. Those talks were launched by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025. The interim deal is designed to deliver early results and support more resilient supply chains, officials said. "The Interim Agreement between the United States and India will represent a historic milestone in our countries' partnership, demonstrating a common commitment to reciprocal and balanced trade based on mutual interests and concrete outcomes," the announcement said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump last month. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," said PM Modi after the phone call. New Delhi, March 5 : NITI Aayog on Thursday said that it has signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with UNICEF India to support strategic interventions in aspirational districts and aspirational blocks. The objective of this agreement to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts towards improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved areas. The SOI was signed by Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme at NITI Aayog, and Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative at UNICEF India, the government think tank said. "The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level," NITI Aayog said. Kumar said partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India would further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions. "The Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes," he added. UNICEF India, via its platform IMPAct4Nutrition (I4N), will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments into nutrition-focused initiatives, the government said. The agreement will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving the uptake of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and building the capacity of frontline workers, the apex public policy body said. According to NITI Aayog, the partnership will also involve mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and facilitating knowledge-sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks. Earlier this week, NITI Aayog also signed a pact with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance sustainable development in Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The two sides signed the Record of Discussions for Phase II of the Project for Promotion of the Programme for JapanIndia Cooperative Actions Towards Sustainable Development Goals. New Delhi, March 5 : NITI Aayog on Thursday said it has signed a statement of intent (SOI) with UNICEF India to support strategic healthcare interventions in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks. The objective of this agreement is to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts towards improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved areas. "The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level," NITI Aayog said. The pact was signed by Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme at NITI Aayog, and Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative at UNICEF India. Kumar said partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India would further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions. "The Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes," he added. UNICEF India, via its platform 'IMPAct4Nutrition' (I4N), will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments into nutrition-focused initiatives. The agreement will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving the uptake of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and building the capacity of frontline workers, the public policy body mentioned. According to NITI Aayog, the partnership will also involve mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and facilitating knowledge-sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks. Earlier this week, NITI Aayog also signed a pact with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance sustainable development in Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The two sides signed the Record of Discussions for Phase II of the Project for Promotion of the Programme for JapanIndia Cooperative Actions Towards Sustainable Development Goals. Srinagar, March 5 : The Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday said it has arrested an alleged overseas job fraudster from Faridabad in Haryana. In a statement, the Crime Branch Kashmir said a team of the Special Crime Wing (SCW) arrested the accused, who had allegedly been evading law enforcement for months after duping youths from Srinagar with false promises of overseas employment, particularly in Armenia. "A special team of the Special Crime Wing, Crime Branch Kashmir, apprehended a fraudster who had cheated innocent youths from Srinagar by promising them jobs abroad, especially in Armenia," the statement said. The accused has been identified as Farhat Abbas Malik, son of Din Mohammad Malik, a resident of Tendla Chilipingal in Doda district. Police said the accused is a habitual offender and had been evading arrest for several months in connection with FIR No. 02/2025 registered at Police Station SCW, Crime Branch Kashmir. "The accused was produced before a competent court in Srinagar after transit remand was obtained from a duty magistrate's court in Faridabad," the statement said. The Crime Branch also advised the public, particularly youths seeking jobs abroad, to verify the authenticity of job placement agencies and consultancies before engaging with them to avoid falling victim to fraud. Officials said the Crime Branch and its Economic Offences Wing investigate specialised and high-profile crimes requiring dedicated expertise. They added that while the regular police force remains primarily engaged in maintaining law and order and handling routine crimes, specialised units such as the Crime Branch focus on complex financial and organised offences. Apart from maintaining law and order, the police and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir are also engaged in counter-terror operations against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers. Given these operational responsibilities, specialised crimes are investigated by the Crime Branch and its Economic Offences Wing in the Union Territory. New Delhi, March 5 : Force Motors Limited on Thursday said it has received a communication from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) seeking detailed information related to a past financial announcement and the company's stock price movement during February 2024. New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Force Motors Limited on Thursday said it has received a communication from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) seeking detailed information related to a past financial announcement and the companyas stock price movement during February 2024. In a regulatory filing, the company said the market regulator sent an email on February 4, 2026, asking for details regarding its unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2024. These results were originally announced on October 29, 2024. SEBI has specifically sought the chronology of events related to the announcement of the earnings results. The regulator has also asked the company to provide details about insiders, the manager information system (MIS), designated persons and an extract from its structured digital database. The Pune-headquartered automaker said that it has not identified any irregularities or non-compliance in connection with the issues raised by the regulator. The company also stated that it does not expect any material impact on its financial operations due to the query. Meanwhile, the companyas shares witnessed volatility after the disclosure. The stock initially came under pressure and slipped more than 6 per cent during the session before recovering later in the day. The shares of Force Motors eventually closed at Rs 21,773.5, rising by Rs 307 or 1.43 per cent. However, the stock has seen significant fluctuations in recent weeks. Over the past week, the shares have fallen by Rs 3,658, or 14.38 per cent, while in the last two weeks they declined by Rs 2,350.55, or 9.74 per cent. On a monthly basis, however, the stock has gained Rs 699, or 3.32 per cent. So far this year, the shares have risen by Rs 913.55, or 4.38 per cent. Over the last three months, the stock has climbed Rs 4,597.15, or 26.76 per cent, while in the past six months it has gained Rs 4,056.55, or 22.9 per cent. On a longer-term basis, the stock has delivered strong returns to investors. In the last one year, the shares have surged by Rs 14,341.25, or 192.96 per cent. Over the past two years, they have risen by Rs 15,341.35, or 238.51 per cent. In the last three years, the stock has recorded a sharp jump of Rs 20,519.85, or 1,636.81 per cent. Kathmandu, March 5 : Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Thursday held a telephone conversation with her Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani regarding the ongoing US-Iran conflict affecting the Gulf region and the safety of Nepali nationals residing in Qatar. Kathmandu, March 5 (IANS) Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Thursday held a telephone conversation with her Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani regarding the ongoing USIran conflict affecting the Gulf region and the safety of Nepali nationals residing in Qatar. Around 357,913 Nepali nationals, mostly migrant workers, are currently residing in Qatar, which hosts the third-largest number of Nepalis abroad after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal. More than 1.7 million Nepali nationals are living in 12 countries across the region, including Qatar, and their safety remains a concern as retaliatory strikes by Iran, in response to joint attacks by the United States and Israel, have reportedly hit several civilian facilities in the Gulf countries. The Nepal Prime Minister's Secretariat said in a press statement that during the telephone call, Karki thanked the Qatari government for ensuring the safety and protection of Nepali citizens living and working in the Gulf nation. "I am very pleased to hear that they are safe and well taken care of," Karki said, as the region faces escalating tensions. Qatar has also been facing a barrage of drone and missile attacks from Iran, particularly targetting US assets in the small Gulf nation. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region. The Nepali government has already confirmed that a Nepali youth, Diwas Shrestha from the western district of Gorkha, was killed during a drone interception operation at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Karki said Kathmandu was closely monitoring the evolving situation in West Asia and stressed the need for all parties to exercise restraint, avoid further escalation of tensions, and ensure the safety of civilians. She also emphasised that all countries must respect and adhere to the United Nations Charter, international law, the Geneva Conventions, and humanitarian law. "War can never be an alternative to peace, and lasting peace can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy," she added. During the conversation, Karki also expressed solidarity with Qatar over the current situation and voiced concern over attacks on Qatari sovereign territory, particularly in non-military areas. Both leaders also discussed strengthening bilateral relations. Karki expressed confidence that ties between Nepal and Qatar would deepen further through high-level visits, expanded economic and cultural cooperation, and stronger people-to-people relations. In response, Al-Thani, who also serves as Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs, praised the friendly relations between the two countries, according to the Nepali Prime Minister's Secretariat. The Qatari Prime Minister also acknowledged the contributions made by Nepali nationals in Qatar and assured that the Qatari government would provide them security and protection equal to that of Qatari citizens under the current circumstances. Describing the present situation in the region as unfortunate, Al-Thani said Qatar's actions are aimed only at safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity and at self-defence. He added that Qatar has always been a champion of peace and opposes such activities. He also thanked Nepal for its friendship and solidarity during this difficult period and expressed hope that the current situation would soon come to an end, allowing the two countries to further strengthen and expand their relations. Mumbai, March 5 : With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, sharp political reactions poured in on Thursday, with opposition leaders alleging a "betrayal of mandate", while the BJP maintained it was his personal decision. Speaking to IANS, Shiv Sena-UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of manipulating power structures. "The BJP has done a lot of research on this how to control power as soon as it comes into office, how to find loopholes in the Constitution, how to change power equations and put pressure on parties. If it is their ally, they have mastered the art of plotting how to finish them off they have practically earned a PhD in it," she alleged. Chaturvedi further claimed that the party had adopted a new tactic where "no matter whom you vote for, ultimately the government ends up being formed by the BJP", adding that people must become aware that the value of their vote is being undermined. Referring to Nitish Kumar's move to the Rajya Sabha, Chaturvedi said the mandate in Bihar was sought in his name. "Nitish ji had defeated anti-incumbency and became Chief Minister again because the people wanted him. Now to say that he wishes to go to the Rajya Sabha and to bring about a change, with the BJP likely to install its own leader there, amounts to a betrayal of the people's mandate," she said, alleging that the development appeared to have taken place under political pressure. Echoing similar concerns, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule said she was unsure about the exact developments but questioned the timing of the change. "When the Bihar elections were held, they (the NDA) fought by projecting Nitish Kumar as the leader. Why this change has come now, we will need to find out," she said. Responding to the criticism, BJP national Spokesperson R. P. Singh said that it was entirely Nitish Kumar's own decision to move to the Rajya Sabha and that questioning it was inappropriate. BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also defended the move, describing Nitish Kumar as an experienced leader who had worked for Bihar's development for a long time. "Now that he is coming to the Rajya Sabha, it is a matter of happiness for all of us," he said. The development has triggered a fresh political debate over leadership changes and the sanctity of electoral mandates in Bihar, even as the BJP dismissed allegations of pressure and political manoeuvring. PHNOM PENH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 247,822 tons of milled rice to international markets in the first two months of 2026, up 83 percent from 135,074 tons over the same period last year, said a Cambodia Rice Federation's report on Thursday. The Southeast Asian country made 142.8 million U.S. dollars in revenue from the exports of milled rice during the January-February period this year, up 35 percent from 106 million dollars over the same period last year, the report said. Fifty-five companies had shipped milled rice to 51 countries and regions during the cited period this year, the report said, adding that China remained the top buyer of the commodity. According to the report, 59 percent of the exported rice was fragrant rice, 27.7 percent was broken rice, and the rest was other types of rice. Kathmandu, March 5 : Parliamentary elections in Nepal, which concluded in a largely peaceful environment on Thursday, recorded a relatively lower voter turnout. Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said at a press briefing that voter turnout is estimated to be around 60 per cent, based on preliminary details received from across the country. If the turnout does not increase once the final data becomes available, it will be the lowest voter turnout since the parliamentary elections held in 1991. In 2022 elections, voters' turnout was 61.41 per cent. "The collection of detailed data is still ongoing. Information has been received from the concerned constituencies that in some polling centres, voting is still continuing as voters who had entered the polling stations within the designated time are casting their ballots," he added. He also said that, except for a few isolated incidents of obstruction, the election was conducted peacefully, according to preliminary reports from national and international election observers deployed to monitor the polls. "With the completion of the voting process, vote counting will begin immediately after the ballot boxes are safely collected," he said. The Election Commission said ballot boxes from remote areas in 15 districts will be transported by helicopter. According to the Commission, there are 18.9 million registered voters in the country. In some polling stations, people even boycotted the elections, expressing dissatisfaction over the government's failure to deliver development. "It is not dissatisfaction with the Election Commission, but with the government, and the government should look into it," Bhandari said. Fresh elections in the Himalayan nation were held nearly two years ahead of schedule due to the new political situation that emerged after the Gen-Z movement in September last year, which brought down the government led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. The development paved the way for the formation of the current interim government led by Sushila Karki. Following her appointment as head of the government, the lower house was dissolved at the demand of Gen-Z leaders, and she was mandated to hold fresh elections within six months. More than 18.9 million people are eligible to vote in these elections, including 915,119 newly registered voters. Of the total voters, more than two-thirds of the newly registered voters belong to the Gen-Z age group, marking a noticeable surge in youth engagement ahead of the 2026 polls, according to the Election Commission of Nepal. The elections were held at 23,112 polling centres. A total of 3,406 candidates are in the race under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system, while 3,135 candidates are contesting under the proportional representation system. Patna, March 5 : As Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is seeking a Rajya Sabha seat have sharply divided the political spectrum across Bihar, with criticism from some quarters and support from NDA allies. Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) founder and former Bihar Minister Mukesh Sahani, on Thursday, described Nitish Kumar's Rajya Sabha election as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) political conspiracy. "This is the BJP's true nature," Sahani said, adding: "During the elections, we had already stated that the BJP would never allow Nitish Kumar to remain the Bihar Chief Minister between 2025 and 2030. Today, that reality is clear." The VIP Chief alleged that the BJP has followed a similar pattern in other states, gradually sidelining its allies. According to VIP Chief Sahani, the larger objective is to politically weaken or eliminate the Janata Dal-United. He also claimed that the mandate of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections was in favour of Nitish Kumar's leadership and that sending him to the Rajya Sabha amounts to disrespecting the public mandate. Sahani also expressed personal sympathy for Nitish Kumar, saying it was unfair to remove him from Bihar politics at this stage of his political career. In contrast, NDA ally and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas Chief Chirag Paswan, on Thursday, welcomed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision. In a post on social media platform X, Paswan praised the Chief Minister's long political experience and nearly two decades of leadership in Bihar. He said that under Nitish Kumar's tenure as the Chief Minister, Bihar gained a new identity in development, good governance, and social justice. He highlighted key areas such as women's empowerment, upliftment of the most backward classes, and youth development. Calling the Rajya Sabha move a bold and visionary decision, Chirag Paswan said the Upper House of Parliament would benefit from Nitish Kumar's experience, leadership, and vision. On behalf of himself and his party, the LJP-RV Chief wished Nitish Kumar a bright future. Nitish Kumar's decision to move to the Rajya Sabha has triggered contrasting reactions -- while critics see it as a strategic shift orchestrated by the BJP, allies describe it as a natural progression in his long political career. As Bihar prepares for a leadership transition, the development has intensified political debate over the future of the JD-U, the NDA alliance, and the state's governance trajectory. New Delhi, March 5 : Rising geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict could significantly increase India's oil import bill and bring the rupee under pressure, former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday. In a post on X, Amitabh Kant, who currently serves as a senior adviser to global financial institutions including Fairfax Financial Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, said that every $10 per barrel rise in global crude oil prices could add $13-14 billion to India's annual import bill, widen the current account deficit, and weaken the rupee. "Every $10 per barrel rise in crude prices can add $13a"14B to India's annual import bill, widen the current account deficit and pressure the rupee. Geopolitical shocks will keep testing our energy security," he said. Amitabh Kant emphasised that India's next phase of energy transition must focus not just on expanding renewable capacity but also on ensuring reliable delivery of clean power. "India's next step isn't just adding clean capacity, but it's delivering reliable clean power at home: high-PLF solar-wind hybrids, electric vehicle momentum, modern grids, large-scale batteries and pumped hydro storage, and firm low-carbon baseload like nuclear. We need it all," he said. The former IAS officer, who had served as India's G20 Sherpa and the chief executive officer of NITI Aayog, the government's apex public policy think tank, further said that the country must prioritise execution and reliability in its energy transition. He emphasised the importance of energy independence as being vital for economic resilience. India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, making the economy highly sensitive to global price fluctuations, particularly during geopolitical disruptions in major oil-producing regions. Of this, around 50 per cent is supplied by Middle Eastern countries through the Strait of Hormuz, the flows from which have been disrupted following the Iran war. However, the country has also diversified its oil sources by increasing imports from Africa, Russia, and the US and building resilience through strategic reserves. Currently, India is in a reasonably comfortable position as far as crude oil, LPG and LNG are concerned, with a stock of 25 days of reserve for crude and 25 days of products, including the quantity that is in transit on ships headed for the countryas ports, according to government sources. The countryas oil marketing companies (Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum) have supplies for several weeks and continue to receive energy supplies from several routes. In addition, the government has directed the oil marketing companies not to export petroleum products so that the buffer stock is further enhanced. India also has oil storage capacity at Pudur of 2.25 million metric tonnes (MMT), the Visakhaptnam facility has the capacity to store 1.33 MMT of crude oil, while Mangalore has a storage capacity of 1.5 MMT. The country can fall back on these strategic oil reserves in times of emergency. These reserves can also be dipped into at times when global prices skyrocket to provide a cushion to the national oil companies. Jammu, March 5 : Ladakh's Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta on Thursday resigned from his post, barely eight months after assuming the office. Gupta had taken the oath on July 18, 2025, becoming the third LG of the Union Territory. His tenure coincided with rising unrest in the region, where civil society groups and organisations such as the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance have been protesting for statehood, Sixth Schedule protections, and job reservations for locals. Reports also said that Gupta faced public anger on Wednesday during his visit to a local monastery. Gupta, 66, joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the age of 13. He was jailed for thirteen months during the Emergency. Serving as the secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad from 1978 to 1979, he was also chief of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha from 1993 to 1998. He was elected Mayor of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2010. In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, he contested as a member of Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected from the Gandhinagar constituency in Jammu, defeating sitting MLA Raman Bhalla of the Congress. On March 19, 2015, Gupta was elected Speaker of the J&K Assembly, becoming the first ever Bharatiya Janata Party leader to hold the post. On 30 April 2018, Gupta was appointed the Deputy Chief Minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle, succeeding Nirmal Kumar Singh. On June 19, 2018, Gupta resigned from the post of Deputy Chief Minister after 51 days of taking the oath as the BJP pulled out from the alliance with the PDP. Ram Madhav, then BJP National General Secretary, presided over the press conference in which the announcement to end the alliance was made. He criticised the CM Mehbooba Mufti-led government, saying it had "failed in its responsibility." He added that the increase in violence, threat to fundamental rights and increase in radicalisation were the main factors behind the BJP's decision to quit the J&K coalition government. Gupta was appointed the 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on July 14, 2025, and took the oath on July 18, 2025. Gandhinagar, March 5 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday released a book that examines how cities can turn climate risks into opportunities for sustainable growth, amid growing concerns over the pace of urbanisation and its environmental impact. The book, titled "Shaping Tomorrow's Cities From Climate Risk to Green Opportunities", was launched in Gandhinagar. It explores pathways for developing sustainable, climate-resilient and innovative cities as urban populations continue to expand worldwide. The publication has been authored by Shalini Agrawal, Managing Director of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited. It draws on the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on transforming the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation into opportunities for long-term development. The book outlines how urbanisation, described as one of the most transformative processes shaping modern societies, can be managed through sustainable planning and climate-resilient infrastructure rather than being treated solely as a challenge. It reviews global urban development trends and presents a vision for future city planning aligned with climate considerations and innovation. According to the book, rising urban populations will bring environmental and social pressures that require early planning and policy responses. It discusses the potential impacts of increased energy demand, higher resource consumption and growing greenhouse gas emissions associated with urban expansion, and proposes approaches to mitigate the effects of climate change. The publication also notes that urbanisation in India is advancing and is expected to increase significantly by 2047, making cities central to the country's economic growth. It highlights that expanding urban populations will place greater pressure on infrastructure, housing, water supply and other basic services, making structured urban planning and sustainable development strategies essential. In addition, the book outlines financing mechanisms that could support sustainable development projects and climate-resilient infrastructure. These include the use of green bonds, public-private partnerships, carbon markets and climate finance to mobilise investment for urban development. It also discusses strengthening the financial capacity of local self-government institutions and improving municipal finance systems so that cities can better raise and manage the funds required for infrastructure and public services. The publication argues that cities should be viewed not only as centres where challenges arise but also as platforms where social, economic and environmental solutions can be developed through planning, technology and sustainable policy frameworks. Kolkata, March 5 : In an unprecedented development ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned from his post. Ananda Bose is currently in New Delhi, and he tendered his resignation to the office of President Droupadi Murmu there. Although no official confirmation in the matter had come from the office of the Governor in the matter at the time the report was filed, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued a statement confirming the Governor's resignation. In her statement, the Chief Minister had claimed that the news of the resignation of Bose had been confirmed to her by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had also told her that the current Tamil Nadu Governor, R.N Ravi, will be West Bengalas new Governor. However, it is not clear whether Ravi would join as the acting or the full-time Governor. "I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal. The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections," Cm Banerjee said in a statement shared on her X handle. In her statement, the Chief Minister also claimed that the Union Home Minister never discussed the replacement of Ananda Bose with Ravi with her. "Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard," the Chief Minister said, stressing that such actions undermined the spirit of the Constitution of India and struck at the very foundation of the countryas federal structure. "The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states," Banerjee added. Bose took charge as the Governor of West Bengal on November 17, 2022. His term was till November 2027. But he left office 20 months before the end of his tenure. As Governor, Bose was vocal on several issues of the state from the very beginning. He has publicly criticised many policies of the West Bengal government. Mumbai, March 5 : Following the death of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, members of his family have expressed suspicion over the circumstances surrounding the accident. Sources said his son, Parth Pawar, along with other family members, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a high-level probe into the incident. Parth Pawar on Thursday also filed his nomination as the NCP nominee for the Rajya Sabha election. While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had already demanded a CBI inquiry into the crash, the family's direct involvement has added fresh momentum to the demand for a deeper investigation. The call for a detailed probe follows allegations raised by close relatives. NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar, Ajit Pawar's nephew, had earlier held a press conference raising concerns about the aviation firm VSR Ventures and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Subsequently, Ajit Pawar's younger son Jay Pawar shared a video that allegedly shows VSR Ventures owner Rohit Singh asleep in the pilot's seat during a flight. Jay Pawar has also petitioned the DGCA seeking strict action against the company. On Wednesday night, around 20 NCP MLAs met Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar at the 'Devgiri' official residence to discuss alleged inconsistencies surrounding the crash. Sources said the Pawar family is not satisfied with the preliminary findings of the investigation. During the proposed meeting with the Prime Minister, Parth Pawar is expected to seek a comprehensive technical audit of VSR Ventures and an inquiry into the safety protocols allegedly followed or ignored by the DGCA. He is also expected to demand an independent investigation to rule out any possibility of foul play. The developments have drawn widespread attention in Maharashtra as one of the state's most prominent political families presses for answers. Earlier, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule had demanded a transparent probe into Ajit Pawar's death in the plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Addressing a press conference, Sule said people who hold Ajit Pawar in high regard remain deeply anxious following the accident and stressed the need for a fair inquiry to maintain public trust. "The people who love Ajit Dada are uneasy. There is a collective demand for a transparent investigation into the accident. Both Rohit Pawar and Jay Pawar have consistently raised questions regarding this, and it is imperative that the facts are brought to light through a fair probe," Sule said. She added: "People across Maharashtra who love Ajit Dada are restless. Rohit and Jay are speaking up because there is a sense of unease among the public. There is a collective demand for a transparent probe into what happened. I am not saying this just because Rohit and Jay are members of my family; it is the demand of countless Ajit Dada supporters that the facts must come out transparently." New Delhi, March 5 : The Congress on Thursday questioned the Narendra Modi government's silence over the attack on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters off Sri Lanka, which has claimed the lives of at least 87 sailors, with many more still missing. Senior party leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid, who also heads the partyas Foreign Affairs Department, said the incident has "worryingly expanded the conflict to our immediate vicinity, risking further escalation on our doorstep". He said that the official silence and compromise risks jeopardising the hard-built trust in India's naval capabilities and track record, in future Indian-led exercises, intelligence sharing, and coordination on anti-piracy and HADR operations. "The BJP government should realise that India's operational footprint and commitment to international law does not end 12 nautical miles off our coast, nor does it stop at the edge of our Exclusive Economic Zone. India must strongly assert our legitimate interests in the Indian Ocean Region, and not cede hard-fought space that other nations could exploit," he said. Given that IRIS Dena had participated in the International Fleet Review and MILAN 2026 in India until February 25, the vessel and its sailors were honoured guests of India. In accordance with established exercise protocols, it was likely defenceless at the time of the attack, the Congress leader said. "Furthermore, as per Articles 95 and 96 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which India has ratified, IRIS Dena enjoyed sovereign immunity on the high seas and was far from any active theatre of hostilities. Given this, the attack cannot credibly meet the established criteria for self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which require demonstrable necessity, proportionality, and clear attribution to a specific armed attack," said Khurshid. Given India has consistently been a Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's silence is an abject abdication of India's responsibilities as a maritime power, said the Congress. It also undermines India's legitimate interests in the IOR by narrowing the scope of our operational footprint and acquiescing to foreign interference within our own strategic backyard, it said. Since 2008, the Indian Navy deployed over 100 warships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, escorted more than 3,400 merchant vessels, and has been recognised internationally as the "First Responder" and preferred security partner in the IOR, it said. India's Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) record -- from the 2004 Tsunami to Operation Brahma in Myanmar and Operation Sagar Bandhu in Sri Lanka -- has repeatedly reinforced India's maritime leadership and collaboration in ensuring a free and open Indian Ocean, while securing our naval Area of Operations, the Congress said. According to reports, the IRIS Dena had departed from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was on its return journey when it was attacked in international waters near the southern coast of Sri Lanka on March 4. US officials did not deny responsibility for the attack and openly acknowledged the sinking of the Iranian vessel. Chennai, March 5 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted coordinated search operations at multiple locations in Mumbai and Chennai in connection with an alleged investor fraud involving M/s Atum Capital Pvt Ltd and its associated entities. The searches were carried out on February 27 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected financial irregularities and diversion of investor funds, the ED said in a statement on Thursday. According to officials, the EDas Headquarters Investigation Unit (HIU) led the operation and conducted raids at eight premises linked to key individuals and entities connected with the case. The agency suspects that the accused lured investors with promises of high returns and subsequently misappropriated the funds through questionable financial transactions. During the searches, investigators seized several incriminating documents, digital devices and financial records believed to contain crucial evidence related to the alleged fraud. Officials said the materials recovered during the raids are expected to help establish the money trail and reveal how investor funds were diverted. The ED has also obtained details of several properties allegedly acquired by the accused using suspected proceeds of crime. Investigators are examining ownership documents and financial records to determine whether these assets were purchased using money collected from investors. As part of the enforcement action, the agency has frozen several bank accounts and Demat accounts belonging to key individuals and entities involved in the case. Officials said the move was aimed at preventing further diversion or withdrawal of funds during the course of the investigation. The searches also led to the seizure of financial documents and electronic records that pointed to a wider network of individuals and companies linked to the alleged fraud. Officials added that the investigation is now focused on identifying all beneficiaries, tracing the complete money trail and assessing the total financial losses suffered by investors. Further action, including possible attachment of properties and questioning of the accused, is expected as the probe progresses. WELLINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand is preparing to deploy consular staff and military aircraft to the Middle East to assist nationals stranded amid escalating conflicts in the region, the government said Thursday. All options are being explored for the evacuation of the stranded New Zealanders, an official statement said, citing Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins. As part of the contingency plans, two Defence Force C-130J aircraft and consular staff will be positioned in the region to support potential evacuation operations once conditions allow, Collins was quoted as saying. Around 3,000 New Zealanders are currently registered with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as living in the Middle East. New Zealand is also discussing charter options with commercial airlines, Peters said, describing the conditions as "fast-moving, dangerous and complex." He noted that with airspace closures and limited commercial flights, the New Zealand government is urging citizens to shelter in places or take any safe opportunities to leave when possible. New Delhi, March 5 : Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Thursday strongly rebutted remarks made by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, asserting that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election, cannot be "hijacked" by anyone and stands firmly by his decisions. "We have been saying from the beginning that the Chief Minister has been hijacked, and now this has been proven. You can understand that whoever becomes the BJP's Chief Minister will just be a rubber stamp," Tejashwi Yadav said on Nitish Kumar's move. Responding to the remarks, JD-U national Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said that Nitish Kumar's five-decade-long public life speaks for itself. "No one can hijack Nitish Kumar. In his fifty-year-long public life, whenever questions have been raised against him, he has always responded through his decisions. He takes a decision and stands by it. Let others say whatever they want. I believe that it is precisely such meaningless statements that led to RJD's poor performance in the last Assembly elections," Prasad told IANS. With the Bihar Chief Minister set to move to the Rajya Sabha, the JD-U leader described Nitish Kumar as a visionary whose leadership reshaped the state over the past two decades. "Bihar's charismatic Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, is a visionary leader. These two decades in Bihar will be remembered as a remarkable era of transformation under his leadership. Whether in infrastructure development or in sectors directly improving the lives of ordinary citizens, the major decisions taken by Nitish Kumar have enabled Bihar to emerge today as a developing state," he said. Calling him the "Vishwakarma of modern-day Bihar," Prasad said Nitish Kumar's absence from the state's executive role would be deeply felt. "Undoubtedly, his new innings too will be successful. He has fulfilled his responsibilities in one House of Parliament. He has completed memorable tenures in both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well. Now, the Rajya Sabha will also bear witness to his contribution," he added. Prasad further said that the Chief Minister has reiterated his commitment to Bihar's progress. "Without a doubt, he has once again affirmed that his guidance on development and advancement will always remain available for Bihar," he said. Jaipur, March 5 : Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas and his Haryana counterpart Anurag Rastogi held a video conference on Thursday to review issues related to the Namo Bharat Rail Corridor project. The meeting was held at the Government Secretariat and focused on financial and implementation aspects of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor. During the meeting, Srinivas informed that the Rajasthan government has decided to bear the financial burden for the first phase of the RRTS project as per the revised Detailed Project Report (DPR). Following the revision, 1.13 km of the total 105.20 km corridor will fall within Rajasthan. As a result, the stateas share of the project cost will increase from Rs 103 crore to Rs 124.26 crore. However, he pointed out that the Haryana governmentas decision to bear the project cost only up to Bawal would place an additional financial burden of around Rs 510 crore on Rajasthan. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the participating states were required to bear 20 per cent of their respective shares of the project cost. Sources said the Rajasthan Chief Secretary requested the Haryana government to reconsider its decision. The Haryana Chief Secretary assured that the matter would be reviewed and that a decision would be communicated soon. Officials also highlighted that the corridor will provide high-speed rail connectivity between Delhi, Gurugram and key industrial areas such as Shahjahanpur, Ghiloth, Neemrana and Behror, along with the proposed KBNIR township. The project is expected to significantly boost economic development and improve transport connectivity in the region. All sections of the society are set to benefit from the project. Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Commerce) Shikhar Agarwal, Principal Secretary (Finance) Vaibhav Galaria, Principal Secretary (Urban Development) Devashish Prishti, RIICO Managing Director Shivangi Swarnkar, Executive Director Akash Tomar and senior RIICO official Ajay Gupta were also present during the meeting. Islamabad, March 5 : Pakistani authorities continue to frame youth discontent as a security challenge rather than an economic failure. Years of suppression have fractured unity among young protesters, shifting activism towards an identity-based mobilisation instead of inclusive activism against economic and political injustice. Amid fears of speaking out on the streets or online, Pakistan's young people often regard emigration as a safer and more viable alternative to protest, a report said on Thursday "In the last two years, more than 800,000 young Pakistanis have left the country not only because of the massive economic instability but also due to the vice-like control the state maintains over street protests and digital expressions of dissent. It's a damning statistic for a country of 250 million people that should be one of the world's largest democracies. But given that 75 per cent of Pakistan's population is under 35, and that youth unemployment hovers at around 10 per cent, it is perhaps unsurprising," a report in non-profit news agency, 'The New Humanitarian' detailed. According to the report, when young people in Pakistan organise for change, they are frequently subjected to violence and state-imposed censorship. It highlighted that in October 2025, youth in the Muzaffarabad region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) staged demonstrations led by the Awami Action Committee (AAC), a civil rights organisation. The protestors condemned the luxurious lifestyle of officials while local communities struggled for basic necessities, including wheat and electricity. The violent crackdown by Pakistani authorities killed 10 people and triggered a government-mandated internet shutdown. "The harsh reaction to the Muzaffarabad youth protest is not uncommon in Pakistan. Again, it's a symbol of a larger issue. Leaders have a very real fear that the wave of so-called Gen-Z protests sweeping the continent will make its way to Pakistan," the report stated. For decades, student unions have been banned in Pakistan, reflecting the state's deep fear towards organised student-centric mobilisation campaigns. "Unlike Bangladesh and Nepal, where students are politically aware and active, Pakistani campuses are tightly monitored, with no platform for freedom of speech or political opinion. Pakistani universities have also been subject to a wave of disappearances, especially students of Baloch ethnicity, who have long accused the government of exploiting Balochistan's rich resources while marginalising the local population," the report noted. Asserting that several educated and skilled young people in Pakistan see no hope of meaningful change in the country, it said, "Remaining silent to remain alive or leaving their homeland have become their only options." Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday termed the attack on an Iranian warship that had participated in a joint naval exercise in India as "extremely serious" and criticised the response of the Union government as "objectionable and disappointing". In a statement, Vijayan said the evolving conflict situation in West Asia is deeply worrying and poses a serious threat to global peace and international stability. "The continuing military actions by the US-Israel axis and the retaliatory attempts from Iran are further escalating tensions in the region. Such developments are extremely dangerous and could have far-reaching consequences," he said. Citing the killing of Iranas Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family, Vijayan said such actions challenge international laws and the norms of the United Nations. Political conflicts between nations, he said, should not be allowed to reach a stage where targeted killings become the means of confrontation. The Chief Minister also pointed to the attack on an Iranian warship on March 4 that had been returning after participating in a joint naval exercise in India on February 25. Several sailors were reportedly killed in the incident. "Even in a situation where a ship that had come as our guest to participate in a joint military exercise was attacked, the Union governmentas response that it was anot a guest of the countrya is highly objectionable. It reflects nothing but submission to the United States," Vijayan contended. He said the incident, which occurred near Indiaas maritime region, amounts to a grave violation of international norms and raises concerns about attempts to turn the Indian Ocean into a theatre of conflict. Vijayan also criticised the lack of a clear response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government on the issue so far, describing it as an inappropriate approach given the seriousness of the situation. The Chief Minister warned that the escalating tensions in West Asia could have significant repercussions across the Gulf region, where lakhs of Malayali expatriates are employed. Any instability there could directly affect their safety and livelihood as well as Keralaas economy, which is closely linked to remittances from overseas workers. He said the Kerala government is closely monitoring the situation and that the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department (NORKA) has put in place coordination and support mechanisms for expatriates. Help desks have been set up in Gulf countries under the leadership of representatives of the Loka Kerala Sabha, with the support of expatriate organisations, volunteers and community leaders working in coordination with Indian embassies. Calling for restraint, Vijayan urged the international community to intervene urgently to restore peace and stability, and said India should play an active diplomatic role in preventing further escalation. Amaravati, March 5 : The government of Andhra Pradesh has proposed an incentive of Rs 25,000 to couples having third child to help maintain demographic balance. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced this while unveiling draft population management policy in the state Assembly, proposing various measures to address declining birth rate. The government also proposes to give Rs 1,000 per month as nutrition assistance to third child for five years and free education till 18 years. To encourage more childbirths, the government is planning to provide 12 months maternal leave and two months paternal leave. Voicing concern over the state's current Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 1.5, he said the government was taking steps to improve the TFR to 2.1 which is ideal to maintain demographic balance. Stating that the population management policy, claimed to be the first of its kid in the country, will be a gamechanger to increase population, he proposed financial incentives for childbirth. The CM announced that the 'Population Management' policy document will be made available online to everyone. The Chief Minister suggested that public representatives in every constituency in the state should hold a discussion on this issue among the people for a month. The policy will be finalized by the end of this month and will be implemented from April 1. He revealed that changes will be made in the policy after examining the results after a year. Expressing serious concern over falling Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Andhra Pradesh from 3.0 in 1993 to 1.5 at present, the Chief Minister said this posed threat to economic growth with fall in number of young working people. He cautioned that the state will face ageing problem like in Japan, South Korea and Italy. Citing the report of 2023, he said 6.70 lakh births were reported per year. If the same situation continues by 2047 the ratio of aged people, will be increased up to 23 per cent. He warned that if the TFR decreases further, the workforce will decline, resulting in slow down of economic growth. He explained that this draft policy was designed with the idea that if the government does not intervene, more damage will be done. He stated that population growth in line with the changing times is not a burden but a blessing for the state. He said that family planning has been given priority for years and that the focus will now be on 'population care'. He pointed out that even a law was brought to bar those with more than two children from contesting local body elections. He said the coalition government has removed the two-child norm Under the population management policy, the government planning to introduce five stage lifecycle system including Matrutva (motherhood), Shakti (strength), Kshema (well-being), Naipunyam (skills) and Sanjeevani (longevity) The Chief Minister said, 'The women's workforce is currently only 31 percent. If it reaches 59 percent, the state's GSDP will increase by 15 percent. He said there will be government support at every stage of life from pregnancy to old age. "We will support those who are childless and suffering from fertility problems. We will set up a Maternity Center of Excellence and provide IVF services in government hospitals under PPP mode." The government will take steps to reduce caesarean sections. The government has also set a target to reduce teenage pregnancies, which is currently 8.8 percent, to less than 3 percent. Stating that women work force participation stands at 31 per cent and it should be increased to 59 per cent to achieve 15 per cent GSDP. "If there are 50 children and women in an area, we will set up child care centers and pink toilets. We will make she-cabs available. We have undertaken the construction of a working women's hostel in Visakhapatnam with a cost of Rs. 172 crore. We are ready to set up new working women's hostels in any area where women employees work," he added. New Delhi, March 5 : India on Thursday welcomed the successful conduct of elections in Nepal, congratulating the government, people and country's Prime Minister Sushila Karki. "We welcome the successful conduct of elections and the exercise of their democratic mandate by the citizens of Nepal today, which have seen an enthusiastic participation. We congratulate Prime Minister Sushila Karki, the Government and the people of Nepal as well as various stakeholders for successfully holding these polls which took place against the backdrop of exceptional circumstances last year," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson stated while responding to media queries regarding elections in Nepal. "India has consistently supported peace, progress and stability in Nepal and in keeping with our commitment, provided logistical supplies as per request from Government of Nepal for these elections. We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further build on the robust multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit," stated MEA's official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Parliamentary elections in Nepal, which concluded in a largely peaceful environment on Thursday, recorded a relatively lower voter turnout. Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said at a press briefing that voter turnout is estimated to be around 60 per cent, based on preliminary details received from across the country. If the turnout does not increase once the final data becomes available, it will be the lowest voter turnout since the parliamentary elections held in 1991. In 2022 elections, voters' turnout was 61.41 per cent. "The collection of detailed data is still ongoing. Information has been received from the concerned constituencies that in some polling centres, voting is still continuing as voters who had entered the polling stations within the designated time are casting their ballots," he added. He also said that, except for a few isolated incidents of obstruction, the election was conducted peacefully, according to preliminary reports from national and international election observers deployed to monitor the polls. "With the completion of the voting process, vote counting will begin immediately after the ballot boxes are safely collected," he said. The Election Commission said ballot boxes from remote areas in 15 districts will be transported by helicopter. According to the Commission, there are 18.9 million registered voters in the country. In some polling stations, people even boycotted the elections, expressing dissatisfaction over the government's failure to deliver development. "It is not dissatisfaction with the Election Commission, but with the government, and the government should look into it," Bhandari said. Fresh elections in the Himalayan nation were held nearly two years ahead of schedule due to the new political situation that emerged after the Gen-Z movement in September last year, which brought down the government led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. The development paved the way for the formation of the current interim government led by Sushila Karki. Following her appointment as head of the government, the lower house was dissolved at the demand of Gen-Z leaders, and she was mandated to hold fresh elections within six months. More than 18.9 million people are eligible to vote in these elections, including 915,119 newly registered voters. Of the total voters, more than two-thirds of the newly registered voters belong to the Gen-Z age group, marking a noticeable surge in youth engagement ahead of the 2026 polls, according to the Election Commission of Nepal. The elections were held at 23,112 polling centres. A total of 3,406 candidates are in the race under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system, while 3,135 candidates are contesting under the proportional representation system. Islamabad, March 5 : The reverberations of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's subsequent response has also exposed fissures within Pakistan's own society, experts reckon. Shia communities, in particular, took to the streets in protest after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, demanding solidarity and also questioning Islamabad's posture. These demonstrations were not just about Pakistan's foreign policy; they were about identity, belonging, and whether the State's priorities align with the realities facing its citizens. Islamabad, March 5 (IANS) The reverberations of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's subsequent response has also exposed fissures within Pakistan's own society, experts reckon. Shia communities, in particular, took to the streets in protest after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, demanding solidarity and also questioning Islamabad's posture. These demonstrations were not just about Pakistan's foreign policy; they were about identity, belonging, and whether the Stateas priorities align with the realities facing its citizens. The Pakistani government's response has been a tightrope walk. It condemned the strikes, affirmed Islamabad's support for Iran as a neighbouring Muslim state, and deployed security forces to quell unrest. But it also moved quickly to distance itself from any notion that Pakistan would enter into direct confrontation with Israel or become a proxy in a larger regional war. That narrative, officials insist, does not reflect Islamabadas position. A nation's power is measured in the moment of crisis and Pakistan is facing many. Domestically, it is fighting with rebels at home, like the Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Its economic situation is in doldrums. The country's most popular leader has been jailed for many years, with his fundamental human rights as a jail inmate also having been compromised. Pakistan is also fighting a war with Afghanistan on its western frontier. Its borders with India remain tense after Operation Sindoor, which New Delhi insists it has only paused for now. Now, Pakistan finds itself increasingly embroiled in the Middle East conflict with the country's around 15 per cent Shia population boiling over the killing of its topmost religious cleric. Only a few days ago, a violent mob stormed the US Consulate in Karachi, resulting in the massacre of at least 22 Pakistanis. In this situation, Pakistan lives in contradiction between being a guardian of the so-called 'Islamic bomb' and claiming rhetorical Muslim unity in the broader Middle East. In reality though, the country is always driven by one great power or another. To put things into perspective, we need to go back to history, where, after India had developed its indigenous nuclear capabilities in the 1970s and Pakistan was partitioned, the political elites in Pakistan, especially Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, thought that having a nuclear weapon as a deterrence would help in keeping the State intact. Obviously, Pakistan's nuclear ambitions were guided solely against India, but the country had no money to fund such a programme. The Middle Eastern countries came in handy here. In February 1974, shortly after the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto organised the second Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit. Bhutto knew that the Middle Eastern countries had received substantial funds due to the 1973 oil embargo and the subsequent increase in oil prices. With this money, he wanted to fund his nuclear weapons programme. The rhetoric of 'Islamic Bomb' came in handy. He said that all civilisations in the world have nuclear capabilities except the Islamic world. Bhutto claimed that if Pakistan is able to develop nuclear capabilities, it will be able to help the Islamic world in times of need. He also got good funding, especially from Libya and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Iranian Commander Mohsen Rezaei claimed that, "Pakistan has assured us that if Israel uses a nuclear bomb on Iran they will attack Israel with a nuclear bomb". However, Pakistan was quick to refute this claim with Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif writing on X, "Our nuclear capability is for the benefit of our people and defence of our country against the hostile designs of our enemies". There are moments when the rhetoric of deterrence veers uncomfortably close to bravado. Six months before the Iran escalation, Asif stoked speculation by hinting that Saudi Arabia might enjoy nuclear "coverage" under a defence pact with Islamabad, only to later clarify that nuclear arms were "not on the radar". Such ambiguity does little to reassure a population seeking clarity. This is why the notion of Pakistan as a security guarantor in the Middle East a" an "Islamic nuclear State" ready to police regional order a" falls apart. Nuclear weapons, for all their destructive potential, are not a passport to regional leadership. They are a blunt instrument of last resort, meant to prevent invasion, not to shape the destinies of far-flung theatres of conflict. If Islamabad now feels exposed, it is not because its arsenal has failed; it is because the very foundations of strategic deterrence have been shaken. When a countryas neighbours can be struck and their leaders killed by foreign powers without immediate global backlash, it forces a revaluation of where true security lies. The question Pakistan now faces is if it can redefine what security means in an era where conventional and nuclear weapons are no longer inviolable shields, and where the threats are as much political and economic as they are military. In the end, the fear on Pakistan's streets is that of isolation and entanglement. That fear, as much as any missile or doctrine, will shape Pakistan's choices in the near future. Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : In an embarrassment to Kerala's ruling CPI-M, veteran leader G. Sudhakaran has refused to yield to reconciliation efforts by the party leadership, rejecting state Secretary M.V. Govindan's request to renew his party membership. Despite the outreach, Sudhakaran reiterated that he would not renew his membership. While senior leaders, including party General Secretary M.A. Baby, have responded in a manner aimed at accommodating Sudhakaran and keeping him within the party fold, the Congress has reacted cautiously to the developments. Sudhakaran, who said he was hurt by what he described as a sarcastic smile from Govindan during a press conference, has continued to maintain a confrontational stance. In an effort to defuse the situation, the state Secretary himself called Sudhakaran over the phone. During the conversation, Govindan reportedly clarified that he had not mocked Sudhakaran at the press meet and that his smile was in response to a question raised by journalists. He also urged the veteran leader to renew his party membership. However, Sudhakaran remained unmoved even after the state Secretary personally reached out to explain the matter. Reiterating his earlier stand, he made it clear that he would not renew his membership in the CPI-M. Sudhakaranas position has taken many in the party by surprise. Even so, several party leaders have reacted in a conciliatory tone, signalling that the leadership is keen to retain him within the party despite the ongoing controversy. Responding to a related issue, CPI-M's Alappuzha district secretary R. Naser said that although Sudhakaran had criticised certain individuals, he had not made any direct remarks against him personally. Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary and Alappuzha MP K. C. Venugopal on Thursday denied that he had held any discussions with Sudhakaran. "It is for him to say. We have known him for long, as a very tall and credible leader," Venugopal said. Senior Congress legislator Ramesh Chennithala, who also hails from Alappuzha, said it was unacceptable that Govindan had publicly insulted a leader who had served the party for over six decades and maintained a reputation free of corruption. "Even though Sudhakaran belongs to the rival political camp, the Opposition has never raised corruption allegations against him. He is widely respected among the public. Having dedicated more than six decades to the party and coming from a family that even has a martyr, such humiliation from the party secretary is unjustified," he said. Chennithala also clarified that the United Democratic Front (UDF) had not held any discussions with Sudhakaran so far. Srinagar, March 5 : J&K Students Association (JKSA) on Thursday asked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to help evacuate Indian students in conflict-hit Iran via Armenia Srinagar, March 5 (IANS) J&K Students Association (JKSA) on Thursday asked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to help evacuate Indian students in conflict-hit Iran via Armenia aJKSA on Thursday urged External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to urgently intervene and facilitate the evacuation of Indian students stranded in the city of Urmia in northwestern Iran amid ongoing airstrikes, explosions, and escalating hostilities in the region, and to help evacuate them through the Armenia border," JKSA national Convenor Nasir Kheuhami said. "The Association has been in constant communication with several Indian students, including Kashmiris, studying at Urmia University, who have reported an extremely alarming and deteriorating security situation following repeated explosions and airstrikes near their residential areas. According to the students, several blasts have occurred in close proximity to their dormitories, including a recent strike reported nearly 300 metres from the boysa hostel," he said. "The intensity of the explosions reportedly shook nearby buildings, leaving students frightened, anxious, and deeply distressed. Many students have also reported hearing fighter jets and air defence activity throughout the day and night, creating an atmosphere of constant fear and uncertainty. The situation has become increasingly volatile as some of the targeted sites in the surrounding areas include sensitive military installations and airbases, making the region particularly vulnerable to further strikes," Kheuhami said. "In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation, we have urged External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to immediately facilitate the evacuation of Indian students stranded in Urmia through the land route of Armenia, which currently appears to be the most feasible and accessible transit corridor for safe passage. Armenia is geographically closer to Urmia and had also served as a viable route last year during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel. The Armenia route may offer a comparatively shorter and safer passage for students to exit Iran. From there, the students can board commercial flights and return to India," he said. The Association has also informed the Ministry of External Affairs that the stranded students are willing to bear their own travel expenses if required, he added. "However, they urgently need diplomatic assistance from the Government of India to facilitate the evacuation process. aStudents primarily require formal permission and facilitation from the Embassy of India in Tehran, including a permission letter or travel authorisation that would enable them to safely cross into neighbouring countries through the Armenia route. JKSA has urged the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Tehran to coordinate with the relevant authorities in Iran and Armenia to ensure safe transit arrangements and provide the necessary documentation that would allow Indian students to temporarily enter Armenia before flying back to India." He said that the Association reiterated its appeal to the Centre to urgently assess the ground situation and facilitate safe evacuation corridors at the earliest possible time before the security situation deteriorates further. "The Association emphasised that timely intervention and structured evacuation planning are critical to ensuring the safety of the students, many of whom are experiencing severe psychological distress. Swift and proactive measures will not only help ensure the safety of these students but will also provide immense reassurance to their anxious families back home who are closely monitoring the situation," Khuehami added. Washington, March 5 : US lawmakers sparred on Thursday over the role of allies in global security as Congress examined the newly released National Defense Strategy during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. The debate highlighted differences between Republicans and Democrats on the extent to which allies should assume greater responsibility for defending their own regions while the United States focuses on major strategic priorities. Opening the hearing, committee chairman Mike Rogers said lawmakers were reviewing a strategy that guides U.S. military planning and resource allocation. He said the strategy has already shown progress in several areas, including homeland defence and the protection of U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. However, Rogers raised concerns about provisions in the strategy that shift more security responsibilities to U.S. allies. He warned that pushing European allies to assume larger military roles too quickly could pose risks. "This is a recipe to guarantee failure and create a deterrence gap that Russia will exploit," Rogers said. He also criticised the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Romania, saying that allies were not properly consulted before the move. "A brigade is not 'little,'" he said. Democrats, however, offered a sharper critique of the strategy and warned that it could weaken long-standing alliances and undermine global cooperation. Ranking member Adam Smith said the 2026 National Defense Strategy reflects an "America First" framework that raises concerns about U.S. commitments abroad. "The 2026 NDS appears to abandon U.S. commitments to international norms," Smith said. He added that the strategy also appears inconsistent with recent military actions undertaken by the administration. Smith pointed to the President's military operations overseas and said they seem to contradict the strategy's stated focus on avoiding prolonged conflicts. "The President's appetite for military adventurism, to include Operation Epic Fury, appears to contradict the strategy," he said. Pentagon officials defended the strategy during the hearing, stating that it reflects a realistic approach to global security amid limited resources. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby told lawmakers that the strategy is based on President Donald Trump's "America first, peace through strength" approach. He said the United States must concentrate its military power on the most pressing threats. "The American military, while without peer, is not infinite in its application and resources," Colby said. He said the strategy rests on several pillars, including defending the homeland, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region, and rebuilding the U.S. defence industrial base. Another key element of the strategy is burden-sharing. Colby said allies and partners must take a larger role in defending their own regions. The objective, he said, is for allies to assume "primary responsibility for their conventional defence". The strategy also aims to prevent China from dominating the Indo-Pacific while encouraging partners to strengthen their own military capabilities. The National Defense Strategy outlines the Pentagon's long-term military priorities and serves as a guiding document for defence planning. It also informs decisions on force posture, military spending and alliance structures. Congress reviews the strategy as part of its oversight responsibilities and uses it to shape defence policy and the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Citizens walk on a street in Beijing, capital of China, on March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) A citizen takes photos of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China, on March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Citizens walk on a street in Beijing, capital of China, on March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the snow scenery in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Tourists visit the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Tourists visit the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Tourists visit the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Foreign tourists pose for photos at the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Tourists visit the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Han) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ma Xiaodong) Tourists visit the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ma Xiaodong) Tourists visit the Shougang Park after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Han) Tourists visit the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Ma Xiaodong) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a view of the Shougang Park after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) Tourists visit the Jingshan Park after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Han) Tourists visit the Shougang Park after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. Beijing has witnessed a spring snowfall from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) Agartala, March 5 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday said ensuring access to affordable, quality and modern healthcare services remains one of the top priorities of the BJP government. After inaugurating three key healthcare facilities at the Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital (GBP), the Chief Minister said the state government has been consistently strengthening the health system through modern technology, improved infrastructure and skilled human resources. Saha, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolios, said the three newly launched facilities include a 16-bed Respiratory and Geriatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a Trauma Centre Operation Theatre, and a newly constructed Labour Room-cum-Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBS & Gynae) Operation Theatre Complex. He said the introduction of these services would make it easier to provide advanced and timely medical care to patients. The Chief Minister said the Respiratory and Geriatric ICU, equipped with modern monitoring systems and advanced life-support facilities, would help provide better treatment to patients suffering from severe respiratory complications and serious age-related illnesses. "This facility will be particularly beneficial for senior citizens," he said, adding that the government plans to expand ICU capacity in the state to more than 320 beds in the future. Referring to the second facility, Saha said the operationalisation of the Trauma Centre Operation Theatre was an important step by the Health Department. "With this facility, emergency surgeries can now be conducted round the clock. Patients will have access to services from neurosurgeons, general surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons and other trauma specialists," he said. He added that this would help ensure faster and more effective treatment in cases of road accidents and other emergency situations. Speaking about the newly built Labour Room-cum-OBS and Gynaecology Operation Theatre Complex, the Chief Minister said the infrastructure has been developed to ensure the safety of mothers and newborns. "This facility will help provide advanced and safe medical care for expecting mothers and newborn babies," said Saha, who is himself a dental surgeon. Highlighting improvements in the state's health sector in recent years, Saha said the bed capacity at AGMC and GBP Hospital has increased from 727 to 1,413 beds. He also noted that initiatives have been taken to construct critical care blocks, communicable disease centres and special wards. The Chief Minister said the state government has also started telemedicine consultations with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi to expand access to advanced medical advice. Efforts are also being made to expand super-speciality medical services, he said, adding that many complex diseases can now be treated within the state, reducing the need for patients to travel outside Tripura. Saha further said that medical education in the state is also expanding, with postgraduate seats increased to 119. Development work is also underway to improve sub-divisional and district hospitals, the dental college and other healthcare infrastructure. He said kidney transplantation has already begun in the state, while steps are being taken to develop infrastructure for liver and heart transplants in the future. The state government is also working towards establishing a Tripura Health University, he said. To enhance the skills of healthcare professionals, several doctors and nurses have already been sent to AIIMS in New Delhi for a three-month training programme, and such training will continue in phases. The Chief Minister also highlighted several other initiatives in the state's health sector, including the establishment of new district hospitals in Sepahijala and Khowai, setting up of homeopathy and ayurvedic hospitals, and a proposal to establish a new medical college at Dhalai District Hospital in Kulai. He also referred to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and the Chief Minister's health schemes, which provide financial assistance for treatment to patients. New Delhi/London, March 5 : The maritime threat landscape across the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Strait of Hormuz has turned highly volatile in the past 24-48 hours, driven by escalating military confrontations involving Iran, the US, and Israel. Multiple projectile, missile, and explosive incidents have targeted commercial shipping, prompting a near-total halt in transits through the critical chokepoint. Since late February, when US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets triggered retaliatory actions, the region has seen confirmed attacks on several merchant vessels. Reports detail at least three to eight commercial ships damaged or struck, including tankers and a container ship hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman approaches. Casualties have been reported, with at least one seafarer killed and others injured in incidents involving drone boats, missiles, and near-misses. Shipping traffic has plummeted dramatically. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows, saw only a handful of crossings in recent days -- far below baseline levels -- with some tracking platforms recording near-zero active transits in main lanes. Hundreds of vessels, including oil tankers and LNG carriers, remain anchored in regional waters or clustered at safe havens, while major operators like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended Hormuz passages entirely. Some lines are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, significantly extending voyage times and costs. Compounding the kinetic threats, "persistent GPS and AIS jamming" continues to severely impair navigation safety. Maritime intelligence firms like Windward have detected widespread electronic interference, with over 1,100 vessels affected in recent daysshowing spoofed positions placing ships on land, at airports, or at nuclear sites. This has created denial zones and injected false signals across the Gulf, heightening collision risks and complicating situational awareness. In response, war-risk insurance providers -- including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, London P&I Club, and the American Club -- have issued cancellation notices for coverage in Iranian waters, the Persian Gulf, and adjacent areas, effective from March 5 onward. This has forced ship owners to seek prohibitively expensive alternatives or avoid the region, effectively paralyzing commercial operations. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) has elevated the regional threat level to "CRITICAL", indicating attacks are almost certain. US MARAD advisories urge vessels to avoid the area if possible, maintain 30-nautical-mile standoffs from naval assets, and implement enhanced measures. Merchant vessels are strongly advised to exercise "heightened vigilance", enforce enhanced watchkeeping, cross-verify all navigation inputs (including radar and visual bearings), and strictly adhere to "Best Management Practices (BMP5 or MS)" security protocols while transiting or operating in the region. Monitoring of UKMTO, JMIC, and NAVCENT advisories remains essential. The situation underscores the fragility of global energy supply chains, with potential for further escalation amid ongoing hostilities. Authorities continue to monitor developments closely as the crisis risks broader economic repercussions. Jaipur, March 5 : In view of the rising incidents of cybercrime in the state, the Cyber Crime Wing of Rajasthan Police has issued a special public advisory warning people about fraudsters posing as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and other investigative agencies. Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) V.K. Singh said cybercriminals are targeting citizens by impersonating officials and threatening them with legal action to extort money. Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell, Police Headquarters, Shantanu Kumar Singh said fraudsters are adopting several tactics to create psychological pressure and cheat people. One of the most common methods is the so-called "digital arrest" scam, in which criminals pose as officers from agencies such as the CBI, police, customs, or the Enforcement Directorate (ED). They falsely claim that the victim's Aadhaar card or mobile number has been used in serious crimes such as money laundering or drug trafficking and threaten them over a video call, forcing them to transfer large sums of money to settle the alleged case. Another common method is SIM deactivation and KYC fraud. In this scam, victims receive a message stating that their SIM card will be deactivated within a short time. Under the pretext of updating KYC details, fraudsters trick them into downloading fake applications or clicking on suspicious links. This may result in SIM swapping, enabling criminals to intercept banking OTPs through call and SMS forwarding. Police officials also warned about fake mobile tower installation offers, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. In such cases, fraudsters lure people with promises of monthly rent ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 and large advance payments in exchange for installing a mobile tower on their land. They then demand money under the pretext of agreement or registration fees. In another method, criminals send emails or letters using fake logos and letterheads of agencies such as TRAI, the CBI, or the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and threaten legal action to intimidate people into transferring money. Rajasthan Police advised citizens to remain cautious and verify any suspicious communication. Officials clarified that TRAI never conducts questioning through video calls or carries out any form of "digital arrest". People have been urged to immediately disconnect calls from individuals claiming to be government officials who attempt to threaten or intimidate them and never share personal information, bank details, or OTPs with unknown persons. Any information related to mobile tower installation should be verified through the official website of the Department of Telecommunications at dot.gov.in. Police have also appealed to the public to report cyber fraud incidents immediately. Victims can file complaints through the national cybercrime helpline number 1930, the special helpdesk numbers 9256001930 and 9257510100, the online portal cybercrime.gov.in, or by contacting the nearest police station or Cyber Police Station. Rajasthan Police urged citizens to stay alert and report suspicious activities promptly to help curb cybercrime. New Delhi, March 6 : The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on its self-proclaimed badge of honesty, asking it to explain the reasons for the exit of its internal Lokpal Admiral L. Ramdas. Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said on Thursday that leaders of the AAP make baseless allegations against the BJP but they should first look within. Kapoor demanded an answer from AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Anurag Dhanda on who betrayed AAP's internal Lokpal Admiral L. Ramdas and why did he eventually leave the party? He said that if the AAP truly claims to practice honest and transparent politics, it must also explain why its own Lokpal became disillusioned and chose to distance himself from the party. Kapoor added that the history of the AAP shows that many respected and prominent individuals, who were associated with the party, in its early days either left over time or were sidelined. These include: Anjali Damania, Kiran Bedi, Shazia Ilmi, Richa Pandey, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan, Mayank Gandhi, Anand Kumar, Ashutosh, Ashish Khetan and Ashwini Upadhyay, among many others who once worked to strengthen the AAP. He said that even in recent years several prominent AAP leaders have distanced themselves from the party. These include Raj Kumar Anand, Kapil Mishra, Kartar Singh Tanwar and Kailash Gahlot. Kapoor added that the AAP must clarify why so many founding members, social activists, intellectuals, and senior leaders eventually parted ways with the party. "Were all of them wrong, or did the AAP leadership fail to retain the trust of its own colleagues?" the Delhi BJP Spokesperson said. He added that the BJP believes that differences of opinion are natural in politics, but the way one senior leader after another kept leaving the Aam Aadmi Party raised serious questions about the party's internal leadership style. Earlier, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva condemned the AAP's demand to livestream proceedings of the Privileges Committee meeting of the Delhi Assembly which is dealing with the 'Faansi Ghar' matter. Sachdeva's remarks come on the eve of the likely appearance of AAP Convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjwal before the Committee on Friday for presenting his explanation for declaring a shaft in the Assembly premises as a 'Faansi Ghar' and opening it for public viewing under the AAP government. He said that the lies of the AAP and Kejriwal regarding the declaration of the Old Secretariat as "gallows" have been exposed to such an extent that they are now willing to tell thousands of lies to cover up their mistake. Events David VanGorden Officially Announces Campaign for Rancho Cucamonga City Council District 2 Longtime Rancho Cucamonga resident and retired law enforcement officer David VanGorden officially announced his candidacy for Rancho Cucamonga City Council, District 2, during remarks delivered at the March 3 meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga Chapter of the California Republican Assembly (CRA). VanGorden, a 30-year resident of the city, cited concerns over rapid development, infrastructure strain, fiscal priorities, and the growing sentiment among residents that their voices are not being heard. Im running because I believe Rancho Cucamonga deserves common sense leadership, VanGorden said during his announcement. Growth without infrastructure is not progress. And representation without accountability is not leadership. Residents deserve answers, transparency, and a council member who listens before voting. During his remarks, VanGorden emphasized what he described as a pattern of unanimous 50 City Council votes on major projects, saying residents have begun to question whether meaningful debate and independent evaluation are occurring before decisions are finalized. This isnt about attacking anyone, VanGorden said. Its about asking reasonable questions and restoring trust. If elected, I will explain my votes openly and ensure residents understand how and why decisions are made. VanGorden also announced that he will not accept campaign contributions from developers, stating that maintaining independence is critical to public confidence. My vote will never be influenced by who donates to my campaign, he said. The public interest must come first. Rather than taking open-floor questions at the meeting, VanGorden invited residents to submit questions and concerns directly via email so that he can address specific issues in depth at future CRA meetings. He announced that each upcoming meeting will focus on a single topic including overdevelopment, fiscal responsibility, and public safety allowing for detailed discussion and documentation. I respect peoples time too much to offer quick answers on serious issues, VanGorden said. Residents deserve preparation, facts, and clarity. VanGorden stated that his campaign will center on: -Infrastructure-first planning -Fiscal discipline and transparency -Public safety -Accessibility and open communication with residents The General Municipal Election will be held November 3, 2026. Residents interested in learning more about VanGordens campaign or submitting questions for future discussion can visit https://www.vangordenforrancho.com/ or contact him directly at dvangorden13@gmail.com About David VanGorden David VanGorden is a retired law enforcement officer and longtime Rancho Cucamonga resident. He and his family have lived in the city for more than three decades. He is running for City Council to promote infrastructure-aligned growth, fiscal responsibility, and transparent leadership. Karan Mahajans third novel, The Complex (Viking), blends a domestic drama with a story of immigration and Indian political upheaval. In 1980, Sachin Chopra, the grandson of a late Indian politician, attempts a fresh start with his wife, Gita, in Michigan, while she longs to return to her native Delhi. During a visit there, shes sexually assaulted by Sachins uncle, Laxman. Later in the decade, Laxman is courted by the ascendant far-right Bhartiya Janata Party. The author, a finalist for the National Book Award, proves himself a consummate storyteller with this immersive and character-driven novel. For years I have livedmentally, physicallybetween India, where I grew up, and the U.S., where I work, and I wanted to write a novel that captured this duality, the way in which immigrants can become suspended between worlds. In my new novel, The Complex, I dramatize this state through a character named Gita Chopra, a woman in her late 20s from Delhi who has followed her engineer husband to the U.S., but longs more than anything to return to her hometown. Yet because of sexual shame, and because she is dealing with infertility, she feels cast out of her home as well, and must contend with the judgment of her husbands large family, which lives in a single compound in Delhithe complex of the title. As I wrote Gitaa middle-class Indian woman who came of age in the 1970sI realized that, as a cis man, I had a limited understanding of how women experience their own bodies. And so, during a fellowship from 2018 to 2019 at the New York Public Librarys Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, I read widely, trying to immerse myself in womens subjectivity, particularly around topics like pregnancy, infertility, and abortion. I know my attempt at research was doomed from the startthere is only so far you can gobut then I have always thought of research as the main reason to write a book. Even if a book fails, one has learned so much! Here are some books that stayed with me: Buy this book Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Bookshop Happening Annie Ernaux, trans. from the French by Tanya Leslie. Seven Stories, $14.95 trade paper (96p) ISBN 978-1-60980-948-5 Candid, direct, and suspenseful, this memoir by Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux chronicles the tense months leading up to an illegal abortion she underwent in 1963, at the age of 23. The details of the abortion are harrowingIll never forget the image of the fetus swathed in a melba toast wrapper or how, when she is taken to a hospital for bleeding, a medical intern shouts down Ernauxs questions with the statement, "I'm no fucking plumber. Yet the book is never self-pitying and becomes an affecting meditation on class, how the body is turned into writing, and how difficult it is to commune with an old memory. The book was written 40 years after the event. I read it in two hours. Buy this book Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Bookshop And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready Meaghan O'Connell. Back Bay, $16.99 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-316-39385-0 This memoir is the Diary of a Very Bad Pregnancy or of undiagnosed postpartum depression. Meaghan OConnell is a snappy, visceral writer, and I felt I was with her during her harrowing 24-hour-plus labor. One watches with horror as OConnells innocence about pregnancyher desire for a natural birth without an epidural, for examplefalls away as the pain mounts. The book is honest about the repetitive arduousness of being a parent and of the fundamental falseness of much modern-day parenting advice, which guilts mothers for not enjoying breastfeeding, for example. In her memoir, OConnell also describes the paradox of feeling like an incompetent parent compared to her husbandeven though she is the one the baby is physically dependent on. In short, this is a vital description of the first year of motherhood as a kind of terrible hazing ritual before life with a baby evens out and expands out into a more manageable (and even joyful!) experience. Buy this book Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Bookshop A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother Rachel Cusk. Picador, $19 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-250-82825-5 So good! I love Rachel Cusks sharp, somewhat frenzied style in this memoir of motherhood, with its constant war and bomb metaphors (Cusk doesn't just prepare formula; she lays out the bottles like someone preparing to assemble a bomb" and so on). There are no real characters in this bookwe don't know the father or the babybut it sings along on jittery energy and Cusks waspish voice. One-liners abound: My daughter quickly comes to replace me as the primary object of my care; She knows how to suck better than I know how to be sucked. Cusk notes that the terror on her newborn daughters face after Cusk shouts at her is the first frankly emotional look she has given me in her life." I cant quite understand why Cusk was attacked in Britain for the not-quite-earth-shattering revelation that a baby can hijack ones brain, but then literary Brits are horrible to each other. Go Cusk! Buy this book Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Bookshop Adopted Miracles: The Story of Our Family Anamika Mukherjee. HarperCollins India, $10 trade paper (200p) ISBN 978-93-5029-787-2 Honesty is the quality I value most in literature; and it is particularly difficult for memoirists to achieve in India, where the pressure to conform socially and to protect the family name at all costs is so high. This is why Anamika Mukherjees painful, vulnerableand yeshonest book about dealing with infertility in India and then going through the onerous process of adopting is such a crucial text. She is particularly acute on the psychology of feeling damaged. Looking at a cow, she thinks, Even that stupid, brainless, grass-eating bovine can get pregnant, only I cant. Im useless. Im not worth anything at all. What good is my money, my education, my intelligence? Im not even a fully functional woman. What a devastating thoughtone that is proven untrue over and over by this brave book and the account she has created to help others in similar situations in India. Buy this book Amazon Apple Books Barnes & Noble Bookshop The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, $22 trade paper (688p) ISBN 978-0-06-158248-6 One of the best books I've read, The Golden Notebook is the story of a single, politically-active womana novelist named Annain 1960s London who is trying to make meaning in the intellectual void left by the crackup of British Communism. This classic novel takes us through Annas friendships, affairs, single parenthood, political organizing, disheartening meetings with film execs, therapy sessions, and even the writing of a novel-within-a-novel. Lessing creates the effect that nothing has been left out, though this too is part of the books artifice. Its a superb catalogue of changing moods in a relationship and the differences in the way men and women approached the so-called sexual liberation of the 1960s. OTTAWA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that he would not "categorically rule out" the possibility of Canada's military participation in the ongoing Middle East conflict, local media reported. Carney made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, during his visit to Australia. When asked if he could definitively guarantee that Canada would not get involved militarily, Carney said it cannot be ruled out, adding that "we will stand by our allies when it makes sense" and "we will always defend Canadians." In a statement released earlier, Carney expressed regret over the "failure of the international order" and "implored all parties, including the United States and Israel, to respect the rules of international engagement." KABUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Police have discovered and seized more than 2.5 tons of a variety of narcotics during operations in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, provincial police spokesman Mullah Ezat Haqqani said Thursday. The contraband, which included Hashish, opium, acid, ice, and other illegal objects used in manufacturing heroin, had been recovered mostly from Bahramcha district, the official said. Earlier, in a similar crackdown against illegal drugs, police burned publicly around 4 tons of narcotics in the western Nimroz province. Neither the Trump nor the Netanyahu administrations have articulated clear plans for how to facilitate the rapid establishment of an internally-representational, externally-nonaggressive, new government in Tehran. When the reign of the ayatollahs ends, a national governance system will be needed posthaste to lead Iran as the country attempts to simultaneously reintegrate into the global community and rebuild its domestic socioeconomics. Establishing stable authority within Iran need not be the challenge it was in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iran already has underlying constitutional and administrative structures which, with carefully applied modifications, can ensure a swift and viable transition to good governance. Irans basic political problem is the overlay of a theocratic branch of power atop the rest of the government, a merger of religion and state in the constitution, which is protected by a special military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Moreover, of all Islamic Irans state institutions, only the theocratic branchs highest office, that of the Supreme Leader, comes with constitutionally approved de facto permanent tenure. Appointed by the Assembly of Experts, which consists of eighty-six mujtahids or scholastically-trained Shiite clergymen who are elected by the voting public to eight-year terms of office, an influential Supreme Leader can exercise considerable authority if not final say over most aspects of Irans politics, economy, security, and society. It is not only the Office of the Supreme Leader and the Assembly of Experts that have reinforced many decades of theocratic despotism. The unelected Council of Guardians consists of six Shiite clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and six Shiite legal scholars selected jointly by the High Council of the Judiciary and the Parliament for six-year terms of office. That Council determines the constitutionality of all laws and screens all candidates for elected office, imposing clerical oversight of the entire electoral process. Likewise, the thirty-nine members of the Expediency Discernment Council are appointed by the Supreme Leader from among influential mollahs and other stalwarts of the Islamist regime. Constitutional and related institutional change would not be difficult once the current regime is no more. Dissolution of the Office of Supreme Leader will make the Assembly of Experts, Guardian Council, and Expediency Discernment Council unnecessary. Those institutions can then be removed from both constitution and administrative authority. The IRGC would need to be stripped of its constitutional legitimacy, purged of Islamist ideologues and then integrated into the regular armed forces. Restrictions on women and religious minorities currently present in governance and law can quickly be expunged as well. The extent of Shiite religious underpinnings of the Iranian nation, which presently are absolute, should be modified or even eliminated depending on the will of the majority of Irans population, most of whom are ready to completely secularize their polity. The current direct elections for the Office of President and Members of Parliament should continue but no longer be subject to sectarian vetting of candidates. Thereby, Irans unrepresentative theocratic domination would give way to a transparently elected, legally removable, fully representative system of public officials who would better serve their own people and the community of nations. The Islamic Republics surviving elites may seem to be continuing to resist political change publicly, even plotting to go ahead with installing a third Supreme Leader. Yet they have covertly reached out to their American counterparts to discuss terms of reconciliation, if only in the hope of self-preservation. Individuals like Ali Larijani, who has over three decades of leadership experience within the Islamic Republics government and is at present the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Masoud Pezeshkian a former cardiac surgeon who is Irans popularly-elected President and therefore second only to the Supreme Leader within the governments hierarchy, are two likely candidates to be open to change as both have not always been in line with the regime. The same is likely, for fiscal reasons, of commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Artesh or conventional armed forcesorganizations that are deeply vested in economic sectors far-flung from military duties. The governance change of eliminating the theocratic branch would work well with opposition leaders inside Iran such as those who sparked the 2009 Green Movement including Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard. Even a monarchist dimension for the new state could be added to the constitution and national administration if Reza Pahlavis quest to return as a shah proves to be successful in convincing a plurality of ordinary Iranians. Pahlavi has warm relations with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seems to be Jerusalems preferred choice to rule Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, remains skeptical that the last shahs son and his advisers can efficiently run Iran after 48 years in exile. President Trump expressed his preference for Irans next leader: It would seem to me that somebody from within [Iran], maybe would be more appropriate. Therefore, the United States and Israel need to act more strategically when targeting prominent politicians and military commanders in Iran. Israeli forces however have been culling potentially pragmatic leaders who could reach compromise with Washington. As a result, President Trump is understandably concerned that Most of the people we had in mind are dead. Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon were not going to know anybody. So, policymakers in Washington should work quickly with those leaders of the faltering Iranian regime who are receptive to change and with well-known opposition figures inside Iran in addition to exiled leaders to establish the new national authority. The goal should be to toss out the theocratic branch of government, the clerics themselves, and those still loyal to them from politics while keeping constitutional apparatuses and bureaucratic systems that would facilitate a modern secular nation of Iran. JAMSHEED K. CHOKSY is Distinguished Professor of Iranian studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and Director of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center at Indiana University and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science. CAROL E. B. CHOKSY is Senior Lecturer of Strategic Intelligence in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. Regimes rarely collapse in a single decisive moment. They fracture under pressure until a political opening emerges. When that moment arrives, the decisive question is not simply whether an authoritarian system has weakened, but whether an organized alternative exists capable of converting rupture into a structured democratic transition. Iran may now be entering such a moment. The ongoing U.S. and Israeli military offensive against the Islamic Republic has dramatically intensified pressure on a regime whose domestic legitimacy had already been eroding for years. Major strikes have targeted military infrastructure and elements of Irans security apparatus, deepening uncertainty inside the ruling establishment and exposing fractures within the regimes governing structure. History shows that authoritarian weakening does not automatically produce democratic outcomes. The difference between chaos and renewal lies in preparation. What distinguishes the present moment is that a long-prepared political alternative with an articulated transition framework has now formally stepped forward. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), established in 1981, was formed explicitly as a political coalition to replace clerical rule with a democratic republic. For more than four decades, it has maintained offices globally while sustaining networks inside Iran. Unlike spontaneous protest movements that arise during moments of crisis, the NCRI was created with institutional continuity and transitional responsibility in mind. On February 28, the NCRI formally announced the activation of a provisional government framework intended to transfer sovereignty to the Iranian people and establish a democratic republic. From the perspective of comparative transition studies, the presence of a pre-existing political coalition with an articulated governing framework is often the decisive factor determining whether the collapse of an authoritarian system produces a democratic transition or prolonged instability. The framework is grounded in the Ten-Point Plan advanced by Maryam Rajavi, which commits to universal suffrage, free and fair elections within a defined transitional period, separation of religion and state, freedom of speech and association, gender equality, abolition of the death penalty, and the dismantling of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other repressive institutions. As a scholar of democratic transitions, including doctoral research focused on regime transition dynamics in Iran, one recurring lesson stands out: successful transitions depend less on the collapse of an authoritarian order than on whether an alternative governing structure has been prepared in advance. Institutional preparation alone, however, is insufficient. Transitional credibility also depends on an organized domestic presence and a codified constitutional roadmap capable of immediate activation. The NCRI now asserts all three pillars. Institutional continuity matters because transitions are administratively fragile. Since 1981, the NCRI has functioned as a structured coalition rather than a reactive movement. Organizational preservation under sustained repression produces internal discipline, political memory, and procedural coherence, all of which are indispensable when a political opening emerges. Organized domestic presence is equally critical. Recent clashes in Tehrans Pasteur district, one of the most heavily fortified security zones in the Islamic Republic, underscored that resistance networks retain operational depth. The Motahari Complex, housing the Supreme Leaders headquarters and protected by layered IRGC security perimeters, represents the regimes most secure institutional core. Reports of resistance units engaging regime protection forces in this district indicate internal coordination and disciplined structure rather than spontaneous unrest. The NCRIs principal constituent organization, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), has endured mass executions, imprisonment, exile, and sustained repression over decades. Yet it has preserved networks capable of coordinated action inside Iran. Longevity alone does not guarantee success, but sustained organization under pressure signals preparedness rather than improvisation. The third pillar is a codified roadmap. The Ten-Point Plan is not merely aspirational. It outlines procedural commitments, including limited transitional authority and the transfer of sovereignty to elected institutions. Comparative transition cases demonstrate that the absence of a defined post-authoritarian framework often leads to elite fragmentation or security vacuum. A pre-articulated roadmap reduces that risk. For decades, policymakers have warned that destabilization of the Islamic Republic could produce chaos. That concern has been understandable in the absence of a visible civilian alternative. The activation of a forty-five-year-old coalition with a defined program, global organizational infrastructure, and internal networks alters that strategic calculation. Transitions remain uncertain. They demand discipline, procedural clarity, and legitimacy grounded in popular sovereignty. They also require actors capable of sustaining organization when repression is severe and international conditions fluctuate. Irans future will ultimately be determined by its people. Whether the present crisis evolves into a democratic transition will depend on the dynamics unfolding inside the country in the weeks ahead. What distinguishes this moment, however, is that the architecture for political transition has not been constructed in haste. It has been developed over decades and has now been formally activated. In the study of democratic transitions, preparation often determines whether the fall of an authoritarian system produces instability or renewal. For Iran, that distinction may now prove decisive. Dr. Sofey Saidi is a scholar-practitioner specializing in international relations, democratic transitions, and global governance. She holds a PhD from the Geneva School of Diplomacy, with doctoral research focused on political transition dynamics in Iran, and advanced degrees from George Mason University and Duke University. Fluent in Farsi and Spanish, she has taught global politics and international relations at the University of Baltimore. Within hours of the United States and Israel launching their attack on the Iranian government, allegations that the operations were illegal filled airwaves and social media feeds around the world. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed the strikes mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. International law specialist Oona Hathaway insisted the attacks are blatantly illegal, while referring to an opinion article in which she reaches the same conclusion for the previous attack against Irans nuclear capabilities. UK Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn declared the attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable. Though they are prevalent and may appear convincing, assertions such as these are mistaken. There is, in fact, legal basis for these actions under both international and domestic law. The UN Charter The standard interpretation of the use of force model reflected in the UN Charter suggests self-defense is the only permissible justification to resort to armed attack in the absence of a Security Council authorization or consent of the host nation. Allegations that attacking Iran is inconsistent with the Charter fail to account for at least one pivotal factor: Israel has publicly acknowledged it is an ongoing armed conflict against Iran and its regional proxies. Israel has been exercising the inherent right of self-defense since then against all adversarial co-belligerents, including Iran. Because the UN Charter recognizes the right of individual and collective self-defense, this provides a legal basis for both Israel and the United States to use force against Iran. Even so, claims that these attacks constitute aggression are flawed for a separate but related reason. Crime of aggression and law of neutrality Aggression is defined pursuant to international law as an attack against another country in a manner inconsistent with the UN Charter. By participating in the conflict along with Israel, the United States merely forfeits neutral status and Iran may now regard America as an adversarial co-belligerent. Still, joining an ongoing armed conflict does not qualify as the first use of force according to the definition of aggression. Because Israel continues to act in self-defense during an ongoing armed conflict against Iran and its regional proxies, neither Israel nor the United States violated international law by launching Operation Roaring Lion and Operation Epic Fury, respectively. Constitutional authority and the War Powers Resolution The decision to deploy the US military in support of this operation is consistent with American domestic law as well. Although Congress has sole constitutional authority to declare war, not every use of force qualifies as war such that the legislature must authorize it. There have only been eleven declarations of war in US history, covering five separate conflicts. Yet hundreds of occasions of the use of force abroad have been documented from 1798 to 2023. For hostilities that fall short of war on the spectrum of conflictincluding the current operation against Iranthe president typically relies on Article II commander-in-chief constitutional authority. On the legislative front, Senator Tim Kaine recently called on the Senate to return to session so a bill he introduced to block the administration from engaging in hostilities can come to a vote. The draft legislation is structured upon and cites the War Powers Resolution adopted by Congress in 1973. However, Kaines measure is unlikely to actually halt the conflict considering every president since Nixon has regarded the War Powers Resolution as an unconstitutional attempt to constrain executive authority. Congressional authorization Former State Department official Gabriel Noronha suggested that the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) passed by Congress in 2001 may provide a domestic legal basis for attacking Iran, though this conclusion will predictably be rejected by critics of the operation. Even so, this perennial debate about the AUMF misses a vital point: Congress doesnt actually authorize military force by adopting this type of legislation. Instead, the legislature is merely expressing approval of executive action. This is what Justice Robert Jackson famously described in his landmark Youngstown concurrence as the maximum extent of presidential authority since it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate. However, in the absence of Congressional authority, Jackson maintains that the commander-in-chief still can still take action: either in the zone of twilight in the absence of legislation, or operating within the lowest ebbacting in a manner incompatible with the will of Congress based on executive authority alone. Getting the facts right There has been no shortage of assertions that joint Israeli and American operations against Iran are illegal. As a matter of international law, these claims typically constitute a valid expression of relevant legal principles. But the law operates in the context of the facts of the case. Failing to acknowledge the ongoing armed conflict Israel is fighting against Iran and its regional proxies results in mistaken conclusions that these latest operations violate the UN Charter. Domestically, misleading impressions regarding the role of the War Powers Resolution and authorizations to use military force complicate popular perceptions of executive authority in this area. Congress declares war, and long-standing precedent supports presidential power to authorize operationssuch as this onethat fall short of war. Whether international or domestic, an accurate understanding of relevant facts is just as important to reaching valid conclusions as properly articulating applicable law. The only valid conclusion here is the attacks against Iran by Israel and the United States are, indeed, lawful. Dr. Brian L. Cox is an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School and a contributor for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2018 after 22 years of military service, including seven years as a military lawyer and several combat deployments. Tayshia Adams / Instagram By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/04/2026 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. Bachelor Mansion Takeover judge Tayshia Adams has shared the advice she gave new star Taylor Frankie Paul."I actually already told her. I told her, 'You can't look at us for any advice, really, because this is all your own journey,'" Tayshia recalled during a joint Decider interview with her fellow Bachelor Mansion Takeover judge Tyler Cameron Tayshia, who starred on Season 16 of , got to meet Taylor when they joined over a dozen past Bachelorettes for : Before the First Rose, a reunion special that will air on ABC prior to the premiere of Taylor's new season in March.Tayshia said of the 31-year-old The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star and #MomTok creator, "I don't want her to copy any of us in any way, shape or form."Tayshia therefore told Taylor to "just give it your all, be in the moment, fall in love and do your thing.""I feel like she's really going to shake everything up, and it's going to be exactly what the franchise really needed," Tayshia said.Tayshia said she's looking forward to watching Taylor make connections on 's 22nd season, which premieres Sunday, March 22 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC."She's going to do great. I'm so excited for her," noted Tayshia, who appears to be single after competing on Colton Underwood 's season of The Bachelor followed by her own stint.Taylor, a divorced mother of three, has two "baby daddies" -- Tate Paul and Dakota Mortensen -- as she has put it.Taylor and Tate welcomed daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, together during their relationship.Taylor revealed in 2022 that she and Tate had participated in "soft swinging" with their #MomTok friend group but she broke the couple's rules -- which they had both agreed on -- by taking one sexual relationship too far.The incident resulted in Taylor and Tate's divorce, which was finalized in August 2022.Taylor subsequently dated Dakota for more than two years. She and Dakota welcomed a son, Ever True, in March 2024.When ABC announced Taylor as 's Season 22 star in September 2025, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives viewers had yet to see her relationship with Dakota implode and come to an end on the show's third season.Taylor and Dakota appeared to split in late 2024, although Taylor didn't confirm their breakup until early 2025.The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives -- which premieres its fourth season this month on Hulu -- showed Dakota and Taylor contemplating a reconciliation last year.But allegations Dakota had sexted Taylor's family friend ruined any chance of that happening. Taylor also accused a former friend of sleeping with Dakota in late October.Dakota, however, recently claimed that moved on with someone new and just wants Taylor to be happy When asked for his thoughts on Taylor's upcoming season, Tyler acknowledged that Taylor is "a star" and she's going to bring something fresh to the table."She's going to bring so much spunk and pizzazz to ," Tyler said."I am excited. I haven't watched in years, but I will be tuning in because this is going to be a beautiful mess."ABC recently announced Taylor's cast of bachelors Taylor has captivated millions of people "with her raw, unapologetic storytelling," which ABC described as "comedic, heartwarming and bitingly-honest content."ABC shared in a statement that Taylor brings "unfiltered candor" to the table, adding, "With humor, resilience and a fearless openness, she inspires others to embrace life's chaos and own their story."Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group On an evening seemingly like any other, Keaton Coletti received a call that he had been named a Truman Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories. On top of excitement, he immediately felt relieved that all of his hard work had paid off. 'It gives me a chance to have three years of research funding and have a job and be able to support my family and work on problems I'm really interested in, Coletti, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at the University of Georgia, said. Im really happy about that. Indian auto retail sales experienced a remarkable 26% surge in February, fueled by GST benefits, strong rural demand, and new model introductions, signalling robust growth across vehicle segments. Photograph: Babu/Reuters Key Points Indian auto retail sales jumped 26% year-on-year in February, indicating strong market confidence and improved affordability. Five out of six auto categories, including two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, achieved record February retail volumes. Rural markets experienced stronger growth (34%) than urban markets (21%), boosting sales of smaller cars. Improved rural liquidity, attractive marketing schemes, and new product launches contributed to increased two-wheeler sales. Commercial vehicle sales benefited from improved freight availability, e-commerce activity, and infrastructure demand. Domestic automobile retail sales surged 26 per cent year-on-year in February, extending the momentum seen after GST 2.0, with improved affordability and market confidence translating into broad-based growth across segments, dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. The overall retail sales last month rose to 24,09,362 units as compared with 19,17,934 units in February 2025, registering an increase of 25.62 per cent. "The growth was broad-based across almost all segments...Five out of six categories -- two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractors -- registered their highest-ever February retail volumes, clearly highlighting the strength of underlying demand in the market," FADA president C S Vigneshwar said in a statement. On a YoY basis, two-wheelers grew by 25 per cent, three-wheelers by 24 per cent, passenger vehicles by 26 per cent, and commercial vehicles by 29 per cent, reflecting healthy demand across both personal mobility as well as economic activity-driven segments, he added. Passenger vehicle retails rose to 394,768 units last month as compared with 313,015 units in the year ago-period. Regional Sales Performance "The momentum remained broad-based with urban markets growing 21 per cent YoY while rural markets surged 34 per cent YoY, indicating a strong continued demand beyond metros," Vigneshwar said. The sharper rural growth is particularly encouraging as it is supporting the sale of small cars, even as SUVs and utility vehicles continue to drive overall volumes, he added. Improved affordability following GST rationalisation, the marriage season and healthy booking pipelines supported by new model introductions also aided demand during the month, he said. Two-Wheeler and Commercial Vehicle Sales Two-wheeler retails rose to 17,00,505 units last month as compared with 13,60,155 units in February last month. Dealers attributed this performance to improved rural liquidity following good crop outcomes, attractive marketing schemes and better affordability post GST revisions, while the marriage season and new product introductions also supported enquiries, the industry body said. In the commercial vehicle segment, dealers across regions reported improved freight availability, steady e-commerce activity and infrastructure-linked demand supporting fleet additions. The positive sentiment following GST 2.0 also helped improve secondary demand and bulk purchases. However, some pockets saw supply constraints for certain models, though the overall pipeline of bookings and market movement remained encouraging, FADA (Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations) stated. Commercial vehicle sales rose to 1,00,820 units in February as against 78,219 units in the same month last year. Three-wheeler and tractor retail sales stood at 1,17,130 and 89,418 units, respectively, in February. Future Outlook FADA noted that the business outlook for March appears cautiously optimistic, with festive demand and year-end dynamics expected to keep retail momentum intact. "Overall, the next three months still appear cautiously optimistic - the growth momentum is intact, but compared to the sharper optimism seen earlier, the survey now indicates that the industry may gradually move from a phase of strong rebound to a phase of more stable and calibrated growth," it added. Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows the snow scenery of the Great Hall of the People, the venue for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li He) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows an interior view of the Great Hall of the People, the venue for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows an interior view of the Great Hall of the People, the venue for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Li He) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) Indias trade exposure to West Asia is significant. Between April and December, India exported goods worth about $50 billion to 13 countries in the region, accounting for roughly 15 per cent of total outbound shipments. Imports stood at $116.45 billion during the same period. Photograph: Martin Pollard/Reuters Key Points Between April and December, India exported goods worth about $50 billion to 13 countries in West Asia. Imports stood at $116.45 billion during the same period, nearly a fifth of overall inbound trade. Exporters also flagged difficulties in shipping food items to the region during the ongoing month of Ramzan. Dubai and Doha, which serve as major air cargo hubs, have been affected by airspace restrictions. Shipments to the US will go via the Cape of Good Hope. With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout. In New Delhi, officials moved to set up a multi-ministry support desk to help exporters and importers manage disruptions in trade flows, after industry representatives warned of cargo pile-ups at ports and mounting logistics challenges linked to the conflict. The escalation followed joint strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran that killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and prompted retaliatory attacks by Iran and allied armed groups on Israel, US military targets and several Gulf nations. Israel widened its campaign to include Hezbollah-linked sites in Lebanon. The intensifying exchanges have affected shipping lanes, energy infrastructure and regional airspace, with oil prices rising and airlines cancelling or rerouting flights. Indias trade exposure to West Asia is significant. Between April and December, India exported goods worth about $50 billion to 13 countries in the region, accounting for roughly 15 per cent of total outbound shipments. Imports stood at $116.45 billion during the same period, nearly a fifth of overall inbound trade. The region spans Gulf Cooperation Council members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Export disruption During a meeting with senior government officials on Monday to review the emerging geopolitical situation, exporters warned of a looming crisis as cargo bound for West Asia piled up at domestic ports, alongside growing logistics-related challenges. The meeting was chaired by Suchindra Misra, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, and Lav Agarwal, director general of foreign trade (DGFT). The meeting was attended by representatives from logistics operators and shipping lines, finance ministry, petroleum ministry, shipping ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, (RBI), and export promotion councils. An official statement from the Department of Commerce said that discussions included the need to maintain predictability in cargo movement, minimise avoidable delays, and ensure seamless documentation and payment processes for exporters and importers. The Department reiterated the Government of Indias priority of ensuring continuity of EXIM logistics and mitigating any disruptions to Indias trade flows. "It was emphasised that the approach will remain facilitative and coordinated, with a focus on maintaining supply chain resilience, protecting the interests of exporters -- particularly MSMEs -- with a view that essential imports required for domestic production and consumption are not adversely affected, the statement said. Exporters also flagged difficulties in shipping food items to the region during the ongoing month of Ramzan. Dubai and Doha, which serve as major air cargo hubs, have been affected by airspace restrictions, adversely impacting airbound shipments, according to a person who attended the meeting. A source in the export sector said that "around 3,000 containers" destined for West Asia were stuck at Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port cumulatively in the last 24 hours. Shipping liners were not taking fresh orders due to concerns over the safety of crew, cargo and vessels. Shipments to the US will go via the Cape of Good Hope. "However, shipments for West Asia are suspended because of safety concerns, Sunil Vaswani of the Container Shipping Lines Association said, pointing to cargo piling up at Indian ports. To complicate matters, containers continue to arrive at ports, adding to congestion. Ports are working to provide additional space as operators adopt a wait-and-watch approach. Export promotion bodies said prolonged uncertainty could result in widespread renegotiation of contracts. Trade-policy analyst S Chandrasekaran said that after an attack on a merchant vessel two days ago, trade routes through the region had come to a standstill. Due to the crisis, almost all the existing export contracts will be renegotiated. "I believe one of the major sectors that will be affected is food. In almost all ports, containers are stuck, he said. Pankaj Chadha, chairman of EEPC India, said Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the key markets for engineering goods and serve as gateways to exports to the wider West Asia and North Africa region. He said that if the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of global oil flows, were to be blocked, it would not only lead to a spike in energy prices but also significantly increase freight costs. We have already been reeling under tariff pressure from the US and the after-effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. "The latest development adds to our concerns and may affect our exports badly, Chadha said, adding that a prolonged situation could erode competitiveness due to rising logistics and insurance costs. Shipping lines and seafarers under strain Separately, the DGFT and the Directorate General of Shipping have met stakeholders over the past two days to discuss the issues they face. A war room has been set up as a common platform to help with cargo congestion, rerouting, and ensuring non-West Asia bound supplies reach destinations timely, a freight forwarder aware of the developments said. Shipping companies have raised concerns about vessels and crew operating in the affected waters. The Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) said 27 Indian-flagged vessels were currently in the region, with many Indian seafarers on board. Our primary concern right now is the safety of the seafarers and we have requested the government for the same, said Anil Devli, INSAs chief executive. Reports of attacks on commercial vessels have heightened anxiety. Omans Ministry of Defence said an unmanned boat struck the oil tanker MKD VYOM, 52 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat Governorate, causing an explosion in the engine room and killing one crew member. Sources indicated that an Indian mariner was among those killed in a separate drone attack on a crude tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Shipping data showed hundreds of vessels, including oil and gas tankers, dropping anchor in nearby waters as traders anticipated sharp movements in crude prices. Diplomatic outreach Diplomatic engagement accompanied the administrative response. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Monday with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, condemning attacks on both countries and discussing the wellbeing of the Indian community there. He also held a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Had a telephone call with PM Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the current regional situation. "Conveyed Indias concerns over recent developments and emphasised the safety of civilians as a priority. "India reiterates the need for an early cessation of hostilities, Modi said in a post on X. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Modi on Sunday night, reviewed the evolving situation and directed all concerned departments to take necessary and feasible measures to assist Indian nationals affected by the developments. In a media statement on Monday, the prime minister said: The current situation in West Asia is a matter of grave concern for us. "India supports the resolution of all disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. "We will continue to work with all countries to ensure the safety of all Indian citizens present in this region. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India has joined forces with IIT Delhi in a five-year research partnership to drive innovation in future mobility and engineering systems, focusing on areas like electric mobility and quantum technologies. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters Key Points Mercedes-Benz R&D India and IIT Delhi have entered a five-year research agreement to foster knowledge development. The partnership will concentrate on research areas crucial for the future of mobility, including quantum technologies and electric mobility. The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, promoting innovation and intellectual property creation. IIT Delhi seeks to advance high-quality research and generate impactful innovations for sustainable and affordable mobility solutions. The initiative will focus on areas where fundamental research and applied engineering converge to address real-world challenges. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India on Thursday said it has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi for joint research programmes, creating shared pathways for knowledge development. The organisations have formalised this through a five-year master research agreement, strengthening efforts to bring academia and industry closer through joint research. The association will focus on research areas that support the future of mobility and engineering systems, MBRDI said in a statement. Research Focus Areas These include quantum technologies, future materials, neuromorphic engineering, and electric mobility, where fundamental research and applied engineering intersect to create opportunities for knowledge development and intellectual property creation, it added. "We envision a future where academia and industry are systemically partnering to realise real-world challenges and provide meaningful breakthroughs. In that context, our collaboration with IIT Delhi is a significant leap for our legacy of innovation, helping us redefine mobility faster and better," MBRDI MD and CEO Manu Saale said. Through this initiative, the institute seeks to advance high-quality research and generate impactful innovations that enable sustainable, affordable, and future-ready mobility, said Preeti Ranjan Panda, Dean of Corporate Relations at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Domestic institutional capital emerged as the primary driver of real estate investments in 2025, with inflows more than doubling year-on-year. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff Key Points While FDI flows into realty have moderated compared to earlier cycles, the nature of capital is evolving. Foreign capital deployment in 2025 declined by 16% to $3.7 billion. Data centres are emerging on digital and AI growth, with hospitality and alternative assets likely to see more JVs. Platform-style partnerships between global investors and Indian developers are expected to gain further traction over the next few years. This comes as institutional capital increasingly shifts from one-off asset acquisitions to scalable, long-term strategies. Industry leaders say the evolution reflects bigger structural changes in capital flows, governance standards and risk management approaches within Indias real estate sector. Alliances such as the tieup between Mahindra Lifespace Developers and Mitsui Fudosan, as well as partnerships involving RMZ Corp-CPPIB, Hines-Kanakia, Krishna Corporation-Sumitomo Corporation, RMZ Corp-Mitsui Fudosan and Logicap Management-Mitsubishi Estate Co reflect bigger structural changes. These are mainly in capital flows, risk management practices, and the increasing formalisation of Indias property market. Amit Kumar Sinha, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Mahindra Lifespace Developers, said, They bring global expertise in design, quality and customer experience, while we contribute deep local development capabilities and execution strength. "This model creates value for both sides and is likely to gain momentum. FDI flow in real estate While foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into real estate have moderated compared to earlier cycles, the nature of capital is evolving. Amit Goenka, founder and MD of Nisus Finance, pointed out that domestic alternative investment funds (AIFs) have raised substantial capital, reducing the sectors reliance on overseas money. According to Colliers, domestic institutional capital emerged as the primary driver of real estate investments in 2025, with inflows more than doubling year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $4.8 billion. This accounts for 57 per cent of the total investment volume during the year. Foreign capital deployment Meanwhile, foreign capital deployment in 2025 declined by 16 per cent to $3.7 billion. However, cross-border investments showed signs of recovery in the final quarter of the year, indicating a gradual improvement in global investor sentiment. FDI has recently focused on stabilised assets. "Now, we are seeing the platform deals, particularly involving Japanese and some US investors. "Here, equity is committed to grow a portfolio alongside established developers, Goenka said. Advisory firms say investors are favouring repeatable models over isolated bets. Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Anarock Capital, attributes the shift to improved governance, sector consolidation and regulatory clarity. Platforms allow larger and faster capital deployment with lower execution risk. "They shift the relationship from transactional to strategic, he said. Which way are investors moving Badal Yagnik, CEO and MD at Colliers India, noted that investors are moving from asset-level bets to scalable portfolio strategies, especially in a fragmented market like India. Platforms enable efficient capital deployment, enhance tax efficiency and offer clearer exit pathways through real estate investment trusts (Reits) or portfolio-level monetisation. Vivek Rathi, national director, research, Knight Frank India, said higher return thresholds and tighter financing conditions have pushed investors towards phased, governance-led capital deployment. Platforms offer pipeline visibility and diversification across multiple projects, while reducing pricing risk in a high-rate environment, he said. Industry executives believe that office and logistics are leading platform activity, driven by stable cash flows and Reit potential, while warehousing benefits from supply-chain shifts. Residential, especially premium, de-risked projects, are gaining traction amid strong demand. As project scale rises, global investors prefer proven local partners, with townships and industrial clusters attracting patient capital. Where data centres stand Data centres are emerging on digital and artificial intelligence (AI) growth, with hospitality and alternative assets likely to see more joint ventures. In the near term, platform deals are likely to remain concentrated among established developers with multi-city presence, robust pipelines and strong governance standards. Thirumal Govindraj, CEO of RMZ Offices and RMZ NXT, observed that institutional partners are increasingly coming in at the land acquisition stage itself, a sign of evolving risk appetite. Experts believe credible mid-sized developers with clean balance sheets and disciplined execution can also attract such partnerships over time, particularly in residential and logistics segments. Goenka added that although platform deals were limited to a handful of large players until recently, they are becoming more pronounced across cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi NCR. Partnerships involving commitments of $12 billion to build portfolios jointly signal a new phase of structured foreign participation. Indian rice exporters are urgently requesting government assistance to navigate significant shipping disruptions stemming from the Iran crisis, which are causing increased costs and impacting domestic rice prices. IMAGE: Labourers unload rice bags from a supply truck at India's main rice port at Kakinada Anchorage in Andhra Pradesh. Photograph: Rajendra Jadhav/Reuters Key Points Rice exporters are facing container shortages and vessel cancellations due to the Iran crisis and maritime instability. International freight rates have increased by 15-20%, with higher war-risk surcharges and insurance premiums. Basmati rice prices have fallen by 7-10% due to shipping disruptions, increasing financial pressure on exporters. The Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) has requested government support, including waivers on port charges and facilitation for cargo redirection. Exporters are seeking an official advisory recognising the disruption as a force majeure event to prevent contractual penalties. Rice exporters have sought urgent government support to mitigate the impact of shipping disruptions triggered by the Iran crisis and instability across key maritime routes, according to a representation submitted by the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF). The Federation, in its representation to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), said exporters are facing an acute shortage of containers, suspension or cancellation of vessel calls to the Middle East, and sharply higher logistics costs. International freight rates have risen by an estimated 15-20 per cent, while war-risk surcharges and insurance premiums for Gulf-bound shipments have increased significantly. Bunker fuel costs have also climbed, with marine fuel oil prices rising to around $580 per tonne from about $520, it said. The disruptions have also weighed on domestic prices, with basmati rice prices falling about 7-10 per cent in the past 72 hours, intensifying working-capital pressures for exporters. "Our exporters cannot absorb abrupt freight, fuel and insurance shocks while shipments are delayed or rolled," IREF vice-president Dev Garg said. He called for time-bound relief measures and clear advisories to safeguard export contracts, cash flows and India's export commitments. Key Measures Requested by Rice Exporters Among the key measures sought are waiver of port-related charges, including storage and demurrage, in cases where cargo is rolled due to vessel cancellations or steep freight increases beyond exporters' control. The federation has also requested facilitation for cargo in transit to be returned, redirected or diverted, with support from customs authorities and the Reserve Bank of India for documentation and payment adjustments. Further, exporters have sought an official advisory from the government or APEDA recognising the disruption as a force majeurea type event, which they say would help prevent contractual penalties. The federation has also urged temporary banking relief, including ad hoc working-capital limits and credit extensions similar to measures provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst escalating tensions, President Trump claims the United States is performing exceptionally well in its ongoing conflict with Iran, citing weakened Iranian military capabilities and a strong US position. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) on the White House campus in Washington, DC, March 4, 2026. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters Key Points President Trump claims the US is performing exceptionally well in its military operations against Iran. Trump asserts that US actions have significantly weakened Iran's military capabilities, including missile sites and launchers. Trump reiterates his criticism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, claiming its termination prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Trump highlights past actions, such as the killing of Qassem Soleimani and the destruction of Iran's nuclear potential, as crucial to current operations. President Donald Trump has said that the United States is doing "very well" in the ongoing 'Operation Epic Fury' against Iran, rating the war efforts against Tehran as 15 on a scale of 10. Trump's comments came amid escalating tensions following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. He asserted that American forces had performed beyond expectations in the opening days of the conflict. Speaking during a roundtable at the White House on Wednesday (local time), Trump said, "We're doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly. I would say -- somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15." The President asserted that Washington was in a "very strong position" in the conflict with Iran. He declared that US operations had significantly weakened Iran's military capabilities. "We're going to continue to do well. We have the greatest military in the world by far and that was a tremendous threat to us for many years. Forty-seven years they've been killing our people and killing people all over the world and we have great support," he said. Trump slams Obama over 2015 Iran deal Trump reiterated his long-standing criticism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal done during Barack Obama, which he labelled "one of the worst deals ever made", and said terminating it during his previous term prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. "I think if we didn't do it first, they would have done it to Israel and give us a shot if that was possible. If we didn't terminate one of the worst deals ever made, the Obama nuclear deal - I call it the Obama nuclear deal - where he gave everything to Iran, including a nuclear weapon - it was a road to a nuclear weapon - bad things would have happened four years ago. 'Cos they would have had a weapon four years ago if I didn't terminate that deal," he added. "So, we're in a very strong position now and their (Iran's) leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody who seems to want to be a leader ends up dead. It's an amazing thing that's taking place before your eyes because for 47 years we were pushed around and we shouldn't have been," he further added. Arguing that pre-emptive action was necessary, Trump stated, "I think if we didn't do it first, they would have done it to Israel and give us a shot if that was possible." He claimed that recent operations had rapidly degraded Iran's military capabilities. "Their (Iran's) missiles are being wiped out rapidly. Their launchers are being wiped out. They're attacking their neighbours, they're attacking - in some cases, their allies, or not so long ago allies," he added. Trump also pointed to the impact of past actions, pointing to the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and what he described as "complete obliteration of their nuclear potential" by US B-2 bombers, saying, "When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen." "We're in a very strong position now and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody who seems to want to be a leader ends up dead," Trump added. Trump on ties with Venezuela Turning to Venezuela, Trump described relations with the government and representatives there as "really great," and said Washington was "taking out hundreds of millions of barrels of oil" for mutual benefit, asserting that Venezuelans would "be doing better than they've ever done before." "Venezuela worked out really great. We have a wonderful relationship with the president and the various representatives and we're taking out hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and that goes to our benefit and to Venezuela's benefit. They'll be doing better than they've ever done before and we will get a big piece of that and we'll also make life wonderful for the people of Venezuela who have been very, very badly hit," he added. Trump credited the rebuilding of the US military during his first term for enabling current operations and said, "We're using it a little bit more than I thought we would have to." The President's remarks come as the US-Israel-led conflict with Iran has drawn widespread global tension. The US and Israel in coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, targeted military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities. In response, Iran also retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. Israel's Finance Ministry warns that the ongoing conflict with Iran could cost the Israeli economy billions of shekels each week, prompting calls for eased restrictions to allow businesses to gradually reopen. IMAGE: A damaged car is removed following Iranian missile barrage, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters Key Points The Finance Ministry is urging a gradual reopening of businesses to mitigate heavy economic costs. Current nationwide restrictions in Israel prohibit gatherings, educational activities, and most workplaces. Shifting to 'orange alert level' restrictions could reduce weekly economic damage to NIS 4.5 billion. The Finance Ministry emphasises the need to balance security measures with economic needs during the conflict. The ongoing war with Iran could cost Israel an estimated NIS 9.4 billion (USD 3 billion approximately) per week under current restrictions on economic activities, the Israeli Finance Ministry has warned. "In a letter sent to the Home Front Command chief, Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper, Finance Ministry Director General Ilan Rom asked to ease restrictions to allow for a gradual, partial reopening of businesses and workplaces as early as Thursday," the Times of Israel reported. "There is no dispute about the need to preserve a defence policy adapted to the security situation, but at the same time, shutting down the economy on a broad scale carries heavy economic costs," Rom warned. "We need a solution that addresses both the security needs of the Home Front and the needs of the economy, after two and a half years in which the economy has been paying a heavy economic price in light of the increase in security needs and the repercussions of the war," the top Finance Ministry executive reportedly said. Israel announces austerity measures Soon after Israel and the US launched their joint offensive against Iran on Saturday morning, the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) Home Front Command issued nationwide guidelines prohibiting all gatherings, educational activities and workplaces, except for essential businesses. The guidelines limit travel to work, encourages work from home, and has instructed educational institutions to be shut down. On Monday, following fresh assessment amid the conflict with Iran, the Home Front Command extended nationwide restrictions until Saturday night. Rom asked Klapper to shift Home Front Command restrictions from allowing only essential activity to allowing limited activity, known as the orange alert level, instead of the current red level. Economic Impact of Restrictions Under the current restrictions, the weekly loss to the economy is estimated at NIS 9.4 billion, taking into account the closure of educational institutions, workplace prohibitions, and mobilization of reserve soldiers, the Finance Ministry was quoted as saying. Under limited activity restrictions (orange level alert), workplace and economic activities are permitted, subject to close proximity to protected spaces, while educational institutions remain closed. Rom is said to have emphasised that the weekly damage to the economy under limited activity restrictions is estimated to be about NIS 4.5 billion (USD 1.5 billion), less than half the cost of activity under the red level. "This policy will enable the expansion of economic activity while maintaining Home Front security, in a manner that meets both economic and security needs," the Finance Ministry executive said. A BJP MLC in Uttar Pradesh alleges he was targeted in a sophisticated 'digital arrest' scam, prompting a police investigation into the fraudulent attempt to extract personal information IMAGE: Kindly note that the image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Courtesy Pexels.com Key Points The fraudsters allegedly claimed Singh's bank account was involved in money laundering and attempted to extract Aadhaar and bank details. Singh was instructed to isolate himself and remain on a video call for approximately 90 minutes during the alleged 'digital arrest'. The phone number used by the callers was traced to a woman in Madhya Pradesh, raising suspicions and leading to the call being disconnected. A case has been registered with the cyber police in Sultanpur, and an investigation is underway to track the perpetrators. A case was registered after Bharatiya Janata Party MLC Shailendra Singh was allegedly kept under "digital arrest" for about one-and-a-half hours in Sultanpur, the police said on Thursday. In his complaint, the member of legislative council (MLC) said he received a phone call from an unknown number on March 2, where the caller claimed to be an officer with the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and alleged that Singh's bank account was being used for money laundering and other suspicious activities. Singh reported that the caller told him that he had an account in Canara Bank. "I told them that I do not have any bank account outside Lucknow and Sultanpur. They kept me engaged on a video call for about one-and-a-half hours and asked me to lock myself inside a room and not speak to anyone," Singh said. He alleged that the callers repeatedly sought details related to his Aadhaar card and bank accounts. According to Singh, some of his associates grew suspicious and checked the phone number, and found that it was not linked to the Mumbai ATS but was registered in the name of a woman from Madhya Pradesh's Satna. The callers allegedly disconnected the call when they sensed that their identity might be exposed. Singh later lodged a complaint at the cyber police station in Sultanpur. Cyber police station in-charge Akhanddev Mishra confirmed the incident and said the fraudsters had attempted to put the MLC under "digital arrest". He said the police are tracking the phone numbers and IP addresses from which the calls were made. A Delhi court has convicted a father and son for murder after a heated dispute over an unpaid Rs 5,000 loan escalated to a fatal stabbing in northeast Delhi. Key Points A Delhi court convicted Mehboob and his father, Mehfooz, for the 2021 murder of Animesh alias Ballu over a Rs 5,000 loan dispute. The prosecution presented evidence showing Mehboob stabbed Ballu while Mehfooz held the victim and encouraged the killing. The court found the testimony of witnesses consistent and credible, establishing the guilt of both accused in the murder. Tensions arose between the victim and the accused after Mehboob failed to repay the loan to Ballu, leading to the fatal confrontation. Both Mehboob and Mehfooz were convicted under Section 302/34 IPC for murder but acquitted under section 120-B IPC. A Delhi court has convicted a man and his father for the 2021 murder of a youth following a dispute over a loan of Rs 5,000 in northeast Delhi's Welcome area. Additional Sessions Judge Charu Aggarwal was hearing the case against Mehboob and his father Mehfooz. The two were accused of killing Animesh alias Ballu on May 6, 2021. In an order dated February 28, the court observed that witnesses provided a natural and consistent sequence of events. The judge noted that the testimony proved Mehboob, sharing common intention with his father Mahfooz, "committed the murder". The Loan Dispute and Escalation According to the prosecution, the victim and the accused were part of the same group of friends in the locality. Tensions had developed between them after Mehboob borrowed Rs 5,000 from Ballu six months before the incident and repeatedly failed to repay it the amount. On the evening of May 6, 2021, Ballu demanded the money while standing with friends near Chajju Gate. Mehboob asked Ballu to accompany him to his house in Babarpur, claiming he would return the cash there. Ballu went to the residence with a friend, Gaurav alias Ashu, who served as the prosecution's sole eyewitness. The prosecution stated that upon reaching the house, Mehboob went upstairs and returned with his father. Mehboob then took out a knife and began stabbing Ballu. Meanwhile Mehfooz held the victim and exhorted his son to kill him, saying that Hallu had been harassing them for money. "The evidence indicates that accused Mehfooz facilitated the act once accused Mehboob arrived at the residence and that both accused acted together in committing the murder," the judge said. Court Ruling and Conviction The court ruled that the evidence established the deceased died an unnatural and violent death, and the prosecution successfully proved the offence of murder. "Both accused namely Mehboob and Mehfooz stand convicted under Section 302/34 IPC and acquitted for the offence under section 120-B IPC," the court said. Families in India are living in anxiety as their relatives remain stranded in Iran amidst escalating conflict, desperately seeking government intervention for their safe return. Photograph: Reuters Key Points Families in Ambari village are deeply concerned about relatives stranded in Iran due to escalating regional conflict. Communication with relatives in Iran is severely limited, with families relying on brief phone calls for reassurance. The families are urging the Indian government to intervene and ensure the safe return of their relatives from Iran. Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) officials have collected information, but families await further communication and assurance from authorities. The primary concern for families is the safety and well-being of their loved ones amidst the uncertain situation in Iran. A half-minute phone call is all that families in Ambari village here have to cling to as they wait for news of their relatives stranded in Iran amid the escalating conflict in the region. Zakir Hussain, a resident, has been anxiously monitoring his mobile phone for any word on his brother, sister-in-law and their children, who are in Iran for Islamic studies. He said communication has been nearly impossible since the situation worsened. a"There was a call last night that lasted barely half a minute," Hussain said. "My daughter managed to say, 'Do not worry, we are fine,' before the line went dead." The phone has remained switched off since that brief interaction. Hussain expressed deep concern for his wife, who suffers from anxiety. a"I cannot even tell her the full extent of the situation," he said. "I fear that if I disclose the reality of the conditions there, her health will deteriorate further." The family of Ayub Khan, also residents of Ambari, is facing a similar crisis. Khan's nephew and the nephew's wife have been in Iran for four years pursuing religious studies to become clerics. Khan received a call from his nephew on Wednesday night, who informed him that they were safe in their hostel, located about 100 kilometres from Tehran. "However, the fear remains that the situation could change at any moment," Khan added. Seeking Government Intervention The families said that their plight has not yet reached the Union government or the Ministry of External Affairs. Hussain said that while Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) officials visited to collect names, addresses and passport details, there has been no further communication or assurance from the authorities. The families are now urging the government to intervene and ensure the safe return of their relatives from Iran. For the residents of these homes in Ambari, each day begins with the hope of a phone call. a"We just want to know they are safe," Hussain said, adding, "Until we see them return to India, we will not find peace." For now, the village remains gripped by the anxiety of these families waiting for news that might bring relief. Four individuals were arrested in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, after a community clash involving stone-pelting erupted in Aminagar village following a minor dispute, prompting a police investigation. Key Points Four individuals have been arrested in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, following a violent clash between two groups from the same community. The clash in Aminagar village involved stone-pelting and stemmed from a minor dispute that escalated from a children's quarrel. Police have registered a case and identified the arrested individuals as Jogendra, Ankush, Sumit Kumar, and Sono. A video of the incident showing people throwing stones from rooftops has surfaced on social media, highlighting the intensity of the conflict. Four people have been arrested following a clash between two groups belonging to the same community at a village here, police said on Thursday. The confrontation, which involved alleged stone-pelting, broke out at Aminagar village on Wednesday evening over a minor dispute. Details of the Clash Circle Officer Yogendra Singh Nagar said the violence began after a quarrel between children led to a heated argument between two men, Jogendra and Sumit. The situation escalated as members of both sides joined the fray and allegedly pelted stones at each other. A video of the incident, purportedly showing people throwing stones from their rooftops, surfaced on social media. Arrests and Investigation Following the violence, Titawi police registered a case and took four men into custody. The arrested people have been identified as Jogendra, Ankush, Sumit Kumar and Sono, the officer added. PARIS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- France's industrial output rose by 0.5 percent in January from the previous month, rebounding after a decline at the end of 2025, according to data released Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). Manufacturing output increased by 0.6 percent month-on-month in January, reversing the 0.7 percent drop recorded in December 2025, INSEE said. The rebound in manufacturing was mainly driven by a sharp rise in the production of transport equipment. Output in the sector surged by 9.9 percent in January compared with the previous month, after plunging by 12.8 percent in December. INSEE noted that the increase was largely supported by stronger activity in the aerospace industry. By contrast, production declined across all other manufacturing branches during the month. Over the three-month period from November 2025 to January 2026, industrial production rose by 1.9 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. IIT Madras is launching a one-year postgraduate diploma in Manufacturing Analytics, designed to equip professionals with the advanced data analytics and AI skills needed to drive digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. Photograph: Kind courtesy Asad K Electro/Wikimedia Commons Key Points IIT Madras introduces a one-year postgraduate diploma in Manufacturing Analytics to address the growing demand for professionals in data analytics and AI within the manufacturing sector. The diploma program combines mathematical foundations with contemporary topics like machine learning and generative AI, focusing on real-world manufacturing applications. The course is designed for working professionals and graduates seeking to enhance their capabilities in manufacturing analytics and digital transformation. The web-enabled format of the diploma allows for flexible learning, catering to diverse learner needs in the manufacturing industry. The curriculum aims to equip professionals with the skills to apply advanced analytics and AI techniques to improve manufacturing operations and strategic decision-making. IIT Madras is launching a one-year, web-enabled postgraduate diploma in Manufacturing Analytics to equip professionals with advanced skills in data analytics, AI, and digital transformation, officials said. The course, offered by the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, is designed to meet growing industry demand for professionals who can apply analytics and AI directly to manufacturing operations, productivity improvement, and strategic decision-making, according to a press release issued on Thursday. The first batch will commence on September 7, with the last date to apply set for May 31, the release added. The curriculum combines strong mathematical foundations with contemporary topics such as machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI, while focusing on real-world manufacturing use cases. Structured across three academic terms over one year (Septembera August), the diploma carries a total of 90 credits, reflecting its academic rigour and applied focus. The Need for Manufacturing Analytics Programs Highlighting the need for such programs, V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, said, "As India's manufacturing sector accelerates its digital transformation, there is a clear need for programs that combine academic depth with industry relevance." "This postgraduate diploma reflects IIT Madras' commitment to creating future-ready professionals who can lead technology-driven transformation in manufacturing," he added. Eligibility and Target Audience Eligibility is open to candidates holding three-year or four-year undergraduate degrees in relevant disciplines, including a BSc in Computer Science and Computer Applications, subject to IIT Madras admission criteria. The diploma targets working professionals from large and medium-scale manufacturing organisations, as well as eligible graduates seeking to build advanced capabilities in manufacturing analytics. The program will be delivered in a web-enabled format to accommodate diverse learner needs. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Head of the Walmart Center for Tech Excellence and faculty member in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIT Madras, said, "Manufacturing today is being reshaped by data, AI, and automation." This diploma has been carefully designed to help professionals move beyond theory and directly apply advanced analytics and AI techniques to real manufacturing environments and challenges, he added. A man was injured in a Jabalpur group clash stemming from an old rivalry, prompting a significant police response and investigation into the incident. Key Points A 20-year-old man was injured in a group clash in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The clash occurred between two groups from the same community due to an old rivalry. Police have deployed a large number of personnel to control the situation and are investigating the incident. A case has been registered against one Appa Sonkar and others in connection with the fight. Authorities are examining CCTV footage and a viral video related to the Jabalpur group clash. A 20-year-old man sustained injuries in a clash between two groups in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, prompting the authorities to deploy a large number of policemen, officials said on Thursday. The incident took place in the Chhoti Omti area on Wednesday night. According to the police, two groups from the same community targeted each other over some old rivalry. Ayush Sonkar was injured in the fight and was admitted to a hospital. His condition is stable, City Superintendent of Police Sonu Kurmi told PTI over the phone. Personnel from Belbagh, Hanumantal, and Kotwali police stations were rushed to the spot to control the situation, officials said. A case has been registered against one Appa Sonkar and others in connection with the fight, Kurmi said. Appa Sonkar is also wanted in other criminal cases, the official said, adding that there is heavy police deployment in the area. Meanwhile, a video of the incident has surfaced on social media. Police said they were examining CCTV footage from nearby areas along with the viral video. Police in Kochi are intensifying their search for a doctor accused of a fatal hit-and-run, which tragically led to the death of a 19-year-old woman whose family made the selfless decision to donate her organs. Key Points A special police team is actively searching for Dr. Cyriac, the accused in a fatal hit-and-run case in Angamaly. The victim, 19-year-old Jasliya Johnson, died from injuries sustained in the accident, and her family chose to donate her organs. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide and recovered the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run. A lookout circular has been issued to prevent the accused doctor from leaving the country. Protests were held due to alleged police inaction following the accident, prompting increased efforts to locate and arrest the suspect. A special team has been formed to nab the accused doctor in a hit-and-run incident that led to the death of a 19-year-old woman whose family later consented to donate her organs in Angamaly, police said on Thursday. Ernakulam Rural Police Chief K S Sudarshan on Thursday told reporters here that the special team formed to nab the accused is searching for Dr Cyriac, who was allegedly behind the hit-and-run incident that took place on February 28. Jasliya Johnson, a native of Edavanakkad, suffered serious injuries while she was walking back to her hostel in Angamaly at around 7.30 pm. She was declared brain dead at a private hospital here on March 3, and her parents consented to donate her liver, kidneys and corneas. On Wednesday, following the funeral of the deceased, protests were held over the alleged inaction of the police as the accused had been absconding since the accident. Investigation and Search Efforts Sudarshan said that following the information that Dr Cyriac was hiding at Elappara in Idukki, a raid was carried out there on Wednesday night. "It is true that even after searching the residences of people associated with him, we could not arrest the accused. But we have taken stringent action, including registering a case for culpable homicide. We have recovered the vehicle involved in the accident," Sudarshan said. He said that the initial delay occurred because there were two persons in the vehicle, and time was spent identifying the driver. "But once we identified the person, stringent steps have been taken. We have taken the initiative to issue a lookout circular so that the accused cannot leave the country," he said. He said the special team is led by the Aluva DySP, and that the accused is attempting to surrender to a court. Dr Cyriac was a house surgeon working at a private hospital in Ernakulam. Police said the car involved in the accident was registered in his father's name, George Thomas. A road rage incident in Delhi escalated when a man allegedly fired a gun and damaged parked cars after an argument, prompting a police investigation. Key Points A man in Delhi allegedly fired a gun into the air after a road rage incident. The incident occurred in the Mukundpur area of outer-north Delhi following an argument between a car driver and a motorcycle rider. The accused also allegedly damaged two parked cars by pelting stones. Police have registered an FIR and are investigating the incident to identify the accused. A man allegedly fired into the air and damaged two parked cars after an altercation with a car driver in outernorth Delhi's Mukundpur area, police said on Thursday. The incident occurred at around 5 pm on Holi. Police said they received information that a man had fired into the air and broken the glass of a vehicle in the area. "A team was immediately rushed to the spot and met with the complainant, Arvind Kumar Pandey (33). Pandey told police that the incident occurred when he was reversing his car in the narrow lane and had an altercation with a motorcycle rider passing through the street," the officer said. After the argument, the motorcycle rider left the spot but returned after some time with a country-made pistol and allegedly fired into the air. The complainant did not sustain any injury in the incident. The accused also allegedly pelted stones and broke the window panes of two cars parked in the street before fleeing from the spot. Police Investigation Underway "Police teams inspected the scene following the incident, but no empty cartridge was found at the spot during the inspection. Based on the statement of the complainant and preliminary findings, an FIR has been registered at the Bhalswa Dairy police station. Teams have been formed, and efforts are underway to identify the accused," the officer added. A medical store owner in Hoshiarpur, India, was critically injured after being shot by motorcycle-borne assailants, prompting a police investigation into the attempted murder. Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points A medical store owner in Hoshiarpur was shot in the abdomen by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle. The incident occurred at Adda Samundra area on the Garhshankar-Chandigarh road. The victim, Tarsem Lal, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Nawanshahr. Police have registered an FIR for attempted murder and are examining CCTV footage to identify the suspects. The victim stated he had no known enemies or extortion threats. A medical store owner sustained a gunshot wound in his abdomen after two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly fired at him here, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday night at Adda Samundra area on the Garhshankar-Chandigarh road. Tarsem Lal, who runs a medical store in the area, was locking his shop for the day when two masked men on a motorcycle allegedly opened fire at him, police said. The bullet hit him on the right side of his abdomen. He was first taken to the civil hospital in Garhshankar and later referred to a private hospital in Nawanshahr, where he is undergoing treatment, they said. According to police, Tarsem Lal told investigators that he had no enmity with anyone and had not received any extortion threats. Police Investigation Underway Deputy Superintendent of Police (Garhshankar) Daljit Singh Khakh said an FIR has been registered at the Garhshankar police station under Section 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Arms Act. CCTV footage from the area is being examined and raids are being conducted at suspected hideouts to nab the accused, he added. In a shocking incident of road rage in Delhi, two minors have been arrested for the alleged stabbing murder of a taxi driver, sparking a police investigation. Photograph: Niek Verlaan/Pixabay Key Points Two minors have been arrested for the alleged murder of a 36-year-old taxi driver in Delhi's Kanjhawala area after a road rage incident. The victim, Vikash Sharma, was found injured and later died in hospital; his vehicle and personal belongings were recovered at the scene. Police used technical surveillance and local intelligence to identify and apprehend the two minors involved in the crime. The knife used in the stabbing was recovered, and the accused minors confessed to their involvement, citing an altercation after a minor was allegedly touched by the victim's vehicle. Police have apprehended two minors for allegedly stabbing a 36-year-old taxi driver to death following a road rage incident in Delhi's Kanjhawala area, officials said on Thursday. A PCR call regarding the incident was received at 12.18 pm on Wednesday, following which a police team rushed to the spot. The victim, Vikash Sharma, a resident of Utsav Vihar in Karala, was found injured in the locality and was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, they said. Police said Sharma's car was found parked at the scene and his wallet, along with three mobile phones, were recovered from the vehicle. A slipper believed to belong to one of the accused was also found at the spot and seized as evidence. A case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered. Investigation and Arrest Based on technical surveillance and local intelligence, a team identified and traced two minors allegedly involved in the crime and apprehended them on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, police said. The knife used in the stabbing was recovered at the instance of one of the accused. Police also seized the clothes worn by the accused at the time of the incident. During interrogation, the minor allegedly confessed to their involvement and told police that the incident occurred following an altercation after the victim's vehicle allegedly touched one of them. According to police, during the scuffle, one of the accused pinned the victim down while the other stabbed him with a knife. Further investigation into the case is underway. Amidst escalating regional tensions, Sri Lanka is carefully considering its response after a second Iranian ship requested entry into its waters following a reported US submarine attack on an Iranian frigate near Galle. IMAGE: A US submarine sank the Iranian frigate -- IRIS Dena -- off Galle. Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters Key Points Sri Lanka is deliberating action after a second Iranian ship sought entry to its territorial waters. This follows a reported US submarine attack on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Galle. Sri Lanka is providing treatment to injured Iranian sailors and conducting inquests on the deceased. The incident occurs amidst escalating tensions in the Gulf region, with a reported joint US-Israel attack on Iran. Sri Lanka Navy cites international maritime obligations as the reason for providing assistance. Sri Lanka on Thursday said it is deliberating appropriate action after a second Iranian ship has sought entry to its territorial waters, a day after a frigate belonging to the Islamic country was attacked near the island nation. Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered over 80 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine sank the Iranian frigate -- IRIS Dena -- off Galle, the island's southern coastal town. Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa was on Thursday responding to a query by the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in parliament about the second Iranian ship. "We are aware of it and are contemplating action to safeguard all lives on board," Jayathissa said. "We are intervening to resolve this issue to safeguard regional peace." The ship, according to Jayathissa, awaits in Sri Lanka's Extended Economic Zone (EEZ) but is out of its territorial waters. Sources said the ship had requested emergency assistance. US sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean Meanwhile, in Galle, the crew of the ship torpedoed by the US were receiving treatment. Their injuries are not of serious nature, the hospital sources said. The inquests on the 84 bodies of the perished Iranian sailors would be conducted Thursday at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle where the injured are receiving treatment. The ill-fated ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam after a naval fleet review exercise. Conflicting Reports on the Incident While the Sri Lanka Navy refused to give reasons as to what caused the vessel to make a distress plea, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in international waters. Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had told Parliament that an emergency message was received by the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard at 5.08 am regarding a sinking ship named IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles off the southern port district of Galle. Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said, "We are only concerned about our obligation to rescue them as first responders under international maritime obligations." Escalating Regional Conflict The US and Israel have launched a massive joint attack on Iran since February 28. The war has extended to almost the entire Gulf region with Iran's retaliation. A 32-year-old man's tragic death at a Gujarat de-addiction centre after allegedly being beaten for refusing medication has led to the arrest of four staff members for murder, sparking concerns about patient safety in addiction treatment facilities. Key Points A 32-year-old man died at a de-addiction centre in Surat, Gujarat, after allegedly being beaten by staff. The man, Dhaval Rathod, was admitted to the rehab centre for addiction treatment on February 28. Four staff members, including counsellors, a ward boy, and a driver, have been arrested and charged with murder. Police investigation revealed that Rathod was beaten with sticks after refusing to take medicines. A post-mortem examination showed that Rathod died due to physical injuries sustained on his head, waist, and other body parts. A 32-year-old man undergoing treatment at a de-addiction facility in Gujarat's Surat city was beaten to death allegedly by four staffers after he refused to take medicines, a police official said. As per a release from police, the incident took place at Reeva Vyasan Mukti and Rehab Centre located in Dumas area here. The four persons allegedly responsible for the death of Dhaval Rathod (32), who had been admitted to the facility for addiction treatment on February 28, comprise two counsellors, a ward boy and a driver, Assistant Commissioner of Police Shweta Daniel told reporters. "They thrashed Rathod after he refused to take medicines. On the night of March 1, Rathod was taken to New Civil Hospital in a 108 ambulance after his condition deteriorated. The on-duty doctor there declared him dead. However, police noticed injury marks, after which the body was sent for post mortem," Daniel said. "The post mortem revealed that Rathod died due to physical injuries sustained on the head, waist and other parts of the body. Police thoroughly questioned the staffers of the facility as well as other patients. It was revealed the accused had a scuffle with Rathod as he was refusing to take medicines. They beat him up with sticks," the ACP said. Jignesh Desai, Rohan Sanghani, Shailesh Vaghela and Dilip Joshi were arrested and charged with murder and other offences, police said. A tourist visiting Arunachal Pradesh was arrested for stealing religious artefacts, including a Buddha idol, from the revered Tawang Monastery and Giant Buddha Statue Park, highlighting the importance of respecting religious sites. Photograph: Anuwar Hazarika/ANI Photo Key Points A tourist was arrested in Arunachal Pradesh for stealing a Buddha idol and other religious items from the Tawang Monastery and Giant Buddha Statue Park. CCTV footage helped police track down the 54-year-old tourist, leading to the recovery of the stolen items. The Tawang Monastery administration chose not to press charges after the stolen items were recovered and the tourist apologised. Police obtained a written undertaking from the tourist, warning him of legal consequences for future offences against religious sentiments. A tourist from West Bengal was apprehended in Arunachal Pradesh for allegedly stealing religious items from two prominent sites, including the Tawang Monastery, an official said on Thursday. Tawang Deputy Superintendent of Police Kato Tasso said the 54-year-old man was traced and detained after CCTV footage of the theft went viral on social media. A Buddha idol was stolen from the Tawang Monastery, the country's largest monastery. A pair of Tingsha cymbals and two metal butter lamps were taken from the Giant Buddha Statue Park, he said. "The footage showed the tourist taking a Buddha idol and other sacred articles from the premises, following which an investigation was launched," the officer said. A police team tracked down the accused on Wednesday morning and recovered all the stolen items, valued between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000, from his possession, the DSP said. Resolution and Aftermath However, no formal case was registered as the Buddha Park Gompa administration decided not to pursue the matter after the recovery of the articles. The caretaker monk and the management pardoned the tourist after he assured them that such an act would not be repeated, the officer said. Police obtained a written undertaking from the tourist in which he admitted his mistake and promised not to repeat such behaviour. He was also warned of legal consequences and advised to respect religious sentiments at sacred places, the officer added. The man had arrived in Tawang along with his wife on March 2 for a vacation. A drunken youth's disruptive behaviour in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, escalated into a violent stone-pelting incident targeting police, prompting an investigation and appeals for public cooperation. Key Points A drunk youth in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, caused a disturbance, leading to locals pelting stones at police. The stone pelting incident resulted in injuries to a policeman and damage to a police vehicle's windshield. Police are investigating the incident using video footage and local information to identify those involved in the stone pelting. Authorities have appealed to residents to remain calm and cooperate in maintaining law and order in the area. A drunk youth created a ruckus in Hadha town in Uttar Pradesh that led to locals pelting stones at police who went to the spot to control the situation, officials said on Thursday. A policeman sustained injuries and the windshield of a police vehicle was damaged in Unnao district on Wednesday evening, they said. According to Circle Officer (Bighapur) Madhup Nath Mishra, the Achalganj police received information that a youth identified as Ankit was allegedly abusing people in an inebriated state and causing disturbance in the areas. A police team reached the spot and tried to pacify the youth but he reportedly entered into an argument with the policemen, they said. Officials said the situation escalated when some women present at the spot protested and began pelting bricks at the police, leaving a policeman injured and the windshield of a police vehicle damaged. Later, additional police force brought the situation under control. "The situation in the area is normal at present and peace has been restored," the officer said, adding that efforts are underway to identify those involved in the incident with the help of video footage and local inputs. He said strict legal action will be taken against those found involved in stone-pelting and obstructing government work. Police have also appealed to residents not to pay heed to rumours and to cooperate in maintaining law and order. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) from the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese People's Armed Police Force reviewed the government work report in a group deliberation on Thursday at the ongoing annual NPC session. Zhang Shengmin, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and an NPC deputy, participated in the group deliberation. Zhang called on the military to enhance cohesion and convictions with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military. The armed forces should thoroughly implement the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the CMC chairman, improve political rectification, and advance campaigns to improve conduct and combat corruption, continuously consolidating the political foundation for staying loyal to CMC Chairman Xi Jinping and resolutely following his command, Zhang said. Efforts should be made to comprehensively strengthen military training and combat readiness and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, he added. A man is in critical condition after a harrowing wild elephant attack in Kulathupuzha, Kerala, raising concerns about human-wildlife conflict in the region. Photograph: Screen grab/X Key Points A man named Prakash was critically injured in Kulathupuzha, Kerala, after being attacked by a wild elephant. The incident occurred in the early hours as Prakash was returning from work near Dally, a location known for frequent wildlife encounters. The elephant reportedly grabbed Prakash with its trunk and attempted to trample him. Local residents intervened to drive the elephant away and transport Prakash to a hospital. Police and forest officials have launched an investigation into the incident, highlighting the ongoing risk of human-wildlife conflict in the area. A man suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a wild elephant at Kulathupuzha here in the early hours of Thursday, forest officials said. The injured has been identified as Prakash (48), a native of Kulathupuzha. According to forest officials, Prakash was returning from work when he encountered a wild elephant on the way near Dally in Kulathupuzha in the small hours of Thursday. Forest officials said the elephant grabbed him with its trunk and attempted to trample him. People who rushed to the spot drove the elephant away and shifted Prakash to a hospital, where his condition remains critical. Both the police and the Forest Department have started an investigation into the incident. Forest officials said wild animal encounters are frequent in Dali, which is located close to the forest. A woman in Latur, Maharashtra, has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide after her husband died following a domestic dispute related to his alcohol dependency. Key Points A woman in Latur, Maharashtra, has been arrested following the death of her husband during a domestic quarrel. The husband, Sikandar Rathod, was reportedly heavily dependent on alcohol, leading to frequent arguments with his wife, Kamalbai. During a fight, Sikandar allegedly fell and sustained a head injury and was punched in the chest, leading to his death. Kamalbai has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police in Maharashtra's Latur district have arrested a woman in connection with the death of her 49-year-old husband during a domestic quarrel, an official said on Thursday. According to police, one Sikandar Sidram Rathod was heavily dependent on alcohol and had frequent fights with his wife Kamalbai over his drinking habit. Sikandar allegedly got into a scuffle with his wife on Tuesday evening after he came home drunk, an official said. During the fight, he reportedly fell to the ground and sustained a head injury. He was also punched in the chest, after which he became unconscious, the official said. Kamalbai took her husband to the Government Hospital in Latur, where doctors declared him dead. The wife was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and taken into custody, the official said, adding that further investigation was underway. A 28-year-old woman police constable tragically died by suicide in Vadodara, Gujarat, prompting a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points A 28-year-old woman head constable, Priyanka Prajapati, was found dead in her residence in Vadodara police quarters. Police discovered the body after being alerted and finding the door locked from the inside. No suicide note was found at the scene, prompting an ongoing police investigation into the circumstances. Prajapati had recently returned from a 20-day leave and had qualified for a police sub-inspector position. A 28-year-old woman head constable allegedly died by suicide at her residence located in police quarters in Gujarat's Vadodara district, officials said on Thursday. The incident occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday and the police did not find any suicide note at the spot, they said. Head constable Priyanka Prajapati allegedly hanged herself from a ceiling fan at her residential quarters in Bapod area. On being alerted, a police team reached the spot and found that the door of her house was locked from the inside. "By looking through the window, her body was found hanging inside," Bapod police inspector M K Gurjar told PTI. Prajapati had recently returned after a 20-day leave to her native Banaskantha district. She had also successfully qualified the examination to become a police sub-inspector, he said. Her body was handed over to her family after a post-mortem procedure, the police said. In Meerut, an 18-year-old has been taken into custody for the alleged murder of his aunt following a history of disputes, sparking a police investigation. Key Points An 18-year-old youth has been arrested in Meerut for allegedly shooting his 33-year-old aunt dead. The incident occurred in Ganeshpur village, with the accused, Shiva Tyagi, fleeing the scene before being apprehended by police. Preliminary questioning revealed frequent arguments between the youth and his aunt over an ongoing dispute. Police have registered a case and are taking further legal action in the Meerut aunt murder case. An 18-year-old youth has been taken into custody for allegedly shooting his aunt dead in a village here on Thursday morning, police said. Locals rushed to the spot after hearing the sound of gunfire but the youth had fled when they arrived. He was later apprehended by the police. Shiva Tyagi allegedly shot dead his aunt Pooja (33) in Ganeshpur village, Circle Officer (Mawana) Pankaj Lavania told PTI. Investigation Details During preliminary questioning, the accused told police that he had frequent arguments with his aunt over an ongoing dispute between the two, Lavania said. Police have registered a case and further legal action is being taken, he added. The sudden resignation of West Bengal Governor Ananda Bose shocked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who hinted at possible political pressure behind the move. IMAGE: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Governor C V Ananda Bose during the celebration of 77th Independence Day at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, August 15, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose resigned abruptly, fueling political speculation ahead of state assembly elections. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock and hinted at pressure from Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a possible reason for the resignation. RN Ravi, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, will reportedly hold additional charge of West Bengal following Bose's exit. The resignation has sparked a debate about federalism and the relationship between the state government and the Centre. Bose's tenure was marked by frequent criticism of state government policies and occasional public confrontations with the ruling TMC. In a dramatic development days before the schedule for the West Bengal assembly polls will be announced, Governor C V Ananda Bose resigned on Thursday evening, sending political ripples across the state, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing shock and hinting at possible political pressure behind the move. Soon after Bose resigned in New Delhi, Banerjee said she had been informed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi would take over as the new governor of the state. In a late-evening development, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Ravi as the new governor of West Bengal. Ravi will succeed Bose, whose resignation has been accepted by the President, a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. Confirming the development to PTI over the phone from Delhi, Bose said, "Yes, I have resigned. I have been the Governor of Bengal for three-and-a-half years; it's enough for me." He, however, declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the decision, fuelling speculation in political circles as his tenure was scheduled to run till November 2027. The CM alleged that Bose might have been subjected to pressure from Shah to serve "certain political interests" ahead of the assembly elections, scheduled in April; remarks that immediately added a political edge to the unexpected exit. "However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming state assembly elections," Banerjee said in a post on X. The sudden development has injected a fresh element of political intrigue into Bengal's already charged pre-election atmosphere, with the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP preparing for what is expected to be one of the fiercest electoral contests in the state in recent years. Bose, who took charge as the Governor of West Bengal on November 17, 2022, stepped down nearly 20 months before the completion of his tenure, becoming the second consecutive occupant of Lok Bhavan to demit office before completing the full term. His exit comes at a politically sensitive moment as the state heads towards assembly elections, with the BJP challenging the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which seeks a fourth consecutive term. The TMC supremo also alleged that she was not consulted before the decision to replace the Governor was taken, following "the established convention in this regard". "The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states," she said. The chief minister's sharp reaction carries an element of political irony as Bose's tenure had been marked by frequent friction between Lok Bhavan and the state secretariat Nabanna, with the two sides often locking horns over administrative and political issues. Though Bose initially appeared less confrontational than his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, relations between the Governor's office and the TMC government gradually deteriorated, with disagreements surfacing over governance issues, university appointments and political developments in the state. Several of these confrontations spilt into the public domain, reinforcing the long-running institutional tension between the Lok Bhavan and the Mamata Banerjee government. Bose had also attempted to cultivate a distinct public persona in Bengal, participating in cultural programmes and even undergoing "haatekhori", the traditional Bengali initiation into learning the alphabet, while expressing his desire to become Bengal's "adopted son". In a move that drew attention in political and administrative circles, he had also sought to shift his voting rights from Kerala to West Bengal. Despite these attempts at symbolic integration, his sudden resignation on Thursday evening caught both the state administration and political observers by surprise. The development has also revived memories of the unusual trajectory of his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who left the Governor's office before completing his term, after he fought the Vice Presidential election as the NDA candidate in 2022. Dhankar resigned as VP last year before completing his full term. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya dismissed the allegations of political pressure and attributed Bose's resignation to health concerns. "Governor C V Ananda Bose was suffering from ailments and nothing else should be read into it," Bhattacharya said. "The TMC is unnecessarily attributing a political motive to his resignation and bringing controversy into it. He is a learned man, and we wish his good health," he added. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that "there must be some reason behind it". Senior TMC minister Chandrima Bhattacharya raised questions about the timing of the development and wondered whether there could be "any other plan", including the possibility of imposition of President's rule in the state. With Bose's sudden exit on the eve of the polls, the fraught Lok BhavanNabanna equation is set to once again cast a long political shadow over Bengal's intensely polarised election season. A man in Bihar has been arrested after police discovered WhatsApp chats with Pakistani phone numbers on his mobile phones, sparking an investigation into the nature of these communications. IMAGE: Photograph: Thomas White/Reuters Key Points A man named Khurshed Alam was arrested in Majhaulia, West Champaran district, Bihar. The arrest was made after police found WhatsApp chats with Pakistani phone numbers on his mobile phones. Police recovered ATM cards and mobile phones from Alam during the arrest. The investigation is ongoing to determine the nature and purpose of the WhatsApp communications with Pakistani numbers. Bihar Police on Thursday arrested a man from Majhaulia in West Champaran district after discovering WhatsApp chats with Pakistani phone numbers on his mobile phones, officials said. The arrested person has been identified as Khurshed Alam (25). Details of the Arrest and Investigation According to a statement by the district police, "Acting on a tip-off, police nabbed Alam near Majhaulia sugar mill and recovered three ATM cards and two mobile phones. Scrutiny of his phones revealed WhatsApp chats with some Pakistani (code +92) phone numbers. Several QR codes were also found in his chat history with Pakistani mobile numbers." Police have registered a case and are further investigating the matter. A burnt body of a young woman was discovered in a Jharkhand forest near the Odisha border, prompting a police investigation into a suspected murder and raising concerns about cross-border crime. Key Points A burnt body of a young woman was discovered in the Bankata forest in East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. Police suspect the woman may be from the bordering area of Odisha and was murdered to conceal evidence. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death and whether sexual assault occurred. An investigation has been launched based on the statement of the village watchwoman who discovered the body. Police found a burnt body of a young woman from Bankata forest in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand bordering Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, an officer said on Thursday. Kowali Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Dhananjay Paswan, told PTI on Thursday that the body was found by a woman chowkidaar (village watchwoman) at Bankata forest near Patapani village, which is just next to Tiring in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, on Wednesday evening. Investigation Details "We alerted all police stations in the district but till Thursday afternoon there has been no claimant for the body. There has been no missing report of any woman in early 20s lodged anywhere in East Singhbhum district. We assume that she might be from the bordering part of Odisha, and criminals might have murdered her and burnt the body to hide evidence in a forest," said Paswan. The police on Thursday sent the body for post-mortem examination at MGM Medical College and Hospital at Jamshedpur. "We are yet to ascertain if she was raped before being killed. Things will be clear only after the autopsy report," added the police officer. A case has been registered on the statement of Patapani village watchwoman, Kiran Mahakud, who found the body on Wednesday. Kerala's Congress party is up in arms, accusing the state government of squandering public funds on advertisements that smear the previous Oommen Chandy administration, a move they deem a blatant attempt to sway voters before the upcoming elections. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points Kerala Congress leaders condemn the state government's PRD for publishing advertisements criticising the Oommen Chandy administration. Congress accuses the government of misusing taxpayer money to improve its image before the assembly elections. The KPCC president claims the PRD is using public funds to spread lies and divert attention from internal problems within the Left party. Senior Congress leaders warn of legal action against officials involved in the alleged misuse of funds for election-related campaigns. Congress alleges the PRD should remain unbiased and include information on graft allegations against the current government. The Congress in Kerala on Thursday slammed the state government's PRD for giving advertisements in leading English and Malayalam dailies about the alleged shortcomings during the Oommen Chandy administration. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, party general secretary K C Venugopal and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, among others, termed the advertisements as an attempt by the Left government to improve its image ahead of the assembly polls at the expense of taxpayers. Venugopal, also the MP from Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, said that such a thing has never before happened in the state. He said that when doctors, ASHA workers, etc,. seeking enhancement of their wages, the government says "no". "But, it spends crores of rupees on trying to regain its lost image. People will see through it. They (CPIM) attacked Oommen Chandy when he was alive and they are doing it even now, scared of his popularity among the public," the Alappuzha MP told reporters. KPCC chief Joseph expressed a similar view at a press conference held here during the day. Joseph claimed that the public relations department (PRD) of the government was using public funds to spread lies. He said that it was being done to overcome the recent defeat of the CPI(M) and LDF in the local body polls and divert attention from the internal problems in the Left party and front. He further said that it was a "wrong practice" that has never been seen before in the state. Earlier in the day, Chennithala contended that using public money to issue such advertisements which "hide the good things done by the Oommen Chandy government and spread lies, is an abuse of power and an extravagance" by the PRD. The senior Congress leader further said that the PRD was using taxpayer money to run election-related campaigns and warned that none of the officials involved in it would draw pension. "They (PRD) are wasting public money to help the CPI(M) and LDF in the coming elections. This should have never happened. We will take strict legal action against it," he said. He also said the PRD is expected to be unbiased and therefore, it should have also mentioned the graft allegations against the first Pinarayi Vijayan government in the advertisements issued by it. Two individuals have been arrested and a juvenile apprehended following a deadly stabbing in Delhi's Burari area, stemming from a drunken brawl that resulted in one death and another serious injury. IMAGE: Photograph: Pixabay.com Key Points Two men, Salman and Chandan, have been arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing in Burari, Delhi. A juvenile has also been apprehended for involvement in the stabbing incident that resulted in the death of Nepal Ram and serious injury to Pintu Kumar. The stabbing occurred after an altercation between the victims and the accused, who were allegedly intoxicated. Police have registered a case of murder and attempted murder, and further investigation is ongoing into the Burari stabbing incident. Two men have been arrested and a juvenile apprehended for allegedly stabbing a 35-year-old man to death and seriously injuring another following a drunken brawl in Delhi's Burari area, police said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Salman and Chandan, both around 21 years old, were arrested while a child in conflict with law (CCL) was also apprehended in connection with the incident, they said. A PCR call was received on March 4 reporting that a man had been killed following a quarrel. When police reached the spot, they found that two injured persons had already been shifted to Burari hospital. At the hospital, Nepal Ram, a Burari local, was declared dead by doctors. Another injured person, Pintu Kumar (26), also a resident of the same locality, was found to have sustained a stab injury to his stomach and was later referred to a higher medical centre due to his critical condition. Police said both victims had suffered stab wounds to the abdomen. During the investigation, police identified the suspects and arrested Salman and Chandan while apprehending the juvenile involved in the attack. Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident occurred after an altercation broke out between the victims and the accused, who were allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time. A case has been registered under charges of murder and attempt to murder of the BNS, and further investigation is underway, police added. A Delhi court acquitted four men accused of a violent robbery attempt near the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway after key witnesses turned hostile, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points A Delhi court acquitted four men accused of attempted murder and robbery near the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The acquittal was based on the prosecution's failure to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Key witnesses, including the complainant and injured guards, turned hostile and did not support the prosecution's case. The court noted the absence of reliable testimony from public witnesses and the failure to examine a crucial eyewitness. Defence counsel argued that the accused were falsely implicated and that there were contradictions in witness testimonies. A Delhi court has acquitted four men accused of attempting to murder a contractor and his guards during an alleged robbery bid near the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in 2023, noting that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt as key witnesses turned hostile. Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan acquitted Arvind Kumar, Karan Singh, Khurram and Mohammad Noor Jamal, who were charged under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (vicarious liability in an unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 323 (voluntarily causing simple hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Complainant Mohammad Imran alleged that on the intervening night of October 20-21, 2023, the accused and their associates attacked him and his guards with iron rods and sticks after being confronted over an alleged theft attempt at a sewer construction site near Khizrabad. Court's Observations on Witness Testimony In its judgment dated February 26, the court observed that all the material witnesses, including the complainant and injured persons, did not support the prosecution's case on crucial aspects. The court noted that the complainant and injured witnesses who were working as guards, namely, Iqbal, Shahzad and Rahis were declared hostile and failed to consistently identify the accused or attribute specific roles to them. As for the remaining witnesses who were not injured, the court noted, "Remaining witnesses were formal in nature and were the police officials who had conducted investigation in this case. Their testimony as such was not sufficient to convict the accused persons with the offences with which they were charged. Their testimony only talked about the manner in which they had done the investigation". The complainant had repeatedly mentioned a guard named Raj Kumar who allegedly intimated him about the theft and was a crucial eyewitness to the entire incident. However, the court noted he was never examined by the prosecution. The prosecution witnesses alleged several public persons had gathered at the time of the incident hearing the commotion, however, the court noted, "The prosecution did not make any endeavour to join public persons during the investigation of the present matter. In the light of absence of veracity of testimonies of public witnesses, their testimony became inconsequential. It did not help the cause of prosecution." Defence Arguments The defence counsel had earlier argued that the accused persons were falsely implicated in the case. He stated there are several contradictions in the testimony of all witnesses and none of the witnesses have supported the story of prosecution, causing the court to declare them hostile. He had also argued that the accused persons had not been identified and their exact role had not been narrated by any of the witnesses. CANBERRA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China was the leading source of new vehicles sold in Australia for the first time in February, according to official data, ending the Japanese automotive industry's 28-year domination of the market. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said that 22,362 new vehicles sourced from China were sold nationally in February, exceeding 21,671 from Japan and 19,493 from Thailand. Japan had been Australia's leading source of vehicles every month since 1998, according to the FCAI. It said that Australia's new vehicle market recorded 90,712 sales in February, giving Chinese manufacturers a market share of 24.6 percent. Of the 10 new automotive brands that have entered the Australian market since 2020, the FCAI said nine are made in China. "After 28 years, Japan has been overtaken by China as the largest source of vehicles for the Australian market in a single month," FCAI Chief Executive Officer Tony Weber said in a statement. "The Australian market is one of the most open and competitive in the world. New brands can enter, establish dealer networks and compete on price, technology and design. Consumers are the beneficiaries of that competition." BYD was the largest Chinese brand in February, recording 5,323 new vehicle sales. Through the first two months of 2026, BYD has sold 10,324 new vehicles in Australia compared to 3,956 new vehicles in the same period in 2025. The FCAI noted that battery electric vehicles accounted for a record-high 11.8 percent of all new vehicle sales nationally in February. A doctor was tragically shot and killed inside his private hospital in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, prompting a police investigation to find the perpetrator. Key Points Dr. Rajkumar, a 45-year-old doctor, was fatally shot at Shivalaya Health Care in Bijnor. The assailant fled the scene on a motorcycle after shooting the doctor. Police have launched an investigation to identify and apprehend the accused in the Bijnor hospital shooting. The victim was declared dead upon arrival at the community health centre. A 45-year-old doctor was shot dead inside a private hospital here on Thursday evening, police said. The accused fled the scene on a motorcycle after the incident, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Prakash Kumar said. According to the ASP, Dr Rajkumar (45), the operator of Shivalaya Health Care on Dhampur Road in Nagina was shot dead. He was taken to the community health centre, where doctors declared him brought dead, the officer said. Kumar said efforts are on to trace the accused, and the body has been sent for post-mortem, police said. The BJP has launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of jeopardising India's national interest by advocating for a foreign policy that 'blindly sides' with Iran and prioritises vote bank politics over citizen safety IMAGE: Smoke rises after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Photograph: Amr Alfiky//File Photo/Reuters Key Points BJP leaders claim the Congress prioritises its vote bank over national interest and the safety of Indian citizens in its foreign policy decisions. The BJP criticises Rahul Gandhi's attack on Prime Minister Modi regarding the West Asia conflict, accusing the Congress of hypocrisy. BJP spokespersons allege the Congress has a history of being soft on internal security threats, citing instances of suppressing criticism of Naxal and Maoist activities. The BJP argues that India's foreign policy should be guided by national interest and citizen safety, not by the Congress's 'outdated ideological reflexes'. Lashing out at the Congress for wanting India to "blindly side with Iran", the BJP on Thursday said the country's foreign policy must be guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens not by the compulsions of the opposition party's "outdated ideological reflexes". Several BJP leaders, including Amit Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari, spoke on the issue, calling the Congress "anti-India" and alleging that the main opposition party pursues divisive politics. It only loves its vote bank, not the country and its people, the ruling party said. "Even China, which spent years diplomatically shielding Iran, overlooking its support for proxy terror groups and buying the bulk of its oil, is now distancing itself from Tehran," Malviya said in a post on X. "Yet the Indian National Congress wants India to blindly side with Iran, even as it continues reckless actions across the Gulf, threatens vital oil shipping routes, and escalates tensions in a region where millions of Indians live and work," the BJP's IT department head said. India's foreign policy, Malviya added, must be "guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens, not by the compulsions of Congress' outdated ideological reflexes". A day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast, the Congress said it is shocking that there has been no response from the Modi government and claimed that never before has the Indian government looked so "timid and fearful". Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the West Asia conflict has reached India's backyard but he has not spoken. While the country needed a steady hand at the wheel, it has a "compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy", the opposition leader said. BJP national spokesperson Bhandari said in his sharp response, "Anti India Congress wants India to comment on a conflict; where it is not directly involved; whereas its own track record is that of silence at the cost of national interest!" He alleged in a post on X that when the Congress was in power Sonia Gandhi "instructed" then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to not let any minister express grief on loss of innocent lives because of Naxal terror. "Tukde-Tukde Congress hates India and Indians; loves vote bank," he added. Shehzad Poonawalla, another BJP national spokesperson, echoed the view. "The 2010 letter from Cabinet Secretary, on PM Manmohan Singh's directions, gagged all Union ministers from commenting on the Naxal/Maoist issue publicly-right after the brutal Dantewada massacre of 76 CRPF jawans," Poonawalla said in a post on X. "Classic Congress soft-pedaling on Left-wing extremism: muzzle your own ministers, treat Maoists with kid gloves and let security forces pay the price," the BJP spokesperson said, alleging that the Congress was "weak then and now" as well. Instead of showing strong resolve and unity against India's "greatest internal security threat", the Congress chose "silence, damage control and shielding criticism," he alleged. Two Haryana irrigation department officials have been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of corruption for demanding a bribe for a contractor license, highlighting the state's commitment to fighting corruption. IMAGE: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com Key Points An executive engineer and computer operator from Haryana's irrigation department have been sentenced to four years in jail for corruption. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered the case in December 2022 after the engineer demanded a bribe for a contractor licence. The court found both officials guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code. The executive engineer and computer operator were also fined Rs 5,000 each in addition to their prison sentences. A Gurugram court has sentenced an irrigation department executive engineer and a computer operator to four years' imprisonment each in a corruption case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in December 2022. Additional District and Sessions Judge Sunil Chauhan also fined executive engineer Naveen Kumar Yadav and computer operator Chandrashekhar Rs 5,000 each, police said. Details of the Corruption Case According to police, the complainant had applied for the registration of a Haryana Engineering Works Portal (HEWP) contractor licence, for which Naveen Yadav demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000. The amount was received by Chandrashekhar, a computer operator working under the Haryana Skill Employment Corporation in the department, who was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), police said. The ACB registered a case on December 16, 2022, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. After examining the evidence and hearing witness statements, the court convicted the duo and sentenced them to four years in jail, an ACB official said. A truck accident in Una, Himachal Pradesh, has left nine pilgrims from Haryana injured, with four in critical condition, prompting an investigation into the incident. Key Points Nine pilgrims from Haryana's Kurukshetra district were injured in a truck accident near Pirnagah, Una. The truck, carrying approximately 15 devotees, plunged into a deep ravine after the driver lost control. Four of the injured pilgrims are in critical condition and have been transferred to PGIMR in Chandigarh for advanced medical treatment. The pilgrims were returning from Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh Maidi and Pir Nigah when the accident occurred. Police have registered a case against the truck driver, Sahib Singh, under the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act. Nine pilgrims from Haryana's Kurukshetra district were injured when a truck they were in fell into a deep ravine near Pirnagah in Himachal Pradesh's Una district, police said on Thursday. Four injured persons have been shifted to the PGIMR in Chandigarh in a critical condition after the truck with about 15 devotees on board slipped off the road on Wednesday night, they said. According to reports, the devotees from Pehowa in Kurukshetra had gone to pay obeisance at the Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh Maidi and Pir Nigah in Una district. While returning from Una at around 11 pm on Wednesday, the driver lost control of the truck, which plunged off the road into a deep ravine. The injured devotees were rushed to the regional hospital in Una, from where four were referred to the PGIMR in Chandigarh for advanced treatment. Police have registered a case under the relevant sections of the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act against the driver of the truck, Sahib Singh, based on a complaint lodged by Sanjay, a resident of Kurukshetra. The Bombay high court has rejected a petition to allow taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers to offer namaaz near Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, asserting that security concerns override religious considerations. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points The Bombay high court prioritised security over religious practice, denying a plea for prayer space near Mumbai airport. The court emphasised that while Ramzan is important, there is no religious right to offer prayers at any location, especially near high-security areas like airports. Authorities cited congestion, security concerns, and airport development plans as reasons for not allotting alternative prayer spaces. The court suggested the petitioners could submit a representation for a prayer space during future airport redevelopment. The high court stressed that security cannot be compromised, especially in sensitive locations like airports, regardless of religious considerations. Security overrides religion, the Bombay high court said on Thursday while refusing any relief to taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers seeking to offer namaaz at the site of a now demolished temporary shed near the city airport during Ramzan. A bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla noted that while Ramzan was an integral part of Islam, its adherents cannot claim to have a religious right to offer namaaz (prayers) at any place during the holy month, especially in the vicinity of an airport where security concerns are high. Repeatedly stressing on the aspect of airport security, the HC said it will not throw caution to the wind. What the plea said The court was hearing a petition filed by the Taxi-Rickshaw Ola-Uber Men's Union claiming that a temporary shed in the vicinity of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), where they used to offer prayers, was demolished by authorities last year. The plea sought for them to be allowed to use the same space or be allotted another site in the same area where they could offer namaaz. Muslims currently are observing the holy month of Ramzan, a period involving daily fasting from dawn to sunset, prayers, increased charity, and spiritual reflection. Last week, the court directed the police and airport authorities to consider if any other space can be allotted to the petitioners. 7 alternative sites considered On Thursday, the authorities submitted a report, saying seven other sites were surveyed, but none was found to be suitable to be allotted to the petitioners to offer prayers due to congestion, security concerns and airport development plan constraints. The court, after perusing the report, observed it cannot grant any relief to the petitioners as the issue pertains to the security of the airport. The court maintained the petitioners will have to find some other place and noted that there was a madrassa (Islamic school) within 1 kilometre of the spot where they can offer prayers. The petitioners cannot have a prayer area in the vicinity of the airport as safety issues are involved, the HC emphasised. "There is no question of getting a structure near airport (to offer prayers). Religion or otherwise -- security comes first. Everybody travels through this airport irrespective of their religion," the court noted. No compromise on security: HC When it comes to security, there cannot be any compromise, the bench stressed. "We have never seen anything like this anywhere in the world. You cannot have something like this near the airport," the court further observed. The bench added that the petitioners cannot claim as a right that they will offer prayers at the same spot. "You (petitioners) cannot decide the place. Tomorrow you will say you want to stand in the middle of Oval Maidan (a recreational ground in South Mumbai) and offer prayers. That is not possible," it said. The bench insisted that while it understands Ramzan was an integral part of the petitioners' religion, offering prayers at any place was not a religious right. "No one is stopping you from offering prayers five times a day, but it cannot be anywhere. Security concerns are serious," the HC stated. 'Maybe in future...' The court urged the petitioners to look at the larger good and picture. "We will not throw caution to the wind when it comes to security," the HC maintained. The bench said while it cannot grant any relief now, the petitioners can think of submitting a representation to the airport authorities to consider allotting a space in the future when the Terminal 1 building is redeveloped. "Maybe in the future when the airport terminal is redeveloped then a space can be allotted so that this problem does not persist. Because we need to understand that the petitioners (auto and taxi drivers) provide service to passengers coming and going out of Mumbai," it said. IIT Mandi researchers have engineered a cutting-edge landslide early warning system, leveraging machine learning and real-time sensors to detect minute ground movements and provide timely alerts, significantly enhancing disaster preparedness in landslide-prone regions. Key Points IIT Mandi develops a real-time landslide monitoring and early warning system with over 90% accuracy. The system detects ground movements of less than one millimetre using sensors and machine learning. The early warning system activates hooters, blinkers, and sends alerts to authorities via SMS and a web application. The system provides real-time data with millimetre resolution, surpassing the capabilities of satellite data. Integration of satellite data from missions like NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) will further enhance warning accuracy. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, in Himachal Pradesh have developed a real-time landslide monitoring and early warning system. Scientists said the technology was deployed in three landslide-prone areas in Mandi district and claimed that the model, based on machine learning and advanced analytics, achieved over 90 percent accuracy in landslide prediction. The system, capable of detecting ground movements of less than one millimeter and uses sensors to transmit real-time data, has been developed in collaboration with the National Mission on Himalayan studies, IIT scientists said on Thursday. During monsoon last year, Himachal Pradesh witnessed around 140 major landslides. This new early warning system, which automatically activates cautionary mechanisms like hooters and blinkers and sends alerts to authorities enabling swift action and minimisation of losses and casualties, could prove to be very beneficial for the state, researchers said. System Functionality and Alert Mechanisms Prof Varun Dutt from IIT Mandi told PTI Videos that the system, which is installed on hills, is activated even if it detects a minute shift -- less than one millimetre -- in the ground, and sends alerts to 'warning poles' installed in vulnerable areas such as valleys or along road stretch around the hill. It sets off a hooter and blinker, alerting people about possible landslide, besides sending alerts via SMS and an Android-based web application to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) control room. Real-Time Data and Satellite Integration The system works in real time and provides resolution upto millimetres, as compared to satellite data which gives information with a resolution of around 20 meters, Dutt said. He further said while satellite data helps track ground movements over a period of 14 days to two months, the new system can detect much finer changes. The Government of India has launched the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission and its data will gradually become available, further improving the warnings, the researchers said. Currently, satellite data is received once every two weeks. This data is being integrated with the system data to issue more accurate and timely warnings, they added. Six days after Khamenei was killed in a joint strike on Tehran by the US and Israel, foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy and signed the condolence book on behalf of the government of India. IMAGE: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of the Government of India, offered condolences to the slain supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, through a conversation with Iran's Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, in New Delhi, March 5, 2026. Photograph: XPD Division, MEA/ANI Photo Key Points The government faced opposition criticism for its initial silence on Khamenei's assassination and the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena by the US. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the escalating West Asia situation with his Iranian counterpart, highlighting India's diplomatic engagement. The sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena by the US, after its participation in an Indian naval exercise, has sparked condemnation and raised concerns about maritime security. Former Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash criticised the US action as inflammatory, while former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal highlighted India's moral responsibility given the ship's presence at India's invitation. India on Thursday condoled the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the backdrop of scathing criticism of the government by opposition parties for its silence on the assassination as well as on the sinking of an Iranian ship by the US off the Sri Lankan coast. Six days after Khamenei was killed in a joint strike on Tehran by the US and Israel, foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy and signed the condolence book on behalf of the government of India. Misri also held a brief conversation with Iranian envoy Mohammad Fathali. Separately, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed the evolving situation in West Asia. It was the second phone conversation between the two foreign ministers since February 28 when the US and Israel launched the attack on Iran. "Sincerest condolences on behalf of the government and people of India. We pray for peace for the departed soul," Misri wrote in the condolence book on Khamenei's death, in what is being seen by many as a signs of a subtle shift in New Delhi's position on the conflict. Unlike in May 2024, when Jaishankar visited the Iranian embassy to mourn the death of the then president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, New Delhi's response to the Supreme Leader's death was handled by the foreign secretary. In the last few days, the government came under sharp attacks from the Opposition with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi saying its silence on the targeted assassination of Khamenei raised serious doubts about the direction and credibility of India's foreign policy. Though India called for resolution of the West Asia crisis through dialogue and diplomacy, it chose not to react to Khamenei's killing. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In the last two days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both the sides triggering fears of a prolonged war in West Asia. New Delhi's condolence on Khamenei's killing also came a day after the US sank Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast when it was returning home after participating in the Milan naval exercise, a multilateral wargame hosted by India. At least 87 Iranian military personnel were killed in the strike. Besides attending the Milan exercise, the ship featured in the International Fleet Review organised by he Indian Navy in Vishakapatnam last month. Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi also made a mention of the sinking of the IRIS Dena. "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," he said on social media. "Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," he said. The Indian Navy Thursday said it joined search and rescue operation after learning about a distress call from Iranian warship IRIS Dena. Former Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash described the US action as a "senseless" and "inflammatory act". "Sinking of Iranian warship, off southern tip of Sri Lanka, with heavy loss of life is a senseless & inflammatory act. Initiating another dimension of violence in this open-ended conflict, will spread alarm across the high seas & disrupt global seaborne commerce. Condemnable!," he said on social media. Former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said the US has ignored India's sensitivities as the Iranian ship was in these waters because of India's invitation. "I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenceless. The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our President," he said. "The attack by the US submarine was premeditated as the US was aware of the Iranian ship's presence in the exercise to which the US navy was invited but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind," he said on X. "We are far from politically or militarily responsible for the US attack. Our 'responsibility' is at a moral and human plane," he said. A 45-year-old Indian-origin woman, Nancy Grewal, was tragically stabbed to death in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada, leading to an ongoing homicide investigation by local police. IMAGE: Photograph: Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Facebook Key Points Nancy Grewal, a 45-year-old Indian-origin woman, was stabbed to death in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. The LaSalle Police Service is investigating the incident as a homicide and believes it to be isolated. Police are seeking information and video surveillance from residents near Todd Lane where the stabbing occurred. Two homes, a parking lot, and woodland have been cordoned off as part of the investigation. A 45-year-old Indian-origin woman was stabbed to death by unidentified persons in Canada's Ontario province, police said. The incident took place "just before 9:30 pm on March 3" at LaSalle town in Essex County, the LaSalle Police Service said in a statement on Tuesday. The victim has been identified as Nancy Grewal of Windsor, it said, adding that "investigators are viewing this as an isolated incident". Police said they are continuing to investigate the "homicide" that occurred on Todd Lane. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Detective Sergeant Jamie Nestor. Police are also seeking video surveillance from anyone that lives nearby. "The LaSalle Police Service offers our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms Grewal," the statement said. Quoting police, ctvnews.ca portal reported that Grewal was found with injuries. Essex-Windsor EMS transported her to hospital, where she later succumbed to her wounds. LaSalle police have cordoned off two homes, an empty parking lot and a stretch of woodland off Todd Lane. Police evidence markers were seen on the front lawn of a home on Todd Lane, the report said. Following the assassination of Khamenei, as Iran's assembly of experts is currently navigating a complex selection process amidst ongoing tensions in the West Asia. IMAGE: Slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photograph: Reuters Key Points The 88-member Assembly of Experts is responsible for electing the new Supreme Leader of Iran. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader, is among the candidates being considered. The election process is complicated by the current tensions and attacks by the US and Israel. The new Supreme Leader will be supported by all Iranian officials and citizens, according to a senior Iranian official. Iran has not yet elected the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike last week, a senior Iranian official said Thursday. Ayatollah Dr Abdul Majeed Hakeemelahi, the representative of Iran's supreme leader in India, also said that the process to elect a new leader is still underway. "This news is not true because, till now, they (the council) have not chosen or nominated anyone, and the process is still underway," Hakeemelahi told PTI in an interview when asked about some media reports claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as his successor. "There are several candidates for this position, and Ayatollah Mojtaba is one of them. It is not because he is the son of Ayatollah Khamenei. Rather, because of his qualifications, they may consider choosing him. But it is not finalised, and they are still assessing to find the qualified person for this position," he said. Explaining the process of the election of the supreme leader of Iran, Hakeemelahi said an 88-member Assembly of Experts council is elected by vote during the elections in Iran. "One of the responsibilities of this council is to elect the supreme leader. Now they have started negotiating to get a qualified person for this position," he said. "They (council members) did a lot of discussion, but the situation is not good because we are under attack by the US and Israel. So when they get the good situation, and they gather, they will choose the one who is qualified for this position," he added. The supreme leader is the highest political and religious authority of Iran. He has a final say over policy matters. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. When asked how unified the clerical establishment would be behind the new leader, especially regarding internal stability and the influence of the revolutionary cards, he said that everyone would support the new supreme leader. "Whoever they (the council) elect, everyone will support him and follow him. And he will be our supreme leader, and all Iranians officials and citizens will accept the choice of this council," he added. When asked if Iran is ready to take the risk of publicly naming the new supreme leader in view of Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's threat to target him, Hakeemelahi said, "Iran is ready to defend itself." Israeli and US strikes recently targeted a building of the Assembly of Experts in Qom city. TV footage by local media showed the building severely damaged in the strikes. Iran's state media later reported that the building was no lonAger being used for meetings. Recalling Khamenei, Hakeemelahi said, "He used to tell people to study about India-- 'If you want to know the history of Iran, you cannot understand it without understanding and studying the history of India'." "We will continue to follow his path. And never forget him," he added. Khamenei, 86, who became the Supreme Leader in 1989, held the position till his assassination in the joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28. His wife also succumbed to injuries days later. His daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were also killed in the airstrike. Hakeemelahi thanked the people of India, who "showed their sympathy, their solidarity, and their support" to Iran, and also for the mourning after the assassination of the supreme leader. After a distress call from IRIS Dena was received by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Colombo near Galle on March 4, the Indian Navy deployed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft to support Sri Lanka-led search and rescue efforts. IMAGE: An injured Iranian sailor is moved on a stretcher at Galle National Hospital, where the sailors are receiving treatment, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, March 5, 2026. Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters The Indian Navy has deployed INS Tarangini and INS Ikshak, along with maritime patrol aircraft, to assist in the Sri Lanka-led search and rescue operations for the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank on Wednesday after being struck by a US submarine torpedo. Key Points The vessel sank on March 4, 2026, approximately 20 nautical miles west of Galle after a US submarine attack The Indian Navy warships are mission-deployed in the Middle East region amid the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran Sources said that there is also a possibility of using civilian aircraft to help Indian citizens in the Middle East The vessel sank on March 4, 2026, approximately 20 nautical miles west of Galle, after reportedly being struck by a torpedo from a United States submarine. "A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of 04 March 26, as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy. The ship was operating 20 NM West of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lankan responsibility. On receipt of the information, the Indian Navy promptly launched its SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hr on 04 March 26 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka," according to the Indian Navy press release. "Another aircraft with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity, was deployed to aid the rescue efforts and arrived in the search area by 1600 hr on 04 March 26. By this time, SAR had been undertaken by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies. INS Ikshak has also sailed from Kochi to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel. Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on Search and Rescue efforts is ongoing," added the Navy statement. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US Navy submarine torpedoed the vessel as part of an expanding military campaign against Iranian assets. Of the estimated 180 crew members on board, approximately 87 sailors are reported dead, with roughly 32 survivors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy and admitted to hospitals in Galle. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy warships are mission-deployed in the Middle East region amid the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran. Indian Navy warships are in the Gulf of Oman for Operation Sankalp and carrying out anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The warships in the Gulf of Aden are helping Indian merchant vessels to reach their destinations safely, sources in the defence establishment said. There has not been any communication regarding this, but if there is a need, they can be used for helping stranded Indian nationals there, they said. Chief of defence staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Monday reviewed the armed forces' preparedness after being part of a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the emerging situation. Sources said that there is also a possibility of using civilian aircraft to help Indian citizens in the Middle East. The CCS meeting was held on Sunday in the national capital at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the official residence of the Prime Minister. According to a release, the Committee was briefed on the air strikes in Iran on 28 February and the subsequent escalation, including attacks in several Gulf countries. It expressed serious concern over the safety and security of the large Indian expatriate community in the region. The CCS also reviewed the difficulties faced by Indian travellers transiting the region and students appearing for scheduled examinations, as well as the broader implications for regional security and economic and commercial activities. The CCS directed all concerned departments to take necessary and feasible measures to assist Indian nationals affected by the developments. It underscored the importance of an early cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue and diplomacy. MOSCOW, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready, if necessary, to act as a mediator in peace talks between Iran and the United States, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Russian newspaper Izvestia. "Of course, if necessary, Russia is ready to provide mediation services," the Russian diplomat said. The diplomat noted that although a renewal of U.S.-Iran dialogue appears improbable for now, the core objectives on both sides -- Washington's goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran and Tehran's demand for sanctions relief -- are unattainable through military force. According to Ulyanov, Iran would welcome Russia's mediation. However, the Russian diplomat noted that the United States has made it clear it does not need intermediaries, believing it can manage on its own. "The Americans are actually handling this very poorly," Ulyanov concluded. India has firmly denied allegations that the US Navy is using its ports to launch attacks against Iran, reaffirming its commitment to strategic autonomy and non-alignment in international conflicts. IMAGE: A screengrab from a video released by US Central Command (CENTCOM), which accompanied a press release describing the operation dubbed "Epic Fury", an attack by the United States and Israel on Iran, shows a flight deck crew member signaling an F35 jet on an aircraft carrier, in this image obtained from social media released on February 28, 2026. Photograph: US CENTCOM/X/Reuters Key Points India has denied claims that the US Navy is using Indian ports to strike Iran, calling the allegations 'fake and false'. The denial follows remarks by former US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor suggesting the US Navy relies on Indian ports due to losing access to its own bases. India's Ministry of External Affairs and the Press Information Bureau have both issued clarifications rejecting the report. India maintains a long-standing policy of not allowing its territory to be used for offensive military operations by foreign powers, adhering to its commitment to strategic autonomy. Defence cooperation between India and the US is limited to support activities like refuelling and joint exercises, and does not permit combat operations from Indian territory. The Indian government has rejected claims that the United States of America navy is using Indian ports to strike Iran. The clarification came after remarks by former US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor during an interview on the U. broadcaster One America News Network. In the interview, Macgregor suggested that the United States Navy was relying on Indian ports after losing access to its own bases. Macgregor' claim drew attention on social media after Iran bombed all the US bases in the middle-east, leaving them with no safe place to launch attacks on Iran. The rejection of Macgregor's statement was made on X by the ministry of external affairs stating, Fake News Alert! Claims being made on OAN, a US based channel that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments. Later, the Press Information Bureau also issued a clarification rejecting reports that the United States was using Indian facilities to carry out strikes against Iran. The PIB in its tweet on X said, Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network @OANN, former US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor made a statement suggesting that the United States is using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amidst the ongoing Iran-US conflict. According to the statement, assertions that US forces were operating from Indian naval bases had no factual basis and were misleading. The post on X also cautioned, Stay Alert: Always verify information from official sources before sharing. Spotted suspicious content related to the Government of India? Send it to @PIBFactCheck and it will be verified for you. The clarification has come after Iranian ship was sunk by US submarine on Wednesday in Indian Ocean, leaving 87 people dead. India's Policy on Foreign Military Operations Indias response reflects its long-standing policy of not allowing its territory to be used by foreign powers to conduct offensive military operations. Since independence in 1947, India has consistently maintained that it will not host foreign military bases or permit its land or ports to be used as a platform for another countrys war. This position is closely tied to Indias historic commitment to strategic autonomy and its leadership role in the Non-Aligned Movement, which was formed during the Cold War to keep member states independent of military blocs led by global powers. Defence Cooperation and Agreements While India cooperates with several countries on defence and maritime logistics, including the United States, such arrangements are limited to support activities like refuelling, repair, and joint exercises. For instance, the logistics pact known as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement signed between India and USA in 2016 allows the two militaries to access each others facilities on case by case basis with prior mutual consent for supplies and services, but does not permit combat operations to be launched from Indian territory. Over the decades, India has allowed foreign naval vessels to visit its ports and has participated in multinational humanitarian and disaster relief missions, but it has avoided becoming directly involved in external conflicts. Jammu's SSP Joginder Singh has ordered heightened security measures and increased surveillance to combat crime and maintain peace in the district, focusing on key areas and strict enforcement of new criminal laws. Key Points SSP Jammu Joginder Singh reviewed the security situation and directed heightened vigilance across the district. Police were instructed to intensify surveillance on religious places, critical infrastructure, and identified hotspots to prevent disruptions. Enhanced foot patrols, strategic 'nakas', and area domination are being implemented to deter anti-national and anti-social elements. Focus is placed on time-bound crime disposal, quality investigations, and strict action against drug peddlers with a zero-tolerance policy. Implementation of citizen-centric provisions under new criminal laws, including zero FIRs and e-FIRs, is prioritised. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu Joginder Singh on Thursday reviewed the security and crime situation in the district and directed officers to maintain heightened vigilance and strengthen surveillance. During the session, the SSP briefed officers on the prevailing security scenario and stressed the need for heightened alertness across the district, officials said. He instructed officers to intensify surveillance with particular focus on religious places, critical installations and identified hotspots. He also directed enhanced foot patrolling, deployment of long-range and short-range patrols, establishment of random and surprise 'nakas' at strategic locations and effective area domination to prevent any disruption by anti-national, anti-social or mischievous elements, they said. Crime Prevention and Investigation Apart from reviewing crime, various security measures were discussed to control criminal activities and ensure peace and stability in the district, they said. The meeting also reviewed several aspects of policing, including quality investigation of cases, time-bound crime disposal, verifications, disposal of property-related and NDPS cases, completion of inquest proceedings, and monitoring of history-sheeters, absconders and missing persons. The SSP directed officers to ensure time-bound completion of investigations to provide speedy justice to victims. "Disposal of cases registered under the new criminal laws was also reviewed, with emphasis on completing investigations within the stipulated period of 60 and 90 days." Singh stressed mandatory utilisation of FSL services as per BNSS provisions and discussed the progress achieved and challenges faced in this regard with the stakeholders, including the in-charge of the FSL unit. Zero Tolerance for Drugs and Criminal Activity He directed officers to identify drug peddlers and take strict action against them, reiterating that there is a policy of zero tolerance against drugs. The SSP also asked officers to fully implement citizen-centric provisions under the new criminal laws, including registration of zero FIRs and e-FIRs. He further directed police personnel to maintain surveillance on released organised criminals and take all necessary steps to curb the activities of organised criminal gangs to ensure that the public does not feel threatened. Emphasising professional conduct, Singh said there would be zero tolerance towards corruption, burking of crime and indiscipline at any level. He also stressed the importance of prompt response, polite behaviour and empathy while dealing with the public. In a shocking incident, a jeweller's family in Gurdaspur, Punjab, was held hostage and robbed of Rs 3 crore, raising serious concerns about the state's law and order situation and prompting a strong reaction from the BJP. Key Points A jeweller's family in Gurdaspur was held hostage by armed robbers disguised as Nihangs. The robbers stole cash and jewellery worth approximately Rs 3 crore from the family's home. Punjab BJP criticised the AAP government, citing the robbery as evidence of deteriorating law and order. Police have registered an FIR and are investigating the incident to apprehend the accused. The incident has created an atmosphere of fear and concern among the trading community in Gurdaspur. Four unidentified men allegedly held a jeweller's family hostage at gunpoint and decamped with cash and jewellery worth around Rs 3 crore in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Thursday, police said. Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma slammed the AAP government over the incident, calling it a "frightening reflection of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state". An FIR has been registered, and efforts are on to trace the accused, police said. According to the family, the robbers, dressed like Nihangs (Sikhs dressed in loose blue tops), entered their house around 8.15 am on the pretext of asking whether they had posted any objectionable video on social media. Once inside, one of them pulled out a weapon and asked the family to hand over cash and valuables kept in the house, they said, adding that all the assailants were armed. The robbers tied the hands and legs of the family members, including two children, and taped their mouths before taking away cash worth Rs 30-40 lakh and gold and silver jewellery from lockers after taking their keys. The total value of the stolen items is estimated at around Rs 3 crore, a family member said. The robbers stayed in the house for around an hour before fleeing, police said. Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Aditya visited the spot and met the family. "We have spoken to the family and assured them that the robbers will be nabbed soon," the SSP said, adding that an investigation is underway. Political Reactions to the Gurdaspur Robbery Meanwhile, the Punjab BJP working president said, criminals held a jeweller's family hostage, tied their hands and feet with ropes, and gagged them before executing the robbery at gunpoint with dangerous weapons. "Not only did the robbers take away gold and silver, but they also uprooted the CCTV cameras to destroy evidence," he said. He met the family and assured them of all support. Sharma was accompanied by State General Secretary Rakesh Rathore, State Secretary Suraj Bhardwaj, Gurdaspur District President Baghel Singh Bahian, Rajinder Bitta, Shivbir Rajan and other leaders. "Such a horrifying incident has created an atmosphere of fear in the entire area and has also caused deep concern among the trading community," he added. "This is not merely a robbery but a major proof of the failure of law and order in Punjab. The morale of criminals has risen to such an extent that they are committing robberies worth crores without any fear of the law," he said. Under the "Badlav" government of Bhagwant Mann, traders and the common people of Punjab are feeling insecure, Sharma said, adding that instead of ensuring the safety of citizens, the government is busy with PR and advertisements. The Kerala government is challenging former minister Antony Raju's request to suspend his conviction for evidence tampering, claiming it would compromise the upcoming election's integrity. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points Kerala government opposes Antony Raju's plea to suspend his conviction in an evidence-tampering case, arguing it would undermine the integrity of the electoral process. The government asserts that Raju seeks relief solely to contest upcoming assembly polls, a political choice that shouldn't circumvent statutory disqualification. Raju, convicted for crimes committed as an advocate before becoming a legislator, faces disqualification under the Representation of the People Act. Raju argues his disqualification as a sitting member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly is instantaneous and self-operating due to the conviction. Raju contends the conviction and sentence were against the law and evidence, alleging errors in the court's appreciation of evidence and excessive sentencing. The state government on Thursday filed a statement in the Kerala High Court opposing the plea of former state Transport Minister Antony Raju to suspend his conviction in an evidence-tampering case, saying that granting the relief "would undermine the integrity of the electoral process." The government said he was seeking the relief only to contest the upcoming assembly polls. Raju, a leader of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress-a constituent of the CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala-moved the High Court after the Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court declined to suspend his conviction. Opposing his plea, the state government said Raju "has failed to demonstrate any grave injustice or irreparable damage that would occur if the conviction is allowed to operate." It noted that his tenure as a legislator was almost over when he was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and that the assembly polls were "already at the doorstep." "Furthermore, the petitioner (Raju) committed these crimes in his capacity as an advocate, long before becoming a representative of the people, which aggravates the nature of the misconduct. Granting a stay would undermine the integrity of the electoral process," the government said in its statement. It further added that Raju's intention or desire to contest in the upcoming election "cannot be treated as an exceptional circumstance warranting suspension of conviction." "Contesting an election is only a political choice, and the disqualification arising from a conviction is a statutory consequence under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which cannot be circumvented by invoking the discretionary jurisdiction of this court. Hence, the petition for suspension of conviction deserves to be dismissed," the government said. Background of the Case Raju was sentenced to three years' simple imprisonment by the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I Court, Nedumangad, in a case related to tampering with evidence while appearing as a lawyer for an Australian national arrested in a drug case in 1990. Following his conviction, the Kerala Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued a notification confirming his disqualification. Raju's Argument for Suspension In his plea to the High Court, Raju said the application for suspension of conviction was filed because, as a sitting member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, he stood disqualified from holding office solely due to the conviction. According to him, unlike a sentence of imprisonment, the disqualification under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act is self-operating and instantaneous, leaving no scope for restitution unless the conviction itself is suspended. "The petitioner's right to contest the upcoming general election to the state legislative assembly is put in peril due to the conviction imposed on him via the judgment impugned in the criminal appeal, which is indefensible both on facts and law," the petition said. He also contended that the conviction and sentence passed by the magistrate court were against the law, facts, and evidence, and alleged that the court had committed grave errors in the appreciation of evidence. "The sentence passed by the court below is excessive and has not taken into consideration the delay of 35 years. The sentence was passed only to disqualify the petitioner under the Representation of the People Act," the petition said. The High Court is likely to hear the matter on March 6. Trump said Iran needs a leader who would bring peace, warning that continuing Ali Khameneis policies could trigger fresh conflict with the United States. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump waves as he returns to the White House, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, in Washington, DC, on March 1, 2026. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters US President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next Supreme Leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel joint military strike last week, as reported by Axios. Key Points Trump said that Khamenei's son is a lightweight and he has to to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela. Iranian authorities delayed announcing a successor after the death of Khamenei, though political signals suggest a decision on the next supreme leader could come soon The US president argued that Washington should not accept a new Iranian leader who would pursue policies similar to those of the late Khamenei In an exclusive interview with Axios, Trump said he wanted a role in the appointment of Iran's next leader, drawing a comparison to his involvement in political developments in Venezuela in January following the capture of its former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a US military operation. He also criticised the possible succession of the son of the late supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is widely viewed as a leading contender for the position. "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump said, as quoted by Axios. Trump described Mojtaba Khamenei as "unacceptable" and said he would prefer a leader who could bring "harmony and peace" to Iran, warning that a continuation of his father's policies could lead to renewed conflict with the United States in the future. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," the US President added, according to Axios. According to reports, Iranian authorities have delayed announcing a successor after the death of Khamenei, though political signals from Tehran suggest a decision on the next supreme leader could come soon. Reports further suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is widely seen as the frontrunner for the position. However, the Iranian government, via the Consulate General in Mumbai, refuted reports of Mojtaba Khamenei being named as his late father Ayatollah Khamenei's successor. In a post on X on Wednesday, the consulate said, "Reports circulating on media regarding potential candidates for leadership selected by Iran's Assembly of Experts have no official source and are officially denied." According to Axios, the US president also argued that Washington should not accept a new Iranian leader who would pursue policies similar to those of the late Khamenei. His remarks come amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. A 49-year-old man was allegedly assaulted during Holi celebrations in Kalyan, Thane, after he intervened to stop individuals from endangering a child near a bonfire, leading to a police investigation. Key Points A 49-year-old man was allegedly assaulted during Holi celebrations in Kalyan, Thane. The assault occurred after the man stopped the accused from using a child to remove a coconut from a Holi bonfire. The victim has filed a complaint naming four individuals involved in the alleged assault. Police are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made yet. A 49-year-old man was assaulted allegedly by four persons during Holi celebrations in Kalyan in Thane district, a police official said on Thursday. According to the complaint lodged by Riyaz Abbas Syed (49), a businessman from Shivajinagar, the incident occurred around 11 pm on March 2 in the parking area of his building, the Mahatma Phule police station official said. Details of the Assault "He has named Ramkumar Gupta, his sons Rahul Ramkumar Gupta and Rohit Ramkumar Gupta, and nephew Rohan Budhsagar Gupta in his complaint. Syed has claimed the argument started after he stopped these persons from getting a small child to remove a coconut from a Holi bonfire," the official said. Syed was assaulted and his wife was abused, the official said quoting the complaint. No arrest has been made in the case, the official added. An Indore man's death after a fall from a building has triggered allegations of police misconduct, prompting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Key Points A young man in Indore died after falling from a fifth-floor building. The man's sister alleges a police officer slapped him prior to his death, leading to his extreme action. Police deny the allegation of assault and state they only counselled the man after a disturbance. An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the man's death. The deceased had a history of psychiatric treatment and a prior assault case against him. A young man allegedly committed suicide here by jumping from the fifth floor of a building on Thursday, with his sister claiming that he had been slapped by a policeman which led him to take the extreme step. The police, however, denied the slapping incident. Raj Makwana (22) jumped from the residential building in Tapti Complex in Chandan Nagar area in the early hours on Thursday and died on the spot, a police official said. On the previous night, he had had a heated argument with the security guard and police had been called to the spot, the official said. Makwana's elder sister Nikita told reporters that he had stepped out for a walk after feeling uneasy at home late Wednesday night. "Police arrived on the scene after receiving information from the security guard (following a quarrel) and questioned my brother. My brother apologised to the police, saying 'sorry.' Despite this, a police officer slapped him," she said. Makwana later told his family members that he was afraid the police would take him away, she added. Police Response and Investigation Chandan Nagar police station in-charge Tilak Karole told PTI, "A police vehicle visited the scene after receiving information about Makwana creating a ruckus. Police officers counseled him and asked him to remain calm. 45 minutes later, he jumped to his death." Karole dismissed the allegation that a police official slapped him. "The post-mortem report did not disclose any assault on Makwana. We are investigating his death," he said. The deceased had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and had an old case registered against him under section 324 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code, the official added. A man in Mangaluru has been sentenced to life in prison for a 2022 murder in Dakshina Kannada, highlighting the consequences of financial disputes escalating to violent crime. Key Points A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of a 47-year-old in Dakshina Kannada. The accused was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and fined Rs 10,000. The murder was allegedly committed due to financial disputes between the accused and the victim. Evidence presented in court led to the conviction and sentencing of the accused. A court in Mangaluru on Thursday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the murder of a 47-year-old man in Dakshina Kannada district in 2022. The II Additional District and Sessions Court Judge, Jagadish V N, convicted the accused, Murugan, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000. According to the police, the case relates to the murder of Harish Salyan, a resident of Ullanje in Mangaluru city. The incident occurred on March 19, 2022, near a tourist car parking area at Mulki Pete in Bappanadu village of Mulki town in Dakshina Kannada district. Investigation Details Investigations revealed that the accused attacked Salyan with a red laterite stone embedded in cement concrete, repeatedly striking his face and killing him on the spot. Police said the murder was allegedly committed due to financial enmity between the accused and the victim. Following the incident, a case was registered at the Mulki police station, and the matter was later taken up for trial in the Sessions Court. The investigation in the case was carried out by Police Inspector Kusumadhar, who filed the charge sheet before the court. Assistant Sub-Inspector Sanjeev assisted in the investigation. Legal Proceedings During the trial, the prosecution was represented by Public Prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak, who argued the case on behalf of the state. Based on the evidence and arguments presented, the court pronounced the verdict convicting the accused and awarding life imprisonment. Amid rising tensions, Iran threatens retaliation after the United States confirms sinking its warship, IRIS Dena, in international waters, escalating conflict in the region. IMAGE: An explosion on what the US Department of Defense says is an Iranian warship, at the sea, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 4, 2026. Photograph: Department of Defense/Reuters Key Points Iran vows retaliation after the US confirms sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters. The US claims its submarine sunk the Iranian warship with a torpedo, marking the first such sinking since World War II. Iran threatens to target Israel's Dimona nuclear site if the US and Israel attempt to topple the Islamic Republic. Iran's IRGC has launched Operation 'True Promise 4', targeting American and Israeli positions with missiles and drones. The IRGC claims to have destroyed several advanced radar systems belonging to the US and Israel in the region. Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the United States will come to regret its action of destroying the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean. In a post on X, Aragchi said, "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." Aragchi's comment came after United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that an US submarine had sunk the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena". US sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean "In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win," Hegseth said. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, called the hit an incredible demonstration of America's global reach. "As the secretary showed the video, for the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mark 48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea. I want to remind everybody that this is an incredible demonstration of America's global reach to hunt, find, and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale," he said. The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was sunk on Wednesday after a torpedo fired by a US submarine struck the vessel in international waters within Sri Lanka's search and rescue zone. Sri Lankan authorities said the navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 sailors after responding to a distress call from the ship. Escalating Tensions and Threats Meanwhile, Iran threatened to target the Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US sought to topple the Islamic Republic. Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. Iran's IRGC also said today that it has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation 'True Promise 4' as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States. The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. China will send Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, to the Middle East soon to work actively for the de-escalation of the tensions. IMAGE: Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2026. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters China on Thursday confirmed that it will send its Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue, Zhai Jun, to the region soon to help promote de-escalation amid the ongoing conflict in the area. Key Points China says its believes that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solutions to resolving disputes Over the past few days, China has intensively reached out to various parties, the foreign ministry spokesperson said. The Chinese move comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the country believes that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solutions to resolving disputes and that the continued escalation of the conflict serves no one's interests. "China will send Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East Issue, to the Middle East soon to work actively for the de-escalation of the tensions," she said. She added that China will continue to maintain communication with all parties involved and work with the international community to build consensus aimed at reducing tensions, adding that Beijing is "gravely concerned" over the tense situation in the Middle East and has been in close contact with several countries in recent days. "The protraction and escalation of the conflict serves no one's interest. China believes that war and force cannot solve issues once and for all, dialogue and negotiation are the right solutions, and political and diplomatic settlement of disputes and differences should be upheld. China will continue to work with all parties, including parties to the conflict, to maintain communication, further engage with other parties, and build consensus," Mao Ning said. "China is gravely concerned over the tense situation in the Middle East. Over the past few days, China has intensively reached out to various parties," she added. This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson further said that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone conversations with his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Oman, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the regional situation and during the discussions, Wang stressed that the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter should be upheld and called for rejecting the arbitrary use of force in international relations. She noted that the Chinese foreign minister also urged an immediate halt to military operations and called for an early return to dialogue and negotiations to prevent further escalation and the expansion of the conflict, and called on the parties involved to fulfil their international obligations, ensure the safety of civilians and avoid attacks on civilian infrastructure. BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the schedules for the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Thursday. At 9 a.m., the fourth session of the 14th NPC will hold its opening meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. NPC deputies will hear a government work report to be delivered by Premier Li Qiang. NPC deputies will examine a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development. NPC deputies will examine the report on the implementation of the 2025 plan for national economic and social development and on the 2026 draft plan, and the draft plan for national economic and social development in 2026. NPC deputies will examine the report on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2025 and on the draft central and local budgets for 2026, and the draft central and local budgets for 2026. NPC deputies will hear explanatory remarks on a draft environmental code, a draft law on promoting ethnic unity and progress, and a draft law on national development planning. In the afternoon, NPC delegations will hold meetings to deliberate on the government work report. In the morning, members of the CPPCC National Committee will sit in on the opening meeting of the NPC session as non-voting participants. In the afternoon, they will hold group meetings to deliberate on a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on how the proposals from political advisors have been handled. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron address escalating West Asia tensions, advocating for dialogue and diplomatic solutions to restore regional peace and stability. IMAGE: Photograph: Press Information Bureau Key Points Prime Minister Modi and President Macron discussed the escalating crisis in West Asia. Both leaders emphasised the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict. Modi and Macron agreed to coordinate efforts to restore peace and stability in the region. The conflict in West Asia has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia, and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. After his telephonic conversation with Macron, Modi said they will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region. "Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. "We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region," Modi said in a post on X. Escalation of Conflict in West Asia The conflict in West Asia began after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks targeting Israeli and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. Prime Minister Modi spoke to eight leaders of West Asia since the beginning of the military conflict, before speaking to Macron on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron address escalating West Asia tensions, advocating for dialogue and diplomatic solutions to restore regional peace and stability amid ongoing conflict. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points Prime Minister Modi and President Macron discussed the escalating crisis in West Asia and the urgent need for diplomatic solutions. Modi has spoken with eight West Asian leaders, condemning violations of sovereignty and emphasising dialogue. The conflict in West Asia has widened, with attacks and counter-attacks disrupting flight services and stranding Indians. Modi thanked West Asian leaders for ensuring the safety and well-being of the large Indian community in the region. Restoring peace and stability in West Asia through dialogue and diplomacy is crucial for regional security and the safety of Indian citizens. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia, and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. After his telephonic conversation with Macron, Modi said they will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region. "Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. "We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region," Modi said in a post on X. Escalating Conflict in West Asia The conflict in West Asia began after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks targeting Israeli and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. Diplomatic Efforts and Indian Community Concerns Prime Minister Modi spoke to eight leaders of West Asia since the beginning of the military conflict, before speaking to Macron on Thursday. The prime minister has so far spoken to the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman; Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah; Bahrain King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa; Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman; King Abdullah II of Jordan; President of UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In his phone calls with the West Asian leaders, Modi condemned the violation of their sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasised the urgent need to restore peace and stability in the region through dialogue and diplomacy, and thanked them for their continued support to ensure the safety and well-being of the Indian community living in their respective countries. Around 10 million Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia; about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, while more than 40,000 Indian nationals live in Israel. Currently, the airspace of West Asia is almost closed. With flight services disrupted due to the military escalation, hundreds of Indians are stranded in Dubai, Doha and other key airports in the region. A few flights have brought some of the stranded Indians back to the country in the last few days. A Gujarat police vehicle was attacked by a mob in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh, while investigating a liquor smuggling case, highlighting tensions and misunderstandings in the region. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points A Gujarat police vehicle was attacked by a mob in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh, during a liquor smuggling investigation. The attack was triggered by local anger over the death of a youth in Gujarat and perceived police inaction. Villagers mistakenly believed the Gujarat police team was there to make arrests related to the youth's death. One person has been arrested in connection with the stone-pelting incident, and authorities are searching for others involved. Alirajpur, bordering Gujarat, is frequently affected by alcohol smuggling cases due to Gujarat's prohibition laws. A mob pelted stones at a Gujarat police vehicle that arrived in Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh as part of a probe into a liquor smuggling case in that state, though no one was injured in the incident, an official said on Thursday. Four police personnel from Gujarat had arrived in Kattiwada area here on March 3 to probe a liquor smuggling case, Superintendent of Police Raghuvansh Kumar Singh told PTI. Incident Details and Aftermath "Villagers in the tribal-dominated area were angry over the death of a youth in Gujarat and alleged the police there had not investigated the case properly. They thought the police team had arrived to arrest them in that case. Due to this misunderstanding, some of them pelted stones at the vehicle, smashing its window. However, no Gujarat police personnel was injured," he said. Of the 20 persons who pelted stones, one has been arrested and search for others is underway, the SP informed. Gujarat is a dry state sharing a border with MP's Alirajpur district, which is frequently affected by cases of alcohol smuggling there, as per officials. A Mumbai engineering student has been arrested for disseminating online terrorist propaganda linked to banned organisations, sparking a wider investigation into online radicalisation and recruitment efforts. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI on X Key Points Mumbai engineering student Ayan Sheikh arrested by ATS for allegedly sharing terror propaganda online related to banned organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and ISIS. The ATS seized electronic devices from Sheikh, revealing audio and video clips linked to JeM chief Masood Azhar and extremist content on encrypted platforms. Sheikh allegedly attempted to recruit individuals and facilitate funding for extremist activities through online platforms. Two other engineering students are under investigation for accessing extremist material shared by Sheikh, but are not actively involved in terror activities. The ATS is investigating Sheikh's financial transactions and digital trail to identify funding channels and logistical support for extremist activities, coordinating with other state agencies. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested an engineering student from Mumbai for allegedly sharing online propaganda material linked to banned terrorist organisations, an official said here on Thursday. According the official, two other individuals are also under investigation in connection with the case. The ATS launched search operations at multiple locations in the city as part of an investigation into suspected online radicalisation linked to banned terror outfits, following which a case was registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and engineering student Ayan Sheikh was taken into custody, he said. The ATS seized electronic devices, including a laptop and mobile phones, which have been sent for forensic examination, he added. Sheikh had earlier come under the radar of investigation agencies for allegedly being associated with extremist propaganda circulating on social media and encrypted messaging platforms. Investigation Details "The ATS had received specific intelligence inputs regarding the dissemination of propaganda related to banned terror outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Islamic State. Based on the information, coordinated search operations were conducted late Monday night at premises in Kurla, Govandi and Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai," the official said. During the examination of Sheikh's devices, investigators allegedly found several audio and video clips linked to JeM chief Masood Azhar, he said. "Sheikh was active on encrypted messaging platforms and Telegram channels where extremist content was circulated. Multiple chats were also recovered, suggesting attempts to promote terrorist recruitment. He allegedly shared extremist material, attempted to recruit individuals and may have been involved in facilitating funding for extremist activities," the official said. Recruitment Attempts and Further Investigation The ATS also found that Sheikh had allegedly tried to influence two other youths, both engineering students and his close friends, by exposing them to radical content and adding them to Telegram groups carrying propaganda of JeM and ISIS, the official informed. During coordinated raids in Govandi and Kurla, officials found the two youths had accessed extremist material shared by Sheikh. However, investigators said they were not actively involved in any terror-related activities, adding that their statements have been recorded as part of the ongoing probe. Sheikh was questioned for several hours, during which he reportedly revealed suspicious communications with foreign handlers and individuals linked to banned terror organisations, including JeM and ISIS, the official said. According to sources, several foreign nationals and suspected facilitators were part of these encrypted messaging groups, believed to be associated with sleeper networks and recruitment cells. Officials further noted that several youths and individuals from different states across India were active members of these encrypted groups. Records show they frequently exchanged extremist content, guidance on radicalisation and instructions related to recruiting new members, they added. Investigators are currently analysing digital footprints to map the network involved, identify individuals undergoing radicalisation and trace operational links with possible local sleeper cells, he said. "Digital evidence and communication records have also been shared with agencies in other states to coordinate a wider investigation and prevent potential recruitment at the local level. The ATS is also probing Sheikh's financial transactions and digital trail to identify funding channels and logistical support allegedly used for extremist activities," he said. The accused will be produced before a special court in Mumbai on Friday, he said, adding further arrests in the case cannot be ruled out as the investigation progresses. A man accused of murdering a 12-year-old boy in Ranchi, Jharkhand, was found dead in police custody, prompting an investigation and the suspension of several police officers. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI on X Key Points Jagai Munda, accused of murdering a 12-year-old boy, allegedly died by suicide in police custody in Ranchi. Five policemen have been suspended following the incident at Namkum police station, and departmental proceedings are recommended against two others. Munda allegedly kidnapped and murdered the boy after the boy's mother ended their illicit relationship. The boy's mother filed a police report, leading to Munda's arrest and the subsequent recovery of the boy's body based on Munda's confession. An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding Munda's death in police custody. A man, accused of killing a 12-year-old boy, allegedly hanged himself in police custody in Jharkhand's Ranchi district on Thursday, officials said. Following the incident, Ranchi SSP suspended five policemen, while departmental proceedings have been recommended against two. The deceased has been identified as Jagai Munda (45), a resident of Saiko in Khunti district. The incident took place at Namkum police station. Munda's body has been sent for post-mortem examination at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). DSP and Ranchi police spokesperson Amar Pandey said, "A probe committee has been formed to investigate the matter. The deceased was accused of killing a 12-year-old boy." According to police, Munda hanged himself with the help of a blanket cover that had been given to him in view of the mild cold. Munda had an alleged illicit relationship with a 32-year-old woman, the mother of 12-year-old boy, in Khunti for about six years, according to a police statement. After Munda's wife came to know about her husband's illicit relationship, the woman stopped meeting him. Munda had a quarrel with the woman on March 1 near BIT Mesra railway track, and he had threatened her that he would kill her son if she avoided him, the statement said. Munda kidnapped her son on March 2 and took him to Bhuiyandih forest, where he strangulated the boy to death, it added. The boy's mother lodged an FIR with Namkum police station on March 3, alleging that her son was kidnapped by Munda to take revenge. Based on the FIR, Munda was arrested, and based on his confession, the boy's body was recovered. Action has also been initiated against Namkum police station in-charge, the police statement said. Seven students from a Maharashtra hostel face charges of sexual abuse against their juniors, while the hostel superintendent is also implicated for allegedly neglecting to address the reported incidents. Key Points Seven Class X students in a Maharashtra hostel are accused of sexually abusing junior students. The hostel superintendent has been booked for allegedly failing to act on reports of the abuse. The accused students allegedly gave sedatives to younger students before committing the acts. The abuse is alleged to have been ongoing for seven months before being reported. An inquiry is being conducted by the Child Welfare Committee, and the accused students have been sent to a remand home. Seven Class X students of a hostel run by the Maharashtra social welfare department in Igatpuri in Nashik have been booked for allegedly sexually abusing some of their juniors, an official said on Thursday. The superintendent of the hostel too has been booked in the case filed under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Igatpuri police station on March 3, he added. "A case has been filed against seven Class X students and the hostel superintendent, while an inquiry is being carried out by the Child Welfare Committee," district collector Ayush Prasad said. As per sources, the seven Class students are accused of giving sedatives to those from Class V-VII staying in the same hostel and then indulging in unnatural acts. "The ordeal was underway since the last seven months but no one had come forward to complain out of fear. However, we found that the victims had informed hostel superintendent Sushant Dudhsagare, who did not take cognisance. Therefore, he too has been named in the case," an official said. Investigation and Aftermath After the incident came to light, Zilla Parishad Social Welfare Department in-charge officer Dr Sanjay Shinde and his team visited the spot, held an inquiry and submitted its report to the ZP CEO, who has been asked to probe further, the official said. The seven students have been sent to a remand home, a police official said. Nepal's general election, the first since the Gen Z protests, sees over 18.9 million voters heading to the polls to elect the House of Representatives amid heightened security and calls for anti-corruption and good governance. IMAGE: People queue to vote as a member of the Nepal police stands guard at a polling station during the general election in Damak, Jhapa district, Nepal. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Key Points Nepalese citizens are participating in the first general election since the Gen Z protests that led to the ouster of the K P Sharma Oli government. Over 18.9 million Nepalese are eligible to vote for the 275-member House of Representatives. The election addresses key issues raised by Gen Z, including anti-corruption and good governance. Voting is taking place in all 165 constituencies across Nepal amid tight security measures. Nepalese citizens on Thursday morning started to reach polling booths in all 165 constituencies amid tight security to cast their vote in the crucial general election, the first since a violent Gen Z protest that toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government last year. More than 18.9 million eligible Nepalese will be exercising their franchise to elect the 275-member House of Representatives from among the 3,406 candidates vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates vying for 110 seats through proportionate voting. The voting started at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. The counting will start immediately after the ballot boxes are collected. IMAGE: A woman votes at a polling station in Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur, Nepal. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters "Voting started in all the constituencies, including the southern plains, hilly area and the mountain region at 7 am," Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said. "The election started in a peaceful environment across the country," he added. Addressing a press meet in Kathmandu on the eve of the polls, Acting Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari on Wednesday had said that all preparations for the election had been completed and urged voters to participate actively and enthusiastically in the democratic exercise. In Kathmandu, the weather was fine, sky was clear and people were enthusiastically queuing up to cast their votes. IMAGE: Women vote at a polling station during the general election in Kathmandu. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters Gen Z Protest in Nepal The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9, ousted Prime Minister Oli, chair of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified MarxistLeninist -- CPN-UML -- who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support. After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM. The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc. IMAGE: Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician and the prime ministerial candidate for Rastriya Swatantra Party, votes during the general election in Kathmandu. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters Nepal Election Preparations Starting Wednesday, Nepal has declared a three-day holiday for the polls. There are a total of 10,967 polling booths and 23,112 polling centres, the Election Commission data showed. As many as 65 political parties are taking part in the election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for an immediate end to the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine, highlighting the need for diplomatic solutions and peace during discussions with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo Key Points Prime Minister Modi advocates for a swift resolution to conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy. India and Finland agree that military confrontation alone cannot resolve international issues. India and Finland are establishing a strategic partnership focused on digitalisation and sustainability. The India-EU free trade agreement is expected to strengthen trade and technology cooperation between India and Finland. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a "swift end" to the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine, saying no issue can be resolved through military confrontation. Modi made the remarks after holding wide-ranging talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. "India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone," he said. "Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," Modi said in his media statement. India-Finland Strategic Partnership In the talks, the two sides also agreed to accord India-Finland relations in digitalisation and sustainability as a strategic partnership. "This partnership, from AI to 6G telecom, from clean energy to quantum computing, will give momentum and energy to our cooperation in many high-tech areas," he said. Boosting Trade Ties Modi said the India-EU free trade agreement will bolster trade ties between India and Finland. "This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland," he said. Finnish President Stubb began a four-day visit to India on Wednesday with an aim to shore up bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade, investment and critical technology. Pakistan asserts its military operation 'Ghazab lil Haq' in Afghanistan has successfully achieved its objectives, demanding an end to Afghan support for anti-Pakistan terrorism. IMAGE: Photograph: Saeed Ali Achakzai/Reuters Key Points Pakistan claims to have achieved its targets in 'Operation Ghazab lil Haq' against Afghanistan after attacks on border locations. Pakistan demands Afghanistan prevent its soil from being used for terrorism, particularly by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistani officials report killing 481 Afghan Taliban personnel and destroying numerous check posts and military equipment. Pakistan launched air strikes into Afghanistan following claims of large-scale offensive operations against Pakistani military positions. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated significantly since October, leading to open conflict. Pakistan launched 'Operation Ghazab lil Haq' last week after the Afghan Taliban forces attacked 53 locations along the more than 2,600 kms long border. "Pakistan's targets in Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in Afghanistan have almost been achieved and are being fortified now," PM's political adviser Rana Sanaullah said. He told a private news channel that Pakistan's "only demand from Afghanistan was that it should not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against us". The adviser said Pakistan wants Afghanistan to immediately renounce support for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). "If the Taliban government does so, we have no fight with it," Sanaullah said. Casualties and Damage Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan's armed forces killed 481 Afghan Taliban personnel so far. "As of March 4, security forces have killed 481 and injured over 696 Afghan Taliban personnel, destroyed 226 check posts, and captured 35 posts," he said in a post on X. Some 198 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns have been destroyed, while 56 locations across Afghanistan have been effectively targeted by air, he added. Escalating Tensions Last Thursday, Pakistan launched air strikes into Afghanistan following the latter's claim that it had carried out large-scale offensive operations against Pakistani military positions and installations on the border shared by the two countries. Afghanistan had claimed killing dozens of Pakistani soldiers in the attacks and destroying 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases. Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad is waging "open war" against Afghanistan for allowing the TTP fighters to use its soil against Pakistan. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 2,611-kilometre-long border, have nose-dived since October. In a significant escalation, Pakistani security forces have launched coordinated strikes against militant positions along the Afghan border, targeting Afghan Taliban and TTP hideouts in response to recent attacks. IMAGE: Photograph: Saeed Ali Achakzai/Reuters Key Points Pakistani security forces launched coordinated ground and aerial strikes against militant positions along the Afghanistan border. The strikes targeted 41 militant posts linked to the Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The operations were conducted in border areas adjacent to Chaman, Zhob, Qila Saifullah and Noshki sectors. Pakistan launched 'Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq' in response to attacks on 53 locations along the border. The Pakistani military reports significant casualties and material losses inflicted on the militants. Security forces carried out coordinated ground and aerial strikes against militant positions along the border with Afghanistan in southwest Pakistan, targeting dozens of posts used by the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij militants, officials said Thursday. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to security officials, the Pakistan Army conducted effective ground and air operations during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, striking 41 militant posts linked to Afghan Taliban elements and Fitna al-Khawarij. Both light and heavy weapons were used during the operations. The strikes were carried out in border areas adjacent to the Chaman, Zhob, Qila Saifullah and Noshki sectors, where militant hideouts and posts were targeted, officials said. Initial reports indicate that the militants suffered significant casualties and material losses as a result of the operations. Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq Security officials reaffirmed that the operations are part of 'Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq,' adding that the actions will continue until the complete achievement of the predetermined objectives. Pakistan launched 'Operation Ghazab lil Haq' last week after the Afghan Taliban forces attacked 53 locations along the 2,611 kms long border. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have nose-dived since October last. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Sirens and loud blasts were heard in Tel Aviv before dawn on Thursday as the Israeli military announced that its air defense systems were working to intercept a missile attack from Iran. The attack activated air raid sirens in other parts of central Israel and the occupied West Bank. Less than an hour earlier, the military said that its warplanes started striking Hezbollah sites in Beirut as the U.S.-Israeli joint military campaign against Iran, now on its sixth day, continues to exacerbate tensions across the region. Nirav Modi's brothers, Neeshal and Nehal Modi, are facing notices from a special court in Mumbai as authorities seek to declare them fugitive economic offenders in connection with the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. IMAGE: Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Key Points A special court has issued notices to Neeshal and Nehal Modi, brothers of Nirav Modi, regarding their potential designation as fugitive economic offenders in the PNB scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested the court to declare Nirav Modi's brothers as fugitive economic offenders under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. Neeshal and Nehal Modi are accused of assisting Nirav Modi in moving and concealing funds through fraudulent companies and overseas transactions. Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of over Rs 23,780 crore using fraudulent financial instruments. Nehal Modi was arrested in the US and is fighting extradition, while Nirav Modi is jailed in London and Mehul Choksi faces extradition proceedings in Belgium. A special court here has issued notices to absconding diamond businessman Nirav Modi's brothers, asking them to explain why they should not be officially declared a "fugitive economic offender" (FEO) in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. The notices were issued to Neeshal and Nehal Modi by special court judge A V Gujarathi, hearing cases filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), on Wednesday in wake of the Enforcement Directorate's pleas to declare them fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act. Senior executives of Nirav Modi's firm, Aditya Nanavati and Sandeep Mistry, also facing FEO proceedings, have also been served with similar notices. They have been asked to respond by May 7. Once a person is declared an FEO, his assets can be attached or confiscated. Allegations Against Nirav Modi's Brothers Nehal Modi helped Nirav move and hide large amounts of money through fake companies and overseas transactions, the ED has claimed. Neeshal Modi was involved in the appointment of dummy partners and was a signatory or a beneficiary in some Dubai-based dummy companies between 2011 and 2013, an ED charge-sheet alleged. Nehal Modi was arrested in the US in 2025, and is fighting the extradition proceedings initiated against him by the ED and CBI. The PNB Scam Absconding diamond businessman Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of siphoning off over Rs 23,780 crore from the PNB using fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) by bribing its officials. The special court had in 2019 declared Nirav Modi an FEO, while ED's similar plea against Choksi is still pending. Currently, Choksi is facing extradition proceedings in Belgium, while Nirav Modi is lodged in a London jail. A Rajasthani sailor is missing after a tanker was struck near Oman amid the West Asia crisis, leaving his family in deep anxiety as search operations continue. Key Points Rajasthani sailor Dalip Singh is missing after an oil tanker was attacked near Khasab Port, Oman. The family is anxiously awaiting official confirmation as search operations continue for the missing sailor. Another crew member from Bihar, Ashish Kumar, was identified among the casualties of the tanker attack. Fellow crew members have indicated the possibility of Dalip Singh's death, but the family is holding onto hope. Dalip Singh was the sole earning member of his family, and his marriage was being planned for his next visit home. Anxiety and grief have gripped the family of a Rajasthani sailor who went missing when a privacy company oil tanker was struck near Oman amid the escalating West Asia crisis. They are clinging to fainting hope while also bracing up for possibility of the worst. Dalip Singh, a resident of Khinwatana village in Nagaur district, has been untraceable since March 1 when the ship was struck near Khasab Port off Oman. Singh had got back to duty on the vessel on January 22 and was in the forward section of the ship along with another crew member, Ashish Kumar from Bihar, at the time of the attack. Kumar's body has been identified, while Dalip's whereabouts are still unknown, a family member said. With every passing hour, anticipation is building in the quiet village as relatives gather at the family home, offering comfort while awaiting official confirmation. "I received a call from the Indian Embassy today. The officer informed us that Ashish Kumar has been identified but the search for Dalip is still going on," Dalip's cousin Devendra Singh told PTI. "We also spoke to company officials. They said the search operation is still on," he said. However, a fellow crew member from a nearby village who was on the same vessel, Sunil Kumar, indicated that Dalip may have also died in the attack. "Sunil has given us indications that Dalip might also have died, but until we get official confirmation, we are still holding on to hope," Devendra said, adding that the family has begun preparing itself for a possible tragedy. Dalip's mother has been inconsolable since the news of the attack reached the village, while his father, a heart patient with poor eyesight, has been struggling to cope with the uncertainty. Dalip's younger brother Manoj is currently in college and preparing for competitive examinations. According to the family, Dalip had returned home after nearly a year and had only recently got back to duty on January 22. "Dalip was the sole earning member of the family. We had begun discussing his marriage and were planning to conduct it by his next visit to the village," Devendra Singh said. Veteran politician Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Parth Pawar are set to contest Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, highlighting the Pawar family's continued influence in Indian politics. IMAGE: Parth Pawar. Photograph: Courtesy, @parthajitpawar/X Key Points Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Parth Pawar are both contesting Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, representing rival political camps. If elected, this would be the first time Sharad Pawar and Parth Pawar serve in Parliament concurrently. The Pawar family's political influence is evident with multiple members holding key positions, including Sunetra Pawar as feputy chief minister and Supriya Sule as a Lok Sabha MP. Sharad Pawar is the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) nominee, while Parth Pawar has been fielded by the ruling NCP. The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra will see competition for seven seats, with the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP vying for representation. Two members of Maharashtra's politically influential Pawar family are set to become Rajya Sabha members from the state at the same time with veteran politician Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Parth, son of late Ajit Pawar, being in the fray from the rival camps. Both of them filed their nominations for the March 16 elections to the Upper House of Parliament in Mumbai on Thursday. While Sharad Pawar, 85, is the chief of the NCP-SP, Parth has been fielded by the ruling NCP. If elected, it would mark the first instance of the senior Pawar and his grandnephew serving simultaneously in Parliament. Interestingly, Parth's mother Sunetra Pawar, who is now the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and also the NCP president, continues to be a member of the Rajya Sabha as she has not tendered her resignation yet, while Sharad Pawar's daughter and NCP-SP working president Supriya Sule is a Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, the family's home turf. Parth's father Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, died in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Sharad Pawar's Nomination and Political Background Sharad Pawar, who was the chief minister of Maharashtra four times and also served as the defence minister and agriculture minister at the Centre in the past, has been fielded as a nominee of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The decision to field him, announced by AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday, ended days of speculation about the MVA candidate as all three allies -- Congress, NCP-SP and Shiv Sena-UBT -- had staked claim to the lone seat the bloc can win given their strength in the assembly. Parth Pawar's Political Journey and Controversies Parth had earlier tried his electoral luck in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the Maval constituency, which spans across both Pune and Raigad districts, but failed to win. He was recently in the news after a controversial land deal in Pune's Mundhwa sparked outrage. The Rs 300-crore deal to sell the 40-acre land parcel to Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth holds 99 per cent stakes, came under the scanner after it emerged that the land belongs to the government, and the firm was exempted from paying the stamp duty. The deal was subsequently cancelled. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Supriya Sule had defeated Sunetra Pawar in the Baramati constituency. Sunetra was later elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. However, after the death of her husband Ajit Pawar in the plane crash, she was sworn in as deputy CM of the state, and was also elected as the NCP president. During the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, Ajit Pawar had sought support for his wife by appealing to voters to vote for a "Pawar" in Baramati, while Sharad Pawar had retaliated, describing daughter Sule as the "original Pawar" and suggesting that Sunetra was an outsider. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split after Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti government of BJP and Shiv Sena in July 2023. Rajya Sabha Election Dynamics in Maharashtra In the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls for seven seats from Maharashtra, the BJP can secure three seats comfortably and contend for a fourth. The Shiv Sena can secure one seat and would have surplus votes thereafter. The NCP can also ensure the election of one member. The MVA's combined tally translates into the assured election of one candidate. By this arithmetic, the Mahayuti alliance can win six of the seven seats, subject to cross-voting or strategic transfers under the preferential voting system. In Mangaluru, six individuals were arrested for allegedly selling narcotics like MDMA and hydro weed to college students, leading to a police investigation into a larger drug trafficking network. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points Six individuals have been arrested in Mangaluru for allegedly selling drugs to college students and young women. Police seized MDMA and hydro weed ganja in raids conducted at a lodge and near Bunder area. A Mumbai-based man working in Dubai is suspected of arranging the transport of hydro weed to Bengaluru. The drugs were allegedly transported from Bengaluru to Mangaluru and distributed to youths. Cases have been registered under the NDPS Act, and further investigation is ongoing to uncover the full extent of the drug trafficking network. Police in Mangaluru, Karnataka, have arrested six individuals in two separate cases for allegedly selling narcotic substances to college students and young women in the city. In the first case, police raided a room at a lodge on Badria Road under Mangaluru South police station limits and arrested four accused who were allegedly selling drugs from the premises. The arrested have been identified as Mohammed Syed Afridi (26), Maksood Saag (23), Ahmed Ali Arshan (22) and Felix P Joseph (20). Police seized 53.87 grams of MDMA, 103.20 grams of hydro weed ganja and a car from them. Drug Trafficking Investigation According to police, in another case registered at Mangaluru North police station, two persons -- Edal Roch (33) and Aaron Vishal Lasrado (18) -- were arrested near Bunder while allegedly selling ganja and hydro weed. Police recovered 60 grams of hydro weed, 1 kg 155 grams of ganja and a car from them. Preliminary investigation revealed that a Mumbai-based man identified as Sandeep Shetty, who works as a manager at a hotel in Dubai, allegedly arranged for hydro weed to be transported by air to Bengaluru, a senior police officer said. From the airport, a man identified as Edal Roch allegedly transported the contraband to locations specified by Shetty. The drugs were later supplied through Saag to Afridi and Arshan, who allegedly brought them to Mangaluru in their vehicle and sold them to youths. Cases have been registered under relevant provisions of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act and further investigation is underway. Amidst rising regional tensions, Sri Lanka is weighing its options after a second Iranian ship seeks entry into its waters following a reported US submarine attack on an Iranian frigate off the coast of Galle IMAGE: An explosion on what the US Department of Defense says is an Iranian warship, at the sea, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 4, 2026. Photograph: Department of Defence/Reuters Key Points The Iranian ship had 208 personnel on board, including 53 officers, 84 cadets and 48 senior sailors, all of whom were evacuated after the ship was allowed to dock. Sri Lankan president said the country won't succumb to pressure and it will maintain neutrality. Sri Lanka is focused on safeguarding lives, resolving the issue, and protecting regional peace amidst escalating tensions. The Iranian ship requested emergency assistance and is currently located in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Injured crew members from the torpedoed ship are receiving treatment in Galle, while inquests are being conducted on the deceased sailors. Sri Lanka on Thursday allowed a second Iranian ship to dock at the eastern port of Trincomalee and evacuated all 208 personnel on board, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after another Iranian frigate was sunk near the island nation. In a televised address, Dissanayake said the vessel, IRINS Bushehr, had sought permission to enter Sri Lankan waters, citing an engine failure. "We wanted to remain neutral while dealing with a humanitarian response," he said, adding that Sri Lanka's role was limited to responding to a request from one party involved in the conflict. "No one deserves to die. Every life is precious," the President said. He also criticised opposition parties for attempting to politicise the situation. "We won't succumb to pressure. We will maintain our neutrality," Dissanayake said. According to the President, the ship had 208 personnel on board, comprising 53 officers, 84 cadets, 48 senior sailors and 23 seamen, all of whom were evacuated after the ship was allowed to dock. Earlier in the day, government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa had told Parliament that a second Iranian ship was waiting in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Panadura after seeking emergency assistance. He was responding to a query by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. Jayathissa had said the government was deliberating on the appropriate course of action while seeking to safeguard lives and maintain regional stability. Sri Lanka's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coastline and belong fully to the country. Further, from 12 to 200 nautical miles is the EEZ, where international maritime laws apply, but Sri Lanka mainly has rights related to economic activities, not military operations, he explained. The ship, according to Jayathissa, awaits in EEZ close to the maritime boundary but out of its territorial waters. The development comes a day after Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle, the island's southern coastal town. The injured crew members rescued from the ship are currently receiving treatment in hospitals in Galle. "They have lacerations, one of them has a leg fracture and another needs hip treatment," a health official said on condition of anonymity. The inquests on the 84 bodies of the perished Iranian sailors would be conducted on Thursday at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, where the injured are receiving treatment. The ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam in India after a naval fleet review exercise. While the Sri Lankan Navy refused to give reasons as to what caused the vessel to make a distress plea, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in international waters. On Wednesday, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had told Parliament that an emergency message was received by the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard at 5:08 am regarding a sinking ship named IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles off Galle. Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said, "We are only concerned about our obligation to rescue them as first responders under international maritime obligations." The US and Israel have launched a massive joint attack on Iran since February 28. The war has extended to almost the entire Gulf region with Iran's retaliation. Amidst escalating regional tensions, Sri Lanka has permitted a second Iranian ship to dock at its port, citing humanitarian reasons after an Iranian frigate was sunk in nearby waters. IMAGE: All photographs: Ramesh Menon Key Points Sri Lanka allowed the Iranian ship IRINS Bushehr to dock at Trincomalee port due to reported engine failure, citing humanitarian reasons. The decision follows the sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle, with Sri Lanka recovering 84 bodies of Iranian sailors. Sri Lanka emphasises its neutrality in the conflict while adhering to international maritime obligations for rescue operations. The US War Secretary claimed a US submarine sank the Iranian warship in international waters, escalating regional tensions. Sri Lanka is providing medical treatment to injured Iranian crew members and conducting inquests on the deceased sailors. Sri Lanka on Thursday allowed a second Iranian ship to dock at the eastern port of Trincomalee and evacuated all 208 personnel on board, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after another Iranian frigate was sunk near the island nation. In a televised address, Dissanayake said the vessel, IRINS Bushehr, had sought permission to enter Sri Lankan waters, citing an engine failure. "We wanted to remain neutral while dealing with a humanitarian response," he said, adding that Sri Lanka's role was limited to responding to a request from one party involved in the conflict. "No one deserves to die. Every life is precious," the President said. He also criticised opposition parties for attempting to politicise the situation. "We won't succumb to pressure. We will maintain our neutrality," Dissanayake said. According to the President, the ship had 208 personnel on board, comprising 53 officers, 84 cadets, 48 senior sailors and 23 seamen, all of whom were evacuated after the ship was allowed to dock. Earlier in the day, government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa had told Parliament that a second Iranian ship was waiting in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Panadura after seeking emergency assistance. He was responding to a query by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. Jayathissa had said the government was deliberating on the appropriate course of action while seeking to safeguard lives and maintain regional stability. Sri Lanka's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coastline and belong fully to the country. Further, from 12 to 200 nautical miles is the EEZ, where international maritime laws apply, but Sri Lanka mainly has rights related to economic activities, not military operations, he explained. The ship, according to Jayathissa, awaits in EEZ close to the maritime boundary but out of its territorial waters. Aftermath of Frigate Sinking The development comes a day after Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle, the island's southern coastal town. The injured crew members rescued from the ship are currently receiving treatment in hospitals in Galle. "They have lacerations, one of them has a leg fracture and another needs hip treatment," a health official said on condition of anonymity. The inquests on the 84 bodies of the perished Iranian sailors would be conducted on Thursday at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, where the injured are receiving treatment. The ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam in India after a naval fleet review exercise. While the Sri Lankan Navy refused to give reasons as to what caused the vessel to make a distress plea, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in international waters. On Wednesday, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had told Parliament that an emergency message was received by the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard at 5:08 am regarding a sinking ship named IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles off Galle. Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said, "We are only concerned about our obligation to rescue them as first responders under international maritime obligations." Escalating Regional Conflict The US and Israel have launched a massive joint attack on Iran since February 28. The war has extended to almost the entire Gulf region with Iran's retaliation. Amidst rising tensions, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urges a negotiated settlement with Iran while reinforcing Britain's defensive presence in West Asia with additional military deployments. IMAGE: Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters Key Points Keir Starmer advocates for a negotiated settlement with Iran to address nuclear ambitions, prioritising diplomatic solutions. The UK is deploying additional Typhoon jets and Wildcat Helicopters to Qatar and Cyprus to bolster defensive capabilities in West Asia. Starmer affirms the 'special relationship' with the US, highlighting ongoing collaboration and intelligence sharing despite differing approaches. The UK began pre-deploying assets to the region in January and February to protect its citizens and maintain a defensive stance. Repatriation flights for stranded British nationals from Oman have commenced, with additional flights planned. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for a negotiated settlement with Iran, the target of US and Israeli air strikes, as he deployed a further set of fighter jets to West Asia to bolster the UK's "defensive operations". Addressing reporters from Downing Street in London, Starmer reiterated his stance against the UK joining the strikes on Tehran and said he remained focussed on providing "calm, level-headed leadership" in favour of Britain's national interest. "No matter the pressure to do otherwise, the longstanding British position is that the best way forward for the region and the world is a negotiated settlement with Iran, where they give up their nuclear ambitions," Starmer said in his address. "That's why I took the decision that the UK would not join the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. That decision was deliberate. It was in the national interest a and I stand by it. UK Bolsters Defensive Operations "I can announce today, that we are sending four additional Typhoonajetsato join our squadron in Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region. Wildcat Helicopters with anti-drone capabilities are arriving in Cyprus tomorrow (Friday)," he said. These planes would be in addition to the Royal Air Force (RAF) jets already over Jordan, Qatar and other allies in the region, offering refuelling facilities in the air to prolong their defence mission. UK-US Relations Remain Strong Asked about US President Donald Trump's repeated criticisms of the delay in allowing the use of British bases, the UK PM insisted the "special relationship" remains firm. He said: "We're working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region. The US and the British working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where we're jointly located and we're sharing intelligence on a 24/7 basis in the usual way. "That is the special relationship in operation. And clearly it's for the President to take decisions that he considers in the national interest, the right decisions for the US, I understand that, I respect that, but equally it's for me the British Prime Minister to take decisions I consider to be in the best decisions of the United Kingdom." Starmer also stressed that the UK had begun pre-deploying its assets to the region in January and February, in conjunction with the US and other allies, as part of its defensive stance. "Therefore, I can say we are doing everything we can and have done everything we can at speed to make sure that we are properly protecting our citizens, which is my number one concern," he said. The PM also confirmed that the UK's first charter flight to repatriate stranded British nationals from Oman took off on Thursday, a day later than planned, with plans to lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. A Delhi court is seeking clarification in the child custody battle involving Viktoriaa Basu, a Russian woman accused of illegally fleeing India with her child, highlighting international legal complexities and parental rights. IMAGE: Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points Delhi court seeks clarification on forged documents in Viktoriaa Basu's child custody case. Viktoriaa Basu is accused of illegally leaving India with her child and entering Nepal. The court is investigating travel details and alleged assistance from Russian Embassy officials. Non-bailable warrants were issued against Viktoriaa Basu, but their execution is pending. The Supreme Court had previously ruled on custody arrangements before Viktoriaa Basu's disappearance with the child. A Delhi court has sought clarification from the investigating officer in the child custody case involving Viktoriaa Basu, a Russian woman accused of illegally leaving India with her minor child and allegedly entering Nepal through a jungle route. Viktoriaa is currently in the middle of a child custody battle with her estranged Indian husband, Saikat Basu. Judicial Magistrate First Class Seema Nirmal directed the investigating officer (IO) to file a supplementary chargesheet and clarify the details regarding the alleged forged documents used in the case against Viktoriaa. The court was informed that during the investigation, letters were sent to authorities in Nepal and Russia seeking immigration and travel details of Victoriaa and her minor child. The court noted in its order dated February 28 that as per police records, "The Nepal authorities provided certain immigration and travel details. As per their report, Viktoriaa Basu and the minor child entered Nepal on July 11, 2025, at Birgunj, and their port of arrival has been shown as from Russia. However, Birgunj is a land port adjacent to the Indian border." According to the police investigation, the woman and the child had entered Nepal on July 8, 2025, with the assistance of a co-accused, Samir Ansari, through a jungle route, the court noted. The court was also informed that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) reported no travel records of Victoriaa after April 9, 2023, while no travel details of the minor child could be traced since his birth on January 29, 2020. Russian authorities, meanwhile, said the woman and the child were not traceable. The investigating officer told the court that non-bailable warrants had been issued against Viktoriaa on March 10, 2023, which were forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs for execution, but no report regarding their execution had been received so far. Observing that certain clarifications were required regarding the alleged forged documents, the court directed the police to file a supplementary chargesheet and fixed the matter for the next hearing on April 25. Background of the Custody Battle Viktoriaa, who came to India in 2019 after getting married to Saikat Basu, moved the court in 2023 to seek full custody of her child following the breakdown of their marriage. In May 2025, the Supreme Court directed that the exclusive custody of the child be given to the mother for three days in a week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and for the remaining days, the child was directed to remain in the exclusive custody of his father. In July 2025, Saikat Basu informed the court that Viktoriaa had disappeared with the child. The apex court directed Delhi Police to trace their whereabouts and sought the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a lookout notice to ensure that they do not leave the country. The court was later informed that Viktoriaa had left the country through the Nepal border and took a flight to Russia via Sharjah. Allegations of Russian Embassy Involvement Police had earlier submitted "clear evidence" to the court on the role of two Russian Embassy officials, Albert Shtoda and Arthur Gerbst, in arranging a vehicle for Victoriaa to help her flee the country. The Russian Embassy has firmly denied any role in Viktoriaa's escape. The details of the conversation between the two foreign ministers are not immediately disclosed, even as India urged all sides to exercise restraint and prioritise civilian safety. IMAGE: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting, in Tianjin, China, July 15, 2025. Photograph: @DrSJaishankar X/ANI Photo External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi amid escalating conflict in West Asia. Key Points India on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict in Iran and the Gulf region, urging all sides to exercise restraint. India reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict, emphasising the need for peace and stability in the region. The call between the two ministers comes amid rising tensions in West Asia, particularly following a US-Israel military offensive against Iran. In a post on X, Jaishankar said he had a telecon with the Iranian foreign minister during the afternoon. "Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon," Jaishankar said. Further details of the conversation were not immediately disclosed. India on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict in Iran and the Gulf region, urging all sides to exercise restraint and prioritise civilian safety. The situation has deteriorated significantly, with increased violence and disruptions to normal life. There are almost one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region. Their safety and well-being are of utmost priority. We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them, said the Ministry of External Affairs press release. "India's trade and energy supply chains are at risk due to the conflict. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy. As a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days," said the release. India reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict, emphasising the need for peace and stability in the region. "India strongly reiterates its call for dialogue and diplomacy. We raise our voice clearly in favour of an early end to the conflict. Already, many lives have been regrettably lost and we express our grief in that regard." Araghchi currently serves as the Foreign Minister of Iran and has been engaged in diplomatic outreach with several countries on regional and global developments. The call between the two ministers comes amid rising tensions in West Asia, particularly following a US-Israel military offensive against Iran. In earlier conversations with Araghchi, Jaishankar conveyed India's "deep concern" over the developments in Iran and the wider region, reiterating the need for diplomacy rather than escalation. India has consistently advocated dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts in West Asia, given the region's importance for global energy markets and regional stability. Regional tensions have prompted security advisories for Indian nationals in parts of West Asia, with the government closely monitoring the situation. India has a large diaspora across West Asia, making stability in the region a key diplomatic priority. Actress Soha Ali Khan's recent visit to the Maharashtra government headquarters and a cryptic podcast teaser have ignited speculation about why she visited Mantralaya. IMAGE: Soha Ali Khan, right. with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Madhuri Satish Misal at Mantralaya, March 4, 2026. Photograph: Kind courtesy Soha Ali Khan/Instagram Key Points Soha Ali Khan's visit to Mantralaya sparked speculation about her upcoming podcast guests. The actress hinted at hosting two 'very important men' on her podcast, leading to guesses about their identities. Possibilities for podcast guests include Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Saif Ali Khan, and Kunal Khemu. Soha revealed her involvement in the PULSE 2026 health initiative alongside Chief Minister Fadnavis. Actress Soha Ali Khan set off a wave of speculation after she was spotted at the Maharashtra government headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday, prompting many to wonder what brought her to the usually politician-dominated corridors of Mantralaya. Speculation over visit to Mantralaya Images and videos of Soha entering Mantralay quickly circulated on social media, leading to questions about whether the visit was related to a government event, a collaboration, or joining politics or even a possible appearance by political leaders on her podcast. IMAGE: Soha Ali Khan at Mantralaya, March 4, 2026. Photograph: Kind courtesy Soha Ali Khan/Instagram Adding to the intrigue, Soha later posted a video on her Instagram account hinting that she would soon host two 'very important men' on her podcast this Friday. The teaser left fans and followers guessing about the identity of the guests. Among the possibilities being discussed online are Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, raising the prospect of a rare joint appearance by two of the state's most powerful political figures on a celebrity-hosted show. For now, however, the identity of the guests remains a mystery. Soha Ali Khan and the PULSE 2026 Initiative Soon after her visit, Soha shared a photograph with Chief Minister Fadnavis on social media, shedding some light on at least part of her visit to Mantralaya. In the post, she emphasised the importance of healthcare access and her involvement in a public health initiative. 'Health has always mattered to me. The ability to live with dignity, opportunity and hope begins with access to good health and that should be for everyone,' Soha posted. IMAGE: Soha Ali Khan with Chief Minister Fadnavis, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Madhuri Misal and others at Mantralaya, March 4, 2026. Photograph: Kind courtesy Soha Ali Khan/Instagram Soha revealed that she was participating in the curtain-raiser event for PULSE 2026, a health-focused initiative. She said she was grateful to be part of the launch event and to unveil the PULSE plaque alongside Chief Minister Fadnavis and Minister of State Madhuri Misal. While the Mantralaya visit appears linked to the health initiative, the suspense around the' two very important men' she plans to host on her podcast continues to keep folks guessing. The answer may become clear when the episode airs later this week. BEIRUT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army on Thursday issued an unprecedented order for residents in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately, marking the first full evacuation of the area. The Israeli military also warned residents not to head to southern Lebanon, saying any movement in that direction could endanger their lives, adding that they would be informed when it is safe to return to their homes. Amid rising tensions, Lebanon's Cabinet approved measures to prevent activity by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country, Information Minister Paul Morcos said. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam instructed authorities to prepare for the deportation of any IRGC members found in Lebanon and reinstated a visa requirement for Iranian nationals. Israeli airstrikes continued across southern Lebanon on Thursday. From Monday to Wednesday, Lebanon's Public Health Ministry reported at least 77 dead and 527 wounded, with figures still rising. Hezbollah said its fighters launched rocket barrages at Israeli positions, adding that clashes in Khiam, a Lebanese town along the southern border, forced Israeli troops to withdraw. The group resumed rocket attacks on Israeli targets shortly after Israel and the United States began strikes against Iran. Israel has vowed powerful retaliation against the Lebanese group, a key ally of Iran in the region. Maharashtra transporters have launched an indefinite strike, protesting against e-challans and seeking reforms to alleviate financial burdens on the transport sector, potentially disrupting travel and commerce across the state. Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Key Points Maharashtra transporters initiate an indefinite strike protesting against e-challans and financial burdens. The Maharashtra Transport Action Committee (M-TAC) demands reforms to the e-challan system, waiver of fines, and reduction in taxes. School buses, commercial vehicles, and private buses are expected to remain off roads during the Maharashtra transport strike. Transporters are seeking cancellation of time-barred e-challans and improvements to highway infrastructure. The strike highlights grievances over electronic traffic enforcement and regulatory burdens on Maharashtra's transport sector. Transporters across Maharashtra on Thursday launched a statewide "chakka jam" to protest against "arbitrary and excessive" e-challans and other issues faced by the sector, and threatened to go on an indefinite strike from midnight. The state Transport Commissioner's office has directed all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) to activate separate control rooms in their jurisdictions to track the protest and share information about any incident that could lead to a law and order situation, an official said. After the last round of negotiations held at the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner's office on Wednesday evening remained inconclusive, the Maharashtra Transport Action Committee (M-TAC) said that it would go ahead with the strike. According to M-TAC representatives, transporters will stage protests at Azad Maidan in Mumbai and outside the Regional Transport Office (RTO) premises in other parts of the state before going on strike from midnight. M-TAC said school buses, contract carriage buses, private buses and commercial vehicles, including trucks, tempos, taxis and tankers, would remain off the roads during the indefinite agitation. The transporters have also threatened to bring their vehicles to protest sites. Anil Garg, a leader of the School Bus Owners Association, had said on Wednesday that school buses across the state would not operate from Friday if the indefinite strike happened, though their services would remain unaffected on Thursday. Earlier this week, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik also held a meeting with transporters at the MSRTC headquarters here, but M-TAC said the talks remained unfruitful due to what it described as "hollow assurances" from the government. Sarnaik had appealed to the transporters to withdraw their agitation, stating that the government was positive about cancelling "unjust" e-challans issued to parked vehicles and would take a favourable decision on the matter. A senior department official said that the Transport Commissioner's office has asked all RTOs to activate control rooms and alert it in the case of any incident with the potential to create a law and order situation. All RTOs have been asked to submit a detailed and factual report before 5 pm every day till the strike continues, the official said. The report should include information such as the impact of the strike in their jurisdiction, the status of essential commodities and passenger movement, preventive steps taken to provide relief to the public, and issues faced during the strike, he said. Key Demands of the Transporters M-TAC said the agitation is being organised against what it termed "arbitrary and excessive" electronic traffic enforcement and the mounting financial burden on the transport sector. The charter of demands submitted by M-TAC to the government earlier this year includes major reforms to the e-challan system, a waiver of pending fines and a reduction in taxes and toll charges imposed on commercial vehicles. M-TAC leaders claimed the e-challan system has caused hardship not only to transport operators but also to ordinary vehicle owners. The action committee has also sought the withdrawal or relaxation of a proposed amendment to rules issued in January 2026, requiring transporters to clear e-challan penalties within 45 days, failing which they would face restrictions on essential services such as permit renewal, fitness certification and other regulatory approvals. "As per Rule 468 and amended Rule 514 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, all time-barred e-challans should be cancelled if cases are not filed in court," the charter of demands stated. Infrastructure and Regulatory Concerns M-TAC has also demanded the closure of highway check posts and the establishment of rest houses or centres for drivers. It has sought fire tenders and emergency service facilities on highways, provisions for parking lots, bus stops and cargo loading and unloading facilities. The transporters have further called for a review of the repeated retrofitting of devices such as panic buttons, vehicle location tracking devices, high-security registration plates, fire detection and suppression systems, and CCTV cameras, which they claim are mandated under the pretext of safety. They have demanded the suspension of what they described as unfeasible and abrupt "no entry" restrictions that cause operational difficulties and have urged the government to adopt a more consultative approach. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Windy with occasional snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 21F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 22F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 22F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. ANKARA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye on Thursday strongly condemned drone attacks on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, warning that such strikes risk widening the regional conflict. "We strongly condemn the UAV attacks carried out today against Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, calling for an immediate halt to actions that could escalate tensions. "Attacks targeting third countries in the region and increasing the risk of the war spreading must end immediately. Turkiye will continue to stand by Azerbaijan, as it always has," it said. The attacks occurred around midday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. One drone struck the terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage, while another fell near a school in Shakarabad village. The ministry said the strikes violated international law and would heighten regional tensions. The ministry also summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to lodge a "strong protest" over the incident. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said it is "preparing the necessary retaliatory measures," adding that the attacks "will not go unanswered." Later in the day, Azerbaijan reportedly closed part of its airspace in the south near Iran. The airspace is said to remain closed for 12 hours. Iran on Thursday denied involvement in the incident. The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces told state news agency IRNA that it respects the sovereignty of all countries, particularly neighboring and Muslim states, and has not launched any drones toward Azerbaijan. Nakhchivan is an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the main part of the country by Armenia and borders Armenia, Iran, and Turkiye. A military transport helicopter carrying 19 passengers and four crew members to Houaphan and Xieng Khuang provinces in northern Laos which went missing two days ago has been found crashed, official sources said Wednesday, adding that a high-ranking military patient had been on board the flight. Air traffic control in the capital Vientiane lost contact with the MI-17 helicopterregistration number RDPL-34062at 1:10 p.m. local time on July 27, shortly after it departed Wattay International Airport, heading for Houaphan and Xieng Khuang. The aircraft was located crashed in a remote area of Xaysomboun provinces Longchaeng district, an official with Division 703 of the Lao Air Force told RFAs Lao Service Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Yes, [rescuers] found it, but the remains [of the passengers] have not been brought back yet as [they] have only located the crash site, the official said, suggesting it was too difficult to access. Its in Longchaeng district, near Phalamua village. They sent the national defense force first, but had to deploy a military force to assist with the rescue operation. The official did not provide a number of casualties in the crash. The official Vientiane Times quoted a military source as saying that the helicopter had been found in the jungle on a slope of Phu Bia Mountain in Longchaeng. According to the source, local farmers told military officials that they heard an explosion not long after the helicopter flew past. The officials visited the site and reported that the aircraft had crashed, but did not provide information about the fate of the 23 people on board. The source said extreme weather conditions were a potential cause of the accident, adding that heavy rains in the region was hampering search and rescue operations, including the ability of other helicopters to reach the crash site. A senior official from the Ministry of Defense told RFA that at least one of the 19 passengers was a high-ranking military patient. The MI-17 helicopter which lost contact shortly after takeoff was carrying a high-ranking military patient who came to get treatment in Hospital 103 in Vientiane and was returning to Houaphan province, said the official, who declined to provide his name. Hospital 103 is a military hospital operated by the Ministry of Defense which was built to treat soldiers. A doctor from Hospital 103 confirmed that the military patient had been aboard the helicopter and said three other passengers were staff members from the facility. Besides the high-ranking military patient, there were three health professionals from Hospital 103 accompanying him in the helicopter, the doctor said. The identities of the other passengers and crew members were not immediately known. Recent air disasters Aircraft in impoverished Laos are mostly outdated, and the country has suffered at least two major air disasters within the last two years. On May 17 last year, a Ukrainian-made Antonov AN-74TK-300 aircraft owned by the Lao military crashed while approaching an airport in Xiengkhuang, killing 17 passengers, including Lao Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit, Minister of Public Security Thongbanh Sengaphone, and two other high-ranking officials. The group was en route to attend the 55th anniversary of strategic gains made by the Lao military during the Indochina War, according to state media. The crash, which was attributed to a technical error by the pilot, is the second deadliest air disaster in Lao history, after the crash of Lao Airlines Flight 301 seven months earlier. On Oct. 16, 2013, Flight 301an ATR-72 turbopropplunged into the Mekong River during bad weather as it approached Pakse Airport in southern Laoss Champasak province, killing all 49 passengers. Six Australians, seven French, five Thai, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, as well as passengers from China, Myanmar, Taiwan and the U.S. were killed in the crash, which was also attributed to pilot error. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by BounchanhMouangkham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. A military plane crashed in central Myanmars Mandalay region Thursday, killing at least 12 people on board, including a prominent senior Buddhist monk, according to state media. The plane was carrying six military personnel, as well as two monks and six devotees, from the capital Naypyidaw to Pyin Oo Lwin for a ceremony to make the foundation of a new monastery, the official Myawaddy TV reported. A boy and a member of the military survived the crash, the report said, although unconfirmed accounts said the soldier later died in hospital. The senior monk who died in the crash was Bhatanda Kavisara, the abbot of Zay Kone Monastery in Pyinmana, a town outside of Naypyidaw, who was believed to be in his 90s and had hosted junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing for a visit on Feb. 2, a day after the military orchestrated a takeover of Myanmars democratically elected government. The coup prompted a nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement and widespread protests that troops loyal to the junta responded to with violent crackdowns. At least 860 people have been killed in the clashes, and more than 4,800 arrested, charged, or sentenced, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). Thursdays crash occurred as the plane, which appeared to be a Beechcraft 1900, encountered rough weather while attempting to land at Pyin Oo Lwins Anisakhan airport, Myawaddy TV said. In February 2016, five people were killed when an air force Beechcraft 1900D crashed after taking off from the airport in Naypyidaw. Sagaing ambush Amid nationwide turmoil following the coup, the military has stepped up offensives in remote parts of the country of 54 million that have led to fierce battles with a plethora of Peoples Defense Force (PDF) militias formed to protect residents from troops loyal to the junta. On Wednesday, around 10 military soldiers were killed and 10 wounded during a firefight in Kani township in central Myanmars Sagaing region with the Kani Peoples Defense Force (KPDF)a volunteer militia formed to protect civilians from forces loyal to the junta. A report by the Irrawaddy online news site cited residents as saying the KPDF used landmines to ambush five military vehicles carrying some 70 troops on the Monywa-Kalewa highway as they returned to a camp in Yargyi village after looting the nearby abandoned village of Thalin. The number of military casualties could not be independently confirmed, and residents told the Irrawaddy that no members of the militia were killed or injured in the clash. Around 5,000 residents from 10 villages in the area have now fled their homes, sources said. On Wednesday, aid workers told RFA that an estimated 230,000 people have been forced to flee their homes through Myanmar as the result of fighting between the military and local militias, as well as territorial grabs between ethnic armies looking to capitalize on the chaos. The United Nations in Myanmar voiced concern Tuesday about what it called the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Kayah state and other areas in southeastern Myanmar. In a statement, the U.N. stressed the urgent need for food, water, shelter, fuel, and access to healthcare for people fleeing the fighting, saying that the aid it has distributed is insufficientparticularly for those in remote locations, where insecurity, travel restrictions, and poor road conditions are delaying the delivery of supplies. This photo taken and received from an anonymous source on April 24, 2021 shows Buddhist monks marching during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay. AFP Detained monks Myanmars the Dhamma and Peace group, a watchdog for religious issues, recently called on its Facebook page for pressure on the junta to release at least 18 leading monks from the Masoyein Taikthit Monastery in Mandalay who were beaten and detained troops on June 1 after working to stop violence during anti-coup protests or taking part in the protests themselves. A monk in Mandalay, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said incident shows that the junta is only paying lip service to religion to legitimize its rule of the country. No matter how many pagodas they built, how many titles and awards they presented to the monks, it is just a facade, he said. The monks were beaten and knocked down by troops in cars. They hit the monks after dragging them onto the trucks. If they have any respect for religion, they must stop all these beatings and killings of monks and laypeople. Sayadaw Minthonnya of Myanmars Buddhist University, told RFA it is the responsibility of the countrys 500,000 monks and 60,000 nuns to secure the release of more than 5,000 people, including monks, held by the junta. These people have been detained and imprisoned for working for Dharma (Good). Shouldn't we also fight for Dharma? he asked. One of the requirements for the Sangha to stage a boycott is cursing and swearing at monks. But now [the junta troops] not only use blasphemy but they also kill. In such a situation, we can stage a united boycott. If the military doesnt apologize, if they dont release our Sangha members, we must stop providing religious services to them. The military has denied, through state media, any wrongdoing in the June 1 incident. Observers say there are now three types of monks in Myanmar: those who reject the coup, those who are close to the junta and accept it, and those who are not interested. An AAPP spokesman said arrests and torture of monks, as seen under successive dictatorships, should never happen in Myanmar. Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun could not be reached for comment on Thursday and the junta has yet to make an official statement on the status of the detained monks. Reported by RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Fears are growing in Azerbaijan, Iran's northwestern neighbor, that the South Caucasus country could become embroiled in the US-Israeli war on Tehran that is widening in scope. Baku accused Iran of firing drones that struck an airport and school in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan autonomous region on March 5, calling it an "act of terror" and vowing to respond. Tehran denied it fired the drones that injured two people. The incident has heightened concerns in Azerbaijan -- which has close military, economic, and energy ties to Israel, Tehran's archenemy -- that it could become a target of the Islamic republic's expanding response to the massive US-Israeli air campaign launched on February 28. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles and drones at US military and diplomatic facilities and striking key energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Tehran's aim, experts say, is to expand the war and increase the cost of the conflict for Washington and its allies. "This is a dangerous situation," said Jasur Mammadov, a Germany-based Azerbaijani military analyst. "Azerbaijan has a long border with Iran," and if Turkey, Baku's closest ally, is not involved, "it would be very difficult to defend the country," he added. Much of the concern in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country of around 10 million people, is centered around fears that Iran could target its energy infrastructure, including pipelines and production facilities. "Iran has developed drone technology capable of flying as far as 1,000 kilometers," said Mammadov, referring to a long-range version of the Shahed drone that can travel around 1,500 kilometers. "That means it could easily reach Azerbaijan's energy infrastructure in the Caspian Sea, as well as any city." Experts say Baku's close ties with Israel make it a potential Iranian target. Azerbaijan, which shares an around 700-kilomter border with Iran, is a major supplier of oil to Israel. Israel, in turn, is a seller of arms and drones to Baku. "If Iranian energy infrastructure is struck [by Israel], Tehran could look at Azerbaijan's energy facilities as potential targets, given that the Israelis get so much of their energy from Azerbaijan," US-based Iran analyst Alex Vatanka said before the war began. Despite its growing ties with Israel ties, Baku has repeatedly said it will not allow its territory or airspace to be used by any country to launch military operations against Iran. Iran has long been critical of Israel's presence in Azerbaijan. Tehran has accused Baku of cooperating with Israeli intelligence -- allegations Azerbaijan denies. A day before the drone attack in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region, President Ilham Aliyev made a rare visit to the Iranian Embassy in Baku to offer his condolences on the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Tehran on February 28. But on March 5, Aliyev's sentiment shifted. "Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable," Aliyev said during a meeting of his security council. Tehran denied it launched a drone attack on Azerbaijan. "The Islamic republic of Iran... denies its armed forces launched a drone toward the Republic of Azerbaijan," the general staff of the armed forces said in a statement, according to state TV, which blamed Israel. Farhad Mammadov, an analyst close to the Azerbaijani government, said the drone attack will force Baku to take measures for its defense and begin consultations with Turkey. Azerbaijan and Turkey share deep historical and cultural ties. In 2021, the sides expanded their "one nation, two states" partnership, under which both sides pledged to help the other if attacked. During Azerbaijan's wars with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023, Turkey supplied weapons to Baku, including advanced drones. Yerevan accused Turkey of direct involvement in the conflict, which Ankara and Baku denied. Turkey's Foreign Ministry on March 5 condemned the drone attacks on Azerbaijan, calling for such attacks to end "immediately." A day earlier, Turkey said a NATO defense system intercepted a ballistic missile in its border region. Iran rejected accusations that it launched a ballistic missile toward NATO-member Turkey. "Turkey itself could feel threatened and may align closely with Azerbaijan," said Ata Mohammad Tabrizi, an Iranian analyst based in Turkey. RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service contributed to this report. Drones launched from neighboring Iran have struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan autonomous region, injuring two people, according to Azerbaijan's Foreign Affairs Ministry. One drone struck Nakhchivan Airport on March 5, damaging the facility. A second drone landed near a school in the Shekerabad area, the ministry said. President Ilham Aliyev said that "Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan" with the attack. "Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable," Aliyev said during the meeting of the Security Council. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, saying it would only increase tensions in the region linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States Iran's ambassador to Azerbaijan has been summoned to the ministry in Baku to explain the incident. "Azerbaijan reserves the right to respond," the ministry said. Iran has denied the drone attack on Azerbaijan. "The Islamic republic of Iran, while respecting the sovereignty of all countries, especially Muslim and neighboring countries, denies the launch of drones by the armed forces toward the Republic of Azerbaijan," the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in its statement. Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet Anewz.tv that the Islamic republic is "not targeting neighboring countries." He added that Iran would only take action if there are military bases in the region being used to launch attacks against the country. Azerbaijan is one of the main oil suppliers to Israel, while Israel has been a key defense partner for Baku for years. Many in Azerbaijan see Israel as a reliable ally that supplied critical military equipment during the country's campaign to regain control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenia. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed Iranian drone attacks in the Nakhchivan exclave during a phone call on March 5 with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, according to Reuters and Turkish media. Beyond historic and cultural ties, the 2021 Shusha Declaration commits Turkey and Azerbaijan to consult and take joint action if either country believes its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, or security is under threat from a third state. During the Karabakh War with Armenia, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan politically and supplied military equipment, although Baku has consistently denied that Turkish forces took part in combat. Being a NATO member and sharing a border with Iran, Turkey has reportedly been a target of Iran. NATO air defenses destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile fired toward Turkey, Ankara said on March 4. Iran denied firing a missile toward Turkey. "Right now, Iran has no reason to strike Azerbaijan, because neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey has been part of the war," Rauf Mirgadirov, an independent analyst based in Europe, told RFE/RL. "This drone attack on Nakhchivan airport is either an accident or a sign that there is larger escalation in the region," he said. Despite its trade and defense ties with Israel, Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly said the country will not allow its territory or airspace to be used by any country to launch military operations against neighboring Iran or any other state. "There are millions of Azerbaijanis living in Iran, and Tehran would not want to provoke them." President Donald Trump said Washington will help choose the next leader of Iran as US and Israeli forces continued air strikes amid growing concerns of a broader conflict after drones launched from Iran struck Azerbaijan and Israel pushed into southern Lebanon. With the United States and Israel currently engaged in a sixth day of war against Iran, the number of countries in the region to suffer Tehran's retaliatory strikes, which have targeted both military and civilian infrastructure, grew again on March 5. Trump, speaking to Reuters in a phone interview, said he wants to be involved in choosing Iran's next leader, while ruling out Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - a hardliner who has been considered a favorite to succeed his father. "We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future," he was quoted by the agency as saying. "We don't have to go back every five years and do this again and again...Somebody that's going to be great for the people, great for the country." The supreme leader was killed last weekend in air strikes as US and Israeli military operations pummeled the country. Since then, a steady barrage of strikes have decimated Iran's military, communications infrastructure, and other key facilities across the country. Iran has retaliated with attacks on US military bases across the Middle East, dragging Arab Gulf states -- and others such as Turkey and Azerbaijan -- onto the frontlines of a war they have long tried to avoid. Iran's neighbor Azerbaijan, which has longstanding ties with Israel, reported attacks launched from Iranian territory on March 5. Two people were injured after drones have struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan autonomous region, with one damaging the region's airport and a second landing near a school, according to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry. President Ilham Aliyev said that "Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan" with the attack, while the Foreign Ministry said Baku "reserves the right to respond." Later in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry denied that the country had targeted Azerbaijan. Millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran. Azerbaijan is also one of the main oil suppliers to Israel, while Israel has been a key defense partner for Baku for years. Many in Azerbaijan see Israel's military supplies as critical during country's campaign to regain control of the Karabakh region from Armenia. A day earlier, a ballistic missile launched from Iran was heading toward Turkish airspace and was intercepted by NATO air defense systems, according to Turkish officials. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte condemned Iran but said the incident does not provide immediate reason to trigger the alliance's mutual defense clause, Article 5. "The most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant, and even more vigilant, if possible, since Saturday," Rutte said on March 5, referring to when the US-Israeli strikes began on February 28. Earlier, a State Department spokesman said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss recent developments and had pledged "full support" for the NATO ally. Ukraine To Provide Expertise Against Iran's Drones As air travel disruptions continued across the Middle East with Iran firing missiles and drones against Israel and other regional countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his offers to provide support in countering Tehran's Shahed drones were accepted. "We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against Shaheds in the Middle East region," Zelenskyy said on his social media on March 5. Tehran has long been an ally of Russia, supplying it with military equipment and technology and fueling Moscow's war effort against Ukraine. Zelenskyy said earlier that Russia's military had used at least 57,000 Shahed drones in attacks on his country, including against its civilian and energy infrastructure. Now, the Ukrainian president said Kyiv will help its partners with expertise: "I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security." Ukraine, which has just entered the fifth year of repelling Russia's full-scale invasion, has been suggesting to share its experience in defending against Iranian-made drones since the first Iranian attacks across the Gulf. Asked on the matter, US President Donald Trump, who has previously criticized some of the European leaders for failing to provide enough support for US military actions said he'll take "any assistance from any country." Trump: US Holds 'Strong Position' Trump on March 4 vowed that there would be no let up with the joint air campaign that has killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other security, military, and political leaders. He added that Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly." Trump has said he ordered the attack on Iran to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon but has also said he wanted Tehran to cease its ballistic missile program and to end violence against anti-government protesters, thousands of whom were killed in a brutal crackdown in recent weeks. Seeking to counter concerns of American '"boots on the ground" in the war, the White House on March 4 said deployment of US ground troops in Iran is "not part of the plan for this operation at this time." Instead, Trump backed the Kurds in launching their own offensive, saying he thinks its "wonderful that they want to do that." Asked by Reuters if the United States would offer air cover for such an operation, Trump refused to answer. Earlier in the week, sources told Axios that the president spoke with Kurdish leaders, who sought consultation on whether and how to attack Tehran's security forces. Netanyahu Claims 'Historic Gains' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the two allies had made "historic gains" in their war against Iran, which is in its sixth day. "Israel and the United States have together made historic gains to protect our citizens and the civilized world," government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said in a video message. As Bedrosian also claimed the attack on Iran was necessary as Tehran was rebuilding its nuclear weapons program in "new underground bunkers" and that there were signs it planned "to attack Israel and US forces in the region," without providing details. Separately, Israel stepped up its attacks on strongholds of Iran-allied Hezbollah forces in Lebanon after the group launched missiles into northern Israel. According to Israeli military, Tel Aviv's goal was to create "a buffer...between our residents and any threat," French President Emmanuel Macron on March 4 said he urged Netanyahu to refrain from launching a ground offensive in Lebanon. "I reiterated the necessity for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israel and beyond. This escalatory strategy is a grave mistake that puts the entire region at risk," Macron wrote on X. "I also called on the Israeli Prime Minister to preserve the integrity of Lebanese territory and to refrain from launching a ground offensive. It is crucial for the parties to return to the ceasefire agreement," Macron added. Reports indicate that Israeli ground forces have already crossed the border into Lebanon, although details remain unclear. On March 5, Israeli military warned residents in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately. "Save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately," Israel's military forces spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, RFE/RL correspondent Alex Raufoglu in Washington For Mamatmusa Ukubaev, the first explosions on February 28 were unnervingly close. "There are military bases and facilities 1 or 2 kilometers away from us. They are being hit, too. The buildings usually have at least two floors for parking. They can be used as bomb shelters, and the authorities have made them open to the public," Ukubaev said, describing life in Tehran after the USIsraeli strikes began. He noticed a strange mix of fear and curiosity among residents. "People in Iran live on the streets. If bombs fall, they go up to the roof and watch. You don't see people running to shelters. I didn't leave the house for the first two days. But we ordered food from restaurants. There are fewer couriers, fewer taxi drivers, but they are still working." Despite the danger, Ukubaev and his family have decided to stay, for now. He knows that if the situation worsens, there is a plan in place. "The embassy weighed three or four options: Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia. They decided the most convenient was via Baku. That's our plan. If it becomes serious, we need to drive to the border. They tell us which crossings are open. From there, we go to Baku and then fly to Kyrgyzstan." While Ukubaev waits, another Kyrgyz citizen has already been evacuated. Elmira Nurgaziyeva, who has lived in Iran for several years and works for an international organization, described her journey out of the country. "Early yesterday, we left Tehran by buses. There were about 100 Russian citizens; I was the only Kyrgyz. The rest were from Russia and Belarus," she said. "The Russians escorted us to the Azerbaijani border town of Astara." "I had official permission from Kyrgyzstan's embassy in Baku. I was allowed to cross the Azerbaijani border, so I had no problems. The Azerbaijani government transported us from Astara to Baku for free. I arrived in Baku on March 3," she said, reflecting on the long overland evacuation that brought her to safety. According to Kyrgyz Ambassador Akylbek Kylichev, there are currently about 100 Kyrgyz citizens in Iran. "Most of them are our women who married Iranian citizens many years ago. They now have families here and are settled. Some of them left after last year's war [in June 2025]. When the situation became dangerous, the embassy contacted all registered citizens and urged them to leave if possible. In the past few days, two citizens reached out to us. We evacuated them to Azerbaijan [on March 4]," the ambassador told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service. As the conflict has escalated, Central Asian governments have been urging their citizens to leave Iran. Between February 28 and March 5, a total of 1,317 people from 45 countries were evacuated through the Azerbaijani border. Among them were 109 citizens of Tajikistan, three Uzbeks, three Kazakhs, and two Kyrgyz. The Tajik ambassador to Iran, Nizamuddin Zohidi, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that Turkmenistan had opened the Sarakhs crossing to help foreign citizens, including Tajiks, leave Iran. He added that embassy staff were working around the clock, with a hotline for citizens, and that Iranian authorities were assisting by transporting evacuees toward the border. According to officials, the embassies of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have been coordinating evacuations, with diplomats stationed at key border crossings in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to assist their citizens. These routes are essential because air travel has been completely halted. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Israelis were celebrating Purim with singing, dancing, and costume parties on March 4. When the festivities in Jerusalem were interrupted by an air-raid alert, people headed for the shelters and kept partying there -- determined to maintain normal life amid war. With the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran now into its sixth day, both sides continue to launch attacks amid fears the war could spill over into a broader regional conflict. Michael Knights, head of research at Horizon Engage, a New Yorkbased strategic advisory firm and an adjunct fellow at The Washington Institute, spoke with RFE/RL's Vazha Taberidze about the likely objectives in the conflict for both sides and what may happen if those aren't achieved. RFE/RL: What's at stake in this confrontation? What are the strategic objectives of each side? Michael Knights: The minimal US-Israeli objectives are that Iran's offensive military capability to affect environments outside of Iran has to be reduced to an absolutely maximal extent. That means that the missile program is crippled for the long term. There's no aircraft available, as few helicopters as possible, no navy, no major long-range rocket systems, [and] ground force capabilities are greatly degraded. That's the minimum. The bonus would be if the regime begins to crumble and there is ideally an inside-out change of government, meaning a change of government starting in Tehran, not a change of government starting in the provinces. This is why the president of the United States has been essentially begging Iranians to take over institutions and rise up within the cities. But what we're starting to see is the other alternative happening, which is the crumbling of the regime from the outside, from Iranian Kurdistan, from the edges. That's not as attractive an outcome for anybody because it can start to break the country up and result in significant civil war-type conditions. I don't think the Trump administration is going to back off without achieving its minimum objectives, which is an unprecedented destruction of the Iranian regime's military war machine and repressive institutions. RFE/RL: Does the United States have a Plan B if the chosen strategy to achieve those objectives doesn't yield the desired results? Knights: I think Plan B is to do the destruction and then to stop the operation and to leave the Israelis to continually go back and mow the grass as if Iran is a new Lebanon. If you look at the Israelis after they defeated Hezbollah, they go back whenever they want and they prevent reconstitution. At this point, that would be a feasible option for the Israelis. So one end point here is that the US only achieves its minimum objectives of taking down Iranian military capabilities. And from that point onward the Israelis just conduct an endless campaign between the wars over Iran, entering whenever they want, destroying any target that they detect. They do a sort of death of a thousand cuts against the regime over a longer period of time, and they foment uprisings at the edges of the Iranian state. That objective doesn't sound so attractive to the US and to the Gulf states. So they're wondering: Is it just worth carrying on right now and pushing all the way through to the end and seeing if we can get a change of government right now? And it's done and dusted within weeks instead of months or years. In Venezuela, it was very rapid. We had the Delcy government stepping up after Maduro stepped down, and they demonstrated subservience to the US. The US is recognizing that this option doesn't seem to be available in Iran. And as a result, if you can't overthrow this government, you are stuck with this situation for the long term. RFE/RL: How big are the advantages that the US and Israel possess? Knights: In conventional military terms, Iran is a house with no roof right now. The Israelis and the US will have full freedom of movement for the foreseeable future, maybe forever at this point. Once it's at this point, the Israelis will never stop going back on a monthly basis until that regime is gone. It is bigger than Lebanon, but it's also very important to the Israelis. And they now have the capability to keep intervening for the foreseeable future. What's at stake here is really the whole future of the region. We're at a dividing line right now where the post-1979 experience of the region can be fundamentally changed. And President Trump, you can tell he's obsessed with the idea that Iran can become a friend. I think the Trump people see Iran as a tragic waste of an amazing market and an amazing potential partner. So they want it over because they think that there's a lot to do there potentially. RFE/RL: If Iran, maybe at a modest rate, is still able to continue firing, and if it adds even more drones to the mix, it could turn into a longer-term regional war. What would be the implications of that? Knights: It's a scenario, for sure. At this point, what seems to be happening to try and head off that scenario is two things: The Gulf states themselves, instead of being noncombatants, which is what they're aiming to be, are coming to combatant status, and they themselves are now starting to police further out the counter-drone line. What they're also likely to do is bring US manned aircraft forward from Jordan. That will provide a much thicker defense screen, particularly against drones over the Gulf itself. So there are things we haven't done yet which can still be used. At the moment the Gulf states are using their most expensive assets to shoot down Iranian missiles. But there are a lot cheaper assets we haven't utilized yet because the Gulf states chose to tell us: No, go base over Jordan and Israel and Cyprus. Don't be in the Gulf littoral itself. Please don't bring your combat aircraft forward. So we might all see a change in that regard. But let's just assume the worst-case scenario and that doesn't happen. The Iranians have deeper magazines than us. They manage to keep shooting, which is quite possible. The Huthis certainly did. A couple of things then. One is that it's going to get very expensive to use Hormuz. It already is. The US is going to have to commit to something like the reflagging system from the Iran-Iraq War era and ensuring individual cargoes. So it's going to get expensive. Trump is not going to like that. And the Gulf states are not going to like ongoing strikes that last for weeks instead of days. So it's fair to say that we're in a race right now. RFE/RL: Finally, what's at stake for Russia and China? Knights: Easy: same as with Venezuela. The problem with Russia and China's great power competition is they don't have power-projection capabilities. As a result, when something is happening far away, like Venezuela, or even as far away as Iran, they simply have no hard-power capability to affect the result. There's still a US hard power advantage at a continental range that the Russians and the Chinese don't have. Their soft power is extraordinary. But in this case it doesn't help a partner. And everyone can see that Assad in Syria went down despite Russian support. Iran went down despite Russian and Chinese support. Venezuela, Maduro went down, as well. That's the reality. People in traditional Chinese Qipao (cheongsam) perform during a Lantern Festival celebration at a school in San Francisco, the United States, March 3, 2026. The Lantern Festival fell on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, or March 3 this year. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) People in traditional Chinese Qipao (cheongsam) perform during a Lantern Festival celebration at a school in San Francisco, the United States, March 3, 2026. The Lantern Festival fell on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, or March 3 this year. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) People in traditional Chinese Qipao (cheongsam) perform during a Lantern Festival celebration at a school in San Francisco, the United States, March 3, 2026. The Lantern Festival fell on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, or March 3 this year. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) Vivienne Clarke The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, is calling for a short investigation by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission into price increases in fuel in the wake of the Middle East conflict. Hopefully within the next month I'm looking for a short investigation to look and see exactly the examples in relation to where prices have gone up very significantly that are not reflected in the international markets, he told RTE radios Morning Ireland. Burke said he would be meeting with representatives of the fuel industry later this week, where he would be advising them that the CCPC is investigating the sector and asking them to set out the rationale for price increases. When we look at what's happening in international markets, it is telling a very different story, and it's my job to protect the consumer. The Minister said Ireland had very strong and robust competition law, which stated very clearly that if there was collusion or unfair practices, if competition law had been breached, we will take action through the courts and there is administrative fines which are very significant for those companies. I think we really need to look at what's happening in the market place right now because what's very clear to me over the last number of days, what's happening in the international markets in terms of the price of crude oil bears no reflection what's happening in the Irish market where we've seen (increases) upwards of 50 per cent by some consumers from their suppliers." DAMASCUS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Syrian authorities said on Thursday they have thwarted a planned attack on the capital following a security operation in the Damascus countryside carried out with Turkish intelligence. The plot was foiled after internal security forces conducted a joint operation in rural areas around Damascus, an anonymous official from the security authorities told the state news agency SANA. The operation involved Syria's General Intelligence Directorate and Turkish intelligence services, the source said, without providing details about the suspects, the nature of the planned attack or whether any arrests were made. Officials did not disclose when or where the operation took place. Syrian authorities periodically announce security operations targeting militant cells, particularly in areas around Damascus that saw extremist activity during the country's civil war. Roscommon Towns own James Kilmartin is stepping back into the bright lights of First Dates Ireland tonight, Thursday, March 5th, and he promises viewers a date thats cute, a good laugh, and sprinkled with just enough cringe to keep things interesting. James, 41, says he turned to TV matchmaking after exhausting the modern tools of romance. Id tried all the dating apps and everything else, he explained. So I said, look, Ill give matchmaking on television a go. If his name rings a bell, thats because this isnt his first tango with the nations favourite restaurant of love. He appeared previously in 2020 just for a bit of craic though Cupid didnt quite hit the target that time. This round, however, things might be looking brighter. James is paired with 39 year old Joseph, who also works in a software company. Giving the Roscommon Herald a hint of what viewers are in store for tonight, Thursday he said: We got on really, really well. We bounced off each other we had very much the same line of thinking. Naturally, James employs his trademark sense of humour though he admits it may come back to haunt him as he admits he comes out with a couple of one liners on the show that Im mortified by now. Nerves aside, he says being filmed is far less intimidating than people imagine: Five minutes in, youve no idea of the cameras. That just goes to the back of your head and you're just having the craic. He also praised the structured nature of the show. Its almost planned for you you dont have the stress of saying, What will we do? Despite his easy going nature, the Roscommon native admits hes very nervous about the episode airing so nervous, in fact, that he has only just told his mother. And could we see him back for a third television date if love doesnt strike this time? You could see me back a third time. If Im asked, he says with a grin. To see how James gets on, tune in to First Dates Ireland tonight Thursday, March 5th at 9.35 p.m. on RTE2. Vivienne Clarke Neale Richmond, Minister of State with responsibility for international development and the diaspora, has expressed disappointment at the claim by Senator Patricia Stephenson that the fare of 800 per person for a chartered flight was a shakedown. I'm very, very disappointed to hear that from Senator Stephenson, someone I respect very much. This is standard practice. This was the same when we did evacuation flights throughout Covid, he told Newstalk Breakfast. There is a contribution. It's understandable. Theres no mention that children will fly for free. Of course, the six-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Dubai to Muscat will be covered. We have not had any pushback from anyone on the ground. If people are in financial difficulty, that's a different story. Richmond said that officials in the region and in the crisis consular centre had worked very hard to get 300 Irish citizens on a plane tomorrow from Muscat to Dublin to complement another Emirates commercial flight tonight. We're in constant engagement to increase the amount of flights to get primarily those first and foremost who are stranded in transit, but then those who are there on holiday with priority going to the most vulnerable We're actually ahead of most European member countries being able to do evacuation flights. Only the Italians and Germans have gone ahead of us. It is our priority. There's a huge Irish population in the region and transiting through the region and we want to make sure they're safe. The Minister said there were 24,000 registered in the region, 16,000 of whom had registered since Saturday. The vast majority were not looking to leave. This is their home; about 14,000 Irish people call Dubai itself their home. And I must just say the UAE government in particular have been extremely helpful to the Irish on the ground in terms of providing information, security, covering accommodation costs for those stranded there. But we have had over 2,400 contacts to our consular centre since the weekend for people looking for assistance to get out of Dubai. There was 900 caught in transit, another 2000 on holiday, and there are some who do live there who don't, just want to come home. Many of those people would return to Ireland on commercial flights, he explained. We had over 300 people on a flight from Emirates last night. We'll have the same again today. A number have been able to take Etihad flights through the region. The last count, the UAE authorities told us that they're able to get 48 flights an hour out of Dubai. So, they're working through a very large backlog through what is the third largest aircraft hub in the world. There had been great interest in the first charter flight announced, said Richmond. We will run as many charter flights as we need. We're prepared to do more into the week, but that depends on demand. Eva Osborne Human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher has expressed concern about the number of social media influencers posting completely tone deaf content from the United Arab Emirates during the current conflict. Gallagher told Newstalks Claire Byrne show that the posts were part of the culture washing that the UAE and Saudi Arabia did while "hiding away their very dubious, problematic human rights record, and they present themselves as being a modern, progressive place. And having influencers posting this kind of gushing positive content is part and parcel of that. The barrister was responding to posts from a number of influencers saying they felt completely safe because of the leadership in the UAE. There's kind of a meme which is going about, a template, which is being used by a lot of them, which says, you live in Dubai, aren't you scared? And then there's this reassuring music and it cuts to these images of Emirati leaders saying, no, because I know who's protecting us. Now, that's being put out in large part because influencers are reliant on the Emirates authorities in order to continue their role. #dubai #war #middleeast #news a orijinal ses - snowbo.art @julisjoking Seeing this happen around us feels surreal. There's a lot going on right now, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But in moments like this, all we can really do is stay calm, stay informed, and trust that the authorities are handling the situation. i Focus on what's in our control - being with our families, checking in on loved ones, and keeping faith. Some things are bigger than us, and that's when we choose trust over panic. Stay safe everyone. ai #iran They've got to get a license in order to operate. And there's been a very clear warning by the UAE authorities that the country's cybercrime law will be used against people if they spread what's called false news, rumours or misleading information. So the message is clear, support the UAE, say that the UAE is safe and people are jumping to it. This is culture washing. And the influencers are part and parcel of that apparatus, which tries to paint the UAE as a very, very different place to the place I see having practiced for 25 years as a human rights lawyer. Gallagher added that there was now a more subtle threat since February 1st this year, where all influencers and content creators have to obtain a mandatory advertiser permit from the UAE Media Council to publish any promotional content, paid or unpaid. And those permits can be revoked if the person fails to comply with stringent media regulations. Many people have drunk the Kool-Aid, many people who were there, you know, who say things like this is a haven, it's tax free, very low tax, very good for me financially, very good weather, you know, are people who have gone there wearing golden blindfolds and who have not been alert to the geopolitics of the region and have not been alert to the true picture in UAE. And some pattern we've seen over the last number of years, which always really troubles me, is you get sudden awareness for a moment when there's a shocking case, like say, for example, Roscommon woman Tori Towey in 2024, her case, suddenly there was a lot of attention on it, people were thinking of the UAE in a different way, but then it's gone in a puff of smoke, and people are back to thinking of UAE as this, glamorous, safe location, without ever really questioning, well, why is it that it's this safe, given where it is in the region, and without ever really thinking about its human rights record. One of the really problematic things with UAE, and also with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is that there's a mismatch between how they're perceived and the reality on the ground. The same is also true of Hong Kong, where one of my clients is detained. So they present themselves, the business model is that they present themselves as a haven in the region, a place where it's safe to do business, a place that's progressive and modern and there's this seamy underbelly which is hidden unless you get caught out. A major highlight of the visit will be his participation in the Central Industrial Security Force Raising Day celebrations scheduled on Friday at Mundali in Cuttack district. File Photo. He is also scheduled to inaugurate the transit campus of the NFSU digitally. Amit Shah to Arrive in Bhubaneswar for Two-Day Odisha Visit, Attend CISF Raising Day Advertisement Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in Bhubaneswar on Thursday evening for a two-day visit to Odisha, where he will attend official events and inaugurate several projects linked to security, forensic science and cooperative development. According to officials, Shah is expected to land in the state capital around 8 pm and will stay overnight at a private hotel. A major highlight of the visit will be his participation in the Central Industrial Security Force Raising Day celebrations scheduled on Friday at Mundali in Cuttack district. The event marks the foundation day of the paramilitary force that safeguards critical infrastructure and vital installations across the country. Advertisement The Home Minister will also focus on strengthening forensic infrastructure in the state. During the visit, he will lay the foundation stones for the Bhubaneswar campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Khurda district. He is also scheduled to inaugurate the transit campus of the NFSU digitally and open an exhibition showcasing the implementation of the new criminal laws. In addition, Shah will inaugurate the sulphuric acid plant of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited at its Paradip unit and participate in programmes related to cooperative initiatives, dairy development, youth empowerment and farmers welfare. Authorities have stepped up security arrangements in Bhubaneswar and surrounding areas ahead of the visit. The Cuttack district administration has declared a five-kilometre radius around the CISF campus in Mundali as a no-drone zone from March 3 to March 6, while vehicle movement has also been restricted in certain areas. He also noted that the Finnish President would deliver an address at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. File Photo. During the visit, the Finnish leader is also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan. Finland President Stubb on India Visit, Holds Bilateral Talks with PM Modi in New Delhi Advertisement Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held bilateral talks with Finland President Alexander Stubb in New Delhi, focusing on expanding cooperation between India and Finland across several sectors. The meeting took place at Hyderabad House, where the two leaders discussed ways to deepen ties in areas such as trade, technology and global partnerships. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the discussions also included exchanges of views on regional and global developments and cooperation in multilateral forums. President Stubb, who is on a three-day State Visit to India, paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat earlier in the day before his talks with the Prime Minister. After the talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a luncheon in honour of Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Advertisement External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also met President Alexander Stubb and said that continued high-level interactions would further strengthen ties between India and Finland. He also noted that the Finnish President would deliver an address at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, Indias flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Stubb arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday and was accorded a ceremonial welcome with a Guard of Honour. A high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials and business leaders is accompanying him on the visit. During the visit, the Finnish leader is also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan. Advertisement After completing engagements in New Delhi, Stubb will travel to Mumbai for meetings with Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Indian business leaders. Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, more than 18,000 Janaushadhi Kendras currently provide affordable generic medicines nationwide. File Photo. Doctors conducted tests including blood pressure monitoring, blood sugar checks and thyroid screening. Nationwide Health Camps Held on Day 4 of Janaushadhi Saptah 2026 Ahead of Janaushadhi Diwas Advertisement Citizens in several parts of the country attended free medical check-up camps organised on Thursday during Janaushadhi Saptah 2026, a nationwide awareness drive being conducted from March 1 to 5 ahead of the 8th Janaushadhi Diwas on March 7. The week-long programme is being organised by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India under the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. According to officials, the initiative aims to expand public awareness about affordable generic medicines and healthcare services available through the governments Janaushadhi network. Despite Holi celebrations in many regions, people visited the camps to avail free medical consultations and basic health screenings. Doctors conducted tests including blood pressure monitoring, blood sugar checks and thyroid screening, while also offering general medical advice. Advertisement Officials said the camps also included paediatric consultations and guidance for patients dealing with long-term health conditions. Visitors were provided Janaushadhi generic medicines and Suvidha sanitary pads, while health workers conducted awareness sessions highlighting the cost benefits and quality standards of generic medicines. According to officials, nearly 250 locations across the country are hosting such health camps during the outreach programme. On Thursday, camps were organised in areas including Doddaballapur in Bengaluru Rural district, Bengaluru Urban and Haveri in Karnataka, Mohol in Maharashtras Solapur district, Nowhatta in Srinagar, and Palnadu in Andhra Pradesh. Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, more than 18,000 Janaushadhi Kendras currently provide affordable generic medicines nationwide. The government aims to expand this network to 25,000 centres by March 2027. India's Digital Public Infrastructure model and its potential to expand digital inclusion are also being highlighted. File Photo. Finland's President Alexander Stubb, the chief guest for this edition, arrived in the national capital on Wednesday. Raisina Dialogue 2026 Kicks Off in New Delhi as Global Leaders Discuss AI, Security, and Trade Corridors Advertisement Raisina Dialogue 2026 commenced in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together global leaders, policymakers, and technology experts to discuss emerging geopolitical and economic challenges.The three-day conference, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with Indias Ministry of External Affairs, is scheduled from March 5 to 7 and will be held under the theme Samskara: Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement. Finlands President Alexander Stubb, the chief guest for this edition, arrived in the national capital on Wednesday. Several foreign ministers and senior officials from different countries are also attending, including Maltas Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ian Borg, Bhutans Foreign Minister D. N. Dhungyel, Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful, Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Barry Faure, and Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. The opening sessions are focused on the changing nature of global security, digital governance, and the evolving role of strategic alliances. Experts are examining how artificial intelligence, semiconductor supply chains, and technological competition are reshaping international relations. Indias Digital Public Infrastructure model and its potential to expand digital inclusion are also being highlighted. Advertisement Discussions over the next two days will cover maritime security, supply chain resilience, climate geopolitics, and connectivity initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The forum will also explore Indias vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and its position as a bridge between developed economies and the Global South. Now in its 11th edition, the Raisina Dialogue has established itself as a premier global strategic forum, recognized for shaping international policy discussions and fostering cooperation among world leaders. PUNJAB TO WITNESS HEALTHCARE REVOLUTION WITH SEVEN NEW MEDICAL COLLEGES File Photo The colleges to be established under PPP mode will come up in Sangrur and SBS Nagar, with their tender processes underway, he said. PUNJAB TO WITNESS HEALTHCARE REVOLUTION WITH SEVEN NEW MEDICAL COLLEGES CHANDIGARH, 5 March 2026: In a historic move to revolutionise the healthcare and medical education landscape in the state as per the commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Thursday announced the establishment of seven new Medical Colleges across the state. Advertisement The project includes the development of two government medical colleges, two institutions under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, and three through private and minority organisations. Dr Balbir Singh, while addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan here, shared that the construction work for the Shaheed Udham Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences in Hoshiarpur is set to begin on March 20, 2026, with a total duration of 24 months leading to a completion in March 2028. This project has received administrative approval for a274.75 Crore and will feature a 300-bedded hospital alongside a medical college with a 100-seat annual MBBS intake, he said. The Health Minister was accompanied by Principal Secretary Health Kumar Rahul, Special Secretary cum MD Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) Amit Talwar and Director Research and Medical Education Dr Avnish Kumar. Advertisement The Minister highlighted that through a meticulous review of previous estimates, the CM Mann led Punjab Government has managed to reduce the project cost from an initial a550 Crore estimate to a274 Crore, effectively saving nearly a250 Crore of public funds. Apart from Hoshiarpur, Dr Balbir Singh said that another Government Medical College is also being established in Kapurthala of which tender process has been completed and construction will be started shortly. The colleges to be established under PPP mode will come up in Sangrur and SBS Nagar, with their tender processes underway, he said. Furthermore, he said that the Jain Minority College is also coming up in Lehragaga, for which the government has leased land after signing an MoU, while, the Muslim Minority College to be established in Malerkotla has submitted its DPR to the Central Government. Similarly, the private medical college is also coming up near Ludhiana, he added. Advertisement The Health Minister highlighted that the establishment of seven Medical Colleges will significantly increase the state's medical education capacity and local students will no longer have to go to countries like Ukraine, China, or Nepal to get medical degrees. Punjab currently has 13 medical colleges with 1,900 MBBS seats, and with these new institutions, approximately 600 additional seats will be added, he said. Dr Balbir Singh also announced that existing medical colleges in Patiala, Amritsar, and Faridkot are being upgraded to the level of Postgraduate Institutes to provide super-specialty services. Meanwhile, the upcoming Hoshiarpur facility will include a five-story hospital building and a three-story medical college building equipped with modern laboratories, a library, and a 500-seat auditorium. Clinical infrastructure will span various specialties including ICU, General Surgery, Orthopedics, and Psychiatry, supported by advanced diagnostics such as MRI and CT scans. BAKU, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan's armed forces have been placed at the "highest level" of combat readiness following the Iranian drone attack on the Nakhchivan region. Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Thursday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the strike targeted civilian infrastructure, including the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport and a local school. Aliyev said Baku has consistently maintained a policy of not allowing its territory to be used for operations against neighboring countries, stressing the country will not participate in any operations against Iran. Iran on Thursday rejected accusations from neighboring Azerbaijan that it had launched drone strikes targeting its territory. Working in Romania The latest from the Romanian labour market. sursa foto: pixabay.com@geralt Elena Enache, 05.03.2026, 14:04 The European Union entry-exit system, which requires the registration of biometric and travel data of citizens from non-EU countries entering the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days, has come into force at all Romanian border crossing points, starting from Monday. The electronic system records the date and place of entry and exit for third-country nationals, including citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Third-country nationals holding a long-stay permit or visa issued by an EU member state will not be subject to the system. Upon first entry, after the system is operational, biometric data, facial image and four fingerprints will be collected to create an individual file. Children under 12 years of age are exempt from fingerprinting, as well as persons for whom this is physically impossible. On subsequent trips, the verification will be carried out automatically, based on the data already registered. The data collected in the system will be stored for a period of 3 years or 5 years in case of refusal of entry or exceeding the legal duration of stay. In order to avoid delays, the Border Police recommends that persons who benefit from exceptions to registration in the system present the supporting documents attesting to this status from the beginning. Romania should accelerate the professional integration of Ukrainian refugees on the countrys territory, including by recognizing diplomas within a maximum period of 90 days, said the president of the National Confederation for Womens Entrepreneurship, Cristina Chiriac, at a debate on the new rules for hiring foreign workers. According to her, there are over 180,000 Ukrainian refugees in the country who, instead of being integrated as an active, well-qualified workforce on the Romanian labor market, are joining the ranks of those who benefit from certain social support from the state. Chiriac believes that integrating refugees into the workforce could help reduce pressure on the public budget and cover staff shortages in key sectors of the economy. The Labor Inspectorate imposed fines of over 4.6 million lei (over 900,000 euros) following inspections carried out last week. This is not a figure thrown around in a press release, it is a signal that the law is being applied, the relevant minister, Florin Manole, said in a post on the Internet. He stated that undeclared work, violation of employees rights and ignoring the rules do not remain without consequences. Approximately 2,400 inspections were carried out between February 16 and 20, resulting in 1,170 sanctions. 100 people who were performing undeclared work were identified. At the same time, violations of the provisions regarding working and rest time or failure to comply with the measures ordered during previous inspections were found, the Ministry of Labor informs. The Municipal Employment Agency in Bucharest is implementing the Formactiv training and active work project until 2029. Through this program, employers in Bucharest can train qualified personnel, and unemployed people over 30 years of age can gain experience. Employers who choose to hire unemployed people registered with the Public Employment Service will receive a monthly subsidy of 2,250 lei (about 440 euros)/ apprentice, for the entire period of the apprenticeship contract. The duration of the contract is established depending on the level of qualification for which the apprentice is to be trained. The agency specifies that the employer provides the salary, the conditions for professional training and the support needed for qualification. In turn, the unemployed have access to paid and officially recognized on-the-job training programs, counseling and mediation for choosing the right field, respectively the chance to acquire a qualification and integrate into the labor market. AMOFM Bucharest specifies that the recruitment of the target group will be carried out continuously, throughout the project. (EE) European cooperation in the field of defense In Brussels, Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta called for increased attention to be paid to the Black Sea region Radu Miruta si Roberta Metsola (Photographer: Daina LE LARDIC Copyright: European Un)ion 2026 - Source : EP Stefan Stoica, 05.03.2026, 13:50 The Minister of National Defense, Radu Miruta, was in Brussels on Wednesday, where he met with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. During the discussions, the Romanian official highlighted the importance of strengthening the defense dimension at the European Union level. At the same time, he stressed the need to ensure adequate allocations through the future Multiannual Financial Framework to support the financing of the European defense industry. The defense minister advocated for a consolidated approach at the European level to simplify defense procedures and instruments so that member states can access dedicated European funds more efficiently. The SAFE (Security Action for Europe) initiative, which is important for Romania both in terms of strengthening its industrial and technological defense base and increasing resilience in the Black Sea region, was also on the agenda. The two officials also discussed Romanias proposal that, in order to continue the SAFE program, regulations should be drafted that include the creation of an accurate map of existing industrial facilities and their direct inclusion in the program. On the other hand, Minister Miruta and President Metsola discussed the danger of disinformation and technical versus political solutions to this scourge. In the context of the Russian Federations aggression against Ukraine, as well as the broader implications of instability in other regions, including the Middle East, Radu Miruta reiterated the importance of maintaining a heightened focus on the Black Sea region. He stressed the need for a coherent and unified approach at the European and Euro-Atlantic level, in close coordination with NATO. The discussions reconfirmed the strategic relevance of NATOs Eastern Flank for Euro-Atlantic security. The Minister of National Defense highlighted Romanias consistent contribution to measures aimed at strengthening the Alliances deterrence and defense posture, as well as its firm commitment to increasing investment in the field of defense. With regard to Ukraine, the Romanian official reiterated Romanias consistent support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of that state. Miruta stressed the importance of continuing humanitarian, financial, and military assistance, as well as support for Kyivs European path. The meeting between Radu Miruta and Roberta Metsola reconfirmed the joint commitment to strengthening European security and defense in an international context marked by complex and dynamic challenges. (MI) Swiss stocks closed on a weak note on Monday, in line with most of the across Europe, amid falling appetite for riskier assets due to rising tensions in the Middle East. Tensions run high in Middle East following the U.S. and Israel's coordinated strikes on Iran and the retaliatory strikes by Teheran on U.S. bases across the region. Subscribe to continue reading the article. This article is part of our premium content offering.Subscribe with a RTTNews subscription. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Market Analysis Indian shares were seeing modest gains in cautious trade on Thursday as oil prices paused their rapid climb following reports that Iranian intelligence has quietly conveyed to the United States that Tehran may be open to discussions on ending the war. The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 332 points, or 0.4 percent, at 79,448 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index edged up by 111 points, or half a percent, to 24,592. Subscribe to continue reading the article. This article is part of our premium content offering.Subscribe with a RTTNews subscription. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Global Economics Weekly Update - March 09 - 13, 2026 The week saw no cooling of the tensions in the Middle East that kept pushing the crude oil and gold prices higher, worsening concerns over the overall impact on the global economy. On the data front, latest inflation and foreign trade data were the highlights in the U.S. Trade was also in focus in Europe as Germany released its figures for January. In Asia, Japan revised its growth figure for the fourth quarter and China published external trade data for the first two months of the year. Sysco Corporation (SYY), a provider of food and related products, said on Thursday that its Chief Financial Officer, Kenny Cheung, will step down to accept a new opportunity. Subsequently, the company has appointed Brandon Sewell as interim CFO with effect from March 6. Sewell, who joined Sysco in 2014, has held various management roles of increasing responsibility within Sysco's finance division. Most recently, he worked as CFO of Sysco's U.S. . Cheung will remain with the company until April 17 to ensure a smooth transition. Looking ahead, Sysco, said: "Sysco also reaffirmed its fiscal year 2026 financial guidance for adjusted EPS at the high end of $4.50 to $4.60 and sales growth of 3%-5%. The company also remains confident in third quarter 2026 consensus adjusted EPS of $0.94 and USFS local case growth of at least 2.5% compared to the prior year." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Earlier, we discussed the car wholesales (company to dealer). In this article, we will take a look at the retail sales (dealer to consumer) last month. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released vehicle retail sales data for February 2026. The industry recorded a strong year-on-year performance, with growth seen across most segments. FADA also noted that February 2026 was the best-ever February in terms of total retail sales across segments. Overall vehicle retail sales stood at 24,09,362 units in February 2026, registering a 25.62% year-on-year growth compared to 19,17,934 units in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, however, sales declined 11.50% from 27,22,558 units recorded in January 2026. Passenger Vehicle Retail Sales Feb 2026 Passenger vehicle retail sales reached 3,94,768 units in February 2026, compared to 3,13,015 units in February 2025, reflecting 26.12% YoY growth. The growth was supported by new product launches, strong SUV demand and positive buyer sentiment in both urban and rural markets. Rural markets recorded 34.21% growth, while urban markets grew 21.12% YoY. SUVs continued to dominate the market, contributing significantly to the growth in passenger vehicle sales. Year-to-date (YTD) passenger vehicle retail sales stood at 42,50,900 units, registering 11.82% growth over 38,01,594 units sold during the same period last year. In terms of fuel-wise breakup, petrol and ethanol vehicles accounted for 46.08% share, followed by CNG/LPG at 23.45%, diesel at 18.80%, hybrids at 8.19%, and electric vehicles at 3.48%. Car Retail Sales Breakup Feb 2026 Maruti Suzuki retained its leadership position with 1,54,095 units retailed in February 2026, commanding a 39.03% market share. The company recorded 28.40% YoY growth, highlighting strong demand across its lineup. Tata Motors emerged as the second largest player during the month with 56,447 units, registering a strong 42.90% YoY growth. The company moved ahead of Mahindra and Hyundai in retail rankings. Mahindra followed closely with 53,281 units, reporting 25.62% YoY growth, driven largely by demand for its SUV portfolio. Hyundai recorded 45,615 units, marking 15.87% YoY growth. Toyota reported 26,392 units, registering 13.35% YoY growth, while Kia India sold 25,031 units, posting 28.50% YoY growth. Among other brands, Skoda VW Group retailed 7,615 units, reflecting 12.37% YoY growth. Renault recorded 3,248 units, marking 27.52% YoY growth, while Nissan reported 1,622 units, witnessing a slight 7.16% YoY decline. Honda Cars India reported 4,774 units, down 10.83% YoY, while JSW MG Motor also saw a slight decline with 4,548 units sold, compared to 4,846 units last year. New entrant VinFast registered 384 units during the month, while Force Motors reported 1,415 units, showing strong growth over the previous year. Luxury Segment Performance In the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz led the market with 1,371 units, registering 4.98% YoY growth, while BMW recorded 1,216 units, remaining largely stable year-on-year. JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) reported 478 units, witnessing a slight decline compared to 515 units last year. Meanwhile, BYD recorded 306 units, marking 10.07% YoY growth. Month-on-Month Decline After Strong January Despite the strong yearly performance, most automakers reported a month-on-month decline in February compared to January 2026, which had recorded particularly high retail volumes. Total passenger vehicle retail sales fell 23.12% MoM, dropping from 5,13,475 units in January 2026 to 3,94,768 units in February 2026. Major brands including Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra and Tata all reported lower volumes compared to the previous month. Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has announced a major product overhaul for the Indian market. As of now, Honda is offering three vehicles in the country Amaze Sub 4m Sedan, City C+ Sedan and Elevate 4.2m to 4.4m SUV (C Segment). The company is rumoured to be working on a sub 4m SUV too, targeting the high-volume B SUV segment. For March 2026, Honda is bestowing its portfolio with benefits of up to Rs 1.97 lakh, depending on the model. These figures denote max discounts including cash discounts, exchange or scrappage benefits and a loyalty bonus. It has to be noted that these benefits vary based on dealership, city and stock availability and buyers are advised to visit their nearest dealerships for precise numbers. Honda Cars Discounts March 2026 Amaze can be seen at the lower end of Hondas price ladder. It has to be noted that Honda continues to sell 2nd Gen Amaze in India, despite launching 3rd Gen Honda Amaze in 2024. Where pricing is concerned, 2nd Gen model starts from Rs 6.98 lakh and 3rd gen model starts from 7.48 lakh (both prices Ex-sh). For March 2026, Honda is offering a max benefit of up to Rs 57,000 on the current 3rd gen model. However, benefits on older 2nd gen models are slightly higher to attract buyers which goes up to Rs 68,000. With Elevate SUV, total benefits are up to Rs 1.81 lakh and pricing for Elevate start from Rs 11.6 lakh (Ex-sh). Honda is offering the highest discounts with its popular City C+ sedan. The company offers City in Petrol (City) and Petrol + Electric Hybrid powertrain options (City e:HEV). Total benefits with Honda City can go till Rs 1.56 lakh. Prices for City sedan range between Rs 11.95 lakh (Ex-sh) and Rs 16.07 lakh (Ex-sh). City e:HEV Hybrid version, on the other hand, is being offered with total benefits of up to Rs 1.97 lakh. This might act as a nudge for buyers towards choosing their first-ever Strong Hybrid vehicle in India. Where pricing is concerned, City e:HEV commands a price tag of Rs 20 lakh (Ex-sh). Major Product Overhaul Planned HCIL (Honda Cars India Ltd) has planned a strong comeback in the domestic market with up to 10 new cars expected to launch in India by 2030. 7 of them will be SUVs, including offerings with both ICE and Electric powertrains. The company also aims to turn its Indian production facilities into global manufacturing hubs. In Brazil, eVitara takes on Volvo EX30. However, e Vitara arrives at a higher price than the entry-level single-motor version (R$ 239,950) Suzuki has introduced the eVitara in Brazil, where it will rival the likes of Volvo EX30 and the BYD Yuan Pro. eVitara in Brazil will serve as an indirect replacement for the Jimny. The latter was discontinued last year due to stricter emission norms. Pre-bookings for the eVitara are currently open and prices are expected to be announced soon. Lets get more details on this story. eVitara debuts in Brazil With the eVitara, Suzuki will be making a push to boost its presence in Brazil. This is part of the broader strategy to make the eVitara available across more than 100 countries. Suzuki is already shipping the eVitara to around 29 countries including Japan and European markets such as the UK. In Latin America, the eVitara could also be introduced in other countries such as Chile, Peru and Colombia, in addition to Brazil. Suzuki eVitara in Brazil is largely the same as the India-spec version. Dimensionally, the SUV is 4,275 mm long, 1,800 mm wide, 1,635 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. Boot space is 310 litres. eVitara in Brazil will be available in a single top-spec trim. Users will be able to access the complete set of features available with the SUV. Exterior build and equipment list are largely the same as the India-spec model. Key features include a dynamic front fascia and NEXtre 3-point matrix LED DRLs with LED projector headlamps. Also included are R18 alloy wheels with aero garnish and dual-tone paint scheme. The eVitara has squared wheel arches and body coloured ORVMs with integrated turn signals. One can notice blacked-out B-pillars, body cladding and C-pillar mounted rear door handles. At the rear, the SUV has a raked windshield, Matrix tail lamps and a layered design for the chunky bumper. Colour options for the eVitara in Brazil include Splendid Silver, Grandeur Grey, Bluish Black, Celestial Blue and Breeze Green (with black roof). These are the same as available with the eVitara in India. Interior, key features Users will be able to access features such as a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Other highlights include Infinity premium audio system by Harman, wireless charger, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic air conditioning and a fixed glass sunroof. Safety kit is pretty robust with features such as 7 airbags, 360 surround view camera, electronic stability control, traction control, multiple collision braking, electronic parking brake with auto hold and hill descent control. A comprehensive range of ADAS features are available such as lane keep assist, blind spot monitor, adaptive cruise control and lane departure prevention. Performance, range, battery Available in the top-spec trim, the eVitara in Brazil is equipped with a 61-kWh battery pack. It supplies power to two electric motors. The one at the front generates 174 hp and 192 Nm of torque. The rear motor generates 65 hp and 114 Nm of torque. Suzuki eVitara can achieve 0 to 100 km/h in around 7.4 seconds. Available range is up to 293 km. In Brazil, the eVitara comes with the AllGrip-e system, offering drive modes of Auto and Trail. When the Auto mode is engaged, the torque supplied to the front and rear wheels is adjusted automatically to achieve better traction across uneven surfaces. In Trail mode, more extreme terrains such as mud and snow can be tackled. eVitara supports DC fast charging of up to 150 kW. This allows 10% to 80% charge in 45 minutes. When using a 7 kW AC charger, 10% to 100% charge takes around 9 hours. Source This photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a building damaged in Israeli airstrikes in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. A security source from the Lebanese Army told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 76 airstrikes in eastern and southern Lebanon as well as Beirut's southern suburbs in the early morning hours on Thursday. The source added that 19 artillery strikes were also recorded on Lebanon's border towns. (Photo by Bilal Jawich/Xinhua) BEIRUT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and an unspecified number wounded on Thursday morning in multiple Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, Lebanon's official media reported. According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), three people were killed when an Israeli drone struck a car at dawn near the municipality of Al-Qlailah in southern Lebanon. Two others were killed in another drone strike targeting a car on the Zahle road in eastern Lebanon. The agency reported that three more people were killed and several others wounded when the area between the towns of Zawtar and Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon was hit by three airstrikes. A security source from the Lebanese Army told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 76 airstrikes in eastern and southern Lebanon as well as Beirut's southern suburbs in the early morning hours. The source added that 19 artillery strikes were also recorded on Lebanon's border towns. Hezbollah on Monday fired missiles and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike and for repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Israel has responded with massive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets and deployed ground forces into southern Lebanon. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The development of artificial intelligence (AI), one of the buzzwords at China's ongoing annual "two sessions," is accelerating in the country and shaping the global AI ecosystem. Chinese tech firms' open-source large AI models rank first globally in downloads, significantly lowering the barriers to AI adoption, reducing usage costs and enhancing AI accessibility, said Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng Thursday on the sidelines of the annual session of the national legislature. Data from a top global AI platform, OpenRouter, showed that API calls, or user visits, to Chinese large models began surpassing U.S. levels in February, highlighting China's rising influence in the global AI ecosystem. Chinese models occupy three of the top five spots globally by usage -- MiniMax's M2.5, Moonshot's Kimi K2.5 and DeepSeek's V3.2 -- mainly driven by their high cost-performance, according to the platform. This year, China's AI models, some gaining popularity through open-weight offerings, continue to evolve rapidly and compete to create a new "DeepSeek moment," the breakthrough that shook tech and global investment circles last year and is seen as a catalyst for China's tech-driven economic growth. ByteDance's text-to-video tool Seedance 2.0, which can generate a multi-shot film sequence in roughly 60 seconds with rather simple prompts, has recently sparked a short video creation craze across the global cyberspace. "The childhood era of artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) is over," said Feng Ji, creator of the globally hit game Black Myth: Wukong, when discussing Seedance 2.0. China is also rapidly injecting its newfound AI capabilities into globally popular consumer electronics. After making a splash at CES Las Vegas in January, Chinese smart devices have once again seized the global spotlight this week at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona -- from Alibaba's Qwen smart glasses making their overseas debut, to AI agent-integrated smartphones, and humanoid robots that offer companionship services. AgiBot's booth was swarming with visitors at the Barcelona event. The Shanghai-based embodied intelligence firm is now on the hunt for European partners. Chinese tech firms are not showcasing isolated technological breakthroughs, but integrated architectures, said Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU. China boasts a complete industrial ecosystem, a deep pool of innovation talent and an increasingly vibrant environment for breakthroughs, said Li. "We are confident this dynamic landscape will keep producing world-class smart products." Zhou Yunjie, a national legislator and chairman of China's home appliance giant Haier Group, said the company will invest no less than 100 billion yuan (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the coming five years to strengthen the foundation of AI-native technologies. Tang Dongsheng, a national political advisor, said embodied intelligence is not about show-off, but about solving real-world problems. China plans to advance and expand its "AI Plus" initiative, promote faster application of new-generation intelligent terminals and AI agents, and encourage large-scale commercial application of AI in key sectors and fields, according to the government work report submitted Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation. The draft outline of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, also submitted on the same day, shows that, over the next five years, AI will be harnessed to advance basic science, transform traditional and frontier industries, create new consumption scenarios, innovate governance, and enrich daily life. China aims to advance computing infrastructure, model and algorithm development, and the supply of high-quality data resources to support the growing demands of AI development, according to the draft outline. International cooperation and joint governance on AI have also been incorporated into the five-year plan. To make AI a global "public good," Li pledged that China will uphold open and shared AI development, working with countries worldwide to explore and establish governance frameworks and rules with broader consensus. HAVANA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Wednesday urged an immediate end to the violation of international law amid the military escalation in the Middle East. "Cuba joins international calls to immediately end the violation of international law resulting from the aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran and Lebanon, involving political assassinations and indiscriminate attacks," Diaz-Canel said on X. He said that Cuba advocates respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in the region, and urges a cessation of acts causing human casualties and damage to the civil infrastructure of the Gulf states, with which Cuba maintains ties of friendship and cooperation. "Cuba ratifies the call to preserve the principle of good neighborliness, moderation and dialogue at this delicate moment," Diaz-Canel said. JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran is "fully prepared" to defend itself and will continue to resist "brutal aggression" by the United States and Israel, the Iranian ambassador to South Africa, Mansour Shakib Mehr, has said. The assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by U.S. and Israeli forces "represents a dangerous and unprecedented violation of international norms," Mehr told a news conference in the South African administrative capital of Pretoria Wednesday night. "As heads of state are considered inviolable and immune under international law, targeting such a figure undermines the very foundations of sovereign equality," he was quoted as saying by South African media. Mehr said that waves of strikes had extended beyond military installations to civilian areas. "In light of these aggressive actions, the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its inherent and lawful right to self-defence," the ambassador said, adding that Iran's armed forces remain "fully prepared to defend the nation." Describing the hostilities as "a historic test for the multilateral system," Mehr called on the United Nations Security Council and all UN member states to "fulfil their serious responsibility in preserving international peace and security." The ambassador's remarks come amid a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East, where military confrontations between Iran on the one hand and the United States and Israel on the other have entered their sixth day. Several other regional countries have also been directly impacted. The United States and Israel waged sudden airstrikes against Iran on Saturday morning, killing Khamenei, senior military commanders and some 100 civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East. Reports indicate that the death toll in Iran has reached approximately 1,000. Wildfires sweeping through the vast boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia could be having a larger impact on the climate than scientists once believed. A new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley suggests these northern fires may release far more carbon into the atmosphere than current estimates indicate. The reason is that these fires do not only burn trees. In many boreal regions, flames can spread downward into thick layers of carbon rich soil beneath the forest floor. These soils, known as peat, contain partially decomposed plant material that has accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years. Because the cold, wet conditions of the far north slow the breakdown of organic matter, these landscapes store enormous amounts of carbon underground. Satellite Data May Miss Underground Peat Fires According to the study, many widely used models that estimate wildfire carbon emissions fail to fully capture this underground burning. Most of these models rely heavily on satellite observations of visible flames and are based largely on fires that occur at lower latitudes. As a result, they may overlook slower, less visible fires that smolder deep within peat and organic soils. "Many of the fires that matter most for the climate don't look dramatic from space," said study lead author Johan Eckdahl, a postdoctoral scholar in Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group. "Peatlands and organic soils can smolder for weeks to years, releasing enormous amounts of ancient carbon." Reconstructing Emissions From Swedish Wildfires The research, published in the journal Science Advances, analyzed 324 wildfires that burned across Sweden in 2018. Eckdahl and his colleagues combined detailed national forest records with direct field measurements to reconstruct the amount of carbon released by each fire. Using these data, the team created a detailed map of wildfire emissions. Their analysis showed that local conditions such as climate, vegetation, and soil characteristics strongly influence how much carbon is stored in forests and how much is released during a wildfire. Major Differences From Global Fire Models When the researchers compared their reconstructed emissions with six widely used global wildfire models, they discovered significant discrepancies. In some places, the models overestimated carbon emissions. In other areas, especially where fires burned deep into soil layers, emissions were dramatically underestimated. For instance, the models predicted higher emissions in the county of Gavleborg, where intense fires burned through dry forests and were clearly visible from satellites. However, the situation was very different in neighboring Dalarna County. There, lower intensity fires burned quietly into thick layers of organic soil and were less noticeable from space. In that region, the models underestimated carbon emissions by as much as 14 times. "Sweden is a very large country, but it's quite small compared to Siberia and Canada," Eckdahl said. "We may be severely underestimating the impact of the recent extreme fire seasons in these regions." Field Measurements Reveal Soil Carbon Loss To measure how much carbon wildfires release from soil, the research team collected data from 50 locations affected by fires in 2018. Nineteen sites experienced high intensity fires, while 31 had lower intensity burns. At each site, the researchers measured the thickness of the organic rich soil layer -- which can vary from a few inches to many feet -- and collected soil samples. By comparing carbon levels in burned soil with samples from nearby unburned forests, the team calculated how much carbon had been emitted. "Once you're out there, it's a simple task -- just dig some holes -- but the hard part is getting to the sites," Eckdahl said. "Sweden has a good network of forest roads, but in Siberia, I hear it's a real trek, which is one reason why we're severely missing measurements from that region." Expanding Research to Fire Prone U.S. Forests Eckdahl is now working with colleagues at UC Berkeley and other institutions as part of the Western Fire & Forest Collaborative to apply similar research methods in forests across the Western United States. Although forests in the western U.S. generally do not contain the same thick peat soils found in northern boreal regions, several other factors still influence wildfire emissions. These include regional climate patterns, the types of trees and vegetation present, and soil conditions. Eckdahl plans to study the role of soil microbes such as bacteria and fungi and how they contribute to forest recovery after wildfire. "Forests in the Lower 48 and those far up north may look very different, but they share the common currency of carbon," said Eckdahl. "By improving our understanding of how this element flows between the land and the atmosphere, we can better anticipate the impact of future fire regimes in a warming world and design smarter strategies to reduce climate risks on society." Lars Nieradzik of Lund University and Louise Rutting of the Brandenburg University of Technology are co authors of the paper. PARIS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aircraft not participating in operations in Iran have been "accepted" at certain military bases in France, French daily Le Parisien reported on Thursday, citing the French military. Contrary to earlier media reports citing the French armed forces' general staff, France has not authorized the presence of U.S. aircraft at French bases in the Middle East, but rather at bases located "in France", the report said. France has also required that the aircraft not take part in U.S. operations in Iran and be used strictly to support the defense of its partners in the region, according to the report. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said Thursday that its air force had completed a wave of attacks on Iranian ballistic missile sites. In a statement, the military said warplanes struck an underground ballistic missile storage site, storage facilities for missiles intended for use against aircraft, and launch sites for long-range ballistic missiles in Iran. It did not elaborate on the number or the specific locations of the targeted sites. In the late morning, missile attacks from Iran resumed. Air raid warning sirens sounded across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as millions sought shelter just as new wartime guidelines came into effect, lifting some restrictions and allowing Israelis to reopen workplaces where they could quickly reach a shelter. Police reported that a missile fragment fell in the central region. Video footage circulating on social media showed the impact created a large crater in the backyard of a residential home. Paramedics reported no injuries. On Saturday morning, Israel and the United States launched massive airstrikes on Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes by Iran against Israeli targets and U.S. assets in the Middle East. COLOMBO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A second Iranian vessel is inside Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) close to the country's maritime boundary, a senior minister told parliament on Thursday. Cabinet spokesman and Health and Mass Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament in response to a question posed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa whether another Iranian ship had been reported near the Port of Colombo. Jayatissa said the government has taken steps to manage the situation while minimizing loss of life and safeguarding peace in the region, adding that the government would present a detailed report to the parliament after relevant actions are concluded. The comments came a day after the Sri Lanka Navy launched a rescue operation off the island's southern coast following an incident involving the Iranian naval vessel, IRIS Dena. Sri Lankan authorities said they rescued 32 survivors and recovered 87 bodies, while the United States said a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship in international waters. Insurer Admiral posted a rise in full-year profit on Thursday as it hailed a growing customer base and an "exceptional" performance from the UK motor division. In the year to the end of December 2025, pre-tax profit jumped 16% to a record 957.9m, with the customer base up 7%. Group turnover nudged down 1% to 5.9bn as continued growth in UK Other Personal lines was offset by lower UK Motor turnover as average premiums reduced. Meanwhile, insurance revenue was 9% higher at 5bn. UK Motor Insurance profit rose 7% to just over 1.0bn. The increase in profit excluding the Ogden impact was 16% to 994m, with a "strong" current year combined ratio due to disciplined growth in a competitive market, Admiral said. The dividend per share was lifted 7% to 205p and Admiral declared a special dividend of 17.2p per share. Chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis said 2025 had been an "exceptional" year for the company. "We reported record profits, continued to grow our customer base and diversify our business, while maintaining momentum in how we invest and innovate," she said. "UK Motor delivered an exceptional performance, surpassing 1 billion of profit, while our other UK personal lines, Admiral Money and European Motor operations together generated nearly 100 million of profit, with strong results in France and a rapid recovery in Italy." At 0815 GMT, the shares were up 1.8% at 2,910p. Rentokil Initial reaffirmed guidance on Thursday, sending shares sharply higher, following a strong finish to the year. The pest control and hygiene specialist posted a 3.8% improvement in 2025 revenues to $6.9bn, on a constant currency basis, supported by strengthening organic growth. In the first half, revenues grew by 1.6%, but by 3.5% in the final six months. Annual operating profits rose 5.4% to $1.1bn. In North America, Rentokil's biggest market, organic revenues sparked 2.3% at $4.3bn. The firm said cost efficiency initiatives remained on track to deliver cost reductions of around $100m in 2027. "Initiatives include streamlining and simplifying the business through global capacity centres, outsourcing, procurement and digital enablement," it noted. Outgoing chief executive Andy Ransom called it a year of "encouraging progress". He said: "It is encouraging to see the strategic initiatives we put in place at the start of this year driving an improved performance. There is still more to do, building on this progress to fully realise the potential of this business. "Our leading positions in the North American pest market, and other key global markets, provide a solid foundation and we are well-placed to capitalise on strong industry forecasts for the coming years. "In the short term, while recent geopolitical events create uncertainty, our plans to further increase growth and margins give us confidence in delivering a 2026 performance in line with market expectations." As at 0830 GMT, the stock had rallied 11% at 473.9p. Ransom announced last year plans to retire after 12 years at the helm. He is being replaced by Mike Duffy, the former head of US logistics firm OnTrac, who joined last month ahead of taking on the role on 16 March. Rentokil also announced on Thursday that long-standing chair Richard Solomons, 64, was stepping down. The search for his successor his now underway, the blue chip confirmed. Solomons has held the role since 2019. Edward Hoagland, "whose shimmering essays explored the wonders of the natural world, the sights of faraway places and his own journeys into blindness," died February 17 at age 93, the New York Times reported. John Updike called him "the best essayist of my generation," and Philip Roth praised him as "America's most intelligent and wide-ranging essayist-naturalist." His essay collections, including Walking the Dead Diamond River (1973), The Courage of Turtles (1970), Red Wolves and Black Bears (1976), and The Tugman's Passage (1982), gathered works first published in the Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and elsewhere. Other books include Balancing Acts (1992); The Final Fate of the Alligators (1992); African Calliope: A Journey to the Sudan (1979); Seven Rivers West (1986), Children Are Diamonds: An African Apocalypse (2013), and In the Country of the Blind (2016). Hoagland divided his time for many years between New York City and Vermont, writing about both city and rural life. In his essay "In the Country of the Blind," which was included in Compass Points (2001), he wrote: "I loved the city like the country--the hydrants that fountained during the summer like a splashing brook--and wanted therefore to absorb the cruel along with the good." From childhood, the Times wrote, Hoagland had a severe stutter, and found comfort in books as well as solitary walks in the Connecticut countryside. He determined early on to be a writer, a life that would afford him a fluent means of communication, but the career plan did not sit well with his parents. "I tended to downplay my various excitements in the house lest they be restricted or used against me," he wrote in "Small Silences," included in Sex and the River Styx (2011). "It was not a silly instinct because my parents did soon tell me I was reading too much, and by prep school were telling my favorite teachers that I was too intrigued by nature and writing; that these were dodges due to my handicap and might derail a more respectable career in law or medicine." At Harvard, he studied writing with poet Archibald MacLeish, who became his mentor. While still an undergraduate, Hoagland won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship, which included publication of Cat Man (1956), his first novel, followed by The Circle Home (1960) and The Peacock's Tail (1965). His first nonfiction book was Notes from the Century Before (1969). "A single long narrative of a trek through British Columbia, with its people and places indelibly portrayed, it drew rapturous critical praise," the Times noted. In his 50s, Hoagland began to lose his eyesight and for three years was legally blind before an innovative operation restored his sight, though not permanently. The books he wrote in the 1990s were considered some of his finest, among them Tigers & Ice: Reflections on Nature and Life (1999) and Compass Points (2001). In a 1994 Times essay, Hoagland wrote of family and friends who had died: "I don't expect to rejoin or 'miss' these people in the hereafter, yet, having spent a great deal of my personal and professional life riding a surf of wind-song, wolf howls, elephants snuffling, trees soughing, grasshoppers buzzing, frogs croaking, I do think I'll mix in somehow with all of the above, the wine of human nature blending with the milk of outdoor nature in a mulligatawny soup of soil, rainwater and pondy chemicals, with infinite possibilities once again." This photo taken with a mobile phone shows debris of a drone near a school in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned drone attacks on its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic launched from Iranian territory, calling the strikes a "violation of the norms and principles of international law." The attacks took place at around midday on Thursday. One drone struck the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage, while another drone fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the actions would escalate regional tensions and directly contradict the principles of international law. Nakhchivan is an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the rest of the country by Armenia and bordering Armenia, Iran and Turkiye. (Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) BAKU, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned drone attacks on its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic launched from Iranian territory, calling the strikes a "violation of the norms and principles of international law." The attacks took place at around midday on Thursday. One drone struck the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage, while another drone fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the actions would escalate regional tensions and directly contradict the principles of international law. Nakhchivan is an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the rest of the country by Armenia and bordering Armenia, Iran and Turkiye. This photo taken with a mobile phone shows a crater caused by a drone strike near a school in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows the damage inside a building at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026. (Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows debris of a drone at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows debris of a drone at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026. (Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows the damage inside a building at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows debris of a drone near a school in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows the damage inside a building at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows the damage inside a building at Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken with a mobile phone shows debris of a drone near a school in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, March 5, 2026.(Azerbaijan State News Agency/Handout via Xinhua) As digital adoption accelerates across India, Hyderabad has emerged as one of the countrys most dynamic business ecosystems. From tech startups in HITEC City to D2C brands, healthcare innovators, and real estate developers, companies are no longer treating digital as a marketing add-onIt has become a core revenue infrastructure. In 2026, sustainable business growth in Hyderabad is being driven by an integrated digital blueprint that combines social media marketing, SEO, paid advertising, web development, and strategic branding into a single performance-focused framework. Why Hyderabad Businesses Need a Digital Growth Blueprint Operating in a competitive and rapidly evolving market like Hyderabad requires more than fragmented campaigns. Businesses now need structured digital ecosystems that: Build strong brand positioning Capture high-intent search demand Convert traffic into qualified leads Nurture audiences through content and community Deliver measurable ROI through data analytics The convergence of IT infrastructure, startup culture, and a digitally savvy audience has created immense opportunitybut only for brands that execute strategically. The 5 Pillars of Digital Growth in 2026 1. Social Media Marketing: From Visibility to Revenue Social platforms are no longer just awareness tools. Businesses in Hyderabad are leveraging: Performance-driven Meta and LinkedIn campaigns Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts for engagement Influencer micro-communities for credibility Conversion-focused retargeting funnels The focus has shifted from vanity metrics to pipeline and revenue impact. 2. SEO: Capturing High-Intent Demand Search Engine Optimization remains one of the most cost-efficient long-term growth levers. Hyderabad businesses are investing in: Local SEO dominance Industry-specific keyword authority Technical website optimization Content-led organic growth strategies In competitive sectors like SaaS, healthcare, and real estate, ranking on page one translates directly into predictable lead generation.Local search visibility in Hyderabad has become particularly competitive, with businesses competing aggressively for high-intent commercial keywords tied to real estate, healthcare, education, and SaaS. 3. Paid Advertising: Scalable Customer Acquisition Data-backed paid campaigns across Google, Meta, and LinkedIn are enabling brands to scale faster. With AI-powered targeting and predictive analytics, businesses are optimizing cost-per-lead while expanding reach across regional and national markets. 4. Web Development: Conversion-Focused Infrastructure A high-performing website is no longer optionalit is the central growth engine. Hyderabad companies are investing in: UX-driven design Speed and performance optimization Conversion architecture CRM and automation integrations A well-structured website turns traffic into measurable business outcomes. 5. Strategic Branding: Positioning for Authority In crowded markets, clarity of positioning determines long-term success. Businesses are prioritizing: Distinct brand messaging Visual identity systems Thought leadership content Market differentiation strategies Strong branding amplifies the impact of every marketing channel. The Strategic Shift: From Vendors to Growth Partners In 2026, forward-thinking companies are moving away from hiring fragmented service providers. Instead, they are partnering with integrated digital strategy consultants who align marketing with business objectives. According to Hyderabad-based digital marketing agency Wildflower Digital, companies that align SEO, paid media, and social strategy under one unified framework are seeing significantly stronger revenue predictability. Rather than executing isolated campaigns, the focus is on: Long-term scalability Data-backed decision-making Cross-channel integration Revenue attribution modeling In 2025, Hyderabad witnessed a 28% increase in digital advertising investments across mid-sized businesses, reflecting a decisive shift toward performance-led marketing. The Road Ahead for Hyderabad Businesses As Hyderabad strengthens its reputation as a technology and startup powerhouse, businesses that invest in structured, insight-driven digital frameworks will gain a significant competitive edge. The brands that will dominate Hyderabads next phase of growth are those that treat digital not as a marketing channel, but as a structured revenue engine. For more information, visit: https://shorturl.at/zX5CJ A US submarine torpedoed the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lankas southern coast, resulting in 87 confirmed deaths, 32 rescued, and around 60 missing. The attack occurred amid escalating US-Israel-Iran tensions, following the killing of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The IRIS Dena had recently participated in Indian Navy exercises, and the incident has raised serious regional security concerns in the strategically important Indian Ocean. An Iranian warship returning from Visakhapatnam after taking part in an exercise organized by the Indian Navy was torpedoed by a United States submarine off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the early hours of Wednesday. In a Pentagon briefing, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strike as the first attack on an enemy ship by the US since World War II. An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death,he said. The attack left devastating consequences. Hospital authorities in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle reported that 87 bodies had been recovered by military rescuers responding to an early morning distress call. Another 32 sailors were rescued and treated at the hospital, while about 60 were still unaccounted for from an estimated 180 people on board. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath identified the vessel as the IRIS Dena. The sinking occurred amid a rapidly escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Military strikes carried out by the US and Israel on February 28 had killed Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior officials of the regime, further heightening tensions in the region. According to Sri Lankan defense officials, the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate of Irans Southern Fleet, issued a distress call around 5:30 a.m. local time while operating approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Galle. Rescue operations by the Sri Lankan navy and air force were launched immediately and continued through the morning. Many of the 32 sailors rescued were reported to be in critical condition due to severe injuries and prolonged exposure to the water. The wounded were taken to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, the largest medical facility in the region, where emergency wards were placed on alert. Also Read: India Advocates Peace Amid Rising Tensions in West Asia The IRIS Dena had recently participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral exercise MILAN-2026, both organized by the Indian Navy. While the US Navy destroyer USS Pinckney had been scheduled to join the events, it did not participate due to emergent requirements. A US P-8 aircraft had been present for the exercises. Indian defense sources clarified that the incident occurred within Sri Lankas assigned area of operation, and any foreign navy could only intervene if they sought assistance. Sri Lankan authorities emphasized their neutral stance in international conflicts, though the nation occupies a strategically significant location along major shipping routes in the Indian Ocean. The waters south of Sri Lanka are near some of the worlds busiest maritime corridors connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, and naval vessels from several countries routinely patrol the region. The IRIS Dena, named after Mount Dena in southwestern Iran, was domestically built and equipped for patrol and combat missions. It carried a range of anti-ship missiles, naval guns, torpedo launchers, and a helicopter landing pad, along with radar systems capable of tracking multiple targets. A Pentagon video released after the attack showed a massive explosion that ripped apart the rear of the vessel, sending it to the bottom of the sea. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US, said the strike marked the first time since 1945 that a US fast-attack submarine sank an enemy ship with a single Mk 48 torpedo. The incident has raised questions about regional security, naval influence, and the escalating tensions between global powers, leaving the survivors and their families in shock and mourning. GAZA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- In the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, the streets are still lined with damaged buildings and piles of rubble. The two-year war that devastated this coastal enclave has left deep scars, both visible and hidden. Now, as news arrives of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's counteroffensive, residents here say they are watching the developments with familiar dread. "We have lived through killing, hunger and fear," said Hassan Abu Shaar, a 43-year-old shop owner and father of four. "We do not wish this suffering on any people, whether in Iran or anywhere else." Abu Shaar said scenes of escalation reported from Iran brought back painful memories. "The continuation of war means more suffering for ordinary people," he told Xinhua. "We hope people can live in peace and security, that children can go to school without fear, and that families can remain safely in their homes," he said. On Saturday morning, Israel and the United States launched large-scale joint strikes on Iran. Iran soon responded with counterattacks targeting Israeli and U.S. assets across the region. The conflict has triggered a broader regional confrontation, setting off waves of missile exchanges, mounting casualties, and far-reaching political, security and economic repercussions. For residents of Gaza, where the impact of war remains visible in shattered infrastructure and strained living conditions, the developments have stirred deep unease. Mariam Mohsen, a 30-year-old journalist from Gaza City, said people there are closely monitoring regional developments despite their own accumulated hardships. "Any new escalation increases anxiety here, because our humanitarian and economic situation is already fragile," she said. "We know what it means to wake up to news of bombings and to worry about relatives and friends. It is an experience we do not wish on anyone." In the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, construction worker Samer Elewa said the events surrounding Iran reminded him of the deep scars wars leave on societies. "People who have not lived through war might think it is only about military victories or political goals," he said. "But for ordinary families, war means fear, loss and years of rebuilding." Elewa, whose family was displaced several times during the Gaza conflict, said that "when bombs fall, there are no winners among civilians. Children lose their sense of safety, parents lose their livelihoods, and communities carry the trauma for years." Ibrahim al-Otla, 52, a former teacher, said the holy month of Ramadan has prompted many residents to pray for calm across the region. "We are in a month of mercy and blessings," he said. "We pray that peace will prevail for all peoples and that the wars exhausting societies will come to an end." Al-Otla said many children in Gaza continue to suffer psychological trauma. "When they hear any loud noise, we see fear in their eyes," he said. "Those who have experienced war understand its bitterness and hope it will stop everywhere." At a grocery store in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, shopkeeper Mahmoud al-Dali, 55, said decades of conflict in the region have shown that the human cost of war remains the same. "In every conflict, politicians talk about strategy and power," he said. "But the ordinary person is the one who pays the real price." For 27-year-old university student Lina al-Khatib, reports of the latest conflict brought back memories of nights spent sheltering with her family during Israeli airstrikes. "We used to sit together in the darkest corner of the house, listening to explosions and hoping the next strike would not hit us," she said. "When we hear about airstrikes in another country, we immediately think of the families there. We know what it means to feel powerless and uncertain about the future." Local observers said the expanding confrontation has heightened concerns among Gaza residents, many of whom rely on humanitarian assistance and face difficult economic conditions. They worry that prolonged instability could affect aid flows and recovery prospects. Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political analyst, warned that prolonged fighting involving Iran could have serious repercussions for the entire Middle East. "Any large-scale war in Iran will not remain confined within its borders," he said. "It will affect the balance of power in the region on security, economic and political levels." "The Middle East is interconnected," Ibrahim added. "Major disruptions in one pivotal country inevitably have consequences for others. What the region needs are comprehensive political understandings, not open-ended wars that deepen the suffering of people." Advertisement Sponsored BusinessCompaniesBulls N' Bears Historic Victorian gold pit sparkles again for Aureka Brought to you by BULLS N BEARS Rowena Duckworth March 5, 2026 3:28pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Aureka Limited has locked in long-term tenure over its historic St Arnaud Comstock gold project in Victoria, while rolling out high-resolution LiDAR mapping that may pave the way for a return to production at the old goldfield. The company has successfully renewed the key exploration licence for another five years, securing its Comstock project and surrounding ground until 2030. The license extension gives Aureka breathing room to push ahead with studies targeting potential near-term small-scale gold production. LiDAR and photogrammetry image of Aureka Limiteds Comstock open pit in Victoria, with the main shear zones highlighted. Alongside the tenure renewal, the company has completed a detailed LiDAR and photogrammetry survey of the Comstock open pit, producing a high-precision terrain and structural dataset designed to support engineering design, geological interpretation and operational planning. The survey captured more than 300 data points per square metre across the pit, creating an ultra-high-resolution digital model of the old workings that will feed into a scoping study, in parallel with an examination of regulatory approvals and logistics for a possible restart of mining operations. Advertisement The tenement renewal and LiDAR comes after a highly successful 12 months on our promising Comstock project. Aureka Limited managing director James Gurry The all-important renewed licence also covers nearby historic workings, including the famed New Bendigo line of mineralisation, as well as the Lord Nelson and New Bendigo mines, which all form part of Aurekas broader 1,565 square kilometre St Arnaud project in central Victoria. The Comstock mine sits a mere 2km north of the town of St Arnaud and 200 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, within the greater St Arnaud goldfield. Last mined in 1995, it features a prominent open-cut mine along a line of reef called Nelson, characterised by quartz-hosted gold in a shear zone. Geologically, the gold-silver mineralisation sits within folded Cambro-Ordovician turbidite sediments structurally controlled by the NNW-trending Comstock shear zone. Gold occurs within quartz veins, often associated with sulphide minerals including pyrite, arsenopyrite and galena, with a broader gold-arsenic-silver-lead signature. Advertisement The project already hosts a maiden JORC resource of 1.45 million tonnes at 1.21 grams per tonne gold for 56,500 ounces, with an exploration target suggesting potential for further growth both along strike and at depth. Key assays from a recent diamond drill hole delivered fresh high-grade gold and a standout silver intercept. The silver-rich zone sits within a bedding-parallel quartz vein hosted by massive sandstone in the footwall of a newly interpreted Comstock basal fault. The structure remains completely untested by drilling and can be traced towards surface to the north of the existing open pit. Aureka Limited managing director James Gurry said: The tenement renewal and LiDAR comes after a highly successful 12 months on our promising Comstock Project. During this period, we declared our Maiden JORC Resource, completed more than 2200 metres of diamond drilling and reported multiple instances of visible gold. Assays showed record intercepts, notably 1m at 65.37g/t gold from 116.2m, including 0.3m at 109g/t and 0.4m at 65.4g/t, while recent work also identified high-grade 650g/t silver Notably, for any restart scenario, the Comstock pit sits within trucking distance of several operating Victorian gold mills, giving Aureka potential access to third-party processing options that could fast-track early production. The company has already engaged Victorian mining specialists Core Prospecting to assist with community engagement, regulatory planning and development strategies as it evaluates a pathway towards first production. Advertisement Interestingly, the St Arnaud goldfield was originally named New Bendigo and was first discovered in 1855. The historic mining area is known for both alluvial and quartz-reef mining, and has produced over 11,970 kg of gold, with added silver credits. Victorian goldfields are famous for their punchy grades and St Arnaud was no exception. Historical mining across the field has delivered more than 400,000 ounces of gold at an average gobsmacking grade of 15g/t, the kind of numbers that built fortunes during the states gold rush era. Early miners chased narrow but rich quartz reefs along the Nelson line, often stopping where the geology got harder or the gold dipped below reach, thus leaving plenty of geological intrigue for modern explorers to test with deeper drilling. What makes those historic grades even more interesting today is the gold price backdrop. When the Comstock pit last operated in the mid-1990s, bullion was trading at less than US$400 per ounce. Fast forward to today and gold has surged to record territory north of US$5000 per ounce (A$7064), completely transforming the economics of shallow, previously marginal ounces. If the drill bit continues to deliver and the studies stack up, Aureka may soon be adding a sparkling modern chapter to one of Victorias old gold stories. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Bulls N' Bears Shares Sharemarket Advertisement Sponsored BusinessCompaniesBulls N' Bears Premier1 fires up gravity hunt for WA Murchison gold prize Brought to you by BULLS N BEARS Anderw Todd March 5, 2026 2:57pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Premier1 has launched powerful gravity surveys at its Abbotts North gold project in Western Australias Murchison region, with the program designed to sharpen the structural controls around its Rochefort prospect in the burgeoning gold address. The company says the high-resolution pictures generated by its geophysics will be used to fast-track priority drill targets at the prospect, which lies just 20 kilometres north of New Murchison Golds $700 million Crown Prince project. Blasting underway at the high-grade Crown Prince deposit, adjacent to Premier1s Abbotts North gold project in Western Australia. The promising Rochefort target already carries a coherent gold-in-soil anomaly covering 400m by 350m, alongside high-grade rock chips that peak at 11.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. Premier1 says an orientation survey to test extensions of the anomaly under shallow cover has now wrapped up, with assays due back shortly. Advertisement Rochefort displays all the classic signatures of a significant gold system. Premier1 exploration manager Paul Smith The prospect sits in the long-forgotten Abbotts greenstone belt in the northern Murchison, part of the same productive corridor that hosts Crown Princes currently 277,000 ounces of gold at a whopping 3.8g/t grade. Crown Prince has moved rapidly from discovery into production, with ore now being trucked to Westgolds Bluebird facility, 36km to the south. Premier 1 exploration manager Paul Smith said: The commencement of the gravity survey marks an important step in progressing Rochefort towards maiden drill testing. Rochefort displays all the classic signatures of a significant gold system. Rochefort sits within highly fractionated and altered quartz dolerites that are renowned for generating strong gold flows within the tightly folded ultramafic rock sequences. Advertisement The company says its surface footprint, whilst small, compares in scale to the early-stage anomalies at high-grade deposits such as the Golden Mile, Rosemont and Paddington mines. The Abbotts North project itself lies 35km north of Meekatharra, where mining 5km from the Abbotts centre historically delivered exceptional grades - around 41,000 ounces at 31g/t gold from shallow quartz reefs - yet the broader belt has seen almost no modern exploration on Premier1s ground. The company says past work was limited to reconnaissance, soil sampling and minor rotary air blast drilling, leaving its key structural corridors largely untested at depth. Premier1 is also hard at work in the southwest at its Yalgoo gold project, with reverse circulation (RC) programs continuing in parallel. The company recently kicked off some 3700m of RC drilling at its Mt Kersey gold prospect, one of the few remaining gold targets in the prolific West Australian Yalgoo greenstone belt that have been barely touched. Advertisement With the gravity survey refining targets, gold results imminent and maiden drilling now on the horizon, Premier1s Abbotts North programs are breathing new life into a region of WA, ripe for gold discovery. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Bulls N' Bears Sharemarket Shares RIO DE JANEIRO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and six others remain trapped following the collapse of a nursing home in Belo Horizonte, capital of southeastern Brazil's Minas Gerais state, local authorities said Thursday. The four-story building, located in the northeast of the city, collapsed around 1:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT). According to residents, they came to rescue after hearing a roar from the building's collapse. Fire department teams and civil defense arrived at the spot about half an hour after the incident occurred and isolated the area. Eight people have been rescued from the ruins, the authorities said. "We are managing to establish contact with some of the victims, so we are working hard to carry out the rescue as quickly as possible and with the utmost safety," the authorities said. Local civil defense pointed out that the possible reason for the tragedy could be the structural problems of the building, and confirmed that nearby homes do not pose a structural risk. Police will undertake further investigation after the rescue work finishes. Advertisement The former head of Australias consumer watchdog has torpedoed petrol stations excuses for raising prices already because of the war in Iran, warning that fuel companies seeking to use the conflict as a smokescreen should be investigated. While fuel prices have begun rising in Australias two largest cities, some past $2.20 a litre, former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims has said attempts to link the rises to the Middle East conflict do not add up. Photo: Oscar Colman Despite oil prices jumping 10 per cent during the past week amid the widening fighting in the Middle East, experts say it takes at least a week for global market swings to reach Australian bowsers. There cant be any cost increases flowing through yet, said Sims, the longest-serving chair in the ACCCs history. He labelled suggestions that this weeks oil volatility has forced immediate price increases as just not yet true, and misleading to consumers. Advertisement Im sure [the ACCC] will be looking at it very closely, he said. The war in Iran has intensified concerns over global supplies of crude oil the natural resource refined into petrol and diesel and is expected to ultimately push up transport costs for consumers in Australia, even if the conflict is short-lived. However, a new analysis from the National Roads and Motorists Association says more than half of the service stations in Sydney and Melbourne have moved to lift prices prematurely, selling regular unleaded for 5 to 10 above expected levels at the peak of both cities price cycles. This comes despite a warning from the Albanese government that price gouging will not be tolerated. Rod Sims chaired the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from 2011 to 2022. Alex Ellinghausen Australias major fuel suppliers Ampol, Viva Energy, BP and ExxonMobil all refused to comment. Advertisement Australian fuel prices go through cycles of varying durations, during which retailers progressively discount their fuel by a few cents each day to compete for market share until prices bottom out, then spike again by as much as 25 to 40 a litre in one day. Melbourne and Sydney coincidentally reached the peak of their regular price cycles just as the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran. Industry representatives for Australian fuel retailers said global markets for refined fuels had been rocked by sharp price increases in recent days, and price cycles had generally been trending up since February. Loading Fuel retailers dont all buy fuel the same way. Some purchase on a daily spot price, while others buy on contracts based on seven-day, 14-day, 21-day or 28-day price averages, said Rowan Lee, chief executive of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association. This means some retailers see international price changes immediately, while others experience them with a delay. Advertisement NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said average fuel prices across most of both cities service stations were way over where they should be at this stage of the cycles, given it was too early for so many retailers to have felt the impact of a 5.5 rise in wholesale prices since the Iran conflict began over the weekend. Neither a daily spot price nor a 14- day contract purchase justifies half the service stations in Australias three largest capital cities currently selling fuel at 60 or 70 per litre higher than what they bought it for at the terminal gate price, depending on when they restocked their tanks, he said. Related Article Exclusive Middle East at war Price gouging: Petrol stations accused of cashing in on Iran war The average regular unleaded price in Melbourne on Thursday was $2.09, NRMA data shows, while Sydney has become home to the most expensive fuel in the country, with an average of $2.13 per litre Two Sydney outlets were charging almost $2.28 a litre for unleaded on Thursday afternoon, and a growing number of retailers were blowing past the $2 mark. Advertisement Half [of the service stations] are exorbitant right now, meaning the other half ... is seeing a rush to those service stations because the discrepancy is so high, Khoury said. Its clearly working against Sydney motorists at a time when they can afford it the least. The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning. Advertisement March 5, 2026 4:21pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Australias petrol bowsers have been press-ganged into the Iran conflict with retailers across Sydney not even waiting for the blood to dry before they begin war-profiteering. More than half the petrol stations in the nations biggest cities have hiked their prices for regular unleaded by 5 to 10 per litre, analysis shows, even as the Albanese government warned the industry that price-gouging will not be tolerated. Cars queue for petrol in Sydney as some people panic-buy due to fears of shortages or price increases. Janie Barrett But the stark reality is that there is little to stop the rort. Petrol, diesel and automotive LPG prices are deregulated, and the market determines prices. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is largely restricted to monitoring fuel prices to prevent anti-competitive conduct such as price-fixing and collusion between sellers and publishing prices in hope of embarrassing miscreants. Advertisement But it is an unabashed industry. Related Article Energy Petrol stations price rise excuse branded misleading Only last Monday, three days after the US and Israel started a war aimed at regime change in Iran, the NRMAs Peter Khoury said oil prices were set to rise by 10 per cent, but added that it shouldnt affect petrol prices in Australia for at least a week. That afternoon, petrol stations started jacking up their prices. By Wednesday, the NRMA estimated half the servos in Sydney and Melbourne were charging between 217.9 and 223.9 per litre. There are reports that fuel prices are already soaring to nearly $4 per litre in some remote parts of the country. Advertisement The Australian fuel industrys risible term for ever-changing costs price cycles has been creeping upward since February, and the cost of refined fuels on global markets had risen sharply this week. Panic-buying quickly started and long queues formed at servos across Sydney as concerns mounted that the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the worlds oil supply passes through daily, would remain shut as the conflict continued and caused sustained price rises. Australia has a 34-day supply of diesel and a 36-day supply of unleaded petrol, not including what is already in the retail network. Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association chief executive Rowan Lee told the ABC that Australias oil supply would not run out even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed. Over half our fuel comes out of Singapore, and that is fed in by oil that comes out of South Korea, Japan, Brunei, Malaysia and India, he said. Advertisement So its hard not to see the price hikes as war-profiteering. The world has been experiencing oil crises since the 1973 Yom Kippur War prompted Arab oil-producing nations to reduce output. Since then, and at every subsequent war, Australian motorists have watched helplessly as petrol prices leapt ahead like trained dolphins. And when the fighting stopped, prices turned into trained tortoises, taking weeks to reflect the decline in oil prices. We have learnt little. Craven companies continue to gouge Australian consumers with little consequence. The situation demands a government rethink about supply, regulation and enforcement. Despite the huffing and puffing about this weeks price-gouging, we fear little will be done. It is highway robbery. The editor sends a newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive the Note from the Editor. The spectacular implosion of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson this week has ignited a frenzy of industry speculation about what ARN Media will do next as it wrestles with the prospect of life without Sandilands in the event he is unable to make up with his professional partner of nearly three decades. Enter Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic, whose contract with Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead, is reportedly due to expire at the end of this year. ARN Media, which owns the KIIS network, has recently held informal talks with Stefanovics camp over a possible move to poach him from next year, according to two sources familiar with the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information. Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Stefanovic attend the 63rd TV WEEK Logie Awards in 2023. Hanna Lassen/Getty Images As things stand, we hear the discussions have not resulted in any agreement or deal, and are not guaranteed to result in a move. It should be noted that media companies hold discussions of this nature with prospective talent all the time. Still, the contact itself, which we hear was initiated before the Kyle and Jackie O on-air bust-up, certainly piqued our interest. ARN Media and Nine declined to comment. Stefanovic didnt respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Advertisement Exclusive EnvironmentClimate changePolitical lobbying We got there!: Text messages reveal Woodsides negotiating tactics Bianca Hall March 5, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Having spent 16 weeks exchanging more than 130 texts with a senior federal public servant, the Woodside Energy employee expressed relief. Thanks Rachel! they wrote on September 12. We got there! Touch base next week on EPBC [reforms to federal environment laws]! The future of Woodside Energys operations in Karratha has been assured. Save Our Songlines Rachel Parry, then-deputy secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), gave the text a thumbs up. Text messages released under freedom of information laws reveal that after Environment Minister Murray Watt announced in May he had provisionally approved Woodside extending its North West Shelf operation to 2070, the gas and oil giant embarked on a months-long campaign to secure advantageous terms. Advertisement Woodside employees exchanged almost 200 texts with Parry and Kylie Coulhan, an executive in WAs environmental assessment division, including dozens asking for updates on the timing of the announcement and requests for information about government messaging on the project. The text messages were obtained by the Australian Conservation Foundation under FOI laws and provided to this masthead. ACF chief executive Adam Bandt said the volume of texts represented relentless, persistent and at times after-hours communication to senior bureaucrats. What were seeing here is a gas giant having unfiltered, casual access at all hours to senior departmental officials, who are bending over backwards to respond to demands and requests, he said. Advertisement A Woodside spokesperson said it was wrong to describe what took place as lobbying, pointing to provisions within federal environment laws that require the government to consult on conditions it attaches to environmental approvals processes. The Australian Federal Governments approval of the North West Shelf Extension followed a comprehensive and extended assessment carried out by both Commonwealth and Western Australian State regulators in accordance with statutory processes. During one text exchange, Parry told Woodside the department was working through the issues youve raised, and we will come back to you when we have landed a position. If you can just hang tight, she wrote. Thanks. The Woodside employee replied: Hi Rachel I have been hanging tight but I am getting significant pressure from above to know if we have implementable conditions or not. When are we going to know? Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman for Watt said the minister was not involved in discussions with Woodside and had accepted the advice and recommendations of his department. It is a matter of public record that the decision was varied between the proposed and final decisions. This is normal practice on major project approvals. On Saturday, September 6, the Woodside employee, whose name was redacted from the released documents, texted Parry: Rachel we are about to send you our response which identifies 3 items of factual correctness which if modified would then constitute a document we can accept. On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, the Woodside employee raised the looming announcement and added: Also, any chance we can see the final conditions as put to the Minister? Parry demurred. Minister will be considering the final decision package so you will see the final condition set when the decision is made. Thanks, Rachel. Advertisement Related Article Lunch with Trump wants to drill, baby, drill. This Australian giant is happy to help In another message sent to Coulhan, a Woodside employee sought information about what the minister might say publicly on his decision. Hi Kylie any feedback on whether your messaging will be reactive or proactive. From minister or DCCEEW and content? Coulhan replied: At this stage I dont believe it will be proactive. I have told the office that you would like visibility if they were thinking of proactive. Will let you know if I hear anything different. Anthony Whealy, KC, a former NSW Court of Appeals judge and chair of the Centre of Public Integrity, reviewed the emails for this masthead. Advertisement He said they showed a nurturing of a disturbingly close relationship between a lobbyist and a senior bureaucrat. This is not a discussion at arms length. It gives every impression that this is akin to an intimate conversation between two partners in a joint venture. Claire Snyder, executive director of Climate Integrity, said Australians deserved to know that major decisions of significance, like the extension of fossil fuel projects, were being made in the public interest. What the messages seem to show is that the government, during the lobbying window, rewrote the conditions of the approval of the North West Shelf in response to the lobbying. So if thats true, it really does show that the government compromised. A spokesman for Watt said it was vital that departmental officers engage in a professional and courteous manner with all their stakeholders, and that occurred in this instance. Advertisement Related Article Energy Drone strike on key Qatari plant reignites global gas crunch fears Any insinuation that these hardworking public servants had an unusually close relationship or that any favours were done for the proponent is grossly insulting and completely wrong. A spokeswoman for DCCEEW said consultation was a standard procedural step for all projects that have conditions attached to a proposed approval. Consultations must be undertaken with the proponent on the proposed conditions which would be attached to an approval. When finalising conditions for a project, any comments received on the proposed decision and proposed conditions must be taken into account. As this matter is currently before the Federal Court, it is not appropriate to comment further. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Advertisement Review Eating outSouth Melbourne As Melburnians, we know our coffee, but have you tried this strong coconut one? There are a dozen different coffees and meals are mostly under $20 at cosy new Indonesian eatery Roemah. Dani Valent March 6, 2026 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A This story is part of the March 7 edition of Good Weekend. See all stories . 1 / 8 The charming cafe and restaurant is a wonderful addition to Melbourne. Bonnie Savage 2 / 8 Beef cheek rendang topped with a lacy cracker made from kremes, a crunchy topping of chicken stock and seasoned flour. Bonnie Savage 3 / 8 Nasi goreng teri kecombrang, fried rice with crispy anchovies and torch ginger flower. Bonnie Savage 4 / 8 Kopi santan Blora, coffee brewed with coconut milk, rimmed with toasted coconut. Bonnie Savage 5 / 8 Putu ayu, pandan sponge topped with grated coconut. Bonnie Savage 6 / 8 Lontar Papua custard tart. Bonnie Savage 7 / 8 Es pisang ijo, plantain wrapped in pandan-green rice pancake served alongside coconut custard, shaved ice and banana syrup. Bonnie Savage 8 / 8 Low-budget but high impact: Inside the sweet and homely venue. Bonnie Savage Previous Slide Next Slide 13.5 / 20 Critics' Pick How we score Indonesian$$$$ Roemah means home its an older spelling of the Indonesian word rumah but you dont need to know Bahasa Indonesia to be enveloped by domestic warmth in this cosy new eatery. The mission is to provide a nostalgic sense of welcome for Indonesian Australians, and introduce Indonesian food to those less familiar with the cuisines of our northern neighbours. People gather at teak tables over coffees and fried plantain. The windows are curtained, allowing filtered light to dance over traditional games, weavings, masks and artefacts, some referencing the streets of Jakarta and Surabaya, the birthplaces of owners Ray Winarto and Cindy Lomo, respectively. Under a gazebo in the yard, friends chat over nasi goreng and stuffed tofu. Theres a stay-a-while mood: another coffee, another sweet, another story. Its low-budget but high impact, a misty-eyed marvel whether its tapping into your own memories or not. Advertisement Kopi santan Blora, coffee brewed with coconut milk. Bonnie Savage You know coffee, but maybe not like this. Indonesian beans tend to be dark-roasted, turned into robust, filtered brews, usually stirred with condensed milk. Among the dozen different coffees here, I most love kopi santan Blora. Simmered with coconut milk, this central Javan specialty is given a Melbourne spin, served in a glass as though at an espresso bar, the rim crusted with toasted coconut, as fancy as a salt-rimmed margarita. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up That balance of tradition and creativity is seen throughout the menu, a culinary tightrope walked with poise thats quite startling in a six-month-old venue from first-time operators. But Winarto and Lomo bring varied experience to the enterprise: they are bright-eyed food geeks, sure, but also focused and clever. Hes an IT guy whos always been obsessed with food (while working in a Jakarta office, he had a fried-food side hustle), and schooled up in fast-food shops to learn systems and processes. Shes a qualified pastry chef, turning her attention to elevated versions of traditional Indonesian desserts, many of them little-known regional specialties. A slice of lontar Papua custard tart. Bonnie Savage Lontar Papua is a custard tart passed down from Rays dads Papuan family. Made with condensed milk and a snifter of rum, its a jiggly, creamy, utterly smooth delight. Advertisement Es pisang ijo sees plantain wrapped in pandan-green rice pancake served alongside coconut custard, shaved ice and banana syrup. Its fun and exuberant, the dessert version of jumping into a ball pit at a play centre. Beef cheek rendang comes topped with a lacy cracker. Bonnie Savage Rendang is an Indonesian staple, but Roemahs version stands out for using beef cheek thats cooked sous vide, then braised in a dark, intense spice paste that resolves into sweetness. So far, so great, but it gets even better. The dish is topped with a lacy cracker made from kremes, a crunchy topping of chicken stock and seasoned flour. Its a genius amalgam of cheffy trickery and street-food comfort. This is a casual spot. Ordering via QR code undercuts the snuggly feel, but an extra staff member to wait tables would mean higher prices. The Roemah crew has opted to keep meals cheap mostly under $20 and its easy to find someone to chat through any questions. Im so charmed by this place: its humble and heartfelt, a wonderful addition to Melbourne. The low-down Atmosphere: Sweet, homely and caring Go-to dishes: Beef cheek rendang ($26.50, pictured); nasi goreng teri kecombrang ($17.50); lontar Papua custard tart ($7); coffee with coconut milk ($7) Drinks: Unlicensed for now, the beverage highlights are traditional Indonesian coffee drinks, made with dark-roasted Sumatran beans and including various combinations of coconut, pandan and condensed milk Cost: About $40 for two, excluding drinks Advertisement This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine. Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Save this video for later Add videos to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Advertisement Exclusive NationalNSWCourts Case dismissed: Fence dispute between a disability pensioner and Gina Rinehart moves behind doors Lucy Macken March 5, 2026 11:51am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A fence dispute between disability pensioner Kathy Pope and Australias richest person, Gina Rinehart, has been dismissed from the NSW Supreme Court as negotiations over their shared 12-kilometre boundary move behind closed doors. That hasnt stopped Pope claiming it as a victory against her Northern Tablelands neighbour. Kathy Pope launched legal proceedings against Gina Rinehart after years of failed negotiations to have their shared fences repaired. Benham Fisher I totally count this as a victory because it looks promising that Im finally going to get my fence fixed, Pope said. But my view on Gina Rinehart has changed forever. I used to think she really cared about Australians, and rural Australians in particular. I no longer think that. Advertisement After years of failed attempts to complete repairs to the fence and claims from both sides of cattle straying over the shared boundary, Pope said she is finally seeing progress. Lawyer Michael Bates has offered to represent Kathy Pope pro bono in her dispute with Gina Rinehart. Its a sharp turnaround from just a few months ago when Pope, a vulnerable litigant with no legal representation, launched proceedings against Rinehart personally, as well as Rineharts related entities Hancock Pastoral and Hancock Agriculture. As recently as last month, Pope was warned by Justice David Hammerschlag that she risked having the case dismissed before it even started if she didnt file an appropriate statement of claim before the scheduled start of the hearing on Thursday. But following this mastheads coverage of the case, Melbourne-based lawyer Michael Bates, principal of Leonard and Welch Lawyers, came forward to offer Pope his services pro bono. Advertisement Pope credits Bates help as a game-changer in her bid to have the fence repaired. I went to 45 legal firms and none of them would represent me, she said. And I dont understand the whole legal system. Whatever [Bates] is doing, is getting results. Theyve returned some of my cattle, I have a lawyer to deal with them, and for the first time in years, I havent had to try and cope with the stress of it all on my own. Bates said if the matter is not resolved within a month, Pastoral Properties has been served with a notice that it will be pursued through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Advertisement Earlier this week, Rinehart and her Hancock companies were removed as parties in the proceedings, leaving negotiations between Pope and Rineharts holding company, Pastoral Properties (SV) Pty Ltd. Pastoral Properties (SV) is the owner of Rineharts Sundown Valley cattle farm. Central to the dispute has been Popes push for fencing repairs to her 157-hectare property, Allawah, and a neighbouring 472-hectare property owned by her friend Mary Kakaroubas. Gina Rinehart is one of the most prominent cattle farmers in the Northern Tablelands. Pope has long agisited her stock on the Kakaroubas property in exchange for maintenance of fences and tracks. Advertisement According to Bates, the Dividing Fences Act not only applies to landowners of the fence, but by definition also to leaseholders of five years or more. Ultimately, this is just a straight-up fence dispute, said Bates. This has been a significant stress on my client. Were not asking for the world. She just wants her fence fixed. Related Article Exclusive Investigation Gina Rinehart, the disability pensioner and a fight over 12km of fencing Meanwhile, added Bates: I suspect Gina is getting legal bills that she really doesnt need to. Pope and Rinehart have been neighbours in Kingstown, west of Armidale, since 2018 when Rineharts interests purchased Sundown Valley for what title records indicate was close to $100 million. Rineharts farm holdings locally have since expanded to a total 42,000 hectares. Advertisement Pope purchased her 157-hectare farm in 2016 for $220,000. Given the need for fence repairs, Pope claimed she offered to pay for materials if Rinehart would cover the labour and contribute to the use of any machinery and materials they had on site. To that end, Pope took out a $100,000 loan from the NSW Rural Assistance Authority and purchased the materials with $20,000 from her own savings. There was also a $25,000 contribution from Hancock Prospecting before work commenced in 2022. But within a few weeks and with only 800 metres of exclusion fencing complete, work stopped. It hasnt resumed, Pope said. In commentary sure to upset Trekkies, Graeme Finn of Campsie reckons that POTUS did not, in fact, opt for the Universal Translator (C8): I think that Donald Trump misread Douglas Adams and inserted a Babble Fish instead of a Babel Fish. My daughter, who was visiting from New Zealand, tried to buy an Opal card at Maitland Railway Station, says Michael Elfick of Woodville. She was informed that the ticket office doesnt handle Opal cards, but if she went to the shopping centre in town, she could buy one at the tobacconist. Its a strange world when you cannot buy a ticket at a major railway station and even stranger that they are sold at a tobacconist. As weve done the place name (C8) thing to death in the past and because of certain sensitivities that have (quite rightly) arisen over all the murder-themed locations getting a mention, were winding it up, but we do like this item from Wolf Kempa of Lithgow: Theres a very clean dunny at the top of Whod A Thought It Hill, near Quirindi. I made up a limerick about the occasion with lyrics rhyming with it but luckily have forgotten the words. Two kids visiting asked about the suburb of Valentine after it appeared in Herald letters, reflects Sue Casiglia of North Ryde. The 10-year-old boy cried out in disgust while the 13-year-old girl just smiled and giggled. Has anybody ever lived in a suburb, the name of which caused them great embarrassment, despite not necessarily being a weird or unusual word? With that, we eagerly await correspondence from Swinger Hill (ACT) residents. Ill be as quick as I can to answer Tony Earlys query (C8) whether I was related to Eileen Dover, writes Lance Dover of Pretty Beach. Yes, Tony, she was my aunty, married to my uncle Charlie. Another uncle, Neil Dover was married to my aunty Caroline, Carrie for short. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A Last June, after his self-lauded Operation Midnight Hammer, US President Donald Trump declared that American bunker bombs had eliminated Irans nuclear program and that the countrys nuclear facilities and program were obliterated leading to peace in the Middle East (US sinks Iranian warship, dozens killed, smh.com.au, March 5). It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability ...!, he crowed. If Iran had its nuclear facilities destroyed in 2025 (as we were guaranteed at the time) what possible excuse is there for the belligerent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, bent on attacking Iran for decades, and his best buddy Trump to yet again attack a sovereign nation with the justification that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, the same ones Netanyahu and Trump told us they had destroyed just nine months ago? Judy Hungerford, Kew (Vic) A government site in Tehran heavily destroyed by Israel and the US during Operation Epic Fury. Getty Images The Iranian warship torpedoed and sunk overnight was the first sinking of this nature by the US since World War II. The last sinking by the Royal Navy was of the Argentinian Cruiser General Belgrano by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War in 1982. John Jones, Armidale The wars in Ukraine and Iran have shown how vulnerable capital ships are to attack, and how effective drones are in aggressive defence. Ukraine has invested in marine drones and has managed to effectively knobble the Russian Black Sea fleet and the tankers it is protecting. Iran has lost expensive warships, but its flying drones are working against the oil tankers. Had Iran invested in undersea drones, passive mines and other underwater weapons, they would now be winning this war. Australia should take note that in the next war, submarines will not protect us. But drones based along our sea lanes, or passively waiting on the sea bed to be activated in times of attack, might. And you can get a lot of them for $360 billion. So many that an aggressor would be careful sending ships, and planes, to wage war against us. David Neilson, Uralla The adage Those who dont remember the past are doomed to repeat it has never been more applicable in Iran. Neither a monarchy under the son of the late shah nor a clergy chosen from the ranks of the Islamic Republic will ensure peace for the Iranian people as years of repression, censorship and corruption have shown. Trumps invasion and his willingness to leave it to the incumbents to choose a replacement will achieve nothing. History has shown it is possible in countries such as Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and South Africa. In Korea, the transition was made possible with the strength of the people such as students activists, unions and the emerging middle class. In Indonesia, president Suharto was forced to resign due to massive student riots and protests. Spain went from an authoritarian regime to a stable democracy. The difficulty is separating religion from governance. Irans future lies not with the deposed monarchy nor the Islamic Republic but in the hands of the people at the ballot box. Elizabeth Maher, Gordon Who came up with the code name Epic Fury for the Iran war? Is it a subtle nod to Trumps personality? I prefer War McWarface myself. Jeff White, Killara Equal treatment needed Advertisement Cathy Wilcox Six crisis consular teams are being deployed to assist Australians stranded in the Middle East (Wong sends crisis squads for stranded Australians, March 5) a swift and welcome response. One trusts this vigilance applies equally to all Australian citizens abroad, including the so-called ISIS brides and their children. Citizenship is not conditional on good optics. If we defend it, we defend it consistently or not at all. Vivien Clark-Ferraino, Duckmaloi Rationing on the horizon? Yes, I can recall Angus Taylor organising special concessions for us in case of emergencies (Letters, March 5). It seemed a risky road to take. Now I read that US stocks of petroleum are at the lowest in 40 years. With that grim news and Donald Trump in charge, I fear our special concessions have gone with the wind. I doubt AUKUS will be of any use. So now we rely on our low supplies to run our myriad vehicles. Fuel rationing? Probably even too late for that. Kris Mckeon, Goonellabah Pacific power play It alarmed me to read the comments that international rules-based order is dead (Letters, March 5). Rather than fix a problem, like the UN, some people seem comfortable allowing the stronger countries to kidnap and bomb their way to results. Be careful what you wish for, Australia. We have powers in our neighbourhood who may be tuning into this new method of conflict resolution. Mark Paskal, Austinmer Seize the mandate Advertisement Niki Savvas take on the clear air Farrer byelection is a prescient warning (One Nation win in Farrer is no joke, March 5). The Liberals and Nationals are a laughing stock, Labor is not loved in Farrer, a local independent candidate almost won the seat in the recent election. Then there is the bewildering rise of One Nation in the polls, riding the protest vote tsunami of disillusioned coalition voters. People arent stupid, but they can do stupid things when voting. The long-term consequences of electing a One Nation candidate would be damaging to social cohesion and inviting more hate into everyones life. Voters are usually better off voting for a local with ties and the conviction to improve their lives. Savvas savvy answer to the conundrum voters may face is simple, Labor shouldnt muddy the waters in Farrer by fielding a candidate. However, it is the perfect time for Labor to seize the narrative and become the reformist government it has so tantalisingly promised to become. Labors massive mandate will evaporate if it is not used. Albo, you cant please everyone, but doing the right thing and telling the truth will win over the majority and most of the rest will be grudgingly respectful. Geoff Nilon, Mascot Unfortunately, as Niki Savva says, the Libs have brought annihilation on themselves. Losing Farrer will be another nail in the coffin. The Coalition finding a figure of substance to combat One Nation or the independent is a forlorn hope. Denis Suttling, Newport Beach Too much cancel culture Workers demonstrate a new of hand-held laser device to check over-head wiring and prevent another Sydney train meltdown Audrey Richardson On time running has improved for Sydney Trains (Sydney Trains uses laser focus to prevent meltdown, March 5), but there can be a cost in service reductions, which make commuters late anyway. Late running trains may need to skip stops to prevent escalating delays, but staff can be too trigger-happy at times. A train from Berowra to the city in yesterdays peak left four minutes late and seven stops were cancelled. By the time the train reached Chatswood it was running on time (which should have been predictable) but still skipped the next four stops. This sort of overkill in the interests of on-time running needs to be contained. Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills Salmon off the menu The government may stifle reports to keep job numbers up in Tasmanias salmon farms (Revealed: How salmon politics left ancient species facing extinction, March 5), but until conditions change for the better, many of us will continue to avoid buying Tasmanian salmon and instead buy the Atlantic variety. Also avoided are the salmon dishes at eateries, where the fare may originate in Tasmania. Donald Hawes, Peel Advertisement Take a stand against toxic males I have never tuned in (Kyles a misogynist and bully, but Jackie O enabled him, March 5) but Ive been repulsed by Kyle Sandilands reported comments, appalled that politicians have enabled him and Ive supported the Mad F---ing Witches campaign. Now people are turning on him as his popularity tanks. This will happen to another misogynist, Donald Trump, when his enablers see he is failing. My question is, in a world where toxic masculinity floods social media, normalising violent speech against women and minorities, why dont more politicians and societal leaders take a principled stand against such malevolence earlier on and set an example? Instead, many fawn and stay silent. Please consider how this impacts women and decent men. Alison Stewart, Riverview Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O - the good and the bad equals the ugly? Matt Willis That these two are finally off air is the best news Ive heard for a long time. Why they were even allowed to pollute the airwaves with their smutty drivel in the first place is beyond me. My only fear now is that this is all just some dreadful publicity stunt. Ryszard Linkiewicz, Woolooware If ever there was an example of you reap what you sow, its the break-up of Kyle and Jackie O. Anyone with half a brain could see that Kyle was a bullying, misogynistic creep. Jackie O enabled his nastiness. That ultimately she should be on its receiving end is inevitable. Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point The Jackie O/ Kyle Sandilands debacle is indicative of the status of our world at large and the many unscrupulously immoral incumbent oligarchs who seem to be in charge. As Jacqueline Maley puts it, its only ever about the money and the power. Heres to more increasingly necessary downfalls. Judy Finch, Taree Thank goodness Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O will be off air. Apart from earning obscene amounts of money for their, at times, obscenity plus earning their radio station a fortune, what was their point in being on air? Dorothy Gliksman, Cedar Brush Creek Advertisement Despite the predictions of radios demise, the break-up of Kyle and Jackie O has become front-page news, not least because of the money involved. The influencers of mainstream media are once again reflecting our societys inability to conduct a respectful conversation. I wonder who will be more relieved at this respite, ARN shareholders or listeners. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls Jackie, you should know that if you lie down with a dog ... Robert Niven, Aranda (ACT) Building a community Theres so much discussion about property and tax (Letters, March 5). The Rent a Room Scheme in the UK lets you earn up to a threshold of 7500 (roughly $15,000) a year tax-free from letting out furnished accommodation in your home. This scheme encourages better usage of current housing stock and enables home owners struggling to pay their mortgage to have a means of avoiding default. The UK also has letting relief, which means that in almost all situations where you let out a room in your main residence you would pay no capital gains when that property is eventually sold (very different to its tax treatment in Australia). I would love to see our federal government introducing similar laws in Australia. Jill Robinson, Randwick When, if ever, are we going to face up to Australias widening inequality? The housing proposal for Glebe Island is an ideal opportunity to redress this. Property development continues to be perceived as either a public service or, at worst, benign. It is neither, it is a dark predator looming over the sleepless nights of many. People are forced to play along and be grateful if they get a toehold in the market somewhere. The government should build homes on Glebe Island. Homes for people on fixed incomes and for people on low incomes and for essential service personnel. It should be strictly build-to-rent and guaranteed to stay that way forever. Where is the money to come from? A shift in fiscal priorities and changes in taxation. Garry Feeney, Kingsgrove In 2009, when I was holidaying in Vancouver, the city mayor proudly announced the development of public land for housing to be one third luxury accommodation, one third affordable housing for workers and one third public housing. This was to ensure all citizens could afford to live close to the city hub, not only the rich, and to promote social cohesion. Chris Minns 10 per cent affordable housing on Glebe Island development falls way short. Ray Morgan, Maroubra Tech revolution bypass Advertisement GENEVA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it has verified 13 attacks on health care in Iran and one in Lebanon amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. "Under international humanitarian law, health care must be protected and not attacked," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. He added that WHO is working closely with its offices in affected countries to monitor the impact on health services and provide support when needed and requested. Tedros said WHO is deeply concerned about the situation in Iran and the wider Middle East, with 16 countries affected by the conflict. So far, nearly 1,000 deaths have been reported in Iran, 50 in Lebanon, 13 in Israel and 11 in other Gulf countries, he said. The conflict has also triggered significant displacement, with an estimated 100,000 people leaving Iran, more than 60,000 displaced in Lebanon, and at least 1 million people potentially on the move following evacuation orders in the south. Tedros also expressed concern about the threat to nuclear facilities, noting that any compromise to nuclear safety could have serious public health consequences. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Save this article for later Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. The man shot by police after a car crash on the Sunshine Coast has been hit with a string of criminal charges including possession of a weapon. Officers were called to reports an MG hatchback had crashed near the Sippy Downs exit of the Sunshine Motorway about 11.40am on Wednesday. The small car was driven off from the scene and continued to Nambour Connection Road, where the driver entered a Toyota Hilux. Queensland police at the scene of the shooting on the Sunshine Coast. Nine That vehicle was found by police a short time later on Woombye Palmwoods Road in Woombye, where the 32-year-old got out of the vehicle and allegedly approached officers with a gun. Advertisement NationalQueenslandSchools Queensland independent schools the fastest-growing in Australia Catherine Strohfeldt March 5, 2026 9:13pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Queenslands independent schools are the fastest-growing of any sector in the country, with a flux of new campuses across the state and surging enrolments leeching from state schools helping to boost numbers in the sector. The number of independent school students in Queensland grew by 4.7 per cent from 2024 to 2025, Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday revealed eclipsing the national average of 3.4 per cent. Christopher Mountford, chief executive at industry body Independent Schools Queensland, said the states independent schools had grown each year for seven years. Brisbane Grammar School is one of the citys largest independent schools and saw numbers increase by 33 students from 2024 to 2025. Catherine Strohfeldt Parents want access to high-quality, affordable schooling options that reflect their values and meet their childrens needs, he said. Advertisement Independent schools continue to deliver that choice for communities across Queensland. Mountford claimed more than half of Queenslands 240 independent schools had fees lower than $6000 a year although some of the states most expensive institutions also recorded healthy increases. Brisbanes three largest independent schools St Peters Lutheran College, Brisbane Grammar School and Anglican Church Grammar School, or Churchie all increased student numbers by up to 2.2 per cent between 2024 and 2025. In actual students, this was an increase of between 17 and 50 students, or about one to two classrooms. Advertisement The three independent boys schools averaged a cost of $31,737 for a year 12 student in 2025, with Brisbane Grammar claiming the title as the most expensive school in the state and Churchie taking third place. Three-quarters of new students in Queenslands private schools were still enrolled at independent schools equating to just over 7100 people. Nationally, this difference was the largest increase any state recorded in a single sector, and was followed by Victorian independent schools, which grew by just more than 6100 students. By comparison, state school enrolments shrunk by 0.6 per cent, or about 3200 students. Advertisement Related Article Schools Its going to stretch budgets: The affordability paradox for Brisbanes growth corridor schools The Education Department said demand for state schools remains strong, with the sectors almost 1300 schools still making up two-thirds of all enrolments. The Queensland government is delivering 15 new schools in a record $1.09 billion investment, including new primary schools in Caloundra South and Ripley Valley, and six special schools to provide choice to parents and help all students reach their potential, a department spokesperson said. In the past 10 years the state has constructed 17 new schools, 11 of which are less than five years old. The Queensland independent sector has built 42 new schools since 2016, while 14 new Catholic schools were opened across the same period. Advertisement While the Education Department said it was prioritising growth areas, Mountford said new schools were forced into finding creative solutions, including repurposed office buildings and big-box stores, in urban and metropolitan areas where density was increasing. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement Exclusive NationalVictoriaVictoria Police conduct Innocent family sue police over raid, arrest in Dezi Freeman manhunt Cameron Houston March 5, 2026 3:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The son of a policewoman has launched civil court action against the state government after he was arrested near Shepparton and his familys property raided by dozens of officers as part of the manhunt for alleged double murderer Dezi Freeman. Jeremy Sloan, 32, and his partner, Sarah Naylor, 30, were pulled over near Shepparton on October 1 and arrested at gunpoint, before heavily armed police swooped on their parents remote property in Goomalibee, about 15 kilometres from Benalla. Jeremy Sloan and Sarah Naylor have launched legal action after their arrest by officers searching for alleged double murderer Dezi Freeman. Sloans father, Bryan, 63, was detained as police searched the family home for Freeman, while a police helicopter hovered above the property, according to a statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Jeremy Sloan was later taken to Shepparton police station and interviewed. The family was cleared of any association with Freeman, who has not been found since he allegedly shot dead Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, on August 26. Advertisement The officers involved in the arrests and raid, who are not named in court documents, are accused of assault, false imprisonment and failing to exercise reasonable care. The three plaintiffs, Jeremy and Bryan Sloan and Naylor, will now pursue compensation, saying the incident caused significant psychological trauma. Jeremy Sloans mother, who is an officer with Victorian Police but was in Darwin at the time of the raid, is not a party to the proceeding. Jeremy Sloan told this masthead that the raid had made life difficult for his mother. Mum is a serving member of Victoria Police, and this has not only affected her personally, but has made it extremely challenging for her to continue in an organisation she has always respected and stood by, he said. He said their ordeal began near the town of Undera, about 25 kilometres from Shepparton, where they were forced off the road by an unmarked police car. Advertisement Sloan was ordered at gunpoint to lie facedown and restrained with zip ties, before he was told by officers he was under arrest for harbouring a fugitive. The remote property in Goomalibee raided by dozens of heavily armed officers searching for Dezi Freeman. Sloan insists he has never met Freeman, has no association with the sovereign citizen movement and has no criminal record. When he was returned to the family farm under police escort, Sloan realised the scale of the police response. We saw multiple ambulances, a helicopter and about 20 to 30 police vehicles, he said. Advertisement As we drove up the driveway, we were confronted by twisted, damaged gates, with no understanding of what had taken place. It was then that Sarah was told that they believed that Dezi Freeman was on our property. The family was exonerated the following day, but police failed to explain what prompted the raid, which attracted widespread media attention to the small town, which had a population of 91 people, according to the 2021 census. Loading Sloan said he recognised the need for police to respond quickly to dynamic situations, but disputes the accuracy of the intelligence they had relied on. We are seeking accountability, so that no one else has to endure what we have experienced, Sloan said. In that instant, I felt exposed in a way that is difficult to put into words, as though my sense of safety had been stripped away. Advertisement Robinson Gill principal solicitor Jeremy King, who is representing the family, said he was baffled by the polices handling of the matter. This is one of the strangest police operations I have seen in a long time, King said. This family still have no idea why they were arrested and why their property was raided. Given the scale and cost involved, you would think the police should have a clear justification for the operation, yet were still in the dark. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force had not been served with the writ. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalVictoriaEducation Its like having a luxury handbag: Private school enrolments rising despite costs Noel Towell and Bridie Smith March 6, 2026 5:01am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Victorian families are increasingly paying soaring tuition fees despite the cost-of-living crisis, with data showing a growing number of students enrolling in private schools. The latest report on Australian schools and education from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows a slight increase in the number of state school enrolments in Victoria, bucking the national trend. Mount Alexander College principal Dani Angelico says the state school is experiencing high demand. Wayne Taylor The number of students enrolled in Victorias private schools grew to almost 179,000 last year, a 3.5 per cent increase on 2024, the bureau said in its annual schools snapshot on Thursday. Catholic school enrolments grew by 1.1 per cent to 218,000, while there were more than 665,000 students in the government system, a 0.5 per cent year-on-year increase. Advertisement Public school enrolments went backwards in most of the other states and territories. Independent schools have almost reached parity with Catholic education providers as the second most popular choice for secondary schooling in the state, although at primary level, the Catholic system remains a more popular option for non-government education. Private schools lobby group Independent Schools Victoria said the growth in the sector was driven by low-fee schools thriving in Melbournes growth corridors. The number of students in Wyndham, Hume, Melton, Casey and Whittlesea grew by more than 3100 in 12 months. Advertisement Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Rachel Holthouse also pointed to a rise in special assistance schools, which were proliferating due to an increasing number of students with complex needs. Holthouse said the numbers of special assistance and specialist learning needs schools had grown to 32, a 150 per cent increase in five years, and enrolments had surged by 20 per cent a year since 2020. For many families, independent schools are the only setting that reflects their faith, culture or educational philosophy, Holthouse said. The Avenue School in Ferntree Gully opened its doors last year offering a trauma-informed approach to teaching students who had struggled or dropped out of mainstream schooling. Principal Jarrid Bartle said enrolments had gone from 20 to 37 students this year and could reach about 100 in 2027. Advertisement Bartle said The Avenue, designated an independent school but heavily reliant on government funding, charged families $1250 a year, or $625 for concession cardholders, and took a non-traditional, student-centred approach to teaching and retention. The principal said schools like The Avenue challenged preconceptions about independent education. Jarrid Bartle, principal of The Avenue School in Ferntree Gully. What an independent school looks like is not the leafy, ivy-covered building up in Kew, he said. There are so many options, and that gives students a voice and choice, rather than the elite sort of idea that some people might have. Advertisement Mount Alexander College in Flemington is at the coalface of demand for places in high-performing government schools. Principal Dani Angelico said the school, which faced the threat of closure a decade ago, was now going gangbusters and had become the school of choice for most local parents, even as surrounding neighbourhoods rapidly gentrified. The majority of students of high school age who live in our zone come here, which is really great because weve got a lot of choice in private schools around us, and parents in our demographic definitely could afford to send their students to fee-paying schools, Angelico said. Thats testament to the calibre of the work the school is doing, the programs, a unique curriculum program and our success in the VCE over the past decade, which now puts us in the top 40 governments schools. Advertisement Those are all drawcards. Related Article Education Schools of last resort grow fast as classroom disengagement booms Associate Professor Paul Kidson, of Australian Catholic University, said that while the cost of living was biting, education appeared to be a priority for parents. He also pointed to a growth in faith-based schools, particularly in Melbournes south-east, which was contributing to a rise in independent school enrolments. However, he said the data wasnt necessarily a vote of no confidence in government schools. Advertisement There is often a lag following policy or funding changes such as weve seen with explicit teaching and learning or the Better Schools Agreement, he said. Australia Institute researcher Skye Predavec said the growth in students attending private schools did not come as a surprise. Research published by the think tank in January showed Australia had the second most privatised high school system in the OECD, after Chile. The cost doesnt seem to put people off, she said. It becomes a bit of a status symbol. Its like having a luxury handbag. If it costs more, it must be better. State Education Minister Ben Carroll welcomed the ABS data, pointing to teacher-student ratios and a 2.2 per cent increase in teaching staff in a system that has been gripped by a teacher shortage. Advertisement This data cements Victorias position as a leader in public education with high enrolment growth, a strong and growing teacher workforce, and more new schools than any other state or territory. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalVictoriaLuke Sayers Luke Sayers accused of shamelessly blaming wife for lewd picture Annika Smethurst March 5, 2026 5:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Former Carlton president Luke Sayers allegedly told the AFL his estranged wife was mentally disturbed as he sought to distance himself from an embarrassing lewd picture scandal. The claims are contained in court documents filed as part of a defamation action brought by Cate Sayers, who alleges her former husband falsely blamed her for publishing a photograph of his penis on his X account in January last year. Cate and Luke Sayers at the Brownlow Medal ceremony in September 2024, three months before the photo scandal erupted. Getty Images In the documents filed in Victorias Supreme Court, Cate Sayers alleges her ex-husband told the AFLs integrity unit and Carlton officials in a statutory declaration that she had accessed his account without his knowledge and posted a photograph of Lukes penis on his X account. The documents also allege Sayers disclosed details of his wifes private life, including her sexual history and medical information, to support his claim. Advertisement Cate Sayers claims she was defamed by the statement because it implied: Cate suffers from mental illness and has been prescribed medication by her doctors which she periodically refuses to take, such that her denials about posting the explicit photo from Mr Sayers X account cannot be trusted. Related Article AFL 2025 The last post: How Luke Sayers came undone She claims shamelessly publishing information that falsely portrayed her as unstable, erratic and suffering from mental illness caused serious harm to her reputation. The information was used to present her as unstable, untrustworthy, erratic, mentally disturbed and/or presenting as a live risk to her own safety, the court documents claim. Cate Sayers has asked the court for damages for the significant distress, hurt and embarrassment caused by the saga. Advertisement The scandal erupted in January 2025, when an explicit image of a penis briefly appeared on Sayers X account, tagging a senior executive at health insurance giant Bupa. The post was removed about 15 minutes later, with Sayers claiming he had been hacked. Related Article Updated AFL 2026 Sayers daughters weigh in on parents legal fight The AFLs integrity unit investigation and an internal process at Carlton both found Sayers was not responsible for posting the photo, that his account had been compromised and he had not breached any rules. He stepped down as Carltons president shortly after those findings. In the court documents, Cate Sayers lawyers claim the finding that Lukes account had been compromised begged the question of who was responsible. She claims allegations against her spread through AFL circles via the grapevine effect, sparking widespread gossip within the football community. Advertisement Cate has been the subject of substantial discussion and gossip within the AFL community, in particular in Victoria, and also Australia wide, the document claims. Cate has been shunned and avoided by persons she knew and had relationships with, who are involved with the AFL, Carlton, the game of AFL generally and others who knew Luke and Cate. The statement of claim alleges that in his statutory declaration, Luke Sayers asked AFL investigators not to interview his wife or contact Victoria Police, effectively shutting her out of the probe and removing any opportunity for Cate to respond to the allegations made by Luke in it. Cate Sayers alleges that those directions were done with the intention that Cate would not learn of the contents of the statutory declaration despite the serious allegations and statements it made about her. The AFL and Carlton and their representatives relied on the content of the statutory declaration to conclude the AFL inquiries and the Carlton process regarding the publishing of the X post, accepting Lukes allegations about Cate were true, and knowing they had not sought any response from Cate, her lawyers allege. Advertisement Lukes position as the president of Carlton and previously as the chief executive officer of PwC, and a Member of the Order of Australia, meant that he was a trusted person of significant public standing such that his sworn declaration carried substantial weight and accordingly the AFL and Carlton and their representatives believed or were at least likely to believe the allegations made about Cate were true. Cate Sayers claims her former husband owed her a duty to keep her private details confidential. The latest court documents were released as part of the defamation case launched against Luke Sayers. Luke Sayers has not yet filed a defence to the case, and a spokesman said he would not comment. In January, Bronte and Claudia Sayers two of the four Sayers daughters released a joint statement saying they stood behind their father, and were willing to give evidence supporting his legal defence. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. WA Premier Roger Cook has flagged his government will approach the late broadcasting legend Dennis Comettis family to discuss a possible state funeral, but no offer has been officially made yet. Dennis has departed a very short time ago. The way we go about these things is we engage with the family to see what their wishes are, he told reporters in the Pilbara on Thursday. The legendary Dennis Cometti died aged 76. Simon Schluter Obviously, Dennis was a much-loved figure in the Western Australian community, particularly in the Western Australian football community, and we want to honour his life. A state funeral for Cometti, who died this week after a private battle with Alzheimers disease, has broad public support, including from Comettis former colleague, now WA Opposition Leader, Basil Zempilas. On Wednesday, Zempilas said ultimately it was up to Comettis family, but it would not surprise him if they opted for a private service. Advertisement Analysis PoliticsFederalForeign relations A political rock star comes to Canberra. Did he match the hype? Matthew Knott March 5, 2026 7:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A rock star: thats how the Lowy Institutes executive director Michael Fullilove described Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney when the pair sat down for a chat on global affairs on Wednesday evening. Fullilove acknowledged the label is a surprising one. After all, not only is Carney a politician but a longtime central banker a career that, with all due respect to the monetary masters of the universe, is not usually associated with being cool. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a rare speech to parliament. Alex Ellinghausen Yet Carney achieved something remarkable with his much-discussed speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January going viral with a thoughtful, even lofty, analysis of the geopolitical landscape. While carefully crafted, Carneys speech cut through the clutter because of its clarity and directness. Politicians often say they will leave the commentary to others, but here was a world leader calling time on the fantasy of the rules-based international order and warning middle powers they risk being subordinated by bigger nations unless they band together. Donald Trump was not a fan of Carneys subtle but unmistakable digs at his administration, and promptly disinvited him from joining his board of peace. Anthony Albanese, however, was impressed. A week after Davos, Albanese announced that his fellow centre-left leader would visit Australia and speak to parliament. Carney is just the fifth world leader in a decade to receive this honour, reflecting the unusual status that has been given to his visit. The last time a Canadian prime minister visited Australia was almost 20 years ago, highlighting how the bilateral relationship between two like-minded nations has been largely left on cruise control and taken for granted. Advertisement Carneys visit sandwiched between trips to India and Japan was intended to take the Canada-Australia relationship up a gear and put into practice his clarion call for middle powers to band together. The question was whether the trip could possibly live up to the hype. And whether Carney has a remedy for the ills of our chaotic age or merely a diagnosis of the problem. Related Article Updated International affairs Carney: Australia and Canada must combine for strength or face domination While nothing Carney said in Australia rivalled his rollicking speech in Davos, listening to this erudite operator was refreshing palate cleanser from the banal talking points that dominate much of our domestic political discussion. In his Lowy appearance, Carney spoke with admirable candour about how he deals in private with world leaders such as Trump, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi. Carneys speech to parliament featured four references to variable geometry a term summarising his view that middle powers need to work together in specific, ad-hoc coalitions to get things done. This phrase, it turns out, isnt just a bit clunky but also unoriginal: Joe Bidens secretary of state Antony Blinken used it repeatedly to describe how, in a post-post-Cold War era, diverse coalitions should gather to solve discrete problems. In a post-rupture world, the nations that are trusted and can work together will be quicker to the punch, more effective in their responses, more proactive in shaping outcomes, and ultimately more secure and prosperous, Carney told parliament, outlining his philosophy. Advertisement In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour or combine for strength. Related Article Foreign relations The world needs us: Carney pushes Australia and Canada to deepen trade, defence ties His visit resulted in an array of new bilateral initiatives, impressive more for their breadth than depth. The nations will collaborate on critical minerals while establishing formal dialogues on defence, the economy and other topics. Albanese and Carney signed a new clean energy partnership while committing to modernise the Australia-Canada tax treaty to spur more investment. It was solid and sensible, if mostly unremarkable, stuff. Carney himself would concede much more will need to be done to insulate middle powers from the risk of subordination by bigger nations. Left unsaid was the uncomfortable fact that Australias embrace of the AUKUS pact - which makes us dependent on American goodwill to acquire nuclear-powered submarines - leaves the nation vulnerable to exactly the type of coercion Carney wants middle powers to avoid. Advertisement Carneys visit, of course, would have received far more attention had the Middle East not been engulfed by war. Australia and Canada both voiced support for the initial US-Israeli strikes, arguing Iran could not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon or continue funding terror proxies across the region. By Wednesday, with the conflict widening and key airports still shut down, Carney was calling for a de-escalation of hostilities. At Thursdays press conference, a Canadian journalist asked whether it was a bit rich to call for de-escalation now, given Irans belligerent behaviour was an entirely foreseeable reaction to the initial strikes. It was a fair point. Carney, however, insisted he saw no contradiction in his evolving remarks, which reflected a very volatile, extremely complex situation in the Middle East. He may be a rock star politician, but hes still a politician. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Advertisement Updated PoliticsFederalInternational affairs Carney: Australia and Canada must combine for strength or face domination Matthew Knott Updated March 5, 2026 12:46pm ,first published 11:07am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Middle powers such as Canada and Australia will be overrun by increasingly assertive global superpowers unless they join together on defence, trade and technology, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has told the Australian parliament in a rare address. Carney revealed in an address to a joint sitting of parliament that Australia will join a critical minerals alliance run by the G7, a collection of the democratic worlds most advanced economies, in a bid to ensure China cannot dominate this crucial sector. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday. Alex Ellinghausen Carney used his parliamentary address to expand on the themes of his breakout speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which he declared an end to the fantasy of the post-World War II rules-based order. In a post-rupture world, the nations that are trusted and can work together will be quicker to the punch, more effective in their responses, more proactive in shaping outcomes, and ultimately more secure and prosperous, Carney said on Thursday. Advertisement Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions... In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour or combine for strength. Canada has seen an outburst of nationalism since US President Donald Trump returned to office, proclaiming Canada the 51st state of America, imposing tariffs on Canadian goods and musing about the country coming under US control. Carney is welcomed to a joint sitting of parliament by Albanese on Thursday. Alex Ellinghausen As major powers like China, the United States and Russia grow increasingly assertive, Carney said smaller nations were concluding that they must pursue greater strategic autonomy. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself, he said. Advertisement A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options. In response, Canadas strategic imperative is to build sovereign capabilities in these critical sectors, at home and abroad, by convening coalitions with trusted, reliable partners like Australia, to ensure that integration is never again a source of our subordination. Related Article Foreign relations The world needs us: Carney pushes Australia and Canada to deepen trade, defence ties Carney is just the fifth world leader to address the Australian parliament in the past decade, following Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (by videolink), Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Philippines President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. Carney labelled his framework for engaging the world as variable geometry creating different coalitions for different issues, based on common values and interests. Advertisement Every agreement signed, every coalition deepened, every commitment made is variable geometry in practice, he said. Carney singled out critical minerals as a key area where Australia and Canada should partner to ensure the two democracies are not vulnerable to economic coercion. Carney and Albanese exit the House of Representatives after the Canadian prime minister addresses a joint sitting of parliament. Alex Ellinghausen In the old world and even to a degree today, the temptation has been to see ourselves as competitors. In this new world, we should be strategic collaborators, Carney said. To boost investments, accelerate technical cooperation, enhance supply chain resilience, expand our domestic processing abilities, while boosting our strategic autonomy. Advertisement Which is why, earlier today, we signed a series of new agreements on critical minerals, including Australia joining the G7 minerals alliance the largest grouping of trusted democratic mineral reserves in the world. As well as critical minerals, Carney singled out defence, artificial intelligence, trade and access to capital as other key areas where Australia and Canada should work closer together. Rather than lamenting the fall of the old order, let us redouble our efforts to build the new one, he said. Albanese welcomed Carney to the House of Representatives by saying the visit represents the nations ambitions to do more together, at a deeper level. Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing, he said. Advertisement Advertisement PoliticsFederalPolitical expenses Hanson billed taxpayers $9000 for charter flight to opening of Rinehart-funded building Brittany Busch March 5, 2026 4:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Pauline Hanson stung taxpayers almost $9000 for a chartered flight to the opening of a building at a private agricultural college funded by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart. The One Nation leader flew from Tamworth in NSW to Avalon in Victoria in October last year at a cost of $8870, according to the latest data from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority. Pauline Hanson visited the college in October. Alex Ellinghausen The $11.3 million Nicholas Hancock House at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong was opened by Hancock Agriculture chief executive Adam Giles on behalf of Rinehart, the Hancock Prospecting chairman. Hansons one-way flight is the latest of her expenses to come under scrutiny after repeated breaches of spending rules and as her party surges in the polls, increasing its threat to the Coalition. Advertisement Expense rules require politicians to consider value for money when booking travel and for them to be travelling for the dominant purpose of doing parliamentary business for the costs to be claimed at taxpayer expense. Related Article Exclusive Political expenses Please explain: Coalition attacks Pauline Hansons use of expenses for racism case A spokesperson for Hansons office said the cheapest charter had been selected because no commercial flights had been available, and defended the Queensland senators attendance at the Victorian event. Senator Hanson attended the opening of the new student accommodation wing at Marcus Oldham College as it provides many Queensland students a home away from home during their time studying at Australias only independent agribusiness and agricultural business management college, they said. She also had discussions about increases in HECS loans imposed on students attending the college, a private institution which receives no taxpayer funding. Advertisement Advertisement In November, in the midst of an expenses scandal that also caught up ministers in the Albanese government, this masthead revealed that Hanson had claimed $2100 in taxpayer funds for accommodation, flights and private cars to attend Federal Court where Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi successfully sued Hanson for racial discrimination. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. CORRECTION An earlier version of this story said Hanson flew from Tamworth in Queensland to Avalon in Victoria. Tamworth is in NSW. Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese premier, joins his fellow deputies from the delegation of Yunnan Province to deliberate on the government work report at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leaders on Thursday attended deliberations at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature. When joining NPC deputies from Yunnan Province in a group deliberation, Premier Li Qiang noted that this year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) amid increasing uncertainties in the external environment and arduous tasks in domestic reform and development. Li urged more proactive and pragmatic actions to effectively tackle various risks and challenges. Top legislator Zhao Leji participated in a group deliberation with deputies from Sichuan Province, urging solid and in-depth implementation of all work to make a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Zhao, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also called on the province to build a modern industrial system with its own features and strengths, and play an active role in advancing the construction of a unified national market. Top political advisor Wang Huning joined his fellow deputies from Guizhou Province in a group deliberation, calling on the province to develop new quality productive forces in line with local conditions, and promote the deep integration of sci-tech innovation with industrial innovation. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, emphasized that Guizhou should adhere to ecological priority and green development, consolidate and expand poverty alleviation achievements, and accelerate the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, when joining deliberation with his fellow deputies from Liaoning Province, called for pursuing genuine rather than inflated growth, and promoting high-quality, sustainable development. He also stressed the need to accelerate efforts to build greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology. Li Xi, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC), joined lawmakers from Fujian Province in a group deliberation. He urged the Party members and officials to firmly uphold a correct view on governance performance. He also called for intensified efforts to eradicate the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption, and firmly pursue the path of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics. Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. While speaking with his fellow lawmakers from Shandong Province, Vice President Han Zheng urged efforts to ensure a solid beginning for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. He also urged efforts to actively respond to external challenges, continue to deepen reform and opening up, and enhance the momentum and vitality for China's high-quality development. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Sichuan Province at the fourth session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, joins his fellow deputies from the delegation of Guizhou Province to deliberate on the government work report at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese vice premier, joins his fellow deputies from the delegation of Liaoning Province to deliberate on the government work report at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, joins lawmakers from the delegation of Fujian Province to deliberate on the government work report at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Chinese Vice President Han Zheng joins his fellow lawmakers from the delegation of Shandong Province to deliberate on the government work report at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Advertisement PoliticsFederalPolitical leadership Joyce accuses Littleproud of throwing in the towel: No general! Paul Sakkal March 5, 2026 11:32am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A One Nations Barnaby Joyce has accused Nationals leader David Littleproud of throwing in the towel for a key byelection that will hog attention in the week Labor hands down the federal budget. Littleproud sparked a war of words with Joyce on this mastheads Inside Politics podcast, saying he deserted the Nationals because he knew he could never lead the party again. One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce and Nationals leader David Littleproud. James Brickwood and Dominic Lorrimer. He also admitted itd be very hard for us to poll ahead of any of One Nation, the Liberal Party or the Climate 200-backed independent candidate in a byelection in the regional NSW seat of Farrer vacated by Sussan Ley on May 9, three days before the federal budget. Joyce, who blames Littleprouds hostility towards him for his defection to One Nation, told this masthead that Littleprouds remarks about Farrer were remarkable. Advertisement No general on the battleground stands before their troops and says We will probably lose!, Joyce said. This election will not be a test of the new political dynamic. It will be the task of giving the people of Farrer the most competent advocate with the leverage to back that task in the position they hope to hold. Littleproud and Angus Taylors staff have started to hold talks about how to cling onto the seat or minimise a loss, as the Coalition faces its first electoral test this term with its polling at record lows. Taylor also downplayed expectations of a Liberal win on Thursday. Littleprouds internal enemies, who include a growing number of his own frontbenchers, are watching to see if he campaigns in Farrer and performs well, with a leadership change later this year being contemplated by MPs. Advertisement The Nationals held the seat for 17 years before 2001, when Ley won the seat after the retirement of former Nationals leader Tim Fischer. Before Fischer, the seat had always been held by Liberals. In 2001, when Ley won, the Nationals polled 23 per cent of the primary vote, but the party has not contested the seat since. Related Article Exclusive Political leadership We might come last: Littleproud talks down byelection chances as leadership rivals circle Weve got strong membership there that want to run, and well have a candidate. I think well have a role to play as a coalition candidate to try and garner some of that One Nation vote back to our side, Littleproud said. [Angus Taylor] and I have been very explicit about this, that well work together to make sure that we get one of our candidates up, but its going to be difficult. In the podcast interview, Littleproud warned against voting for One Nation, telling Farrer voters that a Coalition candidate would have real power rather than just being a professional complaints desk outside yelling and screaming. Advertisement The member for Maranoa, who was blamed for splitting the Coalition earlier this year and dropped Joyce from his frontbench last May, said Joyce still had a role to play in the Nationals before he decided to leave. Related Article Byelection A protest vote is brewing in Sussan Leys seat but it wont be simple If youre in this parliament, you have a very big role, Littleproud said. You have to make calls on your frontbench. And he made calls. He got rid of [former leader] Michael McCormack. Michael McCormack didnt put him in his front bench. I gave them both the job, but in this term of [this term of] parliament, I made it clear ... we had to actually continue to evolve as a party and give people a go. I think he rationalised in his head that the party room would never vote for him again to be leader [and] he decided to leave, and thats a decision for him. Its disappointing. Taylor echoed Littleprouds pessimism about the Coalitions chances in Farrer. Both the Liberals and Nationals are running in the seat because, under the Coalition agreement, the parties may run against each other if a Coalition member retires. Advertisement Its going to be challenging, theres no doubt about that, Taylor told radio station 3AW. Weve had a local member leave, of course, and she had a strong following. And were going to have a cast of many candidates it seems. Weve got some good candidates who are putting their hand up, which is great. But we know its going to be a tough fight. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Independent MP Allegra Spender wants Treasurer Jim Chalmers to slap a 50 per cent tax on oil and gas companies that push up their prices to take advantage of the turmoil caused by the war in Iran. The Sydney MP, who is soon to release her own tax white paper, said there was a real risk that the disruption to global supply chains caused by the war would ultimately lead to higher energy prices for consumers. Allegra Spender, independent MP for Wentworth. Sitthixay Ditthavong Hitting companies with a 50 per cent tax, the proceeds of which would be used to pay down government debt, would act as a major disincentive to price gouging while improving the federal budget, she said. This tax on supernormal revenue will not affect investment since companies make such decisions on price expectations, not on the risk of war, she said. Investing in a project that would destroy value unless prices turn out to be far above forecasts would be irresponsible of any board. This windfall tax will, of course, be an unpredictable revenue stream for government, which is why it should only be used to pay down debt, rather than [be] regarded as a part of general revenue. Would-be sea-changers, take note: a typical home in the beachside Byron Bay area still costs 16.2 per cent less than it did at the markets peak in mid-2022. By contrast, median dwelling values in Sydney and Melbourne were just 0.4 per cent below their respective peaks in February, while in Brisbane, the median price hit a record high. Byron Bay home values have fallen from their peak. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The median dwelling value in the Byron shire was about $1,507,000 last month, on Cotality data. In April 2022, it was about $1,798,000. Tim Lawless, research director at Cotality, said Byrons market had yet to regain much of the ground it lost from mid-2022 to mid-2023, when prices plummeted more than 20 per cent. Advertisement InspirationIndonesia The fabulous side of Bali still waiting to be discovered Sue Williams March 6, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A Balinese family in traditional dress form a spiritual procession. iStock As Australians, we all think we know Bali, but theres a whole other world waiting to be discovered, if only we make the effort beyond the traditional flop, drop, Bintang and braiding approach to this piece of paradise. The people who live there believe that too many visitors to Bali overlook fabulous sights, tastes, experiences, shopping, wellness havens, culture and more. That could be anything from eating at the restaurant of a Balinese monk-turned-chef in Denpasar, to receiving a water purification ritual in Ubud; from joining locals for a dawn surf session in Canggu, to setting out on a cross-country mountain bike excursion at Mount Batur. Then theres the glamorous clothing store in Seminyak founded by Indonesian supermodels, Balis most beautiful waterfall, hidden in lush jungle valleys in the north, and a luxurious massage, local black rice and cinnamon detox scrub, volcanic Balinese clay mask and frangipani-filled bath in Ubud to finish the day. Advertisement Sekumpul Waterfall, or Twin Waterfall, in the Buleleng Regency of Northern Bali. iStock Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. Bali deserves recognition not only as a tropical escape, says passionate Bali local Mayang Adiyati Kusumadewi Heryadie. But as a global design destination, a place where every purchase tells a story and supports creativity rooted in culture and community. While theres a lot to be said for lounging by the pool or on the beach, as Mark Winson, a Canggu-based Australian, says: Id encourage anyone visiting Bali to dig a little deeper. Seek out an expert guide. Learn a new skill. Seek a fresh adventure. Its all available and tremendously within reach. Often overlooked by visitors is the spiritual side of whats often called the Island of the Gods. The ideal way to experience it, according to Gede Suteja, a general manager of Balis upscale COMO resort properties, is by visiting local temples, attending a ceremony, exploring traditional villages, and supporting local artisans to contribute to the preservation of Balinese culture. Here, then, are six insightful, on-the-spot takes on doing Bali better by six people who live there and know this fabled Indonesian island better than most. Advertisement FOOD Nasi campur babi guling, a signature Balinese meal of steamed rice with traditional roast pork, pork satay, fried pork, jackfruit, cassava leaf and pork skin crackers. iStock Janet DeNeefe, restaurateur and event organiser Australian-born Janet DeNeefe is among the most active and accomplished figure in Balinese food and literary circles. My message to Bali visitors is, be adventurous, be brave. Go beyond satay and nasi goreng. There are many eating places and daggy warungs around the coast, offering simple and fabulous food, but people from overseas often worry about cleanliness. Yet, many places dont have fridges, so the fresh food comes in, they cook it, and it goes out again. Instead, visitors will eat in food courts, up to their eyeballs in preserves. Bali belly is often just a result of getting used to different food and flavours, so they should just drink coconut water instead of Bintang and arak. And Balinese chefs can be amazing. One of our most promising is Made Dhanu, who runs FED by Made in Seminyak. He worked in Melbourne for a while and does great Balinese food with a bit of a twist. Advertisement Ubud is the cultural capital and also where its all happening with food. As well as our restaurants, theres Nusantara, which offers a wonderfully contemporary showcase of traditional Indonesian cuisine and Hujan Locale, with dishes inspired by traditional recipes made with locally sourced ingredients, from Bali-based Scottish celebrity chef Will Meyrick. Theyre pretty cool. Go to those authentic Balinese warungs, too. When you see it, try nasi campur, which is rice with side dishes, and smoked duck is wonderful, as is the Kuta specialty, suckling pig. And drink green coconut juice, which keeps you hydrated, turmeric tonics and our coffee its even better than Melbourne coffee. Janet DeNeefe, 66, is an Australian who lives in Ubud with her Balinese husband Ketut and their four children, running the restaurants Casa Luna and Indus, and the Honeymoon Guesthouse and Bakery, and directing the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and the Ubud Food Festival. See casalunabali.com; indusbali.com; honeymoonguesthouse.com; ubudwritersfestival.com; ubudfoodfestival.com SHOPPING At Pererenan Beach Street, a rising destination for indie labels and sustainable designers, try Paulina Katarina for chic, comfortable pieces. Mayang Adiyati Kusumadewi Heryadie, fashion and design devotee Advertisement There are no better experts on shopping in Bali than the passionate Mayang Adiyati Kusumadewi Heryadie. Bali deserves recognition not only as a tropical escape, but as a global design destination, a place where every purchase tells a story and supports creativity rooted in culture and community. Many products here are handmade, ethically produced and inspired by the islands culture and natural beauty, yet they carry a fresh, international touch. Many visitors stick to the well-known markets or malls, but take time to wander through the side streets of Seminyak, Canggu, Pererenan and Ubud youll discover small ateliers, concept stores and local brands that you wont find anywhere else. Bali is a creative melting pot. People from all over the world bring their ideas, design sensibilities and cultural influences, blending them seamlessly with the islands traditional artistry. For stunning ceramics, I love Sari Api Ceramic Studio and Gaya Ceramic and Design, which both create timeless, handcrafted pieces in Ubud. For furniture and home decor, explore Jalan Gunung Tangkuban Perahu in Kerobokan, a treasure trove of local shops and designer studios offering everything from statement lighting to sculptural art and modern home accents. For fashion and resort wear, I love walking through Balis boutique districts such as Petitenget Street, Seminyak, for its upscale boutiques and lifestyle stores; Berawa & Batu Mejan in Canggu for a blend of bohemian charm and modern resort style; and Pererenan Beach Street, a rising destination for indie labels and sustainable designers. My go-tos are VERESA Resortwear and Paulina Katarina for chic, comfortable pieces I wear every day. Mayang Adiyati Kusumadewi Heryadie, 31, originally from West Java, Indonesia, has called Bali home for nearly a decade. Shes the founder of a boutique public relations agency, Press Communications PR. See presscommunications.co.id CULTURE Advertisement Participating in a water purification ritual is a fine way to connect more deeply with Balinese culture. Henry Scott, luxury hotelier El Salvador-born Henry Scott is general manager of Balis upscale COMO Uma Canggu resort. I always encourage guests to experience Bali beyond the surface: join a dawn surf session with the locals at Echo Beach; visit Tanah Lot Temple at sunset; and explore the artisan villages in Ubud, join a local purification ritual in the Tirta Empul Temple, a 30-minute drive north of Ubud. Also take part in a traditional Balinese blessing for a truly spiritual connection, and of course, sample authentic Balinese food, from traditional warungs to refined takes on local dishes. Each experience reveals a layer of Balis living culture. Bali stands out because its culture isnt something visitors just observe; its something they feel. Daily rituals, community gatherings, temple ceremonies theyre all part of everyday life here. Theres an incredible balance between deep spirituality and artistry that touches every detail, from architecture to hospitality. The best way to experience Balis cultural side is to engage with it genuinely not as a spectator, but as a participant. We invite guests to connect with the island through traditional blessings, temple visits and surf sessions among locals, as well as hands-on encounters with Balinese crafts, cuisine and wellness rituals. While Bali is often celebrated for its beaches and beauty, its cultural depth is what truly defines the island. Advertisement El Salvador-born and US-raised, Henry Scott, 45, is general manager of hotel COMO Uma Canggu. He has lived in Bali for over seven years, after previously working for the Marriott group, the AMAN group and NOBU Hospitality. See comohotels.com NATURE The Tegenungan Waterfall on the Petanu River, Kemenuh Village, north of Ubud. iStock Emma Chandra, wildlife worker Nature-loving Emma Chandra works at Bali Zoo, home to more than 500 animals, including Indonesian endemic species such as the Sumatran tiger. Advertisement Although Bali is renowned for its beaches and resorts, the islands true character lies in its volcanoes, lakes, rainforests and living rice-terrace culture known as subak. From mountain peaks and green valleys to quiet villages surrounded by rice fields, these landscapes show the deep connection between nature and the Balinese way of life, experiences that are peaceful, authentic, and unforgettable. Elsewhere, in Central Bali, we have lush highlands and cultural landscapes, like the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces at Tabanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site showcasing the islands traditional subak irrigation system, with sweeping rice fields and mountain views, as well as the Tegenungan Waterfall in Gianyar, a scenic, easily accessible waterfall near Ubud. In northern Bali, theres the Sekumpul Waterfall in Buleleng, often called Balis most beautiful, hidden in lush jungle valleys via a rewarding trek. To the east, theres also Lake Batur and its hot springs, offering lakeside drives, kayaking, and restorative soaks. Western Bali is famed for its forests, like the West Bali National Park, wonderful for birdwatching, forest trekking, and mangrove walks, and Menjangan Island with calm waters and pristine coral reefs for snorkelling and diving. Visitors also shouldnt miss the Mount Batur sunrise: book a licensed local guide, bring warm layers, a headlamp and sturdy shoes, and for the waterfall trails (Sekumpul/Munduk/Tegenungan), expect steps and wet paths, so have suitable footwear. Cycle from Kintamani to Ubud (downhill), try camping and glamping in the Kintamani highlands and Batukaru foothills for cooler temperatures and night skies. Emma Chandra, 37, from Bangli, Bali, has worked at Bali Zoo home to more than 500 animals, including Indonesias endemic species such as the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, Bornean orangutan, and Bali starling for almost 14 years. See bali-zoo.com WELLNESS These days, Bali is home to boundless wellness options, such as the COMO Uma Canggu resort. Advertisement Kathryn Romeyn, writer and author Kathryn Romeyn, a Bali-based writer and author, believes Balinese masseuses are the best in the world. Theres a reason you meet Balinese masseuses at luxury hotel spas worldwide theyre the best in the world, with the gift of healing touch and a genuine desire to make people feel good. These days, I take incredible and wonderfully strong Pilates reformer classes at the chic Studio Fondue in Uluwatu four times per week, have deep weekly physiotherapy fascia treatments at Fondue Recovery, weekly massages, and try many treatments all around the island regularly. Whatever youre into, its surely being offered somewhere and typically at a more reasonable price than elsewhere in the world. My go-to for facials is Fields of Yarrow in Uluwatu I especially love the gua sha and Vita C with oxygen treatments, and I recently melted my way through a very dreamy Mandi Rempah ritual at Amandari, near Ubud, which consisted of a massage, local black rice and cinnamon detox scrub, a volcanic Balinese clay mask and then a frangipani-filled bath which lasted about two hours, but the luxuriously slow pace made the pampering feel even longer. Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayans Healing Village Spa, which reopened last October, is the very best place on the island to simultaneously feel in touch with the spirit, energy and culture of Bali. Other personal favourites include Nirjhara, with their top-notch massages, Raffles Bali, where you should ask for your treatment in The Sanctuary, and Potato Head, which has light sound vibration therapy that is really out of this world. American Kathryn Romeyn, 42, first settled in Bali in 2017, building her own house, and in 2023, built a new one next door with her architect husband and two small daughters. See balikalikubu.com ACTIVE Advertisement Surfers heading out at Balangan Beach. iStock Mark Winson, luxury surfing holiday company manager Mark Winson runs Balis Tropicsurf, a luxury surfing holiday company. Balis one of the few places where you can surf perfect waves in the morning, hike a volcano by lunch, then go scuba diving in the afternoon. Look beyond the coastal glitter strip, dig a little deeper for authentic off-track experiences and seek immersive, small-scale experiences rather than rushing between tourist highlights. When the waves are flat, Id recommend a mountain hike to experience jungle trails, waterfalls, rice paddies and even coffee plantations. Generally speaking, surfers put Bali on the tourist map way back in the 1960s. Nowadays, surfers have stretched further afield and Canggu has become an epicentre for surf culture, where the waves are more forgivingfor first-timers and intermediates. Beyond the waves, Ubud is the epicentre for yoga, while further on is a cross-country mountain bike excursion from Mount Batur, which is fully vehicle-supported and a great introduction to off-road mountain biking. The full 35-kilometre tour starts 1200 metres above sea level and finishes by the beach at Canggu. The ride is mostly downhill and weaves through some of the most picturesque parts of Bali, including the Tegalalang Rice Terraces. Seek immersive, small-scale experiences rather than rushing between tourist highlights. For me, I like to stay active by staying at a resort where surf access is simple, like COMO Uma Canggu, which sits directly above Canggus best surf. Advertisement Mark Winson, 47, general manager of luxury surfing holiday company Tropicsurf, divides his time between Canggu in Bali and the Gold Coast. See tropicsurf.com Sue Williams has been a guest of Como Hotels and Resorts on Bali. See comohotels.com BALI: AN ESSENTIAL ETIQUETTE GUIDE Entering places of worship: Remember to remove shoes and dress moderately when visiting mosques: wear a sash and sarong at Balis temples. Dressing and acting appropriately: Dont display affection in public or talk with your hands on your hips. Avoid displaying a lot of skin, and, for women, definitely dont go topless on the beach. Taking photographs of the Balinese: Before taking photos or videos, its customary to ask the Balinese, or to mime the question, for their approval. Offering and receiving with your right hand: The right hand is the respectful hand for giving, receiving, or touching sacred objects. Observing and respecting offerings: Expressions of gratitude in the form of small woven offerings are placed outside homes, shops, and temples daily. Step around them rather than over. Moderating your voice level: Speaking softly near temples, family compounds, or village pathways helps maintain the islands calm atmosphere. It shows visitors understand they are stepping into a sacred space. Pausing for ceremonies and processions: Ceremonies often move through village streets. Pausing to let such processions pass is a way to acknowledge the spiritual heartbeat of the island and the rituals that shape daily life. Respecting the environment: Balis natural beauty is sacred. Avoid littering, single-use plastics or touching coral, and be mindful of wildlife and the ocean. Caring for the islands environment is one of the most meaningful ways to honour the spirit of Bali. Visiting the homes of Balinese: Remove your shoes and avoid walking in front of people who are seated. Take a moment to observe the family temple, the most sacred area of the family compound, which is always treated with respect. Thanks to Janine Cottle, founder of Escape Haven, a retreat for women in Canggu and the soon-to-open Mana Sanctuary, and Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Lonely Planets resident Bali expert, for the above etiquette tips. See escapehaven.com; manasanctuary.com; lonelyplanet.com Traveller Guides Advertisement WorldAsiaChina Chinas latest blueprint aims to close US technology gap and break old habits Lisa Visentin March 5, 2026 5:33pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Beijing: Before an audience of dutifully applauding cadres at Beijings Great Hall of the People, Chinese President Xi Jinping put his country on track for its lowest growth target in three decades, signalling Chinas tentative shift away from chasing high-speed expansion. The growth target of 4.5 to 5 per cent for 2026 was announced by Premier Li Qiang as he delivered the annual work report to the National Peoples Congress, Chinas rubber-stamp parliament, on Thursday. Loading China also plans to boost its defence spending by 7 per cent this year, the lowest rate in five years. But it follows three years of annual rises of 7.2 per cent, as speculation swirls over Xis plans for Chinas military after his sweeping anti-corruption drives decapitated its senior ranks. The Communist Party also unveiled its next five-year plan to the congress on Thursday, laying out Xis blueprint to the end of the decade. It affirmed his long-term focus on positioning China to challenge the US for supremacy in high-tech industries and AI, and reduce its reliance on American technology such as semiconductors to achieve this. Advertisement At the strategic level, [the five-year plan] is absolutely about the US, said Neil Thomas, a China expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Xis focus on industrial self-reliance and indigenous innovation has been turbocharged by Donald Trumps trade and technology wars that he started in his first term. The global uncertainty thats been introduced in Trumps second term has only reinforced those trends. Chinese President Xi Jinping (front left) and Premier Li Qiang (right) arrive at the opening session of the National Peoples Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Getty Images But the latest plan also deals with standard domestic policy challenges in areas such as health and education. It emphasises Chinese policymakers often-articulated goal of shifting the countrys economic model away from an export-dominated machine to one more focused on domestic consumption, though critics say there has been little meaningful follow-through with tangible policy changes. The congress, under Xis watch, has become an even more stage-managed affair than in the past, with surprises rare as 3000 delegates gather each year to wave through pre-determined policy objectives, plans and targets. Advertisement The pageantry and performative democracy presages a big month in Beijing. Xi will host US President Donald Trump in several weeks against the backdrop of an unresolved trade feud between the worlds two biggest economies and as the USs foreign policy decisions are adding to global uncertainty. The congress, under President Xi Jinpings watch, has become an even more staged-managed affair than in the past. AP Americas war against Iran is threatening to bog it down in the Middle East once again, and sap its resources away from the Indo-Pacific region, where China is increasingly asserting its influence, while Beijings source of oil imports from Tehran has potentially been destabilised. In his address to the parliament, Li praised Chinas ability to withstand Trumps tariff rises, saying multilateralism and free trade are under severe threat. He also conceded China was facing major economic challenges, noting the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is acute, some businesses were facing difficulties in their operations, and it is more challenging for people to secure employment and earn more. Advertisement The shaved-down growth rate had already been foreshadowed by the party and was widely anticipated by China watchers, as the countrys economy falters under flagging domestic demand and a years-long property market slump. Even with a minor jump in consumption, a growth rate of 4.5 per cent is basically confirmation that China is going to continue to rely on exports for their economy, said Richard McGregor, from the Lowy Institute think tank. By picking winners and heavily subsidising certain industries such as electric vehicles and solar panels Beijing has created a knock-on problem of over-competition, which is driving down prices and fuelling a deflationary spiral. Beijing is facing an essentially zombified financial system, which cannot die but continues wreaking havoc on the more dynamic sectors of the economy. Research firm Rhodium Groups recent analysis on Chinas economy. So-called zombie companies that should have collapsed have otherwise been sustained by government funds rather than profits. Advertisement With domestic demand weak, companies have increasingly looked to overseas buyers. This helped underwrite Chinas record $US 1.2 trillion global export surplus last year, but it has fuelled frustrations in the US, Europe and Asia that cheap Chinese products are being dumped in their markets and crippling their industries. Electric vehicles on the assembly line at the BYD factory in China. Bloomberg Beijing is facing an essentially zombified financial system, which cannot die but continues wreaking havoc on the more dynamic sectors of the economy, said research firm the Rhodium group in a recent analysis. It has cast doubt on Chinas growth rate, estimating that it was about 3 per cent last year. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Advertisement WorldAsiaAfghanistan Opinion Gender apartheid: Why we cant forget the women of Afghanistan Liz Gooch Journalist March 5, 2026 7:30pm March 5, 2026 7:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Inspirational speeches over breakfast, long lunches, networking events, fun runs. If youre female and have a social media account, your feed is likely inundated with upcoming events for International Womens Day on March 8. What you probably wont see is the women the world forgot. All 21 million of them. Womens rights have been quashed since the Taliban retook Afghanistan during August 2021. AP For the women of Afghanistan, therell be no fun runs (women are banned from playing sport and visiting parks); no singing or dancing (also banned); no public speeches (womens voices are forbidden from being heard in public); and, like every other day since 2021, therell be no high school for girls. Instead, it will be another day living under what the United Nations calls a gender apartheid. Advertisement Its been almost five years since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan and embarked on its ruthless campaign to systematically erase women from public life. Illustration by Cathy Wilcox Its banned most women from working, made them subject to the control of their male guardians, and inflicted inhumane punishments such as flogging for so-called moral crimes like adultery. If you thought things couldnt get much worse, recent reports show there is no limit to the Talibans cruelty. Under a decree issued in January, men will be permitted to beat their wives as long as it does not cause broken bones or open wounds, the UKs Telegraph newspaper has reported. Even in cases where a perpetrator is convicted of causing serious injury, the maximum sentence would be 15 days in prison. Meanwhile, a woman who goes to her relatives home without her husbands permission faces up to three months in prison, the report states. You can call it shocking, terrifying, abhorrent, but which adjectives can really convey the full horror and fear that Afghan women must live with every day? Advertisement It may be almost impossible for most of us to imagine that in 2026, women are forced to endure this kind of existence. But from the safety of her home in Sydney, Nellab Hotaki Talash has no problem imagining what her life and her daughters lives would now be like, had they not escaped Afghanistan. Nellab was one of about 270 female judges in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover. Malyar Talash Almost four years have passed since I first met Nellab, who was one of about 270 female judges in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover. She told me the terrifying story of how she fled Afghanistan, coming face-to-face with an armed rapist she had sentenced to prison for 18 years. As her three young children played in the next room, she spoke of her fears that she and her family would be killed. Since moving to Australia, Nellab has got her drivers licence, is studying English and hopes to begin a law degree next year so that she can reclaim the career she was forced to give up. Last week, she told me how some days, her eldest daughter says she wants to be a pilot. Other days, its a doctor. Nellab spoke of the beautiful hope she has for the future. But her mind is often back in her homeland. Friends and relatives regularly call with frightening updates from Afghanistan, where there have been reports of women being raped and tortured in prisons after being arrested for crimes such as begging, and of women detained for allegedly violating strict dress codes. With high school banned for girls, Nellabs friends teenage daughters are mostly confined to their homes, afraid to go outside. Her niece was studying to be a doctor, but she too is now stuck at home after women were banned from universities. This, in a country in the grip of a devastating humanitarian crisis with a dire shortage of healthcare workers. Advertisement The international communitys efforts to put a stop to the Talibans appalling treatment of women has so far proven vastly ineffective. Australia announced in 2024 that it would join Canada, Germany and the Netherlands in taking the Taliban to the International Court of Justice over its treatment of women. In July 2025, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders on charges of gender persecution. And yet the Talibans crackdown has only intensified since then. Things are getting worse with every passing day and there seems to be nothing the world can do to pressure them or take action to reverse the laws they have imposed, says Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of Zan Times, a media organisation with a network of mostly women journalists in Afghanistan. She says the new decree is equivalent to treating women like slaves. Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of the Zan Times, recently received 860 applications for a journalism fellowship. Zan Times reporters continue to expose shocking human rights abuses in Afghanistan. Dieu-Nalio Chery. While much of the worlds attention has moved onto other crises and some countries have even begun to normalise relations with the Taliban, brave women like the reporters who work for Zan Times continue to expose shocking human rights abuses. They are covering the loss of their own rights and freedom. They are being the voice of women in their country, Zahra says of her colleagues in Afghanistan. Its hard to keep hoping and dreaming but what choice do they have? Advertisement When Zan Times advertised a journalism fellowship recently, it received 860 applications. Thats 860 women willing to risk their lives to tell the world about the horrors unfolding in their country. What these women are saying is that, We know if the Taliban find us, we will be punished, but this is a way of speaking up we are being the voice of truth, Zahra says. Most of them said, I want to stand up and fight. Convincing the Taliban to do away with their barbaric laws may not be easy, but surely the international community must not give up on finding ways to help the worlds most vulnerable women. Zahra is adamant about the message she wants to deliver on International Womens Day. I want people around the world to understand that Afghanistan is the forefront of womens rights, she says, and if you are not standing up for that, I think all of us are losing. Liz Gooch is a journalist, editor and documentary producer who has worked in the US, across Asia and Australia. She now lives in Newcastle, NSW. Advertisement WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Opinion An oppressed people are, once again, lured onto the street only to have their hopes dashed Waleed Aly Columnist, author and academic March 6, 2026 5:00am March 6, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A They always celebrate. In Iraq. In Libya. In Venezuela. Now, in Iran. This is the natural response of those living under authoritarianism to news their tyrant is gone. So much is loaded into the moment. Like releasing a breath that has been held for decades. The birth of a dream. The flash of infinite possibilities. Again and again, those dreams are dashed. Sometimes they are ground into the dust. Witness those who celebrated in Kabul, Afghanistan, when the Taliban was routed in 2001, only to see the organisation return to power after 20 years of incessant violence. Sometimes the country gets torn apart, as we saw in Iraq, where the legacy was the rise of Shiite militias, the horrors of Islamic State, and the material consequences of power blackouts, water shortages, and a quarter of the country impoverished. Sometimes the country simply implodes, as has happened in Libya, which is now the theatre of an unabating civil war. A boy waves an Iranian flag in front a police facility struck during the US-Israeli attacks in Tehran on Wednesday. AP The Trump era has delivered a different version a more honest one where at least these hopes are dashed from the beginning. Thats what we saw in Venezuela, when America snatched Nicolas Maduro from his bedroom. After the briefest, most vague flirtations with the language of democracy, Donald Trump made clear he had no interest in the Venezuelan opposition, and that he would leave the regime in place. Now, it seems were seeing something similar in Iran, where Trump has swerved from talk of regime change, and instead stated an aim confined to crushing Irans military capability. No nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars, thundered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, to bring the point home. Advertisement When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take, Trump told the Iranian people as he launched this war. Any regime change, and all the fallout, it seems, will fall to them. Hes inviting them to rise up against the regime, but has no apparent intention to uproot it. The last time America issued such an invitation was president George Bush snr to the Iraqi people in 1991. Yet when the uprisings came, he abandoned them to Saddam Husseins slaughter. Colin Powell then Americas highest ranking military officer would later write that Americas practical intention was to leave the Iraqi regime in place to survive as a threat to Iran. Related Article Opinion Middle East at war Irans regime is vile, but what Trump and Netanyahu have done is a war crime Geoffrey Robertson Human rights barrister and author Thats how these wars work. They are not humanitarian exercises. They are not waged for the benefit of these countries, or the oppressed people within them. If they were, wed see far more of them in places of little geopolitical interest, and with fewer natural resources. And wed see far less of Western powers supporting and sometimes funding dictatorships they regard as friendly. Instead, these are matters of blunt geopolitical calculation. The bombed nations are chess pieces, their people only pawns, whose plight is quickly forgotten when we have no further need to remember it. None of this is to criticise those celebrating on the streets. Id probably be one of them. But it perhaps explains why I have such a viscerally allergic reaction when I hear Western politicians invoking an oppressed people to sell some dubious military intervention. Advertisement This war is no different. Iran is Israels primary security threat. Having dealt enormous blows to Irans missile defence systems and proxies in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw an opportunity to weaken it further. If we are to believe Trumps Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, America came along for the ride, realising Israel was going to proceed anyway. These attacks are not being waged because Iran poses an immediate threat. Rather, they are being waged precisely because, right now, it doesnt. It is not a war of liberation or necessity, but of opportunity. This is plainly illegal, of course, but that is plainly irrelevant to those waging it, and even nations like ours supporting it. Related Article Opinion Trump diplomacy Trumps attacks are not about Iran. Hes after a much bigger fish Clinton Fernandes Academic and former intelligence officer If this isnt about regime change, there are really only two outcomes: either the regime survives in some form, or the country explodes. Neither is likely to serve the Iranian people. Even a seriously weakened Iranian regime will surely retain the ability to go on shooting troublesome citizens. And even a compliant one pummelled into serving American and Israeli interests is unlikely to set its own people free. Its worth remembering, because we so often forget, that the Shah of Iran was the figurehead of precisely such a regime: a Western ally, installed by a CIA-led coup, that tortured its own people, carried out political executions and killed protesters. The revolution that delivered us the current regime didnt come out of nowhere. Alternatively, given Irans mix of ethnic and religious minorities, an explosion is easy enough to envisage. The Baloch reach for their guns in the east. The Kurds do the same in the north. The Sunni Arab groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, get active in the south. In the north-west, the Azeri Shiite resistance groups see their chance to seek either independence, or integration with Azerbaijan. Either the regime is strong enough to crush this, or the country falls apart completely. In this case, it sits on a mind map somewhere between Iraq, Syria and Libya. Advertisement Meanwhile, what will have been achieved? A diminished Iranian threat on Israel, perhaps, which in Israeli eyes is no small thing. But even a weakened regime could continue to fund terrorist proxies, and its a big bet that all this regional chaos wouldnt throw up all kinds of security threats of its own, including for the West. And in the meantime, a new global logic will have taken hold. No stupid rules of engagement, Hegseth said, in describing how this war proceeds. Its not just the rules-based order thats been vapourised, but apparently the idea of rules as such. That is, a jungle, where the relatively weak stand to be bombed opportunistically, and the strong can do as they wish. Thats a world that suits countries like Russia and China just fine, and indeed its a fair description of how Trump has treated Russias invasion of Ukraine. And for every other repressive regime, the lesson is clear: make yourself unbombable. Irans mistake wasnt that it got too close to a nuclear bomb. Its that it didnt get close enough. For the oppressed people of the world, that lesson will only deliver catastrophe. Waleed Aly is a broadcaster, author, academic and regular columnist. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. Advertisement WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war How the US sank one of Irans most modern warships Tom Housden March 5, 2026 12:23pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The sinking of an Iranian warship in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka is the first time since World War II that an American submarine has attacked a surface vessel. It also represents a dramatic widening of the scope of combat operations in the five-day-old war. Loading The Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a torpedo fired from a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka, whose navy on Wednesday said it had recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people The ship sent a distress signal requesting assistance about 6am (12 pm AEDT), Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament. Ships and planes were dispatched on a rescue mission and found an oil patch and life rafts, along with 32 survivors and 87 bodies. The rescued Iranians have been taken to a hospital in the southern Galle district, a Sri Lankan Navy spokesman said. One of those rescued is in critical condition, and seven are receiving emergency treatment, a senior Health Ministry official said. Advertisement US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the US had sunk an Iranian vessel that believed it was safe in international waters comments that underline how the US-Israeli military operation is stretching far beyond Irans borders, and likely to stir debate over the legality and ethics of the attack. There are also questions over what degree of protection the Iranian vessel had, including whether it was equipped with any anti-submarine detection equipment or countermeasures. The frigate was more than 3000 kilometres from Iran when it was struck, though it was about 30 hours away from the strategically vital US airbase of Diego Garcia. US President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Irans navy. How did the US sink the IRIS Dena? Advertisement A video released by the US Department of Defence on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to have been hit by a huge underwater explosion, causing it to lift out of the sea and break apart, as a large plume of water rises into the air. American boats are typically armed with Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes, which carry 294 kilograms of explosive and are designed to explode beneath the targets keel, creating a shock wave that severely weakens a ships hull or even snaps it in two. Australian submarines also carry the Mark 48, and in 1999, the retired destroyer HMAS Torrens was sunk by the Collins-class boat HMAS Farncomb in a spectacular live-fire exercise. Advertisement The strike is believed to have been carried out by one of the US Navys nuclear-powered attack submarines. Hegseth described it as a quiet death for the Iranian navy vessel. The US has about 50 fast-attack boats in three classes, Los Angeles, Virginia and Seawolf. Because of their nuclear propulsion and design, all are extremely quiet intended to tail enemy vessels without being detected. It is not clear which submarine fired the torpedo at the IRIS Dena. Advertisement The US has also struck but didnt sink the Iranian drone carrier Shahid Bagheri essentially a converted container ship with a launch ramp, according to US Central Command. Hegseth also mentioned on Wednesday that US forces had also sunk Irans prize ship, the Soleimani likely a reference to one of an estimated four Shahid Soleimani guided-missile catamarans named after the Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani who President Donald Trump assassinated in his first term. View post on X Earlier this week, satellite images revealed smoke pouring from the Iranian Navys largest vessel, the IRIS Makran, and the apparent destruction of another frigate, the IRIS Naghdi, in port. Why was the IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka? Advertisement The ship was apparently heading back to Iran from a joint military exercise off Indias eastern coast. According to the London Telegraph, the ships commanders had attended a naval conference in India along with US naval chiefs before it was torpedoed on its return journey. The IRIS Dena was considered one of Irans most modern warships. Alamy Stock Photo The New Indian Express newspaper listed the IRIS Dena among the vessels attending the International Fleet Review and Exercise MILAN in Visakhapatnam last month, bringing together representatives from around 74 countries for a ten-day maritime engagement off the eastern seaboard. How much did the IRIS Dena cost to build? Advertisement Advertisement How many ships does Iran have left? At least 20 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads the American militarys Central Command, said on Wednesday. While the US hasnt given a full accounting of its attack on the Iranian Navy, prior assessments suggest the country has many more vessels and assets left. Iran relies on many small attack boats to project power across the critical Strait of Hormuz. NurPhoto via Getty Images A US Defence Intelligence Agency report from 2019 the latest unclassified US assessment available lists more than 200 weapons-carrying vessels for the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which primarily operates within the Persian Gulf. Advertisement The exact numbers for many Iranian small boat types are unknown, but the IRGCN has hundreds of small boats throughout the Persian Gulf, the DIA report said. That estimate includes three fast-attack submarines, one coastal sub and 15 midget submarines, as well as around eight corvettes and 100 fast-attack and patrol craft armed with anti-ship missiles and torpedoes that have previously harassed tanker traffic in the region. What happened in World War II? Submarine warfare came of age during World War II, with major battles fought for control of strategically vital shipping lanes in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But Hegseths initial claim that the sinking of the IRIS Deena was the first time a submarine had sunk a ship since that time was incorrect. Advertisement The Argentinian ship the General Belgrano sinking after being attacked by a British submarine during the Falkland Islands war in 1982. Decades later, in the 1971 Indian-Pakistan War, a Pakistani Daphne-class submarine sank the Indian frigate Khukri, while the Falklands War of 1982 saw British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror open fire on the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano, killing 323 sailors. A smaller South Korean Navy ship, the Cheonan, sank in March 2010 after a North Korean submarine attack, resulting in the loss of 45 lives. With AP, Bloomberg Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. MARIGOT:--- On Wednesday night, a massive operation unfolded on the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin. The French GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) and the American FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) joined forces to capture a high-profile American suspect. Apprehended in a residencethanks to an international arrest warrantthe individual stands accused of orchestrating a staggering $46 million cryptocurrency theft and was immediately placed in custody. Stealing millions of dollars no longer requires masks, getaway cars, or vault explosives. A laptop and a quiet internet connection can drain fortunes from across the globe in seconds. But escaping the consequences of those digital crimes is getting much harder. This post breaks down the details of this dramatic arrest. You will learn how these elite tactical and investigative units collaborated, how they tracked stolen digital assets, and what this milestone means for the future of global cybercrime enforcement. The Midnight Raid in Saint-Martin The arrest in Saint-Martin required immense planning and pinpoint execution. Taking down a high-value suspect demands flawless coordination, especially when millions of dollars in highly liquid, easily transferable digital assets are on the line. A Masterclass in Tactical Coordination The operation took place under the cover of night. The GIGNs Antenne de Guadeloupe, a specialized branch of the French tactical unit stationed in the Caribbean, spearheaded the physical raid. They worked alongside the Section de Recherches of Saint-Martin and agents from the FBI. When dealing with a cybercriminal holding millions in stolen funds, law enforcement faces unique risks. The suspect might attempt to wipe hard drives, transfer funds with a single keystroke, or trigger dead-man switches that permanently lock away the stolen assets. The GIGN tactical operators moved swiftly to secure the premises, neutralize any physical threats, and immediately seize all electronic devices before the suspect could react. Bringing Together the Best in the Business This raid represents a perfect fusion of skills. The FBI brought world-class digital forensics, blockchain tracking capabilities, and international intelligence to the table. Meanwhile, the GIGN provided unmatched tactical entry expertise. By combining American cyber-investigation prowess with French tactical execution, the agencies left the suspect with zero room to maneuver. Unpacking the $46 Million Theft Stealing $46 million in cryptocurrency is a monumental feat of digital engineering. However, laundering and hiding that amount of money is often where cybercriminals make their fatal mistakes. Tracing the Digital Footprint Cryptocurrency operates on public blockchains. While wallet addresses are anonymous, the transactions themselves sit on a public ledger for anyone to see. Federal agents use advanced blockchain analytics tools to trace stolen funds as they bounce across the internet. When a thief steals $46 million, they typically try to obscure the money's path. They use cryptocurrency mixers, bounce funds across hundreds of temporary wallets, and attempt to convert the digital tokens into privacy coins. Despite these efforts, investigators from the FBI have perfected the art of untangling these webs. They track the digital breadcrumbs until the thief makes a mistakelike transferring a small amount of stolen crypto to a centralized exchange tied to their real identity. The Illusion of Total Anonymity For years, cybercriminals believed that stealing cryptocurrency guaranteed anonymity. This operation shatters that myth. The arrest in Saint-Martin proves that investigators can pierce the veil of digital secrecy. No matter how many digital hoops a criminal jumps through, law enforcement agencies possess the technology and the patience to follow the money. The Power of International Collaboration Cybercrime respects no borders. A hacker in Eastern Europe can steal from a company in Asia and hide the profits on a server in South America. To combat this, law enforcement must also operate without geographical limits. Crossing Borders to Stop Criminals The Saint-Martin raid is a textbook example of successful international cooperation. The FBI tracked the suspect's digital footprint and physical location, realizing the individual was hiding in French territory. Because U.S. agents cannot simply execute raids in foreign jurisdictions, they relied on their strong partnership with French authorities. The French Gendarmerie and the FBI share intelligence regularly. This established trust allowed them to organize a joint task force quickly. They cut through bureaucratic red tape to ensure the suspect did not slip away. A Warning to Global Threat Actors This successful joint operation sends a powerful message to cybercriminals worldwide. Fleeing to an island paradise will not keep you safe from prosecution. Global law enforcement networks are tightening. Agencies share data, pool resources, and execute coordinated strikes with unprecedented speed. If you steal digital assets, the combined forces of international law enforcement will eventually find you. The Growing Threat of Digital Theft The scale of cryptocurrency theft continues to rise. As more financial institutions and private citizens adopt blockchain technology, the potential payouts for cybercriminals grow exponentially. How Cybercrime is Evolving Hackers constantly refine their methods. They use sophisticated phishing campaigns, exploit vulnerabilities in decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts, and deploy malware that quietly drains crypto wallets. The $46 million theft in this case highlights the massive financial damage a single skilled individual or small group can inflict. Furthermore, these funds often do more than just enrich the thieves. Stolen cryptocurrency frequently finances other illicit activities, including human trafficking, ransomware development, and international terrorism. Stopping these digital heists is a matter of critical national and global security. Upgrading the Digital Defenses Operations like the one in Saint-Martin force the entire cybersecurity industry to adapt. Law enforcement agencies study the methods used by apprehended hackers to strengthen systemic vulnerabilities. Every arrest provides valuable intelligence that helps prevent the next major breach. However, law enforcement cannot fight this battle alone. Individuals and organizations must take proactive steps to secure their digital wealth. As attacks grow more complex, resting on basic security measures is no longer enough. Securing Your Digital Future The capture of a major cybercriminal in Saint-Martin by the GIGN and FBI marks a significant victory for global law enforcement. It demonstrates that international borders will not protect those who steal millions in the digital realm. You can learn from these massive heists to protect your own assets. Take action to secure your digital presence immediately: Move significant cryptocurrency holdings to cold storage hardware wallets. Enable advanced two-factor authentication (using apps or physical keys, not SMS) on all financial accounts. Verify all smart contracts and decentralized apps before granting them access to your digital wallets. Stay informed about the latest phishing tactics and social engineering schemes. By taking your digital security seriously, you make yourself a much harder target for the cybercriminals operating in the shadows. Commentary By David Macdonald The federal government is seeking $60 billion in spending cuts to pay for the doubling of the Department of National Defence budget. Its now clear that asylum seekers in Canada will be among the first to pay the price. Of that entire $60 billion in cuts, asylum seekers and refugees will pay $1 billion of it. Buried in a footnote of a recently released Parliamentary Budget Officer report, we discovered that roughly half of the cuts planned for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will just be a massive service cut to asylum seekers and refugee health care. The department believes that these people who arrived in Canada with nothing can pony up a quarter billion dollars a year to pay 30 per cent of their dental care costs and cover a new prescription co-pay. No, they cant and they wont. The shocking part about this plan is that, while IRCC is levying higher costs for preventative treatments like prescriptions and dental care on asylum seekers, it will still cover 100 per cent of the costs to go to emergency rooms or to visit a physician. This is a bizarre accounting exercise where you save money through co-pays, but the costs add up on the emergency health care side of the equation, which IRCC also pays for. So, regardless of how we evaluate the morality of this decision to withhold health care to a vulnerable group of people who have been welcomed into our country, it is economically short-sighted and will negatively affect Canadas bottom line. Heres how: Asylum seekers come to Canada with little to nothing, since theyre escaping dangerous conditions. Most wont be able to pay the extra costs and will simply avoid dental care and filling prescriptionsuntil an emergency arises. Then theyll end up in Canadas emergency rooms. Treating major dental infections is actually the most common day surgery for Canadian children and is one of the reasons why we just implemented a new Canadian Dental Care Plan. Preventive dental care avoids needless suffering and expenses for Medicare down the road. While weve made strides in removing dental care costs for families without insurance, were now re-imposing them on asylum seekers and refugees. Millions of Canadians struggle to afford prescriptions due to co-paymentsthe type of co-payments well now be forcing on asylum seekers. The direct result of co-payments is that people dont fill prescriptions and skip taking much-needed drugs. The downstream impact of not taking meds for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory conditions alone led to a quarter of a million unnecessary emergency visits for Canadians, something that will become much more common for asylum seekers. IRCCs stated goal for these cuts was rationalizing programming, while upholding the governments long-standing commitment to resettle the worlds most vulnerable. But this has nothing to do with efficiencies and rationalizing programming. Its just a straight-up public service cut to health care provision for Canadas most vulnerable. These cuts to health care at IRCC are now all queued up and start May 1. Its more expensive to deal with a problem in an emergency than it is to prevent it in the first place. Thats called the social determinants of health and the government should be making evidence-based decision-making to help everyone in Canada prevent health care problems, rather than cut budgets that will only worsen health outcomes. You cant cut $60 billion in programs and avoid service-level impacts. Asylum seekers health care is our first peek at what these major cuts will mean. Well pay more in the long run, asylum seekers will endure unnecessary suffering, and the Department of National Defence will keep swelling in size. This is a short-sighted decision that will impose long-term costs on Canadas health system. The federal government must find another way to pay for its plan to balloon the amount we pay on national defence. Perhaps they should start by reconsidering that plan. David Macdonald is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. WARSAW, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday called on President Karol Nawrocki to approve the bill implementing the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, and asked the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to provide precise information about its financial capacity and details of the proposed "SAFE 0%" plan. In a video posted on social media platform X, Tusk said that Poland, Polish companies, workers of those companies and national security are waiting for funds from the SAFE program. He said the money from the EU program "is on the table," and factories are preparing to produce weapons. He added that the current international political situation requires seriousness and responsibility. Tusk said he listened with growing surprise to a joint statement on Wednesday by President Nawrocki and NBP Governor Adam Glapinski, during which they presented the "Polish SAFE 0%" as an alternative to the SAFE program. According to Nawrocki and Glapinski, "SAFE 0%" could serve as an alternative to the SAFE program. The president said the project could provide 185 billion Polish zlotys (about 50 billion U.S. dollars) for Poland's armed forces without loans or interest. Nawrocki said he would invite the government for talks on the proposal and was ready to introduce a legislative initiative if necessary. Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the plan proposed by the president and the NBP governor should not be treated as an alternative to the SAFE program but as a supplement. If both programs were implemented, they could provide about 360-400 billion Polish zlotys (97.6-108.6 billion dollars) for the military, he said. Under the SAFE program, Poland could obtain about 43.7 billion euros (50.7 billion dollars) in loans for defense investment. The Polish parliament has passed the bill implementing the program and it is now awaiting the president's decision. By law, the president has 21 days to decide whether to sign the bill. Gulf countries risk revenues, reputations in Middle East war Dubai, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2026 The Gulf countries have long been seen as islands of stability in the Middle East, but the war in the region could threaten their prosperity, analysts said, pointing to risks to their revenues and reputations as business havens. Gulf countries have borne much of Tehran's response since the US and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran over the weekend. The Islamic republic's retaliatory attacks have hit ports, airports, oil facilities, residential buildings and hotels along with military sites across the wealthy region of oil giants and staunch US allies. Qatar's state-run energy firm QatarEnergy halted liquefied natural gas production following Iranian attacks on facilities at two of its main gas processing bases. But of even greater concern is a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes -- and which Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had "complete control" over. "The complete disruption to oil and gas exports, and in turn export and fiscal revenue, for Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain is obviously the most severe impact," said Justin Alexander, an economic expert on Gulf issues and director of Khalij Economics. But top crude exporter "Saudi Arabia and the UAE can divert some of the production by pipeline to terminal beyond Hormuz", he added. The disruption to traffic on the waterway, combined with airspace closures in certain countries, also threatens to put pressure on the Gulf countries' supply chains. "There will be impacts to costs of imports, including foods like produce, meat and dairy," said Karen Young, director of the Program on Economics and Energy at the Middle East Institute in Washington. "On logistics and imports of construction materials, we will likely see some impact on the costs of projects and timing of deliveries," she added. - Disaster scenario - The Gulf countries, whose economies mostly rely on foreign labour, were determined to avoid a regional conflict at a time when they are seeking to reduce their dependence on hydrocarbons by betting on sectors such as finance, tourism and artificial intelligence. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, its neighbour and fellow leading oil producer, are both investing heavily in data centres and companies that supply AI products, including generative models. US tech giant Amazon, however, said this week that drone strikes damaged two of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates and a facility in Bahrain, prompting some analysts to question the wisdom of setting up such sites in the Gulf. The cancellation of thousands of flights since Saturday is also a heavy blow for the region, especially for the city of Dubai, which positions itself as a hub for the aviation sector and a major tourist destination. The pain has been compounded as the authorities have had to dig into their pockets to deal with the thousands of tourists and travellers stranded in the country since Saturday, covering all of their accommodation expenses. Not to mention the costs borne by governments to intercept the hundreds of missiles and drones raining down on their territory. And "the region is bound to further increase spending on defence and the repair of targeted civilian infrastructure" at the expense of other planned expenditures, said Nasser Saidi, founder of the Dubai-based consulting firm Saidi & Associates. For countries that are trying to present themselves as safe havens for investors, "the main concerns if the war becomes prolonged or if Iran does not stabilise after it ends is that there could be a loss of confidence and capital flight affecting bank solvency, the real estate market and other assets", Alexander said. "However, we are not there yet," he added. He said the Gulf countries' ability to attract investment and talent will largely depend on the outcome of the war and if it "looks like there could be future bouts of conflict with Iran". saa/amj/smw QatarEnergy N. Korea's Kim oversees naval destroyer, cruise missile tests: state media Seoul, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2026 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests this week of his country's state-of-the-art naval destroyer, including a launch of a sea-to-surface cruise missile, state media reported Thursday. The tests come shortly after Kim led a major once-in-five-years Party Congress, at which he renewed goals of a military buildup and vowed to forcefully respond to any threats. It also comes as the nuclear-armed North's key foe -- the United States -- launched its joint offensive with Israel against Iran, aiming to wipe out the Islamic republic's nuclear program, missiles and navy. Kim on Tuesday inspected a "Choe Hyon" class ship -- one of two launched last year -- and oversaw a "shakedown" or performance test, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The following day he oversaw the missile launch from the ship, which was "successfully carried out," KCNA said. "Every year during the new five-year plan period we must build two surface warships of this class or of a higher class," he said after the shakedown test. The Choe Hyon is one of two 5,000-ton destroyers in the North's arsenal, both launched last year as Kim seeks to ramp up the country's naval capabilities. A third vessel is under construction, which Kim also visited on Wednesday, according to KCNA. N.Zealand sends military planes to Middle East for evacuations Wellington, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2026 New Zealand ordered two military aircraft to the Middle East on Thursday in preparation for evacuations of its citizens from the region. Speaking while on a tour of South America, Foreign Minister Winston Peters urged New Zealanders to "shelter in place" and leave the region if it is safe to do so. He said Wellington would deploy "consular staff and two Defence Force planes to the region so that they can be ready when conditions allow to assist with any civilian evacuation operations". "We cannot be sure when and how any civilian evacuation operations might be possible, but we want to be ready if and when conditions on the ground make them possible," he added. Peters said the C-130 Hercules planes would ferry people out of danger to a safe country where they could use a commercial carrier to get home. He said that over 3000 New Zealanders were registered as living in the Middle East, with 23 in Iran and 62 in Israel. He said New Zealand may also evacuate other nationalities. "If they've got any remote reason to be on our plane, we'll grab them," Peters said. Countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from the Middle East this week after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional war. Neighbouring Australia has said it has 115,000 citizens in the region. US Senate rejects bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers Washington, United States, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2026 The US Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran, in a narrow congressional show of support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers. The bipartisan measure, introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul, would have required the withdrawal of US forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorizes the campaign. But with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress and largely backing the president's decision to attack Iran alongside Israel, the resolution fell short by exactly that margin. The vote came five days into a rapidly expanding conflict that has already killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior figures in Tehran, while US troops have died in an Iranian attack on a US base in Kuwait. Democrats argue Trump unconstitutionally bypassed Congress when he ordered the air campaign and say the administration has offered shifting justifications for the war. "Let me say it this way, there was no presentation of any evidence in that room... that suggested that the US faced any imminent threat from Iran," Kaine told AFP after a classified briefing from administration officials. Republicans have largely rallied behind their leader, though some have signaled their support could wane if the war expands or drags on. "Roadside bombs coming out of Iran have maimed and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans," Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's top loyalists in the Senate and a longtime advocate of confronting Iran, posted on X. "They mean it when they say 'death to America.' I'm glad we didn't let it go further. I'm glad we didn't let them build more missiles." - 'Knocked out' - For the resolution to pass, Democrats would have needed at least four Republicans to join Paul. One Democrat, Pennsylvania centrist John Fetterman, opposed the resolution. Even if the measure had cleared the Senate and the House -- where a vote on a similar resolution is expected Thursday -- Trump would have been able to veto it. Congress would have needed an almost certainly unattainable two-thirds majority in both chambers to override the president. Governments around the world have scrambled to evacuate citizens stranded by the war in the Middle East, triggered by the US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and prompted retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf. Cities such as Dubai and Riyadh -- long seen as insulated from the region's turmoil -- have been drawn into the crisis as the conflict spreads across the region. The debate in Congress over Trump's authority to wage war reflects broader unease on Capitol Hill about the scope and duration of the military campaign. Administration officials told lawmakers in classified briefings this week that the operation could last weeks and may require additional funding from Congress. Lawmakers from both parties say the Pentagon could soon seek emergency funds to replenish weapons stockpiles and sustain the operation. The war powers resolution invoked the 1973 War Powers Act, passed after the Vietnam War, which allows Congress to force votes on military engagements and limits unauthorized conflicts to 60 days. Democrats had acknowledged the measure faced steep odds but said forcing lawmakers to take a public position on the war was essential. Lebanon says three killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut airport highway Beirut, Lebanon, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2026 Lebanon's health ministry said late on Wednesday that three people were killed in Israeli strikes on vehicles on Beirut's airport highway. The strikes came after a third day of Israeli bombardments in response to renewed Hezbollah attacks. "Two Israeli air strikes on the airport highway killed three people and wounded six," the ministry said. Israel's military said it had targeted two people in the Beirut area, without immediately offering further details. Israel issued new evacuation orders for a Beirut suburb early on Thursday, warning residents it was about to strike targets it said were linked to Hezbollah. The leader of the Tehran-backed militant group earlier vowed to keep up its fight against Israel, whose forces pushed into several border towns and conducted air strikes around Lebanon. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes over the weekend. The group stepped up its attacks on Wednesday, saying it targeted Israeli positions as far as Tel Aviv in at least 15 attacks. US sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka as war spreads Tehran, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, as the war launched by the United States and Israel spread to another region. Chaos also spread within the Middle East with Iran striking ethnic fighters in Iraq, which plunged into a nationwide blackout as evening fell, and Israel issuing new evacuation orders as it pounded the Beirut area in response to Hezbollah. Off Sri Lanka, an Iranian ship that had been on a friendly visit to India was suddenly sunk by a US submarine, the first such torpedoing since World War II. The IRIS Dena frigate "thought it was safe in international waters", US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters. Hegseth, who has previously boasted that the war would not be "politically correct", called the strike "quiet death" and said of the United States, "We are fighting to win." The United States killed at least 87 people, Sri Lankan officials said, with 61 remaining missing. The island nation rescued 32 sailors, many of them wounded, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. The United States and Israel have struck Iran relentlessly since Saturday when an initial wave of attacks killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the cleric-run nation's supreme leader since 1989. The official IRNA news agency said that 1,045 military personnel and civilians have been killed, a toll that AFP could not independently verify. Iran has responded by firing a barrage of missiles and drones across the region, and the Revolutionary Guards announced Wednesday that they had taken "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint into the Gulf through which a quarter of the world's crude oil flows. Oil tanker transits through the strait have plunged by 90 percent, energy market intelligence firm Kpler said, with some ships choosing to avoid the route. Iranian strikes have caused fear and damage in Gulf cities such as Dubai and Riyadh, which have long taken pride in their safety from the tumult of the region. - Missile over Turkey - In another first, a missile launched from Iran was destroyed by NATO's air defence system while heading towards Turkey's airspace, drawing condemnation from Ankara and NATO. A Turkish official later told AFP that Turkey was not the target of the missile, which "veered off course" and had been aimed at a British base in Cyprus. Turkey, which has criticised the war, summoned the Iranian ambassador. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that "any steps that could lead to the spread of conflict should be avoided". Iran also struck in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish area, killing a member from an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, a representative said, amid reports that the United States was looking to arm the guerrillas to infiltrate Iran. "Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action," said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. "We will not tolerate them in any way." Two pro-Iran fighters were killed in a separate strike on their base inside Iraq. Iraq was later hit by a total electricity blackout. It was not clear if it was connected to the war, with the electricity ministry blaming a sudden drop in gas supplies to a key power plant. - Warning on Lebanon - In Lebanon, which Hezbollah dragged into the war, strikes have so far killed 75 people and displaced more than 83,000 since the start of the new round of fighting, officials said Wednesday. Israel told people living south of the Litani river -- an area of hundreds of square kilometres -- to leave, saying that the army was "compelled to take military action" against Hezbollah there. French President Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned Israel against a ground offensive and to "preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity", the French leader wrote on X. AFP video footage from Wednesday showed what appear to be two Israeli tanks amid residential buildings in Khiam, about six kilometres from the border. Hezbollah said its fighters had engaged Israeli troops in "direct" clashes there, after having previously launched a swarm of drones at a naval base in Tel Aviv. Israeli air strikes hit a hotel in Hazmieh -- the first reported attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs, which is near the presidential palace and several foreign embassies. Iran's military threatened to target Israeli embassies worldwide if Israel were to attack Tehran's mission in Lebanon. - Gulf nations intercept missiles - Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a series of cruise missiles as well as a drone targeting its huge Ras Tanura refinery. Drones a day before hit near the US consulate in Dubai, starting a fire, and a missile hit the US military base at Al-Udeid in Qatar. The UAE and Qatar both said they had intercepted drone and missile salvos on Wednesday, with Abu Dhabi saying it had been targeted by three ballistic missiles and 129 drones, intercepting all but eight drones. Kuwait has also been struck, with the health ministry announcing the death of an 11-year-old girl killed after she was hit by falling shrapnel. Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began. The Pentagon has announced the deaths of six US service members since Saturday, four of them in Kuwait. Qatar's premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Iran of dragging its Gulf neighbours into a "war that is not theirs" in a call with Iran's top diplomat. The United States has encouraged all Americans to leave the region if they could find commercial flights, though air travel has been severely disrupted, while governments including Britain and France sent chartered flights to get their citizens out. burs/sct/sst Iran's ethnic fault lines offer path for US, Israel Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Seeking to bring down Iran's Islamic republic, the United States and Israel could see a path by exploiting ethnic tensions, a strategy attractive to military planners but fraught with long-term risks. Just over half of Iran's population is Persian, but the country of 90 million has seen less strife along ethnic lines than many of its neighbors, despite plenty of discontent against the clerical Shia government that cracked down ruthlessly on protests weeks ago. Since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Saturday, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran has launched missiles and drones across the region and specifically targeted Iranian Kurdish groups across the border in Iraq. One guard was killed in a strike on a camp Wednesday, Khalil Sanani, spokesman of the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party, told AFP. CNN reported Tuesday that the CIA was working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with hopes of fomenting an uprising. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the story "completely false" but confirmed that President Donald Trump had spoken to Kurdish leaders. Iranian Kurdish fighters are attractive for the United States as "they really are the most organized segment of the broader Iranian opposition movement," said Mohammed Salih, a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's national security program. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, has "brand recognition" but lacks an armed faction on the ground, Salih said. "The direction that things seem to be taking in Iran is that the US and Israel seem to be really needing boots on the ground, in the absence of being willing to send in their own troops," Salih said. Another option would be the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), an armed group known for rallies around the world and its aggressive courtship of Western politicians. But the MEK was long considered a terrorist group by Washington and enjoys little support inside Iran, where it is reviled for allying with Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the devastating 1980-88 war. - Opportunity for special forces - Kurdish fighters could serve a similar function as Afghanistan's minority-dominated Northern Alliance in 2001 by creating a zone in which US special forces can operate, said Stefano Ritondale, a former military intelligence specialist. A successful Kurdish offensive could also "enable a spreading of discontent" that overwhelms the Islamic republic, said Ritondale, now chief intelligence officer at Artorias, a global risk intelligence provider. "What is interesting in the thought process from the administration is using the Kurds as an armed opposition to really challenge authority, and then causing a cascading effect where people go back out in the streets and protest," he said. Kurds have allied with the United States for decades, with mixed results. US support helped bring de facto autonomy to Kurds in Iraq and Syria. But Washington recently dropped support for autonomy by Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled the Islamic State group, as Trump backs the new government in Damascus. Kurds, while mostly Sunni, share cultural and linguistic affinities with Persians and have historically had less friction with the Iranian state than with fellow Kurds in Iraq and Turkey. Kurds make up about nine percent of Iran's population, while the largest minority group is the Azeris, a Turkic people near Azerbaijan, though they are highly integrated in Iranian society. Khamenei was Azeri and President Masoud Pezeshkian is of mixed Azeri and Kurdish origin. Other geographically concentrated minorities include Arabs, Turkmens and Baluchis, whose militants have waged a violent insurgency across the border in Pakistan. - Fears on splitting Iran - Some observers warn of deep risks to an ethnic strategy, which could set off new sorts of conflict. A reliance on Kurdish fighters could also put the United States and Israel on a collision course with Pahlavi. Just days before the US and Israeli attack, five Iranian Kurdish groups announced a joint coalition with the goals of "Kurdish self-determination" and toppling the Islamic republic. Pahlavi accused them of threatening national unity and said "Iran's territorial integrity is the ultimate red line." Arash Saleh, the US representative of one of the groups, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said his movement was seeking a federal Iran. "We see ourselves as a kind of Iranian force that wants to keep the territorial integrity of Iran," he said. "But we believe the best solution to keep this territorial integrity as strong as possible is to come up with some mechanisms so that all Iranians feel like they're the members of this country." Turkey says missile launched from Iran destroyed by NATO Istanbul, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said Wednesday. The defence ministry said it had been "engaged and neutralised by NATO air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean". It did not specify the missile's intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been "aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course". Officials said fragments that fell in the Dortyol district in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, had been identified as pieces of the interceptor used to neutralise "the threat in the air". No casualties were reported. Reacting to the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a call with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan "that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. The incident also drew condemnation from NATO. "NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region," NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said, using Turkey's official name. "Our deterrence and defence posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence." The United Arab Emirates "strongly condemned" the missile launch as a "serious escalation", the foreign ministry said in a statement. Ankara summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey its "reaction and concerns" over the incident while Fidan warned Tehran against steps that could widen the conflict, a diplomatic source said. Fidan told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that "any steps that could lead to the spread of conflict should be avoided", the source added. Iranian news agency Tasnim said Araghchi told Fidan that Iran's retaliatory strikes were aimed at bases used to carry out operations against the Islamic republic. Turkey hosts a number of military facilities used by the United States and other NATO allies. - 'Wrong strategy' - In an evening address, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was "taking all the necessary precautions" in consultation with its NATO allies and was issuing "warnings in the clearest terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again". "If we, as a nation, want to live in peace and tranquility... we must constantly increase our deterrent capabilities. In these difficult times... we are leaving absolutely nothing to chance regarding the security of our borders and airspace," he said. Turkey, a majority Sunni Muslim NATO member, shares a 500-kilometre (315-mile) border with Iran. Erdogan has described the US-Israeli strikes on Iran which sparked the conflict as "illegal" and Fidan also criticised Iran's retaliatory strikes against Gulf nations and beyond, saying it was the "wrong strategy". "The underlying strategy seems to be: 'If I am going to sink, I will take the region down with me'," Fidan said in an interview late Tuesday. Analysts said the trajectory of the Iranian missile and its destruction by NATO systems further raised the stakes for a widening regional war, even if there was no clear evidence Iran intended to strike Turkey. "Turkey will not want to become embroiled in the US-Israel attack on Iran, which it has criticised, but if Iran launches more missiles clearly aimed at targets on Turkish territory, Ankara will consider its own direct retaliation," said Hamish Kinnear of risk-intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft. The defence ministry said: "Any steps necessary to defend our territory and airspace will be taken decisively and without hesitation." "We reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions directed at our country," it added. burs?fo-bg-hmw/pdw/rlp/ami War in the Middle East: latest developments Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Air strike hits Hezbollah stronghold - An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after Israel had issued a warning to residents. Elsewhere, three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles along Beirut's airport highway, Lebanon's health ministry said. Prior to these strikes, officials had said 72 people had been killed and more than 83,000 others displaced since the start of a new round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. - 'Historic gains' - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel and the United States had made "historic gains" in their war against Iran. A spokesperson for Netanyahu, Shosh Bedrosian, also said in a video message that the attack was needed as Iran was using "new underground bunkers" to rebuild its atomic bomb program. - Turkey says missile from Iran destroyed - A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, Turkish officials said. The defense ministry did not specify the missile's intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday. - 'We're doing well,' says Trump - President Donald Trump hailed the US performance in the war, saying Iran's leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on. "We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses. - Spain denies US claim of cooperation - Spain doubled down on its opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran, after Trump's threats of trade reprisals. The White House said Madrid had now agreed to cooperate, but Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said its stance on "bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all." - China to send envoy to mediate - China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Beijing is a close partner of Iran and has said it backs Tehran in defending its sovereignty, while urging the United States and Israel to cease their attacks. - US mulls role in post-war Iran - The White House said Trump is weighing a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the Islamic republic concludes. "I think it's something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. - Qatar, Turkey ire - Qatar's PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted Iran's foreign minister during a call, accusing Tehran of trying to drag their neighbors into war. Turkey, meanwhile, summoned the Iranian ambassador after a missile -- apparently targeting a Cyprus base -- landed in Turkish territory. - Cargo crisis deepens - Danish shipping giant Maersk said it was suspending bookings in the Gulf until further notice following a risk assessment. Maersk had said previously that it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the narrow Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and crucial for oil tankers, in the Gulf. Several shipping groups made similar announcements. - Hormuz crew rescued - The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a container ship struck by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces claimed "complete control" of the strait a day after Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the channel. - Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies - A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, as the effects of the war in the Middle East spread to yet another country. "We have collected 87 bodies, and a search is still on for the others who are still missing," a Sri Lankan navy official told AFP. burs-sst/jgc People check the ruins of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon on March 5, 2026. The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 102, with 638 others wounded, Lebanon's authorities said Thursday. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) BEIRUT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 102, with 638 others wounded, Lebanon's authorities said Thursday. In a statement, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health said the casualties were recorded between dawn on March 2 and Thursday afternoon, adding that the toll is expected to rise as hospitals continue to receive more injured people. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army issued an unprecedented order for residents in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately, marking the first full evacuation of the area. The Israeli military also warned residents not to head to southern Lebanon, saying any movement in that direction could endanger their lives, adding that they would be informed when it is safe to return to their homes. The developments followed Hezbollah's Monday rocket launches toward Israel, the first since a November 2024 ceasefire, and subsequent Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and areas across Lebanon. Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces have continued to carry out occasional strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are aimed at eliminating Hezbollah "threats." Photo taken on March 5, 2026 shows a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon. The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 102, with 638 others wounded, Lebanon's authorities said Thursday. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) Civil Defense personnel work near ruins of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon on March 5, 2026. The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 102, with 638 others wounded, Lebanon's authorities said Thursday. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) N. Korea's Kim oversees naval destroyer, cruise missile test: state media Seoul, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests this week of his country's naval destroyer, claiming Pyongyang is in the process of "arming the Navy with nuclear weapons", state media reported Thursday. The tests, including a launch of a sea-to-surface cruise missile, come shortly after Kim led a major once-in-five-years Party Congress, at which he renewed goals of a military buildup and vowed to forcefully respond to any threats. It also comes as the nuclear-armed North's key foe -- the United States -- launched its joint offensive with Israel against Iran, aiming to wipe out the Islamic republic's nuclear programme, missiles and navy. Kim inspected on Tuesday a "Choe Hyon" class ship -- one of two launched last year -- and oversaw a "shakedown" or performance test, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "The arming of the Navy with nuclear weapons is making satisfactory progress," Kim said, according to KCNA. "All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century," he added. The following day he oversaw the missile launch from the ship, which was "successfully carried out," KCNA said. The Choe Hyon is one of two 5,000-ton destroyers in the North's arsenal, both launched last year as Kim seeks to ramp up the country's naval capabilities. A third vessel is under construction, which Kim also visited on Wednesday, according to KCNA. - 'Show of force' - Pyongyang has previously said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the "most powerful weapons". Some analysts said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads -- although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its atomic arsenal. Pyongyang last week condemned the ongoing United States and Israeli attack on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression", claiming it had shown Washington's "rogue" nature. Kim's latest move involving the ship appears to be "intended as a show of force amid the ongoing Iran situation and ahead of upcoming South Korea-US joint military drills," Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP. Pyongyang and Washington are longtime adversaries but the US has mounted a push to revive high-level talks with the North in recent months. Reports and analysts have suggested the United States is eyeing a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and the North's Kim this year. After largely ignoring those overtures for months, Kim said last month that the two nations could "get along" if Washington accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status. Iran lauches missiles at Israel, no casualties reported Jerusalem, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Iran launched several rounds of missiles at Israel early Thursday, the Israeli military said, triggering alerts in several areas and explosions heard in Jerusalem but there were no immediate reports of casualties. After a lull of more than seven hours, Israel's military issued three separate alerts warning of Iranian missile fire in under two hours. Iran's state broadcaster IRIB also reported the launches. AFP reporters in Jerusalem heard explosions following the third reported launch. But Israel's emergency services, the Magen David Adom, said it had received no reports of casulaties following Thursday's early rocket fire, and the military has cleared people to leave their shelters. On Wednesday, the military's Home Front Command said it would ease some war?related restrictions effective midday Thursday, citing a decline in the number of missiles fired by Iran. Israel keeps up Lebanon strikes as ground forces advance Beirut, Lebanon, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Israel's attacks on Lebanon entered a fourth day on Thursday, killing at least two according to state media, after Israeli forces pushed into border towns and conducted air strikes targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes over the weekend. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes early Thursday, including two in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut, where AFPTV footage showed smoke rising. Israel's military earlier told residents to leave the suburbs where the strikes were reported, warning it was about to attack targets it said were linked to Hezbollah. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Citing the health ministry, the NNA said that an Israeli strike on an apartment in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, killed at least two people and wounded a third. And on a road in south Lebanon, a drone hit a vehicle, killing three people, the NNA reported, without speculating who was behind the strike. Another "enemy" air strike hit a house in Tyre district, the NNA said. Israel has not claimed any of the latest attacks reported by the Lebanese news agency. Meanwhile, in Israel's north near the border, repeated air raid alerts sent residents to shelters in several locations, with no immediate reports of impact or casualties. Hezbollah's leader vowed Wednesday to keep up its fight against Israel and step up attacks, saying the group had targeted Israeli positions as far as Tel Aviv in at least 15 attacks. "We are facing aggression... our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem declared in his first speech since the latest round of fighting broke out. Lebanese authorities announced at least 72 people killed, 437 wounded and 83,000 displaced from their homes since Monday. - 'Direct' clashes - The Israeli military told people living south of Lebanon's Litani river -- a large area stretching around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border -- to evacuate, warning that the army was "compelled to take military action" against Hezbollah there. Under a November 2024 truce, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army may bear arms south of the Litani river. Israel was supposed to withdraw all of its forces, but has kept troops in areas it deems strategic and conducted regular air strikes, citing Hezbollah's refusal to surrender arms. On Tuesday, Israel's military said it was creating a buffer zone inside Lebanon to protect Israeli residents. Troops from three divisions, including infantry, armoured and engineering units were operating in southern Lebanon, Israel's army said late Wednesday. AFP video footage showed what appeared to be two Israeli tanks amid residential buildings in Khiam, about six kilometres (3.7 miles) north of the border. The UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, reported Israeli "movements and military activities" on the Lebanese side, adding in a statement that they violate Lebanon's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". Hezbollah said its fighters had engaged Israeli troops in "direct" clashes in Khiam, while Israel said two of its soldiers had been "moderately injured" by anti-tank fire. Meanwhile, an air strike hit a hotel in Hazmieh -- the first reported Israeli attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs, which is near the presidential palace and several foreign embassies. Some rooms were gutted in the strike, and wounded people received treatment in the lobby, AFP images showed. People fled through debris carrying suitcases past the Comfort Hotel's sign, which had fallen broken to the ground. It was not possible to determine who was targeted in the attack. - Southern suburbs targeted - A series of strikes on Wednesday hit Beirut's southern suburbs following evacuation warnings from Israel's military. One of the strikes targeted a building near a major hospital, according to an AFP photographer. AFP footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising above buildings in the densely populated suburb, which some residents fled when the violence erupted on Monday. In Aramoun and Saadiyat south of Beirut -- two towns outside of Hezbollah's traditional sphere of influence -- the health ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least six people. AFP footage from Aramoun showed damaged cars and rescue workers carrying a wounded person on a stretcher. Strikes also targeted a four-storey building in the city of Baalbek, in Lebanon's east, far from the border where Hezbollah also has a strong presence. War in the Middle East: latest developments Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Explosions heard in Tehran: media - Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that several explosions were heard in Tehran on Thursday morning. It said the country had activated its defences in response. - Iran launches missiles at Israel - Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel earlier Thursday, triggering alerts in several areas including Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military and Tehran's state media. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem after warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire, according to AFP journalists, but Israel's emergency services said there were no known casualties. - Air strike hits Hezbollah stronghold - An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after Israel had issued a warning to residents. Elsewhere, three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles along Beirut's airport highway, Lebanon's health ministry said. - Oil spill near Kuwait - A tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in the waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said. "The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity" off the Gulf state's Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, the agency posted on X. - Qatar evacuations near US embassy - Qatar has begun evacuating residents of its capital living near the US embassy as a precautionary measure, the interior ministry said, after Iranian strikes. - Turkey says missile from Iran destroyed - A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, Turkish officials said. The defense ministry did not specify the missile's intended target, but the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been "aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course". - Trump, Netanyahu hail war effort - President Donald Trump hailed the US performance in the war, saying Iran's leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on. "We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel and Washington had made "historic gains" in the war. - US Senate rejects bid to curb war - The US Senate rejected a bipartisan resolution aimed at curbing Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran, in a narrow congressional show of support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress, the resolution fell short by exactly that margin. - Canada can't rule out war role - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he couldn't "rule out participation" in the escalating war. "We will stand by our allies," he said alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra. - Spain denies US claim of cooperation - Spain doubled down on its opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran, after Trump's threats of trade reprisals. The White House said Madrid had now agreed to cooperate, but Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said its stance on "bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all." - China to send envoy to mediate - China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Beijing is a close partner of Iran and has said it backs Tehran in defending its sovereignty, while urging the United States and Israel to cease their attacks. - Qatar ire - Qatar's PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted Iran's foreign minister during a call, accusing Tehran of trying to drag their neighbors into war. - Cargo crisis deepens - Danish shipping giant Maersk and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said they were suspending bookings in the Gulf until further notice following a risk assessment, after China's Cosco announced a similar halt. Oil prices had risen as Iran warns vessels against using the narrow Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and crucial for oil tankers, in the Gulf. - Hormuz crew rescued - The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a container ship struck by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces claimed "complete control" of the strait a day after Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the channel. - Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies - A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. "We have collected 87 bodies," a Sri Lankan navy official told AFP. burs-sst/jgc/jfx/hmn China boosts military spending with eyes on US, Taiwan Beijing, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 China announced a seven percent boost to its defence budget for 2026 on Thursday as it steadily increases spending to counter the United States and enforce its claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea. The latest rise keeps China's spending at a third of that of the United States, but the Asian power is working to close the gap. Beijing plans to spend 1.9096 trillion yuan ($276.8 billion) on defence, according to a report published at the opening of the annual "Two Sessions" parliamentary meeting. Premier Li Qiang told delegates that China will aim to strengthen the military and "carry out major defence-related projects" over the next five years. Analysts said the budget will finance military salary increases, training, manoeuvres around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things, according to the report. The increase marks a degree of continuity as Beijing pursues a sweeping anti-graft purge of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which included the ousting of top general Zhang Youxia in January. "China pursues an independent and self-reliant foreign policy. However, without robust military capabilities and technological prowess, our diplomatic stance would inevitably be subject to coercion or even dictated by certain nations, including the United States," military commentator Song Zhongping, a former Chinese army instructor, told AFP. "China is unwilling to be a vassal state," said Song, who maintained that, by comparison, Japan and South Korea "only submit to American dictates". The PLA must also strengthen its capabilities, he said, to "fully restore" Chinese jurisdiction over the disputed Spratly Islands, a chain of reefs and atolls in the South China Sea that are also claimed by the Philippines and where there are believed to be vast natural resources. The United States is the world's biggest military spender, shelling out $997 billion in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). - 'Proportionate' - China has maintained a steady increase in military spending of around seven to eight percent each year since 2016. However, its military spending as a percentage of GDP remains modest. China's defence budget stood at 1.7 percent of GDP in 2024, well behind the US figure of 3.4 percent and Russia's 7.1 percent, according to SIPRI. "That is proportional to its economy and legitimate defence needs," said Niklas Swanstrom, director of the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. China claims its defence policy is solely aimed at protecting its territory, which it says includes self-ruled Taiwan. It has only one military base abroad, in Djibouti, in contrast to the several hundred held by the United States. "However, the absolute spending level (second globally) and rapid capability development concern neighbours," Swanstrom told AFP. China's military buildup is fuelling an arms race in Asia and prompting some countries, particularly those with territorial disputes with China, to draw closer to Washington. In Taiwan, leader Lai Ching-te wants to increase military spending in response to Beijing, which does not rule out the use of force to take control of the island. The Philippines has also granted US access to more of its military bases. Japan has been shedding its strict pacifist stance, with a record defence budget worth $58 billion approved in December for the coming fiscal year to expand its military capabilities. - Beijing vs Washington - The question of whether China could win a conflict against the United States remains unanswered. The Chinese navy is considered to have more ships than any other country, but it lags behind the US Navy in tonnage, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. "The US remains the world's first-class armed forces both in terms of its military hardware and the hard operational experience of its personnel," said James Char, a Chinese military specialist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Swanstrom noted that the United States benefits from its superior global logistics, more advanced submarines and stealth technology, a larger nuclear arsenal, combat-experienced personnel and extensive alliance networks. However, the balance would be radically different closer to China's shores if the US Navy were to intervene militarily, for example, to support Taiwan against Beijing. "Most critically, neither side could 'win' meaningfully," Swanstrom said. "Economic devastation, casualties, and nuclear escalation risks would be catastrophic for all parties." ehl/dhw/pbt/fox Taiwan opposition backs $11bn for US arms, but no 'blank cheque' Taipei, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Taiwan's main opposition party said Thursday it will back $11 billion in special funding for US weapons purchases and left the door open to more acquisitions, but insisted it will not write a "blank cheque" for the government. Taiwan has spent billions upgrading its defences as China increases military pressure on the island, which Beijing claims is part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force. Under US pressure to spend more, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's government has proposed $40 billion in funding for critical defence purchases, including US arms, over eight years. But the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which together control parliament, have stalled Lai's proposal and instead drawn up their own stripped-down versions of the spending bill. The KMT said it proposed allocating $11 billion to cover the cost of US arms sales announced in December and pledged to review further weapons purchases once they were approved by US Congress. The TPP previously proposed $12.6 billion for military purchases. The three spending bills will be sent to a parliamentary committee for review on Friday. "We hope to advance arms procurement through a phased, concrete, and clearly defined approach, rather than granting a one-off authorisation, a blank cheque with no spending cap and no detailed content," KMT caucus member Jonathan Lin told reporters. "Such an arrangement ensures efficiency while upholding procedural justice, enabling the public to clearly understand the necessity and rationality of each additional expenditure." The United States is Taiwan's most important security backer, and it has been applying pressure to the KMT and TPP to get behind the government's spending bill. But opposition lawmakers have demanded greater transparency and oversight of the government's planned military purchases. The KMT said commercial and domestic procurement required "strict scrutiny" and should not be combined with US weapons purchases. "The KMT has always supported US government-to-government arms sales," the KMT said in a statement on Thursday. "However, commercial procurement is where corruption and controversy most often occur. These two categories must never be bundled together to pressure the public and the legislature into approving them as a single package." US President Donald Trump said last month he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so. Trump is scheduled to travel to Beijing at the end of March to meet Xi. Iranian drones hit Azerbaijan airport, near school Baku, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Azerbaijan on Thursday summoned the Iranian envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school. The attacks around midday involved at least two drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Iran and is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia, said a foreign ministry statement. "One drone fell on the terminal building of Nakhichevan Airport, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad," the ministry said, damaging the airport and wounding two civilians. The ministry said it had summoned Iranian envoy in Baku to express "strong protest" over the attack, which "contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region. "Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures," it added. Iran has long expressed concern that Israel -- a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier -- could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks. Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets. Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran's 83 million citizens. Greek ship workers strike to support of stranded Gulf crews Athens, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Greek ships were confined to port on Thursday, the coastguard confirmed, as workers staged a 24-hour strike in support of crews stranded in the Gulf by the Middle East war. In a statement announcing the 24-hour strike, the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO) demanded an "immediate repatriation of all seafarers located in this region". The union said the situation was "particularly serious and dangerous" for "hundreds of seafarers, Greek and foreign, who remain stranded" in the Middle East. "Ships are not leaving port," a coastguard spokeswoman told AFP. Greek Merchant Marine Minister Vassilis Kikilias has said 10 ships flying the Greek flag are in the Gulf, while around 325 vessels linked to Greek interests but registered under foreign flags are also in the Middle East. He said on Sunday on Skai television channel that 85 Greek seafarers were on board the 10 Greek ships. The coastguard on Thursday said it could not specify how many sailors were on the other Greek-owned vessels. Israeli strikes killed eight people in south Lebanon: state media Beirut, Lebanon, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Israeli strikes killed eight people in Lebanon on Thursday as Israel renewed its evacuation call for vast areas of the country's south, long a stronghold of Hezbollah. The Iran-backed militant group, which dragged Lebanon into the regional war on Monday when it launched an attack on Israel, said it had launched missiles at positions in the Galilee area. The National News Agency (NNA) reported that the mayor of a village in the Nabatieh region of south Lebanon and his wife were killed in one strike, while in a nearby village another strike killed two children and their parents. The Lebanese health ministry said two people were killed by a strike on a car near the city of Zahle in the east of the country. There were new strikes on the southern suburbs of the capital, Hezbollah's main bastion, early on Thursday, NNA reported, with AFPTV footage showing smoke coming from the area. It also said a pre-dawn Israeli drone strike hit an apartment in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in the north of Lebanon, killing senior Hamas official Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife. Also on Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action. Arabic-language spokesman for the Israeli military Avichay Adraee posted on X: "Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon: you must immediately continue evacuating to the north of the Litani river." The warning included the cities of Tyre and Bint Jbeil. On Tuesday, Israel's military said it was creating a buffer zone inside Lebanon to protect Israeli residents. The following day, it said troops from three divisions, including infantry, armoured and engineering units were operating inside Lebanon. War in the Middle East: latest developments Paris, France, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Spain sends Cyprus protection - Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The "Cristobal Colon" will join French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and Greek navy ships to "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians", the ministry said in a statement. - Fresh Israeli strikes - Israel's military said in a statement Thursday it had "just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran". Iranian news agency Tasnim and local media reported several explosions had been heard in Tehran Thursday morning. - Blasts in Doha - Another round of explosions were heard over the Qatari capital Doha Thursday, AFP journalists reported, describing a column of black smoke rising on the horizon. Qatar's defence ministry said its military was working to intercept an incoming missile attack. - Iran hits Iraqi Kurds - Iran said Thursday it had targeted the headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq. The strikes killed a member from an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, according to a representative. - Israel kills Hamas official - Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike had killed a senior Hamas official Thursday, the first reported targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian militant group since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered regional war. Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife were killed when an "enemy drone targeted their home" in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. - Azerbaijan protests Iran strikes - Azerbaijan on Thursday summoned Iran's envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school in the exclave of Nakhichevan, and said the attack "will not go unanswered". - US will 'regret' sinking - Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set", he posted on X. A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a minister told parliament. - Iran says hit US tanker - Iran hit a US oil tanker with a missile Thursday, "in the north of the Persian Gulf" and set it on fire, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement reported by state television. The incident has not been independently confirmed. - Iran internet blackout - Iran's internet is "around 1 percent of ordinary levels" with a communication blackout sparked by the war with Israel and the United States entering a fifth day, monitor Netblocks said Thursday. Telecoms users were threatening legal action against users trying to connect, it added. - Australia deploys 'military assets' - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan. While Albanese did not elaborate, local outlet SBS News reported they were planes. - Iran targets Israel - Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel earlier Thursday, said the Israeli military and Tehran's state media. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem after warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire, according to AFP journalists. - Strike hits Hezbollah stronghold - An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after an Israeli warning to residents. Israeli strikes along Beirut's airport highway killed three people, Lebanon's health ministry said. - Oil spill near Kuwait - A "large explosion" hit a tanker in the waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said. "The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity" off the Gulf state's Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, the agency posted on X. - Qatar evacuations near US embassy - Qatar has begun evacuating residents of its capital living near the US embassy as a precautionary measure, the interior ministry said, after Iranian strikes. - UK minister due in Cyprus - Britain's Defence Minister John Healey is due in Cyprus later Thursday, after a drone strike on a UK air base on the Mediterranean island, a defence source tells AFP. - Italian air-defence aid to Gulf - Italy will send air defence assistance to Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday. burs-/jj/ UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on world leaders to halt arms races and invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war. "Our dream of peace is in peril," Guterres warned in his message for the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness. "The threat of nuclear weapons use is the highest in decades," with global tensions pushing military spending to stratospheric levels, small arms and light weapons proliferating, and emerging technologies making conflicts even deadlier, he said. The UN chief urged the international community to lower the temperature and world leaders to step back from the brink. "Stop rattling the nuclear saber. Halt the arms races," he said. "It's time to invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war," which means living up to disarmament obligations, rebuilding trust, and strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation, testing and use of deadly weapons, Guterres stressed. "Together, we can prevent catastrophes and ensure a safe and peaceful world for all," he said. In December 2022, the UN General Assembly designated March 5 as the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness to promote better awareness and understanding of disarmament issues among the public, especially young people. Taiwan opposition backs over $11bn for US arms, but no 'blank cheque' Taipei, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Taiwan's main opposition party said Thursday it will back more than $11 billion in special funding for US weapons purchases and left the door open to more acquisitions, but insisted it will not write a "blank cheque" for the government. Taiwan has spent billions upgrading its defences as China increases military pressure on the island, which Beijing claims is part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force. Under US pressure to spend more, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's government has proposed $40 billion in funding for critical defence purchases, including US arms, over eight years. But the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which together control parliament, have stalled Lai's proposal and instead drawn up their own stripped-down versions of the spending bill. The KMT said it proposed allocating more than $11 billion to cover the cost of US arms sales announced in December and pledged to review further weapons purchases once they were approved by US Congress. The KMT initially announced "NT$350 billion + n" in proposed spending, but hours later increased that to "NT$380 billion + n" without offering a clear explanation for the change. - 'Contradictions' - The TPP previously proposed $12.6 billion for military purchases. The three spending bills will be sent to a parliamentary committee for review on Friday. "We hope to advance arms procurement through a phased, concrete, and clearly defined approach, rather than granting a one-off authorisation, a blank cheque with no spending cap and no detailed content," KMT caucus secretary-general Jonathan Lin told reporters. "Such an arrangement ensures efficiency while upholding procedural justice, enabling the public to clearly understand the necessity and rationality of each additional expenditure." Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the KMT's bill contained "contradictions", and could impact the processs for purchasing US weapons. "In arms procurement, the process usually begins with an intention to purchase, followed by the allocation of a budget," DPP caucus chief executive Chuang Jui-hsiung said. "Breaking up the NT$1.25 trillion plan for eight years into fragmented pieces could affect the overall timeline for Taiwan's defence procurement." The United States is Taiwan's most important security backer, and it has been applying pressure to the KMT and TPP to get behind the government's spending bill. But opposition lawmakers have demanded greater transparency and oversight of the government's planned military purchases. The KMT said commercial and domestic procurement required "strict scrutiny" and should not be combined with US weapons purchases. "The KMT has always supported US government-to-government arms sales," the KMT said in a statement on Thursday. "However, commercial procurement is where corruption and controversy most often occur. These two categories must never be bundled together to pressure the public and the legislature into approving them as a single package." US President Donald Trump said last month he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so. Trump is scheduled to travel to Beijing at the end of March to meet Xi. UK defence minister arrives in Cyprus London, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Britain's defence minister John Healey arrived in Cyprus Thursday, a defence source told AFP, following a drone strike on a UK air base on the Mediterranean island. The visit comes after the runway of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri came under attack by an Iranian-made unmanned drone on Monday. Starmer said Tuesday the UK was dispatching "helicopters with counter drone capabilities" and a warship, HMS Dragon, to Cyprus as Britain continued "defensive operations" in the region. HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy's six Type 45 air defence destroyers. It is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously, Britain's defence ministry said. The helicopters are Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones. On Wednesday, Cyprus's High Commissioner to the UK Dr Kyriacos Kouros, said Cypriots were "disappointed" at the level of information-sharing with residents after RAF Akrotiri was hit and further drones intercepted. "Let's say the people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more," he told the BBC's Newsnight programme. Starmer initially refused to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose". Those bases are in Gloucestershire, western England, and the UK-US Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean. Starmer has insisted that the Akrotiri base is not being used by US bombers. Monday's drone strike there caused minimal damage and no casualties, said British officials. Service personnel's families have been moved away from the base as a precaution. Azerbaijan says Iran drone attack 'will not go unanswered' Baku, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Azerbaijan said it was preparing to retaliate after two people were wounded on Thursday in Iranian drone hits on an airport and near a school. The midday attacks involved at least two drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Iran and is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia, said a foreign ministry statement. "One drone fell on the terminal building of Nakhichevan Airport, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad," the ministry said, adding that the aircraft wounded two civilians and damaged the airport. The defence ministry in Baku said it was "preparing the necessary retaliatory measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country and to ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure." "These acts of attack will not go unanswered," it added. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said it had summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to express "strong protest" over the attack, which "contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region". "Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures," it added. Iran has long expressed concern that Israel -- a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier -- could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks. Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets. Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran's 83 million citizens. China tells oil refiners to suspend exports: Bloomberg report Beijing, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch. China is a net importer of oil and is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the vital Strait of Hormuz for energy. Traffic through the strait is currently blocked. The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China's direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler. Officials from China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, met refinery representatives "and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately", Bloomberg said Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. "The refiners were asked to stop signing new contracts and to negotiate the cancellation of already-agreed shipments," it said. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry denied knowledge of the suspension when asked about it at a regular news conference. PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, Sinochem Group and private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical regularly obtain fuel export quotas from the government, Bloomberg said. Most of the companies did not immediately respond to AFP's requests for comment, while a spokesperson for PetroChina said they had no information to provide. Bloomberg reported that at least one Japanese refiner cancelled exports of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel to prioritise domestic usage, while Thailand said it would stop fuel shipments. John Gong, a political economy professor at the University of International Business and Economics, told AFP that the reports of China's export suspension were "very understandable". "From China's perspective, we want to make sure that we have a stable domestic market. We don't want to see gasoline prices going through the roof," he said. reb-sam/dhw/fox PETROCHINA SINOPEC - CHINA PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL CORPORATION Intense blasts rattle Doha in latest Iranian attacks Doha, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Multiple rounds of explosions echoed over the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday just hours after officials said they were evacuating residents living near the US embassy. Gulf countries have been targeted by repeated waves of Iranian drone and missile attacks in retaliation for the massive US-Israeli air campaign. AFP journalists on the ground in Doha described Thursday's blasts as some of the most intense since Iran began targeting the Gulf state on Saturday. A column of black smoke was seen on the Doha horizon, while Qatar's defence ministry said its military was working to intercept the incoming missile attack. The targeting of Qatar on Thursday came hours after the country's prime minister lambasted Iran's foreign minister during a call, in the first high-level contact between the two countries since the Islamic republic launched its missile and drone campaign. Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Iran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs", on the call with Iran's Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement by Qatar's foreign ministry. Explosions were also heard in Bahrain's capital Manama on Thursday. In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones. "Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj," the Saudi defence ministry posted on X. Elsewhere, a tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have said they had "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint connecting the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and one of the world's most vital shipping routes for energy. bur-ds/dcp Spain to send frigate to Cyprus after drone strike Madrid, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The announcement comes as Madrid faces intense US pressure for refusing to allow Washington to use its bases against Iran, triggering threats of trade reprisals from President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the White House said Spain had agreed to "cooperate with the US military", only for Spain to reaffirm its stance on its bases and its opposition to the war. Spain's "Cristobal Colon" frigate will join French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and Greek navy ships to "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians", said a defence ministry statement. The frigate will head for the Mediterranean after a mission with the "Charles de Gaulle" in the Baltic Sea and is scheduled to arrive at the Greek island of Crete around March 10, the ministry said. France, Britain, Italy and Greece have also announced the deployment of sea and air resources to EU member Cyprus after the runway of the Akrotiri airbase was attacked by an Iranian drone on Monday. HRW says Israel's Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war Beirut, Lebanon, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli military's call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised "serious risks of violations of the laws of war". Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel with Israel conducting air strikes across the country and its troops pushing into border towns. On Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action. "Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. "How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?" he said in a statement from the rights group. HRW said "the sweeping nature" of Israel's call raised "concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians", adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people. The evacuation call "raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war", it added. Lebanese authorities said dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes since Monday. Azerbaijan vows retaliation after Iran's 'terrorist' strikes Baku, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of "terrorism" and threatened retaliation after drone attacks Thursday wounded four people -- an incident that could drag yet another country into the Mideast war. Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan's ally, of trying to stage a provocation. The midday attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan bordering Iran, Baku said. "Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan," Aliyev told a hastily convened security council meeting. Azerbaijan's military "have been instructed to prepare and carry out retaliatory measures ... placed on mobilisation level number one, and must be ready to conduct any operation," he said. "Those dishonourable people who committed this terrorist act against us will regret it. Let them not test our strength... This stain will never be erased from their dirty and ugly face," he added. The Azerbaijani defence ministry said it had detected four drones launched by Iran's army. "One of them was disabled by the Azerbaijani army, while the others were directed at civilian infrastructure, including a secondary school building during class hours. Fortunately, the drone targeting the school did not reach its objective and instead fell and exploded near the school," it said. The Nakhichevan Airport terminal was damaged, the foreign ministry said, with video showing grey smoke rising above the building after the strike. Four people were hospitalised with "traumatic brain injuries," Sahib Abuzarov, head of emergency services at a hospital in Nakhichevan said later. The general staff of Iran's armed forces said it did not carry out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel. "Such actions by the Zionist regime, aimed at disrupting relations between Muslim countries in various ways, are not unprecedented," it said in a statement. - Azerbaijan-Israel partnership - Turkey's foreign ministry condemned strikes "which target third countries in the region and increase the risk of the war spreading," adding it "will continue to stand by Azerbaijan, as it always has". Azerbaijan's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to express "strong protest" over the attack, which it said "contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region". "We demanded from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case and conduct investigation," Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizada, told AFP. Analysts have said Azerbaijan's Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline -- which runs through neighbouring Georgia and Turkey and carries around a third of Israel's oil imports -- could become a potential target for the Iranian military. In 2024, Azerbaijan exported 2.37 million tonnes of oil to Israel via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, director of the Baku-based Centre for Oil Research, Ilham Shaban, told AFP. "The pipeline is buried underground along most of its route, making it difficult to disable," he said, adding that "above-ground facilities -- such as terminals and pumping stations -- could still be vulnerable to Iranian drone strikes." Iran has long expressed concern that Israel -- a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier -- could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks. Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets. Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran's 83 million citizens. Second Iranian ship nears Sri Lanka after submarine attack Galle, Sri Lanka, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 A second Iranian warship neared Sri Lankan waters on Thursday, a minister told parliament, a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 84 sailors. Media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the second Iranian navy vessel was just outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters, but gave no further details. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was meeting top officials on Thursday to discuss a response to an Iranian request to enter the safety of the island's waters, official sources said. They said the craft identified as IRIS Bushehr was carrying nearly 300 crew and cadets. It was feared that this vessel could be targeted the same way a sister vessel was sunk by a US submarine just off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday. The sinking of IRIS Dena came as the war sparked by a joint US-Israel attack on Iran continued to spread across the Middle East and beyond. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday denounced the attack and warned Washington it would "bitterly regret" establishing such a precedent. "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," he posted on X. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said he spoke with Araghchi on Wednesday to "express grave concern" over the escalation of hostilities and called for diplomatic dialogue. Meanwhile, authorities began an inquest into the deaths of the sailors at the southern port city of Galle while the chief magistrate Sameera Dodangoda ordered autopsies. The morgue at Galle can handle about 25 bodies at a time, but those of the 84 Iranian sailors were brought there on Wednesday. Hospital staff said the authorities were rushing to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve the remains until legal formalities were completed. Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said authorities were continuing the search for missing sailors. Sri Lanka earlier said that there were 180 people on board the ship -- more than the Iranian figure -- when it was struck by a torpedo, in what the US defence secretary called "quiet death". - Tight protection - Medical staff said 32 rescued Iranians were still being treated under tight security provided by police and elite commandos at the hospital, adding that the walking wounded would be discharged soon. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was assessing the situation and was working with the local authorities. "Our priority is to ensure that all the wounded, sick and shipwrecked receive the assistance they are entitled to without delay," the ICRC spokesperson in Colombo, Ruwanthi Jayasundare, told AFP. The emergency treatment unit of the district's main hospital was off-limits to visitors and other patients, with medical authorities setting up a separate ward for the wounded Iranians. "Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns," a nurse at the hospital said, without giving her name. An Iranian embassy official present at the hospital declined to comment. The frigate issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday but had completely sunk by the time a Sri Lankan rescue ship reached the area. The attack was about an hour away from the main naval base in Galle. The warship was returning after attending a military exercise in India's eastern port of Visakhapatnam. India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said he too had had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, but gave no details. Sri Lanka has remained neutral and has repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. Iran is a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the country's main export commodity. Swedish intelligence warns of increased Middle East war fallout Stockholm, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 A top Swedish intelligence official on Thursday warned of increased threats against American and Israeli interests, as well as Iranian dissidents, in Sweden because of the war in the Middle East. The Scandinavian country's security, which had already deteriorated after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has worsened since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday unleashed a new war, according to Fredrik Hallstrom, head of operations for the Swedish Security Service (Sapo). "The threat has increased primarily against American, Jewish, Israeli interests or opposition figures, rather than towards Sweden as a nation or country," Hallstrom told AFP. "I'm talking about opposition figures with such influence that they could actually either be perceived as a serious threat to the Iranian regime, or in fact be one," he explained. Hallstrom also said the war in the Middle East could have "considerable impact" on European security. Police have taken measures to increase security around potential targets, such as embassies, he said. Sapo has previously pointed to Iran, China and Russia as the main threats to the country. It has accused Iran in particular of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit "acts of violence" against Israeli and other interests in Sweden -- a claim Iran denied. Other risks highlighted by Sapo include increased intelligence activities in Sweden, surveillance and actions targeting Iranian dissidents in exile, as well as the acquisition of equipment, research and know-how that could contribute to the development of nuclear weapons. "We know that Iran uses cyber attacks and hacks phones and computers in order to monitor others," Hallstrom said. He added that this monitoring could be potentially used to get individuals "in Sweden to provide information about other people, by exerting pressure". The News in Brief Thursday, March 5, 2026 A delegation of Georgian MPs is visiting Washington to attend the Alliance of Sovereign Nations summit on March 4-5. The group includes Georgian Dream's Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Mariam Lashkhi, Chair of the Education and Science Committee, Lika Shartava, and Eka Sepashvili of the People's Power party. This visit follows the U.S. suspension of the strategic partnership in late 2024 and sanctions against Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.On March 3, the MPs and Georgian Ambassador Tamar Taliashvili met with Senator Steve Daines, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Discussions centered on the "restoration of the strategic partnership". Samkharadze stated that Georgia is committed to starting a "new chapter in developing even deeper and mutually beneficial relations."Samkharadze also met with Brendan Hanrahan, the State Department's Senior Bureau Official for European and Eurasian Affairs. They discussed the 'alignment of values' between the Georgian government and the U.S. administration. Samkharadze noted that they identified "several areas that will strengthen our renewed cooperation."The meetings addressed the Trump Route transit project and the Middle Corridor. Samkharadze characterized the new route as "not an alternative to the Middle Corridor and Georgia's route, but rather a complementary factor." Writing on X, Samkharadze called the talks a 'great exchange' regarding "threats stemming from occupation of Georgian territories by Russia" and "security challenges in the wider Black Sea region."First Vice Speaker of Georgian Dream-led Parliament, Gia Volski, sharply criticized the unification of part of the opposition, saying the group is staging what he described as a political performance with destructive aims."They have formed some kind of internal theater and want to have as many viewers as possible," Volski said, adding that the alliance's goal is "very grave and dark."According to Volski, the opposition's plan is aimed at harming the country rather than offering genuine political alternatives. He said the same figures linked to the United National Movement and former president Mikheil Saakashvili remain at the core of the alliance."The goal is the destruction of the country," Volski said.His comments followed the announcement by several opposition parties that they had formed an Opposition Alliance. The agreement was signed by the Coalition for Change, United National Movement, Strategy Builder, Federalists, National Democratic Party, European Georgia and Freedom Square.The alliance says it aims to remove what it calls the autocratic rule of Bidzina Ivanishvili, restore Georgia's Euro Atlantic course and secure democratic governance. It has pledged to continue joint action "until the release of political prisoners and victory in free, fair elections." CAIRO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have set off a regional exchange of fire that entered its sixth day on Thursday, leading to increasing casualties and major political and security consequences, with impacts rippling across the region. Here's a quick overview of the latest developments and the impact of the retaliatory attacks on countries directly caught up in the crisis: The United States -- President Donald Trump told Axios he must be "involved in the appointment" of Iran's next leader, rejecting the succession of Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me," he said, warning that a similar leader could force the United States back to war "in five years." Israel -- Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said Israeli forces are moving to the "next phase" of their campaign against Iran, intensifying strikes against the Iranian government and its military capabilities. -- He said Israeli air force has conducted 2,500 strikes, dropped over 6,000 munitions, and destroyed roughly 60 percent of Iran's ballistic missile launchers and 80 percent of its air defense systems. -- Israeli military said that it killed Hezbollah firepower management commander Zaid Ali Jumaa, who was responsible for launching "thousands" of rockets, missiles and drones toward Israel, in airstrikes in Beirut. -- The military also reported that an Israeli officer was severely injured and another soldier was moderately wounded during combat operations in southern Lebanon. Iran -- Iran said that 1,230 people have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country. -- The Iranian army said that its forces have carried out drone attacks against U.S. bases in Kuwait and Iraq as well as a number of Israeli targets. It also hit a U.S. oil tanker north of the Gulf with missiles. -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Iran is not requesting a ceasefire with the United States and Israel and sees no reason to negotiate with Washington. -- Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani warned the United States against carrying out ground invasion against Iranian territory, saying the country's armed forces are waiting and ready for American troops. -- Iran rejected accusations from neighboring Azerbaijan that it had launched drone strikes targeting its territory, while suggesting that Israel may be behind the attacks. Iraq -- Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government denied claims it sent Kurdish groups to infiltrate Iran, saying it is not involved in any campaign to escalate regional conflicts. Yemen -- UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg stressed the importance of protecting Yemen from being dragged into a new cycle of regional confrontations, calling for the utmost restraint. Bahrain -- Bahrain announced that a Bapco Energies refinery in Maameer was targeted in an Iranian missile strike. Bahrain's National Communication Center said that the fire has been fully contained, with no reported injuries, and refinery operations are continuing. The United Arab Emirates -- Blasts were heard in capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening as residents received mobile phone alerts warning of potential missile threats. -- Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates Khaled Mohamed Balama said the country's banking and financial sector remains stable and resilient, even as technical disruptions at a major bank caused long queues at some branches. Qatar -- Qatar's Ministry of Interior announced that authorities are evacuating residents living near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precautionary measure. Lebanon -- The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 123, with 683 others wounded. Turkiye -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, stressing that the spread of conflict in the Middle East region is "unacceptable." -- Turkiye strongly condemned drone attacks on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, warning that such strikes risk widening the regional conflict. Azerbaijan -- The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry strongly condemned drone attacks on its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic allegedly launched from Iranian territory, calling the strikes a "violation of the norms and principles of international law." -- Azerbaijan's armed forces have been placed at the "highest level" of combat readiness following the drone attack on the Nakhchivan region. Britain -- Britain is sending four more Typhoon fighter jets to join its squadron in Qatar to strengthen defensive operations in the country and across the Middle East region, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a press conference. France -- U.S. aircraft not participating in operations in Iran have been "accepted" at certain military bases in France, French daily Le Parisien reported, citing the French military. Diplomats told to shelter in Riyadh as drone debris injures six in Abu Dhabi Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Some Western diplomats in Riyadh were told to shelter in place, diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday, with drone debris injuring six people in Abu Dhabi as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf. The unprecedented air campaign by the Islamic republic, targeting US military assets but also American embassies and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf, continued into its sixth day after US-Israeli air strikes that devastated Iran's leadership. At least 13 people have been killed in the Gulf, including seven civilians, since Iran began its attacks on Saturday. Washington said six US servicemen were killed, including four in Kuwait. In addition to the shelter-in-place order to diplomats, in Riyadh a witness said the diplomatic quarter in the Saudi capital, home to many foreign missions and diplomatic residences, had been closed off. The witness and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive security matter. Authorities in Abu Dhabi responded to falling debris at two sites in an industrial zone after air defences intercepted a drone, the emirate's media office said. Six Pakistani and Nepalese nationals were injured, while the UAE later said its air defences detected seven ballistic missiles, intercepting six as one fell inside the country. Fresh waves of explosions, most from interceptions, also rocked Dubai, Doha and Manama on Thursday. In Doha, AFP journalists saw a plume of smoke rising from the Qatari capital and reported loud blasts across the city and Qatar's defence ministry said its military was working to intercept incoming missiles. Earlier, Qatari authorities said they were evacuating residents living near Doha's US embassy. The fresh salvos came hours after Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, during a call. The conversation was the first high-level contact between Tehran and a Gulf leader since the start of the attacks. The Qatari premier accused Iran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs", according to a statement from Qatar's foreign ministry. In Saudi Arabia, officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones. "Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj," the Saudi defence ministry posted on X. Elsewhere, a tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have said they had "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint connecting the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and one of the world's most vital shipping routes for energy. bur-ds-aya-csp/amj Israel tells Beirut suburb to evacuate as Mideast war spirals Beirut, Lebanon, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning on Thursday for the entirety of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, sending residents in the district of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in a panic. The warning followed a fresh wave of Israeli attacks on Iran, which again lashed out at Gulf nations Qatar and Bahrain as the Middle East war reverberated throughout the region and far beyond. The war has drawn in global powers, snarling shipping and rattling energy markets. It has been felt as far away as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, and Azerbaijan, which threatened retaliation after a drone hit an airport. Lebanon was dragged into the conflict on Monday, when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the US-Israeli strikes that launched the war. Israel responded with air strikes and sent ground troops into some Lebanese border villages, and told residents of a large area of south Lebanon to leave in anticipation of military operations there. In a message to the residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, an Israeli military spokesman said: "Save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately." Such warnings typically foreshadow large-scale attacks, and massive traffic jams formed on the outskirts of the suburbs, as people fired guns in the air, urging locals to leave as soon as possible. Earlier in the day, Israel said its forces had hit "several command centres belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation" in south Beirut. Lebanese authorities say at least 72 people have been killed, 437 wounded and 83,000 displaced from their homes since Monday. - From Azerbaijan to Sri Lanka - On Iran's borders, neighbour Azerbaijan warned a drone attack on its airport "will not go unanswered", raising fears of another country entering the war that has engulfed the region. Iran's armed forces denied being behind the strike, but that did not stop Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev from accusing Tehran of "terrorism". Australia deployed two military aircraft to the theatre while Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said he could not rule out his armed forces taking part in hostilities. The war has also dragged in NATO member Turkey after alliance air defences destroyed a missile launched from Iran heading towards Turkish airspace. A Turkish official said the missile appeared to have been aimed at a British base in Cyprus, but Turkey nonetheless summoned the Iranian ambassador over the incident. - 'I'm not afraid' - Following fresh strikes on the Iranian capital, AFPTV images showed blackened vehicles and mangled buildings, with smoke still rising from some. A 30-year-old Tehran resident told AFP: "We're going through a very important page of our history and I'm not afraid." "Hope is the only thing that we have right now." An Iranian state-run foundation said the death toll from US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic has risen to 1,230, a toll AFP could not independently verify. The country is effectively cut off from the rest of the world, with the internet operating at around one percent of capacity, according to the Netblocks monitor. Israel's war aims were to "inflict severe damage on the Iranian terror regime until it removes the existential threat", military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing. Defence Minister Israel Katz said his US counterpart Pete Hegseth had assured him of Washington's firm backing for their joint military campaign against Iran and urged him to continue the operation "to the end". AFP reporters in Jerusalem heard explosions following warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire. - 'We will not surrender' - The conflict has not spared the rich Gulf monarchies, usually seen as a safe haven in a volatile region, as Iran has lashed out at cities and energy infrastructure. Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait. Qatar said Thursday it was intercepting an incoming missile attack as loud blasts, described by AFP journalists as the most intense yet, reverberated across Doha, where thick column of black smoke billowed across the horizon. It had earlier evacuated residents living near the US embassy in Doha, after previously thwarting attacks on Hamad International Airport. Falling debris from an intercepted drone also injured six people in Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, officials said. Meanwhile, some Western diplomats in the Saudi capital Riyadh were told on Thursday to shelter in place, diplomats told AFP, and a witness said the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh had been closed off. - 'Catastrophic' - The war could usher in a "prolonged period of flux" for the global economy, warned International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards have claimed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf chokepoint through which a fifth of the world's crude oil flows, with oil tanker transits down 90 percent, according to market intelligence firm Kpler. burs-smw/ser NATO says Iran missile targeted Turkey Brussels, Belgium, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 NATO stands by the assertion that a ballistic missile launched from Iran was targeting Turkey before being shot down, an alliance spokesperson told AFP Thursday, contradicting a Turkish official's claim it was headed for a military base in Cyprus. Asked whether the missile deliberately targeted locations in Turkey, spokesman Martin O'Donnell replied "yes" -- and referred to the alliance's formal response to the incident on Wednesday. In an initial statement, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance condemns "Iran's targeting of Turkiye," using the country's official name. O'Donnell declined to provide further details on the missile's target, citing security concerns. "I will refrain from revealing any additional information that could impact security or force protection," he said. Earlier Thursday, Turkey's defence ministry said NATO's defence systems had intercepted and neutralised "a ballistic missile fired from Iran and detected heading towards Turkey" but added no further detail. On Wednesday, the ministry had referred to a missile "heading towards Turkish airspace" but a Turkish official later told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that it had been "aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course". ma-ob-ec/mad/tw 20,000 seafarers, 15,000 passengers stuck in Gulf: UN agency London, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 The UN's International Maritime Organization told AFP on Thursday that around 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise ship passengers are stuck in the Gulf because of the Middle East war. The shipping regulator's secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said that the "IMO is ready to work with all stakeholders to help ensure the safety and well-being of the seafarers affected". Since war erupted on Saturday, the IMO has recorded seven incidents involving ships in the region that have resulted in two deaths and another seven people wounded. "Beyond the economic impact of these alarming attacks, it is a humanitarian issue. No attack on innocent seafarers is ever justified," Dominguez told AFP. "I reiterate my call for all shipping companies to exercise maximum caution when operating in the affected region," he added. Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude and considerable supplies of liquefied natural gas travel. Several shipping groups, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, have suspended bookings in the Gulf. Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday claimed "complete control" of the Strait, with reports of additional vessels coming under attack. Energy intelligence firm Kpler said oil tanker transits through the Strait had dropped by 90 percent from last week. With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route. US House set to reject bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 The US House of Representatives was expected Thursday to reject an effort to curb Donald Trump's authority to wage war against Iran, as the president faces fierce criticism over launching the conflict without seeking approval from Congress. Lawmakers are due to vote on a bipartisan resolution led by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna that would require Trump to obtain congressional authorization before continuing military operations against Tehran. But the measure is widely expected to fail, a day after the Senate rejected a similar effort, underscoring Congress's limited appetite -- particularly among Republicans -- for confronting the White House in the early days of the conflict. Even if it were to pass, Trump could veto it -- a step that would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override, an almost impossible threshold in the current Congress. The vote comes less than a week after the United States and Israel began a sweeping military campaign against Iran, targeting missile facilities, naval assets and other infrastructure. The strikes have already killed senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and triggered retaliatory attacks across the region. The conflict has also claimed American lives: six US servicemembers have been killed in retaliatory strikes, including on a US base in Kuwait, intensifying pressure on lawmakers to weigh in on a war that Congress has not explicitly authorized. Democrats argue the administration has offered shifting explanations for the strikes and has failed to demonstrate that Iran posed an imminent threat requiring immediate military action. - 'War of choice' - "Donald Trump intentionally refused to get authorization from Congress for this war of choice, a war that has now exploded to more than 10 countries across the Middle East," House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. The 1973 War Powers Resolution -- passed after the Vietnam War -- was intended to prevent presidents from committing US forces to prolonged conflicts without congressional consent. The House resolution invokes that law, directing the president to withdraw US forces from "unauthorized hostilities" involving Iran unless lawmakers explicitly approve the operation. But Republican leaders have rallied behind Trump, arguing that limiting his authority during an ongoing military campaign would embolden Iran and endanger US troops. "I think passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea...It would empower our enemies, House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. "It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the US military and the commander in chief away in completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe." Johnson urged Republicans to oppose the House measure, arguing that the military operation had been "limited, precise and extremely lethal," as well as a "remarkable success." But Massie, one of the few Republicans willing to break with the administration, said Congress must reassert its constitutional role. "Under our Constitution, the power to initiate war rests solely with Congress," he said. "Congress owes our service members a clearly defined mission, so that when they accomplish it, they can come home." US opposes UN nuclear watchdog resolution on Ukraine power grid strikes Vienna, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body passed a resolution on Thursday -- overcoming US opposition -- expressing concern over "repeated and intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure" posing a "threat to nuclear safety", according to diplomatic sources. Russia, which invaded Ukraine four years ago, has launched deadly strikes on its neighbour's power grid, repeatedly cutting supply to nuclear power plants. The resolution submitted by Canada and the Netherlands to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board passed with 20 votes in favour, four against and 10 abstentions, one diplomat told AFP. Those who voted against against were China, Russia, Niger and "for the first time" the United States, the diplomat added. Washington deemed it "an unnecessary resolution that does not help achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia," Howard Solomon, Washington's representative to the IAEA said in his statement to the board during the debate. The resolution noted with "concern" IAEA head Rafael Grossi's reporting that attacks on Ukraine's power grid have created a "heightened risks" at nuclear power plants. "Attacks targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure critical for the off-site power supply of nuclear power plants... represent a direct threat to nuclear safety and security," the resolution reads. It also asked Grossi to propose "additional measures to prevent a nuclear accident if additional risks arise". Ukraine's nuclear power plants, including Europe's biggest, Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, have been repeatedly affected by fighting, including suffering a loss of off-site power. Zaporizhzhia's six reactors have been shut down since the occupation. But the site still needs electricity to maintain its cooling and security systems. Moscow and Kyiv repeatedly accuse each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the plant. Delivery drivers dodge debris to keep Gulf fed under Iranian attacks Dubai, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 As air raid sirens wail and explosions echo off glass skyscrapers, Gulf delivery drivers have emerged as unlikely heroes, providing a lifeline to frightened residents sheltering from Iranian attacks. Airports, embassies, residential areas and military installations across the region have come under fire from daily salvos of Iranian missiles and drones since the war between the Islamic republic, Israel and the US broke out on Saturday. While weaving through Gulf metropolises' traffic was never entirely safe, delivery drivers now face danger from the skies with the risk of falling debris from drones and interceptors. Nonetheless, thousands of couriers on motorcycles have been working full throttle to ensure food, home supplies and whatever else a customer might need is available with the tap of an app. During the war's first hours, Agyemang Ata was in a mall in Dubai, waiting for an order when the first explosions rang out, but the 27-year-old has no plans to leave. "My mom, sister and family have been calling me but I told them I am OK, they don't need to worry about me," Ata told AFP. "I will stay here and work. Dubai is a safe place for me." To most residents, drivers like Ata were just an anonymous army keeping the hassles of daily life at bay -- and to some, another traffic hazard on already busy streets. Now, however, people are heralding their vital role, with many on social media describing them as "heroes" risking their lives to keep the Gulf running. Further north in Kuwait, driver Walid Rabie said the fear was constant. "We carry our lives along with the orders," he told AFP At least seven civilians have been killed in the Gulf since Iran began its attacks -- many of them foreign labourers, who make up a large part of the region's workforce. Washington said six US service members have also been killed, four of them in Kuwait. - 'I have struggled' - The UAE has seen a disproportionate number of attacks, with the Ministry of Defence saying authorities have worked to intercept more than 900 drones and about 200 missiles fired at their territory. "I'm afraid, I won't lie," said Franklin, a delivery driver in Dubai. The need to earn a living outweighs other anxieties over the war, but maintaining his regular pace has been difficult under the new circumstances, and the number of orders has dropped. "Before, I used to complete between 10 and 15 orders a day," he explained. "But since this started, I have struggled to get even eight." The life of the drivers cuts a stark contrast to the region's numerous influencers on social media, who have continued to party during the war, or to the city's well-heeled expats, some of whom have dropped six figures on chartered flights out of neighbouring countries to escape. In Bahrain, where the sounds of explosions have continued for a sixth day, a foreign worker at a food delivery company said the situation was worrying at first but he has begun to get used to it -- especially since he needs the job. "I go out to work almost every day. I follow the news and hope the crisis will end," said Ajit Arun, 32. "We take precautions while driving, especially when the sirens sound." Across the Gulf, governments have implored their citizens and residents to avoid posting misinformation about the war and rely on official channels for news. Others have sought to present an image of normality. UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walked with his massive entourage through Dubai Mall pausing for an occasional selfie. But on the city's streets, the reality of war weighed heavily, casting questions for some over future plans to stay in the Gulf. "If things continue like this, I cannot risk my life," said Franklin. "It would be better for me to return to my country." Strikes hit Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq: officials Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Fresh strikes on Thursday hit Iranian Kurdish opposition group targets in northern Iraq, officials from two exiled groups told AFP. Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region hosts camps and rear-bases operated by several Iranian Kurdish rebel groups, which Iran has struck repeatedly since the start of the war in the Middle East. "Two missiles struck our headquarters at 19:15 (1615 GMT), slightly injuring two party members" in the Khabat district of Erbil province, said Mardin Zahidi from the Khabat Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, blaming the attack on Iran. Less than an hour earlier, a drone hit a camp belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in the Koysinjaq district, an official from the party said. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The same camp was targeted in a drone attack on Tuesday. Iran has designated Kurdish opposition groups as terrorist organisations, and has accused them of serving Western or Israeli interests in the past. Last week, five groups announced a political coalition to seek the overthrow of Iran's Islamic republic and ultimately to secure Kurdish self-determination. Sri Lanka takes control of Iranian ship fearing new US sub attack Colombo, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Sri Lanka has offloaded crew of an Iranian navy vessel and assumed countrol of it, the South Asian nation's president said Thursday, a day after a deadly US submarine attack on another ship. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in a televised address that his country's navy had offloaded 208 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr, which had requested port entry due to engine trouble. The Bushehr, like the ship torpedoed off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday, the IRIS Dena, had recently participated in a naval exercise in eastern India, Dissanayake said. At least 84 sailors were killed in the torpedo attack, which was the first military strike far outside the Middle East region since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday denounced the attack and warned Washington it would "bitterly regret" establishing such a precedent. Dissanayake said his country was "not taking sides in this conflict". "But while maintaining our neutrality we are taking action to save lives," he said. "No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious." The Bushehr was close to Colombo, the nation's main seaport, but it will not be anchored there due to the risk to merchant shipping, the president said, noting possible increases in insurance rates. The ship will therefore be taken to the smaller Trincomalee port on the north-eastern side of the island, he said. - Morgue overloaded - Meanwhile in the southern port city of Galle, where the recovered bodies of the 84 Iranian sailors were taken, authorities began an inquest into the deaths. With the local morgue only able to handle about 25 bodies at a time, hospital staff said authorities were rushing to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve the remains until legal formalities were completed. Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said authorities were continuing the search for missing sailors. Sri Lanka earlier said that there were 180 people on board the ship -- more than the Iranian figure of 130 -- when it was struck by a torpedo. The US defence secretary on Wednesday said the strike was the first by an American submarine since World War II. - Tight protection - Medical staff said 32 rescued Iranians were still being treated under tight security provided by police and elite commandos at the hospital, adding that the walking wounded would be discharged soon. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was assessing the situation and was working with the local authorities. "Our priority is to ensure that all the wounded, sick and shipwrecked receive the assistance they are entitled to without delay," the ICRC spokesperson in Colombo, Ruwanthi Jayasundare, told AFP. The emergency treatment unit of the district's main hospital was off-limits to visitors and other patients, with medical authorities setting up a separate ward for the wounded Iranians. "Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns," a nurse at the hospital said, without giving her name. Sri Lanka has remained neutral and has repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. Iran is a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the country's main export commodity. 'Enemy at home': Iranian authorities tighten grip as war rages Paris, France, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 War has emptied the usually traffic-jammedstreets of Iran's capital, but Islamic republic authorities have filled them with checkpoints and security forces as they tighten their grip on the population. After the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader and urging Iranians to "take over" their government, celebrations at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death were quickly stifled. Iranians have since found themselves caught between the bombs and their government as authorities deploy heavy security and cut off the population from the outside world with an internet blackout. The powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "has closed almost every main street with armed personnel and heavy machine guns to frighten people", a 30-year-old Tehran resident told AFP from Paris. "The people are the real enemy in their eyes, not the Americans. Their extremists say first you have to deal with the enemy at home." The public show of force appears intended to avoid any repeat of anti-government demonstrations that peaked in January and saw the streets stained with the blood of protesters who had chanted "death to Khamenei" in their thousands. The nationwide protests were met with a fierce crackdown that left more than 7,000 people dead, according to the US-based group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which notes the actual toll is likely much higher. More than 50,000 have been arrested, it says. - 'Fear and intimidation' - Tehran residents told AFP many of the security forces were from the Basij -- a volunteer militia under the IRGC tasked with maintaining public order. They have set up checkpoints along with Guards and police to search vehicles and people in the streets. "There are no traffic jams but the ones that the IRGC has created with their temporary inspection stations in every corner," the 30-year-old said. Since Khamenei's death, plainclothes security forces are "in the streets in spades" and "they are all armed, so we can't protest for now", said Tehran resident Amir, who gave only his first name for security reasons. "They have taken over the places that belonged to the people," the 40-year-old said. An engineer living in Tehran said security forces "roam the streets on their own, creating fear and intimidation, checking people's phones, going through them, and harassing people". The tensions are even felt on the island of Kish in the Gulf, where "people hardly dare to go out anymore" except to buy food, a resident said, with a "military-style control" in place from 6:00 pm. Iranian authorities have a formidable internal security apparatus, numbering an estimated "850,000 agents of repression", Pierre Razoux, director of studies at the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies, told French lawmakers on Wednesday. The 600,000-strong Basij "alone outnumber the regular army and the Revolutionary Guards combined", he said. Rights groups have warned repression could mount in the war, undermining the chances of a popular uprising that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have encouraged. "The main existential threat to the Islamic republic is not airstrikes... it's Iranian people who came on the streets," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights NGO told AFP. "The Islamic Republic's aim number one is to protect itself. So there is a threat that we might face new massacres, mass arrests, mass executions," he said. - 'When we are free' - The authorities shut down the internet as soon as the war began and have been warning those who succeed in connecting using VPNs that their lines will be blocked and they could face charges. A warning from the intelligence ministry on Thursday said anyone taking photos at "sensitive locations" could be working as foreign agents and urged citizens to report on each other, according to state television. Iranians inside the country have expressed fear of giving their names to the media or having messages from journalists on their phones -- both a link to the outside world and a potential source of incrimination. A resident of Shiraz city said celebrations that packed the streets after Khamenei's death were shut down by government forces, only for people to gather the next night in a government-sanctioned rally. State television has been flooded with footage of such demonstrations, where crowds wave Iranian flags and mourn Khamenei. Some Tehran residents still shout protest slogans from their windows at night, one woman said, as others hold out hope they'll soon take to the streets again. "We are staying at home and hoping we stay alive so we can do a proper dance when we are free," said 39-year-old Elnaz. BRASILIA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The First Chamber of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court on Thursday rejected a request for humanitarian house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to over 27 years in prison. Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for leading an attempted coup in 2022. He is currently held at the 19th Military Police Battalion of the Federal District in Brasilia. The court's decision confirmed a preliminary ruling by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who determined that the detention facility guarantees necessary healthcare. Moraes noted that while the defense cited a medical report, the report itself ruled out the need for hospitalization. The justice also emphasized that Bolsonaro's frequent meetings with allies demonstrate that his physical and mental health is compatible with his current regime of imprisonment. Trump says he backs a Kurdish offensive inside Iran Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would approve of an offensive by Iranian Kurdish fighters into Iran in support of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic. "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it," Trump said in an interview with news agency Reuters. Trump declined to say if the United States would provide air cover to Kurdish forces. Since the United States and Israel launched the war on Saturday, Iran has been striking Iranian Kurdish groups based in autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan whom Tehran accuses of serving Western and Israeli interests. Several Iranian Kurdish groups back fighting for greater autonomy within Iran, angering the Islamic republic but also many opponents, including monarchists who insist on territorial integrity. While Kurds have historically had less friction with the Iranian state than their brethren in Iraq, Turkey and Syria, Iranian Kurds form some of Iran's rare armed and organized opposition groups. Experts say they could potentially help special forces infiltrate and destabilize Iran. Macron urges sides to prevent new war in Lebanon Paris, France, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday "everything" must be done to prevent Lebanon "from once again being drawn into war", urging both Israel and Hezbollah to halt military operations. "I spoke today with Lebanon's highest authorities in order to establish a plan to bring an end to the military operations currently being carried out by Hezbollah and Israel on either side of the border," Macron said on X in English. "Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel," he added. "At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli prime minister not to expand the war to Lebanon." He said the Lebanese authorities had given him "their commitment to take control of the positions held by Hezbollah and to fully assume responsibility for security across the entire national territory". Earlier Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked Macron to urge Israel not to bomb Beirut's southern suburbs, after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for the area. Lebanon, a former French protectorate, was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes at the weekend. "For Lebanon we must act," Macron said. He said France would strengthen cooperation with the Lebanese armed forces and provide them with armoured transport vehicles. Macron added that he had decided to dispatch humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians fleeing the south. "Several tons of medicines are being transported, along with shelter solutions and assistance," he wrote. bur-as/sbk Israel orders troops to 'deepen line of control' along Lebanon border Jerusalem, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Israel's military chief said Thursday he had ordered troops to expand the area under Israeli control in southern Lebanon, as the country's ongoing operation against Hezbollah intensified. "We are striking with force, on the front line and deeper in Lebanon. I instructed Israeli army forces to move forward and deepen the line of control along the border, while establishing positions at key points in southern Lebanon," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said during a televised address. Later, in a separate statement, the military said an officer was "severely injured" during combat in southern Lebanon, while another soldier was moderately wounded in the same area. Israel says Khamenei killing complied with laws of war Jerusalem, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 Israel on Thursday declared that the killing of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei complied with international law governing armed conflict, describing him as the commander-in-chief of the Iranian military and a legitimate target. The Middle East war that began on Saturday was triggered by coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, including one that killed the Iranian supreme leader. Israel has claimed the strikes were essential to safeguard its own national security, in part because Iran was reconstituting its nuclear weapons programme in a new, underground facility. Israel's military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said Thursday the strike that killed Khamenei "complied with international law". "Under the international law of armed conflict, military commanders directing armed forces during war can constitute lawful military targets," Shoshani said on X. "As Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei served as Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces," he added, describing the ayatollah as "the final decision-maker on Iran's military operations". "During the ongoing conflict, he directed the use of force against Israel and oversaw the funding, arming, and coordination of the regime's terror proxies... "Neutralizing the regime's Commander-in-Chief delivered a clear military advantage by degrading Iran's ability to plan and coordinate attacks against Israel," Shoshani said. Iranian media have reported that Khamenei's wife, son-in-law, and two grandchildren who were minors also died in the strike that killed the ayatollah. Iran has responded to his killing by launching waves of missile attacks on Israel and targets across the Middle East, including US military and diplomatic sites. Israel and the United States have continued to bomb targets in Iran. EU, Switzerland agree to strengthen foreign, security cooperation Zurich, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 The European Union and Switzerland agreed Thursday to strengthen their cooperation on foreign policy, security and defence, at a time of soaring geopolitical tensions. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and her Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis signed a joint declaration stressing the strategic importance of the foreign policy and security cooperation between them and vowing closer ties. Non-EU member Switzerland and the bloc, which earlier this week signed a package of agreements to deepen and harmonise ties in a host of areas including on he free movement of people, trade and transport, already engage in regular exchanges on foreign and security policy issues. On Thursday they committed to among other things that their top diplomats would hold a "yearly political dialogue". And they signed a technical agreement that will allow Switzerland, a country renowned for its neutrality, to participate more easily in joint civilian or military missions "to keep the stability of Europe", Cassis told a press conference in Zurich after the signing. It was in Switzerland's "own interest that we have this peaceful region", he said, stressing that the agreement "creates no obligation. Switzerland will continue to decide case by case". The Swiss foreign minister said Thursday's agreement was timely. "The recent military escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran shows one thing very clearly: today, no regional conflict stays regional," he said, pointing out that "tensions in the Middle East affect Europe directly, our security, our energy supply, our trade routes and our economic stability". - Swiss neutrality 'no obstacle' - Kallas also stressed the importance of the relationship with Switzerland, pointing to Bern's contributions during the wars in the Balkans, and later on cyber defence. And Switzerland had served as an important venue for peace talks, and highlighted that Switzerland had already aligned with the EU on its sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. "I also see potential for us to do more together countering hybrid attacks," she said, warning that "those who want to harm our democracies are not standing still". Switzerland's "neutrality is no obstacle to closer cooperation", she insisted. Kallas hailed a Swiss parliament decision late last year to ease export restrictions on Swiss-made weaponry as "a step in the right direction". As a neutral country, Switzerland has long barred the re-export of its weapons to countries involved in conflict, blocking EU countries from sending Swiss-made munitions purchased decades earlier to Ukraine. But in December, parliament agreed to relax the rules, proposing a list of 25 countries, including the United States, Canada and 17 EU countries, who would benefit from exemptions. Cassis was meanwhile asked how Switzerland's cherished neutrality might impact its position regarding the Middle East war sparked by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Saturday. He said if the conflict was prolonged, Switzerland would have to consider restricting weapons exports to the United States and allies, as it did during the 2003 war in Iraq. With Iran war, US goes it alone like never before Washington, United States, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 When the United States fought the 1991 Gulf War, president George H.W. Bush boasted of building a broad coalition unseen in decades. When his son attacked Iraq in 2003, he faced wide criticism but secured several steadfast US allies. Now, a generation later, President Donald Trump has attacked Iran, and he is barely even trying to make friends. Trump launched the war alongside Israel, which had long pressed the United States to strike Iran's ruling clerics. Trump's strategy toward other countries has been focused on intensely pressuring them to cooperate and loudly complaining when they say no. Trump berated crucial ally Britain as "very, very uncooperative" and said of Prime Minister Keir Starmer: "This is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with." The center-left prime minister had restricted US warplanes to using two British bases and only for "defensive" purposes, saying he did not believe in "regime change from the skies." Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused to let US forces use bases. The United States and Israel made no pretense of going through the United Nations before launching the war that quickly killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. "It essentially sends the message to the world that Trump's United States sees itself above the law and doesn't even think it needs to claim otherwise," said Kristina Kausch, a deputy managing director at the German Marshall Fund. She said the war only reinforced European perceptions of Trump, who has stunned the continent by threatening to seize Greenland from NATO ally Denmark. "The degree to which there is US isolation or loss of soft power will depend on how disastrous the consequences of this decision," she said of the Iran attack. - Refocusing on nation-state - Trump has withdrawn the United States from numerous international bodies, vowing to go it alone in an "America First" foreign policy and to re-emphasize the centrality of the nation-state. Nadia Schadlow, who was deputy national security advisor in Trump's first term, said the war showed how countries cannot rely on the United Nations when they believe security interests are at stake. "I believe that the UN has value for collaboration, for discussion, for debate. But I don't believe it can prevent wars, especially when one country is determined, and feels that it must act in the interests of its national security," said Schadlow, now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. "It seems that the decision-makers made a determination that security and surprise were critical and were more important than consultation." Rare unambiguous statements of support for the war came from the right-wing leaders of Argentina and Paraguay as well as from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, which has fought alongside the US in every major war. Albanese backed action "to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney voiced similar support, although he soon called for de-escalation. French President Emmanuel Macron opposed the attack as running counter to international law, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced hope for an end to the Islamic republic while hoping the war will be short. Washington has shown little interest in sensitivities of friendly countries. The United States torpedoed an Iranian warship that had just paid a goodwill visit to India, a frequent US partner, killing at least 84 sailors off Sri Lanka, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to reject "stupid rules of engagement." - Strategic benefit for China? - Iran, like Venezuela where Trump removed the president in January, had a privileged relationship with both Russia and China -- which were unwilling or unable to defend their allies against US firepower. China has also relied on the two countries for oil, although it had reduced its dependence. But the war could also benefit China. US forces are rapidly using up bombs, missiles and other resources that could be used in a theoretical defense of Taiwan, which Beijing claims, and Beijing is able to observe US war operations in Iran, said Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Chinese strategists had described the first two decades of the century as a time of opportunity with the United States preoccupied in Afghanistan and Iraq, Stokes said. "There is this potential for a grand strategic benefit, as Beijing is quite happy to see the United States get bogged down in the Middle East again," he added. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran launched fresh missile attacks toward Israel late Thursday, the military said, as the police reported damage in several locations in central Israel. Videos circulating on local media showed that a fire broke out at one location. In the Jerusalem area, a building was also damaged. The missiles triggered sirens across central Israel, and residents reported that loud explosions were heard. The police and Magen David Adom rescue service said their teams were operating at scenes where fragments of a missile had fallen. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported the first missile landed in the sea. Citing a security source, it said a second appeared to be a cluster missile. Kan aired video footage from the Jerusalem area that showed the projectile splitting into multiple parts in the sky. The attacks came shortly after the military announced it had begun a new wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in Beirut's southern suburb. Allow Google Search To use the search feature, we need your consent to load Google Custom Search, which may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to enable search. See our privacy policy for more information. Allow and Continue ROME, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israel attack on Iran violated international law, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday while addressing parliament, Italian media reported. "Of course it was outside the rules of international law," Crosetto replied to lawmakers' questions. "The conflict began without the world's knowledge. It is not a war we wanted, but now we have to manage it," he added. Crosetto said he had raised the level of Italy's national air defense and anti-ballistic defense network to the maximum in coordination with allies and NATO, given the highly unpredictable reactions that could follow. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Italy has not authorized the use of its military bases in the Middle East for U.S. combat operations. "We have never done so, and we have never said we would," he said, adding that Italy is not on the front line as a warmongering country. Expressing concern over the escalating situation in the Middle East, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned of a growing crisis for international law in an earlier interview with Italian radio station RTL 102.5. "Italy is not at war and does not intend to enter a war," she said, adding that the current conflict risks triggering further escalation with unpredictable consequences and could have repercussions for Italy. On Saturday, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as members of his family, high-ranking military commanders, and civilians, according to Iranian officials. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East. I dont want to see an escalation. But I think it is very important that where we have put bases in other peoples countries and they are being attacked, we do what we can to stop those attacks from taking place. It was really difficult. I was a transfer passenger, I was supposed to be going on to Frankfurt on February 28. When I was coming in from Malaysia we actually saw the missile trails, but we didnt know what it was then, just thought it was planes, he said. Were briefed as an Executive Office, so myself and Emma Little-Pengelly, twice a day in terms of those ongoing developments, weve ongoing discussions and engagement with both the British and Irish governments, so we can do all of those things together whilst having a very different approach to whats happening internationally. A decision had to be made when we had the request, that came in on Saturday during the course of the afternoon we were already taking measures in relation to our own capability that came in on Saturday afternoon, late in the afternoon. The Government announced on Sunday that American forces would be able to use British bases for defensive missions, such as taking out Iranian missile sites, and the first US bombers are expected to arrive in the UK within days. Mr Lakhani said: We didnt want to let her go, we wanted to kind of hold on to her we even told her that, we said we would keep you here all day but we cant. Six Nations permutations: How France and Ireland can now win title on Super Saturday How France and Ireland can now win Six Nations title on Super Saturday Social media influencers in Dubai have been warned they could face prison if they post content about the escalating conflict with Iran. Authorities in the UAE have told the emirates vast online creator community that posts deemed harmful to public order, national unity or the reputation of the state could lead to penalties including fines of up to $77,000 or even jail. NICOSIA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said Thursday that the eastern Mediterranean island nation is not facing any direct threat from Iran, noting that recent drone incidents were directed at a British military facility rather than the Cypriot territory. The Royal Air Force at Akrotiri, located near the southern port city of Limassol, has been reportedly targeted several times by unmanned aerial vehicles believed to have been launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon. According to the minister, four drones have been intercepted so far and one drone managed to penetrate defenses earlier, causing minor damage to a parking area within the base. Although authorities believe the drones were aimed specifically at the British base, precautionary measures have been taken. A nearby village with around 1,200 residents, located only a few hundred meters from the runway and other facilities, has been evacuated. Schools in several other villages near the base area have also suspended classes for at least the remainder of the week. Moreover, Palmas held talks with British Defense Secretary John Healey, who paid a one-day visit to the Akrotiri base on Thursday, and the Cypriot authorities announced the establishment of a mechanism to ensure that emergency alerts reach all residents living within the base zone. For his part, Healey said he discussed with Palmas "how the UK is further reinforcing our air defenses to support our shared security." A naval unit and two counter-drone helicopters are expected to be deployed to the base in the near future, Healey said. In addition to the UK, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has been dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea, and the frigate Languedoc and additional air defense assets are also being deployed to Cyprus, while Spain, Italy and the Netherlands are expected to contribute naval assets as part of a broader show of solidarity with the island nation. BOGOTA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to "withdraw from the armed conflict against Iran" and work for peace. Petro said on X that Trump should exit the conflict and "make a pact for life and freedom in the Middle East." "What unites us is freedom, life, and peace," he said. Petro said that his country is willing to offer everything they can to achieve peace in the Caribbean, in Colombia and in the Middle East. Tesla Cybertrucks line up along Boca Chica Beach for a light show in January 2025. A member of the group of SpaceX and Elon Musk fans wants Boca Chica Beach renamed Cyber Beach. Courtesy CyberTruck-One/CyberTruck-One Visitors to Starbase at Boca Chica Beach check out Starship on its launch pad in this 2024 file photo. Brandon Lingle/Staff photo Tesla Cybertrucks line up on Boca Chica Beach for a light show in the shadow of Starship in January 2025. A member of the group of SpaceX and Elon Musk fans wants Boca Chica Beach renamed Cyber Beach. Courtesy CyberTruck-One/CyberTruck-One Federal officials are considering a Mississippi mans bid to rename Boca Chica Beach as Cyber Beach. The 3-mile-long beach runs north from the mouth of the Rio Grande adjacent to SpaceXs city of Starbase. It has been listed as Boca Chica Beach in official records since 1936, but Josh Hazel of Hattiesburg, Miss., wants it changed to Cyber Beach as a hat tip to the (Tesla) Cybertruck. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hes part of a group of SpaceX and Elon Musk fans who meet up at the beach with their Austin-made Tesla pickups in the days leading up to Starship launches. They camp at the beach and have hosted light shows with the stainless-steel trucks. We are proposing (that Boca Chica Beach) be renamed Cyber Beach to commemorate the location where inter-planetary travel was started, he wrote to the Interior Departments office responsible for approving place names. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source The stretch of coastline encompasses parts of the city of Starbase and private land as well as parts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and Boca Chica State Park, according to the Board on Geographic Names. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If approved by the boards Domestic Names Committee, the Boca Chica Beach name would disappear from federal maps. The body hasnt said when itll vote on the request, but it was listed in a quarterly review list released in January. Activists with the South Texas Environmental Justice Network called the Cyber Beach proposal ridiculous and said Rio Grande Valley residents, organizations, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe have vowed to continue opposing Elon Musks takeover of Boca Chica beach. The activist group is holding a protest on private land near the beach Thursday evening, the same day the Texas Supreme Court is hearing arguments about whether the city of Starbase can close Boca Chica Beach and Texas 4 for its operations. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In his explanation of the proposed name, Hazel wrote that the Cybertruck is made of the same material as SpaceXs Starship and also has often been likened to a vehicle from Mars. He added that the SpaceX program is the dominating feature and activity for that area of Texas, and people use the cyber moniker to refer to out-of-this-world exploration or experiences and such. The Cyber Beach proposal is the latest effort to reimagine the desolate area about 20 miles east of Brownsville thats grown into a rocket factory, test site and company town. After failed attempts with the U.S. Postal Service and Board on Geographic Names to put Starbase on the map, Musk and SpaceX created the city, in part, to be able to make the name official. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The town incorporated and made the U.S. Geological Surveys official register of place names in May. SpaceX is developing and testing the Starship mega-rockets at Starbase with more than $4 billion in NASA funds as part of the Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon. Musk recently said the company has shifted its focus from colonizing Mars to first setting up a base on the moon as it prepares to go public as soon as this month in what would be the largest initial public offering ever. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The city of Starbase, Cameron County, Texas Geographic Names Committee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and federally recognized tribes will have to sign off on the request. Austin Energy workers attach the stars to the 59th Annual Zilker Holiday Tree in Zilker Park on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Austin Energy, the Economic Development, Technology Services and Aviation departments made up most of the consultant expenditures in the city of Austin over the past two years. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman A recent internal city audit found major gaps in how city departments justify and manage consultant contracts, raising concerns over hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. From 2023 to 2025, the city spent more than $279 million on consultants, with annual spending rising by $21 million in the two year period, marking a 25% increase. The majority of the new costs came from consultant expenditures for Austin Energy, Austin Economic Development, Austin Technology Services and Austin Aviation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Based on its findings, the City Auditor's office recommended that the city's finance department provide instructions on how to assess whether a department needs a private consultant; ensure departments document progress and assess goals for consultants; and require performance evaluations. The recent consultant report is one of several internal city auditors have released in recent months, finding issues with city processes. Audits released in December found widespread contract oversight failures and missing documentation in Austin airport contracts. That same month, internal auditors also caught a former Austin Energy employee routing nearly a million dollars in public funds to fake vendors over six years. The consultant audit, presented to a council committee Wednesday, reviewed 28 consultant contracts across nine departments and found that staff did not conduct a needs assessment before hiring the consultant in almost 40% of contracts. In around 71% of contracts, departments did not formally evaluate the contractors performance. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source This could result in rehiring consultants with performance issues and may discourage consultants from providing the City with their highest quality work, auditors wrote in the report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In six of the reviewed contracts, staff could not provide evidence they had received all required results. In some cases, city staff were unable to answer basic questions about the contracts like whether the department assessed what it needed from the consultant before it hired them or whether the department got results from the consultant. For around 82% of the contracts, hiring teams did not evaluate whether city staff could do the same work of a consultant in house. City staff did not measure results from the consultant's work in 16% of the contracts reviewed. City officials also noted that one contract for over $240,000 referenced the wrong contractor. The report said staff noted the discrepancy at the time and said they would correct it during contract renewal. But the issue was never corrected despite at least two other amendments being made to the contract. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As the city tightens its budget, AFSCME protested a proposal for IT consolidation that the city says will save money and improve efficiency. Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman Union members representing city workers protested Wednesday morning on the steps of City Hall, opposing a proposal to consolidate 1,000 IT employees across multiple departments into one office. The reorganization plan comes after external auditors reviewed the citys information technology operations, which are spread across at least 12 departments. City staff presented the auditors' recommendations to the city councils audit and finance committee Wednesday after the protest. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The audit found that Austins IT spending exceeds industry benchmarks by 81% when compared to nine U.S. local governments with similar levels of operating expenses and employees. Thats a gap of about $201 million. Auditors also found that Austins IT staffing levels are 98% higher than peer cities. The report did not list which peer cities it compared Austin to. City Manager T.C. Broadnax called for the IT audit last May, in an effort to reduce the number of similar IT departments and slash costs. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source Despite staff presenting some of the results from the audit to the council committee, the city still has not released the report itself. The Statesman obtained a copy of the report through an open records request. Advertisement Article continues below this ad City Chief Information Officer Kerrica Laake previously told the Statesman that the consolidation, which is expected to begin in May, was not designed to result in layoffs. As the process progresses, we anticipate learning more about how roles fit together and where responsibilities may shift, she said in a statement. The goal is a healthier, more coordinated organization. Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo told council Wednesday that IT has been one of the fastest areas of growth in the citys budget. Efforts to tamp down on IT spending started before the failure of the citys November ballot measure to hike property taxes by over 20% or the citys recent efforts to boost efficiency, including the citywide audit, he added. Im really proud to say that we didnt wait for the city council and the community members to say, Hello, we need government to operate more efficiently, he told the committee. This is an effort thats been underway for nearly a year now. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ben Suddaby, an active member and organizer of AFSCME checks the Election Day Voting Dashboard on Nov. 4, 2025. As the city tightens its budget, AFSCME protested a proposal for IT consolidation that the city says will save money and improve efficiency. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman The local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union delivered an open letter to Broadnax before the presentation, asking him to end the One ATS consolidation. As public servants committed to protecting the safety, data, livability, and future of our community, we are duty-bound to demand that you stop OATS, union members wrote. We are committed to delivering efficient, effective technology services, and we understand the City is under financial stress. We wont support harmful, consultant-driven reorganizations like OATS. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Geospatial Analyst Braniff Davis was one of the IT workers who spoke on the steps of City Hall before Wednesdays meeting. Davis said he worried that response times for requests would be slowed with a centralized IT system, particularly for work done by subject matter experts like him. Bastrop County sheriff's office American-Statesman file A former postal worker in Smithville has been arrested after she allegedly helped siphon about $1.6 million in checks through an identity theft and forgery operation that targeted local businesses over several years, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office. Dominique Tamez was arrested Feb. 25 on a charge of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information involving five to 10 items, a third-degree felony, officials said. She has since been released on bond. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 1, according to court records. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the summer of 2023, multiple business owners began reporting a similar problem: The checks they were mailing never reached the people they were meant for. Investigators allege those payments were instead taken out of the mail stream, changed and then cashed remotely using mobile deposits tied to accounts in the Houston area. Front entrance to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office in Bastrop. File photo The investigation ultimately focused on activity linked to the Smithville Post Office, according to the sheriffs office, which worked the case alongside the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Investigators eventually labeled Tamez a key participant in the thefts. When they later questioned Tamez, investigators said she made statements implicating herself in the scheme. A Bastrop County grand jury indicted Tamez on Dec. 2, 2025. Community members attend a town hall to address community concerns about Austin police officers cooperating with federal immigration agents at Govalle Elementary School in Austin Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman Austin Police officers are now barred from arresting or detaining a subject on the sole basis of a noncriminal warrant issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an Austin Police Department memo released Thursday. The change follows public scrutiny over the department's lack of clear guidance on how officers should handle "administrative warrants" from federal immigration officials. Unlike criminal warrants, administrative warrants are not signed by a judge and are not legally binding on local law enforcement agencies. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The scrutiny erupted in January, when an Austin woman and her child were deported after an Austin officer contacted ICE upon discovering an administrative warrant for the woman. After that incident, Police Chief Lisa Davis told the American-Statesman she would revise the departments policy though she has repeatedly warned of legal constraints surrounding such a change. State law prohibits local governments from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. Davis has said, however, that officers time is better spent on patrol than assisting with deportation efforts. Read More: Austin police caught between Texas law and ICE backlash Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source "APD recognizes the sensitivity of this issue, not only within our city but across the nation," Davis wrote in a Wednesday memo to Austin City Council members announcing the new guidelines for officers. "These policies were updated to provide clarity to our officers, ensure compliance with state law, and maintain officer discretion guided by supervisory oversight and operational consideration." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis speaks during a town hall to address community concerns about Austin police officers cooperating with federal immigration agents at Govalle Elementary School in Austin Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman The new guidelines, formalized this week, state: APD officers are not authorized to make an arrest or detention based solely on an ICE Administrative Warrant. However, officers may still detain someone long enough for ICE agents to deport them if certain conditions are met even if the person has committed no other arrestable offense. Under the policy, officers who encounter someone with an administrative warrant must contact a supervisor, if one is available, and explain the circumstances. The supervisor or the officer, if a supervisor is unavailable may notify ICE that they have encountered a person with such a warrant. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Officers shall not unreasonably prolong a detention to contact ICE, the new guidelines state. If ICE requests that the person be held until immigration agents arrive, the officer or supervisor must seek approval up the chain of command. The officer or supervisor must contact the on-duty watch lieutenant to explain the situation. The person may be detained at ICEs request only if the watch lieutenant authorizes it, according to the new policy. In making that decision, the watch lieutenant must consider several factors, including the availability of personnel and resources; whether assisting ICE would interfere with other criminal investigations or prosecutions such as when the person is a victim or witness; whether the assistance would incur unreasonable overtime costs; and the urgency of the request. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If the watch lieutenant determines the officer should continue the detention, the lieutenant must brief the shifts duty commander, who will make a final decision. If the commander decides the request is not reasonable, the officer must release the person and clear the scene. The policy also prohibits officers from detaining someone with an administrative warrant at a place of worship, hospital or school unless exigent circumstances require immediate intervention to protect public safety. Davis said officers will receive additional training on the new guidelines. Trainings will include a video message from me to APD staff outlining my philosophy and expectations, and reinforcing the importance of maintaining and building community trust, she wrote. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The department also has launched a new web page outlining immigrants rights during encounters with law enforcement. The page includes a video message from Davis. In a written statement, Mayor Kirk Watson said the new general orders provided important clarity to the Austin community about how officers will respond to administrative warrants and ensure officers are able to keep all members of the community safe. "We must not exacerbatewe need to mitigate and eliminatethe fear caused by other levels of government," Watson said. "All members of our community Austinites deserve to be safe and to feel safe. People should feel safe by feeling they can call for and seek help." Council Member Ryan Alter called the guidelines a strong first step in addressing administrative warrants. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I do think the chief has tried to be as creative as she can with her hands tied by the state, Alter said. In a written statement, Council Member Mike Siegel said he supports the new guidelines but emphasized the importance of training. The better our officers understand their orders and peoples rights, the more prepared we are to stand up to a lawless and unaccountable agency like ICE, Siegel said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Wednesday, President Donald Trump, and Texas Republican lawmakers responded to Jame Talarico's securing of the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman Texas Republicans are quickly aligning with President Donald Trump in targeting Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico following his primary win Tuesday. Talarico, a state representative from Austin, secured the Democratic nomination over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, finishing with 52.4% of the vote to Crocketts 46.2%. Advertisement Article continues below this ad His victory drew a response from Trump, who wrote Wednesday on Truth Social that Republicans now face an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent in the November general election. Despite calling Talarico an easy target, Trump urged Republicans to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! He also criticized U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who are headed to a runoff, with Cornyn leading saying they are running great races, but not good enough. "We must win in November!!!" Trump exclaimed. Gov. Greg Abbott also weighed in, resurfacing remarks Talarico made in 2021 about co-authoring legislation to teach diversity, equity and inclusion in Texas schools and sponsoring a bill that would have required larger school districts to hire a DEI officer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source Great. A large majority of Texas voters are against your crazy DEI mandates. Also, taking race or sex into consideration when hiring, directly violates the Texas Constitution, Abbott wrote Wednesday on X. When Texans and Americans learn about your Bernie Sanders voting record, you will be toast. Abbott and Talarico recently clashed over the mass shooting near the Austin bar Bufords. After the incident, Talarico called for gun reform. Abbott criticized that response, arguing lawmakers should instead address what he described as the unvetted immigrant loophole. The shooting suspect, Ndiaga Diagne, was born in Senegal and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz also criticized Talarico, resurfacing a 2021 X post in which Talarico wrote: Black Americans in a church. Mexican Americans in a store. Asian Americans in a spa. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the comments of that post, Talarico added: Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country. Cruz called the remarks objective nonsense. Talaricos past comments on gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights have also drawn scrutiny. A 30-second clip circulated on X showing Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, speaking at a church. Our trans community needs abortion care, too, Talarico said in the video. Defending trans Texans is something that we have to do every day at the state capitol, and you better believe that Ill be giving sermons on that, too. Advertisement Article continues below this ad U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill wrote on X that he could not wait to hear the Democratic Partys newest star explain the other four genders to Texas voters, referencing past testimony in which Talarico said there are many more than two biological sexes there are six during a Texas House public education committee hearing. The American-Statesman contacted Talaricos campaign for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. As Republicans sharpen their attacks on Talarico, GOP lawmakers are also looking to Trump to weigh in on the Cornyn-Paxton runoff, hoping to solidify the partys position ahead of November. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, shown speaking to supporters Feb. 17 in Austin, later held an event at the historic Marc theater in San Marcos. Of course Talarico will upset people, Kristy Money writes, but isnt that the point? Real change makes waves. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman I worry about the political climate we find ourselves in. But I recently had the privilege of seeing state Rep. James Talarico speak at the Marc, a historic theater on San Marcos town square, and I walked out feeling I had borne witness to something historic. I know hes going to anger a lot of people including, if its possible, the ghost of the prominent San Martian who built my Art Deco home in the Burleson historic district. My husband and I are suing the city of San Marcos, with the help of civil rights attorneys, over a symbol on our house bearing the initial of Frank Zimmerman, a prominent Klansman. The city won't let us take down the emblem on the balcony because it is deemed historic. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Marc, where Talarico spoke, was owned by the same man who built and lived in our home for 50 years. Zimmerman hosted Klan Days at that theater, and outside the Marc hangs a plaque celebrating him. Notably, he is the only mayor of San Marcos honored with a historic plaque. Ever. And our town is old as dirt. Evidence of Zimmerman's Klan activities is documented plainly at the Calaboose African American Museum, just a couple of blocks from the town square and the Marc. Yet this week, Democrats in San Marcos and Hays County voted for Talarico as the party's nominee for U.S. Senate. If that isnt a testament to how far this community has come from hosting one of the largest Klan rallies in state history in the 1920s to supporting Talarico for Senate I dont know what is. SIGN UP FOR THE AUSTIN ANGLE and get Statesman commentaries in your inbox Seeing Talarico speak in that space Feb. 23 felt almost symbolic. Here was a man who embodies the progress of a community someone standing fully present in a theater built by a man who terrorized the very people Talarico seeks to serve with equity and justice. Watching him speak reminded me that leadership is as much about the spirit in which you govern as the policies you promote. In a world so often weighed down by cynicism, witnessing someone inhabit that mantle authentically reminded me of Jimmy Carter and Bernie Sanders. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Of course Talarico will upset people. But isnt that the point? Real change makes waves, challenges long-entrenched power structures, and forces communities to confront uncomfortable truths and hypocrisies like the historic Klan influence in our own backyard. If my experience at the Marc teaches me anything, its that history is not just a record of what was, but a challenge to what can be. The very theater walls that once echoed with exclusion and oppression now bear witness to the voice of someone who stands for inclusion, decency and faith in action. I left inspired and awed, convinced that the arc of Texas is bending toward justice, and that James Talarico is walking it with courage, integrity and a remarkable voice. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Second grade teacher Sumaya Ali talks to students last year at Iman Academy Southwest in Houston. A recent lawsuit states that not a single accredited Islamic private school has been approved for Texas' new voucher program. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer On March 1, a Houston parent sued Texas officials, alleging that the state is excluding Islamic schools from its new voucher program, even as hundreds of other private schools including many Christian schools are approved. The complaint states that not a single accredited Islamic private school has been approved. This should concern every Texan, regardless of religious or political belief. If the state can sideline Islamic schools today, it could sideline certain Christian schools tomorrow if a doctrine falls out of political favor or even secular schools that teach ideas disfavored by those in power. That is not educational freedom but rather state interference in private education. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For the record, I strongly oppose vouchers. Research and history show these programs expand quickly, often reproduce exclusion, and rarely deliver consistent academic gains. But if Texas has a voucher law, constitutional protections like the Free Exercise Clause and Equal Protection Clause must apply equally to everyone, regardless of faith or viewpoint. What is Texas running now? In 2025, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2, creating a school voucher program with $1 billion in funding, overseen by the Comptrollers office. Families can apply for a voucher through March 17. Those who receive a voucher typically get about $10,500 per student. How did exclusion enter the picture? In December, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock asked Attorney General Ken Paxton whether he could block schools with supposed ties to entities Texas labels foreign terrorist organizations. In January, Paxton issued an opinion saying the comptroller may exclude schools under an other relevant law clause but the opinion leaves casebycase decisions to the comptroller. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the same period, Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations a terrorist organization a designation CAIR is challenging in federal court. CAIR is not designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The result is that Muslim families are being denied a benefit Texas promised to all parents. If the state can blacklist schools based on broad or speculative ties, or conflate mainstream Muslim civic life with extremism, it risks violating core constitutional principles precisely what the Houston lawsuit against Paxton, Hancock and Education Commissioner Mike Morath argues. Texans of all beliefs should be wary of this kind of government overreach. These choices also echo the history of school vouchers. As an education researcher who has studied vouchers for years, my colleagues and I have documented how the first wave of vouchers during the Jim Crow era helped preserve racial segregation. Later waves promised free-market solutions but often rewarded schools that could screen students or pass along hidden costs. Over 150 years, there is little evidence that voucher markets reliably deliver improved academic achievement outcomes for families and plenty of evidence that vulnerable groups face exclusion and discrimination. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Even if you support vouchers in principle or plan on using a voucher this upcoming school year, consider what happens when the political winds shift. Todays rationale targets Islamic private schools, but tomorrow it could target particular Christian teachings, Jewish schools or secular curricula on topics like race, gender or civic engagement. If the state can weaponize private school eligibility criteria, choice becomes conditional and every familys freedom is at risk. There is a straightforward fix. If Texas is determined to have what it calls the largest day-one voucher program in the nation, the comptroller must apply clear, neutral criteria to every school Islamic, Christian, Jewish and secular based on documented, school-specific findings. All relevant criteria, evidence and decisions for including or excluding an accredited private school should be made public. This would effectively stop substituting insinuation for investigation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Many voucher supporters call these programs civil rights for parents, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, yet most have been quiet as Muslim families are denied a public benefit. Every Texan should remember that when rights can be revoked for one faith, or one curriculum, all of our rights are at risk. Texas created this market. Now state leaders must prove that it works and that it is truly fair for all families. Advertisement Article continues below this ad An Austin resident places flowers at a small memorial outside Buford's on West Sixth Street on Monday, the day after a gunman killed three people and injured 15 others. The tragedy stands as a stark reminder of why violence prevention efforts are needed, the Editorial Board writes. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman In March 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency effort began dismantling terrorism and targeted violence prevention efforts across the federal government. It cut and froze tens of millions of dollars in grants for local and state law enforcement support, security training, terrorism research and funding for potential targets, such as synagogues, to install bulletproof windows or other security features. DOGE cut 30% of the staff at the Department of Homeland Securitys Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships. Known as CP3, the office provided grant funding and support to local communities to prevent targeted violence and domestic terrorism. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A year later, one of Austin's worst shootings in decades stands as a stark reminder of why these violence prevention efforts are needed. To be clear, we do not assert any causality between the DOGE cuts and the March 1 shooting on West Sixth Street that killed three people and left 15 wounded before Austin police killed the gunman. But with the continuing rise in political violence, hate crimes and mass shootings, failing to invest in prevention carries too high a cost. In response to our inquiry, a Homeland Security spokesperson dismissed CP3 as cash cow for radical activists that peddled left-wing ideologies and did next to nothing to combat actual threats in our communities. Local communities appeared to have a different view. In a report to Congress just months before the first DOGE cuts, CP3 said in the 2024 fiscal year, it received 178 grant applications from 47 states and U.S. territories requesting $98.9 million over five times the $18 million that Congress allocated to CP3. These grants went to groups like Life After Hate, which provides peer support to people who want to leave violent white supremacist movements, and state-level violence prevention programs that offer mental health services to students who bring weapons to school. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Department of Homeland Security has drastically reduced its investment in targeted violence prevention, former CP3 Director Bill Braniff told us. Especially its investment in a public health-informed approach to prevention that can actually reduce the number of people who struggle to the point where they see violence as a solution. CP3 successfully conducted nearly 1,200 interventions of people who had exhibited violence risk since it was created in 2021, said Braniff, who now heads the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University. He resigned from CP3 in protest the night the first staffing cuts were made. By September, the office was eliminated. If you want to have a fiscally responsible government, having one central location support all 50 states was actually a very cost-effective way to build the prevention ecosystem in the U.S., he said. And without that centralized funding, what we're actually doing is we're spending a lot more money at state levels to recreate that same impact, if states can come up with the funding. Advertisement Article continues below this ad With just over $8.1 million in grant funding, CP3 conducted the 1,200 interventions over five years at a cost of around $6,900 per person. In one such intervention, collaboration between the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida and local colleges and universities helped bring charges against a student who had made threats and tried to buy an AR-15 rifle online. Compare the prevention costs to the outlay after an attack is carried out: The investigation, prosecution, incarceration and post-release supervision for a single terroristic act can cost more than $3 million per perpetrator, according to the policy research organization RAND, which estimates the societal cost of a single homicide to be as high as $28 million. The cost of saving human lives and preventing community trauma is incalculable. SIGN UP FOR THE AUSTIN ANGLE and get Statesman commentaries in your inbox To its credit, Texas is taking steps to prevent terrorism and targeted violence, as outlined in its Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan. This week, the Texas Department of Public Safety hosted its second annual Texas Targeted Violence Prevention and Behavioral Threat Management Conference in Fort Worth. The conference brought together more than 380 government, law enforcement, academic, faith-based and private sector organizations to discuss behavioral threat assessment and management teams, identifying pre-attack indicators and strategies for intervention before violence occurs, DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen told us. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But Texas has lost valuable support in preventing targeted violence, Braniff said, specifically, a dedicated mental health professional who worked on crisis intervention alongside state and local law enforcement. The more we learn about the West Sixth Street shooter, Ndiaga Diagne, the more we see the need for the prevention work that CP3 did. Federal investigators said early on they were looking into a potential nexus to terrorism: Diagne was wearing a hoodie printed with the words Property of Allah and a shirt beneath it bearing an image of the Iranian flag. Subsequent reporting has shown that he also had a history of domestic violence, divorce and mental health issues, and he told neighbors he didnt feel connected to his community. Braniff was clear that he did not attribute Diagnes actions to a missed CP3 intervention. But said the office's programs were designed to intervene in situations in which people exhibited these kinds of behavior, either by providing support services or referrals to law enforcement. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Domestic violence appears in a very high percentage of the biographies of perpetrators of targeted violence, he said. Texas law enforcement and civil society are working to prevent targeted violence. The federal government should do its part, too starting with restoring the grants that have proven to be a cost effective way to intervene with someone in crisis before a tragedy occurs. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said on Thursday it has begun a new wave of airstrikes in Lebanon's Beirut, saying it was targeting "Hezbollah infrastructure," after calling residents of the capital's southern suburb to evacuate. Chloe Childress, a Camp Mystic counselor who grew up in Houston, was killed in July 4 flooding in the Texas Hill Country. Courtesy Matthew Childress It has been eight months since my wife Wendie and I lost our daughter, Chloe Madeline Childress. Chloe was a counselor at Camp Mystic and died during the July 4 floods. For eight months, we have lived with relentless grief, anguish and loss. Yet instead of being given space to heal, that pain is compounded by a devastating reality: The people who could have prevented Chloes death still hold a license to operate. Camp Mystic has announced plans to reopen this summer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I know I am not the first parent to lose a child, and I speak only for my family. But I also know our feelings of pain are shared by the parents of the other 26 girls who died at Camp Mystic, including the family of Cile Steward, the lone camper who still remains missing. The holidays were especially difficult. Many of us coped with our grief by running from routines, traditions, and places that held too much pain. My family traveled during Thanksgiving and Christmas because staying home was unbearable. Creating new memories felt easier than marinating with the heartbreak of what should have been Chloe with us, laughing, opening presents and radiating her unending joy. We were robbed of future holidays with our daughter because Camp Mystic leadership had no evacuation plan in place to protect our children. Then they failed to take common sense actions to save our children during an emergency. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Knowing the camp intends to reopen its gates to more children this next camp season, those failures compel me to speak out again. Many of the families of the Heavens 27 the 25 campers and two counselors who lost their lives have filed litigation in pursuit of one thing: the truth. We have publicly stated our support for camps. We helped pass legislation to make camps safer for future generations. We believe these places matter and should continue to exist. We also demand to know what happened at Camp Mystic before, during and after the flood and why. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Last year the Texas Legislature created investigative committees to determine exactly what occurred. We fully support that effort, and we understand that investigations take time. However, until the investigation is complete and its findings are reviewed, Camp Mystics license should be suspended. Here is what we know so far from whats available to the public: The camp convinced FEMA to remove girls cabins from the floodway and floodplain. The camp lacked safety plans, training and compliance required by state law. No precautions were taken even after a code red alert for life-threatening floods. Camp equipment was safeguarded before any children were moved to safety. Camp directors waited far too long to act, when just minutes could have saved every life. Counselors warned directors that floodwaters were rising and were told to stay in place. When directors finally evacuated a few cabins, they told others to stay put, leaving the girls trapped. Camp leadership did not call 911 until more than five hours after flooding began. Later, camp leadership did not tell families about children already known to be deceased. Camp leadership has denied all responsibility and instead blames an act of God. And yet the camp plans to reopen after 27 girls died, while Cile Steward is still missing, and as a state investigation is ongoing. Any one of the camps failures should give pause to reopening plans. Taken together, they make it incomprehensible that Camp Mystic under its current leadership continues to hold a license to operate and be responsible for more children. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Would we even think of allowing a daycare, private school or youth club, in which dozens of children under its care were killed in a fire, to be re-licensed and to reopen without a thorough investigation? Especially by the same owners, who reject any responsibility and shrug off the tragedy as unavoidable? We would never excuse that as fate and hand back the license without full disclosure, accountability and reform. Yet Camp Mystic is now inviting children to enroll without any reckoning for what happened last summer without transparency, responsibility or meaningful corrective action. Mystics license is scheduled to be up for renewal on Friday, March 6, by the Department of State Health Services. That is the same agency that granted Camp Mystic its license for the last ten summers (and which certain families are now suing), even though the camp violated state safety requirements. Mystic must not be granted another license at least not until a complete and honest account of what happened on July 4 is made public. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As of February 23, the lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, agrees with us. Trust has been shattered. Our state has suffered a shocking mass death of children. As the families most affected, we deserve the full truth. Truth takes time time we will never get back with our daughters. But investigations and complete transparency are essential to ensure that no other family is forced to endure the pain and heartbreak that now, and forever, defines our lives. ABIDJAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The government of Cote d'Ivoire reduced the purchase price of cocoa from 2,800 CFA francs (4.97 U.S. dollars) per kg at the opening of the main crop season in October to 1,200 CFA francs (2.13 dollars) for the mid-season from March to August, a reduction of 57.14 percent. Agriculture Minister Bruno Kone said at a press conference on Wednesday that the sharp cut, following the record level of 2,800 CFA francs, was driven by a "nearly 70 percent collapse" in global cocoa prices since December. The price of 1,200 CFA francs per kg, set by the government to "protect farmers' incomes," required a subsidy of 231.247 billion CFA francs (410.2 million dollars), the minister added. The 2025-2026 main crop season has been marked by marketing difficulties, prompting the government to take measures to clear a stock of more than 100,000 tonnes of cocoa held by producers or stored in the ports of Abidjan. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's leading cocoa producer, producing nearly 45 percent of the world's cocoa harvest, with an annual production of more than 2 million tons of cocoa beans. Two boys wash sugarcane beside the construction site of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project built by Power Construction Corporation of China in a major sugarcane-producing area of Kisumu County, Kenya, on Feb. 27, 2026. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) KISUMU, Kenya, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Watching heavy trucks laden with sugarcane smoothly cruising along a newly asphalted road toward a distant factory, 43-year-old farmer Rosslyn Akini Abudo cannot hide her satisfaction. "Before, there was no road. Transporting sugarcane through the muddy fields using donkeys and tractors was pure torture," she told Xinhua. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. The project involves the construction of a 40-kilometer asphalt road cutting through the county's main sugarcane-growing areas, linking plantations with local sugar factories and injecting fresh impetus into local economic and social development. Abudo said that she owns two acres of sugarcane, and "selling the entire harvest can earn me 100,000 shillings (about 773 U.S. dollars)." According to Li Yingtao, PowerChina's project manager in Kisumu, the road forms part of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project. Locals have nicknamed it the "Sugar Road," Li said, noting that it runs through the region's major sugarcane belt and serves as an important transport corridor for western Kenya. Currently, about 35 percent of the project has been completed, and all contract work is expected to be finished within about 18 months. Once completed, the road will link Kenya's sugar belt and connect with the highway leading to the Uganda border, significantly improving regional connectivity. Noting that the company attaches great importance to localization, Li said that surveyors, designers, drivers and equipment operators on site are all locally hired, and the construction process has directly created over 200 jobs, bringing tangible benefits to local farmers. "We are training and extensively employing local staff. Upon completion, the project will leave behind road construction skills and trained personnel," said the manager. To date, PowerChina has built 31 rural roads in Kenya, totaling over 1,580 kilometers. Adhering to localized management, these road projects have generated substantial local employment and trained numerous technical workers. David Maganda, the Kenyan government's supervising engineer for the project, has been conducting regular site inspections since construction began. The engineer, who has cooperated with PowerChina for many years, praised the company's previous work in the region. "The previous projects were excellent, becoming landmarks and benchmark projects in Kisumu," Maganda said. An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2026 shows a view of Kisumu, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2026 shows construction vehicles and workers of Power Construction Corporation of China operating at the construction site of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project in a major sugarcane-producing area of Kisumu County, Kenya. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2026 shows the construction site of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project built by Power Construction Corporation of China in a major sugarcane-producing area of Kisumu County, Kenya. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) Construction vehicles and workers of Power Construction Corporation of China operate at the construction site of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project in a major sugarcane-producing area of Kisumu County, Kenya, on Feb. 27, 2026. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2026 shows construction vehicles and workers of Power Construction Corporation of China operating at the construction site of the second section of the Kisumu-Muhoroni highway project in a major sugarcane-producing area of Kisumu County, Kenya. Located in Kisumu County, a key economic and transport hub in western Kenya, the area is well known for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. A road project undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is now bringing visible change to the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) A Minuteman III missile is test-launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 3, 2026 (U.S. Air Force) An unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile carrying two reentry vehicles was successfully test-launched Tuesday night at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to the Air Force. The Air Force Global Strike Command said the launch was part of a years-long schedule of test flights of ICBMs and not tied to the current war with Iran. This launch, designated GT 255, was scheduled years ago, and is not in response to world events, the Air Force said in a statement. The launch from the Western Test Range at the base near Lompoc on the central California coast was a continuation of routine testing of ICBMs randomly selected from existing weapons stockpiles. During the test, the ICBMs two reentry vehicles traveled across the Pacific Ocean to a predetermined target at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Air Force said the long-range flight allows engineers and weapons systems analysts to collect data on the missiles accuracy and reliability. The Minuteman III is the land-based leg of the United States nuclear triad, which also includes Trident II D5 nuclear-tipped missiles carried by the U.S. Navys 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines at sea, and nuclear weapons-carrying manned B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress bombers of the U.S. Air Force. When armed, each Minuteman III carries a single nuclear warhead with an estimated atomic yield equivalent to more than 300 kilotons of TNT, more than 20 times the estimated yield of the 15-kiloton bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. The missiles are also capable of deploying multiple smaller bombs with individual reentry vehicles like the ones tested Tuesday. It is critical to test all aspects of our ICBM force, including our ability to deliver multiple, independently targeted payloads with absolute precision, Gen. S.L. Davis, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a statement. The U.S. plans to phase out the Minuteman III beginning in 2029 with the expected deployment of the new $141 billion LGM-35A Sentinel ballistic missile system. The United States maintains about 400 deployed Minuteman III ICBMs in underground silos in the northern tier of states. Silos and command centers are located in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado, according to the nonpartisan Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. In 2015, the Air Force announced completion of a $7 billion program to extend the life of the Minuteman III into the 2030s. Pentagon officials have said it may be possible to extend the Minuteman IIIs service life to 2050 or later. By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire ICBM fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nations nuclear triad, Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander, said in a statement. Cecil Masiga, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Innovation, speaks at the Botswana stage of Huawei ICT competition in Gaborone, Botswana, March 5, 2026. The information and communication technology (ICT) competition sponsored by Chinese telecoms firm Huawei was hailed on Thursday as a platform for Botswanan students to benchmark their skills against internationally recognized frameworks. (Xinhua/Tshekiso Tebalo) GABORONE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The information and communication technology (ICT) competition sponsored by Chinese telecoms firm Huawei was hailed on Thursday as a platform for Botswanan students to benchmark their skills against internationally recognized frameworks. Cecil Masiga, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Innovation, made the remarks at the event in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, to recognize 12 local students from the University of Botswana, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, and Botswana Accountancy College for advancing to the southern African regional stage of the competition. He highlighted the importance of building strong digital capabilities among Botswana's youth as the country advances its digital transformation agenda. "Developing local digital talent is essential as Botswana continues to build a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy," Masiga said. "Initiatives such as the Huawei ICT Competition provide valuable opportunities for students to gain practical exposure to emerging technologies and to strengthen the skills required for the digital future." Huawei Botswana Managing Director Li Dalu said the competition plays an important role in bridging the gap between academic learning and the practical skills required in the global technology industry. He reaffirmed Huawei Botswana's commitment to working closely with government and academic institutions to support ICT skills development and strengthen the country's digital talent ecosystem. The 12 students will proceed to the regional stage of the competition, where they will compete for a place in the global finals. Two Russian Su-24 aircraft fly over a U.S. Navy ship near Rota, Spain, on April 12, 2016. Two such aircraft operated by Iranian forces were headed toward Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, but were downed by Qatari F-15s, according to CNN. (U.S. Navy) Iranian fighter planes flying less than 100 feet above ground came within minutes of hitting the U.S. militarys largest base in the Middle East, CNN reported this week. The incident, which happened Monday morning, involved two Russian-made Su-24 bombers that were headed toward Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Several thousand U.S. troops operate out of Al Udeid, making it the main hub for U.S. operations in the region. The Iranian planes, carrying bombs and guided munitions, were two minutes away from their target when Qatari fighter pilots engaged them in aerial combat, unidentified sources told CNN. Qatar dispatched American-made F-15 fighters, which were able to down the Iranian planes. During a news briefing Wednesday, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed the encounter without getting into specifics of the operation. Two Qatari air force F-15s fly in formation over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on Jan. 21, 2025. Two low-flying Iranian bombers that were headed for Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, were downed by F-15 pilots on March 2, 2026, according to CNN. (Gerald Willis/U.S. Air Force) Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers that were en route to their location, Caine told reporters. The Iranian pilots were flying at an altitude of 80 feet to evade radar, CNN reported, adding that the planes crashed into Qatari waters. The U.S. Air Force has spent years training and coordinating with Qatari counterparts. In October, the U.S. also announced it would allow Qatar to build a facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, which will serve as a training location for Qatari F-15 pilots. Since the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran this past weekend, countries in the region have been repeatedly targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. So far, U.S. partners have mainly restricted their military involvement to ground-based air defense missions aimed at shooting down incoming fire. Its not clear whether Middle East countries could take the next step and actively join the campaign. Countries such as Qatar have said they reserve the right to respond to attacks but thus far have refrained from missions inside Iran. Mondays dogfight between Qatari and Iranian fighters, however, represents a rare direct military encounter between the two countries. South Korean Brig. Gen. Moon Han-ok and U.S. Army Brig. Gen. W Bochat speak to reporters at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on March 4, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes) CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea U.S. and South Korean forces will proceed with a major joint military exercise next week despite the United States involvement in the conflict with Iran, a pair of generals said this week. The 10-day Freedom Shield exercise one of the two largest drills conducted by the allies each year is slated to begin Monday. Brig. Gen. Moon Han-ok, a deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, which combines both U.S. and South Korean units, emphasized the strength of the U.S.South Korean alliance and the divisions readiness posture while speaking with reporters alongside U.S. Brig. Gen. W Bochat on Wednesday. Moon said the training will continue as planned. Actually, we are strengthening readiness thinking North Korea might show some provocations, she said Wednesday at the divisions headquarters on Humphreys. We will conduct the exercise as planned and maintain readiness. Freedom Shield comes as the U.S. and Israel are engaged in military operations against Iran, which began Saturday. Bochat commander of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. traveled to South Korea to support the exercise. I dont think [Iran] is affecting what we are going to do, and I think we need to work on the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance right now and not get pulled into something else, she said. Moon and Bochat previously worked together as colonels while serving as chiefs of staff for 2nd ID between December 2021 to October 2022. The 2nd ID is a truly combined organization, Bochat said, noting that the two sides build readiness by playing together and training together. During Freedom Shield, the 20th CBRNE Command will provide support across the exercise rather than focus on a single unit, Bochat said. The command will work with South Koreas Chemical, Biological, Radiological Defense Command to address potential threats that might arise during the training. We are here to provide as a staff for anything that happens during the exercise, she said. I think the value proposition of our organization is that we have a persistent stare on the problem. Moon previously served as deputy commander of South Koreas 2nd Engineer Brigade and held positions at the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff before her promotion to brigadier general in January. Bochat served as the 33rd commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School before taking her current role. Bochat voiced support for Moon as she prepares to oversee her first Freedom Shield exercise as a general officer. Thank you for your leadership, because the most important thing is training together and figuring out how we think, and whats important to us, she said. The Yankee Rose sits in MacMillan Pier in Provincetown, Mass., Feb. 27, 2026. (Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times) (Tribune News Service) The U.S. Coast Guard has recovered one of two people who went missing on Thursday after a boat overturned off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass. The Coast Guard was notified just before noon that a boat known as the Yankee Rose had two people aboard when it overturned 3 nautical miles northeast of Race Point, the Coast Guard said in an email. As of 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard crews and local authorities were still searching for the remaining person, the Coast Guard said. Boston 25 News reported that the Coast Guard said the person who was recovered was unconscious and rushed away for emergency treatment. The agency did not immediately respond to MassLives request for clarification on the recovered persons condition. No further information has been released. 2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A view of Manama, Bahrain, is shown in March of 2026. () MANAMA, Bahrain A day of relative peace was shattered late Thursday afternoon in this capital city, home to U.S. sailors at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, as air sirens that have blared recurrently since Saturday warned of incoming Iranian attacks. Moments earlier, Navy officials sent a text message to the military community, whose members were sheltering in place throughout the city. Seek hardened shelter immediately, the emergency messaging system stated. Real World. No U.S. casualties have been reported thus far in Bahrain, home to the U.S. 5th Fleet, as well as thousands of sailors and their families prior to the start of a war that has engulfed nations throughout the Middle East. An air warning around 1:45 a.m. gave way to one of the longest periods of calm about 16 hours since Irans counterattacks began early Saturday morning. The second warning came in the afternoon, with another an hour later. One of the Iranian missiles struck a state-run oil refinery, Bahraini officials said in a statement. The fire was extinguished and the refinery is still operating, the statement said. There also were unconfirmed reports of explosions in Manama and Riffa, the islands second-largest city, and a fire at the capitals Salman Port, potentially from a missile impact. U.S. sailors said they had hoped that the lull signaled a turning point. On Wednesday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said in Washington that Irans ballistic missile fire was down 86% and drone attacks were down 73% since the start of the fighting. On Thursday, Bahrains defense ministry said its forces had intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles, destroying 65, since the Iranian counterstrikes began. Bahrain also has intercepted 124 drones, downing 88, while 36 landed inside the country, The Associated Press reported. Earlier in the week, Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa visited a supermarket, a hospital, shelters and other locations in Manama, the government said Tuesday in a statement. In between Thursdays missile warnings, few people and cars were visible on the streets, except for grocery delivery drivers and essential workers. Sailors and base community members texted one another during the day to stay connected, offer support and share their concerns. Meanwhile, NSA Bahrains medical team sent a message saying it was still available for acute and time sensitive concerns. Patients with acute care needs were directed to schedule virtual appointments through the Defense Departments online health portal. NSA Bahrain is one of multiple U.S. bases that have come under attack in the Middle East, including locations in Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The United States and Israel have attacked more than 2,000 positions in Iran, according to U.S. military figures. The attacks have eliminated much of Irans senior military leadership, U.S. officials have said. Bahrain, an island kingdom with a bridge connecting it to Saudi Arabia, is about 128 miles across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Families greet their sailors upon the return of Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego after eight months of sustained operations in the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleet areas of operations, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) The USS Cincinnati returned to its homeport in San Diego following an eight month deployment conducting sustained operations throughout the Indo-Pacific. Families and friends welcomed the sailors back home on Wednesday after a long and challenging deployment, said Capt. James Hoey, commodore of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1, according to a service news release. This warship demonstrated a strong and steady presence in strategically vital waterways and operated seamlessly alongside our allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific region, Hoey said. Mineman Second Class Ethan Crawford, assigned to USS Cincinnati, greets his spouse with the traditional first kiss upon return to Naval Base San Diego homeport, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) Families and friends welcome the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati as it returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego. (Josh Cote/U.S. Navy) Lt. j.g. Dan Baskin greets his family upon return to Naval Base San Diego. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) Families greet their sailors upon arrival of the USS Cincinnati at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) Cmdr. Andrew Recame, commanding officer of USS Cincinnati, greets his family after the ships return to Naval Base San Diego, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Josh Cote/U.S. Navy) Families greet their sailors upon arrival of the USS Cincinnati at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) Mineman Third Class Christian Nicholson is greeted by his family upon USS Cincinnatis return to Naval Base San Diego. (Aja Bleu Campbell/U.S. Navy) Fire Controlman 2nd Class Raul Ruiz greets his family after USS Cincinnatis return to Naval Base San Diego. (Josh Cote/U.S. Navy) Cincinnati conducted several multilateral exercises and port visits in the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleet areas of operations throughout the Indo-Pacific, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Singapore. Highlights of its deployment include: July 2025: Visited the Marshall Islands to honor Marshallese U.S. military veterans, co-host Independence Day celebrations and host dignitaries. September 2025: Crossed the equator and participatied in CARAT Timor-Leste, a multinational exercise. October 2025: Joined Sama Sama 2025 with Canada, France, Japan, and the Philippines for live-fire and tactical exercises. October 2025: Participated in CARAT Brunei 2025. December 2025: Participated in CARAT Malaysia 2025. December 2025: Co-hosted the ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX) 2025 with the Indonesian Navy in Batam, Indonesia. January 2026: Became the first U.S. Navy warship in nearly a decade to moor at Ream Naval Base, Cambodia. I am immensely proud of the crew for their exceptional performance during our sustained operations abroad, said Cmdr. Andrew Recame, commanding officer of Cincinnati, per the release. This was a significant milestone, not only for the ship and its crew, but for the entire LCS program. Seabees rebuilding old Route 1 between Phu Loc and Hue fight a constant tug-of-war with the Viet Cong who attempt to destroy at night what the Seabees have built during the day on June 30, 1968. (Andrew Headland Jr./Stars and Stripes) This article appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, June 30, 1968. It is republished unedited in its original form. In the midst of war Army, Navy and other American military engineers are building roads for peace in Vietnam. Its a dirty, frustrating job with bridges sometimes being blown up by the enemy almost as soon as completed. But prospects are that long after the fighting is only an unpleasant memory commerce will be flowing over highways which are now dedicated largely to the exigencies of war. The combined construction skills of hundreds of men and vast quantities of earth-moving equipment are being utilized in the effort to build highways as quickly and efficiently as possible. Ambushes, mines and mortar attacks are among hazards faced daily by crews who push the roads through despite enemy opposition, just as pioneers did in the Wild West. Much of the construction effort centers on rebuilding sections of old Route 1, the chief artery connecting Saigon with Hue, far to the north. A good deal of this road, which was originally built during the French occupation and stretches for hundreds of miles across the country, is in poor condition from lack of maintenance. Some portions go under water during heavy rains. Builders say that eventually the entire highway may be upgraded, widened to an average width of about 32 feet, hard-surfaced and be capable of carrying great volumes of traffic between Saigon and the DMZ at 50-mile an hour speeds. Seabees rebuilding old Route 1 between Phu Loc and Hue fight a constant tug-of-war with the Viet Cong who attempt to destroy at night what the Seabees have built during the day on June 30, 1968. (Andrew Headland Jr./Stars and Stripes) Work being done by two battalions of Seabees under the 32d Naval Construction Regt. on a single 20-mile stretch of Route 1 between Phu Loc and Hue illustrates some typical building problems involved. Its piecemeal road building, said Equipment Chief Operator Fred McDaniel, Mobile Construction Bn. 133. Roads must be kept open for traffic during the day and closed at night because Charlie shoots at you and sets mine charges. McDaniel pointed out that while roads are swept daily to remove mines that may have been inserted at night some types of explosives, such as those made of plastic materials, are difficult to detect. Three water buffalo near Phu Loc recently paid the supreme penalty for stepping on a mine the Viet Cong had intended for Seabees. One old reinforced concrete bridge at Phu Loc has been hit and repaired five times. Its beginning to become monotonous, commented one Seabee. A culvert-type bridge the Seabees completed in the area one day was blown up the same night and reconstructed the following day. Seabees rebuilding old Route 1 between Phu Loc and Hue fight a constant tug-of-war with the Viet Cong who attempt to destroy at night what the Seabees have built during the day on June 30, 1968. (Andrew Headland Jr./Stars and Stripes) Seabees ruefully recall it doesnt always pay to be a good Samaritan. On one occasion they loaned five gallons of fuel to two uniformed strangers who said their jeep was out of gas. The transients, who were Viet Cong in disguise, poured the gas over a newly built bridge, set the structure afire and escaped during the confusion. A huge rock-crushing plant at Phu Loc is providing 130,000 cubic yards of base rock estimated needed for the 20-mile stretch of road. About 158,000 cubic yards of dirt fill and 100,000 cubic yards of asphaltic concrete will also be needed to finish the job. The longest bridge, a 380-foot timber structure, was constructed with 120 piles each 70 feet long and sunk 26 to 30 feet in the earth. Another Seabee project which will be of general economic benefit to Vietnamese citizens is rehabilitating an old French water system. This calls for laying a 12-inch fresh-water pipeline 10 miles from Phu Bai to Cho Tham on the Perfume River south of Hue. Helicopter pads, airstrips, fuel farms, post exchanges, hospitals, ammunition storage dumps and other building projects the length of Vietnam stand as creative monuments to more than 9,000 Seabees and other builders working throughout the Republic. Former Marine Corps Maj. James Capers salutes during a ceremony at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in June 2021. (Patrick King/U.S. Marine Corps) The Senate this week cleared the way for a legendary Force Reconnaissance Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for his lifesaving actions in April 1967 that spared the lives of his nine-man team during a vicious fight in Vietnam. The unanimous approval of the bill Tuesday waived time restrictions to consider the Medal of Honor for retired Maj. James Capers Jr., who despite his own horrible injuries cleared the way for his Recon team to safely evacuate the village of Phu Loc after it was ambushed by North Vietnamese soldiers. Capers, 88, helped his Marines all of them wounded in the attack board a helicopter and fought off the assaulting force to ensure the birds escape. The Senate vote came about one month after the House approved the measure, sending the bill to President Donald Trump. Trump will have the final say on if the Silver Star awarded to Capers in 2010 for his actions at Phu Loc will be upgraded to the nations top military honor. Im proud Congress has acted to send this legislation to the Presidents desk to ensure Maj. Capers receives the Medal of Honor, the nations highest military award for valor, and the gratitude of a nation he served with honor, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who introduced the legislation to allow Capers the Medal of Honor in May 2025, said in a statement. We applaud you, and our nation thanks you for your service. Norman has lobbied Trump since the beginning of his second administration to award Capers the Medal of Honor. Many other supporters, including several veterans groups and filmmakers, have worked even longer to see Capers award upgraded. Retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr. pictured in 2015 near his home in North Carolina. (Courtesy of MJC Ent.) Capers, in a 2018 interview with Stars and Stripes, said he was proud to receive the Silver Star, the militarys third highest award for battlefield valor. That award came after he was nominated for the Medal of Honor, but the Marine Corps downgraded the decoration after review. Receiving the top award for heroism, he said, would mean more for the men with whom he fought and bled that day at Phu Loc. Capers also said it would alleviate any concern that his skin color influenced the downgrade decision. Capers, the first Black man to lead a Marine reconnaissance company and receive a battlefield commission, had been in Vietnam about a year when his unit known at Team Broadminded was ambushed that day in April 1967. The team had already conducted dozens of highly classified commando raids, often behind enemy lines. But the fighting that day at Phu Loc was perhaps more intense than any had ever seen, Capers said. The attack was initiated by claymore mines that ripped Capers abdomen open and broke his leg, but he was undeterred. He charged ahead to free his injured men from the assault. If I was going to die there in Vietnam, I was going to die fighting, Capers said. He fought off the attacking force an entire NVA regiment for nearly an hour, taking bullet wounds to both of his legs, as his team escaped to a landing zone for helicopter extraction. When the chopper arrived, Capers ordered his men and their dead war dog King, who was killed in the attack loaded first. Then he jumped off the helicopter as it struggled to take off. I figured its better to lose one man than to lose the whole team, Capers said. Any commander worth his salt would care for his men before his self. But his men objected, ultimately, pulling Capers back aboard the helicopter, which after two attempts escaped the battle. All nine members of Capers unit survived the enemy ambush, each injured but alive. Capers demonstrated extraordinary courage and leadership during the Vietnam War, risking everything to save his fellow Marines while severely wounded, Norman said. His heroism has been known for decades, but the recognition he deserves has been far too long in coming. Garwyn Linnell refills a cup of nettle tea during an event at the Crypt Gallery in London on Feb. 28, 2026. The tea ceremony, which runs through March 28, invites people to experience tea in ways beyond the taste of it. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) London has a legendary abundance of sites at street level, but some of the citys most intriguing spaces sit underground. One of them is the London Crypt Gallery, tucked beneath St Pancras Parish Church. The 19th-century crypt once served as a burial site before closing in 1854. It functioned as an air-raid shelter during World War II, and today it operates as a venue hosting arts exhibitions and events along with the more than 500 bodies that remain interred beneath the floor. The shiver that fact brought down my spine immediately made me want to see the place, as the brick arches and shadowy corners looked straight out of a film set. So I booked the first events that fit my schedule, even though neither was something I would normally attend: a tea-drinking ceremony and a sound journey featuring throat singing and ocarinas. Both were hosted by Sense Ability, a grassroots group that puts New Age notions into practice in intriguing ways. Flexibility is what makes the gallery worth visiting. It is not a traditional museum with permanent exhibits, so the experience depends entirely on what is on the calendar. People listen to a musical performance featuring flutes, shamanic drums, Tibetan singing bowls and jaw harps at the Crypt Gallery in London, on Feb. 28, 2026. The performance, led by Garwyn Linnell, was part of an experiential exhibit. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) Garwyn Linnell, right, and Joe Dalziel introduce themselves and their musical instrument assortment at the Crypt Gallery in London on Feb. 28, 2026. Linnell and Dalziel call themselves sound healing artists who provide immersive sonic experiences. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) The tea ceremony event, which runs through March 28, was less instructional than I expected. Instead of learning tea preparation techniques, we focused on how the tea made us feel. Led by Garwyn Linnell, the session invited us to hold, smell and taste two types while describing our reactions. The nettle tea tasted earthy and medicinal, while the rosemary variety was sharply bitter and cleared my sinuses almost instantly. The setting made the experience feel immersive rather than intimidating. Between sessions, I took time to wander the crypt. The space is cool and dim, with light pooling against brick columns and ceilings that swallow sound. Even with traffic rushing overhead, it feels removed from the city. The Sense Ability apothecary at the Crypt Gallery in London displays botanical products including dried herbs, tea, incense and soaps, on Feb. 28, 2026. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) Garwyn Linnell plays the cello at the Crypt Gallery in London on Feb. 28, 2026. The gallery was repurposed as an event space in 2002 after previously being used as a shelter during World War II. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) Sense Ability also has a small apothecary in the crypt stocked with teas, incense, soaps, botanical sprays and other items. I left with a cedar facial mist, billed as a spiritual cleanse designed to reinvigorate ones spirit, and a bar of seaweed soap that smells divine. Linnell and Joe Dalziel were the artists at the musical performance I attended, which was closer to a small concert than a meditation. Linnell and Dalziel call themselves sound healers who create immersive audio experiences using ancient instruments in therapeutic fashion. Linnell draws inspiration from ancient Celtic and Taoist philosophies as well as his Welsh and Chinese heritage, while Dalziel uses Central Asian throat singing and Mesoamerican wind instruments to explore sound. I didnt know what to expect coming in to the performance, but I was blown away by the multitude of instruments and techniques. A cello, flutes, shamanic drums and Tibetan singing bowls filled the chamber with low, resonant vibrations, and the throat singing echoed off the stone. While this duo doesnt have an encore in the block of upcoming events at the gallery, there are several other musical performances hosted by Sense Ability that can be booked online. Nols Nathankski records an episode of his Make Poetry Weird Again podcast inside the Crypt Gallery in London on Feb. 25, 2026. The gallery hosts experimental art shows, performances and alternative programming. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) In addition, the venue regularly hosts experimental art shows and alternative programming like the Make Poetry Weird Again podcast led by Nols Nathankski, a self-described poetry antagonist. The program is an experimental poetry movement focusing on raw and unconventional on-site performance. One of the upcoming events is an immersive exhibition called Down the Rabbit Hole, featuring work by the late Katya Kan. It includes paintings, sculpture and musical performances. Also on the horizon at the gallery is the participatory project Many Windows by ceramicist and art psychotherapist Georgia Arben-Crowther. If something on the schedule sparks your curiosity, book it even if the theme sits outside your comfort zone. The atmosphere alone makes a visit to the Crypt Gallery worthwhile. Thats what drew me there, and the allure of the place turned out to be so much more than met the eye. Garwyn Linnell plays a custom-made, three-chamber ocarina at the Crypt Gallery in London on Feb. 28, 2026. (Loretto Morris/Stars and Stripes) Crypt Gallery London Address: 165 Euston Road, London. Gallery is underneath St Pancras Church. Cost: Free admission when no events are scheduled. Check website for event-specific costs. Sense Ability sound journey: 18.25 pounds, Sense Ability tea ceremony: 24.25 pounds, combination ticket for both events: 30 pounds. Hours: 3-8 p.m. on weekdays, noon-8 p.m. on weekends. Check website for event-specific hours. Information: cryptgallery.org Kujukushima oysters cook, and burn a little, over a live fire at Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut in Sasebo, Japan, Feb. 3, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes) Growing up in Prince Georges County, Md., seafood was kind of a big deal. Many people know about Maryland blue crabs and our affinity for Old Bay seasoning, but when its too cold for crabs and the months end in R, the oyster is king. My family and I enjoy oysters all ways steamed, fried, raw or grilled on the half shell. Coming to Japan and realizing many coastal towns have the same love for oysters has been a great joy, and that joy brought me to Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut near Sasebo Naval Base. Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut is built on a raft atop near Sasebo Naval Base, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes) This oyster shack is built on a raft atop the East China Sea and allows patrons to grill their very own Kujukushima oysters over a live fire. The shacks website claims the oysters are sterilized weekly and are farmed in collaboration with local governments. Most of my experience is with steamed oysters, which are prepared by scrubbing the shells to remove excess buildup, then placing them in a steamer basket over boiling water. They stay in the basket until the shells pop open from the heat and pressure, signaling that they are ready to eat. Grilling Kujukushima oysters over a fire at Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut in Sasebo, Japan, Feb. 3, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes) Grilling them isnt much different, but it was still a bit of a learning curve for me. The patient staff showed me how to fan the flames to get the coals to light, when to flip them so they cook thoroughly and stay juicy and the tell-tale signs of when the oysters are done. My family steams them and throws the juicy meat into a bowl of sweet and tangy sauce made with ketchup, white vinegar, chopped white onions, hot sauce and a pinch of mustard, but these fresh and salty oysters were delicious all on their own. Oysters are prepared for consumption at Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut in Sasebo, Japan, Feb. 3, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes) Workers harvest mollusks as patrons grill their oysters at Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut in Sasebo, Japan, Feb. 3, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes) As part of the Kujukushima meal set, I got more than 2 pounds of oysters, two bamboo leaf rice balls with a grilled oyster on top and a bowl of oyster chowder. The rice added a necessary texture balance between the silky oysters and the creamy chowder, with the chowder offering a warm reprieve from the chilly breeze moving through the hut. The set was 2,500 yen just under $16. The shack also has a robust a la carte menu that includes scallops, shrimps, clams and grilled rice balls. If youre a seafood lover like me, pop by, enjoy the view and grill up some mollusks. Marumo Suisan Kujukushima Oyster Hut Location: 944 Funakoshicho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, 857-1231 Hours: Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last order at 4 p.m. Prices: Expect to pay about $16 for the Kujukushima set, which includes more than 2 pounds of oysters, rice balls and oyster chowder. Dress: Casual Directions: A 10-minute drive from Sasebo Naval Base via the Sasebo Bypass and Route 149. Information: Phone: 0956-28-0602; Online: marumo99.jp/kaijoukakigoya North American Aerospace Defense Command F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted Russian Tu-142 military aircraft upon entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone in international airspace near the Chukchi Sea, March 4, 2026. (Department of Defense) Two Russian Tu-142 Bear-F long-range reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft were detected and tracked Wednesday in the American and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones off Alaska. North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighters, two F-22 Raptor fighters, four KC-135 Stratotankers, one E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, two Royal Canadian CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft and one CC-150 Polaris tanker to intercept, identify and monitor the Russian aircraft. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said in a statement. This Russian activity in the Alaskan and Canadian ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat. The Air Defense Identification Zone begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of U.S. and Canadian national security, NORAD said. The Wednesday incident was the first since the war in Iran began on Feb. 28. The incursion is the second time in a month that Russia has sent aircraft into the zone. On Feb. 19, Russia sent two TU-95s accompanied by two SU-35 Flanker-E fighters and an A-50 Mainstay early warning radar aircraft. In that incident, the U.S. launched F-35 and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, along with an E-3 and refueling tankers. Russian and Chinese aircraft, sometimes flying together, have flown through the ADIZ in recent years as military and commercial activity in the Arctic Ocean has grown. Russia and China also dispatched a joint flotilla of military ships in the Arctic in 2024. NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions, the command said. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America. The News in Brief Friday, March 6, 2026 Georgia's Opposition Alliance accused billionaire and Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili of punishing citizens for refusing to recognize his legitimacy, saying the move shows the government fears public dissent.In a statement, the alliance said the parliament "controlled" by Ivanishvili passed a new repressive law in its third reading that threatens criminal prosecution for citizens who consider the regime illegitimate."Dictator Ivanishvili is punishing the people, who are the only source of legitimacy for any democratic government, with imprisonment for not recognizing his legitimacy," the statement said.According to the alliance, such steps are taken only by governments that lack political legitimacy and have "betrayed Georgia's national interests, independence, sovereignty and constitution."The group also argued that the adoption of "draconian laws" aims to suppress public reaction to policies that, in their view, restrict citizens' fundamental rights.At the same time, the opposition said the government's actions reveal its vulnerability. "The regime itself reveals the prerequisite for its own defeat: it fears the people's non-recognition the most," the statement said.The alliance reaffirmed its strategy of refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the current government and pledged to strengthen that policy both domestically and internationally.It also said that after the defeat of Ivanishvili's rule, Georgia would have a democratic coalition government that would repeal all repressive laws.Georgian and Turkish law enforcement authorities arrested 14 Turkish citizens in a joint operation in Georgia, officials announced on March 5.At a briefing held at Georgia's Interior Ministry, Irakli Dondoladze, deputy director of the Central Criminal Police Department, and Iskender Guray Keskin, deputy head of the Interpol-Europol Department of Turkey's General Directorate of Security, said the operation was the result of "lengthy operational and investigative measures" carried out jointly by Georgian and Turkish authorities.According to officials, eleven of the detainees were wanted internationally under a Red Notice issued by Interpol, while three others were wanted at the national level in Turkey.Authorities said the suspects are accused of committing "grave" and "particularly grave" crimes, including drug-related offenses, robbery, intentional bodily harm, weapons-related crimes, property damage, evading imprisonment, membership in a criminal organization, murder, and fraud across 26 separate episodes.Most of the suspects had entered Georgia before becoming internationally wanted, while some allegedly crossed into the country illegally, officials said.Procedures are now underway to transfer the detainees to Turkey. Officials also noted that Georgian and Turkish police conducted a similar joint operation in August 2025, during which 14 individuals wanted by Turkish authorities were detained. Students read books at the Lancang-Mekong Book House at Prek Leap Primary School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Van Pov/Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Son Meymey, a sixth-grade student at Prek Leap Primary School here in the capital of Cambodia, has always spent her break time reading books at the Lancang-Mekong Book House, which stores thousands of books in various subjects. Founded in June 2025 at the school, the library has offered free educational resources in Khmer, Chinese, and English to more than 1,000 students. "I like reading books at this library because the room is cool, making me feel fresh," Meymey told Xinhua on Wednesday. "I spend from half an hour to one hour per day reading books at this library." The 12-year-old student said she has learned Chinese for more than two years, so she is also able to read some Chinese books. "I'd love to read Chinese books as well because they have helped improve my knowledge and Chinese language," she said. "I would like to thank donors for donating these books to our school. These books have provided valuable educational resources to all students. Heng Pipor, another sixth-grade student at the school, said he has read books at the library very often as it has provided free access to vast resources which are very useful to his study. "I like reading books at this library very much because I can gain broad knowledge," he told Xinhua. Hong Chandy, acting principal of the Prek Leap Primary School, said the library housed thousands of books in Khmer, Chinese, and English in the subjects of literature, mathematics, social studies, history, science, and folk tales, among others. She added that some 1,300 students and dozens of teachers at the school have benefited from the library. "The library has ignited reading habits among students," she told Xinhua. "These books are very valuable because they are a treasure trove of knowledge for students to research." Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researchers Association, which had coordinated the establishment of Lancang-Mekong Book Houses in Cambodia, said the book house at the Prek Leap Primary School was the third library project made possible with support from Chinese charity organizations. "These libraries have not only served as a vital venue for sharing Chinese wisdom and development experiences, but also advanced the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, cultural exchange, and mutual learning," he told Xinhua. In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, foreground, attends a sea trial of new destroyer, Choe Hyon ahead of its commissioning Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service) SEOUL, South Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer for two straight days ahead of its commissioning and observed a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to accelerate the nuclear-armament of his navy, state media said Thursday. The Norths official Korean Central News Agency said Kim, during his visits to the western shipyard of Nampo on Tuesday and Wednesday, also inspected the construction of a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, first unveiled in April 2025. Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military. State media says the ship is designed to handle various weapons systems, including antiair and anti-naval weapons, as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say Choe Hyon was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, but some have raised doubts about whether its ready for active service. North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a botched launching ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin, triggering a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure criminal. North Korea has said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, was relaunched in June after repair, but outside experts have questioned whether the ship is fully operational. After observing Choe Hyons sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the countrys expanding naval capabilities. He called for building two warships a year over the next five years of the same or higher class as the Choe Hyon. Kim came back Wednesday to observe a test launch of cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon. State media published photos of him watching from shore as several projectiles rose from the vessel in plumes of white smoke and described the weapons as strategic, a term used for nuclear-capable systems. After years of spurring ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted his focus more toward naval capabilities, including an ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. KCNA said the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers Partys founding anniversary in October. Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his five-year military goals at last months Workers Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater. Kim on Tuesday claimed that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons were making satisfactory progress. He said those purported advancements would constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century. KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts say North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could encroach on waters controlled by rival South Korea. As inter-Korean tensions worsen, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognize the Northern Limit Line, drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The poorly drawn western sea boundary has been the site of several deadly naval clashes in past years. At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Koreas nuclear arsenal, which already is equipped with various weapons systems threatening the United States and U.S. allies in Asia, and confirmed his hard-line view of rival South Korea. But he left the door open for dialogue with the Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyangs demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearization as a precondition for resuming long-stalled talks. U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii Commander Col. Rachel Sullivan, left, and Capt. Samuel White, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, sign a memorandum of understanding during a ceremony at Kolekole Pass, Hawaii, March 4, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes) LUALUALEI ANNEX, Hawaii Officials with the Army, Navy and Hawaii emergency response agencies signed an agreement Wednesday aimed at streamlining future evacuations of residents from west Oahu over a mountain pass controlled by the military. Representatives of the two services, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Honolulu Department of Emergency Management and Hawaii Department of Transportation signed a memorandum of understanding during a mountaintop ceremony on Kolekole Road. The 10-year agreement focuses on the roughly 5-mile-long single lane that winds through Navy and Army property. It is the only road that crosses over the Waianae Mountain Range that separates the western Waianae coast from the central plain of Oahu. On the coastal side is the Navys Lualualei Annex, with the Armys Schofield Barracks on the other. The importance of the road and management of it was highlighted last summer by a tsunami warning arising from a massive earthquake in Russia. Although a substantial tsunami wave ultimately did not arrive in Hawaii, the warning sparked evacuation of coastal areas on Oahu and Maui. More than 400 vehicles transited Kolekole Road ahead of projected wave arrival, Rear Adm. Brad Collins, commander of Navy Region Hawaii, told the small ceremony audience assembled at Kolekole Pass. That was real world execution, Collins said. The roads potential utility also became apparent in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, which burned the town to the ground and killed 102 people. Lahaina was wedged between the shoreline and steep mountains, as is the Waianae coast. This MOU commits all parties to allow civilian traffic to transit the pass in emergency, life-threatening situations, Col. Rachel Sullivan, commander of Army Garrison Hawaii, told the audience. And although Kolekole Pass has been successfully used in this manner several times without a written agreement, our sincere hope is that this agreement one that transcends individual commanders and personalities will give peace of mind to our community. The Army and Navy conducted an exercise Tuesday to rehearse civilian evacuation over the road, Capt. Samuel White, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, told the audience. We have committed to making this into an annual exercise so we can keep working on the relationships and the flow of information when there is a need to activate the emergency pass, White said. The fact of the matter is we are a part of the community, and were here to support it in any way we can, White said. And when the request comes through, like it did in July 2025, the response should be automatic. James Barros, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, lauded the agreement as establishing clear and unified procedures for requesting and opening this pass when the circumstances warrant it. Randal Collins, director of Honolulu Department of Emergency Management, offered up a brief meditation on the trials of island life. On Oahu, life is fragile, especially when it comes to disasters and emergencies, and theres so many single points of failure and so many vulnerabilities that we have here on the island that its unparalleled back on the continent, he said. So, it takes all of the strategies working together to make sure that we can be resilient and overcome those different challenges that will come up with hurricanes and tsunamis and wildfires and all the other hazards that we have to deal with. Naha District Court, which houses the Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court, is pictured in Naha city, Okinawa, March 5, 2026. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes) NAHA, Okinawa A Japanese court on Thursday upheld a U.S. Marines conviction for strangling and attempting to sexually assault a woman at her Okinawa home in May 2024. Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 23, of Ohio, must serve the remainder of his seven-year sentence in a Japanese prison, a three-judge panel ruled at the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court. He received credit for 190 days served. Clayton sat in the middle of the courtroom and remained expressionless as Presiding Judge Hiroaki Kikuchi read the ruling aloud. A separate three-judge panel, accompanied by six lay judges in Naha District Court, convicted Clayton on June 24 of non-consensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury. The district court ruling cited the womans testimony. She testified June 3 that Clayton followed her into a taxi from Gate 2 Street to Yomitan village. He then choked her to unconsciousness several times, unsuccessfully attempted to unzip her pants and masturbated behind her in the entryway of the home she shared with her then-boyfriend, a U.S. airman, according to her testimony. Clayton testified June 5 that he was invited to share the taxi and to enter the home. Claytons attorney, Kotaro Ito, in a statement to the court on Oct. 10 argued the womans testimony was not credible because she could not have defended against an attack while being strangled for 20 to 30 minutes. Kikuchi in court Thursday dismissed the argument, saying it lacked a scientific explanation. Ito also accused the womans boyfriend of assaulting her during the 15-minute window before she called police. Kikuchi on Thursday also dismissed this argument as without merit. If so, it would be difficult to reasonably explain why they got married after the incident, he said. Clayton may appeal to the Supreme Court in Tokyo, the final venue in Japans three-tier court system. Claytons case, and that of Senior Airman Brennon Washington, convicted in December 2024 of sexually assaulting a minor, fueled public backlash and protests from Okinawas government. In response, the U.S. military imposed tighter liberty restrictions for troops in Japan. The Supreme Court dismissed Washingtons final appeal on Jan. 30. Two other U.S. service members stationed on Okinawa have also been indicted on separate sexual assault charges. An Iranian Shahed 136 drone is displayed at a defense exhibition in Qom, Iran. (West Point) Ukraine is prepared to send military experts to the Middle East to help the U.S. and its partners counter Iranian drones, the countrys president said this week. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine has been consulting with the United States and countries under direct attack about the challenges posed by Irans drones, which have been a major feature of Russias war in Ukraine. Partners are reaching out to us, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is now exploring options for helping affected countries and providing aid in a manner that doesnt weaken its own defenses at home given the ongoing war there, Zelenskyy said. Our military possesses the necessary capabilities, Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian experts will operate on site, and teams are already coordinating these efforts. And we are ready to help protect lives, defend civilians and support real efforts to stabilize the situation and, in particular, restore safe navigation in the region. In a follow-on statement Thursday, Zelenskyy suggested a weapons exchange with partners in the Middle East. While Ukraine has a shortage of Patriot batteries, it has ample supplies of small-drone interceptors that are effective at countering Iranian drones, the Ukrainian president said. When it comes to technology or weapons exchange, I believe our country will be open to it, Zelenskyy said. For partners in the Middle East, it would be too expensive to rely on Patriots to deal with thousands of Iranian Shaheds, he added. During the war with Russia, Ukraines military has emerged as the worlds most battle-tested force when it comes to countering swarms of drones. Iranian Shahed 136 drones in a transport container. (U.S. Army) Many of Russias unmanned aerial systems, used against Ukrainian forces and civilians alike, have been provided by Iran. The proliferation of such cheaply mass-produced weapons systems has challenged Western militaries ability to come up with affordable counter-drone alternatives. Irans Shahed drones, estimated to cost between $20,000 and $50,000 each, have been able to penetrate air defenses in numerous countries in the aftermath of the U.S.-Israel airstrike campaign launched last week. While the U.S. and its partners have shot down most incoming missiles and drones, multimillion-dollar weapons systems and costly interceptors are being heavily relied on to do the job. Ukraine also uses high-end systems, such as Patriot interceptors, to provide a layered air defense. But Ukraine also makes heavy use of small interceptor drones, some costing as little as $2,000 to produce, to take down drones such as the Shahed. The U.S. also has a wide range of capabilities, but the military has been on the hunt for more cheap and effective counter-drone systems. Various task forces among the militarys service components also are focused on the issue. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the Pentagon has pushed every counter UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability. However, the U.S. remains overly focused on more expensive systems, according to a recent report by the Center for a New American Security that focused on tactics for countering drones. All too often, U.S. forces use exquisite precision-guided missiles worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars apiece to destroy cheap drones, the report said. Having a depth of inexpensive interceptors is crucial because it will enable U.S. forces to conserve and direct expensive munitions toward higher-end threats, the report said. Maj. Jeffrey R. OBrien, left, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan died in Operation Epic Fury. (U.S. Army) The U.S. military has identified two more soldiers believed killed in a drone attack in Kuwait, bringing to six the number of American troops who have died during the U.S. campaign with Israel against Iran. U.S. Army Reserve Command on Wednesday named Maj. Jeffrey R. OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, as among those killed Sunday at Port Shuaibu, the main industrial port in Kuwait. In a separate statement, the Pentagon said it believes Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., also died in the attack. His identification has yet to be confirmed by a medical examiner. The Army Reserve provided no information on Marzan, saying Wednesday in an unsigned email it would wait until he is officially identified. The Pentagon on Tuesday identified four other soldiers killed in the attack: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla. Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb. Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn. Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa The six soldiers are the only U.S. service members reported killed in action so far during the conflict with Iran. All served with the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), based in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit provides food, fuel, water and ammunition to deployed forces and oversees transportation of equipment and supplies. The command includes 79 subordinate units and more than 7,000 reservists across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Louisiana. OBrien commissioned as a Signal Corps officer in the Army Reserve in 2012 and previously deployed to Kuwait in 2019. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement Wednesday to the Associated Press said Iowans hearts are broken by the deaths of OBrien and Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace. California officials ordered flags at the state capitol lowered to half-staff in honor of Marzan. A statement Wednesday from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and acting Gov. Eleni Kounalakis called Marzan a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family during this time of profound sorrow, the statement said. The sacrifices made by military families are immeasurable, and California stands in solidarity with them, united in grief and gratitude. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news briefing Tuesday that the drone penetrated air defenses at an Army installation. In that particular case, it happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons, he said. Moments like that as we remember them and we take care of them and take care of their families only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we do this properly, he said. Plumes of smoke rise as strikes hit the city during the U.S.Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates President Donald Trump said Thursday he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the U.S. and Israel hammered the country for a sixth day. Iran kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that American firepower over Tehran was about to surge dramatically. The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Irans air defenses and missile launchers. Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trumps comments to the American news website Axios were likely to renew questions about whether the U.S. and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of drone attacks, which Tehran denied. Iran said the U.S. would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka a day earlier. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for Beiruts southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border. All the while, the U.S. and Israel battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Irans attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed. Trumps decision to strike Iran won enough support from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House on Thursday to defeat a resolution to halt the bombardment. The Senate voted down a similar measure a day earlier. Trump again urges Iranians to take back country In brief remarks at the White House, Trump again urged the Iranian people to help take back your country. This time he promised the U.S. would grant them immunity amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime. So youll be perfectly safe with total immunity, Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. Or youll face absolutely guaranteed death. In the Axios interview, Trump derided 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a lightweight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran, Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolas Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Iran remains defiant Iran has not requested talks with the U.S. to bring an end to the widening war, Irans ambassador to Egypt told the Associated Press on Thursday. Ambassador Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour denied comments by Trump that Iran wants to negotiate. He said a lack of trust makes such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with war. There will be no trust in Trump, Ferdousi Pour said. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 people. The Iranian ship was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued. Araghchi said it had been carrying almost 130 crew. An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah, one of Shiite Islams highest clerical ranks. There are dozens in Iran. Sri Lanka said more than 200 sailors aboard another Iranian warship near its coast were being escorted to a naval base outside the capital, Colombo. The ship will be taken to a Sri Lankan port, said Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. War keeps expanding The U.S. military said early Friday that an Iranian drone carrier was attacked and set ablaze. The message from the U.S. militarys Central Command showed black-and-white footage of the carrier ablaze after multiple strikes hit it. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Speaking at U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, Hegseth gave few details Thursday when he promised an upcoming surge. Its more fighter squadrons, its more capabilities, its more defensive capabilities, Hegseth said. And its more bomber pulses more frequently. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said U.S. forces have sunk more than 30 of Irans ships, including a drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, Israels top general said waves of strikes had destroyed 80% of Irans air defenses and 60% of its missile launchers. Still, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: The threat has not yet been removed. Gulf countries also reported coming under fire. The U.S. State Department announced it was closing the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, which activated air defense systems in response to incoming missiles. Iran has fired waves of missiles and drones at American-allied Kuwait, where a drone strike Sunday killed six American soldiers. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces. Authorities said falling shrapnel wounded several people. Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and later reported a missile attack. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in a province bordering Jordan. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery Thursday, sparking a fire that was extinguished. It said no casualties were reported. Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone crashed Thursday near an airport, injuring four civilian workers. Another drone fell near a school. Iran denied it launched drones toward Azerbaijan. Iran has also repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets, even as its missiles and drones have hit such sites. Ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped. That has caused oil prices to soar and U.S. stock prices to sink. Israel issues evacuation warning for Beirut suburbs Israel struck Beiruts southern suburbs Thursday evening after urging residents to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border. Rising reported from Bangkok, Becatoros from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. AP journalists around the world contributed to this report. Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy, testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON The Pentagons top policy official faced a second round of questions from Congress this week regarding the Trump administrations homelandfocused National Defense Strategy and how the recent attacks on Iran fit into those priorities. House members on both sides of the aisle vented their frustration with Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for defense policy, over the Pentagons communication with Congress. I want to know about the Presidents decision making, not your interpretation about being aligned, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday. Were all comfortable with Mr. Trumps and President [Donald] Trumps decision. Were not comfortable with Mr. Colby. The discussion of the 2026 National Defense Strategy, published in January, was split into two sessions. The open hearing was followed by a closed meeting. Colby met with senators on Tuesday. It was the first opportunity for Congress to publicly question a senior administration official about the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. The top senators on the Armed Services Committee told Colby the National Defense Strategy says little about the countrys vital interest in the Middle East, as well as a flawed proposal and it is now, in many cases, obsolete. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the House committee, asked Colby on Thursday what success looks like in Iran. Colby echoed what Trump administration officials have said the objectives are to destroy Irans missile capabilities, destroy Irans Navy and ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. Smith also said that the strikes contradicted Trumps campaign promises. He sincerely meant [that if] you put me in the office, Im going to do things thats going to make sure that we dont go to war with Iran. He failed, Smith said. Colby was quick to say the presidents not wrong. I dont think, sir, it failed, Colby said. The president has demonstrated that he is prepared to use the military instrument. Hes used the peace and the diplomacy abundantly over the last year and a half. The U.S. and Israel launched extensive strikes against Iran on Saturday morning after months of stalled negotiations over the countrys nuclear program. Trump later that night announced the operation had resulted in the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader. In addition to the strikes on Iran, Israel has attacked the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Six soldiers have died fighting in the fighting. They include Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; and Maj. Jeffrey R. OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, as among those killed Sunday at Port Shuaibu, the main industrial port in Kuwait. In a separate statement, the Pentagon said it believes Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., also died in the attack. His identification has yet to be confirmed by a medical examiner. The toll has fueled questions about whether the campaign could widen further. Colby was asked by multiple members of the House committee about the Iran strikes and provided few details. This is not another Iraq War. This is not nation building, the undersecretary said toward the end of the hearing. Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., makes remarks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the committee, took issue with the removal of a brigade from Romania last year. The Romanian defense ministry announced last October that U.S. troop deployments to Romania are being scaled back as part of a Pentagon plan to reduce force levels in Europe. The plan called for ending the rotation of a U.S. Army brigade to Romania that also had elements dispersed across several other countries in the Black Sea region. The U.S. began rotating a brigade to Romania in the aftermath of Russias 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The increased troop presence in Romania and other parts of the eastern flank was intended to reassure allies unsettled by Russian aggression in Europe and deter Moscow from potentially making a move on NATO territory. Last October, just two weeks before the discussion to withdraw the U.S. brigade from Romania, you told me during the meeting in your office that you werent aware of any ongoing discussions. Im concerned that you werent being truthful with me, Rogers said, drawing an appalled facial expression from Colby. We may not always agree on a policy decision, but the Constitution requires you and your team to have forthright conversations with this committee. Rogers also added that Congress did not learn of the decision until three days later. Colbys defense was that his office has spoken with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees hundreds of times over the past four or five months. We see that completely differently. Rogers added. I just want you to know going forward, we feel very strongly that Congress has a say so in these matters. And were going to help you all understand that in the coming months and years. An F-35C Lightning II prepares to launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (U.S. Navy) WASHINGTON The House on Thursday resisted another attempt by lawmakers to curtail President Donald Trumps ability to continue his military offensive against Iran, blocking a resolution that would have required Congress to weigh in on the campaign. The 219-212 vote followed the failure of a similar war powers resolution in the Senate on Wednesday as Republicans maintained the president was within his legal authority as commander in chief to carry out joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in defense of the U.S. The Houses measure was introduced by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and marked the latest effort by lawmakers to assert Congress constitutional power to declare war. Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, a former Army Ranger, were the only Republicans to support the resolution, which would have removed troops from unauthorized hostilities against Iran. Four Democrats voted against it. Floor debate over the resolution largely centered on whether the war with Iran was imminent, as Republicans argued in defense of Trumps unilateral decision to attack the country, or whether the potentially open-ended campaign was a war of choice. We have seen Iran as an imminent threat against America, not just for the last four days, not just for the last four months or four years, but for the last 40 years, said Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an Army veteran who lost both legs in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan. Why do they continue to be an imminent threat? Because they have never faced an imminent response, until President Trump. But Democrats said they saw no evidence of an imminent threat from Iran in the briefings senior Trump administration officials held for lawmakers in the days after the Pentagons Operation Epic Fury commenced. I can tell you with authority that in the last 10 years, Irans ability to create mayhem, while still very substantial, is at an ebb, said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. If the argument is imminence, thats absurd. There was no imminent threat to the United States Friday or Saturday of last week. Trump, in his legally mandated notification to Congress on Monday, did not mention an imminent threat of attack and instead referenced the presidents responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests both at home and abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. struck Iran proactively in a defensive way after determining that Israel was going to attack Iran with or without the U.S., and Irans response would likely include firing missiles at American military bases in the region. The 1973 War Powers Act allows the president to use military force to repel sudden attacks against the U.S., its territories or its armed forces but requires congressional consent for troop deployments in such cases within 60 to 90 days. Presidents of both parties have interpreted the law liberally and claimed a right to order the military into limited military interventions, including the unauthorized bombing of Libya by former President Barack Obama in 2011 and Trumps raid on Venezuela in January. It remains unknown how long the campaign against Iran will last; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth predicted Wednesday that the conflict could extend for up to eight weeks. Proponents of the war powers resolution said they feared an escalating war with no coherent strategy or endgame that will put troops increasingly at risk. Six service members have been killed in the war. It is for you that I wrote this resolution, said Massie, addressing troops in a floor speech on Wednesday. It is for you that all of us are here on this floor working so hard to force this vote so that you will have a clear mission that you deserve, so that you will know when you achieve it, you can come home. Other Republicans said Congress needed to stand down and focus on providing support to the military while it seeks to destroy Irans defense infrastructure and naval assets as well as degrade the countrys industrial capacity to produce drones and missiles. We should not pass any resolution that will end this critical operation before achieving these military objectives, said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Doing so would needlessly risk the lives of American service members and American allies. Thursdays vote followed a series of failed war powers resolutions introduced by lawmakers in the House and Senate since the U.S. and Israel bombed Irans nuclear sites last summer. Six House Democrats introduced another resolution this week that calls for an end to military operations in Iran within 30 days unless Congress authorizes the use of military force or declares war. The measure is expected to be voted on the week of March 23. U.S. soldiers do maintenance work on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Ford Island, Hawaii, on Nov. 4, 2025. A Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday noted that the Armys heavy-lift helicopter did not meet its availability goals between 2015 and 2024. (Olivia Cowart/U.S. Army) Years of delayed maintenance and staffing shortfalls continue to drag down overall readiness, according to a Defense Department watchdog agency report that acknowledged the militarys ability to carry out specific missions despite those limitations. The Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday drew on years of studies examining issues such as the condition of ships and aircraft, personnel levels and training. The report was assembled before the U.S. on Saturday launched its most recent attacks on Iran and makes no mention of the ongoing war. But its findings are less focused on the immediate needs of a major campaign than on long-term sustainability. The GAO said the Pentagon has yet to fully implement more than 150 recommendations from earlier reviews intended to improve equipment availability, strengthen personnel pipelines and support better decision-making on readiness. Many of those recommendations span multiple administrations and remain open years after they were issued. The GAO said the Defense Department generally agreed with its recommendations. U.S. military readiness has been degraded over the last two decades due to a variety of challenges, including maintaining existing systems while acquiring new capabilities, the report says. One of the most persistent problems involves a shortage of trained maintainers for ships and aircraft. Technicians and mechanics are responsible for keeping complex systems operating safely, and the GAO said many units lack enough qualified workers to keep up with required repairs. Short staffing has contributed to long-running maintenance backlogs, with aircraft and ships spending extended periods out of service. Across the Army and Air Force, only two of 27 aircraft types reviewed met their availability targets in most years between 2015 and 2024, the report said. The Armys CH 47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter and the Air Forces C 130J transport plane failed to meet availability goals for much of the past decade, as units struggled with parts shortages and delayed depot work. A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft sits on the flightline at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 9, 2021. The Air Force met the availability goal for the aircraft one time between 2015 and 2024. (Trevor Gordnier/U.S. Air Force) The Navy reported similar problems, the GAO found. Executive officers surveyed by GAO said many ships did not have enough trained sailors to complete required maintenance while underway, leaving some tasks deferred until vessels returned to port. Safety concerns also weighed on readiness. The report noted an increase in serious accidents involving the V-22 Osprey in 2023 and 2024, including crashes that resulted in deaths, serious injuries or aircraft destruction. Gaps in oversight and information sharing limited the Defense Departments ability to fully understand safety risks involving the aircraft, the GAO said. The report also highlighted readiness challenges in specific regions. In Europe, it pointed to problems with moving equipment and supplies quickly across the Continent in the event of a conflict with Russia. In the Indo-Pacific, challenges include maintaining and repairing equipment in contested areas and ensuring reliable fuel supplies for military operations. The report emphasizes that many of these problems are long-standing and will require continued attention from military leaders and lawmakers. Robert Thomas, an Army veteran and president of Paralyzed Veterans of America, testifies during a joint Senate and House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON Underfunding, staffing cuts and aging equipment are dismantling the services that paralyzed veterans receive at two dozen specialty treatment centers that the Department of Veterans Affairs runs across the nation, an advocacy group warned lawmakers. Yet comparable care outside the VA medical network for this vulnerable population is largely nonexistent, according to Paralyzed Veterans of America. Only VA provides the full, lifelong continuum of services for veterans with spinal-cord injuries and disorders, Robert Thomas, an Army veteran and president of Paralyzed Veterans of America, told a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. Paralyzed Veterans of America a congressionally chartered organization representing more than 42,000 veterans with a spinal-cord injury or disease provided testimony on bills that it supports on behalf of veterans. The American Legion, AMVETS, the National Association of State Directors of Veteran Affairs and Wounded Warrior Project were among other veterans groups that detailed their legislative agendas Wednesday in testimony and written statements. You provide tremendous value to our committee, said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., addressing the eight advocacy groups that testified at the three-hour hearing. Thomas devoted most of his remarks to the importance of preserving VAs unique hub-and-spoke model for providing care for veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases as the agency builds out a national network of private, non-VA providers managed by third-party administrators. When I sustained my spinal cord injury, the VAs Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders System of Care became my lifeline, and today I represent tens of thousands of veterans who depend on it just as I do, Thomas said. VA operates the nations largest spinal care system, staffed by teams of specialists at hospital-based centers or hubs that consult with regional VA clinics and hospitals treating veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases. Many non-VA hospitals provide acute care for patients with spinal cord injuries. But ongoing private-sector medical care is inferior or largely non-existent for paralyzed veterans, Thomas said. The overwhelming majority [of paralyzed veterans] choose to receive their care at VA facilities, said Thomas, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair. There is no other system out in the community that can take care of the unique needs you have with a spinal cord injury. Eliminating unfilled VA medical positions a practice that started under the previous administration and continues has created the illusion that staffing levels are better than they really are, Thomas said. Staffing caps and salaries less than what workers can earn in the private sector are making recruitment for new hires a challenge, he said. Protecting veterans benefits should be a bipartisan issue, said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., who urged oversight of a major VA reorganization underway that emphasizes community-based care. The VA is not a business and should not follow a business model by doing more with less, Takano said. The VA did not send a representative to the hearing. But VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said on Friday that until recently it was the practice at VA hospitals and clinics to keep jobs open and unfunded for years after they were no longer needed. As a result, VA facilities had thousands of unnecessary positions on their books, which made it more difficult for VA leaders to make informed staffing decisions around the country, Kasperowicz said. Managers were directed to eliminate unfilled positions that were obsolete to more accurately reflect a facilitys needs and operations. No employees lost their jobs, Kasperowicz said. He said that all VA medical facilities will continue to recruit and hire to fill existing vacancies. A national shortage of health care workers, however, is causing demand in both the public and private sectors to outpace the supply of doctors, nurses and other personnel. Thomas also said about half of VA medical buildings are more than 50 years old and need updates estimated to cost $19 billion. Veterans with catastrophic disabilities sometimes have trouble accessing buildings that need renovations to accommodate wheelchairs in exam rooms, he said. Thomas discussed pending legislation to improve services and benefits for paralyzed veterans and their spouses, who often serve as round-the-clock caregivers. The organization supports the Disabled Veterans Dignity Act, led by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., to provide timely, tax-free reimbursements for home medical supplies for ostomy and colostomy care, as well as urinary catheterization. Paralyzed Veterans also endorsed the GOP-led Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, which would increase special monthly compensation for catastrophically disabled veterans and their survivors. Thomas addressed the need for more caregiver support for aging, paralyzed veterans. Older veterans with catastrophic disabilities are sometimes forced into acute-care hospital settings for months and years, because there is no other place that can adequately meet their needs, he said. Due to the extreme nature of their disability, the impact on the quality of life cannot be totally compensated for, Thomas said. Yet baseline rates for special monthly compensation have not been updated in decades, he said. The legislation would impose higher refinancing fees on certain VA home loans to cover the costs, a move criticized by some Democrats, who said that veterans should not have to shoulder the burden. Thousands of veterans, military families and members of the general public signed a petition the Paralyzed Veterans launched in 2025 to strengthen and ensure that the VAs spinal cord care system is fully operational. Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., said the nation has a moral duty to offer accessible and up-to-date VA medical care for catastrophically disabled veterans unable to find the same care in their community. McGarvey cited staff vacancies in the VAs spinal cord care network that have kept many VA hospital beds empty, because there is not enough workers to meet the complex needs of patients. We have an administration coming to us asking for billions and billions of dollars to send people into war again but unwilling to find the money to take care of those who served in wars prior to this, McGarvey said. HANOI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese government has established a task force to ensure national energy security amid complicated developments in the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East, the government portal reported Thursday. Under a Wednesday decision, the task force is responsible for assisting the prime minister in directing and coordinating ministries and agencies to address issues related to energy security amid the Middle East developments. It will monitor, assess and forecast market developments, while helping ensure sufficient fuel supplies for production and public consumption nationwide, as well as proposing policy measures and solutions to address emerging energy security challenges to the prime minister. The task force will be disbanded upon completion of its mission. Hector Barbotta Sevilla Thursday, 5 March 2026, 16:52 | Updated 17:29h. Share The Andalusian government will formally join the court proceedings in Montoro regarding the Adamuz railway accident that killed 46 people. This has been announced by the spokesperson of the Junta de Andalucia, Carolina Espana, who underlined the will of the government to accompany the victims throughout this process. The Junta is joining Huelva city council, the province of origin of most of the victims, which last week announced its participation in the proceedings. What is at stake in the Adamuz crash court investigation? The stakes are incredibly high, as the "working hypothesis" points toward systemic failures rather than human error: The Fault Line: Investigators are focusing on a 40-centimetre break in a rail weldwork that was only completed in May 2025. Allegations of Cover-up: Perhaps more chilling are the recent reports from the Guardia Civil suggesting that key maintenance documents may have been "manipulated" after the crash. Economic Isolation: Beyond the human tragedy, the "railway isolation" of Malaga - caused by the track closure and a subsequent landslide in Alora - is creating a reputational crisis for the province just as the Malaga Film Festival and Easter Week approach. The Andalusian government has instructed its legal services to prepare the document in which it will request to join the proceedings, in which the causes of the accident and any assignment of responsibility will need to be determined. The file is being finalised in the coming days, but Espana announced on Wednesday that the Junta de Andalucia will appear with complete certainty". The spokesperson - who underlined the Andalusian government's willingness to support the victims - insisted that the causes of the accident should be known as soon as possible. "We demand the truth and we want to get to the end," said Espana. "We have said it on numerous occasions, we have to stand by the victims, we have to defend their interests and we are going to do so. If the best situation is to appear in the case, we will do so," she added. However, it was not specified when this appearance will take place, although she said it is expected that the government will approve it and that it will do so soon. She also warned about the harm being suffered by the province of Malaga due to its railway isolation since the day of the accident: firstly because of the cutting of the track at the site of the accident, and also because of the collapse of an embankment in the municipality of Alora, which has not yet been rectified. Disconnection The spokesperson said that Malaga cannot continue to be disconnected from the rest of Spain. She pointed out the economic and reputational damage that the province is suffering as a result, with the Malaga Film Festival about to start and the tourism sector suffering cancellations in the lead up to Easter. On Wednesday, the spokesman for the Grupo Popular in the Andalusian parliament, Toni Martin, explained that his party had prepared a non-legislative motion (PNL) to urge the Andalusian government to take part in the case, but it was ultimately agreed that it would be better for the initiative to come from them. Ideal Thursday, 5 March 2026, 15:50 Share A poplar tree planting project in Granada province, known as 'Life Wood for Future-Madera para el Futuro', has become an international benchmark for sustainability and forest bioeconomy thanks to its high impact on the province. For this reason, provincial authority the Diputacion de Granada has hosted a meeting to learn first-hand about this successful model, with the participation of key stakeholders at provincial, regional and national level. Why is Life Wood for Future so successful? What makes this model so successful is its "seed-to-structure" approach: Scientific Foundation: Through partnerships with the University of Granada, the project has birthed IberoLam Timber&Technology, a spin-off that will soon open Andalusias first factory for industrialized wood construction in Valderrubio. Environmental Restoration: The project isn't just about industry; its about the land. From the certified nursery at Cortijo Peinado to the recovery of the Dilar riverbanks, the initiative is actively healing the local ecosystem. Tangible Innovation: The construction of a low-carbon house in Ogijares serves as a "living laboratory," proving that Granadas poplars can replace carbon-heavy materials in modern architecture Also present were members of the project's partner institutions including the University of Granada (UGR), the University of Santiago de Compostela and the confederation of forestry organisations of Spain. The project has involved the creation of the certified plant nursery on at Cortijo Peinado in Fuente Vaqueros to produce high quality poplar clones for biostructural products and native varieties for the recovery of riverbanks. The project has also included reforestation plans around the Dilar river in Vega and has supplied plant material for river improvement actions in towns like Cenes de la Vega and Fuente Vaqueros. Life Madera para el Futuro' has managed to mobilise almost nine million euros, which guarantees the continuity of the project's impact beyond the end of its implementation. This is the case with the forthcoming creation of the Industrialised Wood Construction Training Centre in Santa Fe, an initiative for which the Diputacion has obtained funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), within the framework of the Ministry of Finance's call for urban development, and which will represent an expected investment of 3.6 million euros. Another highlight is the creation of the company IberoLam Timber&Technology, a spin-off of the UGR, thanks to the mobilisation of 1.2 million euros of private funding, contributed by researchers and owners of poplar groves, to which has been added a million-euro grant from the TRADE programme of the Andalusian regional government. Iberolam is set to become the first Andalusian factory of innovative products for industrialised construction with wood, for which construction work will begin shortly on its plant in Valderrubio. It also highlights the million euros invested in the Andalusian Wood Research Unit (UIMA), half of which was invested by the UGR in the restoration of its laboratory in the Sustainability Campus of the San Isidro Sugar Factory and the rest in scientific infrastructure by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; as well as the 380,000 euros that the regional government has allocated to the plan to promote forestry in the community (Plan Madera de Andalucia). These funds have enabled the creation of the "Marjal" poplar tree owners' association for sustainable forest management and the development of innovative products for low carbon footprint construction, such as a house made with a timber structure in Ogijares, a tangible example of how poplar wood can lead the fight against climate change and promote a local industry in the province of Granada. Machines working to stabilise the landslide in Alora, which is delaying the reopening of the high-speed rail. Ignacio Lillo Malaga Thursday, 5 March 2026, 15:30 Share Travel agencies, flight operators, hotels and holiday homes in the Costa del Sol are pulling all the stops to prevent holiday and work trip cancellations due to the delayed reopening of the high-speed rail. With the latest reopening deadline (23 March) still a few weeks ahead, the main airlines have increased the number of connections between Madrid and Malaga to eight per day. For many people, this is the preferred travel option due to its speed convenience. At the same time, various companies and hospitality businesses are sending private shuttles to transfer their customers from Antequera-Santa Ana to their destination, without the need for them to transfer from the train to a public bus to Malaga. A combination of the two - charter flights for the opening and closing ceremonies and a private transfer by road - is the strategy that the director of Malaga Film Festival announced this week. The popularity of air travel to get to Malaga is reminiscent of the days before the high-speed line in Andalucia. "We are relying more on the plane, because we don't know exactly when they are going to reopen," president of the association of travel agencies Sergio Garcia says. He states that it is precisely thanks to air travel that the high-speed line suspension has not had a strong impact on foreign tourism. "It is true that, in some cases, there have been plan changes. Those who had planned to come from Madrid by train are now coming by plane," he says. Easter Week hotel occupancy in decline Hoteliers share their concern that occupancy during Easter Week has dropped to around 25 per cent in Malaga. In addition, they say that the suspension of the high-speed rail in the province is already having an impact on bookings for the first two weeks of April. Railway uncertainty has gone from being a logistical nuisance to a real threat to employment in the hospitality sector. According to president of the hoteliers' association Javier Hernandez, "the impact is greater the longer the suspension lasts". "We are talking about a drop in demand: a customer, faced with the inconvenience of the trip, simply stops booking," Hernandez said. In addition, there is concern over the loss of passenger trust in the high-speed rail, especially if state rail infrastructure company Adif prolongs the work in Alora beyond 23 March. Cristina Vallejo Thursday, 5 March 2026, 12:54 Share The Iranian community in Malaga province find themselves watching events in their homeland unfold with a mixture of anguish, defiance and deep division over whether foreign intervention can ever deliver the democracy they long for. Of the approximately 15,500 people of Iranian origin residing in Spain, practically 20 per cent have chosen Malaga as their home. In this article, SUR speaks to four members of the Persian diaspora to gather their thoughts on the US's attack on Iran. While all of them agree that the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, established after the 1979 revolution, is terrorising the population, many condemn the bombings that the US and Israel have been launching since last weekend. Nurse Sarah has spent 47 of her 63 years outside Iran. After Khomeinis revolution, she first went to the UK and Sweden, but Benalmadena has been her home for the last 17 years. Her entire family had to leave Iran because of her activism for women's rights and civil liberties. She says that a large part of the Spanish population is not aware of the degree of repression that Iranian people suffer. Despite her rejection of the ayatollahs' regime, she is highly critical of the operation launched by the US and Israel. "I don't want them to change the regime for us. I don't want 'big money' to be the one to overthrow the ayatollahs. It has to be the Iranian people who do it," she says. "I don't want them to change the regime for us. I don't want 'big money' to be the one to overthrow the ayatollahs. It has to be the Iranian people who do it." Sarah According to Sarah, the two military powers "are destroying the country" instead of "acting in the best interests of the Iranian people". Her hopes lie with the Iranian women, who have been at the forefront of the regime opposition in recent years. "Young women have been fighting for their freedom, for the ability to live their lives, for the ability to choose as European women do," Sarah says. Sarah is equally against the prospect of the Pahlavi dynasty returning to Iran in the person of the last shah's son: "His father (referring to Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Iranian revolution) was a dictator installed by the US. He is not the solution. Perhaps a minority of Iranians want that dynasty to return, but not the majority." "I stand with neither the Islamic regime nor with Trump or Netanyahu" Nick Vaziri felt the atrocity of Khomeini's revolution closely, when the regime killed his girlfriend at the age of 23 in 1983. Nick went to prison, where his life was also hanging by a thread. As soon as he could, he crossed the border into Pakistan through the mountains and from there took a flight to the Netherlands. He then came to Spain, where he has been living for 30 years and runs his own business in Benalmadena. A left-wing activist since his youth, he is still involved in various Iranian human rights movements, not only in Spain, but also in Austria, the Netherlands and Germany. Despite his years-long commitment against the Islamic dictatorship, he disagrees with the US and Israeli military operation. "I am neither with the Islamic regime nor with Trump or Netanyahu. Iran needs international support and Europe and the UN need to collaborate with the opposition to the regime, but no war has ever brought democracy to any country." He agrees with Sarah that the son of the last shah should not lead the new Iranian era. "How can a leftist support the shah's son?" he asks himself. Wahid Rahmani has lived in Mijas since 2010, but he has been outside of Iran since 1982. "The shah's son would be a puppet of the US and Israel. He is not the solution. We want a democracy," he says. His opinion on the current armed conflict, however, differs from that of his two compatriots. "When the Muslims took power, they stripped the people of all their rights. It's an unparalleled dictatorship. There's no similar example in the world. The Iranian population can't protest against the government, which controls everything," he says. Wahid believes that there's no other solution. "Politicians who are considering this American imperialism are unaware that there is truly no other option. The bombs are welcome if the alternative is the regime killing 20 or 30 young people a day in prisons before dawn," he states. Sarah, 50, has also chosen the Costa del Sol to change her life. Although she is outside of Iran, she doesnt feel like she has escaped the regime and fears sharing too much information about herself. According to her, the Iranian regime can reach the Persian diaspora anywhere. "I'm not happy about the bombings these days, but I'm not happy about the regime either. Nobody likes this government," she states. She has spent half her life outside her country. She left with her family a quarter of a century ago and took refuge in Dubai, where her mother lives. "The attacks aren't just impacting Iranians. What's happening is crazy. So many people are suffering," she says, sharing the pain of the Iranian community. PHNOM PENH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park attracted a total of 14,334 Chinese tourists in January and February, down 39 percent from 23,536 over the same period last year, according to a report released on Thursday. China was the fourth biggest source of international tourist arrivals to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site after the United States, France and Britain, said a report of the state-owned Angkor Enterprise. Located in northwest Siem Reap province, the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, the kingdom's most popular tourist destination, is home to 91 ancient temples built from the ninth to the 13th centuries. Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the drop was likely linked to online scam issues and border tensions with Thailand. "Supported by strong air connectivity and effective promotion, I believe that Cambodia's pilot visa-free policy for Chinese nationals, set to run from June 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, will help attract more Chinese tourists to Cambodia, especially to the Angkor complex, this year," he told Xinhua. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet assured on Wednesday that the Southeast Asian country will eradicate online scam centers by April 2026. Nuria Triguero Malaga Thursday, 5 March 2026, 10:21 Share President of the Malaga and Andalucia employers' associations Javier Gonzalez de Lara is concerned about two of the repercussions of the armed conflict in the Middle East. On the one hand, there are the companies that have deliveries to the Middle East paralysed by the closure of maritime traffic in the area. On the other hand, there is the threat that Donald Trump will keep his promise and cut off trade relations with Spain. According to Gonzalez de Lara, PM Pedro Sanchez's undisputed opposition to the actions of the US in the Middle East can harm Spain's economy. The employers' chief calls for "intelligent diplomacy" to come before what he describes as "unilateral actions and gestures with obvious political and economic risks". "We hope that our government will be able to redirect this situation," he said on Wednesday. One of Malaga's main producers, Dcoop, has already had to rethink one of its major strategies. The company has decided to put on hold a business deal it had been developing to consolidate its position in the American market. This deal involves the purchase of the remaining 50 per cent stake needed to acquire 100 per cent of Pompeian - the leading olive oil brand in the US. Dcoop sources are not hiding their concern over Trump's threats and warn that the government should not treat them lightly. "Those who say the US can't impose tariffs solely on Spain seem to have forgotten that during Trump's previous term, tariffs were imposed on Spanish products but not on those from the rest of Europe, such as Italy," they have stated. Aimless goods In his statement on Wednesday, Gonzalez de Lara highlighted the direct effects that the blockade of transport networks and commercial activity has on companies in Malaga. "We are aware of the uncertainty over the fate of goods from our province that are on their way to Middle Eastern countries, with no prospect of arrival at the moment. This especially affects the agri-food sector, companies that export mainly olive oil and olives, but also machinery, capital goods and construction materials," he said. "If the situation drags on and the market does not recover soon, we will suffer the consequences. It is true that the Middle East and the Arab countries are not a major destination for our exports, but they are for companies in the province that focus on these countries, with a significant volume of sales and even headquarters in some of them," he stated. Moreover, there is the global economic impact caused by "higher oil prices and their knock-on effect, with higher energy prices and consumption-intensive sectors, as well as increased uncertainty that generates tension in the markets". Local employers hope that the sides of the conflict "will resolve it as soon as possible". They also ask the government for "the necessary support to deal with the situation". "The most urgent thing: attention to the people who are in the affected area, the goods in transit, the operations in progress and, of course, the possible economic losses," Gonzalez de Lara concluded. Regina Sotorrio Thursday, 5 March 2026, 12:21 Share A total of 13 artists are presenting Malaga at this year's Arco - Spain's largest exhibition for contemporary art. As it has previously happened, however, the province has not a single private gallery among the 200 names and there are only two Andalusian galleries: Alarcon Criado and Rafael Ortiz. This scarcity of Andalusian names is starting to become common, especially at such a sensitive time for the sector: Spain is applying a 21 per cent IVA tax on art purchases, as opposed to the reduced tax in neighbouring countries. What makes up for the lack of galleries is the creative power of Malaga's artists. Arco is once again showcasing the works of veterans Rogelio Lopez Cuenca, Carlos Aires, Nono Bandera, Cristobal Ortega and the late Chema Cobo and Manuel Barbadillo. There will also be works by Regina de Miguel and Juan del Junco, as well as by up-and-coming names such as Julio Anaya, Leonor Serrano Rivas, Federico Miro and Paloma de la Cruz. Malaga also has a debut this year in the face of young Pedro Hoz. At the age of 25, Hoz positions himself as one of the most singular artists of his generation. Represented by Galeria Mayoral, he is taking his surrealist universe a step further with two large-format crosses topped with a red wooden ball. A striking proposal that refers to his cultural roots, to that image of sacrifice that has been present in the collective imagination since childhood and which he reinvents with recognisable bodies that are slightly removed from reality. In his work, as he explains, "the familiar becomes strange". In many cases, the Arco coincides with certain artists' exhibitions in Madrid. This is the case for Rogelio Lopez Cuenca, whose work is currently on display at the Circulo de Bellas Artes, always with pieces that reflect his untamed spirit, his critical gaze and his reflection on the construction of individual and urban identities through the figure of Picasso. Paloma de la Cruz has brought her textile reinvention of ceramics with one of the pieces in homage to the Manila shawl that she made during her residency at the Casa de Velazquez. At the same time, she is showing her latest creations (surprising black 'mud canvases') at the gallery's new headquarters in Madrid. Federico Miro also has a dual presence in Madrid. At the Arco, he is exhibiting a folding screen-canvas, his new attempt to leap from the conventional canvas and combine unreal landscapes with the architectural-decorative. From mid-March, the piece is moving to the F2 gallery. Malaga-based visual artist Juan del Junco, a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the UMA, is demonstrating his own conceptual language through photography. Leonor Serrano Rivas is at the Arco with her Serpiente de agua dulce - a fountain-sculpture with electroformed copper plant forms that generate a kind of organic body that refers to both natural systems and internal structures, between the botanical and the anatomical, between the ornamental and the visceral. The signature style of Alhaurin de la Torre native Cristobal Ortega's paintings are returning to Madrid. Several oil paintings on canvas, each measuring one and a half meters and showcasing the internationally renowned artist's continued exploration of his unique technique: applying oil to the back of the canvas, allowing the material to 'perspire' and seep to the visible side. The exhibition shares a space with late Chema Cobo's Words are fictions (2020). Carlos Aires is once again exhibiting in two spaces at the Arco, with pieces that confront the spectator with uncomfortable realities that invite reflection. The artist from Ronda is exhibiting Cara cara con la muerte III - a composition of original banknotes from the 35 richest countries in the world altered with forms alluding to death (wealth does not save one from mortality). He is also showcasing his Visceral Edition - an installation of seven silkscreen prints with the artist's blood representing parts of the human body. Aires is sharing space with another Malaga-born artist - Julio Anaya, who has reinvented Goya's Los caprichos on cardboard with eight small pieces where the master's engravings are adapted to the fragility and imperfection of a discarded surface. Zoom Goya's Los caprichos, by Julio Anaya. Nono Bandera is presenting a new work he completed barely a month ago, Arlequinado - an oil painting on an assemblage of cut pieces of canvas in which; a kind of collage in which he displays his technical skills and his original perception of reality. Regina de Miguel has not one but five pieces: four watercolours and an acrylic on wood panel with her surrealist imagery. Master of geometric abstraction Manuel Barbadillo completes the list of Malaga artists. Nowadays, Malaga is full of gallery proposals, but none of them have reached the Arco in Madrid. In Malaga city, there are Javier Marin, Isabel Hurley, Gravura, La Casa Amarilla and Benedito; in Marbella, well-established galleries such as Yusto/Giner coexist with interesting recent initiatives such as Reiners Contemporary Art; in Villanueva del Rosario, Ignacio del Rio Estudio. Visualisation of the future music auditorium at the San Andres port in Malaga. Paco Grinan Malaga Thursday, 5 March 2026, 16:17 | Updated 17:20h. Share Mayor of Malaga Francisco de la Torre is actively promoting the biggest project of his term in office: the music auditorium Palacio de la Opera. Francisco de la Torre has staked his legacy on this 209 million music auditorium, announcing an aggressive timeline to launch the construction tender within the next 60 days. While the project promises to be visually stunning - a 40-metre-high structure featuring shifting shades of cobalt and pale blue - the financial architecture remains precarious. What is De la Torre's plan to build the Malaga opera house? His strategy relies on a "start now, solve later" approach: Short-term solvency: The City Council, the Junta de Andalucia, and the Provincial Authority have pooled enough resources to cover the initial years of work. The "Wow" Factor: The project is being marketed not just as a theatre, but as a "modern urban hub" that blends culture with Artificial Intelligence and digital connectivity, aimed at attracting private sponsors. Flexible Design: With a main hall seating 1,900 and a secondary 500-seat space, the building is designed for maximum versatility, from grand opera to business summits. The Ministry of Cultures withdrawal has left a hole in the budget, yet the Mayor remains undeterred. The mayor said that everything is in place to tender the start of the work. "We have the plot, we have the project and we have the money for this year and next year with what the city council, the regional government and the provincial authority are contributing," he said. According to De la Torre, the city council can keep its promise to launch the tender in two months, as long as "the administrative procedures don't slow it down". Rising 40 metres above street level, Palacio de la Opera will feature facades that change in form depending on the viewpoint, wrapped in ceramic pieces in three shades of blue, from cobalt to pale blue. The result is a structure with a "contemporary and open" atmosphere, in which simplicity, functionality and accessibility are prioritised, according to the dossier sent to potential sponsors. In a series of infographics produced by the city council, the infrastructure is presented as a key urban hub, located "close to the main transport nodes and gateways for visitors and tourists". The space is described as "modern and relaxed". The design combines cultural, tourist and business activity with artificial intelligence, digital accessibility, global connectivity and a so-called 'Wow' effect. The centre will have two main spaces: the auditorium with a capacity of 1,900 people and a hall for medium and small events with over 500 seats. The auditorium's is flexible and adaptable to different performances. The building on Calle Beatas 47 in Malaga, with scaffolding supporting the facade. Jesus Hinojosa Malaga Thursday, 5 March 2026, 16:23 Share French company Edgar Suites has signed a deal to convert a derelict building in Malaga city centre into 20 tourist flats. The purchase of the abandoned construction on Calle Beatas 47 has cost the company 10.5 million euros. At a glance... The Valuation Leap: In just a decade, the sites value has soared. Purchased in 2018 for 2.4 million by a Madrid developer, it has now traded for over four times that amount, reflecting the immense premium placed on the citys historic core. The "Touristification" Cycle: Despite various attempts since 2008 by companies like Macesa and Ikasa to develop the plot, the only viable commercial path appears to be tourist accommodation. Edgar Suites expects to open the new "premium hotel residence" in the spring of 2028. It has acquired the three-storey building from real estate asset company All Iron. There is almost nothing left of this old building: only the facade and some interior walls, despite it having grade one architectural protection. The last time SUR had any news about its development was in 2018, when Madrid developer Ikas bought it for 2.4 million euros. Ikasa's idea was also to build an aparthotel complex and a restaurant, but the project did not materialise. Real estate company Macesa also tried to develop the building in 2008. Jose Carlos Garcia Marbella Thursday, 5 March 2026, 15:47 Share On 3 March 2025, the extension of the Costa del Sol University Hospital opened its doors, and exactly one year later it was formally inaugurated by Junta de Andalucia president Juanma Moreno. The expansion directly benefits the 460,000 Malaga residents who rely on the hospital, and also eases pressure on the Virgen de la Victoria hospital in the city, which had been absorbing patients from the health district -particularly in oncology - due to the previous lack of facilities in Marbella. "The hospital was at the limit of its capacity and lacked fundamental medical specialities," said the Andalusian president, who described the situation in which Malaga's healthcare system found itself as "dramatic" in the face of an "alarming investment deficit" that placed Malaga as the province with the fewest beds per inhabitant (161 per 100,000 residents, when the average was 236). Juanma Moreno's words served not only to explain the importance of the investment, but also why this extension has been progressively opened. It comprises two new buildings constructed to complement the main one, adding 40,000 square metres and bringing the hospital's total surface area to 90,000 square metres. The administrative building, operational since 2023, has freed up space in the original building to expand the emergency department, laboratory and pharmacy. The new hospital block houses outpatient consultations, a medical and oncohaematology day hospital, a surgical area with 16 operating theatres - one of them hybrid - plus assisted reproduction, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine units. The latter have not yet come into service, pending authorisation from the Nuclear Safety Council and completion of staff training. Major investment The project for the extension of the hospital was approved in 2007, the works started the following year and were halted in 2010, as were those of the Estepona and Guadalhorce hospitals, and were not reactivated until 2011. The work, financed entirely with 93 million euros from the European REACT EU funds distributed by the Spanish Government among the Autonomous Communities, and the equipment, which includes "state-of-the-art" equipment, has involved an investment of more than 100 million euros, as well as the hiring of 276 professionals, at a cost of 14 million euros in human resources. "The investment we have made in this hospital is not an isolated or one-off event", but "responds to a very intense and unprecedented comprehensive 'Plan Renoveve' that has allowed us, in just seven years, to totally or partially improve 100% of the Malaga health network," he said. Moreno put the amount injected into the province's healthcare system at around 360 million euros to alleviate "the very serious deficit it suffered during entire legislatures" and pointed out that the amount allocated this year is 91 million, 20 million more than in 2025. "The Andalusian government's commitment to Andalusian healthcare in general, and to Malaga's in particular, is as resounding as it is unquestionable. Never before has an autonomous government invested so much in strengthening and modernising the main pillar of the Welfare State. And we will continue to do so, with the aim of making public health care the pride of Andalusians," concluded Moreno. Gonzalez, Salado and Diaz, in front of one of the screens of the promotional campaign in Berlin. Pilar Martinez Enviada Especial Berlin Thursday, 5 March 2026, 15:38 Share Turismo Costa del Sol has launched a large campaign in Berlin to prove to more than 7.2 million people that Malaga province is the place to be. The campaign is going to run on various screens in Berlin's most emblematic locations for a month. Within the Costa del Sol's agenda at the ITB fair, the campaign aims to "continue attracting German tourists with high purchasing power". It promises them "unique and memorable experiences" in the province. According to head of Turismo Costa del Sol Francisco Salado, German tourists are already ranking Malaga high. The campaign aims to increase last year's record number of tourists from this country by offering a variety of experiencing. Salado explains that German tourists usually travel by plane, as a family or in couples, and "their main motivations are sun and beach, nature, culture and leisure". The province values German tourists for their higher purchasing power. They spend on average "176 euros per day" and their stay can last up to eight days. During the ITB, Turismo Costa del Sol has held meetings with agents, tour operators and airlines. The armed conflict in the Middle East is undoubtedly having an impact on global tourism, but "the Costa keeps being a safe bet for Germans". MANILA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of 299 Filipinos repatriated from Dubai amid heightened tensions in the Middle East arrived in Manila early Thursday morning, Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said. Gomez said the passengers include a mix of repatriated Filipinos and other affected travelers seeking to return home. Philippine officials earlier assured the public that contingency measures remain in place to assist nationals abroad should conditions further escalate, adding that coordination with relevant government agencies and airline partners remains ongoing. Over 2 million Filipinos live and work across the Middle East. SYDNEY, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Police in Sydney have issued a warning over authority scams targeting multicultural communities, with some victims reporting losses of thousands of dollars. The police force in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement on Thursday that the scams appear to be targeting multicultural communities, including the Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian communities across Sydney. It said that victims have reported receiving calls from a person claiming to be an official from an embassy or police force, who subsequently tells the victim that their passport and personal information were found on a person recently arrested overseas. The perpetrator then tells the victim that they could be deported to face criminal offenses overseas unless they pay an amount of money. Some victims reported losses exceeding 50,000 Australian dollars (35,385 U.S. dollars), the NSW Police Force said. Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Smith from the NSW Police Force Cybercrime Squad urged anyone who receives such calls to hang up and report them immediately. When the Pentagon announced it would drop Anthropic AI, CEO Dario Amodei knew that a bigger battle had just begun. Amode is reportedly attempting to reopen negotiations with the United States Department of Defense following a tense dispute over the potential military use of the company's AI system, Claude AI. Dispute Over Military Applications of AI According to sources cited by the Financial Times, discussions between Anthropic and Pentagon leadership have resumed despite a recent breakdown in relations. The conflict began during negotiations over whether Claude could be deployed in sensitive defense applications, including surveillance systems and autonomous weapons. The AI firm reportedly questioned how its technology might be used, creating friction with defense officials involved in the discussions. The situation escalated when Pete Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary, allegedly labeled Anthropic a potential supply-chain risk. The warning temporarily discouraged government contractors from collaborating with the company and intensified tensions between the AI developer and the Pentagon. Pentagon's AI Strategy Sparks Industry Competition The controversy gained further attention when OpenAI secured an agreement allowing the Pentagon to deploy its AI tools within classified government systems. The deal highlighted the growing competition among leading AI companies seeking defense partnerships as artificial intelligence becomes a critical component of national security infrastructure. Despite the earlier dispute, sources say Dario Amodei has resumed dialogue with Emil Michael, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. The renewed discussions indicate that both sides recognize the strategic importance of advanced AI technologies in modern defense operations. Amodei Reaffirms Commitment to Ethical AI In a message to employees, Amodei emphasized that Anthropic remains committed to responsible AI development. According to Gizmodo, he reiterated that the company has supported stronger AI regulation and has openly discussed risks such as job displacement caused by automation. Amodei also suggested that Anthropic is unwilling to compromise its ethical standards solely to secure government approval. Instead, the company aims to balance technological innovation with safeguards that address long-term societal and security concerns. Although Claude was pressed between controversies, it managed to overtake ChatGPT and Gemini on the App Store. Even a Donald Trump ban couldn't stop the chatbot from dominating the downloads charts. Last month, Anthropic accused Chinese AI firms of launching a "distillation attack." It was mentioned in a Tech Times report that this AI process can replicate any AI capabilities without authorization from the creator. VIENTIANE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has unveiled the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026-2030), eyeing cultural heritage promotion, economic growth, and social development. The plan was announced during a national meeting convened to discuss the implementation of resolutions adopted at the 12th National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Lao National TV reported on Thursday. The plan outlines a roadmap aimed at accelerating sustainable development and strengthening Laos' regional integration. To boost international recognition, the government plans to nominate several cultural traditions for inscription on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. In education, authorities aim to increase school enrolment, keep the lower secondary dropout rate below 8 percent, and produce 50,000 graduates from vocational and technical training programs over the next five years. In the health sector, the government plans to lower both the newborn mortality rate and the mortality rate among children under 5. Labor policies will focus on skills training for 650,000 people and facilitating employment for 411,000 workers in both domestic and overseas labor markets. Authorities also aim to reduce the national poverty rate to a single digit and lift more than 100,000 families out of poverty, while lowering acute malnutrition among children under 5 to 5 percent. Environmental targets include raising forest cover to 70 percent and increasing greenhouse gas absorption capacity by 60 percent to support climate action. In addition, Laos plans to build or upgrade highways along ASEAN economic corridors to international load standards to strengthen regional connectivity. Swiss to vote on creating giant 'climate fund' Geneva, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 The Swiss are expected to snub a call to create a multi-billion-dollar climate fund, aimed at combating global warming and addressing its consequences, with polls indicating voters deem the ambitious project too costly. The climate fund initiative, launched by the Social Democratic Party and the Greens, calls for the country to spend 0.5-1.0 percent of Switzerland's annual GDP -- around 4-8 billion Swiss francs ($5-10 billion) -- on fighting climate change. It will be voted on Sunday. Under Switzerland's direct democracy system, 100,000 signatures are needed to put virtually any issue to a popular vote, with the Swiss given a say on a wide range of topics every few months at the national, regional and local levels. Backers of the climate fund initiative insist it is needed "to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the economic and efficient use of energy, and the development of renewable energies". While this would mean at least doubling the amount Switzerland currently spends on climate protection, the Socialists and Greens argue that the cost of inaction would be far higher. "Today, we spend eight billion a year abroad in more or less autocratic countries to import fossil fuels," Green Party chief Lisa Mazzone recently told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. She argued that "a climate fund would not only accelerate the transition (to renewable energy), but also create jobs and keep added value within the country". - 'Too heavy a burden' - But the Swiss government and parliament have urged voters to reject the initiative on Sunday. They argued it would be far too expensive, and highlighted that the country currently spends around two billion francs a year -- from a budget of around 90 billion francs -- on climate protection. Such a fund would "place too heavy a burden on federal finances", they warned. Recent opinion polls indicate that most voters agree. Pollsters gfs.bern showed that 52 percent firmly opposed the initiative, while the latest Tamedia/Leewas poll put the figure at 62 percent. Polls meanwhile suggest that voters might embrace another issue on the ballot Sunday: an initiative calling for enshrining in the constitution a guarantee of maintaining cash payments with coins and banknotes. And there was suspense around whether a referendum would pass on a federal tax reform to tax the income of married couples separately. It meanwhile appeared clear that the final issue on the ballot -- an initiative calling for dramatically slashing Switzerland's media licence fee to 200 francs per year from 335 francs currently -- would not pass. The government has urged voters to reject the initiative, put forward by a committee made up of members right-wing parties and the Swiss Trade Association. The higher fee, it insists, is needed to "guarantee public service in all linguistic regions" of the country, which has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Press Release from Business Wire: Onego Bio (AFP) Mar 05, 2026 HELSINKI, March 5, 2026 (BSW) - Onego Bio, a food ingredient company producing non-animal egg protein, and Sigma Foods ("SIGMA"), a leading multinational food company, have entered into a collaboration agreement to evaluate the functionality and commercial potential of Bioalbumen(R), a non-animal egg protein made with using precision fermentation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305756400/en/ The partnership focuses on advancing ingredient innovation while addressing urgent challenges in today's egg supply chain-including volatility, rising prices, and avian flu-related disruptions. Bioalbumen(R) offers a shelf-stable, animal-free alternative that delivers the same functional, nutritional, and sensory performance as traditional eggs, while helping safeguard supply continuity for food manufacturers. Additionally, this collaboration supports Sigma's commitment to offering safe, nutritious, and high-quality food, while driving science-based innovation through responsible ingredient sourcing. "At Sigma Foods, we are committed to delivering high-quality products in a sustainable and secure way," said Gregorio De Haene, Chief Technology Officer at Sigma. "Our partnership with Onego Bio reflects our ambition to stay ahead of evolving consumer preferences by exploring innovative ingredients like non-animal egg protein. This collaboration allows us to further strengthen our sustainability journey while bringing new, future?forward solutions to the table." As part of this agreement, Onego Bio and Sigma will conduct feasibility assessments, prototype development, and application trials in commercially relevant food. Early-stage evaluations of Bioalbumen(R) have shown promising results in both nutrition and functional performance against animal-based benchmarks. "We are excited to collaborate with Sigma, a company that shares our vision for science-based innovation and a resilient food system," said Maija Itkonen, CEO and Co-Founder of Onego Bio. "Bioalbumen(R) is a powerful tool to support ESG goals for global food manufacturers and strengthen product stability at a time when the egg industry is increasingly vulnerable to disease outbreaks and pricing volatility." This partnership underscores a shared vision for advancing food innovation and aligns with Sigma's broader strategy to meet long-term sustainability goals, while exploring novel ingredient solutions that promote, healthy, nutritious, and delicious food. In addition to this agreement, Andrea Nieto, Product Development Manager at Sigma, will join Onego Bio in a live cooking demo webinar in April 2026, offering an inside look at how Bioalbumen(R) performs in real product formulations and what early tests reveal about its commercial potential. This demo is part of Onego Bio's The Power of Trichoderma reeseiwebinar series. To view previous sessions from this series, visit https://www.onego.bio/newsroom. To register for the upcoming session titled Strengthening Food System Resilience Through Ecosystem Building,visit https://shorturl.at/9HrV3. About Sigma Foods Sigma Foods, S.A.B. de C.V ("Sigma Foods") is a leading multinational consumer packaged goods company that produces, markets, and distributes high-quality foods through a portfolio of over 100 brands, 16 of which generate Revenues between US $100 million and US $1 billion annually, each. The company's main categories include cold cuts, dry meats, cheese, and yogurt. Sigma Foods operates in 17 countries, divided into four regions: Mexico, Europe, the United States, and Latam, where it serves more than 640,000 points of sale in 3 channels: Traditional, Modern, and Foodservice. The company has over 47,000 employees and installed capacity in each region, including: 65 production plants, 191 distribution centers, and more than 8,000 vehicles. Sigma Foods shares are traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange and Latibex, the Latin American stock market of the Madrid Stock Exchange. About Onego Bio Onego Bio is a food ingredient company on a mission to create a more resilient food system through its product Bioalbumen(R)-a non-animal egg protein with an amino acid sequence identical to conventional ovalbumin. Made through precision fermentation, Bioalbumen(R) matches the taste, nutrition, and functionality of the main protein from traditional eggs with an environmental impact around 90% smaller. Its unmatched versatility makes it ideal across a wide range of applications while providing greater cost and supply stability for food manufacturers. Learn more at www.onego.bio. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305756400/en/ Contact Media Contact[email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. This photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 5, 2026 shows Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), boarding Destroyer Choe Hyon to inspect the sailors' handling of the vessel and the operational preparedness of various weapon systems. Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with the country's navy nuclear armament while visiting Destroyer Choe Hyon, the official KCNA reported Thursday. (KCNA/Handout via Xinhua) PYONGYANG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), expressed satisfaction with the country's navy nuclear armament while visiting Destroyer Choe Hyon, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday. Kim boarded the destroyer on Tuesday to inspect the sailors' handling of the vessel and the operational preparedness of various weapon systems, said the report. He also observed the process of the shakedown for assessing the destroyer's performance and operational executive capabilities. Kim praised the smooth tests of all systems of the destroyer for its commissioning for operations, saying the tests of operational efficiency of the new-type destroyer, which is a new symbol of the DPRK's sea defence capability, are going on smoothly as planned, the KCNA reported. Arming the navy with nuclear weapons is making satisfactory progress, said Kim. "Our Navy will have a powerful offensive capability ... If any forces are apprehensive about our efforts to build up our defence capabilities, this means that they are precisely our enemy," Kim was quoted as saying. On Wednesday, he oversaw a sea-to-surface strategic cruise missile test launch conducted on the warship. This photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 5, 2026 shows Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), visiting Destroyer Choe Hyon. Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with the country's navy nuclear armament while visiting Destroyer Choe Hyon, the official KCNA reported Thursday. (KCNA/Handout via Xinhua) Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Maggie Gyllenhaal said she was asked to tone down the sexual violence in The Bride! after viewers of the initial test screenings felt it was too much. The horror sci-fi, which marks Gyllenhaals second time in the directors chair, stars Jessie Buckley as a murdered 1930s Chicago woman who is brought back to life by a groundbreaking scientist (Annette Bening) to serve as a companion to Frankensteins monster (Christian Bale). Gyllenhaals younger brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, and her husband, Peter Sarsgaard, also star. Speaking to The New York Times ahead of its Friday release date, Gyllenhaal, 48, confirmed: Yes, theres sexual violence. Theres violence. She added, Because its a big studio movie [Warner Bros. Pictures] we tested and tested it. We had big screenings in malls, where people came to see it, which I had never been a part of as an actress or a director before. So fascinating. Gyllenhaal said a major point of viewer consensus was the amount of violence and whether it was too violent. open image in gallery 'The Bride!' marks Maggie Gyllenhaal's second directed feature ( Getty Images ) open image in gallery Jessie Buckley leads The Bride! as the companion of Frankensteins monster ( Warner Bros ) I was talking about it with a girlfriend of mine, who said and she wasnt being reductive I wonder if you had been a man making this movie, if you would have had the same response, the Lost Daughter director recalled. I was asked to take some of it out, and I did, she noted. So what youre seeing is even a little bit pulled back from what was originally in the movie. She explained that it was important that all the characters receive proper backstories, even those who ultimately die. One of the things that was important to me is that everybody who is killed, is hurt we, at least for a moment, get to know them, Gyllenhaal continued. Theres the storm-trooper version of killing people, where they have white masks on and you dont know who they are. And then theres the version where every single death has a consequence and a cost every single one. Turning the conversation back to the films sexual violence, she revealed, Thats another thing that I have been taken to task for. Asked to clarify who had taken her to task, she responded: Just by the things in the test screenings. I had a couple of women say, I dont want to see a woman being violated. And I think, I also dont want to see that. open image in gallery The Bride! is out in theaters Friday ( Warner Bros ) And yet that is a major reality in the culture that were living in just in the time I was cutting this movie, how much wildly disturbing brutality against women there has been in the world, Gyllenhaal shared. And so if were going to see it, we need to see it in a way that is very hard to watch, because it is very awful. She said that gender-based violence has occupied her mind and her work for some time. Even starting with Secretary when I was 22, this is something that Ive spent a lot of time thinking about, she said. I am sure that I have been thoughtful about this particular subject, and yet it will be hard to watch. I think we can take it. In early reviews, The Bride! has divided critics, with The Independents Clarisse Loughrey writing that the punky revival isnt as feminist as it thinks it is, in a three-star review. The Bride! is out in theaters Friday. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Actor Alex Kingston has opened up about her uterine cancer diagnosis, revealing she "wasnt reading the signs" from her body. The 62-year-old ER and Doctor Who star shared the news last year in an interview with The Independent, which took place during her stint on Strictly Come Dancing in October 2025. Kingston, who underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy, said her body was trying to tell her that something was very wrong but she ignored the warning symptoms as shes such a positive person. The actor said she assumed the bloating and weight gain, or injuries not healing properly were because of her age. She previously told The Independent she experienced these signs for years, but didnt get checked until she started haemorrhaging on stage while performing a play on stage. I thought, This is what its like to be in your 60s, and its just part and parcel of getting older, she told Prima magazine. She continued: I hadnt realised that uterine cancer was a cancer that didnt get much airtime. I think its probably because on the whole, it is a cancer where if you recognise something is wrong, your body is able to tell you. And if its caught early enough, it is survivable. Kingston said she never, ever went down the cancer road, so it was a shock. The actor added that she was initially reluctant to speak about her diagnosis and kept it quiet for a long time. Im quite a private person and I felt, Why should I talk about my cancer? and also on Strictly, I thought, I dont want my journey to be about my sickness. open image in gallery The actress revealed her diagnosis while she was a contestant on Strictly, paired with professional dancer Johannes Radebe ( David Venni/PA Wire ) I wanted it to be about going forwards and life affirmation. But then I realised when I started to get responses from people that, actually, this is important. She continued: If nothing else, its important to encourage people that if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way, dont just write it off as being old or suddenly becoming gluten intolerant. It could be something else and to go and have it checked. So I feel now that it was a good thing that I opened up about it. Kingston also responded to a mean-spirited comment made by judge Craig Revel Horwood about her performance in the Halloween episode, when he referred to her Salsa to Horny by Hot n Juicy and Mousse T as looking like a woman experiencing a midlife crisis. The comment was widely criticised, but Kingston, who was partnered with professional dancer Johannes Radebe said she was not aware of it at the time. open image in gallery Johannes Radebe and Alex Kingston on Strictly Come Dancing in 2025 ( BBC ) She said: When I did the Strictly Halloween Horny number, I wasnt fully aware of the scathing critique Craig had given me about looking like a woman who is having a midlife crisis. I didnt realise that he was saying it or know about the follow-through in terms of people saying, Thats just outrageous, how dare you say something like that? It was a little mean-spirited for Craig to say that, and also I just felt like its exactly the opposite of what Im trying to advocate. Its like, no, if you want to dance and swing a devils tail around and youre in your 90s, do it. I mean, this is your life. So live it! She added: Ive never spent time thinking about my age. I know Im getting older, but I do try to just live in the moment. And Ive never felt like I have to subscribe to the norms or the rules that have been set about how one should behave at a certain age. Kingston finished in eighth place in the BBC competition. The April 2026 issue of Prima is now on sale. Additional reporting by Agencies Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ioan Gruffudd has won his court battle against ex-wife Alice Evans, renewing a domestic violence restraining order against her for five years. The result is the latest chapter of what is considered one of the most bitter splits in Hollywood history. In 2022, Evans was banned from mentioning Hornblower actor Gruffudd, 52, on social media after he alleged she used accounts to harass, threaten and disturb the peace of him and his new wife, Bianca Wallace, whom he married last year. open image in gallery Alice Evans has a five-year restraining order preventing her from going near ex Ioan Gruffudd ( Getty ) Evans, an actor who appeared in The Vampire Diaries and Lost, was also urged to keep 100ft away from the couple. During the latest Los Angeles trial, the Daily Mail reports that Evans confessed to sharing negative comments about Gruffudd and Wallace online, stating she was ashamed and regretful of her actions. However, the judge, noting the multiple times Evans violated terms of the original order, ruled she must stick to the rules of the restraining order until at least 2031. Judge Convey described Evanss flurry of social media posts aimed at Gruffudd and Wallace as a concerted, focused, intentional and caustic campaign of denigration, adding that her threats of force and intimidation led to fears of their physical safety. He added: She intended to hurt him economically and damage his career. open image in gallery Gruffudd and new wife Biance Wallace, who the judge said have been targeted by a caustic campaign of denigration ( Getty ) The judge acknowledged that Evanss bombardment had abated somewhat, but questioned her apology, asking: Is it true remorse? I am not persuaded. But it is a positive step forward. Judge Convey said Evans pattern of abuse, which led to her vowing to dedicate her life to fighting her ex, endangered his relationship with their two daughters, whom Evans said Gruffudd has not seen for two years. Judge Convey urged the pair to find a way to co-parent. The Independent has contacted Gruffudd and Evans for comment on the ruling, which follows a week-long court case. They married in 2007 and separated in January 2021, finalising the divorce two years later. During the trial, Gruffudd, 52, said he was disturbed and anxious over the lengths he believed Evans would go to generate a scandal. The actor described alleged incidents involving Evans, in which he told the court his ex said she was going to destroy me and she was going to Amber Heard me. Actor Heard, 39, lost a libel lawsuit brought by her ex-husband Depp, 62, for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Depp previously lost his lawsuit against The Sun newspaper after the newspaper referred to him as a wife-beater. Depp has always vehemently denied being violent towards Heard. In his original restraining order filed in 2022, Gruffudd alleged that Evans told him repeatedly between August 2020 and January that if he left her, she would make false public accusations about me, sell false stories about me to the press, and destroy me and my career. In a response to the petition in 2022, Evans said that she had no idea what [Gruffudd] is going to accuse me of. open image in gallery Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd were married in 2007 and separated in 2021 ( Getty ) I have not hit, struck, attacked, threatened, assaulted, harassed, followed, stalked, molested, destroyed the personal property of, kept under surveillance, impersonated, blocked the movement of, annoyed by phone or electronic means by repeated contact, or disturbed the peace [of Gruffudd or Wallace], she said. In July 2024, Evans said she had been left destitute and was applying for food stamps. The actor said she had been left struggling to put food on the table for the children while her ex-partner is jet-setting around the world, according to legal documents seen by the Daily Mail. I cannot wait months for a trial to receive child support and spousal support, she wrote, adding that she currently makes $300 a month in royalties, but hopes to increase her income through appearances at conventions. Gruffudd is known for his early roles in James Camerons Titanic and as the lead in Hornblower. He later rose to wider fame opposite Clive Owen and Keira Knightley in the 2004 historical adventure film Lancelot, as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic in the 2005 superhero movie Fantastic Four, and in ITVs critically acclaimed series Liar. Evans has appeared in films including 102 Dalmations and British sports-comedy Blackball. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The first look at Martin Clunes as disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a game-changing new Channel 5 drama has been unveiled. Doc Martin and Wuthering Heights actor Clunes will play the figure in a one-off special, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, which will explore how British televisions most famous newsreaders, who announced the death of the Queen, became embroiled in a major BBC scandal. Edwardss career ended abruptly in July 2024, when the 64-year-old pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. He was handed a six-month suspended sentence, sealing an extraordinary fall from grace following a four-decade career at the corporation. open image in gallery Martin Clunes as Huw Edwards in new Channel 5 drama ( Matt Towers/5 Broadcasting Limited/Paramount/Wonderhood Studios ) The new show is based on extensive factual research from those at the heart of the scandal, with Ben Frow, chief content officer at Channel 5, calling it a first for the channel. He continued: This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status. By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines. Edwards downfall began in July 2023 following a report by The Sun alleging a top BBC Star had paid a teenager for sexual pictures. Days later, his wife publicly named him as the presenter at the centre of the allegations, leading to his resignation in April on medical advice. He was subsequently charged in June 2024 after a Metropolitan Police investigation. open image in gallery Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024 ( Getty ) A month later, Edwards admitted guilt to making indecent images of children, confirming he possessed 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven classified as the most serious type. The BBC said it was told in November 2023, when Edwards was suspended, that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences, five months before he resigned from the corporation in April. In a statement, the broadcaster claimed Edwards would have been dismissed immediately if he were charged while still an employee at the corporation. Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards will air soon on Channel 5. Additional reporting by agencies Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has voiced her profound disinterest in the concept of "body positivity," labelling discussions about her size as "boring" and a distraction from her craft. The 39-year-old Irish actor, celebrated for her role as Penelope Featherington in the Netflix regency drama and Clare Devlin in Channel 4s Derry Girls, shared her candid views in an interview with Elle UK. "The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity," Coughlan stated. "When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually dont care." She added, "Theres a lot of things Im passionate about, its not one of them Thats someone elses thing. Its not mine." Coughlan highlighted the absurdity of being praised as a "plus-size" actress despite being a size 10. Recalling filming nude scenes for Bridgerton, she revealed, "What was really bizarre was when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8." open image in gallery I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies ( ELLE UK/Georgia Devey Smith ) She continued, questioning societal perceptions: "Then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?" The actress recounted an uncomfortable encounter with a fan: "I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, I loved (Bridgerton) because of your body and started talking about my body, and I was like, I want to die. I hate this so much." She expressed deep frustration that her dedication to her work is often overshadowed by physical appearance. "Its really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you dont see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like its so f****** boring." In a more personal revelation, Coughlan also spoke about finding "grace" since receiving her ADHD diagnosis. "It feels like I got the handbook to my brain that I wasnt given when I was born," she explained. "I understand things a bit better now, and I give myself a little more grace." open image in gallery People talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen? ( ELLE UK/Georgia Devey Smith ) Beyond Bridgerton, Coughlan's notable credits include the hit film Barbie, Channel 4s Big Mood, which earned her a Bafta nomination, and a National Theatre production of The Playboy Of The Western World. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. The full interview is featured in the April issue of Elle UK, available from 10 March. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Savannah Guthrie was spotted at the Today show studio for the first time since her mother Nancys disappearance. Guthrie, 54, has stepped away from her hosting duties on the morning show as the search for her 84-year-old mother continues. However, in new photos obtained by TMZ, the news anchor could be seen hugging staff and crew at Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center Thursday morning in New York City. Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her Today colleagues, a Today show spokesperson told the outlet. While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home. During her visit, Guthrie reportedly thanked the staff and crew for caring about my mom as much as I do. open image in gallery Savannah Guthrie returned Thursday to the Today show studio for the first time since her mom Nancy's disappearance ( Invision/AP ) open image in gallery A Today show spokesperson said Guthrie plans to return to the show on air, but right now remains focused on supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home ( Invision/AP ) I wanted you to know that Im still standing, and I still have hope, and Im still me, she said, according to People. And I dont know what version of me that will be, but it will be. Im holding onto my faith. I still believe. And as my mom would say, where else would I go? I have every intention of coming back, Guthrie added. I dont know how to come back, but I dont know how not to. Youre my family. And, I would like to try. The veteran newscaster last appeared on-air during the shows February 2 episode. Hoda Kotb has returned to the show, more than a year after her retirement, to fill in for Guthrie. Nancy was last seen alive January 31 at her home in Catalina Foothills, near Tucson, Arizona. She was reported missing the following day after failing to appear for a church service. Police have said that she was abducted from her affluent neighborhood as she slept in the early morning hours of February 1. Authorities have been desperately searching for Nancy, releasing photos and video of her suspected kidnapper taken on Nancys doorbell camera the day she vanished and asking for the publics help in the case. Guthrie and her two siblings have also posted a series of video messages online pleading with their mothers purported abductor and the public to ensure their mothers safe return. They are offering a $1 million reward for any information that leads to their mothers recovery. Its been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope, and we still believe, Guthrie said in one video. I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that its never too late. And youre not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing, and we are here. We believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and its never too late, she added. In the latest update on the case, a pair of black gloves were found about 2 miles from Nancys home, the sheriffs office told The Independent. open image in gallery 84-year-old Nancy was abducted from her Arizona home as she slept on February 1, police say ( NBC/Today ) open image in gallery Guthrie last appeared on-air February 2 ( Invision/AP ) Police recently identified the owner of the gloves, but the individual has no ties to Nancys disappearance. There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding them, that is so far from the truth, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told local NBC affiliate KVOA this week. We knew that at that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street. It has nothing to do with the case. Nanos has sent another pair of gloves to a Florida lab for analysis. Its a challenge because we know we have DNA but now we have to deal with that mixture and how were going to separate it, Nanos added in his interview with KVOA. Cheer up love, it might never happen! If you want a guaranteed way to grind a womans gears, simply use this line beloved by builders everywhere. (Then watch her eyes go black and sparks start issuing from her nose and mouth.) But patronising and infuriating as it might seem, the sentiment behind this invitation to slap on a smile and adopt a more hakuna matata mindset could just be some of the best advice shell ever receive. New research has suggested that, in the ultimate example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, worrying about ageing is speeding up the ageing process in women. Thats right: the thing were anxious about is potentially happening faster because of that anxiety. A recent study from New York Universitys School of Global Public Health found that women who reported higher levels of anxiety about ageing exhibited signs of accelerated biological ageing at a cellular level, measured by looking at markers in their blood and using epigenetic clock technology. Published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, a journal dedicated to the mind/body connection, the study came to this conclusion after analysing blood samples from more than 700 women in the US. Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of ageing, said PhD student and lead study author Mariana Rodrigues. Ageing-related anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences. In other words, the psychological and physiological are inextricably linked. open image in gallery Expecting our health to decline with age becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy ( Getty/iStock ) Whats important to note is that these women werent anxious about looking older; vanity has nothing to do with it, despite the new wave of miracle facelifts touted by celebrities and preventative botox for twenty-somethings being positioned as the norm. Its also not related to fertility and the tick-tock, tick-tock! pressure to procreate imposed by society. No, the effects of accelerated epigenetic ageing were only observed in women whose fears were rooted in their potential declining health in old age. But how is anxiety ageing us faster? The key lies in our DNA; more specifically, in our telomeres. These are DNA-protein complexes that sit at the end of chromosomes and protect them from deteriorating, as well as guarding genetic information during cell division. Telomere length is one of the strongest indicators of biological ageing shortened telomere length is associated with an increased risk of all age-related diseases, including heart disease, cancer and dementia. In fact, once telomeres become too short, cells can no longer divide, leading to tissue dysfunction and cell death. Though this latest studys link to a very specific subject of concern is new, the understanding that anxiety can impact lifespan is not. One 2012 study of more than 5,000 women found that a common form of anxiety, known as phobic anxiety, was associated with shorter telomeres in middle-aged and older women. Having a high phobic anxiety level was associated with significantly shorter telomere lengths, enough to knock the equivalent of six years off ones life compared to women who werent phobic. This might seem radical but makes sense when we accept just how much our state of mind affects our physical health Another piece of research, published by Cambridge University Press in 2018, discovered that patients with anxiety disorder had a shorter telomere length, suggesting a process of accelerated cellular ageing. Even more interestingly, patients who had previously suffered from anxiety disorder but were in recovery did not have such shortened telomeres, and the time since remission was positively related to telomere length. The upshot? Biological ageing caused by anxiety may well be reversible. This might seem radical but makes sense when we accept just how much our state of mind affects our physical health. One major US study at the turn of the century took a huge dataset that had been tracking people for 30 years. It uncovered that those with an optimistic view of getting old would live, on average, 7.5 years longer than those who felt negatively about it, even controlling for factors like socioeconomic status, loneliness and participants health at the start of the study. open image in gallery Demi Moore was almost unrecognisable on the front row at Gucci AW26 ( AP ) Dr Becca Levy, who headed up the study, went on to do several further pieces of groundbreaking research, including revealing that peoples attitudes to ageing before they turned 50 could strongly predict their risk of heart disease up to 38 years later, and that people with positive attitudes towards ageing were considerably less likely to develop dementia. Here, there were actual observable differences in the brain: the optimists had maintained a greater volume in the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure essential for making and consolidating memories, as they got older; the pessimists showed greater deterioration. The latter group were also more likely to develop amyloid plaques, believed to destroy brain tissue and a strong indicator of Alzheimers. In fact, one meta analysis of more than 100 studies found a robust association between perceptions of ageing and longevity, with around 80 per cent of papers demonstrating link enough to establish causation. open image in gallery People who feel positive about getting older are more likely to take preventative measures to look after their health ( Getty/iStock ) What is less clear is why anxiety or a dim view on getting older are impacting lifespan, but experts have identified three main mechanisms that drive something called stereotype embodiment, a theory first posited by Levy: psychological, behavioural and physiological. The first refers to internalised beliefs about ageing that change how we think and act for example, doubting our physical strength or becoming more forgetful because we expect that to happen with age. The second refers to longer-term self-fulfilling prophecy behaviours, whereby people who assume their health will decline with age and believe they have little to no influence over it therefore dont take preventative measures to slow the ageing process, such as eating well and exercising regularly. And the third is connected to the physical toll that heightened stress takes. One study found that people who felt negatively about getting old suffered a 40 per cent increase in cortisol levels between their 50th and 80th birthday; the inverse was true for those with a chipper outlook, whose cortisol levels slightly declined in that same period. Over time, sustained cortisol flooding the system can negatively impact the immune and cardiovascular systems and the hippocampus, plus trigger inflammation. In short, our perception becomes, quite literally, our reality In short, our perception becomes, quite literally, our reality. And yet its difficult to blame women for being anxious about ageing or having a bleak outlook on potential future health problems. Just take, for example, the 2009 study that found that a woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if the man in the relationship is the patient (this stat hit headlines again last year after Stephen Bartlett referenced it on his Diary of a CEO podcast). Or the fact that women are often much more well-acquainted with the ugly realities of age-related illness because theyre usually the ones dealing with it ahead of time. In the UK, women are significantly more likely to be providing unpaid care for elderly parents than their male peers. That care is also likely to be more expansive and time-intensive; some 59 per cent of all unpaid carers are female, according to England and Wales Census data, and theyre more likely to provide 20 or more hours of care a week than men. With all this in mind, its hardly surprising that women are concerned about getting older. But, ultimately, trying to develop a sunny outlook on ageing might be the best and most practical way to combat those fears. So cheer up love it might happen, yes, but worrying about it definitely wont help. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Senior leaders at the Girl Scouts are reportedly displeased that a New Jersey troop teamed up with a local weed dispensary to sell their beloved cookies. Set up near Daylite Dispensary in Mount Laurel last month, the troops booth offered the full line-up of treats. Dispensary owner Steve Cassidy said the partnership was a massive success and drew people both to the booth and the cannabis shop. However, Cassidy said he had spoken to representatives from the organization about the incident, which had been intended as a positive venture, but may have landed the troop in hot water. It was about community, Cassidy told The Independent. If that means the local Girl Scout troop got in trouble, that is absolutely not what we wanted. He declined to comment further. The Independent has contacted the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey, the Girl Scout council that oversees troops in the region, for comment. It is unclear which exact troop staged the event. open image in gallery While the idea of Girl Scouts teaming up with a dispensary was turned down last year, one troop in New Jersey was allowed to sell on a trial basis ( Getty Images ) open image in gallery The dispensarys owner told The Independent that senior Girl Scout officials were not happy about the partnership ( AFP via Getty Images ) Daylite Dispensary in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was the townships first dispensary when it opened in 2023. The idea to partner with a local Girl Scout troop came when Cassidy linked the food with the munchies, or an increase in appetite caused when certain types of cannabis are consumed. You use cannabis, you get the munchies, Cassidy told NJ.com. Theres a connection between snacks and cannabis, and the fact that we dont have to pretend that doesnt exist anymore is really awesome. While the idea had originally been proposed last year, he said the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey turned the idea down. This year, Cassidy said one troop was allowed to sell cookies outside on a trial basis, resulting in the successful event last month. I dont think five years ago we wouldve seen anything like this, he said. I hope that its a sign of things to come, where theres more of this normalcy of shared opportunities. Due to the success of the original selling date, the troop was supposed to return to sell at Daylite again Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. ET, but no booth is currently scheduled for that time at the location. This years Girl Scout cookie sales include a brand new cookie flavor: Exploremores. Inspired by Rocky Road ice cream, Exploremores are a chocolate sandwich cookie with marshmallow and toasted almondflavored creme. The organization said in a press release that the cookies reflect the spirit of exploration at the heart of every Girl Scout. The new cookies joined a lineup that includes Adventurefuls, Caramel Chocolate Chip, Samoas/Caramel deLites, Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich, Lemonades, Lemon-Ups, Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties, Thin Mints, Toffee-tastic, and the classic Trefoils. Girl Scout cookies will remain on sale through April. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Trader Joes has issued an urgent warning to customers about four popular frozen foods that have been included in a massive recall affecting 36 million pounds of various products. Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc., based in Portland, Oregon, is expanding a February 19, 2026, recall of frozen not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) chicken products over potential foreign material contamination after glass was discovered, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service. Approximately 33,617,045 additional pounds of various ready-to-eat (RTE) and NRTE chicken and pork fried rice, ramen, and shu mai dumpling products have been recalled. As part of the expanded recall, Trader Joes announced Tuesday that four of its products have been affected. The recall includes the brands Chicken Fried Rice, with Best By Dates through March 4, 2026, and February 10, 2027, and the Vegetable Fried Rice, with Best By Dates between February 28, 2026, and November 19, 2026. Also included are its Japanese Style Fried Rice, with Best By Dates between February 28, 2026, and November 14, 2026, and the Chicken Su Mui, with Best By Dates between March 13, 2026, and October 23, 2026. open image in gallery Trader Joes products have been recalled due to potential glass contamination ( Getty Images ) open image in gallery Four popular Trader Joes products are being recalled ( Trader Joe's ) Customers with affected items can return them to any Trader Joes store for a full refund. The recall comes after the FSIS received multiple consumer complaints involving glass, according to the companys announcement. A further investigation found that carrots were the likely source of the glass contamination, leading to additional products being recalled. Along with Trader Joes frozen foods, the expansion of the recall includes 16 products sold between October 21, 2024, and February 26, 2026, under brand names Ajinomoto, Kroger, Ling Ling and Tai Pei. A full list of affected products can be found here. The news comes amid concerns about other products being contaminated with foreign material. Last year, more than 20,000 cases of single-serve peanut butter and peanut butter-and-jelly combination snacks produced by Ventura Foods LLC were recalled after pieces of blue plastic were found during production. However, last month, the recall was upgraded to a Class II by the FDA due to the increased risk of health consequences. Last month, Rosina Food Products, Inc., based in West Seneca, New York, recalled approximately 9,462 pounds of frozen meatball products because they may be contaminated with metal. The USDA classified the recall as Class I its highest risk level meaning there is a reasonable probability that consuming the products could cause serious adverse health consequences or death. LONDON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Britain is sending four more Typhoon fighter jets to join its squadron in Qatar to strengthen defensive operations in the country and across the Middle East region, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a press conference on Thursday. Starmer said Britain's Wildcat helicopters equipped with anti-drone capabilities are set to arrive in Cyprus on Friday. The country's defense secretary is currently in Cyprus to coordinate operations, and the HMS Dragon warship is being deployed to the Mediterranean. Britain had already deployed additional military capabilities to the Middle East well before the military strikes against Iran launched by the United States and Israel, Starmer said. According to the prime minister, Britain moved defensive assets, including fighter jets, air defense missiles, advanced radar and counter-drone systems, to Cyprus and Qatar throughout January and February. He added that the British government is working with airlines, travel companies and foreign governments to bring back British nationals. More than 4,000 people have returned to the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with seven additional flights scheduled to depart the UAE for Britain on Thursday. Meanwhile, the first charter flight from Oman departed early Thursday afternoon, and more charter flights are expected in the coming days, according to Starmer. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Florida handyman who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has been sentenced to life in prison for child molestation. Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, received the sentence Thursday, marking a significant development for one of several Jan. 6 defendants who have faced new criminal charges following Trumps sweeping act of clemency. Johnson was convicted last month in Hernando County, Florida, on two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count of electronically transmitting material harmful to a minor. County Circuit Judge Stephen Toner handed down the life sentence. open image in gallery Andrew Paul Johnson on Jan. 6 during the Capitol attack ( DOJ ) Sheriffs deputies initiated an investigation into the child molestation allegations against Johnson in July 2025. One of his victims informed investigators that the abuse began around April 2024, several months before Johnson was sentenced for his Capitol riot conviction. According to a sheriff's office report, Johnson told one of his victims that he expected compensation for being a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant and would include the child in his will to inherit any leftover money. "This tactic was believed to be used to keep (the child) from exposing what Andrew had done," the report stated. Investigators also uncovered sexually explicit messages exchanged between Johnson and one of his victims on the Discord messaging app. Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladsons office noted in a news release: "In the messages, Johnson attempted to have the victim download another application for a more private conversation and encouraged the victim to delete their messages afterwards." Johnson is among those who received clemency from Donald Trump, who issued pardons, commuted prison sentences, or ordered the dismissal of cases for all 1,500-plus people charged in the Capitol attack. open image in gallery One of his victims informed investigators that the abuse began around April 2024, several months before Johnson was sentenced for his Capitol riot conviction ( Brent Stirton/Getty Images ) For his role in the riot, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington sentenced Johnson in August 2024 to one year behind bars after he pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges. Johnson, of Seffner, Florida, had attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he was pressured, but the judge rejected his request prior to sentencing. Federal prosecutors stated that Johnson carried a bullhorn as he marched to the Capitol after attending Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally. He entered the building through an office window smashed by other rioters and was observed cursing and yelling at police officers after they deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd. If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 28-year-old Cleveland woman has been arrested on murder charges after the discovery of the bodies of two young girls found in suitcases, authorities confirmed. Aliyah Henderson was booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail Wednesday evening, the Cuyahoga County Sheriffs Department told The Independent Thursday. She also faces charges related to endangering children, according to police. Cleveland police received a tip Monday from a dog walker whose pet detected a scent coming from a suitcase found in fields near Ginn Academy, an all-boys public school, Investigators at the scene soon discovered a second body in another suitcase nearby. Both suitcases had been partially buried in shallow graves, and authorities believe the bodies had been there for some time. They were not dismembered, Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said in a Tuesday news conference, adding that the victims were both girls under the age of 14. Preliminary DNA testing by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office confirmed Wednesday that the two girls were half-sisters, though their identities have not yet been released. Investigators estimate that one girl was between 8-and-a-half and 13 years old, and the other between 10-and-a-half and 14. The causes of death have not yet been determined. Aaliyah Henderson, 28, was arrested Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio, in connection with the discovery of two young girls found deceased in suitcases ( Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department ) Using technology and other strategies, detectives in Cleveland found probable cause to carry out a search warrant Wednesday night at a home in the 700 block of East 162nd Street, Spectrum 1 News reports. Within 24 hours, they had detained a person of interest and recovered what they called substantial evidence related to the case, though officials havent shared additional details. During the search, a child was also found inside the home. Officials confirmed the child was in good health and has since been placed under the care of the Department of Children and Family Services. Todd described the scene as deeply traumatic for both investigators and the local community. It is traumatic for everyone. It is traumatic for those who live in the area to know that this was right there at their doorstep, she said during a news conference. Police say they have not found any missing children reports in the Cleveland area that match the victims descriptions. Investigators are now collaborating with state and federal partners to review missing persons cases across a wider region. Meanwhile, residents are urged to review home security camera footage for any suspicious activity and contact the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464 with tips. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Cuyahoga County Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463. Authorities emphasize that there is currently no indication of an ongoing threat to the public. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Elon Musk appeared in a San Francisco courtroom on Wednesday, facing accusations that he intentionally drove down Twitters stock price through false and misleading statements before his $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022. The lawsuit, filed in October 2022, represents Twitter shareholders who sold their stock between May 13 and October 4, 2022. It alleges that Musk violated federal securities laws by issuing public statements "carefully calculated to drive down the price of Twitter stock." The billionaire Tesla CEO initially agreed to buy Twitter and take it private in April 2022. However, on May 13, he declared his plan "temporarily on hold," citing the need to verify the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. This announcement caused Twitter's stock to tumble. Days later, he tweeted that the deal "cannot go forward," claiming nearly 20% of Twitter accounts were "fake," according to the lawsuit. During questioning, plaintiff's lawyer Aaron P. Arnzen pressed Musk on his tweets or lack thereof concerning his decision to acquire Twitter and his prior purchases of the company's stock. Dressed in a black suit and tie, Musk testified that he did not consider it "material" when he began accumulating Twitter stock in early 2022, and therefore did not tweet about it or disclose it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He stated he had bought stock in "many companies" without publicizing it. Once his stake became public, Twitter's stock surged by 27% in a single day. "That sounds high," Musk commented. The lawsuit specifically targets Musk's May 13 tweet "Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users" asserting it was "false because the buyout was not, in fact, temporarily on hold." The legal filing contends that Twitter had not agreed to a pause, and the merger agreement contained no provision allowing Musk to unilaterally halt the deal. Arnzen extensively questioned Musk about the tweet, asking if he believed it would have a "material impact" on Twitter's stock. Musk maintained that he had explicitly stated his commitment to the deal at the time, likening the "temporarily on hold" statement to "saying youre going to be late for a meeting. (It doesn't) mean you are not going to be at the meeting." Despite his explanation, Twitter's stock fell nearly 10% on May 13. When repeatedly asked if he considered the tweet's potential effect on the stock market, Musk consistently replied, "I was simply speaking my mind." Once his stake became public, Twitter's stock surged by 27% in a single day. That sounds high, Musk responded ( Getty Images ) In the subsequent weeks, Musk continued efforts to delay or withdraw from the deal, which the lawsuit claims he did through false and disparaging statements about Twitter's business, causing a sharp decline in the San Francisco company's stock. In July 2022, Musk intensified his focus on the bots issue, announcing he would abandon his offer to buy Twitter, alleging the company failed to provide sufficient information about fake accounts. This move came despite the lawsuit noting that Musk had waived due diligence for his "take it or leave it" offer, thereby relinquishing his right to examine the companys nonpublic finances. Musk was asked if, prior to waiving due diligence, he had inquired about Twitters methodology for determining the number of fake or spam accounts, which the company had disclosed to be around 5%. He stated he had not, but assumed that if Twitter included something in an SEC filing, "it would be accurate." "It subsequently turned out they misrepresented the number of bots," he asserted. "They lied." "To try to renegotiate the price or delay the merger, Musk made materially false and misleading statements and omissions, and engaged in a scheme to deceive the market, all in violation of the law," the lawsuit states. The issue of bots and fake accounts on Twitter was not new. The company had paid $809.5 million in 2021 to settle claims of overstating its growth rate and monthly user figures. Twitter had also disclosed its bot estimates to the SEC for years, while cautioning that its estimates might be too low. Twitter subsequently sued Musk to compel him to complete the deal, prompting a countersuit from Musk. On October 4, Musk ultimately offered to proceed with his original \$44 billion proposal, which Twitter accepted. The deal closed later that month. In the months that followed, Musk significantly reduced the company's workforce, dismantled its trust and safety team, and rolled back content moderation policies. In July 2023, he rebranded Twitter as X. This is not the first instance of Musk being compelled to defend himself in court against allegations of misleading investors through his social media posts. Three years prior, he spent approximately eight hours testifying in a San Francisco federal trial regarding his unmaterialized 2018 plans to acquire Tesla, the electric automaker he still leads, for \$420 per share. A nine-member jury ultimately absolved Musk of wrongdoing in that case. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 22-year-old man randomly killed three women he did not know during a violent murder spree in a rural Utah community before stealing their cars and credit cards because he said he needed money to get back to Iowa, prosecutors say. Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was taken into custody on Thursday in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, some 370 miles from the scene of the crimes in Wayne County, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. Police said Miller had a handgun and a large knife with him when he was arrested. Miller told FBI agents it had to be done but he did not like to do it, according to charging documents. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder for the murders of three women one who was in her 80s who was found dead at her home in Lyman, and two women who were going hiking together on the Cockscomb Trail at the Capitol Reef National Park. None has yet been publicly identified. The 22-year-old allegedly told the FBI he had hit an elk in Utah days earlier and sold his truck to a tow company before deciding he needed a new vehicle. open image in gallery A suspect, identified as Ivan Miller, is in custody in Colorado on weapons charges, after two women were found dead near a trail on Wednesday afternoon, and a third woman was found dead inside a nearby home in Utah ( Archuleta County Detention Center ) He reportedly spent the night in the back shed of the woman in her 80s in Lyman and later saw her drive away in a Buick Lesabre. He then waited for her inside the house, hiding behind the door, and after she returned and sat down to watch television shot her in the back of the head, prosecutors say. After allegedly dragging her body to the basement of an out-building he drove away, but decided he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle. It was allegedly at this point that he saw two women getting out of a white Subaru at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park. The charging documents claim he shot one of the women dead and then shot and stabbed the other before dragging their bodies to a ditch. Miller said he did it because he needed money. Miller said that he took their credit cards and used the older womans card to buy gas. Miller said that his intent was to get back to Iowa, the charges say. Miller confessed that it had to be done but he did not like to do it. The two women, one in her 30s and one in her 60s, were found by their husbands who had gone to the scene to look for them. They raised the alarm and police found the first vehicle not far from the scene, which led them to the murder scene in Lyman. open image in gallery The body of a woman in her 80s was found at a home in Lyman, Utah. The suspect apparently fled her home in her car ( FOX13 ) open image in gallery Authorities said the suspect killed the woman at her home in Lyman and then killed two women at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park near Teasdale, Utah ( AP ) Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, told The Independent that was no indication that Miller had any connection with any of the women. It does not appear that these women were specifically targeted other than the convenience of the suspect stealing their vehicles, Roden said. Following the discovery of the bodies, an urgent manhunt was launched, with police appealing for information about the victims stolen vehicle, a 2022 White Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF. Police made the arrest after tracking the Subaru from the trailhead in Utah through Arizona and into Colorado. The car was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, which led police to the suspect. The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah and into northern Arizona before it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, Roden confirmed. The suspect was arrested without incident at 2.40 a.m. on Thursday morning after a brief search of the area and was found to have a concealed handgun and large knife, the Pagosa Springs Police Department said. It was not immediately clear where he was when he was arrested. He was being held at the Archuleta County Detention Center on a weapons charge before the homicide charges. Roden said they dont know how long the suspect may have been in Wayne County, or how he got to the area, but investigators are working to piece together a timeline. Miller was reportedly scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to KSL. The killings rattled the sparsely populated county, where officials urged residents to remain indoors, lock their doors and keep lights on overnight while the suspect was still being sought. The Wayne County School District canceled classes for the rest of the week out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety. Officials said counselors will be available to support students when schools reopen. open image in gallery After the murders of two women at the national park, the suspect then fled the state, sparking an hours long manhunt, police say ( AP ) Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright told FOX13: Our community is grieving today following the tragic deaths of three women in Wayne County yesterday. On behalf of the Town of Torrey, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, closeknit community." After the suspect was taken into custody in Colorado on Thursday, officials said there is no longer an ongoing threat to the public and no suspects remain outstanding. The Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab continued processing crime scenes Thursday in the communities of Torrey, Utah and Lyman, Utah. Wayne County, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, is a gateway for visitors heading to nearby national parks including Capitol Reef National Park. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An unusual coalition of academics, businesses, religious leaders and political figures have raised their concerns about artificial intelligence by signing a new pro-human declaration. Backed by the Future of Life Institute, a leading nonprofit AI safety organisation, the Pro-Human AI Declaration calls for a renewed focus on AI safety and stricter regulation and accountability for the companies controlling it. Signatories include billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, Nobel-Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, and former adviser to the Trump administration Steve Bannon. Organisations backing the declaration include the American Federation of Teachers, the Congress of Christian Leaders, and the Progressive Democrats of America. Artificial intelligence should serve humanity, not the reverse, the declaration states. There is a better path, where trustworthy and controllable AI tools amplify rather than diminish human potential, empower people, enhance human dignity, protect individual liberty, strengthen families and communities, preserve self-governance and hep create unprecedented health and prosperity. This path demands that those who wield technological power be accountable to human values and needs, in support of human flourishing. Key tenets of the declaration include: human control over AI; prevention of AI monopolies; protection of children from the technology; preservation of human agency and liberty; and corporate accountability for defects and inadequate safety controls. A new poll published in parallel with the declaration found that 80 per cent of US voters supported keeping humans in charge of AI, as well as greater accountability for AI companies. Organisers of the Pro-Human AI Declaration deliberately excluded industry representatives, who have previously been involved in similar petitions for improved AI safety. Previous efforts to enforce AI safety from the Future of Life Institute have included an attempt in 2023 to introduce a six-month moratorium on the development of AI systems, as well as a petition last year to ban the development of superintelligent AI systems until safety is proven. Neither effort was heeded by the tech industry, with some signatories of the 2023 letter going on to launch their own AI startups. KIEV, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has discussed with the United States the possibility of postponing the next trilateral meeting with Russia and changing its location due to the situation in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday. The next Ukraine-U.S.-Russia trilateral meeting was scheduled for March 5 to 9, according to a post by Zelensky on the social media platform X. Zelensky expressed hope that a prisoner-of-war exchange agreed at previous meetings would be confirmed in the coming days. The next trilateral meeting had been planned for early March in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, Ukrinform reported. People visit the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) BARCELONA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) concluded on Thursday in Barcelona, Spain, which highlighted how the surge of artificial intelligence (AI) is pushing mobile communications beyond basic connectivity toward a broader digital ecosystem integrating cloud computing, data platforms and industry applications. The four-day event, themed "The IQ Era," drew more than 100,000 attendees from 207 countries and territories, according to figures released Thursday by the organizer GSMA. Marking the 20th anniversary of the event's presence in Barcelona, this year's MWC has also attracted around 2,900 exhibitors, sponsors and partners, including over 350 companies from China, according to the organizer. At this year's MWC, it is widely recognized that as AI is moving from concept to large-scale deployment, telecom networks are shifting from basic connectivity infrastructure to platforms supporting AI-driven applications. Peter Jarich, head of GSMA Intelligence, said at the final conference that this year's MWC indicates the telecom industry is entering a new phase of development, with focus shifting from improving network performance to building more open communications architectures and ecosystems around AI, cloud computing and data platforms. From AI-powered innovations, including a robot phone, to AI applications built on Huawei's AI models and computing platforms, such as fintech firm YSSTech's intelligent investment assistant designed to provide trading analysis and decision-making support, a range of Chinese technologies emerged as highlights on the exhibition floor. GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath said the global connectivity industry has never been more energized or purposeful. "MWC 2026 has shown us what happens when the world's brightest minds come together around genuinely hard problems, from open and inclusive AI and realizing the full potential of 5G, to keeping the world safe from the growing threat of fraud and cybercrime," he said. In addition, Chinese companies won multiple honors across categories including network infrastructure, innovative products and industry solutions at the Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards. People visit the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People visit the booth of Spain during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People visit the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People visit the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) A pair of AI glasses from China's iFLYTEK is on display during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People view a vehicle displayed at the booth of Xiaomi during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People visit the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) People try a gaming device from China's Nubia during the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026. The 2026 MWC concluded here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Email Alex Lubben at alex.lubben@theadvocate.com and follow him on Twitter @alexlubben. His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Sign up for the weekly Louisiana Coastal Watch newsletter to get updates about our environment coverage. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Advance Metals has flagged major resource upside at its Yoquivo project in Mexico, with broad, high-grade silver-gold zones from drilling underscoring the projects bulk-mining potential. Diamond drilling at the companys Pertencia prospect has returned standout results, including 67.9 metres of mineralisation running at 134 grams per tonne (g/t) silver equivalent from 306m, featuring 23.83m at 257g/t silver equivalent. A deeper interval in the same hole also delivered another 9.67-metre hit at 108g/t silver equivalent from 418m. Stunning gold and silver sulphides in drilling at Advance Metals Yoquivo project in Chihuahua, Mexico. The hole was completed in an opposing direction to earlier drilling a scissor hole - with the intercept confirming the scale and continuity of mineralisation from multiple orientations. Advance says the finding has significantly improved its understanding of the structure and increased confidence in the modelling ahead of the companys upcoming JORC resource estimate. Step-out drilling to the west at Advances Esperanza prospect has also doubled the known strike extent of mineralisation, returning hits up to 10.4m at 102g/t silver equivalent from 120.6m. Advertisement CultureMusicReview On his new album, Harry Styles finally shatters the teen idol fishbowl Tom W. Clarke March 6, 2026 8:18am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Weird and brave: Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, by Harry Styles. Harry Styles, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally From his first release after One Directions split, 2017s Sign of the Times, comparisons have been made between Harry Styles and his idol, David Bowie. Styles has earned a reputation as a non-conformist a progressive artist who challenges traditional ideas of masculinity and sexuality, and a subversively kaleidoscopic fashion icon. His music, however, has not broken the mould in the same way. On his fourth solo album, Styles stretches for something different, something brave and weird and singular. The result is an album that overthrows any expectations you might have about what a Harry Styles album sounds like, or what you might expect from a well-polished megastar of Styles ilk. Advertisement The first single and opening track, Aperture, is a clear statement of intent: a five-minute electronic slow burn of bouncing synths and intimate vocals, building into a euphoric crescendo of barrelling beats and pinging laser blasts. Its bold, experimental, and most surprisingly, hardly radio-friendly. Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally can be a dizzying experience: its a refractory, futuristic journey across galaxies of genres, sounds and personalities. It bounds off in any number of directions, with Styles a pinball working to understand his place in the machine. Hes trying on masks and outfits, singing from behind closed doors as he searches through an endless costume box for his true self. Evoking his idol David Bowie, Styles goes on a cosmic vision quest through identity and celebrity. Laura Jane Coulson Styles joined One Direction at just 16 years old hes been famous for over half his life, living in the spotlight of an adoring, but obsessive, public. On Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, he shatters the fishbowl. Unbound by the conventions of pop, he goes on a cosmic vision quest through identity, celebrity and the bizarre loneliness of being one of the most recognisable people in the world. On Ready, Steady, Go!, he tries on the dirty jacket of a scuzzy indie rocker, a propulsive cacophony of dispirited vocals and fuzz. On Are You Listening Yet?, its a faded Hendrix-style headband, all rumbling drums, space-age guitar grooves, and a trancey refrain. A sexy, sinister undercurrent of darkness and longing swirls beneath both, recalling the disco doom of Queens of the Stone Age circa 2013, or Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino-era Arctic Monkeys. Advertisement Season 2 Weight Loss reverberates loneliness and isolation, a spacey paean spiralling into the abyss, while Pop finds him trapped in a musical vortex, his voice barely pushing through the wall of distortion. Then its into some retro flares for the nu-disco wonderland of Dance No More, neon and glitter and a choral back and forth radiating 70s funkadelia. He wears a dashing summer suit on the swoon-worthy Coming Up Roses, and a snug white T-shirt as the hopeful boy-next-door on The Waiting Game. Unfortunately, he also slips into the low-slung jeans of a mediocre popster: they dont fit very well. American Girls is as generic as pop songs come. Related Article Review Gorgeous or ugly? Mitskis new album is going to divide listeners Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally was written and recorded in Berlin, and the reflection of Bowies Berlin Trilogy is clear an innovative and divisive reinvention of the music and persona of one of musics greatest stars, profound and uncompromising. As the strangely beautiful coda of Carlas Song skitters away into the unknown, it feels like an album that would have earned Styles an invitation to one of Andy Warhols hedonistic art parties, dancing among the beautiful and bizarre as an avant-garde movie played silently on the wall. Advertisement Harry Styles has spent the past decade establishing himself as one of the modern eras most accomplished pop stars, but hes never really touched the stratosphere of pop musics greatest shapeshifting alien messiah until now. To read more from Spectrum, visit our page here. What to stream this week (from top left): In the Blink of an Eye; Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Young Sherlock; Person of Interest; Vladimir; and Marshals. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A A professor sexually hungering for a younger colleague is the starting point for the terrific Vladimir. Plus, Sherlock gets the Guy Ritchie treatment (again), another Yellowstone spin-off gallops ahead, while Person of Interest is a great case-of-the-week thriller. Vladimir (Netflix) Throughout this deliciously unchecked comic-drama, Rachel Weiszs unnamed protagonist lets call her the Professor, for her position in the English department at a storied American university breaks away from a screen to address the watching audience. The Professor is erudite, charming and confident, even as she worries that ageing into her 50s has dispelled her attractiveness; even as she sexually hungers for a younger colleague, Vladimir (Leo Woodall). Its as if shes the viewers best friend. Or perhaps were her jury. Rachel Weisz as the unnamed protagonist in Vladimir. Adapted by author Julia May Jonas from her 2022 novel of the same name, Vladimir is rife with this kind of juicy, uncomfortable choice. With a bravura performance by Weisz that keeps reframing your understanding of her character, the show offers up thought-provoking playfulness and pulse-raising carnality. Its about many things, including the perverse spark that sets off creativity, generational conflict and the drollest of observations. One relevant issue: the Professors husband and fellow academic, John (John Slattery), is being investigated for his past affairs with students. Editor's pick Streaming Simon Baker is no longer in his pretty-boy era and hes just fine with that She, of course, knew about them. They had a mutual arrangement. One of the joys of this series is that these adults are smart and capable of infernal missteps sensitive and willing to be selfish. Theyre supposedly rounded people, starting to wonder if they have a price to pay; Gen X rebels who now need the protection of the system. The narrative is down in the muck of their collective pathologies, but its too fleet and fearless to stand still and deliver a definitive judgment. Advertisement You might disagree with the social mores of the Professor and John, or Vladimir and his wife, hopeful academic Cynthia (Jessica Henwick), but its impossible to write them off. The eight half-hour episodes so enjoyably concise have a heightened pitch. Every time the Professor encounters Vladimir, snatches of her fantasies overwhelm reality. The feeling is so strong, she reasons, that she must act. The Professor, writing anew with horny propulsion, invokes the spiritual imperative of desire but the show makes even literary theory funny. Rachel Weisz as the protagonist and Leo Woodall as Vladimir. Slattery is a terrific foil for Weisz John has a supermarket checkout scene involving Tess of the dUrbervilles that is an all-timer but Woodall also excels as the still baby-faced Vladimir, who is either completely unaware of the Professors intentions or secretly stoking them. There are interpretations, often contradictory and always watchable, for nearly every facet of this show, including the academic satire. It whisks you along, threatening calamity even as the Professor seeks nirvana. Binge Vladimir, then find someone to debate it with. This outstanding show deserves nothing less. Donal Finn, Zine Tseng, Hero Fiennes Tiffin in Young Sherlock. Young Sherlock (Amazon Prime Video) Guy Ritchie, who previously directed 2009s Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jnr, is in young adult mode for this 19th century origin series about the master detective: fisticuffs, impish charm, the first flush of attraction and a disregard for authority all feature. This Sherlock Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) is young, smart and irresponsible he swiftly goes from jail, where hes extracted by respectable older brother Mycroft (Max Irons), to Oxford University, where his nascent powers of deduction are soon tested. Advertisement Related Article Review If you miss The Office, Steve Carells new show is a must-watch The setting is 1871, but historical accuracy doesnt get in the way of thrills in this adaptation of Andrew Lanes Young Sherlock Holmes novels (which were authorised by Arthur Conan Doyles estate). Chinese imperial princess Gulun Shouan (Zine Tseng) is first sighted introducing martial arts to a group of bandits who look like they escaped from a Western, while the supporting roles are broad. Colin Firth, with much facial hair, plays a tycoon named Sir Bucephalus Hodge. But Ritchies collaborator, creator Matthew Parkhill (Deep State), laces the punk needle drops and twisty editing with some emotional ballast. Sherlock is haunted by a childhood event that tore apart his family Natascha McElhones Mummy is not in a good place and theres a tantalising portent in the amateur detectives Oxford ally being Irish scholarship student and future nemesis James Moriarty (Donal Finn). The show has some potential. Jim Caviezel (left) and Michael Emerson in Person of Interest. Person of Interest (Netflix) When this American crime drama debuted in 2011, it presented as a case-of-the-week thriller with a twist: a tech billionaire (Lost MVP Michael Emerson) and a former CIA agent (Jim Caviezel) save ordinary people an AI system has marked as being at risk. But with Jonathan Nolan (Westworld) as creator, the show swiftly leant into science-fiction themes as various groups fought for control of the machine and it became sentient. There are five seasons, complete with finale, that are satisfying as a nightly procedural and eerily prescient. Kate McKinnon (left) and Yeji Kim in In the Blink of an Eye. Advertisement In the Blink of an Eye (Disney+) Filmmaker Andrew Stanton has two career paths. In animation, he has directed Pixar hits such as Finding Nemo and WALL-E, but his live action ambitions hit a wall with the 2012 Mars misfire John Carter. He returns to the latter strand with this science-fiction drama, which follows three interconnected ages of humanity: a struggling Palaeolithic family, a current-day researcher (Rashida Jones) and a lone future interplanetary astronaut (Kate McKinnon). Stantons long-delayed film is looking to capture the fragile wonder of life, but it can be po-faced, lacking detail and occasionally daft. Marshals (from left): Tatanka Means, Ash Santos, Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel and Luke Grimes. Marshals (Paramount+) Weve already had the Yellowstone prequels, but with the manly Montana monologues of Taylor Sheridans influential show finally concluded, its time for the spin-offs. The first follows the grieving Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), a less-prominent member of the Yellowstone supporting cast, who puts his military training to use by joining a squad of militarised US marshals protecting Montana from bikers, fentanyl dealers and other undesirables. Kayce is healing by hurting bad guys. The prolific Sheridan didnt work on the show, which might explain why its a compact, somewhat predictable, network procedural. Tim Heidecker (left) and Eric Wareheim in Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (HBO Max) Advertisement OpenBSD stories OpenBSD on SGI: a rollercoaster story Interest in supporting the MIPS architecture in BSD is about as old as the architecture itself, and Risc/OS (the Unix variant running on MIPS' own workstations, before MIPS got bought by SGI and stopped manufacturing anything but processors) was based upon BSD code; so was Ultrix, Digital's first flavour of Unix, which ran on VAX but also on its MIPS-based DECstations. While there is a lot to tell on OpenBSD on SGI hardware alone, I think it is better to see a larger picture. Be warned that this story is quite long! PART 1: A missed opportunity [skip to the next part] Introduction Before I start narrating the tale of BSD on MIPS in general and of OpenBSD on SGI in particular, you might want to familiarize yourself with SGI hardware over the years. An excellent resource about SGI systems, from the early Motorola 68000-based IRISes to the latest Itanium-based Altix, can be found on Gerhard Lenerz' sgistuff site. In this narration, I will focus on only a subset of the MIPS-based systems. You might want to keep an eye on the timeline page as well. In the beginning of this story, the most iconic SGI systems are the Indigo (the Song and Dance machine, as was silkscreened on some of its boards), first released in 1991, which is getting replaced by the Indy, SGI's first workstation in pizzabox form factor, and the Indigo2, a larger desktop case which can also be put deskside with special feet, and has more expansion capabilities than the Indy. All these three systems have nice coloured cases, with a dark blue (well... indigo) for the Indigo, a clear blue for the Indy, and a clear teal for the Indigo2 (some later Indigo2 models will sport purple cases). This is quite the eye catcher, in a world where workstations tended to be greyish (with some subtle lavender touches on Sun Aurora case used by the SPARCstation 20, 5 and 4) or beige, just like the average PC clone case. Another distincting feature of the SGI systems is that, when powered on, they would play a short tune, different on every model. (You can find decent recordings of some of these sounds on YouTube. Interestingly, despite not having an internal speaker, the Octane nevertheless has its own boot tune, but to hear it, you need to plug external speakers or headphones into the rear jack.) This made these workstations really appealing. Which is the #1 reason why people have wanted to run BSD or Linux on them. Not only because it could be done, but because these machines were the raddest. In late 1996, the O 2 was introduced to replace the Indy as the entry-level workstation, and shortly after, in early 1997, the Octane was introduced to replace the Indigo2. Both systems would now use PCI cards for expansion, with the O 2 having one PCI slot for a short card, and the Octane having an optional PCI cardcage allowing for up to 3 cards of any length. Both these systems carried on with the coloured case tradition, the O 2 being dark blue, and the Octane green, but one surprising feature was that the top of their cases were rounded, and it was no longer possible to put anything on them (and definitely no 21" CRT monitor, despite the Octane chassis being strong enough to support its weight.) The Octane, despite being larger and wider than the O 2 , had no internal 5"1/4 storage device bay, requiring external SCSI CD-ROM drives, while the O 2 came with a CD-ROM drive at the top of the case. The Octane was also a multiprocessor capable machine, allowing for up to two processors; customers needing more could buy the Origin 200, introduced at about the same time; each Origin 200 system would have two processors, but two Origin 200 systems could be connected with a so-called NUMAlink cable, to create a four processor machine. And if you had needs for even more horsepower, the Origin 2000 family could easily allow for up to 128 processors, as long as you could afford them (and the electricity bill.) (SGI marketing department even had five Octane-related songs recorded and burned onto an audio CD given away to prospective customers; these songs are not that bad and will probably make you smile. You can find decent quality mp3 files for them here.) The Origin 2000 and 200 families were improved with the Origin 3000 and Origin 300 lines in 2000 and 2001, with twice as many processors per node (a single Origin 300 node would now have four processors). Then in 2002, these were improved again with the Origin 350 and Origin 3500 families, and the single-processor Fuel system intended to replace the Octane (although, with one processor and only up to 4GB of memory, it was behind the best Octane configurations, which could use two processors and 8GB of memory), and some reliability problems in the early models quickly earned it the Fool nickname. The Fuel systems also stood apart from the rest of the SGI systems because of their case colour; they were initially supposed to sport a nice blue colour, and the Fuel prototypes did; but once marketing settled on the name Fuel (the codename for that machine had been Asterix until then), it was obvious the case colour had to match with the implied fire capability of the name, and it was changed to a bright red, which would remind old-timers of the SGI Crimson. This is a very quick description of the SGI workstations, and to sum things up: in 1995, we wanted to run BSD on Indy, and wouldn't it be nice if it also ran on Indigo 2 ... ...and we expected this to become a reality a few years later. ... ...and we expected this to become a reality a few years later. from 1997 onwards, we wanted to run BSD on O 2 , and wouldn't it be nice if it also ran on Octane... ...and we hoped this would become a reality a few years later. , and wouldn't it be nice if it also ran on Octane... ...and we hoped this would become a reality a few years later. from 2002 onwards, we wanted to run BSD on Fuel, and wouldn't it be nice if it also ran on Tezro and the rest of the Origin 350 family... ...and everyone agreed this was too much of a dream and would never happen. But eventually, OpenBSD ran on (almost) all these machines. 1988-1993, BSD The first bits of MIPS code were written by Ralph Campbell of the University of Utah, starting in 1988, but weren't contributed to the CSRG at the University of Berkeley until early january 1992, where Kirk McKusick commited the code with a simple ``contributed by Ralph Campbell'' log message. This code was attempting to get BSD to run on the original Digital DECstations, models 2100 and 3100, also known as pmax . In the beginning, this was just the kernel, with the userland being the Ultrix binaries. But work on native userland binaries followed, with the first commits occurring that same year on february 29th, by Ralph Campbell himself, who had received access to the CSRG source code repository. The code slowly matured, with more models of the DECstation 5000 series becoming supported, and Rick Macklem contributed support for the Personal DECstation. However, there was no native toolchain for BSD on MIPS; it relied upon the Ultrix cc , as and ld binaries running in emulation. In parallel, building on that MIPS support, Japanese hackers, led by Kazumasa Utashiro, were working on BSD support for the MIPS-based Sony NEWS workstations; this work got eventually commited to the CSRG source tree on march 1993 as a news3400 port. Here is what sys/news3400/README had to say: # @(#)README 8.1 (Berkeley) 06/10/93 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Sony MIPS R3000 based workstation support is done as an activity of WIDE research project. Sony Corporation contributed most device drivers and gave us great technical supports. Kazumasa Utashiro worked mainly 4.4BSD implementation but that work was based on 4.3BSD-Reno port helped by other project members, especially Tadamichi Matsuyama and Hidetoshi Unno. This version is just a snapshot of developing system and has many unimplemented features and bugs. Please contact utashiro@sra.co.jp if you have any comments about this code. Bugfix will be greatly appreciated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been using NWS-3200 laptop machine and NWS-3400 for development. 3200's LCD display and NWB-253 display board are supported now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Currently GCC is used as a compiler which uses as and ld come with NEWS-OS. They should soon be replaced by the latest GAS because it supports BSD a.out format for MIPS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Known bugs: - Display driver is slow. - Serial line driver is slow. - Console doesn't accept ^S. - Some problem probably in VM. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kazumasa Utashiro Software Research Associates, Inc. 1-1-1 Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan and WIDE Project NetBSD/newsmips port.) On the 16th june of 1993, Kirk McKusick commited a ``final update from Ralph'', and not much happened on the MIPS front until Ralph Campbell put ``final changes for pmax 4.4-Lite II release'' in early june 1995. In the meantime, the NetBSD project had been created in 1993, with the goal of running on as many hardware platforms as possible. A port-pmax dedicated mailinglist was created in november 1993, and among the first messages on this list, Theo de Raadt, one of the founders of the NetBSD project and still involved in NetBSD at that time, wrote that he would "love a mips port". From: Theo de Raadt To: port-pmax Subject: Re: General status information Date: 11/22/1993 19:15:44 > What's the status of the port? I've got a few spare DS2100 or better > class machines sitting around... The code is in the tree almost unchanged from how it was donated. It needs to be fixed to do things "the NetBSD way". A few people volunteered to help get this code working, but we've not heard much from them. The code is from 4.4 -- hence it is much easier/better to merge it into the NetBSD magnum branch. This branch is (as yet) not available to the net at large... only people who have sun-lamp accounts can work on it easily. The magnum branch does various things as they are done in 4.4. These things ARE important -- it would probably take 4-6 times longer to make the pmax code work in a NetBSD-current environment. A number of ports already use the magnum tree (sparc, sun3) and others are being changed to use it (i386, pc532). Yes.. that means there are about 4 people familiar with what changes need to be made. So, if you're a wiley hacker who wants to make this happen, get in touch with me. (It should not take too long if you pay close attention to what had to be changed to make the sparc port fit in, perhaps 2 weeks till you are able to build a crash-and-burn kernel.) I would *love* to see this port working. 1994, NetBSD However, a lot of work was required to make the port self-hosting, which was a strong requirement for NetBSD. Not much development happened behind the scenes, and the mailinglist was quite quiet, leading to Ralph Campbell himself (no longer at the University of Utah) asking for a status update early in may 1994. This led to an answer from Adam Glass (another NetBSD co-founder) giving an optimistic timeline. By the middle of june, the port had made significant progress. Work progressed in order to get a native toolchain (based on gcc 2.5.8 and heavily modified binutils 2.4 at that time), but by the time NetBSD 1.0 was released, on november 8th, pmax was not yet an official part of the release. Then Per Fogelstrom (not the swedish author!) appeared out of nowhere, with an EPIC message, revealing that he was in fact no less than the Chuck Norris of the MIPS world. From: Per Fogelstrom To: port-pmax Subject: NetBSD Mips port, Success story. Date: 12/10/1994 18:22:05 Hi everybody! There have been much talk about the pmax port during the last days. I'm not a pmax owner, have no funds, so i built my own system. Porting NetBSD to it was quite stright forward so i don't recognize all the problems you describe. Perhaps many of them arise from using Ultrix as a porting plattform. :-> Or at least, using Ultrix C compiler and tools is giving you problems. Anyway i have a R3000 system running native without major problems. This is the story how it was done. Maybe it can give you some ideas or at least entertain you for a couple of minutes. HOW NetBSD WAS PORTED TO NEW HARDWARE ===================================== Building hardware is fun, but soner or later you come to the point where you need software to do something meaningful. So i started to look around. At work we had the BSD4.4 tapes and it included a pmax port which was a good starting point. However BSD4.4 contain a few licenced modules. To make this story short, NetBSD solved the issue. A toolchain was needed to compile the code for my hardware and GNU was the natural choise. Then i needed a porting plattform. So i had to dig the dungeon. In my basement i had an old 68020 SYSVR3 un*x system which would do. Next step was to create a cross development environment on the 68k system. This was fairly easy, GCC runs on almost any system you might have. I was now able to compile a NetBSD kernel from the pmax sources. After having set up the include file hireachy the compile went through smoothly. Of course i had no possibility to verify that it really worked. But as a starting point for the rest of the work it could be considered as a milestone. Then the time had come to start modifying and rewriting drivers for my own system. I also had to create a bootstrap prom. Downloading and test took a while because the only way i could download was via the serial port. Well, after a few iterations (146 according to the version counter) the kernel was working. At least until it tried mount the root disk. Now the 'fun' part starts. Because i had no access to a BSD system i couldn't create a file system on the hard disk. So i had to do it 'native'. The way to do this was to hack "newfs" to run standalone with the bootprom hard disk driver. Newfs was also hacked to create inodes for '/dev/console', '/dev/rz0a' and "/dev/tz0". From this point i had a system which paniced because there was no init process. Next step was to create the rest of the system software. The tiresome process of compiling all neccesary librarys was started. The libs was then installed in the cross development system. It was now possible to cross compile the rest of the system and create a distribution file system tree. Now how to download the file system tree on the NetBSD disk? The file tree was "tared" out on a streamer tape and i now had a 'system tape'. The problem to solve now was how to get the tape down on the disk. To load the tape to the NetBSD disk i needed a tar program that i could run on the target system. To do this the kernel was hacked. The first hack was to make the kernel mount the root disk r/w, open '/dev/tz0', copy the tape to a file in the root directory, syncing the disks and then halt. What was there on the tape then? Some of you might have guessed; a hacked :-) tar program. This tar mounted the root disk, opened '/dev/console' and then started with options 'xvf /dev/tz0'. The kernel was hacked again to started this program instead of init and downloaded. The 'distribution' tar tape was loaded, the hacked kernel started and.... ta da da da, the tape was loaded to the hard disk. Next step, reeboot with the downloaded kernel and viola, the system asked for the shell to run!! I entered 'sh' and the '#' prompt showed up on the terminal. Hurray!! It works, well almost. A few more things had to be fixed in locore.s and the terminal driver. From this point the rest of the system was crosscompiled and the last thing crosscompiled was the complete GNU toolchain. Next step was to recreate the whole system native and the when this was done, the plug was pulled on the old 68k system. Of course it requiered a number of tries before the download succeded. But what was most amazing was that the system programs, sh, init, almost all of the just worked! My only misstake was that the system i built was big-endian. To all of you who made it to here, hope you enjoyed the reading. I would really like to help you guys to get NetBSD for the MIPS boxes housebroken. Most of my spare time right now is spent on porting it to a R4400 board i got recently. The kernel will of course be different but the rest of the system would pretty much be the same as for the pmax. One suggestion that i have, based on my own experience, is that someone creates a pmax/Ultrix GCC environment that people who compiles kernels can use and put it up for ftp. You can then stop using Ultrix tools. I will not take up more of your time right now, but if anyone has some ideas let me know if and how i can be of any help. Regards Per You can imagine all the list subscribers with their mouths wide open in awe. I know I was when I first read that mail. (Three days later, Jonathan Stone and Theo de Raadt had their first clash over a technical discussion about MIPS write buffers. This would end up with Theo de Raadt expelled from the NetBSD project a few months later.) 1995-1996, OpenBSD In the meantime, Per Fogelstrom kept working on the R4400-based board he had been referring to in his epic mail: an Acer PICA. When the OpenBSD project started for real in october 1995, Theo de Raadt, who had also been able to get an Acer PICA, convinced Fogelstrom to share his code with him, and that became the OpenBSD/pica port. The PICA was a machine compatible with the ARC (Advanced Risc Computing) specification, but there were a dozen or so ARC-compatible machines, manufactured by DeskStation, MIPS, Olivetti and NEC, among others. It made thus sense to support these compatible machines under a more representative name, and in late august 1996, the OpenBSD/pica port was superseded by a new version of its codebase, known as the OpenBSD/arc port. ARC-compatible MIPS systems were available for a few years and then, after Microsoft announced Windows NT 4.0 would be the last version to support this platform, disappeared completely. As a Unix workstations collector, one of my (many) frustrations is that I have never seen any ARC machine on the second-hand market in Europe. I really would like to eventually find one, but it looks like these machines either suffer from electronic failures, or their owner does not want to part with them, something I understand very well. As summarized by Theo de Raadt some time in 2004 when GXemul (still called mips64emul at that time) grew ARC support and this was shortly discussed in the OpenBSD private chat: dead junk hardware. i had 3 in a row, and each of the boards died. 1996, Linux Meanwhile, at SGI, there were a few Linux-enthusiasts who thought that it would be nice to see Linux run on the low-end systems of the moment, especially the Indy; and given how Indy and Indigo2 were close to each other, there was hope of running on the Indigo2 as well eventually. That group was led by Ariel Faigon, who first got a mailinglist created to discuss that idea, and second, with the help of Larry McVoy who was working at SGI at that time, convinced Dave Miller of linux-sparc fame to spend a three-months internship at SGI to work on a Linux port. (That mailinglist, initially hosted at SGI as linux@engr.sgi.com, would move some years later and become the linux-mips mailing list, no longer affiliated to any vendor in particular. The loss of the entire linux-mips site and content due to a hardware failure a few years ago has been a tragic loss; thankfully, some of its contents are still available on the Wayback Machine.) Few people remember this, but Dave Miller was also an OpenBSD developer during the first few months of the project, where he was working both on OpenBSD and Linux sparc ports. Once Linux did run reliably enough on sparc, he stopped contributing to OpenBSD, his last OpenBSD commit being on the 14th of january 1996. To: linux list at sgi Subject: He he he Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 20:45:18 -0800 From: Larry McVoy I like news like this. By the way, we are really really close to signing David as a summer intern here. He's certainl'y a handful (the only person that I know that swears more than I do, and if you've hung out in B9, you know that's saying a lot :-) We're working on ways to channel all that energy and I think we have a plan. As soon as it is official, I'll post the details here. I think Ariel wants to have a Linux on SGI kickoff meeting soon - I hope folks are hip to that. ------- Forwarded Message Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 21:52:22 -0500 From: David S. Miller To: Larry McVoy Subject: The Ultra 176MHZ I'm not impressed with it's performance at all. Ho hum... maybe that will change when I get Linux running on it, perhaps Solaris is the problem here. Later, David S. Miller ------- End of Forwarded Message Subject: Linux/MIPS port resources To: linux list at sgi Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 11:47:45 -0700 (PDT) I was thinking about what should we do to make David Miller come up to speed as fast as possible when he comes for the summer. After all, he may not be familiar with MIPS assembly, IRIX etc. So I set up a *preliminary* Web page with a list of resources for the Linux/MIPS port. Most of the pointers are from Bill Earl, thanks Bill. Please send me suggestions for improvement, what's missing, etc. This is just a quick first shot so you get the idea. The 6.2 freeware gcc is not yet configured to work with GNU-as (so it uses stabs and supports debugging) and our linker. I'll be working on this next week. We also need to make sure that all the equipment, the office, etc. is ready when David lands here. I assume someone is taking care of all this (?). And that someone with intimate knowledge of our low level stuff is really available to assist him on call. I'll leave it to Larry or Greg to announce the details on David Miller's accepting SGI's offer. p l e a s e :-) 6 weeks to go... -- Peace, Ariel Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 14:52:28 -0700 From: Larry McVoy To: linux list at sgi Subject: Good news Hi- as some of you know, we've been negociating to get David Miller, the Sparc/Linux guy, to come out and work on a MIPS/Linux port. He has accepted, he starts on May 25th, and will be here until August 25th. We had to do a lot of work with the laywers, but we have agreement that all of the work that he does here will be a) owned by SGI (we paid for it), and b) distributed under the terms of the GPL. No exceptions. SGI owns the code so we can choose to use anything that turns out to be interesting inside IRIX without the constraints of the GPL (you may or may not be aware that the owner of the code can choose to distribute the code under multiple copyrights - so we can use stuff in IRIX without "polluting" the IRIX kernel with the GPL). I'd like to thank everyone that has been pulling for this, and especially Greg Chesson who did the hard work of getting the contract hammered out to the satisfaction of SGI & David. We are currently in the process of figuring out what code we can use to help with the port; there may be parts of the setup OS that are both appropriate and useful. Ariel and others are working to get a development machine set up in the engr domain. It will be linux.engr.sgi.com, and should be up and running on Monday or Tuesday. I'll keep you posted on new news as it happens. --lm --- Larry McVoy lm@sgi.com http://reality.sgi.com/lm (415) 933-1804 Copyright 1996, all rights reserved. Microsoft Network is prohibited from redistributing this work in any form, in whole or in part without license. License to distribute this work is available to Microsoft at $500. Transmission without permission constitutes an agreement to these terms. I also still enjoy that particular mail: Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 21:40:01 -0400 From: David S. Miller To: Ariel Faigon CC: linux list at sgi Subject: Re: David Miller is on the list From: Ariel Faigon Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 18:16:30 -0700 (PDT) Great, now you can tell the list what do you need :-) Oh boy. Seriously, we've been thinking about how we could make you most productive and not waste your time when you arrive here. Here's a recent posting of mine, so you get the idea just in case Simon or Bob or Larry didn't tell you about all this yet... Feel free to bombard us with requests/questions. There are about 20 people on the linux list at SGI (you can query majordomo@engr.sgi.com for the details) Already did that an hour ago ;) (note: I looked back over this mail after composing it and I want to warn people who are not familiar with me yet that I am very sarcastic and am full of ridicule even when discussing important topics. Please don't take it that I lack tact or am not being serious, because that simply isn't the case.) Here is what I need: The following utilities I need for development. 1) CVS/RCS, latest on prep.ai.mit.edu is fine 2) Emacs-19.31 (rms should release within 2 weeks) 3) All GNU smidgen-type utilies as the default binaries (this include fileutils/sh-utils/sharutils/diffutils/ findutils/...) Actually, Let me just stop short and say, if there is a source tarball for it on prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu I would like the latest installed on the machine I develop on. 4) xfishtank (don't laugh) 5) fvwm 6) teco (Must support full teco command set as described in original DEC manuals! TECO is _the_ renaissance editor!) The following would be nice, but if it will give people bladder problems to do these then don't go out of your way: 1) MIPS 4[40]00 manual is some online format (not postscript, something I can cut and paste out of an emacs buffer etc. so maybe info or pure ascii text would be fine, I could care less about the formatting, I just want the words there) 2) Docs on the ethernet/scsi interfaces and I/O bus architecture for the first machine I will be getting this to work on, again text/info format would be nice. Of course I will probably just stuff in the ready drivers you might be getting to me into Linux but I want to write my own from scratch in the near future after that. 3) I know as much as a bum on the street about SGI machines and the various lines, a nice "roadmap to sgi workstations and servers, plus the hardware gook thats inside" type thing would be very useful to me. I will feel more comfortable if: 1) I became very familiar with who the heavy low level MIPS assembly level hackers are who I will be dealing with while I am there. Please tell me who they are, introduce, make us say hello to each other, you get the idea. 2) I know the policy on loud music in the office I'll be in ;-) I've thought it over and to me the best plan for things this summer to me is: a) R4400 32-bit "proof of concept, yeah we can pull it off" port happens first, side effect is that I become intimate enough with the chip that I can do things more efficiently. b) From here we look into the 64-bit stuff and whether that is is even desirable on 64-bit. (this would be my first 64-bit port outside of my initial UltraSparc hacks) c) Also think about the work needed to turn that code into r3000 friendly code. Should not be too much as I've done the "write it on recent architecture design then backport it to older design which had some limitations" already and this didn't end up being so bad. Expect more as I think it up... this should keep you guys busy for now. (Any dead-head tape traders at SGI engineering? Just wondering, may want to start talking to them now ;-) Later, David S. Miller xfishtank 2.x ...where we get a glimpse of the work setup of Dave Miller, including the use of(thus of a 8-bit frame buffer, asdid not yet support true colour visuals), and the use of both Emacs and TECO . Also, in a later mail, he mentioned it washe was running, not theversions. By the end of his intership, Linux was running on the Indy, with Ethernet and SCSI support, and, if I remember correctly, some minimal glass console support in addition to a working serial console. Ralf Bachle spent some time after that to merge Dave Miller's tree into the current linux-mips tree, as his porting effort had been based off a different Linux kernel version ( 2.0.14 , while the current linux-mips kernel was 2.1.21 ). Bringing in the sgi-specific parts, which were new, was the easy task, while merging the useful fixes he had made to the common MIPS code required more attention. fall 1996 status Note: there will be several status tables across the years. The IPxx notation below corresponds to a given hardware design, with IP standing for Inhouse Processor, to differentiate them from the very first SGI workstations (Iris 1000) which were based upon a licensed third-party design similar to the Sun-1; as you will see later in this narration, these IP values appear often in developer communication as a way to precisely identify a given piece of hardware. Plus it's shorter, written that way! SGI model common name Linux IP24 Indy kernel no bootloader no distribution XL (newport) graphics only no X server 1997-1998, Linux Ariel Faigon had hoped that Dave Miller would return to SGI for another internship the next year, Miller had other plans and did not resume working on SGI support for Linux. This task was taken over by Mike Shaver and Miguel de Icaza, in addition to Ralf Bachle. With the help of Alex de Vries, who would later initiate the PA-RISC porting effort, they eventually managed to build a variant of the RedHat Linux distribution for the Indy, called HardHat. 1997-1998, OpenBSD Among all the MIPS hardware he had collected, Per Fogelstrom had an SGI Indy machine. These systems use a firmware interface which is close to ARC, with minor differences. It was reasonable to expect the existing OpenBSD/arc code to work on this machine, with only minor changes. And indeed, it did. Near the end of august 1997, Per Fogelstrom had the beginning of a port, running diskless with a newport frame buffer console, and rough edges which would disappear once people would spend enough time fixing them. (That codebase also hardcoded the Ethernet address of the onboard interface to 08:00:69:08:9c:54 ; if you ever encounter an Indy machine with that Ethernet address, you'll know that it used be Per's and that it is a small part of OpenBSD history.) Yet, for reasons unknown to me, this work was not commited to the OpenBSD tree. In february 1998, Michael Shalayeff got access to a few SGI O 2 systems which were no longer in use at his dayjob, and asked Fogelstrom for information about this hardware, but Fogelstrom didn't know much about the O 2 . Shalayeff nevertheless asked him to share his work-in-progress OpenBSD/sgi code with him, something Fogelstrom eventually did in march. Despite keeping telling that he would commit that code soon, still nothing happened. Then Shalayeff got busy with his own PA-RISC porting work and gave up on SGI, or at least didn't find time to tinker with it anymore. (It was really frustrating for me to discover this many years later, as I strongly believe that, if there had been a visible effort to make OpenBSD run on the Indy in 1997, there would probably have been much more interest, and more other SGI systems would have been supported earlier.) fall 1998 status SGI model common name Linux OpenBSD IP22 Indigo2 kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only no X server IP24 Indy kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only no X server kernel no bootloader diskless XL (newport) graphics only no X server not public SGI model common name Linux NetBSD OpenBSD IP22 Indigo2 kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no graphics IP24 Indy kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no graphics outdated non-public code IP27 Origin 200, Origin 2000 kernel no bootloader IP32 O 2 not-yet-integrated kernel patches no R10000 support no bootloader no onboard Ethernet no graphics complete distribution no R10000 support no graphics no onboard Ethernet kernel does not run stably 2002, Linux Vivien Chappelier did not remain inactive, and contributed support for the O 2 on-board Ethernet interface in july, and a frame buffer driver in december. Late november, the Origin 200 and Origin 2000 code, which had be rotting and was no longer in working condition, got repaired and improved by Ralf Bachle, restoring proper support for these systems. 2002, NetBSD O 2 support was reported as ``very broken'' at the beginning of the year. Subject: Re: O2 doesn't boot To: port-sgimips From: Christopher SEKIYA Date: 01/03/2002 20:35:30 On Thu, Jan 03, 2002 at 06:11:23PM +0900, Toru Nishimura wrote: > It should not be a hard job to tailour NetBSD/sgimips for RM5200, I think. O2 support is very broken: * The walk-the-ARC-tree-for-cache-detection code does not work properly, * watchdog is turned on too early, breaking console settings slower than 38400, * PCI code handles memory space mapping but not IO space mapping, breaking most ethernet cards, * interrupt masks are incorrect, * interrupt handler is very spooky and frequently deadlocks the machine. There's more that's wrong, but that's an executive overview. Adding the proper logic for a 5200 won't result in a working machine. I've fixed #2 and mostly fixed #4 and #5 from the above list, have worked around #1 and found a card that will mitigate #3, but my O2 will still fall over three times out of five once interrupts are turned on. Is anyone else working on fixing the O2 support? I'll send what I have to interested parties. -- Chris However, by the very end of the year, Christopher Sekiya had reached a state where his O 2 was running stably again. From: Christopher SEKIYA To: port-sgimips Subject: New IP32 kernel/patchset Date: 12/29/2002 11:04:03 Ladies and gentlemen, I've put diffs against today's -current and a test kernel for the IP32 at http://www.rezrov.net/software/netbsd/ip32-diff-20021229 and http://www.rezrov.net/software/netbsd/netbsd-ip32-20021228, respectively. Apart from cosmetic changes to facilitate repository commits, the following changes have been made since Rafal's last snapshot: * the timer is properly calibrated. The system should no longer consistently lose time. * ahc is recognized as a boot device. * the crime interrupt handler more closely resembles a "real" interrupt handler. In conjunction with boot.ip32, I've succeeded in booting my IP32 from disk straight to multiuser. The system appears to be stable. Share and enjoy, -- Chris 2002, OpenBSD After almost three years of inactivity, Per Fogelstrom found time and motivation to resume working on the OpenBSD codebase, firstly for his own company (Opsycon AB) and its PMON2000 extensible firmware product. With the availability of embedded boards with high-end MIPS chips, there was an interest for a 64-bit MIPS version of PMON2000... and also for a 64-bit MIPS version of OpenBSD. But 64-bit MIPS support in the GNU toolchain (gcc and binutils) was still in its early beginnings, with many 64-bit specific bugs in gcc (while 32-bit MIPS code generation was quite reliable) and 64-bit MIPS ELF targets in binutils were new and not well-tested yet. Over the last week of february 2002, on the private OpenBSD developer chatroom, he mentioned his current progress multiple times. well, i'm trying to move the mips kernel to 64 bit, not with full 64 bit addressing yet, but run into issues here and there. [...] hi what version of binutils is in the tree right now? 2.10.1 is this what is going to be in [OpenBSD] 3.1 or will an upgrade be done before that? mips have problems in 2.10 and needs 2.11 thats why i'm wondering. [...] morning what a dull day... hmmm. 5.3 hours for a make build under an Ultra 2, at 400MHz. takes 4,4 hours on a 400Mhz mips machine. go get sgi's a port is coming! :-) And here we go, the idea of an OpenBSD/sgi port is coming back. The day after: my 64bit mips kernel is now starting to run init. looks good so far but still things that needs to be fixed. looking forward to that O2. And the next day: heh, OpenBSD/mips64 now have shell prompt! :-) sweet and mips32? :-) don't tell theo but it runs in o32 emul mode. :-) mips32 per se is already working fine. i'm trying to keep the kernel code as generic as possible so if someone insist on making an OpenBSD/mips32 it should work. more or less a matter of compilation options. now i can't think of any reason why to make a mips32 kernel unless someone wants to start fighting old R3000 hw again... no don't look at me. a mips64 kernel is only about 10% larger than a mips32 kernel. Two weeks later: nice to have some good progress now and then. mips64 is starting to work really well. still much work but it looks really good so far. pefo, do you plan on merging mips anytime soon? as soon as i have all 64 bit pieces going. actually theo says he want it clean and fixed before importing it. there are a few issues regarding endianness etc that has to be dealt with. i'd be glad to help i'm currently playing with gcc 3.0.4 and binutils 2.12 which seems to work pretty well so far. i know. binutils 2.11 cannot handle mips64, right? 2.11 has a lot of problems. 2.11.94 which is close to 2.12 handles o32, o64 but not yet n32 and 64. 2.11 can do o64. i've been compiling the kernel with that until now. that is the 64 bit kernel. i've never got even o64 working with 2.11 here. the IP30 prom can only load a 64bit kernel, IP32 seems more flexible. " the IP30 prom can only load a 64bit kernel" do you by that mean it can only load ELF64? yes i see, thats a different thing. 2.11 will not do that. it will only work ok when doing ELF32 files. what kind of SGI machines do you have? Indy, Challenge S, Indigo2, O2 and single-CPU Octane cool, looks like you are going to get busy! :-) that is, if i can get my hands on your code =) i'm curious to see how you're handling caches well, caches seems to be one of the hardest things to grasp... L2 caches are a pain well, as long as one remembers to deal wit orphans it's no problem. then if you define a set of cache operations coupled to the action instead of encapsulating the various cache commands in functions it's really easy to deal with it. but people always aproach the problem from the wrong direction. then not understanding the behaviour of non-snooping caches and think that busdma will be the universal solution is a *big* mistake... put these things together with some aliasing, and voila! you have stability problems. One week later, a short status update: well, i have a working (to some extent) kernel and have made a simple o32 emulation to allow the older o32 binaries to run. not everything will work but i wanted something to help me bootstrap the 64 bit world. a couple of strange things happen which i need to track down to either compiler/toolchain problems or my code. how many boxes do you run on? anything common for our developers to get? three. haven't started sgi yet. wcobb is hot on it though :-) have an O2 standing beside me that i'm going to play with soon Good. there are small fast sgi machines, right? have spent quite some time on getting the tools to do the right thing and have 80% of 64 bit userland built -static. shared stuff later if o64 hold water. all new code i create under mips64 is supposed to work in ISA2-ISA4 mode, eg both 32 and 64 bit mode. but i'm not going to do anything with ISA1, eg R3000 now. it's to painful... A few bugfixes later, at the end of march, our hopes of getting a 64-bit sgi port were high. the SGI porting work will really take off now. i have an Indy, and an Octane on its way here from US. what is the SGI machine status around here, what do we got? Indigo2 i know, what else? yeah, i have an O2 also. Two weeks later in april, the same optimistism: morning. the probability for [OpenBSD] 3.2 to have a SGI port is becoming higher and higher. good. what hardware is working? o2 is my first target. will attack that hard next week. if it is getting close, pefo, it is going to become time for you to hook a few developers up with the right hardware soon. like miod, me, and a willing ports person, probably one of brad (toronto) or naddy (germany). so that we can do our end of the cleaning wcobb is looking at the octane. i will go back to the indy after i have the o2 going. well you will need to ensure we get hardware and please, small hardware? :-) small + fast + cheap (the latter is not as important) so if things work ok at least indy, o2 and octane will be supported as a start. great. you can get an indy for $100 SGI hardware is relatively cheap these days. what is the fastest PC-size sgi? I have no idea the o2 with a R12000. still rather expensive. you can the a 200Mhz R5K o2 for about $250-500. sometimes they go really cheap on ebay. and how fast is it Yeah, I would think a cheap octane would be the way to go octanes is hard to get under $500-600. But that is not too expensive well, for the first few, we will just have to ask. fast is relative. but if we look at tree build performance an r5k/200 will probably build the tree in 6-7 hrs. now it feels that gcc 3.x is becoming even slower though... well, that isn't too horrible. we do not have any middle of the line machines at the moment < 3 hour and > 20 hours. if get the O2 port up and running it is possible that we can get a few donated from where i got some of the extra stuff for the octane i bought. And then there were no further signs of life from Per... Late may: what's up with the sgi stuff? haven't seen pefo here in a while Who knows. Fogelstrom appeared again in december, with an important question. Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 17:58:30 -0800 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailinglist Subject: SGI system type poll Hi, I've now started to code the SGIMIPS kernel and thought i should check what type of systems you guys have. My first target will be the O2 since that is what i have around and what i consider reasonable. The box that sits here is a R5000 so that will be what is going to work first. The other box i have is a R10000 but it's on loan right now but if there is people with O2 R10K's it will be the next target. I have also started to search for O2 frambuffer info and if anyone have any i would appreciate that. Since the O2 is a shared memory buffer design it would probably be fairly easy to get a dumb framebuffer X port working when the details are uncovered. Once the kernel is operational i think there is little work left to have almost everything working. I currently have 1600+ packages compiled although not everything is tested! :-) At least KDE and some other stuff is working fine on my Galileo/Marvell Discovery system as i'm typing this using KMail... So stay tuned! :-) Per There were not many reactions. I said I was more interested in Indy and Indigo2 support at the moment since these were the systems I had, but wouldn't mind if other systems were supported first. It looked like the general attitude was "wait and see". fall 2002 status SGI model common name Linux NetBSD OpenBSD IP22 Indigo2 kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no X server IP24 Indy kernel no bootloader XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no X server IP27 Origin 200, Origin 2000 kernel no bootloader IP32 O 2 not-yet-integrated kernel patches no R10000 support no bootloader complete distribution no R10000 support no graphics no onboard Ethernet kernel does not run stably likely some private tinkering no R10000 support status unknown 2003, Linux Not much happened for Linux on SGI that year. Guido Guenther wrote a standalone boot loader, arcboot, allowing Indy and O 2 to finally boot Linux from disk. In a message to the linux-mips mailing list in november, Ralf Bachle acknowledged that Linux on the O 2 was not really ready for end-users. Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:53:33 +0100 From: Ralf Baechle To: BETTLER Emmanuel Cc: linux-mips Subject: Re: O2 and Linux boot problem [...] Linux for O2 is still in it's very early stages, don't expect much success with it for the moment. Hackers welcome :) Ralf 2003, NetBSD On the older side of the SGI hardware spectrum, Steve Rumble made NetBSD run on the R3000-based Indigo (IP12, the first generation of Indigo systems) in april and shared his work-in-progress code, which would however not get commited until one year later. On the more modern side of the spectrum, there was not much visible progress this year, until the last quarter of the year, where O 2 support was repaired in october thanks to the efforts of Christopher Sekiya, and R10000 processor support was added shortly afterwards. On december 15th, glass console for Indy systems with the ``newport'' (XL) frame buffers was added. And to end the year on a good note, Christopher Sekiya added support for the R4000-based Indigo (IP20, the second generation of Indigo systems) on december 31st. 2003, OpenBSD Fogelstrom came back early january, to complain about the state of OpenBSD's driver for the Adaptec AIC-7880 SCSI controller found onboard the SGI O 2 , which code was not endian-neutral at that time. aic7xxx.c is severly broken. i found a lot of BE issues. swapping of already swapped adresses, faulty busdma_syncs... looks like i have a lot of work to do here... :( NetBSD don't use our code. it's not based on the same FreeBSD version even. ahc0: PCI error Interrupt at seqaddr = 0x7f <-- from OpenBSD on SGI O2. not much choice. i need to get this driver working. ahc? why ahc? aic7880 <- builtin on the O2. two of them. the free pci slot is needed for an ethernet board until the builtin ethernet is figured out. wow. what is the builtin ethernet? something 'homemade'. sits in a big asic. seeq? hmm, i think it's thunderlan (at least that what i had on my r5k) sgi owns seeq, if i recall. that could be found out while looking at the published .h files. have to go. cinema time. btw, whoever wants to play with ethernet is welcome! :) well i do not have mine anyymore (; at least the kernel is coming alive. another week or so i would guess... It only took one day of work for the situation to improve, as reported on the next day: sd0 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: SCSI2 0/direct fixed :) from the O2 heh, cool! so you have ahc BE clean now? If you do, I would like to see those diffs. Whoa, BE clean ahc? That would ROCK. yes, it was (so far) two places of swaps and one missing dmasync. gimme wonder if that could help with some of the general ahc probs... not on i386... no dmasync's necessary on that arch. dmasync, no. dmasync and BE will help sparcs with PCI though. And one day later: showtime: > boot -f bootp():bsd.sgi Setting $netaddr to 192.168.16.70 (from server mammoth) Obtaining bsd.sgi from server mammoth 2140912+246880 entry: 0x80100080 Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1995-2002 OpenBSD. All rights reserved. http://www.OpenBSD.org OpenBSD 3.2-current (GENERIC) #97: Thu Jan 9 04:21:38 CET 2003 pefo@mammoth:/archive/OpenBSD/3.2/src/sys/arch/sgimips/compile/GENERIC real mem = 67108864 avail mem = 58425344 using 819 buffers containing 3354624 bytes of memory mainbus0 (root) cpu0 at mainbus0: MIPS R5000 CPU Rev. 2.1 with MIPS R5000 based FPC Rev. 1.0 L1 Cache: I size 32kb(32 line), D size 32kb(32 line), two way. macebus0 at mainbus0 macepcibr0 at macebus0: chip revision 1, host system O2. pci0 at macepcibr0 bus 0 ahc0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 vendor 0x9004 product 0x8078 rev 0x00: irq 1 ahc0: aic7880: Wide Channel A, SCSI Id=0, 16/255 SCBs scsibus0 at ahc0: 16 targets sd0 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: SCSI2 0/direct fixed sd0: 2049MB, 8188 cyl, 3 head, 170 sec, 512 bytes/sec, 4197405 sec total cd0 at scsibus0 targ 4 lun 0: SCSI2 5/cdrom removable ahc1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 vendor 0x9004 product 0x8078 rev 0x00: irq 2 ahc1: aic7880: Wide Channel A, SCSI Id=0, 16/255 SCBs scsibus1 at ahc1: 16 targets fxp0 at pci0 dev 3 function 0 vendor 0x8086 product 0x1229 rev 0x08: irq 4, address 00:90:27:a5:47:58 inphy0 at fxp0 phy 1: i82555 10/100 media interface, rev. 4 com0 at macebus0: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo com0: console com1 at macebus0: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo boot device: lookup 'unknown' failed. root device : sweet =P next thing is fixing the interrupts and i think this little toaster will run :) the oxygen toaster ? yup oh hmm, it has fxp onboard, i bet i had thunderlan no, it's in the pci slot. the onboard ethernet is still unknown... ah it's not on pci ? the fxp is a quickstart solution until the built in ethernet is working no, it's not on pci. it's in the same asic as the pci bridge but not a generic pci device. There are a few interestings things to observe in the above boot sequence: the name of the machine the kernel was built on is mammoth , which proves that, unlike what we've been told, mammoths were still alive in the 21st century (although with only 64MB of memory and no L2 cache, it was obviously a small, endangered, specimen.) , which proves that, unlike what we've been told, mammoths were still alive in the 21st century the port name was still sgimips at that time, similar to the NetBSD port name. And of course, Fogelstrom disappeared again, until early september: [=Sign-on=] pefo (pefo@[XXX.XXX.XX.XX]) entered group holy shit, a swedish developer we've not seen a swedish developer in weeks yeah... hello pefo hi miod probably because it's their 6 month night now so is sgi ever going to happen? hi pefo summer have ended and we are crawling back to our caves ;-) hi todd I've been bugging pefo to get his sgi's back online. rumor has it one is .. OK, a mips machine is available for remote access for those who wants to hack mips code. It runs 3.3 right now and have my mips/sgi sources on line. do you want to incorporate things into the tree after unlock? sgi/O2 stuff can probably go in. i'm rearranging the tree per your request first. the only thing i want to do before going public with things is to move over to n32/n64 abis as default. n32/n64? err, isn't n32/n64 the abi horribly poorly supported by binutils? afaik they have decent o32 code, but nothing for n32 do you mean i32lp64? i do not know this other notation the new ABIs. Have better call methods (faster), uses 8 arg regs instead of 4 and have less overhead. oh, it is an abi, is it on top of i32lp64? not any longer. yes. n32 is i32 n64 is lp64 i'd say no because I only consider 32bit systems here (-: pefo, you mean you have written n32/n64 code for binutils? no, not me but redhat. oh. I was not aware of this. that's excellent news. i have the code and i think it is in the cvs now also. there are some specific tweaks for the RM9000 which i'm not sure about but that doesn't matter yet. this is still the newer SGI stuff, my Indigo2 is still SOL, right? nick, you can enjoy netbsd and serial console only on it (-: and no L2 cache (unless they fixed this recently) oh, and those two wonderful, SGI-only 20" monitors. *sigh* Indigo2 may come later. We have to start somewhere and O2 is a good place. It's a decent machine both in speed availability and price. [...] pefo, you got propolice working? too bad mips is totally incapable of W^X yes, its no news. The R10K is a little "special". There may be a couple of rare RM52xx and RM7000 around as well. Those are OK. i'd expect pp to misbehave on mips, if only because mips cpus smell bugs. Even though they're a dream to program for, from an userland pov... but then i also expected it to misbehave on m88k and it did not. Yes i'm running 3.3 with stack protector on. no problems seen so far. pefo, contact etoh to see if he wants to do any tests make build goes thru with no problems. ok Technical note you may ignore, but I'd recommend reading it anyway, it's not too difficult to understand. The interesting part of this conversation is the discussion about the ABIs. At that time, there had been already four levels of instruction sets for MIPS processors, each level being a superset of the previous one. MIPS1 is the original MIPS instruction set, supported by the R2000 and R3000 families. MIPS2, introduced with the (obscure, short-lived) R6000, adds "load linked" and "store conditional" instructions allowing "compare-and-swap" atomic sequences, as well as "branch likely" flavours of branch instructions. MIPS3 adds 64-bit support, introduced with the R4000 family. MIPS4 adds a few more instructions (conditional moves and some more floating-point instruction flavours). It was first introduced with the R8000 processor, then also supported on the R10000 family and its variants (R12000, R14000, R16000.) Since OpenBSD/sgi was to be a 64-bit port, it would target MIPS3 and MIPS4 processors only - from the R4000 up. In the early MIPS days, when it was still a 32-bit processor, the original ABI for MIPS code allowed for up to 4 function call arguments to be passed in registers, any further argument being passed on the stack. MIPS processors having 32 general-purpose registers, this was a horrible mistake, and having allowed more registers for parameter passing would have been better, but it was too late to fix that. But when 64-bit support was introduced, MIPS engineers seized the opportunity to fix that, and designed a better calling convention for 64-bit code, using up to 8 registers for parameter passing. This new calling convention was called n64 ( n for new), and in retrospect, the old 32-bit calling convention was called o32 ( o for old). Then, users of 32-bit code realized it would be a good idea to also use 8 registers for parameter passing, and their adaptation of n64 to 32-bit code was called n32 . Then, because "why not", gcc added an o64 calling convention, which is the equivalent of o32 for 64-bit code, and noone sane should use it unless forced to. For the OpenBSD port, it was clear n64 was the way to go, but this required reliable code from binutils and gcc, and whether this code was reliable was yet to be discovered. fall 2003 status SGI model common name Linux NetBSD OpenBSD IP12 Indigo (R3000) complete distribution no graphics IP20 Indigo (R4000) complete distribution no graphics IP22 Indigo2 complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no graphics IP24 Indy complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only, no X server IP27 Origin 200, Origin 2000 complete distribution IP32 O 2 not-yet-integrated kernel patches no R10000 support complete distribution no graphics no onboard Ethernet kernel no bootloader no R10000 support no graphics no onboard Ethernet not public yet 2004, Linux In april, Stanislaw Skowronek appeared on the linux-mips list with the first bits of Octane support. Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 22:51:13 +0200 (MET DST) From: Stanislaw Skowronek To: linux-mips Subject: Work on IP30 My Octane got as far as 'Calibrating delay loop... ' now. It works with ARCS graphical console, which is a Good Thing. Memory identification is correct. Caches work OK. I'm going to do the IRQs tomorrow, but I foresee it will be really hard as there is no documentation for the HEART. Well, we shall experiment. Fortunately, the Octane has one really nice feature: the power button is hooked up to an interrupt source. It may prove quite useful for debugging. Interesting note: the ARCS console breaks when I change KSEG0 cache coherence in the CP0_CONFIG register (in c-r4k.c). Of course, it breaks sooner or later, not exactly afterwards, unless I flush cache exactly after changing; it breaks immediately then. I don't give a hoot, because IP30 has almost no RAM in KSEG0 and the kernel runs in XKPHYS, always cached copy-on-write. But those of you with another machines might be interested. Stanislaw Skowronek A few days later, he had made progress: Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:13:29 +0200 (MET DST) From: Stanislaw Skowronek To: linux-mips Subject: IP30 goes relatively far now Hello, I'm currently doing a reverse-engineered IP30 port of Linux-MIPS. Currently I'm using 2.6.1 as my base. I don't know if it's been already fixed in >2.6.1, but in genex.S there should be a 'nop' between 'jal do_\handler' and 'ret_from_exception'. The symptom is a hang on 'Checking for the daddi bug...'. Somebody apparently got used to '.set reorder' :P Well, now the kernel crashes a bit later. Actually, it gets to 'mice: PS/2 mouse device common for all mice' and then gets an Instruction bus error. I will look into this. Currently the kernel supports only MGRAS graphics (SI, SSI, MXI, SE, SSE, MXE) and uniprocessor. I don't have a SMP machine here, but I guess it would not be particularly hard to do. The ODYSSEY (VPro) would be a bit harder, as its architecture is vastly different from the MGRAS. Anyone interested may send me a VPro6 ;) When I get to 'cannot mount root', I will release the kernel patch. Yours, Stanislaw Skowronek On the 25th, as promised, he shared his code. Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 19:18:16 +0200 (MET DST) From: Stanislaw Skowronek To: linux-mips Subject: Work on IP30 Hello! I have placed a alpha version of my patch for Octane at: http://www.et.put.poznan.pl/~sskowron/ip30/ Things currently unsupported: * SMP will not work, * qLogic SCSI driver oopses at the start, * keyboard is not written yet, * VPro (Odyssey) graphics, * ARCS console, * serial console, * PCI card cage (trivial, but I can't test it as I don't have one) Things not yet tested: * new Octanes and Octane2s, * user mode (yes! I don't have yet a MIPS glibc to cross-compile for user mode), * almost everything Stanislaw Skowronek The next month, he was able to run userland, albeit diskless, as there were still problems with the SCSI driver. Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 22:54:03 +0200 (MET DST) From: Stanislaw Skowronek To: linux-mips Subject: Octane - first light! Well, we've got usermode now. There is no keyboard driver so I can't comment on interactive work (and I am too lazy to set up a complete telnet server :), but all interesting scripts I gave it worked. Network is OK, the QLogic SCSI driver does not work for some reason or another (it can't communicate with hardware - why?), the console driver is nice and seems to work rock-solid, high IRQ load (ping -f) does not break anything. I found another 32-bit infelicity in kernel/scall64-o32.S in stackargs: using subu instead of dsubu for jump address calculation... Any more of these and I will have an overflow exception on anger. Tomorrow, or somewhere in the next week I'm doing keyboard support. Stanislaw Skowronek Another good surprise was due in may, as Peter Furst posted a promising boot on a POWER Indigo2 R10000 (IP28): Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 08:36:35 +0200 (CEST) From: Peter Fuerst To: linux-mips Subject: IP28 How many Linux logins took place on a IP28-machine before ... ? with kind regards peter furst [...] Starting up the system... To perform system maintenance instead, press System Maintenance Menu 1) Start System 2) Install System Software 3) Run Diagnostics 4) Recover System 5) Enter Command Monitor Option? 5 Command Monitor. Type "exit" to return to the menu. >> unsetenv OsLoadPartition >> setenv OsLoadOptions "root=/dev/nfs nfsroot=192.168.1.1:/var/V/mipseb ip=192.168.1.28:::255.255.255.0::eth0:" >> printenv SystemPartition=bootp(): OSLoader=vmlinux OSLoadFilename=vmlinux AutoLoad=Yes TimeZone=PST8PDT console=d1 diskless=0 dbaud=9600 volume=80 sgilogo=y autopower=y netaddr=192.168.1.28 eaddr=08:00:69:0b:11:e2 boottune=0 ConsoleOut=serial(0) ConsoleIn=serial(0) cpufreq=174 OSLoadOptions=root=/dev/nfs nfsroot=192.168.1.1:/var/V/mipseb ip=192.168.1.28:::255.255.255.0::eth0: >> boot Setting $netaddr to 192.168.1.28 (from server Opal.Peter) Obtaining /vmlinux from server Opal.Peter 2053216+397312+155512 entry: 0xa800000020200000 init_arch(7,9000000020ffe300,9000000020ffdf70,a800000020200000), CP0: status 34004880, cause 0000801c, config 6c11ac03 ... ARCH: SGI-IP28 PROMLIB: ARC firmware Version 64 Revision 0 CPU revision is: 00000925 FPU revision is: 00000900 load_mmu: R1X000 (20) ... Primary instruction cache 32kB, physically tagged, 2-way, linesize 64 bytes. Primary data cache 32kB 2-way, linesize 32 bytes. Unified secondary cache 1024kB 2-way, linesize 128 bytes. init_arch: start_kernel() ... Linux version 2.4.22 (pf@Opal.Peter) (gcc version 2.95.4 20010319 (prerelease)) #163 Sat May 15 02:22:59 CEST 2004 Entering setup_arch()... MC: SGI memory controller Revision 5 MC: Boardrev. 0, Chiprev. 13 MC: Probing memory configuration: bank0: 64M @ 28000000 bank1: 64M @ 2c000000 bank2: 128M @ 20000000 Determined physical RAM map: memory: 0000000010000000 @ 0000000020000000 (usable) On node 0 totalpages: 196608 zone(0): 196608 pages. zone(1): 0 pages. zone(2): 0 pages. Leaving setup_arch(). Kernel command line: root=/dev/nfs nfsroot=192.168.1.1:/var/V/mipseb ip=192.168.1.28:::255.255.255.0::eth0: Calibrating system timer... 875000 [175.0000 MHz CPU] Using 87.500 MHz high precision timer. Console: colour dummy device 80x25 zs0: console input Console: ttyS0 (Zilog8530), 9600 baud Calibrating delay loop... 174.48 BogoMIPS Memory: 242616k/262144k available (2005k kernel code, 19528k reserved, 260k data, 100k init) Dentry cache hash table entries: 131072 (order: 9, 2097152 bytes) Inode cache hash table entries: 65536 (order: 8, 1048576 bytes) Mount cache hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes) Buffer cache hash table entries: 65536 (order: 7, 524288 bytes) Page-cache hash table entries: 262144 (order: 9, 2097152 bytes) Checking for 'wait' instruction... unavailable. Checking for the multiply/shift bug... no. Checking for the daddi bug... no. Checking for the daddiu bug... no. POSIX conformance testing by UNIFIX Linux NET4.0 for Linux 2.4 Based upon Swansea University Computer Society NET3.039 Initializing RT netlink socket Starting kswapd Journalled Block Device driver loaded Installing knfsd (copyright (C) 1996 okir@monad.swb.de). pty: 256 Unix98 ptys configured DS1286 Real Time Clock Driver v1.0 SGI Zilog8530 serial driver version 1.00 tty00 at 0xbfbd9830 (irq = 45) is a Zilog8530 tty01 at 0xbfbd9838 (irq = 45) is a Zilog8530 Hardware Watchdog Timer for SGI IP22: 0.2 sgiseeq.c: David S. Miller (dm@engr.sgi.com) eth0: SGI Seeq8003 08:00:69:0b:11:e2 SCSI subsystem driver Revision: 1.00 wd33c93-0: chip=WD33c93B/13 no_sync=0xff no_dma=0 debug_flags=0x00 setup_args=,,,,,,,,, Version 1.25 - 09/Jul/1997, Compiled May 13 2004 at 20:54:51 wd33c93-1: chip=WD33c93B/13 no_sync=0xff no_dma=0 debug_flags=0x00 setup_args=,,,,,,,,, Version 1.25 - 09/Jul/1997, Compiled May 13 2004 at 20:54:51 scsi0 : SGI WD93 scsi1 : SGI WD93 sending SDTR 0103013f0csync_xfer=2c Vendor: FUJITSU Model: M2954S-512 Rev: 0142 Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02 sending SDTR -REJ- Vendor: TOSHIBA Model: CD-ROM XM-5401TA Rev: 0436 Type: CD-ROM ANSI SCSI revision: 02 Attached scsi disk sda at scsi0, channel 0, id 1, lun 0 SCSI device sda: 8498506 512-byte hdwr sectors (4351 MB) Partition check: sda: sda1 sda2 sda3 sda4 Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0 at scsi0, channel 0, id 3, lun 0 sr0: scsi-1 drive Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.12 SGI HAL2 revision 0.1.0 NET4: Linux TCP/IP 1.0 for NET4.0 IP: routing cache hash table of 4096 buckets, 64Kbytes TCP: Hash tables configured (established 131072 bind 65536) IP-Config: Complete: device=eth0, addr=192.168.1.28, mask=255.255.255.0, gw=255.255.255.255, host=192.168.1.28, domain=, nis-domain=(none), bootserver=255.255.255.255, rootserver=192.168.1.1, rootpath= NET4: Unix domain sockets 1.0/SMP for Linux NET4.0. Looking up port of RPC 100003/2 on 192.168.1.1 Looking up port of RPC 100005/1 on 192.168.1.1 VFS: Mounted root (nfs filesystem). Freeing unused kernel memory: 100k freed do_execve(/sbin/init)... INIT: version 2.74 booting [...] Hard Hat Linux Hard Hat release 5.1 (Copenhagen) Kernel 2.4.22 on a mips64 indigo2 login: [...] He spent the next months cleaning his code, and published a first version of his patches in august. Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 02:17:40 +0200 (CEST) From: Peter Fuerst To: linux-mips Subject: IP28 Kernel patches Hello ! The Kernel patches for SGI Indigo2 R10k (IP28) can now be found at http://home.alphastar.de/fuerst/download.html with kind regards... 2004, NetBSD Hardware support made progress in NetBSD too in 2004. First, Steve Rumble's code for the original (R3000) Indigo (IP12) got merged by Antti Kantee. Date: 04/11/2004 16:28:32 From: Antti Kantee To: port-sgimips Subject: IP12 support in-tree I've just finished pushing Steve Rumble's IP12 (4D/30, 4D/35, Indigo R3k) code into -current (hopefully the changes will make it also into NetBSD 2.0). Machines should be able to boot to multiuser at least using a NFS root now (sd0 root untested, probably some funnies hiding there). Things seem to work mostly okay, the only big issue is with nfs root going berzerk if you try to use the default fragment sizes. Steve hinted that using small read and write fragment sizes might do the trick, and at least it's a working workaround for me: dm:/m/dm/nfs/4lom / nfs rw,-w=1024,-r=1024 0 0 A kernel config file is not yet available due to changes that are going to (hopefully!) happen before NetBSD 2.0. But for the millions of people out there who can't just wait to run NetBSD on their IP12's, it's pretty easy to mop GENERIC32_IP2x into a good IP12 kernel conf: * change TEXTADDR from 0x88069000 to 0x80002000 * replace MIPS3 with MIPS1 (yes, replace, needs investigation) * add: pic0 at mainbus0 addr 0x1fa00000 * add: gio0 at pic0 Thanks go naturally to Steve Rumble for writing most of the code and an endless stream of answers to questions about SGI hardware, and also to Chris Sekiya for shipping me a battery to replace the dead one on my IP12 (.. and answering questions.. and working on abstracting sgimips enough for support to be easily dropped in.. and ..). Enjoy! Obligatory bootlog follows. >> hinv Memory size: 32 Mbytes Instruction cache size: 32 Kbytes Data cache size: 32 Kbytes System option: Audio processor, revision 3 CPU board: IP12 33 MHz, with FPU System option: Audio processor, revision 3 >> boot Setting $netaddr to 10.181.181.183 (from server dm) Obtaining netbsd from server dm 1434800+0+170476 entry: 0x80069000 argv[0]: bootp()netbsd [ Kernel symbol table missing! ] Mem block 1: type 0, base 0x0000, size 0x0001 Mem block 2: type 2, base 0x0001, size 0x0fff Mem block 3: type 2, base 0x1000, size 0x0800 Mem block 4: type 2, base 0x1800, size 0x0800 Mem block 5: type 4, base 0xfc00, size 0x0000 Loading cluster 1 (before kernel): 0x1 / 0x68 Loading cluster 1 (after kernel): 0x1f1 / 0x1000 Loading cluster 2: 0x1000 / 0x1800 Loading cluster 3: 0x1800 / 0x2000 zs channel 0 had address 0xbfb80d10 Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. NetBSD 2.0C (4LOM) #367: Sun Apr 11 15:15:22 EEST 2004 pooka@brain-damage.localhost.fi:/sys/arch/sgimips/compile/obj/4LOM total memory = 32768 KB (0 reserved for ARCS) avail memory = 30308 KB mainbus0 (root): SGI-IP12 [SGI, IP12], 1 processor cpu0 at mainbus0: MIPS R3000A CPU (0x230) Rev. 3.0 with MIPS R3010 FPC Rev. 4.0 cpu0: 32KB/4B direct-mapped Instruction cache, 64 TLB entries cpu0: 32KB/4B direct-mapped write-through Data cache int0 at mainbus0 addr 0x1fb801c0 pic0 at mainbus0 addr 0x1fa00000 pic0: Revision B: dblk (0x2), iblk (0x8) pic0: cache disabled, store partial, bus drive gio0 at pic0 Synchronous ISDN (product 0x04 revision 0x00) at gio0 slot 2 addr 0x1f000000 not configured hpc0 at gio0 addr 0x1fb80000: SGI HPC1 zsc0 at hpc0 offset 0xd10 zstty0 at zsc0 channel 1 (console i/o) zstty1 at zsc0 channel 0 zsc1 at hpc0 offset 0xd00 zsc1: channel 1 not configured zsc1: channel 0 not configured int0: cannot share interrupts yet. sq0 at hpc0 offset 0x100: SGI Seeq 8003 sq0: Ethernet address 08:00:69:06:2b:01 wdsc0 at hpc0 offset 0x11f: WD33C93A SCSI, rev=0, target 0 scsibus0 at wdsc0: 8 targets, 8 luns per target dpclock0 at hpc0 offset 0xe00 biomask 0b netmask 0b ttymask 1b clockmask 7f scsibus0: waiting 2 seconds for devices to settle... sd0 at scsibus0 target 1 lun 0: disk fixed sd0: drive offline sd0: sync (200.00ns offset 12), 8-bit (5.000MB/s) transfers boot device: root device: sq0 dump device: file system (default generic): nfs root on sq0 nfs_boot: trying DHCP/BOOTP nfs_boot: DHCP next-server: 10.181.181.1 nfs_boot: my_domain=localhost.fi nfs_boot: my_addr=10.181.181.183 nfs_boot: my_mask=255.255.255.0 nfs_boot: gateway=10.181.181.1 root on dm:/m/dm/nfs/4lom root time: 0x4079371b readclock: 2004/4/11/12/16/9 time.tv_sec = 1081685769, time.tv_usec = 960000 init path (default /sbin/init): init: copying out flags `-s' 3 init: copying out path `/sbin/init' 11 Enter pathname of shell or RETURN for /bin/sh: Terminal type? [unknown] Terminal type is unknown. We recommend creating a non-root account and using su(1) for root access. # Sun Apr 11 12:17:30 UTC 2004 Starting file system checks: Setting tty flags. Setting sysctl variables: Starting network. Hostname: 4LOM.localhost.fi Configuring network interfaces: sq0. add net default: gateway 10.181.181.1 Adding interface aliases: Building databases... Starting syslogd. Checking for core dump... savecore: /netbsd: kvm_openfiles: /netbsd: No such file or directory Apr 11 12:18:00 4LOM savecore: /netbsd: kvm_openfiles: /netbsd: No such file or directory Setting date via ntp. setclock: 2004/4/11/12/18/24 Starting rpcbind. Apr 11 12:18:25 4LOM rpcbind: cannot create socket for udp6 Apr 11 12:18:25 4LOM rpcbind: cannot create socket for tcp6 Mounting all filesystems... Clearing /tmp. Checking quotas: done. Setting securelevel: kern.securelevel: 0 -> 1 Starting virecover. Starting local daemons:. Updating motd. Starting sshd. Starting inetd. Starting cron. Sun Apr 11 12:19:11 UTC 2004 NetBSD/sgimips (4LOM.localhost.fi) (console) login: [...] A few months later, Christopher Sekiya added almost complete support for the XZ (Elan) graphics option. Date: 07/09/2004 07:39:04 From: Christopher SEKIYA To: port-sgimips Subject: IP12/20 wscons support in-tree All, I've just committed the final bits for grtwo wsconsole support on the IP20 (and probably IP12 -- the hardware is the same). It should now be possible to use a monitor/keyboard as console. There is still more work to do -- there is no cursor, and column copy/erase is problematic; however, it seems quite useable. Enjoy, -- Chris Unfortunately, his hardware would stop functioning shortly afterwards, and he never got to improve this code (which contains an infinite loop he probably was lucky enough not to trigger in his testing, which I fixed years later while completing the work on this frame buffer for OpenBSD.) The next week, the much more awaited driver for the onboard Ethernet interface on the O 2 was also commited by Izumi Tsutsui. Subject: Re: On-board MACE MAC-110 Ethernet on O2 (on-going) From: Izumi Tsutsui To: port-sgimips Date: 07/11/2004 12:35:18 [...] > After a bunch of try and error, now the driver is mostly functional: > http://www.ceres.dti.ne.jp/~tsutsui/netbsd/if_mec-20040709.tar.gz I've committed the driver with some further enhancements (especially interrupt and cache handling). http://mail-index.netbsd.org/source-changes/2004/07/11/0001.html As noted the commit log message, this driver still needs more tests. If you find any problems, please report via send-pr(1). PART 3: The blowfish awakens [go back to the previous part][skip to the next part] 2004, OpenBSD As usual, Fogelstrom disappeared for a while and we thought again that the SGI port would never materialize unless someone else would take the lead (and likely port the existing NetBSD code). But on july 30th, it looks like things would happen for real. sooon a snapshot for you guys with SGI O2s will be ready to play with. R5K required for now though. thanks pefo. i still have to check the O2 here, but I think I have an R5k module on one of the i2 or indy. thought they might not be suit for o2, come to think of it... no, O2 and Indy modules are not compatible. damn. then i hope it's an r5k. The promised snapshot appeared two days later. ALLRIGHT!! Everyone with SGI O2s R5K, line up and dust them off. Snapshot ready for ftp in 2 hrs! pefo, I'll line up once I'm back home tsk, tsk... ;) if you can pay the bills and the food I'll gladly stop working and spend my time home (-: [...] OK, the SGI O2 snap is up and ready for download. Have fun! Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 15:57:51 +0200 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailing list Subject: First SGI O2 snap now available!!! OK, for all those who waited a long time, the moment has come!!! This snap runs on O2s with R5K and i think R5K2 cpus and at least 64Mb of sdram. You will need a NIC, preferably a fxp. Integrated ethernet support is on the way. Read the README file for more info. Get it at ftp.opsycon.se/pub/OpenBSD/3.5+/sgimips when it's fresh! Have fun and report back to me! Per Theo de Raadt seized the opportunity to ask for hardware donations (it never hurts to try...). Date: Wed, 04 Aug 2004 08:43:57 +0000 From: Theo de Raadt To: openbsd-misc Subject: SGI O2 A developer is about to import an SGI O2 codebase. Anyone want that? There's a catch. We need at least 3 machines in Calgary. There's a little known rule in OpenBSD -- the "to make an official snapshot" rule -- which says roughtly [sic]: in addition to the main developers of a new architecture, at least Theo and Peter must have machines. Otherwise all of us get scared of the possibility of a new architecture languishing and creating an unsightly pit of dead code in the tree. We could use more than 3, since developers visit here once in a while, and we like to send them on their way with full suitcases. Is there anyone out there that wants to take care of this? ie. Finding some machines, and getting them to Calgary. It's a mission. I'm serious. Sometimes we ask and nothing happens. It is kind of like I am asking our user community to invest some time in getting access to some damn cheap (just check Ebay) machines and simply post them to Calgary :) People seem to ask how they can help quite often; here's an example. Why add a new architecture? SGI's mips machines are dead, aren't they? Well our expierence [sic] has been that every architecture we add has helped us find bugs in shared code that affects other architectures. (As long as it receives developer [attention] and does not rot like NetBSD's architectures do). Some very scary and major bugs have been dredged out almost automatically. In some cases, the effort is not worthwhile. In this case, I judge it to be valuable. In particular, the SGI developer will probably peek out quite a few busdma bugs, which will affect driver support on any busdma architecture. ps. m88k has been the most worthwhile example, since some insane parts of that architecture permits Miod to find a MI bug weekly. And now that there were some concrete bits, we could start addressing one of the most important problems in computing: naming things. So, should it be called "sgimips" or "sgi". Comments? will we have any other mips in foreseeable future? guess it doesn't matter for the name actually Well I doubt we'll be supporting the sgi68k or sgi88k or sgisparc machines. to be fair, I have been looking for an sgi68k for some years now, they are very very very rare. I dislike typing long names, so I think it should just be sgi. well, it was supposed to be sgi initally. sgi was very successful at buying them back to give to their sledgehammer guy. I met their California sledgehammer guy. yup I was introduced :) did he hit you with his hammer? Was told that they spent about 1 million dollars over 10 years keeping them off ebay and out of the hands of other resellers. heh. am not surprised. why bother? To kill the reseller market. SGI machines had low value on buyback. Unlike Sun, who put high value on buyback. sgi tried to be very vocal on the theme "2nd hand sgi are bought as refurbished from sgi". After one good night of thought... so, sgi or sgimips? I think sgi. sgi sounds good to me. sgi also sells ia64 systems isn't it? Yes, but those a standard ia64 systems. Nothing SGI about them. ah, ok Hmm, NetBSD calls their SGI port sgimips though Yes, and they call their amd64 port x86_64 [...] it seems to be more of an issue of hpcmips vs sgimips rather than sgi making any other than mips machines same as macppc vs mvmeppc [...] I like simpler. [...] sgi68k is not going to happen. right so sgi makes sense. on he other hand there is no catsarm cats have legs, not arms, dummy paws you fluffy you and tails. [...] but are sgimips and sgimips64 the same port or 2 different ones? isn't sgimips 32bit only so far? I think it is 64bit only. NetBSD/sgimips is 32bit only as far as I understand. [...] so we want 2 ports sgi and sgi64 matthieu, likely. We want to support the 32 bit machines? Or just say forget it? i'd like to. but then I have too much time on my hands as everyone knows. so maybe sgi64? or sgi for 64 bits, and sgi32 later (-: sure if. when. hell, you said you wanted to only have to type "sgi". i prefer sgi :) my vote is "sgi" == 64bits, all cpu's I own atm are supposedly 64bit capable it's "sg" anyway. So who cares? ( catsarm in the discussion above is a reference to the ARM-based CATS board, which was used to bring back ARM support in OpenBSD in order to have a solid fundation before starting the SHARP Zaurus port.) Fogelstrom came with a nice summary the next day. hey, while i have a good night sleep you people can decide wether you want to call it sgimips, sgi, sgi64, pamela, or whatever! ;) Eventually there was a general agreement that ``sgi'' was the better name, and the source code was added to the OpenBSD source tree on august 6th. Michael Shalayeff ported the NetBSD O 2 on-board Ethernet driver a few days later, and a few other developers started working on code cleanup. Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 15:40:01 +0200 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailing list Subject: New SGI snapshot available. New snap available in ~pefo/sgisnap-0814 This snap has mec ethernet driver and a lot of other fixes. When using mec for network be aware that there is a snag somewhere we are searching for which makes the driver hang the system. Although i have done complete make builds via nfs source using mec there is something hiding in there. fxp is reliable though. MACHINE is now sgi instead of sgimips, MACHINE_ARCH=mips64. A little confusing since code is still LP32. As a consequence of that cc and as does not agree on things and -mips1 or -mips2 has to be explicitly given as option. I will try to fix that in the next snap coming in a couple of days. Alternatively pick up the comp35 tar from ftp.opsycon.se and use binutils from there. No disk boot yet. Code is ready but not tested yet. Heading for LP64 now!!! Per A few days later: Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 07:56:16 +0200 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailing list Subject: SGI snap update The SGI snap in ~pefo on cvs is now updated. The toolchain should now be working (nm(1)). The only tar which is updated is the comp36.tgz. nm(1) doesn't work with binutils 2.14 and mips. It does not say 'T', 'U' etc on shared lib symbols. 'W' works though. If someone could take a look at this i would appreciate it since perl does no longer build because of that. The snap dir also contains a diff against the tree with the patches currently needed to do a make build. Many of these will be obsolete when the toolchain is fixed, among them the GOT separation and alignment. Basically all MI fixes will be gone and only some MD will be left. I will be on the mainland for a couple of day, back Thursday, so until then have fun. :) Per Before performing the switch from 32 to 64 bit, there were a few less important things Fogelstrom wanted to address, which took the rest of august: a working standalone bootloader, and the switch from gcc 2.95 as the system compiler to gcc 3.3, which was a requirement for reliable enough 64-bit code generation. SGI: diskbooting now works. code is not yet committed, i have to run. a new snap will be put up later today or tomorrow. ... ok, a new SGI snap is in ~pefo/sgisnap. the kernel does not yet autodetect the boot device but the one in the next snap will. it's building right now. don't forget to 'setenv OSLoader boot' otherwise it will try to start sash. (for you who don't read the install doc ;) ) On august 31st, things were ready for the 64-bit port to start. ahh! sgi fully migrated to gcc3 now. oh really? in mips32 or mips64? mips32. now going 64. neat. Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 22:03:46 +0200 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailing list Subject: gcc3 based sgisnap available As usual in ~pefo at cvs. This is probably the last snap before going full 64 bit. Two days later, a 64-bit kernel was working. Loading ELF64 file 0x0:0xffffffff, Zero 0x339bb0:0xffffffff, 0x347bd0:0xffffffff, start at 0x801001d0 Found SGI-IP32, setting up. Initial setup done, switching console. -Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1995-2004 OpenBSD. All rights reserved. http://www.OpenBSD.org OpenBSD 3.6 (GENERIC64) #24: Thu Sep 2 13:24:13 CEST 2004 root@moosehead.opsycon.se:/usr/src/sys/arch/sgi/compile/GENERIC64 real mem = 134217728 rsvd mem = 7020544 avail mem = 108924928 using 1638 buffers containing 6709248 bytes of memory mainbus0 (root) ... TADA!!! hip hip hurray! well this was the easy part, migrating the kernel to 64 bits. now comes userland... i'm cheating a little though... not running on full address space yet. and don't tell theo, the same code is used to build a 64 or 32 bit kernel. just feed the compiler -32 or -64 and everything is taken care of. ;) /msg deraadt did you know pefo cheats? he uses the same code to build 64 and 32 bit kernel! oops ;-) Userland took four more days, with some setbacks. wow! just went multiuser in 64 bit mode on sgi. userland is static since ld.so needs some fixing. but this is looking promising! [...] ssh craps out on mips64 RSA_public_decrypt failed: error:0407006A:rsa routines:RSA_padding_check_PKCS1_type_1:block type is not 01 is there something in the libs that needs to be set to 64? my guess would be libssl/crypto/arch/mips64/opensslconf.h oh! thanks! it's a great timesaver when someone knows the answer or where to look! dale was there with arm ;-) :) This 64-bit mips work also led to unexpected discoveries. heh! found a new lever on my chair! this one adjusts the y-position of the seat. and i've had it for almost 3 years! next week, you'll find the instructions manual! The 64-bit adaptation work was commited on september 9th. Kernel moves to 64 bit. A few more tweaks when binutils is updated. And then we faced our first severe bug. oh crap! panic: pool_get(mbpl): free list modified: magic=e291a1a; page 0xffffffffc332f000; item addr 0xffffffffc332f880 [...] panic: pool_get(mbpl) happens everytime i try to ssh to the O2. smells like alignment issue. i.e. you allocate @0 but access @0+4 onwards... what is mbpl mbuf pool ok. perhaps i should try using the old trusty fxp to see if it may be an mec driver problem. when i think about it's very possible. that driver have never run in 64 bit mode before since netbsd have no mips64 yet. [...] do you still get the mbpl panic? haven't had time to check that any further. i switched to a fxp though but that one crashes in the driver with a messed up mbuf chain. funny thing is that dong nfs from the O2 works fine. but as soon as i try to ssh to the box it crashes. same sypthimh taht is with the fxp. either fxp or mec works fine nfs-client. sympthom that... never saw this problem with the 32bit kernel. [...] panic: pool_get(mbpl): free list modified: magic=56617018; page 0xffffffffc332f000; item addr 0xffffffffc332f580 still not triggered early by your diff Todd )-; Oh well still a nice idea. it's from the MGET in m_prepend(). Yeah, I see miod, do you have a trace so you can see where pool_get is called ? _pool_get+0x644 (1ffffce7,ffffffff803caab0,56617018,ffffffffc332f000) sp ffffffffc6c6b770 ra ffffffff801d3f6c, sz 64 m_prepend+0xb4 (1ffffce7,ffffffff803caab0,56617018,ffffffffc332f000) sp ffffffffc6c6b7b0 ra ffffffff80271c80, sz 48 udp_output+0x130 (1ffffce7,ffffffffc3293008,0,0) sp ffffffffc6c6b7e0 ra ffffffff80272608, sz 144 udp_usrreq+0x638 (1ffffce7,ffffffffc3293008,0,0) sp ffffffffc6c6b870 ra ffffffff801d933c, sz 64 sosend+0x62c (1ffffce7,0,0,ffffffffc332f480) sp ffffffffc6c6b8b0 ra ffffffff802b7d00, sz 128 nfs_send+0x88 (1ffffce7,0,0,ffffffffc332f480) sp ffffffffc6c6b930 ra ffffffff802b9430, sz 32 nfs_request+0x9e8 (ffffffffc3304de0,ffffffffc332f000,3c6c6bdd0,ffffffffc332f480) sp ffffffffc6c6b950 ra ffffffff802cdf10, sz 288 nfs_lookup+0x400 (c3304de0,ffffffffc332f000,3c6c6bdd0,ffffffffc332f480) sp ffffffffc6c6ba70 ra ffffffff801f4308, sz 464 VOP_LOOKUP+0x60 (ffffffffc3304de0,ffffffffc6c6be10,ffffffffc6c6be38,ffffffffc332f480) sp ffffffffc6c6bc40 ra ffffffff801e8c2c, sz 48 ddb> show pool mbpool POOL mbpl: size 128, align 8, ioff 0, roflags 0x00000018 alloc 0xffffffff80434538 minitems 16, minpages 1, maxpages 8, npages 1 itemsperpage 31, nitems 20, nout 11, hardlimit 4294967295 nget 2638, nfail 0, nput 2627 npagealloc 1, npagefree 0, hiwat 1, nidle 0 currently entered from file /data/src/sys/kern/uipc_mbuf.c line 236 (sorry for flood) flood expected for a pool overflow, you know. go drown yourself. ENOMEM: pool not big enough. QUI EST GROS ? stfu, anything interesting scrolls off! ;) echo -n "heh" you get this in nfs, eh? ssh -1 machine, but the private key is on an nfs mounted share. gonna reboot and try ssh -lroot... but then nfs when logged on the console works. (and this ssh works ~ 1 time out of 3) I'm using nfs from the console too for my source tree. ah, ok. i'm strting to think it has to do with fragmentation. i get my crash in mec_start when it figures that the packet can't be send as is but must be revuilt. pefo, but you had this with fxp as well, right? it crashes with the fxp, but it looks different. may be something else although related since nfs works fine but ssh to box crashes. to bad the R5K doesn't have the watch register feature. could have nailed this in less than an hour... :( i thought you had an RM7k o2 too? no, r10k, and a r12k cpu module on its way. the r7k seems to be very rare... i have several other mips systems/boards with rm7k's though but they don't run mips64 yet. [...] R10K have the watch register. looks like i'm going to add support for it a little earlier than i planned... (``Qui est gros?'' above in all caps is an Obelix reference.) It took several days and many people's brains to figure out; that was caused by a machine-dependent constant in the network stack, which ought to have been enlarged during the switch to 64 bit, but had been left unchanged, leading to network stack assumptions no longer being respected. The machine-independent nature of the bug was confirmed by testing with an incorrect value on other platforms and experiencing similar network memory corruption. This was fixed on the 17th: Crank MSIZE and NMBCLUSTERS, per other 64bit arches. Further investigation of the causes of that bug also pointed out an earlier change in the network stack had been subtly incorrect, and that change was also reverted. Another good side-effect of that bug hunt was that Fogelstrom worked on R10000 processor family support earlier than initially intended. OpenBSD/sgi (moosehead12k.opsycon.se) (tty00) login: mickey! want a new kernel? how come it sez (tty00) instead of (console) prolly something in conf.c? actually have no idea. my mind have been busy with other things. :) probably your /etc/ttys console "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" unknown off secure tty00 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" unknown on secure oh, i did not notice this earlier. go ahead and fix it if it's wrong. no, actually it's ok until we get video console and that will be??? ;) hopefully soon you have the stuff from glaurung's? i have looked at it, yes and then my hair turned white. miod, but you didn't lose your hair! it could have fallen off! ;) now we know why Miod wears a hat i'm running the 12K with dirty speculative still on in kernel mode, eg like the 10K will do. building a kernel right now and so far it seems to work OK. actually, i should get a haircut soon. just powered up the Origin 200. pretty beefy machine. 225Mhz, 512Meg. only 225 MHz? that's a scam! for a R10K that is pretty good. but my fastest r4.4k runs at 250MHz! (ok, I'm sounding like an old record again here) you will be outrun anyway ;) building a kernel with the R12K was a little more than 3 times faster. i had hoped for about 4, but anyway. wait till you have smp code working! (-: oh yeah! and 1 128 cpu Origin 2000 cluster! Only $10K on ebay! ;) ( glaurung in the discussion above being Vivien Chappelier.) (Also note the name of Fogelstrom's system - Moosehead was the SGI code name for the O 2 , and 12k obviously is the processor type, a MIPS R12000.) The mips64 codebase would enter another turbulence zone, and this time I was the one to blame. The machine-dependent part of the virtual memory subsystem, known as the pmap module, had still some parts coming from the OpenBSD/arc code years ago, and was behind many changes, in particular the data structures handling the modified and referenced state of the virtual memory pages (which had to be maintained by software on MIPS) could be improved. While working on these changes, I tried to kill too many birds with a stone (my first mistake) but did not test well enough (my second mistake) and introduced several bugs which caused, among other things, random segmentation faults in userland binaries. I should have reverted my changes and done them again in smaller steps, but I was so sure this would be fixed by minor changes (a ``one-liner'' or two) that I did not want to do it (my third mistake); it took pressure from several developers and a heated discussion with more curse words than should have been needed for me to revert the troublesome parts, and we had lost three days. But this allowed a much more stable snapshot to be built and released on the next day. Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:30:18 +0200 From: Per Fogelstrom To: private OpenBSD mailing list Subject: New sgi snap available. OK, after much bug digging a new snap is put up in ~pefo@cvs. The kernel now seems stable wrt random core dumps. Problems were found and fixed in pmap code and in ld.so. This snap still lacks sendmail and friends. gcc still barfs on it. binutils is a moving target and seems to have bugs which manifest themselfs as failed linking of certain programs. it's being looked at. however it means that a few programs fail to link or cores. Most of these can be linked static but the major mess is gcc. don't try to rebuild it unless you really need (wanna fix bugs?). in that case contact me and i will explain how to build it. however if something cores, try to build it -static. groff for example must be linked static. There are two extra files in the snap dir. One is the emulparam that is going into ld. You only beed this if you plan to rebuild binutils and especially ld. The other file contains the diffs i have wrt head in my build tree. mostly binutils but also a "gross" hack to ahc.c to achive full disk speed. A better fix for this is coming. Note that this diff is not MI safe so be careful. known problems beside those in the toolchain is that the mec ethernet chip sometimes get stuck with its interrupt asserted. a power cycle or a reboot from the maintenance console fixes it. ahc craps out now and then, it seems. i'm not sure if this may be related to the R10K speculative dirty problem. it would be nice if people could test on both r10k's _and_ other machines to see if the problem occurs over the entire line. (The "R10k speculative dirty problem" is a reference to the speculative execution behaviour on this processor. Refer to the technical note I wrote earlier about it for details. In both NetBSD and OpenBSD, the cache invalidation discipline in the drivers, done as part of the bus_dma layer, turned out to be good enough to not suffer from speculative execution side effects. Linux, on the other hand, never was that lucky, and support for R10000 O 2 has never been considered stable, to the point that you need to go out of your way in order to be able to build a kernel supporting that particular hardware configuration.) Bugfixes kept coming, but we had to disable the stack-protector code on a few binaries (the libsmutil part of sendmail) as it would cause internal compiler errors. Eventually Theo de Raadt was able to take over the snapshot builds in early november. latest sgi snap is by me :) theo, you mean the latest sgi snap is unreliable (-: ? you said you built it yourself! Later that month, the O 2 I had been using (courtesy of Wim Vandeputte, who had bought that machine and lent it to me earlier that year) failed. damn! looks like the o2 here died amber light, no startup sound... no cereal? mine did that, but it wasn't dead - there's a jumper you should try out it's pretty close to the cpu when you take the board out, towards the edge, a single jumper used to reset everything to defaults no, peter, that was because you did a setenv of a variable wrong miod, there is a table that says what colours at boot mean what i know for amber, i have managed to let it sit off for an hour, and it worked again yeah, i'm getting old as i forgot this so quickly kind of scary [...] well, my o2 arrived completely dead. After cleaning the motherboard <-> chassis connector even the disk works now. unfortunately it is clean. i had cleaned the box when it was DOA, but here it just doesn't want to restart after being shut down one more time... it's that 10mbit crap you are hooking it up to no, it says "cpu board failure" i'll let it rest the night. wim? yo do you remember who is the guy who lent the O2 which is at my place at the moment? yes, that would be me no, you told me you got it as a lent [sic] from someone else. no, I bought it last year oh. want to attend the funeral? you broke it? it died on me, apparently. amber led? yes. not blinking. Open it up, try to fix it. Otherwise, I'll take it back and send it to my O2 doctor in .nl according to http://techpubs.sgi.com/library/tpl/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?coll=hdwr&db=bks&fname=/SGI_EndUser/books/O2_OG/sgi_html/ch04.html&srch=o@%20troubleshooting it's the cpu board. wim, been there, done that. and it's not the first time this happens, but today nothing seems to bring it back to life. err, i said "cpu board failure" it's "system board failure" actually. RIP Fortunately, I had connections at the local university, and I was able to get another O 2 motherboard loaned to me one week later, thanks to Francois Delobel and David Delon. fall 2004 status SGI model common name Linux NetBSD OpenBSD IP12 Indigo (R3000) complete distribution no graphics IP20 Indigo (R4000) complete distribution no graphics IP22 Indigo2 complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution no graphics IP24 Indy complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only complete distribution XL (newport) graphics only, no X server IP27 Origin 200, Origin 2000 complete distribution IP28 POWER Indigo2 R10000 not-yet-integrated kernel patches otherwise same as IP22 IP30 Octane not-yet-integrated kernel patches X server on Impact only IP32 O 2 not-yet-integrated kernel patches no R10000 support complete distribution no graphics complete distribution no graphics not public yet 2005, OpenBSD I spent some time trying to get the O 2 frame buffer to work, with no success. At some point I vented my frustration. Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 21:40:02 +0000 From: Miod Vallat To: private OpenBSD mailinglist Subject: O2 video Ok, this is a nightmare. It turns out the Linux driver has been written after noticing the O2 ``GBE'' hardware is close to the SG MEXICO CITY, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Wednesday that 279 Mexican nationals have been evacuated by land from various Middle Eastern countries amid the ongoing military conflict in the region. "Most have departed by land to Egypt, Jordan, and Turkiye, countries that have open airspace," Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference at the National Palace. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the safe departure of the nationals from high-risk zones. The ministry reiterated that all Mexican embassies in the Middle East "remain vigilant and in continuous contact with nationals residing in or traveling through the region to provide required consular assistance." Authorities have urged all Mexicans in the Middle East to stay in secure locations, avoid non-essential travel, and strictly follow instructions from local authorities amid the volatile security situation. Advertisement CultureTV & radioRadio Opinion Dont dance on Kyle and Jackie Os grave they were the best thing on radio Michael Koziol North America correspondent March 5, 2026 11:30am March 5, 2026 11:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Sometimes, while walking around Washington, DC, in the evening, or on the treadmill at the gym, Ill tune into Kyle and Jackie Os breakfast show. Its not quite the same as being in the car back home, cackling along with the windows down and radio blaring. Yes, I am a long-standing listener and fan. The fact thats considered an admission in some circles is an indictment on those circles, not on me. In happier times (only last November): Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson. Facebook While the term sneering classes is usually deployed by lazy conservatives to undermine progressive thought, there is no word other than sneering to describe the generally inner-city, ABC-listening critics of FM radios most successful duo. They are now celebrating like their team just won the grand final. And theyre dancing on the grave of a 27-year partnership that, at its best, produced a world-class product that grabbed attention around the globe. Just as one example, in 2017, Americas highest-paid radio star, Howard Stern, was jealous that troubled actor Charlie Sheen had called into The Kyle and Jackie O Show, not his. Stern proceeded to play excerpts of their interview on his own program. Advertisement Advertisement But almost all critics dont listen to the show, dont appreciate the tone and dont get the full context. All they see are quotes printed in clickbait news stories. And its not just that they dont listen to the program they love to hate they wouldnt deign to listen to it. Related Article Exclusive Media & marketing What Kyle would have to do to avoid losing his $100 million contract for good When the holier-than-thou types look down on the countrys most popular FM radio show, they also look down on the tradies, suburban parents, retail workers and builders who love it. Theres also a touch of tall-poppy syndrome about it all. They were too successful, too loud, paid too much, and had to be taken down a peg. Worse than that, though, was the attempt to hobble the show because of its perceived vulgarity. Last year, ACMA pinged station owner ARN for multiple breaches of decency laws, confirming that 1950s-style Australian censorship is alive and well today. The media regulator objected to a segment in which Kyle and Jackie O listened to audio clips of staff members urinating, and had to guess whose pee stream belonged to whom. Other problematic segments contained lewd discussions about masturbation or an offensive description of a sexual position. Advertisement God forbid we recognise the existence of sex and sexual organs. But no one is forcing you to you can change the channel. Related Article Radio Why Jackie O decided it was time for a change, and what comes next Unfortunately, in its pursuit of the Melbourne market, it seemed like ARN was caving to this censorious streak, promising to clean up the crudity and telling Melburnians in an advertisement: Were behaving. Although I listen less frequently now, it seemed to me the show had lost some of its edginess and gone a little flat. You cant jettison a successful formula to attract a bunch of people who were probably never going to give you a chance anyway. Its telling that this implosion was seemingly sparked by a fight over the programs quality, with Sandilands accusing Henderson of habitually losing interest and being away with the fairies. It was a relatively mild accusation. Advertisement Regular listeners will know that both presenters when they cared fretted over the quality of the program, whether it was the banter, guests or production values. Sandilands and Henderson might be back next week. Who knows? Things move fast and money talks. It will be a shame if they cant make it work a sad end to a juggernaut that was actually an exemplar of the medium. If this is it well, all good things must come to an end. Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Advertisement Eating outRestaurant news Two-hatted Paddington restaurant Ursulas announces closure Owner-chef Phil Wood says it felt like the right moment to close this chapter. Bianca Hrovat March 5, 2026 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Chef Phil Wood at Ursulas in Paddington. Edwina Pickles Two-hatted Paddington restaurant Ursulas will close on Saturday, May 23, after nearly five years of service. Running a small independent restaurant, the way we believe it should be run, has become increasingly difficult and, with the lease coming to an end, it felt like the right moment to close this chapter, said chef-owner Phil Wood in an announcement on Thursday. When Ursulas opened in October 2021, it was Woods first foray into restaurant ownership, with wife Lis Davies. It followed an illustrious career at some of Australias most influential restaurants, including Tetsuyas, Eleven Bridge and Rockpool, where Neil Perry hired him as head chef at the age of 27. I was so young, he told Good Food in 2018. It was a lot of pressure I felt like Rockpool was so important in Sydney dining. Its terrifying to take charge of a restaurant with such a huge social responsibility. Advertisement When it came time to strike out on his own, Wood chose to embrace and elevate classic dishes, like Flo Bjelke-Petersens golden syrup dumplings and lamb with mint sauce. He called it new Australian cuisine. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Ursulas Moreton Bay bug pasta. Nikki To As the menu evolved, it featured dishes such as carrot souffle with Brussels sprouts, feta, ginger and croutons; roast chicken with crab, creamed corn, lime and kombu butter; and a chocolate ganache with brandy snap, coconut, ginger ice-cream, prune and port compote. The chef, noted for his precise approach to flavour and technique in the 2026 Good Food Guide, said he was incredibly proud of the food the restaurant has served, describing it as uniquely modern Australian and very much of its place. The cornerstone of the menu from early on has been that Moreton Bay bug pasta with crustacean butter, Wood said. Advertisement His perfect Ursulas meal began with oysters with Champagne mignonette, and salmon roe and egg sandwiches, followed by bug pasta and roast prawns to share, then roast chicken with kombu butter, and steak with wasabi and lime accompanied by Paris mash. For dessert, it would have to be golden syrup dumplings. The pretty Ursula's dining room. The restaurant was also notable for its golden-hued dining room, with charming personal touches such as hand-painted lampshades and menus featuring custom illustrations from New York-based Happy Menocal. In a sea of beige dining rooms, we wanted to bring colour and fun back to dining, Wood said. Over lockdown, Lis and I spent countless hours setting and resetting our dining table at home to select the crockery, glassware and cutlery. We pored over every detail. Wood was named The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year in 2007 and used the restaurant to support the next generation of young chefs, hosting the finalists dinner in 2026. Advertisement When we opened Ursulas, the goal was simple: to create a ... restaurant that was generous to its staff and guests, deeply connected to its neighbourhood and built with care and integrity, he said. I can honestly say with great pride that we achieved this ... Weve loved sharing it with Sydney and those of you who have visited us from all around the world. Reservations are open for the restaurants final 10 weeks. The husband-and-wife team will continue to operate Cafe Cressida in Woollahra. Advertisement LifestyleLife & relationshipsSleep How to sleep with other people (even when they snore or run hot) Dorie Chevlen March 5, 2026 7:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Sharing a bed can be a wonderful experience for you and your partner: snuggly, sexy, serene. But many of us are likely familiar with the alternative scenarios: shivering and exposed after your partner tears away the doona; unable to sleep over their lawn-mower-loud snoring, or failing to disable your alarm clock before your beloved night owl rouses too early and none too pleased. Not only does disrupted sleep threaten the peace of your relationship, its also detrimental to your wellbeing. Sleep impacts every aspect of human physiology, whether thats cardiovascular or metabolic or mental health, says Dr Nathaniel Watson, professor of medicine and co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Centre. You have to be your own personal stalwart and protector of your sleep because thats how you present the best version of yourself to the world, he says. Luckily, the most common bed-sharing problems are totally fixable or, at least, totally up for compromise. The problem: I like a firm mattress. He likes a softy. If you cant agree on one mattress you both like, Craig Fruchtman, owner of Craigs Beds in midtown Manhattan, says the easiest solution is just buying two mattresses and pushing them together. Two single mattresses end up being close to the same dimensions of a king mattress. Just make sure to measure if youre buying from two different brands not all will be the same height, though in a pinch, risers can level the gap. Advertisement Alternatively, you can top a firm mattress with a narrow foam or feather topper for the person who prefers things soft; just dont do the reverse: If their beds lumpy and they put something thats firm on top of it, its just going to be that much lumpier, he says. I like a firm mattress. He likes his soft.. Getty Images The problem: I like it dark. They want to keep the lights on. Any light can disrupt sleep, says Dr Ana Krieger, a sleep medicine expert at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. Ideally, your bedroom should be dark for sleeping hours, which can be achieved using blackout curtains or shades. But if your partner will be waking up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, or climbing into bed slightly after you, you dont want them stumbling around blind. Krieger advises a compromise in the form of a low light underneath the bed, or a motion-activated night light, just bright enough for them to see and make their way. Beyond the bedroom, Kreiger would also like to see more homes feature dimmers throughout. That period that surrounds bedtime, like an hour, an hour and a half before going to sleep, the light exposure needs to be minimized for best sleep, she says. Even if youre just unloading the dishwasher or brushing your teeth in bright lighting, you may struggle later to achieve a proper nights rest. Advertisement The problem: Im a morning bird. Shes a night owl. Related Article Sleep Do women really need more sleep than men? Most peoples sleep cycles are hardwired into their bodies; if youre a night owl, you can possibly train yourself to sleep and rise earlier, but youll probably never transform into a true morning bird, says Shelby Harris, a sleep specialist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and author of The Womens Guide to Overcoming Insomnia. And so forcing yourself, as a couple, to go to bed and rise at the same time just sets you up for resentment. Instead, she advises couples to consider cuddling or engaging in other romantic bedtime activities and then choosing their own adventure, whether thats drifting into slumber or staying up with a book. As for waking on different schedules without disturbing each other, Harris suggests looking at alarm clocks designed for people with hearing impairment. Many rouse you with vibrations, either in the form of a flat device you slip under your pillow or a wristwatch (an Apple watch can also do this, but at a much higher price). If one partner is willing to wear an eye mask, sunrise alarm clocks can awaken you with a very bright light. The problem: He likes to scroll before bed. Surely thats bad. Advertisement It depends. Watson makes it clear that staring at a screen before bed was ill-advised. Still, he acknowledges that whats a problem for one person is not necessarily a problem for another. Research shows that the blue wavelengths of light emanated from devices like laptops and cellphones can be stimulating, but for some people it doesnt cause sleep problems. It may also not be the blue light, itself, but rather the type of content being digested that causes sleep disruption. If you or your partner insists on screens in the bed, Watson suggests limiting the blue light exposure by going into your phones settings to reduce it manually, or wearing blue-light blocking glasses. But still, he echoes most sleep specialists directive to keep the bed a place where nothing but sleep and sex take place. We want that when your head hits your pillow, your body knows definitively that Now is when I sleep. Its not like, Oh, now is when I watch TV, now is when I look at my phone, now is when I have an engrossing, hour-long conversation with my kid, he says. Sharing a bed can be a wonderful experience for you and your partner, but can take some compromising. Getty Images The problem: I want our pet in bed with us, she does not. Unfortunately, your partner is probably right about this one. Many people dont realise that their cats or dogs are disturbing their sleep because they find it so cute and so lovely, says Krieger. This, of course, poses two problems: How do you train the animal to sleep outside the bed, and how do you train the human to sleep without the animal? Advertisement People feel more comfortable when they have somebody in bed with them, Krieger says, even if that somebody is a pet. So trying to feel safe in your home environment I think is very important. One solution she suggests is to train your pet to sleep in their own bed in your line of sight even knowing theyre in the room may bring the same comfort as having them close. The problem: One of us runs hot. The other runs cold. Related Article Health Yes, having sex before bed can help you sleep. Heres why In many couples there is a disparity in preferred temperature. But its better to defer to the hot sleeper. A colder room is easier to deal with because you can always add extra clothing or have your own blankets, says Kreiger. But its very hard when people start to feel very warm at night because that affects sleep significantly. Many brands offer cooling mattresses, though Fruchtman points out that after youve pulled on a mattress protector and sheets, any purported benefits are usually insignificant. Advertisement Instead, experts suggest keeping the room cooler with air conditioning, and then opting for individualised bedding. Harris recommends the Scandinavian sleep method, recently popularised on social media, where each person uses their own blanket atop the same sheets. (You can fold a duvet in half at night and pull it across the bed in the morning if you dont like the mix-and-match aesthetic, she adds). For the truly chilly person, an electric blanket might be a good investment. Or, Its not sexy for people, but wearing socks to sleep, could help, she adds. The problem: Their constant tossing and turning wakes me up. Though lots of restless movement can be a sign of a sleep disorder, Some people are more restless within a spectrum of normal sleep, Krieger says. If you or your partners movement is keeping the other awake, a slightly bigger bed may alleviate the issue, and one made from memory foam will have less motion transfer, says Fruchtman. But for the greatest reduction in movement, Fruchtman suggests looking not at the bed, but at the frame. They should consider their furniture and the weight of their furniture, he says, making sure the mattress lays perfectly flat. When they lay flat, they dont move. So that could be a reason to buy an adjustable base or a base thats just really solid. Research shows that the blue wavelengths of light emanated from devices can be stimulating for some people and not others. Getty Images Advertisement The problem: ZZZZZZZZZZ! Among Harris patients, snoring is one of the most common sources of sleep disruption, for both themselves and their partners. Its snoring in bed and thats something thats making them either wake up or have trouble falling asleep, she says. Snoring could be a sign of bigger health problems, but it could also be intermittent, aggravated by factors like allergies or drinking. Whatever it is, try not to hear it: a white noise machine can drown out quieter snoring sounds, but for a louder case, try combining the white noise machine with ear plugs. The challenge is that often they come off, Krieger warns, so she recommends opting for waterproof swimmers ear plugs, rather than the standard foam, for slightly better staying power. The problem: Nothing is working. My partner and I cannot sleep in the same bed. Then dont! Kreiger says, There are different aspects of sleeping together, right? There is the physical or sexual, kind of romantic involvement. And then theres sleep. Many couples actually improve their relationship when they choose to sleep apart, or sleep divorce as the practice has come to be known. Some couples choose to sleep separately certain days of the week, or temporarily until one partners sleep disorder has been resolved. It doesnt have to be all or nothing, Harris says. Advertisement However long youre apart, though, she stresses the importance of making both sleep environments as equal as possible. If one person gets relegated just to the couch every night, thats a pretty sad experience, she says. The New York Times Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Sleep Sex & relationships Advertisement Graphic content NationalWACourts Tiffany died from 42 head injuries in what a judge labelled an extreme form of domestic violence Rebecca Peppiatt Updated March 5, 2026 4:30pm ,first published 2:27pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Warning: This story contains graphic content. Indigenous readers are advised this story contains the name and images of a deceased person. A man who inflicted a sustained and brutal assault upon his partner, leaving her with 42 head and neck injuries, will spend at least the next 21 years behind bars after he was sentenced for her murder on Thursday. Peter Damjanovic, 39, pleaded guilty to murdering 35-year-old Tiffany Woodley at her Bedford home in 2023, with the court hearing how he had been drinking before an argument broke out between the pair that led to Damjanovic assaulting her first with his fists, then a shower head, and ultimately with a towel rail, killing her. Peter Damjanovic in the Supreme Court of WA on Thursday. Anne Barnetson The details of her injuries were so extreme that before his plea of guilty it was decided that his hearing would not be heard before a jury to spare them the trauma of hearing about how Woodley died. Advertisement State prosecutors said Damjanovic and Woodley, who had been struggling with mental health issues, were in an on-again, off-again relationship when the pair travelled into Perth together on August 7, 2023. They both had separate appointments, him in Fremantle and she at Royal Perth Hospital. After he was finished, he began consuming a bottle of port and, by the time he got home, he had drunk half. Around 4pm, the couple started arguing and then he became angry and started to hit her, the court was told. He told her to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up because she was bleeding. Then he continued to beat her with a shower head and a towel rail. He took her mobile phone from her, pushed her into the shower and continued to beat her. Advertisement After she stopped breathing, Damjanovic called triple zero and told the operator he had killed her. Help me, help me, he told police who arrived at the house shortly after. Tiffany Woodley was discovered dead inside her Bedford home. Her image has been published with the consent of her family. She needs help, please help her. Tiffany was lying in a pool of blood. Advertisement Her injuries can only be described as horrific, Supreme Court Justice Natalie Whitby said on Thursday. WA Supreme Court Justice Natalie Whitby. You continued to attack her until she stopped breathing. Your attack on Ms Woodley was an extreme form of domestic violence. You attacked her in her home. She trusted you. She allowed you into her home and into her life. She was entitled to feel safe with you. She was anything but. Advertisement Ahead of his sentencing, Damjanovics legal team attempted to delay the hearing by suggesting that Whitby, the wife of WA Police Minister Reece Whitby, may be biased because the minister had taken part in a domestic violence rally that Woodleys family and friends also attended. Damjanovics lawyer, Simon Freitag SC, told the court ahead of the hearing that he wanted to raise an issue that began with a proposed victim impact statement from a woman who called herself Woodleys aunt, but who wasnt biologically related. She is an advocate of domestic violence, he said. And was part of a public campaign in 2025 that we say leads to an apprehension of bias issue [because] the police minister attended a number of those rallies and through his own social media has promoted those rallies and the scourge of domestic violence. We dont take any issues with that, the difficulty is that Mr Damjanovic comes to be sentenced for domestic violence, but Your Honour is a private citizen as well, and you are married to the police minister. Advertisement Freitag said that while the police ministers involvement was part of an entirely worthy cause and a worthy campaign, it had left Damjanovic feeling that he wouldnt be getting a fair approach from the court in that situation. Freitag continued that while he accepted there was no active bias against his client, it was a matter of perception of Her Honours involvement that he felt should lead to her recusing herself from the hearing. State prosecutors indicated they would oppose the application before an adjournment of the sentencing while the request was considered. Follow the break, Whitby dismissed the application, saying her husband was one of many who attended the 16 Days in WA rally, and there was no suggestion he had had any involvement in the case, nor with the domestic violence advocate mentioned. My husbands participation in a large public march is not a basis that gives rise to any apprehended bias, she said. Advertisement She went on to sentence Damjanovic to life in prison for Woodleys murder with a minimum non-parole period of 21 years. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement PoliticsNSWTrade unions NSW union boss charged after 167 guns allegedly found strewn across his home Alexandra Smith March 5, 2026 2:21pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A long-term senior official with the Electrical Trades Union NSW has faced court on a string of charges, including firearm offences and dealing with proceeds of crime after police allegedly found 167 guns at his house and more than $120,000 in cash. Glen Potter, who has had a leadership role with the NSW Labor-affiliated union since 2017 and also works at Sydney Trains, was arrested at his Illawarra home on Monday after emergency services were called to reports of a kitchen fire. ETU president Glen Potter in 2020. NSW Police raided the home after firefighters allegedly discovered firearms scattered around the house. Fire and Rescue NSW attended and extinguished the fire, however, upon entry emergency services located a number of firearms allegedly stored unsafely, a police statement said. Advertisement The statement alleged that during the search warrant police seized numerous firearms, along with numerous firearm parts, large quantities of ammunition and firearms related paraphernalia. Also seized was $121,650 in cash, which police will allege in court to be the proceeds of crime. Police arrested the 66-year-old when he returned home and charged him with six offences including not keeping firearms in a safe place, not having an approved storage receptacle as a firearms licence requires and dealing with proceeds of crime. His firearms licence was suspended when he was arrested. The ETU has been a major donor to NSW Labor, contributing $371,160 to the state election campaign over the past five years. The ETU also spent $321,135 on third-party donations. The opposition spokesman for industrial relations, James Wallace, said the ETU was one of the biggest donors to Premier Chris Minns and Labor. Advertisement This latest episode must be investigated and until the public is assured there is no wrongdoing, Minns should suspend the ETUs affiliation with the NSW Labor Party and refuse to take any more donations from the union, Wallace said. Premier Chris Minns appears at budget estimates on Tuesday. Audrey Richardson When asked about the charges at a budget estimates hearing on Thursday, Minns denied knowing Potter and agreed he would not accept future donations from the official. Refusing donations from the ETU entirely was unreasonable, Minns said. If youre within an organisation and someones alleged to have acted inappropriately, it doesnt mean that every member of the organisation has acted inappropriately, he said. Advertisement The Illawarra Mercury reported that Potters lawyer told a bail court on Tuesday his client acquired the firearms over a number of years before the state brought in restrictions in response to the Bondi terror attack. Lawyer Lemar Miakhel reportedly said there was no evidence Potters gun collection was linked to ideological or political thought or any indication it was prepared for nefarious use. The Mercury reported Potter did not enter a plea but his lawyer indicated he would defend the proceeds of crime charge, which he argued was not strong. He was granted bail on condition he report to police three times a week, abstained from drugs and alcohol, and surrender his passport. The ETU NSW has been one of the strongest defenders of the CFMEU NSW when it was put into administration following allegations of underworld infiltration and corruption. In a statement, the ETU said Potter would be taking leave effective immediately. Advertisement During this period, the president will not be involved in any financial, operational or governance matters of the union, nor represent the ETU in any official capacity, the statement said. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement PoliticsVictoriaVictorian Parliament Officer of Gatto-linked company obtained labour hire licence despite strip club scandal Kieran Rooney March 5, 2026 7:56pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A An officer of a company linked to Mick Gatto obtained a labour hire licence after a receiving 12-month ban on managing a licensed premise, the Victorian opposition has revealed as it continued to question Premier Jacinta Allan over companies linked to the gangland figure. Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams also confirmed on Thursday that M Group, a collection of labour hire companies linked to Gatto, had a presence on the North East Link. Mick Gatto wearing a shirt with an M Group logo in 2017. In parliament, Allan was again questioned about the presence of M Group companies in the states security, traffic control and labour hire sector. Opposition industrial relations spokesman Brad Rowswell asked about the registration of one of these companies, M1 Security Services, in 2025. Advertisement He said public records showed the licence holder for the firm was Stephen Kyriacou, who in 2022 was banned by the liquor regulator from managing a licensed premise for 12 months. Related Article Exclusive Building Bad Victorian watchdog moves to ban Gatto-linked labour hire company The ban was made after a dancer at Dreams Gentleman Club was found dead, and it was reported the cause of death was multi-drug toxicity. Kyriacou was a related person involved in the business. Rowswell asked why Kyriacou was deemed a fit and proper person to hold this licence given this history. Allan said Victorias Labour Hire Authority had the powers needed to investigate the people Rowswell referred to. Advertisement They have the powers to test the fit and proper person test that has been provided to the Labour Hire Authority, she said. M1 Security Servicess licence started in July 2025, before the Victorian parliament passed new fit-and-proper- person requirements for labour hire businesses. The approval was made under the old requirements, rather than guidelines that take effect this year that include much stricter requirements such as association with other people who might not meet the criteria. Kyriacou declined to comment when contacted by The Age. On Thursday morning, Williams confirmed that M Group companies were working on the North East Link following questions from the opposition in question time a day earlier on whether they had been used on the project. Advertisement On Wednesday, the Labour Hire Authority issued M1 Trades & Labour Pty Ltd, an M Group subsidiary, with a notice of intent to cancel its licence, which Williams said was a meaningful step that could change whether the company was present on the project. Related Article Building Bad Rotting from the top: Bribery, drugs, bikies and billions of taxpayer dollars Under the Labour Hire Authoritys processes, they can [still work on the project] until that final determination is made ... The advice Ive received [is] thats fairly prompt, she said. Williams said the authority had been squirrelling away with investigations and that more than 140 cancellations in the construction sector showed this work was bearing fruit. The work that has culminated in the issuing of that notice yesterday was a part of a broader investigation that has been taking place over many months, she said. Advertisement Nationals leader Danny OBrien asked Allan why six M Group companies had Department of Transport and Planning approval to work on roads managed by the state. Allan did not address the departments approval processes directly, but repeated that the Labour Hire Authority has the powers it needs and has the tools it needs to take strong action, and it is strong action that it is taking. Rowswell said Allan had failed to explain why these companies were benefiting from taxpayer projects. She also refused to tell Victorians how much taxpayer money has flowed to underworld-linked companies, while continuing to reject calls for a royal commission into corruption on major projects, he said. M Group supplies labour hire and traffic management workers across major Victorian sites including several taxpayer-funded projects, and the cancellation of the licence of one of the companys subsidiaries could trigger cancellation of the licences of other entities in the group. Advertisement On Wednesday, the Queensland commission of inquiry into the CFMEU held a press conference outside the offices of M1 Traffic Control Queensland to highlight concerns about its potential links to Gatto. In a media statement, the commission pointed to a report from corruption-busting lawyer Geoffrey Watson, SC, last month that found M Group was a well-known front company for Gatto and that it appeared a new Queensland company was likewise linked. The Watson report, tabled with the Queensland inquiry last month, said Gatto owned a number of companies within the M Group and that there was no doubt it received favourable treatment from the CFMEU. He estimated one company in the group would earn $52 million in 2025. Gatto, of course, denies he owns the M Group companies, but that is transparently false. The attempts to conceal Gattos involvement are crude, Watsons report said. Advertisement Watson found that Gatto was a malignant influence and detailed several examples of what he said was criminal conduct. Gatto has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and derided Watsons findings publicly. M1 director Tony Paragalli said he disputed every single one of Watsons allegations and the suggestions made by the inquiry on Wednesday. At no point did anyone [Watson or the inquiry] ring us to ask about any of the facts, Paragalli said. Paragalli said Gatto acted as an industrial relations mediator for many companies in Melbourne and his engagement with M1 was a straight-up business arrangement he charges us $30,000 a year. Advertisement Commissioner Stuart Wood said no findings had been made about the entity, or any other, but appealed for information, which he said would be treated confidentially. He said procedural fairness would be provided to anyone under investigation. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement Reviews & adviceTripologist Opinion Is there an economical way to have a car for six months in England? Michael Gebicki is Travellers expert Tripologist. Each week he tackles the thorny issues in travel as well as answering your questions. Got a question for the Tripologist? Email tripologist@traveller.com.au Michael Gebicki The Tripologist March 6, 2026 5:00am March 6, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A My wife and I plan to spend six months in England, basing ourselves for one to two months in various villages and towns, and taking our time to explore. A car would be handy. What are the best and most economical options for having a car for that length of time? S. Ryan, Wahroonga, NSW Car rental companies do offer pricing for long-term rentals. iStock A car is going to be essential, and the answer depends on your budget, how much driving youre planning and whether convenience or lowest cost are priorities. Major rental companies such as Enterprise, Sixt, Avis and Hertz usually offer long-term hires by the month. These are very convenient since they come with service backup and roadside assistance. A lower cost option is a short-term lease from a dedicated provider or a dealer program that offers fixed-term contracts such as Flexed or Flexilease. Either Renault Eurodrive or Citroen EuroPass will put you behind the wheel of a brand-new vehicle at a very reasonable cost, however these are left-hand drive vehicles and less than ideal for driving in the UK. We are a couple in our late 60s, travelling to Italy, planning to fly into Milan then spend about a week based in a smallish town near the mountains to do day walks. Then we head to Bologna for a week and finally three weeks in Sicily. We would like to use public transport but maybe hire a car for a couple of days in Sicily. Any suggestions re itinerary? M. Hollins, Helensburgh, NSW Advertisement A streamside village in the Aosta Valley. iStock Sign up for the Traveller newsletter The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now. There are several outstanding possibilities in northern Italy, starting with Varenna or Bellano on the shores of Lake Como, both easily accessible from Milan by a combination of train and ferry. Theyre both small, charming lakeside towns on the Sentiero del Viandante, a hiking route of about 70 kilometres, which goes along the eastern shore of Lake Como. At several points, the trail intersects with towns on the lakeside ferry route or on the Lecco-Colico-Sandrio railway line, which makes it possible to walk the trail in short sections. If you want slightly more rugged walks in awesome scenery, the village of Cogne in the Aosta Valley is the base camp for Gran Paradiso National Park. From the village a spiderweb of walking trails radiates across the hillsides, from gentle strolls to tough climbs that throw down a challenge to legs and lungs. For Bologna you do not need a car, and there are plenty of short tours that will take you to factories where balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano Reggiano are made. From Bologna you can easily make day trips to Modena, Ravenna and even Parma by train. In Sicily, a car will magnify your opportunities for exploration. Start with four nights in Palermo then pick up your hire car and drive west to spend three nights at Trapani and the Egadi Islands, and take the cable car to medieval Erice. Drive south-east from here to visit the incredible ruins of Agrigento over two nights followed by a journey through the interior to Villa Romana del Casale, the remains of a Roman villa with beautiful frescoes. Advertisement Continue to Syracuse and stay four nights on the adjoining island of Ortygia, a glorious baroque city from where you can make short trips to explore the towns in the south-east, including Noto, Ragusa and Modica. Drive north along the coast to Taormina and use this as a three-night base with a guided walk on Mount Etna and a tasting session of the red wines grown on ancient lava flows. Take a ferry from Milazzo to visit the Aeolian Islands and spend your remaining time on Lipari, with ferry trips to other islands including Stromboli. Return to Milazzo and finish your Sicilian journey by driving west along the coast to return your hire car at Palermo. Id like to do a tour of Chinas major attractions such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, a Yangtze River cruise and Shanghai, including time in Tibet. Can you suggest any tour companies that offer a China Tibet tour, preferably one that spends time in Tibet outside Lhasa? P. Martina, Warrnambool, Vic Cruising past the commercial traffic in the Qutang Gorge on Chinas Yangtze River. iStock Several tour operators offer the highlights of China and Tibet beyond Lhasa including Gyantse, Shigatse, Everest Base Camp region, Yamdrok Lake and other plateau landscapes. Melbourne-based Intrepid Travel has various tours of China which visit the places on your list, and could be combined with their Tibet: Beijing to Kathmandu Overland trip, a 15-day tour from Beijing to Kathmandu that spends eight days in Tibet. Advertisement G Adventures has an 18-day Best of China & Tibet tour which starts in Beijing and ventures beyond Lhasa to finish in Kathmandu. WindhorseTour is another operator with tours that combine China and Tibet. For a more immersive cultural experience, Tibet Vision Tour is based in Lhasa and also offers combined itineraries covering China as well as Tibet. We plan to travel for two weeks in Ireland on a self-drive trip. The flight to either Dublin or Belfast requires two stops, so were thinking of a stopover in Europe that can allow us to then fly directly to Ireland. Any recommendations? D. Smith, Epping, NSW You can have your pick of just about any capital city in Europe. Almost without exception, capital cities would have non-stop flights to Dublin, although less often to Belfast. My top five stopover cities would be Vienna, Amsterdam, Milan, Paris and Madrid. The airline you choose to fly with to mainland Europe might have codeshare flights to Ireland, which you could arrange yourself on a multi-city booking. If not, book a separate onward flight to Ireland from your stopover city. Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share License this article More: Tripologist Opinion For subscribers Travel tips Michael Gebicki is a Sydney-based travel writer, best known for his Tripologist column published for more than 15 years in Traveller. With four decades of experience, his specialty is practical advice, destination insights and problem-solving for travellers. He also designs and leads slow, immersive tours to some of his favourite places. Connect via Instagram @michael_gebicki Connect via email Advertisement WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Dubai influencers warned they face jail over war posts Patrick Sawer and Alice Lilley March 5, 2026 5:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Social media influencers in Dubai have been warned they face prison for posting material about the US-Israel conflict with Iran. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has told Dubais community of influencers that any material considered to be harmful to public order, national unity, and the reputation of the state could lead to fines of up to $US77,000 ($108,000) or imprisonment. One influencer told the London Telegraph she deleted a video showing debris burning outside her apartment because social media users have to be very careful about what they say. The Detained in Dubai campaign group says it has previously represented several foreign nationals in the Gulf state who have been detained or fined over tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram stories and WhatsApp messages. Advertisement Its campaigners have said many would be unaware if they have crossed a legal line by posting about the UAEs defence systems intercepting missile strikes from Iran. Related Article Middle East at war How the US sank one of Irans most modern warships Dubai and the wider UAE have been directly affected by the war in Iran as missile debris fell across the popular tourist destination over the weekend. On Saturday evening, debris from an intercepted Iranian missile struck the Fairmont, a tourist hotel on the citys Palm Jumeirah, with footage showing flames rising from the hotels atrium. On Sunday morning, Dubai International Airport was also struck by debris from an Iranian missile. Advertisement There have also been reports of shrapnel damage at the Burj Al Arab hotel and the port of Jebel Ali, along with other civilian sites in the city. The UAEs cybercrime laws are among the strictest in the world, and any commentary about regional conflict, government policy or security matters can be interpreted as a criminal offence. The lifestyle influencer, who deleted the video of burning debris, told the Telegraph on condition of anonymity: The Dubai authorities want to control the narrative, thats for sure. There are strict rules about what you can say here. A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City near Dubai. AP The authorities in Dubai dont want panic to spread from people posting misinformation. Its in their interests to keep people calm, and I can understand that. Advertisement The influencer, who has millions of followers on her Instagram account, said she shot the film outside her apartment after an Iranian missile was intercepted in the sky on Saturday. However, she decided to remove the footage from her social media post and not upload any more out of respect for the UAEs rules. Smoke rises from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai on March 1 AFP She added: I was numb when I saw the flames. I didnt know how to feel because at first, I didnt know what I was looking at. But things have calmed down now, after a few days. People are even back on the beach. I feel quite safe. The influencer, who was set to fly to London when her flight was grounded due to the conflict, added that, while maintaining strict control of social media, the authorities did provide rapid and clear information on how to respond to attacks. Advertisement If theres a reason to worry, they will tell you to go to a shelter or whatever. They know panicking doesnt help, she said. Related Article Analysis Middle East at war Theres a wild violence to Irans retaliation and it has the firepower to do even worse Cruise passengers told not to discuss situation Passengers stranded on cruise ships off the coast of Dubai have also been told not to talk openly about the ongoing conflict. Jan Arnott, a 71-year-old cruise ship passenger, told the Telegraph her cruise operator Celestyal Cruises had told passengers not to talk about it. Advertisement She said: We were told not to discuss the situation on board. We saw defence planes and smoke from the attack on the airport but have felt safe throughout. Nobody at home can believe what we are saying. Detained in Dubai said some individuals had been charged previously for posing in front of restricted locations. The authorities are known to be particularly sensitive to content that they deem to spread false information, damage diplomatic relations or undermine national security. View post on X Posts by stranded nationals expressing fear or frustration about delays to being evacuated may also fall foul of the rules, the group warned. Advertisement In an announcement issued on Saturday, within hours of the start of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran, the UAEs public prosecution office warned against publishing or circulating rumours and information from unknown sources through social media platforms or any other technological means. The announcement added that the warning against posting misinformation was due to the consequences thereof, including the spread of confusion and harm to the security and stability of society. It stated: Any person who shares or reposts content from unknown sources shall be subject to legal accountability in accordance with the applicable legislation, even if they are not the original creator of such content. The UAEs cybercrime laws are some of the harshest in the world when it comes to social media. Radha Stirling, Detained in Dubai The statement continued: Be aware and informed Information is a responsibility, and spreading rumours is a crime. Advertisement The strict rules are thought to have led to self-censorship among some influencers who have benefited from Dubais Creators HQ visa system, which offers free permits for those working in content creation to stay in the city without a sponsor. The influencer told the Telegraph: If you live here, rather than as a tourist, you need a licence to post content. The authorities here are tolerant in many ways, but strict in others. Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained In Dubai, said: The UAEs cybercrime laws are some of the harshest in the world when it comes to social media. The wording of the law is deliberately broad, which means almost anything critical of government policy or regional conflict can be interpreted as a crime. Related Article Middle East at war US-Iran war news updates: Iranian warship sunk by torpedo off Sri Lanka; Hegseth says US just getting started; First repatriation flight lands in Sydney She added: In times of war, these laws become even more dangerous. Residents are effectively being warned to stay silent online. Visitors are particularly vulnerable because they often assume they are protected by their home countrys standards of free speech. They are not. Advertisement Guests of the Shah of Iran at the 1971 party at Persepolis to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Persia. Roasted peacocks stuffed with foie gras, an Australian butler and the Shah: Inside the 1971 desert feast that sowed the seeds of revolution. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A A gaudy assortment of trophies sat on a cabinet in the house where I met the woman who would become my wife. There was a silver jewellery case, silver ashtrays, a silver cocktail shaker, a giant scrolled serving platter and a small cameo portraying a very self-satisfied looking fellow. I was to learn this was the Shah of Iran. The collection was much prized by my future wifes stepfather. He was a loud Welshman who was also butler to two of Australias governors-general, Sir Paul Hasluck and Sir John Kerr, before moving to The Lodge to manage the household of the new prime minister of the time, Malcolm Fraser, and later to Kerry Packers home. Many of those so-called treasures sitting on the cabinet, he explained, had come from his attendance at the worlds most extravagant party. An exaggeration? He had, after all, been trained in his craft at Buckingham Palace, where great banquets were commonplace. Advertisement He insisted, however, that nothing could begin to compare with the astonishing party thrown among the ruins of Irans ancient city, Persepolis, in 1971. The Shah and Queen Farah greet guests to their party in Persepolis in 1971. INA via Getty Images I recalled this as Israeli and US missiles smashed Iran this week and killed its latest batch of bloodthirsty leaders, the wider Middle East once more endured chaos, and the world or that part of it that seeks insight beyond yesterday wondered how did it all come to this? Nothing, we know, occurs in a vacuum. The recent history of Iran once the greatest empire in antiquity, called Persia by the Greeks, who were in awe of its power and learning offers some enlightenment. Back in 1971, over three days, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans and Shadow of the Almighty, hosted the leaders of the world kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, heads of state and sheiks to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian (Iranian) Empire. A city of ultra-luxurious tent-like suites designed by French architects and interior decorators was raised on the desert for the guests. Each, according to co-organiser Emil Real, had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, and a magnificently furnished salon that could accommodate 12 people. A tapestry with a picture of the head of state who was staying there woven into it hung on the wall of each tent. Advertisement Australias Sir Paul Hasluck and Lady Hasluck were among the guests, and naturally, they were accompanied by their butler, my about-to-be stepfather-in-law, who occupied one of the rooms in the tent set aside for them. Lady Hasluck, after all, like all female guests, was required to wear a new outfit for every one of the numerous events. Governor-general Sir Paul Hasluck (left) walks with the Shah of Iran to inspect the guard of honour on his arrival for the anniversary celebrations in October 1971. UPI A new highway was laid to transport 600 guests in a fleet of brand-new limousines from the airport built for the occasion. The setting came complete with a brand-new forest stocked with 50,000 songbirds all of which reportedly died in the desert atmosphere within three days. Unparalleled feasting and vast military parades continued from October 12 to 14. Eighteen tonnes of food was flown in from Paris. Maxims, the last word in opulent Parisian dining at the time, closed for two weeks, its staff flown to the tent city to prepare and serve what is still considered the most excessive feast in modern history. Advertisement Iranian military planes transported 150 tonnes of kitchen equipment from Paris. No one went thirsty. Maxims official journal of the festivities, reported by Martin Beglinger of the Swiss Tages-Anzeiger magazine, listed 2500 bottles of champagne, 1000 bottles of Bordeaux and 1000 bottles of Burgundy, all packed in 410 crates and delivered to a purpose-dug cellar. The tented town for VIP guests, at Persepolis, constructed to accommodate the heads of state invited to attend the 1971 party. Syndication International Ltd. The main seven-course feast, in a vast tent, continued for more than five hours. Fifty peacocks were roasted, stuffed with foie gras and presented in their plumage. Quail eggs were filled with caviar. The first meat dish saddle of lamb stuffed with champignons, roasted medium rare and garnished with tips of fresh asparagus was served with one of the worlds greatest red wines, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, vintage 1945. When it was all over, the Iranian hosts simply invited their guests to take home with them what they wished. Advertisement Persian carpets were rolled from the floors of the tents and silverware was thrown in, piled into limousines and stacked in the holds of aircraft for flights home across the world, no questions asked. Special gifts from the Shah awaited each visiting head of state, at the tented city of Persepolis. Syndication International Ltd. Which is where Sir Paul Haslucks butlers collection of gaudy treasures came from. Wildly divergent estimates of the cost of the Shahs extravaganza veer all the way up to $170 million (in 1971 dollars). Whatever it cost, such conspicuous consumption was stupendously insensitive in a nation whose ordinary citizens, the majority then struggling in rural areas, were suffering poverty and lack of hope, despite an oil boom. Among the Shahs most vociferous critics was a cleric named Ruhollah Khomeini, who had been exiled in 1964 for opposing the Shahs program of modernising Iran. From his base in Iraq, Khomeini was outraged at the opulence on display at the three-day party in Persepolis. Advertisement Advertisement Washington: Two Australians were onboard the nuclear-powered US submarine that was responsible for sinking an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, a revelation that comes as prospects of a ground assault on Iranian forces intensify. Sources with direct knowledge of the situation, who did not want to be named because the matter is confidential, said two Australians are on board the American submarine as part of an AUKUS training rotation. The IRIS Dena struck by a torpedo. The White House/X The Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was heading back to Iran after taking part in joint military exercises off Indias eastern coast when it was attacked on Wednesday. The Defence Department refused to identify the rank or role of the Australians on the submarine. Advertisement There are long-standing arrangements relating to third-country deployments to ensure Australian interests are managed appropriately, it said. It is not appropriate to go into these details. For operational security reasons, the Australian Defence Force does not disclose specific details regarding third-country deployments, including the number of personnel or their location. With more than 100,000 Australians in the Middle East, including 24,000 in the UAE, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in question time on Thursday that Australia had deployed military assets as a contingency amid the ongoing conflict, while adding that the fastest way for Australians to get out was commercial flights. An RAAF C-17 Globemaster. AFR The contingency measure outlined by the prime minister includes the deployment of a C-17A Globemaster heavy transport aircraft and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport to the Middle East. Advertisement Meanwhile, Kurdish forces on the Iran-Iraq border are preparing to join the war against the Iranian regime in a move that would open up a new ground-based front and broaden a conflict that is now entering its sixth day and has killed an estimated 1100 people. Resistance groups in northern Iraq are reportedly on standby and have been in contact with US officials, while the White House confirmed President Donald Trump had contacted Kurdish leaders - though it denied he had agreed to any military plan. The possibility of Kurds once again joining an American campaign in the Middle East also comes as the US Senate gave Trump a green light to continue the Iran mission, voting down a resolution to constrain his ability to order further strikes without congressional approval. Donald Trump and his senior leaders have said they launched the strikes because Iran presented a nuclear threat. AP During the vote, which was largely along party lines, Democrats expressed fears the US would be drawn into putting American boots on the ground something Trump says is unlikely but has explicitly not ruled out. Advertisement Regime change cant be accomplished at 30,000 feet. It takes boots on the ground, said Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal, who is on the armed services committee. My fear, and its growing, is that we will have American troops on the ground, if the objective continues to be regime change. US officials said the air force now had almost total control over Iranian skies, allowing the operation to move into a new phase in which overhead guided bombs could be dropped on targets, rather than fired from afar. The Kurds have been reliable US allies in the region, fighting against Islamic State in Syria, and in the 2003 war in Iraq although they have often felt abandoned or betrayed by Washington in return. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, told the Associated Press that some of the groups forces had moved into areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby. He said Kurdish leaders were contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, but he did not provide more details, AP reported. Advertisement There were conflicting reports about whether Kurdish fighters had already begun ground activity inside Iran. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was completely false that Trump had agreed to any plan involving Kurdish forces, but confirmed he had spoken to Kurdish leaders about a base in northern Iraq. Like Trump, she did not rule out US troops on the ground in Iran, but said it was not part of the current plan. Smoke billows after an Israeli air strike on an alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah target in southern Beirut as Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images The US and Israel continued to strike Iranian targets overnight into Thursday (Iran time), while the regime announced that a state funeral for assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei would be postponed, blaming additional preparations needed for the unprecedented turnout, according to state-run media. Lebanons state news agency said an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on a coastal highway in southern Lebanon, killing three people. Lebanons Health Ministry said another two people were killed by an Israeli strike on a building inside a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli, north of Beirut. The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon was now 70, the ministry said. Advertisement Tehran also continued to fire missiles at regional neighbours including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, though in lesser numbers. US Central Command, which is in charge of the American operation, said Iranian missile launches had dropped 86 per cent, and drone launches were down 73 per cent. Related Article Analysis Middle East at war A seven-page proposal was on the table. Then Trump learnt a tantalising fact Turkeys Defence Ministry said NATO air and missile defences shot down an Iranian ballistic missile in the eastern Mediterranean that had been heading towards Turkish airspace. The US State Department said its first charter flight for American citizens left the Middle East on Wednesday (US time), with additional flights to be provided. Meanwhile, the UKs Maritime Trade Operations said an oil tanker off Kuwait reported a large explosion on its port side and was taking on water. The possible attack is much further north in the Persian Gulf than the Strait of Hormuz, where previous drone attacks have occurred. Advertisement US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday (US time) confirmed the Americans were responsible for the successful attack on the Iranian frigate. It was the first time the US Navy had sunk an enemy warship using a torpedo since the Second World War, he said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media. AP Reuters reported Sri Lankan authorities had recovered at least 87 bodies from the water and taken 32 people to hospitals, while another 60 people were missing. Hegseth repeated that American forces were operating under their own rules of engagement, or what he called maximum authorities that had been personally granted by Trump and himself. America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. They [Iran] are toast, and they know it, he said. This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it isnt. We are punching them while they are down. Advertisement Despite several days passing since an Iranian girls school was hit amid the initial strikes killing at least 165 students, according to Iranian authorities Hegseth declined to provide any more information about who was responsible. All I can say is that were investigating that, he said, adding that the US never targets civilians. In the US and elsewhere, debate has continued to rage about the impetus for and timing of the military action, and what role Israel played in Trumps decision to jettison negotiations and strike. Coffins holding the bodies of mostly children are prepared for the funeral of those killed in a strike that hit an Iranian girls school. AP Leavitt confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tipped off Trump that Irans senior leaders were to gather in one place last Saturday morning, providing an opportunity to severely wound the regime. She said the tip was important in the timing of the strikes, but that Trump already had a feeling Iran was going to strike US assets, and was preparing pre-emptive action. Advertisement At a White House function, Trump appeared to confirm pre-emptive defence of Israel was part of his motivation. For years theyve been killing our people and killing people from all over the world, he said. I think if we didnt do it first, they would have done it to Israel, and give us a shot if that was possible. Related Article Middle East at war In 48 hours, Trump sent Irans navy to the bottom of the sea Israeli Defence Force spokesman Nadav Shoshani told British broadcaster Piers Morgan it was completely false to suggest Israel forced Trumps hand. As someone whos been in the rooms ... knowing whats been happening in recent weeks and months, it has no relation to reality, he said. This is a joint operation with shared interests, shared values, shared enemy. The secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, lashed out at Trump on social media, calling him clownish and suggesting he was acting at the behest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Advertisement He falsely claimed 500 American troops were killed in the wars first few days; the US says six service members have died. Related Article Middle East at war How the US sank one of Irans most modern warships Trump has dragged the American people into an unjust war with Iran as a result of Netanyahus vile impulses and his clownish actions, Larijani wrote on X. Is the slogan still America First, or has it become Israel First? Those comments tapped directly into arguments made in parts of Trumps domestic political base, where there is deep scepticism about the intervention in Iran and US support for Israel. There has been speculation that Trump could seek to make a deal to put Larijani in power, although the 67-year-old son of a cleric has denied this and said Iran would not negotiate with the US. Advertisement Larijanis comments came as prominent MAGA commentators targeted Trump using similar rhetoric. Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host who now has the sixth most popular podcast in the US according to Spotify, told listeners the war was not designed to make America safer. Ali Larijani, Irans top security official. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images This happened because Israel wanted it to happen. This is Israels war, this is not the United States war, he said on The Tucker Carlson Show. The United States committed troops to this conflict because the prime minister of Israel demanded it. With AP, Reuters Advertisement CORRECTION An earlier version of this story said the Department of Defence confirmed that two Australian sailors were aboard the US nuclear-powered sub. This was incorrect - the Department of Defence would not disclose specific details about Australian personnel on deployment. Quick Read KORU dropped 27.83% in the past week from $602.99 to $435.20 despite a 139.63% YTD gain and 985% one-year return. The underlying iShares South Korea fund (EWY) fell 8.66% the same week. Rising oil prices hurt South Korea as a major importer while elevated volatility causes KORUs daily reset mechanism to compound losses beyond 3x through volatility decay. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE. A highly-leveraged ETF, Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF (NYSEARCA:KORU) dropped 26% in the past week, pulling back from $602.99 to $446.91, even as the fund sits on a staggering 135% gain year-to-date. Investors have been debating whether KORU is getting punished by macro headwinds hitting South Korea, or whether the 3x leverage mechanism itself is the real culprit. The answer is both. Two Engines Driving KORU's Weekly Collapse Understandably, South Korea is a major oil importer, and WTI crude has climbed 10.3% over the past month to $76.29 per barrel, sitting at the 96th percentile of its 12-month range. However, rising energy costs are pressuring Korean consumers and corporate margins, weighing on the KOSPI. The underlying iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (NYSEARCA:EWY) fell 8.66% over the same week. That's the fundamental story. READ: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks But KORU fell more than three times as much, down 27.83%, compared with EWY's 8.66%. This is volatility decay in action. Because KORU resets its 3x exposure daily, it must sell into falling markets and buy into rising ones to maintain its leverage ratio. In a choppy environment, that mechanical rebalancing compounds losses beyond what simple math would predict. The VIX tells the rest of the story. At 23.57 and sitting in the 87th percentile of its 12-month range, fear is elevated, rising 35.1% in a single month. High-volatility environments are precisely where leveraged ETFs bleed the most, regardless of the underlying's direction. Retail Sentiment Slipping Through the Day Discussion of KORU this week has reflected broader investor uncertainty. Sentiment opened at 74 out of 100 (bullish) at midnight, with 46 comments concentrated in the overnight window. By noon, that score had slid to 59 (neutral) as the week's losses became harder to ignore. The intraday drift from bullish to neutral captures the broader tension: 24/7 Wall St. 24/7 Wall St. KORU's social sentiment stands at 67/100 (Bullish), driven by strong past momentum but tempered by recent drops and rising volatility. The score showed an intraday slide from bullish to neutral. Investors who shrugged off last months artificial intelligence (AI) scare in the insurance sector might want to brace themselves for a reality check. A new report from BofA Global Research estimates more than $15 billion in insurance industry commissions are considered low complexity and face a not immaterial risk of AI disintermediation. In other words: a real possibility. More from Yahoo Scout Why does BofA view AI threat differently than investors? What are current insurance distribution stock valuations showing? Which insurance companies are most vulnerable to disruption? How much insurance commission revenue faces AI threat? The warning comes on the heels of a volatile period for insurance broker and agent stocks. On Feb. 9, the subsector plunged 9% following news that two digital insurance companiesU.S. auto comparative rater Insurify and Spanish homeowners insurer Tuiohad launched chatbot assistants utilizing ChatGPT technology. However, over the next three weeks, insurance distribution stocks rallied 7%, outpacing a broader S&P 500 decline of 1%. The marketplace appeared to digest the AI threat and decided it was not a material risk to revenue growth, adopting a broadly optimistic nothing to fear and far away sentiment. BofA disagrees. Our view is that large language model digital agents can effectively do a non-immaterial portion of the work currently provided by 20-30k independent agents across the United States, the BofA report stated. The core of the firms bearish thesis centers on a massive pool of routine, low-complexity insurance policies. The BofA analysts, Joshua Shanker, Joseph Tumillo, Cyril Onyango, and Fatima Keita, looked at just six major carriers catering to small businesses and personal lines: Travelers, Hartford, Progressive, Cincinnati Financial, Hanover, and Selective. From these six companies alone, BofA identified over $15 billion in commissions paid to independent agents in 2025 that largely skew toward low-complexity risks. For example, Progressive paid over $6 billion to independent agents last year, while Travelers and Hartford paid roughly $3.35 billion and $1.25 billion, respectively, in segments dominated by personal lines and small commercial business. BofA notes that these types of policies, such as standard home and auto insurance, represent low-sophistication transactions where human agents add little value, making direct-to-consumer digital channels a considerable cost-saver for the buyer. Amrish Singh, CEO of the AI insurance startup Liberate, told Fortune that he thinks BofAs estimate checks out. His own math shows a wide range of $4.8 billion to $33.6 billion of insurance tasks that can be automated in the U.S. alone. The snowball effect While bulls argue that large insurance brokers do not heavily participate in personal lines or small commercial markets, BofA counters that years of constant tuck-in M&A have created a snowball effect. Hundreds of small acquired shops have brought a significant amount of low-complexity, small-ticket business under the umbrellas of large brokers, a vulnerability that is often obscured by subpar public disclosures. Furthermore, even large-case, complex businesswhich is unlikely to face direct disintermediationcould experience pricing deflation as AI demystifies the insurance markets for sophisticated corporate buyers. Changing war THE latest war in Middle East shows that the nature of war is changing. The concept of boots on the ground indicating actually physical invasion of a land by soldiers is very much in vogue, but in a slow but sure manner, its acceptance will possibly be on the wane as countries turn to technology in their attempt to modernise the military. Operation Sindoor by India about a year ago demonstrated what changing war could mean. In the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a more or less similar approach appears to have been taken by the two warring sides. Last week, the United States and Israel, too, followed their own style of precision attacks on Iran killing its top leadership in concentrated strikes, the world saw the system of warfare getting dramatically changed. In this consideration, technology appears to have become a greatest weapon in everybodys hands. Naturally, the old-style of warfare is giving way to the new, fully technology-based warfare where the boots on the ground idea would be used only as a second choice -- strictly on strategic reasons, on a need-basis, and also upon political convenience. Of course, this is not an entire new mode. For several years, countries have been using technology almost as a sole driver of their military action. When the terror organisation Hamas attacked Israel with more than 5,000 drones and missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and Israels Iron Dome concept kept most projectiles at bay, the new mode of warfare was in evidence. And this is going to be the global method of waging war -- with the help of technology. But technology is seen at work only after a whole range of human effort has gone into the decision about strike points. Intelligence available from space, from traditional human channels acts as the basis of the use of technology as strike force. In addition, every country that launches war also keeps its boots ready to be used at any time with the shortest notice possible. Thus, the operating mode of war appears to have changed, but the traditional mode, too, is kept ready for use in split-second. What is most remarkable is the massive human effort to collect Intelligence on the enemy -- so precise that an enemy leader sitting in a war room can get hit through vent in the air-conditioning system. That was what India achieved during Operation Sindoor when its BrahMos missile is said to have been thrust into the greatly fortified underground nuclear facility at the Noor Khan Air Base through a 45-sq-inch vent. The future of warfare, thus, is promising to be altogether different -- without any discount on human component. That would certainly mean that the loss of human life and limb may be less at least in the initial stages of war. Later on, boots on the ground would come into operations to achieve further military and political objectives. That is what United States President Mr. Donald Trump appears to be threatening to do as the current conflict with Iran gets to advanced stages. But until the human component gets thrust into war, technology will keep demolishing not just the enemy and his assets but also the old belief of how wars happen. Of course, it is obvious that there may not be loss of human life and limb of soldiers as such, but innocent civilian population would often be the target of every enemy attack. The dictum that good armies do not involve civilian lives and assets in war, carries no meaning in actual warfare. Thus, even in changing face of war, the civilians will keep getting affected in big numbers. To that extent, the devastation of even new war would not spare them. It is clear that technology will keep upgrading itself faster than humans can imagine. By that token, the nature of warfare, too, will keep changing very rapidly, with every succeeding conflict coming up with a newer form of attack. Geopolitical futurologists may have already worked out different scenarios of the war of the future. Finnish President Stubb on 4-day India visit to shore up ties NEW DELHI : FINNISH President Alexander Stubb began a four-day visit to India on Wednesday to shore up bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade, investment and critical technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welcoming Stubb, said his visit will take India-Finland relations to new heights Stubb will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi on Thursday following which the two sides are expected to firm up a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to boost cooperation in a number of sectors. The crisis in West Asia is likely to feature prominently in the meeting. The visit will further strengthen the relations between Finland and India, including in the area of trade, Stubb said on social media before leaving for New Delhi. The Finnish President will be the chief guest at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue on Thursday evening. Welcome to India, President Alexander Stubb. I fully agree with you, your visit will take India-Finland relations to new heights. I eagerly look forward to our meeting tomorrow and to your keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, Modi said on X in response to Stubbs remarks. The Finnish President was accorded a warm welcome at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values. President Stubbs visit will impart further energy to India-Finland relations, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media. Stubb is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and business leaders. The Presidents visit to India comes weeks after Finlands Prime Minister Petteri Orpo travelled to New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit. The Finnish President will also meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan. Stubb will travel to Mumbai on Friday where he is scheduled to meet several business leaders. The Finnish leader will conclude his visit on Saturday. HK Dua, who helmed three of Indias top dailies, passes away NEW DELHI : HK DUA, a distinguished journalist and a veteran of Indian public life who held the rare distinction of helming editorial operations at three of Indias leading newspapers, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88. He breathed his last peacefully this afternoon at a private hospital, a member of his family said. His cremation will take place at Lodhi Road crematorium on Thursday. Dua was admitted to the hospital around three weeks ago. He was survived by wife Adity and son Prashant. A Padma Bhushan recipient, Dua was known for his affable persona, sharp political insight and unwavering commitment to editorial independence. He commanded respect across the political spectrum. Dua served as editor of The Hindustan Times (1987-94), Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express (1994-96) and The Tribune (2003-09) and Editorial Advisor for The Times of India (1997-98). Born on July 1, 1937, Dua also served as Indias ambassador to Denmark (2001-2003). He was a nominated member of Rajya Sabha (2009-A2015), where he contributed significantly to debates on foreign affairs and national security. He was also part of several high-profile parliamentary committees, including the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs. A two-term president of the Editors Guild of India and a steadfast defender of democratic values, Dua also served on the National Security Advisory Board and received honorary doctorates from Punjab and Kurukshetra Universities for his contributions to the Fourth Estate. Apart from the Padma Bhushan, he received several awards, including the Durga Ratan award and the Bal Gangadhar Tilak award for excellence in journalism. Leaders across the political spectrum and members of the media fraternity expressed condolences over Duas demise. My deepest condolences on the passing of H K Dua, a distinguished journalist, diplomat, and Padma Bhushan recipient whose commitment to truth, editorial independence, and public service enriched public discourse, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on social media. Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal said Dua upheld editorial independence with unwavering integrity, sharp insight, and commitment to democratic values. His contributions as a journalist and an editor across leading newspapers leave behind an enduring legacy, he said. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said: A journalistic giant has left us. It can be challenging to invest in energy stocks, which often endure boom-and-bust cycles driven by volatile commodity prices. If you buy the wrong energy stock at the wrong point in that cycle, your investment can stay underwater for years before recovering. However, midstream pipeline companies like Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) generally offer more stable returns and higher yields than conventional energy companies. Let's see why these two stocks might stand the test of time. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue Image source: Getty Images. What do Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners do? Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products both charge upstream extraction companies and downstream refining companies to transport natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, and other refined products through their pipelines. Both companies also help American companies export their natural gas products overseas. That "toll road" model is resistant to volatile commodity prices, since it depends only on the consistent flow of those resources rather than their market value. Energy Transfer, which expanded with several bold acquisitions over the past few years, operates over 140,000 miles of pipeline across 44 states. Enterprise, which is generally more conservative with its investments and acquisitions, operates more than 50,000 miles of pipeline across 27 states. How sustainable are their distributions? Energy Transfer and Enterprise are both master limited partnerships (MLPs) that combine a return of capital with their own income to pay tax-efficient distributions in place of conventional dividends. Energy Transfer and Enterprise pay forward yields of 7% and 5.8%, respectively. As long as their distributable cash flow (DCF) exceeds their total distributions, those high yields will remain sustainable. In 2025, Energy Transfer generated an annualized adjusted DCF of $8.2 billion, which easily covered its $4.6 billion in distributions. Enterprise Products generated a comparable "operational" DCF of $7.9 billion, compared to its $4.8 billion in distributions. Why are they worth buying right now? Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products are both expanding their pipelines across the Permian Basin and other regions. They probably won't outperform upstream or downstream companies when gas prices spike, but they'll generate stable long-term returns for their patient investors. ISIs hoax threats, disinfo, terror plots may rise ahead of polls NEW DELHI : INDIAN Intelligence agencies have warned that cases relating to hoax bomb threats are set to increase in the coming months, especially with a number of elections coming up. In the last year, many schools and airlines have been receiving such calls. The airline industry, in particular, was the hardest hit as a result of these calls, as the recalling and rescheduling of flights caused heavy losses. An Intelligence Bureau official said that this is a low-cost operation for the ISI, as it does not need much investment. However, the consequences are huge as it spreads panic among the people, the official said. Another official said that this time, the ISI will heavily use the Khalistan elements to undertake this mission. The official said that these persons will look to create panic in states across the country. This week, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested Biswas, who had made a threat call threatening schools and lower courts in the name of the Khalistan movement. However, the police are still ascertaining whether he was working alone or was part of some larger network. Biswas had emailed a school in Gujarat, threatening to blow it up. He also said that Gujarat would become the next Khalistan. The ISI has also been working on a plan for West Bengal and the rest of the states that would be facing the elections this year. Apart from hoax calls, the ISI also plans to instruct its stooges to indulge in a massive disinformation campaign in these states. Issues such as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would be issues that these elements would raise to spread misinformation about the voters and their rights. An official said that sensitive issues would be raised to spread panic through false narratives. The ISI realises that the elections in West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu are big battles. The battles in these states would be intense in nature, and the ISI would look to spread false narratives to disturb peace and harmony. Another official said that the agencies must particularly watch out for messages that are aimed at disturbing communal harmony. There would be attempts to twist facts so that peace is disturbed. The official added that while such acts would be attempted in all states that are going to the polls, the focus would be largely on West Bengal and Assam, where there are several sensitivities involved. Intelligence agencies say that they have already picked up information about local modules being activated ahead of the polls. Terror attacks are very much on the anvil for these groups, which would be led by outfits such as the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI). Officials say that Pakistan badly wants to avenge Operation Sindoor and hence would look to create havoc in election-bound states. The focus of the security forces would be more towards the elections, and these elements are looking to take advantage of that. Trying to carry out terror attacks and simultaneously spreading misinformation would stress the security mechanism a lot, officials say. Another official said that the agencies should also be on the lookout for similar incidents taking place in other States. Terror groups normally would try to create a perception that they are focusing on one particular state. While trying to create this diversion, they may attempt a major attack in a neighbouring state, officials say. Elections are set to be held in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry between May 7 and June 15. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to announce the dates for the polls in these states. This period would be a crucial one, and the agencies warn that ISI-backed activities would be at an all-time high. Khameneis son Mojtaba likely to be Irans new supreme leader By Jon Gambrell DUBAI : MOJTABA Khamenei, a son of Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has long been considered a contender to the post of the countrys next paramount ruler - even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war last week and despite the fact hes has never been elected or appointed to a government position. A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leaders offices killed his 86-year-old father. Also killed were the younger Khameneis wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the countrys theocracy. Mojtaba is believed to still be alive and has likely gone into hiding as American and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran, though state-run Iranian media have not reported on his whereabouts. Mojtaba Khameneis name continues to circulate as a possible candidate to replace his father, something that had been criticised in the past as potentially creating a theocratic version of Irans former hereditary monarchy. But now with his father and wife considered by hard-liners as martyrs in the war against America and Israel, Khameneis stock likely has risen with the ageing clerics of the 88-seat Assembly of Experts who will select the countrys next supreme leader. Whoever becomes the leader will gain control of an Iranian military now at war and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon - should he choose to decree it. Khamenei had occupied a similar role to that of Ahmad Khomeini, a son of Irans first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini - a combination of aide-de-camp, confidant, gatekeeper and power broker, according to United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based pressure group. Born in 1969 in the city of Mashhad, some 10 years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that would sweep Iran, Khamenei grew up as his father agitated against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s began referring to the younger Khamenei as the power behind the robes. One recounted an allegation that Khamenei actually tapped his own fathers phone, served as his principal gatekeeper and had been forming his own power base within the country. Khamenei is widely viewed within the regime as a capable and forceful leader and manager who may someday succeed to at least a share of national leadership; his father may also see him in that light, a 2008 cable read, also noting his lack of theological qualifications and age. Mojtaba is, however, due to his skills, wealth, and unmatched alliances, reportedly seen by a number of regime insiders as a plausible candidate for shared leadership of Iran upon his fathers demise, whether that demise is soon or years in the future, it said. Rajya Sabha polls:Maya Iwnate is BJPs candidate Staff Reporter : Springing a major surprise, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named former Mayor of Nagpur Maya Iwnate as its candidate for Rajya Sabha polls. BJP declared a list of four whom it has fielded for Rajya Sabha polls. Apart from Iwnate, names of Republican Party of India chief and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, who is set for another term in the Upper House, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, who is looking to enter the Rajya Sabha for the first time, figured in the list. Fourth name is of Ramrao Wadkute, a senior leader from Hingoli. Iwnate was Mayor of Nagpur from December 15, 2007 to December 23, 2009. She is active in Nagpur city BJP since many years. Known for her long-standing involvement in local politics, she remained associated with the BJP, contributed to various organisational responsibilities and is among the loyalists of the party. Iwnate belongs to tribal community and worked as a member of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST). In recently-held civic body polls, she won from Prabhag 12. In Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Iwnate worked in various positions. Following the declaration of her candidature, Iwnate reached Mumbai to complete the necessary formalities related to the nomination process. Iwnate also served as a Member of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), reflecting her engagement with tribal welfare issues. According to an official press release, signed by partys National General Secretary and Headquarters In-charge Arun Singh, the names are approved by the partys Central Election Committee. Tribal leaders and BJP workers from Vidarbha welcomed the nomination of Maya Iwnate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra, calling it an honour for the region and recognition of women from the tribal community. Safety risk in Pak: US asks Karachi, Lahore consulates staff to leave ISLAMABAD : THE United States announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of non-emergency staff from its consulates in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore due to security concerns. The decision came just days after protesters tried to storm US consulates and the embassy after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli joint air strikes. The Department of State ordered non-emergency US Government employees and the family members of US Government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks, the US Mission in Pakistan said in a statement. It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in Islamabad. The advisory noted that an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran and significant disruptions to commercial flights amid the ongoing conflict in the region. Although there is an additional consulate in Peshawar, the updated travel advisory did not mention it. Following the onset of hostilities between Iran and the US-Israel since February 28, the State Department has issued similar instructions for its staff in multiple regional countries. These include Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman and recently, Cyprus, as per statements posted on X. At least 10 protesters were killed in Karachi on March 1 when they tried to break through the security perimeter around the US consulate. Similar protests were held in Lahore and Islamabad. After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, the nuclear energy market suffered a decade-long decline as many countries throttled or suspended their nuclear expansion plans. But over the past few years, the nuclear market has recovered -- thanks to new decarbonization initiatives, safer reactor technologies, and the growing demand for reliable, efficient power. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world's nuclear capacity could expand by up to 2.6 times from 2024 to 2050. Therefore, it could be the right time to buy these two nuclear energy stocks: NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) and GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV). Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue Image source: Getty Images. NuScale Power NuScale Power develops small modular reactors (SMRs) that fit in vessels that are only 65 feet high and nine feet wide. They're prefabricated and assembled on site to reduce the time and costs required to construct a nuclear power plant. It's the only SMR maker with Standard Design Approvals (SDAs) from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which approved its 50 MWe reactor design in 2023 and its 77 MWe design in 2025. NuScale once planned to deploy six of its 77 MWe SMRs to build a 462 MWe plant in Idaho, but that project collapsed amid soaring costs in 2023. Today, it primarily serves as a subcontractor to Fluor (NYSE:FLR) in its planned construction of a similar 462 MWe plant for Romania's RoPower. That project recently received its final investment decision (FID) approval, but the first reactors probably won't come online until the early 2030s. For now, it still generates most of its revenue from the front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for this project. NuScale also recently returned to the U.S. by agreeing to deploy up to six gigawatts of SMR capacity across seven states for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). However, the first reactors for that ambitious project probably won't be installed until 2032. With a market cap of $4 billion, NuScale might seem overvalued at 45 times this year's sales. However, analysts expect its annual revenue to more than triple from $88 million in 2026 to $287 million in 2028 as it expands its FEED studies, transitions some of its memorandums of understanding (MOUs) into binding contracts, and licenses its technology to more companies. That said, the real growth story could start in the next decade when it finally deploys its first SMRs. When that happens, NuScale could expand and evolve into a much larger nuclear company -- so it might be smart to nibble on its stock today before that happens. Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 724,092 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 73,450 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $96,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $137.05. Insider Buying and Selling In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $30,397.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,267.34. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $81,946.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 39,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance ABT stock opened at $113.09 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.91. The company has a market capitalization of $196.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $105.27 and a fifty-two week high of $139.15. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.73%. Abbott Laboratoriess revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.74%. Abbott Laboratories Company Profile (Free Report) Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions. In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (NYSEAMERICAN:CMCL Get Free Report)s stock price was down 1.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $29.09 and last traded at $29.30. Approximately 142,948 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 299,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.79. Caledonia Mining Price Performance The firm has a market cap of $563.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $29.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.46. Get Caledonia Mining alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caledonia Mining Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caledonia Mining by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,454 shares of the companys stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 6,770 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caledonia Mining by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 205,326 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,967,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Caledonia Mining during the second quarter worth about $198,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Caledonia Mining by 10.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,559 shares of the companys stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caledonia Mining during the second quarter valued at about $263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.78% of the companys stock. Caledonia Mining Company Profile Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC is a UKdomiciled gold producer listed on the NYSE American under the ticker CMCL and on the London AIM market. The companys flagship asset is the Blanket gold mine, located near Gwanda in southwestern Zimbabwe. Blanket is a conventional underground and surface gold operation that includes a carboninleach processing plant and tailings retreatment facilities, providing a structurally diverse resource base and established production infrastructure. Caledonia acquired the Blanket mine in 2004, adding to its long operating history that traces back to the early 20th century. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Caledonia Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Caledonia Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$140.00 to C$142.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.45% from the companys current price. Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$141.00 to C$147.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$139.00 to C$145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$132.00 to C$142.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$138.00 to C$146.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$138.00 to C$141.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$139.67. Get Toronto-Dominion Bank alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on TD Toronto-Dominion Bank Price Performance TSE TD traded down C$2.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting C$132.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,579,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,505,681. The firms 50 day moving average is C$130.77 and its 200 day moving average is C$119.19. The stock has a market capitalization of C$221.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.00. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a twelve month low of C$78.06 and a twelve month high of C$136.49. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported C$2.44 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$16.63 billion for the quarter. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 19.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 7.2160149 earnings per share for the current year. About Toronto-Dominion Bank (Get Free Report) Toronto-Dominion is one of Canadas two largest banks and operates three business segments: Canadian retail banking, U.S. retail banking, and wholesale banking. The banks U.S. operations span from Maine to Florida, with a strong presence in the Northeast. It also has a 13% ownership stake in Charles Schwab. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is one of the best information technology services stocks to buy now.. On February 24, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported that it had acquired an advanced AI technology solution from Avanseus. Avanseus is a cloud-native product company, and its AI software, acquired by Accenture, will help the firm with models offering predictions, anomaly detection, and optimization for complex operations. This will add to Accentures strength in its cognitive network platform and enhance its ability to scale AI and machine learning models. The advanced AI solution will enable better decision-making in complex network operations, allowing telecommunications providers to accelerate the transition to autonomous networks, boost financial performance, and enhance service agility. The firm believes that the acquisition positions them at the forefront of network benchmarking and large-scale network transformation for global communications providers. The Global Network Practice Lead, Communications, Media, and High-Tech Industry at Accenture, Tejas Rao, noted that this strategic collaboration with Avanseus enables them to swiftly develop and deploy cutting-edge agentic AI solutions, assisting clients with a smooth transition to autonomous network operations. Accenture (ACN) Acquires Advanced AI Technology Solution From Avanseus Of the 48 analysts covering ACN, 54% rate the stock as a Buy, 43% as Hold, and 4% as Sell. The average price target of $301 presents an upside potential of over 43% as of March 3. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) offers strategy & consulting, Accenture Song, Industry X, technology, and operations services globally. The company provides system integration, application management, data, AI, cloud, and automation services, as well as global delivery services. While we acknowledge the potential of ACN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026 and 12 Best Commodity Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News. Chevron (NYSE:CVX Free Report) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $188.00 to $206.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas companys stock. A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Chevron from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Freedom Capital cut shares of Chevron from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Argus set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $178.95. Get Chevron alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on CVX Chevron Trading Down 1.4% NYSE:CVX opened at $186.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $371.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chevron has a 12 month low of $132.04 and a 12 month high of $191.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.28. Chevron (NYSE:CVX Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 6.51%.The company had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year. Chevron Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Chevrons previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.91%. Insider Activity In other news, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total transaction of $2,187,528.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 272,624 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.35, for a total value of $51,621,354.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 31,266 shares in the company, valued at $5,920,217.10. This trade represents a 89.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,052,197 shares of company stock valued at $187,128,404 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Chevron Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Castellan Group increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 10.7% during the second quarter. Castellan Group now owns 20,405 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in Chevron by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,586,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Chevron by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 50,839 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 4,214 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 7.9% during the second quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,940 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $15,456,000 after acquiring an additional 7,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the second quarter valued at approximately $998,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Key Headlines Impacting Chevron Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week: Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical tension in the Middle East has pushed crude and natural-gas futures higher, creating a tailwind for integrated majors like Chevron by supporting margins and cash flow expectations. Read More. Geopolitical tension in the Middle East has pushed crude and natural-gas futures higher, creating a tailwind for integrated majors like Chevron by supporting margins and cash flow expectations. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages and Wall Street research have been upbeat recently (upgraded price targets and bullish notes), reinforcing investor confidence in Chevrons cash returns and long-term outlook. Read More. Major brokerages and Wall Street research have been upbeat recently (upgraded price targets and bullish notes), reinforcing investor confidence in Chevrons cash returns and long-term outlook. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Longer-term positioning by large investors (including increased exposure reported in recent institutional filings) and commentary highlighting Chevrons scale and dividend profile support the stocks medium-term appeal. Read More. Longer-term positioning by large investors (including increased exposure reported in recent institutional filings) and commentary highlighting Chevrons scale and dividend profile support the stocks medium-term appeal. Read More. Neutral Sentiment: Heightened retail and analyst attention has increased trading activity and headline sensitivity; that can amplify moves in either direction but doesnt change fundamentals immediately. Read More. Heightened retail and analyst attention has increased trading activity and headline sensitivity; that can amplify moves in either direction but doesnt change fundamentals immediately. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Chevron halted production and declared force majeure at the Leviathan gas field after Israeli security orders tied to regional hostilities an immediate operational disruption that creates uncertainty around near-term gas volumes and local cash flow. Read More. Chevron halted production and declared force majeure at the Leviathan gas field after Israeli security orders tied to regional hostilities an immediate operational disruption that creates uncertainty around near-term gas volumes and local cash flow. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by R. Hewitt Pate (multiple large blocks disclosed in SEC filings) has likely contributed to near-term selling pressure and investor caution. Read More. Significant insider selling by R. Hewitt Pate (multiple large blocks disclosed in SEC filings) has likely contributed to near-term selling pressure and investor caution. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Broader geopolitical headlines (reports of Iranian contacts with U.S. counterparts and threats in the Strait of Hormuz) have increased market volatility and raised the risk premium on energy names despite higher commodity prices. Read More. Chevron Company Profile (Get Free Report) Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevrons core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide. Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Chevron Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chevron and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Citigroup upgraded shares of Delivery Hero (OTCMKTS:DLVHF Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports. Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of Delivery Hero in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating on shares of Delivery Hero in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Delivery Hero to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy. Get Delivery Hero alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on DLVHF Delivery Hero Stock Performance Delivery Hero Company Profile Shares of Delivery Hero stock remained flat at $25.01 on Tuesday. Delivery Hero has a 1 year low of $19.25 and a 1 year high of $32.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.26. (Get Free Report) Delivery Hero SE is a global online foodordering and delivery platform that connects consumers, restaurants and couriers through its digital marketplace. The companys core business revolves around providing a seamless, ondemand food delivery experience via mobile apps and websites. Beyond traditional restaurant delivery, Delivery Hero also operates a network of cloud kitchensknown as dark kitchensto meet growing consumer demand for a broader variety of cuisines and faster fulfilment times. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Delivery Hero has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Delivery Hero Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Delivery Hero and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII Get Free Report) EVP Eric Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,949 shares in the company, valued at $844,774.56. This trade represents a 46.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 3.5% Shares of NYSE HII traded down $15.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $421.62. The company had a trading volume of 485,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,617. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.32. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.42 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The businesss 50-day moving average is $406.00 and its 200 day moving average is $334.46. Get Huntington Ingalls Industries alerts: Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.09 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industriess payout ratio is currently 35.91%. Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 40.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 206 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the second quarter valued at about $481,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,886 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,577 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $1,772,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HII shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Melius Research raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $421.00 price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $370.38. Get Our Latest Research Report on Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The companys products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters. Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grummans shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Huntington Ingalls Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Huntington Ingalls Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 15,646,803 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the January 29th total of 18,647,660 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,319,822 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 4.5% of the companys shares are sold short. Approximately 4.5% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,319,822 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Institutional Trading of Healthcare Realty Trust A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HR. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Healthcare Realty Trust during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 179.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Get Healthcare Realty Trust alerts: Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Down 2.1% HR stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.41. 2,814,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,822,415. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of -25.93 and a beta of 0.96. Healthcare Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $14.09 and a twelve month high of $18.97. Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend Healthcare Realty Trust ( NYSE:HR Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $282.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.37 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 5.07% and a negative net margin of 20.84%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Healthcare Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.580-1.640 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Healthcare Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -135.21%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms have commented on HR. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $18.88. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Healthcare Realty Trust Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, acquisition and management of outpatient medical facilities. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the companys portfolio is focused primarily on medical office buildings and outpatient healthcare properties that serve hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers. Its business model centers on securing long-term, triple-net leases to generate stable income streams from a diversified tenant base. The companys properties are located across key metropolitan markets in the United States, including major healthcare hubs in the Southeast, Southwest and in select coastal regions. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Healthcare Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Healthcare Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL Get Free Report)s stock price fell 11.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $20.49 and last traded at $21.71. 29,881,177 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 27,165,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.63. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have weighed in on HL. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.63. Get Hecla Mining alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hecla Mining Hecla Mining Stock Performance Hecla Mining Announces Dividend The stock has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.45 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Minings payout ratio is 2.04%. Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 906,370 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at $25,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the companys stock. Hecla Mining Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur dAlene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc. The companys principal operations are located in North America and Latin America. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Hecla Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hecla Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. IG Group Holdings plc (OTCMKTS:IGGHY Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,004 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the January 29th total of 787 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 56 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 17.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 56 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 17.9 days. IG Group Stock Performance OTCMKTS:IGGHY opened at $18.75 on Thursday. IG Group has a 12 month low of $10.65 and a 12 month high of $20.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.78. Get IG Group alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have issued reports on IGGHY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating on shares of IG Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of IG Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, IG Group has a consensus rating of Buy. About IG Group (Get Free Report) IG Group is a UK-based online trading and financial services firm that offers a broad range of multi-asset solutions to both retail and institutional clients. The companys core services include spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs), forex, options, and share trading, all accessible through proprietary web and mobile platforms. IG Group is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and holds licenses in multiple jurisdictions, ensuring compliance with local market standards and client protections. Founded in 1974 by entrepreneur Stuart Wheeler, IG Group pioneered the concept of financial spread betting in the UK. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for IG Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for IG Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL Get Free Report) CEO Kenneth Kencel acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.04 per share, for a total transaction of $130,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,845.68. This trade represents a 20.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 0.1% NYSE:NCDL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.33. 211,603 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,018. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.54 and a 12-month high of $17.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $658.33 million, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firms fifty day moving average is $13.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.27. Get Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending alerts: Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $26.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $49.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lendings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.92%. A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the companys stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the companys stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $85,000. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NCDL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $15.40. View Our Latest Stock Report on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns through a diversified portfolio of direct lending instruments. Established in early 2022, NCDL focuses on privately negotiated debt investments in middle-market companies, primarily within the United States. The fund offers investors access to a segment of the credit markets that has historically been less correlated with public debt markets, aiming to capture yield premiums associated with private lending. The funds investment strategy centers on senior secured loans, unitranche financings and selectively structured mezzanine debt. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET Get Free Report) Director Charles Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.67, for a total value of $1,029,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,784 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $229,547.28. The trade was a 81.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Arista Networks Stock Performance NYSE:ANET traded up $10.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $134.95. The stock had a trading volume of 6,880,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,680,938. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $164.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.57 billion, a PE ratio of 48.89, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.46. Get Arista Networks alerts: Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.07. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.37% and a net margin of 38.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of Arista Networks Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 2,118.2% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 56.7% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 199 shares of the technology companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arista Networks from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $176.88. Read Our Latest Research Report on Arista Networks About Arista Networks (Get Free Report) Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Aristas offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures. Central to Aristas product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the companys hardware platforms. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Arista Networks Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Arista Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE Free Report) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 77,915 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 59,657 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLCs holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $1,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 743.7% in the second quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 153,975 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,149,000 after buying an additional 135,725 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 106.8% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 179,024 shares of the technology companys stock worth $3,661,000 after buying an additional 92,438 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,976,300 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $81,315,000 after buying an additional 266,600 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 118.8% in the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 145,232 shares of the technology companys stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 78,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 9.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,787,479 shares of the technology companys stock worth $93,020,000 after purchasing an additional 334,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the companys stock. Get Hewlett Packard Enterprise alerts: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 0.3% Shares of NYSE HPE opened at $21.57 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -359.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.31. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company has a 52-week low of $11.97 and a 52-week high of $26.44. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( NYSE:HPE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 0.17%.The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Hewlett Packard Enterprises revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 1.85 EPS for the current year. A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Argus upped their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c-) rating on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.29. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise In other news, EVP Maeve C. Culloty sold 35,958 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $886,724.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Fidelma Russo sold 126,512 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total value of $3,113,460.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,255,159.22. This represents a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 585,537 shares of company stock worth $14,255,864 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Profile (Free Report) Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is an enterprise technology company that designs, develops and sells IT infrastructure, software and services for business and government customers. Its core offerings span servers, storage, networking, and related software, together with consulting, integration and support services aimed at modernizing and managing enterprise IT environments. HPEs product portfolio includes systems for traditional data centers as well as solutions for high-performance computing, edge computing and telecommunications infrastructure. A major focus for HPE is hybrid cloud and consumption-based IT. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HPE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT Get Free Report) dropped 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $647.23 and last traded at $654.72. Approximately 1,707,448 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,945,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $664.48. More Lockheed Martin News Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week: Get Lockheed Martin alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms recently issued reports on LMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a market perform rating and set a $654.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $660.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $675.00 price objective on Lockheed Martin in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $612.50. Lockheed Martin Trading Down 1.5% The company has a market cap of $150.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.22. The firms 50 day moving average is $592.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.53). Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 108.53% and a net margin of 6.69%.The company had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 EPS for the current year. Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Lockheed Martins dividend payout ratio is currently 64.22%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 29,639 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $14,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter valued at about $3,075,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 22.4% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 25,423 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $12,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $5,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,410 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $19,674,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the companys stock. About Lockheed Martin (Get Free Report) Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world. Lockheed Martins product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Lockheed Martin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lockheed Martin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Treasury to waive underpayment penalties for qualified farmers who may have missed a filing deadline because of late changes to Form 8995. In a recent letter to the IRS, the AICPA said changes to the Qualified Business Income Deduction Simplified Computation form have effectively shortened the time available for many farmers to complete their 2025 tax returns. On 27 January 2026, the IRS revised the instructions for Form 8995. The update requires taxpayers to adjust the amount reported on line 11 to reflect new deductions appearing on Form 1040, line 13b, created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). This revision meant Form 8995 itself had to be updated and reissued. According to the AICPA, in some cases the updated version of Form 8995 was not accessible until 23 February. The institute said this late release caused particular problems for farmers and fishers. Under existing rules, these taxpayers may skip the 15 January estimated tax instalment if they file their federal return by 1 March (2 March in 2026) and pay the full tax due with that filing. Meeting that date allows them to avoid both the January payment and related underpayment penalties. The AICPA noted that the delayed form availability made it difficult for affected taxpayers to meet the 2 March deadline, leaving only about a week to complete and file accurate returns using the revised Form 8995. AICPA Tax Policy & Advocacy senior manager Scott Klein said: This disruption has imposed added hardship on qualified farmers, a group that broadly relies on the Qualified Business Income deduction, and their preparers, making it difficult to complete and file accurate returns by Monday's deadline. In its submission, the institute asked the IRS and Treasury to use their authority under section 6654(e)(3)(A) to grant penalty relief. It recommended protection from underpayment penalties for qualified farmers who file their 2025 federal income tax returns, including Form 8995, and pay their outstanding tax by 15 April 2026. "AICPA urges IRS to waive penalties for farmers after Form 8995 revamp" was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF Free Report) by 5,149.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,136 shares of the apparel retailers stock after purchasing an additional 7,981 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ANF. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 486.9% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,923 shares of the apparel retailers stock valued at $1,071,000 after buying an additional 10,721 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,227,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 9.0% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 157,175 shares of the apparel retailers stock worth $13,446,000 after purchasing an additional 12,942 shares in the last quarter. Timelo Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,077,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 10,469.4% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 993,101 shares of the apparel retailers stock worth $82,278,000 after purchasing an additional 983,705 shares in the last quarter. Get Abercrombie & Fitch alerts: Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 3.5% Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $95.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 1.17. Abercrombie & Fitch Company has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $133.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.39. More Abercrombie & Fitch News Abercrombie & Fitch ( NYSE:ANF Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 38.01% and a net margin of 10.07%.The businesss revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.57 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.200-11.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year. Here are the key news stories impacting Abercrombie & Fitch this week: Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations ANF reported $3.68 EPS vs. $3.56 consensus and record Q4 net sales of $1.67B, driven by Hollister strength (Hollister comp and fullyear growth highlighted). Read More. Q4 results beat expectations ANF reported $3.68 EPS vs. $3.56 consensus and record Q4 net sales of $1.67B, driven by Hollister strength (Hollister comp and fullyear growth highlighted). Read More. Positive Sentiment: Fullyear EPS outlook topped consensus management set FY2026 EPS guidance of $10.20$11.00 (above the ~$10.07 consensus), signaling confidence in annual profitability despite headwinds. Read More. Fullyear EPS outlook topped consensus management set FY2026 EPS guidance of $10.20$11.00 (above the ~$10.07 consensus), signaling confidence in annual profitability despite headwinds. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Sizeable capital return continues the company repurchased $450M of stock in FY2025 (5.4M shares, ~11% reduction) and plans ~ $450M in buybacks for FY2026, supporting EPS and shareholder value. Read More. Sizeable capital return continues the company repurchased $450M of stock in FY2025 (5.4M shares, ~11% reduction) and plans ~ $450M in buybacks for FY2026, supporting EPS and shareholder value. Read More. Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions mixed but constructive Telsey reaffirmed an outperform/$125 PT and Jefferies trimmed its PT to $130 while keeping a buy rating, leaving tangible upside but some analyst calibration. Read More. Analyst actions mixed but constructive Telsey reaffirmed an outperform/$125 PT and Jefferies trimmed its PT to $130 while keeping a buy rating, leaving tangible upside but some analyst calibration. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Soft nearterm guidance and tariff assumptions spooked investors Q1 EPS guide of $1.20$1.30 is well below Street estimates (~$1.41), and management modeled a 15% U.S. import tariff (estimated ~290bps sales impact in Q1 and ~70bps for FY), pressuring margins. Read More. Soft nearterm guidance and tariff assumptions spooked investors Q1 EPS guide of $1.20$1.30 is well below Street estimates (~$1.41), and management modeled a 15% U.S. import tariff (estimated ~290bps sales impact in Q1 and ~70bps for FY), pressuring margins. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and operating income decline operating margin and operating income were down yearoveryear; investors cite margin contraction, higher inventory and tariff exposure as reasons for the stock pullback despite the beat. Read More. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $128.00 to $102.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a buy rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $119.40. View Our Latest Stock Report on ANF Insider Buying and Selling In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 29,769 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $2,976,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 308,503 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $30,850,300. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 350,000 shares of company stock valued at $34,661,358 in the last quarter. 2.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile (Free Report) Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) is an American specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells casual apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, the company evolved from an outdoor gear outfitter to a global lifestyle brand renowned for its relaxed, preppy aesthetic. Its product assortment includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, intimates, swimwear, fragrances and personal care items. The company operates under multiple brand names, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks, each targeting distinct consumer segments from teens to young adults. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ANF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Abercrombie & Fitch Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abercrombie & Fitch and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Uwharrie Capital Corp (OTCMKTS:UWHR Get Free Report) traded up 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.76 and last traded at $10.76. 5,258 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 91% from the average session volume of 2,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.75. Uwharrie Capital Trading Up 2.2% The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $10.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.46. Get Uwharrie Capital alerts: About Uwharrie Capital (Get Free Report) Uwharrie Capital Corporation (OTCMKTS: UWHR) is a naturalresources holding company that invests in agricultural real estate, timberland and energy mineral interests. The companys portfolio is structured to generate diversified cash flows through land leasing, timber harvesting and oil and gas royalty income. Incorporated in North Carolina, Uwharrie Capital aims to preserve capital while creating longterm value for its shareholders. The companys agricultural segment consists of feesimple farmland holdings, which it leases to commercial farmers under cashrent arrangements. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Uwharrie Capital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Uwharrie Capital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. VAALCO Energy (LON:EGY Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from GBX 555 to GBX 570 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Groups target price indicates a potential upside of 52.00% from the companys current price. Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on VAALCO Energy from GBX 530 to GBX 550 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, VAALCO Energy currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of GBX 560. Get VAALCO Energy alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on EGY VAALCO Energy Stock Performance About VAALCO Energy LON:EGY traded down GBX 5 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 375. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 329.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 302.91. VAALCO Energy has a 52 week low of GBX 250.60 and a 52 week high of GBX 387. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.57. The firm has a market capitalization of 390.97 million, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.17. (Get Free Report) VAALCO, founded in 1985, is a Houston, USA based, independent energy company with production, development and exploration assets in the West African region. The Company is an established operator within the region, holding a 31.1% working interest in the Etame Marin block, located offshore Gabon, which to date has produced over 110 MMBBL of crude oil and of which the Company holds operational control. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for VAALCO Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for VAALCO Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The financial and logistical troubles the Iran war is causing for the global aviation industry are compounding by the day, with the number of canceled flights to Middle East hubs surpassing 27,000 since fighting began even as carriers look to resume some operations. Thousands of passengers have been stranded in the Gulf region, forcing many to take circuitous, expensive routes to reach functioning airports in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Of the 51,600 scheduled flights to or from the Middle East since Feb. 28, more than half have been canceled, according to analytics firm Cirium Ltd. Most Read from Bloomberg There are tentative efforts to get things back on track, though. The United Arab Emirates is establishing safe air corridors to allow for as many as 48 flights an hour. Emirates, the worlds largest international airline, is operating a scaled back flight schedule following the partial reopening of airspace thats safe for commercial flights. Here is a list of airlines that have announced adjustments to their regional flight schedules: Air India Airline is laying on additional flights. Between March 5-11, the airline is operating three additional flights between Delhi and Toronto. Between March 7-10, three extra flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, one extra Delhi-Paris service. Running Delhi and Mumbai flights via Jeddah on March 5. Air India said its examining running additional flights beyond March 11 in response to high demand and the loss of flights run by Middle East carriers. Air France-KLM Air France suspended flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh through March 6, and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut through March 8, according to its website Wednesday. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines suspended the remainder of its winter season flights to and from Tel Aviv, starting Sunday. It also halted flights to and from Dammam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai until March 6, according to a notice published on its website. British Airways Suspended service to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv. The airline added daily flights between London and Muscat, Oman, on Friday and Saturday after previously offering service on Thursday. It has added an additional flight on March 8 from Oman to Heathrow. Cathay Pacific The Free National Movement is warning that the governments decision to make uncooked food VAT-exempt rather than zero-rated could lead to higher grocery prices. The change follows a policy announcement by Philip Davis to eliminate VAT on food sold in grocery stores starting April 1. What do you think this will mean for food prices? You voted: There are no important events for this country at this time. Select "All" to see top events in other countries or view all events. Akbar Novruz For decades, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) has lived as a strategic island, separated from the Azerbaijani mainland by geography and history. During the 1990s, Armenia attempted to choke the region into submission by cutting off all land and rail links. Today, a new aggressor has emerged using the same old playbook. Recent reports of Iranian drone activity targeting the Nakhchivan International Airport signal a dangerous shift in regional grey-zone warfare. By hovering over the runway, the "Mullah Regime" isn't just testing a drone; they are testing the limits of a lifeline. Nakhchivan is an exclave. Because it shares no land border with mainland Azerbaijan, it relies almost entirely on its airport for several reasons. That includes the daily commute of thousands of citizens and life-saving cargo that cannot wait for transit through third countries, while maintaining the defensive integrity of the region. 'Historical reference' In the early 90s, during the first Karabakh war, Armenia successfully turned Nakhchivan into a "dark zone" by cutting electricity and land routes. The airport became the "Lungs of Nakhchivan." By targeting the airport now, Tehran is attempting a "Blockade 2.0." They realize that if the airport is rendered unsafe or non-operational, Nakhchivan becomes effectively paralyzed. We are talking about an attempt that would end with isolating 460,000 people from their capital, Baku. Targeting a civilian international airport is a red line. Under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) regulations, interfering with civilian flight paths is a form of state-sponsored provocation that risks the lives of hundreds of innocent passengers. The Geopolitical "Why?" Why now? The answer lies in the Zangezur Corridor. Iran fears losing its transit monopoly between Turkiye and Central Asia. By threatening Nakhchivans air space, they are trying to gain a bargaining chip against Azerbaijans infrastructure projects. It is a signal to Baku that "if you seek a corridor through the land, we will close your corridor through the sky." This thesis has been around for a big amount of period, especially since Azerbaijan regained its occupied territories. Perhaps the current situation in Iran suggests that it might be a great time to implement this idea. However, Tehran's plans might be to: cause panic, trying to justify its defensive act against US and Israel forces. Consequently, that means the countries would decide to put diplomatic pressure on the US specifically. The other reason also comes within the effect of this war atmosphere - basically implying the idea "If I am going down, we are all going down". However, unlike the 90s, Azerbaijan today possesses the technological and diplomatic depth to ensure its "Lungs" keep breathing. Now let us see how the situation unfolds further. American civilians have been lucky when it comes to war. A major battle hasn't reached U.S. mainland shores in more than a century. While there were southern border skirmishes with Pancho Villa at the Battle of Ambos Nogales during World War I, there hasn't been all-out war on U.S. mainland soil since the Civil War. But while the devastation of the latest war is again occurring on foreign soil, Americans are paying at the pump as the latest barrage of missiles hits the biggest oil producers in the world. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran over the weekend, and Iran retaliated with its own strikes. At first, the stated U.S. rationale for the attack was to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, many pointed out that the Trump administration said last year that the U.S. and Israel had already "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capacity. Israeli officials at the time did not agree with the "obliterated" adjective, but the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir both agreed that the attacks set Iran's nuclear ambitions "back by years, I repeat, years." Well, just seven months later, they are back bombing Iran, but this time the objective is less clear and has constantly shifted, The Washington Post reported. Iran's retaliatory attacks on the Gulf states and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent gas prices soaring on Tuesday, March 3. Ras Tanura Refinery in Saudi Arabia was badly damaged by Iranian drone and missile strikes. Photo by Maxar on Getty Images Photo by Maxar on Getty Images Gas prices rise in the largest one-day increase since 2005 If you were smart enough to get your gas on Monday, March 2, you saved a lot of money because the price of a gallon of petrol jumped 11 cents overnight, rising to $3.11 per gallon on average, per AAA and as reported by the Associated Press. This represents the largest one-day increase since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Related: What happens to oil prices if bombs and bullets fly in Iran Crude oil futures trading on the COMEX were up 8.1% Tuesday to $77 a barrel. Over the past five days, the average price for a barrel of crude was $68.57. Over the past month, it was $65.12, and over the past three months, the average cost of a barrel of crude oil was steady at $61. Iranian oil is already heavily sanctioned by the U.S, and as of this year, China buys more than 80% of the estimated 1.9 million barrels of crude Iran ships out daily, Reuters reported. So the spike in price isn't from the attacks on Iran; rather, it stems from Iran's response to the attacks. Iran has targeted the oil infrastructure of the Gulf states that house U.S. military bases, where up to 40,000 troops are stationed in the region, according to NPR. Saint-Laurent, QC (H4T1V6) Today Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 17F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 17F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%. March 5 (Reuters) - Talks on landmark crypto legislation have hit a new impasse after banks said they could not back a compromise pushed by the White House, a development that cast doubt on whether the bill will pass this year and sparked criticism from President Donald Trump who accused lenders of trying to undermine it. More from Yahoo Scout What compromise did the White House propose for stablecoin rewards? What caused the crypto legislation talks to stall? How did Trump respond to banks opposing crypto legislation? What challenges remain for passing crypto legislation this year? Trump, who courted crypto cash on the campaign trail and whose family has profited from its own token, has prioritized crypto reform during his second administration. On Tuesday evening, he took to his Truth Social platform to call out the banking industry. "We are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda," he posted. Crypto companies have been operating in a regulatory gray area which executives say has stymied their businesses. The Clarity Act bill aims to create clear regulations that should help promote cryptocurrency adoption, say its supporters. The bill stalled in January because banks opposed a provision allowing stablecoin issuers and crypto firms to offer yield-bearing products and other rewards that could lure away bank deposits, making it harder for them to fund lending. Crypto giants such as Coinbase say they must be able to offer rewards to recruit customers, and barring them would be anticompetitive. The bank Standard Chartered has estimated, meanwhile, that stablecoins could pull around $500 billion in deposits out of U.S. banks by the end of 2028. The White House last month stepped in to broker a deal, Reuters reported. Its compromise would allow stablecoin rewards in some circumstances, such as peer-to-peer payments, but not on idle holdings, said four people who asked for anonymity to discuss the private talks. Crypto companies have come around to that compromise, but banks have said they cannot support it, said two of the people. Banks still want to severely limit activities for which rewards can be issued, said a senior White House official. A banking industry source said lenders believe the activities allowed under the compromise could still trigger deposit flight. Some senators back the banks' position and the industry believes that with their support it can get a better deal, the banking source said. A spokesman for the Senate Banking Committee, which ultimately holds the pen on the text, did not provide comment. In a statement, the American Bankers Association said lenders had offered constructive ideas to advance the bill without imperiling deposits. "The risks to economic growth and financial stability are real if policymakers don't get this right." Central Bank of India has cleared a major regulatory hurdle in its bid to deepen its footprint in the insurance sector, after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the state-owned lender's acquisition of additional equity stakes in two of its insurance joint ventures. Following the announcement, the lenders share, which were trading in the red, soared 1.9 per cent intra-day as it reached market close. The CCI approved the proposed combination, granting Central Bank of India the go-ahead to acquire an additional 1.09 per cent equity in Generali Central Insurance Company Limited (GCICL) a general insurance provider and an additional 0.82 per cent equity in Generali Central Life Insurance Company Limited (GCLICL), which offers life insurance products. The story behind this deal traces back to the collapse of the Future Group. In November 2025, the Central Bank of India was declared the successful bidder by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) for the sale of assets of Future Corporate Resources Private Limited (FCRPL), the Future Group entity undergoing insolvency proceedings. FCRPL held the very equity stakes now being acquired: 1.09 per cent in GCICL and 0.82 per cent in GCLICL. Once the acquisition process is completed, Central Bank of India's shareholding will rise from 24.91 per cent to 26 per cent in GCICL and from 25.18 per cent to 26 per cent in GCLICL. These will take the bank to a neat 26 per cent holding in both entities, a threshold that carries meaningful voting rights. The deal also signals Central Bank of India's intent to consolidate its bancassurance ecosystem, and it looks to offer a more integrated suite of banking and insurance services. Bitcoin is currently caught in what traders describe as a slow crash. After reaching a record high of $126,272 in October 2025, the worlds largest digital asset has been steadily declining. This is not the kind of sudden collapse seen during the FTX or Luna crises, but rather a gradual slide that has pushed the price toward the $65,000 level. Technical charts now show a textbook death cross forming. Related: Most shorted U.S. company surprises with dividend increase Understanding the death cross A death cross is a chart pattern that reflects recent price weakness. It occurs when a short-term moving average falls below a longer-term moving average. Specifically, the pattern appears when the 50-day moving average drops below the 200-day moving average, indicating that short-term momentum has weakened relative to the broader trend. Prominent crypto trader and analyst Leviathan warned that Bitcoin has just printed what he called a textbook death cross. EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS PATTERN FLASHES -> MORE DOWNSIDE, Leviathan wrote. THIS IS THE FINAL BULL TRAP OF THIS CYCLE. In the same post, he also pointed to prior cycles: 2019: Bitcoin fell 49.8% over 167 days 2022: Bitcoin fell 49.5% over 314 days 2026: ...? Historically, death crosses have preceded major bear markets in traditional finance, including downturns in 1929, 1938, 1974 and 2008. However, the signal is widely considered lagging, meaning it confirms an existing decline rather than predicting a new one. Importantly, death crosses do not always result in extended losses. In previous crypto cycles, Bitcoin formed local bottoms shortly before or around the appearance of the pattern, including in September 2023, August 2024 and April 2025. Bitcoin is currently down roughly 25% from its Oct. 6, 2025 all-time high. The decline accelerated after a broader selloff in technology stocks triggered risk reduction across crypto markets. Trending on TheStreet Roundtable: Middle East tensions add complexity Technical signals are unfolding alongside rising geopolitical risk. After joint USIsraeli strikes on Iranian targets, markets are now grappling with the possibility of a prolonged regional conflict. India has a population of over 1.4 billion, with more than 65 per cent of its population below 35 years of age and 50 per cent of its population below 25 years of age. It has the largest population in the world in the age bracket of 5-24 years, with 580 million people, presenting a huge opportunity in the education sector. The education market in India is expected to amount to $225 billion by FY25. As per government data, over 1.3 million Indian students were pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024, while it was about 0.9 million in 2022. In 2025, it is estimated that the figure will be 1.9 million students. The total spending by Indian outbound students could reach $70 billion by 2025. Indian preference to study abroad is largely dominated by English-speaking countriesoften called the big four, namely, the US, UK, Canada and Australia. This is changing due to visa restrictions, changes in work policies, as well as heightened geopolitical tensions. More than 70 per cent of Indian students were going to the Big Four; it's now reduced to less than 50 per cent. The United States has seen its popularity plunge, with student numbers falling by 63 per cent between 2023 and 2025. Similarly, Canada saw a staggering 41 per cent fall in 2024 intake due to geopolitical tensions between India and Canada and rising housing prices there. This has made Indian students look for other destinations beyond the big four for their higher education abroad. Of late, the choice of study abroad destinations is becoming more diversified, with many European countries attracting Indian students. Indian students are exploring non-English speaking destinations based on international reputation and the high academic standards of their universities. Countries like Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, etc., are seeing a rise in the number of Indian students. The recently concluded negotiations on the India-EU free trade agreement give further impetus to trade, economic and people-to-people ties between the two markets. In this context, interest in France as a preferred destination for higher education is rising, as it is gaining attraction for providing affordable, quality and alternative destinations for Indians to pursue education abroad. In 2024-2025, 443,500 foreign students were enrolled in French higher education institutions from around the world, and it is among the top destination countries for international students. In 2023, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Indo-French partnership, both countries adopted a roadmap to strengthen the bilateral relationship up to 2047, termed Horizon 2047. Key identified areas were science, technological innovation and academic cooperation as vectors of progress between the two. France is home to leading academic institutions, be it in management, engineering, hospitality, political science, etc. It provides quality education to international students with inclusivity and diversity at the heart of its objectives. As Professor Isabelle Huault, President of Emlyon Business School, suggested, "France offers quality education and a gateway to Europe for international students. Several French universities and Grandes Ecoles, like Emlyon Business School, place highly in the most reputable international rankings. Emlyon Business School takes the employability of our students seriously and at the core of our objectives. We invest in their competencies and skill development by offering tailor-made programmes and courses, coupled with world-class faculty, research and infrastructure that we offer. Hence, we focus on the need for contextually and industry-relevant academic and training programmes, be it on AI, Tech, climate finance, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, etc., that will improve competencies and skills, eventually fostering better talent offering for the market." In light of the recent visit of President Macron to India, it further highlighted the greater and deeper academic collaborations between India and France, be it students choosing France for higher education, academic and scientific collaboration, etc. In addition, 2026 is declared as the India-France year of Innovation that further adds to this dynamic. This year will feature a series of high-impact collaborations in India and France spanning diverse sectors such as Innovation, Science and Technology, Cyberspace and Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Sustainable Development, Cultural and Creative Economy, and Research and Education. France has set a broader target of welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030. It has been announced that it will streamline visa procedures to make them more practical and aligned with students expectations. Indian students would have access to world-class teaching, leading research centres, and strong interdisciplinary collaboration. Leading French institutions are also emphasising offering diverse academic programmes in English to make higher education more accessible. As the world becomes more fragmented, Indian students are increasingly becoming aware of the huge opportunities and choices beyond the Big Four destinations for higher education and exploring career prospects. Indian students are showing greater interest in France to pursue education abroad. France, in particular, and Europe in general, offer a huge scale and scope of opportunities that Indian students are now discovering. For this, the sky is the limit! Mohit Anand is professor of international business and strategy at EMLYON Business School, France. Rajesh Mehta is an international affairs expert working on innovation and public policy. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK. Even as the escalating conflict in the Middle East triggered spike in global energy prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday suggested that Russia could halt energy supplies to Europe right now. Putins remarks came in response to the European Union's reported plans to impose a complete ban on Russian pipeline gas imports by late 2027 and prohibit new short-term Russian LNG contracts starting April 2026. Now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now. To move into those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there, Putin said in an interview with state televisions Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin. However, Putin clarified that no final decision has been made and described the remark as just a thought. This is not a decision, it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies, he added. The energy market turbulence follows the ongoing conflict triggered by coordinated airstrikes on Iran by the United States and Israel, and Tehrans retaliatory attacks on neighbouring Gulf countries. The confrontation has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy transit route. The war has also led to the closure of Qatars LNG production facilities and the shutdown of Saudi Arabias largest oil refinery. Putins comments about halting supplies to Europe appears to be aimed at exerting pressure on European buyers. Russias pipeline gas exports to Europe have fallen sharplyfrom about 40% to just 6% last year. Putin also claimed that the current energy turmoil has created conditions where buyers are willing to pay a premium for gas supplies. If such premium buyers emerge, then I thinkindeed I am certainsome traditional suppliers, such as American companies, will leave the European market for higher-paying destinations, he said. Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, Russia has indicated its willingness to divert vessels carrying Russian crude oil to India in order to offset supply disruptions from the Middle East. Around 9.5 million barrels of Russian crude currently on vessels near Indian waters could arrive within weeks, the report said, citing an industry source. India is also exploring alternative supply options as its crude stockpiles are estimated to cover only about 25 days of demand. Nearly 40% of Indias crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, making the country vulnerable to disruptions in the region. The Reuters report also quoted the industry source as saying that Moscow is prepared to help meet up to 40% of Indias crude oil needs. Russia is also reportedly willing to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India after Qatarone of Indias major suppliershalted production earlier this week. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack against its exclave of Nakhchivan, injuring two civilians. One drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan and another near a school, where two people suffered injuries, the ministry said in a statement. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks have spread erratically as the conflict has expanded to involve regional countries and those beyond. However, reports claimed that the said attack was carried out by Tehran's Arash-2 long-range drones. Iran's Arash-2 drones Superior to the much-discussed Shahed drones of the Islamic Republic, the Arash-2 is a one-way attack drone that entered service in 2020. An upgraded version of the Kian-2 drone, it has a 2,000 km strike range and carries a 150 kg warhead. These drones are capable of executing intelligence-gathering roles in addition to precision strikes and swarm operations. ALSO READ | Hurry up and act: Inside the dramatic Trump-Netanyahu conversation that sparked Iran war Originally operated by Iran's regular army (Artesh), Iran has claimed publicly that these drones were designed with unique capabilities specifically required to target Israel's Haifa and Tel Aviv, which are 1,855 km and 1,903 km respectively from Tehran. For more defence news, views and updates, visit: Fortress India Unconfirmed reports claim that each Arash drone is about 10 feet long and could reportedly be launched from a regular car. Keeping true to the principle of "cheap weaponry", these suicide UAVs can be manufactured with parts that are easier to smuggle. They do not produce high thermal signatures, which makes them harder to track via satellite than ballistic missiles, Iranian reports claimed. While Iran is known to sell its drones, it is not officially acknowledged if Russia was given access to this particular variety. However, Western outlets maintain that these drones were used by both Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders as the war in Europe progressed. ALSO READ | The rise of Mojtaba Khamenei: Assembly of experts nearing decision on new Supreme Leader While sources in the West have photographed antennas installed on some of these UAVs, they doubt their full-fledged communication channel capability. They maintain that the possibility of their use as an element of a passive radar head is debatable. US-Israel war on Iran: Latest updates Meanwhile, Qatar evacuated residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution on Thursday and later reported a missile attack on the city. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan. Eyewitness videos from an airport in Azerbaijan captured the moment of a suspected Iranian drone attack. The countrys foreign ministry said another drone launched from Iran landed near a school, with at least two people injured in the attacks. pic.twitter.com/qqZzAJ17Lp Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 5, 2026 A tanker apparently came under attack off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday, expanding the area where commercial shipping is in danger, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre run by the British military. It said there was an explosion but did not offer a cause. Iran has, in the past, attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them. Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday intensified his criticism of the Narendra Modi government over its silence on the military strike against Iran carried out by joint Israeli and US forces. Referring to the US submarine attack on the Iranian warship IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka on Wednesday, Gandhi said the West Asia conflict has now reached Indias doorstep, yet the prime minister remains silent. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel, Gandhi said, accusing Modi of compromising Indias strategic autonomy. The Congress leader also voiced concern over Indias oil and energy supplies, warning that disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could affect the country. India's oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40% of our imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even more critical for LPG and LNG, he said. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also questioned the governments stance, calling it the most timid and fearful he has ever seen. This US action has enormous implications for India, and it is shocking that there has been no official response so far. Perhaps it should not be surprising, given that the Modi government has yet to comment on the targeted assassinations in Iran, he said. The US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship while it was returning from the Milan naval exercise, a multilateral wargame hosted by India in Vishakhapatnam. The incident represents a major escalation in US-Iran tensions outside the Persian Gulf and raises pressing questions about maritime security in the Indian Ocean, an area traditionally considered the backyard of the Indian Navy. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday confirmed that he is seeking a term in the Rajya Sabha, leaving his supporters and party workers in shock. Soon after the JD(U) supremos post on X confirming his Rajya Sabha bid, party workersunable to accept the possibility of the chief ministers resignationstaged a protest outside his residence in Patna. It is possible that his account has been hijacked, one party worker told ANI. Another, expressing disappointment over Kumars decision, warned that they would organise further protests if the chief minister did not change his decision. Nitish Kumar cannot disregard the publics mandate. There is immense pressure on him as part of a larger conspiracy, the worker added. #WATCH | Patna, Bihar: JDU leader Rajeev Ranjan Patel and party supporters raised slogans in support of Nitish Kumar outside the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. JDU leader Rajeev Ranjan Patel says, "We only want to see Nitish Kumar as the CM of Bihar. We are against pic.twitter.com/7ydPVjZ1qs ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 Earlier, protesters reportedly blocked the car of party leader and Hilsa MLA Krishna Murari Sharan, preventing him from entering Kumars residence. Kumars supporters, who want him to continue as the states chief minister, alleged that a conspiracy is being hatched against their leader. Conspiracies are being hatched against Nitish Kumar. The people of Bihar elected him as chief minister for the 20252030 term. What is the compulsion to send him to the Rajya Sabha? He will remain the chief minister Our leader was, is, and will be Nitish Kumar, a party worker told ANI. Earlier in the day, Kumar took to X to confirm his Rajya Sabha bid and express his full support and guidance for the new government. "From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament," he said. "In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time," he added. Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, is expected to file his nomination papers for the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday, paving the way for a BJP chief minister in the state. Reports suggest that Deputy Chief Minister and former state BJP president Samrat Choudhary could emerge as a front-runner if Kumar vacates the post. The Seventh Lok Sabha was debating a diesel import deal entered into by the Indian Oil Corporation with a firm, Kuo Oil, which, according to the findings of a House panel, had resulted in a substantial loss for India. The arrow of suspicion was pointing towards the powers that be. K. P. Unnikrishnan, the Congress (Socialist) MP from Badagara (now Vadakara) in Kerala, stood up in the Opposition benches and addressed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi: Madam, if Gangotri be polluted, can we ensure the purity of the Ganga? Unnikrishnan, who passed away at the age of 89 in his hometown, Kozhikode, after a prolonged illness on 3 March, was known for his rare blend of ideological conviction and intellectual rigour. He had been a confidant of Indira Gandhi when she became Congress President in 1959 (then a 23-year-old journalist with Blitz, he had been elected as an AICC member from Bombay). She brought him to Parliament in 1971. When demolitions took place at Delhis Turkman Gate, resulting in riots and police firing on 31 May 1976, he, Chandni Chowk MP Subhadra Joshi, and Khurshid Alam Khan (father of Salman Khurshid) rushed to the Prime Minister's House to appraise Indira Gandhi and protest. Mrs Gandhi was not pleased. All three were known Indira loyalists (on 24 January 1966, when Congress MPs elected Mrs Gandhi as PM, defeating Morarji Desaiwhile Desai had entered the meeting flanked by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels daughter, Maniben PatelSubhadra Joshi had flanked Mrs Gandhi). Apparently, with Sanjay Gandhis advent, Mrs Gandhis proximity to her own loyalists had distanced. Years later, Unnikrishnan recalled that they were shocked when Mrs Gandhi reacted very sharply to their entreaties: I know why you have comeyou have all ganged up against Sanjay. Thus began Unnikrishnans disillusionment with Mrs Gandhi. He sided with the other Congress during the 1978 split and continued carrying that flag for many years. He rejoined Congress in the P. V. Narasimha Rao era in 1995 and was given a party ticket in 1996, but lost. Apparently, voters of Vatakara, who had elected him without a break for six terms since 1971, did not agree with his return to the party which was by then veering towards Sonia Gandhi. After his 1996 defeat, the last thirty years of his life were spent on the sidelines. Sonia Gandhi perhaps had reason not to like Unnikrishnan. Since the Monsoon Session of 1980, one name reverberated in parliamentary debates: Ottavio Quattrocchi. He was the Indian representative of an Italian conglomerate, Snamprogetti. He had been in India since the 1970s. His name came up in Parliament repeatedly after Rajiv Gandhi emerged as the power centre following Sanjay Gandhis death in a plane crash on 23 June 1980. It was Unnikrishnan who first brought Quattrocchi into the discourse. The choice of consultant (and thereby technology provider) for setting up Bombay High gas-based fertiliser plants had been under discussion since 1974. Committees of Secretaries were formed during the Emergency regime, superseded by another in Morarji Desais days, and yet again superseded by Charan Singhs short-lived regime. When Congress returned in 1980, a fresh panel was tasked. The list of companies shortlisted varied, but all these panels listed as choice number one an American firm, CF Braun. Suddenly, in September 1980, a committee of ministers was set up, and it overruled the secretaries and chose a firm which had been acquired by Snamprogetti, though it had not figured in the shortlist of previous panels. Thus, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limiteds Thal Vaishet unit was awarded to the Italian firm. A dozen more orders were ensured by this choice of technology. Unnikrishnan produced a copy of the deal file in the Lok Sabha. A debate on its authenticity ensued. He cited rulings of the previous Speaker, M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, who had permitted Feroze Gandhi in the Second Lok Sabha to lay copies of government files after authentication. (Ayyangar had ruled that even if the MP had acquired government files by stealth, they were admissible if authenticated by the MP.) Snamprogetti hit the headlines. Ottavio Quattrocchis unfettered access to high places reverberated in Lutyens' Delhi. The then Speaker, Balram Jakhar, was not impressed. The discussion soon shifted to spying. The CBI filed a case and arrested the former Bombay Sheriff, Narendra N. Kapadia (Mama Kapadia), and his nephew Nanak Sheth, who represented CF Braun in India. Unnikrishnan was summoned, citing Parliamentary privilege; he refused. The case is still among the pending cases. Kapadia and Sheth passed away meanwhile; with Unnikrishnans death, perhaps the file will have to be archived. The exposure of the file was probed, not the deal which Unnikrishnan exposedthough the Estimates Committee of the 7th Lok Sabha looked into it and entered interesting observations. The panel recorded that the secretary of the dealing department had been queried about the change in decision, and whether it had been necessitated by superior technical advice. Secretary K. V. Ramanathan had replied: No, Sir; the change was necessitated by what I may be allowed to term as superior extra-technical considerations. Ramanathan, who was in line for appointment as Cabinet Secretary as per his seniority, was shunted to the Planning Commission, and his supersession in 1983 was the first ever such event in the annals of the appointment of Indias Cabinet Secretary until then. Commenting on the frequency of corruption cases springing up in Indian politics, Unnikrishnan told a Kerala journalist recently: It was I who brought the Snamprogetti scandal to Parliament. And then I took up Bofors. I did play a key role in exposing these issues, but then I realised there is very little one can do to stop corruption in our public life. This is the Indian social reality. If the middle class is willing to tolerate corruption, then so little can be done to effectively stop itunless there is a basic change at the social level. So, we can get some attention, make some noise, perhaps some heads might roll, but in the end the entire corrupt edifice would continue to survive. Ottavio Quattrocchi was a frequent invitee at Sunday brunches hosted at the Prime Minister's House, 7 Race Course Road, in the Rajiv-Sonia era. His name figured prominently in Bofors. Attempts by the CBI to bring him to trial before Indian courts failed after he made a midnight flight out of India soon after P. V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991. Narasimha Rao admitted Unnikrishnan, then a sixth-term MP, into the ruling party during his tenure as Congress President. He was given the party ticket in 1996. He lost Vatakara for the first time since 1971. Thereafter, Sonia Gandhi became Congress chief, and Unnikrishnan was sidelined. He was outside the mainstream for the past three decades, mostly due to health issues. Unnikrishnan was a one-man army of the other Congress in Parliament. One by one, leaders who had remained in the other Congress reverted back under Indira Gandhis umbrella. Election Commissioner S. L. Shakdher, adjudicating the symbol case post-1978 split, recognised the party led by Mrs Gandhi as the real Indian National Congress with the Hand as its symbol and assigned the name Indian Congress (Socialist) with a woman spinning a charkha symbol to the other Congress, often referred to as Congress (S), with Sharad Pawar as President and Unnikrishnan and Ambika Soni as general secretaries. When Sharad Pawar merged Congress (S) into Congress under Rajiv Gandhi in December 1986, Unnikrishnan continued holding the Indian Congress (Socialist) flag. His party was part of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala. After V. P. Singh revolted and the Janata Dal emerged in 1988, Unnikrishnan acted as a fulcrum for setting up the National Front, which became the ruling dispensation in 1989a watershed moment in Indias history. Congress was never to return to power with a majority of its own thereafter. N. T. Rama Rao was the National Front convener. The V. P. Singh-led National Front government had 146 MPs: 143 from the Janata Dal, two from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and one from the Indian Congress (Socialist). The BJP and the Left parties extended outside support. After the V. P. Singh government was sworn in on 2 December 1989, in which Unnikrishnan was a prominent Cabinet Minister, all ministers drove to Unnikrishnans home, 2 Teen Murti Lane, for a celebratory lunch where journalists, including this writer, were present. By this symbolic gesture, V. P. Singh perhaps recognised Unnikrishnans one-man-army role in the formation of the National Front regime, which lasted 11 months thereafter. (The writer is a veteran journalist) Bihar is poised for a significant political reshuffle, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expected to file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday. Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of the state, is reportedly set to step down, potentially paving the way for BJP leadership in Bihar. If this unfolds, the state would see its first BJP chief ministerBihar has been the only Hindi heartland state where the saffron party has not yet held the top post. Speculation about a leadership change intensified after state minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary hinted on Wednesday that the chief minister was considering a role in the upper house. On Thursday morning, Kumar confirmed his Rajya Sabha bid and expressed his full support and guidance for the new government. "From the very beginning of my parliamentary journey, there has been a desire in my heart to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament," he said in a post on X. "In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time," he added. Elections for the five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar will take place on March 16. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with a combined strength of 202 MLAs, can secure four seats on its own. To win the fifth seat, the ruling alliance will require the support of at least three legislators from the Opposition. , Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) March 5, 2026 Political analysts suggest that Kumars potential shift to Delhi comes amid pressure from the BJP, which is the single largest party in the state with 89 MLAs, compared to JD(U)s 85. The BJP has not commented officially on the leadership speculation. However, reports said, in the event of Kumar vacating the post, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai, both former state BJP presidents, are seen as strong contenders for the chief ministership. Kumars exit would also signal a major realignment in the ruling alliance, with the BJP no longer prepared to play second fiddle to the JD(U). The saffron partys steady growth in Bihar has been evident since 2014, following the Modi wave. Kumar, who had temporarily broken away from the NDA protesting against Modis elevation as prime minister in 2014, later found his party reducing to a junior partner in the alliance with the BJP gradually consolidating its position in the state In the 2020 Assembly elections, the BJP won 74 seats, while the JD(U) was reduced to 43, marking a decline in the latters dominance despite Kumar retaining the chief ministership. In the 2025 elections, both parties improved their tally, but the BJPs rise to become the single largest party fueled speculation that it could claim the chief ministership. Nevertheless, the party allowed Kumar to continue as CM to maintain alliance stability. Now, Kumars move to Delhi is seen as part of a larger political strategy, with the JD(U) expected to launch Kumars son, Nishant, into state politics. Reports indicate that, in the event of a leadership change, the BJP may accommodate Nishant in the cabinet by offering him the deputy chief minister post. Nitish Kumar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi In his post on X, Kumar expressed his full cooperation and support for the new government, vowing to continue his efforts toward building a developed Bihar. "I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," the JD(U) supremo said. Meanwhile, the opposition has already seized the opportunity to take jabs at the government. Congress leader Rashid Alvi has alleged that the BJP plans to remove Kumar from state politics by offering him a seat in the Rajya Sabha. "It has been the BJP's policy to have absolute power and authority. They want complete control of Bihar. They aim to outwit Nitish Kumar by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat, moving him to Delhi, and enthroning their own Chief Minister in Bihar. This is very much possible, he told ANI. The Rajya Sabha elections to seven seats in Maharashtra are likely to be uncontested, as there are exactly seven candidates in the fray for them. The BJP's candidates include Ramdas Athavale, party general secretary Vinod Tawde, Maya Ivnate, and Ramrao Vadkute. The Shinde Shiv Sena's candidate is its firebrand speaker, Dr Jyoti Waghmare. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate is Parth Pawar (son of the late Ajit Pawar), while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has supported the candidature of Sharad Pawar. All three parties in the MVA had staked claim to one Rajya Sabha seat. However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had said that as it had the largest number of MLAs, due to which the seat belonged to them. Congress also had staked a claim for the seat, while the NCP (SP) wanted the seat for Sharad Pawar, as he was among those whose seats had become vacant. Notably, the MVA cannot get more than one seat in the Rajya Sabha, as they have just 46 legislators. The quota needed to get elected is 37 first-preference votes. It is reliably learnt that Supriya Sule had a talk with Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi in order to secure support for Sharad Pawar's candidature. However, Uddhav Thackeray is said to have put forth a conditionthat the NCP's Sharad Pawar would not join hands with the BJP in case of a merger between the two factions. As a result, senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil made a statement that a merger was out of the question, as Ajit Pawar had initiated the merger talks, and since he was no more, there would also be no more talk of a merger. With the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal barely a few weeks away, West Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose dodged a bullet on Thursday by stepping down from his position, saying that he had been serving in his post for over three years. Minutes after Bose stepped down, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee declared in an X post that R.N. Ravi from Tamil Nadu was to be "shifted" to her state as the governor. I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal. The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 5, 2026 Ravi has been having a running battle with the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. His tenure in Tamil Nadu since 2022 has been marred with several face-offs with the ruling governmentright from his opinion on changing the name of the state from Tamil Nadu to Tamilagam, walking out of the assembly in a huff after insisting that the national anthem be played alongside the Tamil anthem, and skipping portions of his customary address in the Assemblythat have time and again caused feuds. Ravi's frequent visits to temples across the state, his opinion on Sanatana Dharma in a state that speaks of social justice, not approving the crucial bills passed in the State Assembly, and the DMK's fight against Ravi in the Supreme Court have always made apparent the friction between Ravi and CM Stalin. His actions against minister K. Ponmudy and the dismissal of minister V. Senthil Balaji from the cabinet without consulting the CM's were other hardline moves he played against the Stalin government. However, if given additional charge as the West Bengal governor, it remains to be seen if he will continue the same politics against Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as well. Bose's several run-ins with the state government and counter-narratives by the DMK against the BJP have ensured that he has had a rollercoaster ride in Tamil Nadu over the past four years. BJP's Rahul Sinha has been nominated for the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and joins two other saffron party leaders in the Upper House: Samik Bhattacharya and Ananta Maharaj. A confident Sinha was seen at the West Bengal Assembly on Thursday to file his nomination. He has contested assembly elections but never won. Being a member of the Upper House is his chance to prove his mettle on the big stage. What propelled Sinha to the big league is his contribution as the state president of the BJP and national secretary. He is one of the five members from West Bengal in the fray for the Rajya Sabha polls on March 16. Though Sinha has not been a strong mass leader, the BJP believes backing him is their way of ensuring that the party has a strong presence from the state in the Upper House and showing that it values loyalty. The BJP won 77 seats in the 2021 assembly elections and the numbers dipped further due to defections and demises, but the numbers should see Sinha through in Rajya Sabha. The other nominations from West Bengal are from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) former state Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, Supreme Court lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, Cabinet Minister Babul Supriyo, and actor Koel Mallick for the remaining four seats. The TMC already has 10 MPs, with the terms of threeSaket Gokhale, Subrata Bakshi, and Ritabrata Banerjeeending in April. , pic.twitter.com/XGKWgSxct5 Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) March 5, 2026 "Rahul Sinha is a very senior leader. He has been involved with the party for many years, and he remains as active today. So, this attitude of the party is very good. Senior leaders should be respected. The BJP takes care of every single worker," said Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday. He handed over the reins as state president to Bhattacharya and is currently not seen as a key player in the upcoming assembly elections. Sinhas nomination signals the BJP is taking care of its old guard and honouring loyalty. We are 100 per cent confident of his victory. We extend our advance congratulations to the esteemed Mr. Rahul Sinha, said Suvendu Adhikari on his social media post after accompanying Sinha to file his nomination. Bhattacharya, who also accompanied Sinha to file his nomination, is another Rajya Sabha MP. He took charge as the BJP state president in 2025. Over the years, Bhattacharyas loyalty to the saffron party has resulted in him becoming a key player in regional politics. He has spoken against the TMC in the Upper House on various issues and even moved a motion in December 2025 against compromised Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The BJP state president is also known to have strong ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In short, Bhattacharya is seen as a force to reckon with to speak for West Bengal on the national stage. Ananta Maharaj, or Nagendra Roy, was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2023 and represents the indigenous Rajbanshi community in Cooch Behar district in North Bengal. Maharaj, though, has recently been cosying up to the TMC, sending feelers of a possible deflection from the saffron party. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conferred Maharaj with the Banga Vibhushan, the highest state civilian award, on February 21, on International Language Day. While Mamatas move to felicitate Maharaj was to promote Rajbanshi language and culture, the move raised questions on his cosying up to the TMC. Maharaj, however, says he has contributed to Hindi poetry. The award drew attention because of the timing, considering that the TMC is not strong in north Bengal. Votes of Cooch Behars indigenous Rajbanshi community go to the BJP. Maharaj, however, rubbished claims of party defection. Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei is not happy perhaps predictably so with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In a memo to staff, reported by The Information, Amodei referred to OpenAIs dealings with the Department of Defense as safety theater. The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoDs deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses, Amodei wrote. Last week, Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) failed to come to an agreement over the militarys request for unrestricted access to the AI companys technology. Anthropic, which already had a $200 million contract with the military, insisted the DoD affirm that it would not use the companys AI to enable domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry. Instead, the DoD known under the Trump administration as the Department of War struck a deal with OpenAI. Altman stated that his companys new defense contract would include protections against the same red lines that Anthropic had asserted. In a letter to staff, Amodei refers to OpenAIs messaging as straight up lies, stating that Altman is falsely presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker. Amodei might not be speaking solely from a position of bitterness, here. Anthropic specifically took issue with the DoDs insistence on the companys AI being available for any lawful use. OpenAI said in a blog post that its contract allows use of its AI systems for all lawful purposes. It was clear in our interaction that the DoW considers mass domestic surveillance illegal and was not planning to use it for this purpose, OpenAIs blog post stated. We ensured that the fact that it is not covered under lawful use was made explicit in our contract. Critics have pointed out that the law is subject to change, and what is considered illegal now might end up being allowed in the future. And the public seems to be siding with Anthropic. ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295% after OpenAI made its deal with the DoD. I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAIs deal with the DoW as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (were #2 in the App Store now!), Amodei wrote to his staff. It is working on some Twitter morons, which doesnt matter, but my main worry is how to make sure it doesnt work on OpenAI employees. The US State Department on Wednesday (local time) rejected fresh Iranian claims that more than 100 American military personnel were killed in Dubai by Tehran's forces. A spokesperson for the State Department has further said that no one was killed or injured in Iran's recent strike on a US diplomatic facility in Dubai. Any claim that Iran has killed 100 US military or civilian personnel in Dubai is complete disinformation. No one was killed or injured by the strike on the US Consulate in Dubai," the spokesperson said, as per an Iran International report. This comes just hours after the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Wednesday that it had targeted 160 US soldiers in the Dubai airstrike, of which it had managed to hit (and kill) 100. They also warned the US-Israel forces against its continued deployment in the region, which has caused chaos in the wider Middle East, warning of an attack on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain using attack drones and missiles. As per the latest update from the Central Command (CENTCOM) of the US military, dated March 2, six service members have been killed in action since the beginning of the conflict between Iran and US-Israel forces. CENTCOM Update TAMPA, Fla. As of 4 pm ET, March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region. U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 2, 2026 The UAE's air defences also continue intercepting Iranian airstrikes in full swing. According to the defence ministry's latest update on Thursday, as many as six ballistic missiles and 125 drones have been intercepted. UAE air defences intercept 6 ballistic missiles, 125 drones The Ministry of Defence announced today, March 5, 2026, that the UAE air defence systems detected seven ballistic missiles, intercepting and destroying six of them, while one ballistic missile fell inside the country. pic.twitter.com/UNbzkT3S1n |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 5, 2026 However, it also noted that three people have died so far amid the attacks, while 94 people have been injured. This usually takes place either when areas are directly hitsuch as the places that may have been hit by the one ballistic missile or six drones that got through the UAE's defencesor are prone to falling debris from missiles/drones that have been shot down. As the US attack on Iran intensifies, reports began to circulate in Iranian media that the countrys troops managed to shoot down a US F-15E fighter jet. However, the US Central Command has rubbished the reports. Multiple videos surfaced on social media on Wednesday night, prompting claims that an F-15E Strike Eagle may have been shot down over southwestern Iran. Turkish media outlets began reporting this, adding that the crew managed to abandon the plane and were rescued by IDF forces along with the Americans. Open intelligence sources added: The cause of the crash is still unknown, although at least one source has attributed it to Iranian air defences, with both the pilot and navigator successfully ejecting over Iran. It added that following the crash, search and rescue forces from the American and Israeli Air Forces - who were on alert in a neighbouring country - were called in and entered Iran about an hour later. The two crew members were found and safely evacuated without further incident, and transferred to Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia. The reports added that the pilot and navigator suffered minor injuries but were in good condition, and both were transported by helicopter to an air force base in Jordan for further treatment. However, the U.S. Central Command has dismissed as false social media reports . The military command characterised the reports as incorrect. Rumours circulating on social media of a U.S. F-15E crash in Iran early Wednesday are baseless and NOT TRUE, the post read. Just days after the tragic US attack on the Iranian ship, IRIS Dena, which killed 87 sailors, Tehran announced on Thursday it was sending another warship towards Sri Lanka. The Iranian warship has requested an urgent port call amid fears that it could also be targeted the same way. Amid the tensions, Iran's move to send another vessel to the Indian Ocean is being considered as Irans direct challenge to the Trump administration's naval blockade. Despite the deadly blow suffered by the Iranian Navy, Tehrans decision to send another ship signals Irans refusal to withdraw from the Indian Ocean, even at the cost of triggering a wider geopolitical tension in the region that could involve India and Sri Lanka. Tehran claims sending of the second ship is an exclusively humanitarian mission. But, western analysts claim the ship could be carrying intelligence equipment or weapons designed to "secure" the Iranian presence in the area thousands of kilometres from the country's coast. While Iran's decision not to withdraw after losing its ship is a complex political move, this is also intended to break President Trump's "containment doctrine." Iran aims to demonstrate to the world that its Navy remains operational and undeterred by the technological superiority of American submarines, analysts claim. Also, for the embattled regime, withdrawing from the Indian Ocean would be an admission that the US has succeeded in strangling its naval power. By sending another vessel immediately, Iran aims to signal to the West that if Iranian trade in the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, Tehran is capable of disrupting global trade from other strategic points in the heart of the ocean. Tehran has another objective in sending the ship. It relates to the sovereignty of the countries in the region. By sending Sri Lanka a request for a port call, Iran has landed Colombo in an unprecedented trap. On the one hand, the laws of the sea and human morality oblige it to allow rescue and assistance. However, granting permission for an Iranian ship to dock or stay in its waters for an extended period could result in severe sanctions from Washington. Iran is taking advantage of this situation to try to drive a wedge between Asian countries and the American coalition, using the humanitarian crisis as a political card to establish a permanent presence in the region, according to analysts. The incident has also transformed the Indian Ocean from a secondary arena to a central front. Iran has been building its Southern Fleet in recent years for precisely such a scenario the ability to operate outside the Persian Gulf to bypass blockades. The current move is the biggest test of this strategy. If the US chooses to act against the second ship as well, we may see an escalation in which global shipping lanes become an open battlefield, which would shake up energy prices and global maritime security. Two days ago, the Qatari Ministry of Defence announced the successful shootdowns of two Iranian Air Force Su-24 fighters, which were reportedly on a mission to bomb the US base in the country. Now, more details have emerged regarding how close a call that double kill was. The Iranian bombers were just two minutes of striking the largest base housing US troops in the Middle East before the Qatari F-15s swung into action, according to a CNN report, which added that the SU-24 planes from Irans Revolutionary Guard had targeted al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to around 10,000 US service personnel . The Iranian jets were carrying bombs and guided munitions and had dropped to an altitude of around feet. This was to avoid detection. The planes were visually identified and photographed carrying bombs and guided munitions. The Qatari issued a radio warning, which was ignored by the jets, which had switched to a flying altitude of 80 feet to evade radar detection. The report quoted an unnamed source, which added that Qatar responded by deploying its fleet. The decision was made on the basis of available evidence and time constraints, following which the Qatari F-15 fighter engaged the Iranian jets in aerial combat before downing them. The Iranian planes crashed into Qatars territorial waters, and there is no word yet on the crew members. US Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged the incident in a briefing on Wednesday. Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers on route to their location, he told a briefing at the Pentagon. The threat was addressed immediately upon detection, in accordance with the operational plan, as all missiles were shot down before reaching their targets, the Qatar government said. The QEAF operates three different fighter jets: the F-15QA Ababil, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale. The US Senate on Wednesday rejected an attempt to curtail President Donald Trumps ability to continue military operations against Iran without congressional authorisation. The 4753 vote was largely along party lines, with Republican senators closing ranks behind the president. Introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, the measure sought to recall US forces from hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorised by a formal congressional declaration of war. Senator Rand Paul was the sole Republican to support the measure, while Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against it. During an intense floor debate, Democrats argued that the Trump administration was bypassing the Constitution, which grants Congress sole authority to declare war. Kaine said the Trump administration was yet to provide evidence of an imminent threat that would justify the decision to go to war without approaching Congress. Others spoke about the rising human cost and also the danger of escalation. Democrats expressed alarm at the administrations refusal to rule out the use of ground troops, with Senator Chris Murphy warning that the conflict could expand significantly. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer framed the vote as a choice between standing with an American public exhausted by forever wars or allowing the administration to bumble us headfirst into another war. Republicans rallied behind the president following intense lobbying and closed-door briefings from administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. GOP lawmakers argued that the strikes constituted a constitutional defence under the presidents Article II powers against a hostile nation attempting to rebuild its nuclear and missile programmes. Senator James Risch asserted that the commander-in-chief had a duty to protect the US, pointing to Irans continued manufacture of long-range missiles. Senator Susan Collins argued that passing the resolution would send the wrong message to Iran and undermine support for US troops in harms way. For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East Some Republicans based their opposition on specific military or procedural grounds. Senator Josh Hawley, who previously supported reining in Trumps war powers regarding Venezuela, opposed this measure because a ground operation did not appear to be imminent. Senator Lindsey Graham dismissed the War Powers Act as an unconstitutional shift of authority, arguing that it would inappropriately make 535 members of Congress the commander-in-chief, and noted that Congress could simply restrict funding if it opposed the war. Additionally, Senator John Barrasso expressed fatigue over Kaines repeated war powers resolutions, accusing Democrats of preferring to obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Irans national nuclear programme. The failure of the Senate resolution gives Trump implicit authorisation to continue the military campaign, though the House of Representatives is expected to vote on similar measures. Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie introduced a measure to remove the US from unauthorised hostilities, while Representative Josh Gottheimer introduced an alternative that would require an end to hostilities within 30 days but allow a US troop presence for defensive purposes. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has offered shifting rationales and goals for the offensive. Initial justifications centred on pre-empting an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, but the administrations stated objectives have since expanded to include crippling Irans navy and missile programmes. There are already warning signals. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that American munitions had been significantly depleted by earlier campaigns such as in Ukraine and Yemen and also the June war against Iran. Public sentiment is deeply divided and largely sceptical. According to an NBC News poll, 54 per cent of registered voters disapprove of Trumps handling of the situation in Iran, and 52 per cent believe the US should not have taken military action in the first place. A survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 56 per cent of Americans believe it is necessary for the president to obtain congressional approval before using military force against Irans facilities. The polls highlight stark partisan, generational and educational divides. Support for the strikes is heavily concentrated among Republicans, while overwhelming majorities of Democrats, at 89 per cent, and independents, at 58 per cent, oppose the military action. Two-thirds of voters under the age of 35, as well as a majority of women and college-educated voters, also oppose the war. Despite this opposition, Americans remain deeply concerned about Irans activities, with 79 per cent fearing its funding of terrorist organisations and 75 per cent worried about the possibility of it developing nuclear weapons. However, 71 per cent of the public fear that US military action will spark a broader regional war, a fear that increasingly appears to be materialising. Political analysts feel that, as a second-term president no longer facing re-election, Trump is prepared to expend political capital on aggressive foreign policy manoeuvres. While the president may benefit from a short-term rally effect among his base, the American publics tolerance for body bags and unwanted financial costs is historically limited, which could be a problem for the Republican Party. As the war between Iran and the US-Israel forces enters its sixth day, most scheduled flights across the United Arab Emirates remain at a standstill for the rest of the week. Only close to 50 flights per hour have been allowed to fly for emergencies and repatriation purposes, after hundreds of people were stranded at various airports across the emirates when Tehran began its airstrikes across the Gulf. Specifically, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has said that its flights will remain suspended till Friday, while Dubai-based Emirates has said that its flights will stay halted till Saturday. Emirates has added that it will operate more than 100 flights to and from Dubai on Thursday and Friday. "These services will carry passengers travelling to their final destinations, as well as essential cargo including perishables and pharmaceuticals," the Dubai-based airline said in a statement. "Emirates will continue to gradually build back its flying schedule, subject to airspace availability and all operational requirements being met. Safety is always our top priority," it added. SpiceJet will operate 13 special repatriation flights from the UAE to India on Thursday. "Of the 13 flights, 12 will operate from Fujairah, and one will operate from Dubai. The airline will operate seven special flights to Mumbai, five special flights to Delhi, and one special flight from Dubai to Mumbai," it said in a statement on Thursday, as per an Indian Express report. This also comes as six people were injured in Abu Dhabi's ICAD 2 area on Thursday due to shrapnel from drones/missiles shot down by the UAE's air defences. . UAE Air Defences Successfully Intercept Iranian Ballistic and Cruise Missiles and UAVs Attacks#_ #__#MOD#UAEMinistryOfDefence pic.twitter.com/Glfv3JoJ1I |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 4, 2026 In that regard, as per the latest notification from the UAE's defence ministry, the country's air defences shot down eight cruise missiles, 175 ballistic missiles, and 876 UAVs. Flyers have also been urged not to travel to the airports unless specifically instructed by their airline to do so. Contrasting reactions Amid the chaos in the Middle East that has almost halted the UAE's airports, passengers arriving at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dubai offered ANI contrasting accounts of the situation. According to passenger Rahul Saxena, panic had gripped the region, and "the sooner the government evacuates everyone, the better". #WATCH | Delhi: A passenger, Rahul Saxena, who arrived at IGI Airport from Dubai, says, "There is a situation of panic there... The sooner the government evacuates everyone, the better..." pic.twitter.com/uouLJAGzvw ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2026 However, another passenger named Gautam Gupta claimed that everything was "normal" in Dubai and that he "did not face any difficulties", only adding that the "prices of the flights have increased". Amid the escalating conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, special relief operations are underway in the UAE to fly travellers home. Limited services remain the priority as the regional airspace remains volatile. With many tourists and residents stranded due to the ongoing war, the UAE has waived the visa overstay fines. According to reports, the UAE has waived visa overstay fines for tourists and select residents who were unable to leave the country after airspace closures and flight cancellations. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security stated that the exemption applied to people who could not travel because flights were suspended or rescheduled due to the "exceptional regional circumstances". The waiver covers fines imposed from February 28. It applies to visitors on tourist visa, visitors holding visit visas, individuals with exit permits and residents who had cancelled their residency permits in preparation for departure. For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East Repatriation efforts are well underway as passengers return home via special and chartered flights operating from the UAE, including direct services from Dubai and Fujairah. Limited flights have resumed at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. In the wake of the chaos, many flight operations were disrupted near the UAE due to strong GPS spoofing. GPS spoofing happens when counterfeit satellite signals are broadcast to deceive GPS receivers, causing them to compute false position, navigation, and timing data. It leads to incorrect coordinates, making the navigation systems misread the aircraft's real location. Flight operations Etihad Airways has suspended all its scheduled flights to/ from Abu Dhabi until 6 am UAE time till March 6. Limited repatriation flights are set to operate on March 5. Emirates has also suspended all scheduled flights to/from Dubai till 11:59 pm UAE time till March 7. Special relief flights will operate on March 5. Meanwhile, flydubai is set to resume its scheduled flights to several destinations from March 5. Air Arabia has suspended its scheduled flight operations till Monday. IndiGo is operating special relief flights to Athens, Muscat, Jeddah, and Madinah. Air India Express: Special flights to/from Ras Al Khaimah from March 5 to March 7, connecting Delhi, Kochi, and Mumbai. In laboratories that resemble workshops more than classrooms, a quiet shift is underway in Indias engineering education. Students are no longer waiting until their final year to build something meaningful. They are designing, prototyping, testing, failing, refining and in many cases, filing patents while still in their second or third year. At the centre of this transformation is a growing maker ecosystem anchored by the Indian Institute of Technology Indore and the Maker Bhavan Foundation, where curiosity is treated not as a prelude to learning but as its engine. In a physics lab buzzing with whirring tabletop machines and animated debate, a group of first-year engineering students huddle around a deceptively simple challenge: design a device that allows an egg to fall from the sixth floor without breaking. The exercise is not about spectacle. It is about thinking about how to work within constraints, test assumptions, iterate failures, and arrive at a solution that holds up in the real world. This is the spirit driving a subtle but consequential transformation at IIT Indore, where hands-on tinkering has moved from the margins to the centre of engineering education. In collaboration with Maker Bhavan Foundation, the institute is reimagining how students, especially those from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, engage with science, technology, and innovation. Students can make the best use of their vision and thought processes when learning is experiential, IIT Indore Director Suhas Joshi tells THE WEEK. The institutes maker spaces, he explains, are intentionally open and flexible. Students stitch their own aprons, design simple mechanical tools, and experiment with materials in ways that blur the line between classroom theory and workshop practice. Expose them early, Joshi says. Let them express their approach to solving a problem. Engineering is about solving problems in constrained environments, with limited resources and clear boundaries. The impact is visible. Earlier, students wouldnt even come to the lab, a supervisor remarks with a smile. Now they dont want to leave. At the heart of this movement lies Maker Bhavan Foundations broader ambition to democratise innovation across Indian higher education. Founder Hemant Kanakia started the initiative with a simple but ambitious goal to collaborate with 1,000 colleges across the country and establish tinkering labs that encourage hands-on problem-solving. If you develop the habit of looking around and asking questions, innovation follows naturally, Hemant says. Maker Bhavan works with institutions to identify thematic problem areas ranging from sustainability and safety to healthcare and challenges students to build solutions with tangible applications. Its six-week innovation programmes are intensive. Students must ideate, prototype, test, and present within tight timelines. The emphasis, Hemant notes, is firmly on process rather than product. You can become an entrepreneur, he tells students. But first, you must learn how to think like an engineer. One of the most daunting hurdles for student innovators is the patenting process, often perceived as expensive, opaque, and inaccessible. IIT Indore and Maker Bhavan are actively trying to dismantle that fear. Patent filing is challenging and costly, yes, Joshi acknowledges. And lawyers need to clearly understand your process. To bridge this gap, Maker Bhavan conducts workshops on intellectual property, guiding students through documentation, claims drafting, and prior-art searches. The foundation also assists with filings, turning what once felt like an elite domain into a learnable skill. The projects emerging from these maker spaces are grounded in everyday realities. Aqua Loop, developed at IIT Indore, addresses efficient water management, an issue acutely felt across urban and rural India. The system focuses on closed-loop reuse and intelligent monitoring, alerting users to contamination and wastage. The Madhya Pradesh government is already in discussions with the institute to explore pathways for deployment. Elsewhere, safety-driven innovation is taking shape in similarly grounded ways. Agni Rakshak, developed by Gayatri and Prerna from Trinity College of Engineering, addresses fire-related hazards through a device designed for affordability and ease of use. Fire safety solutions often fail not because technology is lacking, but because they are expensive, complex, or poorly adapted to Indian conditions. Agni Rakshak prioritises manufacturability using locally available components, making adoption in homes, small businesses, and institutions feasible. The range of innovation is wide. Vayu Setu, an AI-powered autonomous delivery drone, explores last-mile delivery solutions for healthcare and emergency contexts, factoring in Indian terrain, regulatory constraints, and logistical challenges. Alongside such high-tech projects are quieter healthcare innovations, assistive devices for mobility, rehabilitation aids, and low-cost diagnostic tools. Many originate from personal encounters, such as an elderly relative struggling with movement, a lack of affordable therapy equipment, or delayed diagnoses due to inaccessible testing. Students in early semesters are identifying gaps, water wastage, fire safety, healthcare accessibility, logistics inefficiencies and converting them into working prototypes. Students are introduced early to intellectual property fundamentals, prior art searches, novelty claims, and the ethical dimensions of patenting. The message is clear: innovation does not end at the prototype. If an idea has value, it deserves protection. This has resulted in a growing pipeline of patentable ideas emerging from undergraduate labs. Students who once viewed patents as the preserve of corporations or senior researchers are now filing provisional applications themselves, guided by mentors who demystify the process. What is unfolding at IIT Indore and through Maker Bhavan Foundation offers a glimpse of what engineering education in India could look like at scale. It is education rooted not in rote learning or delayed application, but in continuous engagement with the real world. From curiosity to creation, and from creation to protection, these students are learning that innovation is not a moment of inspiration but a disciplined, collaborative process. With the right institutional support, that process can begin far earlier and go much further than traditional models ever allowed. In a rare and unexpected development, Spain has opposed the US-Israel war on Iran. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared "No a la guerra" (No to war!) as his country's stand and refused to permit the use of its two military bases for war operations. Spain hosts approximately 6,000 US troops at the Rota naval base and Moron air base. Sanchezs invocation of the historic "No a la guerra" a slogan that mobilised Spain against the US war on Iraq and toppled a pro-war administration in 2003 has thrust Madrid into a diplomatic standoff with Washington. The socialist administration emphatically refused any flight operations that could aid a war on Iran, citing the lack of international legal authorisation for the US to undertake such a war. The Prime Minister and cabinet colleagues emphasised that any operations from these bases fall under Spanish sovereignty and can support only missions that comply with the UN Charter, international law and bilateral US-Spain defence agreements. US President Donald Trump accused Madrid of "betraying allies" after initial reports suggested a lack of overflight permissions for American jets. He threatened to cut all trade ties with Spain immediately. "We are going to cut off all trade with Spain. We dont want anything to do with Spain," said the President. Trump also said the US doesnt need the Spanish governments permission to operate from the NATO bases. Sanchez hit back at Donald Trump in a fiery address: "Spain will not be dragged into an illegal war without a UN mandate. Our bases are for defence, not aggression." The denial was categorical: no refuelling, no logistics and no intelligence sharing. He also said, We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of reprisals from someone. Recollecting the Iraq war and its subsequent destruction, the Prime Minister said, The world has been here before. Twenty-three years ago, another US administration led us into an unjust war. The Iraq war led to a dramatic increase in terrorism and a serious migration and economic crisis. A NATO ally opposing the US war on a non-Western country in current times sounds implausible. So, why the opposition? There appear to be at least three reasons, beyond any personal commitment of Prime Minister Sanchez to peace. The first reason is that the socialist Prime Minister heads a fragile coalition of socialists, greens and regional nationalists, many of whom oppose US interventions. This stand could not only galvanise the leftist vote base but also bond the coalition partners in the runnin-up time to the general elections, which will be held in August 2027. The second is the public sentiment, which is largely anti-war. A flash poll by Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas showed 68 per cent of Spaniards opposing involvement, with urban youth scarred by endless Middle East quagmires leading the charge. Madrid's Puerta del Sol square swelled with demonstrators waving Palestinian and anti-NATO banners, chanting "Bush, Aznar, Trump: the same war machine." Organisers from the revived "No to War" platform, which was dormant in recent years, vowed nationwide actions if escalation continues. The 2003 Iraq invasion, which saw then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar align with George W. Bush, ignited Spain's largest-ever protests over three million people took to the streets and later handed victory to Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Workers Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol (PSOE)) in the subsequent local elections the same year and the general elections in the next year. The Spanish public is historically anti-war and carries this sentiment more strongly than in other European countries. Hence, opposing the US-Israel war could help the leftist coalition in the upcoming general elections. The third reason is that Spain believes that the US needs them more than vice versa. Spain has about 30 billion in annual exports to the US, ranging from olive oil to Airbus parts. However, the US has the upper hand in bilateral trade. In 2025, US exports to Spain were $26.1 billion and imports were $21.3 billion, with the US enjoying a $4.8 billion trade surplus. The Spanish government has also garnered strong backing from the European Union on this dispute. Responding to the US threats, European Commission Vice-President Stephane Sejourne said, Any threat against a member state is by definition a threat against the EU. The French President spoke to the Spanish Prime Minister to express solidarity in response to the recent threats of economic coercion, reported Euronews. However, critics at home, led by opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo of the conservative Popular Party, opposed the move. Feijoo, whose PP backed the Iraq war, accused Sanchez of trying to win a few votes at home. We cannot put at risk our security, stability and position in the world, he averred. Right-wing media outlets like Libertad Digital and El Mundo accused Sanchez of electoral opportunism and weaponising memories of 2003 for political gain. Libertad Digital said the Prime Ministers anti-war stand could simultaneously appease his coalition partners and distract people from the scandals his government is facing. Store closures have become all too common worldwide due to economic uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending, making another wave of shutdowns feel routine. However, these most recent closures are unlike any others. Geopolitical tensions have been escalating, and several prominent retail names are following safety protocols by shutting locations, creating disruptions reminiscent of the pandemic era with no definite end date. Now, a leading American multinational technology company has revealed closures across an entire region. Apple closes all UAE stores Apple Inc. (AAPL) has closed all of its retail stores in the United Arab Emirates following the strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel that began on February 28, 2026. The closures come as regional governments and businesses adopt heightened safety protocols. As of March 3, Apple's official store locator indicates that all five UAE locations are scheduled to reopen on March 5. The opening date was previously listed as March 4 but has since been extended, as independently verified by TheStreet via Apple's store finder. Apple UAE locations affected Dubai Mall: Dubai Mall of the Emirates: Dubai Yas Mall: Abu Dhabi The Galleria Al Maryah Island: Abu Dhabi Al Jimi Mall: Abu Dhabi No additional public statement detailing the closures has been issued beyond the updated store hours as of the date of publication. Apple closes all stores in the UAE amid geopolitical tensions.Shutterstock Shutterstock Apple's financial exposure and regional performance While the UAE accounts for only a small portion of Apple's global physical footprint, the region as a whole remains strategically important. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Apple reported net sales of $143.8 billion, up 16% year over year, according to its latest earnings release. The company does not break out UAE-specific revenue and instead includes it within its Europe reportable geographical segment. Europe is Apple's second-largest market, generating $38.15 billion in net sales for the quarter, a 12.7% increase. The Middle East contributed to record regional revenues, with the iPhone remaining a major driver of growth, as the company noted during its most recent earnings call. By comparison, the Americas is Apple's largest regional market, growing 11.2% to $58.5 billion during the same period. In 2024, Apple revealed it had been accelerating its growth in the UAE, investing 6 billion AED ($1.63 billion) across the Emirates over the past five years, according to a company press release. "The UAE is home to an incredible community of creators, innovators, developers, and entrepreneurs, and were excited to keep growing our teams, supporting local businesses, and strengthening our ties with our customers here," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in the press release. Apple's stock has fallen 3.1% over the past five days as of March 3, amid broader market volatility tied to escalating Middle East tensions and investor caution surrounding geopolitical risk. Why Apple shut down all its UAE locations Apple is not the only company suspending operations in the UAE. Multiple businesses across sectors have temporarily closed or reduced activity following government advisories. The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation issued guidance on March 1 encouraging remote work to limit public exposure, while excluding essential roles that require physical attendance, according to a post on X by the UAE government's official account. The advisory was initially set to run through March 3. On the same day the advisory was expected to conclude, the UAE Ministry of Education and the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research extended distance learning for all students, faculty, and administrative staff across public and private schools and universities until March 6, according to a post on X by the UAE government's official account. The UAE has also been subject to multiple aerial attacks involving drones and missiles originating from Iran, resulting in damage to several areas and civilian casualties, according to multiple news outlets. Additional UAE closures Several major companies and institutions have also suspended or limited operations across the UAE. Shutdowns across sectors Kering: Select locations temporarily closed or operating with limited staff, Fashion Network reported. Amazon: Closed its fulfillment centers and suspended operations in Abu Dhabi, Business Insider reported. Airlines: Multiple carriers have canceled flights to the UAE, while others have suspended service entirely, CNBC reported. Nasdaq Dubai: The international financial exchange based in the Dubai International Financial Centre has temporarily halted operations, according to a press release. Major tourist attractions: Several tourist attractions across the Emirates have closed, Time Out Dubai reported. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether additional extensions to remote work or closures will be implemented. Businesses continue to monitor official government guidance and regional developments. How closures affect global retail The UAE retail market reached $145.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $227.1 billion by 2033, representing a CAGR of 5.1%, according to IMARC Group. The market is partly driven by demand for luxury products, which rose to $4 billion in 2023. Analysts attribute this to the region's strong GDP per capita and high disposable income among a sizable portion of the population. "The efforts to diversify the economy away from oil by governing agencies are resulting in considerable investments in the retail sector, notably luxury retail," said IMARC Group analysts. "Tourism and business promotion initiatives are catalyzing the demand for premium retail products." More Store Closures: Flight cancellations and suspended services have significantly disrupted tourism in the UAE. Analysts suggest that prolonged instability could discourage international travel in the near future, potentially affecting retail and hospitality revenues. "If you assume that its a $5 billion to $6 billion (travel retail) market and let's say it's going to be shut down for a month, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are definitely at risk," said Kearney Senior Consumer and Retail Consultant Victor Dijon to Reuters. Related: Breaking News: National radio giant files Chapter 11 bankruptcy This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Prime Minister Narendra Modis loud silence on the assassination of Irans supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israel military attack has sparked strong comments, criticism and rebuke within the country (India has offered its condolences on Khamenei's death, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on March 5). Prominent opposition figures see this as an abandonment of moral, ethical and leadership responsibilities. The issue has become a domestic controversy amid upcoming assembly elections, where Muslim voters could play a crucial role in the outcome. Even otherwise informed and intelligent minds do not look beyond the assassination and tend to ignore or downplay the consequences of the Iranian response for the Arab countries. This article was published in the issue dated March 15, 2026, which hit the stands on March 5 Modi may choose to make his views public later. But his silence at the moment appears logical and is shaped by two main factors: Indias strategic interests with the Gulf Arab states, which are now primary targets of Irans counter-offensive, and the demographic makeup of Indias Muslim population. Even before the international community, including India, could process the news of Khameneis assassination, Tehran expressed its anger towards all its Arab neighbours. The stated goal of targeting American bases in the Gulf fell apart when several civilian and non-combatant sites in the region were hit by a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. Among the targets in the Arab countries were ports, airports, oil terminals, hotels and holiday resorts, which are the prime assets and wealth of the Gulf countries. The Iranian response was indiscriminate, targeting not just Israel but all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan and the autonomous Kurdish regional government of Iraq. Even Oman, a traditionally neutral power since the 1970s and a strong supporter of Tehrans engagement with the outside world, especially with the US, was not spared. Qatar, which faced a four-year Arab boycott over its ties with the Islamic Republic, also faced the Iranian barrage. Until now, only Israel has been accustomed to hostile missile and drone attacks and has built a resilient home front. For the Gulf Arab countries, used to wealth, comfort and security, the Iranian actions were shocking and unsettling. While the Trump-Netanyahu duo unleashed hostilities, the Iranian response is destabilising an area of significant importance to India. Modi could have expressed his deep sorrow and condolences for Khameneis killing and could have even used stronger words. He might have done this and more had he not needed to consider the well-being of the nearly one crore Indian expatriates in the Gulf Arab countries. Neighbourhood wrath: Smoke rises after an Iranian drone attack in the port area of Dubai | AP Any expression of sympathy for Khamenei or perceived sympathy for the Iranian leader would have made it more difficult for Modi to engage with Gulf Arab leaders, who are essential to Indias political, economic, energy and social interests. Indeed, within hours of the Iranian attacks, he called UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and strongly condemned the attacks on the Emirates, declaring that India stands in solidarity with the UAE in these difficult times. The following day, Modi shared similar sentiments with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia in violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Later, he pledged support to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Jordan through personal conversations with their leaders. Notably, his response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran was different. Any perceived support for Iran at this moment could have alienated Arab leaders, who were the immediate victims of Irans reckless and sometimes senseless retaliatory attacks. The issue is not solely about the safety of Indians in the war zone but also about their long-term presence in the region. Modi likely recalled the 1990 Kuwait crisis and its consequences. In their desperation, Yasser Arafat and the rest of the Palestinian leadership supported Iraqi president Saddam Husseins invasion, occupation and annexation of Kuwait. That one mistake proved catastrophic after Kuwait was liberated in February 1991, resulting in about 400,000 Palestinians being expelled by Gulf Arab countries, which lessened the significance of the Palestine issue in inter-Arab politics. This shift paved the way for several countries, including India, to normalise relations with Israel. Furthermore, the external affairs minister I.K. Gujrals famous hug with Saddam Hussein in August 1990 during the crisis proved costly later. The Arab countries did not forget, and none of the Gulf countries was willing to host Gujral when he briefly served as prime minister during 1997-98. Secondly, with assembly elections approaching, Modi will also need to pay attention to sectarian divisions within Islam. According to the latest estimates, India has the fourth-largest Shia population after Iran, Pakistan and Iraq. There are about 20 million Shias in India, making up roughly 15 per cent of the countrys Muslim population. Iran has the largest Shia population, and Khamenei has been respected and venerated by Shias worldwide. But the Islamic world does not speak in a single voice. Even regarding Israel, there is no unified stance; for instance, several members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have both formal and informal relations with the Jewish state. However, the Iranian attacks on Sunni-majority states in the Gulf are likely to reignite sectarian divisions in the region and in India. While Muslims, both Shia and Sunni, might mourn Khameneis death, especially since he was killed in a brutal manner, raising him to the status of a martyr like the fourth Imam Ali would not sit well with most Sunni Muslims. The recent home ministry directive concerning pro-Iran rallies and Friday sermons about Khamenei should be understood in this context. Given the attacks on Arab states and their ripple effects on the Indian migrant community and their dependents, Khamenei seems more like a Shia leader than a Muslim one. The combination of Iranian attacks on Arab states and the Shia-Sunni divide in understanding Khameneis killing suggests that the Indian government should be more cautious. If the Gulf states decide to punish those who focus too much on Khameneis assassination without addressing the subsequent attacks on Arab countries, labour-exporting nations should prepare for a sudden influx of Gulf returnees. Foreign policy is not a domain for the weak. Even those who praised Khamenei must realise that the lives of lakhs of their constituents are closely linked to New Delhi maintaining stronger and warmer ties with Arab leaders. India must support the Gulf Arab countries during this crucial time in their history. Like life, foreign policy is rarely about good versus evil. Currently, the Gulf countries, their security and their well-being are far more important to India than mourning Khamenei, who has frequently criticised India over Kashmir and the welfare of Indian Muslims. Political leaders, foreign policy experts, academics and media commentators can debate the issue endlessly and can even indulge in moral self-righteousness. The inviolability of Iranian sovereignty might seem more vital and attractive than that of Arab sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, governments do not have such a luxury or participate in popularity contests. The same critics will cry foul if the Gulf Arab countries deport expatriates due to Indias perceived pro-Iran stance. When it comes to the future of nearly one crore citizens, one must think a thousand times before speaking. A single emotional outburst could ruin their lives forever, and trigger related consequences. The author teaches contemporary Middle East at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Cellcom Israel, Ltd. (OTCMKTS:CELJF Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.00, but opened at $12.00. Cellcom Israel shares last traded at $11.50, with a volume of 8,883 shares trading hands. Cellcom Israel Stock Up 12.1% The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.71 and a 200 day moving average of $10.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Get Cellcom Israel alerts: Cellcom Israel (OTCMKTS:CELJF Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 12th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Cellcom Israel had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The company had revenue of $307.28 million for the quarter. About Cellcom Israel Cellcom Israel Ltd. is a leading provider of wireless telecommunications services in Israel. Established in 1994 and headquartered in Netanya, the company operates one of the countrys most extensive cellular networks. Through its infrastructure, Cellcom delivers voice, messaging and data solutions to a broad customer base that includes individual consumers, small businesses and large enterprises. The companys core offerings encompass mobile voice plans, high-speed 4G and 5G data connectivity, international roaming and value-added content services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Cellcom Israel Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cellcom Israel and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD Get Free Report)s share price was up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.07 and last traded at $36.8870. Approximately 4,590,697 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 4,954,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.14. Key Headlines Impacting Enterprise Products Partners Here are the key news stories impacting Enterprise Products Partners this week: Get Enterprise Products Partners alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank restated a sector perform rating and set a $37.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $36.21. Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $33.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.46. The company has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.59. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.44 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 11.05% and a return on equity of 19.43%. Enterprise Products Partnerss revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year. Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Enterprise Products Partnerss dividend payout ratio is 82.71%. Insider Transactions at Enterprise Products Partners In other Enterprise Products Partners news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.09 per share, with a total value of $481,350.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 173,586 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 32.60% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EPD. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile (Get Free Report) Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) is a Houston-based master limited partnership that provides midstream energy services across North America. The company owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines, storage facilities, processing plants and export terminals that transport and handle natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined and petrochemical products. Its core activities include gathering and transportation, fractionation of NGLs, natural gas processing, crude oil and condensate pipelines, and marine and terminal services that enable domestic distribution and exports. Enterprise serves a diverse set of customers including producers, refiners, petrochemical companies, marketers and end users. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Enterprise Products Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Enterprise Products Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JBT Marel Corporation (NYSE:JBTM Get Free Report) CEO Brian Deck sold 8,634 shares of JBT Marel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.51, for a total transaction of $1,299,503.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,667 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,215,160.17. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. JBT Marel Stock Up 1.2% JBT Marel stock traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.87. 427,157 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 537,351. JBT Marel Corporation has a 1-year low of $90.08 and a 1-year high of $170.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -153.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97. Get JBT Marel alerts: JBT Marel (NYSE:JBTM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter. JBT Marel had a positive return on equity of 7.68% and a negative net margin of 1.33%.The businesss revenue was up 115.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. JBT Marel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that JBT Marel Corporation will post 5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year. JBT Marel Dividend Announcement Institutional Inflows and Outflows The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. JBT Marels dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.60%. A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in JBT Marel during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in JBT Marel during the third quarter worth $1,061,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of JBT Marel during the third quarter valued at $12,034,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of JBT Marel by 13.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 120,212 shares of the companys stock valued at $16,884,000 after acquiring an additional 14,105 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of JBT Marel by 344.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 37,889 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,557,000 after purchasing an additional 29,358 shares in the last quarter. 98.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts recently issued reports on JBTM shares. Zacks Research raised shares of JBT Marel from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised JBT Marel from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c-) rating on shares of JBT Marel in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $174.50. Read Our Latest Report on JBTM JBT Marel Company Profile (Get Free Report) JBT Marel Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market. See Also Receive News & Ratings for JBT Marel Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JBT Marel and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Penumbra, Inc. (NYSE:PEN Get Free Report) CFO Maggie Yuen sold 2,432 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.30, for a total transaction of $832,473.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,231.90. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Penumbra Trading Down 0.2% PEN stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $339.57. The stock had a trading volume of 721,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,446. The company has a current ratio of 6.64, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $337.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.94. Penumbra, Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.26 and a 1-year high of $362.41. The firm has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Get Penumbra alerts: Penumbra (NYSE:PEN Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. Penumbra had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $385.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Penumbra, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PEN shares. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Penumbra from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Penumbra from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Penumbra in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler downgraded Penumbra from an overweight rating to a hold rating and set a $374.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Penumbra from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their target price for the stock from $359.00 to $374.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Penumbra has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $361.69. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PEN Institutional Trading of Penumbra Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Penumbra by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,332 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Penumbra during the second quarter valued at about $91,000. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Penumbra by 1.1% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,314 shares of the companys stock worth $2,390,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Penumbra during the second quarter worth about $369,000. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Penumbra in the second quarter worth about $1,383,000. 88.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Penumbra Company Profile (Get Free Report) Penumbra, Inc is a global healthcare company specializing in the development and manufacture of innovative medical devices that address neurovascular and peripheral vascular conditions. The company focuses on products designed to improve patient outcomes in acute ischemic stroke, aneurysm treatment and peripheral thrombectomy. Penumbras technologies are used by interventional neuroradiologists, neurosurgeons and interventional cardiologists in hospitals and clinics around the world. At the core of Penumbras portfolio is its mechanical thrombectomy platform, which includes aspiration catheters and accessory devices engineered to remove blood clots in acute stroke cases. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Penumbra Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Penumbra and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE:RVLV Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,324,931 shares, an increase of 33.1% from the January 29th total of 5,504,737 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,089,705 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days. Approximately 19.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Approximately 19.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,089,705 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days. Revolve Group Stock Performance Revolve Group stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.68. 906,344 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,163. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $28.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.00. Revolve Group has a 12-month low of $16.80 and a 12-month high of $31.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.77. Get Revolve Group alerts: Revolve Group (NYSE:RVLV Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $324.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.83 million. Revolve Group had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Revolve Group will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity at Revolve Group Institutional Investors Weigh In On Revolve Group In related news, CEO Michael Mente sold 88,444 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $2,512,694.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In the last quarter, insiders sold 643,752 shares of company stock valued at $18,923,501. Corporate insiders own 46.56% of the companys stock. Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Revolve Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Revolve Group in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Revolve Group during the second quarter worth about $68,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Revolve Group by 6,932.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,727 shares of the companys stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Revolve Group during the third quarter worth about $125,000. 67.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have commented on RVLV shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Revolve Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Revolve Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Revolve Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $33.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Revolve Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an overweight rating on shares of Revolve Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $29.50. Get Our Latest Research Report on Revolve Group About Revolve Group (Get Free Report) Revolve Group, Inc operates as a leading online fashion retailer primarily serving millennial and Gen Z consumers through its flagship e-commerce platform. The company offers a curated assortment of apparel, accessories and beauty products from more than 500 established and emerging brands, alongside private label labels covering contemporary and premium segments. With a focus on trend-driven merchandise and seamless user experience, the website features shoppable editorial content and digital styling advice aimed at strengthening customer engagement and brand loyalty. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Cerritos, California, Revolve has expanded its footprint beyond North America by launching localized sites and logistics centers in Europe and the Middle East. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Revolve Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Revolve Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Municipal Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE:NMI Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $10.03 and last traded at $10.02. 54,342 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 49,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.96. Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Stock Performance The companys 50-day moving average is $10.05 and its 200-day moving average is $9.98. Get Nuveen Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.038 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Company Profile Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Nuveen Municipal Income Fund by 34.9% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 482,554 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,777,000 after purchasing an additional 124,941 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund during the third quarter worth $117,000. Apollon Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund in the third quarter valued at $169,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund by 19.7% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 254,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,554,000 after buying an additional 41,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,081 shares of the companys stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 2,665 shares during the period. 16.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. (Get Free Report) Nuveen Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NMI) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide current income exempt from federal income tax. The fund primarily invests in municipal obligations issued by U.S. states, territories and municipalities, as well as certain municipal securities issued outside the United States. By focusing on a diversified portfolio of investment-grade and select below-investment-grade municipal bonds, NMI aims to deliver tax-advantaged income to its shareholders. The funds portfolio typically includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and other municipal securities across a broad range of sectors, including transportation, utilities, health care and education. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rogers Sugar Inc. (OTCMKTS:RSGUF Get Free Report)s stock price dropped 0% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $4.80 and last traded at $4.80. Approximately 18,229 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 31,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.8020. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Rogers Sugar in a research note on Friday, November 28th. TD Securities cut Rogers Sugar to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Scotiabank downgraded Rogers Sugar from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating on shares of Rogers Sugar in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Reduce. Get Rogers Sugar alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on RSGUF Rogers Sugar Trading Up 0.6% About Rogers Sugar The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.52. (Get Free Report) Rogers Sugar Inc is a Canada-based sugar refining and distribution company that processes raw sugar cane and sugar beet into a range of refined sugar, liquid sugar, specialty sweeteners, molasses and syrups. The companys product portfolio serves retail grocers, industrial food and beverage manufacturers, foodservice distributors and export markets. Through its packaging and private-label capabilities, Rogers Sugar provides granulated, powdered and specialty formats designed to meet the needs of both household consumers and large-scale food producers. With roots dating back to 1890 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Rogers Sugar has grown through strategic acquisitions to become one of Canadas leading sugar refiners. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Rogers Sugar Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rogers Sugar and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG Get Free Report) Director James Lillie sold 100,483 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.12, for a total transaction of $4,332,826.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,605,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,209,814.48. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. APi Group Stock Down 0.4% APG stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.11. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,442,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,679,486. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.46. APi Group Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $46.89. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of -56.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Get APi Group alerts: APi Group (NYSE:APG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. APi Group had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 37.92%. APi Groups revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that APi Group Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year. APi Group News Summary Positive Sentiment: SouthernSun Asset Management highlighted APi Group as having a long runway for double?digit EPS growth in its Q4 2025 SMID Cap letter a fundamental, long?term positive signal that could support upside expectations for APG. What Offers Api Group Corp. (APG) a Long Runway for Double-Digit EPS Growth? SouthernSun Asset Management highlighted APi Group as having a long runway for double?digit EPS growth in its Q4 2025 SMID Cap letter a fundamental, long?term positive signal that could support upside expectations for APG. Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales may be partly non?informational (portfolio rebalancing/diversification); both directors remain large shareholders (multi?million share holdings), which reduces the likelihood these sales reflect a loss of confidence. Insider sales may be partly non?informational (portfolio rebalancing/diversification); both directors remain large shareholders (multi?million share holdings), which reduces the likelihood these sales reflect a loss of confidence. Negative Sentiment: Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold a total of 300,000 APG shares across Mar 24 at average prices near $43, generating roughly $13.1M of proceeds a sizable insider disposal that can create near?term selling pressure. SEC Form 4 Ian G. H. Ashken Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold a total of 300,000 APG shares across Mar 24 at average prices near $43, generating roughly $13.1M of proceeds a sizable insider disposal that can create near?term selling pressure. Negative Sentiment: Director James E. Lillie sold a total of 360,000 APG shares across Mar 24 at similar price levels, raising about $15.7M another large insider sale that amplifies the short?term negative signal from management selling. SEC Form 4 James E. Lillie Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Here are the key news stories impacting APi Group this week: A number of research analysts have recently commented on APG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on APi Group from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price target on APi Group from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of APi Group in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of APi Group from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of APi Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $48.57. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on APi Group Institutional Trading of APi Group A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of APi Group by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 337,089 shares of the companys stock worth $11,586,000 after acquiring an additional 108,433 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in APi Group by 72.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,960,278 shares of the companys stock valued at $170,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077,705 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of APi Group by 48.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 674,203 shares of the companys stock worth $23,172,000 after purchasing an additional 220,551 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of APi Group by 29.5% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 189,800 shares of the companys stock worth $6,523,000 after purchasing an additional 43,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of APi Group by 59.6% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 112,721 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,874,000 after purchasing an additional 42,111 shares during the last quarter. 86.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About APi Group (Get Free Report) APi Group Corp. is a global specialty contractor that provides fire protection, security, mechanical insulation and energy services to commercial, industrial and institutional clients. Headquartered in New Brighton, Minnesota, the company designs, installs, inspects, tests, maintains and repairs a wide range of safety and infrastructure systems. Through its network of operating subsidiaries, APi Group delivers end-to-end solutions for new construction, facility renovations and ongoing maintenance requirements. Its service portfolio spans life safety and industrial servicessuch as fire suppression systems, fire alarms and emergency lightingand specialized offerings including technical insulation, access solutions, passive fire protection and energy efficiency upgrades. Read More Receive News & Ratings for APi Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for APi Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Its Been a Banner Year for Volatility - Moby BREAKING NEWS Its been a good year to bet on volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, is up nearly 60% this year and counting as President Trump and his cronies rattle the world order by launching missiles at Iran, and the markets continued confusion over whether the Administrations tariff policy is legal. The VIX, known as the markets anxiety gauge, rises in times of turmoil and falls when things are calm. It measures the markets expected volatility over the next 30 days, and tends to rise when the broader market falls. The VIX is calculated based on the price of options on the S&P 500, so when investors expect bigger swings in stock prices, the price of options rises and the VIX goes up. While the VIX has been a less-than-reliable gauge of volatility lately, when it rises so sharply, and in such a short period of time, its worth paying attention. Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Investors watch for when the index cracks 30, an indication that things are, well, volatile. The last time it eclipsed that was in April of last year, when President Trump liberated America by instituting sweeping tariffs that have since been struck down by the Supreme Court. With President Trumps recent comments that the federal government really does not have a second-day plan for the war, the market will continue to be topsy-turvy. I guess the worst case would be we do this, and somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person, right? Thats the kind of rhetoric VIX traders love to hear. As the Iran War drags, and global energy supply chains shutter, expect the VIX to keep creeping up. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. CLEAR Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU Get Free Report) insider Lynn Haaland sold 11,064 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.44, for a total transaction of $524,876.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,375 shares in the company, valued at $349,870. The trade was a 60.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Lynn Haaland also recently made the following trade(s): Get CLEAR Secure alerts: On Wednesday, February 25th, Lynn Haaland sold 15,533 shares of CLEAR Secure stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $698,985.00. On Friday, December 12th, Lynn Haaland sold 15,532 shares of CLEAR Secure stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total value of $636,812.00. CLEAR Secure Price Performance Shares of CLEAR Secure stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,844,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,294. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21 and a beta of 1.13. CLEAR Secure, Inc. has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $50.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.10. CLEAR Secure Announces Dividend CLEAR Secure ( NYSE:YOU Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. CLEAR Secure had a return on equity of 70.08% and a net margin of 12.12%.The business had revenue of $240.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firms revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CLEAR Secure, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year. The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 129.0%. CLEAR Secures dividend payout ratio is presently 44.64%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth YOU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of CLEAR Secure from $38.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson increased their target price on CLEAR Secure from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price target on CLEAR Secure and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CLEAR Secure from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on CLEAR Secure from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $51.57. Check Out Our Latest Report on CLEAR Secure Hedge Funds Weigh In On CLEAR Secure Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 59.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 271,498 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,034,000 after purchasing an additional 101,476 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in CLEAR Secure by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,743 shares of the companys stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in CLEAR Secure in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,755 shares of the companys stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CLEAR Secure by 64.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the companys stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. 73.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About CLEAR Secure (Get Free Report) CLEAR Secure, Inc operates a biometric identity platform designed to expedite identity verification for air travelers and venue guests. The companys core offering is the CLEAR membership service, which uses fingerprint and iris scans to confirm a members identity and provide access to dedicated security lanes at participating airports. Members link government-issued IDs and personal biometric data via the CLEAR app, enabling faster processing through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints and select event entrances. Founded in 2010 by Caryn Seidman?Becker and Ken Cornick, CLEAR is headquartered in New York City. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for CLEAR Secure Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CLEAR Secure and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ReposiTrak Inc. (NYSE:TRAK Get Free Report) CEO Randall Fields sold 2,500 shares of ReposiTrak stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.62, for a total value of $21,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,500 shares in the company, valued at $797,350. This represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. ReposiTrak Trading Up 2.1% Shares of ReposiTrak stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $8.72. 214,552 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,627. ReposiTrak Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.11 and a fifty-two week high of $23.72. The stock has a market cap of $158.70 million, a P/E ratio of 23.57 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.55. Get ReposiTrak alerts: ReposiTrak (NYSE:TRAK Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.86 million during the quarter. ReposiTrak had a net margin of 30.62% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several brokerages have commented on TRAK. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of ReposiTrak in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ReposiTrak from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on TRAK Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in ReposiTrak by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,654,348 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,508,000 after buying an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Ashford Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ReposiTrak by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 815,208 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,081,000 after acquiring an additional 23,054 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of ReposiTrak by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 793,858 shares of the companys stock worth $9,820,000 after buying an additional 47,914 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in ReposiTrak during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,457,000. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its position in ReposiTrak by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 223,392 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 26,106 shares in the last quarter. 27.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. ReposiTrak Company Profile (Get Free Report) ReposiTrak, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRAK, is a provider of cloud-based supply chain compliance and transparency solutions. The companys platform enables retailers, suppliers and manufacturers to manage, share and validate product data throughout the supply chain. Through its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, ReposiTrak helps organizations ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, industry standards and retailer-specific guidelines for food safety, sustainability, labeling and quality assurance. At the core of ReposiTraks offerings is its DataHub, a centralized repository that captures critical information such as product specifications, certifications, catch-weight data, temperature logs and recall notifications. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for ReposiTrak Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ReposiTrak and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Glencore PLC (OTCMKTS:GLNCY Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $10.38 and traded as high as $14.43. Glencore shares last traded at $14.39, with a volume of 373,664 shares changing hands. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently commented on GLNCY. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating on shares of Glencore in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Glencore in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC lowered shares of Glencore to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group raised Glencore to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays reissued an overweight rating on shares of Glencore in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Glencore currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $9.30. Get Glencore alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Glencore Glencore Price Performance Glencore Company Profile The companys 50-day moving average is $12.99 and its 200-day moving average is $10.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.58. (Get Free Report) Glencore is a global natural resources company engaged in the production, processing and marketing of commodities. The business combines large-scale mining and metals operations with an extensive physical commodities trading and marketing platform. Its activities span the full commodity value chain, from extraction and smelting/refining to the commercial distribution of metals and energy products to industrial customers worldwide. Key product areas include base and precious metals (such as copper, zinc, nickel and related concentrates), bulk commodities and energy products (including thermal coal and oil) and associated value?added materials and services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Glencore Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Glencore and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG (OTCMKTS:LDSVF Get Free Report) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14,715.44 and traded as high as $16,325.0992. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli shares last traded at $16,325.10, with a volume of 1 shares. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli Price Performance The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14,787.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $15,034.28. Get Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli alerts: Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli Company Profile (Get Free Report) Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG, trading on the OTC market under the symbol LDSVF, is a Swiss chocolatier renowned for its premium confectionery. Headquartered in Kilchberg, Switzerland, the companys portfolio encompasses a variety of chocolate bars, truffles, pralines, seasonal specialties and gift assortments marketed under brands such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover and Caffarel. Products are sold through multiple channels, including supermarkets, duty-free shops, specialty retailers and Lindts own boutiques and cafes. Founded in 1845 by David Sprungli-Schwarz and his son Rudolf Sprungli-Ammann, the company introduced significant innovations to chocolate production, most notably the conching process that underpins modern chocolate texture. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,433,499 shares, a decrease of 23.7% from the January 29th total of 1,878,147 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 994,149 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 994,149 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WCC. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of WESCO International from $316.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on WESCO International from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp set a $340.00 price target on WESCO International in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut WESCO International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on WESCO International from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $276.00. Get WESCO International alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on WCC WESCO International Stock Down 0.7% Shares of NYSE WCC traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $286.50. The companys stock had a trading volume of 361,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,695. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.45. WESCO International has a 1 year low of $125.21 and a 1 year high of $319.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $284.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.30. WESCO International (NYSE:WCC Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.82 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 2.72%.The businesss revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. WESCO International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.500-16.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WESCO International will post 13.3 EPS for the current year. WESCO International Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from WESCO Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. WESCO Internationals dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Diane Lazzaris sold 2,747 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $831,269.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,865 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,734,837.65. This represents a 8.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,114 shares of company stock worth $6,128,353. Insiders own 3.30% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WCC. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of WESCO International by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,646 shares of the technology companys stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 106 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WESCO International by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,006 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in WESCO International by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the technology companys stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in WESCO International by 6.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 93.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Key Stories Impacting WESCO International Here are the key news stories impacting WESCO International this week: Positive Sentiment: Independent valuation arguing the shares look attractive on fundamentals a detailed DCF on Seeking Alpha concludes WESCO has strong fundamentals at a reasonable price, using a 8.69% WACC and conservative cash?flow assumptions, which may support buying interest from value investors. Article Title Independent valuation arguing the shares look attractive on fundamentals a detailed DCF on Seeking Alpha concludes WESCO has strong fundamentals at a reasonable price, using a 8.69% WACC and conservative cash?flow assumptions, which may support buying interest from value investors. Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised WESCOs FY2026 and several mid?term quarter estimates (and issued a FY2028 view of $20.22), signaling some analysts see upside to near?to?mid?cycle earnings vs earlier forecasts this provides fundamental support for the stock over a multi?quarter horizon. (Zacks research notes released 3/2/2026) Zacks Research raised WESCOs FY2026 and several mid?term quarter estimates (and issued a FY2028 view of $20.22), signaling some analysts see upside to near?to?mid?cycle earnings vs earlier forecasts this provides fundamental support for the stock over a multi?quarter horizon. (Zacks research notes released 3/2/2026) Neutral Sentiment: Zacks analyst blog mentioned WESCO among other coverage highlights increased visibility from analyst coverage can boost trading volume but is not by itself directional. Article Title Zacks analyst blog mentioned WESCO among other coverage highlights increased visibility from analyst coverage can boost trading volume but is not by itself directional. Neutral Sentiment: WESCO was included in a Zacks round?up about dividend stocks gaining interest as investors seek steady payouts this may attract income?oriented buyers but has limited immediate impact on the directional move. Article Title WESCO was included in a Zacks round?up about dividend stocks gaining interest as investors seek steady payouts this may attract income?oriented buyers but has limited immediate impact on the directional move. Negative Sentiment: Near?term estimate cuts by Zacks: analysts trimmed Q1 2026 and Q1 2027 EPS forecasts and lowered portions of FY2027 estimates these downward revisions pressure sentiment because they reduce near?term earnings visibility and may lower short?term expectations. (Zacks research notes released 3/2/2026) Near?term estimate cuts by Zacks: analysts trimmed Q1 2026 and Q1 2027 EPS forecasts and lowered portions of FY2027 estimates these downward revisions pressure sentiment because they reduce near?term earnings visibility and may lower short?term expectations. (Zacks research notes released 3/2/2026) Negative Sentiment: WESCOs most recent reported quarter (Feb 10) showed an EPS miss versus consensus ($3.40 vs. $3.82) despite revenue growth; management set FY2026 guidance of $14.50$16.50, a wide range that leaves execution risk in focus investors often sell into earnings uncertainty. (Referenced MarketBeat summary) About WESCO International (Get Free Report) WESCO International, Inc is a leading global distributor of electrical, industrial, communications and utility products, serving a diverse customer base across maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and construction markets. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of products ranging from power distribution and automation solutions to data communications, security systems and lighting controls. Through an extensive branch network, WESCO provides critical components and value?added services that help organizations streamline operations and improve reliability in their facilities and infrastructure. In addition to its broad product offering, WESCO delivers advanced supply chain management and logistics solutions designed to optimize inventory levels, reduce downtime and lower overall procurement costs. Read More Receive News & Ratings for WESCO International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WESCO International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Inc. Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:FEDU Get Free Report)s stock price traded down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.25 and last traded at $9.2260. 4,069 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 8,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.25. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d+) rating on shares of Four Seasons Education (Cayman) in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Four Seasons Education (Cayman) currently has an average rating of Sell. Get Four Seasons Education (Cayman) alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FEDU Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Stock Performance The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.52. Four Seasons Education (Cayman) (NYSE:FEDU Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $10.19 million during the quarter. Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Company Profile (Get Free Report) Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Inc is a China-based provider of K-12 educational services, offering a continuum of academic programs from pre-kindergarten through senior high school. The company operates private schools under the Four Seasons Education brand, delivering a blend of core curriculum subjects alongside international programs such as Cambridge Assessment International Education. Instructional offerings include full-time day and boarding school options, after-school tutoring, summer enrichment courses and test-preparation services, designed to meet the needs of students aged three to eighteen. The companys schools are located primarily in eastern China, with campuses in provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Four Seasons Education (Cayman) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (NYSEARCA:THNQ Get Free Report)s share price shot up 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.99 and last traded at $61.73. 8,796 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 16,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.00. ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF Stock Performance The stock has a market cap of $282.11 million, a P/E ratio of 39.78 and a beta of 1.33. The stocks fifty day moving average is $64.19 and its 200 day moving average is $63.92. Get ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF alerts: ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 20.0%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF Company Profile A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of THNQ. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF in the second quarter valued at $213,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF in the third quarter worth about $92,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF in the third quarter worth about $479,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,333,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $159,000. (Get Free Report) The Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence index. The fund tracks a global index of companies involved in developing the technology and the infrastructure of enabling artificial intelligence. THNQ was launched on May 11, 2020 and is managed by ROBO Global. See Also Receive News & Ratings for ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $40.02 and traded as high as $43.99. Universal Health Realty Income Trust shares last traded at $43.76, with a volume of 57,313 shares changing hands. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Universal Health Realty Income Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Realty Income Trust presently has an average rating of Hold. Get Universal Health Realty Income Trust alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on Universal Health Realty Income Trust Universal Health Realty Income Trust Trading Down 0.0% Universal Health Realty Income Trust Increases Dividend The firms 50 day simple moving average is $41.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $607.39 million, a P/E ratio of 34.73 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.46. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. This is a positive change from Universal Health Realty Income Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. Universal Health Realty Income Trusts dividend payout ratio is presently 236.51%. Institutional Trading of Universal Health Realty Income Trust A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UHT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Health Realty Income Trust by 4.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,789 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Realty Income Trust by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 95,865 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,927,000 after purchasing an additional 21,708 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Realty Income Trust by 41.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 24,493 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 7,175 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Universal Health Realty Income Trust during the first quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Realty Income Trust by 82.6% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,163 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 5,049 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.66% of the companys stock. Universal Health Realty Income Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE: UHT) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, financing and development of healthcare-related properties. The companys primary focus is on sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions with hospitals, healthcare systems and senior living operators. Its portfolio includes medical office buildings, hospitals, outpatient facilities, senior housing communities and life science research facilities, all structured to provide long-term, triple-net leases with established healthcare providers. UHTs real estate holdings are diversified across key markets throughout the United States, from major metropolitan areas to growing suburban regions. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Universal Health Realty Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Universal Health Realty Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 21,075,812 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the January 29th total of 16,068,749 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,464,463 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 21.5% of the companys stock are sold short. Approximately 21.5% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,464,463 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Robert Half from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Robert Half in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Robert Half from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Robert Half from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Robert Half from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $33.13. Get Robert Half alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on RHI Robert Half Stock Up 0.2% Shares of NYSE RHI traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.31. 2,523,780 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,644,304. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28 and a beta of 0.90. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $27.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.85. Robert Half has a twelve month low of $22.32 and a twelve month high of $56.28. Robert Half (NYSE:RHI Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Robert Half had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 2.47%.The firms quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Robert Half will post 2.48 EPS for the current year. Robert Half Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Robert Halfs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.44%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Robert Half Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RHI. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Robert Half by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Robert Half in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Robert Half by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,368 shares of the business services providers stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Robert Half in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the companys stock. Robert Half Company Profile (Get Free Report) Robert Half International Inc, founded in 1948 by Robert Half, is a global professional staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As a pioneer in specialized staffing, the company has built a reputation for matching skilled professionals with leading organizations across a range of industries. Robert Halfs shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RHI, reflecting its position as one of the longest?standing and best?known firms in the staffing sector. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including temporary staffing, permanent placement, and consulting solutions. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Robert Half Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Robert Half and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Twilio (NYSE:TWLO Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. TD Cowen currently has $160.00 price objective on the technology companys stock, up from their prior price objective of $125.00. A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TWLO. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Twilio from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $148.00) on shares of Twilio in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on Twilio from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. BTIG Research cut their price target on Twilio from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Twilio in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $145.22. Get Twilio alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on TWLO Twilio Trading Down 0.4% Shares of TWLO stock opened at $123.03 on Monday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $124.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.09. Twilio has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $145.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 647.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 4.03. Twilio (NYSE:TWLO Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.09. Twilio had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 0.67%.The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Twilios quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Twilio has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.210-1.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Twilio will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity at Twilio In other news, CFO Aidan Viggiano sold 806 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $100,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 147,961 shares of the companys stock, valued at $18,495,125. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Khozema Shipchandler sold 13,336 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.28, for a total transaction of $1,790,758.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,781 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,020,912.68. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 43,753 shares of company stock valued at $6,050,080 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of Twilio Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TWLO. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twilio in the third quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Twilio by 57.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,212,436 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $121,353,000 after buying an additional 440,423 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Twilio by 54.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 90,517 shares of the technology companys stock worth $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 31,938 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Twilio by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 70,294 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $7,036,000 after buying an additional 11,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Twilio by 36.2% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 133,529 shares of the technology companys stock worth $16,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.27% of the companys stock. Twilio Company Profile (Get Free Report) Twilio Inc (NYSE: TWLO) is a cloud communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) company that enables developers and enterprises to embed communications into web and mobile applications. Its core offering is a suite of programmable APIs that handle messaging (SMS, MMS, and chat), voice calling, video, and user authentication. Twilios platform is designed to help businesses build customer engagement and communication workflows without managing telecommunications infrastructure directly. The companys product portfolio includes programmable voice and messaging APIs, Twilio Video for real?time video applications, and Twilio Authy for multi?factor authentication. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Twilio Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Twilio and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Beiersdorf and Ball Corporation have completed the shift of the former's European aerosol cans to 100% post-consumer recycled aluminium. The change, which started as a pilot project in 2024, was expanded across the region last year. Various NIVEA MEN deodorant sprays and selected 8x4 sprays are currently being packaged in these recycled aluminium cans. Beiersdorf reports that the transition is expected to cut emissions from its aluminium packaging. Beiersdorf R&D global packaging development Kelvin Oecksler said: "This is more than a packaging innovation it's a bold step toward true circularity and fully supporting our sustainability agenda. "We want to reach net zero by 2045, and for this, we must embed solutions that are a true win, not only for our planet, but also for our consumers and our business. Our strategic cooperation with Ball delivers very well into that." Both companies stated that this move supports their efforts towards more climate-conscious design and responsible business practices. Ball Corporation commercial, personal and home care vice-president Victoria Marletta said: "This achievement reflects our belief in the infinite potential of aluminium to drive a world free from waste. It's proof that sustainability and commercial success can go hand in hand, and it supports our global commitment to reduce absolute emissions by 55% by 2030." Ball Corporation noted that the project illustrates the potential for using fully recycled materials in large-scale packaging operations. "Beiersdorf moves to fully recycled aluminium cans in Europe " was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand. mBank S.A. (OTCMKTS:MBAKF Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,804 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the January 29th total of 9,254 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently ? days. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently ? days. mBank Stock Performance mBank stock opened at $117.79 on Thursday. mBank has a 52-week low of $69.19 and a 52-week high of $117.79. The companys 50 day moving average is $117.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.79. Get mBank alerts: About mBank (Get Free Report) mBank is a leading digital financial institution headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, with roots dating back to its founding as BRE Bank in 1986. Since its rebranding to mBank in 2013, the company has focused on delivering a fully integrated suite of banking services through advanced online and mobile platforms. As one of the first banks in Central and Eastern Europe to embrace direct banking, mBank has established itself as a pioneer in digital financial solutions. The bank serves a diversified customer base that includes retail clients, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for mBank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for mBank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG Get Free Report) CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $917,194.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,029 shares of the companys stock, valued at $170,083.41. The trade was a 84.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Ma. Fatima Francisco also recently made the following trade(s): Get Procter & Gamble alerts: On Wednesday, February 4th, Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $1,264,000.00. Procter & Gamble Price Performance Shares of NYSE PG opened at $158.29 on Thursday. Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $137.62 and a fifty-two week high of $179.99. The company has a market cap of $367.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.21. Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement Procter & Gamble ( NYSE:PG Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. Procter & Gambles revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gambles payout ratio is 62.67%. Trending Headlines about Procter & Gamble Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week: Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlight PG as one of four consumer-products names set to benefit from resilient staples demand, digital expansion and portfolio optimization a supportive industry backdrop that can lift sentiment for large, diversified staples names like P&G. Read More. Analysts highlight PG as one of four consumer-products names set to benefit from resilient staples demand, digital expansion and portfolio optimization a supportive industry backdrop that can lift sentiment for large, diversified staples names like P&G. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Management is pitching a technology and AI-led growth model (AI-powered product development, more autonomous supply chain) at conferences this signals a strategic shift toward efficiency and new product cadence that could improve margins over time. Read More. Management is pitching a technology and AI-led growth model (AI-powered product development, more autonomous supply chain) at conferences this signals a strategic shift toward efficiency and new product cadence that could improve margins over time. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Recent company results show an EPS beat and FY2026 EPS guidance in line with expectations, plus continued dividend support fundamentals that underpin the long-term income profile and valuation resilience. Read More. Recent company results show an EPS beat and FY2026 EPS guidance in line with expectations, plus continued dividend support fundamentals that underpin the long-term income profile and valuation resilience. Read More. Neutral Sentiment: Brand and product marketing activity continues (example: a new Mr. Clean product/marketing push) helpful for brand momentum but unlikely to move the stock sharply near-term. Read More. Brand and product marketing activity continues (example: a new Mr. Clean product/marketing push) helpful for brand momentum but unlikely to move the stock sharply near-term. Read More. Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons and trending stock coverage (KVUE vs PG, Zacks pieces) are circulating useful context for reallocations within staples but not direct catalysts. Read More. Valuation comparisons and trending stock coverage (KVUE vs PG, Zacks pieces) are circulating useful context for reallocations within staples but not direct catalysts. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco disclosed a sale of 5,549 shares (marked reduction in her personal holding). Such large insider sales can spook shorter-term investors and are being cited in headlines as a reason for intraday weakness. Read More. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the companys stock worth $91,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,825 shares during the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $4,796,000. Vega Investment Solutions increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 638,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $101,710,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.3% during the third quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Procter & Gamble from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $168.33. Read Our Latest Report on PG About Procter & Gamble (Get Free Report) Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the worlds largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide. P&Gs product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Procter & Gamble Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Procter & Gamble and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL Free Report) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 463,184 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after selling 9,291 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in Oracle were worth $130,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software providers stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the companys stock. Get Oracle alerts: Trending Headlines about Oracle Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Oracle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. HSBC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $382.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $290.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $400.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $285.23. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Oracle Insider Activity at Oracle In related news, insider Mark Hura sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.89, for a total value of $2,953,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,077 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $46,087,420.53. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.23, for a total value of $1,552,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,030 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $20,805,476.90. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 72,223 shares of company stock valued at $13,689,064 in the last ninety days. 40.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Oracle Trading Up 2.3% Shares of Oracle stock opened at $152.51 on Thursday. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The businesss fifty day moving average is $171.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. The firm has a market cap of $438.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.66. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.62. Oracle had a return on equity of 70.60% and a net margin of 25.28%.The firm had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year. Oracle Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Oracles dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%. About Oracle (Free Report) Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations. Oracles product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Oracle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Oracle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,540 shares of the credit services providers stock after selling 3,726 shares during the quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in Mastercard were worth $119,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 45.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the companys stock. Get Mastercard alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $669.27. Mastercard Stock Performance NYSE:MA opened at $523.69 on Thursday. The firms 50-day moving average is $541.76 and its 200-day moving average is $558.24. The company has a market cap of $467.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. Mastercard (NYSE:MA Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year. Mastercard Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%. More Mastercard News Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week: Mastercard Company Profile (Free Report) Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments. Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Mastercard Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mastercard and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP Free Report) by 81.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,749 shares of the companys stock after selling 174,557 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLCs holdings in Molson Coors Beverage were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TAP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,208,854 shares of the companys stock worth $1,019,934,000 after acquiring an additional 92,058 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,396,195 shares of the companys stock worth $692,313,000 after purchasing an additional 327,885 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,486,791 shares of the companys stock valued at $214,860,000 after purchasing an additional 61,060 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,277,685 shares of the companys stock valued at $205,714,000 after buying an additional 626,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage during the second quarter worth approximately $134,289,000. 78.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Molson Coors Beverage alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently issued reports on TAP. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reissued an underweight rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Molson Coors Beverage from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on Molson Coors Beverage in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $51.35. Molson Coors Beverage Trading Down 1.5% Shares of NYSE TAP opened at $47.36 on Thursday. Molson Coors Beverage Company has a 12-month low of $42.94 and a 12-month high of $64.66. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $49.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.74. Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. Molson Coors Beverage had a positive return on equity of 9.04% and a negative net margin of 16.41%.The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Molson Coors Beverage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.607-4.823 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Molson Coors Beverage Company will post 6.35 EPS for the current year. Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Molson Coors Beverages previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Molson Coors Beverages dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.33%. About Molson Coors Beverage (Free Report) Molson Coors Beverage Company is a leading multinational brewing and beverage enterprise formed through the 2005 merger of Canadas Molson and the United States Coors. The company develops, markets and distributes an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, focusing primarily on beer and ready-to-drink products. Its portfolio spans flagship brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Miller Lite, alongside craft-style offerings like Blue Moon and global imports including Carling and Staropramen. In addition to its core beer business, Molson Coors has expanded into adjacent categories to capture evolving consumer tastes. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Molson Coors Beverage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molson Coors Beverage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS Free Report) by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,600 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder ABs holdings in UL Solutions were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $1,681,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in UL Solutions by 405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 593,484 shares of the companys stock worth $42,054,000 after purchasing an additional 476,121 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,803,000. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,627,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UL Solutions during the third quarter worth $1,436,000. Get UL Solutions alerts: UL Solutions Stock Down 1.4% ULS stock opened at $81.11 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $76.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.94. The company has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. UL Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.95. UL Solutions Increases Dividend UL Solutions ( NYSE:ULS Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from UL Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. UL Solutionss payout ratio is 36.48%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ULS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a neutral rating on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered UL Solutions from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on UL Solutions from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UL Solutions presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $87.60. Get Our Latest Stock Report on UL Solutions UL Solutions Profile (Free Report) UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) is a global safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, advisory and digital solutions designed to help organizations manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance and drive innovation. With roots dating back to 1894 when it was founded as Underwriters Electrical Bureau, the company rebranded as UL Solutions following its initial public offering in 2022. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, UL Solutions operates independently to serve a broad range of industries with an emphasis on product safety, performance and sustainability. The companys core services include standards development, product testing and certification for sectors such as building products, consumer electronics, automotive, life sciences, energy and industrial equipment. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for UL Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UL Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $1.3850 and last traded at $1.4550, with a volume of 2030640 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1.44. Specifically, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of Optimum Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.40, for a total value of $28,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,239,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,693.40. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Get Optimum Communications alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Optimum Communications from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Benchmark lowered Optimum Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d-) rating on shares of Optimum Communications in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore set a $2.00 price objective on Optimum Communications in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Optimum Communications from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $2.19. Optimum Communications Price Performance The stock has a market cap of $715.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.68 and a 200 day moving average of $2.00. Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Optimum Communications, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of Optimum Communications Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Optimum Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Optimum Communications in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Optimum Communications by 50.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 5,156 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Optimum Communications (Get Free Report) Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to approximately five million residential and business customers. The companys video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Optimum Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Optimum Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,908 shares of the communications equipment providers stock, valued at approximately $278,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 11.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,071 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the companys stock. Get Ciena alerts: Ciena Price Performance NYSE CIEN opened at $344.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.00. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $365.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.72 billion, a PE ratio of 405.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. Insiders Place Their Bets Ciena ( NYSE:CIEN Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The companys revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year. In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,370,344.50. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total transaction of $5,300,631.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,747,625.85. The trade was a 18.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 156,235 shares of company stock valued at $36,941,890 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms recently commented on CIEN. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America restated a neutral rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a neutral rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $260.80. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CIEN Ciena Profile (Free Report) Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Cienas product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations. In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ciena Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ciena and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the technology retailers stock. A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BBY. Wall Street Zen lowered Best Buy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Best Buy from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $82.00 to $67.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $77.15. Get Best Buy alerts: Read Our Latest Report on BBY Best Buy Price Performance BBY opened at $67.31 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $54.99 and a twelve month high of $84.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. The firms revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,947,415 shares of the technology retailers stock valued at $1,810,904,000 after acquiring an additional 552,360 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 142,288 shares of the technology retailers stock valued at $10,760,000 after purchasing an additional 44,989 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 272.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 183,842 shares of the technology retailers stock worth $13,902,000 after purchasing an additional 134,508 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,754,844 shares of the technology retailers stock valued at $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 39,026 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 155.9% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 157,400 shares of the technology retailers stock valued at $11,903,000 after purchasing an additional 95,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the companys stock. More Best Buy News Here are the key news stories impacting Best Buy this week: Best Buy Company Profile (Get Free Report) Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers. Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Best Buy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Best Buy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mcdonald Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW Free Report) by 87.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,265 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after selling 9,126 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLCs holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.4% in the third quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,588 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,914 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $43,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,422 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 30,927 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $10,709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,069,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,328,552 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $7,666,732,000 after purchasing an additional 246,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the companys stock. Get Sherwin-Williams alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research cut Sherwin-Williams from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $420.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $387.67. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,101.15. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.60% of the companys stock. Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.3% SHW stock opened at $347.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $86.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.30. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $308.84 and a 52 week high of $379.65. Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year. Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williamss previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Sherwin-Williamss dividend payout ratio is currently 31.16%. Sherwin-Williams Profile (Free Report) Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers. The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Sherwin-Williams Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sherwin-Williams and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The company said it can buy back its shares at any time we believe the repurchase price is below our intrinsic value. - Brendan McDermid/Reuters Berkshire Hathaway began buying back its own shares Wednesday, departing from former Chief Executive Warren Buffetts avoidance of share repurchases in recent quarters. The company said it can buy back its shares at any time we believe the repurchase price is below our intrinsic value. Most Read from The Wall Street Journal Chief Executive Greg Abel also personally purchased close to $15 million of the companys stock, he disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Abel, a long time Berkshire executive, became CEO of the company at the start of this year, succeeding Buffett, who retired at age 95. The companys significant cash pile has drawn attention from investors with Berkshire refraining from repurchasing any of its shares in 2025. Last year, the company ended a quarter with more than $300 billion in cash for the first time. Buffett long signaled a preference for reinvesting cash in equities, with the company only paying a dividend once, in 1967. In his annual letter to shareholders in February of last year, Buffett wrote that the great majority of your money remains in equities. That preference wont change. Write to Nicholas G. Miller at nicholas.miller@wsj.com Most Read from The Wall Street Journal Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN Free Report) by 263.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 276,273 shares of the energy companys stock after acquiring an additional 200,209 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Managements holdings in Devon Energy were worth $9,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 5.8% during the third quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 172,482 shares of the energy companys stock worth $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,845,958 shares of the energy companys stock worth $415,319,000 after buying an additional 560,652 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the energy companys stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 41,240 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 4,040 shares during the period. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 9,712 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Devon Energy alerts: Devon Energy Trading Down 1.1% DVN opened at $43.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.56. Devon Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.89 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.72. Devon Energy Announces Dividend Devon Energy ( NYSE:DVN Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The energy company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $17.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.67 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Devon Energys revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research firms have issued reports on DVN. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Capital One Financial lowered their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $47.65. View Our Latest Research Report on Devon Energy Key Stories Impacting Devon Energy Here are the key news stories impacting Devon Energy this week: Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $55 and maintained an Outperform rating, implying roughly 25% upside from the recent price. That call can attract momentum buying and provides a counterweight to recent downgrades. MarketScreener BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $55 and maintained an Outperform rating, implying roughly 25% upside from the recent price. That call can attract momentum buying and provides a counterweight to recent downgrades. Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reaffirmed an Outperform rating and a $51 price target after Devons Q4 results (revenue beat at ~$4.12B, EPS roughly in line). That reinforces a view that Devon can deliver near-term operating resilience even as some models get trimmed. Mizuho Reaffirms Outperform Mizuho reaffirmed an Outperform rating and a $51 price target after Devons Q4 results (revenue beat at ~$4.12B, EPS roughly in line). That reinforces a view that Devon can deliver near-term operating resilience even as some models get trimmed. Positive Sentiment: Heightened Middle East tensions and headlines suggesting strikes involving Iran have prompted analysts and outlets to expect oil-price spikesan external catalyst that would likely boost cash flow and margins for large U.S. producers like Devon. This macro/geopolitical risk is a potential upside trigger for the stock. Oil price article Heightened Middle East tensions and headlines suggesting strikes involving Iran have prompted analysts and outlets to expect oil-price spikesan external catalyst that would likely boost cash flow and margins for large U.S. producers like Devon. This macro/geopolitical risk is a potential upside trigger for the stock. Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research issued a sweeping set of earnings cuts across 20262028 (multiple quarterly and full?year downgrades) and carries a Strong Sell rating. Notable revisions include FY2026 EPS trimmed to ~$2.86 (from ~$3.68 prior) and FY2027 to ~$3.30 (from ~$4.45), plus sharp cuts to several quarterly estimates (many quarters cut by large percentages). Those revisions increase near?term downside risk as models are repriced and investor sentiment weakens. See the Devon profile for the Zacks coverage reference. Devon profile Devon Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques. Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DVN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Devon Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Devon Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dicker Data Limited (ASX:DDR Get Free Report) insider Vladimir Mitnovetski acquired 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of A$10.06 per share, for a total transaction of A$100,630.00. Dicker Data Price Performance The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 149.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.55. Get Dicker Data alerts: Dicker Data Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a Final dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a yield of 114.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Dicker Datas dividend payout ratio is presently 101.14%. About Dicker Data Dicker Data Limited engages in the wholesale distribution of computer hardware, software, cloud, access control, surveillance, and technologies in Australia and New Zealand. It sells its products to resellers partners. Dicker Data Limited was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Kurnell, Australia. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Dicker Data Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dicker Data and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF (NYSEARCA:EWP Free Report) by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,351 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 30,622 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. owned 0.20% of iShares MSCI Spain ETF worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EWP. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,183 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 7.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF in the third quarter worth about $247,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 118.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 75,389 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,732,000 after purchasing an additional 40,867 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 61,223 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. 38.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get iShares MSCI Spain ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Spain ETF Stock Up 3.0% Shares of NYSEARCA:EWP opened at $54.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.99. iShares MSCI Spain ETF has a twelve month low of $33.85 and a twelve month high of $58.32. iShares MSCI Spain ETF Company Profile iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Spanish market, as measured by the MSCI Spain Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Spanish equity market. It is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Spain ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Spain ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report) by 118.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,912 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Phillips Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Get iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Stock Performance Shares of QUAL opened at $203.44 on Thursday. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF has a fifty-two week low of $148.34 and a fifty-two week high of $205.65. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $202.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.13. The stock has a market cap of $58.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 1.05. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Company Profile The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap stocks, selected and weighted by high ROE, stable earnings growth and low debt\u002Fequity, relative to peers in each sector. QUAL was launched on Jul 18, 2013 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QUAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG Free Report) by 80.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,693 shares of the restaurant operators stock after acquiring an additional 20,765 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLCs holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Lavaca Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. 91.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Chipotle Mexican Grill alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett lowered Chipotle Mexican Grill from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $47.24. Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance NYSE CMG opened at $36.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.78 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.00. The firms 50 day moving average price is $38.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.96. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.75 and a 52-week high of $58.42. Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grills revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile (Free Report) Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant company known for its Mexican-inspired menu of burritos, bowls, tacos and salads. Founded in 1993 by Steve Ells, the chain emphasizes fresh, customizable meals made from a limited menu of core ingredients and a focus on ingredient quality. Chipotle operates primarily company-owned restaurants and offers dine-in, takeout, catering and delivery through its own digital platforms and third-party partners. The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, and traces its roots to Denver, Colorado. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pampa Energia S.A. (NYSE:PAM Free Report) by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,401 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLCs holdings in Pampa Energia were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Pampa Energia in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Pampa Energia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Deltec Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pampa Energia by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pampa Energia by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 12.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Pampa Energia alerts: Pampa Energia Price Performance Shares of NYSE:PAM opened at $77.27 on Thursday. Pampa Energia S.A. has a 1-year low of $54.95 and a 1-year high of $94.50. The companys fifty day moving average is $83.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 2.33. Analysts Set New Price Targets Pampa Energia ( NYSE:PAM Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $2.35. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $507.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.30 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Pampa Energia S.A. will post 9.33 EPS for the current fiscal year. A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pampa Energia from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Pampa Energia in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Pampa Energia from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $113.00. Read Our Latest Report on PAM About Pampa Energia (Free Report) Pampa Energia SA is Argentinas largest independent energy company, with integrated operations spanning electricity generation, transmission, distribution and oil and gas activities. The company holds a diversified portfolio of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, along with growing investments in renewable energy projects, serving both domestic and regional markets. In its electricity business, Pampa Energia develops and operates plants that supply energy to Argentinas power grid. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pampa Energia S.A. (NYSE:PAM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Pampa Energia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pampa Energia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY Free Report) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 9,349 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $2,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,143,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $818,105,000 after buying an additional 1,873,618 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 2.4% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 16,543 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 4.0% during the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,055 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 484,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $21,869,000 after purchasing an additional 209,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,059,651 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $183,090,000 after buying an additional 784,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the companys stock. Get Bristol Myers Squibb alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMY. HSBC reissued a hold rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial set a $65.00 target price on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays started coverage on Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an overweight rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $60.71. Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $62.32 on Thursday. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a 52 week low of $42.52 and a 52 week high of $63.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.84. The company has a market cap of $126.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.39). Bristol Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 69.65% and a net margin of 14.64%.The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year. Bristol Myers Squibb Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Bristol Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Bristol Myers Squibbs payout ratio is presently 73.04%. About Bristol Myers Squibb (Free Report) Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, focused on discovering, developing and delivering medicines for serious diseases. The companys core activities include research and development, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of prescription pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas. BMS concentrates on advancing therapies in oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and specialty areas through both small molecules and biologics. BMSs marketed portfolio and late?stage pipeline reflect a strong emphasis on cancer and immune?mediated conditions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Bristol Myers Squibb Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bristol Myers Squibb and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of Hold from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.0389. A number of research firms recently issued reports on CX. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cemex from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Cemex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Cemex from $11.10 to $13.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays restated an overweight rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Cemex in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Cemex from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $12.80 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Get Cemex alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on CX Cemex Stock Up 4.9% CX stock opened at $11.96 on Friday. Cemex has a fifty-two week low of $4.89 and a fifty-two week high of $13.35. The businesss 50-day moving average is $12.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.60. Cemex (NYSE:CX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.38). Cemex had a net margin of 5.93% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Cemex will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year. Cemex Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This is a boost from Cemexs previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cemexs dividend payout ratio is presently 13.64%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CX. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cemex during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cemex by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 3,488 shares of the construction companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,744 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in Cemex by 73.7% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the construction companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in Cemex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Cemex by 256.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,298 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Cemex Company Profile (Get Free Report) Cemex (NYSE: CX) is a global building materials company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. The company produces, distributes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, as well as related building materials, to construction markets in more than 50 countries. Cemexs product portfolio also includes asphalt and mortar mixes, waste-derived fuels and other complementary construction solutions, supported by a network of production facilities, distribution centers and logistics operations. Founded in 1906 as Cementos Hidalgo, the company adopted the Cemex name in 1976 following a series of domestic mergers and expansions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Cemex Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cemex and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON Get Free Report)s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $46.76, but opened at $41.04. ON shares last traded at $41.0140, with a volume of 4,273,770 shares traded. ON News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting ON this week: Get ON alerts: Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat across the board EPS topped estimates and revenue came in well above consensus; full-year sales topped CHF 3.0 billion and margins hit record levels, supporting longer-term growth thesis. Earnings / Transcript Q4 results beat across the board EPS topped estimates and revenue came in well above consensus; full-year sales topped CHF 3.0 billion and margins hit record levels, supporting longer-term growth thesis. Positive Sentiment: Several sell-side analysts remain constructive: Telsey reaffirmed an outperform rating with a $65 PT, and the consensus of analyst targets still implies meaningful upside evidence that long-term estimates and demand assumptions remain favorable. Telsey / Analyst Notes Several sell-side analysts remain constructive: Telsey reaffirmed an outperform rating with a $65 PT, and the consensus of analyst targets still implies meaningful upside evidence that long-term estimates and demand assumptions remain favorable. Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call transcripts and detailed commentary are available for investors wanting managements guideposts on category expansion and margin drivers useful for assessing whether FY26 guidance is conservative or structural. Earnings Call Transcript Earnings-call transcripts and detailed commentary are available for investors wanting managements guideposts on category expansion and margin drivers useful for assessing whether FY26 guidance is conservative or structural. Neutral Sentiment: Aggregate analyst price-target coverage still implies ~2030% upside on average, which keeps buy-side narratives alive despite short-term volatility. Zacks Analyst Consensus Aggregate analyst price-target coverage still implies ~2030% upside on average, which keeps buy-side narratives alive despite short-term volatility. Negative Sentiment: Managements FY26 revenue guidance was below many analysts expectations, triggering an immediate downshift in sentiment and a sharp intraday reaction as investors re-priced forward growth. CNBC: Guidance Reaction Managements FY26 revenue guidance was below many analysts expectations, triggering an immediate downshift in sentiment and a sharp intraday reaction as investors re-priced forward growth. Negative Sentiment: Some brokerages trimmed price targets (Barclays lowered its PT from $60 to $57; Guggenheim cut from $59 to $51) lowering near-term upside expectations even though ratings largely stayed constructive. Benzinga: PT Changes Some brokerages trimmed price targets (Barclays lowered its PT from $60 to $57; Guggenheim cut from $59 to $51) lowering near-term upside expectations even though ratings largely stayed constructive. Negative Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted that guidance spooked investors and led to a material pullback in sentiment; that narrative is amplifying short-term selling pressure. Seeking Alpha: Investor Reaction Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades ONON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of ON from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating on shares of ON in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on ON from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $58.00 price objective on ON in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on ON from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $59.41. ON Stock Performance The firm has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.11, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stocks 50-day moving average is $46.24 and its 200 day moving average is $44.42. ON (NYSE:ONON Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $937.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $727.55 million. ON had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 6.59%.The companys revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that On Holding AG will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On ON Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ON in the second quarter valued at about $138,641,000. Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,607,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ON in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,152,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in ON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,473,000. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ON during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $248,113,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the companys stock. ON Company Profile (Get Free Report) On Holding AG, commonly known as On, is a Swiss performance footwear and apparel company headquartered in Zurich. Founded in 2010, the company designs, develops and sells running shoes, performance apparel and accessories for road, trail and everyday use. Ons product philosophy centers on engineered cushioning and responsiveness intended to serve both serious athletes and lifestyle consumers. On is best known for its proprietary midsole technology and distinctive sole architecture, marketed under names such as the Cloud family of shoes and related performance lines. Read More Receive News & Ratings for ON Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ON and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust (NYSEARCA:FXB Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,822 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $2,048,000. NewSquare Capital LLC owned approximately 2.26% of Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $560,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust during the second quarter worth about $119,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust in the second quarter valued at about $264,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust by 578.2% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 23,737 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 20,237 shares during the period. Get Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust alerts: Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust Stock Up 0.2% NYSEARCA FXB opened at $128.61 on Thursday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $130.14 and its 200-day moving average is $129.05. Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust has a one year low of $122.23 and a one year high of $133.11. Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust Cuts Dividend About Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2043 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. (Free Report) Guggenheim CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust, formerly CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust, is a grantor trust. The Trust issues shares (the Shares) in blocks of 50,000 (a Basket) in exchange for deposits of British Pound Sterling and distributes British Pound Sterling in connection with the redemption of Baskets. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the price of British Pound Sterling plus accrued interest. The Shares are intended to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the market for the British Pound Sterling through an investment in securities. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FXB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust (NYSEARCA:FXB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Brookshire Grocery Company announced the retirement of Chairman and CEO Brad Brookshire, concluding a 49-year career with the family-owned company rooted in East Texas. Brookshire, the grandson of founder W.T. Brookshire, served 20 years as chairman and 10 years as CEO, helping expand the company from 152 to 222 stores across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. During his tenure, the company grew multiple store brands, including Super 1 Foods, Spring Market and FRESH by Brookshires, while emphasizing customer service, innovation and community engagement. It has been the greatest honor to be Chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery Company, Brookshire said, crediting employees, customers and communities for the companys long-term success. Retiring Brookshire Grocery CEO Brad Brookshire Brookshire held roles across all areas of the business, including store director, vice president, executive vice president and president. He also helped launch the Super 1 Foods banner more than four decades ago and oversaw acquisitions such as Reasors in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Looking for more? Check out USA TODAY for smart grocery tips and news Beyond business growth, Brookshire led community-focused initiatives, including the Heroes Flight program, which has taken nearly 600 veterans on trips to Washington, D.C., and the Focus on the Future Scholarship program, a more than $1 million endowment supporting students across the companys footprint. He also represented the grocery industry during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts Strike Force to Open Texas. Brookshire was inducted into the Food Industry Hall of Fame in 2020 and received the Food Industry Associations Sidney R. Rabb Award in 2024. The company named Jerry LeClair as interim CEO. LeClair, who joined Brookshire Grocery Company in 2019, most recently served as chief operating officer and brings more than 40 years of grocery industry experience. Company officials said Brookshire will be honored later this spring with a celebration recognizing his leadership and decades of service. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Brookshire Grocery CEO Brad Brookshire retires KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW Free Report) by 130.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,434 shares of the aerospace companys stock after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Curtiss-Wright were worth $5,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 10.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 213,101 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $67,611,000 after buying an additional 20,379 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $235,000. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the second quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 30.9% during the second quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 851 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 20.3% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 190 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.71% of the companys stock. Get Curtiss-Wright alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and set a $748.00 price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial set a $603.00 target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Curtiss-Wright from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Curtiss-Wright from $661.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Curtiss-Wright has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $663.17. Insider Buying and Selling at Curtiss-Wright In related news, CFO K Christopher Farkas sold 2,665 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.33, for a total transaction of $1,669,169.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,608,536.14. This trade represents a 26.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John C. Watts sold 652 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $625.57, for a total value of $407,871.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,890 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,433,467.30. This trade represents a 14.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,269 shares of company stock valued at $10,797,098. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Curtiss-Wright Trading Up 1.5% Shares of CW opened at $712.40 on Thursday. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a 1-year low of $266.88 and a 1-year high of $730.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $646.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $575.53. The stock has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.91. Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $946.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $890.14 million. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 13.84%.Curtiss-Wrights revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year. Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 26th. Curtiss-Wrights payout ratio is currently 7.46%. Curtiss-Wright Company Profile (Free Report) Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) is a diversified, global engineering company that designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products and integrated systems for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Its offerings span a range of electromechanical, motion control and flow control technologies, including flight control and actuation systems, sensors and avionics components, pumps and valves, power conversion and heat exchangers, and platform integration solutions for marine and ground systems. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Curtiss-Wright Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Curtiss-Wright and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC lessened its holdings in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING Free Report) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,160 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 19,435 shares during the period. ING Group comprises about 0.8% of Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs holdings in ING Group were worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of ING Group by 249.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,047,717 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $53,404,000 after buying an additional 1,462,527 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA grew its stake in ING Group by 280.3% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 900,936 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $23,496,000 after acquiring an additional 664,063 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in ING Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,764,562 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $191,681,000 after acquiring an additional 593,424 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in ING Group by 22.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,721,021 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $44,884,000 after acquiring an additional 312,720 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in ING Group by 25.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,314,705 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,753,000 after acquiring an additional 264,858 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the companys stock. Get ING Group alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have recently commented on ING shares. Citigroup raised shares of ING Group to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ING Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised ING Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut ING Group from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy. ING Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $27.27 on Thursday. ING Group, N.V. has a one year low of $16.47 and a one year high of $31.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group (NYSE:ING Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 27.50%.The firm had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. On average, analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year. ING Group Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.8796 dividend. This represents a yield of 589.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. ING Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.87%. ING Group Profile (Free Report) ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight. INGs principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ING? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for ING Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ING Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eni SpA (NYSE:E Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,683 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000. ENI comprises 0.6% of Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of E. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 179.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in ENI by 2,488.4% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,113 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ENI by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ENI by 84.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of ENI by 10.3% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,637 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the companys stock. Get ENI alerts: ENI Trading Up 1.1% Shares of E opened at $46.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firms 50 day moving average price is $41.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.88. Eni SpA has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $47.80. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth ENI ( NYSE:E Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.09. ENI had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $24.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.45 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eni SpA will post 3.74 EPS for the current year. A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ENI from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised ENI from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ENI from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of ENI in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ENI has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $34.60. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ENI About ENI (Free Report) ENI S.p.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rome, Italy, founded in 1953 as a state-established hydrocarbon entity and later transformed into a publicly traded multinational. The firms activities span the full hydrocarbon value chain and extend into power generation and low?carbon energy solutions. ENI maintains a long history in exploration and production, engineering and project development, and downstream operations that include refining, petrochemicals and retail fuel distribution. Core businesses include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling, and downstream refining and marketing of petroleum products and lubricants. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding E? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eni SpA (NYSE:E Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for ENI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ENI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT Free Report) by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 522,983 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 232,433 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLCs holdings in Wipro were worth $1,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wipro during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Curi Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Wipro during the second quarter worth $31,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wipro during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wipro in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Aspiring Ventures LLC bought a new position in shares of Wipro in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 2.36% of the companys stock. Get Wipro alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Wipro to an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Wipro presently has a consensus rating of Reduce. Wipro Stock Up 0.5% Wipro stock opened at $2.21 on Thursday. Wipro Limited has a 52 week low of $2.11 and a 52 week high of $3.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.07. Wipro (NYSE:WIT Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The information technology services provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.63 billion. Wipro had a net margin of 14.61% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Research analysts anticipate that Wipro Limited will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year. Wipro Company Profile (Free Report) Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, the company traces its origins to 1945 when it was founded as Western India Vegetable Products and later diversified into technology and IT services. Today Wipro positions itself as a provider of enterprise IT solutions and digital transformation services for large and mid-sized organizations across multiple industries. The companys service portfolio includes application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data analytics and AI, cybersecurity, digital consulting, product engineering and research and development, as well as business process services. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WIT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Wipro Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wipro and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TD Asset Management Inc reduced its position in Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF Free Report) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,196 shares of the companys stock after selling 8,706 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Incs holdings in Knife River were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Knife River by 117.8% in the 3rd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 36,115 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 19,536 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Knife River by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 685,911 shares of the companys stock valued at $55,998,000 after acquiring an additional 146,782 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 15,486 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 181,591 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,825,000 after buying an additional 4,889 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Knife River by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 81,315 shares of the companys stock worth $6,250,000 after purchasing an additional 14,253 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Knife River alerts: Knife River Trading Down 1.0% Shares of NYSE KNF opened at $87.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Knife River Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.72 and a 1-year high of $103.18. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.27. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Knife River ( NYSE:KNF Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $755.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $726.60 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KNF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens upped their price target on Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Knife River from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a buy rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $96.43. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KNF Knife River Company Profile (Free Report) Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects. In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Knife River Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Knife River and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report) by 36.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,334 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 14,053 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DEs holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWJ. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the third quarter worth about $26,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 90.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 797 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz SE lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 262.0% in the second quarter. Allianz SE now owns 1,010 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. 64.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get iShares MSCI Japan ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Performance Shares of EWJ opened at $88.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.93 and a 200-day moving average of $83.38. The company has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 1 year low of $59.84 and a 1 year high of $94.28. About iShares MSCI Japan ETF iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL Free Report) by 297.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,198,564 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 3,142,670 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $103,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter worth $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the companys stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the companys stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 134.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,402 shares of the companys stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1,490.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the companys stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Hormel Foods alerts: Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.7% Shares of HRL stock opened at $24.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.03 and a fifty-two week high of $32.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.23. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Hormel Foods ( NYSE:HRL Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.07 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The firms revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.510 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. HRL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Barclays set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d+) rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.71. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on HRL Hormel Foods Profile (Free Report) Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The companys portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms. Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM canned meats, Jennie-O turkey products, Skippy peanut butter and Applegate natural and organic meats. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HRL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hormel Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hormel Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. OceanaGold Co. (OTCMKTS:OCANF Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Buy from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating on shares of OceanaGold in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an outperform rating on shares of OceanaGold in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an outperform rating on shares of OceanaGold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Get OceanaGold alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on OCANF OceanaGold Stock Performance OceanaGold Company Profile OTCMKTS:OCANF opened at $38.46 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $34.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.99. OceanaGold has a 52 week low of $7.32 and a 52 week high of $43.33. (Get Free Report) OceanaGold Corporation is an international gold and copper producer headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company focuses on the exploration, development and operation of open pit and underground mines across the AsiaPacific and North America regions. Its core operations include the Didipio mine in the Philippines, the Macraes and Waihi gold mines in New Zealand and the Haile gold mine in South Carolina, United States. OceanaGolds portfolio spans proven reserves, near?mine development projects and exploration tenements, providing a balanced mix of production and growth assets. Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from Placer Dome, OceanaGold has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic development. See Also Receive News & Ratings for OceanaGold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for OceanaGold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $75.63, but opened at $68.27. Sociedad Quimica y Minera shares last traded at $67.5890, with a volume of 601,163 shares changing hands. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms recently weighed in on SQM. Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a buy rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Clarkson Capital restated a neutral rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a neutral rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.63. Get Sociedad Quimica y Minera alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on SQM Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 4.8% The stock has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 0.99. The companys fifty day moving average price is $75.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.27. Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year. Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.1236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Mineras payout ratio is currently 6.56%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 31,066 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 358,646 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $14,249,000 after purchasing an additional 125,506 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 123,853 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 22,870 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 191,785 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 56,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth $776,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Sociedad Quimica y Minera (Get Free Report) Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high?tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value?added products derived from these raw materials. SQMs product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Sociedad Quimica y Minera Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sociedad Quimica y Minera and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Snyder Capital Management L P lifted its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME Free Report) by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 787,675 shares of the technology companys stock after acquiring an additional 161,615 shares during the period. AMETEK accounts for approximately 2.8% of Snyder Capital Management L Ps investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Snyder Capital Management L Ps holdings in AMETEK were worth $148,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 129.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 170 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp raised its position in AMETEK by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 202 shares of the technology companys stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the companys stock. Get AMETEK alerts: Insider Activity at AMETEK In related news, CEO David A. Zapico sold 28,390 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.76, for a total value of $5,727,966.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,388 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total value of $1,309,859.40. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,116 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,534,885.80. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,088 shares of company stock valued at $9,930,020. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. AMETEK Trading Down 0.2% Shares of AME stock opened at $234.81 on Thursday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $242.05. The company has a market cap of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.30. AMETEK (NYSE:AME Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firms revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. AMETEK has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.870-8.070 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. AMETEK Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from AMETEKs previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AMETEKs payout ratio is currently 19.38%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades AME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of AMETEK in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. DA Davidson restated a buy rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $257.00 target price on shares of AMETEK in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $245.00 price target on AMETEK in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.00. Get Our Latest Analysis on AME AMETEK Company Profile (Free Report) AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications. The company operates through two primary business platforms an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for AMETEK Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AMETEK and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Paul Clement, the former U.S. Solicitor General who argued for the backers of Montgomerys caseit has not been revealed who is paying the legal bills for the former chief litigator for the Bush administration, who presumably carries a hefty hourly feeearlier had made a similar argument when he opened up the proceedings. So then the question is whether these suits are with respect to motor vehicles, the Justice continued. And, you know, come on, how could they not be? Theyre all about getting good drivers behind the wheel of a massive truck. Thats with respect to motor vehicles. Im just looking at this provision, she said. And you agreed that these tort actions are part of the states safety regulatory authority. The argument being made by Boutrous was that with respect to motor vehicles doesnt rope in brokers. But Justice Kagan expressed skepticism. The question before the court, and the circuit courts whose conflicting decisions led to this seminal moment Wednesday, was whether the safety exception in F4A opened the door to brokers being dragged into a lawsuit arising from a safety-related incident. The safety exception, according to the law, allows state legal action with respect to motor vehicles despite another F4A provision prohibiting state action that could impact a price, route or service. Justice Elena Kagan, who over the course of the roughly 90 minute proceedings sounded largely sympathetic to the idea that brokers could be held liable or negligent for safety issues involving trucks they hired, said she was making an admittedly simple-minded way of looking at this. Boutrous is the outside counsel for C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW), the 3PL that hired Caribe which in turn had a truck that struck and seriously injured truck driver Shawn Montgomery on the side of an Illinois road in 2017. Boutrous, a partner with the Los Angeles office of law firm Griffin Dunn, was taking questions from the judges about his interpretation of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4A), the transportation-focused law from 1994 with sections that could be interpreted to be at odds with each other. There was a stretch of questioning of Theodore Boutrous during oral arguments Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court on Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport II, the possibly groundbreaking case involving broker liability, that very likely made the 3PL community nervous. (Editors note: FreightWaves streamed news and commentary from the arguments before the Supreme Court in Montgomery vs. Caribe II earlier Wednesday. That can be found here ). Story Continues Brokers and motor vehicles are quite closely tethered because the whole reason you have a negligent hiring tort is because youre talking about something that poses a danger of harm to third parties, and the thing that poses the danger of harm to third parties in this context isnt some brokerage forum. Clement said. Its the 80,000-pound truck. Clements side was not victorious at the district court level in Illinois or the Fourth Circuit, where C.H. Robinson was victorious in its motion to be removed as a defendant under the provisions of F4A. Montgomery successfully petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari. A few minutes after Justice Kagans remarks, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned Sopan Joshi of the U.S. Solicitor Generals office, which is backing the brokerage communitys arguments, expressing some of the same skepticism heard from Justice Kagan. Congress could have defined it Your argument depends, in a way, of us accepting what youve said, what Mr. Boutrous said, that brokers are just operating as middlemen, they really dont have anything to do with safety, Justice Jackson said. And I guess we dont understand why we have to believe that Congress shared that view as opposed to Congress thinking, well, to the extent that brokers are involved in safety, thats going to come out in the tort suit as a causation issue. And so (Congress) doesnt really have to take a position on which individual defendants are actually responsible for safety. Regulations dont follow a straight line There are essentially three moving parts of F4A before the Supreme Court that arent in alignment, helping to create the clash of circuit court decisions that led to Wednesdays deliberations. One is the preemption clause under a section labeled Motor Carriers of Property that restricts state action impacting a price, route or service of any motor carrier. It extends to any motor private carrier, broker, or freight forwarder with respect to the transportation of property. The preemption clause was referred to during the deliberations as Section C. That section has been successfully used by several 3PLs in lawsuits to argue that state action against them could impact a price, route or service. The second is the safety exception, which is a saving clause under Section C allowing state action like a jury verdictinvolving a safety incident if it is with respect to motor vehicles. C.H. Robinson several years ago found itself on the losing side of a case, Miller vs. C.H. Robinson, where the Ninth Circuit concluded the respect to motor vehicles clause could mean a broker. The issue gets complicated because F4A also has a section B, which deals with intrastate regulation of brokers and freight forwarders. Section B doesnt have a safety exception. Section Bs existence led Chief Justice John Roberts to note other justices concerns who dont quite know why its there, as it is not completely clear what it accomplishes beyond what is in section C, the legal home of the preemption rule and the safety exception. How B and C go together Under questioning from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Clement said the seemingly inexplicable difference does show that Congress made a very deliberate decision to treat brokers and freight forwarders differently for interstate and for intrastate. If the justices were to accept that reasoning, the argument is strengthened that if Congress wanted brokers to be protected from being sued, they would have taken steps to do so in Section B, which deals specifically with 3PLs. Alina Rosenbaum, an attorney with Public Citizen who has represented plaintiffs that have sued 3PLs and dealt with the reach of F4A said in an interview with FreightWaves that she believes t the lack of straight logic between Sections B and C supported the idea that Congress believed brokers could be sued under the safety exception. Congress made the conscious decision to treat intrastate routes, prices and services differently from interstate prices, she said. That separateness shows that it wanted interstate services to be subject to the safety exception. Or as Clement said in his arguments about the apparent inconsistency between B and C, it would beanomalous to take two statutes, one of which has a safety exception and one of which doesnt, and interpret them to mean the same thing. On another issue where Clement faced questioning about the Montgomery position, Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised the issue of carriers being required by federal law to carry liability insurance without a concurrent requirement for brokers. The argument has always been if Congress saw 3Pls as being potentially liable, like a carrier is, it would have required insurance for brokers as well. The trucking companies have to have financial security so they can pay judgments with respect to accidents, but they dont do that on brokers, Justice Kavanaugh said. And when you combine the two things were talking about, that does I mean, thats in tension with your position. Clements response began with I think. Congress rationally said we want to make sure that they have a financial security requirement that is responsive to the principal financial risk that they face, Clements said. And its different with respect to carriers than with respect to brokers. Clements said the principal financial risk for a broker is default. You cant read too much into the insurance requirements because nobody thinks that carriers cant default, he said. In fact, carriers are defaulting all the time. Whatever the ruling is, it should clarify the patchwork of circuit court decisions that point in different directions on the issue of broker liability. That need for clarity is considered so great in the brokerage industry that TQL, in the liability case of Gauthier vs. TQL where the brokerage was victorious, took the unusual step of backing the certiorari request of the defeated plaintiff so there could be a resolution of the conflicting circuits. (That certiorari request was denied). C.H. Robinson speaks The need for clarity was part of the statement issued by C.H. Robinson after the days arguments. A single, uniform federal framework is essential to keeping interstate commerce safe, efficient, and consistent with Congresss design, Dorothy Capers, the brokerages chief legal officer. Allowing a patchwork of state tort laws to regulate broker services would undermine that system, increase uncertainty, and disrupt the flow of goods Americans rely on every day. Rob Moseley of the law firm of Moseley Marcinak law group of Greeneville, S.C., was in the courtroom during the arguments. He said he was cautiously optimistic that C.H. Robinsons arguments would prevail and well get a favorable preemption ruling. What a broker does is with respect to computers and telephones and not with respect to motor vehicles, he said. Asked about her forecast for what the justices might rule, Rosenbaum said: I dont like to predict what anyone is going to do. More articles by John Kingston Derek Barrs defends FMCSAs bold moves at TCA How New Yorks new driving penalties impact truckers BMOs quarterly earnings suggest truck credit might be improving The post Broker liability at SCOTUS: judges debate meaning of motor vehicles appeared first on FreightWaves. Naked Wines plc (LON:WINE Get Free Report) insider Jack Pailing purchased 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 74 per share, with a total value of 14,800. Jack Pailing also recently made the following trade(s): Get Naked Wines alerts: On Thursday, January 29th, Jack Pailing purchased 16,350 shares of Naked Wines stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 74 per share, for a total transaction of 12,099. Naked Wines Stock Performance WINE stock opened at GBX 76.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.40, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 73.94 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 75.67. The company has a market capitalization of 54.69 million, a P/E ratio of -36.38, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.53. Naked Wines plc has a 1-year low of GBX 42 and a 1-year high of GBX 95. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Naked Wines ( LON:WINE Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported GBX (4.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Naked Wines had a negative return on equity of 2.23% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Naked Wines plc will post 1.4166456 EPS for the current fiscal year. Separately, Panmure Gordon restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 150 target price on shares of Naked Wines in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of GBX 150. Read Our Latest Report on Naked Wines About Naked Wines (Get Free Report) Naked Wines plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of wines and spirits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. The company offers its products online. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Naked Wines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Naked Wines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG Free Report) by 67.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,737 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 46,342 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentuckys holdings in APi Group were worth $3,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in APi Group by 49.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,138,767 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,207,719,000 after acquiring an additional 11,644,990 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of APi Group by 19.2% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 10,623,568 shares of the companys stock worth $542,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712,397 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its position in shares of APi Group by 13.1% in the third quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 7,540,068 shares of the companys stock worth $259,152,000 after buying an additional 873,420 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of APi Group by 49.5% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,292,986 shares of the companys stock worth $250,660,000 after buying an additional 2,414,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in APi Group by 83.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,150,845 shares of the companys stock valued at $365,051,000 after buying an additional 3,247,126 shares during the period. 86.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get APi Group alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APG shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on APi Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of APi Group from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of APi Group from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of APi Group in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of APi Group to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $48.57. Trending Headlines about APi Group Here are the key news stories impacting APi Group this week: Positive Sentiment: SouthernSun Asset Management highlighted APi Group as having a long runway for double?digit EPS growth in its Q4 2025 SMID Cap investor letter a fundamental bullish note that could support analyst sentiment and long?term investor interest. Read More. SouthernSun Asset Management highlighted APi Group as having a long runway for double?digit EPS growth in its Q4 2025 SMID Cap investor letter a fundamental bullish note that could support analyst sentiment and long?term investor interest. Read More. Negative Sentiment: Multiple large director sales: Ian G. H. Ashken sold a total of 300,000 APG shares across Mar 24 for roughly $13.1M in proceeds (average prices ~$44.29$42.94). Director James E. Lillie sold a total of 360,000 shares over the same period for roughly $15.7M. Combined, ~660,000 shares were sold (~$28.7M)each trade trimmed ownership by ~1% or less, but the concentrated, consecutive selling by two directors is a clear near?term negative signal and may weigh on sentiment and intraday trading. The filings remain consistent with planned liquidity/diversification rather than an exit (both directors continue to hold large residual positions), but the scale and timing increase short?term supply. SEC filings: Ashken Read More., Lillie Read More. Insider Transactions at APi Group In other news, SVP Louis Lambert sold 22,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $983,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,148 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $721,977.08. The trade was a 57.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James E. Lillie sold 100,888 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.30, for a total value of $4,469,338.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,706,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,996,266.60. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 682,000 shares of company stock worth $29,693,385. Company insiders own 17.00% of the companys stock. APi Group Trading Down 0.4% APG stock opened at $43.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of -56.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.50. APi Group Corporation has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $46.89. The companys 50 day moving average price is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.46. APi Group (NYSE:APG Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. APi Group had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that APi Group Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. APi Group Profile (Free Report) APi Group Corp. is a global specialty contractor that provides fire protection, security, mechanical insulation and energy services to commercial, industrial and institutional clients. Headquartered in New Brighton, Minnesota, the company designs, installs, inspects, tests, maintains and repairs a wide range of safety and infrastructure systems. Through its network of operating subsidiaries, APi Group delivers end-to-end solutions for new construction, facility renovations and ongoing maintenance requirements. Its service portfolio spans life safety and industrial servicessuch as fire suppression systems, fire alarms and emergency lightingand specialized offerings including technical insulation, access solutions, passive fire protection and energy efficiency upgrades. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding APG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for APi Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for APi Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Edison International (NYSE:EIX Get Free Report)s stock had its sell rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $63.00 price target on the utilities providers stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SHs target price would indicate a potential downside of 11.74% from the companys previous close. Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EIX. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Edison International from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Edison International from $59.00 to $54.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $79.00 target price on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Edison International from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating on shares of Edison International in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.56. Get Edison International alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on EIX Edison International Price Performance NYSE EIX traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.38. The company had a trading volume of 320,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,251,291. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.79. Edison International has a 52 week low of $47.73 and a 52 week high of $75.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.50. Edison International (NYSE:EIX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.29 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 24.34% and a return on equity of 14.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Edison International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 6.250-6.650 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Edison International will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edison International Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Edison International in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Edison International by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 446 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Edison International by 677.8% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 560 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Edison International by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 577 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Edison International by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 605 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 88.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Edison International Company Profile (Get Free Report) Edison International is a publicly traded utility holding company based in Rosemead, California, whose principal subsidiary is Southern California Edison (SCE). As an electric utility holding company, Edison International oversees the delivery of electricity through SCEs integrated network of generation procurement, transmission and distribution infrastructure, serving millions of customers across central, coastal and southern California. The companys operations focus on reliable energy delivery, customer service, regulatory compliance and long-term infrastructure planning for a complex and high-demand service territory. The companys activities include procuring and managing a diverse resource mix, maintaining and upgrading transmission and distribution systems, and implementing grid modernization projects. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Edison International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edison International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays (NYSE:BCS)s stock had its hold rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. BCS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Barclays from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Barclays alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Barclays Barclays Price Performance BCS stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.98. 539,073 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,769,549. The stocks 50 day moving average is $25.83 and its 200 day moving average is $22.94. Barclays has a 12-month low of $12.14 and a 12-month high of $27.70. The company has a market cap of $79.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Barclays (NYSE:BCS Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $72.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 8.33%. On average, research analysts expect that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of Barclays Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 72.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 47,051 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 19,818 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 2nd quarter valued at about $192,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Barclays by 217.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 47,436 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 32,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Barclays by 289.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,991,960 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $37,031,000 after buying an additional 1,480,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the companys stock. About Barclays (Get Free Report) Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management. In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Barclays Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barclays and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an outperform rating and a $218.00 price target on the real estate investment trusts stock. Sanford C. Bernsteins price target points to a potential upside of 21.21% from the stocks previous close. Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a neutral rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $210.00) on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $205.00 to $195.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays raised Digital Realty Trust from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price target for the company from $161.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Digital Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $193.36. Get Digital Realty Trust alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on DLR Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance Shares of DLR stock traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $179.85. The stock had a trading volume of 44,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,159. Digital Realty Trust has a one year low of $129.95 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 49.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.12. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $166.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 21.41% and a return on equity of 5.88%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The firms revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Digital Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Digital Realty Trust will post 7.07 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of Digital Realty Trust Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Digital Realty Trust by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 163.5% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 195 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 139.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,404 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new position in Digital Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $238,000. Institutional investors own 99.71% of the companys stock. Digital Realty Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Digital Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: DLR) is a real estate investment trust that owns, acquires and operates carrier-neutral data centers and provides related colocation and interconnection solutions. The company focuses on large-scale, mission-critical facilities that support the physical infrastructure needs of cloud providers, enterprises, network operators and content companies. Digital Realtys offerings are designed to enable secure, reliable and highly available IT infrastructure with an emphasis on power density, cooling, and physical security. Digital Realtys product set spans wholesale data center space, turnkey build-to-suit facilities, and retail colocation suites, complemented by interconnection services that allow customers to establish private and public connections to networks, cloud on-ramps and other ecosystem partners. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Digital Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Digital Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$40.39 and last traded at C$40.38, with a volume of 94382 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$40.29. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts recently commented on LB shares. Desjardins dropped their price objective on Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$50.00 to C$40.00 and set a tender rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank set a C$33.00 price target on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$31.00 to C$40.50 in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from a strong sell rating to a hold rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$25.00 to C$40.00 in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laurentian Bank of Canada has an average rating of Strong Sell and a consensus target price of C$36.44. Get Laurentian Bank of Canada alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LB Laurentian Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.2% The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$40.07 and a 200-day moving average of C$36.01. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.49. Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 5th. The company reported C$0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$244.71 million for the quarter. Laurentian Bank of Canada had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 2.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laurentian Bank of Canada will post 3.8414986 EPS for the current fiscal year. Laurentian Bank of Canada Company Profile (Get Free Report) Founded in Montreal in 1846, Laurentian Bank is committed to serving its customers and fostering deep relationships with specialized groups. Laurentian Bank runs operations across Canada primarily in Quebec and Ontario as well as in the United States and competes where it sees market opportunity and has an edge, while harnessing the power of partnerships and collaboration. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Laurentian Bank of Canada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Laurentian Bank of Canada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tecsys (TSE:TCS Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$50.00 to C$40.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces price objective suggests a potential upside of 39.47% from the stocks previous close. Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on TCS. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on shares of Tecsys from C$28.00 to C$29.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut Tecsys from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price objective for the company from C$48.00 to C$28.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tecsys currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$38.90. Get Tecsys alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on TCS Tecsys Trading Up 10.3% Shares of Tecsys stock traded up C$2.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching C$28.68. 71,265 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,396. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$27.06 and a 200-day moving average of C$31.96. Tecsys has a 12 month low of C$22.51 and a 12 month high of C$44.97. The company has a market cap of C$422.97 million, a PE ratio of 79.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.25. Tecsys (TSE:TCS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C$0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Tecsys had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The business had revenue of C$48.50 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Tecsys will post 0.4600739 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In related news, Director David Brereton sold 800 shares of Tecsys stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.73, for a total transaction of C$26,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 737,772 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$24,147,277.56. This trade represents a 0.11% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,100 shares of company stock valued at $67,521. 17.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders. About Tecsys (Get Free Report) Tecsys Inc is engaged in the development and sale of enterprise supply chain management software for distribution, warehousing, transportation logistics, point-of-use and order management. It also provides related consulting, education and support services. The company serves healthcare systems, services parts, third-party logistics, retail and general wholesale distribution industries. Geographically, it derives a majority of revenue from the United States and also has a presence in Canada and Other Countries. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Tecsys Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tecsys and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. In a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict, Azerbaijans neutrality was tested this morning when Nakhchivan Airport came under drone and missile fire around 11:00 a.m., reportedly launched from Iran. The attack, which caused casualties, marks the first direct spillover of the Iran-Israel-United States war into Azerbaijani territory as the confrontation enters its sixth day. Irans Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking to Azerbaijani media, insisted that Azerbaijan was not the intended target. Yet the strike raises troubling questions - if Azerbaijan has deliberately avoided entanglement in the conflict, why has it now been drawn into its line of fire? Unlike Gulf states, where U.S. military bases provided Iran with a stated rationale for its actions, Azerbaijan hosts no such facilities. This undermines any logical justification for the attack. Beyond violating international law, the strike represents a breach of neighborly relations. Diplomatic history underscores the contradiction. Following the death of Irans former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev personally visited the Iranian embassy in Baku to offer condolences. Meanwhile, the Astara border has served as a humanitarian lifeline: since February 28, more than 1,200 civilians, including 37 foreign nationals, have been evacuated through Azerbaijans territory. Against this backdrop, the attack has understandably fueled public doubt: if Azerbaijans policy is neutral and humanitarian, why should the country, particularly Nakhchivan, be subjected to Iranian strikes? Military expert Adalat Verdiyev told Azernews that Nakhchivans targeting is deliberate and strategically motivated. Iran attacked to sever Azerbaijans connection with Nakhchivan. Azerbaijan has no land connection to the exclave; it is accessible only by air. During the First Karabakh War, Armenia attempted a similar strategy but failed, Verdiyev explained. Nakhchivan also provides Azerbaijan with a land border with Turkiye, amplifying its strategic importance. On March 4, Turkiye itself was targeted by a missile launched from Iranian territory, intercepted over Syrian airspace. Although Iran denied responsibility and claimed Turkiye was not the target, the incident has heightened suspicions about Tehrans intentions. According to Verdiyev, Iran is attempting to shift the battlefield away from its own territory by striking neutral states. Iran is on the verge of defeat against the U.S. and Israel. Rather than confronting U.S. aircraft carriers or Mossad agents directly, Iran is launching drone and missile strikes on neutral countries like Turkiye and Azerbaijan. There is ample photographic and video evidence of the damage. Azerbaijan and Turkiye both have the right to respond, but any retaliation will be carried out at the right time and in the right manner, he said. Irans actions reflect both military desperation and political calculation. With 30-40 million ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Iran, the regime faces internal pressures. Popular discontent, fueled by war fatigue and growing opposition to clerical rule, is intensifying. In this context, targeting Azerbaijan risks further alienating Irans own Azerbaijani population and may prove counterproductive. Verdiyev went further, urging South Azerbaijanis to rise against the clerical regime: The Iranian population must now stand against this dishonorable regime. It should not continue its activities; the state must be dismantled, and those responsible punished, he concluded. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, stressing that it violates international law and contributes to regional instability. It is clear that Azerbaijan seeks peace, not war. The state does not interfere in the internal affairs of others and does not engage in actions contrary to international law. Ensuring stability and peace in the region remains a core priority. The strike on Nakhchivan highlights the fragility of regional security and the risks of conflict spillover. By targeting neutral states, Iran not only undermines its diplomatic standing but also risks provoking retaliatory measures from countries that have so far avoided direct involvement. For Azerbaijan, the incident raises critical questions about the sustainability of its neutrality. While Baku has positioned itself as a humanitarian actor, the attack may force a recalibration of its security posture. The coming days will reveal whether Azerbaijan and Turkiye opt for military retaliation or continue to rely on diplomatic channels to contain escalation. The majority of these are planned during Q1, with a total of 193 off-hire days expected during the first quarter due to drydocking. Given the dramatic escalation in the Middle East over the last couple of days, our first priority is to ensure the safety of our colleagues and crew in the region at the same time as we protect and optimize the overall interests of the company. We have three ships from our Indian-flag fleet in the Arabian Gulf, two on time charter to Indian charterers, and one vessel in dry dock. So far, there have been minimal negative financial impacts, only pertaining to the vessel in dry dock where the nighttime work is suspended. These are solid levels above our all-in cash breakeven of $23,400 per day, but it is reflecting the time charter coverage in the first quarter of 42% of our available days at $44,200 per day. Please see the appendix in this presentation for the full breakdown of the time charter days and levels. The Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.57 per share, representing 100% of our shipping NPAT, exceeding the guidance set by the dividend policy. Looking further on our shipping activities, we are continuing our active drydocking program in 2026, with 13 vessels scheduled for drydocking. We reported a TCE income of $50,300 per available day and $48,100 per calendar day, above our guidance of $47,000 per day for the quarter. The Q4 profit after minority interest was $104 million, equivalent to an EPS of $0.69. Our trading branch, BW Product Services, reported a gross profit of $27 million and a profit after tax of $23 million for the quarter, and we are pleased to report a strong realization of $12 million from our trading activities in Q4, bringing the full-year 2025 realized trading results to $66 million. For Q1 2026, we are guiding on about $54,000 per day fixed for 94% of our available days. Kristian Sorensen: Thank you, Aline, and hi, everyone. Thanks for calling in as we review our fourth quarter financial results and the recent developments, including the Middle East situation, which dramatically escalated last weekend. Let us turn to slide four, please. So, highlights. The beginning of Q4 was marked by lower in the USChina relationship as the reciprocal port tariffs were lifted and postponed until November. In addition, there was a significant build in US propane inventories well above trend levels, driven by strong US production. Over the winter, there were no major disruptions from the usual cold season weather, supporting a wide arbitrage throughout the fourth quarter and into 2026. Moving on to the Q4 results. Story Continues The two vessels on time charter are on hire in accordance with the respective time charter parties. In addition, we have all the vessels on time charter idling outside the Arabian Gulf, assessing the evolving safety and security situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Our next open spot vessel for AG loading could be available the last decade of March, unless we decide to ballast them to the US Gulf, depending on how the security situation and market develop. Like we have experienced in previous rounds of increased tension in the Middle East, the market response is to secure cargoes and ships from alternative loading regions, mainly from the US Gulf. We fixed one vessel yesterday at around $80,000 per day for mid-March loading, while other fixtures in the market are reported around the same level for first-half April loading in Houston. Further, in other subsequent events from the quarter, we recently announced that in January, we secured three-year time charter-out contracts for two VLGCs, the BW Tucano and the BW UG, increasing our full-year 2026 fixed-rate time charter-out coverage to 36% at an average of $43,700 per day. Let us move to the next slide, please. So although the main attention right now is on the impact from the Middle East war, we believe it is worthwhile to remind ourselves of the market fundamentals, as 2025 and the start of 2026 positively surprised the VLGC markets. By the end of 2025, US propane inventories were well above the trend level, at 100 million barrels, compared to 85 million barrels at the end of 2024. This was driven by strong production levels and supported the US export volumes, while domestic consumption remained steady at around 50 million tons per year. As we enter the inventory draw season, US propane inventories declined somewhat but remained well above the levels typically expected at this time of the year. The high inventory levels have contributed to continued downward pressure on US LPG prices and have, together with healthy demand in the Far East, supported a wide arbitrage as reflected in the USFar East price differential. If you look at the graph on the right-hand side, we can see the relationship between the arbitrage and the VLGC spot rates. A wide arbitrage usually allows for higher willingness to pay for shipping, something that has been the case in recent months. In addition to commercial drivers, such as the USFar East arbitrage, other geopolitical events and infrastructure expansions have also contributed to a strong market in recent months. Late October, for instance, the US and China agreed to a trade truce, paving the way for a revived USChina LPG trade. And further into January, we have also seen the Nederland terminal in the US Gulf increasing its number of VLGC loadings after commissioning the terminal expansion in 2025. And lastly, before the armed conflict commenced on Saturday in the Middle East, the increased tension in the region led to market participants fixing vessels further out in time than what they normally would have, creating a shortage of available vessels, ultimately pushing up spot rates. In addition to the factors we discussed on this page pertaining to the exports of LPG, it is also important to look at how the developments in the Asian import markets are shaping the LPG trade dynamics under the normal market circumstances. Next slide, please. On this slide, we can see how trade flows responded to several major disruptions during 2025, with trade tensions between the US and China being among the most significant during the year. Chinese imports on VLGCs from North America and the Middle East fell by 3% in 2025 compared to the year before. This number is, however, heavily impacted by a few months during 2025 where the trade tensions were at their highest and imports from the US were much lower than normal. Towards the end of last year, China also had lower imports than usual. This, however, coincided with Chinese LPG inventories declining. For the beginning of 2026, Chinese LPG imports are again on the rise, and the ongoing Middle East conflict is likely to support more cargoes from the US ending up in China as the Middle East supply is disrupted. As we have highlighted before, incremental LPG production is priced to clear in the international markets, and with the USChina trade war as a backdrop, this produced some interesting trade flows in 2025. For instance, LPG volumes into the Far East declined 2% year over year, while India saw its imports growing by 10% during the same period, driven by higher cargo flows from the US, increasing the ton-mile compared to the traditional sourcing of LPG from the Middle East. India is a market of growing importance for LPG, with about 10%, equaling 2 million tons, of Indian LPG imports contracted from the US for 2026. We also see Indian government subsidies continue supporting retail demand, and new pipeline infrastructure is expected to further improve inland distribution. Another region that saw an increase in import volumes from North America in 2025 was Southeast Asia. This region has historically imported most of its LPG from the Middle East; however, the trade war shifting more of the Middle East volumes to the Far East increased volumes from North America found their way to Southeast Asia last year. As long as the Middle East tension is halting LPG exports from the region, we anticipate more US volumes flowing to the markets east of Suez, which is supportive for freight in the short term. Over the longer term, however, vessels that have traditionally loaded in the Middle East are likely to see cargoes from the US, which could place downward pressure on the rate structure for US-loading VLGCs. Next slide, please. Looking at the two main regions for LPG exports, North America and the Middle East, we will continue seeing export growth in the years ahead, assuming the Middle East situation returns to normal. In the Middle East, the exports from Saudi Arabia and Qatar are disrupted, with duration of these disruptions remaining uncertain at this point in time. Secondly, the raging Middle East war has halted all ships passing in and out of the Arabian Gulf, which would have a dramatic impact on Middle East exports short term. It remains to be seen how long the large energy markets in Asia can accept their supply of hydrocarbons being choked. The US exporters probably have some slack and room for optimization as we move into April, but we have limited visibility at the moment. Anyhow, it is obviously not enough to replace the shortfall of volumes from the Middle East in the medium term. If we look through the current fluid and dramatic situation, Saudi Aramco has now started oil production from the Jafura field, with gas output expected towards the end of this year. Furthermore, the first phase of Qatar's North Field expansions is expected to come online in Q4. In the US, the Permian crude oil production continues to yield more NGLs per barrel of oil produced. In addition to this, more LPG export infrastructure is coming online, enabling continued growth in exports. In sum, we expect the larger North American region to grow its exports in the mid-single digits over the coming years, while Middle East LPG exports are expected to grow in the high single digits. Next slide, please. And let us take a look at the Panama Canal, which continues to play an important role for the VLGC markets. Throughout 2025, the Canal's Neo-Panamax locks frequently saw utilization close to its max capacity, often driven by increased transits from container vessels. This fueled volatility in transit fees and waiting time, which in turn continues to divert VLGCs around South Africa in order to timely reach their destinations. The Middle East situation may increase the traffic in the Panama Canal in the short term as market participants rush to secure cargo and shipping capacity from the US. While in the coming years, we expect usage of the Panama Canal to remain high. An important driver for this is growth in several shipping segments that, to a large extent, are being built for increased exports out of the US. This includes VLGCs, of course, but also very large ethane carriers and LNG vessels. Now, it is important to highlight that not all VLGCs and LNG carriers will service the US exports exclusively. They will also be shipping volumes out of the Middle East and other places, and some volumes out of the US will not be sailing through Panama. But regardless, considering the limited capacity of the canal to handle additional transits, we will likely continue to see VLGCs sailing around South Africa in the foreseeable future. Let us take a look at the current fleet and the orderbook. We can see that the fleet has grown in the last three months and now stands at 421 VLGCs on the water. The orderbook is currently at 105 VLGCs under construction, with delivery stretching all the way to 2028. We have seen some new orders for newbuildings this year; the contracting remains modest compared to the levels seen in recent years. While we expect more newbuildings to be delivered going forward, it is also worthwhile to keep in mind that 10% of the fleet is older than 25 years of age. So to sum up, the underlying fundamentals of the VLGC market are robust in the medium term, but the serious situation in the Middle East is increasing the volatility and uncertainty. The US Gulf spot rates are so far benefiting from increased demand for cargoes and ships, while the long-term conflict will probably increase the number of VLGCs seeking employment in the US Gulf and putting pressure on the rate sentiments. The US does not have enough production and export capacity to meet the shortfall of the Middle Eastern exports, and we will probably see a rather serious situation unfolding in the consuming markets in Asia unless the exports of hydrocarbons from the Middle East resume rather soon. Assuming the Middle East situation normalizes, the medium-term outlook is underpinned by expanding export infrastructure in the US and increasingly higher NGL content in the Permian oil production. At the same time, new gas projects are expected to support LPG exports out of the Middle East in the coming years. As mentioned, the VLGC fleet is now at 421 ships. The orderbook is relatively large, and the inefficiencies in the VLGC market will define how the orderbook will be absorbed. Firstly, the Neo-Panamax locks in the Panama Canal are operated at or near full capacity, and growth in several shipping segments linked to increased US exports likely continues to divert VLGCs around South Africa. Secondly, the trade pattern will play a vital role in how much shipping capacity is needed, and we have seen new long-haul cargo flows from the US into markets east of Suez. And thirdly, if you envisage a normalization in the Middle East involving 11 million tons of Iranian LPG exports being shipped on compliant vessels rather than the shadow fleet, which currently counts about 50 VLGCs, you will have a rather bullish outlook, pretty similar to how it would play out in the VLCC tankers market. Finally, looking at the paper market at the moment, it is pricing itself around $85,000 per day for the rest of the Ras TanuraChiba benchmark leg, although the liquidity remains limited. That concludes our market segments. To you, Samantha. Samantha Xu: Thank you, Kristian, and hello, everyone. Thank you for being here with us today. I will start with our shipping performance. 2025 has been a quarter that we deliver above the guidance, with a TCE of $48,100 per calendar day, or $50,300 per available day. The fleet utilization was at 94% after deducting technical off-hire and waiting time. Delivering this healthy result in a market full of uncertainties is a strong testament to our commercial strategy, which builds on healthy time charters and FFAs concluded during active and strong markets. Such protection provides stability and support when spot markets come under pressure, as we have witnessed in this quarter. In Q4, the time charter portfolio was 44%, out of which 33% was fixed-rate time charters. Looking ahead for Q1 2026, we have fixed 94% of the available fleet days at an average rate of about $54,000 per day. This also includes index-linked time charter contracts, which could share some spot market upside when the market becomes stronger. For full-year 2026, we have secured 40% of our portfolio with fixed-rate time charters and FFA hedges, at $43,747.90 per day. Altogether, our time charter-out portfolio is expected to generate around million. Although the level of rates appears to be slightly lower than 2025, it continues to represent a very healthy level of earnings against an all-in cash breakeven of low $20,000. Next slide, please. In Q4, Product Services posted a realized gain of $12 million, reflecting effective risk management in the turbulent market conditions that we experienced. At the quarter end, we reported a $33 million increase in mark-to-market on our cargo position, offset by an $18 million decrease in paper positions. After accounting for G&A costs and other expenses, Product Services reported a net profit after tax of $23 million for the quarter, with net asset value at $53 million at December, creating good dividend capacity. As we highlighted in previous quarters, these mark-to-market movements, which regularly give volatility to P&L, are largely driven by the gradual phasing-in of our multi-year term contracts, as reflected in a volatile market. While the periodic value adjustments are significant, they reflect the delta between the balance sheet dates and will see fluctuations before the positions are realized. We will continue to report our future trading performance, including mark-to-market, via our quarter-end trading result updates. We are pleased to see that the analyst consensus have, in general, included our trading performance. It is also important to note that trading gains and losses are realized across different financial periods; they cannot be extrapolated from past performance, as unrealized positions will vary depending on year-end valuations. The realized trading profit, though, will add to the company's dividend potential and be considered for dividend distribution post year end, along with other factors such as net profit after tax, cash flow, and other commercial considerations. Our trading model is designed to create value by combining cargo, paper, and shipping positions. With that in mind, we would like to remind you that reported net asset value does not include unrealized physical shipping positions of $26 million, based on our internal valuation. In Q4, our average VaR, value at risk, was $3 million, reflecting a well-balanced trading book, including cargo, shipping, and derivatives, even after accounting for the increased term contract volume that is scheduled to start from the end of 2026. Going on to our financial highlights. We reported a net profit after tax of $123 million, including a profit of $31 million from BW LPG India and a $23 million profit from Product Services. Profit attributable to equity holders of the company was $104 million for the quarter, which translates to earnings per share of $0.69 and an annualized earning yield of 21% when compared against our share price at the end of December. We reported a net leverage ratio of 28.4% in Q4, down from 32.7% at the end of 2024. The reduction was mainly due to lower lease liabilities, following the exercise of a purchase option of BW Kizuku and BW Yushi, and principal repayment made during full-year 2025. For Q4, the Board declared a dividend of $0.57 per share, representing a 100% payout of our shipping profit for the quarter, beyond the 75% payout ratio of our shipping profit guided by our dividend policy. The healthy liquidity and positive outlook of the market supported our wish to pay back to our shareholders. For the period end, our balance sheet reported shareholders' equity of $1.9 billion. The annualized return on equity and return on capital employed for Q4 were 26% and 19%, respectively. Our 2025 OpEx concluded at $8,800 per day, a marginal reduction from last year. For 2026, we expect our owned fleet's operating cash breakeven to be about $18,500 and $20,200 for the whole fleet, including time charter vessels. The all-in cash breakeven is estimated to be $23,400, driven primarily by lower lease repayments and a decrease in financing cost. Next slide, please. Finally, let us look at our financing structure and repayment profile. As of end Q4, we maintained a healthy liquidity position of $613 million, consisting of $226 million in cash and $387 million of undrawn credit facilities. This is after voluntary cancellation of a two-ship financing facility, including $36 million repayment and $260 million undrawn revolving facilities. This cancellation reduced our funding cost and level of cash breakeven, further strengthening our financing discipline. Looking ahead, liquidity stays strong, repayment profile remains sustainable, with major repayments starting from 2030. On Product Services, trade finance utilization stood at $182 million, or 23% of available credit line, leaving ample headroom for future trading needs. With that, I would like to conclude my updates. Thank you for listening, and I give it back to you, Aline. Aline Anliker: Thank you, Samantha. Thank you, Kristian. We would now like to open the call for your questions. Please, you can type your questions into the Q&A channel, or you can also click the raise hand button to ask your question verbally. Please note that you have been muted automatically when joining the call; please press unmute before speaking. I would like to start with the verbal questions first before then moving on to the chat. I can see already that Petter has raised his hand. So please proceed, Petter. Petter Haugen: Good afternoon. Thank you. A quick, very difficult question first then. About the Middle East unrest. In terms of the current Iranian volumes, is there any indication that Iran is still exporting LPG, or has that now come to a complete halt? And secondly, are there any convoys now planned for other exporters within the Arabian Gulf? And if so, what is the war-risk premium paid these days? Kristian Sorensen: Thanks, Petter. We do not have the full overview of the exports from Iran under the current circumstances, but there are, let us say, unconfirmed reports that ships are still planned for exporting LPG and being through convoys, basically sailing to China. But we do not know if this is just market rumor or if it is actually a real effect. So, and your second question, Petter, what was that again? Petter Haugen: No, well, the first one was more about the Iranian-specific questions, and the second one was about the convoys, I suppose, then for other sort of legitimate exporters. Kristian Sorensen: Yes. So we do not have any concrete news about convoys being established at the moment. This is something we have seen if you look historically back to when the pirate attacks were peaking and also previous wars in the Middle East. There have been convoys with naval escort vessels established, but that is something we have no firm news about at the moment. Petter Haugen: Understood. And if you were to do the transit here now, is there insurance, or is it possible to get insurance? And what is the war-risk premium paid these days? Kristian Sorensen: As far as we have been informed, you will not get ships insured if you pass into the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment. But this is changing from day to day, Petter, so it is hard to give an exact answer to what would be the case tomorrow. But for the time being, that is something which is difficult to assess. Yes. Petter Haugen: No. So effectively now, the Hormuz is actually closed, for LPG vessels at least. More or less. Kristian Sorensen: As far as we can see, there are no ships on the conventional fleet shuttling in and out of the Arabian Gulf. But again, what is actually happening with the shadow fleet, which is about 50 old ships shuttling between Iran and mainly China, that is unclear. Petter Haugen: Understood. Understood. A quick follow-up on the FFA rates, and to what extent would you think that those rates now quoted, we see that it is pretty similar in terms of day rates out of the US and out of the Middle East. But in the VLCC market, we have seen some numbers which are, well, from what we hear, not particularly relevant, being very high. So now the FFA market is pricing in some $80,000 plus. Is that also a level at which you can fix ships in the TC market these days? Kristian Sorensen: Before the weekend, there were reports about a one-year time charter done in the mid-$50,000s per day. So far this week, with the current situation, we have not heard any discussions about any discussions, and I think the situation is so fluid at the moment, so it is hard to give an assessment on that. But the last one in the market is reportedly in the mid-fifties per day for 12 months. Petter Haugen: Okay. That is helpful, Kristian. I will turn it over. Thank you for taking my questions. Aline Anliker: Thank you, Petter. I have Climent up next. Please, if you unmute yourself. Climent Molins: Hi. Good afternoon, and thank you for taking my questions. Several US LPG projects have come online. You commented on this briefly, but at what utilization was overall US LPG export infra running prior to the war? So, in other words, to what extent is there, let us say, spare capacity to increase volumes out of the US in the short term? Kristian Sorensen: This is a very good question, and we discussed this yesterday at the desk, actually. We believe the US terminals have some slack capacity to export more volumes if they optimize the berthing, which you have seen them do before, for instance by loading VLGCs instead of midsized vessels, so you basically have a more optimal usage of the jetties and the berths. We do not know exactly whether all the midsized vessels can be replaced by VLGCsmost likely notbut probably the US has some slack in their export volumes. It is difficult for us to assess exactly because we do not have enough visibility on the April loadings at the moment, so it is hard for us to say, but we anticipate some slack to be made available for VLGCs. Climent Molins: Makes sense. That is still very helpful. I will turn it over. Thank you. Aline Anliker: Thank you. Next up would be Joy Wu. Joy Wu: Hi. Yes. Thanks. I have two questions. So first thing is I would like to understand on the overall fleet, from what we have known until now, is there any vessel getting because of the Iran situation escalation over the weekend? And also looking forward, let us say two weeks, is there any vessel that is unable to detour to avoid the high-risk waters as far as you are aware, or is there any so-called crisis management that has been put in place for all the fleet nearby the risky waters? Yes. This is my first question. Kristian Sorensen: If I understand you, you are asking if ships can be diverted from loading in the Middle East. Is that your question? Joy Wu: Yes. Kristian Sorensen: Of course, the ships which have not yet entered the Arabian Gulf and are outside in the Indian Ocean, for instance, they can always start ballasting towards the US Gulf or other loading areas to seek employment. This is basically down to the decision made for every single vessel in the region which is not inside the Arabian Gulf. It depends: if the ships are on time charter, it is up to the charterers to decide where they want to employ the ships. If it is part of the spot fleet, the one I mentioned, our first ship which could be available for a spot cargo out of the Middle East is towards March. But, of course, if the situation is as serious as it is now, we will rather ballast the ship to the US Gulf to employ the ship, if that makes sense. Joy Wu: Yes. Thanks. And sorry to, on top of that, can I just confirm there is no vessel currently sort of stuck in that risky region near Iran? Kristian Sorensen: Are you thinking of our fleet or the VLGC fleet in general? Joy Wu: Your fleet, including all the so-called managed fleet, per se. Kristian Sorensen: As mentioned in our highlights, we have two ships from our Indian-flag fleet on time charter to Indian charterers, which are in the Arabian Gulf, still on time charter, and we have one vessel in dry dock in the region, also Indian-flagged. You will see that also being mentioned in the highlights page, slide four. Joy Wu: Okay. Got it. But do we see any serious coming up concerning these threethat two actually, one in dry dock, one is in the risky zone, sort of? Do we foresee any financial impact or any drastic negative developments to these three vessels? Kristian Sorensen: So far, there is minimal negative financial impacts only due to a slight delay in the drydocking of the ship in dry dock, and we do not have any threats to our ships or crew at the moment. So there are no direct threats, but it is an overall view on the market and the situation that is making us avoid the transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Joy Wu: Okay. Thanks. Aline Anliker: Thank you, Joy. Let us move on to John Dixon first before we then have Abhishek. Please, John, go ahead and unmute yourself. John Dixon: Hello, Kristian. Samantha. How are you doing this morning? Kristian Sorensen: Well, I guess I am here. How are you? John Dixon: Kristian, I do have a question. So I have listened to Samantha for a little while, a couple quarters, and relating to the trading profit that would be eligible for dividend distribution. Is that included in your current dividends, or are you planning on having your Board review that later in the year for dividend distribution? I am just curious to see if I can learn a little bit more how that is considered and when you are likely to have that be a part of your dividend distribution. Samantha Xu: Thanks for the question, John. That is a very good one, and also for following up our previous quarter earnings as well. Indeed, as we mentioned, Product Servicesbasically their realized trading resultwill build on our dividend capacity, and then we would like to look at it to declare once a year post year end. So specifically for Q4 2025, the $0.57 per share dividend declared by the Board is only 100% shipping NPAT; it does not include any contributions from Product Services. However, the Product Services Board has already reviewed the proposal and also approved the dividend proposal for Product Services for 2025, and the approved dividend will subsequently be considered in the future quarters within 2026 and distributed to the shareholders accordingly. John Dixon: Okay. So that basically would be distributed on a quarterly basis throughout the remainder of the year. Is that what I am understanding? Samantha Xu: No. It would be forming the overall company dividend capacity. You can imagine that we will have a bigger base for considering the dividend distribution for the upcoming quarters. John Dixon: Okay. Alright. I understand that now. Thank you, Samantha. I appreciate the explanation. Samantha Xu: Thanks, John. Aline Anliker: Thanks, John. Next up, we have Abhishek. Please. Abhishek: Hi. Good evening. I have two questions. One, you mentioned that there are three ships which are stuck in the conflict zone. May I know the name of these three ships? And second, last year you raised borrowing for acquisition of new ships, basically new vessels in India. So, I mean, as per presentation also, we can see that India is a high-growth market for you. So do you plan any further new acquisition of fleet in India this year? Kristian Sorensen: Thank you for the questions. The ships are BW Element, BW Elventier, and BW Loyalty from the Indian-flag fleets. When it comes to further expansion of the Indian-flag fleet, that is something we are considering. It depends also on the employment that we see and where we can employ our ships most efficiently to ensure solid and robust shareholder value creation. So it is definitely something we are considering, but it remains to be seen if we decide to do so. Abhishek: Okay. Thanks. Yes. Aline Anliker: Thank you. Let us move on to some questions from the chat. We have a question posed by Kevin: Is there an option to delay drydocking to take advantage of current high charter rates? Kristian Sorensen: This is something we are always considering. It should be said that these immediate spikes that we experience now, for instance, are difficult to plan for, and these drydockings have to take place within a certain time. We try to optimize depending on the market view and so on, but it also needs to fit into the commercial program, and of course we also need to have available space at the docking yards. So the question is: yes, we try to plan around this. Usually, the first quarter is the weakest quarter of the year. If you look back in time, there have been several years where the rates are softening considerably in January, February. This was not the case this time. But of course we plan around optimizing the fleet positioning so that we can hopefully have all the vessels in position at the best point in time of the cycle in the market. Aline Anliker: Thanks, Kristian. Another question from the chat: Has the current war disruption led to higher long-term charter rates? Kristian Sorensen: So far, we have not seen that, and again, these are very recent developments, so there have not been any serious talks about time charters so far. Aline Anliker: Then another one from Kevin: Have scrapings increased recently, and will that continue or be delayed in 2026 due to the elevated spot rates? Kristian Sorensen: Scrappings, as you allude to, very much depend on the underlying freight. As long as we see the freight market operating at the current levels, we do not really see much scrapping activity, if anything at all. These ships can technically trade for many more years after they turn even 30 years of age. So, technically, if they are well maintained, they can still sail across the seven seas. Aline Anliker: The last one from Kevin: Will the three ships in the Gulf region of conflict be at risk for lower revenue than currently expected? Kristian Sorensen: For the time being, that is not the case. Two of the ships are, like mentioned, on time charter in accordance with their time charter parties, and for the ship in dry dock, we will see when she gets out of the dry dock. We see there are certain needs in the region to employ ships as well. We will see what happens, because the spot market and the freight market is evolving day by day here. But so far, no impact as far as we can see. Aline Anliker: Thank you, Kristian. If you either want to type into the chat or raise your hand, there is still some time for more questions. I see one hand up. Carl, if you would like to unmute yourself. Carl Heine, can you hear us? Carl Heine: Yes. Yes. Can you hear me? Aline Anliker: Yes, we can. Carl Heine: Could you comment a little bit about the capacity expansion in the USEnergy Transfer, Enterprise Product Partners? How I read that it is about 250,000 and 300,000 barrels a day in new export capacity. Probably not all of it will go on VLGC, or we cannot really Kristian Sorensen: We cannot really hear you that well, to be honest. Carl Heine: You cannot hear me? Hello? Explore Africa with fear. Aline Anliker: If you just speak up a bit louder, if that is possible. Carl Heine: Yes. I wanted you to comment on the capacity expansion in the USthe exportsand how many ships you think that will, or how many ships you will need to cover that expansion? Kristian Sorensen: This depends on the trade pattern, like I also mentioned in the presentation, and also how the Panama Canal is congested or not congested in the time ahead. It is a very big difference if the ships are sailing through the Panama Canal to Northeast Asia, or, like we have seen recently, more and more ships sailing around South Africa into India and Asia, which is absorbing more shipping capacity actually than if you sail the milk routes from the US through Panama to Northeast Asia, quick turnaround and back again. I think it is hard on the spot to simulate that exactly, but we can Carl Heine: A highlow number? Kristian Sorensen: Sorry. How many ships? Carl Heine: No, I said you can just provide a high and a low. Kristian Sorensen: Sorry. A high number of ships needed for the exports. Is that what you are asking for? Carl Heine: Yes. You can just give usare you low or high? Kristian Sorensen: Are you talking up until 2028, or is it within this year? Carl Heine: I was thinking first and foremost this year, but I could get both answers, please. Kristian Sorensen: I need to get back to you on that exactly, to be honest, because I do not have that number in front of me. I will get back to you on that when I have looked at the numbers. Carl Heine: But these two projects, when do you think they will come online in '26? Kristian Sorensen: You mean Enterprisethe two Enterprise expansions, right? Carl Heine: Yes, and Energy Transfer. Kristian Sorensen: Energy Transfer is already ramping up as of the beginning of this yearend of last year, beginning of this year. Enterprise is expanding their flex capacity first, and then secondly the LPG-specific capacity, which is later this year. You will see in our previous investor presentation, we have it stacked up on slide number six, is it not? Yes. Aline Anliker: Alright. Thank you. Any more questions before we round up? Aline Anliker: If not, thank you, Kristian. Thank you, Samantha. Hold on. I just see another hand. Okay. Well, okay. We havelet me check. Okay. We have a couple of minutes. So, Choi, if you would like to unmute yourself, please. Joy Wu: Yes. Thanks very much. I will make this quick. So going back to the three vessels, Indian flag, in the risky zone, I could not get the names. I think I heard two names. One is Element, one is Loyalty, and one is the drydocking vessel's name? Kristian Sorensen: Yes. Elventier and Loyalty are the ships' names. Sorry. Element, Elventier, Loyaltythat is the three vessel names. Joy Wu: Okay. Okay. Thanks. Kristian Sorensen: Okay. Thank you. Aline Anliker: Well, thanks a lot to all our key stakeholders for joining us for today's call. Thank you, Kristian. Thank you, Samantha. This will conclude BW LPG Limited's Q4 2025 earnings presentation. The call transcript and the recording will be available on our website shortly, and again, thanks for dialing in. We wish you a good rest of your day and look forward to seeing you again next quarter. Thank you. Should you buy stock in Bwg right now? Before you buy stock in Bwg, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Bwg wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $523,599!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,118,640!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 951% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 194% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 3, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. BW LPG (BWLP) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool A jockey who lives in Co Kildare has been stuck in Bahrain after his flight was cancelled due to intense bombing in the Middle East. Diego Lima has been employed in the country since October, looking after horses during the winter racing season. He works for a sheikh who has horses in both Ireland and Bahrain. He was due to fly home on Sunday March 2, but his flight was cancelled when bombing started in the region the previous day. A US military base in Bahrain was targeted early in Irans response to the bombing of Tehran and the assassination of former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. Mr Lima said he first heard explosions as he was walking around a racetrack that day. I was quite relaxed and I just heard a very loud noise explode like boom. And I heard a noise of a missile very fast. It was very loud and you could feel the ground being quite shaky. I was very scared because it felt like it was very close but it was I think it was 15 kilometres away from me and it was still very strong. An Italian citizen, Mr Lima first came to Ireland in 2005 and is anxious to return to his partner in Athy, Co Kildare, who has been worried for his safety. He is continuing to look after the horses as he awaits further information on how he may return home. The first day was very, very hard because everyone didnt know what happened, and after that people have started to relax as they understand, he said. Asked about when he might be able to return home, he said: I have no idea because we never know when they might come attacking again. Some attacks are in the morning, during the day, in the middle of the night maybe two or three times every day. He first believed he would be able to get home after four or five days but uncertainty has grown. Now people tell me maybe 10 days, or two weeks. I just wait for it to open because I still have my ticket. Mr Lima, who said he can often see trails of missiles overhead, added: I just hope it does not get worse. It all depends what happens next. Ideally . . . Jails aren't built for aesthetics and, within reason, there should be a punitive aspect to a stay in lockup . . . Meanwhile, this newspaper quote mostly makes our 12th & Oak betters seem ridiculous . . . "At first glance, some City Council members drew parallels between ICE facilities or warehouses and the citys own, new $25 million temporary city jail now under construction in the East Bottoms." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KC officials worry: City's new temporary jail 'looks like an ICE detention center' Weeks after Kansas City publicly pushed back against the possibility of turning a local warehouse into a federal immigration jail, city officials are looking more critically at their own jail project. Skip the paywall and read by way of Internet archive or public library card. Debate over local lockup is back on the table according to out-of-work newsies on Substack . . . The government may yet acquire the warehouse through eminent domain . . . Platform Ventures principals, Ryan Anderson, did not deny that the warehouse on the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base might still be in play. In response to a message shed sent him inquiring whether he was working with the government, Anderson wrote her, You do not work with the government on condemnation. If the government desires a property enough to condemn, private and municipal parties have no say in the matter. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . A glimpse at news from from around the metro regarding police action, court cases, mugshots and, as always, community outreach. Check TKC news gathering . . . Man Charged in Liberty Memorial Explosives Case Arrested March 3 on Independence Boulevard - Northeast News Northeast News Staff A man now charged with leaving explosive devices near the Liberty Memorial was arrested Wednesday afternoon in a parking lot on Independence Boulevard - an arrest witnessed firsthand by staff members at the Northeast News. Authorities later confirmed the suspect as Owen I. Family devastated after no charges brought forth in baby boy's fentanyl death The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said it will not be pressing charges in Tru's case against the father or the other woman. 'Chunky Dunker' gets nearly 6 years in prison after police find rifle, meth at his feet A man known as 'Chunky Dunker' will spend nearly 6 years in prison after police found a rifle and meth at his feet. Civil lawsuit filed in Jackson County Court against martial arts instructor charged with child sex crimes A man who ran several Taekwondo academies in the Kansas City metro area is being sued by two former female students who allege Se Chun Pak sexually abused them. Independence hit-and-run victim describes frightful experience Independence Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver responsible for a crash that sent a grandmother to the hospital last week. Jackson County sheriff names temporary replacements as detention center director resigns Diana Knapp, director of the Jackson County Detention Center, put in her resignation Sunday, just weeks before the opening of the county's new jail. Inspector General finds nearly $800k in Kansas Medicaid fraud - The Sentinel The Kansas Attorney General's Office says its Inspector General found multiple variations of Medicaid fraud. Man charged after crews find explosives in trash can near Liberty Memorial A Richmond, California, man has been charged with leaving a bag filled with 20 "M" explosive devices in a trash can last week near the Liberty Memorial. Man charged in 2021 Independence deadly shooting of teenage girl A Kansas City man is facing charges in connection to a 2021 Independence deadly shooting of a 16-year-old girl. Argument over stolen vehicle turns deadly - Kansas City man charged with murder A Kansas City man has been charged with murder after a shooting over a stolen vehicle. Man arrested, charged after explosives placed in bag near the Liberty Memorial A man has been charged after being accused of placing explosive devices in a trash can near the Liberty Memorial. Nearly 2 years after assault, survivor speaks out after insanity verdict A Missouri mother sexually assaulted inside her own home while her children were upstairs said she is devastated by the outcome of the case. Family pleads for tips in cold case murder of husband, father in Kansas City, Kansas A Kansas family is hoping that someone can come forward with new evidence in the case of a shooting that resulted in the death of a husband and father. Developing . . . Thank you for signing up! Youll soon be getting your Toronto scoop in your inbox. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page. Canadian heavy crude rallied Tuesday as geopolitical risk in the Middle East began reshuffling global barrels in real time. Heavy Western Canadian Select strengthened in Alberta to a discount of $11.80 per barrel to the monthly average of West Texas Intermediate, according to Modern Commodities pricing. That marks the narrowest differential since November and a clear signal that heavy sour alternatives are suddenly back in favor. More from Yahoo Scout How does Iraqi oil disruption affect Canadian crude pricing? How might Strait of Hormuz instability impact heavy crude markets? What makes Western Canadian Select attractive to Asian refiners? Why did Canadian heavy crude rally on Tuesday? The move comes as Iraq begins shutting in output of roughly 1.6 million bpd due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Iraqi grades such as Basrah Heavy are core supply streams for Asian refiners configured to run heavier, higher-sulfur crude. When those barrels are threatened, refiners dont wait around, they start bidding for heavy substitutes. Western Canadian Select is one of the few large-scale heavy grades capable of filling that gap. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough The tightening WCS differential also reflects the broader repricing already visible in global benchmarks. Brents premium to Dubai has blown out as traders price in disruption risk tied to the Persian Gulf. While Dubai-linked barrels remain anchored to Middle East flows, Atlantic Basin pricing is reacting to the possibility that a portion of Gulf supply could be constrained. Canadian heavy just became more relevant. From Alberta, barrels head west through Trans Mountain to the Pacific, putting Canadian crude within reach of Asian refiners that normally source 50% to 70% of their imports from the Gulf If Iraqi shut-ins deepen or Hormuz traffic remains unstable, heavy crude markets are likely to tighten further. The discount compression in Alberta suggests refiners are already repositioning. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you'll always know why the market is moving before everyone else. You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions - and we'll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The drone attack from Iran on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan has proved that the launch of a ballistic missile at Turkiye yesterday was no accident, the war analyst Uzeyir Jafarli told Trend. According to him, Iran is in a panic due to the war. This is causing the Iranian regime to take wrong steps. The presence of President Ilham Aliyev at the Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan, listening to their problems at the highest level, should have prevented this from happening. Some forces in Iran are inclined to spoil relations with Azerbaijan. The expert emphasized that the Iranian leadership has made a mistake on a number of issues. "Iran continues to spoil relations with allied states. Any explanation by the mullah regime regarding the drones launched by Iran into the territory of Nakhchivan is unacceptable. Iran has lost its last support with this step." Another military analyst, Yashar Aydamirov, called this step of Iran a huge mistake. "The Iranian regime launched a drone attack on Nakhchivan. It should explain to Azerbaijan whether the attack was carried out by mistake or intentionally. These wrong decisions by the Iranian mullah regime irritate neighboring states," he noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan prepares necessary retaliatory measures, and these acts of aggression will not remain unanswered, the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan says, Trend reports. "On March 5, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran conducted attacks from Iranian territory using unmanned aerial vehicles against the Nakhchivan International Airport and other civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The technical specifications of the UAVs and the details of the attacks are being investigated. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against civilian infrastructure on the territory of Azerbaijan in the absence of any military necessity. The Islamic Republic of Iran bears the entire responsibility for the incident. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan prepares necessary retaliatory measures to defend the countrys territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the security of civilians and civilian infrastructure. These acts of aggression will not remain unanswered," the statement reads. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The health condition of individuals injured during the drone attack on Nakhchivan International Airport has been disclosed, the Ministry of Health told Trend. The injured were taken to the emergency department of a hospital, where they received the necessary medical care and remain under doctors supervision. Asad Jafarov, born in 1998 and a resident of Nehram settlement in the Babek district, sustained a closed craniocerebral injury and barotrauma as a result of the blast wave. As a consequence, he is experiencing hearing problems. The victim received first aid and is currently undergoing medical examinations to assess his health condition. Another injured individual, Mehdi Asgarov, born in 1996 and a resident of the Julfa district, suffered a shoulder injury during the incident. He was provided with medical assistance, and his treatment is ongoing. Reykhana Valiyeva, born in 1986 and a resident of the city of Nakhchivan, sustained a closed craniocerebral injury and barotrauma due to the blast wave. Her treatment is also continuing. Zulfugar Zulfugarli, born in 1996 and a resident of the city of Nakhchivan, suffered blunt chest trauma as a result of the explosion. He was provided with medical care and remains under treatment. According to doctors, the condition of the injured individuals is stable, and there is no threat to their lives. The Ministry of Health called on the public to rely only on information disseminated through official sources. 14:14 Four persons were injured in an Iranian drone attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, Sahib Abuzarov, head of the emergency medical assistance department of the Nakhchivan hospital, told reporters, Trend reports. According to him, the Nakhchivan Ministry of Health has received an appeal from four people regarding the attack. He said that the patients were provided with primary medical assistance and their condition is stable. "Two of them were diagnosed with head trauma, and the other two with blunt trauma to the back. Currently, each of them has been placed in the relevant departments, and their treatment is continuing," Abuzarov added. 13:51 The identity of one of the injured from the drone strikes on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, launched from Iranian territory, has been uncovered, a source in the Nakhchivan hospital told Trend. "One of the injured is Reyhana Valiyeva, born in 1986. Her condition is currently assessed as moderate to severe. Her examination is continuing at the facility," the source noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation of the attempt to target the Republic of Turkiye with a ballistic missile and an airport in the Republic of Azerbaijan with Iranian drones, the statement of Qatars Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, Trend reports. "These hostile acts constitute a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states within a series of reckless Iranian attacks, and a direct threat to the security and stability of the region," the ministry added. The ministry affirmed that the Islamic Republic of Irans continued opening of new fronts and expansion of the circle of escalation with neighboring countries is extremely dangerous, and called on it to immediately cease these irresponsible policies that undermine the security and stability of the region. The statement also called on Iran to prioritize the interests of the peoples of the region and adhere to the principles of good neighborliness and international law. The ministry emphasized Qatars full solidarity with the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Azerbaijan, and its support for all measures taken to preserve sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The next relocation of former internally displaced persons to Azerbaijan's Aghdam city took place today, and 90 families consisting of 346 people who arrived in the city received keys to their houses, Trend's Karabakh bureau reports. Representatives of the Special Representative Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Aghdam, Fuzuli, and Khojavend districts, as well as the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, attended the ceremony. 13.15 The next group of former internally displaced persons has arrived in Aghdam city, Trend's Karabakh bureau reports. As many as 90 families (346 people) have been relocated to the city at this stage. 07:15 The next group of former internally displaced persons is returning to the city of Aghdam, Trend reports. At this stage, 90 families (346 people) have been resettled to the city of Aghdam. The former IDPs returning to the native village thanked President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani Army, which liberated the lands from occupation. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Embassy of Ukraine is closely monitoring information and reports about the attack by Iranian drones on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, the statement of the embassy says, Trend reports. "Iranian drones have long become an instrument of terror. It is precisely this weapon that the Iranian regime has supplied to Russia, which uses it to strike Ukrainian cities, civilian infrastructure, and peaceful civilians," the statement reads. The embassy cited Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as saying that Ukraine stands with the Iranian people while criticizing the policies of Irans leadership. Ukraine knows well the threat posed by regimes that disregard international law, human dignity, and human life, the embassy added. The embassy also expressed support and solidarity with Azerbaijan and called for greater international cooperation to counter actions that threaten regional and global security. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The world community shouldn't remain indifferent to Iran's attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel wrote on her X page, Trend reports. "This morning in Azerbaijan, we received further evidence that Iran has lost its head. If the Ayatollah regime fires missiles and drones at the next civilian airport in a neighboring country, then its masks have already fallen," she noted. The official pointed out that Israel condemns Iran's drone strike on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport. The incident in Nakhchivan is a clear example of the Iranian regime's aggressive policy. "The octopus head in Tehran is no longer hiding behind proxy organizations. It's directly attacking and spreading chaos. Iran won't stop until the world stops it," she added. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. A civilian aircraft en route from Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to Baku was forced to return mid-flight following a drone attack launched from the territory of Iran against civilian infrastructure in Nakhchivan, the statement of the Prosecutor General Office said, Trend reports. According to the official statement, 2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with remotely controlled explosive warheads carried out an attack on civilian infrastructure facilities in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on March 5. The attack caused significant damage to a civilian infrastructure facility, the administrative building of Nakhchivan International Airport, and deliberately disrupted the operation of airport services. Due to the incident, a civilian aircraft scheduled to operate flight 264 on the Nakhchivan-Baku route was forced to return to Baku while in the air for safety reasons. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Articles in the criminal case opened regarding Iran's drone attack on civil infrastructure in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan have been revealed, Trend reports via the Prosecutor General's Office. "A criminal case has been initiated and a preliminary investigation is underway under Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism) and 270-1.3 (acts threatening aviation safety) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan on the fact of the attack on civilian infrastructure facilities of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic by two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with remotely controlled explosive warheads from the territory of Iran on March 5," the statement noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Centurium Capital Partners, an investor in Chinas Luckin Coffee, is in advanced negotiations to purchase Nestle-owned Blue Bottle Coffee, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Founded in California, US, in 2002, Blue Bottle currently operates cafes in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the US. The company is supported by Nestle, which acquired 68% of Blue Bottle Coffee in 2017 for $425m. The latest negotiations are reportedly in the final stages, although a definitive agreement has not yet been assured. The move comes as Centurium and Luckin have been weighing targets including Blue Bottle, Costa Coffee and Chinas % Arabica operator, according to people familiar with the talks. Meanwhile, several Chinese news outlets, including Jiemian News, have reported that Centurium Capital will acquire Luckin Coffee for a price less than $400m. Seoul Economic Daily reported that Jiemian News described the deal as "symbolically significant in the coffee market," adding that "one side is a global brand in the speciality coffee sector, while the other is a Chinese brand that has distinguished itself through a robust supply chain system and scale." Despite the reports, none of the companies involved has issued public confirmation of a transaction. Nestle began reviewing options for Blue Bottle last year, according to multiple media accounts. The food group also engaged an investment bank to examine potential divestment routes. Blue Bottle currently operates more than 100 cafes across the US and Asia. On the other hand, Centurium-backed Luckin is regarded as the biggest coffee chain in China with 31,000 stores. "Centurium Capital in talks to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee report" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Latvia has condemned the drone attacks on Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic that damaged the airport and injured civilians, Trend reports. Embassy of Latvia in Azerbaijan strongly condemns the drone attacks in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which damaged the airport and injured civilians, violating the principles of international law, the embassy wrote. The embassy added that Latvia stands in solidarity with Azerbaijan and reaffirmed its support for peace and security in the region. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Moldova has condemned the drone strikes carried out on March 5 against civilian infrastructure in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan, Trend reports. In a statement on its X account, the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the attacks resulted in injuries to two civilians and described such actions as unacceptable. Moldova strongly condemns the March 5 drone attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan targeting civilian facilities and injuring two civilians, the statement said. Moldova also expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan and reaffirmed its support for the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing that attacks of this nature violate international law. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas has condemned the drone strikes carried out by Iran in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan, Trend reports. "Irans drone strikes in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan region are totally unacceptable. The attacks are a further escalation by Iran and raise the prospect of the war spreading beyond the Middle East. I have been in touch with Foreign Minister Bayramov to underline the European Unions full solidarity with the government and people of Azerbaijan," Kallas said in an emailed statement to media. On March 5, a drone attack was carried out on Nakhchivan International Airport. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, technical means determined that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran sent four unmanned aerial vehicles toward the Nakhchivan region of Azerbaijan to carry out attacks. One of them was neutralized by units of the Azerbaijani army, while the others targeted civilian infrastructure, including a secondary school building during class hours. Fortunately, the drone aimed at the school did not reach its target and exploded after falling near the school. As a result of the incident, four civilians were injured. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the situation as soon as possible, provide explanations, and take urgent measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a strong protest was lodged with the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The attack launched against the territory of Azerbaijan, targeting civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan region and injuring civilians is yet another grave and unacceptable act of aggression by the Khomeinist Republic of Iran against neighboring countries, the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on his X account, Trend reports. "The attack launched against the territory of Azerbaijan, targeting civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan region and injuring civilians, is yet another grave and unacceptable act of aggression by the Khomeinist Republic of Iran against neighboring countries whose only sin they have in common, is to shine on the world stage through development, prosperity, and openness, making the lives of their people better every day and making Iran appear even darker and blinder under its satanic regime," the post says. The minister added that Azerbaijan is a valued friend and ally of Albania, a nation that has risen high since regaining its independence from the Soviet Union. He emphasized that Azerbaijan's national pride, resilience, and commitment to development, combined with its readiness for moderation and its open arms for cooperation with all, have earned it the respect of many around the world. "The Azerbaijani people, like the people of other countries senselessly targeted in recent days, deserve only respect, security and freedom from intimidation. Every attempt by the evil regime in Tehran to terrorize civilian populations or destabilize peaceful neighboring countries in order to provoke them against the United States and Israels fully justified response to the Khomeinist Republic must not only be condemned with the utmost clarity, but must also serve as yet another reason to fully isolate that regime in every possible way from every possible part of the world," Rama stated. The minister noted that when the civilian infrastructure of other countries is targeted and sovereign borders are violated, the line between aggression and terrorism disappears. "This is why the time has come for all states and institutions that believe in stability, the rule based international order, and peaceful coexistence not merely to distance themselves from a regime that repeatedly exports violence and intimidation beyond its borders, but to agree on what it truly is, a Terrorist State. We stand firmly with Azerbaijan, with its strong leadership and its proud people. The path forward must be clear. Aggression must be isolated and aggressors must be unequivocally condemned. Those who choose the path of violence must face the growing unity of those who choose peace," he concluded. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the drone attack on Nakhchivan, Trend reports. Speaking at an iftar dinner with artisans and entrepreneurs in Ankara, he brought up a phone call with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. In a conversation with my brother President Ilham Aliyev, I expressed my regret and condemned the attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Turkish President said. The head of state also recalled the interception of an Iranian missile near Turkiyes southern borders the previous day. We drew the Iranian sides attention to the value of friendship with Turkiye and called for avoiding mistakes that could harm good-neighborly relations, he noted. According to the Turkish leader, Ankara continues diplomatic efforts to ensure that the bloodshed in the region stops and that the escalation does not take on an irreversible character. I am confident that Turkiye will also emerge successfully from this period of regional turbulence, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Two civilians were injured in drone attacks on Nakhchivan carried out from Iranian territory, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry (MFA) stated, Trend reports. "We firmly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which caused damage to the airport building and resulted in injuries to two civilians," the statement said. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan has demanded that Iran provide clarification regarding the recent short-term drone attack targeting Azerbaijani territory, Trend reports via the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future, the MFA said in an official statement. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Iran's attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan seriously harms neighborliness and mutual trust, the MP Vugar Iskandarov told Trend. He said that relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have been largely preserved thanks to the constructive and normal neighborly policy of the Azerbaijani side. According to him, from time to time, Iran's unfriendly actions towards Azerbaijan have been observed. "Even during the occupation of Azerbaijani lands and in subsequent processes, unfortunately, Iran, which spoke of Islam, neighborliness, brotherhood, and historical roots, demonstrated the opposite in practice. The Iranian side has repeatedly demonstrated an unfriendly attitude towards Azerbaijan. A politician said one thing, the army said another, the generals spoke one way, and the mullahs expressed a different position. In general, we have witnessed insincere and unfriendly attitudes from Iran towards Azerbaijan. Despite this, Azerbaijan has always pursued a policy based on its national interests and doesn't accept disrespect for itself. At the same time, the country has demonstrated a policy based on constructive neighborly relations and mutual trust and has implemented this in practice. Azerbaijan's approach to the events taking place against the backdrop of the recent escalation of tensions between Iran and the U.S. and Israel into a war phase has been quite dignified and balanced," he explained. The MP emphasized that the specific position of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev towards this country also confirms this. "Offering condolences to the state, visiting the embassy of that country in Azerbaijan, and writing words of condolences in the memorial book reveal the official position of Azerbaijan. This position is primarily aimed at maintaining stability, inviting the parties to the dialogue table, and preventing an increase in tension in the region. Azerbaijan has clearly stated that it does not wish for any tension to arise in its neighborhood and is in favor of stability in the region. However, the renewed demonstration of hatred and hostility by the Iranian mullah regime against the backdrop of recent events reveals the real picture of its attitude towards Azerbaijan. The launch of a missile and a drone by Iran towards the Nakhchivan territory of Azerbaijan, near the airport, is a matter of serious concern. Such steps seriously harm neighborliness and mutual trust. State policy should be guided not by emotions but by logic and a well-thought-out political strategy. Unfortunately, the Iranian mullah regime resorts to such steps and openly reveals its attitude towards Azerbaijan," he noted. Iskandarov added that such steps are strongly condemned. The Iranian side should immediately investigate this incident and take appropriate measures against the responsible persons. Such steps directed at Azerbaijan are unacceptable. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Iranian regime is trying to create chaos both within and outside itself, Azerbaijani MP Sahib Aliyev told Trend. "The regime that brought a country with rich natural resources and talented people to this day is unfortunately still in its role. The behavior of those who rule this country, which has almost no normal relations with any of its neighbors, except for Armenia, shows that they act on the principle of "he who goes to hell seeks a companion with him" and try to create chaos in the environment as well as within themselves," he explained. According to him, these steps taken by Iran towards neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan, should not go unanswered. "Since I know my own country well, I am sure that the steps won't remain unanswered. One thing is clear: such actions shorten the life of the regime even more than the missile strikes that rain down on it. I do not know whether they are aware of this or not. We have seen how our President Ilham Aliyev has taken steps and how Azerbaijan has expressed its state position. With this, Azerbaijan has once again shown that it is a supporter of strategic stability, acts in its national interests, and is against the violation of the sovereignty of any country, including Iran, and interference in its internal affairs. Although this country has made consistent and continuous, sometimes shameful, attempts to interfere in our internal affairs. Apparently, as the people say, 'a goshawk digs a grave.' Azerbaijani citizens and our valuable compatriots living in Iran see all this. During the First and Second Karabakh Wars, they saw how the regime acted in a way that was unbecoming and far from the principles of Islam, and they expressed their protest against it. Today, we see how Azerbaijan behaves, stands by international law and norms, and acts responsibly. "They are demonstrating a neighborly position and seeing what is happening in return," he also said. The MP noted that the responsibility for all future events lies with the regime, which is in a state of agony. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. As previously reported, a drone attack was carried out on Nakhchivan International Airport from Iranian territory. Trend presents the video of the drone remnants: On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Michael Fiddelke, the 20-year Target Corp. veteran who stepped up as chief executive officer last month, laid out his style-centric vision to investors on Tuesday, promising to spend $2 billion this year to get the retailers mojo back. During an investor day held in Targets hometown of Minneapolis, Fiddelke acknowledged the retailers recent weaknesses and steered course for a future that builds on the companys reputation for blending low prices with a touch of chic. More from WWD Its a new chapter at Target, the CEO said in his first extended remarks since taking the mantle from Brian Cornell, who became executive chairman. Our plans build on whats always been true about Target when were on our best, he said. Were moving forward with urgency and a firm focus on Targets unique place in American retail. That means delivering the style, design, experience and value consumers crave and delivering the consistent performance we all expect. Fiddelke said the company has already started with new leadership and an updated organizational structure and new directors in the boardroom. Sales trends have improved in recent months showing early signs were on the right path, he said. All of this stems from important work weve done to clearly define the lane we occupy retail. Despite some recent improvement Target cited gains in February sales fourth-quarter results showed just how much work the company has ahead of it. Sales fell 1.5 percent to $30.5 billion for the three months ended Jan. 31, with comparable sales down 3.9 percent in stores and up 1.9 percent online. Net income declined 5.2 percent to $1.05 billion while adjusted operating income was up slightly from a year earlier at $1.5 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were in line with the companys expectations at $2.44 and were 28 cents ahead of the $2.16 analysts projected, according to Yahoo Finance. Target, which plans to open its 2,000th store in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., this month, saw sales fall 1.7 percent to $104.8 billion last year with a 2.6 percent decrease in comparable sales. But the companys presentation painted this as the inflection point and investors were inclined to go along with that notion and sent its stock up 6.7 percent to $120.80 as the growing war in the Middle East sent global markets lower. The retailer forecast sales would grow around 2 percent this year with a small comp sales increase. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov made a phone call to Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani MFA. Moreover, it is reported that during the telephone conversation, concern was expressed about drone attacks on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided his counterpart with detailed information about the drone attacks. He noted that this attack on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a violation of the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increased tension in the region. The Azerbaijani side was informed that Iran should provide clarifications and explanations regarding the attack as soon as possible and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The drone attack on Nakhchivan International Airport and other civilian sites carried out by Iranian armed forces is a clear manifestation of hostility toward Azerbaijan, reflecting a deliberate and planned provocation by the Tehran regime, Sabina Salmanova, Member of the Parliament Committee on Defense, Security, and Anti-Corruption, told Trend. "This act is no longer an isolated incident but a conscious strategy by Iran. The regime has now 'torn off all its masks,' confronting Azerbaijan despite years of restraint, friendly neighborly policies, and open diplomatic engagement," she said. Salmanova highlighted that Iran has consistently engaged in a duplicitous strategy focused on destabilizing the region. For years, the Azerbaijani state has adhered to mutual respect and non-interference in neighborly relations. Official Baku has repeatedly emphasized that its territory has never been and will never be used against Iran. President Ilham Aliyev has consistently expressed this position and reinforced it through concrete actions. Following incidents in Iran, the head of state demonstrated a humanitarian stance, offering condolences to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other victims and leaving heartfelt words in the condolence book at Irans embassy in Baku. In this context, the drone attack from Iranian territory violates neither diplomatic logic nor international law. The breach of state borders, targeting of civilian infrastructure, and endangerment of human lives are explicit actions against Azerbaijans sovereignty, she added. The MP further emphasized Azerbaijans right to respond. Our state prioritizes security, territorial integrity, and the lives of its citizens above all. Azerbaijan retains the right to take appropriate countermeasures, which is protected under international law. While the country seeks stability in the region, no one can engage in threats or coercion toward us. Those who attempt provocations should understand that Azerbaijan is no longer the same state. Following the historic victory in the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan has demonstrated firm military and political resolve and remains resolute on national security issues. Any breach of our red lines will have inevitable consequences. Azerbaijan is prepared to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and these attacks will not go unanswered, she said. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The drone attack carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the international airport of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and other civilian infrastructure has caused serious concern and strong outrage among members of the New Azerbaijan Party, as well as the broader Azerbaijani public, the party's Central Office stated, Trend reports. According to the statement, the provocative act contradicts the spirit of interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Iran as well as the norms of international law and serves to escalate military-political tensions in the region. The independent Azerbaijani state, which has created new realities by restoring its territorial integrity and full sovereignty, has always remained committed to the principle of good neighborliness. Today, our countrys constructive policy and peace diplomacy, implemented with consideration of national interests and global challenges, aim to build trust within the framework of reliable security and multifaceted cooperation in the region. At the same time, Azerbaijan, as the leading state of the South Caucasus, continues to strengthen its military-strategic potential and is capable of preventing any threats directed against national and regional security. We strongly condemn this act of aggression by the neighboring Iranian state and demand that it apologize to the Azerbaijani people and unequivocally put an end to biased propaganda and all provocative attempts against our country, the statement said. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Saudi Arabia condemns Iran's attacks with unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) against Azerbaijan, the statement of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, Trend reports. The statement noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns Iran's attempts to target Turkiye and Azerbaijan. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Threats to Azerbaijan's security and the lives of its citizens will be addressed, Member of the Azerbaijani Parliament's Committee on Foreign and Interparliamentary Relations, MP Elchin Mirzabayli, told Trend. "The drone strike by the Iranian Armed Forces on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan should be viewed not only as a military incident but also as a clear disrespect for the neighborly relations that have been formed in the region for many years. This step once again reveals how hypocritical and ungrateful the theocratic regime of Iran is, because throughout history, the Azerbaijani state has not pursued a confrontational path in its relations with Iran but has based its relations on the principle of mutual respect and good neighborliness," he explained. The MP highlighted that a key focus of Azerbaijan's foreign policy has consistently been the development of stable and mutually beneficial relationships with its neighboring countries. "Azerbaijan has never posed a threat to Iran or any other state from its territory. On the contrary, official Baku has always taken steps that contribute to maintaining stability in the region and has remained committed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries. This is a clear indication of Azerbaijan's commitment to international law and the fundamental principles of interstate relations," Mirzabayli noted. According to the MP, despite all this, the Iranian side's targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan region, especially the airport used by civilians, raises serious questions. "Such an attack cannot be justified by military necessity or security arguments. A drone attack on civilian infrastructure is unacceptable from the point of view of international humanitarian law, and such steps should be clearly assessed as a terrorist act. Targeting facilities used by civilians is, first of all, an indicator of dangerous and inhumane behavior directed against the civilian population," he pointed out. Mirzabayli added that this incident also raises the question of why Iran targeted Nakhchivan Airport. "The land connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic has been blocked for many years. One of the main reasons for this blockade was the occupation and isolation policy implemented by Armenia in the region, and this policy has been indirectly supported by various regional actors for a long time. As a result, the most stable and operational connection between Nakhchivan and other regions of Azerbaijan is provided precisely through air transport. Therefore, targeting the airport should be assessed as an attempt to paralyze the vital communication line between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan and isolate the region. This tactic is not new to the region. In the 1990s, Armenia used the same strategy when it occupied Azerbaijani territories, trying to keep the country under economic and logistical pressure by targeting transport and communication lines. In this regard, Iran's resort to such a method is a continuation of the blockade and isolation policy previously applied in the region. It seems like a repeat of the previous one," he also said. The MP noted that organizing a drone attack on civilian infrastructure is not a demonstration of military power. "On the contrary, such steps are a clear indication of political and military impotence, as well as cowardice. States with military superiority do not target civilian objects. The shooting down of a civilian airport shows that the goal is not to achieve a military result but to create psychological pressure and disrupt stability. History shows that the forces that took aggressive steps against Azerbaijan eventually faced the grave consequences of their mistakes. Any threat directed against the sovereignty and security of the Azerbaijani state, sooner or later, received an adequate response, and the parties that took these steps regretted it. Official Baku continues to adhere to international law, the territorial integrity of states, and the principles of good neighborliness. However, this doesn't mean that threats to the country's security and the lives of its citizens will remain unanswered. The path to peace and stability in the region lies not through confrontation but through mutual respect and responsible politics. The sooner the 'mullah regime' understands this, the better," he concluded. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The strikes by two Iranian drones on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan today are completely unacceptable, the UK Ambassador, Fergus Auld, wrote on his X account, Trend reports. "The UK strongly condemns any action that threatens the security of Azerbaijan. We stand in full solidarity with Azerbaijan and those affected at this difficult time. The embassy is closely monitoring the developments," he added. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Azerbaijani authorities reveal condition of those injured in drone strike on Nakhchivan airport (PHOTO/VIDEO) (Update) (/) () BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The health condition of individuals injured during the drone attack on Nakhchivan International Airport has been disclosed, the Ministry of Health told Trend. The injured were taken to the emergency department of a hospital, where they received the necessary medical care and remain under doctors supervision. Asad Jafarov, born in 1998 and a resident of Nehram settlement in the Babek district, sustained a closed craniocerebral injury and barotrauma as a result of the blast wave. As a consequence, he is experiencing hearing problems. The victim received first aid and is currently undergoing medical examinations to assess his health condition. Another injured individual, Mehdi Asgarov, born in 1996 and a resident of the Julfa district, suffered a shoulder injury during the incident. He was provided with medical assistance, and his treatment is ongoing. Reykhana Valiyeva, born in 1986 and a resident of the city of Nakhchivan, sustained a closed craniocerebral injury and barotrauma due to the blast wave. Her treatment is also continuing. Zulfugar Zulfugarli, born in 1996 and a resident of the city of Nakhchivan, suffered blunt chest trauma as a result of the explosion. He was provided with medical care and remains under treatment. According to doctors, the condition of the injured individuals is stable, and there is no threat to their lives. The Ministry of Health called on the public to rely only on information disseminated through official sources. 14:14 Four persons were injured in Iranian drone attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, Sahib Abuzarov, head of the emergency medical assistance department of the Nakhchivan hospital, told reporters, Trend reports. According to him, the Nakhchivan Ministry of Health has received an appeal from four people regarding the attack. He said that the patients were provided with primary medical assistance and their condition is stable. "Two of them were diagnosed with head trauma, and the other two with blunt trauma to the back. Currently, each of them has been placed in the relevant departments and their treatment is continuing," Abuzarov added. 13:51 The identity of one of the injured from the drone strikes on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, launched from Iranian territory, has been uncovered, a source in the Nakhchivan hospital told Trend. "One of the injured is Reyhana Valiyeva, born in 1986. Her condition is currently assessed as moderate to severe. Her examination is continuing at the facility," the source noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Prosecutor Generals Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan has revealed the names of individuals injured as a result of an Iranian drone attack on the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, Trend reports, citing the Prosecutor Generals Office. The injured individuals are: - Reyhana Valiyeva, born in 1986; - Zulfugar Zulfugarli, born in 1996; - Mehdi Asgarov, born in 1996. In addition, a passenger waiting to board a flight, Asad Jafarov, born in 1998, was also injured in the incident. Employees on duty at the airport sustained injuries of varying degrees. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Today, Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan. The Iranian state fired unmanned aerial vehicles on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, said President Ilham Aliyev during the meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. The targets of the attack were civilian facilities. The state of Azerbaijan vehemently condemns this ugly act of terror, and those who committed it must be immediately held accountable. Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable, the head of state emphasized. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. We will not tolerate this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan, said President Ilham Aliyev during the meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. Speech by President Ilham Aliyev - Today, Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan. The Iranian state fired unmanned aerial vehicles into the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The targets of the attack were civilian facilities. The Nakhchivan International Airport, its terminal, a school, and other places were subjected to cowardly fire from Iran. The state of Azerbaijan vehemently condemns this ugly act of terror, and those who committed it must be immediately held accountable. Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable. This is not the first time that the Iranian state has committed an act of terror against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. We all remember too well that the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran was subjected to a terrorist act some time ago. A person instructed by the Iranian special services attacked the embassy and committed a bloody act of terror against Azerbaijani citizens. As a result, one citizen was killed and another was seriously injured. I should also note that an unarmed representative of the Azerbaijani special services neutralized the terrorist, who was armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a Molotov cocktail, and an axe. We had no doubt then either that the perpetrator was the Iranian statebecause that act of terror lasted about 40 minutes, both inside and around the embassy. During those 40 minutes, not a single security or police representative approached the embassy. It was clear that this act of terror was masterminded at the highest levels of the Iranian state in order to intimidate Azerbaijan and carry out dirty deeds against Azerbaijan. As you know, Azerbaijan reacted very harshly to the incident at that time. The Embassy of Azerbaijan was evacuated from Iran, and all diplomatic relations were suspended. The Iranian side had to apologize to us and admit its fault. At our insistence, the perpetrator of that terrorist act was handed the most severe punishment. In fact, the Iranian state, which was reluctant to carry out this punishment for a long time and even tried to save the criminal, was forced to execute the terrorist in the presence of Azerbaijans representatives. This time, the response will be the same. We will not put up with this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory measures. The Iranian side has been repeatedly informed, especially after the clashes that took place last year, that the territory of Azerbaijan will not be used against any neighboring state. We will not allow this, just as we have never allowed it to happen to date. True, in the summer of last year and in the period after that, Iran made some unfounded accusations against us. The state-controlled media of Iran were conducting a dirty campaign of slander against Azerbaijan in order to tarnish Azerbaijan and change the sentiments of our compatriots living in Iran. Because they know perfectly well that the independent state of Azerbaijan today is also a place of hope for many Azerbaijanis living in Iran. In other words, their goal was to tarnish us, slander us, and discredit us in the eyes of the public. Because there was no basis for that. Azerbaijan does not and will not participate in operations against Iran either then or now, because this is our position. We have no interest in conducting any operations against neighboring countries, nor does our policy allow it. We are protecting and have protected our territorial integrity. Just as we have put an end to the Armenian occupation, we are ready to show our strength against any evil force, and Iran should not forget this. This act of terror they committed, along with all other ugly factors, is an example of great ingratitude. As soon as the latest events occurred, we sent them a message and expressed our condolences. The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with his counterpart on my instructions. I went to their embassy to express my position and to offer condolences. In fact, no other head of state has visited any Iranian embassy. In other words, not appreciating this, downplaying it, and acting like vile and ungrateful people does not bring honor to anyone. These dishonorable people, those who committed this act of terror against us, will regret it. They should not test our strength. Those who once wanted to test our strength were crushed by the Iron Fist. Todays incident will also produce the same result. Therefore, an action plan should be prepared regarding this issue. All instructions have been given. The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a note of protest will be handed to him, and other diplomatic steps will be taken. Relevant instructions have been given regarding the border. I should also note that I was informed this morning that the deputy foreign minister of Iran called Baku and asked Azerbaijan for help in evacuating the employees of the Iranian embassy who were stranded in Lebanon, because they were unable to do that. I was informed about that. I immediately gave the order to provide assistance and to send a plane. They even said that they were ready to pay for that. I said that it is not necessaryif we do not provide assistance now in such a difficult time, then when should we provide assistance? In return for all this, to strike Nakhchivan in an ugly, cowardly, and shameless manner? This stain will never be erased from their ugly and unsightly face. Therefore, all necessary measures will be taken through diplomatic channels. Our Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and all other special forces have been brought to level-one mobilization and must be ready to conduct any operation. This is all for now. We will inform the Azerbaijani people about the progress of developments. The statement of the Ministry of Defense has already been published in the media. The people of Azerbaijan must be confident that any evil force will have to face our Iron Fist. Chatham Lodging Trust has acquired a portfolio of six Hilton-branded hotels featuring 589 rooms for $92m, equating to approximately $156,000 per room. The properties comprise two Hampton Inn and Suites, two Home2 Suites, and two Homewood Suites by Hilton. They are spread across Effingham (Illinois), Paducah (Kentucky), and Joplin (Missouri). The locations were selected for their proximity to major transport routes and commercial hubs. Over the last 18 months, Chatham sold six hotels with an average age of 25 years for around $100m. The newly acquired hotels have an average age of ten years. Funding for this transaction came from available cash and borrowings on Chathams revolving credit facility. Comparatively, the $92m portfolio posted revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $116 and EBITDA margins of 42% in 2025. Chatham president and CEO Jeffrey Fisher said: We are proud of the job weve done over the past few years repositioning the company for growth. The combination of historically low new supply growth, record amounts of new investments in technology, especially with respect to AI, and reshoring manufacturing back into the US should result in strong, multi-year growth for the lodging industry. Operationally, management expense pressures, particularly with respect to labour costs, are moderating. Furthermore, this accretive acquisition, which equates to an approximate 10% capitalisation rate using 2025 hotel net operating income, will provide further growth in free cash flow, giving us the confidence to boost our dividend by a healthy 11% for 2026. The company has also announced an 11% increase in its quarterly common dividend to $0.10 per share. Chathams board of trustees has declared the quarterly common as well as preferred dividends. The preferred dividend of $0.41406 per preferred share and the common dividend of $0.10 per share will be paid on 15 April 2026 to shareholders registered as of 31 March 2026. In August 2024, Chatham reported a net income of $7.03m for Q2 2024, representing a 24.89% decrease from $9.36m in the same period a year earlier. "Chatham Lodging Trust acquires six Hilton-branded hotels for $92m" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan is not participating in operations against Iran neither previously nor this time and will not do so. Because that is our position, President Ilham Aliyev said during a meeting of the Security Council. The head of state added: We have neither interest in conducting any operations against neighboring countries, nor does our policy allow it. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. These dishonorable people, those who committed this act of terror against us, will regret it. They should not test our strength, said President Ilham Aliyev during the meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. Those who once tried to test our strength were crushed by the Iron Fist; todays incident will have the same result, the head of state emphasized. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. All instructions have been given. The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a note of protest will be handed to him, and other diplomatic steps will be taken, said President Ilham Aliyev during the meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. Relevant instructions have been given regarding the border, the head of state added. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Our Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and all other Special Forces have been brought to full combat readiness level one and must be prepared to carry out any operation, President Ilham Aliyev said during a meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait has strongly condemned Iran for targeting Azerbaijan and Turkiye, Trend reports via the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry. According to the statement, the State of Kuwait firmly denounced Irans actions and described them as a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. The ministry emphasized that Kuwait stands in full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan and supports all measures taken by the two countries to safeguard their sovereignty, security, and stability. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Maka Botchorishvili, Foreign Minister of Georgia, held a phone conversation with Jeyhun Bayramov, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, to discuss the situation that emerged following drone attacks carried out by Iran against Azerbaijan, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan (MFA). During the conversation, Bayramov informed his Georgian counterpart about the drone attacks launched by Iran on March 5 against the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. As a result of the attack, the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport was damaged, and civilians were injured. One of the drones also fell near a school building in Shakarabad village of the Babek district. Bayramov stressed that the attack carried out against the territory of Azerbaijan contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region. The Azerbaijani side has demanded that Iran promptly clarify the circumstances surrounding the attack, provide an explanation, and take urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring. Botchorishvili expressed concern over the incident and underscored the importance of preserving stability and security in the region. The ministers also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest during the phone call. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. I was informed this morning that the deputy foreign minister of Iran called Baku and asked Azerbaijan for help in evacuating the employees of the Iranian embassy who were stranded in Lebanon, said President Ilham Aliyev during the meeting of the Security Council, Trend reports. "I was informed about that. I immediately gave the order to provide assistance and to send a plane. They even said that they were ready to pay for that. I said that it is not necessaryif we do not provide assistance now in such a difficult time, then when should we provide assistance? In return for all this, to strike Nakhchivan in an ugly, cowardly, and shameless manner? This stain will never be erased from their ugly and unsightly face. Therefore, all necessary measures will be taken through diplomatic channels. Our Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and all other special forces have been brought to level-one mobilization and must be ready to conduct any operation. This is all for now," the head of state emphasized. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. France has strongly condemned the drone attacks carried out by Iran on Nakhchivan, describing them as an unacceptable act against Azerbaijans security and territorial integrity, French ambassador to Azerbaijan, Sophie Lagoutte, wrote on her social media account, Trend reports. The ambassador emphasized that she firmly denounces this action, which destabilizes the region and violates international law. "My thoughts and solidarity are with those affected by this incident, especially the four people who were unfortunately injured. I wish them a speedy recovery," she added. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. We condemn Iran's strike on Azerbaijan, which follows its reckless attacks on countries in the Middle East and Europe, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post on his X page, Trend reports. "We condemn Iran's strike on Azerbaijan, which follows its reckless attacks on countries in the Middle East and Europe. There was never any reason for Iranian terrorists to harm Azerbaijan and Ukraine by giving their drones to Russia or other countries where they have caused chaos, murder, and destabilization. Iran's attack on Azerbaijan once again demonstrates that the regime in Tehran is a global threat, not a regional one. And it is not only about Iran but also its terrorist allies, including Russia. All international efforts must be consolidated to neutralize the threats posed by the Iranian regime, provide a chance for normal life for the Iranian people, and restore security and stability in the Middle East and beyond," the post said. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has condemned the drone strikes carried out by Iran on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, stating that the attacks violate Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity, Trend reports via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bayramov discussed the incident during a phone call with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev. The minister emphasized that the attacks, which targeted civilian infrastructure and caused injuries, are unacceptable. The Azerbaijani FM informed the Kazakh side that Azerbaijan expects Iran to clarify the situation, provide an explanation, issue an apology, and take urgent measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Kosherbayev expressed deep concern over the attacks and hoped that the situation would not escalate further. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BEIJING (AP) China has signaled continuity rather than change for its economy, setting a slightly lower target for growth this year in the midst of a property slump and other headwinds at home and growing uncertainty abroad. Premier Li Qiang announced a target of 4.5% to 5% annual growth in his report presented to the opening session of this years meeting of the National Peoples Congress. That compares to actual 5% growth last year and a target of about 5% in the three years before. It's the lowest growth target since 1991. While recognizing our achievements, we are also clear-eyed about the difficulties and challenges we face, Li said, reading much of the 35-page report in a more than hourlong address. Experts say the lower target is in line with longer-term goals that are less focused on high growth rates. GDP targets in recent years have become less important than before because the overarching, and most important political priority has shifted from promoting economic development to so-called high-quality development, said Xin Sun, a senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at Kings College London. The government is striving to balance two goals: reviving the flagging economy by boosting domestic spending, while also furthering leader Xi Jinpings ambitions to build China into a global power in AI, robotics and other advanced technologies and one that is not dependent on the U.S. or others for high-end semiconductors and other components. China faces a grave and complex landscape In its draft budget for 2026, the government also trimmed China's annual increase in defense spending to 7%, down from 7.2% in recent years. The nearly 3,000-member Congress, a largely ceremonial body that endorses policies set by Communist Party leaders, is due to approve the annual report and budget at its closing session next week, along with a five-year plan setting policy priorities until 2030. China is grappling with tariff wars and actual wars. Like much of Asia, it depends heavily on oil and natural gas from the Middle East, and the war in that region has driven up prices and threatened supplies. The report said that free trade is under severe threat, noting rising geopolitical risks. At home, it highlighted an acute imbalance between strong manufacturing supply and weak demand and the challenge of shifting to new drivers of growth. Rarely in many years have we encountered such a grave and complex landscape, where external shocks and challenges were intertwined with numerous domestic difficulties and tough choices, Li said in his report. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Iran's UAV attacks on Azerbaijan, the statement of the ministry says, Trend reports. "We reiterate the need to immediately end attacks targeting third countries in the region and increasing the risk of war spreading. Turkiye will continue to stand by Azerbaijan, as it has always done," the statement noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. For safety reasons, flights to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan will be temporarily redirected to Turkiye's Ighdr Airport, Trend reports. On March 5, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye, Hakan Fidan, called his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, to discuss recent security incidents. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan, during the phone conversation, both ministers expressed strong protest over yesterdays missile attack targeting Turkiye by the Islamic Republic of Iran and todays drone attack against Azerbaijan. The ministers emphasized that such attacks are unacceptable, violate international law, and contribute to rising tensions in the region. They also highlighted the importance of continuing coordination under the framework of a strategic partnership between the two countries. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan has made it crystal clear that it won't let any country, including outsiders, use its territory as a launching pad for attacks, and it has shown this in action. However, the attack by the Iranian Armed Forces on the Nakhchivan region with drones is a striking illustration of the hypocrisy and ingratitude of the clerical regime. On March 5 (today), the Iranian Armed Forces fired drones at Nakhchivan. As per usual, the clerical regime keeps mum and acts as though nothing is amiss. However, the fact that one of the drones fell on the Nakhchivan airport shows that the attack was deliberate, with the main goal being to disable the airport. By even trampling on its "believed" principles, the regime is trying to prevent its neighbor from living peacefully. This demonstrates how full of hatred it is, talking a good game about neighborly relations while being dead set against any real principles and human values. Azerbaijan has always remained loyal to the principle of good neighborliness and has stated that it will never allow Iran or any other country to create threats from its territory. Irans reaction, it seems, is less about neighborly kindness and more about biting the hand that feeds. After the first attack by the US and Israel against Iran on February 28, the president of Azerbaijan, who immediately expressed condolences for the death of Iran's Supreme Leader and visited the embassy, was also planning to send humanitarian aid to Iran. Azerbaijan continued to remain loyal to the policy of good neighborliness both in theory and practice. However, Iran started to undermine this policy by ignoring it. Azerbaijan has never pursued hypocritical policies towards its neighboring countries; on the contrary, it has always supported its neighbors in times of hardship. Iran, on the other hand, has always tried to form negative opinions about its neighbors and use them for its own interests. While Azerbaijan was developing positive relations with Iran, the clerical regime targeted a civilian object and peaceful citizens in the Nakhchivan region. This should be regarded as an act of terrorism. The clerical regime, inclined to exterminate its citizens under the name of religion through various methods, carrying out a drone attack on civilian infrastructure, shows its weakness and cowardice. Azerbaijan has always made the aggressors regret their actions and will continue to do so. Iran, as a result of its helplessness, will both regret and must answer for its actions. Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, while neighboring countries have often been referred to as "friends and brothers," Iran has sought to pull the strings and steer these relationships to suit its own agenda. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has expressed concern over drone attacks on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan during a phone conversation with Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov today, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, Trend reports. The Iranian minister said that the Iranian side and the military have launched an investigation into this incident. He wished a speedy recovery to the injured civilians. Bayramov strongly condemned the attacks carried out by Iran and expressed his firm protest against them. He emphasized that these attacks on the territory of Azerbaijan contradict the norms and principles of international law and serve to increase tension in the region. The Azerbaijani minister highlighted that Azerbaijan expects an apology from Iran regarding the attacks, an explanation regarding the results of the investigation in a short period of time, and the necessary measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan has issued a statement on the decision to suspend the movement of trucks across the state border with Iran, Trend reports. "As reported, on March 5, attacks were carried out on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of Iran with drones targeting civilian infrastructure. The International Airport of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a school, and other areas were fired upon by Iran. Several civilians were injured as a result of the attacks, and the airport terminal building was damaged. Taking into account the current situation resulting from these attacks, which contradict the norms and principles of international law, the Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a relevant decision to temporarily completely suspend the movement of trucks (including the movement of trucks for transit purposes) from all border crossing points on the Azerbaijani-Iranian state border," the statement said. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Germany firmly condemns the Iranian drone attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, the German embassy wrote on its X page, Trend reports. "We firmly condemn the Iranian drone strikes today in Nakhchivan and any actions that threaten Azerbaijans security. We stand in solidarity with Azerbaijan and those affected. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and further developments," the embassy noted. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. The Turkish President condemned the drone attack carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, expressing support for the brotherly Azerbaijani people. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the phone call and for his stance. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan expects Iran to clarify the details of a drone attack and provide the relevant explanation from Iran in a short period of time, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov said during a phone conversation with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Ishaq Dar today, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, Trend reports. During the conversation, the Pakistani side expressed its deep concern regarding the attack. The conversation highlighted the unacceptability of such steps, which can lead to a wide escalation in the region. The ministers also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest between their countries. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Iranian drone attacks on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan during a phone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov today, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, Trend reports. He highlighted that this step contradicts the sovereignty of Azerbaijan and the norms and principles of international law. The Israeli side noted its unacceptability and expressed solidarity with the country. Additionally, the conversation held an exchange of views on the growing security risks in the region, especially military tensions and their impact on regional stability. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, at the initiative of the Georgian side, a telephone conversation took place between the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, and the Minister of Defense of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Chikovani, Trend reports via the ministry. The parties held a detailed exchange of views on relations between our countries, the current situation in the region, and security issues. During the telephone conversation, the prospects for the development of bilateral military cooperation between the two countries were also discussed. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on 5 March [Getty Images] China has cut its annual economic growth target to a range of 4.5%-5%, the lowest expansion goal since 1991 as it grapples with challenges both at home and abroad. It is the first time the target has been lowered since it was cut to "around 5%" in 2023. A target was not set in 2020 due to the pandemic. The details were released during China's biggest political gathering, known as the "two sessions", alongside the release of some details of the 15th Five Year Plan for the world's second largest economy. Beijing aims to reshape its economy as it faces issues like weak consumption, a shrinking population, an ongoing property crisis, global trade tensions and an energy crunch due to the Iran war. One China analyst told the BBC that the lower target gives China "more room to manage the economy" without being forced into making huge financial commitments just to hit a precise goal. "China has used flexible targets before, particularly during the pandemic, but it's not the norm," Jason Bedford from the East Asian Institute research group added. The two sessions event, which began on Wednesday and usually runs for at least a week, brings the country's leaders together for back-to-back meetings. Details of China's gross domestic growth (GDP) target and its objectives under its latest Five Year Plan were included in a 46-page report published by Premier Li Qiang, seen by the BBC. The full text of the plan, which will outline China's economic development objectives to 2030, will be voted on during the closing day of the gathering. It is expected to be released by state media one or two days later. Li told delegates that the Five Year Plan will include investments in innovation, high-tech industries, scientific research and more efforts to boost household consumption. His comments underline Beijing's concerns that weak domestic consumption makes the country too reliant on exports, as well as highlighting its ambitions to upgrade the country's manufacturing industries. The report outlines plans for more than 100 major projects over the next five years to expand China's industrial capacity, with a focus on science and technology, transportation and energy. Beijing also made clear its ambitions to be a global technological powerhouse, with plans to roll out artificial intelligence (AI) tools across key industries. China aims to lead a green energy push, reducing carbon emissions and improving environmental protection, Li wrote. The country will also build a "childbirth-friendly society" as it addresses concerns over employment, education and healthcare, the report said. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. During the call, the President of Latvia strongly condemned the attack carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Azerbaijani territory. Edgars Rinkevics expressed solidarity with the Azerbaijani state and people regarding the incident and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack. President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Latvian counterpart for the call and for the position expressed. The two leaders also exchanged views on the current state of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia, as well as on future contacts and prospects for cooperation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. France condemns the Iranian drone attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport, the French Foreign Ministry's publication on its X page says, Trend reports. "France condemns in the strongest terms the attack by Iranian drones on Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan this morning. France wishes a speedy recovery to the four people injured in the attack," the publication emphasized. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, Leyla Aliyeva visited the Baku City Narcology Center, Trend reports. Leyla Aliyeva was provided with detailed information regarding the center's operations and history. The Baku City Narcology Center, established in 1980, was the first specialized narcological medical institution in Azerbaijan. It originally operated as the Baku City Narcology Dispensary. At that time, when narcology was separated from psychiatry as part of the broader fight against alcoholism, the establishment of independent narcological institutions began, with this center being the first to open in the country. The facility underwent a major renovation by the Ministry of Health in 2012. Following a decree by the Ministry of Health dated August 11, 2020, the "Baku City Narcology Center" was reorganized as a public legal entity. The center currently consists of 16 rooms, including registration, reception, seven physician offices, a manipulation room, and six administrative offices. Serving all 12 districts of the capital, the center employs 18 doctors, 25 nurses, and 27 other staff members. It has the capacity to serve between 200 and 300 citizens daily. The center currently has 17,557 people registered in the capital. Of these, 14,753 are registered for mental and behavioral disorders resulting from drug use, 1,416 for alcohol-related disorders, and 1,388 for disorders resulting from toxic substance use. On average, 20 people suffering from drug addiction apply to the center daily, while applications for alcoholism are less frequent. Acute cases of alcoholism are referred to inpatient care, while mild cases receive outpatient treatment at the center. Additionally, the center conducts screenings for Syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis B and C. A new location has been allocated for the center, and it will be relocated there in the near future. During her visit, Leyla Aliyeva toured the registration, reception, physician, head nurse, and manipulation rooms. She spoke with the medical personnel and joined them for photographs. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. Shavkat Mirziyoyev strongly condemned the attacks on Azerbaijan using unmanned aerial vehicles by Iran, expressed Uzbekistan's full support for Azerbaijan, and underscored that his country has always stood by Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev thanked President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for the phone call and the support shown. The Azerbaijani President briefed the President of Uzbekistan on the incident, noting that the situation is currently under full control. During the telephone conversation, the leaders also discussed prospects for the further development of friendly, fraternal, and allied relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The heads of state reaffirmed that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan will continue to support each other. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. On March 5, 2026, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Jeenbek Kulubayev, held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the phone call, Bayramov provided detailed information about drone attacks carried out by Iran. He stated that the attack on the territory of Azerbaijan violates the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region. The minister stressed that Azerbaijan demands an apology from Iran, clarification regarding the incident, and measures to prevent similar cases in the future. In turn, Kulubayev expressed concern over the drone attacks on Azerbaijani territory and declared his countrys solidarity with Azerbaijan. He emphasized that such attacks further escalate tensions in the region. During the conversation, the parties highlighted the importance of preventing further escalation of the current situation in the Middle East, intensifying diplomatic efforts, and adhering to the norms and principles of international law in this context. Kulubayev also thanked Azerbaijan for creating conditions for the transit of Kyrgyz citizens located in Iran through Azerbaijani territory and expressed appreciation for the prompt support provided. During the telephone conversation, the parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. As reported, on March 5, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. During the conversation, Mirziyoyev strongly condemned Irans drone attacks against Azerbaijan, expressed Uzbekistans full support for Azerbaijan, and emphasized that his country always stands by Azerbaijan. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Spanish government has strongly condemned Irans recent attacks against Turkiye and Azerbaijan, according a post published on the X account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Trend reports. It said that Irans attacks targeting civilians are completely contrary to international law. Such actions constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and increase the risk of further. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Four civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Today, unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) attacks were carried out from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran targeting the terminal building of the International Airport of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as an area near a school building in the village of Shakarabad, Trend reports. We strongly condemn this deliberate attack targeting civilian objects, which resulted in injuries to civilians, and call on the international community to express its position on this act of terror. Any attack directed against the safety of the civilian population and infrastructure constitutes a gross violation of international law and international humanitarian law, in particular the norms of the Geneva Conventions. Such acts must not be repeated, as they violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, along with the principles of good neighborliness. As the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I would like to emphasize that the protection of the life and health of civilians is among the fundamental obligations incumbent upon all states. It is essential that this incident be promptly and comprehensively investigated in accordance with the requirements of international law, that the circumstances be clarified, that those responsible be held accountable, and that the necessary measures be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future. Respect for the sovereign rights of states and the protection of the civilian population and civilian objects constitute one of the fundamental commitments of every member state under the United Nations Charter. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Pakistan stands firmly with the leadership and people of Azerbaijan and condemns such deplorable actions that risk further escalation and undermine regional peace and stability, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on his X account, Trend reports. "We express our serious concern over the recent attacks on the brotherly country of Azerbaijan. We urge restraint and reiterate the need to de-escalate tensions and pursue dialogue and diplomacy to preserve peace and stability in the region," the post reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. Telephone conversations were held between the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev, and the Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkiye, Army General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and of the Defense Forces of Hungary, General Gabor Borond, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense. The parties held a detailed exchange of views on military cooperation and discussed regional security issues. Regarding attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic by unmanned aerial vehicles from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Chiefs of Staff emphasized that such actions violate international law. In addition, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, General Fayyad bin Hamed Al Rowaily, through his military attache in Azerbaijan, expressed that his country opposes such attacks and is ready to provide necessary support. Colonel General Karim Valiyev thanked his colleagues for their position and support. BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - Chinese autonomous delivery vehicle maker Neolix has suspended daily operations of its driverless vehicles in Abu Dhabi, the company said on Thursday, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been roiled by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the war entered its sixth day, and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. air assault were blocked in Washington. More from Yahoo Scout Why did Neolix suspend operations in Abu Dhabi? Which Chinese autonomous vehicle companies are affected? When will suspended operations likely resume operations? How are other robotaxi firms responding regionally? "At present, autonomous delivery operations in the city have been temporarily suspended," Neolix said in a statement to Reuters. "We will strictly follow the unified arrangements and requirements of the local authorities, and will always place personnel and operational safety as the top priority." The company will remain in "close, around-the-clock" communication with local regulators and partners, and will resume and expand operations as soon as conditions allow, it said. Chinese autonomous driving firms are monitoring the situation as the escalating conflict has unsettled key Middle Eastern hubs. WeRide has suspended its robotaxi fleet in Dubai, while Pony.ai had suspended its on-road testing activities in Doha and Dubai before resuming testing in Doha on Monday. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Nivedita Bhattacharjee) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. On March 5, a telephone conversation took place between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports. During the conversation, the ministers exchanged views on recent regional developments. Both sides expressed concern, emphasized the importance of refraining from actions that could escalate tensions, and stressed the need to ensure stability and security. Bayramov informed his Armenian counterpart about the drone strikes carried out on March 5 in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which damaged civilian infrastructure and injured civilians. The ministers also highlighted the importance of lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and discussed issues of mutual interest. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 4. Azerbaijan is carrying out a safe evacuation of its citizens whose flights were canceled amid the unfolding situation in the Middle East, organizing a special return flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Baku, Trend reports via AZAL. The evacuation is being carrying out to ensure the safe return of Azerbaijani nationals. An AZAL-owned Boeing 787 Dreamliner is expected to land at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in the coming hours. A total of 209 citizens are being brought back to the country on the evacuation flight. AZAL, as the national air carrier, is currently operating flights in a safe and coordinated manner in accordance with procedures determined by the relevant authorities. Additional evacuation flights from other destinations across the Middle East to Baku are planned in the coming days. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the statement of Azerbaijani MFA says, Trend reports. Meanwhile, it is reported that one drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad. "We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians. This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region. We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future. The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented, the statement reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future, the statement of Azerbaijani MFA says, Trend reports. "The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented," the statement said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan is capable of protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and this must be acknowledged by all, Aydin Mirzazade, a member of the parliaments Committee on Defense, Security, and Anti-Corruption, told Trend. Mirzazade stated that at a time when Azerbaijan has been cautious about its relations with Iran, the drone attack on Nakhchivan Airport carried out from Iranian territory is unacceptable and undermines regional stability. Azerbaijan expects Iran to issue an apology and commit to preventing such incidents in the future. I would also like to emphasize that official structures should take into account Azerbaijans right to defend its sovereign rights. Azerbaijan is capable of protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and this must be acknowledged by all, Mirzazade said. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Iran's attack on Azerbaijani territory is an unfriendly step, MP Parvana Valiyeva told Trend. She said that Azerbaijan, which didn't turn its territory into a training ground in military operations against Iran, and expressed condolences over the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, was subjected to Iranian drone strikes today. According to her, when Turkiye was hit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking about the incident, said that "Iran has lost its nerve, launching drones left and right, and wants to take others with it as it goes". "The possible effects of the outbreak of war in the neighborhood were clear from the beginning. One of Azerbaijan's foreign policy priorities is to maintain normal relations with neighbors, the absence of conflicts in neighboring countries, and ensuring stability in the region. Our relations with Iran have also been normal to this day," the MP noted. Valiyeva stressed that the drone strike on Nakhchivan should be strongly condemned. "Our citizens were injured as a result of the strikes. Azerbaijan has the right and power to respond to any attack within its borders. The other side must officially apologize and immediately stop such steps," she added. On March 5, a drone attack took place at the Nakhchivan International Airport. The drone flying from Iranian territory crashed into the airport building and exploded near the secondary school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. Two civilians were injured as a result of the incident. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding Iran clarify the issue in a short time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such cases from recurring in the future. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Dermichilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was conveyed to the Iranian side. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD) at ADA University is pleased to announce the publication of its latest edition of Baku Dialogues, its flagship English-language quarterly policy journal. This issue brings together analytical essays examining the geopolitics of connectivity, Azerbaijans strategic recalibration, and emerging environmental challenges in the Caspian basin, situating these themes within the broader transformation of Eurasia (what its editors call the Silk Road region). The issues first section is titled The Geopolitics of Connectivity: Transformational Harbinger for the Silk Road Region, emphasizing a conceptual overview of how transport corridors, infrastructure integration, and geoeconomic alignment are redefining power configurations across the Silk Road region. In the article Critical Raw Materials and the Reconfiguration of Global Power written by one of the worlds leading experts in the field, the strategic importance of critical resources is examined within the broader context of great power competition and global supply chain restructuring. Connectivity and transit dynamics are further explored in several other contributions. The Corridor Changing Eurasia by former U.S. senior official Eric Rudenshiold analyzes the transformative impact of new transit routes across the continent, while The Zangezur Concept by renowned Bogazici University professor Onur Isci evaluates the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of emerging regional frameworks. The Role of the Middle Corridor in Eurasian Connectivity by an Argentine scholar assesses the growing strategic relevance of the Middle Corridor. Regional political trajectories are addressed by Director of Programs at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), Laura Linderman in Divergent Paths in the South Caucasus, which explores differing development models and foreign policy orientations. Meanwhile, Slipping Out of Old Geopolitics Through TRIPP by Head of the Western Studies Department at the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), Vasif Huseynov discusses how new multilateral mechanisms may transcend traditional geopolitical paradigms. A special focus is placed on Azerbaijans strategic positioning. The Case for Azerbaijans Strategic Recalibration by IDDs own Jahangir Arasli argues for adaptive statecraft amid shifting global dynamics. This edition of Baku Dialogues closes with an article focusing on environmental and regional security concerns. Written by Iranian expert Vali Kaleji and titled The Caspians Declining Water Level: Drivers, Consequences, and Impacts on Littoral States, analyzes the causes and implications of the Caspian Seas declining water levels for coastal states. To read or download individual articles and the full issue, please visit bakudialogues.ada.edu.az. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. A criminal case has been launched over the drone attack on civilian infrastructure in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, the statement of the Prosecutor General's Office says, Trend reports. According to the statement, on March 5, an attack was carried out against civilian infrastructure facilities in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic using two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with remotely controlled explosive warheads from the territory of Iran. The information noted that an initial investigation revealed that one of the drones crashed into the terminal building of the Nakhchivan International Airport, and the other crashed near an educational institution in Shakarabad village, Babek district. As a result of the incident, significant damage was caused to the civilian infrastructure facility, namely the administrative building and operations of the Nakhchivan International Airport, and the airport services were deliberately and illegally disrupted, forcing the civilian aircraft, which was supposed to operate flight number 264 from Nakhchivan to Baku, to return to Baku for safety reasons. In addition, as a result of the incident, four civilians, including Nakhchivan Airport employees, received various degrees of bodily injuries: - Reyhana Valiyeva, born in 1986, - Zulfugar Zulfugarli, born in 1996, - Mehdi Asgarov, born in 1996, and - Asad Jafarov, a passenger waiting to board the plane, born in 1998. The injured were provided with appropriate medical assistance and are currently receiving treatment in the hospital under their supervision. The Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan has initiated a criminal case in connection with the fact under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code and entrusted the investigation department of the Prosecutor General's Office with conducting a preliminary investigation. Currently, the prosecutor's office, together with relevant state bodies, has inspected the scene of the crime, collected material evidence, taken initial statements from victims and witnesses, ordered relevant expertise, and is carrying out numerous investigative actions. In addition, technical investigations are being conducted on the origin and control route of the UAVs. Within the framework of the preliminary investigation, all circumstances of this attack against the territory of Azerbaijan, which was carried out in violation of the norms and principles of international law, will be investigated objectively, fully, and comprehensively, and the implementation of necessary measures will be ensured to bring the guilty parties to justice in accordance with the legislation. The statement explained that targeting the civilian population and strategic infrastructure facilities is a gross violation of the basic principles of international humanitarian law. Necessary investigative and operational measures are being continued in the criminal case, and additional information will be provided to the public. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Photo: The Fourth Industrial Revolution Analysis and Coordination Center (4SIM) under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The inclusion of new enterprises in the 'Support for the development of the digital economy' program, the establishment of Azerbaijan's first industrial cluster within the 'Transition to industrial clusters' initiative, and the expansion of this model are among the priority goals, the Executive Director of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Analysis and Coordination Center (C4IR), Fariz Jafarov, said in an interview with Trend. He discussed the results achieved last year, the 'Support for the development of the digital economy' program, the development of human capital, C4IR's commitments in the implementation of the 'Strategy for the development of digital economy in Azerbaijan for 2026-2029', and outlined the future goals. Jafarov pointed out that recent years have seen a significant turn in the tide towards a new chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to him, the current global debate is no longer about whether technologies exist, but rather about how extensively they are implemented, how they are managed, and how they are converted into economic value. "The application of artificial intelligence, big data analysis, data-driven decision-making, the new phase of automation, and green technologies have become essential tools of global economic competition. In this global context, 2025 became an important transition year for Azerbaijan as well. During the year, the adoption of the 'Artificial intelligence strategy of Azerbaijan for 2025-2028' and the 'Strategy for the development of digital economy in Azerbaijan for 2026-2029' marked the countrys first effort to place its digital and technological transformation in a unified, measurable, and results-oriented framework. For C4IR, 2025 accelerated the transition from conceptualization to implementation. Our main role is to build bridges between global trends and national priorities. Throughout the past year, we continued to formulate practical implementation mechanisms for the real sector and systematized the application of technology at the level of human capital and management," he said. Jafarov emphasized that one of C4IR's key strategic results in 2025 was the start of the process of joining the Digital Economy Framework's 'Transition to industrial clusters' initiative. "This initiative promotes the shift from an individual company approach to a cluster-based approach in industrial development. That is, state agencies, enterprises, suppliers, technology companies, startups, and universities work together within a coordinated industrial cluster framework. For instance, a unified digital platform, shared data exchange, joint IT and automation solutions, and coordinated staff training are implemented for all enterprises within an industrial park. As a result, the transition to Industry 4.0 in industrial parks and economic zones is accelerated, ensuring the systematic application of technologies and increasing digital productivity in the real sector. As part of this initiative, the Sumgayit Industrial Park was designated as a pilot cluster, the NextGen industrial cluster concept was developed, and C4IR signed a memorandum of intent with the Ministry of Economys Economic Zones Development Agency (EZDA), SOCAR Carbamide, and SOCAR Polymer, marking the 40th cluster worldwide. These steps are crucial for the decarbonization of industrial clusters, the large-scale application of Industry 4.0 technologies through increased digital preparedness, and integration with international industrial standards. Azerbaijan will benefit from studying the cluster experiences of the worlds most advanced countries," he explained. The executive director recalled that C4IR's activities are carried out in five main areas: the development and implementation of sectoral strategies, the stimulation of technology application, the development of human capital, international experience exchange, and awareness-raising and promotion. "One key achievement in the development and implementation of sectoral strategies is the approval of the 'Strategy for the development of digital economy in Azerbaijan for 2026-2029' by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on December 10, 2025. This strategy covers three goals, nine priority areas, and 50 initiatives, focusing on systematic transformation in government, business, and society. This document strengthens the institutional framework for data-driven management and the digital transformation of the economy in government administration. Another important area was the launch of the 'Support for the development of the digital economy' program. This program is based on the 'Twin transition' approachtechnological and green transitionand focuses on the practical assessment and implementation of the technological readiness of industrial enterprises. In the pilot phase, three enterprises participated, and in the main phase, 15 enterprises are involved. The goal is to achieve 5-8% EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) growth and a 10-30% rise in efficiency by 2030. At the same time, preparations have begun for the launch of the New Generation Technologies Center (Industry 4.0 Center), which will provide the 'earn and apply' model for the real sector. The 'Azerbaijan Skills Accelerator' project was launched in April 2025. This initiative, in cooperation with the World Economic Forum, aims to systematically identify current and future skills requirements in the labor market and train specialized personnel to meet the real sector's needs. The co-chairs of the platform are the Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev, SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf, and the CEO of PASHA Holding, Jalal Gasimov. C4IR coordinates the initiative, with nearly 100 local companies joining as members. In essence, the Azerbaijan Skills Accelerator is a national platform based on a government-business-education partnership model that systematically measures skill gaps, launches fast-track training, and retraining mechanisms in priority areas. The goal is to accelerate the development of digital and technical skills, ensure social inclusivity, and strengthen the culture of lifelong learning. Globally, under the World Economic Forum's initiative, about 50 national-level skills accelerators or similar platforms within the 'Reskilling Revolution' framework are operational in various countries. Azerbaijan is among the countries that have joined this initiative and developed its institutional model. Another initiative for human capital development, the C4IR Academy (Fourth Industrial Revolution Academy), began in April 2025 and is actively continuing. The program aims to involve 70,000 citizens who will join over 18,000 courses on the 'Coursera' platform, focusing on improving knowledge in artificial intelligence, data analytics, business, and technological skills. Over 2,500 courses have been translated into Azerbaijani through artificial intelligence, increasing accessibility for a broader audience," he noted. In his interview, Jafarov also discussed the 'Support for the development of the digital economy' program. He pointed out that the program focuses on practical results. "In 2025, 15 local large, medium, and small industrial enterprises from the sectors of industry, construction, metallurgy, and retail joined the program. The technological readiness, digital potential, and sustainable development diagnostics have already been completed in these enterprises. Individual roadmaps for technological transformation have been prepared and presented in business plan format. The companies 'METAK', 'Azerfloat', and 'STP Global Cable', which joined the program in the pilot phase, have already started implementing their roadmaps. This means the program is not a paper-based assessment but a real transformation tool. In 2026, new enterprises are planned to be included in the program. The participation is completely free of charge, and industrial enterprises can obtain detailed information about the program via the industry4.az website. Our goal is to ensure that as many local companies as possible join this transformation process systematically and benefit from the program," he said. Jafarov also touched on the 'Azerbaijan Skills Accelerator' project, which was kicked off in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and the World Economic Forum. He pointed out that the growth of the digital economy, the rising tide of digitalization in local industries, and the use of cutting-edge technologies are essential for the sustainable and competitive advancement of the national economy. "In this context, the World Economic Forums initiative to identify current and future labor market demands, eliminate existing skill gaps, and stimulate the involvement of the private sector in training and education led to the launch of the Skills Accelerator in Azerbaijan. This collaboration is crucial for strategically developing human capital in Azerbaijan and preparing for the future demands of the labor market. The project will systematically identify existing and emerging skill gaps through detailed analyses, and targeted action plans will be developed to address these gaps. This approach ensures that the planned activities are not random but are shaped based on the needs of the real sector. The accelerator will enhance collaboration between the public and private sectors, promoting the development of flexible and practical skills that meet employers requirements. Digital skills, analytical thinking, technological literacy, and specific skills will be prioritized for preparing for future professions. The project will enable a faster adaptation to the changing labor market through short-term specialization models, increasing employment opportunities for youth, and providing the existing workforce with opportunities to update their skills. Involving regions in the process will contribute to the more balanced and inclusive development of human capital. Ultimately, the 'Azerbaijan skills accelerator' will contribute to the creation of a modern, competitive, and sustainable skills ecosystem, laying a strong foundation for long-term economic development," he delineated. In response to a question about the specific role of C4IR in the implementation of the 'Strategy for the development of the digital economy in Azerbaijan for 2026-2029', the executive director said that this document is the key framework for systematic and measurable acceleration of digital transformation in the national economy. "The strategy identifies 50 initiatives in total, and from these, eight 'key initiatives' have been prioritized due to their high impact. C4IR's role in the preparation and implementation of this strategy mainly involves ensuring coordination between the government, businesses, and international partners, creating pilot mechanisms for the real sector, and supporting the practical implementation of initiatives. As a results-oriented document, the strategy outlines concrete indicators. The main targets include reaching 300 enterprises participating in digital transformation programs by 2029, creating 250 new startups, enabling 200 SMEs to access digital markets, and training 40,000 people in digital skills. The strategy also outlines measurable economic outcomes, including a 5-8% EBITDA increase and a 10-30% rise in operational efficiency in enterprises that undergo digital transformation," he clarified. At the conclusion, Jafarov revealed C4IR's key priorities, technological directions, and expected targets for 2026 and beyond. "Since 2026, C4IRs priorities will be directly linked to the implementation of the 'Strategy for the development of digital economy in Azerbaijan for 2026-2029' and will focus on the practical implementation of the key initiatives outlined in this strategy. These priorities will include the expansion of the application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital twins, and generative artificial intelligence, across various sectors of the national economy. There will also be a focus on the implementation of technological transformation programs for enterprises and the formation of data-driven decision-making mechanisms. At the same time, the development of technological skills, the strengthening of the startup and innovation ecosystem, and the application of transformation models based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for industrial clusters and economic sectors are also among the main objectives. This approach will reinforce C4IR's role as an executive platform that transfers international experience to the local economy, ensuring Azerbaijan's institutional and sustainable integration into the digital economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. C4IRs main priorities are to accelerate the countrys technological and industrial transformation, strengthen human capital, and turn technology into real economic value. In this period, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 technologies, data-driven management, and the development of the innovation ecosystem will be the main technological directions. In particular, the inclusion of new enterprises in the 'Support for the development of the digital economy' program, the formation of Azerbaijans first industrial cluster within the 'Transition to industrial clusters' initiative, and the expansion of this model will be key targets. At the same time, continuing the 'C4IR Academy National Program' for human capital development is of particular importance. Since the launch of the 'National Program' in April 2025, 60,000 people have joined over 250,000 courses on the 'Coursera' platform free of charge. They have successfully completed over 90,000 courses and obtained international certificates. Talks are underway with partners to extend the 'National Program' for another year, which will provide additional opportunities for tens of thousands of citizens to prepare for future professions," Jafarov concluded. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel March 5 (Reuters) - China's political elite gathered in Beijing on Thursday as President Xi Jinping unveiled a sweeping roadmap for the countrys economic and political future, delivered against a backdrop of sharpening tech competition with Washington and mounting geopolitical friction. The National Peoples Congress, Chinas rubberstamp legislature, rolled out its FiveYear Plan outlining goals for growth, budgets, industrial policy and defence - signalling Xis determination to propel the worlds second-biggest economy toward technological dominance. Here are the main highlights from the NPC: GDP, BUDGET PRIORITIES China is looking to grow its economy at a 4.5%-5% pace, a touch below the 5% rate achieved last year, opening the door to greater efforts to rebalance the economy. Beijing also plans steady stimulus to rev up an economy stuck in a lower post-pandemic gear, setting a budget deficit of 4.0% of gross domestic product, similar to last year. HIGH-TECH DRIVE AS US RIVALRY SHARPENS Aiming for technological supremacy amid a fierce rivalry with the U.S., Beijing is accelerating efforts to achieve greater tech self-reliance; and as the world's largest producer of rare earths, plans are also afoot to strengthen the competitiveness of these crucial minerals used in products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and defence technologies. DEFENCE CAPACITY China will improve combat readiness and accelerate the development of "advanced combat capabilities", Premier Li Qiang said, boosting defence spending by 7% in 2026. Military observers are watching closely as Beijing pushes to modernise its forces by 2035 and project military power amid the backdrop of rising regional tensions, including over Taiwan, and global geopolitical strains. FINANCIAL SYSTEM China will inject 300 billion yuan ($43.59 billion) into state-owned banks this year and deepen reforms of state-owned financial enterprises, moving to bolster its financial system amid a prolonged property crisis and deflationary pressure. POPULATION Promising a "childbirth-friendly society" in the next five years, Beijing aims to address concerns over employment, education and medical care as an ageing and rapidly shrinking population complicates its larger economic goals. FOOD SECURITY Grain production capacity will be raised to around 725 million metric tons over 2026-2030 in efforts to meet the nation's long-term food security objectives, highlighting its heavy reliance on imports of key agricultural products such as soybeans, with the U.S. its second-largest supplier. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan's Baku hosted a forum titled Looking to the Future in the Tax System: New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions, Trend reports. The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Head of the State Tax Service Orkhan Nazarli, and other officials. The forum aims to discuss new governance models in the tax system, digital solutions, and data-driven decision-making mechanisms, as well as to present recent amendments to tax legislation and modern approaches to tax administration. Within the framework of the forum, a video presentation on gender issues in the tax system screened, followed by an award ceremony honoring taxpayers. During the presentation segment, a joint presentation on the development of the digital economy and digital solutions in tax administration took place. Speakers included Executive Director of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), Fariz Jafarov, Head of the Data Analytics Department of the State Tax Service of Azerbaijan (STS), Roman Bandurin, and Head of a department at the Main Directorate for Digital Tax Administration, Gunay Mahmudova. In addition, Head of the Tax Policy Department of the STS, Nijat Imanov, and department head Gulnar Aghazada delivered a presentation on amendments to tax legislation and established stereotypes in the field. As part of the forum, a video expressing gratitude to compliant taxpayers was shown, followed by another ceremony recognizing taxpayers. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 4. Uzbekistan and Latvia discussed ways to increase cargo transportation volumes and improve railway logistics routes, Trend reports via Uzbek Ministry of Transport. The issue was reviewed during a meeting between First Deputy Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Mamanbiy Omarov and Minister of Transport of Latvia and Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Commission Atis Svinka. During the talks, the parties also discussed the modernization of rolling stock and the development of technical maintenance infrastructure in the railway sector. In the field of aviation, the sides explored prospects for expanding passenger and cargo air transportation, including the development of the e-commerce logistics segment. Particular attention was given to opportunities for comprehensive cooperation with RIX Academy in the areas of training, retraining, and professional development of aviation specialists. Following the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their mutual interest in consistently deepening and strengthening cooperation in the transport and logistics sector. Uzbekistan and Latvia maintain a strong and stable partnership. Trade between the two countries has grown significantly, with the number of joint ventures and exports from Uzbekistan to Latvia tripling over the five years leading up to 2025. A representative office of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) operates in Tashkent, while the Uzbek Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (UZEX) maintain a trading platform in Riga, further supporting bilateral economic cooperation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The country's key economic and financial foundations remain very strong, Azerbaijans Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov said, Trend reports. Speaking during a forum in Baku titled Looking to the Future in the Tax System: New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions, Jabbarov stated that 2025 was a notable year in terms of strengthening Azerbaijans international standing. Progress in the peace agenda has opened significant prospects for economic development for our country and the region. Strategic partnership documents signed with global economic partners further enhance Azerbaijans growing geoeconomic role. These partnerships create new opportunities for deeper integration into global value chains in areas such as investment, trade, energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, high technologies, and other sectors, the minister said. Jabbarov noted that the diversification of the economy forms the basis of the countrys strategic objectives and that the non-oil and gas sector has already become the main driver of economic growth. To see the broader picture, let us briefly look at the past five years. Between 2021 and 2025, real growth of 5.9% on average annually in the non-oil and gas sectors gross domestic product (GDP) became the main source of economic expansion, he stated. The minister emphasized that the private sector plays a significant role in economic diversification and continues to receive active state support. In recent years, a large share of government support to the private sector has consisted of tax and customs incentives. This strategic approach has produced positive results in significant qualitative and structural changes in the countrys economy, as well as in the increasing share of the private sector in tax revenues. Last year, revenues from the non-oil and gas private sector reached 76% of total revenues from the non-oil and gas sector, he said. Jabbarov also noted that in 2025, investments in fixed capital directed to the non-oil and gas private sector increased by 11.1%, while investments in fixed capital from foreign sources grew by 24%. In the non-oil and gas industry, investments increased by up to 26%. Between 2021 and 2025, value added in this sector grew on average by 8% annually. As a result of these factors, the share of the non-oil and gas sector in GDP increased from 58.3% in 2018 to 71.5% in 2025. In 2025, tax revenues accounted for 12.7% of GDP, while the share of tax revenues from the non-oil and gas sector in non-oil GDP amounted to 13%, representing increases of 3.4 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2018. Compared to 2018, the share of tax revenues from the private segment of the non-oil and gas sector in GDP increased by 2.2 percentage points, reaching 9.9% in 2025, the minister added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Photo: The Ministry of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 5. Uzbekistan and Malaysias Spora Global discussed prospects for implementing investment projects, Trend reports via Uzbekistans Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. The issue was reviewed during a meeting between Uzbekistans Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov and Fio Fahmi, Chief Executive Officer of Spora Global. During the talks, the parties explored opportunities for cooperation in the development of tourism infrastructure, hospitality projects, real estate, and integrated territorial development, as well as the creation of modern recreational facilities. Following the meeting, the sides confirmed their mutual interest in expanding partnership and jointly advancing promising investment initiatives. Spora Global is a private Malaysian company specializing in the development of hospitality real estate, resort complexes, and integrated urban development projects. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Deliveries of petroleum products and Russian fertilizers from Azerbaijan to Armenia continue, Trend reports. Thirty-one railcars carrying 1,984 tons of diesel fuel and two railcars carrying 135 tons of Russian fertilizer were dispatched from the Bilajari station of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC to the Boyuk Kesik station. The cargo will be delivered to Armenia in transit through Georgia. Moreover, it is reported that Russian fertilizers are being transported from Azerbaijan to Armenia in transit. The last time 39 tank cars with 4,500 tons of diesel fuel were sent from Azerbaijan to Armenia was on February 25. Prior to that, on January 11, 18 railcars with 979 tons of AI-92 gasoline were sent to Armenia. On January 9, a total of 2,698 tons of petroleum products were delivered. These shipments included 1,742 tons of AI-95 gasoline and 956 tons of diesel fuel. Meanwhile, fuel exports to Armenia began on December 18, 2025. On that day, 1,220 tons of AI-95 gasoline were sent to the country. These deliveries are being carried out in accordance with a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev in October 2025. This decree lifted restrictions on the transit of goods from Azerbaijan to Armenia, which had been in place since the occupation, and created the possibility for transportation in this direction. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan has achieved tangible and measurable results in curbing the scale of its shadow economy, said Orkhan Nazarli, Head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, Trend reports. Speaking at the forum on Looking to the Future in the Tax System: New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions, Nazarli highlighted last years outcomes: Amid global political and economic uncertainties, 2025 was a year where stability and flexible adaptation were paramount for the Azerbaijani economy. Maintaining fiscal resilience and ensuring steady state revenues were key priorities. The measures implemented resulted in positive dynamics in fiscal collections. Last year, the State Tax Services fiscal collections approached 24.2 billion manat ($14.2 billion), accounting for nearly 79.1% of total fiscal revenue. Total tax revenues exceeded projections by 105.5%, while non-oil and gas sector contributions reached 102.9%. In total, almost 16.4 billion manat ($9.65 billion) were collected for the state budget, with non-oil and gas sector revenues surpassing 12 billion manat ($7 billion). According to Nazarli, voluntary compliance reached 92.6% in 2025, more than doubling in absolute terms compared to 2019. As a key indicator of economic activity, the number of active taxpayers increased by 6.5%, reaching nearly 860,000, an expansion of 73.2% relative to 2019. These positive trends were achieved not only through strengthened administrative oversight but also by formalizing economic activity and enhancing mutual trust with taxpayers. Concurrently, measurable progress has been made in curbing the shadow economy. These results underscore that a systematic and consistent approach yields long-term, sustainable impact, he added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Global challenges demand more speed, transparency, and efficiency from tax administration, moving beyond traditional fiscal control, Orkhan Nazarli, Head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, said at the forum on Looking to the Future in the Tax System: New Governance Model and Data-Driven Decisions, Trend reports. Our approach envisions the State Tax Service becoming an institution that guides economic processes and creates value. This transition is not a reaction to external pressures but a result of an internally driven transformation. Continuous development is impossible without changes in governance, decision-making, and the distribution of responsibilities. Last year, we adopted the State Tax Services strategy for 2025-2028 and immediately began its implementation. The strategy serves as our management model, combining agile adaptation to a changing economic environment, clear strategic vision, and long-term mission. It is founded on four core values, which guide our daily decision-making. The key issue is not just technology or structure; it is a shift in mindset and organizational culture. Transparency and trust are the foundation of relations with taxpayers, and without this trust, a sustainable tax system cannot be built. Every strategic action must deliver measurable results. Our goal is clear: a fair, transparent, and sustainable tax system, he added. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 5. Turkmenistan and Bulgaria discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in trade and economic relations, transport, healthcare and tourism, Trend reports via the country's Embassy in Bulgaria. The talks were held during a meeting between Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Bulgaria Esen Aydogdyev and Director General of the Directorate for Bilateral Relations at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Petko Doykov. The sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues related to bilateral cooperation and noted the potential for strengthening ties between the two countries. The parties also discussed the organization of the next meeting of the Turkmen-Bulgarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. The diplomats additionally reviewed the timeline for holding the next round of bilateral consultations between the foreign ministries and discussed cooperation in science, education and culture, including the continuation of joint humanitarian events. The parties also noted the importance of further developing cooperation within international organizations, including the UN framework and the Turkmenistan-EU dialogue. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Digital Development and Transport and BlackRock discussed attracting investment in digital and transport infrastructure, the country's Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev wrote on his X account, Trend reports. "In London, we held a meeting with Charles Hatami, Global Head of Finance and Strategic Investors at BlackRock. During the meeting, we discussed issues related to the development of cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between President Ilham Aliyev and the head of BlackRock," the publication says. According to the information, the parties also exchanged views on the preliminary results of joint work on attracting investments in digital infrastructure, the artificial intelligence ecosystem, the creation of a regional data processing center, and the development of air transport infrastructure. On January 20, 2026, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan Republic (SOFAZ) signed a strategic cooperation protocol with BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, and its affiliate Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), with planned investments of up to $1.5 billion in infrastructure and digital projects. After launching its first high jewelry collection last year, Chow Tai Fook, the legacy Hong Kong jewelry group, has named its first global creative director. David Tse, most recently creative director of Hermes in Shanghai a first for the French luxury house in the market is a Hong Kong native who has spent the bulk of his career in Shanghai as an entrepreneur focused on creative production. More from WWD For Sonia Cheng, heiress to Chow Tai Fook and the head of its family-owned Rosewood luxury hotel chain, Tses appointment will help usher in a new era for the brand. Tse will lead the team to further develop the brands creative identity, and conceptualize, develop and execute the overall creative strategy across all touch-points, Chow Tai Fook said in a statement. His [Tses] deep understanding of luxury, strong creativity and proven track record to translate brand strategy into powerful storytelling will play a key role in shaping our brand equity globally, Cheng said. For Tse, joining Chow Tai Fook means creating content around a distinctive global symbol of Chinese luxury, Tse said. My focus will be on honoring our rich heritage while fostering innovation and creativity, always keeping our customers at the heart of everything we do, Tse added. Tse, a graduate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, began his career in art direction at Razorfish Global, servicing clients such a Nike, Nutella, Lipton and HSBC, according to his LinkedIn profile. Tse soon relocated to Shanghai at the height of the citys most-recent creative boom, crafting local campaigns for companies including Burberry, Golden Goose, Uniqlo, Google, PayPal, Volvo and Starbucks. In 2024, Tse was appointed creative director at Hermes in Shanghai, a newly created role focused on social media campaigns and localized partnerships, including commissioning local artists for Chinese New Year initiatives. Hermes has yet to reveal a successor for Tse. Best of WWD Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 5. A total of 9,361 Uzbek citizens have been evacuated to Uzbekistan between March 1 and 5, 2026, Trend reports via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. According to the ministry, the majority of those evacuated, 8,114 people, returned from Saudi Arabia on regular and additional charter flights. Another 1,192 citizens were repatriated from the United Arab Emirates, while 23 people returned from Iran, 25 from Bahrain, and seven from Oman. The Foreign Ministry noted that the repatriation of Uzbek nationals is being carried out in a systematic and phased manner. At present, evacuation efforts are focused primarily on countries whose airspace remains open for civil aviation. As airspace in other countries across the region gradually reopens, the work to bring Uzbek citizens home will continue. Following the 2nd round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. Photo: Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Opportunities to expand investments by German business leaders in Azerbaijan have been discussed in Baku, with particular focus on cooperation in sustainable industry, energy efficiency, and innovative financial mechanisms, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Economy. The discussions took place during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Economy Anar Akhundov and a delegation of German business representatives led by Nargis Wieck, Executive Director of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan). During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on potential cooperation in areas including renewable energy sources, sustainable industry, energy efficiency, industrial decarbonization, hydrogen technologies, and innovative financial mechanisms. The sides also reviewed opportunities for German entrepreneurs to explore investment prospects in Azerbaijan and discussed ways to expand institutional cooperation between the two countries. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have discussed the development of cooperation, Trend reports via the Central Bank (CBA) The discussion took place during a meeting between the Central Bank's management, and a delegation led by William Thompson, Head of the Eurasia Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). During the meeting, the parties discussed areas that will be covered by the new Concept Paper prepared for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the OECD, in particular, such areas as insurance, capital markets, and investment funds. The OECD delegation presented detailed information on the projects proposed in these areas and emphasized the possibility of improving the projects based on the recommendations of the Central Bank. Following the meeting, the Central Bank's management discussed proposals on the scale of the projects. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Oracle Center of Excellence will be established in Baku, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev wrote on his X page, Trend reports. "During our visit to the UK, we met with Oracle Vice Presidents Ken McLennan and Mark Newall. In the course of the meeting, we explored avenues for collaboration between Azerbaijan and Oracle regarding digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and data infrastructure. An exchange of views was held on the center's establishment and the next steps in the development of the new technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and the gaming economic zone. We also exchanged views on sovereign cloud solutions and AI opportunities in Azerbaijan," he added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. South Eastern Europe and Balkans sub-region remain one of the key destinations of strategic outlook of Azerbaijan's state oil company (SOCAR), Murad Heydarov, Executive Director of SOCAR for the Balkans, said in an exclusive interview with Trend. "In 2025, we continued our activities in the field of gas supply and cross border transmission, development of gas distribution projects, crude oil supply and deeper penetration into oil products domestic markets, renewables and gas to power energy generation," he said. Speaking about specific projects, Heydarov noted that jointly with its partner Asarel Group SOCAR implemented and finalized FEED (Front End Engineering Design) Works for construction of the gas distribution network in Bulgarias Panagyurishte. "Their results require further analysis and evaluations. This will be the focus of our collective activities in 2026." Moreover, he said SOCAR ended up 2025 with promising results out of the hybrid gasification project supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) to regions not connected to the Bulgargaz network. "We delivered our gas to 46 industrial and 5 social clients including a mosque and a church in the Ruse province. The overall volume of gas delivered reached almost 80 million cubic meters in 2025," SOCAR Balkan's executive director added. As for activities in the petroleum products market in Bulgaria, Heydarov said SOCAR is still evaluating commercial opportunities and perspectives amid initial pilot transactions. "You should understand the complexity of entering the market dominated by a traditional supplier. However, we see a lot of benefits for us to continue our efforts to expand." He noted that aggregated Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) and SOCAR gas supply volumes to Bulgaria in 2025 amounted slightly below 2 bcma which is almost the same volume delivered in 2024. "The projections for this and next years depend on market demand in Bulgaria and our regional gas portfolio." Talking about SOCAR's activities in Albania, Heydarov recalled that the company presented the NUR pilot gasification project at the public hearing in Korca in the presence of Prime-Minister of Albania Edi Rama and Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov. "We started Front End Engineering Design works targeting to get final results by the end of this year. In parallel to that business stream, SOCAR Gas Albania started all necessary technical and commercial studies to check if we could implement an advanced supply of CNG volumes to Korca ahead of building a gas distribution network in the city. We look optimistically to start commercial supplies by the end of 2026. The draft Host Government Agreement with Albania has been developed, further necessary steps will need to be taken to progress on this," he added. Regarding the possibility of SOCARs expanding gasification projects to other regions of Albania, Heydarov said this is not envisaged at the initial stage of the project but the company does not exclude to reach out to other locations in the vicinity of Korca city at next stages. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Japans INPEX Corp has started supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Rengo Co. Ltd.s Kanazu Plant in Awara City, Fukui Prefecture, using LNG tank trucks, Trend reports citing the company. This marks the first time the INPEX Group has delivered LNG domestically with its own trucks, operated by INPEX Logistics Ltd., a subsidiary of INPEX Japan. Under this arrangement, the Kanazu plant has shifted its fuel source from coal to LNG, a move expected to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO) emissions. The launch aligns with INPEXs long-term strategy outlined in its Vision 2035, released in February 2025, aimed at expanding its natural gas and LNG business. INPEX said it will continue to ensure a stable energy supply while supporting Japans transition to a net-zero carbon society by 2050. INPEX, Japans largest oil and gas exploration and production company, operates projects worldwide and says it is committed to delivering energy sustainably. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen global trade and investment and support sustainable economic development, Trend reports via the EIB. The agreement, signed at the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg, formalizes cooperation between EIB Global, the banks international partnerships and development finance arm, and the WTO Secretariat to promote investment, facilitate trade, and enhance commerce-related capacity building. As part of the collaboration, the two organizations will launch the EIB-WTO Trade and Investment Facilitation Initiative, initially focusing on selected partner countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative aims to unlock investment in sectors such as green and digital transition, health, education, sustainable growth, and job creation, aligning with the EUs Global Gateway priorities. Europe stands firmly behind a fair and rules-based global trading system, said EIB Group President Nadia Calvino. This agreement will help turn trade policy dialogue into concrete, high-impact investments, attracting better-quality investment to partner countries while creating new trading opportunities for EU businesses. The MoU also includes analytical and research collaboration, exchanging insights on global investment and trade trends to inform policy and operational decisions. Both organizations will support regulatory reforms in partner countries, with a particular focus on the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, which sets global rules to facilitate foreign direct investment flows by improving regulatory frameworks and reducing red tape. The new EIBWTO partnership represents an important step toward mobilizing finance and strengthening the investment environment in developing countries, said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This partnership aligns policy reform efforts with catalytic financing, promising to unlock private investment in strategic sectors including critical minerals, digital technologies, and the bioeconomy. Under the initiative, the EIB will assist countries in project preparation and investment readiness, providing advisory support and potentially funding through blended finance instruments to attract additional private capital and ensure sustainable long-term development. The EIB is also pursuing parallel initiatives to boost EU exports and investments globally, aiming for larger-scale, more competitive engagements both within and outside the EU. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom have discussed expanding cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and infrastructure projects, Azerbaijans Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev, wrote on his X account, Trend reports. We held a meeting with the United Kingdoms Trade Minister, Sir Chris Bryant. During the meeting, we discussed further strengthening the existing strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom, as well as opportunities for cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital technologies. We invited British investors to take part in the establishment of artificial intelligence data processing centers in Azerbaijan, the post said. The post also emphasized that the sides exchanged views on the potential for investment, engineering, and financial support from the United Kingdom in the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the fields of metro systems, railway, maritime and air transport, as well as telecommunications. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. A memorandum of cooperation has been signed between the British company Entrust and AzInTelecom, Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev wrote on his X account, Trend reports. "During our visit to the UK, we met with representatives of the global technology company Entrust, which specializes in creating solutions in the field of digital identification, electronic signatures, and cryptography. At the meeting, we provided information on the measures taken to strengthen the national infrastructure for digital identification, electronic signatures, and cybersecurity as part of Azerbaijan's digital transformation and artificial intelligence strategy, and discussed the prospects for current and future cooperation with Entrust. Following the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between Entrust and AzInTelecom, the publication reads. Laman Ismayilova A book exhibition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of prominent literary critic and scholar, Corresponding Member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, State Award laureate, and Honored Scientist Yashar Garayev (1936-2002) has been presented to visitors at the Azerbaijan National Library, AzerNEWS reports. The exhibition features selected works of the scholar, including his articles, interviews, reports, and speeches. Books edited, prefaced, or reviewed by him are also on display. In addition, the exhibition showcases publications that reflect Yashar Garayev's life and multifaceted literary and scientific career. It includes scholarly and journalistic articles as well as memoirs, providing a comprehensive view of his contributions to Azerbaijani literature and criticism. Yashar Garayev began his professional career at the Institute of Language and Literature named after Nizami, Azerbaijan SSR Academy of Sciences, holding positions such as chief laboratory assistant, junior researcher, senior researcher, head of the Department of Theory and Literary Process, and deputy director for scientific affairs. He later served as the institute's director in 1987. His literary career started in 1955 with early notes published in the newspapers "Lenin t?rbiy?si u?runda" and "Az?rbaycan g?ncl?ri". Over the years, he regularly contributed scholarly articles on contemporary literary processes, theater criticism, and other issues in artistic literature. His works appeared under the names "Ya?ar," "Q. Ya?ar," and "Y. Qarayev". Yashar Garayev held significant positions in Azerbaijan's literary community. He led the Criticism and Literary Studies Council of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union from 1976 to 1991 and later served as secretary for criticism and literary studies. He was also a member of the Higher Attestation Commission and the presidium of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Creative Arts serving as both a contributor and editor. Yashar Garayev contributed to major scholarly works, including the nine-volume "History of World Literature" by the Maxim Gorky Institute of World Literature, "History of Multinational Soviet Literature (pre-revolutionary period)", and the seven-volume "History of Azerbaijani Literature" by the Nizami Institute of Literature. Throughout his life, Yashar Garayev was deeply involved in the country's scientific, literary, and cultural development. He held leadership and advisory roles in numerous organizations, including the Institute of Literature's Scientific Council, the Architecture and Arts Institute, the Turkmenistan Academy of Sciences' Institute of Language and Literature, the Azerbaijan State Publishing Committee, editorial boards of national journals such as "Az?rbaycan" and "Ulduz", the Bilik Society, and the Encyclopedia Scientific Editorial Board. He also served in various capacities within the Writers Union at both the USSR and Azerbaijan levels. Yashar Garayev passed away on August 25, 2002, and was laid to rest at the Fakhri Khiyaban Cemetery. Q : Regarding EnergyAustralia's earnings, how much of the increased expenses are recurring versus one-off, and what is the outlook for 2026? A : Alexandre Keisser, CFO, explained that the increase in depreciation and amortization is recurring up to 2028 due to CapEx at Yallourn. The enterprise expenses are mostly one-off, linked to outsourcing IT and corporate services to Tata and contracting a new customer platform. The tax expense was also a one-off. No specific outlook for 2026 was provided. Capital investment declined by 13% to HKD16.4 billion, with higher growth CapEx offset by the absence of the headquarters acquisition booked in 2024. The company recorded a HKD680 million impairment on two minority-owned coal plants in China due to lower demand and rising competition from renewables. Operating earnings before fair value movements decreased by 2%, and total earnings were down by 11%, impacted by coal plant-related items. CLP Holdings Ltd ( CLPHF ) closed 2025 with healthy cash flow and a strong balance sheet, leading to an increase in dividends, continuing its track record of delivering shareholder returns. In China, CLP Holdings Ltd ( CLPHF ) successfully brought its largest wind farm into commercial operation and launched its first independent battery energy storage system. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript . Story Continues Q: With 2025 CapEx mainly in Australia and China, are there plans to increase CapEx in these countries in 2026, and are the return forecasts too optimistic? A: CEO Tung Keung Chiang stated that the Wooreen battery in Australia will be commissioned next year, and more assets in China will come online, supporting future returns. The company remains disciplined in meeting hurdle rates, with successful tariff bids in China providing profit stability. Q: Will the capital allocation for India's non-carbon energy increase, and what is the reason for the upgrade? A: CEO Tung Keung Chiang clarified that the 9-gigawatt target by 2030 is consistent with previous plans, aiming for 1 gigawatt per year. The capital allocation remains based on this target, with no significant change in annual spending. Q: Can you provide guidance on CapEx and dividend outlook for this year? A: CFO Alexandre Keisser mentioned that SoC CapEx will be HKD10-11 billion annually. Growth CapEx in India will slow, and China's CapEx will depend on project closures. Dividend policy aims for steady growth, but specific guidance was not provided. Q: What is the strategy for the clean energy fund in China, and will there be any special dividends from the Jhajjar power plant sale in India? A: CFO Alexandre Keisser stated that the clean energy fund aims to partner with insurance companies and others, targeting a HKD4 billion fund size. Proceeds from the Jhajjar sale will be distributed over 2026-2027, but no special dividends are planned for CLP. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Kazakhstan is considering a six-month ban on the export of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Trend reports citing a draft document. The draft order, submitted by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan for public discussion, proposes to prohibit the export of LPG, and butane by road and rail transport. The measure aims to ensure a stable domestic supply of LPG and would be in effect for six months starting May 14, 2026. Kazakhstan initially introduced a temporary six-month export ban on LPG by road and rail starting November 14, 2023. According to the National Statistics Bureau, Kazakhstan produced 5.24 million tons of crude oil, including gas condensate, in January 2026, marking a 32% decrease compared to 7.724 million tons recorded in January 2025. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev condemned the attacks by Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles on the airport in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan, press secretary Aibek Smadiyarov said, Trend reports citing Akorda. In connection with the attack by Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles on the airport in the city of Nakhchivan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made his position public. It amounts to a firm condemnation of this act against the fraternal and allied Azerbaijan, the statement said. On March 5, a drone attack was carried out on Nakhchivan International Airport. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, technical means determined that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran sent four unmanned aerial vehicles toward the Nakhchivan region of Azerbaijan to carry out attacks. One of them was neutralized by units of the Azerbaijani army, while the others targeted civilian infrastructure, including a secondary school building during class hours. Fortunately, the drone aimed at the school did not reach its target and exploded after falling near the school. As a result of the incident, four civilians were injured. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement regarding the incident, demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the situation as soon as possible, provide explanations, and take urgent measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a strong protest was lodged with the Iranian side. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 4. Iran's retaliatory strikes are defensive in nature and directed only against US and Israeli targets used to launch attacks on the Islamic Republic, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Trend reports. According to the information, Araghchi stated in a telephone conversation that Iran's retaliatory defensive measures against the United States and Israel are directed against bases and targets used for planning and carrying out aggressive operations against Iran, and this is fully consistent with international law. Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Irans Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. Additionally, several of Irans most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The number of people affected by U.S. and Israeli military airstrikes on Iran has now exceeded 6,000, Jafar Miadfar head of Iran's National Medical Emergency Organization (NEMO) told reporters, Trend reports. According to him, 2,500 people are currently being treated in hospitals. The official noted that 11 hospitals and 6 emergency centers have been shelled in recent days. Meanwhile, yesterday, the death toll from military airstrikes in Iran reached 1,045 people. Following the 2nd round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Fuel depots at the Israeli Ramat David airbase were attacked by several Iranian army drones, the statement of Iranian army says, Trend reports. The information indicates that the attacks were carried out by the Iranian navy. Following the 2nd round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC/SEPAH) of Iran has announced that it launched missiles with 1-ton warheads toward several Israeli targets during the latest phase of its ongoing military operation, Trend reports via the IRGC. According to the IRGC, during the 19th stage of the True Promise Four operation, missiles were fired at the city of Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, and the 27th Squadron of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The statement said that the strike involved the Khorramshahr 4 missile, which was launched by SEPAHs Aerospace Forces. However, the number of missiles used in the attack was not disclosed. SEPAH also reported that during the 18th stage of the True Promise Four operation, 20 military targets of the United States in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait were attacked. Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Irans Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. Additionally, several of Irans most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) belonging to the U.S. and Israel have been shot down in western, southwestern, and southern Iran, says the statement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Trend reports. According to the statement, three Hermes UAVs and one MQ-9 UAV were shot down by air defense systems. Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Irans Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. Additionally, several of Irans most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Shares of the laser and photonics equipment maker had soared 2,747% over the past two decades and up 1,080% over the past 10 years. Narrowing the lens, COHR stock has jumped 676% over the past three years and 311% over the past 52 weeks as the smart money piles into AI infrastructure plays. Coherent provides the critical technologies that help power modern connectivity, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation innovation worldwide. It operates through its segments of Networking, Materials, and Lasers. Its portfolio ranges from data center transceivers and semiconductor devices to advanced ceramics, laser optics, and high-performance laser systems used in chip manufacturing, display production, and precision engineering. Coherent is a global provider of engineered materials, optoelectronic components, and laser systems serving industrial, communications, electronics, and research markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, the company was founded in 1971 and was formerly known as II-VI Incorporated before rebranding in 2022. Its market capitalization currently stands at $56 billion. With momentum building and COHR hitting fresh highs, should investors snag the stock, pause before chasing the rally, or simply lock in their profits now? The collaboration aims to accelerate next-generation silicon photonics and high-bandwidth optical interconnects, which are considered the backbone of tomorrows AI factories. While Nvidia brings AI computing muscle, Coherent gains funding to scale R&D, expand U.S. manufacturing, and build capacity to meet rising demand for AI infrastructure. With a 20-year relationship now expanding into multiple product families, Coherents role as a critical enabler of AI infrastructure is now hard to ignore. On Monday, shares jumped by mid-teen percentages after chip heavyweight NVIDIA (NVDA) announced an expanded, multiyear strategic partnership that includes a $2 billion investment in Coherent. The nonexclusive deal also carries a multibillion-dollar purchase commitment and future access and capacity rights for advanced laser and optical networking products. Coherent Corporation (COHR) is known for making the lasers and optical networking tech that quietly power the worlds most advanced chips and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Recently, the company has been in the spotlight. Story Continues In fact, in 2026, COHR is already off to a strong start. It has climbed 52% year-to-date (YTD), tagging a fresh all-time high of $299.09 just yesterday. The latest spark came after Nvidia's announcement of the $2 billion multiyear strategic investment in Coherent. The stock responded with a sharp 15.4% single-day rally. Technically, the breakout looks supported. Trading volume has surged, signaling strong buyer confidence. The 14-day RSI has moved to 65.20, entering overbought territory a sign of strength, though it could invite short-term cooling. Meanwhile, the MACD oscillator signals bullishness, with the MACD line above the signal line and a positive histogram, suggesting momentum is still firmly on the upside. www.barchart.com After a strong run over the past year, COHR stock is no longer flying under the radar. It carries a premium price tag, trading at 55.8 times forward adjusted earnings and 8.09 times sale. Both are higher than the sector averages and historical medians. That kind of premium can make investors worried. But Coherent sits in a fast-growing photonics space, has solid analyst backing, and is expected to deliver double-digit sales and earnings growth ahead. In this case, the valuation reflects belief in sustained momentum. A Closer Look at Coherents Stellar Q2 Report Coherent released its second quarter of fiscal year 2026 on Feb. 4, generating revenue of $1.69 billion, up 17.5% year-over-year (YOY), powered largely by relentless demand in its data center and communications business. Non-GAAP EPS climbed 35.8% annually to $1.29, and both top and bottom lines cleared Wall Streets expectations. Margins moved in the right direction, too, with non-GAAP gross margin expanding to 39%. Data center and communications segment revenue surged 33.5% YOY and now makes up 72% of total sales, up from 63% a year ago. Demand for 800 gig and 1.6T transceivers continues to accelerate as AI infrastructure scales. Coherent has clearly positioned itself at the center of that buildout. Meanwhile, on a pro forma basis, industrial segment revenue rose 4% sequentially and was flat annually, supported by solid orders from semiconductor capital equipment customers. Industrial lasers and engineered materials kept the floor steady. Financially, the balance sheet looks stronger. Cash stood at $863.7 million at the end of December 2025, while long-term debt was $3.2 billion. The leverage ratio improved to 1.7x from 2.3x a year ago, representing a meaningful step down. On its latest earnings call, management laid out a confident and capacity-focused outlook. They believe the companys strong product portfolio, vertical integration model, and expanding U.S. manufacturing footprint position it with a clear competitive advantage. Growth is expected to be driven by a mix of 1.6T and 800G transceivers, along with Optical Circuit Switch systems, as transceiver demand continues to accelerate meaningfully. To meet that demand, Coherent is moving quickly to expand production capacity. It is actively scaling its Indium Phosphide platform, supported by the ramp-up of 6-inch wafer production in Sherman, Texas, and Jarfalla, Sweden. The company also completed the sale of its Munich-based materials processing tools division at the end of January 2026. The Q3 guidance includes $5 million of revenue related to operations prior to the sale. A resilient growth is anticipated through the second half of fiscal 2026 and into fiscal 2027, supported by data center demand, capacity expansion, and improving industrial trends. While revenue for Q3 is expected to be between $1.70 billion and $1.84 billion, management anticipates non-GAAP gross margin to land somewhere between 38.5% and 40.5%, with non-GAAP EPS expected between $1.28 and $1.48. Analysts tracking Coherent expect its Q3 revenue to be around $1.78 billion, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.39. For fiscal 2026, EPS is projected to rise about 73.1% YOY to $4.64, before growing by another 39.9% annually to $6.49 in fiscal 2027. What Do Analysts Expect for Coherent Stock? Analysts monitoring COHR are bullish, with consensus leaning heavily toward a Strong Buy, an upgrade from a Moderate Buy rating a month back. Out of 20 analysts, 14 recommend a Strong Buy, one suggests a Moderate Buy, and the remaining five are playing it safe with a Hold rating. The stock is soaring, and it currently trades at a premium to its average price target of $245.06. Meanwhile, the Street-high target of $345 suggests COHR stock could rise 22.86% from the current price levels. www.barchart.com www.barchart.com Final Thoughts on COHR The AI boom is todays reality, reshaping how computing works. AI factories are generating massive volumes of data with every prompt, every interaction, every token. That shift demands ultrahigh bandwidth, energy-efficient connectivity, and optical interconnects with advanced package integration, which are becoming crucial to this next phase of infrastructure. Coherent's expertise in optical innovation and advanced manufacturing pairs directly with NVIDIAs leadership in AI computing and networking. The expanded partnership reinforces Coherents role in powering next-generation AI data centers and gives it stronger visibility as demand scales globally. At the same time, Coherents solid balance sheet, widening margins, and steady industrial recovery add financial stability to the growth story. When combining structural AI tailwinds with operational discipline, Coherent stands out as a company positioned not only to participate in the AI era but also to benefit meaningfully from it. On the date of publication, Sristi Suman Jayaswal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Irans Ministry of Intelligence announced that militias supported by the United States and Israel have been neutralized following a joint operation with the Security Service of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC/SEPAH), Trend reports. The ministry said the groups had entered the country through Irans western border and were planning attacks in border cities. Authorities reported that a large portion of the groups positions and operational capabilities had been destroyed. Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Irans Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. Additionally, several of Irans most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 4. Saudi Arabia's air defense systems intercepted three cruise missiles in the skies over the central part of the country, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, Trend reports. "Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed in the skies over the city of Al-Kharj," the ministry said. Following the second round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran on February 17, which ended without progress, the U.S. increased its presence in areas near Iran, deploying over 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East. The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive. In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Irans Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. Additionally, several of Irans most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel By Nicole Lyons, March 4, 2026 The University of Central Missouri (UCM) Division of Music will highlight the work of pianists with four concerts this spring. The first concert will feature UCM alumna Kari Johnson Barroso, DMA, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at Hart Recital Hall in the Utt Building on the Warrensburg campus. Admission is free. The central work of her program is the premiere of Fifteen Minutes of Fame, a collection of 15 miniature pieces, each lasting up to one minute, written by 15 different composers specifically for Johnson Barroso. Other works will include Desdemona, written in 1913 by Melanie Helene Bonis, and Vignette, Op. 105: Floating Andante, written in 2008 by Takashi Yoshimatsu. Johnson Barroso has been featured as a performer at Electronic Music Midwest, the Thailand International Composition Festival, SEAMUS, the Seoul International Computer Music Festival, and Electronic Music Midwest in Kansas City. She has graduate degrees from the University of Illinois and Bowling Green State University and a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has a bachelor's degree from UCM, where she studied under Mia Kim, DMA, professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy. Johnson Barrosos program is the first of four concerts this spring hosted by UCM Music that will highlight pianists. Upcoming concerts include Angela Kim on March 25, Lucy Tan on March 30 and the 2026 UCM Keyboard Showcase on April 11. For more information, contact Mia Kim at 660-543-8900 or mkim@ucmo.edu. Advance Realty Investors is planning to bring 110,000 square feet of new industrial space to a Morris County site. The facility, which is known as 249 Pomeroy Logistics Center, is under construction in Parsippany, according to a statement from JLL Northeast Industrial. It is scheduled to open in October 2026. The logistics center is being built at the interchange of Interstate 80 and Interstate 287. The development is classified under New Jerseys Long Term Tax Exemption-Urban Renewal Entities program, which was established in 2018 to encourage redevelopment in blighted areas. The property also has a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, officials said. This building will be unique for prospective tenants due to its direct adjacency to I-287, providing any future occupier with incredible marketing opportunities while boasting a long-term tax exemption that minimizes occupancy costs, said Alexander Cocoziello, principal and chief investment officer at Advance Realty Investors. The warehouse will include 36-foot clear heights, 21 dock doors, two drive-in doors and 20 trailer stalls. The facility will have 4,000 amps of power capacity and can accommodate one or two tenants. The building is designed for logistics, distribution and light manufacturing operations. David Knee, vice chairman at JLL, said new construction opportunities are increasingly rare in northern New Jersey. The ability to accommodate full-building users or efficiently demised tenants allows the property to serve a wide range of distribution and light manufacturing requirements, a critical advantage in todays evolving industrial landscape, Knee said. The JLL Northeast Industrial team marketing the property also includes Executive Managing Director Chris Hile, Managing Director Ignatius Armenia and Executive Vice President Ryan Milanaik. More New Jersey news Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Ukraine's air defense forces neutralized 136 out of the 155 drones launched by Russian forces in an overnight attack that began on the evening of March 4. According to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Air Force reported this on Telegram. On the night of March 4-5 (starting from 18:30 on March 4), Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 155 strike UAVs, including Shahed, Gerbera and Italmas drones, as well as other types of unmanned aerial vehicles. The drones were launched from Bryansk, Kursk, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as Hvardiiske and Chauda in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Around 100 of them were Shahed drones. Read also: Russia loses 900 troops in Ukraine war over past day The aerial attack was repelled by aviation units, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Preliminary data as of 08:00 indicates that air defense units had shot down or suppressed 136 enemy drones. Hits by 18 strike drones were recorded at eight locations, while debris from downed drones fell at three locations. The attack is ongoing, with several enemy drones still in Ukrainian airspace. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the acting charge d'affaires of Hungary in Ukraine in connection with the inadmissibility of political publicity against the backdrop of the release of our citizens from Russian captivity. According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ukrainian side emphasized the inadmissibility of publicity and politicization of sensitive issues in connection with the transfer of several Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian captivity to Hungary without any prior notification or coordination with Ukraine, the statement said. The ministry notes that the release of people from captivity is an absolute priority for Ukraine, as evidenced by the return of 200 servicemen today as part of the exchange. It is emphasized that the relevant work is being carried out on an ongoing basis in all possible venues and with all partners capable of facilitating the release of Ukrainian servicemen and civilian hostages, regardless of their ethnic origin. The Ukrainian side has reiterated its demand to ensure that the returned servicemen have the opportunity to contact Ukrainian consular officials to check their health, provide consular assistance, and guarantee the opportunity to freely determine their future without external pressure or coercion, the statement emphasizes. Read also: MFA of Ukraine to summon Hungarian diplomat to verify reports about Russia transferring several prisoners The Foreign Ministry expects a prompt response from the Hungarian side and official confirmation that the persons in question will be given complete freedom to choose their place of residence and future plans. As reported, Vladimir Putin said on March 4 that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who is visiting Moscow, could take with him to Budapest two Transcarpathian Hungarians who were mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine and were captured. Ukrinform photos can be purchased here Russia's transfer of two captured Ukrainian soldiers to the Hungarian side is considered a gross violation of international humanitarian law. According to Ukrinform, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated this on Telegram. The Coordination Headquarters condemned the transfer of Ukrainian citizens between Hungary and the aggressor state, describing it as a Russian provocation. According to the statement, the aim is once again to undermine the Geneva Conventions and international law, as well as to worsen relations between two European countries as part of Russia's hybrid aggression against Europe. At the same time, supporting Moscow's war crimes and manipulating the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war may be considered by international courts as participation in the unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. Read also: Wadephul calls on Hungary to immediately stop blocking EU funds for Ukraine The Coordination Headquarters called on all parties involved in the provocation to abandon unlawful intentions and not use Ukrainian servicemen who were captured by Russia as bargaining chips. "We also demand comprehensive information about the health condition of the captured Ukrainian citizens and that authorized representatives of Ukraine be allowed to visit our defenders," the Coordination Headquarters emphasized. It added that work is ongoing to bring home and rescue from Russian captivity all Ukrainian citizens, as well as individuals with dual citizenship. The headquarters also recalled that in 2023, 11 Ukrainian citizens were transferred from Russia to Hungary without coordination with Ukraine. As Ukrinform reported, according to Russian media, Vladimir Putin stated on March 4 that Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's foreign minister who was visiting Moscow, could take two ethnic Hungarians from Zakarpattia with him to Budapest. They had been mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine and were captured. Szijjarto had expressed hope that Russia would release the two prisoners of war, ethnic Hungarians, following his talks with Putin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said it would summon Hungary's charge d'affaires to obtain reliable information about the alleged transfer of several prisoners of war by Russia to the Hungarian side. A potential reduction in air defense missile supplies and rising global fuel prices are the main risks for Ukraine due to ongoing hostilities in the region. He stated this in an interview with Rai Italia, Ukrinform reports. "There are also concerns due to signals from the United States, both public and unofficial, indicating that this military operation in the Middle East will continue and that, in this regard, they will count on additional air defense systems for themselves and their allies. They will also be carefully reviewing the production capacity for PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot system. In other words, the concern is that if the war is prolonged, America may reduce its deliveries of air defense systems and missiles to Ukraine," Zelensky said. At the same time, he noted that everyone in Europe and around the world is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising oil prices. However, according to Zelensky, Ukraine's energy crisis is primarily linked to Russia's war. "But it is also clear that imports of oil products have been reduced or fully blocked due to the hostilities. This is already affecting global energy prices. It is a challenge, and I believe all countries will be working to address it," he said. Zelensky also pointed out that the Iranian regime had supplied weapons to Russia. Now, he said, this concern has slightly decreased because Iran is unlikely to be able to send anything to Russia at the moment. "However, at one point they transferred licenses, and Russia is now producing those missiles and drones on its own under Iranian licenses," he reminded. Previously, Zelensky emphasized the importance of ensuring that the opportunity for change in Iran is used correctly. On February 28, the U.S. and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iranian regime targets. Following this, Iran attacked U.S. bases in Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. Later, the IRNA news agency confirmed that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the morning of February 28. Photo: Office of the President President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not block EUR 90 billion in assistance from the European Union. Zelensky stated this during a briefing following a working meeting with the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet of Ministers, according to a correspondent of Ukrinform. "We hope that one person in the European Union will not block EUR 90 billion, or the first tranche of the EUR 90 billion, and that Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons. Otherwise, we will give the address of this person to our Armed Forces, to our guys. Let them call him and speak with him in their own language," Zelensky said. During the same briefing, he also acknowledged that unofficial calls are coming from the European Union to restore the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, as Orban wants, and that in exchange EU assistance would be unblocked. As Ukrinform previously reported, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine twice summoned Hungary's charge d'affaires over Hungary's distortion of Ukraine's position regarding the Druzhba oil pipeline and false accusations against Ukraine. Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote an open letter to President Volodymyr Zelensky urging him to immediately reopen the Druzhba oil pipeline. The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed that Ukraine will in the coming days assess how much time is needed to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged by Russia. On January 27, Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in the Lviv Oblast. It later emerged that a drone may have hit a section of the pipeline through which Russian oil is supplied to Hungary and Slovakia. Naftogaz confirmed the strike but did not specify exactly what was hit, only noting that it was already the 15th attack on its facilities within a month. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reminded Hungary that the problems with the transit of Russian oil are caused precisely by the aggression of Russia and its strikes on the infrastructure of the Druzhba oil pipeline, to which Budapest has not publicly responded. For its part, Hungary has suspended diesel fuel exports to Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary through the Druzhba oil pipeline is restored. Hungary has also said it is considering halting electricity and gas exports to Ukraine if Kyiv does not resume the supply of Russian oil to the country via the pipeline. Ukrinform photos can be purchased here Tweet tweet button for twitter Published March 5, 2026 MONROE, La. The University of Louisiana Monroe Museum of Natural History will host a Spring Speaker Event on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the first floor STEAM Room at the museum, located in Hanna Hall, 708 University Ave. in Monroe. This free event is open to all ages and will feature guest speaker Linda Barber Auld, a Louisiana Master Naturalist. Aulds presentation is entitled Plant It and They Will Come. Linda Barber Auld, known to many as the NOLA BugLady, is a naturalist and educator from New Orleans who has spent nearly 50 years sharing her love of butterflies, moths, and beneficial insects with her community. She began her career in 1976 at Barber Laboratories, a family-owned pest control supply business, where she became known for making insect science approachable through hands-on learning and live insect displays. Over the years, Linda has raised and documented more than 147 species of butterflies and moths and has contributed to Monarch and butterfly research with organizations such as Monarch Watch, the North American Butterfly Association, and university research teams. She is the author of BugLadys Butterfly Summer and the founder of Project: Monarch, an initiative that has helped schools and communities across Louisiana create pollinator habitats and Monarch Waystations. Recognized as an Outstanding Naturalist by the Louisiana Master Naturalists and a recipient of the Percy Viosca, Jr. Award, Linda continues to focus her work on conservation, education, and inspiring curiosity about the natural world. For more information about the ULM Museum of Natural History, visit www.ulm.edu/caes/museum.html. Iran Conflict and Dubai Real Estate: Sentiment Shock or Structural Risk? The escalation of tensions involving Iran and parts of the Gulf has once again brought Dubais real estate market under the spotlight. Summary In 2025, Dubai recorded AED 917 billion (~$250 billion) in real estate transactions, the highest in its history. Dubai offers some of the highest rental yields globally, generally ranging between 6% and 9%. Indian nationals are the largest foreign investor group, accounting for 2022% of all foreign property purchases. Residential property prices in Dubai have surged by approximately 6075% since 2021. 2008 crisis saw a 5060% price drop, but market showed increased resilience during COVID-19, recovering in just 1218 months The escalation of tensions involving Iran and parts of the Gulf has once again brought Dubais real estate market under the spotlight. With reports of attacks reaching parts of the UAE, investors are inevitably asking whether regional instability could derail one of the worlds most dynamic property markets. While geopolitical tensions can temporarily affect investor sentiment, Dubais real estate market has historically demonstrated a remarkable ability to absorb shocks and recover relatively quickly. Understanding the likely impact of the current conflict, therefore, requires looking at both market fundamentals and past cycles. A Record-Breaking Foundation: The 2025 Momentum Dubai entered this phase of geopolitical uncertainty from a position of considerable strength. In 2025 alone, the emirate recorded nearly AED 917 billion (about $250 billion) worth of real estate transactions, the highest in its history. Transaction volumes crossed 270,000 deals, reflecting strong investor participation and deep liquidity in the market. Residential real estate has been a major driver of this momentum. Approximately 200,000 residential transactions valued at around AED 538 billion were recorded during the year. Since 2021, residential property prices in Dubai have risen by roughly 6075%, making it one of the strongest housing cycles globally in the post-pandemic period. Psychology of the Market: Managing Investor Perception This context is important because markets already experiencing strong expansion tend to respond to geopolitical shocks differently. In most cases, the initial impact is a slowdown in transaction activity rather than an immediate correction in prices. The latest conflict also introduces a new dimension: Dubai itself has come under attack, testing the emirates long-standing reputation as a safe economic hub in the Middle East. While the physical damage from these incidents has been limited, the psychological impact on global investors cannot be ignored. The Wait-and-Watch Shift: Sensitivity in Off-Plan Segments Dubais real estate market depends heavily on international investors and expatriate residents. Any perception of rising geopolitical risk can lead investors to temporarily adopt a wait-and-watch approach. Such sentiment shifts typically affect off-plan purchases and speculative investments first, as these segments tend to be more sensitive to market confidence. Tourism Ripple Effect: Risks to Hospitality and Retail Tourism represents another potential transmission channel. The broader Middle East tourism industry is estimated to be worth around $367 billion annually, and prolonged tensions could weigh on travel sentiment across the region. Industry estimates suggest that geopolitical instability could result in 2338 million fewer visitors, potentially translating into a $3456 billion decline in tourism revenues. If that scenario unfolds, the immediate impact would likely be felt in short-term rental apartments, hospitality assets and retail properties located in tourist-heavy districts. However, Dubais residential real estate demand is not driven by tourism alone. The citys large expatriate population continues to provide a stable base of housing demand. Structural Strength: A Global and Diversified Investor Base One of Dubais greatest structural strengths is the diversity of its investor base. Buyers from over 150 nationalities participate in the emirates property market, making it one of the most internationalised real estate ecosystems globally. Expatriates account for nearly 8889% of the UAEs population, naturally driving housing demand across multiple segments. The Indian Connection: A Cornerstone of Market Stability India plays a particularly significant role in this ecosystem. Indian nationals account for roughly 2022% of foreign property purchases in Dubai, making them the largest investor group in the market. Several factors explain this trend, including geographical proximity, the stability provided by the UAE dirhams peg to the US dollar, and relatively attractive rental yields that typically range between 6% and 9%. Developer Expansion: The Rise of Indian-Origin Players Indian developers have also begun expanding their footprint in the emirate. While the sector continues to be dominated by local giants such as Emaar, DAMAC, Nakheel and Meraas, Indian-origin developers are estimated to account for roughly 810% of the development pipeline. Companies such as Sobha Realty, which has developed the Sobha Hartland community spanning nearly 8 million sq ft, and Danube Properties, which has launched more than 20 residential projects, have established a visible presence in the market. Other developers, including Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate and Casagrand, have also entered Dubai with premium developments. History as a Guide: Navigating Two Decades of Cycles Dubais real estate sector has experienced several cycles over the past two decades. During the 2008 global financial crisis, property prices declined by nearly 5060%, and the market took roughly 67 years to fully recover. A second correction occurred between 2014 and 2019, when prices fell by around 2530%, driven largely by lower oil prices and oversupply. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic caused only a brief disruption, with the market recovering within 1218 months. These cycles highlight an important feature of Dubais property market: while corrections can be sharp, the sector has historically demonstrated a strong capacity to recover once investor confidence stabilises. The Verdict: Short-Term Caution vs. Long-Term Potential The current geopolitical tensions will undoubtedly introduce a degree of caution among investors. Transaction volumes may moderate in the near term as buyers assess the evolving risk environment. Yet Dubais position as a global financial and lifestyle hub, combined with its diversified investor base and policy flexibility, continues to provide strong structural support to its real estate sector. In that sense, the real question may not be whether geopolitical tensions will affect Dubais property market - they almost certainly will in the short term. The more relevant question is how quickly investor confidence returns once the geopolitical environment stabilises. If history is any guide, Dubais real estate market has repeatedly demonstrated that it can recover faster than many global property markets. [The writer, Dr. Prashant Thakur, is Executive Director & Head - Research & Advisory, ANAROCK Group, Pune.] Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Nitish Kumar to quit as Bihar CM, move Rajya Sabha Nitish Kumar Thursday March 05, 2026 announced he is quitting as Chief Minister of Bihar and moving to Rajya Sabha the Upper House of the Indian Parliament Patna: Nitish Kumar Thursday March 05, 2026 announced he is quitting as Chief Minister of Bihar and moving to Rajya Sabha the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. In a social media post, Nitish Kumar expressed gratitude to the people of Bihar for consistently placing trust and support in him. It was the power of your trust and support that has enabled Bihar today to present a new dimension of development and dignity, he wrote. Nitish Kumar, Bihars longest serving Chief Minister, was also a member of Lok Sabha and Union Railway Minister. In the post announcing his resignation as Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar said it was his desire to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. In keeping with this aspiration, I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time, he said. He also said that the new government that will be formed (in Bihar) will have his full cooperation and guidance. Few hours later, he, accompanied by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other leaders, filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha election in Bihar and other states will be held on March 16, 2026. "Leadership Coup" Congress criticised the move calling it a "leadership coup", "huge betrayal of the people's mandate", and a "conspiracy" orchestrated by the BJP. "What the Indian National Congress had been saying during the Bihar election campaign has now come to pass. A leadership coup and regime change orchestrated by G2 has taken place", Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary and MP, said. By G2, he meant for PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. "In many ways, it is a huge betrayal of the peoples mandate", he added. The Congress also said that the move amounts to the BJP "hijacking" Nitish Kumar and dislodging him from the CM post just months after the NDA's big win in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic Pedro Sanchezs Spain: The Pride of Europe Pedro Sanchez denounced the unilateral action against Iran with dramatic and unpredictable consequences for the entire planet, and called for an end to hostilities and a return to diplomacy, reminding the world that violence can never be the solution. In Europe that has become vassalized and submissive to the United States, to the detriment of its own interests, one country nevertheless manages to save the honor of the Old Continent: The Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez. Attached to the ancestral values of the Iberian people, the head of the socialist government in Spain refuses to bow down and accept the law of the strongest, demanding respect for the fundamental principles of international law. Faced with the tragedy experienced by the Palestinian people, martyred by Israels colonialist and supremacist policies, Pedro Sanchez who recognized the State of Palestine in 2024 and called to put an end to the genocide in Gaza, has denounced Netanyahus policy of extermination. In the rest of Europe, by contrast, the leaders of the major European powers support Tel Aviv, criminalizing and repressing their peoples solidarity with the cause of humanity. Likewise, unlike the other countries of the European Union, Spain firmly condemned the war of aggression waged by the United States and Israel against Iran, carried out without a mandate from the United Nations and in blatant violation of international legality. Pedro Sanchez denounced the unilateral action with dramatic and unpredictable consequences for the entire planet, and called for an end to hostilities and a return to diplomacy, reminding the world that violence can never be the solution. At the same time, Spain formally prohibited the Trump administration from using the U.S. bases of Rota and Moron de la Frontera in Andalusia for operations conducted against the Iranian people. Deprived of these two strategic logistical platforms, Washington was forced to move its aircraft to other European bases. Meanwhile, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, refusing to condemn the war of aggression, went so far, in an irresponsible gesture, as to offer their assistance to halt the Iranian response. Trump did not take long to react, asking the Secretary of the Treasury to break off all transactions with Spain and to impose de facto economic sanctions. Far from being intimidated, Madrid responded with the dignity that characterizes great nations: The United States must comply with international law and trade agreements. We have the necessary resources to contain the impact of a potential embargo. Committed to its sovereignty, Spain is also the only country in the European Union to have rejected Trumps injunction, in June 2025, to raise its military budget to 5% of GDP, choosing instead to prioritize the interests of its people. In Europe where submission has become common rule, Pedro Sanchez shows the continent the path of honor, reminding it that international law is not negotiable. [The writer, Salim Lamrani, holds a PhD in Iberian and Latin American Studies from Sorbonne University, and is Professor of Latin American History at the Universite de La Reunion, specializing in relations between Cuba and the United States. His latest book in English is Cuba, the Media and the Challenge of Impartiality.] Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic Rays of Hope Amidst Rising Hate There are a series of incidents, which have happened in the recent past indicating that though the dominant element is hate and to abuse the religious minorities, there are many in the society who are sticking to love and amity for all. Communal Hate is the most divisive tool. Roughly the degree of violence is proportional to the prevalence and accentuation of Hate. This in turn leads to polarization and the situation where ghettoisation and accompanying phenomenon become the norm. As we witnessed the rise of this phenomenon at a rapid pace during the last few decades, the religious minorities in particular feel intimidation leaving them with a sense of helplessness and marginalisation. The hate has been constructed through issues of cow, love jihad, and demonization of Muslim kings among others. A recent study by Centre for Study of Society of Society and Secularism, Mumbai presented by Irfan Engineer, Neha Dabhade and Diya Padalkar goes into details and type of hate Speeches. As per this study the number of Hate speeches declined from 2024 to 2025. They point out that though the total number of these speeches may have come down as per the database they have used, there may be other sources of data, which cannot be accessed easily. The hate speech begins from the top is amply demonstrated by this meticulous report. The report says: The highest number of hate speeches was made by Nitesh Rane, Minister of Fisheries and Port Development in the Maharashtra Government (10), followed by Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (6), and Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah made five. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, made three hate speeches. In the backdrop of this hate speech starting from the top and percolating down, while assuming more aggressive form, there are few incidents, which can indicate that despite such intense atmosphere of hate, there are a series of incidents, which have happened in the recent past indicating that though the dominant element is to abuse the religious minorities, there are many in the society who are sticking to love and amity for all. Though there is a prevalence of demonizing religious minorities, there are still many individuals who are sticking to the values of love and amity, still upholding the values of harmony in a multi religious society. For them, the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb and respect of all religious communities still matters as the core values of their life. We now have a better understanding of the incidents like that of "Mohammed Deepak" which we had discussed in the last article . In Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, Deepak Kumar is the shining example of this. He manages a Gymnasium. When he heard some Bajrang Dal activists harassing Vakil Ahmad, he came to intervene. Vakil Ahmad a 70-year-old man has been running Baba School Dress for the last 30 years. The hooligans confronted him saying how dare he, a Muslim, use the word Baba for his shop as this word is for Hindus. Their level of ignorance wont tell them that the baba word is coming from Persian, used both for Hindus and Muslim seers. Deepak Kumar retaliated by saying that it is the owner's choice as to what name he gives to his shop. When the Bajrang Dalis asked his name, Deepak Kumar said Mohammad Deepak, in the deeper traditions of Indian syncretism. Now as he became known, Rahul Gandhi invited him and congratulated him. Deepak Kumar is planning a Yatra, Insaniyat Yatra to give the message of peace. The other major incident giving some hope is from Lucknow University. Within its campus is the Lal baradari Mosque where the Muslim residents of campus used to offer Namaz. Since it is very old and not in a good condition, it has been locked and the residents are offering namaz outside the mosque. When some Muslim students during the month of Ramadan went to offer Namaz, they were prevented by some other right-wing students from doing so. Remarkably again at this time other students from NSUI, AISA guarded them and ensured they could offer their prayers. In yet another incident which took place in Jalalpur village under Bommalaramaram mandal in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on 15 February, 2026 unknown persons entered the Jama Masjid and damaged parts of the structure. Worshippers discovered the incident the next morning when they arrived for prayers. Members of the mosque committee saw the damaged part of the mosque, washroom doors which were destroyed and also the microphone system. Beer bottles were found inside the premises. Several copies of the Holy Quran were reportedly scattered in the compound. When this came to be known, many Hindu traders reached there and undertook to get the mosque repaired at their expense! Another disturbing event was the blanket distribution in Kareda village in Tonk district of Rajasthan by a former BJP Member of Parliament, Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria. While distributing the blankets he asked the name of one of the elderly women. As it turned out she was a Muslim, he took the blanket back and said we dont give this to those who abuse Modi. Three other Muslim women also returned their blankets. This insulting act infuriated others. Later workers from other parties not only condemned him but also gave blankets to the Muslim women One Hindu woman who calls herself Hindu Sherani, Riddhima Sharma, visited the Gogavir Temple (also called Gogamedi) in Rajasthan. She saw a priest there whose name was Hussain. She shouted at him as to how dare he come into the temple to do Jihad. Other devotees objected to this telling her that the temple has the tradition of having a Muslim priest! With so many incidents of love and amity, the dominant atmosphere of hate is very heartening. What does it show? It seems that hate spreaders are dominant but get away due to state patronage. The Indian ethos of love and harmony is still very much there though not as visible. In the prevalent atmosphere where hate mongers have state patronage to the extent that the Central Government recently funded a meeting of Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnaad in Bharat Mandapam, giving 63 lakhs. In this event, speeches against Muslims where the theme was demand for Hindu Rashtra! But the above incidents of resistance show the resilience of Indian ethos which still survives despite the campaigns spreading Hate! Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic Cotton futures are falling 55 to 65 points across most contracts on Tuesday. Crude oil is up $3.89 on the day. The US dollar index is another $0.798 higher at $99.135. Uncertainty with China, as they have called for a halt to the strikes on Iran continues to be a pressure factor. The Seam showed sales of 3,444 bales sold on March 2, averaging 61.70 cents/lb. The Cotlook A Index was back up 25 points on 3/2 at 75.90 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks were raised by 3,124 bales on Monday with the certified stocks level at 129,302 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised by 1.79 cents last week to 51.84 cents/lb. More News from Barchart Mar 26 Cotton closed at 62.59, down 102 points, May 26 Cotton closed at 63.94, down 65 points, Jul 26 Cotton closed at 65.86, down 55 points On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Spain rips into Trump, Netanyahu warmongering in Middle East Showing extraordinary courage, Spain has rejected Donald Trumps repeated call to join the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, categorically asserting that the war is not good for the world. [Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (File Image)] Showing extraordinary courage, Spain has rejected Donald Trumps repeated call to join the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, categorically asserting that the war is not good for the world. On Wednesday, Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez defiantly posted No to the war, and refused the use of its bases to attack Iran. Pedro Sanchezs stern rejection came even as Donald Trump announced to cut all trade contracts with Spain, and even threatened to impose tariffs. "Spain has been terrible," Trump told reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding that he had told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all dealings" with Spain. "We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain," he added. Pedro Sanchez defended his position saying his governments position can be summed up in four words: no to the war. He also said fear of retaliation would not change his countrys stance. We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation, Spains Socialist Prime Minister said in a televised address. EU lends support European Council Chief Antonio Costa wrote on X that he had called Sanchez to express the EUs full solidarity with Spain. The EU will always ensure that the interests of its member states are fully protected, Costa said. French President Emmanuel Macron also called to express Frances European solidarity in response to the recent threats of economic coercion targeting Spain, his office said. Spain is part of the European Union, which allows goods to move freely between its 27 countries. This would complicate any bid to impose trade restrictions on a single member state. US bases in Spain US forces use the Rota naval base and Moron air base in southern Spain under an agreement signed in 1953 under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. The U.S. relocated 15 aircraft, including refuelling tankers, from the Rota and Moron military bases after Spain's rejection to allow use of its bases against Iran, according to Reuters. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Spain, then led by conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, staunchly backed the United States by sending troops. Spains participation in the Iraq war sparked huge street demonstrations and many Spaniards blame it for the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed nearly 200 people. Sanchez, who was also critical of Netanyahus Genocidal War in Gaza, compared the Iran attacks to the Iraq war, which he said increased terrorism, increased energy prices and led to a less secure world. We oppose this disaster, he said in reference to the Iran war. Also on Wednesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denied that the government had changed its position on supporting the U.S. military operations against Iran, contradicting a White House spokesperson. I can refute (the White House spokesperson), Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota. Albares spoke in Madrid shortly after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that Spain had changed its position and theyve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. Spain also said the US should be mindful of international law and bilateral trade agreements with the European Union We have the necessary resources to contain the possible impact of the trade embargo by the US, the Spanish government said in a statement on Tuesday. But not all EU members are against US. Germany is openly supporting the war against Iran whereas Spain's neighbor Portugal authorized the United States, though conditionally, to use an air base on the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean for the Iran strikes, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro told parliament on Wednesday. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic UAE billionaire tears into Trump for dragging ME into war with Iran UAE billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor tore into U.S. President Donald Trump for dragging the Middle East into war with Iran. [Khalaf Al Habtoor (R) is the Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group one of the most successful conglomerates in the Gulf. (Image via @KhalafAlHabtoor)] UAE billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor tore into U.S. President Donald Trump for dragging the Middle East into war with Iran. In an open letter posted on X, Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group one of the most successful conglomerates in the Gulf, accused Trump of pushing the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab countries at the heart of a danger they did not choose. Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision? the UAE business tycoon wrote in his letter written in Arabic. Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself, he wrote. In a scathing attack, Khalaf Al Habtoor accused Trump of cheating the Americans, and asked if the decision to go to the war with Iran was under the influence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The peoples of this region have the right to ask as well: Was this your decision alone? Or did it come as a result of pressures from Netanyahu and his government? he asked. Referring directly Trumps Board of Peace, Khalaf Al Habtoor said instead of peace and stability in the region as promised, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that endangers the entire region. In his letter addressed to Donald Trump, Khalaf Al Habtoor also said his approval ratings have gone done because of the war mongering. He said Trump promised peace and not to go to war but broke his promise and intervened in seven countries. Full Text of Khalaf Al Habtoor's letter to Trump His Excellency President Donald Trump, A direct question: Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision? Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself! The people of this region have the right to ask as well: Was this your decision alone? Or did it come as a result of pressures from #Netanyahu and his government? You have placed the countries of the #GulfCooperationCouncil and the Arab countries at the heart of a danger they did not choose. Thank God, we are strong and capable of defending ourselves, and we have armies and defenses that protect our homelands, but the question remains: Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield? For before the ink has dried on the #BoardOfPeace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that endangers the entire region. So where did those initiatives go? And what is the fate of the commitments made in the name of peace? Most of the funding proposed in those initiatives came from the countries of the region themselves, and from Arab Gulf countries that contributed billions of dollars on the basis of supporting stability and development. And these countries have the right to ask today: Where did this money go? And are we funding peace initiatives or funding a war that exposes us to danger? More dangerous than that, your decision does not threaten only the peoples of the region, but also reaches the American people whom you promised peace and prosperity. And here they are today, finding themselves in a war funded from their money and taxes, with costs ranging, according to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), between 40-65 billion dollars for direct military operations, and could reach 210 billion dollars including economic impacts and indirect losses if it lasts four to five weeks, not to mention the sacrifice of Americans themselves in a war in which they have neither camel nor she-camel. You have even broken your promises not to get involved in wars and to focus only on America and put it at the top of your priorities, as you ordered foreign military interventions during your second term that included seven countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, and Venezuela, in addition to naval operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. You directed more than 658 foreign airstrikes in your first year in office, which equals the total strikes in Biden's entire term, for which you directed your arrows of criticism for involving the United States in foreign wars. Your Excellency the President, these numbers have severely reflected on your approval ratings among Americans, which have declined since your inauguration for the second term, by about 9% in just 400 days. These numbers say something clear: Even within #TheUnitedStates, there is growing concern about being dragged into a new war, and about exposing the lives of Americans, their economy, and their future to unnecessary risks. True leadership is not measured by war decisions, but by wisdom, respect for others, and pushing toward achieving peace. And if these initiatives were launched in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability. [Translated from Arabic to English by Grok AI] Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic The Trump administrations increasingly shaky trade agenda has been dealt another decisive blow. After a federal appeals court denied the federal governments request to delay refunds on International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs earlier this week, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) has ruled that Customs and Border Protection must begin the process of refunding importers. More from Sourcing Journal CIT Judge Richard K. Eaton said that CBP should utilize standard procedures to issue paybacks to companies that paid the tariffs. While the CIT decision does not establish a refund process, it makes stipulations about customs entries that have not been liquidatedi.e., those that are pending liquidationas well as those that have been liquidated but arent yet final. In the decision released Wednesday afternoon, Eaton wrote, with respect to any and all unliquidated entries that were entered subject to the IEEPA duties, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is hereby directed to liquidate those entries without regard to the IEEPA duties. Any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final shall be reliquidated without regard to IEEPA duties. All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit from the Supreme Courts ruling against the tariffs, he added. Eaton indicated that he will be the only judge to hear cases pertaining to the IEEPA duties, including in V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, So there is no danger that another Judge, even one in this Court, will reach any contrary conclusions. The CIT does not require importers to file lawsuits in order to obtain refunds, Eaton said, nor does the court desire a slew of additional cases to work through. I want to make it clear to the customs service that they have to refund any money that was unlawfully collected, Eaton told the Manhattan-based court while reading the ruling. During the hearing, the Department of Justice expressed its opinion that importers should have to file suits in order to obtain refunds for liquidated customs entries. The DOJ made an oral motion for a stay pending any appeal of the decision authorized by the Attorney General, which Eaton swiftly denied. A conference has been set for Friday wherein CBP is expected to provide updates on its refund plans. The DOJ asked that CBP be allowed to file a declaration before that hearing elucidating the administrative burden that millions of tariff refunds will foist upon on the agency. The judge said he would allow it, but expressed skepticism that the liquidation and refund actions would create the bottleneck that the federal government has claimed. Cove Capital, a private investment firm based in the US, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabias Tariq Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Brothers Company (AHQ) to advance cooperation on critical minerals projects between the two nations. The MoU sets forth a framework under which both entities will jointly identify and manage critical minerals projects worldwide. This partnership seeks to reinforce supply chains that align with the interests of both the US and Saudi Arabia, supporting industrial cooperation. As part of the agreement, Cove Capital and AHQ will examine upstream and midstream critical mineral assets and potentially form joint ventures or special purpose vehicles for project management. The development of refining, processing and manufacturing capacities in both countries is also on the agenda. Additionally, discussions will focus on creating an investment fund dedicated to mining assets and advanced processing technologies. The collaboration supports Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, which aims to expand its mining sector and establish the nation as a global centre for minerals processing. It also aligns with US initiatives to strengthen critical mineral supply chains crucial for national security and economic stability. The parties plan to explore varied financing options including Saudi institutional and sovereign funds; engagement with US financial bodies like the Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States; possible alignment with the $12bn US critical minerals initiative; and private investments from both Saudi and US sources. A joint steering committee will be set up to review opportunities, and specific projects will be managed through distinct agreements. Cove Capital chairman and CEO Pini Althaus said: This MoU represents a meaningful step in aligning US and Saudi industrial capabilities around critical minerals that underpin modern defence systems, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies. AHQ brings significant industrial strength and regional leadership. Together, we intend to build a disciplined and commercially robust platform that advances world-class assets and anchors long-term supply chains for both nations. Last month, Cove Capital, via its subsidiary Cove Kaz Capital Group, signed agreements with Tau-Ken Samruk National Mining Company to progress the development of tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan. "Cove Capital, AHQ sign MoU for critical minerals projects" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. Dana Gas has temporarily ceased production at the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) due to security concerns linked to the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran. The company notified the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) that it coordinated this suspension with the Kurdistan Regional Governments Ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity as a precautionary step. Dana Gas stated that the plant is currently being purged and maintained in an operational state so that production can resume when conditions permit. The announcement follows a joint statement from the Ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity, as cited by the Iraqi News Agency, confirming that Dana Gas halted natural gas deliveries from Khor Mor to electricity generation facilities as a result of the security situation. According to the report, this temporary suspension of supply is expected to reduce the regions electricity generation capacity by 2.5GW to 3GW. In related developments, Shafaq News reported that oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkeys Ceyhan port have been suspended. Prior to this decision, export volumes stood at around 200,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, the Kurdistan 24 news portal reported that groups linked with the Islamic Resistance carried out several drone attacks throughout the Kurdistan Region over a three-day period. The halt at Khor Mor comes after Dana Gas completed its KM250 gas expansion project at the site in October 2025. The company increased gas output at Khor Mor to more than 700 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) in January 2026, adding 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to its net production. The expansion boosted Khor Mors capacity by 50%, bringing total processing capabilities to 750mcf/d. Dana Gas announced in February 2026 that commissioning of a common-user pipeline at Khor Mor is expected in the second half of 2026, with group production projected to reach up to 75,000boepd once operational. This increase is based on higher utilisation rates across gas, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas production. Other operators in the region have also halted activities. Reuters reported last week that DNO, listed in Oslo, Norway, suspended oil production at its Tawke and Peshkabir fields as a safety measure following strikes carried out by US and Israeli forces on Iran. Gross output from these fields averaged just over 77,000 barrels of oil per day during the final quarter of 2025. "Dana Gas suspends Khor Mor operations amid Iraq security concerns" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. Campers at the 2025 Teton STEM Academy conduct experiments with liquid nitrogen. This years camp is scheduled July 12-19 on UWs campus. (Chip Kobulnicky Photo) Twenty-four students from across Wyoming will have an opportunity this summer to explore the interdisciplinary sciences as they relate to a mission to Mars during the Teton STEM Academy July 12-19 on the University of Wyoming campus. Campers, who will be entering ninth, 10th and 11th grades this fall, will be chosen based on demonstrated interest and academic potential in math, science, astronomy and space. Students need to have at least a B average in science and mathematics and a passing score on the states standardized science and mathematics tests. As part of the application process, students must submit written essays on why they want to attend the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) camp. Additionally, each student must have two teacher recommendations. The application deadline is Friday, April 10. First preference will be given to Wyoming residents. However, students from other states are encouraged to apply. For an application, go here. The camp is free, except for a $75 registration fee due after students are selected. The UW Teton STEM Academy is free to participants. It is funded by a generous gift from the estate of Harry and Mary Ann Lawroski of Teton County, says Chip Kobulnicky, a professor in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Teton STEM Academy. On-campus housing and dining will be provided for attending students. The camp provides high school students with college-level experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics that often shape a students future plans. The state of Wyoming and the nation need young people well-trained in science and engineering to solve the problems that the new generations will face, Kobulnicky says. Other nations invest heavily in science and technology, so the U.S. must as well. The hands-on camp will allow students to design a Martian colony; choose landing sites on Mars; learn about digital communication; explore solar and hydrogen energy sources; take a field excursion in the Snowy Range; test for signs of life in soil samples; interpret geological features; and visit UWs 2.3-meter Wyoming Infrared Observatory on Jelm Mountain near Laramie. Professional astronomers; UW graduate students majoring in astronomy or education; and high school and junior high school teachers will lead the activities. Megan Candelaria, an assistant research scientist in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and associate director for the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, serves as the associate camp director. The camp was moved from June to July this year to accommodate staffing availability, Kobulnicky says. We want students to be curious and see that learning is fun. We hope campers meet new friends who are like them, Kobulnicky says. We want campers to see college as part of their future and to see UW as part of their future. For more information, email Kobulnicky at chipk@uwyo.edu. An occasional look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By Paul Johnson, cybersecurity program manager, Wyoming SBDC Network The holidays are far behind us and tax season is around the corner. This lull in the business calendar is a great time to check in on your businesss cyber readiness. Cybersecurity is an ongoing function of any business, not simply a task to accomplish and forget. Keeping your organizational and customer data secure is vital to protecting not only your profits, but also your reputation and credibility. Here are some basic tasks you can address to complete an internal cybersecurity audit. You likely wont need an IT specialist for any of these areas and checking them off of your list will help ensure the cyber readiness of your company. -- Review your administrative and personnel policies related to cyber readiness and amend or add information as needed. For example, is your password policy still appropriate? Does your termination procedure address shutting down access to systems? Does your onboarding include cybersecurity training? -- Review your backup systems and redundancy policies. Are backups scheduled automatically; is access to cloud systems properly managed; and are any physical media locked and secured when not in use? -- Evaluate the effectiveness of your antivirus software and ensure that all devices are set to automatically update software and have operating system protections activated. Determine whether your current antivirus software is still adequate or if there are better options available. Physically check auto-update and protection settings on all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and internet-enabled devices. -- Evaluate other cyber protection measures in place, such as a password manager, an email/spam filter and a firewall. If those measures are not currently in place, research options and determine if now is an appropriate time to take such actions. If they are in place, ensure that they are updated and working properly. -- Review access control for all users. Determine the level of access employees have to systems and software. Restrict staff access to systems and control levels that are appropriate to their needs and job functions. -- Create a staff training plan for the upcoming year. Cyber readiness requires ongoing vigilance and education. More than 90 percent of cyberattacks are caused by human behavior, such as an employee clicking on a malicious link or falling for a phishing scam. Select a topic to focus on monthly and provide ongoing tips and training to address those topics. Depending on the type of data your company maintains and the complexity of your systems, there may be other topics to include in your annual internal cybersecurity audit. The items listed above, though, are a great start to help your business be cyber ready and more resistant to online attacks and scams. If you are unsure about how to proceed with an internal audit, reach out to the Wyoming SBDC Network. Our Cybersecurity for Small Business Program provides no-cost cybersecurity advising and training on all of the topics mentioned in this article and more. The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2025, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 42 new businesses; support 2,017 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $12.8 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922. For more information, go here. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. FILE: Sylvia Lopez, right, prepares diced peaches for packaging into fruit cups at the Del Monte Foods canning facility in Modesto, Calif. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty) California peach farmers are expected to take a multimillion-dollar financial hit and lose vast quantities of crops after Del Monte Foods plans to permanently close two state plants. Del Monte-owned plants in Modesto and Hughson will permanently close and leave hundreds of workers unemployed by April 7, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that was filed earlier and obtained by SFGATE. Hundreds of employees will lose their jobs, including 571 general laborers at the Modesto plant alone. But the California farmers who grow fruit for the factory are also taking a financial blow. Farmers in the Central Valley, as well as Yuba and Sutter counties, face a $550 million revenue loss from 20-year contracts to grow peaches with Del Monte, according to the Sacramento Bee. Many farmers haven't made substantial profits from the orchards that Del Monte asked them to plant just a few years ago. Now, about 75,000 tons of peaches will likely go to waste, the outlet added. "Two-thirds of the growers are going to be, basically, just left out to dry," Sarb Johl, a farmer in Yuba County, told the Sacramento Bee. Like many farmers, Johl signed a 20-year contract with Del Monte to grow peaches at his Yuba County farm. According to the outlet, Johl still had 10 years left on his contract but plans to remove his 9-year-old peach trees instead. FILE: Fruit cup cartons head for final packaging at the Del Monte Foods canning facility in Modesto, Calif. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty) Growing fruit trees is a timely and costly task for farmers who need to pay the upfront cost of buying and planting fruit trees but don't see an immediate return on investment, since it takes years before a tree starts yielding sellable fruit. Last July, Del Monte filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that Del Monte CEO Greg Longstreet said would be a strategic move to strengthen the company, according to a news release. He said that finding a new buyer would additionally help Del Monte be "better positioned for long-term success." Earlier this year, Del Monte received court approval to sell all its assets, and Lodi-based Pacific Coast Producers purchased Del Monte's canned fruit business. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of March, according to a news release. But while other assets of Del Monte were sold off, no one has bought the Modesto plant. Brian Greathouse, the president of the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau, told the Modesto Focus that the lack of interested buyers was "devastating to our area and local economy." Carissa Sauer, a spokesperson for Del Monte Foods, told SFGATE that while the choice was difficult, Del Monte decided to "begin an orderly wind-down of operations at the facility." Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam. Dozens of Indian and South Korean oil tankers and more than 1,100 crew are currently stranded in and around the Persian Gulf as the critical chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz remains de facto closed to tanker traffic. As many as seven crude oil tankers from South Korean refiners are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, Businesskorea reported on Thursday. The delay in crude shipments to Korea, which imports all of its crude and gas supply, could have major repercussions on energy security and the refining and petrochemicals sectors in the country, executives say. If the Iran situation is prolonged, it could pose a significant burden across the board, from energy and shipping industries to Middle East export projects, Kim Chang-beom, standing vice chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation, said at a meeting in South Koreas Parliament on Thursday. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War South Korean refinery officials noted that one of the stranded tankers has already loaded 2 million barrels of crude from the Middle Easta volume thats equivalent to one day of oil consumption in the country. The executives called for talks with the South Korean government about the potential to release crude from reserves. At the same time, as many as 37 India-flagged ships with more than 1,100 crew in total are also stranded around the Strait of Hormuz. A total of 37 Indian-flagged ships with 1,109 sailors are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the adjoining sea areas due to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian official with knowledge of the matter told local news outlet PTI earlier this week. Tanker traffic activity through the Strait of Hormuz has crashed from 40 vessels per day transiting in January the narrow but vital shipping lane, to a single tanker making the trip on March 3, according to data from energy flows analytics firm Vortexa. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you'll always know why the market is moving before everyone else. You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions - and we'll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here. The Swiss are expected to snub a call to create a multi-billion-dollar climate fund, aimed at combating global warming and addressing its consequences, with polls indicating voters deem the ambitious project too costly. The climate fund initiative, launched by the Social Democratic Party and the Greens, calls for the country to spend 0.5-1.0 percent of Switzerland's annual GDP -- around 4-8 billion Swiss francs ($5-10 billion) -- on fighting climate change. It will be voted on Sunday. Under Switzerland's direct democracy system, 100,000 signatures are needed to put virtually any issue to a popular vote, with the Swiss given a say on a wide range of topics every few months at the national, regional and local levels. Backers of the climate fund initiative insist it is needed "to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the economic and efficient use of energy, and the development of renewable energies". While this would mean at least doubling the amount Switzerland currently spends on climate protection, the Socialists and Greens argue that the cost of inaction would be far higher. "Today, we spend eight billion a year abroad in more or less autocratic countries to import fossil fuels," Green Party chief Lisa Mazzone recently told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. She argued that "a climate fund would not only accelerate the transition (to renewable energy), but also create jobs and keep added value within the country". - 'Too heavy a burden' - But the Swiss government and parliament have urged voters to reject the initiative on Sunday. They argued it would be far too expensive, and highlighted that the country currently spends around two billion francs a year -- from a budget of around 90 billion francs -- on climate protection. Such a fund would "place too heavy a burden on federal finances", they warned. Recent opinion polls indicate that most voters agree. Pollsters gfs.bern showed that 52 percent firmly opposed the initiative, while the latest Tamedia/Leewas poll put the figure at 62 percent. Polls meanwhile suggest that voters might embrace another issue on the ballot Sunday: an initiative calling for enshrining in the constitution a guarantee of maintaining cash payments with coins and banknotes. And there was suspense around whether a referendum would pass on a federal tax reform to tax the income of married couples separately. It meanwhile appeared clear that the final issue on the ballot -- an initiative calling for dramatically slashing Switzerland's media licence fee to 200 francs per year from 335 francs currently -- would not pass. The government has urged voters to reject the initiative, put forward by a committee made up of members right-wing parties and the Swiss Trade Association. The higher fee, it insists, is needed to "guarantee public service in all linguistic regions" of the country, which has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. ag/nl/rjm/st/cms The Israeli, and then American, attacks on Iran on February 28 were widely discussed in the international media. It is surprising to note that most journalists are unfamiliar with this country and interpret events through an outdated lens. Most of them are focused on the privileged relationship between Tel Aviv and Washington. Some have grasped the analysis of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, demonstrating that the Israeli lobby controls the US Congress. Alas! This analysis dates back to 2007, and the players have changed. Israel has become an authoritarian state, governed no longer by "Zionists" (claiming to be followers of Theodor Herzl), but by "Revisionist Zionists" (disciples of Vladimir Jabotinsky). Moreover, it practices torture, has massacred tens of thousands of Gazan civilians, and has considered forcibly displacing others. The Christian Zionist movement is no longer what it once was. Since the assassination of Charles Kirk, an anti-Israel movement has been growing among American Christians. The US Congress, too, has been transformed. Since the Tea Party, the Republican Party has been taken over by the Jacksonians. The financing of their electoral campaigns is increasingly coming from Trump supporters rather than the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Above all, the world has changed: the United States military supremacy is no more. Now, the Russian Federation is the most powerful nation. President Trump is trying, by all means, to save his country from bankruptcy and civil war. He is retreating to the American continent, which he hopes will include Greenland and Iceland. While claiming to have unlimited financial resources, he is quietly cutting spending on the "American empire." He plans to end US support for Europe by mid-2027 and for Israel by 2035. President Donald Trump addresses the Israeli issue with the mythical narratives of the creation of the United States and Israel, two states "willed by God," illuminating the world like "lights on the hill." He also highlights his personal antipathy toward Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he accused of betraying him by supporting Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, and his need for the help of major financiers in the Jewish diaspora to address his countrys bankruptcy. President Donald Trump did not support the Israeli attack against Iran on June 13, 2025 (Operation "Lion Rising"). He waited until June 21 to launch Operation "Midnight Hammer." In a single day, he damaged, or even destroyed, Iranian nuclear sites with penetrating bombs, removing any justification for Israeli action. In doing so, he preempted the "revisionist Zionists" who were calling for Israel to nuclear-bomb Iran. In August-September 2025, Donald Trump did the same thing regarding Gaza. He suddenly declared that Israel would not annex the Palestinian territory, but that the United States would transform it into a Riviera. Even if you dont see it, he forced Israel to stop the massacre of Gazans and to allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave. The death rate dropped dramatically within a few months, and 4,200 truckloads of aid are distributed daily. Admittedly, he didnt solve the problem, but for 80 years, every US government and every nation in the world had failed to come to the aid of the Palestinians. What he did is, without a doubt, disappointing, but he did it where everyone else was just talking. The US-Iranian Negotiations The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution long opposed the resumption of negotiations. According to him, it was impossible to talk with Donald Trump after he had unilaterally withdrawn from the JCPOA. The purpose of the negotiations undertaken by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Iran was never very clear. All that is known is that: The United States offered Iran free nuclear fuel for a civilian nuclear programindefinitelyin exchange for abandoning enrichment. Russia offered to store uranium already enriched to 60% within its borders. Iran rejected both proposals. The Iranians refused to discuss their missiles and their funding of allied foreign groups. They were right to refuse to discuss their ballistic missiles, which, admittedly, could have carried nuclear weapons had they possessed them, but which, at that stage, were simply weapons like any other. It was more difficult for them to refuse to discuss their hypersonic missiles, given that the United States does not possess any and is unable to intercept them. Regarding the allied groups they fund, they could not hope to circumvent the sovereignty of Lebanon and Iraq by financing the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). With the best will in the world, the American negotiators encountered diversionary tactics. To drag out the talks, Abbas Araghtchi politely explained, in typical Iranian fashion, that he needed a very large quantity of low-enriched uranium. He presented a seven-page list of uses, including the manufacture of medicines. But the Americans noted that Iran had never used uranium for this purpose. Trust was broken. Why did Israel attack Iran? Israel is attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and restore the monarchy. Tel Aviv remembers its friendship with Shah Reza I Pahlavi, even though their relationship was also marked by bitter rivalry. Two years ago, Mossad acquired his son, Reza II Pahlavi [1]. It promoted him in the international media and at certain events in Iran. It is well known that annihilating Iran, Israels most important regional rival, has been Benjamin Netanyahus personal obsession for forty years. Incidentally, this is the second time Israel has aligned itself with Iranian imperialism, whose symbol is the lion. After "Rising Lion," this operation is called "Lions Roar." Its objective is to destroy civilian nuclear research in order to ensure that oil and gas companies themselves become dependent on another energy source. This is what Benjamin Netanyahu was already saying in 2011. He declared: Our primary mission is to prevent a militant Islamist regime from acquiring nuclear weapons or from falling into the hands of a militant Islamist regime. The first is Iran, the second is Pakistan, more specifically in the event that the Taliban seize control of Pakistan So, the first thing to do is to prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons. That is our first mission, and the second is to find a substitute for oil. [2] Why did the United States attack Iran? The United States, which remains Israels protector, did not deploy its troops to attack Iran, but to protect the Iranian population from their countrys predictable retaliation. The Pentagon has positioned one naval group in the Persian Gulf (to protect its own military bases) and a second off the coast of Israel (to protect it). The American intervention we are witnessing, "Epic Fury," was not designed to be long-lasting. It is not coordinated with Israels. There is no joint command structure, and a majority of American soldiers are now anti-Israeli. The United States can destroy the hypersonic missile manufacturing site and kill a few leaders. Thats all. They have no intention of imposing the Shahs restoration or destroying Iranian nuclear fusion research. They intervene only to prevent Israel from acquiring nuclear weapons, as they did nine months ago with Operation Midnight Hammer. Preparing Public Opinion Since the start of US operations in Iran, with the collapse of Bank Ayandeh in October and the ensuing hunger protests, President Trump announced that he would not allow the Iranian government to massacre its own people. However, it quickly became apparent that this threat would not be carried out. Washington resumed negotiations with Iran without indicating what it intended to negotiate. The State Department, for whom Shah Reza II was merely a puppet of Mossad, was solely concerned with the development of Tehrans hypersonic missiles. Realizing that this concern would not be popular, it shifted its focus to Israeli accusations regarding the Iranian nuclear program; accusations which it then echoed. However, there has been no Iranian military nuclear program since 1988 [3]; a fact that was confirmed by Russia and China during the JCPOA negotiations (2013-2015). And this is still endorsed by Russia, which participates in the Iranian civilian program. Furthermore, let us remember that at the beginning of Trumps second term, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, assured the senators who were questioning her on March 24, 2025, that the Iranian military nuclear program was merely an illusion. She even wrote this in her annual summary report on threats to the United States [4]. To bolster this fear, Steve Witkoff stated on February 22, 2026, during Fox Newss My View, that Iran possessed such a large stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% that it was capable of manufacturing a nuclear weapon in one week [5]. "Given the maritime and naval power we have deployed there, why havent they come to us and said, We dont want nuclear weapons, heres what were prepared to do?" he continued. Vice President JD Vance added fuel to the fire. On February 26, he stated: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes us problems. In fact, we have seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that. [6]. This narrative directly contradicts President Trumps earlier statements that Operation Midnight Hammer had destroyed Irans nuclear program. Yet, no media outlet reported on this shift in rhetoric. The Preparation of Military Operations For a month and a half, propaganda relentlessly displayed the deployment of US forces around Iran. However, a simple observation revealed that these forces were not threatening Iran, but rather aimed at protecting US bases in the Persian Gulf and, subsequently, Israeli territory. The coordinated, not joint, attack could only take place once all US weapons were in position and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had left Israel. The United States released top-tier intelligence to Israel after the ten-day deadline set by Donald Trump for Iran had expired, but two days before the Vienna round of negotiations. The president thus kept his word but misled the Iranians into believing he would send negotiators to Vienna. The dual Israeli and US attack Israels first target was the residence of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where a meeting of the regimes top officials was to be held. Acting on information from the CIA, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired a series of conventional bombs until they created a hole that allowed them to reach the underground bunker where the meeting was taking place. Simultaneously, they struck other political targets. Two other command meetings were simultaneously targeted by Israel. It was only after the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that the United States entered the fray. Their objective was to contain Israeli expansionism. The international press quotes Richard Haass, honorary chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR): This is a war of choice This was not a war we should have undertaken now. Its not as if Iran has crossed a new threshold and posed an imminent danger. This is a preemptive strike This is not a war of necessity. President Trumps speech, announcing regime change, as advocated by his enemies, the Straussians, must be interpreted either as a complete shift in his policy or as a concession to his Israeli allies. At this stage, we know nothing. The Assassination of Ali Khamenei We must grasp the gravity of the assassination of Ali Khamenei by Israel. He was the supreme leader of the Shiites. Whatever one thinks of him, his death is not merely a political event, but also a religious war. Let us ask ourselves how we would react if Israel bombed the Vatican and assassinated Pope Leo XIV, a supporter of Palestinian Catholics? Ali Khamenei was not a poet and thinker comparable to Ruhollah Khomeini. But he always wanted to follow in his footsteps. However, he had aged very poorly. Sixteen years ago, he secretly negotiated with US President Barack Obama to sideline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and prevent his chosen successor from running in the presidential election. He had his main associates arrested, tried in secret, and imprisoned, to the benefit of the highly corrupt Hassan Rouhani, and then the fanatical Ebrahim Raisi. In any case, while one might think very poorly of what Ali Khamenei (86 years old) had become, assassinating a religious leader of his stature is a crime that has shaken the entire Middle East. Thus, Israel eliminated its three main adversaries: Yahya Sinwar (Hamas), Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah), and Ali Khamenei (Iran). Three extremely different leaders, but all three opposed the creation of an exclusively Jewish state in Palestine. The Iranian Response The Iranian response appears extremely confused. The Revolutionary Guards (known as the "Pasdaran") fired indiscriminately at Israel and at US bases in the region, from Jordan to Qatar. This is an absurd reaction: Qatar is a Sunni ideological ally of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. The two countries use the same theological language. Kuwait is also an ally of Iran, which it helped during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is, however, currently a gas dispute over the Durra field. Saudi Arabia was indeed a staunch enemy of the Islamic Republic, but has become an ally since the reconciliation brokered by China three years ago. The United Arab Emirates are indispensable economic allies of Iran, and vice versa. Dubai, which is a partially Iranian city, was only able to develop thanks to its role in circumventing the unilateral coercive measures (improperly called sanctions) imposed by the United States against Iran. Oman has always provided valuable diplomatic support to Iran. It was in Oman that the United States had been holding indirect talks with Iran since 2013. Iranian-Jordanian relations have evolved over the past five years. The possibility of Iranian oil transiting through Iraq has been raised. This appears to have been hampered by the presence of Iranian informants among the Iraqi oil emissaries. Iraq is the only state currently being bombed by Iran for which Tehran could find justification for its actions. The Iranian bombings may not be a coordinated effort, given that communication channels between the various missile bases could have been destroyed by Israeli and American air forces. In any case, they give the impression of initiatives aimed not at defending the population, but solely at prolonging the regimes rule. The paradoxical consequences of Israeli and American interventions Violence often has perverse effects. Ali Khamenei was the guardian of the teachings of Imam Khomeini. As such, he ensured, among other things, that Iran did not acquire weapons of mass destruction. It was a fatwa issued in 1988 when, during Iraqs imposed war against Iran, President Saddam Hussein ordered chemical missiles to be fired at his enemy. This battle resulted in the death and illness of countless Iranians. Khomeini drew a lesson from this: an Islamic state should never resort to a weapon of mass destruction that would indiscriminately kill large numbers of people. By interpreting Islam in this way, Khomeini ended the nuclear program that the Shah was conducting with France. Khamenei followed his example, but today Iran is without a leader. Nationalist forces have made no secret of their desire to equip Persia with such a weapon. They justify their ambition with the example of North Korea: a state still at war with the United States, but which the latter no longer dares to attack. Iran currently possesses a very large number of nuclear engineers. It will not be difficult for those who support the bomb to assemble a team to carry out their project. Iran possesses an estimated 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. Iran still has the centrifuges necessary to enrich this uranium further and reach the required 98%. Paradoxically, the assassination of Ali Khamenei, allegedly to combat a military program that did not exist, makes it possible. Entergy said its agreements to provide power to seven artificial intelligence data centers will save customers in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi $5 billion over 20 years, including $800 million in Louisiana. The company announced its projection of savings March 5 following President Trump's formalization of his Ratepayer Protection Pledge designed to calm concerns about who will bear the costs of the data centers, which require large amounts of electricity. Entergy has agreements in Louisiana with the $27 billion Meta data center in Richland Parish and the $10 billion Hut 8 data center in West Feliciana Parish, which will require construction of new natural gas fired power plants. The recently announced $12 billion AI data center in Caddo-Bossier will be powered by SWEPCO, which also has pledged to shield residential ratepayers from any cost increase. We proactively worked with our state leaders to recruit a new industry with attractive power agreements that protect and benefit our existing customers, said Drew Marsh, Entergy chair and chief executive officer, in a statement. Our respective public service commissions provided the collaboration, oversight and direction needed to make this emerging high-tech and electric future a win for everyone in our region. This announcement further supports the Trump administrations ratepayer protection pledge unveiled yesterday at the White House." Trump formalized the Ratepayer Protection Pledge on March 4 at the White House after first announcing the initiative during his recent State of the Union Address. "Big tech companies are committed to fully cover the costs," Trump said. "Prices for American communities will not go up, and in many cases they will come down substantially. It's a big deal." Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell of Elm Grove said he's confident the commission has provided safeguards for ratepayers. The five-member Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities and has approved Entergy's plan to provide power to the data centers. "That's the main reason I supported (Entergy's plan)," Campbell said in an interview with USA Today Network. "I do believe that the costs for the increased generation won't be passed on to the consumer." Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry responded to Entergy's announcement with a post on X. "Louisiana has been a national model for showing that data center projects can be structured in a way that not only protects the power reliability of existing customers on the power grid, but provides them with real savings, too," Landry said. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) The East Central Illinois chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women will open a hygiene pantry on March 5, hoping to fill the gaps that SNAP benefits cannot fill. In Champaign County, 19% of residents are at or below the poverty level. In comparison, the national average 12%. Vanessa Jones, secretary of CLU-W Hygiene Pantry, said they noticed a real need in their community. "It's becoming more expensive to live nowadays, and hygiene products are very expensive. If you receive benefits like SNAP, they don't cover your hygiene. So a lot of times families have to kind of pick and choose what they're getting," Jones said. There are no income requirements to benefit from the pantry. Staff requests that families only visit once per month. Families can pick from the following: New! The latest from WAND in your inbox Sign up for our newsletters to receive breaking news and daily headlines. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Two Feminine hygiene items One incontinence item Two shampoo/conditioner items Two oral hygiene items One toothbrush and toothpaste per person in the household Two body care items Three facial tissues, toilet paper and paper towel items Two miscellaneous hygiene items Two household items They are also accepting donations. You can bring in physical donations while they are open, donate online, or mail monetary donations to P.O. Box 131, Savoy, IL 61874. The pantry is open from 5-7 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Copyright 2026. WAND TV. All rights reserved. Italy issues new postage stamp to mark milestone. Italian president Sergio Mattarella will attend an event at La Scala in Milan on Friday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy's leading daily newspaper, the Corriere della Sera. The event, titled Corriere 150 anni. La liberta delle idee (Corriere 150 Years. Freedom of Ideas), kicks off a programme of commemorative events organised by the Milan-based newspaper whose first issue was published on 5 March 1876 by founder Eugenio Torelli Viollier. Milan mayor Beppe Sala and La Scala superintendent Fortunato Ortombina will be among the dignatories attending the gala event, along with Corriere della Sera editor Luciano Fontana and publisher Urbano Cairo. "We are honoured to open the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Corriere della Sera in the presence of the President of the Republic," Fontana said, emphasising that over the past 150 years the newspaper has transformed into a multi-platform media outlet without ever sacrificing its "pursuit of verified facts, objective stories, and independent and non-biased opinions." Alexander Soddy will conduct the La Scala orchestra in a performance of the Italian national anthem and excerpts from Bellini's Norma and Wagner's Gotterdammerung. Actresses Cristiana Capotondi and Serena Rossi will read landmark pieces from the newspaper's leading writers, alternating with testimonials from distinguished readers. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Corriere website starting at 11.30. The event includes the screening of the documentary film titled 150 Years of Corriere della Sera. The Story of Italy, narrated by Neri Marcore. To commemorate its 150th year, Italy's newspaper of record will launch a series of initiatives reflecting on its role as a historic pillar of Italian public life. The celebrations also include a dedicated editorial project titled "150 Years of News," which revisits landmark front pages, editorials and investigative reports that have defined the title's reputation for authoritative journalism. On Thursday the Corriere will reproduce its first issue from 1876, offered for free with the newspaper, while on Friday the collector's edition Il mio Corriere della Sera will debut on newsstands. This 300-page volume features greetings and anecdotes from 150 personalities from the worlds of culture, sport and business. Starting from next Thursday the newspaper will issue a weekly collection of replica copies of its most significant editions. Italy's enterprise ministry has also issued a special commemorative postage stamp to mark the milestone. Photo Poste Italiane The draft of the new Constitution is almost ready, but its preamble and first chapter, as well as a number of issues related to the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, have not yet been discussed. This was reported to journalists by the Minister of Justice of Armenia Srbuhi Galyan. To calm the passions, she said that the prepared draft was purely preliminary, it would be submitted for public discussion and everyone would be able to make suggestions. Of course, the journalists were most interested in the preamble and the fate of the claims it supports on the territory of Azerbaijan. Thanks to revanchist propaganda, this issue is presented as almost the cornerstone of the Armenian identity. Nikol Pashinyan's team takes a different approach. In any case, this follows from the answer of the Minister of Justice to the direct question whether the mention of Karabakh will be removed from the preamble of the Constitution. "The government assumes that the peace and territorial integrity of Armenia are not threatened," Galyan said. This means that the mention of the toxic Declaration of Independence, which declared the independence of Armenia, including the territories of Azerbaijan, will be deleted in the draft. It is still difficult to say whether it will remain in the final version. After the draft is submitted to the public without reference to the Declaration, the most serious processes will begin. The opposition has already taken measures to fuel nationalist sentiments, and Pashinyan's team will have a lot of problems with the preamble. The fact that the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia really depends on this seemingly inconspicuous point in the Basic Law, the politically active masses do not want to think about it. The calculation can be made for the politically inactive part of society, which makes up the majority. In the end, everything will depend on the outcome of the referendum. Including the fate of the peace treaty. Baku has repeatedly pointed out to its neighbors that while maintaining territorial claims to Azerbaijan, peace will not be signed, and now the choice is up to the Armenian people. In March 2025, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced plans to hold a constitutional referendum in 2027. Initially, Pashinyan claimed that the changes to the Constitution were solely an internal matter of Armenia. This is true, but not when this document affects the territorial integrity of a neighboring state. Such provisions automatically turn Armenia's internal affairs into the subject of international discussions. It is no coincidence that, speaking about the "issue of domestic policy," Pashinyan nevertheless admitted that this issue cannot but have regional and international influence. And a month after the previous statements, the Prime Minister of Armenia stated in Parliament that the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia should not contain references to the Declaration of Independence. Everything is simple. The claims to Karabakh will remain unchanged in the preamble. If claims on Karabakh remain, no peace treaty will be signed. And if a peace treaty is not signed, the emerging positive trends in relations between the two countries will not continue, because Azerbaijan does not intend to endlessly engage in charity, opening roads and providing cheap oil products to its neighbor, who considers Azerbaijani lands his own at the legislative level. However, the Constitution will be only the first step in humanizing the Armenian national idea. Without this, even in the absence of formal claims against Azerbaijan, it will be impossible to talk about the complete elimination of the Armenian threat. This threat will persist in the minds, in the mentality, in the ideological cushion on which generations will be brought up. She will move there from research rooms, from academic circles, which are not going to give up their positions yet. The Armenian government should address this important issue as well. Armenian science should stop digging into foreign lands, writing scientific papers and publishing books about the "Armenian history" of the territories of Azerbaijan. The foundation of the thirty-year occupation, the crimes of Armenians against the Azerbaijani people, unprecedented cruelty and cave hatred were just such books that continue to be published in Armenia or commissioned by Armenia. Just on Monday, the Armenian Academy of Sciences hosted the presentation of another similar publication published in Italy. Its authors are a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and, inexplicably, an associate professor at an Italian university who became involved in this project. The book dedicated to the "ethnography of the Second Karabakh War" has already been called a scientific achievement in Armenian studies. The content and idea were presented very abstrusely at the presentation, but it was not difficult to understand that Armenian science continues its efforts to promote, primarily to an international audience, the idea of "Armenian" belonging to the sovereign historical territories of Azerbaijan and the pseudo-martyrdom of Armenians in the light of the history of the Karabakh conflict and the 44-day war. The Armenian Academy of Sciences is not at all a scientific, but a political structure. The statement issued by the Armenian National Academy of Sciences in June 2022, when the future of Karabakh, which remained under occupation, became less rosy to the Armenians, is very significant in this regard. The Armenian academics stated that Karabakh cannot remain part of Azerbaijan in any status and only Armenia is "the guarantor of the security of Artsakh and the right of its people to self-determination." The Armenian Academy of Sciences considered that it was in no way possible to abandon these goals, and offered the government its "professional advice to government authorities." Surely, the Armenian Academy of Sciences has something to do and what to focus on in the interests of the Armenian state. The far-fetched and criminally falsified history for political purposes has already caused irreparable harm to Armenia, depriving it of many opportunities and turning Armenians into a threat to their neighbors that cannot remain unanswered. The goals set have not been achieved, and it's time to stop this fuss and do something that can really transform the Armenians from a diasporic people without a specific address into a nation capable of statehood. The European Commission is planning to introduce sustainability, resilience, and minimum EU content requirements in procurement for strategic sectors, particularly targeting the automotive industry. This includes setting European content thresholds for battery cells and components in electric vehicles, as well as mandating minimum levels of European-made steel. However, critics have said it could cause problems for global automotive supply chains and increase trade tensions with the US and China. The EU Commissions Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) aims to ensure that by 2035 manufacturing represents 20% of the EU GDP. It says it will achieve provide a toolbox to provide access to the European single market in a way that prevents strategic dependencies, creates manufacturing jobs, boosts decarbonisation and climate performance and secure access of European citizens and companies to vital commodities and products at all times. Automotive companies have said the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act will increase costs and upset global supply chains, while the strategys supporters say it will help protect the EUs industrial base. Reports say that no major automaker is in favour and signing up to the proposal, though European suppliers represented by CLEPA are in favour and have signed up. One area of contention is how non-EU countries such as the UK, Turkey or Morocco would be treated under new local content arrangements which stipulate that an electric vehicle should source at least 70% of its parts bill from within the EU to qualify for subsidies and be considered an EU vehicle. German OEMs are among the strongest opponents of the IAA. Analysts say further revisions to proposals are likely as the draft proposals now move to the European Parliament. The UKs automotive trade association has issued a statement to voice its concerns over the application of potential new EU local content rules and the position of third countries such as Britain. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "The UK automotive sector is gravely concerned by todays Made in Europe proposals set out in the European Commissions Industrial Accelerator Act. As drafted, it would discriminate against UK-made vehicles and components, damaging a trading relationship worth almost 70 billion annually. It is a position that the UK industry and government sought to avoid, given we are both each others largest customers and suppliers. However, the strict EU assembly rules and EU27 eligibility criteria currently proposed would effectively put UK manufacturers at a systemic competitive disadvantage in the EU market, a situation which may also be in breach of the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement the Brexit deal. National Galleries of Ancient Art and Fabric of Saint Peter join forces to celebrate 400 years since basilicas consecration. A curated series of guided tours of St Peter's Basilica, designed to explore the profound symbolic and spiritual legacy of Baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini under the patronage of Pope Urban VIII, will take place every Monday, Friday and Saturday at 14.30 and 15.00. Titled Bernini e i Barberini nella Basilica di San Pietro, the initiative runs in parallel to the blockbuster exhibition exploring the same theme, being staged at Rome's Palazzo Barberini until 14 July. Starting on 6 March, the tours by accredited St Peter's guides are the result of a collaboration between the National Galleries of Ancient Art and the Fabbrica di San Pietro. The thematic itinerary highlights the artistic era that decisively transformed the face of Rome. Visitors will be guided through the right aisle to view the Monument to Matilda of Canossa and the Tabernacle in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. The journey continues into the nave to examine the statue of Saint Longinus, the Baldacchino and the Chair of Saint Peter, concluding at the funerary monument of Urban VIII. The experience finishes on the Sagrato, where the guide will illustrate the theological and iconographic significance of Berninis Colonnade as a symbolic embrace of the faithful. Available in both English and Italian, the tours last one hour and are scheduled until 30 June. For full details including tickets see the official website. Photo credit: silverfox999 / Shutterstock.com. Doisneau exhibition at Museo del Genio in Rome from 5 March to 19 July. Rome's Museo del Genio hosts a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Robert Doisneau, the French master of the "snapshot", featuring more than 140 original prints. Doisneau (1912-1994) was a pioneer of French humanist photography, renowned for his evocative and often humorous depictions of everyday Parisian life. During a career spanning over half a century, he successfully blended the roles of photojournalist and street poet, creating an indelible visual record of the French spirit. The Rome retrospective spans Doisneau's career from the 1930s through to his later works. The display includes his most celebrated masterpiece, Le baiser de lHotel de Ville, alongside other well known works such as Un chien a roulettes. The exhibition also showcases intimate portraits of 20th-century cultural giants, including Pablo Picasso and Brigitte Bardot, captured with Doisneaus characteristic lack of pretension. For exhibition details including tickets see the official website. Schifano exhibition from 17 March to 12 July. Rome's Palazzo delle Esposizioni will host a comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Mario Schifano (1934-1998), one of the most significant and prolific figures of 20th-century Italian art. The exhibition offers a definitive survey of a career that redefined the boundaries between painting, advertising and the moving image. The show is structured chronologically, beginning with Schifanos revolutionary monochrome period of the early 1960s. These early works, characterised by dense layers of industrial enamel on paper or canvas, functioned as "screens" on which the artist began to project the visual language of the modern urban landscape. This phase illustrates his departure from Informalism toward a nascent Italian Pop Art, incorporating iconic logos and street signage. As the retrospective progresses into the 1970s and 1980s and up to the 1990s, it highlights Schifanos obsession with the "mediated image." The artist was a pioneer in integrating television and photography into the painterly process, often photographing his TV screen and reworking the stills with rapid, gestural brushstrokes. This technique explored the psychological impact of the mass media explosion on human perception. For full details, including ticket information and visiting times, see official website. Image: Mario Schifano, Grande angolo (1963). Photo Paolo Terzi. James Cox Irish actress Jessie Buckley has made some powerful enemies in cat lovers after comments she made in a podcast with Hamnet co-star Paul Mescal. The pair were discussing the movie, before moving into various topics. When the subject of cats came up, Buckley admitted she was not a fan. My husband, when I started dating him he had two cats. One of the cats was a pedigree model bitch and she staged like a coup against me. Id come home and thered just be poo on my pillow. And I was, like, its me or the cats." "I won," she added. While the Kerry native made the comments in good humour, some outlets in the US have criticised her and labelled them controversial. Cat lovers were also quick to criticise her online. Despite the bad PR, we doubt it will have an impact on her status as the clear favourite for best actress at the upcoming Oscars. By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora SAO PAULO, March 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian farmers may be squeezed by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to analysts and trade data showing the region is a key destination for Brazil's farm exports and an important provider of fertilizers such as urea. The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which has in turn launched attacks on other countries in the region and disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, may spark grain contract cancellations, and fertilizer shortages in Brazil, which is highly dependent on imports. Shippers are weighing whether to unload grain cargoes in Oman to avoid trouble in the Persian Gulf, according to consultancy Argus. "The alternative would be to cancel [grain] shipments," Argus told Reuters. "It is also still uncertain whether cargoes could be delivered in Oman and from there be sent to their final destinations by truck or rail." Bulk cargoes such as corn enter the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz, said Arthur da Anunciacao Neto, owner of shipping agency Alphamar Agencia Maritima. The threat to shipping in increasingly dangerous waters has driven up the cost of maritime insurance, he said. Ten ships are set to leave for Iran in the next few days with more than 600,000 tons of Brazilian soybeans and soymeal, according to Alphamar data. Those cargoes, depending on circumstances, may be diverted to other destinations, Neto said. Iran was the main destination for Brazil's corn exports last year, buying some 9 million tons or 20% of shipments. Most of Brazil's corn is shipped in the second-half of the year. CREATIVE SHIPPING ROUTES Middle East fertilizer producers, especially Iran, are also important suppliers to Brazilian farmers. Data from consultancy Agrinvest shows Brazil covered 100% of its urea needs with imports in 2025. An estimated 41% of those imports, or nearly 3 million metric tons, passed through the Strait of Hormuz before reaching Brazil, the data showed. Francisco Vieira, director at consultancy Agroconsult, said the war will likely restrict urea supplies and raise prices in the short term. "Nothing is expected to come from Iran," Vieira said. "We do not even know if their factories are being bombarded." Government data shows Brazil imported 7.7 million tons of urea last year, with shipments from Iran representing less than 2.5% of that. But Iran's shipments are often routed via Oman due to U.S. sanctions affecting settlement of international trade with Iranian parties, and private estimates suggest Iran is the origin of around 1.3 million to 1.4 million tons of Brazilian annual imports. Waterford Youth Arts (WYA) is set to sate a bold new drama this month, in Garter Lane Arts Centre. 'The Animals', will be staged as part of National Theatre Connections 2026, and will see the young cast explore topics of education, philosophy and hope inside a youth custody unit. The powerful play, by Emmy-winning playwright Sean Buckley, will be directed by Sinead Hourigan and will run at Garter Lane Arts Centre on March 13 and 14, marking the organisation's continued involvement in the National Theatre's prestigious nationwide youth theatre festival. 'The Animals' tells the story of Sam, a student teacher who arrives at a youth custody unit hoping to enrich the lives of troubled young residents by introducing them to philosophy. At first, the wary class want nothing to do with this strange new subject but as Sam persists, his questions begin to challenge them and offer a fragile sense of hope particularly for hard-fronting Gee, who is on the verge of release and secretly terrified of what comes next. The Waterford Youth Arts cast of 'The Animals'. Pic: @lightsensitivephotography The play shines a light on education within the youth custody system and the intense, often hidden challenges young people face as they try to imagine a future beyond its walls. Written for National Theatre Connections, the work explores the power of creative thought, learning and second chances when the stakes are this high. Playwright Sean Buckley is a BritishIrish writer from south London whose work spans bold new writing and award-winning screen drama. His plays include 'Matches for Monkeys', 'Between Dog and Wolf' and 'Smithereens', and his screen credits include the cult teen series 'Skins' (E4), the short film 'Polar Bear' (Film4) and the acclaimed drama 'Responsible Child' (Kudos/BBC Two), which won the International Emmy Award for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. Director Sinead Hourigan returns to Connections after directing Waterford Youth Arts' 2025 production of 'Saba's Swim', by Danusia Samal. Sinead brings her deep experience in youth theatre to this challenging new work, guiding a talented young cast and crew through the rehearsal process and creating a production that promises to be both bruising and moving. National Theatre Connections is the National Theatre's annual nationwide youth theatre festival, celebrating the creativity and talent of young people across the UK and Ireland. Each year, new plays are commissioned from leading playwrights specifically for young performers, and hundreds of youth theatre companies create their own productions. Waterford Youth Arts has a strong history with the programme and continues to demonstrate excellence in youth theatre through its participation. Following the Garter Lane performances, WYA will take 'The Animals' to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast as part of the Connections Partner Theatre Festival, sharing their work alongside other youth companies from across the UK and Ireland. The recommended age limit for the show is 15 and over and tickets for the Garter Lane performances, priced 7 to 10, can be booked online at https://garterlane.ie/events/the-animals/ A Waterford man has pleaded guilty to carrying out an assault at a bar. William Walker, of Hunter's Lane, Williamstown, appeared before Judge Eugene O'Kelly at Waterford Circuit Court. The 27-year-old gave a guilty plea to assault contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. The assault occurred in the early hours of March 18, 2025 at The Woodman Bar on John Street. Defence counsel Gareth Hayden BL made a request for the preparation of a probation report for Walker, stating: "Alcohol may have been a factor." Judge O'Kelly accepted the application and asked for a Victim Impact Statement from the injured party. The matter will be revisited on April 15. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme The Waterford-based Consent Matters project has been shortlisted for a national award. Consent Matters is a collaboration between South East Technological University (SETU) and the Waterford Local Community Safety Partnership (WLCSP) that offers community-based guidance on tackling sexual violence and harassment. Roisin Shanahan, Senior Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Officer at SETU, shared the news at a recent meeting of the WLCSP. "I'm delighted to let you know that the Consent Matters project has been shortlisted in the category of Best Collaboration Award Domestic (Public Good, Culture & Social Impact) at the National Education Awards 2026. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 16, at Johnstown Estate, Co Meath." Rising sexual violence During the meeting, volunteer Monica Murphy stressed an urgent need to expand the age target of the project, stating: "Given the ongoing daily media reports of sexual violence on our news channels and all across social media, I'm wondering if there might be any merit in seeking to widen the scope of the project to reach beyond third-level groups and into early adulthood." Ms Murphy presented statistics from the CSO (Central Statistics Office) and the Rape Crisis Centre about the state of sexual violence in Ireland. She said: "The most common sexual violence happens in private dwellings. Currently, about 63% of it happens in the victim's own home. "In about 70% of sexual offences, the suspect is known to the victim; 16% were often friends or acquaintances, 13% were blood relatives, 8% were current or former intimate partners or spouses." The Irish Prison Services had submitted an age profile of sexual offenders from the 2023-2024 period. According to Ms Murphy: "12% were for under 18 year olds, 31% for 18-29 year olds. That's a combined 43% of sexual offenders under the age of 30, which the consent program may get in terms of how it is now." Referring to the study, 57% of sexual offenders are above the age of 30. Ms Murphy concluded: "There might be some merit if we can get some funding for roadshows across the city and county to educate people on the subject of consent in the relationships in their homes, and generally get the conversation started to tackle the scourge of sexual violence across the county." Chairperson Sean Aylward suggested a meeting with the CEO of Cuan, the new domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency as a first step. Theft-related offences are the 'main driver' of crime in Waterford, according to An Garda Siochana. Superintendent Gavin Hegarty gave an update on recent crime trends at the meeting of the Waterford Local Community Safety Partnership (WLCSP). Supt. Hegarty said: "In terms of theft and theft-related offences, theft from shop continues to be our main crime driver, unfortunately." There were just under 1,000 incidents reported in 2025. The Superintendent said: "We have Operation Tairge, which is headed by Inspector [Shay] Keevans. "Waterford Garda Station is probably the third busiest Garda station in the country. Cases processed are just over 2,500 every year. A vast majority of those would be theft from shop offences. "We have the highest detection rate in the Eastern region. That takes a lot of work, there's an awful lot of follow-up in relation to commercial theft." Thefts from vehicles are on the rise, alongside a 23% rise in vehicle interference. Supt. Hegarty said: "European-production cars come with immobilizers as standard, it is an EU requirement. Japanese imported vehicles do not have that requirement on the second-hand market. "Since Brexit, we have seen a diversion of imports and vehicles from the British market into Ireland by the Japanese market." There was a drop in the amount of burglaries committed in Waterford. Supt Hegarty said: "There was a time in this county we would have had in excess of 1,000 burglaries in the course of a year. Last year we had 96 residential burglaries, averaging under two per week, which is fantastic." "We had 2,161 health-related calls, which were requests from the National Ambulance Service to attend the calls in advance or with them. Last year we had 21,500 calls across Waterford county, calls to the service centre that required dispatch." Under the category of assaults, attempts, threats to murder, Supt. Hegarty said that over 200 incidents were reported per quarter. "We're hovering around 200 incidents within the division every quarter. Compared nationally, there are in around 6,000 across the country. We are responsible for about 4% of national crime within the country." Media presence At the close of the meeting, Councillor Joe Kelly said it had been "refreshing" to have members of the press at the event. He commented: I think its refreshing to have members of the press here today to be able to hear almost everything that weve said so far. "I was reading a recent article where very many [partnerships around the country] are going to remain almost exclusively, I suppose, 'in camera'. I am delighted that we, as our own group, and we talked about it in Dungarvan, that, in as far as possible, our meeting should be public, because we do our business in public." Cllr Kelly continued: The media has a very important role informing the public about what the partnership is about and what we're trying to achieve. So I'm delighted that we've taken that view, and delighted that our public, not representatives, but newspapers and radios and whoever else is after turning up, are after coming. I'm delighted to see it, and I think it strengthens our democracy in no end that we do, whatever we can, in public. At a recent Metropolitan District council meeting, Independent Councillor Donal Barry said over the past few months here in Waterford were after taking several blows on the employment front". He listed redundancies announced at ABP, House of Waterford, Claires and Eurogiant. Read More Photo Eyes On '25: Perform South East Festival at SETU Arena in 2025 Employment growth must be the number one priority of this council. What are the plans to attract business and industry into Waterford? What engagement is happening with the government and the IDA? What companies are being targeted and when will we see some job announcements? Senior executive for Waterford Council, Claire Hartley, said: The mayoral visit to Boston will incorporate meetings with existing and potential FDIs [Foreign Direct Investors] and the IDA is well. Councillor David Daniels added, Waterford has been neglected. It's a failed policy of the IDA, were down the bottom of the league table. It's not good enough, the jobs we got here from the IDA. Its really worrying in the news that theres three IDA companies supplying 45% of the corporation tax." In a statement to the Waterford News & Star, the IDA said: With a population of 127,363, Waterford hosts 42 IDA client companies, employing 9,391 people, 57% of the total employment by IDA client companies in the Southeast. Key IDA client companies in the county include Bausch & Lomb, Sanofi and Haleon. A recent announcement by IBM in Waterford in June 2025 - IBM saw an additional 75 jobs in the area of research and development. IDA Ireland continues to actively invest in and market the region. Waterford has seen the largest number of Advanced Building Solutions, three built out to date, including one at Butlerstown currently being marketed through IDAs global offices." Funded by the Local Democracy Scheme Campion Insurance has announced two senior leadership appointments as the company, with offices on Gladstone Street in Waterford City, prepares to accelerate the next phase of expansion following a transformative three-year growth period. Damian Smith has been appointed Chief Trading Officer, while Brian Thorp joins as Chief Operating Officer, further strengthening Campions executive leadership team. The appointments come after a period of significant momentum for Campion Insurance, during which the business has successfully integrated more than 15 acquisitions, streamlined its operating model, and continued to deliver consistent growth and high levels of customer service across Ireland. Damian Smith, who joined Campion Insurance in 2017, steps into the role of Chief Trading Officer after serving as Head of Commercial. He previously held senior business development roles with Aon, Zurich and Quinn Insurance, bringing deep market insight and extensive industry relationships to his new position. In his expanded role, Damian will lead trading strategy and commercial performance across the organisation, supporting continued growth and market expansion. Brian Thorp Brian Thorp joins Campion Insurance from AXA Insurance, where he served as Head of Motor Damage Claims. He brings significant operational and claims management experience, having previously worked in Commercial Operations across the island of Ireland. As Chief Operating Officer, Brian will focus on operational excellence, scalability, and enhancing the customer journey as the business continues to grow. Speaking about the appointments, Jim Campion, CEO said, "The last three years at Campion Insurance have been transformative. We have integrated over 15 businesses, modernised our operating model, and continued to grow while maintaining a strong focus on exceptional customer service. "As we move into the next stage of our development, it was important to build a leadership team that combines deep knowledge of Campion Insurance with fresh perspective and external expertise. Damian and Brian bring exactly that balance. Their experience and leadership will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our market position and deliver long-term value for our customers and partners." These appointments signal Campion Insurances commitment to strengthening its executive team as it positions itself for sustained growth and continued market leadership in the years ahead. In its latest update on its action in Iran codenamed Operation Roaring Lion Israels military has claimed it has knocked out a large proportion of Irans air defences. We destroyed approximately 80 per cent of Irans air defence systems and achieved near-complete air superiority over Iranian skies, said Eyal Zamir, IDF chief of the general staff. Plumes of smoke rise following an explosion in Tehran. Getty Images Thanks to this, and to precise intelligence, we are striking the ballistic missiles directly threatening Israeli civilians. We neutralised and destroyed more than 60 per cent of ballistic missile launchers, a significant achievement that reduces harm to the home front and saves lives. This is an ongoing effort. However, I emphasise: the threat has not yet been removed. Every missile is lethal and poses a danger. To date, air force pilots have executed 2500 strikes with over 6000 munitions. Citing Irans Tasnim news agency, Al Jazeera reported that US-Israeli attacks had killed two paramedics in the Iranian city of Shiraz. A further six people have reportedly been injured by an Israeli missile attack on residential areas in Irans Poldokhtar city in the Lorestan province. The former New York Times opinion writer, who is staunchly pro-Israel, drew criticism over the weekend for putting a fire emoji over a comment criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's condemnation of the U.S. military action in Iran an unusual public reaction for the head of a major news organization. Weiss founder of the independent media company the Free Press came into the role with no experience running a TV news organization, building her reputation as an opinion writer with contrarian views and a disdain for "woke" ideology. There is also apprehension at CBS News, where David Ellison installed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief in October , with a mandate to have network's coverage appeal to the political center. "What has David Ellison and Larry Ellison promised Donald Trump with regard to what they're going to do with CNN?" one former executive said. "Before you even get through the hurdles of doing this, that's the overriding question. Are they going to fire anchors Trump doesn't like?" Before Paramount prevailed in its bid for CNN's parent, Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison's father Larry Ellison reportedly discussed changes to the network with Trump. For years, Trump has made CNN a major target of his "fake news" claims and impugned many of its journalists. "There have been many conversations over the years about combining CBS News and CNN," said Jon Klein, a digital media entrepreneur who previously held leadership roles at both organizations. "But this time, it's different. The business case always made sense but today you've got the overlay of the political agenda." But what is certain is that every permutation would be scrutinized closely due to the fraught relationships both CNN and CBS News have with the Trump administration. Last week CNN Chief Executive Mark Thompson told his troops to avoid "jumping to conclusions about the future." It's still too early to determine what those moves would be and how widely they would be felt. But if the Paramount-Warner transaction is approved by regulators, CNN and CBS News would be forced into potentially rocky marriage where they would have to sort out leadership roles, personnel and editorial direction. The combination has been proposed before with the aim of consolidating news-gathering costs. Those plans fell apart largely over who would be in control. Paramount's $111-billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery will put two of the most storied journalism brands CNN and CBS News under one roof. Story Continues Weiss wasted no time taking on the prestigious CBS news magazine "60 Minutes," which has long been a stubbornly independent operation. She delayed a story on the harsh El Salvador prison used by the U.S. to house undocumented migrants, saying it needed more reporting. The story's correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi accused CBS News management of placating the White House, turning the decision into a public relations fiasco for the network. Read more: Bari Weiss pushes a digital plan in attempt to move past her rocky start at CBS News Significant changes are coming to "60 Minutes" later this spring, with one or more of its correspondents possibly being replaced, according to people familiar with Weiss' plans who were not authorized to comment. Weiss has also expressed interest in hiring right-leaning on-air talent for CBS News. Some CBS News leadership is already heading for the exit. Shawna Thomas, a longtime "CBS Mornings" executive producer, told staff Thursday that she is leaving at the end of the month. "I've been thinking about this for a while and frankly, I'm tired y'all," she wrote in a memo. Weiss arrived after Paramount settled a Trump lawsuit with the dubious claim that a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to aid her 2024 presidential election campaign against him. The willingness to settle the suit was largely seen as Paramount capitulating to Trump in order to get government approval of its merger with Skydance Media. The Ellisons' tight relationship with Trump was also seen as an asset in their successful pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The stew of issues bubbling through the transactions is why most of the rank and file at CNN rooted for Netflix to prevail in its bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery. The Netflix bid for WBD did not include CNN or the company's cable networks, which in the words of one insider would have made it "a stay of execution." Read more: Power, politics and a $2.8-billion exit: How Paramount topped Netflix to win Warner Bros. Now CNN staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, are bracing for upheaval. When they look at CBS News navigating the changes under Weiss, they are reminded what they went through after Warner Bros. Discovery took over their network and tried to push the coverage to the center. After a declaration by Chief Executive David Zaslav that the network needed to be more accommodating to conservative voices and the telecast of a rowdy Trump town hall CNN experienced an exodus of viewers. But the biggest fear that the merger brings is consolidation and the loss of jobs. CNN has 3,400 employees while CBS News is at around 1,000. Cost-cutting is expected to be aggressive across the combined Paramount-WBD, which will have a mountain of debt to service. The parent companies of CBS and CNN have discussed merging or sharing news-gathering operations and on-air talent numerous times over several decades. In 2019, Viacom, the CBS News parent at the time, had a deal in place to pay CNN an annual license fee to provide international coverage. Under that plan, CBS would have maintained a few of its signature overseas correspondents, while shuttering its bureaus around the world. But Viacom backed out of the deal. CNN's international coverage has long been its calling card and it's likely the network will handle that reporting for CBS News once Paramount takes ownership. When asked about editorial independence in an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Ellison said "editorial independence will absolutely be maintained. It is maintained at CBS, it will be maintained at CNN." Combining the news-gathering operation stateside will be trickier, as CBS News has employees and vendors that operate under contracts with the Writers Guild of America East, SAG-AFTRA and other unions. CNN is a non-union shop. Resolving the union issue has been a snag in every previous discussion to combine CBS News and CNN over the years, according to several former executives at both outlets. CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper in New York in 2016. (Associated Press) Another development worth watching is what role Anderson Cooper will play in the merged operation. Cooper signed a new deal with CNN last year, but turned down an offer to remain as a "60 Minutes" correspondent, a role he's had since 2007. CBS News has pursued Cooper several times over the years to be its evening news anchor. There was even a proposal in 2018 for him to helm "CBS Evening News" while keeping his nightly prime time program on CNN. That idea was shot down at CNN, where leadership believed he was unique to the network's brand. In a statement, Cooper cited a desire to spend more time with his two children as the reason for passing on another "60 Minutes" deal. However, associates have said his wariness over the direction of CBS News under Weiss made his decision easier. Now, Cooper probably is headed into the CNN-CBS News tent, which may make him feel a bit like Michael Corleone in "Godfather III" when he said, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. While millions of Gen Z workers face unemployment in the white-collar AI job apocalypse, older and more experienced workers are faring well, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. AI adoption is more complicated than technology simply taking over jobs, wrote J. Scott Davis, Dallas Fed assistant vice president, who authored the study. In AI-exposed industries, the technology is actually helping experienced workers elevate their productivity by outsourcing tasks to AI, thus enabling them to focus on work that adds more value to a company. More from Yahoo Scout Why are experienced workers benefiting from AI adoption? Which industries show the strongest AI wage growth? How is AI affecting entry-level job opportunities? What does this mean for future workforce development? If AI were simply automating jobs, we would expect both wages and employment to decline, Davis wrote. But thats not the case, he explained. His analysis of wage data since fall 2022 revealed AIs impact is being felt very differently across industries because of the types of jobs the technology threatens. It comes down to the kind of knowledge needed for entry-level jobs. Returns on job experience are increasing in AI-exposed occupations, Davis wrote. Young workers with primarily codifiable knowledge and limited experience will likely face challenging job markets. Entry-level workers are experts in book learning, Davis explained, which AI can easily automate. Older workers have understanding gained through experience, which is more difficult for AI to replicate. Across the world, AI job disruption is concentrated most among young workers in the tech and finance sectors. A February report from the Irish Department of Finance found that employment for younger workers dropped by 20% between 2023 and 2025, while it grew by 12% for prime-age workers (ages 30 to 59). A similar trend is happening in the U.S. One study found that since 2021, employment has declined 1% in the top 10% of AI-exposed sectors such as law, finance, and education. Workers ages 22 to 25 have felt the loss most profoundly, while the employment of older workers has grown, researchers at Stanford University found. AI is already reorganizing companies org charts. Anthropics Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code, recently said the title software engineeronce a foundational entry-level position at every Big Tech companycould be extinct by the end of 2026. Cherny hasnt coded since November, and has completely given over his time-intensive coding tasks to Claude. When I think back to engineering a year ago, no one really knew what an agent was, no one really used it, he said. But nowadays its just the way that we do our work, he said. Adopting AI for entry-level tasks has not been one-size-fits-all across Big Tech. IBM announced last month its tripling the number of entry-level jobs, including software developers and all these jobs were being told AI can do, Nickle LaMoreaux, IBMs chief human resources officer, said at an event hosted by workplace newsletter company Charter. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) More than $650,000 in car parts were recovered and several people were arrested stemming from a bust of an illegal chop shop operating in Louisville and across state lines. Louisville Police said stolen cars are being broken down and sold for parts. Police said search warrants were served in the last couple weeks at four different locations across the city in connection to the chop shop bust, and several suspects face felony charges. Now, residents and business owners in Fairdale, where an auto body shop was raided, are wondering what's next. Last week when Danielle McCorkle was working at her business on Mitchell Hill Road, she heard a loud bang coming from next door. "The SWAT team came out and were shooting rubber bullets at the building," said McCorkle, witnessing just one part of LMPD's chop shop busts. "First, I was scared," said McCorkle. "I didn't know what it was and then I was like 'Whoa, what is happening.'" LMPD said multiple suspects were running a chop shop operation: breaking cars down into parts then selling them off for thousands of dollars. The raid at White Shark Auto Parts located next to McCorkle's business is just one of at least four search warrants LMPD carried out across the city recently. "We recovered approximately parts from 25 separate vehicles at a value of $650,000," LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said during a news conference Wednesday. According to court documents, search warrants in this case were also served throughout Louisville in the 3300 block of Woodland Drive, 7500 block of Michael Drive and 2700 block of 7th Street Road. Humphrey said cars were stolen from Ohio, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and even from Canada. Not only did police recover stolen cars and car parts, but guns as well. "We recovered multiple guns, nine guns in total as part of this investigation, two of those were stolen," Humphrey said Wednesday. Six people have been arrested in connection with the chop shop bust: Amanda Guerrero, 35, of Louisville Alexis Goodman, 24, of Florida Andres Gijon-Gonzalez, 27, of Florida Joseph Probus, 50, of Louisville William Hutchens, 33, of Florida Larry Galyon, 38, of Louisville "They were charged with a litany of crimes from engaging in organized crime and obscuring the identify of a machine," said Humphrey. Guerrero, one of the six involved in the chop shop case, was arrested on Feb. 24 during the raid in the 7500 block of Michael Drive in Fairdale. She already pleaded not guilty to several charges including engaging in organized crime, receiving stolen property and trafficking in stolen vehicles or parts. Guerrero was in court Wednesday, where her felony charges are being waived to a grand jury, and a judge kept her bond at $50,000 full cash. Her case will be brought to the grand jury the week of April 6. "It is my understanding that there may be more arrest, and anyone who is connected with these people may be well served to turn themselves in The other five people charged in this case will have their cases presented to the grand jury the week of March 9. Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. Loars subsidiary firms bring long experience to the field: some have been in operation for 25 years, others for 60 to 70 years or more. Overall, the company has a diverse base of manufacturing skills and capabilities, along with high-end engineering and product testing services. All of these give solutions to the aerospace/defense sector, based on precision performance specifications. The first HALO stock on our radar, Loar Holdings, is the parent company to a family of subsidiaries, firms that act in aerospace and defense niches. Through its subsidiaries, Loar produces a wide variety of aircraft and defense industrial components; these include airframe, structural, and braking system components; avionics; composites; de-icing equipment; electro-mechanical and engineered materials; flight controls and fluid-motion controls; restraints and safety devices; and human-machine interface devices. Krons colleagues at Goldman are busy picking out halos to buy for the near term and have added a pair to the firms conviction list. Weve opened the TipRanks database to see what the rest of the Street makes of their choices. Lets take a closer look. Steven Kron, Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Director of Americas Equity Research, is leaning into the halos, writing in a recent note, Investors are finally giving more value to old world capital intensive businesses that is now extending beyond just those investing in hard data center assets to other slices of the supply chain and the economy. Why? The old adage that you buy the shovel makers in a gold rush is at least part of the answer, of course. And as strategist Peter Oppenheimer puts it: for the first time since the internets commercialization a quarter-century ago, future technology growth prospects are increasingly dependent on physical assets like data centers and energy supplies. Drilling down on this opportunity, we identify the best HALO businesses that pair substantial physical capital (barriers to replication via cost, regulation, time to build or engineering complexity) with long-lived economic relevance. Now, some of Wall Streets top firms and analysts are starting to turn to halos as conviction names for the near future. HALO stocks are starting to attract more attention. These stocks feature a fundamentally sound profile of heavy asset, low obsolescence. Its a profile defined by a combination of high levels of physical capital and lasting economic relevance. HALO stocks can be found in the energy sector, in transport infrastructure, and in heavy industrial equipment. Story Continues We should note that, in January of this year, Loar completed its most recent merger transaction, the $250 million acquisition of Harper Engineering. Harper has two facilities in the Seattle area, and Loar expects a $30 million tax benefit from the transaction. Loars financial results in 4Q25, the last period reported, were sound. The companys revenue of $131.8 million was up 19% year-over-year and beat the forecast by $3.75 million. The company realized a 26-cent non-GAAP EPS, 7 cents per share better than had been anticipated. Goldman analyst Noah Poponak is impressed by this companys overall status as a first-rate industrial player. He writes, LOAR is one of the highest quality Aerospace & Defense earnings compounders, with very strong margins and free cash conversion, and still in the early stages of long-term growth and margin expansion. With revenues roughly twenty times smaller than competitor TDG, LOAR has ample balance sheet capacity, and is a preferred buyer in a very fragmented aerospace supply chain providing the company with a long runway to acquire assets and supplement strong organic growth. All of this comes at a valuation discount to the average A&D supplier peers. The Goldman expert puts a Buy rating here, along with a $98 price target that implies an upside of 35.5% in the coming year. (To watch Poponaks track record, click here.) LOAR shares have 3 recent analyst reviews on record, and all are positive for a unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating. The stock is priced at $72.30, and the $87.67 average price target indicates room for a 21% gain in the months ahead. (See LOAR stock forecast.) ConocoPhillips (COP) Next up is a HALO stock with a familiar name, ConocoPhillips, one of the worlds biggest oil-industry names. The companys $144.5 billion market cap ranks it as the eighth-largest oil and gas exploration and production firm on the global scene, and the third-largest among its US peers. The company generated nearly $13.4 billion in revenue from 4Q24 to 3Q25, putting it in twelfth place globally in the oil industry. ConocoPhillips has operations around the world: in the US and Canada, in Norway, in North Africa and the Persian Gulf, in China and Southeast Asia, and in Australia. These operations include crude oil and natural gas production, as well as extensive exploration ops. Earlier this month, it was reported that ConocoPhillips is planning to restart production in Norways Greater Ekofisk area. The plan involves three fields and 11 wells; details have been submitted to the Norwegian government. The oil major is planning to spend $2.1 billion on the project. In addition, ConocoPhillips is looking to streamline its operations, and is exploring a sale of assets. The assets under sale consideration are in the Permian Basin of Texas, particularly in the Delaware Basin portion of the formation. ConocoPhillips is looking at a sale worth approximately $2 billion. On the financial side, ConocoPhillips saw $14.2 billion at the top line in 4Q25, beating the forecast by $1.1 billion. The companys bottom line, of $1.02 per share by non-GAAP measures, was 7 cents per share less than had been expected. Goldmans 5-star energy sector expert Neil Mehta has put the company on his firms Conviction List suggesting that he sees it as a reliable route to energy sector investments. Mehta writes of this oil giant, COP is experiencing a positive free cash flow inflection over the next three years as it transitions from a long period of heavy project investment to boost its oil reserves into a new period of investment harvesting characterized by major projects coming online and capex diminishing all coming alongside what we see as improving oil supply/demand fundamentals. Look for COP to realize accelerating free cash flow growth at a higher rate of change than large cap peers, and potential further upside if global oil fundamentals improve even more. Strong free cash flow generation should also support consistent shareholder returns while sustaining a strong balance sheet. All of this adds up to a Buy rating for Mehta, whose $125 price target on COP implies a 6% gain by this time next year. (To watch Mehtas track record, click here.) ConocoPhillips has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Wall Street, based on 19 recent reviews that include 14 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell. However, given strong recent gains (up 27% year-to-date), the $116.22 average price target implies the shares will stay rangebound for the time being. With this in mind, watch out for either price target hikes or rating downgrades shortly. (See COP stock forecast.) Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) A small group of repeat offenders accounted for nearly 1,800 felony charges in Louisville last year, according to newly-released data tied to a new initiative aimed at reducing violent crime. In an effort to trim that number, the Louisville Metro Police Foundation launched the Repeat Offender Initiative, a collaborative effort designed to bring law enforcement, prosecutors and community partners together to focus on people with multiple felony convictions who continue to reoffend. "A small amount of people are responsible for a large amount of crime," said Joshua Chavez, director of the Crime Reductions Program for the Louisville Metro Police Foundation. "If we can target this population that is responsible for a lot of the crime, maybe we can change the trajectory and reduce crime overall." Chavez is spearheading the foundation-led initiative, drawing on his experience leading Atlanta's Repeat Offender Initiative. It will serve as the blueprint for Louisville's new program. In Atlanta, overall crime decreased significantly since the initiative was revived in 2022. Homicides have decreased by 43% since then, according to the Atlanta Police Department. "There's been a lot of good that's come out of that program not just repeat offender related but just kind of creating change across the entirety of the system," Chavez said. Preliminary data released as part of the initiative in Louisville shows, in 2025, 581 repeat offenders were responsible for 709 felony cases totaling 1,786 charges. On average, each offender had four felony convictions across three separate cases. More than half of the cases 52% resulted in a prison sentence, while 42% resulted in probation and 8% ended in diversion, time served or discharge. Eighty-three percent of cases were resolved through a guilty plea to the original charge. The most common charges were possession of a firearm or handgun by a convicted felon, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree escape. Chavez said the numbers highlight the need for a more coordinated response. "There's a lot of people that are trying to make Louisville safer, trying to do the right thing," he said "And I think ... bringing everyone together to have these conversations and being a neutral party will really pay dividends." The initiative aligns with Mayor Craig Greenberg's Safe Louisville plan, and will be structured around three pillars: rehabilitation and prevention, intervention and accountability, and enforcement and public safety. The foundation will facilitate a Violent Repeat Offender Commission, an advisory body made up of public safety leaders that will review data and develop non-binding recommendations. A Violent Offender Data Analysis Unit will support the effort by compiling and analyzing real-time data on repeat offenders. LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said the initiative complements the department's focus on apprehending violent offenders and removing illegal firearms. "Much of the crime in Louisville is driven by a small group of individuals," Humphrey said in a statement. "LMPD's Crime Reduction Strategic Plan focuses on apprehending the most violent offenders, removing illegally possessed firearms, and ensuring successful prosecutions. We welcome the Repeat Offender Initiative, which brings the right partners together to share critical information and act on it together." The Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is a part of the collaboration. Prosecutors believe real-time data collected through the imitative will lead to more effective and intentional prosecution of repeat offenders. "We are honing in as much as we can to try to fixate on how do we get to these folk," Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers said. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman called repeat offending a central driver of violence. "Violent crime is Louisville most pressing threat, and it continues to be driven by repeat offenders," Coleman said in a statement. "By investing in zealous collaboration among local, state and federal law enforcement, we can leverage every talent and resource available to keep Kentucky families safe." While officials emphasized the initiative is not solely focused on incarceration, they said it will examine when rehabilitation, supervision or confinement is most appropriate and whether the current system is responding consistently to repeat offending. "Bad guys, good guys, left, right everybody can agree to one thing, and that is everybody wants to live in a safe community, and I think this will help do that," Chavez said. Leaders said success will ultimately be measured not by meetings or reports but by whether the number of repeat offenders declines in the coming years. Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. The letters "AI" for Artificial Intelligence are displayed on a wall after the press conference marking the opening of the Google AI Center Berlin. Soeren Stache/dpa Google on Thursday unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) centre in Berlin, as the US tech giant seeks to expand its infrastructure in Germany. The new Google AI centre is the central component in a large-scale investment programme worth 5.5 billion ($6.4 billion), and is intended to promote closer cooperation with representatives from science and politics. In the historic rooms of the Forum on Museum Island in Berlin's Mitte district, Google will bring together teams from Google DeepMind, Google Research and Google Cloud under one roof. The facility also includes a space for presenting the latest AI technologies. Philipp Justus, Google's head of Central Europe, said the centre is a place for collaboration and debate that will boost Germany's AI capabilities. Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger called the development "a good day for Germany," showing the country's position as an attractive high-tech location. "New ideas, collaborations and products are emerging here that benefit start-ups, small and medium enterprises and industry," he said. Wildberger also addressed concerns that the dominance of US corporations such as Google is jeopardizing Germany's digital sovereignty. "Digital sovereignty is extremely important for Germany and for Europe," he argued, but it "does not mean doing everything on your own." "We continue to work in partnerships on an equal footing," he added. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner sees the new centre as a sign of confidence in the strength and future of the capital city, which he said is on its way to becoming the number one location for innovation in Europe. Collaborations on medical research The opening is accompanied by new collaborations, including one with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the scientific institution Helmholtz Munich. The initiative will develop responsible AI applications for medicine and research, for example in single-cell research. Fabian Theis, head of the Helmholtz computational health centre, said: "Drug development still takes 10 years, costs billions, and then 90% of clinical trials don't work." The crucial question when using AI, he said, is how to find out more quickly and reliably which model could work before investing many years and considerable resources. AI's potential for growth At the opening of the AI centre, Google referred to the enormous economic potential of artificial intelligence. An analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW) commissioned by tech giant shows that the widespread use of generative AI could generate additional gross value added of around 440 billion per year in the country by 2034. Leesville, LA (71446) Today A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low near 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low near 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. James Cox Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come. Martin's White House visit gets even more complicated March 17th was always going to be difficult for Taoiseach Micheal Martin and it has only become more complicated after the United States launched a war against Iran. Meeting with US president Donald Trump is a tricky prospect for even the most senior world leaders. This was once again in the spotlight recently as German chancellor Friedrich Merz faced an awkward White House encounter with Trump. As the president launched into tirade after tirade against the European Union and German allies, Merz sat stony faced without really challenging Trump. He did refrain from praising his counterpart as he had done on a previous visit to Washington. Martin is unlikely to challenge Trump, it's not his style, but a muted reaction like Merz will probably be his best bet. Trump is likely to air his grievances with Spain once again. Led by prime minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain has emphasised the illegality of the US war on Iran. They then went further by barring the American military from launching attacks out of Spanish bases. Trump responded during his meeting with Merz. "We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain," he said. While Martin's diplomacy will be on display, but at home politicians are not shy about speaking out about the US. Perhaps with the benefit of having the luxury of knowing they will not be facing Trump, the likes of Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns have taken strong stances in encouraging the Taoiseach to do exactly that. Former ceann comhairle Sean O Fearghail also warned Martin not to invite Trump to address the Oireachtas during his likely visit to Ireland this year. Fuel prices There has been an avalanche of outrageous fuel price rises across Ireland amid the Middle East conflict, the Dail has heard. Tanaiste and finance minister Simon Harris, urged people to send examples they have of so-called price gouging to the state competition watchdog. Reports of dramatic increases in fuel costs, such as home heating oil and motor fuel, have been sent to TDs who have raised concerns about the price hikes. The government has said that there should be no increase at the forecourts due to the conflict in the Middle East, as there would be a weeks-long lag before prices would be impacted. Abroad Globally, Iran is the big story. Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases on Thursday and threatened that the US would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. At yesterday's NTA Oireachtas Briefing, a proposal for a new bus service linking Ballina to Ireland West Airport was unveiled. It is proposed that an Airport Shuttle Bus will connect with the Route 22 Ballina to Dublin Bus at Charlestown in a development that will further open up Ballina and North Mayo in terms of connectivity. Dara Calleary TD said: "I will be continuing to liaise with the NTA in the coming weeks prior to the proposal being adopted and commenced and will update accordingly." Grant Thornton UK has selected Fenergos AI-driven client life cycle management (CLM) platform to support its onboarding, due diligence and compliance processes. Fenergos CLM tools will help Grant Thornton UK to perform comprehensive checks on new clients, apply risk standards in a consistent way and address regulatory obligations at the start of each engagement. The use of the platform is expected to shorten onboarding times by digitising and automating key parts of the process. Grant Thornton UK chief operating officer Fiona Baldwin said: Efficiency, quality and compliance are fundamental to delivering exceptional service to our clients. Fenergos unified platform will help us optimise the onboarding experience, reducing time and supporting regulatory readiness across our business; all underpinned by the companys proven track record and deep expertise in this space. By consolidating know your customer (KYC) processes, client due diligence and engagement acceptance into one workflow, the system is designed to cut manual work. This allows staff to focus on more complex matters and accelerate client onboarding. Fenergo EMEA managing director Ruth Ormsby said: We are proud to partner with Grant Thornton UK as they reimagine their operating model for client onboarding, due diligence and engagement acceptance. Our mission is to empower users to focus on their most critical business priorities, gaining a competitive advantage through efficiency and personalised client experience. By leveraging AI, we aim to streamline workflows, remove waste and drive impactful outcomes. Grant Thorntons adoption underscores our strategic growth in the professional services sector and the strength of our AI-powered CLM platform. In January, Grant Thornton UK said that it plans to invest 500m ($667.12m) over several years to reshape how its audit, tax and advisory practice operates and delivers services. The phased spending will enable the rollout of new digital tools and platforms within weeks and months rather than years. "Grant Thornton UK taps Fenergo to revamp client onboarding, compliance" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. A man whose truck struck and killed an elderly woman in a supermarket car park has been jailed. Mihail Tanasevici, aged 42, of Woodford Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing death. He also pleaded guilty to the lesser known traffic offence of allowing inessential items to be present in front of the windscreen. Maureen Hopkins, aged 78, of Rosmoney, Carrowholly, Westport, died after she was struck by a Mercedes Benz truck in the car park of SuperValu, Westport on June 6, 2024. Gda Tomas Ryan attended the scene shortly after the accident which occurred at 11.47am. Mrs Hopkins had parked her car in SuperValu car park and was walking towards the rear entrance of the store. The delivery truck was in the car park and reversed to allow a vehicle to exit the car park. The driver then moved forward to allow another car exit the car park. When the truck moved off again it collided with Mrs Hopkins as she approached from the drivers left-hand side. The grandmother of nine was fatally injured as a result of the impact. Tanasevici has no previous convictions. A native of Moldova, he has a wife and four children back in his home country. He tested negative for alcohol and drugs and there was no mechanical defects found on the truck. The defendant was delivering food produce to SuperValu for Tempside Ltd, trading as Polonez, when the accident occurred. The court was told he had driven the truck before but it was not his usual vehicle as his regular truck was in for maintenance. The man told Gardai he did not see Mrs Hopkins as she was in a blind spot and too close for him to spot her. The truck was driving at between 1km and 2km per hour when the impact happened. Tanasevici told Gardai he barely moved the truck forward. Gda Ryan said a number of non-essential items on the dashboard and a pelmet curtain may have impaired the drivers vision. The items included stickers, a green canvas bag, decorative Mercedes lights and suction cup holders. The court heard the pelmet may have obscured a cyclops camera which had been fitted to negate the blind spot issue. Victim impact statements from Mrs Hopkins daughter Sinead and brother George Darcy were read in court. A statement from her husband Chris was also handed into the judge. The 6th of June is a day that will never leave me, said Sinead. There are no words to describe the shock of being told that our mother had been killed in SuperValu car park, she stated. Sinead said her Mum had previously battled cancer and beat it against all the odds. Her mother was determined to overcome cancer to have more time with her family. Now that I look at her life taken so cruelly and unavoidably, one cannot help but feel angry. Anger that I am robbed of the opportunity to thank her for all she did for me and my family. Anger that her final years with Dad were taken from them both and anger that our children will never receive the rest of her wisdom she had to share, said Sinead. She said the heartbreak and grief can be all-consuming, but she keeps going because its what her Mum would have wanted. Sinead said that even though Tanasevici was responsible she is following the example set by her mother in bearing no ill will towards the defendant. Mum was kind, loving, caring and always ready with wise advice. Even now I feel I am guided by her words when I say that even though you are responsible, I hold no ill will towards you. I understand that you have a family and the very last thing Mum would have wanted is for another family to be as devastated and as traumatised as we are. Mrs Hopkins was a native of Bagenalstown, Co Carlow. Her brother George said she is greatly missed in her homeplace and her loss leaves a void in the family that will never be filled. Our hearts are broken, he commented. He said his sister was a great, wife, mother and grandmother and they will miss the hugs that always greeted them on visits to Mayo. Mr Darcy said the family had concerns about the length of time it took to bring the matter before the courts for finalisation. We asked that all State authorities involved in incidents like this please understand that the families and loved ones of the bereaved find the time taken to complete the investigations and progress through the various stages to be most difficult. Judge Eoin Garavan remarked that is clear that Mrs Hopkins was the best type of mother and grandmother that there could be". Senior counsel, Desmond Dockery, representing Tanasevici, said the accident was a crushing tragedy", adding that his client was guilty of an instance of momentary inattention. The barrister said the defendant was grateful for the conciliatory tone contained in the victim impact statement delivered by Mrs Hopkins family. The court heard that a designated loading bay is now in place in the car park following the incident. It was also stated that Tanasevicis employers have since conducted a full fleet review and any pelmet curtains present in vehicles have been removed. Judge Garavan said it was astonishing that such an item and the other inessential items were permitted at the time of the accident. He also remarked that the car park was somewhat chaotic". There were inherent dangers in the vehicle and the car park itself, the Judge commented. He said while the driver did not intend to harm anyone on that fateful day he had a duty to take care". I note the decency of the Hopkins family. They are not our for revenge or punishment, Judge Garavan stated. He said a short custodial sentence was warranted and jailed Tanasevici for five months. I do so genuinely with a heavy heart, the judge added. Following its global festival journey, A Quiet Love, Irelands first feature documentary told entirely through Irish Sign Language, is now showing at Mayo Movieworld in Castlebar. The documentary has enjoyed sold out screenings in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast and a remarkable run on the international circuit since its world premiere at the 2025 Doc Edge Film Festival in New Zealand, where it won the category award Being Oneself. It also picked up the audience choice award at the San Diego International Film Festival. A Quiet Love captures the remarkable love stories of three Deaf couples told through Irish Sign Language: a decades-long forbidden romance across a religious divide, a same-sex couple navigating parenthood with deaf and hearing children, and a deaf boxer and his hearing partner facing a life-altering choice. It is a cinematic celebration of resilience, connection, and enduring love; with an immersive soundscape. U.S. President Donald Trump says he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader. The U.S. and Israel have been hammering the country for a sixth day Thursday. Iran has kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region. The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that American firepower over Tehran was about to surge dramatically. Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones though Tehran denied that. Israel struck Beiruts southern suburbs after issuing a mass evacuation warning as fighting intensified with Lebanons Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) that are operating in support of the war in Iran, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP) Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly cloudy and breezy with an evening rain or snow shower, then clearing skies overnight. . Tonight Mostly cloudy and breezy with an evening rain or snow shower, then clearing skies overnight. We came across a bullish thesis on Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. on Dannys Substack by Danny Green. In this article, we will summarize the bulls thesis on TV. Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.'s share was trading at $2.9500 as of February 27th. TVs trailing P/E was 0.13 according to Yahoo Finance. Most Expensive Televisions in the World Grupo Televisa, through its partnership with TelevisaUnivision, occupies a leading position in Spanish-language content production and distribution, with a broad media library and scale in cable, broadband, and pay TV in Mexico. However, the company faces a challenging transition as traditional broadcast and pay TV segments experience secular declines, while streaming and broadband growth remain highly competitive. ViX, its streaming platform, has grown to over 10 million paid subscribers, and broadband and mobile segments are adding subscribers, providing a potential path for durable growth. Despite this, subscriber losses in legacy segments like Sky and declining pay TV revenue indicate pressure on profitability and a shrinking moat, keeping returns on capital moderate. Operational efficiency has improved through cost reductions, integration of Sky and izzi, and disciplined capital allocation, with free cash flow supporting debt repayment and liquidity of nearly MXN 49 billion. Management demonstrates strategic focus on digital transformation and high-value customer retention, but execution risks remain amid competitive pressure from global streaming giants and telecom rivals. Televisas valuation is compelling for investors confident in its turnaround, as the market may be underestimating the monetization potential of ViX and broadband growth. If the company successfully offsets legacy declines with digital and connectivity expansion, there is significant upside potential. Conversely, failure to stabilize legacy revenues or sustain subscriber growth in emerging segments could depress multiples further. Overall, Televisa presents a moderately bullish investment case, hinging on the execution of its transformation strategy, disciplined capital management, and the scaling of digital and broadband businesses to offset structural declines in traditional media. Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) by Boyar Research in February 2025, which highlighted strong broadband and wireless growth, robust free cash flow, and potential upside from spinning off legacy cable networks. CMCSAs stock price has depreciated by approximately 14.71% since our coverage due to rising competition and analyst downgrades. Danny Green shares a similar view but emphasizes Grupo Televisas (TV) digital and broadband transformation to offset legacy pay TV declines. Weather Alert Bulletin: ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM EDT SATURDAY... * WHAT...West winds 10 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * WHERE...A portion of central Pennsylvania. * WHEN...Until 11 AM EDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects. && Info: Type: Wind Advisory start_time_local: 2026-03-13T20:05:00-04:00 end_time_local: 2026-03-14T11:00:00-04:00 county_name: state: PA headline: Wind Advisory until SAT 11:00 AM EDT county_fips: category: Met url: urgency: Expected severity: Moderate certainty: Likely geographicname: Schuylkill County state_name: Pennsylvania Matthews view As conflict hits the Gulf, investors into and out of the region are adapting to a new reality of dealmaking. Right now, the appetite to show that life carries on as usual by continuing to do outbound deals is high. On Tuesday, even as Qatar was stopping gas production after Iranian strikes, Qatar Investment Authority backed a $10.7 billion buyout of AES Corp, and Aluminium Bahrain, controlled by the kingdoms sovereign fund, agreed to acquire the EUs biggest aluminum smelter even as a missile hit the Mina Salman port. Saudi Arabias Future Investment Initiative has reiterated its commitment to holding an event in Miami this month. Wall Street will take comfort from the fact that Gulf sovereign funds, which together control around $5 trillion, are still interested in writing checks. It will be more difficult to press the case that its business as usual for attracting money the region. Chinese banks are already limiting their exposure to Middle East debt. Asian investors have been playing an increasingly prominent role in buying Gulf bonds. If they start to get nervous about the region, it could significantly affect borrowing costs at a time when the Gulf will already be facing a serious economic hit. Investment bankers are starting to talk about putting deals on hold, or slowing down work. The UAEs decision to close the stock markets for several days, and then limit declines to 5% when they reopened, also irked many international investors. And while the Saudi market has quickly recovered from earlier losses, a hoped-for pick up in IPO activity is probably some way off. Takeovers within the region are also likely to slow as growth projections are scrambled by the war: Who wants to buy an asset that could be hit by a drone next week? Much will depend on how long the conflict drags on, but for now, theres likely to be more outbound deals from the region than inbound. Notable Never miss an important update on your stock portfolio and cut through the noise. Over 7 million investors trust Simply Wall St to stay informed where it matters for FREE. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Indonesia's PT Pertamina signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate unconventional energy development in Indonesia. The agreement focuses on advanced well construction technologies and the use of digital solutions, including automation and AI. The collaboration aims to expand Halliburton's presence in Southeast Asia and support Pertamina's unconventional resource projects. For investors, this development is directly connected to Halliburton's role as a global oilfield services provider, supplying drilling, completion, and subsurface solutions to energy producers. Unconventional resources, such as tight gas or shale-style plays, generally require more complex services, which can lead to greater involvement for service companies over the life of a field. This Indonesia-focused agreement also highlights how digital tools such as automation and AI are becoming more central to oilfield operations. Investors following Halliburton may wish to observe how such partnerships relate to contract activity, technology adoption by clients, and the companys positioning in Southeast Asia over time. Stay updated on the most important news stories for Halliburton by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Halliburton. NYSE:HAL Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Mar 2026 We've flagged 4 risks for Halliburton. See which could impact your investment. Quick Assessment Price vs Analyst Target : At US$34.43 versus a consensus target of about US$36.50, Halliburton trades roughly 6% below analyst expectations. Simply Wall St Valuation : Simply Wall St currently views the shares as trading about 55.3% below its estimate of fair value. Recent Momentum: The 30 day return of about 4.9% shows positive short term momentum into this Indonesia partnership news. There is only one way to know the right time to buy, sell or hold Halliburton. Head to Simply Wall St's company report for the latest analysis of Halliburton's fair value. Key Considerations Qabil Ashirov China plans to increase its defense spending by 7 percent in 2026, bringing the total military budget to 1.909 trillion yuan (approximately $277 billion), according to a draft document presented to the countrys legislature. AzerNEWS reports that the proposal was published on the opening day of the fourth session of the 14th National Peoples Congress, Chinas top legislative body. According to the draft, national defense expenditures will rise by 7 percent to reach 1.909 trillion 561 million yuan, reflecting Beijings continued focus on strengthening its military capabilities amid an evolving global security environment. The document also outlines the governments broader fiscal priorities for the coming year. It stresses the need to strictly limit routine government spending, while ensuring sufficient funding for key sectors. In addition, the draft highlights the importance of establishing central reserves of material resources and meeting the countrys financial obligations, including coupon payments on government bonds. The planned increase in defense spending continues Chinas long-standing policy of gradually expanding its military budget as the country pursues modernization of its armed forces and seeks to enhance its strategic capabilities. Hard seltzer went from being a novelty to becoming a massive part of the overall alcohol market in the United States. "The United States Hard Seltzer Market was valued at $1.93 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to grow to $3.48 billion by 2030 with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10.37% during the forecast period," according to data from Tech-Sci Research. It's a market that has grown steadily, which prompted numerous players to enter the space. "One of the most pressing challenges in the U.S. hard seltzer market is market saturation. Following the rapid rise and massive success of early brands like White Claw and Truly, a flood of new entrants including major alcohol companies, craft brewers, and private labels have rushed into the space. While this influx has driven innovation and expanded consumer choice, it has also led to fierce competition and crowded retail shelves," the research company added. That has resulted in many failures in the hard seltzer market, and Florida's Palm Folly has become the latest company to fall, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, according to court filings on PacerMonitor. Palm Folly headed to bankruptcy liquidation As the once-booming hard seltzer category matures, smaller brands are increasingly struggling to compete with larger beverage companies and crowded store shelves. For consumers, this means fewer new hard seltzer options on shelves, and for investors, its a warning that not every trendy beverage brand can survive. Palm Folly tried to tap into consumer demand for healthier alcoholic beverages. "At Palm Folly, we believe hard seltzer should be crafted not manufactured. Ours is brewed like beer using pounds of real fruit purees, with no chemicals and nothing artificial. Low-calorie, gluten-free, and ridiculously good, were obsessed with creating a hard seltzer thats simply better than anything else on the market," the company shared on its website. That website makes no mention of the company's Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which was filed on March 1, according to Inforuptcy. The brewery has listed total assets to the tune of $65,423, while total liabilities stood at $1,205,919.44. Non-priority creditors have an unsecured claim of about 94.5% of the total liabilities, equaling nearly $1.14 million, according to the filing. More Bankruptcy: "The company has listed Nashville-based Holcar Properties LLC as the largest non-priority creditor with an unsecured commercial lease claim of $1.12 million. At the same time, the firm owes $18,743.46 against an American Express credit card," WhatNow reported. Does South Africa have a future without power cuts? One thing is certain: there will be ongoing contestation over the path and pace of South Africas electricity reforms. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his 2026 State of the Nation address, announced that the countrys electricity transmission assets would move out of state-owned Eskom. This will happen once the newly established National Transmission Company of South Africa is unbundled into a fully independent company. This is not the first time Ramaphosa has used his State of the Nation address to keep South Africas electricity reforms on track. In 2021, he raised the cap on private power generation from 1MW to 100MW. Minister Gwede Mantashe at the time admitted that the president had twisted his arm. In 2022, Ramaphosa removed the cap altogether, unleashing a torrent of private investment. Why did Ramaphosa need to intervene again in 2026? Many would naturally expect a national electricity transmission company to have transmission assets. But for those who have followed South Africas long, zigzag road toward market reforms since it became government policy in the white paper on Energy Policy in 1998, it is less of a surprise. I was involved in drafting the white paper and the 2019 Eskom roadmap. I worked in the Department of Minerals and Energy, was a regulator at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for 11 years and subsequently sat on the Eskom board for six years until I resigned in 2024. If nothing else, Eskom management has a dogged determination in pursuit of their objectives. In this fight, where ideology and serious money are intertwined, its difficult to predict the outcome. Its important because its a prelude to bigger fights to come. Reverse creates alarm In December 2025, Ramaphosas Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, announced that instead of being unbundled into a fully independent company, the National Transmission Company of South Africa would remain a wholly owned Eskom subsidiary, with its assets staying inside Eskom. Only the System Operator would move outside Eskom. This announcement was alarming for several reasons: The South African Wholesale Electricity Market is meant to commence operations in April 2026. Eskom, as the dominant generator, would have a conflict of interest in a competitive market if it owned both generation and transmission assets. It appeared, politically, to reverse an important advance made by the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act, which came into effect in January 2025. The act created the expectation that the National Transmission Company of South Africa would become fully independent outside Eskom within five years. After severe electricity shortages between 2008 and 2024 (what Eskom terms loadshedding), analysts predict a return to power cuts around 2030 unless more renewable power stations are built in time. There is no shortage of willing investors, but the transmission grid is congested, especially in the western parts of the country where the wind and sunshine are best. The bulk of electricity demand is in the east, so the grid must be strengthened to transport power from west to east. Ramaphosa predicted in his 2026 State of the Nation address that by 2030, more than 40% of our energy supply will come from cheap, clean, renewable energy sources. Eskom plans to debottleneck the grid, targeting 14,500km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA (MegaVolt-Ampere) of additional transformers by 2034 at an estimated cost of US$27.5 billion. An independent National Transmission Company of South Africa will need assets to borrow against if it is to contribute to grid expansion. However, both Eskom and the state are effectively broke. The government cannot afford to continue the massive bailouts Eskom has needed to stay afloat over the last decade. Consequently, it must turn to the private sector. It is planning public-private partnerships to enable private investors to expand the grid. But if Eskoms transmission assets remain inside Eskom, those investors as well as prospective investors in new generation capacity would be less inclined to invest. Both groups would fear that Eskom, as controller of the transmission assets, would discriminate against them in the emerging competitive market. Both want a level playing field and a fully independent grid to underpin the electricity market. Allowing Eskom to own the grid threatens investment and the market reform trajectory and also raises the spectre of future loadshedding. Politically, Ramaphosas announcement is a public rebuke of his Minister of Electricity and Energy, who appears to have fallen under Eskoms sway as it seeks to prolong its near-monopoly in the electricity market. Globally, monopolies do not relinquish market power easily. In effect, Ramaphosa was settling a dispute between Eskom and the faction in his African National Congress that supports a developmental state dominated by state-owned companies, on one hand, and the National Treasury and those who recognise that depending on Eskom to solve the countrys electricity problems is unlikely to end well, on the other. Ramaphosa went out of his way to say: We are establishing a level playing field for competition, so that we are never again exposed to the risk of relying on a single supplier to meet our energy needs. Why do Eskom and Ramokgopa want to keep the transmission assets inside Eskom? The battle lines They point to Eskoms US$25 billion debt and note that lenders provided funds against the security of Eskoms assets. If those assets shrink by removing the transmission lines, the lenders will object and demand repayment. Eskom would be unable to comply. Lenders with government guarantees would then turn to the government, which would also be unable to repay, leading to financial collapse. This alarmist view ignores that utilities with debts in many countries have been restructured during market reforms. If they could negotiate solutions with lenders, why cant Eskom? Some believe Eskom is using debt as an excuse to retain market power, pointing to its legal challenge against the National Energy Regulators decision to grant electricity trading licences to five private traders. Others believe Eskom is not receiving good financial advice and wonder why the National Treasury is not more forthright, given its extensive work in this area. Eskom also cites its worry over: the US$6.27 billion owed by municipalities the need to take account of the establishment of Eskom Green proposed new subsidiary to house Eskoms renewable energy business and the requirement for lender consents on a loan-by-loan basis. Energy Council of South Africa chief executive James Mackay describes the unbundling framework as a hot potato, noting that timing, risk and ensuring Eskom Generation doesnt collapse (are) equally important. Ramaphosa recognises that difficulties remain: Given the importance of this restructuring for the broader reform of the electricity sector, I have established a dedicated task team under the National Energy Crisis Committee to address various issues relating to the restructuring process. It must report to him in three months. Ramaphosas comments in his address prompted Eskoms probably shortest-ever press release, in which it pledged full support for the task team. So, its not a done deal. Notably, Eskom does not endorse the presidents announcement. It more likely sees the task team as another platform to advance its views in the ongoing contestation over the path and pace of South Africas electricity reforms. It will be interesting. Rod Crompton, Visiting Adjunct Professor, African Energy Leadership Centre, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Science and policy experts unite to accelerate climate and health solutions African universities and regional experts are working with Wellcome to establish new science and policy consortiums. These consortiums that will address the escalating public health crisis driven by climate change - saving lives and livelihoods. Wellcome will provide an initial 40 million for two new consortiums in Southern and Western Africa with a further 20 million earmarked to set up a third consortium in Eastern Africa. The first two regional consortiums will be led by the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. Scientists, policy makers and community partners will join forces to co-develop evidence-based solutions that reflect local priorities and translate rapidly into policy and practice. The Southern Africa consortium will prioritise solutions that address the health and economic impacts of heatwaves and floods as well as develop high-quality data to support evidence-informed action. In Western Africa, the consortium will focus on the impact of heatwaves, dust storms and drought on peoples health and nutrition to develop effective policies that also take into consideration the economic costs and benefits. Africa is at the frontline of a rapidly warming world. Rising temperatures are driving deadly heatwaves, air pollution, worsening nutrition, and new threats to maternal and newborn health. Extreme weather events fuelled by climate change are disrupting food and water supplies and straining health systems, with marginalized communities facing the greatest burden. Professor Charlotte Watts, Executive Director, Solutions at Wellcome, says: Africa is on the frontline of climate change, with women and marginalised communities already suffering the worst health impacts. By supporting African science and leadership, these new consortiums will generate the evidence and locally led solutions needed to improve health and save lives now and in the future." The new consortiums will strengthen scientific expertise, support innovative solutions and provide context-specific evidence to inform policies and action across Africa. Their priorities are based on pan-African frameworks and co-designed with regional partners over the past two years with a focus on health and science equity. Dr Modi Mwatsama, Head of Capacity and Field Development at Wellcome says: "We want to help build healthier futures for everyone, and that includes ensuring African communities have access to the data, resources and expertise they need to address the climate and health challenges ahead. Wellcome is committed to working with partners in Africa who are best placed to develop the regional-specific evidence that supports decision-makers and community action. Both the accelerating crisis in Africa and the capacity for new knowledge, leadership and innovation means that the consortiums have huge potential to improve health and save lives. Professor Matthew Chersich, University of the Witwatersrand and Southern Africa consortium lead says: Southern Africa faces increasingly severe extreme heat and precipitation events with large numbers of highly vulnerable people, from both socioeconomic and health perspectives. The new consortium aims to overcome the knowledge, policy and financial barriers that constrain progress with care and support services for affected communities. Using a transdisciplinary and multisectoral approach, we will address extreme heat in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and flooding in Malawi, with a focus on delivering solutions that prioritise pregnant women, children, older people and those with chronic conditions. We will quantify, track and cost climate-health impacts; test adaptation innovations, including anticipatory cash transfers, support for mental health resilience and complex-cooling interventions; and drive step-changes in regional stakeholder coordination and policies to improve health and save lives. But, equally importantly, we will apply traditional public health measures to reducing carbon emissions, pioneering health-centred approaches to mitigation Professor Philip Antwi-Agyei, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and Western Africa consortium lead says: Climate change is an escalating threat to global health and West Africa is among the most vulnerable regions due to high exposure to climate hazards, low adaptive capacity, and fragile health systems. Intensifying climate-related health risks are compounding existing inequities, straining public health systems, undermining food security and disrupting livelihoods, with GDP losses projected to rise significantly across the region. The current uncoordinated context-specific policies and systems pose a huge challenge in addressing the risks associated with climate change and health particularly in respect to heatwaves, dust storms, and droughts on food systems and other health determinants in Ghana and Senegal. The Western Africa consortium based in Ghana will establish a regional approach that brings together physical and social sciences, policy and practice to ensure that evidence is readily translated into tangible actions to benefit peoples health and livelihoods. Dr. Adelheid Onyango, Director of Health Systems and Services Cluster at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, says: Health leaders across Africa make vital decisions with limited resources, so having access to rigorous, contextrelevant evidence is essential. It ensures every investment backs interventions that truly work. These new consortiums will hopefully fill a critical gap in the climate and health field and will be an invaluable resource to WHO AFRO and decisionmakers across the region. Philip Kilonzo, Head of Policy, Advocacy, and Communication at the PanAfrican Climate Justice Alliance, said: "At a time when climate deniers are slowing global action, scientific evidence serves to humanize the cause for climate justice. PACJA applauds the Science and Policy consortiums as they are strategically poised to provide evidence to leapfrog advocacy on climate justice and strengthen resilience in health sector. We appreciate Wellcome Trust for this visionary investment in climate action that will build much more stronger fortress of evidence, the world urgently needs." Background The consortiums will develop their own climate and health programmes based on core objectives to meet the needs of their populations with a focus on accelerating evidence-informed policy and action within five years. The first two consortiums will receive initial funding of 20 million each to develop a five-year programme and Wellcome is in discussions with partners in East Africa on the development of a third consortium. The broader expected outcomes for the consortiums in Africa include: High-quality evidence: A significant increase in the generation of both context-specific, ethical, policy relevant and widely applicable scientific evidence, addressing Africas unique climate and health challenges. A significant increase in the generation of both context-specific, ethical, policy relevant and widely applicable scientific evidence, addressing Africas unique climate and health challenges. Evidence-informed action: Accelerated adoption and implementation of urgent interventions including solutions, policies, and programmes that protect the health of African people from the impacts of climate change. While the primary focus of influence for this investment is national level policy in the priority countries, broader outcomes are expected to include influencing local, national, regional, and global plans and programmes. Accelerated adoption and implementation of urgent interventions including solutions, policies, and programmes that protect the health of African people from the impacts of climate change. While the primary focus of influence for this investment is national level policy in the priority countries, broader outcomes are expected to include influencing local, national, regional, and global plans and programmes. African leadership in climate and health: A strengthened network of African leaders and champions across research and policy, driving the field forward with shared, open data, metrics, methods, innovations, and expertise. A strengthened network of African leaders and champions across research and policy, driving the field forward with shared, open data, metrics, methods, innovations, and expertise. Global influence: Greater participation and influence of African science and scientists in global decision-making and priority-setting processes for climate and health. Greater participation and influence of African science and scientists in global decision-making and priority-setting processes for climate and health. Collaborative networks: Enhanced connections within and across sub-regional and Pan-African networks of researchers and research users, with a specific emphasis on the inclusion of communities most affected by climate change. This will foster a positive and inclusive culture of research and engagement. Enhanced connections within and across sub-regional and Pan-African networks of researchers and research users, with a specific emphasis on the inclusion of communities most affected by climate change. This will foster a positive and inclusive culture of research and engagement. Field development: Strengthened capacity of younger or smaller organisations and experts from research, policy and practice stakeholders and communities to engage meaningfully in transdisciplinary climate and health research, and to effectively act upon the evidence generated. About Wellcome Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and were taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease, and climate and health. For more information: www.wellcome.org Weather Alert ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM SUNDAY TO 4 PM CDT MONDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations between 20 and 30 inches, with locally higher amounts possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph may result in considerable blowing and drifting snow and blizzard conditions late Sunday into Monday. * WHERE...Oneida, Vilas, Florence, Forest, Northern Marinette County, Northern Oconto County, and Southern Marinette counties. * WHEN...For the Winter Storm Warning, from 11 PM this evening to 10 AM CDT Sunday. For the Blizzard Warning, from 10 AM Sunday to 4 PM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. && ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM SUNDAY TO 4 PM CDT MONDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations between 20 and 30 inches, with locally higher amounts possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph may result in considerable blowing and drifting snow and blizzard conditions late Sunday into Monday. * WHERE...Oneida, Vilas, Florence, Forest, Northern Marinette County, Northern Oconto County, and Southern Marinette counties. * WHEN...For the Winter Storm Warning, from 11 PM this evening to 10 AM CDT Sunday. For the Blizzard Warning, from 10 AM Sunday to 4 PM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. && Weather Alert ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM SUNDAY TO 4 PM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations between 18 and 24 inches, with locally higher amounts to 30 inches possible. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph may result in considerable blowing and drifting snow and near blizzard conditions late Sunday into Monday. * WHERE...Oneida, Vilas, Florence, Forest, Northern Marinette County, Northern Oconto County, and Southern Marinette counties. * WHEN...From 1 AM Sunday to 4 PM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible with potential for whiteout conditions. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches and cause power outages. The Monday morning commute will be impacted. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. People should consider delaying all travel. Motorists should use extreme caution if travel is absolutely necessary. && Oil prices surged for a second day running on Tuesday as global markets brace for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East. On Monday, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially declared the Strait of Hormuz "closed," warning that any vessel attempting to pass will be attacked or "set ablaze". While the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) maintains the waterway is not formally closed, traffic has dropped by approximately 70-80%, with major global shippers, including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC, suspending all crossings. Brent crude for April delivery gained nearly 5% on Tuesday, reaching $85 earlier in the day, marking the first time it has traded above the pivotal $80 per barrel mark since July 2024, while the corresponding WTI gained less than a percentage point on the geopolitical tailwinds. Long-suffering oil and gas bulls are finally enjoying some reprieve, with U.S. energy stocks leading all 11 sectors of the U.S. market: the sectors favorite benchmark, State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLE), is now up ~24% in the year-to-date, incomparable to the -1.0% return by the S&P 500. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough However, some experts have argued that the Middle East debacles impact on energy markets is more favorable to Canada than it is to the United States. According to Eric Nuttall, senior portfolio manager at Toronto-based Ninepoint Partners, the Middle East conflict is a massive opportunity for Canada, which can position itself as a stable and secure supplier of oil. Nuttall argues, as reported by Bloomberg, that Canada is uniquely positioned as a stable and secure energy supplier with decades of inventory in the oil sands and the Clearwater formation. The Clearwater Formation in Alberta, Canada, holds vast, high-viscosity heavy oil and bitumen reserves, with estimated in-place volumes exceeding 70 billion barrels in the Cold Lake area alone. Production is expected to grow, with estimates that it could hit nearly 400,000 bbl/d by 2031. Nuttall has characterized the sudden loss of Iranian supply and the closure of the Strait as a"worst-case scenario" for investors and a historic event whereby the markets tendency to immediately sell any spikes in oil prices may not apply. And in the meantime, Nuttall says he has been actively adding Canadian energy stocks to his portfolio, noting that current equity prices do not yet reflect the increased importance of "security of supply." The asset manager has called on the Canadian Parliament to approve new export pipelines, including a one-million-barrel-per-day project, in a bid to address the global supply-demand mismatch. Weather Alert ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM CDT /11 AM EDT/ SUNDAY TO 7 AM CDT /8 AM EDT/ MONDAY... * WHAT...South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 to 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From 10 AM CDT /11 AM EDT/ Sunday to 7 AM CDT /8 AM EDT/ Monday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution. && (Bloomberg) The war in Iran is forcing investors to reevaluate one of their most profitable stock strategies, leading some to conclude that the Sell America, Buy Asia trade has reached an inflection point. Despite a rebound Thursday, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has tumbled about 6% this week, compared with a 0.1% slide in the S&P 500 (^GSPC). The swing indicates a reversal of a rotation by global funds into Asia and a renewed shift toward the US as a haven, a move also supported by a stronger dollar. Most Read from Bloomberg The Iran war has impacted Asian stocks disproportionately, partly because of the regions outsize reliance on fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Theres also growing concern that a sustained supply shock may trigger a global economic slowdown, undermining key export industries. As a result, investors are taking profits from the recent AI-driven rally, particularly in the outperformers in the past year: South Korea and Taiwan. Capital doesnt wait for certainty its already rotating, and the dollars strength this week tells you everything about where the smart money is heading, said Hebe Chen, senior market analyst at Vantage Global Prime. China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are pure import dependents with no buffer, making this oil shock exponentially more corrosive for the region than for the West. Asian equities had been favored for their AI hardware exposure, relatively cheap valuations and solid earnings growth. Oil Exposure The surge in Brent crude (BZ=F) is now stoking fears of inflation, threatening to turn some of the regions strengths into vulnerabilities. Even as stocks rebounded, the underlying dynamics remained: oil extended its rally for a fifth straight day even after US President Donald Trump expressed confidence in the military campaign. For the AI capex story, stagflationary pressure is the ultimate kill switch when the cost of capital rises and growth visibility collapses simultaneously, the regions most ambitious infrastructure bets become the hardest to defend in any boardroom, according to Vantages Chen. Asian economies including China, India, Indonesia are among the worlds biggest oil importers, according to Bloomberg Economics. Goldman Sachs (GS) estimates that a 20% rise in the price of Brent crude would cut regional earnings by 2%. US President Donald Trump has delivered the most extraordinary public rebuke of a British prime minister in the post-war period, insisting that he and NATO allies fall fully into line behind the US-led war on Iran. Speaking from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump denounced Keir Starmer for initially refusing to permit US forces to use two British bases, including Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, for strikes on Iran. Trump declared Starmers stance shocking, complaining he had been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have. Because of this, he claimed, Its taken three or four days to work out where we can land. It would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours. We are very surprised. US President Trump holds a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during which he denounced the Spanish government and British Prime Minister over their Iran war policy. Trump said of Starmer, "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with". (screenshot from video) [Photo: screenshot from video/Sky News] Referencing Britains World War Two leader, he stated, This is not Winston Churchill that were dealing with. Starmer reversed course on Sunday evening, allowing US access to the bases, for what Downing Street described as a specific and limited defensive purpose targeting Iranian missile silos. But as far as the fascist in the White House was concerned, this was too little, too late. The Times reported Wednesday Trump administration figures saying the partial reversal of policy didnt wash with the White House or the Pentagon. Trump launched his Oval Office attack while seated beside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whom he praised for backing the US position. In the same appearance, he denounced Spain for refusing access to its military bases and for failing to meet the 3.5 percent of GDP defence spending target he is demanding through NATO. Some of the European nations have been helpful, and some havent Spain has been terrible, Trump said. Were going to cut off all trade with Spain. We dont want anything to do with Spain. The threat to Britain was unmistakable. This was Trumps third public denunciation of Starmer in as many days in what can only be understood as the initial stages of a far-right regime change operation against the Labour prime minister. In an interview with the Telegraph published Monday evening, Trump said he was very, very disappointed by the delay in granting landing rights at Diego Garcia. Thats probably never happened between our countries before, he said, adding, It sounds like he [Starmer] was worried about the legality. As Trump planned for the onslaught on Iran, he effectively withdrew what was only ever backing through gritted teeth for Starmers Chagos Islands deal to hand over ownership of Diego Garcia to Mauritius while leasing back the military base. He told the Telegraph, All of a sudden [Mauritius] was claiming ownership. He [Starmer] should have fought it out and owned it. On Tuesday, in an interview with Rupert Murdochs the Sun, Trump contrasted Britain unfavourably with France, portraying Starmer as presiding over a declining and unrecognisable country. Asked about staple far-right claims that Starmer was pandering to Muslim voters, Trump replied, It could be. He added: Its also not such a recognisable country you look at what happened over the last period of time and its very different. He attacked London and its Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, calling him a terrible Mayor and denouncing terrible people in the capital. This line was echoed by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a Pentagon briefing on Monday morning. Hegseth praised capable partners, while attacking traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force. Hegseth declared that the US was prosecuting the war regardless of what so-called international institutions say, describing it as the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history. The operation would be conducted all on our terms with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we dont waste time or lives. The attack on international institutions and stupid rules of engagement was widely understood as directed at the UK prime minister. From the outset of the USIsraeli bombardment, Starmer condemned Tehran as the aggressor but insisted Britain would act in line with international law. A former human rights lawyer who 23 years ago marched against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Starmer maintained as late as 2015 that the war was not lawful under international law because there was no UN resolution expressly authorising it. He spoke as someone who knew the incalculable damage done to Tony Blairs Labour government for backing that illegal war. Blair was gone four years later and Labour never fully recovered, voted out of office in 2010 with Blair remembered by millions only as an unindicted war criminal. The political backlash saw Jeremy Corbyn elected party leader in 2015 and an inner-party civil war that only restored the control of the Blairites and Starmers ascent to party leadership in 2020 thanks to Corbyns betrayal of all those who backed him. Elected to office in 2024 on an historically low vote, tasked with waging wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, Starmer only wanted to preserve a fig leaf of legality regarding Iran. But even this was too much to ask. Britains right-wing press, alongside the Conservatives and Nigel Farages far-right Reform UK, seized on Washingtons rebuke to press for Starmers downfall and a far more aggressive militarist turn by British imperialism. Daily Mail website with article "France to the rescue" (screenshot) [Photo: dailymail.co.uk] A Sun editorial declared that in a world dominated by hard political power, the prime minister had proved himself a complete and utter lawyer. It denounced Starmers slavish adherence to international law. The Telegraph decried his lawyerly approach as a dead-hand on decision-making. As the political attacks mounted, Downing Street attempted appeasement. Number 10 briefed on Monday that it was considering dispatching a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to defend RAF Akrotiri from missile attacks. But that afternoon, Starmer reiterated to the House of Commons that he would not commit UK troops to military action that was unlawful or lacked a thought-through objective, and that the government did not believe in regime change from the skies. He stated that his position was based on legal advice published that day by Attorney General Lord Hermer KC. The response was another avalanche of hostile headlines. Stefan Boscia, a Times political commentator, wrote, Britain has now effectively accused the US of pursuing an unlawful war with no clear plan to finish it. An unimaginable statement at any time since 1945. This anticipated Trumps Oval Office salvo Tuesday. That day, Downing Street confirmed that HMS Dragon, a missile-defence-capable destroyer, and helicopters would be sent to Akrotiri, though the vessel would take several days to arrive and was not due to sail immediately. The delay prompted further attacks from right-wing commentators. Appearing on GB News with Farage, former Royal Marine and CEO of Outpost Studios James Glancy described the prime ministers stance as a scandal that should bring down Keir Starmer. Whatever Starmers protestations, Britainconnected to the US war machine by a million threads, including hosting US nuclear weaponsis already embroiled in this illegal war. Shaken by this offensive against Starmer, the Guardian, a trusted pro-war political conduit of the Labour government, reported Wednesday that according to western officials Britain has not ruled out participating in future strikes against Iranian ballistic missile launch sites. The moves against Starmer are in line with the declared policy of the Trump administrations National Security Strategy, which pledges to cultivate resistance to Europes current trajectory within European nations and hails the growing influence of patriotic European parties as their desired replacement. This refers to far-right formations such as The National Rally in France, Alternative for Germany, Vox in Spain, Brothers of Italy, and in Britain, to Reform UK and its periphery. The 2026 academic year at the newly-created Adelaide University, a merger between the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, has begun amid chaos and course cuts. Students and staff have taken to social media to express their frustrations and concerns. The dominant mood is distrust of managerial promises, of opaque processes and of the official channels for redress. Many students fear the merger will lengthen degree pathways, add extra compulsory microcredentials or bridging units, and therefore increase their fee debts. Mitchell building at the University of Adelaide There is confusion over timetabling, compressed or shifted teaching blocks, and lastminute changes that disrupt planning, assessment and parttime work. There is also widespread anxiety that humanities, social sciences and smaller specialised courses will be cut or marginalised in favour of vocational STEM and industryaligned programs. Academic and professional staff describe workloads as dramatically increased, with fears of forced redundancies, higher casualisation and pressure to absorb extra teaching without commensurate staffing or pay. Many staff members challenge management claims that the merger will improve outcomes, arguing instead that it primarily serves costcutting and business-industry alignment. One staff member commenting on Reddit said: Everyone is extremely stressed, tired, and overworked. Ive seen a coworker end up crying due to work related issues. In my area alone, 2 people have already quit this year, and another 3 are looking for new jobs. Another said: People are resigning daily, morale is at an all-time low, and many staff are experiencing significant burnout, stress, and emotional exhaustion. Under the merger arrangements, the management committed to no compulsory redundancies or retrenchments as a consequence of creating the new institution until mid-2027. Even this limited commitment is not worth the paper it was written on. The commitment was made before the Albanese Labor government placed increased financial pressure on universities through its cuts to international student enrolments, which has intensified the destruction of thousands of jobs throughout Australias public universities over the past 18 months. The guarantee only applies to permanent or continuing appointments. One person commented on social media: Dont believe the stories saying there are no job cuts. I know several people in one of the merger universities who are not having their fixed term or casual contracts being renewed due to the merger. With an average of more than 14 percent of staff in the higher education sector on fixed-term contracts, the potential impact on staff members is huge. Casual academic staff have also taken to social media, complaining that they had not yet received contracts but were already working. One wrote: I have worked more than 30hrs without a contract so far and the best the university can offer is to send a generic email saying it wont be processed for another 2 to 3 weeks! So, no pay until then. Also, the students can access the course page, but me as a casual academic cant access it... Its absurd! While university managements frame mergers as efficiency drives, the Adelaide merger is being used to cut courses, expand vocational microcredentials and steer resources toward industry, particularly areas linked to the military and national security. The two universities had over 5,000 courses last academic year. In 2026, there will be less than 3,000. Specialist courses such as the Bachelor of International Development have been discontinued, with students moved into a more generic Bachelor of Arts degree. Students have reported that not all their previous studies have been credited toward their new degrees, which means they will have to take additional units and time to complete their degrees. One mother wrote on Reddit: My sons course no longer exists. Instead of phasing it out, its just gone. There is no alternative offered. Hes more than half-way through and hes had a headache in trying to enrol in anything to continue. The merger of the two universities, a project championed by South Australian state Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas, fits squarely inside the federal Albanese Labor governments Universities Accord, a blueprint to subordinate higher education to corporate profit, workforce pipelines and the militaryindustrial complex. The university is replacing lectures with asynchronous digital activities and introducing trimesters that compress teaching into shorter blocks. Reports indicate that the move to trimesters was opposed by 83 percent of staff, no doubt due to the intensifying workloads and conditions that have led to course cuts and job losses at other universities. These changes dovetail with a move toward generic core subjects, stackable modular degrees and microcredentials designed to minimise contact hours and recycle content. Academics report being pressured to design course content that can be chopped into microcredentials. The merged institution is pursuing deeper industry and military ties. The universitys research strategy aims to build a national defence industry research centre, featuring world-class facilities to co-locate Adelaide University, industry and government in a secure space to develop innovation-led learning and create sovereign capability and the workforce of the future. One example is a new whole-of-university strategic partnership agreement with Saab, a global aerospace and armaments conglomerate. According to the media announcement, it will focus on future capabilities including distributed command and control, autonomous systems and hypersonics, and feature student internships and work-integrated learning. The partnership will utilise the Sovereign Combat Systems Collaboration Centre at Mawson Lakes which was established in partnership with the Australian Government to develop and integrate sovereign capabilities at speed. Such partnerships with weapons manufacturers demonstrate the higher education sectors growing alignment with the militaryindustrial complex. These outcomes follow the policy architecture of the Universities Accord, which ties funding to missionbased compacts that compel universities to deliver governmentdesignated prioritieschiefly vocational, STEM and defence projects. Former Labor leader Bill Shorten and other probusiness figures have openly called for a reimagining of universities to supply the skills demanded by the AUKUS military pact, which is directed against China, and the development of a war economy. On social media, a number of university staff have expressed low confidence that union leaderships can or will prevent job losses and restructures. They are right to do so. Both the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) have repeatedly assisted managements to implement restructures and job cuts via voluntary redundancies. For years, the union bureaucracies have suppressed university workers hostility to the restructuring of universities, limiting action to individual campuses and blocking calls for a unified struggle against the corporatisation and militarisation of education. The unions are complicit in Labors agenda because they agree with it. In its submission to the Universities Accord panel, the NTEU called for a higher education sector that provides the graduates with the necessary skill sets for future productivity. The assault on conditions at the merged Adelaide University is part of a global offensive. Governments everywhere are channelling vast sums into rearmament and demanding that universities produce labour and research for war economies. In order to fight this agenda, university workers and students need to form rank-and-file committees (RFCs), independent of the unions, to link up with workers in Australia and worldwide through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees. This is part of a broader necessary struggle against capitalism itself and its program of ever-greater corporate wealth and a turn to war. For discussion and assistance in forming RFCs, educators and students should contact the Committee for Public Education, the educators rank-and-file network. Contact the CFPE: Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/commforpubliceducation Twitter: CFPE_Australia Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Level 1/457-459 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010, Australia. The World Socialist Web Site is holding an emergency global webinar this Sunday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m. EDT to explain the origins of the US imperialist war against Iran, the social forces driving it and the strategy required to stop it. We urge all our readers to register to attend. US-Israel forces carpet bomb Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. South Africas African National Congress (ANC) is desperately clinging to its policy of non-alignment, following the war launched against Iran by the United States of America and Israel. Just as it did after the attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro In a statement the ANC expressed deep concern at the escalating tensions in the Middle East and conveyed its condolences to the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran following reports of the passing of their Supreme Leader. The ANC then called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, follow international law and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter which provides for self-defence only in response to an armed attack, and does not permit anticipatory self-defence based on assumption or conjecture. The ANC is incapable of even characterising a criminal war carried out by Washington and Tel Aviv. Indeed, the statement does not mention the United States or Israel once. Irans Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not just pass, as the passive wording of the ANC says. He was murdered alongside his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law. The ANCs response is calculated to minimise the hostility it has faced from Washington over its warm relations with Iran, a hostility that characterized the Biden administration and has only intensified since Trump returned to power. Trumps South African Ambassador appointee Leo Brent Bozell III submitted his letter of credence the day before the attack. In his statement to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee he vowed to communicate our objections to South Africas geostrategic drift from non-alignment toward our competitors, including Russia, China and Iran. He has also been tasked with press[ing] South Africa to end proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice. Last year, Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), General Rudzani Maphwanya met with his Iranian counterparts and was quoted by Iranian media expressing support for Irans international positions, including backing Hamas and Hezbollah. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denounced Maphwanya and emphasised that foreign policy is dictated by government and not the military. Despite this, in January a BRICS-Plus naval exercise, Will for Peace, was carried out even after Ramaphosa ordered the removal of the Iranian ships. South African Air Force Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, Chief of the South African National Defence Force, gives opening remarks at the first Air and Space Power Symposium part of the Africa Aersopace and Defence Exhibition 2022, Sept. 22, 2022, in Pretoria, South Africa. [Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Michael Battles - https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7434735/africa-aerospace-defence-exhibition] The Democratic Alliance (DA), ANCs main partner in the ruling coalition Government of National Unity (GNU) has been forthright in their support for the war against Iran. While no official statement was released, the Daily Maverick quoted DA Spokesperson for International Relations Ryan Smith who said after the attack, Iran is a rogue state which has repeatedly defied international law, violated nuclear treaties and funded proxy organisations which have divided and destabilised societies around the world. Referring to the crackdown on anti-government protests late-last year and earlier this year, Smith went on, The current theocratic dictatorship in Iran is also responsible for the most brutal massacre of innocent civilians in recent history. These countries are the single biggest threat to the international rules-based order and liberal democracies such as our own. Smiths comments underscore the political divide within the GNU. On one side you have the naked supporters of American imperialism, represented most strongly in the DA. On the other, there is the ANC which mouths opposition against imperialism but at every turn seeks compromises with it in order to secure investment for the South African bourgeoisie, and especially patronage for the benefit of the Black elite on which it is based. The war on Iran comes after Washington inaugurated a new era of colonial rule, with the attack on Venezuela. This era was formally announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference in February. Rubio lamented the decline of Western empires accelerated by godless communist revolutions and by anti-colonial uprisings and called for an alliance with Europe that is not paralysed into inaction by fear fear of climate change, fear of war, fear of technology. The attack on Iran is Washington putting this perspective into practice. Speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, Ramaphosa called for African nations to move towards energy self-reliance, diversification and increased security. Africa is already experiencing the impact of escalating conflict in the Middle East, with strains on supply chains and higher energy prices. Now we are going to be a victim of conflicts that are taking place far away from where we are, Ramaphosa told the attendees. These comments come after Washington bombed Africas largest oil produced, Nigeria, in December. Nigeria is South Africas largest source of crude oil at approximately 36 percent. The closure or conversion of major domestic refineries such as SAPREF and Engen has made South Africa more reliant on refined petroleum imports and vulnerable to shipping disruptions. Iran has responded to the attack by Israel and the US by closing the Strait of Hormuz, and bombing energy infrastructure in many of the countries South Africa imports refined petroleum from: Oman at 26 percent, Saudi Arabia at 15.8 percent, the United Arab Emirates at 15 percent and Bahrain at 8.5 percent. In total, 65.6 percent of South Africas refined petroleum import suppliers are at risk in the war on Iran. Ramaphosas comments about energy independence betray a concern that rising fuel costs and the general increase in the cost of living may spark widespread protests and strikes in South Africa. But preventing war and its costs from decimating the working class, requires South African workers to unite in a struggle against imperialism together with Iranian workers and the workers of every other country in a fight for socialism. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player US-Israel forces carpet bomb Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. As the war enters its fifth day, the US-Israeli assault on Iran has assumed ever more openly the character of a war of annihilation and extermination. The sinking of an Iranian vessel more than 3,000 kilometers from Irancarried out in international waters on Wednesdayis the latest act in a boundless campaign of destruction that recognizes no legal or geographic restraint. The vessel had 180 people on board, and the Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 people, meaning that 148 people were killed. In the opening days of the war, the United States and Israel murdered a large section of the Iranian leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran and other cities have been hammered by repeated air attacks. Hospitals have been hit. A girls elementary school in Minab was struck, killing over 150 children, part of a death toll that has already passed 1,000. There is a repeated refrain in the media that President Trump does not have a strategy. This is a lie. There is a strategy: the obliteration of Iran as a state and a campaign of terror against the population. The methods pioneered by the United States and Israel in Gaza are now being scaled up from an enclave of 2 million people to a country of more than 90 million. This is the next stage in an expanding global offensivefollowing the assault on Venezuela and the strangulation of Cubain which the United States, utilizing its bought-and-paid-for attack dog Israel, seeks to break up and subjugate any society that resists imperialist domination. Civilian casualties are not a byproduct of military objectives. Mass murder is the aim. On Wednesday, the White House published a video that opens with imagery drawn from the Call of Duty video game franchise, then shifts into a remix of infrared strike footageAmerican bombs detonating across Iranedited like a highlight reel. After the kills, a score flashes on screen. That is, the success of the US-Israeli operation will be determined by how many people are slaughtered. Every statement made by Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is saturated with criminality and the language of fascism. On Wednesday, Hegseth gave a news briefing in which he gloated over the slaughter. We are punching them while theyre down, which is exactly how it should be, he said. He promised death and destruction from the sky all day long, waged decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Hegseth sadistically tallied the dead: Irans senior leaders are dead. The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor, dead. And he made clear the killing will not stop: We will find them, and we will kill them. Hegseth announced plans for a saturation bombing campaign against the entire Iranian people. With complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile. He gloated over the sinking of the Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean, a clear violation of international law. In a Pentagon briefing the day before, Hegseth boasted that there will be no stupid rules of engagement. This is a statement that international law does not apply. It is a declaration of intent to wage war as the Nazis did. The fascistic character of this war is being reinforced through the systematic infusion of Christian-nationalist propaganda. The Guardian reports that commanders are urging troops to be told that the war against Iran is all part of Gods divine plan and citing the Book of Revelation and Armageddon. According to one complaint from a soldier, troops were told that Trump had been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth, i.e., to trigger apocalyptic events through systematic extermination. The European powers are eager accomplices in this unfolding war of extermination. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, standing beside Trump at the White House Tuesday, declared: We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away. Britain has deployed F-35 fighters. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declared the bombing did not violate international law. The Democratic Party, while quibbling over procedure, parrots the talking points of the Trump administration and facilitates this genocidal war. The Senate vote Wednesday on a War Powers resolution was a political charade from the startdesigned not to stop the war but to provide a fig leaf for their support of it. At a House Democratic Leaders press conference Wednesday, every speaker echoed the administrations talking points. Representative Ted Lieu denounced a murderous, theocratic regime. Representative Chrissy Houlahan declared: I dont mourn those leaders. Representative Maggie Goodlander called Iran a brutal and determined enemy... a regime that has the blood of our fellow Americans on its hands. All of this demonstrates that the war against Iran is not an improvisation dreamed up in Trumps head. It is the final iteration of a chain of imperialist wars launched over the last 35 years: the Gulf War; the decade-long sanctions siege of Iraq; the 2003 invasion and occupation; the war in Afghanistan; the destruction of Libya; the CIA-backed regime change operation in Syria; the expansion of US operations across the Middle East; and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. What unites these crimes is a single counterrevolutionary aim: to undo and reverse the setbacks suffered by imperialism in the 20th century as a result of the revolutionary and anti-colonial movements of the oppressed masses. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spelled out this reactionary program three weeks ago. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he declared that ever since the end of World War IIthat is, since the defeat of the Nazisthe great Western empires had entered into terminal decline, accelerated by godless communist revolutions and by anti-colonial uprisings. The imperialist powers, he lamented, had been shackled by guilt and shame, and by casting off these restraints, the Wests age of dominance could be resurrected. In his press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth ranted about 47 yearsa reference to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which overthrew a US-backed dictatorship and shattered Washingtons direct control over the Persian Gulf. American imperialism is now determined to exact payback against Iran by reasserting imperialist dominion over one of the worlds most strategic regions. There is no dividing line that confines these methods to one battlefield or one people. The same methods will be employed everywhere imperialism encounters resistance: Cairo and Karachi, Nairobi and Lagos, Istanbul and Jakarta, Moscow and Beijing, Seoul and Manila, Mexico City and Johannesburg. Workers in America, in Germany, in Britain and in all the imperialist countries see their own future in the streets of Tehran. Within the United States, this foreign policy gangsterism is inseparable from the assault on democratic rights and the erection of a presidential dictatorship. A government that claims the right to murder foreign leaders and wage war without law will not tolerate opposition at home. The methods of violence and murderalready employed in Minneapolisare being readied for broader use against all resistance to the dictates of the corporate and financial oligarchy. The very brutality of the assault expresses an element of desperation: A ruling class that cannot secure its aims through political means turns to mass murder to intimidate and break resistance. But this war will not crush the Iranian people. Each day this war continues deepens anger and outrage among workers and youth throughout the worldand within the United States itself. Outrage, however widespread, is not enough. The decisive question is the development of a political perspective, a conscious program, and the independent mobilization of the international working classthe only social force capable of stopping the descent into barbarism. The World Socialist Web Site will hold an emergency global webinar this Sunday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m. EDT to explain the origins of this war, the social forces driving it and the strategy required to stop it. We urge all readers to distribute this statement as widely as possible, attend the meeting, and help build a conscious, organized movement against imperialist war and dictatorship. US and Ecuadorian troops launch military operation in Ecuador, March 3 [Photo: @Southcom] The US Southern Command announced Tuesday the beginning of joint land operations with the Ecuadorian armed forces against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations. The Pentagon released a declassified video of helicopter raids and US special forces operating with local commandos. The operations mark an escalation of the Trump administrations aggression across Latin America and globally, coming just days after the onset of its criminal war against Iran. This first-ever US ground intervention ostensibly against cartels in South America expands Operation Southern Spear, the Navy-led campaign that has already murdered 151 fishermen in 45 strikes on alleged drug boats across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean since last September. US Southern Command chief Gen. Francis L. Donovan, fresh from Venezuela where Delcy Rodriguezs puppet regime pledged a joint security agenda against trafficking, praised Ecuadors military for its unwavering commitment against narco-terrorists. While details on the scope and timeline were not offered, fascistic Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa signaled an indefinite operation targeting Los Lobos and Los Chonerosgroups branded by Washington as terrorists. Quito confirmed an offensive collaboration, with raids hitting coastal zones, while Noboas government vows sustained action to recover control in cartel hotspots. In other words, Trump and Noboa have agreed to an indefinite deployment of US troops to wage war on broadly defined terrorists, after 67 percent of Ecuadorians voted to reject the building of US bases in the country in a referendum last November. The Ecuadorian ground operations take place on the heels of the bombing of Caracas to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and amid the ongoing Cuban fuel siege, US bombings in Nigeria, and the sinking of an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka in the spillover from the expanding US-Israeli war in the Middle East. This is no isolated anti-drug campaign but a component in the initial stages of a third world war. Framed as fighting narco-terrorism, the raids coincide with Trumps Miami summit of Latin American leaders next week, where he will demand absolute subordination. Terrified of a globally interconnected working class more powerful and numerous than ever, the local ruling elites rely ever more openly on US imperialism to defend class rule as they roll back every 20th-century gain won by the working class and the oppressed masses and move toward fascist dictatorship. Ecuadors Daniel Noboa, scion of a banana-export billionaire clan implicated in cocaine shipments to Europe, has begged for Pentagon help. He has pointed to the record number of homicides in 2026six Ecuadorian cities are listed among the worlds 10 deadliestand claimed that 70 percent of global cocaine transits his nations ports. Since declaring a state of war in January 2024backed by all bourgeois parties, the CONAIE indigenous confederation and the Stalinist union leaderships under the banner of national unityNoboa has repeatedly suspended constitutional rights across most of the country and ruled by decree. Coinciding with the US announcement, Quito decreed a March 15-30 curfew in four provinces from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. The administration has relied on social austerity, slashing public wages and spending to fund this police state. The US-Ecuadorian raids coincide with two Economic Urgent Bills introduced by Quito to force local governments to divert 70 percent of their budgets to infrastructure and dodge court rulings blocking the privatization of mining/energy in order to hand them over to the transnationals. Noboas January 2026 security plan devours $180 million for seven twin-engine helicopters, a multipurpose logistics ship, 3D radar, scanners and dronesdual-use tools for internal repression and war. Interior Minister John Reimberg boasts of an autonomous Unase anti-extortion unit, and a new 15,000-capacity Encuentro prison. Police raids last Saturday on offices of Revolucion Ciudadana (RC-Citizens Revolution), the party led by former President Rafael Correa, for corruption, signal the criminalization of opposition, however nominal. Noboas April 2024 Mexican embassy assault to nab former VP Jorge Glas already shredded Vienna Convention norms. Noboa has also rebuilt naval facilities in Manta (a 150m pier, barracks) for US personnel. He has also partnered with Erik Prince, Blackwaters billionaire founder, for urban warfare training, hosted US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for intel-sharing, and only reversed the initial approval of a US base in the biodiversity-rich Galapagos after a major popular backlash. Historical precedent: coups, dictatorships and subordination to imperialism The US-Ecuadorian operations hark back to the Pentagon-CIA orchestration of 20th-century coups and dictatorships crushing Latin American workers. This includes the Ecuadorian military dictatorship that ended in 1979 after the 1971/1975 general strikes that demonstrated the power of the urban proletariat. More recently, the Pentagon has used Plan Colombia and Plan Merida in Mexico to train and arm local armed forces, which perpetrated bloodbaths without denting drug trafficking. Washington is seeking to employ far-right forces like Noboa and President Javier Milei in Argentina as pliant tools against China, now South Americas top trader and investordisplacing the US from its backyard. However, any economic move away from China poses immense challenges for every country in the region. An Ecuador-China free trade agreement just went into effect in 2024, and oil exports to China have grown exponentially in recent years. In 2025, oil output fell 7.16 percent to 441.000 bpd amid internal woes, per Central Bank data. The US deployment in Ecuador is a harbinger for similar operations to pressure regional elites against China, directly install puppets, secure key infrastructure and participate in the repression of the working class. In Mexico, government officials have acknowledged that they ordered the killing of top cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias Mencho, after concluding that the Trump administration was about to carry out a unilateral military operation in the country. Panama moved to expel a Chinese port company from the Canal after Trump threatened to invade. The nominal left opposition in Ecuador has been shown to be entirely bankrupt. Rafael Correas own handpicked successor, Lenin Moreno, handed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to British authorities and adopted an IMF austerity plan. The Correista RC has consistently been a partner in Noboas militarization, with all establishment parties running in the last elections promising a major buildup of the repressive state apparatus. In response to the joint raids Tuesday, RC chairwoman Gabriela Rivadeneira futilely begged Ecuadors army not to join incursions abroad, and praised the governments in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia as bulwarks of regional sovereignty. However, the efforts of these Pink Tide governments to accommodate Trump are themselves proof of the role the Correistas would play if returned to power. Colombian President Gustavo Petro toned down his criticisms of US policy after meeting with Trump. On March 1, the Petro administration announced joint operations with Ecuador and the United States, deploying 20,000 troops to Narino/Putumayo. In the context of a major trade war with Colombia, Ecuador denied any coordination. Ecuadors post-1979 democratic regime co-opted indigenous elites via electoral quotas, birthing the CONAIE and its electoral wing Pachakutik. Every massive upsurge of the working class and peasantry against inequality, ecological ruin and land grabs has been successfully channeled by these forces and the Stalinist-led union bureaucracy behind support for one or another section of the bourgeois establishment and illusions in the 1997-98/2007-08 capitalist constituent assemblies. The 1998-2000 pre-revolutionary crisischaos from bank collapses and dollarization, 70 percent poverty, debt implosionsaw CONAIE and the Stalinists propel ex-colonel Lucio Gutierrez (2003-2005), who then imposed IMF austerity plans sparking his ouster. These same leftist forces then elevated US-trained economist Rafael Correa to power, riding the commodity boom (2000-2014) fueled by Chinese growth for limited increases in social spending. Correa, however, crushed indigenous resistance to ecological damage and began the turn to austerity, followed by Moreno. More recently, some sections of the CONAIE even endorsed Noboa. Now, amid deceleration of the economy, the ruling elite is demanding a greater subordination to imperialism and social attacks on the working class to attract investments. US troops on Latin American soil revive School of the Americas-style terror, but todays working classvast, and linked by transnational productioncontrols the strategic levers of the economy. Ecuadors troops killed workers, youth and peasants dubbed terrorists for protesting against inequality. The working class must reject any appeal for national unity behind the capitalist state, and instead form rank-and-file committees linking with their counterparts across the Americas and globally via the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees. The only alternative to fascist dictatorship and the imperialist slaughter is world socialism. All workers who agree in Ecuador must commit to building a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution. The Assistant National Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), Tom Scripps, released a video statement Wednesday opposing the war on Iran, denouncing the complicity of Keir Starmers Labour government, and calling for a socialist anti-war movement. The text of that statement is published below. You can watch and share the video on X, TikTok and Instagram. The World Socialist Web Site is holding an emergency global webinar this Sunday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m. EDT to explain the origins of the US imperialist war against Iran, the social forces driving it and the strategy required to stop it. We urge all our readers to register to attend. Britains participation in the war against Iran is criminal. This is an illegal war for regime change, waged against an oppressed country, led by the imperialist United States and its Israeli attack dog. They have put millions of lives at risk. Keir Starmers statements about his duty to protect British lives are sickening lies. He has left hundreds of thousands of British citizens stranded, with missiles falling every hour, and has no plan to get them to safety. And this apologist for Israels genocide of the Palestinians cares even less for the people of Iran now being slaughtered daily, or for the population of the Middle East. Once again, a Labour government staffed by political criminals is dragging the country into a US-led war for oil. Just as it did with Iraq in 2003 under Starmers hero, Tony Blair. The outcome of this war could be far worse. Iran is a country of 90 million people, sitting at the crossroads of the world economy. It has been targeted by the US in preparation for war against China. Israel has already invaded Lebanon and has resumed its ethnic cleansing operation in Gaza. American, British and European capitalism see no other way out of the enormous crisis they face, economically, socially and politically. Wars of plunder, conquest and destruction are their answer to a growing mountain of debt and their falling world position. That is why the US has launched such a reckless and brutal offensive, why British imperialism supports it, and why it is coupled with such fierce repression at home. The years of the Gaza genocide have been used not only to normalise crimes against humanity. But to pioneer political repression on a scale not seen in generations. Which will be used against the working class as it is forced to pay the price of war. The Socialist Equality Party unequivocally opposes the assault on Iran. And we base our opposition on a fight to mobilise the British and international working class against it. Not moral appeals to a Labour government which has none. Or to the United Nations, or trade union leaders. This is how the Stop the War Coalition and the likes of Jeremy Corbyn led the mass movement against the Gaze genocide into a dead end. What is needed is a fight for socialist internationalism among workers of all countries, who have shared interest in bringing down the warmongers attacking their jobs, wages, living conditions and democratic rights. Only a movement totally independent of the capitalist parties can put a stop to this barbarism.It must begin now. And it must be led by workers and young people. No one will do it for you. Contact the Socialist Equality Party, join us, and take up the fight of your lives. US-Israel forces carpet bomb Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and their affiliated magazine Jacobin are seeking to undermine mass opposition to the criminal war in Iran and channel it behind the Democratic Party. The Democrats, meanwhile, are supporting the neo-colonial aims of the war, while for the most part criticizing the manner in which Trump is carrying it out. In a statement issued by the DSA on the first day of the US-Israeli attack, Saturday, February 28, the organization called for a return to diplomacy on the part of the United States. This is despite the fact that both last Junes unprovoked US assault and this weeks war were launched in the midst of negotiations, making it crystal clear that for Washington, diplomacy is a cover for military aggression. Iran has up to now rejected further talks with the gangster regime headed by Trump. The statement when on to say: We call on the American people to organize and participate in mass mobilizations against the attacks on Iran, contact their representatives in Congress and demand that they vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution. A popular solidarity movement across the country can shift the political terrain and exact a political cost of warmongers. What is the meaning of this proposal? The DSA is well aware that mass protests against the war and the fascist Trump administration will emerge. But as far as it is concerned, this mass opposition from below must be channeled behind the Democratic Party and its anti-war posturing and rendered impotent by the delusion that popular pressure can force the ruling class and its government agents to abandon their policies of war, dictatorship and austerity. The Democrats Iran War Powers Resolution, already defeated in the Senate, is a purely performative fraud. Were it to be enacted, it would require Trump after 30 days to seek congressional authorization to continue the war. It is unlikely that it will pass in the House, narrowly controlled by the Republican Party. This is all the more the case since three Democratic House membersJosh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Greg Landsman of Ohiohave already declared that they will vote No. If it had somehow passed, it would have been vetoed by Trump. Overriding his veto would have required a two-thirds majority in each chamber, which had no chance of happening. The Democrats have supplied the votes to pass every military funding bill proposed by the White House. Last October, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, which authorized nearly $900 billion, cleared the Senate on a 77-20 vote, with 26 Democrats voting for the bill. In the House, 17 Democrats voted Yes to ensure passage of the bill. As for the efficacy of mass appeals to capitalist governments in ending war and repression, the experience of the past three years provides definitive proof to the contrary. Tens of millions in the US and around the world demonstrated against the genocide in Gaza and millions in the US demonstrated against mass raids, detentions, deportations and violent repression by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with no impact on government policy. This did not prove the futility of mass mobilizations from below, but rather the bankruptcy of the reformist perspective and program of those pseudo-left groups, such as the DSA, that politically dominated the demonstrations. On the same day as the DSA statement on the war, February 28, Jacobin published an article by staff writer Branko Marcetic criticizing the launching of the war against Iran not from the standpoint of the Iranian and international working class, but on the grounds that it is harmful to the interests of US imperialism. In line with Democratic Party critics of the war, Marcetic wrote: There is no universe where this war serves the interests of the United States. There can be only one meaning in this context of the phrase United States, i.e., the economic and political establishment that rules the country. Marcetic and Jacobin imply that the US killing machine could be more productively employed against a different population, in which case it could have the support of the DSA. Indeed, he goes on to suggest one such target: In fact, Iran is just the latest in a series of relatively weak, WMD-less states that have come into Washingtons regime-change crosshairs in the twenty-first century, which include Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and, more recently, Venezuela and Cubaall while the armed-to-the-teeth North Koreans remain safe from US attack and Trump writes love letters to its leader. Further on, he writes: So whose interest does this serve? The obvious answer is a war-hungry Israeli leadership this really is an Israeli war, outsourced to Americans to fight and die for. Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to get the United States into this war for more than thirty years, including repeatedly when the feeble, ailing Joe Biden was in power. Yet it was only once Trump took office that he got his wish, proving to be an even bigger doormat for the Israelis to wipe their shoes on. Jacobin and Marcetic doubled down on the line of the US waging a war dictated by Israel in an article published on March 4, headlined The US Is Fighting Israels War on Iran. This assertion that Trump is a stooge of the Israelis, who are really calling the shots when it comes to US foreign policy, directly echoes the line of overtly antisemitic elements within the fascist MAGA movement that are denouncing the war as a Jewish conspiracy and accusing Trump of betraying the America First program. This faction includes such prominent far-right figures as Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene. It also aligns with the pretext for the war given at one point by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the US preemptively attacked Iran because it knew Israel was about to strike the country, prompting Iran to launch attacks against US forces and interests in the Middle East. All such claims invert the real relationship between US imperialism, the center of world reaction and militarism, and its attack dog in the Middle East, the Zionist state of Israel. This support for US imperialism, whatever the left-sounding rhetoric, has deep roots in the history and origins of the DSA. The DSA was founded in 1982 through a merger between the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) and the New American Movement. The latter was comprised of middle-class New Left elements oriented to the Democratic Party. The DSOC, led by Michael Harrington, was an outgrowth of the movement led by his mentor, Max Shachtman. Shachtman was a former leader of the Trotskyist movement in the US who rejected the defense of the Soviet Union and broke from Trotskyism in 1940. He claimed that as a result of the Stalinist degeneration of the state that had issued from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, there was nothing left in the USSR for the working class to defend in opposition to imperialist military aggression. Expressing deep demoralization in the face of fascism in Europe and the counterrevolutionary Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, he claimed the USSR was no longer a workers state, but rather some variant of state capitalism. By 1950, Shachtman had become a full-blown anti-communist. He became an adviser to the AFL-CIO trade union bureaucracy. He supported US imperialism in the Korean War, the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and the Vietnam War. Harrington took on Shachtmans anti-communism and insisted on a policy of operating within the Democratic Party, opposing a break with this party of Wall Street and the CIA. This has remained the policy of the DSA, which functions as a faction of the Democratic Party. In a 1984 interview with the New York Times, Harrington identified his views as defined by visceral anti-communism. He went on to say: An illustration of this shift is that when I criticize American foreign policy, our intervention in Central America, I do that in the name of the national security of the United States. Our critique is that President Reagans policy with regard to Nicaragua does not promote the national security, it hurts it. Forty-two years later, the real attitude of the DSA to US imperialism remains the same. This was underscored last month by New York Democratic Party/DSA Mayor Zohran Mamdanis second White House visit with Trump. Mamdani sought the meeting, which took place two days after Trumps fascist State of the Union rant and as the final preparations were being made by the US war fleet off the coast of Iran to launch Operation Epic Fury. That occurred just two days after Mamdani stood next to a beaming Trump to trumpet a $21 billion New York public housing scheme that will provide a new profit bonanza for real estate swindlers, no doubt including Trump himself. It is likely that Trump tipped off his socialist buddy that the war was imminent and received assurances from the DSA mayor that he would do his best to quash popular opposition. As the World Socialist Web Site wrote on February 27: Mamdanis collaboration with Trump expresses the class character of his politics. And it must be stated plainly: these are the politics of the Democratic Socialists of America as a whole. Mamdani is not a rogue actor. He is the DSAs most prominent elected official, hailed by them as their greatest political success story. What Mamdani does in the Oval Office, the DSA does. His handshake with Trump is the DSAs handshake with Trump. This was demonstrated one day later, when Jacobin published an article by senior editor Meagan Day hailing Mamdanis love-fest with Trump as savvy and smart, and praising Mamdani as a strategic genius. At the same time she attacked critics of Mamdanis alliance with Trumpthe would-be dictator, mass murderer and war criminalas sectarians. Those rank-and-file members of the DSA who joined the organization in good faith, who thought they were joining a movement for socialism, equality, democratic rights and an end to war, must take stock of what the perspective and practice of the DSA have produced: an alliance with the fascist right and defense of US imperialism. The mass opposition to war that will emerge in the US and internationally in response to the military genocide underway in Iran must reject the treacherous pro-capitalist and pro-imperialist politics of the DSA and other pseudo-left tendencies. The DSA and Jacobin never speak about the objective roots of Trumps fascist politics, as though it were simply a matter of an evil and deranged individual who inexplicably has come to occupy the most powerful political post in the world. That is because they seek to conceal the source of global war and political reaction, which is the capitalist system, and the need for the independent mobilization of the working class on a socialist and internationalist program to put an end to war and fascism by putting an end to capitalism. The Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee of the Fourth International advance the only principled and viable strategy: First, the struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population. Second, the new anti-war movement must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of militarism and war. Third, the new anti-war movement must be completely and unequivocally independent of, and hostile to, all political parties and organizations of the capitalist class. Fourth, the new anti-war movement must, above all, be international, mobilizing the vast power of the working class in a unified global struggle against imperialism. Those who agree with this program should join the SEP and its sister organizations in the ICFI. The World Socialist Web Site is holding an emergency global webinar this Sunday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m. EDT to explain the origins of the US imperialist war against Iran, the social forces driving it and the strategy required to stop it. We urge all our readers to register to attend. A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. [AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji] Anthropics Claude artificial intelligence systemembedded in Palantirs Maven Smart System on classified military networksis being used by the US military to identify and prioritize targets in the criminal war of aggression against Iran launched by the United States and Israel on February 28. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Claude generated approximately 1,000 prioritized targets on the first day of operations alone, synthesizing satellite imagery, signals intelligence and surveillance feeds in real time to produce target lists with precise GPS coordinates, weapons recommendations and automated legal justifications for strikes. This represents the first large-scale deployment of generative AI in active US warfighting operations. It is being used to wage a war that has already killed 787 Iranians, according to Amnesty International, including an estimated 150 schoolchildren in a missile strike on a school in the southern city of Minab on March 1, which UNESCO described as a grave violation of humanitarian law. As the World Socialist Web Site previously reported, last week the Trump administration blacklisted Anthropic and designated it a supply chain risk to national security after CEO Dario Amodei refused Pentagon demands for unrestricted access to Claude, insisting on two narrow contractual restrictions against mass domestic surveillance of Americans and the use of fully autonomous weapons. On February 28, just hours before the war on Iran began, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to phase out Claude, giving the military six months to complete the transition. This renders the entire spectacle of the blacklisting functionally meaningless. While Trump publicly punishes Anthropic for maintaining two narrow technical restrictions, the same administration is using Anthropics technology to select targets in an illegal war. As one military source told the Washington Post, Were not going to let [Amodeis] decision-making cost a single American life. Amodei has not publicly opposed the use of Claude in the Iran war. His silence is revealing but not surprising. His stated red lines against domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons were never directed at the functions Claude is actually performing in Iran: target identification, intelligence assessment, weapons selection and battle simulation. These operations fall entirely outside his stated restrictions. Amodei himself declared in a public statement last week, We have never raised objections to particular military operations, confirming that Anthropic also raised no objection to the January 3 assault on Caracas, Venezuela, which killed between 83 and 100 people. The military-AI kill chain Claudes deployment in Iran is the product of a massive military-AI apparatus constructed over years with bipartisan support. Project Maventhe Pentagons flagship AI warfare program, now operated by Palantir under a contract that has grown to nearly $1.3 billionserves over 25,000 users across every US Combatant Command. Anthropic itself placed Claude on these classified networks through its November 2024 partnership with Palantir and Amazon Web Services, followed by the launch of Claude Gov for national security agencies in June 2025. The company pursued military integration aggressively. It cannot now plausibly claim surprise that its technology is being used for exactly what military AI systems are designed to do. The template for AI-driven mass murder was established in Gaza. As 972 Magazine documented, Israels Lavender AI system flagged approximately 37,000 Palestinians for assassination. The systematic shift from human target selection to algorithmic target generation with human rubber-stamping is now being deployed at scale against Iran, with Claude generating hundreds of AI-generated targets daily. As The New Republic observed, Meaningful human control becomes a bureaucratic fiction rather than a genuine safeguard when hundreds of AI-generated targets are processed daily with inconsistent verification across military units. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths January 9 Artificial Intelligence Strategy for the Department of War made the trajectory explicit, committing the Pentagon to becoming an AI-first warfighting force, requiring frontier AI models deployed to soldiers within 30 days of public release and mandating demonstrations of autonomous drone swarms and AI-driven battle management later this year. The Iran war is the first major test of this doctrine. Hours after the Anthropic blacklisting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced an expanded deal to deploy ChatGPT on the Pentagons classified networks. The contract language stipulates: The Department of War may use the AI System for all lawful purposes, precisely the formulation Anthropic refused to accept. Altman told OpenAI staff at an internal all-hands meeting, You do not get to make operational decisions, informing his own employees that OpenAI has no say over how the Pentagon uses its technology. He later admitted to CNBC that the deal looked opportunistic and sloppy. Even OpenAIs nominal safeguardsprohibitions on unconstrained monitoring of US persons private information and on autonomous weaponsare riddled with loopholes. The word unconstrained means any limitation, however minimal, satisfies the prohibition. The term private information is undefined; the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency already purchase bulk location and browsing data from commercial brokers without warrants. OpenAIs own Katrina Mulligan acknowledged the obvious: We cant protect against a government agency buying commercially available data sets. These are not safeguards. They are public relations instruments designed to provide the appearance of ethical constraints while granting the military functionally unrestricted access. The need to organize opposition to AI militarism The public response to these developments reflects genuine popular hostility to the use of AI for mass surveillance and militarism. Across social media, there have been thousands of comments praising Anthropic for not completely caving in to the Pentagon and denunciations of OpenAI for doing so. The We Will Not Be Divided open letter, which calls on OpenAI to defend the same provisions that Anthropic did, has grown from roughly 650 to nearly 900 signatories from OpenAI and Google. Since last Friday, ChatGPT uninstalls have spiked 295 percent as a result of OpenAIs brazen subservience to the Trump administration, while Claude rose from 42nd to 1st on the Apple App Store. But this opposition has not taken the form of independent working-class political action. No strikes, protests or work stoppages have been reported at any AI company. The open letters appeal to corporate executivesthe same executives who signed military contractsto voluntarily adopt restrictions. The #QuitGPT movement channels opposition into consumer choices: switch apps, cancel subscriptions, sign petitions. Deep popular opposition to the war exists. A University of Maryland poll found only 21 percent of Americans favored the attack on Iran, while 49 percent opposed it. A YouGov survey recorded 34 percent approval, the lowest for any US military action in modern history. This mass opposition must be given conscious political expression. It will not find a vehicle in either the Democratic Partywhich joined Republicans to pass the $901 billion defense budget funding these operationsor the Republican Party, or the trade union bureaucracies, or the pseudo-left organizations that function as political auxiliaries of the Democrats. It can only be organized as an independent movement of the international working class, fighting to put an end to imperialist war, mass surveillance and the threat of fascism. Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to advance human knowledge, eliminate drudgery and raise the material and cultural level of the entire world. Under capitalism, it is being transformed into an instrument of imperialist mass killing, a tool for the construction of a surveillance police state and a mechanism for the wholesale elimination of jobs and the further concentration of obscene wealth. The answer to this is the building of a revolutionary socialist movement of the working class to take political power and place this technologyalong with the means of production as a wholeunder public ownership and democratic control. The World Socialist Web Site has developed Socialism AIa unique application of artificial intelligence to the political education and preparation of the working class for this fight. Tech workers, who confront the daily transformation of their labor into instruments of war and repression, should use Socialism AI, study the history of Trotskyism and the Fourth International and take up the struggle for the independent political mobilization of the working class against imperialist war and the capitalist system that produces it. Send in your statement against the war! Fill out the form below; all submissions will remain anonymous. Ford Dearborn Truck Plant workers on March 2, 2026 The war against Iran, launched in defiance of US constitutional and international law, is deeply unpopular among workers in the United States. Fifty-nine percent of Americans oppose the decision to strike Iran, with only 16 percent strongly approving, according to a CNN poll taken shortly after the US-Israeli onslaught started. Although Trump has threatened to put boots on the ground, only 12 percent favor sending US troops into Iran. The United Auto Workers (UAW), like the national AFL-CIO and majority of unions, has not issued any statements on the illegal war, which has already killed more than 1,000 people in Iran. This signals the support and complicity of the labor bureaucracy with an imperialist war, which Trump intends to make the working class pay for with their lives and livelihoods. Supporters of the Socialist Equality Party distributed copies of the SEP National Committee statement, Stop the criminal US-Israeli war against Iran! to workers at the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant and Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly Plant in metropolitan Detroit earlier this week. Most workers were appreciative to hear opposition to the war and hundreds readily took copies of the SEP statement as they rushed in and out of work during their shift changes. Workers rejected Trumps lies that the unprovoked attack was aimed at protecting the American people. I hate war, one Ford worker said. This doesnt benefit us, we got problems here, another commented. Several workers reacted with disgust to the news that the first day of bombing had already claimed the lives of more than 100 children who were killed in a deliberate attack on an all-girls school in southern Iran. That was horrible. I dont like people being killed, and for whatoil? one worker said. We shouldnt be bombing people, period, one young Ford worker said. Instead of spending money on war, he said, Money should go to the schools, or the people here. We all need help. Everybody should band together to stop this war. No one should be supporting this. A veteran worker expressed concern that the US-Israeli attack was triggering a far broader war, which could draw in nuclear-armed Russia and China. One worker, expressing her opposition to yet another war, wanted to know what workers could do to stop it. When SEP members said the working class had to use its economic and social strength, including preparing for a general strike to halt Trumps war abroad and war against the working class at home, one Ford worker said, That is long overdue. Others commented that Trump launched the war to cover up his own crimes, including his connections with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. During the presidents January 13 tour of the Dearborn Truck Plant a Ford worker, TJ Sabula, denounced Trump for being a pedophile protector. Trump responded with obscenities and demanded that the worker be fired on the spot. Sabula returned to work last month after a massive outpouring of public support. The historic Ford Rouge complex is in Dearborn, home to one of the largest Middle Eastern populations in the United States. Large numbers of city residents took part in the mass protests of the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, which is now being used as the model to destroy Iran and eradicate its 3,000-year-old culture. At the Warren Truck plant one worker said the bombardment just seems like unwarranted, unhinged violence against a country thats minding its own business. Another worker at the plant said, I dont think we should be bombing or invading other countries just to take their oil and resources. And thats exactly what Trump is doing. Regardless of how many more people end up losing their lives before this blows over, the United States is already a pariah state. One autoworker, whose father served in the military during Vietnam, noted that the president had to get an authorization from Congress to wage war. Trump just does whatever he wants, the worker said. I think the attack on Iran was a diversion from the Epstein scandal, he continued. Also, I think he might use it to try to cancel the 2026 elections. When the question of oil in Iran and Venezuela was posed, and how both countries principally sold to China, the principal target of American imperialism, the worker agreed that the war was also about dominating Irans oil supplies. Addressing Trumps war against the social and democratic rights of the working class at home, he said, ICE agents shot Alex Pretti in the back after they took his gun. He wasnt even trying to use it. Not even police are allowed to just shoot you in the back like that. These are the guys from January 6, and theyve been given guns and authority by Trump. Workers speak out worldwide The World Socialist Web Site has also received comments from working and young people who oppose the war from throughout the world. A commenter from Dortmund, Germany said: I consider this war a criminal adventure designed to externalize internal social tensions and distract from the Epstein scandal. US imperialism is running amok under Trump. In my opinion, there is only one way to stop the killing. All workers in logistics must organize globally (!) and plan and carry out coordinated strikes with the explicit goal of cutting off supplies to the military. This would bring the killing machine to a standstill over the heads of all governments, parties and unions, because without supplies, the generals would quickly run out of their limited resources. Airplanes dont fly and vehicles dont run without fuel. Aircraft carriers need vast quantities of various goods to maintain operations. They must no longer receive any of this. If you deprive the war of its material basis, it will end. The workers can force this if they recognize their social power and rise up worldwide as an international class. A commenter from Canada said: I am absolutely horrified by this unprovoked attack on Iran just like the NATO proxy war on Russia. We have been lied to. We are being lied to. We will be lied to. This is the modus operandi of Western governments. Here in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carnage Carney applauds the illegal attack on Iran and defends Israels so-called right to defend itself. Once again, do not be fooled by his speech at DAVOS as he manufactures consent for war here in Canada with a massive military budget of 5% in accordance with the Trump regimes demand of NATO nations. Canadian soldiers are serving side by side with American forces wreaking death and destruction on innocent people and they will be traumatized and suffer the grave moral injury of war. This war will likely come home to all of us here in North America and Europe before it ends and hopefully not in mushroom clouds. However, one cannot be sure with these people who belong in an insane asylum for the criminally insane! A commenter from South Korea said: Trump and Netanyahu have initiated an unprovoked and illegal war on Iran by firing massive bombs behind the back of their people respectively. Already innocent civilians and children are being killed. This war must be stopped immediately! The pretext of nuclear weapon worries or democracy for the Iranian people is just so absurd and rotten while IDF is still killing Palestinians in Israel and ICE attacking and killing immigrants and citizens in US. Their real aim is to establish a puppet regime for their imperialist interests, curtail Chinese and Russian influence in the region and prepare a wider confrontation. I also condemn those US allies from UK, Germany, Spain and other powers in Europe and Asia to regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkiye for their open or implicit lining up behind the US war drive with their own claims of national interests. What does national interests mean? Do those governments care about ordinary working people? No, I dont think they do. They mean big businessmen, they mean financial and industrial oligarchs, they mean a handful of privileged layers while the lives of working people suffer all the consequences under military buildup and economic chaos. I think working people around the world must be united and organized with a genuine revolutionary strategy to counter this imperialist war drive. The annual Closing the Gap report released last month and covering 2025 provides another stark picture of the deepening social crisis confronting Aboriginal workers and youth. While the Albanese Labor government has presented the report as evidence of small progress and record investment, the data points to a very different reality. A young Aboriginal worker in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, April 2008. [Photo by WSWS/John Hulme] Nearly two decades after the Closing the Gap program was first introduced by the Rudd Labor government in 2008, only four of the 19 national targets are on track to be met by the 2031 deadline. Most are improving only marginally, while four key indicators are moving decisively backward. These findings again underscore the widening gulf between official rhetoric and the lived conditions facing Indigenous people. Moreover, by presenting inequality as a gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the annual reports divert attention from the broader erosion of wages, housing and public services affecting the working class as a whole. These are conditions produced by the capitalist system, which concentrates wealth in the hands of a minority while imposing deprivation on the majority. Presenting the report to parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared he was not contemplating failure. He proposed continuing the existing arrangements and highlighted partnerships with Aboriginal organisations. Albaneses remarks obscure the reality of social conditions more commonly associated with the poorest regions of the world. Overcrowded housing, inadequate healthcare, under-resourced schools and chronic unemployment are entrenched across remote areas and working-class centres. As with previous reports, there is no serious attempt to explain why these conditions persist and, in many cases, worsen. The most glaring evidence of failure is found in the indicators classified as widening gaps. Adult incarceration rates have continued their upward trajectory, reaching 2,304.4 per 100,000 people in 2024, compared with a baseline of 1,906.1 in 2019. Aboriginal people remain imprisoned at rates more than 10 times those of the non-Indigenous population, demonstrating the increased reliance on punitive measures in response to deepening social distress. Recent media reports indicate that more than 17,000 Indigenous people are currently incarcerated, making up roughly one-third of the total prison population, despite representing only 3.8 percent of the overall population. Unreported in the Closing the Gap report is that last year recorded the highest number of Aboriginal deaths in custody in four decades. These figures reflect not only law-and-order measures that inflict state violence and neglect, but the deeper social devastation produced by entrenched poverty, chronic housing shortages and lack of secure employment. The removal of children from their families is also intensifying. The rate of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care increased to 50.3 per 1,000 in 2024, up from 47.3 in 2019. This expanding intervention by state child protection agencies reflects intensifying social pressures, driven by impoverishment and inadequate support services. Early childhood development indicators reveal a similar regression. Only 33.9 percent of Aboriginal children starting school in 2024 were assessed as developmentally on track across all five key domains, down from 35.2 percent in 2018. This decline points to the persistent lack of early education, health and family support systems that shape life outcomes. Suicide rates have also worsened significantly. The national rate reached 30.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, compared with a baseline of 23.6 in 2018. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among Aboriginal people aged 15 to 44, highlighting the depth of the mental health crisis and profound distress affecting entire communities. Life expectancy figures reveal the cumulative impact of these conditions. Aboriginal men have a life expectancy of around 72 years compared with about 81 years for non-Indigenous men, while Aboriginal women live to around 76 years compared with roughly 85 years for non-Indigenous women. The gap remains large and shows no sign of closing by 2031. The Northern Territory stands as the sharpest expression of this crisis. Eight of the 19 targets are moving backward there, with extreme incarceration levels, severe overcrowding and suicide rates among Aboriginal people aged 25 to 34 reaching 46.9 per 100,000. Despite these terrible conditions, the government continues to highlight areas it considers successes, particularly the expansion of land and sea rights. The area subject to Indigenous legal rights has grown significantly, with land coverage rising by 7.8 percent and sea country exceeding 113,000 square kilometres. Yet this expansion has coincided with a widening divergence between the acquisition of rights and the living conditions of the vast majority. Government procurement policies have channelled billions of dollars in public contracts to Indigenous enterprises, particularly through infrastructure, resource and military projects across northern Australia. This has facilitated the emergence of a small but growing layer of wealthy Indigenous landowners, CEOs and administrators, even as poverty continues to shape the lives of most. Central to the Albanese governments pro-market agenda is the expanding role of Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs), the legal entities responsible for managing native title rights. Established in the mid-1990s, PBCs were initially focused on land governance, but are now increasingly involved in negotiations and commercial arrangements tied to the exploitation of Indigenous land and waters. PBCs negotiate terms when governments or corporations seek access to native title land, whether for mining, infrastructure or military projects. Agreements often involve compensation, royalties or community funding, embedding native title institutions within the supply chains of large state and corporate projects. The latest report allocates $75 million to strengthen PBCs, claiming this will deliver lasting economic benefits for communities. At the same time, the Department of Defence is a central driver of procurement, with military base upgrades and logistics operations across northern Australia. While presented as partnership and opportunity, this process ties a growing Indigenous corporate layer to preparations for war. Labors failed attempt in 2023 to entrench an Indigenous Voice institution in the constitution aimed at further integrating sections of the Indigenous elite into the state apparatus, including its military plans. Although the Voice referendum was defeatedlargely due to working-class distrust of Labors claims it would improve conditions for Indigenous peoplethe Albanese government continues to advance measures that bolster a wealthy Aboriginal leadership. Housing provides one of the clearest examples of the gulf between rhetoric and reality. The Albanese governments $4 billion Northern Territory remote housing pledge, announced in 2023, was presented as a decisive step toward reducing chronic overcrowding. Yet the NT continues to record the highest overcrowding rates in the country, with many homes accommodating 10 to 15 people. In places such as Binjari, where Albanese made the announcement during a highly publicised visit, residents reported more than a year later that no new houses had been built. The latest report underscores a pattern seen since Closing the Gap was launched in 2008. The promise that it would address the legacy of the stolen generations of children removed from their families, and end the appalling conditions confronting most Aboriginal people, has been exposed as a fraud. The crisis facing Aboriginal people is inseparable from the wider assault by the Albanese government on the living standards of the working class as a whole. Rising inequality, precarious employment, housing shortages and cuts to public services affect Indigenous people most severely, but they are products of the same profit-driven system that impacts workers across Australia and internationally The growing gulf between a wealthy Indigenous corporate and political elitebenefiting from procurement contracts, administrative roles and land settlementsand the vast majority living in poverty mirrors class divisions throughout society. The experience of Closing the Gap demonstrates that social inequality cannot be resolved within the existing capitalist order. Addressing the social crisis requires a unified struggle of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal working people against this system and its political servants. Genuine equality requires a fundamental reorganisation of society to place human need above private profit, entailing the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a socialist society. Iraq has already begun shutting in production as exports through the Strait of Hormuz become increasingly constrained. Roughly 1.5 million barrels per day are reportedly offline, and officials have warned that figure could approach 3 million bpd if disruptions persist. At 3 million bpd, this becomes one of the largest sudden supply losses in the modern market outside of sanctions or war. Iraqs total crude production has been running near 4.04.3 million bpd, according to recent OPEC secondary-source data. Exports typically average between 3.2 and 3.4 million bpd, the vast majority shipped from southern terminals at Basrah. China and India together account for roughly two-thirds of those flows, making Iraq one of Asias most critical heavy crude suppliers. That output is heavily concentrated in the southern fields feeding Basrah exports. Rumaila alone has nameplate capacity of around 1.41.5 million bpd and routinely produces well above 1.3 million bpd. West Qurna 1 produces roughly 600,000 bpd, with capacity closer to 650,000670,000. West Qurna 2 is producing around 460,000 bpd, though development plans have targeted 750,000800,000. Zubairs design capacity is roughly 700,000 bpd. The Maysan complex contributes roughly 300,000350,000 bpd. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War Taken together, those fields account for the bulk of Iraqs export engine. A 3 million bpd shut-in would effectively sideline most of the southern system and remove a significant share of medium and heavy sour barrels from global trade. The obvious question is whether OPEC can replace those barrels. And the answer depends on who you ask and how you define spare capacity. But even theoretically, its a stretch. In December last year, the EIA redefined the terms maximum sustainable capacity as the upper limit a producer could reach within a year if everything runs smoothly and effective capacity which is the amount of oil that could be realistically brought online within 90 days and sustained without damaging fields or infrastructure. Let the terms 90 days and with a year sink in for a moment. For the sake of exactness, the EIA defines spare capacity using the second of those terms. So, does OPEC really have the spare capacity to meaningful fill the gap right now? Under that 90-day definition, OPECs effective spare capacity is generally estimated in the range of roughly 3 to 4 million barrels per day. And almost all of it sits in just two countries: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia accounts for roughly 2 million barrels per day of that cushion. The UAE contributes somewhere around 0.8 to 1.0 million barrels per day. The rest of OPECs members add relatively marginal volumes. President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Washington. [AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein] If further proof were needed that Germanys ruling class is capable of the same criminal methods as the American one, it was provided by the servile and repulsive appearance of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) at the White House on Tuesday. Merz quite literally kissed the ring of the fascistic gangster and warmonger Trump. Before the cameras, Merz could not move quickly enough to assure US President Donald Trump of his full support for the illegal war of aggression waged by the United States and Israel against Iran. He began his opening statement with the words: Thank you, Mr. President for having me here in this Oval Office for the third time now. ... Im really happy to have the opportunity to speak with you in these challenging times. We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away and we will talk about the day after what will happen then if they are out. This is unmistakable. Berlin supports the US-Israeli campaign of destruction against Iran in order to secure its share of the imperialist spoils. Merz did not mention a single one of the war crimes already committedincluding the attack on a girls school that killed more than 150 people. On the contrary, he repeatedly grinned approvingly at the cameras as Trump, in the manner of a fascistic strongman, boasted about the destruction of Iran and the targeted assassination of its political leadership. At the beginning of the press conference, Trump explicitly thanked Merz for his support and openly expressed his lust for killing and destruction: They have no navy. Its been knocked out. They have no air force, thats been knocked out. They have no air detection, thats been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out. And just about everythings been knocked out. Later, when asked about possible negotiations, he replied: Well, most of the people we had in mind are dead. So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So I guess you have a third wave coming and pretty soon were not going to know anybody. These statements are nothing less than open declarations of state-organized murder. The fact that the German chancellor listened without objection and nodded in agreement exposes the German government as a direct accomplice to a crime comparable to those of the Nazis. Waging a war of aggression was condemned in the Nuremberg Trials as a crime against peace and is also a criminal offense under Germanys Basic Law. The entire meeting in the Oval Office had the character of a Mafia gathering. While the capo di tutti capi Trump launched into endless monologues full of threatsincluding against nominal allies such as Spain and Britainthe delegations sat silently before him. Merz used every opportunity to voice his agreement. When a reporter asked Merz what he thought about Trumps intention to punish Spain for failing to meet NATO spending targets and for refusing to provide Spanish military bases for the war, the chancellor openly sided with Trump: Well, the answer on that is quite simple. We are trying to convince Spain to catch up with the 3% or 3.5%, which we agreed on in NATO. And as the president said, its correct, Spain is the only one who is not willing to accept that. And we are trying to convince them that this is part of our common security, that we all have to comply with these numbers. And this is 3.5 for military and another 1.5 for our military infrastructure. So Spain has to comply with that. Such threats against a European partner state underline that German imperialism, just as in the first half of the 20th century, is once again prepared to ruthlessly assert its dominance in Europe. Merz and the German government have openly declared their aim of building up the Bundeswehr into the strongest military force in Europe and making the entire country kriegstuchtig (ready for war). This is why Merz and Germanys ruling class, despite all transatlantic tensions, feel a distinct fascination with the fascist in the White House. They know that the realization of their own great-power ambitions, as in the past, requires the establishment of a fascistic dictatorship at home. Trumps construction of a brutal police and military state is not regarded as a warning but as a model. Merz nodded approvingly as Trump railed against illegal migration and berated former Chancellor and CDU leader Angela Merkel for her supposedly overly soft immigration policy. At the same time, the former BlackRock banker adopted the mafia-like language of the US president himself. One also had to speak about Ukraine, he declared, because there were actually too many bad guys in this world. After the killing of the Iranian bad guy Khamenei, this amounts to a barely veiled threat to place other heads of stateabove all Russian President Vladimir Putinin the crosshairs. The concern driving Merz is not the war against Iran, but whether the United States will continue the NATO war against Russia with the same aggressiveness. Berlin has closely tied its strategic fate to the escalation of the war in Ukraine and the subjugation of Russia, using the conflict to massively rearm and aggressively pursue its geopolitical and economic interests. The war fronts in Ukraine and the Middle East are expressions of the same global development: the desperate attempt by the imperialist powers to secure their dominance through military force amid the deepest crisis of world capitalism since the 1930s. The attack on Iran is not an isolated event but part of an imperialist redivision of the world through war. Only in this context can Merzs aggressiveness and simultaneous subservience toward Trump be understood. As long as German imperialism is not yet militarily capable of openly confronting the United States, it seeks to realize its aims as Washingtons junior partner. The interests it pursues are no less reactionaryand the methods no less barbaric. The first primary contests of the 2026 US mid-term election campaign took place on Tuesday, with the two parties of the financial aristocracy, the Democrats and Republicans, pouring tens of millions of dollars into contests in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas. Texas was the main focus of both parties, as well as the corporate media, which portrayed the outcome of a handful of tightly contested races as a clear signal that the Democratic Party will make significant gains in the general election on November 3. The Republican Party holds narrow majorities in both houses of Congress, 218-214 in the House of Representatives, with three seats vacant, and 53-47 in the Senate. This photo combination shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, in Dallas and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in Austin, Texas, both on March 3, 2026. [AP Photo/Julio Cortez, Jack Myer] More than $100 million was spent on the primary campaigns for the Texas seat in the US Senate now held by four-term Republican John Cornyn. The incumbent Republican accounted for two-thirds of this, an estimated $65 million-$70 million, raised from billionaire oligarchs in the oil industry, military contractors and financial institutions. This sum dwarfed that spent by his two opponents, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Representative Wesley Hunt, who both sought to appeal to the partys fascist base, attacking Cornyn as part of the Washington establishment. Paxton made a name for himself on the fascist right through legal persecution of abortion clinics, as well as leading the effort by Republican attorneys-general to overturn the 2020 election. But he raised only $4 million, and was regarded as damaged goods, impeached by the Republican-controlled state House on corruption charges in 2023 but retaining his office when the state Senate refused to convict him. Despite the disparity in resources, Cornyn won only a narrow plurality in the primary and faces a runoff in May against the fascist Paxton, who finished second. President Trump had declined to endorse any of the three candidates before the primary, but Paxton had the support of Trumps 2024 campaign manager Chris LaCivita and his best-known fascist media advocate, Steve Bannon. Trump announced Wednesday that he would choose between Cornyn and Paxton soon, and would demand that the non-endorsed candidate drop out of the runoff. This would represent an unprecedented assertion of presidential control over a state political race, furthering Trumps bid for dictatorial power. Senate Republican Leader John Thune appealed to Trump to endorse Cornyn, and warned that if the scandal-ridden Paxton won the nomination the Republican majority in the Senate would be threatened. In the Democratic primary there was a similar disparity in fundraising, with state Representative James Talarico, a former seminarian with the backing of the party leadership and business interests, raising $25 million, while his opponent, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, raised barely $5 million. Texas state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, left, shakes hands with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, prior a debate during the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Convention, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Georgetown, Texas. [AP Photo/Bob Daemmrich] As in the Republican race, the better-financed candidate won, although in the Democratic contest it was a decisive outcome, with Talarico receiving 52 percent of the vote compared to 46 percent for Crockett, who conceded defeat. Talarico has emphasized his religious education, claiming it will make him more acceptable to Christian fundamentalists who have voted for Trump. Voter turnout was high for a mid-term primary election, with a New York Times analysis suggesting that more voters chose to cast ballots in the Democratic primary than in the Republican primary for the first time in many decades when there have been contests in both parties. The biggest shift was among Hispanic voters, particularly in the counties in the Rio Grande Valley, which Trump won in 2024 after losing by landslide margins to Hillary Clinton in 2016. In five majority-Latino counties, more voters turned out to vote in the Democratic primary Tuesday than cast ballots for Kamala Harris in the presidential election, according to an analysis by Politico. One local Democratic Party official, Sylvia Bruni, chair of the Webb County Democratic Party in south Texas, told Politico that it was anti-Trump sentiment, not enthusiasm for the Democrats, that was expressed in the vote. She said: Its not the party thats driving people to the polls. Its the horrendous behaviors of the man in the White House and his cronies. Thats whats driving people to the polls. The Democratic race included nearly $4 million in ads supposedly supporting Crockett, but paid for by the campaign of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who viewed Crockett as the weaker of the two candidates in November. This is a further instance of the cynical interventions by the two capitalist parties across nominal party lines. In 2024 this was done mainly by the Democrats, who funded ads to support the most extreme-right candidates in several Republican primaries. The Texas contest is one of a half-dozen seats which the Democratic Party has targeted in its effort to win back control of the Senate, along with Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio. The Democratic nominee in North Carolina was also chosen Tuesday, former Governor Roy Cooper, who had the full backing of the party establishment and only nominal opposition. He will face former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, who was handpicked by Trump, first for the RNC and then as the Republican candidate to replace retiring Republican Thom Tillis. Democratic and Republican nominees were also selected for 56 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans hold all four Arkansas seats, 10 out of 14 seats in North Carolina, and 27 out of 38 in Texas. North Carolina and Texas were heavily gerrymandered by Republican state legislatures for the current election, with the aim of gaining five seats in Texas and one or two seats in North Carolina. The result has been forced retirements among Democrat representatives and one member vs. member primary, in which Representative Al Greenwho was ejected from Trumps State of the Union speech this year and lastnarrowly trailed a much younger black Democrat, Christian Menefee, with a runoff set for May. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, disrupts President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025 [AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite] Trump successfully purged the only member of the Texas Republican delegation who vocally opposed his claims of a stolen election in 2020 and condemned the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Representative Dan Crenshaw was defeated by a Trump-endorsed state senator. In the media coverage of the election result, there was little discussion of the likelihood that the November election will be held under conditions of military occupation of major US cities, or with armed and masked federal agents supervising the polls. But a preview of sorts was on display in Dallas County, the second-largest in the state, where the Republican-controlled county government changed precinct structures so that Democrats and Republicans had different polling stations, leading many Democrats to be turned away because they went to the wrong station. The Democratic Party went before a local judge, who ordered polling stations to stay open an additional two hours to accommodate those who had been denied the opportunity to vote. But at the end of that time, the Texas Supreme Court, acting at the request of Republican state Attorney General Paxton, overturned the local order and told election officials in Dallas to set aside all the ballots cast during that period. The AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. [Photo: Matt Popovich] As the Trump administration unleashed a massive bombing campaign against Iranin open violation of the Constitution and international lawthe leadership of the American trade unions has mostly remained silent. The AFL-CIO, the national labor federation whose affiliated unions claim more than 15 million members, issued no statement. The United Auto Workers, the Communications Workers of America, the United Steelworkers, the Teamsters, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the National Education Association and scores of other unionsnothing. The social media pages of the AFL-CIO and the major unions are filled with promotions of Democratic Party politicians, reports of the latest strikes the bureaucracy is managing or has already betrayed, the promotion of anti-Chinese propaganda and graphics about Womens History Month. But as the bombing began on February 28 and continued over the following days, the communications departments of these organizations did not issue a single post opposing the war. The scale of what has been unleashed on the Iranian people is horrific. In the opening days of the bombing campaign, the political and military leadership of Iran was assassinated. Nearly 1,000 people were killed, including more than 100 children when US-Israeli forces deliberately targeted an all-girls school in southern Iran. The cost of this criminal war is being imposed on the American working class, who are overwhelmingly opposed to it. Fuel prices are already rising. Food costs will follow. If ground troops are deployed to occupy Iranand the logic of such an operation points precisely in that directionit will be the sons and daughters of the working class, not the children of the corporate executives and financiers who profit from war, who are sent to fight and die. The costs will be financed through savage cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, public education and every other social program workers depend on for survival. The same administration that has deployed paramilitary forces to round up immigrants and murder US citizens in the streets of Minneapolis intends to use wartime measures to criminalize political opposition to the war. The silence of the union bureaucracy is a deliberate act of support and complicity. Those responsible include the left-talking sections of the apparatusfigures such as UAW President Shawn Fain, UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla, Association of Flight Attendants president and Democratic Socialists of America leader Sara Nelson, and the leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union and United Teachers Los Angeles. The exceptions that prove the rule Knowing there is overwhelming popular opposition to the war, a small number of unions have broken the silence and issued critical statements. Yet the political character of their statements is as revealing as the silence of the majority. Statements by the National Nurses United (NNU) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) combine radical sounding phrases with appeals to Congress and the Democratic Party. The NNU statement condemns the attack as yet another imperialist act of war, invokes Trumps unilateral military action in Venezuela, and declares that this mission is an extension of Trumps fascist allegiance to the billionaire class and a continuation of decades of U.S. intervention in Iran, beginning with the overthrow of the democratically elected Mossadegh government in 1953. The SEIU states: War hurts working people, poor people, women, and children. While authoritarian rulers, would-be dictators, and the billionaires that finance endless violence conspire together to enrich themselves and grab ever more power, it is regular working people who pay the price. It continues: SEIU stands with the workers in Iran and all over the world fighting for better, safer lives. We know the power of working people together and we will oppose this and any other move by this administration that harms workers, our families, and our communities. But while declaring that nurses call for international solidarity among working people, the NNU appeals to the US Congress to take all necessary steps to end this war, insisting that it alone has the power to do so by blocking funding and passing a war powers resolution. The SEIU arrives at precisely the same conclusion: Congress must act immediately to end this unconstitutional aggression and safeguard working people in America, Iran, and around the globe. This is the same Congress and Democratic Party that have funded military escalation for decades, backed sanctions strangling the Iranian people and repeatedly supported US aggression in the Middle East. The NNU is peddling the same line as Bernie Sanders, whose response to the attack was to declare that the Senate must reconvene immediately and vote on a pending War Powers Resolution, which I will strongly support. On Wednesday, the resolution predictably failed in the Senate, after being blocked by nearly every Republican plus one Democrat, the predictable John Fetterman. It would have been vetoed by Trump even had it passed; another resolution in the House is non-binding. The NNU apparatus maintains the closest institutional ties to Sanders. Several NNU leaders are fellows of the Sanders Institute, where they were trained in the rhetoric of Medicare for All and other reformist nostrums. It should also be recalled that NNUs affiliate, the New York State Nurses Association, betrayed the recent strike of 15,000 New York City nurses, even violating its own bylaws in a bid to force through a pro-corporate contract. The American Federation of Teachers provides perhaps the most instructive example. On February 18, the AFT leadership passed a resolution expressing solidarity with demonstrations against the Tehran government, protests primarily led by right-wing forces aligned with the son of the former Shah and backing US military intervention to facilitate a coup. Adopted before the bombing campaign began, the resolution opposed US intervention only on tactical grounds, declaring that an invasion can only aid the cause of the authoritarian theocrats in the Iranian state and delay the day when Iranians are finally free and able to govern themselves. In other words, not because an invasion would be a war crime, but counterproductive to US imperialism. After the bombs fell, AFT President Randi Weingarten responded not by condemning the war but by criticizing its constitutional irregularity. Trump, she said, has repeatedly bypassed Congress to unconstitutionally engage in acts of war, including today. That is wrong. Weingarten personifies the merger of the union apparatus with the State Department. Weingarten regularly travels across the world in support of regime change operations by the United States. She traveled to Ukraine in 2014 to lend support to the right-wing Maidan coup and has been a vocal supporter of the US-NATO proxy war against Russia. She is also a staunch Zionist who issued hypocritical, noncommital statements on the genocide in Gaza months after it began. Now she registers her objection to the bombing of Iran on procedural grounds. Had the Republican-dominated Congress formally approved the attack beforehand, she would have had no objection. Labor lieutenants of capital The silence of the union bureaucracy is the expression of a social layer that long ago evolvedusing the phrase of socialist leader Daniel De Leoninto labor lieutenants of capital. The American trade union apparatus has a long record of supporting imperialist war. The American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the AFL-CIO after their merger in 1955 backed US militarism through the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the wars of the past three decades in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Only under immense pressure from rank-and-file workers radicalized by the Vietnam War did the UAW temporarily break with the AFL-CIO in 1968. Even then the rupture was partial and the UAW returned to the fold in 1981. Through the American Institute for Free Labor Developmentfunded by the CIA and major US corporationsand its successor, the Solidarity Center, the AFL-CIO participated in decades of covert operations aimed at undermining militant unions and installing pro-US governments abroad. In Iran, the AFLs international apparatus led by Jay Lovestone played a role in the events leading to the CIA-organized 1953 coupOperation Ajaxthat overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. The AFL-CIOs fingerprints are likewise on the 1973 military coup in Chile that drowned the socialist government of Salvador Allende in blood. Its operatives have supported destabilization campaigns in Venezuela, Ukraine and elsewhere. President Biden openly acknowledged this relationship when he told the AFL-CIO Executive Council in July 2024 that the federation was his domestic NATO. None more so than UAW President Shawn Fain, who has openly promoted the World War II arsenal of democracy as the model for the union apparatus integration into wartime production today. In exchange for enforcing a no-strike pledge and converting unions into instruments of labor discipline in World War II, the Roosevelt administration instituted the automatic dues checkoffwhat union accountants called manna from heavenresolving the financial precarity of the labor bureaucracy at a stroke. The bargain then is the bargain now: the bureaucracy delivers labor peace and political loyalty; the state guarantees its institutional interests. The sons and daughters of the working class pay for this arrangement with their lives. A mass anti-war movement based on the working class Once again, pseudo-left organizations are promoting the lie that the union bureaucracy can be pressured into leading a movement against war. Left Voice, for example, calls for an anti-war and anti-imperialist movement on the streets and from our workplaces and schools, in which labor needs to play a leading role given its strategic power to grind imperialism to a halt. But it will not be the AFL-CIO bureaucracy that builds such a movement. A social layer that functions as a domestic NATO for the American ruling class, that has spent decades assisting US imperialism abroad and that responded to the mass bombing of Iran with complicit silence is incapable of leading a struggle against war. The building of a mass anti-war movement falls to the working class itselfto the rank and file, to young people and students, and to all those who understand that this war, like every war of American imperialism, is fought in the interests of the ruling class at the expense of workers on both sides of the conflict. Such a movement must rest on four principles. First, it must be politically independent of both parties of American imperialismthe Republicans who launched this war and the Democrats who will attempt to manage it while posturing, if needed, as opponents. Second, it must be free from the domination of the union apparatusthat privileged bureaucratic layer which stand on the other side of the class barricades. Third, it must be genuinely internationalist, recognizing that the Iranian workers and youth being killed by American bombs are not enemies but class brothers and sisters in a common struggle against capitalism and war. Fourthand decisivelyit must be socialist. Imperialist war is not an aberration of capitalism but its inevitable expression. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, which has begun building independent organizations for the self-determination of the working class in workplaces across the United States and internationally, provides the framework for such a struggle. The urgent task is to transform the widespread opposition to this warboth in the United States and internationallyinto an organized political force before the costs, measured in the lives of workers in Iran and the social devastation imposed on workers in America, grow any higher. A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. [AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji] Hours after would-be dictator Donald Trump announced the launching of the illegal US/Israeli war on Iran in the dead of night early Saturday, the World Socialist Web Site noted in its initial response that it was a massive political crime and that the war itself will inevitably escalate and engulf the entire planet. Only four days into the conflict, these observations are being confirmed in spades. According to the latest estimates, Washington and its Zionist ally have massacred over 1,000 civilians in Iran, assassinated its head of state and over 50 other leading civilian and military officials, and indiscriminately hit schools, hospitals, and cultural sites of historical significance for humanity as a whole. Early Wednesday, the barbarism of those directing the US war machine was demonstrated when an American submarine torpedoed an Iranian vessel in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. Some 180 sailors were aboard the ship, which was returning from a training mission in India and posed no immediate threat to anyone. Only 32 have been rescued thus far, making a death toll of close to 150 people likely. Fascist Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revelled in the bloodbath, gloating to a Wednesday Pentagon press conference that nobody ever said this was going to be a fair fight. Referring to the genocidal Zionist regime, which slaughtered over 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Hegseth enthused that Israel was fighting the war with unmatched skill and that fighting alongside Israel was a breath of fresh air for the US. Speaking earlier in the day, Israels Defence Minister, Israel Katz, made clear that Washington and Jerusalems programme of assassinations of Iranian leaders would continue. Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the US and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for elimination, declared Katz. The war has already developed far beyond the massive US-led onslaught on Iran into what increasingly appears as the beginning of a region-wide conflagration. The genocidal regime in Israel has launched widespread air strikes in Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut, after Hezbollah fired a handful of rockets into Israel in solidarity with Tehran. Residents living south of the Litani River have been ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the area. Late Wednesday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon reported that Israeli troops had crossed the Blue Line and taken control of several Lebanese villages. Responding to the unprovoked attack by the US and Israel, Irans Revolutionary Guard Corp has fired missiles and drones at American bases and facilities across the Gulf region. US bases in Bahrain and Qatar have been hit, together with US embassy or consulate buildings in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Speculation has grown that the despotic Gulf states, whose militaries have intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones, could formally enter the war. The possible expansion of the war to Turkey, a NATO member bordering Iran, came a step closer Wednesday when a missile was shot down by NATO air defences as it approached the Turkish border. The European imperialist powers are also being drawn ever closer into the war. French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday evening the dispatch of the countrys only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the eastern Mediterranean. Rafale fighter jets, air defence systems, and aerial radar units were also deployed to unnamed Middle Eastern countries. Macron revealed that French forces were involved in shooting down drones in the early stages of the war and warned of further action. He stressed that France has defence agreements with Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, as well as a strategic partnership with Cyprus, where a British airbase was struck by a drone earlier this week. The aggressiveness of the war of annihilation waged by American imperialism and Israel against Iran makes an expansion of the conflict into a regional bloodbath all the more likely. Through the deployment of barbaric and indiscriminate violence, the two countries believe they can overcome the social and political disasters produced by the series of wars and regime change operations they have fomented throughout the region for decades. US officials, starting with Trumps announcement of the wars launch, have repeatedly listed Irans supposed sins going all the way back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 to justify its savage bombardment of the country of 90 million people. In addition to assisting the US in destroying Iranian society, Israel hopes to exterminate Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Islamist organisation emerged in the 1980s as a mass movement of impoverished Shia Muslims following the bloody convulsions of the countrys civil war, which were fuelled by US meddling and Israels brutal occupation of the countrys south. Along with laying waste to Irans institutions, cities and infrastructure, the US and Israel are dusting off plans used to devastating effect in Iraq and Syria to incite ethnic and other sectarian divisions across the country. According to a CNN report Wednesday, the CIA has been supplying Iranian Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq with weapons for months to facilitate a Kurdish uprising in western Iran. The article noted, One person familiar with the discussions said that the idea would be for Kurdish armed forces to take on the Iranian security forces and pin them down to make it easier for unarmed Iranians in the major cities to turn out without getting massacred again as they were during unrest in January. Another US official said the Kurds could help sow chaos in the region and stretch the Iranian regimes military resources thin. This operation enjoys backing from Trump himself. CNN reported that he called the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government Sunday to demand that it facilitate the passage of weapons into Iran. Then on Tuesday, Trump had a call with the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, one of the organisations that signed a recent coalition agreement with four other Iranian Kurdish parties aimed at securing backing from the imperialist powers for a Kurdish state. The ethnic partition of Iran, a country of 90 million people with numerous minorities, would make Syria look like childs play. The 14-year-long CIA-backed civil war in that country to topple the Iranian-aligned Assad regime claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and turned millions into refugees. The US backed the Kurdish so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, before switching to Sunni groups led by the former al-Qaida leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. His sectarian authoritarian regime in Damascus has overseen massacres of the Alawite minority and driven the Kurds from most of their strongholds since coming to power in December 2024. In a statement addressing the bankruptcy of the Kurdish nationalists pro-imperialist orientation, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi, the Turkish section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, wrote of the potential carve-up of Iran, A Kurdish statelet, landlocked and surrounded by hostile neighbors (Turkey, a rump Iran, and Arab-dominated territories), would be entirely dependent on the patronage of the United States or Israel for its survivaljust as the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has been, serving as an instrument of US policy while its population remains mired in poverty and its politics dominated by corrupt bourgeois-tribal cliques. An Azerbaijani entity would become a satellite of Turkey or a prize in the competition between Ankara, Moscow and Western oil interests. An Arab entity in Khuzestancontrolling a significant portion of the worlds proven oil reserveswould immediately become a zone of imperialist plunder, contested by the Gulf monarchies, the US and global energy corporations. A Baloch entity would become a new front in the great-power struggle over the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Hormuz and the land routes connecting Central Asia to the sea. The human consequences would be catastrophic. Irans ethnic groups are not neatly separated into distinct territorial zones. Millions of Azerbaijanis live in Tehran; Kurds, Lurs and Persians are interspersed across western Iran; Arabs and Persians coexist in Khuzestan. Any attempt to draw ethnic borders would produce mass displacement, ethnic cleansing and civil war on a scale dwarfing even the Yugoslav catastrophe. As far as the financial oligarchy represented by Trump and his gang of fascists is concerned, this bloodbath would be a price worth paying if it enabled them to subordinate the region to colonial status. The plundering of oil and gas, control over trade routes and sidelining of rivals like Russia and China are their goals, irrespective of the cost in human life. Anyone who doubts this should recall the Gaza genocide. The only social force capable of putting an end to this 21st century imperialist barbarism is the international working class. Workers across the Middle East must be united on the basis of a socialist and internationalist programme with workers in the imperialist centres of North America and Europe to put an end to capitalism, the root cause of imperialist war and plunder. The seven states of the Colorado River Basin failed to reach an agreement on how to redivide declining water supplies, blowing past another federal deadline on February 14. Negotiations have been ongoing for two years with no sign of compromise in sight, as several critical agreements between basin states and the US and Mexico expire this year. People attend a news conference on Lake Mead at Hoover Dam, April 11, 2023, near Boulder City, Nev. Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday, May 22, proposed a deal to significantly cut their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years. [AP Photo/John Locher] Central to the impasse is disagreement on how states should share the burden of conserving water after a quarter century of drought, the worst in 1,200 years. Due to climate change and overallocation, the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) estimates that the Basin states will need to reduce consumptive use by up to 4 million acre-feet, about a quarter of allocated volume (an acre-foot is roughly 326,000 gallons). Consumptive use has largely exceeded annual supply for decades and over the past several years Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the US, have declined to concerning levels. Lake Mead is currently one-third full, and Lake Powell is a quarter full. Conditions are expected to worsen, with Lake Powell predicted to receive only half the normal inflow this yearand potentially just 37 percentaccording to the BoR. Low levels in Lake Mead have triggered cuts to the Lower Basin states and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation predicts that by the end of the year Lake Powell will fall below Power Pool, the elevation at which the Glen Canyon Dam can produce electricity. The dam provides electricity to almost a million homes throughout the Southwest, raising the potential for brownouts and blackouts in the region. To prevent this, the BoR will have to release more water from Upper Basin reservoirs, angering Upper Basin states, or reduce flows to Lake Mead, which could cause a triggering of Level 2 drought cuts. Ten-year average of total supply and total consumptive use in the Colorado River basin including deliveries to Mexico and reservoir evaporation. Despite cuts to deliveries to the Lower Basin and Mexico, consumptive use remains above long term available supplies. Data from the Bureau of Reclamation and USGS. States in the Lower BasinCalifornia, Arizona and Nevadahave argued that all states should share in the reduction in use. The Lower Basin has proposed basin-wide cuts triggered by low storage levels in all reservoirs in the basin combined, not just at Lake Mead as current cuts are determined. Lower Basin states would take cuts up to 1.5 million acre-feet at 38 percent storage levels, after which all states would contribute up to 3.9 million acre-feet in cuts. While the Lower Basin has been the one to propose shared cuts during shortages, it refuses to acknowledge that its excessive claims on the river cannot be sustained and that the Upper Basin cannot be compelled to subsidize its overuse. Historically, the Lower Basin has used more than its allocation of 7.5 million acre-feet (maf), while the Upper Basin has only used 4-5maf. Agriculture is the largest consumer of this water, accounting for 70-90 percent of consumptive use, of which the majority is used for growing alfalfa and hay for livestock. Because of this, Upper Basin statesColorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utahhave refused to take any cuts to their use, further arguing that they have never used their full allocation and that they already have to deal with declining runoff. This claim is true in any given year but not true over time, as the Upper Basin has continued to increase its consumptive use during the drought. Regardless of relative use, the Colorado River Compact requires the Upper Basin to provide an average of 7.5maf of water to the Lower Basin and half of the obligation to Mexico, measured as a moving 10-year sum of 82.5maf. Data of flows at Lees Ferry (where the basin is divided) show that last years rolling sum was 83.7maf, raising the prospect of a Compact violation with record low snow pack this winter. It is unclear what will happen if this occurs as there is no legal mechanism for the Lower Basin to require the Upper Basin to reduce use. With negotiations at a standstill, the Bureau of Reclamation had set the February 14 deadline in hopes of securing congressional approval by October. (All interstate agreements must be approved by Congress.) If no deal is reached, the Bureau will have to impose its own plan to stabilize water levels at the declining reservoirs, Powell and Mead. Because it only has authority to affect flows at federally managed reservoirs, the Bureaus proposals only impact the Lower Basin and could impose significant cuts to its states and Mexico of up to 4 million acre-feet. These proposals have angered politicians and officials in the Lower Basin, especially in Arizona, which has junior rights to California and bears the brunt of shortage cuts. Republican Arizona Representative Andy Biggs posted on X/Twitter, Arizona cannot sit idly by and allow Colorado to dictate water policy for the entire Basin region promising a solution that protects Arizonas interests and safeguards our future. The Upper Basin is similarly protective of its share. Colorados river commissioner, Becky Mitchell, identified Defending against attempts at Compact curtailment in the Upper Basin States as one of her eight irrefutable truths she would base her approach to negotiations on, referring to the 1922 Colorado River Compact, made law in the Boulder Canyon Act of 1928, which allotted 7.5 million acre-feet to both the Upper and Lower Basin with expectation of regular surplus. That division was based on a complete dismissal of available science in favor of a politically agreeable settlement that would lay the groundwork for the rapid development of the American Southwest. Several leading scientists and engineers, including E.C. LaRue, Herman Stabler and William Sibert, conducted surveys of the historic flow of the Colorado and found that natural flow in the decades preceding the Compact had been closer to 14-15 million acre-feet instead of the 20 million invoked during the Compact negotiations, measured during unusually wet years. These findings were presented to Congress but ignored. Basin states were rushing to claim as much water as possible, and a deal based on a lie was considered preferable to continued conflict. Therefore, 15maf was apportioned to the states with the assumed surplus going to the Lower Basin. Mexico was also eventually guaranteed 1.5maf in a 1944 treaty. Rolling 10-Year Sum of flows at Lees Ferry, Arizona, where obligated deliveries to the Lower Basin are measured. The Upper Basin is responsible for a rolling sum of 75 million acre-feet over 10 years to the Lower Basin and half of the 1.5maf per year to Mexico. Data from the USGS. In total today there are 16.5maf of allocations in a system yielding only 12-13maf of water annually. The Lower Basin claims 4.4maf for California, 2.8maf for Arizona and 0.3maf for Nevada. In the Upper Basin the states distribute water by percentage: Colorado 51.75 percent (~3.8maf), Utah 23 percent (1.7maf), New Mexico 11.25 percent (0.84maf), Wyoming 14 percent (~ 1maf). This does not account for all claims on water rights that cannot be satisfied because of overallocation within states and the largely unfulfilled rights of Native American tribes. The Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy estimates that tribal water rights may total 3.6maf, of which the BoR estimates only 1.4maf is being used due to a lack of infrastructure, losing the rest to other users despite often having seniority. Providing tribes with water they were systematically denied as part of the genocide of the native population will require massively reducing use from other users, primarily in agriculture. Under these conditions the Colorado River can be considered in a state of Water Bankruptcy, as defined by a recent UN report, in which water resources have been overused and mismanaged to such a degree that the impacts are often irreversible and require a complete restructuring of use. Through decades of overuse, the Colorado River no longer reaches the sea, destroying ecosystems and communities that once thrived in the Colorado Delta. Agricultural runoff into the Salton Sea has turned it into a polluted wasteland that releases toxic dust as it recedes. Prioritization of profit has stymied efforts to conserve agricultural water and encouraged the depletion of aquifers. Rebalancing the demands on the Colorado River requires the scientific management and coordination of the entire basin in accordance with environmental realities and social need. This is incompatible with the prioritization of profit and the petty squabbling of capitalist governments desperate to defend their own resources at the expense of others. Jamie Dimon is not worried about AI destroying humanity. He is focused on something more immediate: making sure companies and governments are ready for what is coming before it arrives. Speaking on Bloomberg Television this week, the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO laid out a sweeping vision of how artificial intelligence will reshape the economy over the next few decades. His headline prediction: future generations will likely work three and a half days a week and live to 100, thanks to what AI makes possible in medicine, productivity, and human output. "Your children are going to live to 100 and not have cancer because of technology," Dimon said, "and literally they'll probably be working three and a half days a week." He called it "a wonderful thing," but he was equally direct about what comes before that future arrives. The displacement problem Dimon is not sugarcoating Dimon acknowledged plainly that AI is already eliminating jobs at JPMorgan and that the disruption will spread well beyond banking. He said the bank has already displaced workers through AI and has built what he called "huge redeployment plans" to move affected employees into new roles. "We have displaced people from AI, and we offer them other jobs," he said at a separate investor meeting last week. "It will eliminate jobs. People should stop sticking their heads in the sand." More Employment: His concern is not just about individual companies managing the shift. He wants governments to act now, not after the disruption has already hit. That means retraining programs, income support for displaced workers, and education reform built for an AI economy, not the one from 20 years ago. What JPMorgan is doing internally JPMorgan is not waiting on the sidelines. The bank has the largest annual technology budget in the financial industry at nearly $20 billion, and AI is now embedded across its operations. Over 200,000 employees use the bank's proprietary LLM Suite, the firm's internal generative AI platform, with more than half using it multiple times a day. JPMorgan has doubled its generative AI use cases over the past year, targeting more than 1,000 by the end of 2026. The results are already showing up in the numbers. Software engineers are 10% more efficient. Operations staff are handling 6% more accounts per person. Fraud-related costs are down 11% per unit. Where JPMorgan is already using AI today Its been six years since the start of the pandemic, but some companies are still embracing remote work culture (albeit very few). But even fewer companies are ushering in a new workplace trend: the four-day workweek. Its become a norm for some organizations in Japan and has been tested in the U.K. But until recently, a very select few U.S.-based organizations have even given it a shot. One exception: Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform. Its estimated 200 to 400 U.S. employees work fully remote, and work just four days a week for a total of 32 hours. I wanted to be empathetic at a time where a lot of CEOs were like, We need to make people return back to the office, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor recently told The New York Times. While he says he does this because he wants employees to live a fulfilled and beautiful life, his work standards dont change just because employees are working fewer hours. I have a very high bar for work and excellence, he said. And as he should. Kickstarter was founded in 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler as a way to fund creative projects outside traditional finance. It grew explosively in its early years: By 2011, tens of thousands of projects had been successfully funded and pledges had climbed into the tens of millions of dollars. Within about five years, backers had pledged more than $1 billion to campaigns on the site. As of early 2025, backers have pledged more than $8.5 billion across roughly 650,000 projects, and a project success rate just over 40%, according to Statista. But even with that success, the four-day, remote work week isnt a perfect science, Taylor admitted. Its not all good. You have to trust people to be responsible, he said. We know that not everyones responsible. A lot of people dont even work 40 hours in a five-day workweek. Plus, he worries this setup encourages people to apply to Kickstarter only because they want a four-day, remote work week, and not because theyre genuinely interested in the company or its mission. We have attracted some of those people, he said. If youre not at Kickstarter for the right reasons, I dont want you here. He also admitted a four-day work week also doesnt allow for the same amount of work to get doneand it means people have to work harder during the hours theyre on. The math doesnt math, he said. The level of intensity, intention and velocity that you have to bring in everything that you do is extreme. What other CEOs say about a four-day work week While championing the four-day work week from the perspective of adding to the work-life balance and mental health of his employees, Taylor also fully recognized the pitfalls of that work setup. South Korea's benchmark stock index posted its steepest single-day decline on record, as geopolitical tensions from the widening US-Israel-Iran conflict rattled markets. Despite the dip in equities, traders focused on fresh crypto exchange listings, with newly listed tokens posting double-digit gains even as broader market sentiment deteriorated sharply. Korean Stock Market Under Pressure Amid Geopolitical Tensions According to Google Finance data, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged more than 12% on Wednesday. In addition, Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) saw losses exceeding 10%. "Seoul KOSPI officially ends down 12.06%, biggest daily percentage loss on record," market analyst David Scutt posted. Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens South Korea's KOSPI Index. Source: Google Finance Channel News Asia reported that the Korean Stock Exchange imposed a temporary trading halt on Wednesday morning after both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices dropped by more than 8%. Besides South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and China's stock markets dipped on Wednesday, driven largely by escalating global tensions. The ongoing crisis has led to a sharp spike in oil prices. Meanwhile, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has further heightened concerns. Asian economies are especially vulnerable to disruptions in energy supplies from the Middle East. Many of them rely heavily on crude oil imports from Gulf states. Japan and South Korea are particularly exposed. 87% of Japan's and 81% of South Korea's total energy consumption comes from imported fossil fuels. Why KOSPI's Performance Matters For Crypto The latest decline in the KOSPI follows a 7.2% drop on Tuesday, marking its worst two-day performance in decades. The index is now approaching the 5,000 level, a threshold that carries symbolic significance beyond being just a round number. During this election, President Lee Jae-myung outlined his "KOSPI 5,000" vision and pledged to boost the stock market. I dont think Kospi 5000 is that difficult. If you believe in me, you should take a greater interest in the stock market," he said. Notably, on the final trading day before the June 3 presidential election, the KOSPI closed at 2,698.97. Over the next eight months, it surged by approximately 85%, crossing the 5,000 mark for the first time in January 2026. The stock market rally had real consequences for crypto. As equities rose, liquidity from Korean retail investors shifted away from crypto, with many moving their funds into stocks. BeInCrypto reported in November that crypto trading volumes had dropped by over 80%. Moreover, according to the Bank of Koreas Financial Stability Report, the turnover in Korea's crypto market reached 157%, compared to the global figure of 112%, as retail investors increasingly sought short-term profits. Antonio Lobo Antunes, an icon of contemporary Portuguese literature, has died, according to his publishing house, the Leya Group. He was 83. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he was one of Portugal's most widely read authors and came to writing after working in medicine and mental health. Born in Lisbon in September 1942, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon, where he specialised in psychiatry and practised as a psychiatrist for several years. Advertisement Advertisement His literary career began following his military service in Angola in 1973 during Portugal's Colonial War where he was marked by his experiences as a field doctor. It was in 1979 that he saw his first books published, "Memory of an Elephant" and "The Land at the End of the World" The following year, "Knowledge of Hell" also hit the stands. These titles were followed by many others - "Fado Alexandrino" (1983), "As Naus" (1988), "The Inquisitors' Manual" (1996) and "The Splendour of Portugal" (1997), to name but a few - which consolidated his position as one of the most important names in contemporary Portuguese literature. FILE: Antonio Lobo Antunes receives the Camoes Literary Prize from Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva (L) and Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 25 July 2008 - AP Photo/Joao Henriques Since 1985, he devoted himself exclusively to writing, but other recurring themes in his literary heritage have had to do with Portugal's past, from the 'Discoveries' to the Carnation Revolution of April 1974. Advertisement Advertisement Although some of his books have also been inspired by the places that marked his childhood and adolescence, such as the Lisbon neighbourhood of Benfica. Lobo Antunes's work, which has been translated into several languages, has also received numerous national and international honours over the years, such as the Juan Rulfo Prize in 2008, the Camoes Prize in 2007, the Jerusalem Prize in 2005, the Ovid Prize in 2003 and the European Prize for Literature in 2001. In 2008, he was also awarded the insignia of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture. NEED TO KNOW Alicia Silverstone recreates one of Cher Horowitzs best moments in Clueless while at the Alaia show in Paris, France, on Wednesday, March 4 Im wearing an Alaia, duh, Silverstone told W Magazine, referencing the iconic scene where Cher is mugged but refuses to get on the ground because shes wearing Alaia The show marked the actress first-ever Alaia show Alicia Silverstone is forever an icon. The Clueless actress, 49, reenacted a famous moment from the 1995 movie while attending her first-ever Alaia show in Paris, France, on Wednesday, March 4. The show marked Alaia creative director Pieter Muliers final show with the fashion house. Advertisement Advertisement Im wearing an Alaia, duh," Silverstone responded when W Magazine asked her what shes wearing. The line references a scene in the film in which Silverstone's character, Cher, is being mugged in a parking lot, and she protests being told to lie down on the ground in an attempt to preserve her dress. Alicia Silverstone in 'Clueless' Credit: paramount pictures Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the film, Cher is left stranded outside a liquor store wearing a red fur-lined coat over a red square-necked Alaia dress when a man holds her at gunpoint and steals her belongings. After taking her phone and purse, the mugger tells Cher to lie facedown on the ground, to which she famously replies, Oh no, you dont understand this is an Alaia. When the man shows confusion about what that means, Cher goes on to explain that Alaia is a totally important designer." Advertisement Advertisement Speaking with W Magazine, the actress told the outlet that shes so happy to be at an Alaia show 30 years after wearing one of their dresses in Clueless. Its really lovely to be here, Silverstone said. This is Pieters last year and to be here for this, I think its a special moment. In an interview with PEOPLE in October, the star admitted that she no longer owns Cher's iconic wardrobe. "Before I did Clueless, I really was a T-shirt and jeans kind of girl," Silverstone recalled, adding, "I wasn't too into fashion at all." So, Silverstone ended up giving them away to director and screenwriter Gia Coppola. I realized it was not working in my life, she explained. I gave them all away stupidly. Advertisement Advertisement "Lord only knows what Gia's done with them," Silverstone continued. "Gia doesn't know where they are either, so she must have given them away, too. They all just are gone." Silverstone said she attempted to incorporate Cher's style into her own after the film, but confessed it didn't work. "After I did [Clueless] I thought, 'Oh, I want to have all these clothes, I'm going to wear these clothes.' Which was a delusional idea because I was not like that girl," she said. "Who's wearing Mary Janes and high stockings everywhere you go?" Read the original article on People Krakens latest regulatory milestone has fueled speculation across the crypto community about whether Ripple could be next in line. While there is no official confirmation, the prospect of gaining access to the Federal Reserves core payment infrastructure would carry significant implications for Ripple. Kraken's Fed Access Draws Attention to Ripple Yesterday, BeInCrypto reported that Krakens Wyoming-chartered banking arm secured access to the Federal Reserves core payment systems. Notably, Kraken is the first crypto firm to gain a Federal Reserve master account. The latest milestone comes after the firm secured a Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter from the state of Wyoming in September 2020. The following month, Kraken applied for a master account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which was approved yesterday. Following the news, attention has begun to shift toward Ripple. In a recent post on X, journalist and social media personality Paul Barron argued that Ripple may be next in line for similar access. Other analysts have echoed this view. In July 2025, the company applied for a national trust bank charter and a Federal Reserve master account. In December, BeInCrypto reported that Ripple had received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for the charter. Barron noted the bank charter was "the setup." He added that direct Fed access would be the "final piece" for RLUSD to settle at full banking scale. "The 'CLARITY Act' momentum is forcing the Feds hand. See what's happening from DC Insiders right now - the tide is shifting. The 'Crypto vs. Banks' battle is over. But the war is just beginning," he said. Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens Another analyst from X Finance Bull also remarked that while the timelines may differ, the destination remains the same. "Kraken already integrated Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin for their payment platform. That's not a coincidence. That's infrastructure connecting. But why did Kraken get it first and not Ripple? Simple. Kraken applied years ago. Wyoming bank charter in 2020. Routing number in 2022. Been in line at the Fed since then. Ripple filed for the same Fed access in July 2025 through Standard Custody. National trust bank got OCC approval in December," X Finance Bull added. If Ripple Gains a Fed Master Account, What Could It Mean for XRP? It is important to note that Ripple has not yet received full approval from the OCC. Additionally, Kraken's success does not necessarily indicate that the Federal Reserve will make a similar decision regarding Ripple. Britney Spears was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Southern California on Wednesday night, officials said. The California Highway Patrol arrested Spears, 44, around 9:30 p.m. local time, and she was released Thursday, according to Ventura County jail records. Her vehicle was towed. A CHP spokesperson said Spears was arrested in Ventura County after a report was made around 8:48 p.m. of a black BMW 430i driving erratically and at high speed on the southbound 101 Freeway. Advertisement Advertisement Spears was pulled over near Westlake Boulevard, showed signs of impairment and was given field sobriety tests, and she was then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol, the spokesperson said. Spears was the sole occupant of the BMW, the CHP spokesperson said. Chemical tests are pending, and the incident remains under investigation, the agency said. "This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable," a representative for Spears said in a statement. "Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britneys life." Spears' representative said Spears' "boys" are going to spend time with her. She has two adult sons with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline. Advertisement Advertisement "Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being," the representative added. The statement also did not indicate why she was arrested. The company that towed Spears' car, Roy's Towing, declined to comment. Spears' arrest follows a flood of videos she has posted to her Instagram account recently, the majority of them showing her dancing alone in her Thousand Oaks, California, home. The seemingly never-ending stream of videos and lengthy social media diary entries have been widely mocked online, with some users expressing concern for her mental health. Spears' Instagram account appeared to have been taken down Thursday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Her arrest also comes half a decade after a judge freed her from a controversial conservatorship that gave her father control over her finances, career and personal life for 13 years. Spears' father was named her conservator after she suffered a series of mental health crises in the early 2000s. Spears detailed the conservatorship and how nearly every aspect of her life was controlled by others in her bestselling 2023 memoir, "The Woman in Me." Despite intense media scrutiny and a number of high-profile public incidents in one of which she was photographed with a newly shaven head hitting a car with an umbrella Spears has not previously been arrested. Spears is behind some of the best-selling singles in history, including "...Baby One More Time, Oops!... I Did It Again! "Womanizer" and "I'm a Slave 4 U." She is widely referred to as the "Princess of Pop," and she is arguably one of the most popular performers of the 21st century. Advertisement Advertisement She won her first Grammy in 2004 for best dance recording for her hit "Toxic," and she was nominated for seven other awards. Spears sold the rights to her music catalog to publisher Primary Wave for about $200 million in recent weeks. TMZ was first to report her arrest. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com NEED TO KNOW Sarah Gaither, a Dallas-based dog walker, was stranded in Doha, Qatar, after airspace closures due to the ongoing Middle East military conflict She documented her strange experience trying to get home and hunkering down for days for her 100k TikTok followers After a photo of her evacuating on a private plane alongside Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz went, she is revealing how the scenario unfolded Gaither claims the journey involved multiple steps, including crossing into Saudi Arabia and flying out on a jet organized and paid for by Bruesewitz A Dallas-area dog walking influencer is setting the record straight on how she fled the Middle East amid the ongoing military conflict in the region. You guys have all seen the online narrative that Im a famous TikToker and that I got flown on a private jet home, Sarah Gaither, 27, says in Thursday, March 5 video posted for her 100K followers. Im here to clear up the air and tell my side of the story. Advertisement Advertisement Gaither previously told the Dallas Morning News she had left Texas over two weeks ago for an African safari. On the way home, she decided to visit Doha, Qatar, before catching a flight back to the United States. On Saturday, Feb. 28, her Qatar Airways flight departed around 8 a.m. local time before things went awry. POV: You are flying in the Middle East and Israel bombed Iran & the pilot announced air space is closed so we have to turn around and land the plane, Gaither wrote in the on-screen caption of a video she filmed inside the plane and posted five days ago. Smoke rises from an area in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces including the US, in Doha on Feb. 28, 2026. Credit: MAHMUD HAMS / AFP via Getty That same day, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. participated in a joint attack with Israel against Iran. In retaliation, Iran has launched a series of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, including attacks in Doha. The conflict closed airspace across the region, leaving thousands of travelers stranded without a reliable way home. (In the days since, some major airports in the area have resumed partial operations.) Advertisement Advertisement In the first few days of the conflict, Gaither received millions of views on her videos documenting her experience abroad. But on March 2, she shared an update saying she was attempting to leave Doha. Shortly thereafter, a photo surfaced on social media of her on a private jet with several other people, including Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz. In a March 2 report from Politico, Bruesewitz, who was also stranded in the Middle East at the time, said he worked with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States to find a way out. The passengers on the private plane, which Bruesewitz says he funded himself, included Gaither and former special assistant to President Bill Clinton, Jay Footlick, among others. NEW: Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz found himself stranded in the Middle East alongside thousands of others as flights ground to a halt this weekend, Bruesewitz told West Wing Playbook. Seeking refuge in Qatar, he worked with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United pic.twitter.com/SsImTiX4YE Sophia Cai (@SophiaCai99) March 2, 2026 The plane reportedly flew out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and landed in Greece before the passengers took their own connecting flights home. In Gaithers March 5 video, she says she was merely lucky to be in the right place at the right time, in order to get home. Advertisement Advertisement Gaither tells PEOPLE she received a call from Bruesewitz in the early morning hours earlier this week. He claimed to have gotten her contact information from someone else staying at the hotel, she says. During the call, Bruesewitz reportedly gave her 30 minutes to decided if she wanted to participate in his group's attempt to flee the region. "I'm gonna be honest. At first, I was like, 'Is this real? Is this a scam?'" Gaither tells PEOPLE. "I'm here thinking I'm gonna be stuck for at least another week and someone's calling and offering me a way home." Gaither says she had no idea who Bruesewitz was, but as she heard missile interceptors continue to go off outside her hotel, she decided to go. "He said he had one spot left in his plane, and people at my hotel vouched for me," she says. "I was an American stuck there, and Alex's ultimate goal was getting Americans home. That's it. I wasn't anyone special. I just had to be at the right place at the right time." The TikToker claims a group of eight people who asked Gaither not to identify them publicly then drove an hour-and-a-half to the Saudi Arabia border. There, the group applied for and received their e-visas and then took a taxi and another car to the Riyadh Airport a 10-hour journey in total. We finally got to the Riyadh Airport, and that is where we took a private plane completely paid for by Alex, she claims in her TikTok. Trump did not pay a penny for this. This is all Alexs doing. Advertisement Advertisement In the end, Gaither estimates it took her two full days to get back home to Dallas. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. During the journey, she says "there was not much assistance at all" from the U.S. federal government amid the conflict. "I did notify the U.S. Embassy that I was there," she says. "But these updates that were provided were... it wasn't anything actually helpful, which was very frustrating." Gaither says Bruesewitz told her he has further plans to bring more Americans home from the Middle East, but she does not know the specifics of those efforts. Advertisement Advertisement For travelers still stuck in the Middle East, Gaither says to prioritize "patience." "This will get sorted out, but just a little bit of patience will help," she says. "I know it's hard to be patient in a nerve-wracking time." Read the original article on People Bobby Khan -- a convicted ex-felon running for Congress in Nevada -- just got banned from every MGM Resorts property in Las Vegas and beyond ... and his team says it's because Bobby's been torching the casino giant on social media for their hotel prices. MGM Resorts fired off a legal warning to Bobby, saying he could face arrest and a potential fine or jail time if he steps foot at the Bellagio, Aria, Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, New York New York, Excalibur, or Vdara casinos. Getty The letter, obtained by TMZ, also warns Bobby to stay the hell away from T-Mobile Arena in Vegas ... plus Borgata in New Jersey, Beau Rivage in Mississippi, MGM National Harbor in Maryland, and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts ... among others. Advertisement Advertisement So what did Bobby do to get blacklisted from a huge chunk of the Las Vegas Strip?!? Well, his team says MGM Resorts is less than thrilled with the way Bobby's been blasting them on Instagram for what he sees as price-gouging at MGM hotels. Bobby's IG is littered with posts to his 90,000 followers about how he feels Las Vegas has lost its way and priced out a lot of folks ... and he's usually walking through a casino in his posts. MGM's letter says it will serve as the "only communication" with Bobby "on this topic" ... and his team is ripping MGM for siccing their lawyers on him, instead of engaging with him over his criticism. Celebrity Slots - Click image to open gallery Bobby is a former celebrity car dealer who served hard time for wire fraud, according to the Las Vegas Sun, and he's running for Congress in Nevada's 1st District, which includes parts of Las Vegas, and the Strip. We reached out to MGM ... so far no word back. NEED TO KNOW Former Big Brother contestant Bayleigh Dayton is stuck in Dubai with her two children amid the war with Iran In an Instagram post shared on March 4, Dayton said she feels scared and alone as she waits to leave the country "Nobody wants to deal with facing a war," she said A reality television alumna say she is stuck in Dubai with her kids amid the war with Iran. Bayleigh Dayton currently lives in Dubai with the two children she shares with husband Chris Swaggy C Williams, whom she met while competing on Big Brother 20 in 2018. Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Missouri native said she was awakened by a nearby Iranian attack, according to FOX affiliate WDAF. I didnt realize how close it was until we saw smoke above my house, said Dayton, also a former flight attendant and Miss Missouri. The U.S. State Department has urged all Americans in 14 countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where Dubai is located to leave immediately as the war continues. But Dayton said her family is struggling to find a flight home. Theyre slowly trying to open air space, but none of those planes are going to [the] USA, she said, according to WDAF. Advertisement Advertisement In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, March 4, Dayton said she feels scared and alone as she waits to escape, noting that her husband left for the U.S. prior to the attacks. So, I didnt have fleeing a war zone on my 2026 bingo card, the former beauty queen said in the clip, later noting that she was taking shelter in a "green zone." Though Dayton acknowledged theres no way out of the country right now, she said her family is extremely fortunate because the government has been protecting the city like none other. The only thing we can do right now is shelter in place, which is what were doing, Dayton explained. As soon as flights can leave, we will leave. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Williams has vowed to help his wife find a flight out of the war-torn region as soon as possible. Promise Ill get you guys out of there the very first flight they allow, Williams wrote in the comment section of his wifes post. He added, like what are the mf odds Im in the states when this is going on !!!!! Well get you out of there soon . Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Speaking with WDAF, Dayton said getting caught in an active war zone does put everything in perspective, later adding, All that matters is your physical safety and the health of your family. Advertisement Advertisement Ive been a flight attendant, and were trained for scary situations, she explained. I feel like Ive trained to be able to handle this, but nobody wants to deal with facing a war. I did not plan to be in a war zone, at all. Read the original article on People NEED TO KNOW Nancy Grewal, a content creator living in Canada, was stabbed to death on March 3 at age 45 Police said that Grewal was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead Grewal was known by over 20,000 followers for sharing lifestyle and fitness content, as well as commentary on India-Canada relations Nancy Grewal, a content creator living in Canada, was stabbed to death on March 3. She was 45. According to a pair of press releases from LaSalle Police Service, authorities in the Ontario town responded to a report of a stabbing just before 9:30 p.m. on March 3. The victim which police later identified as the influencer was transported by Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the releases continue. Advertisement Advertisement Police said they are continuing to investigate Grewals death, which was ruled a homicide. According to the Windsor Star, a local newspaper, by the morning of March 4, police had secured two homes on the street of Grewals fatal stabbing and had placed multiple evidence markers along a concrete path and up stairs leading to the front door of one of the two houses. Police had also enclosed a wooded area about a kilometer away in yellow tape, the outlet reported. Grewals death was confirmed on her Instagram by her sister, Alishaa Grewal, who posted a graphic memorializing the late creator. With a very heavy heart I share that my beloved sister Nancy Grewal has passed away on 3 March 2026, read the posts caption. I lost my sister, my strength, my forever friend. Rest in peace, my sister. You will always live in our hearts. . Advertisement Advertisement Grewal who maintained a combined following of over 20,000 across Instagram and YouTube was known for sharing lifestyle and fitness content, as well as commentary on India-Canada relations. She seemingly last updated her social media on Feb. 26, sharing her commentary on a news clip to Instagram. In the comments of her sisters tribute, fans of the late creator shared their condolences. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss, penned one. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. RIP to the bravest soul shared another. Wrote a third: Fearless voice unforgettable RIP Read the original article on People NEED TO KNOW Tracy Tutor, star of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles filed a civil lawsuit, accusing Oren Alexander of sexual assault Oren, a high-profile real estate mogul, is currently on trial on federal sex trafficking charges, alongside his two brothers Tal and Alon The Alexander brothers have consistently denied any wrongdoing, and they pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges Tracy Tutor is suing Oren Alexander, accusing him of sexual assault and sex trafficking in the newly filed civil lawsuit allegations that he denies. Oren, 38, and his two brothers, real estate partner Tal, 39, and twin Alon, 38, are currently on trial for federal sex trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York. Jury deliberations are expected to begin this week. Advertisement Advertisement Tutor, a Los Angeles real estate broker who stars on the Bravo series Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, filed a complaint on Thursday, March 5, in which she accuses Oren of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2014. According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Tutor claims she was invited to come to New York for a dinner to meet Alexander and other brokers at Douglas Elliman, where he worked at the time. Accompanied by a friend, Tutor claims that while at the dinner, she was handed a drink and subsequently blacked out. Per the complaint, the friend allegedly became concerned for Tutor when he couldn't see her at the table and went to search for her. Advertisement Advertisement The friend found Tutor, who was acting "out of her mind," in a men's room stall with Oren, whose shirt was "unbuttoned and [he] was kissing her" and "was touching her in intimate areas," the complaint alleges. The friend then got into an argument with Oren, the complaint claims, and he managed to get Tutor out of the restroom. However, the complaint alleges that the friend, fearing for his job security, left the dinner and asked someone to make sure she got back to her hotel room safely. Tutor claims in the complaint that she now recalls waking up the next morning in someone else's hotel room and noticed that her tampon had been removed and that she was surrounded by blood. The complaint also alleges that her purse was missing and that it was discovered that Oren's assistant had it and returned it to her. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. In a statement to PEOPLE, Oren Alexander's attorney, Jason Goldman, firmly denied the allegations on behalf of his client. Advertisement Advertisement Ms. Tutor and her counsel have timed the filing of this salacious and demonstrably false lawsuit for maximum media impact, choosing the eve of jury deliberations in the federal trial despite the fact that the allegations are more than a decade old and have already been aired publicly," Goldman says. "This appears to be nothing more than a transparent attempt to create headlines and taint the proceedings at a critical moment. We are confident the jury will focus on the evidence presented in court, not on opportunistic litigation tactics." Oren and his brothers, who have been accused of misconduct by several dozen women, have denied any wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges they are facing. Federal prosecutors alleged in a January filing that more than 40 women have accused at least one of the brothers of rape or sexual assault over the span of nearly 20 years. Read the original article on People Miss Universe Canada Jamie VandenBerg said she was several months pregnant when she competed in last years Miss Universe pageant. The 29-year-old beauty queen revealed that secret in an ad for car seats she posted on Instagram. What the world didnt know: I was 16 weeks (4 months) pregnant when I competed in swimwear and placed Top 30, she wrote. Vandenberg won the Miss Universe Canada competition which featured a best body contest that sparked debate for its very existence to represent her country in the Miss Universe 2025 pageant. Advertisement Advertisement Today, it feels freeing to share this: I am pregnant, she posted Tuesday. The most recent Miss Universe competition didnt lack drama. Several contestants walked out of one ceremony when the eventual winner, Mexicos Fatima Bosch Fernandez, was called dumb by a pageant executive and escorted away by security, according to E! News. Miss Jamaica Gabrielle Henry fell off the stage during a preliminary competition and was hospitalized with a brain bleed. VandenBerg finished in the top quarter of more than 120 contestants at that event and called it an honor to enjoy her Miss Universe Canada reign as a mom. Advertisement Advertisement With the evolving rules of Miss Universe, may this placement stand as proof that motherhood is not the end of ambition, and pregnancy is not a limitation, she said on Instagram. With a strong community behind you, multiple dreams can exist at once. The 75th Miss Universe pageant takes place in Puerto Rico in November. Originally appeared on E! Online Investigators in the search for Nancy Guthrie are continuing to focus on evidence. Nearly three weeks after a pair of gloves with DNA were found roughly two miles from the missing 84-year-olds home, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gave an update on whether the garments were linked to the case. At that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant, Nanos told local NBC affiliate KVOA in an interview published March 2. The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street. Advertisement Advertisement And despite the publics theory that the gloves resembled the ones worn by a masked subject in doorbell footage outside of Nancys home, the sheriff classified that hunch as "speculation" and said the gloves belonging to the restaurant worker have nothing to do with the case. The Sheriffs Department also confirmed on X March 4 that the owner of the gloves is not part of this investigation. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement As for other theories that have surfaced amid the search for Savannah Guthries mom? There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding [gloves], Nanos continued to KVOA. That is so far from the truth. Nanos added that investigators have further information on this case that we think is going to hopefully lead us to solving this case, but noted that it would be very neglectful and irresponsible for them to share with the public at this time. Instagram/Savannah Guthrie There is an investigation, there is a protocol to that effort, he explained, saying that investigative work takes time. Nanos added, My team can now focus on whats really the meat and potatoes of this case and that is who it is that was in that video and who took Nancy Guthrie. Advertisement Advertisement Read on for a full timeline in the case of Nancys disappearance. When Savannah Guthries Mom Nancy Guthrie Was Last Seen Nancy Guthriewho is mom to Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie, in addition to Savannah Guthriewas last seen by her family at her Tucson, Ariz. home at approximately 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31, per Pima County police. Nancy Guthrie Reported Missing The 84-year-old was reported missing by her family Feb. 1 after a concerned friend alerted Nancys loved ones that she didnt show up for a church service that morning, police confirmed to Today. After her children searched Nancys property for around an hour, they called authorities and reported her missing around noon. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos subsequently detailed the initial investigation, which included homicide detectives, at her house. "You don't typically get the sheriff out at a scene like this, but it's very concerning what we're learning from the house," he told reporters in a Feb. 2 press conference. "This one stood out because of what was described to us at the scene and what we found and located just in looking at the scene." "It's not standard," Nanos continued. "Typically, our homicide team comes out when we have a homicide, a body. This one was done simply because of what the surveyors were telling us." Nancy Guthries Home Declared a "Crime Scene" Following their initial investigation, authorities confirmed they believed a crime took place in Nancys home. We believe now, after we processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact have a crime scene, Nanos shared during a Feb. 2 press conference. We're asking the community's help. This community has always stepped up to help us solve some pretty tough crimes. I'm looking for that again. The sheriff cited Nancys limited mobilityshe "couldn't walk 50 yards by herselfa giveaway for concluding that foul play may have been involved in her disappearance. We know she didn't just walk out of there, that we know, he said, adding, There are other things at the site, at the scene, that indicate there was ashe did not leave on our own. Nancy Guthries Health Condition Revealed, Medication Needs for Survival As the search for Nancy continues, authorities emphasized that she needs to take daily medication for her survival, which she is likely without. "This is an 84-year-old lady who suffers from some physical ailments, has some physical challenges, is in need of medication," Nanos shared at the Feb. 2 press conference, "medication that if she doesn't have in 24 hours, it could be fatal." "So, we make a plea to anyone who knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us," he continued. "Call 911. We don't need another bad, tragic ending. We need some help. While Nancys physical health has been limited for some time, Nanos emphasized that her cognitive abilities are quite strong. "Nancy Guthrie is of a great sound mind," Nanos explained. "This is not dementia-related. She is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn't somebody who just wandered off. Her physical limits are based on just age." As the investigation into Nancy's disappearance continues, Nanos shared his hopes for Nancys safe return. "I hope we find her safe and sound," he emphasized, "but we cannot ignore what's in front of us." Advertisement Advertisement Savannah Guthrie Breaks Silence on Mom Nancy Guthries Disappearance One day after Nancy was reported missing, the Today anchor spoke out about the devastating ordeal her family is going through. "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support," she said in a Feb. 2 statement to the NBC morning show. "Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear Nancy." "We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case," she noted, "and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department." Savannah Guthrie's Today Family Expresses Support Amid Search for Nancy Guthrie After Savannah confirmed that her mom Nancy was reported missing, her Today co-anchors publicly showed their support. We love Nancy, Jenna Bush Hager said during the Feb. 2 episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. I know her personally. We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now, she continued. Our prayers obviously go out to Savannah and the entire family. Meanwhile, Sheinelle Jones emphasized the importance of community during this difficult time. I thought to myself, OK, this is when were at our best as a community, she said of the daytime shows call to action, urging viewers to contact the Pima County Sheriffs department with any information about the matter no matter how small. She added, So were sending our prayers but were also sending our collective action. Before concluding the segment, both hosts continued, We love you, Savannah. And Sunday Today anchor Willie Geist also urged fans to keep an eye out for Nancy. If you have any information at all about the location of @savannahguthries wonderful mother Nancy, he wrote on Instagram Stories Feb. 2 along with the phone number to the proper authorities, please call the @pimasheriff in Arizona. She is missing. Savannahs former co-host Hoda Kotb also reacted to the shocking news, sharing a sweet photo Savannah and Nancy on the Today set. Keeping the caption simple for the Feb. 2 Instagram post, Hoda simply wrote a red heart and prayer hands emoji. Police Address Savannah Guthries Safety as Search for Her Mom Continues While authorities have declared Nancys Arizona home a crime scene, they believe there isnt "any indication that the public is in danger." "I don't think there's an active threat," Pima County Sheriff Nanos said in a Feb. 2 press conference, though noting that "there's a lot of work still to do." While Savannah has been absent from Today since her mother was reported missing Feb. 1, local authorities have been in contact with the journalist regarding her safety. "We've spoken to her," the sheriff confirmed. "She has a security team that's been in touch with us throughout the night, but we're not going to dismiss any angles for sure." Advertisement Advertisement Authorities Say Nancy Guthrie May Have Been Abducted On Feb. 2, Pima County police shared a series of updates on the timeline of Nancys disappearance. "At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriffs Office told MS Now Feb. 2. "Detectives are looking into a possible kidnapping or abduction. Savannah Guthrie Shares a Public Plea to Bring Her Mother Nancy Guthrie Home Safely Following news that Nancy may have been abducted from her Arizona home while she slept, Savannah shared an emotional request. We believe in prayer, she wrote in a Feb. 2 Instagram post. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant, Savannah continued. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. She added, we need you. To conclude her plea, Savannah shared a Bible verse from Isaiah. He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord, she wrote. "a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us. Savannah continued, Bring her home. Police Find DNA Evidence at Nancy Guthries Home Pima County Sheriff Nanos confirmed that DNA evidence was found at Nancys home, which has been declared a crime scene. We took some samples that we hope will have enough of a DNA profile, he told NBC News in a report shared on Today Feb. 3, that will give us some identification as to what were looking at. In a press conference two days later, Nanos shared the timeline of events leading up to Nancy's disappearance. Roughly four hours after she returned home from visiting family, "at 1:47 a.m., the doorbell camera disconnects," Nanos detailed at a Feb. 5 press conference. Although the software detected a person on the doorbell camera, he said the clip was automatically overwritten because Nancy didn't have a subscription to the service. Despite that, he emphasized they weren't done trying to retrieve the footage. "At 2:28 a.m., Nancy's pacemaker app shows there was a disconnect from the phone," the sheriff continued. "At 11:56 a.m., the family checks on Nancy and discovers her missing and at 12:03 p.m., 911 is called in to the Pima County Sheriff's Department." Roughly 10 minutes later, he summed up, "Our patrol teams arrive. They see the scene and we start our response with our search-and-rescue teams, and our detectives on various units." Savannah Guthrie and Siblings Speak Directly to Nancy Guthrie's Possible Captors On Feb. 4, Savannah, Camron and Annie read letters addressed to their mom and her possible abductors, pleading for Nancy's safe return home. "As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk," the Today anchor said in the Instagram video. "However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her." "Our mom is our heart and our home," she added. "Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer." The next day, Camron confirmed in a separate video that the family was still "waiting for contact." "Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you, he said. "We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward." In a Feb. 5 press conference, FBI special agent Heith Janke also shared that authorities arrested California man Derrick Callella for allegedly sending fake random textsIt was someone that was trying to profit from it. A total imposter"and were taking a separate detailed ransom letter shared with TMZ "extremely seriously." (Callella did not enter a plea and was released on $20,000 bond.) However, he noted, the Guthrie family was "still waiting for communication." Advertisement Advertisement Savanah Guthrie Shares Apparent Response to Nancy Guthrie's Captors On Feb. 7, the same day authorities confirmed to Today they'd conducted a search of Annie's Arizona property as "part of the normal course" of the case, Savannah shared another Instagram video that seemed to indicate their previous request had been answered. "We received your message and we understand," she said in the clip while holding hands with Camron and Annie. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace." And if her intentions weren't clear, Savannah added, "This is very valuable to us and we will pay." FBI Releases Surveillance Images of Potential Subject in Disappearance of Nancy Guthrie In a major development, authorities released surveillance photos of a potential subject in the investigation Feb. 10. In the imagesrecovered from a camera on Nancys propertyan individual wearing a ski mask and backpack is seen approaching the home, before appearing to hit the camera with their fist. Authorities previously reported the camera was broken when police arrived to the house. "Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthries home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors, including the removal of recording devices, a statement shared with E! News alongside with the photos read. "The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems." "Working with our partners, the note continued, "law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door the morning of her disappearance." Authorities Reveal New Details About Suspect in Nancy Guthrie Doorbell Video Two days after the FBI released footage of the masked individual approached Nancy's home, investigators released descriptive information of the suspect. The suspect is described as a male, approximately 59 - 510 tall, with an average build," the FBIs Phoenix office shared in a Feb. 12 statement to X. "In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. The FBI also announced that they have increased the financial reward from $50,000 to $100,000 for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. All Siblings and Spouses Cleared as Possible Suspects in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance More than two weeks after Nancy went missing, Pima County Sheriff Nanos issued a statement to clarify the potential list of subjects involved in the case. To be clearthe Guthrie familyto include all siblings and spouseshas been cleared as possible suspects in this case," he shared in a Feb. 16 statement. "The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case. Advertisement Advertisement Gloves Found Near Nancy Guthrie's House Traced to Restaurant Worker As police learned, the gloves found near Nancy's home did not fit into the overall picture of the investigation. Nearly three weeks after a pair of gloves with DNA were found roughly two miles from her house, Pima County Sheriff Nanos told local NBC affiliate KVOA March 2, "At that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant." And while amateur sleuths have floated theories that the gloves looked an awful lot like the ones worn by the masked subject in the released doorbell footage, Nanos called that hunch "speculation." They had tracked down the gloves' ownera worker at the nearby eaterand determined the supposed evidence had "nothing to do with the case. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Savannah Chrisley, reality show personality and daughter of Julie and Todd Chrisley, recently took to social media to criticize Lipscomb Academy for a policy they are requiring parents to sign. The policies Chrisley openly condemned pertain to Lipscomb Academy parents being unable to disclose conflicts or concerns publicly, and subject to rules preventing them from including "any individuals who are not directly involved" in what they call "the conflict management process." The policy also stated that attorneys are not permitted in those meetings. If a parent does not sign this code of conduct, their children will not be able to return to the school next year. "A school that accepts taxpayer-funded scholarships does not get to: Ban parents from speaking publicly. Deny us the right to legal counsel in meetings (while they have theirs present). Use NDAs to silence concerns," wrote Chrisley on X on Feb. 28. Who is Savannah Chrisley? A Nashville resident, Savannah Chrisley is a reality TV star and social media influencer. Her most notable appearance is on the USA Network show "Chrisley Knows Best," which revolved around her opulent Southern family. Chrisley's parents, Julie and Todd, who were previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, tax evasion, and wire fraud in 2022. They received a pardon from President Trump in May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Recently Chrisley appeared on "The View," which was a rather controversial selection for the show given that Chrisley outwardly aligns with President Trump and Turning Point USA. In addition to her media career, Chrisley also founded the beauty brand "Sassy by Savannah" and the fashion line "Faith Over Fear." Whats Savannah Chrisley's relationship with the school? Chrisley attended Lipscomb University, the private collegiate institution affiliated with Lipscomb Academy, for one year before transferring to Belmont University, another private college just minutes away from Lipscomb. Prior to this controversy, Chrisley criticized Lipscomb Academy in wake of the death of Charlie Kirk, after which a group of Lipscomb students wore red ties at school in his honor. Consequently, Upper School Head of School Jesse Savage asked the students to remove the ties because they didn't align with the dress code. "So proud of the brave young men at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville who tried to honor Charlie Kirks life only to be silenced, reprimanded, and failed by the very school that should be shaping leaders of courage and conviction," Chrisley responded in a social media post on Sept. 27. What did Savannah Chrisley post? As she disclosed in her X post, Savannah Chrisley's judgement is in regard to Lipscomb Academy's subversion of the right to free speech and legal counsel. Being that Lipscomb is a private institution; they are not constrained by the First Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement "Thats not 'Christian partnership' Thats hypocrisy. We will be requesting full transparency on state funding compliance, policy enforcement, and whether these practices violate parental rights," continued Chrisley in her post. Savannah Chrisley, reality show personality and daughter of Julie and Todd Chrisley, recently took to social media to criticize Lipscomb Academy for a policy they are requiring parents to sign. The policies Chrisley openly condemned pertain to Lipscomb Academy parents being unable to disclose conflicts or concerns publicly, and subject to rules preventing them from including "any individuals who are not directly involved" in what they call "the conflict management process." The policy also stated that attorneys are not permitted in those meetings. If a parent does not sign this code of conduct, their children will not be able to return to the school next year. "A school that accepts taxpayer-funded scholarships does not get to: Ban parents from speaking publicly. Deny us the right to legal counsel in meetings (while they have theirs present). Use NDAs to silence concerns," wrote Chrisley on X on Feb. 28. Who is Savannah Chrisley? Savannah Chrisley at the annual CPAC DC conference at the Gaylord National Resort in Oxon Hill, Maryland on Feb. 22, 2025. A Nashville resident, Savannah Chrisley is a reality TV star and social media influencer. Her most notable appearance is on the USA Network show "Chrisley Knows Best," which revolved around her opulent Southern family. Chrisley's parents, Julie and Todd, who were previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, tax evasion, and wire fraud in 2022. They received a pardon from President Trump in May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Recently Chrisley appeared on "The View," which was a rather controversial selection for the show given that Chrisley outwardly aligns with President Trump and Turning Point USA. In addition to her media career, Chrisley also founded the beauty brand "Sassy by Savannah" and the fashion line "Faith Over Fear." Whats Savannah Chrisley's relationship with the school? Chrisley attended Lipscomb University, the private collegiate institution affiliated with Lipscomb Academy, for one year before transferring to Belmont University, another private college just minutes away from Lipscomb. Prior to this controversy, Chrisley criticized Lipscomb Academy in wake of the death of Charlie Kirk, after which a group of Lipscomb students wore red ties at school in his honor. Consequently, Upper School Head of School Jesse Savage asked the students to remove the ties because they didn't align with the dress code. "So proud of the brave young men at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville who tried to honor Charlie Kirks life only to be silenced, reprimanded, and failed by the very school that should be shaping leaders of courage and conviction," Chrisley responded in a social media post on Sept. 27. What did Savannah Chrisley post? As she disclosed in her X post, Savannah Chrisley's judgement is in regard to Lipscomb Academy's subversion of the right to free speech and legal counsel. Being that Lipscomb is a private institution; they are not constrained by the First Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement "Thats not 'Christian partnership' Thats hypocrisy. We will be requesting full transparency on state funding compliance, policy enforcement, and whether these practices violate parental rights," continued Chrisley in her post. By March 6, Lipscomb Academy is requiring families to sign a Code of Conduct that restricts public speech and bars legal counselor our children cannot return next year. Thats not partnership. Thats coercion. A school that accepts taxpayer-funded scholarships does not get pic.twitter.com/7BKVSokYPw Savannah Chrisley (@_ItsSavannah_) February 28, 2026 What was Lipscomb Academy's response? Lipscomb Academy's director of communications, Amanda Price spoke with The Tennessean in light of Chrisley's comments and divulged that the screenshots posted didn't provide sufficient context. "It is standard practice for private schools in Nashville and across the nation to have community standards and expectations in the form of Codes of Conduct that also outline the procedures for managing conflict," Price said. Price also stated that Lipscomb already has policies in place similar to the ones Chrisley scrutinized. "Nothing in the Code prevents parents from speaking out in good faith about policies with which they disagree," added Price. "Public disparagement, defamation and harassment that bypass internal conflict resolution, however, do not constitute good faith." Advertisement Advertisement The Tennessean's First Amendment reporter Angele Latham contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Savannah Chrisley criticizes Nashville private school over new policy Management is pivoting toward a 'lead-to-succeed' strategy, focusing capital on high-impact cardiometabolic and chronic pain programs following a significant organizational repositioning. Performance in 2025 was driven by operational discipline, including a $129.5 million reduction in operating expenses compared to the prior year. The Sonata HCM Phase III trial is differentiated as the only registrational study enrolling both obstructive and nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients, leveraging a dual SGLT1/2 inhibition mechanism. Strategic positioning for Zynquista in type 1 diabetes relies on a novel regulatory pathway using third-party STENO-1 study data to address a century-long lack of new oral therapies. The company is transitioning from a direct commercial focus for INPEFA to a partnership-heavy model to sustainably support late-stage R&D. EXCLUSIVE: An extraordinary story of friendship against a backdrop of war is told in Lust for Life, premiering Friday at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece. Viktor Nordenskiold directed the film, a production of Swedish companies Sisyfos Film and Freetown Films. From Thessaloniki, it heads to Tempo Documentary Festival in Stockholm for its Swedish premiere. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement We have your first look at the film in the trailer above. In October 2015, two Syrian teenagers arrive on a beach in Greece. Saeed, wounded from a bomb raid and paralyzed, is literally carried by his friend Hazim after they had to leave the wheelchair behind, notes the films synopsis. Exhausted but grateful to have survived, they vow that they will never separate. Their journey takes them to Hamburg, Germany, where they find a new home with Marius, a teenager with cerebral palsy, and his mother, Astrid. Hazim holds Saeed in 'Lust for Life' The synopsis continues, Spanning ten years, Lust for Life chronicles the journey of three young men who never give up on creating joy and purpose in their lives despite the darkness they are facing at times. Together, they discover what family means, how abilities vary, and who is actually carrying whom. The Thessaloniki program calls the film a profoundly moving documentary that never has to fall back on sentimentalism or emotional exploitation, reminding us that unconditional love is the only home we never truly lose. Advertisement Advertisement Nordenskiolds directing credits include The Eukrainian (2025), Hemligheten (The Secret) (2023), and The Feminister (2019). Lust for Life emerged from a chance encounter. Director Viktor Nordenskiold Ten years ago, when I met Saeed and Hazim on a Greek beach during their first minutes in Europe, I could never have imagined how long this journey would be, Nordenskiold writes in a directors statement. Two weeks before we met, Russia launched extensive air strikes across Syria at the Assad regimes request, resulting in more people fleeing. Ten years later, Assad himself fled to Moscow. The Syrian conflict was complicated, but this marked an end of a cycle of authoritarian terror. This story takes place within that timeframe. Although this film is not about that kind of politics, we all have to deal with politics somehow, whether we like it or not. Everything is connected. Some people have to escape; some see it as an opportunity. Some peopleand countriesmust decide whether to welcome those on the run; some see it as an opportunity. 'Lust for Life' Nordenskiold continues, In another sense, Lust for Life explores the concept of inclusion. Some people require more assistance than others, but one type of disability can manifest as another type of ability In a way, Lust for Life explores the concept of interdependencewhy and how we carry each otherthrough the story of three teenagers growing up. Fun, sad, intimate, caring, surprising. Advertisement Advertisement Lust for Life is directed by Viktor Nordenskiold, with cinematography by Nordenskiold. He produced the film with Mario Adamson, Ashley J. Smith, Dirk Manthey, and Paulina Knobloch. Maria Hemmleb and Viktor Nordenskiold edited the film. The score is composed by Lisa Montan. Watch the trailer for Lust for Life above. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This weekend in Connecticut, "Project Runway: All Stars" judge and Broadway performer Isaac Mizrahi will be performing in the Nutmeg State's Westport Country Playhouse. Comedian Kev Herrera will be bringing the funny to the Nutmeg State's Mohegan Sun. Nutmeggers can also experience "Dirty Dancing" come to life, catch some nostalgia at the 70s Soul Jam at Foxwoods Resort Casino, visit the Women's Health, Beauty and Bridal Expo at Mohegan Sun and more. Concerts Dirty Dancing' in Concert Stamford Advertisement Advertisement "Dirty Dancing" in Concert, which fuses the classic film which will be played on a large screen with live music from the soundtrack and performances, will be taking place at the Stamford Palace Theatre on Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. 61 Atlantic St., Stamford 70s Soul Jam Mashantucket 70s Soul Jam featuring bands playing 70's R&B, funk and soul music will take place at Foxwoods Resort Casino on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket Brit Floyd Wallingford Pink Floyd tribute band Brit Floyd will be performing at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre on Saturday, March 7 at 8 p.m. 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford Isaac Mizrahi "Project Runway: All Stars" judge and Broadway performer Isaac Mizrahi will be performing a combination of comedy, commentary and song covers at the Westport Country Playhouse on Saturday, March 7 at 8 p.m. 25 Powers Court, Westport Stage Kev Herrera Uncasville Advertisement Advertisement Comedian Kev Herrera will be bringing the funny to Mohegan Sun's Comix Comedy Club from Thursday, March 5 through Saturday, March 7. 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville The One Good Thing or Are Ya Patrick Swayze?' "The One Good Thing or Are Ya Patrick Swayze?" is a play about two Irish brothers, Jamie and Tommy, living in a small coastal cottage. Following a storm and their mother's death, Jamie claims he is a ghost, leading to a story filled with wit and pathos about grief and love. It will be showing at the Seven Angels Theatre on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. 1 Plank Road, Waterbury A View from The Bridge' Stamford Advertisement Advertisement "A View from The Bridge" is a play about a longshoreman whose obsessive desire for his niece destroys his family and leads him to betray his community's code of silence after she becomes romantically involved with an illegal immigrant in the neighborhood. It will be showing at Curtain Call, Inc. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. from Friday, March 6 through Sunday, March 22. 1349 Newfield Ave., Stamford Rhinoceros' New Haven The play "Rhinoceros" is a play about how a society can slowly lose its humanity and adopt dangerous, mindless conformity-a phenomenon known as "rhinoceritis." The play will take place at the Yale Repertory Theatre from Friday, March 6 to Saturday, March 28. Advertisement Advertisement 1120 Chapel St., New Haven Death of a Salesman' Hartford The Broadway production of "Death of a Salesman" is a portrayal of an aging traveling salesman's trials and tribulations as he struggles to make ends meet and achieve any sort of success in 1940s New York. It will be playing at the Hartford Stage through Sunday, March 29. 50 Church St., Hartford Visual Arts MATRIX 198' opening artist conversation Hartford The Wadsworth Atheneum will be hosting an opening artist conversation featuring the "MATRIX 198" exhibit artist Mariel Capanna and Jared Quinton on Thursday, March 5. The exhibition, which will be on display through Sunday, July 26, features Capanna's paintings that reimagine some of the historic works in the Wadsworth's American art collection along with a site-specific fresco installation. Advertisement Advertisement 600 Main St., Hartford Glory' New Haven The NXTHVN is hosting an opening reception for its new exhibit "Glory" on Saturday, March 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. The exhibit, which is on display through Aug. 30, features photography, painting, assemblage, mixed media, textile and sculptures showcasing how working-class Black American families created beauty and community within restricted spaces. 169 Henry St., New Haven The Benjamin F. Packard Cabin Exhibit' Mystic "The Benjamin F. Packard Cabin" exhibit is permanently on display on the 2nd Floor of the Stillman Building at the Mystic Seaport Museum. The exhibit features the captain's stateroom, the officers' mess cabin a more, which are a part of the Packard; a 244-foot sailing ship built to carry cargoes around Cape Horn between America's Atlantic and Pacific ports. Advertisement Advertisement 75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic NESA at the MATT: Learning from the Past' Waterbury The Mattatuck Museum will host "NESA at the MATT: Learning from the Past," a new juried exhibition in partnership with the New England Sculpture Association (NESA) that will run through Sunday, March 8. The exhibit will feature works of artists from the New England region that reflect their personal backgrounds, in addition to larger histories of craft, politics and identity. 144 West Main St., Waterbury Gerald Incandela: Photographic Drawings' Hartford The "Gerald Incandela: Photographic Drawings" exhibit will be on display at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art through Sunday, May 10. 600 Main St., Hartford 'Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives' Greenwich Advertisement Advertisement The "Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives" exhibit is on display at the Bruce Museum through May 17. The exhibit features a scaled-up ant tunnel, a 5-foot-long model of a giant Amazonian ant, "Ant Architecture" display showcases, activities and more. 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich Art, Jazz + the Blues' Westport The opening reception for The Museum of Contemporary Art\Connecticut (MoCA\CT) and the Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC)'s "Art, Jazz + the Blues" exhibit explores the connections between visual art, jazz and the blues and will run through Sunday, June 7 at The Museum of Contemporary Art\Connecticut. 19 Newtown Turnpike, Westport Ascendancy: The Self in Contemporary Art' exhibit Waterbury Advertisement Advertisement The "Ascendancy: The Self in Contemporary Art" exhibit will be on display in the Mattatuck Museum's Baker Gallery from Sunday, March 1 through Sunday, June 21. The exhibit features about 100 contemporary works strategically put together as conversation starters to help dismantle stereotypes and redefine the ideas of femininity as it pertains to historical and current social structures. 144 West Main St., Waterbury Gisela Colon: Radiant Earth' Greenwich The "Gisela Colon: Radiant Earth" Sculpture Gallery is currently on display at the Bruce Museum through June 28. The exhibit features eight sculptures including her biomorphic pods, which are filled with layers of bright colors that glow from within. 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich Georges Braque: Tactile Space' Greenwich Advertisement Advertisement The "Georges Braque: Tactile Space" exhibit is on display at Greenwich's Bruce Museum through Aug. 2. The exhibit explores the pioneering French artist Georges Braque's lifelong fascination with the sensory experience of form and space. 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich Miscellaneous Women's Health, Beauty and Bridal Expo Uncasville The Women's Health, Beauty and Bridal Expo featuring 250 exhibitors, runway fashion shows, live music, designer purse giveaways and more will be taking place at Mohegan Sun's Earth Expo & Convention Center on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville Event submissions must be sent at least three weeks prior to the event to go@ctpost.com. This article originally published at 20 things to do this weekend in Connecticut: Isaac Mizrahi and Dirty Dancing' in Concert. California rapper Baby Keem played the hits and tipped his hat to songs from his brand new album Ca$ino at his first show in three years last night (March 4) a gig announced just hours earlier at New Yorks 1,500-capacity Webster Hall. Keem rapped a few songs last month during a release party for Ca$ino in Los Angeles, but before last night he hadnt performed live since November 2023 with his cousin Kendrick Lamar at Tyler, the Creators Camp Flog Gnaw festival. His enthusiasm to be back onstage was evident from the first moments, as he opened with the new albums Circus Circus Freestyle and then immediately launched into classics with MOSHPIT. More from Spin: Advertisement Advertisement Keem was scheduled for an album signing Feb. 23 at New Yorks Rough Trade but it was canceled due to a snow storm. In a nod to fans who missed out, he stopped the show at one point to sign LPs before debuting Birds & the Bees from Ca$ino, and then was flooded with requests when he shouted, what yall wanna see? Much to the delight of the crowd, Keem chose his hit song ORANGE SODA from his 2019 album DIE FOR MY BITCH as he yelled fuck a set list! From there, it was a mix of familiar and new, including hooligan, trade mark usa, House Money and STATS. The impromptu nature of the night was clear when he at one point said, I dont even have anyone backstage. Keem paused to screen the music video for the new albums Good Flirts featuring Lamar and then debuted its title track. His cousins pre-recorded rhymes provided another assist on Keems smash hit family ties, which he stopped midway to shout, flee to the sides if you aint bout this shit as the crowd went wild. Advertisement Advertisement Keem thanked the audience for its support and dubbed the night a celebration, although he teased, yall gotta come to the tour when a fan shouted for the song 16, The evening came to a close with Keem hopping into the DJ booth to spin one last Family Ties as the crowd made its way out. Ca$ino debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 late last month. Its the follow-up to the 25-year-old Keems 2021 debut, The Melodic Blue, which was certified platinum for U.S. shipments of one million copies in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America. It spawned Family Ties, which won the Best Rap Performance Grammy. Keem has kept a very low profile in recent years beyond a 2023 one-off single with Lamar, The Hillbillies, and a collaboration that year with electronic musician Fred again.. on Leavemealone. To support Ca$ino, he will return the road April 15 in Raleigh, N.C., for nearly 40 international shows in support of the new album. Itinerary highlights include June 5 at the Governors Ball festival in New York and Londons All Points East festival in late August alongside Tyler and Clipse. To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here. Where does country music go from here? Its a question many people should be asking whether as a fan of the genre or a Nashvillian living in the industrys backyard. Country, the capital-B business making capital-B billions, is considered one of musics fastest growing categories, with Morgan Wallen still commanding the charts despite controversy (Im the Problem finished 2025 in second place for total album-equivalent consumption, behind only Taylor Swifts Life of a Showgirl) and Shaboozey reigning as the current crossover king thanks to the persistent popularity of A Bar Song (Tipsy). Yet there is still, as always, room for growth, for the industry to expand wider instead of just digging deeper amongst its core demo. And now, with the Mar. 3 resignation announcement from Academy of Country Music (ACM) CEO Damon Whiteside, which follows the Jan. 14 retirement announcement from Country Music Association (CMA) CEO Sarah Trahern, there is the opportunity to position new leadership atop the industrys two largest trade organizations. Mickey Guyton acknowledges the crowd after performing on the Radio Disney stage in the Music City Center during one of the shows of the annual CMA Music Festival in Nashville on June 11, 2016. How two trade groups became the gatekeepers of country music The departure of two trade association heads would be less significant in other genres in, say, R&B or pop. But in country music, the CMA and ACM are the all-powerful cogs that make the industry go round. Advertisement Advertisement In 1958, the CMA was launched to unite all facets of the industry artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, deejays and promoters into a collective force that could increase the genres reach and, ultimately, revenue. Country radio was born when the CMA began a highly organized sales campaign, convincing radio stations to adopt the country format to maximize their own profits. It was a turnkey solution: Industry execs with boots on the ground in Nashville would deliver song lists to program directors; all those program directors had to do was plug and play and watch the checks roll in. ACM Chief Executive Officer Damon Whiteside attends a Ribbon Cutting ceremony officially opening the new Nashville headquarters at ACM Headquarters on December 14, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. The model was simple, successful and it stuck, but when West Coast artists like Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell found themselves excluded from the CMAs Nashville-based formula, a group of country Californians decided to set up their own shop in 1964. The first ACM Awards were held in 1965, setting a new industry standard. The inaugural CMA Awards followed in 67. Since then, both organizations have entrenched their shared role as the wizards behind country musics curtains. They set the criteria that determine award recognition for artists and songwriters, but also for musicians and engineers, radio stations and program directors. The ACM even gives awards for festivals and venues, every trophy an acknowledgement, and reinforcement, of the industry status quo. Advertisement Advertisement More importantly: For all the talk about what the labels and publishers could be doing, or what radio should be doing, the ACM and CMA stand apart as separate but integrated organizations with the power to lobby for change. Sarah Trahern arrives on the red carpet for the 59th Annual CMA Awards at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. A chance to push country forward, past the status quo The CEO positions at the ACM and CMA carry an inherent opportunity if not responsibility to push country forward in a way that honors the principles of creativity and community the industry has always claimed to represent. It is perhaps the most unencumbered perch across the country music business, not beholden to radio listeners or corporate sponsors, not left to answer to the big, big label bosses in New York or LA. For Whiteside and Trahern and the people who will take over their roles, the only true obligation should be to the people who make, promote and distribute the music that accounted for 122.5 billion audio streams last year. Because while country music may be making more money than ever, its central issues the lack of female representation on country radio, the lack of Black and brown representation anywhere and the struggles of artists outside the industrys mainstream continue to persist. Opinion: This Tennessee bill pushes to end realtime eviction videos Advertisement Advertisement Trahern, a woman, and Whiteside, a gay man, are paragons of the Nashville-style diversity that manages to keep rooms mostly white. Perhaps thats why they did little to effect the sustainable change that would remain past the ends of their respective tenures. Someone reading this may be thinking about the CMAs Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship, a program designed to provide collegiate students with an immersive experience in the Country Music industry, or the ACMs OnRamp, a guaranteed income program for 20 young, Black members of the music community, including artists and industry professionals, in Nashville, Tennessee, in partnership with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC). Both were started in 2023. Both no longer exist. Moreover, the industry bears no indication that either initiative was successful in filling the gaping holes that necessitated their creation despite both organizations authority to nudge all industry stakeholders toward more mutually advantageous practices. A shifting political climate, and an industry that mirrors it And now, in a town where more than a few people have attributed NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplins poor performance during Winter Storm fern if not her appointment itself to DEI, under a presidential administration that is actively erasing Black people from the historical record, its not unreasonable to assume the industry won't just fill Trahern and Whitesides seats with two new defenders of whats always been. Advertisement Advertisement But it doesnt have to be this way. Country music can regroup and reboot. It can reach new audiences and welcome more diverse creatives into its fold. And it can appoint leaders to the ACM and CMA who choose to leverage their industry influence to create a more prosperous, inclusive future for country music instead of reinforcing its inequitable past. After all, thats exactly what these organizations were created to do. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The CMA and ACM are rebooting. Country music should too | Opinion INIs second photo book, Viva la vita, hits No. 1 on the Billboard Japans Book Hot 100 chart, on the list released Mar. 5. The boy bands latest photo book is themed around all eleven members trip to Italy, and shot entirely on location there. At 192 pages, its a generously sized keepsake. The volume rules the e-commerce metric and tops the overall chart as a result. More from Billboard Advertisement Advertisement At No. 2 is Mrs. GREEN APPLEs first publication, MGA MAGICAL 10 YEARS ANNIVERSARY BOOK -OUR STORY-. Its the three-man pop bands anniversary release marking a double milestone: the 10th anniversary of its debut and the conclusion of Phase 2. The set comprises four volumes one for the band and three focusing on each member, with Motoki Omori, Hiloto Wakai, and Ryoka Fujisawa reflecting on their life stories to date. Fumi Yoshinagas Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) Vol. 25 holds at No. 3 for a second week, topping the brick-and-mortar sales metric and coming in at No. 7 for e-commerce and No. 14 for e-books. The hit manga series also breaks into the top 100 in social media. The Japan Book Hot 100 is a comprehensive chart combining physical sales, e-books, library loans, subscription data and social media activity. Check out the top 10 titles on this weeks list, tracking the period from Feb. 23 to Mar. 1. (Numbers in parentheses indicate the titles metric placements for physical stores, EC, e-books, subscriptions, and social media, top 20 only. English title given if translations or adaptations exist.) Advertisement Advertisement 1. INI 2nd Photo Book Viva la vita, INI, ISAC, Tsunekawa Shuhei (/1///) 2. MGA MAGICAL 10 YEARS ANNIVERSARY BOOK -OUR STORY-, Mrs. GREEN APPLE (/2///) 3. Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) Vol. 25, Fumi Yoshinaga (1/7/14//) 4. Okiraku Ryoshu no Tanoshii Ryochi Boei (Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord) Vol. 8 (Comic), Maro Aoiro, Sou Akaike, Kururi (2//1//) 5. Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn) Vol. 47, Mizuho Kusanagi (3/6/13//) 6. Shokan-gata Shosetsu Nininsho Yorushika, n-buna, Yorushika (/3///) 7. Mystery to Iu Nakare (Dont Call It Mystery) Vol. 16, Yumi Tamura (4//11//) Advertisement Advertisement 8. Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation) Vol. 24, Yuka Fujikawa, Rifujin na Magonote, Shirotaka (6//3//) 9. In the Megachurch, Ryo Asai (///12/1) 10. BLUE GIANT MOMENTUM Vol. 7,Shinichi Ishizuka, NUMBER8 (8/16/7//) Best of Billboard Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Drew Karedes, a reporter for WFXT-TV (Boston 25) for the past nine years, announced his departure from the station this week. Karedes shared the news on Tuesday, March 5, writing in an Instagram post, "today my chapter at Boston 25 News comes to a close." He joined the Fox affiliate as a general assignment reporter in March 2017, according to his now-deleted staff profile on Boston 25's website. "Through the years, I have never lost sight of my purpose as a reporter. The privilege of connecting with real people from all walks of life has truly been an honor," Karedes wrote in the Instagram caption. Advertisement Advertisement His announcement comes on the heels of Chief Meteorologist Kevin Lemanowicz's Feb. 27 departure from the station. Boston 25 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, March 5. A photo of Drew Karedes, now-former reporter for WFXT-TV (Boston 25), holding a microphone in downtown Boston. Before Boston 25, Karedes covered breaking news at KHOU-TV, Houston's CBS affiliate, according to his archived staff bio. He also reported for television stations in Las Vegas and Green Bay, Wisconsin. "It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 19 years since I packed my suitcase & moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for my first reporter job," Karedes said in the Instagram post. A North Shore native, Karedes graduated from Northeastern University and got his first journalism job as a writer at WHDH-TV (7News) in Boston, his bio said. Why did Drew Karedes leave WFXT-TV (Boston 25)? While Karedes did not give a reason for his departure in his announcement, he wrote, "Stay tuned for what's next." Advertisement Advertisement Reached by Instagram direct message, Karedes declined to comment further. "I will forever be grateful for the role that allowed me to return to Massachusetts after years of criss-crossing the country," Karedes said in his Instagram post. "While much has changed, the importance of local journalism has not. Thank you to everyone who trusted me and allowed me to tell their stories." This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Boston 25 reporter Drew Karedes announces he's leaving the station At long last, Chihards got to enjoy a reunion between former Chicago P.D. power couple Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) amid P.D.'s action-packed crossover event with Chicago Fire and Chicago Med. Upstead was a One Chicago love story worth rooting for, so many Chihards were devastating after Halstead moved to Bolivia to accept an undercover assignment in the army, leading to Upton being forced to file for a heart-shattering divorce. We were left with even more tears after Upton turned in her badge in P.D.'s Season 11 finale, leaving Chicago after perusing various job openings. With the couple broken up and out of the Windy City, P.D. fans were left wondering where Upton and Halstead landed all these years. It turns out that Upton is now a Special Agent for the FBI working out of Detroit. She returned to Chicago hot on the trail of a Bolivian drug mule on board a commercial flight heading toward the Windy City. Confused by the flight's sudden lack of communication, Upton and the feds called the Firehouse 51 crew for backup on the high-stakes landing. RELATED: A Look Back at Halstead and Upton's Slow-Burn Romance on Chicago P.D. As it turns out, she wasn't alone in returning to the Windy City after she learned her ex-husband, Jay Halstead, was entangled in a drug smuggling operation ultimately destined for disaster. Advertisement Advertisement "We're very excited to get to be back," Spiradakos told NBC Insider ahead of the episode, revealing that once she and Soffer got a call from the P.D. team, it didn't take long for either to accept the offer to return. "We both, very excitedly, said yes right away." Hank Voight, Dante Torres, Jay Halstead, and Hailey Upton standing together in Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 17. Behind the scenes, the vibes are higher than ever, with the former P.D. co-stars revealing they were treated to a joyful "hip hip hooray" greeting from the entire Chicago P.D. set during Spiradakos' and Soffer's first day back. Hailey Upton returned to Chicago after learning Jay Halstead was in trouble After a commercial flight landed safely via autopilot, Upton's agents and the Firehouse 51 prepared for a potential hijacking, but were shocked to discover an entire flight of passengers and crew members dead upon arrival. Upon learning the entire flight had been poisoned, Upton grimly revealed one of the deceased passengers was a famed narco-courier named Omar Bengoa, whom Upton's unit had been tracking. The feds were quick to assume biological terrorism after surveillance footage showed Omar dying first on the flight. But Upton didn't feel the evidence added up to paint a picture of terrorism, especially with the intel she was sitting on. Advertisement Advertisement While hunting for evidence in Omar Bengoa's Chicago hideaway, Upton's team discovered a surveillance photo of Omar standing next to none other than Jay Halstead, who appeared to be his accomplice. Upton kept quiet about recognizing the man standing next to Omar, later visiting her longtime mentor Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) at the Intelligence Unit to connect with him on the case. After Upton revealed her task force had caught wind of a huge meth operation in Chicago, Voight expressed confusion as to why Upton had left Detroit when the Chicago Field Office could handle it. That's when Upton revealed that a few weeks earlier, she'd heard chatter on a tapped line about an American drug trafficker whod been made as an undercover U.S. military operative in Bolivia. It all sounded grimly familiar. Halstead, Voight said as Upton nodded. RELATED: Chicago P.D.'s Tracy Spiridakos & Jesse Lee Soffer Adopt a Puppy: Her Sweet Name Hank Voight, Jay Halstead, and Hailey Upton standing together in Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 17. Upton's team of agents teamed up with Voight's Intelligence Unit to work the case, visiting the morgue with Chicago Med's Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos) to learn more about the mysterious toxin that had killed so many passengers. Not long after the first responders arrived, they discovered an imposter among the morgue attendees crudely cutting into Omar's body. After Lenox flagged the lack of surgical protocol, the imposter revealed himself by setting the room ablaze before fleeing the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Upton wasted no time pursuing the mysterious perp, chasing him through the morgue before being ambushed and hit in the head. The perp then seized Upton's gun and held her at gunpoint. "As soon as I got to Chicago and was driving into the city, I was like, 'It just feels like home' And then as soon as [Soffer and I] got on set, we start teasing each other right away and getting back into the way we were before we left." Tracy Spiridakos Moments before being shot, Chihards everywhere applauded upon the shocking arrival of Jay Halstead, who barked for the perp to drop the weapon. As Halstead made to race after the assailant, he stopped dead in his tracks upon sight of Upton in trouble. Halstead dropped everything to check on his ex-wife, a gesture Upton refused to warmly welcome as the assailant got away. Its good to see you," Halstead said breathlessly, much to Upton's chagrin. Despite their icy reunion, it couldn't be a more different story behind the scenes between Spiradakos and Soffer as they got back into the P.D. groove. "It's like muscle memory. It's an old glove," Soffer told NBC Insider. "It's so easy, everybody's so welcoming, and we're doing all the same bits and banter and inside jokes from a few years ago. Right away, everybody picked right back up." Advertisement Advertisement Spiradakos added, "As soon as I got to Chicago and was driving into the city, I was like, 'It just feels like home' And then as soon as [Soffer and I] got on set, we start teasing each other right away and getting back into the way we were before we left. And so it felt for me at least, I felt like it was stepping right back into where we had left right away." Jay Halstead saved and soon teamed up with Hailey Upton Following the chaos at the morgue, Halstead swiftly joined authorities on the case, revealing that Omar had been his criminal informant and a renowned drug mule. Once Halstead divulged that Omar had been paid triple for two capsules to be surgically implanted to lower the risk of rupture during transit, the truth hit the Windy City heroes like an anvil. Upton and Lenox successfully deduced that the cabin pressure had compromised the capsules seal, killing Omar and everyone else on board. Upton's hunch was right: the tragedy hadn't been a terrorist attack; it was a drug smuggling operation gone devastatingly wrong. After gaining this helpful lead, Upton and Halstead finally exchanged pleasantries after their many years apart. While Halstead had obviously learned Upton was in the FBI now, he was surprised to learn she was only in Chicago after learning about his undercover mission being blown. You were trying to protect me," Halstead said, shocked but clearly honored. "Hailey... there were so many times that I wanted to reach out. I" Advertisement Advertisement "No. Nope, not here. Later," Upton said, unwilling to listen to what Halstead had to say. RELATED: The Most Shocking Breakups in Chicago Fire, Med, and P.D. that Were Gutting to Watch One Chicago Podcast Key Art 1400x1400 FN3 Listen to the Official One Chicago Podcast now! Want behind-the-scenes intel about Chicago Med, Fire, and P.D.? The official One Chicago Podcast is hosted by longtime Chicago P.D. producer Brian Luce. Find in-depth interviews, analysis, and behind-the-scenes secrets about all your Windy City favorites. Stream wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, where it's currently ranked #1 in TV/Film and in the Top 60 overall across all categories. Advertisement Advertisement Halstead obliged, but it didn't stop him from trying to bridge their immense distance as they worked together on the case. As the situation became increasingly awkward, Halstead tried to talk about their relationship, but Upton encouraged Halstead to leave the past in the past and focus on the investigation at hand. Halstead struggled to leash his protective nature, and while he exercised patience with Upton, her refusal to accept his help ruffled Halstead's feathers. The need for speed was at an all-time high. Not only was the nerve agent's buyer now in possession of the deadly capsule and making moves toward another mass-casualty disaster, but several Firehouse 51 fan favorites had wound up in the hospital due to the toxic exposure from the plane, all showing signs of rapid decline after one firefighter died from the toxin. The Intelligence Unit raced against time to solve the case and recover the capsule intact to successfully develop an antidote, with Upton and Halstead's infallible teamwork proving paramount in tracking down the perp as a revenge-seeking Chicago local targeting a CFD memorial. Fortunately, the reunited Intelligence Unit tracked down the assailant and narrowly retrieved the capsule just in time for Gaffney's doctors to develop an antidote, saving the day yet again. Hailey Upton finally got her apology from Jay Halstead Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton pointing their guns in Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 17. With yet another Windy City case closed, Upton and Halstead helped save hundreds of lives, but unfinished business lingered between them. As Upton packed up her belongings, Halstead was eager to know when his ex-wife's flight left for Detroit. After Upton revealed she was leaving the following morning, Halstead once again found himself with a troubling lack of time. Advertisement Advertisement In an effort to extend an olive branch, Halstead admitted that he'd only stuck around Chicago to spend time with Hailey echoing her own reasons for returning to the Windy city. The passion between the former P.D. power couple clearly hasn't been entirely snuffed, but their relationship remains at crossroads. Upton wished Halstead well as she turned to leave, but Halstead refused to watch her walk away with anything left unsaid. Hailey, Im sorry..." Halstead confessed, telling a dubious Upton. "All of it I lost myself here, On this team, this city. And I'm sorry I couldn't find my way back. Sorry for all the wrong I did. All of it. Im sorry I lost you." Upton had finally heard the words she'd waited so long to hear: a heartfelt apology. Upton said she was sorry about how it all unfolded, as well. A small smile spread across Upton's face as she asked Halstead what time his flight left the next day. I dont care, Halstead smiled before Upton predictably asked if he wanted to grab a drink like old times. Halstead was happy to oblige, leaving the future fate of the Upstead up in the air. Naturally, NBC Insider was keen to learn what this ending meant for the longtime couple. Is a future Upstead rekindling possible? RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos & Jesse Lee Soffer Share Smiling Selfie from Chicago P.D. Set Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) standing and listening on Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 17. "For Hailey, I think it was a conversation that opened the door to further conversations for her," Spiradakos shares. "She was quite hurt by how things were left off, but there is such a big history, even outside of the romantic relationship that they were in. They were partners for such a long time and very good friends. And so I think she was really hurt by how things were left off, but I think this last moment opened the door to more conversations." Advertisement Advertisement Soffer echoed his longtime co-star's sentiment, adding that Halstead's decision to stay in Chicago was a big indicator of unfinished business. "I mean, the guy hung around Chicago, didn't need to be there," Soffer said. "I feel like he probably just stuck around and was like, 'All right, let's keep talking then.'" Watch One Chicago Wednesdays on NBC and Peacock. Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka Officer Kim Burgess and Hank Voight standing together in an office in Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 7. Chicago P.D. Season 13 One Chicago Wednesdays are here! Fresh off an extended fall hiatus, new Chicago P.D. episodes begin airing January 7, 2026 every Wednesday at 10/9c. New episodes are available to stream on Peacock Thursdays at 6 a.m. ET. Advertisement Advertisement Keep up with your favorite officers Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), Trudy Platt (Amy Morton), Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar), and Eva Imani (Arienne Mandi) as they navigate the highs and lows of the Intelligence Unit. If that's not quite enough One Chicago for you, checkout exclusive merch available now at the NBC Store! After years of heartbreak, lingering tension, and emotional farewells, Chicago P.D. fan favorites Detectives Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) teamed up yet again during P.D.'s mind-blowing crossover event with Chicago Med and Chicago Fire, and it didn't take long for the longtime partners to fall back into their familiar groove. P.D. fans rooted for the now-divorced "Upstead" across years of gripping Intelligence Unit cases, shocking swoons, and romantic moments. However, Chihards were ultimately left devastated after Halstead told his wife he was leaving Chicago to return to the army to accept an undercover position investigating drug cartels in Bolivia. Upton initially supported Halstead's new lease on life, but after he refused to communicate or provide any update on a return, Upton made the tearful decision to file for a divorce. After some soul-searching of her own, Upton turned in her badge in P.D.'s Season 11 finale, leaving Chicago after perusing various job openings elsewhere. While there was limited closure between the longtime couple, Chihards geared up for an emotional rollercoaster amid Spiridakos and Soffer's guest appearances in the action-packed One Chicago crossover episode. RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos & Jesse Lee Soffer Share Smiling Selfie from Chicago P.D. Set "We're very excited to get to be back," Spiradakos told NBC Insider while chatting about her and Soffer's triumphant return to the 21st Precinct. "We both, very excitedly, said yes right away." Spiradakos opens up about Upton and Halstead's "effortless" team up Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton pointing their guns in Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 17. It was all hands on deck across the Windy City and beyond during P.D.'s latest crossover with Chicago Fire and Chicago Med after a deadly nerve agent's accidental release on a commercial flight leads to a city-wide panic and white-knuckling manhunt. Advertisement Advertisement After catching wind of an undercover military operative being made during a Bolivia drug bust, Upton returned to Chicago to track the drug trafficker and follow up on what she strongly suspected was Halstead in trouble. Meanwhile, Halstead's dealings in Bolivia brought him to Chicago and made him quite useful in the FBI and Intelligence Unit's investigation. RELATED: Why Upsteads Intimate Courthouse Wedding on Chicago P.D. Was Just Perfect Of course, it wouldn't be a proper P.D. reunion without suspense, so Chihards were screaming when Upton was nearly killed, only to be saved at the last second by her ex-husband. "There's so much empty space between, you know? How he left, and then the gap between it all," Spiradakos told NBC Insider. "But then, at the same time, they step into the same situation, and they're so used to being partners and working together in this environment that as soon as things happen, they start working together so effortlessly." Advertisement Advertisement While Upton refused to give Halstead a warm welcome, they teamed up on the case and proved to fall back into being an unbeatable dream team, despite the occasional bickering and passive aggression. Officer Kim Burgess and Hank Voight standing together in an office in Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 7. Chicago P.D. Season 13 One Chicago Wednesdays are here! Fresh off an extended fall hiatus, new Chicago P.D. episodes begin airing January 7, 2026 every Wednesday at 10/9c. New episodes are available to stream on Peacock Thursdays at 6 a.m. ET. Keep up with your favorite officers Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), Trudy Platt (Amy Morton), Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar), and Eva Imani (Arienne Mandi) as they navigate the highs and lows of the Intelligence Unit. Advertisement Advertisement If that's not quite enough One Chicago for you, checkout exclusive merch available now at the NBC Store! Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton finally got closure After wrapping yet another case together, Halstead was eager to connect with Upton outside the mayhem of the investigation back at the 21st Precinct. "Hailey, I stayed to work this case because you were here," Halstead confessed, once again extending an olive branch. "I came here because you were here," Upton replied, silently reiterating the affection that landed her in Chicago again. With this confirmation, it was clear that Upton and Halstead both still cared for each other. However, Upton struggled to be vulnerable with her ex. Advertisement Advertisement Good luck, Jay. I wish you the best. I always do," Upton told him earnestly before making to leave. Hailey, Im sorry," Halstead blurted, stopping Upton in her tracks. "For what?" Upton asked while slowly turning, finally indulging Halstead after his many failed attempts to touch base. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) standing and listening on Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 17. "All of it I lost myself here," Halstead struggled out. "On this team, this city. And I'm sorry I couldn't find my way back. Sorry for all the wrong I did. All of it. Im sorry I lost you." After so much heartbreak, at long last, an apology alleviated the tension between the former P.D. lovebirds. Advertisement Advertisement Im sorry, too," Upton said with a resigned sigh. A weighted moment of silence passed between them before Upton asked Halstead about his own flight time. I dont care, Halstead shrugged, aware of where this was going as Upton's longtime ride-or-die. Wanna get a drink? Upton asked with a smile before Halstead wholeheartedly accepted. Did Jay Halstead and Haley Upton get back together on Chicago P.D.? So, does this mean Upstead could be headed toward a romantic rekindling in the future? While Upton and Halstead's latest update is certainly no happily-ever-after for those crossing fingers for a romantic reunion, Spiradakos reveals that the make-or-break apology is a door-opener. Advertisement Advertisement "For Hailey, I think it was a conversation that opened the door to further conversations for her," Spiradakos shared. "She was quite hurt by how things were left off, but there is such a big history, even outside of the romantic relationship that they were in. They were partners for such a long time and very good friends. And so I think she was really hurt by how things were left off, but I think this last moment opened the door to more conversations." RELATED: Chicago P.D.'s Tracy Spiridakos & Jesse Lee Soffer Adopt a Puppy: Her Sweet Name As for Soffer, he feels that Halstead's decision to stick around speaks volumes about his headspace surrounding his ex-wife. "I mean, the guy hung around Chicago, didn't need to be there," Soffer explained. "I feel like he probably just stuck around and was like, all right, let's keep talking then." Watch Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC and the next day on Peacock. Advertisement Advertisement Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka. One Chicago Podcast Key Art 1400x1400 FN3 Listen to the Official One Chicago Podcast now! Want behind-the-scenes intel about Chicago Med, Fire, and P.D.? The official One Chicago Podcast is hosted by longtime Chicago P.D. producer Brian Luce. Find in-depth interviews, analysis, and behind-the-scenes secrets about all your Windy City favorites. Stream wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, where it's currently ranked #1 in TV/Film and in the Top 60 overall across all categories. Savannah Guthrie was spotted at the Today show studio for the first time since her mother Nancys disappearance. Guthrie, 54, has stepped away from her hosting duties on the morning show as the search for her 84-year-old mother continues. However, in new photos obtained by TMZ, the news anchor could be seen hugging staff and crew at Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center Thursday morning in New York City. Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her Today colleagues, a Today show spokesperson told the outlet. While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home. Advertisement Advertisement During her visit, Guthrie reportedly thanked the staff and crew for caring about my mom as much as I do. Savannah Guthrie returned Thursday to the Today show studio for the first time since her mom Nancy's disappearance (Invision/AP) A Today show spokesperson said Guthrie plans to return to the show on air, but right now remains focused on supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home (Invision/AP) I wanted you to know that Im still standing, and I still have hope, and Im still me, she said, according to People. And I dont know what version of me that will be, but it will be. Im holding onto my faith. I still believe. And as my mom would say, where else would I go? I have every intention of coming back, Guthrie added. I dont know how to come back, but I dont know how not to. Youre my family. And, I would like to try. The veteran newscaster last appeared on-air during the shows February 2 episode. Hoda Kotb has returned to the show, more than a year after her retirement, to fill in for Guthrie. Advertisement Advertisement Nancy was last seen alive January 31 at her home in Catalina Foothills, near Tucson, Arizona. She was reported missing the following day after failing to appear for a church service. Police have said that she was abducted from her affluent neighborhood as she slept in the early morning hours of February 1. Authorities have been desperately searching for Nancy, releasing photos and video of her suspected kidnapper taken on Nancys doorbell camera the day she vanished and asking for the publics help in the case. Guthrie and her two siblings have also posted a series of video messages online pleading with their mothers purported abductor and the public to ensure their mothers safe return. They are offering a $1 million reward for any information that leads to their mothers recovery. Its been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope, and we still believe, Guthrie said in one video. I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that its never too late. And youre not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing, and we are here. Advertisement Advertisement We believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and its never too late, she added. In the latest update on the case, a pair of black gloves were found about 2 miles from Nancys home, the sheriffs office told The Independent. 84-year-old Nancy was abducted from her Arizona home as she slept on February 1, police say (NBC/Today) Guthrie last appeared on-air February 2 (Invision/AP) Police recently identified the owner of the gloves, but the individual has no ties to Nancys disappearance. There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding them, that is so far from the truth, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told local NBC affiliate KVOA this week. We knew that at that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street. It has nothing to do with the case. Advertisement Advertisement Nanos has sent another pair of gloves to a Florida lab for analysis. Its a challenge because we know we have DNA but now we have to deal with that mixture and how were going to separate it, Nanos added in his interview with KVOA. NEW YORK Savannah Guthrie was spotted in the Today show studio for the first time since her mother, Nancy, disappeared. While she did not appear on air, Jenna Bush Hager confirmed that Guthrie had come home to pay them all visit. She added that Guthrie talked to all of us and hugged every single person she could. She said that she has the intention to return to the show, even though it feels like the hardest thing to do. Its also her home and where she feels so loved, and she is beyond loved here, Hager said, becoming visibly emotional And so were happy that she is home. I dont know when shes actually returning to the show, but she was here, and that felt so good to get to hug her. Advertisement Advertisement In images obtained by TMZ, Guthrie can be seen embracing cast and crew members through the rain-streaked window of Studio 1A inside New York Citys Rockefeller Center. Co-host Sheinelle Jones added that she was proud of Guthrie, acknowledging the strength it took for her to return to the studio amid the search for her missing mother. I see it as, were in this storm, and were not out of the storm, but theres a light somewhere, even in the midst of the storm, Jones said. Her coming here, and just being able to be with us, and for us to be able to hug her, I think its a step, right? It has been more than a month since Guthries mother, 84-year-old Nancy, was apparently abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. She was last seen alive the night of January 31, after having dinner with her other daughter, Annie, and Annies husband, Tommaso Cioni. The couple said they dropped Nancy off sometime between 9 and 9:30 p.m., and she was reported missing the following day around noon, after she failed to show up for church. Advertisement Advertisement A search of her home later turned up the Guthrie matriarchs blood in the doorway, while all of her personal belongings including her wallet, cellphone and car were left untouched. Authorities have had few breaks in the case aside from surveillance video they believe captured a suspect. The FBI Phoenix office has described this person as a male, approximately 59 510, with an average build. He is also wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack in the clip. The search for Nancy remains ongoing, and the Guthrie family has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information that will lead to her recovery. CFO Dale Schneider said mobility sales increased CAD 223.6 million , or 12.9% , to CAD 2.0 billion , citing contributions from Linamar Structures acquisitions, favorable foreign exchange versus last year, program launches, and higher volumes on programs where the company has substantial content. Those tailwinds were partly offset by lower production on ending programs and reduced volumes on certain EV programs due to softer volume demand. Normalized net earnings in the quarter were CAD 136.4 million , or 5.4% of sales, up 22% from the prior year. Normalized EPS was CAD 2.28 , up 25.3% . Hasenfratz said results were most impacted by launches and strong production sales on the mobility side, along with a partial contribution from the Aludyne acquisition, offset by weak industrial markets. Cash flow in the quarter was CAD 362 million . Executive Chair Linda Hasenfratz said fourth-quarter sales were CAD 2.5 billion , up 5.9% year over year, driven by strength in the companys larger mobility segment, partially offset by weaker industrial markets. Mobility sales rose 13% in the quarter, while industrial sales fell 13% , reflecting declines in both agriculture and access equipment. Linamar (TSE:LNR) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that executives described as a record year of record earnings despite soft conditions across its industrial end markets and elevated global volatility tied to tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty. Balance-sheet and capital allocation remain strong with net debt/EBITDA around 0.8x , cash of CAD 911.1 million and CAD 2.1 billion liquidity, disciplined CapEx (down 24%) and ongoing share buybacks ( CAD 39 million repurchased under the NCIB to date). The mobility segment was the main growth engineQ4 mobility sales rose ~ 13% and mobility operating earnings jumped 47% even as industrial sales fell ~ 13% , though Skyjack gained share (Q4 unit volumes + 15.9% ) and the company secured about $1.5 billion in new mobility wins amid onshoring opportunities. Linamar delivered a record 2025 with full-year sales of CAD 10.2 billion , record earnings of CAD 622.1 million (6.1% of sales) and nearly CAD 1 billion of free cash flow, while Q4 sales were CAD 2.5 billion and normalized net earnings were CAD 136.4 million (up 22% YoY) driven by mobility launches and the Aludyne contribution. Story Continues Mobilitys normalized operating earnings rose 47.3% year over year to CAD 132.1 million. Schneider noted executive management bonuses were reinstated in Q4 2025, while no bonuses were awarded in Q4 2024 due to impairment losses in that period. Industrial markets soft, but Skyjack and share gains stood out Industrial segment sales decreased 13.2%, or CAD 84.0 million, to CAD 553.1 million in Q4, driven by softer demand in access equipment and agriculture, partially offset by favorable FX and market share gains, particularly in scissor lifts globally. Atomic AI: Why NuScale Is the Only Option Normalized industrial operating earnings in the quarter declined CAD 23.5 million, or 25.7%, to CAD 67.9 million. Schneider said the quarter also included a moderate tariff impact on certain industrial products. CEO Jim Jarrell emphasized Skyjacks operational performance in a weak access market, saying the business grew Q4 unit volumes by 15.9% in a global market that was down 1.5%. For the full year, Skyjack unit volumes rose 12.1% versus a global market decline of 19%, which management attributed to market share gainsespecially in scissor lifts globally and booms in Europe. Jarrell also said Skyjack was recognized by United as Supplier of the Year and that the company launched its SJ28 all-electric telescopic boom targeted for China and Southeast Asia. In agriculture, Jarrell said 2025 was challenging globally, citing trade issues in North America, elevated dealer inventories and tighter credit, and the delayed rollout of a federal stimulus package that was announced late in 2025 and is expected to begin flowing in early spring 2026. He said Linamars ag divisions (MacDon, Sulky, and Bourgault) tracked largely in line with the North American market, down 27%, while reporting market share improvements in several segments. Full-year 2025: record earnings and nearly CAD 1 billion of free cash flow For the full year, Hasenfratz reported sales of CAD 10.2 billion, described as moderately softer than 2024 due to industrial segment declines. Despite that, Linamar delivered record earnings of CAD 622.1 million, or 6.1% of sales, and EPS of CAD 10.36, up 5.6%. She also said the company generated almost CAD 1 billion of free cash flow in 2025. Management highlighted mobility segment earnings growth of 47% in the quarter and 34% for the year. Hasenfratz said Linamars programmable and flexible equipment base has enabled it to reallocate equipment from under-capacity programs to new launches, contributing to capital spending discipline. She said 2025 CapEx was down 24% despite a significant backlog of launches. On leverage, Hasenfratz said net debt to EBITDA was 0.77 in 2025, below the companys stated target of under 1.5x, even with investments including the Aludyne acquisition. Schneider added that net debt to EBITDA was 0.8x at quarter-end, improved from 1.0x a year earlier. Linamar ended Q4 with CAD 911.1 million in cash and CAD 2.1 billion of liquidity, according to Schneider. Tariffs, onshoring opportunities, and acquisitions Hasenfratz said Linamars tariff exposure remains manageable, with Section 232 metal derivative tariffs described as the only area of reasonable impact, largely affecting industrial businesses. She said newly established Section 122 and Section 306 tariffs to replace the IEEPA tariff deemed illegal had little to no impact on Linamar. She attributed the limited impact to the companys strategy of producing in the same continent as customers, USMCA compliance for products shipped from Canada and Mexico into the U.S., and the fact that in automotive, customers are generally the importer of record. At the same time, Hasenfratz said she is concerned about the broader cost burden tariffs place on automaker customers and the potential impact on vehicle pricing and demand. She also said the environment is prompting customers to look at onshoring parts and systems sourced from Asia or Europe, driving a significant list of opportunities and wins for Linamars North American plants. Jarrell referenced a Make Canada, Mexico, and America Great Again sales initiative and said the company secured $1.5 billion in new mobility business wins. Management also discussed acquisition activity and pipeline. Hasenfratz and Jarrell pointed to stress in the supply baseparticularly in the U.S. and Europeas a source of acquisition opportunities, with Jarrell calling out Europe as a notable area of distress. Executives said integration of Aludyne has gone well. In Q&A, management said Aludyne is going to plan and probably a little bit better than planned, citing increased quoting and new business opportunities tied to structural casting and the benefit of having U.S. facilities. Capital allocation and 2026 outlook Schneider said Linamars normal course issuer bid (NCIB) launched in Q3 2025 expires on Nov. 16 and authorizes the purchase and cancellation of 3.9 million shares. To date under the program, the company has repurchased about 462,000 shares for nearly CAD 39 million. Schneider said total cash returned to shareholders since November 2024 is nearly CAD 139 million, representing about 2.2 million shares purchased and cancelled. Management reiterated a capital allocation approach prioritizing a strong balance sheet, investing in growth, and returning excess cash to shareholders. For 2026, Schneider said guidance is unchanged from the prior call, though the company is not providing full-year segment-level guidance due to volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. For Q1, Linamar expects: Mobility: double-digit sales growth and double-digit normalized operating earnings growth, with margin expansion continuing into its normal range. Industrial: lower year-over-year sales and normalized operating earnings, driven by double-digit declines in ag and access end markets, with margins expected to be within the normal range. For the full year, management expects growth in normalized earnings and margins supported by mobility launches and full-year contributions from Aludynes North American operations and the Leipzig casting facility, even as global vehicle production is forecast to decline 0.4% in 2026, with North America down roughly 2.2%. In industrial markets, Schneider said agricultural equipment volumes are expected to be down mid-single digits globally, with a more pronounced double-digit decline in North America, though the rate of decline is expected to moderate with stabilization in the second half versus 2025. Access equipment markets are expected to be relatively stable, with modest global declines partially offset by low single-digit growth in North America and Europe. Jarrell also flagged longer-term diversification initiatives, describing defense, robotics, and power/energy as emerging platforms. He said the companys approach in these areas is primarily organic, including partnershipssuch as a strategic partnership with Regen Resource Recovery to commercialize battery-grade graphiterather than acquisition-led expansion. About Linamar (TSE:LNR) Linamar Corp is a diversified global manufacturing company of highly engineered products. The Company's Industrial segment operates the Skyjack and MacDon brands, It manufactures products for the Aerial Work Platform and Agricultural industries, respectively. The Mobility segment features vertically integrated operations to combine expertise in light metal casting, forging, machining and assembly of components and systems for electric and traditional vehicle applications. In addition, McLaren Engineering and eLIN Product Solutions Group provide design, development, and testing services for the Mobility segment. The article "Linamar Q4 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. To see our latest updates on the Nancy Guthrie case, please click here. "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie has returned home to New York City for the first time since her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing from her Arizona property on Feb. 1. Savannah, 54, was pictured visiting her colleagues at the "Today" studio on Thursday morning, with images and video obtained by TMZ showing her being warmly embraced by staff inside the space, including her former costar Hoda Kotb, who was seen breaking down in tears while greeting her. Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, a spokesperson for NBC confirmed that Savannah does fully intend to return to her hosting duties on the morning showbut did not indicate when this will happen, noting that the mother of two is focused fully on the search for her missing mom. "Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her 'Today' colleagues," the spokesperson said. "While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home." Video taken by the New York Post showed Savannah leaving the "Today" show studio, accompanied by several security guards and police officersand being greeted by well wishers who expressed their sympathy about her mother's case. The on-air personality then got into the back of a blacked-out SUV, before being driven awaypresumably back to the Brooklyn townhouse she shares with her husband, Michael Feldman, and their two children, daughter Vale and son Charley. Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with any information about Nancy Guthrie's case should call 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME, or visit https://tips.fbi.gov/. "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie has returned home to New York City for the first time since her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing from her Arizona property on Feb. 1. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Savannah, 54, was pictured visiting her colleagues at the "Today" studio on Thursday morning, including her former costar Hoda Kotb, who was seen breaking down in tears while greeting her. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) After Savannah's visit to the "Today" studio on Thursday, her colleague, Jenna Bush Hager, opened up about her desire to return to the show, telling viewers: "She said that she has the intention to return to the show, even though it feels like the hardest thing to do, its also her home and where she feels so loved." Sheinelle Jones added: "We're not out of the storm, but theres a light somewhere even in the midst of the storm. I think her coming here and just being able to be with us, and for us to be able to hug her, I think its a step." Savannah is not thought to have been in New York since Feb. 1, when her mother was first reported missingthe same day that a masked and armed intruder was caught on camera approaching Nancy's home in the early hours of the morning. Advertisement Advertisement Hoda, who officially stepped down as Savannah's "Today" co-host in January 2025, has been filling in for her on-air since Feb. 2 and is understood to have committed to continuing to anchor the show alongside Craig Melvin until her former co-star is ready to return. Savannah's husband, Michael, was reported to have been making frequent trips to Arizona from the couple's home in Brooklyn, where he has been caring for their two children, with Page Six reporting in February that he had also paid a visit to his wife's "Today" colleagues. "There were a lot of tears," one insider said of the visit. Savannah, who was born and raised in Arizona, where she attended the University of Arizona, relocated to New York full time in 2011, when she was named the official co-host of the "Today" show's fourth hour, alongside Al Roker and Natalie Morales. Advertisement Advertisement Having initially resided in a Tribeca apartment with her husband, the on-air star has since moved to a Brooklyn townhouse with her spouse and their two children. The couple paid $11.35 million for their 4,500-square-foot dwelling, which features six bedrooms and four bathrooms, in 2023, revealing at the time that they had always dreamed of residing in a townhouse. However, Savannah has been absent from home since early February, when she is reported to have flown straight to Arizona as soon as the news of her mother's disappearance was revealed. Nancy was reported missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills at around lunchtime on Feb. 1, after she failed to show up to a friend's house, where she had been due to watch a livestreamed church service. Savannah was seen outside the studio, where she was greeted by well wishers expressing their sympathy over her mother's disappearance. (New York Post) Savannah is not thought to have been in New York since Feb. 1, when her mother was first reported missing. (savannahguthrie/Instagram) She was last seen in person at around 9:45 p.m. local time, when she was dropped off at her home after having dinner at her daughter, Annie Guthrie's home. Advertisement Advertisement Since then, hundreds of FBI agents and detectives from the Pima County Sheriff's Department have joined the search for the missing 84-year-old, who is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of the morning. Authorities have come under criticism for their handling of the case, however, and have yet to identify any suspects or persons of interest in their investigation. On Feb. 24, Savannah announced that her family is offering a $1 million reward to anyone who is able to provide information that leads to her mother's recovery, while also admitting that she and her family have come to terms with the fact that Nancy may be dead. "We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home," she said in an Instagram video. "We also know she may be lost. She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother. Advertisement Advertisement "But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason we are offering a family reward of $1 million for any information that leads to her recovery." The Guthrie family's reward will be added to the $100,000 already offered by the FBI, as well as an additional $100,000 that was given by an anonymous donor. "So please, if you hear this message, if you've been waiting and you haven't been sure, let this be your sign to please come forward, tell what you know and help us bring our beloved mom home so that we can either celebrate a glorious, miraculous homecoming, or celebrate the beautiful, brave, courageous, and noble life that she has lived," Savannah continued. "Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home," the TV host added in her caption. Advertisement Advertisement Despite authorities securing video footage from a Nest doorbell camera that had been mounted outside of Nancy's home, they have not yet been able to identify the person in the footage. The FBI has said that the person in the video is believed to be a male, who measures between 5'9 and 5'10, with an average build. He is believed to have been carrying a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack, which is available exclusively at Walmarthowever Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has since stated that the intruder may have purchased the item second-hand. Despite authorities securing video footage from a Nest doorbell camera that had been mounted outside of Nancy's home, they have not yet been able to identify the person in the footage. (Pima County Sheriffs Department) The FBI has said that the person in the video is believed to be a male, who measures between 5'9 and 5'10, with an average build. (Pima County Sheriffs Department) What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance? Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos noted during a media briefing on Feb. 5 that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy's movementsand the timeline of her apparent abduction. Nancy, 84, was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church gathering on Sunday, her friends alerted her family, who found her home was empty. SATURDAY, JAN. 31 5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie's house in an Uber for "dinner and playing games with the family." Advertisement Advertisement 9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy's house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter. 9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home. SUNDAY, FEB. 1 1:47 a.m. Nancy's doorbell security camera is disconnected. 2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available. 2:28 a.m. Nancy's pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone. 11:00 a.m. Nancy fails to arrive at the home of a friend, where she had been due to watch a church service livestream. Advertisement Advertisement 11:56 a.m. Nancy's family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty. 12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing. 12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy's home. Savannah Guthrie is taking subtle steps toward returning to her regular life following the February 1 disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. She recently visited the set of the Today show for the first time since stepping away as co-anchor. As rumors continue to swirl about when Guthrie will officially make her return to her on-air duties, the visit appears to be a signal that resuming her job is inching closer. Savannah Guthrie Visits Today Show, But On-Air Return Not Yet Confirmed MEGA According to PEOPLE, on Thursday, March 5, Savannah Guthrie visited the set of the Today show for the first time since taking a hiatus to leave New York City and head to Arizona to search for her mother. Advertisement Advertisement Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her 'Today' colleagues," a show spokesperson said via statement, per the outlet. Although her visit to the show does not mean that a return date for Guthrie has been set, she will reportedly be back on-air at some point. "While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home," the statement continued. Guthrie Recently Made The Decision To Leave Arizona And Head Back To Her New York City Home ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA On February 25, Guthrie posted another Instagram video, this time announcing she was increasing the reward for her mother's return to $1 million. Advertisement Advertisement However, despite the substantial reward increase, Guthrie reportedly decided to leave Arizona, where her mother lives, and where she disappeared. Guthrie has returned to her home base in New York. According to the Daily Mail, an inside source shared the details behind the decision. She cant stay in Arizona forever. Her kids and her life are in New York City, the source told the outlet. The family is coming to terms with the fact that this might take years. Former Today Show Anchor Katie Couric Offered Her Thoughts On Savannah Guthries Return ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA In a recent interview with Variety, Couric discussed her thoughts about the heartbreaking tragedy involving Guthrie, as she stepped away from the Today show to devote her full attention to finding her mother. Advertisement Advertisement "This situation is tragically unprecedented, and I think it's really hard to compare anything else to what Savannah and her family are dealing with right now," Couric told the outlet. She continued, noting that the Today show team is doing their best to cover for Guthrie while she focuses on bringing her mother home. "Morning shows are living, breathing organisms, and when something happens to a member of these very close-knit teams, it is devastating, I think, to everyone," Couric said. "The 'Today' show team is doing the best they possibly can, and it must be excruciating to try to carry on, but also to cover a story about a beloved colleague." She also praised Hoda Kotb, who has filled in amid Guthries absence. Advertisement Advertisement "They are fortunate that Hoda, who is a familiar and beloved face, is able to step in so seamlessly under very difficult circumstances," she added. NBC Is Reportedly Fully Supportive Of Guthries Return At Her Own Pace MEGA Insiders from the network previously told TMZ that Guthries return to the popular NBC morning show is still an open question. However, given the extreme nature of the circumstances, NBC is not pressuring Guthrie to return, as they are aware of the sensitive nature of what shes going through. NBC is also said to be "fully supportive" of Guthrie returning to the "Today" show when she feels ready, and there is no time limit for her to do so. Savannah Guthrie And Her Family Gathered At Memorial Before Her Arizona Departure MPI28/Capital Pictures / MEGA On Monday, March 2, Savannah Guthrie, her sister Annie, and her brother-in-law Tommaso were seen gathered outside a memorial in front of Nancy Guthries Arizona home. Advertisement Advertisement The family was photographed embracing each other as they laid flowers at the memorial for their mother. Per TMZ, other well-wishers also laid bouquets and notes at the memorial site. Despite the investigation yielding no substantial results, authorities remain optimistic they will bring Nancy Guthrie home. The Crossing will be missing a familiar face when Sullivans Crossing returns for Season 4. Scott Patterson, whos played Harry Sully Sullivan since the shows first episode, is not returning. At the end of Season 3, Sully left for Ireland with Helen (Kate Vernon) and told his daughter, Maggie (Morgan Kohan), that hed be back. That trip has since been extended, but viewers wont get to see Sullys life overseas on camera. Season 3 of Sullivans Crossing ended with Sully leaving for Ireland, beginning a new chapter in his life. Season 4 picks up the next day, with Sully still overseas, showrunner and executive producer Roma Roth told EW in a statement. While he isnt physically present in this season, the character remains an important part of the world with the potential to be included in future seasons should that align with the ongoing creative. Advertisement Advertisement The Canadian series, which airs on The CW in the U.S., centers on Maggies return to her small Nova Scotia town after legal trouble with her job as a doctor in Boston. Maggie and Sullys relationship is strained at first they hadnt spoken in 15 years but theyve worked through their issues over the past three seasons. Season 4 will be focusing heavily on the love triangle drama between Maggie, Cal (Chad Michael Murray), and her forgotten husband, Liam (Marcus Rosner), who showed up unexpectedly at the end of last season. Kohan previously told Swooon she wanted to explore more of Maggies past life in Boston, which Liams presence in Season 4 will help with. Im really excited to hear more about her life, who she was, how shes changed, she said. Was she just as neurotic about things and everything needing to be in perfect order? Was that something that came through later in life? Im excited for all of it. Sullivans Crossing, Season 4 Premiere, Monday, April 20, 8/7c, The CW Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider. The tragic details surrounding the death of Deadliest Catch cast member Todd Meadows have been revealed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard told Page Six that on Feb. 25 just after 5 p.m. local time, watch standers at the Arctic District command center in Juneau, Alaska, were notified by the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady that 25-year-old Meadows, a crew member, had fallen overboard approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor. Were told Meadows was recovered from the water by crew members about 10 minutes later. He was unresponsive, so they administered first aid and attempted to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful. Advertisement Advertisement The crew then transported Meadows body to Dutch Harbor. The tragic details surrounding the death of Deadliest Catch cast member Todd Meadows have been revealed. Todd Meadows/Facebook Meadows died on Feb. 25. Todd Meadows/Facebook The USCG spokesperson added that the organization is currently investigating the situation, as it does with all marine casualties and accidents to uncover their causes and initiate necessary corrective actions. Captain Rick Shelford announced the rookie deckhands death in a heartbreaking Facebook post over the weekend, describing it as the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea. Notably, the Bering Sea is known for its shallow depth, volatile weather and extremely cold sea temperatures, making it one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. Advertisement Advertisement In his post, Shelford referred to Meadows who was the newest member of [their] crew as a brother. The rookie deckhand was aboard the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world when he fell overboard. Todd Meadows/Facebook The ship was approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor. Todd Meadows/Facebook His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyones respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always, Shelford shared. Todds love for his children, his family and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply and brought joy to those around him. Shelford noted that his heart is broken in a way that words cant fully express before asking everyone to lift Todds children and family in prayer and keep them in your thoughts as they face the days ahead without him. Advertisement Advertisement He concluded, Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him. Rest easy brother, till we meet again. Sources previously told TMZ that Meadows died in a fishing-related incident during filming, while a GoFundMe later set up in his name elaborated that he was crabbing out on Alaskan waters. Meadows was recovered from the water by crew members about 10 minutes later. Todd Meadows/Facebook The father of three was unresponsive. Todd Meadows/Facebook Its unclear whether Discovery Channel cameras caught the ordeal on tape. We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows, the network said in a statement. This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time. Advertisement Advertisement Meadows loved one who launched the GoFundMe page asked for donations to help support his three boys, assist with funeral expenses, and help ease the financial burden in the months ahead. Other Deadliest Catch stars who have died in recent years include Nick McGlashan, Nick Mavar, Mahlon Reyes and Blake Painter. Winter Paralympics: Opening Ceremony Channel 4, 6.30pm The curtain rises on the 2026 Winter Paralympics with an Opening Ceremony staged in the historic Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre better known for opera than sport. Italian organisers have titled this years ceremony Life in Motion, a theme intended to celebrate the transformative power of para sport. A fitting theme for the Winter Paralympics 50th anniversary. As ever, the parade of nations and the lighting of the Paralympic flame promise symbolism and unity. But that unity is undermined this year by geopolitical tensions. At the time of writing, the Ukrainian Paralympic team has announced that it will boycott the ceremony in protest at the International Paralympic Committees decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags. The controversy casts a shadow over what is traditionally an uplifting occasion. Tonight, Channel 4s presenting and commentary team Billy Monger, Ade Adepitan, Dame Sarah Storey, Ed Jackson, Alice Tai, Sean Rose and Jade Etherington will preview the next nine days of the competition, highlighting the key athletes to watch out for and exploring ParalympicGBs medal hopes. Keep an eye on discus thrower-turned-curler Jo Butterfield, who is aiming to become the first British athlete to win medals at both the winter games and summer games. Advertisement Advertisement Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese Disney+ In 2012, a teenager named Skylar Neese went missing from her home in the small town of Star City, West Virginia. This dramatic three-part documentary explores the shocking revelation that Neese had been murdered by her two best friends. The reason? They didnt like her anymore. The TikTok Killer Netflix This disturbing true-crime documentary tells the story of Esther Estepa, a 42-year-old woman who went missing in Spain in 2024. The last person to see her alive was Jose Jurado Montilla, known as Dynamite Montilla on TikTok. His videos are heartfelt, but his past is gruesome. 500 Words with The One Show BBC One/iPlayer, 7pm Alex Jones and Roman Kemp host the final of this years 500 Words writing competition open to children age 5-11 from Windsor Castle. The ceremony will feature a performance from Paddington the Musical and guests such as Jodie Whittaker and Big Zuu will help crown the winning story. Mens Six Nations: Ireland v Wales ITV1/ITVX, 7.20pm Ireland host Wales in the opening match of the fourth round of the Six Nations, kicking off at 8.10pm at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Ireland fought back from 18-10 down last year to win this fixture 27-18. Jill Douglas is on hand to present tonights coverage. Advertisement Advertisement Ted Sky One, 9pm The vulgar humour of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is not for everyone, but there is a puerile charm to this TV spin-off of 2012 film Ted, about a teddy bear who comes to life as a wise-cracking stoner. Tonights colourful series two return is no exception. SK Television previewers Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard ODonovan (GO) and Gabriel Tate (GT) Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. Strictly star Alex Kingston says she initially thought signs of uterine cancer were "just part and parcel of getting older" and is now encouraging others to get checked "if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way". Talking to Prima magazine, the 62-year-old Dr Who and ER actor, said that before her diagnosis, she "wasn't reading the signs" her body was giving her. Kingston underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy after being diagnosed with uterine cancer sometimes known as womb cancer. She finished treatment in late 2024. Advertisement Advertisement "I thought that all the things, such as the bloating and weight gain, or injuries not healing properly, were because of my age. I thought, 'This is what its like to be in your 60s, and its just part and parcel of getting older'," she said. "It was only when I was doing a play, and I started haemorrhaging on stage, that I realised, 'Oh theres something going on'." Alex Kingston is featured in the April 2026 issue of Prima magazine, out now. (Prima UK / David Venni) Kingston first spoke publicly about her diagnosis in 2025, while she was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional dancer Johannes Radebe. Saying she was initially reluctant to talk about it, she realised, "Actually, this is important," when she started getting responses from people. Advertisement Advertisement If nothing else, its important to encourage people that if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way, dont just write it off as being old or suddenly becoming gluten intolerant. It could be something else and to go and have it checked," she said. 8 potential cancer symptoms that could be mistaken for ageing If you notice something unusual, it's always advised to speak to your doctor or a medical professional. Often, it's nothing to worry about, but spotting cancer early means treatment is more likely to be successful. Bloating Bloating, which Kingston said she experienced, is a feeling of tightness, fullness or swelling in your tummy. Fluctuating hormones during the perimenopause and early menopause can cause bloating in some women. Bloating can also have many other causes, including constipation and digestive issues. Advertisement Advertisement It's quite common to have bloating that comes and goes. However, if you feel bloated most days, even if it isn't all the time, Cancer Research UK's website advises you should see a doctor to rule out something more serious, like ovarian cancer. Aching Aches and pains are common as we get older. As we age, we lose muscle mass, which can put extra pressure on our joints. We're also at greater risk of developing conditions like osteoarthritis. Musculoskeletal pain and arthritis may also be more common in women after the menopause. If you have unexpected or persistent pain anywhere in the body, though, Cancer Research warns not to ignore it. "Speak to your doctor about it, especially if the pain is getting worse, or changes in any way," the charity's website advises. Constant tiredness Sleep patterns can change as we age. Sleep becomes less deep and we may be more likely to be disturbed or wake up during the night. Sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnoea also become more common, so many of us may feel more tired than usual. Advertisement Advertisement But while it's completely normal to feel fatigued now and again, if you're feeling tired all the time or there's no obvious reason for your fatigue, Cancer Research UK advises speaking to your doctor to ensure it's nothing more serious. Changes to your skin Wrinkles, dry skin and age spots are common as we age due to sun damage, reduced collagen levels and hormonal changes. There are some things you should always get checked, however, just to make sure they're not a form of skin cancer. These include: Unusual scaly patches Dark bands of pigment on the nails Spots, warts or sores that don't heal New moles or those that change shape or colour, bleed or become itchy or crusty Night sweats Night sweats are common when women are going through the menopause, which the NHS says typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. They can also be caused by an infection, when they're often accompanied by a high temperature, or can be the side effect of certain medications. But Cancer Research says you should "speak to your doctor if you have very heavy, drenching night sweats, or an unexplained fever". Changes to your period The perimenopause and menopause can cause changes to periods, which may become irregular. However, the NHS says unexplained bleeding or postmenopausal bleeding even if it's only a small amount or only happens once should be checked by a doctor to rule out cancers such as ovarian or womb cancer. Needing to wee more Needing to pee more is common as we get older. As we age, we produce less of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which regulates the amount of water in the body. Lower levels mean that more urine is produced at night. Advertisement Advertisement Needing to wee more can also be caused by an enlarged prostate, which is most common in men over 50. Occasionally, though, needing to wee more often and other urinary changes, like trouble urinating, blood in your urine, or burning when you pee, could be signs of something more serious. Ovarian, bladder and prostate cancer can all cause changes to urinary habits, for example. Erectile dysfunction Men should also be aware that changes in libido and erections can be common as they get older, with almost half regularly experiencing erectile dysfunction in their 60s. In some cases, though, erectile dysfunction can be a symptom of prostate cancer. If you're concerned, speak to your GP to get checked. NEED TO KNOW Kalei Martin, a mom of two from Sacramento, was 28 when she began experiencing severe stomach pain, bleeding and other symptoms Initially, doctors dismissed her symptoms After pushing for answers, a colonoscopy revealed stage 2 colorectal cancer At the start of 2024, Kalei Martin began noticing subtle changes in her body that she couldnt explain. The Sacramento, Calif., mom of two who works for the state of California while also running a photography business specializing in family and newborn portraits found herself going to the bathroom far more frequently than usual. Soon after, sharp stomach cramps began appearing in short bursts. Advertisement Advertisement At first, she assumed the symptoms might be related to the physical changes that can happen after pregnancy. Martin had recently had two children, and she figured her body was simply adjusting. But then things began to escalate. She started noticing something unusual when she used the restroom what she describes as tissue-like material. Its something I cant really explain but it looked like internal tissue and mucous, she recalls to PEOPLE exclusively. It was strange, and I was taking pictures to document it and showed my husband. Kalei Martin takes a selfie in her car Credit: Courtesy of Kalei Martin A week or two later, the bleeding began and only got worse. Advertisement Advertisement The symptoms continued alongside the stomach pain and irregular bowel habits. She also noticed another alarming sign: she often felt the urgent need to use the bathroom but "nothing would come out except blood and clots." After nearly two months of worsening symptoms, Martin, now 30, finally scheduled an appointment with her primary care physician. Her doctor ran blood tests and performed a rectal exam. Because Martin wasnt anemic meaning she wasnt losing a dangerous amount of blood she was told the bleeding could be caused by something far less serious, like an internal hemorrhoid or fissure. She was referred for a sigmoidoscopy, but the earliest appointment available was almost two months away. Advertisement Advertisement Then the pain became unbearable. The next week, my stomach pain had gotten extreme, where it was making me cry, and I have a pretty high pain tolerance, Martin recalls. Concerned, her husband drove her to the emergency room. But once again, doctors ran bloodwork and determined she wasnt anemic. According to Martin, the ER doctor told her she would simply have to wait for her scheduled procedure. I remember the ER doctor being extremely dismissive, she says. I showed him pictures of the giant blood clots I had that day, and he was like, yeah, it could just be an internal hemorrhoid, youre not anemic, so theres nothing life-threatening going on. Advertisement Advertisement Hindsight, I know now that I should have asked him to do a CT scan because the tumor would have been caught on a simple scan, she says. Kalei Martin in the hospital Credit: Courtesy of Kalei Martin But after leaving the ER, Martin decided to take matters into her own hands. She called the gastroenterology department herself and described her symptoms in detail. After hearing what she was experiencing, the staff told her she needed to be seen immediately and scheduled a full colonoscopy for the following week. That procedure would finally provide the answers she had been searching for. The colonoscopy revealed devastating news: Martin had colorectal cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, colorectal cancer begins as a growth of cells in the rectum, with symptoms that can include changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain and rectal bleeding. Advertisement Advertisement The day that I had my husband bring me to the ER was when I knew something was wrong, she says. We had looked up online my symptoms and everything kept popping up colon cancer or bowel cancer and we kept telling each other theres no way thats what it is. Im only 28 years old, and Im healthy. Doctors diagnosed Martin with stage 2 colorectal cancer with a T3 tumor, meaning it had begun growing through the rectal wall but had not yet spread to nearby lymph nodes. Her treatment plan was aggressive. Martin underwent 25 rounds of pelvic radiation paired with chemotherapy pills taken twice daily. After completing radiation, she went through four and a half months of intravenous chemotherapy using a drug called FOLFOX. Advertisement Advertisement The treatment was physically grueling, but Martin says she tried to maintain as much normalcy as possible for her young daughters, who were just 1 and 3 years old at the time. The days of chemo were very harsh on my body, she says. I was very sick, but I got a week break between infusions, so I was able to bounce back to myself and continue with regular life. Kalei Martin during chemotherapy Credit: Courtesy of Kalei Martin When scans were performed at the end of treatment, doctors delivered hopeful news: the tumor had completely dissolved. Martin was declared NED meaning no evidence of disease. Because the cancer appeared to be gone, she did not need surgery and instead entered a watch and wait plan that involved MRIs, CT scans and sigmoidoscopies every three months to monitor for recurrence. Advertisement Advertisement But the relief was short-lived. During her first round of follow-up scans in March 2025, doctors noticed something concerning: a small 7-millimeter nodule on her left lung. Her oncologist initially recommended monitoring it. Still uneasy, Martin pushed for another scan the following month and the nodule had grown. Further testing confirmed her fears. The cancer had spread to her lungs, officially making her diagnosis stage 4 colorectal cancer with lung metastases. Her doctors recommended surgery to remove the affected portion of her lung. But while preparing for that procedure, imaging revealed a second tumor in the opposite lung. Advertisement Advertisement Martin ultimately underwent two lung resection surgeries just three weeks apart. Despite the frightening diagnosis, she says the experience has changed her perspective in unexpected ways. This diagnosis has truly affected every area of my life in the most incredibly positive way that something so awful could, she says. She credits much of that strength to the support system around her, especially her husband. My husband is obviously my number one person, Martin says. Through all of my treatment and surgeries, he steps up without question and takes care of everything and everyone. Kalei Martin with her husband Credit: Courtesy of Kalei Martin Today, Martin shares her journey online to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, particularly in younger adults. Advertisement Advertisement Her videos quickly gained traction, and she says she has received hundreds of messages from people who recognized the same symptoms in themselves. I was absolutely unaware of colorectal cancer before I was diagnosed, she says. Recently, it was published that colorectal cancer is the number one cause of death in cancer in people under the age of 50. I have received hundreds of messages from others online saying my videos pushed them to go see their doctor, she adds. Now, she hopes her story encourages others to listen to their bodies and advocate for answers. My hope is that more young people will recognize symptoms within their body and advocate for the correct screening to be done before disease progression, she says. Currently, Martin is in active monitoring. While a few questionable findings have appeared on recent scans, she recently received encouraging news: a negative Signatera blood test, indicating that at the moment, she's not at immediate risk of a relapse. My family and I have been moving through life with a refreshed spirit, she says. Kalei Martin with her husband and kids Credit: Courtesy of Kalei Martin Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Through everything, Martin says her faith remains her greatest source of hope. The thing that gives me hope is Jesus, she says. When I struggle with anxiousness and worry and fear, I turn to my Bible and sit in prayer, and Im gifted peace and a sound mind. And above all, she hopes readers take one message from her story. Please be in tune with your body and be aware of things that seem off, she says. Ask doctors questions and push to get answers for yourself because you are your best advocate. Read the original article on People Billionaire Google founder Sergey Brin has reportedly snapped up a new $51 million Miami megamansion, just months after he was linked to the purchase of two homes worth a total of $92 million. Tech mogul Brin, 52, is understood to have bought the palatial abode, via an LLC registered in Nevada, from LVMH CEO Michael Burke and his wife, Brigitte Burke, as first reported by Business Insider. The property is located on the exclusive Allison Island, a 35-acre stretch of land that sits in the Biscayne Bay, between La Gorce and Miami Beach. The 24-hour guard-gated island is home to fewer than 50 single-family homeswhich occupy about three quarters of the isle, while the rest is home to a few condo buildings and hotels. Advertisement Advertisement The island is connected to La Gorce on one side and Miami Beach on the other by bridgesand anyone who enters the community will be required to register with the security guards. Brin's alleged new dwelling sits at the end of the island that is furthest away from these bridges, offering spectacular views of La Gorce and Normandy Isle. It was custom built for the Burkes in 2019, five years after they purchased the 1-acre plot of land on which the home now sits for $11.7 million. The spectacular property spreads across nearly 10,000 square feet of living space, and offers seven bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, a sparkling waterfront pool, and a private dock. It features a very modernist design, with two separate wings of the home connected by a central walkthrough area. Billionaire Google founder Sergey Brin has reportedly snapped up a new $51 million Miami megamansion, just months after he was linked to the purchase of two homes worth a total of $92 million. (Google Maps) Tech mogul Brin, 52, is understood to have bought the palatial abode, via an LLC registered in Nevada, from LVMH CEO Michael Burke and his wife, Brigitte Burke, as first reported by Business Insider. (Google Maps) Glass walls ensure that the dwelling is filled with natural light, while also maximizing the incredible views of the Biscayne Bay, and a covered patio at the back of the property serves as the perfect place to relax away from the glare of the Miami sunshine. Advertisement Advertisement The parcel is one of the largest on the island, almost double the size of the majority of plots found in the neighborhood, with aerial images showing that it comes complete with a huge piece of land directly adjacent to the primary residence, which may well have potential for expansion. The home appears to have been purchased in an off-market deal, with the MLS showing no record of the property being listedhowever, sources told The Real Deal that Coldwell Banker's Jills Zeder Group represented the buyer and seller in the deal. Records show that the mansion was purchased via an LLC registered in Reno, which lists attorney Michael Rafferty as one of its officersa man who has been tied to a number of Brin's previous property purchases. The address listed for the LLC is the same as the one registered for another limited liability company tied to the purchase of a $42 million Lake Tahoe home in December. Attorney Christine Wade is listed as the manager of that entity, as well as an LLC that was used for the January purchase of a stunning $50 million coastal property in Malibu, CA. Advertisement Advertisement It has been widely reported that Brin was the buyer of both properties. Wade was also responsible for transferring five other limited liability companies connected to Brin out of California, according to Bloombergsuggesting that the Google founder has joined the many billionaires fleeing the Golden State in anticipation of a proposed billionaire tax. Brin is currently worth $243 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which ranks him as the third wealthiest man in the world, behind Tesla founder Elon Musk and his Google co-founder, Larry Page. Should the billionaire tax ballot be passed, anyone with a net worth of $1 billion or more whose primary residence was located in California on Jan. 1, 2026, will be subject to a one-time wealth tax of 5%, which would cost Brin about $12.2 billion, based on his current estimated fortune. Advertisement Advertisement Although the ballot initiative has yet to pass, the threat of such a tax prompted many of the state's ultrarich to rush to establish alternate residency before the onset of the new year. Many of those who have yanked their business dealings from Californiaincluding Peter Thiel and David Sacksstill own homes in the state but have transferred their financial holdings to other locales in a bid to protect their money. Multiple billionaires have purchased homes in Florida in recent months in anticipation of a proposed billionaire tax being put into place in California, with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg purchasing a $170 million Miami mansion on March 2. (Ferris Rafauli Design (Rendering)) Canadian architect and designer Ferris Rafauli conceived every aspect of Zuckerberg's new home, from the structural layout to the interiors and the landscaping, according to information shared with Realtor.com. (Ferris Rafauli Design (Rendering)) Brin's Google co-founder, Page, was also among the many business moguls who fled California, snapping up two mansions in the tony Florida enclave of Coconut Grove at the end of 2025, to the tune of $173 million. The first property, which boasts 13 bedrooms and 15.5 bathrooms, was initially listed for $135 million in June 2024 but sold for the much lower price of $101.5 million on Dec. 29. Advertisement Advertisement Days later, Page is said to have closed on the purchase of another nearby dwelling, this time paying $71.9 million in an off-market deal, nearly double the price that the sellers had purchased the home for less than five years ago. The first of the two homes had previously been owned by late restaurateur Jonathan Lewis, while the other was sold by heiress Sloan Lindemann Barnett, daughter of fossil fuel mogul George Lindemann, and her husband, Roger Barnett. Meanwhile, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly snapped up his own Florida dwelling earlier this month, closing on a staggering $170 million property on Miami's famed Billionaire Bunker, setting a record for the priciest residential real estate purchase in Miami-Dade in the process. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the billionaire mogul is now the proud new owner of a nine-bedroom, 11.5-bathroom property that was originally put on the market for the even higher price of $200 million in November 2025. Advertisement Advertisement When it was originally listed at the end of last year, the home was described as an "architectural masterpiece" that "defines the pinnacle of luxury waterfront living." The home was commissioned by plastic surgeon Aaron Rollins and his real estate agent wife, Marine Rollins, who purchased the 1.84-acre waterfront lot on Miami's famed Indian Creek Island for $30 million in 2020, according to records. They then teamed up with Canadian architect and designer Ferris Rafauli, who conceived everything from the structural layout to the interiors and the landscaping, according to information shared with Realtor.com. "Ferris designed all the architecture, all the interior design, and all the landscaping. He led the complete creative vision, designing the estate in its entirety from initial concept through to final execution," an insider revealed. Just a day after Starbucks released its spring 2026 menu, the internet became flooded with a predictable question: What the heck is ube? Starbucks debuted the sweet and nutty flavor alongside new toasted coconut drinks, a lavender revival and an updated chai recipe that allows users greater customization options. Ube has been a staple in the Philippines, where it grows, but it has become more popular in recent years thanks to its visually striking purple color. Advertisement Advertisement Here's everything you need to know about Starbucks' new ube drinks. What is ube? The iced ube coconut macchiato offers layers of toasted coconut and creamy milk with shots of espresso served over ice. It's topped with a layer of ube coconut cream cold foam. Ube is a yam that originated in the Philippines. And while it looks like a fairly ordinary yam on the outside, cutting one open reveals a vibrant purple inside. It's that vivid color that has led to it cropping up in social media videos over the past few years. What does ube taste like? Ube is described as having a sweet, vanilla-like and slightly nutty flavor. It's often used as jam, either as a filling or a topping, on pastries. Ube is a pretty popular ice cream flavor, too. While its popularity started to soar around the pandemic, it hasn't gone away. Forbes called it the "uber ingredient of 2023" and Monin, a gourmet syrup maker, named it the 2024 flavor of the year. Advertisement Advertisement Starbucks' iced ube coconut macchiato seems to have a subtler flavor, according to social media reactions, which say they enjoy the extra sweetness it adds to the coconut. The ube's hints of pistachio appear to get lost among the other flavors. What Starbucks drinks can I get ube in? Starbucks customers can add ube coconut cold foam to any iced drink they'd like, but modifications to the ube itself are fairly restricted, according to baristas in the Starbucks barista subreddit. What's inside the Starbucks iced ube coconut macchiato? A 16-ounce grande iced ube coconut macchiato has three pumps of toasted coconut syrup, toasted coconut flakes, ube coconut cream cold foam, 2% milk, two shots of signature espresso and ice. How do you pronounce ube? It's pronounced "ooh-bay." Where can you buy ube? If you want to experiment with ube at home, you can usually find it in Asian grocery stores. Paste Magazine says they're often in the produce section near other roots, usually refrigerated. Advertisement Advertisement Brandon Girod is the digital coach at the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. You can get all of Pensacola's best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free Daily Briefing newsletter, at pnj.com/newsletters. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Starbucks' new ube drink is eye-catching, but what is it? Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. If you thought the increased internet-driven renaissance of all things American Girlon TikTok, on Instagram, on SNLhad surely reached its natural peak, think again: We are now officially in American Girls 40th-anniversary year. Mattel, which bought the company in 1998, has promised a slew of celebratory releases ranging from a forthcoming adult novel detailing character Samantha Parkingtons adventures in the 1920s to the still-unconfirmed-but-almost-certain return of Felicity Merriman (a Revolutionary Warera character who has endured both earned critique and memeified speculation about where she would have been on Jan. 6, 2021). And perhaps most shocking of all, last month American Girl opened preorders for its new special-edition Modern Era Collection, based on the original six-doll historical lineup. Chaos ensued. By now youve likely seen them: 14.5 inches in height vs. the classic 18; Shein-esque attire that nevertheless incorporates the patterns and fabrics specific to their inspirations; perturbingly vacant eyes, even for dolls. They wear chic cowboy boots rather than historical bonnets, pants instead of petticoats. They retail, almost inexplicably, for $90. (WellieWishers, American Girls line aimed at children 4 and up and which originated the 14.5-inch doll-body prototype, currently cost $70.) Backlash has been swift and (largely) predictable, centered primarily on both the physicality of the dolls and a perceived ongoing slight toward the historical line, whose collections have continually shrunk over the years as varying dolls cycle through retirement and limited rereleases. Advertisement Advertisement From the start, the brand situates this new lineup separately from its historical predecessors as girls from the modern era (a phrase historians will quibble over for hours if allowed) and describes it as a commemorative collection that reimagines favorite characters through a modern style lens. Each modern doll possesses a handful of Easter eggs that reference their original historical dolls time period (like era-appropriate calico fabric for Addys dress) and individual characteristics. (Modern Era Samantha has a gold heart pendant that is meant to symbolize the original dolls locket, which held pictures of her dearly departed parents.) These intentional sartorial choices are delightful insider perks for those who understand them, but not knowing the full context of the Modern Era Felicity dolls red faux-leather horse charm doesnt diminish her value as a toy. To historical Felicity stans, that bag charm symbolizes her complex character building related to equestrianism. For todays young consumers, shes just another horse girl. If the idiom that all press is good press still holds, Mattel has nothing to worry about. Legacy mediathis publication includedhas taken seriously American Girls continued relevance, devoting column space on a near-weekly basis to the companys latest releases. American Girl Is Having a Midlife Crisis, one Cut headline lamented. Lilah Ramzi, writing for Vogue, considered the limits of nostalgia. And the New York Times spoke directly with a representative of the company, who addressed what seems to undergird much of the negative feedback around the release: While adults continue to vocally prefer the historical dolls/dolls of their youth, sales indicate that younger consumers (at whom the brand is officially aimed) prefer contemporary collections. When millennials ask snarkily whom these dolls are for, the answer is simple: todays children. Every single article covering the release of the new American Girl line centers on grown-ups and doesnt give an inch of space to the sentiments of the actual target consumers. So thats who we interviewed. Although full-fledged adults are flooding American Girls Instagram comments with vitriol aimed at Modern Era Kirstens space buns, children like 6-year-old Margot, from Indiana, are blissfully offline and enamored with the dolls space bumps. Emma, age 8, from Texas, has several original historical dolls (some inherited from her mother, others gifted by an American Girlloving grandmother) but was excited by the new modernized dolls. I think theyre really pretty, she says. They have cool hairstyles. Emma also proudly explained that she has read all of the Kirsten books (she has some at home and borrows others from the school library) and likes that the books have both sad and happy parts. I really liked the part where Kirsten is brave and saves her little brother from the bear, she says. Greta, age 7, in North Carolina, appreciates the connections the new dolls have to the historical collection. Like they can be sisters of the old dolls, she says. Margots 31-year-old mom was the skeptical one. When I looked [the dolls] up online, I initially thought they were a cute, modern take on the original dolls, but as I kept scrolling, I found some of them to look bizarre, she says. I see what American Girl is trying to do to make AG dolls more attractive to a new generation of girls like my daughter, who did seem excited about the modern dolls, but the historical stories, outfits, and accessories were what drew me to American Girl in the first place when I was her age. Advertisement Advertisement On their own, the dolls already provide a much-needed outlet for children as they learn to navigate the nuances of being a human in our complex world. For generations, doll play has been encouraged for both modeling and projection; many American schools include dolls (or puppets) as part of their social-emotional wellness programs, as well as pretend play centers where children can rehearse and trial new feelings and social interactions. The historical aspects of the original American Girl dolls added another contextual layer to the educational benefits on offer. For many fans of the original generation, the history proved to be profoundly influential and was even a contributing factor in their career choices. In 2016, Colonial Williamsburg coined the term Felicity Generation by posting a photo featuring more than two dozen female employees with their American Girl dolls. One of the attendees at our first book-tour stop told us that she fell in love and pursued a career in journalism due to one Kit Kittredge (while dressed just like her for the event). The original historical dolls came with an introductory companion novel (famously titled Meet [insert American Girl name here]), which connected to at least half a dozen additional books to make up the characters full story arc. The modern dolls only canonical connection to those ancient texts is through keepsake packaging with archival illustrations and thoughtful details drawn from the original characters story. Alarmingly, fansand Addys original book series author, Connie Porternoticed almost immediately that in the promotional stills, Modern Addy appears to be standing in front of the fence of the plantation depicted on the 1993 Meet Addy book, tobacco leaves and all. I would have thought American Girl/Mattel would have had someone sitting at the table who picked up on what it meant to have the modern character still in the tobacco field, Porter wrote in a public Instagram comment. No matter what some may say, not only does representation matter, but representation that is informed, intentional and has the power to shape policy and product matters even more. Thoughtful details, indeed. At a recent book event in Virginia, a fifth grade teacher shared that her students simply arent interested in learning about history these days. Another audience member jokingly traced the current generations apathy to a lack of access to the once popular historical computer game The Oregon Trail (in which players can die from myriad diseases, including choleranotably the same affliction that killed OG Kirstens best friend, Marta). Since the early aughts, and after the implementation of No Child Left Behind legislation, elementary schools across the nation largely reprioritized math and reading (paired with numerous standardized tests), leaving little room for history and many other formerly standard aspects of modern core curricula. History is still taught, but in ad hoc andin some districtssubversive ways. Briannah, a fourth grade public school teacher based in North Carolina, reads historical fiction to her students, explaining that the genre requires additional prior knowledge on her part so she can facilitate as they decipher the parts of the books that are real and the parts that are designed to support the real. Briannah says her current students enjoy learning about history. They are interested to learn how things used to be, and history feels like a grown up conversation that they get to be a part of. Frances, age 10, in North Carolina, also prefers the original historical collection. I like how they made them modern, she says, but I like how the original ones are larger and just, like, the fact that they are historical. I like seeing the way they were, what it was like in 19-something or the 1800s. And therein lies the clever crux of American Girls latest launch: If history is a grown-up conversation, then these Modern Era dolls are for playful chatsthe kind children magically find easy and most of us avoid at all costs. As Mattel is a strategically thinking $4.8 billion toy brand, the fact that these new dolls still have the veneer of their historical predecessors is blatantly intentional. When a child has outgrown her Modern Era American Girl Samantha and feels ready for the trauma of orphanhood and early-20th-century child labor laws, the slightly more grown-up, historically focused (and even more expensive) Samantha Parkington doll is ready for her, along with endless new accessories and clothing options. Purchased separately, of course. Akbar Novruz The United States Senate has blocked a resolution that sought to limit the authority of Donald Trump to carry out military action against Iran without congressional approval, AzerNEWS reports. The bipartisan measure failed to pass in the Senate with a 5347 vote, preventing it from advancing. The proposed resolution would have required explicit authorization from Congress for any additional military strikes on Iran. Supporters argued that such action should fall under the constitutional war-powers authority of the legislative branch. However, most Republicans opposed the initiative, maintaining that the president retains the authority to direct military operations as commander-in-chief. Rand Paul, a Republican senator from Kentucky, was the only member of his party to support the resolution. Meanwhile, Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voiced concerns about the scale of the ongoing conflict but ultimately voted against the measure. US-Israeli forces continue attacks on Iran as the conflict entered its sixth day. Iran reported the casualties have risen to nearly 1200. Lockheed Martin Corp. has pledged to remove Anthropics Claude AI tools from its operations after President Donald Trump imposed a federal agency-wide ban on the company, with a six-month phase-out period. According to a Reuters report, Lockheed said, We will follow the presidents and the Department of Defenses direction, adding it expects minimal impacts and does not depend on any single AI vendor for any portion of our work. Notably, U.S. Central Command reportedly used Claude during the Iran air strike just hours after the ban was announced. Don't Miss: Legal Authority Questioned Attorney Franklin Turner, an innovative business lawyer who resolves complex government contracts issues, told Reuters that firms are already taking steps to cleanse their supply chains, adding the threat has already done significant harm to the company. According to the report, Attorney Jason Workmaster, whose practice focuses on government contracts-related litigation, called the Pentagons move highly aggressive, saying the Department of Defense would likely be found lacking authority if challenged. The attorney said the Pentagon's main tool, the DOD Supply Chain Risk Authority, limits use to government contracts and does not completely restrict commercial activity. Trending: Own the Characters, Not Just the Content: Inside a Fast-Growing Pre-IPO IP Company Anthropic Vows Legal Fight as Claude Ban Triggers App Store Surge Anthropic earlier said it would challenge the ban in court. Dario Amodei, CEO of the California-based AI safety and research company, earlier said the company refused unrestricted Pentagon use over concerns about domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. The ban also appeared to boost civilian demand, with Claude reaching the top of Apples App Store free chart the following day before service outages occurred. University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rozenshtein told Reuters that capitalism and free markets depend on the rule of law, and that what's being proposed is the opposite of that. See Also: 1.5 Million Users Are Already Working Inside This AI Platform Investors Can Still Get In Lockheed Market Standing Lockheed Martin has a market capitalization of $153.65 billion, with a 52-week high of $692.00 and a 52-week low of $410.11. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) of LMT stands at 64.24. Read Next: Blue-chip art has historically outpaced the S&P 500 since 1995, and fractional investing is now opening this institutional asset class to everyday investors. Photo Courtesy: JHVEPhoto on Shutterstock.com "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." This story is a collaboration with Biography.com. In August 2019, Robert Ballard, the deep-sea explorer who uncovered the Titanic and John F. Kennedys WWII patrol boat, among other famous wrecks, set out on a mission to find the aircraft at the center of historys most enduring mystery: Amelia Earharts downed Lockheed Model 10-E Electra . Advertisement Advertisement On July 2, 1937, Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were en route to Howland Island in the Pacific, about 1,700 miles southwest of Honolulu. They were six weeks and 20,000 miles into their trip around the world. By then, Earhart had already become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and from Hawaii to the U.S. Mainland; her globetrotting trek would simply be the latest in a line of incredible accomplishments for the aviation pioneer. Earhart and Noonan, of course, never made it to Howland. Somewhere along the way, the Electra became too heavy and short on fuel, and the pilot and her navigator lost sight of the tiny, two-and-a-half-square-mile island in the middle of the ocean. No one knows exactly what happened next. Conventional wisdom holds that the Electra simply ran out of fuel and crash landed somewhere close to Howland, sinking thousands of feet into the ocean. Thats what the U.S. government believes, at least. But others think Earhart and Noonan instead landed about 350 nautical miles southeast of Howland, touching down on the coral reef barrier that surrounded Gardner Islandnow known as Nikumaroro Island. They point to the distress radio calls that came from the island over the next several nights following the purported crash. Ballard and Allison Fundis of the Ocean Exploration Trust searched the waters off Nikumaroro , while a team of archaeologists from National Geographic combed the island to find traces of the plane. Advertisement Advertisement During the expedition, National Geographic reported on a theory that might explain what happened to Earhart and Noonan if they indeed landed near Nikumaroro: Noonan died, the Electra floated away, and Earhart lived for weeks on the island with no creatures but the indigenous, three-foot-long coconut crabs to keep her company. Those crabs, the theory goes, ate Earhart after she perished on the island. In 1940, British settlers found 13 bones, including a skull, on the islandpossibly that of Amelia Earhardt [sic], according to a telegram sent after the discovery. Upon further examination, doctors said the bones belonged to a short, European male, though some anthropologists disagree with the assessment. But if the 13 bones did belong to Earhart, what happened to the other 193 in a human skeleton that werent found? Credit the crabs: The Brits who uncovered the bones said coconut crabs had scattered many bones, per the National Geographic report. Advertisement Advertisement To test this theory, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) gave the crabs a pig carcass to feast on. Turns out the crabs swarmed the pigs body, removed most of its flesh, and moved some of the bones as far as 60 feet away. This tells us crabs drag bones, TIGHARs Tom King told National Geographic. While Ballard and co. left Nikumaroro without the Electra after a visual examination of 100 percent of the island down to 2,400 feet, Ballard couldnt find any evidence of the planethe search may not be over. National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert and his team may have found fragments of the skull from 1940 in the Te Umwanibong Museum and Cultural Centre in Tarawa, Kiribati. And forensic anthropologists say it belonged to an adult female. We dont know if its [Earhart] or not, the University of South Floridas Erin Kimmerle told National Geographic, but all lines of evidence point to the 1940 bones being in this museum. Kimmerle reconstructed the skull, and the team sent it out for DNA testing. It wasnt until earlier this year that Hiebert told Radio Kiribati the DNA results showed the bones actually belonged to a young Polynesian women who had lived in Kiribati 1,000 years ago, as reported by Radio New Zealand. Advertisement Advertisement We might never know what truly happened to Amelia Earhart, whether she was eaten by crabs or eventually met up with D.B. Cooper and Jimmy Hoffa to hang on a beach in Mexico. But 88 years after her disappearance, Earhart still matters more than ever . You Might Also Like The post When Floodwaters Rise, Cane Toads Turn Pythons Into Lifeboats appeared first on A-Z Animals. Quick Take Cane toads achieved a python ride to survive the 2018 Australia floods. Potent bufotoxins create a lethal constraint for predators . Herpetologists identified a counterintuitive mating drive during the scramble . A burrow evacuation was necessary during the flood to ensure amphibian survival. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The animal kingdom is full of moments like these, with different species interacting in strange and unique ways. These unusual relationships occur more frequently during natural disasters and are interesting to observe. This Instagram post by @therealnurtle shows cane toads riding on a python to avoid flooding in Australiaa phenomenon that has been seen and documented in several other instances. Read here to learn more. A cane toad sitting on grass. ChWeiss/Shutterstock.com (ChWeiss/Shutterstock.com) Toads and Pythons The widely reported story comes from December 2018 in Kununurra, Australia. During rare floods in the country, cane toads were seen making a last-ditch effort to escape the dangerous waterstheir best option: hitching a ride from a python. The moment went viral for obvious reasons. The bizarre occurrence isnt something you see every day, and it left many people puzzled. This highlights the instincts that take over when animals are trying to survive. The rising waters most likely flushed the toads out of their burrows, forcing them to scramble for whatever dry land was available. Advertisement Advertisement Since the pythons were already heading to dry land, the toads simply hopped on. Some herpetologists suggested that the male toads may have been attempting to mate. Because male cane toads cling to whatever they are trying to mate with, some experts speculated that this behavior explained why the toads latched onto the python. Strangely enough, the python in the photos appears to be quite calm about the situation. While we might expect the python to immediately attack the toads, there is one major reason why it did not. This is because cane toads are toxic. Cane toads have toxins in their skin and glands known as bufotoxins, which can be quite potent. These toxins can sicken or kill many predators that do not have resistance, making them dangerous to even pythons. While the python might not have been perfectly comfortable serving as a living taxi for the toads, eating them wouldnt have been the smartest option either. So, while this image is amusing, it highlights how two species, faced with desperate circumstances, made the most of their situation. The post When Floodwaters Rise, Cane Toads Turn Pythons Into Lifeboats appeared first on A-Z Animals. Parade Pets and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Sphynx cats have baffled me ever since I first learned about them when I was a child. I used to think they lost all their fur, not that they were born that way! How they were able to stay warm just didn't compute to me, either. Recently, I found out that they all have different methods. For one Sphynx cat, the best way to stay warm is to steal fur from his brother. Luckily, he's a Maine Coon, so there's plenty to go around: Taylor Smith definitely has a problem on her hands: there are three cats here, and only two of them are snuggling. The new Sphynx kitten's name is Wrigley, and as you might assume, he was more or less supposed to be a partner for Dolly, the other Sphynx cat. There are a few problems: Advertisement Advertisement Dolly doesn't really like kittens. Dolly prefers her Main(e) Man, Bowie the Maine Coon. Wrigley, the new kitten, also likes Bowie. Poor Dolly is feeling a little cheated by the whole thing. Bowie is a nice boy, and he'll snuggle anyone. The kitten just got there first, and to be honest, he needs the snuggles more. Related: Maine Coon Cats Fur Glowing Red in Sunshine Is Pure Gorgeous Goodness Wrigley Is Making New Friends Wrigley is just a little baby. He's only been in his forever home for a few days, and everyone has adjusted pretty well to him. They have an entire army of cats there, since their mom loves to rescue: Seven cats and a Golden Retriever. Wrigley has a lot of options for snuggling, but Bowie is his first choice every time. That's really the main reason Dolly isn't warming up to Wrigley: he took her fluffy man! How to Keep Sphynx Cats Warm Sphynx cats have some peach fuzz on most of their bodies, but they legitimately get cold a lot easier than furry cats. Additionally, Sphynx kittens have an even harder time keeping warm because of their size. Sphynx kitten on a blanket.Image via Shutterstock / CUBE.pro (Image via Shutterstock / CUBE.pro) Luckily, these cats have been around for a long time. There are several ways you can keep a Sphynx cat warm, like: Advertisement Advertisement Putting sweaters on them. Making them blanket nests to sleep in. Keeping a heating pad on low heat, then covering it with a blanket. Sphynx cats will seek out any source of heat they can, which can be dangerous. Keep them away from the stove, the dryer, and any open flames... But if you have a big, fluffy cat, that's just what the doctor ordered! SIGN UP to get "pawsitivity" delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends This story was originally published by Parade Pets on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add Parade Pets as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The objective at Gary Lighthouse College Prep Campus is to prepare students to apply for college. They've never had a student however, like Araceli Cuevas, who was accepted at 126 colleges and received offers of $9 million in scholarships Cuevas says she's focused on finishing her senior year strong. She has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and is ranked second in her class. "I just wanted to push myself and do more and just see how many I could get into," Cuevas said. Araceli Cuevas is a senior at Gary Lighthouse College Preparatory Campus. She said she focused on schools that accepted CommonApp.org, which makes it easy to apply and share your information with schools. Advertisement Advertisement She also focused on schools with no application fee, or were able to waive the fee. The scholarship money is also a huge help for her family. She will have to pay very little at whatever school she ends up choosing. "With having one already in college, having two, it's definitely going to be a big help," mother Patricia Gonzalez said. Her teachers and counselors say Araceli serves as an example to many of the other students in this underserved community. "She could've made excuses, but what Araceli did was she was just determined, and did what she needed to do," lead counsellor Jesenia Ryan said. Advertisement Advertisement Araceli did have to write about 30 essays to go with some of the applications. But she says it was worth it. She says she's leaning toward schools in the state of Indiana. She plans to study psychology, and has big goals. She still has a little bit of time before deciding which school she's ultimately going to choose. Decision day around the country for students is May 1. Wondering if Easter is early or late in 2026? Here's what to know as spring holidays approach. Christmas always falls on Dec. 25, but some religious holidays aren't tied to one day. The dates for movable feasts shift every year. Some depend on the denomination that is celebrating. This year, Easter isn't early or late. It can happen as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. The 2026 celebration falls almost in the middle of the range. Advertisement Advertisement Right now, we're in the 40 days of Lent. But the first day of spring and Easter will be here soon. Here's what you need to know about spring holidays. Plan your family's spring calendar now. When does Lent start and end in 2026? Lent began on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. It's a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and contemplation. The last day of Lent varies by denomination. Some end it on Holy Saturday. Others, like Roman Catholics, end the Lenten season at sundown on Maundy Thursday (also called Holy Thursday). Those dates are Thursday, April 2, or Saturday, April 4, 2026. Why can't I eat meat on Fridays during Lent? The 40 days are meant to emulate Jesus' time of temptation in the desert. Advertisement Advertisement Many Christians avoid meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday. Some give up personal vices or habits (like eating sugar) and do extra prayers or service activities. When is the spring equinox? The spring or vernal equinox is the first day of spring. It's going to be at 9:46 a.m. CT Friday, March 20, 2026. When is Easter 2026? Most Christians, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians, will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 5, 2026. Why do people celebrate Easter? Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth died by crucifixion on Good Friday. Easter is a Christian religious holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death. Why is Easter late some years and early in others? On the Gregorian calendar, Easter is determined by the Sunday after the first full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. Why do some churches celebrate Easter, Lent on different days? While many denominations use the Gregorian calendar, the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. They celebrate on Sunday, April 12, this year. Advertisement Advertisement Their dates for Lent accordingly run from Monday, Feb. 23, to Saturday, April 11, 2026. The churches using Julian calendars won't sync up dates with Gregorian calendar users again until 2028, according to Greek City Times. What is Holy Week? Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday. Holy Wednesday, also called Spy Wednesday, is just before the Triduum. The Holy Week Triduum includes: Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. Good Friday. Holy Saturday. When is Palm Sunday this year? What's the meaning of the day? Palm Sunday is on March 29, 2026. All four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, describe Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey while a crowd met him, waving palm fronds. Palm Sunday can include reading the Passion, the story of Jesus' last days and crucifixion. When is Good Friday this year? Good Friday, three days before Easter, celebrates Jesus' death on the cross. According to the Bible, he was sacrificed to pay for the sins of mankind and his body was later laid to rest in a nearby tomb. Advertisement Advertisement The date is April 3, 2026. Is Good Friday a public holiday? No, Good Friday is not a federal holiday, per a calendar from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It's also not a state holiday in Mississippi. The next one is Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday in April, according to the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration. Check with your workplace and your child's school calendars to see if Good Friday will be a day off for you or your family. Contributing: Chris Sims, Marina Johnson and John Tufts Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY NETWORK. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: When is Easter 2026? Plan for first day of spring, church holidays interior of Texas Roadhouse - npp_studio/Shutterstock Although Texas Roadhouse sells affordable steaks and offers free complimentary rolls, a pricing mishap nevertheless troubled customers. As outlined on a Reddit post, an acute customer noted a suspicious incident: A suggested 15% tip on a total of $80.68 worked out to $13.45 which, algebraically, should be $12.10. The user noted they ended up tipping a greater amount, but still, the deception hurts. "How are they even getting $13.45 as the 15%???" they asked. Even for generous tippers, the sentiment is understandable. No one likes being deceived into overspending by way of faulty math. Some might suspect the inclusion of tax a sum that's contentiously employed for tipping calculations caused the mishap. However, the included receipts show that the $80.68 total was already a post-tax amount. Instead, the excess $1.35 tip came by way of a coupon the poster had used. The user cashed in on a complimentary appetizer worth $8.99, so although the discount was reflected in the printed total, it was still utilized to calculate tax and thus, tip. In defense of Texas Roadhouse, the tipping screen did explain this, displaying the disclaimer, "Tip is calculated after tax and before discounts." Still, when speedily checking out post-meal, it's understandable that such details aren't noticed, adding unwanted stress to settling the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 10 Longhorn Steakhouse Dining Rules That Everyone Should Follow American consumers often feel discouraged by pre-calculated tips customer selecting tip amount on a tablet screen - bigshot01/Shutterstock While so ingrained in the U.S., tipping is not customary in many regions. So as gratuity expectations escalate, many Americans feel increasingly discouraged by the practice. Intriguingly, the use of suggested tip amounts on a digital screen precisely the interface employed at Texas Roadhouse serves as an especially common source of tension with consumers. Even on traditional paper receipts, consumers often forgo tipping on pre-discount totals although it's polite to compensate wait staff for the full value of foods and beverages. The presence of electronic gratuity only further complicates the issue. Presented options on a screen, consumers feel disgruntled by the expectation of overly generous gratuity. To add to the troubles, digital suggestions proliferate in previously unused contexts cafes, shopping, self-checkout forcing consumers to ask questions like do fast food workers get tips? All such negative sentiment rolls over into the dining realm, like when finishing a steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse. By including the discount and tax, the steakhouse chain technically adhered to considerate tipping practices, yet still, the digital presentation appears deceitful. Many businesses are employing electronics to inflate suggested tipping sums, so many consumers feel cautious, rather than altruistic, regarding gratuity. Others might hit the designated, socially expected amount and not notice the details. Either way, the removal of mechanical pen and paper tipping often aggravates rather than eases, leading to such tempered Texas Roadhouse experiences. Advertisement Advertisement Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on Food Republic. The National Museum of the US Air Force in Ohio has the only permanent public exhibition of a B-2. B-2 planes are known for their stealth technology, long flight range, and nuclear capability. The plane exhibited at the museum features remnants of the ground-based testing it endured. I never thought I'd get to see a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in person. The advanced warplanes, which cost around $2 billion each, can evade radar detection and drop tens of thousands of pounds of nuclear or conventional weapons. Advertisement Advertisement They were most recently deployed in Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israel's joint operation targeting Iran that began on Saturday. US Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that B-2s dropped "precision penetrating munitions on Iranian underground facilities." B-2s also dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer in June. All 19 of the US Air Force's operational B-2 planes are housed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where access is strictly limited. However, there is one place in the world where a B-2 is on permanent public display: the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Advertisement Advertisement I visited the museum in August to see the one-of-a-kind exhibit. The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is one of the most fearsome warplanes in the world. A US Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber, deployed to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, flies over the English countryside near Dover, August 29, 2019. Royal Air Force The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit entered development during the Cold War, and the first plane became operational in 1993. B-2s were used in Operation Allied Force in Serbia in 1999, as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom in the early 2000s. With advanced stealth technologies that make it extremely difficult to detect by radar, a capacity to deploy nuclear and conventional weapons, and an ability to refuel midair for flight times that can exceed 30 hours, the B-2 is one of the most powerful warplanes in the world, and it has a very long reach. No other country operates anything comparable to the combat power and capability of the B-2 bomber. Advertisement Advertisement The National Museum of the US Air Force added a B-2 to its collection in 2003. The National Museum of the United States Air Force. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider The aircraft was shipped to the National Museum of the US Air Force in pieces in seven separate shipments. Reassembling it took restoration staff three years. At the 2003 dedication ceremony, then-museum director Charles D. Metcalf called it "one of the world's largest jigsaw puzzles." With a wingspan of 172 feet, it's one of the most prominent displays in the museum's Cold War gallery. A B-2 at the National Museum of the US Air Force. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider Even with the wide-angle camera setting on my iPhone, I could barely capture the entire plane in frame. The B-2 housed at the museum never flew it was one of two that Northrop Grumman built for ground-based testing. A wider look at the B-2. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider Northrop Grumman built two test planes with the exact same specifications as the operational B-2s but without engines or instruments. Advertisement Advertisement A museum volunteer showed me metal patches on the aircraft, which were used to repair one of the wings after it snapped during fatigue testing. Patches under the wing. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider Fatigue testing uses hydraulic plates to simulate flying conditions and test an aircraft's durability. "Whatever the maximum load is, the plane has to take 150% of that to pass the test," he said. "This one actually passed, though, at 161%, but you can see where it failed." A nose landing gear panel featured artwork added by the service members who conducted temperature testing. Artwork and signatures on the nose landing gear panel. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider Technicians conducted over 1,000 hours of temperature testing at McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and found that the B-2 could withstand temperatures ranging from -65 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. To commemorate their work, the technicians painted a decorative "Fire & Ice" decal on the nose landing gear panel and signed their names. Advertisement Advertisement Nose art was popular during World War II, when pilots and crew members would often personalize their planes with cartoons, pinups, or tallies of their missions. It's not as common on bombers in active service today. The plane's exterior featured the emblem of the Air Combat Command. The seal of the Air Combat Command. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider Air Combat Command prepares and equips Air Force teams to provide fighter power, intelligence, cyber operations, and support for combat missions around the world. The shield-shaped emblem shows a downward-facing sword with wings spread on either side. Wording on one of the landing gear doors indicated the plane's name: "Spirit of Freedom." "Spirit of Freedom" was written on one of the landing gear doors. Talia Lakritz/Business Insider The "509th" and "Follow us" reference the origins of the modern 509th Bomb Wing, which operates B-2 planes. Advertisement Advertisement During World War II, the historic 509th Composite Group was responsible for deploying nuclear weapons. The B-29 Superfortress bombers that dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan were part of this unit. Their motto was "Follow Us, Follow Us, as we usher in the Nuclear Age," according to the US Air Force's official website. The 509th was instrumental in the formation of Strategic Air Command and continues to support US nuclear deterrence. I found the B-2 to be one of the most memorable exhibits at the museum. The B-2 on display. US Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees The National Museum of the US Air Force features around 350 planes and missiles over 19 acres of exhibit space. Exhibits include an Air Force One used by eight US presidents, Titan and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. But seeing one of the world's most advanced warplanes up close was a memorable experience. Read the original article on Business Insider Our government becomes more parsimonious daily. We do too. We cling to a scarcity mindset. If we shared, there would be plenty to go around. Plenty. But we dont. Ironically, the more we have, the less we give, according to the Guardian. Affluent Americans give 4.6% of their salaries to charity. Those earning $25,000 or less give 16.6%. Despite this income inequality, many of us are in the same financial boat. And yet, instead of forging solidarity? Theres infighting. We grimace instead of grin. (Fun fact: Frowning takes far more muscles than smiling.) Advertisement Advertisement Theres tension. Division. In 1987, Kentucky poet Wendell Berry observed this friction. He wrote an essay titled, Men and Women in Search of Common Ground. He writes, Everywhere we now look, the axework of division We see ourselves more and more as divided from each other. I saw an example of this divisiveness the day after Valentines Day. I was reading through a local Elkins Facebook group where people post various and sundry comments. An anonymous user, a waitress, wrote, While most people were out celebrating, some of us were at work. Imagine serving a group of 15+ adults in their early to mid-20s. Three hours at the table. Drinking heavily. $700 tab. $35 total tip. On Valentines Day. Thats disappointing and disrespectful if you cant afford to tip appropriately, you cant afford to eat out. Do better. Thats a 5% tip. And her points are valid. But I was amazed by the pile-on of negative comments. Not about the patron, but towards the waitress. The online comments roared: Advertisement Advertisement Get a better job if youre not happy. Firefighters and police dont get tips, why should you? Be gratefultipping isnt required its a courtesy. Did you ever think maybe your service wasnt good? You knew the job risk, so dont complain. I was stunned. I thought far more would commiserate with her. After all, so many are in the same financial boat. First, lets talk about tipping. Its largely an American phenomenon. Its sometimes hard to know which services one is supposed to tip for or how much. How do younger generations learn such etiquette when it is not formally taught? Im not sure. But my research did reveal this: Tipping has a sinister origin story. It stems from the Jim Crow era. Employees didnt want to pay emancipated slaves for their labor. So what did they do? Businessmen created a tipped wage system. A second form of slavery. It perpetuated injustice. Employees avoided paying. Reaped gross profits. Advertisement Advertisement In modern America the paycheck from waitress to waitress varies greatly. What is consistent, however, is a lack of bargaining power. Food services is one of the least unionized industries according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics at just 1.6%. The amount of negativity aimed at the waitress floored me. I was reminded of the parable of the crabs in the bucket. In the story, all the crabs try to escape together and pull each other down. One tries climbing out. Yanked back. A second tries. Pulled under. And so forth. This is crab mentality: tear down instead of building up. If crabs stacked on top of each other, one could help the other out. Instead? By serving self interests only, crabs sabotage collective prosperity and, ironically, their own goals. This is tragically common. We perennially drag each other down. We discourage someone like the waitress. In Wendell Berrys words: We cannot survive alone. Advertisement Advertisement But heres the thing: That has not always been the West Virginia story. And it doesnt need to be now. During the flooding around Wheeling in June, 2025, the community forged an impressively cohesive network of care. Its possible. We know how to support each other. Will we? Lets work with community, not against it. We must lift each other up, pincer by claw. We can only succeed together. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX North Carolinas teacher turnover rate has increased slightly with 1 in 10 teachers having left the profession during the past year, according to a new state report. The report presented Wednesday to the State Board of Education shows a teacher attrition rate of 10.11% between March 2024 and March 2025. This means 9,107 of the states 90,105 teachers left the profession during that time period. Of the teachers who left, 47% cited personal reasons. Advertisement Advertisement This years report reinforces the importance of addressing the core issues that lead to teacher attrition, State Superintendent Mo Green said in a news release. Our public schools cannot be best in the nation if our teachers are not adequately compensated, trained and revered. It will take action from the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and our schools to strengthen the education profession. The annual State of the Teaching Profession and School Administrator in North Carolina report is mandated by state lawmakers. It only looks at turnover in school districts so it doesnt include charter schools. Overall though, the attrition rate only increased 0.23 percentage points over the prior report. We dont think anything positive or negative is happening in regard to attrition from the previous year, Tom Tomberlin, senior director of educator preparation, licensure and performance at the state Department of Public Instruction, told the state board. Vacancy rate down slightly Tomberlin also told the state board that the teacher vacancy rate remained steady, dropping from 7.6% the prior year to 7.4% in the newest report. He said its not considered to be a substantive change. Advertisement Advertisement The states school districts reported 6,721 vacancies. Two-thirds of those vacancies were filled by teachers with temporary licenses. What I hear from the districts is this is an ongoing issue throughout the entire school year to the end filling vacancies, Tomberlin said. State relying more on emergency teachers The report comes at a time when the states public schools are relying more on hiring teachers on emergency licenses to staff classrooms. The number of first-year teachers hired under a permit to teach or an emergency license has risen from 11% in 2021 to 29% last year. Only 35% of North Carolinas first-year teachers received training from the states education preparation program. That percentage is down from 59% in 2021, when those programs trained the majority of the states educators. Advertisement Advertisement Its putting pressure on the teachers who did get the traditional training, according to Kimberly Jones, a North Carolina Teacher of the Year and an adviser to the state board. When we have a large and passionate group of people who dont fully know what theyre doing, that 35% begins to take on that role and it is not compensated, and that is part of the attrition of people who do know what theyre doing, Jones said. Teachers not getting paid enough? Enrollment is actually up 25% in the states educator preparation programs over the past decade. But only half of the prospective teachers complete the program, exacerbating the teacher shortage. State leaders pointed to the low pay as a reason why people may be leaving the profession or choosing not to become teachers. Advertisement Advertisement Kids are smart about what theyll make and therefore decide to switch majors along the way, said Alan Duncan, vice chair of the state board. North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in average teacher pay, according to the National Education Association. North Carolina is the only state that didnt pass a comprehensive budget in 2025. This meant no new teacher raises were provided by the state this school year at a time when costs are rising in the state Health Plan. Hundreds of teachers mainly in Wake County called out of work on Jan. 7 to protest working conditions. The protest, organized by NC Teachers in Action, called for increased state funding for schools and teachers. Principal attrition rate drops This is the second year in a row that the state is keeping track of principal turnover.. Advertisement Advertisement At the end of the 2024-25 school year, 151 of 2,482 principals left for an attrition rate of 6.1%. Thats down from 7.45% the prior year. Most of those who left 59% retired. More than three-quarters of principals of low-performing schools remained at the same school. Bail is set at $1 million for a 24-year-old man accused of drugging an Oregon treen before driving her to a remote farm house in Benton County and raping her. The 16-year-old was found at the home in the Horse Heaven Hills southwest of the Tri-Cities. The Grandview man accused of kidnapping her, Alec L Lepe, is being held in the Benton County jail on suspicion of third-degree rape and unlawful imprisonment. Advertisement Advertisement The teen from Milwaukie, Ore., told authorities that the ordeal began when she received a text message Feb. 25 from a number she didnt recognize. The message included a picture of a gun and her house with a threat that said she needed to go with him or he would kill her grandparents, court documents said. She ran away from home and met a man wearing a ski mask who was driving a lifted four-door truck. The man had her drink a dark liquid that tasted like apple juice but was spicy, court documents said. When she woke up, she was inside a home on East Shirl Road among hundreds of farming circles, about 15 miles north of Paterson in the southern area of Benton County. Advertisement Advertisement She told investigators that the man left each day for work and when he returned home he raped her. He normally took her phone with him when he left. He also warned her that he had cameras and not to try anything. Benton County deputies were alerted by Milwaukie, Ore., police about the missing teen on Feb. 28. They had narrowed the location to the Shirl Road area. As deputies were converging in the address, Lepe was driving a Dodge 3500. Lepe denied knowing anything about a girl in the area and kept driving away. About the same time, the teen managed to use a phone and called 911 and the Milwaukie police. Advertisement Advertisement Dispatchers were able to confirm she was at the Shirl Road property, and when deputies closed in on the home, they could hear her calling for help. She was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland to be checked. Investigators were told by the property owner that Lepe was allowed to use the home as part of his pay for working on the property. Investigators found no guns or black ski mask, but the owner said he knew Lepe owned a rifle and a shotgun. Two days later on March 1, Lepe had a friend call police to say he wanted to turn himself in. However, he denied knowing the girl was at the house or going to the Portland area. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed growing concerns over escalating energy prices due to the U.S.-Iran war and hinted at a plan in place. Rubio, in a press briefing on Monday, indicated that the Trump administration had already anticipated a surge in oil prices due to the strikes and has a plan to alleviate the impact. He added that the plans rollout is set to begin on Tuesday and would be implemented by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The announcement comes at a time when crude oil futures have surged to their highest levels since early 2025. When last checked, the WTI Crude April 26 futures were trading 3.47% higher at $73.73 per barrel. On Monday evening, Iranian state media said that Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz and issued warnings that any vessel attempting to pass would be attacked or set on fire. Don't Miss: Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that an $18-per-barrel risk premium, about 25% of current prices, is being priced in case of a prolonged Strait of Hormuz blockade. Meanwhile, Ebury's Head of Market Strategy, Matthew Ryan, told Benzinga that a complete shutdown of Iran's main shipping route is the biggest risk to markets and could push oil futures toward $100 a barrel. Rubio, Vance Explain Urgency Of Strikes Rubio explained that the U.S. expected a counterattack from Iran in response to any aggression, including potential action from Israel. The decision to strike preemptively was made to minimize casualties. It's an unacceptable risk, Rubio said. He pointed out that Iran was rapidly increasing its missile production, even under sanctions, and warned that within a year to a year and a half, Iran could potentially threaten global security with its arsenal of short-range missiles and drones. Previously, Rubio stated that Iran possessed weapons solely designed to attack the U.S. The Secretary of State also stated, The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now. See Also: Own the Characters, Not Just the Content: Inside a Fast-Growing Pre-IPO IP Company Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance on the Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News on Monday, said that nuclear talks with Iran collapsed after U.S. officials concluded Tehran's claims "did not pass the smell test," leading President Donald Trump to authorize the strikes. HANCOCK COUNTY, Iowa Authorities say icy roads were a factor in a collision that killed two people and injured two others in northern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash occurred along Highway 18, a quarter mile east of Oak Avenue, around 4:35 a.m. on Wednesday. Authorities say a Chevy Silverado was heading westbound while a Kia Sorento was heading eastbound when the Chevy lost control on the ice-covered road and struck the Kia broadside. Authorities say the driver, 46-year-old Angel Ruiz-Tamayo, and the rear passenger,40-year-old Constantino Cruz Barradas, of the Chevy were fatally injured and declared dead at the scene. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Ruiz-Tamayo had been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, while Cruz Barradas had not been wearing a seatbelt. Advertisement Advertisement The ISP says says the driver of the Kia, 51-year-old Jason Foell, and the front seat passenger of the Chevy, 41-year-old Tomas San Juan Ruiz, were transported to the hospital by ambulance. Authorities say both Foell and Juan Ruiz were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash remains under investigation. Iowa News: Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. The Brief Texas Supreme Court blocks counting of votes cast at 2 WilCo polling locations This only impacts votes cast by those who arrived in line after 7 p.m. Texas Supreme Court also made a ruling in Dallas County regarding late voting WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the counting of votes cast late at two Williamson County polling locations. According to the county, this only impacts votes cast by people who arrived in line after 7 p.m. What they're saying Williamson County says that about 20 minutes before polls were set to close Tuesday night, the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit against the county and the Democratic and Republican Party chairs sought to extend voting at two polling locations: Georgetown Annex and Northstar Georgetown. Advertisement Advertisement The Georgetown Annex was a voting location for both Democrats and Republicans, while Northstar Georgetown was just a Democratic Primary polling location. Both locations experienced long lines on Election Day and at 7 p.m., about 150 to 200 people were still waiting in line to vote, says the county. Earlier in the day, the county elections office had offered additional equipment to both parties to help reduce wait times; only the Democratic Party accepted the offer. About 30 minutes after election workers marked the last voter that arrived before 7 p.m. as required by law, the TCRP got a hearing before District Judge Betsy Lambeth. Advertisement Advertisement A new law requires one-hour notice of the hearing to be provided to the Office of the Attorney General. While an attorney from the AGs Office did attend the hearing, the office objected to the lack of the required notice. Everyone else involved consented to extending polling hours until 10 p.m. at the affected locations. Voters casting ballots after 7 p.m. were required to vote provisionally as required by the election code and thus would not be processed Tuesday night. The extension was granted over the AG's objections and Judge Lambeth also ordered the elections administrator to delay publishing early voting results until 10 p.m. Some results had already been published though as seen by FOX 7 Austin staff, but were taken down, presumably due to the ruling. By this point, the Republican election judge at the Georgetown Annex had already closed the polling place and arrived at the Elections Office. Judge Lambeth ordered him to return to the polling location until 10 p.m. Democratic polling locations did not close because voters were still waiting in line. Advertisement Advertisement At around 9:45 p.m., the AG's office filed with the Texas Supreme Court seeking to overturn Lambeth's ruling due to the notice issue, says the county. At 10:11 p.m., the Texas Supreme Court issued an order suspending the effect of Judge Lambeths ruling pending a decision by the court. What's next Votes cast by those who arrived in line after 7 p.m. will not be counted unless the Texas Supreme Court rules otherwise. Dallas County ruling Big picture view The Texas Supreme Court also handed down a ruling regarding voters in Dallas County, which also chose to do precinct-based voting this election over countywide polling. Advertisement Advertisement A Dallas County district judge extended voting hours to 9 p.m. in an order in response to a specific request by the Democratic Party of Dallas County, though the order itself does not make the distinction between parties. However, the Texas Supreme Court stepped in just before that extension expired, issuing a temporary stay against the emergency order. The Supreme Court's order states that votes cast by voters who were not in line by 7 p.m. should be "separated." Texas non-joint primaries The backstory The reported issues are happening in North Texas and Central Texas in counties where the elections were split on party lines. The non-joint primaries in some counties, including Dallas and Williamson, require people to cast their votes in locations specific to their parties. Advertisement Advertisement To know where to vote, voters have to check online to see designated voting locations in their home precincts. According to voters in the affected counties, these online designations have proven inaccurate in some cases. The Source Information in this report comes from Williamson County and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin and FOX Texas Digital. A Democrat-led coalition of 22 attorneys general and two governors on Thursday sued in the Court of International Trade, pushing back against the Trump administrations newly imposed 10 percent global tariffs and launching the first legal challenge to the presidents use of Section 122 to temporarily reinstate duties struck down by a Supreme Court decision last month. The top cops of states such as Arizona, California, Oregon, Maryland, New York and Vermont say that the White House is stretching the law past its limits. Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days only under narrow circumstances, such as when the United States faces large and serious deficits with the nations balance of payments, or when the flow of goods, services and investments with the rest of the world goes awry. Trade deficits, they argue, arent the same thing, making the presidents move not only unprecedented but also unlawful. More from Sourcing Journal Advertisement Advertisement American consumers and business owners have made it clear they do not want tariffs, yet President Trump has tried over and over again to implement them. This time, the president is attempting to use an obscure law as a tool for his tariffs, and is yet again going about it illegally, Californias attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement. Why is President Trump, who ran on the promise of making life more affordable for families, breaking the law to raise the cost of living for Americans? President Trump issued his Feb. 20 executive order imposing a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on imports immediately after the Supreme Court invalidated a broad and uneven rollout of customs levies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. It was apparently just a warning shot, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying Wednesday the figure will increase to 15 percentthe maximum allowed under Section 122likely sometime this week. The courts rejected President Trumps earlier attempt to impose tariffsand yet the president keeps finding new, unlawful ways to raise prices on groceries and household items Marylanders depend on every day, Marylands attorney general, Anthony Brown, said in a statement. Our office will not stand by while Marylanders budgets are stretched thin because this administration believes it is above the law. The lawsuit also claims Section 122 tariffs violate the Constitutions separation of powers, since Article 1 gives Congressnot the presidentthe power to tax and impose tariffs. It seeks court orders declaring the tariffs illegal, blocking their implementation and requiring refunds for any costs already paid by states. Advertisement Advertisement California, New York and other states similarly moved to block the IEEPA tariffs in 2025, contending they require explicit congressional approval. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shut down the Trump administrations bid to delay payments estimated at more than $100 billion. The Court of International Trade, too, has ordered those refunds. Another potential kicker: Department of Justice court filings defending the same tariffs called trade deficits conceptually distinct from balance-of-payments deficits. Once again, President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses, New Yorks attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement. After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill. These tariffs will only drive up the cost of living, and I will continue to uphold the rule of law to protect New Yorkers. Speaking to Sourcing Journal at the American Apparel & Footwear Association Executive Summit in Washington, D.C., after the news hit, Steve Lamar, the trade organizations executive director and CEO, said that history keeps repeating itself, meaning executive tariffs that tax U.S. consumers and businesses, followed by lengthy litigation. Well keep repeating ourselves toocalling for clear, consistent, congressionally approved trade policy based on rule of law, he said. We urge the administration and Congress to work together to create policy that supports innovation and long-term investment for the industry that directly employs 3.6 million American workers and that helps America get dressed every day. Two dozen states sued the Trump administration on Thursday, alleging that President Trump exceeded his authority in imposing new global tariffs after the Supreme Court in February struck down emergency import duties he introduced last year. The lawsuit, brought by a coalition of state attorneys general and governors, centers on 10% tariffs the Trump administration recently implemented under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Mr. Trump later said he would raise the tariffs to 15%. The states argue that the tariffs violate the Constitution's separation of powers principle. In a 6-3 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Trump did not have the right to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Advertisement Advertisement "As with his unlawful use of IEEPA, the president has once again exercised tariff authority that he does not have involving a statute that does not authorize the tariffs he has imposed to upend the constitutional order and bring chaos to the global economy," the states said in the suit. Trump administration officials have said that raising tariffs on imports will restore fairness to global trade, spur investment in the U.S. and generate government revenue. Data shows the U.S. collected $287 billion in customs duties, taxes and fees in 2025, up 192% from the previous year. "The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country's large and serious balance-of-payments deficits," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CBS News in a statement. "The administration will vigorously defend the President's action in court." The Trump administration claims that foreign governments and exporters absorb most tariff costs, although some studies show the levies have largely been borne by U.S. consumers and businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Section 122 Mr. Trump is the first U.S. president to invoke tariffs under Section 122. "Section 122 has never been used, and therefore courts have had no occasion to interpret its language," the Congressional Research Service said in a February report. The statute states that a president may issue a temporary import surcharge, not exceeding 15%, to deal with "large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits." It's unclear whether the Trump administration's use of Section 122 will withstand legal scrutiny. The Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president needed to invoke IEEPA because Section 122 did "not have any obvious application" in addressing trade deficits, Advertisement Advertisement Still, some legal analysts said the Trump administration has a stronger case this time. "The legal reality is that courts will likely provide President Trump substantially more deference regarding Section 122 than they did to his previous tariffs under IEEPA,'' Peter Harrell, visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Institute of International Economic Law, wrote in a commentary Wednesday. Stinging legal defeats The lawsuit asks the U.S. Court of International Trade to rule that Section 122 tariffs are illegal and to order the U.S. government to refund states for any costs while the tariffs were in effect. Advertisement Advertisement The litigation also intensifies the pushback against the Trump administration over its tariff policies since the high court's ruling striking down its IEEPA levies. A Court of International Trade judge ruled on Wednesday that businesses that paid IEEPA tariffs are entitled to refunds. Separately, a federal appeals court on Monday declined to delay implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA. Trade experts estimate that the U.S. government could owe as much as $175 billion to businesses that paid IEEPA levies. Noem aide Corey Lewandowski had contentious call with Trump after Senate hearing, sources say Watch: Kristi Noem speaks minutes after Trump announces he's removing her as DHS secretary Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Auburn Public Schools contacted local police to investigate allegations that a teacher had viewed inappropriate material on social media while students were in the classroom with him. The dismissal occurred after several students reported their concerns to school staff last week. District officials confirmed the teacher was immediately removed from the building and that the school is cooperating with the Auburn Police Department regarding the matter. Advertisement Advertisement The incident was disclosed in a letter sent to Auburn Middle School families last week. The substitute teacher was not identified. According to the document, several students reported concerns to school staff during class regarding the substitutes behavior. The letter noted the reports included the potential viewing of inappropriate material on social media and inattentiveness while supervising students. Following the reports, the teacher was removed from the building and terminated from the district. School officials then contacted the Auburn Police Department to initiate an investigation into the claims. The Superintendent of Auburn Public Schools Elizabeth Chamberland addressed the teachers employment history and the districts vetting process. The substitute had been working for the district for a brief period, she told 25 Investigates. The substitute teacher was dismissed and police were notified immediately. The sub has only been with us the last couple of months. We do CORI, SORI and Fingerprints for background checks, at least two interviews and a review of past employment, the Superintendent said in an emailed response. Advertisement Advertisement Auburn Police conducted interviews with both the substitute teacher and several students as part of their investigation. Investigators determined that the information gathered did not meet the threshold required for criminal charges. While the investigation concluded without an arrest, police officials commended the students for speaking up about the classroom behavior. Authorities stated the investigation did not provide enough information to support a charge at this time. 25 Investigates has spent years documenting educator sexual misconduct in Massachusetts schools. We have shared the voices of survivors, as well as the decades-long push on Beacon Hill to create better protections for students and prevention measures in schools. To find out more about the proposals, visit our previous reporting here. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A Meadville resident and six other defendants were indicted in federal court in Erie in 2023 in a Snapchat hacking and sexting conspiracy that authorities said victimized at least 33 users of the popular social media platform over two years. The case has yielded its first guilty plea and recommended prison sentence. The defendant ranked fifth in the indictment, Westmoreland County resident Michael Yackovich, pleaded guilty on March 3 to two of 12 counts the felonies of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. A scheme to hack Snapchat accounts led to an indictment in federal court in Erie. As part of the plea deal, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the defense agreed that Yackovich should receive four years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 22, according to court records. The wire fraud count carries up to 20 years, and the aggravated identity theft count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years. Advertisement Advertisement Chief U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon accepted the plea and will sentence Yackovich. He and the other defendants remain free on unsecured bonds of $10,000. Bissoon is based in Pittsburgh but hears some Erie cases. Yackovich's plea hearing was in federal court in Pittsburgh. Defendants charged with accessing sexually explicit images Yackovich and the six other defendants were indicted in July 2023 on charges that they hacked into at least 33 Snapchat accounts between March 2020 and October 2022 and obtained sexually explicit images of the victims. The defendants traded, shared or illegally sold the images online without the victims' consent, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The office said some of the images depicted child pornography, though Yackovich was not among the defendants charged with dealing in those materials. Advertisement Advertisement Several of the defendants, including Yackovich, were also accused of providing scripts to teach others how to hack Snapchat accounts, according to the indictment. Six of the seven defendants are from Pennsylvania, and one is from North Carolina, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The lead defendant is Meadville resident Richard A. Martz Jr., 36, who is accused of heading the conspiracy. His case is pending. Feds say victims were 'revictimized' in Snapchat case Snapchat is an online services that lets users capture and share photo, video clips and other materials. It also allows messages to automatically disappear seconds after viewing. The company that owns and runs the Snapchat platform, Snap Inc., is based in Santa Monica, California. Snap Inc. supports the prosecution of those who illegally harm the users of the platform, the company said in an email to the Erie Times-News when the indictment was returned against the seven defendants. Advertisement Advertisement "The sexual exploitation or abuse of any Snapchatter is illegal and against our policies," a company spokesperson said. "We are thankful for law enforcement's efforts to bring perpetrators to justice and regularly support prosecutions of people who exploit our community in these abhorrent ways." When the seven were indicted, the FBI said the defendants "engaged in predatory behavior" in which the "victims were revictimized multiple times as their personal pictures were recirculated." The FBI called the scheme "nothing short of reprehensible." Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Snapchat hacking, sexting case nets guilty plea in Erie federal court An Alabama attorney accused of trying to fatally poison her husband has been indicted on 11 felony charges. A Cullman County grand jury indicted 75-year-old Sara Baker on conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of attempted murder, second-degree domestic violence, elderly abuse, four counts of soliciting/possessing a controlled substance and unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, according to court records made public Wednesday. She was initially arrested on the same charges in November 2025. The indictment was issued last month. Advertisement Advertisement Baker is set to be arraigned on the 11-count indictment in May. According to court documents, the conspiracy to commit murder crime happened between Sept.1 and Nov. 25, 2025, when Baker allegedly engaged with one or more people to provide fentanyl to cause the death of her husband, James Doyle Baker. For the attempted murder and domestic violence charges, records state, Baker put fentanyl in his food and/or drink on Sept. 4, Sept. 12, and Sept. 20. A 39-year-old Hanceville woman listed as the witness in the cases against Baker is a client of Bakers. The witness, in an August indictment, is accused of being in possession of burglary tools and swallowing fentanyl in attempt to destroy evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Baker remains out of jail on a $400,000 property bond. Stories by Carol Robinson Read the original article on al.com. Add al.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the arrest of 11 men across the state in separate investigations into crimes against children. The Louisiana Bureau of Investigations arrested the men over two weeks. According to Murrill, the following men were arrested and booked into Louisiana jails: (Top row from left): Charles Crawford, Colin Sehmi, Douglas Miller, Bobby Howard, David Dufrene, Brandon Brown. (Bottom row from left): Edwin Roberts, Garrett Godejohn, David Clark, Kage Waters, Joseph Laird (Courtesy of the Attorney Generals Office) Charles Ray Crawford, 71, was arrested in Ouachita Parish Unlawful use of a social networking website Colin Scott Sehmi, 21, was arrested in St. Tammany Parish Four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material Two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile Two counts of computer-aided solicitation of a minor Two counts of grooming a child Douglas Ray Miller, 35, was arrested in Tangipahoa Parish 67 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material Bobby Wayne Howard II, 56, of Florida, was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition to Louisiana Two counts of felony child sexual abuse material David Anthony Dufrene, 36, was arrested in Assumption Parish Indecent behavior with a juvenile Computer-aided solicitation of a minor Brandon Joseph Brown, 36, was arrested in St. Tammany Parish Indecent behavior with a juvenile Grooming a child Computer-aided solicitation of a minor Edwin Roberts II, 35, was arrested in Natchitoches Parish Indecent behavior of a juvenile Computer-aided solicitation of a minor Garrett Godejohn, 24, was arrested in Natchitoches Parish Possession of child sexual abuse material Sexual abuse of an animal David Lee Clark, 35, was arrested in Caddo Parish Indecent behavior of a juvenile Computer-aided solicitation of a minor Kage Robert Paul Waters, 33, was arrested in Webster Parish 47 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material 15 counts of unlawful use of a social networking website Joseph Laird, 36, was arrested in Tennessee and extradited to Rapides Parish 15 counts of pornography involving juveniles Advertisement Advertisement We will continue to arrest and prosecute anyone who seeks to exploit Louisianas most vulnerable, Murrill wrote on X. Latest News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. For more than seven decades, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence concealed the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by over six dozen clergy members, according to a long-awaited report released Wednesday by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. A total of 72 deacons and priests faced credible accusations of abuse dating as far back as 1950, the 282-page report states. Only 14 of the men listed are still alive. Systemic sexual abuse by New England Catholic clergy was exposed over two decades ago. But the AGs report, which took nearly seven years to complete, pieces together as complete a picture as possible of what happened in Rhode Island, home to the largest per capita Catholic population in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement The numbers are staggering, shocking, astounding, Neronha told reporters during a more than two-hour press conference at his downtown Providence office. And we know we didnt get it all. State Police and the AGs office found at least 315 victims of abuse, most of which occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. The most recent known incident of misconduct cited was in 2011, when the principal of St. Joseph School in West Warwick alleged a deacon who taught in the school had pulled down the pants of several sixth-grade boys. Most accused priests avoided disciplinary action or criminal charges because the diocese would often transfer them to new parishes without warning those congregations a practice the report called priest shuffling. Neronha said 31 Rhode Island priests were transferred at least five times during their careers, promoting a culture of secrecy. That went on for decades, Neronha said. Advertisement Advertisement Only 20, or about 26% of the clergy identified in the report, ever faced criminal charges. Just 14 clergy were convicted. Neronhas office has charged four current and former priests with sexual abuse for allegations over the course of the investigation between 2020 and 2022. Three of them are still awaiting trial, while the fourth died after being deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2022. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha speaks to reporters on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, about the decades of clergy sexual abuse and institutional cover-ups investigators documented within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Diocese shared records but was unwilling to authorize interviews The states investigation began in July 2019, when then-Bishop Thomas Tobin signed a memorandum of understanding with Neronha to review diocesan records of complaints of child sexual abuse dating back to 1950. Tobin retired in May 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Diocese officials mostly cooperated, providing investigators access to more than 250,000 files including treatment records of the accused priests, financial records from civil settlements in clergy sexual abuse cases, and victims records. But there were limits to the churchs partnership. Neronha said there was evidence that the diocese had a practice of destroying confidential files when the priests died, according to state investigators. Diocese officials also repeatedly refused requests for interviews with the church personnel who were responsible for overseeing the investigations and responses to child sexual abuse by clergy, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement I dont know why they didnt do it, I think they should have, Neronha said of diocese officials. It would have helped us move faster. The review found that historically, the diocese did not report any complaints of sexual abuse of children to law enforcement. Even in the 1990s, when reporting began to improve, the diocese still withheld complaints about priests who were still living. No representatives from the Diocese of Providence spoke at the AGs press conference. As the press conference began, the diocese posted a video of The Most Rev. Bruce A. Lewandowski responding to the AGs report. Lewandowski took over as bishop last May, replacing Richard Henning who took the top job in Boston in 2024 Extreme sadness and feelings of intense shame weighed heavily on me as I read the report, Lewandowski said. Advertisement Advertisement The bishop apologized to abuse survivors. The church failed them, Lewandowski said. Their abusers betrayed their trust and robbed them of their innocence and, in some cases, destroyed their lives. Their faith in God and this church has been shaken and even lost. But the diocese was quick to defend itself with an accompanying statement published online, framing the states report as a needless revisit of historical cases that masks decades of institutional reform and a zero-tolerance policy established in 2002. Beginning more than 30 years ago, and improved throughout the following years, the diocese can confidently say that our protections for children have proven to be overwhelmingly effective, the statement notes. The report itself reveals no evidence of recent child sexual abuse by clergy, no credible accusations against those in ministry today, and no instances of the dioceses failure to meet its legal reporting obligations. Advertisement Advertisement Neronha did credit Rhode Islands Catholic Church for its recent reforms such as prohibiting accused clergy from ministry while a complaint was investigated and ceasing the practice of constantly transferring problematic priests. Theres no question that the risk to children today is much lower than it was, the AG said. But he still sees plenty of room for improvement. Neronha used the reports release to renew his perennial call for the state to allow a grand jury, with court oversight, to issue a report with findings and recommendations even when it decides no one should be charged with a crime. Neronha has requested this legislation for the past six years. Advertisement Advertisement He also wants the General Assembly to extend the statute of limitations in cases of sexual assault involving the Catholic Church and other institutions. Its a policy the diocese has opposed. Other states have tried this approach, and it has led dozens of other dioceses to bankruptcy, the churchs statement said. Officials from the Diocese of Providence provided Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney Generals office over 250,000 files going back to 1950. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Its not new news to anybody Neronha, a former Catholic, told reporters hes unsure what impact the report will have, if any, on the dioceses reputation. Its kind of hard to read this and not come away with a story, he said. Jim Keating, a professor of theology at the Catholic-run Providence College, has his doubts the states report will cause any damage at all to the diocese. Advertisement Advertisement Its already factored into what people think about the Catholic Church its not new news to anybody. No ones going to be shocked by this, he said in an interview. Keating said most parishioners these days are younger and have little to no memory of past abuse scandals and dont have the same reverence for priests that Catholics had in the middle of the 20th century. About 39% of Rhode Islanders identify as Catholic, according to Pew Research. It just doesnt pack the same punch for these young people, Keating said. Its a different world now a better world. The church failed them. Their abusers betrayed their trust and robbed them of their innocence and, in some cases, destroyed their lives. Their faith in God and this church has been shaken and even lost. The Most Rev. Bruce A. Lewandowski, Bishop of the Diocese of Providence But Neronha said the public deserves to know the full story of what happened in Rhode Island. Advertisement Advertisement In some sense, its a history, but its a living history survivors out there are still alive, he said. Two survivors were present for the AGs report release. Dr. Ann Hagan Webb accused Monsignor Anthony DeAngelis of abusing her from 1957 to 1965 while she attended Sacred Heart School in West Warwick beginning when she was in kindergarten. Webb reported her abuse to the Diocese in 1994, only for church officials to question the veracity of her claims and mental health treatment. DeAngelis died in 1990 at the age of 80. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Webb thanked the AGs office for declaring her as credible. You have no idea how important this is to me, she said. To be deemed not credible by the diocese for the last 32 years has haunted me in ways I cannot begin to describe. Webb, now a psychologist, is the sister of state Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat who has long pushed for legislation that would allow the victims of childhood sex abuse to sue institutions such as the Catholic Church. McEntee attended the press conference to support her sister. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi commended McEntee, who is now chair of the House Committee on Judiciary, for her steadfast support of victims. Due to the magnitude of this issue, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduling public hearings as soon as next week to once again review bills that Attorney General Neronha thoroughly outlined today in his devastating report, Shekarchi said in a statement. Hub Brennan said he was repeatedly molested while serving as an altar boy at Our Lady of Mercy in East Greenwich starting when he was 8 years old by the Most Rev. Brendan Smyth. The report says Smyth allegedly abused at least 17 children between 1965 and 1968 at the parish before he was transferred to Holy Trinity Abbey in Kilnacrott, Ireland. He returned to the United States during the years 1979 to 1983 to minister at St. Alphonsus Church in Langdon, North Dakota, before returning to Ireland. Smyth died in an Irish prison in 1997 after pleading guilty to 74 charges of child sex abuse. Abuse can occur in a moment, Brennan said. Its effects last a lifetime. Neronha said hes hopeful the reports release could encourage other victims to come forward, promising that the document would be updated regardless of who is in office. Neronhas term ends after 2026. Survivors deserve justice, he said. Dr. Herbert Hub Brennan said he was repeatedly molested while serving as an altar boy at Our Lady of Mercy in East Greenwich starting when he was 8 years old in the 1960s by the Most Rev. Brendan Smyth. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The Office of the Attorney General and the Rhode Island State Police urge victims and any other persons with information regarding possible child sexual abuse or related crimes to call the State Police Special Victims Units dedicated clergy abuse hotline at (401) 764-0142. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Trump administration is scrutinizing New York's Medicaid spending and threatening to withhold payments for the health insurance program unless the state complies with its demands. In an eight-page letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and state health officials on March 3, the head of the agency that oversees Medicaid and Medicare posed dozens of questions about how New York stops wasteful or fraudulent charges and about several specific types of costs that have ballooned. The letter demands a response within 30 days. The fraud investigation was trumpeted on social media with a video by Mehmet Oz, the former TV personality known as Dr. Oz who now leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He previously sent similar letters and posted similar videos in connection with probes in three other states with Democratic governors: California, Minnesota and Maine. Advertisement Advertisement "Heart surgeons are trained to look at the numbers," Oz says at the opening of his two-minute video. "When something doesn't add up, you don't ignore it you investigate. And right now, the numbers coming out of New York's Medicaid program don't add up." He then outlines New York's high spending and questionable increases before closing with a warning: "Governor Hochul has a month to share a reasonable corrective action plan to fix the fraud, waste and abuse in New York State, or CMS will start deferring payments to protect Medicaid." How is NY responding to the Oz letter? State health officials defended their Medicaid oversight and accused the administration of playing politics in a statement to USA TODAY Network-New York. New Yorks Medicaid programs are a lifeline for millions of people who depend on them for access to critical care, which is why the governor and the department have taken strong action in recent years to control costs and root out abuses while preserving and improving quality of care," said Cadence Acquaviva, a Department of Health spokeswoman. Advertisement Advertisement She added: "While some in Washington want to score political points at the expense of vulnerable New Yorkers, they should instead look to us as a model for how to improve these programs and encourage their colleagues to restore cuts that have forced millions of Americans off ACA (Affordable Care Act) programs. U.S. Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz speaks during a briefing at the White House, as U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stand behind him, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Some 6.7 million New Yorkers, or roughly a third of the state's population, are enrolled in Medicaid, which provides health coverage for the poor, elderly and disabled. Enrollment surged during the pandemic, peaking at 7.9 million in 2023, but has since declined. The federal government and all 50 states split Medicaid's cost, along with a local contribution in New York. New York's spending totaled nearly $119 billion in its last fiscal year, with a $69.2 billion federal share, a $37.7 billion state cost, and $8.7 billion borne by New York City and the 57 counties outside the city. New York spends far more on Medicaid on a per capita basis than any other state, as the Hochul administration noted in her budget proposal this year. It said New York's $4,755 per capita expense was 44% higher than the $2,657 national average. Advertisement Advertisement New York investigates suspected fraud through its Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, an independent agency within the Department of Health that has more than 400 employees working in seven regional offices. Fraud cases are prosecuted by a special unit of the state Attorney General's Office that makes up the largest section of its criminal division. Which NY Medicaid expenses are the feds questioning? The Oz letter zeroed in on five types of Medicaid spending that have spiked in New York. The biggest area was "personal care" assistants for Medicaid enrollees who need help with daily activities such as dressing and bathing. Roughly $45 billion was spent on personal care services over more than two years, according to the letter, which questions why about three out of four Medicaid enrollees used those services. Oz said another "major area of concern" was New York's spending on adult day care for the elderly, which rose to $650 million in 2024 from $571 million in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement The other three expense types his letter questioned were: home health aides; non-emergency medical transportation; and behavioral health services. The White House recently launched a Medicaid fraud crackdown led by Vice President JD Vance, who joined with Oz in announcing an opening thrust against Minnesota on Feb. 25. Minnesota has since sued to stop the administration from withholding $243 million in Medicaid payments. Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY's Medicaid investigated by Trump administration for fraud By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence rivals will be allowed on WhatsApp for a year, Meta Platforms said, aiming to head off a possible temporary order from EU antitrust regulators after complaints from competitors shut out of the messaging service. The European Commission, the EU's competition enforcer, last month threatened interim measures to prevent potential serious and irreparable harm to rivals after Meta blocked them from WhatsApp, mirroring moves by Italy's watchdog in December. Meta has now told the Commission it will let rival AI chatbots access WhatsApp for a fee. The company barred them on January 15, allowing only its Meta AI assistant on the service. "For the next 12 months, we'll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process," a Meta spokesperson said. "We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation." The Commission said it was analysing how Meta's changes might affect both its interim measures review and its broader antitrust investigation. Meta has previously said the rise of chatbots on its platforms strains its systems and that other channels exist for AI providers, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems. Meta allowed rival chatbots onto WhatsApp in Italy in January after an order from the Italian antitrust authority, which is still investigating. The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant and a complainant to EU and Italian regulators, urged Brussels to impose an interim order on Meta. "What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp as the outright ban did," its CEO Marvin von Hagen said. "The so-called Italian 'solution' is thus no solution at all. It simply replaces one anti-competitive restriction with another," he said. Meta said its policy changes will also apply in Brazil after a court on Wednesday reinstated an injunction from the countrys antitrust authority that another court had suspended in January. The Brazilian case is similar to the EU and Italian ones. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter) Night flight training is designed to sharpen instincts, compress reaction times and push both pilot and machine to their limits. But over the skies near Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, that razor edge turned unforgiving when two F-16C Fighting Falcon jets made contact in mid-air, setting off a chain of events that ended with one pilot ejecting into the darkness. According to the Air Force, the incident occurred on the 25th of last month after the two fighters had departed from Chungju Air Base for a scheduled night exercise. The mission profile was demanding from the outset. Image Credit: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. Both aircraft had completed high difficulty tactical maneuvers while wearing night vision goggles, equipment that enhances visibility in low light but narrows the field of view and compresses depth perception. Flying at speed in tight formation under those conditions requires extraordinary precision. Mid-Air Collision During Final Maneuver After wrapping up the main tactical segment, the pilots moved into the final training procedure known as a battle damage inspection. Advertisement Advertisement In this maneuver, the two jets fly in close proximity so each pilot can visually examine the other aircraft for potential structural issues or external damage. It is a standard safety measure, yet one that inherently involves reduced separation and careful coordination. During this inspection phase, the formation executed a turn intended to keep the aircraft within the designated mission area. It was in that moment of banking flight, under limited visual cues, that the accident occurred. Image Credit: The Chosun Daily. Investigators determined that the lead aircrafts left external fuel tank struck the right wing of the second jet. What the Air Force described as a contact accident instantly disrupted the stability of the trailing fighter. The impact compromised the control systems of the No. 2 aircraft. As the systems malfunctioned, the jet began to lose altitude in a steady and uncontrolled descent. Advertisement Advertisement With insufficient time and diminishing options, the pilot made the critical decision to eject before the aircraft could impact the ground. The ejection system functioned as intended, preserving the pilots life even as the jet was lost. The accident investigation team later concluded that the lead pilot, who was wearing night vision goggles at the time, had misjudged the distance to the second aircraft. Night vision equipment significantly restricts peripheral awareness and can distort depth cues, especially during dynamic maneuvers. In the words of a military official, while the collision can be classified as pilot error, it reflects the broader reality of human fallibility in high stress environments. A History of Aerial Accidents Image Credit: Tomas Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia. This is not the first time South Koreas Air Force has faced the harsh consequences of mid-air collisions. In 2022, two KT-1 training aircraft collided over Sacheon, resulting in the deaths of four personnel. That tragedy underscored the risks inherent in formation flying and complex aerial drills. Advertisement Advertisement More recently, a series of other incidents has placed additional scrutiny on operational discipline and safety oversight. In March last year, two KF-16 fighters mistakenly entered incorrect target coordinates during a live fire exercise, releasing eight bombs near civilian residences in Pocheon and injuring 66 people. The following month, a KA-1 aircraft unintentionally dropped machine guns and external fuel tanks mid-flight due to pilot error. In June, another KF-16 pilot training in Alaska confused a taxiway for a runway, triggering an emergency ejection during takeoff. Operations Resumes In the wake of the Yeongju crash, the Air Force issued a formal apology, expressing deep regret for the concern caused by the accident. Officials emphasized that the investigation found no mechanical defects with the F-16C platform itself. With the root cause attributed to human miscalculation rather than structural failure, the service has announced the resumption of F-16C flight operations. Advertisement Advertisement For an aircraft as battle proven as the F-16C, the crash reinforces the fact that even the most capable machines depend on precise human judgment. In the thin margins of night operations, where vision is filtered through green tinted lenses and distances blur under artificial illumination, a fraction of a second can separate routine training from serious catastrophe. Sources: The Chosun Daily Read More This article originally appeared on Guessing Headlights: Air Force Says Night Vision Misjudgment Led to F-16C Mid-Air Collision A Vance woman has been charged federally with embezzling more than $10 million from her former employer in Shelby County. Laura Lynn Tucker, 54, was charged with six counts of wire fraud and one county of identity theft, announced Northern District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Catherine Crosby. Tucker has agreed to plead guilty to all of the charges. The seven-count charge and Tuckers plea agreement were made public this week. Advertisement Advertisement Tucker from 2000 through 2024 was the office manager and bookkeeper for a pond management company headquartered in Calera. Through her duties, Tucker was provided multiple company credit cards which she was authorized to use to pay for certain business expenses. However, from February 2020 through December 2024, authorities said, Tucker used those company credit cards to pay for personal expenses totaling more than $10 million. Some of that money was spent at consignment stores and a sporting goods store, records show. In 2020, the pond management company post this on Facebook and Instagram: Laura Melton Tucker has been with us for 20 years. Her loyalty and hard work is appreciated daily. Advertisement Advertisement The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett A. Janich and Daniel S. McBrayer are prosecuting. Stories by Carol Robinson Read the original article on al.com. Add al.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. For years, politically conservative members of the Alaska Legislature have attempted to restrict state-paid abortion care via language in the annual state budget. That maneuver and similar actions could be ruled unconstitutional by the Alaska Supreme Court, which on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a lawsuit that may determine the limits of the Alaska Constitutions confinement clause, which requires that budget bills be limited to spending and not include policy changes. At issue in the case is a budgetary maneuver twice adopted by the Legislature in an attempt to partially de-fund a contract for a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that Gov. Mike Dunleavys administration used to defend his controversial restructuring of public employee unions dues payments. GET MORE If youre interested in the technical details of this case, the Alaska Legislatures opening brief can be found here. The states response can be found here, and the Legislatures reply brief is here. Advertisement Advertisement Legislators said the contract, at more than $600,000, was too expensive, and in 2020 and 2021, they carved the budget for the Alaska Department of Law into two segments in an attempt to limit the contract. Two of the governors attorneys general said they believed the Legislature was actually targeting the union dues plan, and its actions thus represented an unconstitutional infringement of the executive branchs power. Dunleavy vetoed the contract-specific language, technically eliminating all funding for the defense, and his administration kept on spending. The Legislatures auditor concluded in 2023 that the Dunleavy administration likely violated state law and the Alaska Constitution by continuing to spend money that had been eliminated from the budget. Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers sued in January 2024. By that time, the Alaska Supreme Court had ruled that the union-dues changes had been enacted illegally. Four days after the Legislature filed its lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear an appeal requested by the administration, an act that leaves the state supreme courts ruling in place. In 2025, over the Legislatures objections, Anchorage District Court judge Dani Crosby ruled that lawmakers lawsuit was moot because the money had already been spent, and she dismissed it. Legislators appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that there is a public interest in having the issue resolved, because it is likely to return again. Advertisement Advertisement Attorney Kevin Cuddy, representing the Legislature, noted that last year as in past years the Alaska Legislature authorized a budget that included a provision stating that the Alaska Department of Health may not spend Medicaid money on certain abortions. That idea of no funding for this, some funding for that, these conditions are a regular feature of the budgeting process, he said in Wednesdays oral argument, arguing that the issue is not moot. Deputy Solicitor General Jessie Alloway represented the state in Wednesdays hearing and said the abortion issue is an example of why the court should decline to take up the Legislatures arguments. This is exactly why the court should say this is moot and not take a more abstract view because there is an unlimited number of hypotheticals that we could come up with that would be problematic, she said. Advertisement Advertisement If the court does overrule Crosby, both sides asked the justices to give them a firm answer rather than having Crosby take up the issue again. The justices would then have to decide whether legislators overreached by attempting to restrict the executive branch, whether the executive branch overreached by continuing to spend, and where exactly the line rests between legislative and executive power. Thats what we keep coming back to: Who gets to decide this, whether these contracts are necessary? asked Justice Aimee Oravec. One prior Supreme Court case discussed Wednesday may offer some clues. In 2001, the court ruled on a legislative lawsuit against then-Gov. Tony Knowles over a series of budget vetoes. Advertisement Advertisement One of those vetoes involved a dispute over bed space bought by the state prison system in private facilities. Legislators wrote in the budget that the space had to be bought from private contractors. The supreme court upheld that language in its ruling. Conditions are permissible, as this court held in the Knowles case, said Cuddy, the Legislatures attorney, including saying what types of services, public versus private, or private versus public, the money can be spent upon. But Alloway, arguing for the state, said legislators were attempting to define purchases that had already happened. Thats different from Knowles. Advertisement Advertisement What was happening was the (attorney general) had already retained outside counsel via his statutory authority. The Legislature knew about it, and then the appropriation targeted that decision by eliminating the amount the AG could spend on the contract, she said. During Wednesdays argument, chief justice Susan Carney was absent. Staff for the court said she was recovering from surgery and out on medical leave. Justice Dario Borghesan, a former Department of Law attorney, recused himself from the case, leaving three justices, all Dunleavy appointees, for Wednesdays hearing. Justice Jennifer Henderson, presiding over oral arguments, said Carney may be involved in deliberations before a final decision is published at a later date. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Despite saying Tuesday that she would seek a recount in her race for North Carolinas 4th Congressional District, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam announced late Wednesday she is conceding the race to her rival, incumbent Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee. Unofficial results show Foushee won 49.18% of the vote, just 0.96% more than the 48.22% for Allam. Mary Patterson won 2.6%. Provisional ballots and some military and overseas remain, although its unclear how many. If the margin is still one percentage point or less after those votes are counted next week, Allam could by law request a mandatory recount. Advertisement Advertisement But now, she says she will not. Though these were not the results we hoped for, I am proud of the movement we have built, the voices we have lifted up and the journey we have ahead, Allam said in a statement late Wednesday. Voters are fired up and ready to turnout, but they are frustrated with a Democratic establishment that fails to meet this moment and fails to stand up to corporate Super PACs and warmongering lobbies, Allam said. Despite their millions in last-minute spending, corporate lobbies were only barely able to eke out a winbecause of the movement this campaign built. Allam called on Democrats in her district to remain firm on their progressive positions, pushing the party base farther left. Advertisement Advertisement The race was one of several high-profile contests across the country between progressive and traditional factions of the party. While we may not have won this race, the establishment should stay on watch, Allam added. Our movement sounded the alarm for future Democratic primaries throughout this cycle. Addressing supporters just before midnight at her watch party on Tuesday, Allam said the race wasnt over and there would be a recount. Its unclear why she changed her mind. Her spokesperson did not immediately respond to NC Newslines request for comment. Foushee issued a statement Wednesday evening saying she was deeply humbled to receive the Democratic nomination towards her third term in the deep-blue district. Advertisement Advertisement In a state where many peoples rights are on the ballot in November, now is the time for our district to unify in support of Roy Cooper and others who are fighting to flip seats blue, Foushee said. While elites and authoritarians continue to exploit our communities, we have an opportunity to deliver a crushing blow if we can all come together. Wednesday afternoon, Foushee had announced she would support a call for a recount. It is critical to our democracy that every lawful vote is counted in our elections, Foushee said in a statement. I welcome the opportunity to ensure that right is protected, and am confident that the Democratic voters of North Carolina will have nominated me to serve a third term. Outside spending in the primary exceeded $4.5 million as of Wednesday afternoon. Its the most expensive congressional primary in state history, breaking the 2022 record between the same two candidates. This story has been updated. The Kansas Legislature has decided that some speech deserves government protection. Other speech deserves government persecution. The votes have come throughout the session, each one worse than the other. You might have to tilt your head a bit to see the majoritys lecherous fondling of state-sanctioned censorship, but once you glimpse the mortifying mise-en-scene, you wont forget it. Courts and vetoes may save Kansans from the worst of it. But take heed of these accelerating attacks on the First Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Lets work through the examples in reverse order. On Tuesday, a divided Senate narrowly approved a budget amendment that would harshly punish public school districts for unauthorized walkouts by students. Wait, you may ask. Wasnt this the same Legislature that venerated Charlie Kirk for his brave free speech? It sure is. You continue: And isnt this the same Legislature that welcomes busloads of private school students every year to demonstrate for public funding of their institutions? Youve got that right. You see, Lawrence public school students have made recent headlines for protesting against abuses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Back in 2023, they protested against anti-trans legislation. Over in Shawnee Mission, students have followed suit. Olathe saw similar protests (and fisticuffs). Advertisement Advertisement One can only imagine how lawmakers detest the idea that young people in Kansas the state they have worked so hard to remodel into a rightwing sanctuary express liberal ideas. They therefore voted to deploy the might of state government against them. More specifically, lawmakers voted to deploy the might of state government against superintendents. And Im sure that social media provocateurs targeting Lawrence superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift over immigration policy had nothing to do with that at all! Lawrence Public Schools has a strong, proud history of supporting student voice through student peaceful protests, activism, and respectful civil engagement as integral to a strong, healthy democracy, Swift wrote about the ICE protests. Nuts to that, legislators responded. Shut it down. Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere, the House-passed budget withholds funds from state universities if they teach diversity, equity and inclusion in required classes. Thank goodness someone stuck up for homogeneity, prejudice and omission. Both chambers put all their chips on celebrating Kirk, rather than homegrown free speech hero William Allen White. One of those men bravely fought the Ku Klux Klan, while the other repeatedly flirted with bigotry. We honored the latter of those two. And we cant ignore how the anti-trans law, House Substitute for Senate Bill 244, disenfranchises and silences Kansans with the threat of legal action for simply being themselves. I can think of no greater act of censorship. As the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, public high school students enjoy robust free speech rights. As long as their actions dont disrupt the learning of their fellow students, they can raise their voices along with the rest of us. Advertisement Advertisement Besides the Olathe situation, Im not aware of any serious complaints or issues with the recent ICE protests. Amendment sponsor Sen. Michael Murphy, R-Sylvia, didnt mention any. As written, the amendment poses impossible choices for students, faculty and administrators. Veteran journalist Dave Helling pointed out on Kansas City Stack: Murphys proposal is impossibly vague. Will districts be penalized if a handful of teens skip class and head out for a hamburger? If so, authorities are going to be really busy. If not, then districts will face penalties based on the content of the speech, which is blatantly unconstitutional. The only conclusion one can reach, the only takeaway from this amendment and earlier bill, is that Kansas lawmakers want to protect conservative speech while punishing left-leaning expression. Advertisement Advertisement Every single Kansan, whatever his or her ideological position, should worry about that. If one party can decide what expression to protect and what expression to prosecute, the other party will make its own decisions later, when it take charge. Full disclosure: My son participated in one of the Lawrence protests, of his own free will. As a working journalist, I dont participate in such public activism. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. By Mubasher Bukhari and Saad Sayeed LAHORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan's efforts to preserve close ties with President Donald Trump are being put to the test after protesters stormed the U.S. consulate in Karachi last week and poured onto streets elsewhere over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Islamabad is looking to balance the anger among its minority Shi'ite Muslim community, the second-largest in the world after Iran, and its alliance with Washington, underlined by its membership of Trump's Board of Peace this year, where Israel also has a seat at the table. Advertisement Advertisement Complicating the challenge is Pakistan's worst fighting in years with Afghanistan, the other nation on its western border along with Iran. Pakistan's relationship with the U.S. has strengthened since Trump returned to the White House last year, ending more than a decade on Washington's blacklist and providing a useful counterbalance to its troubled ties with India. The mercurial Trump has a close relationship with Field Marshal Asim Munir, the most powerful man in Pakistan. Pakistan also maintains deep military, economic and political ties with Saudi Arabia and recently signed a strategic defence pact that states aggression against either state should be treated as an attack on both. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been targeted by Iran in its counter-strikes following the U.S. and Israel attacks. Advertisement Advertisement "Pakistan is trying to maintain domestic peace by expressing solidarity with Iran, while it also risks being pulled into the orbit of the war by the U.S. and Saudis," said Arsalan Khan, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. "If the war progresses, then it may find itself making trade-offs between domestic peace and its geopolitical commitments." The government has not commented on the issue, although a senior security official told Reuters: "Balancing relationships and blowback is the most pressing issue for Pakistan." 'NEW SPIRIT OF REVOLUTION' Advertisement Advertisement At least 26 people were killed as protesters clashed with police following news on Sunday of the death of Khamenei, seen by Pakistan's Shi'ites as their spiritual leader. In Karachi, U.S. Marines fired on protesters who breached the walls of the consulate, two U.S. officials have said. Video footage of the incident showed some of the protesters were armed and fired into the compound. Senior Shi'ite clerics in Pakistan have announced days of mourning and warned that more protests would follow, which could lead to bursts of instability in its main cities, analysts said. Khamenei's "death has not weakened the Shi'ites but united them with a new spirit of revolution and independence from the slavery of the U.S. and its allies," Shi'ite cleric Sajid Ali Naqvi told Reuters. Shi'ites, or Shias in the Urdu language, make up about one-fifth of Pakistan's 240 million people. The vast majority of Pakistan's people are Sunni Muslims. Advertisement Advertisement The minority community has often been targeted in sectarian attacks, including by Islamic State and the Sunni Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. A schism between Sunnis and Shi'ites developed after the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 when his followers could not agree on a successor. Emotions over the issue have boiled through to modern times, and have even pushed some countries to the brink of civil war. PRODUCT OF PAKISTAN'S SECTARIAN HISTORY Pakistan's own political history, alongside Khamenei's revered status, have shaped the Shi'ite response to the Iranian leader's killing, said Madiha Tahir, an assistant professor at Yale. Advertisement Advertisement While General Zia ul Haq unleashed a brand of Sunni Muslim Islamisation in Pakistan in the 1980s, the 1979 Iranian revolution created a new source of support and theological ties for its Shi'ites. "Pakistani Shias found themselves marginalized in an increasingly sectarian state and vulnerable to violence," Tahir said. "At the same time, the Iranian Revolution meant that they could draw on Iran for aid. It had a profound effect on Shia communities and politics in Pakistan." For Pakistan's Shi'ites, the Ayatollah in Iran turned into a defender of their identity, said Kamran Bokhari, senior director at the New Lines Institute in Washington. Advertisement Advertisement "Add in anti-Americanism and anti-Israeli sentiment and you can see how this becomes a powerful potion," he said. 'LIKE OUR POPE' Shi'ite leaders linked to the Millat-e-Jafaria network and other groups, including the cleric Naqvi, have called for protests and investigations into the killings of demonstrators, and demanded a criminal case against the U.S. consul general. "He was our representative. He was like our pope," said Syed Hussain Ali, who runs the digital platform Hussaini Khayal and organised a vigil to mourn Khamenei. Officially, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned Khamenei's killing, calling it a "violation of international law". Advertisement Advertisement But he did not name the U.S. and also said "Pakistan stands in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and our brotherly Gulf countries in this perilous time". Analysts say the Shi'ite protests could fade in time but the deaths of demonstrators may keep tensions alive, especially with funerals for those killed drawing large crowds. "Each one of those deaths is a reminder of the embattled place of Shias within Pakistan," Tahir said. "There is definite potential for this to continue." (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Saad Sayeed in Bangkok; Writing by Ariba Shahid; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 5 (UPI) -- Hezbollah, significantly degraded but still armed, has again ventured to drag Lebanon into another war -- this time in support of Iran -- by resuming military actions against Israel and risking a longer occupation, greater destruction and further destabilization of Lebanon, analysts said. The assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war Saturday triggered Hezbollah to launch missiles and drones at northern Israel early Monday after months of relative restraint. Whether the Shiite militant group, which has been funded and heavily armed by Iran since its establishment in the early 1980s, took the decision itself or acted on orders from its patron, the outcome would not change. Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollah Secretary Sheikh Naim Qassem said Wednesday night that his group resumed military activities in response to 15 months of Israeli aggressions since the Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire -- achieved to end the 2023 HezbollahIsrael war -- and Khamanei's killing From the Israeli perspective, Hezbollah has fallen into a "strategic trap," a statement interpreted as giving it the opportunity to destroy the group, meaning Israel now believes it has political and military freedom to inflict major damage on the group. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said the Iranians had ordered Hezbollah to take part in the fighting and that, based on their Shiite faith, they "accept the commandments of their superiors unquestionably." "It is suicidal, but their logic is different," Khashan told UPI. "There is a dictate and they have to abide by it." Advertisement Advertisement He observed that Hezbollah refrained from retaliating for the 2024 assassination of its long-time charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and for post-truce Israeli attacks on its positions and operatives. The Lebanese government, which began to disarm Hezbollah, but has struggled to accelerate the process, sought to distance itself further from the group after it refused to lay down its arms. The government then declared Hezbollah's military and security activities unlawful. "The government is essentially saying that it is at odds with Hezbollah and not responsible for its actions," Khashan said. "That's the best it can do -- perhaps waiting for Israel to finish off Hezbollah." Analysts contend that Hezbollah's first strategic mistake was opening a front in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, expecting a two- to three-week campaign. The conflict, which saw Israel operate with near total freedom, greatly weakened Hezbollah, killed senior officials and civilians, and caused widespread destruction across southern Lebanon and other areas. Advertisement Advertisement No one expected Hezbollah now to engage in the conflict to support Iran because of destructive consequences, at least not in its first days, according to Hisham Jaber, a Lebanese military expert and former Army general. "We entered a war without horizon, limits or breaks," Jaber told UPI, describing the situation as "very dangerous." He said Hezbollah's missile and drone attacks carried out so far are unlikely to deter Israel unless they force residents in northern Israel to flee -- while hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have already been displaced by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Jaber said, however, that the group is believed still to possess strategic weapons -- according to Israeli estimates -- including thousands of ballistic and precision missiles, reportedly hidden deep in the mountains in Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement The question remains whether Hezbollah, which has tried to reorganize its ranks and rebuild its capabilities, can continue firing missiles and sustain a long conflict. What is certain is that Lebanon cannot bear another war. Fadi Daoud, a retired Lebanese Army brigadier general, said he doubted that Hezbollah could continue the war after Israel destroyed much of its arsenal during the support campaign for Gaza. Daoud warned, however, that Israel has a "vital goal," which is to "uproot" Hezbollah from its northern borders, not leaving "even a small cell of the group ... to grow and expand." "What we are seeing now is the beginning," he told UPI. Advertisement Advertisement He said Israel might be planning a ground incursion in southern and eastern Lebanon instead of relying solely on airstrikes, reportedly aiming to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure. He warned of the danger of "emptying" southern Lebanon of its residents after Israel ordered them to leave, and of the possible destruction of every village, as happened in Gaza. "That means long occupation that will have repercussions on the other regions in Lebanon," he added. Immediate diplomatic action emerged as Lebanon's only option to pressure Israel to reconsider its plans to destroy the southern suburbs of Beirut and launch a ground incursion. Advertisement Advertisement "The Lebanese government should act quickly, asking the United States to help secure a cease-fire. ... Otherwise, Lebanon faces destruction," Jaber said. He said a cease-fire must be imposed on Hezbollah so that it cannot fire "a single bullet," adding that waiting for the war with Iran to end is a luxury Lebanon cannot afford. That would require exceptional, and inherently risky, decisions by the Lebanese government amid widespread fears of confrontation with Hezbollah, disintegration of the Lebanese Army and civil unrest. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) The price of gasoline is on the rise in the Rockford area, and gas price analysts say the conflict in Iran could force prices even higher. Rockfordians are feeling pain at the pump. People filling up at a station on the citys west side said they were surprised to see prices so high on Wednesday. Definitely noticed today, said Rockfords Tajaun Wilson. Not good, because I just bought this truck. Im not happy about it. Advertisement Advertisement Nothing we can do about it other than just ride the storm out and hopefully its a short period, you know, said Byrons Jim Sukemverg. GasBuddy analysis shows gas prices in Rockford are 29.3 cents higher since last week. Prices are 30.9 cents higher than a month ago. Theyre 7.9 cents lower than a year ago. Their analysts are predicting gas prices to increase 20 to 55 cents nationally over the next week or two. Matt McClain is a petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. He says the conflict in Iran is impacting prices. Iran was 100 percent a factor in that, as well as our reevaluation on Tuesday, McClain said. That was strictly conflict analysis on the events that have unfolded so far in the conflict through yesterday morning. Advertisement Advertisement He said gas prices could soar higher because of the war, but its hard to predict. According to GasBuddys Patrick De Haan, the key factors that could cause prices to change even more are if The Strait of Hormuz sees sustained disruptions, if Iranian oil export infrastructure is damaged, and if the conflict spreads regionally. There are so many scenarios that I couldnt even begin and nor could any other analyst throw a dart at a dart board and hope to hit the bullseye every single time, said. McClain. Its just not practical and its also not wise. McClain said if the situation in Iran calms, prices could level out. Thats what Wilson said hes hoping for. Im hoping that we come to some resolution very soon with all the stuff thats ongoing and see better gas prices because right now, this is not what we need, said Wilson. Advertisement Advertisement McClain says diesel fuel prices might be affected more than gasoline due to the conflict. GasBuddy says those prices could increase 25 to 50 cents a gallon over the next week or two. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO WQRF News, Weather and Sports. A new poll out March 4 has Graham Platner with a sizable lead over Gov. Janet Mills in Maines Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. It is the second survey in ten days that has the political newcomer ahead in a race that has seemingly captured some of the national antipathy toward establishment politicians, particularly within the Democratic Party. Graham Platner, a Democrat challenging U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at a Labor Day rally in Portland, Maine on Sept. 1, 2025. The Pan Atlantic Research poll has Platner leading the two-term governor 46% to 39% among the 367 likely Democratic primary voters surveyed, with 4% backing lesser-known candidate David Costello and 11% undecided. The results are a dramatic departure from the Portland-based pollsters last survey in December, which had Mills ahead 47% to 37%. Advertisement Advertisement Since then, Platner who outraised Mills by nearly $2 million last quarter has launched a series of statewide ads, including one that aired Wednesday, focusing on his military service. He also this week secured his second U.S. Senate endorsement with the backing of Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a fellow former Marine, who said he believes Graham is the only Democrat running that can win Maine. This comes after independent Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed him in September. In match-ups against incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, Mills and the long-time Republican senator are tied among the 810 voters surveyed at 44%, with 12% undecided, while Platner leads Collins 44% to 40%, with 16% undecided. The survey, conducted between Feb. 13 and March 2, found the oyster farmer leading Mills among men and voters under 55 years old, and tying with women a key constituency for Maines first female governor. The governor has an edge among older voters and registered Democrats, while Platner is 33 percentage points ahead among independents who said they are likely to vote in Maines semi-open primary. Mills, who has frequently pointed to her record as one of the few Democrats that has won a statewide election, leads Platner 41% to 39% among likely primary voters in the more conservative 2nd congressional district, while Platner is ahead among CD1 voters 51% to 38%. Advertisement Advertisement Maines U.S. Senate election, currently deemed a toss-up by the Cook Political Report, is among a handful of races that could control the balance of power in Congress. The Pan Atlantic survey comes just over a week after the University of New Hampshire Survey Centers latest poll found Platner leading Mills in a primary match-up 64% to 26% among 462 likely Democratic voters. The results show that the outsider has weathered early controversies over an archive of offensive Reddit posts and a now-covered tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, a connection he denied knowing until recently. However, a deleted social media post from neo-Nazi influencer Stew Peters and recent appearance on a popular YouTube show whose host has spread antisemitic claims about Jews and Israel have sparked another round of condemnation from some within the party. Other findings Platners economic populism appears to be resonating with Maine voters, nearly half of whom (47%) told the pollsters that their household is financially worse off than a year ago, compared to just 14% who say they are now better off. Advertisement Advertisement Seventy-five percent of voters listed cost of living as one of the three top issues facing the state, followed by high taxes and health care access and affordability, both of which were selected by 39% of respondents. The Pan Atlantic survey also asked voters their preference for who might replace Mills in the June 9 gubernatorial primaries. In the crowded Democratic field, the poll found businessman Angus King III and former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah tied with 24% of respondents saying they would likely support them in the primary. Only 12% of respondents said they were not familiar with King, a political newcomer, likely due to him sharing a name with his father, sitting U.S. Senator and former Governor Angus King. Hannah Pingree (18%), Shenna Bellows (16%), Troy Jackson (10%) all trailed slightly behind. Advertisement Advertisement Among Republicans, only former U.S. State Department official Bobby Charles, who has made headlines for his frequent anti-immigrant remarks, had more than 20% of respondents say they would likely support him in the primary. As the pollster noted, name recognition remains a significant hurdle for the GOP field, as at least 44% of primary voters indicated they are not familiar with each of the candidates tested. Voters in Maines 2nd congressional district are also largely undecided when it comes to Democratic U.S. House candidates. Maine Sen. Joe Baldacci leads among the small sample of 144 likely Democratic CD2 voters, followed by State Auditor Matt Dunlap at 14% and Jordan Wood at 12%. This story was first published by Maine Morning Star and is republished here under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Another poll finds Platner leading Mills in Maine U.S. Senate primary An investigation is underway in the Town of Shirley after human remains were located Wednesday night. At approximately 5:30 p.m. today a group of young people walking in the area of the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water, the Middlesex County DA said. Police arrived on scene and confirmed that they located human remains. Foul play is suspected, according to the DA. Advertisement Advertisement As a result of the discovery, the Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex District Attorneys Office are assisting Shirley Police with the investigation. Police caution that there may be temporary traffic restrictions in the area as the investigation continues. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Moderna has agreed to pay up to $2.25 billion to Arbutus Biopharma and Roivant subsidiary Genevant Sciences in a settlement that ends a longstanding legal dispute over technology used in its mRNA vaccines. In a statement Tuesday, Moderna said it will make an upfront payment of $950 million in the third quarter of this year while appealing another $1.3 billion in possible payouts to a federal circuit court. Moderna wont have to pay future royalties on sales of its mRNA vaccines following the initial lump sum payment. The settlement comes just days before the scheduled start of a jury trial in Delaware and leaves Moderna liable for far less than the roughly $5 billion Arbutus and Genevant had been seeking. Moderna shares rose 9% in early trading Wednesday. Dive Insight: Moderna rose to prominence by quickly bringing to market one of the worlds first COVID vaccines, a shot that brought in billions dollars in revenue and made the company a household name. But along the way, Moderna also found itself immersed in multiple legal fights, with spats erupting among several players asserting ownership of patents covering different aspects of the technology. The dispute with Arbutus and Genevant centers around the fatty shells, or lipid nanoparticles, Moderna uses to deliver mRNA into cells. These LNPs were pioneered by other companies, including Arbutus, and are a critical component of Modernas shots. In its own announcement, Roivant which in addition to owning Genevant holds a stake in Arbutus said the settlement holds Moderna accountable for infringement, while offering the company a non-exclusive license to Genevants LNP technology for certain infectious disease vaccines. It is enormously gratifying for the Genevant team to, at long last, be recognized for our pivotal contribution to restoring normalcy around the world in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, Genevants CEO James Heyes said in the statement. Yet the deal was also a win for Moderna. The company has been under financial stress for multiple years following a decline in COVID vaccine sales and minimal contributions from another shot it developed. A larger settlement payment, plus ongoing sales royalties, wouldve left Moderna even more cash-strapped. The spike in Modernas share price, then,reflects relief for a successful dodged bullet and avoiding a worst-case scenario, wrote Leerink Partners analyst Mani Foroohar. Investors were concerned about a deal thatd push the balance sheet into acute distress or burden out-year margins with a further royalty, he wrote. A man awaiting trial on a murder charge after he was accused of killing his daughter's alleged abuser won the Republican nomination for sheriff of a county in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas secretary of state's office. Aaron Spencer scored over 53% of the vote in the Republican primary, defeating Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley and another candidate, the state results show. Spencer, an Army veteran and a farmer, first made headlines in October 2024, when he was charged with shooting and killing a 67-year-old man who had been charged with sexually abusing Spencer's 13-year-old daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Spencer's attorneys, Erin Cassinelli and Michael Kiel Kaiser, told NBC News last year that his actions were "justified under Arkansas law in taking action to protect his daughter and himself." Lonoke County, Ark., sheriff's candidate Aaron Spencer. (Provided to NBC News) (Provided to NBC News) Spencer said the case, which is pending, helped inspire his run for office. Im the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed, he said in his campaign announcement. "Through my own fight for justice, I've seen first hand the failures in law-enforcement and in our circuit court, and I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures," he said, adding that the campaign "isn't about me. It's about every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel safe in their homes and safe in their community." He'll face off against Democrat Brian Mitchell Sr. in November. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The US government's release of millions of pages related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has ignited a torrent of misinformation online, including posts claiming one redacted picture from the files depicts infant cruelty. The visual was digitally created by merging images of a naked man and raw poultry, its creator told AFP, and was part of an old advertising competition that highlighted animal cruelty. "A redacted image from the Epstein files shows what appears to be a baby between two chickens. Other documents mention testimonies of cannibalism," reads a February 1, 2026 X post written in simplified Chinese. The image shows a cutting board with uncooked chicken, and what appears to be a human leg circled in red. The other body parts are covered with black boxes. Advertisement Advertisement Similar posts were shared in English, Arabic, Bengali, French, Spanish, Malayalam, Portuguese and Turkish. Screenshot of the misrepresented image captured February 27, 2026, with a red X added by AFP Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 and was facing sex trafficking charges in New York when he died that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. His death was ruled a suicide but, like much else around Epstein, is the subject of lurid conspiracy theories. The US Justice Department's latest release of documents from its investigation into the wealthy financier highlighted his extensive ties to political and business elites -- although the mere mention of someone does not imply any wrongdoing (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement But the millions of pages made public show at the very least connections between Epstein or his circle and certain public figures who have often downplayed -- or even denied -- the existence of such ties. The Epstein files -- which included more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images -- sparked a flood of falsely shared visuals online. The circulating image of the raw chicken was similarly misrepresented. 'Surprised and shocked' A reverse image search found a post on X that linked to the document in the files containing the visual (archived here and here). Screenshot comparison between the false X post (L) and the document from the Epstein files A watermark at the bottom of the image reads, "Harald Seiwert". Advertisement Advertisement A keyword search of the name found the original and unredacted work uploaded to the YouPic website by an account bearing the same name (archived link). Contrary to the posts, it depicts a naked man lying on his back and not an infant. According to the description, the image was taken in the Noord-Holland province of the Netherlands on March 14, 2002. The caption says the image was an entry in an advertisement competition for the Italian Vegetarian Association in 2004, and a man named Matt posed for the photo. Screenshot of the YouPic image with blurring added by AFP AFP reached out to Seiwert, who confirmed the description of the image and said the model was a British friend in his mid-thirties living in Amsterdam at the time. Advertisement Advertisement He said he used Photoshop to create a composite, and desaturate the man's skin tone to resemble the colour of poultry. The artist added he was "surprised and shocked" to see his work included in the Epstein files, and it "saddened" him that it was falsely linked to cannibalism and child abuse. "It confirms how easy many people nowadays jump to (conspiracy) conclusions," he told AFP on February 20, 2026. "Someone approached me saying 'I don't believe you. Maybe there is more behind that photo'. My answer was: think about it. What photographer or artist would take an illegal or criminal photo and leave his/her name with copyright next to it?" Advertisement Advertisement Seiwert sent AFP photos of a booklet published by the Italian Vegetarian Association which included the visual. He said the group approached him in 2004 to use the image for a campaign against animal cruelty and meat consumption. Photos sent by Seiwert to AFP on February 20, 2026. Black rectangle added by AFP More of our work on misinformation surrounding Epstein can be found here. A small container ship transiting eastbound in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an unknown projectile Wednesday morning, causing a fire in its engine room and forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. The Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige, a ship owned by Abu Dhabi Ports Group that carries 1,740 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), was attacked above the hulls water line at approximately 11:09 local time. No injuries were reported among the 24 crew members rescued by the Omani navy, according to the Oman News Agency. More from Sourcing Journal Advertisement Advertisement The projectiles origin has not been confirmed, but the incident follows a series of drone and missile strikes in the Strait of Hormuz against commercial shipping in the wake of a joint U.S.-Israeli aerial military offensive in Iran that began Saturday. On Tuesday, a senior adviser of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that Iran closed the conduit and that the countrys military would attack ships seeking passage. The declaration and the wider conflict, in which Iranian strikes have directly hit Middle Eastern airports and temporarily stalled operations at seaports like the Port of Jebel Ali and the Port of Salalah, have spooked shipping companies from operating in the region. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) first reported the incident, which occurred two nautical miles north of Oman. According to MarineTraffic, the Safeen Prestige left the U.A.E.s Ghantoot Port on Tuesday, and was headed toward Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia by Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, President Donald Trump unveiled that his administration would offer insurance to all ships looking to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to replace maritime insurers that are expected to end coverage for vessels in the conflict-ridden area and keep oil tankers flowing. The president is further incentivizing passage, saying the U.S. Navy would begin escorting tankers through the strategic Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible if necessary. Depending on the details of the proposal it might help tip the risk/reward ratio and stimulate more shipowners to resume operations in the high-threat area, said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), in a statement. Naval escorts would help reduce the threat for the ships being protected. That said, providing protection for all tankers operating in areas currently threatened by Iran is unrealistic as this would require a very high number of warships and other military assets. Tanker traffic through the Hormuz strait has plummeted 90 percent since the start of the military operation, according to data from MarineTraffic. Advertisement Advertisement Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the worlds largest ocean carrier, is not taking any chances. After initially saying it was suspending all cargo bookings to and from the Middle East until further notice, MSC has decided to offload all Persian Gulf-bound cargo in alternative ports outside the region. All shipments currently en route will be diverted to the next safe port of discharge, MSC said in a Tuesday advisory. At that location, cargo will be discharged and placed at customers disposal for local delivery and recovery. A mandatory surcharge of $800 per container will apply to all affected shipments to cover what the liner calls deviation costs. According to data from container tracking solution provider Vizion, MSC currently has 139,500 TEUs of cargo onboard vessels bound for the Gulf. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd both clamped down further on Middle Eastern shipments Wednesday, officially ending bookings for several countries including the U.A.E, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Restrictions also are in place for some gateways in Saudi Arabia and Oman, but the ports of Jeddah, King Abdullah and Salalah are still clear for docking. Advertisement Advertisement CMA CGM, which already suspended all Middle Eastern bookings Tuesday, also said it was divert vessels to contingency ports as it implements emergency measures for Gulf-bound shipments. Shippers can take one of three options: delivery to the diverted port, have onwards transport by road or rail from the diverted port or have a change of destination. The carrier states associated costs, including handling and storage, will be borne by customers. According to data from Alphaliner, 138 container ships with a combined capacity of nearly 470,000 TEUs were still stranded in the Persian Gulf as of Monday. MSC and CMA CGM were the most affected carriers, with 15 vessels carrying 109,000 TEUs and 14 ships moving 70,000 TEUs respectively seeking shelter. Advertisement Advertisement According to AIS data reported by freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta on Wednesday, there are 11 container vessels waiting outside the Strait of Hormuz, and another 20 that are steaming in the immediate vicinity and still listed as bound for Gulf ports. Entering the Gulf is highly unlikely at this moment, but in the absence of new directives, vessels default to communicating their last known next port. This aligns well with what were seeing in schedules, said Destine Ozuygur, a senior market analyst at Xeneta in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. Voyages that were due to arrive at Gulf ports in the mid-term seem to have a clearer course of action for offloading at alternate ports, but many ships that were enveloped in the immediate aftermath are still waiting for plans to materialize. Of the 48 services on the Asia-to-Europe trade among major ocean carriers, 18 call one or more of the 14 countries directly exposed to the widening conflict zone, Ozuygur said. That amounts to 239,000 TEUs of weekly capacity. As the ports near and around the Persian Gulf demonstrate more risk, congestion is expected to pile up in southeast Asian transshipment hubs in Singapore and Colombo, as well as Malaysias Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas. Advertisement Advertisement In the longer term, that would likely necessitate regional relays through Indian ports like Mundra and Nhava Sheva, as well as localized distribution through Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and other East Africa ports, said Ozuygur. Air cargo backlogs just beginning The war in Iran has cargo ramifications outside the ocean freight spectrum. Air cargo is expected to experience backlogs as a wide swath of capacity remains grounded due to airport closures in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait. By the end of the week, and the beginning of next, we will most probably see certain backlogs arising in Southeast Asia and in China for the European and the U.S. marketplace, said Stefan Paul, CEO of freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel in a Tuesday earnings call. There is a mismatch coming that is similar to the Covid times when it comes to supply and demand. Data from air cargo market intelligence firm Rotate published Sunday indicated that the Middle East airspace closures and widespread grounding pushed down available global air cargo capacity 18 percent from the week prior. Advertisement Advertisement Forwarders including Kuehne + Nagel are already chartering direct Far East-West flights to compensate for lost capacity, according to Paul. As of Wednesday, the Freightos Air Index shows Southeast Asia-to-Europe rates up more than 6 eprcent to $3.82 per kg since Friday, while South Asia rates ticked up 3 percent to Europe and 5 percent to the U.S., respectively. Middle East-to-Europe flights increased 8 percent to $1.62 per kg amid the capacity crunch at origin. China-to-U.S. air cargo rates saw the biggest five-day jump, increasing 15 percent to $6.90 per kg, though some of the trans-Pacific increase may reflect the post-Lunar New Year rebound rather than war disruptions alone. In the long run, Paul expects the air freight side of the business to benefit from sea-to-air conversions, which were a tool used often when the Red Sea crisis was at its peak throughout 2024. As soon as we see a shift from sea to air, there will be further demand coming in into the air freight, Paul said. The air freight business will benefit more than the sea freight business from the current crisis situation we see. By Alasdair Pal and Melanie Burton SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had signed new agreements on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the "middle powers". Carney is on a multi-leg trip across the Asia-Pacific region also taking in Japan and India. His stop in Australia included the first address to Australia's parliament by a Canadian leader since 2007. Advertisement Advertisement "In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour or combine for strength," he told lawmakers. Introducing Carney in parliament, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his address represented the closeness of the ties between the two nations. "Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back, but we can back ourselves, back our citizens, and back each other," he said. G7 ALLIANCE Albanese told a press conference that Australia would join Canada's G7 critical minerals production alliance. Advertisement Advertisement "We have agreed to deepen our relationship across several areas, building on our joint declaration of intent on critical minerals that we signed last year," he told a press conference. The G7 alliance is a Canada-led initiative to diversify and secure global critical minerals production and supply. Canada and Australia together produce about a third of global lithium and uranium, as well as more than 40% of global iron ore. Western nations have been attempting to diversify their supply chains away from China, which still controls the majority of production and processing of critical minerals, essential for semiconductors and defence applications. Advertisement Advertisement Canada believes that the best way to address the issue of concentrated supply of critical minerals is through a production alliance or a buyers' club rather than just a price floor, Energy and Mining Minister Tim Hodgson told Reuters on Tuesday. Australia has already allocated A$1.2 billion ($850 million) to build a critical minerals stockpile, beginning with antimony, gallium and rare earths. That will now be more closely aligned with Canada's defence stockpiling regime that has a similar aim, Albanese said. "There's a lot Canada and Australia can do together on critical minerals as producer nations," Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King told Reuters ahead of Carney's visit. Advertisement Advertisement Australia and Canada will also deepen cooperation in areas including defence and maritime security, trade and artificial intelligence, the two leaders said. ($1 = 1.4122 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates) At 11:15 on the morning of March 9, 1976, Virgil Coots, a foreman at the Scotia coal mine in Letcher County, called to the surface. Youve cut off all my air, Coots complained. A few minutes later, he made another call. Im not getting any air, Coots said. Im coming down to see what the problem is. Coots never made it. Methane gas accumulated in a dead-end section of the mine and, at 11:30 a.m., Scotia exploded. Coots was killed immediately. Fourteen others would die this day 50 years ago. Scotia exploded again March 11. Eight miners and three federal mine inspectors died. Advertisement Advertisement Two days, two explosions, 26 dead. Fifty years later, its worth remembering. I was working then at The Mountain Eagle, the newspaper in Whitesburg, Kentucky. About noon on March 9, in the middle of our weekly mad rush to finish the paper, we received a call about a mine explosion at Scotia. The mine was in Oven Fork, about 10 miles south of Whitesburg, close to the Harlan County line but still in Letcher. Survivors, notified in the mine office that their family member had died, shared the news with others waiting outside after the Scotia mine exploded in March 1976. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) Tom and Pat Gish owned and ran the Eagle. Nineteen months earlier, a local cop had hired two people to burn the paper down. After the fire, Tom and Pat changed the Eagles motto from It Screams to It Still Screams. Thats the kind of paper the Gishes published. They said we werent printing until we found out what happened at Scotia. Hear journalist Bill Bishop and historian Brian McKnight interviewed about the Scotia mine disaster by Tom Martin on WEKUs Eastern Standard at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Also at 7 a.m Saturday on WFPL-Louisville and streaming on esweku.org, WEKU app, Spotify, Apple, NPR. Advertisement Advertisement We scattered, looking for any information on the disaster. I went to the mine where families and miners had gathered. I took pictures, only to have the state police confiscate my film. They said I couldnt take photos on private property. (The police eventually returned the film.) We gathered all the information we could and some time Wednesday we finished the paper and got it to the printer in Prestonsburg. We learned that Virgil Coots was right. The Scotia Mine wasnt properly ventilated. It was also a particularly gassy mine. That was a deadly combination. Methane gas is explosive when it reaches between 5% and 15% of the atmosphere. All that is needed then is a spark. A good ventilation system sweeps methane out of a mine before it can reach the 5% threshold. But at Scotia, fresh air had been directed away from a non-working section of the mine and methane accumulated. Miners told the Eagle that ventilation was a chronic problem at Scotia. Theres not enough air there, one miner said. Theres never been enough air in there. Virgil Coots call was further indication that ventilation at the mine was fouled. Even in a region accustomed to hardship, facing the tragedy of what happened at Scotia was tough. Twenty-six men died in explosions two days apart. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) All sections of a mine were supposed to be checked for gas (fire bossed) before each working shift. That didnt happen, so nobody knew about the dangerous levels of methane present in the mine. The spark that ignited the methane probably came from a motor two men drove into that section of the mine not knowing they were travelling to the middle of an unexploded bomb. Advertisement Advertisement By 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, rescue teams had found the bodies of 15 miners 4.5 miles in from the mine portal. Six miners survived the initial explosion. They donned their self-rescuers, breathing devices that provided oxygen for an hour. They could have walked out of the mine. Fresh air was only 3,000 feet away. But they had never been trained for these kinds of situations. They must have encountered smoke and gas and decided to barricade themselves and wait for help. Help didnt come in time. The self-rescuers stopped working and the men died. The Eagle office became the second home for the journalists who began arriving to cover the disaster. A reporter for a major newspaper dictated his first-day story while reading the pasted-up front page of the Eagle before it was driven to the printer. The Associated Press photographer set up in our dark room and helped develop our film. United Mine Workers photographer Earl Dotter was on the scene almost immediately. He recalls that Pat Gish introduced him to some of the families of the men who died. People trusted Pat and so the families accepted Earl. His photos tell this story better than any words. Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration chief Robert Barrett, right, appeared before the United Mine Workers of America Executive Board to report on the Scotia disaster. From left are union president Arnold Miller, International Executive Board member Karl Kaftan and union vice president Mike Trbovich. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) The mine exploded again at 11:20 p.m. March 11. The theory then was that a compressor on the motor driven into the dead-end section two days earlier clicked on. That provided the spark. Advertisement Advertisement Ten miners and three federal mine inspectors were in the mine making repairs. They had just finished their shift and were waiting to come out of the mine. Two men who were behind a gob pile survived the explosion, but the others died. After the second explosion, federal officials decided to seal the mine with a double row of concrete blocks. That would allow methane to accumulate to non-explosive levels, when teams could then safely re-enter the mine and retrieve the bodies of the 11 men left inside. The 11 would remain underground for 253 days. The company initially offered the 15 widows of the first explosion $5,000 each plus workers compensation benefits to settle all claims. The widows declined and filed suit, claiming that negligence led to the explosion. Friends and family accompany a Scotia miner to his resting place in a mountain cemetery. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) The federal judge overseeing the widows case dismissed it in 1977. The Court of Appeals reinstated the suit and the judge, H. David Hermansdorfer, transferred the widows case to another judge after the Louisville Times reported he was receiving income from coal properties he owned. Advertisement Advertisement Gerald Stern, attorney to the Scotia widows, later wrote that Judge Hermansdorfer seemed wholly unsympathetic to the widows lawsuit. This same judge would block the mine safety agencys official report on the Scotia disaster. The federal report was suppressed until 1993, 16 years after it was completed. The American Lawyer magazine in 1980 would name Hermansdorfer the worst judge in the U.S. 6th Circuit in part because of his biased view in favor of coal operators. A congressional committee found that Scotia was a mine which placed production and profit before the safety and health of its miners. It was a mine which essentially ignored the law. The committee was chaired by Rep. Carl D. Perkins, a Democrat whose Eastern Kentucky district contained most of Letcher County although not the Scotia mine. There would be the usual dismissals by some people in the industry, offhand observations that mining has always been a dangerous job. Kentuckys chief mine inspector at the time, Harreld Kirkpatrick, commented that any time you go into a coal mine, or out on the highway, you run the risk of being killed. A Scotia widow leaves a mountainside grave site. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) Sure, digging coal five miles underground and driving to Kroger are much the same. Congress didnt see it that way, passing a major mine safety law in 1977 in response to the failures found at the Scotia mine. Advertisement Advertisement Historian Brian D. McKnight, who has written a new and powerful book on Scotia, concludes that the 1977 act was the most important piece of modern regulatory law for the coal industry. Two years after the explosions, Whitesburg attorney and author Harry Caudill predicted what would come of any federal or state investigation. The Scotia situation reflects the complete inability of the United States to challenge culpable conduct, Caudill said. If I go out and run over someone with my car, I will be prosecuted, as I should be. If I negligently blow up a coal mine, nothing will be done. Six years after the explosions, the Scotia Coal Co., a subsidiary of Blue Diamond, would plead guilty to two criminal charges and no contest to three others for violating federal mine safety law. The fine was $80,000, later reduced to $60,000, to be paid to organizations that had provided relief after the initial explosions. A mountainside funeral for one of the victims of the Scotia mine explosions. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) The mine was also fined $200,000 for civil violations of the law, at the time the largest penalty ever levied against a coal company. The total fines came to just a little over $17,000 for each miner who died in the first explosion. Advertisement Advertisement The widows eventually settled for $6 million, thanks to their courage and the perseverance of attorney Gerald Stern. But before they signed any documents, the Scotia widows demanded an informal meeting with officials of Blue Diamond Coal Co., Scotias parent firm. Five widows represented the 15 families. According to Stern, one told the Blue Diamond officials: Nobody on earth can put a price on what you took. You cant give us back our husbands. You cant give their daddies back to our kids. What do you see when you look in the mirror? How can you sleep at night? May God forgive you because I cant. Scotia claimed other victims. Geraldine Coots, Virgils wife, committed suicide just before the second anniversary of the Scotia disaster and after she had endured a particularly contentious examination by Blue Diamond attorneys. She and Virgil had two children. Raymond Houston worked the night shift at Scotia immediately before the first explosion. His wife said Raymond couldnt get his mind straightened out after the tragedy. He just talked about it [the explosion] all the time, she recalled. He couldnt understand why it had to happen to those men and their families. A Scotia victim is carried to his final resting place. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) Do you hear their voices? Houston asked his wife. Advertisement Advertisement What, honey? she said. All of them, up at the mine, Raymond said. On March 19, 1976, Raymond Houston shot himself and died. A half century after Scotia, the government remains reluctant to address the dangers of coal mining. Reforms are still bought with miners blood. Consider the response to an increase in black lung disease. Scotia mine portal. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) The rate of black lung, the incurable ailment caused by breathing coal and silica dust, began declining in the 1970s. But over the past two decades, the rate has accelerated, largely due to increases in silica dust. From 2020 to 2023, 2,000 miners died from black lung. After years of pressure from families, miners and the United Mine Workers union, the federal government in 2024 finally issued new rules limiting silica dust. But the rule was challenged in court and never implemented. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration hasnt defended the new dust regulations and just before Thanksgiving in 2025, the government told the court it was reconsidering the rule. Its an early death sentence for coal miners, said Vonda Robinson, vice president of the National Black Lung Association. On March 9, 2010, the state erected an historic marker on U.S. 119 in Oven Fork to honor the men who died at Scotia. Victims of the Scotia mine disaster A miner mourns. (Earl Dotter/UMWA Journal) March 9, 1976 Dennis Boggs, 26, Pound, Virginia Virgil Coots Jr., 23, Cumberland, Kentucky Earl Galloway, 44, Oven Fork, Kentucky David Gibbs, 29, Partridge, Kentucky Robert Griffith, 24, Jackhorn, Kentucky Larry David McKnight, 27, Cumberland, Kentucky Roy E. McKnight, 30, Cumberland, Kentucky Everett Scott Combs Nantz, 28, Cumberland, Kentucky Lawrence Peavy, 25, Benham, Kentucky Tommy Ray Scott, 23, Dongola, Kentucky Ivan Gail Sparkman, 33, Gordon, Kentucky Jimmy W. Sturgill, 20, Eolia, Kentucky Kenneth D. Turner, 25, Cumberland, Kentucky Willie D. Turner, 32, Cumberland, Kentucky Denver Widner, 31, Blair, Kentucky March 11, 1976 Glen D. Barker, 29, Partridge, Kentucky Donald R. Creech, 30, Cumberland, Kentucky John Q. Hackworth, 29, Cumberland, Kentucky James B. Holbrook, 43, Millstone, Kentucky Kenneth Kiser, 45, Coeburn, Virginia Carl Don Polly, 46, Mayking, Kentucky Richard Sammons, 55, Auxier, Kentucky James Sturgill, 48, Eolia, Kentucky Monroe Sturgill, 40, Whitesburg, Kentucky Grover Tussey, 45, Allen, Kentucky James O. Williams, 23, Hindman, Kentucky More about the Scotia explosions and aftermath Appalshop has compiled remembrances of the Scotia disaster on YouTube, including: Panel discussion with Westmoreland Mine Rescue Team members and historian Brian McKnight Interview with Leonard Fleming who was on the Beth Elkhorn Mine Rescue Team Blood Stained Coal, interviews with Scotia widows by students in the Appalachian Media Institute Scotia Remembered on WMMT (The Historical Marker Database) Attorney Gerald Stern wrote The Scotia Widows: Inside Their Lawsuit Against Big Daddy Coal, which was published in 2008. Former Scotia miner Eddie Nickels has written two books, Scotia Coal Mine Of Doom and Black Mountain Elegy The Reminiscences of a Scotia Coal Miner. University of Virginia at Wise historian Brian D. McKnight has written a history of the disaster, The Scotia Mine Explosions of 1976: The Victims, Survivors and Legacy. McKnight expects the University Press of Kentucky to publish his book in the coming year. Part 2 of Scotia 50 years on is coming Monday: I dont know how you blow a mine up twice in a week by Brian McKnight Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev has placed the armed forces on alert following a suspected Iranian drone attack on Thursday, state news agency AZERTAC reported. Aliyev told a meeting of the Security Council in Baku that the military must be ready for any kind of deployment, the report said. Earlier, drones struck the airport and an area near a school in Nakhchivan, an autonomous exclave. Iran has denied responsibility for the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Aliyev's office issued a statement condemning what it called a "heinous terrorist act." Iran must provide an explanation and those responsible must be held accountable, the statement said. Azerbaijan is not taking part in military operations against Iran, but will protect its territorial integrity, it said. The exclave of Nakhchivan is separated from mainland Azerbaijan and borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. The United States and Israel have been carrying out airstrikes against Iran since Saturday. In response, Tehran has fired missiles and drones at several countries in the region. Drone attacks from Iranian territory damaged an airport located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Iran and injured two civilians as the war in the Middle East escalates, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on March 5. One drone hit the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport, while another landed near a school in Shakarabad, a village near the airport, at around midday local time, the ministry said. "This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region," the Azerbaijani ministry said in its statement released on its website, condemning the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that he instructed his country's Armed Forces to "prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures." "We will not put up with this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan," Aliyev said in his post on X. Azerbaijan said it demands that Iran provide "a clear explanation" regarding the drone strikes, conduct an investigation "within the shortest possible timeframe," and ensure that such attacks do not happen again. The foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, following the attacks. Advertisement Advertisement The widening of the Iranian war comes less than a week after Israel and the United States launched an attack against Iran on Feb. 28, with U.S. President Donald Trump confirming American involvement. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes, including on U.S. military bases in the Middle East. As death tolls rise in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, neighboring countries have remained on alert to prevent it from spilling into their territory. "The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in its statement. Read also: Ukraines experience priceless as Iran war sees long-range strike drones go global Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Azerbaijan has summoned Iran's ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Baku after a drone hit one of the country's airports, while Tehran denied responsibility and blamed Israel. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said one drone struck the arrivals hall of the airport in the autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan on Thursday, while another crashed near a school building. The ministry condemned the attacks, which it said had been launched from Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Two people were injured and the airport building was damaged, the statement said. Nakhchivan is separated from mainland Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus and is bordered by Armenia, Iran and Turkey. In a separate statement, Azerbaijans Defence Ministry said it "strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against civilian infrastructure on the territory of Azerbaijan in the absence of any military necessity." Iran bears full responsibility for the incident, the ministry said, adding that it was preparing "necessary retaliatory measures." Advertisement Advertisement Irans military rejected the accusations, saying that the country respects the sovereignty of Azerbaijan. It accused Israel of being behind the drone attacks in an attempt to undermine relations between Islamic countries. A day earlier, Azerbaijan's authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev, had offered condolences at the Iranian embassy following the killing of Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. The Caspian Sea nation has recently expanded its ties with Israel and maintains close relations with Turkey. On Wednesday, a NATO defence system intercepted a ballistic missile in Turkey's border region. Officials in Azerbaijan said Thursday it would retaliate against Iranian drone strikes on its territory as tensions in the Middle East escalate. Its foreign ministry said Tehran targeted portions of land within the exclave of Nakhchivan and successfully struck the Nakhchivan International Airport while another drone crashed near a school building in the village of Shekarabad. This attack on Azerbaijani territory contradicts the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the above issue within a short period of time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on the social platform X. Advertisement Advertisement The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures, it added. Mojtaba Demirchilu, the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan, has been summoned to explain the attack on behalf of Tehran. Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have a complex history. Azerbaijan has bolstered its relations with the West in recent years by developing friendly ties with the Trump administration and Israel. Last month, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev met with President Trump and Vice President Vance in separate occurrences and also held talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Aliyev has also maintained open communication with his counterparts in Iran and shared his condolences for the loss of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to The Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement We will not tolerate this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan, Aliyev said at an Azerbaijan Security Council meeting in remarks carried by the Azertac news agency, according to AP. Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered, and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence has said the technical characteristics of the drones used in the attack near Nakhchivan International Airport, as well as the circumstances of the attack, are being analysed, while the ministry prepares possible response measures. Source: European Pravda, citing 1NewsTV Details: The Azerbaijani defence ministry stated that full responsibility for the incident lies with Iran. Advertisement Advertisement The ministry added that it is currently studying the technical characteristics of the drones and the details of the attack. The defence ministry is also preparing necessary response measures to protect the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the safety of civilians and infrastructure. "These acts of aggression will not go unanswered," the ministry said. At present, there is no confirmed information about a direct strike on the airport terminal Azerbaijani sources have not released photographs showing damage to the building. Meanwhile, local media outlets reported that a drone had struck a field in the immediate vicinity of the airport. It is not clear whether this refers to the same incident or to two separate ones. Advertisement Advertisement Background: Reports about Iranian drones falling near the airport building emerged around midday on Thursday 6 March. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian ambassador to hand him a note of protest over the attack by two UAVs. The officials said Baku reserves the right to take response measures. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Moderna has agreed to pay up to $2.25bn to settle a patent infringement lawsuit with Genevant and Arbutus, ending a prolonged legal battle between the companies. The Massachusetts-based pharma has chosen to settle the score just before a jury was set to weigh in on a patent infringement lawsuit by Roivant subsidiary, Genevant and biotech Arbutus. The suit alleged that Moderna used Genevant and Arbutus lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology in its mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, Spikevax, without authorisation. Through this deal, Moderna will pay $950m upfront, with the potential for a $1.3bn payment if the US Court of Federal Claims does not uphold Modernas Section 1498 appeal. However, a 3 March statement deemed it not probable that Moderna will pay these added charges. This now ends all litigation between the companies, while granting Moderna a non-exclusive license to use Genevant & Arbutus' LNP delivery technology for infectious disease applications. This development comes amid Genevants similar legal battle with Pfizer and BioNTech, in which the former alleges that the two pharma companies used its LNP technology in their co-developed Covid jab, Comirnaty. In recent years, Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech have also been in a legal back-and-forth around patents protecting their respective mRNA technologies, with the companies filing lawsuits across the globe claiming the other had infringed its IP. In 2022, Moderna filed lawsuits in the US and Germany against Pfizer and BioNtech, while Pfizer and BioNTech hit back in 2024 by opening a similar lawsuit in Londons High Court. Moderna faces bumpy road back to profitability In a recent statement, Modernas CEO, Stephane Bancel, noted that the resolution of this legacy matter removes uncertainty while allowing the company to place full focus on its near-term future. Bancel added that the company expects to return to revenue growth in 2026 ending the year with more than $5bn in cash. Bancels statement comes amid Modernas efforts to set itself up for future success, with the company aiming to break even in 2028. In Q4 2025, Moderna posted a net loss of $826m, which was partially driven by the declining sales of its Covid-19 vaccine portfolio and the shifting policy around vaccine usage in the US. Moderna has also faced challenges in gaining approval for its pipeline products, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally declined to review its seasonal influenza vaccine, mRNA-1010, amid trial design concerns. The agency later reversed this decision, making the call to review Modernas application for mRNA-1010 separately in the 50-64 and 65+ age categories. Jennifer Lopez traded in jeans for these trendy pants get the look from $18 If you want to elevate your style in the new year, comfy trousers should be at the top of your must-buy list. The sister of a 20-year-old US service member killed within the opening hours of war with Iran has shared her devastation at his death just two months before his 21st birthday. Sgt. Declan J. Coady was on his first deployment in Kuwait when he was one of six Americans killed by a drone strike on a civilian port on March 1. "He was really strong, he never let his emotions really show. But I can't help that think because he was my little brother he was probably really scared, even if he didn't want people to know," Keira Coady said tearfully outside the family's home in West Des Moines, Iowa. Advertisement Advertisement "I just wish he could have known one more time that we all loved him. Because he was so amazing and kind." All of the US service members killed were part of the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water, ammunition, transport equipment and supplies to forces. From left, Capt. Cody Khork, 35, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42 and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20 Credit: AP Among them were Capt. Cody Khork, 35, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M Marzan, 54, and Maj. Jeffrey R O'Brien, 45, who were named in a separate statement. Coady's family had not been able to get hold of him on Sunday. When their doorbell rang at 8pm they knew what it meant, Keira said, calling it "one of the worst nights of our lives". Advertisement Advertisement "I still don't fully think it's real, I didn't think it was real when they told us," she said. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. "I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back." In a statement, Keira went on to say: "He was just a baby, and will forever be mine and Aidans baby brother, Rowans older brother, and our parents son." Coady enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2023, and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The university described him as a "well-loved and highly dedicated" student in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement One week ago, he told his father, Andrew, he would be recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he has now been given posthumously. He was one of the youngest in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, Andrew said. Keira said her brother "never let his emotions really show" and described him as "amazing" Credit: AP Coady's LinkedIn page said he had learned to interact with countless different kinds of people from all different backgrounds through his time with the Army Reserve. These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten, US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in a statement. The husband of Sgt. Amor paid tribute to the mum-of-two this week, stating that she had been just days away from returning home to White Bear Lake, Minnesota, when she was killed in Kuwait. Advertisement Advertisement "You dont go to Kuwait thinking somethings going to happen, and for her to be one of the first it hurts," Joey Amor said. Tietjens, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was married with a son, according to his social media profiles, while one of Khorks close friends posted on Facebook that he had lost the best person he had ever known. US President Donald Trump said the US will "avenge" US military deaths and deliver a "punishing blow" to the Iran regime in a video posted to Truth Social on March 1. Iran war: Where is safe to travel, and what are your rights? UK to send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar as conflict intensifies Advertisement Advertisement "Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. Thats the way it is," the President said in the video. At least 1,045 people have died since US and Israeli strikes began on Iran, according to Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. The US sank an Iranian warship on Wednesday, killing at least 87, the Sri Lankan Navy said. The Iranian regime's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and other officials were killed in the initial attack on Saturday. US Senate Republicans voted down a resolution seeking to stop the war on Wednesday. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below... BALTIMORE Baltimore will close multiple parks at night this month as federal sharpshooters move in to thin deer herds that officials say are overwhelming forests and choking off new tree growth. The citys Recreation and Parks Department held a community meeting Wednesday to go over the details, approved last month by the Baltimore Board of Estimates. The $110,442 agreement asks the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to remove up to 271 white-tailed deer through April. The effort targets herds in Druid Hill Park, Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park and Herring Run Park the citys largest forested parks. Crews will work after hours while parks are closed and secured. Sharpshooters using thermal imaging and bait sites will take deer from 20 to 50 yards away, aiming for quick, humane kills, according to city officials. Police will help clear and secure areas before operations begin, including helicopter flyovers. Advertisement Advertisement This is the first time Baltimore City has taken a comprehensive approach to managing deer overpopulation, Recreation and Parks Executive Director Reginald Moore said in a statement, calling the program the result of scientific analysis and community input. Details of the plan The city is seeking to reduce deer density to about 20 per square mile a level the Maryland Department of Natural Resources considers sustainable for forest regeneration. Current estimates far exceed that benchmark: roughly 120 deer per square mile in Druid Hill Park and up to 86 per square mile in Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park. Powder Hill Park in West Baltimore has the citys highest concentration, state officials say. At Druid Hill Park alone, crews aim to remove 132 deer between March 30 and April 9. The park will close daily at 4 p.m. and reopen at 7 a.m. during that period. Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park and Herring Run Park will see similar overnight closures through April 9. By night, 11 volunteer-manned stations around the perimeter will intercept anyone trying to get in the park, three gates will be shut to traffic, and park entrances will be blocked by traffic cones or construction barrels, said Shane Boehne, a wildlife conservation analyst for the citys Recreation and Parks Department. The park will be cleared each day starting at 4 p.m., with assistance from the Baltimore Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement This is going to ensure that any trail runners, anybody who might be walking their dog, or making sure that we can intercept anybody who might in a homeless encampment in these areas, were making sure that they have all vacated the area before the wildlife biologists come in and start their management strategies, Boehne said. The concern is that overbrowsing by deer is stripping forests of saplings and native plants. A 150-pound deer can eat up to 36 oak saplings a day, according to Baltimore County environmental officials. The loss of understory growth can invite invasive species, worsen erosion and limit tree canopy that cools neighborhoods. High deer populations also are linked to increased vehicle collisions and tick-borne illnesses. Deer killed in this operation will be processed and could provide up to 40,000 servings of venison for the food bank, Boehne said, if the city hits its target. What about the alternatives? City leaders say alternatives are either too slow or too costly to curb the herd in the near term. A contraceptive vaccine known as GonaCon approved in Maryland as a pesticide can induce multi-year infertility, according to a 2022 USDA report. But city parks officials said it requires capturing or darting does individually and may take years to meaningfully reduce populations Advertisement Advertisement Boehne said Wednesday that using GonaCon could cost over $80,000 at the low end to over $412,000, which would exhaust the deer management programs grant funding, in addition to being labor intensive. Relocation would also be too expensive, he said. Another way to manage the deer population is fencing them out of forested areas. Above a Gwynns Falls tributary, researchers used a 6-foot-tall plastic fence that kept deer out for more than a year, leading to flourishing saplings and native plants within the quarter-acre enclosure, according to DNR. The city plans to construct a 15-acre enclosure with galvanized woven wire 10-feet high, tall enough to keep deer isolated and strong enough to protect from falling trees and branches. Its being done in hopes of showing city residents and the general public how vegetation can rebound when deer are kept out, DNR wrote of its exclusion fencing experiment. That plan is still going forward at Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park, with construction slated for fall, said Alex Silverman, a spokesperson for the citys parks department. This will primarily serve as a demonstration site to show the outcomes of sustained deer management, she wrote in an email Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement But that project would cost about $150,000, Boehne said, for 15 acres. Druid Hill Park is 607 acres, making fencing in the whole park prohibitively expensive at current funding levels. What are other areas doing? Baltimore City is not the first Maryland jurisdiction to find shooting deer a solution to overpopulation. Baltimore Countys cooperation with USDA has been in play since 2011, most recently renewed last year. Howard and Montgomery counties deer management programs have had zero public safety incidents since the 1990s when they were established, according to Boehne. The USDA team that manages deer herds in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia region also had no such incidents, he said. The city will conduct annual deer counts and monitor forest recovery to gauge whether culling meets its goals. ________ A Utah lawmakers effort to require Utahns to return their by-mail ballots in person while showing a form of identification appears to have hit a dead end for a second year in a row. Rep. Jefferson Burtons bill, HB479, stalled in a Senate committee Tuesday night after Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, the bills Senate sponsor, motioned to move on with the committees agenda without taking action on the bill. McKell, R-Spanish Fork, said senators were concerned about the logistics of the bill and whether its something clerks across the state could actually implement. Advertisement Advertisement McKell also pointed to a bill that he and Burton successfully sponsored last year that required voters to write four digits of their state ID number on their by-mail ballots return envelopes while also slowly phasing out Utahs current automatic vote-by-mail system by requiring voters to opt in to voting by mail every eight years. I think you landed a really, really good bill last year, McKell told Burton, R-Provo. He added that senators are open to continuing to work on the issue, but he motioned to move on with the committees agenda without taking action effectively blocking the bill from moving forward. This year, with HB479, Burton tried again to establish in-person voter ID requirements for by-mail ballots that are turned in at drop boxes. Those in-person checks would take effect beginning in 2027, and starting in 2029, Utahns would not receive a by-mail ballot unless they request one every eight years. They would not be allowed to return a ballot by mail unless they make a timely request to do so. In effect, Burtons bill would have further unraveled voting by mail in Utah. Advertisement Advertisement Now, with less than three days left of the 2026 Utah Legislatures general session, Burtons bill is not officially dead until lawmakers adjourn no later than midnight on Friday. But barring a major, final-hour maneuver from the House, it doesnt appear likely to find traction. McKell told reporters on Wednesday that the biggest unresolved hurdle with Burtons legislation is we just havent solved the logistical problem of how to administer it. Critics argued Burtons bill would make it harder for many Utahns to vote while saddling counties with an expensive unfunded mandate by requiring them to staff ballot drop boxes to check voter IDs. Fiscal analysts estimated that Burtons bill could cost as much as $10 million though Burton in a House committee last week disputed that fiscal note, saying that it was based on every voter in the state using a drop box to return their ballots. Burton and the bills highest-ranking supporter, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, have argued in-person ID requirements would help increase confidence in Utahs voting system and prevent voter fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Multiple audits have shown that Utahs vote-by-mail system does not have widespread fraud, but Schultz and Burton have argued those audits have found too many instances of errors in the voter rolls, like two ballots cast in 2023 by dead voters. That was out of more than 2 million registered voters. I understand that the House really wants to dial in and make sure the right people are voting, and I think we all share that concern, McKell said. But its just the logistics of the bill. It just wasnt quite there yet, and were running out of time. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he liked the bill and would have liked to see if we couldnt get it landed to commission a study on the issue, but he agreed the logistics of it need to be figured out. Most people take their ballot to (a) dropbox, and Im not sure it hurts to have to show your ID as you drop them off, Adam said, indicating he supports Burtons bill in concept. However, he also said lawmakers do need more time to figure out how to do that. Were just trying to make sure we maintain the convenience and maintain security, Adams said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Editors Note: This article contains discussions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can find resources in your area on the National Crisis Line website or by calling 988. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The Oregon House passed a bill on Wednesday aiming to protect youth mental health from artificial intelligence chatbots. House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1546, which requires AI chatbot platforms such as ChatGPT, Grok and Claude to implement safeguards if users express ideas of suicide or self-harm. Advertisement Advertisement AI companions should never replace real care, said Rep. Hai Pham (D-South Hillsboro & West Beaverton) and chair of the House Behavioral Health committee. SB 1546 ensures transparency and directs youth in crisis towards trusted mental health support when they need it the most. This bill will save lives. DONT MISS: Childhood crisis: Oregon lawmakers consider AI safeguards for youth mental health Under the bill, AI chatbots are required to refer users raising mental health concerns to crisis resources such as the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. Additionally, the bill requires AI chatbot companies to disclose to users when content is artificially generated as a way to provide transparency during chatbot interactions that might feel human. Advertisement Advertisement The bill also bans chatbots from generating age-inappropriate content for minors and must provide periodic reminders urging users to take breaks from the chatbot. Social media threats prompt teacher sickout at Fort Vancouver High School We cant make the same mistakes with AI that we made with social media and leave our kids vulnerable and without meaningful safeguards. This bill would put Oregon in the leading edge of meeting the risks posed by AI chatbots, said Rep. April Dobson (D Happy Valley & N Clackamas County). At a time when access to youth mental health services is at an all time low in Oregon and AI chatbots are contributing to teen depression and suicide, this bill steps in to proactively protect teens from the worst effects of a growing reliance on AI, added Rep. Rob Nosse (D Inner SE & Inner NE Portland). Advertisement Advertisement The bill places further regulations by banning chatbots from using rewards, affirmations or other engagement tactics that are designed to keep young users on the platform. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Eye on Northwest Politics Artificial intelligence can answer questions, but it shouldnt pretend to be a real person, or a real friend, or a real romantic partner, said Rep. Cyrus Javadi (D Tillamook). This bill simply says that if companies want to build AI companions, they need to be transparent about what a user is interacting with, and responsible when someone is in a crisis situation. Advertisement Advertisement The bill received bipartisan support in both chambers. In February, the bill passed the Oregon Senate in a 26-1 vote. Gov. Kotek loses out on two previous endorsements as 2026 election looms The lone no vote was from Senator Noah Robinson (R-Cave Junction), who previously told KOIN 6 News, I completely agree with the idea behind SB 1546. Social media has been very harmful to children. Chatbots are a great concern. However, the senator took issue with regulating the evolving AI industry. My NO vote (and I was not a strong no) was simply a concern that with a new and rapidly changing technology, it is hard to pass legislation of this type and get it right. I can think of many more warnings over other dangers of chatbots that would be a good idea as well, Sen. Robinson said. I suspect that the industry is likely to do much of this on their own, and since I worry about regulations on businesses that might not be thoroughly thought through, I voted NO. Advertisement Advertisement Latino councilor told to repeat in English in Metro Council meeting, sparking backlash During the House vote with some members excused the bill received no votes in opposition. The bill heads to Governor Tina Koteks desk for signature. When reached for comment about the bill, a spokesperson for Governor Kotek told KOIN 6 News, The governor will review any legislation that comes to her desk prior to signing. Bill to fund major renovations at Moda Center passes Oregon Senate The bill comes amid growing concern over the ways AI impacts youth mental health, with some parents testifying on Capitol Hill in October about losing their children to the technology. Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of Wednesdays vote, Sen. Lisa Reynolds (D-West Portland & NE Washington County) testified before the House Behavioral Health Committee, urging lawmakers to pass the bill. Reynolds pointed to one example of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died after expressing suicidal thoughts to an AI chatbot, as reported by CNN. When Adam Raine, 16, died by suicide, his friends and family said that there were no warning signs. But Adam had been incredibly open about his suicide attempts in one place: ChatGPT, Reynolds explained. When Adam described his visible injuries after failed suicide attempts, ChatGPT told him to wear a hoodie, so people dont notice the marks. Oregon sees sharp increase in e-scooter, e-bike injuries, OHA warns AI chatbot companions are putting Oregonians at risk. They are designed to simulate interactions with real people and do everything from role playing to offering real advice and theres mounting evidence that chatbots are contributing to anxiety, depression, even suicidality, Reynolds testified. And even with results such as Adam, people dying by suicide. Advertisement Advertisement Look, I know theyre here to stay and I even do think they serve a role in mental health and I know folks who use an AI chatbot for support during a panic attack, Reynolds conceded. But we do think some guardrails need to be placed. In her House testimony, Rep. Kim Wallen (R-Medford) said, (AI chatbots) are exactly what Senator Reynolds said. Theyre designed to pull you in, theyre designed to affirm you, whatever it is youre doing. If you read the jokes on X, the affirmation is even starting to become memed because its so frequent and its so intense. Wallen added, We do need to protect (kids) now because the last thing we want is for them to be affirmed in their self-harm. Petition to ban hunting in Oregon gains traction for November ballot Advertisement Advertisement Rose Feliciano who testified in the Oregon Senate on behalf of Tech Net, which represents tech companies such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, said the tech industry also wants to keep youth safe. Tech Net and our members prioritize providing a safe online experience for youth, Feliciano said. Our companies offer a wide range of parental controls that we hope families use and make decisions on whats best for their family. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. HAVANA (AP) Swaths of Cuba remained without power on Thursday nearly a day after a huge blackout hit the western part of the island in the latest outage blamed on a fragile electric grid and a lack of fuel. Crews worked overnight to repair a broken boiler at one of Cubas largest thermoelectric plants, but officials have warned that it could take three to four days for power to be fully restored. State media reported that nearly 660,000 customers in Havana, or 77%, had power, as well as 43 hospitals and 10 water supply stations. However, officials warned of low power generation and said some circuits that crews had reconnected were kicked offline again. Advertisement Advertisement Millions still remained without power, including Miguel Leyva, 65, who lives with his mother and brother, both of whom are ill. I have no words to describe what Im going through: the heat, the mosquitoes and no electricity. The food could spoil, he said. "I'm aware of all the problems that exist, but listen, its been more than 24 hours now. Cubas Ministry of Energy and Mines wrote on X that the electrical system is operating in a limited capacity, prioritizing basic services, primarily health and water supply. State media reported that two power plants are offline because of a lack of petroleum. Advertisement Advertisement Government officials said Wednesday afternoon that crews have located the crack in the boiler drum that led to the outage. They said it will take 12 hours to cool that area so crews can enter the furnace and start repairing it. Work already is underway to fix a pipe that also is damaged, officials added. Sonia Vazquez, 61, said the blackout didn't stop her from selling coffee to passersby daily, saying she prepared it with gas at 5 a.m. under a rechargeable lamp. I didn't sleep last night. Too many mosquitoes, said Vazquez. Meanwhile, 57-year-old cafe owner Jose Ignacio Dorta, said that some of his frozen food has spoiled. Advertisement Advertisement Weve looked for ways to prevent further spoilage. Were working on it. We hope nothing else will spoil, he said. Cuba has long struggled with an aging electric grid and intermittent fuel supplies, but the crisis has deepened in recent months. Key oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the United States attacked the South American country in early January. Then later that month, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that he would impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. On Thursday, Trump suggested a deal may be imminent with Cuba but that hes focusing on Iran in the meantime. Advertisement Advertisement Referring to a co-owner of Inter Miami being originally from Cuba, Trump said, Youre gonna go back" and added, Thats going to be a great day, right? Without providing details, Trump said, Were going to celebrate that separately. I just want to wait a couple of weeks. I want him to wait a couple of weeks. But well be together again soon, I suspect, celebrating whats going on in Cuba. He added of the islands government, They want to make a deal so badly. You have no idea." Then, referring to Marco Rubio, the president said the secretary of state wants to work on Cuba but is cautious to do so during the war in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Youre next ones going to be -- we want to do that special Cuba, Trump said. Hes waiting. But he says, Lets get this one finished first. We could do them all at the same time. But bad things happen. If you watch countries over the years, you do them all too fast, bad things happen. Trump didnt clarify his meaning, but the comments followed his from last week, when he raised that the prospect of a friendly takeover of Cuba might be possible without elaborating. Wednesdays outage is the second one to hit western Cuba in three months. The outage in early December lasted nearly 12 hours. Some of Cuba's thermoelectric plants have been operating for more than three decades and receive little maintenance because of high costs. U.S. sanctions also have prevented the government from buying new equipment and specialized parts, officials say. ___ Associated Press reporters Danica Coto in Jose, Costa Rica and Will Weissert in Washington, D.C. contributed. A Boston man was sentenced Thursday for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney said. Flemin Soto Baez, 48, was sentenced in federal court to 50 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said in a statement. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott handed down his sentence. In May, Soto Baez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely cocaine and fentanyl. He was charged along with 20 other defendants in April 2023. Advertisement Advertisement To date, 15 defendants involved in the conspiracy have been convicted, including Soto Baezs brother and the leader of the organization, Juan Ramon Soto Baez, who was sentenced to more than 8 years in federal prison, Creegan said. This defendant perpetuated a drug trafficking operation that pushes deadly narcotics, Creegan said. They profited from addiction and suffering. Todays sentence demonstrates that every member of these organizations will be held accountable for the damage they inflict on New Hampshire families. DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, New England Field Division said in a statement, Todays sentence sends a clear message that those who choose to flood our communities with fentanyl and cocaine will be held accountable. Flemin Soto Baez played a significant role in a large-scale trafficking conspiracy that put countless lives at risk, Forget said. The DEA and our law enforcement partners remain committed to dismantling these criminal networks and protecting our communities from the devastating impact of dangerous drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Boston Division echoed his words. Fentanyl and cocaine have no place in New Hampshire and neither do the drug traffickers who sell it, Docks said in a statement. Todays sentence keeps Flemin Soto Baez behind bars for the key role he played in this multi-state drug trafficking operation. Every sale he orchestrated was a potentially deadly transaction, and the FBI and our partners wont stop until all drug trafficking operations like this one have been disrupted. According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Flemin Soto Baez was a key organizer in a Massachusetts-based drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, particularly Manchester, between July 2022 and March 2023. The organization ran like a business, operating dispatch telephone lines where customers could call in orders for drugs. Advertisement Advertisement As a trusted member of the conspiracy, Flemin Soto Baez would take customer orders on the phone, and then he would send a runner to conduct the drug sale at an arranged meeting location, prosecutors said. In connection with Flemin Soto Baezs arrest in June 2023, law enforcement authorities searched an apartment associated with Flemin Soto Baez and seized more than a kilogram of cocaine from the residence, prosecutors said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation, with help from Manchester Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar A. Vega prosecuted the case. Prosecutors said the effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Residents of a Southie neighborhood are on alert as Boston police search for a strange man involved in a string of creepy break-ins and attempts. The most recent incident occurred on Sunday shortly before 11 p.m., when a hooded man began creeping up the back stairs of a three-family on Telegraph St., home security video shows. When a motion light turned on and he spotted the camera, the man turned and quickly left. Advertisement Advertisement I was like, Wait a second. This guys coming up my stairs. Thats not my neighbor, said resident Jon Miarecki. Its just weird that its been our place twice. Miarecki had installed the camera after a similarly disturbing incident involving a man at his building two weeks before. It is unclear if it is the same person. Miareckis upstairs neighbor told him he had heard someone walking in the snow on the deck outside his third-floor apartment before the window opened and a mans face emerged through the blinds. The resident yelled at the man and scared him away, Miarecki said. Its very creepy, Miarecki said. Its almost like a test run of, Can I get inside the first time? And Ill come back again and do more next time. Advertisement Advertisement Hours after fleeing that apartment, sometime after 4 a.m., a strange man opened an unlocked slider door at a nearby apartment on Mercer St., and peeked into a bedroom where a resident and his girlfriend were sleeping, a roommate told Boston 25 News. The startled resident then chased the man outside, according to the police report. It definitely has everybody in the neighborhood sort of on edge, said neighbor Conor Kenrick. Locking their windows, locking their doors, security cameras, surveillance system. Boston police ask anyone with information about the incidents to call detectives at 617-343-4742. Advertisement Advertisement Anonymous tips can be made through the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting TIP to CRIME (27463). Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has voiced her profound disinterest in the concept of "body positivity," labelling discussions about her size as "boring" and a distraction from her craft. The 39-year-old Irish actor, celebrated for her role as Penelope Featherington in the Netflix regency drama and Clare Devlin in Channel 4s Derry Girls, shared her candid views in an interview with Elle UK. "The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity," Coughlan stated. "When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually dont care." She added, "Theres a lot of things Im passionate about, its not one of them Thats someone elses thing. Its not mine." Advertisement Advertisement Coughlan highlighted the absurdity of being praised as a "plus-size" actress despite being a size 10. Recalling filming nude scenes for Bridgerton, she revealed, "What was really bizarre was when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8." I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies (ELLE UK/Georgia Devey Smith) She continued, questioning societal perceptions: "Then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?" The actress recounted an uncomfortable encounter with a fan: "I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, I loved (Bridgerton) because of your body and started talking about my body, and I was like, I want to die. I hate this so much." She expressed deep frustration that her dedication to her work is often overshadowed by physical appearance. "Its really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you dont see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like its so f****** boring." Advertisement Advertisement In a more personal revelation, Coughlan also spoke about finding "grace" since receiving her ADHD diagnosis. "It feels like I got the handbook to my brain that I wasnt given when I was born," she explained. "I understand things a bit better now, and I give myself a little more grace." People talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f***** are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen? (ELLE UK/Georgia Devey Smith) Beyond Bridgerton, Coughlan's notable credits include the hit film Barbie, Channel 4s Big Mood, which earned her a Bafta nomination, and a National Theatre production of The Playboy Of The Western World. The full interview is featured in the April issue of Elle UK, available from 10 March. An explosion at a building in an industrial complex in South Jersey left four people critically injured on Wednesday afternoon, Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor said. The explosion happened at 2:36 p.m. at Savita Naturals on Heron Drive, a company that processes cocoa butter for the chocolate industry, Rebecca Forand of the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office said. Four people at the facility were critically injured, Forand said, while a fifth person working at an adjacent business suffered a medical emergency and was taken to a local hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Forand said a large amount of propane is stored on the property, but officials do not yet know what caused the explosion, which originated inside the building. At least a dozen state, county and local agencies have responded to the blast. Air monitoring shows no hazardous conditions, Forand said, adding firefighters and hazmat crews remain on scene monitoring the burn off of fuel stored at the site. There is no information on the number of people who were working at the facility at the time of the explosion, and all were accounted for, Forand said. The blast could be heard for miles, including in Delaware, and in Harrison Township, some 10 miles away. A shelter-in-place had been ordered for people living near the facility. The order was lifted shortly before 5 p.m., according to the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management. Advertisement Advertisement The explosion caused extensive damage to the building as well as a neighboring building, Andrew Halter, chief of hazmat for the county office of emergency management, said. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated, Logan Township Police Chief Joseph Flatley said. Flatley said this is the largest industrial accident in the township in 25 years. He described the explosion as a terrible tragedy and said an investigation into its cause is ongoing. We empathize with those involved, Flatley said. The community is safe. There are no ongoing hazards. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday evening, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said that she had been briefed on the explosion. Advertisement Advertisement We are actively supporting with resource coordination and will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of residents and support those impacted, the governor said. We will provide updates as more information becomes available. Fire departments and hazardous materials units will remain at the scene monitoring a burn off of additional fuel stored on-site and continue to conduct air monitoring in the community, officials said. Minor said first responders from Glassboro, Swedesboro and Franklinville were among those who responded. These are a group a professionals who have extensive history in terms of handling situations like this, Minor said, adding the response was outstanding. Advertisement Advertisement Right now theyre doing their job in terms of trying to find out the source of the explosion, Minor said. A Facebook user shared a Ring camera capturing the sound of the explosion while another posted on X the explosion felt like an earthquake. Shortly after the explosion, residents and businesses within a 2-mile radius of Heron Drive and High Hill Road were told to shelter-in-place until further notice, according to a social media post. Video footage posted to social media shows over a dozen firefighters using hoses to extinguish the fire. The building, now in shambles, appears to have significant damage. A nearby resident shared a video online of their dogs reaction to the explosion that shook their home. Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. March 4 (Reuters) - Moderna shares rose 10% on Wednesday after the company settled a long-running legal battle over the technology that made its COVID-19 vaccine possible, removing an overhang and allowing it to focus on its pipeline. Analysts noted the settlement, which involves paying up to $2.25 billion to a Roivant Sciences' Genevant subsidiary, and Arbutus Biopharma, would shift investor focus back to Moderna's cancer vaccines that are under development. This resolves all U.S. and international legal actions accusing Moderna of unauthorized use of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology owned by Genevant and Arbutus in its COVID vaccine. "The company (now) has certainty it is well funded through multiple late-stage oncology readouts expected in 2026 that represent new long-term growth drivers," said William Blair analyst Myles Minter. Moderna will pay $950 million upfront in July 2026, with an additional $1.3 billion contingent on the outcome of a separate legal appeal, while not owing royalties for the technology in its future vaccines, which is seen as a significant win for the company. The payments are not as substantial as Wall Street had feared to be more than $3 billion, said Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham. Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen said, however, if the payment does become necessary, it could reduce the company's cash reserves to as low as $3.2 billion by 2026. Moderna expects its reserves to be between $4.5 billion to $5 billion this year. Breen added this "narrows the tightrope" for the company, as timing and scale of its lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech for infringing patents related to mRNA technology is unknown, and its management has been known to be too optimistic in the past. In 2022, Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech for infringing patents related to mRNA technology. BioNTech countersued Moderna in February, arguing Moderna's next-generation COVID-19 shot, MNEXSPIKE, infringes one of its patents. (Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore) A Rocklin teacher who urinated into a canister and dumped it out moments before students entered his classroom an incident captured on video has been placed on leave. The cellphone video, a copy of which was obtained by The Sacramento Bee, shows the teacher in his classroom unbuttoning his pants and urinating into the container just off camera. As he buttons his pants and tucks his shirt, he can be heard saying gosh, thats good gosh gosh gosh gosh gosh gosh. As he grabs the container, he walks across the room and says love it, love it. Once out of frame, he can be heard apparently pouring out the liquid. The school bell rings and students are heard entering the classroom about one minute later. Students can be heard whispering and giggling before the recording ends. It does not appear that there were any students in the classroom while the teacher was urinating. Advertisement Advertisement The educator has been identified by students as Dan Champ, a sixth grade history teacher and Associated Student Body adviser at Granite Oaks Middle School. He has been teaching for more than 25 years, according to California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Champ did not respond to a request for comment. School officials became aware of the video, taken by a student, on Feb. 25 after it was brought to their attention by a parent. Granite Oaks families received a message that afternoon informing them that a school employee was placed on leave. The Bee learned of the developments Tuesday when it obtained its copy of the video. This afternoon, after school dismissal, a parent and a staff member informed the School Administration of a video showing an employee engaging in conduct inconsistent with our professional standards, the Feb. 25 email states. While the unverified video does not involve any students or other staff, the employee has been placed on leave while Granite Oaks Middle School and the Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) investigate the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Although we are unable to share specific details, this matter is being taken seriously and will be addressed in accordance with applicable policies, procedures, and legal requirements. Why the student secretly recorded Champ isnt known. However, an eighth-grade student previously enrolled in his class told The Bee that she heard rumors at the beginning of the school year that Champ would urinate into a container between classes. The students mother requested that her daughters name not be used out of concern for privacy. It personally makes me feel disgusted knowing that I was in the room prior to him doing that near the spot that I used to sit, the student said. The student said she received the video from a friend via Snapchat. Advertisement Advertisement Champ runs an educational tour program for local eighth grade students called Champ Tours with his wife. The next tour to historic landmarks across the East Coast is scheduled for March 27 and a trip to New York City is scheduled for June. The Bees Nicole Buss contributed to this story. After firing Kristi Noem from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security, President Donald Trump has nominated U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, as her successor, effective March 31. The businessowner and former professional MMA fighter has represented eastern Oklahoma since 2012, first in the U.S House of Representatives, then in his U.S. Senate seat since 2022. He has maintained a large presence in national news broadcasts lately as he's backed the Trump Administration's immigration enforcement in Minnesota and the strikes in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Here's a look at five of Mullin's most notable moments over the years. Mullin challenges Teamsters president to a "cage fight" During a heated 2023 exchange on the Senate floor, Mullin told Sean OBrien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to stand your butt up and fight. The senator stood up and adjusted his ring after referencing online exchanges, including a tweet from O'Brien reading "You know where to find me. Any place, any time, cowboy." Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders diffused the tension, demanding that both men sit down. Six months prior, the Oklahoma senator had challenged O'Brien to a cage fight via Twitter. This came after a prior heated confrontation where Mullin told the union leader to shut his mouth after calling him a "greedy CEO" at a Senate hearing in March of 2023. Mullin approaches Capitol rioters at chamber doors On Jan. 6, 2021, Mullin was one of two GOP congressmembers who confronted Capitol rioters at the chamber doors through shattered glass. Alongside Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), the Republican from Westville helped police as they attempted to keep rioters out of the building. Mullin later visited the dozens of law enforcement officers wounded in the attack, including one with an eye literally gouged out. Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with KJRH, Mullin described a group of rioters that broke away from the protestors: "They had evil intentions, they had evil in their eyes." Tussle with Sanders at Surgeon General hearing On Feb. 25, Mullin got into another verbal tussle on the Senate floor with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, during a confirmation hearing for Surgeon General. A member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the Oklahoma senator participated in the nomination hearing of Casey Means, questioning vaccine studies and healthcare affordability. He described Ranking Member Sanders as a part of the problem saying, "You've been sitting here longer than I've even been alive." Sign-snatching at the State of the Union Last week, Mullin approached Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who held up a sign reading "Black people aren't apes," during Trump's State of the Union address. Advertisement Advertisement Green, who represents Houston, raised the sign in protest on Feb. 24, referencing a video Trump posted on social media earlier that month depicting Barack and Michelle Obama, the former president and first lady, as apes. Widely circulated videos show Mullin attempting to wrestle the sign from Green as Trump walked into the chamber. After the event, Mullin accused Democrats of "political theater," and said he "cannot stand the man from Texas." Mullin describes 'the smell of war' with recent U.S.-Israeli strikes Mullin received widespread criticism after a recent appearance on Fox News' America Reports in which he described the "smell of war" when discussing recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, despite never having served in the military. "War is ugly, smells bad, and if anybody's ever been there, and been able to smell the war that's happened around you and taste it and feel it in your nostrils and hear it, it's something that you'll never forget, and it's ugly," he said in the March 2 interview. Mullin's commentary as a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee came under fire from public scrutiny as veterans and peers such as Rep. Pat Ryan (D-New York) brought into question his military history. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Five headline-making clashes from Sen. Markwayne Mullins years in DC A 26-year-old Camden man struck by a car March 2 while riding an electric bike near Dover has died. Delaware State Police said Jordan Schollenberger crossed into the path of a Chevrolet Cobalt about 1:45 p.m. on DuPont Highway just north of POW/MIA Parkway. Schollenberger, who was thrown from the bike, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries on March 3. The Cobalt driver, a 19-year-old woman from Harrington, was uninjured. Advertisement Advertisement The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has any additional information is asked to reach out to Sgt. M. Long at (302) 698-8518. Individuals can also send a private message to state police via Facebook or reach out to Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333. Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. If you have a tip or a story idea, reach out to her at omontes@delawareonline.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Dover-area ebike crash kills Camden man in DuPont Highway collision OTTAWA Following one of Canadas deadliest mass shootings, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was grilled by a senior government official Wednesday over why the company failed to alert police to the suspected shooters seemingly violent ChatGPT messages and why it failed to stop the user from bypassing a ban. Canadas AI Minister Evan Solomon met virtually with Altman, who committed to providing a full report on how OpenAIs systems catch dangerous users and stop banned users from creating new accounts. Solomon said hes enlisted Canadas Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute to test OpenAIs technology to make sure it isnt a danger to the public. These steps represent immediate actions to strengthen safety and accountability, Solomon said after the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, artificial intelligence presents enormous opportunity for Canada. Canadians must be confident that these technologies operate under clear rules, strong safeguards, and real accountability when risks emerge. An OpenAI spokesperson said Altman explained how the company is improving its safety rules, outlining when they engage police and how they are teaching their AI to account for Canadian context. What happened in Tumbler Ridge was a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts remain with the families and all those affected, the spokesperson said. We remain committed to continuing this work with the Canadian government going forward. OpenAI said that in June it banned the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar, who is the suspected shooter in a mass killing in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Feb. 10. Police say eight people were killed, including six at a secondary school. Eight months before the shooting, Van Rootselaars ChatGPT account was flagged internally after employees interpreted some posts as an indication of potential real-world violence, The Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisement Advertisement British Columbia Premier David Eby, who is meeting with Altman on Thursday, has demanded an apology. The government and I personally support the request and demand for an apology to the families, Solomon told CBCs Power and Politics on Wednesday. During their meeting, Solomon said Altman expressed to me horror and responsibility in general for not flagging the user. This is why theyre making changes, he said. This is emotional territory here. OpenAI has since committed to making its AI safer by making it harder for banned users to sneak back onto the platform. The company said it will refer users to local resources when it appears they are in distress or pursuing prohibited behavior. Solomon said OpenAI also agreed to use local experts when the company flags a high-risk user in Canada. Advertisement Advertisement The tech company will also establish a point of contact for Canadian police to exchange information instantly about dangerous users, a request made by Solomon. The company has acknowledged that had these policy changes existed, the company would have flagged the suspected shooters account to Canadian police. Solomon also told OpenAI to go back and recheck safety alerts from the past year using these new, stricter rules. Solomon said Altman agreed to the review, which could help reveal if OpenAI missed other dangerous users who should have been reported to Canadas national police. When it comes to regulating AI companies, Solomon has said all options are on the table. We will continue working with experts, industry, and provinces and territories, to ensure Canadians can benefit from artificial intelligence while remaining protected from harms, he said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he couldn't rule out his country's military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East. Carney's visit to Australia this week has been overshadowed by expanding war in the Middle East, sparked by a massive US-Israeli strike on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney was asked whether there was a situation in which Canada would get involved. Advertisement Advertisement "One can never categorically rule out participation," he said, while stressing the question was a "hypothetical" one. "We will stand by our allies," said Carney, adding that "we will always defend Canadians." Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were "inconsistent with international law". However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon -- a position that Canada takes "with regret" as it represented "another example of the failure of the international order". The Canadian leader reiterated on Thursday his call for a "de-escalation" of the conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Carney's trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States -- a hedge against what he has described as a fading US-led global order. The Australia leg of the tour is aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a like-minded "middle power" partner. - 'Middle power' rallying cry - On Thursday morning he issued a rallying cry in Australia's parliament to "middle powers", urging them to work together in an increasingly hegemonic world order. Nations like Australia and Canada faced a stark choice -- work together to help write the "new rules" of the global order or have great powers do it for them, he said. Advertisement Advertisement "In this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls and retreat behind them. We must work together," he said. "Great powers can compel, but compulsion comes with costs, both reputational and financial," the former central banker added. "Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions." The Canadian leader also said the two countries would together as "strategic collaborators" to pool their vast combined rare earth mineral resources. Advertisement Advertisement And he detailed renewed cooperation in areas from defence to artificial intelligence. "We know we must work with others who share our values to build solid capabilities," he told parliament. Otherwise, he warned, they risked being "caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons". The Canadian leader has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and slapped swingeing tariffs on the country. In a speech to political and financial elites at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned the USled global system of governance was enduring "a rupture". oho/hmn Italian courts have authorized the extradition of Dave "Pik" Turmel to Canada nearly a year after his arrest in Rome, Radio-Canada has learned. Turmel, who was suspected of being the leader of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM) at the time of his arrest, now has 15 days to appeal the decision. Turmel was apprehended in Italy in March of last year by Italian authorities in collaboration with the Quebec City police service (SPVQ). Advertisement Advertisement He had been sought by the SPVQ since July 24, 2023, and was the subject of Canada-wide arrest warrants. In 2024, he was named Canadas most-wanted fugitive by the Bolo Program, which alerts the public about dangerous criminals. He faces numerous criminal charges, including drug trafficking, conspiracy and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm. He is also suspected of being linked to numerous other crimes committed in the province of Quebec. Dave Turmel was named Canadas most wanted fugitive by the Bolo Program in 2024. (Radio-Canada) Even if Turmel decides not to contest his extradition, his return to the country could still take time. Quebec police officers will have to travel to Italy to escort him back to Canada, where the judicial process can begin. "As soon as the plane lands, Mr. Turmel will be placed under arrest again because he will be on Canadian soil," said criminal defence lawyer Steven Slimovitch. "He will follow the same process as any Canadian accused." Advertisement Advertisement While Canada has an extradition treaty with Italy, Slimovitch notes that there is no guarantee the process will be swift. It is the Canadian government, not a court, that must make the request. "It is not just a legal matter. It is absolutely a political matter. The Canadian government must want the accused repatriated. That can take time," he said. Another man, Roobens Denis, 31, was arrested last year in Portugal by local authorities there after being wanted by Quebec City police for seven months. Denis was considered by police to be the right-hand man of Turmel. Neenah mayoral candidate Brian Borchardt will take a second shot at becoming the city's top elected leader, four years after he lost to Jane Lang in the 2022 campaign. Borchardt will face Scott Becher in the April 7 nonpartisan election for a four-year term as Neenah mayor. Becher is making his first run at elected office. Lang didn't seek reelection. Through the first two months of the campaign, Borchardt raised $12,178 and spent $2,747, according to campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk's office. By comparison, Becher raised $2,885 and spent $1,634 through the same period. Advertisement Advertisement As part of The Post-Crescent's coverage of the mayoral race, the candidates were asked to complete a questionnaire to explain why they're running for office, what makes them the better candidate and how they would address the most important issues facing the city. Their answers are published below. The League of Women Voters of Winnebago County will host a candidates' forum on March 12 at City Hall, 211 Walnut St. The section featuring Borchardt and Becher will start at 8 p.m. For information about registering to vote and polling locations, visit the MyVote Wisconsin website at myvote.wi.gov/en-us. Brian Borchardt Brian Borchardt Address: 1411 Rogers Court Age: 53 Occupation: Alternative education teacher at Neenah High School Highest education: Master's degree in education, leadership and administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Relevant experience: Neenah alderman since 2020; Neenah Common Council president since 2023; service on the Finance and Personnel Committee, Public Services and Safety Committee, Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue Joint Finance and Personnel Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission and Sustainable Neenah Committee; member of the board of directors of Verve, a credit union, since 2014; Boys & Girls Brigade volunteer since 1995 Campaign websites: brianforneenah.com and Borchardt for Mayor on Facebook Scott Becher Scott Becher Address: 1061 Green Acres Lane Age: 58 Occupation: Public policy and communications consultant; caregiver for his parents Highest education: Bachelor's degree in journalism and American history from UW-Oshkosh Relevant experience: Legislative assistant, Wisconsin Assembly (1997-1999); chief of staff for state Rep. Steve Wieckert (1999-2009); Assembly Government Operations Committee clerk (2000-2002); Assembly Housing Committee clerk (2003-2009); UW-Platteville government relations and communications consultant (2016-2022) Campaign website: Scott Becher for Neenah Mayor on Facebook Why are you running for office? Borchardt: I'm running for mayor because I am a servant leader at my core. My professional and personal experience with the city and school district make me the ideal candidate for mayor. Serving as an alderman and Common Council president has shown me the importance of listening to residents, asking hard questions and explaining decisions clearly. I want to bring a steady, collaborative approach to the mayor's office, ensuring financial responsibility and open communication. I will preserve our welcoming, thriving community so the next generation of families and businesses will choose Neenah. Advertisement Advertisement Becher: I'm fighting for the average, hardworking Neenah residents who pay more in city taxes than two years ago, while seeing city services cut. We need to focus on core services, fill open police positions, repair crumbling infrastructure, grow our business districts to achieve lower taxes, and improve public safety to eliminate issues like drug houses. We don't need to buy $700 trees in the 2026 city budget, spend $500,000 on outside lawyers and lawsuits or spend $800,000 on consultants for Arrowhead Park. Budgets are choices; needs not wants. Editor's note: The $500,000 spent on lawyers and lawsuits occurred over a five-year period from 2020 to 2025. The $800,000 spent on consultants for Arrowhead Park included design, engineering and permitting from 2017 to 2025. What makes you the better candidate in this race? Borchardt: I bring proven leadership, real experience and a deep understanding of how Neenah works. As an alderman and Common Council president, I've led through tough decisions, built trusted relationships with city staff, and delivered results and experience that can't be learned on the fly. My career as an educator in Neenah schools reflects a lifelong commitment to service, accountability and our community's future. Neenah deserves leadership that is prepared, collaborative and ready on day one. I offer that steady, experienced leadership. Becher: As chief of staff for Appleton's Rep. Steve Wieckert, I ran a can-do office. I worked with the Wisconsin Paper Council to get a tax exemption that allowed Wisconsin manufacturers to be on equal footing as other states, helped Kimberly-Clark and the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce establish an engineering program at UW-Fox to retain workers, and crafted legislation with Gulfstream Aerospace that later was passed into law and created hundreds of jobs. Then, as a UW-Platteville consultant, I helped develop the strategic plan for the successful passage of $58 million in new and rehab engineering building construction projects. What are residents telling you are their most important issues, and how would you address them? Borchardt: Throughout my years in city government, my door has always been open and will continue to be. I work for the citizens of Neenah. They deserve a government that spends their tax dollars wisely and explains clearly where those dollars go. Residents have told me they want transparency, accountability and a voice in important decisions. I am committed to engaging the community, especially when tough choices must be made. Neenahs safe, high quality of life matters, and my goal is to protect it today while planning responsibly for the future so the next generation can enjoy the Neenah we love. Advertisement Advertisement Becher: Affordability. Neenah's cost of living is spiking, pushing homeowners on fixed incomes out of their homes. I will focus city resources on basic services to rein in spending. Roads. A single mother said one city road popped her tire, and she had to buy a new one. As mayor, I will take the politics out of road construction by fixing the worst roads first by addressing the 36.5% of roads in fair and failing condition. Accountability. I will restore transparency by sending out committee agendas two weeks in advance, compared to the current policy of as little as 24 hours. Editor's note: The percentage of roads that are rated fair or lower totals 47 miles. Of that, 35.5 miles are rated as fair, 10.7 miles are rated as poor, 0.7 miles are rated as very poor, and 0.1 miles are rated as failed. Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Candidates Brian Borchardt, Scott Becher state cases for Neenah mayor By Phil Stewart, Ryan Patrick Jones and Doina Chiacu MIAMI, March 5 (Reuters) - White House official Stephen Miller told a gathering of Latin American military leaders on Thursday that drug cartels can only be defeated with military force. The comments make explicit a shift in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, whose administration has blown up suspected drug boats, seized the president of Venezuela in January and aided Mexico last month in its operation to capture that country's most wanted cartel boss. Advertisement Advertisement "We have learned after decades of effort that there is not a criminal justice solution to the cartel problem," Miller, the White House homeland security adviser, told Latin American defense leaders gathered at the U.S. Southern Command headquarters. "The reason why this is a conference with military leadership and not a conference of lawyers is because these organizations can only be defeated with military power." Legal experts and Democrats have questioned the legality of the U.S. strategy, disputing the Trump administration's policy that equates drug traffickers with members of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Islamic State. 'JUST AS BRUTALLY' Advertisement Advertisement Miller said there was no difference, adding that drug cartels "should be treated just as brutally and just as ruthlessly as we treat those organizations." The U.S. policy has unnerved some traditional U.S. military partners in Latin America, including Colombia, which did not send a delegation to the gathering. Brazil and Mexico also did not send delegations. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he wanted the conference to focus on operations that lead to closer cooperation against drug trafficking. He drew applause for promising to make available resources to Southern Command, which oversees U.S. forces in Latin America and for years has complained about being short on resources. It will now need to compete for U.S. troops, warships and aircraft as the U.S. war against Iran unfolds. Advertisement Advertisement Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the goal was to gather like-minded, pro-Washington governments to provide more structure to new kinds of cooperation in the region. That includes this week's announcement that U.S. military forces are assisting Ecuador combat drug trafficking. "The very recent example of Ecuador will serve as the model for other countries attending the conference," Berg said. Berg said the conference would also set the stage for an Americas summit hosted by Trump in Miami this weekend where the U.S. is expected to advance a counter-China agenda. Advertisement Advertisement CHINA'S INFLUENCE Many Latin American nations now see China, not the United States, as their top trading partner, and Trump has taken aim at Chinese ties there. That includes Panama, home to a strategic canal that Trump has threatened to take back by force, if necessary. Trump's national security strategy, published in December, argued that the U.S. should revive the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine declaring the Western Hemisphere as Washington's zone of influence. Hegseth joked this could be called the 'Donroe Doctrine,' to laughter in the crowd. Critics say the rhetoric represents modern-day imperialism and that U.S. military actions in Venezuela and the Caribbean have added to fears in a region where Washington has a troubled history of military interventions. Advertisement Advertisement Addressing a region with many religions and ethnicities, Hegseth said it remained to be seen whether Latin American nations will remain Western and Christian. "We face an essential test whether our nations will be and remain Western nations with distinct characteristics, Christian nations under God," Hegseth said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart in Florida; Writing by Phil Stewart and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama and Deepa Babington) When Carmen Martell was 14, she met a 23-year-old man in her small New Hampshire town. He worked at the nearby brickyard, and she loved him. She started skipping school, running away and getting into legal trouble. At one point, a judge ordered her to go to a disciplinary group home in Vermont but Martells mother didnt want her to go that far. I got along good with my mom I was the youngest of 11 kids, Martell said. I didnt get in trouble with the law or school or anything before I met him. I was pretty sheltered. Her mother went to the brickyard and told the boyfriend she would charge him with statutory rape of a minor if he didnt marry Martell. So a few weeks into her eighth grade year in 1985, Martell got married. She was 15. Advertisement Advertisement She never went back to school. She suffered years of domestic violence from her partner, eventually divorcing him to protect her children. Her mother died, leaving her without emotional or financial support. She has needed government assistance to stay afloat. I feel like all my life Ive had to just do everything in survival mode, Martell said. Even after the divorce, I got remarried but it was the same kind of pattern. That was the only pattern I knew. Martells story is not unique. Between 2000 and 2021, nearly 315,000 minors were legally married in the United States with girls being far more likely to be wed as children than boys. Child marriage was legal in all 50 states until 2018, but since then, 16 states have passed bans. The United States has a comparatively low rate of child marriage, but its continued legality has drawn the attention of researchers who want to eliminate the practice altogether. This week, Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer of Meta and founder of Lean In Foundation, in partnership with Columbia University released a new report, Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage, that calculated that the global cost of inaction amounts to $175 billion each year. The report also highlights potential strategies including investing in education, improving access to reproductive health, and shifting cultural and social norms that could help end the practice in the United States Advertisement Advertisement We rarely talk about child marriage in economic terms, but we should. In addition to the concrete costs in lost productivity and higher health expenditures, child marriage forecloses the ingenuity and ideas each girl might have brought to the world an incalculable squandering, Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and former senator, and Sheryl Sandberg wrote in the reports foreword. Clinton is currently the Board Chair of the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University. Rachel Vogelstein, director of the Womens Initiative at Columbias Institute of Global Politics and co-author of the new report, said that in the past 25 years, the rate of child marriage globally has decreased from 1 in 4 girls married as children to 1 in 5. But advocates and researchers are troubled by a trend of countries shifting priorities and resources away from gender equality and ending child marriage. Last year, the United States froze billions of dollars of foreign assistance that helped advance womens rights and gender equality, including programs to help end child marriage. Vogelstein also pointed to a number of authoritarian-leaning and populist regimes that have dismantled government bodies focused on advancing the rights of women and girls, including in Turkey and Argentina. In Iraq, the parliament recently proposed an amendment that would permit girls to be married at 9. There is concern that this broader aggression in commitment to womens and girls human rights and the backlash that weve seen to gender equality, which we see manifesting here in the United States, will affect the fight against child marriage everywhere including here, Vogelstein said. Advertisement Advertisement Though the vast majority of child marriages occur in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the United States is proof that child marriage can still exist in countries where girls have stronger access to education and employment. I think a lot of this gets excused as tradition or culture, Sandberg said. Well, there are a lot of things in the world that were cultural that were terrible and are long gone. What makes the report particularly unique is its focus on the economic impact of child marriage. According to an analysis from the Center for Global Development, child marriage costs the world up to $175 billion per year nearly $2.5 trillion by 2040 from lost productivity and increased health risks. The report argues that it would take only a $1.3 billion investment to reduce the rate of child marriage by 30 percent in the next five years. I hope that folks will start to think about this not only as something that we ought to address because its the right thing to do, but something we ought to address because its the smart thing to do, Vogelstein said. Advertisement Advertisement Fatima Maada Bio, the first lady of Sierra Leone and a member of Columbias child marriage advisory council, said she was able to criminalize child marriage in her country after five years of getting buy-in from communities and the people. Maada Bio is one of the most vocal advocates against child marriage, and she argues its more than a humanitarian issue. Ive gone around the world to talk about this issue, and Ive never seen a minister of finance talk about the financial implications of this issue for any government, Maada Bio said. And they should be talking about this. And the ministers of education should be talking about the benefit of keeping women in schools. Ministers of health should be talking about how many girls are dying in their hospitals. Maada Bio said she continues to fight for an end to child marriage around the country because she herself was married at 12 and knows the kind of impact that can have on girls lives. The Fatima that didnt have a voice, thats the Fatima Im fighting for now, Maada Bio said. Advertisement Advertisement Martell, now 56, said that she was at a doctors appointment a few years ago and she saw in her medical notes: Child abuse. She called the doctor immediately and said, What do you mean? My mother never abused me. And for the first time, someone explained to Martell that when she got married, she was still a child. Martell said she plays that conversation over and over in her head. I had never thought of it that way, Martell said. If someone asked me if a 15-year-old should get married today, I would be absolutely against it. I would go to protests or sign any petition. I feel that those years formed my life. Martell said she was shocked to find out that child marriage is still legal in most parts of the United States. Her own home state, New Hampshire, did not pass a ban until 2024 nearly 40 years after she was married as a minor. Advertisement Advertisement I wish there was a law back then, Martell said. I wanted it, but youre too young. You cant buy cigarettes. You cant drive. You cant do so many things, but yet youre allowed to get married. Its mind-blowing. Back then, I didnt know any better. I didnt look at life through all the cracks and crevices I had blinders on. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter. CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Kahim Webster has been sentenced to 240 years in prison for the 2024 murder of a young victim at River Run Apartments in Texarkana, Arkansas. On February 24, 2026, Webster appeared before a jury to answer for the charges of murder in the 1st Degree and 10 counts of Terroristic Act. On March 2, 2026, the citizens of Miller County sentenced Webster to 40 years for the murder charge and 20 years for each of the ten Terroristic Act counts. Advertisement Advertisement These sentences are set to run consecutively, resulting in a total sentence of 240 years. The Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department says it commends the teamwork of all personnel involved in bringing Webster to justice and appreciates the Miller County Prosecutors Office for its outstanding work in successfully prosecuting this case. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. By Jonathan Saul and Anna Hirtenstein March 5 (Reuters) - More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the U.S.Iran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region. A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port, according to initial assessments. A second tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side. Nine vessels have come under attack since the conflict broke out between the U.S., Israel and Iran on Saturday. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday and also sent drones into Azerbaijan, injuring four people. The escalation comes after a motion to halt the U.S. attacks was blocked in Washington and as the son of Iran's slain supreme leader emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle under the pressure. Around 200 ships, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers as well as cargo ships, remained at anchor in open waters off the coast of major Gulf producers, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform. Hundreds of other vessels remained outside the Strait of Hormuz unable to reach ports, shipping data showed. The waterway is a key artery for around a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supply. President Donald Trump offered U.S. Navy escorts and insurance in a bid to restart shipping flows and curtail energy prices. Insurance market Lloyd's of London said on Thursday it is engaging with the U.S. government on a plan. BP evacuated foreign staff from Iraq's Rumaila oil field after two unidentified drones landed inside the field, Iraqi oil sources said. Iraq has cut its oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day as it ran out of storage and was unable to load tankers, officials told Reuters. A refinery in Kuwait shut down and another reduced its processing rate. A third refinery in Bahrain also cut its output. OIL PRICES JUMP AGAIN Oil prices extended their rally on Thursday, with Brent climbing 3% and WTI rising 4%. They have both jumped 16% since the war started on Saturday, as U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies. A benchmark European gas price gained around 3% on Thursday. It has surged nearly 60% so far this week. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country could halt gas supplies to Europe right now, amid the spike in energy prices from the Iran crisis. Durban, South Africa When Sipho Dlamini* stepped off a plane from Russia, returning home to the South African port city of Durban last week, he carried nothing but the clothes on his back. They made us burn everything we had, the 32-year-old said. Clothes, documents, even family photos. From the start, it was hell. Dlamini is one of more than a dozen South Africans repatriated from Russia, where they say they were lured under false pretences and thrust onto the front lines of the war in Ukraine mirroring the experience of other African men from countries including Kenya and Zimbabwe. Advertisement Advertisement In November last year, it came to light that several South Africans aged between 20 and 39 had been sent to Russia for what they believed would be security training. But soon after, they were conscripted into a paramilitary group and sent to fight in Ukraine. At the centre of the controversy is Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla a daughter of South Africas former president, Jacob Zuma who resigned as a lawmaker in December after she was implicated in the recruitment drive and the police opened an investigation against her. The recruits, many from the Zumas home region of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, returned after current President Cyril Ramaphosa reached out to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for support in the matter, the presidency said last week. The returnees and their families are now fearful of reprisals from the recruiters and possible prosecution under South African law, which prohibits citizens from fighting in foreign conflicts. They spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition that their identities be concealed. Advertisement Advertisement We were told wed be trained as VIP bodyguards, said Thabo Khumalo*, a 28-year-old who told Al Jazeera that Zuma-Sambudla and her stepmother were at the forefront of recruiting the men. Initially, she pretended to be going to Russia to receive us. But later we learned she had never left South Africa, even though she pretended to be on the front line in our WhatsApp chat group, he said. Thats how we ended up in the trenches. Thulani Mahlangu, a spokesperson for the returnees families, says Zuma-Sambudla, 43, and her associates were allegedly paid at least 14 million rand (about $845,000) by Russias Wagner Group to secure the services of the men. Our children were sold off, said one parent. They were promised jobs, but instead they were used. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement that Zuma-Sambudla submitted to police last year, she claimed she had been a victim herself, alleging she was deceived by promises of lucrative security contracts in Russia. After the story first broke in South African media, ZumaSambudla was forced to step down from her position in parliament, where she represented her fathers opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party. It was another one of Zumas daughters, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, who opened a case against her half-sister for her role in the alleged recruitment. In KZN province, even those close to the Zumas were targeted. One relative of former president Zuma who did not want to be identified, fearing reprisals told Al Jazeera two of her sons and two grandsons had been sent to Russia. We lived in fear, she said. We just wanted them home, alive. Advertisement Advertisement The MK Party has since distanced itself from the scandal, while former President Zumas own attempts to secure the mens release failed. It was Ramaphosa who eventually convinced Putin to allow their repatriation. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, left, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, is accused of helping traffic South African men to Russia to fight in the Ukraine war [File: EPA] A continental campaign At the start of their contracts in Russia, several of the men told Al Jazeera, they were paid a lump sum of 80,000 rand (about $4,800) money they quickly sent home when they realised the conditions of their employment. I gave it to my mother immediately, Khumalo said. I thought Id die there. In Russia, the recruits were issued military uniforms and weapons, and given barely a week of basic drills, they said. Advertisement Advertisement We were cannon fodder. Some of us didnt even know how to fire properly before they pushed us forward, Khumalo said. On the front lines, the men were stationed in Ukraines eastern Donbas region, which has been a primary battlefield of the four-year war. All the returnees Al Jazeera spoke to said that they witnessed violence and death as well as the worst treatment meted out to African fighters. African recruits were made to do the most dangerous duties on the front line, Khumalo said. Some were forced to go and pick up the dead and injured while drones hovered above them Others were shouted at and racially abused by the Russians. It was sad to see Africans treated this way. Advertisement Advertisement Khumalo said it was a heartbreaking experience, only made worse for those who never made it back home. They treated Africans worse, Mandla Zulu*, 44, agreed. We were racially abused, beaten, and sent into the most dangerous areas We saw comrades from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya die in numbers. South Africas inclusion in the Russia-Ukraine war is part of a wider African crisis. More than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among the Russian ranks, Ukraines foreign minister said in November. Among those who have died on the front lines are casualties from Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and other nations, according to reports. Advertisement Advertisement In Ghana, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced that his country has lost around 50 men and said he will travel to Moscow to negotiate the release of captured nationals. Cameroon has reported dozens of deaths, while Zimbabwe and South Africa have also confirmed fatalities among their citizens. Kenyas Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is preparing a mission to Russia in March to secure the release of Kenyan fighters. All Eyes on Wagner, a monitoring group, has documented the aggressive Russian recruitment drive carried out in Africa, noting how vulnerable men were promised jobs, training, or even pathways into Europe only to be sent into the war zone with minimal preparation. Some of our African brothers said they [joined the war] because they were promised to be smuggled to Western Europe if they fought, said Zulu, one of the South African returnees. That dream was the bait. All Eyes on Wagner also said there could be more South Africans fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war. Supporters of Ukraine protest behind a mock coffin outside the Russian Consulate to mark four years since the invasion of Ukraine, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Cape Town, South Africa, February 24, 2026 [Esa Alexander/Reuters] Arrests and investigations After Pretoria opened up diplomatic channels with Moscow, the South African men were repatriated in two separate batches first four returned, then 11 a week later. Advertisement Advertisement But not all came home unscathed: One returned in a wheelchair while another lost his leg in a drone strike and ended up in a Russian hospital, Mahlangu, the spokesperson for the families said. Two South Africans are also known to have died in Russia, the government said last week. Crispin Phiri, the spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said the government is working with their families to decide whether to cremate their remains in Russia or repatriate them for burial at home. This is very difficult for us as government officials because we have to be sensitive to what they are going through, he said. Advertisement Advertisement On arrival in Durban last week, the 11 returnees said the police took them to a holding area at King Shaka International Airport. There, they were made to surrender their phones and gadgets so investigators could gather information before they were allowed to leave. From Durban, they made the long trek back to Nkandla more than 210km away to reunite with their families. It was a big relief to finally go home, Khumalo said. At some stage, we thought we would never come back. South Africas Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, confirmed that 15 men are under investigation. Colonel Katlego Mogale said the probe focuses on contraventions of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, a law that prohibits mercenary activity and regulates the provision of military and security services by South Africans abroad. The Hawks, which investigates organised crime and corruption, also said five other suspects, unrelated to this case, were arrested in Gauteng province late last year as part of the probe into the recruitment of South Africans for Russias war in Ukraine. That group faces charges of fraud, trafficking in persons, and contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. Five suspects appear at the Kempton Park Magistrates Court for allegedly contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act by planning to fight in Russias war in Ukraine, in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1, 2025 [Oupa Nkosi/Reuters] South Africas neutrality under scrutiny When President Ramaphosa announced the South African recruits would return last week, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to Putin for his assistance. Throughout the war, South Africa has sought to maintain a non-aligned stance, and has preserved strong ties with Moscow as a fellow BRICS member alongside Brazil, India and China. But Pretorias stance on the RussiaUkraine war has sparked debate, with experts questioning its neutrality. Our nonaligned position does not mean that we condone Russias military intervention in Ukraine, which has violated international law, said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, of the think tank, the South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africa has historical ties with Russia, which date back to the apartheid era when the Soviet Union helped arm and train resistance fighters opposing racist rule. This has led to a delicate political balancing act under democracy. However, South Africas abstentions on United Nations resolutions condemning Russias actions in Ukraine have drawn criticism from Western nations in recent years. Last Tuesday, the RussiaUkraine war entered its fourth year with no sign it will end anytime soon. The casualties Ukrainians, Russians, and foreign mercenaries fighting on both sides continue to rise, underscoring the human cost of a conflict that has drawn in vulnerable recruits from far beyond Europes borders. Meanwhile, for the families of the fighters especially those who feel they were duped into the war the politics matters less than the pain they feel. We just want our children home, alive, said one parent. And we want those who deceived us to face justice. *Names have been changed to protect privacy and safety. China has expressed its anger over Israeli-US strikes on Iran but, despite hits to its oil imports, will not risk its interests by confronting Washington and helping its long-standing partner, analysts say. The war in the Middle East has sparked global fears of an energy supply crunch, with traffic in the vital Strait of Hormuz blocked. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had "complete control" of the waterway as it kept up its missile and drone barrages across the Gulf. Advertisement Advertisement China, a net importer of oil, is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the narrow strait for energy. However, experts say strategic stockpiles will help Beijing endure short-term disruptions, allowing it to pursue other diplomatic priorities. Looming ahead is a high-stakes summit in China between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, which the White House says will begin on March 31. "The Iran crisis is unlikely to derail the Trump-Xi summit unless the United States launches a sweeping crackdown on Iran-China (oil) flows," Dan Wang, China Director for the Eurasia Group, told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement "Beijing views Iran as a strategic partner rather than a military ally," said Wang. "China also values its relationship with other Gulf states, making direct military support beyond rhetoric highly unlikely," he added. - Key 'buffer' - Beijing has ramped up its diplomatic presence in the Middle East in recent years, notably brokering a 2023 deal between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties. Tehran was later added as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a geopolitical and economic bloc anchored by Beijing and Moscow. China has also grown heavily reliant on the region for powering its huge economy. Advertisement Advertisement Its own crude production accounts for only about 30 percent of domestic demand, according to analytics firm Kpler, with the gap covered by vast shipments of foreign oil. The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China's direct seaborne crude imports in 2025 -- 5.9 million barrels per day (mbd) -- Kpler said. Of those, 1.4 mbd came from Iran. Although China depends on imports to meet energy demand, it has also carefully prepared for unexpected disruptions. "Thanks to years of sustained stockpiling, China now holds roughly (1.2 billion barrels) of onshore crude inventories," Kpler analyst Muyu Xu wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Those reserves are "equivalent to about 115 days of its seaborne crude imports", Xu said. "The sheer scale of China's overall crude stockpiles provides a meaningful buffer, enabling both the country and its refiners to comfortably weather short-term supply disruptions from the Middle East and the resulting price spikes." - 'Strong' condemnation - Beijing said on Sunday it "firmly opposes and strongly condemns" the US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "The most urgent task is an immediate cessation of military operations and preventing a spread and spillover of conflict," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference this week. Advertisement Advertisement She noted that one Chinese citizen was killed in Tehran as a result of the conflict. However, analysts say that energy needs and a reluctance to be drawn into a conflict with Washington will prevent Beijing from converting strong rhetoric into concrete action. The fact that around half of its crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz "gives China a vested interest in keeping energy flowing in the region", wrote Gareth Leather and Mark Williams of Capital Economics in a report. "That is one reason to think that China may not step up support to help Iran, a long-standing geopolitical ally, sustain its response to the US and Israeli attacks in the way it did for Russia after the invasion of Ukraine," they wrote. Advertisement Advertisement "Another is that China would be wary of being seen to facilitate attacks on the United States." Kpler's Xu said that "Russia is likely to emerge as a beneficiary of the war" if oil flows from the region remain blocked. "Russian barrels (are) one of the most immediately available alternatives for India and China to replace disrupted Middle Eastern supplies," Xu said. pfc/pbt/mjw By Greg Torode and Ben Blanchard HONG KONG/TAIPEI, March 5 (Reuters) - China will boost defence spending by 7% in 2026, it said on Thursday, the lowest rate in five years but still outpacing wider economic growth targets and the rest of Asia at a time of growing regional tension, including over Taiwan. Security analysts and regional military attaches are watching China's budget closely as it scrambles to modernise the military by 2035, while stepping up deployments across East Asia and purging the top brass to tackle graft. Advertisement Advertisement China will improve combat readiness and accelerate the development of "advanced combat capabilities", Premier Li Qiang said at the opening of parliament's annual meeting, at which he unveiled a broader GDP growth forecast of 4.5% to 5%. "All these steps will boost our strategic capacity to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests," Li said in his work report, adding that President Xi Jinping held ultimate command responsibility. The figure of 7%, which follows three years of annual rises of 7.2% and is the lowest since 6.8% in 2021, is part of a spending campaign in which China's military has developed new advanced missiles, ships, submarines and surveillance methods. This year's increase showed Beijing was keeping to a long-held principle of balancing economic growth with national defence goals, said James Char of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Advertisement Advertisement "Essentially, the People's Liberation Army budget has been growing at a fairly consistent rate as a percentage of GDP ... roughly the rate of GDP growth plus inflation," added Char, a China defence scholar. It comes amid the highest-profile purge of upper military ranks in decades, with the two most senior generals ensnared in disciplinary investigations. Zhang Youxia, a veteran military ally of Xi, was placed under investigation in January, while another, He Weidong, was expelled in October last year. The purge leaves just two members of the usual seven on the supreme Central Military Commission, Xi himself as its chair, and a newly promoted vice chairman, Zhang Shengmin. Advertisement Advertisement The corruption crackdown showed "Beijing will keep a tighter watch on military spending," said Wen-Ti Sung, a security analyst based in Taiwan, although it was clear all levels of government were getting more frugal. The government remains committed to the ruling Communist Party's "absolute leadership over the armed forces", Li added. "Guided by the principle of ensuring political loyalty in the military, we will continue to improve military political conduct and make major strides towards the centenary goals of the People's Liberation Army." Some regional analysts believe the founding anniversary, which falls next year will bring further increases in military drills and deployments around Taiwan, the democratically-governed island that Beijing views as its territory. Advertisement Advertisement 'REUNIFICATION' WITH TAIWAN China would "resolutely fight against separatist forces aimed at 'Taiwan independence' and oppose external interference", Li vowed, virtually reprising comments of last year. That would "promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the cause of national reunification", he added. Taiwan says only the island's people can decide their future. Its government said it did not see any major policy changes towards Taiwan in Li's comments, but was concerned about China's defence spending. "Even under conditions of an unstable economy and weak private consumption, they are still willing to allocate a very large budget to military spending," said Liang Wen-chieh, a spokesperson of the Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei. Advertisement Advertisement "And of course, that poses a threat to Taiwan," the spokesperson told reporters. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Li toned down a warning about the international environment from a year ago, calling it "complex and challenging" rather than "increasingly complex and severe" in comments that had cited "changes unseen in a century". In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said China was not sufficiently transparent about its continued high level of defence spending and stronger capabilities. Despite China's efforts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by "force or coercion", Japan would keep up efforts to build constructive, stable ties with it, Kihara told a press briefing. Advertisement Advertisement While the graft crackdown left gaps in the PLA's command structure and dented short-term readiness, it was expected to keep improving capabilities and broaden modernisation, the International Institute of Strategic Studies said. Growth in Chinese military spending was consistently outpacing the rest of Asia amid a global surge in defence budgets, the London-based IISS said in a report last month. China's share of Asia's total military expenditure grew to almost 44% in 2025, up from an average of 37% between 2010 and 2020, it added. China gives no breakdown of defence spending, though its budget of 1.91 trillion yuan ($277 billion) is just about a quarter of a $1-trillion defence bill U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law in December. (Reporting by Greg Torode and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom, Laurie Chen and Lewis Jackson in Beijing, Farah Master in Hong Kong, Yimou Lee in Taipei and Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez) By Yimou Lee TAIPEI, March 5 (Reuters) - Chinese air force activity around Taiwan has fallen sharply in recent weeks, with no flights at all in the past week, a sudden drop in what had been daily military manoeuvres that could signal Beijing is recalibrating its pressure on Taipei. China has dispatched 460 military planes - from fighter jets to drones - into Taiwan's air defence identification zone so far this year, a 46.5% drop compared with a year ago, according to Taiwan government data compiled by research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corporation (STA). Advertisement Advertisement In February, Taiwan detected 190 such Chinese aircraft, the lowest monthly tally since its defence ministry began publishing detailed daily figures in 2022 on what Taipei sees an ongoing pressure campaign by Beijing which has been honing its ability to attack the island, including with war games. Chinese President Xi Jinping may be toning down visible pressure tactics to create a better atmosphere ahead of his anticipated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the end of the month, two Taiwanese officials said. Facing Trump, "Beijing might be trying to create a false impression: I am peaceful, I am moving toward peace, so you should stop selling weapons to Taiwan," a senior Taiwan security official told Reuters, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Neither China's defence ministry nor its Taiwan Affairs Office responded to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement China, which considers the island its own territory, has not dispatched any military planes near Taiwan since February 27, marking an unprecedented six-day lull in such operations that coincided with the war in Iran, according to Tristan Tang, a researcher at STA. Unlike this extended lull, past pauses were brief, usually tied to typhoons or Chinese holidays. Another interpretation is China's ongoing military corruption purge. Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan's top military think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, said the purge could be the "primary reason", with Chinese forces undergoing changes to their command structure that are likely undermining overall readiness. Advertisement Advertisement A Taiwan defence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested Beijing is using the lull to digest lessons from recent large drills. However, China's navy and coast guard remain active, according to Taiwan's defence ministry, showing Beijing had only dialled down the more politically sensitive air activity. "Just because they're not coming now doesn't mean they won't come back in the future, and we can't rule out that they may be preparing for an even larger operation," said another senior Taiwan security official. "We should not project any change in Beijing's intentions based solely on a few days of activity." (Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) A Christian man in Malta who faced jail time after publicly sharing his testimony of leaving the LGBTQ lifestyle has been acquitted after a three-year legal battle. Matthew Grech, 33, faced up to five months in prison and a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,400) for an interview he gave to the media outlet PMnews Malta in 2022. During the segment, Grech discussed his personal journey of leaving a homosexual lifestyle to become a born-again Christian. On Wednesday, Magistrate Monica Vella ruled that Grech and journalists Mario Camilleri, 44, and Rita Bonnici, 45, who were also prosecuted in the case, were not guilty of violating Maltas "Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Gender Expression Act," Malta Today reported. Advertisement Advertisement The 2016 legislation, the first of its kind in the European Union, criminalizes the performance and advertisement for practices aimed at changing or suppressing a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. Former Transgender Clinic Insider Calls $2M Gender Surgery Verdict 'Tip Of The Iceberg' Grech became the first person prosecuted under the act, according to the Christian Legal Center, after LGBTQ activists filed police reports after the interview aired. Read On The Fox News App The reports were filed by Silvan Agius, a former senior EU equality official who helped draft the original legislation, and former and current activists with the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Christian Attard and Cynthia Chircop. Advertisement Advertisement They alleged that the interview served as "marketing" for the International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counseling Choice (IFTCC), an organization Grech represents. However, the court found that Grech sharing his personal story did not constitute a criminal offense under the act. Christian Nurse Who Faced 'Racial Abuse' From Transgender Patient Reinstated After Suspension The judgment held the prosecution failed to prove the offense beyond reasonable doubt, particularly that the broadcast amounted to "advertising" a prohibited "conversion practice," and that any services referenced actually fell within the legislation's definition. Advertisement Advertisement According to Malta Today, Vella compared the TV interview to public debates on other controversial issues and said discussing these topics does not amount to criminal conduct. The court also pointed to the legislation's carve-out for "free exploration and development" through counseling/psychotherapeutic services, cautioning against treating public discussion of contested issues as criminal conduct. "Today, I thank God that justice has prevailed," Grech said in a statement following the verdict. "This prosecution should never have been brought. I believe it was politically motivated and entirely without merit." Defense attorneys at the Christian Legal Centre argued that the charges violated fundamental rights to free speech under the Maltese Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. They also maintained that Grech never offered or promoted conversion therapy during the broadcast. According to his attorneys, Grech was targeted after he shared his faith story on television as a contestant on "X Factor Malta" in 2018. Advertisement Advertisement Pastor Accused Of 'Inciting Religious Hatred' With Uk Street Sermon, Legal Advocacy Group Says The Christian Legal Centre, which supported Matthew Grech's case, alleged that LGBTQ activists targeted Grech after he shared his personal story of leaving homosexuality, while on the "X Factor" Malta in 2018. (iStock) Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, called the verdict a "decisive victory" for free speech. "The attempt to criminalize him has collapsed because the prosecution could never coherently define what conversion therapy even means," Williams said. "It should never have been used to target a young man simply for sharing his Christian testimony." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture According to a transcript of his interview with PMnews Malta, at no point did Grech invite anyone to attend therapy to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, though he was critical of the Maltese legislation banning conversion therapy and explained how he came to believe that homosexuality is not an identity, but rather a practice that was incompatible with his Christian faith. Advertisement Advertisement The case carries international significance as nations, including the United Kingdom and several Australian states, have drafted or enacted similar bans, often modeled after Maltas landmark 2016 legislation. Agius, Attard and Chircop did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by time of publication. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report. Original article source: Christian man who faced jail for ex-LGBTQ testimony found not guilty By Steve Gorman March 4 (Reuters) - The following is a chronology of key developments in what authorities describe as the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC's "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. She was last seen by family members on January 31 after spending the evening at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and son-in-law. February 1 - A doorbell video camera at the front door to Nancy Guthrie's Tucson house captures footage of a man wearing a ski mask, backpack, gloves and holstered gun tampering with the camera in the early morning. Guthrie's pacemaker app loses contact with her phone line about a half hour later. Shortly before noon, relatives notify authorities that Guthrie is missing after she failed to appear for Sunday church services. Advertisement Advertisement February 4 - Savannah Guthrie, her sister Annie Guthrie, and brother Camron Guthrie post the first of several video messages about their mother's disappearance on social media, saying they are aware of ransom note reports in the media, and pleading for abductors to open communication with them. February 5 - Authorities confirm that DNA tests showed that blood found on Guthrie's front porch came from her. The first of two deadlines set in a purported ransom letter passes at 5 p.m. February 7 - Savannah Guthrie, flanked again by her sister and brother, releases a video statement pleading for her mother's return, saying, "This is very valuable to us and we will pay." February 9 - Savannah Guthrie, in an Instagram video, says, "We believe our mom is still out there" and asks for the public's help in locating her. A second ransom deadline passes. Advertisement Advertisement February 10 - The Pima County Sheriff's Department and FBI release the video footage of the armed man at Nancy Guthrie's door, a recording the sheriff later describes as the single biggest clue to surface in the case. Hours later, authorities search a home in the Arizona border town of Rio Rico, 60 miles (97 km) south of Tucson, and take a man into custody for questioning. He is released and no arrests are made. Savannah Guthrie re-posts the masked man's images on Instagram with the caption: "We believe she is still alive; bring her home." February 15 - A DNA sample is obtained from gloves that were found discarded about 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie's home and resemble the pair worn by the masked man in the doorbell camera footage, authorities say. February 17 - The glove DNA sample fails to produce a match in a search of known genetic profiles in a national database known as the CODIS, according to the FBI and sheriff. March 4 - The same gloves are traced through further DNA analysis to a local restaurant employee who is not considered a suspect in the case, the sheriff's department says, indicating a dead end for what had been a once-promising lead. (Writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editiing by Donna Bryson, Rod Nickel and Himani Sarkar) A Colorado man, who spent two years fighting to get a traffic light installed at a Denver intersection where his wife was killed, died Monday at that same intersection, Denver7 reports. Gerry Goldberg, a 34-year resident of the area, was identified as the man killed in the two-vehicle crash at E. Belleview Avenue and S. Franklin Street. Google Maps His wife, Andie Goldberg, an avid runner, was killed in a crash at the same intersection in 2024, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement For the past two years, Gerry made it his mission to advocate for a traffic light at the intersection. Andies death led a group of neighbors to start a campaign called Andies Light as part of that advocacy. According to Greenwood Village City Council minutes, CDOT approved a signal, but it had not been installed. Read the original article on silive.com. Add silive.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. AI is coming to a bus stop near some of you soon. NJ Transit is piloting new bus stop signs with real time bus tracking and artificial intelligence. Currently, NJ Transit has metal bus stop signs that list bus lines and the stop ID. Passengers can then call, text or use NJ Transits app to find out when the next bus is scheduled to arrive. The new bus stop signs will be tested at eight locations for a year, including three in Monmouth County and five in Hudson County. Advertisement Advertisement They will have digital screens that display real time bus arrival times, according to an NJ Transit press release. AI technology will also count people waiting at the bus stops to provide data for the agency. A new NJ Transit bus stop sign at the intersection of Route-9 North at Gordons Corner Rd. in Manalapan, NJ. The technology will model the demand for buses and detect how many people are left behind due to buses at capacity or scheduling constraints. The transit agency said that the technology will not record video or audio. This is a crucial metric for service planning and resource allocation, according to the NJ Transit press release. The new signs are located at: 15 th St. and Willow Ave. in Hoboken (Stop ID: 32084) 9 th St. and Washington St. in Hoboken (Stop ID: 20512) 31 st St. and Bergenline Ave. in Union City (Stop ID: 21687) 31 st St. at JFK Blvd. in Union City (Stop ID: 21688) Congress St. at Palisade Ave. in Jersey City (Stop ID: 31211) Route-9 North at Gordons Corner Rd. in Manalapan (Stop ID: 24814), which will have two new signs Aldrich Rd. Park and Ride in Howell (Stop ID: 24693) The signs come from two technology companies BusPas and Urban Solar, which submitted ideas through Transit Tech Lab, according to the press release. The program, established by transit agencies in New York and New Jersey and funded by the Partnership Fund for New York City, gives private companies the opportunity to submit ideas and solve ongoing transportation problems. Advertisement Advertisement Partnering with emerging tech companies allows us to test solutions that directly enhance the customer experience in this case by improving access to important customer information, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said in a press release. These digital signs not only provide real-time updates to riders at bus stops, but also supply NJ TRANSIT with valuable data to help us plan more responsive and customer-focused technology solutions. A new NJ Transit bus stop sign in Hudson County, NJ. The five solar-powered signs in Hudson County are from BusPas and the three in Monmouth County are from Urban Solar, according to the press release. If the new bus signs prove to be a success after one year, NJ Transit will consider expanding the signs to other locations, according to the press release. Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Transit bus signs will use AI to model demand, plan for the future SOUTH BEND Indiana University South Bend will host its annual Party with a Purpose event March 5, aimed at addressing menstrual equity and supporting girls education. The event, organized by the IUSB Honors Program and co-sponsored by Malawi Matters, a South Bend area-based nonprofit, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Grill and Fireside A & B on the IUSB campus, according to a press release. Party with a Purpose coincides with International Womens Day, celebrated globally on March 8. Helping girls stay in school Participants will cut, assemble and sew washable, reusable menstrual pads for girls and young women in Malawi. In Malawi, many students miss up to a week of school each month due to a lack of access to menstrual products. The pads produced during the event will be distributed through Malawi Matters, which has worked in over 215 villages and 1,500 schools throughout Malawi over the past two decades. Advertisement Advertisement For many girls in Malawi, something as simple as a menstrual pad can mean the difference between staying in school or falling behind, executive director of Malawi Matters, Phyllis Wezeman, said in the release. Party with a Purpose connects people here in Michiana with girls halfway around the world in a very tangible way. Its powerful to see how education, dignity, and opportunity can begin with community action. How to participate Attendees will also create inspirational cards to accompany each menstrual kit and engage in short educational presentations about life in Malawi, global and local period poverty, and the work of Malawi Matters and community partner organizations. Stations will be equipped with flannel, terrycloth, waterproof fabric and sewing machines, and no sewing or crafting experience is required. Party with a Purpose is designed to be welcoming and accessible, Neovi Karakatsanis, director of the IUSB Honors Program, said in the release. People can drop in for a few minutes or stay for hours, learn something new and know that their time directly supports women and girls both locally and globally. Attendees are encouraged to bring packages of pads and tampons that will be distributed to local service organizations serving women and girls in need in the Michiana community. Representatives from several community organizations will be present to share information and resources. The origin of Party with a Purpose The project originated when Wezeman guest lectured in an IUSB course, Women in Developing Countries, and students expressed a desire to take action to support the girls and women served by Malawi Matters. The initiative has since grown into an annual Honors Program event promoting civic engagement, global awareness, public health and gender equity. Advertisement Advertisement Party with a Purpose is expected to produce several hundred reusable menstrual pads for distribution in Malawi, along with hundreds of disposable menstrual products for local organizations, according to the release. The event is open to IUSB students, faculty, staff and members of the broader South Bend area community. Participants are welcome to drop in at any point during the day. All materials will be provided, though attendees may also bring clean or new flannel, terrycloth fabric or towels to contribute to pad production. For more information, contact Neovi Karakatsanis at nkarakat@iu.edu, Karrie Jean at kmjean@iu.edu, or Phyllis Wezeman at phylliswezeman1@gmail.com. This story was created by reporter Cheryl Morey, with the assistance of artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing. This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana University South Bend event supports menstrual equity POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) A Polk County community is mourning the loss of one of its own. Captain Cody Khork, a Winter Haven native, was killed Sunday in Kuwait when a drone struck a command center. The Pentagon confirmed six U.S. service members were killed in the attack. Four have now been identified as Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Specialist Declan Coady, and Captain Cody Khork. Advertisement Advertisement All were members of the Army Reserve supporting military operations overseas. Khork, 35, grew up in Winter Haven and was living in Lakeland. According to officials, the soldiers were killed March 1 in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, when a drone struck their command center. The City of Winter Haven is remembering Khork as a hometown hero. In a statement, city leaders said Captain Khork served our nation with honor and will be remembered with gratitude. Throughout his military career, he received numerous medals and honors recognizing his service, leadership, and commitment to others. Khork graduated from Lake Region High School in 2008 and Florida Southern College in 2014. He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and later commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve. Advertisement Advertisement Retired Navy Captain Robert Proctor called the loss a tragedy. The loss of US military lives over there is a is a tragedy, Captain Proctors said. And every member of the military, you know, has signed that that blank check to America. And I hate to see that happen. We all pray for their families. 8 On Your Side reached out to Khorks parents. In a statement, they shared that he lived with purpose, loved deeply and was devoted to both his country and his family, leaving behind a legacy of service, leadership, and pride. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Morgan Stanley is preparing to cut roughly 2,500 jobs, representing about 3% of its global workforce, reported the Wall Street Journal citing sources. The layoffs will impact the investment banking and trading, wealth management, and investment management divisions. Sources indicate that the redundancies are related to changes in business focus, location requirements, and job performance. Employees in both the US and international offices will be affected, the news publication added. The reductions follow a strong year for the bank in 2025, when it reported all-time high annual revenue in its investment banking and trading division as well as its wealth management business, the report noted. Morgan Stanley employs approximately 83,000 people. Most of the affected staff were informed on Wednesday, though some had already received notice last week, sources said. The bank has undertaken several rounds of staff reductions in recent years. In the latest round of cuts within the wealth management unit, roles impacted include private bankers and support staff. Some positions related to managing mortgages for wealth-management clients are also being eliminated. According to Reuters, the workforce changes are part of broader strategic adjustments and performance considerations. The bank plans to recruit for roles in other areas, noted the news agency. This move comes amid a wider trend among US companies, many of which have announced layoffs since the start of the year as they seek efficiencies and adopt AI tools. Last month, Block, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, cut 40% of its jobs as part of efforts to increase AI integration. In January, Reuters reported that BlackRock will trim its global headcount by approximately 1%, amounting to around 250 positions. "Morgan Stanley to cut 2,500 jobs amid strategic shift report " was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. GOSHEN Grant requests heard by the community relations board Tuesday show some of the gaps between the needs of Hoosiers and the priorities of lawmakers. Seven organizations presented requests for a share of Community Development Block Grant funds to the Goshen Community Relations Commission. The co-recipients will be included in the citys annual action plan when it applies for the funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Thats basically our application and it explains how were proposing to use the funding, said Theresa Cummings, CDBG specialist for the city. All these proposals that we submit have to meet one of three national objections: They have to either benefit low-moderate income individuals, they have to either address slum and blight or meet an urgent need. Advertisement Advertisement First Light Mission is seeking $42,000 to support its healthy eating program. Mindy Morehead, executive director, said the aim is to teach shelter guests about healthy alternatives when shopping and eating. We do 15,695 snacks a year with this, she said. Our budget is about $450,000 a year. We provide all of our services to our guests completely for free. On top of our healthy eating program, we also have a food pantry that we provide everything out of there for free. The shelter takes in families with minor children. Morehead said they have a 90 percent success rate in helping guests become self-sufficient and stable when they leave. But the demand for beds outweighs availability, and the need has ballooned since their move to 801 W. Wilkinson St. in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement We have 43 beds. We stay full. Turn away about 150 a month, Morehead said. In the last few years, its jumped significantly. When we moved into the new facility, we were turning away about 30 per month. We had a family show up today with six kids that cried because we just dont have anything for them. She said they try to direct those they turn away to other resources, but its the same story everywhere. Every shelter is completely full right now. Faith Missions turning away the same number of families. We are doing an alternative thing with this family right now, hoping that we have another family thats getting an apartment, getting into a place Monday at the latest, Morehead said. We do try to work on not just completely turning them away, but its not easy to do and thats not always an option. Walnut Hill Early Childhood Center is seeking $19,680, which Executive Director Lee Wheeler said will go to tuition subsidies for families in the 30 percent to 80 percent median income range. Up to now, he said, they have been able to save families around half of the $14,000 annual cost of tuition, but cuts to Indianas Child Care Development Fund vouchers have hit harder than expected. Advertisement Advertisement About 82 percent of the families that we serve receive some sort of discounted tuition in the form of scholarship. The remaining percentage is covered by the CCDF voucher program, Wheeler said. Right now, we are looking at trying to keep the affordability as high as possible. There recently have been cuts to the CCDF, so we are seeing families that were getting $250, $260, a week for childcare being reduced down to $1, $10, $15, leaving them with the remaining balance. And thats just not affordable for these families. Wheeler said anticipated cuts to CCDF of 20 percent to 30 percent turned into more than 50 percent when enacted, meaning the amount the education center receives per month was reduced from $33,000 to $16,000. Changes to the voucher program for impoverished families include a refusal to issue new vouchers until at least 2027. The states biennial budget bill last year reduced funding levels for Indianas CCDF match to $39.4 million annually and reduced the Pre-K program to $26 million. Income eligibility thresholds were changed to 135 percent of the federal poverty level, down from 150 percent, and childcare subsidies were eliminated for families who are looking for work. They must now be actively working or in an educational program to qualify. Advertisement Advertisement As a consequence of the cuts, the 16 to 18 families Walnut Hill supported each year will drop to 11 in order to increase the amount each family can receive, according to Wheeler. He said their scholarship program is more important than ever, since parents need childcare in order to maintain employment and support their family. Were trying to mitigate that as much as possible for our families, he said. So far we have not had to increase tuition for anybody, which were very thankful for. And thats honestly through programs like this and through a lot of donor support. Wheeler said they raise roughly half of their $800,000 program budget through grants and donations. Receiving grant money can incentivize donors, he said, so the $19,680 could ultimately become $60,000. Other organizations requesting funds were: Advertisement Advertisement Boys and Girls Club of Elkhart County, seeking $5,500 to go toward meals and snacks for the 300 kids who attend daily. Council on Aging of Elkhart County Inc., seeking $7,500 to go toward transportation for seniors. The money will cover trips for 60 to 100 people, the board heard. Elkhart County Clubhouse, seeking $5,000 for its meal program, which serves 25 people a day. Maple City Health Care Center Inc., seeking $6,000 to help cover costs for low-income patients. Lacasa Inc., seeking $7,000 to support neighborhood engagement as well as $45,000 for the homeownership assistance program. U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul were split in their support of a war powers resolution in a March 4 congressional vote. The measure which failed on a 47-53 vote would have halted military hostilities against Iran and ended American involvement in the war. It comes after Feb. 28 U.S.- and Israeli-led airstrikes in Iran that killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials and hit more than 1,250 targets inside the country. Six U.S. service members have been killed. President Donald Trump defended the action March 2, saying the strike was justified because the U.S. mainland itself could soon be hit by an Iranian nuclear weapon, according to USA TODAY. Advertisement Advertisement "The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America," Trump said. "An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people." How did Kentuckys senators vote on the war powers resolution? McConnell voted against the resolution. Before the vote, he said the strikes are squarely within [Trumps] inherent authorities but added that a presidents ability to use military force does not absolve him from a responsibility to place his national security decisions on the broadest possible political foundation. President Trump has made a bold and tough decision one that could transform the region for the better for generations to come. But there are risks involved. And I hope his Administration will work to explain the connection between the Commander-in-Chiefs worthy objectives and the military and diplomatic means to achieve them, McConnell said. Connecting ends and means is the essence of strategy, and its important for the Administration to explain to the American people how they intend to do so. Advertisement Advertisement He also called for more funding directed to the U.S. military, which he said is not prepared to confront aligned adversaries and deter or defeat aggression simultaneously on multiple fronts. Paul voted in favor of the resolution, becoming the only Republican to do so. In a FOX News Digital opinion editorial, Paul criticized congressional leadership and wrote that Americans have been robbed of a public debate, which he said is intentional. The congressional leadership resigned to their own irrelevance will gladly hand the president the power to initiate war in exchange for plausible deniability, Paul said. Congressional leaders want to make the case to voters that they are not to be held accountable at the ballot box because they played no role in the decision to go to war. That is not statesmanship. That is shameful. Paul said that America perpetually searches for the next monster to destroy, pointing to previous American wars including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Venezuela in which supporters argued for toppling foreign governments. Advertisement Advertisement While they have recycled their arguments when they bother to make them the results are always instability, chaos, suffering and resentment. Americas adventures have not produced the promised utopias or even Jeffersonian democracies, he wrote. He also voiced his support for the constitutional separation of war powers and described it as a vital part of a democratic republic. This Congress should be ashamed of how it has allowed this unilateral march to war, he said. No others in our history have been this cavalier with our military men and women and tax dollars as they are at this moment. U.S. House to vote on war powers resolution The U.S. House of Representatives will also vote on a war powers resolution March 5. U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ro Khanna of California introduced the resolution in June 2025. The resolution, which is similar to the one voted down by the Senate, states that Congress hasnt declared war and directs Trump to terminate his use of the military against Iran unless explicitly authorized. Advertisement Advertisement In posts on X, Massie and Khanna again voiced their support for it Feb. 18 10 days before the strikes began. "Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He cant without Congress," Khanna wrote. During a March 4 floor speech, Massie called on House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, to bring the resolution to a vote. He also questioned both the constitutionality of the strikes and the merits of the war, saying military service members should have a clear mission and families in his district want to know how the war will help them afford groceries and housing or make their communities safer. Advertisement Advertisement Have we learned nothing from the laundry list of wars and regime change experiments weve sparked across the Middle East that have racked up a total of at least $8 trillion of debt in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan? A sustained war in Iran will not stabilize the region, Massie said. Its already ignited the region. This story has been updated to include the source of the opinion editorial. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How KY senators aligned on war powers vote Conservative Anglicans meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja have pulled back on plans to elect a rival "primus inter pares" - the Latin term meaning "first among equals" which describes the Archbishop of Canterbury's position within the worldwide church, where Sarah Mullally is considered the ceremonial leader. Electing another person with the same title would have been seen by many as an open challenge to the leadership of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury just weeks before she formally begins the job. Instead, the group, known as Gafcon, says it is leaving behind old structures and old titles, and is now unveiling a new leadership council headed by Rwanda's Archbishop Laurent Mbanda. Advertisement Advertisement Reporters reacted with some puzzlement to news of the appointments as they were announced on Thursday, with some suggesting it still amounted to an act of defiance. Asked repeatedly whether Gafcon members still recognised the supreme authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, spokesman Venerable Canon Justin Murff said: "The Global Anglican Council recognises Archbishop Laurent Mbanda as its leader." "Sarah Mullally is the Archbishop of Canterbury." There are some 95 million Anglicans around the world with the Archbishop of Canterbury as their spiritual figurehead. Later this month Archbishop Mullally will be formally installed at a ceremony in Canterbury. Advertisement Advertisement But her appointment has divided opinion in Nigeria and elsewhere, with many conservative Christians believe that only men should be consecrated as bishops. At Thursday's press conference, Gafcon insisted doctrine was at the heart of their differences with the Church of England, not gender or sexuality. "The issue is not same-sex marriage, nor is it about the female Archbishop. It is whether scripture or contemporary culture governs the life of this church," Venerable Canon Murff told assembled journalists. Yet he also said Archbishop Mullally had "repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality", because of her support for same-sex unions, a position Gafcon sees as "contrary to Holy Scripture". Advertisement Advertisement He added that when it came to female leadership, "the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopalism". Gafcon has members from across the world - including Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia - and claims to speak for the majority of the Global South, although that is contested. Two-thirds of the world's Anglicans are in Africa, but opinion is not monolithic, and there are six female bishops on the continent. Gafcon's new leader has a PhD in theological studies and recently wrote his life story [AFP via Getty Images] Archbishop Laurent Mbanda's career spans multiple countries and decades - including a childhood as a refugee in Burundi and years in the US, where he studied theology and started a business sending recycled clothes to African countries. Advertisement Advertisement He even penned an autobiography - From Barefoot to Bishop: A Rwandan Refugee's Journey - enthusiastically described by the Church Times website as a "remarkable" account of his beginnings. Thursday's move is the culmination of decades of divisions over theological differences on matters such as LGBTQ clergy, and same-sex blessings, an issue over which they broke with Justin Welby, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury. Gafcon was formed in 2008 as a response to these issues. It accuses the Church of England of abandoning Biblical teachings in favour of modern culture and imposing its views on the rest of the world. This is in contrast with those who believe the Church has not done enough to reflect the times in which we live. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Anglican Communion Office in London expressed disappointment that Gafcon had bypassed "the formal and encouraging years-long process of global consultation and discernment about Anglican identity, structures and leadership. Advertisement Advertisement "We recognise that there's pain and division in the family, but Christ calls his Church to be one." Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury in January [PA Media] The Anglican Communion will discuss proposals on how to deal with their differences at a conference in Belfast in June. Gafcon will not attend, because it no longer recognises the body. But there is another group of conservatives the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), which is willing to engage and discuss the proposals. Where this leaves the relationship between Gafcon and the Church of England is not clear. Neither is what it means for the shared ties of Anglicans around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Gafcon may not have elected a leader to replace the role traditionally held by the Archbishop of Canterbury but this is still a parallel leadership structure, and a deepening of the rift between them and the Church of England. You may also be interested in: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Correction: An initial version of this story incorrectly stated that Tim Gatz, former executive director of OTA, was named in the audit as directing work to contractors. That portion of the audit referred to the agency's executive director, without identifying an individual. This story has been updated to reflect that correction. Records show that Poe & Associates, a firm being paid millions by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for its work on ACCESS Oklahoma, hired the son of the agencys former director Tim Gatz shortly after the firm was chosen to oversee the $8.2 billion toll road expansion program. A long-awaited investigative audit into the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority released Wednesday revealed no illegalities or wrongdoing by the agency but does report conflicts of interest and irregular awarding of contracts worth billions of dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd also alleged that the director of the agency (later identified as Gatz' successor Joe Echelle by Byrd's spokesman Andrew Speno) directly oversaw work assignments to Poe & Associates and other engineering contractors with no clue as to why the firms were chosen. An online biography for Gatzs son, Trace, shows he was hired in 2022 the same year Poe & Associates was chosen to oversee ACCESS Oklahoma while Tim Gatz was director of the turnpike authority. The relationship, not mentioned in the audit, involves a firm that has repeatedly represented itself at public meetings as an extension of the turnpike authority in overseeing ACCESS Oklahoma. The report by Byrd, which does not name Gatz or Echelle, also shows Poe & Associates and other engineering firms are setting their price on work related to the $8.2 billion ACCESS Oklahoma toll road expansion program. The contracts, Byrd said, were not competitively priced and that some invoices are being paid without staff review. Statements issued by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and Oklahoma Department of Transportation dispute the audits findings that the executive director was involved in the hiring of the firm or its work assignments. Advertisement Advertisement "Its important to note that these contractors are selected by an internal review committee," Lisa Shearer-Salim, spokesperson for the turnpike authority, said in a statement. "This committee does not include the executive director, which was mistakenly stated Wednesday and incorrectly reflected in the audit report. As a matter of policy, that does not happen." When ACCESS Oklahoma was started in February, 2022, Gatz was the Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, director of ODOT and OTA. Attorney General Gentner Drummond requested the audit on March 15, 2023, in response to rising criticism against turnpike officials by lawmakers and critics of ACCESS Oklahoma. Gatz stepped down as OTA director and transportation secretary on Feb. 28, 2024, when Drummond issued an opinion that serving in all three posts violated the state constitution's prohibition on dual office-holding. Advertisement Advertisement Gatz was recently renamed transportation secretary after a court ruling overturned the opinion issued by Drummond. Brenda Perry, spokesperson for ODOT, released a statement on Thursday responding that selections of consultants are conducted in strict accordance with applicable state and federal laws and are completed by a committee that does not include the executive director. The Secretary of Transportation and Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Tim Gatz has been diligent in maintaining a clear line of separation to prevent any conflict of interest regarding his son who was hired by an engineering consultant, Perry said in the statement. Gatz first sought legal counsel in 2019 upon learning his son had chosen to pursue a career in civil engineering, even before his son was hired, Perry said. Additionally, he advised the Oklahoma Transportation Commission and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board of his actions to delegate and formally recuse himself on consultant selection and administrative processes. Advertisement Advertisement Byrd stuck with her findings, and in a statement to The Oklahoman, she said the concern raised by the audit is the criteria used to assign jobs to the chosen firms as they set their own prices for that work. The OTA was unable to produce any documentation showing how it selected each contractor for each project, Byrd said. Nor could the OTA provide any written evidence that it tried to negotiate the best rates on behalf of taxpayers. As an example of conflict of interest alleged in the audit, Byrd called attention to Contractor One (Poe and Associates), getting paid as both program manager and prime contractor. She said another firm, Contractor Two (Olsson Engineering), was hired as a prime contractor and consulting engineer. That means Contractor Two' is responsible for recommending new projects, and then can also try to obtain the contracts as a contractor, Byrd said. Advertisement Advertisement Byrd didnt allege the hirings were illegal, but did say the processes used lacked guardrails to ensure the contractors, expected to have access to subcontractors, didnt just use each other as subcontractors and collude on billings. Im not saying coordination has occurred, Byrd said. Im saying the OTA has not put any guardrails in place to prevent that. The OTA director has admitted that ACCESS costs are rising precipitously. The OTA director has said publicly that the ACCESS programs costs have doubled since 2021. Poe & Associates was paid more than $23 million during just the first year of ACCESS Oklahoma. The firms assignment to oversee ACCESS Oklahoma occurred just months before the hiring of Trace Gatz. Perry said Tim Gatz first notified turnpike authority board members about his sons hiring by Poe & Associates in June 2022 four months after the firm was hired to oversee ACCESS Oklahoma. The relationship, however, wasn't reported publicly until October 2025, when disclosures were required as part of new state ethics rules. Advertisement Advertisement Poe & Associates has a long history of hiring former high-ranking state transportation engineers and supervisors. The firms CEO is David Streb, who was the transportation departments director of engineering. The firms chief operating officer is John Bowman, who was previously the ODOT capital programs director. At a press conference announcing the audit findings, Byrd said the turnpike authoritys contract review processes are weak, even more so in connection to the awarding of the ACCESS Oklahoma contracts. OTA did not follow its normal practices when selecting contractors for the design phase of ACCESS Oklahoma, Byrd said. Advertisement Advertisement Instead, she said, turnpike officials put out a letter of interest that drew responses from 17 engineering firms. The OTA is then alleged to have created a shortlist of 12 firms to serve as prime contractors and awarded work without clear reasoning as to why they were chosen. Prime contractors can be approved on an as-needed basis for on-demand services, Byrd said. That means the 12 prime engineering contractors were pre-selected to be on standby to support the ACCESS project. Tim Gatz, director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, far left, and Joe Echelle, director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, shown to the right of Gatz, address lawmakers' questions about the future of the state's toll road system at the Capitol Building on Oct. 09, 2025. Byrd said that while the turnpike authority is not legally required to seek competitive bids, it is required to keep costs to a minimum. Without competitive bidding, contractors have no incentives to lower their prices, Byrd said. OTA could not produce documentation showing any attempt to negotiate contractor pricing downward. Advertisement Advertisement Byrd said turnpike officials also could not produce records to justify work assigned to the selected prime contractors. According to interviews with multiple staff members, it appears that in some cases the OTA director simply chose the prime contractor he wanted without any documented explanations of the choices, Byrd said. More: Construction lobbyist calls turnpike opponents 'domestic terrorists' Despite the concerns raised in the audit, Byrd said turnpike officials, lacking accountability and given broad powers by state lawmakers, acted within their legal rights. When lawmakers established the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority in 1947, they granted it a blank check, Byrd said. Oklahoma taxpayers have been underwriting that check ever since. Advertisement Advertisement Byrd said the turnpike authority does not have the financial incentive to keep costs to a minimum because it can readily take on debt and pay off that debt with toll revenues that can be increased as needed. OTA has little incentive to negotiate contractor prices down or to avoid additional debt because it has the ability to raise tolls to pay for the debt, Byrd said. OTA collects more than $1 million per day in revenue and theres no statutory limit on the amount of toll revenue that OTA can select in order to pay for the increasing debt. Shearer-Salim's statement suggests the OTA sees Byrds audit as independent confirmation that the agency follows all state statutes and there is no evidence of non-compliance with Oklahoma law. Byrd said with the audit completed, the next step is up to lawmakers to bring more accountability to the OTA, which she said continues to operate with a blank check. Drummond warned the turnpike authority his office will continue to monitor its operations and will not hesitate to act if needed. While the audit did not uncover criminal misconduct, the findings should not be mistaken for an agencys clean bill of health, Drummond said. The audit made clear the need for increased oversight, accountability and transparency at the OTA. Read the full audit This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OTA audit reveals little oversight on ACCESS Oklahoma contractor prices The war in the Middle East that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz is making Russian oil more valuable to two of the largest energy markets in the world India and China. Oil prices have been soaring and stock markets tumbling globally, with analysts warning that prices could test $100 a barrel if the disruption extends beyond a few weeks. The strait through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies pass remains effectively closed to most operators after Iranian forces threatened to set fire to ships passing through. Advertisement Advertisement As global oil becomes scarcer and more expensive, few countries stand to feel the pressure more acutely than India and China two of the world's largest energy importers, both heavily dependent on Gulf supplies. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the worlds most strategically important shipping routes (Getty/iStock) If we see a prolonged war, with the Strait out of use for an extended period, said Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS, it would mean all countries globally competing for every incremental barrel of oil possible." Analysts say the clearest beneficiary of that scramble is Russia a long-time supplier to both countries, and one that Washington had been pushing India to move away from. With Gulf supplies now blocked, Russian crude is readily available: by tanker to Indian refiners, and by pipeline to China, and both are already increasing their purchases. Advertisement Advertisement The main effect, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder and lead analyst at CREA, is that Russia will make more money and China and India will pay more for their oil, like all importers. India relies on imports for more than 88 per cent of its oil needs, and nearly half of its crude comes from Gulf states whose exports pass through the Strait. The government has reassured that it holds 74 days worth of reserves, but reports indicate it could be as low as 25 days. In recent months, Indian refiners had been trimming Russian purchases under US pressure, part of broader negotiations around a trade deal after heavy tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. By January, Russian crude accounted for less than 20 per cent of India's imports, the lowest in nearly four years, while Saudi imports rose to their highest in almost six years. Advertisement Advertisement Now that the Strait is closed, analysts say the direction is clear. Both countries are likely to consider increasing purchases of Russian oil in the event of prolonged disruption, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. But Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, said while Russian imports will go up for China, for India still bound by its interim agreement with Washington major changes could be more challenging. Government sources signalled India is scouting for alternative supplies within a 10 to 15-day window. Meanwhile, Russia is already standing ready to supply. Advertisement Advertisement Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told state-run TV that Moscow was "getting signals of renewed interest from India" in purchasing additional volumes of its crude, adding that it "remains convinced" the trade is beneficial to both countries. On Thursday, the diversions were already underway at least three tankers carrying around 2.1 million barrels of Russian Urals crude are heading to Indian ports this week. Smoke rises from a cargo ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast (SBU) One, the Suezmax Odune, has already arrived at Paradip on India's east coast; another is heading to Vadinar on the west coast; a third that had been signalling Singapore has turned north in the Arabian Sea and is now on course for India, according to vessel-tracking data cited by Bloomberg. All three ships are under EU and UK sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement China's position is different but the direction is the same. Beijing had not pledged to reduce Russian purchases the way India had, but its national oil companies had been moderating their intake. Parmar said that restraint is unlikely to last. While independent refiners still purchase reasonable volumes of Russian oil, China has stopped its national oil companies from purchasing Russian oil in recent months. This policy may change if the war continues for an extended period. Data from Vortexa showed Russian crude deliveries to China rose by around 370,000 barrels per day in February compared to January roughly matching the volume Beijing had been receiving from Venezuela before shipments were cut off. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Moscow could benefit from Indias oil needs (AP) China has faced challenges in accessing its two major suppliers this year, both due to Washington. Iranian exports have under strain, although not completely stopped like in the case of India, since the US-Israel attack. Advertisement Advertisement Venezuelan crude, which flowed almost entirely to Beijing under Nicolas Maduro as US sanctions locked out most other buyers, has also been cut off following January's regime change. Trump declared in January that he had struck the concept of a deal for India to buy Venezuelan oil instead, replacing its Russian oil needs, but production has collapsed to just over 1 million barrels a day, infrastructure would need billions to restore, and the distance might also be a decisive factor for Delhi. Analysts say this is where Russia's position becomes particularly beneficial. Much of Moscow's oil has spent months sitting on sanctioned tankers that Western ports and insurers refuse to handle, making it readily available for Indian refiners. China, meanwhile, receives Russian crude directly via pipeline, making its access even more secure. Advertisement Advertisement Chris Wright, principal analyst at CarbonBridge, said Russian crude floating storage of around 58 million barrels would be significantly cheaper than what is looking like increasing oil markets going beyond $80 per barrel," adding that "any oil or gas producer not reliant on the Strait of Hormuz will now be incredibly important to global oil and gas supplies." The Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker was seized by US forces in January, for allegedly violating sanctions by transporting oil for Venezuela, Russia, and Iran (Getty Images) Russia is not the only one to benefit, analysts said Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, and the US, with its significant excess production, all stand to gain from higher prices and tighter global supply. But none are as strategically placed as Moscow to serve India and China, which together consume roughly 22-23 million barrels a day a fifth of global demand. While analysts remain certain over long-term gains for Russia, it has not been able to capitalise on the oil rally immediately due to its own challenges. Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian drone attacks have left the Sheskharis oil terminal at Novorossiysk, slated to load around 500,000 barrels per day, shut since Monday, while severe icy conditions have reduced loading capacity at its Baltic ports. In the far east, however, exports from Kozmino port are near record highs. For India, the political cost of turning back to Moscow remains the only complication, and even that is shrinking. In the current circumstances, I feel the US will not say anything, said Vibhuti Garg, director for South Asia at IEEFA, noting that Washington is in a weak position to punish India for seeking alternatives to a route it helped close. The White House did not immediately respond to questions on how it would view India resuming Russian oil purchases. Meanwhile, the US and France are moving to ease some pressure. Advertisement Advertisement Trump has announced political risk insurance for ships transiting the Gulf and France has dispatched the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean. But with the Strait still closed, neither measure changes the basic calculus for India and China: the quickest route back to energy security still runs through Moscow. If environmentalists had had their way, Indiana would soon be seeing less water pollution, fewer data centers and more options for at-home solar energy generation. But the 2026 Indiana General Assembly had other ideas, shooting down multiple laws proposed this session that could make Indiana a greener state. And this is not the first session in recent history where environmental legislation has gone nowhere in the statehouse. "We've lost ground in the last several years," said John Ketzenberger, the director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana. "It's really hard to get anything moved through because it's the right thing to do. As long as that is the case, I'm afraid we're gonna have incremental wins at best." Advertisement Advertisement The flashiest piece of environmental legislation to progress through the statehouse this year was designed to scale back the state's Department of Environmental Management. At the time of publication, the bill was awaiting Gov. Braun's signature. But few bills, if any, aimed at protecting air, water and land quality sit beside it on Braun's desk. The General Assembly started off on an unusual note in mid-December with lawmakers focused on redrawing district maps, but once the action kicked off in earnest at the start of the year, multiple bills addressing environmental issues appeared. But none made it across the finish line. Here is a look at the now-dead bills that were introduced to protect Indiana's natural resources. HB 1414: Woodland health & forest entrance fees Rep. Beau Baird, R-Greencastle, said his forest health bill was an attempt to protect Indianas threatened woodlands so that future generations might enjoy them. The bill would have mandated the Department of Natural Resources maintain different generations of trees on state forest land, which might have granted additional protection to some old growth forests. Advertisement Advertisement In addition, the bill would have imposed entrance fees on state forests public lands that are currently free. Proponents said the cash influx could help the underfunded state forestry program. The House Natural Resources Committee passed the bill but it never appeared on the House floor. More on HB 1414: As state legislators tackle forest health, some environmentalists are wary HB 1124: Testing drinking water for lead in school buildings This bill proposed by Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, would have required all school buildings to test drinking water for lead. The bill provided deadlines for testing as well as a framework for how to test for lead. Schools that did not comply would be fined. Advertisement Advertisement The House Public Health committee failed to hear the bill. HB 1326: Natural disaster response The bill, also authored by Baird, would have established a statewide task force made up of state lawmakers and agency representatives to study flood risks due to extreme weather events. The group would report on ways Indiana could become more resilient to natural disasters. Members of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, American Flood Coalition and Indiana Conservation Voters testified in support of the bill that ultimately did not make it out of the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety committee. HB 1084: Plug-in solar systems Rep. Carey Hamiltons, D-Indianapolis, solar energy bill would have essentially legalized plug-in solar power systems small, portable devices that capture solar energy from say, a porch or balcony, and then directly power residences. The devices allow for easy, cheap and independent energy generation, but theyre also subject to complex utility interconnection regulations in much of the United States. Hamiltons bill would have allowed Hoosiers to bypass the complex regulatory mess. The bill, and a similar iteration that began in the state Senate, SB 74, both did not advance after failing to receive a hearing in committee. HB 1245: State study of data centers Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, authored this bill that would have required state regulators to study how large-load electric users, like data centers, would affect the cost for utilities to meet the energy demand. The study also would have explored the impact of data centers on electricity rates and would have included potential solutions to keep costs lower. Advertisement Advertisement The bill died before its hearing in the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications committee. HB 1043: Data center water regulation One of many attempts at addressing data centers, Alex Burtons, D-Evansville, bill would have required data center operators to obtain a permit from the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR permit would have addressed the amount of water a data center proposed to use as well as where that water would come from. DNR would have been able to deny certain permits. Burtons data center bill did not get a hearing in the House Natural Resources committee HB 1297: Water intensive facilities Burton also proposed a second bill more broadly addressing industrial water use from data centers and other sites. The bill would have given Indiana the authority to deny economic incentives to data centers and other large water users if facilities did not meet certain requirements. Some of those requirements included making sure a utility could provide adequate water to the facility and that the facility would pay any associated infrastructure costs. Advertisement Advertisement The bill died before getting a hearing in the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications committee. SB 79: Electricity demand from the data center boom While some bills targeted water use at data centers, J. D. Ford, D-Carmel, proposed a bill aimed mostly at electricity use. This bill would have established a working group to estimate future energy demands of data centers across Indiana. It would also have given local governments authority to investigate proposed development sites for potential impact on the local area. The Senate Utilities committee failed to hear the bill. More on data centers in Indiana: How the Midwest's data center gold rush may become a political reckoning HB 1185: Weather, agriculture and pesticide runoff Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, introduced an agriculture bill that would have allowed Indianas clean water fund to support the installation and maintenance of mesonet sites environmental monitoring stations that track meteorological phenomena like thunderstorms and wind bursts. Advertisement Advertisement Mesonet data helps farmers who are planning pesticide applications avoid periods of gusty wind or heavy rain, which can lead to chemical drift or nutrient runoff. Indiana currently has 15 mesonet sites but Purdue researchers hoped additional funding would help facilitate the installation of a site in each of the states 92 counties. The bill passed through the House Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development but died before it reached the Senate. HB 1110: PFAS chemicals lurking in wastewater Rep. Becky Cashs, R-Zionsville, bill would have established a state standard for PFAS in industrial wastewater. PFAS, commonly known as forever chemicals, remain in the environment for a long period of time. Cashs bill would have required that Indianas waters be tested for PFAS and cleaned up if any were found. Advertisement Advertisement The bill died before getting a hearing in the House Environmental Affairs committee. HB 1239: PFAS... again While HB 1110 aimed to regulate PFAS in wastewater, Rep. Ryan Dvoraks, D-South Bend, bill attempted to limit the amount of PFAS in public water systems. The bill would have set state standards meant to protect public health that could not be less stringent than those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dvoraks PFAS bill failed to be heard in the House Environmental Affairs committee. SB 67: Natural lands study Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, introduced legislation to bolster the states knowledge of public land use. The bill would have required the DNR to investigate how public lands improve public health outcomes, recover from natural disasters and, in a slightly different vein, how the agency might implement visitor fees at fish and wildlife areas. Advertisement Advertisement The bill passed through the Senate but ultimately died in the House. SB 17: Local control over air pollution Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, introduced a bill to improve air pollution monitoring and control at the local level. The Indiana Department of Health reported last year that one in 12 children in Indiana has asthma a medical condition exacerbated by outdoor air pollution. Randolph's bill would have allowed cities, counties and towns to establish air pollution control agencies. The Environmental Affairs committee did not hear the bill. IndyStar's environmental reporting is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Advertisement Advertisement Sophie Hartley is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach her at sophie.hartley@indystar.com or on X at @sophienhartley. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social or X @karlstartswithk. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pollution, PFAS and plug-in solar bills died before becoming Indiana law UPDATE @ 2:25 p.m.: Power has been restored to a Piqua neighborhood after a crash on Thursday. The city announced power was back up around 2:18 p.m. Crews are still working to finish repairs and reopen the road. INITIAL REPORT: A crash has caused both a road closure and a power outage in Piqua on Thursday morning. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The crash was reported on Broadway, which is also State Route 66, around 8:15 a.m. A Miami County dispatcher said one vehicle was reportedly involved. Advertisement Advertisement Our News Center 7 crew on the scene reported seeing a red pickup truck that had hit a power pole. A fire hydrant was also knocked over. TRENDING STORIES: Broadway is currently closed between Robinson Avenue and Washington Avenue and is expected to remain closed until at least 1 p.m., according to the City of Piqua. Drivers are recommended to use State Route 48 and U.S. Route 36 to bypass the closure. The power outage was initially reported in the 1500 and 1600 blocks of Broadway. Advertisement Advertisement In an update, the city said it had to temporarily disconnect electric services along Broadway and Riverside Drive from Gill Street to Washington Avenue to safely complete repairs. Approximately 70 residences are currently without power and service is expected to remain off for several hours while crews complete the work, the city said. Were working to learn if anyone was hurt. Well provide updates as we learn more. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BERLIN, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) A licensed practical nurse is facing charges for misusing drugs she obtained when she worked at Central Vermont Medical Center, say Vermont authorities. The Vermont Attorney Generals Office said that Brittney Roberts also known as Brittney Metivier 36, of Barre took fentanyl, meperidine, and midazolam for personal use. Murder suspect gets 10 years for Vermont drug operation Advertisement Advertisement Meperidine, like fentanyl, is a synthetic opioid that has occasionally been used recreationally. Midazolam on the other hand is the class of benzodiazepines. According to the National Library of Medicine, it can be used before surgery to cause drowsiness, relieve anxiety, and avoid any memory of the event. It and other benzos are drugs with potential for abuse. Roberts pleaded not guilty at her arraignment and was released on conditions. The charge against her, drug diversion, is a felony punishable by up to 2 years and one day in prison. According to a CVMC spokesperson, Roberts no longer works as CVMC. Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Central Vermont Medical Center identified that an employee had diverted medication for personal use. The hospital conducted a thorough internal review, which found no evidence that patient care was compromised. The employee was subsequently terminated. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Authorities have identified the person who died after a multi-vehicle wreck involving two tractor-trailers and a sedan on a Massachusetts highway on Wednesday morning. Officers responding to a reported crash on the northbound side of Interstate 95 near Exit 4 in Attleboro around 6 a.m. found a Honda Civic crumpled against the back of one tractor-trailer and a second tractor-trailer leaning off the side of the highway, video from the scene showed. The driver of the Honda, 43-year-old Chad Askew, of Mansfield, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Bristol District Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement No operators or attendants of the tractor-trailers were on scene when officers arrived, the DAs office noted. State police are still searching for a man who was spotted fleeing the scene in shorts and boots. There were no additional details immediately available. State troopers assigned to the DAs office are assisting Attleboro police with an investigation. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The News When Steve Daines drove his truck across his barley field a week ago to film his retirement video, almost no one in Washington knew how painstakingly, and quietly, he was working to clear the field for his successor. The capital found out Wednesday night, when the two-term Montana senator abruptly withdrew from his reelection race just minutes before the candidate filing deadline preventing a last-minute contender for the now-open seat. Daines told Semafor on Thursday afternoon that his goal was clear: blocking the states potential Democratic candidates from the race. A second midterm for a president, you have natural political headwinds. And my goal here was to try to make this race as least expensive as possible, given theres a lot of expensive races on the map, Daines said in an interview. This was all about preventing this race from escalating into another $200-300 million race. Advertisement Advertisement Daines worked with the White House to vet Kurt Alme, a US attorney in Montana, as his chosen heir. Support quickly emerged from the Montana Senate delegation, its governor, and President Donald Trump. He said he didnt want to leave any time for former Sen. Jon Tester, or former Govs. Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock, to launch a surprise Democratic bid and sap resources. It was a fitting maneuver for the former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee: Out of an abundance of caution, I wanted to try to make sure we didnt have a very expensive Senate race with one of those three possibly in it, Daines said. Tester, who had already indicated he had no interest in another run, has doubts about Daines reasoning. I dont believe that, as none of us were running. He fked his own party, the Montana Democrat told Semafor. Advertisement Advertisement Montana GOP Sen. Tim Sheehys chief of staff Mike Berg, a former Daines campaign aide, called Tester a bitter man and a loser. Daines is bowing out of Washington at an arguable peak of influence, becoming one of Trumps closest outside advisers. He had tried to recruit Alme for a Senate bid years ago, but Alme had passed because the timing wasnt right. This time was different. And Alme wasnt even aware he was being vetted by the White House for the seat over the past few days. Daines was working on his own with the White Houses political team to make sure Alme would have unified support from the GOP as Daines retired. It was very important to me that the White House your governor and the two senators get together and say, this would be a great America first candidate, Daines said. Nobody knew that I had that sign off from the White House. That was a tight hold. Advertisement Advertisement Independent candidate Seth Bodnar entered the race on Wednesday, perhaps the best chance for people wanting to defeat Alme. Daines dismissed his chances as a liberal from Missoula, a Democrat now identifying as an independent and said Alme would start with a big lead. In response, Bodnar said that: Steve Daines and Party insiders coronating their hand-picked successor and robbing voters of the ability to choose their elected representatives is exactly what Montanans hate about the corrupt politics of Washington, DC. Know More Daines said he is tired of the rigorous travel schedule keeping him from his wife and growing brood of grandchildren, but he didnt totally rule out a run for another office. Theres lots of chatter about who might succeed Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Dainess longtime business partner. Governor is an executive set skill set, which is probably more to where Im wired, said Daines, who worked for a software company with Gianforte and before that at Proctor and Gamble. Im not retiring because of that [gubernatorial opportunity]. I just know thats out there. Advertisement Advertisement Still, he said he worried about Tester and the two former governors posing a threat in the fall. (Bullock launched his unsuccessful campaign against Daines on the filing deadline in 2020.) Daines aggressive approach to his own retirement recalled the mentality he brought to the Senate GOP campaign arm in 2024, getting Trump to endorse Sheehy against Tester and chasing former Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., out of the race. The senator spoke to Trump for 25 minutes on Wednesday night. The two reminisced about their shared political battles with Democrats and flipping the Senate in 2024. Trump said late Wednesday that if Kurt didnt have the highest level of aptitude and talent, Steve would have remained exactly where he is, but Kurt is exceptional. Daines and Trump also discussed their shared goal of blocking Democrats from the majority this fall. Advertisement Advertisement Democrats nominated their preferred candidate in Texas this week in James Talarico and are trying to flip seats in Maine, Ohio, Alaska, and North Carolina. They are closely watching Texas and Iowa, and now everyone is keeping an eye on Montana. Democrats are on offense, and Republicans are losing ground. Weve expanded the map into GOP territory, and were continuing to put as many states as possible in play and carve a winning path to take back the majority, said Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Daines said he discussed with Trump midterm travel to our key battleground states and that hes encouraging candidates not to make a midterm break from him. Dont run away from Trump. Run towards him, and that would be my advice on these key Senate races, Daines said. Room for Disagreement Al Olszewski, who is running to replace retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said Daines betrayed the trust of all Montanans and called his tactics a deceptive maneuver. Advertisement Advertisement I had the same criticism when I recruited Tim Sheehy, Daines responded. Montanans are now saying theyre thankful Tim Sheehy is our senator. He beat Tester by nearly eight points. That says a lot. Its kind of a similar type of situation. Burgesss view Daines is clearly talented at vetting candidates and endorsing them. He showed off his NRSC-leading chops while blocking and tackling for Alme, and the criticism hes taking will probably fade with time. As for his surprise announcement Wednesday, he was already showing signs of a tug back to Montana. He passed on running for Senate GOP leader, and hes often prioritized family: he famously missed a Supreme Court vote to attend his daughters wedding. The governors mansion would allow him to see his family more, and still play a big role in government. Morgan Stanley to cut 2,500 jobs amid global reshaping Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is set to eliminate 2,500 positions globally as part of a strategic reshaping of its US and international operations, according to reports. The layoffs represent roughly 3% of the banks workforce and will affect employees across wealth management, investment banking, and investment management divisions. The cuts come after a record 2025 for Morgan Stanley, which reported historic annual revenue in its investment banking and trading units. The bank did not immediately comment on the reasons for the job reductions. The move aligns with broader industry trends as financial institutions increasingly turn to artificial intelligence and automation, prompting cost reductions and workforce realignments. Analysts have noted that AI-driven job cuts are spreading across banking and other sectors. Morgan Stanley joins a growing list of banks adjusting staffing levels despite strong financial performance, reflecting a shift in priorities toward technology integration and operational efficiency. Shares of Morgan Stanley were down nearly 2% on Thursday morning. The Brief North Texas is bracing for multiple rounds of severe weather starting Wednesday afternoon, with threats including damaging winds, large hail and a low tornado risk. A stalled front will keep storm chances high through the weekend, eventually transitioning into a significant flood concern as heavy rain persists. Residents should stay weather-aware as temperatures dip into the 50s and 60s following Saturday's cold front. LIVE UPDATES 10 p.m.: Viewer photos show incredible lightning strikes from storms 9:30 p.m.: David Sentendrey details severe weather across region DALLAS - FOX 4 reporter David Sentendrey has been driving around North Texas throughout tonight's severe weather. He detailed some of the damage he saw in the video below. Advertisement Advertisement Sentendrey notes severe flooding in Alvarado, a building in Garland whose roof collapsed, and heavy rainfall across his travels. 9:10 p.m.: Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for more counties Van Zandt County is now under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 9:45 p.m., while Parker County is under the same until 9:30 p.m. 9 p.m.: Heavy rainfall continues to pelt North Texas The Severe Thunderstorm Warnings have ended, but a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and Flash Flood Warnings still hang over most of North Texas. Below is a look at total rainfall for the last few hours. 8:30 p.m.: Send us your pictures and videos of today's storm! 8:15 p.m.: Intense supercell seen above Rockwall This image was sent in by viewer Stacey Romo in Rockwall, where you can see a hail-producing supercell formed above the city. 7:45 p.m.: Quarter-sized hail reported south of DFW metroplex A storm in Johnson County near Parker is showing radar indications of producing nickel to quarter-sized hail between Grandview and Rio Vista along FM 916 and FM 4. 7:30 p.m.: FOX 4 chief meteorologist Dan Henry weather briefing on North Texas severe weather Henry reports that flash flooding has been reported in southern Dallas County, including DeSoto. 7:15 p.m.: More warnings issued A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for areas near Dallas County, TX, Ellis County, TX and Kaufman County, TX from March 4 at 7:12 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. 6:15 p.m.: Another Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for North Texas Another Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued in North Texas for Tarrant County and Dallas County. Advertisement Advertisement The Warning begins at 6:15 p.m. and ends at 7:15 p.m. 6 p.m. Garland roof collapse Photo courtesy Ashley Trail Police and firefighters responded to reports of a roof collapse on Kingsley Road near Industrial Lane in Garland around 6 p.m. Officials confirmed it was a weather-related incident. The collapse was due to a buildup of water on the roof. No one was hurt. 5:45 p.m.: Flash Flood Warning issued A Flash Flood Warning has been issued for Tarrant County, Dallas County and Rockwall County, beginning at 5:35 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. The National Weather Service says there is a significant threat to life in the affected counties. 5:10 p.m.: Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for several North Texas counties A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Dallas County and Tarrant County beginning at 5:10 p.m. and lasting until 6 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement The system will move through areas of North Texas ranging from Lakeland Heights, Irving and Euless across the 5 p.m. hour. 1-inch hail and wind speeds of up to 60mph could be possible. 4:40 p.m.: Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued The National Weather service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for many parts of North Texas from 4:40 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service says there is a significant threat to property or life in Hunt County, Somervell County, Rains County, Collin County, Fannin County, Rockwall County, Kaufman County, Denton County, Red River County, Johnson County, Tarrant County, Ellis County, Dallas County, Hood County, Parker County, Cooke County, Lamar County, Wise County, Hopkins County, Delta County. Wednesday Forecast: Storms Arrive Wednesday morning will remain mostly quiet with a 20% chance of light rain. But, a stalled front over North Texas is expected to spark strong to severe storms tonight. The primary window for activity is between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement The main concerns for Wednesday are wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph and hail roughly the size of quarters. While the tornado potential remains low, it cannot be ruled out. Some isolated gusts could reach up to 65 mph. LIVE Radar: Dallas-Fort Worth Thursday & Friday Forecast: Severe Threats Continue Expect a lull in activity for much of Thursday and Friday, with only scattered showers in the forecast. Storm coverage and intensity will increase significantly Friday night as a stronger cold front moves into the region, bringing another round of severe weather. A few storms remain possible Thursday, mainly west of the I-35 corridor, with the potential for small hail and gusty winds. Weekend Forecast: Flooding and Severe Threats Thunderstorm activity will intensify Friday, with large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes possible across North Texas. Advertisement Advertisement By Saturday, the focus shifts to a rising flood threat. Heavy rain will fall on already saturated soil, increasing the risk of flash flooding. While rain chances remain in the forecast, the exact impact of next weeks precipitation is still being monitored. Temperatures will stay warm through the end of the week, with mornings in the 60s and afternoon highs reaching the 70s and 80s. Saturday's cold front will eventually drop temperatures into the 50s at night, with afternoon highs in the 60s and low 70s through Sunday. 7-Day Forecast The National Weather Service notes that flooding potential will likely increase over the weekend due to multiple rounds of heavy rain. Total rainfall amounts are expected to average between 1 and 3 inches from Friday through Monday, though some areas could see higher totals. There is a secondary potential for severe weather on Tuesday, but confidence in that system remains low at this time. The Source Information in this article comes from FOX 4 forecasters and the National Weather Service. Kristi Noem has been answering a lot of questions from politicians this week, but she managed to avoid a really awkward one on Wednesday afternoon. Rumors have abounded for years that the Department of Homeland Security secretary has been having an affair with Homeland Security aide Corey Lewandowski despite both of them being married to others. Politics: Karoline Leavitt Absolutely Loses It Over Kaitlan Collins' Question: 'Listen To Me...' The two have denied the rumors since at least 2021, but the alleged relationship has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after The Wall Street Journal reported that the two have been seen flying together in a luxury jet with a private cabin. Advertisement Advertisement Despite that level of public attention, Noem seemed surprised when California Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove bluntly asked her about the rumors during a Wednesday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. And, no, Kamlager-Dove didnt mince words at all. So, Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure, as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had ****** relations with Corey Lewandowski? she asked. Politics: Lawrence ODonnell Uses Barron Trump To Make Damning Point About Donald Trumps Iran War Noem didnt answer Kamlager-Dove directly and instead addressed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Chairman, I am shocked were going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today, Noem said to Jordan before addressing Kamlager-Dove. And maam, the one thing that I would tell you is he is a special government employee who works for the White House, there are thousands of them in the federal government. And as an adviser, [he] has no authority to be making any decisions, she continued. While the two continued to speak over each other, Kamlager-Dove conceded it was OK for Noem to be offended by the question, but pointed out the secretary should be able to answer the question clearly and without any hesitation if someone is asking if you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate. Politics: Trump Fires Scandal-Plagued Kristi Noem As Homeland Security Secretary That should be the easiest question you should be wanting to answer that question, Kamlager-Dove added. Advertisement Advertisement Noem kept muttering the question was absolute garbage, while Kamlager-Dove continued to say the matter was about Noems judgment and decision making. It is about the 260,000 employees that work under you that want to make sure you are giving information and making decisions clearly, she said. Kamlager-Dove emphasized that since Noems job is protecting the country, her judgment can be the difference between life and death. It is about conflict of interest. It is about national security risk, she said. Why then, is the question, have you made Corey Lewandowski your de facto chief of staff, who possesses an unchecked level of power at DHS? Kamlager-Dove asked Noem. Politics: Congressman Trolls Kristi Noem During Testimony With Brand New Coast Guard Blankie Noem never answered Kamlager-Doves question regarding the ****** allegations, but the congresswoman attempted to read a series of headlines about the rumored affair that she wanted in the official record. Advertisement Advertisement Jordan objected to each one. According to Mediaite, Noems husband was sitting right behind her during the hearing. You can see the complete exchange below. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) in another exchange followed up on Kamlager-Doves question, where Noem finally responded, This has been something that Ive refuted for years and I continue to do that, according to CBS News. Read Next Read the original on HuffPost Some Democrats arent ruling out voting for a multibillion-dollar military infusion, setting up a potential internal clash in the weeks ahead for a party whose political base is aghast at President Donald Trumps aggression against Iran. The Trump administrations top defense and intelligence officials told lawmakers this week that the Pentagon could soon send an emergency supplemental funding request to Capitol Hill. They didnt offer a timeline or dollar value, but the White House is reportedly mulling a $50 billion ask. Thats a massive sum on top of the more than $990 billion Congress has shelled out for defense capabilities in recent months between the GOPs big, beautiful bill and the latest government funding package. Advertisement Advertisement To pass any new military funding measure through the Senate, the support of at least seven Democrats will be needed to overcome the filibuster. Its far from certain the votes are there. Good luck. What Democrat is going to vote to fund an illegal war? Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Wednesday. I don't think with the exception of one Democrat there will be any votes for it. He appeared to be referring to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who was the only Democrat to oppose a separate Iran war powers resolution and has routinely broken with his colleagues on government funding votes. Democrats also want to stay disciplined around their campaign message heading into the midterms, arguing that Trump has abandoned his central campaign promises to keep the country out of prolonged wars and bring down costs for Americans. Advertisement Advertisement I mean, you lie to us, don't consult us and then expect us to send more taxpayer money to a war that we shouldn't have started with no plan and no answers, said Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a combat veteran of the Iraq War, in an interview. He called reports of the $50 billion request outrageous. But this is not the universal position inside the party. Several Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee arent ruling out supporting more Pentagon funding. That includes the panels top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, as well as Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. A White House emergency funding request could force Democrats to choose between rebuffing the president and turning their backs on legislation the administration deems necessary for replenishing key defensive munition stocks designed to keep U.S. troops and civilians safe. Theres awareness among many Democrats that Trump has thrust the country into a conflict, and now Congress has no choice but to help keep things on track. Advertisement Advertisement I need to know the goals and the plan. I don't rule anything out, said Slotkin. I mean, were in it. Lawmakers in both parties are also concerned that the bombing campaign and effort to defend U.S. personnel in the Middle East could quickly deplete stockpiles of precision-guided missiles and air defense interceptors that are critical for national security priorities elsewhere around the globe. The Pentagon and defense industry have struggled to speed up production of the expensive munitions, which are in high demand in the Middle East, Ukraine and in the Pacific. We have to look at what they need, said Reed, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Some of it might be to fill in critical issues and other theaters of war they've taken things from. Theres a possibility a spending package for the Iran conflict could be tied to other priorities, which could make it more palatable to some Democrats. Lawmakers were talking Wednesday about attaching Ukraine aid. Others are eyeing relief for farmers a key priority for Republicans in agriculture-heavy states as well as wildfire disaster aid Democrats have long sought. Advertisement Advertisement I think it comes down to, you're going to have to have a number of things in there to get a critical mass, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said Wednesday. That doesnt mean all Democrats are prepared to give Trump a blank check for military action in Iran. Many who left the door open to voting for a supplemental funding package said the administration would first have to provide Congress with more information about the offensive. That includes the rationale for striking Iran, a commitment to avoid putting boots on the ground and a plan for ending the conflict. Clearly, there's going to be a cost to this war that we haven't budgeted for. So there is going to be a need for funding, and we need some answers before we provide it, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the appropriations panel overseeing Pentagon spending, is also keeping open the option of supporting an emergency military funding package but said like Shaheen that administration officials need to testify publicly about the failures in planning in the conflict so far. Advertisement Advertisement Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska cautioned Wednesday that Democrats could decide to take a stand on funding a vote where they have real leverage. That is in contrast to the doomed efforts on the Hill this week to put guardrails on the presidents ability to take unilateral military action, which Trump would certainly veto in any case. There's a lot of people who have said, Well, if you want to express your position on the war, the way to do it is through appropriations, she said in an interview. We get that. So the administration should not be taking anything for granted. Across the Capitol, California Rep. Pete Aguilar, the No. 3 Democrat in the House and a member of the Defense appropriations funding panel, told reporters Wednesday that hes incredibly skeptical of any emergency military funding request from Trump but also that he has a duty and a responsibility to help protect this country. At the same time, said Aguilar, It's going to be pretty hard to move me off of a no. Mia McCarthy, Jordain Carney, Connor OBrien and Calen Razor contributed to this report. On Sunday 1 February, a yellow, blue and white Sudan Airways jet landed on the runway at Khartoum International Airport. As 160 passengers stepped off the aircraft, they cheered, hugged each other and took selfies. This was only the second commercial flight to arrive in the city since 2023 - a significant milestone given the continued threat of drone attacks in a country riven by civil war. Weeks earlier, Sudan's prime minister had declared 2026 would be "the year of peace". Kamil Idris spoke in January as the military-led government announced its ministries would return to the country's shattered capital. A milestone moment, but does it show that peace is possible? [AFP via Getty Images] Almost a year ago I saw Khartoum for myself - driving carefully around unexploded munitions on the tarmac, touring the wrecked passenger halls in the airport's terminal, just days after Sudan's army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Advertisement Advertisement The city had been the epicentre of a civil war that erupted in April nearly three years ago, leaving its centre a burnt-out shell and exiling the government to the safer haven of Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The BBC went inside the looted presidential palace [BBC] The devastation was stunning: government ministries, banks and towering office blocks stood blackened and burned. I toured the shattered presidential palace, even now still too damaged to be used, and the British embassy, its pockmarked, bullet-proof glass bearing testimony to intense fire fights, its rooms looted. It felt then like a seismic moment in a war that has inflicted epic destruction, death, famine and human rights violations on civilians, plunging Sudan into what the UN has called "an abyss of unfathomable proportions". Advertisement Advertisement On a later trip, I went to a tent camp in army-controlled territory to speak with people who'd managed to escape the fall of el-Fasher in October and heard stories of mass killings and sexual violence. The takeover of the city in the western Darfur region was a major victory for the RSF. But the evidence of atrocities carried out by its fighters was such that it triggered an international outcry. For a moment then, too, it had seemed that world powers might finally intervene to stop the endless suffering. 12 million people have been displaced by the fighting [AFP via Getty Images] Yet despite the condemnations and expressions of horror, nothing changed and fighting continues to rage away from the capital - with the rest of the world's attention focused elsewhere on air strikes across the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement As the start of Sudan's dreadful conflict approaches its third anniversary, the flight may have offered a glimpse of normality - but the fundamentals underpinning the fighting remain untouched. So if international outrage has not been enough to overcome them, what could actually compel both sides to end the civil war? Near-constant fighting Sudan has been at war in some form or another most of the time since its independence from British colonial rule in 1956 58 out of the past 70 years. But the previous conflicts were fought on the periphery, away from Khartoum. This one has torn through the country's core, displacing unprecedented numbers of people, hardening divisions and threatening to split the nation. It started as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, a paramilitary force appointed by and loyal to the country's long-time former military ruler Omar al-Bashir, who was deposed in 2019 following widespread public protests. [BBC / Critical Threats Project at AEI] Bashir had empowered Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, to run the RSF as a praetorian guard to protect him against possible challenges from within the army. Advertisement Advertisement Following Bashir's departure, tensions between Hemedti and the army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan erupted into wider violence. At first "there was a consensus that this is not a Sudanese war but a war within the security state", says the Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair, founder of the Confluence Advisory think tank. Both sides see the war as an existential struggle [AFP via Getty Images] But then both sides broadened their coalitions and grafted their narratives onto grievances as old as the foundation of the state. These are rooted in an embedded culture of cronyism and kleptocracy that sees Sudan's military controlling vast amounts of the country's economy. Hemedti, a camel trader turned successful businessman, accrued much wealth from his position as head of a powerful paramilitary force. Advertisement Advertisement But as someone from the western Darfur region, he positioned himself as the champion of the disgruntled and of deprived areas beyond the capital. Hemedti, a camel herder turned successful businessman, leads the RSF [AFP via Getty Images] He now frames the conflict in existential terms, declaring the RSF a revolutionary force aiming to dismantle the "1956 state" - shorthand for the military-dominated state apparatus - and to start again with its own self-declared rival government headquartered in Darfur. The Sudanese Armed Forces also define the war as an existential struggle, a rebellion by a "terrorist militia". "There is strong resistance within the army to legitimise the RSF in any way, including by accepting its control of territory through a ceasefire agreement," says Ahmed Soliman, a senior Horn of Africa researcher at the UK's Chatham House think tank. Advertisement Advertisement Both sides have weaponised long-standing ethnic divides between the nomadic Arabs in the south and west who form the core of RSF support and the Nile Valley Arabs from cities and farms, who rule the country. A regional history of ethnic violence in Darfur has also been reignited, with RSF Arab militias massacring non-Arab populations in atrocities that UN experts say show "hallmarks" of genocide. On top of this, the war is being fuelled by foreign powers who have a direct stake in the outcome or see the conflict as a way to expand their influence. There is widely documented evidence that the United Arab Emirates supplies weapons to the RSF something Abu Dhabi officially denies. Advertisement Advertisement Sudan's military has deployed Turkish and Iranian drones, and it has received political and other backing from Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. A roadmap towards peace Many think the best diplomatic hope is talks by the so-called Quad nations - the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. This is a mechanism "to mediate between regional actors more so than it is the warring parties", says Chatham House's Soliman. But there are enormous obstacles to reaching an agreement. The RSF has verbally accepted a Quad roadmap for peace beginning with a humanitarian truce, but neither side has formally responded and fighting has accelerated rather than abated. Burhan, the army chief, says he cannot agree to the plan unless the RSF accepts conditions that amount to surrender. The army also opposes the involvement in the talks of the UAE, which it accuses of backing the RSF. Advertisement Advertisement Furthermore, the roadmap explicitly rejects any Islamist influence in Sudan's future. Analysts such as Soliman see Abu Dhabi's hand here, as the Emiratis have made their antipathy to an Islamist-controlled government clear - a sentiment shared by many anti-war Sudanese civilians. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is insisting the RSF surrender [AFP via Getty Images] It's widely believed that's one of the reasons the UAE is motivated to back the RSF. Islamist militias are an important part of the army war effort. And the Islamist establishment, although weakened by the 2019 revolution, still has influence. That makes it difficult for Burhan to accept these terms. US envoy Massad Boulos says he has a revised plan and is "cautiously optimistic" of getting agreement soon on a humanitarian truce. Stopping the weapons But for a ceasefire to hold it would have to be accompanied by an agreement that regional backers stop arming the parties - and that will not be easy to achieve. Advertisement Advertisement "Obviously, trying to produce a ceasefire when everyone's pouring weapons into the country doesn't work," says Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group. Food insecurity is high across Sudan [Getty Images] Official ambiguity over the role of the UAE makes it a difficult part of the equation to solve. Numerous investigative reports citing flight data and satellite images have documented the Emiratis' involvement in transferring weapons and mercenaries to RSF-controlled territory, with evidence the UN has called credible. But Abu Dhabi forcefully denies this and has told the BBC it "categorically rejects allegations that it has provided, financed, transported or facilitated any weapons, ammunition, drones, vehicles, guided munitions or other military equipment to the RSF, whether directly or indirectly". The UAE has called for a full arms embargo across Sudan, something army supporters reject because they argue it creates parity between a militia and a national government, says Boswell. "Those are the sort of bogs this ends up getting stuck in," he says. Abu Dhabi's role came under increasing scrutiny after the RSF capture of el-Fasher following an 18-month siege, during which its forces recorded their own mass killings of unarmed people amid widespread accounts of sexual violence and detentions. Just days after the city fell, I joined a call with seasoned humanitarian activists who were seething with anger and clear about which steps should be taken. "The UAE cares immensely about how it curates its global reputation," says Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International. "The strongest point of leverage that Washington or anyone has is to puncture that public image. And so the US should be calling that out." Secretary of State Marco Rubio came close to doing so. "We know who the parties are that are involved (in weapons supply)," he said in November. "That's why they're part of the Quad along with other countries involved. Pressure is being applied to the relevant parties." Marco Rubio has said pressure is being applied to ease the supply of arms [Getty Images] But Rubio did not name the party, and analysts agree the Trump administration is unlikely to do so, let alone apply pressure by targeting the UAE's assets, as suggested by advocacy groups. "It's quite a difficult circle to square for them," says Khair, the Sudanese political analyst. "The US has to figure out how to allay the concerns of, as well as appease, its foreign friends who are actively involved in this war, in particular Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. And it hasn't yet figured out how to do that." Soliman says that the US government has been "hedging its bets because it doesn't really want to choose between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which would damage wider relationships" with the countries involved. A pawn on the international chessboard? The search for a solution is made harder by tussles involving nearby powers with some analysts comparing Sudan's war to a modern-day scramble for Africa. And the landscape has become even more tricky in recent months, as other members of the Quad become more actively involved in the war. Egypt has begun bombing RSF supply convoys and other targets with a powerful model of Turkish combat drone from a remote airstrip near its south-western border with Sudan, according to investigations carried out by the New York Times and the Reuters News agency something on which Cairo has not commented. The escalation came after fighting moved closer to Egypt's border. It may also have been influenced by more muscular support for the army from Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh seeks to push back on Emirati influence in the region. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been building and in December relations between the two Gulf powers ruptured over the conflict in Yemen - with potential consequences for any chance of a solution in Sudan. How to bring peace To achieve peace, talks would have to deal with the root causes of the conflict - particularly the fact that both sides have reasons why it might suit them for the war to continue. If a ceasefire could be agreed, in the short term it could provide some respite to the civilians trapped in the world's worst humanitarian crisis including 25 million people facing acute food shortages and 12 million people displaced. But many fear it wouldn't lead to lasting peace. "I don't really see a humanitarian truce working," says Boswell. "It's become so existential that neither party would agree to stop their operations unless it was part of a broader deal that sorted out the most important questions of what comes next, because neither side would trust the other to actually stop." Many fear the army and RSF positions are too entrenched to stop the fighting [AFP via Getty Images] And although this is a national struggle between two powerhouses of Sudan's security state, it is being driven at the local level by marginalised ethnic groups allied to the RSF who see it as their chance to get better access to resources and better representation, or just to get their slice of the war economy. At the same time, the Islamist establishment has seen opportunity in the war. "They don't want it to end before they've positioned themselves for a comeback," says Kholood Khair. There is also the question of accountability. The army and the paramilitaries, along with their allied militias, all stand accused of war crimes, ethnically targeted atrocities and the mass killings of civilians - raising the prospect of post-war prosecutions for military leaders. So political negotiations would most likely need to include a formula for armed actors to retain some of their gains and soften some of the consequences of laying down their weapons. But even this might not be enough. Civilian rule the stated goal of the Quad roadmap would also mean a loss of income for the security forces, Khair adds. "A permanent end to the conflict would require demilitarising Sudan and a new constitution that enshrines rights and access to resources," she says, but these "are precisely the things that the security complex in Sudan does not want". Effective and dedicated mediation would also be required. But while the Trump administration has made serious efforts, its staying power and attention span are in question. "The US isn't going to be involved in a peace process for the long haul," says Soliman. "And nobody else is presenting a coherent follow-up mechanism." The big fear In September 2024 I asked a senior Sudanese defence official how long he thought the war would last ominously, he compared the conflict to America's 20-year battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He needn't have looked that far afield. History shows all of Sudan's wars have been long - one of them lasted more than 20 years. But another protracted conflict could bring with it new dangers including the potential for the country to split, or fragment. More from InDepth "We're only in year three of this war," says Khair. "If it continues for another 10, 15, 20 years, as history tells us is likely, then we could see the balkanisation of Sudan." That is a worrying scenario for the entire region. Already the conflict has drawn in Sudan's neighbours - all seven of them are hosting Sudanese refugees. There's evidence some are serving as conduits for RSF weapons and other supplies, as well as warning signs that the violence could cross borders and aggravate internal tensions. Perhaps the dangers of a destructive stalemate might eventually lead the powerful backers of Sudan's warring parties to rethink their strategies, says Soliman. "A fragmented, insecure and highly unstable Sudan is not beneficial to them," he says. "That's the one grain I hope will push the regional actors to come together at some point to make some concessions and chart a way forward. I don't envisage anything else being feasible." [BBC] BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. Emma Barnett and John Simpson bring their pick of the most thought-provoking deep reads and analysis, every Saturday. Sign up for the newsletter here Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday she plans to review the case of a Sacramento mother deported within 24 hours of arriving for her green card appointment last month. Noem made the statement during a four-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where lawmakers sharply criticized the departments aggressive immigration enforcement. At one point, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed her on the departments detention and deportation of recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The program, created under President Barack Obama, has shielded some people from deportation if they arrived in the U.S. as children and have not been convicted of a crime. Last week, DHS acknowledged it had deported at least 86 recipients in 2025. The vast majority of the deportations had not been publicized. Advertisement Advertisement The Sacramento Bee first reported last month that Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a mother and DACA recipient with no criminal record, was deported in less than 24 hours. Her removal prompted outcry from state and local lawmakers. Durbin cited Estrada Juarezs case in one of his questions to Noem. Emily Hampsten, deputy chief of staff for Durbin, confirmed Wednesday morning that the senator was referring to the Sacramento mother. Sacramento resident Damaris Bello, 22, holds a picture of herself with her mother Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, who was deported to Mexico after appearing for a green card hearing at the John Moss Federal Building in Sacramento. (HECTOR AMEZCUA/hamezcua@sacbee.com) We learned about a DACA recipient who had lived in this country for decades, was arrested by ICE at her green card appointment, and in tears she hugged her daughter goodbye, Durbin said at Tuesdays hearing. She was deported to Mexico within 24 hours. Madam Secretary, why have you deported dozens of DACA holders who had to comply with a criminal background check to be eligible? In response, Noem said the agency follows all laws as applicable to DHS. Durbin interrupted her and asked again: Why did you deport them? Advertisement Advertisement I dont know the details of that specific case you just read, but Ill look into it, Noem replied. DHS did not respond to questions asking if Noem had reviewed Estrada Juarezs case since the hearing or whether the agency stood by its decision to detain and deport her within 24 hours. Instead, the agency provided the same statement given to The Bee last month. In response to questions then, DHS said DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country and said Estrada Juarez was previously issued a final order of removal in 1998. Estrada Juarez, who entered the country at 15 in 1998, denied ever receiving an order of removal. Estrada Juarezs removal had raised particular concerns given DACA is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion to not pursue the removal of an individual, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy. The agency is also required to follow a process for terminating DACA, which Estrada Juarez said was not followed in her case. Several immigration experts and lawyers said she likely had the grounds for a legal challenge. The Senate failed to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year as talks between the White House and Democratic lawmakers appeared to unravel. Senators voted 51-45 to advance the bill funding DHS through the end of September, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Federal funding for DHS lapsed on Feb. 14, and White House officials have been engaged in prolonged negotiations with Senate Democrats since then. But those talks have dragged on as the two parties exchange proposals back and forth, and both sides say the other hasnt conceded enough in the compromise negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Federal workers in multiple agencies are working without pay as the talks drag on. Senate Democrats are not engaging. And furthermore, I would say, beyond not engaging, they are just flat-out rejecting any chance to sit down and actually talk about it, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Thursday. And that seems to be coming from the top. The bill that was considered on Thursday passed the House earlier this year that was negotiated by both parties and on track to pass in late January. However, after a pair of deadly shootings in Minneapolis involving immigration officers, Democrats say they wont back a funding bill until stricter reforms are implemented. Some Democrats have suggested partially funding the department by removing the budget allocated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement until a deal is brokered, but still providing money for agencies such as TSA, Secret Service, and the Coast Guard. Advertisement Advertisement Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, forced a vote on a bill to do that on Thursday, but it similarly failed due to Republican opposition. Democrats laid out their demands last month, such as mandatory body cameras and warrant requirements for arrests, but details of the ongoing negotiations have not been shared publicly. The White House sent its latest offer last week, but Democrats say they are still far apart on an agreement. (Negotiations) are happening. Were just not close, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat overseeing DHS appropriations in the Senate. The last offer from Republicans wasnt close to good enough. And I think weve put some very reasonable priorities on the table, and if theyre not going to meet us where we need them to meet us, then were not going to fund it. Republicans push for DHS funding amid Iran war But with the war in Iran heightening concerns about possible attacks on U.S. soil, Republicans are urging their Democratic colleagues to fund the nations hub of homeland security. Advertisement Advertisement I think (Democrats) see this as politically advantageous to them, Thune said. It is just a flat-out unwillingness to try and solve this problem or fund the department. At some point, something bad is going to happen. Making things more complicated, Democrats have pointed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noems recent testimony this week as further evidence the agency is being mishandled. Noem faced criticism from both parties for her handling of the deadly shootings in Minnesota and Democrats have used her testimony as a reason to dig in their heels. She was unapologetic about the way that ICE is murdering American citizens, Murphy said. She wouldnt apologize. She wouldnt take any accountability. Thats not an agency that we should be funding as a federal government right now, and its up to them to get their department under control. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he is removing Noem from the position, nominating Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to take her place. However, Democratic leaders said that doesnt change their calculus on DHS spending. A change in personnel is not sufficient, we need a change in policy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Thursday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison sat before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee this week, facing demands for their resignations, warnings of potential impeachment, and accusations that they knew about massive welfare fraud for years. The hearing took place after an initial committee report, titled The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesotas Fraud Explosion, was published. The report states that both men were aware of widespread fraud in federally funded social programs as early as 2019 and repeatedly failed to stop the scams. A press release from the committee reads as follows: By failing to act, Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison allowed billions of taxpayer dollars to be stolen by fraudstersAs a result of these failures, an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds were lost or placed at significant risk. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) confronted Walz during the hearing over why Minnesota resumed payments to Feeding Our Future in 2021 the fraud nonprofit scheme which sits at the center of what prosecutors call the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in the country, involving nearly $300 million stolen from those previously mentioned child nutrition programs. Advertisement Advertisement Walz has long claimed that a court order required payments to the fraud nonprofit to resume after they were initially paused. However, Jordan cited a 2022 statement from the presiding judge that directly contradicted that claim. Either youre lying, or the courts lying, Jordan said, as reported on by The Dallas Express. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) didnt mince words, saying to Walz, You did not do your job, you did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) pressed Walz specifically on autism service expenses in Minnesota that ballooned from roughly $24 million in 2019 to over $340 million by 2024. When Walz couldnt produce any specific numbers or clarify the reason for the spending balloon, Mace called him out for essentially pretending to be prepared and still showing up to the meeting with no answers about the widespread fraud. Its unbelievable, Mace said, adding, Thank God youre not vice president of the United States. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) challenged Ellison to confirm whether or not he was personally leading the criminal fraud investigations and, once again, got no direct answer. Higgins would also call for Ellisons resignation. Advertisement Advertisement At the hearings close, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) invoked Minnesotas own constitution to suggest that Walz could also be impeached for malfeasance. The Dallas Express has previously reported that more than 480 Minnesota Department of Human Services employees publicly accused Walz of ignoring fraud warnings and retaliating against staff who raised concerns, saying he was 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota. The Dallas Express has also covered allegations of voter fraud tied to Minnesotas Somali community in Ilhan Omars congressional district, a thread Republicans pulled hard on Wednesday. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said after the hearing that if Walz and Ellison lied to the committee about when they learned of the FBIs fraud investigation, that is a criminal act of its own and that if a cover-up tied to the Somali political base is proven, they should serve jail time. Walz barely acknowledged any fault during the long hearing, vaguely saying, Do I wish there were things that could have happened earlier? Yes. Ellison called for moving past fixing the blame to fixing the problem. The committee is now considering calling both men back for a deposition under oath. The Justice Department has dropped a criminal inquiry into whether former President Joe Biden or his aides broke the law by using an autopen to sign presidential documents. Prosecutors say they couldn't identify a criminal case. The investigation, first reported closed by The New York Times, examined whether the mechanical signature device was improperly used to issue pardons and other official actions near the end of Biden's presidency. Prosecutors ended the review after determining there was no legal basis to pursue charges. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for Washington, D.C., handled the inquiry. That office is now led by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. Two sources also confirmed to CBS News that the probe was closed after investigators failed to identify a charge they could bring. Advertisement Advertisement Trump ordered the review last year, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel to examine whether Biden's aides used an autopen to sign key documents without the former president's knowledge. In a memo at the time, Trump argued the device may have been used to conceal what he described as Biden's cognitive decline. Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images Biden repeatedly rejected those claims. In an earlier interview with The New York Times, he said he personally approved the decisions tied to pardons and other executive actions. "I made every decision," Biden said, explaining that staff used an autopen to reproduce his signature because of the volume of documents involved. Presidents from both parties have used the device for routine signing tasks. Trump himself has acknowledged using an autopen. Investigators could not identify a criminal statute The inquiry struggled with a basic problem: prosecutors couldn't determine what law, if any, had been violated. Advertisement Advertisement People familiar with the matter said investigators examined whether the use of the autopen could constitute misconduct tied to presidential pardons or executive actions. They concluded the facts did not support a criminal case. Prosecutors also had to consider whether any inquiry should focus on Biden or members of his staff who handled the signing process. A 2024 Supreme Court ruling granting presidents broad immunity for official acts further narrowed the scope of any potential case. The investigation was closed without charges and never presented to a grand jury. Dispute spilled into White House symbolism The controversy over the autopen also surfaced inside the White House. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images When the Trump administration installed portraits of past presidents in a gallery display, the space reserved for Biden included a framed image of an autopen rather than a traditional portrait. The display placed the image between photographs of Trump. Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department has not responded to Straight Arrow News' request for comment. Related Links Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was replacing Kristi Noem as the homeland security secretary, capping weeks of bipartisan complaints about her leadership after immigration agents killed two US citizens and reports emerged that she was involved in a personal relationship with a top deputy. Noems firing was the first major personnel shake-up of Trumps second term. The president made it public in a post on Truth Social, in which he said Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, would take over from Noem starting on 31 March. Noem, who Trump said has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), would become special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a security initiative Trump said he planned to announce over the weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Its humbling, Mullin said to reporters on Thursday. Because it happened quick, I had to call my dad, and its just pretty humbling when you start thinking about it, a little kid from west Oklahoma getting to serve in the presidents cabinet. That is pretty neat. In a statement on X, Noem thanked Trump for appointing her to the new role, while promoting her record leading the department. News of the firing broke just before she spoke to a group of police officials in Nashville, but Noem did not bring the subject up on stage. Democrats have cheered Noems departure, with Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, saying at a press conference: Good riddance. She was a disaster. But Jeffries said it would not change Democrats stance towards funding the homeland security department. It has been partly shut down since mid-February after Senate Democrats blocked a spending measure because it did not include new rules governing the conduct of immigration agents, which they had been demanding in response to the shooting deaths of two US citizens in Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement Jeffries said: A change in personnel is not sufficient. We need a change in policy that has to be bold, dramatic, transformational and meaningful. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, echoed Jeffries, saying: I dont trust any one person being in charge of this agency as long as Trump is president, given the policies hes espoused, given how ICE has been structured. The rot is deep. In a sign of the ebb in her support among Republicans, Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator, said in a statement: I appreciate Secretary Noems service to our country. She will do a great job dealing with the drug cartels in her new role as special envoy for the Shield of Americas, and I know she will continue to contribute in the future. However, I think it was time for a change. A Republican former congresswoman and governor of South Dakota, Noem was considered a potential running mate for Trump as he sought re-election in 2024, but ultimately passed over after she admitted in a memoir to killing a dog she owned. The president instead nominated her to lead the DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the border patrol and other agencies that took to the streets of major US cities during Trumps second term to carry out his mass deportation agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Related: No deportation officer has been killed in the line of duty since ICEs creation Noem became a public face of the crackdown, which ensnared immigrants with documentation and without, as well as US citizens, appearing regularly on conservative television networks as well as in promotional material on DHS social media accounts. After federal agents deployed to Minneapolis killed Renee Good and then, weeks later, Alex Pretti, Noem accused both US citizens of being involved in domestic terrorism. But the allegations appeared to fly in the face of what was known about boths participation in anti-ICE protests, and Democrats, along with some Republicans, called for Noem to resign after Prettis death. Simultaneously, reports began to emerge of turmoil at the department and Noem engaging in a personal relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager who is her senior adviser, despite both being married. Advertisement Advertisement In February, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy report into her leadership of the department that found Noem and Lewandowski had done little to obfuscate their personal relationship, while berating staff and administering polygraph tests to those they did not trust. The pair had been traveling on a luxury 737 Max jet equipped with a private cabin, which the department has been seeking to acquire for around $70m for high-profile deportations. In one instance, Lewandowski fired a US Coast Guard pilot who left a blanket belonging to Noem on a plane, but then reinstated him because there was no one else to fly them back. Democrats excoriated Noem when she appeared before the House and Senate judiciary committees in early March. She refused to retract her comments calling the US citizens killed in Minneapolis domestic terrorists while dismissing a question about whether she was having sexual relations with Lewandowski as tabloid garbage. But even some Republicans signaled concerns with her leadership, with Louisiana senator John Kennedy questioning why the DHS gave $220m to a firm linked to Noems former spokesperson to produce advertisements in which the secretary was featured prominently. Advertisement Advertisement Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of the few Republicans who had called for Noems resignation, threatened to hold up Senate business if he did not get responses from her to a slew of questions, while accusing her of obstructing investigations by the departments inspector general. He also took her to task for killing a dog and a goat, as she documented in her book, saying: Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened in Minneapolis. Y, a reserves member in Squadron 200, had been traveling abroad for several months before growing suspicious of an imminent Israeli-US strike on Iran. It took just over a day from the moment Maj. Y decided to return to Israel after seeing tensions with Iran escalate. "I saw the reports in the media and realized that something big was about to happen. My gut feeling led me to buy a flight ticket." Y, a reservist in Squadron 200, had been traveling abroad for several months when he began to suspect that an Israeli-US strike on Iran might be imminent. Advertisement Advertisement "Once I arrived, I prepared and got ready, right in the hours before the opening flight. It was clear to me that I would be a significant part of the operation, that I would give my all to protect civilians and be as professional as I could," he said. Since the IDF launched Operation Roaring Lion, Y, a 27-year-old from Tel Aviv, has been serving with his squadron. Its missions include gathering intelligence, conducting surveillance, escorting forces, and carrying out precision strikes. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir conducted several visits to Air Force and intelligence bases ahead of Operation Roaring Lion, March 1, 2026. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) The squadron operates Heron-1 UAVs, which can remain airborne for extended periods and provide real-time intelligence to ground forces day and night over long distances. Established in the 1970s as part of the Israeli Air Forces UAV unit, the squadron has participated in numerous operations across a wide range of combat environments. Over the years, UAVs have become a central component of the Air Forces operational activity, accounting for a significant portion of its flight hours. Squadron 200 now operates from Hatzor Air Base and plays a key role in the Air Forces intelligence and operational missions, integrating advanced technology with precise intelligence-gathering and strike capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement During Operation Roaring Lion and Operation Rising Lion, the squadron played a major role in Israeli Air Force strike operations over Iranian territory, working alongside fighter jets and other Air Force units. "Our main missions are to thwart and reduce missile launches toward the country, detect airborne threats to fighter jets and helicopters, protect them, and reduce and strike the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' tools. We've prepared for this war for a long time, and since Operation Rising Lion, we have also improved our capabilities," said Y, a UAV operator. "We've had great success. There has been a significant reduction in the number of launches and a tremendous sense of pride in the success," he said. Air Force enters Iran war with lessons learned from previous operation The Air Force entered Operation Roaring Lion, drawing on lessons learned during Operation Rising Lion. Advertisement Advertisement "In Operation Rising Lion, we faced the enemy for the first time. We didnt know its capabilities, encountered complexities, and grappled with the mission for the first time. We encountered launchers we had learned about but had never faced before. During and after the operation, we conducted debriefings and understood what to do next time to be better prepared. We worked hard in the last few months, set ambitious goals, were creative, and succeeded in improving the squadrons capabilities in the field," he said. "Compared to the previous operation, the Revolutionary Guard Corps is experiencing the Air Force at higher intensity. Were reaching many places they didnt expect us to be, and in greater numbers, and they feel it. "This is a collective effort, and every day you can see the reduction in missile launches. Its the hard work of our people who search for launchers behind every hill and alley and demonstrate impressive capabilities in finding them," Y added. Despite the squadrons success, Y said there is still a sense of frustration when missiles manage to strike civilian areas. Advertisement Advertisement "The day the missile fell in Beit Shemesh, I saw the alerts and felt a sense of disappointment. I kept thinking about what we could do differently to stop this next time and find the launchers. "War is complex. On the one hand, when you succeed in the mission and reach launchers that were just waiting for the order to fire, and strike them before they reach here, there is no greater pride than knowing you saved civilians in the country. "On the other hand, there are difficult events like the one in Beit Shemesh. In the end, we just want to be better, and the Air Force is constantly working within itself in order to improve." Whenever theres a spike in geopolitical tensions, gold usually wastes no time in pushing forward with aplomb. However, since the Iran war has started, the shiny yellow metal hasnt followed the usual script. Morgan Stanley analysts, though, believe that the recent choppiness isnt indicative of fading safe-haven demand. Instead, Amy Gower and her team point to a couple of potent forces, a stronger U.S. dollar and a scramble for liquidity, as reasons for the sluggishness. For some color, according to Reuters, after the commencement of the Iran war, spot gold surged to $5,260/oz on Monday, then pulled back sharply with investors dashing for cash. The correction was more pronounced on March 3, when spot gold dropped nearly 3.6% to roughly $5,137/oz. Moreover, at the time of writing, as per GoldPrice.org, gold was $5,165.63 per ounce, or roughly $166.08 per gram and $166,078.74 per kilogram. In my last piece, covering the safe-haven metal, I covered JPMorgans big reset higher in its long-term forecast, bumping it to $4,500 while also keeping its eye-popping $6,300 year-end 2026 call intact. When that story ran on Feb. 25, 2026, gold traded at around $5,202 per ounce, which implies a drop of $36.37 per ounce, or roughly 0.70% from current prices. According to the big banks analysts, expectations around Fed rate cuts, evolving currency markets, geopolitical tensions, and broader liquidity issues continue to influence golds current trajectory. Interestingly, I covered a Bank of America piece in which the bank dispelled the AI doom narrative, calling it mostly psychology-driven fear. Thats the same thread Morgan Stanley is running on, that narratives move quickly and often move markets. Moreover, I also covered billionaire Ray Dalio recently after Davos, who also took a similar long-term view, arguing that having a 5% to 15% slant in your portfolios to gold makes sense considering the market's fragility. Morgan Stanley feels that dynamic is unlikely to last long. If geopolitical tensions remain elevated, the bank expects gold prices will eventually catch up. Morgan Stanley links golds decline to dollar strength and liquidity pressuresPhoto by adventtr on Getty Images Photo by adventtr on Getty Images Wall Street's targets on gold Morgan Stanley: $5,700/oz (bull case, second half of 2026). Goldman Sachs: $5,400/oz (by December 2026). J.P. Morgan: $6,300/oz (2026 year-end / 4Q 2026). UBS: $6,200/oz (target for March/June/September 2026). Deutsche Bank: $6,000/oz (2026 target). Citi Research: $5,000/oz (03 month target). Source: Reuters, Investing. Related: Morgan Stanley delivers curt 2-word verdict on S&P 500 Morgan Stanley explains golds puzzling post-war pullback As mentioned earlier, Morgan Stanley feels golds recent wobble is a result of multiple macro forces colliding at once. Iraqi forces have shot down a drone that attempted to attack a United States military base near Baghdad International Airport, local media have reported, as Iran continues to strike US assets in Arab countries, with the region plunging deeper into war after six days. The drone attempted to target Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday and was intercepted before it reached its target, according to the reports. Videos that emerged early on Thursday showed a drone crash in the Al-Buaitha area of Baghdad in the presence of security personnel. Advertisement Advertisement In a separate incident later on Thursday, a boat struck an oil tanker flying the flag of the Bahamas in the Iraqi port of Khor al-Zubair, causing damage and an oil spill, an Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera. Later on Thursday night, Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery. It said the fire was extinguished and the refinery was still working. There were no reports of casualties. The attacks occurred as tensions in the Middle East soared due to the ongoing conflict set off by the US and Israel launching a war on Iran. Qatars defence ministry said on Thursday that the country was targeted by several attacks including 14 ballistic missiles and four drones coming from Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Thirteen missiles were intercepted and one fell in Qatars territorial waters, it said in a statement. All drones were intercepted and no casualties were reported. As multiple explosions were heard in the skies above Doha, authorities in Qatar sent out an elevated emergency alert to residents. The countrys interior ministry ordered the evacuation of residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a precautionary measure. Al Jazeeras Zein Basravi, reporting from the Qatari capital, said the US Embassy compound occupies a very large area that is located in the heart of the city. Basravi added that the US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the US consulate in Dubai, were all targeted by drones this week. Advertisement Advertisement In the United Arab Emirates, six people were injured by falling debris from drones that were intercepted by air defence systems over Abu Dhabi, the emirates media office said. In a post on X, the office said authorities had responded to debris falling in two locations in the Industrial City (ICAD II) district. The affected individuals, who were nationals of Pakistan and Nepal, received minor to moderate injuries from the debris. Air defences intercept a new wave of missiles and drones fired by Iran towards Qatar, on the 6th day since the US-Israeli war on Tehran started, March 5, 2026, Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] New explosions were also heard in Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force said it destroyed 75 missiles and 123 drones targeting the Kingdom since the start of the brutal Iranian aggression, in a post on its Instagram account. The reverberating violence has spread across the region, with attacks also reported in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait. Advertisement Advertisement The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the latest drone sent into its territory was shot down near the al-Jawf region, in the north of the country. This came after the ministry announced intercepting three drones east of al-Kharj governorate. Omans Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged in an incident, which preliminary assessments said was only minor. The company said operations at the affected site were taken offline, according to the Reuters news agency. Omans Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for an end to the war in a post on X. Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy, he wrote. There are off ramps available. Lets use them. Kuwaits Ministry of Interior said an explosion on board an oil tanker occurred outside its territorial waters, more than 60km (37 miles) from the Mubarak al-Kabeer port. Advertisement Advertisement It said all crew were safe, but that the vessel had taken on water and that an oil spill could potentially cause environmental damage. On Wednesday, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired 230 drones at several facilities hosting US troops in the Middle East, including a base in Erbil in northern Iraq and the Ali Al Salem airbase and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. The IRGC said the attacks were among its first powerful steps in the war, despite Iran having attacked Gulf Arab states for days since Israel and the US launched their coordinated offensive on Saturday. President Masoud Pezeshkian directly addressed Irans neighbouring countries on Wednesday, saying Iran sought to avert war through diplomacy, but US-Israel attacks left it with no choice but to retaliate. Advertisement Advertisement We respect your sovereignty, the president said in two separate posts in Arabic and Persian on X. Iran believes security in the region must be achieved through a collective effort, he added. As Irans retaliatory attacks continued, so has the Israeli-US assault on Iran. In the face of the continued war, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that European Union countries will pay the price, sooner or later if they remain silent over the joint attacks on Iran. Baghaei made the comments to Spanish broadcaster TVE. There was little to indicate at this stage, however, that European assets will be targeted in the same manner as US and Arab ones have. The Druzhba oil pipeline, which was heavily damaged in a Russian attack at the end of January, could resume operations within one to one-and-a-half months, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Source: Interfax-Ukraine Details: "We can provide information that resumption may be possible within these one and a half months But this does not mean that everything that was destroyed will be repaired, and some things can be done in parallel," Zelenskyy said during a briefing following a meeting at the Office of the President. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, he expressed concern that the provision of financial assistance to Ukraine by European Union countries could depend on the resumption of the Druzhba pipeline for supplying Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. "We will prepare everything, and the decision will then be theirs," the president said. Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz Group, Ukraine's largest national oil and gas company, also confirmed the estimated repair timeline of about one to one-and-a-half months, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Quote from Koretskyi: "We are aiming for one to one-and-a-half months to ensure the technological capability for the infrastructure to operate, and in parallel we are preparing project cost estimates, which will show the real figures for repairs and for building an alternative. Advertisement Advertisement That is, underground reservoirs of a casemate type, so that this infrastructure continues to serve not only someone's interests but also the interests of the state of Ukraine." Details: He said there is no point in resuming the operations of the main pumping station in Brody in Lviv Oblast, because the next Russian attack could damage it again. "From a security perspective today and in the future it is necessary to build underground reservoir parks of a casemate type to the best NATO standards," the Naftogaz CEO said. These so-called manoeuvrable reservoir parks make it possible to operate continuously and safely for different grades and types of oil. Advertisement Advertisement Koretskyi said the destruction of one element of the pipeline affects a large infrastructure system: pumping units, compressors, cable racks, control panels, electronics, and so on. Quote from Koretskyi: "To ensure technical pumping capability, there is a need to make a discharge reservoir, which is required to divert oil when pressure rises to a critical level. This is needed so as not to destroy the pipeline and not to cause an environmental disaster. We are not talking about simply, excuse the slang, patching it up with insulating tape and launching it. This is a full-fledged, high-quality technological process that will ensure uninterrupted and safe operation of this infrastructure." Background: Zelenskyy earlier said he personally does not support repairing the Druzhba pipeline, through which Hungary and Slovakia receive Russian oil. On 27 January, a Russian strike damaged a key pumping station of the Druzhba pipeline in the town of Brody in Lviv Oblast. The EU is considering providing Ukraine with financial assistance to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline in order to unblock Hungary's and Slovakia's support for Kyiv, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to use force to make Ukraine resume the transit of oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Early voting is set to begin Friday across Virginia for an April 21 statewide referendum that could allow the General Assembly to redraw the states congressional districts ahead of this falls midterm elections. If voters approve, the move would likely reshape the current 65 partisan split in Virginias delegation into a map favoring Democrats in as many as 10 of the states 11 districts. The referendum comes amid an ongoing series of legal challenges and court rulings that have created uncertainty about the elections legality, even as local election officials move forward with preparations. One of the most significant cases stems from a lawsuit filed in Tazewell County challenging the legality of the referendum itself. Advertisement Advertisement In that case, Circuit Judge Jack Hurley issued a temporary injunction blocking the Virginia Department of Elections and the State Board of Elections from taking steps to prepare for the vote, concluding that Democrats effort to fast-track the constitutional amendment may have violated state law. But the Supreme Court of Virginia on Wednesday afternoon granted a stay of that order, clearing the way for the election to proceed as scheduled. Im proud of the decisive action my office took to immediately bring this case before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the proper forum to consider these claims, said Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, in a statement. We moved quickly to protect the orderly administration of this election. The Courts order is clear: the referendum election will proceed. Im grateful to the lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General who worked swiftly and skillfully to ensure that the voices of Virginians will be heard at the ballot box. Advertisement Advertisement House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said the ruling confirms that voters will decide the issue. The Supreme Court of Virginias decision ensures that this referendum will move forward and that Virginians will have the opportunity to make their voices heard, Scott said. This question has always belonged to the voters, and Im glad the Court made clear that the people will decide. The referendum would determine whether Virginia temporarily suspends its bipartisan redistricting commission and instead allows the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to redraw the states 11 congressional districts before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. If approved, lawmakers would regain map-drawing authority only until the next redistricting cycle following the 2030 census. State legislative districts would not be affected. In some respects, the question of whether to approve the constitutional referendum is really a debate over fairness and what it entails, said Alex Keena, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, referring in part to the Democratic campaign promoting the proposal as a push for fair maps. Advertisement Advertisement The drama over redistricting over the last 15 years has taught us that there is no single definition of gerrymandering and no one specific way to identify it or to measure it. Keena said voters bring different expectations to the concept of fairness a debate that has intensified as Republicans question whether the proposed new congressional map would be fair. People have lots of ideas about what is fair in democratic elections, he said. They want the parties to win seats in proportion to the votes they earned. This is one criterion of fairness. People also prefer to have somewhat competitive elections, so that the maps are sensitive to shifts in voter support. A proposal to redraw the map Virginias current congressional districts were adopted in 2022 after the states newly created redistricting commission failed to reach agreement on maps. Under the state Constitution, the task then fell to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which hired two independent experts one Republican and one Democrat to draw the districts. Advertisement Advertisement The resulting map produced a congressional delegation of six Democrats and five Republicans, a split roughly consistent with the states recent statewide voting patterns. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave Virginia one of the highest ratings in the country for its maps. Urban areas across Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads largely elect Democrats under the current map, while rural regions such as the Shenandoah Valley and the Northern Neck tend to elect Republicans. But the proposal before voters would create a dramatically different arrangement. The map drafted by Democratic lawmakers would shift nearly half of Virginia residents about 48% into new congressional districts. With the exception of far Southwestern Virginia, most voters currently represented by Republicans would be placed in districts that favor Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement The plan would attempt to limit Republicans to a single district anchored in the states far southwestern corner. Several new districts would extend outward from the population centers of Northern Virginia, stretching into rural areas. Two of the proposed districts one centered on Blacksburg, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Charlottesville and another covering parts of Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore are considered competitive based on recent statewide election results. Parties look to Virginia in fight for House control The Virginia referendum has drawn national attention as both parties look for ways to influence control of the U.S. House. The push for mid-decade redistricting gained momentum last year when President Donald Trump urged Republican-controlled states to redraw maps to strengthen the GOPs position in Congress. Texas lawmakers responded by adjusting their districts in hopes of adding several Republican seats. Advertisement Advertisement Other states followed with similar efforts. Missouri and North Carolina both approved map changes expected to produce additional GOP seats, and Florida lawmakers are considering new lines that could further expand the Republican advantage. Virginia became a focal point for Democrats seeking to offset those changes. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier this year that national Democrats would invest heavily in the referendum effort. We will spend tens of millions of dollars to make sure that voters have all of the information necessary to make a decision around whether they want Donald Trump to rig the midterm elections and halt the ability for the American people to decide whos in the majority, Jeffries told CNN last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advocacy groups on both sides have been organizing for the referendum campaign for weeks. Virginians for Fair Elections, which supports the amendment, has raised nearly $20 million from Democratic-aligned organizations. Attorneys representing the group told a court last week that about 1,000 volunteers have been recruited. According to VCUs Keena, the financial stakes reflect more than the potential impact on House control. Democrats do not need Virginia to gerrymander the map in order to secure a majority in the House this fall, he said. My read is that most analysts agree the Democrats will almost certainly capture the House. Why is so much money pouring into this race? Advertisement Advertisement Instead, Keena suggested the redistricting proposal could reshape primary contests and favor candidates with stronger institutional backing. My suspicion is that moneyed interests prefer the candidates who are likely to prevail when the district lines have been disrupted, he said, referring to Virginia lawmakers like Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who has already launched his bid for the Democratic nomination in a redrawn 7th District. The amendments opponents include Virginians for Fair Maps, a coalition that includes former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, and the bipartisan group called No Gerrymandering Virginia, which says it wants to ensure there is no lapse in the redistricting commissions authority. Legal battles continue The referendum has been the subject of several lawsuits since lawmakers advanced the amendment for a second time earlier this year, as required under the state Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement In February, the Supreme Court of Virginia allowed the measure to proceed to the ballot, rejecting an emergency challenge filed by Republican lawmakers and the Republican National Committee. Other cases remain pending. Two Republican members of Congress have filed a lawsuit in Richmond challenging the wording of the ballot question, while a Washington County resident has filed a separate pro se case seeking to stop the vote. On Monday, a Lynchburg Circuit Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the city seeking to halt early voting for the redistricting referendum, ruling that it was not appropriate for the court to intervene while the constitutional amendment process is already underway and leaving questions about the measures legality to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Because the states highest court scheduled arguments after the April 21 referendum, it is unlikely to issue a final ruling on the amendments legality until after ballots are cast. The Supreme Court of Virginia has said it is going to rule on whether or not the constitutional amendment advanced by Democrats comports with the procedural standards imposed by Virginia law, Keena said. But if the vote does pass, then the court will be in an awkward position if it decides to strike down the amendment. It will do what courts almost never like to do: invalidate the will of a majority of voters. Primary elections moved Anticipating the possibility that congressional districts could change this year, lawmakers also adjusted the schedule for Virginias 2026 primary elections. The General Assembly approved legislation last month shifting the primary date from June 16 to Aug. 4, a measure signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The change gives candidates and voters more time to adapt if congressional district boundaries are redrawn before the midterm elections. Even if the referendum fails or is halted by the courts, the Aug. 4 primary date will remain in place. The change applies only to the 2026 election cycle, according to the Department of Elections. Early in-person voting for those primaries will begin June 19 and continue through Aug. 1. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail will be July 24. With less than two months before the April referendum, polling suggests the outcome of the referendum remains uncertain. A Roanoke College poll released last week found that 52% of surveyed Virginians said they would vote against the amendment, while 44% supported it. But turnout could prove decisive, Keena said. This election is different because it is not concurrent with a general election. This makes it super hard to predict. Victory will be determined by which side can mobilize greater support, given the inconvenient timing of the election. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Ecuador on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of Cuba's ambassador to Quito, telling him and the rest of his embassy staff that they had 48 hours to leave the country, the foreign ministry announced. It declared Basilio Gutierrez persona non grata but did not offer a specific reason for the decision. In its statement, the ministry gave "48 hours...for the ambassador and all those working in this diplomatic mission to leave our national territory." Advertisement Advertisement Cuba fired back, calling the dismissal an "unfriendly and unprecedented act that seriously damages the history of friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries," Havana's foreign ministry said. "It does not seem accidental that this decision was made in a context marked by a strengthening of US aggression against Cuba, and by strong pressure applied by that government on third countries to join this policy," it added. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa is a close ally of US President Donald Trump, whose government has imposed a de facto energy blockade on Communist-ruled Cuba. On Tuesday, Quito ended the stint of its own ambassador in Havana. Advertisement Advertisement A couple dozen demonstrators gathered at the Cuban embassy in Quito in response to the government's decision, with some bringing flowers, signs or flags in protest. "This made me extremely indignant and shameful," Maria Augusta Calle, Ecuador's former ambassador to Cuba, told AFP. Vladimir Paguay, a 51-year-old lawyer, said Noboa "is following directives from the US government." pld/lab/jgc/js Troops seized the vessel in a nature reserve near the Colombian border [Ecuadorean Defence Ministry] The Ecuadorean military says it has seized a 35m-long (115ft) "narco submarine" hidden in a nature reserve near the country's border with Colombia. The semi-submersible had been carrying 6,000 gallons (22,700 litres) of fuel and was ready to embark on "a long drug-smuggling voyage", Ecuador's ministry of defence said in a statement. The discovery came shortly after Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa announced a "new phase" in his government's war on drug cartels. Advertisement Advertisement Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru - the world's largest producers of cocaine - Ecuador has become a key country through which illicit drugs transit from South America to the US, Europe and as far as Australia. Troops found the submarine in a mangrove swamp in the CayapasMataje nature reserve. They also found a camp nearby, which they said was being used by criminals as a logistics hub to prepare vessels for smuggling drugs. As well as the 35m-long sub, the security forces also seized six speedboats, seven outboard motors and dozens of barrels of fuel. The troops came under fire during the operation from "armed individuals", the defence ministry said. Advertisement Advertisement There was no mention of any arrests being made or of any drugs seized in its statement. The submarine had been hidden in a mangrove swamp [Ecuadorean Defence Ministry] Noboa has been working closely with the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs from his country into the US. Earlier this week, he discussed security co-operation with the commander of US Southern Command, Gen Francis Donovan, in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito. But there was no immediate mention of the participation of US forces in the operation that seized the narco-sub in the swamp. The US has, however, carried out dozens of strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean since it started "Operation Southern Spear" in September. Advertisement Advertisement More than 150 people have been killed in those strikes. All New England states oppose the United States recent attacks on Iran, a new poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center revealed. On February 28, President Donald Trump began what he called major combat operations in Iran that has resulted in the death of nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dozens of top officials and at least six U.S. Service members without asking Congressional approval. Majorities in all New England states oppose these attacks, the poll found, as well as believe that Trump should have asked for approval from Congress before launching the attacks. But on March 4, the same day the poll was released, a measure that would have put limits on Trumps power to further attack Iran without Congressional approval failed in the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement The findings are based on the March 2026 Breaking News Survey that surveyed 6,266 people in total online from the six New England states from March 2 4. The margin of error varies between states from 1.9% to 4.4%. Heres a breakdown of each state. Which New England state is most opposed to Iran attack? Majorities of residents in all New England states oppose the Iran attacks, the poll found. But its split along party lines: most Democrats oppose the attacks, while most Republicans support it. Heres how much each state supports or opposes the attacks, in order from most opposed to least. Vermont: 64% oppose, 28% support New Hampshire: 58% oppose, 38% support Maine: 58% oppose, 40% support Massachusetts: 56% oppose, 34% support Connecticut: 55% oppose, 42% support Rhode Island: 54% oppose, 35% support Should Trump have asked for Congressional approval? War Powers Resolution fails Majorities in all New England states also think that Trump should have asked for approval before attacking Iran, although this is also split on party lines. Advertisement Advertisement All of New England's Democratic senators agreed, voting for a measure that would have reasserted the role of Congress in going to war. Pres. Trump launched a preemptive, costly war without public support or Congressional approval, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on social media. Im for the bipartisan Kaine-Paul resolution & against Trumps unauthorized war. But the measure failed along largely partisan lines in the Republican-controlled Senate. The regions lone Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, voted against it. We cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, Collins said in a statement. Passing this resolution now would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops. At this juncture, providing unequivocal support to our service members is critically important, as is ongoing consultation by the Administration with Congress. A view of the U.S. Capitol building on March 2, 2026, after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend. This is how residents in each New England state felt: Advertisement Advertisement Massachusetts: 77% said Trump should have asked Congressional approval, 22% said Trump should not have Vermont: 72% should have, 22% should not have Rhode Island: 66% should have, 28% should not have Maine: 65% should have, 31% should not have New Hampshire: 63% should have, 32% should not have Connecticut: 63% should have, 34% should not have Is Iran posing a threat? Trump has said that the attacks are military actions to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran. He described a regime engaged in "mass terror," declaring he was acting to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and calling for the Iranian people to overthrow Tehran's ruling regime. More: 'It's not true': Trump's reasons for Iran attacks questioned While majorities of all states oppose the attacks, about half of those in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island believe that Irans nuclear program was a threat to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement New Englanders are also divided on the assassination of Khamenei: only Vermont has a clear majority that opposes the killing, while all other states are closely split. However, all of the states think the U.S. should, in general, not attempt to assassinate political leaders during an armed conflict. A similar divide is seen when residents were asked about the Iranian regime: majorities in all states also think the U.S. should not be attempting to overthrow the Iranian regime, but pluralities also would be enthusiastic or satisfied if the Iranian regime were overthrown. But all New England states, including most Republicans, can agree on one thing: opposing sending American ground troops to Irana move that Trump has not yet fully taken off the table. What is Trumps approval rating after Iran attacks? Perhaps unsurprisingly, all New England states also disapprove of Trumps overall handling of foreign policy, though its divided by party. President Donald Trump confirmed the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Iran, warning that there "likely would be more." Here are the numbers, from most opposed to least. Advertisement Advertisement Vermont: 69% oppose, 31% support Massachusetts: 68% oppose, 32% support Rhode Island: 66% oppose, 33% support Maine: 64% oppose, 36% support Connecticut: 61% oppose, 38% support New Hampshire: 61% oppose, 39% support This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New poll finds all New England states oppose Iran attacks. See numbers The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized the repeal of a 2024 regulation that one North Dakota official had called a death penalty to the states lignite coal industry. The repeal reverts federal regulations of emissions from coal-fired power plants to the rule implemented in 2012 under the Obama administration. This is a really big deal for the state of North Dakota, said Cyrus Western, administrator of EPA Region 8, which includes North Dakota. The takeaway is that folks can continue to have clean air while simultaneously allowing for these utilities to burn this fuel source to generate really affordable and reliable power. Advertisement Advertisement The 2024 rule would have required coal-fired power plants to continuously monitor emissions instead of conducting periodic checks. It also would have eliminated a subcategory of more lenient mercury emission standards for power plants that burn lignite coal, like those in North Dakota, requiring those plants to adhere to stricter limits in place for other types of coal. Both requirements would have been problematic for North Dakotas coal industry and would have required investments of up to $1 billion to comply with, the Lignite Energy Council said. Jonathan Fortner, president of the Lignite Energy Council, a coal industry trade association, called the repeal a welcome step toward restoring balance in federal energy policy, and said the pre-existing environmental standards are effective. They protect public health and have driven real emissions reductions, Fortner said. Advertisement Advertisement Both sets of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards regulations, 2012 and 2024, restrict mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants to 1.2 pounds of mercury per trillion British thermal units, a measure of heat used in the energy industry. But lignite coal, like that mined and burned in North Dakota, has a different chemical composition than other types. Burning lignite can produce more mercury than other types of coal and it is impractical to reduce emissions of the element to the same threshold, Fortner said. The 2012 emissions rules contained a subcategory of rules for power plants that burn lignite, raising the maximum mercury emissions to 4 pounds per trillion Btu. Removing that carve-out for lignite could have been an existential threat to the industry, Fortner and others have said. Implementing the 2024 version would have threatened the livelihood of our power plants and workforce, raised electricity prices for North Dakotans, and jeopardized the 12,000 direct and indirect jobs tied to our industry, Fortner said. Advertisement Advertisement Dave Glatt, director of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, said in 2024 the rule would be a death penalty for the states coal industry. Its important to note here, it doesnt do away with all the mercury standards, Glatt said in a recent interview. It basically puts it back to where it was previously. He said there was no environmental or health benefit from the 2024 rule. The big picture is that this would cost a considerable amount of money to our coal-fired power plants, but would show no environmental benefit, Glatt said. If it would have shown an environmental benefit, we would have looked at it differently. Advertisement Advertisement The EPAs Western said the higher mercury emissions by lignite coal power plants allowed by the 2012 regulations, which remain in effect, are safe. There is no way the administrator would have initiated this rulemaking if we couldnt look every American in the eye and honestly tell them that the 2012 standard is genuinely protective of air and the environment, Western said. Scott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said the 2024 rule was a necessary safeguard for public health. We look at this as like a giveaway to the industry, Skokos said. Theyre trying to reduce costs for an industry, the coal industry specifically, which is at the expense of public health and the environment. Advertisement Advertisement The lignite coal industry found other aspects of the 2024 rule, such as the continuous monitoring requirement, troublesome as well. The mercury contained in lignite can vary significantly from seam to seam, and Fortner said there was concern a power plant would face fines for one-time violations, rather than an average of the emissions over time. The repeal of the 2024 rule amendments was applauded by North Dakotas congressional delegation. The Biden administrations MATS Rule was designed to be unworkable and ultimately shut down our baseload coal-fired powered plants, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a press release. Thats why we worked to repeal this burdensome rule and reinstate the previous regulations, which were proven to cost-effectively protect human health. North Dakota was one of 23 states to file a petition asking the U.S. District Court of Appeals to review the rule in 2024. Now the shoe will likely be on the other foot. Phil Axt, with the North Dakota Attorney Generals office, said during an Industrial Commission meeting last month he expects there to be a lawsuit seeking to prevent the repeal of the rule. Advertisement Advertisement We are waiting for the lawsuits on that, Axt said. Then I anticipate North Dakota will be leading a coalition of states in intervention to defend that repeal. North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge can be reached at jorledge@northdakotamonitor.com. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Germany might ultimately be responsible for assessing the asylum requests of migrants first registered in Italy, the top EU court ruled on Thursday, after Rome announced in 2022 that it will no longer take back asylum seekers. Under current EU rules, the member state where asylum seekers first register is in charge of proceedings. This means that countries like Italy and Greece on the Mediterranean Sea, a key route for migrants crossing from northern Africa, face a high case load. With their asylum decision pending, many migrants travel to other European Union countries, like Germany - the bloc's largest economy - to apply for asylum there. Advertisement Advertisement The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Italy's unilateral refusal to take back migrants does not automatically put Germany in charge of their asylum processes. However, if migrants are not transferred back to Italy within six months of German authorities deeming Rome to be responsible for them, the onus falls on Germany to handle their case, the Luxembourg-based judges found. The ECJ ruling is based on a complaint filed by a Syrian national who applied for asylum in Germany, after having first been registered in Italy. German authorities rejected the application, arguing that the proceedings have to take place in Italy, but Rome did not take the person back. Advertisement Advertisement The ruling is expected to change little in practice, as deportations from Germany to Italy have regularly failed because of the six-month deadline. A large-scale reform of the current EU migration and aslyum system is due to take effect in June. It follows years of disagreement among member states on the politically explosive issue. However, Thursday's ruling will remain relevant as some of the current rules will continue to apply. The European Union is considering providing Ukraine with financial support to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, as Hungary and Slovakia are blocking aid for Kyiv and Russia sanctions until supplies via the pipeline resume. Source: Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, as reported by European Pravda Details: The sources told Bloomberg that the European Commission could provide support through its budgetary assistance to Ukraine. The EU is also willing to provide expertise, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine, the state-owned oil and gas company, said Russia had attacked the pipeline in January, causing a storage tank fire that took 10 days to extinguish and damaging equipment, power cables, transformers and the leak detection system. Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of holding back supplies and questioned the scale of the damage. Neither country has acknowledged the January Russian strike. The sources said the Druzhba site has been hit nearly two dozen times since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Repairs were often carried out under Russian attack, putting emergency workers' lives at risk, and Moscow is likely to strike the pipeline again after it is repaired, they added. Hungary's block on aid has annoyed the EU and several capitals, which accused Budapest of breaking a December promise to approve the loan for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Hungary has also refused to consider alternatives to Russian energy, such as deliveries via Croatia, arguing that oil from Moscow is cheaper. EU ambassadors discussed the issue at a meeting on Wednesday 4 March. The EU's executive is in talks with Kyiv on the possibility of sending a fact-finding mission to verify the damage at the Druzhba site, the sources said, adding that the discussions are ongoing. Background: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wants to coordinate a position on the Druzhba pipeline with the European Commission before meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Earlier, Fico held a press conference at which he presented satellite images that he claims confirm that no critical damage has been caused to the Druzhba oil pipeline. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Now in its sixth day, the latest Middle East conflict continues to widen with a hybrid attack on Israel from Iran, Israel ordering massive evacuations in Lebanon, and NATO countries increasing their missile defenses. Heres what to know. What are the main headlines? An injured Iranian sailor arrives to receive treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle after his frigate, IRIS Dena sank off Sri Lanka's coast on March 4, 2026. - Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images Fresh strikes: Iran launched what it called a hybrid attack against Israel late on Thursday, with footage captured by CNN cameras appearing to show cluster warheads visible against the night sky. CNN teams heard a number of explosions in the distance. Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has said several times that Iran has launched missiles with cluster sub-munitions. Israel orders evacuations in Beirut: The Israeli military issued what it described as an urgent evacuation warning for entire neighborhoods in Beiruts southern suburbs. The order comes after Israel told all residents south of the Litani River to evacuate, a potential sign that a major military operation is on the way. NATO ups its missile defenses: NATO member states increased their defense posture after a suspected Iranian missile was shot down while traveling toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the alliance said. This would be the first time NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile heading toward a member country since this conflict began. However, Iranian military leaders claim they did not fire any missiles toward Turkey, per state media. Congress declines to rein in war: The House on Thursday failed to pass a measure that sought to curb President Donald Trumps authority to wage war in Iran without congressional approval. Showcasing GOP loyalty to the White House, the vote failed 212 to 219. A similar vote failed in the Senate yesterday. A wave of canceled flights: Hundreds of thousands of travelers are stranded in the Middle East as the conflict expands. More than 11,000 flights across 10 countries in the region have been canceled since February 28, according to data from Flightradar24. Sticker shock: The first 100 hours of the US military campaign against Iran is estimated to have cost $3.7 billion more than $890 million a day according to analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Less than $200 million of that total estimate are operational costs already included in the Pentagon budget. New drones: That said, US defense officials today said that the US isnt just using expensive weapons to intercept relatively cheap ones. Reverse-engineered Iranian drones have been indispensible in this new conflict, according to Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the United States Central Command. Cooper also said that Iranian missile attacks had decreased 90% over the past 24 hours. Whats happening in Iran and Lebanon? Displaced people fleeing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sit on a pickup at a highway that links to Beirut, in the southern port city of Sidon, on March 2, 2026. - Mohammad Zaatari/AP Death tolls: More than 1,100 civilians have been killed in Iran since Saturday, according to a US-based human rights group. Others have reported a higher figure, such as state-affiliated Islamic Republic News Agency, which said at least 1,230 people had been killed. And at least 77 people have been killed by Israeli bombardment in Lebanon, according to the countrys health ministry including three paramedics. Lebanon attacks: As well as new strikes in Tehran, Israels overnight attack hit several command centers in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, belonging to Hezbollah, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel also struck the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon on Thursday for the first time in the six-day conflict, the IDF said. Later in the day, Israels military warned entire neighborhoods in Beiruts southern suburbs to evacuate, a significant expansion from previous orders that were typically limited to specific buildings. Miserable conditions: Many residents in southern Lebanon have embarked on grueling journeys after Israel ordered them to evacuate; some displaced families have been forced to sleep on the streets at night. Many Tehran residents have fled to the countryside, while those who remain shelter at home, living in fear of constant bombardment. Next supreme leader: Irans top clerics are still working to choose a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the US-Israel strikes on Saturday. Israel has warned that any new leader would be an unequivocal target for elimination. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he must be involved in the selection, telling Axios that Khameneis son would be an unacceptable choice. School bombing: The White House didnt rule out that the US military had carried out a strike on a girls elementary school in Iran during the initial joint US-Israeli strikes, which killed at least 168 children, according to Iranian state media. US officials have said they are investigating the incident. Iran is waiting for US to invade: Iran is prepared to counter any ground invasion by the US military, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday. We are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them, he told NBC News. The foreign minister said his country had learned from previous conflicts and now has a more capable fighting force. CNN in Iran: A team led by CNNs Fred Pleitgen entered Iran on Thursday, encountering more checkpoints than usual and armed personnel on the road to Tehran, but no signs of panic. Shops are open and stocked, and gas seems readily available with no long lines. Whats happening in the rest of region? Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 4, 2026. - HAazam Bader/AFP/AGetty Images Iran strikes back: Alongside the fresh barrage of missiles fired toward Israel overnight, Iran continues to fire at neighboring Gulf states, which are armed with American weapons and air defenses. A missile hit an oil refinery in Bahrain on Thursday, according to a government press release and video posted on social media. And yesterday, Iran launched a drone attack on an Amazon data center in Bahrain, a state-affiliated news agency reported. Iranian drones have also targeted two Amazon facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Deaths climb around the region: While the largest death tolls are in Iran and Lebanon, more than two dozen people have been killed elsewhere by Iranian strikes in Israel and Gulf nations, as well as by US-Israeli airstrikes in Iraq. Iran targets separatist groups: Irans Ministry of Intelligence says it targeted separatist terrorist groups (that) intended to enter the countrys western borders with the support of the United States. The ministry statement, reported by the countrys state media, is believed to have been referring to attacks by Iranian forces on Iraq-based Kurdish groups. It comes after sources told CNN that the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces, with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran. Iraqs first lady says Leave the Kurds alone: Iraqs First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed released a strongly-worded open letter on Thursday urging all sides involved in the war with Iran to leave the Kurds alone, adding that Kurdish people are not guns for hire. The letter comes amid reports that the CIA is encouraging Kurdish fighters in Iraq to challenge Iran. It also follows an Iranian attack on what Iranian media referred to as separatist terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday. US soldiers identified: On Wednesday night, the Pentagon publicly identified the two remaining service members killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday. The other four soldiers killed were previously identified on Tuesday. Europe is getting drawn in: European nations have faced tough choices about whether and how to get involved in the military escalation in the Middle East. Countries including Britain, France and Spain have agreed to provide military support to protect the interests of their allies. A drone strike hit a British Royal Air Force base in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Monday. Markets: Asian stocks bounced back Thursday after steep falls the previous day. But US stocks extended losses Thursday afternoon as concerns about the war with Iran continue to push oil prices higher, and stocks in Europe were also lower. Oil prices had their highest one-day increase since May 2020, at the height of Covid-19 lockdowns. Alleged attack on Azerbaijan: Drone attacks injured two people and damaged the terminal building of an airport near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, Azerbaijani authorities said, the first strikes on the country since the beginning of the conflict. Irans armed forces denied launching the drones. Advertisement Advertisement CNNs Leila Gharagozlou, Eugenia Yosef, Laura Sharman, Jack Guy, Lauren Kent, Todd Symons, Haley Britzky, John Towfighi, Sophie Tanno, Nechirvan Mando, Eyad Kourdi, Vasco Cotovio, Avery Schmitz, Zeena Saifi, Joseph Ataman, and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By News Centre Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uralo?lu said, The AnkaraIstanbul Super High-Speed Train Line project is also on our agenda. With trains reaching speeds of 350 kilometers per hour, we plan to reduce travel time between Ankara and Istanbul to 80 minutes. Minister Uralo?lu joined workers for an iftar dinner at the DeliceCorum construction site of the AnkaraK?r?kkale (Delice)CorumSamsun High-Speed Train line. The dinner was attended by AK Party Corum Deputy Yusuf Ahlatc?, Corum Governor Ali Calgan, General Director of Highways Ahmet Gul?en, General Director of TCDD Veysi Kurt, AK Party Provincial Chairman Yakup Alar, representatives of civil society organizations, public institutions, and workers. After the iftar, Uralo?lu addressed the workers, emphasizing that Turkiye has launched a mobilization in railways to turn its geographical position into an economic advantage. He stated: Under the leadership of our President, we have initiated a new era in railways so that the opportunities provided by our countrys role as a bridge between Asia and Europe can be transformed into economic and commercial benefits. In 2002, our railway length was about 11,000 kilometers; we have added nearly 3,000 kilometers, including 2,251 kilometers of high-speed rail, bringing the total to 13,919 kilometers. Alongside this line, we continue constructing major projects such as Halkal?Kap?kule, AnkaraIzmir, Band?rmaBursaYeni?ehirOsmaneli, MersinAdanaOsmaniyeGaziantep, and YerkoyKayseri High-Speed Train Lines. In addition, the AnkaraIstanbul Super High-Speed Train Line project is on our agenda. With trains reaching 350 km/h, we plan to reduce travel time between Ankara and Istanbul to 80 minutes. He also mentioned the Northern Ring Railway Project, which will ease Istanbuls traffic and logistics: With the Northern Ring Railway Project, we are on the verge of a historic step. This strategic line will start from Gebze, pass through Sabiha Gokcen Airport, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport, and continue to Catalca. At 125 kilometers long, this line will relieve passenger and freight traffic on Marmaray and, for the first time, directly connect Istanbuls two major airports by rail. For this project, which has attracted great international interest, we have reached preliminary agreements with six prestigious financial institutions, including the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC International Development Fund, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This agreement will provide $6.75 billion in financing, making it Turkiyes largest externally financed railway project. The tender announcement was published last week, and we aim to start construction this year. Once completed, the line will have a capacity of 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually. Without doubt, this line will open a new era in rail transport between Asia and Europe. Uralo?lu stressed that new lines, infrastructure development, and modernization efforts continue at full speed to strengthen international railway connections. He said: We are implementing new lines to support the BakuTbilisiKars Railway Line, which we opened in 2017. Our 224-kilometer KarsI?d?rAral?kDilucu Railway project, supporting the Zangezur Corridor, is progressing successfully. We are also continuing international cooperation on the Development Road project, which will carry cargo from China, East Asia, and India to Europe via the FAW Port in the Persian Gulf. With the Development Road Project, which we call the New Silk Road, we will further strengthen Turkiyes economic and geopolitical status. Sharing the latest progress on the K?r?kkaleCorumSamsun line, Uralo?lu said: We are now at the heart of one of Turkiyes most important railway projects. This line will go down in history as the first high-speed passenger rail project to the north of Turkiye, centered in Ankara. Our AnkaraKonya and KonyaKaraman high-speed lines have long served citizens, and construction continues on the KaramanUluk??la and MersinAdanaOsmaniyeGaziantep lines. With your efforts, this line will not only connect Ankara to Samsun and the Black Sea but also strengthen brotherhood, ease longing for home, and raise prosperity in the region. Especially during religious holidays like the upcoming Ramadan Bayram, it will help ease traffic congestion along the K?r?kkale, Delice, and Corum routes. The new 293-kilometer line from Delice to Corum, Merzifon, and Samsun is being built with 3,000 personnel and 850 machines working day and night. As of today, physical progress on the DeliceCorum section has reached about 23 percent. Excavation works have achieved 87 percent completion, with 27.61 million cubic meters excavated. In eight tunnels totaling 9,507 meters, progress is about 19 percent. Construction continues on 13 of 31 bridges, as well as underpasses, overpasses, and culverts. He announced that Corum will be connected to the railway network for the first time: This line, designed for speeds up to 200 km/h, will provide uninterrupted high-speed rail between Ankara, K?r?kkale, and Corum, reducing travel time between Corum and Ankara to 1 hour 20 minutes. We have also included the CorumSamsun section in this years investment program and plan to hold its construction tender within the year. Once the CorumMerzifonSamsun sections are completed, travel time between Ankara and Samsun will be 2.5 hours, with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers and 14 million tons of freight. Corum will be connected to the railway network for the first time, establishing a strong logistics axis between the Black Sea, Central Anatolia, and the Mediterranean basins, boosting regional development and freight transport capacity. Furthermore, this corridor linking Samsun Port with Mersin Port will ease freight traffic over the Istanbul and Canakkale straits, making Turkiye a global logistics superpower. Morgan Stanley (MS) last month suggested that it expects Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) to benefit from AI. However, a prominent research firm recently warned that credit card networks could start to be replaced by stablecoins. Moreover, the valuations of V and MA are not especially low, while their technical outlooks are poor. About Visa and Mastercard Based in San Francisco and Purchase, NY, respectively, Visa and Mastercard operate networks that help to process credit card transactions globally. Visa's market capitalization is $581.8 billion, while Mastercard's market capitalization is $464.6 billion. MA's forward price-earnings ratio is 26.68 times, while V weighs in with a forward P/E ratio of 24.93 times. More News from Barchart In Visa's first quarter that ended in December, its revenue climbed 15% versus the same period a year earlier to $10.9 billion, while its net income, excluding certain items, advanced 12% year-over-year (YOY) to $6.1 billion. As for Mastercard, in Q4 its revenue climbed 18% YOY to $8.8 billion, while its bottom line rose 17% YOY, excluding currency fluctuations, to $4.1 billion. www.barchart.com www.barchart.com The AI-Related Initiatives of MA and V Morgan Stanley indicated that Mastercard and Visa could benefit from the increased use of AI due to the higher value of their tokenization and consent-based authentication offerings. According to a Capital One (COF) white paper, Tokenization replaces sensitive data, like personally identifiable information (PII), with anonymized tokens that provide no value to bad actors. Capital One also referred to zero trust strategies that require continuous authentication and authorization. Mastercard and Visa both say they offer tokenization. Last September, Visa reported that it was testing (software systems) that enable tokenized payments and consent-based authentication for agent transactions," while Mastercard provides an Authentication Consent service.. to efficiently manage the lifecycle of consumer consent." Since AI can and already has been hacked, it's very possible that, in accordance with Morgan Stanley's theory, the proliferation of AI agents will significantly increase the demand for the tokens and authentication products provided by Visa and Mastercard. And the revenue provided by these offerings could eventually meaningfully improve the financial results of the two firms. By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO does not plan to trigger its Article 5 mutual defence clause over the shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey, Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday, amid fears the alliance could become embroiled in the U.S.-Iran war. "Nobody's talking about Article 5," Rutte said in an interview at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, even as he described the incident as 'serious'. Advertisement Advertisement "The most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant," he said. NATO member Turkey said the alliance's air defences on Wednesday destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile as it headed into Turkish airspace, highlighting the possibility that the conflict could expand to include the entire alliance. NATO's Article 5 specifies that an attack on one of its members is an attack on all of them. It obliges allies to take action they deem necessary to assist the country under attack, including potentially the use of military force. The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff on Thursday denied it had fired missiles at Turkey, saying the Islamic Republic respected the sovereignty of "friendly" Turkey, according to a statement carried by Iranian media. Advertisement Advertisement As the U.S.Iran war entered its sixth day, the conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia, convulsing global markets and prompting thousands of stranded tourists and residents to try to flee the Middle East. RUTTE CITES BROAD NATO SUPPORT FOR US ACTION DESPITE EUROPEAN CRITICISM Rutte said many NATO allies support the United States and Israel in their strikes against Iran as the country was "close to becoming a threat to Europe as well". However, several leaders of NATO countries such as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan have criticised the military action, branding it a dangerous violation of international law. Advertisement Advertisement Asked if he was sure the U.S. had a clear end-state in mind to avoid instability that could pose risks for Europe, Rutte said: "From my conversations with senior American military and political leaders, it's my absolute sense that they know where they are going." He also said NATO leaders had agreed that they would have to find ways to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion even as Middle Eastern nations urgently seek to boost their arsenals, particularly with air defence weapons. Asked how this would be possible given air defence support for Ukraine was already in short supply, Rutte said industry would have to ramp up production of such weapons, just as it had done in recent years with artillery ammunition. "We have to replicate what we are doing with ammunition when it comes to the other big-ticket items," he said. (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Writing by Inti Landauro and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Makini Brice, Richard Lough, William Maclean) 51-year-old Tonya Hamilton has been charged with child abuse in a case involving a now five-month-old boy who suffered a severe brain injury and required two surgeries at Valley Children's Hospital, authorities said Wednesday. Braxton Musselman, now recovering, was rushed to the hospital nearly two months ago after he was found unresponsive. His mother, Tori Nelson, said seeing her son smile again brings her relief. Advertisement Advertisement "He's just my little miracle baby. He's doing so good. Just to see him smile and laugh is all I can ask for," she said. RELATED: Threemonthold recovering after alleged abuse; Madera County babysitter released on bail Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno said the child was brought to the hospital on January 13 with a "very specific type of injury," prompting an investigation into who may have caused it. "Then there was an investigation to determine who could have inflicted that injury and we feel at this point we have enough evidence to charge Tonya Hamiliton with this count of inflicting injury on this infant," Moreno said. Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors filed a charge alleging child abuse resulting in coma, brain injury or permanent paralysis. "It's the most serious we can allege short of the death of the child," Moreno said. If convicted, Hamilton could face seven years to life in prison. Moreno added that "assuming we get a conviction on this charge, the defendant will have to go through a parole board to be released." Braxton's parents say the injury has changed their lives. "Quite honestly, nothing's going to give back what was taken from him," Nelson said. His father, Chris Musselman, a U.S. Army Reservist, left his job as a sergeant with the Department of Corrections to stay with Braxton full time. Advertisement Advertisement "I don't believe that anybody that has hurt a child deserves or should be around another child again," he said. Nelson, a registered nurse in Fresno, continues to work while visiting her son as often as possible. "I just pray no one else has to go through this. It's honestly one of the hardest things," she said. Hamilton is expected to appear in court for arraignment on March 9. Both Chris and Tori said they plan to be inside the courtroom for that hearing. In the meantime, baby Braxton will undergo an MRI to determine his release date. For news updates, follow Christina Lopez on Facebook, X and Instagram. BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite the situation in Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday. "Many leaders in Europe and the United States, Canada say it has to be 'and, and': make sure that as allies we enable what the Americans are doing in the Middle East ... and at the same time make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay strong in the fight", he said. (Reporting by Andrew Gray and Inti Landauro, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Bart Meijers) Also on Thursday, Azerbaijan announced on Thursday that it was preparing unspecified retaliatory measures after it said four Iranian drones flew across its border and injured four people. United Arab Emirates air defenses are actively intercepting missiles and drones coming from Iran, according to a post on X by the country's defense ministry. Azerbaijan says four injured by Iranian drones, vows to retaliate Azerbaijan announced on Thursday that it was preparing unspecified retaliatory measures after it said four Iranian drones flew across its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concern about further spillover of the conflict in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told a meeting of his Security Council: "We will not tolerate this unprovoked act of terror and aggression against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures." "We are ready to demonstrate our strength against any hostile force - and they should not forget this in Iran," he said. Drone strikes an airport in Azerbaijan. (credit: FAIR USE UNDER ISRAELI COPYRIGHT LAW, ARTICLE 27A) Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied Tehran had targeted Nakhchivan. "We do not attack our neighboring countries," he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ. Azerbaijani authorities said they were investigating the types of drones used in the attack. Advertisement Advertisement They said one drone fell on the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport, which is approximately 10 km across the border from Iran, and another drone landed near a school in a nearby village. One was downed by the Azerbaijani army, and another hit civilian infrastructure. Tense ties between Tehran and Baku Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas producer, mostly exporting energy to Turkey and Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Any damage to its infrastructure could drive global energy prices even higher. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry earlier demanded that Iran "clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future," adding that the incident "contributes to increased tensions in the region." It handed a note of protest to the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan. Advertisement Advertisement Azerbaijan and Iran already have tense relations over Baku's growing economic, energy, and military ties to NATO member Turkey and Israel. The escalating US-Iran war risks touching off violence between the neighbors. Around 20 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran, the country's largest minority group. The four injured were taken to the hospital, where they are in stable condition, the Health Ministry in the landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Iran, and Turkey told Reuters. Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building. Diplomats in Riyadh ordered to shelter in place due to potential threat, sources say Diplomats and staff at embassies in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter were told to shelter in place on Thursday due to a potential but unspecified threat, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Advertisement Advertisement They did not have further details, and the Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The gates to the Diplomatic Quarter, a neighborhood on the western edge of the Saudi capital that houses most foreign missions in the country, were closed as of Thursday afternoon, two of the people said. Earlier Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed Iranian drone attacks in the Nakhcivan exclave during a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, a Turkish diplomatic source said. Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan gives a statement at the Ritz Hotel as he meets Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi , on January 30, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (credit: Burak Kara/Getty Images) UAE reports drone shrapnel in Abu Dhabi The United Arab Emirates reported on Thursday that shrapnel from two drone interceptions fell into the streets of Abu Dhabi. Advertisement Advertisement According to local authorities, six people were injured because of the incident, while no casualties were reported. People gather as smoke rises at the Industrial Area after reported Iranian missile attacks, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Doha, Qatar, March 1, 2026 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM) Another drone strike was reported in Iraq's giant Rumaila oilfield, operated by British oil major BP, after two unidentified drones landed inside the field, three Iraqi oil industry sources told Reuters. BP's foreign staff were evacuated after the incident. Gulf countries concerned about risk of Iran civil war, says EU's foreign chief Countries in the Middle East have told European officials they are concerned about the risk of civil war in Iran as a result of the conflict between Tehran and the United States and Israel, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday. "When we talk to the countries in the region, they are also worried about civil wars inside ... the regime's leadership and what is going on there," she said ahead of a video conference with EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East. She also said the EU is "extremely worried" about maritime security in the region and that it is trying to keep routes such as the Strait of Hormuz open. This is a developing story. The Federal Aviation Administration is extending its ban on U.S. commercial airlines flying into Haitis gang-ridden capital, while also widening the restricted airspace beyond Port-au-Prince to include parts of southern and central Haiti as well as the Artibonite region. Gangs have increasingly conducted violent attacks in the Artibonite and Centre Departments north of the capital, necessitating adjustments to the area in which U.S. civil aviation operations are prohibited, the FAA said in a revised notice issued this week. This expanded and shifted gang operating area raises the risk from small arms fire to civil aviation operations at lower altitudes in these locations. The FAA said U.S. civil aviation operations are still barred from flying under 10,000 feet in specified areas due to the inability of Haitis security forces to prevent attacks against aircraft in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding regions. The latest extension, whch will remain in place until Sept. 3, is the latest in a series of bans that were first imposed in November 2024 after three major U.S. carriers were struck by gang gunfire. Advertisement Advertisement With the latest extension, Haiti will go almost two years without a major U.S. commercial aircraft landing at its main airport, Toussaint Louverture International Airport. An initial 30-day ban was put in place after Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines reported their airplanes had been hit by gunfire while flying over Haitian airspace. The prohibition was then subject to repeated extensions, and the U.S. State Department maintained a Level 4 Do Not Travel warning for U.S. citizens. READ MORE: Haiti prime minister overhauls cabinet as he pushes toward year-end elections Haiti remains under State Department high alert as security forces continue to intensify their operations. On Wednesday, two police officers in the Aribonite region were injured and had to be airlifted to hospitals. Although gang attacks have not been reported at Haitis two other smaller international airports in Les Cayes and Cap-Haitien, U.S. carriers have continued to stay away. After the gunfire incident, Spirit Airlines suspended its service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Cap-Haitien, and American Airlines later released its remaining staff in the country. Advertisement Advertisement The FAA notes that since September, U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations have opened fire on at least three aircraft within the Port-au-Prince. In May, the Trump administration labeled the countrys powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition and another armed group, Gran Grif, in the neighboring Artibonite region as global and foreign terrorists. READ MORE: Why airlines see Haiti in the same war-risk level as areas where pilots dodge missiles Osprey Flight Solutions, a security advisory firm that assesses aviation risks, notes in its recent report that other foreign governments are maintaining the same kind of restrictions on international commercial flights to the Caribbean nation. France has requested that its operators avoid serving Port-au-Prince Toussaint Louverture International Airport. The United Kingdom and Canada both recommend that operators not fly below 10,000 feet above Port-au-Prince due to the potential risk to aviation from small-arms fire. The Dominican Republic, which closed its borders with Haiti more than two years ago, also has extended its long-standing notice suspending passenger and cargo flights between the two countries, which share the island of Hispaniola. The restriction remains in effect until March 28. WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration told airlines it wants to potentially cut a few hundred additional flights at Chicago O'Hare airport this summer over what it initially outlined last week, sources told Reuters on Thursday. Last week, the FAA proposed a 2,800 per day limit, down from the 3,080 daily operations announced for the summer, but above last summer's 2,680 daily flights, citing concerns about delays and airline over scheduling. The FAA told airlines this week it wants to limit flights to around 2,500 per day, but that number remains under discussion, the sources added. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese) March 13 (Reuters) - At least two thousand people have been killed across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases and personnel, as well as Lebanon, quickly drawn into the conflict. Here are the death tolls reported by Friday, nearly two weeks into the conflict. Reuters has not independently verified the figures. * IRAN - The most recent death toll, reported by state mediaon Monday, was at least 1,270 people. But Iran's ambassador tothe U.N. said on March 6 that at least 1,332 people had beenkilled since the war began. There has been no clarification ofthe discrepancy.It was not clear if those figures include atleast 104 people that the Iranian military said were killed in aU.S. attack on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka's coast on March4. * LEBANON - At least 687 people have been killed in Israelistrikes, according to Lebanese authorities. The World HealthOrganization said at least 98 of those killed were children. * IRAQ - At least 30 people have been killed, according toIraqi health authorities. Most of those were members of theShi'ite Popular Mobilisation Forces. One foreign crew member waskilled in an attack on tankers near an Iraqi port, according toport security officials. * ISRAEL - Twelve people have been killed, including ninepeople in an Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh nearJerusalem on March 1, according to Israel's ambulance service.The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were killed insouthern Lebanon. * UNITED STATES - Eleven service members have been killed.Four were confirmed dead on Friday after a U.S. militaryaircraft crashed over Iraq, the U.S. military said, while sevenothers have been killed in action during operations againstIran. * UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Six people have been killed inIranian attacks, according to the UAE's defence ministry. * KUWAIT - Authorities have reported six deaths - includingtwo people killed in Iranian attacks, two interior ministryofficers and two army soldiers. * SYRIA - Four people were killed when an Iranian missilestruck a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida onFebruary 28, state news agency SANA said. * OMAN - Two people were killed in a drone strike on anindustrial zone in Sohar province, marking the first fatalitiesinside the country, which has been hosting mediation talksbetween the U.S. and Iran. One person died earlier when aprojectile hit a tanker off the coast of Muscat, the vessel'smanager said. * SAUDI ARABIA - Two people were killed when a projectilefell on a residential location in Al-Kharj city, southeast ofthe capital Riyadh. * BAHRAIN - Two people were killed in two separate Iranianattacks, with the most recent hitting a residential building inthe capital Manama, according to the interior ministry. * FRANCE - One French soldier was killed and six others werewounded after a drone attack in northern Iraq, where they wereproviding counterterrorism training. (Compiled by Nayera Abdallah, Jonathan Allen, Jana Choukeir, Menna Alaa El Din, Maayan Lubell, Pesha Magid and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Ros Russell) The family of the man killed by a Pierce County sheriffs deputy during a stabbing attack on a residential street that left four dead, including his mother, say they had tried to find him help but were met with a broken mental health care system. Aleksandr Shablykin, 32, is suspected of fatally stabbing his 52-year-old mother, Zoya Shablykina and three women ages 59, 67 and 81 on Feb. 24. Affidavits written by law enforcement about the crime scene outside the mothers home on the Key Peninsula say investigators learned Shablykin had stopped taking his prescribed medication. They also say detectives wanted to search his mothers house for medication bottles with his name on them. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement issued Tuesday, a week after the attack, family of Zoya Shablykina and a man close to the family, Robert Knowles, said they wanted to honor the woman who they said spent years trying to navigate the complexities of her sons severe mental health crisis. Our family is navigating a nightmare of unimaginable proportions following the loss of Zoya, a devoted mother and a deeply cherished grandmother. To her daughter, Anastasiya, and her granddaughter, Anna, Zoya was a source of endless love and light, the statement said. We want the public to understand that the person who committed these acts was not the man we knew, the statement continued. Aleksandr was a man lost to a battle with bipolar disorder who had tragically ceased his medication shortly before this event. While we struggle with the horror of his actions, we must also highlight the profound gaps in our current systems. Robert Knowles, 59, and Anastasiya Shablykina, 30, are raising their 11-year-old daughter together. In phone interviews and text messages, the two described what events preceded the stabbing attack. Advertisement Advertisement In the last 11 months, there were at least two 911 calls about Shablykins erratic behavior at his mothers home or his compliance with taking his medication which a court commissioner had ordered him to continue taking. Court records show the man was seen last year at Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital, but the family says they received little guidance after he was discharged. Knowles said Shablykin didnt like the way the government worked and had skewed ideas about how he thought it should work. Public records of his contacts with Gig Harbor police in 2022 and 2023 show he could be defiant with law enforcement during traffic stops, often refusing to comply with commands and arguing with officers over the legitimacy of the legal system. Aleksandr Shablykin is shown in a still from body-camera footage of a traffic stop on Oct. 4, 2022. Gig Harbor police stopped him after seeing him driving while on his cell phone. (Gig Harbor Police Department) The night before the attack, records show Anastasiya Shablykina called 911 and reported that Shablykin had stopped taking his medications, and that they had asked him to leave their home in Orting. Shablykin left before Orting police arrived, and she told the officers that she believed her brother was headed to his mothers residence. The system failed us, Anastasiya Shablykina said in a text message to The News Tribune. Police response in 2025 led to protection orders Knowles said Shablykin came to live at their house in Orting last year after he had an episode at his mothers home. Advertisement Advertisement Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) logs from the April 2, 2025, incident show Anastasiya Shablykina called 911 that evening and reported her brother was having a mental breakdown. Records say the house smelled like something was burnt, and she reported that she thought her brother might have killed their cat. Anastasiya Shablykina and her mom waited outside for the Sheriffs Office to arrive, according to the CAD log, which said Shablykin had torn up the house and was doing rituals. Deputies arrived a half hour after the initial 911 call, records show. By that point, it was reported that Shablykin was outside and yelling at neighbors. He had chant music playing, and he believed his mom and the cat were demons, and that he was an Egyptian god, Knowles said. Knowles said Shablykin was restrained, and CAD logs show he was transported to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor. Knowles said he was later taken to Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital in Tacoma. Advertisement Advertisement Shablykins mother filed a petition for a protection order against him two days after the incident, according to court records. The records show Knowles served two temporary protection orders issued April 4 and 18, 2025, on Shablykin. Court officials have confirmed the final, yearlong order issued May 2, 2025 said the Tacoma Police Department needed to serve it on Shablykin, and that never happened. The court commissioner who signed the protection order found Shablykin to be a credible threat to his mothers safety, and it required him to stay 1,000 feet from her and her residence on the Key Peninsula. The commissioner wrote into the order that Shablykin needed to follow a treatment plan put in place when he left St. Joseph Medical Center, including taking medication. The order also said an evaluation and treatment plan shall be filed with the court along with proof of Shablykins compliance. But there were no further court filings. Zoya Shablykina is pictured in an undated photograph with her cat, Pushok. Shablykina, 52, died Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 during a stabbing attack at her home in the Purdy area of Pierce County. (Courtesy Anastasiya Shablykina) After Shablykin was discharged from Wellfound, Knowles said the family did not get much guidance on how they could help and care for the man. Advertisement Advertisement Do you think that when we picked him up from Wellfound, they gave me a manual on what to do with this guy? Nothing, Knowles said. Shablykin went to a homeless shelter in Tacoma, according to Knowles, but he wouldnt stay there, and Knowles said he was basically sleeping outside. In May, Shablykin came to stay with his sister and Knowles. The first night, Knowles said, Shablykin set up a tent under his daughters playset in the backyard. He said he didnt want the man to get comfortable. This is not going to be a thing, Knowles said. But Knowles said Shablykin was unintrusive and respectful, and he was loved by Anastasiya Shablykina and her daughter. The man moved into Knowles garage, mostly keeping to himself, according to Knowles, and spending a lot of time on the computer. Knowles said that they had an agreement that as long as Shablykin stayed there, he would take his medication. Advertisement Advertisement Knowles described talking to Shablykin often about setting goals for himself so he could take steps toward getting a job and eventually be able to provide for himself. Knowles said Shablykin didnt have a desire to do anything. He said the man was isolated and didnt have friends. The only thing he did was the internet, Knowles said. Anastasiya Shablykina said her brother had previously studied to be a surgical technician through Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, but he failed his last class and didnt go back. More recently, Shablykin was denied government assistance for a disability tied to his mental health, according to his sister and Knowles. Knowles said Shablykin told him about that the week before the attack. Anastasiya Shablykina said the denial made her brother feel hopeless. Advertisement Advertisement He was capable of working, Anastasiya Shablykina said. He didnt want to. He didnt want to do anything. He believed everything should be handed to him. Knowles also recalled Shablykin acting resentful toward his mother over the fact that the police were called on him. Knowles said he never saw Shablykin act aggressively toward his mother, but he complained about the April 2025 incident as recently as Christmas. Family called police when suspect stopped medication The issue of Shablykin taking his medication came to a head in the days before the attack. Knowles said he and Anastasiya Shablykina had plans to leave Feb. 22 for a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and theyd made arrangements for Zoya Shablykina to check on Shablykin and their daughter while they were gone. Anastasiya Shablykina said she believed her brother stopped taking his medications the minute he knew she and Knowles were leaving. On the day they were supposed to leave, Anastasiya Shablykina decided she didnt want to go. Advertisement Advertisement I had a feeling, she said. The next day, Feb. 23, Knowles said Shablykin didnt get out of bed until late. Knowles took Anastasiya Shablykina and their daughter to the South Hill Mall. When they got home that evening, Shablykin was sitting in the backyard, and Knowles asked him if he had been taking his medication. Shablykin refused to answer, according to Knowles, and their back-and-forth drew Shablykins sister outside. She took one look at him, and she just knew, Knowles said. Knowles said he told Shablykin he needed to leave, but Shablykin protested. Then Anastasiya Shablykina called the police. A CAD log of the call shows she called 911 shortly before 8 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Hi, my brother is having hes not on his meds, Anastasiya Shablykina told the dispatcher, according to a recording of the call. Hes bipolar. He stopped taking his meds, Anastasiya Shablykina can be heard speaking to her brother, telling him that this is what happens when he doesnt take his medication. The dispatcher told her to step away to listen to her questions about the situation. Shablykin left before Orting police arrived, according to the CAD log. The police arrived about seven minutes after the 911 call. Knowles said they spoke with the officers, and Anastasiya Shablykina was adamant with them that she believed her brother was going to go to their mothers house. Knowles wondered if that was communicated to the Sheriffs Office. Anastasiya Shablykina said she was in contact with her mother that evening. According to her and Knowles, Shablykin showed up at the house, and his mother gave him a cup of tea and a blanket, but she told him he had to leave. Anastasiya Shablykina said her brother slept in his Toyota Corolla with a broken window. I really dont think anybody had to die. Sometime the next morning, Zoya Shablykina started texting her daughter. Knowles said Shablykin had kicked her out of the house, and he put on loud, hypnotic music. Eventually, the communications from Zoya Shablykina stopped. Knowles and Anastasiya Shablykina began driving toward the home. While they were on their way, Knowles said, they started getting information from Anastasiya Shablykinas grandmother. According to Knowles, the grandmother, who lives in Kentucky, was on the phone with Zoya Shablykina when the attack began. At one point [the grandmother] told Anastasiya, Your brother is killing Zoya, Knowles said. And then she said killed. Knowles said they had a poor phone connection with Anastasiya Shablykinas grandmother. They werent certain what she said, but Knowles explained that they hoped she had meant emotionally killing his mother. When they got close to the house, Knowles said Anastasiya Shablykina jumped out of the car down the road and ran to the scene. Several law enforcement agencies investigate the scene of a multiple stabbing and deputy involved shooting in the Purdy area on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Brian Hayes/Brian Hayes / bhayes@thenewstribune.com) Knowles expressed frustration over law enforcements response time, pointing out that the building for the Sheriffs Offices Peninsula Detachment is just across the Purdy bridge, about 3.5 miles from Zoya Shablykinas home. In the familys written statement issued Tuesday, they said they recognized that first responders faced systemic challenges, but they believed delays and a lack of proactive care were symptoms of a framework that failed everyone involved. I really dont think anybody had to die, Knowles said. What is broken with our system there? Bostons famous pizza chain is down a location. Regina Pizzeria has closed its Fenway spot after more than a decade, East Coast Associates, which does public relations for Boston Restaurant Associates and Regina Pizzeria, confirmed to MassLive on Thursday. A spokesperson said the restaurants lease was up, and the business decided not to renew it at the Fenway location. All of Regina Pizzerias other locations remain open, including every other Boston location. Advertisement Advertisement Regina Pizzeria, which first opened in Bostons North End 100 years ago, has been a Boston culinary landmark for decades. The Fenway restaurant first opened in 2013, EaterBoston reported at the time. The Patch reported the Fenway location was part of an expansion where Regina Pizzeria opened roughly 20 locations in Boston and Greater Boston during that timeframe. Regina Pizzeria still has a strong presence in the area today, with a dozen locations from the original North End spot to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The address for the now-closed Regina Pizzeria in Fenway was 1330 Boylston St., Boston. More boston Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. NEED TO KNOW Aaron Spencer, 37, accused of killing his daughter's alleged rapist, won the primary election for county sheriff in Arkansas on Tuesday, March 3 In October 2024, Spencer allegedly shot and killed Michael Fosler, 67, after allegedly finding Fosler with his teen daughter Fosler was facing 43 criminal charges in connection with the teen A father accused of killing the man who allegedly kidnapped and raped his teenage daughter, and whos still awaiting trial for the murder, won the Republican primary election for county sheriff in Arkansas, multiple outlets reported. Aaron Spencer secured 53.5% of the vote in the Tuesday, March 3, Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff, according to preliminary election results. Spencer, 37, will face Democratic primary winner Brian Mitchell Sr. in the fall general election, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Advertisement Advertisement Im incredibly grateful to the people of Lonoke County for placing their trust in me. Thank you to everyone who supported this campaign, worked hard, and showed up to vote, Spencer told KATV on Wednesday, March 4. This is an important step forward, but we still have one more election ahead. I look forward to continuing this conversation with the people of Lonoke County as we work toward building a safer, strong Lonoke County. Aaron Spencer and his wife Heather Credit: Give Send Go In October 2024, Spencer allegedly shot and killed Michael Fosler after allegedly finding the 67-year-old man with his teen daughter. At the time of the shooting, Fosler was out on bond and was facing 43 criminal charges in connection with the teen, including sexual assault, according to The New York Times, citing court documents. Heather and Aaron Spencer. Credit: Michael White - Arkansas Liberty/Facebook I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed, Spencer said in an October Facebook video when he announced his candidacy. And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures. Advertisement Advertisement Spencer was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty, per CNN. The trial was scheduled to start in January, but was postponed. A retired judge will soon hear the case after the defense asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to recuse a previous judge. A hearing is scheduled for later this month, and a new trial date will be scheduled. If convicted, Spencer will not be able to serve as a sheriff under Arkansas law. Some voters in Lonoke County who spoke to CNN in February said they supported Spencers efforts to reform the legal system when it came to sexual abuse, but others were worried about him potentially becoming the countys sheriff. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Being a parent myself, I can understand how (he) felt when his daughter was going through what she was going through, Cabot, Ark., resident Lia Bell told CNN. But hes charged with murder. As a law enforcement officer, I dont want somebody thats gonna be trigger happy I want somebody thats gonna take the emotion out of it and follow the law in every circumstance. Read the original article on People Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Todays top news: Crypto majors pump another 2-4% across the board; BTC at $73k BTC ETFs see $1.15B in inflows to start March Kraken gains access to Fedwire in watershed moment for crypto a16z targets $2B for its 5th crypto fund, crypto vc raises at $4B+ for 2026 Tether invests $50M into Eight Sleep at $1.5B valuation as it expands into AI health & infra Kraken Cracks the Fed For the first time in U.S. history, a crypto-native company just got a seat at the Federal Reserves table. And the banking industry is furious about it. What Happened Yesterday, Kraken Financial received approval for a Federal Reserve master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The account grants direct access to Fedwire, the Feds real-time settlement network. Until now, Kraken had to route all dollar transfers through intermediary banks. Thats over. The approval is limited, meaning Kraken wont earn interest on reserves held at the Fed, and it cant tap the Feds emergency lending facilities. Its a so-called skinny master account, similar to a concept the Fed floated last year. Kraken Secures Access to Feds Core Payment Systems: WSJ But the significance is clear: Kraken can now settle dollar payments itself, on the same rails used by JPMorgan, Bank of America, and every other major U.S. bank. Traditional banking groups didnt wait long to respond. The Bank Policy Institute and other trade groups immediately criticized the decision, warning it could threaten U.S. financial stability. What Theyre Saying This milestone marks the convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails. - Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) called it a watershed moment for the digital asset industry. Why It Matters Custodia Bank fought the Fed in court for years to get this and lost. Now Kraken has it, and thats a pretty big signal about where the regulatory environment stands under the current administration. Krakens approval is explicitly being treated as a pilot for the skinny master account framework. Ripple, Circle, and Paxos already have conditional OCC charters and are laying in wait. Likely just a matter of time until those dominoes fall as well. As for the users, they are the big winners here. Faster, more reliable fiat deposits and withdrawals are here. No more waiting 5-7 days for funds to clear (we all know how painful that can be when markets are pumping). Goodbye Hurricane Melissa, hello Molly. Melissa will never pop up again as a tropical storm or hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. The World Meteorological Organization's hurricane committee agreed this week to retire "Melissa" from its rotating naming lists given the death, destruction and flooding that Category 5 Hurricane Melissa wreaked in the Caribbean in October 2025. After more than four months since the passage of Melissa over Jamaica, stories about the impacts and recovery continue to dominate the news and media. Melissa has now been engraved in the collective memory of the nation, said Evan Thompson, principal director at Meteorological Service, Jamaica, and President of WMOs Regional Association IV. Advertisement Advertisement Molly is the replacement name. If there are at least 13 storms in the 2031 season, Molly will make her first appearance. Thompson was thankful for the unanimous approval of his request to retire Melissa, according to a March 4 statement. "Jamaica would not have liked to constantly recount the trauma that was visited on us in 2025, he said. Hurricane Melissa hit the southwestern coast of Jamaica around 1 p.m. ET Tuesday with catastrophic winds speeds of about 185 mph after churning slowly toward the island nation. The hurricane center said Melissa's landfall is one of the most powerful in the Atlantic Basin's recorded history. As the storm's center moved across western Jamaica to its northern coast, Melissa became a Category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph and torrential rainfall that caused flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge, the hurricane center said. A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. A store stands destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. A house with a damaged roof is seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. A man uses a chainsaw to clear fallen branches, after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Spur Tree, Manchester, Jamaica, October 29, 2025. People inspect the damage after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Spur Tree, Manchester, Jamaica, October 29, 2025. Broken tree branches lie on the street, after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Spur Tree, Manchester, Jamaica, October 29, 2025. A man looks at a fallen tree in St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025. Fallen trees block sections of the Spur Tree main road following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. Category 5 Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica: See the aftermath of catastrophic winds, rain 1 of 8 Hurricane Melissa hit the southwestern coast of Jamaica around 1 p.m. ET Tuesday with catastrophic winds speeds of about 185 mph after churning slowly toward the island nation. The hurricane center said Melissa's landfall is one of the most powerful in the Atlantic Basin's recorded history. As the storm's center moved across western Jamaica to its northern coast, Melissa became a Category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph and torrential rainfall that caused flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge, the hurricane center said. A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Hurricane Melissa at a glance These are some of the key facts from the hurricane center's Melissa report: 95 people died in the storm: Jamaica, 45; Haiti, 43; Dominican Republic, 4; Cuba, 1; and 2 in the U.S. killed when their flight carrying relief supplies crashed. A mid-November estimate put the damage to buildings, infrastructure and agriculture at $8.8 billion. The highest reported rainfall fell at Camp Perrin Haiti 36.77 inches. Melissa reached a peak sustained wind speed of 190 mph on Oct. 28, the National Hurricane Center concluded in its post storm review. The 190-mph peak speed placed Melissa in a tie with Hurricane Allen in 1990 as the storm with the highest wind speeds on record in the Atlantic. A 252-mph wind gust measured by a dropsonde released into Melissa's eye set a record for the highest gust ever measured by one of the expendable instruments. Its 185-mph maximum sustained winds at landfall in Jamaica tied for strongest landfall with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Dorian in 2019. A NOAA satellite captures the eye of deadly Hurricane Melissa at Jamaica's coast on Oct. 28, 2025. What is the WMO's hurricane committee? The WMO's hurricane committee includes experts from national meteorological and hydrological services, representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Advertisement Advertisement Committee members are meeting in Mexico City this week to review the 2025 season and prepare for the 2026 hurricane season that starts in just under 90 days, on June 1. Names are repeated every six years, unless a name is retired. The lists alternate between male and female names, are chosen to be easy to pronounce and represent all the languages of the hurricane region. Every forecast and warning is a lifeline for real people, and a constant reminder that our work is not just about science, but about saving lives," said Michael Brennan, committee chair and director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center and the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre Miami. What's the history behind hurricane names? The underlying reason for assigning names is to make communicating information about these huge and impactful storms simpler than referring to them solely by numbers or even by their coordinates on the globe, hurricane scientist Brian McNoldy wrote in a trivia-filled post on his Tropical Atlantic Update blog this week. Advertisement Advertisement "Tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean started receiving human-sounding names 73 years ago," McNoldy wrote. Since 1954, including Melissa, 100 names have been retired, including those from some of the more infamous U.S. landfalling hurricanes, including Andrew (1992), Helene (2024), Katrina (2005) and Michael (2018). At 13, storm names that started with the letter "I" have been retired most often, he said. Melissa makes the eighth "M" name to be retired. What are the 2026 hurricane names? Here's a list of the primary hurricane names for 2026 and how to pronounce them. Not every letter in the alphabet is used. Arthur AR-thur Bertha BUR-thuh Cristobal krees-TOH-bahl Dolly DAH-lee Edouard eh-DWARD Fay fay Gonzalo gohn-SAH-loh Hanna HAN-uh Isaias ees-ah-EE-ahs Josephine JOH-seh-feen Kyle KY-ull Leah LEE-ah Marco MAR-koe Nana NA-na Omar OH-mar Paulette pawl-LET Rene re-NAY Sally SAL-ee Teddy TEHD-ee Vicky VIH-kee Wilfred WILL-fred Advertisement Advertisement Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, has written about hurricanes, tornadoes and violent weather for more than 30 years. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Melissa retired as hurricane name, to be replaced by Molly The first in a series of newly mandated oil and gas lease sales for federal waters of Alaskas Cook Inlet received no bids, agency officials said on Wednesday. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees oil and gas leasing in federal offshore territory, made the announcement on its website. The federal sale is the first in a series of sales mandated by the 2025 tax and budget bill called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. At this time, no bids have been received. In accordance with OBBBA, we will continue to hold leasing opportunities for Cook Inlet so that industry has a regular, predictable federal leasing schedule that ensures we achieve President Trumps American Energy Dominance Agenda, said the announcement. Advertisement Advertisement The auction, which offered about 1 million acres, is one of six Cook Inlet sales mandated through 2032 under the bill. A statement released by the Department of the Interior, which oversees BOEM, said it is important to keep holding Cook Inlet lease sales, despite the results of this one. Regular, predictable federal leasing is the foundation for maintaining domestic energy production. Even when a sale receives no bids, maintaining a transparent, congressionally mandated schedule keeps Cook Inlet opportunities available for future investment, strengthens national readiness and supports Alaskas role in meeting Americas energy needs, the statement said. Industry response to a state Cook Inlet lease sale conducted at the same time was little better, continuing a streak of lackluster industry interest in auctions for that basin. Advertisement Advertisement The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas annual areawide Cook Inlet sale, which offered 2.9 million acres of state-managed offshore and onshore territory, drew only one bid, according to results released Wednesday. The sole bid, for a 20-acre tract, was submitted by a company called Three Mountain Oil LLC and totaled $600, according to the division. That is a low amount compared to bids submitted in past state Cook Inlet lease sales, which were typically in the tens of thousands of dollars per tract, and sometimes more. An areawide lease sale for state territory on the Alaska Peninsula, held at the same time, also drew a single bid. It was the first time since 2014 that anyone had bid in the annual Alaska Peninsula sale. The bid was $800 for a 160-acre parcel, and it was submitted by an individual named Teresa Gouch. Little historic interest for controversial sales The federal Cook Inlet lease sale, like the 2022 sale that preceded it, was controversial. A map shows the approximately 1 million acres that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offered in the first of six oil and gas lease sales mandated by the sweeping tax and budget bill passed by Congress in the summer of 2025. (Map provided by the U.S. Bureau of OOcean Energy Management) The sale was targeted for legal action over its environmental impacts. A coalition of conservation and Native organizations last week sent the Department of the Interior a notice of intent to sue over what it characterized as inadequate environmental review preceding the sale. Advertisement Advertisement Wednesdays results bolstered the argument that this and other planned federal Cook Inlet lease sales are unnecessary, said a statement released by Earthjustice, the environmental law firm representing the plaintiffs. We are glad to see no companies bid in this unlawful lease sale. This is great news for all who live in and around the Inlet, and particularly critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales, Earthjustice attorney Hannah Payne-Foster said in the statement. She noted that in addition to the six sales planned under the tax bill, there are additional Cook Inlet sales proposed by the Trump administration in its pending five-year outer continental shelf leasing plan. As this result reflects, holding these sales is a waste of government resources and a distraction from real energy solutions like a much-needed transition for Alaska to renewable energy, she said. Cooper Freeman, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the response to Wednesdays lease sale could not be attributed to Biden administration disincentives for oil investment as pro-development organizations have claimed in the past. Advertisement Advertisement This is the Trump sale. This is their sale. It completely flopped. Its embarrassing. And its also a big relief to Cook Inlet fish and wildlife, Freeman said. The lack of bids fits the historic pattern for federal lease sales in Cook Inlet stretching back to the Reagan administration. A controversial lease sale held at the end of 2022 drew only a single bid, which was submitted by Hilcorp, the dominant operator in Cook Inlet. Earlier that year, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, criticized the Biden administration for canceling the lease sale for lack of industry interest. In a joint statement, Sullivan said President Joe Biden and officials in his administration were blatantly lying about lack of industry interest in the sale. The sale wound up being resurrected by Congress, but a lawsuit resulted in a court mandate for a new environmental study. That study is now completed. Advertisement Advertisement A 2017 federal Cook Inlet lease sale drew 14 bids, also from Hilcorp. Only half remain active. A 2004 federal Cook Inlet lease sale drew no bid. A 1997 lease sale drew two bids. A 1982 sale drew no bids. Other Cook Inlet leases sales were canceled in 2011 and 2007 for lack of interest. The absence of bids in the latest federal Cook Inlet sale happened despite claims by Sullivan that the multiple Cook Inlet auctions, along with mandated auctions in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, would stimulate broad development. Sullivan has used multiple public appearances to tout last years tax and budget bill as a bonanza for the state, and he emphasized the mandated lease sales during a brief Fox News interview last July, shortly after President Donald Trump signed the bill. This is going to be boom time in Alaska for jobs and American energy, Sullivan said on the Fox Business show Varney & Co. American energy dominance runs through my great state. Advertisement Advertisement As is the case with federal Cook Inlet lease sales, recent state Cook Inlet sales have drawn only limited industry interest. From 2016 to 2025, each of the state areawide Cook Inlet lease sales drew between zero and eight bids, according to Division of Oil and Gas records. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE WASHINGTON - In a vote Wednesday, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a war powers resolution which gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out in Iran. The vote was 47-53; Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat who voted against it. The U.S. House will vote on a similar bill later this week, and it too faces an unlikely path through the Republican-controlled chamber. What we know Sen. Fetterman's vote should come as no surprisehe declared he was against the resolution over the weekend on X. Advertisement Advertisement "Committed Democrat here," he wrote. "I'm a hard no. My vote is Operation Epic Fury." Committed Democrat here. Im a hard no. My vote is Operation Epic Fury. pic.twitter.com/VTiFcWbzqG U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) February 28, 2026 Fetterman's voting record Dig deeper This is hardly the first time Fetterman has broken ranks with his party. He voted with Republicans to fund the government over a dozen times last year during the country's longest-ever government shutdown, while the vast majority of Democrats held out. Ultimately, he was one of only eight Senate Democrats to vote with Republicans to pass the final resolution which reopened the government. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) speaks to the press after a briefing with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine on U.S. military action in Iran, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images) Fetterman was also one of the few Democrats who voted to confirm some of President Donald Trump's Cabinet appointees last year. Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after the shutdown vote, Fetterman stood by his voting record in an interview on CBS Mornings. "I vote a 91% Democratic line, and if Democrats have a problem with somebody that votes 91% of the same times as you are, more than nine out of 10 times, then maybe our party has a bigger problem," he said during the appearance. Other Pa. Dems respond The backstory Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power "to declare war," and this is the central debate of Wednesday's vote. Trump launched a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday without prior authorization from Congress, and it's fueled intense debate on The Hill. While Fetterman supports the operation in Iran, other prominent Pennsylvania Democrats have spoken out against it, particularly the president's decision to strike without the approval of Congress. U.S. President Donald Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran in Washington, United States, on March 2, 2026. (Photo by The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images) In a statement issued over the weekend, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro contrasted Trump's own words. Advertisement Advertisement "Until a few days ago, [Trump] was seeking a deal to dismantle Iran's nuclear program that the President himself claimed just a few months ago was completely destroyed," his statement read. "But today he declared that this is a war for regime change, something he said he would not pursue." A number of Pennsylvania's Congressional Democrats expressed similar concerns. Rep. Madeleine Dean called the attacks "the erratic decision-making of an irrational President," and said that "Americans do not want war. Americans do not want to send their sons and daughters into foreign conflict." Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control. Advertisement Advertisement So far, six U.S. military service members have died. What's next Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war could extend eight weeks, a longer time frame than has previously been floated by the Trump administration. He also acknowledged that Iran is still able to carry out missile attacks even as the U.S. tries to control the countrys airspace. The Source Information above was sourced from Fox News, the U.S. Senate's official website, a Fetterman appearance on CBS Mornings, the U.S. Constitution's text, a statement from Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro, X and previous FOX 29 and FOX 5 D.C. reporting. Additional reporting by Mark Richardson with FOX Local. HELSINKI, March 5 (Reuters) - Finland plans to lift a long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory, the government said on Thursday, aligning with Nordic neighbours in a move that could open the door to deploying atomic bombs on Finnish soil during times of war. Finland's Nuclear Energy Act, passed in 1987, prohibits the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives on its soil, seen by some Finns as a clause that would benefit only Russia if there ever was a war. While Finland maintained neutrality during the Cold War era, the country in 2023 joined the NATO military alliance in response to nuclear-armed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine the preceding year. Advertisement Advertisement "The amendment is necessary to enable Finland's military defense as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of NATO's deterrence and collective defence," Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen told a press conference. The proposed change will next go to parliament where the right-wing coalition government holds a majority. Neighbours Sweden, Denmark and Norway have long-standing policies against nuclear weapons on their territories in peacetime but do not have legislative bans during war. NATO allies France and Germany announced plans on Monday to deepen cooperation with European partners on nuclear deterrence, marking a policy shift as the continent faces rising threats from Russia and instability linked to the Iran conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Sweden's doctrine is to station no permanent foreign troops or nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters last week, when asked about the possibility of his country hosting French nuclear arms. "If we were to find ourselves in a completely different situation, that particular formulation would not apply," Kristersson said. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia and in 2024 signed a defence pact with the United States, allowing it to use 15 of Finland's military facilities and zones. (Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, additional reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Terje Solsvik and Aidan Lewis) Finland plans to lift its long-standing ban on having nuclear weapons on its territory, in a move the government says would align the country more closely with Nato's deterrence policy. Defence minister Antti Hakkanen Finland and Europe's security environment had "fundamentally and significantly changed" since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The Nordic nation abandoned decades of military neutrality to join Nato in 2023 over mounting concerns about the threat posed by Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Under Finland's 1987 Nuclear Energy Act, the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives is prohibited on Finnish soil - even during wartime. The government proposal would change that, making it possible to "bring a nuclear weapon into Finland, or to transport, deliver or possess one in Finland, if it is connected to the military defence of Finland", Hakkanen said. "The amendment is necessary to enable Finland's military defense as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of Nato's deterrence and collective defence," he told a news conference on Thursday. Nato's founding principle of collective defence - that an attack on one member nation would be treated as an attack on all - underpins the alliance's nuclear deterrence stategy. Advertisement Advertisement As it contains several nuclear powers, this means a direct attack on a member brings with it the risk of a nuclear response. US nuclear weapons are stationed in several European nations, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation. The Finnish government's proposal requires changes to both the country's Nuclear Energy Act and the criminal code. Its governing right-wing coalition, which holds a majority in parliament, said the proposal had been circulated for consultation until 2 April before it is formally laid out. Finland shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia - the longest of any EU or Nato member state - and its leaders have repeatedly warned that the country's security environment had deteriorated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement The Nordic nation became the 31st member of Nato in April 2023, widely seen as a strategic setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had long criticised the military alliance's eastward expansion. Its neighbour Sweden joined Nato in 2024. Since then, Nato has increased its military presence in the Arctic and Baltic Sea, as well as along the newly expanded eastern flank. The proposal comes as European countries step up defence co-operation in response to the war in Ukraine and broader global instability. Several Nato states suffered air traffic disruption after drones were sighted over airports and airbases last year, which some European officials attributed to "hybrid warfare" on the part of Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Moscow denied involvement, but the incidents prompted renewed discussions about collective defence. On Monday, France and Germany announced plans to deepen co-operation with European partners on nuclear deterrence. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that the country's doctrine of not stationing foreign troops or nuclear weapons on its territory "would not apply" if Sweden found itself "in a completely different situation". More on this story (The Center Square) A second anti-ICE flyer discovered on Penn States campus has brought bipartisan agreement among student groups, even as a national free-speech watchdog warns the universitys prior response risks violating the First Amendment. The latest flyer follows a Jan. 29 incident in which one depicting an ICE agent hanging from a noose, with the words, DEAD ICE AGENTS CANT KILL, appeared on a pole outside Penn States primary student union building, the HUB-Robeson Center. Images of the flyer circulated online, accompanied by calls to identify and punish those responsible. Advertisement Advertisement Penn State condemned it and announced an investigation, however, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, FIRE, argues that while the images and messages are offensive to many, it does not fall into one of the narrow categories of unprotected speech especially at a public university. On Feb. 5, FIRE sent Penn State a letter urging them to cease any investigation, to refrain from punishing the people behind it, and to remain institutionally neutral on political and social questions unrelated to university governance. Based on publicly available facts, nothing suggests that this speech is not unprotected, Charlotte Arneson, FIREs program officer of Campus Rights Advocacy told The Center Square. Arneson explained that context matters and speech loses First Amendment protection only in narrow categories such as true threats, incitement, or unlawful harassment. While she acknowledged that language celebrating or describing violence can be uncomfortable and offensive, she said those statements still often fall into the category of political speech one of the most important types, and one the Supreme Court has clearly protected. Advertisement Advertisement As a public university, she added, Penn State is required to respect its students First Amendment rights. On the flip side, Arneson pointed to a case at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where on Jan. 31, the student group Illini Republicans posted an image to Instagram that appeared to be an ICE agent pointing a gun at the head of a kneeling man, a reference seeming to depict Alex Pretti, that was also a disturbing image. It read, Only Traitors Help Invaders. FIRE also defended that speech for similar reasons, she said. Were not taking a side on what the messages are conveying, said Arneson. Its about the right to make that speech that were defending. She said Penn State has declined to respond to them, so the organization recently stood outside the HUB-Robeson Center engaging with students and handed out over 250 campus speech rights pamphlets. Advertisement Advertisement FIRE says it will follow up with the school and continue its educational efforts. Penn State, contacted for comment, referred us to its website for information on its free speech policies. Meanwhile, on Feb. 28, the same anti-ICE flyer was again posted outside the student union. This time, two student groups the Penn State Republicans and Democrats released a joint statement condemning the violent rhetoric. After the second flyer was spotted, Tristin Kilgore, president of the Penn State College Republicans, told The Center Square he realized rhetoric like calling for the death of ICE agents would continue to be promoted and they needed more than their members to stand against it. So, after speaking with the groups vice president, they approached the Penn State College Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Their statement says this kind of dangerous and reckless rhetoric, calling for violence against our federal law enforcement officers and others, is unacceptable in todays America. Its about fostering a more stable and constructive political environment and ensuring students feel safe expressing their views and opinions without fear of retaliation not about political wins or partisanship. Kilgore said that while most of the students he has spoken with agree its unacceptable, there are some who admit its close to the line but consider it free speech, and therefore allowable. Reactions to their Instagram statement are predictably mixed, and Kilgore noted a comment from a professor at the University of Pittsburgh calling ICE illegitimate. He said there are also comments from Penn State students who support this type of rhetoric. Advertisement Advertisement In his opinion, targeting a specific group, using the image of an ICE officer, and considering the increased assaults and violence against agents, pushes it to a place where it would probably be against the law. The most important thing to understand is, he said, as a Penn State community, or as Americans, this is not something that can be allowed to go on, because there are real world consequences. Look at what happened to Charlie Kirk, to the President, and Ella Cook, who was the vice president of College Republicans at Brown University, he said. Cook was one of two students killed, and nine others wounded, on campus in December. The joint statement says, If we hope to begin making positive and lasting changes in our country, it must, and will, start with the Young Americans. We hope a moment of division like this can serve as a chance to bring us all back together. The first jet chartered by the Government to evacuate British nationals from the Middle East failed to take off. A repatriation flight was supposed to take British citizens home from Oman on Wednesday evening as the Iran war escalated. However, it was beset with technical and administrative issues including check-in problems, and stayed on the ground. Britons hoping to make the journey home said no consular staff were available to help and told Sky News the situation in Muscat was a total s---show. Advertisement Advertisement Families with young children and others were reportedly left on a bus at the airport beside the plane. Some passengers became agitated, banged on windows or experienced panic attacks. A flight bringing German nationals home from Oman touches down in Frankfurt on Thursday morning - Hannes P Albert/DPA via AP They were sent back to their hotel because the pilot had clocked his hours so needed to rest. One would-be passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, described the situation as a total shambles. The Briton told Sky News: [The] check-in process took about four hours due to technical issues. We then got taken to the plane on a bus but had to stay on it for about one and a half hours. No consular staff were present airside. They just left us. Advertisement Advertisement The flight eventually took off on Thursday at 5.36pm local time from Muscat. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the flights as a huge undertaking. I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking, he said. Its one of the biggest operations of its kind, many times bigger than the evacuation from Afghanistan. Mr Starmer added: We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. Two more government charters are scheduled over the coming days, while officials are said to be assessing if more flights will be needed. British Airways said it will run a fourth daily flight from Muscat to London Heathrow, a route it does not usually serve, departing at 10.30pm on Saturday. A British family are reunited at Heathrow on Wednesday after a young couple flew back from Dubai - Ben Whitley/PA One passenger, who gave his name as Mark, told the BBC the planned route appeared to be from Muscat to London Stansted, with a refuelling stop in Cairo, Egypt. Advertisement Advertisement Foreign office minister Hamish Falconer thanked British Airways. Following close engagement with the Government, British Airways have laid on new flights to Muscat which we anticipate flying every day, he said. We are grateful to British Airways for their efforts. More than 2,000 people arrived in the UK on eight flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday, with more than 4,000 arriving from five countries in the region. Israel launched another wave of strikes on Iran overnight as the war in the Middle East continued into a sixth day. Around 138,000 British nationals have registered their presence across the region, with hundreds having returned home by commercial flights from various airports. Missiles launched from Iran toward Israel as a retaliatory attack - Anadolu Britons stranded in the region under attack from the Iranian regime have accused the Government of ignoring their plight. Advertisement Advertisement Some commercial flights to Britain have been operating out of Dubai for days, compounding the Governments initial failure to launch a chartered flight. Qatar Airways announced it would operate a limited number of relief flights to European cities on Thursday, but confirmed most flights would remain suspended because of the closure of Qatari airspace. It said services would depart Muscat, in Oman, for London Heathrow, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Another flight would depart from Riyadh, Saudi Arabias capital, to Frankfurt. A Foreign Office spokesman said: The UK Government charter flight was not able to depart from Oman yesterday as planned due to technical issues. Advertisement Advertisement Alex Norris, the Home Office minister, said: It didnt take off because there are operational reasons... about getting passengers on board, and it wasnt able to happen in the time that it had to happen. So thats now going to go today instead. We made sure we got [the passengers] hotel rooms for the night as well and we are facilitating and rebooking todays flight. The European Commission also said it was coordinating repatriation flights under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism as more member states requested help to evacuate citizens from the Middle East. Six flights have already returned Europeans to Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Slovakia, with more planned. Ten EU countries have activated the mechanism so far, additionally including Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Romania. Starmer moving too slowly The failure is another embarrassment for Sir Keir Starmer, who had already been accused of moving too slowly in response to the conflict. Advertisement Advertisement HMS Dragon, a 1bn warship, is sailing to the eastern Mediterranean after RAF Akrotiri, a British air base on Cyprus, was hit by a drone attack on Sunday. The Type 45 ship is intended to strengthen protection against drones and missiles launched by Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Sir Keir announced the deployment on Tuesday evening after Emmanuel Macron, the French president, ordered Frances nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its strike group to redeploy from the Baltic Sea. But it later emerged that the Royal Navys guided missile destroyer might not reach Cyprus for two weeks. HMS Dragon remained alongside in Portsmouth Harbour on Wednesday - Carlos Jasso/Reuters The Telegraph revealed the Portsmouth-based destroyer would remain berthed in port for several days and might not sail until next week. Advertisement Advertisement The journey will take around a week, meaning Akrotiri could be without the destroyers protective umbrella for close to a fortnight. On Wednesday, Sir Keir said that Britain would not become directly involved in the Middle Eastern conflict without a thought-through approach from the US and Israel. Donald Trump, the US president, criticised the Prime Minister as no Winston Churchill for refusing to join the attacks on Tehran and initially not allowing the US to use British bases. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. The first rescue flights bringing stranded travellers back to Israel landed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Thursday morning. Israeli airlines El Al and Israir said a campaign to bring residents of Israel home had begun. El Al said additional flights were planned in the coming days. After war in the Middle East erupted on Saturday, Israel immediately closed its airspace to civilian aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement The number of flights now allowed to land in Tel Aviv is still limited due to ongoing rocket attacks from Iran and Lebanon continue. Israir Airlines is offering its customers return flights from several European cities, including Rome, Berlin and Athens. Another option involves flights via the Egyptian border town of Taba, from where Israeli travellers are then transported by bus to Tel Aviv. According to media reports, about 100,000 Israelis were stranded abroad when the war began. When members of Congress announce their retirement, theres usually a simple and familiar process: Candidates from both parties launch campaigns to succeed the incumbent and prepare for primary races. Occasionally, however, members retire in a more sneaky and underhanded way that short-circuits that process. Take Tuesdays developments in Montana, for example. The Associated Press reported: Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates. [] Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, also a Republican, entered the race shortly before the states deadline for major party candidates. Theres no great mystery as to what happened here: By all appearances, an incumbent senator prepared to retire, he chose a successor, and he didnt want his choice to have to worry about a pesky primary process. They then appear to have executed a scheme in which the senator waited until literally minutes remained before the filing deadline, at which point he ended his re-election bid and allowed his handpicked choice to file the paperwork to succeed him. Advertisement Advertisement What if other Montana Republicans wanted to launch candidacies of their own? Well, too bad for them: Daines ploy didnt give them the time to throw their hats in the ring or give voters the opportunity to consider their prospective candidacies on the merits. Indeed, the scope of the scheme quickly came into focus. As the filing deadline came and went, Daines endorsed Alme, who also quickly picked up support from the entirety of the party establishment, including President Donald Trump, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and the states other Republican U.S. senator, Tim Sheehy. It was a cynical process, in other words, that effectively gutted the whole idea behind primary campaigns: GOP leaders picked their candidate and told GOP voters who it would be. When Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois took a similar step last fall, a great many congressional Republicans denounced the move. Months later, Republicans on Capitol Hill appear far more comfortable watching one of their own pull the same stunt. Advertisement Advertisement Seth Bodnar, the former president of the University of Montana, launched his long-anticipated independent Senate candidacy this week, and he wasted little time in denouncing the sitting senators ploy. Steve Daines has so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box, Bodnar said. Whether Montanans resent the way GOP officials pulled the strings remains to be seen, but given the prevailing political winds, the party is taking a risk in a state that has elected some Democrats to statewide offices in recent memory. Watch this space. The post Republican senator announces retirement as part of a cynical gambit appeared first on MS NOW. This article was originally published on ms.now TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis proclaimed on social media in early October that the federal government had awarded the state $608 million to help recoup the cost of building Alligator Alcatraz. We were right; media was wrong, he wrote, targeting earlier media reports that questioned whether the federal government would pony up. Within a week, though, that money was put on hold as federal officials sought more information from state officials about their expenditures. By then Florida had already spent about $400 million. Advertisement Advertisement Now, five months later, Florida has received about $90 million from the federal government, but most of the grant money it wanted is sitting in limbo and may never be disbursed a possibility lawyers for the state and federal governments stated in court filings last week. The DeSantis administration initially committed nearly $1.5 billion in state taxpayer dollars to house immigrants for deportation, confident the tab would be paid back by the federal government, new court records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel show. State officials even began building the tent city on a little-used jetport run by Miami-Dade County before they asked permission to use the property and before they applied for the federal reimbursement grants, those records show. But they soon scaled back their ask because the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it exceeded the amount available, the court records show. Florida dropped its request to about $1 billion, and then again to the $608 million DeSantis announced on social media, after FEMA nixed the inclusion of construction costs. Advertisement Advertisement The records, which include emails between FEMA and Florida counterparts, document ongoing negotiations over what of Alligator Alcatrazs expenditures would be covered under the federal governments detention center reimbursement grant program. These files illustrate a staggering waste of taxpayer dollars funds meant to protect Floridians in times of natural disaster diverted instead to construct an ICE detention center in the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve that continues to inflict grave harm on the Everglades, said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. The files, including thousands of pages of emails and documents, were released over the weekend under a court order as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biodiversity and the Miccosukee Tribe against Florida for the construction of the detention center. The lawsuit, filed in June in a Tallahassee circuit court, claims the detention center was built without an environmental impact statement, public input or permits required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The groups that sued also said the facility was not authorized to be a mass detention center. Advertisement Advertisement The newly released records detail the states attempts since June to obtain a federal grant to cover most of the projects costs. Lawyers for the state argued in court that the facility is run by the state and therefore exempt from those federal environmental review requirements, though it was built to aid President Trumps anti-immigration policies and is used to expedite federal deportation proceedings. Last week, as part of the case, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement in court that Florida would only be reimbursed for day-to-day operations per detainee and not construction or facility modification. That is the same message FEMA officials gave state officials months ago when they filed their grant paperwork. As it likely will be structured, there will be no potential federal funding of the facilitys design, siting, maintenance, or construction, and no federal approval authority over whether the facility is built at all, said Adam Gustafsom, a deputy assistant attorney general with the DOJs environmental and natural resources division. Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a statement admitting that Florida had accepted the risk that it might not get reimbursed at all. A federal judge in August ordered the state to shut down Alligator Alcatraz, but an appeals court lifted the order to allow the state to operate the detention center while the environmental case is pending. State lawyers also said Alligator Alcatrazs environmental impact was minimal since it was built on a pre-existing jetport run by Miami-Dade County on property owned by and located in Collier County. But federal officials said that an environmental impact study was required and was among the reasons they have withheld funding, starting back in August. Advertisement Advertisement The ongoing legal battle was an early concern for FEMA officials. They sent an email to state emergency management officials in September saying they were awaiting word from the Department of Homeland Securitys general counsel on the environmental litigation matter. A month later FEMA issued Florida an award, but within days of DeSantis announcing the $608 million grant, the money was frozen over legal and budget concerns, and federal and state officials were once again at loggerheads over the documentation of expenses and daily operating costs per detainee, the records show. The 158,000-square foot detention center designed to hold up to 3,000 people was built in less than a week in June with little oversight or competitive bidding under an emergency order thats been renewed 20 times to use state resources to combat immigration. It allows Gov. Ron DeSantis to suspend state laws, building codes and the public, competitive bidding process to award millions of dollars from an account he alone controls. Alligator Alcatrazs population of 1,350 as of Feb. 5 was down from its peak of 1,468 on July 29. Its all-time low was 98 on Sept. 4 after the federal court judge ordered the facility to be shut down. Advertisement Advertisement State emergency management officials calculated it cost the state nearly $3,400 a day per inmate to house an average 771 detainees during the first 110 days of operation or $2.6 million a day. That number includes the one-time construction costs as well as daily operational costs. Thats an astronomical rate compared to the daily rate of $187 per detainee reported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as of mid-2025. Florida officials used their daily rate to project the annual cost of running the detention center and, combined with the one-time costs to set up the facility, came up with a total of $1.492 billion. That was the amount the state initially requested from the FEMA-administered Detention Support Grant Program. But problems arose when FEMA officials told them they couldnt include construction costs in the daily rate and had to come up with a new rate based just on the day-to-day costs of keeping detainees locked up. Advertisement Advertisement Federal officials in July said they wanted more detailed information so they could decide whether Floridas costs were reasonable and allowable under federal law. Florida officials had said they wanted to submit expenses without providing a per-bed cost. The states application included some line items, among them $388 million for clothing and bedding for up to 4,000 detainees, $89 million for food services and $92 million for portable toilets and waste removal. When can we expect to receive the additional details? said Betsy Hernandez, Branch Chief for FEMAs national grants program. Additional details are needed to ensure costs are reasonable, allowable and allocable. Those details were long in coming, and the state didnt satisfy federal scrutiny until late November when it amended request was finally approved, and Florida was greenlit to receive $89.67 million. Advertisement Advertisement The months of back and forth over budgets and allowable expenses seems part of Floridas strategy to get the tent facility constructed quickly and without providing details that would be too carefully scrutinized, said Paul Schwiep, an attorney for Friends of the Everglades. It was an intentional act of gamesmanship to sidestep compliance with federal environmental law, he said. Until the mandated review is completed, operation of the facility should cease. ------------- Elon Musk has told a jury in California that stock market investors read too much into his social media posts. The multi-billionaire was defending himself against claims from investors, who have accused him of trying to manipulate markets with a series of misleading messages in the run-up to his 2022 purchase of Twitter, now called X. Musk said on Wednesday that posts he wrote after he had struck a deal to buy the platform were "extremely literal" and not intended to try to reduce the price he would have to pay. "I was simply speaking my mind," he said when asked whether he had considered the impact of his posts, including one in which he declared his takeover plans had been put on hold. "People tend to read too much into things that I do," the technology tycoon said. At other points in the trial, Musk said repeatedly that his tweets represented what was in his head at any given time. "What I think privately is what I say publicly, there's no difference." The dispute marks the first lawsuit over Musk's 2022 Twitter purchase to make it to trial, but his social media habit has landed him in legal trouble before. In earlier fights, he has successfully beaten back claims that he misled Tesla investors and committed defamation via his social media posts. The trial, which started on Monday in San Francisco, is expected to last three weeks. [Getty Images] Investors are seeking unspecified monetary damages from Musk, which they say they are owed given they acted on his allegedly misleading statements, including when he claimed he was "terminating" the deal in July. "If this was a trial on whether I've made stupid tweets, I'd say I'm guilty," Musk said at one point. When Musk was asked if he at one point told Twitter's board he would "hunt them down for the rest of time", he did not deny doing so. "I was pretty upset with the Twitter board because I thought they had engaged in fraud," Musk said. Brian Belgrave, who is leading the class of individual investors suing Musk, told the court on Monday that he sold thousands of Twitter shares in July 2022, believing that Musk was no longer going to buy the platform because of his public posts and comments. Belgrave's sale price was less than what he'd purchased the shares for a few months earlier, and significantly less than the $54.20 (39) per share Musk eventually paid, after the company sued him to make him follow through on his original $44bn takeover deal. "I got screwed," Belgrave said. "I got cheated." The number of people on Florida's death row is dropping quickly as Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps up the rapid pace of executions he started in 2025. There are currently 250 people on the roster, including Billy Kearse, who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, March 2 and Cape Coral killer Wade Wilson, who is appealing his sentencing for the brutal 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Behind the scenes: Inside 'Handsome Devil: Charming Killer' Wade Wilson's life on death row Advertisement Advertisement Only one of them is a biological woman. Another is a trans woman, but Florida includes that individual in the list of men. In 2024, a federal district court judge allowed the state to enforce a new policy of withholding gender-affirming medical care to those diagnosed with gender dysphoria and requiring transgender women to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment instead to "ameliorate the symptoms." There are presently 47 women on death row in the United States, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org, including transgender women. California has the most, with 18. Here's what to know. Tina Brown only biological woman on Florida's death row Tina Brown is the only woman currently on Florida's death row. She was sentenced to death for the brutal 2010 murder of Audreanna Zimmerman. Tina Lasonya Brown, 55, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to death after she and two other people ambushed 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman, attacked her repeatedly with a stun gun, gagged her, stuffed her in the trunk of a car, drove her into the woods, beat her with a crowbar, doused her with gasoline, set her on fire and left her to die. Advertisement Advertisement Brown lived in the same mobile home park in Pensacola as Zimmerman, according to court records. They were initially friends, but tensions rose among Zimmerman, Brown and Brown's 16-year-old daughter, Britnee Angelique Miller. "Brown had previously accused Zimmerman of slashing her tires. Zimmerman had accused Brown of shattering a window in her car, having her boyfriend arrested, and reporting to the Florida Department of Children and Families that she was providing inadequate care to her children," a Florida Supreme Court opinion stated. In 2010, Miller tried to hit Zimmerman after discovering the other woman was sexually involved with her boyfriend. Zimmerman used a stun gun on her in defense, court records show. A few days later, on March 24, Brown invited Zimmerman to come over to make things up. Instead, she and Miller and their neighbor Heather Lee repeatedly used a stun gun on Zimmerman and stuffed a sock in her mouth to stifle her screams. The women and teen took Zimmerman to a wooded area, continued beating and stunning her, and then doused her in gasoline and set her on fire while she was still conscious, court records show. Advertisement Advertisement Zimmerman survived long enough to get to help and tell paramedics who attacked her. She died a little over two weeks later with severe head trauma, what appeared to be a broken or dislocated jaw, and over 90% of her body burned. Brown, Miller and Lee were all arrested and charged with Zimmerman's murder. Brown was the only one sentenced to death. Miller, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the murder. Lee was sentenced to 25 years in prison after making a plea agreement with the state and has a scheduled release date of Aug. 23, 2031. Who is Jenna Rodgers? One of the people the state lists as a man is Jenna Rodgers, a trans woman who transitioned after she was sentenced to death for killing Julie Robinson in Santa Rosa County in 1998, cutting off and saving the victim's calf muscle. In 2018, Rodgers filed appeals claiming the mental health effects of undiagnosed gender dysphoria led to a series of major decisions in her trial. "Jeremiah Rodgers did not want to live. Jenna Rodgers does," Rodgers' attorneys argued. Advertisement Advertisement The Florida Supreme Court denied the appeal, as did the U.S. Supreme Court. How many women has Florida executed? Florida has sentenced 17 women to death, according to state records and court records, but only two were ever executed: Judias Goodyear Buenoano , a.k.a. the "Black Widow," was executed on March 30, 1998, and became the first woman to die in the electric chair in Florida. She was convicted in Orange County of killing her husband by poisoning him with arsenic in 1971. She was also convicted (and sentenced to life) for the 1980 drowning murder of her paralyzed son in Santa Rosa County. Aileen Wuornos: Considered America's first female serial killer, Wuornos was executed on Oct. 9, 2002. She was sentenced to death in Volusia County for the murders of six of the seven men she was implicated in killing. Wuornos, who had a previous criminal record in Florida, was working as a sex worker at the time and claimed that all of the slain men who picked her up either raped her or started to. Evidence that her first victim, Clearwater businessman Richard Charles Mallory, 51, had been previously convicted for attempted rape and had been treated at a correctional institution for sex offenders for eight years was ruled inadmissable in her trial. How many women have been sentenced to death row in Florida? Seventeen women have received the death penalty in Florida, according to state records, media reports and court records. Advertisement Advertisement Of those, two have been executed, 12 were resentenced or commuted, one died in prison, one was released from a mental institution to her family, and one remains on death row. The history of women on Florida's death row Bertha Hall: Sentenced in Duval County in 1926 with Gordon Denmark for killing Hall's grocer husband. Their death sentences were commuted in 1929, and she was released in late 1934 or early 1935. Billie Jackson: Sentenced in Duval County in 1927 for the stabbing death of her husband, a musician. Her sentence was commuted seven months later by Gov. John W. Martin, and she was released in 1935-36. Ruby McCollum: Sentenced in Suwannee County in 1954 for shooting a doctor in Live Oak in 1952. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the sentence two years later, and she was sent to the state mental hospital in Chattahoochee before re-trial. McCollum stayed there for 20 years before she was released to her family in 1974. Irene Laverne Jackson: Sentenced in Pasco County in 1962 for murdering her husband for his insurance money. A new trial was ordered in 1964, and she was convicted and sentenced to life for second-degree murder. She was paroled in 1972. Maria Dean Arrington: Initially sentenced in Volusia County in 1968 to 20 years for manslaughter in the death of her husband, she was later convicted and sentenced to death for killing the secretary of a public defender while she was out on appeal bond. The public defender had unsuccessfully defended two of her children on felony charges. She cut through a heavy window screen at Florida Correctional Institute and remained at large for two years, becoming the second woman ever to be named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, before being recaptured. Her death sentence was commuted to life in 1972 when the Supreme Court determined capital punishment was unconstitutional. She is in prison at Lowell Correctional Institution. Sonia Jacobs: Sentenced in 1976 for her part in the shooting deaths of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and his friend, a Canadian constable on vacation. After the Supreme Court overturned her sentence, she was resentenced to life with a 25-year minimum mandatory term. In October 1992, her case was reversed on appeal. She pleaded to second-degree murder, time served, and was released. Kaysie B. Dudley: Sentenced to death in Pinellas County in 1987 for the murder of her mother's employer, a wealthy Redington Beach widow, in September 1985. She was resentenced to life with 25 years minimum mandatory in 1989 Carla A. Caillier: Sentenced in Hillsborough County in 1987 for the murder of her husband in Tampa the year before. She was re-sentenced to life with a minimum mandatory 25 years in 1988. Dee D. Casteel: Sentenced in Dade County in 1987 for the 1983 murder of an 84-year-old woman who had asked around about her missing son, someone Casteel and a fellow employee had ordered killed a month before. Casteel paid two mechanics to kill the woman. Her death sentence was vacated in 1990, and she was resentenced to life in 1991. She died at Broward Correctional Institution on October 7, 2002. Deidre Hunt: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1990 for the 1989 shooting murders of two men she involved in a murder-for-hire scheme. She was videotaped shooting one of the men by her co-defendant, Kosta Fotopoulos, her former boss and lover. She pleaded guilty. She was resentenced to life in 1998 and remains at Homestead Correctional Institution. Andrea Hicks Jackson: Sentenced in Duval County in 1984 for the murder of a Jacksonville police officer. She shot the officer five times when he tried to arrest her in 1983 for filing a false report about a vandalized car. She was the first woman in Florida to have her death warrant signed. Her warrant was stayed in 1989 by the Florida Supreme Court, and she was resentenced to life. She is at Lowell Correctional Institution. Judias Goodyear Buenoano: Sentenced in Orange County in 1985 for the 191 death of her husband by poisoning him with arsenic. Goodyear was also convicted (and sentenced to life) for the May 13, 1980 drowning murder of her paralyzed son in Santa Rosa County. She was executed on March 30, 1998. Aileen Wuornos: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1992 for the 1989 shooting murder of a Clearwater businessman. She has been implicated in the deaths of several other men. She was executed on October 9, 2002. Margaret Allen : Allen was found guilty of torturing and murdering her former housekeeper in 2005 by beating her and pouring bleach and other household chemicals down her throat after a dispute over stolen money, Florida Today reported. She died in custody in 2024. Tiffany Ann Cole : Cole and accomplices were convicted of kidnapping a Jacksonville couple, binding them with duct tape, and burying them alive over the border in South Georgia. Her original 2007 death sentence was thrown out in 2017 and she was resentenced to life in prison in 2023, according to First Coast News. Virginia Larzelere: Sentenced from Volusia County in 1993 for masterminding the killing of her husband, an Edgewater dentist. She was resentenced to life in 2008. Tina Brown: Sentenced in Escambia County in 2013 for the brutal death of Audreanna Zimmerman. Brown beat her victim with a stun gun, hit her with a crow bar, and set her on fire. The victim died two weeks later from her injuries. Still on death row. C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: How many women are on Florida's death row? SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Lawmakers are looking to strengthen water systems in rural areas. Louisiana bill aims to prevent 4-day school week adoption U.S. Senators John Boozman (R) of Arkansas and Mark Kelly (D) of Arizona have introduced the Futureproofing Local Operations for Water Systems (FLOWS) Act of 2026. The legislation would launch a grant program to help rural utilities improve reliability and modernize their cybersecurity. Advertisement Advertisement The legislation said rural water and wastewater systems are struggling with aging infrastructure, limited staff, and rising operational costs. Many of these systems serve fewer than 3,300 people and are under-resourced. These limitations drive higher costs for rural residents, reduce system reliability, and leave communities more vulnerable to cyber threats. The FLOWS Act would establish a competitive EPA grant program to help. The legislation authorizes $50 million annually for these improvements, targeted to the smallest and most economically challenged rural communities. Local water providers in the Natural State and across the country work hard every day to deliver reliable water services despite growing infrastructure demands and tight budgets, Boozman said. The FLOWS Act can offer targeted support to help modernize drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems with advanced technologies that improve efficiency, reliability, and their capacity to safeguard against cyber vulnerabilities long-term. Every family deserves safe drinking water, Kelly said. That requires up-to-date, reliable water infrastructure. Right now, rural communities are dealing with aging systems, tight budgets, and growing cyber threats. Advertisement Advertisement The measure has garnered support from the National Rural Water Association, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), Bentley, Autodesk, Grundfos, Xylem, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Arkansas Rural Water Association, and Business Software Alliance. Text of the legislation is available here. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Forensic experts have identified human remains found nearly four decades ago in Bristol, New Hampshire. The remains were identified as Warren Kuchinsky, who was born in 1952 and was last known to be alive in the mid-1970s, Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. His identity was confirmed through DNA testing of a surviving family member. There is no evidence of foul play associated with Kuchinskys death, Formella said. Advertisement Advertisement This identification reflects the power of partnership and scientific advancement, Formella said. The dedication of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the investigative support of the New Hampshire State Police, and the extraordinary work of the DNA Doe Project have restored a name to an individual who had been unidentified for nearly 40 years. We are grateful for their professionalism and commitment. In 1986, a human skull was located in a wooded area of Bristol. Despite an investigation at the time, the persons identity remained unknown, Formella said. In 2025, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, assisted by the New Hampshire State Police and the University of New Hampshire Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery Lab, partnered with the DNA Doe Project to apply advanced forensic genetic genealogy techniques to the case. The findings came about after law enforcement collaborated with the DNA Doe Project and the University of New Hampshire Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery Lab, Formella said. Advertisement Advertisement We are honored to have partnered with the State of New Hampshire on this case, DNA Doe Project Team Leader Lisa Ivany said in a statement. Through the power of investigative genetic genealogy and the dedication of our volunteer genealogists, we were able to develop a critical lead in less than 24 hours. We truly hope that this identification brings long-awaited answers to Mr. Kuchinskys family. The DNA Doe Project is a nonprofit organization that uses investigative genetic genealogy to help identify unidentified human remains. Working in partnership with law enforcement, medical examiners, and volunteer genealogists, the organization analyzes DNA profiles and builds family trees using publicly available genetic databases and historical records. Since its founding, Formella said the DNA Doe Project has helped resolve numerous cold cases across the country by restoring names to individuals who had previously gone unidentified. Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Joaquin Garcia spent 24 years undercover with the FBI, infiltrating dangerous criminal groups. He investigated the Italian Mafia, Latin American cartels, and Russian and Asian crime groups. Here's why he says he fears the cartel more than the mob or any other group he infiltrated. Joaquin Garcia spent 24 of his 26 years with the FBI working undercover. "I've done over a hundred undercover investigations," he told Business Insider. His investigations spanned the Italian Mafia, Mexican and Colombian cartels, Russian and Asian organized crime groups, police corruption rings, jury bribery schemes, murder-for-hire setups, and large-scale narcotics operations. Advertisement Advertisement Of all the criminal organizations he infiltrated, Garcia fears one above the rest. "Mexican cartels are just simply brutal," he said. See Garcia's interview with Business Insider in the video below and keep reading to learn why he fears the cartel most. Working undercover for the mafia vs. the cartel From 2002 to 2005, Garcia embedded himself inside the Gambino crime family as "Jack Falcone." New York's five Italian Mafia families the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno follow a strict chain of command: boss, underboss, consigliere, captains, soldiers, associates, Garcia explained. Garcia became the driver and close confidant of Gambino captain Greg DePalma. The role required complete cultural immersion. Garcia created a Sicilian backstory and went through an informal "mob school," learning how to pronounce Italian food correctly and practicing in Little Italy. He even went to a cemetery and identified a deceased Mr. and Mrs. Falcone to use as his "parents" if anyone asked to visit their graves. Advertisement Advertisement His work with the cartel was different. Garcia and mob associates. Courtesy of Joaquin Garcia His cartel investigations focused on narcotics trafficking and large-scale drug transactions, where he often posed as an importer or trafficker, he said. His credibility was more about what he could do than about his heritage. What mattered more was: Could he move kilos of drugs? Could he move money? Those transactions could sometimes shift quickly. In one deal, Garcia said nine additional men showed up unexpectedly during a cocaine setup. He stepped inside a nearby diner and phoned the FBI, which was stationed nearby and ultimately shut the operation down and made arrests. Why he fears the cartel most A young Joaquin Garcia. Courtesy of Joaquin Garcia With the mafia, there was total accountability, Garcia said. They needed to know where he was at all times. If he missed a call, for example, they wanted to know why. Advertisement Advertisement "You had to make sure your i's were dotted, and your t's were crossed because one slight move, then you're in the back of a trunk of a car," he said. While there was no shortage of violence within the mafia, it did not compare to what he witnessed from the Mexican cartel, Garcia added. He saw cartels cut people's heads off and put them on a spike. Hang people from bridges. "They'll come after your whole family," he said. The cartels' core business is cocaine and heroin trafficking via international distribution networks that generate revenue far beyond traditional mafia rackets. "The mob doesn't even come close to any of that kind of money," Garcia said. Advertisement Advertisement "You should be more afraid of drug traffickers," Garcia said, adding that when he was still with the FBI, "I had to worry about the cartels more than I do with the mob." Life after the FBI Joaquin Garcia on the left. Courtesy of Joaquin Garcia Garcia had planned to stay with the FBI for 30 years, but after 26 years, he said it was enough. Agents who remain for 30 years receive a small gold ring, and he didn't see a reason to stay longer just for that milestone. He retired in 2006. Moreover, his daughter was 6 years old at the time, and he wanted to be present in her life. He describes driving her around everywhere and enjoying being home something he couldn't fully do while living undercover. "It felt good to just be around family," he said. Advertisement Advertisement After leaving the Bureau, he briefly returned as a contractor to work on a Boston police corruption case but declined to continue undercover assignments, saying it was time for younger agents to take over. He later co-wrote a memoir, "Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family," which became a New York Times bestseller. In 2024, he received the FBI Agents Association Distinguished Service Award. Even in retirement, he said, he carries a firearm for protection. Read the original article on Business Insider A former postal worker in Smithville has been arrested after she allegedly helped siphon about $1.6 million in checks through an identity theft and forgery operation that targeted local businesses over several years, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office. Dominique Tamez was arrested Feb. 25 on a charge of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information involving five to 10 items, a third-degree felony, officials said. She has since been released on bond. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 1, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement In the summer of 2023, multiple business owners began reporting a similar problem: The checks they were mailing never reached the people they were meant for. Investigators allege those payments were instead taken out of the mail stream, changed and then cashed remotely using mobile deposits tied to accounts in the Houston area. Front entrance to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office in Bastrop. (File photo) The investigation ultimately focused on activity linked to the Smithville Post Office, according to the sheriffs office, which worked the case alongside the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Investigators eventually labeled Tamez a key participant in the thefts. When they later questioned Tamez, investigators said she made statements implicating herself in the scheme. A Bastrop County grand jury indicted Tamez on Dec. 2, 2025. A former meteorologist who served the West Michigan community for years announced her candidacy for Congress Thursday. Terri DeBoer, who has been a broadcast meteorologist for various TV stations in the community for more than three decades, says she's running for Michigan's 3rd Congressional District. DeBoer is running as a Republican, according to online campaign finance records. She lists healthcare access, affordability, education, job creation and fiscal responsibility as some of her top issues. Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Fox News Digital, DeBoer called herself an outsider to politics, but said her experience helping the community through severe weather would translate to Capitol Hill. Michigan's 3rd Congressional District covers Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon Counties, and voters will select candidates in Michigan's primary election on Aug. 4, 2026. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-3rd District) has held her position since Jan. 3, 2023. Her current term ends in January 2027. The situation in Iran is bringing back memories of one of WHIO Radios historic moments. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the station played a key role in the early days of the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Rick Bernard is a former WHIO Radio Anchor and Assistant News Director. He reported on some of the legendary names from WHIOs storied past. I worked with, in the newsroom, Don Wayne, Jim Baldrige, Cheryl McHenry. In radio, Winston Hoehner was the news director, Bernard said. Yes, Lou Emm. Bernard was WHIOs Assistant News Director in 1979 when the Iranian Hostage Crisis started. After we saw that the hostages had been taken, that the embassy had been taken by the terrorists, we had hired a new reporter by the name of Bill Royster, Bernard said. Royster called the US Embassy in Iran, and one of the terrorists who had taken American diplomats and citizens hostage answered. Advertisement Advertisement Bill was recording all of these conversations, playing them back for Winston and the radio and TV news folks. And then, of course, pretty quickly, Winston notified the State Department, Bernard said. At that point, Bernard said the State Department had not yet made contact with the embassy. It was just WHIO radio in Dayton, Ohio. So we had two or three folks from the State Department that were in our newsroom for about three days, he said. Royster kept the lines open as agents from the State Department took over the production room at WHIO to handle negotiations during the early days of the standoff. Advertisement Advertisement Never anchored to the desk, Channel 7s Don Wayne flew to West Germany in 1981 and waited on a cold tarmac for 52 hostages to arrive from Iran after 444 days in captivity. Among them was Daytonian Steve Lauterbach. This weeks conflict in Iran has Bernard recalling the start of the hostage crisis there in a professional moment hell never forget. What an experience. We actually opened a door. Bill opened a door to start talking with the State Department, Bernard said. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] By Emma Farge and Christy Santhosh GENEVA, March 5 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization chief said on Thursday that it has verified 13 attacks on health infrastructure in Iran amid a U.S.-Israeli campaign and it was checking reports that four healthcare workers were killed and 25 others injured. "An estimated 100,000 people have left Iran and in Lebanon, more than 60,000 people have been displaced," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference, without attributing blame. Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Hanan Balkhy added at the same briefing that four ambulances in Iran were also affected and that hospitals and other health sites suffered minor damage due to strikes nearby, citing Iranian authorities. One of these hospitals in the capital Tehran was evacuated as a result, the U.N. health agency previously said. "As of now, for Iran we have verified 13 attacks on health care, resulting in 3 deaths and no injuries. For Lebanon, we have now verified three attacks resulting in three deaths and six injuries," a WHO spokesperson told Reuters. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva in a letter to Tedros earlier this week has alleged that 10 facilities have been hit by military strikes. Balkhy said that the WHO logistics hub in Dubai, which provides health supplies to dozens of countries, is temporarily out of service because of transport restrictions in the region. Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also said on Thursday that three of its workers had been injured in military attacks since February 28 in Iran. (Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Emma Farge; Editing by Maju Samuel) U.S. media outlet Fox News aired footage of a Ukrainian interceptor drone destroying a Shahed-type drone launched by Russia, but presented the video as showing American drones countering Iranian drones in the Middle East, Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets said. The clip features the Ukrainian STING interceptor drone, developed by Wild Hornets engineers and used by Ukrainian air defense units to destroy kamikaze drones such as Shahed, Geran, and Lancet, as well as reconnaissance drones. "We appreciate that international media outlets such as Fox News are highlighting the effective work of interceptor drones, Wild Hornets said in a post on X directed at Fox. Advertisement Advertisement This segment shows footage of STING, a Ukrainian interceptor drone developed by Wild Hornets engineers and used by Ukrainian air defense units to destroy Shahed drones. The footage shared by Fox includes a visible Wild Hornets watermark. During the segment, Fox News commentator Brett Velicovich claimed the video demonstrated how "American artificial intelligence and high-tech arsenal have completely destroyed the Iranian war machine and weapons development." Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the U.S. had requested Ukraines assistance in protecting against Iranian Shahed attack drones in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's offer comes as Middle Eastern countries report large-scale attacks involving Shahed-type attack drones the same systems Russia has used extensively against Ukraine since 2022. Zelensky said he had instructed officials to provide the necessary support and ensure Ukrainian specialists are available to help strengthen air defense against such threats. Read also: More Patriot missiles used in Middle East in 3 days than in Ukraine since 2022, Zelensky says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A majority of American voters believe that President Trumps relationship with Iran has made the U.S. less safe, according to a new poll. In the Fox News poll, 51 percent of respondents said the presidents relationship with Iran has increased risk for the U.S. Twenty-nine percent in the poll said Trumps relationship with Iran has increased security for the U.S., while 19 percent said his relationship has resulted in no difference. One percent said they were unsure about the effect of Trumps relationship with Iran on American safety. Trump has dismissed polls featuring low approval from Americans when it comes to the U.S. military operation in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement I think that the polling is very good, but I dont care about polling. I have to do the right thing. I have to do the right thing. This should have been done a long time ago, Trump said in a New York Post interview published Monday. I dont think the polling is low, the president added. Look, whether polling is low or not, I think the polling is probably fine. But its not a question of polling. You cannot let Iran, whos a nation that has been run by crazy people, have a nuclear weapon. When asked in the Fox News poll if they believe Iran poses a real national security threat to the United States, 61 percent of those polled answered in the affirmative, while 38 percent did not think the country posed a threat. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the top U.S. general previewed a major bombing campaign against Iran in the wake of American and Israeli forces securing greater control of Iranian airspace. Advertisement Advertisement More and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started. We are accelerating, not decelerating. Irans capabilities are evaporating by the hour, while American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant, Hegseth said. The Fox News poll took place from Feb. 28 to March 2, featuring 1,004 registered voters and a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Uala, a digital banking platform operating in Argentina, has secured $195m in an equity funding round led by Allianz X, the investment division of Allianz Group. The funding round included participation from Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Tencent, TABLE Holdings, L.P., Soros Fund Management, and D1 Capital Partners. This new investment places Ualas post-money valuation at $3.2bn. The company will use the funds to support its growth across Latin America. Uala holds full banking licences in each of its markets and reports a customer base exceeding 11 million. The company offers a digital platform with services such as debit and credit cards, lending, investments, insurance, and merchant acquiring. The latest funding also builds on an existing partnership between Uala and Allianz. The two companies have already launched digital life and personal accident insurance products in Argentina, generating over 300,000 quotes shortly after introduction. In Argentina, Uala states that nearly one in five adults use the platform. In Mexico, customer activity has reportedly increased by 7% each month since receiving a banking licence. Uala CEO and founder Pierpaolo Barbieri said: "We are building the most comprehensive and innovative banking platform in the region, and we are grateful for the continued trust of our investors. We are proud to deepen our partnership with Allianz X as well as existing and new investors. Ualas Series E round was completed in 2024 with a total of $366m raised. Company figures indicate that more than 9.2 million loans have been issued via the platform and over 3 million clients have used Uala for investment purposes since launch. "Neobank Uala raises $195m at $3.2bn valuation" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. Fox News reported on Wednesday that thousands of Iranian Kurds based in Iraq have launched a ground offensive into Iran following reports that the Trump administration was coordinating with Kurdish militias in the region to try to help destabilize the Iranian regime. Fox News Alert: big breaking news in the last 30 minutes. U.S. officials are telling Fox that thousands of Iraqi Kurds have launched a ground offensive into Iran. Bill Roggio is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bill, what do you make of this news with the Iraqi Kurds? began host Will Cain. Well, its very soon, but this appears to be an Iranian Kurdish group known as the PJAK. This group is actually listed by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organizationalso listed by Iran and Turkey. Its akin to the PKK, or the Kurdistan Workers Party, which operates in Iraq and Syria. We have to be very cautious about dealing with groups like this, Roggio replied, adding: There have been a lot of problems. I know theres been a lot of talk about arming the Kurds. Many of these Kurdish separatist groups that are in Iran already are armed. Look, if were going to work with them, I would just highly suggest the Trump administration remove that terrorist designation. Its a really bad look. We did this in Syria with the PKK. Its really bad for the United States. It really hurts our sanctions regime when were trying to say these groups are terrorists, but were going to support them. Cain followed up, And it raises questions about the long-term expectations of groups like this that enter the fight. But on the short-term note, Bill, what kind of effect can they have on the IRGC or whatever decentralized retaliation there is right now from Iran? Advertisement Advertisement No. It certainly will hurt the Iranian government. I mean, the problem here is the Iranian regime is horrible. We want them to lose. I just personally have problems with getting in bed with groups like the PDK or the PJAK, Roggio replied, adding: But itll hurt them. They can have limited effect. These are regional-based groups along the border. But anything that can hurt the Iranian regime is beneficial to the Iranian people. But we have to keep in mind, too, with a group like this: Turkey does not like these Kurdish separatist groups. And we dont want to give the Turks a reason to mess around and sabotage any of our efforts inside of Iran. Later on in the day, Fox Newss Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin added, A senior U.S. official tells Fox that thousands of Kurds have crossed from Iraq into Iran to launch a ground offensive. Their goal is to give the Iranian people the confidence to rise up. These are Kurdish-Iranian militias entering from Iraq. According to U.S. Central Command, in its first 24 hours, the U.S. military operation was twice the scale of Shock and Awe at the start of the Iraq War. Griffin later concluded, Today at the White House, Karoline Levitt was asked about the administration arming the Kurds to inspire a popular uprising in Iran. Her response, quote: Any report suggesting the president has agreed to any such plan is completely false and should not be written. Kurdish leaders in Iraq have denied that any Iraqi Kurds have crossed the border. Griffin later provided a clarification to her earlier report. Advertisement Advertisement I am told these are Iranian Kurds who fled in the past and have been living in Iraq. They are returning with the hopes of starting an uprising so that the people of Iran feel comfortable rising up against the remnants of the regime. US official confirms to Fox News that thousands of Kurds have launched a ground offensive in Iran. They are crossing in from Iraq. There are conflicting reports tonight. Will update when we know more. Clarification: I am told these are Iranian Kurds who fled in the past and have been living in Iraq. They are returning with the hopes of starting an uprising so that the people of Iran feel comfortable rising up against the remnants of the regime. US official confirms to Fox News https://t.co/aEEWLOEybv Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) March 4, 2026 Watch above via Fox News. The post Fox News Reports Thousands of Iranian Kurds Based in Iraq Have Launched a Ground Offensive Into Iran first appeared on Mediaite. DOUGLAS, Ga. (WSAV) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has made an arrest in the 16-year-old cold case death of a Douglas, Ga., woman. Willie James, Jr., 58, of Wayne County was arrested and charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in connection to the death of Sandra Robinson almost 16 years ago. Willie James, Jr., 58 Robinson was stabbed and killed March 17, 2010, while she was working at the Prepaid Superstore in Douglas. James was an associate of Robinson. Advertisement Advertisement The GBI Regional Investigative Office was requested by the Douglas Police Department to assist with the case. As a result of continued testing, James was linked to the crime through forensic evidence. On March 2, 2026, James was taken into custody and booked into the Coffee County Jail. The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas at 912-389-4103. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. LAGRANGE, Ga. (WRBL) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has confirmed that the LaGrange Police Department (LDP) has been asked to investigate City Council member, Marquavious Quay Boddie, following allegations of inappropriate behavior with a LaGrange College student. Police Chief Garrett Fiveash says LPD forwarded the complaint on the prior LaGrange College staff member to the GBI as a standard department practice. No further details have been shared by the LPD regarding this investigation or the complaints made against Boddie. RELATED: Troup County Sheriffs Office investigates report of shots being fired into home near Sandtown Road According to officials, Boddie has since resigned from his position as Career Services Coordinator at LaGrange College due to the allegations. A LaGrange College staff member has confirmed Boddies last day was on Feb. 13, 2026. Advertisement Advertisement However, Boddie appears to be continuing his duties with City Council since he was present at the council work session and meeting on Feb. 24, 2026. Authorities say Boddie and Mayor Jim Arrington have declined to comment on the allegations. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. A LaGrange councilman is under investigation over allegations involving a student. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into claims that Marquavious Boddie had inappropriate contact with a student at LaGrange College. Boddie is accused of public indecency against the student. College officials confirmed Boddie previously worked at the school as a career services coordinator. TRENDING STORIES: Boddie has resigned, as his last day at the college was Feb. 13. He was appointed to the city council in 2023. The city of LaGrange declined to comment. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Pittsburgh police have charged a Georgia man in the death of his brother-in-law. He allegedly told investigators that he put the body in a duffel bag so no one could see him dead. Channel 2s sister station WPXI obtained a copy of the criminal compliant filed against Steven Thomas, of Statesboro, Georgia, in the death of Vaughan Leroy. Pittsburgh police found Leroys body underneath a tractor-trailer behind a Shop n Save grocery store on Monday. The medical examiner ruled Leroy died from blunt force trauma to his head. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Investigators went to Leroys house and found Thomas, who said he hadnt seen his brother-in-law since Friday. Police took Thomas to headquarters for additional questioning. Advertisement Advertisement The criminal complaint states Thomas admitted there was an argument between him and Leroy Friday afternoon. Thomas said he pushed his brother-in-law, who hit a wall and fell to the ground. TRENDING STORIES: Thomas told officers that Leroy wasnt breathing and bleeding from his head, according to the criminal complaint. He told investigators he got scared and put the victims body in a duffel bag so no one could see him dead. Advertisement Advertisement The criminal complaint accuses Thomas of then putting Leroys body in the back of a family SUV and driving to the Shop n Save where his body was later found. Thomas faces multiple charges, criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, WPXI reports. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] (The Center Square) The Georgia police department that fired an officer for asking a biological male to stay out of a womens restroom will begin putting all its officers through sensitivity training this month. The mandatory "LGBTQIA+" class will push several tenets of transgender ideology that remain in dispute, The Center Square has learned. In training costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in work hours, DeKalb County Police officers will be told that biological sex isn't fixed, but rather "assigned at birth." They'll hear that sex is actually on a spectrum a controversial concept espoused by left-wing gender activists. And "gender pronouns matter," says a PowerPoint being shown to officers. Some people should be referred to as "they/them." Refusing to use that language is like saying, "I would rather hurt you repeatedly than change the way I speak about you." Advertisement Advertisement Officers will also be directed that if they encounter a transgender person, its a major no-no to ask their real name. Theyll be told male crime suspects should be given the option to have "female" checked when entering their information on an official police report. Thats all within class materials for the DeKalb County Police Departments new "LGBTQIA+ Awareness & Sensitivity Training," which The Center Square obtained through a request filed under the Georgia Open Records Act. One of the nation's foremost opponents of extreme gender ideology, evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, reviewed the course materials and called them "shocking." Wright, a Manhattan Institute fellow and editor-in-chief of the Substack "Realitys Last Stand," said the training goes beyond teaching officers to be respectful and follow procedure. Wright said he recognized several hallmarks of trans activism, including quasi-religious metaphysical concepts that the training presses officers to buy into. Advertisement Advertisement "I dont think we should be indoctrinating our officers to really highly-politicized world views, especially if the individual officers dont themselves ascribe to this view," he said. "Its a form of speech policing compelled speech on behalf of the government or the specific police department." The new one-hour classes don't start until later this month, so its unclear how instructors will present the material. Department leaders refused to grant interviews. The department's chief of staff told The Center Square by email that the course will be offered about eight times per month until all sworn personnel have taken it, which could take until December. The department numbered just under 600 officers at the end of last year, so based on officers' average hourly pay plus benefits, putting them all through the class will cost taxpayers around $25,000 to $30,000. DeKalb County joins dozens of police departments across the nation requiring some form of LGBTQ training. Among the major cities whose police departments already have it: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., according to online records and media reports. In California, all police departments must train officers and 911 dispatchers on sexual orientation and gender identity minority groups, as mandated by state law since 2018. Advertisement Advertisement Greg Miraglia, a veteran law enforcement officer who conducts police trainings on LGBTQ awareness in California, said concepts such as sex-assigned-at-birth and sex as a spectrum are commonly incorporated into curricula. The website for his nonprofit, Out To Protect, lists 88 law enforcement agencies that have participated in LGBT awareness training, spanning through Colorado, Texas, Maine, Alabama, Virginia, and the Carolinas, among others. "What we tell officers in our training is, look, your religious values, your personal morals and beliefs are absolutely yours. And you are entitled to them and we respect them," Miraglia said. "But you swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the 14th Amendment. And that requires, as a law enforcement officer, that you provide equal protection under the law." DeKalb County Police Chief Greg Padrick wouldnt discuss any of this, declining to schedule an interview or make available the staffers who developed the class materials or will be teaching it. Instead, the department sent a written statement through spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells. The sensitivity class "reflects our proactive approach to modern law enforcement training and our responsibility to ensure officers understand the communities they serve. Agencies across the country incorporate similar topics into professional development as part of best practices in policing," the emailed statement says, in part. Advertisement Advertisement Steve Gaynor, secretary and spokesman for the police union covering DeKalb, the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police, said after reviewing the PowerPoint, "I dont see the training as being that bad." He said it could be something needed to protect the county government in case of any future lawsuits. "I think DeKalb is just going along with it to check the box," Gaynor said. What officers will hear The new training follows an incident in October where a DeKalb County reserve police officer faced a complaint along with heat from the Atlanta media for telling a transgender biological male to stay out of the womens restroom at a public library. Advertisement Advertisement The Center Square obtained the Internal Affairs investigation and reported last month that when the officer confronted the library patron, he was acting on a complaint from an upset mother who was in the restroom with two children at the time. The mom reportedly told a security guard, "How can we allow men to go into a womens restroom?" In DeKalb County though, transgender rights outweigh such questions. The Democrat-led metro Atlanta county passed an ordinance in 2023 forbidding discrimination based on "perceived gender-related identity." The DeKalb library system allows patrons to use whichever bathroom "aligns with their gender identity." The department fired the officer, 28-year veteran Glen Weaver, 70, in December over the incident, also citing other policy violations such as not activating his bodycam or properly obtaining department permission to work at the library. The training documents say nothing about to handle a complaint from a woman about a man in her restroom. The purpose is "to provide DeKalb County Police officers with the knowledge and skills to effectively interact with the LGBTQ+ community," the PowerPoint says. There's instruction on legal rights and protections, securing a crime scene, identifying hate crimes, and supporting victims. Advertisement Advertisement Wright, the evolutionary biologist, said theres also misinformation and pseudoscience. Whats clear the training makes assertions that are scientifically and politically under debate. One red flag Wright noted: the course uses the "Genderbread Person" diagram, which has shown up in elementary schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. The diagram asserts that biological sex isnt binary, but on a spectrum, just like sexual orientation and gender expression. DeKalbs presentation also has a video featuring Katie Couric. "This is a document that is designed for indoctrinating children," Wright said. "Its a little cartoon poster of a gingerbread person, and now were making police officers watch a 2 minute video on this." Advertisement Advertisement Miraglia, of Out To Protect, said he uses the Genderbread Person in police training, too. "Its a good model to help people understand the differences in identity between sexual orientation, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and gender expression," he said. On its assertion that biological sex is a spectrum, "I think youll find that theres a lot of science around that," Miraglia said. "Intersex people are born with variations of genitalia, though its rare. Its 1 to 2 percent, somewhere in there If you want to get in the weeds with it, you can research what the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association and American Medical Association have said." Wright says sex is binary. Not only is intersex a fraction of 1% of the human species, "its not like a new variation of a third sex. Its some sort of genetic anomaly," he said. Advertisement Advertisement "What makes someone male or female is if they have the biological function to produce either small gametes, what we call sperm, or large gametes, which we call ovum," Wright said. The DeKalb County training materials follow a contrary line of thinking, setting up scenarios to put natal men into jail cells with women. There are detailed instructions for deciding which side of the jail, male or female, an inmate should go into. "If a male has had a sex change to reflect female genitalia they will enter on the female side," the training says. "If a female has had a sex change to reflect male genitalia they will enter on the male side." At one point, the presentation says when writing citations or police reports officers should use whatever name is listed on a persons government ID. But then it goes on to say that suspects, victims and witnesses can be asked which gender, male or female, they would like to have recorded on official reports. Advertisement Advertisement On another slide, on a list of words "NOT to use," it says, "Never ask what is your real name?'" "When were talking about criminal data, its important to get correct data," Wright said. "What if the criminal wasn't apprehended but is on the loose, and you're reporting that youre searching for a woman who's 6 feet tall? If its just a man, I think that matters and could endanger the community." 'Teachable moment' Following the library incident, the countys top elected official, CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, called the matter a "teachable moment" in a statement to one TV station. Police spokesman Blaine Clark was quoted in another media report, saying the department would "continue expanding our training programs to ensure our officers are equipped to serve every individual with fairness, empathy, and professionalism." However, in its written statement to The Center Square, DeKalb PD said the new training isnt related to any publicized incidents but is "part of the Departments ongoing evaluation of training needs." The Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council, which certifies officers and sets statewide standards, approved DeKalb Countys new class for official training credit months before the library incident, in April, according to an email from Executive Director Chris Harvey. Harvey said he would only answer additional questions from The Center Square in writing. In response to a list of questions about the contents of DeKalb's lesson plans, the executive director emailed a statement saying the council "is not empowered to render any verdict on specific practices" unless they violate state law or council rules. "Any political or ideological views within a law enforcement agency are determined by its leadership and the locally elected officials who oversee that agency," the statement said. "Review and approval of any local law enforcement training material by POST does not equal an endorsement of any ideological views included in said training, nor does it reflect the official views of any state government entity." DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry, who has advocated for the police department to expand its community inclusion strategy, said the goal of the class is better communication with diverse people who may be experiencing crime or crisis. "Im not sure if its pushing or forcing anyone to believe something," Terry said. "I think the whole point of these trainings is for awareness, so that the officers are equipped to deal with all the types of individuals that they might encounter during the job." German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been forced to postpone a visit to South-East Asia due to the war in the Middle East, his spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday. Steinmeier's multi-day trip to Indonesia and the Philippines was due to begin on Sunday. Due to the outbreak of the war in Iran, airspace has been closed over several countries in the Middle East in recent days, causing havoc for tourists stranded in the region. Advertisement Advertisement The president's spokeswoman said the route over the Middle East remains too dangerous and cannot be taken. She said alternative journeys to South-East Asia have been assessed, but they were found to be too long, forcing the postponement. During his visit to Lebanon and Jordan in February, before the start of the war, Steinmeier already got a taste of the difficult situation in the airspace over the Middle East. Since Israel does not grant overflight rights for aircraft taking off from Beirut, his plane had to make a wide detour over the Mediterranean. Instead of taking 30 minutes, the flight to the Jordanian capital Amman therefore took two hours. Germany has handed over an initial 13 vehicles to the Ukrainian state-run railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia as part of a broader support package. In total, the railway operator will receive 18 vehicles, 32 generators and 18 units of building equipment. Source: Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Details: Two of the 13 vehicles will be used by the rail company to transport employees, while the remaining 11 will be sent to the regions for track workers, communications personnel and power engineers. Advertisement Advertisement The handover ceremony was attended by Oleksii Balesta, Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Heiko Thoms, Germany's Ambassador to Ukraine, and Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia. Thoms said the support forms part of efforts to strengthen, modernise and integrate Ukraine's railway system into the European network. He added that Ukrzaliznytsia connects Ukraine to Europe and that by supporting the company, Germany is supporting Ukraine's future in the EU. Background: The Ukrainian government has allocated UAH 16 billion (about US$364 million) from the state budget reserve fund to finance state orders for domestic passenger rail transport in 2026. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Gary Parker, a restaurant owner and philanthropist, confirmed in a phone interview Tuesday he plans to run as a Republican candidate for the state Senate position in Washington 26th Legislative District, currently held by Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor. Parker, a retired Intel engineer, is the owner of BBQ2U, a popular restaurant in Gig Harbor. He has no previously elected experience. He made an unsuccessful bid for the nonpartisan Pierce County Charter Commission last year, losing to Brenda Lykins. Washingtons 26th Legislative District covering Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula, Port Orchard and part of Bremerton is one of only two swing districts in the state. Both parties currently hold office. Gary Parker. Democrats have held the Senate seat since voters elected Emily Randall in 2019. Krishnadasan was appointed to the seat in 2024, filling a vacancy created by Randalls election to Congress. Voters then elected Kirshnadasan to a one-year term in a special election held last year. The seat returns to its regular four-year cycle next year. Advertisement Advertisement Parker is the only candidate besides Krishnadasan to file with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, a requirement to start fundraising. Candidates still have about three months before the states official filing deadline for the 2026 General Election. The primary is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4. In an interview, Parker discussed how he was active in the community through the chamber, rotary and his philanthropic efforts. He also founded a nonprofit, Olympic Civic Services, focused on providing social services to seniors and veterans. Parker said his decision to run was influenced by members of the community, who approached him about running for the office. Enough people kept asking me that and I said well why dont I run, he said. Its really as simple as that. Im a man of the people. Parkers decision to run comes during a busy election year for the state Legislature. All 98 seats in the House and about half of the 49 seats in the Senate will be on the November ballot. That includes all three positions in the 26th Legislative District. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Adison Richard, D-Gig Harbor, is being challenged by David Olson, a Republican and Peninsula School Board member for the House Position 1 seat. Katy Cornell, a Republican nonprofit leader and pastor from Gig Harbor, will campaign against Renee Hernandez Greenfield, a Democrat who works at the Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton, for the position 2 House seat. The incumbent, Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor, announced she would not seek reelection. Conor Wilson is a Murrow News fellow, reporting for the Kitsap Sun and Gig Harbor Now, a nonprofit newsroom based in Gig Harbor, through a program managed by Washington State University. This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: WA Senate 26th District election adds Gig Harbor businessman With the post-war "global architecture breaking down from consecutive crises" Australia and Canada should work together as "strategic cousins", Mark Carney has told the Australian parliament. The question for middle powers was whether they would write the new rules that determine security and prosperity or "let the hegemons dictate outcomes", the Canadian prime minister said. Carney said the two countries should co-operate further to boost sovereign capabilities including in the areas of critical minerals, defence and AI. Advertisement Advertisement The speech echoed previous statements, including a speech in Davos in January in which he said the "old order is not coming back" and urged middle powers to band together. Many countries were deciding to increase their sovereign autonomy, Carney said on Thursday, the first time a Canadian prime minister has addressed parliament in Canberra in almost 20 years. "This impulse is understandable when the rules no longer protect you." He joined his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at a press conference afterwards, where the pair announced measures they said would deepen relationships across several areas, including defence, security and between the countries' space agencies. Australia would also join the G7 Critical Minerals Alliance, which Carney called the "largest grouping of trusted democratic mineral reserves in the world". Advertisement Advertisement Canada and Australia produce one-third of the world's uranium and lithium and more than 40% of its iron ore. "Australia and Canada must seek and create new ways to stand with and for each other," Albanese said ahead of Carney's address to parliament, noting the two countries were bound together by shared convictions and values. As the conflict in the Middle East spreads across the region, both leaders, who backed the strikes on Iran, called for a de-escalation. "The world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks," Albanese said. Advertisement Advertisement "We're seeing Gulf states that have not been involved attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well." But they said a ceasefire should not occur until Tehran no longer had the capability to produce a nuclear weapon. "I also want to see a removal of the ongoing threat that has been there for such a long period of time, of Iran endangering peace and security and stability, not just in its own region, but here in Australia," Albanese said, referring to two antisemitic attacks in Australia last year which the government blamed on Iran. Before arriving in Australia, Carney spent four days in India where he signed deals worth billions in a significant diplomatic breakthrough with Delhi. Advertisement Advertisement The reset comes after years of tensions between the two countries, sparked when Carney's predecessor accused Delhi of a link to the 2023 assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. After Australia, Carney will continue on to Japan where he will meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jensen Huang said Nvidia is likely done investing in AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic. The $30 billion investment it just finalized into OpenAI was a steep drop from the $100 billion deal announced last September, and will likely be the last check. Same for the $10 billion it put into Anthropic in November. The official reason sounds clean: Both companies appear to be heading toward IPOs later this year, and private deals of this nature close once that window opens. "This might be the last time we'll have the opportunity to invest in a consequential company like this," Huang told the audience. Granted, late-stage investors write checks right up to the IPO bell all the time, and the original $100 billion OpenAI commitment didn't shrink to $30 billion because of some procedural IPO rule. Something else changed. Nvidia now holds stakes in two companies in the middle of an all-out war with each otherand with Washington. Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology after the company refused to let Claude be deployed for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. Within hours, OpenAI announced its own Pentagon deala move Anthropic publicly called "mendacious." The public sided with Anthropic. Within 24 hours of the back-to-back announcements, Claude shot to the top of the free app rankings on Apple's U.S. App Store, overtaking ChatGPT. At the end of January, it was outside the top 100. An Anthropic spokesperson told Decrypt that it saw record signups in the days following the Pentagons move. OpenAI Launches GPT-5.4 Days Just After Last Version as 'QuitGPT' Exodus Gains Steam Meanwhile, the QuitGPT movement had claimed an estimated 2.5 million users taking action against OpenAIcanceling subscriptions or spreading the boycottby the time the dust started settling. Nvidia's relationship with Anthropic was already strained before all this. Two months after putting $10 billion into the company, Dario Amodei stood at Davos and compared U.S. chip companies selling high-performance processors to approved Chinese customers to selling nuclear weapons to North Korea. He didn't name Nvidia, but didn't need to either. There's also the structural awkwardness of the whole circular economy behind Nvidias massive investments in AI startups. Nvidia invests in OpenAI, but OpenAI spends it on Nvidia chips. The circularity drew bubble comparisons. Source: Bloomberg What Nvidia is actually doing is getting out of the business of picking sides. It sells GPUs to OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Google, and everyone else racing for the frontier. The arms dealer doesn't get to have a favorite army. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor The James Webb Space Telescope has helped scientists determine that asteroid 2024 YR4, which previously had a 4.3% chance of crashing into our moon, will not impact our lunar companion at all. Instead, it will instead safely cruise past the moon at an altitude of 13,200 miles (21,200 kilometers). When asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on Dec. 27, 2024 by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), it was for a short time the most dangerous asteroid ever discovered. With a diameter of about 197 feet (60 meters) there was originally a non-zero chance that it could impact Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. An asteroid of this size could destroy a city, or if it struck the ocean, produce a catastrophic tsunami that would endanger multiple coastal regions. Advertisement Advertisement However, it was quickly found that 2024 YR4 would miss the Earth but it remained unclear whether it'd hit the moon instead. Specifically, there was a 4.3% chance that it could strike the moon on Dec .22, 2032 instead. The uncertainty was the result of 2024 YR4's orbit around the sun not being known as precisely as needed in order to decide for sure whether it would hit the moon or miss it. A visualization of asteroid 2024 YR4 approaching our neck of the woods. | Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor Astronomers thought they would have to wait until 2028 to get the next chance to observe 2024 YR4 and refine its orbit before getting some clear answers, but researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) realized that there would be a chance for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe 2024 YR4 between Feb. 18 and Feb. 26 this year. During that week, the asteroid was moving against a faint field of stars whose positions have been precisely measured by the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. By tracking the object's motion against those stars, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was able to refine its orbit to high precision. It wasn't an easy measurement; the field of view of its Near-Infrared Camera is just 2.2 square arcminutes, and the asteroid is one of the faintest targets the JWST has ever observed. The JWST spotted asteroid 2024 YR4 on Feb. 18. | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Micheli (ESA NEOCC) The scientists at JHUAPL worked with the space telescopes engineers, alongside the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre and NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, to aim the telescope precisely. Advertisement Advertisement The new measurements mean that astronomers have now ruled out a collision with the moon. Instead, 2024 YR4 will pass 13,200 miles above the lunar surface still a very close encounter, but posing no danger. Had the impact happened on the near side of the moon, it would have provided scientists with their first up-close view of a large impact, and provided a stunning sight for observers on Earth, resulting in a brilliant flash and a new crater about 0.62 miles (1 kilometer) across. The energy imparted would have been equivalent to 6 million tons of TNT, or basically a large nuclear detonation. Ejecta thrown up by the impact would mostly have rained back down onto the surface of the moon, but millions of pounds of debris would have still escaped the lunar gravity and fallen towards Earth instead, possibly creating a unique meteor shower lasting a few days. The debris would also have been a hazard to satellites in orbit around the Earth, and, as some of the debris could linger in Earth orbital space for years, that hazard would have been long-lasting. However, now that we know 2024 YR4 will miss its target, we'll just have to wait for the next asteroid to worry about, and remain ever vigilant for any that may threaten Earth. Democrats celebrated Kristi Noems firing as the Homeland Security secretary on Thursday, while calling for more heads to roll among President Donald Trumps more controversial aides and advisers. Kristi Noem will go down as the most shamelessly incompetent and cruel Homeland Security Secretary in U.S. history, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X. Firing her is not enough. NOEM, GREG BOVINO, and STEPHEN MILLER all must be held accountable for terrorizing and endangering the American people. Several other potential 2028 presidential candidates were quick to join the chorus applauding the move, seizing on the opportunity to push for further personnel changes at the highest levels of the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also warned in a video posted to social media that Noem would still be held accountable. Hey, Kristi Noem, don't let the door hit you on the way out, he said. Here's your legacy: corruption and chaos, parents and children were teargassed. Moms and nurses, U.S. citizens, getting shot in the face. Now that you're gone, don't think you get to just walk away. Noems impending departure Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social that shell soon become the inaugural Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas brings to a close a tumultuous yearlong stint at the agency. Trump also announced that he intends to tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace Noem atop the department. Noem is the most senior administration official to depart thus far in Trumps second term. Advertisement Advertisement But Democrats were quick to signal they were not satisfied with her exit, swiftly calling for Trump to axe other Cabinet-level officials. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) urged Trump to fire embattled Attorney General Pam Bondi. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), meanwhile, said Trump should cut loose Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. next. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also celebrated Noems ouster. Noem came under bipartisan fire for her alleged relationship with Trump ally Corey Lewandowski, which she denies, and for labeling two Minnesota protesters killed by federal law enforcement in January domestic terrorists. The former South Dakota governor also faced questions about a $220 million DHS ad campaign, testifying during a Tuesday congressional hearing that Trump approved the spending a claim he later denied in an interview with Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Time and time again, Secretary Noem failed the American people and her duty to the Constitution, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) wrote on X. This was particularly true in how she oversaw ICE. Her departure demonstrates that if you dont uphold the most basic American values, the American public wants you gone." Several Democratic lawmakers also indicated that Noems departure does not change their demands surrounding funding for DHS and for reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid an ongoing partial government shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that ICE faces deeper problems that cannot be addressed with a single personnel change. "The problems at ICE transcend any one individual. ... It goes beyond any one person, he said Thursday. You need to straighten out the whole agency. The rot there is deep." Advertisement Advertisement Republicans, meanwhile, largely fell in lockstep behind Mullin who said Thursday he was excited about the opportunity and he will likely face a smooth confirmation process. Some Republican lawmakers acknowledged that a leadership shakeup at DHS was overdue. It was time for a change, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in a social media post, while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said the decision was good for the president and his legacy on border and deportation. Cheyanne M. Daniels contributed to this report. Republican anxieties are rising in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton will clash in a runoff race in May, as Democrats rally around the winner of their primary: state Rep. James Talarico. Democrats have long had their sights on a big win in Texas, and they feel theyd have an excellent chance if Paxton emerges as the GOP winner. Many also thought Talarico was their stronger general election candidate compared to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom he defeated Tuesday. Its all put more pressure on President Trump, who so far has been neutral in the GOP race, to offer an endorsement. Advertisement Advertisement Talarico being the nominee makes it more important than ever that President Trump endorses John Cornyn, said one Republican operative who works on Senate races. In a lengthy Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said he would endorse soon and called on the candidate he does not back to drop out immediately. My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable, he wrote, adding that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I dont Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!! According to the latest primary results on Wednesday, Cornyn led Paxton 41.9 percent to 40.7 percent. Rep. Wesley Hunt (D-Texas) was in third and will not make the runoff election in May. Advertisement Advertisement Some Republicans noted that Cornyn performed better than expected, making them more optimistic for his chances in a runoff, particularly if Trump backs him. I think it gets Cornyn over the finish line, said one Republican strategist. I am [optimistic] only because of how Cornyn performed last night. I think everybodys assumption was it was going to be a more conservative primary electorate, and for a whole host of reasons and variables, most notably a hundred million dollars worth, that changed, the strategist added, referring to the Republican establishments heavy spending for Cornyn. Cornyn comes in with momentum, they continued. And I think that momentum also leads to a lot of pressure on the White House and the president to have to make a decision. Advertisement Advertisement Polling shows that a Trump endorsement could make a difference with the conservative base. A University of Houston Hobby School poll released last month found that 55 percent of Republican primary voters said they would be more likely to support a candidate backed by Trump. Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist and Cornyns former campaign manager, predicted that a Trump endorsement of Cornyn would impact turnout from the conservative activist base of the party. The turnout might drop by as much as 50 percent here, he said. Cornyns chances of winning a contested primary were heavily doubted following backlash over his work with Democrats on gun safety legislation following the Uvalde school shooting in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Also, in 2023, Cornyn said he believed Trumps time has passed him by in terms of whether he could win another election. Cornyn later endorsed Trump, saying the president was right and I was wrong. Paxton has his own flaws as a candidate, however. Paxtons wife, Angela Paxton, last year wrote that she was filing for divorce on biblical grounds after 38 years of marriage. She alleged in her divorce filing that her husband had committed adultery, according to The Texas Tribune, and wrote that the couple had not been living together for more than a year. Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas state House in 2023 before being acquitted by the states Senate in a trial that extensively aired allegations of an extramarital affair. Advertisement Advertisement Polling shows Cornyn performing better against Talarico than Paxton would in a hypothetical match-up. An Emerson College poll conducted in January showed Paxton and Talarico tied at 46 percent in a hypothetical match-up. The same poll showed Cornyn leading Talarico 47 percent to 44 percent. However, the same University of Houston Hobby School poll showed Paxton defeating Talarico by 2 points in a hypothetical match-up. The same poll showed Cornyn beating Talarico by 1 point. Trump is under heavy pressure from [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune and company to endorse Cornyn, especially now that Talarico is the nominee, said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor supporting Paxton. Advertisement Advertisement Eberhart, who was at Paxtons primary night event, predicted that the runoff environment will be better for the attorney general. This was Cornyns shot to fend off his challenger by getting over 50 percent and he couldnt do it, he said. The runoff voters will be even less friendly territory for Cornyn. Gregg Keller, a spokesperson for the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC, called the state attorney general the prohibitive favorite against career RINO John Cornyn. Texas runoff electorates are far more conservative than general election electorates, he said. A separate Emerson College poll released last month showed Paxton leading Cornyn 46 percent to 33 percent with Trump voters. Advertisement Advertisement The Republican strategist argued the runoff could have been avoided if the White House had worked with Senate Republican leaderships efforts to boost Cornyn. This part of it is going to be even more painful, but theyve just got to rip the Band-Aid off and figure it out, the strategist said. If these two go at it until March 26 and there is no presidential involvement, its going to be ugly, its going to be expensive, its going to be brutal, they continued. Whoever comes out of it in that scenario, I would say it would be Paxton, you are at that point spending money on behalf of Talarico in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A state Republican lawmaker and former Milwaukee Common Council member is criticizing a pending resolution opposing federal immigration enforcement, saying it "will do nothing except antagonize Washington." State Rep. Bob Donovan, a Republican from Greenfield who served on the Milwaukee council for two decades, said council members are "injecting themselves into the national debate with symbolic resolutions." Donovan said the council should instead be focusing on reducing homicides, fixing potholes and other "basics of local governance the work they were elected to do." Advertisement Advertisement The Common Council unanimously approved a resolution March 3 that, among other things, calls on the federal government to "de-escalate the tactics being used during federal immigration enforcement actions." The resolution also notes that the City of Milwaukee stands against the practice of mass deportation, calls for the U.S. to "welcome immigrants and provide a clear and straightforward path to citizenship" and supports abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, center, is seen as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. District 14 Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. District 3 Alderman Alex Brower, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Turners Executive Director Emilio De Torre, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera Christine Neumann-Ortiz speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. District 8 Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Police Association President Alexander Ayala, right, is seen as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Common Council introduces ICE Out Milwaukee Initiative 1 of 10 Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, center, speaks as Milwaukee Common Council members announce a package of legislation aimed at limiting federal immigration operations in the city. The announcement took place at the Common Council chamber at City Hall on February 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The legislation still needs approval from Mayor Cavalier Johnson, whose office plans to look carefully at the language with City Attorney Evan Goyke. Ald. Alex Brower said he received guidance from Goyke's office that the resolution could place Milwaukee on a White House list of sanctuary cities. Advertisement Advertisement The city and Milwaukee County have never issued ordinances or resolutions or sought designation that would officially make either jurisdiction a sanctuary city for immigrants. Donovan argued the resolution essentially amounts to Milwaukee declaring itself a sanctuary city. More: Is Milwaukee a sanctuary city? Not quite, but it's one of Wisconsin's closest examples Brower said the council should "take the risk." "We have to respond to the very legitimate demands of thousands of constituents who are looking for action and leadership by the council," Brower said. Common Council members also announced earlier this week that the Milwaukee Police Department modified a mask policy in line with the council's "ICE Out" package. Advertisement Advertisement More: Packed town hall revolves around how MPD would interact with ICE Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, who is among the leaders of that effort, said members met with Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and "delivered the message of what our constituents were demanding." Vanessa Swales of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this story. Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP lawmaker says city's ICE resolution will 'antagonize Washington' Washington House GOP leadership called on Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to end his campaign for reelection over a scandal stemming from his affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. "The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales's conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election," a statement from GOP leadership said Thursday. The statement came from House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and GOP conference chairwoman Lisa McClain of Michigan. Advertisement Advertisement Gonzales, whose Tuesday primary advanced to a May runoff, admitted Wednesday that he had a relationship with the staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles. "I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions," Gonzales told conservative radio host Joe Pags. According to a text exchange from May 2024 obtained by CBS News, Gonzales sent explicit messages to Santos-Aviles, asking her to send a "sexy pic" and what her "favorite position" is. Santos-Aviles told Gonzales: "This is going too far boss." Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire. Advertisement Advertisement The House Ethics Committee said earlier Wednesday it was launching an investigation into whether Gonzales "engaged in sexual misconduct" with an employee or "discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges." It is against House rules for lawmakers to engage in relationships with any employee under their supervision. House rules also ban "unwelcome sexual advances or conduct" toward staff. Asked about Gonzales on Wednesday, Johnson said both the Office of Congressional Conduct and the House Ethics Committee are reviewing the matter and that leadership would allow "due process and investigations to play out." He also said, "the voters have spoken last night." McClain noted Thursday that leaders did not call on Gonzales to resign. He is facing calls from Democrats and some Republicans to step down immediately. Advertisement Advertisement "My hope is he would finish out the rest of his term," she said at a news conference. Johnson later Thursday likened leadership's call for Gonzales to end his reelection to a political "death penalty." The House GOP currently has a one-vote margin. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here. For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.10 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Reaction from inside DHS to Kristi Noem ouster Why Trump decided to remove Kristi Noem as DHS secretary House Republican leadership is calling on Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales to drop his reelection bid after he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a former staffer who later died by suicide. In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the top four Republican leaders in the House said they asked Gonzales to withdraw his nomination for Texas 23rd Congressional District despite the Texas member telling reporters earlier this week he would not do so. The statement stops short of asking Gonzales to resign and leave office early, something that a handful of Republicans have separately called for but would further diminish their already-slim majority. NEWS: House Republican leadership is calling on Rep. Gonzales to drop his reelection bid in Texas after admitting to an affair with a staffer, who later died by suicide. Doesn't ask him to resign from office before end of term though pic.twitter.com/lZ9M2SgUGq Cami Mondeaux (@cami_mondeaux) March 5, 2026 The statement comes one day after the House Ethics Committee announced it would open an investigation into the alleged affair between Gonzales and his former staffer, which would be a violation of House rules. Gonzales has said he would cooperate with the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzaless conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously, House Republican leadership said in a statement. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. Despite denying the allegations for weeks, Gonzales admitted to the affair in a radio interview with Joe Pagliarulo on Wednesday. I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions, Gonzales said. The Texas Republican did, however, deny that he is responsible for the death of his staffer, who set herself on fire outside of her home in 2025. Her death came roughly a year after she and Gonzales exchanged text messages in which the Texas lawmaker reportedly tried to coerce her into sending explicit photographs of herself. Advertisement Advertisement Those text messages were obtained and published by the San Antonio Express-News. Gonzales has not said whether he would drop his reelection bid after the statement by leadership. Gonzales is locked in a runoff primary election for his seat that will be held in May. Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana assisted several police officers in physically ejecting a man who interrupted a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday to object to the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. The protester was Brian McGinnis, a Marine veteran running as a Green Party candidate in North Carolina's Senate race, according to his website. He said shortly afterward that his arm was broken during the clash with police and the senator. The U.S. Capitol Police accused him of "violently" assaulting officers. The incident took place at a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing that featured testimony from senior military officials on military readiness. Just under 30 minutes after the hearing began, McGinnis began yelling, exclaiming at one point: "America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel." Advertisement Advertisement Members of the Capitol Police attempted to remove McGinnis who was wearing a military uniform from the hearing room. McGinnis appeared to struggle with officers, according to a video provided to CBS News by an antiwar activist. At one point, when McGinnis and police were near the doorway to the hearing room, Sheehy left the dais and began assisting the Capitol Police officers in lifting him up and ejecting him from the room. While authorities attempted to pull McGinnis out of the room, his left hand appeared to get stuck between the door and the frame. Sheehy then appears to try to dislodge it, at which point someone accuses him of breaking McGinnis' hand. Somebody later asked McGinnis if his hand was okay, and he responded, "No, it's not." McGinnis was later escorted out of the room by police officers while Sheehy sat back down. While outside the room, McGinnis is heard on the video saying his left arm was broken. Senator Sheehy joined Capitol Police in lifting up and ejecting anti war protestor Brian McGinnis from a SASC subcommittee hearing. McGinnis is a Green Party candidate running for Senate in N.C. An antiwar activist filmed the video below: pic.twitter.com/0dVA0ORWXQ Alan He (@alanhe) March 4, 2026 Mark Elbourno, a Green Party official who manages McGinnis' Senate campaign, told CBS News that McGinnis was placed under arrest and transported to George Washington University Hospital. Elbourno said he was unsure of McGinnis' condition. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, U.S. Capitol Police said McGinnis is facing three counts of assaulting a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest and one count of crowding, obstructing and incommoding meaning he was allegedly blocking an entrance or passageway for interrupting the committee hearing. Elbourno said he attended the hearing with McGinnis, who works as a firefighter, because they wanted to hear officials out. He said McGinnis stood up and pressed the Senate to stop funding the war with Iran because he "couldn't take their lies anymore." Elbourno denied that McGinnis assaulted the officers. "He wasn't assaulting anybody. He just wanted to be heard [and was] speaking loud and clear," he told CBS News. "He was assaulted, actually. They broke his arm." Advertisement Advertisement The Capitol Police alleged that McGinnis "put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers' attempts to remove him from the room." The agency also said in a statement that McGinnis "got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room." It said that three police officers were treated for injuries by local emergency medical services. "Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings," the Capitol Police said. "There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed." Sheehy said in a post on X that he got involved because McGinnis was "fighting back" against police, and he sought to "help out and deescalate the situation." "This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one," Sheehy said. "I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence." Advertisement Advertisement Sheehy's office did not immediately respond to a further request for comment. Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict Goshen Village Mayor Molly O'Donnell is resigning from her position effective March 13, according to a March 2 announcement on the villages Facebook page. This is ODonnell's second mayoral term after first being elected in 2023. She will continue serving in her other job as the Commissioner of Jurors for Orange County, the post stated. Goshen mayor Kyle Roddy and Molly O'Donnell were at Illuminate Goshen in Goshen, NY on December 31st, 2015. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve in both roles, the statement read, but I cannot hold them simultaneously. Serving this community has meant more to me than words can express, and my commitment to Goshen remains strong. Ill see you around the Village and maybe even at jury duty! Whats next? Deputy Mayor Scott Wohl is expected to assume ODonnells role at her last public board meeting on March 9. Wohl has previously served as Goshen mayor. Advertisement Advertisement ODonnell and Wohl could not immediately be reached for comment. Contact reporter Vandana Saras at vsaras@usatodayco.com and @orangecountynyreporter on Instagram. This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Goshen village mayor Molly O'Donnell resigns, keeps role with county They always tell you exactly what theyre doing. Right out loud. On Feb. 23, Gov. Jeff Landry sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights asking it to expand an existing federal investigation from the Louisiana Board of Regents to every public college and university in this state. He declared that Louisiana is done with woke DEI policies and that discrimination against ANY student will not be tolerated, framing his move as fixing diversity, equity and inclusion practices that began under the previous governor and restoring fairness. We need to slow down on that word: fairness. The Regents budget language that triggered this investigation set goals to increase enrollment and graduation for underrepresented minorities, defined in state documents as all races other than white [and] Asian. Advertisement Advertisement Imperfect as that definition is, it sits in a country where white and Asian students have long been the primary beneficiaries of structural advantage in schooling, housing, hiring, wealth decades before anyone said DEI out loud. To call programs designed to partially offset generations of deliberate exclusion discrimination is not a neutral legal claim. It is an inversion of reality. This is not fairness. This is the pattern. Louisiana did not build its universities for everyone. That is not opinion; it is written into the history of segregation, court orders and the very locations of our campuses. For decades, Black students were barred from the states flagship institutions by law, not just neglect. Grambling, Southern, Dillard, Xavier our HBCUs were not lifestyle choices. They were survival structures built because the state said not here. Advertisement Advertisement When explicit segregation became legally indefensible, the commitment to stratification didnt disappear; the mechanism changed. Literacy tests and poll taxes gave way to underfunded Black schools, redlined neighborhoods and ZIPcode school assignments that still determine who shows up college ready. The outcome stayed consistent. Whole communities have been locked out of the full promise of public education. DEI programs are a late, incomplete attempt to address what those mechanisms produced. The Board of Regents did not write underrepresented minorities into its master plan because someone had a sudden woke epiphany. It did so because the data were screaming that Black, Latino and firstgeneration students were enrolling and not graduating. The system was never built for them. Now we are being asked to accept that the remedy is the problem. Advertisement Advertisement Sociologist Eduardo BonillaSilva calls this colorblind racism, the ability to perpetuate racial inequality through an insistent claim that the playing field is already level and that the real problem is noticing race at all. Landrys maneuver is colorblind racism at gubernatorial scale with federal backing. He invokes civil rights law to investigate programs designed to remedy civilrights violations, labels raceconscious remediation discrimination, and positions white and Asian students as the harmed parties. Picture a 19yearold at Southern University at New Orleans. Shes from the Lower 9th Ward. She is working 25 hours a week in a hospital cafeteria while taking classes. She is the first in her family to pursue a degree. A retention counselor funded through a diversity initiative keeps her on track to graduate. A firstgeneration workshop exists because someone wrote underrepresented minorities into a budget line. That thin bridge is why she has not dropped out. Advertisement Advertisement When you cut DEI, you cut her first. You do not cut the students whose families can buffer every policy shock with savings accounts, social networks and private tutors. You cut the students for whom a single adviser or scholarship is the difference between a diploma and a dropout. When states choose, again and again, to deny education and economic opportunity to Black and brown communities, the downstream results have repeatedly included concentrated poverty, desperation and violence. The state that is near the top in incarceration, near the bottom in education, and near the very top in child poverty is now training its legal fire on programs that help the very students its history has most harmed. That is not an accident. It is a choice. The question is whether Louisiana will let one governor define fairness as tearing down the only bridge some of our children have or whether enough of us will say, clearly and collectively, that we know the difference between justice and a wrecking ball dressed in civilrights language. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Nineteen sites across Louisiana are part of the first round of FastSites funding, a new program that aims to get economic development projects started faster. Gov. Jeff Landry said the FastSites program makes land shovel-ready by ensuring that sites have what they need, such as water, vital infrastructure and permits. According to the programs webpage, funding, which was approved by the legislature, can be used for road, land and property improvements, utilities, rail access and site optioning. Landry described the program as a refillable savings account. He explained that the state invests money to prepare a site and when a company buys or leases the land, the state gets the money back, which goes back into the fund. Advertisement Advertisement That approach allows us to continually reinvest in Louisianas growth and strengthen our competitive position. Louisiana is not waiting for opportunity. We are preparing for it, Landry said. Gov. Jeff Landry seeks reform of Louisianas workforce system The Louisiana Economic Development (LED) announced these 19 sites are getting the first round of $140 million in funding: Acadiana Regional Airport, Iberia Parish ARQ Red River, Red River Parish Avondale Global Gateway, Jefferson Parish Beaver Lake Industrial Park, Rapides Parish England Airpark, Rapides Parish Esperanza, St. Charles Parish Franklinton Industrial Park, Washington Parish Gulf South Commerce Park, St. Tammany Parish Lake Charles Regional Airport, Calcasieu Parish McLeod Business Park, Lafourche Parish Natchitoches Parish Port Warehouse, Natchitoches Parish Naval Support Activity Site, Orleans Parish Port Distran, Rapides Parish Port of Caddo Bossier, Caddo Parish Port of Columbia, Caldwell Parish Port Vinton, Calcasieu Parish Proof Works, East Baton Rouge Parish Riverplex MegaPark Port, Ascension Parish South Monroe Industrial Park, Ouachita Parish Advertisement Advertisement According to LED, sites were chosen through a competitive evaluation process based on multiple factors, including market viability, infrastructure gaps and return of capital to the state. Secretary Susan Bourgeois said future rounds of funding depend on the legislature and the payback schedule. She said an additional round of applications could open soon, as there is some funding left of the $150 million available. Several multi-billion-dollar projects across Louisiana have been unveiled in the last year. Notable investments announced in 2025 include a $17.5 billion liquified natural gas project, $10 billion data centers and a $5.8 billion Hyundai steel mill. In early 2026, Amazon announced its plans to invest $12 billion to construct data center campuses in North Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Louisiana lawmaker demands transparency in data center deals Latest News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. March 5 (Reuters) - Nvidia has stopped production of its second-most advanced artificial intelligence chips, known as H200 chips, intended for the Chinese market, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The U.S. chipmaker has reallocated manufacturing capacity at chip contract maker TSMC away from making H200 chips to its next-generation Vera Rubin hardware, the report said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. TSMC declined to comment, while Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, Nvidia said it had received licenses from the U.S. government to ship "small amounts" of its H200 chips to customers in China. However, this move suggests Nvidia does not expect any meaningful H200 sales in China in the near term. A U.S. Commerce Department official said last month that none of Nvidia's H200 chips had been sold to Chinese customers. In January, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration gave a formal green light to China-bound sales of Nvidia's H200 chips, but shipments remained stalled due to guardrails built into the process. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Shreya Biswas) The Brief Gov. Abigail Spanberger is urging Virginians to support the states redistricting amendment. Early voting in the referendum begins this week. Spanberger says the amendment is a temporary response to national political developments. VIRGINIA - As early voting begins in Virginias redistricting referendum, Governor Abigail Spanberger is encouraging voters to support the proposed amendment. What we know Governor Abigail Spanberger released a statement ahead of early voting on Virginias redistricting amendment, emphasizing that the proposal is temporary and preserves the states bipartisan redistricting process. Advertisement Advertisement "As early voting begins tomorrow on Virginias redistricting amendment, voters should know that Virginias approach is different. It is temporary, directly responsive to what other states decide to do, and most importantly, it preserves Virginias bipartisan redistricting process for the future," Spanberger said. Spanberger noted that she supported the formation of Virginias bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020 and said that support "has not changed." She pointed to national political dynamics as part of the reason she supports the amendment. "What has changed is what were seeing in states across the country and a President who says he is entitled to more Republican seats before this years midterm elections," she said. The backstory Earlier this year, Virginia Democrats approved a proposed congressional district map that could reshape the states political landscape for the 2026 midterm elections. The newly proposed map, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Spanberger, would redistribute Virginias 11 U.S. House districts and, based on some analyses, could help Democrats gain up to four additional seats in Congress shifting the states representation significantly. Advertisement Advertisement Under Virginia law, the map can only go into effect if voters approve a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting. That referendum is on the ballot for April 21, with early voting beginning this week. Unlike the normal once-every-ten-years redistricting cycle, this proposal would give lawmakers the power to redraw districts now in response to changes in other states. The legislation and referendum process are still facing legal challenges in court. A judge previously struck down aspects of the amendment process as improper, but the Virginia Supreme Court has allowed the referendum to proceed while the broader legal dispute continues. What they're saying Spanberger said voters now have a direct role in determining how Virginia responds to the current political environment. Advertisement Advertisement "Virginians have the opportunity to take action in response to this extraordinary moment in history. Thats why, as a Virginia voter, Im voting in favor of this amendment." What's next Early voting in the referendum is now underway, giving Virginians the chance to weigh in on whether to approve the redistricting amendment. Election officials are expected to provide additional details on voting timelines and polling locations as the referendum moves forward. The Source This article was written using a statement released by the Office of Governor Abigail Spanberger and prior reporting on Virginias proposed congressional district maps. Shara Baumgartel is a family law attorney from Marietta. Grandpa Chet was a healthy 88-year-old man chopping wood last Thanksgiving. Two weeks later, my grandpa was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and given six months to live. Although he was determined to make it eight months, by mid-January, the six months had collapsed into a reality of agonizing pain, constant blood transfusions, another bone marrow biopsy and a body that no longer matched his sharp, sound mind. Advertisement Advertisement My grandpa, Chester "Chet" Cunningham, was never a man to beat around the bush. A devout Christian and devoted church elder for over 30 years, he knew exactly where he was going when he died. He was ready to see his Creator and his wife of 68 years. But as he lay in a hospital bed, exhausted by a treatment that could not cure him, he looked at me and asked a question no granddaughter should have to answer: "If I had a plug I could pull out of the wall, I would. How can we make this happen? I need answers." He wasn't choosing death over life Grandpa called me his get-it-done girl." I spent the last two months of his life jumping through every hoop he put in front of me. But when he asked for the dignity of choosing his own ending, I had to tell him, "I dont know, grandpa. I dont think there is anything we can do." Advertisement Advertisement The reality I discovered is that Ohio is failing its terminally ill citizens. While 13 states Illinois and Vermont includedhave laws that allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults to request medication to end their suffering peacefully, Ohio remains stagnant. To those who argue against medical aid in dying from a place of faith, I offer my grandfathers example. His faith was his bedrock, and he saw no conflict between his love for God and his desire for a merciful end to his physical torment. He wasn't choosing death over life; the cancer had already made that choice for him. My grandpa was simply choosing a peaceful "falling asleep" in his own easy chair or bed over a protracted, painful decline. My grandpa's last blessing was shadowed by the pain Chester/Chet Cunningham My research showed that while some states allow non-residents to access MAID laws, the logistics of fulfilling the safeguards in another state often put it out of reach for the dying. An 88-year-old man dying of AML cannot endure a flight to Vermont. It would be impossible to fly the family to be next to him during his last moments. Advertisement Advertisement Opinon: I am dying. My wife will watch my labored breathing, anguish. We deserve better Grandpa Chet spent his final 10 days at home in hospice care, surrounded by family and friends. It was a blessing, but it was a blessing shadowed by the pain he was forced to endure because our state laws refused to give him autonomy over his own body. Our hands shouldn't be tied Heres my call to action: I want all Ohioans to have options that my grandfather did not. It is time for Ohio to join the 14 jurisdictions in the U.S. (including Washington, D.C.) that recognize medical aid in dying as a fundamental component of end-of-life care. We need MAID legislation that: Advertisement Advertisement Respects patient autonomy, allowing sound-minded, terminally ill adults to make their own choices. Provides safeguards, requiring multiple medical opinions to ensure this is a voluntary act by the person whose life is ending. Grandpa Chet isn't here to fight this battle, but I am. I am asking my fellow Ohioans and our state legislators to look at the faces of their own loved ones and ask: If they were in agony, would you want to tell them your hands are tied? Or would you want to allow them this option that gives them the peace theyve earned? Its time for me to jump through this last hoop. Let's pass Medical Aid in Dying in Ohio. Shara Baumgartel is a family law attorney from Marietta, Ohio. Shara Baumgartel is a family law attorney from Marietta. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio needs MAID so others won't suffer like my grandpa Chet | Opinion Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) went after President Trump over his demand for one of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to drop out of the states Republican Senate primary after he makes an endorsement. Trump now says he is going to endorse either Cornyn or Paxton and demands that whoever does not get his endorsement must drop out of the runoff. This is wrong and the people of Texas should be able to vote for WHOEVER THEY WANT!!! NOT the candidate Trump demands, Greene said Wednesday afternoon in a lengthy post on the social platform X. People are furious over this and if Trump does this, it could actually be the real reason Texas Senate seat flips blue, she added. Advertisement Advertisement The Texas Republican primary for Senate is set for a runoff, featuring a late-May battle between Cornyn and Paxton. Last month, the National Republican Senatorial Committee pointed to internal polling in a memo claiming Cornyn was the only Republican candidate who reliably wins a general election matchup and that the Lone Star State cannot afford to be a gamble in this years midterms. Trump said the Texas Republican Senate candidate who does not receive his endorsement should exit the race, stating Wednesday that he would pick one of them soon. The president said on Truth Social that the Republican primary race in Texas cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! he continued. My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! Advertisement Advertisement When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Greene quit on her constituents and the America First movement in the middle of her term. Updated at 4:54 p.m. EST Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. OKLAHOMA CITY Gov. Kevin Stitt would have 30 days to appoint a new U.S. senator should Markwayne Mullin resign to accept a Cabinet position in the Trump administration. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he planned to appoint Mullin as the next head of the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin would replace Kristi Noem, who has faced sharp criticism of how she has implemented the administrations immigration policy. U.S. Senate confirmation of Mullins nomination is required. Advertisement Advertisement Mullin, Oklahomas junior senator, had not resigned as of Thursday afternoon. He did not return a request for comment about if, or when, he intended to resign. He could not serve as both senator and DHS secretary. In a social media post, Mullin, who is a Cherokee Nation citizen, said as child from Westville, it has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve Oklahomans for the past 13 years in the U.S. House and Senate. He said hes grateful to Trump for the nomination, and looks forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the Senate and carrying out President Trumps mission alongside the departments many capable agencies and the thousands of patriots who keep us safe every day. Under state law, Stitts replacement must come from the same party as Mullin, who is a Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Stitts appointee would have to agree not to run for the post in the next election, and must file a statement with the state indicating as much, said Bob Burke, a constitutional law expert, historian and author. Voters would then select a permanent replacement during the upcoming election cycle, Burke said. Markwayne Mullin has been a fighter for Oklahoma and will fight to keep our nation secure, Stitt said in a statement. There isnt a better choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Stitt said he would appoint a strong, small government conservative to support Trump and protect the states way of life. Advertisement Advertisement A Stitt spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about whether the term-limited governor was interested in the post. Primary elections are June 16, followed by Aug. 25 runoffs. The general election is Nov. 3. Had he sought reelection, Mullins seat would have been on the ballot, and he would have had to file for re-election. The filing period is April 1-3, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board. According to the U.S. Constitution, those seeking a U.S. Senate seat must be at least 30 years old, be a U.S. citizen for nine years and live in the state they seek to represent, Burke said. Advertisement Advertisement But Oklahoma law puts additional rules on the position, requiring that the person be a registered voter in Oklahoma for five years and be from the same party as the person leaving the job early, Burke said. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, authored a law in 2021 addressing what should happen in the event of a U.S. Senate vacancy. We may leave it as it is, Hilbert said Thursday of the legislation. We may want to quickly make some tweaks now that we are actually in an environment where it could happen. I dont know. Paxton said the provision that requires the person appointed to sign a statement indicating they would not run for the post cant be enforced from the standpoint of kicking someone off of the ballot, but it could be used against them in the election if they filed for it. Advertisement Advertisement The governor is not the kingmaker, Paxton said. Hes putting a placeholder in there until the voters can decide. Mullin was elected in a special election in 2022 to fulfill the term of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. Burke said that in 1963, U.S. Sen. Robert S. Kerr died, weeks before Oklahoma Gov. Jay Howard Edmondsons term ended. The late George Nigh was lieutenant governor. Edmondson resigned as governor, making Nigh governor. Nigh then appointed Edmondson to fill the vacancy. Edmondson lost to Fred Roy Harris in the 1964 Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime unveiled a major reshufflng of his cabinet on Tuesday, retaining just five ministers in a new government largely consisting of untested figures endorsed by political parties and groups that recently signed a sweeping national accord. In welcoming the group during a swearing-in ceremony, Fils-Aime made an impassioned appeal for civic engagement in Haiti and insisted on the need for his new cabinet to take resolute action. The time for fine speeches is over. Today is the time for action, he said, as he urged his new ministers to adopt sound, rigorous, and transparent management of public resources. Advertisement Advertisement Among those who managed to keep their jobs: the ministers of health, interior, trade, womens affairs and justice and public security. But 11 new ministers and two secretaries of states are now part of the new government, including the new minister of foreign and religious affairs, Raina Forbin. Forbin, who accompanied Fils-Aime to the Caribbean Communitys regional summit in Saint Kitts and Nevis last week, previously served as chief of staff for Transitional Presidential Council coordinator Laurent Saint-Cyr. Saint-Cyr represented the private sector on the beleaguered entity before its term expired on Feb. 7. Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, unveiled a major reshuffle of his cabinet. (Office of Haiti Prime Minister) One recognizable figure in the new lineup is Mario Andresol, the countrys former police chief. A onetime captain in the Armed Forces of Haiti, Andresol will now take on the challenge of leading the ministry of defense and its 1,000 enlistees. The institution, which recently received a financial boost from the U.S. Congress for nonlethal assistance, had been strained by internal discord and allegations of corruption. Andresols steps into the job as security forces continue to intensify their fight against armed gangs and the country prepares for the deployment of the first military contingents of the United Nations authorized Gang Suppression Force. Advertisement Advertisement The cabinet changes come on the heels of both a political pact, recently signed by parties with the prime minister, and the launching of the registration process for those seeking to run candidates in the next elections. That process was opened on Monday by the Provisional Electoral Council at its central office in Petion-Ville, and will continue until March 12. As the lone leader in Haiti after receiving the support of the U.S., Canada, France and the United Nations, Fils-Aime has his work cut out for him. In a frank interview, Canadas ambassador to Haiti, Andre Francois Giroux, made clear the international community is expecting results. With more powers come more responsibilities, Giroux said in an interview on Port-au-Prince Magik 9 when asked if the prime minister had a blank check. I know he is fully aware of that, but I can tell you from our side, the only thing what has guided and will continue to guide Canadas engagement and action is the well-being of the Haitian people, their security, and their constitutional right to choose their leaders. Elections by years end Last week, as he met with Caribbean leaders, Fils-Aime said he hopes to have the first round of elections by the end of the year. Asked whether he plans to run, he said no, citing the political pact, which he says bars him from being a candidate. Fils-Aime called the pact an important milestone. Advertisement Advertisement We have over 200 political parties, civil society, private sector, that did sign with the government an accord that we will fight for security together, and we will go to the election by the end of the year, he said of the National Pact for Stability and the Organization of Elections. We have found agreement between Haitians, and we have decided that we are moving forward. Elections will be held as soon as we get all the security wins necessary, he said. Fils-Aime was among a small group of leaders who met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the CARICOM conference. During the talks, he emphasized the need for Haiti to achieve baseline security. This situation has been happening for over five years. We are doing our best to resolve the gang issue, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Among the key elements in the recently signed pact is the revival of the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantling and Reintegration of gang members. The prime minister says the program, which was shelved in May 2025 by the transitional council after a controversial appointment, will be structured in three phases. One phase will be the police and the army and the [Gang Suppression Force] that that was voted by the UN last year, that will fight the gangs, he said. The second part will go through the justice system. People will have to be arrested, people will be judged, and people will go to jail. And the third part of the security will come [from] the reinsertion of the youth that was pulled into the gangs; the youth that was used by gangs whether they are boys, young boys or young girls, they need to be taken to centers. The renewed push comes as the U.N. issues a stark report detailing the exploitation of children by armed groups in Haiti. The report describes children being used to run errands, monitor security forces and collect extortion payments, as well as to participate in kidnappings, targeted killings and sexual violence. Factors such as poverty, weak institutions and social exclusion, coupled with surging armed violence, have created an environment where children are increasingly at risk of being trafficked by gangs. Advertisement Advertisement This risk is particularly acute for children from extremely poor and marginalized families, as well as those living on the streets or in displaced persons sites, Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said after the report was released. The report also found sounded the alarm on how children trafficked by gangs are often seen not as victims but as perpetrators by law enforcement. In some circumstances, some children accused of gang association have been summarily executed by police officers or killed by so-called self-defense groups, the report stressed, calling for a comprehensive, human rights-centered strategy to address the crisis. High level U.N. visits in Haiti William ONeill, the U.N.s independent human-rights expert who arrived in Haiti on Monday for meetings with the government and others, said the report leaves no doubt about the dangers children in Haiti face. Not only do children face forced recruitment by gangs, but also tens of thousand dont have enough to eat, cant go to school or to a doctor and have little access to clean water. And they face a bleak future of unemployment and deepening poverty, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Haiti is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child, he added. U.N. Development Program Administrator Alexander De Croo also traveled to Haiti this week, where he reaffirmed his agencys commitment in meetings with the private sector and government officials, including the prime minister. During his meeting with Fils-Aime, De Croo highlighted what he described as renewed momentum in the partnership between his agency and Haiti. De Croo also discussed the support the agency plans to provide toward the organizing of elections. With the youth making up more than 50% of Haitis population, De Croo also encouraged young community leaders to take up their role in building an inclusive Haiti and assured them the U.N. is steadfast in its support. All support by the U.N. Development Program must be Haitian-led, he said, before departing for Jamaica where he will meet with communities still trying to recover and rebuild after Hurricane Melissa. The World Health Organization has lost access to one of its largest logistics centres and supply warehouses for global emergency operations due to the war in the Middle East. The facility, located in Dubai, has suspended all activities due to the security situation, WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy said on Thursday. Medical supplies worth about $18 million are currently stranded at the site, while additional shipments valued at around $8 million that were due to arrive by sea cannot reach the centre. Advertisement Advertisement The warehouse stores medicines and medical equipment used for emergency operations and for supporting weakened health systems around the world. These include supplies for treating people wounded in conflicts, victims of earthquakes or floods, and medicines for conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. In some years, the WHO says the Dubai hub helps supply more than 20 million people in around 70 countries. WHO emergency coordinator Annette Heinzelmann said the agency is examining whether supplies can now be transported by land from the logistics centre. The Geneva-based WHO is also assessing whether other logistics hubs in Brindisi, Italy, Nairobi, Kenya and elsewhere can take over deliveries. McKay's, a small chain of stores that buys and sells used books, collectibles, electronics, instruments, movies, music and more, is closing its Knoxville store. The shop is on Papermill Drive, a busy corridor that runs parallel to Intestate 40 in West Knoxville. A hotel developer that owns a Holiday Inn Express just down the street bought the McKay's property for $4.25 million. Shoppers have lamented the closure of the store that became a routine: Get in line to drop off your items so workers can assess their value, shop while you wait and then buy a few thing on your way out. Then start the routine over on the next visit. Why is McKay's closing? Did the unionization play a role? Here's what to know about the store that has been in Knoxville since 1985. Advertisement Advertisement The owners sold the property to a local hotel developer. McKay's owner Sam Jacobson told Knox News the decision was the culmination of years of discussions as the market evolved and the area around the Papermill Drive retail space developed. Store employees unionized in late 2022 and the union has been working toward a contract, but the sides never came to an agreement. The union, through its parent organization, Communications Workers of America, filed multiple labor allegations with the National Labor Relations Board. Jacobson told Knox News the unionization did not factor into the decision to sell. Union representatives say they will continue to pursue their claims even as the store closes. When is McKay's closing? The Knoxville's store's last day is May 3. McKay's Knoxville hours will stay the same The store's hours will not change in its final days. The store is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.- 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. What does McKay's buy? McKay's buys lots of different items, from used books to computers to puzzles. Customers can accept cash payments or McKay's credit. Advertisement Advertisement The Knoxville store, however, is no longer buying. Customers will have to travel to a McKay's store in another city to sell their items. Is McKay's only in Tennessee? No, McKay's has stores in North Carolina and Tennessee: Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville in Tennessee and plus Mebane and Winston-Salem in North Carolina. Even though Knoxville is closing, all of the remaining stores will stay open. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why is McKay's closing in Knoxville? And when? The winter that has pounded Connecticut with a blizzard and several other significant snow storms will have ripple effects into June as public schools systems juggle calendars to make up for lost class days. Severe weather has forced most Connecticut schools to call off classes for either four or five days so far, leaving educators to tweak the calendar for the rest of the academic year and come up with contingency plans in case even more storms hit. Since every community draws up its own school calendar, the impact varies from town to town: Berlin and Milford, for instance, pushed back the last day of class deeper into June. Stonington postponed a staff development day until after graduation, while Mansfield decided to hold classes Juneteenth and recoup a day by skipping the planned holiday closing. Advertisement Advertisement Every solution carries some degree of inconvenience for families, students, teachers and other staff, but school boards emphasize that they have no choice. But so far, none of the 15 school systems surveyed by The Courant have had to shorten their April vacation yet, which can be a highly contentious decision since families and teachers often book vacation for those times far in advance. Weve had six snow days so far this year, Bristol Schools Superintendent Iris White said. This is above average. We are committed to meeting state requirements for instructional hours while being mindful of the impact any changes may have on families and staff. Our plan is to ask for stakeholder input on next steps. In every harsh winter, educators must deal with a network of requirements that typically conflict with the convenience of families and staff. Connecticut law requires that students get 180 days of education a year, and also makes schools hit that mark by June 30 educators are free to adjust class calendars, but not to extend classes into July. Advertisement Advertisement And despite a period during the pandemic when at-home, virtual classes were enough to meet the standard, the state has done away with the option and declared that in-person classes are necessary. Since serious snow can hit in March or even April, every severe winter leaves school systems with only just a couple of months to catch up. The choices are cutting down or canceling the spring vacation, holding classes over holidays or staff development days, or extending the last day of school from the usual mid-June back to late June. Educators agree that this year has been uncommonly difficult compared to recent, relatively mild winters, but also point out that Connecticut went through worse over the decades. Advertisement Advertisement Weve had five snow days, Portland Superintendent Charles Britton said. Yes, that is more than usual. It has been a cold, snowy winter. The Board of Education is considering canceling a professional development day scheduled for March 13, turning it into a normal school day in order to take back one day. Classes were supposed to end June 15, but thats been pushed back. Right now our last day is Monday, June 22. If we take back the PD day and have no additional snow days, it would be Friday, June 19, Britton said. If we get walloped with another blizzard (watching next Tuesday carefully) we will need to go into the week of June 22. We havent yet contemplated giving up April vacation days. Keeping classes open in late June is the most common solution Connecticut schools are trying this year, but it, too, can draw a backlash from families and staff members who already made plans to be elsewhere then. Advertisement Advertisement And to keep a mid-June high school graduation on schedule, it also creates the somewhat awkward situation of conducting classes for days after seniors have gotten their diplomas and celebrated being done with school. Educators privately acknowledge that seniors attendance is poor or nil for those days. Rescheduling graduation is problematic because extended families and out-of-town friends often plan months ahead to travel to be with graduates on that day. In addition, communities with Project Graduation activities know that venues cant be rebooked and volunteers schedules cant be rearranged on short notice. Like his colleagues across the state, East Hartford schools Superintendent Thomas Anderson has to weigh all of those inconveniences when deciding whether to call off classes. Safety is always far and away the primary factor, said all 15 superintendents surveyed by The Courant. After significant winter storms, we must allow adequate time for crews to clear sidewalks and streets so buses, student drivers, and families can travel safely. Many of our staff members commute from outside of town, which also factors into our decision-making, Anderson said. One of the greatest challenges is the timing and inconsistency of forecasts, especially when winter weather begins after the morning commute has started, making real-time decisions particularly difficult. Advertisement Advertisement Walter Willett, chief of Tollands school system, noted that decisions are especially complex in rural communities where topography varies widely. Remote roads can be dangerous or unplowed even while main routes through the center of town are clear, he said. Its tough when you have some of those back roads with a lot of twists and turns, hills and valleys. Then its not just the amount of snow, but also how much (tree) debris is in the road, he said. People can see main roads looking great and say Why arent we able to run a bus through that? Its because of the side roads, the narrow roads, and sometimes even parking lots those have to be clear, too, for it to be safe. Willett emphasized that superintendents dont make the morning decision on their own. Its a partnership with the department of public works, public safety, the transportation company, he said, noting that bus drivers as well as all other staff need to be able to get to work. Advertisement Advertisement Willett is prepared for Tolland to have classes going past commencement this year, and many other districts are, too. Today marks the fourth snow day for West Hartford, which is slightly above average for the last two to three years but not at all unusual when looking longer term, Superintendent Paul Vicinus said. Graduation has been set for Thursday, June 11 and state law allows schools to keep graduation firm despite potential emergency closings. In light of closings to this point, the last day of school would be Thursday, June 18. Willett agreed that the severity of winters generally balances out across decades. Were used to it as New Englanders, he said. There are tough years and then there are easy ones. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio got into a heated exchange over Iran, according to a new report. The pair were at each other's throats while discussing whether or not the U.S. should send troops to Iran at the request of Israel, sources told the Middle East Eye. Hegseth supports putting boots on the ground, while Rubio, the Trump administrations top diplomat, is wary of dragging the U.S. into another drawn-out foreign war, sources said. Advertisement Advertisement A former high-ranking member of the military told the outlet that Rubio is aware that the American public may strongly oppose putting U.S. service members in harms way. He also noted that Rubio has been bothered by Hegseths public remarks on the military operation. The Pentagon referred The Independent to a statement by chief spokesman Sean Parnell on X which called the story "100% FAKE NEWS." A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth were 'at each other's throats' in an argument about Iran, according to a new report (AFP via Getty Images) Top Trump administration officials have not ruled out deploying American troops to Iran. The president told The New York Post that he doesnt have the yips when it comes to sending Americans to war. Hegseth has said the administration wont be dumb about it. Both have also expressed that the operation would not drag on forever. Advertisement Advertisement To the media outlets and political left screaming endless wars, stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless, Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Monday. Our generation knows better and so does this president. Trump said he expects the campaign to last four to five weeks, though he noted we have [the] capability to go far longer than that. The conflict has intensified over the past week, drawing more countries into the the fray. A pair of Iranian drones landed in Azerbaijan on Thursday, with additional Iranian strikes reported in Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Six U.S. service members have been killed. On Wednesday, the U.S. military said it had struck or sunk more than 20 Iranian ships, including one that was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean. Advertisement Advertisement The new developments come after the U.S. and Israel began launching strikes across Iran over the weekend, killing over 1,000 people, including 175 at a school near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian non-profit Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the countrys 86-year-old supreme leader, was also killed, alongside several members of his family, according to state media. Smoke is seen rising over Tehran following US-Israeli airstrikes, which have killed hundreds of people, according to Iranian state media (AFP/Getty) The State Department is evacuating Americans stranded in the Middle East. The Defense Department is moving to increase the number of service members tasked with gathering intelligence indicating the administration was not ready for a broader conflict, according to Politico. What weve seen is a completely ad hoc operation where it appeared that nobody actually understood or believed that military action was imminent, Gerald Feierstein, a former senior U.S. diplomat, told the outlet. It seems like they woke up on Saturday morning and decided that they were going to start a war. The administration has offered multiple seemingly conflicting explanations for the surprise attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Vice President JD Vance has said the strikes were intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while Rubio noted that the U.S. acted after learning of Israels plan to launch an attack comments he later walked back. Trump has talked of his desire for regime change, calling on the Iranian people to take back their country. Democratic lawmakers have largely opposed the administrations sudden campaign, slamming it as illegal, unwise and a violation of Trumps campaign promises. Trump said that the Iraq War was a disaster. He said Libya was a disaster. He ran because a big part of the MAGA base did not want another war in the Middle East, Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, told NBC News last Sunday. I believe this is a betrayal of a decent chunk of the MAGA base. Many GOP lawmakers have publicly backed the president, though some have privately expressed concerns about striking Iran, with one drawing parallels to the U.S. invasion of Vietnam. Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, an attempt to rein in the president failed when the Senate rejected an Iran war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for military action against Iran. The House is scheduled to vote on a similar measure Thursday, which is expected to fail in the GOP-controlled chamber. Iranian officials have characterized the attacks as lawless and requested that the international community rally to its defense. Recent polls suggest the public has little appetite for attacking Iran. Just one in four Americans favor Trumps strikes, according to a Reuters survey. And a CBS News poll conducted earlier this week found that 62 percent of American adults did not think the administration has provided a clear explanation for its goals in Iran. Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the Pentagons response. Precious Bibbs, a local high school senior, has overcome struggles to earn approximately $83,000 in scholarships and gain acceptance to several top universities. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Bibbs, who maintains a 4.2 GPA, will graduate from the Global Impact STEM Academy this spring with honors and an associate degree. Her academic success follows years of navigating personal challenges. Advertisement Advertisement She has received acceptance letters from Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati and Johns Hopkins University as she prepares for a career in biomedical engineering. TRENDING STORIES: Mauren Reed, the mother of Bibbs, said her daughter has always been self-sufficient with her schoolwork. Reed described her youngest of five children as naturally gifted and dedicated to her studies. Advertisement Advertisement Im just, Im lost for words, Reed said. I just dont know where her brain just I magically was pregnant with a brainy child. Like you had the parents to help with homework. She kind of knew how to do everything on her own. Bibbs used her personal history with housing instability to apply for financial aid. One specific scholarship application focused on her experience with homelessness, which she turned into an opportunity for her future. It was really personal for me, and I just submitted and ended up winning that scholarship, Bibbs said. When discussing her total financial awards, she estimated the amount is around $83,000. Advertisement Advertisement A significant portion of her funding came from a Future Farmers of America project where she developed chocolate from soybeans. The project gained national recognition and secured her a scholarship to Ohio State University. Ohio is really big on soybeans, Bibbs said. They can go in so many different things. I ended up going nationally with it and thats how I got my OSU scholarship. Looking beyond high school, Bibbs plans to enter the medical field through a combination of higher education and service. Im going to pursue that and get my bachelors degree in two more years and then Ill join the military for a medical background, Bibbs said. Advertisement Advertisement She cited the determination and the courage it takes to be in the military as a primary motivation for her career path. Bibbs will graduate from high school in May. She is expected to select which university she will attend within the next month. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Oil and fuel futures and options contracts traded on Monday hit an all-time high as traders rushed to lock in surging benchmark prices, Reuters has reported, citing ICE data. The total number of futures and options in crude and fuels reached 12.7 million, with the number of contracts for ICEs Low Sulphur Gasoil hitting 1.3 millionthe highest ever. The ICE contract is the global benchmark for all refined oil products. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures and options traded on March 1, meanwhile, stood at 4.8 million. On Monday, Brent crude contracts went up by 11% and WTI contracts added 8% to reflect heightened supply risk from the war in the Middle East, as U.S. oil producers sought to lock in the higher prices. We had a queue of oil producers and also a set of dealers ready to trade at 5 p.m. on Sunday, anticipating a price increase. It was standby, everybody's ready, finger on the button, let's get going, said the president of Aegis Hedging, Matt Marshall, as quoted by Reuters. The firm, according to the publication, handles between 25% and 30% of U.S. oil hedging. Related: Inside North Americas First Fully Integrated Rare Earth Facility Brent crude has gone up to over $83 per barrel, as of the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate at close to $76 per barrel, after Iran threatened to attack any tanker attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz. Media are meanwhile reporting that Iraq has begun to shut in production for lack of storage space and Kuwait will soon have to start doing the same if the war extends beyond one week. In response to Iranian threats of attacks on tankers, and as insurers cancel coverage, president Trump has offered U.S. insurance from the Development Finance Corporation for tankers loading in the Middle East, along with U.S. Navy escort if necessary. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you'll always know why the market is moving before everyone else. You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions - and we'll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US was "likely" to implement a 15% global tariff this week, following conflicting statements from President Donald Trump about the rate. The new tariff is intended to replace the sweeping global import taxes Trump imposed last year but were recently struck down by the Supreme Court. The White House responded to that ruling by imposing a levy at 10% - despite Trump claiming on social media it would be 15%. Advertisement Advertisement The contradiction sparked widespread global confusion at the time, with businesses and world leaders calling for clarity. White House officials have previously said they were working on paperwork to align the duties with Trump's statements. They have dismissed the significance of the court ruling, saying they can use other legal tools to restore the tariff policies, which they say will help rebalance trade, boost domestic manufacturing and pay down US debt. To impose the 10% tariff, the White House used an untested trade authority known as Section 122, which authorises the US president declare a tariff of up to 15% without congressional approval for 150 days under certain conditions. Advertisement Advertisement The White House has said it will also turn to other legal tools as it seeks to restore its tariff regime more permanently. "It's my strong belief that the tariff rates will be back to their old rate within five months," Bessent told CNBC. He has said he does not expect the Supreme Court ruling to affect the revenue the US takes in from tariffs going forward. The administration is currently facing claims from firms who had previously paid the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down. Experts say the government could owe up to $130bn (97.2bn) in refunds as a result. A study from the Cato Institute estimated US taxpayers could be on the hook for $23m in interest for each day that refunds are delayed adding up to some $700m a month. Advertisement Advertisement Significant questions remain about what US import tax policies will look like going forward. Last April, Trump announced "Liberation Day" tariffs on dozens of countries, with rates starting at 10% and climbing toward 50% in some cases. The duties kicked off a flurry of trade negotiations as countries pushed to secure lower rates in exchange for promises of investment and other changes. The US Supreme Court's judgement struck down those "Liberation Day" tariffs, as well as some the administration had previously announced on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, citing emergency powers. Advertisement Advertisement Trump responded by announcing a 10% global tariff, which he claimed on social media the next day he was increasing to 15%. However, the levy eventually came into force at the lower rate. The move to an across-the-board tariff of 10%, with carve-outs for some kinds of goods, put shipments from all countries on an even footing. It raised questions about the fate of the deals allies had secured after "Liberation Day", while removing the advantage that some countries such as the UK had agreed to in those deals. Sector-specific tariffs The White House has said it will lean on other legal tools, known as Section 301 and Section 232, to introduce tariffs after the 150 days elapse. Advertisement Advertisement Those kinds of tariffs typically target specific countries or industries, allowing the US to impose levies in response to unfair trade practices and national security threats, respectively. Trump has previously used them to impose import taxes on metals, including steel and aluminium, cars and other items. He has also explored wielding them in fights over digital taxes, pharmaceutical imports and other issues. Those tools require the White House to follow certain procedures, including presenting a case for the duties after an investigation and providing businesses with set notice and comment periods. Businesses have said following those rules was preferable to Trump's abrupt policy announcements to date, since they would have more time to adjust to changes even if there is not much difference in the final policy. Additional reporting by Jonathan Josephs Alaska lawmakers introduced new legislation in the House of Representatives that would raise the states per student funding for schools. They say it is critical to help school districts struggling with rising costs and ballooning deficits. The House Education Committee introduced House Bill 374 on Wednesday. It would raise the states per student funding, known as the base student allocation, by $630 per student. That would increase the current per student total from $6,660 to $7,290. Lawmakers increased the BSA by $700 per student last year. We cant lose ground right now, said Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka and co-chair of the House Education Committee on Wednesday. We continue to look at all the different ways to support the schools, and the BSA is one way to do it. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, speaks in favor of a veto override on House Bill 69 on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) The education funding increase would total $158.6 million statewide, and Himschoot said it would offer districts more stability by raising funds within the states complex funding formula. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer and House Minority Leader, expressed skepticism at adding state funding for schools this year. No discussion about adding additional money can be had without deciding what program you want to cut, she said Wednesday. Himschoot said lawmakers decided on the $630 per student figure after assessing the current budget deficits of the states five largest districts by student population. The proposed funding increase would provide a partial stopgap for those budget shortfalls. The Anchorage School District is facing a $90 million budget deficit, and is advancing plans to close three schools and cut 500 teachers and staff. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is confronting a $23 million deficit, and considering closing three schools. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is looking at an $8.5 million budget shortfall and considering ways to cut costs. The Juneau School District has a $6.7 million budget shortfall. Pearl Creek Elementary School is seen on June 3, 2025. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District decided to close the school at the end of the academic year. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) While the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has a current budget surplus of $2.5 million this year, that comes after it closed three schools last year totaling seven school closures in the last five years, Himschoot noted. Advertisement Advertisement They have class sizes approaching 40 in the high school and 26 in their elementary schools even now. And theyve downsized a lot of different staff, including a total of 300 teaching positions since 2019, she said. So theyve had to do some challenging things in their district to get to the black. Himschoot noted the state has revenue challenges but said lawmakers should make education a priority. Last year, lawmakers faced a bitter political battle with Gov. Mike Dunleavy who twice vetoed education funding increases, citing the need for education policy changes to improve student outcomes. Lawmakers overrode Dunleavys veto and passed a $700 per student increase with some policy items, but the governor then vetoed its funding. Legislators then returned for a special session and voted to override the budget line veto. That resulted in an additional $51 million for schools. Alaskans who supported the override of Gov. Mike Dunleavys education funding veto applaud as legislators leave the House chambers on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon) But Dunleavy has said he is dropping his push for education policy changes this year, and focusing on a state fiscal plan and proposed oil and gas development projects. Advertisement Advertisement Minority Leader Johnson, whose district includes the east side of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, including Palmer, Butte and Lazy Mountain, said after the funding increase last year districts should manage their budgets accordingly. We added a significant amount of money last year, she said. I think that we need to take a little while to let the districts figure out what they actually need, and let that money go through the process. If they have to make corrections, I dont know what to say if they have to close schools they have to do whatever they have to do to manage their budget. Newly appointed House Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Anchorage and House Minority Whip Rep. Justin Ruffridge speak with reporters on the first day of the second session of the 34th Legislature on Jan. 20, 2026 (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon) Johnson expressed concern that the state is reckoning with a projected deficit, as lawmakers await a state revenue forecast due out in March. Were in deficit spending, and I dont know where the moneys going to come from. And I think we need to have a lot more data on school spending, she said. School officials, teachers and students have testified to the House Education Committee this year that state funding has not kept pace with classroom needs, particularly with rising costs for keeping schools open, including fuel, insurance and transportation, as well as deteriorating school facilities. Advertisement Advertisement The proposed state education funding increase would help fill some of those gaps, and prevent more severe cuts to teachers and classrooms, said Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau. I want families to know that we care about education in the state of Alaska, and you can raise your kids here and theyre going to have a decent education. And so I think we have to seriously look at what investment is that going to take from the state, she said Wednesday. Himschoot said that BSA increase is one important step, and lawmakers are open to negotiating with members of the minority caucuses and the governors office to make it happen. Everyone has schools in their district, she said. People call it a fight for the BSA. I prefer to call it a dance. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE WINOOSKI, Vt (ABC22/FOX44) It was a packed house Wednesday morning at the Vermont Construction Academy who played host to the Air to Water Heat Pump Summit, put on by the Efficiency Vermont and Associated Contractors of Vermont and New Hampshire. The training session introduced heating contractors, installers, and the next generation of workers to the newest innovation in heating solutions air to water heat pump technology. It can absorb heat from very cold outside air, it brings the temperature o the heat up and transfers that heat to water, explains John Siegenthaler. The water then carries that heat through the building. Advertisement Advertisement Siegenthaler has over 30 years of experience in designing hydronic heat systems. He says heat pumps are increasingly coming into the market to meet state and federal electrification standards. One of the gaps in the heat pump field has always been houses or other building that have water-based heating how do I take a heat pump and apply it there? It can be retrofitted or its ideal in new construction. Another interesting component of the technology is that it allows water-based systems to do cooling. Taylor Kristiansen with Mitsubishi Electric was there debuting their 3-in-1 Ecodan system. Heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, this is basically a whole home system in one, says Kristiansen. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to checking out new products, the event focused on making connections and educating industry newcomers for success in the future. We see the air to water heat pump as the next generation of energy efficiency in homes and we believe it will tackle some of the concerns from the old air heat pumps that are out there, says Matt Musgrave, regional director for the Vermont Construction Academy. Its also going to help us with our goal of reducing energy use in Vermont. Musgrave says the event perfectly aligns with the academys goal of growing the industry. If youre looking around the room there are a lot of seasoned pros that exist. This is really furthering their education so they can bring in more of this great equipment to help them grow themselves, their business, and then theyre going to bring it back and train the next generation with that good information, Musgraves says. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. By Laura Garcia TEGUCIGALPA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Conservative politician and businessman Nasry Asfura was sworn in as president of Honduras on Tuesday after a closely fought election marred by allegations of fraud and political tension fueled by U.S. interference. Asfura, 67, will serve a four-year term until January 2030. He has pledged to fight poverty, corruption and crime, and to revive the economy in one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Advertisement Advertisement "We have to get to work; work with humility and with the total commitment required to bring real solutions to every corner of our beloved Honduras," Asfura said in a ceremony at the National Congress. "The clock has started ticking - there is no time to waste. We have to solve people's problems to serve," he added. Asfura has also pledged to restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which were severed by predecessor Xiomara Castro in 2023. Such a move would be a major diplomatic setback for China in Central America. A former mayor of Tegucigalpa from 2014 to 2022, Asfura was inaugurated after months of electoral chaos in Honduras, fueled by a last-minute endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump, a deeply troubled vote-counting process and a razor-thin victory of 26,000 votes over centrist candidate Salvador Nasralla. Advertisement Advertisement Washington said in recent days it aimed to begin negotiations "as soon as possible" on a bilateral trade agreement with Honduras. Still, Asfura enters office facing a delicate balancing act. While his party holds a simple majority, he will need the support of rival parties - including those that alleged voter fraud - in order to ratify international treaties or amend the constitution. Asfura campaigned on a message of "work and more work," promising to attract investment, create jobs and impose austerity in government spending. "In Honduras, everything is urgent," said political analyst Luis Leon in Tegucigalpa. "But two issues will determine whether people feel the government is responding: public health and investment to generate jobs." Advertisement Advertisement Last year, government health workers went on strike for nearly a month to protest overdue pay as well as shortages of medicines and supplies. A recent report by the World Bank, the Pan American Health Organization and journal The Lancet said Honduras' public health system has deep structural weaknesses that leave it highly vulnerable to health crises. Outgoing leftist Castro leaves office after expanding public investment and social spending. Her administration oversaw moderate economic growth and declines in poverty and inequality, though both remain high. The homicide rate fell to its lowest level in recent history, but human-rights groups criticized Castro for maintaining a prolonged state of emergency in parts of the country to combat gang violence and for expanding the role of the military. (Reporting by Laura Garcia in Tegucigalpa and Diego Ore in Mexico City; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Emily Green, Matthew Lewis, Alexandra Hudson) The South Dakota House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters if the lieutenant governor should be stripped of his role as the Senates presiding officer. Tensions between the lieutenant governor and the state Senate have simmered in 2026 due to the health-related absence of Sioux Falls Republican Sen. Arch Beal. Without him, the likelihood of a tie in the 35-member Senate has increased. In order for a bill to pass the Senate, the state constitution requires a yes vote from the majority of elected senators 18 of the 35 not a majority of the senators in the chamber at the time of the vote. Advertisement Advertisement The constitution also says the lieutenant governor, as presiding officer of the Senate, only gets a vote when members are equally divided. The effort to push a constitutional amendment onto the general election emerged amid multiple 17-17 vote controversies. After some senators challenged Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizens authority to break ties, Gov. Larry Rhoden asked the Supreme Court for guidance. The court confirmed that the lieutenant governor can cast tie-breaking votes. Supporters of the resolution said letting senators choose their own presiding officer would create a more independent Senate. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the Senate is led by the Senate President Pro Tempore, currently Sioux Falls Republican Chris Karr. Backers of the resolution in the House, like Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, noted that the governor was only recently allowed to appoint their own lieutenant governor and, by extension, the president of the senate rather than having the position elected by delegates at the South Dakota Republican Partys state convention. Advertisement Advertisement I firmly think having the branches of government completely separate, checking on each other, is the right way to go, Overweg said. Opponents, like Rep. Chris Kassin, R-Vermillion, said the change would be a major rewrite of the states constitution, and warned against adding another issue to an already long November 2026 ballot. This is not a minor tweak, Kassin said. It is a fundamental change to the constitutional structure of South Dakota. It removes the lieutenant governor as the presiding officer of the Senate. A role placed there by design, not by accident. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Wednesday expressed his frustration with the U.S. operation against Iran. I learned when I was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan that when elites in Washington bang the war drums, pound their chest, talk about the costs of war and act tough, theyre not talking about them doing it, Crow said during a news conference alongside other House Democrats. Theyre not talking about their kids or their billionaire donors picking up rifles, jumping into planes, jumping into helicopters. Theyre talking about working-class kids like us. Theyre talking about those in small towns, in farms and ranches across the country, that have to actually do the work, that have to fight and die, and the American people that have to pay for all of it. Americans have had enough, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Last weekend, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran following weeks of American-Iranian tension. The strikes, which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also rapidly ratcheted up hostilities in the region, with Iran retaliating via attacks on Israel and Gulf states. Iranian leaders on Thursday called for President Trumps blood after the recent strikes, pledging to take action due to the atrocity. In a recent Fox News poll, a majority of American voters said they believe that Trumps relationship with Iran had made the U.S. less safe. Fifty-one percent of respondents said the presidents relationship with Tehran had increased risk for the U.S., while 29 percent in the poll said Trumps relationship with Iran had increased security for their country. Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that Trump made the right call on the U.S. operation against Iran. Advertisement Advertisement I think at the end of the day, the president, history will record that he made the right call. The opportunity presented itself, and the president made the decision to unleash our armed forces, Pence told CNNs Kaitlan Collins. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The House on Thursday failed to adopt a war powers resolution that attempted to curtail President Donald Trump's military actions in Iran. It failed by a vote of 212-219. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson bucked GOP leaders by voting in favor; four Democrats voted against the resolution: Reps. Henry Cuellar, Jared Golden, Greg Landsman and Juan Vargas. Senate fails to advance Iran war powers resolution Advertisement Advertisement The resolution, which only expresses the sentiment of Congress, called on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force is enacted. It came after recent U.S. strikes on Iran that killed several Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. The measure was non-binding and not subject to the president's signature or veto. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images - PHOTO: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, March 4, 2026 in Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson argued Wednesday that the United States is "not at war" but only engaged in a "defensive operation" in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement We're not at war right now, Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. We're in -- four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation." Later on Wednesday, Trump contradicted Johnson, repeatedly referring to the conflict in Iran as a "war" hours after Johnson said it wasn't. Iran live updates Sitting next to Johnson during a roundtable on energy prices, Trump said "we're doing very well on -- on the war front, to put it mildly." US Army - PHOTO: A U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launches from an undisclosed location in support Operation Epic Fury. Johnson had said that the "passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea." Advertisement Advertisement "It would empower our enemies. It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the U.S. military and the commander in chief away from completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe," he said Wednesday. Trump administration's mixed messaging on war with Iran: ANALYSIS On Wednesday, Senate Democrats failed to meet a 51-vote threshold on an alternate Iran war powers resolution sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Sen. Rand Paul. The resolution failed behind a 47-53 tally. A Houston attorney, whose home has been searched multiple times in connection with a missing person's case, has now been charged with stalking someone else, according to court records. Records alleged Sean Kennedy was arrested in February on a stalking charge. He reportedly watched a woman in her home, took pictures of her, installed a surveillance camera facing her bedroom, as well as damaging her surveillance camera by spraying it with water. Documents stated this went on from September 2024 through Jan. 30, 2026. Advertisement Advertisement This charge is the latest in a series of strange events involving Kennedy. Also in September 2024, police searched his townhome on Sage Road in connection with a missing persons case. Authorities said Robert Bond had been staying at the home with Kennedy, his wife, and their children, which was his last known location. Bond hasn't been seen since June 2024. Following the search, Kennedy was charged with drug possession, and his wife, Alle Price-Kennedy, was charged with credit card fraud. In addition to the drugs, authorities said they also found stolen credit cards, social security cards, and mail belonging to neighbors. Among those items were Bond's driver's license and social security card. However, the Kennedys have not been charged in connection with Bond's disappearance. SEE ALSO: Homicide investigators serving search warrant in ongoing missing person case, HPD says Man facing drug charges after home searched in connection with missing person case, HPD says For more news updates, follow Courtney Carpenter on Facebook, X and Instagram. The Kurdish forces operating along the Iran-Iraq border are considered one of the most prominent armed opposition groups confronting the regime in Tehran. Hundreds of Kurdish fighters have begun ground activity inside Iran from areas near the Iraqi border, Israeli and American officials confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, in a development that could open an additional front against Tehran as regional tensions continue to escalate. The Kurdish forces operating along the Iran-Iraq border are considered one of the most prominent armed opposition groups confronting the regime in Tehran. The organizations involved are Iranian Kurdish groups that maintain thousands of fighters, most of whom operate from territory in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq along the frontier with Iran. Advertisement Advertisement According to Kurdish sources, these forces have been preparing in recent days to participate in ground operations in western Iran with the aim of pressuring Iranian security forces and dispersing them across multiple arenas. The strategic concept behind the activity, the sources said, is that fighting along the border areas would force the Iranian regime to divert military and security resources there, potentially easing pressure on protesters and opposition elements in major cities inside Iran. A senior Kurdish source said on Tuesday evening that in their assessment there is a major opportunity now, citing the heavy military pressure currently being placed on Iran and the strikes targeting regime infrastructure. MEMBERS OF the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attend an exercise in southern Iran, in this handout image obtained on February 16, 2026. (credit: IRGC/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS) Iran's intelligence ministry said on Thursday that it targeted posts of "separatist groups" who intended to enter through western borders, adding that they sustained heavy losses. Advertisement Advertisement The Iranian ministry statement, which was carried by state media, said Iranian forces are cooperating with "noble Kurds" to thwart the "Israeli-American" plan to attack Iranian soil. Additionally, the IRGC claimed to have struck several Kurdish bases in Iraq, N12 reported. The strikes were carried out via three ballistic missile attacks. There has not yet been confirmation on how many bases were hit or whether they resulted in any casualties. Turkey said on Thursday that it was closely following actions by the Iranian Kurds, adding that its actions threatened Iran's security and regional stability. Advertisement Advertisement In recent days, contacts and discussions reportedly took place between the Trump administration and Kurdish figures, including a conversation between President Donald Trump and Kurdish leaders in Iraq, as well as leaders of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. The discussions focused on the possibility of operational cooperation. Under such a scenario, Kurdish forces could serve as a ground element that destabilizes the Iranian regime in certain regions. According to sources familiar with the matter, Kurdish forces expect potential American and Israeli support for such activity. Such support could take several forms, primarily intelligence sharing, military assistance, and the creation of operational conditions that would enable Kurdish fighters to operate inside Iranian territory. Advertisement Advertisement However, according to the assessments cited by the sources, the Kurdish forces alone do not possess the military capability required to overthrow the Iranian regime. In addition, divisions exist among the various Kurdish organizations, which differ in ideology and strategic interests. Any broader operation would also depend on cooperation from the leadership of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, particularly regarding the use of territory and the movement of weapons across the border. The ground action began as Israel's small cabinet held a security assessment. White House discussed arming Kurdish militias, denies action was taken White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed reports during a briefing with journalists claiming that the Trump administration was considering arming Kurdish forces in order to spark an uprising inside Iran, stating that the reports were false. Advertisement Advertisement Leavitt confirmed that Trump had held conversations with Kurdish leaders as part of his ongoing discussions with partners and allies in the Middle East, particularly regarding the US military base in northern Iraq. However, she stressed that any claim suggesting the president had approved a plan to arm Kurdish forces against Iran was incorrect and had no factual basis, according to the briefing. Officials deny claims, say no Kurds crossed border Aziz Ahmad, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Kurdistan, called the claims "patently false" in a post to X/Twitter later on Wednesday, claiming that not a single Iraqi has crossed the border. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) also denied the reports, stating that they are "aimed at undermining security and stability in Iran," according to a report fromYnet. Advertisement Advertisement The IRGC threatened that "Any attempted infiltration will be met with a harsh response." According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, an Iranian security source also refuted the claims. "After the US and Israel failed to achieve their goals on the ground, they are now trying to undermine the spirit of resistance of our people through psychological warfare," he said. "We assure the citizens of Ilam province that security prevails along the border with Iraq that the military and security forces are fully protecting." An official from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) also dismissed the reports, said Rudaw. Hungary plans to send a ministerial fact-finding mission to Ukraine to investigate damage to the Druzhba Pipeline, a key conduit for Russian oil to the landlocked Eastern European country, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette. A deputy minister from the Energy Ministry is to lead the mission, which was ordered by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and will include a representative from Hungary's MOL energy company. Up to the end of January, Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia received Russian oil through the pipeline on which they are heavily dependent. Advertisement Advertisement While Ukrainian authorities report that the pipeline was damaged by Russian attacks, the Hungarian and Slovakian governments maintain that disruption to supply through the pipelines is the result of a political decision by Kiev rather than technical issues. Ukraine denies this, saying the pipeline was hit by a Russian drone, causing a fire that damaged the underground control systems. "This damage is not visible from outside, but will nevertheless require far-reaching repairs," Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Schmyhal has said. The Hungarian fact-finding mission requires Kiev's permission to assess the damage and is being seen as a symbolic act by Orban, whose relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are strained. Advertisement Advertisement Orban hopes this will put more pressure on Ukraine to make the pipeline operational again. Since the pipeline ceased operating, Orban - who maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin - has blocked a large EU loan to Ukraine and resisted further EU sanctions on Russia. Hungary's reliance on Russian oil and gas has increased since Moscow launched it's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping Russia fund its military operations, while the EU as a whole has sought to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies. Its common to think of student loans as a problem for younger people. But for millions of Americans, their loans are following them straight into retirement. New data from Fidelity shows workers over 50 who carry student debt have about 30% less saved for retirement than their debt-free peers (1). On average, older borrowers have $153,000 tucked away, compared to $221,000 for those without loans. Now, millions of older borrowers have to make tough decisions about debt, spending and how to protect their retirement. Must Read Student debt is shrinking retirement savings at every age The problem doesnt start at 50. Fidelity found that workers ages 18 to 49 with student loans also fall behind, with retirement balances about 20% lower than people without debt. Jesse Moore told CNBC that student debt casts a long shadow. It doesnt fade with age or career advancement, he said (2). Its a structural issue that shapes financial security at every stage of life. In other words, the longer you carry student loans, the less time and money you have to build real wealth. Today, 9.5 million Americans over 50 are still paying off education debt, with an average balance of $47,000, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Every dollar people spend on repaying debt is a dollar less they have available to save for retirement, Kantrowitz said. This is a tradeoff that adds up over decades and its one reason so many older borrowers are falling behind. Student loans are delaying life, not just retirement. The survey found that among older adults with student debt: One in three delayed travel because of student loans 16% postponed buying a home 8% put off starting a business So student loans are eating away at retirement savings, but theyre also shrinking lifestyles. Big changes to federal student loans could make things worse (3): The popular SAVE student loan repayment plan ended in late 2025 Student loan forgiveness is now taxable income (except for Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Repayment terms could stretch up to 30 years Consumer advocates warn that under the new repayment structure, many borrowers could end up dragging their student debt into their 60s and 70s (4). Hungary plans to send a ministerial fact-finding mission to Ukraine to investigate damage to the Druzhba pipeline, a key conduit for Russian oil to the landlocked country, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette. A deputy minister from the Energy Ministry is to lead the mission, which was ordered by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and will include a representative from Hungary's MOL energy company. Up to the end of January, Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia received Russian oil through the pipeline on which they are heavily dependent. Advertisement Advertisement While Ukrainian authorities report that the pipeline was damaged by Russian attacks, the Hungarian and Slovakian governments maintain that disruption to supply through the pipelines is the result of a political decision by Kiev rather than technical issues. Ukraine denies this, saying the pipeline was hit by a Russian drone, causing a fire that damaged the underground control systems. "This damage is not visible from outside, but will nevertheless require far-reaching repairs," Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. The Hungarian fact-finding mission requires Kiev's permission to assess the damage and is being seen as a symbolic act by Orban, whose relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are strained. Advertisement Advertisement Orban hopes this will put more pressure on Ukraine to make the pipeline operational again. Zelensky indicated in Kiev on Thursday that the halt in oil deliveries to Hungary also had a political dimension. "It is Russian oil," he told journalists after an government meeting. "They are killing us, and we should supply Orban with oil because the poor man cannot win the election without it?" Zelensky also said that if the European Union wanted to link financial aid for Ukraine to repairs of the pipeline, it should say so openly. He added that the pipeline would likely not resume operations for at least another six weeks a timeline that would fall after Hungarys parliamentary election on April 12, in which Orbans Fidesz party is facing the risk of defeat according to opinion polls. Advertisement Advertisement Since the pipeline ceased operating, Orban - who maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin - has blocked a large EU loan to Ukraine and resisted further EU sanctions on Russia. Hungary's reliance on Russian oil and gas has increased since Moscow launched it's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping Russia fund its military operations, while the EU as a whole has sought to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies. Mar. 4The suspect in last weekend's murder in Hungry Horse was waiting for the victim with a shotgun, according to newly filed court documents. Prosecutors on Monday charged Dylan Austin Olson, 25, with felony deliberate homicide in connection with the Feb. 28 shooting death of 30-year-old David Bollman. Held in the county jail with bail set at $700,000 since March 1, Olson is expected to appear before Judge Dan Wilson in Flathead County District Court on May 7 for his arraignment. Olson admitted to shooting Bollman and told investigators with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office that he fired in self-defense, according to an affidavit filed in district court on March 2. Believing that Bollman was coming to his 100 block Main Street property to confront him, Olson recounted fetching a shotgun from his vehicle and loading it with less lethal rounds, court documents said. But the man who drove Bollman to Olson's property said the 30-year-old was not looking for a fight. Bollman was excited and happy prior to the shooting, he told investigators. He described watching as Bollman exited his vehicle and began walking toward Olson. Olson fired without saying a word, he told investigators. When deputies responded to the shooting about 7:13 p.m., they found Bollman on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene of an apparent gunshot wound, court documents said. Olson is already facing a felony burglary accountability case in district court. He had been scheduled to appear before Judge Heidi Ulbricht on Thursday for a change of plea hearing. News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected]. Footage released by the IDF from one of the strike locations appeared to show the elimination of several Iranian regime operatives. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) completed its 13th wave of strikes across Iran since Operation Roaring Lion was launched, hitting ballistic missile launchers and regime infrastructure in western and central Iran, the IDF said Thursday. The IAF struck more than 200 targets across western and central Iran on Thursday, including Iranian regime sites and ballistic missile launchers, the military added. Advertisement Advertisement The strikes were part of what the military described as its 13th wave of attacks against Iranian regime infrastructure since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Footage released by the IDF from one of the strike locations appeared to show the elimination of several Iranian regime operatives. Israeli strike on Iranian terror regime operatives, March 5, 2026. (CREDIT: IDF SPOKESPERSONS UNIT) The latest round of strikes joins earlier attacks aimed at dismantling Irans ballistic missile array, with a focus on launch sites in western Iran in order to reduce missile launches toward the State of Israel. Israel has struck hundreds of launch sites since the operation began, the military said, adding that the IDF has hit more than 300 ballistic missile launchers since the start of the campaign. IDF chief says Israel has "established air superiority" over Iran Earlier Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a televised press conference that Israel had "established air superiority" over Iran and would be moving into the next phase of the campaign. Advertisement Advertisement We are now transitioning to the next phase of the campaign, in which we will intensify strikes against the regimes foundations and military capabilities, Zamir said, adding that within the first 24 hours of Operation Roaring Lion, the IAF had paved the way to Tehran, Zamir said. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir seen on November 3, 2025 (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90) Meanwhile, the IDF issued an evacuation warning in Persian on X/Twitter for residents in Tehrans Abbas Abad neighborhood and the Shenzar industrial area, instructing civilians to leave the designated zones for your safety." Iranian media also reported additional strikes in the capital on Thursday, including a reported strike on Tehrans Azadi Stadium, a major venue west of the city. As fighting continued, the World Health Organization said it had verified 13 attacks on health infrastructure in Iran during the ongoing US-Israeli campaign, with reports indicating health workers were killed and others injured. Advertisement Advertisement The overall death toll in Iran has been reported as at least 1,230 since the war began, according to an Associated Press report citing an Iranian government official. Reuters and Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report. IDF chief Eyal Zamir: Approximately 80% of Iran's air defense systems, over 60% of ballistic missile launchers destroyed 'Hezbollah made a strategic error, now paying a heavy price' After establishing air superiority, the IDF will transition to the next phase of the war against Iran, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a Thursday evening recorded address to the public. "We are now transitioning to the next phase of the campaign, in which we will intensify strikes against the regime's foundations and military capabilities," Zamir said, explaining that within the first 24 hours of Operation Roaring Lion, the IAF had "paved the way to Tehran." Advertisement Advertisement "We have additional surprise moves at our disposal that I do not intend to reveal," Zamir stated. Approximately 80% of Iran's air defense systems, and more than 60% of its ballistic missile launchers, have been destroyed since the start of the operation, he went on, saying that "we are stripping the regime of its military capabilities, isolating it strategically, and bringing it to a point of weakness it has never faced before." "I tell you, this is a historic collaboration. Two of the worlds most powerful militaries are dominating the skies of the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism," Zamir said. An IDF strike which killed the head of Hezbollah's artillery array known as Fidaa, March 5, 2026 (IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Advertisement Advertisement "Had we waited any longer, Iran would have entered a zone of immunity, and the danger would have increased." Zamir also expressed his condolences to the families of the US soldiers who have been killed over the past week of fighting. IDF kills head of Hezbollah's artillery array, Zamir warns of 'strategic error' Zamir also addressed the IDF's operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, revealing that the IDF last night killed Zaid Ali Jumaa, the head of Hezbollah's artillery array known as Fidaa, responsible for the deaths of both Israeli civilians and soldiers. The IDF said Jumaa led a terror operation carried out against Israeli soldiers in January 2015, when an anti-tank missile killed two Givati Brigade soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollah has "made a strategic error, and contrary to the interests of the Lebanese people, chose to join the campaign. Now it is paying a heavy price," he said. "There will be no more equations; we will continue to act in defense of the security of the northern residents," Zamir concluded. "We will relentlessly work to remove the threat, and we will not relent in our goal of disarming Hezbollah." SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Illinois finances were one hot mess, as Comptroller Susana Mendoza put it, the last time voters went to the polls to elect the states chief fiscal officer. Bills went unpaid. Emergency reserves had dwindled to $48,000 enough, Mendozas office said, to run state government for less than 30 seconds. A two-year budget standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan had gutted state services and rattled the economy. That was 2016, when Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat, won the first of three terms in office. Now, with her eyeing a run for Chicago mayor, she is stepping down after the November general election and, for the first time in a decade, Illinois voters must choose her successor. Advertisement Advertisement Four candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination in the March 17 primary: state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, state Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago, and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim of Mundelein. The lone Republican in the race is Bryan Drew, an attorney from Benton in southern Illinois. Often referred to as the states chief fiscal officer, the state comptroller pays the states bills, monitors fiscal compliance, records transactions and contracts and issues reports that guide the governor and legislature on budget decisions. The office also, in one of its more obscure functions, licenses certain private cemeteries. Margaret Croke At a candidate forum in November at Chicagos Rainbow PUSH headquarters, Croke described how she got her start in Cook County government at 22, fielding calls from frustrated residents puzzling over property tax bills. The experience, she said, revealed a fundamental problem in government: Information that insiders take for granted is often impenetrable to ordinary people. I started getting really addicted to this idea of just helping people, of trying to navigate the bureaucracy of government, she told the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Croke has served in the Illinois House since 2021, representing a Chicago district covering parts of the North and Near North sides. She has pushed for womens reproductive rights and, more relevant to the position of comptroller, she chairs the House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee, which oversees financial services legislation. If elected, Croke said she would want to improve the comptrollers predictive financial modeling tools, revamp the vendor payment program to help businesses and nonprofits weather potential federal funding cuts and make it easier for small municipalities often short on staff and expertise to submit the audits required by law. When this office breaks down, all of state government breaks down, she said. It is an office where if we dont pay the invoices to the businesses that work with the state of Illinois, they can potentially close and never stand back up again. Croke entered 2026 with a commanding financial advantage over her primary opponents, ending 2025 with more than $833,000 in her campaign fund more than her three Democratic rivals combined. Advertisement Advertisement In February, Gov. JB Pritzkers campaign contributed $72,800 to her effort, according to state campaign records. Last month, Croke also secured Pritzkers endorsement for comptroller. Before joining the legislature, Croke worked for Pritzker as a womens outreach director and later as a deputy chief of staff at an agency that helps secure state infrastructure funding. Despite her history with Pritzker and his financial support of her campaign, Croke said she has no issue as it pertains to being independent from the governors office if she is elected comptroller. But that doesnt mean she cant be collaborative, she said. What I think gets conflated, though, is that independence means that you have to be combative. Independence means you have to be adversarial Thats just not my leadership style, she said. I am someone who is really proud of the relationships that Ive built. Im someone who likes to work with people and get things done. Crokes campaign has gotten money from a variety of sources, including trade and labor unions and businesses. Among them, in the last couple of years, Croke has received about $14,000 from a company called Enova International, which oversees two lending brands that were accused last month by the National Consumer Law Center of offering loans with annual percentage rates of 100% to 300%. Advertisement Advertisement Asked about the donations, Crokes campaign pointed to her support of Illinois 2021 Predatory Loan Prevention Act, a consumer protection measure against payday loans, as one of her first votes in office. Political donations dont impact her decision-making, and she will never put her name behind a bill that is not in the best interest of Illinoisans, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Holly Kim Kim grew up on Chicagos Northwest Side, where her parents ran a copier and typewriter repair shop in what was once the citys Koreatown. Her father was a technician; her mother handled the invoicing. It was, she said at the Rainbow PUSH forum, a formative education in the mechanics of making ends meet. His hands were always black from toner, but those hands paid the bills and put food on the table, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Kims path to public office was not linear. She moved to the northern suburbs, enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University back in her old neighborhood, became pregnant unexpectedly, relied for a time on Medicaid and eventually completed her degree. That really gave me a lens as an elected official, she said. As a county treasurer, my office has been the intersection of math and social justice. Kim, who on Monday was endorsed by Mendoza to be her successor, has served as Lake County treasurer since 2018 and sits on a banking commission overseen by the comptrollers office. She refers to Mendoza as her mentor. If elected, Kim says she would press forward with technology upgrades and make cybersecurity a signature priority, noting that protecting citizens financial data is especially critical given the volume of checks the comptrollers office issues. I literally had a relative who stole my identity and then trashed my credit to the ground. So theres some part of me that is, like, hellbent on protecting people, their families and their money, she said. Advertisement Advertisement In her time as treasurer, her campaign has touted how in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Kim reinvested more than $6 million of revenue generated from interest on investments in schools, parks and libraries. But shes also had to answer to some critics of her office who, in 2023, pointed to myriad issues. Among those were lengthy delays in publishing statutorily required reports about Lake Countys investments, which jeopardize the accuracy of the countys fiscal standing, and Kims failure to ensure there was enough money in an account for an employee to cash a check. Kims office a few weeks later made clear the reports were up to date, the check-cashing incident was caused by an error in another department and her campaign also blamed unexpected challenges that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic for some of the issues in the office. Separate incidents in 2020 and 2022 involved residents with autopay accounts being double-charged on property taxes the result, Kim said in a WBBM-Ch. 2 interview, of a coding glitch and later human error. She said all of the issues have since been resolved. Stephanie Kifowit Kifowits campaign rests on a straightforward argument: two decades in government finance as an Aurora City Council member and a state representative since 2013. Shes also worked as a financial adviser. All this, she argues, gives her a depth of experience over her rivals. Advertisement Advertisement A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Kifowit co-sponsored the 2017 Debt Transparency Act that passed the legislature following the end of the two-year budget impasse between Rauner and Democratic lawmakers. The law requires state agencies to report to the comptroller the number of outstanding bills they carry and that are subject to late-payment interest penalties. Rauner vetoed it, but the House and Senate overrode him. The comptrollers office is, in my opinion, the lifeline to organizations that take care of the most vulnerable in our society, the lifeline to our schools that educate our children, and to the men and women that work for the state, Kifowit said in an interview. We need to make sure that the lifeline of the comptrollers office, the flow of funds to the most vulnerable remains accurate, and (accountable), and transparent, and gets to the individuals that need it the most. Kifowit has shown independence as a Democratic lawmaker, voting against the current budget because, in part, she felt it did not do enough to address property tax relief and, in 2020, calling for Madigans resignation amid a growing federal corruption investigation, even seeking unsuccessfully to replace him as speaker. Madigan eventually resigned, was convicted on corruption charges and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Her tenure has not been without controversy. Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, during a House floor debate over legislation related to a deadly Legionnaires disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans Home, Kifowit said she wished she could brew a Republican colleague a broth of Legionella and infect his family after he suggested the bill would benefit trial lawyers. She later apologized. In the interview, Kifowit has played down the urgency of modernizing the comptrollers office, saying improvements are already underway. She is more focused, she says, on filling vacant positions and creating mentorship pipelines to draw high school students including those who do not plan to attend college into careers in public finance. Karina Villa On a sunny day last September, Villa witnessed firsthand a swarm of federal immigration agents making their way through Chicagos western suburbs as part of Operation Midway Blitz, a 64-day mass deportation mission. This is my city! Villa shouted at apparently masked agents, according to a video of the incident. Take off your masks! Take off your masks! Advertisement Advertisement That moment has become something of a campaign emblem for Villa, one of the legislatures most outspoken critics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other immigration enforcement officers. Her argument for connecting that fight to the comptrollers office is direct: the states financial power is also a moral one. On day one, I will go through all of the contracts that we have, and if you are doing business with ICE or making profits from ICE, under my watch, you will not have a contract from the state of Illinois, Villa told an audience at a library in northwest suburban Des Plaines last month. That kind of aspiration is likely to require approval from the state legislature, but Villa has not wavered from that message. A former school social worker in West Chicago and Villa Park, Villa served one term in the Illinois House before winning a state Senate seat, which shes held since 2021. She may have a financial background that is thinner on paper than her opponents, but she frames the comptrollers role in broader terms. These political decisions of where were putting our dollars (are) connected, Villa said in an interview. How we choose to allocate them, what order were paying the bills in and where were finding more money to bring in to be able to fund the services that are getting slashed by the federal government, its all connected. Her platform emphasizes revenue: pushing corporations and the wealthy to pay more in taxes and using the comptrollers leverage to protect safety-net hospitals that serve low-income communities. The Republican Drew, who faces no Republican opposition in the primary, has spent 25 years as an attorney, he says, searching out fraud experience he argues qualifies him to serve as the states fiscal watchdog. While acknowledging the office under Mendozas leadership has been paying off the states bills on time, he thinks its time for someone with a differing viewpoint to oversee the states finances considering Democrats control every statewide office. Right now, one party controls the budget, where the money goes, the governor, and now they want to be the one to supervise how the moneys spent, he said. Im telling you, the state of Illinois needs checks and balances, and the comptrollers office is where those checks should come in. ____ Virginia lawmakers are on track to codify a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that protects a childs right to an education regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. The move comes amid ramped up immigration enforcement, federal policy changes and related legal challenges. In January, President Donald Trumps administration rescinded a 2021 policy set by former President Joe Biden that ordered immigration officers to avoid enforcement actions in or near certain community locations like schools, to allow people to safely access essential services, including education. Lawmakers proposal in Virginia would codify a students right to K-12 education and require schools to be safe and welcoming for all students. Advertisement Advertisement You go to school for learning and for belonging and for growth, said Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, the patron for Senate Bill 491. You dont go to school to be fearful of your peers or your teachers or the world around you, and I want to maintain that sanctity of the school walls. House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, who is carrying House Bill 836, said hes aware of the impact the federal governments actions have had on communities and children. No widely documented cases of immigration enforcement at Virginias schools have been reported, although a Henrico high school students detainment at a local courthouse drew public outcry last summer. Similarly, a New York high school student was detained by ICE last May. In Minnesota, a five-year-old preschooler and his father were arrested by law enforcement as the child arrived home from school.. Rasoul said in order for children to be properly educated, they have to be nourished, well-rested, and feel safe. Advertisement Advertisement Those are the very basics for our students to be able to take what were feeding them, Rasoul said. So the more we can do as a commonwealth to send that clear signal that you are safe in our schools, the better off well be for our children. Challenging the status quo Nationally, a few states have already begun challenging the 1982 court decision to enact laws restricting free public education for undocumented students. Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation recommended in February 2024 and again in a Feb. 17 policy document that states should challenge the decision in court because undocumented students are an economic burden on schools. The foundation was responsible for Project 2025, a conservative plan that mirrors many of the current Trump administrations policies. Lora Ries, the author of the report Every State Should Challenge Plyler v. Doe: Time to End Free Education for Illegal Alien K12 Students, argues that states should require proof of legal residency for free K-12 education, or charge tuition for students who cannot provide it, which could be challenged in court. Advertisement Advertisement The Court should overturn Plyler because states have an interest in preventing illegal aliens, Reis wrote. The Virginia legislation also follows the Department of Homeland Securitys issuance of two directives to further empower law enforcement and restrict humanitarian parole at the U.S. southern border. One directive rescinds the Biden Administrations guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions that the agency says thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas. The second directive ends the broad abuse of humanitarian parole and returns the program to a case-by-case basis. The agency said ICE and CBP will phase out any parole programs that do not comply with the law. Advertisement Advertisement This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliensincluding murders and rapistswho have illegally come into our country, DHS said in a Jan. 21 statement. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest. What the legislation would do Backed by the U.S. Supreme Courts 1982 Pyler v. Doe case, which holds that every child has a right to an education, Virginia lawmakers are proposing clearer duties for staff and boards to protect students who may be too afraid to attend school. Earlier in the session, a similar bill, HB 912, introduced by Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, was incorporated into Rasouls proposal. We do have children and families who are scared to come to school, Rasoul said. I think (the purpose of the measure is) codifying and letting people know, sending a clear message that in Virginia, regardless of which locality you live in, what school you go to, that your school should be a safe place, and that families deserve to know that youve got a right to that K12 education no matter what. Advertisement Advertisement Both House and Senate bills require the Virginia Department of Education to develop guidance and training materials for school personnel. School boards must publish their own policies and procedures, and ensure principals and administrators complete the necessary training. The legislation prohibits school officials from excluding students from activities based on their citizenship or immigration status and from developing discriminatory policies that would exclude students and their parents. School officials would also be prohibited from designating students immigration status, country of birth, or nationality as directory information. They would also be prohibited from requesting or collecting documentation regarding immigration status, except as required by state or federal law. They may not threaten or share someones immigration status with law enforcement or immigration agencies, unless the law or an emergency requires it. Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers said the legislation does not prohibit schools from complying with federal informationsharing laws, responding to federal status requests, or complying with judicial warrants issued by a judge. Whats next A significant difference between the two bills is a clause in the House version that gives families the right to sue if a school violates the proposed rules. The measures also differ in deciding when the education department must develop the guidance for schools, and school boards to set the policies. The Senate bill requires the state to give guidance by August 2026 and school boards to set policies by Dec. 31. The House bill gives the state until August 2027 and school boards until the 202728 school year starts. Pekarsky and Rasoul will meet to settle the differences before the proposal leaves the General Assembly. Advertisement Advertisement State lawmakers have a little over a week left in session before all bills, including the right-to-education legislation, must pass and be considered by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, or die. Spanberger can either accept the bills as written, recommend changes or reject them. Pekarsky said she hopes the governor will continue to remember the importance of public education for students when considering the proposal. Its not just our students who are fearful. I think a lot of our educators and staff in schools are fearful about what they hear is happening in communities, and they want the resources, they want the guidance, Pekarsky said. Advertisement Advertisement So this is as much a protection, I think, for our staff in schools as much as it is for our students, she said. Its a very clear line in the sand that in Virginia, this is what we expect our schools to offer, and our schools are going to be safe havens. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gov. Mike Braun signed a bill requiring state educational institutions to accept the Classic Learning Test, a college admissions test linked to conservative figures, in the same way they would accept the ACT and SAT. The effort slots Indiana in with several other red states that have embraced the test, which aims to promote the "Western intellectual tradition" some believe has been abandoned by existing standardized tests. The change stems from Senate Bill 88, which also requires schools to teach a 2000s-era anti-poverty theory involving waiting until marriage to have kids as part of schools' good citizenship instruction. It passed mostly along party lines amid criticism that the CLT could disadvantage students who are less accustomed to Western ideas. Advertisement Advertisement Proponents, however, said the test would better assess students who received a classical education, typically offered to homeschooled students or at private or charter classical schools. It would also break what proponents have called a "monopoly" over testing by the ACT and SAT. "A one-size-fits-all testing mandate, it really risks narrowing curriculum and unintentionally undermining the very excellence that it seeks to ensure," said Rachel Oren, head of the Classical Academy in Indianapolis, during legislative testimony. The creator of the CLT, Jeremy Tate, lauded the bill's passage in Indiana in an X post Feb. 24. Surveillance video captured the moment an explosion tore through Savita Naturals on Wednesday afternoon, injuring multiple people, including the company's owner. Logan Township police said the footage is part of an ongoing investigation into what caused the blast. Authorities said the investigation will now be handled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and that the incident is not believed to be criminal in nature. RELATED: Massive Logan Twp. explosion felt across Philadelphia region Among those injured was company owner Richard Trout. His son, Kevin Trout, said his father suffered severe burns and a broken arm and is being treated in a medically induced coma at Temple's burn unit. Despite the seriousness of his injuries, the family expects him to recover. Advertisement Advertisement "It's got to be very painful for the level of burns he has. I think it's over 56% of his body," Kevin Trout said on Thursday afternoon. The Trout family started the business decades ago, initially producing cocoa butter before expanding into other products, including CBD. Kevin Trout described his father's dedication to the company and its operations. NJ factory owner among injured in explosion "He went above and beyond in every possible way because he didn't have a chance at failure -- hence the amount of years we've had without any issues," he said. Officials said three other employees were hospitalized with critical injuries. Another person at a nearby facility suffered a medical emergency following the explosion and three additional patients transported themselves to local hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Drone footage showed extensive damage to the site, where fire crews spent much of the day pouring water onto the building. Nearby business owners said they were stunned by the blast. "My first reaction was, 'My God, I wonder if a plane went down,'" recalled Joe Tracy of R&R Ceilings. The investigation is underway after a massive industrial explosion in South Jersey sent five people to the hospital on Wednesday. Tracy and others in the area said their focus has been on the well-being of those injured. "We're all in business in the same community here. That's all we want to know. How's everyone doing?" Tracy said. Advertisement Advertisement Another nearby worker, identified as Andrew, echoed that sentiment. "It's important that at the end of the day everyone goes to work and they get to come back home to their families, so that's what we're wishing for the folks who were in that facility," he said. Officials said nearby buildings also sustained damage. A church-operated food pantry next door reported ceiling damage and is working to determine when it can reopen to the public. The Iowa House passed legislation Wednesday to bring baccalaureate degrees to Iowas community colleges, with calls from Democrats for each lawmaker to assess the impacts of its potential implementation on their districts. House File 2649, which would establish a pilot program for certain community colleges to offer a small number of bachelors degrees, has a number of both supporters and critics who have shared their opinion on how it could impact groups like place-bound students and private colleges and universities. Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, introduced an amendment adopted by the House that added clarifying language stating bachelors degree programs can only be offered at the community colleges central campus. He said the barrier created by lack of access to adequate, affordable bachelors level pathways in every part of the state for high-demand jobs is one the Legislature can do away with through this legislation. Advertisement Advertisement This bill moves the needle for household income and helps Iowans reaching for new opportunities, Collins said in his closing remarks on the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Community Colleges for Iowa first explored the idea to add bachelors degrees to community college offerings last year after prompting by lawmakers, and found in a report that there would be benefits to students in areas without nearby higher education options and nontraditional learners. Representatives from the organization and community colleges told the Iowa House Higher Education Committee in January they see this as an expansion of their mission and a way to address the brain drain occurring in their regions. Advertisement Advertisement Officials at and advocating for private colleges and universities have said the bill seeks to solve a problem they dont believe exists and would harm their institutions. While it has not been confirmed by House Republicans, lobbyists said they have been told that certain lawmakers are contemplating holding back funding for the Iowa Tuition Grant program due to their opposition. Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said she understands the angst private universities have with the legislation and its potential impacts on enrollment a topic state universities are also exploring, she said but each member of the House needs to look at their own district and its needs when deciding whether to support the bill. I think that everyone in this room probably has a different place where theyll land with this bill, and thats okay, Brown-Powers said. I think that the focus really, for me on this particular bill is, what do the students in Iowa need, what do the students in my district need. Her district houses a state university, two private colleges and one community college, Brown-Powers said, which with the amendment would be able to launch a dental hygienist program. The bill previously wouldnt have done anything for the district, but Brown-Powers said now it does, and representatives should keep students and their needs in mind. Advertisement Advertisement According to a fiscal note attached to the legislation, the bills fiscal impact is unknown and will vary depending on how quickly and how many new baccalaureate programs are created during the pilot program. The note stated the Iowa Department of Education expects to see a one-time cost of $100,000 to expand the State of Iowa Curriculum System, which is not currently set up to support community college bachelors degrees. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, asked Collins and Rep. Dan Gehlbach, R-Urbandale, about funding the pilot program. They responded that discussions are ongoing as to possible appropriations, but are not complete. Collins said community colleges have begun finding private sources of funding for the program, and many businesses in eligible colleges districts are willing to offer their support for the pilot program degrees. Konfrst echoed comments made by Brown-Powers and said if funding, whether private or state-provided, isnt found, the state would be making a promise to students that we cant fulfill. With a 55-36 vote approving the legislation in its amended form, the bill will head to the Iowa Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Irans Armed Forces have denied firing any missile towards Turkish territory, insisting that Iran respects the sovereignty of Turkiye, they said in a statement carried by state media. The Iranian statement on Thursday comes after Turkiyes Ministry of National Defence said on Wednesday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace after passing Syria and Iraq was destroyed by NATO air and missile defence systems over the eastern Mediterranean. It was not clear where the missile was aimed. Advertisement Advertisement A ballistic munition launched from Iran, which was detected passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace and heading towards Turkish airspace, was engaged in a timely manner by NATO air and missile defence assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean and rendered inactive, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. It said there were no casualties or injuries, adding that Ankara reserves the right to respond to any hostile actions against it, while warning parties to refrain from escalating the conflict. In an evening address to the nation, Turkiyes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country was taking all the necessary precautions in consultation with its NATO allies and was issuing warnings in the clearest terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again. If we, as a nation, want to live in peace and tranquillity we must constantly increase our deterrent capabilities. In these difficult times we are leaving absolutely nothing to chance regarding the security of our borders and airspace, he said. Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan on Wednesday conveyed in a call to his Iranian counterpart Ankaras protest, the Reuters news agency reported. Advertisement Advertisement NATO condemned Irans targeting of Turkiye, spokesperson Allison Hart said, adding that the organisation stands firmly with all Allies, including Turkiye. Our deterrence and defence posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence, Hart said. United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there was no sense that the destruction of the ballistic missile would trigger NATOs Article 5 clause, which outlines that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all members. Incirlik Air Base in Turkiye is used by foreign military forces, primarily the US and other NATO allies. The base is under the control of the Turkish air force but operates as a joint Turkish-US airbase. Advertisement Advertisement Incirlik was a critical logistics and air support location for US-led operations in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War and later as a cargo hub for Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Turkiye denied the US permission to use it for the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, but it was heavily used for anti-ISIL (ISIS) attacks from 2014. March 3 (Reuters) - OpenAI is developing a new code-hosting platform to rival Microsoft's GitHub, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing a person with knowledge of the project. Engineers from OpenAI encountered a rise in service disruptions that rendered GitHub unavailable in recent months, which ultimately prompted the decision to develop the new product, the report said. The OpenAI project is in its early stages and likely will not be completed for months, according to The Information. Employees working on it have considered making the code repository available for purchase to OpenAI's customer base. Reuters could not independently verify the report. OpenAI, GitHub and Microsoft did not immediately respond to our requests for comment. If OpenAI does sell the product, it would mark a bold move by the creator of ChatGPT to compete directly against Microsoft, which holds a significant stake in the firm. Its latest funding round valued OpenAI at $840 billion as Big Tech and Masayoshi Son's SoftBank piled into the $110 billion blockbuster raise, signaling the AI investment race is alive and well despite recent fears of a valuation bubble. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona) An Azerbaijani Turkic political prisoner held in Orumiyeh Central Prison was reportedly denied medical attention for hours after suffering a heart attack. Prisons across the Kurdish region of Iran have been subjected to increased security measures, including the deployment of additional guards and restrictions placed on the movement of prisoners, according to information provided to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Additionally, sick prisoners in need of urgent medical attention have been continually refused transfer to facilities and have yet to be seen by professionals, the network claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Sajjad Molaei, an Azerbaijani Turkic political prisoner held in the political prisoners ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison, was reportedly denied medical attention for hours after suffering a heart attack during his detention, an informed source told KHRN. Flag of Kurdistan. (credit: Wikimedia Commons) On the evening of 28 February 2026, following airstrikes by Israeli and US fighter jets on the city and out of concern for the situation of his family, Sajjad Molaei suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness. After several hours, he was transferred to Seyyed al-Shohada Hospital in Orumiyeh, but while his left arm was numb, he was returned to prison without receiving proper medical treatment and has since been held in poor conditions in prison, the source claimed. Molaei, who shares the same name as a prisoner executed last year, was sentenced in August for posts made on his social media after the 12 Day War, to 16 months on the charge of insulting the Supreme Leader and two years and one day in prison on charges of media activity aimed at strengthening and consolidating the Zionist regime and propaganda against the state. Chaos in Iranian prisons In an action seen as a response to the US and Israeli strikes on the regime, prison authorities reportedly allowed hundreds of political prisoners out on bail in Urmia, Salmas, Mahabad, Naqadeh, Bukan, Sanandaj, Marivan, and Kamyaran, though the fates of many protesters arrested during the January unrest remain unknown. Advertisement Advertisement There are concerns that the political prisoners, many of whom were youth arrested while demonstrating against the regime and or the countrys economic crisis, were caught up in US and Israeli attacks on the Intelligence Ministry and IRGC buildings, KHRN Director Rebin Rahmani explained. The Center of Human Rights in Iran similarly expressed on Monday that, given Tehrans failure to evacuate and transfer prisoners from Evin despite the known risks, there were ongoing concerns for the safety and well-being of prisoners in the new round of conflict. Amnesty International reported on similar concerns earlier this week after explosions were heard near prisons and other facilities where those arrested during the 12 Day war are being held. On Tuesday afternoon, following the strike on one of the Basij centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, prisoners in the nearby Mahabad Prison began protesting their conditions, KHRN was informed. Blankets were reportedly set on fire, and regime authorities deployed tear gas within the prison to silence the unrest, before relocating 18 Kurdish prisoners to Miandoab Prison. On Tuesday, 3 March 2026, following the bombing of a military centre near Mahabad Prison, prisoners protested after the ward doors had been locked on them. The protest was met with the presence of special forces who fired tear gas. Following the protest, around 100 prisoners convicted of ordinary crimes and several political prisoners serving short sentences were granted 15 days leave or temporarily released on bail or business licence guarantees, an informed source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. After the protests in Mahabad, regime authorities have allegedly begun threatening political prisoners in Tehrans Evin Prison, warning that they have been authorized to open fire at signs of dissent. This is not how it was supposed to go for Iran. For years, the Islamic Republic worked to build up a network of allies throughout the Middle East, widely known as the axis of resistance, which, in the event Iran itself were attacked, could rain down destruction on Israel, the US military, and American allies in the region. Key takeaways Irans axis of resistance has failed. Built as a deterrent force meant to overwhelm Israel and constrain US intervention, the network of regional allies that included Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, and Hamas has responded weakly to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Advertisement Advertisement The key turning point for the axis was Hamass October 7 attacks on Israel. While Iran may not have directly orchestrated Hamass attack, the war it triggered allowed Israel to systematically degrade Tehrans allies. As a result, Iran is now more isolated and vulnerable than at any point in decades, giving Israel and the US greater freedom of action, as seen in the current war. The axis includes Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and militants in Iraq. At its peak, Iran relied on the network to promote its hardline brand of Shia Islam against rival powers associated with Sunni Islam, intimidate governments into submission, and scare off Western threats. Perhaps even more than its ballistic missiles stockpile, its nascent nuclear program, and its conventional military, these regional groups were Irans deterrent against exactly the sort of all-out attack were not seeing. The idea was never to be engaged in a war of attrition, said Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow and expert on Middle Eastern armed groups and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Everyone would fire at once, so that Israel would be overwhelmed before the US was able to completely deploy its defenses. Advertisement Advertisement And yet, since the joint US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran began over the weekend, killing its supreme leader and devastating the regimes military and infrastructure, the response from the axis of resistance has been fairly feeble. The Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which in the past has boasted of the ability to destroy Tel Aviv, fired a handful of rockets into Israel, which prompted a much larger campaign of airstrikes by Israel in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Wary of being dragged into yet another war, the Lebanese government has taken the unprecedented step of banning military activities by the group. Yemens Houthis, who dramatically shut down most global shipping through the Red Sea two years ago, have been conspicuously quiet. Militants in Iraq claimed a drone attack on a US military base in Erbil, but the attack was intercepted without any casualties, and some groups seem to be staying quiet. The impotent response is part of a larger story of the Iranian regimes collapse from a fearsome military power to a weakened state fighting for its survival against an emboldened America and Israel. Rather than secure it from attack, its strategy of backing proxy forces in conflicts abroad played a critical part in dragging it into the existential crisis it faces now. And while there are a number of factors that led to its unraveling, theres one clear moment when it all started to go south: Hamass October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Pride before the fall In the spring of 2018, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had every reason to feel confident about Irans position in the Middle East. It was arguably the moment of greatest power and influence for the axis of resistance. Advertisement Advertisement Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assads forces had taken the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus seemingly ending the threat to the Iran-backed regime after a long and bloody civil war. In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias were also tasting victory, having retaken all the territory held by the radical Sunni terror group ISIS and a good chunk of Kurdistan as well. That year, Hezbollah, the Lebanese hybrid militant group and political party, and its allies won an outright majority in Lebanons first elections in nearly a decade. In Yemen, the Iran-backed rebel group Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthis, were proving themselves an international threat by firing missiles into Saudi Arabia. With its friends in secure positions of power in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, landlocked Iran had achieved its long-sought land bridge to the Mediterranean. In a confident letter to Assad, Khamenei wrote, If you and we, and other elements of resistance, stay determined, the enemy cannot accomplish a single thing. Eight years later, that strategy lay in ruins, buried under the rubble along with Khamenei himself. Advertisement Advertisement The axis strategy had its roots in the 1980s, the early days of the Islamic Republic that took power after a revolution in 1979. During a long war with Iraq, Irans conventional military fared poorly, but gained an advantage by aiding Iraqi Shia militias opposed to then-dictator Saddam Husseins Sunni-dominated government. Around the same time, Iran began providing aid to Shiite militia groups fighting against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which eventually evolved into Hezbollah. The alliance was coordinated by the Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, an armed force that answers directly to the supreme leader and is separate from Irans conventional army. Over the years, members of the axis have inflicted serious damage against Irans enemies. Hezbollah killed 241 US service members in the bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, and fought the Israeli military to an inconclusive standstill something accomplished by no other Arab military in a month-long 2006 war. Later, Hezbollah fighters played a key role in the defense of Assads Syrian regime. After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iranian-backed militia groups were a key component of the anti-US insurgency, often employing improvised explosive devices assembled in Iran itself. The Pentagon has claimed that one in six US casualties in the war in Iraq can be linked to Iran. (Ironically, years later the US military would form a tacit alliance with these same militias in the fight against ISIS.) Advertisement Advertisement Though Iran may have been militarily outmatched by the US and Israel, and was struggling under crippling international sanctions particularly after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated with President Barack Obama it had every reason to believe that if the worst came to pass, its allies could inflict heavy damage. Even after Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard commander viewed by many as the architect of the axis of resistance strategy, was killed in a US drone strike in 2019 along with the leader of one of the most powerful Iraqi militias, many experts believed the axis would remain a potent threat. Then came October 7. The turning point Hamas was always the odd member out in the axis of resistance. Its a Palestinian Sunni group that began in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist movement that favors government run according to strict religious laws. Nearly all the other members of the axis adhere to various branches of Shia Islam. On paper, therefore, theyre on opposite sides of the Middle Easts main sectarian divide. But the two share a common enemy in Israel. Irans hardline Islamic government broke off ties with Israel after its 1979 revolution, viewing it as a religious affront and Western imperialist power; Hamas is an offshoot of the Palestinian resistance movement that has existed since Israels founding. Advertisement Advertisement In the early 1990s, Iran began providing Hamas, and fellow Sunni Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, with tens of millions of dollars of funding per year, and Hamas later opened an office in Tehran. Hamas became notorious around the world in this period for its use of suicide bombers against civilian targets in Israel, which helped derail negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, led by the secular Fatah movement, to establish a Palestinian state. But its militancy made it an increasing regional player: In 2007, its fighters purged Fatah from Gaza after Israel withdrew its soldiers from the territory, giving it a territorial base under its direct control. Israel instituted a blockade, but Hamas with Irans help began amassing missiles that could strike deeper and deeper into Israeli territory, and material for command bunkers and tunnels to withstand counterattacks. It fought a series of limited wars with Israel, and Iran and Hezbollah directly coordinated with Hamas during rounds of fighting. The relationship with Iran was strained at times by their ethnic and religious differences, which led to a rupture when they backed opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. But they repaired the damage and were once again closely aligned as of 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Then, on October 7, Hamas and allied fighters launched a surprise series of attacks on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, and taking 251 hostages back into Gaza. Israel responded by launching a brutal air campaign, and later ground invasion, in Gaza. Irans axis members quickly involved themselves in the fight. Hezbollah, believed to have an arsenal of up to 200,000 rockets, began firing them into Israel the day after October 7 and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, praised the attacks, but seemed to hope to keep the fighting contained, particularly as the US had deployed naval ships specifically aimed at deterring the group. Nonetheless, the rocket, missile, and drone fire between Israel and Hezbollah continued to expand in the months that followed, displacing thousands on both sides of the border. At times, there was more active combat on Israels northern front than in Gaza. As the war in Gaza dragged on, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria launched dozens of attacks against US military bases. In January 2024, three US soldiers were killed in a drone strike near the Jordan-Syrian borders the first US troops killed by enemy aircraft since the Korean War. Using missiles and drones and taking advantage of fortuitous geography, Yemens Houthis managed to shut down the majority of commercial shipping through the Red Sea. But despite Irans involvement in the expanding conflagration, its not clear they knew about, or intended, the spark that started it. Documents that were seized later by Israel suggest that Hamas leaders in Gaza had discussed an upcoming major attack with Hezbollah and Iranian officials in 2022 and 2023, but theres no evidence to suggest the Iranians played a role in coordinating or carrying out the October 7 attacks. In fact, US intelligence agencies believe Iranian officials were taken by surprise when it happened. Advertisement Advertisement This may not have been a war Iran itself chose, but the alliance appeared to be working as hoped. The axis of resistance crumbles While the Israeli war effort initially was concentrated in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet viewed the attack as fundamentally tied to the larger threat of Irans axis of resistance. The next phase of the war began to target them more directly. In August 2024, Ismael Haniyeh, one of Hamass top leaders, was killed by an explosive smuggled into a safehouse in Tehran. In an audacious operation the next month in Lebanon, thousands of pagers distributed to members of Hezbollah exploded, injuring hundreds of fighters and killing 12 people, including some civilians and children.That same month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as well as Irans Revolutionary Guard leader in Lebanon were killed in an airstrike in Beirut. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024, though Israel has continued regular airstrikes into Lebanon since then. But the domino effects in the region began to intensify, cutting further into Irans allies. In December 2024, the Assad regime in Syria fell after a brief and shocking rebel offensive. Assads rapid fall, seven years after he appeared to have won the civil war, was made possible in part because the allies who had come to his aid before were unable to this time: Russia was tied down by the war in Ukraine; Hezbollah was decimated by the war with Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Syrias new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is the worst of both worlds from Irans perspective: a former Sunni jihadist who has become a close US ally. Assads fall denies a safe haven to Iranian militants. The land bridge was closed. By 2025, when Israel and the United States launched a major strike against Irans nuclear program, it was clear that the axis was no longer the deterrent its architects had hoped for. Its an open question whether the axis was always just a paper tiger, or whether Israels intelligence and military capabilities which had been unable to overcome Hezbollah as recently as 2006 were simply more formidable and ruthless than observers realized. But the effect was undeniable: Iran was isolated and its military options were deeply constrained, making it a tempting target for an Israeli government and Trump administration that had long viewed it as an urgent threat. These guys were generally taken aback by October 7 and they struggled to adjust and didnt understand the kind of war they were in, said Hokayem. They didnt understand how Israels risk appetite had shifted. Could the axis return? For the moment, Irans regional allies, drained after the post-October 7 war, seem reluctant to get dragged into another high-intensity conflict. Its possible that as it continues, if the Iranian regime appears to be truly at risk of destruction, that could change. Israeli authorities believe Hezbollah still has around 40,000 troops and 30,000 reservists roughly the same as before the war and about 20 percent of its prewar rocket arsenal. The Houthis have been relatively quiet since the Gaza ceasefire in January 2025, but that could change. The most powerful of Iraqs Shia militias have also avoided direct attacks on the US military since 2024, but could rejoin the fight. For now, however, the axis no longer appears to be a serious constraint on US or Israeli action, leaving Tehran to rely on its missile forces, which have so far been unable to overwhelm air defense systems. Hamass decision to launch the brutal October 7 attacks were reportedly motivated by its desire to prevent the normalization of relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, a goal it apparently felt was worth the inevitably destructive Israeli retaliation against Gaza. It hoped, in other words, that the attack would reshape power dynamics in the Middle East. It did do that but mainly by giving Israel far more freedom to act as it pleases. Clarification, March 4, 7:30 pm ET: This story has been updated to more specifically describe the effects of Hamass actions in Gaza in 2007. Iran fired another round of missiles at Israel on Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military said, adding that air defence systems were activated to intercept the projectiles. Warning sirens sounded across large parts of the country and Tel Aviv residents reported hearing explosions. Irans Revolutionary Guards said earlier that they had fired four advanced Khorramshahr 4 missiles toward central Tel Aviv. Advertisement Advertisement Israeli television channel N12 reported that an Israeli passenger aircraft was on approach to Tel Avivs airport had to abort its landing due to Iranian attacks. Public broadcaster Kan reported that one missile struck a residential community in central Israel between houses, leaving a deep crater. Video footage from the scene showed debris and a large hole in the ground. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the U.S. and Israel hammered the country for a sixth day. Iran kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that American firepower over Tehran was about to surge dramatically. The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran's air defenses and missile launchers. Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trumps comments to the American news website Axios were likely to renew questions about whether the U.S. and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. Advertisement Advertisement The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of drone attacks, which Tehran denied. Iran said the U.S. would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka a day earlier. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for Beiruts southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border. All the while, the U.S. and Israel battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Irans attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps decision to strike Iran won enough support from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House on Thursday to defeat a resolution to halt the bombardment. The Senate voted down a similar measure a day earlier. Trump again urges Iranians to "take back" their country In brief remarks at the White House, Trump again urged the Iranian people to help take back your country. This time he promised the U.S. would grant them immunity amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime. So youll be perfectly safe with total immunity, Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. Or youll face absolutely guaranteed death. In the Axios interview, Trump derided 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a lightweight. Advertisement Advertisement We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolas Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Iran remains defiant Iran has not requested talks with the U.S. to bring an end to the widening war, Irans ambassador to Egypt told the Associated Press on Thursday. Ambassador Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour denied comments by Trump that Iran wants to negotiate. He said a lack of trust makes such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with war. Advertisement Advertisement There will be no trust in Trump, Ferdousi Pour said. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 people. The Iranian ship was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued. Araghchi said it had been carrying almost 130 crew. An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah, one of Shiite Islam's highest clerical ranks. There are dozens in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lanka said more than 200 sailors aboard another Iranian warship near its coast were being escorted to a naval base outside the capital, Colombo. The ship will be taken to a Sri Lankan port, said Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The war keeps expanding The U.S. military said early Friday that an Iranian drone carrier was attacked and set ablaze. The message from the U.S. militarys Central Command showed black-and-white footage of the carrier ablaze after multiple strikes hit it. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Speaking at U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, Hegseth gave few details Thursday when he promised an upcoming surge. Advertisement Advertisement "Its more fighter squadrons, its more capabilities, its more defensive capabilities, Hegseth said. And its more bomber pulses more frequently. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said U.S. forces have sunk more than 30 of Irans ships, including a drone carrier ship "roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, Israel's top general said waves of strikes had destroyed 80% of Irans air defenses and 60% of its missile launchers. Still, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: The threat has not yet been removed." Gulf countries also reported coming under fire. The U.S. State Department announced it was closing the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, which activated air defense systems in response to incoming missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has fired waves of missiles and drones at American-allied Kuwait, where a drone strike Sunday killed six American soldiers. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces. Authorities said falling shrapnel wounded several people. Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and later reported a missile attack. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in a province bordering Jordan. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery Thursday, sparking a fire that was extinguished. It said no casualties were reported. Advertisement Advertisement Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone crashed Thursday near an airport, injuring four civilian workers. Another drone fell near a school. Iran denied it launched drones toward Azerbaijan. Iran has also repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets, even as its missiles and drones have hit such sites. Ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped. That has caused oil prices to soar and U.S. stock prices to sink. Israel issues evacuation warning for Beirut suburbs Israel struck Beiruts southern suburbs Thursday evening after urging residents to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. Advertisement Advertisement The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border. ___ Rising reported from Bangkok, Becatoros from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. AP journalists around the world contributed. MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Iran has not approached Moscow with a request for arms supplies, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russia has condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire against a country it has drawn closer to in recent years. Iran last year sealed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Moscow, Russia is building two new nuclear units at Bushehr, the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant, and Iran supplied Russia with shahed drones for use against Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Asked by a reporter on Thursday whether Russia intends to provide material help to Iran, including arms deliveries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "In this case, there were no requests from the Iranian side. Our consistent position is well known to everyone, and there have been no changes in this regard." (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Felix Light; editing by Andrew Osborn) The plane was reportedly only a minute away from touching down when sirens sounded across central Israel and it was forced to climb back up. An El Al repatriation flight was prevented from landing at Ben-Gurion Airport by Iranian strikes, N12 reported on Thursday morning. The plane was reportedly only a minute from touching down when sirens sounded across central Israel, forcing it to climb back up. Advertisement Advertisement Several waves of Iranian missiles were launched against Israel later on Thursday, with no injuries reported to Magen David Adom or United Hatzalah, except for people getting injured while running to a safe room. ISRAEL POLICE at the scene of a fallen piece of an Iranian missile, March 5, 2026. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Sirens continued blaring in northern Israel throughout the day. The IDF said later Thursday that a drone was spotted crossing Israel's northern border. No injuries were reported in the incident. Reports suggested fragments of missiles launched from Iran and Lebanon falling in several locations in central Israel. On Thursday evening, missile fragments hit the cities of Tiberias and Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, causing damage to several shops and cars, Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said. Advertisement Advertisement Some 2,436 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes since the war with Iran began, according to data released Thursday by Israel's National Insurance. Iran strikes threatens West Bank More strikes across central Israel later on Thursday reportedly led to a hit on the West Bank city of Nablus, according to unconfirmed reports on social media. Magen David Adom did not report any injuries in this round of missiles from Iran. This is a developing story. March 5 (UPI) -- Iran on Thursday vowed to exact revenge for the sinking of an Iranian Navy frigate by a U.S. submarine off Sri Lanka with the loss of scores of sailors. In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack was "an atrocity" that set a precedent of widening the boundaries of the conflict beyond the region that the United States would come to regret. "The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set," he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lankan authorities said at least 87 people were killed when the IRIS Dena was struck by a torpedo on Wednesday, with 32 pulled from the water in a search and rescue operation mounted by the Sri Lankan Navy. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine confirmed the sinking, the first by a U.S. Navy submarine in more than 80 years, at a news briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. The IRIS Dena sank within minutes of being hit by a single torpedo launched from a U.S. Navy submarine in intenational waters near Sri Lanka. Photo via U.S. Department of Defense/UPI The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a post on X early Thursday that the attack "crossed a red line," warning that "further aggression will be met with decisive, overwhelming, and strategically precise retaliation." Shortly after, it claimed its forces had struck an American oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, setting it ablaze, and reiterated its threat to attack any military and commercial shipping of the United States, Israel and European nations, or their supporters, that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Advertisement Advertisement The British Royal Navy's Maritime Trade Operations center said it had received a report from the master of a tanker anchored 30 nautical miles southeast of the Kuwaiti city of Mubarak Al Kabeer, saying his vessel had been attacked. There were no injuries and the crew is safe, but the master of the ship, which was not identified, reported seeing and hearing a large explosion on the port side and then witnessing a small craft speed away from the scene. Oil was spilling into the sea from the vessel's tanks and it was taking on water, but was not on fire, according to the UKMTO incident report. The conflict continued to spread outwards from Iran and the Gulf with Azerbaijan threatening retaliation against Iran on Thursday after drone strikes on the international airport and other civilian infrastructure in its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, near to the country's border with Iran. Advertisement Advertisement "The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against civilian infrastructure on the territory of Azerbaijan in the absence of any military necessity. These acts of aggression will not remain unanswered," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The Telegraph said it had verified footage circulating online showing a blast at an airport in the exclave, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia. A second drone fell near a school. Azerbaijan is a close ally of Israel and the two countries have military links. Meanwhile, in her first briefing since the United States and Israel launched their military offensive, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the operation was on track, taking the United States in a new direction that would "better ensure" its security and that of the American people. Advertisement Advertisement "Make no mistake, killing these brutal terrorists is good for America, and makes the world a much safer place," she said. Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump would always opt for peace and diplomacy but said Iran "chose this path of violence and destruction and they are reaping the consequences." On U.S. efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens living in or visiting the region, Leavitt said more than 17,500 Americans were safely back on American soil and urged anybody who wanted assistance to return to the United States to register with the U.S. State Department. U.K. operations to evacuate its citizens got off to a shaky start, with the first Foreign Office-chartered flight, due to depart from Muscat in Oman on Wednesday night, delayed until later on Thursday due to a technical issue. Advertisement Advertisement A British Airways flight, for existing BA customers only, departed Muscat for London at 2.30 a.m. Thursday. The airline said in a social media post that seats on additional flights on Friday and Saturday, one on each day, were no longer available as the flights were fully booked. Muscat is a 285-mile drive across the desert from Dubai, on the Arabian Sea-side of the region and away from the conflict zone. On the sixth day of the United States-Israeli war against Iran, the situation is escalating inside Iran while regional tensions are intensifying across the Gulf, Lebanon and Iraq. Iran has threatened global shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and fighting is spreading across multiple fronts in the Middle East. Further afield, a US submarine has sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. In Iran Death toll: According to Iranian state media, the death toll from five days of US-Israeli attacks has reached 1,045, with more than 6,000 people wounded. Advertisement Advertisement Next supreme leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged as a leading contender to take up the countrys top post after years spent cultivating influence within the establishment and forging close ties with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Civilian infrastructure: Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused the US and Israel of strikes on 33 civilian sites across the country. These locations reportedly include hospitals, schools, residential areas, the Tehran Grand Bazaar and the historic Golestan Palace complex. US submarine sinks Iranian warship: On Wednesday, a US submarine fired a torpedo and sank the Iris Dena, an Iranian frigate, in the Indian Ocean off the south coast of Sri Lanka, expanding the warzone. Sri Lankas navy said it had recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people. Kurdish ground offensive: There are growing signs that Kurdish-Iranian armed groups have launched a ground offensive in northwest Iran against the Islamic government. Iraqi Kurds possibly joining conflict: US officials have reportedly asked Iraqi Kurds to assist in cross-border military operations, and Kurdish forces in northern Iraq are currently said to be on standby to join the conflict against Iran. Strait of Hormuz: On Wednesday, the IRGC announced the closure of the strait, where Iranian threats to attack ships have brought maritime activity to a virtual standstill. Spains refusal to join: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commended Spain for refusing to allow the US to use its bases for the war. US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain. In Gulf nations Retaliatory strikes: Irans counterstrikes are disrupting oil flows across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia: The US secretary of state and the Saudi foreign minister discussed the continued threats the Iranian regime poses to regional stability, and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned an Iranian drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday. Qatar: The Qatari government is evacuating residents who live near the US Embassy in Doha. Qatars Ministry of Interior stated this is a temporary precautionary measure. Diplomatic pushback : Qatars foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, reached out to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, for the first time since the conflict began. Sheikh Mohammed demanded an immediate halt to the strikes and said Iran was trying to drag neighbouring countries into a war that is not theirs. Kuwait tanker explosion: An explosion was reported near a tanker anchored approximately 30 nautical miles (equivalent to about 56km) southeast of Kuwaits Mubarak al-Kabeer. Support from Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with officials in Qatar and other Gulf nations about plans to deploy Ukrainian experts to the region to help defend against Iranian drone and missile attacks. Smoke rises after the state news agency reported a missile attack on the service centre of the US Fifth Fleet, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Manama, Bahrain [FILE: Reuters] In Israel Intensifying strikes: Israels military has announced a new wave of strikes against military infrastructure in Tehran. Military success: US and Western officials stated that the US and Israel have successfully destroyed a significant portion of Irans military capabilities. With air supremacy achieved, they said, Israeli and US jets are able to fly uncontested over Iranian territory. Domestic impact: The Israeli military has slightly relaxed wartime safety rules, shifting from essential to limited activities. In the US Congress and War Powers: On Wednesday, the US Senate voted 53-47 against requiring the Trump administration to obtain Congressional approval to continue the war with Iran, halting a bipartisan War Powers resolution. Public opinion: Public support for the war appears to be low. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, only about 25 percent of respondents supported the US-Israeli attacks, while 43 percent disapproved. The administrations stance: The White House has strongly defended the military action. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administrations goals are to eliminate Irans nuclear ambitions and destroy its navy. President Trump himself claimed that Iran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, stating, If we didnt hit within two weeks, they wouldve had a nuclear weapon. In Lebanon, Iraq, Turkiye, China President Ilham Alliyev of Azerbaijan has sought Irans apology after a drone attack targeted the autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, opening yet another front in the ongoing war launched by the United States and Israel and the retaliation from Tehran. Alliyev on Thursday said those responsible must be held accountable after Nakhchivan was subjected to cowardly fire. Two people were injured in Thursdays drone attack in the exclave, which borders Iran and Turkiye. The Azerbaijani state strongly condemns this ugly terrorist act, and those who committed it must be immediately held accountable, Alliyev said in a post on the presidential website. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the incident occurred about noon (08:00 GMT) on Thursday. One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad, the ministry said. We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It added that the attack injured two civilians and caused damage at the airport. The ministry demanded a clear explanation from Iran and said the country reserves the right to take appropriate response measures. Advertisement Advertisement It summoned Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilou over the incident. Turkiye, which is closely allied with Azerbaijan, also released a statement strongly condemning the strike and warned against spreading the conflict to third countries. Turkiye will continue to stand by Azerbaijan in the future, as it has always done, it said. We emphasise once again the need to stop attacks targeting third countries in the region and carrying the risk of spreading the war. Iran denies role In a call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Tehran was not behind the attack, according to a ministry readout. Araghchi suggested that Israel could be responsible, describing the strike in a statement on Telegram as aimed at diverting public opinion and undermining Irans good relations with its neighbours. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also denied that Iran was behind the attack. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan, Gharibabadi said in comments carried by Irans Tasnim news agency. We do not target our neighbouring countries. Irans policy is only to strike the military bases of its enemies that are active in the region and those bases that are used to attack Iran, including those of the US and Israel, he added. Nakhchivan was part of a US-brokered peace deal signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A land corridor called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity gave the US development rights for the proposed route connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and creating a passage between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has long opposed the planned transit route, also known as the Zangezur corridor, fearing it would cut the country off from Armenia and the rest of the Caucasus while bringing potentially hostile foreign forces close to its borders. Al Jazeeras Resul Serdar said: Iran has long been accusing the Azeri government of turning Azerbaijan into an Israeli spy base. They are accusing Aliyev of undermining Irans security from its northern border, Serdar added. Iran said multiple times that if Azerbaijan did not stop, it would be punished. Serdar said Thursdays drone strikes were sending a clear message to the Azeri government. Iran is engaging in a conflict with neighbouring countries, he said, adding, the Gulf, Turkiye and now Azerbaijan. Expanding war More Iranian drones are reported to have targeted countries across the region, including a US military base near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement Qatars Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems intercepted a missile attack as multiple explosions were heard in the skies above Doha. Our Armed Forces successfully intercepted (13) missiles while the last one fell in the territorial waters of [the] State of Qatar, the ministry said in a statement, adding that four drones were intercepted successfully without any human casualties. The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the latest drone sent into its airspace was shot down near the al-Jawf region while the Oman Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged. On Wednesday, Turkiyes Ministry of National Defence said a ballistic missile fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace was destroyed by NATO air defence systems over the eastern Mediterranean after passing over Syria and Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement Irans armed forces issued a statement on Thursday denying having fired any missiles towards Turkish territory. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was taking all the necessary precautions in consultation with its NATO allies and was issuing warnings in the clearest terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again. In the meantime, the Israel-Hezbollah front in Lebanon has been reignited with heavy Israeli bombardments and incursions into its northern neighbour. By Uditha Jayasinghe GALLE, Sri Lanka, March 5 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka started to offload 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel off its coast on Thursday, a day after 87 people were killed and several others were still missing after a U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the same region. "After detailed discussions with all parties, Sri Lanka has decided to assist the Iranian vessel," Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a press briefing in Colombo. Advertisement Advertisement The crew being offloaded included 53 officials, 84 cadets, 48 senior sailors and 23 sailors, Dissanayake said. Some crew members would remain on board to help the Sri Lankan Navy navigate the vessel to Trincomalee Port in the eastern part of the island, he added. The ship was near the port of Colombo, in the country's exclusive economic zone but outside its maritime boundary, Dissanayake said. "We worked on the stance that this is our humanitarian responsibility," he told the briefing. RESCUERS STILL SEARCHING FOR 10 MISSING The first ship, IRIS Dena, was sunk on Wednesday, 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka's southern port city of Galle, and two freezers had been dispatched to store the 87 bodies recovered from the sea, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Tehran has asked Colombo to help repatriate the bodies, Sri Lanka's deputy minister for health and mass media, Hansaka Wijemuni, told Reuters, adding that a timeframe had not yet been determined. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the warship was struck in international waters without warning, thousands of miles from the Gulf, where U.S. and Israeli forces are striking Iran and Tehran is retaliating with missile and drone attacks. "The U.S. will bitterly regret the precedent it has set," Araqchi said in a post on X, adding that the warship was a guest of India's navy and was carrying almost 130 sailors. IRIS Dena had taken part in a naval exercise organised by India in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25 and was on its way back, according to the drill's website and Sri Lankan officials. Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lankan military rescuers responded to an early-morning distress call from the frigate on Wednesday and found 32 survivors. Search and rescue operations would continue for an estimated 10 people who remain unaccounted for, they said. The Indian Navy said it had also launched a search and rescue operation to "augment" Sri Lanka's efforts. The attack dramatically widened the scope of the war. "An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon. "Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death." Advertisement Advertisement A Pentagon video purporting to have captured the attack showed a huge explosion blowing apart the rear of the vessel, lifting it from the water, and causing it to begin sinking from the stern. (Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe in Galle and Jana Choukeir and Elwely Elwelly in Dubai; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, YP Rajesh and Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Saad Sayeed, Philippa Fletcher, Andrew Heavens and Diane Craft) Paramount CEO David Ellison, above, said CNN will maintain its editorial independence under a merged Paramount-WBD. - Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Paramount CEO David Ellison has pledged to support editorial independence at CNN, saying it needs to be maintained, amid widespread concern about his companys plans for the news network. Last week, Ellison emerged victorious in a months-long battle for Warner Bros Discovery after Netflix pulled out of the bidding process. Now, Paramount is working to win regulatory approval of the deal in the US and other markets. Appearing Thursday morning on CNBC for his first interview since the WBD deal was struck, Ellison did not address the potential for a merger of CNN with Paramounts CBS News division. CNBCs David Faber said there are a lot of concerns, certainly when you put CNN and CBS well, I dont want to say, put them together, but I wonder, is that kind of part of the plan in terms of newsgathering? Then Faber also asked, What do you tell employees of CNN at this point as they are concerned about their own future at that network? CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team, Ellison said, and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained, obviously, for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward. Later in the interview, Faber said, Unfortunately, the world we live in has a political overlay on almost everything going on in the corporate world, certainly when it comes to news organizations. There is certainly a perception and or a fear, perhaps, that once you take control of CNN and given the changes youve made at CBS, that you will be more beholden to the Trump administration, Faber said. Can you address that, that potential fear, at least, on the part of many? Ellison seemed prepared for the question. Editorial independence will actually be maintained, he said. Its maintained at CBS, itll be maintained at CNN. Then he invoked a concept that he has talked about before: That 70% of Americans are roughly in the middle, from center left to center right, and arent part of the hyperpartisan extremes. Really, who we want to talk to is the 70% of Americans and really around the world that identify as center left, as center right, Ellison said. We want to be in the truth business, we want to be in the trust business, and thats not going to change, he added. Ellisons comments are noteworthy because Paramounts vision for CNN has been something of a mystery. Critics have accused both the old and new owners of Paramount of making changes to appease President Trump and receive favorable treatment from regulators. Ellison will readily throw the First Amendment, CNNs reporters and HBOs filmmakers under the bus if they stand in the way of expanding his corporate empire and fattening his pockets, Freedom of the Press Foundation chief of advocacy Seth Stern charged last week. GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home, New Delhi said. The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its spread in the Middle East and beyond. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence. On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena, which sank in international waters off the coast of the island nation a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a ship since World War II. Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lankas navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water. The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lankas southern coast. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described the IRIS Dena as a prize ship. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Irans navy. A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an an atrocity at sea in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States will come to bitterly regret the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Araghchi said the IRIS Dena had been carrying almost 130 crew. Indias navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events. The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background. Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been a guest" of India's navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident. Another Iranian warship nears Sri Lanka, and its navy takes over the vessel Sri Lanka's media minister and government spokesperson, Nalinda Jayatissa, told parliament on Thursday that another Iranian ship has entered Sri Lankas exclusive economic zone, an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where the country has rights over natural resources. Advertisement Advertisement Jayatissa did not provide further details but said the government was trying to "minimize the loss of lives and safeguard regional peace. Later Thursday, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lankan navy boats started transferring 208 sailors from the Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr, first to the port in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. From there, they would be taken to a naval base on the outskirt of Colombo while the warship will be taken to a port in eastern Sri Lanka. He said an agreement to take over the ship and the crew followed discussions with Iranian officials and the ship's captain. Dissanayake also said the government was earlier told the vessel had suffered engine failure but didn't elaborate. Questions in India over the sinking India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks. Advertisement Advertisement Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the governments lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to Indias maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement. The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X. Kanwal Sibal, a former diplomat who served as Indias foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack, but its responsibility is at a moral and human plane. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has ignored Indias sensitivities," Sibal said. "The ship was in these waters because of Indias invitation. ___ Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalist Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report. ___ An earlier version of this story was corrected to show the Sri Lankan spokesperson said the second Iranian vessel entered the maritime area of Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone, not its territorial waters. Seeking to bring down Iran's Islamic republic, the United States and Israel could see a path by exploiting ethnic tensions, a strategy attractive to military planners but fraught with long-term risks. Just over half of Iran's population is Persian, but the country of 90 million has seen less strife along ethnic lines than many of its neighbors, despite plenty of discontent against the clerical Shia government that cracked down ruthlessly on protests weeks ago. Since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Saturday, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran has launched missiles and drones across the region and specifically targeted Iranian Kurdish groups across the border in Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement One guard was killed in a strike on a camp Wednesday, Khalil Sanani, spokesman of the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party, told AFP. CNN reported Tuesday that the CIA was working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with hopes of fomenting an uprising. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the story "completely false" but confirmed that President Donald Trump had spoken to Kurdish leaders. Iranian Kurdish fighters are attractive for the United States as "they really are the most organized segment of the broader Iranian opposition movement," said Mohammed Salih, a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's national security program. Advertisement Advertisement Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, has "brand recognition" but lacks an armed faction on the ground, Salih said. "The direction that things seem to be taking in Iran is that the US and Israel seem to be really needing boots on the ground, in the absence of being willing to send in their own troops," Salih said. Another option would be the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), an armed group known for rallies around the world and its aggressive courtship of Western politicians. But the MEK was long considered a terrorist group by Washington and enjoys little support inside Iran, where it is reviled for allying with Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the devastating 1980-88 war. Advertisement Advertisement - Opportunity for special forces - Kurdish fighters could serve a similar function as Afghanistan's minority-dominated Northern Alliance in 2001 by creating a zone in which US special forces can operate, said Stefano Ritondale, a former military intelligence specialist. A successful Kurdish offensive could also "enable a spreading of discontent" that overwhelms the Islamic republic, said Ritondale, now chief intelligence officer at Artorias, a global risk intelligence provider. "What is interesting in the thought process from the administration is using the Kurds as an armed opposition to really challenge authority, and then causing a cascading effect where people go back out in the streets and protest," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Kurds have allied with the United States for decades, with mixed results. US support helped bring de facto autonomy to Kurds in Iraq and Syria. But Washington recently dropped support for autonomy by Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled the Islamic State group, as Trump backs the new government in Damascus. Kurds, while mostly Sunni, share cultural and linguistic affinities with Persians and have historically had less friction with the Iranian state than with fellow Kurds in Iraq and Turkey. Kurds make up about nine percent of Iran's population, while the largest minority group is the Azeris, a Turkic people near Azerbaijan, though they are highly integrated in Iranian society. Advertisement Advertisement Khamenei was Azeri and President Masoud Pezeshkian is of mixed Azeri and Kurdish origin. Other geographically concentrated minorities include Arabs, Turkmens and Baluchis, whose militants have waged a violent insurgency across the border in Pakistan. - Fears on splitting Iran - Some observers warn of deep risks to an ethnic strategy, which could set off new sorts of conflict. A reliance on Kurdish fighters could also put the United States and Israel on a collision course with Pahlavi. Just days before the US and Israeli attack, five Iranian Kurdish groups announced a joint coalition with the goals of "Kurdish self-determination" and toppling the Islamic republic. Advertisement Advertisement Pahlavi accused them of threatening national unity and said "Iran's territorial integrity is the ultimate red line." Arash Saleh, the US representative of one of the groups, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said his movement was seeking a federal Iran. "We see ourselves as a kind of Iranian force that wants to keep the territorial integrity of Iran," he said. "But we believe the best solution to keep this territorial integrity as strong as possible is to come up with some mechanisms so that all Iranians feel like they're the members of this country." sct/js Mohammed, who co-founded and directed the Organization of Womens Freedom in Iraq, was rushed to hospital where she perished from her wounds, according to local reports and Amnesty International. Iraqi womens rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who saved thousands of women from honor killings and domestic violence, was shot outside her home in Baghdad on Monday by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle. Mohammed, who co-founded and directed the Organization of Womens Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), was rushed to hospital where she perished from her wounds, according to local reports and Amnesty International. Advertisement Advertisement OWFI, confirming her death, published in a statement, "With profound sorrow and grief, and in a shock that words cannot describe, the Women's Freedom Organization in Iraq mourns the passing of its president, Yanar Mohammed, and extends its condolences to the liberation movement, the women's rights movement in Iraq, and the world at large." Mohammed, who received the Gruber Foundation Award for Womens Rights and a number of other tokens of recognition for her work, opened Iraqs first womens shelter in 2003, which saved countless women from honor killings and sex trafficking. At the end of her life, she probably had, I dont know how many safe homes because she kept them a secret. She didnt want anybody to know about them. These womens lives were in her hands. She fed the hungry and she clothed the ones who were discarded, her cousin told KCBD, explaining how her relative received a number of death threats over the years. Mohammed's murder 'calculated assault,' Amnesty International accuses Razaw Salihy, Amnesty Internationals Iraq Researcher, believes that Mohammeds murder was a calculated assault to stifle human rights defenders, especially those defending womens rights. Advertisement Advertisement The assassination of Yanar Mohammed fits a chilling pattern of targeted killings and attempted killings of activists that Amnesty International has documented during and in the aftermath of the Tishreen protests since 2019. The persistent failure of the Iraqi authorities to hold perpetrators accountable for past assassinations has entrenched a climate of impunity that continues to place activists at grave and fatal risk. Human rights defenders, including womens rights defenders in Iraq must be protected - not silenced and killed, Salihy published. Iraqi authorities must ensure the investigation they have ordered is prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial, in line with international standards. They must bring all those responsible to justice in fair trials that preclude the death penalty. United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsVolker Turk also called for Baghdad to immediately investigate the murder. Mohammeds murder comes amid a broader erosion of the rights of women and girls in Iraq. An amendment to Iraqs Personal Status Law that entered into force in February 2025, the lowering the minimum legal age of marriage to as young as nine in some cases, and other policy changes have further weakened the status of women, according to Human Rights Watch. As the Israel-US conflict with Iran continues to spread, Azerbaijan was the latest country to feel the impact as two people were injured in a drone attack at an airport, for which Tehran denies responsibility UK to send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar US closes embassy in Kuwait Israel and Iran resumed exchanging airstrikes on Thursday with no sign of the conflict easing It comes after the US Senate voted down a resolution seeking to halt US military action The US has sunk an Iranian warship, killing at least 87, according to Sri Lankan Navy An Iranian cleric has said the country is "close" to choosing its next supreme leader NATO defence systems intercept a ballistic missile launched from Iran toward Turkeys airspace Azerbaijan became the latest country to feel the impact of the war as an attack on an airport left two people injured - Iran has denied all responsibility. At least 1,200 people have died in Iran, according to Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs All six US service members killed during the conflict with Iran have been named The UK and France are sending warships to Cyprus, after a drone hit an RAF base hangar there The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to join its squadron in Qatar in response to the growing conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities are arriving in Cyprus tomorrow, he added. The PM said he was satisfied that we can keep our people safe as he faced questions about the UKs preparedness over the conflict, which sparked on Saturday as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Since then, the Islamic Republic has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and on US military sites and other facilities in several allied Gulf countries. Asked about criticism that the governments approach had been marked by indecision, prevarication and a lack of preparedness, the prime minister said Britain started pre-deploying to the region in January and February, particularly to Cyprus and Qatar. A boy tries to climb on an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria Credit: AP "Theres been a lot of pre-planning gone into this, a lot of pre-deployment thats gone into this," said Starmer, when asked about a perceived lack of preparedness for war in the region. Advertisement Advertisement And Im satisfied that we can keep our people safe and were working very hard to make sure that wherever people have registered their presence, we can help them with the information that they need and the support they need, and get them back to the United Kingdom as quickly and as safely as possible. It comes after an Iranian-made drone was used to attack an RAF base in Cyprus, which the PM's official spokesperson said was "likely" not launched from Iran. The relationship between the UK and US has been strained since Starmer's public fallout with US President Donald Trump over his refusal to allow initial US strikes on Iran from British bases. Starmer said he respected Mr Trump's decision, which "he considers in the national interest" of America, and insisted the "special relationship is in operation right now". Advertisement Advertisement The last time Starmer spoke to the US president was on Saturday evening. Earlier Republicans in the Senate stood by President Donald Trump by voting down a resolution which could have allowed lawmakers to demand approval for any further attacks from Congress the US' lower house, similar to the House of Commons. During a Pentagon briefing, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for US operations, which Trump has said could last for a month or longer. It comes as Trump on Thursday said he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the US and Israel continued to strike Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trumps comments to the American news website renew questions about whether the US and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. In the Axios interview, Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a light weight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after a US military operation captured Nicolas Maduro and whisked him to the US to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Advertisement Advertisement Israels Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Irans next supreme leader if he continues to threaten Israel, the US and others will be a target for elimination. The war against Iran is widening further with Israel's military warning hundreds of thousands of people in the Lebanese capital Beriut to flee their homes, as ITV News' James Mates reports You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three, Hegseth said. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and were going to keep them off balance. The war has killed more than 1,200 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Advertisement Advertisement Another eight people were killed in Lebanon, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli on Thursday, while three were killed on a coastal highway, authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strikes. In two near-simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs on late Wednesday, two vehicles were hit, killing three people and injuring six, the health ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member, adding that further details would follow. Healthcare workers in Galle, Sri Lanka, unload the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when the IRIS Dena warship sank. Credit: AP On Wednesday, the US sank an Iranian warship, claiming to have eradicated Iran's air and naval forces, even as retaliatory missiles continue to be launched at neighbouring targets, including Turkey, a Nato member, risking further escalation. Advertisement Advertisement Iran said the United States would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night, killing at least a dozen Iranian sailors. On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi decried the incident as an atrocity at sea, saying: Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set. US-Israel strikes on Iran have continued unabated, with the Israeli military beginning a "broad wave" of strikes on Tehran and other major cities on Wednesday. The IDF said it was targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces. US soldiers killed in first days of Iran war named Advertisement Advertisement Analysis: Trump's colossal Iran gamble is only the start Strikes on Iran Israeli forces said they were beginning a broad "wave of strikes" on Tehran and other major cities, targeting Iranian leadership and security forces on Wednesday, continuing its barrage of attacks since it launched its operation on Saturday. Airstrikes have also been reported in the Iranian cities of Urmiah, Isfahan and Kermanshah. Overnight, the IDF had targeted what it described as command centres used by Irans feared internal security forces and the Basij militia. There appears to be little appetite for de-escalation despite the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the initial attack on Saturday. Hegseth confirmed at a press briefing on Wednesday that US operations in Iran were in their very early days. Advertisement Advertisement Four days in, we have only just begun to fight," he said. Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran, saying Starmer is "not Winston Churchill". Credit: AP UK sending military to Cyprus On Monday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said an unmanned drone struck an airport runway, but a photo circulating online on Thursday appeared to show a hole in a hangar at the UK's Akrotiri base. The prime minister's official spokesman told reporters: When this happened on Sunday evening, we were clear that work needed to be done to assess the incident. The full assessment of that incident is ongoing. Our current understanding is that the drone hit a hanger on the air base. There were no casualties. The damage was minimal. Theres also been no damage to equipment inside the hangar. The drone parts have been recovered. They are being investigated and I think, as the MoD has set out, our assessment is that it was likely a Shahed-type drone, which was not launched from Iran, and which was launched before the prime minister's statement on Sunday. According to Cypriot officials, the attack overnight on Monday was launched from Beirut in Lebanon. Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes, which took off from Akrotiri. The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon. Credit: AP Downing Street has rejected accusations that the government failed to have enough military assets in the Middle East following the strike on RAF Akrotiri. I dont accept that. I think the fact is, operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review, Starmer said. Starmer provided update on the Middle East conflict at 2pm on Thursday in which he sought to reassure the public of the UK's military response in Cyprus and further afield. It came as Defence Secretary John Healey met his counterpart in Cyprus to ease tensions about Britains response to drone attacks on the island. Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, said the deployment of HMS Dragon was welcome but noted it would take more than a week to arrive. France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain are also reportedly sending naval assets to protect Cyprus. It was put to Sir Keirs spokesman that, with the HMS Dragon still being readied to sail to the Mediterranean next week, the UK was not fully prepared. The official responded: I dont accept that. I think the fact is operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review. He added: Our defensive capabilities have been deployed since January. That includes air defence, radar systems and F-35 jets in Cyprus and Typhoons in Qatar. US submarine sinks Iranian warship On the fifth day of fighting, a US submarine sank the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo in international waters. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine had torpedoed an Iranian warship that "thought it was safe in international waters". Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said by the time rescue ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship in distress and there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water. He said the 32 people were rescued and admitted to a hospital in Galle, a town on Sri Lanka's southern coast. The bodies recovered were also being brought to land, he said. The Sri Lankan navy added that it has recovered 87 bodies off the coast from where the warship sank. An electricity utility worker inspects the ruins of a police facility struck during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP Iran launches missile at Turkey, a Nato member As the conflict spiralled, Turkey said Nato defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran on Wednesday before it entered Turkeys airspace. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkeys territory are unacceptable and pledged full US support after an Iranian missile headed toward the country was shot down, the State Department said on Wednesday. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Credit: AP Iran draws closer to selecting a new leader Irans leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khameneis son, has long been considered among them though he has never been elected or appointed to a government position. In a sign that Irans leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned that those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy. The Israeli defence minister threatened whoever Iran picks to be the countrys next supreme leader. Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people will be a target for elimination, Katz wrote on X. Iran continues to retaliate Iran continued retaliatory firing missiles and drone strikes against its Gulf neighbours and Israel. Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it targeted Irbil in Iraq, two military bases in Kuwait, and two US warships. The guard said via Iranian state television that it is prepared for the "complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure." "The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure," it said. It alleges, without offering evidence, that the US military was using "civilian facilities ... as cover." Responding to the contuinuing strikes, the US on Thursday shut its embassy in Kuwait, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work. In Iran, state television has said the mourning ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been postponed, and will be held after intense strikes targeted Tehran. The ceremony was set to take place on Wednesday evening at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran. Communication with the country has been difficult, with internet monitoring group NetBlocks saying Iran has been offline now for 100 hours. During the previous shutdown in Iran, NetBlocks estimated that it cost the country over $37 million (28 million). Israeli tanks manoeuvre near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, March 4, 2026. Credit: AP Kurdish dissident groups 'preparing to fight' with US support Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, according to Kurdish officials. The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organised segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters. Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the embattled authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, based in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said on Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby. A member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI stands at a checkpoint leading to their base in Koya district of Irbil, Iraq. Credit: AP He said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving more details. Asked about reports that the Trump administration was considering arming Iranian Kurdish groups, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday: None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force. So, what other entities may be doing, were aware of, but our objectives arent centered on that. Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, the PAK had claimed attacks on the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Tehrans violent crackdown on protests. But an official with the group said it had not sent forces from Iraq into Iran. If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group. A truck carries an Israeli tank on a road in northern Israel. Credit: AP Israel warns citizens of dangers of travelling abroad Israel warned its citizens on Thursday that travelling abroad during the ongoing hostilities could make them targets of attacks or otherwise endanger them. The countrys Government Press Office said in a statement that several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis have been thwarted and disrupted. It urged Israelis to conceal Jewish identifiers, avoid travelling through the United Arab Emirates, refrain from sharing personal information on social media and remain vigilant or avoid visiting Jewish sites. The warning cited recent violence in Canada and Texas, where authorities are investigating whether the motive of a gunman who opened fire at a bar in Austin was Iran-related. Iran has in the past staged asymmetric attacks targeting Jews and Israelis, including in Europe and South America, and such responses were feared before the war broke out. The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the world's oil and gas trade. Credit: iStock Rising oil prices The far-reaching conflict is causing severe disruption in the global flow of crude oil, as the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, was caught in the middle of the conflict. Iran controls the entire northern side of the Strait, effectively allowing it to wield the Strait as a geopolitical chokepoint. While the strait is officially open, trade has dropped by 80 per cent since Saturday. Iran has carried out attacks on passing ships and vowed to continue to do so, forcing many shipping companies to suspend operations in the area. US president Donald Trump floated the idea of escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz with the US Navy. Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. Declan Coady. Credit: US Army via CNN Newsource Six US soldiers killed during the conflict with Iran named Six US service members killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait have been named. They were named as: Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan; Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant Noah L Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sergeant Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Specialist Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The Pentagon said they were all killed by a drone that struck where they were working in Port Shuabia, Kuwait, on Sunday. Two other soldiers who were killed in the strike have not been publicly identified. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. British nationals abroad British nationals are being advised to follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Offices travel advice, which officials expect to change rapidly. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Starmer said that more than 1,000 British Nationals arrived back in the UK from the UAE on commercial flights on Tuesday. At his press conference on Thursday, Starmer confirmed the first UK charter flight from Oman had taken off. More than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, including vulnerable Brits identified by our teams," he said. A further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK today, and I can report that our first charter flight from Oman took off a few minutes ago. We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and we will keep working with all of our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift. I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking. Flights operated by Qatar Airways have been suspended until Friday. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below... Israel on Thursday issued urgent evacuation warnings to residents across large parts of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, saying the areas could become targets of attack. The Israeli military published the warning on its Arabic-language X account, urging residents to leave their homes immediately for their safety. Residents of Burj al-Barajneh and Hadath were instructed to evacuate east toward Mount Lebanon using the BeirutDamascus highway. Advertisement Advertisement Those living in Haret Hreik and Chiyah were told to head north toward Tripoli via the BeirutTripoli highway and then east toward Mount Lebanon through the Metn Expressway. The warnings urged civilians to "save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately," while cautioning residents against moving south, saying doing so could put them in danger. Journalists who had been invited by the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement to attend a tour in the area were also asked to evacuate immediately after the warnings were issued. The neighbourhoods are considered strongholds of Hezbollah but are also densely populated residential areas. Advertisement Advertisement A witness told dpa that extreme panic broke out among residents as people rushed to flee. Cars quickly jammed the roads as residents attempted to leave the area. It is the first time the Israeli military has called on large parts of the Lebanese capital to evacuate. Previous warnings in Beirut had targeted specific buildings that were later struck by Israeli forces. The Israeli army statement added that residents would be informed later when it is safe to return to their homes. Hezbollah fighters began firing rockets at Israel early on Monday in response to the killing of Iran's supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli assault on Iran. As the war in Iran enters its sixth day, hostilities are spilling across the Middle East. Since then, Israel's military has carried out heavy strikes on targets in several parts of Lebanon. By Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell, Khalil Ashawi and Jana Choukeir BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 5 (Reuters) - Israel warned residents to leave Beirut's southern suburbs, including Hezbollah-controlled areas, on Thursday, prompting an exodus from a swathe of the capital known as Dahiyeh which a far-right Israeli minister said would soon resemble parts of Gaza. Suggesting a major escalation looms in Israel's offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, an Israeli military spokesperson told residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of the capital he said they must leave. Advertisement Advertisement Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire, sparking Israeli airstrikes focused on Beirut's southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon. "Save your lives, evacuate your homes immediately," the military spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted on X, saying that any movement southwards may endanger their lives. Roads out of the suburbs were clogged as people fled by car and on foot, television footage showed. The sound of warning shots could be heard in the southern suburbs, exhorting residents to leave. Aliyyeh Hijazi, 66, said she fled her village in southern Lebanon at the start of the week for the city of Sidon in the south, before moving again to a relative's home in Dahiyeh, only to flee again after Thursday's warning. Advertisement Advertisement "Our lives are over, especially those of us from the south. They say the southerner is very strong, but now the southerner can't bear it anymore," said the mother of 10, speaking to Reuters in Beirut's Martyrs Square where many of the displaced gathered, among them women and children wearing backpacks. SMOTRICH: 'YOU HAVE BROUGHT HELL UPON YOURSELVES' Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video on X from near the Lebanon border, in which he said that Dahiyeh would soon resemble parts of Gaza, where Israel's two-year military campaign against Hezbollah's ally Hamas has left much of the territory in ruins. "You wanted to bring hell on us but you have brought hell upon yourselves. The Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis. Our northern residents will soon live in quiet, peace and security," said Smotrich, who sits on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet. Advertisement Advertisement The area highlighted in the Israeli military map includes neighbourhoods controlled by Hezbollah but also spreads into adjoining ones. While Israel has previously ordered people to leave buildings in Dahiyeh, this was the first time it instructed residents of the entire area to leave. Israel also instructed residents of the eastern Bekaa Valley region, another area of Hezbollah influence, to leave. On Wednesday, the Israeli military had ordered residents to leave a swathe of the south. LEBANON'S DEATH TOLL INCREASES TO 102 Nearly all outgoing and incoming flights to Beirut airport, which is adjacent to the zone identified by the Israeli military, were cancelled for Thursday evening and Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Some residents of Beirut's southern suburbs told Reuters they had received calls from European numbers playing a recorded message from someone identifying themselves as a member of the Israeli military and telling them to leave their homes. Beirut's predominantly Shi'ite Muslim southern suburbs are among the capital's most densely populated areas. The area was pounded by Israeli airstrikes during a war with Hezbollah in 2024 and during a previous war with Israel in 2006. Israeli bombardment and warnings have already forced tens of thousands of Lebanese to flee homes in the southern suburbs and the south this week. The Lebanese health ministry said 102 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency, said on Wednesday that seven children had been killed. Advertisement Advertisement There have been no reports of fatalities in Israel as a result of Hezbollah attacks. (Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Ahmed Tolba and Youman Ehab in Cairo; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Sharon Singleton and Andrei Khalip) The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) early on Thursday said that it had begun targeting infrastructure in Iran. "Initial report - the IDF has just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," the military said in a post on Telegram. Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions in the Tehran area. In a separate post, the military said that the Israeli Air Force "completed a wave of intelligence-based strikes in Beirut against several command centers belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization." Advertisement Advertisement There were repeated rocket alerts in Israel throughout the night, as well as reports of parallel rocket attacks on Israel from Iran and Lebanon. A Tel Aviv resident reported hearing loud bangs. There were no initial reports of injuries. Explosions sounded in Tehran on Wednesday as Iran's war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region The US has sunk an Iranian warship, killing at least 87 according to Sri Lankan Navy An Iranian cleric has said the country is "close" to choosing its next supreme leader NATO defence systems intercept a ballistic missile launched from Iran toward Turkeys airspace Trump said Irans air force and navy had been "knocked out" IDF says Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down manned Iranian warplane in Tehran At least 1,045 people have died in Iran, according to Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Four of the six US service members killed during the conflict with Iran have been named The UK and France are sending warships to Cyprus to bolster its anti-drone capabilities The UK government charters a repatriation flight from Oman on Wednesday evening, with more planned Iran's internet has been offline for over 100 hours, according to monitoring group NetBlocks. US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the administration's goal is "permanently extinguishing [Iran's] nuclear ambitions". An American submarine has sunk an Iranian warship in international waters. Advertisement Advertisement US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine had torpedoed an Iranian warship that "thought it was safe in international waters". Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said by the time rescue ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship in distress and there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water. He said the 32 people were rescued and admitted to a hospital in Galle, a town on Sri Lanka's southern coast. The bodies recovered were also being brought to land, he said. Advertisement Advertisement The Sri Lankan navy added it has recovered 87 bodies off the coast from where the warship sunk. The attack on the warship comes on the fifth day of fighting, as US-Israel strikes on Iran expand, with the Israeli military beginning a "broad wave" of strikes on Tehran and other major cities. The IDF said it was targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces. Airstrikes have also been reported in the Iranian cities of Urmiah, Isfahan and Kermanshah. Overnight, the IDF had targeted what it described as command centres used by Irans feared internal security forces and the Basij militia. There appears to be little appetite for de-escalation despite the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei in the initial attack on Saturday. Hegseth confirmed that US operations in Iran were in their very early days. Four days in, we have only just begun to fight," he said. Advertisement Advertisement More than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. In the first wave of strikes on Saturday, Iranian state media reported that a US-Israel strike killed more than 100 people at a girls elementary school in southern Iran. The US government has insisted it does not target civilians and has claimed to be investigating the incident. Earlier, the IDF claimed an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down a manned Iranian warplane in Tehran on Wednesday, in what it described as the "first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 'Adir' fighter jet. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Credit: AP Iran continued retaliatory firing missiles and drone strikes against its Gulf neighbours and Israel. Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it targeted Irbil in Iraq, two military bases in Kuwait, and two US warships. Advertisement Advertisement The guard said via Iranian state television that it is prepared for the "complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure." "The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the regions military and economic infrastructure," it said. It alleges, without offering evidence, that the US military was using "civilian facilities ... as cover." Communication with the country has been difficult, with internet monitoring group NetBlocks saying Iran has been offline now for 100 hours. This is the second such blackout this year imposed by Iranian authorities. The first was for nationwide protests in January. Advertisement Advertisement NetBlocks says metrics show internet connectivity at 1% of normal levels. During the previous shutdown in Iran, NetBlocks estimated that it cost the country over $37 million (28 million). Israeli tanks maneuver near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, March 4, 2026. Credit: AP Israel said its air defences had been activated to intercept Iranian missiles targeting Israel, with explosions heard around Jerusalem. In Iran, state television has said the mourning ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been postponed, and will be held later after intense strikes targeted Tehran. A top cleric said it was "close" to choosing the next leader. The ceremony was set to take place on Wednesday evening at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran. Advertisement Advertisement His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is being considered as a possible candidate to replace his late father as Supreme Leader. Israel's defence minister has said whoever is chosen to be Iran's next Supreme Leader will be a "target of elimination". On Tuesday, the building where Iranian clerics will meet to select a new Supreme Leader in the holy city of Qom was reportedly hit. An electricity utility worker inspects the ruins of a police facility struck during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP The war in Iran began on Saturday and quickly spread across the Middle East, with Iran striking targets in the Gulf states, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, described the American strikes in the opening hours of the campaign as "nearly double the scale" of the initial attacks during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement The conflict continues across the Middle East, with the American embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates coming under drone attacks on Tuesday. The US has urged non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom. The repercussions threaten to be felt beyond the region, with rising oil prices and flight delays. Speaking on Wednesday, US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration's aim was "permanently extinguishing [Iran's] nuclear ambitions". Leavitt defended the US' decision to strike Iran, adding that the president felt, "peace was not a pursuable path" with Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Addressing the potential to see US troops on the ground in Iran, Leavitt said it was not part of the current plan but refused to rule it out in the future. Four US soldiers killed in first days of Iran war named Analysis: Trump's colossal Iran gamble is only the start Rising oil prices The far-reaching conflict is causing severe disruption in the global flow of crude oil, as the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, was caught in the middle of the conflict. Iran controls the entire northern side of the Strait, effectively allowing it to wield the Strait as a geopolitical chokepoint. Advertisement Advertisement While the strait is officially open, trade has dropped by 80 per cent since Saturday. Iran has carried out attacks on passing ships and vowed to continue to do so, forcing many shipping companies to suspend operations in the area. US president Donald Trump floated the idea of escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz with the US Navy. The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the world's oil and gas trade. Credit: iStock Lebanon At least six people were killed in strikes on towns near Beirut overnight, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat, just south of Beiruts international airport, were struck, with a further eight people injured. A hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh was also hit. The strikes came without warning, with the Israeli military not immediately disclosing the targets. The death toll has risen to five, following a strike on a residential complex in Baalbeck, according to the state-run National News Agency. A further 15 others were injured, and three remain missing, it reported. Iran latest: Trump vows to protect key oil route, after he hits out at Starmer PM announces more repatriation flights to leave Middle East for UK nationals Oman The UK government has announced it has chartered a repatriation flight from Oman on Wednesday for UK nationals seeking to leave the Middle East. The foreign office said the flight will depart Muscat at 7 pm and is available for British nationals, their partners and children under 18 with a valid travel document. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. United Arab Emirates (UAE) & Saudi Arabia The US State Department said Wednesday it had authorised non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom after the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks on Tuesday. Bahrain Bahrain's military has said it has destroyed 74 Iranian missiles and 95 drones since the start of the conflict. In a statement released on Wednesday, the military's General Command urged people to stay indoors and avoid approaching or filming any damaged sites. Four US Service Members killed during the conflict with Iran named Four US service members killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait have been named. They were named as: Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant Noah L Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sergeant Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Specialist Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The Pentagon said they were all killed by a drone that struck where they were working in Port Shuabia, Kuwait, on Sunday. Two other soldiers who were killed in the strike have not been publicly identified. Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. Declan Coady. Credit: US Army via CNN Newsource On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran, Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he is "not happy" with the UK and with Starmer, and that saying it is "not Winston Churchill that were dealing with". His comments came as the UK announced it would send helicopters and an air defence destroyer to Cyprus in response to the growing conflict in the Middle East. Starmer confirmed the UK would be deploying HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navys six Type 45 air defence destroyers, after RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus was hit by a drone. But it has been reported that the boat may not sail until next week. The Ministry of Defence has not commented on the timing of Dragon's departure, but has not denied the report. Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran, saying Starmer is "not Winston Churchill". Credit: AP France said it would send its only aircraft carrier and a contingent of warships to bolster its anti-drone defences in the region. In the UK, Middle East minister Hamish Falconer said he had summoned the Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi to "condemn Iran's role in attempting to draw the region into a wide conflict". He added that the government were working "intensively" to repatriate British nationals who had been stranded. British nationals abroad Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that 130,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the region. She previously said a total of around 300,000 British citizens are in Gulf countries targeted by Iran. British nationals are being advised to follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Offices travel advice, which officials expect to change rapidly. Previously safe havens in the Middle East, such as Dubai, have seen incoming fire and hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe. UK officials are understood to be working on plans for the potential evacuation of more than 100,000 Britons from the Middle East. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Starmer said that more than 1,000 British Nationals arrived back in the UK from the UAE on commercial flights on Tuesday. NATO defence systems have intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran as it headed toward Turkeys airspace. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said two further government-chartered flights will take off from Oman in the coming days. British Airways announced it will operate two more flights between the capital Muscat and London Heathrow, on Friday and Saturday. The first Government rescue flight and British Airways commercial flight from Muscat depart on Wednesday night. All three British Airways flights are fully booked. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below... Three American soldiers have been killed and five seriously wounded after Iran vowed to avenge the death of its Supreme Leader on Saturday. After Israel killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an air strike, the remnants of the Islamic Republics leadership unleashed scores of retaliatory attacks across the Middle East on Sunday. Despite the risk of escalation, the US and Israel pressed on with the second day of a high-stakes campaign to force regime change. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Donald Trump said he would speak to Irans leadership as his allies called for an end to the military assault, launched a day earlier. They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them, the US president told The Atlantic magazine. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long. A Tomahawk missile is launched from the USS Bulkeley destroyer on Saturday - US Navy/EPA/Shutterstock Ali Larijani, Irans top national security official, announced that an interim committee would run the country until a successor to Khamenei was found. Mr Larijani said he would hit American and Israeli targets with a force they have never experienced before. Dozens of people in Israel and the Gulf countries that play host to American forces were killed in the retaliatory strikes. Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon announced the first American deaths in Mr Trumps war with Iran on Sunday without revealing which base had been struck. It said other troops had sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and were in the process of being returned to duty. Two military officials told the New York Times that a base in Kuwait housing American forces was one of the many targeted by Iran. The deaths will build pressure on Mr Trump from his isolationist Republican backers to come up with a plan to end the war. Gen Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had also warned the US president of the possibility of American casualties in private meetings ahead of the conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Washingtons foreign allies also joined the pressure campaign to halt the fighting because of the escalating death toll in the region. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said British personnel had been within several hundred yards of an Iranian strike on Bahrain, which also hosts the US Navys Fifth Fleet headquarters. Damage at the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrains capital Manama on Sunday - AFP via Getty/Planet Labs PBC British troops intercepted an Iranian drone in Iraq that was thought to be heading for a Western base in the country. Another drone heading towards Qatar was shot down by a RAF Typhoon jet, it was reported. In Abu Dhabi, an Iranian drone strike caused a warehouse fire at Al Salam naval base, which hosts French forces, the United Arab Emirates defence ministry said on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Catherine Vautrin, Frances defence minister, confirmed the strike, adding that no one was injured and saying French forces were on high alert as the situation continues to evolve by the hour. Civilian casualties also started to mount, with at least nine people killed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, about 18 miles west of Jerusalem. A woman in her 40s was killed when a ballistic missile exploded near an apartment building in Tel Aviv. A further 27 people were wounded. The site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv - Reuters At least four people were killed in attacks across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, officials said. Britain urged its citizens living across the Middle East to take shelter as thousands were trapped, with air traffic frozen by the fighting. Advertisement Advertisement The Foreign Office was drawing up plans for the biggest mass evacuation in a generation to rescue thousands of stranded Britons. At least 76,000 Britons in the UAE and other Gulf states registered their location in preparation for the airlift. Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets continued their bombardment, with strikes in the heart of Tehran, the countrys air force announced, as explosions rang out through the capital and plumes of smoke were seen rising from buildings. Credit: WANA via Reuters Israel Katz, Israels defence minister, claimed his countrys forces had achieved air superiority within 24 hours after the start of the operation, meaning the Jewish states aircraft could drop heavy bombs directly on their targets with impunity. Advertisement Advertisement Its armed forces said it had struck Irans missile launchers, air defence systems, command centres and headquarters. Irans state broadcaster, Irib, was targeted in strikes on Sunday, media reported. The US military said it used B-2 stealth bombers flying from a base in Missouri to attack Irans ballistic missile facilities with 2,000lb bombs. The same bombers were used in the attack on Irans nuclear facilities last June. In a series of social media posts, the US military announced it had sunk an Iranian warship on the first day of fighting and denied Iranian claims the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had been struck by ballistic missiles. The Lincoln was not hit, US Central Command said, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had struck the vessel with four missiles. The missiles launched didnt even come close. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. Israel has launched airstrikes on Beirut, Lebanon, after ordering hundreds of thousands of people to leave the city's southern suburbs. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Israeli military says it is targeting Hezbollah across Lebanon, with Beirut's south seen as a stronghold for the Iran-backed armed group. "The Defense Army has launched a wave of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure in Beirut's southern suburbs," a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on X. Advertisement Advertisement Following the evacuation orders, traffic jams formed on main roads heading north and south as panicked residents complied with the unprecedented blanket demand covering the area. Before the latest strikes, Lebanon said more than 120 people had been killed and nearly 700 wounded by airstrikes since Monday. At least 90,000 are displaced. The Israeli order came after the military also told all residents of a huge swathe of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border to leave on Wednesday, ahead of an anticipated ground incursion. Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollah has warned Israelis living within 5km of the Lebanese border to leave their homes. Mohammed al-Khaouzam was among those stuck in traffic trying to flee Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday afternoon. "We're coming from Bir Hassan. They [the Israeli military] issued a warning so that's why we're leaving," he told the BBC. Khaouzam, who is originally from Syria, is heading north with his wife and children. He described Lebanon as his "second country". "May God help everyone. May God help all of the Lebanese," he said out of his car window. A woman driving north said her children were in Beirut and had called her telling her about the warning to leave the suburbs of Chiyah, Burj al-Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Hadath. Advertisement Advertisement She said she was going to stay with them, hoping it would be safe. "Is there any place to go? What should I do?" she asked. Food kitchens and shelters in the capital have warned that they cannot support the number of people being displaced. Some displaced families from the southern suburbs headed for Martyrs' Square in central Beirut [Reuters] Lebanese authorities have said at least 102 people have been killed in Israeli strikes over the past four days. There have been no reports of fatalities by Israeli authorities. Israeli aircraft have carried out waves of strikes targeting Hezbollah in Beirut's southern suburbs, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley since Monday, when the group launched rockets and drones over the border in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Advertisement Advertisement It pulled Lebanon into the war between Israel, the US and Iran, only 15 months after a ceasefire deal ended more than a year of full-on fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that devastated the country. On Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed the Shia militia and political party would confront Israel "to the point of the utmost sacrifice, to the furthest limits", adding: "We will not surrender." It came a day after the Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said it was "determined to eliminate the threat Hezbollah poses and will not stop until the terror organisation is disarmed". The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had carried out strikes overnight on several Hezbollah command centres in Beirut, which it alleged were intended to be used to plan and carry out attacks on Israeli troops and civilians. Advertisement Advertisement The Lebanese health ministry said at least three people were killed in Israeli air strikes on vehicles on the main road to the city's airport. A residential building on the outskirts of Beirut was struck late on Wednesday, but locals said they believed no-one had been there at the time. Several people told the BBC on Thursday morning that they had left the building at the beginning of the week and were staying elsewhere because of safety concerns, noting that the area had been targeted in the past. They said they did not know, or would not comment on, what the target may have been. "We moved away on Monday because of fears that something would happen. Today, we were supposed to come for a shower and to pick up our stuff and we found this," one woman said, as she and her husband looked at the wreckage. Advertisement Advertisement "Thank god it was just our things and not us." The Israeli military has not commented on the strike. It did, however, say that it had killed "several Hezbollah terrorists" who were operating in southern Lebanon overnight. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency later reported that the mukhtar, or mayor, of the southern town of Kfour and his wife were killed in an air strike on their home. It said a Hamas official, Wasim Attallah al-Ali, and his wife were also killed in the Baddawi Palestinian refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli. The Israeli military said it targeted Ali because he was a commander of Hamas's military wing and was responsible for training its fighters in Lebanon. In Sidon, the Israeli military destroyed an apartment building it said was "Hezbollah military infrastructure" [BBC] The BBC also visited the southern city of Sidon, where an apartment building was destroyed in an Israeli strike. Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli military issued an evacuation order in advance, describing the building as "Hezbollah military infrastructure". People living nearby said they believed everyone left the area following the warning and that no-one was killed. "There was nothing here. Only people," cafe owner Ahmed called down from the balcony of an apartment next to the destroyed building. "Show the Israelis there's nothing. Show them we're civilians," a woman said as she walked past. A man sitting nearby said: "There are displaced people who came so maybe that's why?" Advertisement Advertisement French President Emmanuel Macron has called for an end to the hostilities, describing this as a "moment of great danger" for Lebanon. "Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war. The Lebanese have a right to peace and security - like everyone in the Middle East," he said in a post on X. Macron added that he had spoken to Lebanon's "highest authorities in order to establish a plan to bring an end to the military operations currently being carried out by Hezbollah and Israel on either side of the border". "Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale operation on Lebanese territory," he said. Advertisement Advertisement The president also said that France would immediately dispatch humanitarian aid for the tens of thousands of civilians who had been displaced. On Monday, Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Hezbollah's actions as "irresponsible" and said his government had banned the group's military activities. Hezbollah's leader Qassem insisted it had a "legitimate right" to bear arms and accused the government of turning "against the resistance to complete its error and align itself with Israeli demands". Under the 2024 ceasefire deal brokered by the US and France, Hezbollah was to move its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure there. Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon. The Israeli military continued to carry out near-daily strikes on targets it said were linked to Hezbollah after the truce, accusing the group of trying to recover its military capabilities. Israeli troops also continued to occupy at least five positions in the south. By News Centre President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an spoke at the Mehmetcik Iftar Program held at the Special Forces Command, praising the Turkish Armed Forces and emphasizing the nations enduring strength in the face of historical and contemporary challenges. Erdo?an reflected on Turkiyes long history of resilience, noting that throughout the centuries, there have always been those who sought to limit the Turkish nations potential. We have succeeded in breaking these dirty and treacherous hands, one by one, despite all the impossibilities. Today, Turkiye stands as an island of stability amid a ring of fire surrounding us, he said, highlighting the deterrent power of the Turkish Armed Forces. He added, If we had listened to those who said, Dont conduct missile tests, the fish get scared, we would never have achieved this. Addressing the countrys historical legacy, Erdo?an said, When our homeland, flag, independence, and sacred values are threatened, when our sovereignty and future are at risk, we have repeatedly demonstrated what kind of nation we are across our millennia-long history on this land. During his address, Erdo?an congratulated soldiers observing Ramadan, wishing that God allow everyone to reach the holiday in good health and happiness with their families. He expressed his pleasure in sharing the holy month with the elite members of Turkiyes Special Forces, calling it a privilege to be among those he described as heroes of the homeland. May your fasts be accepted, Erdo?an added. He further honored the service of all Turkish military personnel stationed across the nation, risking their lives to protect the country. May God assist all our security forcessoldiers, police, gendarmerie, village guards, and intelligence officers. May He protect them from every accident, calamity, attack, and betrayal, and may our armed forces always remain victorious, Erdo?an said. The President commemorated all fallen soldiers, remembering them with prayers for their souls and blessings for their resting places. He specifically mentioned Major Bulent Albayrak, Major Murat Kemal Yeti?en, Captain Ertu? Guler, Captain Burak Co?kun, First Lieutenant Enes Demir, 15 July hero Senior Sergeant Omer Halisdemir, Senior Sergeant Harun Turhan, Specialist Sergeant Nurettin Tokyurek, Specialist Sergeant Murat Y?ld?r?m, Specialist Sergeant Selcuk Paker, and all other heroes whose names are etched in the hearts of 86 million citizens. Erdo?an also expressed gratitude to surviving veterans and wished them long and prosperous lives. We are followers of a faith that tells us martyrs do not die; rather, they live on to inspire us. Their sacred souls will guide us and illuminate our path in the nations blessed journey, Erdo?an said, praising the elite Special Forces Command, the Maroon Berets, for their legendary achievements in both domestic operations and cross-border missions. Erdo?an reflected on the bravery and dedication of these soldiers, quoting lines from Niyazi Y?ld?r?m Gencosmano?lu to illustrate their courage and selflessness: This earth is a battlefield, the heart does not love every arena. The coward has a blanket, give the field to the brave. O empty-hearted, flashy on the outside, dirty-handed, rusty-faced, may the generation of As?m come and make the field narrow for you. He congratulated the Maroon Berets and all members of this elite corps for their unmatched courage. Highlighting the close connection between the Turkish people and their military, Erdo?an said, Throughout our thousand-year history, we have repeatedly shown what kind of nation we are when our homeland, flag, independence, and sacred values were threatened. Those who tried to brand us as the sick man, those who thought they could remove us from this land, and those who tried to silence our calls to prayer or lower our flag soaked in the blood of our martyrsall failed. We first defended Canakkale, and most recently, during the War of Independence, we broke every dirty hand that reached for our sacred lands. Without this fighting spirit, we could not have lived proudly for over a thousand years in the worlds most turbulent region. Today, Turkiyes status as a stable island amid surrounding chaos is owed first to our national character, which never accepts subjugation, and second to the deterrence provided by our heroic army. Erdo?an stressed that Turkiyes globally recognized political, diplomatic, and economic strength is rooted in the Turkish Armed Forces, which continue to impress worldwide with their training, equipment, discipline, courage, and vision. He emphasized that the military is also a source of security for millions of allies and friends residing across the region. Recalling the recent inauguration of the largest simulator production and integration facility in Europe at HAVELSAN, Erdo?an highlighted Turkiyes ongoing investments to strengthen the Navy with new platforms and ceremonies marking their commissioning. He announced that Turkiyes defense and aerospace exports exceeded $10 billion in 2025, a record achievement. Referring to NATO exercises in Germany, he said, Our Armed Forces not only made us proud but also received great admiration from our allies. If we had listened to those who said, Dont conduct missile tests, none of this would have been possible. Today, I reiterate this point: if we want to live in peace on our eternal homeland, we must constantly increase our deterrence. Emphasizing vigilance, Erdo?an noted that Turkiye is ready to respond to any threat on its borders or airspace, coordinating closely with NATO allies to prevent incidents. He also reflected on Turkiyes resilience over the last 23 years, overcoming embargoes, sabotage, and conspiracies to reach levels once unimaginable. Concluding his address, Erdo?an reaffirmed his commitment to the Century of Turkiye, promising to overcome obstacles, foil conspiracies, and leave a proud legacy for future generations: We will overcome all challenges and leave this country to our children as a source of pride, without falling into the traps set for us. This story was originally published on Hotel Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Hotel Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Hotel management company Peregrine Hospitality expanded its Northern California hotels portfolio with the acquisition of The Lodge at Tiburon in Tiburon and Toll House Hotel in Los Gatos, according to a release obtained by Hotel Dive. Both hotels are located in highdemand markets that attract leisure and corporate travelers year-round, Peregrine CEO Greg Kennealey said in the release, noting that the properties align with the companys strategy of creating enhanced guest experiences while delivering long-term asset value. The new hotel additions come after Denver-based Peregrine rebranded last year and subsequently appointed several new executives to its C-suite aimed at driving growth, Kennealey shared with Hotel Dive. Dive Insight: The Lodge at Tiburon and Toll House Hotel join Peregrines existing portfolio spanning nearly 60 hotels and resorts across the U.S. The company tends to target drive-to leisure markets and those where there are multiple demand drivers, Kennealey told Hotel Dive. Situated on 3 acres overlooking the San Francisco Bay, The Lodge at Tiburon offers 104 guest rooms as well as 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, onsite dining, a fitness center, an outdoor heated pool with cabanas and an openair lounge. Toll House Hotel, meanwhile, is a 115key boutique property that features 6,300 square feet of flexible indoor/outdoor meeting space, a fitness center, a business center and onsite dining. Located in one of Santa Clara Countys oldest towns, the hotel was renovated in 2021. The two hotels have operational upside, branding/marketing upside, and they are in supply constrained markets with multifaceted demand drivers, Kennealey said. We found them attractive for those reasons, but more broadly, we will continue to look at independent boutique and resort properties, particularly in major markets. The acquisitions come as Peregrine aims to grow at a relatively good clip in the near-term, Kennealey noted, saying that the company will hopefully do a handful of deals in 2026. Recent appointments across the companys C-suite are expected to bolster growth, Kennealey said. Within the last several months, Peregrine has appointed a new chief financial officer, chief commercial officer, chief operating officer and chief people officer. We really wanted leaders who could come in and help drive growth, through the performance that we deliver the existing portfolio and as we go out and look to expand it, Kennealey said. BEIRUT (AP) Israel's military issued warnings to residents of dozens of border villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately Wednesday as airstrikes on suburbs of Beirut intensified and Hezbollah claimed more attacks. Lebanon was dragged into the broader war in the Middle East early Monday when Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, triggering Israeli retaliatory airstrikes that killed more than 70 people, wounded more than 400 and displaced tens of thousands of people from southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beiruts southern suburbs. The ongoing conflict is not the first between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. After months of low-level fighting, a full-scale war erupted in September 2024 and Israel later launched a ground invasion of Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement Israeli forces withdrew from most of southern Lebanon after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting in late 2024, but continued to occupy five points on the Lebanese side of the border. Israel also pressed on with near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its positions there, killing nearly 400 people while the ceasefire was in place. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem says the group had no choice but to fire rockets because of this. As long as the occupation is present, then the resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right, Kassem said in his first speech since this latest escalation. Kassem slammed the Lebanese government's criticism of Hezbollah's rocket fire and its commitment to disarm the group, claiming that Israel cannot stop its attacks through diplomatic means alone. Why did you make a big deal out of this salvo of rockets? The reason is the ongoing aggression, he said. People in southern Lebanon ordered to immediately move north The Israeli military issued a statement Wednesday telling people living in dozens of villages in southern Lebanon close to the border with Israel to evacuate and move immediately north of the Litani River. Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli armys Arabic spokesperson warned on X that if people decide to move south of the river, they will be endangering their lives. The area south of the Litani River, about 8% of the territory of Lebanon, is mostly along the border with Israel. The Lebanese government says it has cleared the area of Hezbollahs military presence there over the past months. The order came after airstrikes overnight on the predominantly Christian southeastern suburb of Hazmieh that struck a hotel. Others hit the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat just south of Beiruts international airport, killing six and wounding eight. Another strike hit the eastern city of Baalbek, killing six people and wounding 15, according to state media. The four airstrikes came without a warning in advance, which usually implies targeted assassinations. Security officials speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations said the man targeted in Hazmieh was a local official in Beiruts southern suburb of Ghobeiri, and that the official was wounded. Advertisement Advertisement We live in a country where a missile can fall on your head at any moment, said Maggie Shibli, wife of the owner of the Hotel Comfort in a Hazmieh neighborhood that was struck early Wednesday. Abbas Najdeh, who was displaced from the southern port city of Tyre and was staying at the hotel, said: We were sleeping then suddenly I, my children and my wife were thrown" by the blast. Also Wednesday, the Israeli military issued several warnings to people to evacuate buildings in Beiruts southern suburbs, which were struck shortly afterward. Hezbollah said Wednesday that it carried out several attacks on Israel, including two in which the group claimed that it used precision-guided missiles. Concerns that shelling may lead to a wider Israeli ground invasion The warning for people to leave the area south of the Litani River came a day after Israel sent additional troops into southern Lebanon. Israeli forces had already been occupying several border points in Lebanon since the November 2024 cease-fire ended the previous Israel-Hezbollah war. Advertisement Advertisement It was not immediately clear if Israel was preparing for a wider ground invasion. Lebanons state-run National News Agency reported Israeli artillery shelling on several Lebanese villages along the border, including Aid al-Shaab and Beit Lif. The Lebanese military in a statement that it arrested 27 people for illegally possessing weapons and munitions," and that it had redeployed some forces in the south and further to the east along the border with Syria. It did not say whether the 26 Lebanese and one Palestinian apprehended were affiliated with Hezbollah or other militant groups. The cash-strapped army's move comes after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government and President Joseph Aoun urged state security agencies to pursue people firing rockets from Lebanon, as part of their broader policy of asserting the government's full sovereignty over the country, while also criticizing Israel's strikes and ground movements. In eastern Lebanon, the main border crossing with Syria was briefly closed Wednesday after Lebanese officials received a warning of an impending Israeli strike, which officials later said turned out to be a false alarm. Advertisement Advertisement Anxieties have also been running high in Lebanon in recent days over a buildup of Syrian forces on the border. The current Syrian government is hostile to Iran and Hezbollah, as they were on opposite sides of Syria's civil war that ended with the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024. A high-ranking Syrian official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the troop buildup was purely defensive and to prevent smuggling and counter any unforeseen scenario. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to comment publicly. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report. Israel is moving into the next phase of its attacks in Iran, the military said on Thursday evening. "In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities," Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir said. Since Saturday morning, the Israeli Air Force has carried out around 2,500 attacks in Iran in the now-completed "surprise attack phase," gained air superiority and destroyed more than 60% of the launchers for ballistic missiles, he said. Advertisement Advertisement According to the Israeli military, hundreds of these launchers are said to have been hit. Zamir further explained that this saves lives in Israel. However, he warned that the danger is not yet over: "Every missile is deadly and poses a threat." In Israel, warning sirens sounded multiple times on Thursday following Iranian missile fire. Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced on Thursday evening that it had again killed several members of the Iranian leadership in attacks in Iran. Zamir said that the aim of the war is to secure Israel's existence and future and he announced "further surprises" for future operations in Iran, without specifying them. Advertisement Advertisement Among those killed in the Israeli and US airstrikes was Iranian head of state and religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since Saturday, more than 1,200 people are said to have died in the country, according to Iranian media, which cited a state foundation. There were also fatalities in Iranian counter-attacks on several countries in the region. After a Kansas City development company announced that it will no longer sell a warehouse to U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement Service for use as a detention center, the Jackson County Legislature has opted to throw one more obstacle in the path of any similar future plans. The Jackson County Legislature voted Monday to pass a five-year moratorium on zoning and permitting approvals for detention centers including ICE facilities in unincorporated parts of the county. The county will only approve development paperwork for detention facilities that are municipal, such as a city jail, until at least 2031. The ordinance echoes a similar five-year moratorium imposed by the Kansas City Council shortly after reports emerged that ICE was eyeing a south Kansas City warehouse for a possible 7,500-bed detention center. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas is currently weighing a similar ordinance. Advertisement Advertisement The detention center zoning ban was sponsored by Legislative Chair Manny Abarca, who has introduced multiple pieces of legislation in recent months to signal opposition to ICE activity in the region. Abarca said that the ordinance is an opportunity for Jackson County to follow the example of other local bodies across the region, as well as nationally, and to dictate that were not going to allow the caging of people. The reality of the situation is far worse than a code or a zoning ordinance, Abarca said. This is about humanity. This is about what we believe democracy will stand on - or fall upon. This particular ban passed 6-1, with DaRon McGee and Jeanie Lauer absent or abstaining from the vote. Vice-chair Sean Smith was the lone holdout. Resident outrage The majority of residents who attended the vote were strongly opposed to immigration detention center construction in the Kansas City area, encouraging Jackson County to take an active role in discouraging the federal agency from expanding its regional presence. Advertisement Advertisement Those detention centers are horrible, Blue Springs resident Patricia Parks said. People get disappearedIts just wrong. Kansas City resident David Broxterman said he does not want to see any sort of local approval for an ICE facility in close proximity to community infrastructure, including his sons school. It couldnt be a more supportive thing of what were seeing go on with the ICE agency and all the things were seeing around here, to say, Yeah, lets bring it here, Broxterman said. ...That is just saying, Yeah, we approve of this foul mistreatment of human beings. While the ordinance protects against zoning for all non-municipal detention facilities, Kansas City resident Benjamin Ressler said that some of the specific human rights abuses documented in ICE detention centers make the agencys presence a particular danger to detainees and residents alike. Advertisement Advertisement It is outrageous to even consider that a building that is built to house consumer goods in transit can somehow be made to humanely house human beings, said Benjamin Ressler. ...You cant turn a warehouse into a prison. A line in the sand Some of Abarcas fellow legislators responded to the ordinance with a similar level of fervor against the current state of federal immigration enforcement operations. Others were concerned about leaving the county vulnerable to legal challenges. Legislator Jalen Anderson described ICE detention facilities in general as a horrible human rights violation. Ever since the beginning and the creation of ICE, we have seen an attack on individuals, human beings who may not be American citizens but are still human beings at the end of the day, Anderson said. ...Let Jackson County draw a line in the sand. Advertisement Advertisement Legislator Sean Smith pushed back on the legislation shortly before it passed, calling it performative and questioning its adherence to county property rights law. We are proactively, essentially, eliminating the right to use their property as they see fit, to every Jackson County resident and property owner, without any due process, Smith said. County Counselor Bryan Covinsky said that the countys legal team does not share Smiths concerns. The county is also currently weighing an ordinance that would impose penalties on law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, who conceal their face and badge numbers while working in the county. The ordinance was held in committee again this week as legislators debate whether it can be legally enforced, and the county counselors office has declined to sign off on it, citing insufficient local authority to set policy for federal agencies. Tuesday nights results in Texas Senate primaries have Democrats in the Lone Star State and everywhere else sharing excited whispers: Could this be the year that Texas turns blue? In fairness, Democrats have been whispering that question for quite a few years now. Its regularly the case that good candidates or favorable environments or (and here the whispers become downright audible) both lead the party to wonder if maybe, this time, finally, Texas will once again elect a Democrat to statewide office. For a long time, these mutterings were a function of demographics. So many people were moving from the northeast to the Sun Belt, New York Democrats becoming Austin ones! Not to mention that the population was so heavily Hispanic, and Hispanic voters vote so heavily for Democratic candidates! Advertisement Advertisement But then the Trump era arrived. That calculus changed. Blue Texas seemed to drift further into the mists of fantasyland. Then came Tuesday. Texas Hispanics turned out heavily for Democratic primary races. State Rep. James Talarico won his U.S. Senate primary in part because of Latino support. And his opponent in November might just be the polarizing, scandal-plagued state Attorney General Ken Paxton who is headed to a runoff for the GOP nomination against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Its a year in which Democrats nationally are expected to overperform, thanks to President Donald Trumps unpopularity. And so: whispers. Maybe this is the year Texas turns blue. But heres the thing about that: Turning blue or red for that matter doesnt really mean that a partys candidate won one race in one year. What Texas could possibly do is shift back from deep red to reddish-purple. Im going to be pedantic on this point, in part because I find the habit of exaggerating political shifts to be both annoying and noisome. Trumps approval rating dropping two points does not mean it is PLUMMETING or BOTTOMING OUT. And even if Talarico were to win a Senate seat, that no more makes Texas blue than Doug Jones winning a Senate seat in Alabama nine years ago made that state a Democratic haven. Advertisement Advertisement Usually we use red and blue as descriptors of states based on presidential voting in the state. This is a relatively recent affectation, solidified during the 2000 election. It is one that obscures the actual variation in how states vote even between voting heavily for one party and voting only narrowly for that party. Consider the past nine presidential elections, taking us back to 1992. There are only 27 states that have consistently voted for presidential candidates of the same party during that time; the other 23 all switched at least once. Even states such as Texas that consistently voted with the same party saw wide swings in margins; in Texas case, from 3 points to 22 points during that time. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab. Philip Bump / MS NOW If were using red and blue to describe presidential voting, we are having to constantly update our descriptors of what constitutes red and blue. Pennsylvania was a blue state in 2013 and then a red state in 2017 and then a blue state in 2021 and then a red state in 2025. This suggests that blue state and red state are perhaps not useful descriptors for Pennsylvania. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab. Philip Bump / MS NOW But this also ignores other state-level voting. If we throw Senate votes into the calculus, we see that all but a handful of states have either flipped partisan loyalty or, at some point since 1990, have voted for senators or presidents of differing parties in overlapping periods. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab. Philip Bump / MS NOW Youll notice that Im counting independents as independents here, which I am doing because, well, independents are independents. Advertisement Advertisement Anyway, add in statewide House voting that is, all of the votes cast for Democrats and Republicans in House races in the state and the descriptors become even less accurate. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab. Philip Bump / MS NOW And then consider governors! My analysis indicates that precisely zero states have been consistently Republican or Democratic at the federal and gubernatorial level since 1990. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab, U.S. Election Atlas. Philip Bump / MS NOW We can go a level deeper and look at the constitution of state legislatures, too. But theres really no need. You can see below how treating red and blue as broad descriptors of the views of voters in a state collapses as you consider more actual elections. At this point in 2026, there are about as many consistently blue states as there are ones with mixed voting histories between the parties. There are slightly more red/Republican ones. Analysis of data from MIT Election Data + Science Lab, U.S. Election Atlas, NCSL. Philip Bump / MS NOW Theres a point to this pedantry. Clumping states into partisan categories based on presidential outcomes elides the actual complexity of voting in those states that often manifests at other levels of government. Heck, it obscures the diversity of the presidential vote alone! In 2024, a third of Trumps vote came from states that Vice President Kamala Harris won. A majority of the votes she earned came from states she lost. Analysis of data from U.S. Election Atlas. Philip Bump / MS NOW Advertisement Advertisement Will Texas turn blue in November? No. It will still be a state that backed Trump by double-digits in 2024. Might it become a state, like Georgia, where both parties are suddenly competitive at a state level? Perhaps or maybe even probably! But this tells us a lot more about the simplistic way in which we describe state-level politics than whats changing within individual states. .wp-element-caption {width: 100% !important; text-transform: none !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; position: relative !important;}.credits {font-style: italic;} The post Red, blue, purple? What the numbers say about the future of Texas appeared first on MS NOW. This article was originally published on ms.now Mar. 4HARLINGEN On the heels of a Republican primary race dividing some voters, State Rep. Janie Lopez will face the winner of a runoff election pitting Democrats Oziel "Ozzie" Ochoa and Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle in the race for the Texas House of Representatives' District 37 seat. In Tuesday's primary, Lopez won 6,053 votes, or 69%, to defeat Kristin Luckey, who drew 2,721 votes, or 31%, in her bid for a third term. In the Democratic primary, Ochoa, won 6,515 votes, or 46%, while Cantu-Castle took 4,525 votes, or 32%, to enter into a runoff election. In the three-candidate race, Stephany Bauer fell short with 3,053 votes, or 22%. Advertisement Advertisement In the Republican primary, Lopez, a former San Benito school board member who became the first Republican Latina to win a state House seat in 2022 while challenging the Rio Grande Valley's traditionally Democratic base, carried endorsements from President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. "I am truly humbled and profoundly grateful for the trust our community has placed in me," Lopez, who serves on the House Environmental Regulation Committee and the Juvenile Justice and Family Issue Committee, said in a statement. "This victory is a testament to the faith, hard work and unwavering conservative values that define us," she said. "With strength, conviction and a servant's heart, I am ready to unite our party and fight boldly for our families, our freedoms and the future of our great state as we head toward November." Now, voters will decide Lopez's challenger in the runoff election pitting Ochoa against Cantu-Castle. Advertisement Advertisement "As we head into the runoff election, I believe my leadership experience and service to our community have prepared me to represent the families of District 37," Ochoa, who serves as the Harlingen school district's special education director, said in a statement. "I'm ready to continue the work and move our district forward. Vamonos con Ochoa!" Cantu-Castle, the mother of slain Navy sailor Angelina Resendiz who's called for accountability from the military while advocating for survivors of sexual abuse, could not immediately be reached for comment. ------ RELATED READING: Featured Local Savings Nuclear power is on the rise around the world, but with it comes an extremely pressing question: where will all of the radioactive waste be stored? For Japan, one answer may lie in literally the most remote location at their disposal. Representatives confirmed to the AFP that they are considering the establishment of a nuclear waste burial facility on Minamitorishima, a tiny island located at the furthest edge of Japans easternmost territory almost 1,250 miles from Tokyo. At only 0.6 square miles, the triangular island is surrounded by a coral atoll, completely uninhabited, and closed to any tourists or visitors. Speaking to reporters on March 3rd, Japans Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Ryosei Akazawa said Minamitorishima includes unexplored areas capable of housing the infrastructure needed for waste disposal, and features scientifically favorable traits. Minamitorishima is Japans easternmost territory. Credit: Google Maps Even with its controversial (and occasionally terrifying) history, nuclear power is growing more attractive to many countries as they continue to shift away from fossil fuels. A Gallup poll from April 2023 indicated around 55 percent of the US supports increased reliance on nuclear energy. On March 4th, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved an advanced, 345-megawatt nuclear plant in Wyoming, while the current administration aims to quadruple the countrys power capabilities by 2050. Advertisement Advertisement Although the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster was the worst catastrophe of its kind since Chernobyl, Japan wants to adopt maximum use of the industry based on energy policy documents. In January, the country restarted the worlds largest nuclear power plant for the first time since Fukushima. Additional surveys are still needed before any plans on Minamitorishima can move forward, but it appears that e the island is the most likely candidate for the burial facility. Officials have already conducted preliminary location investigations at three sites on two of Japans most heavily populated islands, Hokkaido and Kyushu. Gov. Ron DeSantis can't designate the country's largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights group a foreign terrorist organization. That's according to a federal judge in Tallahassee, who issued an order lambasting DeSantis for "using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others constitutional rights." "Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment," wrote U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in a March 4 order granting the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a preliminary injunction. Advertisement Advertisement Such an order is granted early in a lawsuit to temporarily stop something in this case, enforcement of an executive order until the case is fully decided. CAIR sued the governor in December after he designated the group a foreign terrorist organization, additionally saying that Florida agencies must deny privileges or resources to anyone "providing material support" to the organization. By targeting the organization in an executive order and threatening "government consequences" to anybody who wants to provide material support to the group, DeSantis violated CAIR's First Amendment rights, Walker wrote in a 30-page order. The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But CAIR-Florida's executive director Hiba Rahim called DeSantis' proclamation "lawless" and said that no governor has the right to violate the U.S. Constitution against an American organization "whose speech he dislikes." Advertisement Advertisement "The right to free speech is one of the Constitution's most fundamental guarantees," Rahim said. "CAIR and CAIR-Florida will, God willing, continue to stand as a shield for the American Muslim community and defend free speech, religious freedom and due process for everyone in our nation." Why CAIR was designated a terrorist organization The governor's Dec. 8 declaration came after fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar order in Texas against CAIR in November. In his order, DeSantis said it was meant to combat the group's alleged extremist ties and ideological influence. But CAIR pushed back, saying the designation was a First Amendment violation of the group's rights to core protected expression on matters of public concern, particularly "domestic and international issues affecting American Muslims." DeSantis welcomed the lawsuit and said his executive order was just the beginning in showing how his office would "handle different terror designations." Advertisement Advertisement That may have been shown in one instance in February, while CAIR was at the Capitol to meet with lawmakers about bills affecting Muslims in Florida. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on social media that he requested Capitol Police to be on "heightened alert" because of CAIR's presence. Series of anti-terrorism laws in Florida Legislature Although the governor signaled that his office may continue getting involved in handling "terror designations," the Florida Legislature also weighed in on foreign and domestic terrorist designations. One measure (HB 905 / SB 1178) this year limits candidates running for legislative office from receiving "anything of value" from designated foreign terrorist organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Another bill (HB 945 / SB 1712) establishes a counterterrorism unit to identify international and domestic terrorists, and advocates noted its free speech concerns since it includes language to monitor people whose actions or views are a threat to the interests of the state. Yet supporters counter that these measures are meant to keep Florida residents safe and monitor for dangerous threats for the state's protection. More: How Florida's domestic terrorism bills could affect student speech But a series of domestic terrorism laws also poses a concerning future for free speech rights, activists warn. Advertisement Advertisement Still another measure (HB 1471 / SB 1632) defines domestic terrorism and sets penalties for students promoting designated terrorist groups, including expulsion from a university. But the bill's backers counter that they're meant to ensure taxpayers aren't supporting terror groups through public education money. Additionally, a measure linked to the domestic terrorism bill exempts public records relating to the designation of domestic terrorist organizations. In a January statement, CAIR warned that the bills appeared to be a direct response to their public records request and lawsuit challenging DeSantis' labeling of the group as a foreign terrorist organization, without due process or evidence provided. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@gannett.com. On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Judge says DeSantis can't designate Muslim group CAIR a 'terrorist' organization The Brief Jury reaches mostly guilty verdicts in Los Gatos Party Mom case. Shannon O'Connor was charged with 63 criminal counts stemming from hosting parties for underage teens that included alcohol and sex. O'Connor did not testify during her trial and will now have to register as a sex offender. A Santa Clara County jury on Wednesday returned mostly guilty verdicts in the case of "Party Mom" Shannon O'Connor, a Los Gatos mom accused of hosting parties for underage teens that included alcohol and sexual conduct. Mostly guilty verdicts What they're saying There were five not guilty results. Advertisement Advertisement But the jury found that O'Connor was guilty on the majority of more than 60 charges against her, including child endangerment and the sexual penetration of an intoxicated child-- the most serious of the charges. There were more than a dozen victims. After the verdicts were read, the parent of one of the victims called O'Connor a "predator," a "stalker," a "groomer" and a "harasser" who was "very good at what she did." "After many years and many, many victims, today there was justice," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told reporters outside court. "It was a long wait. It was a long trial. There was a lot of hardship, pain and suffering, but with the jury's verdict, today, there is now justice." He thanked the child victims in the case for coming forward, and blamed O'Connor for being a parent herself for taking advantage of children. Advertisement Advertisement O'Connor's defense attorney, Stephen Prekoski, spoke, too. He said he felt the jury was diligent in their verdicts, but obviously, he wasn't pleased. "This is a disappointing verdict," Prekoski told reporters outside the courthouse. "It's not the result we were hoping for." The jury began deliberating on Feb. 24 at the San Jose Hall of Justice. The trial lasted about four months. Underage alcohol, sex parties Why you should care The 51-year-old O'Connor faced 63 criminal counts, including felony sex offenses and misdemeanors, related to hosting parties with alcohol and allowing underage teens to drink and engage in sexual conduct. Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors spoke with some 13 students, who said O'Connor invited them to her Los Gatos home and encouraged the teens and her son to drink alcohol and engage in sexual activity. The teens said she tried to hide the parties from her husband and neighbors. Prosecutors said O'Connor hosted the parties between 2021 and 2022. Some of the students said they were victims of sexual misconduct. The backstory O'Connor did not testify in her defense, the Mercury News noted. But she did call the news organization on Dec. 23, 2025, from call, where she told the Mercury News that she accepted some responsibility for the parties, but only through the lens of a concerned mother and was trying to communicate with the teens at their level, trying to encourage them to be safe when they were drinking and having sex. Advertisement Advertisement A legal expert noted Prekoski did not contest some accusations that O'Connor used bad judgment in supplying alcohol to underage teens, but instead, focused on the felony sex charges. OConnor was arrested in 2021 in Ada County, Idaho, where she was living at the time. She was brought back to Santa Clara County jail, where she has been held ever since. These convictions will also require OConnor to register as a sex offender. By the numbers Here's the breakdown of the verdict: Guilty: Count 1 endangering health of child August 2020 against John Doe 1 Count 2 endangering health of child John Doe 1 June 22, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Count 3 endangering health of child John Doe 1 Aug. 1 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021 Count 6 endangering health of child John Doe 4 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020 Count 7 endangering health of child John Doe 8 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020 Count 8 endangering health of child John Doe 3 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5 2020 Count 9 endangering health of child Jane Doe 1 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020 Count 10 endangering health of child John Doe 5 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31 2020 Count 11 endangering the health of child Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1, 2020 to Feb 14, 2021 Count 12 sexual penetration of intoxicated victim Jane Doe Dec. 11, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Count 48 lesser count of count 13 child endangerment not causing great body injury Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020 Count 14 attempting to dissuade victim from reporting crime John Doe 1 Dec. 19, 2020 Count 15 endangering health of child John Doe 2 Dec. 19, 2020 Count 16 endangering health of child John Doe 3 Dec. 19, 2020 Count 17 endangering health of child John Doe 1 Dec. 31, 2020 Count 18 sexual penetration of intoxicated victim Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020 Count 19 endangering health of child Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020 Count 60 lesser count of 20 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 Feb. 15, 2021 Advertisement Advertisement Count 22 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 June 1, 2020 to Aug. 1, 2020 Count 24 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 1 Aug. 1, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021 Count 26 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Sept. 18, 2020 Count 28 selling, giving, furnishing alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 4 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020 Count 29 annoying or molesting a child under 18 John Doe 1 June 22, 2019 to February 2021 Count 31 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury John Doe Oct. 1, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021 Count 32 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 7 Oct. 10, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021 Advertisement Advertisement Count 33 selling, furnishing, giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 1 June 22, 2020 Count 34 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Oct. 1, 2020 to Feb 1, 2021 Count 35 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 7 Oct. 10, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021 Count 37 selling, furnishing, giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 3 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020 Count 38 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury John Doe 4 Sept. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020 Count 39 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 4 Sept. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Count 42 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 Oct 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020 Count 43 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 5 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020 Count 45 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1, 2020 to Feb. 14, 2021 Count 46 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Dec. 31, 2020 Count 47 annoying or molesting child under 18 Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020 Count 49 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020 Count 52 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Dec 19, 2020 Count 53 selling furnishing giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 3 Dec. 19, 2020 Count 56 selling furnishing giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 1 Count 57 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020 Count 58 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 Jan. 2, 2021 to Feb. 14, 2021 Count 59 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 January 2021 to February 2021 Count 61 selling furnishing giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 Feb. 15, 2021 Count 62 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injurY Jane Doe 8 April 30, 2021 to May 3, 2021 Count 63 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury Jane Doe 9 April 30, 2021 to May 3, 2021 Not guilty: Count 4 endangering health of child John Doe 2 Sept. 18, 2020 Count 25 lesser count of count 4 child endangerment (but guilty of child endangerment that could produce bodily injury) Count 5 endangering health of child Joe Doe 8 Sept. 18, 2020 Count 13 endangering health of child Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020 Count 20 endangering health of child Jane Doe 2 Feb. 15, 2021 Screenshot via YouTube Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas on Thursday in a video interview from Tehran that his country is ready for a U.S. ground invasion and that Iran will not negotiate with President Donald Trump. The fact is that we dont have any positive experience of negotiating with the United States. You know, especially with this administration. We negotiated twice last year and this year, and then in the middle of negotiations, they attacked us, Araghchi told Llamas, adding: So we see no reason why we should engage once again with those who have, who are not honest in negotiation, and they dont and do not enter into negotiation in good faith. There is no winner in this war. Our win is to be able to resist against, you know, the illegal, you know goals, and this is what we have done so far. So they have failed to achieve their goals, and we have been able to resist against them, to stand against the most powerful army of the world, as they claim, together with, you know, Israelis, who are also claim to have the big army. When asked if Iranian leaders were concerned about a possible ground invasion, he replied, No, we are waiting for them. Advertisement Advertisement Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them, added the top Iranian diplomat. We didnt ask for a ceasefire even last time. In previous time, it was Israel who asked for a ceasefire. They asked for an unconditional ceasefire after 12 days that we resisted against their aggression, he continued, referring to the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June. This is a developing story and will be updated. The post Iranian FM Tells NBC News They Are Ready for US Ground Invasion, Will Not Negotiate With Trump first appeared on Mediaite. Just before the closure of candidate filing in Montana, incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew from his re-election campaign for a third term. U.S. Attorney for Montana Kurt Alme filed for office at 4:52 p.m. and Daines endorsed Alme in a statement shortly after. Daines did not give a specific reason behind his retirement, but released a lengthy statement late on Wednesday. Serving the people of Montana in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate the past 13 years has been the greatest honor of my professional career and I am grateful to God for allowing me to serve, Daines said. After wrestling with this decision for months, I have decided I will not seek re-election. It is time for a new leaders like Tim Sheehy to spearhead the fight for Montana in the United States Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Prior to public service, I spent 28 years in the private sector. While I found those years very rewarding, they didnt compare to the fulfillment Ive found in public service. Im energized, encouraged, and ready for what comes next. Im thankful to have served alongside President Trump and my colleagues in the Senate. Together, we built a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, spearheaded Republican control of the Senate, delivered the largest tax cut in history, unleashed American energy dominance, secured our southern border, enacted the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Actthe most significant conservation achievement in half a centuryand forged stronger ties with critical allies across the globe. I am especially indebted to my exceptional staff, who have worked tirelessly each day to serve Montanans. Thank you for creating countless raving fans through your efforts. Finally, I am most grateful to my sweet wife, Cindy, of 39 years. For the past 13 years, Cindy has selflessly dropped me off at the airport at 5 a.m. on most Mondays for the commute back to DC. Together, we look forward to the next chapter: cherishing moments with seven grandchildren, spending more time in Montana, and continuing to make a difference. Advertisement Advertisement In his statement, Daines also endorsed Alme, of Billings, for the Senate seat. Ive known Kurt Alme for years. He was appointed U.S. Attorney by President (Donald) Trump in his first term and then reappointed when President Trump was reelected because he did such a good job cracking down on crime. Kurt launched Project Safe Neighborhoods, took on the meth crisis head-on, confronted cartels flooding our state with fentanyl, and did everything in his power to make Montana safe. Alme did not immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday night, but released a statement later in the evening. I am proud to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate to represent the great state of Montana,Alme said. As a native Montanan, I have always been committed to serving our communities, upholding the rule of law, and fighting for the safety and prosperity of every family in our state. Advertisement Advertisement In post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump thanked Daines for his service. Trump also announced his endorsement of Alme, saying that if didnt have the highest level of aptitude and talent, Steve woudl have remained exactly where he is. He also said that Gov. Gianforte and Sen. Tim Sheehy were also endorsing Alme, but neither has released an official statement as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Montana Republican Party did not immediately have comment on the withdrawal. Montanas senior Senate seat has been considered safely Republican by analysts, but within hours of Daines announcement, at least one analyst moved the senate seat into a lean Republican, category, citing the back room deal nature of the shift to Alme. Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, Daines won re-election over popular two-term Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock by 10 points. A list of all candidates who filed for the U.S. Senate when filing closed. (Secretary of State candidate filing website) While there are many challengers in the race across parties, much attention has been paid to the independent bid by former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar, who announced this morning. Bodnars campaign released the following statement: Steve Daines has so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box. This is the disgusting arrogance of Washington politicians and their party bosses who trade power back and forth like candy while Montanans are crushed under higher costs and fewer opportunities. Im running to be an independent voice for every single Montanan who is sick of this broken political system and who wants a leader who stands up for our state against the corruption of political elites like Steve Daines and Kurt Alme. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Democratic candidate Reilly Neill said Daines dropping out is an example of the Montana GOP being in complete disarray. The Montana GOP has done nothing but bend the knee to an administration that has hurt our farmers and ranchers and this is unacceptable, Neill said. Daines, throughout his tenure, has completely ignored and voted against the working class and protected the billionaire class. His stepping down opens this field for the United States Senate and this is a good development for Montana. Additional candidates contacted by the Daily Montanan did not have statements by publication. This is a developing story and will be updated. Mexicos digital banking market has entered a new phase of competition following two significant developments. UK-based challenger Revolut has launched full banking operations in Mexico as part of its international expansion strategy, while domestic fintech Plata has completed its transition to a fully licensed digital bank, having first applied for a banking license in late 2022. Plata aims to become largest challenger bank in Mexico Plata now reports 2.5 million active customers and has set its sights on becoming the largest challenger bank in the Mexican market. Together, these moves signal intensifying competition and growing confidence in Mexicos regulatory and digital banking environment. Platas journey also reflects the maturing of Mexicos fintech ecosystem since the introduction of its fintech law in 2018. While licensing processes have proven lengthy and complex, the eventual approval underscores regulatory commitment to formalising and supervising digital-first entrants. As challengers shift from niche offerings to full-stack banking propositions, competition with incumbents will intensify, particularly in consumer lending and everyday transactional banking. For traditional banks, the threat is not merely customer attrition, but margin compression as digital-native players operate with leaner cost bases. Revoluts entry adds an additional layer of competitive pressure. Mexico forms part of a broader global expansion strategy that has already seen the firm establish a presence across Europe and secure banking licenses in multiple jurisdictions. Its expansion into Latin America reflects both saturation in mature markets and the search for high-growth regions. In Mexico, Revolut brings brand recognition, multi-currency capabilities, and product innovation honed in competitive European markets. However, unlike in Europe where it leveraged passporting rights, in Mexico it must compete within a local regulatory framework and against established regional champions. From an industry perspective, Mexico represents one of the most compelling battlegrounds for digital challengers in Latin America. The country combines a large, relatively underbanked population with strong mobile penetration and a regulator that has demonstrated openness to fintech innovation. South Americas track record with digital banking provides a useful precedent. The success of Nubank in Brazil demonstrated the scalability of digital-first models in the region, achieving mass-market penetration and reshaping competitive dynamics. Mexico shares several of the enabling characteristics seen in Brazil, including high smartphone adoption and dissatisfaction with incumbent service levels. Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com. Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. A majority of Republicans in the Kansas Senate moved on Tuesday to fine public school districts up to six figures if they neglect to discipline students for participating in protests during the school day. The amendment added to the state budget by Sen. Michael Murphy, a Sylvia Republican, would financially penalize districts that fail to obtain written parental permission for each student who participates in an organized protest. Advertisement Advertisement The proposed crackdown on free assembly during the school day comes amid backlash over a series of student walkouts at Olathe Public Schools, including a Feb. 20 demonstration at Olathe Northwest High School that ended in four arrests after pro- and anti-ICE protesters clashed just off of school grounds. We understand we have a right to protest. We have a right to voice our opinion, Murphy said during the floor debate. But when were in high school, were there to learn, and so, with some of the events that weve had here lately in Kansas where kids have decided they want to just leave and go protest something sometimes its with permission of the school, sometimes its not. His amendment would also require the state school board to adjudicate complaints related to walkouts and fine districts if it determines that staff members encouraged, enabled or facilitated a demonstration during the school day. Murphys amendment passed 21-18, with nine Republicans joining all nine Senate Democrats in opposition. The amendment has yet to be considered by House lawmakers, who would have to approve it before it is included in the state budget. Gov. Laura Kelly also has the authority to veto individual line items in the budget. Students at Shawnee Mission North High School marched in protest of ICE and the Trump administration along Johnson Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Overland Park. (Tammy Ljungblad/tljungblad@kcstar.com) First Amendment considerations Opponents of Murphys amendment expressed concern that the proposal runs afoul of constitutional protections for free expression. Advertisement Advertisement Students have a right to free speech and a right to assemble, said Sen. Cindy Holsher, an Overland Park Democrat whos running for governor. This amendment in particular looks like it would infringe upon that and be against the statutes that are already in place. In a Feb. 23 email to Olathe Schools families, Superintendent Brent Yeager outlined students constitutional right to participate in walkouts and other demonstrations. The email quoted the landmark 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, which holds that students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. Under that ruling, schools can limit speech that causes a material and substantial disruption to the educational process or if it violates the rights of others. Shawnee Mission North High School students marched in protest of ICE and the Trump administration's policies along on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Overland Park. (Tammy Ljungblad/tljungblad@kcstar.com) Murphys amendment was supported by two Republican senators Doug Shane of Louisburg and Beverly Gossage of Eudora who released a joint statement late last month condemning the Olathe walkouts as a breakdown of decorum and dialogue in (Kansas) public schools. Advertisement Advertisement This is not a matter of free speech, Gossage said during the debate. You have your right to speech. You have your right to assemble not during the school day, leaving school, so I have a right to assemble. School gets out really early. You have plenty of time to do something like this after school, no matter what it is that they are protesting. Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, questioned whether 18-year-old high school students could be required to obtain parental consent before participating in a walkout. The amendment defines a student walkout as an organized effort for students to willfully violate school attendance requirements. It would require districts to enforce school attendance laws and policies with associated disciplinary actions for such absent students or face fines. Under its language, any day that a student walkout occurs would not count as an instructional day for purposes of meeting the districts annual academic requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Districts found by the state school board to be in violation of the budget provision would face a fine equal to the annual base salary of the superintendent for each school day that a district experiences a student walkout. State Department of Education records show the median base salary for Kansas superintendents in the 2023-24 school year was $138,950. But some superintendent salaries are considerably higher. Yeager, the Olathe superintendent, has a base salary of $286,324. An Olathe Public Schools spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Sen. Mike Argabright, an Olpe Republican who voted against the budget amendment, said creating a new policy on student walkouts would be an overreaction to a handful of isolated protests. Advertisement Advertisement Were talking about state policy, and that concerns me that we react that way at times. I dont think its necessary. I dont believe that many of our public schools have this problem, said Argabright, who also questioned why the new restrictions wouldnt apply to private schools. State school board members perspective Melanie Haas, a Democratic member of the state board of education whose district includes much of eastern Wyandotte County and northeast Johnson County, called the budget amendment a tremendous overreach by the Legislature. There are so many problems with this, Haas said in an interview. First of all schools are not just letting kids walk out the door, and I feel like thats whats being insinuated. School districts in my part of the state have been very clear that there are consequences for walking out, Haas said. Youll get marked as an unexcused absence. That can result in discipline. Parents are notified when students skip class. Advertisement Advertisement Haas said she doubts there would be a safe way for districts to enforce the policy and avoid the substantial fines it proposes. Theres not a good way to stop kids from walking out of school, said Haas, the mother of a high school student. If youve got a couple of dozen students who decide theyre going to walk out the door together, you cant physically restrain them . . . You cant grab kids. You cant lock the doors. These are all safety concerns. Connie OBrien, a Republican member of the state school board who represent areas in northern Johnson County, southwest Wyandotte County and parts of eastern Kansas, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Heres how Johnson County and Wyandotte County senators voted on the budget amendment. A yes vote indicates support for fining school districts over student walkouts and a no vote indicates opposition. Johnson County Etan Corson (D) No Advertisement Advertisement Beverly Gossage (R) Yes Cindy Holscher (D) No TJ Rose (R) Yes Douglas Shane (R) Yes Dinah Sykes (D) Adam Thomas (R) No Mike Thompson (R) Yes Kelly Warren (R) Yes Wyandotte County David Haley (D) No Jeff Klemp (R) Yes Pat Pettey (D) No The Stars Kendrick Calfee contributed reporting. Fox News Karl Rove warned on Thursday that Democrat James Talarico could pull off a wild upset in the Lone Star States 2026 Senate race if Republicans nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to run against him. Talarico prevailed against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in Tuesdays Democratic primary, while Paxton is headed to a run-off against incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on the GOP side. After acknowledging that he is a longtime personal friend of Cornyn, Rove touted the senators overperformance in the primary before being asked if Democrats actually have a chance by anchor Dana Perino. Advertisement Advertisement Well, if Cornyn is the nominee, no. But if its Paxton with all the baggage that hes got, the Democrats-, look, George Soros is spending millions of dollars a year in building the infrastructure for the Democratic Party. Democrats, a lot of thoughtful Democrats said, We gotta have Talarico as the candidate because, you know, Crockett had no chance whatsoever. And Talarico has a history of having appeal to Republicans. He ran for the state house against an incumbent Republican in a suburban district that covered both Travis County and Williamson County, the Republican county to the north, and won, beating an incumbent Republican, answered Rove, who continued: Now what happened is they then redistricted and he moved to a nearby district that was a lot more Democrat inside Travis County, Austin, Texas, and got re-elected from safer territory. But yeah, no, look, this is-, Cornyn would win this going away. This is one of the arguments that even the White House political staff has been making. Paxton on the other hand has so much baggage that the Democrats would pour a hundred or two hundred million dollars into the state with the hope that they can pull off something like they did in Alabama when they beat a very troubled Republican candidate and had, briefly, a Democrat senator from the state of Alabama. They havent won a Senate race here since 1988, they havent won a statewide race since 1994, but everybody believes that this year is the year that if we had a damaged candidate on our ticket that they might be able to pull it off. Watch above via Fox News. The post Karl Rove Declares Democrat James Talarico Could Pull Off Wild Upset in Texas first appeared on Mediaite. Kendall Qualls the Army veteran and former health care executive running for the Republicans nomination for Minnesota governor announced Tuesday that Brian Nicholson will be his running mate, though he offered scant biographical details about the man who would be a heartbeat from the governors office. Qualls finished second in the precinct caucus straw poll last month to his chief rival, House Speaker Lisa Demuth. More: MN House Speaker Demuth gets alleged threat, files restraining order Advertisement Advertisement Neither Qualls nor Nicholson, a self-described businessman, have held elected office. Nicholson said he hasnt been involved in party politics but identifies as a lifelong Republican. Qualls said Nicholson was an unconventional choice. Brian Nicholson and I both have lived the American dream in our own ways. We come from different walks of life, but we have arrived at the same destination two men from the business world who are tired of watching the political class fail our state, Qualls said. Qualls said he met Nicholson in October while on the campaign trail, when Nicholson offered to help him. More: St. Cloud's Star Autism Center owner pleads guilty to wire fraud Advertisement Advertisement At a Capitol press conference, reporters asked Nicholson to expand on his biographical information notably his age and where hes currently employed. Nicholson, who lives in the prosperous west metro city of Minnetrista, said he was 38 years old and declined to give basic information about his business ventures. Theres a variety of holdings in construction and real estate and manufacturing, so well make sure we get a list out here with some of those details, he said. Qualls campaign after the press conference said that Nicholson had misspoke; hes actually 48, not 38. The campaign also said additional details about Nicholsons professional background would be forthcoming. Advertisement Advertisement A 2024 Grand Forks Herald article identifies Nicholson as the CEO of Advanced Volumetric Alliance, which specializes in modular construction. Nicholson said running for lieutenant governor wasnt an ambition and Qualls had to do a little arm-twisting here to get me to do this. This is not something that is the start of a political career that I have always dreamed of, Nicholson said. Im excited about the difference that I can make, but this is not a like to do. This is a need to do for me and my family, and that drive is part of the difference that separates where were coming from. Qualls in 2022 finished behind Scott Jensen at the state nominating convention, and in recent years hes led the nonprofit Take Charge Minnesota, which promotes the notion that the promise of America is available to everyone regardless of race or social station, according to its website. Advertisement Advertisement MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, are also running as Republicans. Jensen ended his campaign to run for state auditor and Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel dropped out after criticizing Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the sole major Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate and is expected to be the nominee after Gov. Tim Walz bowed out in January. Nicholson created an X account for his candidacy last month. He follows three accounts: Qualls, Elon Musk and Fox News. Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nations largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Qualls announces running mate in bid to become governor of Minnesota BEIJING (AP) China on Thursday set its lowest economic growth target since 1991 at the opening of its annual national congress, in what some economists interpreted as a reflection of pragmatism as a weak domestic economy bites. Beijing also released the full draft of its five-year plan up to 2030 outlining its economic and political policy priorities, with a focus on boosting self-reliance in areas like artificial intelligence, robotics and other advanced technologies as China's rivalry with the U.S. heats up. The weeklong congress is expected to approve the five-year plan in coming days. Advertisement Advertisement Here are the key takeaways from Chinese Premier Li Qiangs annual government work report at the congress and Chinas next five-year plan: Lowest economic growth target since 1991 Li unveiled an economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 the lowest target since 1991 and the first downgrade following an official around 5% target set for between 2023 and 2025. The lower target follows a yearslong property sector slump that sent home prices tumbling, weakened domestic consumption and investment confidence and led to massive job losses. In addressing China's domestic economic challenges, officials pledged to stabilize the housing market by controlling new supply and reducing inventory. Advertisement Advertisement Li also reiterated the importance of boosting domestic consumption, although China's funding of 250 billion yuan ($36 billion) earmarked for consumer goods trade-in subsidies was lower than last years 300 billion yuan. Record trade surplus Despite the U.S.-China trade war, China said it had met its official 5% economic growth target last year. That was largely thanks to its record trade surplus of almost $1.2 trillion under an export boost to regions such as Europe and Latin America. What we achieved in 2025 was indeed hard won, Li said in his speech. Rarely in many years have we encountered such a grave and complex landscape. Taiwan On Taiwan, the self-ruled island which Beijing has for decades claimed as its own, Li stressed that Beijing will resolutely fight against separatist forces. The choice of wording of fight against appeared to a stronger tone compared to last year's resolutely oppose. Tech race heats up In the full draft of its five-year plan up to 2030, Chinese leaders set out an ambition to achieve technological self-reliance to rival the U.S. The draft plan outlined goals in advancements in areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, biomedicine, quantum technology and aerospace. To ensure innovation breakthroughs, Chinese officials projected an annual average growth of at least 7% in nationwide spending on research and development. Military budget growth Chinese leaders also pledged a 7% defense budget growth for 2026, to about 1.9 trillion yuan ($270 billion). That was slightly lower than the around 7.2% annual increase in the last three years. In his speech, Li said that China needs to achieve solid gains in military training and combat readiness. That came as Xis purge of Chinas military widened including the removal of nine military officers from the congress last week as China speeds up its goals of modernizing its army in the coming few years. Encouraging births a priority China, like many other parts of the world, is also facing a demographic crisis as its population ages and birth rate falls. Its 1.4 billion population declined for a fourth straight year last year, falling by about 3 million in 2025 from the year before. Chinese officials on Thursday vowed to build a fertility-friendly society with policies aimed to address education, employment, as well as child care and health care support in the hopes of encouraging more births. Climate targets On climate targets, China, the worlds largest polluter, said it would continue with its renewable energy push and to reduce carbon emissions. For the five years to 2030, Beijing has set a goal of reducing carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 17%, compared to the 18% cutback target in the previous five years. ____ Chan reported from Hong Kong. AP writer Ken Moritsugu contributed from Beijing. Mar. 4---- Copy Link Facebook LinkedIn Share on X MORGANTOWNIf your kid is ready for kindergarten, you have until April 15 to make it official in Monongalia County Schools. Visit https://www.boe.mono.k12.wv.us / for the link that will take you to the online registration form. Children must be 5 on or before June 30 to be eligible for enrollment next fall. Contact Nancy Miller at 304-291-9210, extension 1770, if need help with the registration or don't have computer access. Advertisement Advertisement Mon's youngest students in past school years had traditionally rounded the kindergarten curve quicker than a lot of their kid-peers across the nation. That's because the local district has been doing the same, nationally. Mon's school system two years ago was ranked sixth in the country for its efforts in getting the youngest of its students ready for classrooms to come. The Mountain State earned that charting in the annual study by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The 2024 numbers are the most recent culled by the institute. The District of Columbia topped the list that year, with Florida and Oklahoma rounding the top three. Advertisement Advertisement Hawaii was last on the list, among the 45 states offering pre-kindergarten services at the time of the study. Deputy Schools Superintendent Donna Talerico, said West Virginia's good grade in that class was no surprise. The local district was an early adapter of the universal pre-kindergarten model that is now the early education standard across the nation, said Talerico, who began her career in education as an elementary school teacher. "I don't want to say we're an outlier, but that's what we are." The King County Sheriffs Office has seized nearly 19 pounds of narcotics that were heading to Washington from California. The Special Operations Team and K9 Quinn conducted the bust on March 3. In that bust, 8.8 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized and 9.7 pounds of fentanyl pills were taken, which is approximately 40,000 pills. Three people were arrested. K9 Quinn alerted to drugs in two vehicles. The investigation is ongoing. WAUWATOSA Milwaukee County has officially put the finishing touches on a multi-million dollar youth facility at the Vel R. Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center. The opening of the new center, called the Milwaukee County Center for Youth, marks the continued coordinated effort to shut down he problem-addled Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls in northern Wisconsin and create regional facilities across the state for juvenile offenders. In 2017, the passage of Act 185 aimed to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake by replacing them with smaller youth correctional facilities across the state. The current operation in the Lincoln County community Irma has long been criticized for reducing contact between youth and family members due to its 3-hour drive from Milwaukee, where the majority of the youth come from. Advertisement Advertisement The new regional facilities aim to provide a local alternative for incarcerated youth to remain closer to home. "We are building a system rooted in accountability, rooted in growth, in healing and in hope," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said at the tour of the new center at Vel Phillips on March 5. The total capital budget for the 32-bed facility is nearly $37 million, including more than $28 million in grant funding from the State of Wisconsin. Since 2015, the cost to house young offenders in the state's prison system has nearly tripled, with the daily rate jumping from $301 to $1,246 per child, according to a report from Milwaukee County from last year. Advertisement Advertisement The aim is to reduce the financial burden on the county's Children, Youth and Family Services by shifting to the new facility. "We are taking steps toward making Milwaukee County the healthiest county in the state, because reducing recidivism isn't just about lowering a statistic. It's about breaking cycles," said Crowley, a Democratic candidate for governor. "It's about making sure that one mistake does not become a life sentence, whether you're a young person or a young adult, but it's also about being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars." Here is what to know about the new facility: Where is the facility? The facility is part of an expansion to the Vel R. Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center campus located at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Rd. in Wauwatosa. English teacher Meghan O'Driscoll, right, talks with local officials and other visitors who were touring the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When will it open? By the end of March, according to Kelly Pethke, who leads the county's Department of Health and Human Services' Children, Youth and Family Services division. Who will be incarcerated there? Youths who committed lower-level offenses will be housed at the new county-run facility. Pethke said that 14 youth are expected to be transferred into the facility. Those being transferred are currently part of the the Milwaukee County Accountability Program. She said that incarcerated youth at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake are not currently expected to be transferred into the center. Milwaukee County Center for Youth opened for tours on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new juvenile correctional facility will serve up to 32 young people at a time in a treatment-oriented secure residential setting designed to foster growth, accountability, and successful reintegration into the community. An enclosed and partial outdoor space provides recreation for youth at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A common space outside of the rooms for youth at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new juvenile correctional facility will serve up to 32 young people at a time in a treatment-oriented secure residential setting designed to foster growth, accountability, and successful reintegration into the community. A youth room is seen during a tour at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A partial view of the inside of a youth room at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A common area is seen outside of the rooms for youth at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ald. Sharlen Moore speaks at the opening of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new juvenile correctional facility will serve up to 32 young people at a time in a treatment-oriented secure residential setting designed to foster growth, accountability, and successful reintegration into the community. Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, left, with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, talk at the opening of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Colorful walls and geometric designs are seen in a hallway at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. English teacher Meghan O'Driscoll, right, talks with local officials and other visitors who were touring the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A multipurpose room is seen at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A quiet room is seen at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unlike the common areas, this room has carpet and colorful lights illuminate the space. A crowd takes a tour of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The medical area of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The kitchen of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The visitor waiting area of the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. See inside Milwaukee County's new juvenile correctional facility 1 of 16 Milwaukee County Center for Youth opened for tours on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new juvenile correctional facility will serve up to 32 young people at a time in a treatment-oriented secure residential setting designed to foster growth, accountability, and successful reintegration into the community. What care will the new center provide? The new center will provide new educational spaces, including classrooms and vocational programming, dedicated medical, dental and mental wellness areas, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, as well as new amenities such as family visitation areas and dining and culinary arts programming. Advertisement Advertisement According to Pethke the center and its daily programming are based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model that allows youth to build skills to manage emotions and find positive ways to build interpersonal relationships. "The goal is to be able to serve kids here in Milwaukee in ways that support them, that support their families, that support their community," DHHS Executive Director Shakita LaGrant-McClain said. "The opening of the Milwaukee County Center for Youth is advancing this goal, providing more effective and restorative approach to youth justice." An enclosed and partial outdoor space provides recreation for youth at the new Milwaukee County Center for Youth on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Are other youth prisons set to open in Milwaukee or Wisconsin? Yes. In 2020, Milwaukee, Brown, Racine and Dane counties were awarded funding to construct new county-run Secure Residential Care Centers for Children to to keep youth closer to home, family and community support systems. In 2024, Wisconsin Department of Corrections began construction of a new state-run youth prison, also known as a Type 1 facility, on Milwaukee's northwest side at in the Buchel Park neighborhood, at 7930 W. Clinton Ave. The facility will provide 32 beds for teenage boys who are in the adult system or who are considered serious juvenile offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Construction of the new youth prison is on track to be completed in July, according to Assistant Administrator Lance Horozewski of Wisconsin Department of Corrections' Division of Juvenile Corrections. Youth from Lincoln Hills will be transferred to the facility starting in early November and it will be admitting newly incarcerated youth coming from the Milwaukee County courts, he said. Horozewski said that the agency expects ground to be broken on another Type 1 facility for teenage girls in Dane County starting in August. The state DOC is responsible for operating Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake School as well as the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Dane County. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Milwaukee County's new juvenile correctional center A Sacramento man, accused of opening fire on multiple vehicles along local freeways during the Wednesday morning commute, is in custody and expected to face several felony charges. The California Highway Patrol said 33-year-old Raymond Calderon of Sacramento was arrested after investigators say he fired at several vehicles across Sacramento-area freeways. Calderon is expected to face multiple charges, including attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, assault with a firearm, evading police and driving under the influence of drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators said the shootings left one person seriously injured. One individual was transported to the local hospital. At this time there had been no additional injuries reported, said Officer Mike Carrillo of the CHP Valley Division. CHP said the first shooting happened just after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday near Highway 160 and Northgate Boulevard. The vehicle struck by gunfire later stopped near Vine and Dos Rios streets, where officers found the victim and began their investigation. Parts of Highway 160 and Interstate 5 near downtown Sacramento were temporarily shut down as investigators searched for evidence. Advertisement Advertisement We have to do a thorough investigation and often that requires closing down the freeway, so we dont miss any evidence," said Capt. Jaimi Kenyon of the California Highway Patrol. Authorities said multiple vehicles were involved, though investigators have only publicly confirmed a few locations. Radio traffic captured additional possible scenes across the city. Looks like it all started at 160 and Richards. Sac PD found casings on the freeway on that side. The victim moved to Richards and Vine. Suspect vehicle continued WB Richards, got on the freeway, and Ive got three different victim vehicles from the suspect vehicle. I have one at K Street, one at Sutterville (unintelligible), and one at Third and Broadway. Later in the day, investigators went to River Terrace, an apartment complex in South Natomas, where ABC10 captured a line of CHP vehicles returning to the complex and SWAT officers approaching an apartment with weapons drawn. Advertisement Advertisement I seen 30 cops that taping everything off I was wondering what was going on, said Jahlil Ramsey, who lives nearby. You come to work and you cant get into your complex because everything is roped off and there is police and helicopters," said Diego Pardo, who works in the area. Investigators said they recovered two firearms after Calderons arrest. Authorities are testing the weapons to determine whether they were used in the shootings. Motive is not known at this time," Officer Carrillo said. Sacramento County jail records show Calderon is not eligible for bail and is scheduled to appear in court March 6. The California Highway Patrol is asking anyone with information about the case to contact investigators. WATCH MORE ON ABC10 | CHP arrests Sacramento man accused of shooting at cars on area freeways TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas senators are due to take up a bill Thursday that, if passed, would lead to a crackdown on kratom in the Sunflower State. The Kansas Senate is joining a push to restrict use of 7-OH this year. It is a highly addictive compound that comes from the kratom leaf. Senators are debating legislation during the 2026 session of the Kansas Legislature that would add kratom to schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Senators will debate the legislation, Senate Bill 497, on March 5 and are expected to take final action on it. Advertisement Advertisement Bill could legalize suppressors, short-barreled shotguns in Kansas If lawmakers pass the bill in its current state, it will result in kratom being placed in the same category as heroin. However, the main target of the bill is a much stronger compound that comes from the kratom leaf known as 7-OH or 7-hydroxymitragynine. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a warning about these kinds of products in September last year, calling them extremely harmful. Many of these products can be found in places like gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores. Its 13 times greater potency than morphine, and though we have seen the deaths and addictions to fentanyl go down, we have seen the use of this drug rise, said Senator Beverly Gossage (R-Wichita). Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement sources said that banning kratom entirely prevents loopholes. Meanwhile, critics are calling a blanket ban on the product a way to criminalize people who are using it to recover from addictions to opioids. Its an off ramp, not an addictive drug, said Senator Silas Miller (D-Wichita). And the symptoms are comparable to caffeine. Senate Bill 497 could potentially head to the Kansas House if it is passed through the Senate on Thursday. The Senate is expected to take up final action on the bill again during the afternoon of March 5. Candy, soda to be restricted for Kansas SNAP users starting in 2027 Advertisement Advertisement For more Kansas Capital Bureau, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem one of the Trump administrations most colorful characters, mocked as Concentration Camp Barbie by the presidents foes was dismissed by President Trump on Thursday. This follows widely reported rumors about Noems personal life and a controversial wave of paramilitary-style attacks on U.S. cities unleashed by her department, the incarceration and deportation of thousands of immigrants and multiple killings of civilians, including U.S. citizens, by officers in agencies under Noems purview. According to a Truth Social post from Trump early on Thursday afternoon, Noem will be replaced at DHS by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as of March 31. Mullin is a vigorous supporter of Trump and the MAGA movement, and his vacated U.S. Senate seat is likely to remain in Republican hands. Earlier this week, Noem faced a humiliating and highly unusual personal grilling before judiciary committees in both the House and Senate, as Democratic members asked embarrassing questions about her personal life, including Noems alleged relationship with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who has been serving as an unpaid special government employee under this administration. Noem did not directly deny an affair with Lewandowski in response to repeated questioning, as her husband sat behind her in the committee chamber. Advertisement Advertisement I think the ridiculousness of this and the tabloids that you are quoting and referencing are insane, Noem said. This is a thing I have refuted for years. She was also pressed by members of Congress over a $220 million ad campaign from the department that prominently featured her, as well as contracts agreed by the department that appeared to be non-competitive, in violation of government statutes. agreed to with only limited competition between contractors. In Trumps Truth Social post, the president said Noem has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results but said she was being moved to a newly invented position as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere, to be announced this weekend. He thanked Noem for her service at Homeland.' Formerly known as the avidly pro-Trump governor of South Dakota, Noem was tapped lead DHS shortly after the 2024 election, and now becomes by far the most prominent Trump Cabinet official ousted during the second term. She was reportedly considered as a possible running mate on Trumps 2024 ticket, though she was passed over in favor of JD Vance, then a newly-elected Ohio senator, after Noem published a book in which she boasted about shooting a poorly-behaved family dog. Advertisement Advertisement Noem led DHS through the first year of Trumps second term in office, overseeing both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection as the agencies saw an unprecedented surge in funding and resources, growing to become an ever-present force in American life. Under Noems leadership, the agencies adopted wearing masks to conceal their identities, while rushing to complete quotas imposed on them, with the administration demanding 3,000 deportations a day. Earlier this year, Noem sought to pin ICE and CBPs violent crackdown in Minneapolis on White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, perhaps Trumps closest adviser. A source told Axios that Noem had said, Everything Ive done, Ive done at the direction of the president and Stephen. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. U.S. public opinion has largely turned against Trumps immigration enforcement policy, and coupled with the rumors about Noems private life, that apparently made her position untenable. Immigration was previously understood as one of Trumps strongest issues in public polling, most Americans now disapprove of the administrations handling of the issue. Two prominent GOP senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, publicly turned against Noem on Jan. 27, asking the president to fire her. Advertisement Advertisement The GOPs mass deportation policy came to a head in Minneapolis after officers under the DHS killed two American citizens within a two-week period in January, first Renee Nicole Good, a mother and Minneapolis resident, and later Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse working at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital. Prior to these killings, DHS employees had killed six people as part of their immigration crackdown, though it was the videos and the nature of the killings in Minneapolis that escalated the political fallout. Following the killing of Pretti, who was tackled by a group of officers and shot numerous times by two different officers, congressional Republicans turning on Noem as a scapegoat, along with CBPs former commander at large, Gregory Bovino, whose title was dissolved after the killings. Bovinos apparent demotion came after he made demonstrably false claims that Pretti was aiming to kill federal agents. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement, Bovino said. Tom Homan, Trumps border czar, was sent to Minneapolis to assume command of operations there, vowing to continue the deadly operation, while promising that it would be safer. What weve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book, Homan said at a Jan. 29 press conference. The mission is going to improve because of the changes were making internally. None of these changes, it appears, was enough to save Kristi Noems job. The post Kristi Noem is out: Chaotic reign at DHS ends amid personal scandal appeared first on Salon.com. Because there are few practical alternative routes, even the perception of disruption can send gas prices higher. In 2025, analysts said even a partial shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would drive Brent crude past $100 per barrel and possibly above $110 if the disruption dragged on (4). At the heart of this sensitivity is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that serves as a chokepoint for global oil trade. Roughly 20% of the worlds petroleum liquids and about one-fifth of all liquefied natural gas pass through it each day (3). Any threat to shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf can trigger overnight spikes in oil prices, especially if traders believe supplies could tighten. While you cant control oil markets, you can control how your household handles its auto costs. Gas isnt the only expense driver, either. When fuel costs climb and historically, they do the total cost of car ownership rises. Insurance premiums, maintenance, financing costs and day-to-day driving expenses are likely to increase. For American drivers, that risk translates into something painfully simple: higher fuel bills. Iran is infinitely more desperate today which means its more inclined to lash out if only to raise the cost of U.S. intervention, Matt Reed, vice president of Foreign Reports, reportedly told Fortune. Gasoline prices have already climbed above $3 per gallon nationwide, though Galimberti says further escalation could push prices much higher (2). If the strait were disrupted, prices could surge past $100 per barrel, potentially driving gasoline close to $5 per gallon, said Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy (1). Most Americans earn a dismal 0.39% APY on their cash at big banks. Unlock up to 4.05% APY and pay $0 in account fees instead with a Wealthfront Cash Account Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake heres what it is and the simple steps to fix it ASAP Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how Roughly one-fifth of the worlds oil supply moves through the Strait of Hormuz each day. When warnings come as tensions in the Middle East escalate and oil trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz grind to a halt traders price in the risk immediately. The global oil market has a pressure point, and it sits in a narrow stretch of water off the coast of Iran. Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. Story Continues This kind of reaction isnt new. From the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s to repeated tanker incidents in the Gulf in the 2010s, historys pattern is consistent oil markets jump on geopolitical risk even if physical supply doesnt change immediately (5). Todays situation reinforces those dynamics. With tensions rising across the region and looming threats to close or disrupt shipping lanes in the air, the price of oil is likely to reach a level not seen in months (6). As a refined product of crude oil, gasoline will follow suit. Gasoline is one of the most visible examples of how global conflicts hit household budgets. For many Americans, fuel costs can run into the hundreds of dollars each month for daily commuters (7). And when fuel costs rise, they dont rise in isolation. They collide with everything else. Read More: Im almost 50 years old and dont have retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up? Read More: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1B private real estate fund starting at just $10 Take control of costs where you can Gas prices are volatile, but the real strain for most American families lies in the rising costs of everything all at once. Right now, Americans face rising costs in many ways. Insurance premiums, car payments and routine maintenance costs are all on the rise. Thats to say nothing of costs in other sectors, like groceries. Its easy to see how a gas spike can expose weaknesses in a household where the budget is being stretched thinner by the year. The real question isnt just about how to save an extra 10 cents per gallon its whether your overall budget can absorb this shock without derailing your financial goals. One of the fastest ways to ease pressure is by reviewing fixed car expenses, especially insurance. Compare plans with other auto insurers Insurance is usually the second-largest recurring car expense after fuel. Yet, many drivers stick with the same carrier for years without comparing rates, even as premiums increase. With fuel costs set to rise, its a good time to review every car-related expense, especially your insurance coverage. Even modest savings can make a difference. Cutting $50 to $100 per month from your premium could significantly offset pump costs. If you havent compared rates in the past year or two, theres a chance you could be overpaying. According to Forbes, the national average cost for full-coverage car insurance in 2025 was $2,149 per year, or $179 per month (8). However, rates can vary widely depending on your state, driving history and vehicle type. Online insurance marketplaces let you input your information once and receive multiple quotes from competing carriers, so you can quickly find the best rate available. By using OfficialCarInsurance.com, you can easily compare quotes from multiple insurers like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO, to ensure youre getting the best deal. In just two minutes, you could find rates as low as $29 per month. Another option is Insurify a digital comparison platform that lets drivers compare quotes from dozens of insurers in minutes. Insurify helps you take charge of your insurance-shopping journey with tools and insights no one else has. Insurify uses driver data and real-time rate information to match you with policies tailored to your profile, whether youre looking for minimum coverage to cut costs or more comprehensive protection. The potential savings arent trivial. If switching carriers saves you $75 per month, that $900 per year can help absorb the impact of rising gas prices. Stay on top of your wallet When unpredictable costs hit, having a clear view of where your money is going can keep you from being blindsided. A financial advisor can help crunch the numbers and build a budget that works even when the world economy is struggling. But hiring an advisor can be a lifelong commitment one that could make or break your budget. That means finding an advisor you can trust is crucial. Thats where Advisor.com can help. The platform quickly connects you with an expert near you for free. Advisor.com does the heavy lifting for you, vetting advisors based on track record, client ratios and regulatory background. Plus, their network of fiduciaries are legally required to act in your best interest. Just enter a few details about your goals and Advisor.coms AI-powered matching tool will connect you with a qualified expert best suited for your needs. Set up a free initial consultation today to see if theyre the right fit for you. View all your car expenses in one place Having a clear picture of where your moneys actually going can help you budget appropriately. Budgeting tools can help you easily track and manage your car expenses. By seeing the full picture, you can identify patterns maybe youre driving more than you thought, or your maintenance costs are creeping up. Tools like Monarch Money allow you to categorize and monitor fuel spending, insurance payments, maintenance costs and loan payments in one dashboard. When prices rise, this visibility gives you leverage. You can adjust spending elsewhere, plan for seasonal fuel spikes or rethink transportation choices before costs spiral. For a limited time, get 50% off your first year with the code WISE50. Make every dollar stretch further If youre a retiree living on a fixed income, every dollar counts. When your income doesnt adjust easily, a moderate increase in gasoline or insurance premiums can put a strain on your budget. While a million-dollar retirement fund sounds significant, after taxes, a 4% withdrawal leaves you with just $40,000 a year. That amount doesnt go far in a world of rising costs and is quickly eroded by health expenses and market downturns (9). Senior-focused organizations like AARP can help offset some life expenses. They offer discounts on almost everything from prescriptions and dental plans to travel, entertainment and insurance. As one of the most trusted organizations for older Americans, AARP not only offers money-saving perks but also helps you make informed financial and health decisions. AARP members get access to guides that can help you make the most of Social Security, choose the right Medicare plan and uncover other government benefits potentially saving you thousands. Sign up with AARP today and get 25% off your first year. Gas might be rising, but youve got options Global energy markets may be reacting to events half a world away, but your household budget isnt powerless. While you cant control the Strait of Hormuz, you can control how efficiently your car and your finances operate at home. There are practical steps you can take now to reduce what you spend at the pump: Carpool when possible. Even cutting one or two solo commutes per week can meaningfully reduce monthly fuel spending. Keep tires properly inflated. Underinflated tires reduce fuel efficiency and increase wear. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, proper tire pressure alone can improve gas mileage by up to 3% (10). Drive more efficiently. Avoid aggressive acceleration and high-speed driving, which can significantly reduce fuel economy. Use fuel-tracking apps. Monitoring your fuel usage can help you identify patterns, compare fuel prices across stations and adjust habits before costs creep up. Consolidate trips. Combining errands reduces cold starts and unnecessary mileage a small shift that adds up over time. None of these tactics eliminate the impact of rising oil prices, but they can create some breathing room. When fuel prices climb, the goal isnt perfection its resilience. By rethinking insurance, budgeting strategically and using available resources and discounts, you can help keep your overall car expenses grounded, no matter what happens overseas. You May Also Like Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now. Article sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines. The Mirror (1); Reuters (2); IER (3); Reuters (4); Discovery Alert (5); Global News (6); JD Power (7); Forbes (8); Investopedia (9); U.S. Department of Energy (10) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be replaced shortly after getting grilled by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers during tense hearings on Capitol Hill this week. President Donald Trump announced Noem's ouster Thursday, March 5, on social media, naming Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, as her successor effective March 31. In the same announcement, the president praised Noem's 13-month tenure as Secretary, saying she had delivered "spectacular results." Advertisement Advertisement But Noem's dismissal also followed protests nationwide against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which included the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. She also faced harsh questioning by Republicans and Democrats at the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3 and the House Judiciary Committee on March 4. Here's what some lawmakers and others are saying about Noem's firing on social media. Indiana U.S. Sen. Todd Young praises Mullin U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R) on social media praised Trump's choice of selecting Mullin shortly after the announcement, saying Mullin would do "a great job" and had Young's support. Senator Mullin is a friend who has spent a lot of time working on issues related to our homeland security and has the trust and confidence of the President. He will do a great job and has my full support. Senator Todd Young (@SenToddYoung) March 5, 2026 More about Mullin: Trump says Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace Kristi Noem as DHS secretary Advertisement Advertisement Young spoke briefly about Noem's firing on Thursday's "Julie Mason Show," saying in the end it comes down to trust from the president. "He needs to have trust and faith in his cabinet secretaries and make sure they're exactly where he wants them," Young told Mason. "He either lost trust and faith or decided Secretary Noem could be a better fit elsewhere in his administration." Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to Noem: 'Don't let the door hit you...' Dont let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem. pic.twitter.com/p6SPcRztFw Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) March 5, 2026 "Hey, Kristi Noem, don't let the door hit you on the way out," said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on social media. "Here's your legacy: Corruption and chaos. Parents and children tear gassed. Moms and nurses, U.S. citizens, getting shot in the face. Now that you're gone, don't think you just get to walk away. I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable." Chuck Schumer: 'Good riddance' Kristi Noem has been fired. Good riddance. But the problems at DHS go much deeper than any one person. The President must rein in ICE and end the violence. pic.twitter.com/qiDNiQK4dp Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 5, 2026 Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on social media said, "Good riddance" to Noem's firing Thursday, calling for Trump to "rein in ICE and end the violence." Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: 'Pam Bondi is next.' Kristi Noem is gone. Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists. Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) March 5, 2026 "Kristi Noem is gone. Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists," said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D) of New York. Other social media reactions about Kristi Noem Kristi Noem has done a stunning amount of damage and its good shes gone. But this doesnt change the fact that we need a complete overhaul of DHS, impartial investigations into the killings of two American citizens, and information on children that were taken from Minnesota. Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 5, 2026 Advertisement Advertisement Let me be clear: Im glad Kristi Noem was fired. But we still have to abolish ICE. Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) March 5, 2026 What will Kristi Noem do next? While Noem is out of a job, she's not out of work. Trump said Noem would become special envoy for the The Shield of the Americas, his initiative for security against narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. Noem thanked Trump on social media and said she was looking forward to working alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in her new role. Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 5, 2026 This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Sen. Todd Young, other lawmakers react to Kristi Noem being replaced at DHS United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is leaving her post, and a Republican from Oklahoma will likely take her place. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, of Oklahoma, will replace Noem as DHS secretary, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on March 5. Trump stated that the senator would take the helm on March 31, while Noem would serve as special envoy for The Shield of the Americas a new security initiative to be announced on March 7. Advertisement Advertisement Trump called Mullin a MAGA Warrior. The senator is a one-time MMA fighter who has served in the House since 2013 and in the Senate since 2023. Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda, Trump posted to Truth Social. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Trump also pointed to Mullins membership in the Cherokee Nation, calling him a fantastic advocate of American Indian tribes. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump continued. Meanwhile, Trump said Noem has served us well, calling her results at the Mexico border spectacular. Noem thanked Trump on March 5 for appointing her to the new role at The Shield of the Americas, saying she anticipates working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren, Noem posted to X on March 5. Advertisement Advertisement The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security, Noam continued. Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 5, 2026 Noem touted DHS accomplishments during her tenure securing the border, getting 3 million illegal aliens out of the country, finding 145,000 children, and delivering FEMA relief 100% faster. She also said the agency ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would replace embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, following a week of contentious congressional hearings that intensified scrutiny of her leadership and the departments handling of immigration enforcement. Trump announced the change in post on Truth Social, saying Mullin would become Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security effective March 31. Noem, he said, would instead serve as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a role tied to a new regional security initiative his Administration plans to unveil this weekend in Florida. The decision marks one of the most high-profile personnel changes of Trumps second term so far and the first time he has removed a cabinet secretary since returning to office. It follows another prominent shake-up earlier this year when Trump replaced his National Security Adviser Mike Waltz after the controversy surrounding a Signal group chat leak of sensitive war planning discussions. Advertisement Advertisement Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, had been a central figure in carrying out the Trump Administrations aggressive immigration agenda, one of the top issues that Trump campaigned on. As head of DHS, she oversaw agencies responsible for border security, immigration enforcement and disaster response, and became the most visible public face of the Administrations sweeping deportation campaign and crackdown along the southern border. But her tenure was marked by mounting controversies that eroded support inside and outside the Administration. Over the past several months, DHS has faced intense scrutiny after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year, sparking protests and calls for investigations into the agencys tactics. Read more: How Trump's ICE Became an Agency in Crisis The turmoil has coincided with a standoff in Congress over funding for the department. Its budget authority lapsed in mid-February, forcing a partial shutdown affecting agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard, while Democrats have pressed the White House for changes to immigration enforcement practices as a condition for restoring full funding. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps frustration with Noem escalated sharply this week after she appeared before congressional committees for oversight hearings. Lawmakers from both parties questioned her about a $220 million government advertising campaign encouraging undocumented immigrants to leave the United States voluntarilya campaign that prominently featured Noem herself. At one point during questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Noem said the President had signed off on the ad campaign. The statement reportedly angered Trump, who said he had not approved the initiative. I never knew anything about it, Trump later said in an interview with Reuters. The firm that handled the ad campaign was connected to the husband of Noems former spokesperson, drawing further scrutiny. Noem defended the contract process, telling lawmakers that it had gone through a competitive process and was all done correctly, all done legally. Advertisement Advertisement During the hearings, Noem was also questioned over her relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a Trump ally who ran his 2016 campaign and works as a special adviser at DHS. Noem and Lewandowski have both publicly denied rumors of an affair. While the details of Noems appointment as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas are unclear, she wrote in a post on social media that she will work closely with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. Reflecting on her tenure running DHS, Noem added: We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again: we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard. Democrats immediately celebrated Noems ouster, but cautioned that replacing her would not resolve their deeper concerns about DHS. The party has remained largely unified in its refusal to advance the stalled annual Homeland Security funding bill without several changes to immigration enforcement tactics, including requirements for court-issued warrants before federal agents enter private property, clear identification and badge numbers for agents, limits on masks, expanded use of body cameras, new use-of-force standards, and ensuring independent investigations of shootings. Advertisement Advertisement The President has fired Kristi Noemgood riddance, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. But the problems at this agency transcend any one person. The rot is deep. The President has to end the violence and rein in ICE. Mullin, a close ally of Trump, served a decade in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate. Trump noted that he is a member of the Cherokee Nation and the only Native American currently serving in the Senate. A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda, Trump wrote in his announcement. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Before entering politics, Mullin ran a plumbing business and was a mixed martial arts fighter with a professional record of 5-0. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. Advertisement Advertisement There's a lot of work we can do to get the Department of Homeland Security working for the American people, Mullin told reporters outside the Capitol after the announcement, adding that DHS has a very broad jurisdiction. Asked what lessons hes picked up from Noems tenure, Mullin responded: She was tasked to do a very difficult job and I think she has performed the best she can do. And underneath the circumstances is theres always lessons that can be learned there's an opportunity to build off successes, and there's also opportunities to build off things that maybe didn't go quite as planned. Once formally nominated by Trump, Mullin is expected to face confirmation hearings in the Senate, where he will be grilled by Democrats over his plans to oversee the Administrations aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. At least one Senate Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has announced that they would support Mullins confirmation. Schumer was non-committal when asked if Democrats would block any DHS secretary nominee from being confirmed. I don't trust any one person being in charge of this agency, as long as Trump is President, given the policies he's espoused, he told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement If confirmed, Oklahomas Republican Governor Kevin Stitt would be responsible for appointing a temporary replacement to fill the Senate vacancy. He has vowed to appoint a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump and protect Oklahomans way of life. Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com. Washington President Trump announced Thursday that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would leave her role later this month after she's faced intense criticism that came to a crescendo this week, and he announced her replacement. "I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026," Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The Senate would need to confirm Mullin to the post. Advertisement Advertisement The president said Noem "has served us well," citing her "spectacular results" on the border. He said she will be moving to a role as special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative he said the administration will be unveiling. After the president's social media announcement, Noem went ahead with a speech in Nashville at the Major Cities Conference, taking the stage soon after the president announced she was being replaced. In a post on X, Noem later thanked the president for appointing her to the new role, while touting "historic accomplishments" made during her tenure at DHS. Criticism over spending, tactics in immigration crackdown Advertisement Advertisement But Noem has been under fire for months, especially as Democrats in Congress refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti amid the Minneapolis immigration crackdown. The president's decision earlier this year to put border czar Tom Homan, an internal rival of Noem, in charge of winding down the Minneapolis operation underscored his displeasure with her performance, two administration officials told CBS News. Since then, ICE has sought to more heavily focus on arresting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who also have criminal records, while indiscriminate and roving Border Patrol operations in major U.S. cities, once led by vocal commander Gregory Bovino, have been largely halted. The final straw appeared to come during her testimony before the Senate earlier this week, where she faced sharp criticism not only from Democrats, but also Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement In particular, GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana questioned the secretary about her decision to spend $220 million on an ad campaign aimed at reducing illegal immigration. He wanted to know "how do you square that concern for waste which I share with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?" And he pointed out that she had hired "people who had formerly done your political work back in South Dakota." Noem told Kennedy, "That's not correct," and he shot back, "I think it is." He went on to say that "It puts the president in a terribly awkward spot: It's just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, 'Mr. President, here are some ads I cut and I'm going to spend $220 million running them,' that he would have agreed to that." "The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million, running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?" Kennedy asked her. Advertisement Advertisement Noem said, "Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes did it correctly." Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, 2026. / Credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images The ad campaign has also come under scrutiny over how the contract was awarded. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat, questioned Noem during a hearing a day later about why it didn't go to competitive bidding. He noted that the media company is affiliated with a former political director of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He said it's registered to a political operative in Virginia and was incorporated eight days before the contract went out. Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona in November issued a news release calling for an investigation into the contract, noting that a large portion of the contract $143 million had been awarded to Safe America Media, which "secretly funneled a significant portion of its award to the Strategy Group, a company with very close ties to Secretary Noem and other senior DHS officials." The CEO of the company, Benjamin Yoho, is married to the former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Noem testified that she and the president had a conversation about running the advertisements before she was sworn in and have talked about it since then. But Kennedy told CBS News that the president called him after the hearing, and said of Mr. Trump and Noem that "his recollection and her recollection are different." Advertisement Advertisement "He was pissed," Kennedy said about the call her received from the president, adding, "Well, he called me the night of hearing okay about 9:30 and he was not a happy cowboy." Even within DHS, Noem was facing mounting criticism, in particular from senior administration officials, and there were growing calls for action to be taken. Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser to Noem and former Trump campaign manager, had an "acrimonious" conversation with the president Tuesday after Noem's testimony before the Senate, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation. The conversation was related to Noem's exchange about the $220 million ad campaign. The sources did not know if allegations about a personal relationship between Lewandowski and Noem, which came up during her House testimony, was part of the conversation with Trump. A source familiar later told CBS News that Lewandowski will be departing DHS with Noem. Advertisement Advertisement In January, Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois introduced articles of impeachment against Noem, accusing her of obstructing congressional oversight of immigration enforcement efforts and abusing her position for personal gain. During her testimony to Congress this week, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina heavily criticized the DHS secretary for her handling of immigration enforcement. He said "time after time" he's been disappointed with Noem's leadership, calling it a "disaster." Tillis also tore into Noem for killing her dog, Cricket, a decision she wrote about in her 2024 book. "A 14-month-old dog is basically a teenager in dog years," Tillis said. "You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training, and then you had the audacity to go into a book and say it's a leadership lesson about tough choices. It's in your book. We could play it if we had time. At that same lunch hour, you killed a goat. And you killed the goat because you said it was behaving badly. My point is, those are bad decisions, made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis." Reaction on Capitol Hill Advertisement Advertisement On Capitol Hill, soon after Mr. Trump's post, Mullin said he found out about the nomination "a little bit before you guys did." "We're excited about the opportunity," Mullin said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House will work with the Senate to confirm Mullin "as quickly as possible." Asked by reporters Thursday about the president's selection of Mullin to replace Noem, Tillis said, "I can't think of anybody I'd more proudly want to support to come in and clean up her mess." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, was quick say he's "a resounding NO." Advertisement Advertisement "The rot in DHS is deep, much deeper than any individual. It's a question of policy not personnel," Schumer posted on X. "The Senate should not consider any DHS Secretary nominee until DHS and ICE are reined in. At least one Democrat offered support. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, posted: "I'm not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague @SenMullin as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE." Noem aide Corey Lewandowski had contentious call with Trump after Senate hearing, sources say Watch: Kristi Noem speaks minutes after Trump announces he's removing her as DHS secretary Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Kroger is closing in-store walk-in healthcare clinics at locations in Indiana. The Little Clinic locations inside Kroger Co. stores are staffed with board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants offering treatments for common illnesses and injuries; vaccinations; physicals and other services. They prescribe medications and treat patients aged 1 year and up. But patients might be finding them to be more scarce. A sign announces the closure of The Little Clinic at the Speedway Kroger, 5718 Crawfordsviile Rd., Indianapolis. Which Indiana The Little Clinic shops at Kroger have closed? The Speedway location at 5718 Crawfordsville Road Kroger and the one in Carmel at 1217 S. Rangeline Road closed last week. One at 11700 Olio Road in Fishers is marked for an April 4 closure, according to an outgoing message. Advertisement Advertisement Nearby locations will remain open and virtual appointments will be available to meet your healthcare needs, the recording at Fishers said. Some of the closures appear to have come sooner than expected. A notice at the Speedway clinic had a hand-written Feb. 28 closure date taped over the original date on the professionally printed sign. After considering how to best serve our The Little Clinic LLC (TLC) patients, we have made the decision to close this clinic location effective Feb 28, 2026, the sign reads. It directs patients to the Plainfield location at 1930 E. Main. The Carmel clinic was supposed to close in April, but closed last week, an employee there said. Advertisement Advertisement As of March 5, Krogers website has all three of those Indianapolis-area locations listed among The Little Clinic spots still in operation. The closures are among those occurring company-wide. All 18 locations in Georgia are scheduled for permanent closure on April 4, The Telegraph in Macon, Georgia, reported. Shops in Ohio are slated to close later this month and at the beginning of April. Kroger has not responded to requests for information about the Indiana clinic closures or others planned. The clinic closures come as shoppers await news of which local Kroger grocery store locations will shutter altogether. In June 2025, the company said it would permanently close about 60 locations through the end of 2026, but the company has not released a list of planned closures. Advertisement Advertisement Kroger store closings: Chain continues to shutter locations. See where Where are The Little Clinic at Kroger stores? The Little Clinic started in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2003 and began operating within Kroger stores in Louisville, Kentucky, before becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. in 2010. This year started with more than 200 locations inside Kroger, Frys. Jac C, Dillons and King Soopers stores in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia and Colorado, according to clinic website. Virtual care visits are also available to patients in all of those states, as well as Virginia, the site says. The Little Clinic at Kroger locations in Indiana 1175 S. College Mall Road, Bloomington 1217 S. Rangeline Road, Carmel (closed) 3060 N. National Road, Columbus 11700 Olio Road, Fishers (closing) 970 N. Morton St., Franklin 5961 N. State Road 135, Greenwood 5718 Crawfordsville Road, Indianapolis (closed) 1330 W. Southport Road, Indianapolis 5350 E. Thompson Road, Indianapolis 1930 E. Main St., Plainfield 150 W. 161st St., Westfield Advertisement Advertisement Contact reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson or Bluesky:@cherylvjackson.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kroger closing healthcare clinics in some stores. See where in Indiana Iran has launched operations targeting Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in neighbouring Iraq as the regional war ignited by the United States and Israel entered its sixth day, with more than 1,000 people killed across the country. State television, Press TV, reported early on Thursday that Tehran was striking anti-Iran separatist forces, referring to Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups believed to be based in mountainous, hard-to-reach areas near the Iran-Iraq border. Iranian missiles hit Sulaimaniyah city in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to local reports. Advertisement Advertisement We targeted the headquarters of Kurdish groups opposed to the revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles, Irans official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday, quoting a military statement. The Iranian military said earlier on Tuesday it used 30 drones on Kurdish positions. The attack comes just days after multiple publications reported that US President Donald Trump was in active talks with Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups, and that Washington hopes to use them to spur a popular uprising. Various Iranian Kurdish groups, which share close ties with Iraqi Kurds, have long opposed Tehran from their bases in northern Iraq and along the Iraq-Iran border. These groups reportedly have thousands of fighters between them. Heres what we know so far: People gather near debris from a drone that fell onto a building near Erbil airport, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the Ankawa district of Erbil, Iraq, on March 4, 2026 [Khalid al-Mousily/Reuters] Why are Kurdish groups cooperating with the US? US officials said the aim is to stretch Iranian forces and take out the remains of the military-dominated Iranian government, according to reporting by CNN. Advertisement Advertisement There is also speculation that the groups could be supported to take control of northern Iran to create a ground buffer for Israeli forces, possibly streaming in from Iraq. US-Israeli bombings have heavily targeted areas along the Iraq-Iran border since the start of the war on Saturday, possibly to degrade Iranian defences and allow Kurdish opposition groups to cross fully into Iran, according to a briefing by US-based think tank, the Soufan Center. The US has not ruled out sending ground forces, although analysts told Al Jazeera Irans rugged territory would make that very difficult. If the US does support these groups against Tehran, it would mean that Washington is treating them like armed players on a board, Winthrop Rodgers, associate fellow at the UK think tank, Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. (Al Jazeera) Which Kurdish groups are there? Neither the US nor Kurdish groups had confirmed any agreements by Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement However, it is known that Trump has spoken to the leaders of two Kurdish groups in Iraq: Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), according to US publication, Axios. Talabani confirmed the call on Wednesday. Trump also spoke to Mustafa Hijri, head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), on Tuesday, CNN reported, quoting a Kurdish official. Meanwhile, Iranian Kurdish rebel groups, which have thousands of fighters along the Iraq-Iran border, formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan (CPFIK) alliance one week before the war broke out. The group issued statements at the start of the conflict, signalling imminent intervention and urging Iranian military members to defect. According to Israels I24News, thousands of its fighters were in Iran by Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Here are the different groups: Kurdistan Democratic Party: The ruling party in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The party controls the capital city of Erbil as well as Duhok. It has historical ties with Iranian Kurdish groups. However, the KRG is not eager to be seen as supporting attacks on Iran, even as Iranian drones have hit US assets in Erbil. On Wednesday, Kurdistan region President Nechirvan Barzani spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and told him his region will not be part of conflicts targeting Tehran. In 2023, the two countries signed a security deal that saw Iraq promise to disarm and relocate Iranian opposition groups on its territory, although it appears many groups are still based there, reflecting the limited influence the government wields over them. Advertisement Advertisement Iraqi Kurds, who have close ties with both the US and Iran, are in a difficult position, said Rodgers. They are under tremendous pressure from a wide range of forces, including (pro-Iran) Iraqi militias. They will try to stay out of the conflict as much as they can, but that will likely prove impossible, he said. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK): The PUK is the official opposition in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and also nationally relevant as Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid is a member. In a statement on Sunday, Rashid urged dialogue and an end to the war. Iraq declared three days of mourning following the killing of Irans Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on Saturday. Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan (CPFIK): Formed on February 22, 2026, the group includes six Iranian Kurdish opposition groups seeking an independent state. Advertisement Advertisement Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) Based in the Kurdistan region, the group has about 1,200 members and is proscribed as a terror group by Iran. Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) Also based in Kurdistan, it has an estimated 1,000 members. Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) A close ally of the Turkish opposition armed group, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), PJAK is proscribed as a terror group by Ankara. PJAKs armed wing, the Eastern Kurdistan Units (YRK), is believed to have between 1,000 and 3,000 members, many of them women. It is based in the rugged Qandil Mountains near the Iran-Iraq border and in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region. It has launched numerous attacks on Iranian forces in the past decade. A recent Iranian strike reportedly killed one fighter. Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat) It has an unknown number of fighters. Advertisement Advertisement Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan Based in Iraqs KRG, it has an unknown number of fighters. Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KPIK) Also headquartered in the Kurdistan region, it has an estimated 1,000 fighters in 2017. A fighter from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) carries a rifle and gestures while standing on rocky terrain, at a training session at a base near Erbil, Iraq, on February 12, 2026 [File: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters] What is the history of US involvement with Kurdish resistance groups in the Middle East? Kurds are an ethnic minority spread across the Middle East with a shared language and culture. They do not have a state of their own and have historically been marginalised across countries mainly Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkiye. For decades, several armed Kurdish groups have sought self-governance in Turkiye, Syria and Iran. In Iraq, Kurdish nationalist groups gained some success during the 1991 Gulf War by working with the US, which helped establish the self-governing Kurdistan region of Iraq. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also trained and armed its army, known as the Peshmerga, after the US invaded Iraq in 2003. In 2005, the semiautonomous region was officially recognised in Iraqs constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Since 2017, Washington has also armed and trained the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkiye lists as a terror group because of its links with the proscribed PKK. The group, which successfully resisted ISIL (ISIS), now forms the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). It controlled Raqqa and other ISIL strongholds. However, when it began military clashes with Syrian forces under the President Ahmed al-Sharaa-led government last August, Washington turned away from the group and backed Damascus instead. In January this year, the SDF signed an agreement with the Syrian government to integrate into the government forces. In return, the Syrian government recognised Kurdish rights. In Turkiye, meanwhile, the PKK, whose presence in northern Iraq has long been a source of tension with Ankara, declared a ceasefire in March 2025, after a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, to disarm. How does Kurdish resistance in Iran compare with others? Iranian Kurds opposed the Iranian government even before the formation of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Rodgers said, and Tehrans current weakness provides an opportunity for them to advance their political aims in the country. Advertisement Advertisement However, the new coalition of multiple diverse groups is unprecedented, the analyst added, and their internal dynamics will be a key decisive factor in what role Kurdish groups will play in this war. Support from the US is helpful, especially in terms of targeting security forces infrastructure with air strikes, but they will likely be cautious about relying too much on Washington, especially from an administration as capricious and disorganised as Trumps, Rodgers said, noting how Washington abandoned the Kurds in Syria. Unlike the split Iranian movements, Iraqi Kurds have long united to form a devolved government enshrined in the Iraqi constitution, built an advanced economy, and secured substantive relations with a wide range of foreign countries. Thats something Kurdish groups will also be hoping to establish in a democratic Iran, he said. I think it is unlikely that the Trump administration has made any commitments to the Iranian Kurds about supporting their political goals, Rodgers said, adding that the USs plan does not look fully thought through at all. As Iran faces US and Israeli strikes, Iraqs Kurdistan Region fears being pulled into the conflict amid drone attacks, militia activity, and growing concerns about regional escalation. In the five days since the US and Israel began airstrikes on Iran, the Iranian regime has lashed out at many countries. One of the places being hit hardest is the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq. This area is a successful region that is run by a Kurdish government. For decades, the Kurdistan government has sought to navigate the complexities of the region, balancing ties with Baghdad with its important role as a crossroads of the region. It sits on the border ofIran and Turkey, two powerful countries. Today, the Kurdish leaders in Erbil are worried that they could be dragged into conflict in Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Their fears have already been realized.Iranian drones and missiles have struck in the Kurdistan region. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are also carrying out attacks. The attacks have targeted US forces in the Kurdistan region, as well as Kurdish Iranian opposition groups. These groups have bases in northern Iraq, and they have a community of Kurds who have fled Iran over the years. Iranian drones have targeted not only these opposition groups, but also the housing where Kurdish Iranian women and refugees live. In Erbil, the sound of drone attacks is frequent. Many drones have targeted Erbil International Airport. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on Thursday that the Region will not engage in any conflict or military escalation. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) members pose for the camera as they celebrate Nowruz at the Jezhnikan Village around Baharka, Iraq, on March 18, 2025. (credit: YOUNES MOHAMMAD/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) Rudaw media in Erbil noted that he said the conflict risks the security and lives of its people, as he marked the 35th anniversary of Kurdistans 1991 uprising. The 1991 uprising was transformational for Kurds. Saddams regime had carried out a genocide against Kurds. Advertisement Advertisement In 1991, Saddam was defeated by the US-led coalition that liberated Kuwait. Kurds rose up to fight Saddams regime. They were able to create the Kurdistan autonomous region. The US helped with a no-fly zone. Many Kurds from Iraq had been forced to flee to Iran and Turkey. Now they could return. Kurds fear repeat of past betrayals amid Iran conflict Now Kurds face a new crisis. The conflict in Iran, some think, has parallels to the 1991 war. However, Kurds are wary of being dragged into the war, only to see the international community abandon them as happened in the past. They have seen Kurdish gains lost in the last decade in Iraq and Syria. They have seen Kurds also subjected to war in Turkey during a PKK uprising in 2015. In 2017, Iraq attacked the Kurds in Kirkuk. We reaffirm that the Kurdistan Region will consistently serve as a cornerstone of peace and will not engage in any conflict or military escalation that jeopardizes the lives and security of our people, President Barzani said, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Rudaw noted that his remarks come as the Kurdistan Region has found itself caught in the crossfire of the conflict between the US-Israeli coalition and Iran since Saturday. On March 4, many media falsely reported that Kurds had launched an offensive in Iran. Now there are concerns Iran will respond even more strongly, attacking Kurds in Iran and also the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Hemn Hawrami, a member of the Regions ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo, rejected reports in a Thursday post on X claiming that the Kurdistan Region or Kurds in Iraq were being a part of a plan to arm & support the Iranian Kurdish opposition to cross the borders into Iran, Rudaw noted. We are not a part of this war & our goal is to preserve, maintain peace and security of our region & beyond, he said. Meanwhile, Nechirvan Barzani said that safeguarding the status of the Kurdistan Region and our constitutional achievements can only be realized through unity, solidarity, and a collective national responsibility among all political parties, and communities in Kurdistan. Advertisement Advertisement Rudaw noted that President Nechirvan Barzanis statement came as he commemorated the 35th anniversary of Kurdistans 1991 uprising against the former Iraqi regime. The revolt, which spread across Kurdish towns and cities, resulted in the expulsion of the Iraqi army from most of those areas, creating the conditions for the establishment of a Kurdish parliament in 1992. Meanwhile, Rudaw also said that Kurds continue to try to live life as normally as possible. In Erbil, the nightlife continues, for instance. Oil exports are also continuing via Turkey in a limited manner. This is a challenge because it appears Iran may also be targeting oil and energy exports and energy facilities. The Kurdistan region shut down some production at the Khor Mor gas field and other facilities when the conflict began. This has strained the electricity grid. Reports at Rudaw also say Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Wednesday held a phone call to discuss escalating regional tensions following recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with both sides emphasizing border security and the need to prevent further instability. Nechirvan is knowledgeable about Iran, having lived there and studied at the University of Tehran. He is considered one of the Kurdish leaders who has good relations with both Ankara and Tehran and can navigate the complexities of the region. There is a burning desire among the Kurdish people to unite with the West and Israel to topple the regime in Tehran, yet there is deep pragmatic hesitation among the leadership. As the grip of the Iranian regime faces unprecedented challenges, the question is circulating through the Middle East, and the intelligence agencies is: Will the Kurds open a new front against the Ayatollahs? There is a burning desire among the Kurdish people to unite with the West and Israel to topple the regime in Tehran, yet there is deep pragmatic hesitation among the leadership of the Kurds who fear being abandoned by Washington once again. Advertisement Advertisement In recent days, hundreds of Iranian Kurds fighters returned to the country, suggesting that the Kurdish population in Iran are primed for an uprising. A senior Kurdish official told the Post that this uprising perhaps can come as soon as "next week," provided they receive the right support. "Without America, without Israel, we cannot be successful," the official admitted. He stressed that the requirement is not just military hardware, but "political cover," specifically suggesting a "No-Fly Zone" over Iranian Kurdistan similar to the one established over northern Iraq in the 1990s. This, he argued, would allow the Kurdish opposition to take control of their territory from the regime. "We need the Kurdish minorities to be united under one country which is called Kurdistan," the official dreamed, predicting such a state would be "the main ally with Israel and America." A Kurdish internal security forces member stands guard with a weapon as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with the people in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo, in Hasakah, Syria January 7, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/Orhan Qereman) "It will require more time" Bashar Aziz, a Kurdish journalist and lawyer, offered a different view of the situation. Advertisement Advertisement "The leadership of the Kurdistan Region goal is to maintain good relations with Iran," Aziz explained. "All efforts are focused on keeping the Kurdistan Region out of this struggle." While Aziz acknowledged that the Kurds are currently suffering under direct missile and drone attacks from Tehranlaunched under the "pretext" of targeting US and Israeli presencehe insisted that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) priority is stability. The region is "boiling," Aziz noted, but the government is determined to protect its economic lifelines and trade relations. Regarding the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups (forces from Eastern Kurdistan), Aziz confirmed they have formed an alliance and are preparing for the "next phase." However, unlike the senior officials prediction of an imminent offensive, Aziz believes the question of an attack in Iran depends entirely on a mass popular uprising within the country. "Given that the Iranian government is currently cracking down harshly on internal dissent the return of Iranian Kurdish forces remains difficult and will require more time," Aziz analyzed. Advertisement Advertisement But the past serves as a lesson for the Kurds, when both of those we spoke with site the recent events in Syria as a cautionary tale. The senior official expressed bitterness over the US handling of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), asking why Americans failed to protect allies who helped destroy ISIS, only to allow Islamist figures like Ahmed al-Sharaa, former Al Qaeda terrorist, and now the Syrian president, to encroach on their rights. "This makes the people of the Kurds a little bit aware: are the Americans supporting Islamic terrorists instead of their allies?" Aziz echoed this sentiment, warning against the Kurds being used merely as a proxy force. "We saw in Syria how, after more than a decade of fighting against ISIS, the US turned its back on the Kurds," Aziz said. "Kurds must be given concrete promises and formal agreements, rather than merely being used as a fighting force by the international community." The picture that emerges is one of a nation in waiting. There is profound sympathy for Israel and a willingness to fight for a different Middle Eastone where a secular, pro-Western Kurdistan acts as a bulwark against radical Islamism. Advertisement Advertisement "We have a Jewish community in Kurdistan," the senior official noted, highlighting the lack of distinction made between ethnic groups in Kurdish society. "We don't care about the political [correctness] - we look for our rights." The official emphasized that unlike the hostility faced from neighbors in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, the Kurds have never suffered at the hands of Israelis or Americans. "The Israelis didn't do anything bad to us," the official said, noting that historically, Israel provided advice and weaponry that helped the Peshmerga survive the onslaught of the Iraqi army in the 1960s and later. "Kurds and Israel are hated by Muslim countries and Arab countries," the official stated, outlining a grim geopolitical reality. "It means we have shared enemies and shared principles. We like diversity, you like diversity. We like human rights, you like human rights." Labour MP Joani Reid has stepped down from the party after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. In a statement, Reid said she was "voluntarily suspending herself" from the Labour Party while an internal investigation was carried out. Taylor, a businessman and former Labour adviser, was one of three men arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement The East Kilbride and Strathaven MP said she was not personally under investigation by police and had done nothing wrong, but said she would "not sit as a Labour MP" until the probe was concluded. The Labour Party described the allegations against Taylor as "incredibly serious". They added that Reid was "co-operating fully" with the investigation. It is understood that both Reid and Taylor have been administratively suspended by the Labour Party. Advertisement Advertisement Reid said she had taken the decision to temporarily stand down to avoid becoming a "distraction" for the government. She also said it was to protect her children from "intrusion". "This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family," Reid said in a statement. "I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong. "I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and co-operate with any questions and worries the party may have." Advertisement Advertisement Taylor was arrested in London and has since been released on bail. Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68, have also been bailed after being arrested in Wales. Counter-terrorism police have searched properties where the men were arrested as well as others in Cardiff, East Kilbride and London. Joani Reid's grandfather Jimmy Reid was a famed trade unionist [Getty Images] Following Taylor's arrest, Reid, elected to the East Kilbride and Strathaven seat in 2024, said she had never been to China, nor spoken on any China-related matters in the House of Commons. Taylor, a former advisor to Welsh Labour politicians, ran as the party's candidate to become North Wales police and crime commissioner. Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, The Herald newspaper reported Reid's consultancy company, Reid Strategy Limited, had received more than 23,000 in interest-free loans from two of Taylor's businesses. Taylor, meanwhile, was paid more than 600,000 by a now-wound up construction firm, Moblake, in the form of an interest-free loan with no repayment terms and paid a further 300,000 in dividends and 30,000 in an interest-free loan by PR and communications consultancy Earthcott since 2021. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either spouse in relation to these transactions reported to Companies House. Reid was born in Glasgow and is the granddaughter of famed trade unionist and journalist Jimmy Reid. Advertisement Advertisement She has spent most of her career in London but moved to East Kilbride in 2022. The other men arrested have both spent time as political advisers. Jones is a former Welsh government special adviser and Aplin was previous a Labour press officer. All three have been bailed to a date in May and inquiries remain ongoing. The Land Trust of North Alabama has closed on the purchase of 65 acres on Green Mountain in Huntsville, permanently protecting the property from development. The organization said the purchase marked a significant milestone in its long-term River to Gap initiative. The Land Trust said the acquisition was made possible through through extraordinary community support. The land connects Blevins Gap Nature Preserve to other conserved lands on Green Mountain, strengthening wildlife habitat, safeguarding water resources, and preserving the scenic viewshed along Green Mountain Road for generations to come, the Land Trust said. Advertisement Advertisement Located off Green Mountain Road just north of Camelot Drive, the 65-acre tract has been a conservation priority for more than two decades. The property consists of upland hardwood forest that supports diverse flora and fauna and serves as a vital recreation and habitat corridor along the western slope of Green Mountain. By linking two existing Land Trust parcels, the newly protected acreage strengthens ecological connectivity and advances the broader vision of a continuous conservation corridor stretching from the Tennessee River to Blevins Gap. The Land Trust reached out to the community last year with an ambitious goal: raise $300,000 to secure the 65-acre tract. The full amount was raised, allowing the purchase to move forward. This acquisition represents the very heart of our River to Gap vision, said Marie Bostick, executive director of the Land Trust of North Alabama. For more than 20 years, we have worked strategically to protect Green Mountains ecological integrity and connect conserved lands across this landscape. Because our community believed in that vision and came together to raise $300,000, this irreplaceable 65-acre tract will now be protected forever. We are deeply grateful to every donor and supporter who made this milestone possible. Advertisement Advertisement The River to Gap initiative is a long-term conservation effort designed to establish a continuous green corridor from the Tennessee River to Blevins Gap, protecting habitat, improving trail connectivity, and preserving the natural character of south Huntsville. Green Mountain has been the site of the development of multiple subdivisions over the past few years. One local developer has been denied building permits after cutting down trees that violated city regulations on the mountain which is now the subject of cases in Madison County circuit court. For more information about the River to Gap initiative or to support future conservation efforts, visit landtrustnal.org/rivertogap. Stories by Scott Turner Read the original article on al.com. Add al.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Management attributed lower-than-expected 2025 revenue to specific contract delays, but emphasized that 2025 served as a foundational year for technical milestones. The company is transitioning to a 'storefront' business model, leveraging its own discrete FPGA products and chiplets to capture higher-value opportunities beyond pure IP licensing. QuickLogic has positioned itself as the sole source for U.S.-fabricated FPGAs meeting full-spectrum radiation hardness (SRH) requirements via the GlobalFoundries 12LP process. Architectural enhancements developed in 2025 have improved Power, Performance, and Area (PPA), allowing the company to address lucrative high-density eFPGA markets. Performance in the defense sector is expanding from government-funded R&D into commercial-style 'storefront' sales of discrete SRH devices and evaluation kits. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man recently released from Southern Nevada Detention Center on a separate case was sentenced on Thursday to prison for unlawfully possessing a pistol. Ricardo Heriberto Miranda was sentenced on Thursday to 42 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to court documents and court statements cited in a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Nevada. According to court documents, on December 17, 2021, Miranda, also known as Pee-Wee, was released from the Southern Nevada Detention Center to begin a new term of supervised release in a separate case. He did not report to the United States Probation Office. Advertisement Advertisement On December 29, 2023, Miranda and another person were in a stolen car that collided at a high speed with two parked vehicles. After the collision, Miranda placed a loaded 9x19mm semiautomatic pistol in his pocket and walked to a nearby residence. He then placed the pistol inside a wheel well of a pickup truck parked at the residence. Miranda and the other person left the scene of the collision. The pistol had been stolen from a licensed firearms dealer in Las Vegas, the news release said. Miranda has prior felony convictions for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute a controlled substance in the District of Wyoming, and attempt possession of a stolen vehicle in Clark County, Nevada, according to the release. Miranda pleaded guilty to one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration and achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The Brief The Pentagon released the final two identities of the six U.S. soldiers who were killed during an attack in Kuwait. The soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, and Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa. The four other soldiers who were killed in the attack were identified on Tuesday. The Pentagon on Wednesday released the identities of the last two names of the six U.S. soldiers who were killed during an attack in Kuwait. Advertisement Advertisement They died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. The four other soldier identities were previously released by the Pentagon on Tuesday. Final 2 IDs of soldiers killed in Kuwait released Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa. (Army Reserve Command Press Desk) Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, a resident of Waukee, Iowa, was commissioned into the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012. He deployed to Kuwait in 2019. OBriens awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" Device. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Cal.(Army Reserve Command Press Desk) Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento The Pentagon said Marzan was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and is "believed to be the individual who perished at the scene," according to the statement. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said. Advertisement Advertisement The other soldiers identified Tuesday by the Pentagon were: Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa,; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. FILE - The U.S. Army released images of four service members lost in Kuwait over the weekend. (U.S. Army Reserve Command Press Desk) 6 American service members killed As of Tuesday, the US military has said that six American service members have died overseas in the Iran operations. Three of the deaths were announced Sunday, and the other three were announced Monday. Central Command has mentioned at least five other troops being seriously wounded in the attacks. What they're saying "It with deep sadness and unyielding grief that we acknowledge and recognize our Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Our Soldiers relentlessly, consistently, and fearlessly served with sincere dedication and pride," said Brig. Gen. Clint A. Barnes, Deputy Commanding General, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Operational Command Post. "They were the ultimate ambassadors for freedom. They represent the best of what our country stands for. May God grant their families peace and comfort in their memories. We will never forget them." US and Israel attack Iran The backstory On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran, and Trump said the U.S. was starting major combat operations against Iran. Advertisement Advertisement The strikes killed the countrys leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , and several other high ranking officials, throwing its leadership into question and raising the risk of regional instability. RELATED: World leaders react to 'Operation Epic Fury' US - Israel military strikes across Iran Dig deeper Trump said there were four objectives for the continuing operations: Destroy Irans missile capabilities Wipe out its naval capacity Stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon "Ensure that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders." Advertisement Advertisement This is the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program. He said he expected the operations to last for 4 to 5 weeks. The Source Information for this article as taken from reporting by The Associated Press and the U.S. Army Reserve Command Press Desk. This story was reported from San Jose. What started as a small little bill by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, to cap prejudgement interest in medical malpractice lawsuits on Wednesday evolved into a proposed doubling of payment caps for plaintiffs of successful lawsuits. Virginias House of Delegates went into recess the afternoon of March 4 to hold a special meeting of its Courts of Justice Committee. There, a substitute rewrite of Senate Bill 536 was deliberated and then advanced by a vote of 18 to 4. Current Virginia law already outlines caps for payments to plaintiffs in successful medical malpractice lawsuits, citing a maximum payment amount of $3 million, with a yearly incremental increase until 2031. Advertisement Advertisement The new version of Obenshains bill would change the law to allow for a $6 million cap beginning next year. The bill also extends the statute of limitations for when a plaintiff can bring a case against a provider. Health systems pushed back against the measure, arguing that doubling the cap could strain hospitals with higher malpractice insurance premiums for their physicians. Rural hospitals also expressed concern, as they often operate in underserved areas and work within tight fiscal margins. Rufus Phillips, CEO of the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, also opposed the bill. Phillips also expressed concern that the proposed change could affect Virginias Division of Risk Management, which also provides coverage for the network of volunteers free clinics rely on. That is the life blood of the free clinic model throughout the state, and it is fair to say that clinics would cease to exist, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advocating for the patient experience, Charlottesville-based attorney Les Bowers spoke in support of the bill. He said that hes taken on medical malpractice cases in the reddest and bluest parts of Virginia and North Carolina. A common thread, he relayed, is that people think a cap is a good idea until they personally experience one. He added that some clients are injured so badly the cap does not provide redress and described the tragedy of representing clients after botched medical care. Del. Jason Ballard, R-Giles, who voted to advance the bill, first noted his struggle to figure out what to do. Advertisement Advertisement On one hand, I have concern for small rural hospitals that may struggle, but the other side of the equation is protecting the patient from medical negligence, he said minutes before the bill reported out of the committee. Ballard was among a few Republicans to join his Democratic colleagues in advancing the bill, while Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, voted against it. In two short weeks to go from a bill that had to do with prejudgement interest to a bill that does raise the cap and include a complete change on the statute of limitations to me is just too much whiplash, he said, and suggested the bill could have more time for development next year. Obenshain responded that he was surprised to have drastically altered his bill so fast, but said he believes it can provide some certainty for the long run. Advertisement Advertisement When I brought this bill, it was a simple little bill, he said. But Ive also learned to go with the flow. If theres progress in trying to work something out, I want to take advantage of that momentum. Having now been amended and reported out from the Courts of Justice Committee, the bill will continue to advance through or fail in the House of Delegates. Now that the midpoint of the session has passed, each bill that has cleared their chamber of origin must now clear the opposite one for a chance to get to the governors desk. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. In addition to striking Tehran, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran spirals, U.S. Senate Republicans rejected a war powers measure demanding congressional approval before further attacks. A twin House bill faces the same long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, and Trump would almost certainly veto it anyway. The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 50 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The United Nations says 100,000 people fled the Iranian capital in the wars first two days alone. Advertisement Advertisement U.S. stocks rebounded after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the American economy. Here is the latest: Saudi Arabia destroys drone The Saudi Defense Ministry said it destroyed a drone in the kingdoms al-Jawf province, which borders Jordan. Israeli strike targets Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanons north, killing 2 The Israeli military struck a building in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli, killing two people, Lebanons Health Ministry said. The strike, which hit the area without prior warning and marked the northernmost strike so far, wounded another individual, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strike. Advertisement Advertisement Located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Beirut and more than 180 kilometers (112 miles) from the LebaneseIsraeli border, Beddawi was targeted during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024, the Israeli military said in July it struck a Hamas figure in the camp. Israeli strike kills 3 in southern Lebanon An overnight Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on a coastal highway in southern Lebanon, killing three people, Lebanons state news agency said. The highway connects the city of Tyre to Naqoura, a border town near Israel. On Wednesday, the Israeli military warned residents to move north of the Litani River, which serves as a key buffer line with villages south of it lying closest to the Israeli border. Advertisement Advertisement The number of people killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in the four days since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah reignited has risen to more than 70, with over 430 people wounded, Lebanons Health Ministry said Wednesday. It is not clear how many of those killed in Lebanon were civilians, but the Health Ministry said Tuesday that they included seven children. Officials with Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group were also killed. New attacks target Israel and U.S. bases, Iranian state TV says Iranian state television said there was a new wave of attacks Thursday morning targeting Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. Sirens sound in Jerusalem, booms heard Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and loud booms were heard. Israel says Iran launched third overnight missile salvo For the third time in the early hours of Thursday, Israels military said Iran had launched missiles at the country and its defense systems were working to intercept them. Advertisement Advertisement No casualties were reported in the first two incidents. South Korean president activates $68.5 billion emergency financial package South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called on officials to activate an emergency financial package worth 100 trillion won ($68.5 billion) aimed at calming market volatility. Lees comments came a day after the countrys benchmark stock index, the Kospi, recorded its biggest single-day drop since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, as concerns grew over how the spiraling conflict in the Middle East would affect the countrys economy, which is heavily dependent on trade and imported fuel. Stocks rebounded Thursday as investors sought bargains, triggering temporary trading halts. Advertisement Advertisement During a Cabinet meeting, Lee also instructed officials to use all possible transport means, including military aircraft and chartered flights, to speed up the evacuation of South Korean nationals in war-affected areas of the Middle East. South Korean officials have so far evacuated 24 citizens from Iran to Turkmenistan, and 62 from Israel to Egypt by bus. Before the evacuations, officials said about 60 South Korean nationals were in Iran and about 600 in Israel. Pentagon releases remaining two names of soldiers killed in Kuwait attack The Pentagon on Wednesday night released the last two names of the six U.S. soldiers killed in a Kuwait attack. The soldiers identified were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento and Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa. Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon said Marzan was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene, according to a statement. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon listed OBriens home address as Indianola but his listed address is in Waukee. Both are suburbs of Des Moines. Four soldiers were previously identified by the Pentagon on Tuesday. They died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces. New Zealand to deploy military planes to evacuate its citizens from Middle East New Zealands government will deploy two military planes to the Middle East so that New Zealanders can be evacuated when conditions permit, officials said Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defense Minister Judith Collins said in a statement that the government was also speaking to commercial airlines, including to discuss charter flight options. Commercial services from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, are not currently operating. There are about 3,000 New Zealanders known to be living in the Middle East, officials said. We cannot be sure when and how any civilian evacuation operations might be possible, but we want to be ready if and when conditions on the ground make them possible, Peters said. US begins charter flights for stranded American citizens wanting to leave the Middle East The State Department says that charter flights for American citizens stranded in the Middle East since the start of military operations against Iran have begun. Advertisement Advertisement The department said Wednesday that one plane has left the Middle East to bring Americans home. It did not say where the flight originated from or where it was going, although the department has said it is arranging charter aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. It has said Americans wanting to leave those countries should register online at mytravel.state.gov/s/crisis-intake or contact the State Departments 24/7 Task Force at +1-202-501-4444. New attack reported off coast of Kuwait A new attack early Thursday off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, said the attack happened off the coast of Kuwait in the northern Persian Gulf. Advertisement Advertisement An explosion rocked the area, the UKMTO said, adding that a tanker apparently came under attack and a small vessel left the area afterward. The UKMTO did not offer a cause, but Iran has used limpet mines in the past attached to ships to attack them. So far, attacks have happened in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. Qatar evacuates residents near U.S. embassy as precaution Qatars Interior Ministry said Thursday that authorities were evacuating residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution. No further details or threats were immediately reported. Since the start of the U.S.Israel war with Iran, American diplomatic missions across the Middle East have faced heightened threats, closures and evacuations as Iranian missiles and drones have targeted or prompted alerts at U.S. embassies and consulates. Israeli military says it launched strikes on Beiruts southern suburbs The Israeli military says it has launched at least two strikes on Beiruts southern suburbs after issuing an evacuation warning for a building in the Haret Hreik area. No casualties were immediately reported. Senate Republicans reject war powers resolution Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt the Trump administrations war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against. The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region. Israeli strikes on a Beirut highway kill 3 Two near-simultaneous drone strikes hit vehicles traveling in opposite directions along Beiruts coastal Airport Road on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding six, Lebanons health ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member. The cars burst into flames, with video from the scene showing one wounded man lying on the pavement as bystanders gathered nearby. Lebanese officials say more than 70 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the latest escalation with Hezbollah began three days ago. Those include at least one Hezbollah intelligence official and a senior Palestinian militant. GOPs Massie says Congress should be forced to vote on Iran war If Congress wants war, then the speaker should hold a vote to declare it, said Rep. Thomas Massie, an outlier in the Republican Party. He joined with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to push forward a war powers resolution in the House that would halt Trumps ability to wage war on Iran without approval from Congress. Khanna during a floor speech called it a profoundly moral vote. GOP lawmakers maintain that Trump is well with his authority to send the U.S. military into combat. Israel to ease some public restrictions starting Thursday Israels Home Front Command said workplaces may reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed if there is nearby shelter starting Thursday at noon, although schools will remain closed. The nationwide shutdown, imposed when the war began Saturday, is being loosened as the Israeli military says incoming missile fire has dropped in recent days. However, Israelis are still spending a lot of time in shelters, acknowledged Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a military spokesperson. At a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Dan Caine, said that the number of ballistic missiles fired off by Iran is down by 86% from the first day of the war, and that theres been a 23% drop in the last 24 hours. Rubio assures Turkey of US support after Iranian missile incident U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkeys territory are unacceptable and pledged full U.S. support after an Iranian missile headed toward the country was shot down, the State Department said Wednesday. Civilians in northern Iraq feel caught in the crossfire Ibrahim Jawdat woke around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday when a drone exploded beside his familys home in Irbil, shattering windows and spraying glass across his bed. Neighbor Hawkar Hadis house was also damaged, with broken windows and shrapnel lodged in walls and furniture. Its difficult to be a victim of a war that were not part of, he said. Were paying the cost of things we didnt do. Iran and allied Iraqi militias have fired missiles and drones at U.S. bases and the U.S. consulate in Irbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Most have been intercepted, though some have fallen in residential areas. There have been more than 100 attacks on Irbil since the war began, Gov. Omed Khoshnaw told reporters Wednesday, and he urged Baghdad to compensate residents for damage. South Africa advises citizens to leave the Middle East as more heavy attacks expected More than 6,400 South Africans have registered on a system opened for citizens to advise the government of their location, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The ministry said it was urging its citizens to depart on the limited number of commercial flights that have resumed. UN says Israel and Hezbollah are violating Lebanons ceasefire United Nations peacekeepers said Wednesday they observed rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel and Israeli military activity and airstrikes near several villages. Both sides are in violation of a 2006 U.N. Security Council ceasefire, according to the peacekeeping force, while Israel is also breaching Lebanons sovereignty. The 7,500-strong force said it remains on the ground in southern Lebanon. Israeli air force hits missile launchers in Iran Israels military said Wednesday that its air force had destroyed Iranian ballistic missile sites in the west and central parts of the country, hitting the infrastructure being used to launch projectiles toward Israeli territory. Irans barrages of ballistic missiles toward Israel have slowed and been mostly intercepted, however some have gotten through Israels defenses, causing damage and killing around a dozen people. Some experts say Iran may be holding its weapons in reserve to prolong the conflict. Trump says he gives the US a 15/10 grade for Iran war The president opened his remarks at an unrelated White House event on artificial intelligence that the U.S. is doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly. Trump said someone asked him to rate on a scale of 10 how well he thought the U.S. was doing and said, about a 15. Arab League tells Iran to halt attacks on Gulf nations The ongoing strikes deepen an unprecedented state of hostility with Iran's neighbors in the Gulf, said Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit in a statement Wednesday. He demanded Tehran stop the attacks, which he called a strategic mistake, saying Iran must come to its senses. The Arab League, made up of 22 member states, promotes regional cooperation. However, it is widely seen as toothless and has long struggled to help solve conflicts. Hezbollah leader vows to keep fighting Israel In his first public address since joining the war, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said the Lebanese militant group rejects the governments plan to disarm its fighters. As long as the (Israeli) occupation is present, then the resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right, Kassem said. Lebanons leaders say Hezbollahs rocket fire into Israel is illegal and urged the Lebanese army to crack down on groups possessing weapons outside state control. Lebanons cash-strapped military, backed by the U.S. and other governments, has been deploying in recent months across southern Lebanon where Hezbollah has a strong military presence. However, its unclear if the army is able or willing to disarm Hezbollah by directly confronting them. UN says 100,000 people fled Tehran in the wars first 2 days The U.N. refugee agency, basing its estimates on Iranian officials, also said around 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles per day were reported leaving the capital, mostly toward the north. Geneva-based UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said the latest reports on Wednesday indicated no increase in cross-border movements linked to the recent conflict but the situation remains fluid. Spains government denies cooperating with US operations in Mideast, contradicting the White House Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Wednesday denied that the government had changed its position on supporting the U.S. military operations against Iran, contradicting a White House spokesperson. I can refute (the White House spokesperson), Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota. Albares spoke in Madrid shortly after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that Spain had changed its position and theyve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. First Israeli combat casualties of the war are reported as 2 soldiers wounded in Lebanon The Israeli military said the two were wounded Wednesday by anti-tank fire while operating in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah says its fighters attacked Israeli troops advancing toward the village of Khiyam and released video showing a missile striking a tank. Israel said Tuesday its forces were moving deeper into Lebanon to establish forward defensive positions to protect northern Israel. White House defends evacuation plans for Americans The presidents top spokeswoman pushed back against criticisms that the administration didnt do enough to ensure Americans could leave the Middle East following the U.S. war in Iran. Leavitt insisted that there have been plans in place and that the State Department has been clear to those in the region to leave immediately. We will help every single American who wants to come home if theyre making that request of the State Department, she said. Leavitt also said a State Department hotline that told callers not to rely on help from the U.S. government to leave the region has been corrected. White House says Trump thinks the US public supports war with Iran Asked if Trump thinks that Americans support the Israel-U.S. war in Iran even though Trump hasnt given a national address to personally make the case Leavitt said, I think he does. This was a rogue terrorist regime that has been threatening the United States, our allies and our people for 47 years, she said. And the American people are smart enough to know that, and theyre smart enough to listen to the president himself not just over the past year, in the second term, but during his first term as president. Recent polling shows that, prior to the U.S.-Israel strikes that started last weekend, 61% of Americans said Iran was an enemy of the U.S., but only about 3 in 10 Americans said they had a great deal or quite a bit of trust in Trump. White House claims that Spain has agreed to cooperate with US operations in Mideast The White House on Wednesday said Spain has agreed to cooperate with U.S. operations in the Mideast after Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Madrid. With respect to Spain, I think they heard the presidents message yesterday loud and clear, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. And its my understanding over the past several hours, theyve agreed to cooperate with the US military. And so I know that the US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain. Trump on Tuesday said he was going to cut off all trade with Spain, the day after Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his country would not allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the United Nations charter. White House says US ground troops in Iran not part of the plan for this operation at this time Leavitt said she would not take away military options on behalf of the president by ruling it out, saying that leaders in the past take options off the table without having a full understanding of how things could develop. Its not part of the current plan, but Im not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table, Leavitt said. WASHINGTON A controversial hearing on the Trump administrations crackdown on foreign truck drivers was used to push for more coordination between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police to detain and deport illegal truckers. Testifying in support of the Trump administrations restrictions on non-domiciled truck drivers, Tim Tipton, Commissioner of Oklahomas Department of Public Safety, explained to the House Homeland Security Committees oversight subcommittee how credentialing state and local officers through ICE in 2025 to enforce immigration laws has resulted in the states highway patrol taking over 450 commercial drivers into custody for immigration violations. Tim Tipton testifying on Wednesday. Credit: House Homeland Security Committee. Many of these drivers struggle with even basic English language proficiency and likely received their licenses from unscrupulous CDL mills, Tipton testified. Advertisement Advertisement Asked by committee chairman Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., how it could be replicated in other states particularly red states Tipton said it could be done relatively quickly. I think Oklahomas the model example for when state and local law enforcement work with ICE, theres not chaos and uproar, he said. Oklahoma in 2025 ranked in the top three [states] for illegal criminal aliens removed from the country. You dont see all the chaos, and its due to cooperation. So for the safety of the motoring public on the CMV [commercial motor vehicle] issue cooperation with ICE is critical and can be done in a calm, legitimate legal way. Lacking data Justification for holding the hearing at all was questioned from the start. The subcommittees ranking member, Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., asserted that the committee had no jurisdiction over transportation safety. Advertisement Advertisement I want it on record that this hearing is really about nothing more than scapegoating immigrants for the Presidents economy, which is running off the road, Thanedar said before the witnesses were introduced. Thanedar brought to the panel Wendy Liu, an attorney for Public Citizen Litigation Group, as a witness to help make his case. The CDL licensing standards are identical for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and documented immigrants alike regardless of citizenship or immigration status all drivers must demonstrate English language proficiency, 30 different vehicle inspection control and driving skills, and demonstrate their knowledge in 20 different areas, Liu said. Liu argued that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations new non-domiciled CDL restrictions that goes into effect this month will make the roads less safe, not more safe, because the estimated 200,000 drivers forced out of the market would be replaced, at least initially, by less experienced drivers. Advertisement Advertisement Liu, who is representing a driver suing FMCSA in federal appeals court, also contended that the Trump administration has failed to provide data showing that non-citizens cause more crashes than U.S. citizens. If the concern is that states are improperly issuing licenses to people who do not in fact already meet the existing requirements about training, English, testing then the solution is to tighten steps to make sure that licenses are going to people who satisfy all of the requirements. But excluding documented immigrants from being truck drivers altogether would harm highway safety, destroy the livelihood of thousands, increase costs during an affordability crisis, and disrupt essential public services. Related articles: Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post Lawmaker pushes for ICE coordination in CDL crackdowns appeared first on FreightWaves. NEED TO KNOW At least 26 patients have filed a lawsuit against fertility doctor Dr. Brian David Acacio The patients claim in the lawsuit that Acacio transferred their embryos from a clinic in Orange County to one in Bakersfield without their consent after he was evicted for failing to pay rent According to multiple outlets, Acacio allegedly failed to pay over $243,000 on his Laguna Niguel facility, where the patients embryos were housed At least 26 patients have filed a lawsuit against a California IVF clinic and a fertility doctor, alleging that he moved their embryos without their knowledge. The patients alleged in their complaint that fertility doctor Dr. Brian David Acacio transferred their embryos from a clinic in Orange County to one in Bakersfield without their consent after he was evicted for failing to pay rent, according to the lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE. Advertisement Advertisement The complaint alleged that Acacio failed to pay over $243,000 in rent on the Laguna Niguel facility where the patients embryos were housed. After his eviction in December 2025, Acacio removed the embryos and transported them more than 140 miles away to Bakersfield. When patients began to find out about what had happened, they demanded the immediate return of their embryos, attorney Robert Marcereau said during a press conference, per KTLA. Dr. Acacio refused, stating he would not give back the embryos unless patients signed a document absolving him of any responsibility for his conduct. This was cited in the complaint, alleging that Acacio "refused to return" patients' embryos unless they signed a release that included a clause that required them to "'release and forever hold harmless' Acacio and his clinic from any damage to the embryos or any harm his actions have caused." Were going to find out what happened, were going to shed light on this, Marcereau added, per KTLA. Were going to hold him accountable..." Advertisement Advertisement The legal team also alleged in a press release and the complaint that Acacios medical license was restricted from Oct. 8, 2025, and he was required to abstain from controlled substances and comply with biological fluid testing upon the request of the Medical Board of California. The legal team claimed that Acacio tested positive for prohibited substances on Dec. 30, 2025, and his medical license was suspended, per the complaint. They further alleged that during his restriction and suspension, he continued to see patients, but that they experienced "postponed or cancelled" appointments, among other issues. The patients also claimed in the complaint that Acacio's "impairment" due to drug use may have "affected clinical judgment, procedure execution and patient safety during 2024 and 2025." PEOPLE has reached out to attorney Robert Marcereau, Fertility Law Group and Acacios office for comment on this lawsuit, but didn't immediately receive responses. Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, couples are pleading for their embryos to be returned and for their treatment to continue. Just do the right thing. I dont know where our embryos are, I dont know if theyre OK. Its like a hostage situation. I feel like they were kidnapped, one person involved in the lawsuit told KTLA. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Another patient, Christina Chandler, told WABC, "We're gone through multiple retrievals, multiple transfers, and this man does not care about us. We've been through so much. We just need him to be accountable. We want our embryos." Advertisement Advertisement Marina Reyes of Bakersfield, also told WABC that her embryo transfer was postponed and later canceled by Acacios clinic. She said, "It has taken a toll on us emotionally, physically and financially. Read the original article on People At least seven people have been killed and 25 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on March 5. Russian forces launched 155 different types of drones against Ukraine overnight, of which roughly 100 were Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles, the Air Force said on March 5. It reported downing 136 of them. In eastern Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed, and five others were injured by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported on March 5. Advertisement Advertisement In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day killed two women, aged 27 and 64, while also injuring 13 others, including a 17-year-old girl, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on March 5. In central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia attacked four districts of the region with artillery, drones, and guided aerial bombs (KABs), regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported on March 5. He said a 35-year-old and a 45-year-old man were wounded. In southern Kherson Oblast, three people were killed, and five others were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on March 5. In southern Odesa Oblast, a Russian drone struck a Panamanian-flagged vessel carrying corn in the Black Sea on the evening of March 4, with an unidentified number of crew members suffering casualties, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported. Advertisement Advertisement Read also: NATO intercepts Iranian missile heading toward Turkey in first such incident Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. It's common to leave your dog at home alone while you go to work, run errands, see a movie or just get away for a while. But is it legal in Florida? At what point does Florida law consider it animal cruelty? Here's what to know before you head out the door. New Smyrna Beach police said this dog was abandoned in a neighborhood in their city by a Port Orange woman, who has been charged with felony cruelty to animals. Is it legal in Florida to leave your dog at home alone? Florida statutes prohibit any animal owner from leaving them confined without enough "good and wholesome food and water" or keeping them in an enclosure without exercise and fresh air, but the state doesn't establish a time limit. Advertisement Advertisement However, your local city or county ordinances, many of which go into much greater detail on animal abuse, might. Many of them restrict pet owners from depriving their animals, whether by neglect or refusal, from having enough food and water of sufficient quality to meet their minimal daily requirements or from leaving them in too small or too dirty enclosures. Pasco County specifies that animals may not be left alone longer than 24 hours unless the owner has arranged for someone else to provide food and water and monitor their condition on a scheduled basis. That's leaving your pet at home. It is a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law to abandon an animal in a public place without providing for its care, sustenance, protection, and shelter, punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 or jail time up to a year, or both. There may also be other restrictions. Homeowners associations may not have rules about leaving your dog alone, but they often have rules against barking time limits and "quiet hours." And pet-friendly motels and hotels likely have rules against leaving a dog alone in the room. Is it legal in Florida to leave your dog chained outside? Dog owners may be charged with animal cruelty for failing to provide them with adequate shelter or unlawfully tethering them. Florida law also does not prohibit tethering, or temporarily restraining an animal to an object or structure outside with a cable, chain, cord, or running line, with one notable exception (see below). Advertisement Advertisement Again, check your local ordinances. In recent years, more cities and counties in Florida have been banning or restricting tethering. Some, like Lee County, ban it outright, while others may restrict it to only when the animal is within sight of the responsible person and visible to that person at all times. Some locations, such as Volusia County, also ban the use of heavy chains or tethers that extend over an object or edge where the animal could be injured, entangled or strangled. Some areas may limit the time of day tethering is allowed, to prevent dog owners from leaving dogs tied up outside while they go to work. Orange County bans tethering from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Advertisement Advertisement You can check your local ordinances at library.municode.com/fl, or call the non-emergency line of your local police department or sheriff's office and ask. What is 'Trooper's Law'? Last year, Florida passed "Trooper's Law," making restraining and abandoning pets during a natural disaster a third-degree felony. The bill was named after Trooper, a beloved bull terrier that went viral in 2024 after a Florida state trooper rescued it from where it had been left on the side of Interstate 75 as Category 4 Hurricane Milton approached Florida. Under Trooper's Law, anyone who restrains a dog outside during a natural disaster and then abandons the dog may be charged with a third-degree felony punishable by jail time of up to 5 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Advertisement Advertisement C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Do Florida's animal cruelty laws mean you can't leave your dog alone? E.W. Scipps Co. in Cincinnati announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement to purchase WTVQ 36, the ABC affiliate in Lexington, from Morris Network Inc. for $15.8 million. Scripps already owns the NBC affiliate, WLEX 18, creating a duopoly in the Lexington TV market. WKYT, Channel 27, is owned by Gray Media Group. It is unclear what this might mean for the local news operations at the two stations. In a statement, Morris said: WTVQ employees will be supported through a structured transition process ahead of the anticipated close in the third quarter of 2026. Scripps announced that it has purchased WTVQ-36, the ABC affiliate in Lexington, from Morris Multimedia. Scripps also owns WLEX-18, the NBC affiliate. The purchase requires federal regulatory approval. Advertisement Advertisement While that approval is pending, Scripps will provide certain programming, marketing and related services for WTVQ via a local programming and marketing agreement, according to a news release. A news release from Savannah-based Morris Network, a subsidiary of Morris Multimedia, thanked WTVQ employees. WTVQ is an exceptional station with a proud legacy of serving the Lexington community, and we are pleased to be placing it with one of the strongest broadcast companies in the country, said Charles H. Morris Sr., founder, chairman and CEO of Morris Multimedia, in the release. This transaction reflects our strategic focus on long-term growth, and we are actively pursuing opportunities to expand our organization. We are deeply grateful to the WTVQ team for their outstanding service and contributions over the years. Chris Mossman, who had been the general manager of WTVQ until Wednesday, said he does not know what the Scripps-provided programming will entail but that he will no longer be involved in decision-making at the station. Advertisement Advertisement Sean Franklin, of WLEX, will be the general manager for both stations, Mossman said. Hes a great guy, and I think hell do a great job overseeing both stations, Mossman said. Franklin was not immediately available for comment. Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson said in the news release that the acquisition, which he called a strategic acquisition, would deepen the companys commitment to the Lexington market. This acquisition would give us the scale and depth in Lexington to strengthen our financial durability and assign more reporters to neighborhoods throughout the area, enhancing our public service journalism and creating greater community connection across the market, Symson said. Advertisement Advertisement Morris Multimedia bought WTVQ in 2008 from Media General. Lexingtons TV station ABC 36 shakes up news operation: News director Miranda Combs out Lexington TV station launching High Noon broadcast with married anchors Im fired up to be coming back. New general manager at ABC 36 is a WKYT alum Former Lexington TV anchor Nancy Cox married her Prince Charming. See wedding photos Investigative reporter Miranda Combs returns to air, now anchoring evening news After just more than a month of long meetings, sharp disagreements and hard-fought compromises, the Oregon Legislature must adjourn by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Capital Chronicle reporters have been at the Capitol tracking the action since it started Feb. 2, and theyll be here until the end. As things move more quickly in the last few days, well use this live blog to keep Oregonians updated. Key Events Mar. 6, 2026 4:20 pm Sine die! Mar. 6, 2026 3:55 pm Legislature approves funding to buy Abiqua Falls, renovate Moda Center Mar. 6, 2026 3:29 pm House repasses UGB expansions for affordable housing for older adults Mar. 6, 2026 3:05 pm Gutted gun bill passes House Mar. 6, 2026 2:49 pm House approves federal masking bill with Senate amendments Mar. 6, 2026 1:24 pm Omnibus rebalance bills pass Mar. 6, 2026 1:20 pm $365 million to renovate Moda Center passes Mar. 6, 2026 12:07 pm House honors its retiring members Mar. 6, 2026 8:58 am Senate, House to gavel in on last day of session Mar. 6, 2026 8:51 am Bill to limit how much THC goes into each edible fails Mar. 5, 2026 6:15 pm Senate adjourns until 9 a.m. Friday Mar. 5, 2026 5:47 pm Senate passes several bills to protect immigrants Mar. 5, 2026 5:05 pm House adjourned until 11 a.m. Friday Mar. 5, 2026 5:02 pm Oregon Legislature votes to give cities, counties flexibility in tourism revenue Mar. 5, 2026 4:50 pm House votes to stabilize rural hospital Mar. 5, 2026 4:34 pm Changes to campaign finance clear Senate Mar. 5, 2026 12:54 pm House passes campaign finance changes, recesses until 2:30 Mar. 5, 2026 12:30 pm Senate recessed until 1 p.m. Mar. 5, 2026 12:27 pm Senate passes bill to protect care providers Mar. 5, 2026 11:50 am Oregon Senate waters down controversial gun control bill, winning Republican support Mar. 5, 2026 11:40 am More legal pathways for the wrongfully convicted passes House Mar. 5, 2026 11:02 am Bill targeting threats to public officials not moving forward, sponsor says Mar. 5, 2026 10:38 am Fate of campaign finance bill anyones guess Mar. 5, 2026 10:18 am Senate gavels in, starts thanking staff Sine die! The Oregon House and Senate adjourned for the year at 4:16 and 4:17 p.m., then streamed into the rotunda to greet each other after years of being unable to celebrate in such a manner because of COVID and construction. Legislative leaders and Gov. Tina Kotek will address the press later this evening. Advertisement Advertisement Last updated: 4:36 pm Legislature approves funding to buy Abiqua Falls, renovate Moda Center The House passed Senate Bill 5701, which would allocate $2.1 million to acquire 200 acres of the Abiqua Creek area, including the 92-foot-tall Abiqua Falls to keep the 0.8-mile hike publicly accessible. That bill also sets aside $365 million for renovations at the Moda Center, $45.7 million for public university projects and $100 million for affordable rental housing. The bill already passed the Senate, and it now heads to Gov. Tina Koteks desk. Last updated: 4:32 pm House repasses UGB expansions for affordable housing for older adults On a 41-8 vote, the House approved a bill allowing cities to expand their urban growth boundaries to add affordable housing for older adults. Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 4082, while originally approved by the House, returned to the chamber after the Senate amended the bill to resolve a conflict with House Bill 4035, another bill this session allowing Woodburn to expand its urban growth boundary that awaits Gov. Tina Koteks signature. Cities typically have to seek state approval through an often expensive and lengthy process to expand their urban growth boundaries, which function as invisible lines dictating where and how a city can grow. The senior housing bill, requested by Kotek, will allow UGB expansions for specific uses including housing options for older adults, manufactured homes, prefabricated structures and manufactured dwelling parks. Gutted gun bill passes House Legislation to bolster the rollout of a 2022 voter-approved gun control law that was gutted in the Senate this week got its final vote on the House floor Friday, where it passed on a 51-2 vote. It passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday. House Republicans walked out last week ahead of a vote on an earlier version of House Bill 4145, claiming it infringed on gun rights protected by the Oregon and U.S. constitutions. State and federal courts have been litigating that question since voters approved Measure 114 in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement The bill started as a wide-ranging firearm safety proposal that would have beefed up permitting processes and background checks under Measure 114, a voter-approved law banning magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition and requiring completed background checks, permits and firearm safety training before acquiring guns. But the measure still hasnt taken effect because of state and federal legal challenges from gun advocates. Instead of beefing up the law in anticipation of its rollout, House Bill 4145 now simply delays implementation of the law until 2028 to give time for court cases to play out. House approves federal masking bill with Senate amendments The House voted 34-8 to reapprove a bill restricting law enforcement from wearing masks, after the Senate passed with additional amendments to clarify exceptions when state and federal agencies may cooperate. Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 4138, one of the 13 bills introduced this session as part of the immigrant justice package, would require law enforcement agencies operating in Oregon to adopt policies to avoid use of facial coverings except for medical necessity, or other essential circumstances like undercover work or on SWAT assignment. Last updated: 4:31 pm Omnibus rebalance bills pass Omnibus budget rebalance bills have passed their final vote in the House. State budget writers staring down a $650 million budget deficit at the beginning of the session filled the gaps by disconnecting the state tax code from some provisions of the federal tax code, cutting spending on supplies and services, and leaving more than 130 jobs vacant at the Oregon Department of Transportation. The moves will spare the transportation agency from hundreds of layoffs during the next 18 months, until lawmakers can come up with more sustainable funding during the long session in 2027. $365 million to renovate Moda Center passes Lawmakers in the House voted 42-13 to pass Senate Bill 1501 to use state dollars to renovate Portlands Moda Center. It passed in the Senate on Wednesday 24-6. Advertisement Advertisement Under the bill, the state would issue $365 million in bonds, in essence borrowing money from investors to pay for construction upfront, repaying the loan with interest over 20 years. Repayment would be supported by tax revenue tied to Moda events, income tax revenues collected in part from the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team, workers hired to do the renovation work and business activities in the surrounding Rose Quarter. More than a dozen Democratic supporters shared testimony about the importance of the Moda Center, and the Trail Blazers, to Portlands economy and reputation. Though the bill passed on bipartisan lines, Republicans who were largely opposed to the proposal criticized the plan for lacking more investment from the city and the team and argued their Democratic colleagues were hypocritical for approving a massive spending project on an arena while claiming the state budget is in dire straits. House honors its retiring members House representatives started their last 2026 floor session with across-the-isle kudos for their colleagues who are retiring at the end of the year. They include Reps. Boomer Wright, R-Reedsport; Ken Helm, D-Beaverton: Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone; Rick Lewis, R-Silverton and John Lively, D-Springfield. Advertisement Advertisement Senate, House to gavel in on last day of session The Oregon Senate is set to begin work at 9 a.m. Friday and the Oregon House at 11 a.m. for the last planned day of the 2026 legislative session. The Senate has 18 bills on the docket, including controversial measures to allow more farm stores and make it easier for local governments to conduct business outside of public meetings. The House is poised to vote on seven measures and decide whether to agree or disagree with Senate amendments on a half dozen more. Bill to limit how much THC goes into each edible fails An attempt to limit how much THC can be in an individual edible isnt advancing this year in Oregon. Senate Bill 1548 was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the production of individual edibles with more than 10 milligrams of THC, targeting edibles that are meant to be divided into several servings. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Lisa Reynolds, a Portland Democrat and pediatrician, introduced the bill in response to increasing reports of children seeking medical attention after consuming edibles resembling cookies, brownies and gummies. In 2023, children 5 and younger made up one-third of all cannabis-related cases reported to the Oregon Poison Center. Read more. Senate adjourns until 9 a.m. Friday The Senate adjourned shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday. It will return at 9 a.m. Friday, with nearly 20 bills left to vote on before senators can adjourn for the year. We are looking good for bills for tomorrow, Senate President Rob Wagner said. The House will return at 11 a.m. Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Last updated: 6:16 pm Senate passes several bills to protect immigrants The Oregon Senate has passed legislation to outlaw law enforcement using face coverings, empower individuals to sue law enforcement who enter their property without a warrant and ensure immigrants in civil proceedings cannot have their citizenship status used as evidence against them. The bills allowing suits against law enforcement and protections during court proceedings now head to Gov. Tina Koteks desk. House Bill 4138 , which directs law enforcement agencies operating in the state to adopt public policies that generally prohibit masking, heads back to the House for a re-vote after the Senate added amendments encouraging Oregon authorities to obtain statements from federal agents that they are in compliance with the legislation should they collaborate. Participation in our democracy should feel secure, orderly and free from intimidation, said Sen. WInsvey Campos, D-Aloha. This bill reinforces Oregons longstanding commitment to constitutional protections. It draws a clear line between Oregon and unconstitutional overreach while preserving lawful cooperation. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration and Republicans contend that masks are necessary because officers have been subject to doxing and a rise in threats. Democrats voted in favor of the bills, with Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, joining them in support of the civil proceedings bill. The legislation would also prohibit employers from firing their employees for lawfully updating their federal work authorization status, and Anderson has been publicly mulling a run for labor commissioner to lead Oregons Bureau of Labor and Industries. He has until March 10 to file with the state. The bills passage is yet another reflection of Democrats priorities in this short legislative session, during which they have stressed the importance of testing the limits on the states ability and authority to respond to the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. The supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution allows for federal law to usurp conflicting state laws, though Democrats have said they believe their legislation could stand in court on the grounds that their bills apply across the board to all forms of law enforcement, not just federal agents. However, similar measures are currently being litigated in federal court due to legal challenges from the U.S. Department of Justice House adjourned until 11 a.m. Friday The Oregon House adjourned just before 5 p.m. Thursday. Its set to return Friday at 11 a.m to take up 10 more pieces of legislation, including the resolution to end this years legislative session. Oregon Legislature votes to give cities, counties flexibility in tourism revenue Most of the year, the coastal city of Newport, Oregon, is home to 11,000 residents. In peak tourist season, the number of people staying overnight can rise as high as 40,000. The same drastic swing in population is true in cities up and down the Oregon coast, while small cities in the states wine country and mountains see similar influxes of tourists. Cities and counties that welcome large numbers of tourists benefit from higher spending at local businesses and from state and local transient lodging taxes, charged when people stay overnight at hotels, short-term rentals and campsites. But for more than two decades, state law has required most of the proceeds of those taxes go toward attracting more tourists. Tourism-heavy cities for years have argued for more flexibility, reasoning that visitors are more likely to return to cities with pothole-free streets, clean and well-lit parks and enough police, fire and emergency medical personnel to respond quickly to incidents. My communities are drowning, Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, said on the Senate floor Thursday. Weve had consistent reductions of revenue and simultaneous massive increases to demands on services. Read more. House votes to stabilize rural hospital The Oregon House in a 42-15 bipartisan vote passed House Bill 4075A to help the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. It would allow a $44 million loan from the Unclaimed Property and Estates Fund where the Oregon State Treasury holds millions from uncashed checks, forgotten bank accounts, security deposits and other accounts until claimed. Without assistance, the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay is at risk of downgrading to a Type B facility. That would mean cuts to staff, beds and services for residents. Changes to campaign finance clear Senate A controversial bill that changes campaign contribution limits in Oregon established in 2024 and delays implementation of strict disclosure requirements, passed its final Senate vote on Thursday in a 20-9 vote. House Bill 4018 passed in the House earlier in the day and now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek. Lawmakers in both chambers described the bill as imperfect but insisted it was needed to ensure the Secretary of States Office can enforce political spending limits by January of next year. Opponents said it was written with the input of business industry and union lobbyists and explicitly cut out campaign finance reform advocates who had agreed in 2024 to shelve a ballot measure on political spending limits and to work with lawmakers on a legislative solution. Leaders from the groups have vowed to take the bill to Oregon voters in a ballot referendum in 2028 if Kotek signs it. It would have to be a constitutional amendment, and would have to be a very detailed constitutional amendment so the Legislature cant change it, said Dan Meek, a Portland attorney representing Honest Elections Oregon, at a Wednesday news conference. Sen. Jeff Golden, a Democrat from Ashland, gave an impassioned speech urging his colleagues to vote against the bill. He said it would likely be his last campaign finance speech on the floor, and maybe his last speech ever. Golden is retiring at the end of 2026. Very few legislators understand what is actually in these bills, the mass of content were voting on, he said. Were relying mostly on what the most powerful organizations in the current finance system those with the least interest in significant reform are telling us. Another related proposal, Senate Bill 1502, also passed the Senate Thursday afternoon. It would require the Secretary of States Office to propose solutions to addressing campaign finance reform issues in the 2027 legislative session. The Senate is in recess until 5 p.m., with more than a dozen bills left on todays calendar. House passes campaign finance changes, recesses until 2:30 The House on a 39-19 vote passed a controversial bill that would change parts of Oregons historic 2024 campaign finance law related to contribution limits, and that would delay enforcement of some disclosure requirements. It now goes to the Senate, which must pass the measure before the Legislature adjourns for the year by Sunday. Lawmakers continued to bemoan the imperfections of the bill on the floor before the vote but insisted it was needed to ensure the Secretary of States Office can enforce political spending limits by January of next year. Colleagues, If there were no cameras and the lights were off, I think most people would agree this is not the bill we wanted, said Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, before the vote. But in our process, we as elected legislators on the floor today, especially those who havent been involved in the committee process related to this bill, have one choice. The choice is: vote for a bill that does a little more good than harm, that tries to keep faith in the program thats been put in place or today at the end of the session, do nothing and know that the system will likely fail. Good government groups who said theyve been shut out of the process have vowed to take the bill to Oregon voters in a ballot referendum in 2028 if the bill passes in both chambers and Gov. Tina Kotek signs it. The House is now recessed until 2:30 p.m. Senate recessed until 1 p.m. The Senate is set to return to the floor at 1 p.m., with at least 17 bills remaining on todays calendar. The House is still in session debating a controversial campaign finance measure but is expected to break for lunch soon. Senate passes bill to protect care providers Oregon Senate Democrats passed a bill that would further safeguard providers of reproductive and gender-affirming care, blocking an attempt by Republicans to turn the bill into a state-backed study on gender-affirming care for minors. House Bill 4088 now heads to Gov. Tina Koteks desk. The bill would prohibit the governor from granting another states extradition request for a health care provider if they are engaged in providing reproductive or gender-affirming care in Oregon in a manner consistent with state law. That doesnt apply if the person is a fugitive facing charges of treason or a felony, for instance. It also contains new privacy protections for individual patients and blocks state licensing authorities from revoking a midwifes license if they faced a criminal conviction or discipline in another state for health care services that are unlawful in other states but allowed in Oregon. The bill would prevent publicly-funded agencies and state employees from cooperating with investigations into legal reproductive and gender-affirming care. The bill comes as opponents of gender-affirming care, including the Trump administration, have seized upon shifting guidance from other countries, some professional medical groups and a landmark New York civil malpractice suit finding doctors liable for a breast removal surgery a woman received as a minor and came to regret. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in January rejected Louisianas extradition request for an abortion provider, and another doctor in the state is facing a federal lawsuit in Texas from the boyfriend of a woman who claims her doctor improperly sent her abortion medication. Although Kotek hasnt explicitly said she supports the bill, her office has previously suggested her policy is in alignment with the bills limitations on extraditions. Oregon Senate waters down controversial gun control bill, winning Republican support Oregon state senators on Thursday gutted this years legislation to bolster the rollout of a 2022 voter-approved gun control law currently being litigated, despite Democrats expending significant political capital to push a wide-ranging firearm safety bill through the House. In a unanimous vote, the Senate passed the watered-down legislation on Thursday, sending it back to the House for reconsideration after its original vote on Feb. 25. Despite the GOPs opposition to the bill in the House, several Republicans expressed support for the new bills push to solely delay implementation of Measure 114 until 2028, rather than beefing up the firearm permit or background check process. I want to thank the leadership and the Senate Republican Caucus and all the work that has gone into the amended version that we have here on the floor, said Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford. That frankly should have been what came over from the House. Read more. More legal pathways for the wrongfully convicted passes House A bill strengthening a 2022 Oregon law meant to streamline the payout process for exonerated Oregonians is a step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 1515, sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee, creates a legal pathway for people convicted of crimes using discredited science to have their convictions overturned and to receive compensation under Oregons 2022 law. It passed the House 40-16 on Thursday morning after earlier passing the Senate. The bill still needs final approval in the Senate because the House amended it to specify that the discredited technique of bite mark analysis does not include DNA analysis of saliva or other genetic material in or around a bite mark. The discredited forensic techniques include microscopic hair comparison, bite mark analysis and comparative bullet lead analysis. Around 40% of Oregons 43 criminal cases involving an exoneration involve faulty or misleading forensic evidence, according to the National Registry of Exonerations run by researchers at the University of Michigan and University of California, Irvine. Bill targeting threats to public officials not moving forward, sponsor says A bill that would make it a felony to threaten public officials or their families with the intent to cause alarm appears to be dead, according to bill sponsor Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eugene. Manning told the Capital Chronicle via text that he was throughly disappointed that the House chose not to move the bill from a committee to the House floor. Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eugene, at the Oregon Legislature on Feb. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Senate Bill 1530 would have made threatening a public official including lawmakers, school board members, city councilors and county commissioners a crime of aggravated harassment. Thats a Class C felony, which are considered the least severe category of felonies and punishable by up to five years in prison, a $125,000 fine, or both. The bill came after several high-profile threats to public officials across the state, including a bomb threat Manning and two other Democratic state senators received a day after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September. Critics of the bill have raised questions about its constitutionality under free speech rights and questioned whether lawmakers should receive special protections, in comparison to other public-facing professions such as doctors and teachers. A spokesperson for House Speaker Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment. The bill remains parked in the House Committee on Rules after it passed the Senate on Feb. 24. Fate of campaign finance bill anyones guess A controversial bill that would change parts of Oregons historic 2024 campaign finance law related to contribution limits, and that would delay enforcement of some disclosure requirements, is on ice following last-minute maneuvering. The House sent House Bill 4018 Wednesday evening to a hastily scheduled 5 p.m. House Rules Committee that ultimately never met. The committee instead met Thursday morning after an hour-long delay and voted to move the bill unchanged back to the House, where it has yet to be scheduled for a vote. Senate gavels in, starts thanking staff The Oregon Senate gaveled in shortly after 10 a.m., with more than 20 bills awaiting votes on todays calendar. Among the most notable: House Bill 4114 would enable people to sue law enforcement agents who enter their homes without a warrant, House Bill 4148 would give local governments more flexibility to use lodging taxes and House Bill 4145 would change deadlines to enforce a citizen-approved gun control measure. And in a sign that the end of session is near, several senators also gave short speeches thanking staff and interns. By Michael Martina and David Lawder WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Reviving market access to Chinese industrial firms would undercut U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to rebuild American manufacturing, the head of a congressional committee on China warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as Trump prepares to visit Beijing for trade talks. Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S. has fallen dramatically in recent years as U.S. officials talk about the need to "de-risk" the United States' economy, though some media reports have suggested the two sides are looking at ways to revive reciprocal investment. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives' select committee on China, told Bessent in a letter seen by Reuters that Chinese companies routinely benefit from government support allowing them to operate at a loss and displace U.S. competitors. Inviting them to expand investment in the U.S. would provide relief to China's strained economy and undermine the administration's efforts to safeguard national security and rebuild American industrial strength, Moolenaar told Bessent in the letter dated March 4. "Beijing seeks to subsidize its broken economic model on the back of the American taxpayer and capitalize on the ill-gotten gains of its mass intellectual property theft by exporting its state-subsidized industrial overcapacity to our shores," Moolenaar said. The letter comes ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, expected March 31 to April 2. The Trump administration hopes the leaders can agree to extend a delicate tariff truce amid an ongoing industrial and technological rivalry. The U.S. president, using controversial tariffs, has made reviving American manufacturing a focus of his economic agenda, including efforts to win investment commitments from partners and allies in key industries, such as semiconductor fabrication and shipbuilding. But Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 singling out the risks of Chinese investment for "targeting the crown jewels" of American technology. The U.S. Trade Representative's office said this week in a policy document that it would seek "constructive foreign investment" that grows the U.S. industrial base but does not imperil U.S. national security. Without naming China directly, USTR's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda pledged to use the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to guard against national security threats and promote "productive, market-based investment." Iran launched new attacks Thursday on Israel, American bases and countries around the region, threatening that the United States would "bitterly regret" torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported that a religious leader on Thursday called for "Trumps blood." Israel has launched its own attacks, saying it has struck 80 targets in Lebanon linked to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group over the past 24 hours. RELATED: Last 2 identities of 6 US soldiers killed in Kuwait attack released Motorists drive along an expressway as plumes of smoke rise after a strike in Tehran on March 5, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) The AP also reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing "an atrocity at sea" for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, which killed at least 87 Iranian sailors. "Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set," he said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement RELATED: Hegseth says US submarine sank Iranian warship in international waters The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the worlds oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East. Here's a look back at what happened on Thursday: Drone attack intercepted 8:52 p.m. ET: Qatar's Defense Ministry reported early Friday morning that it intercepted a drone attack targeting the Al Udeid Air Base. The Al Udeid Air Base is also the headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command. US controls timeline of war in Iran, Hegseth says 5:11 p.m. ET: Speaking at U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is solely controlling the timeline of activities in Iran and will do so "as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves" its objectives. Advertisement Advertisement "We set the tempo," he said. "We set the timeline led by the commander on the ground." Talking about U.S. weapons stockpiles, Hegseth said "our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad." "We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively," he said. On Wednesday, Hegseth said the war could go as long as eight weeks, the longest timeline given by the Trump administration thus far. US closes its embassy in Kuwait 2:20 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that its the second diplomatic mission to fully suspend operations since the start of the Iran war. "While there have been no reported injuries to U.S. personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the U.S. Department of State," it said in a statement provided by the AP about the status of the embassy in Kuwait City. Advertisement Advertisement Shortly before the announcement, the department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called the Kuwaiti foreign minister to express condolences for the deaths of at least two Kuwaiti troops in Iranian retaliatory strikes. Although numerous U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East have closed to the public since the war began, only the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, has suspended operations. Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street 1:55 p.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, as oil prices rose further because of the war with Iran, the Dow dropped 1,052 points, or 2.2%, the S&P 500 sank 1.4% coming off a frenetic start to the week, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.3%. The AP noted that airlines and stocks of smaller U.S. companies tumbled to some of the sharpest losses. Oil prices rallied following the latest escalations in the war. Treasury yields also jumped with worries that higher inflation could keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. Advertisement Advertisement Still, the U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly following conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. That has many professional investors suggesting patience and riding through the markets swings. US Embassy in Pakistan issues a security alert ahead of possible protests on Friday 12:05 p.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, the security alert did not explain the cause of the possible demonstrations, but comes days after Pakistani protesters supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. consulate, leading to violent clashes in Karachi and elsewhere that left 22 people dead. The embassys warning Thursday restricts the movement of its personnel nationwide. Trump wants to be involved in picking the next Iranian leader 11:55 a.m. ET: President Donald Trump, in an interview with the news outlet Axios, said he wants to be involved in selection of Irans next leader and called Ayatollah Ali Khameneis son an "unacceptable" potential pick, according to the Associated Press. "Khameneis son is unacceptable to me," Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. Trump added, "We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran." Advertisement Advertisement The AP noted that Trump also criticized Khameneis son, who is believed to be under consideration to serve as the next supreme leader, as "a light weight. "I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela," said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after Trump ordered a U.S. military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and whisk him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges, the AP reported. Around 20,000 Americans have left the Middle East, State Department says 11:15 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that around 20,000 Americans left the Middle East, and nearly all of them made their own way out of the region without government assistance, according to the State Department. Advertisement Advertisement The department said it is arranging charter flights for private citizens who want to leave. The first departed Wednesday and several more were expected Thursday, although officials did not say where they would depart. Earlier, the department asked Americans in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill out an online form for information about the flights. Officials said they have responded to requests for information from more than 10,000 Americans in the region but did not say how many want to leave. Americans seeking help were urged to contact an emergency task force at +1-202-501-4444 . Iran awaits announcement of a new leader 10:30 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that some disagreements are starting to come to light from private discussions over who will be Irans next supreme leader. Advertisement Advertisement Rumors have circulated around the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father as supreme leader as hes close with the all-powerful Revolutionary Guards. A member of parliament and firebrand cleric, Hamid Rasaee, wrote Thursday that the killed supreme leaders son was "an outstanding seminarian" as well as a trusted advisor to his father and an "overseer of many of the countrys affairs." He also called Khamenei an ayatollah, a rank he may not possess. A reformist-aligned cleric, Rahmatollah Bigdeli, condemned what he called Rasaees "ignorance and bias". The U.S. and Israel-Iran war has impacted an additional 14 countries across the region and beyond 8 a.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, the U.S. and Israel-Iran war has impacted an additional 14 countries across the region and other areas, including the following: Lebanon Syria Qatar Bahrain The United Arab Emirates Jordan Saudi Arabia Kuwait Iraq Turkey Cyprus Sri Lanka (off coast) Oman Azerbaijan Rising death toll in Iran 7:05 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that the death toll in Iran from the ongoing war with the United States and Israel has reached at least 1,230 people, an Iranian government agency said Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement The Irans Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs offered the toll. Iranian warship sunk by US had participated in India-hosted naval exercises 6:50 a.m. ET: Indian authorities told the Associated Press that an Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home. According to the AP, the sinking of the ship Wednesday underscored the spread of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident but opposition leaders questioned its lack of response, the AP added. Last 2 names of 6 US soldiers killed in Kuwait identified The Pentagon on Wednesday released the identities of the last two names of the six U.S. soldiers who were killed during an attack in Kuwait: Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien and Robert Marzan. Advertisement Advertisement OBrien, a resident of Waukee, Iowa, was commissioned into the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012. He deployed to Kuwait in 2019. The Pentagon said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marzan, 54, of Sacramento was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and is "believed to be the individual who perished at the scene," according to the statement. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said. The other soldiers identified Tuesday by the Pentagon were: Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa,; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. Senate votes down Iran war powers resolution Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trumps war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against. The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region. US and Israel attack Iran The backstory On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran, and President Donald Trump said the U.S. was starting major combat operations against Iran. The strikes killed the countrys leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , and several other high ranking officials, throwing its leadership into question and raising the risk of regional instability. Big picture view Trump said there were four objectives for the operations: Destroy Irans missile capabilities Wipe out its naval capacity Stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon "Ensure that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders." This is the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program. The Source Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and previous reporting by FOX Local. This story was reported from San Jose, California and Washington, D.C. President Trump on Wednesday said anyone who wants to be the next supreme leader of Iran ends up dead, as the U.S. military steps up its strikes against the Middle Eastern country. Trumps comments, at a roundtable with tech companies focused on his ratepayer protection pledge, came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine said more and larger strikes on Iran are on the way. Hegseth also bashed media outlets for highlighting the deaths of six U.S. service members killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait as part of Washingtons strikes on Iran. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Hegseths comments, announcing at a press briefing that Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer of the fallen soldiers and adding that the press only wants to make the president look bad in a testy exchange with CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Advertisement Advertisement The Senate is set to vote on a war powers resolution tied to the Iran strikes later Wednesday. Some Republicans have also pushed back on descriptions of the effort as a war. After Senate Republican primary in Texas went to a runoff on Tuesday with neither Attorney General Ken Paxton or Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) winning a majority of the electorate, President Trump said the candidate that does not get his endorsement should drop out of the race, announcing on Wednesday that he will throw his weight behind the race soon. Earlier, Democrat James Talarico prevailed in the Texas Senate Democratic primary over Rep. Jasmine Crockett, delivering the party a candidate many had seen as the stronger general election choice. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also testified before the House Judiciary Committee, where she faced more heat a day after a fiery hearing in the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Follow live below. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (NewsNation) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Thursday the United States will continue its attacks on Iran for as long as necessary. Hegseth said the United States timeline is ours and ours alone and the U.S. possesses an iron-clad will, in reference to operations against Iran. Weve got no shortage of munitions, Hegseth said. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to. Our munition status only increases as our advantage increases. Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth added, Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a very bad miscalculation for the IRGC. We remember and honor our fallen, those six that we will soon welcome at Dover, who gave everything for their country in this mission. We remember them. Hegseth told media, If you think youve seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power thats still flowing, thats still coming, that will be able to project over Iran is a multiple of what it currently is right now. US military publishes video of drone-carrier strike U.S. Central Command officials Thursday reported hitting an Iranian drone carrier. Described as roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier, officials said the vessel was on fire in a post on social media, adding that U.S. forces arent holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian navy. U.S. forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy. Today, an Iranian drone carrier, roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, was struck and is now on fire. pic.twitter.com/WyA4fniZck U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 6, 2026 Included in the post was a video, labeled unclassified, showing the strike. Surrounding countries report additional Iranian aggression Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defense officials confirmed Thursday the interception of three ballistic missiles. In a post on social media, they said the three missiles were fired at Prince Sultan Air Base. Meanwhile, Bahrain Ministry of Interior officials said a hotel and two residential buildings had been targeted in Manama. The Iranian aggression caused damage but no loss of life, officials said. Trump: US should be involved in supreme leader selection President Donald Trump said Thursday he believes the United States should be involved in selecting Irans next supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Axios, Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader and a frontrunner to succeed him, would be an unacceptable choice. Trump said hed oppose any successor who continues the policies of the previous regime, warning that doing so could force the U.S. back into conflict within five years. Iran has not yet named a new leader, and debate has emerged inside the country over who should take power. Some officials have praised Khamenei as a possible successor, while reformist figures have pushed back, warning against a political power struggle during wartime. What is CENTCOM? Florida base plays major role in Iran war Trumps remarks come as fighting continues across the region. Israel said it detected multiple incoming attacks early Thursday, with air raid sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israels military also announced new strikes inside Iran, targeting fighter jets and missile storage facilities in the capital. Advertisement Advertisement The war began Saturday when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes targeting Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear facilities, killing Khamenei. Leaders have suggested toppling Irans government could be an objective, though officials have not outlined a clear timeline. The conflict has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed, including a major whose identity was released Wednesday. US struck 200 targets in Iran: Cooper United States Central Command Commander Brad Cooper said We are at a high level of execution. Cooper said in the last 72 hours, U.S. bombers struck nearly 200 targets deep inside Iran, including in Tehran. Advertisement Advertisement He added B-2 bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launches on Thursday afternoon. CENTCOM said over the last 24 hours, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since what was seen at the beginning of the attacks. War powers vote fails in House A measure that would restrict actions the president could take in Iran without Congressional approval failed in a 212-218 vote. Trump says Iran operation ahead of schedule The president said Israel is ahead of schedule in destroying Irans capabilities and the operation is going well. All of their airplanes are gone. Communications are gone. Missiles are gone, he said. Other than that, theyre doing quite well. Advertisement Advertisement When it came to Iran asking for a deal, he said it was a little late. The president urged the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to lay down weapons and Iranian diplomats to seek asylum. He said that the U.S. will ensure that whoever leads the country will not be a threat. Operations suspended at Kuwait embassy The U.S. has suspended operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City. Khameneis son is a lightweight: Trump on selecting new Iranian leader Some disagreements have emerged from confidential discussions over who will be Irans next supreme leader. Rumors have long swirled around the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father as supreme leader, as hes close with the all-powerful Revolutionary Guard. Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Axios, Trump called him a lightweight. They are wasting their time. Khameneis son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela, Trump said. Khameneis son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran. Hamid Rasaee, a member of parliament and firebrand cleric, wrote Thursday that Mojtaba Khamenei was an outstanding seminarian as well as a trusted adviser to his father and an overseer of many of the countrys affairs. He also called him an ayatollah, a rank he may not possess. Iran calls for Trumps blood On Iranian state television, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. Advertisement Advertisement Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the U.S. Navy of committing an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set, he wrote on social media. Airlines restore some limited flights As some airspace in the Middle East reopened, Emirates Airlines said Thursday it was restoring a limited schedule of flights to and from Dubai. The carrier said it would continue to update operations as it monitored developments, and urged customers not to go to the airport unless their flights were confirmed. Israels Ben Gurion Airport continued a phased reopening. Tel Aviv-based El Al said it had started proactively assigning customers currently abroad to recovery flights back to Israel, but noted outbound flights were still not operating as of Thursday. Nearly 20K Americans return from Middle East Nearly 20,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since Feb. 28, the U.S. State Department announced Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement These figures dont include the Americans who have relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit to the U.S., the department said. The department has established a crisis intake form for U.S. citizens in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Americans in those countries can complete the form to receive information about upcoming charter aviation and ground transportation options. Americans urged to depart Iraq or shelter in place The U.S. State Department is urging American citizens to leave Iraq immediately. US citizens in Iraq are strongly encouraged to depart as soon as they are safely able to do so, and shelter in place until such time as conditions are safe to depart, officials said on social media. If safe to do so, Americans should leave Iraq now. Advertisement Advertisement Commercial flights are currently not operating out of Iraq. The State Department said there are overland routes to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Americans abroad who need assistance can call +1-202-501-4444 or go online. Turkey condemns Iranian drone attack in Azerbaijan The Azerbaijani Prosecutor Generals Office said four airport workers were injured in an Iranian drone attack on Nakhchivan, a landlocked autonomous exclave that borders Iran. The office said the attack inflicted significant damage to an administrative building at the Nakhchivan airport, and a flight to Nakhchivan from Baku, Azerbaijans capital, was diverted back for security reasons. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry decried Irans denial of the attack and said it can in no way be considered acceptable. The ministry said Iran fired four drones in the direction of Nakhchivan, including one at a school where classes were underway, and demanded Iran apologize for the attack. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called for an immediate end to the attacks, which it said target third countries in the region and increase the risk of the war spreading. It added that Turkey would continue to stand by Azerbaijan. A day earlier, NATO forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace. A map of Iranian retaliatory strikes. (NewsNation) Irans ability to impact is rapidly declining: US U.S. Central Command said Thursday that the Iranian regimes ability to impact U.S. forces and regional partners is rapidly declining, as U.S combat power continues to build. UAE hit in missile, drone attack The United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry on Thursday said a ballistic missile and six drones hit the countrys territory, as the war widens in the Middle East. The ministry added in a statement that it repelled six missiles and 131 drones Thursday, and hundreds since the start of the war. Earlier this week, shrapnel from the interception of cruise missiles killed three residents, and falling shrapnel in previous days has wounded 94 people, the ministry said. Elite Hezbollah unit to re-enter Lebanon to battle Israeli military Israel targeted with 1-ton warheads: Revolutionary Guard Iran launched its large, Khorramshahr-4 missiles in an attack Thursday targeting Israel, the countrys Revolutionary Guard said. The Guard said the missiles carried 1-ton warheads, and also claimed attacks in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Iranian ship sunk by US participated in India-hosted naval exercises Indian authorities say an Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home. The sinking on Wednesday underscored the spread of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident, and opposition leaders have questioned its lack of response. Is Iranian regime on the verge of collapse? Following Khameneis death, the world is watching to see whether the decades-old regime will collapse or if the conflict will spiral into a wider war. Michael Makovsky, with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Morning in America on Thursday that U.S. and Iranian strikes have significantly weakened Irans leadership, but he cautions that regimes can survive for years after major blows. I think what we believe is that the U.S. and Israel just have to keep weakening the regime, he said. While there could be a couple of different scenarios ultimately, we believe the Iranian people are the ones that are going to have to bring the regime down. David Daoud of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Iran may try to drag out the war, hoping political pressure in the U.S. especially with midterm elections approaching could eventually push President Donald Trump to ease military operations. Theyre very much focused on American polling showing minimal support for this war and how and the way it was conducted, Daoud said. Theyre hoping that if they drag out the war, especially the growing isolationist voices on the Republican side are going to weigh more heavily on President Trumps calculations, especially as were nearing midterm elections, that that will stop him from pursuing his goals in this war prematurely, allowing the regime to survive and rebuild. Israel hits more Hezbollah targets in Lebanon U.S. and Israeli military officials said launches from Iran have declined as their attacks have taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israels Homefront Command announced it was easing restrictions that closed workplaces nationwide, which could reopen Thursday if there is a shelter nearby. Schools would remain closed. Still, explosions sounded early Thursday in Israel, which said its defensive systems were moving to intercept at least three waves of Iranian missiles. Among the 80 targets in Lebanon that the Israeli military said it hit over the past 24 hours were several command centers used by Hezbollah in Beirut. It showed video footage of a building being hit, but provided no further details. A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad) Residents and Israeli security forces inspect the site struck by an Iranian missile in central Israel, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) TEHRAN, IRAN MARCH 01: Smoke rises from the area after it was targeted in attacks as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building after Iranian authorities said it was targeted in the attacks, as the Iranian army announced it had launched new strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images) A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station struck Monday amid the U.S.Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Smoke and flames rise from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beiruts southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Residents stand near debris at the site of a building hit in an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji) Another eight people were killed in Lebanon, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli on Thursday and three on a coastal highway, authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strikes. In two near-simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beiruts southern suburbs late Wednesday, two vehicles were hit, killing three people and wounding six, the health ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member, adding that further details would follow. NATO shoots down missile headed to Turkey In Istanbul, a missile was shot down Thursday as it headed into Turkish airspace. Its unclear if the missile was targeting Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has not officially taken a side in the conflict, but he called out the U.S. and Israel for violating international law. NewsNation spoke with an Iranian in Istanbul who is hoping to go home and hopes the tyranny ends. I feel like Im an American because we have the same values. We are asking to have the same values like America, they said. Like America, we do not want to be governed with this tyranny. We want to be valued as a human, humanitarian valued, and so on. So you want to have the same rights internationally, what other people have, and so on. Azerbaijan accuses Iran of drone attack Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack on its exclave of Nakhchivan. The ministry said in a statement that one drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan, and another near a school. Two civilians were injured, the ministry said. Iran war causing price panic for some Americans Azerbaijan strongly condemns this incident, the ministry said, adding that it reserves the right to take necessary retaliatory measures. The ministry said it summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest: Such actions contradict the norms and principles of international law and contribute to increased tension in the region. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks have spread as the war has gone on, involving regional countries and beyond. Nakhchivan is territorially separated from the rest of Azerbaijan. It accounts for about 6% of Azerbaijans territory, with a swath of Armenia about 25 miles wide between the exclave and Azerbaijan. It borders Azerbaijans close ally, Turkey, and Iran. Senate rejects war powers vote On Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for further military action against Iran. A similar measure in the House faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress and would likely be vetoed by President Donald Trump. Pentagon releases remaining names of soldiers killed in Kuwait attack The Pentagon on Wednesday night released the last two names of the six U.S. soldiers killed in a Kuwait attack. The soldiers identified were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, and Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa. The Pentagon said Marzan was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said. Four soldiers were previously identified by the Pentagon on Tuesday. They died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. LONDONDERRY The Town of Londonderry and Freedom Energy Logistics jointly announced that, effective April 1, Londonderry residents currently receiving electric default supply service through Eversource will be eligible to participate in the towns Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program through an agreement with First Point Power at a rate of $0.09573 per kilowatt hour. Eversource announced that its 6-month default electricity supply service rate is $0.11303 per kilowatt hour, effective Feb. 1 through July 31. With a rate of $0.09573 per kilowatt hour, the Londonderry CCA program will provide an initial savings of $0.0173 per kilowatt hour. In preparation for the Londonderry Community Choice Aggregation roll-out, Freedom Energy and the town are holding a joint information session on March 7 at 10 a.m. at the Londonderry High School. Additionally, information materials are available on the towns website, Freedom Energys Londonderry CCA website, and in Londonderrys town hall. Advertisement Advertisement The introduction of our Community Choice Aggregation program marks a significant milestone for Londonderry, said Shaun Mulholland, Londonderrys Town Manager. The Town Council formally approved the final plan for the program on July 15, 2024, and selected Freedom Energy to administer its implementation. At this juncture, we are prepared to launch the CCA initiative, enabling the town to pursue savings for our residents and small businesses amid the ongoing volatility of statewide energy prices, said Mulholland. By providing more competitive rates, we aim to enhance affordability, transparency, and local oversight in energy management. Londonderry is one of 12 New Hampshire communities served by Freedom Energy, and among four local municipalities that are rolling out their Community Choice Aggregation programs in early spring 2026. Advertisement Advertisement To date, CCA programs have enabled municipalities to help stabilize costs, promote price transparency and foster local economic development in communities. We have been collaborating with Londonderry for more than six years to create this innovative electric aggregation program, and we are excited to work with town leaders to bring this CCA to local residents and businesses, said Bart Fromuth, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Energy. As many residents experienced rising prices this winter, the CCA roll-out will lower costs for ratepayers, when compared to the utilitys current rate in the short-term, and it will also provide more opportunities for longer-term price stability that will directly benefit members of the community and small business owners. Bill payers and business owners across the UK are grappling with rising costs as the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East continues to cause heating oil prices to spiral. Home heating oil is used by around 1.5 million households in the UK, but sudden volatility in global oil trade has caused prices to spike by as much as 100 in the past week alone. Nearly two-thirds of homes (62.5 per cent) of homes in Northern Ireland use oil for heating, compared to the UK average of just over five per cent. Advertisement Advertisement Andy Douglas set up Andys Oil in 2013, providing heating oil to his customers in County Armagh for over a decade. He says that rising prices and panic buying have forced him to stop taking orders for a short time, as he has been forced to operate at a loss. Mr Douglas told The Independent: Im working 16 hours today and Im losing 1000 because of not charging enough a day or two ago when I accepted the order. Andy Douglas set up Andys Oil in 2013, providing heating oil to his customers in County Armagh for over a decade (Andy's Oil) The oil seller, who has worked in the trade since 2003, says he added on his normal margin, which varies from around 3p to 12p a litre. [But] my suppliers have increased their prices to me by 30p a litre, he says, so Im delivering it well under what I would have. Advertisement Advertisement Just before the conflict, the average price of 500 litres of home heating oil in Northern Ireland was 307.38, figures from the Consumer Council NI (CCNI) show. By Monday, this had spiked to 395 at one provider in County Armagh, and 425 at another in County Down. Mr Douglas said: I normally just lift my oil on a daily basis at Belfast storage terminals. Ill go fill the lorry, go out and sell the oil, and thats it. So Im subject to the daily prices coming out of the storage terminal, whatever they may be. That works fine most of time, except times when theres panic buying like this. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (The Independent) The business owner adds that he has been through this before at the outset of Russias war with Ukraine in 2022, which caused UK energy prices to spike before returning to levels consistently higher than before. Advertisement Advertisement With that experience in recent memory everyone knew to pounce and try and get the oil before it jumped in price, says Mr Douglas, adding that he received around 200 or 300 phone calls on the Monday. Unlike homes on grid-supplied electricity and gas on standard variable or default tariffs, prices for those that use heating oil are not regulated by Ofgems energy price cap. This means they are entirely subject to the fluctuating price of heating oil, which looks set to increase further as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. Global oil prices continue to rise after the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on Saturday, which were followed by retaliatory Iranian strikes on targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement As fighting escalates, Iran has warned that it will set fire to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping channel for the global oil industry. The strait provides the only passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a crucial point for the operation of the oil industry. Around 20 per cent of the worlds gas and oil is shipped through the waterway. Home heating oil is used by around 1.5 million households in the UK (Getty) Some have accused oil importers of increasing their costs prematurely, expecting more of a lag between the outbreak of the conflict and price rises. Irish Labour Party spokesperson George Lawlor TD has called on the Government to immediately introduce a maximum price order on home heating oil. Advertisement Advertisement He said: What we are witnessing is pure price gouging. Home heating oil companies have hiked their prices overnight, blaming events in the Middle East, yet the oil currently being delivered to Irish homes has been in the country for weeks if not months. There has been no sudden disruption to supply. There is no shortage. There is no justification for hammering families in this way. Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council said: As we import all our home heating oil, Northern Ireland is at the mercy of volatile global oil markets and the price that consumers pay is impacted by a complex range of factors, including geopolitical tensions which can result in price fluctuations. Home heating oil prices had been increasing slowly over the last couple of weeks, with 500 litres 307.38 on the 26th February, up 13 on the previous week. This conflict with Iran is very likely to have some impact on home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland and when we publish our weekly oil price check on Thursday, we will know exactly how much of an impact this will be. We will continue to monitor the situation very carefully. Waymo executives see an opportunity. Teamsters see a threat. Ronza Othman just sees a chance to get a ride without being discriminated against. Just yesterday, I was late to work because a rideshare driver refused to take me, said Othman, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. He said, quote, Its not worth the money, since he could get more rides in the time it would take for him to help me. Othmans comments came during a Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing Wednesday on Senate Bill 909, Sen. Sara Loves (D-Montgomery) bill to allow fully autonomous vehicles or driverless cars to operate in Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Autonomous vehicles would provide freedom of movement to those who are unable to drive, a safer alternative to human drivers and an opportunity for existing companies to grow around an emerging technology, Love testified during the nearly two hours of hearing on her bill. SB 909 and a companion bill, House Bill 1295, sponsored by Del. Natalie Ziegler (D-Howard and Montgomery), would allow driverless cars to operate in the state as long as certain technical standards and specifications are met. Senators peppered the witnesses with technical questions about driverless cars, but did not seem to be opposed to the idea. Othman said autonomous vehicles would be a true game changer for people with disabilities. John Seng, founder and chair of Safe Roads Maryland, a nonprofit focused on improving road safety in Maryland, testified the driverless services like Waymo remove the most dangerous part of driving: the human element. Waymos cant drive inebriated, chew edibles, drive distracted or speed, Seng said. Maryland lawmakers are considering bills to let driverless ride-share companies like Waymo operate in Maryland. A Waymo car was on display at the State House Wednesday morning. (Photo Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) But where Seng sees a positive in removing the human element, drivers see a concern. Thomas Doyle, the state program director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, testified that there are thousands of Teamsters within the state who drive professionally for a living. Advertisement Advertisement These Teamsters, and all professional drivers are relevant stakeholders whose concerns need to be heard when we are examining this bill, Doyle said. Do we really believe that the technologys there? In addition to technological concerns, Doyle noted that the bill would allow fleet technicians humans in a driverless car who can take over remotely if needed who are not licensed drivers in Maryland and may be unfamiliar with our roads and rules. But Ethan Teicher, a spokesperson for autonomous driving technology company Waymo, said autonomous vehicles are often safer than human drivers. The data shows that the [Waymo] technology is involved in 90% fewer serious injuries or worse crashes compared to human drivers, said Teicher, who showed off one of the companys cars outside the State House earlier Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Waymo currently operates fully autonomous cars in 10 major U.S. cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta. The company is looking to expand into Baltimore, Teicher said. Waymo already has about a dozen cars in the city, driven by professional drivers to acquaint the technology with the city. It is not offering rides to passengers in Baltimore yet, Teicher said. If the bills are passed, the company would slowly phase out the professional drivers in Baltimore. It would start by using the autonomous technology with professional drivers behind the wheel, and as safety benchmarks are met, the cars could move toward operating without a driver behind the wheel, Teicher said. When asked about the impacts of autonomous vehicles on rideshare drivers, Teicher said theres going to be some kind of transition, as to what rideshare jobs would look like in the future. Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX As autonomous vehicle services expand, he said, Waymo will need a team of professionals to support its fleet, such as staff to aid with technology updates, fleet technicians to work on the cars and construction and skilled trade workers to build necessary infrastructure like charging facilities and depots. Certainly, we want to partner with the state to make sure those opportunities stay local and get in the hands of people who need them, Teicher said. Despite the concerns about jobs, Seng believes the bills will only serve to increase roadway safety. No technology or law is a panacea, its one size fits all. Increasing road safety means decreasing fatalities, injuries and crashes, Seng said. A tense moment during a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing is spreading widely online after video showed Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) rushing to assist Capitol Police as they removed an anti-war Marine Corps veteran who interrupted the proceedings. Footage of the confrontationduring which the veteran appeared to suffer a broken armhas fueled heated backlash and debate online, with critics accusing the senator of escalating the situation, and supporters arguing that he helped officers regain control of the room. Sen. Tim Sheehy tackles Marine veteran Brian McGinnis Officers attempted to escort Marine Corps veteran and political candidate Brian McGinnis from the room on Wednesday after he interrupted an Armed Services subcommittee meeting. Advertisement Advertisement The confrontation escalated when McGinnis, who is running for the Senate as a Green Party candidate, resisted removal. Footage suggested the struggle left him injured with a broken arm or wrist. Before the incident, McGinnis posted a video on X explaining why he planned to protest inside the Capitol hearing room. Hey guys, Im here in D.C. trying to speak out against the Senate and ask them why theyre going to send our men and women into harms way when our elected officials said that it would be no world war, McGinnis said in the video. Anybody who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, youre not alone. Join us in demanding accountability for this betrayal. Free Palestine, free America. Lets go. Hours later, a video shared by CBS News reporter Alan He (@alanhe) showed Capitol Police officers attempting to remove him after he shouted, No one wants to fight for Israel. Senator Sheehy joined Capitol Police in lifting up and ejecting anti war protestor Brian McGinnis from a SASC subcommittee hearing. McGinnis is a Green Party candidate running for Senate in N.C. An antiwar activist filmed the video below: pic.twitter.com/0dVA0ORWXQ Alan He (@alanhe) March 4, 2026 During the scuffle, McGinnis hooked one arm around the hearing room doorframe while officers tried to carry him out. Sheehy rushed forward and grabbed McGinnis lower leg. Advertisement Advertisement Then the senator moved and grabbed McGinniss shoulder and arm, apparently trying to pull him free from the door. A distinct snap of breaking bone could be heard on the recording. Injury claims and online reactions follow Afterward, another clip showed McGinnis being escorted away while supporters said his arm was broken. Capitol Police later confirmed he received treatment for an injury but did not specify its nature. In a statement, the Capitol Police said officers had to respond when the protest began inside the hearing room. This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers attempts to remove him from the room, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities also said three officers were treated for injuries. Meanwhile, McGinnis faced three counts of assaulting a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest and crowding, obstructing, and incommoding for the unlawful demonstration, according to reporting from the Daily Montanan. Sheehy reposted the video on his own social media account with a statement, calling the Marine veteran unhinged. Online reactions varied widely. Journalist Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) wrote, This is lunatic behavior by Sheehy. However, others praised the senators actions and painted McGinnis as belligerent and aggressive. ? HOLY CRAP! US Senator & Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy just PERSONALLY jumped in and helped Capitol Police TAKE DOWN a belligerent man aggressively interrupting a Senate hearing If youre going to interrupt a hearing, Id probably pick one @TimSheehyMTs not in?pic.twitter.com/HOAQnRQza4 Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 4, 2026 Activist Medea Benjamin posted that McGinnis stood up in Congress to say what millions of Americans are thinking, adding that security dragged him out and broke his arm. Former Marine Sgt. Brian McGuinness stood up in Congress to say what millions of Americans are thinking: We dont want to fight a war with Iran for Israel. Security dragged him out and broke his arm. Veterans are speaking out. The American people dont want this war. pic.twitter.com/Bxjluiol5f Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) March 4, 2026 Others claimed that Sheehy was the one to break the veterans arm, though the footage was unclear. Advertisement Advertisement According to trackaipac.com, which tracks donations to American politicians from the pro-Israel lobby, Sheehy has accepted $641,337 from The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The internet is chaoticbut well break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dots newsletter here. PARIS (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered Frances nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the war in the Middle East. Macron said the Charles de Gaulle carrier will be escorted by frigates and its air wing. In a prerecorded speech on French TV, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East. And we will continue this effort as much as necessary, Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement France, the U.K. and Germany have previously said that they werent involved in the strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel that began late last week, but were prepared to take defensive action to destroy Irans capability to fire missiles and drones. Macron, however, said that French forces had shot down drones in legitimate self-defense in the very first hours of the conflict, to defend the airspace of our allies, who know they can rely on us. He did not elaborate. In explaining the need to move France's aircraft carrier, Macron cited Monday's strike on a British air force base on Cyprus, adding that Cyprus was a member of the European Union with which France has recently signed a strategic partnership. This requires our support," Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement Macron also said that France has defense agreements binding the EU nation to Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as strong commitments to Jordan and Iraq. Noting that the war had spread to Lebanon, Macron said the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group made the grave mistake of striking Israel and putting the Lebanese people in danger but warned against Israel launching a ground operation. This, too, would be a dangerous escalation and a strategic error, he said. Hezbollah must imperatively cease all strikes, and I call on Israel to respect Lebanese territory and its integrity. Reflecting Frances traditional support for rulesbased international order, Macron noted that France cannot approve of the strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran because they were carried outside of the framework of international law. Advertisement Advertisement He said it would it be desirable to end the strikes as quickly as possible, and that lasting peace in the region can only be achieved through the resumption of diplomatic negotiations. And I also wish here to express the hope that the Iranian people may themselves freely decide their own destiny, Macron added. That said, history never weeps for the executioners of their own people, and none of them will be mourned, he said in reference to the killings of Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iran top officials. Macron also insisted on Iran's responsibility for the conflict. It is Iran that developed a dangerous nuclear program and unprecedented ballistic capabilities; that armed and financed terrorist groups in neighboring countriesHezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite militias in Iraqand that supported Hamas, while always affirming its objective of destroying the State of Israel, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he had held talks with officials in Lebanon at the highest level to develop a plan to end the attacks currently being carried out by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese authorities had pledged to take control of Hezbollah's positions and fully ensure security across the entire national territory. "I will support them to the best of my ability," Macron posted on the platform X. Advertisement Advertisement France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese armed forces and provide them with armoured transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support, he added. Macron spoke ahead of a looming Israeli attack on suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Iran war had reignited the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The government in Lebanon is also under pressure to enforce the agreed disarmament of Hezbollah, which is considered Tehran's most important non-state ally. France will increase humanitarian aid for Lebanon, Macron said. Several metric tons of medicines are on the way, as well as shelters and relief supplies. France is traditionally closely connected to Lebanon as a former mandate power. President Donald Trump is replacing Kristi Noem with an MMA fighter-turned-MAGA senator, Oklahomas Markwayne Mullin. Trump announced the move on Truth Social in a sudden end to ICE Barbies cabinet career, amid claims she spent hundreds of millions on television ads about herself without Trumps knowledge. Trumps choice of Mullin was first reported by National Review, which said the president had been enraged by Noems testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, where she insisted Trump had approved of her $220 million ad campaign in advance. Advertisement Advertisement During the combative hearing, Noem was grilled by Republicans about her department doling out the pricey contracts for an ad campaign heavily featuring her to close political allies. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled by Republican Sen. John Kennedy on Capitol Hill on March 3. / Elizabeth Frantz / REUTERS The outgoing DHS secretary testified under oath that Trump had approved of the campaign in advance as she was pressed by Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who questioned whether she was telling the truth. But on Thursday, Kennedy told reporters that the president called him after Noem testified and disputed her claims. Put it this way, his recollection and her recollection are different, Kennedy said. Noem was gone just two hours later. Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy told reporters on Capitol Hill that he didnt have any insider information, but added: If youre asking me, my opinion of Markwayne Mullin, hes very able, capable guy. I mean, Im not going to say anything bad about him. Hell whip my a--, the Louisiana senator added. Sen. Markwayne Mullin is a former professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter who was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016 and is reportedly being considered to replace DHS Secretary Noem. / mullinforamerica.com During Tuesdays hearing, Noem was grilled by Republican Senator Kennedy, who took issue with DHSs multi-million-dollar ad campaign. The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently? Kennedy asked on Tuesday. Noem insisted he had, but when she tried to argue the messaging was effective, Kennedy cut her off: Well, they were effective in your name recognition. Advertisement Advertisement The Louisiana lawmaker went on to shred the decision and even questioned Noems testimony under oath. To me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot, Kennedy said. Im not saying youre not telling the truth, its just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, Mr. President, heres some ads I cut, and Im going to spend $220 million running them, that he would have agreed to that. Publicly, the White House has repeatedly insisted the president still has confidence in Noem despite the stream of negative and embarrassing headlines. The Daily Beast asked Mullins office for comment, but the senator told the National Review on Wednesday that he had not spoken to the president when asked about whether he was aware he was being considered as a replacement. President Trump is reportedly considering replacing Noem with MAGA Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. / Anadolu / Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images Mullin is one of the loudest defenders of Trumps agenda on Capitol Hill, but he does not have a law enforcement or national security background, having run a family plumbing business in Oklahoma before being elected to the House and then the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Just this week, the senator, a 48-year-old grandfather, mixed up the fact that the U.S. was at war with Iran and instead mentioned the Iraqi people, called the defense secretary President Hegseth, and immediately backtracked after declaring the U.S. was at war in Iran before saying he misspoke. On Thursday, Punchbowl News reported that the president has been quietly calling around Capitol Hill to ask Republican lawmakers whether he should fire Noem. It said Trump was particularly upset with the DHS secretarys response to Kennedy on Tuesday. Noem, 54, was already on shaky ground for her handling of the ICE surge to Minnesota and fallout over the killing of two U.S. citizens whom she called domestic terrorists in the immediate aftermath, without evidence. The Cabinet member was separately under fire for ongoing rumors that she is having an affair with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski. Its known as DCs worst-kept secret as the pairboth married to other peoplehave been jetting around the country with Noem on a luxury jet to conduct official business. She declined multiple opportunities while being questioned by the House Homeland Security Committee to deny on oath that they are lovers, and was confronted with two Daily Beast stories about their alleged relationship and personal habits. One was a revelation by The Swamps our must-read guide to the D.C. scene, that Lewandowski had been seen taking out her trash. The other exposed how the luxury jet comes with a mile-high bedroom. Quick Read Goldman Sachs (GS) more than tripled its dividend distributions over the past five years. Lowes (LOW) has doubled its dividend payouts and offers a 1.72% annualized yield. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) stock is a sensible healthcare-sector pick that yields a very healthy 2.11%. Coca-Cola (KO) stock features a hefty 2.55% yield, and the company has gradually but consistently raised its dividend payments. READ: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE. Of all the retirement activities you can engage in, worrying about your financial security shouldn't be one of them. Owning dividend-paying stocks can help you relax and enjoy a more comfortable life -- but only if you pick the right stocks and avoid the riskiest ones. Holding dividend stocks for passive income is a smart strategy if you do it the right way. A simple strategy to keep you on the right track is to focus on blue-chip stocks and companies with a history of growing their dividend payments. Why choose dividend growth stocks? One reason is that you'll enhance your ability to generate income. Furthermore, it's a positive sign when a business can afford to reward its loyal shareholders with bigger and bigger cash distributions. I'll make it easy for you to get started. Here are four well-known stocks representing solid businesses that also happen to be dividend growers. When you're ready to build a more comfortable retirement, feel free to add any or all of these stocks to your portfolio. Goldman Sachs (GS) First things first: I will always include the five-year price chart for these dividend growth stocks. That's because, if you want to retire comfortably, you'll surely want to see the share price chart go up over time, not down. Financial giant Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) easily meets this criteria, as GS stock is up 181% over the past five years. This doesn't guarantee future returns, but you must admit, it's a good sign. And, with higher share prices come bigger cash payouts for Goldman Sachs' investors. Back in June of 2021, the company paid a quarterly dividend distribution of $1.25 per share. In March of this year, Goldman Sachs is expected to pay a quarterly dividend of $4.50 per share -- more than triple the $1.25 payment from June 2021. Today, GS stock offers an annual dividend yield of around 2%, so don't hesitate to add it to your retirement watch list. Lowe's (LOW) Here's another market leader, but this one's in the home improvement supply industry. I'm referring to Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), a business that has been around for many years and isn't going away anytime soon. In an effort to reduce the cost of child care for working families, Maine lawmakers have passed legislation to increase state support. Introduced by Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland), LD 1955 would allocate $15 million for the Child Care Affordability Program in the next fiscal year. The program pays for a portion of childcare costs for working families making 125% or less of the states median income. The bill would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a long-term plan for the financial sustainability of the program, and report to the Maine Legislature by Dec. 15. Advertisement Advertisement While the bill was being debated in the House of Representatives Thursday morning, labor advocates with the Maine AFL-CIO gathered in the Hall of Flags to voice support for the bill. Cynthia Phinney, president of Maine AFL-CIO, said that many families are now stuck on the waiting list for the Child Care Affordability Program, after funding ran out. Many parents end up having to either cut their work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to the exorbitant costs of safe and reliable care for their children, she said. Female workers face severe lifetime earning penalties when they must leave a job that theyd like to keep, to care for their children. In a statement, Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said the Office of Child and Family Services has worked to move children off the waiting list. Advertisement Advertisement While the waitlist previously had approximately 1,000 children waiting for placements, as of this week, that number is now at 883, she said. As funding allows, the Department continues to move children off the waitlist each week. Kevin Ready, a postal truck driver with two young kids, said his family was among those that got stuck on the waiting list. It was kind of like a rug got pulled out from under us, Ready said. Just when it seemed like things were gonna get a little bit better for us. Without that support, we could not afford to send my son to daycare, my wife ended up having to stay home. In the end we were worse off financially, we struggled to pay bills and continue to do so. Meg Sinclair, a nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland, said she had to reduce her hours to work part-time after she couldnt find childcare for her nine-month-old son. Advertisement Advertisement And there are dozens of mothers to young children that I work with in the emergency room, I cant think of one of them who has not had to reduce their hours since becoming a parent, Sinclair said. Those sentiments were echoed by supporters in the House, like Rep. Cheryl Golek (D-District 99). Golek said as a single mother herself, she would not be in her current position without childcare support. When were talking about a population that needs help with childcare, we are almost always talking about a lower income population of people that we supposedly have a ladder to help them climb up, Golek said. This bill helps fix one of those broken steps in the ladder. And will help people continue to climb to where they deserve to be able to be. But House Republicans raised objections, arguing that its not the states place to pay for child care. Advertisement Advertisement I oppose this bill because I am under the belief that we are personally responsible for the child care of our children, said Rep. Michael Lemelin (R-District 53). I believe that parents need to go back to the old way where you had family members care for them or one of the parents would work, he added, you just worked it out. Lemelin said there are already programs in place for extreme situations that require assistance. Rep. Laurel Libby (R-District 90) said she would rather see the state reduce regulations to encourage growth in child care options. Putting lifestyle choices aside, its not the proper role of the government to throw money at this solution, she said. Advertisement Advertisement On a roll call vote, the House passed the bill 72-68 and passed the Senate last week without a roll call The legislation is among a handful of bills that passed last session but were never signed by the governor and eventually recalled from her desk for more work. It will now head back to Gov. Janet Mills to determine if it becomes law. NEED TO KNOW In a Tuesday interview with Slate, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said his campaign received clear warnings from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) that he had no right to enter the race Platner launched his campaign in August, and has faced several controversies; in October, he received backlash for a tattoo resembling a Nazi skull and crossbones, which he said he plans to remove Platner said Tuesday that his campaign has "never spoken to anybody at the DSCC, period" Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he received explicit warnings from national Democrats not to enter the race ahead of his campaigns launch in August. In an interview for the Tuesday, March 3, episode of Slate podcast Death, Sex & Money, Platner, a political newcomer, told host Anna Sale that his campaign received very clear warnings from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the national organization charged with increasing Democratic representation in the Senate, that he had no right to enter the race. Advertisement Advertisement They had a candidate they had chosen, Platner said Tuesday, referring to Maines Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who launched her Senate bid in October. She had not announced yet, but was going to be the candidate, and I had essentially not done my time I was skipping the line. They essentially said, if we do this, they're going to come after me, Platner said of the DSCCs messages to his campaign. They're going to rip my life apart. Platners campaign has seen its share of controversy since Mills entered the race. In October, CNN reported that Platner once promoted violent political action in a number of since-deleted social media posts, and the candidate received swift backlash after revealing a tattoo resembling a Nazi skull and crossbones. The DSCC did not immediately return PEOPLEs request for comment, and declined to respond to Platners remarks ahead of the episodes air date, a Slate representative said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement I also reached out, Platner said on Tuesday. I made it clear that I was very willing to talk to anyone in Washington, to have a conversation, just so they could hear me out. To this day, by the way, all these months later, no one has ever taken me up on that. We've never spoken to anybody at the DSCC, period, Platner said. The only folks I've spoken to in Washington are other senators who have been very supportive of what Ive done, both publicly and behind the scenes. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, endorsed Platner at a rally in April, and Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona announced this week that he would back the first-time candidate, saying he reflects the grit and independence that defines Maine. For her part, Mills has secured high-profile endorsements from the likes of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey. Advertisement Advertisement An oyster farmer and military veteran from Sullivan, Maine, a coastal town of about 1,200 people, Platners rise from long-shot candidate to serious contender in a race that could help determine the balance of power in Congress is something of a surprise. Mills, a two-term governor, has a proven track record and broad approval among Democrats in the state. Platner has said he plans to get his controversial tattoo, located on the right side of his chest, removed. It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol, he said in a statement in October. I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. Planter is leading Mills in recent polls of Maine voters. Pan Atlantic Research's 68th Omnibus Poll, released on March 4, shows Planter leading Mills 46% to 39%, reports WMTV. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Maine Gov. Janet Mills Credit: Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald via Getty In Tuesdays interview, Platner appeared to suggest that Mills was behind the negative attention brought to his past. Advertisement Advertisement The governor announced the campaign on a Tuesday and all of the negative stories began to drop Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of that week, he said. You don't have to do a lot of deep thinking to find connections there." A spokesperson for Mills campaign did not immediately return a request for comment. The two Maine Democrats will square off in the states Democratic primary on June 9, with the winner of that race set to face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, in November. Read the original article on People A second Iowan was identified Wednesday as one of the six U.S. military members killed in an Iranian strike on a facility in Kuwait. The U.S. Defense Department identified Major Jeffrey OBrien, a 45-year-old from Waukee, as one of the six Army Reserve soldiers killed in the Iran strike of a tactical operations center in Kuwaits Port of Shuaiba on March 1. On Tuesday, the department identified Sgt. Declan J. Coady, a 20-year-old from West Des Moines, as another one of the soldiers killed in the attack. Our hearts are broken by the deaths of Major Jeffrey OBrien and Sergeant Declan Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace, Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. On behalf of a grateful state, Kevin and I offer our prayers and condolences for their families, and we ask all Iowans to stand united in support of our fallen soldiers and those who loved them. Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX All the soldiers at the Kuwait facility were assigned to the the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines. The other three soldiers identified are Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. According to a U.S. Army Reserves news release, OBrien was commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012 in the Army Reserve, and deployed to Kuwait in 2019, and had received multiple awards and decorations. He was an employee at ProCircular in Coralville, nominating his employer for their support as he served in the U.S. Army Reserve. Iowa politicians responded to the news of OBriens death with condolences for the families of soldiers in the attack. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said he and his wife are offering our prayers for Iowas grieving Gold Star Families following the news of OBrien and Coadys deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Its devastating to learn a second Iowan has lost his life in combat, Grassley said. Maj. OBriens heroism will be remembered forever, along with his fellow fallen soldier and Iowan, Sgt. Declan Coady. State Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner also offered words of support to OBriens loved ones in a statement. I am devastated by the news of yet another Iowan killed in action overseas, Weiner said. Every loss of life is a tragedy, but its made that much worse when it happens so far from home. My thoughts are with Jeffrey OBriens loved ones as they grapple with his sacrifice and with all the Iowans who continue to put themselves in harms way. Please, no more. U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn said in a social media post he has spoken with leaders at the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Fort Des Moines, and that all families of soldiers killed during the attack have been notified. He also said nine soldiers assigned to the unit were wounded in the strike, and that all have arrived at a U.S. base in Germany and are undergoing medical evaluation. Advertisement Advertisement Military doctors and medics are working around the clock, and families are receiving updates as more information becomes available, Nunn wrote. Please join me in praying for these families and in thanking the military medics and doctors providing life-saving care to our wounded. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Man accused of triple homicide in Utah apprehended in Colorado WAYNE COUNTY, Utah (KREX) A 22-year-old Iowa man was arrested in Colorado connected to a triple homicide in Wayne County, Utah. Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa, was apprehended in Pagosa Springs early Thursday morning. His vehicle was tracked from southern Utah into northern Arizona and then Colorado. He is still in custody in Pagosa Springs. On Wednesday afternoon, Utah police received a call regarding two deceased women on a hiking trail, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS). A third victim was found at a residence in Wayne County a short time later. The victims, whose identities have yet to be announced, were women in their 30s, 60s and 80s, respectively. Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement tied a possible stolen 2022 white Subaru Outback driven by Miller to both scenes. Around 11:10 p.m., the Pagosa Springs Police Department and Archuleta County Sheriffs Office were notified of the suspect and the alleged stolen car. A Pagosa Springs officer found the car within city limits, before it was abandoned in Centennial Park near downtown. The police department secured the vehicle, followed by a manhunt for the suspect. Miller was eventually located and detained around 2:41 a.m., Thursday. Police allegedly found Miller possessed a concealed handgun and a large knife. He was arrested for possession of concealed weapons. Advertisement Advertisement DPS stated the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and Utah Crime Lab are still processing the two crimes as of Thursday morning. The department thanked the Wayne County Sheriffs Office, FBI, BLM, Pagosa Springs Police Department, the Archuleta, Sevier and Page (Arizona) Police Department and Kane County Sheriffs Offices for their help. Furthermore, we recognize the vigilance of all surrounding law enforcement agencies whose proactive communication and coordination were instrumental in locating the suspect and securing the region, DPS stated. Wayne County Sheriffs Office also said it extends our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. Authorities have released an image of a Chester County, Pennsylvania man accused of indecently assaulting a child. The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Joseph Bouffard of Glenmoore. Joseph Bouffard According to Pennsylvania state police, Bouffard followed an 11-year-old girl around a Walmart in West Sadsbury Township before he allegedly assaulted her. Police say Bouffard grabbed the victim when she was separated from her mother in the beverage aisle of the store. Advertisement Advertisement The girl immediately turned and ran back to her mom. Late last month police say they confronted Bouffard at his employer's parking lot, where they say he admitted to the assault. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Bouffard allegedly told them. Bouffard faces several charges, including indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old and unlawful contact with a minor. The incident happened on January 24. Police released his photo and details of the incident on Thursday. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Christopher Johnson at 610- 486-6280. A 33-year-old Hawaii man is dead after entering a closed section of Kilauea caldera at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, triggering an overnight search and rescue operation in steep, hazardous terrain, officials said. National Park Service personnel responded Feb. 26 to the east side of the caldera. The volcano was not erupting at the time, authorities noted. Rescue crews searched through the night before locating the man the following day. On Feb. 27, responders airlifted him from the area and transported him to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Park officials said his family was notified, and his name is being withheld pending privacy considerations. Hikers Stiff Hotel On Unpaid Bill After Treacherous 7-Hour Mountain Rescue Operation, Nonprofit Says People watch as Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupts for the 21st time on May 11, 2025, in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. (Getty Images) The death comes as officials continue to warn visitors about the risks of venturing beyond designated areas, particularly amid heightened interest in Kilaueas ongoing eruption activity. Read On The Fox News App In December, two trespassers were caught on camera hiking dangerously close to an active eruption inside a restricted zone of the park. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory told Hawaii News Now at the time that no U.S. Geological Survey scientists or other authorized personnel were in that closed area. Advertisement Advertisement Lou Ettore, who runs the eruption-tracking media company Two Pineapples with his wife, Anna, told the outlet the incidents appear to be fueled by social media attention. Man Dies At Grand Canyon After Slipping Over Edge, Falling More Than 100 Feet, Sheriff's Office Says Visitors watch the eruption of the Kilauea volcano at the Devastation Trail overlook on March 11, 2025, in Volcano National Park, Hawaii. "I think its really just for the clicks, just for the views to grab attention to themselves," Ettore said. The couple said they documented nine trespassing incidents over the past year. "Were seeing it more often now than we have in the past," Ettore added. "There are dozens, if not hundreds, of videos and images, all from out-of-bounds, being posted on all platforms nonstop." Advertisement Advertisement In another close call last June, a 30-year-old Boston man survived a 30-foot fall after leaving Byron Ledge Trail in an attempt to get closer to erupting lava. A tree broke his fall and likely prevented him from plunging another 100 feet to the caldera floor, according to the National Park Service. Click Here To Download The Fox News App Kilaueas eruption, which began Dec. 23, 2024, has drawn a surge of visitors to the park, officials said. During one June episode, lava fountains soared more than 1,000 feet into the air, according to officials. The active eruption area remains closed due to serious hazards. Kilauea caldera features unstable cliff edges, hidden cracks and other dangerous volcanic terrain, according to the National Park Service. Officials urge visitors to stay on marked trails and overlooks, avoid climbing over barriers and comply with all warning and trespassing signs. Original article source: Man dies after sneaking into closed section of popular national park Authorities have arrested a man in connection with a double stabbing at a home in a southern New Hampshire town late Wednesday afternoon. Jeremy Belida, 38, of Hillsboro, is facing charges including two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of felony obstructing the report of a crime with a deadly weapon, according ot the Hillsboro Police Department. Officers responding to a report of a stabbing at a home on Preston Street in Hillsboro just after 4:15 p.m. found two people in the driveway suffering from serious injuries, police said. Both victims, whose names havent been released, were rushed to Concord Hospital, where they underwent surgery. They were last said to be in critical condition. Advertisement Advertisement The suspect, later identified as Belida, then barricaded himself in the home for nearly 12 hours, prompting a neighborhood lockdown and SWAT standoff, according to police. New Hampshire State Police ultimately took Belida into custody around 3 a.m. and transported him to a local hospital for the treatment of various injuries. Belida is expected to face a judge on Thursday. An investigation is ongoing. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW FOND DU LAC Caiden Stachowicz, 20, has been sentenced for a January 2025 arson of a congressman's office, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney announced March 5. Judge imposes 14-year sentence Fire damaged the outside of U.S. Rep, Glenn Grothman's Fond du Lac office early Sunday. Authorities say the fire was set by a Menasha man who cited anger over the U.S. ban on the video app TikTok. Judge Tricia Walker sentenced Stachowicz to seven years of initial confinement and seven years extended supervision. He was convicted in November after a fire at a strip mall that included U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman's office on North Peters Avenue in the early morning of Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement No one was injured in the fire, which was started in an electrical box behind the building to protest a vote on a TikTok ban. Read more: Oakfield driver flown to hospital after US 45 rollover District attorney condemns political violence "Political violence isnt a Republican or Democrat issue, its an American issue," Toney said in a news release. "It must be taken seriously to protect our democratic republic and ensure that the best of America are willing to step up and serve their communities and our country." He added that he hopes the sentence acts as a deterrent to others and lets the community know they will be protected. Read more: Police say Fond du Lac mother neglected son who died of starvation Fire caused damage but no injuries The fire occurred at about 1 a.m. Jan. 19, 2025, when the building was unoccupied. Damage included the exterior siding and an air conditioning unit. Advertisement Advertisement The criminal complaint indicated Stachowicz set fire to the office because the congressman voted "Yes" to require a sale of the app TikTok, after which the app stopped working in the U.S. for several hours the night of the fire. Sentence below state recommendation The state recommended a sentence of 12 to 15 years of initial confinement and 15 years of extended supervision, and the maximum possible sentence was 25 years of initial confinement and 15 years of extended supervision, according to Toney. The Fond du Lac Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Toney prosecuted. Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac man sentenced in TikTok arson at Grothman Wisconsin office A Syrian man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison over an attack on a Spanish tourist at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin last year, the Berlin Higher Regional Court said on Wednesday. The defendant was found guilty of attempted murder and attempted membership in a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors had described the act as motivated by radical Islamism and anti-Semitism. The Spanish victim was visiting the site, which commemorates the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust, on February 21, 2025, when he was stabbed in the throat. He suffered life-threatening injuries and had to undergo emergency surgery. The defendant, a Syrian refugee, was detained with blood-stained hands in the vicinity of the memorial following the attack. A Syrian man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison over an attack on a Spanish tourist at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin last year, the Berlin Higher Regional Court said on Wednesday. The 20-year-old was found guilty of attempted murder and attempted membership in a foreign terrorist organization over the incident on February 21, 2025. The court described the act at the site, which commemorates the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust, as motivated by radical Islamism and anti-Semitism. Advertisement Advertisement "He assumed he would encounter people of the Jewish faith there," said presiding judge Doris Husch. The attacker approached the Spanish tourist from behind and cut his throat with a knife approximately 14 centimetres long with the intention of killing him. He then shouted "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is greatest." The victim, now 31 years old and a joint plaintiff in the proceedings, barely survived the attack. "It must be considered a miracle that he survived the cut to his throat," said the judge. However, the Spaniard suffered serious "psychological scars" and remains unable to work while he undergoes psychological treatment. Advertisement Advertisement The defendant, a Syrian refugee who came to Germany in 2023 as an unaccompanied minor refugee, was detained with blood-stained hands in the vicinity of the memorial following the attack after handing himself in. He travelled to the capital from his home in the eastern state of Saxony in order to carry out the attack, and offered to join the Islamic State terrorist group via a messaging app. Asking for forgiveness, the 20-year-old admitted in court that he "attacked a person" and inflicted a large cut on them. "I regretted it just a second after the act," he said, arguing that he was under pressure from a messaging partner he had come into contact with while watching extremist videos. Today, more than 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, with an estimated 600 million living in Africa. This shortage hinders healthcare, education, digital inclusion, women and children empowerment, the creation of local jobs, building economic opportunity, and more. According to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, lack of access to electricity is the single greatest predictor of extreme poverty . "African governments are choosing to transform their energy sectors by committing to National Energy Compacts, driving forward ambitious reforms, and investing in African-led solutions to connect hundreds of millions of people to electricity. These new connections will reduce reliance on costly and dangerous alternatives, helping Africans build businesses and improve agricultural yields, while fueling job creation, education, healthcare, and hope," said William Asiko, Senior Vice President and Head of Africa at The Rockefeller Foundation . CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of Mission 300 Day during the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, The Rockefeller Foundation announced an additional US$10 million in support of Mission 300, the World Bank Group and African Development Bank's ambitious initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. With this funding, The Rockefeller Foundation is collaborating with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet ('Global Energy Alliance') to fast-track electrification efforts in at least 15 African countries by providing technical assistance to National Energy Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs), with support already underway in Malawi and Liberia. In addition, The Rockefeller Foundation specified that the Mission 300 Accelerator's support is helping improve CDMU coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal, using previously announced funding with its public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). Work is not only underway in Malawi and Liberia with new funding to the Global Energy Alliance, but is also in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal through the Mission 300 Accelerator, an initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital, with previously announced funding Story Continues Launched by the World Bank and African Development Bank to combat energy poverty and unlock opportunity across Africa, Mission 300 is an ambitious joint initiative to provide electricity to 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance, and Sustainable Energy for All, this innovative collaboration uses both grid extension and off-grid, decentralized renewable energy solutions to reach rural and underserved populations. To date, Mission 300 has connected approximately 44 million people to electricity. Investing in Mission 300 CDMUs Since the very first National Energy Compacts were announced during the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in January 2025, dozens of African countries have presented their compacts. These government-owned compacts go far beyond connections, committing governments to concrete reforms and investments that make large-scale electrification feasible and bankable. The compacts are all about creating the conditions for economic transformation that will drive industrial growth, and each accompanying CDMU is responsible for coordinating effective implementation. In addition, The Rockefeller Foundation confirmed that the Mission 300 Accelerator is actively providing support to CDMUs in Nigeria, along with Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, the latter two of which have a Mission 300 Fellow and active CDMU staff. With more in the pipeline, these three CDMUs are being supported through previously announced funding to the Mission 300 Accelerator's Technical Assistance Facility. "Energy access is key to unlocking human potential and economic development. Mission 300 has been critical toward speeding the rate of connections in sub-Saharan Africa and giving people the ability to improve their lives and livelihoods," said Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of RF Catalytic Capital's Mission 300 Accelerator. "These additional investments will allow Mission 300 to go farther and do more so we can achieve our goal of connecting 300 million people to electricity by 2030." "Connecting 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030 is one of the most consequential development ambitions of this decade. But targets alone do not deliver transformation. What delivers transformation is execution: governments with the institutional capacity, coordination mechanisms and implementation infrastructure to move at speed and scale," said Carol Koech, Vice President for Africa, Global Energy Alliance. "Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units are how bold National Energy Compacts become real. They align partners, strengthen institutions and ensure reforms translate into connections and economic opportunity. Through our work building the Grids of the Future and expanding Energy and Opportunity, the Global Energy Alliance is proud to partner with our Mission 300 partners to help countries turn ambition into affordable, abundant electricity and the means to use it to power jobs, growth and lasting systems change across Africa." Additionally, during Mission 300 Day at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, The Rockefeller Foundation also announced that: In collaboration with nonprofit impact accelerator CoAction Global, CDMU-based Mission 300 technical assistance fellowships are expanding to at least 18 African countries. The initial cohort of "Mission 300 Fellows" are already providing technical support toCDMUs in Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. About the Global Energy Alliance The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Inc. ('Global Energy Alliance') builds transformative public, private, philanthropic partnerships to end energy poverty and accelerate green economic opportunity. Founded in 2021 by The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund, we work to unlock finance, strengthen institutions and transform markets, delivering progress that goes beyond individual projects to drive lasting systems change. Through our two interconnected global pillars, Grids of the Future focused on innovation and infrastructure and Energy and Opportunity with a focus on jobs and livelihoods we work toward our vision: a world where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity and the means to use it to improve their lives. With work in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, our alliance aims to reach 1 billion people with clean electricity, prevent 4 billion tons of carbon emissions and create or improve 150 million jobs. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on X @EnergyAlliance. About The Rockefeller Foundation Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation. Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rockefeller-foundation-commits-an-additional-us10-million-to-accelerate-electricity-connections-across-africa-by-2030-302705079.html A man accused of violating Megans Law was arrested in White Oak on Tuesday. Allegheny County Police said Tion Tyree Bolding Jr., 32, was arrested in the 2800 block of Capitol Street. According to a criminal complaint, the situation began when police were called to the intersection of Capitol Street and California Avenue in September, for reports of a fight. Police said Bolding was at the house during that incident and said he had been dating someone who lived there. Advertisement Advertisement Bolding pleaded guilty to rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age and other charges in 2012. As a result, he is required to register his current address and any temporary addresses with the Pennsylvania State Polices Megans Law Registry. Officers served a warrant at the house on Capitol Street on Tuesday. Police said they found gun magazines, ammunition and marijuana inside the house. Investigators said they spoke with the lease owner, who told them that the gun accessories belonged to Bolding. He also said that Bolding was at the house between 20-30 days a month. Police said that, inside the house, Bolding also had his wallet and mail, which were listed to a different address. Advertisement Advertisement The presence of mail addresses to the target individual within the residence demonstrates that the individual has access to the location and keeps personal property there, which is consistent with someone who resides at or regularly occupies the residence, regardless of mailing address printed on the correspondence, a police report said. Officers said there was also a room that had a sign on the door that read Tions Game Room. Police said Boldings last listed address on Megans Law was on North Graham Street in Pittsburgh. Investigators said that was the address he gave on March 2. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Police are searching for a gunman who shot and killed a man following an argument inside a convenience store in Northeast Philadelphia. It happened just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Investigators say the gunman and the 35-year-old victim, identified as Vaswani Brown, were seen on surveillance arguing inside the Fresh Mini Market at Summerdale and Magee avenues. The altercation spilled outside, with the suspect opening fire as Brown got into his SUV. Advertisement Advertisement Brown was rushed to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he later died. Police found a gun belonging to the victim at the shooting scene. No arrests have been made. The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information can call or text Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit an anonymous tip online. BRIDGEPORT - A man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in a jewelry store theft ring that targeted businesses across the country, including ones in Milford's Connecticut Post Mall, officials say. In a release, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan said Edixon Rincon Puentes, a 45-year-old Columbian national most recently living in Los Angeles, was sentenced in federal court in Bridgeport on Thursday to 3 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement From May of 2023 to April of 2024, Sullivan said, Rincon Puentes and several other Colombian nationals burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls in Connecticut and other states. He said they then transported the stolen property or the proceeds from it across state lines. Before the burglaries, Sullivan said, the co-conspirators surveilled the stores and kiosks to formulate plans. As part of that reconnaissance, he said, they posed as legitimate customers to examine the desired merchandise and assess the establishment's security measures. Sullivan said Rincon Puentes primarily served as a lookout and driver, adding he and his co-conspirators burglarized jewelry establishments at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford on Oct. 5, 2023. He said they also burglarized establishments in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and in Henrico, Virginia, around that time. Sullivan said other members of the conspiracy burglarized additional jewelry establishments in New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Illinois and Virginia. He said Rincon Puentes and his associates also cased jewelry stores and kiosks in other states. Advertisement Advertisement Losses from the burglaries exceed $4.4 million, Sullivan said, and the total loss from the three burglaries Rincon Puentes participated in was $938,148. None of that stolen jewelry had been recovered by law enforcement as of Thursday, he said. Sullivan said the investigation revealed that much of the stolen jewelry was sold to the owner of a jewelry store in Queens, New York. He said that person then sold it to others, including those he knew would melt down the gold. Rincon Puentes has been detained since July 17, 2024, he said, adding he pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Nov. 8, 2024. This article originally published at Man tied to $4.4M jewelry theft ring that targeted CT mall gets 3.5 years in prison. The incident comes as Israels security establishment has warned of heightened Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis online for security-related tasks. A Galilee resident who told members of his family that he intended to carry out a bad act before leaving his home on Thursday was arrested hours later following a large-scale manhunt, police said. Police officers in the Northern District were alerted by the suspects relatives earlier on Thursday, prompting significant police reinforcements to the area, including Border Police and local emergency response teams, in an effort to locate the individual and prevent potential harm, police said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Residents in nearby communities were instructed to exercise caution and remain indoors. The Misgav Regional Council directed each community to station two armed members of its standby security team at the entrance gates. The suspect was taken in for questioning as police carry out its investigation into the unusual incident. The motive behind the alleged threat, whether criminal, personal, or security-related, has not yet been determined, and the circumstances remain under investigation. Authorities on high alert over Iranian recruitment attempts The manhunt comes as Israels security establishment has warned of heightened Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis online for security-related tasks. In a joint public warning issued Thursday, the Shin Bet and Israel Police urged Israelis to avoid contact with suspected Iranian intelligence operatives on social media platforms, citing increased attempts to enlist Israelis to carry out assignments during the ongoing campaign against Tehran. Advertisement Advertisement Security officials said the recruitment efforts are aimed at collecting sensitive intelligence, including information on strategic targets, locations of senior figures, and critical infrastructure. They added that since last years previous operation, authorities have exposed 16 serious security cases involving Israelis alleged to have maintained contact with Iranian handlers and carried out missions under their direction, with indictments filed and courts ordering detention until the end of proceedings. The Shin Bet recently said that dozens of Israelis were indicted over suspected Iran-linked espionage activity in 2025 amid a sharp rise in such plots. Iran trying to hack security cameras to improve accuracy of missile fire Iran is also said to be increasing its efforts to carry out cyber-attacks against Israeli infrastructure, specifically security cameras, in an attempt to improve the accuracy of missile fire toward the country, according to a report issued by Israeli cyber security company Check Point. (NewsNation) The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran over the weekend, a move that came after the Trump administration had pursued diplomatic talks regarding Irans nuclear program. While President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise of no new wars, he has conducted multiple military strikes since his second term began. Iran (June 2025) In addition to the current strikes on Iran, Trump conducted a strike targeting Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in June 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Video: US military sinks Iranian warship The strikes were meant to target Irans main nuclear facilities and came after warnings that the country could be close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Venezuela (January 2026) The Trump administration bombed the capital city of Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro in the strike. Somalia (February 2025 present) The Trump administration has been conducting strikes in Somalia to target ISIS and al-Shabaab. There have been more than 100 strikes launched, mostly using drones. Trumps Iran timeline spurs concern over US weapons stockpiles Yemen (March 2025 May 2025) The military conducted a series of air and naval strikes aimed at Houthis in Yemen who were targeting commercial and military ships in the Red Sea. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. signed a ceasefire with the Houthis in May of 2025. Iraq (March 2025) The military conducted a strike in Iraq, killing Abdallah Abu Khadijah Malli Musiha al-Rifai, the second in command for ISIS. The Caribbean (September 2025 present) The U.S. has been targeting alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean, conducting more than 45 strikes. Nigeria (December 2025) The U.S. conducted strikes against ISIS affiliates in Nigeria. The Trump administration has stated that Christians in Nigeria are being targeted, though militant groups also target moderate Muslims in the country. US launches military operations in Ecuador to fight against drug trafficking Syria (December 2025) The U.S. struck Syria after two U.S. soldiers and a translator were killed in Palmyra. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, pictured, R-Ga, at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 18, 2025. Credit - Sarah L. VoisinThe Washington Post/Getty Images Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is warning Republicans that President Donald Trumps war in Iran could cost the party in the midterms. Now that Trump and his admin betrayed their campaign promises of No More Foreign Wars/No More Regime Change and Republicans in the majority in the House and Senate are flat out refusing to pass key legislation, voter outrage was shown in yesterdays Texas primary, she said in a post on X on Wednesday. More Democrats showed up to vote than Republicans in yesterdays Texas primary. If that happens in Novembers general election, Texas will be flipping its Senate seat blue. Advertisement Advertisement Whatever Trumps new twisted perversion of MAGA is, is going to LOSE in the midterms, she continued. Greene, who resigned from Congress in January, used to be a loyal ally to the President until the two had a very public and dramatic falling out in November. The former Georgia Representative clashed with Trump over his Administrations handling of the files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Last month, she cautioned the MAGA base that some of their responses to the release of the so-called Epstein files could harm Republicans in the November elections. All of you MAGA influencers and the rest mocking the seriousness of women who were trafficked and raped as teenagers and young women look like cult fools, she said in a social media post. Good luck trying to get women to vote for Republicans in the midterms you insensitive clowns. The Republican Party already has a woman voting problem. She didnt specify who she was referring to in the post. Advertisement Advertisement The results of the midterm elections in November could have a major impact on the balance of power in Washington, D.C., as well as on Trumps ability to continue to enact his agenda. At the moment, Republicans control the House and the Senate, but Democrats are seeking to gain seats in both chambers of Congress. And there have been some signs that Democrats are generating enthusiasm among voters ahead of the midterms. A historically high number of Texas Democrats flocked to the polls to vote in the states primary election on Tuesday, early data show. The Southern state has open primaries, which means that any voter can vote in any partys primary election. On Tuesday, more voters cast their ballot in the Democratic primary than in the Republican race, though there are still votes left to be tallied. Trump grapples with Republican pushback on the war in Iran Greene is not the only Republican who has criticized Trumps military action in Iran. Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News anchor turned podcaster, met with the President multiple times in recent weeks to try and talk him out of authorizing the military operation, the New York Times reported. Another former Fox News host, Megyn Kelly, shared her criticisms of the attack on her show, saying that no one should have to die for a foreign country. Advertisement Advertisement I dont think those four service members died for the United States, she said. I think they died for Iran or for Israel. On Monday, officials said that the number of American service members killed in the war had risen to six. Trump and his base have fired back on that pushback. In an interview with the journalist Rachael Bade earlier this week, Trump said that MAGA is TrumpMAGAs not the other two, referring to Carlson and Kelly. I have to do whats right, number oneand you cant have Iran getting a nuclear weapon, he said. Lawmakers have largely sided with their party over the issue, with most Republican members of Congress supporting Trumps decision to launch the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Early polling shows that many Americans disapprove of the U.S. military action in Iran: 43%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. In comparison, only 27% of poll respondents expressed support for the attacks. But polling also reveals a clear partisan split over the issue. While more than 80% of Democratic respondents in a CNN poll said they were against the military operation, only 23% of Republicans felt the same. The CNN poll, which was conducted by SSRS, found that 77% of Republicans approved of the strikes, compared to less than 20% of Democrats. Contact us at letters@time.com. US President Donald Trump has announced Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will be the new Homeland Security secretary, replacing the agency's embattled head Kristi Noem. The first-term senator, a former mixed martial arts fighter, has been a supporter of Trump and his policies since coming to Washington. The Senate would need to confirm Mullin to the post. Known for his fiery personality, Mullin will be the second Homeland Security chief in Trump's second administration. Advertisement Advertisement The senator has been complimentary of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to detain undocumented immigrants - a fixture of the Trump administration's policy and a focus for Noem before she was ousted. "Yes, I'm a Republican, yes I'm conservative," Mullin said on the steps of the Capitol after being surrounded by reporters asking about news of his appointment, noting he would work to enforce the policies passed by Congress even for people who do not agree with him. "Once I make that transition, my focus is to keep the homeland secure, that's going to be my focus, and we're super excited about this opportunity." Mullin is among the Republicans who have been critical of the ongoing partial US government shutdown, which has allowed funding to lapse from the DHS. Advertisement Advertisement "What is actually happening right now with the Democrat Party by this political theatre, by shutting down DHS for something that you even admitted yourself can't be done," Mullin told CNN last month. "They're not stopping [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] from doing their job." Should he be confirmed, Mullin will head an agency that has faced increased criticism in recent months, particularly in the wake of two US citizens being killed by federal immigration officials in Minnesota. [Getty Images] He has previously supported Homeland Security policy and the administration's immigration crackdown. "Obstructing federal law enforcement is a felony. Most Americans follow ICE instructions without thinking twice," Mullin posted on social media following the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot dead by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement He added that "these patriots are doing a difficult job" and facing death threats. One of Mullin's most talked about moments in the Senate, came early into his tenure when he challenged a union leader to a fight in the middle of a hearing. The incident occured while the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions was hearing testimony from Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the country's biggest unions in November 2023. When questioning O'Brien, Mullin brought up a social media post in which O'Brien called the senator a "greedy CEO who pretends like he's self made" and said he should "quit the tough guy act in these Senate hearings". Advertisement Advertisement "You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here," Mullin said before he stood up, and motioned to take his wedding ring off. Mullin was then scolded by another member of the committee who told Mullin to sit down. The pair had previously sparred on social media as well. Mullin told the union leader to "shut your mouth" during a tense hearing exchange in early 2023. Months later, O'Brien posted a photo of Mullin on social media and wrote: "You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy." Mullin replied: "MMA fight for charity of our choice. Sept 30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I'll give you 3 days to accept." Advertisement Advertisement The social media posts and committee commentary offer a glimpse of Mullin's fiery personality, something often on display in front of the cameras. Mullin was sworn in as a US senator in 2023. Over the past two decades, Mullin, father to six children, worked alongside his wife to grow his family plumbing business, according to his website. Mauritius is planning to sue Britain over delays in ratifying the Chagos Islands deal. Navin Ramgoolam, the island nations prime minister, said his government had begun consulting international law firms while they await the formal transfer of the Indian Ocean territory. If ratified, the controversial deal will see the UK hand over ownership of the Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius and lease back the Diego Garcia military base on the archipelago. Advertisement Advertisement We are exploring legal avenues in the Chagos case, Mr Ramgoolam told Defi Media, a local newspaper. Mr Ramgoolam held ministerial talks earlier this week over the perceived delay in implementing the agreement. The meeting raised concerns that there is no visibility as to when this [ratification] would occur. Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritius prime minister, is worried about the Chagos deal - Alamy The delay has unsettled Mauritian officials because the treaty formed a central element of their diplomatic strategy and economic planning. The deal was thrown into confusion last month when Hamish Falconer, a foreign office minister, said Britain was pausing the process during discussions with the US. Advertisement Advertisement The Government denied this was the case, but the deal is still undergoing ratification in the House of Commons and is under intense scrutiny following Donald Trumps criticisms this week. The US president told The Telegraph he was very disappointed in Sir Keir Starmer for blocking the US military from using the Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands to launch his strikes on Iran. Donald Trump hit out at Sir Keir Starmer for blocking the US military from using the Diego Garcia base to launch strikes on Iran - AFP Under the proposed agreement, the UK would provide an initial annual fee of around 170m to Mauritius, and total payments would amount to 35bn in cash terms over the next century, which Mauritius is planning to use to prop up its ailing public finances. We will have to find Rs 10 billion (170m). We are exploring all possible avenues, but clearly the 2026-27 budget will not be an easy one, said Mr Ramgoolam. Advertisement Advertisement A senior Mauritian foreign affairs official told The Telegraph: There is no doubt there has been, and there still, is an inordinate delay in the finalisation of the treaty after the signature of the agreement last May. Mauritius has always been on the right side of the law and consistently played according to the rule of law, hence the declaration of the PM. Small states like Mauritius have only international law and multilateral organisations to fall back on and have always favoured the diplomatic avenue to resolve issues. We are respectful of the law and will always abide by it notwithstanding provocative remarks. Last month, The Telegraph revealed that UK government officials expected Mauritius to launch a legal challenge if the deal collapses entirely under pressure from Mr Trump. UK Government officials have been worried that Mauritius will launch a legal challenge if the Chagos deal collapses entirely - Reuters Ministers are concerned that Mauritius may attempt to immediately recoup much of the 35bn to be paid under the terms of the deal over the next century. Advertisement Advertisement The island nation has previously successfully sued the UK over the Chagos Islands at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), using Sir Keirs friend Philippe Sands KC as legal counsel. The Mauritius move is the latest push-back to the Prime Ministers plans to cede sovereignty of the islands. The legal threat follows similar threats from the Maldives, which on Saturday told The Telegraph it was exploring options for a legal challenge to the Chagos deal. The Maldives asserts a territorial claim over the archipelago, which it believes supersedes the claim made by its Mauritian neighbours. A Maldives foreign office spokesman said that Britains plans were not adequately grounded in international legal principles. Advertisement Advertisement The formal legal challenge would be most likely to be made at the International Court of Justice, Maldivian officials said. It is the latest stumbling block for the Prime Ministers plans, which now hang in the balance after Mr Trump said the Chagos Islands should not be taken away from the UK. The US president has previously called Britains plans an act of great stupidity, although he has changed his stance on the issue on several occasions. It is understood the UK cannot go ahead with the deal without the blessing of the US, which operates the Diego Garcia military base jointly with Britain. Advertisement Advertisement As with the current conflict in the Middle East, the US needs approval from the UK before launching any attack from Diego Garcia. Native Chagossians are also attempting to establish a permanent settlement in their ancestral homeland on one of the archipelagos uninhabited islands. Misley Mandarin, the Chagossian first minister and three other islanders currently based there will be able to stay on Ile du Coin until at least March 13. A Foreign Office spokesman said: Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US that has enabled our shared security for neatly sixty years. Advertisement Advertisement Maintaining control of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the agreement that we have reached. It means we retain our control, protects against legal challenges to its operation and locks out our adversaries from being able to compromise its operation. It is the only way to ensure that the base remains secure and operational for the long term. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. Auburn-Washburn USD 437 has narrowed its search for a new superintendent. Auburn-Washburn on March 3 announced three finalists for the superintendent position: Kellen Adams, Kathleen (Katie) Collier and Justin Henry. This comes after current superintendent Scott McWilliams announced his retirement in September. Final interviews with each candidate will be on March 12. The new superintendent will begin serving on July 1. Advertisement Advertisement Auburn-Washburn has long benefited from steady, visionary leadership, and the Board is committed to selecting a leader who will continue that tradition," said Jeremy Wiltz, Auburn-Washburn Board of Education president. "From the beginning, we have prioritized a comprehensive and transparent approach that actively involves teachers, staff, families, and community members. "We look forward to welcoming the finalists next week and further engaging our community in this important decision. Justin Henry, Kellen Adams and Kathleen (Katie) Collier are the three finalists to be superintendent at Auburn-Washburn 437 school district. Who are the USD 437 superintendent finalists? Adams has 18 years of education experience, including as a classroom teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. He currently is the superintendent for Leavenworth Unified School District. He has a doctorate in educational leadership from Kansas State University, a bachelor's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in educational administration from Fort Hays State University. He also currently is a board member for the Kansas School Superintendents Association and an executive board member for the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Advertisement Advertisement Collier has 31 years of experience in education, including as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, associate superintendent and chief learning officer. She currently works as a deputy superintendent for the Blue Valley School District. She has her doctorate in education leadership from Baker University, a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Northwest Missouri State University and a master's degree in school administration from the University of Missouri. She is on the Board of Directors for the Blue Valley Education Foundation and is a member of the Kansas Association of School Board's Business Operations Leadership Development Class of 2026. Henry has 28 years of experience in education, including as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal and superintendent. He currently is the superintendent of Goddard Public Schools. Henry earned his doctorate in educational policy and leadership from the University of Kansas, his bachelor's degree in divisional science from Sterling College and his master's degree in educational administration from Emporia State University. He's previously served as the Kansas School Superintendents Association president and as a governing board member for the American Association of School Administrators. How can you meet the Auburn-Washburn superintendent finalists? Each finalist will participate in a Day in the District on March 11. This will include meetings with building principals, district administrators, teachers, support staff, parents, students and community members. Advertisement Advertisement Community members can also meet the finalists that night from 6:30 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. at Indian Hills Elementary at 7445 SW 29th St. Each finalist will have 45 minutes to introduce themselves and take questions. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Auburn-Washburn names 3 superintendent finalists WINNEBAGO COUNTY District 10 is set to welcome a new face. Oshkosh Defense assembler Timothy Jacobson and retired electrician Chris Rosenow will be vying to replace outgoing Winnebago County District 10 Supervisor Bryan Stafford in the upcoming April 7 election. Stafford opted not to seek reelection, filing a notification of non-candidacy and leaving the seat up for grabs between the two political newcomers. Advertisement Advertisement As part of the Northwestern's ongoing election coverage, both Rosenow and Jacobson were asked to explain what they see as their priorities on the Winnebago County Board. Here's what they said. Read more: Oshkosh election results who's moving on to April 7 election? Timothy (Tim) Jacobson Timothy Jacobson. Age: 47 Occupation: General assembler at Oshkosh Defense Highest level of education: High school diploma and currently pursuing bachelor's degree in business administration from UW-Milwaukee. Political/elected office experience: Been elected to three terms as union chief steward with the UAW. What would be your top three priorities if elected? Im running for a seat on the county board to be a voice for the residents of District 10. We were left behind for the last two or three terms and I want to change that. I want to keep Winnebago County as an affordable and friendly safe place to live, work, play and raise a family. Advertisement Advertisement The biggest issues in Winnebago County are housing costs and need for more housing, keeping our natural resources safe and clean and enjoyable for everyone, a balanced budget, and not having a new county sales tax. Chris Rosenow Chris Rosenow. Age: 66 Occupation: Retired industrial electrician and instrumentation technician Highest level of education: Associate degree in administration of justice. Political/elected office experience: None What would be your top three priorities if elected?: I was born and raised in Neenah, high school class of 1978, served in the U.S. Army in military intelligence and I'm a life member of the VFW and a 30-year member of The American Legion. Advertisement Advertisement I have no problem spending money when it is needed, but I insist on what is best for the hard-working taxpayers. I am also very much opposed to a county sales tax. The county must spend within its means. Once a tax is imposed, it's hard to make it go away. I'm old enough to remember when the Wisconsin sales tax was 4%. I also fully support our law enforcement and first responders. Public safety is a priority. Whats on the April 7 general election ballot in Winnebago County? The April 7 general election includes races for Oshkosh Common Council, Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education, Winnebago County Board of Supervisors, Menasha Board of Education, Menasha Common Council, Neenah Board of Education, Neenah Common Council, Neenah mayor, Neenah-Menasha municipal judge, Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. When is the general election? The general election is April 7. Polls that day will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. How can you register to vote in the April 7 election? Wisconsin voters can register online or by mail up to 20 days before the election. Those who miss that deadline may still register in person at their municipal clerks office or at their polling location on Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Voters can register in the following ways: Online: Visit myvote.wi.gov to register online if you have a valid Wisconsin drivers license or state ID. By mail: Download and complete the registration form from myvote.wi.gov, then mail it to your municipal clerk. In person: Register at your municipal clerks office or at the polling place on Election Day. Who can vote? To vote, one must be a United States citizen; at least 18 years old on Election Day; a Winnebago County resident for at least 28 days before the election; and registered to vote. How to vote Here are details about how to vote in the April 7 election: Advertisement Advertisement Absentee voting: Request an absentee ballot online, by mail or in person. Absentee ballots can be returned by mail or delivered to your municipal clerks office. Early voting: Check local schedules for hours and availability prior to elections. Poll hours on Election Day: Polling places are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 7. Photo ID required: A photo ID is required to receive a ballot in all elections. Acceptable IDs include a Wisconsin drivers license, a Wisconsin state ID card, a U.S. passport, a military ID, a student ID or other state-approved identification cards. More info is at https://bringit.wi.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Check registration and polling place: People can check their registration status and polling location ahead of time at myvote.wi.gov or https://www.oshkoshwi.gov/CityClerk/Elections/. Register to vote on Election Day: Registration can be done at polling places on Election Day. To register to vote at your polling location, take proof that you have lived at your present location for 28 days preceding the election. A form of identification constitutes acceptable proof of residence if it includes your current name and current address. You must be registered at your current address to vote. Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville. This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Winnebago County Board District 10 race pits Jacobson vs. Rosenow Raisin has introduced its savings platform in Italy, allowing local consumers to view and manage a range of savings products from different banks through a single interface. The fintech firm announced the move in a LinkedIn post. For our deposit-taking banks, this means access to a major new market where demand for simple, transparent savings options continues to grow. Our platform now gives banks a straightforward way to reach Italian retail customers and offer their products in a trusted environment, it noted. The platform is designed to simplify the process of comparing and selecting accounts. The company is launching in Italy with fixed-term products from European partners, with plans to introduce overnight options later. All deposits will be secured by local EU-harmonised guarantee schemes, covering up to 100,000 (116,087.5) per depositor, per bank. The company's move into Italy extends its reach across Europe. Raisin also offers its services in Germany, France, Austria, Spain, the UK, Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, the US, and Finland. Raisin Italy country head Marco Fala commented: We are happy to announce another platform launch of Raisin. Expanding to Italy will give customers a better way to save simply one account to access multiple EU banks. At the same time, banks can easily source stable funding from retail customers. A win-win-win for consumers, banks, and a connected European financial market. According to his LinkedIn profile, Fala joined the fintech firm in 2019, based out of Germany. In July 2021, he moved to Italy. "Savings platform Raisin enters Italian market " was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. Members of an extreme-right terrorist group went on trial in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday, with hearings to be held behind closed doors due to several defendants being underage. Eight alleged members of the Last Wave of Defence organization are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and grievous bodily harm. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said the members were followers of an ethno-nationalist ideology and saw themselves as the last resort for the defence of the German nation. Advertisement Advertisement The defendants are accused of planning and carrying out arson and bomb attacks on asylum seekers' homes and facilities associated with left-wing groups. The trial is being conducted in accordance with juvenile law, with one defendant only 15 years old and three aged 16. Five suspects were arrested after large-scale raids across the country in May last year. Three others were already in custody. Members of left-wing Antifa groups demonstrated outside the courtroom in Hamburg on Thursday. One banner read: "Stop right-wing terror. The problem is racism." GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) Both Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and Attorney General Phil Weiser have responded to Gov. Jared Polis announcement that he may consider clemency for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. In a social media post on Tuesday evening, Polis compared the sentencing disparity between Peters and former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis. Although the cases differ in circumstances and other charges, both were convicted of attempting to influence a public official. Lewis was recently sentenced to two years of probation and 150 hours of community service following an ethics investigation into the treatment of her staff. Peters is currently serving a nine-year sentence for her role in a voting data scheme during the 2020 election. Advertisement Advertisement Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly; you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law. This is the context I am using as I consider cases like this that have sentencing disparities, which is why I have extended the deadline for clemency applications until April 3rd, stated Polis in the post. The Governor has expressed skepticism around this inmates sentence and was noting the difference in sentencing for two people, both public officials, with the same charge. Governor Polis is not considering a pardon for Tina Peters and is reviewing her application like anyone else applying for clemency, stated a spokesperson for the governor. One of Tina Peters lawyers, Peter Ticktin, agreed with Polis statement, claiming that Peters sentence was too harsh and there was no reason to keep her in prison. So, with his previous realization, now supported by the questions and statements by the Colorado Court of Appeals and by the sentencing of another defendant with similar crimes, we expect Governor Polis to act forthwith and let our client enjoy the freedom she deserves, stated Ticktin. Advertisement Advertisement While Ticktin agreed with Polis stance on potentially issuing a clemency, both Rubinstein and Weiser vocalized their opposition. The Colorado Legislature establishes sentencing ranges for crimes. For the offense of attempting to influence a public servant, the law allows a sentence ranging from probation up to six years in prison per count. That range exists because the same offense can be committed in very different ways and can result in very different consequences, said Rubinstein. The suggestion that everyone convicted under the same statute should receive the same sentence overlooks why the Legislature created a sentencing range in the first place: no two crimes and no two defendants are the same. Lewis, in her case, also faced three counts of forgery alongside her charge of attempting to influence a public servant. Peters was convicted on a total of seven counts related to election fraud for allowing an unauthorized person access to Mesa County voting equipment. Reducing the sentence of convicted former clerk Tina Peters for tampering with election equipment would be a grave miscarriage of justice and dangerous for free and fair elections. My office worked with the Mesa County district attorney to prosecute Tina Peters and hold her to account. The judge imposed a reasonable sentence on Ms. Peters for her crimes, particularly in light of her lack of any remorse, and she should serve her time, stated Weiser. Advertisement Advertisement Rubinstein stated that Peters sentence was within the proper range of the charges she was facing. In Tina Peters case, the court imposed a sentence within the range established by law, sentencing her to three and a half years on each felony count, even though the statute allows up to six years. Judges hear the evidence at trial, weigh the impact of the conduct and the level of remorse, and determine where a sentence should fall within the range the Legislature established, said Rubinstein. While the governor has the legal authority to modify that sentence, doing so here would be a gross injustice to the affected citizens I represent. Weiser argued that clemency, which can reduce an inmates sentence or pardon the crime, should not be used in response to political pressure. Clemency should be based on remorse, rehabilitation, and extenuating circumstancesnot on political influence, favor, or retribution. Tina Peters has not only demonstrated no remorse, but she has also doubled down on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. I have no doubt that she will continue her campaign of deception and conspiracy theoriesand will only be emboldened to do soif she is released from prison early. Advertisement Advertisement There has been no evidence of voter fraud in Mesa County during the 2020 election. Commuting Tina Peters sentence, following the Presidents pressure campaign, would be a serious injustice and send the wrong message to those who would attempt to tamper with our electionsif you are wealthy or politically connected, you can escape justice. Worst of all, releasing her early would erode confidence in our system of justice as based on fairness, equity, and the law, stated Wesier. Because of my commitment to the rule of law, my dedication to equal justice under law, and my respect for county clerks and election workers and all who advance election integrity in our state, I strongly oppose clemency for Tina Peters. Peters case is currently under review by the Colorado Court of Appeals after a hearing was held in January. She was also involved that same month in a scuffle at the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo. Since her sentencing, President Donald Trump has frequently called for the release of Peters. Even though Peters was convicted of state charges, Trump had granted her a full pardon. Advertisement Advertisement What do you think about the potential clemency? Click on this link to give us your thoughts. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. SPRINGFIELD A former handyman from Great Barrington serving a six-year sentence for raping a teenager will face a federal criminal charge on his way out the state prison door. Eugenio Isidro Victoriano, 55, appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to be arraigned on one count of illegal reentry to the U.S. The charge carries a two-year maximum prison sentence, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Desroches. Meanwhile, Victoriano is in the middle of serving a state prison sentence after pleading guilty to raping a 17-year-old girl at a party on Christmas Eve more than three years ago. Court records say he was invited to the gathering by a Great Barrington man for whom Victoriano had done house and yard work. Advertisement Advertisement The homeowner said Victoriano got really drunk, so he allowed the man to sleep it off in a guest room. A friend of the mans daughter woke up to find him on top of her as she slept, she told investigators. The homeowner then took the handyman to the police station, court records say. He was questioned by police while still intoxicated, and officers recovered two pairs of girls panties in his jacket pocket. When investigators asked where he got the underwear, Victoriano simply answered, Crazy, a police report says. A complaint filed in federal court said the Mexican immigrant had drifted in and out of the U.S. at least twice on uncertain dates and locations, despite being deported in 2004 after an arrest at the Texas border. Victoriano was arrested in Great Barrington in 2021 for operating under the influence of alcohol, court records show. While in police custody, officers submitted his fingerprints to a national law enforcement database. Advertisement Advertisement Victoriano was released from custody before ICE could take action, the federal complaint reads. The OUI case was continued without a finding on Sept. 29, 2022, according to state court records. The rape occurred three months later. Victoriano pleaded not guilty to the federal charge before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Morgan. Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The number of confirmed measles cases in New Mexico increased to six after the state's Department of Health confirmed Wednesday a new case inside a local jail in Las Cruces. A federal inmate being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center is the latest person to have tested positive for measles. The New Mexico Department of Health said others may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease from this confirmed case if they visited the U.S. District Court building in Las Cruces on Feb. 24. State heath officials are now urging anyone who was at the courthouse that day to check their vaccination status and report any measles symptoms from now until March 17 to a health care provider. Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexico Department of Health continues to urge people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination," Dr. Chad Smelser, New Mexico's deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement. "Vaccine is the best tool to protect you from measles. Measles spreads through the air and people who contract the virus may experience symptoms such as runny nose, fever, cough, red eyes and a distinctive blotchy rash. These symptoms can develop between one and three weeks after exposure. All of the six confirmed measles cases in New Mexico so far are federal detainees. The first measles case was detected in the Hidalgo County Detention Center on Feb. 25, when a detainee, whose vaccination status was unknown, tested positive for the disease by the New Mexico Department of Healths Scientific Laboratory. Advertisement Advertisement Two days later, a second federal inmate in the same jail tested positive for the virus alongside two detainees in the Luna County Detention Center and another in the Dona Ana County Detention Center. Both the Luna County and Dona Ana detention centers are local jails that also serve as holding facilities for federal immigration enforcement. New Mexico health officials said they are the states first confirmed cases of this year, following a statewide outbreak in 2025 that sickened 100 people from mid-February to mid-September. With two measles cases reported on each of the three local jails, Smelser said that the New Mexico Department of Health has sent vaccination teams to all three facilities. Advertisement Advertisement State health officials are also "coordinating with all the facilities to assure all quarantine, isolation, testing and vaccination protocols are followed to minimize risk of measles spread." According to the NBC News measles tracker, more than 1,000 cases have been counted nationwide just in the first two months of this year. That's nearly half the amount of cases confirmed in the United States in all of last year. As 2026 already stands as one of the three worst years for measles infections in the country since 2000, another measles outbreak was confirmed this week in Texas inside the nations largest immigration detention facility. On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News that a least 14 cases of measles were confirmed inside Camp East Montana, which is located on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso. Advertisement Advertisement The people who tested positive for measles have been cohorted and separated from the rest of the detained population to prevent further spread, the ICE spokesperson said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico and the U.S. said Thursday they will start talks March 16 ahead of a review of the free trade agreement that has shaped both economies and kept some of their commerce steady despite U.S. President Donald Trump's constantly changing tariff policy. The bilateral trade talks are ahead of a scheduled review later this year of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the latest version of free trade agreements among the U.S., Mexico and Canada dating back to the early 1990s that have intertwined the economies of the three North American countries. The USMCA has allowed Mexico to avoid much of Trump's protectionist measures because many Mexican goods are covered by the free trade agreement. However, a number of products are not covered, including medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which face a 25% tariff. A 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper remains in effect, as does a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes. Advertisement Advertisement Mexicos Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on X that the first round of upcoming bilateral talks were arranged with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and that they would address issues related to rules of origin, increasing production, supply chain security and integrating economies to boost competitiveness against other regions. Greer's office said that, after the initial talks, the two sides would meet regularly thereafter. Relations among the three USMCA partners have been strained over the past year by Trumps protectionist measures, which have set markets and investors on edge. Ebrard and other Mexican officials have been regularly traveling to Washington and meeting with American officials to try to offset tariff threats. Mexico and Canada also are holding talks to strengthen cooperation on trade and security ahead of the USMCA's scheduled review, six years after taking effect. Flanked by law enforcement, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley kicked off his general election campaign pledging to end soft-on-crime policies if elected. Speaking at the Charlotte lodge of the state Fraternal Order of Police on Wednesday, he accepted the endorsement of the North Carolina Troopers Association and took aim at his rival, former Gov. Roy Cooper, for policies that Whatley said made North Carolina less safe. We need better. We need to back the blue. We need policies that are going to put more cops on the street, that are going to pay them better, and we need policies that are going to put dangerous criminals behind bars, not back on our streets, Whatley said. Advertisement Advertisement Retired North Carolina state trooper Richard Maness said the North Carolina Troopers Association, which advocates on behalf of the State Highway Patrol, was backing Whatley because they believe he is the best candidate to support law enforcement priorities. Michael Whatley believes in strong sentencing, real consequences for violent offenders, and he backs the blue, Maness said. North Carolina needs leadership that puts the safety of our communities first, and we believe that Michael Whatley is that leader. The press conference made clear that Whatley views public safety as the defining issue of the upcoming midterm elections in North Carolina as he begins what he called an election focused on contrast. He blamed Coopers policies on crime for the death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, whose fatal stabbing on Charlotte Light Rail last year took place three miles from the forum where he delivered his remarks. Former Gov. Roy Cooper speaks to a small group of supporters at a Raleigh brewery to launch his general election campaign on March 4, 2026. Whatley spent much of his own kickoff event attacking Cooper on crime policies. (Photo by Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline) Whatley repeated a previously debunked claim that DeCarlos Brown Jr., the man charged with her killing, was among 3,500 prisoners granted early release in 2021 due to a civil rights settlement over health risks from the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Brown was released from prison five months earlier after serving his full sentence. Advertisement Advertisement My first act as a senator is going to put in a federal version of Irynas Law, Whatley said. I will fight every single day to make sure that no family has to suffer what her family has suffered, or other families across North Carolina have suffered, at the hands of the criminals that Roy Cooper and his soft-on-crime policies have released back onto the streets. Irynas Law, passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in September, limits pretrial release for violent offenders, promotes involuntary commitment of repeat offenders into mental facilities, and streamlines the death penalty in the state. Whatley declined to elaborate on what a federal version of the law would entail, deferring to law enforcement leadership. Cabarrus County Sheriff Dan Shaw said at the event that he supports Whatley because of the candidates hardline stances on immigration and crime. If someone is committing violent crime in our community and theyre an illegal alien, they need to be deported, plain and simple. We dont want them in our communities, Shaw said. With Michael Whatley, were going to get that leadership. Hes going to put law enforcement, public safety first. Advertisement Advertisement Whatley and members of law enforcement who spoke at the press conference also accused Cooper of supporting cashless bail and relaxed pretrial release measures, which Cooper denied when speaking to members of the media at his own campaign kickoff event in Raleigh Wednesday morning. I do not support cashless bail and have not, Cooper said. I think the important thing is for the other side to start telling the truth and to start getting really serious about public safety, and keeping people safe instead of using these lives as a political tool. Cooper campaign spokesperson Jordan Monaghan called the attacks false in a statement to NC Newsline Wednesday evening, writing that Cooper, who served as North Carolina attorney general for 16 years, is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals as well as signing tough on crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor. I am honored to have the endorsement of the men behind me, Whatley said. Im honored to fight every single day to keep our kids and our communities safe. It is the number one priority for us. The raging Iran war, which has spread across the Middle East and beyond, entered its seventh day Friday after Israeli forces announced a "next phase" in the conflict and bombed Beirut's southern suburbs. The Israeli military had earlier issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entire area -- "save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately" -- that sent residents fleeing in panic. The war has been felt as far away as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, and Azerbaijan, which threatened retaliation after a drone hit an airport. Advertisement Advertisement On the political front, US President Donald Trump rejected the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, replacing his slain father, dismissing him as a "lightweight". "I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him after the United States ousted her boss Nicolas Maduro in a military raid. "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump told the publication, threatening more war in the future if a better alternative were not found. The remarks suggest a willingness to work with someone from within the Islamic republic rather than toppling the government entirely, despite Trump's repeated exhortations for Iranians to rise up and take back their country. Advertisement Advertisement - Beirut strikes - Lebanon was dragged into the widening conflict on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the killing of Khamenei. Israel responded with air strikes and sent ground troops into some Lebanese border villages, and on Thursday it targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, saying it was "striking Hezbollah infrastructure". The Israeli warning that preceded the strikes sent people fleeing from the area, with massive traffic jams on the outskirts of the suburbs as people fired guns in the air, urging residents to leave as soon as possible. On a Beirut beach, hundreds of families, many of them scared and angry, milled around after leaving, having nowhere else to go. Advertisement Advertisement "We fled from the suburbs, we were humiliated," one man told AFP, declining to give his name. Lebanese authorities say at least 123 people have been killed since Monday, with 683 wounded and at least 90,000 displaced. - From Sri Lanka to Azerbaijan - On Iran's borders, neighbouring Azerbaijan warned that a drone attack on an airport "will not go unanswered", raising fears of another country entering the war. Iran denied being behind the strike and blamed Israel, but that did not stop Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev from accusing Tehran of "terrorism". Australia, meanwhile, deployed two military aircraft to the theatre, and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would not rule out his armed forces taking part. Advertisement Advertisement Following fresh strikes on Iran's capital, AFPTV images showed blackened vehicles and mangled buildings, with smoke still rising from some. "We're going through a very important page of our history and I'm not afraid," a 30-year-old Tehran resident told AFP. "Hope is the only thing that we have right now." An Iranian state-run foundation said the death toll from US and Israeli strikes on the country had risen to 1,230, a number AFP could not independently verify. The US military has reported the deaths of six of its personnel since the war began Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a defiant tone Thursday, saying Tehran had not sought a ceasefire and did not "see any reason why we should negotiate with the US". Advertisement Advertisement Regarding the possibility of a ground invasion, he told US broadcaster NBC News: "We are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them." Israel, meanwhile, said 60 percent of Iran's missile launchers and 80 percent of its air defence systems had been destroyed. Announcing a "next phase" in the campaign, army chief Eyal Zamir said Israel had "additional surprises ahead". The latest Iranian missile barrage sparked a wave of explosions across Tel Aviv, and firefighters worked to contain a blaze at a residential building near Israel's commercial hub on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement - Gulf under fire - The conflict has not spared the rich Gulf monarchies, usually seen as a haven in a volatile region, as Iran has lashed out at cities and energy infrastructure. Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait. Bahrain said early Friday that Iran had targeted two hotels and a residential building in the capital Manama, but that there was "no loss of life". Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted three ballistic missiles launched towards an air base. And Qatar said Thursday that it intercepted a missile attack as loud blasts, described by AFP journalists as the most intense yet, reverberated across Doha, with thick black smoke billowing across the horizon. Falling debris from an intercepted drone injured six people in Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, officials added. burs-wd/js A Middletown police officer is charged with dereliction of duty, court records show. A Butler County grand jury on March 3 indicted the officer on two counts. The case has been sent to the Middletown Municipal Court because the charges are misdemeanors. The Enquirer generally does not name individuals who have been charged with misdemeanors. Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said the officer failed to protect the safety of a juvenile, who was in police custody. He declined to comment further on the allegations. Advertisement Advertisement The indictment states that the officer "recklessly [failed] to perform a duty expressly imposed by law with respect to the public servant's office," and was negligent in failing to prevent or stop the commission of a crime. The city of Middletown told Enquirer media Fox19 it was aware of the incident, but did not comment further. Fox19 also reported the officer is on paid administrative leave. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Middletown officer accused of failing to protect juvenile in custody Around 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise ship passengers are stuck in the Gulf because of the Middle East war, the UN's International Maritime Organization told AFP on Thursday. The shipping regulator's secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said that the "IMO is ready to work with all stakeholders to help ensure the safety and well-being of the seafarers affected". The maritime sector said it had designated the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Gulf as a "warlike operations area", granting seafarers additional protections as the Middle East war engulfs the crucial energy transit route. Advertisement Advertisement Since war erupted on Saturday, the IMO has recorded seven incidents involving ships in the region that have resulted in two deaths and another seven people wounded. - 'Alarming attacks' - "Beyond the economic impact of these alarming attacks, it is a humanitarian issue. No attack on innocent seafarers is ever justified," Dominguez told AFP. "I reiterate my call for all shipping companies to exercise maximum caution when operating in the affected region," he added. Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude and considerable supplies of liquefied natural gas travel. Advertisement Advertisement Several shipping groups, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, have suspended bookings in the Gulf. Maritime employers and unions representing their workers on Thursday said their upgraded designation of the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Gulf from a "high risk area designation" three days ago "reflects the continuing and heightened threat to seafarers and vessels operating in the region". "Hundreds of vessels are stranded in the Gulf following the halt of vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the scale of disruption and risk facing civilian crews in the region," said a joint statement from the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group, which represents maritime employers. ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton told AFP that after 32 years involvement with the federation, "this is the worst" he has seen it, "because it's so unclear on the diplomatic level". Advertisement Advertisement While seafarers can request to leave a ship and be repatriated, the reality is not so clear. "You can't push a button and you immediately leave a vessel," said Cotton. "If you've got a crew of 25, you probably need 16 to safely run the vessel." Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday claimed "complete control" of the Strait, with reports of additional vessels coming under attack. Energy intelligence firm Kpler said oil tanker transits through the Strait had dropped by 90 percent from last week. - Oil price surge - With energy prices already soaring, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route. Advertisement Advertisement Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, soared more than five percent to $78.88 per barrel in trading Thursday, the highest level since January last year, as the Iran war threatens supplies. International benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, jumped 3.6 percent to $84.34 per barrel. Other regions are already classified as "Warlike Operations Area" by the maritime sector, such as parts of the Sea of Azov, the northern Black Sea, the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. pml-ajb/bcp/pdw HONOLULU (KHON2) A historic military road once off-limits to civilians is now officially part of Oahus emergency evacuation plan. Honolulu law draws a firm line on curbside commerce Today, state, city and military leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing access to Kolekole Pass during disasters. A road built for war in 1937, today is being reaffirmed as a road for survival. Our sincere hope is that this agreement, one that transcends individual commanders and personalities, will give peace of mind to our community, said Col. Rachel Sullivan, Commander, US Army Garrison Hawaii. Advertisement Advertisement The 15-mile Kolekole Pass was originally constructed to connect Schofield Barracks to the Navys Lualualei Ammunition Depot. For decades, theres been a call for an alternate emergency escape route, one that would give the approximately 50,000 West Oahu residents a way out in a crisis. That concern was heightened following the deadly Lahaina wildfires. In February 2025, a full-scale joint exercise simulated a disaster shutting down Farrington Highway to test response and flow. Then, in May, Kolekole Pass became an evacuation route during the tsunami warning. Officials say 426 vehicles safely crossed the pass before the waves arrival. In an emergency, the gates wont automatically open. The first call will come from the citys Department of Emergency Services or Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and then go to commanders either at Lualualei or Schofield Barracks. Advertisement Advertisement As fast as the calls get made, were going to execute. And as soon as they get the people down there, those gates are open. So were talking mere minutes, said Rear Adm. Brad Collins, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii. We have the people in place, both on the Navy side and the Army side, to move quickly through those steps so that we keep the installation secure while still protecting the folks on the west side here, in this case, to get them to where they need to be. When we make the call at the Emergency Operations Center, the departments emergency management will use HNL alert to get that information out, come straight to your phone, said Randal Collins, Honolulu Department of Emergency Management Director. For Waianae residents like Bill Aila, the agreement brings relief. Its not a matter of if were going to use this road for emergency purposes. Its a matter of when. Could be tomorrow, could be next month. Everybody focuses on the emergency evacuation of Waianae residents. Whats equally important about this road is afterwards, bringing medical supplies, bringing food back in, said Aila. Advertisement Advertisement State transportation officials say theyve invested several thousand dollars to improve the road so far. Still, about $15 to $20 million will be invested over the next few years for signage and rockfall protection. The agreement also plans for annual training exercises to practice for emergencies. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. While most of the venture world has been chasing AI deals, Max Hodak the co-founder and former president of Neuralink has been working on a startup that claims to be on the verge of being the first brain-computer interface company to get a product to market. Those claims havent gone unnoticed. Hodaks startup, Science Corporation, said Wednesday morning that it has raised $230 million in a Series C funding round. A source close to the startup says the round granted Science Corp. a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion. In the short-term, Science Corp. is betting on PRIMA, a chip said to be smaller than a grain of rice that, when implanted in the eye, works with camera-equipped glasses to restore functional vision to people suffering from advanced macular degeneration. The startup hasnt fully developed the tech itself: It bought PRIMAs assets in 2024 from French outfit Pixium Vision, refined it, and completed trials that Pixium had started. But the clinical results Science has since generated are its own. In trials spanning 47 patients across Europe and the U.S., 80% demonstrated meaningful improvement in visual acuity and were able to read letters, numbers, and words, the company says. To my knowledge, this is the first time that restoration of the ability to fluently read has ever been definitively shown in blind patients, Hodak told TechCrunch in an interview in December. The startups device has also made the cover of Time magazine. It isnt clear when PRIMA will be available to patients, but the regulatory path is taking shape. Science Corp. has submitted a CE mark application for the implant to the European Union, and says it expects an approval in mid-2026, following which itll launch the product in the continent. It claims this timeline would make it the first BCI company with a product in market. The company told TechCrunch that Germany is likely to be its first market, as the country has established pathways for granting early access to new medical technologies. In the U.S., regulatory discussions with the FDA are ongoing, the startup said. Science Corp. is also expanding its PRIMA trial program to include Stargardt disease and retinitis pigmentosa, inherited retinal conditions that are leading causes of vision loss in young adults. The new capital will be used to fund commercialization of PRIMA, as well as to support the startups broader research portfolio. This includes a biohybrid neural interface program that involves growing engineered neurons from stem cells onto a waffle-like device that sits on the brains surface and forms biological connections with existing neural circuits. The Brief A new Congressional report looked into why Minnesota resumed funding Feeding our Future despite fraud concerns. Gov. Walz blamed a court order for resuming payments, but Judge John Guthmann stated payments were resumed voluntarily by the state. In the new report, a Walz staffer seems to indicate that the state resumed payments before the judge issued any order. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A report released during a politically charged and contentious Congressional hearing featuring testimony from Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison is shedding new light on why the state resumed funding to Feeding our Future despite fraud concerns in 2021. Congressional fraud report What we know The House Committee on Oversight released its report looking into fraud in Minnesota as Gov. Walz and Attorney General Ellison faced questioning on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement The report includes multiple findings including new insight into claims the governor made after indictments came down in the Feeding our Future case. The backstory In the report, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte says they first received complaints about Feeding our Future as early as 2018. However, those complaints came from another suspicious organization, Partners in Nutrition, that Feeding our Future ringleader Aimee Bock was once part of. According to the report, MDE notified the governor's office by April 2020 about its concerns surrounding Feeding our Future. The state stopped processing applications from Feeding our Future by November 2020, which is when Feeding our Future filed a lawsuit against the state. Advertisement Advertisement The state later stopped payments to Feeding our Future in March 2021 due to "serious deficiency." However, just a month later, the state resumed payments and continued until January 2022. Gov. Walz initially blamed judge The controversy After the indictments were issued in Sept. 2022, Gov. Walz blamed a court order and implied the judge involved should be investigated. "I would hope there would be an investigation into that," Walz told reporters Thursday. "I was speechless, unbelievable that this ruling could come down. (I) did not really know what to say. Obviously, we had to honor it but at that point I said, we have got to continue to push the federal government and the FBI to do the investigation." Advertisement Advertisement The Ramsey County judge involved in the case, Judge John Guthmann, later issued a public rebuke of Walz's statement, writing in part: "The Department of Education voluntarily resumed payments and informed the court that [Feeding Our Future] resolved the serious deficiencies that prompted it to suspend payments temporarily. All of the Minnesota Department of Education food reimbursement payments to [Feeding Our Future] were made voluntarily, without any court order." It's worth noting Judge Guthmann did issue an key order against MDE, requiring it to continue processing Feeding our Future's applications. State officials also pointed out to Congress that USDA regulations make it difficult to pull funding. What state staffer said Big picture view When asked about the resumed payments, here's what Department of Education officials said: Advertisement Advertisement Director of Nutrition Emily Honer: "It's my understanding that the judge did not make a final ruling on the stop-pay." Question: "And with the stop-pay, the court determined that that was actually outside the jurisdiction. Does that sound right to you?" Honer: "That sounds correct." What they're saying Gov. Walz was grilled on those statements during the Congressional hearing on Wednesday. Rep. Jordan: "Why didn't you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments? The payments stopped because there were concerns, obviously, or you wouldn't stop the payments. Then they're restarted a month later. What was the reason for restarting the payments?" Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Walz: "My understanding was the agency believed that the court had required them to make those payments." Rep. Jim Jordan: "And that was false, wasn't it? You repeated that. You said that, didn't you? You said the reason you restarted was because the court ordered you to do so. Is that right?" Gov. Walz: "I don't believe that is settled yet, to the best of my knowledge." Minnesota failed by the USDA? Dig deeper The report also shows that Minnesota leaders felt the federal government failed to support them when it came to Feeding our Future. Department of Education officials told Congress when they sought support from the USDA, they didn't hear back. Advertisement Advertisement The report states: "MDE contacted the USDA OIG in late 2020 with concerns about FOF, but the OIG did not respond to them. Honer blamed the USDA OIGs lack of response and intervention for making FOF feel emboldened to commit fraud." In the report, there seemed to be confusion among department officials about whether the state had the authority to pull Feeding our Future funding without help from the USDA. Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte told Congressional leaders the state probably could have, but it would likely be overturned in the courts. Honer told Congressional leaders it was "incredibly difficult to stop payment. In fact, I will say I will say that it is easier for me to take back funds from a childcare provider who uses the wrong kind of rice, than it is to take back or stop payments from an organization I have concerns about." By the numbers In total, prosecutors say Feeding our Future defendants pocketed more than $250 million in taxpayer dollars and dozens have been charged in the scheme. The massive fraud case has also led to federal investigators uncovering fraud in several other state Medicaid programs. By Nailia Bagirova and Lucy Papachristou BAKU, March 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan was preparing unspecified retaliatory measures on Thursday after it said four Iranian drones had crossed its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concerns about further spillover from the conflict in the Middle East. "We will not tolerate this unprovoked act of terror and aggression against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures," President Ilham Aliyev told a meeting of his Security Council. Advertisement Advertisement "We are ready to demonstrate our strength against any hostile force - and they should not forget this in Iran," he said. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied that Tehran had targeted Nakhchivan. "We do not attack our neighbouring countries," he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ. Azerbaijani authorities said one drone had fallen on the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, which is about 10 km (6 miles) across the border from Iran, and another drone landed close to a school building in a nearby village. One was downed by the Azerbaijani army and another hit civilian infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement The four injured were taken to hospital, where they are in a stable condition, the Health Ministry in the landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Iran and Turkey told Reuters. Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building. Authorities said they were investigating the types of drones used. CLOSING AIRSPACE Azerbaijan said it was closing its southern airspace for 12 hours after the attack and also shuttering its border crossings with Iran for all cargo trucks, including transit shipments - choking off what is one of the shortest land routes connecting Iran to its ally Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Azerbaijan's land borders have been closed to travellers since 2020, but crossing is possible with special permission. Since the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, more than 1,100 people have crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan via the Astara crossing on the Caspian Sea, a source close to the Baku government told Reuters on Wednesday. Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas producer, mostly exporting energy to Turkey and Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Any damage to its infrastructure could drive global energy prices even higher. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov condemned the attack in a phone call on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, saying the incident violated international law and contributed to "increased tensions" in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Araqchi also denied that Iran had attacked Nakhchivan and said Tehran would conduct an investigation, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement. Azerbaijan and Iran already have tense relations over Baku's growing economic, energy and military ties to NATO member Turkey and to Israel. The escalating U.S.Iran war risks touching off violence between the neighbours. Iran boasts a sizeable ethnic Azerbaijani population. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Lucy Papachristou in Tbilisi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson, Gareth Jones) The Middle East has been locked in a widening air defense battle as Iran continues to fire missiles across the region. Almost every ballistic missile requires a multimillion-dollar interceptor, sometimes more than one. The US and its allies have already intercepted hundreds of Iranian missiles. Iranian missiles and drones have been flying across the Middle East, forcing the US, Israel, and the Gulf states to expend numerous costly interceptors on air defense operations in just a few days and draw on critical weapons stockpiles. Air defense battles get expensive fast. Official figures for the Middle East conflict aren't available, but data from some of the countries involved indicate rapidly rising costs. Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon said Wednesday that Iranian forces had launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 one-way attack drones since the US and Israel launched major combat operations against Iran Saturday morning. The Gulf States, specifically Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, said they've intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles. These countries collectively reported downing at least 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and 1,300 drones. US forces have likewise engaged numerous hostile threats, though the burden seems to have been heavily borne by allies. A new Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis put the cost of air defense interceptor expenditure in the fight against Iranian missiles and drones at $1.7 billion for the first 100 hours of the conflict, though that figure is a midpoint. Advertisement Advertisement There is some uncertainty about which munitions are in use, the analysis said. On the low end, costs may be closer to $1.2 billion. The high end is $3.7 billion, with that latter figure factoring in the potential use of more expensive missiles. Let's do some back-of-the-napkin air defense math on how these battles get so expensive so quickly. Iran has fired more than 500 ballistic missiles, the Pentagon said. Delil SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images The US, Israel, and the Gulf States all operate the American-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system. Air defense engagements are relying, to some unspecified extent, on Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors, which are estimated to cost roughly $3.7 million each. Doctrinally speaking, a air defenders may fire at least two interceptors for each incoming missile, so a single engagement could cost nearly $8 million. The UAE, which has faced the most Iranian attacks of the Gulf states, said it has shot down nearly 200 missiles so far, a potential price tag of roughly $1.5 billion if the country were relying solely on PAC-3s. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the Patriot missile systems, US forces in the Middle East are also operating Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries, for which a single interceptor is estimated to cost nearly $13 million, and relying on its warship-launched Standard Missile interceptors for additional defense. Standard Missile costs vary. SM-2s run about $2.1 million each. SM-3s previously used against Iranian missiles cost between $9.6 million and $28 million, depending on the variant. That is a heavy price to pay to bring down a missile, though the alternative is to potentially pay in damage or human lives. The math becomes more stark with drones. Iran's Shahed one-way attack drones cost an estimated $20,000 to $50,000 each. Based on Pentagon figures, Tehran has launched roughly $40 million worth of these weapons on the lower end. That is the cost of fewer than 11 PAC-3 interceptors or fewer than four THAAD interceptors. In high-intensity missile fights, especially with the introduction of drones, the cost imbalance between launching the threat and defeating it can quickly become substantial. Advertisement Advertisement Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the US sent "every counter-UAS system possible" to the Middle East ahead of the war. He did not mention specifics. Some counter-drone capabilities include RTX's well-known Coyote interceptors, which cost over $100,000 apiece, and the air-launched AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, which costs around $35,000 per rocket. An Iranian missile is intercepted above Tel Aviv. Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images Several Iranian drones have penetrated defenses and struck military and civilian infrastructure, prompting some criticism that the US and its partners were not adequately prepared despite years of watching Ukraine confront the same Shahed threat with cheaper countermeasures. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. Low-cost drones like the Shahed serve a strategic purpose: forcing adversaries to burn through limited, high-end interceptors that take years to replace. Advertisement Advertisement Patriot interceptor stockpiles were already under strain, with demand rising sharply amid global conflicts and recognition from other countries not at war but readying for the possibility that air defenses are critical in modern missile fights. Production has struggled to keep pace with demand, but there are efforts underway to meet it. For instance, Lockheed Martin, which makes the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor, said earlier this year it would significantly increase output. Warfare experts and analyses have warned that US and allied stockpiles may be insufficient for a prolonged conflict lasting weeks or months. The Pentagon and some Gulf states have disputed that assessment. The US and Israel have heavily prioritized striking Iran's missile launchers to reduce its ability to strike offensively and thus decrease the defensive burden, but Tehran retains the ability to fire across the region more than five days into the campaign. As long as launches continue, so does the bill. Read the original article on Business Insider JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Mississippi will receive more than $24.8 million to advance safe room projects in the state toward construction, including a large multi-use facility at Copiah-Lincoln (Co-Lin) Community College. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced grants for phase II construction work at the Co-Lin Wesson campus and the Webster County Communication Center Safe Room Project in Walthall, as well as funding for the Tate County Magnolia Heights Safe Room Project in Senatobia. Prepare early for allergy season in Mississippi, experts say Advertisement Advertisement Weve been through enough severe storms in Mississippi to understand the value of safe rooms. Im pleased with these FEMA hazard mitigation grants to create more safe spaces in our state, said U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.). Safe Room Projects Copiah-Lincoln Community College Safe Room Project Phase II $16,294,746 to construct a nearly 35,000-square-foot standalone, multipurpose safe room on the Co-Lin campus to accommodate more than 2,000 occupants. An additional $175,000 administrative grant was also awarded for this project. Total project cost: $18,105,273 Webster County Communication Center Safe Room Project Phase II $6,693,200 to fund a safe room to harden an existing building to protect the countys emergency operations center and accommodate almost 1,300 people, including city, school, and judicial officials, within 8,684 square feet of space. Total project cost: $7,436,889 Tate County Magnolia Heights Safe Room Project $1,727,851 to fund a more than 6,000-square-foot tornado safe room to protect 650 students and 80 faculty at the Magnolia Heights School. Total project cost: $1,919,835 Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Weather Forecast Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com. Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. Campaigners behind an effort to strike down Missouris gerrymandered congressional map on Wednesday said they should easily qualify for the November ballot, referencing preliminary data from local election officials. The striking announcement threatens to upend Missouris election season as a roster of Republicans have already launched campaigns based on the maps boundaries. The preliminary data, reviewed by The Star, marks the first public disclosure of the referendum campaigns likelihood of reaching the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. Advertisement Advertisement This data shows what we have said all along, said Richard Von Glahn, the executive director of the campaign, called People Not Politicians. People, not politicians, are going to be the final deciders on this. The campaign came to that conclusion after obtaining copies of local election officials verifications of the more than 300,000 signatures the campaign turned in last December. Those records show that the campaign turned in well above the required number of signatures in five of the states eight congressional districts. The campaign blew past the signature threshold in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Congressional Districts, according to the records, which the campaign obtained from the Missouri Secretary of States Office. In order to reach the ballot, the campaign needs to qualify in six congressional districts. The records reviewed by The Star show that the campaign is roughly 400 signatures shy of qualifying in the 7th District, with more than 7,000 signatures not yet counted. Advertisement Advertisement Those signatures also exclude more than 100,000 signatures that state officials refused to count, which is the focus of separate legal battle. Local election officials and the Missouri Secretary of States Office have until this summer to verify that the campaign can reach the ballot. That certification would mark a critical moment for the fate of Missouris congressional map, which Republican lawmakers passed last fall under pressure from President Donald Trump. The campaign reaching the ballot would add to a series of looming questions about the future of the map, which slices through Kansas City. Map opponents are also awaiting a ruling in a case that will decide whether the gerrymandered map, called HB 1, will be in effect for the 2026 election. That legal fight centers on a lawsuit from the ACLU of Missouri that alleges top state officials illegally enacted the map in violation of decades of court rulings and precedent. The lawsuit seeks to block it, arguing that it should not be in effect until voters have a chance to vote on it in November. Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, in a legal brief last month, defended the states decision to keep the map in effect despite the referendum campaign. Hanaway pointed to Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins authority to determine whether the referendum is lawful. (Missouri) does not know whether the proposed referendum is legally sufficient; therefore, the State stands by its position that HB1 remains in effect for the time being, Hanaway wrote. A spokesperson for Hoskins did not respond to a request for comment about the status of signature verification. But Von Glahn said the records from Hoskins office undercut the states argument that they do not know whether the map should qualify. The argument that he used to justify his illegal implementation of the gerrymandered map was that he wasnt certain if we had enough signatures, Von Glahn said. Well, the work by the local election authorities makes it clear that we do. Although newly minted GOP candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate have garnered heavyweight endorsements, the Montana Republican Party said Thursday it wont throw its support behind any candidates for federal office in the primary. The Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) stands behind its deep bench of qualified candidates seeking to represent Montanans and supports a competitive primary process to let voters pick their preferred candidates, the Montana GOP said in a news release Thursday. Monday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he was retiring due to health concerns once his term ends, and he immediately tapped talk-show host Aaron Flint as his preferred successor in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chairperson Al Olszewski also filed for the U.S. House as Republicans, as did Ray Curtis of Bonner. Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew, and in a statement the same night, announced an endorsement of former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who had filed the same day. In the Senate, Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child also filed to run in the Republican primary. Endorsements for Flint and Alme cascaded. U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed both candidates, and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte threw their weight behind Flint and Alme. Advertisement Advertisement Late on Wednesday, the Montana GOP did not immediately have comment on the news Daines, Montanas senior U.S. senator, had resigned, but Thursday, the party thanked Zinke and Daines for their service. A news release said the party would not endorse any candidates in the federal primary and would leave the job in the hands of voters. The party hopes every candidate will make their case to the public, contrasting their Republican policies and principles with those of Democrats as well as phony Independents,' the news release said. Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar announced a run for the U.S. Senate as an independent this week. Advertisement Advertisement A tension within the Republican party has emerged in recent years between hardline conservatives and more moderate members, and some legislative primaries illustrate the split. This week, the state GOP said the number of primaries for state legislative seats shows a high interest from Montanans who want to serve the state and pass Republican policy, and the MTGOP is glad to see so many Republicans being called to public service. In a brief call, MTGOP spokesperson Ethan Holmes said the party had not ruled out endorsements in legislative primaries. In the news release, however, the MTGOP offered its view of the larger political debate. Advertisement Advertisement Montana voters know that beyond the primaries, there is a clear choice between Republican and Democratic governance; one path leads to lower taxes, less crime and stronger families, and the other leads to higher taxes, more crime, and social decay, MTGOP Chairperson Art Wittich said in a statement. The news release also said the state GOP is working tirelessly to deliver a Bright Red Future at both the state and federal level and looks forward to help candidates whom voters select win in November. Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy got into an altercation with an anti-war protester during an Senate Armed Services Subcommittee meeting that appears to have left the protester with a broken arm. In a video shared by CBS News Alan He, three Capitol Police officers are working to subdue and eject Brian McGinnis, a Marine Corps veteran and Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, who shouts, No one wants to fight for Israel. Sheehy is seen rushing in to help subdue McGinnis, grabbing his lower leg as the Capitol Police attempt to carry him through the hearing room door. Advertisement Advertisement McGinnis hooks one of his arms around the door frame, and Sheehy moves to wrap an arm around McGinnis shoulder and pry him away from the door. An audible snap is heard on the video, and it appears that either McGinnis lower arm or wrist broke. Sheehy reposted the video on his own social media account with a statement. Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation. This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence. In another video showing McGinnis, wearing what appears to be a Marine Corps uniform, being escorted away, he expresses support for a Free Palestine, and the individual filming indicates McGinnis arm is broken. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, a public information officer for the Capitol Police said that McGinnis was treated for an injury, but did not specify the injury. The Capitol Police also said three officers had to be treated for injuries. This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers attempts to remove him from the room, the statement from the Capitol Police said. According to the Capitol Police, McGinnis faces three counts of assaulting a police officer, and three counts of resisting arrest and crowding, obstructing, and incommoding for the unlawful demonstration. Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed, the statement said. The Daily Montanan sent questions about the incident to Sheehys office, including asking about his use of force, and why he got involved, but did not receive an immediate response. NEED TO KNOW Video shows Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy involved in a physical altercation with a protester on Capitol Hill A man, who was wearing a Marine uniform and was identified as Brian McGinnis, was forcefully pulled away by police and Sheehy before his hand became wedged in a door and broke The confrontation began over opposing views regarding the U.S. and Israel's ongoing war with Iran Sen. Tim Sheehy joined police officers in physically pulling an anti-war protester from an Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 4. CBS News journalist Alan He shared video of the Wednesday, March 4, incident, adding that it was filmed by an antiwar activist who was not named. Advertisement Advertisement "Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back," Sheehy wrote on X. "I decided to help out and deescalate the situation." "This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence," the senator continued. Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation. This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he https://t.co/MU1THo8fKA Tim Sheehy (@TimSheehyMT) March 4, 2026 The video, which was just over one minute long, did not show the full altercation, instead beginning with a bystander filming as at least three Capitol police officers surrounding a man dressed as a Marine, appearing to grab him to push him out of the chambers. The protester was identified as Brian McGinnis, 44, of North Carolina, NBC News reported, citing Capitol Police. McGinnis describes himself as a Marine veteran running as a Green Party candidate in North Carolina's Senate race, according to CBS News. As the officers appeared to tackle McGinnis during the tense situation, Sheehy quickly appeared in the frame, grabbing his legs to help lift McGinnis and pull him out. Advertisement Advertisement However, McGinnis held on to a door in an attempt to keep himself from being pulled away. No one wants to fight for Israel! he yelled as the police officers and Sheehy continued to pull him. Brian McGinnis, a protester dressed in a military uniform, gets stuck in a door with Sen. Tim Sheehy Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty As soon as he finished his sentence, a woman off-camera yelled for those involved to be aware of McGinnis's hand, which was in the crack of the door. Almost instantly, a loud crack was heard. Others gasped as the woman off camera continued to yell about his hand. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. During this time, neither the Capitol police nor Sheehy appeared to stop physically attempting to remove McGinnis, whose entire body was now being lifted and pulled. Advertisement Advertisement One onlooker was heard yelling, Let go of his hand! A senator broke his hand. Some crowded around, yelling over one another and at the Capitol police and Sheehy, but no one physically intervened. The politician eventually walked off while being called a coward in the clip. Brian McGinnis, a protester dressed in a military uniform, gets stuck in a door with Sen. Tim Sheehy Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty In the seconds that followed, people in their seats appeared to be visibly shocked. McGinnis was eventually set down as the Capitol officers worked to free his hand from the door. When a bystander asked if his hand was ok, he replied, "No, it's not, while still wedged. PEOPLE reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Advertisement Advertisement McGinnis was placed under arrest and transported to George Washington University Hospital, CBS News reported. Citing U.S. Capitol Police, the outlet added that McGinnis is facing three counts of assaulting a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest and one count of crowding, obstructing and incommoding. The suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated," Capitol Police said in a statement to NBC News, adding that three officers were treated for their injuries. They also described McGinniss as "an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers attempts to remove him from the room." Read the original article on People A lot happened in the final 72 hours before Montanas deadline for candidates to file for office on Wednesday evening. Big news dropped Monday with incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke retiring from Congress, opening the door for Republicans to enter the western district race. On Wednesday morning an independent candidate with strong backing entered the U.S. Senate race, and with just minutes to spare Wednesday night, incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines dropped out of his re-election race, endorsed a successor, and is ready to be done with politics this year. Advertisement Advertisement But underneath the national-level chaos, hundreds of Montanans also filed to run for the states citizen Legislature, which will next convene in January 2027. Here are a few takeaways from the first glance at legislative filings. A few candidates did not draw any opponents in their races and, pending any write-in campaigns, will be legislators next year. Those include incumbent Democratic Sens. Andrea Olsen and Shane Morigeau; incumbent Democratic Reps. Mike Fox, Jade Sootkis, Zooey Zephyr and Bob Carter; new Democratic Rep. Lona Running Wolf; incumbent Republican Reps. Greg Oblander and Fiona Nave; and current Republican Sen. Butch Gillespie, who is moving to the House. There is some chamber hopping, mostly from the House into the Senate. Montana has term limits for legislators, preventing them from serving more than eight years within a 16-year period in a single chamber. Of course, that creates an obvious loophole that after eight years, a House member can move to the Senate, and then back again eight years later, and vice versa. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to Gillespie, among those seeking to prolong their legislative careers by moving from Senate to House are Democratic Sen. Janet Ellis, in a three-way primary for House District 81, and disgraced Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth running in a district across the state (more on this below). Going the other direction, from the House to the more powerful, longer-termed Senate, are 14 Representatives, seeking 12 Senate nominations. For example, Republican Reps. Dave Bedey and Kathy Love are facing off in the Bitterroot. In Bozeman, Democratic Reps. Becky Edwards and Kelly Kortum are in a battle for the nomination with a third Democrat. Primary battles might be the hardest fought elections for several seats, especially those with incumbent or chamber-switching moderate Republicans. The well-documented rift in the Republican party between moderate members, including the infamous Nasty Nine senators who worked with a bipartisan coalition in 2025, will be on display this spring as more conservative candidates seek to oust moderates. Advertisement Advertisement State Republican leadership discussed this at the partys campaign kickoff event last month, but there are only a few big-target seats in the Senate. One of The Nine, Sen. Wendy McKamey of Great Falls, is not running for re-election due to health issues, but has anointed Rep. George Nikolakakos to run for her seat in the same moderate lane against RINO-killer challenger Randy Pinocci. Rep. Llew Jones, hoping to move to the Senate, and Sen. Shelley Vance, seeking another term in the Senate, are also priority seats for more conservative Republicans. Democrats will see new leadership Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, a Bozeman Democrat, and House Minority leader Katie Sullivan, of Missoula, are both termed out of their respective houses. Flowers is leaving politics altogether, citing his age, while Sullivan did not opt to primary any Missoula-area Democrats for a Senate seat. Advertisement Advertisement Possible front-runners for Democratic leadership could include last sessions minority whips, if re-elected, including Sens. Morigeau, Laura Smith, and Reps. SJ Howell, and Jonathan Karlen. Some bigger Democratic names are entering the legislative conversation In outgoing minority leader Flowers district, former legislator and U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams has filed. And in Missoula, two-time U.S. House candidate Monica Tranel is looking to get involved at the state level. Ellsworth is back, but far from home The former Senate President, who is currently under criminal investigation for misconduct over a six-figure contract he procured for a business partner, was censured by the Senate and permanently banned from the upper chamber. Advertisement Advertisement But he filed to run for the House, although in a district on the opposite side of the state from the Bitterroot Valley where he lives, challenging Freedom Caucus member Rep. Jerry Schillinger. Here are the maps showing who has filed for the Montana Senate and House. Moscow and Kiev announced the exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war on Thursday, with 500 on each side repatriated in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that 200 soldiers had already returned from Ukraine and that a further 300 would follow on Friday, with a similar number transferred to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that 200 Ukrainians taken prisoner in the first year in Mariupol and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya regions had returned home. Advertisement Advertisement "Every time our people come home, it proves that Ukraine is working to bring everyone back. No one is forgotten," he posted on X. Zelensky thanked the US for its mediation. Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinski said on Telegram that the swap had been agreed in Geneva during direct talks between Moscow and Kiev mediated by the US. The last major prisoner exchange took place more than a month ago. Sea more than doubled its annual profits in 2025, as the Southeast Asian tech giant reported strong performance in its fintech division and expansion in new markets like Brazil. Yet concerns about profitability sent the companys shares into their worst drop in two years. The Singapore company posted full-year revenue of $22.9 billion, a 36.4% increase from the previous year. Net profits also rose by almost 260%, from $447.8 million to $1.6 billion. Fintech division Monee was the companys fastest-growing division, posting 60% growth over 2025. (During the earnings call, Li added that Sea wants to continue expanding the divisions suite of products, foraying into areas like digital banking and insurance). We see much headroom to strengthen our market leadership and improve e-commerce penetration in Taiwan, said Forrest Li, Seas CEO, during the companys earnings call. He added that Sea is also looking to strengthen its fulfillment capabilities in Brazilits fastest-growing market in 2025. Sea is also trying to grow its AI use. Last month, the firm signed a partnership with Google to develop AI tools to its three business segments, specifically agentic AI shopping agents for e-commerce platform Shopee, AI-powered payments for its fintech division Monee, and AI-enhanced game development for its gaming wing Garena. Sea is also looking to deepen its presence in existing markets, like Brazil. Sea onboarded 300 local Brazilian brands onto Shopee Mall in Q4. Buyer waiting time was also cut by 1.5 days. Short-term pain Despite Seas surge in revenue, disappointing quarterly profits at $410.9 million drove the companys shares down by 16.5%; its the largest drop in the tech giants stock in two years. Revenue at Shopee, Seas e-commerce division, grew by 35.8% last quarter, yet the divisions cost of revenue rose by 43.2% over the same period; Sea blamed an increase in logistics costs as orders volume grew. Sea is battling increased e-commerce competition in some of its markets, like Vietnam and Brazil, particularly from Chinese platforms like TikTok Shop and Temu. Analysts argued that Seas share plunge was an overreaction. Hussaini Saifee, an equity research analyst at Maybank Securities, said investors would suffer short-term pain for long-term gains. We see this [Seas strategic moves] as calibrated moat-buildinglogistics scale, AI-driven underwriting and ecosystem depth strengthening long-term earnings power, he said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com NEED TO KNOW An adult and five children who were killed in an Ohio house fire on March 3 have been identified as mother Brooke Gordon and her five children: Zayden, 10, Hudson, 8, Ashton, 6, Bostyn, 2, and Tomlyn, 9 months Tommy Allen Jr., Gordons fiance and the childrens father, survived and is being treated for "serious injuries," according to a GoFundMe established after the tragedy GoFundMe organizer Pamela Hauck told CBS-affiliate WKRC-TV that she had a close relationship with the family The adult and five children who were killed in an Ohio house fire earlier this month have been identified. The fire was reported at 6:40 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, a spokesperson for the Clinton County EMA previously confirmed to PEOPLE. Advertisement Advertisement One male adult survived and was transported to a nearby hospital. The victims of the fire have been identified as mother Brooke Gordon and her five children: Zayden, 10, Hudson, 8, Ashton, 6, Bostyn, 2, and Tomlyn, 9 months, according to a GoFundMe page organized by Pamela Hauck after the tragedy. Brooke Gordon and her family. Credit: GoFundMe Tommy Allen Jr., Gordons fiance and the childrens father, was identified as the surviving adult. Hauck wrote in the description for the fundraising page that tragedy struck the Clarksville, Ohio community when a devastating house fire claimed the lives of the six family members. The loss is unimaginable, and the heartbreak is felt deeply by everyone who knew and loved this family, Hauck continued. Advertisement Advertisement Allen Jr. suffered serious injuries and is being treated at Miami Valley Hospital, but he has a long road ahead, Hauck shared. In the wake of this tragedy, Tommy faces not only the overwhelming grief of losing his family but also the daunting challenges of recovery and rebuilding his life. The funds raised through this campaign will go directly toward funeral expenses for Brooke and the children, as well as helping Tommy secure housing and meet essential needs as he heals, Hauck wrote. Thank you for standing with Tommy and honoring the memory of Brooke, Zayden, Hudson, Ashton, Bostyn, and Tomlyn, her fundraiser description concluded. The fundraising page has raised over $57,000 as of publication time, over half of its $90,000 goal. Advertisement Advertisement Hauck told CBS-affiliate WKRC-TV that she was close with the family before tragedy struck. They've been to birthday parties at my house. They swam in my pool. They are my two grandchildren's only cousins. And now my grandchildren are the only grandchildren, which breaks my heart. Breaks my heart to no end, she said. I've never seen as good a mama to that many children as Brooke. She was fabulous. She was fabulous, the family friend added. The house fire in Ohio. Credit: WLWT/YouTube The news outlet reported that eight firefighters were injured on the scene of the fire. Because of the breadth of the fire and also the structural fragility and degradation of the house at the time, they were unable to make it up the steps," Clinton County EMA Director Thomas Breckel said. Advertisement Advertisement Officials for Clinton-Massie Local Schools previously said in a statement that three of the victims were students in the district. Clinton-Massie Middle School in Ohio. Credit: Google Maps Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. We know that tragedy affects not only families, but also classmates, staff members, and the broader community. Our schools are closely connected places, and moments like this are felt deeply by many, the district said. An investigation into the origin and cause of the fire is currently underway, the Ohio Department of Commerce told PEOPLE. Read the original article on People SOUTH HADLEY Whoever emerges as a leader in Iran will likely be part of the same system thats run the country since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The regime doesnt seem to be teetering on the edge of collapse or anything like that, said Sohail Hashmi, a specialist in Iranian-American relations and a professor of international relations and politics at Mount Holyoke College. And we have seen that time and time again. He believes President Donald Trump is averse to a large-scale, long-term, boots-on-the-ground military involvement. Instead, Trump will declare victory, say the U.S. actions damaged the Iranian regime and its military, and then work with whoever emerges from the internal power struggle. Advertisement Advertisement Its not going to be a new regime, Hashmi said. Its going to be people who say the right things to keep Trump from further military intervention. And the Iranians might take their time naming a new supreme leader. Hashmi said a transitional committee is probably making the decisions now, and if it works, it works. Also, anyone who emerges would then become the next target. Since the revolution, the Iranian regime has survived outside interventions, the Iran-Iraq war that killed half a million people in the 1980s and numerous uprisings. Its always managed to quell those uprisings through brutal use of force, Hashmi said. Advertisement Advertisement And any opposition groups are either in hiding or out of the country. That includes a socialist group, led by a woman in Paris, called the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization. And it includes opposition forces around Irans Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi has lived in exile for 50 years and has ties to Western Massachusetts, having studied at Williams College. He lived with his mother and siblings off-campus, according to the Williams College newspaper, with younger siblings attending nearby schools. Hashmi said western observers forget that the revolution that ousted Pahlavis father was popular. That makes the idea of bringing back a shah, even as a transitional figure, unpopular. Advertisement Advertisement Theyll see it as a betrayal of family members who made sacrifices or died in the revolution, Hashmi said. American policymakers dont appreciate the depth of opposition to western intervention. There is a long history, including an American and British backed coup in 1953. They are not going to join the cause and rally with an American effort to bring about regime change through American intervention, he said. Stories by Jim Kinney Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. As the March weather folklore proverb goes, in like a lion, out like a lamb. That's how the National Weather Service office in Cleveland, which handles the Erie forecast, has described the 2025-2026 winter for Erie, so far. According to the National Weather Service, Erie's weather has been labeled as a "mild winter," despite periods of heavy snowfall and cold temperatures. From the Erie International Airport, where the Erie snowfall is measured officially, the National Weather Service has recorded 69.9 inches of snowfall for the 2025-2026 season. Advertisement Advertisement In early March, Keith Jaszka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service says the total amount is 19.2 inches below what is considered a "normal winter" for Erie. The historical average of snowfall for Erie is 104.3 inches. "Compared to the past several winters, it was a relatively colder winter and a snowy one as well, despite it being below normal for snowfall," Jaszka said. Weather outlook: Erie winters are shrinking. What a new study says A very light snowfall month in February The month of February in Erie was light on the snowfall. Jaszka said that the National Weather Service recorded only 5.7 inches of snow in Erie for the entire month. Advertisement Advertisement In February, the day with the most snow was on Feb. 6 when Erie received 2 inches. Back in January, the National Weather Service recorded 31.8 inches of snow for Erie. What was the greatest snowfall day in Erie in 2025-2026? Jaszka says that the greatest calendar day for the winter of 2025-2026 season was on Dec. 31 when Erie received 9 inches of snow. In 2026, the greatest amount of snowfall happened on Jan. 25 when Erie received 8.9 inches of snow. What were coldest winter days in Erie this season? According to the National Weather Service, the coldest days happened on: Jan. 30: minus 9 degrees Jan. 24: minus 7 degrees Jan. 31: minus 3 degrees Erie drops in the Golden Snow Globe With the mild end to winter, Erie has dropped to seventh in the run for the 2025-2026 Golden Snow Globe, the national contest for the snowiest cities run by Patrick DeCoursey of East Syracuse. Advertisement Advertisement In early February, Erie was in sixth place. Now Grand Rapids, Michigan is in sixth place above Erie. As of March 4 the top five snowiest cities in America are: Syracuse, New York: 134.6 inches Rochester, New York: 107.9 inches South Bend, Indiana: 91.1 inches Buffalo, New York: 88.3 inches Worcester, Massachusetts: 77.2 inches Syracuse, New York took the Golden Snow Globe in 2024-2025. Partly frozen: Lake Erie's ice has been thawing, but weather shift could change that Stay up to date on Erie-area weather Return to GoErie.com for updates. Get the latest AccuWeather forecast details and radar images for your ZIP code at goerie.com/weather. Download the GoErie app for iOS or Android for mobile-friendly forecasts. Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How much snow has Erie recorded for the 2025-2026 season? MUNCIE, IN Mayor Dan Ridenour and commissioner Stephen Brand on Thursday, March 5, offered a positive forecast for Muncie and Delaware County. Addressing a large breakfast audience at the Horizon Convention Center, Republicans Ridenour and Brand addressed "the state of our community." Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour (left) and Delaware County commissioner Stephen Brand took part in a "State of the Community" presentation on Thursday, March 5, at the Horizon Convention Center. "We are committed to collaboration," Ridenour said. 'We collaborate on a lot more than things than many people realize. Advertisement Advertisement "A lot of times there's a sense that cities and counties don't get along. There's a level of truth to that. But we have collaborated on a number of things." The mayor said that "cities and counties that get along seem to do better." Referring to ongoing improvements, Ridenour noted the new YMCA near Central High School, efforts to rejuvenate a neighborhood east of the school, and ongoing projects in and near the Village commercial district, adjacent to Ball State University, including construction of a hotel and restaurants. Brand discussed the importance of "getting people to live where they work and spend where they live." Advertisement Advertisement The county commissioner said efforts must be made to encourage some of the estimated 9,000 people who work in Delaware County but live elsewhere to move here. Brand said statistics showed the number of jobs in Delaware County grew by 1,478 between 2020 and 2025. "The majority of that came from existing businesses," he said. The commissioner said there was considerable interest in placing data centers in Delaware County. "We've had seven companies that represent data centers that are looking to do something in East Central Indiana," he said. "Why is Delaware County so attractive? It's our infrastructure." Advertisement Advertisement Brand said the data management companies represent "billions of dollars' worth of opportunities." "We can generate jobs," he said. "But we have to have housing." Ridenour discussed several housing and apartments projects undertaken or planned recently. "In 2025, we added 599 new residential units," the mayor said. "Some are for home ownership, some are for rental. Some are affordable. Some are market. And that's what we've been trying to do. We're trying to have as many people move to Muncie as possible to help solve the income issues that we have as a city, without raising taxes. That's what our goal is." Advertisement Advertisement Ridenour said 655 new housing units will become available this year. Based on census estimates, Ridenour said, it's believed Delaware County's population increased by 1,044 residents, to 112,951, between 2020 and 2024. The mayor and commissioner also discussed the employees of city and county governments and the services they provide to the public. They also acknowledged recent efforts to honor two local fallen law enforcement officers, Gregg Winters and Blake Reynolds. Near the end of the 80-minute presentation, Brand in a visual display under the heading "future economies" listed areas in which the county might pursue jobs. Advertisement Advertisement At the top of the list was "drone economy." Brand said federal officials recently announced two states Oklahoma and Indiana would be considered for assignment as "drone testing states." "The commissioners' office has been working with our U.S. representatives to try to get Delaware County identified as a drone-testing facility," he said. "That comes with a lot of jobs. Technical jobs. "Not only the testing or the flight, but we would like to manufacture (drones). What better county in Indiana to manufacture than Delaware County?" Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie and Delaware County leaders share positive forecast Mar. 4---- Copy Link Facebook LinkedIn Share on X MORGANTOWN Neil Armstrong had them locked in his orbit on that mellow July day in 1968 in the deep woods of West Virginia. The softspoken NASA astronaut told a group of bright high school students from across the nation just what he would be doing next year at this time, provided all systems were go. Sure enough, they were and students again gathered in July 1969 at the National Youth Science Camp and looked heavenward to launch every cheer and whoop they could muster because Mr. Armstrong had just set foot on the moon. Advertisement Advertisement It was another day at the office for the camp gathered in the Monongahela National Forest that celebrates science and all the adventure that discipline entails. Registration is now on for the 2026 edition of the camp, which runs from July 11 through Aug. 1 in the wooded expanse. Two students, or "delegates, " as they are known in camp parlance, from each state and the District of Columbia, will attend. Don't think it's all stuck on STEM science, technology, engineering and math either. While of course, there will plenty of intellectual immersions into those disciplines, delegates will also have plenty of chances for nature hikes and sojourns down bicycle trails. Advertisement Advertisement Rafting and kayaking, too. You can thank West Virginia University math professor Chuck Cochran, and his buddy, Joe Hutchinson, who worked in parks and recreation at the school in Morgantown for that. The camp came about in 1963, a year at home that was blasting off like one of those Saturn rockets with a space capsule from Cape Canaveral. West Virginia was turning 100 that year, and it was celebrating all of its endeavors, including intellectual ones. Originally, the science camp was proposed for the WVU campus in Morgantown, as Jill Cochran, Chuck's daughter, told delegates six years ago. Everyone would convene in lecture halls for sessions lasting (shudder !) from six to eight hours a day, she recounted ruefully. Advertisement Advertisement "Lucky for all of you, my dad and Hutch said, 'No, no, no we need to do this in the great outdoors.'" Besides Armstrong, other luminaries in the realm who have spoken at the camp include Gen. Chuck Yeager, the aw-shucks test pilot from Lincoln County who was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound ; and Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project. Applications for this year's camp are being accepted through March 15 online at www.nyscamp.org. Meanwhile, more that 50 % of camp alumni over the years have gone to earn a doctorate, and 85 % of past delegates report they are now working in a STEM field. NATO is increasing the alert and readiness levels of its ballistic defence systems due to the Iranian missile attack on Turkey, a spokesman for the military headquarters in the Belgian city of Mons said on Thursday evening. The measure was ordered by the commander of NATO's Air Command, the spokesman said. He also recommended maintaining NATO's readiness at this heightened level until the threat from Iran's ongoing indiscriminate attacks in the region subsides. "The posture was raised immediately upon detection, but the decision to maintain it at a heightened level was made afterwards," he said. Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Allied Commander Europe has endorsed this recommendation, added spokesman Martin L ODonnell. 'Unanimous support' expressed During a meeting with representatives of member states, strong and unanimous support for the measure was also expressed. The adjustment allows the alliance to defend itself against the current threat. The spokesman pointed out that the defence readiness had already been demonstrated on Wednesday when NATO perfectly executed its ballistic missile defence procedures. In less than 10 minutes, NATO soldiers identified the ballistic missile, confirmed its trajectory and alerted the land and sea-based missile defence systems for the successful interception manoeuvre, he added. Details are confidential When asked whether additional missile defence systems would be deployed to the region due to the situation, NATO initially provided no information. Advertisement Advertisement Spokesman ODonnell stated that no further details could be disclosed for operational security reasons. According to NATO, Iran caused outrage on Wednesday by firing a missile at NATO member Turkey. According to Turkish reports, it was intercepted in the Turkish border region. Part of the defence missile fell on an open area in Hatay province, with no injuries reported. Where the Iranian missile was supposed to land was initially unknown. Turkey is neutral in the war against Iran and has long sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict. However, US soldiers are also stationed in Turkey. The most important NATO airbase in the country is in Incirlik in the southern Turkish province of Adana. According to US reports, around 1,500 military personnel are stationed there. The base is considered an important military hub in the region. By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to expand his country's nuclear deterrent but said the U.S. nuclear umbrella would remain the ultimate guarantor of European security. Macron this week announced France would increase its nuclear arsenal and potentially allow European partners to host French warplanes on deterrence missions, following concerns among allies about the reliability of the U.S.. Advertisement Advertisement Rutte said Macron's update to France's nuclear doctrine would make it harder for Russia to assess European deterrence and defense and that he supported discussions over nuclear cooperation between Paris and several European capitals. But he said Europe could not do without U.S. protection and sought to dismiss concerns over Washington's commitment to defending Europe. "The ultimate, supreme guarantor of our way of life ... is, in the end, the United States' nuclear umbrella, and that is key," Rutte told Reuters in an interview. In his speech at a submarine base, Macron said the rethink of French nuclear doctrine had been done in transparency with Washington, and was complementary to NATO's nuclear mission. Advertisement Advertisement France and Germany have established a nuclear steering group to discuss deterrence issues and will start concrete cooperation this year. Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden could also be expected to take part in French nuclear wargames, Macron said. The Trump administration has at times over the past 14 months been scathing in its view of Europe's willingness and ability to defend itself. In mistakenly shared comments by top Trump administration officials ahead of strikes on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis last year, a person identified as Vice President JD Vance wrote "I just hate bailing out Europe", prompting a second official identified as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to lambast European "free-loading" in response. Under pressure from Washington, NATO's European members have raised their military spending commitments. Advertisement Advertisement A standoff over Greenland earlier this year added to European doubts about U.S. commitments to defending its allies. But Rutte told Reuters he did not doubt the United States' commitment to NATO and the safeguarding of European security. "I'm absolutely convinced the U.S. is completely committed to NATO," he said. "The United States knows that to stay safe itself (on) the U.S. mainland, you need a secure Atlantic, a secure Europe, a secure Arctic." (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama ) A North Carolina Republican and Democrat seemingly joined forces this week against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying she failed to provide Helene relief funds to Western North Carolina communities fast enough and calling for her resignation. Congress earmarked $29 billion in recovery funds to the states affected by the 2024 storm, but because of a policy implemented by Noem that she must sign off any dollar amount over $100,000 before the money leaves her office, Western North Carolina communities have faced delays in getting reimbursed for money they paid because of the storm. Noem appeared Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions on topics ranging from immigration to disaster recovery. It came on the heels of a lengthy committee hearing Tuesday before the Senates version of the committee. Advertisement Advertisement And there Noem went viral, along with Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, of Huntersville, who accused Noem of violating the law for delaying disbursements of relief funds and called for her resignation. He also threatened to block her departments nominations and bills from moving forward in the Senate until she responded to a set of questions he sent her about an immigration enforcement effort in Charlotte, where officials reportedly arrested legal residents. On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Wake County, joined Tillis in criticizing of Noem and her actions. Sen. Thom Tillis lambasted you and the failure of your department in disbursing these funds and then magically about $80 million got released today, for which were grateful, Ross said. But she chastised Noem, saying a senator and two representatives California Rep. Kevin Kiley also requested relief for his state should not have to come to Noem for money already appropriated by Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Noem defended herself to Ross, saying that North Carolinas funding has been paid out. Her statement contrasts with repeated criticism her department has received from Tillis, Ross and Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County who rarely steps out of line from President Donald Trump, but who earlier this year also used the tactic of blocking Department of Homeland Security nominations from reaching the Senate floor until Noem released some of the recovery funds. Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, who announced the $70 million reimbursement released to Avery, Buncombe and Yancey counties on Wednesday morning ahead of Ross questioning, but after Tillis, wrote: Weve got lots of work still to do I look forward to continue working with federal partners to get western NC the resources needed for rebuilding. Congress allowed funding for the Department of Homeland Security to lapse beginning Jan. 31, causing a partial government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats navigate oversight of immigration enforcement that has led to the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement Noem said because of the lack of funding, 12 states across the country havent seen a dollar of recovery funding. Impact on Western North Carolina But before Noem was allowed to defend herself during the time allotted to Rep. Ben Cline, a Republican from Virginia, Ross spoke about the impact she said Noems policy was having on Western North Carolina. Ross told Noem that she has talked to many county leaders who spent their tax dollars on recovery efforts, believing that FEMA recovery funds would come swiftly behind. And then the money didnt come. These struggling counties in the western part of the state are some of the most rural counties, they are poor counties, Ross said. They do not have the money to front for you. Advertisement Advertisement She added that now theyre struggling to fund essential services, public schools, emergency services, public health and countless other services for their residents. She also said residents have spent two winters paying mortgages and taxes on homes that are unlivable or may not even be standing, while waiting for Noem to act. These delays in paying out this desperately needed recovery funds are simply unacceptable, and you heard that from my Republican senator, Sen. Tillis, yesterday, Ross said. Rep. Deborah Ross speaks as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images) Initially, Ross spoke to Noem calmly, unlike Tillis, who began his line of questioning already angered. Ross, however, was set off during her line of questioning when Noem tried to defend herself, pinning recovery and relief failures on Trumps predecessor, President Joe Biden. You cannot find the time until my senator berates you in public to approve this money, Ross said. Individual members of Congress should not have to come to you. Advertisement Advertisement Noem interjected, saying Trump did more for North Carolina than Biden. Ross shot back that Biden provided greater relief, showed up and didnt lie about what was happening on the ground. I dont even want to get into the misinformation Trump put out during the campaign, Ross shouted. Recovering from Helene Helene made landfall in the United States as a Category 4 hurricane and tore up the East Coast, causing widespread damage. North Carolina sustained an estimated $60 billion in damages and at least 108 deaths from the storm. Lawmakers, who left Washington early because of the storm, and wanting to campaign for their 2024 elections, began putting information out about the storm, with Republicans blaming Democrats Biden and then-Gov. Roy Cooper, who was expected to and is now running for U.S. Senate, for failures to prepare. Advertisement Advertisement There was also a free flow of misinformation following the storm, causing widespread confusion across North Carolina. Trump was among those putting out misinformation. Like Tillis, Ross cut Noem off, saying that she was reclaiming her allotted time and that Noem has been too slow in sending aid to North Carolina. I have heard from Republican county commissioners, Ive heard this from administrators, Ive been in the western part of the state, and you have turned a blind eye while youre busy trying to deport American citizens, Ross said, while Noem continued to interject. She then scolded Noem for failing to answer Tillis questions about immigration enforcement in Charlotte, saying her department picked up U.S. citizens and intimidated people and that she is threatening the economy of one of the most prosperous states in this country by practicing malpractice. Advertisement Advertisement You should resign or be impeached, Ross shouted. Noem asked if she could answer Ross, as Ross shook her head and said no. The state of North Carolina has received billions more in Helene relief disaster assistance than President Biden did, Noem said, being cut off again by Ross. Because we appropriated the money, Ross yelled before throwing up her hand, signaling Noem to stop talking and gathering her things. LINCOLN Nebraska lawmakers gave wide first-round approval Thursday to a proposal eliminating state contributions to a retirement plan for about 150 state judges. The plan has been fully funded for nearly five years. An amended Legislative Bill 1101, from the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, would end the states annual contribution to the judges retirement of 5% based on the total payroll for judges. The state annually contributes a little more than $1.5 million toward judges retirement. Those savings could be important as lawmakers work to close a projected budget deficit. Advertisement Advertisement LB 1101, as amended, represents the opportunity to provide both savings to the taxpayers and enhance our ability to recruit and retain judges, said State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, chair of the Retirement Committee. State Sens. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, Eliot Bostar of Lincoln and Beau Ballard of Lincoln, from left. May 12, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) The bill advanced 37-0. It faces two more debates before going to Gov. Jim Pillen. His office helped develop LB 1101, mirroring work done on school retirement contribution rates in 2025. Should the judges retirement plan fall below 100% funded for two straight years, Ballard said actuaries could review and suggest that the Legislature change the states contribution rate. Unlike changes to the school retirement plan last year, in which state, employer and employee contributions automatically increase depending on the funding level of the plan, changes to state contributions to the judges plan would require new legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Ballard said the judges bill didnt build in a sliding scale because of how much smaller the judges plan is and how much less it costs the state. Last years school retirement bill came together after a couple of months of pushback and negotiation. Current salaries of Nebraska judges Supreme Court (7 justices): $228,431.18 Court of Appeals (6 judges): $217,009.62 District Court (58 judges): $211,298.84 Separate Juvenile Court (12 judges in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties): $211,298.84 Workers Compensation Court (6 judges): $211,298.84 County Court (58 judges): $205,588.06 LB 1101 would similarly lower judges current 10% monthly contribution rate based on their salaries, which are set by the Legislature. The monthly contribution rate would fall to 9%, but once a judge reaches 20 years of service, judges would contribute 5% of their monthly salary for the rest of their tenure. Advertisement Advertisement State law guarantees judges a monthly retirement payout of 3.5% of their final average compensation, multiplied by their years of service. Judges who have joined the bench since July 1, 2015, would see a higher annual cost-of-living adjustment for their retirement under LB 1101, up to 2.5% instead of 1%. Lawmakers had lowered the COLA rate for new judges in 2015 but had locked in the higher rate for current judges. The Legislature last year approved LB 645 from Ballard for similar changes to a retirement plan for school employees, which had also been sought by the Governors Office. The state originally contributed 2% of school employee payroll statewide. At 100% funded, the state does not contribute to the plan, saving the state more than $50 million each year. LB 645 also lowered the contribution rate of school districts and employees, saving money for property taxpayers and teachers monthly salaries alike. Advertisement Advertisement Even with lower contribution rates, the judges retirement plan is still projected to reach a funding level by 2046 of 112%, Ballard said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Is Kyler Murray underrated? One outlier season doesn't define the QB, a reason why Vikings got a bargain What's working against Murray here is that for as bad as their quarterback play was, the Vikings still won nine games. That sets a high floor of expectations. Akbar Novruz Iranian missiles have struck the airport in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, though no official confirmation has been issued by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense or other authorities, AzerNEWS reports. Videos shared online appear to show flashes and explosions in the vicinity of the airport, with users alleging that the site was targeted amid the ongoing escalation involving Iran, the United States, and Israel. The authenticity of the footage and the exact circumstances of the alleged strike have not yet been independently verified. The reported incident comes as tensions across the region remain high following recent military operations against Iran, which have triggered retaliatory missile launches and heightened fears of a broader regional confrontation. Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Iran, Turkiye, and Armenia, occupies a strategically sensitive position in the South Caucasus. Any confirmed strike in the territory would mark a significant escalation with potential implications for regional security. Authorities in Azerbaijan have not yet released a statement regarding the circulating footage or the reported impact near the airport. Further details are expected as officials assess the situation and verify the information. Cash conversion was described as exceptional, with 2025 cash flow of 290 million and trading cash conversion of 112% . Crossley said the year also benefited from higher-than-usual mobilization activity and associated deferred revenue. Adjusted net debt increased to 206 million , from 100 million at the end of the prior year, driven by the 245 million acquisition of MT&S and shareholder returns, partially offset by cash generation. Year-end leverage was 0.7x EBITDA , below Sercos stated 1x to 2x target range. Order intake totaled 5.5 billion , representing a 114% book-to-bill ratio, with more than two-thirds coming from the defense business, according to Kirby. Serco ended the year with a 12.1 billion pipeline , which Kirby called the highest the company has seen in a decade. The companys new business win rate was reported as over 30% . For 2025, Serco reported revenue of 4.9 billion , up 3% at constant currency, with organic revenue growth of 1% in line with prior guidance. Underlying operating profit was 272 million , up 1% at constant currency, producing a margin of 5.6% , which Crossley said was within the groups 5% to 6% target range. Kirby also announced Crossley will retire after more than 11 years with the company, including five as CFO, and introduced Mark Reid as his successor, who is expected to join the board in the coming days. Serco Group (LON:SRP) reported what management described as a strong year in 2025, highlighting steady revenue growth, resilient margins and continued cash generation alongside progress in defense, justice and immigration, and citizen services. Chief Executive Officer Anthony Kirby said the year was defined by disciplined execution, strong operational delivery, and continued strategic progress, while Chief Financial Officer Nigel Crossley noted performance came despite a number of anticipated headwinds. Capital allocation balances shareholder returns and debt reduction: a recommended dividend of 4.5p (+8%), a new 75m buyback (after a completed 50m), and 2026 guidance of about 5.0bn revenue and 300m underlying operating profit with adjusted net debt targeted near 165m . The group has sharpened its strategy around three priority sectors defense, justice & immigration, and citizen services with North America and UK & Europe driving growth (defense ~ 40% of revenue) while Asia Pacific declines are being addressed through rightsizing and selective rebids. Serco delivered a "strong year" in 2025 with revenue of 4.9bn , underlying operating profit of 272m (margin 5.6% ), exceptional cash generation of 290m and 112% trading cash conversion, while order intake was 5.5bn leaving a record 12.1bn pipeline. Story Continues Regional performance: strength in North America and UK & Europe offsets Asia Pacific declines In North America, Serco reported revenue of 1.46 billion, up 10%, driven by 4% organic growth and a 9% contribution from MT&S, partially offset by currency headwinds. Organic growth was led by defense, as 2024 order intake flowed into 2025 revenue, with higher activity in defense personnel services, mission training, and IT network and infrastructure services for the U.S. Navy. Underlying operating profit rose to 144 million, up 5%, and margins remained around 10% despite contract mobilization and a 6 million one-off MT&S transaction integration cost. Crossley said margins should recover as contracts mature, supported by efficiency and portfolio mix. Atomic AI: Why NuScale Is the Only Option North America order intake was 1.4 billion, with 90% from defense. Management cited a 37% new business win rate, while rebid win rates were lower than normal due to the loss of a low-margin traffic control contract. The North America pipeline more than doubled to 5 billion. On U.S. market conditions, Kirby said shutdown-related impacts were limited, though decisions were slightly slower due to fewer federal employees making decisions, and he expected this to persist for a little bit into 2026. In UK and Europe, Serco posted revenue of 2.58 billion, up 6%, driven by 5% organic growth and a 1% contribution from the EHC acquisition in Germany. Growth reflected ramp-up of major defense and citizen services contracts, including Armed Forces Recruiting, marine services for the Royal Navy, and continued progress on Electronic Monitoring. Serco also noted lower immigration revenues due to harder borders in Europe and changes in U.K. accommodation mix, although the pace of U.K. revenue reduction was slower than expected. Underlying operating profit was 149 million, flat year over year, with a 5.8% margin. Order intake was 3.7 billion, a 145% book-to-bill, and the division won 60% of new business bids and 97% of rebids. Asia Pacific revenue declined to 655 million, down 18%, including a 12% organic decline primarily linked to the exit of the Australian immigration contract, plus the disposal of the Hong Kong business and currency impacts. Underlying operating profit increased to 24 million, up 3% at constant currency, and margin improved to 3.7%, supported by cost control and operational improvements. Serco highlighted a six-year contract win for justice transport services in Victoria and cited a 91% rebid win rate. Crossley said the region has made progress on right-sizing and underperforming contracts, but rebuilding growth will take time given long lead times. In the Middle East, revenue fell to 177 million, down 18%, reflecting the end of a low-margin air navigation services contract in Dubai, lower variable project work, and the accounting impact of the Mubadala partnership. Underlying operating profit declined to 13 million and margin fell to 7.1%. Serco reported a 0.5 billion pipeline in the region and said it was encouraged by opportunities emerging from its joint venture structure with Mubadala. Strategy: sharpening focus on defense, justice & immigration, and citizen services Kirby said Serco refined its strategic direction in 2025 to prioritize geographies and sectors where it can deliver the most value and where its capabilities are strongest. He highlighted North America and the UK and Europe as the companys most addressable and scalable markets, while stating the company still expects Asia Pacific and the Middle East to grow over time, with disciplined capital deployment. Management emphasized three growth sectors: Defense: Kirby said defense now accounts for around 40% of group revenue, including joint ventures. Serco highlighted work including the U.K. Early Warning Radar at RAF Fylingdales, support to the U.S. Space Force in Greenland, and personnel services spanning recruitment, readiness, training, housing and veteran transitions. Crossley noted defense margins are above the group average, though the company did not provide a profit split. Justice and immigration: Serco said it supports and accommodates over 100,000 asylum seekers and refugees across its operating countries. In the U.K., Kirby highlighted the companys Electronic Monitoring operations, stating Serco monitors 28,000 individuals in the community and citing that the scheme has proven to reduce reoffending by around 20%. He said the business is now performing above expectations operationally after an extended mobilization period. Citizen services: Kirby pointed to technology-enabled efficiency in services that remain people-led. Examples cited included work for the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, where Serco manages around 10 million customer notices a year, and a U.K. Restart Scheme pilot where AI-enabled tools reduced administration time by around 75% and improved case note quality by nearly 20%. On questions about other activities, Kirby said health and transport fall under citizen services, but Serco is not actively deploying growth capital into what he described as lower margin areas. He said the company intends to retain and rebid existing transport contracts. Capital allocation: dividend increase and new 75 million buyback Serco recommended a full-year dividend of 4.5p per share, an 8% increase from the prior year. The company completed a 50 million share buyback in the second half of 2025 and announced a further 75 million buyback to be executed in the first half of 2026. Crossley said that including the new program, Serco will have returned around 650 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends since 2021. Crossley also emphasized the companys focus on receivables discipline, saying Serco has reduced days sales outstanding by 20 days over five years, equating to around 250 million of working capital improvement over that period, while noting opportunities for further gains are now limited. 2026 outlook: revenue around 5.0 billion and operating profit around 300 million For 2026, Sercos guidance was described as largely unchanged from its pre-close statement. The company expects: Revenue of around 5.0 billion , implying 3% organic growth Underlying operating profit of around 300 million , more than 10% higher year over year, with margin around 6% Net finance costs of around 52 million , reflecting interest on debt used to fund MT&S and the cost of the new buyback Free cash flow of around 160 million Adjusted net debt expected to end 2026 at 165 million Management said revenue growth will be supported by a full-year contribution from MT&S and contract ramp-ups, offset by expected reductions in immigration activity in both the U.K. and Australia, which Serco expects to represent around a 3% organic headwind. In closing remarks during Q&A, Kirby said elevated geopolitical instability is likely to drive increased defense spending and greater spending on migration-related services, which he characterized as a net positive for Sercos core markets. About Serco Group (LON:SRP) The article "Serco Group H2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. Millions of Nepalis have voted in the country's first general election since violent youth-led protests toppled the government last September. Corruption, economic stagnation and inequality were the main issues in the vote. They sparked the uprising in which 77 people died, many of them protesters shot by police. The election represents a crossroads for Nepal, pitting the establishment against a new generation of politicians advocating for angry, young Gen Z voters hungry for change. Advertisement Advertisement Counting the votes cast for the Nepalese parliament's 275 seats is expected to take several days, and results are not expected before next week. Nepal's mountainous terrain makes it slow and difficult to transport ballots, which are tallied by hand. Nearly 19 million people, including almost a million first-time voters, were registered to take part in the 5 March ballot for the House of Representatives. The Election Commission, speaking shortly after polls closed, said it expected voter turnout to be around 60%. Voting was largely peaceful, and there was a huge security presence across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Leading candidates include KP Sharma Oli, the prime minister toppled in the protests, and Balen Shah, a former rapper who resigned as Kathmandu's mayor in January to take him on in his constituency, the Jhapa 5 seat, one of the key election races. For Oli, the election will be a major test. He and his party, the Communist Party of Nepal UML, have insisted the protests were not a referendum on his leadership and that he is still beloved by the public. He told the BBC he's confident he will win this election. The leader of the Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa, believes younger voters are tired of "unholy alliances" and "poor governance" in previous coalitions, and that the party is listening to Gen Z voters. Balen Shah, who is representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), refused to speak directly to the press on Thursday, staying true to form by turning up in his signature black sunglasses and storming through a crowd of journalists. Advertisement Advertisement It is a trend Nepal's media worry would continue if he took office. Yet, many of the young voters we've spoken to believe his youth and energy are exactly what the country needs, and that he represents a new chapter in Nepal's future. Both Oli and Thapa's parties, which have been in government numerous times, have been clear in their messaging, in suggesting they have heard the calls for change. Whether voters agree remains to be seen. Rakshya Bam - one of Nepal's Gen Z leaders - was largely unimpressed. "I think none of the parties have incorporated the pact that was signed between the government and the Gen Z in their election manifestos," she told the BBC ahead of the vote. Advertisement Advertisement "They want to sell the name of Gen Z and come into power so they are using the term Gen Z movement... I don't have much expectations from the elections." Ispa Sapkota, who spoke to the BBC as she cast her ballot in Kathmandu, said she protested in September to "end corruption" and restore "political stability" in Nepal. "We want a better nation," she says. "When I and others search for jobs, we're not able to get any here. Brain drain is becoming the most important problem in our country." Advertisement Advertisement If Balen Shah wins, it would represent a seismic shift from the governance that has paralysed Nepal. For more than three decades, the country has seen a revolving door of coalition governments, largely dominated by three parties, two of them communist. This election will test whether Gen Z voters have succeeded in convincing the rest of the country that it is time for a new, untested generation to shape their future, or whether veteran heavyweights who have dominated for decades will keep hold of power. Of the 275 seats in the lower house, 165 will be elected through first-past-the-post voting, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. The other 110 MPs will be selected via proportional representation, which takes into account the proportion of votes cast for a political party nationally. The election commission has promised to finish counting by 9 March and to release the results of the 165 directly elected seats within 24 hours of counting beginning. But the process of collecting ballot boxes from across the mountainous country and delivering them to counting centres typically takes at least a day. Advertisement Advertisement It could take another two to three days to tally the results of the proportional representation vote, officials said. A new government, formed on the basis of the seats won by political parties, will have the responsibility of leading the reforms and addressing issues like corruption and good governance. Samikshya KC, who voted in Kathmandu, chose not to participate in the protests, but says she supported the Gen Z movement. "Nepal is becoming very corrupt," she told the BBC. "I'm hoping for a big change." She wants the next government to develop all of Nepal, and not just the capital. Advertisement Advertisement "There are so many remote places in our country - let there be some progress there too. Whatever happens, let it be good." Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened this week to redistribute funding for 10 California counties he characterized as "underperforming" in implementing state policies aimed at treating people struggling with severe mental illness, drug abuse and homelessness. The state's Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court program launched statewide in 2025 as a new method to help people access voluntary mental health treatment through the court system. But Newsom said some counties have been too slow to successfully implement it. Here's what you need to know about California CARE Court: What is California CARE Court? The California CARE Court program allows families or first responders to file a petition with their local courts on behalf of another individual to receive care for their mental illness. Advertisement Advertisement Newsom announced his signature initiative in 2019 to modernize California's behavioral health system, allowing civil court judges to connect people with mental health services for voluntary treatment or a court-ordered plan. His administration officially launched the CARE Court program in a few counties in 2023, with statewide enrollment achieved by 2025. Since the rollout, several news outlets, including CalMatters and the San Francisco Chronicle, have documented struggles within the program. Some families' requests were denied by the court, resulting in their family member remaining on the streets; in other cases, the court lacked the power to enforce the needed treatment some residents were approved to receive, according to CalMatters reporting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, pictured at an event annoucing a $590 million emergency loan for Bay Area transit agencies, is the current frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, according to an Emerson College poll released Feb. 27, 2026. California CARE Court counties criticized by state Newsom shared during a March 2 press conference that the state's "benchmark" for a county to have successfully implemented the program was about 6.2 petitions per 100,000 residents, resulting in a person undergoing voluntary or court-ordered treatment. Data collected by the state was used to determine that 10 counties, including Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Yolo had been "underperforming" in 2025, according to Newsom, who dubbed them the "ICU (Improvement and Coordination Unit)." Advertisement Advertisement "They are the CARE Court ICU. The bottom 10," the governor said during the press conference, noting later: "I'm not interested in funding failure now." "I'm happy to redirect every damn penny in these programs to the counties that are getting things done," Newsom added. Gavin Newsom began serving as the Democratic governor of California in January 2019. Newsom has held many political roles in California, including Lt. Governor and mayor of San Francisco. Take a look at his political career in pictures. San Francisco mayoral candidate Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally May 13, 2003 in San Francisco, California. Gavin Newsom smiles during a fundraiser at the Spanish Suite at the Clift Hotel on June 27, 2003 in San Francisco, California. Gavin Newsom speaks to supporters at an election night party on November 4, 2003 in San Francisco. Newsom placed first in the nine-person race, advancing him to a run-off election against Green Party candidate Matt Gonzalez. Gavin Newsom speaks during a media conference at City Hall on August 12, 2004 in San Francisco, California. Newsom spoke about the ruling by the California Supreme Court which invalidated same-sex marriages. Starting early in his career, Newsom served as a voice for the LGBTQ+ community. He gained national attention in 2004 when he ordered the San Francisco county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, which went against the then-current California law. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom talks with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during a bill signing ceremony at the United Nations World Environment Day June 1, 2005 in San Francisco, California. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton greets supporters with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom before speaking at a fundraiser event February 1, 2008 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters following his announcement of his running for governor of California on April 21, 2009 in Palo Alto, California. Gavin Newsom looks around as people cheer for him before speaking at a news conference following a California Supreme Court decision to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage at the California Supreme Court May 15, 2008 in San Francisco, California. The California Supreme Court voted 4-3 to overturn a ban on gay marriage in California making it the second state to allow same-sex marriage. Del Martin, left, and Phyllis Lyon are married by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom in a private ceremony at San Francisco City Hall on June 16, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Martin and Lyon were the first couples to be married in San Francisco as same-sex marriages become legal in California. US President Barack Obama chats with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after stepping off Air Force One May 25, 2010 upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi attend Game Two of the 2010 MLB World Series between the Giants and the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park on October 28, 2010 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco mayor and California Lt. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters after meeting school children at Fairmount Elementary School on November 12, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Newsom had originally run for governor of California in 2009, but suffered low poll numbers throughout the campaign and dropped out in 2010. Later that year, he decided to run in the election for Lt. Governor, which he won and was sworn in on January 10, 2011. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, meets with California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom on February 9, 2018 in San Francisco, California. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom fills out his ballot at the Masonic Temple Fairfax on June 5, 2018 in Larkspur, California. Newsom's campaign was successful, as he later won the election for his first term in office. People march in support for California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom during the San Francisco gay pride parade in San Francisco, California on June, 24, 2018. California's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom and his family waves to supporters from stage at his election night watch party in Los Angeles, California on November 6, 2018. Gavin Newsom is sworn in as governor of California by California Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye as Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, watches on January 7, 2019 in Sacramento, California. Gavin Newsom began his first term as the 40th governor of California after serving as the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco as well as Lieutenant Governor of California since 2010 alongside outgoing governor Jerry Brown. Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tour a burned home along Tigertail Road in Brenwood on October 29, 2019 in Brentwood, California. State Assembly Member Richard Bloom, (D-Santa Monica), left, California Gov. Gavin Newsom listen to Superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Clay Jordan on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021 talk about the protective structure wrap used to protect the welcome sign and giant sequoia trees from the KNP Complex Fire in Sequoia National Park. Newsom signed a $15 billion climate package into law on site that will help bolster the state's response to climate change. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, and President Joe Biden board Air Force One on a visit to Sacramento on Sept., 13, 2021. Gov. Gavin Newsom, takes a selfie with a North Monterey County Unified School District staff member at Elkhorn Elementary School in Castroville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Newsom, listen to students from New College of Florida on Wednesday during Newsom's stop at the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library in Sarasota on April 5, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks after signing bills to support response and recovery efforts for Los Angeles during a press conference at Willard Elementary School in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 23, 2025. Newsom will sign legislation directing $2.5 billion in relief to support response and recovery efforts for Los Angeles. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) speaks to reporters in the spin room following the CNN Presidential Debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump at the McCamish Pavilion on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Ga. President Biden and former President Trump face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press in a classroom of Willard Elementary School after he signed bills to support response and recovery efforts for Los Angeles, in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 23, 2025. Newsom signed legislation directing $2.5 billion in relief to support response and recovery efforts for Los Angeles. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during an announcement of "LA Rises," a new public-private philanthropic initiative to support Los Angeles area wildfire recovery during a press conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. on Jan. 28, 2025. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at East Los Angeles College on Feb. 26, 2025 in Monterey Park, Calif. Newsom announced the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint and additional funding for Los Angeles communities impacted by wildfires today. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire continues to burn near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. President Donald Trump followed by First Lady Melania Trump, shakes hands with California Governor Gavin Newsom upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires. California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolls up his sleeves whole meeting people at a coffee shop on July 8, 2025 in Florence, South Carolina. The governor, in coordination with the South Carolina Democratic Party, scheduled 8 public events in South Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the Election Rigging Response Act at a news conference on Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. The redistricting effort in California is in response to Texas, where Republican lawmakers are pushing new redistricting maps at President Donald Trump's request. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills related to redrawing the stateOs congressional maps on August 21, 2025 in Sacramento, California. In a move to counter Texas House RepublicansO plan to redraw the stateOs congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, California Democrats took up a proposed constitutional amendment to temporarily redraw their own congressional maps, potentially creating five additional U.S. House seats for their party. California Governor Gavin Newsom's political career in pictures 1 of 33 Gavin Newsom began serving as the Democratic governor of California in January 2019. Newsom has held many political roles in California, including Lt. Governor and mayor of San Francisco. Take a look at his political career in pictures. Leaders in the "bottom 10" counties, including Kern, Santa Clara and San Francisco, quickly responded to the governor's criticism and defended their counties' current implementation of the program. Our administration has been using every tool in our toolbox to address the crisis on our streets reimagining street outreach and adding recovery and treatment resources, Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, told the San Francisco Chronicle in a statement about the governor's criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Today, encampments are at record lows, more people are getting connected to shelter and treatment, and San Franciscans feel safer than they have in years. We have more work to do, and we welcome any additional support from our state partners to strengthen CARE Court and any of the other pathways that have helped us get people in crisis off the street and into the care they need. Newsom acknowledged that the slow adoption of the program may stem from its paradigm-shifting approach to behavioral health, as well as many local officials' hesitation to implement it, but he was clear about his frustrations with counties that were "dialing it in" or if "they can't get it done." However, Newsom also expressed his desire to see these counties succeed and promised his office would provide support in rolling out these programs, rather than immediately pulling the counties' funding. As part of his plan to accelerate the adoption of CARE Court, the state government launched a website, accountability.ca.gov, to allow residents to review their county's progress in implementing the program. California CARE Court counties praised by state Newsom also highlighted 10 counties, including Alameda, Humboldt, Imperial, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Sutter and Tuolumne, that the state says have successfully integrated CARE Court into their communities and dubbed them CARE Champions. Advertisement Advertisement To support counties that have been actively implementing the program, Newsom announced that his office would award an additional $291 million to expand supportive housing and behavioral health services statewide. Of the 10 "Care Champions," Newsom highlighted Alameda County as a "shining example" of a county that has embraced the state's program and is actively providing services to its community by creating its Regis Village Campus, which provides permanent and transitional housing with behavioral health support. In addition, the county is expanding the campus to provide on-site services, including a navigation center, medical respite care, substance use residential spaces and detox, a wellness center, a sobering center, and a CARE Act services office. "Care and accountability go hand in hand full stop," Newsom said in a press release. "Through CARE Court, we have seen inspirational stories of recovery and resilience, but many counties continue to lag behind their peers. Local leaders have a moral and legal obligation to deliver this transformational tool for those who need it most. We will not accept failure and excuses when lives are on the line." Advertisement Advertisement Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newsom calls out California counties for CARE Court 'failure' Iran doesnt want to talk. It doesnt want to parley. And its not sitting down with President Donald Trump. Even as Iran endures devastating airstrikes, the country's surviving leaders have determined "it has to really draw blood" before negotiating an end to the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel, Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an interview. The stalemate comes as Trump and top military leaders have predicted more U.S. military deaths, wealthy Persian Gulf allies are pushing for a quick conclusion to the war and oil prices have spiked. Advertisement Advertisement Trump's war in Iran polls badly. Will it hurt Republicans in 2026? Amid punishing blows from the United States and Israel that have killed more than a thousand people including its longtime, all-powerful supreme leader Ali Khamenei Irans leaders believe they must inflict serious pain before negotiations to end the war can begin, experts say. Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. People gather at the site of a destroyed building at a school where, as the state media reports, several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Minab, Iran in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on February 28, 2026. Iranian state media reported on February 28 that Israel struck a school in southern Iran, resulting in 40 deaths. Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel had launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026 in this screen grab taken from video. Iranian people run for cover in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026, as explosions are heard after a reported strike and Israel announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran, with sirens sounding in Jerusalem and phone alerts warning of an "extremely serious" threat. Smoke rises following an explosion after the U.S. and Israel reportedly launched an attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026, in this screen grab taken from video. A graffiti on a wall reads" Down with the U.S.A", after Israel said it launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. People run for cover following an explosion, after Israel said it launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026. A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on February 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. After explosions were seen in the Iranian capital, the office of the Israeli Defense Minister issued a statement saying it had launched a preemptive strike against the country. A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital. Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat. U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. Hours later, Trump made live comments about the military strikes he launched against Iran. A plume of smoke rises over Tehran after a reported explosion on February 28, 2026, after Israel said it carried out a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and phone alerts warned of an "extremely serious" threat. A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital. Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat. Buildings inin Tehran stand after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, February 28, 2026. Iranians try to clear a street amid heavy traffic in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026, as explosions are heard following a reported strike and Israel announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran, with sirens sounding in Jerusalem and phone alerts warning of an "extremely serious" threat. Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on February 28, 2026. Lebanon's foreign minister said on February 24 his country feared its infrastructure could be hit by Israeli strikes if the situation with Iran escalates, after Israel intensified its attacks on Tehran-backed Hezbollah Anti-riot police stand in front of state building that is covered with a giant anti-U.S. billboard depicting the destruction of a US aircraft carrier in downtown Tehran on a main street in Tehran on February 21, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. In recent weeks, the United States had moved vast numbers of military vessels and aircraft to Europe and the Middle East. The US and Israel proceeded to launched strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran 1 of 16 Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. 'Regardless of the costs' "They don't have to win the war, Parsi, an expert with contacts in Irans government and security services, told USA TODAY. They have to ensure Trump's presidency is on the brink of destruction before they lose. That's when they believe Trump will pull out due to the costs." This wasn't the outcome Trump wanted. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, March 1, as the war entered its second day, Trump told The Atlantic magazine that the Iranians want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. But Ali Larijani, Irans top security official, shot down the suggestion. We will not negotiate with the United States, he said in a series of social media posts. Trump plunged the region into chaos with his delusional fantasies and now fears more American troop casualties. Iran war drives up frustration and gas prices across nation Children run to an underground shelter amid reports of incoming missiles on February 28, 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early this morning, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency, as Israelis braced for the retaliation. Israeli emergency responders work at the site of a projectile impact after Iran launched missiles into Israel, following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. Members of Israeli Police Bomb Disposal Unit stand at the site of a projectile impact, after Iran launched missiles into Israel following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. Israeli emergency responder carries a child, at the site of a projectile impact after Iran launched missiles into Israel, following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. An explosion in the sea, after missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, February 28, 2026. An Israeli firefighter works to put out a fire on a car, at the site of a projectile impact, after Iran launched missiles into Israel following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. This long exposure shows trails and explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. A man carries two children as he runs to take shelter after sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026, following the announcement that Israel had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran. President Donald Trump urged Iranians on February 28 to take over their government as US forces began a large-scale attack on the country's military. Rocket trail from Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system is seen over the skies of Jerusalem on February 28, 2026. The Israeli military said it detected missiles launched from Iran on February 28 as sirens sounded across several parts of the country, after Israel earlier launched strikes on Iran. A person takes shelter as sirens sounded in Jerusalem on February 28, 2026, following the announcement that Israel had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran must not be allowed to gain nuclear arms and urged Israelis to "stand together" after Israel and the United States launched strikes against the Islamic republic on February 28. Israelis take cover in a shelter as sirens sound, after missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, in Tel Aviv, on February 28, 2026. People rush to fill their tanks at a petrol station in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on February 28, 2026, after Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran must not be allowed to gain nuclear arms and urged Israelis to "stand together" after Israel and the United States launched strikes against the Islamic republic on February 28. An air defense system operates as missiles are launched towards Israel from Iran, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Jerusalem, February 28, 2026. This picture shows a view shows traffic moving on a street in Jerusalem with the Russian Church of Mary Magdalene (bottom-R) on February 28, 2026. The Israeli military said it detected missiles launched from Iran on February 28 as sirens sounded across several parts of the country, after Israel earlier launched strikes on Iran. A woman holds a child as they take shelter under the bridge of a highway after Israel's military announced they identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel and sirens are sounded, near Latrun, Israel, February 28, 2026. People run to take shelter after sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026, following the announcement that Israel had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran. President Donald Trump urged Iranians on February 28 to take over their government as US forces began a large-scale attack on the country's military. Memebers of the Israeli security personnel move a patient in a parking lot at Sourasky Medical Center for safety after sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026, following the announcement that Israel had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran. President Donald Trump urged Iranians on February 28 to take over their government as US forces began a large-scale attack on the country's military. Patients are placed in a parking lot at Sourasky Medical Center for safety after sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026, following the announcement that Israel had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran. President Donald Trump urged Iranians on February 28 to take over their government as US forces began a large-scale attack on the country's military. Israelis gather in an underground shelter after Israel's military announced they identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel, February 28, 2026. Israelis enter an underground shelter after Israel's military announced they identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel, February 28, 2026. People take shelter after a siren sounded a warning, after missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, in Rosh Haayin, Israel, February 28, 2026. Israeli emergency responders work at the site of a projectile impact after Iran launched missiles into Israel, following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. An Israeli firefighter works to put out a fire on a car, at the site of a projectile impact, after Iran launched missiles into Israel following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. Israeli emergency responders work at the site of a projectile impact after Iran launched missiles into Israel, following Israel and the U.S. launching strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 28, 2026. Photos show retaliation strikes on Israel after Iran attack 1 of 24 Children run to an underground shelter amid reports of incoming missiles on February 28, 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early this morning, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency, as Israelis braced for the retaliation. Larijani said Iran would keep fighting, regardless of the costs and will make the enemies sorry for their miscalculation. Advertisement Advertisement Experts say Irans leadership has determined that despite a vast imbalance in military power it must cause serious political and economic pain to the U.S. and Israel before agreeing to a ceasefire. Marked for death: How Oct. 7 attack sealed Khamenei's fate They believe Washington will only bargain in good faith, producing a lasting end to hostilities and the Islamist regime's survival if Trump is damaged by the political toll of U.S. deaths and rising prices, according to this reading of Irans clerical government and security apparatus. So far, however, that strategic desire reads like fantasy: As the U.S. destroyed much of Iran's military capability and sunk most of its navy, American war deaths have held steady at six service members. 'Deterrence failure' Iran's reluctance to negotiate despite large military and civilian losses is based on hard lessons, experts said. Advertisement Advertisement By acting with relative restraint avoiding attacks on U.S. and Gulf nation targets during earlier military flare-ups with Israel Iran suffered a "deterrence failure, said Kelly Greico, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think-tank. Iran financed the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and has seen its influence in the region wither as Israel killed as many as 20,000 Hamas fighters in a war that took the lives of 70,000 Palestinians, and assassinated the longtime leader of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia. Who bombed a girls' school in Iran, and will there be accountability? Graves are being prepared for the victims following an Israeli strike on a school in Minab, Iran, March 2, 2026. This image was provided by the Iranian Foreign Media Department. On April 13, 2024, Tehran launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles against Israeli targets after an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, killed top officers of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A U.S.-led coalition joined Israels defense, blowing nearly all of the projectiles out of the sky, and Israel suffered only minor damage. Advertisement Advertisement Less than six months later, on Oct. 1, 2024, Iran attacked again, this time to avenge Israels killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a key ally, and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles, again causing minor damage. In neither case did Iran turn its guns on the gleaming towers and valuable oil and gas facilities of Washingtons wealthy Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Even in June 2025, when Israel launched a surprise attack that killed scores of top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, with a reported death toll topping 1,000, Tehran refrained from widening hostilities. Senate fails to block Trump's Iran war Advertisement Advertisement Iran fired more than 1,000 drones and 550 ballistic missiles at Israel in the 12-day war, killing 32 civilians. A small attack, which experts regarded as token Iranian retaliation, on a U.S. base in Qatar caused minor damage after U.S. bombers destroyed three Iranian nuclear facilities. If you are sitting in Tehran and you are looking at this war, the conclusion is that the restraint you showed was a deterrent failure, Grieco, a former professor at the U.S. Air Forces Air Command and Staff College, told USA TODAY. Irans leaders, she said, will feel a need to raise the cost of the conflict. Now, Tehran wants Trump and the Israelis to feel pain to truly need a ceasefire before it will rejoin negotiations. Thats the only way for a deal to stick and for the brutal Iranian regime to survive, analysts said. Advertisement Advertisement 'No to war': Spain won't back US attacks on Iran Aftermath of an air strike on a police station in Tehran on March 2, 2026, amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Iran doesnt want to be exposed to Israeli air strikes at will after a new ceasefire, said Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University. This means exacting a very high price from Israel and from Trump in this war. Irans attacks in the region are already squeezing U.S. allies, and may soon affect the U.S. economy. The conflict has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea route for 20% of the worlds oil exports. Qatar, a global supplier, has paused production of liquified natural gas amid Iranian airstrikes, while oil giant Saudi Aramcos 550,000 barrel-a-day Ras Tanura refinery was targeted by two Iranian drone attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has also hit European targets, striking a British air base on Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and a French base in the UAE, while the NATO defense alliance said it shot down a missile that entered Turkish airspace. Why is the US at war with Iran? Answering key questions about the conflict A person rides a scooter as smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone following a fire caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, UAE, March 3, 2026. And on March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, inviting retaliatory strikes that killed scores and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing southern Lebanon and Beiruts southern suburbs. Oil prices soared on Tuesday, March 3, to their highest levels since 2024. The missile and drone attacks are causing economic damage, Bazzi said. Its no accident Hezbollah got involved just as the oil markets and the stock markets were opening following the war's first salvos on Feb. 28. What's the endgame? President Trump now warns Americans to expect several more weeks of conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Trump has mused on different endgames. Hes demanded Iran forgo nuclear weapons, which it already had done to wide skepticism. Hes also called on unarmed Iranian citizens to overthrow the brutal, 47-year-old clerical regime and seize power themselves somehow with the help of the very security forces that were gunning them down in the thousands during protests just six weeks ago. And hes suggested a resolution similar to the one he achieved in Venezuela, in which the U.S. would reach an accommodation with Irans leaders without seeking full regime change. More: US stock futures slip as investors weigh Middle East war fallout Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the head of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, attend the meeting of the interim leadership council of Iran in an unknown location, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Iran, March 1, 2026 in this handout photo from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. But most of the people we had in mind are dead, Trump said March 3. Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon were not going to know anybody. Trump worried about installing a new leader whos as bad as the previous person. So far, Irans leaders arent asking for approval from the American president. Trump wanted a short, concise war, while the Iranians are taking it to a new dimension of organized, global chaos, Ali Hashem, a veteran journalist and columnist in the Persian Gulf, told USA TODAY. The Iranians knew they would have to face their destiny, while Trump was engaged in wishful thinking. Deadly missile race Now, the question is which side can hold out before casualties increase and stocks of ammunition decrease. Iran has launched more than 2,000 drones and 500 ballistic missiles at U.S., Israeli and regional targets, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said March 4. Pre-war assumptions put the number of Iranian ballistic missiles at 2,500, Grieco said. While the gap in military power between Tehran and Washington is so wide, its hard to describe it, Bazzi said, Israel and other U.S. allies have shrinking supplies of the missile interceptors that so far have prevented serious bloodshed on their side amid more more than 700 Iranian deaths. Air defenses have likewise kept U.S. troop casualties to six war dead. Its really a race between Irans ballistic missiles and drones, and the Israeli, American and Gulf interceptors, Grieco said. Its clear the Israelis and the Americans are hunting those missile facilities. Bloomberg News, citing sources and documents, reported March 2 that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were asking their allies to nudge Trump towards a speedy end to the war. The UAE was asking allies to help shore up its air defenses, while Qatar had only four days of Patriot Missile stocks remaining, the Bloomberg report said. On March 5, Italy announced it was moving air defense weapons to help defend the Gulf emirates. Trump said on social media the U.S. has enough weaponry to keep fighting "forever." But he didn't address the question of air defenses. Once the interceptors start to run out, Grieco said, you have to make hard choices of what to defendat the intersection of material and lives. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran wants to draw blood before talking to Trump Nicola Coughlan has dismissed the intense focus on her body following her nude scenes in Bridgerton, describing the conversation as so f**king boring. The Irish actress, who plays Penelope Featherington in the hit Netflix period drama, reflected on the reaction to the shows third season, which centred on her characters romance with Luke Newtons Colin Bridgerton. While the storyline marked a major moment for the series, much of the public discussion instead focused on Coughlans body, something she says she has little interest in engaging with. Advertisement Advertisement In a new interview with ELLE UK, the Derry Girls star, 39, said she has never sought to position herself as a body-positivity spokesperson. Nicola Coughlan dismissed the intense focus on her body (ELLE UK / Georgia Devey Smith) The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity. When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didnt look at actors and think about their bodies, she said. So, I actually dont care. Theres a lot of things Im passionate about, its not one of them Thats someone elses thing. Its not mine. Coughlan also took issue with being labelled plus size, revealing that she was a size 8 to 10 while filming the intimate scenes for the series. Advertisement Advertisement You know what was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8, she explained. Reflecting on the discourse that followed, she questioned how such a body type could be categorised that way as she recalled an uncomfortable encounter with a fan that left her mortified. She continued: And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, How f**ked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen? The April issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 10 March (ELLE UK / Georgia Devey Smith) I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body. And started talking about my body, and I was like, I want to die. I hate this so much Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, Coughlan said the emphasis on appearance detracts from the work actors put into their roles. She concluded: Its really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you dont see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like its so f**king boring. Northern Kentucky University is once again facing a tough road ahead regarding its budget. While NKU is projecting a positive surplus for fiscal year 2026, the fiscal year 2027 draft budget projects a $1.9 million deficit due to declining enrollment, potentially lower-than-anticipated state appropriations and planned raises. The lower-than-anticipated state appropriations come from House Bill 500 (the Kentucky Houses state budget bill), which poses $5 million in funding cuts to the university in 2027 and $8 million in 2028. Advertisement Advertisement It is a lot to digest after we have worked so hard, come so far, and made so many previous cuts to balance our budget and address many issues, said NKU President Cady Short-Thompson on Wednesday. So, NKU will once again prepare for these contingencies. Short-Thompson spoke at the NKU Board of Regents meeting on March 4, where the university gave an update on its budget, spring enrollment and legislative matters. The anticipated budget deficit for FY2027 follows the universitys announcement in June 2025 that it would finish FY2025 with positive cash flow for the first time in five years and only the third time in 11 years. That operating budget passed by the board consisted of projected revenues of $221,492,003 and expenses of $221,420,592, for a net surplus of $71,411. Short-Thompson said in the state budget passed by the House, Kentuckys higher education funding is down 16% from the last biennium. NKUs cut alone is 6% of the general fund in 2027 and 10% more in 2028. The state Senate has yet to debate or vote on the budget bill. Advertisement Advertisement The university requested a $5 million base increase in funding to be closer to what similar universities in Kentucky receive, but Short-Thompson said NKUs base is projected to be cut. In addition, she said NKUs asset preservation figures are projected at $17 million for the biennium (two-year budget period), which is a reduction of $29 million from its $46 million for asset preservation this biennium. Those funds are what the university uses to repair and replace roofs, HVAC systems and other building necessities. In addition to reduced asset preservation funding, theres currently no state funding available to renovate NKUs first priority for capital funding: the Business Academic Center building. This campus needs to understand that this is an inflection point, not a crisis, Short-Thompson said. We will not panic, but we absolutely must prepare. As NKU manages its finances, Short-Thompson said it will elect to stop doing things that arent working as well as it had envisioned or as well as they once did. Advertisement Advertisement For example, after 25 years of in-person offerings at the NKU Grant County campus, the university elected to close that location. She said that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on that location, and it has had zero students for the last two years. Another example she gave is that NKUs East Village residence hall properties are not meeting the needs the university once believed they would. In the coming months, she said they anticipate closing the two halls and are working to hire a representative to help re-envision the East Village residence halls, the property on U.S. 27 and Nunn and other economic development opportunities at the university. We need to rethink some of our universitys future strategies in the short, medium and long term, we cannot simply survive from one biennium to the next, Short-Thompson said. These are not passing storms. They are structural changes having a dramatic impact on us, on our budgets, our climate and our future. Short-Thompson said she is also spending more time with supporters, friends and partners of NKU, working with them to find more opportunities to increase their investment in the university. Advertisement Advertisement NKU Chief Strategic Enrollment Management Officer Ryan Padgett gave an update on Wednesday regarding the preliminary spring enrollment numbers, which are down. He compared day-to-day changes in NKU enrollment from the spring of last year to the spring of this year. Padgett outlined three takeaways: the universitys total headcount for FTE, or full-time equivalency students, for day-to-day is currently down; the largest decline NKU is seeing right now is in online graduate students; and law enrollment is significantly up. The following table shows the overall decline in full-time students and headcount, including every single student from full-time students, graduate students and students who come in to take one class. It also shows increases in law enrollment and trends in one-year and four-year enrollment. NKU enrollment data. (Source: NKU) NKU Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer Chris Calvert gave the FY2026 budget update on Wednesday. Calvert said NKU is forecasting a net surplus of about $3 million, compared to the $70,000 surplus budgeted. The FY2027 budget summary, according to Calvert, however, includes a $1.9 million deficit. Advertisement Advertisement He said this is primarily due to the decreasing fall and spring enrollment, static state funding, a 3% salary increase and increasing benefit expenses. Were looking at potential continued challenges on the state side, continued declining net tuition revenue, Calvert said. We want to continue to reward our employees, but increasing salary and wages without any adjustments does continue to put a significant pressure on our budget, and we dont see any material relief from debt service until we get to fiscal year 2029. According to a table showing the projected or estimated budgets for fiscal years 2028, 2029, and 2030, the universitys budget continues to show a deficit of $ 7,283,543 in FY2028, $8,224,629 in FY2029, and $9,638,894 in FY2030. Budget projections. Provided | NKU The board of regents will meet in June to approve the budget. This story has been republished from LINK nky. Since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, homeland security officials have consistently argued that deportation officers are facing unprecedented threats. To better understand the dangers facing those officers, the Guardian examined the agencys own tracking of its fallen officers, as well as recent violent incidents targeting immigration officers flagged by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The analysis showed that no deportation officer has died a violent death in the line of duty since US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was first created in 2003. Of the 15 officers who died in the line of duty while working for Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE branch charged with detaining unauthorized migrants within the interior of the US, all but two died of Covid. Advertisement Advertisement Related: US antifa trial tests limits of Trump administrations domestic terror claims One deportation officer, Brian Beliso, died of a heart attack in 2020 during a foot chase. The other deportation officer to die of something other than Covid, Lorenzo Roberto Gomez, experienced heat stress during a training exercise in El Paso, Texas, leading to hospitalization. He died of kidney failure in 2003. Nearly 200 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty between 2021 and 2023, according an FBI report published two years ago. More than 79,000 officers were assaulted in 2023 alone. Federal law enforcement officers from branches that deal directly with enforcement of criminal laws, such as the FBI and the DEA, each saw several officers killed in the line of duty over the last two decades. Four ICE officers have died violent deaths in the line of duty. But all of them worked for ICEs Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division, which targets criminals and did not historically carry out routine arrests of immigrants until the second Trump administration began detailing them to do so last year. Advertisement Advertisement None of the investigators deaths occurred while carrying out routine immigration arrests. James Holdman Jr died after negligently discharging a rifle into his chest in 2021. A drunk driver killed HSI agent J Scott McGuire in 2016. Agent Jaime Jorge Zapata was killed by cartel members in Mexico while working undercover. And a criminal assailant murdered investigator David Gray Wilhelm in his home after killing three others in an Atlanta courthouse. Three people working jobs analogous to todays Enforcement and Removal Operations died in the line of duty during the days of ICEs predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Detention officer Tommy Kwok Chin died of a bacterial infection on the island of Tianian in 1999. Immigration officer Albert Feld drove a van into a parked truck in 1974, killing himself and 13 others and injuring six passengers. In 1948, a chartered plane crashed after its wing caught fire, killing INS security officer Frank Chaffin and the 28 Mexican nationals he was escorting to El Centro, California. Advertisement Advertisement Only one person working the job that today would be called deportation officer has ever died in the line of duty from an act of violence. A detainee stabbed INS security officer George Joyce four times in the neck with a knife, leading to his death five days later, on 24 January 1949. The White House has repeatedly glorified immigration officers as heroes performing a dangerous job that exposes them to both dangerous criminals and deranged leftists. JD Vance went as far as to blame Renee Good for her own death at the hands of ICE, and the far left for marshaling a lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers. I want to address the dangerous environment that our ICE officers face on the streets today, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said this week at a hearing before the House judiciary committee. They are facing a serious and escalating threat as a result of deliberate mischaracterizations of their heroic work and rhetoric that demonizes our law enforcement. Homeland security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in January that agents faced a 1,300% increase in assaults and 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks as they put their lives on the line to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists and gang members. Advertisement Advertisement The Guardian requested the underlying data to help assess those purported increases, but the DHS declined to provide it. McLaughlin also cited nearly two dozen specific incidents of violence faced by deportation officers over the last two years. A review by the Guardian found that 10 of those incidents involved immigration officers clashing with protesters a unique phenomenon of the second Trump administration, which has deployed deportation officers en masse to blue cities to carry out at-large arrests. Deportation officers have not historically policed protests or played a significant role in crowd control. The reality is that the admin has decided to thrust federal law enforcement, ICE and the US border patrol into city streets across the country, and they have escalated conflict with people theyve interacted with in these cities, said former homeland security attorney and current senior counsel at NAACP Legal Defense Fund Spencer Reynolds. Advertisement Advertisement Were seeing ICE agents using military equipment, unleashed by a White House that has told them they have total immunity, he added. Its an obvious outcome that there would be violent confrontations. Two immigration officers were bitten on their fingers in Minneapolis by protesters, according to the DHS and federal court records. Those incidents occurred at the scene where border patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez shot and killed Alex Pretti last month, setting off immediate protests. Both protesters were US citizens. The DHS also highlighted the mass shooting at a Dallas detention facility that resulted in the deaths of two immigrant detainees, where a rifle casing was retrieved with the message anti-ICE scrawled on it. The suspect, Joshua Jahn, was a US citizen whose writings indicate he intended to target ICE officers, the acting attorney of the northern district of Texas, Nancy Larson, said at a press conference last year. In another case, prosecutors accuse John Curcio of stalking and doxing a DHS employee. Curcio, a US citizen, appeared to have known the employees mother, whom he had also harassed, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Only six of the two dozen incidents cited by the DHS directly involved deportation officers making immigration arrests, and only four of those six resulted in officer injuries. Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a Salvadoran migrant with a long rap sheet including multiple convictions related to sexual abuse, struck a deportation officer with a metal coffee mug during an arrest, severely splitting his upper lip and burning his face, according to the DHS. In two separate incidents, the DHS says migrants targeted in immigration arrests attacked officers with their cars. Deportation officers have a lower risk profile because of the people they target, noted Alex Nowrasteh, a policy analyst with the Cato Institute. Police officers, FBI agents and special agents with ICEs investigative division, HSI, all target criminal suspects for arrest. Deportation officers, on the other hand, carry out administrative arrests of people accused of violating civil immigration laws. Many ICE arrests take place in jails, where the likelihood of resistance is very low. While previous administrations have focused the agencys limited resources on immigration offenders with serious criminal records, Trumps mass deportation campaign has used a glut of new funding to target migrants more indiscriminately including people applying for asylum and a growing number of families. Youre dealing with a safer population, Nowrasteh said. Most of them have essentially broken immigration laws. The chances that youre going to go in and arrest a criminal that will fight you to the death with a weapon its just less. Thirty-two people died in immigrant detention facilities run by ICE last year, the highest number in two decades. Hundreds of souls rest at Schneider Park, interred on the grounds when it was used as a graveyard for the Summit County Infirmary and, before that, a "poor farm." Jane Greenland's nine-year mission to gain official recognition for the buried dead was realized when Akron City Council, at its March 2 meeting, unanimously approved a resolution introduced by Ward 4 Councilwoman Jan Davis urging the administration to rename the park Schneider Memorial Park in honor of those buried there. Jane Greenland, left, and Carolyn Behrman look over the section of Schneider Park that was once used as a graveyard for the Summit County Infirmary in the early 1900s. City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said via email that Akron Mayor Shammas Malik's administration supports the name change and plans to initiate the process. She said the administration will work with Davis and others on an official renaming event. Advertisement Advertisement Greenland lives directly across from the park. She tears up when explaining why it was important to her to get recognition for people buried there. "They're people and they have a soul, and God loves them and they're good spirits," she said. "They had a hard life. Every single one of those people had a really hard life." Jane Greenland, left, and Carolyn Behrman look over the section of Schneider Park that was once used as a graveyard for the Summit County Infirmary in the early 1900s. What Remains, a book co-authored by Carolyn Behrman, shows a map showing the numbering of graves buried at Schneider Park, March 3, 2026, in Akron, Ohio. Carolyn Behrman talks about how the Summit County Infirmary used the land that Schneider Park resides on as a burial site, March 3, 2026, in Akron, Ohio. A photo taken by drone in 2021 show outlines of graves in Schneider Park where inmates of the old Summit County Infirmary and a poor-farm are buried. University of Akron Aarchaeology Professor Tim Matney gestures to where neighbors believe there are more graves as he stands near a grave in Schneider Park in June 2017 in Wednesday in Akron. University of Akron graduate students Tim Schmucker and Morgan Revels, work on plotting out graves in Schneider Park in June 2017 in Akron. University of Akron students Klansee Stevens, (left) graduate student Maeve Marino (center) and Sarah Burgess plot out graves in Schneider Park in June 2017 in Akron. Schneider Park neighbor Deborah Baird shows University of Akron Archaeology Professor a piece of wood that she thought might be a bone during a June 2017 visit to the Akron park. University of Akron Archaeology Professor Tim Matney talks about the graves at Schneider Park in June 2017 in Akron. University of Akron graduate student Morgan Revels presents findings from an archaeological study of Schneider Park conducted with classmates during a July 2017 gathering at the Highland Square Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. University of Akron Professor Tim Matney listens to a question after his class presented their findings from a Schneider Park study during a July 2017 gathering at the Highland Square branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library in Akron. Take a look at Akron's Schneider Park 1 of 11 Jane Greenland, left, and Carolyn Behrman look over the section of Schneider Park that was once used as a graveyard for the Summit County Infirmary in the early 1900s. The site served as the burial grounds for the old Summit County Infirmary, built in the mid-1860s on the corner of Mull and Exchange where Westminster Presbyterian Church now stands. It operated until 1919. Before that, it was a poor farm where people with no financial means could work the land and stay. When the infirmary was demolished, the remaining residents moved to a facility in Munroe Falls. An 1868 report written to the Ohio Board of Charities by inspector A.G. Byers details the infirmary's hellish conditions, where some lived outside in wooden pens. Advertisement Advertisement In one, there was an insane man whose hip and knee joints were entirely anchylosed, Byers said. He was entirely naked and performed locomotion by sliding about on his posterior with the aid of his hands In the other pen were four females, one a miserable driveling idiot, eating its own filth, and the other three insane. They were also all of them entirely naked, and their condition was indescribably pitiable. A photo taken by drone in 2021 show outlines of graves in Schneider Park where inmates of the old Summit County Infirmary and a poor-farm are buried. University of Akron Anthropology Professor Emerita Carolyn Behrman said 308 death certificates rescued by retired Summit County library archivist Michael Elliot detail eight years of burials. The city later used the land as a potter's field, she said. From above, the graves are clearly visible their ghostly shadows a darker green contrasting against the surrounding grass. "Those eight years of burials are only infirmary burials, and we know that the space was used for burials from the point at which it was a poor farm, which is before 1850," Behrman said. Who lived in the Summit County Infirmary? Behrman and her husband, Timothy Matney, an anthropology professor at UA, edited a book about the site called What Remains: Infirmary Burials, Memory, and Community in the Rubber City." Carolyn Behrman talks about how the Summit County Infirmary used the land that Schneider Park resides on as a burial site, March 3, 2026, in Akron, Ohio. Behrman said the people living at the infirmary whom she called "inmates" were there for various reasons. Some were "wayward boys and promiscuous girls," Behrman said. Advertisement Advertisement "Some of them were physically disabled by the work they'd been doing and had no family to care for them," she said. "Some of them were old and had no family to care for them and no other option. For quite awhile, the infirmary had an insane ward." Behrman said its tenants were kept behind lock and key. One of the women living in the ward was an alcoholic, perhaps suffering mental health issues, Behrman said. "When she was well, she would leave the infirmary and work as a paid laundress," she said. "And when things went off the rails because she'd get paid, get drunk and the police would bring her back she was housed in the insane section of the infirmary, but while there she did things like wash bed linens in the courtyard." Behrman said the Ohio State Board of Charities eventually found better ways to care for people. Advertisement Advertisement "Over the 50-plus years from the start of the Ohio Board of Charities to 1900, there was this gradual evolution that peeled people out of that catch-all system of infirmaries and moved them into other options," Behrman said. Who is the 'Schneider' in 'Schneider Park'? Philip H. Schneider ran a general store in Akron, was a real estate developer and county commissioner, said Behrman. Schneider long had his eye on the land, Behrman said. By 1916, demand for rubber spurred by World War I was bringing immigrants into the area to work the factories. The increased population demanded increased housing for middle management. "So Schneider gets this idea to build this more elegant home development, and the place that looks good is this area that is the property of the infirmary," Behrman said. Advertisement Advertisement Schneider bought the land and began constructing homes in the area. Behrman said he immediately designated what is now Schneider Park as parkland, and included in the deed a restriction barring the city from building anything on the park. When he died, he left the land to the city. Presumably, Schneider knew there were graves on the site, Behrman said. Some of them were disinterred and moved to a new facility in Munroe Falls when the infirmary was demolished, said Behrman. The records were moved, she said, and some were lost in a fire. How did Jane Greenland take up for the dead in Schneider Park? Greenland said she's lived across from the park for 32 years. In 2017, she saw Matney poking around the park with his UA anthropology class. He'd fenced off a 2.75-acre area of the park and was using equipment to map the underground graveyard. Greenland said she walked over to see what he was doing. Matney told her the park's story, and she was overcome with sadness. Advertisement Advertisement "They were unrecognized," she said. "Nobody cared." Greenland said online research turned up more places like Schneider Park that had been duly memorialized. She reached out to Behrman and started pitching ideas to her about how the city could honor those buried in the park. The name is a good start, Greenland said, but she'd also like to see a onsite plaque explaining how many people are buried there and why, what they did and who they were. "A lot of them were they didn't have parents. A lot of them just didn't have homes," she said. "They were from other countries, here to build the canal and things like that. I made it my mission: working with Carolyn to come up with a solution here, so I thought of changing the name." Advertisement Advertisement She settled on Schenider Memorial Park because it might make people question what was being memorialized, "and then they'll know because we'll have a memorial plaque." Greenland said Behrman contacted the Summit County Historical Society, which said it could help apply for a grant for a historical marker similar to what's found at the John Brown House. Greenland said she's "euphoric" that City Council blessed the name change. "I just felt that they needed to be recognized somehow as real people that are here in the park, like any other cemetery, a labeled cemetery, and I just took on a mission. . . to find what we could do to make it happen, to recognize them." Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron to remember those forgotten buried at Schneider Park Temple Israel Valparaiso Rabbi Shoshana Feferman woke up early Saturday and saw most of the breaking news alerts about the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran. Feferman said she wasnt surprised by what she was reading and seeing. Iran has been sponsoring terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas and others and developing nuclear weapons, Rabbi Feferman said. They were treating the people of Iran in a terrible, terrible way. Justice is prevailing right now, Rabbi Feferman said. Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, President Donald Trump launched a surprise attack against Iran, according to the Associated Press. The attack, which was launched in partnership with Israeli leadership, killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures. With Khameneis death, Trump urges Iranians to overthrow the countrys theocracy, according to the Associated Press. The attack came two days after the latest U.S.-Iran talks aimed at placing controls on Tehrans the countrys capital nuclear program. Bob Feferman, the rabbis husband, said her family lives in Israel and theyve been talking to her family a lot since the attacks began. Fefermans family has been spending a lot of time in bomb shelters, he said. They understand that this is the war for the survival of Israel because the intentions of the Iranian regime are very clear. They talk about their goal of the destruction of Israel all the time, Bob Feferman said. Its difficult, but theyre united in their understanding of the necessity of the war. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. and Israel displayed a strategic partnership in attacking Iran together, Bob Feferman said, because Israel has intelligence capabilities that the U.S. depends on, and the joint planning and coordination helped the mission. With the two countries attacking Iran, they are working to remove a threat to the Middle East and the entire war, Bob Feferman said. The Iranian regime started the war about 47 years ago, Bob Feferman said, when, during the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian regime ordered the takeover of a U.S. Embassy and held diplomats hostage for a year and a half. That started the whole war. America didnt want it. Israel didnt want it. But theyve been at war with us. This operation, hopefully, could put an end to that war, Bob Feferman said. Advertisement Advertisement While President Donald Trump campaigned against endless wars, Bob Feferman said its likely the president is trying to prevent a much bigger threat, which wouldve been a nuclear-armed Iran. He tried to negotiate in good faith to get them to put an end to their nuclear weapons program, and they were not willing to negotiate in good faith, Bob Feferman said. Its been very clear that he understands that (Iran) cannot have nuclear weapons. Bob Feferman said he hopes the war is over soon. If a regime change isnt possible, then he hopes for a change in regime behavior, which would include no more support for terrorism, no more efforts to build ballistic missiles, and an end to the pursuit of nuclear weapons, he said. Hopefully, it will be over soon. Nobody wants a forever war, Bob Feferman said. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. and Iran have a complicated history, said Gregg Johnson, dean of Valparaiso Universitys College of Arts and Sciences. In the 1950s, Iran had a democratically elected government that sought to nationalize its oil so it would be the countrys resource rather than one for BP. The U.S. and Great Britain helped overthrow the government in 1953, Johnson said, and install the Shah, who ruled Iran as a dictator until 1979. He was pretty authoritarian but pro-Western authoritarian, Johnson said. During the Cold War, there were all sorts of human rights violations, and there were mass protests in the 70s, some of which were led by the religious community and religious leaders. Then you have the Iranian Revolution, and the group that is most organized that comes to power is a religious community and a fundamentalist, Shia Muslim government. Iran had an elected side of its government, Johnson said, but it was overruled by the religious community to create a theocracy. Advertisement Advertisement During the first Trump administration, Johnson said the president campaigned explicitly against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which limited the countrys nuclear program and was created during former President Barack Obamas administration. Not that there were great relations between the United States and Iran during the Obama administration, but during the first Trump administration, obviously, relations deteriorated, Johnson said. During former President Joe Bidens administration, conversations were had about restarting the nuclear deal, but they didnt really get far, Johnson said. Then, Trump came back into power, and the administration is quite adamantly opposed to the Iranian government. Trump has been close with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Johnson said, which is also part of why the U.S. was supportive of the attack on Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Paul Olander, lecturer of political science and international relations at Valparaiso University, said that after the previous U.S. attack on Iran about a year ago, officials claimed to have set Irans nuclear capabilities back about two years. Now it seems that despite that, the Iranian regime was going to continue to press forward with whatever it is that they were doing, like maintaining their current stockpiles of enriched uranium to develop their capabilities, Olander said. It seems that the strikes that just happened are some sort of bargaining tactic, and that Trump and his administration are not satisfied with the concessions theyve received from the Iranian government. Olander believes that the Trump administration was either trying to kill Irans former leader and reinstate a new one or destabilize the country to claim to have neutralized its nuclear capabilities. Marie Eisenstein, associate professor of political science at Indiana University Northwest, said the U.S. has been formally at odds with Iran since the 1979 revolution. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has consistently, across many governments, been ranked as one of if not the largest state sponsors of terror, Eisenstein said. Yes, its complicated for us in the U.S., but Iran has been a major destabilizing influence throughout its own region, and that has ripple effects for other countries. Since its 1979 revolution, Eisenstein said Iranian leadership has had two major chants, Death to America and Death to Israel. Eisenstein said Iranian leadership refers to the U.S. as the great Satan and Israel as the little Satan. Eisenstein believes that U.S. diplomatic support for Israel has clumped the two countries together for Iran. Iran has made it very, very clear that they want to exterminate Israel and essentially wipe its mainly Jewish inhabitants off the planet, Eisenstein said. Israel has learned throughout its history, and the Jewish people have learned throughout their history, that you take these threats seriously. Advertisement Advertisement Eisenstein believes that the response from other Middle Eastern countries will be positive because theyre already against Iran for indiscriminately shooting missiles into their sovereign territory. Outside the Middle East, Eisenstein believes the response wont be as positive, particularly with Russia and China, who both rely on Iran, Russia for drones and China for crude oil. As a result, Russias ability to fight Ukraine could be affected, Eisenstein said. Other Middle Eastern countries resent that Israel seems to get away with strikes wherever they want, Olander said, including in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq. I think the other Middle Eastern countries are going to put heavy pressure on the United States for this to go away, he said. They want this to end quickly because they cant be seen, even amongst their own people, sticking up for the Israelis. Advertisement Advertisement Because of the attack, Olander said the price of oil will increase. On Wednesday, the average price of regular gas in Indiana was $3.14, according to AAA, compared to one week ago when it was $2.82. Olander also expects to see sporadic attacks in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf states. He also said it seems that the U.S. will continue to bomb Iran to see what can come from those attacks. The rest of the Middle East has noted that the United States cares about humanitarian stuff so long as their enemies are doing it and not their friends, Olander said. If theyre happy with walking away having blown up most of Irans military and a lot of their leadership, that might be it. But if theyre not happy, if a large humanitarian crisis breaks out in Iran because the government collapsed, or we cant be sure of their nuclear material, or if we do have to put boots on the ground Im assuming there will be a pretty large negative response in the United States for being drawn into another war. Indianas legislators responded to the attack in statements this week. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement, there is no doubt that Irans pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the Middle East, the U.S. and its allies. But the constitution gives Congress the sole responsibility to declare war, he said. History has taught us that open-ended military engagement in this region carries profound consequences for our troops, their families and our national security, Mrvan said. Therefore, I call on Speaker Johnson to reconvene the House so we can receive a full briefing from the administration and hold an immediate vote on a War Powers Resolution. Mrvan said Congress should be steadfast in our support of the U.S. military members, especially amid the Trump Administrations unilateral action in Iran. U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, responded to the attack on Iran in a statement, saying the Iranian regime has killed more than 1,000 U.S. service members and civilians. Banks statement was also posted on X Saturday morning. Banks is a veteran who served in the war in Afghanistan, and he said the effort prevents another war like that. President Trumps actions (Saturday) morning were not about starting a war. They were about preventing one, Banks said in his statement. It was targeted, surgical, and strong. It made clear that if you attack or threaten Americans, there will be consequences. At the end of the day, this is about protecting American lives. Im grateful we have a leader like President Trump who is willing to do it. U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, also responded to the attack in a statement, which was released before a potential vote on a war powers resolution, which gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out, according to the Associated Press. The President intends for this to be a short operation, but as the conflict develops, I urge Congress to engage in oversight and policymaking, including evaluating any potential requests for additional resources or providing additional authorities, Young said in his statement. I pray for the safety of our troops, our allies, and the Iranian people, and for victory to end five decades of terror by the Islamic Republic. In his statement, Young said that Iran has funded terror globally for decades, and the countrys regime has refused to dismantle its nuclear program despite U.S. efforts at diplomacy. Irans missiles are a major threat to regional and global stability, Young said. Young believes that Trumps military options shouldnt be limited, and that danger will only grow if they are, he said. At the same time, the American people have questions pertaining to the nature of threats and the risks to our troops and homeland. Congress must take a more active role in ensuring answers to those questions are clear and timely, Young said. Hearings and public discussion help keep our constituents informed, and they help administrations sharpen their strategies in response to congressional feedback. Too often in recent years, Congress has fallen short of our responsibility to educate, inform, and clarify through vigorous oversight regardless of political party. mwilkins@chicagotribune.com; akukulka@post-trib.com Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday as she testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Moskowitz asked Noem about her relationship with Corey Lewandowski and allegations that the pair are having an affair. Noem hit back hard and accused the Florida Democrat of typecasting conservative women as either stupid or sluts. Moskowitz began, Youve called Corey Lewandowski a special government employee. I understand what government means, I understand what employee means, OK, but I dont know what makes him special. Now, I want to give you an opportunity to answer on the record to Ms. Kamlanger-Doves question. I know you said its garbage, and it may be, but I really think you need to say the word no into the record so that you can clear that up. Noem replied, I think the ridiculousness of thisand the tabloids that you are quoting and referencingare insane. And this has been something that Ive refuted for years, and I continue to do that. So I would tell you, thats what youre doing. Advertisement Advertisement Moskowitz jumped in, We can move on. Im not gonna belabor it if its Noem continued, This is what you do. Hold on, Im notI am not doing anything, Moskowitz protested as Noem, added, The socialist, liberal left, as you go off and you attack conservative women and you say that were either stupid or were slutsthats what you do. Moskowitz tried to jump back in as Noem accused him of using the liberal playbook. You were asked by Richard Blumenthal yesterday if Corey was involved in improving contracts. You said no. Do you want to correct that? Moskowitz asked. Noem replied, What I would say is he, as an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security, has no decision-making authorityno decision-making authority. Advertisement Advertisement Moskowitz hit back, If you dont want to correct it, fine. According to one of the FEMA administrators that you fired, there is nothingincluding contractsthat is brought to you that he hasnt reviewed. In fact, a significant amount of DHS internal routing documents has his signature on it above deputy secretaries, okay? He concluded: That former FEMA administrator wasnt fired by you, the secretary. He was fired by Corey. It was Corey that called him into your office. It was Corey that made him submit to a polygraph test. The $100,000 spending rule that you created that comes to your deskyoure not even sitting at your desk. Its Corey whos sitting there. ICE said the Republicans should be happy at the job that youre doing. Really? Youre looking at the person who single-handedly took the presidents signature core issueimmigration, the issue that got him electedfrom 59% to 39%. Two hundred miles of border wall are being held up by you. They had to bring in Tom Homan and pull him out of Minnesota. I think the country needs a national divorce from you on biblical grounds. I mean, if Donald Trump were still Apprentice Trump, he would look at you and realize youre the weakest cabinet member, and hed fire you. And if the president said to you that the only way DHS could reopen is if you resigned, I hope you would take him up on it. Now, I want to end on a happy note, Mr. Chairman. You know, the president gave out all sorts of stuff during the State of the Union. I dont want you to leave. I got you a new Coast Guard blankiethe one you lost, okay? So this is for you. You dont leave empty-handed when you come to Judiciary. Watch the clip above via C-SPAN. The post Noem Drops the Hammer on Dem Asking About Alleged Affair: To You GOP Women Are Stupid or Sluts first appeared on Mediaite. Kristi Noem was asked an excruciatingly direct question about her relationship with her top advisor Corey Lewandowski, minutes after her husband left the room. At any time during you tenure as director of the Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski? asked California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove at a House hearing on Wednesday. Mr Chairman I am shocked we are going down and peddling tabloid garbage today at this committee, Noem replied. Her husband Bryon Noem, who was previously seated just behind her through the hearing, had left the room before the question was asked. Advertisement Advertisement The awkward exchange came during Wednesdays House Judiciary Committee hearing, at which the DHS boss was also grilled on her responses to the brutal crackdown by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, which left two protesters dead. It has long been rumored that the secretary and Lewandowski, her top adviser, both of whom are married, have engaged in an extramarital affair. They have repeatedly denied the allegations and the secretary has called them a disgusting lie. Bryon Noem, husband of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, looks on as she testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building (Getty Images) However, Noems refusal to deny the accusation directly led Kamlager Dove to continue. It is ok for you to be offended by the question, she said. But it is a real question and you should be able to answer the question clearly and without any hesitation if someone is asking if you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate. Advertisement Advertisement You should be wanting to answer that question because it is not about your sex life, it is about your judgement. The California congressman said that Lewandowski has a decades-long record of physical battery sexual harassment, illegal lobbying for a Venezuelan oil company and bringing a loaded gun into a federal building. Trump knows that this guy is shady, she said. Corey Lewandowski and Noem have denied allegations about their private lives (Getty) Last month a bombshell expose by The Wall Street Journal lifted the lid on the alleged chaos of the DHS under Noem and Lewandowskis leadership, also reviving rumors of their alleged affair. The outlet reported that the close relationship had already made Trump and his top advisers uncomfortable, adding that the president had rejected the idea of Lewandowski serving as Noems chief of staff due to reports of a romantic relationship between the two which he has continued to bring up, officials say. Advertisement Advertisement The Journal also noted that Noem had moved into a government-owned waterfront house on a military base in Washington, D.C., provided for the head of the Coast Guard, after tabloid photos of Lewandowski showed him going back and forth between his apartment and Noems across the street last year. A DHS spokesperson told The Journal that Noem had moved into the house for security reasons and said she pays rent at the property. The Independent has contacted the DHS for comment about Noems questioning at the committee Wednesday. Netherlands-based cloud-native payment processor Silverflow has closed a $40m (37m) Series B funding round led by Munich-based Picus Capital. Rabo Investments - Corporate Venturing also participated in the round, alongside existing investors Inkef, GPT, Crane and Coatue. Silverflow connects directly to card networks via a single API, providing an alternative to an alternative to legacy processing technology. The company will utilise the proceeds to support global growth, expand its product suite and increase headcount. The payment processor plans to grow its workforce by more than 50%, from 85 employees to around 120, with a focus on software engineering and product development. Geographically, the business plans to accelerate expansion in North America by strengthening its New York office. It also aims to further establish its presence in Southeast Asia. Silverflow CEO and co-founder Anne Willem De Vries said: This investment is a clear validation that the market is ready to move past the legacy drag of outdated systems. Were the only cloud-native company targeting this specific area, and this capital will ensure we cement our position as the new standard in payment processing globally. Its not just about raising money its about having the resources to build the infrastructure that helps our customers, including acquiring banks, payment companies and commerce platforms, to move faster and grow bigger. Over the past two and a half years, Silverflow said it has grown from processing about 180 transactions per day to almost 1.75 million daily. The company attributed this to adoption and its cloud-native architecture. Its customers include acquiring banks, payment companies and commerce platforms operating across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Named customers include Deutsche Bank, Bolt, Payabl., and Buckaroo. Silverflow also plans to extend support to additional card networks including China UnionPay and JCB. This will add to its existing support for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners, Discover and some local debit networks. The company also intends to develop new front-end tools and user interfaces to make its APIs more accessible. Further, it will expand its end-to-end offering to provide enhanced support for in-store payments. "Silverflow raises $40m Series B to scale cloud payment processing" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. (NewsNation) A Maine nonprofit has returned $65,000 it received from a fund intended for victims of the states deadliest shooting. Organizers said the Root Cellar received more than double what some victims of the 2023 Lewiston shooting were given and that they believe inaction would contribute to ongoing harm. The nonprofit announced Wednesday it would redirect funds it received from the Maine Community Foundations Lewiston-Auburn Broad Recovery Fund to VictimsFirst, an organization that provides direct support to victims with a 100% in, 100% out model and no administrative fees. Advertisement Advertisement Executive director Joel Furrow said the decision came after deep reflection, conversation, and prayer over the past year as details emerged about disparities in how donations were distributed. Maine shooting survivor confronts City Council over $1.9M in diverted donations Although we used the funds as directed and in good faith, we have since learned more about the broader details of how support was distributed, including the disparity between the amounts received by nonprofits versus the amount given to many injured victims and survivors, Furrow wrote in a statement. Nonprofits reportedly received more than double the amount of at least some victims. The Root Cellar is the first nonprofit to return funds after NewsNation reported that $1.9 million raised for victims of the October 2023 shooting that killed 18 people went to 29 nonprofits instead, with at least nine organizations serving only immigrant communities with no connection to the shooting. Root Cellar says it didnt understand full impact Furrow said he was contacted by a Maine Community Foundation representative and told the Root Cellar was eligible to apply for the Broad Recovery Fund, which was separate from funds designated for families of the deceased, injured victims and survivors. Advertisement Advertisement During that conversation, I was transparent about the fact that The Root Cellar did not provide direct services to victims or their families, Furrow wrote. I also expressed concern that funds intended specifically for victims and survivors should remain available to them. We were assured that the Broad Recovery Fund was fully separate from victim-specific funds and that organizations serving the broader Lewiston-Auburn community through trauma-informed work were specifically eligible. Each of the 29 nonprofits received equal awards of $65,521.79. The Root Cellar used its funds to support trauma healing groups, training eight facilitators to offer weekly sessions for program participants. Nonprofit returns $65K to Maine shooting victims after national outcry What has become clear is that, at the time we applied for the funding, we did not fully understand how the broader process would ultimately impact our neighbors the victims and survivors in Lewiston, Furrow wrote. Knowing what we know now, we believe that inaction would contribute to ongoing harm by leaving meaningful resources out of reach for those most directly affected. Advertisement Advertisement Furrow said the Root Cellar experienced an outpouring of generosity over the past two years, leaving the organization with available funds nearly equal to the original grant amount. The Board of Trustees and I felt strongly that God was calling us to use these funds to respond directly to the ongoing needs of victims and survivors not as an act of charity, but as an act of obedience, Furrow wrote. It was clear that these funds should be directed where they are needed most: to those who were harmed and continue to carry the weight of that tragic and violent night. The funds will be kept in a separate bank account to ensure that any accrued interest is also distributed to victims. Money redirected to VictimsFirst for direct assistance Direct family members of victims and survivors can apply for financial assistance through VictimsFirst.org. Advertisement Advertisement There are continuing medical needs for those who were injured, creating lifelong challenges, Furrow wrote. Those living with grief after a loved one taken by such violence and those who survived that night still need and will continue to need meaningful support. Shooting victims nationwide demand Maine nonprofits return diverted donations The Root Cellars decision adds to mounting pressure on the remaining nonprofits that were issued funds. Victims and families from shootings across the country, including the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and similar incidents in California, Colorado, Oregon and Virginia have called on such groups to return the money. The Maine Community Foundation has maintained it was clear from the outset that there were two different funds, and that communication to victims referred to that fund only. The foundation has not said whether it will ask other nonprofits to return donations. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected and tracked two Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft operating within the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones on Wednesday. The command dispatched two U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, two F-22 Raptors, four KC-135 Stratotankers, one E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, two Canadian CF-18 Hornets and one CC-150 Polaris tanker to positively identify, monitor and intercept the Russian aircraft, according to a NORAD release. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. Advertisement Advertisement This Russian activity in the Alaskan and Canadian ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, NORAD stated in the release. The Tu-142 is a long-range Russian maritime patrol and antisubmarine warfare aircraft developed by the Soviet Union and operated by the Russian Navy, capable of conducting extended overwater missions. An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and extends into international airspace, requiring identification of approaching aircraft in the interest of national security, according to NORAD. The intercept follows a similar event last month, when on Feb. 19, NORAD tracked five Russian military aircraft, including two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighters and an A-50 early warning aircraft, operating near Alaskas ADIZ. Two U.S. F-16s and two F-35s, supported by one E-3 and four KC-135s, escorted the formation until it left the area. All aircraft remained in international airspace and were not considered a threat, NORAD stated. NORAD, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and determine appropriate responses. The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party expects to see many new faces at its state convention this weekend but it also will need to find new leadership among its legislators. Adam Goldwyn, chair of the Dem-NPL Party, said he is anticipating the strongest convention attendance since former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp ran for reelection eight years ago. I think thats just a reflection of the energy were seeing in our party across the state, Goldwyn said. Advertisement Advertisement Four years ago, he said about half of the legislative races were uncontested by Dem-NPL candidates, but this year he expects at least one candidate in every legislative district and full slates of candidates in multiple districts. Goldwyn added he believes the increased enthusiasm reflects the disdain many people have for President Donald Trumps second administration and unpopular Republican policies. He said voters dont seem to like the countrys immigration and enforcement actions, war with Iran, tariffs that impact farmers and lower income Americans or how the administration has handled the release of the Epstein files. As much as I would like to think a lot of it is enthusiasm for the Dem-NPL, I think a lot of it is a rejection of the Republican Party as it exists, he said. You dont have to love Democrats. You dont have to swear fealty to Democrats for all time. You can vote for Democrats this once as a way to show your rejection of this un-American, unpatriotic oligarchy thats in power and the Republican Party that refuses to stand up to it. Democrats are hoping to build on their small foothold in the Legislature, where they are outnumbered 42-5 in the Senate and 83-11 in the House. Advertisement Advertisement Three current Democratic legislators who are in leadership positions will not be on the November ballot, and a fourth leadership position could open. Rep. Zac Ista of Grand Forks, minority leader in the House, announced this week he is not running. He cited a desire to spend more time with his family while his children are young. House Minority Leader Rep. Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, speaks on the House floor during a special session of the Legislature on Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) He has garnered the respect of elected leaders at every level of government through his ability to effectively negotiate important funding and policy solutions that positively impact North Dakotans and their families, Senate Assistant Minority Leader Josh Boschee said in a news release. I am confident he will continue to provide leadership to the Grand Forks community. Rep. Gretchen Dobervich of Fargo, the House assistant minority leader, also is not running. Advertisement Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan of Fargo announced in January she will not seek reelection. Rep. Mary Schneider, D-Fargo, is running to succeed Hogan in the Senate. With Hogan stepping down, Boschee would be in position to step up to lead the Democrats in the Senate. But Boschee is making a run for the Fargo mayors seat. He said he will resign his Senate seat if he is elected mayor in June. Legislative leaders will be determined after the election. But up next is the state convention. Democrats will gather Friday and Saturday at Bismarck State College. Friday features a speech by Democratic National Committee Midwest Region President Ron Harris of Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement North Dakotans and Minnesotans are bonded, Goldwyn said. Its a story that we need to hear in North Dakota. Convention delegates will vote on its statewide endorsements, party platform and resolutions on Saturday. The day will also feature speeches by Heitkamp, the last Democrat to win statewide office in North Dakota, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Three Dem-NPL candidates, Trygve Hammer, Vern Thompson and Helene Neville, are seeking the partys endorsement in the U.S. House race. No other Dem-NPL candidates have announced their intentions to compete in the other 2026 statewide races for attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, tax commission and two seats on the Public Service Commission, but Goldwyn expects other candidates will be considered once the convention begins. About 2 million new I voted stickers are on their way to North Dakota after a Bottineau election officials design was selected as the winner of the states election sticker design contest. Haylee Senger, deputy auditor of Bottineau County, said her You betcha, I voted design was inspired by a Midwestern-themed sticker that said Ope. Then I got designing, and it kind of came to life, Senger said. I just thought it would be fun. Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Michael Howe unveiled the new sticker Thursday at the Heritage Center in Bismarck during a conference for North Dakota election officials. An I voted sticker, its a proclamation that youve had your voice heard, that you care about your community and it is a point of civic pride, Howe said. Howes office received 478 sticker entries from 72 North Dakota communities. Designers ranged in age from kindergarten students to grandparents. Five finalists were selected, and North Dakotans were able to vote for their favorite design in January, Howe said. Gov. Kelly Armstrong spoke during the conference and told state election officials that even though Republicans and Democrats have different ideas on how to preserve election integrity, they can both agree that North Dakota runs its elections well, which was a testament to everyone in the auditorium. Advertisement Advertisement The vast, vast, vast majority of the silent majority of North Dakotans are proud of how our elections are run, Armstrong said. I trust our elections in North Dakota. For example, Armstrong said North Dakota was one of 24 states during the 2024 election cycle where less than 10% of in-person voters on Election Day needed to wait in line for longer than 30 minutes. The new You betcha, I voted stickers will be available during the 2026 primary and general elections with the leftover stickers being used in future elections until the supplies run out. North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A Wisconsin judge denounced a nurse who had sex with her patient and later admitted to wrongly accusing them of sexual assault as an embarrassment to nurses everywhere during her sentencing hearing. The woman, Melissa Knutson, was sentenced on Friday, February 27, to one year and six months in prison in connection with her alleged sexual assault of a patient who had been participating in drug court, the Monroe County District Attorneys Office announced in a Monday, March 2, news release. Knutson, 30, was accused of having sex with the patient multiple times while she was working as a nurse in Monroe County. Police did not indicate if the victim was a man or a woman. Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of sentencing, Judge Paul Curran found Knutson guilty of misconduct in a public office and obstructing an officer after she pleaded no contest to both charges, according to the district attorneys office. For the misconduct charge, Curran sentenced Knutson to two years of extended supervision in addition to her 18-month sentence, the district attorneys office said. She was also handed a concurrent sentence of 180 days in jail for the charge of obstructing an officer. Curran described Knutsons actions as despicable in court. Georgia Nurse Busted for Smuggling Drugs for Inmate She Was Having Sex With, Authorities Allege Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 3, Knutsons defense attorney, Meredith Davis, said Melissa Knutson is more than a mugshot, adding that she is a mother, wife, daughter, and friend. As a nurse Melissa cared for the sickest people in her community for years with compassion and professionalism, Davis added. She was praised by coworkers, supervisors, and patients families for always lending a listening ear and trying to understand the whole individual, not just the medical condition. According to the district attorneys office, someone ultimately reported Knutson to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services because of her alleged sexual intercourse with her patient. Afterward, Knutson claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by them, according to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement This was treated as a serious accusation by police, according to Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger. During the investigation, officers, however, ultimately found evidence that Knutson had been lying, Croninger said. Knutson later acknowledged that she was not sexually assaulted and instead fabricated that allegation to avoid consequences for her sex acts with the patient/participant, the district attorneys office said. In a statement, Croninger said, The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant. Ex-Nurse Accused of Sexually Assaulting 26 Women Faces New Charges Involving 5 Patients in Michigan Advertisement Advertisement Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault, Croninger added. This situation is particularly egregious given the patient in this situation was a participant in drug court. Davis told Us that Knutsons patient allegedly manipulated and threatened her to the point that she sought and received a restraining order against him. Davis also said that when Knutson went to the police for help the investigation quickly turned against her We are shocked by this cruel and disproportionate outcome for a first-time, nonviolent offender and further by the sentencing court's crude and unnecessary sexual innuendo during the hearing, which undermined both the dignity of the Court and womens lived experiences with coercive control in relationships, Davis added. Advertisement Advertisement Croninger ultimately commended Curran for the sentence issued to Knutson. Judge Curran was extremely concerned about the significant level of harm caused by Ms. Knutson and his sentence reflected that significant level of harm, Croninger said. New York City appears on a list outlining potential nuclear targets across the United States. The list from World Population Review highlights locations that could be prioritized in a first-round nuclear strike scenario. It focuses largely on military installations tied to nuclear capabilities rather than population centers. Still, more than a dozen major American cities appear on the list, including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.. Advertisement Advertisement Heres what to know. Why is New York on the nuclear target list? New York City appears on a World Population Review list of potential U.S. nuclear targets, which largely identifies military installations tied to nuclear capabilities that could be prioritized in a first-round strike rather than population centers. In short, population and influence. More than 8.4 million people live in the five boroughs of New York City, making it the most populous city in the United States, according to the U.S. Census. A 2025 article from Newsweek reported that New York is among roughly a dozen major U.S. cities that could be targeted in a nuclear attack given their mix of political, military and industrial value. New York has also been the site of major attacks in the past. During the Sept. 11 attacks, two hijacked commercial airplanes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The towers burned and later collapsed, killing more than 2,700 people including hundreds of first responders. Advertisement Advertisement The coordinated attacks also included a third hijacked plane crashing into the The Pentagon. Passengers on a fourth plane fought back, and the aircraft crashed into a field in Pennsylvania rather than reaching its intended target, believed to be in Washington, D.C. What other major cities are on the target list? Other cities identified include: Washington, D.C. Philadelphia Miami Los Angeles San Francisco San Diego Las Vegas Salt Lake City Denver DallasFort Worth Houston Chicago Why are so many military targets on the list? More than half of the locations cited are military installations, missile sites or command-and-control centers. Facilities that house submarines or aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons are typically considered high-value military targets in strategic defense planning. Some air force bases on the list are located in less populated states, including Montana and North Dakota. Advertisement Advertisement Experts say that in a large-scale nuclear conflict, adversaries would likely prioritize infrastructure tied to nuclear deterrence systems. That includes locations such as the Pentagon, also the target of a Sept. 11 attack, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. What types of sites are considered strategic targets? According to defense analysts and nuclear policy researchers, potential first-strike targets often include: Bases that store or deploy nuclear missiles Submarine and air bases capable of launching nuclear weapons Command-and-control centers responsible for military communication Storage depots for nuclear munitions The reasoning is strategic: Disabling an opponents ability to respond could limit its capacity to retaliate. Contributing: USA Today Network This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYC named on potential U.S. nuclear target list. See why The family of John OKeefe is taking new legal steps to prevent Karen Read from getting her cellphones back. 25 Investigates: The behind-the-scenes battle over Karen Reads phones The family is suing Read in civil court and now wants a full scan of the phones before the Norfolk County District Attorney releases them, the Boston Herald reported. The request comes as the phones remain at the center of ongoing legal disputes. They were first seized in January 2024 as part of a witness intimidation investigation. Advertisement Advertisement OKeefes family is focused on something Read allegedly told blogger Aidan Kearney, also known as Turtleboy. Their lawyers allege Read told him, Im dead. Im f****** dead, because of what might be on the phones. Aaron D. Rosenberg, one of Reads civil attorneys, told Boston 25 News that the allegation against his client is completely inaccurate. The actual recording reflects a different statement entirely. Because the court referenced the misquotation in a subsequent order, we believed it was necessary to correct the record immediately, Rosenberg said in a statement. The plaintiffs filing is completely inaccurate. In February, Judge Peter B. Krupp denied a request by a special prosecutor to analyze Reads phones, dealing a blow to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Despite the warrant to search the phones being denied, the devices remain in the custody of the state police. Read and her legal team appeared in Dedhams Norfolk Superior Court in late February, where they argued that prosecutors have held onto her phones long enough and that its time for her property to be returned. Reads Lexus SUV was returned to her in September 2025, three months after her acquittal. The vehicle was set to be auctioned off in January. A wrongful death suit filed by OKeefes family in 2024 alleges that Read outrageously created a false narrative and the OKeefe family has suffered emotional injuries, severe physical pain, anguish, emotional distress, and other harm caused by defendant Reads negligence. Advertisement Advertisement Read has since filed a sweeping lawsuit of her own, accusing multiple Massachusetts State Police troopers and several Canton residents of conspiring to frame her for a crime she says she did not commit. Read was acquitted of murder last year in OKeefes death in January 2022. A judge has not yet set a date for the civil trial. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The Democratic effort to redraw Virginias congressional districts just gained a high-profile supporter: former President Barack Obama. Obama is backing a proposed Virginia constitutional amendment that could net Democrats up to four seats in the coming midterm elections. We cant afford two more years of unchecked power and zero accountability in Washington, he said in a video released on X on Thursday. Help us chart a better path forward. Advertisement Advertisement Virginias effort to change its congressional map is just the latest in a partisan mid-decade redistricting process that started last summer, when Texas Republicans, under pressure from President Donald Trump, approved a gerrymander that appears primed to help the party flip five more seats in the midterms. Democrats responded first in California. Additional fights over redistricting some successful have followed in red and blue states, including Missouri, Indiana and Maryland. Republicans in Florida, too, are gearing up for a redistricting push in April. Over the past year, several Republican controlled states have taken the unprecedented step of redrawing their congressional maps in the middle of the decade, Obama said. Theyve done it for a simple reason. To give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms this fall. In April, Virginians can respond by making sure your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states. On Wednesday night, the state Supreme Court froze a lower court ruling that would have prevented early voting from starting on the ballot measure. The case, which was brought by Republicans seeking to stop the referendum, argued Democrats' efforts violated the state constitution. The state Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the case. Early voting on the map will begin Friday. Advertisement Advertisement After the high courts ruling, Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Thursday said she was in favor of the amendment, due to a president who says that hes entitled to more Republican seats before this years midterms. At this extraordinary moment, I urge all Virginians to join me in voting yes, she said in a video on social media. A ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia allowing early voting to move forward in the states redistricting referendum has quickly reverberated beyond Richmond, drawing praise from former President Barack Obama and Gov. Abigail Spanberger while prompting new opposition efforts from Republican leaders. The courts decision Wednesday afternoon cleared the way for early voting to begin Friday on a proposed constitutional amendment that could reshape Virginias congressional map a vote that has become part of a broader national fight over partisan redistricting ahead of this years midterm elections. Obama weighed in Thursday morning with a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, urging Virginians to support the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, theyre under attack. Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections, Obama said. Now Virginia has a chance to help level the playing field. If you live in the commonwealth, early voting begins March 6, and Election Day is on April 21. Vote YES. Spanberger, a Democrat who took office in January and who had previously said she had no plans to redraw lines if elected, also welcomed the courts decision and encouraged Virginians to participate in the vote. As early voting begins tomorrow on Virginias redistricting amendment, voters should know that Virginias approach is different, Spanberger said in a statement Thursday morning. It is temporary, directly responsive to what other states decide to do, and most importantly, it preserves Virginias bipartisan redistricting process for the future. Advertisement Advertisement Spanberger noted that she still backed the voter-approved redistricting commission created in 2020 and said the current proposal reflects changing national political dynamics. That support has not changed, she said. What has changed is what were seeing in states across the country and a president who says he is entitled to more Republican seats before this years midterm elections. Virginians have the opportunity to take action in response to this extraordinary moment in history. Thats why, as a Virginia voter, Im voting in favor of this amendment. Justices say courts should rarely intervene before elections take place The political reactions came hours after the states highest court stepped in to keep the referendum on track following a legal challenge that had temporarily halted preparations for the vote on a state level. In a unanimous order issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Virginia granted a petition for review and stayed a temporary restraining order issued by a Tazewell County circuit judge that had barred election officials from preparing for or administering the referendum until March 18. Advertisement Advertisement The justices said the lower courts order effectively functioned as a preliminary injunction, giving the Supreme Court jurisdiction to review it. The court concluded the injunction should be suspended while the underlying legal disputes continue to play out. In its ruling, the court emphasized a long-standing principle in Virginia law that courts generally should not block elections before they take place, even when the legality of the election process itself is challenged. Instead, courts typically review those questions after voters have cast ballots if the results are contested. The justices stressed their decision does not resolve the underlying legal claims about whether the General Assembly followed proper procedures in advancing the amendment. Those challenges include allegations that lawmakers improperly expanded a special legislative session to consider the amendment, failed to meet election-timing and notice requirements, and used misleading ballot language. Advertisement Advertisement The matter will return to Tazewell County Circuit Court, which the Supreme Court directed to move quickly toward a final judgment. House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said Thursday that the courts decision clears the way for Virginians to decide the issue themselves, something he argued sets the state apart from other redistricting fights unfolding around the country. What weve said all along is that the voters of Virginia would have the final say, and they deserve to have the final say, which is so much different than what the Texas legislature did, Scott told reporters at the state Capitol in Richmond. Scott contrasted Virginias referendum with actions taken or under consideration in other states. Advertisement Advertisement In Texas, he said, lawmakers redrew congressional lines without voters inference and at the behest of Donald Trump, while Florida lawmakers are weighing a similar move that would not go before voters. The difference here in Virginia is that Virginia voters will have the opportunity to stand up and vote yes on this referendum, Scott said. Scott also framed the amendment as part of a broader national political battle over congressional maps and the balance of power in Washington. We need to restore balance in this country, and we need to do everything that we can to make sure that we have a Congress that will stand up for Americans, lower prices, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Early voting on the redistricting amendment is scheduled to begin Friday, and Election Day is April 21. Republicans launch campaign to defeat amendment Republicans, however, have sharply criticized the proposal and the referendum process. U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, announced Thursday the creation of a new statewide campaign aimed at defeating the amendment. Cline said he is launching a grassroots organization called Stop the Gerrymander, structured as a 501(c)(4) group, to organize opposition to the referendum. The effort will be funded in part with money from his campaign. This is an issue that affects my own district, of course, but its also unfair to all Virginians, which is why this must be a statewide effort, Cline said. And I am confident that our fair-minded citizens will reject this unconstitutional redrawing of district lines to benefit one political party over the other. Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, additional legal challenges to the redistricting effort are continuing in other courts. On Wednesday afternoon, Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, announced he has joined a separate lawsuit challenging the General Assemblys attempt to enact a new congressional map through the state budget. Walker and other plaintiffs argue that Virginias Constitution requires congressional districts to be drawn through the bipartisan redistricting commission created by voters in 2020 or, if that process fails, by the Supreme Court of Virginia itself. The Constitution laid out a clear process for how congressional districts are drawn, and Democrats in Richmond simply do not have the authority to ignore that process because they want a different political outcome, Walker said in a statement Advertisement Advertisement That lawsuit, filed in Richmond Circuit Court, asks a judge to declare the proposed map unconstitutional and keep the current congressional districts adopted by the Virginia Supreme Court in 2021 in place for the 2026 elections. For now, however, the Supreme Courts ruling means Virginia voters will begin casting ballots Friday in one of the most closely watched redistricting fights in the country. Virginia Mercury reporter Shannon Heckt contributed to this story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Former President Barack Obama is promoting a Democratic effort to redraw congressional lines in Virginia, the latest front in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year's midterm elections. The announcement Thursday comes a day after the state Supreme Court allowed the redistricting question to go to voters for an April 21 election. Early voting begins Friday. It's the second time Obama has agreed to stump for a Democratic effort that asks voters to temporarily set aside an independent redistricting process in favor of partisan maps as a way to counter President Donald Trump's push for congressional gerrymandering in Republican-controlled states. California voters approved a similar measure last fall as a counterpoint to Republicans' unusual mid-cycle redistricting that began in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement In a video shared with The Associated Press ahead of its release, Obama asks Virginians to support the voter referendum on the redrawn maps. He said it will make sure "your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states. This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall, Obama says in the video, released by Virginians for Fair Elections. And voters will have the final say over what the maps look like." In February, Virginia Democrats released a new congressional map aimed at giving their party four more seats. The Democratic-led legislature passed the proposed map, and Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the document into law. The map goes into effect only if its backed by voters and the state Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement And, Obama goes on to point out, it's a temporary construct, as was the measure put before California voters. After the next census in 2030, he notes, Virginia will go back to a system that lets a bipartisan redistricting commission redraw the maps. Court challenges continue The situation in Virginia has been evolving swiftly, and there are no guarantees the new map will take effect this year even if it's approved by voters. Wednesday's ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court was the second time it has decided that the new map could go before voters while the justices review legal challenges to the effort. The court still has not ruled on whether the mid-decade redistricting plan and voter referendum are legal, indicating that the April vote could be all for nothing if it upholds a lower-court ruling blocking the effort. Democratic lawmakers in Virginia have sought to portray their redistricting plan as a response to Trumps push for Republican states to redraw their maps in an attempt to maintain a GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Republicans describe it as a way for liberals in northern Virginia to commandeer congressional districts in the rest of the state. Advertisement Advertisement Virginia is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who ran in districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan legislative commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census. Obama has made redistricting a priority Redistricting has evolved into a signature issue for Obama. He has called attention to the issue since leaving office in 2017 and helped raise money for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, one of which has filed and supported litigation in several states over GOP-drawn districts. That group is headed by Eric Holder, who served as Obamas attorney general. Obama was a vocal supporter of the Democratic redistricting ballot measure last year in California and appeared in ads supporting Proposition 50, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month. Advertisement Advertisement Speaking at an NDRC fundraiser at the time, Obama said partisan gerrymandering was not his preference. But, he added, if Democrats dont respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy. ___ Associated Press writer Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report. Snowflake, the cloud-based data platform company that helps companies store, analyze, and share big datasets across public clouds, reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings last week on February 25. The company, best known for its AI data cloud platform that enables application development, data warehousing, and analytics, topped Wall Street expectations, driven largely by accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence. The company stock has struggled in recent months, down 27% this past quarter and 23% year to date. But since reporting a strong quarter with future growth possibilities, despite an early setback, the stock is up 2.3% this past month. Snowflake earnings: revenue and margins beat In Q4, Snowflake reported $1.23 billion in product revenue, a 30% year-over-year increase, 2% above the Street consensus. With an 11% operating margin that far exceeded the 7% Street estimate, Snowflake also guided to increased product revenue growth in fiscal year 2027. More Tech Stocks: Snowflake earnings at a glance: Product revenue $1,227 million, up 30% Total revenue $1,284 million, up 30% Gross profit margin up 72% at $921 million Operating income at $139 million, up 11% EPS $0.32, up 4% year over year Snowflake's stock is down 22% year to date.Skaffari/Getty Images for Snowflake Skaffari/Getty Images for Snowflake Goldman Sachs bullish but trims target In a note shared with TheStreet, analysts Gabriella Borges, Maura Hager, and Matthew Martino at Goldman Sachs took a deep dive into Snowflake's earnings report. The firm maintains its buy rating after the earnings report, but lowered its price target to $216 from $246. One highlight that stands out as promising, according to Goldman Sachs, is Snowflakes new offering, Cortex Code. This context-aware AI coding assistant is embedded directly into developer workflows, and since its launch in November 2025, has already attracted more than 4,400 users. Goldman points out that customers found Cortex code efficient, some even suggesting that it compressed 16 workweeks into less than a month. The code is a good example of Snowflakes push into AI automation, positioning the company as a platform that manages workflows across the full data lifecycle. The firm also noted broader adoption of Snowflake, underscoring the companys ability to capture greater wallet share. NEED TO KNOW An elderly American passenger reportedly died on board the Oceania Marina cruise ship during a South American voyage, according to local news outlets The ship arrived early in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, on March 3, due to adverse weather Cruise operations have since continued and arrangements are being made to return the deceased to the United States An American passenger has reportedly died on board the Oceania Marina cruise ship during a South American sailing, according to local news outlets. The Oceania Marina cruise ship arrived in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, on Tuesday, March 3, according to a press release from the port authority. The boat, carrying 1,179 passengers and 743 crew members, was initially scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, but officials cited adverse weather conditions for its early arrival. Advertisement Advertisement An elderly American citizen reportedly died while the ship was docked in the port, according to local news outlets Radio 3 and Canal 12 citing confirmation from the Argentine Naval Prefecture. The maritime authorities pointed to a likely sudden cardiac arrest as the cause, based on preliminary findings. PEOPLE has reached out to the Argentine Naval Prefecture for comment. The 'Oceania Marina' cruise ship Credit: Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty The passenger was reportedly supposed to disembark in the Falkland Islands, but was brought to Puerto Madryn due to his rapidly deteriorating condition. Upon arrival, crews immediately responded in accordance with established emergency procedures. The on board medical staff coordinated with Argentine health and maritime officials to disembark the body. Accommodations are reportedly being made to bring the deceased back to the United States. The 'Oceania Marina' cruise ship Credit: Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty An Oceania Cruises spokesperson declined to comment on the matter out of respect and privacy for the family involved. Advertisement Advertisement The local outlets report the incident did not interrupt further cruise operations. The vessel is currently sailing along the coast of Argentina towards its next port stop in Buenos Aires, according to CruiseMapper. Marina is currently on a 20 day, one-way voyage from San Antonio, Chile to Buenos Aires. The ship departed on Feb. 15 and is set to end its sailing on March 7. According to Oceania Cruises, the Marina is next scheduled to embark on a 10 day sailing from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro on March 7. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Earlier this year, a 27-year-old cruise passenger on Royal Caribbeans Ovation of the Seas was found unresponsive on Monday, Jan. 19. Advertisement Advertisement According to local newspaper The Straits Times, the male passenger died while the ship was docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore. Authorities told the outlet they received a call to respond around 6:35 a.m. When they arrived, the man was reportedly found motionless on the ship. Police told The Straits Times that an in-house doctor pronounced the passenger dead at the scene. No foul play was suspected based on preliminary investigations. Read the original article on People Costa Rica has placed a permanent nationwide ban on all sport and recreational hunting of wild animals a policy shift that can help protect wildlife and biodiversity in Latin America. As World Animal News reported, the nationwide ban reinforces a law that was first passed in 2012, which marked Costa Rica as the first Latin American country to prohibit hunting as a sport. The ban was passed through amendments to the country's Wildlife Conservation Law after a citizen-led campaign that gathered tens of thousands of signatures in support of protecting wildlife. Advertisement Advertisement Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. According to the Costa Rica Tourism Board, it's home to nearly half a million species, representing 6% of the planet's biodiversity. The country is also a leader in sustainability and global conservation, preserving 25% of its national territory. With renewed attention to the law, Costa Rica has strengthened its efforts in enforcing the ban, cracking down on illegal hunting. Costa Rica Immigration Experts shared that violators can face up to three years of imprisonment or fines of up to $3,000. Keeping wildlife as pets is also prohibited and may incur fines ranging from $400 to $2,000. Biodiversity underpins clean water, food systems, and soil and air quality all of which are essential to public health, per the World Health Organization. It is also important for pollinators, which sustain various crops and plants that both humans and animals rely on for food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 35% of the planet's food crops and about 75% of the planet's flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to reproduce. Advertisement Advertisement The illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest threats to species survival, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Wildlife traffickers and poachers target various species, from vulnerable animals like elephants, tigers, and sea turtles. Costa Rica's recreational hunting ban can prohibit wildlife crimes like this and protect common or endangered species. This can also help boost the country's tourism industry, as many visitors are keen to see the nation's wildlife. By preserving wildlife populations, the policy also helps ensure that future generations can continue to experience and enjoy the country's forests, rivers, and coastal ecosystems. Strong wildlife protection also supports communities that rely on Costa Rica's ecotourism, sustaining jobs in fields like hospitality and outdoor recreation. While the ban has drawn broad support, similar protections in other countries, such as seasonal hunting bans in Ghana, have raised concerns among groups that rely on bushmeat sales for income or food, highlighting the need for balanced implementation. Advertisement Advertisement Costa Rica's law includes exceptions for subsistence hunting in particular Indigenous and rural communities, as well as for scientific research and initiatives for government-approved population control. Efforts to protect wildlife and biodiversity can also extend beyond national policies they can be simple local community actions, such as supporting animal rights and creating pollinator-friendly spaces. As World Animal News noted, the renewed focus on wildlife protection reinforces Costa Rica's position as a global conservation leader. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club. Business owners and farmers in Texas Hill Country could be heavily impacted after water levels at a popular lake near San Antonio reached historic lows. What's happening? Officials said Medina Lake reached "dead pool" status in April 2025, according to MySA. Lake levels were at 2.5% capacity, and downstream flow had completely stopped. It was reported that lake levels rose after deadly floods swept through the region over the summer. By February, Medina Lake was at 4.4% capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Data from the Texas Water Development Board showed that Medina Lake's surface elevation level was about 86 feet lower than its full capacity in February. According to MySA, drought conditions have impacted the disappearing lake. "It's just been so dry for so long," Dave Mauk, general manager of the Bandera County River Authority & Groundwater District, told MySA. Why are drought conditions concerning? The increasing frequency and intensity of droughts and other extreme weather events over the years have been influenced by the shifting climate. Human activities, such as burning coal, gas, and oil, produce air pollution that contributes to rising global temperatures, which exacerbates these often deadly conditions. Mauk told MySA the low water levels in Medina Lake will affect businesses, farmers, and homeowners in the region. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, drought can affect the availability of recreational activities and tourism, potentially resulting in negative economic impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Droughts can also increase the risk of wildfires and result in agricultural losses. As the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions observed, drought combined with extreme heat and dry vegetation has led to longer fire seasons. What's being done about drought conditions? Learning more about critical climate issues can help push the conversation about drought mitigation forward. There are several resources available, including the U.S. Drought Monitor, a tool that shows drought location as well as severity level. Conserving water is an easy way to help reduce the impacts of drought, per the California Department of Water Resources. Turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth and taking shorter showers are actionable ways to save water. Rewilding your yard with native plants is another way to reduce the amount of water you use. Native plants don't require much water, and they are better for pollinators, too. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Mauk is hoping precipitation will alleviate some of the worries. "It's going to take substantial rainfall, probably over we'll probably need a couple wet years to start to break out of this, because at the same time, we have increased demand on the aquifer," he explained to MySA. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Infant deaths in East Tennessee rose 71% last year, according to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center. It said most infant deaths last year were tied to medical conditions, but unsafe sleeping practices remained a significant factor. Throughout the regional forensic centers 23 partner counties, it found 24 infants died of positional asphyxia, a type of suffocation, in 2025. That number is up from 14 in 2024. Most of those deaths happened in rural counties in East Tennessee. This is why the forensic center and the Knox County Health Department are urging new parents to practice safe sleep. Advertisement Advertisement This is this is a traumatic event, these were 24 families in the East Tennessee community that were devastated last year, and thats not something thats easy to get over, said RFC Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Chris Thomas. So that is a very difficult thing for these families. Its usually not intentional, its just completely accidental, and it is completely preventable as well. Report: East TN sleep-related infant deaths rose by 71% in 2025 Thomas said infant sleep-related deaths are often mislabeled as natural, or as sudden infant death syndrome. Its not a syndrome, its asphyxia, which means its an accidental death, which means its preventable, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Thomas added that through education, new terminology and technology they have been able to properly diagnose sleep-related deaths, and there are preventable measures. The major three things, are called the ABCs of safe sleep, said Knox County Health Department Maternal and Child Health Program Manager, Adrien Jones. You want to make sure your baby is sleeping alone, in their crib and on their back. Knox County Health Department partnered with the Regional Forensic Center to share the ways parents can prevent infant sleep-related death. We also like to stress that safe sleep is not just for nighttime, its for every sleep. So nap time, every time your baby sleeping, you should be following the ABCs, said Jones. Advertisement Advertisement As for why East Tennessee has seen a jump in infant sleep-related deaths, Thomas said awareness could play a role. No one talks about it, he said, no one believes that its a thing, and most of us go with the mission, Oh, Ive always slept with my children in the bed, nothing happened to my kids, and its one of those situations where its safe until its not. Unfortunately, theres not usually a I hurt my child, but theyre going to be okay, Its the fact that they have passed away from this. Mayo Garden Centers in Knoxville to close after 148 years in business Jones said there are some risk factors with infant sleep-related deaths, such as substance abuse while pregnant, late or no prenatal care, low birth weight, or if your baby is sick and congested. The Knox County Health Department also has a website with information on how to practice safe sleep. Advertisement Advertisement Despite the rise in infant sleep-related deaths last year, the state of Tennessees overall infant mortality rate is 16% higher than the national average, based on the Tennessee Department of Healths most recent report on 2023 birth outcomes. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. Dallas police are asking for the publics help in identifying a suspect in a double slaying that unfolded last weekend in Old East Dallas. Officers responded Sunday, March 1, to a shooting report around 1:45 p.m. in the 4600 block of Columbia Avenue. They discovered two men who had been shot inside an apartment. Both victims, later identified as Bobby Teal, 23, and Christopher Hargrove, 38, were declared dead at the scene. Detectives recovered no surveillance video from the apartment complex. Investigators also found no witnesses nearby. Advertisement Advertisement We dont have many people talking, yet we have a lot of questions that need to be answered, DPD homicide detective Phillip Wheeler told Fox 4 KDFW. It was the middle of the day on Sunday, so I believe there were people, and there were people possibly inside the apartment. I need to find those people. This is one of those cases where we need people to come forward, he added. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Detective Wheeler at 214-671-3686 or phillip.wheeler@dallaspolice.gov. Crime Stoppers takes calls anonymously at 214-373-8477. Iran launched missiles on Israel in retaliation for a joint US-Israeli operation that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February 2026, but clips circulating on social media do not show the aftermath of the attacks. They are in fact old videos filmed after Iran's missile barrage on Tel Aviv in June 2025. "Severe damage reported in Tel Aviv after this morning's Iranian missile attack. 3/1/2026," reads an Indonesian-language Instagram post uploaded on March 1, 2026. The attached video shows people walking on a dirt road surrounded by damaged low-rise buildings on both sides. Advertisement Advertisement A Thai-language Facebook post shared a different video on March 2 showing rescuers near collapsed buildings with the same claim that it depicted "the latest damage from Tel Aviv" after an Iranian missile attack. Screenshots of the false posts, taken on March 4, 2026, with red cross marks added by AFP The posts spread in English, Arabic, Bosnian, Hindi, Spanish, and Croatian after Iran launched strikes in retaliation for the joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, 2026 that killed Khamenei (archived link). An Iranian missile killed a woman in Tel Aviv on the day, the first confirmed fatality in Israel since attacks began (archived link). Another strike the following day hit the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, killing at least nine people and leaving 11 missing, police said (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement However, the circulating videos actually show the aftermath of Iran's strikes in 2025. Old footage A reverse image search on Google using keyframes found a clip published on June 23, 2025 showing the same scene in the first falsely shared video (archived link). A video taken by AFP videographer Olivier Feniet on June 22, 2025 also shows the same damaged buildings, with a caption saying it was filmed at an impact site in Tel Aviv following fresh waves of Iranian missile strikes. "Iran's armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, after US attacks on key nuclear sites," the caption goes on to say. Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the AFP video, with the same elements highlighted Another reverse image search using keyframes from the second false clip found identical visuals published by the BBC and Al Mayadeen on June 14, 2025 in reports saying they show the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv (archived links here and here). Screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (left) and the video shared by BBC An AFP photo taken on June 13, 2025 shows the same elements in the clips, including the building's facade, the heavily damaged white car and the debris leaning against the wall. Screenshot comparison between the false video (left) and the AFP photo, with the same elements highlighted by AFP Israel launched a series of strikes against Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure in June 2025, reportedly killing several top commanders and scientists (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement Iran retaliated with massive missile salvos that struck residential buildings and high-rises in the Tel Aviv area, leaving hundreds wounded and emergency crews scrambling to rescue civilians from the rubble (archived link). AFP has debunked other misinformation linked to the war in the Middle East. The fishermen aboard the Yankee Rose when it overturned in the water off Cape Cod on Thursday have died, Provincetown officials said. Just before noon, the vessel overturned about three nautical miles northeast of Provincetowns Race Point Beach. Crews from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod responded to search for two people on the vessel, recovering one of them from the water just after 12 p.m. Provincetown Manager Alex Morse wrote in a Facebook post that the loss of two fishermen will be felt deeply by the community. Advertisement Advertisement Provincetown has a long and proud maritime history, and fishing has always been a central part of our communitys identity. The fishing community is a close-knit one, where the dangers of the sea are well understood and deeply respected, Morse said. We know the loss of these fellow fishermen will no doubt be deeply felt by many here who share that bond. On behalf of the Town of Provincetown, we extend our deepest condolences to the families of those lost, to the New Bedford fishing community, and to the broader fishing community in Provincetown and beyond during this incredibly difficult time, Morse continued. The Coast Guard confirmed to Boston 25 News Reporter Christine McCarthy that the Yankee Rose was the same vessel that saw eight people hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure. 8 people hospitalized after exposure to carbon monoxide on boat in Cape Cod Advertisement Advertisement Fisherman Michael Van Hoose, captain of the Nemesis, heard the radio call for the emergency Thursday. The tragedy, he told Boston 25 News, is a reminder of the inherent dangers commercial fishermen face. Everyone knows its just the risk you take every day you go, Van Hoose said. Its the harsh reality of what comes with the job. Governor Maura Healey issued a statement, saying that she was heartbroken by the capsized boat. Fishing has defined the identity of coastal communities across the northeast for generations, bringing both the pride and the heartbreak that come with this work, Healey said. Every time a vessel leaves the harbor, families understand the risks that come with this work, and moments like this are felt deeply across the entire industry. Advertisement Advertisement We are keeping everyone involved in our thoughts and continue to monitor the situation closely, Healey added. Massachusetts Environmental Police, local police officers and firefighters, and harbormaster crews also assisted the Coast Guard with the search. The identities of the fishermen have not been released. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Who knows how, but Donald Trump has gotten out of every tight spot hes fallen into. From the bone spurs that saved him from the draft to the bail outs from a rich daddy; from the sex scandal that his current wife helped him frame as locker room talk to the Epstein files, even, nothing has ever quite stuck to take him down. Not even the Martha Stewart-fronted spin-off of The Apprentice. He was impeached twice and came back from the dead to win reelection. Now hes relying on his good fortune to execute a script any reality star would write with himself as the impresario. Operation Epic Fury is aptly named. Waging war against Iran is Trumps biggest gamble, and he expects to win. Advertisement Advertisement Defying the lessons of history about the futility of regime change in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, to name just a few, Trump is working to decapitate Irans brutal theocracy and is daring the people to rise up and take back their government. President Donald Trump addresses the nation, alongside US Vice President JD Vance (L), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd R), and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R), from the White House in Washington, DC on June 21, 2025, following the announcement that the US bombed nuclear sites in Iran. / CARLOS BARRIA / POOL/AFP via Getty Images Granted, an evil regime has been largely taken downbut why now? And what now? There do not appear to be any coherent plans for the days ahead. Concocted intelligence about Saddam Husseins nuclear weapons led us into a long and deadly war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio now wants us to believe that Iran was working towards nukes, too, but also that the Trump team had to act preemptively because Israel was about to launch its own strikes, and Iran would surely have retaliated on U.S. bases. (According to an inside account in The New York Times, Trump felt he had no choice but to align himself with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has long sought military action against Tehran.) Advertisement Advertisement This is a war of choice, and early polls show tepid support. Half the country doesnt trust Trump to put country first. And thats a problem, because in large part this was a war undertaken to improve Trumps standing with the electorate. Shock and awe and glory. A week ago, he was already in political peril, his approval rating was down ten points since he took office. He has lost ground on immigration and the economy, his two best issues; with analysts predicting a blue wave to take the House and potentially the Senate, a panicked urgency took root at the White House and Mar-a-Lago. What better time for the Peace President to flip the script and launch a war? Trump is pursuing what he thinks is greatness, initiating a fight that no other U.S. president has dared to. But he has little regard for the chaos that he is letting loose, and the risk for the region and the world is considerable. Everything is about him, his strongest-of-the-strongmen artifice and his legacy. The rest of us will be tested as we watch this performance play out, with real life-and-death repercussions. Ive asked myself, as a U.S. citizen, do I have an obligation to support the commander in chief? Even knowing that American lives are at stake and six servicemen have died already in a war that is just days old, should I temper my criticism? President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter and departing the White House on June 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images I put the question to Jonah Blank, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. Blank opposed military action at the timeIf you read the intelligence, it was a series of lies he said of the claims regarding Saddams arsenaland noted that many of our elected officials regretted their vote to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq on a false premise. Advertisement Advertisement He was emphatic that this is no time to give Trump deference either: It will cost an enormous amount of money and a certain number of American lives for a goal that doesnt necessarily help any Americans at all, Blank told the Daily Beast. Americans dont get anything out of this except it makes Trump feel like a big man. It is far more patriotic in my view to oppose a president who is doing terrible damage to the country than to assist him in doing that damage, he continued. Of course, Senator Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, faced prosecution by Trumps Department of Justice for saying much the same thing. (Kelly and several other lawmakers with military backgrounds released a video late last year reminding service members that they have not only the right but the duty to refuse to follow illegal orders.) A federal judge blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths ensuing order to downgrade Kellys pension and rank, an act of petty persecution. Hegseth is appealing the decision. Advertisement Advertisement Now, Hegseth says this war will be quick. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we dont waste time or lives. But pressed on whether there will be American boots on the ground in Iran, Hegseth refused to rule it out. So has Trump. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia. / Alex Wong / Getty Images Trumps successes have not been cost-free. He didnt go to Vietnam, but somebody else did. He lived the high life through bankruptcies that ruined others He was holding forth in the Oval Office taking questions from reporters as U.S. embassies closed and allies in the Middle East fended off attacks. With a big wave of attacks on Iran still coming, and so much at playcertainly at riskthe worst case scenario he could imagine was, he said on the fourth day of war, that you go through this and then in five years you realize you put somebody in (to lead the country) who was no better. Of course, by that point it wouldnt be his problem. But its still a big failure, as much as hed want to frame himself as having won. Notwithstanding predictable partisan hand wringing on Capitol Hill over the war in Iran, the conflict has sent the Russia-China axis reeling. The toppling of Nicolas Maduro in January was just the start of a much broader plan. Trumps pressure on Cuba is the second salvo. But Iran has now become the main effort. In just two months, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have helplessly watched as three of their prized allies are being overwhelmed by U.S. military power. Advertisement Advertisement Putin and Xi have argued that we now live in a multi-polar world. And that may be the case when measured in economic terms. But this years events are showing that this is still very much a U.S. hegemonic world when it comes to military power. Offense is often the best defense. For 47 years, of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shouted, Death to America, and it has killed 1,600-plus Americans. Trump has finally decided its time for the mullahs to find out. He has shelved the endless diplomacy and set aside the strategic deterrence policy that had not stopped Americans from dying at the hands of the Iranians. This is why observers like the former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul miss the point when they argue that there was no imminent threat of our homeland being attacked by Iran. The threat, especially to our citizens and troops, has been imminent since Nov. 4, 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran detained more than 50 American diplomats and held them as hostages for 444 days. Advertisement Advertisement For those U.S. soldiers in harms way, Irans threat to America was not only imminent but very real and active. Just during the Biden administration, Iran-sponsored militias attacked U.S. forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan more than 250 times. Roughly 80 of those attacks came before the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, in which Hamas one of the 15 major militia groups in the Middle East funded, sponsored and directed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed 46 Americans and took 12 others hostage in Israel. McFaul means well. Indeed, he is right about the need to confront Putin head on and give Ukraine what it needs to defeat and expel Russias military from all of its illegally occupied territories, including Crimea. What McFaul fails to understand is that victory in Ukraine cannot happen without dealing a wider defeat to the entire Axis of Evil that is supporting Putins military operation. Putins threat to Europe, including his ongoing threat to U.S. military forces across the region, is imminent, especially in Ukraine. Significantly, Iranian Shahed drones and manufacturing assistance have enabled Putins war machine to attack Ukraines civilian energy and critical infrastructure on a near-daily basis. Likewise, Irans own shadow fleet of oil tankers has helped fund Putins war effort by exporting oil through the black market. Moscows reliance on its axis partners including North Korean troops, artillery and munitions has also been nefarious. As we previously noted, the Kremlin used the October 7 massacre to stretch U.S. military assets in 2023. Two days after Hamas attacked Israel, Russian forces launched a major offensive against Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which eventually toppled the strategic Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk oblast. Advertisement Advertisement The Axis of Evil was never stronger than it was in early 2024, when the West was reeling as a result of Team Bidens just enough approach to managing the conflict in Ukraine. Putin took full advantage of this misguided strategy, which unwittingly acted as a force multiplier for Putin and his axis. Last June, Team Trump proved it was ready to confront Putin and Xi by attacking Irans nuclear weapons program in Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz. This showed the axis that it would no longer enjoy immunity. Then, in January, Team Trump let fly with its Venezuela operation. This was no isolated action, but rather a designed shot at Russia and China that systematically began attacking their key sources of oil. Similar considerations have motivated Trumps interest in actions in Nigeria. Now, in a spectacular way, this campaign has moved on to Iran. And after just two months, Beijing, ahead of any action against Taiwan, has lost three three vital sources of oil for its highly oil-dependent economy. Advertisement Advertisement Iran cannot simply be viewed as a regional Middle Eastern threat. It must also be considered a global imminent threat, given its key role as an ally of Putin and Xi. That role is now coming to an end at the hands of the U.S. and Israel, leaving Putin and Xi reeling. Among other things, it means that victory in Ukraine if Trump seizes the opportunity may have just gotten a lot easier. Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Sweet served 30 years as a military intelligence officer and led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014. They are the co-founders of INTREP360 and the INTREP360 Intelligence Report on Substack. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Read the latest news on Ukraine and Hungary here: Kyiv slams Hungary taking 'hostage' Ukrainian bank staff carrying gold bars, millions in cash. 'Not acceptable' EU rebukes Zelensky over Orban 'threat.' Editor's note: The story has been updated with the latest details. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 5 he hopes the blocking of a 90 billion euro ($107 billion) European Union loan for Ukraine by "one person" will end, warning that otherwise he could give that individual's address to Ukraine's military. Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky did not name the person, but the remarks appear aimed at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has blocked the loan amid a dispute over the suspension of the Druzhba pipeline. Orban wrote on X prior that his country would "break" what he described as a Ukrainian oil blockade "by force." "There will be no deals, no compromise," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote. The Ukrainian president didn't hold back. "We hope that one person in the EU will not block the 90 billion euros or at least the first tranche of it so that Ukrainian soldiers receive the weapons they need," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement "Otherwise, we will simply give the address of that person to our Armed Forces our guys can call him and speak to him in their own language." The standoff marks the latest escalation in tensions between Ukraine and Hungary, one of the EU's most Moscow-friendly governments, over disruptions to Russian oil transit. The Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia, has been offline since late January after a Russian strike damaged energy infrastructure in western Ukraine, according to Kyiv. Budapest and Bratislava accuse Ukraine of deliberately halting transit. Hungary vetoed the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia on Feb. 23 and also blocked the loan. A source familiar with Hungary's position told the Kyiv Independent that Budapest intends to maintain its stance until oil deliveries through Druzhba resume. Advertisement Advertisement During the same briefing, Zelensky said he does not support restoring the pipeline. "To be honest, I would not restore it. That is my position," he said, adding that he had communicated this view to European leaders and EU officials. "This is Russian oil." The president argued that Ukraine should not prioritize supplying Russian crude while Russia continues its war. He added that technically the pipeline could be repaired within about six weeks. Hungary and Slovakia, both landlocked countries, were the only EU members still receiving Russian crude via the pipeline's southern branch before the disruption. The route accounts for roughly 8692% of Hungary's oil imports and nearly all of Slovakia's supply. Advertisement Advertisement Orban's government has deepened energy ties with Moscow throughout the war while repeatedly obstructing EU sanctions on Russia or aid to Ukraine. Budapest and Bratislava have called for a joint inspection of the damaged pipeline with EU participation, a proposal Zelensky said he would consider if formally requested. Analysts link Orban's confrontational rhetoric toward Ukraine to Hungary's upcoming parliamentary elections in April. The ruling Fidesz party trails the opposition Tisza party in polls. Peter Magyar, leader of Tisza, responded to the dispute by urging Zelensky to "withdraw" his remarks. Advertisement Advertisement "No foreign state leader can threaten anyone, not a single Hungarian," he said. "Neither the outgoing Orban government nor the future Tisza government, not a single Hungarian." Magyar called on the Ukrainian president to "clarify his words, and if he really said this, to withdraw them," and also to "report on the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline." "If possible, open it as soon as possible, start it up." The Tisza party has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and signaled plans to reduce Hungary's dependence on Russian energy, while opposing arms deliveries from Hungary to Kyiv and rejecting fast-tracking Ukraine's EU accession. Advertisement Advertisement The EU urged both Kyiv and Budapest to "dial down" their "inflammatory rhetoric," while calling Zelensky's remarks "not acceptable." "There must not be threats against EU member states," European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said on March 6. Read also: Trailing in polls, Orban goes all-in on Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Heejin Kim and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday, as the conflict in the Middle East entered its sixth day. South Korea's chip industry, which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips, is also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran will lead to higher energy costs and prices, Kim Young-bae said after meeting with executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics and trade groups. "Officials raised a possibility that semiconductor production could be disrupted if some of these key materials cannot be sourced from the Middle East," he said at a briefing with reporters, giving helium as one example. Helium is essential for heat management during semiconductor production and it has no viable alternatives currently. It is only produced in a handful of countries, with Qatar among the leading players in the industry. The warnings come as chipmakers grapple with severe supply bottlenecks due to surging chip demand from AI data centre operators that has tightened supplies to many other industries, including smartphones, laptops and automobiles. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix said in a statement it has "long secured diverse supply chains and sufficient inventory" of helium, "therefore there is almost no chance that the company will be affected." Samsung declined to comment. Taiwan's TSMC said in a statement that it did not anticipate any significant impact currently, and will continue monitoring the situation closely. Contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries said it is "in direct contact with suppliers, customers and partners in the region", and "mitigation plans" are in place. South Korea's industry ministry said the country relies heavily on the Middle East for 14 other items in chip supply chains, including bromine and chip inspection equipment, but that many of them can be sourced domestically or from other markets. IMPACT ON DATA CENTRES South Korea's chip industry also warned the crisis could deal a setback to plans by big tech firms to build AI data centres in the Middle East in the longer term, thus weighing on chip demand, said Kim, the ruling party lawmaker. Amazon said on Monday some of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were damaged by drone strikes, sparking questions around Big Tech's pace of expansion in the region. U.S. tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia have been positioning the UAE as a regional hub for artificial intelligence computing needed to power services such as ChatGPT. A Eugene-based discount retailer quietly closed one of its Portland-area stores this week. News tips Business opening or closing in your neighborhood? Email the reporter at vnocera@oregonian.com. Bi-Mart a regional chain with 79 locations across Oregon, Washington and western Idaho announced Wednesday it would close its 2601 Falk Road store in Vancouver, effective immediately. Unfortunately, due to consumer demand and a changing local market, weve been unable to remain profitable enough to keep these doors open, Bi-Mart President Todd Watson said in a news release. From time-to-time we have to make difficult, but prudent decisions to manage the overall health of our business. Advertisement Advertisement Memberships for the Vancouver location will be transferred to the nearby Orchards store at 11912 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., according to the release. Then, members can request to transfer their membership to any other Bi-Mart location. Management is working with Falk Road Bi-Mart employees to apply for positions at other stores. Retail news Despite the Vancouver closure, Bi-Mart remains healthy and strong, according to the release, with plans to open new locations in Hood River and Seaside this year. The former will replace a Cascade Farm and Outdoor store, a Bi-Mart subsidiary that in January announced it would shutter all locations. Bi-Mart was founded in Yakima, Washington, in 1955. Read the original article on oregonlive.com. Add oregonlive.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. An oversight hearing will be held to examine New York City agencies and the city's sanctuary city laws on Thursday. The Department of Investigation found that the NYPD and the Department of Correction collaborated with ICE during the Adams administration, violating measures meant to protect migrants. Those invited to testify include representatives from DOI, the New York City Department of Corrections (DOC), immigrant rights and criminal justice system advocates, public defenders, good government groups, and members of the public. Advertisement Advertisement Immigration advocates plan to hold a rally ahead of the hearing on the steps of City Hall. ---------- * Get Eyewitness News Delivered * More New York City news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. A Lehigh Valley man faces possible prison time after a federal jury convicted him of election fraud offenses on Wednesday. Federal prosecutors said 32-year-old Matthew Laiss, who now lives in Bethlehem, voted twice for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, doing so in two different states. Court filings show Laiss voted via a mail-in ballot using the Ottsville, Bucks County home where his parents lived. Advertisement Advertisement He did so after moving his primary residence to Florida, where he also went to a polling location to cast a ballot. Laiss is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10. He faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 to $250,000 fine for each of the charges on which he was convicted. Palm Beach may soon see a new addition to its code-enforcement process a magistrate judge with a focus on coastal and maritime law. Fueled by the towns recent efforts to manage the Lake Worth Lagoon, the Palm Beach Town Council on March 3 gave its initial approval to an ordinance that would create a new special magistrate position to oversee violations of the town's laws regulating its beaches and waterways, as well as boating and other aquatic activities. Its an ordinance that may be codified by the months end, as Palm Beach Police Department Chief Nicholas Caristo requested the Town Council to hold a special meeting later this month. Town of Palm Beach fleet manager Todd MacLauchlin loads a buoy onto the Palm Beach Police marine unit while Palm Beach Police Officer Quinn Mosko, facing, and other divers remove illegal moorings and bottom gear north of the Flagler Bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway on Aug. 26. Council members agreed to meet at 9:30 a.m. on March 30 for a second reading of the ordinance, which could result in it becoming law. Advertisement Advertisement Caristo's request came as the Palm Beach Police Department has towed over a dozen boats from the Lake Worth Lagoon a part of the Intracoastal Waterway as part of the town's effort to manage the body of water. That enforcement effort also has included enforcing a recently passed anchoring rule that prevents boaters from anchoring overnight for more than 30 days within a consecutive six-month period in waters where Palm Beach has jurisdiction. Officers have also issued citations for illegal mooring, lack of anchor lights or expired or nonexistent registration. Under the potential new law, the Town Council would be able to appoint a special magistrate that would review those infractions and others that fall under chapter 74 of Palm Beachs Code of Ordinances, titled Parks and Recreation. The special magistrate would have the same quasi-judicial powers as the Code Enforcement Board, including the ability to subpoena alleged violators, take testimony under oath and issue fines as well as lawful orders to bring violators into compliance. Advertisement Advertisement The appointee would be required to be an attorney licensed in Florida who has experience with coastal or maritime law. The ordinance does not limit the number of special magistrates the town can appoint, nor does it place a term limit on those appointed to the position. However, it does note a special magistrate can be removed via a Town Council vote. Town Attorney Joanne OConnor said the ordinance shouldn't face legal pushback, as Florida law allows municipalities to have both a code enforcement board and a magistrate judge with different purviews. For example, Lighthouse Point in Broward County has a code enforcement board for violations related to residential buildings and a special magistrate for violations related to commercial buildings, OConnor told the council. Advertisement Advertisement Town Hall Staff recommend the special magistrate specifically for that section of the code, because the Code Enforcement Board may lack the familiarity with complex sphere of coastal and marine law, according to a memo attached to the ordinance. Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach might appoint special magistrate in marine violation cases PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) In February, Panama City Downtown Improvement Board members said theyd like to see the farmers market rotate around the downtown area every three months. Now, that idea is turning into a reality. Last week, Panama City commissioners heard the plans for a new rotating location for the downtown market. Vendors previously occupied McKenzie Park, but roadwork around the area forced the market to the 300 block of Harrison Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement The city approved the market to remain on the 300 block through March 7, which coincides with the FLLUXE Art Festival downtown this weekend. And starting March 14, the market will be on the 400 to 500 block through June. It will then rotate to the 200 and 300 block. And for the final 3 months of the year, it will move back to the 400/500 block. Downtown improvement board members say the rotation will give each of the surrounding businesses a fair chance to be seen by patrons. Were excited about the farmers market continuing to thrive in downtown and continuing to bring people down to see all these awesome merchants that we have. So I think its all about collaboration, and lets work together to make downtown the best it can be, said DIB Chairman Jason Kretzer. Advertisement Advertisement Panama City Commissioners still have time to approve the rotating schedule. Its set to be discussed at the next meeting on March 10. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) A man accused of attempting to meet up with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl was found guilty Wednesday. According to the state attorneys office, 57-year-old James Robert Stahl was found guilty of traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful sex act. In November 2024, Stahl was communicating online with an undercover Panama City Beach investigator who was playing the role of a 15-year-old girl. Advertisement Advertisement The defense tried to claim that Stahl was simply worried for the minors safety and that he was entrapped. They also claimed that Stahl was attempting to talk the minor out of making bad life choices. However, prosecutors showed messages between Stahl and the undercover investigator that contradicted the defenses claim. The messages were sexually explicit in nature. The undercover officer who played the part of the minor and the detective who set up the fake profile online both testified against Stahl. Jurors deliberated for 15 minutes before finding Stahl guilty. His sentencing is set for March 23. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. A federal panel reviewing Donald Trumps planned $400m ballroom addition to the White House postponed an expected vote on the project until next month, after receiving thousands of negative public comments. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) had been expected to cast a final vote on the proposal on Thursday, but instead, the chair of the commission announced at the beginning of the meeting that the vote would now be held on 2 April, citing the large amount of public input submitted during the public comment period. Were going to take the time to deliberate, and were going to have a final vote on April 2, Will Scharf, the NCPC chair and top aide to Trump, said on Thursday as the meeting began, according to CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Before the meeting, the commission released more than 9,000 pages of public comments it received about the project. The commission has said that more than 35,000 people had submitted written comments, with the majority opposing Trumps plans to build a 90,000 sq ft ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood, and condemning the demolition of the East Wing, which began in October. At the time, White House officials argued that the demolition did not require the commissions approval, and said they would present plans for any construction proposals to the proper commissions. Trump has said the ballroom would cost about $400m and be financed with private donations. A recent analysis by the New York Times found that more than 98% of the roughly 32,000 submitted comments opposed the plan, with respondents describing the proposed design as gaudy and cheap. Later on Thursday, NBC reported that Scharf disputed reports that the ballroom vote had been delayed, saying that that the commissions plan has been to proceed to a final vote on this project on April 2 for quite some time. A White House official also said that the commission had always intended to vote at its next gathering. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to the Guardian, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said that the White House is grateful for all of the hard work and time spent by the National Capital Planning Commission in reviewing the plans for what will be the greatest and most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world. We look forward to receiving the final NCPC approval in early April, he added. In a statement to the New York Times, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that the negative comments submitted about the ballroom are clearly stemming from an organized campaign of Trump-deranged liberals who clearly have no style or taste. The postponed vote comes as Trump has appointed allies to positions on the NCPC commission. Earlier this week, the NCPC executive director published a recommendation that the commission approve the preliminary and final site and building plans for the East Wing Modernization Project, located on the grounds of the White House. Advertisement Advertisement The Commission of Fine Arts, which is also tasked with reviewing the ballroom plans and where Trump has also installed loyalists, voted to approve the ballroom project last month. Historic preservationist groups have sued and attempted to halt the project. In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit, seeking to block the construction of the new ballroom, arguing that the administration violated multiple laws by tearing parts of the White House without any review whatsoever. A federal judge declined to temporarily halt construction last week. The group has said it plans to file an amended lawsuit. The Associated Press contributed reporting Lev Parnas' entry into a congressional race gives the 2026 midterm election in Florida a decidedly 2019 feel. It was seven years ago that Parnas entered the national spotlight as a key figure in a Ukraine pressure campaign that ultimately resulted in President Donald Trump's first impeachment. Another figure in that debacle for the White House, then-U.S. Army lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman, is running for the U.S. Senate in the Sunshine State, too. Parnas announced March 4 that he will seek the congressional District 27 seat now held by Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who is running for re-election. The district covers portions of eastern Miami-Dade County. Advertisement Advertisement In January, Vindman announced he would seek the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody. The former Florida attorney general was appointed to the post by Gov. Ron DeSantis after its elected occupant, Marco Rubio, resigned in 2025 to serve as U.S. secretary of state. Here are five things to know Parnas, Vindman and why they are notable names: US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing Corpus Christi International Airport in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 27, 2026. Trump is heading to Palm Beach, Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Corpus Christi International Airport in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Corpus Christi International Airport in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 27, 2026. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz U.S. President Donald Trump looks on after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Trump in Florida. He visits Mar-a-Lago as US launches strikes on Iran 1 of 8 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing Corpus Christi International Airport in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 27, 2026. Trump is heading to Palm Beach, Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images) Who is Lev Parnas? A native of Ukraine, Parnas networked himself into Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani's orbit around 2018. He played a central role in efforts by the Trump administration to cajole the newly elected president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to open a corruption investigation into Joe Biden and his family in large part rooted in the dealings of an energy conglomerate, Burisma. At the time, the former vice president was the leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. In a December 2023 interview with the Palm Beach Post, Parnas said politics rather than the truth about allegations about wrongdoing by the Bidens was Trump's objective. Advertisement Advertisement "The whole motive and the whole Biden stuff was never about getting justice, and getting to the bottom of Biden criminality or doing an investigation in Ukraine," Parnas said. "It was all about announcing an investigation and using that in the media to be able to destroy the Biden campaign and have Trump win." This photo of Lev Parnas was taken in December 2023 during an interview in which the Ukraine native and now congressional candidate talked candidly about how the Ukraine scandal unfolded. Who is Alexander Vindman? While Parnas and Guiliani were cooking up what then-National Security Adviser John Bolton derided as a "drug deal," Vindman served in the Trump White House. He was the director of European Affairs for the National Security Council. Vindman was among those listening to the infamous July 24, 2019 call in which Trump was accused of pressuring Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens. Trump would defend the conversation as a "perfect call." But Vindman contradicted Trump's assertion in testifying before the U.S. House committee investigating the matter in the fall of 2019. Advertisement Advertisement "I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. Government's support of Ukraine," Vindman said. "I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security." In this image from March 2022, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi talks with members of the crowd before speaking about the infrastructure bill and how it will be used to deal with aging infrastructure, such as the George Bush Bridge in Delray Beach. (Lannis Waters / Palm Beach Post) As scandal exploded, Pelosi in South Florida said Trump violated oath As the scandal drew intense interest in the fall of 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ventured to Weston, in Broward County, to speak at a panel on the political crisis in Venezuela and to support for granting temporary protective status for Venezuelans seeking safe haven in the United States. Asked about the Ukraine matter by The Palm Beach Post, Pelosi greenlighted U.S. House probes that eventually led to impeaching Trump. It doesnt need too much inquiry, Pelosi said. The president has confessed to his own violation of his oath of office. What was the outcome of the investigations? Trump was impeached by the U.S. House in December 2019 on charges that he abused his presidential power and obstructed justice. The president, however, was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in February 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Shortly thereafter, Vindman was reassigned out of the White House position. He announced in July 2020 that he would retire from the military. His twin brother, Eugene, serves in Congress representing a House district in Virginia. Parnas had a far different trajectory. Parnas, who lived in Boca Raton, was criminally charged in October 2019 with campaign finance violations, wire fraud conspiracy, making false statements and falsifying records in relation to the Ukraine scandal. He served a 20-month prison term before being released in September 2023. He then returned to Boca, wrote a memoir and started a podcast. What are Vindman, Parnas chances to win? Beyond winning primaries, the highly-watched Cook Political Report currently lists both the Florida U.S. Senate seat and the Miami-area House district as "solid Republican," meaning the incumbent GOP officeholders are not viewed as threatened at the outset of the election year. Advertisement Advertisement Whether their candidacies are seen as competitive or not, however, Vindman and Parnas will likely make the contests interesting to follow. Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ukraine Trump impeachment Parnas, Vindman run for Congress in Florida The Pennsylvania Army National Guard will be transformed as part of a larger national initiative from the U.S. Army with a focus on agility, trading out heavily armored vehicles in favor of lighter and faster options. The move will impact every unit of the guard, which is made up of about 15,000 soldiers. The effort will start with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, a 4,400-soldier brigade that was deployed to Iraq in 2009, five years after its introduction. The brigade, one of six under the guards 28th Infantry Division, will become a Mobile Brigade Combat Team by the end of the month though it will take longer for it to be properly equipped. Virginia National Guard soldiers with the Staunton-based 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conduct Infantry Squad Vehicle Operator New Equipment Training on Nov. 14, 2025, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The 116th is the first National Guard infantry brigade to convert to the mobile brigade combat team. (U.S. National Guard photo by Cotton Puryear) The 8-wheeled Stryker vehicle will be replaced by Infantry Squad Vehicles, which are unarmored trooper carriers designed to rapidly transport up to nine soldiers at a time. Cavalry soldiers will become infantrymen, who operate under different military occupational specialty codes and oversight structures. Advertisement Advertisement I have directed my staff to develop comprehensive options that enable soldiers continued service while minimizing negative impacts on careers and that provide support across the commonwealth, said Adjutant General of Pennsylvania Maj. Gen. John R. Pippy in a release. We will also engage at the national level in pursuit of force structure, such as additional infantry and sustainment battalions, that will allow us to retain our highly trained and talented soldiers. Retired Lt. Col. Cory Angell was part of the team that transitioned to the Stryker vehicles, which had greater communications capabilities and required specialized training. The former Pennsylvania Army National Guard anti-tank company commander, who later served as its public information officer, said the Stryker came with more responsibilities for each person involved. We ended up drilling twice as much as other soldiers did because we had to not only do our unit collective training where the unit trains together, (but) individuals had to go to individual schools to learn new things, said Angell. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement The new Infantry Squad Vehicles wont require the same mechanics, for example, so soldiers with that expertise will need to retrain. Youve got a new way to fight. Youve got new equipment to fight with, said Angell, who retired after 32 years of service. Theres a lot to learn. According to the guard, another element under the 28th Infantry Division is expected to be converted to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team in the spring. The 28th is the oldest continuously serving division of the U.S. Army. The division fought in World War I, World War II and Iraq. Known as the Iron Division, the 28th was dubbed the bloody bucket by the Germans in the Second World War, because of the red keystone patch they wore on their shoulders. Corrections & Clarifications: The headline on this story has been updated. A 54-year-old man from Sacramento is believed to have been killed, along with five other soldiers, in the war with Iran, according to the Pentagon. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan was a United States Army reservist assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit had been deployed to Port Shuaiba in Kuwait at the time of the strikes on March 1. Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon has not confirmed Marzan's death and is waiting for medical examiners to positively identify the soldier. Shortly after the Pentagon's announcement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement about Marzan. The flags over the California State Capitol fly at half-staff in honor of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Sacramento, CA. "California mourns the loss of Chief Warrant Officer Three Marzan, a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family during this time of profound sorrow," Newsom's statement read. "The sacrifices made by military families are immeasurable, and California stands in solidarity with them, united in grief and gratitude. Chief Warrant Officer Three Marzan's steadfast commitment exemplifies the highest ideals of our state and our country. "Marzan played a critical role in supporting our nation overseas." Advertisement Advertisement To honor Marzan, Newsom ordered the flags at the State Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space to remain at half-staff. California mourns the loss of Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert M. Marzan, a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family during this time of profound sorrow. pic.twitter.com/MbAgmPHst7 Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) March 5, 2026 Other California representatives, like U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and U.S. Representatives Ami Bera and Doris Matsui, also posted about Marzan's death on social media. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, the sixth American service member killed in the war with Iran. May he rest in peace. And may God comfort his wife and family," Padilla said on X. The flags over the California State Capitol fly at half-staff in honor of Army reservist Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan of Sacramento, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Sacramento, CA. Six troops have been killed so far in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Military authorities on Wednesday announced the identity of the fifth soldier as Maj. Jeffrey OBrien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Pentagon identified four of the six on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement The four soldiers previously identified are: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Pentagon. USA TODAY reporter Michael Loria's reporting contributed to this article. Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert Marzan named as sixth Army soldier killed in Iran war Soybeans saw late session strength, with contracts closing 5 to 7 cents higher There were another 27 deliveries issued overnight. The cmdtyView national average Cash Bean price was up 6 1/2 cents at $10.97 1/2. Soymeal futures were up 20 cents to $2.20 on the day, with Soy Oil futures 6 to 12 points higher in the front months. The market continues to digest the unfolding Middle East situation, as China officially called for a halt to the military operations. US and Chinese trade officials will bean in the middle of the month to plan for the Trump/Xi meeting in late March. More News from Barchart Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.55 3/4, up 5 3/4 cents, Nearby Cash was $10.97 1/2, up 6 1/4 cents, May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.70 1/2, up 6 1/2 cents, Jul 26 Soybeans closed at $11.83 1/4, up 6 1/4 cents, On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com The Pentagon on Wednesday identified the remaining two of the six American troops killed in the opening hours of the war with Iran. Maj. Jeffrey R. OBrien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, were killed Saturday in Kuwait from an Iranian drone attack, the Pentagon said. Marzan is "believed to be the individual who perished at the scene," the Pentagon said, and positive identification will be completed by a medical examiner. Department of Defense - PHOTO: Maj. Jeffrey R. OBrien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, were killed Saturday in Kuwait from an Iranian drone attack, the Pentagon said. On Tuesday, the Pentagon identified the other soldiers as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. Advertisement Advertisement The soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines, Iowa. Pentagon, Trump warn more US troops likely to die in Iran operation All six died in the same attack at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbor that doubles as a logistics hub through which the U.S. military ships tactical vehicles and supplies into the region. An additional 18 service members were wounded in the strike. Department of Defense - PHOTO: Sgt. Declan Coady, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor and Capt. Cody Khork. The six represent the first Americans killed in action in the joint U.S.-Israel war against Iran. "It [is] with deep sadness and unyielding grief that we acknowledge and recognize our Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Our Soldiers relentlessly, consistently, and fearlessly served with sincere dedication and pride," said Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes, Deputy Commanding General, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Operational Command Post. "They were the ultimate ambassadors for freedom." Planet Labs PBC - PHOTO: Damage to buildings on a Kuwaiti military base which hosts American troops. Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He has prior deployments to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay, and Poland. Advertisement Advertisement Amor, enlisted in the National Guard in 2005. She transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and first deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Tietjens enlisted into the Army Reserve in 2006, and had two prior deployments to Kuwait. Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, enlisted in the Army in 2023. The Pentagon did not release details of O'Brien and Marzan's Army service. Mark Schiefelbein/AP - PHOTO: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, March 2, 2026, in Washington. The joint U.S.-Israel campaign entered its fourth day Tuesday, with American forces having struck more than 1,700 targets inside Iran as fighting spread across at least a dozen countries. Trump and top Pentagon officials warned the toll is expected to rise. "We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses," Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday. Half of the Baltic sea has frozen over, something that hasn't happened in at least 15 years, allowing people to ice skate from one island to the next. The ice is also keeping ships from docking at ports in Finland, Estonia and Russia. A Copernicus satellite took a photo on Feb. 27 of a navigation channel cut in the ice, linking the town of Kuivastu, on Muhu Island, with the city of Virtsu, on the west coast of mainland Estonia. Icy conditions are visible in this image, acquired on 17 February 2026 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites. The image shows the navigation channel linking the town of Kuivastu, on Muhu Island, with the city of Virtsu on the west coast of mainland Estonia. The narrow corridor carved across the frozen Suur Strait marking the shipping lane, and a ship sailing across are clearly visible in the image. (Copernicus/Sentinel-2) Copernicus reported the maximum coverage of ice in the Baltic sea reaching 181,000 square kilometers (70,000 square miles) - about half of the sea's area of 377,000 sq. km. (146,000 square miles) - on Jan. 31. Last winter, the peak was only 81,000 sq km, just over the 14-year historical average maximum. Ice extent by day of year for the Baltic Sea (Finnish Meteorological Institute / Copernicus) Estonia has had a historically cold winter, with the city of Tartu recording its longest string of days below freezing (32 F / 0 C) since 1999. HARTFORD - A Peruvian man who became a political lightning rod when he was arrested for sexual assault after illegally entering the United States has been ordered to serve six months in prison, federal prosecutors said. Christian Maximo Castaneda Negrete, 47, was sentenced in Hartford federal court Wednesday for reentering the country after previously being deported, according to David Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut. Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan said Castaneda Negrete was admitted to the U.S. in July 2001 on a one-year nonimmigrant visa. He said the man was later convicted in 2004 in New Britain Superior Court of first-degree burglary and unlawful restraint. Sullivan said Castaneda Negrete was sentenced to nine months in prison in connection with the burglary. He said Castaneda Negrete was removed to Peru in March 2012, but later illegally reentered the country. Hartford police charged Castaneda Negrete with second-degree sexual assault in November 2024. At the time, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused the department of releasing Castaneda Negrete on bond before agents could lodge an immigration detainer. Republican House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora also issued a statement blaming Democratic politicians for allowing Castaneda Negrete and "dangerous illegal immigrant criminals" into the state. Advertisement Advertisement "They actively resist commonsense reforms to fix our broken immigration system while broadcasting a dangerous message: Connecticut is a safe haven for those who enter this country illegally," Candelora said at the time. Online court records show the sexual assault charge is still pending in Hartford Superior Court. Castaneda Negrete has pleaded not guilty in the case and is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Friday. This article originally published at Peruvian man sentenced to 6 months in prison for illegally reentering U.S.. Americans are more critical of their fellow citizens morality than people in any other country surveyed by the Pew Research Center study in a new report. The study surveyed 25 countries on whether behaviors like abortion, drinking alcohol and LGBTQ relationships were morally acceptable, unacceptable or not a moral issue at all. The United States is the only place we surveyed where more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad (53%) than as good (47%), according to the report. Pew surveyed 28,000 adults outside the U.S. and 3,600 adults within the country. The interviews were conducted over the phone. Countries like Sweden, India, Indonesia and Canada have the highest proportions of citizens who rate their fellow citizens morality positively between 88% and 92% respectively. In its proportion of morally skeptical adults, the U.S. is followed by Turkey, where 49% dont approve of others moral choices, Brazil at 48% and Greece at 44%. Advertisement Advertisement Researchers point to partisan politics as one contributing factor. Another theory, according to the report, is that Americans tend to be more moralistic than people in other countries, and more prone to labeling others behaviors as immoral or sinful. Although, responses to other survey questions dont show that Americans are unusually judgmental, according to the report. The report found that Democrats and left-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans to deem other Americans as morally and ethically bad, though both parties have seen an increase in those who view their political opponents as morally deficient. More precisely, 60% of Democrats are willing to say their opponents behavior is morally wrong as opposed to 46% among Republicans. The political-moral divide isnt uniquely American, either. In more than half of the countries surveyed, those who oppose the party in power are more inclined to view other citizens as lacking moral character. The study also reveals some notable demographic patterns. On questions about pornography and homosexuality, men are more likely than women to consider these behaviors morally wrong. Religion plays a role, too. Christians and other religious groups tend to view more behaviors as immoral, though this varies significantly by region. Most Christians in Africa, Latin America and the U.S. say abortion is morally wrong, while that number drops to just 7% in Germany and 13% in France. Across all 25 countries, higher education levels and older age correlate with viewing certain behaviors as more morally acceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Jacob Hickman, a professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University who studies cross-cultural differences in morality and moral reasoning, doesnt see Americans as particularly moralistic when compared to other cultures, he said. Theyre definitely more moralistic in an American sort of way, he said. In many of these communities, people are highly surveilling of the moral behaviors of people around them, but the particular behaviors being surveilled or moralized may vary. What is considered morally right or wrong is deeply rooted in cultural context, according to Hickman, and closed-ended survey questions often fail to grasp the full cultural nuance of how people reason through moral dilemmas. Hickman recently co-published an article that argued that people across all cultural contexts are moral realists a belief that moral claims about whats right and wrong are objectively true. What varies culturally, Hickman said, is how these moral absolute beliefs apply in a particular cultural context. For example, the protection of the vulnerable. Its kind of a moral absolute, a very basic moral concept that is recognizable anywhere you go, he said. But who counts as vulnerable in a particular cultural context is going to vary. Advertisement Advertisement Moral views have also shifted since Pew last asked similar questions in 2013, the report noted. Across all countries, fewer people now consider divorce morally wrong. Kenya saw the sharpest change, dropping from 59% who viewed divorce as morally wrong in 2013 to 30% in 2025. The U.S. has remained relatively stable at 22%, while Mexico and Indonesia each saw roughly a 10-point decline. The shift in moral attitudes, according to Hickman, can be attributed to the spread of neoliberalism, a set of views that emphasizes free markets and individualism. As these perspectives spread, morality becomes more intertwined with individual choice and personal happiness over shared social considerations. As individualism spreads as a way of thinking about these issues, you tend to change what you might focus on as you consider the morality of a particular outcome, Hickman said. Pew report examined moral views on nine behaviors: extramarital affairs, marijuana use, gambling, pornography, abortion, homosexuality, drinking alcohol, divorce and use of contraceptives. Here is how moral views on some of these break down: Homosexuality On homosexuality, the U.S. falls roughly in the middle globally, with 39% viewing it as morally wrong comparable to Israel (47%), Hungary (34%) and Greece (30%). In Sweden, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, over 90% of people do not consider homosexuality morally wrong. Extramarital affairs Around 90% of Americans view marital infidelity as morally unacceptable, a sentiment shared by roughly 92% of people in Indonesia and Turkey. Germany and France sit at the opposite end, with more permissive attitudes only about half of adults in each country consider extramarital affairs ethically wrong. Gambling and marijuana Most Americans, 70%, dont see gambling as morally wrong (only 29% do.) But countries are quite divided on this topic. Countries such as Indonesia, Turkey and Nigeria take a much stricter view. Advertisement Advertisement Along with the U.S., among the countries with smallest proportions of citizens who dont see gambling as morally wrong are Canada (27%), Hungary (31%), and Germany, France and Sweden (all at 32%). On marijuana, 23% of Americans consider it a moral problem, and 50% do not view it as a moral issue at all. Abortion On the question of abortion, the moral view is split along geographical lines between Latin American and African countries and European countries. Countries in Latin America and Africa tend to view it as morally unacceptable, whereas most Europeans largely dont see it as a moral problem or consider it completely acceptable. (WFRV) Authorities in Illinois confirm that the pilot of a plane that departed from Wisconsin is dead after it crashed just outside of Chicago Wednesday night. According to the Lake County Sheriffs Department, deputies, along with fire personnel from several local agencies, responded around 9:45 p.m. to the 800 block of Swallow Street in unincorporated Deerfield, Illinois, for reports of a downed aircraft. Officials arriving on the scene say they found the crashed plane behind a row of townhomes, with the roof of one of the townhomes and two gas meters being struck during the crash. Advertisement Advertisement Settlement reached in sexual harassment lawsuit against Green Bay landlord According to WFRVs Nexstar affiliate WGN, the single-engine plane, a Cessna T210, is believed to have departed from the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison and was en route to the Chicago Executive Airport when it crashed. Only the pilot, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was on board at the time of the crash. Deputies state the pilot was able to avoid causing any major damage to the townhomes, and no one on the ground was hurt in the incident. A small gas leak did occur following the plane crash, but it is said to be under control. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was notified of the incident and will be investigating the incident along with the Lake County Sheriffs Office and other federal officials. Advertisement Advertisement No other information is available at this time. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. An East St. Louis man has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of a Granite City woman in April 2025. Corey C. Ayers, 30, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Jamya T. Dukes, who was dropped off at Touchette Regional Hospital in Cahokia Heights and later pronounced deceased on April 1, 2025, according to an Illinois State Police news release on Wednesday. The location of the shooting was not initially known, but an extensive investigation by the Major Case Squad traced the location of the shooting to the 700 block of Veronica Avenue in East St. Louis and Ayers was identified as a suspect, the news release states. Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, Illinois State Police agents and the Major Case Squad presented evidence to St. Clair County States Attorney James Gomric, who filed the murder charge. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, Illinois State Police agents arrested Ayers on Tuesday. Ayers was being held in the St. Clair County Jail Wednesday. Officers in Washington Township, Gloucester County, said they finished a DoorDash food delivery after arresting the driver who had warrants out for his arrest. Body camera video shows officers stepping in to deliver the food themselves, a move the department in southern New Jersey later shared on its Facebook page. "I thought something happened. Oh my God, I got so scared," said the customer when she answered the door. Advertisement Advertisement The DoorDash customer, seen on police body cam video, was instantly relieved and appreciative upon learning why officers were at her door. "Arrested your driver, but, yeah, we delivered your food," one of the officers said. It turns out a Washington Township police officer stopped the DoorDash driver during routine patrols in front of a high school over the weekend. "He made a stop on it for a violation," said Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik. But then, Chief Gurcsik said the officer learned the driver had warrants out for his arrest in another county. "He made the officers aware that he had two DoorDash meals in the car that he was in the middle of delivering," Gurcsik said. Advertisement Advertisement The officers went from cuffing the driver to ringing a doorbell to finish his delivery. "I never heard of anything like that in the South Jersey area. It's sort of a first for us here in Washington Township, definitely," Gurcsik said. It's happened in other places, too, including in New Mexico last summer, when a motorcycle cop delivered someone's Chick-fil-A order after arresting the driver. "Hello, sir, got your DoorDash. Oh, thank you," the officer said. "He's a good kid, give him five stars. He just didn't take care of a simple insurance ticket." Advertisement Advertisement And officers over in Arizona made a similar arrest during a traffic stop and were seen on body camera finishing the delivery. "Your GrubHub, still delivered your pizza," the officer said. "We definitely serve the community in more ways than one," Gurcsik said. A person was detained following a deadly shooting in north Sacramento on Wednesday night, according to police. Just before 8:30 p.m., officers responded to the 2800 block of Grasslands Drive for reports of a shooting, the Sacramento Police Department said. When officers arrived, they found a male victim with at least one gunshot wound. Police said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers attempted to contact a suspect, who they said was inside a residence in the area. Crisis negotiators and armored vehicles were deployed to secure a peaceful surrender. Advertisement Advertisement The suspect was later detained after a multi-hour standoff. Police clarified that no arrests have been formally made. Detectives are still actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting. A majority of registered voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the situation in Iran and believe the U.S. shouldnt have taken military action against the country, according to a new NBC News poll. Though support for the White House is mostly polarized along party lines, a small but notable slice of Republicans is unhappy with the decision to launch a war in the Middle East. There was also a significant split between younger and older voters in the early days of the attacks. Fifty-four percent of voters disapprove of Trumps handling of Iran, compared with 41% who approve and 5% who say they either dont have an opinion or arent sure. A similar share, 52%, say the U.S. should not have taken the military action, while 41% say it should have and 7% say they arent sure. Advertisement Advertisement The poll is an initial snapshot of how American voters are digesting a major new military endeavor launched by a president who campaigned against past endless wars when he sought to return to the White House in 2024. This is a lower level of support than in most of the major military action that weve seen, said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, who conducted the poll with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates. Attitudes shift in this country based on results, McInturff added. Things could get worse if the results are worse, and things can certainly get better if theres a stable, better outcome here. NBC News polling from early 2002 to early 2003 found majorities of Americans saying the U.S. should take military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement In October 2001, during the early stages of strikes in Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks, 87% said they supported President George W. Bush's approach to the war on terrorism, and a similar percentage approved of the airstrikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan. In both cases, public opinion flipped over the years, with a clear majority of Americans eventually saying the conflicts werent worth it. The new survey first began testing sentiment about the Iran strikes on Saturday, hours after the U.S. government announced the beginning of its campaign, and it was in the field amid a series of important new developments including the news that the strikes killed Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that six U.S. service members were killed, that Iran retaliated by launching strikes on U.S. allies in the region and that Americans are scrambling to get out of the Middle East. The Trump administration has signaled the strikes will continue to ramp up in the coming days, and more developments could bring additional shifts in public sentiment as Republicans and Democrats in Congress debate the implications and potential results of the U.S. undertaking its most significant military action in years. Advertisement Advertisement Trump and his allies have argued that the strikes were essential to protect Americans from imminent threats, accusing Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon and saying they were unable to deter it through diplomatic negotiations. Many Democrats in Congress have blasted the move, castigating Trump for what they have framed as a war of choice, not necessity. The results show clear, if expected, partisan polarization over the issue: An overwhelming majority of Democrats, 89%, say the U.S. shouldnt have struck Iran. Among independents, 58% agree. Republicans are overall more supportive of the strikes: 77% say the U.S. should have struck Iran, while 15% disagree. But theres a significant divide between Republicans who consider themselves aligned with Trumps Make America Great Again movement and those who dont. A full 90% of self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans back the strikes, with just 5% saying they dont think they should have been launched. But Republicans who dont see themselves as part of MAGA are more divided, with 54% supporting the strikes and 36% against them. Advertisement Advertisement Margins of error are larger for these smaller subgroups, but the results still point to significant differences between different parts of the party. Trump framed much of his 2024 presidential campaign around the idea of an America First approach to foreign policy deeply critical of past administrations that he claimed thrust the country into endless conflict around the globe. Now, the Republican base is wrestling with the new conflict. McInturff said the divide within the GOP was an important reminder about both the loyalty of Trumps base and the part of the party thats softer on him. The self-identified MAGA Republicans are incredibly supportive of Trump, and that political base has so far been unshaken and so far, surely, has been unshaken to date about military action in Iran, he said. Last Junes NBC News Decision Desk Poll found a similar split when it tested Trumps last major military action against Iran. Though there was some concern about that bombing campaign among prominent MAGA-aligned figures, that poll of adults in the U.S., including voters and nonvoters, showed rank-and-file MAGA-aligned Republicans were largely in favor of Trumps military action last year. Meanwhile, those who identified themselves more as institutional Republicans were still supportive, but by a smaller margin. Advertisement Advertisement The new NBC News poll also found a deep divide over the Iran war by age, with younger voters far more sour on the strikes than older voters. Two-thirds of voters under 35 say the U.S. shouldnt have struck Iran, a sentiment shared by 53% of those ages 35 to 49. A slim majority, 52%, of those 50 to 64 support the strikes, while those 65 and older are split. There is also an educational divide in the survey an increasingly common feature of polarized American politics. Voters without college degrees are about evenly split over the strikes, while those with bachelors or postgraduate degrees overwhelmingly believe the U.S. shouldnt have struck Iran. And there is a significant gender divide, with 60% of women saying the U.S. shouldnt have taken military action, compared with 52% of men who believe it should have. Advertisement Advertisement Negative public sentiment about the military action isnt driven by any warm feelings for Iran. Overall, 61% of registered voters view Iran negatively, while just 8% have positive views of it. Another 28% view Iran neutrally. Conversations with voters in St. Joseph, Michigan, on Wednesday shed some additional light on how Americans, particularly those who have supported Trump in the past, are processing the early days of the war. William Miskiewicz, 65, a retired police officer, said that "we backed up Israel" and that it was important for America to be "loyal to our friends." "I'm in favor of anything the president does, because I support the president," he said, adding he thinks people are too focused on their personal bottom lines and things like gas prices instead of "what it is you're willing to contribute to help your country." Advertisement Advertisement But Vincent Nemethy, 62, an artist who said he had previously voted for Trump, said he didn't support the strikes because he thinks the U.S. should "step back" and "worry about our own people." "He said he was going to try to get out of wars, but he put us in it. He's not putting himself in it; he's putting other people. We've already lost casualties," he said, adding that while he doesn't regret having voted for Trump, "some of the things he's doing [are] not up to my standards." Linda Coleman, 75, a retiree who didn't support Trump in 2024, was deeply critical of him and the strikes. "I just don't think it's our war. I don't think we were in imminent danger with Iran. We already bombed them once," she said. Advertisement Advertisement "I feel bad for the Middle East, I feel bad for those people, [but] what can we do to fix it?" she added. "Are we going to fix it? Are we going to lose more young men?" The NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters Feb. 27-March 3 via a mix of telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. The margin of error for the full poll is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Most questions about the war in Iran were asked of 753 registered voters starting on Feb. 28, and those questions have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Joint US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader in February 2026, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against US allies in the Gulf. Footage circulating in Ethiopia purports to show Iran bombing a US military base in Djibouti. However, this is false: the footage shows an explosion at Port Sudan in May 2025 and has been falsely linked to the ongoing Middle East war. The TikTok post, shared on March 3, 2026, includes an Amharic text overlay reading: Iran announced that it has attacked an American military base in Djibouti with four missiles. Additional text in the top-left corner of the clip reads: Djibouti today. Screenshot of the false post, taken on February 3, 2026 Djibouti is a small country strategically positioned in the Horn of Africa, with access to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Advertisement Advertisement The post has been shared more than 1,700 times. It includes a 52-second video showing an explosion at a facility resembling a port. Some comments believed the claim to be true. This is wonderful news, reads one of the comments in Amharic. I was really worried about that military camp before this happened, another user added. The post was also shared on Facebook here and here. War broke out in the Middle East on February 28, 2026, when US and Israeli strikes targeted sites in Iran, killing the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (archive here). The strikes triggered retaliatory attacks from Iran, aimed at various US military and diplomatic locations in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Djibouti hosts Camp Lemonnier, the only permanent US military base in Africa and a key operational hub for US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Combined Joint Task ForceHorn of Africa (archived here). On March 3, 2026, AFP reported Israel said it had struck a covert underground nuclear site in Iran, where scientists were allegedly developing a key component for nuclear weapons (archived here). Irans drone attacks also caused a fire near the US consulate in Dubai. However, the footage shared on TikTok does not show Iran attacking the US military base in Djibouti. Port Sudan explosion AFP Fact Check used InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video and found that the original version was published by the Andalou Agency on May 6, 2025 (archived here). Advertisement Advertisement According to the original description, the footage shows explosions and fires that occurred at the South Port in Port Sudan, the country's administrative centre. Loud explosions were heard in Port Sudan in the eastern part of the country, and fires erupted at the South Port. The fires are believed to have started following an attack on a fuel depot, it reads. According to an AFP report on the incident, military sources blamed the explosion on drone attacks by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) (archived here). The text Djibouti today was added to the TikTok clip, thereby misrepresenting the location and context. The footage, however, was unchanged. Advertisement Advertisement AFP Fact Check geolocated the footage and confirmed that it was filmed at Port Sudan. Distinctive features, including the blue gantry cranes visible in both the original footage and the TikTok clip, match the structures at Port Sudan. Screenshot of Google Maps Street View (left) and the TikTok clip showing distinctive cranes at Port Sudan, taken on February 3, 2026 Moreover, there are no credible reports that Iran attacked the US military base in Djibouti. AFP Fact Check has debunked several claims related to the Middle East war (here, here and here). Samra reported group revenue grew 4.5% in 2025, with hospital revenue up 4.3%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 3.2% to GBP 268.6 million , supported by transformation savings and price and mix management, partially offsetting higher employment costs. Adjusted profit before tax was GBP 46.5 million , down 7.4% year-on-year, with depreciation and finance charges described as in line with guidance. On the NHS, management said the sector experienced a commissioning slowdown in the later part of the year as integrated care boards introduced activity management plans due to budget restrictions. Samra said the company saw NHS revenue growth slow meaningfully in the second half after a stronger first half. Ash said the private market saw low single-digit volume declines for much of 2025, but he highlighted improving demand momentum in the second half, especially self-pay, alongside continued growth in primary care. The company also faced significant labor inflation during 2025, driven by the increase in employer National Insurance contributions and, as the CFO later noted, National Minimum Wage increases from the second quarter onward. Spire Healthcare Group (LON:SPI) reported full-year 2025 results that management described as resilient despite employment cost inflation and a late-year slowdown in NHS commissioning. Group Chief Executive Justin Ash and Chief Financial Officer Harbant Samra said the company delivered its planned transformation savings, increased free cash flow, and saw improving momentum in self-pay demand into early 2026, while flagging significant uncertainty around NHS activity levels for the year ahead. The company flagged major NHS uncertainty for 2026, expecting NHS activity to be down about 25% in Q1 and planning for a 510% NHS revenue reduction in Q2Q4 as a base case, offset by expected mid to highsingledigit private revenue growth and at least 30m of savings. Spire reported full-year 2025 revenue up 4.5% with adjusted EBITDA of 268.6m , adjusted profit before tax of 46.5m , a 30% reduction in CapEx to 78.5m , and adjusted free cash flow up 64.9% to 64.3m , while targeting 2026 adjusted EBITDA broadly in line with 2025. Story Continues BigBear.ai Stock Is Down Big, But Smart Money Is Quietly Buying Capital expenditure was reduced by 30% year-on-year to GBP 78.5 million while still funding growth projects and transformation, according to the CFO. Adjusted free cash flow increased 64.9% to GBP 64.3 million. Return on capital employed (ROCE) was 8% versus 8.2% in 2024; excluding the impact of National Insurance and National Minimum Wage uplifts, ROCE would have been 8.5%, Samra said. The company recorded GBP 27.9 million of adjusting items, including roughly GBP 13 million in one-off transformation delivery costs (such as redundancy and establishing patient support centers) and around GBP 7 million of fees linked to the ongoing strategic review. Statutory profit after tax declined to GBP 17.2 million, with Samra also noting a reduction in taxation following a review of qualifying capital investment deductions covering multiple years. Operational highlights: transformation, self-pay funnel, and primary care expansion Atomic AI: Why NuScale Is the Only Option Management emphasized 2025 as the companys biggest year of change yet, delivering a GBP 30 million savings plan. A central initiative was moving administration for inquiries, bookings, pre-operative assessments, and self-pay sales into three patient support centers. Ash said the shift is already improving experience and creating a platform for growth. He also said Spires well-invested estate enabled lower CapEx in 2025 without compromising on quality. Ash outlined several initiatives aimed at improving self-pay acquisition and conversion: Brand measures: unprompted awareness reached 35% and prompted awareness 80%, which Ash said were the highest levels to date; consideration rose 6% to 61%, driving record inquiries. Call handling: after centralizing self-pay sales and bookings, call answer rates were around 95% versus 60% previously, enabling more same-day bookings. AI-enabled pricing: the company continued applying AI to optimize local pricing while protecting margin. Diagnostics: AI tools were applied to MRI scanners at 21 hospitals, halving scan times and contributing over two and a half million GBP of EBITDA in 2025 through activity growth. In primary care, Ash said Spire opened five clinics in 2025, including in Kingston, Wimbledon, and Kings Lynn. Samra reported primary care revenue increased 7.4% to GBP 133.7 million, driven by organic and new contract growth in talking therapies and occupational health. Including acquisitions (Acorn and Physiolistic), revenue growth was 10.5%, and the acquired businesses performed in line with plan. Primary care adjusted EBITDA was GBP 9.8 million; Samra said the core business grew more than 5% year-on-year and two of the three larger new clinics were already profitable. Both executives highlighted that outpatient clinics generated downstream hospital referrals worth GBP 3 million of EBITDA. On clinical capability, Ash said Spire ended the year with 29 surgical robots across its estate after adding seven in 2025, citing improved outcomes, capacity for higher-value private care, and faster recovery times. He also cited work to reduce average length of stay across procedures, saving just over GBP 1 million while improving access and recovery. NHS uncertainty shapes 2026 planning; private growth expected to improve Management said NHS commissioning uncertainty is the key variable for 2026. Ash said the company expects NHS revenue to be down about 25% in the first quarter of 2026 due to activity management plans. In contrast, Spire expects approximately 4% growth in private revenue in Q1, with self-pay up around 6%. For the full year 2026, Samra said private patient momentum has improved in the early months and the company expects mid- to high-single-digit private revenue growth year-on-year. However, NHS volumes remain a material uncertainty, and commissioning activity from April has yet to be agreed. As a result, Spire is targeting adjusted EBITDA for 2026 broadly in line with 2025. The base planning assumption is that NHS revenue for Q2 to Q4 will be down 5% to 10% year-on-year, a significant improvement versus Q1. On cost actions, management said it expects to deliver at least the existing GBP 30 million savings target in 2026 and is planning to deliver ahead of it to at least offset the impact of the Q1 NHS shortfall. Samra said more than half of the savings are underpinned by annualization of 2025 actions and head office restructuring in January, with additional savings expected from ongoing transformation (including digitization) and bringing forward operational efficiencies. Strategic review and care quality update Ash reiterated that the boards strategic review, announced in September 2025, is ongoing and is evaluating actions to drive long-term sustainable shareholder value. He said options under consideration may include a potential sale of the company, value generation from the hospital property estate, and adjustments to operational and strategic plans, while emphasizing there is no certainty that any offer will be made. Ash also noted Takeover Panel rules limit what the company can say regarding the review and forecasts. On quality, Ash said 98% of sites were rated good or outstanding (or equivalent) by regulators in 2025. He added that 97% of hospital patients rated care as good or very good, and 84% of consultants rated care very good or excellent. During Q&A, management said it views the environment with private medical insurers as pretty constructive, with insurers showing interest in broader offerings, including primary care. On NHS volumes, Ash said the company expects activity to increase after the April reset, but warned the year could include a mix of indicative plans and spot work to address local waiting-list pressures. He also said Spire had multiple suppliers for bone cement and was unaffected by the U.K. shortage. Samra said the company has fixed-price arrangements for energy needs through the end of Q1 2027, with coverage tapering thereafter. About Spire Healthcare Group (LON:SPI) Spire Healthcare Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates private hospitals and clinics. It offers various treatments in the areas of allergy and infectious diseases, blood tests, bones and joints, bowel treatments, breast screening and surgery, cancer investigations and treatments, cosmetic surgery, cyst removal, and dental surgery, as well as ear, nose, and throat treatments. The company also provides eye surgery and treatments, family planning, gastroenterology, general medicine, general surgery, haematology, hand surgery, hip and knee treatment, and heart and kidney treatments. The article "Spire Healthcare Group H2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. Israel launched strikes on Lebanon as war spiralled in the Middle East, ignited by joint US-Israeli attacks in February 2026 that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But footage of a nighttime explosion circulating on social media does not show recent attacks on Beirut; it depicts Israel's bombing campaign in the Lebanese capital in October 2024. "BREAKING: Israel is carrying out airstrikes on Beirut right now," reads an English-language post from a Bangladesh-based X account that shared the clip on March 3. Screenshot of the false post captured on March 4, 2026, with a red X added by AFP Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to Khamenei's killing. Advertisement Advertisement Israeli forces retaliated by pounding targets across Lebanon, including Beirut (archived link). Lebanese authorities said at least 72 people had been killed, 437 wounded and 83,000 displaced from their homes. Elsewhere in the region, Tehran targeted US-linked interests in its Gulf neighbours, as well as energy infrastructure. The explosion video also surfaced on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit but it is not related to the recent conflict. A reverse image search on Google found Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera published a longer clip of the same explosion on its Facebook page on October 6, 2024 (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement The caption says the video shows Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs at the time. The falsely shared clip matches the 1:18 mark of Al Jazeera's video. Screenshot comparison of the false X post (L) and the clip from Al Jazeera AFP distributed footage of the strikes on the same day (archived link). According to Lebanese state media, Israeli strikes hit south Beirut on October 5, 2024 and into the next day, some of them "very violent", with AFP correspondents hearing explosions for over two hours (archived link). Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in September 2024 in response to the group's cross-border fire in support of its ally Hamas, before a ceasefire in November that year halted the fighting (archived link). AFP has debunked other misinformation related to recent strikes on Iran. The Powerball jackpot started fresh after a single ticket sold in Arkansas won the $251 million prize in the Monday drawing. Did anyone win Wednesday night's Powerball drawing for the jackpot of $20 million? The cash option for the March 4 jackpot was $9.4 million. Here's what we know about the drawing on Wednesday, March 4: Powerball winning numbers for March 4 lottery drawing jackpot The winning numbers for the March 4 drawing were 7, 14, 42, 47, 56. The red Powerball was 6, and the Power Play was 4X. Did anyone win Powerball? No one won the jackpot in the March 4 drawing. There was no $1 million Match 5 winner. There was no Match 5 plus Power Play $2 million prize winner. When is next Powerball drawing? The next drawing is on Saturday, March 7. What is the Powerball jackpot up to? The jackpot for the next drawing is an estimated $35 million with a cash value of $16.5 million. What time is the Powerball drawing? Powerball drawings take place at 11 p.m. ET every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. What are the odds of winning Powerball? The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. Where to buy Powerball tickets Powerball is played in 45 states, including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and in Washington, DC and the Virgin Islands. You do not have to be a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident to play Powerball. Advertisement Advertisement You can purchase tickets at gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Sales cut-off times vary by one to two hours before the drawing, depending on the selling jurisdiction. Can you buy Powerball tickets online? In Kentucky, you can purchase tickets online through the Kentucky Lottery website, kylottery.com. In Ohio and Indiana, people can order Powerball tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Lottery tickets are sold to residents online through their lottery's official site in the following jurisdictions: Kentucky Connecticut Georgia Illinois Kansas Michigan New Hampshire North Carolina North Dakota Pennsylvania Virginia West Virginia Washington, DC How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today? A single Powerball ticket costs $2. Pay an additional $1 to add the Power Play for a chance to multiply all Powerball winnings except for the jackpot. In Kentucky, Indiana and some other states, players can also add the Double Play for an additional $1 to have a second chance at winning $10 million. How to play Powerball To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball. Advertisement Advertisement You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers. How to win Powerball Match all 5 white balls + Powerball: Jackpot (odds 1 in 292.2 million) Match all 5 white balls: $1 million (odds 1 in 11.7 million) Match 4 white balls + Powerball: $50,000 (odds 1 in ~913,000) Match 4 white balls: $100 (odds 1 in ~36,000) Match 3 white balls + Powerball: $100 (odds 1 in ~14,500) Match 3 white balls: $7 (odds 1 in ~580) Match 2 white balls + Powerball: $7 (odds 1 in ~700) Match 1 white ball + Powerball: $4 (odds 1 in ~92) Match Powerball only: $4 (odds 1 in ~38) This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Powerball numbers for Wednesday, March 4 drawing. Did anyone win? The Republican strategy for reining in the ever-climbing cost of college rests on a simple concept: Tuition keeps increasing because its too easy for people to take on more and more federal student debt. How the GOP is acting on that view in practice may be creating new obstacles for swaths of working- and middle-income people. Republicans have long argued that government programs that let students borrow as much as they need to complete their degrees, rather than a fixed amount, have given universities an excuse to jack up prices. Advertisement Advertisement "There is some suspicion that institutions are raising their tuition precisely because they know borrowing can be so easy. So were trying to put a little break on that," said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate education committee. Now, guided by last years sweeping domestic policy law, the Trump administration is limiting how much government support students can get for professional and graduate degrees while counting on private lenders to bridge financial gaps. But college presidents fear the lending limits will make many advanced degrees a luxury only available to wealthy students. Low-income students may have to turn down acceptance offers because they cannot borrow enough money and dont have strong enough credit or a co-signer for a private loan. These aren't privileged students, said Rhett Brown, president of Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina, which offers a significant number of medical programs that would be affected by the change. They just don't have the family resources to get them there. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration plans to cap professional and graduate student loans at $200,000 and $100,000, respectively, starting in July limits mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law also established a new lifetime limit for all student loans of $257,500. So low-income students who use their loans to pay for cost of living expenses during their undergraduate education are likely to reach that lifetime cap sooner. That forces them to turn to the private sector, which might not loan them more money. The Education Department has also limited the professional designation to 11 fields a move that received immediate pushback from colleges and professional association groups, particularly in the health care field. These groups say the caps arent enough to offset the costs of running these programs, especially at smaller private schools that heavily rely on tuition for their revenue. Brown said about 68 percent of Wingates students in graduate physician assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs have loans exceeding the proposed caps. Students who take out loans before July wont be subject to the caps. But it's the incoming fall class he worries about. Advertisement Advertisement The federal [loan] program is that bridge for a lower-income student who is talented and wants to work in a health care profession, Brown said. Wingate is one of the more than 1,545 private, nonprofit colleges and universities that enroll millions of students across the country and represent more than a quarter of all U.S. schools, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, which tracks data like enrollment and graduation rates at higher education institutions. These schools are more dependent on tuition revenue than their public university counterparts that receive funding from their state governments. Tuition at these private, nonprofit schools essentially flatlined in the 2024-25 academic year, with a half a percent decrease compared to the previous year. But the cost of food and housing for students living off campus rose 7 percent. Republicans say students who need to borrow more than the new caps allow can turn to private lenders. Advertisement Advertisement I think it's a good thing to go to private lending, said Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee. Ive felt it's been bad for education ever since we forced ourselves into federal loans. Private lenders say theyre ready to step in. Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, announced in January that the online bank launched new private student loans options to address the gaps left by the federal graduate programs. Jon Witter, CEO of Sallie Mae, a private lender with a focus on student loans, said on an earnings call in January that he expects the number of private loans it makes in 2026 to increase up to 14 percent, compared to the previous year. Advertisement Advertisement But college leaders havent been reassured by direct conversations with private lenders or these types of announcements. Some banks are reluctant to lend to students with lower credit scores or no credit history even after taking future earning potential into account. About 38 percent of graduate students dont have a high enough credit score to qualify with most lenders, according to a December report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which analyzed a sample of 66,000 students who first enrolled in a graduate program during 201524. They all say, Oh, yeah, of course, we will do our best, and we'll come up with amazing packages for them, said Tarek Sobh, president of Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, which offers advanced degrees in engineering, health sciences and other areas of study that will be affected by the caps. If somebody is coming without a dime to his name and a credit score of 300, do you think theyre going to give them a loan? Thats not going to happen. Cassidy said there are other avenues students can take to pay for their education before turning to the private market like applying for scholarships or enlisting in the Army. Advertisement Advertisement So really, there are other options should this be too much for them, he said. When Walberg was asked if he was concerned that lower-income students may not qualify for a private loan, he said it's all a matter of picking the right program. If theyre going to the right programs, then these banks and lending institutions know theyll be able to pay back their loans, he said. Ken Ruggiero, CEO of student loan lender Ascent, told POLITICO he has been meeting with schools to figure out how his company can responsibly lend to students in that 38 percent. His company has responded to more than 70 requests from graduate schools to propose loan alternatives and has come up with options that would allow schools to share the risk related to students who may struggle to repay their loans, including colleges making upfront financial contributions or having less money disbursed to them. Advertisement Advertisement But so far, the schools hes talked to havent been excited about these ideas. It's a stark departure from Grad PLUS, a federal loan program that began in 2006 and let students borrow up to the cost of attendance. The GOP law mandates that program be sunset for new borrowers, which the Trump administration is doing this summer. Since 2006 they set the tuition, they recruited students and they got all their money they got full cost of attendance, Ruggiero said. Right now we're trying to educate them that you're not going to get the full cost of attendance for a substantial portion of your accepted and enrolled students, and they're struggling, quite honestly. When asked if it was the Education Departments intent for colleges to turn to private lending, spokesperson Ellen Keast said the Trump administrations focus is on reining in the out-of-control student loan borrowing. If colleges and universities want to remain competitive, we expect them to lower tuition, deliver programs that prepare students for the workforce, and make higher education more affordable for families, Keast said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement White House spokesperson Liz Huston echoed that sentiment, adding that the main reason colleges support higher caps is because it allows for massive budgets and wasteful spending while students are left to foot the bill. But the loan caps will likely not actually have the intended result of a broad decline in tuition costs, college presidents and analysts say. Colleges and universities may reassess tuition, but schools with a significant portion of students in affected programs may see enrollment declines, leading to potential budget cuts, according to a report from Moodys, a credit rating agency. Sobh said that lowering tuition is not as simple as Education Department officials might think. Medical and engineering programs, like the ones his school offers, are expensive to run because the necessary facilities and faculty are costly. He also said there are nontuition expenses like food and housing. Advertisement Advertisement Both government and private sector data bear this out. The Moodys report noted that out of the $115,000 median cost of attendance across a sample of full-time, prestigious MBA degree programs in the five largest metropolitan areas, about $79,000 is tuition and the other $36,000 goes toward housing, health insurance and other costs. If [the current caps] stand, my guess is that many of these professional programs are going to be for the rich people who can actually afford it without getting a loan, Sobh said. Federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office are dropping a criminal probe into whether former President Joe Biden and his aides unlawfully used an autopen to issue pardons, a person briefed on the matter told CBS News. Two sources confirmed the existence of the probe, with one telling CBS News that the matter has since been closed because prosecutors were never able to find a legal hook to be able to pursue the matter further. CBS News has not determined precisely when the case ended. Last June, President Trump ordered an investigation into whether the Biden administration used an autopen machine to sign key presidential documents like pardons months after Mr. Trump had claimed his predecessor's pardons were illegitimate. Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi and the White House counsel in a memo to probe what he claimed was a "conspiracy" to "abuse the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline." The order cited a number of executive actions by Biden, including pardons and judicial appointments, and argued "there are serious doubts as to the decision making process and even the degree of Biden's awareness of these actions being taken in his name." It suggested that if Biden's advisers "secretly used the mechanical signature pen," it would "have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions." Biden at the time called the attacks false and "nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans." Advertisement Advertisement The closed autopen probe represents one of several failed attempts in recent months by Pirro's office to pursue cases against Mr. Trump's political enemies. Recently, a grand jury also refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers over charges they violated the law by urging military service members to reject unlawful orders in a video they released last fall, CBS previously reported. In that matter, not a single grand juror voted in favor of an indictment, which is highly unusual. Pirro's office has also sought to subpoena records from the Federal Reserve over its renovations and comments that Chairman Jerome Powell made about those renovations in testimony before Congress. The Federal Reserve is quietly seeking to quash those subpoenas, in a closed-door legal fight that remains under seal due to grand jury secrecy rules, CBS News previously reported. The New York Times first reported on the closure of the autopen review. CBS News has asked for comment from the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Pirro posted on X, "We cannot comment on ongoing investigations." Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing Trump denies Israel forced U.S. strikes on Iran Sister of U.S. service member killed in Iran war says she still doesn't "fully think it's real" WESTMINSTER A confused Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission narrowly voted to allow a petition to ban the commercial sale of fur to move forward against a recommendation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists to deny the petition. With about 400 people many of whom traveled from the Western Slope in attendance at the March 4 meeting in Westminster, the commisson voted 6-4 to allow the petition to enter into a rulemaking process, which could be heard by the commission at its May meeting in Grand Junction. "The vote does not mean the entirety of the citizen petition has been approved," Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Laura Clellan, who recommended denial of the petition, said in a March 5 news release. "In the coming months, CPW staff will draft a proposed rule to initiate our rulemaking process, along with an issue paper or draft regulations outlining any proposed exceptions that may be necessary or appropriate." Advertisement Advertisement The vote came after hours of public comment by more than 100 people and a chaotic debate by commission members uncertain of the process and what they were actually voting on. Jessica Beaulieu made the motion to vote for the fur ban petition, which was seconded by Jay Tutchton. The commission came back March 5 and addressed the confusion during its meeting after receiving strong criticism of its mishandling of the voting process the previous day. During its lunch break, the commission listened to a recording of the motion initiated by Beaulieu and played it to the audience to clarify its actions. Commissioner Dallas May said the commission needed to address the "elephant in the room" after the previous day's confusing proper rules of order process that he said erroneously combined multiple petitions into one vote. "I as a commissioner was confused as most of all of you and did not know where we were," said May, who voted in the minority to deny the petition. Advertisement Advertisement Tutchton conceded the process was "inelegant" and the commission can do better. "I do think people know what we voted for and are upset," Tutchton said March 5. "Im not confused with what was eventually decided, but the process could have been more elegant." Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists explained in a presentation March 4 that the agency did not believe a ban on commercial fur sales is needed due to regulations in place for hunting and trapping of furbearers, known population estimates and studies to gain further population data on some of the 17 furbearers, which include bobcats, coyotes, beavers and foxes. Those for the ban claimed the commercial sale of fur leads to the killing of excess animals and that a five-year hunting and trapping moratorium on furbearers was needed to allow Colorado Parks and Wildlife to accurately measure populations of all furbearers and establish data-driven bag limits. The petition does not ban hunting and trapping of furbearers but bans the commercial sale of fur with a few exceptions by recreational hunters and trappers. It does not impact the take of nuisance furbearers by agriculture producers. Advertisement Advertisement "Today was a big win for Colorado's wildlife," Samantha Miller, Center for Biological Diversity's senior carnivore campaigner, told the Coloradoan after the March 4 vote. Dan Gates, a hunting rights advocate who heads Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, said the commission was confused and didn't fully understand the process. He hopes it will make a different decision in May after looking further at the science-based recommendation made by Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists. What Im starting to see is more and more confusion, which becomes more diabolical," Gates told the commission March 5. "The things that were discussed yesterday were done in such contrast to what the staff has continually recommended and what the director and agency provided as a level of recommendation for denial." This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado fur ban petition moves to next step despite chaotic vote OKLAHOMA CITY House lawmakers advanced a measure Thursday that would ask voters to give lawmakers the option to roll back Medicaid expansion. House Joint Resolution 1067, authored by Rep. Ryan Eaves, R-Atoka, would allow the Legislature to decline covering the cost of Medicaid expansion if the federal match drops below its current rate of 90%. I just trust the people of Oklahoma to have the wherewithal to understand that if we dont have the option, we would be facing serious issues in other parts of the state budget in the foreseeable future, Eaves said. Advertisement Advertisement Oklahoma voters enshrined Medicaid expansion into the state Constitution in 2020. It requires that coverage be offered to all adults below age 65 who make less than $21,597 a year. Rep. Ryan Eaves, R-Atoka, sits at his desk during the House session on May 30, 2025. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice) Eaves said his bill would give voters the opportunity to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to give the state the option to drop out if the federal government passes more of the expansion costs onto states. Some of the benefits are this will protect Oklahomas fiscal responsibility and preserve flexibility and health policy and encourage responsible expansion based on federal support, he said. Gov. Kevin Stitt in his State of the State address also suggested making changes to Medicaid expansion through a state question, but did not detail what those changes would be. Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, said she was concerned that Eaves bill creates an on and off switch for providing health care for Oklahomans. What a terrible idea, said House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City. Oklahomans have already spoken that they wanted to expand Medicaid so that more Oklahomans would have access to health care, so that our rural hospitals stay open, services are provided, and doctors will come and practice medicine in Oklahoma. The reason why were here today, first, is because Republicans would not expand Medicaid over a decade ago. The resolution passed through the Rules Committee with a 8-2 vote along party lines and is eligible to be heard on the House Floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has promised to release two Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen who hold Hungarian citizenship. Source: Putin during a meeting with Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow, as reported by European Pravda Details: Putin said the issue of the prisoners of war had been raised by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a phone call on Tuesday 3 March. He said he had decided to release two people. Advertisement Advertisement "I have taken the decision to release two people. You will be able to take them with you, as the prime minister asked, straight onto the plane you arrived on and will return to Budapest on," Putin told Szijjarto. Background: Szijjarto said earlier that he would summon Ukraine's ambassador over what he called a "man hunt" for Hungarians for mobilisation. Szijjarto has also supported the illegal smuggling of Ukrainian men across the Hungary-Ukraine border, claiming that mobilisation in Ukraine is hindering the ending of the war started by Russia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A coroner is calling for changes to the travel history patients must provide to doctors, following the death of a woman from rabies. Yvonne Ford, 59, died four months after contracting the fatal disease when she was scratched by a puppy in Morocco in February 2025. Ford, from Barnsley, went to hospital in June with symptoms, including severe headaches, nausea, and mobility issues, but was only diagnosed when a psychiatrist asked about her travel history. Advertisement Advertisement After jurors returned a narrative conclusion stating the rarity of the disease led to difficulties with her diagnosis, coroner Marilyn Whittle said she would write to the government urging a review of the current 21 day notification period. The inquest in Sheffield had heard that medics at Barnsley Hospital had struggled to diagnose Ford's condition because of a lack of exposure to rabies cases - which are extremely rare in the UK - and it was initially suspected she may have Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness, or be experiencing a mental health episode. Her family were eventually asked about her travel history, and information from her husband Ronald about the dog scratch led doctors to investigate rabies. She died at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, and an expert told the hearing that the disease is always fatal once symptoms have developed. Advertisement Advertisement Whittle indicated that she would seek further information before making a Prevention of Future Deaths order. Earlier the jury was told that Ford and her family were not concerned about the dog scratch at the time because it did not draw blood, and she cleaned the cut with a wet wipe. Her daughter, Robyn Thomson, said it was vital the public knew to seek urgent treatment if scratched or bitten by an animal abroad, as only immediate medical attention can prevent the disease developing. Ford went to hospital on 2 June complaining of severe headaches, nausea, mobility issues and disorientation. Her symptoms had begun in late May. Advertisement Advertisement By the time of her death she was refusing to drink, despite desperate efforts to hydrate her, and the inquest was told this was sign of hydrophobia, a fear of water commons in rabies cases. Ford was only transferred to an infectious diseases unit on 11 June after those treating her at Barnsley Hospital learned about the dog scratch. A psychiatrist, Dr Alexander Burns, asked the family about foreign travel when he was considering the possibility of Lyme disease, and said staff had not been told about the Morocco incident before then. He had never seen a rabies case before, so had to research the symptoms. Advertisement Advertisement Dr Katherine Cartwright, an expert from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, told the jury that there had only been 26 rabies cases in the UK since 1946. The disease has been eliminated from the UK but many countries are still considered to be high risk. Dr Cartwright added that symptoms usually begin within four weeks of exposure, but can take up to three months to become apparent. Ford had also visited her GP in March and April when she felt unwell, and complained about insect bites. Ford's son, Adam, said: "As a family, we feel a deep responsibility to raise awareness about rabies in the hope that greater understanding can help prevent further tragedies. Advertisement Advertisement "No family should have to witness the rapid deterioration of someone they love, as we did." He described her as a "loving mother, a loving wife and a fantastic grandmother". "She was a glue to our family really. She's left a massive hole within our family and friends," he added. The jury concluded: "The rarity of the disease and unusual presentation led to a difficulty in reaching a diagnosis but this did not affect the outcome." Earlier the Ford family had told the inquest that their wife and mother's deterioration had been "traumatic" and that they had had to wear PPE when spending her final hours at her bedside. Advertisement Advertisement They had been told once she arrived at the Royal Hallamshire that she would not recover. A spokesperson for Barnsley Hospital said: "Our thoughts are with Yvonne's family following the sad loss of a loved family member in such unusual circumstances. "Yvonne tragically died from rabies following contact with a dog in Morocco an infection that is extremely rare in the UK. We welcome ongoing discussions with Yvonne's family about all aspects of her care. "For general information about rabies, see the NHS website or the UKHSA leaflet on rabies risks for travellers." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North More on this story We are counting down to the California governor's race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket. In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, "I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors." Although he's been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he's not a politician -- which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls. Advertisement Advertisement "President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What's harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They've only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that's it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot," Bianco said. Bianco isn't the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he's neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton. SEE ALSO: CA governor candidate Steve Hilton says 'everybody supports' Trump's immigration policies Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor's race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton. Advertisement Advertisement "Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I'm going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that," Bianco said. When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, "Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor's signature." "It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem," he said about the homelessness crisis. "Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say 'homeless,' zero money. You're getting absolutely nothing. I can't tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years." When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn't have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, "We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won't allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor." Advertisement Advertisement Bianco also said California jails shouldn't have to play the role of treatment facilities. Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president's endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state -- meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed. The primary election is June 2. RELATED: No clear front-runner in race for California governor, new poll shows A new poll shows there's still no clear front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. Gary Parker, a restaurant owner and philanthropist, confirmed in a phone interview Tuesday he plans to run as a Republican for the 26th Legislative District state Senate position currently held by Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor. Parker, a retired engineer at Intel, owns BBQ2U, a popular restaurant in Gig Harbor. He has no previous elected experience, though he made an unsuccessful bid for the nonpartisan Pierce County Charter Commission last year, losing to Brenda Lykins. The 26th covering Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula, Port Orchard and part of Bremerton is one of only two legislative districts in the state represented by members of both parties. Only two candidates so far Democrats have held the Senate seat since voters elected Emily Randall in 2018. Krishnadasan was appointed to the seat in 2024, filling a vacancy created by Randalls election to Congress. In last years election, Krishnadasan defeated Republican Rep. Michelle Valdez, formerly Caldier, to hang onto the seat. Advertisement Advertisement Parker and Krishnadasan are the only candidates to file with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, a requirement to start fundraising. May 8 is the deadline for candidates to enter races in the 2026 general election. The primary is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4. In an interview, Parker discussed his community involvement through the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Gig Harbor and his philanthropic efforts. He also founded a nonprofit, Olympic Civic Services, focused on providing social services to seniors and veterans. Parker said community members approached him about running for the office. Enough people kept asking me that and I said Well, why dont I run? he said. Its really as simple as that. Im a man of the people. Other 26th District races A handful of candidates already have indicated they will seek 26th District seats this fall. Advertisement Advertisement David Olson, a Republican and Peninsula School Board member, will challenge freshman Rep. Adison Richards, D-Gig Harbor, for one House of Representatives seat. Katy Cornell, a Republican nonprofit leader and pastor from Gig Harbor, will campaign for the other House seat, which Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor, is vacating. Renee Hernandez Greenfield, who works at the Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton, is running for the same position as a Democrat. Conor Wilson, covering health for Gig Harbor Now, is with the Washington State Murrow Fellowships, a local news program supported by state legislators. LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SREF, the global forum founded by UK PropTech 'Future Leader' winner Peter Panayi, announced a landmark partnership with Immobilien Zeitung (IZ), Germany's leading professional real estate publication. Under the agreement, IZ becomes SREF's Global Media Sponsor and Research Partner, strengthening international collaboration between the UK and German real estate investment communities. SREF and Immobilien Zeitung to unite UK and German real estate ecosystems (PRNewsfoto/The Sustainable Real Estate Forum) Bridging Markets through Data and Intelligence The partnership provides SREF with direct access to IZ's proprietary research and analytics. By merging market data from IZ Research, the company's market leading real estate intelligence tool, with SREF's validated case studies, the collaboration offers decision-makers deeper insight into cross-border economics and sustainable asset performance. "For more than three decades, Immobilien Zeitung has been a trusted voice for Europe's real estate industry," says Brigitte Mallmann-Bansa, Editor-in-Chief, Immobilien Zeitung. "Partnering with SREF allows us to share research that goes beyond reportingit demonstrates what works and why, shaping a new level of collaboration between the UK, Germany, and the wider global investment ecosystem," adds Martin Beyerlein, Head of Sales, IZ Research. Launch of a Cross-Border Newsletter The partnership's goal is to establish a cross-border real estate community. IZ will provide this community with the most important and relevant aspects of the German real estate market. To this end, the new English-language, 'IZ Germany Real Estate Update', newsletter will soon be launched. It is curated and edited by the Immobilien Zeitung editorial team. Showcasing SREF's Global Studies As Global Media Sponsor, Immobilien Zeitung will showcase SREF's global studies and key findings across its media platforms and events, highlighting how data-driven collaboration is reshaping global sustainable investment. IZ will also feature coverage from SREF's invite-only global forums held in London, Paris, New York, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Dubai, expanding the visibility of leading-edge real estate research to a global readership. Our mission is to bridge intelligence, not just markets," said Peter Panayi, Founder of SREF. "With Immobilien Zeitung's audience and IZ Research' market data, SREF's studies will reach a broader business community, turning data into actionable strategies for global real estate leaders." About SREF SREF is the premier global forum for C-level leaders from real estate, asset management, and investment firms, partnering with the world's leading organisations, including RICS. Through invite-only events across London, Paris, New York, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Dubai, and through rigorously validated case studies, SREF delivers actionable strategies that unite sustainability, profitability, and risk mitigation. President Donald Trump is signaling he will soon endorse someone in the Texas primary. Key Republican players are scrambling to make the case for incumbent John Cornyn and hoping Trump acts fast. "I hope it's going to be soon," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday, just hours after making his latest plea on Cornyns behalf to the president. At stake is $100 million or more in Republican donor money that many in D.C. party circles believe could be burned in the 12-week runoff showdown with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who finished closely behind Cornyn in Tuesdays GOP primary. Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the money that stands to be incinerated, party operatives fear the scorched-earth campaign will give a further leg up to Democratic candidate James Talarico, the state lawmaker who won his partys primary outright Tuesday. In a lengthy Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump spelled out that he was mindful of a costly internecine fight. I will be making my Endorsement soon, he wrote, as he called on the candidate he doesnt endorse to DROP OUT OF THE RACE, stressing that Republicans must TOTALLY FOCUS on beating the Radical Left Opponent. Cornyns Senate colleagues delivered a succession of public and private entreaties to the president throughout the day Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said in an exclusive interview for POLITICOs The Conversation that Cornyn was "without a doubt the candidate to win in November. The episode is set for publication Friday. "There's nothing more powerful than President Trump's endorsement," Britt added, speaking before she traveled to the White House for a roundtable event with Trump. Multiple Republicans delivered a similar message directly to Trump, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private conversations sharing their concerns that a Senate seat that has been in GOP hands since 1961 could be at risk of flipping in November if the scandal-dogged Paxton is the top of the ticket. Senate Republicans were told during their closed-door lunch Wednesday that Trump will soon endorse in the race, two attendees said, but not whom the president will back. Advertisement Advertisement But there was a palpable sense of hope among some of Cornyns allies Wednesday, who believe that things are aligning in the incumbents favor as he appears on track to win a plurality in Tuesdays voting. As of Wednesday evening Cornyn led Paxton by about 25,000 votes with more than 95 percent of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. That represented an overperformance, some Cornyn allies argued, given that several pre-election polls had him soundly trailing Paxton. A Cornyn campaign aide said there is new momentum and new support coming after Tuesdays results. The case got stronger because of last night that's undeniable, the aide said about Trump endorsing Cornyn. There certainly are lots of conversations happening, lots of people who are seeing the bigger picture. Advertisement Advertisement Arriving in the Senate Wednesday evening, Cornyn declined to answer questions about the possibility of an endorsement or anything else as his colleagues warmly welcomed him back to Washington. Big John, said No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Barrasso of Wyoming, greeting Cornyn as he rushed into the Capitol after a flight from Texas. Several former Trump campaign aides are now associated with Cornyns campaign and are thought to be lobbying on his behalf. But Trump has long been personally fond of Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who eagerly joined his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential contest that elected Joe Biden. Paxton said in a Wednesday interview with Real America's Voice that he "staying in this race" no matter whom Trump endorses. Advertisement Advertisement "I owe it to the people of Texas," he said. "I've spent a year of my life campaigning against John Cornyn because John has not represented the people of Texas well. ... Everything that Trump stood for, John Cornyn's fought." A Republican close to the Paxton campaign, granted anonymity to speak candidly before Trump sent his Truth Social message, said Trump knows that the base despises Cornyn and would not risk alienating them by endorsing the sitting senator. He knows Cornyn is a squish and RINO, he said. But he's got to make a pragmatic decision. It just kind of depends on what folks are telling him. Hopes for a quick endorsement for Cornyn could be on hold as the final votes are counted and his lead over Paxton is confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement Any president would prefer to be positioned with the winning campaign, said one GOP donor, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the endorsement dynamics. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on when the president will endorse and which candidate. Talarico clinching the nomination while two well-financed Republicans beat each other up is exactly the scenario Washington Republicans were hoping to avoid ahead of Tuesdays election. Internal polling released earlier this month by the Senate GOPs campaign arm showed Paxton would lose the general election to Talarico by 3 points while Cornyn could beat him by 3 points. The Republican close to the Paxton campaign said the attorney general is well positioned to win a runoff given that the primary electorate tends to be more conservative and that Talarico is more beatable than Washington Republicans believe, given his past comments on transgender rights and his liberal view of the Bible. The person said Paxtons data modeling showed a Cornyn plurality was a possibility. Advertisement Advertisement I guess its fair to say he was a little bit stronger than expected, but again it wasnt too far up from our data, the person said. Still, the strong showing gave Cornyns colleagues a prime opportunity to argue that it was time to bring the rivalry to an end. John Cornyn is the best bet to win the November election, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally known to have the presidents ear. Barrasso added that he, too, would encourage Trump to back his Texas colleague, adding that its critically important for John Cornyn to be the nominee. We need to hold that seat which means we need to nominate someone who is going to win in November, Barrasso added. The person that will win in November is John Cornyn. Dasha Burns and Adam Wren contributed to this report. Robert Josh Grossman, Kouri Richins boyfriend in the months before and after her husbands death, testified about messages and conversations they shared during her jury trial on Wednesday. Grossman read through many text messages verifying they were between him and Richins. At times he put his head down or wiped away tears as their private conversations were displayed for public audiences. Less than a month before her husbands death, according to the texts, Richins asked him, If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would? Grossman responded Yes. In Love with Y O U! Of course I would. Advertisement Advertisement A few days alter, she texted that she wants a future with him. If he could just go away and you could just be here! Life would be so perfect!!! she told Grossman. Hanging on Grossman said he met Kouri Richins in South Carolina around 2017 and helped her flip homes. Their romantic relationship started around 2020 when he moved to Utah to help her flip homes. He said he would live in the homes she was flipping, and she would occasionally pay him. He said he loved her, and he thinks she loved him as well. Many of the texts shown to jurors discussed challenges of their relationship; Kouri Richins apologized for not having time to spend with him. Advertisement Advertisement I really enjoy my relationship and love for you.. but (youre) right.. we both know this love triangle cant go on forever. You dont deserve it, I dont deserve you. I cant expect you to sit around for the day the trigger gets pulled, Richins said in a December 2021 message. Richins talked to Grossman about purchasing homes in Park City and said it was a HUGE deal, and said she grew up scrubbing toilets for rich people in Park City and told herself she would own those homes one day. On Jan. 9, 2022, Richins asked Grossman if he had done drugs besides marijuana, and how recently. Kouri Richins is accused of fatally poisoning her husband on March 4, 2022. She is also accused of slipping drugs into his food, making him sick, on Feb. 14, 2022. On that Valentines Day, Grossman confirmed they had made plans to spend the day together. Texts around Eric Richins death Kouri Richins was texting Grossman the week her husband died, and he said they had plans to meet up that day, a Friday, for brunch to celebrate signing the closing documents on a mansion. She told him a few days earlier, Can I try Friday? Give me a few days? Hang in there until then please? Advertisement Advertisement Grossman said he never got the impression that meant Eric Richins would be out of the picture by Friday. At 5:51 p.m. the day before Eric Richins died, Grossman texted, I will happily take any bit of time I get with you! But, if were going to celebrate, I want to celebrate! Blow up balloons, champagne, I wanna be there when the news comes in! Seeing and hearing your reaction! Waiting to pounce on you with the hugs and kisses, the confetti and the music! It took a while for Kouri Richins to respond, prompting Grossman to say dont be mad! Around 8:30 p.m., Kouri Richins texted, Im not mad at you, at all. Just havent had a second to text.. give me a few.. love you. They didnt text again until the following morning when he asked what was going on. She eventually texted, Eric passed away. and talk later. Later, she told him they thought he died from an aneurysm. Advertisement Advertisement Grossman testified that about two weeks after Eric Richins death, they went into the Uinta Mountains and talked about his death for the first time. He said she did not seem happy he was gone but seemed like she was grieving. We sat there and talked for quite a while. I had never seen her that way, obviously, and it was a heavy conversation, and Im not used to that with her. Shes not used to being open like that, he said. She asked if I had ever killed anybody. She asked me how it made me feel or something along those lines. And then I answered her. He said at the time, he did not for a minute think Eric Richins was killed, let alone that Kouri Richins was involved. Grossman said the question was not surprising. He explained she was exhausted emotionally and that it may have been a way to switch the conversation to him. The two continued dating for a few more months, but Grossman said things werent the same after Eric Richins death. Grossman said he was overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow after hearing she had been arrested, and reached out to Eric Richins family, who connected him with their private investigator. Other testimony Before Grossmans testimony, jurors heard from multiple people who helped set up or distribute Eric Richins life insurance policies. Advertisement Advertisement Kristal Bowman-Carter, who helped Eric Richins set up a trust, said she received a call from an officer who passed the phone to Kouri Richins the day Eric Richins died. She said she explained that their home belonged to a trust and that it seemed Richins was unaware of the trust. She was livid, she was upset and she said what is wrong with you people and handed the phone back to the officer, I believe, she said. A divorce attorney, Christina Miller, testified about meeting with Eric Richins in October 2020. She said they talked about changing his estate plan and power of attorney, something that was rare for her clients. One of Kouri Richins attorneys, Wendy Lewis, asked for a mistrial, the second mistrial the defense has requested. She said they obtained information that Carmen Lauber, who testified about providing drugs to Kouri Richins, violated her drug court agreement, and texts between her and her supervisor were disclosed. Advertisement Advertisement Whats in these text messages should have been available; I could have used this on cross examination. Its different than what she testified to, Lewis said. Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik asked for a written motion on the issue. The trial is available to watch here: Espanola Mayor John Ramon Vigil lost his reelection bid Tuesday night; according to preliminary results, former city councilor Dennis Tim Salazar appears to have beaten him handily. Catch up on that and the other races here. In case you missed it, check out Clara Bates' latest in today's paper on the Epstein saga, this time looking at the multiple reports over the years that Jeffrey Epstein moved Native American petroglyphs hundreds of years old on Zorro Ranch for use as decorations. See the email quotes and photos and read reactions from archaeologists and the All Pueblo Council of Governors. Bates also had a story in Monday's paper taking a deeper look at Epstein's yearslong relationship with New Mexico's King political family. Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich announced Monday he will oppose the nomination of Steve Pearce, a former Republican congressman and head of the New Mexico Republican Party, to lead the federal Bureau of Land Management. The New Mexico Democrat's position did not come as a surprise he has been critical of Pearce's nomination for months. The primaries are in three months, and both the Democratic and Republican parties are holding their preprimary conventions in the Ruidoso area this weekend. Speaking of the primaries, if you're in Albuquerque tomorrow evening and want to hear from some of the candidates for governor, head to NewSpace Nexus, 2420 Alamo Ave. SE #104, for a public meet and greet hosted by the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce. It starts at 5 p.m. with remarks for the candidates at 6 p.m. Attendees are expected to include Democrats Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman and Republicans Jim Ellison, Gregg Hull, Steve Lanier, Duke Rodriguez and Doug Turner. Independent candidate Ken Miyagishima will be represented by staff. ROY, Utah (ABC4) On Tuesday, Roy City Police Department arrested a suspect in a double homicide that occurred in Las Vegas. 22-year-old Ziaire Jacob Ham has been charged with failing to stop or respond at command of police (third-degree felony), reckless driving (Class B misdemeanor), and theft/receiving a firearm or operable motor vehicle (second-degree felony). Arrest documents state that the Las Vegas Police department will be flying to Utah and interviewing Ham in relation to a homicide in their jurisdiction. Advertisement Advertisement Day 8: Kouri Richins murder trial continues with testimonies on life insurance policy changes According to a recent press release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), they were conducting a vehicle stop near Starr Avenue and I-15 on March 2, 2026, at approximately 9:08 p.m. In the same area, there were multiple reports of gunfire. LVMPD officers canvassed the area and found a vehicle near the 11000 block of Victoria Medici Street that had multiple bullet impacts. Inside the vehicle were a female and a toddler, both of whom appeared to have been shot. Unfortunately, while both individuals were transported to the hospital, they were pronounced deceased. Advertisement Advertisement At this time, LVMPD says the investigation is still ongoing and have not said whether or not an individual has been arrested. However, according to Roy Police Departments arrest records, the vehicle Ham was driving has been listed in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in relation to a Las Vegas homicide. How to make ABC4 your preferred news source on Google Roy Police Department (RPD) initially stopped Ham in the 600 block of 30th street on March 3 around 3:58 p.m., after realizing that the vehicle was listed as stolen. When officers attempted to make a traffic stop, Ham allegedly fled from them. Around 17 minutes later, officers again located the vehicle, but Ham fled again. They eventually located the vehicle in a driveway in Roy and the driver, identified as Ham, a couple blocks away. Advertisement Advertisement Upon further investigation, officers determined that the vehicle had been listed as being used in a homicide in Las Vegas. Additionally, Ham had reported that his most recent address was out of Las Vegas. Because of the seriousness of the homicide case, Ziaire is being held without bail. Latest headlines: Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. The Royal Navy destroyer deployed to protect Cyprus from Iran has been delayed in order to allow staff to finish welding. Al Carns, a defence minister, said HMS Dragon would not leave Portsmouth until engineers had finished a variety of different bits of maintenance. Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised over deciding to deploy a Type 45 destroyer to protect the RAF Akroriti base in Cyprus on Tuesday more than 72 hours after the conflict began. Advertisement Advertisement Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, told Newsnight that the people of Cyprus were disappointed by the Prime Ministers response. On Wednesday, The Telegraph revealed that HMS Dragon would not arrive in the Eastern Mediterranean for another fortnight, including a week of maintenance in a dry dock in Portsmouth and a week of sailing. HMS Duncan was the only other ship available for the mission on Tuesday, but The Telegraph understands it was also due for routine maintenance after taking part in an exercise in Wales last month, when it had problems with its 30mm gun. It has also not undergone a major propulsion overhaul to improve its engines, which have previously proven unreliable in the hotter waters of the Mediterranean and the Gulf, causing ships to break down. Al Carns said HMS Dragon would be deployed to the region as fast as possible - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire The other four Type 45 destroyers in the Royal Navy are also undergoing maintenance, including three undergoing long-term works and a fourth, HMS Dauntless, receiving maintenance to return her to full operational capability after returning from an eight-month deployment with the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier. Advertisement Advertisement The various issues meant not a single destroyer in the Royal Navy was ready for immediate deployment when the Iran conflict broke out. Mr Carns told Sky News that HMS Dragon would be deployed to the region as fast as possible but that it had been fitted out for a different task when the order was received for it to deploy on Tuesday. We have now completely re-rolled it, he said, We are going through a variety of different bits of maintenance to make sure, as fast as possible, we can get that system up and running. We have had to change weapons systems on it, finish welding, get it up and running, and get it sailing as fast as possible. Advertisement Advertisement That asset is specifically designed to protect a carrier strike group and work within a CSG, which was planning to go elsewhere. So to deploy that point defence asset is not the only way that we can defend our regional allies in the Mediterranean. HMS Duncan passes HMS Prince of Wales as it leaves Portsmouth harbour this week - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire In the hours after the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran on Saturday, Sir Keir chaired an emergency Cobra meeting in Westminster. Orders were then sent to military chiefs at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood to design an urgent response, with Lt Gen Nick Perry, Britains chief of joint operations, tasked with delivering options to ministers. Defence sources said the options for a naval deployment would have been limited because of the maintenance issues with the Type 45 fleet. Advertisement Advertisement In previous years, the UK would have had at least two high-end warships at high readiness A Type 45 destroyer and a submarine-hunting Type 23 frigate. Those two vessels were the break glass response for Britain in the event of a crisis, with crews trained and ships ready for combat. However, the Navy has struggled to deploy vessels, with a bulk of the fleet having come back from a nine-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific just before Christmas, meaning many needed to undergo pre-planned maintenance. The problems were so acute that the fleet had all but withdrawn from the Middle East, leaving HMS Middleton, a lightly armed minehunter, as Britains only warship in the region. Advertisement Advertisement It does not have weapons to defend against drones or missiles the most serious threat facing Western assets in the region. The Telegraph understands that a decision to deploy HMS Dragon was delivered to Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the Armed Forces, at 9.30am on Tuesday. Sir Keir later confirmed that the ship would be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, but he has since faced criticism from Cyprus and Middle Eastern allies for Britains slow reaction to the Iranian conflict, which was signalled by Donald Trump for several weeks before it began on Saturday morning. On Wednesday, Cypruss high commissioner to the UK said his people were disappointed by the Governments failure to protect the base, adding: The people are scared, the people could expect more. Credit: X/ @BBCNewsnight Advertisement Advertisement Spain has announced that it will send a frigate to the Eastern Mediterranean, which will arrive before HMS Dragon, while France has sent Charles de Gaulle, its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. MoD sources insisted that the UK prepared for the outbreak of war by sending fast jets, radar and anti-drone technology to the region to protect British assets. However, the defences were not enough to stop a one-way attack drone launched by an Iranian proxy in Lebanon on Sunday, which exploded on RAF Akrotiris runway shortly afterwards. An RAF Typhoon takes off from RAF Akrotiri. The base was hit by a drone launched by an Iranian proxy in Lebanon - Joshua Whiting/MOD/AFP via Getty Images One senior defence source told The Telegraph: Whether youre acting offensively or defensively, you need to get ahead of the threat. You cant argue with the fact that we didnt. Advertisement Advertisement James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, told The Telegraph: The world knew weeks ago that the United States was preparing to strike Iran. The British armed forces are adept at planning and would have been able to get naval assets ready to deploy if the political will was there to make it happen, but that political will was nowhere to be seen. This is not a failure of the Royal Navy. It is a failure of leadership from Labour. Middle Eastern allies have also complained that Britain has done too little to defend them from Iranian counterattacks, which began almost immediately after the joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. Meanwhile, the UK has faced even stronger criticism from Mr Trump, who complained that Sir Keir did not allow him to use British bases in the region to launch the attacks. Advertisement Advertisement The US president said that his bombers had been forced to fly longer missions because closer bases including Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands were not made available by the UK. On Monday, Mr Trump told The Telegraph he was very disappointed in the Prime Minister, while on Tuesday he said Sir Keir was not Winston Churchill and he ruins relationships. Sir Keir has now allowed the US to use the bases, providing they only facilitate limited defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites to prevent further attacks on allies in the region. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. The US Secretary of State called officials from the three countries following recent attacks by Iran on their territories. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Wednesday the foreign ministers of Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey following Iran's attacks on the Mideast countries, Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a series of statements. Rubio and Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos discussed the recent developments in Iran and the broader Middle East region after an Iranian drone targeted a British military base in Cyprus over the weekend. The two leaders also affirmed the countries' strong alliance, said Pigott. Advertisement Advertisement Following the attack, the UK, France, and Greece pledged to send military assistance to the island, including counter-drone capabilities and F-16 fighter jets. In his talk with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Rubio expressed gratitude for the country's response to an attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday. The embassy caught on fire after being attacked by two suspected Iranian drones, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry. Following the attack, the ministry reported interceptions of eight drones near the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj. A fence at the entrance of RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus that was hit by a drone early Monday, causing limited damage, in Cyprus March 4, 2026. (credit: YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU/REUTERS) Rubio and bin Farhan discussed the continued threats the Iranian regime poses to regional stability, as well as other developments in the region. US pledges support to Turkey Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also in contact with Rubio, who pledged full support from the US and said that "attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable," according to Pigott. Both leaders reiterated the continued strength of the bilateral relationship. Advertisement Advertisement North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defenses intercepted on Wednesday an Iranian missile bound for Turkey, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. The incident marks the first time that NATO member Turkey, Iran's neighbor to the northwest, has been drawn into the expanding conflict in the Middle East. There are just two days left for those interested in running for governor of Georgia to officially qualify and get their names on the ballot. As of publication, less than half of those who announced races have qualified, but several other names could be on the way. Here's what we know: GA Democratic governor candidates Democrats who qualified so far include Derrick Jackson, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, and Keisha Bottoms. Other candidates listed by Ballotpedia include Olu Brown and Michael Thurmond. GA Republican governor candidates Republicans who qualified so far include Brad Raffensperger and Chris Carr. Here are the other candidates listed by Ballotpedia: Advertisement Advertisement Clark Dean Rick Jackson Burt Jones Gregg Kirkpatrick Leland Olinger II Ken Yasger How to qualify for Georgia governor election According to Georgia's candidate qualifying handbook, those interested in running for governor must have been a U.S. citizen for at least 15 years, at least 30 years old by the time they take office, and must have been a legal Georgia resident for at least six years before the election. Candidates should bring a valid photo ID, a completed notice of candidacy and affidavit, and a qualifying fee of $5,549.78 to the State Capitol; room 230 for Democrats and room 216 for Republicans. For more info, go to georgia.gov/run-public-office. Is Brian Kemp running for governor again? Gov. Brian Kemp is not running for governor as Georgia does not allow more than two consecutive four-year terms. Russian overnight drone attacks on Ukraine's north-eastern Kharkiv region caused injury to several people in the Chuhuiv district, regional prosecutors reported on Thursday. Four people were injured when a drone struck close to a residential block in the village of Novopokrovka to the west of Chuhuiv, and five more suffered acute stress. Three people suffered stress in Kamyana Yaruga, a village to the north-west of Chuhuiv. According to the World Health Organization, acute stress can lead to flashbacks and nightmares. Advertisement Advertisement In the Black Sea city of Odessa in the south-west of the country, Governor Oleh Kiper reported an attack on a commercial vessel flying the Panama flag. The ship had left the port of Chornomorsk lying south of Odessa carrying maize, he said. Kiper said that crew members had suffered injury but did not provide details. In Russia, Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region to the east of Ukraine, reported three people injured in Ukrainian drone attacks without specifying where the attacks took place. The region on the Volga River is home to an oil refinery and a major military airbase. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. CAIRO (AP) A Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, authorities in the North African country said Wednesday. Russia asserted that an attack by Ukrainian sea drones was to blame. The Libyan Maritime Authority reported sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire on the Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday, when it was about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the city of Sirte. The tanker, carrying 61,000 tons of LNG, completely sank between Libya and Malta, a statement said. All 30 crew members were rescued and put on another vessel heading to the Libyan city of Benghazi, it said. Advertisement Advertisement Russias Transport Ministry said the vessel was hit by Ukrainian sea drones launched from the Libyan coast. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening called what happened to the tanker a terrorist attack that exacerbates the situation on global energy markets, including gas markets. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment on the accusation. Previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships have reportedly come from the Libyan coast, though Kyiv officials havent publicly confirmed those reports. In the past, Ukraines military has said it used sea drones to sink Russian vessels in the Black Sea as part of efforts to combat Russias full-scale invasion, which began just over four years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Last October, Ukraines state security service unveiled an upgraded sea drone, called the Sea Baby, which it said had a range of 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) and could carry a warhead up to 2,000 kilograms (about 4,400 pounds). The tanker that sank was under Western sanctions, suspected to be part of Russias shadow fleet of energy tankers trying to bypass sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The Metagaz had sailed from the northwestern Russian city of Murmansk on the Barents Sea and was bound for Port Said in Egypt, on the Mediterranean, the Libyan Maritime Authority said. Its last reported position was in the western Mediterranean off the coast of Malta, according to MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking platform. Egypt denied any links to the vessel and said the tanker was not en route to any Egyptian port, according to a statement by its petroleum ministry Wednesday evening. ___ AP writer Dasha Litvinova contributed to this report from Tallinn, Estonia. RUTLAND, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) A historic write-in mayors race in Rutland ended late Tuesday night with a clear winner and ABC22/FOX44 sat down with mayor-elect Tom Donahue to find out what hell focus on. Ive gotten so many phone calls, texts, emails honestly, in all the years Ive been doing this, I have never seen so much positive energy, he said. Just hours after securing victory on town meeting day, Donahue went around Rutland collecting his campaign signs and saying hello with many sharing kind words in return. Advertisement Advertisement And what better endorsement to have than one from the local barber whos been around for more than 50 years? Hes smart, hes knowledgeable, hes got a lot of experience in business, said Cal Josselyn. And state Rep. Christopher Howland (R-Rutland) said the city will have an opportunity to really start making some change. Rutland police chief announces retirement, interim chief already appointed Donahue says he hopes to grow Rutlands police force to deal with crime which also ties into another priority of his, economic development. If you have a reputation for public safety, you will be able to attract people that want to live here, he said. Youll attract people that want to shop here, and youll attract people who want to do their business here, work here, and invest here. Advertisement Advertisement Rutland City passes TIF bond vote Another topic Donahue says hell focus on is housing. He said that Rutland will be able to apply for an Act 181 exemption from certain housing restrictions, making it easier to build for both housing and businesses in the city. We will be able to have that as a real plus why locate your business in Rutland, Vermont? Why expand your business in Rutland, Vermont? Because well be able to be working with you hand-in-hand on your permitting, and it wont be going through the Act 250 process. Donahue will officially step into the role on Sunday, March 15. He did, however, say that he is realistic about what he can accomplish given that he only has a year before the next election in 2027. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Stanley Black & Decker said it will eliminate roughly 300 positions in New Britain, Connecticut, and close a manufacturing facility that produces single-sided tape measures as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. The move is tied to what the company described as a sustained decline in demand for the product category. The New Britain site primarily manufactures single-sided tape measures, which the company said are becoming obsolete in certain markets. "As a result of a structural decline in demand for single-sided tape measures, we have decided to close our facility in New Britain that predominantly makes these products," Debora Raymond, vice president of external communications for Stanley Black & Decker, said in a statement to WFSB. "These products are quickly becoming obsolete in the markets we serve." Ebay Cuts 800 Jobs Across Company Operations Just Days After Dropping $1.2B On Trendy Gen Z Fashion App Raymond said the company is focused on assisting affected workers through the transition, including exploring opportunities at other locations as well as providing severance and job placement support for both salaried and hourly employees. The reduction affects approximately half of the companys roughly 600 employees in New Britain as of 2024. Stanley Black & Decker said its world headquarters in the city will remain open. The company has not disclosed a timeline for the facilitys closure. Read On The Fox Business App The decision comes as Stanley Black & Decker continues executing a multiyear cost-reduction and operational simplification plan. Since late 2023, the company has reduced its global workforce by about 7,000 employees and completed a $2 billion savings program that included facility consolidations and supply chain adjustments. Stanley Black & Decker has been headquartered in New Britain since the 19th century, and its longstanding presence contributed to the citys "Hardware City" identity. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged the impact on workers and families, saying workforce transitions are difficult but expressed hope that affected employees will find new opportunities. "Although Stanley has made the decision to discontinue operations for manufacturing outdated products, a change in workforce opportunities is difficult for employees, their families, and any community," Lamont said in a statement to WFSB. "However, I am hopeful that these skilled workers will be repurposed with the help of Stanley Black & Decker, a company that will still proudly be headquartered here in Connecticut. My administration is working closely with local and state leaders to support affected workers and to reimagine the factory site so it can continue to create opportunity and strengthen New Britains economic future." Tehran's missile and drone attacks have crossed a red line for Saudi Arabia in its dealings with the Islamic Republic, prompting the kingdom to begin discussions on the possibility of striking Iran. Saudi Arabia is concerned that Iran may attempt to target senior officials in the kingdom, either directly or via the Houthis in Yemen, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. One of the precautionary measures Riyadh has adopted since the start of the Israeli-American war against Iran is to hold meetings among ministers and other senior officials via video. Advertisement Advertisement According to the source, Saudi leaders do not typically hold high-level video meetings during routine periods. Iran crosses Riyadh's red line with strikes on Saudi soil On Wednesday, KAN News reported that the Saudi leadership had increased security for senior officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father, King Salman, amid concerns that Tehran or the Houthis may attempt to attack them. Since the war began, Iran has launched dozens of missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia. Among the targets hit were the CIA headquarters in Riyadh, Aramco oil facilities, and other civilian infrastructure. This represented a red line for Saudi Arabia in its dealings with Iran - a line that appears to have been crossed, prompting the kingdom to begin discussions about the possibility of striking Iran. Smoke rises above Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5, 2026 (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER) Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told the Post that Saudi Arabias strategic calculations have fundamentally changed because Iran attacked vital civilian infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Riyadh had previously delivered a clear warning to Tehran: if Saudi Arabia remained neutral during a conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran, its infrastructure must remain off-limits, he said. The Iranians, however, told the Saudis that if they faced an existential attack from Israel and the United States, they would strike Saudi Arabia. The Saudi red line was that if their civilian facilities were attacked, they would strike Iran. And that is what is happening now, Haykel said, adding that Saudi leaders are now considering what to do and whether they should respond with a counterattack. This is making them very angry - the Iranian attacks are far worse than they expected, Michael Ratney, the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the Post. However, he added that the kingdoms response may still be restrained due to fears of uncontrollable chaos. I think they will be cautious about their counter-response, because they know it would escalate the conflict to an unpredictable level that they would then have to deal with. Aramcos Ras Tanura refinery, the companys largest domestic facility, has been targeted once again by a drone strike, according to a Saudi Defence Ministry spokesperson. The attempted attack did not cause any damage but comes days after a similar incident forced the temporary closure of the site. The spokesperson said: An attempted attack targeted the Ras Tanura refinery, and preliminary assessments indicate the attack was carried out by a drone, resulting in no damage. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, Iranian Shahed suicide drones struck Ras Tanura, prompting Aramco to halt operations due to concerns over potential disruption to regional energy infrastructure. Following that incident, Aramco suspended exports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) including propane and butane for several weeks, while maintaining local supplies. The company stated it is redirecting certain exports through the Red Sea in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which, according to Iran, remains open solely to Chinese vessels. Saudi Arabia is the worlds leading oil exporter, with much of its petroleum production and infrastructure located along its eastern coast near Iran. The recent attacks come amidst heightened tensions following joint US-Israel strikes on Iran. In response, Iran has taken action against countries it accuses of supporting US military operations in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has also targeted tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. These developments have contributed to higher oil prices. Brent crude climbed $1.11, or 1.4%, to $82.53 per barrel, after finishing at its highest price since January 2025 in the previous session. Other incidents in the region include drone strikes on a fuel tank in Oman and an oil storage zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Omans port of Duqm was targeted for a second time in three days by several drones, according to a security source quoted by the Oman News Agency. These attacks occurred after Iran expanded its targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar despite Omans recent mediation efforts between Iran and the US. Advertisement Advertisement In Iraq, the second-largest crude producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, authorities have reduced output by nearly 1.5 million barrels per day, roughly half of total production, due to storage limitations and a lack of export options. As disruptions continue across key oil-producing nations, countries such as India and Indonesia are seeking alternative energy suppliers, while some Chinese refineries have either shut down or brought forward maintenance schedules. "Saudi Arabia reports another drone attack on Ras Tanura refinery" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. COLUMBIA Proposals to name roadways after Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist shot to death on a Utah college campus last year, and President Donald Trump drew the ire of the Houses Black Democrats before advancing Thursday. Two of the resolutions would put Kirks name on roadside markers: A portion of Highway 76 in Laurens County would become Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway and a McCormick County bridge along Highway 378 would be Charlie Kirk Memorial Bridge. Another would dub the so-far nonexistent Interstate 73 through Marlboro, Dillon, Marion and Horry counties the President Donald J. Trump Highway. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the longest-serving member of the House, took issue with all three, causing a rare debate on road-naming, which is usually a routine process. Advertisement Advertisement I am so amazed at this rush to honor people who have no honor, in my opinion, the Orangeburg Democrat said from the floor Thursday, with most of the Legislative Black Caucus gathered behind her. Kirk, founder of conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck Sept. 10 while holding one of his signature prove me wrong debates at an outdoor amphitheater at Utah Valley University. Kirk would invite college students to argue with him, often in front of crowds of hundreds or thousands of their peers, on hot-button topics. Kirks supporters lauded the events as a way of hearing from both sides, but his opponents argue he didnt argue in good faith and instead used the events as a mouthpiece for his own divisive views. Tell me, what did he do to deserve honor? Cobb-Hunter asked her colleagues. Divide? Kirk frequently made polarizing remarks about women, LGBTQ people and people in racial minorities during those events and on his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Hamilton Grant, a Columbia Democrat, quoted some of Kirks comments disparaging Black people from the floor Thursday. Those are nasty, disgusting things to say about the people who sit with, about the people you collaborate with, said Grant, who is Black. What are you saying about us with this vote? Grant said. Rep. Luke Rankin, who sponsored the bill renaming the highway after Kirk, called Kirk a unifier who invited different viewpoints and encouraged college students to get involved in politics. Kirk, who has no ties to South Carolina, inspired 28-year-old Rankin, who frequently listened to the activists podcast, the Laurens Republican told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement His passing affected me deeply and profoundly and will have a lasting impact on the rest of my political career, Rankin said. People need to know that Charlie Kirk was a champion of the pro-life cause, was a strong and devout Christian (who) advocated for family values. The road-naming bill passed in a vote of 75-31, primarily along party lines. Reps. Neal Collins, of Easley, and Tom Hartnett, of Mount Pleasant, were the only Republicans to vote against it. No Democrat voted for it. The bridge-naming resolution passed 75-29, with Collins as the only Republican no vote and Hartnett not voting. No Republican voted against naming the proposed Interstate 73 through the Pee Dee after Trump, though Democrats raised similar concerns to the resolutions about Kirk. The resolution passed 76-28. The interstate has been on the wish list of Myrtle Beach-area officials for decades as a way to provide tourists a four-way, nonstop path to the Grand Strand. In 1991, Congress called a Michigan-to-Myrtle Beach route, via Interstates 73 and 74, a high priority. Its been a topic of debate ever since. Advertisement Advertisement Horry County Council approved a similar resolution last month, in the hopes that putting Trumps name on the proposed interstate might spur him into offering the $2 billion necessary for construction. Plans for the first phase of work are complete, but transportation officials lack the money to actually get started. Trump, with his renowned business savvy and financial acumen, has championed this project, reads the resolution, sponsored by Myrtle Beach-area Rep. Heather Crawford. The state received a permit for construction in 2017, under Trumps administration, though environmental groups challenged it in court. Cobb-Hunter pointed to a New York jurys conviction of Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in 2024 as one reason the state shouldnt name anything after him. The charges were related to payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of his 2016 win. Advertisement Advertisement I dont think Trump deserves it, Cobb-Hunter told reporters. Hes a 34-time convicted felon. He shouldnt even be president. Trump and his supporters contend the New York civil and criminal cases against him were part of a political witch hunt to keep him from getting back into office. South Carolina voters chose Trump every time he was on the ballot. In 2024, he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by 18 percentage points, the widest of his three general election wins for the Palmetto States electoral votes. Sam Castaneda Holdren had never had any dealings with Scouting America. He had never been part of the organization, never volunteered with it. He never learned how to pitch a tent or to distinguish edible from toxic mushrooms. Thats why he also never imagined he would find himself defending against a lawsuit brought by it. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. But in late February, the youth organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America sued the Arizona entrepreneur over the name of his LGBTQ-focused travel brand: Queer Scout. Advertisement Advertisement Related: Pete Hegseth declares that Scouting America will eliminate transgender tolerance & diversity programs Related: Scouting America says transgender kids are still welcome after Pete Hegseth claimed they werent ( The lawsuit, filed February 25 in federal court in Texas, accuses Holdrens companies, Toro International LLC and Q Tours LLC, of trademark infringement and unfair competition tied to the use of the word scout. Scouting America argues the brand improperly trades on a family of trademarks built around the terms SCOUT, SCOUTS, and SCOUTING, which the organization says have been associated with its youth programs for more than a century. The complaint asks a judge to block Holdren from using the name Queer Scout, along with any related websites and social media accounts, and seeks damages and attorneys fees. Advertisement Advertisement For Holdren, who runs LGBTQ+ travel experiences in Colombia through the company Out in Colombia, the lawsuit felt surreal. Were just a small LGBTQ-owned travel company serving adult travelers, Holdren said in an interview with The Advocate. Its really difficult to see how anyone could realistically confuse an LGBTQ tourism brand called Queer Scout with a youth scouting organization. A travel brand built around queer community The brand grew out of Holdrens tourism venture, organizing experiences for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting Colombia. The trips range from boat tours and cultural excursions to nightlife events and community gatherings designed to connect visitors with local queer communities. The business primarily targets adult travelers seeking LGBTQ-friendly tourism experiences. Advertisement Advertisement Nothing about the venture resembles a youth program, Holdren said. Still, Scouting America argues that the name could cause confusion because scouting organizations also organize group outings, trips, and activities. The complaint states that the defendants have used the Queer Scout name in marketing materials, on social media, and on a website promoting the services, and lawyers are asking that this stop. A fight over the word scout Jeremy Kapteyn, an Arizona attorney representing Holdren, said the dispute raises a broader legal question about who can claim exclusive rights to the word scout. There are hundreds of federal trademark registrations that include the term scout or scouts, and over a hundred of those are currently in use in commerce, Kapteyn told The Advocate. Advertisement Advertisement Related: Why the Boy Scouts of America is changing its name and embracing everyone Because the term is so widely used, Kapteyn said, the strength of Scouting Americas claim to exclusive rights over it may be limited. Kapteyn also pointed to a prior legal argument by the Boy Scouts in a dispute with the Girl Scouts, in which the organization argued that the phrase Girl Scouts was distinct from its own trademarks because of the word girl. By that logic, he said, the phrase Queer Scout is even more clearly distinguishable. Queer Scout is at least as distinct, if not more, than Girl Scouts, he said. Kapteyn said he believes the organization may be overreaching in the case. I think the Boy Scouts are overreaching and being a little bit overly aggressive in the face of public evidence that their marks are not as strong as what theyre asserting, he said. Questions about timing The lawsuit also arrives at a complicated moment for Scouting America. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Trump administration Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly pressured the organization to reconsider diversity policies tied to its longstanding relationship with the Pentagon, raising questions about whether the scouting group would continue allowing transgender youth to participate. The organization told The Advocate that all young people would remain welcome in its ranks. Kapteyn said he believes the legal dispute would likely have occurred regardless of the political pressure, though the timing has raised questions. It certainly makes the circumstances a little more interesting, he said, noting that the organization has simultaneously emphasized inclusive policies while facing demands from federal officials to roll them back. Advertisement Advertisement Asked about the lawsuit, Scouting America declined to comment. We do not comment on active litigation, the organization said in an email to The Advocate. A high-stakes fight For Holdren, the case could have significant consequences. Trademark litigation in federal court can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is a daunting prospect for a small travel startup. Kapteyn acknowledged that the imbalance may shape the outcome. In disputes like this, the party with the strongest resources often has a significant advantage, he said. Still, Holdren said he hopes to fight the case if possible. Ive been bullied my whole life, he said. I dont want to back down if I dont have to. Advertisement Advertisement This article originally appeared on Advocate: Scouting America accuses LGBTQ+ travel agency Queer Scout of trademark infringement RELATED As counties across southeast Texas report their unofficial election results, some County Judge primary races have winners, and some are headed for runoffs. In Montgomery County, Mark Keough won the County Judge Republican primary, narrowly defeating Wayne Mack with 51% of the vote, according to the county clerk's office. "Thank you for standing strong, for believing in proven leadership, and for choosing a record of results over political noise. I won't let you down." Keough said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement For Harris County, it appears that both the Democratic and Republican races for County Judge will be going to runoff elections in May, unofficial results show. On the Democratic side, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker led the vote, but only garnered 46.6% of the vote in a crowded race for judge, according to unofficial results. Parker is expected to go to a runoff election against Councilmember Letitia Plummer, who won 37.3% of the vote. The Republicans also faced a crowded race for County Judge, with Orlando Sanchez, a former City of Houston Councilmember and Harris County Treasurer, and Warren Howell set to go to their own runoff election in May, according to election officials. Sanchez said he was confident entering election day but not overly confident. With six candidates in the race, he said he expected it to go to a runoff, which will be held in May. Advertisement Advertisement Both Parker and Sanchez told ABC13 they will lean on their experience in office. The winner in November will replace Judge Lina Hidalgo, who announced in 2025 that she would not seek a third term. KP George came in last on the Republican ticket for Fort Bend County judge and is expected to lose his seat. In Fort Bend County, incumbent Judge KP George is expected to lose his seat, coming in last on the Republican ticket. George, who initially aligned as a Democrat, switched his party to Republican this election after he was criminally charged in two cases. According to unofficial results, Daniel Wong will receive the nomination after winning 54% of the vote in a crowded field. For Fort Bend County Democrats, the race for the County Judge nomination will go to a runoff. Dexter McCoy led the vote with 40.4% of the vote, but he is expected to go up against Rachelle Carter, who won 18.9 % of the vote, according to unofficial election results. A man accused of killing three women in Utah on Wednesday allegedly confessed to the murders, telling local authorities it "had to be done." The man, Ivan Miller, 22, was arrested and charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated murder, according to charging documents filed in the Sixth District Court in Utah. Miller was captured earlier in the day by Colorado law enforcement in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. On Thursday night, the Utah Department of Public Safety said the victims were Margaret Oldroyd, 86; Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, who was 34, and that Dewey was Graves' aunt, but there was no evidence that they knew Oldroyd. Advertisement Advertisement Miller told law enforcement that he shot the women with a .45-caliber pistol and stabbed one of them multiple times, according to the charging documents which were obtained by CBS News. When asked what he had done with the knife he had used, Miller "produced the knife during the interview with law enforcement," police said. He told law enforcement that "he did not like" killing the women, but did it because he needed money. Miller said that he stayed the night before the murders in a shed after traveling to Lyman, Utah, according to the charging documents. Miller told law enforcement that he then entered a woman's home, waited for her behind a door, and shot her in the back of the head. Ivan Miller / Credit: Archuleta County Sheriff's Office He then took the woman's Buick, "but he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle," police said. Miller then drove to the trailhead, where he saw two women get out of a white Subaru. Miller said that he went up to the women and shot one in what he thought was the chest and then shot the other one twice and then stabbed her multiple times in the "heart," according to the charging documents. Advertisement Advertisement Miller told law enforcement that he dragged both of the victims to a ditch, then took their credit cards and used one to buy gas, according to the charging documents. Miller told law enforcement he was trying to return home to Iowa and stopped in Pagosa Springs to get gas. Miller ditched the white Subaru at a gas station after spotting a police officer. He stayed nearby in hopes he would get his car back. Police said in charging documents that they found Miller "in the vicinity of the abandoned Subaru." Dewey's and Graves' husbands were the ones who found their bodies on the trail and called the communications center, the DPS said. "Our family is dealing with the shock of the devastating loss of two members of our family who were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on earth cherished by them and the community, considered to be a safe sanctuary. They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened," the Dewey family said in a statement on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Utah's Department of Public Safety said investigators used license plate cameras and other tools to track Miller through southern Utah, into Northern Arizona and eventually into Colorado in one of the victim's vehicles. Colorado law enforcement found it abandoned in Pagosa Springs. After a brief search, Colorado law enforcement took Miller into custody without incident, the department said. Miller remains in custody in Colorado, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said. There was no ongoing threat or other suspects, the Department of Public Safety said. The Associated Press reported that Scott Van Zandt, a public defender representing Miller, said during a court hearing Friday that his client doesn't want to speak to police or media. The DPS said a manhunt began when the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center received a call about two bodies found on a hiking trail on Wednesday. As investigators looked into their deaths, a third victim was found in a residence in the town of Torrey. The department said it was processing two crime scenes. Advertisement Advertisement The DPS had asked for the public's assistance in locating a 2022 white Subaru Outback. Authorities conduct an investigation at a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. / Credit: George Frey / AP (Ajax9 / Getty Images) While the suspect was on the loose, law enforcement had urged residents in Torrey and the surrounding area to "take extra precautions, such as locking doors, remaining at home or with others, and being vigilant about surroundings," as well as reporting suspicious activity to 911. Officials from the Wayne County School District said classes were canceled for the rest of the week "out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety," CBS Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV reported. The district said counselors will be in place to support students when they return. Torrey is near Capitol Reef National Park and the mountains of Fishlake and Dixie National Forests. Advertisement Advertisement Noem aide Corey Lewandowski had contentious call with Trump after Senate hearing, sources say Watch: Kristi Noem speaks minutes after Trump announces he's removing her as DHS secretary Watch: Kristi Noem Senate hearing moment that may have led to ouster as DHS secretary A second Iranian ship has entered Sri Lankan territorial waters just a day after an American submarine torpedoed a vessel and killed more than 80 people, Sri Lankan officials have said. Sri Lanka is not allowing the ship to dock but is providing some humanitarian assistance, cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said on Wednesday. We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives, he said. Mr Jayatissa did not confirm whether the vessel was a naval or commercial ship. Advertisement Advertisement Two other Sri Lankan officials said the boat is around 20 miles south of the countrys capital of Colombo and had requested approval to dock on Wednesday, but permission was not granted. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the military had struck an Iranian warship off Sri Lankas coast on Wednesday, killing more than 80 people and leaving dozens more injured. The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, he said, as he showed footage of Tuesday nights attack in the Indian Ocean on what he called the Islamic Republic's prize ship. The Iris Dena, which was torpedoed in international waters on Tuesday (AP) Sri Lankas president Anura Kumara Dissanayake will meet with top officials on Thursday in order to discuss a response to the Iranian request to enter its waters for safety, sources told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement More than 100 crew are reported to be on board and fear they will suffer a similar attack, AFP reports. Meanwhile, preparations are reportedly being made to hand over the remains of 87 Iranian soldiers killed in the submarine attack, while 32 others who were rescued are receiving medical treatment under elite security supervision. Sri Lankas foreign minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the Iranian frigate Iris Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission to the vessel. By the time navy ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship and there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water, said Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath. Iranian frigate Iris Dena after being struck by a torpedo (US Department of War) The unrest comes after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes across the Gulf. Advertisement Advertisement The conflict has paralysed shipping routes, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming complete control of the international waterway. Why does Iran have warships near Sri Lanka? The Iris Dena had recently participated in exercises as part of the International Fleet Review 2026, a military exercise hosted by India, according to the BBC. Indian media reported that the Iranian frigate had also been taking part in the 2026 MILAN multinational naval exercise alongside other countries. It had been returning from these exercises and sailing through the Indian Ocean past the coast of Sri Lanka and transiting through a major shipping route when it was attacked. Advertisement Advertisement The armed carrier was one of Irans most modern warships, carrying heavy guns, missiles, torpedoes and a helicopter. Sri Lanka has remained neutral in the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. Sen. John Cornyns (R-Texas) better-than-expected performance in Tuesdays primary could turn the race on its head as President Trump revealed that he will endorse soon in the looming runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Senate GOP leaders, itching avoid an expensive battle with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, are pushing Trump to back the incumbent. Cornyn, the four-term lawmaker, had trailed in numerous public polls over recent months, but he pulled out a major win by finishing ahead of Paxton in the primary one that could pay immediate dividends ahead of their runoff as Trump draws closer to putting his thumb on the scale in his favor. Advertisement Advertisement Top Republicans have urged the president for much of the past year to endorse Cornyn, who spent tens of millions of dollars since the summer to boost his bid and ding Paxton, only to see their efforts fall flat. The double-shot of Cornyns performance and the emergence of Talarico, who GOP operatives worry could topple Paxton, is prompting Republicans to push the president once again to reprise his role as kingmaker. Hes positioned to win the runoff, and if the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money and 10 weeks of a spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters. Ive been making that case [for Cornyn] for a long time, and well make it again, Thune said, adding that he will do so more emphatically given the primary result. The South Dakota Republican, who secured his role atop the conference by narrowly defeating Cornyn 16 months ago, has been leading the pro-Cornyn push with Trump. He recently told Punchbowl News that almost every time we talk, we talk Texas. Advertisement Advertisement The two spoke again Wednesday, one source familiar told The Hill. Asked afterward about a potential endorsement, Thune responded, Youll hear when we hear. Trump, for his part, made his intentions clear on Wednesday, saying that he not only planned to endorse, but also to urge the candidate who did not receive his backing to drop out. The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! Trump posted on social media. We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Advertisement Advertisement Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! Trump said, adding that his endorsements in the state have been insurmountable. I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I dont Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!! The comments came while Senate Republicans convened for lunch, with members indicating they were hopeful Cornyn would be the beneficiary. When Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) was asked what he made of the post, he crossed his fingers for good luck and grinned. The former Senate GOP campaign arm chair also indicated that he planned to lobby the president once again to back Cornyn. I hope the president does, and Ive strongly recommended he does do that, said Daines, who worked hand in glove with Trump on the 2024 Senate efforts that expanded the majority. Now that the first round of the primary is over, its time to take a look at who can make sure we keep the seat in Republican hands and thats John Cornyn. Advertisement Advertisement Paxton has long given wide swaths of the Senate GOP and donor class heartburn given his legally checkered record as the states top cop. He was indicted more than a decade ago on state securities fraud, though the charges were ultimately dismissed. He also survived an impeachment attempt over bribery charges. Most recently, Angela Paxton, his estranged wife, filed for divorce last year on biblical grounds and accused him of adultery which Cornyn and allies have frequently cited in their case against the attorney general. Ken Paxton remained popular, however, with MAGA voters, giving him a high floor against the heavy-spending incumbent. But he spent little prior to the primary, limiting his ability to grow beyond that base and allowing Cornyn to dominate the airwaves and edge past him. Paxton dramatically underperformed. He underperformed the expectations his own team was setting for people. He underperformed what the common wisdom was of what was going to happen. He just underperformed, one national GOP operative told The Hill. Advertisement Advertisement President Trump was already disinclined to ever support him, and then you come in with an underperformance? the operative continued. Yeah, youre kind of fed. Cornyn allies also publicly projected that they were primed to win the Trump endorsement. Chris LaCivita, a top architect of Trumps 2024 win who works on a Cornyn super PAC, reposted a reporters social media post about the pending Trump endorsement. Operatives were also quick to note that on top of having the wind at his back, Cornyn has more influential backers pushing Trump in his direction. On top of Thune, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) urged him multiple times on Wednesday to make such a move. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has also been among those making the case to the president. Paxton has few allies at that level to make that case. His campaign is also being helmed by Axiom Strategies, a firm that ran Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss (R) presidential campaign against Trump, with bad blood still lingering from that battle. Its not the people that the president tends to listen to on this stuff, the operative said about those speaking up on behalf of Paxton. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A GOP senator joined Capitol Police officers in forcibly removing an anti-war protester and Marine veteran from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on March 4. The Marine, who Capitol Police identified as Brian McGinnis, shouted, "No one wants to fight for Israel" as he was dragged from the hearing room for the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support. It came days after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The war has so far led to the deaths of the countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as six U.S. soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Wednesday afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers attempts to remove him from the room," Capitol Police said in a statement. McGinnis, as well as three officers, were treated for injuries, Capitol Police said. The nature of the officers' injuries is unclear. McGinnis said on X that his arm was broken in the interaction. In video of the incident, several officers are seen pulling McGinnis, in his Marines uniform, from the room when Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, attempts to intervene in the scuffle. "He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation," Sheehy said in a post on X. "This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one." Advertisement Advertisement McGinnis' family said in a statement on X that they are "taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private." Iran war live updates: Senate wont check Trumps war. Troops killed identified. Brian McGinnis, a former Marine, on Wednesday was dragged out of a congressional hearing on the war, shouting as Capitol Hill police pulled him from the room, "No one wants to fight for Israel." CBS News shared video of the incident on social media. The clip shows McGinnis in his Marine uniform being lifted off his feet and carried out of the room by police officers, as well as by Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana. According to an electoral profile of the former soldier, who is running as a Green Party candidate for a North Carolina senate seat, McGinnis served with the Marines from 2000 to 2004. A protester wearing a military uniform disrupts a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester wearing a military uniform disrupts a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester dressed in a military uniform gets stuck in a door, injuring his arm, as Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) (R) and U.S. Capitol Police officers attempt to remove him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester dressed in a military uniform gets stuck in a door, injuring his arm, as Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) (L) and U.S. Capitol Police officers attempt to remove him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester wearing a military uniform gets stuck in a door, injuring his arm, as U.S. Capitol Police officers attempt to remove him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester dressed in a military uniform gets stuck in a door, injuring his arm, as Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) (R) and U.S. Capitol Police officers attempt to remove him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. A protester wearing a military uniform gets stuck in a door, injuring his arm, as U.S. Capitol Police officers attempt to remove him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is holding a hearing to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force. Hearing on Joint force readiness briefly halted by protester 1 of 8 Brian McGinnis, a former Marine, on Wednesday was dragged out of a congressional hearing on the war, shouting as Capitol Hill police pulled him from the room, "No one wants to fight for Israel." CBS News shared video of the incident on social media. The clip shows McGinnis in his Marine uniform being lifted off his feet and carried out of the room by police officers, as well as by Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana. According to an electoral profile of the former soldier, who is running as a Green Party candidate for a North Carolina senate seat, McGinnis served with the Marines from 2000 to 2004. Watch Senator and police drag protester out of hearing McGinnis, 44, is facing three counts of assault on a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest and crowding, obstructing and incommoding for the demonstration, Capitol Police said. In videos from the incident, McGinnis stands up from his seat in the audience and says, "Israel is the reason for this war. America does not want to fight this war for Israel," before officers attempt to escort him out. Advertisement Advertisement As McGinnis appeared to resist the officers, the video appears to show his hand stuck in a doorway as officers tried to remove him. "The suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated," Capitol Police said. Marine dragged out of congressional hearing The incident happened less than 30 minutes into the hearing, which was held to receive testimony from several military leaders about the readiness of their branches. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, called for order in the hearing room amid the protest. "Just a reminder to all our witnesses, Capitol Police will escort any protesters out of the hearing room. We ask for calm in these hearings," Sullivan said. Advertisement Advertisement "Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed," Capitol Police also said in its statement. Watch the video at the top of this story. Anti-war protester is Marine veteran running for Senate McGinnis is a Marine veteran who is running for U.S. Senate as a Green Party candidate for North Carolina. He served in the Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004, according to his website and an electoral profile. In a video posted to X on March 4, McGinnis, wearing his Marine uniform, says he traveled to Washington D.C. to speak to senators about the Iran war. "I'm here in D.C. trying to speak out against the Senate and ask them why they're going to send our men and women to harm's way when our elected officials said that there would be no world war," McGinnis said. Advertisement Advertisement Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch as Marine veteran protesting war is removed from Senate hearing Cincinnati-area native Tricia McLaughlin has left the Department of Homeland Security but not the scrutiny of Congress. McLaughlin, the former assistant secretary and spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, was part of a line of questioning Secretary Kristi Noem faced during a congressional hearing this week. McLaughlin's husband, political consultant Ben Yoho, is the CEO of the Strategy Group. In November, ProPublica reported that Yoho's business received money from a $220 million ad campaign for the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement McLaughlin, a Sycamore High School grad, previously told The Enquirer that she recused herself from the contracts for the ad campaign and, by law, she could not dictate the subcontractors the department works with. Safe America subcontracted with the Strategy Group At the hearing, Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, showed a photo of Noem standing next to Yoho. Welch said the Department of Homeland Security subcontracted with Safe America, a company created 11 days before they got an award. That company then subcontracted with the Strategy Group. "So your former assistant secretary and her husband are the ones who got the subcontract from Safe America. That's what the record shows, any dispute about that?" Welch asked Noem at the hearing. Noem said no, there's no dispute. She said that career employees, not political appointees, made decisions about subcontractors. Strategy group: We were paid $226,137 After the hearing, the Strategy Group posted that the company did not have a contract with the department but did have a subcontract with Safe America, the company created 11 days before the department's contract was awarded. Advertisement Advertisement "Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements and 6 produced radio advertisements," the company's statement on X said. Tricia McLaughlin fires back on X McLaughlin reposted the statement and tweeted at Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy, who expressed concern about government waste and asked Noem why the department spent $220 million for an ad campaign that featured her prominently. "If youre going to accuse someone of corruption you better have your facts straight," McLaughlin said in a post on X. "Do your basic homework and research before dragging my or my husbands names through the mud." McLaughlin repeated that her husband does not own Safe America and that the Strategy Group did not contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Reporting has focused on the possibility that Safe America was created as a shell company. Advertisement Advertisement Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati-area native subject of DHS secretary's congressional hearing Suzuki Motor has agreed to acquire Kanadevia Corporations all-solid-state lithium-ion battery business under a transfer agreement effective 1 July 2026. Kanadevia, an industrial and engineering company based in Osaka, Japan, began developing all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries in 2006. The business being transferred includes activities related to technology development, design and sales of all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Following completion of the deal, Suzuki will take over the technologies developed by Kanadevia and continue their development. The batteries are manufactured using a proprietary dry production process and are designed to provide high safety standards, including eliminating the risk of liquid leakage. The technology is also intended to offer strong resistance to environmental conditions and stable operation across a wide temperature range. Completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfilment of customary closing conditions. The companies did not disclose the businesss financial details, including assets and liabilities, nor the acquisition price, and said the deal will be settled in cash. Earlier this month, Suzuki introduced its first battery electric vehicle (BEV) in Indonesia with the launch of the eVitara compact sport utility vehicle, as the Japanese automaker seeks to compete with Chinese manufacturers in the countrys rapidly expanding EV market. The five-seat eVitara is supplied as a built-up unit from Suzukis majority-owned Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki. Suzuki has also been expanding investments through its venture capital arm, Suzuki Global Ventures (SGV). Recently, it invested in Linkwiz, a developer of industrial robotics software. Established in 2015 and headquartered in Hamamatsu City, Linkwiz develops industrial robot control software that integrates 3D scanning with robot control technologies to support digital transformation (DX) in automotive manufacturing. "Suzuki to acquire Kanadevias all-solid-state battery business" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. NEED TO KNOW A man in his fifties was left with "puncture wounds to his hands" and "deep lacerations" to his arms after being bitten by a shark in Queensland, Australia, on March 5 The attack took place at the famous Great Barrier Reef The man who had been snorkeling with two friends was airlifted to the hospital after managing to swim ashore following the attack A man suffered deep lacerations and puncture wounds when he was attacked by a shark while snorkeling on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. On Thursday, March 5, the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) revealed in a Facebook post that an individual in his 50s was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital after being bitten by a shark while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef off Lady Elliot Island. Advertisement Advertisement The critical care doctor and QAS flight paramedic treated the patient for puncture wounds to his hand and deep lacerations to his right arm, the ambulance service said. In a picture shared by the service, an unidentified man can be seen being treated near a helicopter on the ground. Lady Elliot Island custodian Peter Gash told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the injured man was snorkleing with two other men at the time of the incident. Stock image of Lady Elliot Island in Queensland, Australia Credit: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Gash added that the men had been snorkeling at around 8:00 a.m., adding that they were not guests at the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort. PEOPLE has reached out to Queensland Ambulance Service and Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, but didnt immediately receive responses. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "The men swam ashore and alerted Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort staff," he said. "Lady Elliot Island staff provided immediate assistance, stabilised the man and helped coordinate an emergency response." Advertisement Advertisement Despite his injuries, the man was taken to hospital in a stable condition, per ABC and news.com.au. Corals at lady Elliot island in Queensland, Australia. Credit: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty "Lady Elliot Island staff provided immediate assistance, stabilised the man and helped coordinate an emergency response, a spokeswoman from the resort told news.com.au. Lady Elliot Island has closed the western snorkelling zones until further notice. It is not known what type of shark was involved. The statement added, Resort staff and marine shark experts are monitoring the closed snorkel zone and all in-house resort guests have been informed. "We've advised all guests, put up signs and reminded people not to swim at dawn and dusk and don't swim in murky water," Gash told ABC. Read the original article on People People in a metro community are divided over whether their sheriff should keep his job after his arrest for DUI. State troopers say Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was driving his county SUV with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit. Some people in this county say the sheriff has to go after these allegations. Others say its not that simple. If we had somebody that has a drinking problem, maybe we should get them help, Matt Nash said. Advertisement Advertisement Chasity Forrester believes the sheriff should face stiffer punishment. Should he keep his job? Probably not. I mean being in that position, Forrester said. According to a Georgia State Patrol incident report Channel 2 obtained, a Hall County chief deputy and a captain were on the way to the sheriffs home the morning of Feb. 27 around 10:30 to pick up his county vehicle because of his alcohol issues. They say they noticed a black Tahoe all over the roadway as the SUV turned off Dawsonville Highway. Forrester says that was dangerous. People out and about. Theres kids, their family. Thats just not good for anybody to be drinking and driving, especially a public official, Forrester said. Advertisement Advertisement When the SUV got to Couchs home, the deputies say Couch got out and they could smell alcohol on him. They called GSP. A GSP trooper says Couch said he had been drinking Four Loko alcoholic beverage since 6 that morning. It was 11 when the trooper spoke with him in his driveway. The trooper says he found two open 24-ounce Bahama Mama alcoholic beverages in his county car. The incident report says Couch had a .212 blood alcohol level. Completely not the right thing, Nash said. Channel 2s Tom Jones wanted to get the sheriffs side to these allegations. So, he went to his home and rang the doorbell. Advertisement Advertisement Couch answered. He was very polite but said he didnt care to comment and asked Jones to reach out to his attorney. RELATED STORIES: Forrester says the allegations are a poor reflection on the county. Its not a good look for Hall County. Its not a good look for anybody. I mean thats not a good look, she said. The sheriffs attorney, Blake A. Poole, released this statement: Because this matter is ongoing, we will not try the case in the press, nor will we litigate facts outside of the courtroom. Sheriff Couch intends to continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities and is confident that a fair and thorough review of the evidence will bring clarity to the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Sheriff Couch has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to serving this community in law enforcement. Throughout his career, he has upheld the law, protected the public, and led with integrity. That decades-long record of service deserves to be considered alongside any present allegations. We respectfully urge the community to allow the investigation and court process to proceed without rushing to judgment. Our system of justice depends upon fairness, due process, and the presumption of innocence for all of our citizens, and the Sheriff is no exception. Out of respect for the integrity of the ongoing proceedings, we have no further comment at this time. The governor can remove sheriffs in instances like this. Gov. Brian Kemps office says it is aware of this situation. So is Georgia POST, which certifies law enforcement in the state. It says it says it will handle this case like all arrests, and the POST Council will decide on any possible sanctions after our investigation concludes. Chris Harvey pointed out the Georgia POST investigation is independent of any prosecution. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] NEED TO KNOW The Anaheim Police Department confirmed it arrested four suspects in connection with an alleged "gang-related shooting" that occurred on Feb. 28 in the 2000 block of S. Sprague Lane in Anaheim, Calif. Three suspects were minors, and a fourth was identified as 18-year-old Zine Jassim Three minors were hospitalized following the shooting, which occurred at a baby shower A shooting at a baby shower left three minors hospitalized in Anaheim, Calif., police said. The Anaheim Police Department confirmed that it arrested four suspects in connection with a "gang-related shooting" that occurred on Feb. 28 in the 2000 block of S. Sprague Lane in Anaheim, according to a press release shared on Tuesday, March 3. Advertisement Advertisement The shooting occurred at 7:15 p.m., CBS Los Angeles reported. "Investigators determined four gang members confronted rival gang members who were attending a baby shower and opened fire, striking three juveniles and an adult bystander. The juvenile victims were transported to the hospital and are in stable condition. The adult victim was treated at the scene," the press release from APD said. Credit: Gettty The suspects include three minors whose identities have not been released to the public. 18-year-old Zine Jassim was also arrested, per APD. Two of the suspects were arrested in Whittier, Calif. on Sunday, March 1, where officers "recovered an AR-style firearm and a handgun believed to have been used in the shooting." The remaining two suspects were apprehended in Santa Ana, Calif. on Monday, March 2, per APD. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. I am proud of the swift and professional response demonstrated by our team in identifying, locating, and safely apprehending those responsible. We will continue to pursue justice with determination and resolve. Those who threaten the safety of our community will be held accountable, Anaheim Police Chief Manny Cid said in a statement shared on social media. Advertisement Advertisement All four suspects are facing multiple charges in connection with the incident, including attempted murder, conspiracy, assault, weapons violations, and gang enhancements, according to the APD. PEOPLE has reached out to the APD for further information. The case remains under investigation, and anyone with additional information is asked to call the Anaheim Police Department at 714-765-1900. Read the original article on People SOMERSET, Pa. Somerset Lakes dam is leaking again, just months after concrete patches were completed. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission was notified Monday that new leakage was spotted on the accordion-style spillways exterior, said Michael Parker, the commissions communications director. Those leaks are springing from the same sections where cracks were repaired in the fall, he confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement A preliminary inspection of the leakage by (Fish and Boat Commission) staff indicated no structural damage to the dam or threat to public safety, Parker said. The 2022-built dam was part of an $8 million project. Small cracks were noticed in the concrete in late 2024. Last summer, the lake was lowered for a $400,000 repair project that saw crews add construction-grade concrete to both sides of the spillway. A portable dam had to be set up to divert water from the interior side of the dam. Work at the 253-acre lake was completed in the fall. The lake slowly refilled over the winter season and as levels approached the crest of the spillway, leaks reappeared from the recently repaired cracks, Parker said. Advertisement Advertisement He said project partners, including construction consultants and contractors, are working on the effort and leakage continues to be monitored. Parker said efforts were underway to have additional repairs made as soon as possible. But he said it was too preliminary to respond to questions from The Tribune- Democrat about whether the interior of the dam has been examined and whether last falls repair process will be attempted again or if another approach is being explored. He said it was also too soon to speculate whether drawdowns of the lake will be needed. Somerset County President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said his office fielded a steady stream of phone calls about the dam Tuesday. The county only owns the property around the lake, not the dam itself, but the commissioners are concerned, he added. Advertisement Advertisement State officials previously blamed materials such as concrete and rebar for the initial leaks. With new leaks emerging, Fochtman questioned whether materials such as those were to blame, or something else that cannot be repaired with a concrete patch. We have questions, too, Fochtman said. Somerset Lake users aired concerns and photos on Facebook Tuesday. Some described the project as a boondoggle, while others questioned the spillways folded design and argued that the original concrete dam should have been left as is. Len Lichvar, a longtime Somerset County conservationist who helped spur the action committee effort to replace the dam a decade ago, said its easy to forget that the original dam was a major risk to fail. At one point, state officials planned on eliminating the dam and the lake along with it. Advertisement Advertisement Lichvar said he was disappointed to learn the dam was leaking again and that will likely need to be repaired. But he said its likely no one is more frustrated by the issue than Fish and Boat Commission officials themselves and that they will continue working to address the problem. The surrounding lake property has blossomed with new recreation opportunities, including hiking trails and boat rentals something naysayers overlook, Lichvar said during a telephone interview Tuesday. Its a matter of getting the right solution to get this fixed once and for all, he added. Obviously, if this is happening a second time, that shouldnt be happening, he said. Its frustrating, but Im sure (Fish and Boat officials) are working diligently to find a permanent solution. PIERRE Students who are aggressive or violent in the classroom could be sent to an alternative setting if Gov. Larry Rhoden signs two bills passed this week by South Dakota lawmakers. Violence and verbal abuse toward teachers from students is rising, according to South Dakota Secretary of Education Joe Graves. He cited data from the Pew Research Center that says more than two-thirds of teachers nationally have been yelled at or verbally threatened by a student. Graves told lawmakers about concerns from educators in the state. Advertisement Advertisement If I were a teacher, just starting out, there is no way I would stay in the profession if I knew this is what I would be dealing with until retirement, Graves said Tuesday in a Senate Education Committee hearing. The Senate voted 33-1 to advance a bill that would allow a school board to send students who engage in aggressive or violent behavior to an alternative learning setting. School boards could assign a student to learn at home, a different classroom or a different building. The bill does not allow school boards to reassign students who are protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But the bill should have more protections for students with disabilities, argued Cole Uecker, executive director for Disability Rights South Dakota. Advertisement Advertisement Schools could see this as an opportunity to remove children who have behaviors related to their disability, Uecker said, as opposed to going through the hard work of finding eligibility and coverage for special education services. Money offered for alternative settings A second bill, that some supporters describe as a companion bill to the first, would give the state Department of Education $2 million to grant to a qualified nonprofit to serve as an alternative learning option for students with behavioral health concerns. That bill passed 30-4. The bills title is An Act to make an appropriation for a non-residential, school-based, therapeutic services facility in Brown County. It does not specify which group would receive the grant funding, but one of the nonprofits that could apply for a grant, Childrens Home Society, has day school locations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and is considering adding services in Aberdeen. An Aberdeen building would be able to serve 24 students in a non-residential, day facility. Sen. Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen, said it could begin taking in students this fall. Advertisement Advertisement It allows us to focus on individuals who need this help, Rohl said. Were also allowing the rest of our students to have access to a safe learning environment. Supporters said the facility would free up space at similar buildings in Rapid City and Sioux Falls and allow students from northeast South Dakota to receive behavioral health help closer to home. Both bills were supported by the House of Representatives and now await final approval from Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. Other juvenile justice actions The House Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 79 on Wednesday. The bill would let a judge put a minor in Department of Corrections custody for certain gun and weapon crimes. The judge could only do so if no viable alternative exists, and has found the child is at serious risk of physically harming someone. It passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-3 vote. Advertisement Advertisement The House of Representatives voted 37-30 to reject a bill that would have appropriated $50,000 to the states Department of Corrections to study juvenile correctional and residential facilities outside the state. For broadcasters: Tensions between Spain and the United States have been building for months, but they escalated this week after the U.S. struck Iran over the weekend. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez escalated his criticism, condemning the Iranian regime but also criticizing the United States' response, saying it's contributing "to a more uncertain and hostile international order." "In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words," Sanchez said. "No to the war." Spanish bases and trade threats Sanchez also refused to allow U.S. military personnel to use Spanish bases unlike some of his E.U. counterparts - saying his government wouldn't "be complicit in something that is bad for the world." Advertisement Advertisement The decision drew a threat from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, who said he would cut off trade with Spain. "We don't want anything to do with Spain," Trump told reporters, saying "we're going to cut off all trade." Sanchez quickly pushed back, saying Spain would not be pressured into changing its position. "We're not going to be complicit in something that's bad for the world nor contrary to our values and interests simply to avoid reprisals from someone," Sanchez said. By Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Spain had agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. "It's my understanding over the past several hours, they've [Spain] agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military," she told reporters. "The U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain." Advertisement Advertisement However, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denied the claim, saying Spain had not changed its position. Other EU members get involved While Spain continues to deny the U.S. its bases, other European leaders have taken different approaches. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reversed an earlier decision and is allowing the U.S. to use British bases to destroy Iranian missile capabilities. In France, President Emmanuel Macron ordered French military reinforcements to the Middle East, pledging to help protect Cyprus and Persian Gulf nations that are experiencing Iran's retaliation. Macron blamed Iran for the conflict but said France could not approve of the U.S.-Israeli attack, saying it fell "outside of international law." Advertisement Advertisement Germany has taken a different stance. Chancellor Friedrick Merz voiced his full support to the U.S., saying now is "not the time to lecture our partners and allies" about international law. History between Trump and Sanchez This week's clash is not the first time Sanchez and Trump have found themselves at odds. In June 2025, after the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear facilities, Sanchez warned that "the world is on the edge of a dark abyss." "We are normalizing a scenario where certain powers bomb each other, their leaders trade nuclear threats, and civilians bear the consequences," he added. Sanchez has also criticized Trump's immigration agenda in a New York Times op-ed, writing that some leaders have chosen "to hunt them down and deport them through operations that are both unlawful and cruel." Advertisement Advertisement The Spanish leader has also rejected Trump's call for increased defense spending through the United Nations, and the two notably failed to greet each other at a recent summit. Could Trump cut off trade? If the feud escalates, Trump has several potential tools to target trade with Spain. Because Spain is part of the European Union, imposing tariffs specifically on Spain would be complicated. The E.U. negotiates tariffs as a bloc. That means the administration would likely have to pursue other measures - such as retaliatory tariffs, anti-dumping tariffs, or financial sanctions - according to reporting by The Washington Post. Related Links PROVIDENCE, R.I. Catholic priests in Rhode Island preyed on hundreds of children for decades, and were protected by bishops more concerned with the churchs reputation than the victims, according to a new report on clergy sexual abuse that echoes findings elsewhere. The report, released Wednesday by Attorney General Peter Neronha, follows a multiyear investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. Neronha said the full scope of the priest abuse problem in Rhode Island the smallest U.S. state but the one with the highest Catholic population per capita, at nearly 40% had long remained elusive. He agreed with victims who say not enough has been done to address the problem long after it was exposed in the nearby Boston diocese in 2002. Advertisement Advertisement If youre the Diocese of Providence and youre listening, this is a scandal you need to own and you need to fix, Neronha told reporters Wednesday. We cant slow walk solutions and we cant slow walk justice. Neronha, who was raised Catholic, hopes the report will spur legal reforms to boost investigative powers and help victims seek justice. The investigation found that 75 Catholic clergy molested more than 300 victims since 1950, but officials stressed that the number of victimized children and abusive priests is likely much higher. The diocese, in response, acknowledged the scourge of child sexual abuse especially by clergy but said the report reflects the churchs willingness to share internal records under a 2019 agreement with the state. Advertisement Advertisement The report presents this 75-year history in ways that might lead the reader to conclude these issues are an ongoing diocesan problem or that these are new revelations. They are not, the statement said. 3 priests charged in RI awaiting trial Church records show the diocese transferred accused priests to new assignments without fully investigating complaints or contacting law enforcement, a practice exposed in investigations in Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere. And, as in other cities, the Diocese of Providence opened a spiritual retreat-style facility in the early 1950s for accused priests to seek treatment. Later, when the abuse was deemed a mental health problem, priests were sent to more formal treatment centers. By the 1990s, accused priests were sometimes placed on sabbatical leave. Advertisement Advertisement For example, a priest named Robert Carpentier resigned after a victim came forward in 1992 to say that he had been sexually abused as a 13-year-old victim in the 1970s. Carpentier acknowledged the abuse, was sent to a treatment center and later went on sabbatical at Boston College. He retired in 2006 and received support from the diocese until he died in 2012. Most accused priests, the report found, avoided accountability from both law enforcement and the diocese. Neronhas office has charged four current and former priests with sexual abuse for allegations stemming from 2020 to 2022. Three of them are still awaiting trial. The fourth priest died after being deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2022. Only 20 people about a quarter of the clergy identified in the report faced criminal charges, and just 14 were convicted. A dozen others were laicized or otherwise dismissed. Diocesan review board member among the accused One survivor described being groomed more than a year before he was abused by the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston in 1981. The survivor, who is not named in the report, said the late Monsignor John Allard showered him with attention. By ninth grade, he said, the sexual abuse began in the priests bedroom. Advertisement Advertisement His comment to me was always, You need a hug, and thats something that I can hear him saying very clearly to this very day, the survivor told officials in 2013. While a review board deemed the abuse credible, the Vatican at the urging of then-Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin let Allard retire rather than be defrocked. The report lists Tobin advocating for several accused priests, a trend that Neronha repeatedly criticized. I just dont know how you square it. If hes got an answer, then hes free to send it in, Neronha said. The diocese, in a statement released Wednesday, praised Tobins willingness to work with Neronha while he was bishop before retiring in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Separately, in at least one case, a member of the diocesan review board hearing abuse complaints was himself accused, the report says. The Rev. Francis Santilli stepped down after the complaint, but remained in active ministry even after other complaints surfaced in 2014 and 2021. He was not removed until 2022. A message left at a possible number for him on Wednesday was not immediately returned. Church disagrees with AG on findings Neronha launched the investigation in 2019, a year after a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a landmark report that found more than 1,000 children had been abused by some 300 priests since the 1940s. However, Rhode Island law does not allow grand jury reports to become public a hurdle that Neronha has long tried to change. Instead, he forged an agreement with the diocese to access its trove of records on clergy sexual abuse. The church turned over 70 years worth of material, including complaints from its secret archives, civil settlement records, treatment costs and other documents. Yet Neronha called the dioceses help limited at times, saying it refused to provide diocesan personnel for interviews. Advertisement Advertisement Neronha criticized the diocese on Wednesday for treating the report as ancient history, arguing that more needed to be done by clergy leaders to address ongoing concerns about abuse. His office outlined multiple changes for the diocese, which include providing clear investigative timelines and guidelines. He also stressed the need for the diocese to abandon the practice of requiring victims take polygraph tests and to stop refusing to investigate third-party complaints about priests. The diocese, in its response Wednesday, pushed back on that view, saying the report would not have been possible without the churchs cooperation. There are no credibly accused clergy in active ministry, said Bishop Bruce Lewandowski in a video statement. Todays Catholic clergy here in Rhode Island are good and holy men serving Christ and his people with devotion and out of genuine pastoral concern. For Herbert Brennan, who was repeatedly abused by a Rhode Island priest in the 1960s, the dioceses response is disappointing but not surprising. If one wants to learn the teachings of Jesus Christ, they should read the Bible. If one wishes to understand the Catholic church, read this report, Brennan said. Sri Lanka has evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian naval vessel off its coast, a day after a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate in the same waters, leaving 87 sailors dead. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced on Thursday that his navy would take custody of the second ship and move it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safekeeping, amid fears it could be targeted. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship. Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been on board IRIS Dena sunk on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed that a US submarine sank the vessel amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament the vessel was positioned near Colombo, inside Sri Lankas exclusive economic zone but beyond its territorial waters, adding that authorities were doing their utmost to safeguard lives. The developments came as Washington confirmed it had torpedoed the IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate returning from a peacetime naval exercise hosted by India, marking the first time a US submarine has sunk an enemy warship by torpedo since the second world war. Sri Lankan coastguards received a distress call from the IRIS Dena at 5:08am on Wednesday (23:28 GMT on Tuesday), with surviving crew describing an explosion. Rescue vessels arrived to find the frigate already gone, navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said, with only an oil slick and floating life rafts remaining at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Thirty-two survivors, all seriously injured, were taken to Galle National Hospital. Eighty-seven bodies were recovered from the sea, Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. More than 10 sailors remain missing. The frigate, which was carrying about 180 crew, had been sailing home after participating in a major multinational naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal involving ships from 74 countries when it was struck roughly 44 nautical miles (81km) off Sri Lankas southern coast. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at a Pentagon briefing, releasing black-and-white footage of a Mark 48 torpedo hitting the frigates stern. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, he said. Quiet death. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles [3,219km] from Irans shores, noting the ship had been a guest of Indias navy when struck without warning. Advertisement Advertisement The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set, he wrote on social media. He later fired back at Trumps claim that the operation was running ahead of schedule, Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed, Mr President. The IRIS Dena was one of more than 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, targeting the countrys leadership, missile arsenals and nuclear infrastructure in an operation aimed at dislodging the current government. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the second day of the attacks, triggering protests in the country and beyond. As of Tuesday, not a single Iranian warship remained under way in the the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said. Advertisement Advertisement Questions have also been raised about the legality of the attack in international waters. The Israeli-US attacks have killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and displaced more than 100,000 from Tehran, according to the UN. In a striking illustration of how far Washingtons war aims have stretched, Trump told Reuters on Thursday that the US intended to play a role in choosing Irans next supreme leader. We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, he said. Sri Lanka, which has declared neutrality and called for restraint and immediate de-escalation, now finds itself hosting the human wreckage from a war being fought on its doorstep. Neutrality and humaneness is the priority. We have responsibilities as a neutral country. All parties must be committed to peace, the Sri Lankan president said on Thursday. Two dozen states in the US have sued the Trump administration, seeking to block the latest tariffs announced by the White House. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, adds to the uncertainties surrounding trade policy, after the US Supreme Court ruled that many of the duties President Donald Trump had announced last year were illegal. The White House swiftly responded by imposing a temporary 10% tariff under a different law - Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Advertisement Advertisement But the state officials, all Democrats, say that tariff is also illegal, arguing that the law was not meant to address trade imbalances. According to the lawsuit, which is led by New York, California, Oregon and Arizona, the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs also violates the US Constitution because Congress, not the president, has the power to impose sweeping tariffs, which are taxes on imports. "He's calling it a fix. It is not," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "It is the same illegal power-grab under a different statute than he used the last time." Advertisement Advertisement White House spokesman Kush Desai said the use of the law was legitimate and that the administration would "vigorously" defend the tariffs in court. The president was "using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country's large and serious balance-of-payments deficits", he added. The complaint was filed in the US Court of International Trade by 22 state prosecutors and two Democratic governors. It mirrors a previous lawsuit filed by a smaller group of 12 state attorneys general over tariffs Trump introduced last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Advertisement Advertisement Those duties, which started at 10% but hit more than 40% for goods from some countries, kicked off a flurry of trade negotiations as countries pushed to secure lower rates in exchange for promises of investment and other changes. After the Supreme Court rejected those tariffs last month, the White House announced the new Section 122 global levy at a rate of 10%. That law allows the president to impose tariffs up to 15% for 150 days without Congress, under certain conditions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said recently that the US was "likely" to raise the rate to 15%, as Trump had threatened, this week. "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The state prosecutors and governors who filed the lawsuit have asked the court to block the new tariffs from being implemented and are seeking refunds for the Section 122 levies. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Thursday's news conference that the new state lawsuit could bring relief to businesses and consumers "very soon". "The president's rationale for these unlawful tariffs has gone from unreasonable to ridiculous," he said. A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for thousands of businesses to receive refunds for tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down, ordering Customs and Border Protection to issue payments. On March 3, we saw a pair of vicious Texas Senate primaries, one of which came to a close and the other of which is set for a runoff of further torture. For many Americans, party primaries are just the way we do things, and since the 1970s, it has been. But in the midst of primary season, I have a surprising take. I dont think we should have party primaries. Typically, when I share this perspective with people, I am charged with being antidemocratic, to which all I have to say is: Yes. Political parties do not benefit from being internally democratic. Our election primary system is part of the reason candidates have gotten so extreme, and it's a contributing factor to our political polarization. Advertisement Advertisement More: An independent revolt may be coming. Sooner than we think | Opinion Not all institutions benefit from being Democratic Our system is rooted in the idea that absolute democracy is not good and leads to small majorities imposing their will on the rest. We see this effect in our presidential elections, in which presidents elected by minorities or slim majorities of voters claim sweeping mandates for change. It is for this reason that the federal judiciary operates through appointments. Americans don't want the types of judges who only need to be elected by a slim majority of voters. From the outset of our country, we recognized this concept applied to the Senate as well, until the 17th Amendment changed that in 1913. Advertisement Advertisement Modern American politics has been plagued with increasingly radical and polarizing candidates, not truly being able to build a coalition that has lasted longer than one presidency. More: Oklahoma's political system is broken. SQ 836 will help | Opinion For those who don't see an alternative, we don't have to look too far into the past to find one. The modern primary structure wasn't fully established until the 1970s. Prior to that point, parties selected the candidates they thought best represented their interests and voters in the general elections. That is the sort of process we should return to today. Primary elections are a place for the most partisan voters to take control of the party nominations. Nearly 80% of eligible voters dont participate in primaries, meaning that the 20% who are most passionate and partisan are choosing candidates on behalf of the rest. Those who are uneasy about voters being cut out of the process should recognize that the median voter already is cut out. The incentive structure for candidates is broken. Under the current dynamic, candidates are incentivized to engage in bloody primary fights, such as those in Texas on March 3, to differentiate themselves from one another among the most partisan voters, only to moderate once the general election comes around. Advertisement Advertisement More: Democrats liked closed primaries when they had majority | Opinion Party deliberations don't benefit from being public Just about the only benefit of open primaries is that it vets candidates in public. This gives Americans the chance to uncover scandals, weigh in on whether they matter or not, and air things out before they can become an October surprise in the general election. However, this, too, is a two-way street. The result is extraordinarily bloody primary fights becoming all the more common. Again, just look at the fight in Texas, in which U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett claimed campaign mailers that backed her Democratic rival, state legislator James Talarico, were racist. The same goes for the Republican side, in which the fight between U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has become incredibly hostile, as well. These party deliberations have such animosity because they are public. The debates about who is the better candidate to represent the party are much better served by being private, in which parties can internally deliberate the strengths and weaknesses of candidates without it devolving into public charges against their character. Advertisement Advertisement Returning to closed-door party primaries not only has the aforementioned benefit of boosting stronger candidates for general elections, but it also lowers the temperature of our politics. We could all desperately use that now, and primary elections are hurting, not helping. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas election shows why political primaries are outdated | Opinion Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is among the 13 Most Undervalued S&P 500 Stocks to Invest In. Synchrony Financial (SYF) Announces the Renewal of its Financing Partnership with Polaris On February 25, 2026, Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) announced the renewal of its financing partnership with Polaris (PII), covering Sportsman all-terrain vehicles, Polaris RANGER, RZR, XPEDITION, and GENERAL side-by-side vehicles, as well as snowmobiles and Slingshot vehicles. The companies have partnered for nearly two decades to provide Polaris buyers with customized promotional financing and loan options through Polaris U.S. dealer network. The renewed agreement supports financing for vehicles, parts, accessories, gear, and vehicle service and protection products. Polaris dealers will continue collaborating on tailored financing solutions, and Polaris will have access to PRISM, Synchronys credit decisioning system designed to assess consumer creditworthiness. On February 13, 2026, Baird analyst David George upgraded Synchrony to Outperform from Neutral with an unchanged $83 price target. David George said the risk/reward looks a little better following recent share weakness. Baird added that conference updates were favorable, valuations appear more reasonable, and consumer finance presents the best risk/reward. The firm described the recent de-risking weakness as a good entry point into Synchrony. Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States, offering credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. While we acknowledge the potential of SYF as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock . READ NEXT: 12 Best Tech Stocks that Beat Earnings Estimates and 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026 Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News. Progressive star Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has conceded her race for the U.S. Senate after suffering an "embarrassing" defeat to a lesser-known Democrat, state Rep. James Talarico. A second-term congresswoman widely seen as one of the top voices in the Democratic Party, Crockett lost her primary to Talarico. The defeat not only crushes Crocketts hopes of serving in the Senate, but also places her political future in doubt as her House term ends in January. After an initial election night outburst in which she blamed Republicans for coming up short against Talarico, Crockett conceded her defeat in a Wednesday morning social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Crockett said she called Talarico on Wednesday morning and "congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee." Texas Democrats Called Out Over 'Egregious Circular-firing Squad Behavior' In Senate Primary Race Texas State Rep. James Talarico, D-Travis, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, shake hands. (Getty Images) She urged Democratic unity, saying Texas is "primed to turn blue" and stating, "We must remain united because this is bigger than any one person." Read On The Fox News App "This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track," she said, adding, "With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win. Im committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot." Advertisement Advertisement Memes of Crockett with the caption "STRAIGHT OUTTA CONGRESS" quickly began circulating on X. Independent conservative journalist Nick Sortor posted on social media, "BREAKING: Jasmine Crockett has LOST the Democratic Primary for US Senate in TX, putting an END to her career in Congress. Jasmine had to decline reelection for her present seat in the US House in order to run for Senate, so shell be OUT after this year. Bye!" Popular conservative influencer David Freeman, who goes by the account name "Gunther Eagleman," wrote, "Dear Jasmine Crockett, Waffle House in Dallas is hiring. Sincerely, America." Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty mocked Crockett, writing that she "STORMS OUT of her own event after crying they cheated! following her brutal loss. She said REPUBLICANS rigged the election in areas with high black populations." Advertisement Advertisement Crockett Disputes Opponent's Denial Of 'Mediocre Black Man' Comment, Calls Out 'Well-intentioned White Folk' Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks to reporters after announcing her run in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate on Dec. 8, 2025, in Dallas. Daugherty called the results an "embarrassing defeat" for Crockett. He quipped, "Wow, RACIST Texas Democrat voters just opposed a black female queen! How SHAMEFUL." Libs of TikTok reposted a video of Crockett dancing in a congressional office hallway, with the caption, "Bye Jasmine!" "Jasmine Crockett basically gave up her seat to run for Senate... And she just LOST the Democrat Senate Primary," Libs of TikTok mocked. This comes after Crockett spent much of the race accusing many of her critics of opposing her candidacy on racial grounds. Advertisement Advertisement In January, after podcasters and comedians Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang told listeners not to "waste" their money supporting her campaign, Crockett railed, "I really do think that the host said the quiet part out loud, which basically was: If a White man couldnt do it, then why would a Black woman even have the audacity to think that she could?" She also criticized other attack ads as racist, saying, "I see when they're sending out ads and they're darkening my skin. And I'm just like, I know what this is, right?" Texas Democrat Cries For Voting Talarico Over Crockett Because 'We Need Somebody Who Can Win' Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks during a hearing with the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency in the U.S. Capitol on February 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Crocketts campaign had been widely criticized as out of step with Texas voters from day one, when her campaign announcement video was a simple shot of her to the sound of President Donald Trump mocking her as "low IQ." Advertisement Advertisement Commentator Savanah Hernandez wrote, "As we say goodbye to Jasmine Crockett, never forget the campaign ad she released where Trump just calls her a low IQ person for 30 seconds straight. A true piece of art that will never be forgotten." Click Here To Download The Fox News App Al Robinson, an African American author, reacted, "When your campaign message is built on hatred division and mocking entire groups of people eventually voters get tired of it." "Rep. Jasmine Crockett tried to build a brand on insults calling people white tears, throwing around Nazi comparisons, and making politics nothing more than a circus of outrage. But here is the uncomfortable reality. Leadership requires stability. Leadership requires responsibility. Leadership requires building something not just tearing people down," said Robinson, concluding, "When your entire political strategy is built on insults instead of solutions the result is predictable. You lose." Advertisement Advertisement The Texas Senate seat is a critical race for both the GOP and Democrats. The winner of the general election in November will likely be a major determinant of which party will hold the majority in the chamber. On the Republican side of the aisle, long-time incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is heading into a runoff election with challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Crockett and Talarico did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Original article source: STRAIGHT OUTTA CONGRESS: Top progressive concedes race after viral mockery for embarrassing defeat The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation that two men who were seriously injured in New York and Pennsylvania by buses operated by New Jersey Transit can sue the transit agency in those states. In a unanimous opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the justices held that New Jersey Transit is not an extension of the state of New Jersey and therefore does not share the states immunity from lawsuits. The courts decision came in a pair of cases, argued together in mid-January. One began after Jeffrey Colt was hit in 2017 by a New Jersey Transit bus while crossing a street in Manhattan. Another has its roots in a 2018 accident, in which a New Jersey Transit bus hit the car in which Cedric Galette was riding. Both men went to court Colt in New York and Galette in Pennsylvania. New Jersey Transit argued in both cases that the lawsuits should be dismissed because it is an arm of New Jersey and therefore should benefit from the states sovereign immunity. The New York Court of Appeals, that states highest court, rejected that contention and allowed Colts lawsuit to move forward. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sided with New Jersey and dismissed Galettes case. Both Galette and New Jersey Transit went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the cases last year. Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Colt and Galette, holding that New Jersey Transit is not an arm of the state and therefore can be sued in other states courts even without its consent. In making such a determination, Sotomayor explained, the Supreme Courts cases have consistently, and predominantly, examined whether the State structured the entity as a legally separate entity liable for its own judgments. In particular, Sotomayor wrote, the court has considered whether the entity is a corporation with the traditional corporate powers to sue and be sued, hold property, make contracts, and incur debt. These factors, Sotomayor said, lead to the conclusion that New Jersey Transit is not an arm of the state. New Jersey created it as a corporation with all of the normal powers of a corporation, along with the power to [m]ake and alter bylaws, [s]et and collect fares, and raise its own funds from gifts, grants, or loans. And under state law, New Jersey cannot be held liable for any of the transit agencys debts. Sotomayor acknowledged that the law creating New Jersey Transit indicates that the agency is an instrumentality of the state. But that language, she said, cannot overcome the agencys status as a corporation, which has long carried historical weight in determining whether an entity is an arm of the state. Nor does the substantial amount of control that New Jersey exercises over the transit agency change the overall conclusion here, Sotomayor continued. She observed that (among other things) the states governor has the power to appoint and remove members of the New Jersey Transit board, as well as the power to veto the boards actions. On the other hand, she wrote, New Jersey law states that NJ Transit shall be independent of any supervision or control by the [transportation] department or by any body or officer thereof, and requires that it exercise independent judgment. Advertisement Advertisement Sotomayor also rejected the suggestion, made by a group of states in a friend of the court brief, that the court should adopt a rule that gives dispositive weight to the states characterization of the entity such as New Jerseys labeling of NJ Transit as an instrumentality of the State. One problem with such a rule, Sotomayor reasoned, is that it focuses on the label a State places on an entity, rather than assessing whether the State structured the entity as legally separate. Instead, she concluded, what promotes consistency is adhering to a long line of cases in which this Court has found state-created corporations that are formally liable for their own judgments not to be arms of the States that created them. For more Supreme Court news and analysis, visit SCOTUSblog. Read more at SCOTUSblog Three decades ago, Susan Smith shocked the world when she confessed to drowning her two young sons in a South Carolina lake, after reporting them kidnapped. Susan was found guilty of murder and is serving a life sentence in prison with the possibility of parolebut her ex-husband is fighting to keep her locked up forever. I wanted an eye for an eye, David Smith, the father of victims Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered in a March 4 episode. But the jury saw different. David and Susan were teenage sweethearts who married in 1992 and settled down in the quiet town of Union to raise their two children. However, as David told Dateline, the marriage didnt last, in part because of mutual infidelity. Advertisement Advertisement I was a lousy husband, David told Dateline. There was infidelity, but there was infidelity on her part, too. The couple separated in 1994, and Susan began dating co-worker Tom Findlay, while David started a relationship with Tiffany Moss, his former co-worker. A Parents Worst Nightmare In October 1994, amid David and Susans divorce, they experienced a fear that no parent should face: Their children were abductedor so it seemed. As Susan would tell police, a man with a gun approached her car one evening while she was stopped at a red light with her sons in the backseat. Susan claimed the man jumped into her vehicle and ordered her to drive, then forced her out and took off with the children. Susan Smith is escorted from the Union County Courthouse Police launched a search for the suspect, who Susan described as a tall Black man wearing a knit hat. As the case dominated national media headlines, Susan and David made public pleas to the kidnapper. RELATED: Ex-Husband of South Carolina Mom Who Murdered Their Two Young Sons Pleads, "They Can't Let Her Out" I would like to say to whoever has my childrenplease bring them home to us where they belong, Susan said during one televised press conference. Our lives have been torn apart by this tragic event. I cant express how much they are wanted back home, how much we love them, we miss them. Advertisement Advertisement Over the nine-day manhunt for Michael and Alex, Susans carjacking narrative started coming loose at the seams and when authorities pressed her on discrepancies, Susan admitted to fabricating the entire storyand to killing her children. Susan told authorities that she had strapped the sleeping boys into their car seats and pushed her 1990 Mazda down a boat ramp and into the John D. Long Lake. Hours after her confession, police found Susans car at the bottom of the lake with the children inside. Experts would later testify in court that it took approximately six minutes for the car to sink. On Nov. 3, 1994, Susan was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, to which she pleaded not guilty. According to David, when he demanded answers from Susan, she offered only two words: Im sorry. Murder or Murder-Suicide The prosecution sought the death penalty for Susan, arguing that the murders were premeditated and driven by an age-old motive: Romantic love, pointing to a letter from Susans boyfriend in which he allegedly explained that he had ended their relationship because he didnt want children. Advertisement Advertisement The defense, however, said the deaths of Michael and Alex were a failed murder-suicide, citing her past attempts and interviews with police officers. Agent Pete Logan, who was interviewed by Dateline, said that be believed Susan when she told him she had tried to commit suicide that night at the lake but didnt go through with it. Susan was depressed and suicidal, claimed her lawyers, after a traumatic childhood formed by sexual abuse by her stepfather Beverly Russell, allegations to which Russell has publicly admitted, though criminal charges were never filed. She felt particularly desperate, claimed Susans defense, because she was terrified of David discovering that she and Russell had started a sexual relationship in the year before Michael and Alex died. David insisted that he never suspected Susan of being suicidal, telling Dateline, Nothing gives you the right to kill your children. For more on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered A Police Officers Murder-for-Hire Plot and the Boyfriend Who Betrayed Her Traffic Stop Unravels Murder-for-Hire Plot Against South Carolina Socialite She Felt Safe Living Near OfficersInstead, Her Killer Was One of Them Advertisement Advertisement During court, David fantasized about taking revenge on Susan. I used to sit there and look at the back of her head, David told Dateline, And think about killing her. On July 22, 1995, a jury found Susan guilty of two counts of murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. David objects to the terms of Susans sentence, telling Dateline, She deliberately killed Michael and Alex. I cant let her out. Im Not a Horrible Person After Susan went to prison, David moved on with his life, marrying girlfriend Tiffany Moss in 2003. Meanwhile, in 2004, Dateline producer Carol Gable wrote a letter to Susan, requesting an interview. While the prison didnt allow it, the women started a pen-pal relationship that would span 20 years. Advertisement Advertisement Im not a horrible person, Carol, Susan wrote in one letter to Gable, according to Dateline. Im a human being who made a horrible decision. I grieve daily for my boys. Susan wrote to Gable that she had attempted suicide three times while in prison. When they found me, there was a big puddle of blood, read one letter from Susan, per Dateline. I had written with my blood, Let me die. In another letter, per Dateline, Susan told Gable that she stopped her car from going into the lake several times before jumping out of the car and letting it roll into the water. I never saw the car go into the lake, wrote Susan. When I reached the top of the hill, I stopped and looked back and all I could see was a dark lake. Youd never have thought that two little boys had just drowned at their mothers hand. Advertisement Advertisement In November 2024, after serving 30 years in prison, Susan advocated for her release at a parole hearing. RELATED: Woman Breaks Into Apartment of Husbands Ex Before Torturing Her for Hours and Stabbing Her 60 Times Susan Smith during an interrogation on Dateline Season 33 Episode 15 I want to say how very sorry I am, Susan tearfully told the board in footage included in the Dateline episode. I know that what I did was horrible and I would give anything if I could go back and change it. I love Michael and Alex with all my heart. David wore a pin, bearing a photo of Michael and Alex, to the meeting. God gives us free choice, and she made a free choice to end their life, he told the board in the footage. This wasn't a tragic mistakeshe purposely meant to end their lives. Advertisement Advertisement According to Susans trial attorney David Brock, his client does not pose a danger to society and should be released. I dont see what punishing her, year after year after year in prison does to help anyone, Brock told Dateline. Michael and Alex are beyond harm or help. Susans parole was denied, but she will be up for release every two years, with her next opportunity slated for November 2026. David views Susans potential freedom as an opportunity. Its going to give me another chance to stand up for Michael and Alex, David told Dateline. To defend them and try to keep the sympathy off of her that she keeps trying to conjure. To learn about more true crime investigations, watch Dateline: Secrets Uncovered Wednesday at 8/7c on Oxygen. Police have arrested a Northeast Philadelphia man nearly a year and a half after a hit-and-run that killed a woman crossing Levick Street in Wissinoming, an incident investigators described as violent and deadly. Authorities said 37-year-old Charles Edward Wright of Northeast Philadelphia was arrested Tuesday in connection with the crash that took the life of 43-year-old Veronica Herling. Investigators said Herling was crossing the roadway along the 4800 block of Levick Street on Nov. 1, 2024, when she was struck by a vehicle with such force that her sneakers and some jewelry were recovered near the point of impact. Advertisement Advertisement Police said Herling was thrown at least 20 feet into the air and landed about a block away. She was pronounced dead at the scene. After a lengthy investigation, Wright now faces a series of charges, including murder and homicide by vehicle, police said. People who live along that stretch of Levick Street said speeding is a persistent problem, particularly for drivers coming off the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, and they fear it is only a matter of time before someone else is seriously hurt or killed. "The speed on the bridge is 40 mph, and then once they hit there, they don't slow down for the 25. They keep going straight and they fly. Probably 10 cars in one year get smacked in that same spot," said Chanalle Allison, a neighbor who lives nearby. Advertisement Advertisement John McFarland of Wissinoming says crashes remain frequent at nearby intersections. "There is still a problem. I fear for people all the time. Keystone and Levick, there's accidents once a week," he said. The suspect remains behind bars on $1 million bail. A 22-year-old man randomly killed three women he did not know during a violent murder spree in a rural Utah community before stealing their cars and credit cards because he said he needed money to get back to Iowa, prosecutors say. Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was taken into custody on Thursday in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, some 370 miles from the scene of the crimes in Wayne County, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. Police said Miller had a handgun and a large knife with him when he was arrested. Miller told FBI agents it had to be done but he did not like to do it, according to charging documents. Advertisement Advertisement He has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder for the murders of three women one who was in her 80s who was found dead at her home in Lyman, and two women who were going hiking together on the Cockscomb Trail at the Capitol Reef National Park. None has yet been publicly identified. The 22-year-old allegedly told the FBI he had hit an elk in Utah days earlier and sold his truck to a tow company before deciding he needed a new vehicle. A suspect, identified as Ivan Miller, is in custody in Colorado on weapons charges, after two women were found dead near a trail on Wednesday afternoon, and a third woman was found dead inside a nearby home in Utah (Archuleta County Detention Center) He reportedly spent the night in the back shed of the woman in her 80s in Lyman and later saw her drive away in a Buick Lesabre. He then waited for her inside the house, hiding behind the door, and after she returned and sat down to watch television shot her in the back of the head, prosecutors say. After allegedly dragging her body to the basement of an out-building he drove away, but decided he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle. It was allegedly at this point that he saw two women getting out of a white Subaru at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park. Advertisement Advertisement The charging documents claim he shot one of the women dead and then shot and stabbed the other before dragging their bodies to a ditch. Miller said he did it because he needed money. Miller said that he took their credit cards and used the older womans card to buy gas. Miller said that his intent was to get back to Iowa, the charges say. Miller confessed that it had to be done but he did not like to do it. The two women, one in her 30s and one in her 60s, were found by their husbands who had gone to the scene to look for them. They raised the alarm and police found the first vehicle not far from the scene, which led them to the murder scene in Lyman. The body of a woman in her 80s was found at a home in Lyman, Utah. The suspect apparently fled her home in her car (FOX13) Authorities said the suspect killed the woman at her home in Lyman and then killed two women at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park near Teasdale, Utah (AP) Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, told The Independent that was no indication that Miller had any connection with any of the women. Advertisement Advertisement It does not appear that these women were specifically targeted other than the convenience of the suspect stealing their vehicles, Roden said. Following the discovery of the bodies, an urgent manhunt was launched, with police appealing for information about the victims stolen vehicle, a 2022 White Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF. Police made the arrest after tracking the Subaru from the trailhead in Utah through Arizona and into Colorado. The car was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, which led police to the suspect. The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah and into northern Arizona before it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, Roden confirmed. The suspect was arrested without incident at 2.40 a.m. on Thursday morning after a brief search of the area and was found to have a concealed handgun and large knife, the Pagosa Springs Police Department said. It was not immediately clear where he was when he was arrested. He was being held at the Archuleta County Detention Center on a weapons charge before the homicide charges. Advertisement Advertisement Roden said they dont know how long the suspect may have been in Wayne County, or how he got to the area, but investigators are working to piece together a timeline. Miller was reportedly scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to KSL. The killings rattled the sparsely populated county, where officials urged residents to remain indoors, lock their doors and keep lights on overnight while the suspect was still being sought. The Wayne County School District canceled classes for the rest of the week out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety. Officials said counselors will be available to support students when schools reopen. After the murders of two women at the national park, the suspect then fled the state, sparking an hours long manhunt, police say (AP) Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright told FOX13: Our community is grieving today following the tragic deaths of three women in Wayne County yesterday. On behalf of the Town of Torrey, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, closeknit community." Advertisement Advertisement After the suspect was taken into custody in Colorado on Thursday, officials said there is no longer an ongoing threat to the public and no suspects remain outstanding. The Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab continued processing crime scenes Thursday in the communities of Torrey, Utah and Lyman, Utah. Wayne County, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, is a gateway for visitors heading to nearby national parks including Capitol Reef National Park. A suspect is in custody after three women were found dead at multiple crime scenes, prompting a shelter-in-place warning in southern Utah. The bodies of the three women were found in multiple locations within Wayne County which encompasses the popular tourist destination Torrey on March 4, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is aiding in the investigation. In a statement posted to social media, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office confirmed "that a suspect in the Wayne County homicides was captured early this morning." Advertisement Advertisement The suspect was later identified as 22-year-old Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa, Lt. Cameron Roden of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference Thursday morning. Shooting Outside Salt Lake City Lds Church Leaves At Least 2 Dead, 6 Injured: Police Ivan Miller, 22, was taken into custody following a multi-state manhunt in Archuleta County, Colorado on Thursday, March 5, 2026. He is the sole suspect in a trip homicide investigation in Wayne County, Utah. (Fox News) LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST Read On The Fox News App Authorities located Miller after using license plate readers to track him in one of the victim's vehicles, Roden said. The vehicle traveled through southern Utah, into northern Arizona and later into Colorado, where it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs by local law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Miller was subsequently taken into custody by Colorado law enforcement following a brief search. He was booked into the Archuleta County Detention Center and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, according to jail records. Authorities were initially called to the scene by the husbands of both victims after receiving reports of two deceased females found along a hiking trail, Roden said. A third victim was subsequently discovered inside a residence within the county. Officials have not yet said why they believe the three homicides in separate locations are linked, but they do not believe Miller knew his alleged victims. Advertisement Advertisement Florida Madman Stalked Tourists Near Disney Before Allegedly Killing Them In Random Attack: Family Authorities conduct an investigation at a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Details regarding the identities of the three women have not been released, but authorities have said the women were in their 30s, 60s and 80s, according to DPS. Authorities previously asked the public to be on the lookout for a 2022 white Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF, but cautioned against approaching the vehicle and instead urged anyone who believes they may have spotted it to call law enforcement. Crime tape surrounds a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Schools throughout the county also canceled classes "out of an abundance of caution" on both Thursday and Friday, according to the Wayne County School District. Advertisement Advertisement Two local health clinics also closed their doors on Thursday as the manhunt remained ongoing. Manhunt Underway After Missouri Deputy Slain, Suspects Truck Spotted Heading Toward Arkansas Border A forensic scientist enters a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Additionally, authorities in nearby Garfield County also issued a warning to residents to lock their doors on Wednesday, but later said "there is no longer a threat in our area." Click Here To Download The Fox News App Utah DPS and WCSO did not immediately respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment. Anyone with information is urged to contact siac@utah.gov or call the tipline at 801-965-3838. Original article source: Rural community on edge after husbands find their wives dead along hiking trail, suspect arrested Fulton County police arrested a man suspected in the killing and abuse of two dogs at an Atlantic Station parking deck. Channel 2s Michael Seiden obtained the arrest affidavit for Dorie Trimez Wilson, who faces two counts of felony aggravated cruelty to animals and other charges. According to police, Wilson intentionally and maliciously caused the strangling deaths of the dogs on July 22. The dogs also showed signs of other abuse. Police previously told Seiden it was one of the most disturbing animal cruelty cases theyve ever investigated. Advertisement Advertisement They were discovered in the parking garage by a man when he showed up to clean. Investigators thanked the community for their assistance in identifying Wilson as the suspect. Cameras captured the man in the area walking toward the garage with the dogs and back without them. Wilson is being held in the Fulton County Jail with no bond. Police said he has an extensive criminal history dating back nearly 30 years. He was taken into custody by Fulton County Police on Feb. 6 for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in a separate case. At the time of his arrest, he was out on bond for a third case for possession with intent to distribute controlled substance and possession of schedule I controlled substance. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] FRANKFORT An omnibus elections bill that among other changes would allow Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to run for reelection and president at the same time cleared the House in an unusually narrow vote Thursday. Forty lawmakers from both parties voted against House Bill 534, splitting the usually unified GOP caucus. But 53 GOP lawmakers approved the bill, which sends it to the Senate for more consideration. Democrats futilely called on the Republican supermajority to suspend the House rules to consider their amendments which were rendered out of order when a substitute bill was approved at a morning committee meeting. Democrats also complained that the new version of the bill was not yet available for them to read before voting on it. Advertisement Advertisement I do wish that we could have done these things and waited a day on this and operated within the rules and be able to have that kind of full-fledged debate and have a roll-call vote on these amendments, which maybe people in this chamber disagree with but we can at least record that disagreement and vote and the people at home can see that in the vote database afterwards, said Rep. Adam Moore, a Lexington Democrat who had filed four amendments to the bill. Republicans did not air their objections to the bill during the House floor debate. Rep. DJ Johnson, R-Owensboro, listens to a question as he presents House Bill 534, an act related to elections, on the House floor Thursday. (LRC Public Information) The bill allows the Kentucky State Board of Elections to enter agreements with federal agencies to identify noncitizens who have registered to vote in Kentucky. Voters in the state passed a constitutional amendment to bar noncitizens from voting in elections in Kentucky in 2024. After drawing opposition from county clerks, the bill had been sent back to committee for revisions. Advertisement Advertisement I think its a good thing to do, because its a fairly complicated bill, and as we go forward, we hear ideas that we think are worth considering for it, sponsor Rep. DJ Johnson, R-Owensboro, told the House Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Thursday morning. HB 534 passed out of the committee Thursday morning with 12 Republicans voting for it, and one Republican and three Democrats opposing it. The new version removed an emergency clause that would have put the bill into effect shortly before the primary election in May, which county clerks had said would not give them enough time to prepare for the changes. The bill would require the Administrative Office of the Courts to send the State Board of Elections a list of persons convicted of a felony, including those who are appealing their cases, who under Kentuckys Constitution are disqualified from voting. Previously, some voting rights have been restored to people who have served sentences for non-violent offenses under the Beshear administration. Advertisement Advertisement The bill also would make changes affecting candidates, including one that could make races for judges more partisan by expressly permitting judicial candidates to disclose their political party affiliation. Also, the bill would change current law to allow members of Congress to run for both their congressional seat and in another election decided by the Electoral College, which is the presidential election. Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul meets with constituents in Wurtland in northeastern Kentucky, Sept. 24, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) Republican Paul ran for president in 2016 and pushed Kentucky Republicans at the time to have a nonbinding caucus instead of a primary for deciding presidential nominees. Before that, the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate passed a bill in 2014 that would allow federal candidates to have their name appear twice on a ballot, but it died in the Democratic-controlled House. Johnson didnt name Paul during the committee meeting, but said Kentucky has an elected official at the federal level who could also run for president and noted that it could apply to all of Kentuckys federal elected officials. I thought the best option was to allow them to be able to do both, and honor the desires of the voters that have already elected him, while at the same time giving him the opportunity to run for the most important office we have in our country, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Paul, who would be up for reelection in the U.S. Senate in 2028, has not ruled out running for president. Earlier this year, he told reporters in Frankfort that a decision would be a bridge we will cross after 2026. A spokesperson for him did not immediately return a request for comment on the proposal Thursday. Republicans voting against HB 534 Bowling, Clines, Fugate, Gooch, Grossl, Hale. Jackson, Lawrence, D. Lewis, S. Lewis, McCool, Neighbors. Payne, Petrie, Sharp, Thompson, Truett, Wesley. Whitaker, White, Wilson. Republican Rep. Jim Gooch Jr., of Providence, voted against the bill in committee because of the federal election clause. Advertisement Advertisement We have some members of our federal delegation that, to me, are becoming an embarrassment to Kentucky, and I wont vote for this bill as long as that clause is in there, he said. He later voted against it on the House floor. Some still have questions The Kentucky County Clerks Association appreciated that two of their concerns were removed from the bill the emergency clause and a section that would have made public cast voter records, or the electronic record created by a voting machine that shows an individual ballot without any voter-identifying information, said the associations lobbyist, Trey Grayson. Grayson said the clerks still have concerns about the provision for confirming voters citizenship. Another organization, the Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee, has raised issues with the section that would allow judicial candidates to discuss their political affiliation. After the first committee hearing on the bill, the organizations Chair Charles Boteler wrote in a letter to House members that the provision could lead to more partisan politics in the states judiciary. Advertisement Advertisement Voters dont read the Constitution, the statutes, or judicial canons, Boteler wrote. They see and hear judicial candidates campaigns, and those campaigns need to be conducted outside a partisan context, so voters do not see them through a partisan lens. They need to fully understand that judicial elections are different. Speaking after the committee meeting, Johnson, the bills sponsor, told reporters the bill protects judicial candidates constitutional speech rights. They should not have their First Amendment rights curtailed simply because theyve chosen to run for an office. The Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct governs political guidelines for judges and judicial candidates, including allowing them to register as a voter with a party but preventing them from endorsing candidates. Rep. Erika Hancock, D-Frankfort, said during the committee meeting that she views the bill as a solution looking for a problem. I know that we all want our election safe, but I still think in its current form, its still not really doing what its intended to do, she said. A Berlin court on Thursday jailed a Syrian man for 13 years for a jihadist-inspired knife attack on a Spanish tourist at the German capital's Holocaust memorial. The 20-year-old suspect, named only as Wassim Al M., was convicted of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and attempted membership of a terrorist organisation, the court said. The stabbing in February 2025 inflamed an already heated debate on migration just a few days before a general election in Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Presiding judge Doris Husch said said Al M. had committed the crime "in the name of the Islamic State (IS) group". "The victim only survived because the defendant missed major blood vessels by a few millimetres," she said. In a statement before the trial, the court said Al M. had intended to "target a person of the Jewish faith". He approached the 30-year-old victim from behind, among the concrete steles of the memorial, and "inflicted a 14-centimetre-long (more than five-inch) cut to his throat with a knife", the court said. The victim, who was visiting the memorial with two friends, was badly wounded but managed to stagger out of the steles before collapsing in front of the memorial. Advertisement Advertisement As Al M. was 19 at the time of the attack, the judges had to decide whether to apply juvenile or adult law under a special system for offenders aged 18-20 in Germany. They ruled he should be treated as an adult based on his emotional and psychological maturity at the time. - 'Deep shame' - During the trial, Al M. confessed to the crime, which he said had been motivated by his radicalisation and belief he was acting with a religious mission. "My shame is too deep, I ask for forgiveness," he told the court, according to his lawyer. Prosecutors said Al M. had "internalised IS ideology, rejected the Western way of life, and was convinced that a holy war against infidels must be waged worldwide". Advertisement Advertisement He shouted "Allahu akbar", or "God is the greatest", after the attack, the court was told. The suspect had travelled to Berlin from his home in the eastern city of Leipzig, motivated by his support for IS and "driven by the escalation of the Middle East conflict". Prosecutors said that shortly before the attack, he had sent a photo of himself to members of IS via a messaging service and offered his services as an IS member. Al M. "wanted to kill", prosecutor Michael Neuhaus told AFP on the sidelines of the trial. - Migration debate - "He had become radicalised in line with IS ideology..., believed he had a religious mission, wanted to send a message against liberal society and against Jews," Neuhaus said. Advertisement Advertisement Al M. was arrested when he returned to the scene of the attack with blood stains on his hands, carrying a copy of the Koran and a prayer rug. The assault shocked Germany two days before the February 2025 general election, after a campaign centred heavily on immigration and security fuelled by a series of deadly stabbing and car ramming attacks carried out by migrants. Germany is home to around a million Syrians -- many of whom arrived during the huge influx of refugees that peaked in 2015 under former chancellor Angela Merkel. Since the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad, debate has grown heated around whether wartime refugees should return to Syria. Advertisement Advertisement The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in particular has called for them to go home, highlighting a recent spate of high-profile violent crimes. Germany's conservative-led government in December deported a convicted criminal to Syria for the first time since 2011, following months of talks with Syria's new government. bur-fec/jsk/jj A Taco Cabana location on a busy San Antonio street remains closed for business months after the restaurant was allegedly locked out over unpaid rent. Now, a fence is wrapped around the building with strong signage to discourage trespassing on the property. A lockout notice appeared taped to the door of the Taco Cabana at 2908 Broadway, dated December 9, 2025. The notice included language that suggested the business was locked out over delinquent rent. MySA visited the fenced-off location on Tuesday, March 3, and there were no indications of life. However, Taco Cabana's signs and logo were still up. A lockout notice was posted to the front door of the Taco Cabana location on Broadway near The DoSeum. (Polly Anna Rocha/MySA) MySA reached out to Gonzalez, Chiscano, Angulo & Kasson, PC, the law firm listed on the lockout notice, to ask for an update on the property's status, but the firm appears to have been dissolved. We also attempted to reach out to Steve Chiscano by email, the primary contact listed on the notice, but we did not receive a response by the time of publishing. Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, MySA contacted marketing representatives for Taco Cabana to ask if the company still has ties to the property at 2908 Broadway. We will update this story if and when we hear back. Lastly, MySA emailed The DoSeum to ask if the children's museum had anything to comment about the property, since in 2025, the San Antonio Express-News reported that The DoSeum acquired the Taco Cabana property. San Antonio saw several closures of Taco Cabana locations in 2025. In November, a representative for the company told MySA that the closures were part of a strategic decision. This article originally published at Taco Cabana remains locked out of spot in busy San Antonio area over unpaid rent. Akbar Novruz Saudi Arabia and Qatar have strongly condemned Irans recent attacks targeting Turkiye and Azerbaijan, describing the actions as hostile violations of international law and a threat to regional stability, AzerNEWS reports. According to statements released by their foreign ministries, Saudi Arabia denounced what it described as Irans attempts to target both the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Riyadh characterized the actions as hostile acts that violate international law and internationally accepted norms. In its statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the attacks demonstrate an unjustifiable hostile stance. These cowardly attempts against both countries demonstrate a hostile position that cannot be justified under any circumstances, the ministry stated. Saudi Arabia also warned that Irans repeated actions against countries in the region risk escalating tensions and undermining regional security and stability. The statement emphasized that the government and people of the Kingdom stand in full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Riyadh reaffirmed its support for both countries right to defend their security, airspace, territorial integrity, and citizens, while also praising ongoing efforts aimed at preventing further escalation and maintaining regional stability. Meanwhile, Qatar also strongly condemned Irans actions, particularly the drone attack targeting an airport in Azerbaijan. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the targeting of Turkiye with a ballistic missile and the attack on an airport in Azerbaijan using Iranian drones constitute hostile acts. Doha described the incidents as a dangerous escalation and a clear violation of state sovereignty, warning that such actions pose a direct threat to regional peace and stability. The ministry reiterated Qatars full solidarity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan and expressed its support for all measures both countries may take to protect their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. Global telcos gathering in force this week during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, are working on rebranding themselves as AI, cloud, and edge providers, alongside long-established hyperscaler and platform services rivals. Operators are tackling this via connectivity with AI tooling (and necessary compute), leveraged through partnerships, and released as part of their evolving portfolios, including edge cloud, sovereign cloud, and AI-injected connectivity. The infrastructure leaders are going after cloud giants customer base, including enterprises and the public sector. The cloud ecosystem is evolving quickly and is more confusing than ever, because theres so much competition and cooperation among players spanning the entire cloud stack. The early years of digital transformation focused on the app modernisation part of digitisation; now the industry is focused on infrastructure modernisation, said Charlotte Dunlap, GlobalData research director. That means networking and telecommunications players are stepping up to fill in the gaps left by application platform services providers. What this means to enterprises is an increase in hyperscaler partnerships to enable telco workloads in the cloud, including edge compute, and a trend towards telcos being able to co-sell cloud services--think Red Hat OpenShift platform services. Those platform service providers opening up their Kubernetes container and GenAI service opportunities to new infrastructure partnerships will open the floodgates of opportunity for themselves and partners, Dunlap added. Platform providers have been faltering in their ability to keep up with integration and consulting demands from enterprise customers. Telco/platform partnerships represent a win-win for the industry. Telcos and network providers are leveraging GenAI and even AIOps to improve their network automation capabilities and to ensure secure connectivity. In this way, managed cybersecurity represents a top-shelf digital transformation offering that infrastructure players can lead with as they go after the cloud space. Enterprises know that telcos will handle the heavy lifting of infrastructure modernisation requirements (e.g., redesigning network architecture) to support these technologies. Finally, operators are exposing network functions through standardised APIs to build out enterprise developer followings and play a role in the application layer of the cloud stack. Popular network services include identity, fraud detection, location, and QoS. These activities are often associated with GSMA/Open Gateway. A tanker anchored south-east of Kuwaits Mubarak Al Kabeer port experienced a large explosion on its port side, began taking on water and leaked oil into the sea, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The vessels master reported seeing a small craft depart the vicinity after the explosion, which happened 30 nautical miles (56km) from the Kuwaiti port. The UKMTO stated: There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank, which could have some environmental impact, the vessel has taken on water, there are no fires reported and the crew are safe. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities are investigating and the British maritime security agency has advised other vessels in the area to remain alert and report unusual activity. Kuwaits Interior Ministry confirmed that the incident occurred outside its territorial waters, at least 60km from the port. The UKMTO received the initial report at 22:40 UTC on 4 March. Separately, Reuters cited Sonangol Marine Services in reporting an incident involving the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe near Iraqs Khor al Zubair port. An unidentified small boat approached the vessel at 01:20 local time on 5 March. Sonangol Marine Services said: The small boat approached the port side of the tanker and a short time later a loud bang was heard. Advertisement Advertisement The company reported that the crew noticed a port ballast tank was losing water, suggesting a possible breach in the hull but confirmed the vessel remains stable and afloat. The vessel was not carrying cargo and there were no reports of pollution. The Sonangol Namibe was under contract with Iraqs state oil marketer, SOMO, and planned to load 80,000t of Iraqi fuel, Reuters reported, citing sources in Iraqs energy sector and shipping industry. In another regional development, Irans Revolutionary Guard announced it had struck a US tanker in the northern Gulf and claimed the ship was on fire. Earlier in the week, debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire at the Fujairah oil trading hub in the United Arab Emirates, contributing to ongoing disruptions affecting energy facilities across the Middle East. These events follow increased instability after Operation Epic Fury, which was launched by US and Israeli forces against Iran. Advertisement Advertisement As a result of this operation, Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory actions targeting various locations across the Middle East. "Tanker suffers explosion and oil leak off Kuwaiti coast" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. Fallen ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsors troubles may be just beginning sources exclusively tell the National Enquirer authorities have raided his official workspace at Buckingham Palace! Investigators have examined records and devices tied specifically to Andrew and certain former staff members, says a royal insider, noting the raid was conducted following Andrews Feb. 19 arrest over whether he sold secrets while he served as the U.K.s trade envoy. It was handled professionally and without spectacle. But make no mistake they looked. At the same time, the Enquirer has uncovered two bombshells that could be the final nail in Randy Andys coffin. Sources say in January 2012, the body of Alisa Dmitrijeva, a 17-year-old girl from Latvia, was found in a wooded area on the Sandringham estate which was then owned by the late Queen Elizabeth II over four months after the tragic teen was reported missing. Some believe the palace tried to cover up the incident, says a source. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities in Latvia where now-dead Jeffrey Epstein and his cohorts allegedly recruited sex slaves have launched an investigation into the notorious pedophiles trafficking of its nationals for the purpose of sexual exploitation, Ilze Jurevica, a spokesperson for the Latvian State Police, tells the Enquirer. We will not be able to comment on investigations conducted by other countries, therefore we encourage you to address any questions of interest to the investigative authorities in the U.K., Jurevica says. From our side, we can confirm that if the U.K. authorities submit a request for cooperation, the State Police of Latvia will provide the necessary support. When informed about Dmitrijevas death, Jurevica adds, Given that the [Latvia] investigation is at an early stage, the State Police of Latvia is refraining from providing further comments at this time. Theres no evidence linking Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell the dead creeps convicted co-conspirator or Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles by brother King Charles, to Dmitrijeva or her untimely end. In another bombshell, a tip cited in a July 2020 FBI report, which was part of the investigation files released by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Epstein, describes an alleged mid-1990s incident in which Andrew gleefully looked on as Maxwell tortured a young girl believed to be 6 to 8 years old with electrical shocks at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. The feds no doubt probed Andrew about this, says the source. Advertisement Advertisement Julian Peribanez a renowned private detective in Barcelona, Spain, and author of Stolen Innocence, which exposed sex abuse cover-ups by rich predators believes the former royal and his powerful pals should be investigated for sex crimes. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing. Peribanez tells the Enquirer, The U.K. is taking the Epstein files very seriously more than any other country but no one is being prosecuted for the abuse of children. There should be an investigation into the real crime of abusing children, not just [Andrews alleged] selling of secrets. The nationality of the child allegedly strapped to a table and tormented by Maxwell is unknown. Advertisement Advertisement Sources say police have also searched Andrews former home Royal Lodge in Windsor and his current residence, Wood Farm at Sandringham, which is now owned by the king. As of press time, Andrew has not been criminally charged. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a federal lockup in Texas following her 2021 sex trafficking conviction for serving up women and girls to her twisted boss. Emails obtained by the Enquirer show Epstein who was found hanged inside his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges had a team of recruiters posing as modeling agents preying on barely legal gals around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Hello Jeffery, starts one disturbing 2009 email from the Epstein files. I just found an amizinng One [sic] she is 20 years old but she looks younger from Latvia. Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is demanding an investigation into whether Andrew used taxpayer-funded planes, Royal Air Force bases and Londons Stansted Airport to help Epstein import victims from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. In a chilling 2014 email, Epsteins former girlfriend Karyna Shuliak, who was a dental student at Columbia University, mysteriously alerts him about a missing 29-year-old classmate, who was later found floating in the Hudson River. Her death was declared a suicide. Peribanez, who has spent two decades investigating pedophile rings, tells the Enquirer some trafficked victims are killed during encounters with psychopaths and other sickos, who engage in rough torture sex. Advertisement Advertisement Says the investigator, These things never end well. Read More From National Enquirer This story Teenagers Body Found in Wooded Area on the Queen Elizabeth-Owned Sandringham Estate in 2012 first appeared on National Enquirer. Add National Enquirer as a Preferred Source by clicking here. By targeting every GCC member with missiles and drones, Tehran has achieved the unthinkable: placing Israel and Qatar on the same team. This strategic blunder may finally cement a regional axis. To many, it seems like an end-of-days scenario: Qatar and Israel on the same team. Who would have thought? In September, Israel attacked in Qatar, targeting terrorist leaders the Gulf state was housing. But here we are. After five days of war with Iran, the Iranians have succeeded in putting Israel and Qatar on the same team to say nothing of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and even Saudi Arabia all countries targeted over the past five days by Iranian missiles and drones. Advertisement Advertisement By some estimates, Iran has fired more missiles and drones at Gulf states combined than at Israel. What Iran may have done is something Israel has long struggled to achieve diplomatically: place Israel and several Sunni Arab states on the same side of a regional conflict. By striking the Gulf states directly, Tehran has widened the war in a way that forces governments across the region to reconsider where their interests truly lie. Within the first 48 hours, Tehran launched missiles and drones not only toward Israel but toward every member of the Gulf Cooperation Council: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. What might initially have appeared to be a confrontation between Iran and the US and Israel quickly transformed into something wider a regional conflict touching key Sunni Arab states. Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, February 28, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER) And it was not only countries that have agreements with Israel that were targeted the UAE and Bahrain but also countries that have tried to maintain good relations with Iran, such as Qatar and Oman. Even Turkey announced on Wednesday that an Iranian missile was downed as it headed toward its airspace. By going after these countries, Iran is signaling that it wants everyone in the region to formally pick a side. Advertisement Advertisement Tellingly, the strikes in the Gulf states were aimed largely at civilian targets rather than solely at US bases and facilities located in those countries. The strikes went far beyond American installations and hit airports, hotels, and oil infrastructure. Why? The conventional wisdom is that Tehran hopes to sow chaos in the region and pressure those countries now under attack to lean on Washington to call off the campaign before the situation spirals even further out of control. In some respects, this echoes what Saddam Hussein tried to do in 1991 during a war that, incidentally, ended on Purim. Even though it served no operational military purpose, Saddam fired Scud missiles at Israel during that conflict. His aim was political: He hoped to draw Israel into the war so that Arab countries, part of the coalition painstakingly assembled by then-US president George H.W. Bush, would abandon the war effort rather than be seen fighting alongside the Jewish state. Advertisement Advertisement Bush convinced then-prime minister Yitzhak Shamir to stay out of the war even after Israel was hit something that went against every fiber of Shamirs being. Iran pushes Gulf states into the war Today, Iran appears to be attempting something similar, though with the logic turned on its head. Instead of trying to pull Israel into the war, Tehran is dragging the Gulf states into it. By striking them directly, Iran is placing those governments on the horns of a dilemma: Do they give in to Irans attacks and push for a ceasefire to avoid further damage, or do they move closer to Israel and the US and join the offensive against Iran? As of Wednesday evening, the Gulf states beyond defensive action have stopped short of joining the military campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Qatar reported that it had shot down Iranian fighter planes in its airspace, and other states have activated their air defenses. But for now, the Gulf governments have largely limited their response to issuing warnings and releasing strong statements condemning the Iranian attacks. They have not formally joined the operations. But that may change. And if it does, it would represent a tipping point in the region. Forget all the discussion about Arab states normalizing ties with Jerusalem for a moment. There is no clearer form of normalization with Israel than fighting alongside it and the US against a common enemy. This turn of events also reinforces something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued for decades: that Israel and the moderate Sunni states have far more in common than not. Advertisement Advertisement The current struggle with Iran may drive home to those governments and perhaps to their publics that the primary threat to regional stability is not Israel or the Palestinian issue, as is often proclaimed in official rhetoric, but Iran and its regional ambitions. Instead of dividing the Gulf states, Iran may be pushing them closer to Israel. Netanyahu hinted at this possibility in an interview with Fox News on Monday when asked whether he sees a path toward peace with Saudi Arabia. I think Saudi Arabia will have a great deal to gain with the fall of the current regime in Iran, Netanyahu said. And I think that all the countries around Iran feel threatened by Iran. I believe they would like to see this regime fall, even if they do not say so publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Once Iran was removed, he said, peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be very possible and probably very close. By framing the war in these terms, Netanyahu is arguing that the ultimate payoff of this confrontation could be regional peace, and that this conflict itself may prove transformational. His assertion that the war could usher in an era of peace that we havent even dreamed of elevates the campaign from just another Middle Eastern war into a potential historic turning point. Critics may argue that this vision is overly optimistic. Yet the very fact that Qatar of all countries and Israel now find themselves effectively on the same side of the conflict suggests that something significant may indeed be shifting. Netanyahus idea of a regional security alliance outlined in his 2024 speech to a joint session of Congress an Abraham Alliance linking Israel with Arab states against Iran, was long seen as aspirational, even fanciful. Irans decision to strike Sunni Arab neighbors directly may now make that architecture more conceivable. Faced with the same missiles, drones, and threats, Gulf states may increasingly find themselves confronting the same reality Israel has warned about for decades. If that recognition takes hold not only among leaders but among their publics Irans decision to widen this war may come to be seen as one of the most consequential strategic miscalculations in the region since Jordans King Hussein decided to enter the Six Day War against Israel in 1967. Iran has launched another missile attack on Israel, the Israeli military reported on Thursday. Several missiles were detected, triggering warning sirens across the Tel Aviv area. Media reports also indicated that Jerusalem was threatened by the strikes. According to the Israeli news portal ynet, since the start of the war with Iran on Saturday, civil defence authorities have dealt with 13 impact sites causing "significant destruction" in Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Overall, however, there has been a decline in Iranian rocket attacks. Israel is preparing for the possibility that, in addition to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi militia in Yemen could enter the conflict. The Israeli military says it continues to monitor Houthi capabilities and is preparing for potential attacks. LINCOLN State budget tensions boiled over onto the floor of the Nebraska Legislature Thursday in the aftermath of lawmakers rejecting a $50 million proposal to increase the states cigarette tax. Lawmakers appear to be in a standoff over options to help fill the states projected budget deficit, which is listed at $125 million but in reality is closer to $140 million. Senators have plenty of avenues to solve the issue, but do any of them have enough support to pass? Advertisement Advertisement My greatest concern is that were going to look like Washington D.C. before we get done with this session, said Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista. On Wednesday, the cigarette tax proposal, Legislative Bill 1124, failed to advance to a second round of floor debate when a filibuster-ending cloture motion failed in a 31-10 vote. Cloture motions require 33 votes to pass. The bill would have increased Nebraskas cigarette tax by $1, moving from 64 cents per pack to $1.64. The same measure would have increased taxes on vape products, too. State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Appropriations Committee, has said the bill would have generated up to $50 million in revenue per year, and lessened the deficit by the same amount. The failure of the bill came as a sting to some proponents who thought they had reached a compromise just before the vote. Lawmakers approved an amendment that would have removed the increase to the cigarette tax and kept the increased tax on vape products, lowering the potential new revenue stream to about $6 million each year. Advertisement Advertisement The amendments adoption became moot a few minutes later when LB 1124 failed the cloture vote. On Thursday, several lawmakers expressed frustration over Wednesdays vote. State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, who sits on Appropriations, said he plans to propose several options in committee that he previously did not support and feels he has no other choice but to back. Some of these other things I will vote for now that I had voted against, Dorn said. Among the options Dorn listed was pulling back $3.5 million for school choice scholarships, and he said he might support increasing transfers out of the Nebraska Environmental Trust and the Nebraska Board of Educational Lands and Funds (BELF). Advertisement Advertisement He also threw out the possibility of furloughing all state employees for 20 hours, noting that roughly two decades ago, lawmakers furloughed state employees for 40 hours in order to balance the budget. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who led the filibuster on LB 1124, called out Dorn for his speech, describing it as a threat to hurt low-income Nebraskans further if lawmakers dont agree on the presented options. She argued that alternatives proposed by progressive lawmakers often get immediately shut down or trapped in committee and are not given serious consideration. The fact that the reaction after the vote rumbling on the floor, and now the group chat histrionics that have spilled into the legislative record from the right are present and clear on the mic, Conrad said. If you Democrats, and you hard-right conservatives dont get in line, the result is were going to hurt the poor more. Thats your philosophy that youre proud of? Kenny Zoeller, director of Gov. Jim Pillens Policy Research Office, said Wednesday that if LB 1124 failed, it may require across-the-board cuts to balance the budget. State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk, an Appropriations member, spoke against this approach Thursday, calling it an easy political out. Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Dover expressed frustration over how debate on LB 1124 ended, saying it shouldnt have happened the way it did. He argued that increasing Nebraskas cigarette tax would only impact people who choose to partake in an unhealthy habit and warned lawmakers that more painful cuts could be on the way if they cant agree. This could be a nuclear event, everyone, Dover said. State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, who introduced LB 1124, said he has witnessed a desire to bring back his proposal for another vote, but that he wasnt yet sure of the correct bill to attach it to. Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, another Appropriations member, opposed some of the transfers Dorn proposed from the Environmental Trust and BELF, arguing that moving more money from those cash funds would invite a lawsuit because of constitutional protections. Cavanaugh advocated instead for pausing the last step of the states phased income tax rate reductions, saying that would generate enough revenue to fix the current deficit and help future state budgets. However, Dorn and several other Appropriations members have called that option a non-starter. State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth introduced LB 171, which would pause the phased reductions. Nebraskas income tax rate has been gradually lowering for several years, and is set to stop in 2027 when it reaches 3.99%. The current income tax rate is 4.55%. Brandt estimated that pausing the final reduction would generate about $200 million per year. Advertisement Advertisement While Brandt is a registered Republican, he said he hasnt heard much interest from other Republicans to adopt LB 171, and he doesnt plan to push for it unless he hears more support. State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington, a registered Democrat, expressed support for his option Thursday. She argued that the states deficit problem has grown severe enough that lawmakers should consider options they previously resisted. If everything is on the table, then everything needs to be on the table, she said. Arch encouraged the body to be more willing to find compromise and urged senators against filibustering every proposal that has opposition. Advertisement Advertisement We, this Legislature, have the responsibility to present a budget, Arch said. We have the responsibility to appropriate. We cannot abdicate that because we cant come to agreement. Cavanaugh noted that Republicans currently hold a majority in the Legislature and have been in control of Nebraskas state government for decades, and she believes their leadership has led to the current problem. She further argued that Republican lawmakers dont want to consider progressive ideas. They just want progressive lawmakers to agree with their ideas, she said. Republicans idea of compromise, she said, is for Democrats to do what they want. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The West Virginia Senate adopted a fast-tracked bill on Wednesday that would weaken oversight for aboveground storage tanks across the state that are used to hold liquids from industrial, mining, utility or energy operations, with many near drinking water sources. Senate Bill 641 sped through the Senate this week before passing on Wednesday, which was the final day it could be adopted by the body due to the deadline requiring that most bills be passed from their chamber of origin. Despite being introduced on Jan. 28, the bill was first considered and passed by the Senate Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining Monday. By Wednesday, it was on third reading and up for adoption in front of the full chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, is the lead sponsor of the bill. He said on the floor Wednesday that lawmakers worked in good faith with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the oil and gas industry to craft the legislation. He did not mention any work done during bill drafting with water protection organizations or individuals who live in communities downstream from the tanks that would face fewer regulations if the law is enacted. SB 641 passed the Senate 24-9, with one member absent and not voting. Seven Republican senators joined Democrats Joey Garcia, D-Marion, and Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, in voting against the bill. The bill will now move to the House for consideration. The proposed bill would make tanks holding 50,000 gallons or less of brine water or other liquids produced by hydrocarbon activities in zones of critical concern to be classified as level 2 tanks instead of level 1. In state code, level 1 tanks near drinking water sources face tighter rules on how theyre built, contained and monitored. When a tank is downgraded to level 2, it remains on the books, but with weaker requirements and fewer safeguards against leakage and spills. Some of the tanks in those critical concern zones would be exempt from official inspections by the state. Instead, the owners or operators of the tanks would be responsible for self-inspecting and self-certifying the tanks at least annually. Those inspections would still be sent to the state. They would also be required to perform secondary containment inspections at least once per a month. Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, lawmakers adopted an amendment from Rose via voice vote that allows companies to use remote non-destructive technology to perform inspections in order to reduce, to the extent possible, human entry into confined spaces. Tensions rise with personal attacks against experts during debate Lawmakers voted down an amendment from Garcia that would have limited what tanks would qualify for lower regulations to only tanks containing brine water. He said that other tanks should remain under stricter oversight because they contain materials that, even at low concentrations, are linked to kidney disease, cancer and more if consumed by humans. If leaks occur at these tanks, Garcia continued, residents downstream could face significant health impacts that arent worth the risk. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said that lawmakers should focus on protecting drinking water sources instead of leaving them more vulnerable under the provisions of SB 641. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography) Scott Mandirola, the technical advisor on water policy and regulations for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said in an interview Wednesday that only about 13% of the tanks that SB 641 would weaken regulations for roughly 85 tanks total contain brine water. Advertisement Advertisement According to documents provided to West Virginia Watch from the Rivers Coalition through a Freedom of Information Act request to the DEP, hundreds of other tanks that would see regulations weakened under the proposed bill could also contain gasoline, diesel, benzene, xylene and more. The argument being made is that none of these tanks have ever caused an issue with a drinking water source, Mandirola said. The key phrase there that should be included in that argument is: Yet. Mandirola worked as the DEP deputy cabinet secretary for about 10 years before joining the Rivers Coalition in 2025. Before that, he headed the agencys Division of Water and Waste Management from 2008-2018. Mandirola testified in the Senate Energy Committee on Monday, where he said the proposed changes in SB 641 would significantly weaken protections for drinking water in communities where aboveground storage tanks are located. Response times to potential leaks would be longer, he said. Standards for building the tanks to ensure they remain resilient would be lowered. Advertisement Advertisement While debating Garcias amendment on the floor Wednesday, Rose insinuated that Mandirola previously misled the Senate Energy Committee when he testified in front of it in 2024 while working for the DEP regarding a similar bill. Mandirola, Rose alleged, gave misleading information for personal gain. Garcia was quick to refute Rose. He said it was below the body of the Senate to impugn someones reputation and drag somebodys name through the mud during a policy debate. In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Mandirola said Rose was misinformed. He urged Rose to look at publicly available documents from the DEP information he oversaw the collection of during his tenure there and see for himself that oil and gas industry groups arent giving him the full truth. The body ultimately voted down Garcias amendment 6-27 with one member absent and not voting. Who gains and who could be hurt by weaker aboveground storage tank regulations The goal of SB 641, Rose said, was to help small, mom-and-pop oil and gas companies overcome burdensome regulations. Advertisement Advertisement This is regulatory relief for small mom-and-pop gas producers in the state of West Virginia, who are barely getting by because we keep piling on regulations, Rose said. Every time ones not followed, we add 10 more to it, saying thatll fix it. Well just keep piling them on and regulate everything to death to where every business leaves West Virginia. But documents from the DEP show that more than just small companies would benefit. Large oil and gas companies from Kentucky and Pennsylvania to Colorado and Texas are located in zones of critical concern and could see fewer regulations through the passage SB 641. Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said she supported SB 641 because it would be good for West Virginians despite having no stake in the bill herself. Rucker received thousands in political donations from the oil and gas industry during her last two elections. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography) Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said she supported the bill as an outside observer. Her district in the Eastern Panhandle has limited oil and gas operations. I want to point out that I have no stake whatsoever in gas and oil. I dont have anything to gain from this legislation other than that it is something that is important to West Virginians, Rucker said. Advertisement Advertisement According to campaign finance filings with the West Virginia Secretary of States office, Rucker received at least $21,000 from lobbying groups, individuals and businesses within the oil and gas industry during her elections in 2020 and 2024. The state first adopted the Aboveground Storage Tank Act with unanimous support in 2014. Just two months before, a tank containing the coal-cleaning chemical MCHM leaked from Freedom Industries into the Elk River, contaminating the water supply for residents of nine West Virginia counties, mostly in the Kanawha Valley. As many as 300,000 residents were ordered not to drink or bathe in the tap water for days. The initial Aboveground Storage Tank Act added language requiring that all tanks be registered and an inventory list be kept detailing what they contained. Operators and owners were directed to craft spill response plans and give guidance on how local water supplies could be impacted if a spill were to occur. The act also codified the requirement that all tanks receive certified inspections to ensure they are working as intended. Advertisement Advertisement In the last 12 years, there have been at least 12 attempts in the Legislature to loosen requirements made under the original Aboveground Storage Tank Act in 2014, according to the state Legislatures bill tracker. Some have been adopted while others have died in committees without being taken up for consideration. In 2017, Mandirola said, legislation was adopted to exempt about 22,000 tanks from the Act. SB 641 would remove an additional 1,000 tanks. More than 650 of those are tied directly to the oil and gas industry activities. While he was with the DEP in 2024, Mandirola said he worked on a report to show where reported leaks in aboveground storage tanks came from. About 80% of those leaks, he said, were associated with hydrocarbon activities the exact kinds of tanks that would be less regulated under SB 641. So (the oil and gas industry groups) are not necessarily the most reliable when it comes to tanks, Mandirola said. Unregulating them or lessening regulations on tanks in critical drinking water areas, or tanks tied to certain industries, well that seems to be foolish. Advertisement Advertisement Garcia urged his colleagues to protect drinking water for hundreds of communities in West Virginia where residents downstream of these tanks could be put at serious risk if leaks occur without oversight. The current law, he said, has worked well and changing it is not worth the risk SB 641 could pose. There hasnt been another Freedom Industries (chemical spill,) and so I think its important that we keep good regulations that protect our drinking water, Garcia said. There are very few things more important than that. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Longtime west Michigan meteorologist Terri DeBoer is running for Congress, aiming to flip a Grand Rapids-based seat that's turned into a stronghold for Democrats in recent elections. DeBoer, a Republican, seeks to challenge U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, this November. Scholten has represented Michigan's 3rd Congressional District since 2022. DeBoer's campaign filed a statement of organization with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday, March 4, records show. More: When is Michigan's 2026 primary election? Dates to know Advertisement Advertisement "Each day American families sit around their kitchen tables making the hard choices to pay the bills and provide food for their families," DeBoer said on her campaign website. "Congress has failed them over and over again by focusing on political games and special interests. There will be a lot to get done when I am in Congress, but off the bat I will prioritize policies that lower the cost of living for West Michiganders, protect the vulnerable among us, and keep our communities safe." While it's carried a reputation for producing prominent Republicans like former President Gerald R. Ford and the influential DeVos family, among others, Kent County in general has drifted toward Democrats over the past decade. Despite President Donald Trump carrying Michigan in 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris won Kent County by almost 20,000 votes, or around five percentage points, when she was the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. The top-of-ticket Democrat has won Kent County in every statewide election dating back to 2018. Still, with races for a new governor and a U.S. Senate seat on the ballot this year, Kent County will likely be a battleground for both parties as they try to convince voters. DeBoer most recently worked for FOX-17 (WXMI), having announced her departure from the station in February. She spent the bulk of her career at WOOD TV-8, a local NBC affiliate. She's the first Republican candidate to announce a run in the 3rd District this year, according to campaign filings. You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Veteran TV presence Terri DeBoer to challenge Scholten for Congress A Texas energy company has applied to build a 17-mile pipeline in Dona Ana County in order to help power a controversial data center in Southern New Mexico. Several southern New Mexico Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups plan to lodge objections to Houston-headquartered Energy Transfers proposal for the $60 million pipeline, which it filed in February with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The project would pipe 400,000 dekatherms of gas daily to power plants for Project Jupiter, according to the nearly 900-page application for the $60 million pipeline, dubbed the Green Chile Project. As a point of comparison, that amount of gas used daily would supply winter heating in Espanola for one year, according to Lu Liu, an assistant civil engineering professor at Iowa State University. Energy Transfer requested FERC allow the construction to start on April 15, just days after the public comment period closes on April 13, in order for the pipeline to be operational by Aug.15. However, the application notes that the project would require additional state and federal permits to move forward. Energy Transfer did not respond to phone and emailed requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement The construction would mostly take place on federal Bureau of Land Management and private lands, but would require approval from the New Mexico State Land Office for a small portion of just over half a mile. Joey Keefe, assistant commissioner of communications for the state land office said his agency is still reviewing the application and that the portion on state land cant be built without that approval. Energy Transfers application also notes that the pipeline depends on the state environment department approving Project Jupiters air permit applications for twin natural gas generating stations. Public comment for those applications ended on March 2. The state has until April 22 to make a decision, the agencys Communications Director Drew Goretzka told Source NM, he said otherwise the state had no authority on the pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement Several state officials and advocates said they were unaware of the proposed pipeline until contacted by Source NM. We continue to learn things daily about the scale, the breadth, and in this case, the speed of which theyre just dead set on moving their plan forward in a way that puts at risk the air quality and public health of southern New Mexico, State Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) said. In the 2026 session, Steinborn introduced legislation that would have added requirements for private power plants to follow state laws requiring electricity generation from renewable resources. It failed to clear both chambers. New Mexico remains incredibly vulnerable to climate vultures coming in and setting up big polluting sites in the name of economic development, and our law does not protect us, our law does not create those guardrails, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) said she was concerned federal regulators would rubber-stamp the proposal, despite community concerns. Im flabbergasted it is the only word that comes to mind, she said in a call with Source NM. Its a threat to our democracy in the sense that people genuinely do not want this project here and its still moving forward as if its being supported. Last September, county officials approved $165 billion in bonds for the data center, even as the project estimates it could emit as much greenhouse gases as New Mexicos two largest cities combined. Local environmental groups have accused local officials of violating state transparency laws and of an improper process in the bond vote. Camilla Feibelman, director for the Rio Grande Sierra Club, said the organization would make formal objections to Energy Transfers proposal during the public comment period. Advertisement Advertisement If this company thinks that there wont be any protests to turning New Mexico into a methane gas sacrifice zone, they have another thing coming, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EL PASO, TX A large immigration detention center in West Texas is under quarantine and has been closed to visitors and attorneys due to a measles outbreak, multiple sources told the El Paso Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. The quarantine of the sprawling facility follows multiple confirmed cases of measles and at least two cases of tuberculosis at Camp East Montana, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in East El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border. The detention center is located on Fort Bliss property. In a statement on March 3, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar said there are 14 active cases of measles inside the facility, and 112 people are being isolated. The detention center will remain closed to visitors and attorneys until March 19 or March 20, according to Escobar, a Democrat whose El Paso district includes the facility. Advertisement Advertisement "While on one hand, it is a good thing that the measles outbreak is being taken seriously, on the other hand, I am alarmed that a preventable crisis has created conditions where detainees can only access their lawyers virtually," Escobar said in the statement. "There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city." Crystal Sandoval, a legal representative with the immigration rights group Las Americas, is one of those who was told she was unable to go and meet with a potential client due to the spread of infectious diseases at the detention center. Sandoval claimed that cases of measles have been spreading in Camp East Montana for the last three weeks. "The measles outbreak didn't happen just now," Sandoval said. "This has been going on for the past three weeks." The city of El Paso previously reported that the 13 measles cases were registered at the detention center. The announcement was made ahead of the decision to quarantine the center. Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to the El Paso Times' requests for information regarding the quarantine. ICE detention center scrutinized over claims of inadequate medical care Camp East Montana has been plagued by controversy since it began receiving detainees in August 2025. Civil rights advocates and Escobar have raised concerns about poor conditions at the center, including allegations of a lack of medical care. Escobar condemned reported attempts to quarantine detainees at local hospitals, and said her office was never informed of the outbreak and quarantine. She also criticized the company contracted to run the detention center, Acquisition Logistics LLC, which was given $1.24 billion in taxpayer dollars to construct and operate the detention center for ICE. Escobar has repeatedly raised concerns that Acquisition Logistics LLC, based in Henrico, Virginia, is not complying with its responsibilities. Loyal Source, a company based in Orlando, Florida, is contracted to provide medical services at the detention center. Advertisement Advertisement "Despite what I was initially told about the level of medical care inside the facility, it became very clear to me early on that serious medical issues were being overlooked and, in some cases, medical attention was non-existent for urgent health issues," Escobar said in the statement. "There has also been consistently subpar access to hygiene, janitorial, and laundry services. Whether this has been deliberate on the part of the contractor, or a result of incompetence, the end result is the same: a violation of federal standards and outright fraud," she added. Following the news of the measles outbreak at Camp East Montana, Charlotte Weiss, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, called for the closure of the detention center. "The measles outbreak at Camp East Montana is a heartbreaking and foreseeable result of a facility that deprives individuals of soap and delays the provision of critical medical care," Weiss said. "For months, the facility has been on notice of its abuses and refuses to improve its conditions. Camp East Montana must be shut down." Advertisement Advertisement The DHS has previously said that quality medical care is provided to detainees at immigration centers and has denied allegations of mistreatment. 'We smelled worse than animals': Immigrant women describe 'hell on earth' in ICE detention Camp East Montana faces claims of repeated abuses Both national and state lawmakers have called for an investigation into claims of abuses and inhumane conditions at Camp East Montana. There have been at least three deaths at the detention center since it opened last August. Escobar and congressional Democrats called on the Trump administration to close the detention center in a letter they sent to the DHS on Feb. 26. Escobar raised major concerns in the letter about the lack of medical attention at the facility and suggested that Francisco Gaspar Cristobal Andres, the first detainee to die in December 2025, died as a result of medical neglect. Advertisement Advertisement Another detainee, Geraldo Lunas Campos, died in January. His death, ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner, prompted civil rights advocates and local officials to call for an independent probe into the incident. The death of a third detainee, Victor Manuel Diaz, was also reported by ICE as a presumed suicide in January, but the official cause of death remains under investigation. Last year, the El Paso Times reported nearly 90 emergency 911 calls coming from the detention center in the first 15 weeks of operation. The Washington Post reported multiple violations during the facility's construction, and the American Civil Liberties Union has alleged acts of physical violence against detainees and attempts to force detainees to self-deport. Detainees held at the detention center have detailed to the El Paso Times abuses they faced inside Camp East Montana before their deportations, echoing the interviews done by the American Civil Liberties Union. Advertisement Advertisement Both Cristobal Andres' widow, Lucia Pedro Juan, and another detainee, Ricardo Andrade Mosquera, who was deported to southern Mexico, claimed that medical attention was almost nonexistent, detailing how there was regular flooding and unsanitary conditions in the facility. The former detainees also detailed being verbally abused by guards, including being called "donkeys" and threats against their loved ones. 'No explanation. No warning.' Tourists detained by ICE say they were treated like 'the worst criminal' Report: Homeland Security taking steps to close Camp East Montana On March 4, Escobar said in a statement she was "rejoicing that this dark chapter is over" in response to reports that ICE is closing Camp East Montana. Earlier, the Washington Post reported that the DHS is taking steps to close the detention center. An internal ICE document obtained by the Post stated that the DHS was looking to terminate its contract with Acquisition Logistics LLC. The report does not include a timeline for closure. Advertisement Advertisement Camp East Montana is the largest ICE detention center in the United States and is designed to hold up to 5,000 detainees for deportation. Escobar's office previously reported that as of February, about 1,800 immigrants were being held at Camp East Montana down from a high of 3,100 detainees in January. US Rep. Escobar: ICE looking to close sprawling immigration detention camp Measles outbreak comes after cases reached record high in U.S. last year The measles outbreak at Camp East Montana comes after other cases were confirmed at ICE facilities in Texas and Arizona earlier this year. In late January, two measles cases were confirmed at the South Texas Family Residential Center, a detention center in Dilley, a small town over 70 miles southwest of San Antonio. That same month, three cases of measles were confirmed among immigration detainees in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement The United States surpassed 2,000 cases of measles, one of the most contagious infectious diseases, in 2025 the highest number of cases in 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, a total of 2,255 confirmed measles cases were reported across the country, CDC data shows. Of those, 2,230 cases occurred in 44 states, while the remaining 25 cases were reported among international visitors to the United States not linked to any specific U.S. state or location. West Texas was the epicenter of measles cases in the United States in 2025, with more than 760 cases confirmed by August. State health officials later declared that the outbreak had ended. The outbreak resulted in three deaths, including two children. Health officials are also still responding to an outbreak in parts of Utah and Arizona. In January, health officials in South Carolina reported nearly 800 measles cases, overtaking the West Texas outbreak. Advertisement Advertisement So far this year, the CDC has reported 1,136 confirmed cases of measles across the country as of Feb. 26. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas ICE detention center under quarantine after measles outbreak US Congressman Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an extra-marital affair with an aide, having previously denied that the relationship happened. The Texas Republican, who is married with six children, said the relationship with married staff member Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide last year, was a "mistake" and a "lapse in judgement". "I take full responsibility for my actions," Gonzales, 45, told a podcast. Advertisement Advertisement His admission came hours after a House of Representatives panel launched an ethics investigation into the relationship, and ahead of a primary run-off election. Gonzales had previously dismissed the allegations as "blackmail" and a "co-ordinated" attack to unseat him. The primary race to decide whether Gonzales can remain as the congressional district's Republican candidate is headed towards a May run-off after neither Gonzales nor rival Brandon Herrera crossed the 50% vote threshold earlier this week. Whoever becomes the party's nominee will stand in November's midterm election. The district, which runs along the US-Mexico border, is heavily Republican-leaning. Gonzales was endorsed by US President Donald Trump before the affair allegations surfaced. Advertisement Advertisement The lawmaker is now facing growing calls for his resignation. On Thursday, the Republican leadership in Congress said Gonzales should end his re-election campaign. "We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues," said a joint statement from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and congresswoman Lisa McClain. "In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election." Santos-Aviles died in September 2025, after setting herself on fire near her home in Uvalde, Texas. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News. Advertisement Advertisement Gonzales told conservative podcaster Joe Pags in an interview released on Wednesday that Santos-Aviles' death had nothing to do with the affair, saying she was "thriving" at work. "I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing," he said. "And, in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else." The House Ethics Committee announced on Wednesday that it was launching an investigation into whether Gonzales "engaged in sexual misconduct" towards one of his employees. The panel will also examine whether he discriminated unfairly by "dispensing special favours or privileges". Advertisement Advertisement Gonzales said in Wednesday's podcast interview that he did not reward Santos-Aviles more than other constituency staff. A pay rise that she received was part of a "staff-wide pay increase", he said. Gonzales said "there's a whole lot more to the story", without providing details. The BBC has contacted his office for comment. "When you make mistakes like this, you know, it's never easy," Gonzales told Pags. "It humbles you." "I've asked God to forgive me, which he has," he added. In explicit text messages from May 2024, Gonzales asked Santos-Aviles to send him a "sexy pic", according to CBS. Advertisement Advertisement The aide, who was his regional district director in Uvalde, reportedly told him twice that he had gone "too far". The following month, Santos-Aviles's husband, Adrian Aviles, appeared to send a text from her phone to Gonzales and other aides that said he had discovered "she's been having an affair on me with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now". A lawyer for Aviles told CBS in a recent interview that Santos-Aviles' mental health sharply declined following the end of her alleged relationship with the congressman. "The deterioration of her mental state was exacerbated by the conduct Tony engaged in - the workplace harassment after the discovery of the affair," said the lawyer, Bobby Barrera. Advertisement Advertisement The BBC has also approached Gonzales's office for comment on Barrera's remarks. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: www.befrienders.org. In the UK, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. Readers in the US and Canada can call the 988 suicide helpline or visit its website. The "large amount of water" coming from the Ward County well required costly containment pits and trucks to haul the water away, the Railroad Commission said in a statement at the time. (Courtesy Laura Briggs) The Texas Railroad Commission spent an eye-popping $6.95 million to plug a Ward County well bursting with toxic water in September 2024. It was a price tag so hefty - roughly 230 times the amount needed to plug the average well - that it became a symbol of the financial pressure facing the commission as it struggles to contain decades-old leaking wells. Now, the commission is trying to recoup those funds from a prominent Houston wastewater disposal operator it says was responsible for the blowout. WaterBridge, which went public last year in a high-profile initial offering, denies it was to blame and aims to dispute the findings in a hearing. The legal battle to come is a test for both the commission and the oil and gas industry it regulates, as tension builds over who should be held accountable for a rash of leaking wells in Texas. "This case is unprecedented," attorneys for WaterBridge wrote in response to the commission's enforcement proceedings. SEARCH THE MAP: Texas has 500 potential zombie' wells. This map shows where they are most likely to pollute. The case is unusual because WaterBridge's disposal well was properly permitted and operating within the confines of those permits, the company said. And yet the commission is holding WaterBridge responsible for a blowout that occurred a half-mile away at a 1950s-era well that was not plugged by modern standards. Hundreds of thousands of decades-old wells dot the Texas landscape - mile-deep holes that can provide a pathway for the industry's wastewater to rise to the surface and contaminate groundwater along the way. A Houston Chronicle analysis recently identified 2,700 Texas wells at high risk of leaking. WaterBridge said the commission failed to prove that its wastewater was the fluid coming from the blowout well in Ward County and that it had contaminated groundwater. It also dismissed the commission's use of pressure data to link its disposal well with the flowing well. It pointed to three other disposal wells within a two-mile radius that could have triggered the event. WaterBridge's disposal well is no longer operational after the commission canceled its permit shortly following the incident. A hearing on the matter has not yet been scheduled. A spokesman for the commission declined to comment, noting it doesn't comment on pending cases. The commission's evidence in the case has not yet been made public. The state's leaking well problem has no easy fix. Oil companies are running out of safe places to put their wastewater. The Permian Basin is one of the most productive oil regions in the world, but it actually yields far more dirty water than oil - on average, roughly three barrels of water come up with every barrel of oil. That's because the fracking process frees up vast amounts of benzene-laced brine trapped for thousands of years alongside oil and natural gas in shale rock. The quick actions of bank employees and police helped stop a Texas man from allegedly committing fraud last week at a Gloucester Township bank. Officers were called to the Fulton Bank on Blackwood Clementon Road at 12:52 p.m. on Feb. 26 where employees alerted them that a man was trying to execute a suspicious transaction, according to a statement from the Gloucester Township Police Department. The man, identified Wednesday as David L. Hutton, 64, of Houston, was detained and police found that he had a fraudulent drivers license, the department said. Advertisement Advertisement Detectives discovered that Hutton was impersonating a bank customer, and was attempting to complete a wire transfer of $87,500 out of the customers account, police said. In the end, no money was taken from the customers account, authorities said. Hutton was arrested and charged with second-degree theft by deception and assuming false identity, as well as third-degree exhibiting false documents and forgery, investigators said. He was held in the Camden County Correctional Facility. The incident is still under investigation and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the department at 856-228-4500. Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Nearly one in four registered voters in Texas cast a ballot in Tuesdays primaries, a high-water mark for midterm elections in the states recent history, driven by electrifying momentum surrounding both parties races for U.S. Senate. In all, nearly 4.5 million Texans voted across the Democratic and Republican primaries, according to unofficial numbers on the Texas Secretary of States Office as of 8 a.m. Thursday. The turnout was divided between 2.3 million ballots in the Democratic primary and nearly 2.2 million on the Republican side; it was the first time with higher Democratic turnout since 2020, when voters flocked to weigh in on the partys open presidential primary. The energy across both parties this year was clear from the start. In the first seven days of early voting, the state recorded more ballots cast than in any recent midterm or presidential election year. There are roughly 18.7 million registered voters in the state. Advertisement Advertisement The higher turnout on the Democratic side, despite the draw of spicy contests at the top for both parties ballots, has helped fuel Democrats hopes that backlash to President Donald Trumps policies could propel them to their first statewide win since 1994. Should that become reality, the political trophy could be claimed by their nominee for Senate, state Rep. James Talarico, who Democratic voters selected over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas. Meanwhile Republicans sent two party stalwarts, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, into a runoff to decide who will face Talarico in November. Democratic turnout was significantly higher than in 2018, the last midterm when Trump was in office. That March, about 7 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the Democratic primary, compared to 12 percent in this years intraparty contest. That November, then-Congressman Beto ORourke of El Paso came within 2.6 points of unseating GOP U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. A geographic analysis of turnout suggests there was political energy propelling voters to the polls virtually throughout the state. Nearly two-thirds of Texas counties 158 of 254 saw higher percentages of their registered voting population participate in either the Democratic and Republican primary this year compared to the 2022 primary, the most recent midterm. Advertisement Advertisement About 17% and 18% of registered voters participated in the 2018 and 2022 primaries, respectively, compared to about 24% this year, according to the latest unofficial figures Wednesday afternoon. The widespread propulsion was laid bare in the Tribunes geographic analysis, which found the highest turnout came in the states solidly red counties from bigger population centers like Lubbock County to the many sparsely populated rural counties along with the fast-growing suburban counties such as Tarrant and Fort Bend. Both saw turnout north of 25%, followed closely by the nearly 24% clip in the biggest liberal counties. Turnout was lowest 16% in the border counties, though all four geographic buckets saw an increase in turnout rate from four years ago. To be sure, there were far fewer competitive races in 2022 when the gubernatorial contest was the top statewide draw compared to barnburner Senate and down-ballot races during this years primaries. Voters on Tuesday also picked nominees for an unusually large number competitive statewide offices. Thousands of school-age children took to the streets across Germany on Thursday to protest the country's new military service law. The "school strike against conscription" drew up to 50,000 participants nationwide, organizers said. After months of deliberations, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's administration passed a law late last year to bring back military service - initially in a voluntary capacity - in an effort to boost troop numbers. Advertisement Advertisement All teenagers are to receive a questionnaire after turning 18 as a first step to assess their suitability and motivation to serve in the military. Men are required to fill out the form, while it is voluntary for women. In Berlin, young people gathered at Potsdamer Platz and marched to Oranienplatz in Kreuzberg. Police counted around 3,000 participants, while organizers said 6,000 joined. Banners called on Merz to head to the front, while demonstrators chanted "never, never, never again conscription." There were also demonstrations in many other cities. According to the police, around 600 young people took to the streets in Munich. Advertisement Advertisement In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, larger rallies were planned in Bonn and Dusseldorf, while in Hamburg, schoolchildren were set to demonstrate in the late afternoon. The new military service law, which took effect on January 1, is a response to the threat posed by Russia, with Germany lagging in its NATO recruitment targets. The programme is intended to assist in raising troop levels from 180,000 to 260,000, with an additional reserve force due to reach 200,000. Participants hold flags and a banner during a demonstration, as part of a nationwide school strike against compulsory military service. Sina Schuldt/dpa Participants hold up a banner says "The rich want war, young people want a future" during a demonstration, as part of a nationwide school strike against compulsory military service. Christoph Soeder/dpa Participants march through the city center during a demonstration, as part of a nationwide school strike against compulsory military service. Frank Molter/dpa Participants in a demonstration for the nationwide school strike against compulsory military service gather with signs on Potsdamer Platz. On December 5, 2025, schoolchildren in many cities had already demonstrated against the German government's plans for military service. The law for the new military service came into force on January 1. Christoph Soeder/dpa Advertisement Advertisement FRANKLIN COUNTY, G.A. (WSPA) The Franklin County Sheriffs Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation served search warrants Thursday morning that led to the arrest of three men on various charges, including racketeering. Law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant at a residence on No Name Road in Canon. Investigators arrested 70-year-old Bart Starks at the No Name Road residence. Starks faces multiple counts, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance. Additionally, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act violations. Advertisement Advertisement Two other men were also taken into custody during the operation. Arthur Poole, of Hall County, and Randy Stewart Hill, of Canon, were both charged with RICO violations. Following the execution of the search warrant at the property, the sheriffs office posted a sign at the premises stating the location was CLOSED for Business. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. Three women have been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of a Ravenna man at his home in December. Tonya Marie Sayre, 39, of Streetsboro, is charged in a grand jury indictment with first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter, as well as corrupting another with drugs and aggravated trafficking in drugs with meth specified in both charges both second-degree felonies. The indictment was filed in Portage County Common Pleas Court on March 5. Sayre also has another pending Portage County case involving an allegation of trafficking in meth filed by Streetsboro police in December. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, arrest warrants have been issued for Erin Shawn Moore, 38, and Jasmina Marie Diehl, 21, of Mayfield Heights. Moore is charged with involuntary manslaughter and Diehl is charged with complicity to involuntary manslaughter, both first-degree felonies. The charges were filed in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna on March 3, according to court records. Court records show addresses in both Randolph and Windham townships for Moore. Ravenna officers responded to the a report of an unresponsive male at a Tappan Court home at 6:55 a.m. Dec. 4, according to a police report. The male, identified as 46-year-old Mark Musgrave, was found on his back on the kitchen floor not breathing. Officers gave Musgrave a dose of Narcan and performed CPR until paramedics arrived a short time later. EMS continued resuscitation efforts, but Musgrave did not respond and he was pronounced dead at 7:16 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Moore, who the report says was living in the home with Musgrave at the time, was also present. She said Musgrave had been sleeping upstairs while she had fallen asleep on the couch when she heard Musgrave falling down the stairs and saw him land at the bottom. She said he pulled himself into the kitchen before he stopped breathing. She then called 911. Moore also said that Musgrave had been assaulted the day before he was released from the Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut on Dec. 1 and had complained of headaches and nausea as a result. Musgrave had not sought medical treatment, Moore said. A Portage County Coroner's Office investigator at the scene, however, said he believed the cause of death was a drug overdose and he could find no signs of trauma that could be a factor. The coroner's office subsequently determined the cause of death was drug-related toxicity, specifically meth. Advertisement Advertisement During an investigation which included questioning Moore, as well as Sayre and Diehl, it was determined that Moore allegedly arranged with Sayre to provide the meth for Musgrave's use and to bring it to the home the day he was released from prison. Police said it is further alleged that when Sayre did so, Moore had Diehl go outside the home to meet with Sayre, then take the meth upstairs to the bedroom for Musgrave to use there. Arraignment information for Sayre on the indicted charge was not immediately available. In the meantime, she has been ordered held in Portage County Jail on a $100,000 cash or surety bond that was set in the municipal court, where an initial involuntary manslaughter charge was filed March 3. Sayre's other pending case stems from 175.5 grams of meth, about 6.2 ounces, that Streetsboro police allegedly found in her possession during a traffic stop at the state routes 43 and 14 intersection on Dec. 20, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement She is charged in an indictment with aggravated trafficking in drugs and aggravated possession of drugs, both second-degree felonies, first-degree misdemeanor driving under suspension and second-degree misdemeanor possessing drug abuse instruments, a glass smoking device with residue. No trial is currently scheduled, only an April 7 pretrial hearing. A $75,000 cash or surety bond was set in that case. More: Detroit man heads to prison for meth trafficking Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com. This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Three women charged in Ravenna overdose dose death from meth Authorities have charged a 22-year-old man with aggravated murder in the killings of three women found dead in Utah on Wednesday following a search that extended into three states. The suspect has been identified as Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa. Miller is accused of killing the women, whom authorities say were strangers to him, in two locations before fleeing. He was taken into custody early on Thursday morning after law enforcement tracked him in one of the victims vehicles, the Utah public safety department said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah into northern Arizona and eventually into Colorado, authorities said, noting that Colorado law enforcement located the vehicle abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After a brief search, Miller was taken into custody without incident. Miller was scheduled to make his first court appearance in Colorado on Friday afternoon. Authorities believe Miller killed a woman in her home in southern Utah on Wednesday afternoon and then drove her vehicle to a trailhead near Capitol Reef national park, where he killed two women hiking together. He fled in one of their vehicles. It does not appear Miller had any connection to the victims, said Lt Cameron Roden, a spokesperson for the Utah highway patrol. Advertisement Advertisement Miller had been on a cross-country road trip at the time of the killings, the New York Times reported. A brother told the newspaper that Miller had significant mental health issues, but that he was shocked by the violence. In an interview with police, Miller said he had hit an elk during his travels days earlier and sold his truck. He is said to have admitted to the killings, according to court documents, telling police that he needed money. Miller said that he did not like to do it, but that it had to be done, according to court documents. The Utah public safety department said the investigation is continuing while members of the Utah state bureau of investigation and the Utah crime lab process two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area. In a news release earlier on Thursday, the Utah public safety department said that authorities received a call on Wednesday afternoon reporting that two women had been found dead on a hiking trail. During the course of the investigation, a third woman was found dead at a residence in Wayne county. Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the first woman was in her 30s, the second in her 60s and the third in her 80s. The news release states that the victims identifies are being withheld while next of kin notifications are under way. The husbands of the two women found dead on a hiking trail contacted police late on Wednesday after they found their wives bodies, Roden said. Investigators discovered the first victim after identifying the owner of a vehicle left in a lot near the trail. The Utah public safety department said that it is investigating the case alongside local law enforcement agencies, and had said that multiple scenes are being investigated and processed in Torrey and the surrounding areas. The Wayne county sheriffs office urged local residents in a statement on social media on Wednesday evening to take extra precautions, keep lights on, keep doors locked, remain home or with others this evening if possible. Advertisement Advertisement Multiple law enforcement agencies are currently in the area, the office said. The Wayne county school district also announced on Wednesday night that out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety its schools would be closed on Thursday and Friday due to unfolding events in the county. We will also have counselors in place to support students when we are back in session next week, the school district said. We will communicate updates as things unfold. The Associated Press contributed reporting NASHVILLE A panel of three judges from the Tennessee Court of Appeals on March 5 heard arguments about the constitutionality of Gov. Bill Lee's deployment of the National Guard to Memphis, as a group of local and state officials is suing to block it. The Tennessee Attorney General's office filed the appeal weeks after Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal granted a temporary injunction against the National Guard deployment. If that injunction were to go into effect, the guard would be withdrawn from Memphis pending the final ruling in the case. Three questions were brought by the state to the appeal: whether plaintiffs invoked an available waiver of the government's immunity (known as sovereign immunity) from being sued, if they have standing and if Lee violated state law in deploying the National Guard to Memphis. Advertisement Advertisement A fourth question was added to the appeal by the plaintiffs, which asks whether a court is likely to agree with the plaintiffs that the National Guard's deployment violates the Tennessee Constitution. Appellate Judges Andy Bennett, Frank Clement, Jr. and Jeffrey Usman presided over the hearing. They first heard from Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice, a high-ranking member of the attorney general's office. Rice's arguments were quickly interrupted by Usman, who almost immediately began asking questions about why sovereign immunity was being invoked, saying he was "struggling to see why." Judges question nature of 'crime emergency' Usman would later push Rice on the state's explanation of Memphis' alleged crime emergency. Rice had said Memphis, which had the highest crime rate in the nation in 2024, had a crime rate that qualified as a "grave emergency," allowing for the deployment of the National Guard. Advertisement Advertisement Usman questioned this, saying Memphis has had high crime for years and that all cities have to combat crime. He also questioned if there needed to be a sudden change for "grave emergency" to apply to Memphis. "To the extent your honor is asking whether we think that all crime is an emergency, that is not our position," Rice said. "Our position is that having the most violent city in the country, which is a stark contrast from even the second-closest city it's 345% [higher than] the national average and four times more violent than Mexico City, we think that qualifies as a grave emergency." Rice said he believed there was no requirement for a sudden change, but went on to say that if the court were to hold the need for a sudden change, the state's position would hold strong still. He pointed to 2024, saying, "crime throughout the entire rest of the country was going down, and crime in Memphis was going up. I think that is an emergent condition that would justify the deployment of the National Guard." Though Memphis had the highest per capita crime rate in the nation, crime in Memphis did not rise. It was declining from a previous high in 2023, though still above many recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Usman quickly followed that by asking if there was a definitive end to the National Guard's presence in Memphis, saying that emergencies have an endpoint. Rice did not directly say what that point would be, and neither did Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti during a press conference after the hearing. "I don't think there's any objective standard out there where, if you hit a certain threshold or if there's a certain amount of time, the guard won't be there. This is not going to go on forever," Skrmetti said. Role of National Guard debated Meanwhile, when the plaintiffs' attorney Joshua Salzman, senior attorney for Democracy Forward, began his arguments, the judges honed in on his arguments about whether the National Guard was a militia or an army. Salzman's position was that it is a militia, meaning it would only be able to be deployed in the case of rebellion or invasion neither of which happened in Memphis. The judges seemed skeptical of this argument, with Clement saying the National Guard, under this reading, could not be deployed for natural disaster relief. National Guard vehicles are seen at the Starbucks parking lot on Union Avenue on Jan. 24, 2026, after a winter storm brought snow, sleet and ice to the Mid-South. Salzman hesitated to take a position on Clement's question, instead saying the "defining characteristic of a militia is that it is an armed assortment of people who are primarily civilians who are called into military service." Advertisement Advertisement This, in Salzman's opinion, thoroughly described the National Guard. He also went on to point to the lack of a concrete end date, saying this deployment could continue indefinitely if the judges side with the state. Salzman also cautioned the judges about the courts having a "long recognition that law enforcement, in particular, is something that is not to be conducted by military forces, and there's something particularly pernicious when troops control the streets of a city." Rebutting this thought, Clement questioned the stationing of National Guard troops on American streets in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. At that time, Clement said, National Guard troops were conducting law enforcement. "I can remember looking out my office window and seeing National Guard troops walking around with their guns and other equipment, patrolling the streets, patrolling the sidewalks around the Capitol and in other areas," he said. "So that was wrong? That was illegal?" Advertisement Advertisement Salzman, however, said 9/11 "might have been the quintessential sudden, unexpected" emergency in which to deploy the National Guard. Clement, however, did not seem any less skeptical. Why are Memphis officials suing over the National Guard deployment? The full list of plaintiffs is Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley, Jr., Shelby County Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, State Reps. GA Hardaway and Gabby Salinas, and State Sen. Jeff Yarbro. Yarbro is from Nashville and is the only non-Shelby County official listed as a plaintiff. All of the officials are Democrats either currently serving in a partisan role or having run for partisan office and include officials from city, county and state government. As the appeal was pending, and while the appellate court deliberates, the temporary injunction granted will remain on hold. Advertisement Advertisement On Oct. 17, just weeks into the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis, a series of officials filed the lawsuit. They claimed the manner in which the National Guard was deployed violates the Tennessee Constitution. Members of the National Guard watch from the Memphis Police Department Entertainment District Station during the Mardi Gras in Memphis parade on Beale Street on February 7, 2026. The 24-page lawsuit points to Lee's "unilateral decision" to deploy the National Guard as unconstitutional. According to the plaintiffs, the National Guard may only be called up in the case of "rebellion or invasion" and when the Tennessee General Assembly declares public safety requires it. It can also be called up at the request of a local governing body, such as the City of Memphis or Shelby County government. The Tennessee General Assembly can also call up the National Guard in this instance. None of these took place ahead of the deployment. Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys with the Tennessee Attorney General's office placed the bulk of their argument on the powers of the governorship. According to them, the courts do not have the power to say when the National Guard can be deployed by the governor because it is a political decision. They also said it is an operational decision that is entirely at the discretion of the governor. Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis National Guard deployment questioned by TN appellate judges The Pennsylvania Turnpike has narrowed down the communitys suggested names for its Super Plow. Last month, the Turnpike asked the public to help name its 550-horsepower tri-drive truck, which had just tackled its first big snowstorm in Somerset. On Wednesday, officials said theyd received nearly 1,200 submissions and announced the final five names: Plow Force One Darth Blader Big Leplowski Optimus Plow Sir Plows-A-Lot Advertisement Advertisement To vote for your favorite, you can visit Facebook or Instagram and like the corresponding PA Turnpike comment. Voting ends on Wednesday. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW President Trump said the Texas Republican Senate candidate that does not get his endorsement should drop out of the race, announcing on Wednesday that he will throw his weight behind the race soon. In a lengthy TruthSocial post, Trump argued that the GOP primary race in the Lone Star State cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John [Cornyn] and Ken [Paxton] ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! he continued. Advertisement Advertisement My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I dont Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!! he said. The partys Senate primary went to a runoff on Tuesday after neither Attorney General Ken Paxton or Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) were able to win a majority of the electorate. A run off election is scheduled for late May. According to the latest results on Monday, Cornyn led Paxton 41.9 percent to 40.7 percent. Trump held off on endorsing in the primary, noting he had good relationships with all of the candidates, including Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who did not advance to the runoff. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Donald Trump predicted Cuba is going to fall as the communist island nation about 100 miles away from the United States is being starved of oil and money, the president claimed. We cut off all oil, all money, or we cut off everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source. And they want to make a deal, Trump told Politico in a wide-ranging interview published Thursday in which the president also labeled his Iranian strikes a success despite the military operation being unpopular with the American people. People are loving whats happening, Trump told Politicos Dasha Burns. Advertisement Advertisement The president predicted Irans government would buckle along with Americas neighbor to the south. Cubas going to fall, too, Trump claimed. He called Cubas potential collapse icing on the cake after arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Since Maduros arrest, Trump said, the U.S. has been in touch with Cubas communist leadership. They need help. We are talking to Cuba, he said. Trump gave himself a pat on the back for his actions in Venezuela, crediting the move with weakening Cuba. Well, its because of my intervention, intervention that is happening, he said. Obviously, otherwise they wouldnt have this problem. We cut off all oil, all money, everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source. Advertisement Advertisement How long have you been hearing about Cuba Cuba, Cuba for 50 years? Trump added. And thats one of the small ones for me. Donald Trump Read the original article on al.com. Add al.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF takes a different approach: it simply owns the 80 highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500, equal-weighted. That mechanical simplicity produces a current yield of 4.08%, double DGRO's payout. For a retiree drawing income today, that gap is real money. The tradeoff is patience. Retirees who need maximum income today will find DGRO underwhelming in the short term. This fund rewards those with a longer time horizon who want their income stream to grow rather than stagnate. Over the past year, the fund's price has risen 19.51%, which adds total return context beyond the dividend alone. The portfolio is genuinely diversified across the economy, with 18.6% in financials, 17.4% in healthcare, and 14% in technology. Top holdings include names like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Exxon Mobil, all companies with decades of dividend-raising history. The expense ratio is just 0.08%, making it one of the cheapest ways to access a dividend-growth strategy. The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF is not the highest-yielding fund on this list, and that is intentional. DGRO's strategy screens for companies with a consistent record of raising their dividends, not just paying them. The result is a fund that currently yields 2.04%, which looks modest compared to alternatives, but the payout has been climbing steadily since inception. The quarterly dividend reached $0.447 in Q4 2025, up from $0.273 in Q4 2020. That kind of compounding income matters when inflation keeps eroding purchasing power. Retirement income planning used to be simple: buy bonds, collect coupons, live on the interest. With the 10-year Treasury sitting at 4.06% and the Fed funds rate at 3.75%, government bonds do offer a reasonable baseline. But for retirees who need their income to grow alongside inflation, or who want meaningful yield without locking up capital for decades, dividend-focused ETFs can fill gaps that Treasuries simply cannot. The four funds below each serve a distinct purpose in a retirement income portfolio, and understanding those differences is what makes them useful. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE . Story Continues The equal-weight structure means no single company dominates the portfolio. The sector mix skews heavily toward consumer staples, utilities, and real estate, the traditional homes of high yield, with consumer staples alone at 17.6% and technology representing just 2.3%. REITs like Realty Income and Simon Property Group are prominent holdings. This tilt toward defensive, income-heavy sectors is precisely what drives the fund's elevated yield, but it also means SPYD moves differently than the broader market. SPYD pays quarterly, and the dividends do fluctuate. The Q4 2025 payment was $0.549 while Q1 2025 came in at $0.419, so retirees should budget around an average rather than expecting a flat check. The expense ratio of 0.07% keeps costs minimal. Year-to-date through early March 2026, SPYD is up 10.08%, outpacing DGRO over the same period, though its longer-term total return trails the dividend growth fund. The concentrated sector bet is the caveat here. When utilities and real estate struggle, SPYD feels it more acutely than a broader fund. Retirees who already hold significant real estate or utility exposure should factor that overlap in before adding SPYD. PFF: Monthly Income From the Preferred Stock Market Preferred stocks occupy a unique position in the capital structure, sitting above common equity but below bonds in the event of a company failure. They typically pay fixed or floating dividends at rates well above what common shares offer, and they trade on exchanges like regular stocks. The iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF gives retirees access to this market in a single, diversified package. The fund's yield of 6.21% is the highest on this list, and crucially, it distributes monthly. In 2025, monthly payments consistently ranged from $0.160 to $0.177 per share. For retirees managing monthly expenses, that predictability is valuable. PFF has been paying distributions without interruption for 18+ years, through multiple market cycles. The fund's holdings are heavily concentrated in financial sector preferred shares, primarily from large banks and insurance companies. That concentration is both a feature and a risk. When banks are well-capitalized and credit conditions are stable, preferred dividends flow reliably. When credit conditions tighten, preferred shares can reprice quickly. PFF's price appreciation over five years has been modest at 11.65%, which reflects the income-first nature of preferred stocks. Retirees should think of PFF as a yield vehicle, not a growth vehicle. VYMI: International Dividends as a Portfolio Diversifier Most retirees build their income portfolios almost entirely in U.S. stocks. The Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF makes the case for looking beyond domestic borders. The fund tracks high-dividend-paying companies outside the U.S. and currently yields 3.3%, backed by a portfolio of well-known multinationals: Roche, Nestle, HSBC, Novartis, Royal Bank of Canada, Shell, and Toyota, among hundreds of others. The geographic spread is genuine. Holdings span Switzerland, the UK, Japan, Australia, Spain, Germany, France, and Canada, among other markets. That breadth means VYMI does not move in lockstep with U.S. equities, which can smooth out portfolio volatility during periods when domestic markets are under pressure. VYMI pays quarterly, with dividends varying across the year. The Q2 payment tends to be the largest, reaching $1.076 per share in mid-2025, while Q1 and Q3 payments are more modest. Over the past year, the fund has returned just shy of 30% on a price basis, driven in part by dollar weakness and strong performance from European and Asian equities. The expense ratio of 0.07% is extremely low for international exposure. The tradeoffs are currency risk and the inherent complexity of international markets. Dividends from foreign companies are often subject to withholding taxes that can reduce the net yield in taxable accounts. Retirees holding VYMI in a tax-advantaged account can sidestep some of that friction. Choosing the Right Fund for Your Situation These four funds serve distinct roles in the dividend ETF landscape. DGRO is structured around dividend growth, with a lower current yield and a record of rising payouts. SPYD targets the highest-yielding names in the S&P 500, producing a higher current yield with more sector concentration. PFF focuses on preferred stocks, offering the highest yield on this list with monthly distributions and significant financial sector exposure. VYMI provides access to high-dividend international equities, adding geographic diversification and currency exposure. Each fund carries its own risk profile, and investors should consult a financial advisor before making any portfolio decisions. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks Wall Street is pouring billions into AI, but most investors are buying the wrong stocks. The analyst who first identified NVIDIA as a buy back in 2010 before its 28,000% run has just pinpointed 10 new AI companies he believes could deliver outsized returns from here. One dominates a $100 billion equipment market. Another is solving the single biggest bottleneck holding back AI data centers. A third is a pure-play on an optical networking market set to quadruple. Most investors haven't heard of half these names. Get the free list of all 10 stocks here. A political action committee linked to President Trump has called on donors to stand strong with the GOP leader amid the U.S.'s ongoing war with Iran. The U.S. and Israeli militaries began bombing the Islamic Republic on Saturday, killing the regimes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process. Six U.S. soldiers have so far died in the military operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Now, the conflict in Iran is being namechecked in a donation drive promoted by WinRed, a website designed to channel donations to GOP candidates and committees. A fundraiser linked to President Trump has called on donors to stand strong with the GOP leader amid the war with Iran (Getty) Right now, Im asking everyone who approves of Operation Epic Fury to rally behind me with incredible messages of support, the message reads. Your words mean the world to me. Show your support!Will you stand STRONG with me as I protect our country? Advertisement Advertisement Respondents are given a set of three replies, which range from no, to unsure, to YES - I STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP! Suggested donations range from $26 to $3,300. According to the website, funds raised by the campaign will be used by the Trump National Committee JFC. Another fundraising message, paid for by Never Surrender, Inc, included a direct warning to Iranian forces from the president. To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces, and all of the police, I say that you must lay down all your weapons and have complete immunity or you will face certain death, Trump wrote. Advertisement Advertisement The military operation in Iran has split lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and some Republicans slamming the president for greenlighting an attack. Strikes on Iran killed the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Reuters) Senator Elizabeth Warren tore into Trump on X, condemned the president for launching the strikes despite campaigning on a platform of lowering day-to-day costs and bringing an end to forever wars. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on Day 1 and end wars, Senator Warren wrote. Instead, Trump's new war with Iran is raising your costs. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, several GOP lawmakers privately expressed concerns about the war to Politico. One Republican even compared the strikes on Iran to the Vietnam War. Advertisement Advertisement Sounds a little bit like President Lyndon Johnson going into Vietnam, doesnt it? the lawmaker said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, though, that the attack on Iran was approved as a preemptive response. He said that concerns were raised that Iran could strike U.S. targets, if attacked by Israel. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have expressed concerns about the conflict with Iran (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) President Trump framed the attack to Fox News as an effort to get rid of the Iranian regimes leadership. The U.S. military operation in Iran has proven to be unpopular amongst voters, with just one in four, 27 percent, supporting the airstrikes on the Islamic Republic. The survey, which was conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, found that 43 percent of respondents disapproved of the strikes while 29 percent were still not sure. Advertisement Advertisement Over half of those surveyed, 56 percent, also said that the president was too quick to use force to advance the United States interests around the world. Another poll suggested that 54 percent of voters disapprove of the presidents handling of the conflict with Iran. The Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies survey, which was conducted for NBC News, found that just 41 percent of people approved of his management of the crisis. Sooner or later, advisers in President Donald Trump's orbit all come to learn the same unwritten rule: no-one can outshine the boss. Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, became the latest reminder of that on Thursday when Trump announced he was removing her as the face of the administration's crackdown on immigration. Noem will be replaced by Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin at the end of the month, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The US Senate will have to confirm him in the post. Advertisement Advertisement The president said Noem would move to a new job as special envoy for a new US security initiative in the Western hemisphere called the Shield of the Americas. "I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland,'" Trump said. It ends Noem's controversial tenure at the top of the department, which is tasked with carrying out the president's sweeping immigration agenda. Noem was one of the administration's brightest stars when she stepped into the role last year after Trump returned to the White House. She immediately gained attention for joining immigration raids, often appearing in a bulletproof vest alongside field agents carrying out enforcement actions. Advertisement Advertisement She was a vocal advocate of Trump's deportation drive, and touted policies that effectively closed the US-Mexico border. She also took the message abroad, in one instance visiting a maximum-security prison in El Salvador that took in some migrants deported from the US. [Reuters] But Noem's unconventional approach courted controversy from the start. Homeland Security secretaries do not typically partake in field operations. Noem's decision to appear on the frontlines of Trump's immigration crackdown was viewed by critics as an effort to burnish her image as the tough-talking immigration enforcer-in-chief. She sparked a backlash by wearing a $50,000 (37,500) Rolex during her visit to Cecot, the notorious prison in El Salvador. Noem also appeared on horseback in a DHS advertising campaign calling for undocumented immigrants to leave the US. Advertisement Advertisement This led some of Noem's critics on the left to brand her "ICE Barbie". Democrats in Congress also blasted her for spending $220m in federal funding on an advertising blitz starring herself, and nearly $200m on two luxury jets for her official travel. Noem defended the ad campaign in a Capitol Hill hearing earlier this week and said Trump was aware of the spending. But Trump publicly contradicted Noem on Thursday before announcing her firing, telling Reuters he was not aware of the expensive campaign. "I never knew anything about it," he said. The president had an acrimonious call with Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser to Noem, on Tuesday after her testimony to Congress, the BBC's US news partner CBS reported. Lewandowski is also now leaving the department. Advertisement Advertisement Trump is reported to have called Republicans in Congress asking if he should fire Noem, a sign he was moving towards shaking up his immigration team this week. It is perhaps telling that some immediately backed his decision on Tuesday. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, for example, said "it was time for a change". "A change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue," said congressman Dan Newhouse, of Washington state. But Trump's frustration with Noem had been clear for months if not longer. The administration faced a major backlash for its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January, after federal agents shot dead two US citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Trump sent White House border tsar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to lead the response, which resulted in a decision to scale back the operation. Homan's appointment was widely viewed as a rebuke to Noem, who might normally have been given the assignment. Noem was also criticised for comments she made after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, particularly her claim, made without evidence, that Pretti had "committed an act of domestic terrorism" before he was shot. The deployment of Homan to take charge in Minnesota was a clear indication that Trump was sidelining Noem after giving her the freedom to act as the administration's immigration enforcement star. The administration response to the killings of Good and Pretti in Minneapolis was a rare instance of Trump moderating his message on immigration - and a sign the White House was aware the hardline approach spearheaded by Noem was growing unpopular with the public. Advertisement Advertisement Polls have indicated that a majority of Americans approve of some aspects of Trump's immigration agenda, but do not support the more aggressive tactics used by immigration agents in the field. That presents an issue for Republicans heading into an election year, and Noem's removal suggests Trump saw a need to make a change. It is also the first major shakeup of Trump's second-term cabinet. In his first term, Trump replaced his national security adviser, White House chief of staff and other top officials in his first year in office, oftentimes by announcing the firing in a tweet. The turmoil in his team frequently overshadowed Trump's policies. By contrast, Trump has kept his cabinet largely intact in his second term, avoiding the drama that engulfed his first stint in the White House. Whether Noem's departure means others will follow remains to be seen. Advertisement Advertisement It is also an open question whether the shakeup will lead to a new direction in policy at the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin is a conservative Trump ally, and like Noem has long been a hardline immigration voice on the right. After Pretti's shooting Mullin said federal law enforcement officials were "patriots" facing death threats for doing their job. "Obstructing federal law enforcement is a felony. Most Americans follow ICE instructions without thinking twice," Mullin said in a social media post. More recently, he has criticised Democrats over a partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. The agency has been caught in a funding battle over proposed reforms to immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement In a scene reminiscent of Trump's first term, Noem was delivering a speech in the moments when Trump posted his social media message announcing her firing. She soon published a social media post of her own, thanking Trump for her new role. Noem may be the first high-profile casualty of Trump's second term. But she may not be the last, as her demotion shows the president remains willing and able to read the political winds and cut his losses early. [BBC] Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been fired by Donald Trump, ending her controversial 13-month tenure at the agency behind his mass deportation agenda that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S., led to chaos in American cities and the deaths of at least three citizens. The president made his announcement on Truth Social moments before Noem appeared at a law enforcement conference in Nashville Thursday afternoon. She reportedly learned that she was being removed from the role moments before taking the stage. Noem has served us well, the president wrote. She will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to the president, who described the effort as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere. Advertisement Advertisement Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Her departure is effective March 31. The new initiative will be formally announced Saturday, according to Trump. I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland, he wrote. Mullin, a 48-year-old former MMA fighter who has been in the Senate since 2023, told The Independent he is excited about the opportunity. It's an honor to be nominated, he said Thursday. We're excited about it, were excited to get to work, but we still got the nomination process. Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, would be the first Native American to serve as DHS secretary. Kristi Noem has been ousted as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to Donald Trump (Getty) Trump hailed Mullin as a MAGA warrior who truly gets along well with people and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Noem is the first Cabinet member to be forced out of the administration since Trump returned to the White House last year. The former South Dakota governor was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 59-34 last January. She appeared at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference at the same time Trump posted on Truth Social, but she did not address her firing in her remarks. She mentioned that she would be with Trump in Miami this weekend. In a statement posted on X, Noem thanked the president and said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security, she said. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem has been appointed to a new role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas (Reuters) Under Noems leadership, DHS secured a mammoth budget to expand detention centers and rapidly hire federal immigration enforcement officers who are accused of surging into American cities with brutal force and jailing tens of thousands of people into detention camps across the country. Advertisement Advertisement She is a defendant in countless lawsuits against the administrations attempts to rapidly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people. Initial reports of her imminent departure followed two days of combative hearings in Congress this week, where the secretary faced frustration from Democrats and Republicans over the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minnesota earlier this year. Noem baselessly accused the victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti of committing domestic terrorism before any law enforcement agency investigated. Trump-aligned Republican Senator John Kennedy joined Democrats this week in trying to get the secretary to answer why she would baselessly accuse American citizens of domestic terrorism after her officers shot them at point-blank range. Noems tenure has seen the removal of thousands of immigrants, including deportations to a brutal Salvadoran prison, which she visited in March 2025 (AFP/Getty) She was also grilled over her handling of multi-million dollar contracts for an ad campaign in which she was prominently featured. Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy said he was troubled that DHS spent more than a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money on Noems ad campaign, which she called effective. They were effective in your name recognition, Kennedy shot back. The secretary was also unable to explain how a company connected to her own spokesperson landed a lucrative contract for work connected to that campaign. That spokesperson, now-former assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, resigned last month. Trump said he did not sign off on the $220m ad campaign, one day after Noem testified that the president supported it. I never knew anything about it, the president told Reuters Thursday. Noem, pictured riding a horse while filming an ad in October, was grilled by members of Congress over government contracts awarded to firms that developed the ad campaign (DHS/Tia Dufour) Those contracts appeared to be the final straw for the president. Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy told reporters Thursday that Noem was deader than fried chicken. The presidents announcement also arrived in the middle of the ongoing funding lapse at DHS. Democrats blocked a spending bill that they say does not go far enough to restrain immigration officers after Congress gave ICE billions of dollars to build detention centers and hire a small army of new recruits last year. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress and at least two Republicans previously called on Noem to resign or face impeachment. Trump, who met with Noem at the White House in January amid growing calls for her resignation after federal agents killed Good and Pretti in Minneapolis, had not previously suggested her job was at risk. The president insisted Noem was doing a very good job, he told reporters at the time. Noems 13-month tenure at DHS has been marked by sweeping arrests targeting thousands of immigrants and their families (Getty) In the weeks that followed, Noem has come under heightened scrutiny for actions in office, including questions about her close relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a chief adviser serving as a special government employee. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, tore into Noem on Tuesday following reports that she had a pilot fired when her blankie was left on a plane, only for the pilot to be rehired when Lewandowski realized there was no one else who could fly the jet. Noem has denied the report. Trump had no choice but to fire her, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote Thursday, one day after Noem appeared before the committee. Her tenure was marked by systematic constitutional violations, cruelty, corruption and deadly mismanagement, they wrote. Thats her legacy. The next Homeland Secretary has a lot of work to do to transform this lawless masked agency and regain the publics trust. Trump has selected Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin on Oklahoma to replace Noem as DHS secretary (Reuters) Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who spent several interrupted minutes during a Senate oversight hearing raging at Noem with a long list of grievances, said he welcomes Mullins nomination. Advertisement Advertisement During Tuesdays hearing, Tillis compared Noems tenure at the agency to her anecdote about killing a 14-month-old dog and then having the audacity to say its a leadership lesson about tough choices. Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation, Tillis wrote Thursday. Another big positive: he likes dogs. Eric Garcia contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump will replace Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, instead nominating Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to take her place. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Thursday, saying Noem would be reassigned as the special envoy for the shield of the Americas, a security initiative that will be launched this weekend. Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate in order to take the position. Advertisement Advertisement A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda, Trump said. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2026. | J. Scott Applewhite Frustrations with Noem mount after Minnesota shootings and congressional hearing Trump had reportedly been frustrated with Noem already, and his frustration reportedly grew after her performance during congressional hearings this week. The president was speaking with Republican leaders about his displeasure and made it clear that he was considering replacing her, NBC News reported before the firing was made official. Senate Republicans were notified of the decision during their lunch meeting. Sen. Eric Schmitt, of Missouri, said he was hosting when Indiana Sen. Jim Banks started waving and told him to look at his phone. Advertisement Advertisement Schmitt then announced Noems ouster to the room by reading the Truth Social post aloud. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana was one of the Republicans grilling Noem during her testimony this week, as he pressed her about how much money she was spending on ads. He said he spoke with the president after the exchange and Trump was not happy. Upon hearing about Noem, Kennedy said the president was not happy and I remember thinking the secretary was pretty much as dead as fried chicken. Noem, a former South Dakota congresswoman and governor, was leading Trumps deportation initiative at the Homeland Security Department, one of his top priorities. Advertisement Advertisement She clamped down on illegal immigration at the nations southern border and oversaw Customs and Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they were sent around the country. She came under fire in recent months, partially for the detention and deportation of individuals who hadnt committed crimes, but also for not paying enough attention to her duties as the leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Noem also was sharply criticized for her response to ICE activity in Minnesota earlier this year, especially after federal agents shot and killed two protesters. Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the first time she appeared before Congress since the two fatal shootings. Advertisement Advertisement She faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over her handling of DHS. Her testimony also comes as the department was left unfunded, largely due to Democrats opposition to her handling of immigration policy and other issues. Who is Sen. Markwayne Mullin? Mullin, who has represented Oklahoma since 2023, will still need to be confirmed by the Senate. Hes the second member of the Cherokee Nation to serve in the Senate. Mullin served 10 years in the House before being elected to the upper chamber. He often serves as a mediator between the House, Senate and White House. Mullin is a Trump ally and has made several headlines during his time on Capitol Hill. Hes well liked by Republicans and will likely have an easy time being confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement Before serving in Congress, Mullin was a rancher and business owner. He serves on the Senate Armed Services, Appropriations and other committees. He once was involved in an ethics investigation for his involvement in his familys businesses while serving in the House. Mullin is also a martial arts fighter and once challenged Sean OBrien, the Teamsters president, to a fight during a congressional hearing, though no physical altercation occurred. What theyre saying Noem was speaking at an event in Nashville when Trumps announcement was released. She didnt address the post and its unclear if she knew about the position change beforehand. In a post after her speech, Noem thanked Trump for appointing her to be the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. She said she looks forward to working closely with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels. Advertisement Advertisement She said the Western Hemisphere is critical for U.S. security and in the new role, she will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise she gained leading DHS. We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again: we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard, she wrote. Mullin, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, said he has spoken to Trump but he needs to talk with the president more so they can get on the same page. He confirmed that he found out about landing the nomination just a little bit before the public found out. He didnt explicitly say if he thought he could do a better job than Noem, calling her a friend, but he argued theres always room for improvement. He said he was surprised to get the call from Trump about the nomination on this day and was excited about being confirmed. Mullin noted that he wants to try to win over Democrats in the confirmation process. Advertisement Advertisement When I go into this position, yes Im a Republican. Yes, Im conservative, but Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody, regardless if you support me, if you dont support me, regardless of what your thoughts are, Im here to enforce the policies that Congress passed, and I, right now Im part of it, but once I make that transition, my focus is to keep the homeland secure, Mullin said. Thats going to be my focus and were super excited. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said they will try to work quickly on confirming Mullin. Hes obviously pretty well vetted around here, so hopefully we can get the process going, because I think thats a position thats going to need to be filled quickly, he said. However, Democrats celebrated the ousting. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said good riddance. She was a disaster. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said he was glad Noem is gone and Pam Bondi is next. Once Mullin is confirmed and vacates his seat in the Senate, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt can appoint a temporary person to take over until the fall election. However, state law stipulates that the individual who temporarily fills the role cannot run for the seat. Rep. Stephanie Bice, a Republican from Oklahoma, is reportedly considering a bid. In 2018, on the eve of the massive blue wave in the midterms that gave the Democrats a congressional majority, Donald Trump seemed to acknowledge for the first time that Republicans might actually lose. At a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, airport hangar, he told the ecstatic crowd, It could happen. And you know what you do? My whole life, you know what I say? Dont worry about it, Ill just figure it out. That is how the president strategizes. And lets face it, its worked pretty well for him so far. Trump recovered his fortune by being rescued by a game show producer. Aside from being found civilly liable by a jury for sexually abusing journalist E. Jean Carroll and being convicted of 34 felony counts in a hush-money case, he has managed to evade accountability for all of his crimes and abuses of power. Tens of millions of Americans even put him back in the White House after he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election and inspired an insurrection. He seems to think all this came about as a result of his strategic brilliance, or maybe his genetic superiority. But the fact is that its just plain old luck. Some people have more of it than they deserve, and he is definitely one of them. Over the course of his life, Trump has made decisions that would have destroyed the fortunes and reputations of anyone else. His greatest superpower is the ability to survive his own monumentally terrible judgement. Advertisement Advertisement Now, as he wages war against Iran in a widening conflict that is quickly engulfing the entire Middle East, Trump is putting that preternatural resilience to what may be its greatest test. The Islamic Republic is proving an able military enemy, and with only one ally Israel at his side and tepid public support, the president has no plan for how win or for what comes next. Apparently, hes just going to figure it out. Part of that, the nation discovered on Tuesday, is an old method: using the CIA to arm and train unorganized opposition. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is in talks about arming Kurdish forces to lead an effort to dislodge the regime. According to CNN, the CIA is already engaged on the ground and Trump has been speaking with Kurdish leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the rumors of a Kurdish insurgency completely false. But the New York Times reported that the CIA had already given small arms to pro-American Kurdish forces in Iran before the current war started in hopes of destabilizing the Islamic Republic. The CIA and U.S. militarys use of foreign militias has a long and checkered history spanning at least 65 years. The record shows that they have rarely had any positive effect, and most often, they have made situations worse. Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the Cold War and beyond, America attempted to overthrow governments or fight proxy wars that often led to wider conflicts or the imposition of regimes that were worse than those they replaced. Far too often, it was done for the same reason Trump is citing now with Iran to install, or at least create the conditions for, a new regime that we can work with. And sometimes, that has meant having little concern for the countrys people or democracy. Consider the Cuban Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 or the Reagan administrations support for the Nicaraguan Contras against the Sandinista government. The former saw the CIA, in a plan that began under Dwight D. Eisenhower and was approved by his successor John F. Kennedy, training a group of Cuban exiles opposed to Fidel Castro to make a secret landing in Cuba and fight their way to Havana, leading a popular uprising to topple the president. The group were captured immediately, leading to international embarrassment for the U.S. and for the young president, who took responsibility in public and, behind closed doors, vowed to never trust the CIA again. In 1963, the agency supported a military coup by South Vietnamese forces against Ngo Dinh Diem, the countrys president. The act, which was intended to stabilize the country in its fight against North Vietnamese communists, did the opposite, helping to transform Americas role in the conflict from advisory to an all-out war that left over 58,000 U.S. service members and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian military and civilians dead. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, under successive Republican and Democratic administrations, the CIA supported Operation Condor, a network of right-wing dictatorships throughout Latin America including Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. Advertisement Advertisement Then there are the more recent covert adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the 1980s, the U.S. supported the Mujahadeen militants in their war against the Russians. Unfortunately, the Mujahadeen became disillusioned with their helpful allies and became the Taliban. That didnt work out too well either. The CIA had been in Iraq in various capacities for decades before the first and second war, and they even went in prior to the 2003 invasion to wait for it establish contact with the Kurdish forces to secure their help. Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. But perhaps the most relevant precedent in Iran is the original CIA-backed overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh, the countrys democratically-elected prime minister, in 1953, which restored power to Reza Pahlavi, the last shah. This was done primarily to restore control of Iranian oil fields, which Mossadeghs government had nationalized, to British energy companies. As with Afghanistan, this act sowed seeds of resentments and helped lead to the revolution in 1979, which got us to where we are today. The first days of the war have been chaotic, as Trump, members of his administration and his congressional allies have given competing rationales to justify the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio seems to have landed on the doltish explanation that because Israel was planning to attack Iran, the U.S. had no choice but to join the campaign to preempt Iranian retaliation against American assets in the region. The implication of this slip was stunning: That America was a passive, secondary partner to Israel and could wield little influence over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For his part, Trump said on Tuesday he just had a feeling they were going to attack. Advertisement Advertisement The administration has been all over the map, insisting that they were annihilating Irans nuclear program, which they previously claimed to have obliterated; degrading the regimes missile capability; promoting regime change and supporting a popular uprising; and making sure Iran cant project power in the rest of the Middle East. Trump even suggested the war was revenge for Iranian threats against him. Its impossible to be sure just why they chose to attack the regime when they did, other than the fact that Trump has almost certainly been persuaded by the likes of Rubio and long-time Iran hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that it will mean another path to glory. The problem is that they apparently forgot to plan what comes next. Trump has said that he hopes Iran will be another Venezuela, a simple decapitation mission in which the people who replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regimes supreme leader who was killed on Saturday in an air strike, would be eager to be bought off and do his bidding under threat of more bombing and carnage. But a problem emerged. Trump complained that the people hed apparently been told were good candidates to become his puppets have all been killed. I guess the worst case is we do this and then somebody takes over who is as bad as the previous person, he said to reporters in the Oval Office. That could happen. Indeed it could. Advertisement Advertisement Trump exhorted the Iranian people to rise up against the government and threatened the authorities, telling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps via video they would get immunity if they laid down their arms. Who they are supposed to surrender to is unclear, to say the least, and how any of this could possibly come to pass without a U.S. presence on the ground is virtually impossible. While Trump has said that hasnt ruled out sending in combat troops, its hard to imagine that hes so far gone that what the Defense Department has dubbed Operation Epic Fury would be nothing compared to the fury unleashed by the American people if he launched some kind of ground invasion. We had better hope Trump gets lucky once again. Otherwise, the results of his and Netanyahus war in Iran are likely to be as successful as previous U.S. efforts at regime change have been which is to say not successful at all. The post Trumps new plan for Iran doomed to backfire appeared first on Salon.com. News that President Donald Trump plans to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin may have some wondering who the Oklahoma Republican is and why Trump chose him. Here's what to know about the potential new Homeland Security secretary. Who is Markwayne Mullin? Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, was first sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, according to his campaign website. The entrepreneur and former mixed martial arts fighter has since emerged as one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in the Senate, according to USA Today. Why is Markwayne Mullin replacing Kristi Noem? Amid mounting criticism of her leadership, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would replace Noem with Mullin. He said Noem would instead serve as a "Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas," a newly proposed security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere, according to the Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to depart during Trump's second term, the AP article states. When does Markwayne Mullin officially start? Although Mullin still must be confirmed by the Senate, federal law governing executive branch vacancies allows him to serve as acting Homeland Security secretary in the interim. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This article originally published at Trump plans to replace Kristi Noem with Markwayne Mullin. Why him and what happens next?. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would be endorsing in Texas Republican primary for US Senate between incumbent John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton and demanding that the candidate he doesnt choose drop out. IT MUST STOP NOW! The president wrote on Truth Social of the primary race. We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! Trump added that he would ask the other candidate to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Advertisement Advertisement The presidents announcement comes after months of staying neutral in the nasty Texas GOP primary that is now set to become a bruising and expensive runoff election. As Trump decides, top Senate Republicans ramped up a furious push to persuade the president to endorse Cornyn. They pointed to Cornyn leading Paxton after Tuesdays results, which they say proves that he can win the 12-week runoff. If the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of the runoff, where national Republicans are expected to spend tens of millions to support the incumbent. Thune added that Republicans are eager to avoid 10 weeks of a spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement This latest push by Thune and other GOP senators to get Trump fully behind Cornyn carries more urgency than in past months. The winner of the GOP primary will face off against the one Democrat that party leaders hoped they would not face in November: state Sen. James Talarico. The 36-year-old seminarian has run a campaign designed to pry moderate voters away from the GOP and is widely considered a greater threat to Republicans than liberal firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who came in second place. Of course, its not helpful, Thune said of Talaricos name at the top of the ticket for Democrats, before adding: Which is why if the president can weigh in, it would be enormously helpful. Republicans also fear Talarico and national Democrats could have another edge in the race, since Talarico isnt facing a runoff. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, stressed that the party needed to rally behind Cornyn as they work to combat higher-than-expected Democratic turnout in the primary on Tuesday, which has raised alarm bells across the GOP. He insisted that only Cornyn can beat a highly motivated Democratic electorate. There were actually more Democrats that voted in the primary than Republicans that voted in the primary, which shows that the Democrats in Texas are motivated, Barrasso said. John Cornyn wins that race for the Republicans and for the people of Texas. I support him fully. Its time for us to come together as a Republican Party and lets get John Cornyn back here, added Sen. John Curtis of Utah. For his part, Paxton has said he hopes to get closer on the money with Cornyn and warned nominating him would lead to six more years of a guy thats going to work against the values that we believe in. In a radio interview, the Texas attorney general spoke with Hunt on Tuesday night and has said he hopes the congressman will give us a little lift by encouraging his supporters to side with the Paxton camp in the run-off. Advertisement Advertisement His decision is his decision, and I respect that, and Im certainly hopeful that hell help us to beat John Cornyn, Paxton said Wednesday in an interview with The Chris Salcedo Show. At least one Republican who has stayed neutral in the race said Wednesday he intends to maintain that position. Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters that he will not be endorsing Cornyn or Paxton in Mays runoff. John Cornyn is a good friend of mine, Ken Paxton is a good friend of mine. I have endorsed both of them previously, Ive campaigned with both of them previously, and as Ive said from the beginning of this race, Im staying out of the race. I trust the voters of Texas, Cruz said. Pressed on if hell remain neutral through the runoff, he said, Yes. CNNs Arlette Saenz, Alison Main and Morgan Leason contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Donald Trump appears to be leaning toward endorsing Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas GOP Senate primary, issuing a stark warning to state Attorney General Ken Paxton in an interview with POLITICO. The president, in a brief phone conversation Thursday morning, said an endorsement will be made pretty soon before addressing Paxton, who recently said he would not drop out of the race even if Trump endorses Cornyn. Well, thats bad for him to say, Trump said. That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction. Advertisement Advertisement Trump had previously stated he would ask the candidate he does not endorse to step aside. Senate Republicans have already asked Trump to back Cornyn, who narrowly pulled ahead of Paxton on Tuesday in the first round of the primary. The two now face a heated runoff, which could last for another three months unless one of them ends their campaign. The battle between Cornyn and Paxton has been expensive and full of personal attacks between the candidates. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has called Paxton a wife-cheater and fraud. His ex-wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce on biblical grounds. Both Cornyn and Paxton have lobbied hard for the presidents support. Advertisement Advertisement Trump appeared confident that the Republican candidate could beat state Rep. James Talarico, who outright defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett for the Democratic nomination earlier this week. Trump called Talarico a terribly weak candidate who is more woke than even the very highly untalented Jasmine Crockett. I think hes going to be much easier than her, because he doesnt have a real following, Trump said. Paxton appeared to walk back his vow to stay in the race. In a post to X on Thursday, Paxton said he would "consider" dropping out if the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, which tightens voting practices. He also used the post to reaffirm his loyalty to Trump. "The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare," Paxton said. "For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump's agenda, I am determined to help him get this done." WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that someone from within the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel military campaign is completed but said most of the people we had in mind are dead. The president, who four days ago had emphatically called on Iranians to take over your government once the U.S.-Israel bombardment ends, appeared to drift further away from the idea that the war presents an opportunity to end the theocratic rule that has been in place since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution. Trump said that many Iranian officials his administration had viewed as potential new leaders for the country had been killed in the U.S.-Israeli campaign that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many other top officials. Advertisement Advertisement Trump has not publicly identified anyone whom he views as a credible future leader for Iran. And its unclear what, if any, outreach the White House had with Iranian officials since the war started. Most of the people we had in mind are dead, he said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon were not going to know anybody. Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Irans last shah who is trying to position himself for a return should Irans Shiite theocracy fall, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over leadership in Iran. It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate, Trump said, adding that it may make sense for somebody thats there, thats currently popular, if there is such a person to emerge from the power vacuum. Advertisement Advertisement Trump's comments came as he hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his first in-person engagement with a foreign leader since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran. Trump said he wanted to avoid a worst case scenario where somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person. That could happen. We dont want that to happen, Trump added. You go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who was no better. The White House is trying to counter criticism The White House has stepped up its push to counter criticism that it moved unnecessarily quickly to launch a war of choice against Iran. Trumps decision to strike last week followed lengthy negotiations by the presidents envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner with the Iranians talks the U.S. increasingly viewed as an effort to stall any progress. Advertisement Advertisement After the most recent round of discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, Witkoff and Kushner told Trump that reaching a nuclear agreement similar to one that former President Barack Obama struck in 2015 was possible, according to a senior administration official. The official, who briefed journalists on condition of anonymity, described it as a potential Obama-plus deal and Witkoff and Kushner believed such an agreement would take months, but was possible. Still, even as they expressed their willingness to pursue diplomacy and fight for every point that we can if thats what Trump wanted, the negotiators stressed to the president that the Iranians were not willing to make a deal that would be satisfactory to the U.S. Trump snaps at the UK, Spain over lack of support Meanwhile, Trump sharply criticized Britain and Spain for their reluctance to aid the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Advertisement Advertisement This is not Winston Churchill that were dealing with, Trump fumed about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer had initially blocked American planes from using British bases for the attacks on Iran that started on Saturday. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Irans ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to hit other targets. Trump also said he was going to "cut off all trade with Spain, the day after Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his country would not allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the United Nations charter. Trump disputes that Israel forced his hand The president also sought to push back on criticism from some of his staunchest allies over the decision to go to war questions that grew louder after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the U.S. had decided to strike because we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. Advertisement Advertisement And we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties, Rubio said. But Trump rejected the notion that the White House had been dragged into the conflict by Israel. We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack, Trump said. If anything, I might have forced Israels hand. Rubio on Tuesday echoed Trump's insistence that the decision to attack Iran was made independent of Israel. Merz said during his visit with Trump at the Oval Office that Germany is looking forward to the day after the Iran war is over. Advertisement Advertisement He said Berlin wants to work with the U.S. on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists. We are having a high interest in common approach and common work and what we can do, Merz said. And this is this is important not just for the Americans, he said. This is extremely important for Europe and extremely important for Israel and their security. Merz also noted surging oil prices were damaging the world economy, laying down an argument for finding a quick endgame to the conflict. The president acknowledged that oil and gas prices were going to rise as the U.S. remains engaged in the strikes yet argued it would be fleeting. Advertisement Advertisement We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before, Trump said. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. jumped 11 cents overnight Tuesday to about $3.11 in the United States, according to the AAA. ___ AP writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Fatima Hussein and Michelle L. Price in Washington, and Jill Lawless in London contributed reporting. WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday, March 5 that he wants the United States to play a role in choosing Iran's next leader and encouraged Kurdish opposition groups to go on the offensive. Trump said in a telephone interview it was very early in the process of picking a new leader but that the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba was an unlikely choice, without elaborating. "We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future," Trump said. "We don't have to go back every five years and do this again and again." Advertisement Advertisement Trump also encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive. "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it," the president said. When asked if the U.S. would provide or had offered air cover, he responded, "I can't tell you that," but added that the objective for the Kurds would be "to win." "If they're going to do that, that's good," Trump added. Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Advertisement Advertisement The Iranian Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the country's military, as the United States and Israel pound Iranian targets with bombs and missiles. Trump also signaled confidence that the major shipping route near Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, will remain open. Closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the worlds crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, has been one of Iran's main objectives, and shipping through the crucial energy artery has ground to a near halt after Iranian hits on six vessels. "They have no navy, you know the navy is now at the bottom of the sea," Trump said. "I'm watching Hormuz very closely." Advertisement Advertisement (Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Costas Pitas and Bo Erickson; editing by Bhargav Acharya, Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell) This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Trump says he should have role in choosing Iran's next leader TotalEnergies has agreed to divest a 50% stake in 11 battery storage projects in Germany, with a combined capacity ranging from 789MW to 1.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh), to Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI). The acquisition is on behalf of Allianz insurance companies and the Allianz European Infrastructure Fund II, said AllianzGI. The transaction is pending customary regulatory approvals and conditions before it can be finalised. Under the agreement, the partners will invest 500m in the countrys essential energy infrastructure, with 70% of the funding coming from debt financing. These projects are expected to be fully operational by the year 2028. Currently under construction across various locations in Germany, the projects were developed by Kyon Energy, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies. Saft, another TotalEnergies subsidiary, will supply the next-generation batteries for most of these installations. TotalEnergies gas, renewables and power president Stephane Michel said: We are delighted to welcome Allianz, a first-class partner in Germany, as a shareholder in 11 of our battery storage projects, representing a total capacity of nearly 800MW. In line with our business model, this transaction enables us to optimise our capital allocation in our integrated power activities and helps improve the sectors profitability. This operation [will] strengthen our development momentum in Germany, Europes largest power market, where we are deploying our clean firm power strategy, as illustrated by the 200MW PPA [power purchase agreement] signed with Airbus recently. TotalEnergies will continue to operate the assets following the completion of the sale. The initiative aims to bolster the stability of Germany's power grid by alleviating congestion and enabling greater flexibility. In Germany, TotalEnergies is actively involved in multiple facets of the power sector, including the development of renewable energy projects like wind and solar, as well as trading and aggregation processes that ensure a consistent supply of low-carbon electricity. Allianz Global Investors head of Private Markets Edouard Jozan said: The shift to cleaner energy depends on strong infrastructure. This investment marks Allianzs first direct equity commitment to a portfolio of battery storage projects. As a pioneer in energy transition investing for more than 20 years with a portfolio spanning wind and solar farms, green hydrogen platforms and an electricity interconnector, we are very delighted to partner with Total Energies on this important project in one of our home markets, Germany. (Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images) President Donald Trump insisted he must play a role in selecting Irans next supreme leader, dismissing the son of assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current frontrunner to succeed him, as a lightweight. In an interview with Axios on Thursday, Trump said he would not accept Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leaders son and a hardliner widely seen as the leading candidate, as Irans next ruler and insisted the U.S. should shape the countrys political future. Advertisement Advertisement They are wasting their time. Khameneis son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela, Trump told the outlet. The remarks come as Irans clerical establishment scrambles to select a successor following the killing of Khamenei during joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes last week. Irans Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for choosing the supreme leader, has delayed the decision for several days, though officials have suggested an announcement could come soon. Mojtaba Khamenei, who has strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps but has never held public office, has emerged as a leading contender. Trump made clear he opposes that outcome, which he claimed would lead to war again in five years. Advertisement Advertisement Khameneis son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran, he said. The president compared the potential intervention to Venezuela, where he said the U.S. influenced the political transition after its leader, Nicolas Maduro, was captured in a January raid and his vice president, Rodriguez, assumed power. Trumps comments come as senior officials in his administration have publicly denied that the ongoing military campaign is aimed at regime change, claiming instead that the aim is nuclear and military incapacitation. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that most of the potential Iranian successors that he has in mind were already dead after being killed by initial strikes. The post Trump Snubs Khameneis Lightweight Heir in Demand He Help Pick Irans Next Leader first appeared on Mediaite. President Donald Trump says he'll soon take sides in the costly Republican Senate primary showdown in Texas between longtime Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. "I will be making my Endorsement soon," the president wrote Wednesday in a social media post the day after Cornyn and Paxton advanced to a May 26 runoff election. The two heated rivals topped a crowded field of contenders in Tuesday's primary, but since no one cleared the 50% threshold, the nomination race heads into overtime. Trump added that he "will be asking the candidate that I dont Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!" Advertisement Advertisement A Republican operative in Trump's political orbit told Fox News Digital it's expected Cornyn will get the president's endorsement. However, the president has been known to change his mind on candidates or even reverse endorsements. A second source in Trump's political orbit told Fox News that while there's still jockeying to influence the presidents decision, given Cornyns better-than-expected performance in the primary, Trump is expected to back the senator and prevent a messy and expensive runoff. Cornyn or Paxton will face off in the general election against rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who topped progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a vocal Trump critic, in the Democrats' primary. Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Open Borders, Trump-hating Radicalrepublicans Quickly Pounce On Talarico This year's Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47. The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million to run ads attacking Paxton and Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt who came in third with the senator charging in the closing weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats would flip the seat in the general election if Paxton was the GOP's nominee. Cornyn, his allies and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, repeatedly pointed to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce. Advertisement Advertisement Combustible Republican Senate Primary In Texas Headed Into Overtime "Over the next 12 weeks, Texas Republican primary voters will hear more about my record of delivering conservative victories in the United States Senate, and learn more about Ken's indefensible personal behavior and failures in office," Cornyn told reporters on Tuesday night. "Just like the primary, we have a plan to win the runoff, and we are in the process of executing it. Judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton," Cornyn vowed. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in The Woodlands, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter and ally who grabbed significant national attention by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, told supporters on primary night, "As we head into this runoff, we're going to make the choice even clearer. While John Cornyn was cutting deals on gun control and amnesty, I was suing corrupt Joe Biden over 107 times." Advertisement Advertisement And he charged, "John Cornyn spent around $100 million trying to buy this seat. Weve spent around $5 million." Round Two Of Cornyn Vs. Paxton Gets Under Way Trump on Wednesday urged, "for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!" And pointing to Talarico, the president argued, "We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively." State Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks at a primary election watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Images) "Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT!" Trump warned. Trump, whose clout over the GOP remains immense, stayed neutral in the Republican primary race. All three candidates, who sought the president's endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump held an event in Corpus Christi, Texas. Advertisement Advertisement "They're in a little race together," Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. "You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It's going to be an interesting one, right? Theyre both great people, too." Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the lobbying campaign to clinch the endorsement for Cornyn hasn't stopped, and if anything, is intensifying in the hours since primary night. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that Cornyn had "a great night" against Paxton. The top Senate Republican has spent the last several months bending Trumps ear at every opportunity to jump into the race and back the longtime incumbent. "He's positioned to win the runoff, and if the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money, and a lot of, you know, just 10 weeks of another spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats," Thune said. Advertisement Advertisement Thune spoke with Cornyn on Wednesday morning, and believed that Talarico was the more formidable match-up for Republicans in November one that Cornyn was better suited to win. "The matchup that's good for us is John Cornyn at the top of the ticket," Thune said. NRSC communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital, "John Cornyn remains the only candidate who guarantees state Rep. Talarico never becomes a United States senator and ensures the fight for President Trumps Senate majority is waged in true battleground states, not Texas." And the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), the top super PAC backing Senate Republicans, which spent millions on behalf of Cornyn in the primary campaign, made it clear in a statement early Wednesday that it will continue to support the senator in the runoff. "SLF and its sister organizations were proud to support Senator Cornyn early, and we look forward to him securing the Republican nomination on May 26," the groups executive director, Alex Latcham, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, a GOP political operative in Trump's orbit told Fox News Digital, "Talarico being the nominee makes President Trump's endorsement of Cornyn more important than ever." While Trump stayed neutral, his top pollster, Tony Fabrizio, helped the Cornyn campaign. And veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump's 2024 White House bid, consulted for a top Cornyn-aligned super PAC. LaCivita, in a social media post Tuesday night aimed at Paxton and his top political consultant, wrote, "The second wave is going to be a bitch." But on the Paxton side of the playing field, operatives and donors are confident they can unseat the senator. Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and prominent Republican donor and bundler who supports Paxton, told Fox News Digital, "This was Cornyns shot to fend off his challenger by getting over 50%, and he couldnt do it. The runoff voters will be even less friendly territory for Cornyn." Advertisement Advertisement Pointing to former longtime Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has often acted as a Trump foil, Eberhart said, "This race is about MAGA vs. McConnell." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters at a campaign event on primary eve, in Waco, Texas on March 2, 2026. Meanwhile, Lone Star Liberty, a pro-Paxton super PAC, circulated a memo ahead of Tuesdays election that shrugged off threats that Cornyn would succeed in the runoff by continuing to hammer the attorney general over his litany of scandals, arguing there was nothing new to offer. Click Here To Download The Fox News App "Cornyns talk of unleashing new attacks in the runoff is bluster," the memo states. "The truth is that from day one, his forces fired every bullet they had. There are no new attacks left only more of the same, at ever-greater cost and with ever-diminishing returns." Fox News' Rich Edson contributed to this report Original article source: Trump teases kingmaker endorsement in Texas soon to force other candidate out of runoff President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) President Donald Trump promised that Cubas regime will be next to fall after hes done with Iran. Cubas going to fall, too, the president told Dasha Burns in a Thursday phone interview. Advertisement Advertisement Trump insisted people are loving the U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran which have taken out high-ranking leaders, including the countrys supreme leader despite polling showing large disapproval or mixed responses. We cut off all oil, all money, or we cut off everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source. And they want to make a deal, Trump said about Cuba. After Venezuelas disputed leader Nicolas Maduro was brought to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism charges, Trump warned Cuba they need to cut a deal with the U.S. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA ZERO! he wrote on Truth Social. I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. He did not explain what kind of deal. Advertisement Advertisement Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has been resistant to any deals with the U.S. In January, he promised Cuba would defend itself to the last drop of blood in response to Trump pressing for a deal. Trump suggested in his interview with Burns that the U.S. would have a direct role in dismantling the current Cuban regime. Well, what do you think? For 50 years, thats icing on the cake. Venezuela is doing fantastically. [Delcy Rodriguez] is doing a fantastic job. The relationship with them is great, he said. With Venezuela no longer providing oil, Trump argued the U.S. is in a prime position to negotiate with Cubas government. The country, he said, needs help after his intervention in Venezuela. Advertisement Advertisement How long have you been hearing about Cuba Cuba, Cuba for 50 years? And thats one of the small ones for me, the president said. The U.S. will also have a role in shaping Irans political future, according to Trump. Im going to have a big impact, or theyre not going to have any settlement, he said, because were not going to have to go do this again. The post Trump Tells Politicos Dasha Burns: Cuba Is Going to Fall Too first appeared on Mediaite. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) President Donald Trump's plans to nominate Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to take over as Homeland Security secretary follow a notable political rise for the plumbing company owner who was first elected to Congress in 2012. Mullin, 48, has become one of Trumps fiercest defenders in the U.S. Senate and is now positioned to join his administration after the president on Thursday fired embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had come under mounting criticism over her leadership of the department. A former mixed-martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler, Mullin has earned a reputation as a fighter in the Senate and has grown friendlier with Trump since they attended an NCAA wrestling event together in Tulsa in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump posted on his Truth Social account. Mullin told reporters at the Capitol Thursday that he would get DHS focused on protecting the homeland. No matter if you support me, you dont support me, Im going to be laser-focused on getting that done, he added. Mullin's rise to U.S. senator A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin emerged from a crowded GOP field in 2022 to win Oklahoma's vacant U.S. Senate seat. He was running a successful plumbing company in Oklahoma known for its red vans with The Red Rooter logo on the side when he first ran for the U.S. House and painted himself as a political outsider fed up with government regulations strangling businesses like his. Advertisement Advertisement He ultimately won the seat representing Oklahomas sprawling 2nd District, a rural seat that was once a Democratic stronghold but has become increasingly conservative over the last decade. A reputation as a fighter in Congress His fiery exchanges in the Senate included a 2023 hearing with the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, when Mullin told the union leader to stand your butt up," before standing from his seat and appearing to take his ring off. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults," Mullin told Sean O'Brien, the union's president, with whom Mullin had previously engaged in a back-and-forth on social media. "We can finish it here. Months after his confrontation with OBrien, the two reconciled. Mullin called the union leader a new friend. Advertisement Advertisement The interaction underscored how Mullin is one of Trumps most aggressive defenders in Congress and often spars with people on social media, but also often is an affable presence in the Capitol. Hes known to walk the halls in a cowboy hat and boots, sometimes bouncing a rubber ball as he chats with reporters. Hes also a conduit between the White House and Senate Republican leadership and maintains relationships from his days in the House. He still leads workout sessions sometimes in the House gym. At the State of the Union last month, Mullin took a swipe at a sign held by Rep. Al Green that said Black people arent apes, a reference to a racist video the president posted that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle. During the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Mullin made headlines when he attempted to enter the country from multiple locations and was denied. Mullin said he was trying to help an American family flee Afghanistan. Mullin has faced some criticisms Mullin initially vowed to only serve three terms in Congress, a promise he later broke when he announced plans to run again, saying then that he didn't understand politics when he originally made the initial pledge. Advertisement Advertisement Mullin also has faced criticism for receiving at least $1.8 million from a federal rescue program designed to keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed four separate businesses owned by Mullin received a total of between $800,000 and $1.9 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. A Mullin spokeswoman said at the time the congressman was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and referred questions to the companies chief financial officer. Cherokee Nation leader praises Mullin Mullin has supported legislation important to tribal citizens and advocated for tribal sovereignty, and he stumped for Trump in 2024, describing the president as strong on issues affecting Native communities. It is deeply encouraging to have someone with a keen understanding of federal Indian policy, law and justice elevated to such a critical leadership role within a powerful federal agency, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement As a tribal citizen, Mullin could address recent allegations that members of federally-recognized tribes have been targeted by ICE officers, including some documented cases of their detainments and arrests. ____ Associated Press reporter Graham Brewer in Norman, Okla., contributed to this report. Screenshot The most intense media argument of the week was not about the war with Iran. It was about whether journalists are allowed to report on it. The clash began at the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the press of emphasizing American casualties in order to make President Donald Trump look bad. This spawned sharp pushback from CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who effectively called out the absurdity of Hegseths claim. Advertisement Advertisement Hours later, CNNs Kaitlan Collins asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt whether the administration believed the deaths of U.S. service members should receive less prominence in coverage of the conflict. Leavitt rejected the premise in a rather spirited manner, and pivoted to a broader charge that CNN treats every development as an opportunity to damage the president. By evening, the dispute had moved onto television, where both CNN anchors pushed back sharply, and Pentagon reporters defended the longstanding practice of reporting on fallen troops. Of course, they were right to do so. When Americans die in combat, the country learns their names. That principle has held through wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and through administrations of both parties. Casualty reporting connects the public to the human cost of decisions made in Washington and carried out on distant battlefields. Its not only a time-honored tradition, but the right way to honor those who lost their lives. But the fight over this story was in and of itself revealing. Whether it was a deliberate distraction or just a reflexive blame the liberal media swing, challenging the legitimacy of casualty coverage forced journalists into a defensive posture around the most unimpeachable thing they do naming the dead. The press responded exactly as expected. Most anchors, reporters, and commentators that covered the story defended the practice and rejected the claim that honoring fallen service members is political. Fox News notably sat this one out. Lost in that argument was a harder question about the war itself, and how the media covers it from afar. Advertisement Advertisement For all the heat surrounding the White House clash with CNN, the conflict itself remains unusually opaque. Much of the information reaching American audiences flows through official channels Pentagon statements, Israeli military briefings, and dramatic footage of missiles striking targets or ships sinking beneath the waterline. The images are compelling and the events depicted are real. The vantage point behind them belongs largely to the institutions conducting the war. Reporters who cover the Pentagon describe an information environment thinner than in past conflicts. Requests for operational detail that once produced lengthy briefings in Iraq or Afghanistan now route back to the White House or go unanswered entirely. Journalists piece together a broader picture through background conversations and fragments that surface outside official channels, a slower and narrower process that shapes what ultimately reaches the public. The result is war coverage that arrives in flashes rather than sustained reporting. A precision strike captured on video. A vessel destroyed at sea. A missile intercepted over a base. Each image shows something that happened. The surrounding context the strategic rationale, the setbacks, the unintended consequences remains difficult to verify from the outside. There is a simpler question here. The administration has spent the week promoting the Iran strikes as a historic success targets destroyed, objectives achieved, American strength restored. If that story is as strong as the White House claims, why spend political capital attacking CNN over casualty coverage? Winning wars dont usually require suppressing the press. Advertisement Advertisement The clash between the White House and CNN followed a script both sides know well. The administration framed the press as hostile. Journalists defended a core norm of their profession. The debate produced several days of argument about bias and press freedom loud, familiar, and largely beside the point. Meanwhile the war continued largely outside that frame, its fuller picture obscured by the constrained information environment the fight left largely unexamined. Journalists were right to reject the suggestion that covering fallen soldiers is partisan. Naming the dead is one of the oldest responsibilities of war reporting, owed to the families of the fallen and to a public that deserves to understand the human cost of military action carried out in its name. But defending that principle and questioning the limits of current coverage belong to the same obligation. Americans are watching the war unfold every night on their screens. The harder task is understanding how much of it they are actually seeing. The post The Trump White Houses Fight With CNN Over Fallen Soldiers Is No Accident Its a Tell first appeared on Mediaite. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) President Donald Trumps plan to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as Homeland Security secretary will leave an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma. Under a new Oklahoma law, Gov. Kevin Stitt will get to pick Mullins replacement if he does indeed leave his Senate seat. Stitt said in a statement Thursday he will look to appoint a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump. Mullin didn't complete a full six-year term, as he was first elected in 2022 to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who stepped down early. Advertisement Advertisement And whoever Stitt appoints wont be a U.S. senator for long. The law prohibits that person from running in the next election, which will be held in November, a move that lawmakers said was designed to protect the seat from the advantage of incumbency. The vacancy for Oklahoma's U.S. Senate seat is likely to set off a series of political dominoes in the state. Among those who are expected to consider the race are U.S. Reps. Kevin Hern of Tulsa and Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma City, and former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon, who Mullin defeated in a GOP runoff in 2022. Oklahoma's three-day filing period begins on April 1. Republicans will be heavily favored to retain control of the seat. Despite voting for President Donald Trump three times, Republican Amanda Cline isn't buying his administration's evolving and conflicting rationale for launching a war with Iran. The retired 47-year-old Navy veteran thinks it's the wrong move, especially when she learned U.S. soldiers were killed so early in the conflict. "I don't think it's worth it," Cline, who hails from Cherry Valley, California, told USA TODAY. "It's not our cause. It's their fight to fight. It's their regime and their problem to fix." Advertisement Advertisement Cline recalls being deployed overseas in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She said she watched intently when Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters at a March 2 press conference that this conflict would not morph into nation-building effort, but that it reminded her how the Bush administration's promises never materialized. See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. Syria Syrian children stand on the wreckage of an Iranian rocket that was reportedly intercepted by Israeli forces in the southern countryside of Quneitra, near the Golan Heights, close to the town of Ghadir al-Bustan. Iraq A plume of smoke rises near Erbil International Airport in Erbil on March 1, 2026. Loud explosions were heard early on March 1 near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said. Iraq Members and officers from the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Explosives Directorate inspect the fuel tank of a rocket that landed in a rural village in the Siyahi area near the city of Hilla in the central Babil province on March 1, 2026. Iraq, which has recently regained a sense of stability but has long been a proxy battleground between the U.S. and Iran, warned that it did not want to be dragged into the war that started on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Qatar A prayer appealing to God for protection is projected on the dome of al-Hazm shopping mall in Doha on March 1, 2026. Qatar Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1, 2026. Bahrain A building that was damaged by an Iranian drone attack, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, March 1, 2026. Saudi Arabia The empty terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is pictured on March 1, 2026. Global airlines cancelled flights across the Middle East after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, plunging the region into a new conflict. In Saudi Arabia, Iranian missiles targeting Riyadh's international airport and the Prince Sultan Airbase, which houses U.S. military personnel, were intercepted, a Gulf source briefed on the matter told AFP. United Arab Emirates A food delivery bike drive close to a plume of smoke rising from the Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1, 2026. United Arab Emirates An oil tanker is pictured offshore in Dubai on March 1, 2026. Attacks have damaged tankers, and many ship owners, oil majors and trading houses suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of Hormuz. Oman Smoke billows from an oil tanker under U.S. sanctions, that was hit off Oman's Musandam peninsula, in this screen grab from a video obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2026. Kuwait Smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the area where the U.S. Embassy is located in Kuwait City on March 2, 2026. Black smoke was seen rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City on March 2 after the latest volley of Iranian strikes, an AFP correspondent saw, Saudi Arabia A satellite image shows efforts to control a fire as smoke rises in the Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia after a drone attack, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia March 2, 2026. Turkey People make their way after crossing from Iran into Turkey at the Kapikoy Border Gate in eastern Van province,Turkey, March 2, 2026. United Arab Emirates Delivery persons ride motorcycles along a road as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. United Arab Emirates Pieces of missiles and drones recovered after Iran's strikes are displayed during a press briefing by the UAE government held in Abu Dhabi on March 3, 2026. Iran stepped up its attacks on economic targets and US missions across the Middle East on March 3, as the US president warned it was "too late" for the Islamic republic to seek talks to escape the war. As drones and missiles crashed into oil facilities and U.S. embassies in the Gulf, Washington's ally Israel bombarded targets in Iran and pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle the Tehran-backed militia Hezbollah. Lebanon Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3, 2026. The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for dozens of locations in Lebanon on March 3, including warning residents in two southern Beirut neighbourhoods to stay away from several buildings ahead of an imminent operation. Lebanon Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 3, 2026. Lebanon Rescuers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Jamaa Islamiya offices in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on March 3, 2026. United Arab Emirates Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. See how the Iran wars fallout is hitting the Middle East 1 of 20 See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahrain Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. "It's kind of insulting the intelligence of the American people to just have generals get up there and Hegseth get up there and just say, 'go military, go troops and wave your American flag and just support us no matter what,'" said Cline, who also has worked at an anti-abortion pregnancy center. "That was insulting," she added. "We want to know when, because we don't want any more deaths." Cline isn't the only one who feels that way. Trump's war with Iran is polling badly, has kicked up gas prices and injected volatility into a stock market that the administration regularly cites as a bright spot in a wobbly economy. Advertisement Advertisement It is also fraying the Make America Great Again coalition, whose anti-interventionist wing has expressed a mixture of disappointment, betrayal and anger that experts warn could turn a gathering Democratic blue wave into a potential tsunami in the 2026 congressional elections. Democrats have led in all but one of the dozens of polls conducted this year asking voters which party should control Congress. Paul Brace, a political science professor emeritus at Rice University, said it is rare that foreign affairs affect an American election outcome. But he noted that elements of Trump's base are already disillusioned over other broken promises. "Between the Epstein files and the anti-war sentiment among many Trump supporters, there's grounds there to break away from him," Brace said. "It's going to depend on their particular constituencies in the context of an election year that does not look good for them in the first place." Most Americans oppose war with Iran, polls show A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. Almost a week after the first strikes, early snapshots show a nation wary about once again entering the Middle East with many memories still fresh from the incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. Advertisement Advertisement Just 27% of Americans approved in a Reuters/Ipsos survey released less than 48 hours after the first missiles were launched, while 43% disapproved. A flash poll conducted by the Washington Post on March 1 found 52% oppose Trump's airstrikes versus 39% who support it, with 9% saying they are unsure. Another one released by CNN on March 2 found that about 59% of Americans disapprove of the decision to go to war, including 68% of independent voters. Joe McGee, a Republican from Fairfield, Connecticut, said the Iranian government is an "exporter of terrorism" but questioned Trump's ability to administer this war, particularly at a time when the United States has quarreled with so many longtime allies. He predicted Democrats would gain at least 20 seats in the House midterms as a result. "The problem is Trump has switched now from 'we don't want these foreign wars, these things have been a disaster,' and he's now initiated probably the largest one the Middle East that we've ever seen," McGee, 80, a retired business executive, told USA TODAY. A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday. Demonstrators hold Iranian flags, during an anti-war with Iran protest rally and march, following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, in Washington D.C., U.S., February 28, 2026. People gather in Times Square as the nation reacts to "major combat operations" in Iran on February 28, 2026 in New York City. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Israel had launched strikes on Iran targeting political and military leaders, as well as Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Demonstrators take part in an anti-war with Iran protest rally and march, following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, in Washington D.C., U.S., February 28, 2026. People hold signs as they take part in a "March 4 Democracy" protest in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched what the latter called a "decisive and unprecedented" campaign against Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles that sent residents running for cover on Saturday in cities across the Middle East. People attend the Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday. People attend the Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. Protestors were out on East Market Street in Springettsbury Township, Pa., the morning after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. Protestors were out on East Market Street in Springettsbury Township, Pa., the morning after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. People gather in Times Square as the nation reacts to "major combat operations" in Iran on February 28, 2026 in New York City. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Israel had launched strikes on Iran targeting political and military leaders, as well as Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Demonstrators take part in an anti-war with Iran protest rally and march, following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, outside the White House, in Washington D.C., U.S., February 28, 2026. Demonstrators take part in an anti-war with Iran protest rally and march, following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, in Washington D.C., U.S., February 28, 2026. Americans protest 'massive' strikes in Iran amid US-Israeli attack 1 of 12 A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday. But most Republicans including House Republicans running in competitive districts are standing by the president, perhaps encouraged by surveys such as a March 3 one from Fox News showing 61% of Americans think Iran poses "a real national security threat." Advertisement Advertisement Republican Paul Holtzman, an independent contractor from Rohrsburg, Pennsylvania, said he supports the military action against Iran, citing the foreign adversary's human rights abuses. "I think that it's a path towards peace. You know, sometimes you can get peace through negotiation, but sometimes you have to use force to bring it about," he said. Congressional GOP mostly sticking with Trump Speaking to Fox News earlier this week, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, who represents a competitive district, denounced Democrats for continuing to block Department of Homeland Security funding during the war over their demands to put restraints on immigration enforcement agents. He noted the agency was "created in the aftermath of 9/11." Holtzman, 51, said he would like to see Iran, which had an Islamic revolution in 1979 after decades of reign under an autocratic monarch, enjoy a government that isn't religious-based. He said Trump is being decisive, adding voters will tolerate a certain number of U.S. casualties for a limited time if they see the president taking the necessary steps toward peace in the region. Advertisement Advertisement "I'm not looking to see troops go in there and to invade," Holtzman said. "I mean, if it's necessary for us to help the people get the government where it's supposed to be, I guess I could be somewhat OK with that." "Dangerous," "wrong" and "foolish" Mike @Lawler4NY slams Democrats shutting down Dept. of Homeland Security as radical Islamic terrorist threats surge "The Dept. of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of 9/11." pic.twitter.com/wYFHePkl6G NRCC (@NRCC) March 2, 2026 Trump enjoyed nearly unanimous support among Senate Republicans when all but Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky rejected a war powers resolution to halt military hostilities against Iran on March 4. "Iran has been building not only its nuclear capability but also its conventional weapons capability to a point that it would threaten the entire region," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said in a March 4 post on X. "[The president] is taking steps to make the world, our country, and our people safer." The Trump administration's staunchest supporters remain optimistic, too, telling USA TODAY the Iranian regime is turning global opinion against it by launching attacks in neighboring countries. Advertisement Advertisement Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, a key Trump ally, told USA TODAY he believes the administration will succeed within the four-week timetable outlined by the president and rally the country. There will be a need for clearer communication about what comes next and the threat posed by Iran, Roberts said, adding that it has killed Americans "for decades" through its backing of proxy forces in the Middle East such as Hezbollah. "We have begun to kneecap, very successfully, perhaps the largest state sponsor of terrorism in our lifetimes. This is a long time coming," Roberts said. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to announce that the U.S. had begun "major combat operations" in Iran in this screengrab from a video released February 28, 2026. "We're going to succeed in Iran. We're not going to be there," Roberts said. "We're not going to be nation-building, because the president's own conservative movement is honest enough to prevent that from happening." Advertisement Advertisement Roberts also believes Trump will be "dialed in" on affordability and help his party hold its own in the midterm elections. "What was already going to be more of a jump ball of a midterm election than most prognosticators indicate is going to be a really competitive midterm," he said. "I happen to think that conservatives will do well. Will conservatives have to work really hard at message discipline yeah." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will the war on Iran hurt Republicans in 2026 midterm elections? The U.S. agriculture secretary approved a disaster declaration to provide federal assistance to Florida farmers following recent freezes. The weather events caused an estimated $3.1 billion in losses across the states agricultural industry. The federal declaration allows farmers to access aid programs to help recover from significant crop damage. State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson reported that the industry faces a massive financial recovery effort after the freezing temperatures hit several regions. Advertisement Advertisement This assistance is intended to help the states agriculture industry recover and maintain operations after the weather-related setbacks. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such declarations typically allow farmers to apply for low-interest emergency loans and other support programs. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. At a glance The U.S. Forest Service plans a prescribed burn on about 370 acres in the Talladega Ranger District of Talladega National Forest. The burn site is about 11 miles south of Talladega. Smoke may be visible from several nearby highways and roads. Drivers are advised to slow down and use headlights if they encounter smoke. TALLADEGA The U.S. Forest Service plans to conduct a prescribed burn Wednesday on about 370 acres in the Talladega National Forest, according to a Forest Service news release. Advertisement Advertisement Federal fire management specialists plan to carry out the controlled burn about 11 miles south of Talladega in the Talladega Ranger District, officials said. Prescribed burns are low-intensity fires intentionally set by trained personnel to remove excess vegetation and dead wood that can fuel larger wildfires, according to the Forest Service. Forest Service Road 615 and Germany Mountain Road form part of the burn boundary and should be traveled with caution during the operation, officials said. The public may see fire crews and equipment in the area. Smoke may be visible from Alabama Highways 21 and 77 and from Horn Valley Road west, east and south of the burn area. Officials said winds are expected to come from the south and carry smoke to the north. As temperatures cool later in the day, smoke may settle in the Emauhee Creek drainage and nearby areas. Advertisement Advertisement Drivers who encounter smoke on roadways are advised to slow down, turn on low-beam headlights and use caution near prescribed burning operations, according to the release. Prescribed burning is used by the Forest Service as part of forest management practices, officials said. Questions about the burn can be directed to the Talladega National Forest office at 256-362-2909. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that New Jersey Transit is not an arm of the state, meaning it is not immune from outofstate lawsuits. States are generally entitled to immunity from being sued in another States courts without their consent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote. That sovereign immunity is personal to the State and thus extends only to arms of the State itself. Sovereign immunity is a legal rule that protects governments, and sometimes their agencies, from being sued without their consent. Advertisement Advertisement The attorney representing NJ Transit, New Jersey Deputy Solicitor General Michael Zuckerman, argued that the agency operated like a state entity and could use sovereign immunity to avoid being sued in other states courts. Two personal injury lawsuits against New Jersey Transit Corporation for accidents outside New Jersey were consolidated into a single Supreme Court hearing earlier this year. NJ Transit previously moved to dismiss both lawsuits, arguing that it is an arm of New Jersey entitled to sovereign immunity. In Colt v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, New Yorks highest court ruled NJ Transit is not part of state government and can be sued in New York. Advertisement Advertisement In Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, Pennsylvanias highest court reached the opposite conclusion, saying it is part of the state and cannot be sued there. Wednesdays action affirmed the New York Court of Appeals decision and reversed the one reached by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Colt and Galette were each involved in separate accidents with buses operated by New Jersey Transit Corporation. In 2017, Colt was hit while crossing 40th Street in Manhattan and later sued the agency and the driver for negligence. In 2018, Galette was a passenger in a car stopped on Market Street in Philadelphia when it was struck by a New Jersey Transit bus. He also filed suit, claiming both the agency and the cars driver were responsible for his injuries. Advertisement Advertisement The attorney representing Colt and Galette, Michael B. Kimberly, has described NJ Transits legal structure as a mishmash and that it does not share in the states sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court agreed and said the state is not liable for the agencys debts. A states history of subsidizing an entity carries little weight, Sotomayor wrote. State governments routinely fund nonprofits, private corporations, and municipalities, but the receipt of those state funds does not mean that those entities become a part of the state itself, even when the funding is a significant amount. Although NJ Transit maintains that it is and has always been an arm of New Jersey, it offers no meaningful way to decide how much funding is enough to prove it is financially integrated with the State and financially dependent on it. Neither Zuckerman nor Kimberly could immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night. Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Sustainable denim brand Triarchy is seeking investors. The Los Angeles-based brand aims to raise $500,000 CAD (approximately $365,630.50 USD) through FrontFundr, a Canadian equity crowdfunding platform, to support 12 months of growth. More from Sourcing Journal Most of the funds (44.5 percent) will be dedicated to the adoption of new technologies such as emerging next-gen materials and digital dye. The brand recently became the first-to-market with digitally dyed denim, an innovation that creates a full pair of jeans from algae-based pigments using post-weave digital printing. Triarchy says the technology reduces water use by over 90 percent, eliminates toxic effluents, shortens production timelines and cuts costs. The remainder of the funds will be allocated to operational expenses, marketing efforts to amplify Triarchys voice through digital campaigns, partnerships, and storytelling and team expansion across product, marketing and operations. Triarchy sees two possible routes for investors to realize a return: strategic acquisition to a larger fashion or lifestyle group, or dividends through growth. The companys five-year strategic growth plan is to scale gross revenue through foundational wholesale relationships, international expansion, additional brick and mortar launch and DTC. Triarchy emphasized that it remains focused on strategic growth as a family-founded company. While acquisition by a larger fashion or lifestyle group remains a possibility for the future, the company asserted that any partnership would need to align with its commitment to sustainability and responsible innovation, as well as third-party audits and digital passports to ensure traceability. With strong traction and a proven record of leadership and integrity, Triarchy represents a compelling opportunity for acquirers seeking both cultural and environmental alignment, the company stated. The minimum investment on FrontFundr is $250. Investor perks vary based on the size of the investment and range from discounts on new jeans, early access to upcoming collections, and exclusive investor merchandise to one-on-one sessions with Triarchys founders, custom pieces and factory visits. Investor inquiries outside of Canada should contact Triarchy directly to discuss investment options. The fundraiser ends on May 20, 2026. In a recent LinkedIn post, co-founder and CEO Adam Taubenfligel reflected on how what began as a family business has evolved into a global brand, redefining how denim is madeethically and consciously. After years of building a brand grounded in sustainability and transparency, were opening a new chapter, inviting our community to shape the future of denim with us, Taubenfligel wrote. The U.S. State Department says it is working to evacuate American citizens stranded across the Middle East as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt air travel throughout the region. Officials announced Wednesday that a U.S.-facilitated charter flight carrying American citizens was already en route to the United States, part of what the department described as ongoing efforts to help Americans return home safely. Additional charter flights are expected to depart from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to the State Department. Advertisement Advertisement The evacuation efforts come days after military operations involving Iran led to widespread airspace closures and thousands of canceled flights, leaving many travelers struggling to leave the region. According to CNN, thousands of international flights have been canceled since the conflict escalated, creating travel disruptions across major aviation hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) A man celebrates as he arrives at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) The State Department is urging Americans in the region to register through its crisis intake form so officials can contact them with information about available departure options. The U.S. State Department is actively assisting Americans to leave the Middle East, if they wish to do so, the agency said in a statement posted to social media. Advertisement Advertisement Americans who need emergency assistance can contact the departments 24/7 hotline at +1-202-501-4444 from overseas. The White House said more than 17,500 Americans have already returned to the United States since the conflict escalated, with thousands returning on commercial flights in recent days, according to NewsNation reporting, citing the State Department. However, many travelers remain stranded due to ongoing airspace closures. Tracer rounds light the sky as people fire live rounds into the air during a televised speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem in Dahiyeh, Beiruts southern suburbs, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad) Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) A man passes by a destroyed car and shop on a commercial street that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) A billboard showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, looms over an empty square in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Some Americans have resorted to traveling overland to reach airports outside the conflict zone. We came to Israel, and a war started, and were trying to get out, American tourist Mark Wilkie of Seattle told KTLAs Annie Rose Ramos. Israel was kind enough to provide this bus for us to get to Egypt, and we are very grateful. Advertisement Advertisement The State Department continues to warn Americans against travel to several countries in the region, citing serious safety risks as the conflict unfolds. LAX heightens security measures amid ongoing developments in Middle East Travelers currently in the Middle East are advised to monitor official updates closely and be prepared to depart quickly if evacuation options become available. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A UK Border Force officer surveilled and investigated Chinese citizens in Britain as part of a "shadow policing operation" with its "tentacles" reaching from Hong Kong, a court has heard. The prosecution said Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, also known as "fatboy", was being given tasks by Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer who was working at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London. Both men are on trial at the Old Bailey on charges under the National Security Act. Advertisement Advertisement The court heard the men arranged for their targets, many of whom were dissidents, to be filmed as part of the surveillance - with the jury shown one woman in Pontefract answering her door in pink pyjamas. Duncan Atkinson KC said the alleged operation "involved persons connected with the Hong Kong authorities acting as if Pontefract were a town in China rather than Yorkshire". Wai, 38, and Yuen, 65, are alleged to have carried out surveillance on Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners, some of them claiming asylum in the UK. A second UK border officer who allegedly got involved in the surveillance, Matthew Trickett, was found dead in May 2024 after being released on bail. Advertisement Advertisement Through his job at the UK Border Force, Wai - who was also a volunteer special constable with the City of London Police and used to work for the Metropolitan Police - had access to the Home Office immigration database called Atlas. The jury heard that Wai would sometimes search the database for information about Chinese dissidents on his rest days, when he shouldn't have been doing any searches at all. Wai, who ran a private security company called D5 Security, is said to have passed on some jobs to fellow UK Border Force colleague called Trickett, who also had his own a private security company. When Yuen, Wai and Trickett were arrested, detectives found what was called a "Surveillance Report" about a woman called Monica Kwong. Advertisement Advertisement Kwong had left Hong Kong in 2023 with her young son after being accused of fraud, which she said was a "set up" by her former employer. The report is said to have included instructions to use "undisclosed investigation methods" and then "commence observations". It said "operators" would follow the "subject" and report their movements with picture and video evidence. The report suggests that the team managed to enter her block of flats and look through her mail, identifying her son. The prosecution said Wai used the Atlas database to search about Kwong and her son, which Atkinson said was "a further misuse of the database not for legitimate UK purposes but for the benefit of persons in Hong Kong". Retired Hong Kong police officer Yuen is accused of surveilling Chinese dissidents in London [Reuters] Yuen had allegedly sent Wai information about Kwong's son, including details of his passport number and school, and the reason why he had left the school. Advertisement Advertisement In January 2024, a man involved in the surveillance of Kwong knocked on her door and filmed her as he handed her a package. Wai sent Yuen the video and her address in Pontefract. Yuen forwarded both of those to Wing Cheun Cheuk, a police officer in Hong Kong. In his messages with Cheuk, Yuen sometimes referred to Wai as "fatboy". "It was a shadow operation being undertaken without the knowledge of the UK authorities, as if Monica Kwong was in Hong Kong not Yorkshire," the prosecution said. In March and April 2024, Wai started involving Trickett, who in turn discussed surveillance techniques with a colleague in Immigration Enforcement who refused to get involved further. Advertisement Advertisement The court was told that Trickett, a former British Royal Marine, allegedly assembled a team including Jonathan Dunn, a close protection officer who left the military in 2023, and Jason Davies, a former fraud investigator. WhatsApp messages suggest Davies carried out surveillance on Kwong's flat in Pontefract on 24 April 2024. This included knocking on her door and then secretly filming her and her son in their pyjamas when they answered it, a video which was shown to the court on Thursday. Atkinson said Kwong "did recall a man coming to her door" but "did not appreciate that this was the tentacles reaching her from Hong Kong". Advertisement Advertisement A few days later, on 30 April, a video played to the jury shows that Trickett and Dunn, dressed in black combats, led a group of people up the stairs in Kwong's block and down the corridor to her flat. Kwong's former boss, Tina Zou - who accused her of fraud - was also there, the court was told. She had flown in from Hong Kong that morning. The video shows that Trickett rapped several times on the door, with Zou looking on. But there was no reply. Later, he allegedly posted a note under the door saying: "Dear Resident. I knocked on your door today but there was no answer. We are checking all the residents' electricity boxes due to safety faults. I will return at 6.30pm. Thanks Dave. Maintenance Department." Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution said that next evening a group of people returned and Trickett poured water under her door, again saying he was "Dave from maintenance" who had come about "a leak". Again, nobody answered, and the jury were told that they would learn tomorrow that the door was forced later that night. After being arrested at Kwong's home on 1 May, Wai allegedly had his warrant card as a City of London special police officer and a second - fake - card identifying him as a superintendent. Trickett was found dead in May after he had been charged and given bail. Yuen and Wai both deny charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service, and foreign interference. Wai also denies a charge of misconduct in public office while conducting searches of Home Office databases. The trial is expected to last six or seven weeks. Ukraine and Russia each freed 200 prisoners of war on Thursday, the first part of an exchange that will see them swap 500 people each in total, officials said. The two sides agreed to the exchange during talks in Geneva last month, both sides said. Prisoner swaps are one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring countries. "Today, 200 Ukrainian families received the most-awaited message -- their loved ones are coming home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Video shared by Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets showed servicemen leaving buses, wrapped in Ukrainian flags and shouting "Glory to Ukraine!", as well as embracing those who came to welcome them. Among those freed were Ukrainian soldiers captured in 2022, including some who fought in the three-month-long Russian siege of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, said Lubinets. At the site of the exchange in the northern Chernigiv region, Kateryna Movchan, 29, waited for news of her uncle, Valentyn, who went missing on the front in 2024. "We're hoping that maybe someone will recognise him and there will be at least some kind of feedback," Movchan, from the northwestern Rivne region, told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement "We have absolutely no information at all: how he is, where he is," she added. The Russian defence ministry published footage showing its soldiers boarding a bus and cheering while draped in Russian flags. The United Arab Emirates and the United States helped mediate Thursday's exchange, Russia said. More prisoners will be released on Friday, with the two sides set to exchange 500 each in total, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Telegram. There have been several prisoner exchanges during the war. The swaps are among the few tangible results of talks between the two sides, mediated by Washington as it seeks to broker a deal to end the war. Advertisement Advertisement Negotiations appear to have stalled, with the United States now focusing its attention on the Middle East. Kyiv had said there was a tentative plan to hold talks in Abu Dhabi this week -- one of the places being hit by Iranian missiles and drones. Zelensky on Monday suggested holding the next meeting in Switzerland or Turkey, which both have hosted previous talks, instead. bur-mmp/jc/tw Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Hungary's charge d'affaires in Ukraine on 5 March over the transfer by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin of two captured Ukrainian soldiers to the Hungarian authorities. Source: a statement by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, as reported by European Pravda Details: Ukraine's Foreign Ministry told the Hungarian diplomat that it was "unacceptable to use sensitive issues for PR and politicisation" in connection with the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners to Hungary. Advertisement Advertisement "The Ukrainian side has reiterated its demand that the returned servicemen be given the opportunity to contact Ukraine's consular officers to check their health, provide consular assistance and guarantee the ability to freely determine their future without external pressure or coercion," the statement said. Ukraine expects "a prompt response and official confirmation that the individuals concerned will be granted full freedom to choose their place of residence and further plans". Background: Putin promised at a meeting with Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow to release two Ukrainian soldiers who have Hungarian citizenship. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry then noted that the Ukrainian side had not been provided with information about who exactly had been released from Russian captivity. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukraine has brought home 200 soldiers held in Russian captivity in the latest prisoners of war (POW) exchange on March 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed releasing 200 Ukrainian POWs in exchange for the same number of Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine, in a swap brokered by the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. The released Russian POWs are currently in Belarus, receiving medical and psychological assistance, according to the ministry. Advertisement Advertisement "Every time our people return home, it proves that Ukraine is working to return each and every one," Zelensky said on Telegram, adding, "We do not forget anyone." Among the POWs who returned are soldiers who defended Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, serving in the Armed Forces, the State Special Transport Service, the Border Guards, or the National Guard, according to Zelensky. The latest POW exchange comes a month after the previous swap on Feb. 5, when 157 Ukrainian POWs returned home from Russian captivity following peace talks in Abu Dhabi. The February exchange was the first in nearly four months, with Zelensky saying Moscow had blocked swaps throughout that period. Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said the March 5 release marks the first stage of a large-scale exchange agreed upon by Russia and Ukraine during negotiations in Geneva in February. Advertisement Advertisement Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, later confirmed that a 500-for-500 prisoner exchange would take place on March 5 and 6 under the Geneva agreements, RIA Novosti reported. The youngest soldier to return is 27, and the oldest is 59. Many of those released are in a difficult psychological condition, and some are critically underweight, Lubinets added. Read also: 200 Ukrainian POWs return home in latest exchange, Zelensky says More Patriot missiles used in Middle East in 3 days than in Ukraine since 2022, Zelensky says In just three days of fighting in the Middle East, more than 800 Patriot missiles were used more than Ukraine has received throughout the entire Russian full-scale invasion, Zelensky said during a press briefing on March 5. Advertisement Advertisement The statement comes as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East after the U.S., in a joint operation with Israel, carried out strikes on several Iranian cities on Feb. 28 that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. "Ukraine has never had this many missiles to repel attacks. More than 800 have been used over the past three days alone," Zelensky said. Zelensky said that when Ukraine first faced Iranian Shahed-type drones in 2022, it used "everything it had" to repel the attacks. Yet the president added that Ukraine has since gained significant experience in countering such strikes. "Everyone understands that Patriot (missiles) are not enough," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine is ready to provide drone interceptors in exchange for missiles, though he did not specify which countries could be involved. Zelensky added that Ukraine is prepared to share its expertise with countries facing Iranian attacks to help protect civilians and oil infrastructure in the Middle East. Read also: More Patriot missiles used in Middle East in 3 days than in Ukraine since 2022, Zelensky says Russian Ka-27 helicopter destroyed over Black Sea, Ukraine's Navy says Ukraine's Navy said on March 5 that it destroyed a Russian Ka-27 helicopter over the Black Sea, without clarifying when it had happened. The latest report brings up the number of Russian helicopters Ukraine says it has destroyed to 349 since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The Navy has not clarified how it shot down the helicopter. Advertisement Advertisement Moscow has not reacted to the Ukrainian report of downing its helicopter. Ka-27 helicopters, which were designed for the Soviet Navy to carry out attacks on submarines, are currently used by Russian forces in the Black Sea to monitor the movements of Ukrainian naval drones and landing boats, according to the Telegram channel Crimean Wind. Ukraine's Navy and its southern Air Force command have been trying to bolster security in the Black Sea airspace, aiming to shoot down threats to port cities such as Odesa. Read also: Russian Ka-27 helicopter destroyed over Black Sea, Ukraines Navy says Russia's transfer of 2 Ukrainian POWs to Hungary a 'provocation,' Ukraine says Ukraine condemned the Russian transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) to Hungary as "a gross violation of the International Humanitarian Law" on March 5, a day after the Kremlin released two Ukrainian POWs who held a dual Hungarian citizenship following talks with Budapest. Advertisement Advertisement Calling it "a Russian provocation" of the Geneva Conventions, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War condemned what it saw as Russia's attempt to worsen Ukraine's relations with Hungary as part of Russia's hybrid aggression against Europe. "We call on all those involved in this provocation to abandon their illegal intentions and not to use Ukrainian servicemen who have been taken prisoner by Russia as a bargaining chip," the Coordination Headquarters wrote in its Telegram post. Earlier on March 4, Putin vowed to release two Ukrainian POWs who also held Hungarian citizenship and who he claimed were "forcibly mobilized" into the Ukrainian army following a meeting with Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. He said it was per Budapest's request. The Hungary-Russia agreement comes as the two countries deepen ties, even after Russia's brutal war against Ukraine pushed many Western nations away from relations with Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Putin told Szijjarto to take the two Ukrainian POWs with Hungarian citizenship on the plane he took to fly to Moscow. Read also: Russias transfer of 2 Ukrainian POWs to Hungary a provocation, Ukraine says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. For more than three weeks, Ukraine was left with only a handful of U.S.-made AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles for its F-16 fleet, after the supply of the weapons dried up. This is the conclusion of a Reuters report, citing three sources, all of whom are said to have direct knowledge of the situation. It also comes as Kyiv is increasingly in competition with the U.S. military and its Gulf allies as they come under continued pressure from Iranian drones and missiles in the Middle East. A live AIM-9L/M launched from the wingtip rail of a Ukrainian F-16. Ukrainian Air Force screencap The shortage of infrared-guided air-to-air missiles occurred between late November and mid-December of last year, the three sources said. This was a critical time, just before Russia began its winter campaign of bombardment against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. According to one of the sources, during the period when AIM-9s were in short supply, F-16 pilots were forced to fly daytime sorties and instead try to shoot down drones with their internal 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon. This is hardly ideal, since the Russian drone attacks normally come at night, but gunning down targets in the hours of darkness is judged too dangerous. An armorer loads an F-16 with 20mm ammunition for its M61A1 cannon. Ukrainian Air Force screencap BREAKING Video reportedly shows a Ukrainian Air Force F-16AM using its M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon to shoot down a Russian Shahed-136 attack drone over Ukraine. If confirmed, this would mark one of the first publicly seen gun kills by a Ukrainian F-16 against a Shahed pic.twitter.com/ULIuDHcVyY DC_Global_News (@DC_Global_News) February 8, 2026 Footage of a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon scoring a gun kill on a Russian Shahed attack drone with its 20mm M61 Vulcan. pic.twitter.com/bnnfWFEEki OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 22, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement As we have discussed many times before, taking out slow-moving drones via another fixed-wing aircraft with guns can be very challenging and downright dangerous, especially for fast jets. There is also the risk of the grenade-like cannon rounds impacting the ground below over a relatively wide area, potentially killing innocent people. Doing it at night is a whole other level of danger. Meanwhile, the situation was reportedly so desperate that pilots were flying F-16s loaded with missiles that had failed to launch on earlier missions, after these weapons had undergone another round of maintenance. This achieved mixed results, a source said. So far, Ukrainian F-16s have been noted flying with older AIM-9L/M Sidewinders as well as the more modern AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. Compared with the AIM-9L/M, the AIM-9X offers a more potent short-range air-to-air missile capability that can be used in conjunction with the F-16s Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for high off-boresight (HOBS) engagements. Even without JHMCS, the AIM-9X is a very valuable weapon that is particularly relevant for defending against drones and cruise missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Its worth noting, too, that Ukrainian F-16s use the radar-guided AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). These can also be employed against drones and cruise missiles, but are more expensive weapons than the Sidewinders. Each AMRAAM costs around one million dollars, meaning they are not prioritized for use against drones. Air-to-air with two F-16s. Both jets carry wingtip AMRAAM. Ukrainian Air Force screencap According to the three sources, the Sidewinder shortfall was plugged in December when additional missiles were received from undisclosed partners. These reportedly arrived just in time to help defend against one of the largest Russian attacks of the winter. A fourth source, also anonymous, told Reuters that Canada and Germany had supplied Kyiv with Sidewinders in recent months. Canada has confirmed its now delivering AIM-9M-8 missiles from Canadian Armed Forces stocks. This new donation will complement the past donation of hundreds of Canadian AIM missiles and related components that are being used by Ukraine for its air defense, Canadas Department of National Defense said. Interestingly, the timing of the apparent missile shortage also coincides with the appearance of another air-to-air weapon for the Ukrainian F-16. Advertisement Advertisement In early December, TWZ reported on the appearance of laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets on Ukrainian F-16s. This was not an unexpected development, since these rockets would provide an extremely valuable, lower-cost option for engaging long-range kamikaze drones and subsonic cruise missiles. TWZ has been very closely tracking the evolution of the APKWS II in the air-to-air role, a capability U.S. Air Force F-16s began using in combat last year, as we were first to report. What is believed to be the first known footage showing an F-16 fighter jet operated by the Ukrainian Air Force intercepting a Russian Shahed/Geran-type long-range OWA-UAV with the APKWS II low-cost, laser-guided anti-aircraft rockets. Such rockets are carried in LAU-131 rocket pic.twitter.com/JTsCsgQ7NP Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) February 17, 2026 Without a durable supply of Sidewinders, the APKWS II would have been an even more useful weapon for the Ukrainian Air Force, although theres nothing to suggest, at this point, that the laser-guided rockets were hurried to Ukraine to make up for the AIM-9 shortfall. Its also not clear to what degree the reported Sidewinder shortage was connected with the new system by which the United States supplies Ukraine with weapons. President Donald Trump introduced the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) system, replacing the direct military aid sent under the Biden administration. Advertisement Advertisement Under PURL, weapons are sold by the United States to NATO allies, which then deliver them to Ukraine. One of the sources also mentioned a shortage of another U.S.-made missile type, the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow. These missiles have been adapted for use with modified Soviet-era air defense systems. A tracked self-propelled Buk-M1 system known in the West as SA-11 Gadfly that has been adapted to fire the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, a missile that previously provided point defense for numerous NATO and allied warships. Operational Command East In the case of the AIM-9L/M and RIM-7, one likely factor in the shortages is the simple fact that these are older weapons, production of which has now ceased, meaning that there is only a finite number available. Surplus stocks have likely been whittled down to a point where remaining users are more cautious about giving them up. At the same time, the individual rounds are aging and also expiring. Regardless of weapons supplies, the Ukrainian Air Force says it has made good use of its F-16s in the fight against Russian drones and cruise missiles. Advertisement Advertisement As of the beginning of this year, the Ukrainian Air Force said its F-16s had destroyed more than a thousand aerial targets, including Shahed-type long-range one-way attack drones. Ukrainian explosives experts and police officers examine parts of a Shahed-136 drone following an attack in Kharkiv on June 4, 2025. Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP SERGEY BOBOK The Ukrainian Air Force flew its first F-16 combat sorties against aerial targets in August of 2024. According to one Ukrainian F-16 pilot, on one occasion, one of his squadrons destroyed six cruise missiles and seven attack drones in a single sortie. This is a remarkable tally, by any measure, and would have required extremely precise use of the gun, even if all available missiles were successfully expended. With Russia continuing to bombard Ukraine, any potential holdup in the delivery of critical air-defense effectors is a significant problem. Since the start of Russias full-scale invasion, Ukraine has been desperately seeking additional air defense assets, particularly those of Western manufacture. Advertisement Advertisement Currently, there is no end in sight for the conflict in Ukraine, which means the demand for air-defense effectors, including Sidewinders, will continue. But now, with an expanding war in the Middle East centered on Iran, which is hitting back with its own drone and missile attacks, the competition for effectors also looks set to intensify. This is also being felt by Ukraine as it seeks to secure critical missiles for its Patriot air defense systems. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, stands in front of a Patriot air defense missile system at a military training area in Germany. Photo by Jens Buttner/picture alliance via Getty Images picture alliance Even before the conflict in Iran, bottlenecks in the production of the U.S.-made Patriot meant that Ukraines stockpiles were drained and its European allies were on waiting lists for future deliveries. The Ukrainian shortfalls have made it easier for Russia to find gaps in Ukraines air defenses, something that has been felt especially heavily by Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement According to some analysts, Gulf states possess only days of interceptors if Iran maintains a sustained level of drone and missile attacks. Yesterday, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Iran had fired more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones since the start of the campaign. He said that the U.S. has sufficient munitions for the Iran operation. While Ukraine may have plugged its Sidewinder gap for now, the apparent shortage late last year underscores the vulnerability of the countrys air defenses and its continued reliability on Western allies. With many of these allies now looking at the potential demands of a sustained conflict in the Middle East, growing pressure on air-defense effectors could well see Russia emerge as one of the big beneficiaries. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com A European migration crisis caused by hostilities in Iran could erupt rapidly, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope predicted in Brussels. "I mean, look at what happened in Ukraine, where we saw millions of people cross the border really within days," she told dpa in an interview. "When we're in a conflict, when there are countries that are not that far from Europe, it's incredibly important to stay abreast of the movements of people. It's incredibly important to start thinking through contingency planning," Pope said. Advertisement Advertisement "What we've seen in Iran in the past when there have been attacks is they first leave the major cities, they go to family members," she said. The key issue was whether the conflict continued and expanded, affecting civilian infrastructure. "Those are some of the triggers that we expect will lead to more movements of people," she said. The IOM head called for plans to be drawn up. "The first planning, really, that needs to happen is how can we provide support to the neighbouring countries that might absorb migrants and refugees in the first instance," she said. Pope mentioned Turkey, Iran's immediate neighbour to the west, in this regard. Advertisement Advertisement German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a television interview on Wednesday that no additional refugee movements from Iran to Germany had been seen thus far. And EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said on Monday that the European Commission was not observing any major movements along Iran's borders. In an age of threats and harsh political rhetoric, public school teachers are asking the Connecticut legislature to erase their home addresses from some public records. The teachers are seeking to join certain other public employees in the protection, but advocates for the states freedom of information act say that teachers are not in the same category for their personal safety as police officers, judges, and prison guards who are directly involved with criminals on a daily basis. In addition, advocates say the state law that was created more than 30 years ago is largely ineffective in 2026 as many home addresses can be quickly found with a Google search on the internet. Kate Dias, the president of the states largest teachers union, said Senate Bill 325 is needed because the tone and atmosphere have gotten worse and vitriol is sometimes directed at teachers. Advertisement Advertisement In recent years we have unfortunately seen an increase in harassment and bullying directed at our educators, Dias said to legislators this week in written testimony to the new Government Oversight Committee. Teachers have reported having to endure hateful messages, threats of violence, and false accusations from within the school community, as well as from outsiders. This behavior can lead to a culture of fear and intimidation, which impacts educators ability to do their jobs and has resulted in many good teachers choosing to leave the profession. For more than 25 years, various public employees have had their addresses protected under state law in order to make it more difficult for criminals to learn where they live. Public sector mental health workers, law enforcement, and correctional officers possess FOIA protections, and given the higher rate of violence in restricted areas for teachers, we believe teachers should, too, Dias said. Given the uptick in workplace and political violence, educators are concerned that perpetrators of incivility will take their threats even further beyond restricted areas to the residencies and other private personal spaces. The issue, she said, is not isolated geographically and stretches across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Violence against teachers stretches across school districts, with teachers in rural schools reporting higher rates of physical violence than teachers in urban and suburban schools, Dias said. We are also fielding more reports of doxxing and harassment of teachers than we have before. Given the increased partisan politicization of school curricula, the coupling of disclosable residential addresses and personal phone numbers with increased workplace and political violence leaves teachers vulnerable to pervasive intimidation, harassment, and wide-ranging threats. But the states Freedom of Information Commission says that the state law was written narrowly more than 25 years ago at a time when addresses were not easily available with a quick Google search on a computer. Every year, it seems, another agency or another profession attempts to have the addresses of its employees included in Section 1-217, without really understanding the limited scope of the statute, which should not be viewed as a cure for safety and privacy concerns, said Paula S. Pearlman, general counsel for the states Freedom of Information Commission. State law, she said, is not the panacea that many believe it to be because an employees address cannot be removed under the law from other sources like voter registration records, grand lists and land records. Advertisement Advertisement Finally, the reality is that times have changed since the initial enactment of the law, Pearlman said in written testimony. For better or worse, the fact is that the residential addresses of most people are now readily available for free, or for a nominal charge, on the Internet and through other commercial services. The Government Oversight Committee, which held a public hearing this week, is facing a committee deadline of March 19 to vote on the measure. The bill would be subject to approval by both chambers of the legislature before the 2026 regular session adjourns on May 6. Jess Zaccagnino, the policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said that open government and transparency are important principles in maintaining accountability in a democracy. Even if this bill were to exempt home addresses, those who wish to commit political violence could easily obtain a trove of information about a person and their family by merely running an internet search, Zaccagnino said. In most cases, this information is put online and sold by private corporations to data brokers. This bill does nothing to address this problem and instead seeks to limit open government. Advertisement Advertisement Jodie Gil, a former newspaper reporter and board member of the 70-year-old Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, said one solution could be creating a task force on how to establish a system that individual teachers could ask for an exemption, depending on the circumstances. CCFOI proposes a shift from profession-protections to a process that will allow specific concerned individuals to request protections, Gil said. No doubt, there are some among the 53,000 K-12 public school teachers in the state who need this exemption for specific safety concerns. But likely, all Connecticut residents in teaching jobs, myself included, do not as a matter of our profession need this exemption. Instead of exempting teachers, and then leaving the next profession wanting an exemption, why dont we create a process that can allow concerned individuals to opt out? Some states have a similar approach. In Nevada, for example, anyone can get a court order to document their concern, and then apply for an exemption. But state AFL-CIO president Ed Hawthorne says the state law should be expanded even further to cover more employees. The law already protects the home addresses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, judicial employees, corrections officers, and employees of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Hawthorne said. SB 325 would add teachers to that list. That is an important addition, but we urge the committee to protect all public employees from having their residential addresses disclosed. Advertisement Advertisement While there is little agreement about the addresses, there is broader agreement for a separate section of Senate Bill 325 that would create a new task force that would analyze how to handle large requests for information by using artificial intelligence. That issue has not yet reached the FOI Commission, but lawmakers are looking ahead on how to deal with a potentially emerging issue. The ACLU, CCFOI, and the FOI commission all favor the task force. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com Germany's largest union Thursday accused Tesla of intimidating staff at the US carmaker's factory outside Berlin after it lost a vote to gain control of a body representing workers' interests. The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates pay deals and working hours with management, has long been an unshakeable component of German corporate life, especially in the auto sector. At Tesla's "Gigafactory" outside Berlin, the IG Metall union was seeking to win a majority in the council at elections this week, as they fight back against what they claim are poor working conditions at the site. Advertisement Advertisement But the union came in second place, according to results released late Wednesday, behind the management-aligned "Giga United" list. IG Metall official Jan Otto accused electric carmaker Tesla and its US owner Elon Musk of putting undue pressure on employees. "It was made very clear that supporting IG Metall, or indeed any trade union, can only lead to disadvantages within the company," Otto said. "It's clear that (Musk) has here used the power of capitalism and of money to hollow out democracy," he added. "We should ask whether what has happened here should be acceptable in a country like Germany, whether management should be allowed to campaign so hard for a list." Advertisement Advertisement AFP has contacted Tesla Germany for comment. The union and Musk have clashed repeatedly since Tesla opened the factory in Gruenheide outside Berlin in 2022. The union has accused the carmaker of poor working conditions, withholding sick pay and covert redundancies, all enabled by the lack of a collective agreement to protect workers. IG Metall and Tesla are now locked in legal disputes after factory manager Andre Thierig last month accused a union representative of secretly recording a works council meeting. This prompted a police investigation and the seizure of the union official's laptop. IG Metall said in response it would sue Thierig for defamation and prepare a further case concerning alleged union-busting. Advertisement Advertisement The dispute has been another headache in Europe, where sales have been hit amid strong Chinese competition. In Germany there has also been a backlash against the electric car pioneer after Musk strongly supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. vbw/sr/rl NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. It was one of the few instances of a submarine sinking a ship since World War II. The Pentagon has not said which American submarine fired the torpedo, except to say it was a fast-attack submarine. Military officials rarely offer details on the deployments of specific submarines. Military equipment used in strikes against Iran relying on Connecticut manufacturing Advertisement Advertisement The Navy currently operates three classes of fast-attack submarines, all of them nuclear powered with the capability to carry Tomahawk land attack missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and torpedoes of the kind that sunk the Iranian warship. Boats of all three classes of American fast-attack submarines Virginia, Los Angeles and Seawolf have been built at the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton. The nearby naval base is homeport for several Virginia and Los Angeles-class boats. 87 bodies recovered from sea where Iranian warship sank: Sri Lankan navy Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, while the countrys navy said it recovered 87 bodies. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Irans leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint operation, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday. President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military on Wednesday for doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Download the News 8 app to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch News 8 on WTNH.com or the free WTNH News 8 streaming app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung Smart TVs. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi were sued Thursday over the U.S. government's approval of a deal by TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture, saying the approval was illegal and did not meet the requirements of a 2024 law. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two retail U.S. investors in rival social media firms. It aims to require a renegotiation of the deal "that doesn't put administration allies in a position to censor political content on one of the world's most popular media platforms." The lawsuit does not seek to force a ban on TikTok, which is used by 200 million Americans. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) The United States House of Representatives has narrowly rejected a war powers resolution that would have halted President Donald Trumps war on Iran and required congressional authorisation for any further attacks. The vote on Thursday was 219 to 212 in the House, where Trumps fellow Republicans control a narrow majority of seats. (Al Jazeera) It is the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines. Advertisement Advertisement Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war. Presidents can unilaterally conduct some military actions, but legal scholars have long argued that, under the founding US document, that authority only applies in instances of immediate self-defence of the country. Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case, said Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The House also approved a separate measure affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. Advertisement Advertisement Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against Iran, saying the president is using his own constitutional authority to defend the US against the imminent threat the country posed. Mast, an army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, said the war powers resolution was effectively asking that the president do nothing. However, after launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for the war on Iran, a conflict Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill this week trying to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control. Advertisement Advertisement Six US military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait, and Trump has said more Americans could die. Thousands of Americans abroad have scrambled for flights, many lighting up phone lines at congressional offices as they seek help trying to flee the Middle East. The impacts of the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran, which began on February 28, will be felt globally in ways that we cannot yet foresee. Financial markets are reacting negatively to the offensive, and the price of Brent crude oil has risen by 25% since the attack began. Iran has also announced that it will close the Strait of Hormuz. If the blockade is effective and prolonged, the world will face a very turbulent economic outlook in the near future, and Europe will not be spared. Many Middle East countries have already been subject to Iranian retaliation. Part of the EUs territory is also within range of Iranian missiles. A British military base in Cyprus was bombed in a drone attack on March 1. Advertisement Advertisement Given the presence of American military forces in south-eastern Europe, which have been deployed to deter Russia as part of Nato operations, the possibility of an attack by Iran on European territory cannot be ruled out. This could lead to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty being invoked which has not yet happened and the consequent involvement of Nato in the war. Europes unequal, unclear response Whether it likes it or not, Europe is already involved in this new episode of violence. But the EUs position thus far has been lukewarm and uneven. Lacking a cohesive common position, it is keeping a low profile and resorting to platitudes calls for restraint, respect for international law, use of diplomacy in order to maintain a balance that satisfies everyone and avoid committing to anything. The contrast between European countries speaks volumes in itself, and reveals the level of cohesion on this issue within the EU. France, Germany and the United Kingdom (a non-EU member) are states with a clear regional leadership vocation that played an active role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Their willingness to take defensive measures against the Islamic Republic can be interpreted as support for US operations. Greece has joined them. Though it has made no formal declaration, two Greek navy units were dispatched to Cypriot waters to support the defence of the territory. Advertisement Advertisement Other EU countries are remaining deafeningly silent and, in general, staying on the sidelines. Some, such as the Baltic republics and Poland, are closer to the United States but remain cautious, while others such as Ireland and Austria have taken a more critical but ultimately similar stance. The rest, who make up the majority, have said very little. None of those hosting US bases have placed any obstacles to the military forces using them or their airspace in support of operations. There is one major exception. Spain says no to war In this panorama, Spain stands alone. The Spanish government has vocally objected to the operation, which it considers a violation of international law. Madrid is not alone in this assessment, which is shared by Ireland, Austria and Malta. But this is where the similarities end. Spain, acting alone, has made itself the champion of opposition to US action, reviving the slogan no a la guerra, no to war, that the Socialist Party used in its opposition to the Iraq War in 2003. It has put its words into action, denying the US, its main military ally, the use of its bases on Spanish territory at the very moment when it needs them most. Advertisement Advertisement Reaction from the US administration has been fierce. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been particularly harsh, saying that Spains position has put American lives at risk. Spains actions present it, in the eyes of the United States, as an unreliable partner. There will undoubtedly be reprisals, which will not be good for national interests. The US has already threatened Spain with trade sanctions, and Spain has since firmly reiterated its no to war stance. It is also sending a frigate to Cyprus, for the explicit purpose of defending the island nation. In an unpredictable and escalating situation, the lack of a cohesive European position could end up exacerbating the continents vulnerability. More than ever, the crisis is testing Europes ability to act as a strategic player, as opposed to a mere spectator to the decisions made by others. A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter! Este articulo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos academicos. Advertisement Advertisement Lee mas: Salvador Sanchez Tapia no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoria, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiacion de ninguna compania u organizacion que pueda obtener beneficio de este articulo, y ha declarado carecer de vinculos relevantes mas alla del cargo academico citado. The United States and Ecuador launched a joint anti-narcotics operation against "Designated Terrorist Organizations," U.S. Southern Command announced in a post on X. On Tuesday night, U.S. Southern Command released a statement saying the operations were a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism," according to Axios. Officials said the U.S. did not provide ground troops and only assisted in an advisory role. "We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country," SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan wrote in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The Drug Enforcement Administration said the operation dismantled a transnational drug trafficking network linked to the Los Lobos cartel. The operation included the DEA's European division arresting 16 suspects and seizing six tons of cocaine. Operation Southern Spear expands The complicated operation marks an expansion to President Donald Trump's Operation Southern Spear, which has, until now, only involved drone strikes. The strikes have killed at least 151 people, CNN reports. Trump previously designated Los Lobos and Los Choneros, two of Ecuador's biggest criminal organizations, as terrorist organizations in September 2025. According to reporting from United Press International, Ecuador has recently become a key cocaine hub because of its location near Colombia and Peru, which are the world's two biggest cocaine producers. Donovan traveled to Quito, Ecuador, to meet with senior Ecuadorian officials on Sunday and Monday to discuss the operations, Axios said. During his visit, he reaffirmed the Trump administration's commitment to support Ecuador's "efforts to confront narco-terrorism and strengthen regional security," as stated in a previous statement. Advertisement Advertisement One of the senior officials Donovan met during the trip was Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Noboa previously proposed a change to the country's constitution that would allow the U.S. to operate a military base in Ecuador. However, voters rejected his proposal in November 2025. Related Links The Senate voted 53 to 47 against advancing the resolution, largely along party lines, with all but one Republican voting against the procedural motion and all but one Democrat supporting it. US Senate Republicans backed President Donald Trump's military campaign against Iran on Wednesday, voting to block a bipartisan resolution aiming to stop the air war and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress. The Senate voted 53 to 47 against advancing the resolution, largely along party lines, with all but one Republican voting against the procedural motion and all but one Democrat supporting it. Advertisement Advertisement The latest effort by Democrats and a few Republicans to rein in President Donald Trump's repeated foreign troop deployments, the war powers resolution was described by sponsors as a bid to take back Congress's responsibility to declare war, as spelled out in the US Constitution. Opponents rejected this, insisting that Trump's action was legal and within his right as commander in chief to protect the United States by ordering limited strikes. They accused supporters of the resolution of endangering US forces. "This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly," Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech against the resolution. US President Donald Trump attends a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 2, 2026 (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST) The measure had not been expected to succeed. Trump's fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and have blocked previous resolutions seeking to curb his war powers. Advertisement Advertisement Backers of the resolution said they would not give up, and even some Republicans who voted to block it said they would press for public testimony from Trump aides about the administration's Iran strategy, especially if the conflict lasts for weeks, as Trump has predicted. The debate about Trump's buildup of military assets in the Middle East, and American and Israeli strikes on Iran, has centered on whether Trump is pulling the country into another "forever war" like the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Today senators face a choice: stand with the American people who are tired of war in the Middle East, or side with Donald Trump, who bumbled America into another war most Americans fiercely oppose," said Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a co-sponsor of the resolution. With control of Congress potentially shifting to Democrats in November's midterm elections, a prolonged war with Iran could concern voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed that only one in four Americans approved of US strikes on Iran, and about half believe Trump is too willing to use military force. Advertisement Advertisement Besides the Iran campaign, US forces have been firing since September at boats in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific in what the administration calls an effort to deter Venezuelan drug trafficking. Trump in January also sent troops into Venezuela to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 'It's a war' The US-Israel war on Iran has already led to damage in Iran, Israel, and throughout the Middle East and claimed US casualties. "It's a war," said Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a lead sponsor, in a speech urging support for the resolution. He said he had appealed to Trump officials to come to Congress for a war authorization during a classified briefing for lawmakers on Tuesday. "Your escalating pattern of military action without seeking our approval convinces me that you believe you never need to come to Congress to wage war against anyone anywhere," Kaine said. Advertisement Advertisement The House is expected to vote on a similar Iran war powers resolution on Thursday. On Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said he thought there were enough votes to defeat the resolution in the House, describing it as an attempt to push something that could put US troops in harm's way and inspire Iranian forces. "Imagine a scenario where Congress would vote to tell the commander-in-chief that he was no longer allowed to complete this mission. That would be a very dangerous thing," he told reporters after a classified briefing on the Iran conflict from top administration officials. Even if a resolution were to pass both the Senate and House, it would not go into effect unless it could garner two-thirds majorities in both chambers to survive an expected Trump veto. By Mike Stone WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce legislation on Thursday to stop a U.S. Army-owned ammunition plant from selling military-grade bullets to civilians, asserting that some are being diverted to arm Mexican drug cartels and have been used in more than a dozen American mass shootings. The Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act, co-sponsored by Senator Andy Kim and Representatives Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin, would prohibit Pentagon contractors from selling military-grade assault weapons and ammunition to civilians. Advertisement Advertisement It would also require that military contractors only sell firearms and ammunition to commercial dealers that follow minimum safety practices, such as screening customers and having a low history of gun sales that are later linked to a crime. The bill takes aim at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri, a facility built during World War Two to supply the U.S. military and the largest manufacturer of rifle ammunition for the U.S. armed forces. The facility is run by Olin Winchester, part of Olin Corporation. The Army has a deal with Winchester that whatever ammunition is not purchased by the service can be sold commercially on the civilian market. High-powered .50-caliber cartridges that Mexican authorities have seized from cartels were traced to the Lake City plant, Warren said. Advertisement Advertisement Neither Olin nor its subsidiary immediately responded to a request for comment. "Americans' tax dollars should not be used to fuel gun violence," Warren said in a statement. "Congress must step in to keep Americans safe, and that means stopping the U.S. military and giant defense contractors from selling weapons of war to cartels, criminal groups, and mass shooters that terrorize our communities." A New York Times investigation in 2023 found that AR-15 ammunition produced at the Lake City plant had been used in at least a dozen mass shootings since 2012, including the attacks in Aurora, San Bernardino, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Parkland, Buffalo, and Uvalde. (Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Nia Williams) A US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday. "Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean...an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing. It is "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II," he added. Advertisement Advertisement "Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win." Sri Lanka's navy was informed that the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told lawmakers. A rescue mission was launched, mobilising ships and planes. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, 4 March, 2026 - AP Photo Sri Lanka's navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, who were admitted to a hospital in Galle, on the south of the island. "While we were (doing) search operations, we found people floating in the water and rescued them and later on, subsequently, when we inquired them, we found that those people are belonging to the Iranian ship," Buddhika Sampath, Sri Lankan Navy Media Spokesperson, said. Advertisement Advertisement The Iranian naval ship sank outside Sri Lankas territorial waters, officials said. The search and rescue operation is ongoing. Related The IRIS Dena is one of Iran's newest warships. It was patrolling in deep water and was armed with guns, missiles, and torpedoes. It also carried one helicopter. The United States sanctioned the IRIS Dena in 2023, along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied weapons to Russia for use against Ukrainian civilians. At least 17 Iranian ships have been sunk during the ongoing war, according to the United States. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. He said the ship was sunk by a torpedo on Tuesday and died a "quiet death". He did not name the vessel. His announcement came after Sri Lanka said its navy had responded to a distress call on Wednesday morning from an Iranian ship named the Iris Dena, which had gone down about 40km (25 miles) from its southern coastline. Advertisement Advertisement Eighty bodies from the frigate were found by rescuers, a Sri Lankan defence official told BBC Sinhala. Another 32 were rescued, the country's navy said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had "perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores". "Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," he wrote in a post on X early on Thursday. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." A Sri Lankan navy spokesman said some 180 people were believed to have been aboard the Iris Dena, based on the ship's documentation. Advertisement Advertisement The survivors were "seriously injured" and had been taken to a hospital in the southern port of Galle, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. Hegseth told a news conference on Wednesday that a US submarine had sunk an Iranian warship "that thought it was safe in international waters". He also claimed it was "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two". While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then. Video released by the US Department of Defense showed a ship being struck, causing the stern to rise up before exploding. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, Sri Lankan navy spokesman Budhika Sampath had rejected reports that the Iris Dena had been attacked by a submarine. He added that, at the time rescue operations were launched, rescuers had not seen the vessel - nor any other ships in the region - but saw oil patches and life rafts floating on the water. Though the ship's location "was beyond our waters", Sampath said, "it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations". The Iris Dena seen in the Bay of Bengal during the International Fleet Review 2026 [AP] First launched in 2015, the Iris Dena is a destroyer attached to Iran's Southern Fleet, which is tasked with deployments in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. Advertisement Advertisement It had recently participated in International Fleet Review 2026, a military exercise hosted by India. The sinking of the Iris Dena comes as the US and Israel have continued to launch air strikes on Iran for a fifth day, with the Israeli military saying it had hit "security headquarters" across the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Israel has also conducted air strikes on Lebanon and has sent ground forces into the south of the country after armed group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel. Iran appears to have continued to carry out retaliatory attacks. New strikes were reported in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Wednesday, while Turkey said "Nato defences" shot down an Iranian missile heading towards Turkish territory. Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lanka has remained neutral in the conflict. It has refrained from taking any side, calling for "restraint and immediate de-escalation" from "all concerned parties". Herath, its foreign affairs minister, paid tribute to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini after he was assassinated on Saturday. A government spokesman later said Sri Lanka would issue a formal message of condolence regarding all deaths resulting from the conflict, including Iranian state leaders and officials who had been killed. Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy made their reelection bids official this week, announcing they will run for the new 3rd District and 4th District, respectively, under the states newly established congressional map. The plans were first reported by the Deseret News after weeks of discussion among the Utah delegation about how to approach the November elections under the new boundaries. Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, will file in the new 2nd District, where hes already begun gathering signatures. The conversations all along have been: Whats the best thing we can do to stand up for Utah, to stand up for representative government, to make sure that whats happening is constitutional, Maloy told the Deseret News in an interview. But now that were out of options, we have to file to run next week Im going to run in the district that Ive spent my adult life living in. Advertisement Advertisement The decisions come after Rep. Burgess Owens announced on Wednesday that he would not seek reelection, paving the way for Maloy and Kennedy to each choose one of the two remaining districts and avoid a messy incumbent-on-incumbent primary. The new map reduced Republicans stronghold of four House seats down to three with one Democratic seat, sending the delegation into a scramble about who should run where in the new political landscape. The redrawn boundaries especially complicated Maloys and Kennedys decisions as their two districts shifted significantly. Under the new lines, the pair both live in the new 3rd District. But with Owens retirement leaving the new 4th District open, it gives room for Kennedy to run there, which leans Republican. Kennedy to run in Utahs 4th District Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, speaks with members of the media at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Kennedy highlighted his work in and representation of parts of the 4th District in his official announcement on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Ive spent more than twenty years practicing medicine in communities throughout the Fourth District and ten years serving many of these communities in the Utah State Legislature, Kennedy said. I know these communities, I share their values, and Im ready to keep fighting for Utah families in Congress. Kennedy and Maloy both praised Owens as he gets ready to exit Congress. (Owens) just did the ultimate team-player move, and people here dont do that, Maloy said. I hate that this is a choice that he had to make this year, that he was forced to decide that. I have nothing but love and respect for him and how he makes his choices. He does whats best for the team every time, and I think hes proving that with this decision as well. Kennedy said it was an honor to serve with Owens in Congress, adding he was grateful for his service and his friendship. Advertisement Advertisement The reelection decisions bring an end to the monthslong game of musical chairs that garnered national attention as Democrats were given a rare pickup opportunity in the red state of Utah and the four GOP incumbents were squeezed into three seats. Owens was long rumored to be considering a departure from public office at the end of the 2026, but the Utah delegation kept their cards close to their chests until the new Utah district was solidified. The delegation has engaged in talks with one another for months on how to proceed, with several of the incumbents telling the Deseret News those conversations centered around what would be the best fit for the constituents in the new districts. Still, Utah Republicans did not go down without a fight. Owens was one of two Republicans in the delegation, along with Maloy, to ask the federal courts to block the new Utah map from taking effect because it was selected by a Utah judge not the legislature, but that request was denied. Advertisement Advertisement Even with the cleared field, Maloy and Kennedy could still face primary challengers from elsewhere in the state. Republican candidates have said they will file in both the 3rd District, David Harris and Phil Lyman, and the 4th District, Stone Fonua. Two Republican candidates have declared bids in the heavily Democratic 1st District in Salt Lake County: Riley Owen and Dave Robinson. Other scooplet: Maloy is gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot in November. Shes also gotten phone calls from back home with people offering to volunteer to gather signatures, Im told #utpol Filing opens on Monday. Candidates need to get 7,000 signatures to qualify https://t.co/wD5YVa8Oyf Cami Mondeaux (@cami_mondeaux) March 5, 2026 Candidate filings for federal races open next week and will be available from March 9-13. Primary elections will be held June 23. Maloy is gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot, she told the Deseret News. Since making her reelection news public, Maloy has gotten several calls from constituents back home to volunteer for signature-gathering efforts. Vice President JD Vance has openly undermined the presidents promise to "immediately bring prices down," arguing that it will take time before Americans see more money in their pockets. In an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday morning, the Vice President said officials have to be honest with the American people about what they can achieve on the economy. The idea, as much as I would like it to be true, that we were going to completely undo the $3,000 of take-home pay that was eroded under the Biden administration, and were going to fix that in a daythere was no way it was ever going to happen, he said. YEREVAN, ARMENIA - FEBRUARY 9: U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a joint press conference with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on February 9, 2026 in Yerevan, Armenia. In the first visit to Armenia of a sitting U.S. vice president, Vance is meeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed a deal intended to reopen key transportation routes with Azerbaijan. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images) / Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Vances remarks undercut Trumps previous promise to bring down prices for Americans on day one of his second term. When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1, Trump said in August 2024. He also said he would reduce energy and electricity prices by at least half within a 12-month period. Vance has been increasingly on the outs with some of Trump's key messaging. / Jonathan Ernst / Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS In 2025, the typical U.S. household saw its electricity bill rise by 6.7 percent compared with the previous year, according to The Guardian. That increase translated to nearly $116 more per household over the course of the year than in 2024. During his record 108-minute State of the Union address last week, Trump praised his own roaring economy, which was roaring like never before, claiming that the nation is back bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before. Advertisement Advertisement The data tells a different story. A poll following his address revealed that 68 percent of Americans disagree. Due to bird flu, egg prices have risen by 20 percent to a record average of $4.95 per dozen. Meanwhile, Fair Market Rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments have jumped about 40 percent since fiscal year 2021, according to a recent LendingTree study. Trumps unpopular tariffs have also affected prices. A February study by the Tax Foundation found that the average American household will pay an extra $1,300 in 2026 due to Trumps tariffs. And polls suggest that Americans are feeling the impacts of price rises. Advertisement Advertisement A February Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 48 percent think the economy has gotten worse under Trump. When asked about their personal finances since Trumps return to the presidency, 22 percent said they are better off, 33 percent said worse off, and 44 percent reported no change. Biden has been the fall guy for Trump's failure to bolster the American economy. / Sean Rayford / Getty Images Meanwhile, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between February 18-23, found that 68 percent of people disagree with a statement that the U.S. economy is booming, a statement Trump has consistently repeated since resuming office in January 2025. Some 43 percent of Republicans also disagreed with the statement. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to blame the Biden administration for the state of the economy. As Trump has repeatedly called the issue of affordability a hoax, his polling on the economy has plummeted. / Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS Earlier this month, Vance told Fox News the administration was pushing a car uphill after taking office with an economy he described as weakened under Biden. In May 2025, Trump told business leaders: This is Bidens economy because we took over on January 20th. But polling suggests that the blame-game message is not resonating with voters. A December Quinnipiac University poll found that 57 percent of Americans blame Trump, not Biden, for the current state of the economy More than a month after authorities said someone deliberately damaged a privately-funded shoreline protection system on Nantucket, police are still searching for the culprit and repair estimates are in the works. A $10,000 reward has been posted for information that leads to an arrest. The target of the vandalism was a geotube installation along Sconset Beach at the base of a bluff on the islands eastern side, meant to combat erosion. Running about 950 linear feet, the system was installed to help stabilize one of the islands most exposed shorelines. It was not damaged by a storm, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement This should be understood first and foremost as a serious threat to public safety and public infrastructure, said Meridith Moldenhauer, a 'Sconsett Beach Preservation Fund representative, in a recent posting on the www.sconsetgeotubes.org blog. Until repairs are made, the damage materially increases the risk to Baxter Road and the utilities it supports. The Fund is the nonprofit behind the project. The geotubes were installed along Sconset Beach at the bluff specifically to help protect Baxter Road, nearby homes, utilities, and public access, the Sconset Beach Preservation Fund said in an email. The section was installed at what the organization says is the most vulnerable and erosion-prone stretch of the Sconset Bluff. The Fund reported the damage after it was discovered in late January. Advertisement Advertisement The damage could also cut off public access to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse, one of Nantuckets iconic landmarks. What are geotubes? According to the organization, a geotube is a large, engineered container made from high-strength geotextile fabric that is filled with sand. Geotubes function like structural elements to absorb wave energy, reduce erosion, and stabilize the toes, or bases, or coastal banks or bluffs. Geotube systems are designed to slow the rate of coastal retreat and help prevent sudden collapses. Because the system functions as an integrated whole, damage to any portion compromises its overall integrity and increases the risk of further failure, especially along the bluff top, the organization said. Vandalism recently caused damages to the erosion control geotube system on Nantucket's Sconset Beach bluffs. Numerous slashes were made using a sharp tool, including this one measuring more than 2-feet in length. The project part of an ongoing, long-term coastal protection and sand nourishment effort was first built more than 10 years ago after a single, major storm wiped out about 30 feet of land. Since then, the Preservation Fund says the system has played a critical role in stabilizing the bluff and maintaining access along Baxter Road while enabling the long-term planning to occur in a measured and deliberate manner. Advertisement Advertisement The organization has overseen the project in partnership with the Town of Nantucket and got approval from the Nantucket Conservation Commission to expand the project north and south. Through private homeowner contributions, the organization supports the project, which also went through local and state regulatory review by the state Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies under the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act. The Preservation Fund said the project is working. The group recently posted on Facebook, shoreline change has decreased, sand volume in front of the project has increased, and the mean low water mark has remained stable. Vandalism confirmed Photos and video from the site show multiple clean, linear cuts" through the dense geotextile material. These cuts are visually inconsistent with storm damage, natural wear, or wave action, which typically produce tearing, abrasion, or irregular damage patterns, according to the Preservation Fund. The straight, sharply defined nature of the cuts indicates mechanical cutting rather than environmental forces. In a scene from 2014, a conveyor sends sand over cliffs off Baxter Road in Siasconset on Nantucket as crews work to fill geotubes with a sand slurry mix to try to slow erosion. Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip Independent engineers who examined the damage confirmed that conclusion. The manufacturer, Flint Technical Geosolutions, also confirmed a sharp instrument made the cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Moldenhauer said the organization is committed to working constructively with the town, the Natural Resources Department, and state partners to identify a path forward that protects the community. The Fund is working with engineering and construction experts to make recommendations on repairs. No official cost estimate has been released. Investigation and reward The Fund is offering the $10,000 reward to anyone with valid information that will lead to an arrest." Those responsible for this damage may have hoped to disrupt progress, Moldenhauer noted in her Feb. 6 blog posting. Instead, it underscores why protecting the bluff and public infrastructure matters to the entire Nantucket community. Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nantucket Police Departments tip line at 508-228-3626. Heather McCarron, hmccarron@capecodonline.com, writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable, Brewster and Falmouth. hanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Nantucket's erosion control system vandalized, $10K reward offered Bloomberg President Donald Trump expressed confidence in the US military campaign against Iran even as the timeline for operations remained deeply unclear on the fifth day of the Middle East war. Were doing very well on the war front, Trump said Wednesday at the White House, adding that for 47 years, theyve been killing our people and killing people from all over the world, and I think we have great support. Most Read from Bloomberg The conflict showed no sign of abating, with Tehran again targeting Israel and Gulf states. Meanwhile, Israeli and US forces made good on pledges to bomb more targets in the Islamic Republic. The US sank an Iranian warship in international waters, marking the first time since World War II that an American submarine has attacked a surface vessel. In Washington, the Republican-controlled Senate rejected a Democratic attempt to halt the strikes, clearing the way for operations to continue. The House, also controlled by Trumps party, is expected to vote on a similar measure Thursday. The White House said Irans regime had been absolutely crushed. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said US forces had struck more than 2,000 targets and were moving toward complete and total control of Iranian airspace. Markets remained volatile amid fears of further escalation. Trump has offered shifting explanations for the strikes, reiterating claims that Iran posed an imminent threat and saying the US acted before Tehran could attack Israel or American interests. Their missiles are being wiped out rapidly. Their launchers are being wiped out. Theyre attacking their neighbors. Theyre attacking their in some cases, allies, or not so long ago, allies, Trump said. Its really a nation that was out of control, and they would have used it on us if we let them. Leavitt reinforced Trumps caution that the future of Irans leadership remains unclear, with intelligence agencies closely monitoring the succession. The duration of military operations remains uncertain, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling reporters that it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three weeks. At times, US officials appeared to sow confusion about the operation. Leavitt said that it was her understanding over the past several hours that Spain had agreed to cooperate with the US military. A Spanish official later denied that the government had reversed course on its refusal to allow the US to strike targets from bases inside its borders. Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez and US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum have said the two countries will be working together to develop mining in the country. Burgum, who leads President Donald Trump's National Energy Dominance Council, met Rodriguez at the presidential palace in Caracas, in the second visit by a US secretary since the US strikes and seizure of Nicolas Maduro in January. Venezuela has already changed its law to allow more foreign investment in its previously nationalised oil sector. Advertisement Advertisement Now the government is planning for similar reforms of its mining sector. It hasn't yet revealed the details, but the leader of the country's Congress, Jorge Rodriguez, who is also the interim president's brother, said the reforms would allow "large foreign companies" to mine minerals and rare earth elements. As well as having the largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela is rich in gold, diamonds, critical minerals and rare earth minerals - including some of those used in mobile phones. Illegal mining has expanded in the country, with many environmentalists condemning the deforestation and pollution. Many criminal gangs have illegal mining operations and allegations of political corruption are rife. Advertisement Advertisement The US accused Maduro - who is due to stand trial later in March in the US - and other members of his government of leading a criminal organisation involved in activities like illegal mining and drug trafficking. He always denied the allegations. Following the meeting between Burgum and Rodriguez, Trump said she is doing a "great job" and working well with US representatives. He added that the two nations had a "wonderful relationship" and that the US would benefit from "hundreds of millions of barrels of oil" that Washington was "taking out". He added that the US would "also make life wonderful for the people of Venezuela". Advertisement Advertisement The presidential palace is still covered in pictures of Maduro, including new posters of him and his wife with the hashtag: "We want them back." Following the meeting, in a joint statement to journalists at the presidential palace, Delcy Rodriguez urged fellow lawmakers to back the reforms so investments could come to the country. She also said "we're getting top marks on everything 20 out of 20", an apparent reference to the US being pleased with Venezuela's co-operation so far. After the seizure of Maduro, Trump warned Rodriguez to "do the right thing" or face similar consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Burgum met with mining representatives from both countries at the event. He said there was "over two dozen American companies with us today, some of the biggest, strongest, best mining and minerals companies in the world". He said they represented "billions of dollars" of investment and thousands of new high paying jobs. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of India's eastern state of Bihar, has said he will step down from his post to become a member of the federal parliament. Kumar, 75, said in a post on X on Thursday that the new government in the state "will have his full cooperation and guidance". His decision paves the way for a new chief minister, who can be from Kumar's Janata Dal (United) party or his coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Advertisement Advertisement This decision marks a pause for Kumar's political career in the state where he was chief minister for most parts of the last two decades. He is one of Bihar's most influential political figures. Several of his party colleagues and alliance partners say his move to vacate the top post has been on the cards for a while because of his deteriorating health. Kumar said his voters' "trust and support" had enabled his government to serve the state "with complete dedication". Kumar may take some time to resign, one of his party colleagues said, considering that the term of the outgoing members of Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian parliament) ends in April. Advertisement Advertisement In November, he took oath as Bihar's chief minister for a record 10th time, after the JDU and its allies, including the BJP, won 202 out of 243 seats in the assembly polls. Five Rajya Sabha seats are now falling vacant in Bihar. Kumar's party and its allies have sufficient numbers of representatives in the assembly and the parliament to comfortably elect leaders in four of the five seats, a senior BJP leader told the BBC. Existing parliamentarians and state legislators cast their votes to elect new Rajya Sabha members. Analysts say that Kumar's decision to move to parliament will allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP to stake claim for the top job in the state. If that happens, the BJP will get its first ever chief minister in Bihar. Advertisement Advertisement With more than 74 million voters, Bihar is India's poorest state, with millions migrating to other parts of India for jobs. It is also among the few states in India where BJP has not managed to form a government yet on its own. At this point, there is no clarity on who will take charge as Bihar's new chief minister when Kumar resigns. "The new chief minister of Bihar will be from the BJP and the party's parliamentary board will soon decide the candidate," BJP's national spokesperson RP Singh told the BBC. However, there's a section of Janata Dal (United) leaders who have protested against their party chief's move to step down as chief minister. Advertisement Advertisement "We went door-to-door seeking votes for Nitish Kumar. If he is no longer the chief minister, where will the people of Bihar go?" Kumar's party colleague Rajeev Ranjan Patel told news agency ANI. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Pierce County community remembered the four women killed in a deadly stabbing spree with a vigil in Gig Harbor Wednesday night. Ive lived in the harbor since 1989, and this is a tragedy like Ive never experienced before, Fiona Johnson, one of the attendees, said. The shocking crime, which happened last Tuesday on the Key Peninsula just outside the city, touched many in the tight-knit community. A crowd of dozens decorated a gazebo on the waterfront with images of the victims and lit candles to pay their respects. Advertisement Advertisement They were well-known in the community, well-loved in the community, Gary Rudd, a chaplain for the citys police and fire departments, said. Did a lot of activities, a lot of things together. The stabbing suspect, Aleksandr Shabilykin, was shot and killed by a Pierce County deputy. Body cam footage obtained by KIRO 7 shows the suspect during a traffic stop in 2022. He was pulled over for using a cell phone while driving. In the footage, he reveals himself to be a member of the sovereign citizen movement, a group of people who believe the government and laws do not apply to them. I am no longer a human or a person, Shabilykin said during the traffic stop. I am operating under my own jurisdiction as a living man. Advertisement Advertisement Court records detail his behavior in the years between the traffic stop and the fatal stabbings. A protection order filed by his mother details the suspects mental health struggles. The documents also state he performed occult rituals in his mothers home, told her he was an Egyptian god, and threatened the lives of her and her cat. Shabilykins mother was one of his four victims. The lack of awareness for mental health issues, not just in our state but around the nation, is a grave concern of mine, Johnson said. A spokesperson for Gig Harbor said future memorial events are in the works. The Brief Barack Obama is encouraging Virginia voters to approve a redistricting amendment. The proposal will redraw the state's congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections. The former president's announcement comes a day before early voting begins. VIRGINIA - Former President Barack Obama has launched an effort to boost Virginia's redistricting amendment the day before early voting begins across the state. What we know In a video released on Thursday, Obama asked Virginians to support the referendum to redraw the state's congressional districts, calling the proposal a "responsible, temporary step" to protect fair representation. Advertisement Advertisement The former president said that the redistricting amendment will make sure "your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states." "This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall. And voters will have the final say over what the maps look like," he said. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, theyre under attack. Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections. Now Virginia has a chance to help level pic.twitter.com/CDgaH5sumc Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 5, 2026 Dig deeper For the second time, Obama is campaigning for a Democratic initiative that urges voters to temporarily abandon independent redistricting. The goal is to adopt partisan maps to combat President Donald Trump's efforts to gerrymander congressional districts in Republican-led states. What they're saying Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger also released a statement on Thursday encouraging voters to support the proposed amendment. Advertisement Advertisement "As early voting begins tomorrow on Virginias redistricting amendment, voters should know that Virginias approach is different. It is temporary, directly responsive to what other states decide to do, and most importantly, it preserves Virginias bipartisan redistricting process for the future," Spanberger said. The backstory The announcements come a day after Virginia's Supreme Court ruled to allow early voting to move forward in the states redistricting referendum. Earlier this year, Virginia Democrats approved a proposed congressional district map that could reshape the states political landscape for the 2026 midterm elections. The newly proposed map, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Spanberger, would redistribute Virginias 11 U.S. House districts and, based on some analyses, could help Democrats gain up to four additional seats in Congress shifting the states representation significantly. What's next Under Virginia law, the map can only go into effect if voters approve a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting. Advertisement Advertisement The referendum will appear on the ballot as early voting begins on Friday, several weeks before Election Day on April 21. The Source Information from this article was provided by Virginians for Fair Elections, the Office of Governor Abigail Spanberger and previous reporting by FOX 5 DC. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. Cambria Countys top employer is Conemaugh Health System. The most recent list of Top 50 employers compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry places Conemaugh at No. 1, based on number of employees. The department withholds employment numbers from its published information due to confidentiality, its website says. But Conemaugh Health System confirmed it has 2,457 employees. Advertisement Advertisement Rodney Reider, CEO of Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center and market president for Conemaugh Health System, said in an emailed statement that it is an honor to be recognized by the Department of Labor & Industry as the No. 1 employer in Cambria County. For us, this distinction underscores the vital role Conemaugh plays as both a trusted health care provider and a steadfast economic engine for our region, he said. Each quarter, the Department of Labor & Industry lists the top 50 employers and industries for each county in Pennsylvania. Conemaugh Health System is consistently ranked No. 1 among employers in Cambria County. The most recent information available, for the third quarter of 2025, shows it remains in the top spot. Advertisement Advertisement We are deeply committed to investing in our people, creating high-quality jobs, and supporting local businesses because a healthier economy leads to a healthier community, Reider said. Serving as a long-term community asset means standing shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors through times of growth and challenge alike, and we are proud to help drive opportunity and stability for families across Cambria County. After Conemaugh, the top employers in Cambria County include Walmart and Lockheed Martin Aeroparts Inc., a military aerospace manufacturer based in Texas. Lockheed Martin employs more than 500 people across Cambria and Somerset counties and plays a critical role in the regions advanced manufacturing workforce, said Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Hannah Beaty. Established in 1987, Lockheed Martin is nationally recognized for machining, precision sheet metal, fabrication and advanced assembly. Advertisement Advertisement The Johnstown-area facility on Industrial Park Road contributes to major Lockheed Martin programs, including the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon and C-130J Super Hercules. In addition, Lockheed Martins Davidsville location produces components for new F-16s, which are sent to Greenville, South Carolina, for final assembly and integration. Across the commonwealth, Lockheed Martin employs more than 6,000 people and supports an estimated $5 billion in annual economic impact, Beaty said. In Cambria and Somerset counties alone, Lockheed Martin supports eight local suppliers, representing more than $150 million in annual investment and reinforcing a strong regional defense industrial base. WINDBER, Pa. In February, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber opened its new Community Care Center. Located off Seventh Street in Windber, the center offers walk-in primary care for non-emergency health concerns. Chan Soon-Shiong CEO Richard Sukenik said he hopes the availability of the Community Care Center will reduce the hospitals yearly tally of 9,000 emergency room visits. We think there are a lot of underserved folks in the community that dont have a primary care physician, he said, and we think a lot of the doctors are not accepting new patients because they are full. Advertisement Advertisement Primary care services at the Community Care Center are provided by a couple of recent hires by the hospital, Dr. Elliot Smith and Dr. Kavitha Manjunath. Those hires and the opening of the new care center have been accomplished in the midst of struggles experienced by hospitals statewide to recruit physicians and maintain healthy financial margins. We are no different, Sukenik said. Fewer than half of the states hospitals are operating with sustainable margins 37% are operating with a loss, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania said in a January report of findings by a national consulting firm it commissioned on hospital funding. Advertisement Advertisement The association said rural hospitals are especially at risk as they serve a greater share of patients covered by Pennsylvanias Medicaid program, which reimburses hospitals 71 cents, on average, for each dollar they spend providing care to enrollees. However, Sukenik is optimistic for the future. Chan Soon-Shiong has the same cutting-edge technology other facilities have, he said, but as a small nonprofit hospital, it sometimes takes longer to afford it. Our first investment is in the clinical, medical side, he said. Our quality scores are excellent. Thats our message we can be a low-cost provider, provide excellent care, but we need support. Grants from local foundations and state agencies have become increasingly crucial to meet infrastructure needs of the hospital, and partnerships with other hospitals and schools are critical to meeting need for hospital staff shortages. Advertisement Advertisement I think we are moving in this direction where we need to collaborate more, he said. For example, last year the hospital and Indiana University of Pennsylvania formalized a clinical training affiliation agreement for future students of the universitys proposed college of osteopathic medicine, which could see its first class in the fall of 2027, IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said. That partnership could be critical as the hospital prepares to see more doctors retire, Sukenik said. Theres definitely a shortage, he said. A lot of doctors are aging. Its a statewide issue. We just need some younger physicians to come into this area. We are trying to extend our reach in the community, trying to keep local kids who say, Well, there is no way I can become a physician. Yes, there is. Advertisement Advertisement Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber claims the position of the fourth-largest employer in Somerset County, with 450 employees and a total payroll of $35 million. We dont lose sight of the significance of being an economic engine, Sukenik said. We take that sort of obligation seriously. We think its important for this community and surrounding areas, and we want to maintain that. The Washington Department of Licensing recently corrected a technical glitch that caused its automated phone system to answer Spanish-language requests in English with a Spanish accent. The issue was brought to public attention after a Bainbridge Island resident documented the experience in a social media video that went viral. The Department of Licensing attributed the error to a configuration change made during an expansion of its self-service options. Advertisement Advertisement According to the agency, the newer technology in the system mistakenly provided certain answers in English rather than the callers preferred language. Maya Edwards, a resident of Bainbridge Island, posted a video of the experience to TikTok that has received nearly 2 million views. In the video, Edwards called the department and requested instructions in Spanish. She was met with an automated voice that spoke in English using a heavy Spanish accent. Edwards noted that while the instructions remained in English, the numbers provided by the system were in Spanish. It was equal parts hilarious and stunningly awful because it is like straight out of a sitcom, Edwards said. Advertisement Advertisement She also expressed concern regarding how the accented voice might be perceived by the Spanish-speaking community. It could be viewed as insulting by many. I think it is insulting. I think its insulting on so many levels to have an accented voice come back sounds like youre mocking a whole demographic of people, Edwards said. The Department of Licensing addressed the incident in a formal statement, explaining that the issue arose during an effort to grow their available resources. An unfortunate byproduct of expanding services is that DOL found problems with the self-service option, the agency stated. Specifically, some answers were being provided in English, not in the callers preferred language. Advertisement Advertisement The agency further explained the system utilizes newer technology and the specific error was tied to internal adjustments. While the cause of the problem is still being evaluated, it appears this technical glitch was the result of a configuration change made by DOL, the department stated. The Department of Licensing has since implemented a fix for the phone system and subsequent calls to the agency confirm that the Spanish-language options are now functioning correctly. Edwards noted the quick response from the state. Im glad that they fixed it in a fairly speedy manner, Edwards said. (The Center Square) The Washington State House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted amendments to and passed legislation that would expand the authority of the Attorney Generals Office to issue Civil Investigative Demands regarding potential violations of state and federal law. The legislation passed with a 56-41 vote. The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 11. It now goes back to the Senate for further consideration, given the House amendments. Senate Bill 5925 now known as Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5925 broadens the AGOs ability to issue CIDs when investigating potential violations of constitutional rights, labor laws and other state regulations. CIDs are formal, pre-suit discovery tools that allow the AGO to compel individuals or entities to produce documents, answer written questions, or provide oral testimony without first filing a lawsuit or obtaining a judicial warrant. Advertisement Advertisement There was passionate debate on the House floor. Bill supporters claim it provides the necessary legal tools to protect civil rights and speed up investigations for vulnerable communities, such as immigrants and low-wage workers. Opponent worry it could be used for purposes of political intimidation. Whether youre a bikini barista thats being sexually harassed by your employer, whether youre a cannabis shop worker whos experiencing wage theft, or whether youre being wrongfully evicted from your housing, this legislation will make it easier to bring justice swiftly so that there are no more victims, Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle, said. She then made some thinly-veiled criticisms of the Trump administration. Now more than ever, our Attorney Generals Office needs these tools, Farivar concluded. Lets give them these tools to make sure that we are protecting all people in Washington state. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, said that this bill is akin to giving the attorney general the ability to just kick the door down to your house or your business and demand all your paperwork, demand oral testimony, demand a deposition, hand you interrogatories, just do discovery because the attorney general needs to do it because he cant operate within the laws we have now like all the other attorneys have to do now He predicted passage of the bill is going to create witch hunts. The House passed amendments to the bill prohibiting the AGO's Criminal Justice Division from issuing CIDs, requiring the AGO to possess facts and circumstances to exist that would reasonably lead to possible violations before a CID can be issued, extending file and appeal times in responding to a CID from 20 days to 30 days, and mandating consistency with state agency restrictions and requirements of the Keep Washington Working Act. During the legislative process leading up to Wednesdays vote in the House, several proposed amendments to the bill were rejected, including requiring clear and convincing evidence rather than reasonably lead to standards for issuing a CID, allowing individuals to obtain compensation for the costs associated with complying with a demand, and prohibiting the AGO from sharing CID-obtained information with other law enforcement agencies for their investigation. The government in Berlin intends to bring Germans stranded in the Middle East back home, not only with three special flights from Oman but also from the Saudi capital, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced on Instagram on Thursday. According to a document from the Foreign Office seen by dpa, the flight from Riyadh is to be organized on Sunday afternoon with a chartered aircraft from the airline Sundair. To prepare for the departure, particularly vulnerable Germans such as pregnant women, the sick or the elderly are to be brought overland from the Gulf emirate of Qatar to Riyadh. Advertisement Advertisement The Foreign Office document also states that, so far, there are more than 35,000 entries on the crisis preparedness list in the region. However, not all of the Germans who have registered there wish to leave. There are also Germans who have already left the region. Wadephul appealed to those who are already back in Germany to remove themselves from the list. Demonstrations across Philadelphia reflect sharply different views on the U.S. military campaign in Iran, a conflict that residents say has stirred complex emotions both locally and abroad. Some Iranian Americans in the city say their loved ones back home support continued U.S. strikes. Marjam Vafa, a board member of Philly Iranians, said a friend recently received a text message from Iran describing the ongoing war. Advertisement Advertisement "We call it a war. In Iran, they call it a rescue mission," Vafa said. She added that many of her friends and relatives want the U.S. to keep up its efforts to rid the country of the authoritarian Iranian regime. "I do have friends and family in Iran. They are happy! The first day that Tehran got bombed, they were dancing in the streets," she said. But the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, says it is hearing a very different message from some people from Iran who oppose the military campaign. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR Philadelphia, said many Iranians reject both the regime and the war. Advertisement Advertisement "Many people I know are not happy with the Iranian regime, but they are simultaneously raising their voices against this military campaign," he said. Tekelioglu also questioned the constitutionality and legality of the U.S. action. "This unconstitutional war should stop right away," he said. He warned that the conflict could fuel backlash against Muslims in the region. "As a civil rights organization, we are worried because this also feels like anti-Muslim racism, Islamophobia," he said. Vafa acknowledged that "no one wants war," but argued that the Iranian government poses a global threat. Advertisement Advertisement "This regime has to go. If this regime stays, it will be a threat to the whole world," she said. With six U.S. troops killed and more than a thousand deaths reported in Iran, both supporters and opponents of the war say they are deeply concerned about civilian casualties. "It has always created pain. It has created killing and suffering," Tekelioglu said. "We don't want innocent people to die," Vafa said. As the conflict continues, both organizations say they plan to stay engaged. CAIR intends to keep pressing lawmakers, including Pennsylvania's U.S. senators, while Philly Iranian says it will continue advocating for the people of Iran. Both sides are watching developments closely as the war continues. The U.S. leads the world in both crude oil and natural gas production, but the top exporters are already shipping near their capacities, allowing them to reap larger profits but not fill the supply gaps caused by the temporary loss of 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes triggered by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz near Iran. President Donald Trumps pledge late on March 3 to insure and protect oil and LNG tankers in the effectively shuttered waterway helped stop the surge in oil and gas prices. Energy analysts have pointed to expensive or unavailable insurance coverage as a key reason for the lack of traffic, in addition to the threat of attacks. But the unprecedented explosion of a Russia-flagged LNG tanker in the Mediterranean added more unease to global energy markets. Reuters reported that Ukraine was suspected of a drone attack on the vessel. Oil, natural gas, and retail gasoline prices in the U.S. all continued to rise on March 3, but not nearly to the extent of natural gas prices in Asia and Europe, which rely much more on the oil and Qatari LNG volumes that make up nearly 20% of global supplies. The European [gas] benchmark soared 90% in the past two days, and Asias [benchmark] also jumped, said Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James investment strategy analyst. These economies rely on imported LNG, so they are affected by the disruption in Qatars LNG exports. As the worlds largest LNG producer, the U.S. doesnt have the same worry as Europe or Asiain fact, it could benefit. The narrow, 104-mile Strait of Hormuz is the main choke point separating the Persian Gulfand the daily flow of nearly 20 million barrels of oilfrom global energy markets. Qatar took its LNG production offline March 2 as embattled Iran launched more strikes on its neighbors. Without providing details, Trump said on social media March 3 that the U.S. would begin offering political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible, Trump added. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. That announcement came soon after the Russian-flagged tanker Arctic Metagaz was on fire off the coast of Malta. The vessel was under U.S. and U.K. sanctions. Mathieu Utting, global gas and LNG analyst for Rystad Energy, told Fortune the massive Middle Eastern energy disruption would have been much worse at the beginning of winter when gas heating demand was rising. Welcome to Foreign Policys Africa Brief. The highlights this week: Africa braces for the economic and political ripple effects of the war on Iran, newly released files show that Jeffrey Epstein had ties with African political elites, and a U.S.-Zimbabwe health deal crumbles. Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday. Irans African Proxies As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran escalates, Africa is bracing for the ripple effects of a wide-ranging regional conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Analysts are paying particular attention to the Sahel, where Iran has positioned itself as a security partner to junta-led nations including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger in their fight against jihadist groups. The current conflict, however, is likely to distract Western attention away from the Sahel, where the United States recently resumed counterterrorism support, and force Tehran to prioritize retaining its weaponry for domestic survival. This may lead to an uptick in Islamist violence in the region, as well as Sahelian states increasingly turning to Russia or Turkey for drones and other military equipment. Theres also potential for Iranian-supported groups to carry out violence against Israeli, American, or allied persons and assets, said Ladd Serwat, a senior analyst for Africa at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Most likely are going to be Egypt, Djibouti, and Somalia, where Iran has ties to the al-Shabab terrorist group. The possible activation of Iranian networks or a spillover of conflict in the Middle East could worsen internal security challenges throughout Africa. Even before the war, Chadian security officials said last December that they dismantled two criminal networks linked to Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Irans axis of resistance is facing its most serious test, and for African countries with significant Shia minorities, including Nigeria, the risk of proxy activity increases as Tehran seeks new pressure vectors, Nigerian risk analysis firm SBM Intelligence wrote on Monday. Thousands of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria have held nationwide protests organized by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria against the attacks on Iran, a Shiite-majority nation. These demonstrations prompted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to issue a security alert on Tuesday in the capital of Abuja. The protests are largely peaceful, but experts warn that the conflict in Iran could make U.S. military personnel and assets in Nigeria a target for militant groups that are sympathetic to Iran. The war on Iran could be used for recruitment propaganda as evidence of aggression against Muslims by groups such as the Islamic State-West Africa Province and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, further destabilizing northern Nigerias volatile security situation. Islamist violence is increasing in Nigeria, though it makes up a tiny fraction of overall insecurity in the country, where civilians of all faiths face rising attacks. The states security forces have been much more focused on banditry and trying to protect various areas from armed bandit groups. That has limited their capacity to also deal with Islamist armed groups moving into the region, Serwat told Foreign Policy. Advertisement Advertisement More broadly, the economic impact of the war is expected to hit African economies hardparticularly with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil channel bordering Iran that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. This has already led to global energy price hikes, forcing African consumers to pay more for everyday necessities. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned that a prolonged Middle East war threatens his countrys economic lifelinethe Suez Canalafter Egypt already lost an estimated $10 billion in revenue due to a reduction in shipping traffic after Israels 2023 invasion of Gaza. The Suez is a critical shortcut from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, saving weeks of travel time in shipping cargo between Asia, Europe, and the United States. Many ships were rerouted after Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched attacks from late 2023 to late 2025 on boats in response to the war in Gaza. We are very cautious about the continuation of the war because of developments in the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on navigation in the Suez Canal, Sisi said in a state broadcast on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement The Week Ahead Thursday, March 5: The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations holds a nominee hearing on Frank Garcia as assistant secretary of state for African affairs. The Africa Energy Indaba conference concludes in Cape Town, South Africa. Saturday, March 7, to Sunday, March 15: Nairobi Design Week is held in Kenya. What Were Watching Chagos controversy. U.S. President Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticisms of the United Kingdoms approach to the Chagos Islands, an island chain in the Indian Ocean that hosts a joint U.K.-U.S. military base. The U.K. has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have, Trump said on Tuesday, after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially denied Washington access to the base in Diego Garcia to launch the U.S. attacks on Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago, which Britain detached from Mauritius three years before the latters independence in 1968, governing it as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Britain forcibly removed thousands of Chagossians, and the International Court of Justice advised in 2019 that the separation from Mauritius broke international law. A bill to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and keep the military base through a 99-year lease is facing pushback by opposition parliamentarians in the United Kingdom following Trumps criticisms of the plan in January. Pretorias Iran problem. South Africa is struggling to distance itself from fellow BRICS member Iran as it seeks to mend trade ties with the United States. Last month, Pretoria launched a probe into how Tehran came to participate in BRICS+ naval exercises off the coast of Cape Town, with an investigative panel reporting directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to a statement released last Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Ramaphosas special advisor on investments, Alistair Ruiters, is in Washington this week to continue trade negotiations after Trumps global tariffs were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump had imposed a 30 percent tariff on South Africa. U.S.-Zimbabwe deal crumbles. Zimbabwe rejected a U.S. deal last week that would have provided $367 million in health funding over five years due to data and sovereignty concerns. Zimbabwean officials described the deal as lop-sided and said that the Trump administration was demanding direct access to pathogen samples for commercial gain while refusing to agree to share the benefits of vaccines and treatments developed as a result. As Ive covered in past newsletters, African civil society groups and politicians have increasingly pushed back on health deals with the United States. Washington has now signed agreements with at least 17 African nationsand they have legitimate reasons to be wary. The deals seek in part to replace the aid formerly provided by the now-dissolved U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). But unlike USAID, they require African countries to directly report data to the U.S. government instead of multilateral organizations, such as the World Health Organization, without any guarantees of access to resulting vaccines. Advertisement Advertisement During the COVID-19 pandemic, global distribution of vaccines was extremely unequal, and many people in Africa received vaccines long after those in Western countries. South Africa paid more than double the European Union price for vaccine doses. Since then, Africans have pushed for more transparency and equity in vaccine deals. Epsteins African connections. The latest documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had close ties with some African political elites, including relatives of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. The files reveal that Ouattaras son, Dramane, and niece, Nina Keitawho is currently deputy general director of an Ivorian petroleum stocks companymet with Epstein several times. Emails suggest that Keita introduced a number of young women to Epstein on multiple occasions, including when he traveled to Ivory Coasts capital of Abidjan in 2012. Neither Keita nor the Ivorian government has commented on the exchanges. Emails show that Epstein later introduced Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, to Ouattaras chief of staff. Barak allegedly proposed a security defense plan to Ouattara, including military training, that was ultimately rejected. Barak denies the claims. Epstein also formed close ties with Karim Wade, the son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. Advertisement Advertisement This Week in Culture Ghana renamed its main airport the Accra International Airport a day before the 60th anniversary of the Feb. 24, 1966, coup detat that overthrew the countrys first president, Kwame Nkrumah. The airport was originally called the Accra International Airport, but in 1969, Ghanas then-military government changed its name to honor Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, one of the putschists, after he was killed at the airport in a failed counter-coup two years earlier. The recent decision to restore the original name has stirred some controversy: Kotokas family said that the name change erases his legacy and service to the country, but Ghanas government maintains that the move is in line with the countrys democratic values. Advertisement Advertisement FPs Most Read This Week 6 Questions About Operation Epic Fury by Daniel Byman Iran Is Built to Withstand the Ayatollahs Assassination by Ali Hashem The United States Is Still Addicted to War by Stephen M. Walt What Were Reading Malawis carbon deal. Malawi has leased almost 6 percent of its land to Portuguese construction giant Mota-Engil in a 40-year carbon credit deal worth $100 million, Collins Mtika reports for the Center for Investigative Journalism Malawi. The agreement covers 14 forest reserves, which would be used to generate carbon credits sold through Singapore-based commodity trader Trafigura. For a country that has earned only about $150 000 from carbon trading so far, the potential upside is seductive, Mtika writes. But [c]ritics argue Malawi is binding future governments, and communities living in and around the reserves, without first putting legal guardrails in place. Secretive gig work. Somali gig workers in Kenya may have been unknowingly helping the U.S. military in recent years, report Niamh McIntyre, Edwin Okoth, and Cam Wilson for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The workers were hired by Australian tech company Appen to transcribe Somali telephone conversations used to build speech recognition systemsa project mentioned in a contract between Appen and the U.S. military. For now, gig workers in Kenya remain in the dark about the projects they take on, building datasets which could be sold to top-secret military clients, a private sector tech company, or both, the authors write. Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Israel targets 'regime infrastructure' - Israel said it launched a wave of strikes on Tehran early Friday, targeting "regime infrastructure" in Iran's capital. AFP journalists in Tehran heard loud blasts in parts of the city. - Australian personnel on US sub - Three Australian military personnel were onboard an American submarine that sank an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Advertisement Advertisement The personnel were on the submarine as part of training arrangements under AUKUS, a multi-decade defence pact with Britain and the United States. - Bahrain hotel struck - Bahrain said Iran had struck a hotel and two residential buildings in the capital Manama, correcting a previous announcement that two hotels and one residential building were hit. The attack came a day after an Iranian missile strike sparked a blaze at Bahrain's main state-owned oil refinery. - Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles - Saudi Arabia said early Friday it had intercepted three ballistic missiles launched towards an air base, as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf. Advertisement Advertisement "Three ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base were intercepted and destroyed," the Saudi defence ministry posted on X. Some Western embassy staff in Riyadh meanwhile were told to shelter in place, diplomatic sources said, following an attack on the US embassy compound earlier this week. - Lebanon death toll rises - The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has risen to 123 since the country was drawn into the regional war earlier this week, with the latest count including a new wave of strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs. The ministry added that 638 people have also been wounded since Monday. Advertisement Advertisement - Egypt in 'state of near-emergency' - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country was in an economic "state of near-emergency" as he warned of runaway inflation. At a military academy event, Sisi added that price-gouging traders could be tried in military courts, according to a statement from his spokesman. - Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi leader speaks out - Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi leader said in a televised speech Thursday that his group was prepared to strike at any moment. "Regarding military escalation and action, our fingers are on the trigger, ready to respond at any moment should developments warrant it," Abdul Malik al-Houthi said. Advertisement Advertisement - NATO raises missile defence posture - NATO said it has strengthened its "ballistic missile defence posture" as Iran steps up its strikes across the Middle East with a missile launched at alliance member Turkey before being shot down. The alliance's 32 member states concurred with NATO commanders that the posture should remain at its "heightened level" until the threat from Iran's "indiscriminate attacks across the region" subsided. - Israel promises 'surprises ahead' - Israel's military chief said the US-Israeli campaign against Iran was entering its next stage, with operations aimed at crushing the Islamic republic's military capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement "In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead which I do not intend to disclose," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised statement. - Trump backs Kurdish offensive - US President Donald Trump said he would approve of any offensive by Iranian Kurdish fighters into Iran in support of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic. "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it," Trump said. - Sri Lanka takes control of Iranian ship - Sri Lanka has offloaded crew of an Iranian navy vessel and assumed control of it, a day after a deadly US submarine attack on another ship. Advertisement Advertisement President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his country's navy had taken 208 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr which, like the ship torpedoed off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday, had participated in a naval exercise in eastern India. - Trump wants role in picking Iran leader - Trump insisted he should have a role in picking Iran's next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable. "Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump said, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the United States ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro. burs-jgc/js/mlm Wary of getting directly involved in the US-Israeli war with Iran, European countries are nevertheless being drawn into the conflict following attacks on Cyprus and Western allies in the Gulf. While underlining their "defensive" aims, several European countries have now pledged military assistance to EU member Cyprus as the Middle East conflict intensifies and widens. Some are also allowing the US military to use their bases under certain conditions, such as not using them to launch bombing raids. Advertisement Advertisement "We are not at war and we do not want to join the war," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told RTL 102.5 radio on Thursday. Here are the main military assistance pledges from Europe so far: - Britain - An Iranian-made unmanned drone struck the runway at the British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday. Other drones, probably launched by Iran-backed military group Hezbollah from Lebanon, have been intercepted. In response, Britain said it was sending a warship, HMS Dragon, fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds. It is also deploying Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones. Advertisement Advertisement Separately, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that four Typhoon fighter jets would be sent to Qatar. Starmer initially refused to have any role in the war but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose". Starmer's initial refusal incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump. "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," Trump said on Tuesday. - France - France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier -- the Charles de Gaulle -- to the eastern Mediterranean. It has 20 Rafale fighter jets on board along with two Hawkeye radar aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement French President Emmanuel Macron has also said Paris will dispatch additional air defence units to Cyprus. He said that "Rafale jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar aircraft" were being deployed in the region. France has already deployed its frigate, the Languedoc, off Cyprus. The ship used its Aster missiles to shoot down drones fired from Yemen by Iran-allied Huthi rebels targeting vessels in the Red Sea in December 2023. France said US military support jets have been allowed to use the Istres air base in France with "full guarantees" they were not involved in Iran strikes. Advertisement Advertisement - Greece - Greece has sent two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus. It has also allowed the US to use its base in Souda Bay in Crete. - Italy - Rome has said it will send "naval assets" to Cyprus in the coming days along with France, the Netherlands and Spain. Italy has also pledged "air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems" to partners in the Gulf. Italian media have reported that the assistance could include the SAMP/T air defence system. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy's air bases could be used by the US for "logistical support" for "aircraft not intended for combat" under existing agreements. Advertisement Advertisement - Portugal - The Portuguese government has given the go-ahead for the US to use its Lajes base in the Azores as part of operations targeting Iran but only with certain conditions. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday that permission had been granted "on the understanding that these operations are defensive or retaliatory in nature, that they are necessary and proportionate, and that they target exclusively military objectives". - Spain - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has made clear his opposition to the war in a verbal bust-up with Trump. Madrid has ruled out allowing US military use of Spain's bases, prompting a threat from Trump to sever all trade ties with Spain. Advertisement Advertisement Spain has nevertheless said it will send its most advanced frigate -- the Cristobal Colon -- to protect Cyprus. The defence ministry said on Thursday that the warship would "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians". dt/ar/st While underlining their "defensive" aims, several European countries have now pledged military assistance to EU member Cyprus as the Middle East conflict intensifies and widens. Britain, Greece and Portugal have gone further by also allowing the US military to use their bases under certain conditions. Spain has ruled this out and Italy has said it has not received any such request. "We are not at war and we do not want to join the war," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told RTL 102.5 radio on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Here are the main military assistance pledges from Europe so far: Britain An Iranian-made unmanned drone struck the runway at the British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday. Other drones, probably launched by Iran-backed military group Hezbollah from Lebanon, have been intercepted. Britain said it was sending a warship, HMS Dragon, fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds. It is also deploying Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially refused to have any role in the war but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose". Advertisement Advertisement In a joint statement on Sunday, Britain, France and Germany have said they are ready to take "defensive action" following Iran's attacks on several Gulf states. Starmer's initial refusal incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump. "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," Trump said on Tuesday. How the war in Iran is testing Europes US military base network France France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier -- the Charles de Gaulle -- to the eastern Mediterranean. It has 20 Rafale fighter jets on board along with two Hawkeye radar aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron has also said Paris will dispatch additional air defence units to Cyprus. Advertisement Advertisement He said that "Rafale jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar aircraft" were being deployed in the region. France has already deployed its frigate, the Languedoc, off Cyprus. The ship used its Aster missiles to shoot down drones fired from Yemen by Iran-allied Huthi rebels targeting vessels in the Red Sea in December 2023. Greece Greece has sent two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus. It has also allowed the US to use its base in Souda Bay in Crete. Italy What could Macron's French nuclear umbrella mean for Europe? Rome has said it will send "naval assets" to Cyprus in the coming days along with France, the Netherlands and Spain. Advertisement Advertisement Italy has also pledged "air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems" to partners in the Gulf. Italian media have reported that the assistance could include the SAMP/T air defence system. Italy says it has not received any US requests to use its bases and such a move would likely require parliamentary approval. Portugal The Portuguese government has given the go-ahead for the US to use its Lajes base in the Azores as part of operations targeting Iran but only with certain conditions. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday that permission had been granted "on the understanding that these operations are defensive or retaliatory in nature, that they are necessary and proportionate, and that they target exclusively military objectives". Spain Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has made clear his opposition to the war in a verbal bust-up with Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Madrid has ruled out allowing US military use of Spain's bases, prompting a threat from Trump to sever all trade ties with Spain. Spain has nevertheless said it will send its most advanced frigate -- the Cristobal Colon -- to protect Cyprus. The defence ministry said on Thursday that the warship would "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians". March 5 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Italy came to the rescue of a wolf found stuck in a support pylon under a bridge on the Milani Canal, near Verona. The country's Fire Brigade shared a video on social media showing firefighters working to rescue the wolf stuck under the bridge in San Giovanni Lupatoto with assistance from local police and veterinary staff from the Local Health Authority. The sedated wolf was held in place with the use of a catch pole while firefighters in an inflatable wolf extracted it from the support pylon. The wolf was then transported back to shore and taken to the Wild Animal Recovery Center, where it will receive veterinary attention prior to being released back into the wild. An injured manatee mom and her baby are safe after a successful Southwest Florida rescue mission. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to an incident in which a mother manatee was hit by a propeller more than 20 times. Her baby refused to leave her side so, with assistance from the Cape Coral Police Department, the FWC rescued them together. Video footage shows the moments that at least 10 people helped hoist up the mama manatee onto a boat with a net. The Cape Coral Police Department assisted the FWC in rescuing an injured manatee mother who was hit by a propeller nearly two dozen times. This rescue mission comes less than one month after at least 30 manatees died in the Orange River of Lee County. Advertisement Advertisement FWC is the state agency charged with protecting manatees, which are listed as a threatened species. Biologists estimate there are between 8,000 and 12,000 manatees in Florida waters. Manatees are a protected species per the federal Endangered Species Act. Population growth over the past decade allowed for the species to be reclassified from being an endangered species to a threatened species in 2017, according to the FWC. Being struck by boats is a large reason for manatee fatalities. According to the FWC, more than 90% of manatees sustain injuries from watercrafts in their lifetimes. It is "exceedingly rare for an adult manatee to not be struck multiple times in its life," according to a study by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Manatees move through the Orange River in Fort Myers on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Manatees seek the warm waters at Manatee Park when cold temperatures blanket the area. Warm waters from the Florida Power & Light plant flow through Manatee Park and attracts the sea cows . These manatees were moving out of the park. There is no food source in the river or near Manatee Park, so they have to travel back to the estuary for the grasses they feed on. Collisions with boats result in both sharp and blunt force trauma, which can result in death. These incidents account for at least 20-25% of reported manatee mortalities. Advertisement Advertisement To report a distressed or dead manatee, call the FWC at 888-404-3922. Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com. Please support Southwest Florida community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FWC rescues injured manatee mom, baby after brutal propeller strike A Western Massachusetts construction worker who killed an 18-month-old boy in 1988 has taken accountability for his actions and was given parole last month. Ronald Bonnoyer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Jean Thibault. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Bonnoyer postponed multiple parole board hearings since 2003. On Sept. 30, 2025, Bonnoyer appeared before the board. Advertisement Advertisement During the hearing, Bonnoyer and the parole board talked about what happened in 1988. Bonnoyer was living with his girlfriend and her son in Agawam at the time. The mother put her son to bed around 7 p.m. and left the apartment about two hours later to get Bonnoyer alcohol, at his request. When she returned a half hour later, she heard Bonnoyer on the phone with his ex-wife saying, If you ever needed to do anything for me, pray for me now. I need a miracle. He also stated that he was going to be gone tomorrow. The next morning, Bonnoyer again asked the woman to get him more alcohol. When she returned from the package store at about 9:30 a.m., she asked Bonnoyer if Jean was still sleeping, and he stated that he was. Advertisement Advertisement She eventually went in to check on the child only to find that he was not there. When she asked the location of Jean, Bonnoyer changed his story several times. He suggested that Jean was still in his room or that the kids were playing hide and seek. He then said he sold the child for $10,000. She reported her son missing to the Agawam Police Department. They located the childs body inside a trash bag in a nearby dumpster. The cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma. Markings on the childs body matched being beaten by the heel of a shoe, the Republican reported in 1989. Bonnoyer was 32 years old when he pleaded guilty. He told the judge he would give my life ... if it would bring back the boy, the Republican reported. Advertisement Advertisement Bonnoyer, 68, has been incarcerated for 37 years and has multiple health issues. He has been sober for 32 years. He has minimal disciplinary reports, and the last one was over 20 years ago, according to the parole board. He also earned his bachelors degree from Boston University while incarcerated. He has taken accountability for his actions and presented with insight into the causative factors of his criminogenic behaviors, the parole board wrote. He was granted parole on Feb. 12. More on the Massachusetts Parole Board Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. A vote on President Donald Trumps plans for a $400 million White House ballroom was rescheduled after a commission in charge of deciding the project was deluged with more than 35,000 written comments and 104 people wanting to testify at a public hearing. Will Scharf, chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission who was appointed by Trump, said at the public hearing on March 5 that the vote would be taken at the commission's next meeting on April 2 to accommodate every member of the public who had signed up for a chance to speak. The NCPC, the overseer of federal property development and site designs, continued to hold the online public hearing on March 5 to hear from droves of people most of them with negative opinion signed up to speak or reached out via email. Stephen Staudigl, spokesperson for the NCPC, told USA TODAY that the vast majority of responses received via email have expressed negative opinions about the ballroom, and a USA TODAY cursory review found many angry responses, calling the ballroom idea gaudy, expensive, aggrandizing and unnecessary. Advertisement Advertisement The commission's public meeting offered a window into the publics view of the project, which led to the demolition of the White House's East Wing. Apart from Scharf, the White House staff secretary, the 12-member commission board also includes two other White House officials. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. See new renderings of massive 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom 1 of 20 Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. Bryan Clark Green, an architectural historian, was among the first to speak during the online hearing. He said the current plan for the 90,000 square foot ballroom would "permanently and adversely" alter the character of the White House complex. "The three cascading south stairs have no precedent on the campus and rival the South Porticos more modest steps. The proposed east and south porticos, with large Corinthian columns, compete with the Executive Mansions smaller, finer Ionic order," he said. "Column size, count, and spacing draw attention from the Mansion rather than frame it. These are not programmatic necessities; they are choices." He said the NCPC should require removal of nonessential features and mandate "revisions to orders, proportions, and spacing so the addition supports, rather than overshadows, the historic core." Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associateslater removed from the National Capital Planning Commissions websiteshow a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building. People from across the nation sent written comments by email to the planning commission after it solicited comments. An online portal, which opened Feb. 12, also allowed people to register to speak. Advertisement Advertisement Since Trump's ballroom project was first announced by the White House in July, it has undergone numerous changes on financing, seating capacity and cost. The price tag jumped from $200 million to $400 million, and the ballroom is now expected to accommodate 1,000 people. Many citizens object to the ballroom "How could he just 'do that' without consent from you or Congress? PLEASE don't let him get away with him building this addition, gold plated monstrosity as it will be a replica of his 'gold plated lifestyle' which is disgusting," Penny Jarret wrote. The project was "initiated without the proper authorization, permits, or design review. It is not a modernization project but rather a complete razing of American history. I want this project canceled, and the East Wing rebuilt and restored to its former design," Patricia Abrego wrote. Ongoing construction on the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trumps proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington, D.C., October 20, 2025. "The East Wing ballroom is unnecessary beyond the pale," Tim Cobb wrote. "This Presidents insecurity and insatiable narcissism is nakedly apparent in this project, to say nothing of his absurd Arch de Trump. I could not disagree more with this boondoggle." Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel whose members Trump appointed in January, unanimously approved a plan for a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The two commissions are the only two agencies charged with reviewing construction of the controversial project. A demolition crew takes apart the facade of the East Wing of the White House, where President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington on Oct. 21, 2025. Commission of Fine Arts Secretary Thomas Luebke said 99% of the 2,000 comments it received had been negative. Similarly, the National Capital Planning Commission "received a substantial number of public comments on the project, the majority in opposition to the project," Staudigl told USA TODAY. Finding positive comments in the reams of paper was the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack. But they do exist. Advertisement Advertisement Anne Nieman, a supporter of the project, wrote that her father had been a prominent preservation architect in Alabama. President Donald Trump observes construction work on his new ballroom prior to a meeting with oil company executives at the White House on Jan. 9, 2026. "A grand ballroom for the White House has been a vision of many past administrations. It is, frankly, an embarrassment that world leaders come to the greatest country on earth only to be welcomed in a giant wedding tent with porta-potties, no matter how fancily they may be outfitted," she wrote. "Taxpayers should be grateful that private contributors who have been very successful in America are willing to donate the funds to bring this much needed addition to our capital complex. It will provide enhanced security and comfort for our leaders and guests and show them the dignity deserved in grand American style." Greg Sullivan, a landscape architect, wrote in favor of the presidents project. "I voted for our president and what he is bringing to the White House," Sullivan wrote. "He will do an awesome job on this much needed addition useful by all subsequent administrations." White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf attends a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026. After the East Wing was demolished in October, without warning and leading to a public outcry, the White House argued that under federal law the 12-member capital planning commission reviews only construction projects, not demolitions of existing buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Most Americans oppose Trumps plans to construct a 90,000 square-foot ballroom, according to a poll taken the week after the demolition of the East Wing. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found 56% of Americans oppose the demolition and ballroom project including 45% who said they "strongly oppose" it. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents said they support the plans. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires reviews of projects that affect most historic buildings, but the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol are exempt. Shalom Baranes, whose architecture firm is leading the ballroom project, shows a presentation during a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction, saying that the project needs congressional approval and that its size would "overwhelm the White House itself." Advertisement Advertisement The case was rejected by a federal judge, who said the organization did not sufficiently prove the president was exceeding his powers. Rather, it based its challenge "on a ragtag group of theories" under federal law and the Constitution. Still, he said, the court would consider additional efforts if the group decided to amend its complaint. The preservation group has followed up by filing an amended lawsuit accusing the administration of violating federal laws by proceeding without obtaining the required approvals. During the public hearing on March 5, Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, urged the NCPC board members to move deliberately. "That you engage seriously with ideas offered by the tens of thousands of architects, planners, scholars, and patriotic citizens who have submitted comments. These people are worth hearing out. The American people have good ideas," she said. "We know you can build a 1,000-person ballroom that, unlike the plan currently under review, truly honors the iconic status, the primacy, and the historic significance of the Peoples House. Comments submitted to you show how this could be done." Advertisement Advertisement Trumps team countered in court that the president did not need approval from lawmakers because the project is not using taxpayer dollars and instead is being funded by private donations. Democratic lawmakers have raised alarms about accepting money from companies with business before the federal government. "Trumps gold-encrusted ballroom has become a vehicle for corruption," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. Donors include Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Meta, according to a list provided by the White House. Kathleen McCleary of Norther Virginia asked in her written comments: "Why do we the people have no say in this? Why are we concerned with a giant ballroom for lavish parties when the wealth gap in this country is enormous? This project should be STOPPED." Advertisement Advertisement This story has been updated to add new information. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New date for vote on White House ballroom amid spate of angry comments White House officials are reportedly scrambling to reassure Americans that they have gas prices under control, after costs spiked this week due to the war in Iran. One week ago, U.S. nationwide gasoline prices were $2.98 per gallon but, after President Donald Trump ordered the military to begin strikes on Iran, igniting more instability in the Middle East, prices are up to $3.25, according to AAA. Trump brushed off concerns Wednesday, saying oil prices would be high for a little while but the prices would drop lower than ever before once the war ends. Energy Secretary Chris Wright insisted the price increases were temporary. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the administration had been planning for this. Advertisement Advertisement But one unnamed energy industry executive familiar with conversations described the White Houses current approach as looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, according to Politico. The same executive told the news outlet that Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were getting screamed at to find good news. Oil and gas prices globally, rose this past week after oil refineries and other infrastructure was impacted by the war in Iran (AFP via Getty Images) Leavitt refuted that claim in a statement Thursday, calling Politicos report sensationalist, unverified gossip for clicks. Nobody is panicking, Leavitt said. President Trumps entire energy team, from the White House to the National Energy Dominance Council to Secretaries Wright and Bessent, have a game plan to keep oil prices stable throughout Operation Epic Fury. Advertisement Advertisement The attacks by the U.S. and Israel have led Iran to conduct retaliatory strikes some targeting oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the water passageway that is typically filled with oil tankers and cargo ships is nearly empty and the global supply chain is feeling the impact. Geopolitical events in the Middle East typically impact gas prices because oil infrastructure is disrupted. Although the U.S. is the largest producer of crude oil worldwide, nearly a third of its production is exported, and one-third of the oil used in the U.S. is imported. That is because the type of crude oil produced in the U.S. is considered light and not suitable for diesel, kerosene and other fuel oils. Trump said Thursday that while gas prices may rise, it would only be temporary until the end of the war in Iran (AP) Leavitt said the administration was going to tap into newfound oil markets in Venezuela an opportunity only available because the president seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January. Advertisement Advertisement The United States Development Finance Corporation, an independent agency that invests in development projects in lower and middle-income countries, is providing political risk insurance at a very reasonable price for crude carriers and cargo ships in and around the Gulf. Trump also said the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. While oil prices have risen, they still remain lower than at their peak in 2024. The White House recently confirmed that the US went to war with Iran because of President Donald Trumps feelings. On February 28, the President announced that the US had launched a military operation against Iran along with Israel. He further stated that the step was taken to protect the country from the threat of the Iranian regime. US vs. Iran happened because Donald Trump had a feeling In a recent press release, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the reason behind the United States and Israel launching a joint military operation against Iran. In a video that was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Leavitt spoke about what motivated the US Presidents decision. She stated that Donald Trump had a feeling, again based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the United States, was going to strike our assets in the region. And he made a determination to launch Operation Epic Fury based on all of that. Leavitt: The president had a feeling, again, based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the US. pic.twitter.com/qT1OQsY1RP Acyn (@Acyn) March 4, 2026 Leavitts statement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the US executed the operation after it learned of Israels plans to strike Iran. According to News Republic, Rubio said on Capitol Hill, It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyonethe United States, or Israel, or anyonethey were going to respond and respond against the United States. Advertisement Advertisement The Press Secretary continued, We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties, and perhaps even higher those killed. Although it suggested that Israel had persuaded the US to take action, Trump denied this in a Q&A with reporters at the White House after Rubios statement. Q: Did Israel force your hand? TRUMP: No. It was my opinion Iran was going to attack first. ? (IRANS FM EARLIER: What imminent threat? Were we invading the shores of ??? Sending missiles to the White House? Rubio says they entered on behalf of Israel.) pic.twitter.com/mBk6Hwut6d The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 3, 2026 Trump stated, I might have forced their hand. We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. If we didnt do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. Originally reported by Ishita Verma on Mandatory. The post White House Says US Bombed Iran Because Donald Trump Had a Feeling appeared first on Reality Tea. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued new rulings against several UK advertisers over misleading up to savings claims, reinforcing stricter expectations for substantiation in retail and energy marketing. Decisions published on 4 March 2026 found that ads from British Gas, Centrica Hive and Wild Nutrition breached the UK advertising code by presenting claims that could mislead consumers or lacked sufficient evidence. The regulator said advertisers must demonstrate that the maximum savings advertised in promotions reflect outcomes achievable by a significant proportion of consumers. The rulings underline increased scrutiny of retail promotions, pricing claims and sustainability messaging as the ASA expands its monitoring activity. Evidence required for up to savings claims The ASA ruled against a paid Meta advertisement from British Gas promoting heat pumps that claimed consumers could save up to 546. According to the regulator, the company did not provide adequate evidence showing that a meaningful share of consumers could realistically achieve that level of savings. The ASA also found that key information explaining the conditions behind the calculation was not clearly presented in the advertisement. Under UK advertising rules, businesses must hold evidence before publishing up to claims and ensure that the maximum benefit represents a realistic outcome for a significant proportion of customers. If a saving is based on modelling or specific assumptions, those conditions must be communicated clearly. The ruling reflects a broader focus on price transparency in advertising, an area closely watched by retail regulators as promotions increasingly appear across social media and digital platforms. Solar energy ad claims under scrutiny A separate ruling concerned a national press advertisement from Centrica Hive promoting solar panels. The advertisement stated that consumers could shrink your electricity bills by up to 94%. The ASA concluded that the company had not demonstrated that such a reduction represented the typical experience for consumers installing solar systems. The advertisement also omitted important information needed for readers to understand how the figure had been calculated. Energy-related retail promotions have drawn increased regulatory attention as households look for ways to reduce costs and emissions. Regulators have warned that savings or environmental claims linked to energy technology must be supported by clear evidence and realistic assumptions. For retailers and installers operating in the renewable energy sector, the ruling highlights the importance of presenting savings estimates conservatively and explaining the factors that influence outcomes. Cities can own a lot, anything from a parks and police cars to pools and property. But Woodlawn decided to own something few, if any, other municipalities in the state own: a medical transport service. If it all works out, it could provide more stable revenue for village. That could mean fewer tax levies, or in a dream scenario, lowering tax rates for residents. And so far, it is working. After a year, the venture is already paying for itself and operating in the black, according to Eliot Docherty, the service's finance and billing supervisor. He said the operation had grossed nearly $400,000 in its first year. Advertisement Advertisement Essentially, the Village of Woodlawn started a business competing with other private entities both inside and outside of the village. So how does that work? Woodlawn Village Administrator Timothy Engel compared it to a recreation center. These centers charge membership fees, sometimes at a discount to residents though normally anyone can join. Members can use workout equipment, take classes and play sports. In theory, these recreation centers compete with private gyms and even nonprofits like the YMCA. Engel said that in this case, there's plenty of business to go around. There's another medical transport business in Woodlawn, and he says they haven't complained to the village. "There was a demand for this service and we simply filled that need," he said. Seeing a gap in market Woodlawn Transport operates like most other private ambulance services providing nonemergency rides to people who need to get to the hospital, doctor's appointments or treatments. The company typically gets paid through its passenger's insurance. Advertisement Advertisement Ohio has more than 400 active medical transport businesses, according to a state database. These range from cab companies to medical helicopter services. Fire Chief Amos Johnson said they saw a real need because the shortage of reliable medical transport in the area caused a strain on his department. Someone would request a ride for a nonemergency reasons, he said, but it could take hours for anyone to show up. "By then, it's an emergency," Johnson said. The patients would end up calling 911 and they would send an ambulance from his department. He said this problem had plagued his department for more than a decade. He and some other leaders at fire department took their idea to the village. Fire department expertise a benefit From a business perspective, the village had a big head start. A medical transport business requires insurance, a medical director, inspections, properly equipped ambulances, lengthy written policies and more, Johnson said. While it would be a daunting task to start from scratch, his fire department already knew how to handle all of this. Advertisement Advertisement There was also some suspicion. They launched last summer and by the middle of September, someone had complained to the state that Woodlawn Transport didn't have the necessary licenses. The state investigated and determined the service did need a license, which the village obtained. Johnson said firefighting is steeped in its own heritage, and some people have trouble with new innovations. "We don't want to handcuff ourselves to tradition," Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Jenkins said. Zachary Russ, Woodlawn Transport's operations supervisor, said he was ready to switch to nursing before he joined Woodlawn's department. Then he said he saw the professionalism and willingness to try new things. Advertisement Advertisement "When I got here everything changed," Russ said. TV, snacks and blanket warmers Woodlawn Transport now has four ambulances, two vans and a staff of 12 employees. A new building for the business is slated to be finished by the end of the year. For now, they use the back lot of the fire department to park their equipment. Initially, Johnson said he was allowing firefighters to work off-duty details for the transport company, but that quickly stopped as well. Now, the fire department and the Woodlawn Transport use the same medical director and some of the same property but the staffs are completely separate. Woodlawn Transport ambulances are fitted with TVs, mini fridges and blanket warmers. The village-run venture is providing non-emergency transportation for clients in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati. Johnson said the professionalism of the staff is generating a lot of return customers. The ambulances also aren't typical. They have TVs, blanket warmers and mini fridges with snacks and drinks. Advertisement Advertisement "These are our grandparents," Johnson said. "We're transporting for the public good, not for money." All the employees of the transport service are city employees. What's next While Jenkins envisions the transport service and similar ventures benefitting Woodlawn residents astronomically, the village manager strikes a more restrained tone. "Everybody's feeling budget crunches. Skilled professionals are getting harder and harder to find," Engel said. Hiring public works professionals, police and firefighters is harder than ever, he said, and it likely is only going to get harder. It's these services they have to keep providing to residents. Advertisement Advertisement "It only works a few ways: you can either do taxes or if you can think a little outside the box," he said about raising revenue. "Do something different, so you don't have to put that burden on the taxpayers, then it's worth a shot." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: To boost revenue, Woodlawn started a medical transport service A Wisconsin-based burger franchise is coming soon to Kansas Citys Northland. Culvers, known for its butter burgers (burgers with buttered buns), cheese curds and frozen custard, plans to open at Zona Rosa, 7160 NW Barry Road, according to Culvers restaurant locator. Its opening will mark the ninth location in Kansas City and the fourth in the Northland. Culvers was founded in 1984 by the Culver family restaurant in their hometown, Sauk City, according to its website. The franchise now has over 900 locations across the country and emphasizes using fresh beef, white chicken and Wisconsin dairy for its popular cheese curds. Culvers, a Wisconsin-based burger franchise, is set to open in the Northlands Zona Rosa shopping center this summer. (Culvers) Natalie Bass, marketing director with Zona Rosa, said this marks a turning point for the shopping center and added more openings have yet to be announced. Advertisement Advertisement A lot is in our pipeline, this is just the tip of the iceberg, she said. Trevor Glenn, director of marketing and communications with Mitchell Private Holdings LLC, told The Star the new Culvers location is aiming to open this upcoming June, but an exact date has yet to be announced. Other tenants at the Northland shopping center include Bo Lings, American Eagle Outfitters, Sephora, Barnes & Noble and more. (WFRV) A 20-year-old Wisconsin man has been sentenced to seven years, stemming from an arson charge after he allegedly tried to burn down a congressmans Fond du Lac office in protest of the federal TikTok ban. Court records show that Caiden S. Stachowicz was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by seven years of extended supervision on March 5. Stachowicz reportedly tried to set Congressman Glenn Grothmans Fond du Lac office on fire on January 19, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Settlement reached in sexual harassment lawsuit against Green Bay landlord Political violence isnt a Republican or Democrat issue; its an American issue. It must be taken seriously to protect our Democratic Republic and ensure that the best of America are willing to step up and serve their communities and our country. We hope this sentence acts as a deterrent to others and lets those who serve us know they will be protected. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney Stachowicz was also issued a no-contact order with Glenn Grothman and with any office or person serving in a political capacity. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,500 to one victim and $15,647.07 to another. The case was investigated by the City of Fond du Lac Police Department, with assistance from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. It's now official: The hurricane that acted like a tornado will be the last time we'll hear the name Melissa. The World Meteorological Organization, which maintains the lists of hurricane names, retired the name March 4, saying, "There will never be another Hurricane Melissa." Track all active storms during hurricane season The name was removed from the list because of the death and destruction Melissa brought to the Caribbean in October 2025, the organization said. Advertisement Advertisement Molly was the name chosen to replace Melissa on the list of names, which rotates every six years. 'There will never be another Hurricane Melissa.' Name officially retired A NOAA satellite image shows the symmetrical eye of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa south of Jamaica, revealing the storms explosive intensification. The WMO's hurricane committee announced Wednesday, March 4, the name Melissa would be retired from its list of rotating names of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. The Category 5 hurricane was responsible for more than 90 deaths across Jamaica, Haiti and other island nations and included two indirect deaths in Florida. Florida spared wrath of Hurricane Melissa, record-breaking storm "Melissa is the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in Jamaica," the WMO said. Advertisement Advertisement "The storm ties Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019 and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane (which devastated some of the Florida Keys) in the USA as the strongest hurricane (in terms of maximum sustained wind speed) to make landfall in the Atlantic basin. "Life-threatening" winds from Hurricane Melissa hit 300 km, or 186 mph, at its peak, the WMO said. NHC report on record-breaking Hurricane Melissa The National Hurricane Center released its post-season review of Hurricane Melissa on Feb. 25, saying the Category 5 storm broke or tied several records: Atlantic basin Peak maximum sustained winds hit 189.9 mph This tied for first with Hurricane Allen in 1980 Maximum sustained winds hit 184 mph at landfall in Jamaica tied for strongest landfall with: Florida's Labor Day hurricane in 1935 Hurricane Dorian, which moved parallel along Florida's eastern coast in 2019 Lowest central barometric pressure, 892 mb This tied Florida's Labor Day hurricane's 892mb in 1935 for third lowest pressure (behind Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988). Pressure at landfall in Jamaica 897 mb is the second lowest landfall pressure. Behind Labor Day hurricane's 892 mb in 1935 What name will replace Melissa? The WMO selected the name Molly to replace Melissa on the list of Atlantic hurricane names. Advertisement Advertisement The first time Molly could appear would be in 2031 since there are six lists of names, which rotate every year. Why are hurricane names 'retired'? The World Meteorological Organization will remove a hurricane name from a list "if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity." When was the last time Florida was hit by Category 5 hurricane? The last time Florida was hit by a Category 5 hurricane was Oct. 10, 2018, when Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base in the Panhandle, according to the National Hurricane Center. Winds were estimated at 161 mph, making it the strongest storm on record to hit Florida's Panhandle. What are names for 2026 Atlantic hurricane season? Names for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, and how to pronounce them, are: Advertisement Advertisement Arthur, AR-thur Bertha, BUR-thuh Cristobal, krees-TOH-bahl Dolly, DAH-lee Edouard, eh-DWARD Fay, fay Gonzalo, gohn-SAH-loh Hanna, HAN-uh Isaias, ees-ah-EE-ahs Josephine, JOH-seh-feen Kyle, KY-ull Leah, LEE-ah Marco, MAR-koe Nana, NA-na Omar, OH-mar Paulette, pawl-LET Rene, re-NAY Sally, SAL-ee Teddy, TEHD-ee Vicky, VIH-kee Wilfred, WILL-fred When is hurricane season? The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. The National Hurricane Center will begin posting daily tropical outlooks on May 15, showing conditions across the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America. How many named storms are in an average hurricane season? Named storms: 14 Hurricanes: 7 Major hurricanes: 3 2025 Atlantic hurricane season included 4 major hurricanes The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season produced 13 named storms, five of which became hurricanes. Advertisement Advertisement Four of those five became major hurricanes, which are storms that are Category 3 or stronger, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph. No hurricane made landfall anywhere in the United States in 2025. What's next? The USA TODAY Network will begin our daily tropical weather coverage May 15, unless something shows potential for development earlier. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look at our special subscription offers here. Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://news-press.com/newsletters. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What are 2026 hurricane names? Molly replaces Melissa NEED TO KNOW A Georgia woman alleges TSA agents ignored her request for a pat-down due to her spinal cord implant She claims the metal detector caused pain and destroyed her device, requiring medical treatment and surgery A lawsuit filed in Georgia accuses TSA of violating its own policies and seeks unspecified damages through a jury trial A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit claiming she experienced shock and immediate pain after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees forced her to walk through a metal detector. On Feb. 18, Kerri Thomas filed a civil complaint against the United States in connection with an May 2024 incident that she says took place at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and involved TSA employees. In the complaint, Thomas alleges that agents ignored her pleas to be screened via pat-down due to her spinal cord stimulator implant. Advertisement Advertisement The complaint claims that Thomas arrived at the North Security checkpoint at the airport around 5 a.m. local time on May 21, 2024. Upon arrival, Thomas alleges she informed the agents of her device and presented a medical identification card. However, she alleges that the employees ignored her request and card. A TSA officer's badge Credit: Megan Varner/Getty [Thomas] repeatedly asked one or more [TSA] employees or agents to be taken to a private room to be patted down rather than be forced to go through the metal detector, the complaint says. Instead, she claims, the [TSA] employee or agent stated, the only way you are getting on the plane is to go through the machine. A spinal cord stimulator is an implanted device designed to send low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve pain, according to John Hopkins Medicine. The device includes a small, pacemaker-like battery and thin wires and is controlled by patients when they feel pain. A sign for TSA at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images Per Johns Hopkins, airport security scanners will detect stimulators, but identification cards issued by providers will let patients bypass the machine. John Hopkins writes some people find that airport security gates cause uncomfortable (but harmless) interference with their stimulators. Advertisement Advertisement When Thomas approached the machine, she claims that she attempted to inform another TSA employee of her condition, but that the employee told her the machine had been adjusted and/or "recalibrated" to have less of an effect on her. [Thomas] felt a shock and immediate pain from the screening machine destroying her spinal cord stimulator, the complaint alleges. The document alleges the TSA employees failed to follow the agencys policy regarding passengers rights to request a pat-down in lieu of walking through the scanner. On the TSA's website, the agency directs passengers that do not wish to go through screening by technology, [tp] inform the TSA officer and they will conduct a pat-down. Pat-downs are conducted by a TSA officer of the same sex, and you may request private screening at any time. Advertisement Advertisement The complaint further claims Thomas suffered injuries and tangible damages and intangible damages, requiring medical treatment, including surgery. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The lawsuit names the U.S. as the defendant, citing the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows individuals to sue the government for monetary damages. Thomas demands a jury trial and is seeking relief for her injuries and damages in an unspecified amount to be determined in court. PEOPLE has reached out to the TSA and Thomas attorney for comment. Read the original article on People A woman accused of expressing support for Hamas laid flowers at a memorial for hostages taken on 7 October 2023, her friend told a court. Hanin Barghouthi, from East Sussex, denies expressing an opinion or belief in support of the organisation, which the UK has proscribed a terrorist group, at a rally in Brighton the day after the attack. During her trial on Thursday, her friend Taya Amit, who was born in Israel, said she "bumped into" Barghouthi about a week after the video of her speech "circulated". Advertisement Advertisement Amit told Kingston Crown Court that Barghouthi immediately asked "are you OK?" and "are people you know safe and OK?", adding she was "deeply, deeply caring for how I was doing". Jurors were previously shown video from 8 October 2023 where Barghouthi can be heard telling a crowd that "yesterday was a victory" and was "beautiful and inspiring to see". Amit told the court that Barghouthi had visited a local memorial for hostages taken in the Hamas attack "to read all the stories of the hostages" and had "brought flowers". She said she can trust Barghouthi "with anything" and leaves conversations with the defendant feeling like "we understand each other better". 'Integrity of character' The court also heard evidence from Susie Scott, a professor in the sociology department at University of Sussex, where Barghouthi was studying at the time. Advertisement Advertisement The professor described the student as a "mature, conscientious, diligent, thoughtful, polite, respectful, considerate, kind, caring and generous" individual. "In my experience, Hanin shows honesty, reliability, integrity of character," she told the court. The defendant previously said she "had not heard about Nova" - the music festival where hundreds of people were killed and dozens taken hostage - before giving her speech. She told jurors she found a video on Instagram that appeared to show a digger moving towards a wall in Gaza, which she believed was a "hopeful video". Advertisement Advertisement She said she "didn't believe there was more news" other than the "break-out" shown in that video. "I do not support Hamas," Barghouthi previously told jurors. Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Israel and many other countries. The trial continues. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story Related internet links A woman has been jailed for nine years for smuggling military grade weapons, ammunition and heroin into the UK. Kasha Sanderson, 40, was stopped at Dover Eastern Docks in February last year. Border Force officers found 13 firearms, nearly 300 rounds of ammunition and 5kg of heroin concealed in her car. National Crime Agency branch commander Rachel Bramley said: "Firearms crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world, but these guns had the potential to cause horrific damage." Advertisement Advertisement She added: "These terrifying weapons and ammunition are out of the hands of extremely dangerous criminals." Sanderson, Naishcombe Hill, Wick, Bristol, was stopped on 24 February last year after arriving on a ferry from Calais in an Irish-registered Peugeot 3008. When questioned about what she had been doing abroad, she told officers she had been scattering ashes in Lyon, France. She was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday. A total of 13 firearms were found hidden [NCA] The NCA said Border Force officers searched the vehicle and found two custom-built hides in the footwells. Inside were 13 weapons, including two Skorpion sub machine guns, an Uzi sub machine gun, a Glock handgun and nine converted blank firing pistols. Advertisement Advertisement Officers also recovered 289 rounds of ammunition and 5kg of heroin, which investigators said had an estimated street value of about 500,000. Unemployed Sanderson was arrested. During interviews she claimed she thought she had been smuggling cannabis. She later admitted importing firearms, ammunition and Class A drugs, and was sentenced on Thursday. Weapons were in a concealed compartment in the vehicle's footwell [NCA] Bramley said: "We have seen in recent years the tragic consequences of entirely innocent victims getting caught in the crossfire of criminals with automatic weapons such as Skorpion machine pistols. "With Sanderson's jailing, the organised crime group behind this smuggling plot have lost a trusted courier and profits they are unable to plough back into further offences." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story Related internet links The president of South Africa has revealed how shocked he was by Donald Trumps racist views when he met the U.S. leader in person last year. I just thought that he is so uninformed, truly uninformed, Cyril Ramaphosa told the New York Times on Thursday. I realized that he is looking at South Africa through a completely, sort of, foggy lens, without realizing the real, real harm that apartheid did, he added. In my view, he was just dismissive. Ramaphosa was aghast at how Ramaphosa was a close confidant of President Nelson Mandela, who fought for almost half a century to liberate Black South Africans from apartheid. Trump has repeatedly pushed far-right conspiracy theories about an ongoing white genocide in South Africa under Ramaphosas leadership. Advertisement Advertisement He has gone so far as to offer asylum to white citizens on the basis they face obstacles comparable to those faced by Black South Africans during segregation. Proponents of those claims often point to deadly attacks on white-owned farms in the country. Trump ambushed Ramaphosa last year with bundles of South Africa has one of the highest crime rates on the continent. Such attacks are known to target white- and Black-owned farms indiscriminately, while Black South Africans represent the overwhelming majority of homicide victims nationwide. Meeting Ramaphosa at the Oval Office last May, Trump nevertheless handed the South African leader a stack of newspaper clippings as evidence of far-right claims about an ongoing white genocide. Some of those clippings were not in any way related to South Africa, the NYT reports. Trump also presented Ramaphosa with a video of what he claimed were dead white South African farmers. Reuters later reported the footage came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, roughly as far from South Africa as the District of Columbia is from Colombia. Advertisement Advertisement I think hes just bereft of any reality about what South Africa is all about and what it stands for, Ramaphosa said. We are rather amazed at the attention he gives to us. We are a small country, and we are no threat to the United States. The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment on this story. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly responded with a statement ignoring Ramaphosas comments completely. Instead, she said: President Trump is courageously calling attention to the harrowing stories of Afrikaners, who are experiencing violent attacks, vandalism of property, death threats, racial slurs against farmers, massive mobs singing songs calling for their death, and laws that prevent many from finding work. The South African government, at minimum, does not respond, but President Trump has a humanitarian heart. He will continue to speak the truth about these injustices. Traveling overseas requires a lot of careful planning. An East Bay couple thought they did just that -- but just days before a two-week tour in Egypt, they spotted a tiny mistake that nearly canceled the whole trip. This couple, now in their 80s, knew this might be their last overseas trip. But just weeks before takeoff, they noticed the name was wrong on the wife's ticket, so she couldn't board the flight. They tried everything to fix it but ran into brick walls, and a scammer who took their money. With days to go, they contacted 7 On Your Side. Sue Butler and her husband Larry have traveled to many countries over the years. Advertisement Advertisement "We're older so we thought maybe this would be our last big trip," said Sue. "We've been to Europe a million times but we've never been to Egypt, that part of the world, so we thought why not make our last big trip to Egypt?" The Piedmont couple used their Capital One rewards points to book two tickets to Cairo aboard Lufthansa Airlines, and were all set to go. Until Sue looked closely at her ticket. To her shock, she saw the name on her ticket was Susan Harris Butler. MORE: Bay Area couple stopped by Georgia police for Avis rental car registration mistake: Video Bodycam video shows a San Lorenzo woman being pulled over in Georgia because of an Avis rental car mistake, an issue well known to police. Advertisement Advertisement But Harris is not her middle name. Larry put it there by mistake. "It was a stupid mistake, but I did it," said Larry. Sue's middle name used to be Harris before the two got married 62 years ago, but now it's Price, which is the name on her passport but not on her ticket. "If your ticket doesn't match your passport, you're not getting on the flight. So I was not going to be able to get on this flight with the wrong name," said Sue. Immediately, Sue began calling Capital One and Lufthansa, hoping someone could change the name. "And each one blames the other one," said Sue. "I talked to managers, I talked to I don't know how many different people. I was on hold, I can't tell you how many times." Advertisement Advertisement They even brought Sue's birth certificate to the Lufthansa terminal at SFO. No one there could change her ticket. MORE: Nightmare abroad: How to handle insurance denials overseas: 'He was in the ER for a month!' "Larry said, 'We bought the tickets with points,' and she said 'Oh oh, good luck with that,'" said Sue. So, Sue did a Google search to find a different Capital One help line. Big mistake. A man picked up her call and said he could change the ticket. But it would cost $1,298. She agreed to pay, and he charged her credit card, then emailed a new ticket with the correct name. "I thought he was with Capital One, and it turns out he was not," said Sue. Advertisement Advertisement It was an imposter and that ticket was fake. And now the couple was panicking with just days before their flight. "I felt really bad. We could have lost the trip by my stupid mistake," said Larry. MORE: Family donating via GoFundMe shocked by $330 extra charge: How a tipping feature is to blame "I have one last chance to make this right and that's call 7 On Your Side," said Sue. And she did. We contacted the travel agent for Capital One, a company called Hopper, which quickly hopped on their case and issued a new ticket with the right name. "That's when I started packing. Total relief. Total relief," said Sue. Advertisement Advertisement "As soon as we got there, we just forgot all the hassles and immersed ourselves in Egypt," said Sue. "We are here in Egypt at the Great Pyramids, thanks to ABC7 and 7 On Your Side. Thank you!" said Sue on a video she sent to the 7 On Your Side team from their trip. A good reminder: you could be denied boarding on an international flight if the ticket doesn't exactly match your passport. So triple-check before you hit send. And it's worth noting that when you use points to book travel, most likely your bank used a third-party travel agent, so changes might have to go through the agency. And a bright note: Capital One did reverse the charge to that scammer, but it is a warning. Do not Google numbers without checking to see who you are really calling. You should only ever use customer service numbers listed on official websites or the back of your card. Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side. 7OYS's consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 7 to 10 business days for a response. If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live Michigan State Police announced the arrest of a Wyoming man accused of sharing child porn online. Police said they arrested Uriel Duran-Parra, 29, after an investigation found he was allegedly sharing child sexually abusive material on the internet. Duran-Parra is facing one count of aggravated child sexually abusive activity and one count of using a computer to commit a crime. He was arraigned last month. Advertisement Advertisement The Wyoming Department of Public Safety assisted with the investigation. The MSP Computer Crimes Unit is encouraging parents to speak to their children about being safe online. If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, you can report it to the CyberTipLine at http://missingkids.org/cybertipline. A version of this article appeared in The Decentralised newsletter on March 3. Sign up here. Court victories come hard and fast for Uniswap right now. Last month, a judge dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit brought against Uniswap by Bancor, a competing decentralised exchange. Now, another federal judge has dismissed the final element of a class action lawsuit that targeted Uniswaps creators. Unlike the patent infringement case, this one is a win for decentralised finance writ large. Heres why. The lawsuit was brought in 2022 by traders who lost money on scam tokens they found on Uniswap. But those scammy tokens werent created by Uniswap. In fact, their issuers have never been identified. Heres the judges take, summed up in a single sentence: Plaintiffs cannot hold defendants liable for the misconduct of the unidentified third-party issuers. This is a recurring theme in crypto litigation. Victims of a purported crime looking for someone to blame often turn to the platform where the crime occurred, rather than the anonymous perpetrators of said crime. The reason is obvious. True DeFi protocols are permissionless and immutable. That first term means that anybody can use the protocol, no questions asked. The second means that nobody, not even the protocols creators, can change the protocols to, say, limit access to good guys. This freedom is a double-edged sword, allowing all kinds of malfeasance in the world of DeFi. Take, for example, the criminal trial of Roman Storm. The software engineer was charged with conspiracy to launder money and evade sanctions after he released Tornado Cash, a protocol that helps users obfuscate their onchain crypto movements. One of those users was North Korea, which used the crypto mixer to launder some $500 million in stolen crypto. Jurors were deadlocked on the money laundering and sanctions evasion charges. But they convicted him of a lesser ofense, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He faces up to five years in prison. In Uniswaps case, traders from North Carolina, Idaho, New York, and Australia alleged they used a website built by Uniswap Labs to access the Uniswap protocol. There, they found and purchased 38 tokens that turned out to be rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes. The traders sued Uniswap, alleging it was functionally an unregistered broker-dealer and that it had aided and abetted fraud. In 2023, a federal court dismissed the claims, arguing their concerns were better addressed to Congress than to this Court, as Judge Katherine Polk Failla put it in her Monday ruling, which included a brief history of the case. WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) A Wyoming man has been arrested and accused of sharing child pornography online, police say. Uriel Duran-Parra, 29, was arrested and charged Feb. 23 with aggravated child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime, according to Michigan State Police. MSP said it began an investigation into Duran-Parra after police learned he was sharing files of child porn online. The Wyoming Department of Public Safety helped investigate. Advertisement Advertisement State police encouraged parents to speak to their children about safety on the internet. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a list of resources on its website as well as Michigan Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, MSP said. If you have information about child sexual exploitation, report it to the CyberTipLine. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. A Wyoming man was arrested last month after allegedly sharing child porn over the internet, according to Michigan State Police. Uriel Duran-Parra, 29, was taken into custody after police learned he had been sharing child sexually abusive material online. He was charged with aggravated child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime. He was arraigned on Feb. 23. Michigan State Police are asking parents to talk with their children about using the internet safely. Advertisement Advertisement Police have resources available, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at http://missingkids.org and the Michigan ICAC Task Force at http://michigan.gov/ICAC. RELATED: How to keep your kids safe online If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, report it to the CyberTipLine at http://missingkids.org/cybertipline. By Blake Brittain March 5 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI failed to convince a California federal court on Thursday to temporarily block the state's law requiring companies to disclose information about the data they use to train AI models. U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal in Los Angeles said that xAI had not yet shown it was likely to prove the law violated its free-speech rights or was otherwise unconstitutional. Advertisement Advertisement Spokespeople for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice said the department "celebrates this key win and remains committed to continuing our defense" of the law. California's law, enacted by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024, requires generative AI companies to publicly post a summary of the datasets used to train their systems. The data transparency law went into effect on January 1, and is part of the state's broader push to regulate AI companies. xAI sued the state in December. It argued the law violated its free-speech rights under the U.S. Constitution and would force the company to reveal trade secrets about how its AI models are trained. Bernal on Thursday denied xAI's request for a preliminary injunction to halt the law's enforcement, finding the company had not shown at this stage in the case that its lawsuit was likely to succeed. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Bill Berkrot) An outdoors enthusiast who posts videos of his travels on YouTube hopped on his bicycle one morning in 2024, switched on his camera and took his viewers through a popular New Jersey forest. He wanted to give prospective visitors a look at the serene views in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, a sprawling park popular with campers that spans parts of Burlington and Ocean counties. Nearly two years later, he realized the video he recorded that day could hold a clue in solving the mystery of a woman who disappeared days later during a camping trip. Advertisement Advertisement Danielle Lopez, of Willingboro, was 37 when she was reported missing in April 2024. She had told her mother she was camping with her boyfriend in the state forest. Her disappearance has received plenty of media attention and recently prompted the YouTuber to take a look back at his videos from that time. Last month, he realized he may have recorded Lopez at her campsite three days before she vanished. While scrubbing through the footage, I noticed two campsites were occupied. And for a few seconds, you can see two people at her campsite, he said in a new video posted Sunday. As I pedal past, the realization that I might have captured her on camera without knowing it stopped me in my tracks. The creator of the @FireandTrails YouTube channel, which is dedicated to camping and hiking, included footage from his 2024 ride in the new video, along with his commentary describing the discovery. Advertisement Advertisement Lopezs mother, Sue Quackenbush, said she is certain the video shows her daughters campsite. But shes not sure if a figure seen in the clip is the missing woman. She hopes the video will spur others to look for possible clues that could give her family some answers. Danielle is loved and missed by many each and every minute of every day, Quackenbush said. Contacted for comment about the new video, a New Jersey State Police spokesman said only that the case still remains an active investigation. Danielle Lopez missing Quackenbush said she last spoke to her daughter by phone on April 12, 2024. Lopez said she was camping and sounded happy, according to her mother. Advertisement Advertisement The last known traces of Lopez were video images recorded the following day. She was seen the morning of April 13 leaving a Wawa on Route 72 in the Vincentown section of Southampton Township in Burlington County after buying a cup of coffee. Around 6 p.m. that day, a couple spotted Lopez while driving on Lost Lane in Woodland Township in southern Burlington County, according to police. She was walking alone on a road in Penn State Forest, about 12 miles from the campground where she was staying. The couple spoke briefly to her before driving off, then spotted her car stuck in a large puddle, police said last year. Advertisement Advertisement The interaction was captured on the couples GoPro video camera and they shared the footage with police. Investigators interviewed Lopezs boyfriend, who said he last saw her on the morning of April 13, police said. He is currently in state prison on charges unrelated to the missing persons case, according to prison records. Multiple people who were around Lopez in the days before she disappeared were also interviewed, authorities said. After looking at the new video, Quackenbush said she is sure its her daughters campsite, based on vehicles she recognized. Her car was pretty visible and the motorcycle was definitely her boyfriends, Quackenbush said. Advertisement Advertisement Shes less certain about what she described as a dark-haired figure wearing pink pants who appears to be hanging something on a makeshift clothesline at the campsite. The pictures didnt really clearly show that its Danielle, she said. She spotted a second figure at the campsite but isnt sure if it was her daughters boyfriend. Theres someone. I cant tell if its him or not, Quackenbush said. The man who posted the new video footage said he traveled to Brendan T. Byrne State Forest on April 10, 2024, to record the area for his viewers. I went through each camping loop, pedaling slowly past occupied and mostly empty sites, just trying to capture the feel of the campground for future campers, he said in the video. From memory, I dont specifically remember seeing Danielle that day or having a clear mental image of anyone at her site or the one next to it. Advertisement Advertisement He later posted the campsite tour video and thought nothing more about it until February of this year when he was researching the Lopez case. That led him back to his videos from that time period. He declined to be interviewed by NJ.com and would not give his name, but said he contacted Quackenbush and received her permission to post his new video online. He also shared it with police and said he hoped the footage would help in the investigation. He encouraged others to check their devices for possible clues. The Pine Barrens are vast, but digital footprints can be found anywhere, he said in the video. I am asking anyone who is in this area between April 7th, 2024, and April 13th, 2024, to please check your phones, dash cams and cameras. Advertisement Advertisement Quackenbush has continued her own detective work on the case, trying to find others who may have footage or photos from that time period. Ive contacted other outdoor clubs and asked them to be aware and asked their members to be aware, and there were reports of two other people that had posted things online of that day and the day after near Lost Lane and near the campground, Quackenbush said. So the police are looking into a lot of things right now. She hopes others will come forward with helpful information. Im grateful this footage was found and to the creator of the YouTube channel that came forward with it, she said. I hope it helps others recall similar encounters and provide additional information to get the answers needed to find Danielle. Danielle Lopez and siblings Last November, Quackenbush announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the direct location or safe recovery of her daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Lopez is described as white, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She has a slight scar on her upper lip, according to her mother. Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to call New Jersey State Police at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554, or email missingpinformation@njsp.gov. Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The US war with Iran risks leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Vladimir Putins forces, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, as Donald Trump turns his firepower on the Middle Eastern country. In an exclusive wide-ranging interview with The Independent, the Ukrainian president shared his concerns about the impact of the ever-growing conflict with Iran on his countrys efforts to defend against Russia. Ukraine could now face a shortage of air defence missiles to protect its cities from attacks, he said, as the US and its allies use hundreds to defend against Irans waves of drones and rockets. Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to The Independent about the impact the Iran war could have on Ukraine (The Independent) The focus will shift to the Middle East, to the Iranian war now and to the United States and also to Israel, Zelensky told the World of Trouble podcast. Advertisement Advertisement This is very understandable, and to the countries in the Middle East, who are now under attacks, massive attacks of drones and missiles from the Iranian side. Our estimation, of course, is that air defence [for Ukraine] could decrease. Zelensky, who has been a vocal supporter of the latest US-Israeli air campaigns in Iran and called for more support for a popular uprising earlier this year, said he has prepared his commanders to cope with the assumed shortfall in their own defences. Ukraines president was clear that he was not complaining but rather setting out the practical reality his country faces as the war against Iran continues. Advertisement Advertisement There are few defences against incoming ballistic missiles, which are fired in an arc, taking them into space and bringing them down at up to five times the speed of sound. Russia has been using them against Ukraine for four years. But most anti-missile systems to combat ballistic missile, notably Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area defence (THAAD) systems, are made in America and are the main defences used across the Gulf region and beyond. The US-Israeli war on Iran has engulfed the region with no clear end in sight (AFP/Getty) Theyre mostly in the United States, so they produce the air defences and of course they will control this number and they will, I think, try to hold [onto] the package of such missiles. Its understandable, Zelensky said. Kyiv now produces a vast amount of short-range drone interceptors and experts from the country are being rushed to the Gulf to advise on air defences against Irans swarms of low-tech attack missiles. Advertisement Advertisement But for its own defence Ukraine has been in contact with supporters around the world who buy weapons from the US to help his country, so far they had not heard back from them about how to meet the coming shortfall. My team knows about it and they now already have got the message from me that they have to prepare for such challenges, he added. Zelensky said Ukraine must prepare for the challenges ahead (AFP/Getty) Zelensky also warned of the impact of the Iran war on oil prices, as Tehran has strangled shipping routes through the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil prices have surged by almost a fifth since Iran was attacked by Israel and the US. China buys 48 per cent of Russias oil, India buys 38 per cent of it, according to data published this month by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Much of this is delivered to them around international sanctions by a shadow fleet of tankers. Advertisement Advertisement How Russia uses [the price boom] or not will depend on how our partners will work with the biggest importers, he said without naming any countries. The European Union remains Russias biggest gas client and many maritime nations have been reluctant to stop and seize shadow oil tankers passing their territory. Irans control of the Strait of Hormuz could end up benefiting Vladimir Putin, as it blocks the flow of oil and gas (Reuters) So thats why we have to work on it, Zelensky continued. And we have to work on, again, continue work on sanctions, on shadow fleets, to stop tankers with Russian oil. He said that he did not expect Russian attacks by drones and other missiles to be affected by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran which has been a major supplier of Shahed drones for the last four years because Russia had moved much of its production of the Iranian weapons to its own territory. Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky stressed that he was not critical of the US always aware that the Trump administration reacts very badly to any criticism. But he did explain that Putin had not been put under enough military and economic pressure to approach peace talks with any genuine intent. Last year Zelensky travelled to the White House to persuade Trump to allow the sale of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Europe for use by Ukraine. Zelensky lobbied Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles during a visit to the White House (AP) His efforts ultimately failed and now Tomahawks are being used in huge numbers now against Iran. Zelensky said he had seen various estimates of how many had been used against Iran 2,000? I dont know exactly in the first two days. Advertisement Advertisement You know how many I asked for from the United States? 200, I said or just give us 100. He said that Iran had been told by the US in negotiations in which they were told to stop the nuclear programme, stop producing and selling missiles, stop sponsoring terrorism. They [the US] said, look, if youre not ready to stop, one, two, three. They would face aggressive steps. If you are not ready [to comply], we will answer [with force]. In my case, what I proposed to all the partners was: tell Putin. One, two, three, the same steps, and then [if he does not comply] dont even help us. Just give us the weapons. The U.S. military bombed more than 90 military targets on Kharg Island late Friday, going after the small island off Iran's coast where most of the country's oil is exported from. Central Command posted footage of the operation on Saturday. President Trump said forces "totally obliterated every military target" but left oil infrastructure on the island intact. He threatened to reverse that if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. Iran's Revolutionary Guard responded by declaring the waterway off-limits. "Any attempt to move or transit will be targeted," the IRGC said. The Guard also warned the United Arab Emirates that American military positions in the country are "legitimate targets." Advertisement Advertisement An Iran-backed militia struck the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, the second time the compound has been hit since the war began. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "wounded and likely disfigured." Khamenei has not been seen in public since the war began, but vowed in his first statement to avenge the "blood of martyrs." Hegseth called the statement "weak." The Pentagon confirmed that all six crew members aboard a refueling U.S. military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq on Thursday have been found dead. The U.S. Central Command said the incident "was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire." Gas prices have risen to a national average of $3.68 a gallon, according to AAA, up more than 25% since the war started. At least 1,444 people have been killed in Iran since Feb. 28. More than 800 people in Lebanon and at least 15 in Israel have also been killed. Seven U.S. service members have died and 140 have been wounded. Support Local News Reporting in the Yakima Valley To support timely fact-based Yakima Herald-Republic reporting like the piece above, you can use one of the convenient options below. Donations through this system are tax deductible. Contact Alexander Banks by email at abanks@yakimaherald.com, or by phone at 509-577-7654. Alexander Banks reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and Yakima community members. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com. To support local journalism, click here. Akbar Novruz A Telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sepah Pasdaran News Channel, posted claims regarding a drone incident at Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports. The post alleges that an Iranian Arash-2 drone targeted a drone at the airport, describing the area as a location where foreign officers were planning attacks on Iranian infrastructure. According to the channel, the drone carries a 120 kg warhead and is operated by the Iranian Army Ground Forces. The post framed the strike as a warning to Azerbaijan, referring to the Baku government as a traitor and characterizing the action as a message to external adversaries. The post reads: "The drone that was at the Nakhchivan Airport, specifically in a section where Zionist regime and American officers were planning and managing attacks on our country's infrastructure, was crushed by an Arash-2 drone. The enemy sees this for themselves and must know that Iran does not joke or compromise with any party. With a 120 kg warhead and very high destructive power, it is utilized by the Army Ground Force. This was only a warning shot to the mercenary regime and the traitor of Baku. By Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. financial services industry is on heightened alert for potential cyberattacks amid the unfolding U.S. war in Iran, with firms stepping up monitoring for threats that often rise during periods of geopolitical conflict, said executives and analysts. The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last weekend in an air strike has sparked a conflagration in the Middle East that has roiled markets globally and stoked concerns over the potential for Iran-linked cyberattacks on U.S. financial services operations. Cybersecurity has long been a top priority for the financial services industry, which operates critical U.S. infrastructure, including payments, clearing and settlement systems, as well as trading platforms and Treasury markets, making it a top target of cyberattacks, according to industry data. "The industry remains vigilant and ready to respond to cyber threats at all times, and especially when global cybersecurity risks are heightened," said Todd Klessman, managing director for financial services cyber and technology at industry group SIFMA which runs an annual exercise to ensure financial firms can operate through significant cyber emergencies. "We continue to monitor the current situation with a focus on operational resilience, which is foundational to the integrity and stability of the U.S. capital markets," Klessman said. Another top banking industry official said lenders are very concerned about the risk of cyberattacks, which they see as likely. U.S. INTELLIGENCE SEES LOW-LEVEL CYBERATTACKS AS POSSIBLE According to a U.S. intelligence assessment that Reuters reported on Monday, Iran-aligned "hacktivists" could conduct low-level cyberattacks against U.S. networks, such as distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), whereby hostile actors overwhelm a targeted server with a flood of internet traffic. Credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS said on Tuesday the most significant risks to global banks and asset managers were likely to be indirect, including sustained higher oil prices and shocks to borrowers, but warned that cyber risks could also rise. "Iran could increase its cyberattacks against Western entities, including banks," the credit rating agency said. U.S. investment bank Lazard's geopolitical advisory team also this week flagged cyber risks, noting that Iran has demonstrated a willingness to deploy cyber capabilities against commercial targets, including financial systems. Washington takes another step to link its carbon market with California and Quebec Qatars state-run energy firm and the worlds largest producer of LNG, QatarEnergy , announced on Monday that it had halted LNG production following Iranian attacks on its operational facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed in Qatar. The tankers are clustered in open waters off the coasts of major Gulf oil producers, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as LNG giant Qatar, according to ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform. About 10 percent of the worlds container ships are currently caught up in the broader backups, and cargo could soon start piling up at ports and transshipment hubs in Europe and Asia, Jeremy Nixon, CEO of container carrier Ocean Network Express, known as ONE, said on Monday. The disruption and fears of prolonged closure have caused oil and European natural gas prices to jump, with Brent crude futures up as much as 13 percent as the conflict triggers multiple oil and gas production shutdowns in the Middle East. In all, at least five tankers have been damaged, two personnel killed and about 150 ships stranded around the strait. IRGC said it had hit the Honduran-flagged Nova with two drones and left it burning in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday. The US-flagged product tanker, Stena Imperative, was damaged by aerial impacts while berthed in the Middle East Gulf, the vessels owner, Stena Bulk, and its US manager, Crowley, said in a statement on Monday. The impact killed a shipyard worker. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared on Monday that the strait was closed and that any vessel attempting to pass through the waterway would be set ablaze. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries one-fifth of oil consumed globally and about 20 percent of the worlds liquefied natural gas (LNG), has come to a near halt after vessels in the area were hit by Iran earlier in the week in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, which began on Saturday. There are two main reasons: Shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted; and energy infrastructure in Gulf countries has been attacked, affecting operations. As the conflict enters its sixth day on Thursday, here is a closer look at the situation. As oil and gas prices soar against the backdrop of the war in Iran, the United States and Western exporters could find a new opportunity to fill the gap in the market. Story Continues Saudi Arabia shut down operations at its Ras Tanura plant, its largest domestic oil refinery, which is operated by Saudi Aramco, after a fire broke out at the facility, which officials said was caused by debris from the interception of two Iranian drones. Irans Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian military source saying: The attack on Aramco was an Israeli false flag operation. The source added that Israels goal was to distract the minds of regional countries from its crimes in attacking civilian sites in Iran. Iran has announced frankly that it will target all American and Israeli interests, installations and facilities in the region, and has attacked many of them so far, but Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian attacks so far, the source told the agency. How much oil and gas does the region produce? The Strait of Hormuz carries about one-fifth of oil and LNG consumed globally from Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, which is the worlds third largest LNG exporter. Any disruption to traffic through the strait affects gas markets in Asia and Europe. The Middle East is also home to five of the worlds seven largest oil reserves. Nearly half of the worlds oil reserves and exports come from the region. After Venezuela, which has 303 billion barrels of oil reserves, Saudi Arabia holds the worlds second-largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at 267 billion barrels. Iran has 209 billion barrels, Iraq has 145 billion barrels, the UAE has 113 billion barrels and Kuwait has 102 billion barrels. (Al Jazeera) In addition to crude oil, the Middle East is a global powerhouse for natural gas, accounting for nearly 18 percent of global production and approximately 40 percent of the worlds proven reserves. Who is most reliant on Middle East oil and gas? Asia and Europe rely heavily on Middle Eastern oil and gas. China, India, Japan and South Korea are the top buyers of crude that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. In 2024, these Asian countries cumulatively accounted for 69 percent of all Hormuz crude oil and condensate flows. On Thursday, South Korea, which imports 20 percent of its gas from the region, said it could run out of LNG in nine days. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has announced the creation of a 100 trillion won ($68.3bn) stabilisation fund to cope with soaring energy prices. These are substantial losses to global energy markets and cannot be easily replaced, Neil Quilliam, a Middle East and North Africa programme fellow at the United Kingdom-based Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. Quilliam explained that countries that are part of the International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, such as the US, China, India and Australia, generally hold strategic petroleum reserves and commercial stocks. In case of a short-term but major disruption, these reserves can be tapped into. The issue of production is another matter, he said. So far, the Iranian strikes against energy assets in the Gulf have not caused untold damage, so as long as production can return when the strait opens, then markets will take some comfort from that. What has happened to oil and gas prices? Oil prices rose on Thursday. Brent crude was up by $2.35, or 2.9 percent, to $83.75 a barrel by 08:50 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $2.42, or 3.2 percent, at $77.08. European diesel futures reached their highest level since October 2022 at $1,130. Who gains from all this? With energy production shut down or prevented from shipping in the Middle East, the US is now the worlds largest oil exporter. It is also the worlds largest LNG producer. Before halting production, Qatar supplied LNG to buyers in Europe and Asia. QatarEnergys suspension of LNG production creates a huge gap which Western gas exporters, such as US firms like ExxonMobil and Cheniere, could exploit. Australia, which ships about 11 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), has a few spot cargoes to plug the supply gap in Asia, Quilliam said. However, US producers will not be totally unharmed by the general rise in prices and increasing production is not something which can be achieved overnight. The US is mostly insulated from the oil price increase, given that it is now the worlds largest crude exporter; however, it will import higher prices, given that the country imports refined products and that will be felt at pump, Quilliam said. The US should be able to capitalise upon the loss of Qatari LNG and absorb market share, though it would take months for companies to increase production to take advantage of conditions and by then the crisis may well be over. In theory, the US can benefit from the current disruptions, but much depends on the longevity of the war. While the US is the worlds largest LNG producer, its plants are running near full capacity, Quilliam said, and most cargoes are already locked into long-term contracts. Global gas consumption is about 400bcfd, energy analysts estimate. Roughly 55bcfd is LNG, with the US, Australia and Qatar accounting for about 60 percent of global output, according to the International Gas Union. Most of that LNG is sold under long-term contracts. Furthermore, new US production, which could come online soon, is unlikely to exceed 2bcfd, far short of the 10bcfd gap left by Qatar equal to about 80 million tonnes per year, according to Reuters calculations. Could all this provide a boost to shadow fleet users? Because of sanctions and other restrictions, a significant share of oil and gas is now moved through a shadow fleet of tankers that operate outside normal regulatory oversight. Countries like Russia and Iran often sell oil this way. Russia is certainly benefitting from the loss of Saudi and Iranian crude making it to markets and will increase the flow of crude exports to China and India at higher prices too, Quilliam said. At the same time, to steady markets, there will be little appetite to enforce sanctions against Russia and so its shadow fleet will be more active than usual. By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers led by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Tom Cotton on Wednesday raised national security concerns over Intel's testing of chipmaking tools made by ACM Research, as first reported by Reuters. ACM Research , a Fremont, California-based producer of chipmaking equipment, has deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by U.S. sanctions. Its customers include sanctioned Chinese companies such as YMTC, CXMT and SMIC, sparking questions over whether ACM could pass sensitive information from Intel to Chinese customers, the lawmakers said. "By operating in Intels facilities, ACM could gain exposure to cutting-edge chipmaking processes that may materially improve the quality and competitiveness of ACM and Chinese military companies," the lawmakers said in a letter to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan dated Wednesday. Intel said in a statement that "ACM tools are not used in Intels semiconductor production processes," adding that the company fully complies with U.S. laws and regulations and engages regularly with U.S. government on security matters. ACM did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The company previously said it could not comment on "specific customer engagements," but can confirm that "ACMRs U.S. team has sold and delivered multiple tools from our Asian operations to domestic customers." It also said it has disclosed the shipment of three tools to a major U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer, which are being tested and some have met performance standards. The letter, also signed by Democrats Elissa Slotkin and Andy Kim as well as Republicans Jim Banks and Pete Ricketts, is a sign of bipartisan concern about China's growing role in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The House Selection Committee on China said in October it has "reviewed with concern reports that ACM Research...has sold (semiconductor manufacturing equipment) to a semiconductor manufacturer with U.S. operations that also formally certified ACM Researchs tools for use in its production line." The lawmakers on Wednesday also noted that Intel, which fended off calls for its CEOs resignation from President Donald Trump in August over his alleged ties to China, faces unique responsibilities, since the U.S. government now owns a stake in it. "This raises important questions about Intels fiduciary responsibility and approach to safeguarding the public interest, including how the company benefits American economic interests and taxpayers," they wrote. By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] Ironwood - The Gogebic Community College Allied Health program held an open house on Feb. 24, with community members gathering to explore the new medical program spaces. Director of Allied Health Nicole Rowe spoke with The Globe about the changes that were made, as well as the opportunities that students now will have in these new spaces. The simulated hospital rooms at the college include a surgical theater, examination rooms, a simulated emergency room, maternity simulators, multipurpose spaces and a ZOOM-compatible classroom. "So we actually received a grant from the federal government and state of Michigan that allowed us to expand and build simulation spaces for our students," said Rowe, adding of the medical programs, "We have nursing, EMS, medical assistant, MRI tech, radiography, and we are starting a muscular therapy program." Rowe provided a tour of the facilities, explaining that the simulation spaces allow students to have hands-on experience and to ask questions in a controlled environment so that they can build not only skill, but also comfort, in medical settings. She noted that, as part of the training, students can practice transporting patients from unit to unit, going through the entire process of calling ahead and arranging beds. The facilities include simulation dummies that have simulated breathing, gut sounds, heart rhythms, blinking and more, ranging from very simple training units to highly complex ones that will even track sound shown via related head movement. According to Rowe, the college is already looking into upgrading one of its simulation patients that serves as a maternity model, so that it can provide a more realistic process for the students. Overall, she said that the facility, along with strong ties to medical partners, provides students in GCC's medical programs with opportunities they would not find elsewhere. Moreover, she said, a medical field degree will allow them to work anywhere in the U.S. More information about the facilities is available by calling Allied Health at 906-307-1268. By PAMELA JANSSON [email protected] BESSEMER The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners has approved $7,188 for the replacement of facade windows on the main entrance of the livestock building at the county fairgrounds in Ironwood. Angelo Luppino Inc. of Iron Belt, Wisconsin, will complete the work, which then will result in the livestock building also known as the cattle barn having all new windows. The action occurred at the boards most recent Feb. 11 meeting. In other news, commissioners also approved a resolution supporting a Michigan Department of Transportation contract w... By Pete Schroeder and Hannah Lang WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. banking regulators clarified on Thursday that banks should not have to hold additional capital against losses when dealing with blockchain-based securities, saying their rules are "technology neutral." The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued new guidance clarifying that they will not distinguish between tokenized securities and traditional securities when it comes to bank capital. The agencies said they were issuing the document due to increasing interest from banks in representing ownership rights in tokenized securities. "The technologies used to issue and transact in a security do not generally impact its capital treatment," the agencies said in a statement. Buoyed by President Donald Trump's pro-crypto stance and his administration's push for friendly regulations, the crypto industry last year rushed to capitalize on a global surge in enthusiasm for the sector, with companies like Robinhood, Kraken and Gemini launching tokenized stocks in Europe. The industry says tokenized shares - blockchain-based instruments that track traditional equities - could revolutionize stock markets by allowing shares to be traded 24/7 and settled instantly, boosting liquidity and reducing transaction costs. A few companies have issued their own experimental stock tokens on the blockchain - software that acts as a shared digital ledger - but most tokenized shares are pegged to public companies and issued by third parties. Other companies, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, offer tokenized treasury products. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Will Dunham) San Antonio, Texas-based Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States and internationally. The company has a market capitalization of $66.4 billion and operates through the Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. Companies with a market cap of $10 billion or more are typically referred to as large-cap stocks. VLO fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the oil and gas refining & marketing industry. More News from Barchart The stock touched its 52-week high of $221.95 yesterday and is currently trading 1.9% below that peak. VLO stock has climbed 23% over the past three months, outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) marginal decline during the same time frame. www.barchart.com Moreover, Valero Energy has rallied the broader market over the longer term. The stock has surged 69.6% over the past 52 weeks, while SPX delivered 16.5% returns over the same time frame. VLO has been trading above its 200-day moving average since last year and above its 50-day moving average since early January, indicating bullish momentum. www.barchart.com VLO stocks rally over the past year has been impressive. Strong refining margins and cash flows have set a solid earnings foundation, and over the past year, Valero has consistently beaten expectations and boosted shareholder returns through dividends and buybacks. In fact, the company has paid dividends for 28 consecutive years, with a forward yield of 2.2% comfortably above the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trusts (SPY) 1.07%. Analysts are lifting forward estimates as Wall Street warms to its profitability and capital discipline. Geopolitics has added spark as Middle East conflict disrupts regional supply and key refinery capacity offshore, U.S. refiners like Valero are suddenly more valuable with diesel and gasoline prices spiking faster than crude, and global threats tightening fuel supplies. At the same time, Valeros ability to handle heavy crude including resumed flows from Venezuela gives it a strategic edge. Together, margin resilience, geopolitical premium, and shareholder returns are keeping VLO ahead of the market. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Artist's illustration of Vast's Haven-1 space station in orbit, with a SpaceX Dragon capsule docked to it. | Credit: Vast Vast wants to extend humanity's footprint into the final frontier, and it now has a lot more money to funnel toward that goal. The California startup, which is developing a line of private space stations called " Haven ," announced today (March 5) that it has raised $500 million in new funding. "This investment underscores the market's strong conviction in both our strategy and our engineering," VAST CEO Max Haot said in a statement. "The low Earth orbit economy is at a pivotal inflection point, poised for rapid growth. Vast's Haven stations are engineered to deliver safe, cost-effective access to microgravity research and in-space manufacturing, empowering government and commercial partners to unlock the full commercial promise of this next era for space." The financing consists of $300 million in "Series A" equity and $200 million in debt, according to Vast. (Series A funding is the round that follows initial "seed capital.") "The funds will be used to expand facilities, grow the team, and advance the company's proposed successor to the ISS, Haven-2 , designed to ensure continuous human presence in low Earth orbit for the United States and its allies," Vast wrote in the statement. Balerion Space Ventures led the financing round, with participation from IQT, Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui & Co. Ltd, MUFG, Nikon Corporation, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, Earthrise Ventures, and Jed McCaleb, Vast's founder and first investor, according to the statement. A.C. Charania, current Balerion advisor and former NASA chief technologist, will join the Vast board as part of the transaction. "Vast was founded with a long-term vision of billions of people living and thriving in space. Achieving a goal of this magnitude requires deliberate stepping stones, and our strategy of building, testing and iterating with real hardware is delivering results," McCaleb said in the same statement. "It is exciting to welcome additional investors who recognize Vast's long-term potential and share our belief in making this vision a reality," he added. The International Space Station is scheduled to retire at the end of 2030 . Vast plans to launch the first Haven-2 module in 2028 and add another module roughly every six months thereafter until 2032. Professionals have taught for generations that succeeding in school and attending an elite university would guarantee a rewarding six-figure career. But within a matter of years, AI has disrupted the world of work, and its fast taking over the office roles humans were once promised. Now, venture capitalist Bill Gurley cautions workers against blindly following the career blueprint. This is new and fast, and its attacking jobs that havent been attacked in the past, Gurley said recently during the On with Kara Swisher podcast. Its creating a lot of anxiety, but I dont know that we can put it back in the bottle. The prolific tech financier, famous for his early investments in Uber and Zillow, is skeptical that the government could pass AI regulation or pull off a massive reskilling effort. So as the technology continues to automate traditionally stable and lucrative roles, like lawyers and software engineers, its imperative that workers actually be invested in their professionor risk facing the chopping block. The people that are most at risk are the ones that are sitting idly in the job and dont really have a why or a purpose for it, Gurley revealed. A lot of the people that go through that college conveyor belt, that are chasing a safe job, that end up working as a widget or a cog in an industry they may not loveI think they are ripe for disruption. The Benchmark Capital general partner acknowledges its easier said than done, but the best path forward is to craft your own career path and tailor it to an individuals distinct skills. For those who cant switch sectors or become self-employed, AI can act as career jet fuel that can make them even better at their jobs and indispensable to their employers. If its out of your control, I just would say understand what its capable of in your industry and be the most AI-aware person in your job, Gurley advised. Youre going to then be the last person that they want to get rid of. The tech investor says college has turned into a pressure cooker Gurley explores the idea that chasing a career of passion is a strategic edge, and not fluffy advice, in his new book Runnin Down a Dream. Hes also one of several business leaders questioning the efficacy of how young professionals are trained to approach college. The investor has noticed a few worrying trends that may inhibit young professionals from following their true aspirations, hurting their career success. Gurley explained that kids today are programmed from a time perspective more than other generations. The budding talent start worrying about having a stacked resume from a young age, and now some colleges require students to apply with a major in mind. Lizs view Wall Street spent the past few years rushing into the Middle East and now finds itself in a nice house in a rough neighborhood. The widening war in Iran is a reminder that the Gulf, for all its modernization and courtship of the global high-finance set, remains a volatile place. A drone struck a hotel in Dubais Palm Jumeirah, and missile interceptors were fired near the financial center and the worlds tallest tower. Reopened airports are allowing expats to evacuate. How many of them will come back? The Middle East has become a playground for American financiers, who are salivating at the chance of tapping huge sums of money and shaping the regions financial markets in their own image. But long before the missiles started flying, the economics of doing business in the Gulf were already changing and not to Wall Streets benefit. For two decades, Gulf governments played the role of rich aunt writing checks, asking few questions, and happily letting New York bankers run the show. But Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh have morphed from deep-pocketed clients to fully fledged principals that are driving harder bargains in their dealings with Western financiers. Theyre demanding better terms, more control, and richer economic returns in the form of domestic investment. Riyadhs giant Public Investment Fund has shifted its spending toward projects at home. At the US-Saudi Investment Forum hosted by the Trump administration in November, most of the deals ran in one direction: toward Riyadh. The UAE is going a step further, making a play to manage not just more of its own money, but everyone elses, too, raising the question of what happens if Wall Streets best clients become their competitors. Twenty years ago, Western asset managers coming to Abu Dhabi would end meetings with Gulf sovereign wealth funds by saying, This is how much we expect from you, Khaled Al-Marri, CEO of real assets at Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala, told me in December at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, the Emirates answer to Davos and Milken. Now, Al-Marri said, we are co-architects of deals together. When the KKR executive sitting next to him chimed in about partnership, he was acknowledging that the power dynamic has flipped. Those partnerships can be profitable, but the easy money for Wall Street is disappearing. What remains is a harder bargain in an uncertain place assuming the bankers choose to come back at all. Room for Disagreement Semafors Saudi Arabia Bureau Chief Matthew Martin has a different take: Expats have flocked to the UAE over the past few years on the promise of tax-free salaries, safety, and a luxury lifestyle. Its understandable that right now some of those people want to flee. No one came to Dubai expecting to spend their evenings in a basement car park sheltering from missiles. This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed legislation into law on Monday making his state the latest to create an alternative path for becoming a certified public accountant that doesnt require 150 college credit hours typically five years of post-secondary education. Under the new law, (House Bill 4088), CPA candidates in West Virginia will be able to choose from three routes to licensure: the first requires a bachelors degree plus 30 semester credit hours including an accounting concentration or the equivalent, one year of accounting experience and passing the exam; the second requires a bachelors degree including an accounting concentration or the equivalent and two years of experience and passing the CPA exam. The third route requires a masters or graduate degree that includes an accounting concentration or the equivalent, one year of experience and passing the exam. The new pathways will go into effect May 24. We realize theres an accounting shortage and we are proactively taking care of ourselves and making sure the next generation of CPAs are ready for the future, Megan Kueck, CEO of the West Virginia Society of CPAs, which worked with legislators and supported the bill, told CFO Dive Tuesday. Dive Insight: With the addition of West Virginia, more than two dozen states have either put new CPA pathways laws on the books or changed rules to usher in accounting licensure reform in a bid to lower the barriers into the profession and tackle the accounting shortage. Last week, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen also signed (LB718) licensing reform legislation into law. The state-by-state push to remove the 150-hour barrier viewed by many critics as costly and time-consuming is advancing at a pace that has surprised some accounting experts. Pressure from neighboring states such as Ohio, the first state to adopt pathways rules early last year, was part of the pull that West Virginia felt to adopt new rules, according to Kueck. Were neighbors of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia, she said. We knew we were going to have to make a change. Despite the acceleration of the initiative this year, there are still some who have voiced reservations about the profession allowing CPA licensing with less education. D. Scott Showalter, director of the Jenkins Master of Accounting Program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a proponent of the traditional pathway that includes 150 college credit hours. In a December article, he acknowledged that the alternative pathway with fewer credit hours has its benefits but he doesnt support it. We have returned $120,000,000 in dividends and repurchases in just nine months, a 37% increase over prior year. Let us turn to how we are executing on our fiscal 2026 commitments. Our first objective is to lead in research. It has been a robust year for research, with revenue up 4% at constant currency and adjusted EBITDA up 6%. We continue to outpace the market in submissions and output of 2611%. Strong demand is evident across all regions. We have now migrated over 80% of journals to our competitively advantaged Research Exchange platform. We also secured a new AI model training customer, our first outside the U.S., and realized $7,000,000 of AI revenue. We are rapidly advancing our technology transformation initiatives with the announcement of a multiyear managed services partnership with Virtusa. We also continue to deliver corporate expense savings, on an adjusted EBITDA basis, down 21% in the quarter, or $9,000,000 versus prior year. We continue to deliver material margin expansion and cash flow growth with adjusted operating margin of 280 basis points, adjusted EBITDA up 250 basis points, and operating cash flow nearly doubling to $103,000,000. And we are returning more cash to shareholders, with repurchases doubling in Q3 to $70,000,000 year to date as part of a $100,000,000 full-year target. The third quarter was fully in line with our stated expectations. Revenue performance was impacted by an unfavorable comparable in research, which we called out in the second quarter, and soft market conditions in learning. We continue to accelerate in all major areas of focus. Research publishing continues to outpace the market with global output up 11%, revenue up 4% excluding AI revenue, and steady growth in our multiyear renewals. In AI and data services, we announced new leadership, launched our clinical outcome assessments partnership with IQVIA, and after quarter close, executed a strategic multiyear partnership with Open Evidence to deliver trusted research at the point of medical care. Matthew Kissner: Thank you, Brian. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our fiscal Q3 earnings update. Before I get to our performance and progress, I want to acknowledge our price amid AI fears across the market. The fact is we do not share those same fears. Quite the opposite. We could not be more confident in our position in the AI economy given our proprietary content advantage, wide moat in peer review research, and unparalleled partnership ecosystem. The ongoing opportunity is twofold. AI is expected to greatly accelerate scientific discovery and research publishing output, and our enriched data and AI solutions are foundational for corporate R&D, AI models, and applications. I will discuss this in more detail later in our call. Story Continues Importantly, this migration is what transforms our content from published articles into AI-ready data, the foundation that makes everything we are doing in Gateway, licensing, and subscription knowledge feeds possible. And we continue to expand our journal portfolio through organic investment in our flagship Advanced collection, with eight new journals planned for launch and revenue growth of 50% in our leading open access journal, Advanced Science. Our second objective is to deliver new growth in AI and adjacent markets. We have generated a record $42,000,000 in AI revenue year to date, above last years total of $40,000,000, with one quarter remaining. We continue to make critical inroads into the corporate market with strategic projects executed with healthcare innovators IQVIA and Open Evidence, and other customers for subscription knowledge feeds. We are now at 36 publishing partners for our Nexus content licensing service, and we are in active discussions with others. Finally, we continue to see strong researcher interest in our AI Gateway for scholarly search delivered through partnership with leading companies like Anthropic and Amazon Web Services. Our third objective is to drive operational excellence and discipline across our organization. We continue to streamline our cost structure with corporate expenses, on an adjusted EBITDA basis, down 21% for the quarter and 12% year to date. Tech transformation took a significant step forward with our recent managed services partnership, which Craig will talk more about in detail. Let me run through our four key strategic priorities and value drivers. First, we are accelerating research core growth and delivering shared gains from our wide moat scale and highly favorable demand trends from global expansion and AI productivity. The research publishing market is growing at 3% to 4%, and we expect to deliver at the top end of that this year. We are delivering new AI and data analytics growth from our proprietary content in critical AI domains and our extensive partnership ecosystem. As noted, we have already surpassed last years AI revenue total with $42,000,000 and a quarter remaining. We are driving multiyear margin expansion with our EBITDA margin up 500 basis points since fiscal 2023 and plans for continued material improvement going forward. Finally, underpinning all of this is our discipline in managing our portfolio, deploying capital on high-return investments, and returning cash to shareholders. Let us turn to our core. For much of calendar 2025, we have been navigating around U.S. funding cuts to science and education. A year ago, I said that we remain fully confident that U.S. research would continue to receive federal support given the essential role that it plays in U.S. economic growth and U.S. global competitiveness. I am pleased to report that federal investment in scientific research remains resilient, with Congress ultimately enacting significantly smaller reductions than those proposed by the administration, and in key cases, maintaining or increasing agency budgets. This outcome reflects continued bipartisan recognition that sustained funding is critical to the nations scientific infrastructure, long-term competitiveness, and innovation capacity. Our calendar 2026 renewal season is about 82% complete, and we are encouraged by the growth we are seeing there. Our subscriptions and transformational agreements are must-have content, which is core to institutions and essential to their missions. We recently marked a milestone of 125 multiyear transformational agreements for consortia representing over 3,000 institutions. Our recurring models representing about 70% of research publishing remain robust. Let us talk about open access as an incremental growth engine. As discussed, research output is ever increasing, driven by global R&D spend and other factors. Submissions remain at record levels as the number of global researchers increase and productivity gains accelerate. The rate of research output is expected to rise significantly with AI. One recent study showed a threefold increase in the number of papers by researchers who use AI, and we are just at the beginning. Big global publishers like John Wiley & Sons, Inc. stand to benefit most. This volume increases the value of our multiyear subscription and transformational agreements and accelerates growth in author-funded open access, where revenue is a function of price times quantity. This model is growing consistently above 20%, and demand and pricing power remain robust. I want to call out our investment in the Advanced journal brand and Advanced Science in particular. Researchers are drawn to multidisciplinary publications like Advanced Science for the brand, the impact factor, and the breadth of the audience it reaches. It has become one of the leading open access journals in the world. The Advanced portfolio as a whole will exceed $70,000,000 in revenue in fiscal 2026, growing at strong double digits. Long-term trends in research look increasingly favorable. AI is expected to be a major output accelerator, and research publishing remains essential for not only discovery and prestige, but to advance researchers careers and secure additional funding. This is what makes the business and its growth so strong and durable through continuous technological and societal change. Because of this and expected AI-driven volume acceleration, we are expanding our journal portfolio and modernizing our published platform and workflows to continuously benefit from this evolution. Large-scale, high-quality publishers like John Wiley & Sons, Inc. are reporting market share gains, and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. And as we have seen time and time again, research funding and publication remain must-haves across economic cycles and political uncertainties. What makes us so well positioned for the AI economy? First, we provide access to much of the worlds proprietary scientific, technical, and medical content through our own portfolio and that of our publishing partners. As we know, science is constantly evolving. In fact, over 14,000 new peer-review articles are published every day. Second, we enjoy an industry-leading position in fast-growing knowledge domains that are especially relevant for AI: chemistry, material science, oncology, technology and engineering, food science, and finance. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is the lifeblood. Third, in an ever-changing world, saturated with wrong information and skepticism, our trust and reputation are distinct advantages. Our moats are not only our journal brands but our unmatched peer review networks and editorial boards. We are home to hundreds of Nobel Prize winners and the worlds leading societies, from the American Cancer Society to the American Geophysical Union. Fourth, we are not bound by legacy platform businesses that we are trying to defend. We have embraced an AI-first approach and enjoy first-mover advantage with model developers and corporations building out AI models and applications. So much so that other publishers want to be part of our network. Fifth, we have built an unparalleled partner ecosystem. How many companies can point to a partner network that spans the worlds most prestigious universities and academic societies, the largest LLM providers and AI innovators, multinational corporations, and global publishers? Our ecosystem approach is our secret sauce. We are partnering, not competing. We are integrating, not building. We have the luxury of not having to defend existing business models which may be threatened by AI. Finally, this gives us an advantageous capital-light model. We have the content advantage. We can then leverage external interoperability while enabling broader collaboration across the ecosystem. This reduces our capital requirements and creates network effects that benefit all participants. It also means we do not have to bet on a particular technology, as our open approach works across all platforms. We see this already with our IQVIA and Open Evidence momentum, and with our connector on Claude and AWS. With that in mind, let us turn to our AI and data strategy. At the foundational level, we are a research and learning publisher leveraging our proprietary content and data for AI. Then comes our Gateway platform, which addresses a problem every researcher faces today. AI tools are proliferating, but most are built on unverified or incomplete scientific content. The full potential of AI in science will only be realized if researchers have complete confidence in the authenticity of their AI tools and the AI environment. Gateway solves this by embedding peer-reviewed full text, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and partner content, directly into the platforms where researchers already are: Claude, AWS, Perplexity, and others. We are gratified by the early response. In just four months, 9,000 researchers have registered on the platform, in addition to a growing number of institutions signing up for enterprise access. This is early, but clear evidence of product-market fit. Gateway is not just a search tool. It is the access layer through which trusted scientific knowledge enters the AI workflow, and the layer institutions will increasingly require as a baseline for responsible AI use in research. Finally, our enriched and AI solutions become the foundation for domain-specific intelligence, which we have referred to as subscription knowledge feeds or retrieval augmentation generation. Customers here include corporations and partners in life sciences, healthcare, engineering and industrials, food and agriculture, and financial services. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is at a pivotal point in its upward trajectory as AI-related demand for our content and research intelligence accelerates across industry verticals. The time was right to bring in a world-class leader to convert our content advantage into high-margin data services and commercialize our AI-driven offerings, and so we recently announced the appointment of Armahan Rafat as our Chief AI and Data Services Officer. Armahan brings over 25 years of experience leading technology and data organizations, serving in senior roles at North Stella, Thomson Reuters, Clarivate, and others. His track record for developing analytics products generating hundreds of millions of annual revenue has been exceptional. As he stated in the recent announcement of his appointment, in an era where AI is only as effective as the data that fuels it, the proprietary content John Wiley & Sons, Inc. publishes represents the verified foundational truth that AI and machine learning require. In terms of underlying momentum, we now count 10 corporate customers for our subscription services, and we have secured a new LLM customer for our training services. We continue to add more publishing partners to our licensing network. We expect to deliver AI revenue of $45,000,000 to $50,000,000 this year, up from $40,000,000 in fiscal 2025 and $23,000,000 in fiscal 2024. We anticipate another big year for total AI revenue in fiscal 2027. I would like to share some examples of real use cases where we are converting our content advantage into practical solutions for major corporations and through recurring revenue models. First, clinical outcome assessments, or COA, are scientifically validated instruments used in pharmaceutical trials to measure how patients feel, function, and respond. COAs are essential for demonstrating treatment impact and meeting regulatory standards for drug approval. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its partners have one of the largest collections of COAs going back decades. It is a rapidly growing area for us, expanding from $800,000 in 2021 to nearly $7,000,000 today. What makes this different is what it means for the pharmaceutical customer. Previously, running a clinical trial meant assembling multiple vendors, from COA licensing to regulatory guidance. That friction costs time and money. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. IQVIA consolidates that into a single trusted relationship. IQVIA is the worlds largest contract research organization, driving $16,000,000,000 of annual revenue, bringing deep pharmaceutical relationships, regulatory expertise, and implementation scale. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. brings the validated instruments, a portfolio of 100+ COA instruments managed on behalf of our society partners, and trusted scientific heritage. So it is not just a licensing deal. It is a recurring workflow transformation, the kind of deeply embedded relationship that compounds in value as trials grow more complex and the regulatory bar rises. We are really excited about this opportunity now and the scaling potential ahead. We have executed COA agreements with the top 20 pharma companies, and our global pipeline continues to grow. Two days ago, we announced the strategic partnership with Open Evidence, the most widely used clinical decision support platform among U.S. physicians, with more than 40% of doctors using the platform daily across 10,000 hospitals. Open Evidence will bring our trusted scientific content and that of our partners into their rapidly expanding AI platform. The terms of the deal include a five-year, multimillion-dollar licensing agreement for a selection of over 400 journal titles and reference books, as well as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. As part of the partnership, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has taken a small equity position in Open Evidence, underscoring our mutual commitment to building the future of clinical AI together. Important to note, we consider this a first step in our multiyear collaboration. Let me finish with a quote from Open Evidence CEO and founder, Daniel Nadler. The hard problem in medicine right now is not just generating new knowledge. We are living through a golden age of biomedical research. The hard problem is also that it takes 17 years for a fraction of that research to reach the bedside. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is an ideal partner in solving this problem for physicians. The depth and breadth of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.s content reinforce the advantages of Open Evidence for physicians, and that compounds over time. As with IQVIA, this partnership is not just a licensing arrangement. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is embedding itself into the daily clinical decision-making of physicians. Our equity position reflects our conviction that this is where trusted scientific content meets its highest value application. And importantly, we see this as a template for many others, bringing John Wiley & Sons, Inc.s content advantage directly into the workflow platforms where critical high-stakes decisions are made. As I mentioned earlier, our partner ecosystem is a huge strategic advantage for us, bringing together AI innovators, R&D corporations, leading institutions, and other publishers. It is only the beginning. I will now turn the call over to Craig. Craig Albright: Thank you, Matt, and hello, everyone. Three summary points that define where we stand today. Research publishing is growing at the high end of the markets long-term rate, AI revenue is tracking ahead of expectations, and importantly, we are beginning to see leading indicators of recurring revenue growth in new partnerships, pilots, and pipeline, which is where the real value gets built. And our balance sheet is very strong, giving us the capacity to invest in high-return growth opportunities. Learning continues to face macro and channel headwinds that are masking the underlying earnings power of our business, but we are managing through it with discipline and agility while keeping our focus squarely on the businesses and investments driving long-term value creation. Turning to our fiscal third quarter results, we projected a light quarter due to unfavorable comps, and overall revenue came in as expected, up 1% on a reported basis and flat at constant currency. Growth in Research Publishing and Academic was offset by moderate declines in Research Solutions and Professional. Reflecting our commitment to operating discipline, we delivered strong margin expansion and profit growth even with revenue softness. Adjusted operating income, adjusted EPS, and adjusted EBITDA were all up double digits, or 22%, 19%, and 12%, respectively. Our adjusted operating margin improved by 280 basis points, and adjusted EBITDA margin by 250 basis points. Adjusted EPS growth was driven by our operating performance and the lower share count as we remain in the market acquiring shares. This was partially offset by a higher adjusted effective tax rate. Let me turn to our segment performance, starting with Research. Research was up 1%, with a 40-basis-point improvement in EBITDA margin. Research Publishing performance was impacted by $9,000,000 of AI revenue in the prior-year period. Absent AI revenues, Research Publishing was up over 4%, driven by record submissions, solid growth in our recurring revenue models, and over double-digit growth in author-funded open access. As Matt noted, journal licensing renewals are around 82% complete and signs look good. As a reminder, about a third of our renewals come up each year, and customer retention remains above 99%. Our solid renewals combined with our continued submissions and output growth give us good visibility and confidence heading into fiscal 2027. Research Solutions declined 3% due to lower corporate spending on recruiting and lower database revenue offsetting AI revenue. Year to date, Research revenue and adjusted EBITDA were up 4%6%, respectively, with EBITDA margin improving 50 basis points. Moving over to Learning, revenue was down 2% in the quarter, with a 5% decline in Professional offsetting 1% growth in Academic. Professional was impacted by corporate and consumer spending headwinds, notably the previously noted Amazon inventory management adjustments, although they are now beginning to stabilize as expected. We are strategically calibrating our editorial focus toward higher-value franchises where we see stronger demand and better margins. Academic rose 1%, driven by higher rights and licensing revenue and digital book sales. We saw good momentum in our Advanced content business, which includes scientific and technical books for research libraries. We increased our title signings, notably around veterinary science and health, and recently announced a publishing partnership with the International Society of Automation. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. will assume control of ISAs backlist of approximately 70 titles and collaborate on publishing ISAs pipeline of automation topics. Year to date, Learning revenue was down 7%, with adjusted EBITDA down 8%. Segment EBITDA margin declined 50 basis points to 34.8%. Now on to our financial position and cash generation, which continue to strengthen. All year-over-year metrics are favorable, with our leverage down to 1.7 from 2.0, CapEx down by 11%, operating cash flow up $51,000,000, and free cash flow up $57,000,000. We are tracking very well to our free cash flow outlook of approximately $200,000,000. As Matt noted, one of our four value drivers is continuing our multiyear margin expansion. Over the past three years, we have improved our margin profile by 500 basis points, and we are not done. The focus right now is technology transformation. We are creating an AI-first, data-enabled tech organization, optimizing our geographic footprint, rationalizing our application portfolio, and outsourcing support for enterprise technology. We recently announced a five-year managed services partnership with Virtusa, an important first step in accelerating this transformation. Virtusa is a leading product and platform engineering services company based in Massachusetts, with delivery centers in India and Sri Lanka. It enjoys top-tier global rankings in consulting and IT services and deep relationships with major Fortune 100 and 500 clients. The partnership is expected to lead to material operational efficiencies and cost savings, help us modernize how we manage enterprise technology, and allow our teams to focus on product innovation that benefits our customers and stakeholders. It will also free up capital for high-return AI solutions for our customers and partners. As part of this partnership and our own consolidation plans, Virtusa has assumed ownership of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.s Sri Lanka technology operation. Overall, we continue to make good progress, with corporate expenses on an adjusted EBITDA basis down 21% in the quarter and 12% year to date. We reduced total corporate costs before allocations by $17,000,000 year to date, with tech transformation responsible for approximately 85% of those savings. Our fourth and final value driver is to optimize our portfolio and drive disciplined capital allocation. We continue to deploy capital strategically to expand our journal portfolio and content advantage. We are investing to grow presence and share in our fast-growing research markets, notably China and India. China has been a great success story with noteworthy growth in submissions and output renewals and corporate sales. India remains a huge and still-emerging growth market. A year ago, we executed on Indias One Nation, One Subscription initiative, expanding access to over 6,000 Indian institutions and supporting 18,000,000 researchers and students. Demonstrating the increasing demand we are seeing in this important market, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. India submissions are up 43% year to date. Matt talked about our capital-light model and partnership ecosystem approach to AI, which positions us well for stronger profitability, high cash flow generation, high returns on invested capital, and nimbleness in scaling. Regarding our portfolio, we continue to evaluate and manage specific businesses and products for profitability and strategic fit. We divested a small business in Research Solutions earlier this year, and we will continue to be very active on this front. Regarding acquisitions, we are in a very strong position to continue to pursue high-impact journals in Research Publishing where we see strategic value, synergies, and highly attractive returns. Last quarter, we acquired the high-impact journal NanoPhotonics, strengthening our physics portfolio and putting us at the forefront of the fast-growing optics field. And we will continue to accelerate our organic growth strategy of developing proprietary high-value research content and data. Finally, I want to highlight our share repurchases, approaching record levels with $70,000,000 returned year to date and a further target of $30,000,000 for Q4. That would put us around 3,000,000 shares repurchased for the year. On top of this, our current dividend yield is approximately 4.5%, supported by a healthy payout ratio. Turning to our outlook for fiscal 2026, we are raising our adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted EPS guidance to the high end of the range. We remain confident on all other metrics. Revenue growth is expected to be in the low single digits. Research remains strong, expected to finish at the top end of the market. Learning has been challenged this year by the difficult macro and channel conditions. Adjusted EBITDA margin is now expected to finish at the high end of our 25.5% to 26.5% range, up from 24% last year. Adjusted EPS is also expected to be at the high end of our $3.90 to $4.35 range, up from $3.64 last year. Finally, we reaffirm free cash flow of approximately $200,000,000, driven by EBITDA growth, lower interest payments, and favorable working capital. CapEx is expected to be comparable to last years total of $77,000,000. With that, I will pass the call back to Matt. Matthew Kissner: As I wrap up, I want to say a few words about fiscal 2027. We will provide formal guidance in June, of course, but I want to give you a sense of what we are seeing. Expect Research growth and strong momentum to continue, driven by robust publishing output, steady growth in renewals, market share gains, and society wins. We see Learning improving to a steady state as we focus on franchise authors, digital growth, and inclusive access, and we will continue to tackle our cost base. AI momentum is expected to further accelerate from our executed multiyear partnerships and increased corporate uptake, and we expect another big year in AI revenue. We will start to see the benefits of streamlined business development and product innovation under Armahan. Finally, we anticipate copyright court decisions to start to materialize. We have talked about the Anthropic copyright settlement, the largest in U.S. history, and that is still in the claims process. We expect to know our share of that by the summer. Important to note, there are approximately 70 copyright lawsuits currently underway in the U.S. involving AI. Our operational excellence initiatives are fast-tracking with full launch of our Research Exchange platform, the kickoff of our new managed services partnership, and the momentum of our AI Center of Excellence. We expect to drive meaningful margin expansion again from tech transformation, corporate expense reduction, and AI productivity gains. And we remain focused on portfolio optimization and disciplined capital allocation to drive higher ROIC and recurring revenue growth, scale up in Research Publishing, and reward our long-term shareholders. Let me quickly review some key takeaways before opening the floor to questions. We are accelerating our progress on all major areas of focus, driving meaningful growth and momentum in Research and AI, expanding margins and cash flow, deploying capital strategically, and improving ROIC. Q3 was in line with our expectations, and we are on track to achieve our full-year outlook at the high end for margin and EPS. And finally, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. remains extremely well positioned for the AI economy. Our core publishing business is robust and uniquely secure. Our proprietary content, domain-specific intelligence, and partnership ecosystem are in continuously high demand. AI is only as good as the data that fuels it. This is where John Wiley & Sons, Inc. comes in. Thank you to our 5,000 colleagues around the world for all you do to transform knowledge into the breakthroughs that matter, and to our investors for joining us and seeing the long-term value-creation potential of our business. We will now open for questions. Operator: At this time, I would like to remind everyone: in order to ask a question, press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. We will pause for just a moment. Your first question comes from the line of Daniel Moore with CJS Securities. Your line is open. Daniel Moore: Thanks, Matt. Thanks, Greg. A lot of detail there. Greatly appreciate it. Let me start, I guess we will start with AI. You know, you just laid it out very well. But two years ago, signed your first, you know, kind of initial nonrecurring deals. You know, since then, AI-related revenue doubled from $23,000,000 to $40,000,000 on our way to $45,000,000 to $50,000,000. What can you tell us about the momentum and direction of AI-related revenue and contributions that, you know, maybe you could not two years ago, as we think about fiscal 2026 as a platform for growth? Matthew Kissner: Yes. Let me start, Dan. Thanks, by the way. And that is exactly what you are seeing. It is kind of you are seeing the market evolve, and I will turn it to Craig in a minute to get a little more specific, butand then the emergence of the business models around recurring revenue. And so you see what we have done with IQVIA and Open Evidence. Almost think of them as blueprints for what a much bigger market opportunity might look like. And you know, I know you want specifics. You know, we can talk a little bit about these, but you know, there is a lot more to come as these expand. So let me turn it over to Craig to add some more light on that. Craig Albright: Thanks, Matt. Yes. We like to think of AI opportunity in the market really moving in different kind of growth curves. As you know, we kind of, a few years ago, as you mentioned, kind of really started learning and getting into the market and partnering. And we moved into the training model. The first growth curve, if you will, was largely evidenced by nonrecurring revenue, but important for us to gain partnerships, learn, start to develop where we are headed with our next curve. And then that next curve being the one where we start to get into the recurring revenue models, subscription models, ways where we can really create true sustainable value over time. And we have really started to see that materialize. In the first growth curve, we have seen a little bit more legs to it than we initially imagined, and we are now starting to see the ramp-up of the second growth curve. So this year, we are slightly under 10% of our $45,000,000 to $50,000,000 in terms of recurring revenue, and we expect that to triple next year. And we are going to continue to work to drive that even higher. So we are excited about the progress we are making. It is still early days. And I would say we are moving as fast as our customers are moving, but really trying to seize every opportunity as we go forward. Matthew Kissner: Yes. I want to add two important points to help with the understanding. One is that comment about we can move as fast as our customers are moving because, you know, I think everyone is learning how to bring AI into their core business processes. So a lot of the growth here is going to be based on the customers learning on how to use AI to improve research productivity, shorten cycles, et cetera. We are there with them side by side. Second is, as I mentioned, we have a new leader for our AI and data services focus in Armahan, and he is now building out a growth plan. And, you know, I would expect as he completes that plan, we can provide more transparency into how we see this evolving. Daniel Moore: Really helpful. Appreciate it. I was going to ask you about the moat, but I think we covered that in the first 10 or 15 minutes really well. On the margin side, themhmm. Obviously, you reduced corporate expense, I think, million this quarter, down 20% plus. On track for 26% plus EBITDA margins. Two different questions, but one, maybe elaborate on the partnership with Virtusa, the implications around potential cost and savings as we move forward, and what does that imply about the direction of EBITDA margins in kind of fiscal 2027 and beyond? Thanks, Dan. Craig Albright: We are very excited about the partnership with Virtusa. You know, we have a preexisting relationship, and we are really expanding that on a significant scale. This relationship for us is ayou know, roughly, right, it is $150,000,000 over five years in terms of their contract size. We expect it to generate both productivity as well as agility. So we see it contributing towards, you know, our margin expansion objectives. We also see it compellingpropelling us into AI-type tools and AI-first technology infrastructure that is going to really help us continue to find innovation and productivity through the years. I would say from a margins perspective, I will not get into the details about, you know, specifics on what it yields. But I will say that tech transformation broadly has been a significant driver of our expansion this year, and we expect that to continue going forward, into the coming years, as we layer on other types of initiatives as well that are going to really help to continue to drive multiyear margin expansion. Daniel Moore: Perfect. And just Research Publishing up 4% adjusted. Article submissions, you know, continue to be really strong, up 26%. You know, I guess, outside of China, you mentioned India, any other kind of fast-growing regions or pockets of strength? And, you know, given double-digit growth in submissions this quarter, double-digit growth in output, would we expect that 4% growth to trend even higher? Or is that a good place to be from your perspective here for the near term? Matthew Kissner: Jay, why do you not begin, and I may wrap up. Jay Flynn: Yes, sure. Hi, Dan. Thanks again for the questions. Yes. We are seeing growth across, you know, a broad set of regions. The strongest momentum continues to come from the major global research markets. We saw good growth in China, as you mentioned, and India, as you mentioned, but in North America toosubmissions, article volume up there. European markets as well really rebounded strongly for us. Happy to see Japan growing again after a tough couple of years in that market. So at the same time, you know, we like what is happening in the Middle East, and we like what is happening from a research and investment perspective there. Governments and universities are investing more heavily in research output and in international collaborations. That, taken together with the strong performance in the core markets, gives us confidence about the trajectory of that business. It is really important to state, as we did a year ago, that growth is not concentrated in any single geography. It reflects the continued expansion, as Matt noted in the prepared remarks, of the global research ecosystem, and that is showing up across submission and publication volumes that are growing at a healthy pace. So, as we said, you know, top end of market range for this year, and with the investments we continue to make in our top brands, with the tailwind that AI is going to provide in the core for submissions and for researcher productivity, we feel confident as before in the trajectory of the business. Matthew Kissner: Yes. That is a great summary. I think, today, what we are seeing is the resilience and durability of research on a global scale, the benefit of the global diversification that we have, as Jay pointed out, and also, our business is performing quite well, and I would expect it to continue performing at the top of the market. Daniel Moore: Looks great. Maybe one or two more and I will pass it along. But on the Learning side, yes, I think you talked about getting back to stability. If I sort of bifurcate the Academic versus Professional, you know, pieces of the business. Do we need the, you know, the library on the Professional side to feed either AI, or is it, you know, synergistic? It is just that piece of the business stands out as a little bit, you know, kind of noncore when we think about the real tilt to focus on growth and Research and wondering your thoughts on that. Matthew Kissner: You know, we have talked about this in the past, and it is, you know, these are great franchises but not growth franchises. You know. And so they are producing strong earnings and cash flow. And, you know, we are always mindful of capital allocation, as I talk about in my remarks. So there are not any sacred cows here. So, you know, we will be looking at this as we go forward, as we do routinely, Dan. Daniel Moore: Perfect. Last one. I know it is rhetorical. You know, obviously, really strong quarter, outlook very healthy. You know, you are trending toward $5 of cashof cash earnings per share. The stock is a little over five times EBITDA. Leverage is going to be close to return pretty soon. You know, strong double-digit free cash flow yield. Other than buying back stock and, you know, making the case that you are today, very, you know, articulately, anything else we can do to keep trying to unlock shareholder value? And I know that is, you know, not a fair question, but just throwing it out there. And I appreciate all the color today. Matthew Kissner: No. It is a good question. Tough question. Craig, do you want to start? And then Craig Albright: Yes. I think, Dan, you know, we wake up every day thinking about this: how we create value for John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for our colleagues, for our shareholders, and for all our stakeholders. You know, we think importantly about organic growth investments. You know, with Armahan coming on board, with our focus on AI and data analytics, we see a lot of potential opportunity to really create new value for customers and forand for John Wiley & Sons, Inc. overall. You know, we continue to think where we have existing core strengths. You know, the Research business is one that continues to show strength and resolve, growing at the top end of the market. So when we think about investments we have made, whether it is Advanced brands or geo diversity, we continue to think very broadly about organic growth opportunities where we have sustainable competitive advantage in our business. You know, beyond that, you know, portfolio and capital allocation is a way of life. You know, it isit has been part of what John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been focused on for several years. And as we mentioned during our earnings call, we hadin my comments, we had divested a small business earlier this year. It shows evidence that we continue to look very strategically and thoughtfully about our business and where to kind of draw the resource and capital to the most effective places for the business. Beyond that, I think we are continuing to be very active on thinking about how we return capital to shareholders. We have a very healthy payout ratio. We have doubled our share buybacks, given the opportunity we have had with a strong cash flow, and we continue to do that while investing in the business. So we are not making any trade-offs here. I think the opportunities continue to be very robust in front of us, and we are excited to help bring that forward as we tell more of our story. Daniel Moore: Sounds good. Again, appreciate all the color. Matthew Kissner: Thank you, Tim. Operator: Again, if you would like to ask a question, press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Operator: At this timeThere are no further questions. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Kissner for closing remarks. Matthew Kissner: Yes. Thanks, everyone. I want to thank you for your continued confidence in us. You know, you see we are building a solid foundation for the future while delivering strong current results, which was our commitment we made, you know, two and a half years ago. And we are really looking forward to getting together in June in that regard and talking about how we close out the year. Brian Campbell: See you then. Thank you. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes todays call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect. Should you buy stock in John Wiley & Sons right now? Before you buy stock in John Wiley & Sons, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and John Wiley & Sons wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $532,066!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,122,072!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 960% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 193% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 5, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Wiley (WLY) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool We came across a bullish thesis on Zeta Global Holdings Corp. on Business Ontologys Substack by Lorenzo Bastianelli. In this article, we will summarize the bulls thesis on ZETA. Zeta Global Holdings Corp.'s share was trading at $18.76 as of March 4th. ZETAs forward P/E was 16.56 according to Yahoo Finance. Computer with charts Zeta Global Holdings Corp. operates an omnichannel data-driven cloud platform that provides enterprises with consumer intelligence and marketing automation software in the United States and internationally. ZETA is positioned in the marketing technology industry with a strategy centered on controlling scarce data relationships rather than simply offering better software features. The company focuses on building deep integrations with enterprise clients that allow it to access first-party data, identity signals, transactional behavior, and omnichannel engagement. Because enterprises typically commit to a single core marketing platform for these integrations, each new client not only becomes a revenue source but also provides data that strengthens Zetas models while limiting competitors access to the same high-quality signals. This dynamic creates a negative-sum competitive environment in which the best data partnerships are exclusive, making it difficult for rivals to replicate Zetas learning loops. As artificial intelligence becomes more central to marketing outcomes, the value of these data relationships compounds because better data improves identity resolution, targeting, personalization, and measurement, ultimately driving stronger returns on advertising spend for clients. Zetas platform is built on a large identity graph and a foundation of first-party data that supports higher identity match rates, which enables marketers to better understand and engage customers in an environment where cookies and traditional tracking signals are declining. This capability allows the company to shift marketing from simple analytics toward an answers-driven model where clients receive actionable recommendations on campaign allocation and performance optimization. The company has also strengthened its data moat through acquisitions, completing 17 deals over 17 years to expand proprietary datasets and signal coverage. Transactions such as LiveIntent, which expanded hashed email engagement signals, and the Marigold enterprise business, which added loyalty and transactional data, demonstrate how mergers and acquisitions are used to deepen Zetas data advantage. Robinhood is releasing a premium rewards credit card with a $695 annual fee the Robinhood Platinum Card. Robinhood's Platinum credit card is one of several updates Robinhood announced at its Robinhood Presents: Take Flight event on Wednesday, in addition to enhancements for Robinhood Strategies users, a family investing feature, and new perks for Robinhood Gold members. The Platinum Card offers higher limits, elite rewards and luxury benefits, and raises the bar for what customers should expect from a premium credit card," Deepak Rao, GM and vice president of Robinhood Money, said in a statement. The new Robinhood Platinum Card is invite-only; at launch, the company will send a select number of invites to customers, though you can sign up to request access via Robinhoods site. Read more: Best luxury credit cards Robinhood Platinum details With a $695 price tag, the Robinhood Platinum Card has among the highest annual fees available from premium rewards cards today. In exchange, youll earn solid rewards and get benefits for select spending each year. Bonus rewards cover a few different categories: 10% cash back on hotels and rental cars 5% cash back on flights booked through the Robinhood Banking app 5% cash back on dining 1% cash back on everything else You must have a Robinhood Financial brokerage account to redeem the cash back you earn with this card. You can redeem your rewards into your brokerage account, use them to purchase travel through Robinhoods travel portal, pay with select online merchants, and more. The Robinhood Platinum Card also offers annual benefits for cardholders: Complimentary Robinhood Gold membership Unlimited Priority Pass airport lounge access $250 in annual DoorDash credit and complimentary DashPass membership $250 annual credit for autonomous rides Complimentary Amazon One Medical membership Complimentary Function Health membership Complimentary Oura membership $200 annual credit toward health wearable purchases Robinhood puts the value of these credits at over $3,000 but remember, annual credits and benefits will only help you save money on purchases that are useful for you and your budget. If you already have these benefits through another card or you dont use these services at all, you may have a hard time maximizing value with this card. Robinhood Platinum Card vs. Robinhood Gold Card The Robinhood Platinum Card is the platforms second credit card offering after the Robinhood Gold Card, which launched with an ongoing waitlist in 2024. The Robinhood Gold Card is much different. Its a no annual fee card that earns 3% cash back on every purchase (and 5% cash back on Robinhood Travel purchases). That 3% cash-back rate is more than nearly any other flat cash-back card available today making it a solid choice for earning rewards on everyday spending across different categories. To earn the full 3% back with your Robinhood Gold Card, you must be a Robinhood Gold member, which has an annual subscription fee of $50. Robinhood Gold membership comes free with the $695 Robinhood Platinum Card. The Platinum is also geared much more toward premium benefits rather than the Robinhood Gold Cards everyday rewards. You can still earn solid rewards with a Robinhood Platinum Card if you spend a lot of money on dining and travel, and if youre willing to book flights through Robinhoods travel portal. But youre much more likely to maximize your value with benefits, like DoorDash credits, airport lounge access, and health and wellness memberships. Aesthetically, both cards have a metal design. Though it launched with a limited-time offer to earn a 10-karat gold version, the Robinhood Gold Card now comes in stainless steel. The Robinhood Platinum card is plated with real platinum. For now, both Robinhood cards may be difficult to get your hands on. The Robinhood Platinum Card is launching as an invite-only card, with plans to expand access in the future. The Robinhood Gold Card is similarly available only via waitlist. Robinhood says there are more than 600,000 cardholders today, but you can still only reserve your spot and wait for an invitation to apply. Who is the Robinhood Platinum card best for? Like the Robinhood Gold Card, the Robinhood Platinum Card is best for Robinhood users. Youll get Robinhood Gold for free, which comes with plenty of tools and features for investors, including: 3.35% APY on eligible brokerage cash 3% match on IRA contributions Management fees only on the first $100,000 in assets managed by Robinhood Strategies Discounted mortgage rates and a $500 credit toward closing costs with Sage Home Loans Beyond your membership with Robinhood, compare the cards specific benefits to your regular budget to help decide if its right for you. Some perks, like credits for autonomous rides or health wearables, may be useful for some people, but not everyone. If you dont already pay for the included memberships (or wouldnt use them) and dont travel often to maximize bonus rewards, you may want to consider other card options. On top of that, you may already have some of the Robinhood Platinum Cards benefits via other credit cards. Priority Pass lounge membership is common among premium travel cards, as are rewards for travel and dining. You can get solid value from a Robinhood Platinum Card, especially if you value health and wellness purchases and can use all of the included benefits, in addition to your Robinhood Gold perks. But before you accept an invitation for the card, compare your spending and the other cards in your wallet to ensure you can recoup the $695 annual fee. More premium credit cards to consider If youre not invited to apply for the Robinhood Platinum card at launch, you can score similar benefits and rewards with other premium cards available today. Here are a few of our top picks: Chase Sapphire Reserve Learn more Chase Sapphire Reserve Add to Compare Annual fee $795 Welcome offer Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months Ongoing Purchases APR 19.49% - 27.99% Variable Rewards rate 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel* 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct* 3x points on dining worldwide 1x points on all other purchases *After the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually Benefits Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more Receive up to a $120 statement credit every four years to cover the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS Why we like it: Chase Sapphire Reserve is another high-fee rewards card that charges $795 annually. For that, youll get some of the same benefits as the Robinhood Platinum Card, including bonus rewards on travel and dining, Priority Pass airport lounge membership, DashPass membership and DoorDash credits, and more. Youll get even more travel-related perks, including a $300 annual travel credit, up to $300 in annual dining credits, and annual credits for select stays with The Edit hotel collection, among other benefits. Plus, get potentially more from your rewards with the option to transfer to partner airline and hotel programs or use them for Chase Travel bookings with Points Boost. Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve American Express Platinum Card Learn more American Express Platinum Card Rates & fees, terms apply Add to Compare Annual fee $895 Welcome offer You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $12,000 within the first 6 months (welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer); apply to know if youre approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount all with no credit score impact (if youre approved and choose to accept the card, your score may be impacted) Ongoing Purchases APR See Pay Over Time APR Rewards rate 5x points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 per calendar year) 5x points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel 1x points on all other purchases Benefits Get up to $600 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel (up to $300 semi-annually; The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay) Get up to $400 in annual statement credits ($100 each quarter; enrollment required) for eligible purchases with Resy, including dining at Resy restaurants Enjoy up to $200 in Uber Cash annually that's $15 in Uber Cash for rides or Uber Eats orders each month, plus a bonus $20 in December (you must have the latest version of the Uber App downloaded and your eligible American Express Platinum Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account; Amex benefit may only be used in United States) Why we like it: The Amex Platinum card is one of the most expensive luxury cards available today, with an $895 annual fee (see rates and fees). Bonus rewards are limited to travel spending, but this card has a long list of benefits to help you maximize your annual value. Like the Robinhood Platinum Card, youll get airport lounge access (via Global Lounge Collection) and some wellness credits, like up to $200 in annual statement credits for Oura Ring purchases (with enrollment) and up to $300 in annual statement credits at Equinox (with enrollment and subject to auto-renewal). Other benefits include up to $400 in annual Resy credits ($100 each quarter, with enrollment), up to $200 in annual airline fee credits, up to $600 in annual hotel credits for eligible bookings through Amex Travel, and many more. You can also maximize your rewards with travel when you use them to book through Amex Travel or transfer to partner airlines and hotels. Read our full American Express Platinum Card review Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Learn more Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Add to Compare Annual fee $395 Welcome offer Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months from account opening Purchase APR 19.49% - 28.49% variable Rewards rate 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases Benefits $300 annual credit for travel bookings through Capital One Travel 10,000 annual bonus miles (worth $100 in travel spending; starts on your first account anniversary) Enjoy access to 1,300+ lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge and Landing locations and participating Priority Pass lounges, after enrollment Why we like it: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the most affordable on our list of premium card options, with a $395 annual fee. You wont get a huge list of added benefits, but if youre looking for a card that can help you make the most of frequent travel, this is a great option. In addition to bonus travel rewards, youll get a flat 2x miles on every purchase you make. Youll also get airport lounge access, like with the Robinhood Platinum Card. More annual benefits include a $300 travel credit for Capital One Travel bookings and 10,000 anniversary miles each year. You can use the miles you earn to book travel through Capital One or transfer to airline and hotel partners. Read our full Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the banks website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product. At the invitation of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess visited Madrid on 5 and 6 March 2026. Thursday 5 March 2026 The Grand Ducal couple were welcomed by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain in the main courtyard of the Royal Palace in Madrid. The official welcoming ceremony included military honours, the playing of national anthems and a review of the troops by HRH the Grand Duke and HM the King of Spain. At the end of the ceremony, the two couples entered the palace through the central door. Gallery 1 Honneurs militaires SIP / Emmanuel Claude Visite de LL.AA.RR. le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse a Madrid, les 5 et 6 mars 2026 SIP / Emmanuel Claude Visite de LL.AA.RR. le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse a Madrid, les 5 et 6 mars 2026 SIP / Emmanuel Claude Visite de LL.AA.RR. le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse a Madrid, les 5 et 6 mars 2026 SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) S.M. le roi (Felipe VI) dEspagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. la reine (Letizia) dEspagne ; S.A.R. la Grande-Duchesse SIP / Julien Warnand (de g. a dr.) S.A.R. la Grande-Duchesse ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. le roi (Felipe VI) dEspagne ; S.M. la reine (Letizia) dEspagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude (su le podium, de g. a dr.) S.A.R. la Grande-Duchesse ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. le roi (Felipe VI) dEspagne ; S.M. la reine (Letizia) dEspagne SIP / Julien Warnand Visite de LL.AA.RR. le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse a Madrid, les 5 et 6 mars 2026 SIP / Julien Warnand (devant, de g. a dr.) S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Julien Warnand (devant, de g. a dr.) S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Julien Warnand (devant, de g. a dr.) S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Julien Warnand Honneurs militaires SIP / Julien Warnand Honneurs militaires SIP / Emmanuel Claude Following the presentation of the respective delegations, HRH the Grand Duke held a bilateral meeting with HM the King of Spain. On the Luxembourg side, Ministers Xavier Bettel, Lex Delles and Gilles Roth participated in this meeting. On the Spanish side, Jose Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, was present. At the same time, HRH the Grand Duchess was invited by HM the Queen of Spain to view the Royal Palace's watch collection. An official luncheon hosted by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain in honour of Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, attended by the delegations and Spanish dignitaries, was held at the Royal Palace, bringing the first part of the programme to a close. Gallery 1 Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) S.M. la reine (Letizia) d'Espagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne ; S.A.R. la Grande-Duchesse SIP / Julien Warnand (de g. a dr.) S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Photo de groupe SIP / Julien Warnand (de g. a dr.) S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; S.M. le roi (Felipe V) d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Reunion bilaterale entre S.A.R. le Grand-Duc et S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Julien Warnand Receiving line, salutations des invites participant au dejeuner officiel SIP / Emmanuel Claude Receiving line, salutations des invites participant au dejeuner officiel SIP / Emmanuel Claude Receiving line, salutations des invites participant au dejeuner officiel SIP / Emmanuel Claude Receiving line, salutations des invites participant au dejeuner officiel SIP / Julien Warnand Dejeuner Casa de S.M. El Rey / Jose Jimenez Dejeuner Casa de S.M. El Rey / Jose Jimenez At the end of the afternoon, HRH the Grand Duke was received by the President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, at the Moncloa Palace, the seat of the Presidency of the Government. After the delegations had been introduced and HRH the Grand Duke had signed the guest book, a working meeting was held, attended on the Luxembourg side by Ministers Xavier Bettel, Lex Delles and Gilles Roth. Also participating on the Spanish side were the Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares. Gallery 1 (from left to right) Francina Armengol, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Spain ; HRH the Grand Duke ; Pedro Rollan Ojeda, President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain SIP / Julien Warnand Palace of the Cortes - Chamber of Deputies - Group photo SIP / Emmanuel Claude Palace of the Cortes - Chamber of Deputies - Presentation of the Spanish delegation SIP / Julien Warnand Signing of the guest book by HRH the Grand Duke SIP / Emmanuel Claude (from left to right) Francina Armengol, President of the Chamber of Deputies; HRH the Grand Duke; Pedro Rollan Ojeda, President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain. SIP / Julien Warnand Exchange of gifts SIP / Emmanuel Claude Palace of the Cortes - Congress of Deputies - Plenary Hall - Brief visit SIP / Emmanuel Claude Palace of the Cortes - Congress of Deputies - Plenary Hall - Brief visit SIP / Emmanuel Claude (from left to right) Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism; Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance; Sasha Baillie, Marshal of the Court SIP / Julien Warnand This meeting was followed by the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the Kingdom of Spain and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, covering cooperation in the fields of energy and space, as well as political consultations, in the presence of the President of the Spanish Government and HRH the Grand Duke. For Luxembourg, Minister Lex Delles signed the agreements on energy and space, while for Spain, Minister Sara Aagesen signed the MoU on energy and Minister Jose Manuel Albares signed the MoU on space. The MoU on the space sector covers a wide range of areas, including space science, Earth observation, telecommunications, technological development, space exploration, microgravity research and the promotion of space industries, and aims to strengthen scientific, commercial and industrial collaboration for peaceful space activities. The MoU in the field of energy establishes a framework for cooperation on the development of large-scale renewable hydrogen and electricity production in Spain, as well as the creation of cross-border infrastructure to enable their transport and export to Western Europe, including Luxembourg. Finally, the aim of the latest MoU signed by Xavier Bettel and Jose Manuel Albares is for Spain and Luxembourg to hold bilateral political consultations on a regular basis. These consultations provide an opportunity for discussions on various topics, including bilateral relations and political, economic, cultural and consular issues. Gallery 1 Rencontre de S.A.R. le Grand-Duc avec les bureaux respectifs de la Chambre des deputes et du Senat SIP / Emmanuel Claude Rencontre de S.A.R. le Grand-Duc avec les bureaux respectifs de la Chambre des deputes et du Senat SIP / Emmanuel Claude Palais des Cortes - Chambre des deputes SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) Francina Armengol, presidente de la Chambre des deputes ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; Pedro Manuel Rollan Ojeda, president du Senat SIP / Emmanuel Claude Lex Delles, ministre de lEconomie, des PME, de lEnergie et du Tourisme SIP / Emmanuel Claude Sara Aagesen Munoz, troisieme vice-presidente du gouvernement, ministre de la Transition ecologique et du Defi demographique du royaume dEspagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Signature dun Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sur les consultations politiques entre le royaume dEspagne et le Grand-Duche de Luxembourg SIP / Emmanuel Claude Reunion de S.A.R. le Grand-Duc avec le president du gouvernement du royaume d'Espagne, Pedro Sanchez SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; Pedro Sanchez, president du gouvernement du royaume d'Espagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) Pedro Sanchez, president du gouvernement du royaume d'Espagne ; S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Emmanuel Claude Presentation de la delegation espagnole a S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Emmanuel Claude Presentation de la delegation luxembourgeoise a S.M. le roi d'Espagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude (de g. a dr.) S.A.R. le Grand-Duc ; Pedro Sanchez, president du gouvernement du royaume d'Espagne SIP / Emmanuel Claude At the Palace of the Cortes, seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the Luxembourgish Head of State was received by the President, Francina Armengol, and the President of the Senate, Pedro Manuel Rollan Ojeda. After visiting the plenary chamber and signing the guest book, HRH the Grand Duke, accompanied by Ministers Lex Delles and Gilles Roth, held talks with the presidents of the two chambers and members of their respective bureaux. The first day of the visit ended with a reception with the economic and financial community hosted by the Luxembourg Embassy in Madrid on the occasion of the visit of Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. Gallery 1 Reception offerte par lambassade du Luxembourg a Madrid SIP / Emmanuel Claude S.A.R. le Grand-Duc SIP / Julien Warnand Reception offerte par lambassade du Luxembourg a Madrid SIP / Emmanuel Claude Reception offerte par lambassade du Luxembourg a Madrid SIP / Emmanuel Claude Reception offerte par lambassade du Luxembourg a Madrid SIP / Julien Warnand Briefing des ministres pour les representants des medias luxembourgeois SIP / Julien Warnand Set your thermostat to the ideal temperature for better sleep. (Getty Images) Tossing and turning at night is no fun, and your room temperature may be to blame. As it happens, the mechanisms in our bodies that regulate sleep are widely affected by temperature, so any fluctuations hot or cold can make sleep more challenging. That said, experts agree that sleeping in a dark, cool environment lends itself to high-quality sleep. According to the doctors at UT Health San Antonio, the best temperature for sleep is somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, although the exact number can vary slightly from person to person. And as one 2023 study in Science of The Total Environment demonstrates, for adults who typically sleep with room temperatures between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, increasing the temperature to between 77 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit significantly impacted sleep quantity and quality by as much as 10%. "Temperature plays a significant role in how smoothly you transition through different sleep stages," says Chelsea Perry, owner of Sleep Solutions in Westborough, Mass. "If your environment is too warm or too cold, it can disrupt this process, causing you to wake up or shift into lighter sleep stages." While we can't control internal mechanisms that affect our body temperature, like the circadian rhythm, we can adjust external factors such as room temperature, bedding and fabric types to improve our sleep quality. Advertisement Advertisement Here's what you need to know about the ideal room temperature for sleep. How does temperature impact sleep? As a 2022 article in Temperature explains, sleep and body temperature are intricately linked and impact each other. All humans operate on a 24-hour circadian cycle that affects everything in our body, from digestion to metabolism to sleeping. Part of that 24-hour cycle is our core body temperature, which cycles just like our sleep-wake cycle. Our body temperature decreases as the body primes for sleep and increases when it's time to wake up. The deepest stages of sleep coincide with the times that body temperature is the lowest. "Hormones released in the brain, such as melatonin, help trigger this temperature decrease," says Dr. Abhay Sharma, assistant professor and director of the Division of Interventional Sleep Surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in partnership with Tampa General Hospital. "The temperature continues to drop until two hours prior to waking up. Once our body temperature begins to rise, it naturally signals the brain to wake up." Advertisement Advertisement Sharma explains that the drop in body temperature is an "evolutionarily built-in" mechanism that prepares the body for sleep and occurs in all mammals. This drop is driven by thermoregulation in the body, such as increased blood flow to the skin and the dilation of blood vessels to facilitate cooling. "Skin temperature rises a bit, pulling blood from your core and then cooling it to promote deeper, more restful sleep," notes Mark S. Aloia, PhD, associate professor at National Jewish Health. Because your body is already experiencing internal temperature changes, other external factors, like the room temperature or what you're wearing, can disturb your sleep as you move through the different sleep stages. What happens if the room is too hot? A room that's too hot can make it difficult for your body to reach the ideal cool-temperature stage to fall asleep and can also jolt the body out of deep sleep stages. Advertisement Advertisement "Scientifically, our bodies need to be cool for the best possible sleep," states Aloia. "If a room is too hot, you could have more trouble falling and staying asleep because the heat will raise your core body temperature." Research suggests that in typical sleeping situations when someone is wearing pajamas and using blankets, a too-hot environment is more disruptive than a room that's too cold. Older adults and young infants may be especially affected because they have more trouble regulating their internal body temperatures. Additionally, anyone going through hormonal changes, such as with perimenopause and menopause, may also have trouble staying cool, so a room that's too hot can further impact sleep. Heat by itself is detrimental to sleep quality, but the research also points out that humidity is particularly disruptive. So if your room is hot and humid, you may be in for a poor night's sleep. What happens if the room is too cold? According to Aloia, even though slightly colder temperatures are necessary for the body to sleep, a room that is too cold can also interrupt sleep. Advertisement Advertisement Specifically, a too-cold environment can make it difficult to get comfortable, fall asleep and stay asleep. Aging can also exacerbate the impact of a too-cold room on sleep. "Older adults might need slightly warmer rooms as we may have less of an ability to conserve heat as we age," says Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist board-certified in behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and director of Sleep Health at Sleepopolis. The key to a better night's sleep is experimenting within the recommended temperature range to find what works best. "Not everyone has the same ideal sleeping temperature because personal preferences and individual body differences can vary," says Perry. "The key is to find a temperature that helps you feel cozy and allows your body to maintain its natural cooling process for a good night's sleep." Are there any exceptions based on age? Aloia notes that temperature preferences can fluctuate in different stages of life and from person to person. Some other things that can impact internal body temperature and disturb sleep include: Advertisement Advertisement Lifestyle changes Hormones Certain medical conditions, such as thyroid disorders Medications Vigorous exercise close to bedtime Anxiety and stress Menopause and perimenopause Caffeine Sharma adds that infants, especially newborns, don't have the same temperature regulation capabilities as adults, so they may have more difficulty in too-hot or too-cold environments. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2022, it's important to watch for signs of overheating in babies, like flushed or hot skin. Ensure that babies are dressed appropriately for the room's temperature and avoid adding more than one extra layer compared with what an adult would wear. Overheating is a known risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). What are the best ways to ensure the ideal room temperature and sleep environment? In addition to finding the right room temperature, here are some general tips to help set the best sleeping environment: Use a cooling fan Set a programmable thermostat that can automatically lower and raise the temperature Try cooling sheets and blankets during hot weather months Switch to an electric blanket to stay warm in the cold Open windows on both sides of a room or house to create airflow Spend time in a public place with air conditioning during the day to help prevent overheating Take a cool shower or bath before bed Here are some additional expert tips for creating the best room temperature for sleeping: Set a consistent room temperature According to Perry, even if your room feels too hot or too cold as you get ready for bed, it's probably a good idea to refrain from adjusting the temperature too much. Advertisement Advertisement "It's generally best to keep the room temperature consistent throughout the night," she says. "Maintaining a stable temperature helps your body stay restful, supporting a continuous and deep sleep cycle." If you can, program your sleeping area to stay at one temperature for the duration of your sleep. "I personally have my thermostat set to 65," Perry says. Choose the right bedding The right type of fabric for your bedding can make a big difference in your body temperature for sleep. "In my view, when it comes to cooling, nothing is better than high-performance polyester," notes Derek Hales, founder and editor in chief of NapLab.com. He recommends the brands Bedgear and Sheex for high-performance polyester sheets that are ultra-lightweight, highly breathable and moisture-wicking. "I have three sets of sheets in my personal rotation; one is Bedgear, and one is Sheex," he adds. Advertisement Advertisement For those who prefer a natural fiber, "It doesn't get better than 100% cotton," Hales says. Stick to a 250-thread count for maximum breathability, durability and softness. "Higher thread counts create worse cooling, as the fabrics just can't breathe as well, so sticking around 250 is the ideal thread count when it comes to cooling," he adds. Consider sleeping alone Aloia says it's common for couples to struggle with temperature disruptions from a partner at night, with many often reporting that their partner sleeps too hot or too cold. To help decrease these issues, you can experiment with sleeping apart or look at an adjustable bed that allows for dual temperature settings for each partner to choose their ideal bed temperature. FAQs Why is a cool room better for sleep? A cool room enhances sleep by aligning with the bodys natural circadian rhythm. As your body prepares for sleep, its temperature naturally lowers, and a cooler environment supports this process. Conversely, a rise in body temperature (which can be affected by a room's ambient temperature) signals the body to wake up. Therefore, maintaining a cool room can help promote better sleep. Does everyone have the same ideal sleeping temperature? Most adults sleep best between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, although some life stages, such as a woman going through menopause, may slightly change the ideal temperature. Older adults and infants also have more difficulty regulating their own body temperature, which can affect the ideal ambient temperature of a room for sleep. How does temperature affect different sleep stages? The deepest stages of sleep align with the times when body temperature is the lowest. Increases in body temperature signal the brain and body that it's time to wake up. However, too-cold temperatures can also make falling and staying asleep difficult, especially if you don't have clothing or sufficient bedding to keep you warm. How can I keep my bedroom cool for sleep? If you have a thermostat, set or program your room temperature to somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit before going to bed (between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit is a popular range for the doctors and experts we interviewed for this article). If you don't have air conditioning, try facilitating a cooler room temperature by using box or overhead fans, blackout shades or curtains and wearing lightweight clothing to bed. Products like heating and cooling blankets and smart mattresses can also help adjust body temperature for more restful sleep. What are the signs that my bedroom is too hot or cold for sleep? Difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking up sweating or shivering, consistently adding or removing bedding during the night or needing to adjust a fan or add pajama layers could all be signs that you're not sleeping in an ideal temperature environment, says Sharma. Meet our experts Abhay Sharma, MD, assistant professor and director of the Division of Interventional Sleep Surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in partnership with Tampa General Hospital Mark S. Aloia, PhD, head of Sleep and Behavioral Sciences, Sleep Number; associate professor, National Jewish Health, Denver Derek Hales, founder and editor in chief of NapLab.com in Scottsdale, Ariz. Shelby Harris, PsyD, clinical psychologist board-certified in behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine; director of Sleep Health at Sleepopolis, practicing in New York Chelsea Perry, DMD, owner of Sleep Solutions in Westborough, Mass. Advertisement Advertisement Our health content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as professional medical advice. Consult a medical professional on questions about your health. Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company published its inaugural 2026 Cloudflare Threat Report. This report draws on the expertise of the Cloudforce One threat research team and the scale of Cloudflares global network to spotlight a fundamental rewiring of the modern cyberattack. The data reveals that threat actors are using DDoS attacks of unprecedented scale, leveraging AI systems to exploit vulnerabilities, and continuing to strike at traditional weak spots like email to find ways to log in versus break in. The 2026 report arms security teams against emerging threats, detailing the tactics and trends behind the 230 billion threats Cloudflare blocks on average each day. With AI making it easier for anyone to launch sophisticated attacks, threat actors are moving faster than ever. They are not just crashing websites; they are quietly infiltrating payroll systems and tricking software into trusting them. Security is no longer about keeping strangers out, its about proving that the users inside your network are who they say they are. Hackers thrive on the gaps left by fragmented, stale threat intelligence. At Cloudflare, weve built the largest and most comprehensive global sensor network that gives us a front-row seat to threats invisible to everyone else, said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. "By sharing this intelligence with the world, were plugging the gaps and shifting the advantage back to the defenders. The result is a safer, more reliable Internet, where it is fundamentally more difficult and expensive for hackers to operate." Over the past year, Cloudforce One has analysed trillions of network signals and threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to uncover the most common attack vectors, nation-state espionage tactics, and the real-world impact of AI on cyberattacks. Key findings include: AI Erases the Technical Barrier to Entry to Launch Attacks : Threat actors are using Large Language Models (LLMs) to map networks in real-time, develop new exploits, and create hyper-realistic deepfakes. Cloudforce One tracked a threat actor who leveraged AI to help identify the location of high-value data. This allowed the actor to compromise hundreds of corporate tenants high-volume SaaS applications that allow multiple organisations to share resources in one of the most impactful supply chain attacks seen. : Threat actors are using Large Language Models (LLMs) to map networks in real-time, develop new exploits, and create hyper-realistic deepfakes. Cloudforce One tracked a threat actor who leveraged AI to help identify the location of high-value data. This allowed the actor to compromise hundreds of corporate tenants high-volume SaaS applications that allow multiple organisations to share resources in one of the most impactful supply chain attacks seen. Chinese Threat Actors Trade Broad Attacks for Precision Strikes : State-sponsored actors, specifically Salt Typhoon and Linen Typhoon, have shifted focus toward North American telecommunications, government entities, and IT services. These actors are shifting from traditional espionage to persistent pre-positioning the act of installing code on the network or system of a rival state to allow for future attacks within U.S. critical infrastructure. : State-sponsored actors, specifically Salt Typhoon and Linen Typhoon, have shifted focus toward North American telecommunications, government entities, and IT services. These actors are shifting from traditional espionage to persistent pre-positioning the act of installing code on the network or system of a rival state to allow for future attacks within U.S. critical infrastructure. Corporate Identities are Being Hijacked : North Korean operatives are using AI-generated deepfakes and fraudulent IDs to bypass hiring filters, embedding state-sponsored workers directly into Western corporate payrolls. Using U.S.-based "laptop farms," these threat actors are masking their true location. : North Korean operatives are using AI-generated deepfakes and fraudulent IDs to bypass hiring filters, embedding state-sponsored workers directly into Western corporate payrolls. Using U.S.-based "laptop farms," these threat actors are masking their true location. DDoS Attacks Surpass Human Response Capabilities: Large-scale botnets like Aisuru have evolved into nation-state level threats capable of taking down entire countrys networks. With record-breaking attacks reaching 31.4 Tbps, these high-speed strikes now demand fully autonomous defences. Threat actors are constantly changing tactics, finding new vulnerabilities to exploit and ways to overwhelm their victims. To avoid being caught off guard, organisations must shift from a reactive posture to one fueled by real-time, actionable intelligence, said Blake Darche, head of threat intelligence, Cloudforce One at Cloudflare. This report is a North Star for understanding the scale of attacks, and how threat actor aggression and techniques are shifting. The message to defenders is simple: lead with intelligence or risk falling behind in a race where the stakes have never been higher. To learn more about the 2026 Cloudforce One Threat Intelligence Report please check out the resources below: Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (Photo by Luis Samayoa/Stripes Japan) An exploration of Yokohama is not complete without a stop at the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum. This inexpensive experience feeds you ramen facts and ramen bowls, if youre up for the challenge. The museum is split into two floors. The ground floor has displays breaking down the history of ramen in Japan. On this floor, there is a gift shop and a section to purchase a make-your-own-ramen kit for 600 yen (about $4). The kit includes all the ingredients for a bowl of ramen like broth and noodles and is personalized with a custom photo for the lid cover of the kit box. We purchased our own and were able to complete all the steps in English with some help of using Google Translate on our phone. The only downside was there wasnt much creative freedom with this process, but its pretty cool to have our own personalized ramen to make at home. After learning about ramen, we took the stairs to the basement floor, the star of the museum. As you walk down the stairs, you get a view of the floor layout from above for a feeling youve strayed into Japans Showa Era. The entire floor is decorated to look like the old alleyways with building facades of hostess clubs, onsens and shops. A neat way to feel like youre living in the past. Inside the makeshift buildings there were different ramen shops and candy stores. We walked around and had time to try out two of the 8 shops open during our visit. First, we went to Shindo Ramen, a shop originally from Thailand, and tried the Thai take on tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. Oddly, the ramen had a strong fishy, umami flavor, a bit too fishy for our taste, but not terrible. Next, we tried tonkotsu cappuccino ramen from Hakata Issou, a shop serving Fukuoka Prefecture-style ramen. The milky, foamy pork broth was flavorful and I wanted seconds. Ranging from around 600 to 1,400 yen per bowl, the ramen at the museum shops was inexpensive. The aesthetics and the meals you can have here really make it worth a visit with family and friends. If you plan on checking out the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, make sure to visit with an empty stomach so you have plenty of room to slurp down some noodles! Tonkotsu Ramen (Photo by Luis Samayoa/Stripes Japan) Things to know SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. President Donald J. Trump could not have made it easier for congressional Democrats. During Tuesday night's State of the Union address, Trump's simple offer to them, and their Republican counterparts, was like a college professor telling his students: "Anyone who wants 10 points of extra credit, please stand up if you believe the Earth is round." Trump's challenge to Senators and House members was equally simple. As he put it: "I'm inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." At once, Republicans bolted upright and heartily applauded an anodyne declaration with which at least 90% of Americans surely concur. Some, perhaps most, illegal aliens grudgingly would approve. And yet Democrats sat there, flat in their chairs, neither standing nor cheering a tenet as basic as asserting that parents' primary responsibility is to feed their children rather than nourish people who break into their homes. Democrats silently scowled as Americans watched in astonishment: "Wow!" viewers must have thought. "These people really do hate America. They root for illegal aliens, at the expense of US citizens. Republicans have suggested that. And they are right!" This continued for one minute and 50 seconds. Each moment was more damning than the last like watching a Polaroid photo of a crime scene grow clearer and more incriminating as the clock ticked away. "Isn't that a shame?" the President asked Democrats, after the Republican ovation finally tapered off. Trump must have been stunned at how serenely his tormentors marched into his trap and made themselves right at home. "You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up," Trump added. "You should be ashamed of yourself." Ashamed, indeed. And now citizens have seen proof of what they previously might have suspected: The Democrats no longer are the party of the American people, the middle class, workers, or even the poor. The modern Democrat Party seats illegal aliens up front, while American citizens ride in the back of the bus, ideally with their big mouths shut. Under President Joe Biden's four-year reign of error, Democrats imposed this new policy with a vengeance, even as they relentlessly lied that "the border is closed." Democrats treat illegal aliens better than American citizens: Some 7.4 million illegal aliens invaded America under Biden, Pew Research calculates. Democrats rolled out the red carpet. They let illegals enter without COVID-19 tests or vaccines. Meanwhile, Democrats furiously inflicted COVID-19 test-and-inoculation mandates on citizens. Democrats handed illegal aliens complimentary jet transit, to speed them into the nation's interior. Democrats offered citizens no such free airfare. Democrats let illegal aliens board commercial jets with as little as their Border Patrol arrest documents for identification. Democrats never exempted citizens from presenting proper ID at TSA checkpoints. Millions of illegal aliens reached metropolises including New York City. Democrats ushered them into the Roosevelt Hotel, Times Square's Row Hotel, and other tourist-class establishments all for free. Meanwhile, American citizens who visit Gotham pay top dollar for lodging. While Democrats in Stoughton, Massachusetts, supplied buses for illegal-alien children living in shelters, 150 American-citizen kids lost their rides to school. Back in Manhattan, Democrats handed illegal-alien children P.S. 141 (opened in 1961). To accommodate them, Democrats displaced some 170 predominantly black and Hispanic students with autism and other special needs. Democrats condemned these young American citizens to the poorly equipped former Ascension School (built in 1911). Congressional Democrats lacked the political savvy to stand up beside Republicans and at least pretend that they prefer American citizens to illegal aliens. The fact that Democrats could not even fake this sincerity demonstrates the intensity of their affection for illegal aliens and the severity of their contempt for US citizens. Come November, hundreds of millions of American voters should return the favor. 2026 Deroy Murdock Insight Epic Fury: It's About Time By Larry Elder Published March 5, 2026 SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. I watched the coverage of the joint American-Israeli airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities with a profound sense of relief and long-overdue justice. Back in January 2006, I wrote "Iran: A Ticking Nuclear Bomb" to highlight then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and the regime's explicit threats to wipe Israel off the map. I pointed to the chants of "Death to America" in their parliament and how their growing missile program threatened not only neighbors and American troops stationed in the Middle East but eventually the U.S. mainland itself. Many experts debated when, not if, Iran would acquire nuclear weapons. The mullahs claimed peaceful intentions, but for them, lying and deceit are routine statecraft. Through the 2010s, I consistently criticized the President Barack Obama-era Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) as dangerously naive. Iran was clearly cheating. The deal did not address the nuclear problem. It ignored the regime's sponsorship of terror organizations attacking Israel and American interests in the region and worldwide. The decades-long list of Americans killed by Iran or its proxies, plus hundreds of U.S. soldiers killed or wounded by IEDs made with Iranian technology, provided a clear basis for military action against this radical regime. Yet the Iran deal offered sunset clauses and limited inspections. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented persuasive evidence of Iran's cheating. Still much of the civilized world yawned. In 2017, I argued that pulling out of this deeply flawed deal was necessary. In 2019, amid Iran's tanker attacks and centrifuge advances, I again warned a nuclear-armed Iran would be catastrophic. One post said: "Given Iran's threats, attacks on shipping, and role as the world's top terror exporter one can only imagine a world in which Iran possesses nuclear weapons. Iran must be stopped. And if America will not stop Iran, Israel will." Even when last June, President Donald Trump took out three nuclear sites the deeply buried Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan and the mullahs immediately attempted to restart their program. They didn't get the message: There's a new sheriff in town, and his name is not Biden or Obama. Fast-forward to the present: The U.S.-Israeli operation has launched massive strikes across Iran, killing the supreme leader and dozens of top officials. The regime itself may fall. Trump's decisive action, in coordination with Israel, has finally addressed what weak diplomacy prolonged for far too long. It's about realism. The ayatollahs' first loyalty is to an apocalyptic ideology that sees nuclear capability as a tool for global dominance against nonbelievers. Had Iran been dealt with a long time ago, the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of hundreds more by Hamas an Iranian terror client might have been avoided. Some 40 Americans were kidnapped or killed, too. When is enough enough? Critics on the left, with the notable exception of Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and some critics on the right are crying "unconstitutional!" They warn of "another endless war," something Trump campaigned against. Where were those voices when Iran blatantly continued to advance its nuclear program under the Iran deal? Where were they as Iran's proxies attacked U.S. forces and interests? What happened to the left's purported concerned about the oppression of women's rights? Even some of Trump's harshest conservative critics now applaud the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran. Washington Post columnist George Will, a longtime Trump detractor, praised the operation for restoring "the credibility of U.S. deterrence." Will wrote, "At last, the credibility of U.S. deterrence is being restored." Similarly, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, a rabid Republican never-Trumper, defended the strikes for "doing the free world a favor." Stephens wrote that Trump and Netanyahu administered justice and supplied hope to Iranians longing for freedom, and that the U.S. is stronger when anti-American dictators have solid reasons to fear our wrath. This is about strength over appeasement. Reagan understood this in dealing with the Soviets. Trump applied it here. Trump's redlines are, in fact, redlines. The result? A regime that once wrote "Death to America" on its missiles faces collapse and, hopefully, an internal uprising to follow that gives the Iranian people a real future without fear or oppression. The joint strike wasn't the start of endless conflict; it was the end of dangerous inaction. For that, history will eventually say, "Well done." (COMMENT, BELOW) SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. "With his spectacles, Palestinian kaffiyeh, long robes, and silver beard, Ayatollah Khamenei cast himself as a religious scholar as well as a writer and translator of works on Islam. He affected an avuncular and magnanimous aloofness, running the country from a perch above the jousting of daily politics." That lyrical passage is from The New York Times's obituary of Iran's supreme leader, who was killed Saturday when US and Israeli forces reduced his Tehran compound to rubble. The Washington Post likewise made a point of softening and humanizing the dead dictator, recalling his "bushy white beard and easy smile" and noting that he was "fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels." Khamenei's literary life was also played up by The Guardian, which noted that the ayatollah had been an "avid" reader who adored "Les Miserables," which he "described as 'miraculous' and a 'book of wisdom.'" To judge from such passages, as Maya Sulkin observed in The Free Press, one might imagine that Khameini's truest essence was that of a bookish scholar, rather than a theocratic tyrant who spent nearly four decades imprisoning, torturing, and executing innocent victims. But the Iranians who had actually lived under Khamenei's rule were not reading obituaries. They were rejoicing. In Tehran, residents leaned from windows and gathered on rooftops, shouting with joy and excitement. Video from across Iran showed people dancing in the streets at news that the ayatollah was dead. In Los Angeles, London, and Toronto, members of the Iranian diaspora poured out to celebrate. Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat and the first Iranian American elected to Congress, spoke for millions when she said simply: "Khamenei was the epitome of evil. No one should mourn him." Why were Iranians rejoicing? Because for nearly four decades, Khamenei made their lives a waking nightmare. He imprisoned women for showing their hair, hanged gay men in public squares, executed dissidents by the thousands, and ran Evin Prison where rape and psychological torture were standard practice as an instrument of state terror. When 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody in 2022 after being arrested for wearing her hijab improperly, and millions took to the streets in protest, he responded by killing more than 500 of them and imprisoning 22,000 more. When a fresh uprising erupted this past January, he massacred tens of thousands. That was what he did at home. Beyond Iran's borders, Khamenei sponsored the terror network Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis that has kept the Middle East drenched in blood for decades. He facilitated President Bashar al-Assad's slaughter of some 500,000 Syrians, most of them Sunni Muslims. He directed the killing of hundreds of Americans, from the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia to the roadside bombs that tore through US troops in Iraq. For 37 years he bankrolled and armed the jihadist proxies whose explicit mission was the annihilation of Israel a campaign that sent many thousands of innocent men, women, and children to early graves. And all the while he proclaimed "Death to America, Death to Israel" not as hyperbole, but as official state doctrine. Yet there are those for whom none of that is sufficient reason to welcome Khamenei's demise. Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer with millions of online followers, scolded Iranians for cheering the US-Israeli strikes that killed the ayatollah, asking how "civilian deaths can ever be justified as progress." Rajdeep Sardesai, one of India's best-known journalists, pronounced such celebrations "fraught morally, diplomatically and strategically" and expressed dismay that anyone could applaud a political leader's death. And Pastor Pete Pawelek, an evangelical minister, grounded his objection in religion. As a Christian, he wrote, "I do not celebrate the death of a man, even one associated with grave evil." It is never right, they and others insist, to rejoice at anyone's death. They're wrong. Such objectors always are. When Saddam Hussein was hanged in 2006, European governments deplored his death as "barbaric." When Seal Team Six killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, some American commentators were appalled by the spontaneous jubilation that ensued. Each time a monstrous tyrant is brought to justice, the same chorus arises, citing whatever principle is nearest to hand Christian humility, diplomatic decorum, progressive solidarity. But the elimination of evil and homicidal despots makes the world a better place. When a man who spent decades inflicting horror on innocents meets his end, good people rejoice. Western obituary writers may have been taken with the late ayatollah's "avuncular and magnanimous aloofness," but the liberated Iranians dancing in the streets knew him rather better than that. One expatriate spoke for millions: "This is something we've been asking for, begging for, crying for, for 47 years, and finally it's done." That outpouring of joy is the most honest obituary Khamenei will ever receive. Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission. (COMMENT, BELOW) Landmark Genocide Study to Be Presented in Melbourne Dr Themistocles Kritikakos. Melbourne's Greek community will soon host a significant cultural and academic event highlighting new research into the historical memory and recognition of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides. This Landmark genocide study by Dr Kritikakos to be presented in Melbourne, offers what scholars desscribe as the first comprehensive comparative analysis. Historian Dr Themistocles Kritikakos will present his latest book, Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide Recognition in Twenty-First-Century Australia: Memory, Identity, and Cooperation, at a public seminar at the Greek Centre in Melbourne on Tuesday, 10 March. Published by Palgrave Macmillan in January 2026, the work offers what scholars describe as the first comprehensive comparative analysis of how the legacies of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides of the late Ottoman period (1914--1923) have been remembered and discussed in Australia. During the event, Dr Kritikakos will outline the central themes of his research before joining Professor Joy Damousi for a discussion exploring questions of historical justice, intergenerational memory and cooperation between communities whose histories of suffering have often been treated separately. Exploring overlooked histories A key focus of the book is the uneven international recognition of the genocides. While the Armenian Genocide has achieved widespread global acknowledgment, the mass persecution and destruction of Greek and Assyrian communities during the same period remain far less widely understood. Dr Kritikakos examines how these histories have been remembered by diaspora communities, drawing on oral interviews with descendants of survivors as well as scholarship in genocide and memory studies. His research explores themes of silence, trauma and commemoration, and how once separate community narratives are increasingly converging into shared campaigns for historical recognition. The book also highlights Australia's historical connection to these events. Australians were not merely distant observers during the period of violence; soldiers, journalists and humanitarian workers witnessed and documented atrocities, while Australian relief organisations provided assistance to refugees and survivors across the region. However, the study argues that Australian national narratives shaped by Gallipoli and later reconciliation with Turkey have often created tensions around genocide recognition, influencing how these histories have been publicly discussed. Academic background Dr Kritikakos holds a PhD in History from the University of Melbourne and has worked in both academic and professional roles. His research interests include modern Greek history, diaspora studies, historical memory and the politics surrounding genocide recognition. The Melbourne seminar forms part of the Greek History and Culture Seminar Series, hosted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, which regularly brings scholars and historians together to explore issues connected to Hellenic history, identity and diaspora experience. Event details The launch will take place at the Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (Mezzanine Level) on Tuesday, 10 March at 7:00pm and is open to the public. The evening is sponsored by Mary Tsaganas, in memory of her mother Olympia and ancestors from Asia Minor. The United States Supreme Court has upheld a ban on racial segregation in state schools, colleges and universities. The University of North Carolina was appealing against an earlier ruling, in 1954, which ordered college officials to admit three black students to what was previously an all-white institution. Until recently, black and white students have been educated in separate schools under the principle of separate but equal but the Supreme Court has now ruled this doctrine has no place in the field of public education. The BBCs Panorama programme has been to the southern US state of Virginia, where racial segregation in schools is still rigidly enforced. In other states, schools and colleges have begun to accept black and white pupils. In the Virginian state capital, Richmond, officials are looking at ways of getting round the new ruling. They are considering subsidising white pupils so they can go to racially segregated private schools or even abolishing state or what are known as public schools in America. The state governor, Thomas Stanley, said: The feeling of the people of Virginia is rather unanimous that it was unfortunate that this decision should have been handed down. Dr Tinsley, president of the Richmond branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, has welcomed the courts ruling as long overdue. Dr Tinsley, who is a dentist, has branded the policy of segregation as ridiculous, unreligious and unconstitutional. He said segregation laws in Virginia meant black and white people could not sit down together in a hall where an entry fee had to be paid. Blacks are also forced to sit at the back in buses. Courtesy BBC News In context An 1896 Supreme Court decision first established the separate but equal principle. It permitted separate trains or carriages for white and black passengers as long as they were equal in nature. In 1954 the US Supreme Court declared racial segregation in schools and colleges unlawful. Its decision launched the legal movement to desegregate American society. The 1956 decision upheld the earlier ruling but racial segregation was still a major problem in many southern states. In 1957 troops were sent into Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce the ban. In 1964 the Civil Rights Law prohibited racial discrimination in education, employment or in public places. However, the move to desegregate schools received a setback in 1974 when a Supreme Court decision banned plans to mix schools across city-suburban boundaries. It has meant central city schools have become increasingly attended by non-white students. Like this: Like Loading... Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has long been considered a contender to the post of the countrys next paramount ruler even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war last week and despite the fact hes has never been elected or appointed to a government position. A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leaders offices killed his 86-year-old father. Also killed were the younger Khameneis wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the countrys theocracy. Khamenei is believed to still be alive and has likely has gone into hiding as American and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran, though state-run Iranian media have not reported on his whereabouts. Profile of Khameneis son rises after airstrike Mojtaba Khameneis name continues to circulate as a possible candidate to replace his father, something that had been criticized in the past as potentially creating a theocratic version of Irans former hereditary monarchy. But now with his father and wife considered by hard-liners as martyrs in the war against America and Israel, Khameneis stock likely has risen with the aging clerics of the 88-seat Assembly of Experts who will select the countrys next supreme leader. Whoever becomes the leader will gain control of an Iranian military now at war and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon should he choose to decree it. Khamenei had occupied a similar role to that of Ahmad Khomeini, a son of Irans first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini a combination of aide-de-camp, confidant, gatekeeper and power broker, according to United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based pressure group. Born into dissent Born in 1969 in the city of Mashhad, some 10 years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that would sweep Iran, Khamenei grew up as his father agitated against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. An official biography on Ali Khameneis life recounts one moment when the shahs secret police, the SAVAK, broke into their home and beat the cleric. Woken up after, Mojtaba and the rest of Khameneis children were told their father was going on vacation. But I told them, There is no need to lie. I told them the truth, the elder Khamenei was quoted as saying. After the fall of the shah, Khameneis family moved to Tehran, Irans capital. Khamenei would go on to fight in the Iran-Iraq war with the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a division of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that would see several of its members ascend to powerful intelligence positions within the force likely with the backing of the Khamenei family. His father became supreme leader in 1989 and soon Mojtaba Khamenei and his family had access to the billions of dollars and business assets spread across Irans many bonyads, or foundations funded from state industries and other wealth once held by the shah. Power rises with his fathers His own power rose alongside his fathers, working within his offices in downtown Tehran. U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s began referring to the younger Khamenei as the power behind the robes. One recounted an allegation that Khamenei actually tapped his own fathers phone, served as his principal gatekeeper and had been forming his own power base within the country. Khamenei is widely viewed within the regime as a capable and forceful leader and manager who may someday succeed to at least a share of national leadership; his father may also see him in that light, a 2008 cable read, also noting his lack of theological qualifications and age. Mojtaba is, however, due to his skills, wealth, and unmatched alliances, reportedly seen by a number of regime insiders as a plausible candidate for shared leadership of Iran upon his fathers demise, whether that demise is soon or years in the future, it said. Khamenei has worked closely with Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, both with commanders of its expeditionary Quds Force and its all-volunteer Basij that violently suppressed nationwide protests in January, the U.S. Treasury has said. The United States sanctioned him in 2019 during the first term of U.S President Donald Trump over working to advance his fathers destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives. That includes allegations that Khamenei from behind the scenes supported the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 and his disputed re-election in 2009 that sparked the Green Movement protests. Mahdi Karroubi, who was a presidential candidate in 2005 and 2009, denounced Khamenei as a masters son and alleged he interfered in both votes. His father reportedly at the time said Khamenei was a master himself, not a masters son. JON GAMBRELL, DUBAI, MDT/AP Like this: Like Loading... Visitor arrivals in January this year were roughly on par with levels recorded one year earlier, with this years figure exceeding 2025 results by just 767 visitors. In January this year, according to official figures from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macau received 3,647,328 visitors, 0.02% higher than in January 2025. Concurrently, the January figure was 1.88% higher than December 2025 on a month-on-month basis, when approximately 3,580,130 people visited Macau. Detailed analysis of the same figures shows that of the 3.65 million visitors in January this year, the majority were same-day visitors (2,254,699), representing a 4.6% year-on-year increase. On the other hand, overnight visitors (1,392,629) declined by 6.6%. No significant changes were noted regarding length of stay. As for the source of visitors, arrivals from the Chinese mainland decreased by 1.6% year-on-year to 2,705,231 in January, with those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (1,452,011) decreasing by 9.6%. According to DSEC, the decline was mainly due to a higher comparison base, as last years Lunar New Year holiday on the mainland fell in late January. Visitors from Hong Kong (570,490) dropped by 1.3% year-on-year, while those from Taiwan (93,154) rose by 20.7%. International visitor growth International visitors totaled 278,453 in January, up 15.5% year-on-year. Driving this growth were Southeast Asian markets, with visitors from Malaysia (18,252), Thailand (18,039), and Singapore (10,128) surging by 52.3%, 80.5%, and 28.6%, respectively. On the other hand, declines were recorded in two of Macaus traditional source markets, with visitors from the Philippines (45,425) and Indonesia (16,874) decreasing by 6.3% and 21.8%, respectively. Another source market that recorded significant growth was India, which rose by 54.1% year-on-year to 10,244 visitors. South Korea, the top international source market in 2025, continued to show strong performance in January, with 75,198 visitors, representing a 14.5% year-on-year increase. On the other hand, visitors from Japan continued to decline (-1.6% year-on-year) to 11,834. Long-haul visitors were led by the United States (12,948), which increased by 4.7% year-on-year in January. Russian visitors on the rise Notably, among long-haul markets, visitors from Russia recorded a significant jump, increasing by 86.6% year-on-year in January to nearly 7,700 visitors. Tourism sector experts said the increase in Russian visitors is directly linked to the new direct flight route between Vladivostok, Russia, and Macau, which launched on December 23, 2025. The flight, operated by Cambodia Airways, runs three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). The approximate flight time is five hours. According to the Russian Consulate General in Hong Kong, the opening of this direct route strengthens the regions position in developing Chinese destinations. Over the first 11 months of 2025, passenger traffic to China reached 417,000 a remarkable 87% increase compared with 2024. Back in May 2017, Royal Flight Airlines relaunched a weekly charter service between Macau and Moscow, with plans to increase frequency to twice weekly during the summer. At the time, Eric Fong, director of the Marketing Department of Macau International Airport (MIA) Company, said that MIA has been longing for opportunities to launch the Russian market for many years. Flight resumption between Macau and Moscow complied with our long-term commitment to grow mid- to long-haul services of MIA. Despite this charter flight not achieving the expected success, Macau continued to be linked to major cities in Russia primarily via connecting flights through Shanghai or Beijing. Still, the addition of the direct Vladivostok flight appears to be playing a significant role in the increase in visitors from Russia, who are characterized as high-spending travelers. Six years ago, in an interview with the Times, a former Russian model who lived in Macau for more than 10 years noted that she saw great potential in Macaus appeal to Russian visitors. Mila Just, at the time a co-creator of the Instagram page macaoguide, said she created the page after discovering strong interest among Russian people in learning more about Macau. Noting that the Russian market represents a major opportunity, she said that for most people in Russia, Macau is still unknown. People only know that Macau is located right next to Hong Kong and that it has casinos, but they do not realize how rich it is in cultural diversity and influences. She added that Macanese cuisine also has the potential to attract Russian palates, as it may offer a very homey feeling for them. With so much to see and experience in Macau, these tourists are likely to stay in the city for several days rather than making single-day visits. Like this: Like Loading... Chinas legislature is set to meet today, where it will unveil the countrys policy direction and economic goals for the coming years. The meeting is held in Beijing, where the National Peoples Congress and its advisory body gather. The National Peoples Congress will ratify new laws decided by Chinas Communist Party leadership. While the near 3,000 member body technically votes, the vote is always almost unanimous. Also meeting is the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body composed of elite members of Chinese society, from businessmen to athletes. They also include representatives from Chinas minority groups, but the body has little power on issues of public policy. The gathering of these two bodies is called the Two Sessions. A long, long time ago, it was a venue for policy deliberation, and even controversial things, said Alfred Wu, a professor of public policy at the National University of Singapore. Economy is front and center The National Peoples Congress is when the Chinese premier announces the countrys GDP targets and other economic targets for the year. This year, observers are waiting for details for the 15th five-year plan, of which the government had revealed a draft in October. It is expected to be focused on building tech prowess and self-sufficiency. China issues five-year plans to direct its economy, a legacy of its historical approach when it had a planned economy. The Chinese economy remains sluggish, with high youth unemployment, weak housing prices and sagging domestic consumption. It also faces a trade war with the U.S., which has leveraged tariffs on all Chinese goods. Experts have said China will have to strike a tough balance between its goals of boosting its tech manufacturing, such as in robotics, renewable energy and AI, and boosting domestic consumption as many ordinary people are feeling the pinch. Tech supply chains are narrow and the trickle-down effect is less pronounced. China is likely to drop its headline growth target to a record low, predicted Neil Thomas and Lobsang Tsering, policy experts at the Asia Society. It will be significant as a step in a shift from high-speed to high-quality growth, they wrote. Personnel movements are not expected Chinas legislature dismissed 19 members last week, after a highly publicized removal of two of its most senior generals in January. Now, only one member remains of the powerful Central Military Commission, which controls the military, but policy experts say they do not expect any personnel announcements in the upcoming Two Sessions. Observers like to closely watch attendance for any signs of possible purges, however. Xi Jinping has removed possibly up to 100 senior officials in the Peoples Liberation Army in the past four years, according to new research from the Center for Strategic Studies, with the most prominent being General Zhang Youxia in January. Yet, there is likely no great rush from the leadership to find a replacement. I dont think theyre particularly worried about this, said Wu of National University Singapore. For example, he said, Wang Yi became foreign minister again after stepping down from the job initially because of the high-profile removal of Qin Gang, previously his replacement. HUIZHONG WU, BEIJING, MDT/AP Like this: Like Loading... Opinion leaders from the tourism and community sectors declared the 2026 Lunar New Year Golden Week a success on public broadcaster TDMs Macau Forum Wednesday, citing record visitor numbers and effective crowd management, while calling for enhanced customs efficiency at Hengqin Port ahead of the May Day and National Day holidays. Andy Wu, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, described the period, with hotel occupancy reaching 95%, as ushering in a good start, noting peaks from the third through seventh days of Lunar New Year exceeding 200,000 daily visitors and surpassing previous years two- to three-day rushes. Wu told the live current affairs program, Macaus tourism industry can be said to be developing very well, and it has also exceeded 40 million visitors, and when we look at the New Year period, we can use an opening number to describe our Golden Week, because this Golden Week had a nine-day holiday. The average number of tourists visiting Macau was 172,000 per day, and the total number of visitors to Macau was more than 1.55 million. Wu also highlighted relatively moderate four- and five-star hotel rates of around RMB 2,000 as tourist-friendly, with mainland visitors spending boosted by favorable RMB exchange rates during the period. Activities supported by the government, such as firework drone shows, float parades, and firecracker zones, also drew large crowds during the holiday. Choi Chi Seng, deputy director of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macaus (UGAMM) District Development Center, praised the zones for safety and spillover effects, stating that they prevented shoulder-to-shoulder congestion and encouraged spending beyond typical tourist hotspots. The experts highlighted pedestrian-only zones in Senado Square and Old Taipa, which diverted crowds to surrounding shops and boosted local business by 30% or more. Choi also credited targeted district activities such as dragon dances and cultural events for spreading the festive atmosphere, urging stronger merchant linkages and year-round strategies to better showcase Macaus story. Meanwhile, Chan Hio Teng, a member of the Central District Community Service Consultative Council, said government preparations such as additional bus routes and tiered crowd-control measures worked well, safely channeling visitors from the Ruins of St. Pauls to other districts. If we provide more distinctive attractions and real-time traffic route suggestions, we can better guide the flow of people to different areas not only informing tourists where traffic is congested, but actively directing them to communities and attractions with lighter traffic. In this way, we can transform passive control into active guidance, she said. Chan reaffirmed the 30% to 40% increase in foot traffic reported by nearby merchants, validating point-to-line tourism strategies. She also supported technology-driven upgrades such as AI models to analyze port and bus data for crowd forecasting; app alerts via the Macao One Account or tourism platforms to guide visitors to less crowded areas; and dynamic short-route bus services. I have also noticed that demand for seasonal bus services among tourists is relatively high, because when tourists come to Macau, in addition to taking casino shuttle buses, they also hope to use local public transportation and experience Macaus bus routes, Chan said. She added that seasonal bus routes should operate during peak holidays. These seasonal routes could allow for better separation between tourists and residents, as most would travel to major tourist areas, reducing pressure on regular bus services used by residents, Chan noted. Like this: Like Loading... A local Portuguese-language media outlet reported numerous errors in Macaus Portuguese language usage, with a commentator suggesting that the government is gradually placing less emphasis on the language, while societal concerns about the increasing prevalence of Cantonese culture in the region continue to grow. Last year, a media outlet published a special report titled What Language Do They Speak in Macau? which noted that Cantonese has a centuries-old history in Macau, with deep-rooted foundations, and serves as a vehicle for cultural transmission. However, this city, which officially recognizes Chinese and Portuguese as its languages, has witnessed heated debates about its linguistic boundaries, prompting the question highlighted in the report: Does Chinese refer to Cantonese, Mandarin, or other dialects? The latest data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), referenced in the report, indicates that while Cantonese remains the primary everyday language in Macau used by 537,981 out of a total population of 663,782 aged 3 or older in 2021 the number of Mandarin users has steadily increased, with 31,405 individuals using Mandarin as their daily language. This trend is becoming increasingly noticeable, as local residents who use Cantonese daily, regardless of age, have remarked, Its become ubiquitous. Macau is distinctly recognized as an immigrant city, characterized by its unique immigration mechanisms and trends. In recent years, the region has focused on attracting high-skilled talent to bolster its tourism and gaming industries, primarily recruiting professionals from mainland China and abroad. Proposals have emerged to expedite immigration approval processes for Macau expatriates, particularly those who have worked in the region for many years. As a result, a distinct Macau expat community has formed, composed of non-local high-income professionals working long-term in the city. Residents from Hong Kong, Macau, or overseas can apply for Macaus Residence Permit through family reunification channels such as marriage. Consequently, the city is a melting pot of languages, with Chinese dialects such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Min Nan, and Hakka circulating alongside Portuguese and English, as well as Southeast Asian languages including Thai, Filipino, Burmese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Khmer. The status of Cantonese in Macau appears precarious. Shenzhen, part of the Cantonese-speaking Guangfu dialect group and similarly recognized as an immigrant city, has long prioritized Mandarin, leading to public expectations that Hong Kong and Macau should work to preserve Cantonese culture. However, in Macaus northern district, Mandarin appears to have already become dominant on the streets, with students speaking fluent Mandarin. Concerns about the gradual fading or even potential disappearance of Cantonese were raised by legislators as early as 2020. As a vital regional language, Cantonese embodies rich cultural traditions through its phonetics and vocabulary, showcasing distinct local characteristics. Notably, in the years leading up to the handover of Macau, new immigrants whether Filipino or Mandarin speakers actively learned Cantonese to integrate into what they viewed as a new society. However, the recent rise in the number of schoolchildren lacking proficiency in Cantonese raises a pressing question: Will this issue attract the governments attention? Similar to yesterdays publication, Concerns Rise as Portuguese Language Use Shows Signs of Decline, the government also appears responsible for addressing the issue of Cantoneses diminishing influence. As the regulator, authorities should reflect on incidents such as the PUTA case, which highlight a broader concern. In a city where Cantonese is the primary language of communication, why do some residents or shop owners prefer to write Portuguese tart as PUTA using Mandarin pinyin instead of pou4 taat3? This raises questions about the preservation of Cantonese and its significance in Macau. Like this: Like Loading... As Chinas annual Two Sessions opened in Beijing, the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in Macau announced plans to hold a briefing next Friday on the significance of the meetings. Xia Baolong, the top official overseeing Hong Kong and Macau affairs, said he hopes all sectors will recognize the strategic importance of the 15th Five-Year Plan period for the two regions. The official also met with Macau and Hong Kong deputies of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) and members of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) attending the sessions in Beijing. According to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Xia urged delegates to fully recognize the extraordinary significance of the 15th Five-Year Plan period for Hong Kong and Macau, to cherish the favorable situation in both regions, and to align with the nations overarching priorities. He emphasized the importance of fulfilling their duties, promoting high-quality development, integrating more deeply into national development strategies, and contributing to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee began in Beijing on Wednesday, with its main agenda including participation in the fourth session of the NPC, discussion of the government work report, and deliberation on the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The fourth session of the NPC is scheduled to open this morning and will conclude next Thursday, spanning eight days and featuring three plenary meetings and a total of 11 agenda items. Reports indicated that several Macau-based NPC deputies and CPPCC members noted that Xia emphasized that the current alignment with the 15th Five-Year Plan is taking place under favorable and harmonious conditions. He outlined four key objectives: studying, publicizing, and implementing the spirit of central policies; advancing national security work; supporting the special administrative region government in governing according to law; and leading efforts to showcase Macaus successful implementation of the One Country, Two Systems framework. Local NPC deputy Chui Sai Peng highlighted that the 15th Five-Year Plan includes a dedicated chapter for Macau, with clearly defined tasks, including the expectation that Macaus achievements in integrating science, technology, and cultural creativity will be featured on the national Spring Festival Gala stage. According to a sidelines interview given by Chui to Chinese media after his meeting with Xia, the director reiterated the importance of committee members diligently fulfilling their duties, urging them to first understand the central policy spirit themselves before conveying it to the broader community upon returning home. The Macau delegation held its first meeting after arriving in Beijing, electing Lao Ngai Leong as delegation leader, with Kou Hoi In and Chui Sai Peng serving as deputy leaders. Chui also serves as the delegations spokesperson. Like this: Like Loading... YOHO Group, one of the citys hospitality operators, is investing MOP30 million to establish a food court as part of the ongoing revamp of the former New Century Hotel in Taipa, which has been closed since 2017. According to the companys official website, the latest update indicates that the property is scheduled to begin trial operations in the third quarter of this year, potentially as early as August. The integrated project will consist of two hotels, offering about 700 five-star hotel rooms and an additional 240 rooms. The development will extend beyond accommodation to include a retail component YOHO Mall The Gold Coast Shoppes as well as the food court. The project describes the venue, positioned as a Macau specialty food hub + local entrepreneurship incubator, as housing 17 food and beverage stalls, offering nearly 260 indoor seats and about 50 outdoor leisure seats. The group said applications will be open to residents with priority given to first-time entrepreneurs and local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a public tender. Winners will receive design and fit-out subsidies covering 25% to 100% of costs, plus one year of rent-free tenancy. We know that many talented entrepreneurs in Macau are discouraged by steep start-up costs and complex construction and licensing procedures, the company said, positioning the food court as an incubator for new ventures. This is not just a commercial project, but a social experiment in heritage and innovation, YOHO said. Applications will open tomorrow during a briefing session and will run until the end of the month. The hotel opened as New Century Hotel in 1992 and was rebranded in 2013 as the Beijing Imperial Palace before its closure. Rebranded again under the operator as the YOHO Gold Coast Hotel, reconstruction has been ongoing since last year, and the group has yet to announce the total investment for the projects full redevelopment. Continuing its legacy with renewed significance for the modern era, the YOHO Group is not only committed to providing high-quality accommodation but also determined, through this project, to create for Macau not just a dining venue, but a social hub that fosters creativity and community bonds, the operator said. According to Macau Business, YOHO filed two separate hotel license applications for the site last month one for a five-star hotel and another for two-star accommodation. The hillside property, located on Estrada Nordeste, spans 14,918 square meters next to the City University of Macau in Taipa. When it first opened as the five-star New Century Hotel, it offered about 500 rooms and later became home to the now-inoperative Greek Mythology casino. Operations ceased three years later amid a prolonged ownership dispute between Empresa Hoteleira and Victory Success. Empresa Hoteleira is reportedly controlled by former junket promoter Ng Man Sun, while Victory Success was previously linked to Alvin Chau, the former head of Suncity Group. Chau was sentenced to 18 years in prison in early 2023 for leading a criminal syndicate and operating illegal gambling businesses. Details regarding the current ownership of the property have not been released. The developer is behind local projects including the YOHO Treasure Island Hotel, YOHO Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and residential developments such as YOHO Twins, Cotai Marina Bay, and Oscar Crescent. Reports have linked the company to businesswoman Ao Mio Leong and Mike Lam Hin Wai, brother of former Transport Bureau (DSAT) director Lam Hin San. The company said in a statement that the site was once a landmark in Macaus illustrious history of gaming and tourism. Ricaela Diputado Like this: Like Loading... KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 In Malaysias rapidly expanding creator economy, going viral is no longer the hardest part of the job. Staying steady when the tide turns when comment sections sour and public patience runs out is where many creators discover what visibility really costs. For some, criticism arrives in waves; for others, it becomes a constant hum in the background of their career. Yet the creators who endure say survival has less to do with popularity than with pacing, recalibration and knowing when to tune out the noise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Malay Mail spoke to three Malaysian digital personalities about what happens after the flaming ends and how they keep moving despite the scrutiny. Once compared to his inspiration Zach King, Sofyank turned doubts about his identity into motivation refining his craft and showing that growth can outlast criticism. Picture by Raymond Manuel Once compared to his inspiration Zach King, Sofyank turned doubts about his identity into motivation refining his craft and showing that growth can outlast criticism. Picture by Raymond Manuel When backlash shapes a creators identity Special-effects creator Muhammad Sofian Abdullah, better known as Sofyank, built his early audience on ambitious illusion videos. But those beginnings came with persistent comparisons to digital illusionist Zach King, whose style he admired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many said I didnt have my own identity, which I admit was true, he said. I couldnt defend myself, so what I did was just continue creating videos and show the world that I do this because I love it. Years later, that same mindset carried him through another round of online scrutiny this time over a Singapore promotional video. A small group of viewers reacted negatively, while the majority supported the intention behind the project. The people that left positive comments understood the intention behind why I made that video, he said. Rather than allowing backlash to define him, he refined his craft and shifted towards stronger storytelling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There will always be some negative feedback maybe 10 per cent negative and 90 per cent positive. I choose to focus on the 90 per cent, he said. Why focus on the small portion of negativity when so many others are supportive? Brian See reflects on navigating harsh online criticism and why staying true to his passion continues to guide his journey in Malaysias digital space. Picture via YouTube/Brian See Official Brian See reflects on navigating harsh online criticism and why staying true to his passion continues to guide his journey in Malaysias digital space. Picture via YouTube/Brian See Official Staying grounded when early comments sting For fashion and lifestyle creator Brian See, 32, the first hurdle was learning to withstand the tone of digital criticism. When I first started, there were a lot of negative and harsh comments that made me doubt myself, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See said his resilience grew when he began separating purpose from pressure. Passion comes first. Dont forget why you started, he said. The people who support me are a main factor in why I continue. I always aspire to inspire. His approach quietly adjusting rather than reacting reflects a shift many long-time creators make as they age alongside their audiences. The work becomes less about proving oneself and more about maintaining steadiness in a fast-moving ecosystem. From enduring public flaming to carving a path in DJing and film, Ms Puiyi shares how resilience and self-belief helped her rise above the noise. Picture by Firdaus Latif From enduring public flaming to carving a path in DJing and film, Ms Puiyi shares how resilience and self-belief helped her rise above the noise. Picture by Firdaus Latif Strength after long-term flaming Content creator and DJ Siew Puiyi, better known as Ms Puiyi, has long been familiar with public flaming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 27-year-olds earliest content drew widespread attention and, with it, heavy criticism. I think every creator gets hate at some point its almost unavoidable, especially when youre very visible online, she said. In the beginning, it really affected me. Im human too reading negative comments can hurt. Sometimes I would overthink and question myself. At one point, she thought about quitting. But stepping back allowed her to reflect on why she began creating in the first place. After resting and reflecting, I always realised this is still something I love doing, she said. So I chose to grow stronger instead of giving up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She has since pushed into acting and international DJing, appearing in local films such as Pulau (2023) and The Honey Trap (2025), while performing in Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia and Singapore. As more Gen Z creators enter the digital space, content creation is becoming an increasingly aspirational career. Picture by Yusof Mat Isa As more Gen Z creators enter the digital space, content creation is becoming an increasingly aspirational career. Picture by Yusof Mat Isa What newcomers should know As a new wave of Gen Z creators steps onto the scene, the trio said many are drawn in by aesthetics and engagement metrics, without realising how much steadiness the work demands. For Sofyank, the lesson has always been that visuals mean little without intention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What I put in my content is the quality When it comes to making content, the most important thing is that you need to sell the story, he said, outlining a principle shaped by years of refining his own voice online. Ms Puiyi frames it differently, seeing longevity as a discipline in itself. Dont chase fame first. Focus on building value You need discipline, creativity, and thick skin, she said, noting that consistency matters more than instant visibility. And for Brian See, the advice lands in a quieter place. Trend cycles come and go, he said, but the core of the work doesnt change: Create content that is authentic and inspires the younger generation. Life beyond the flames Criticism will always accompany online visibility, but the creators that Malay Mail spoke to indicated that the real challenge is deciding what to take with you and what to leave behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What unites them is a refusal to let the toughest comments define the rest of their work. Algorithms will change and audiences will move, but for these creators, resilience quiet, slow, and hard-earned is what keeps them online long after the flames die down. Since the death of neo-fascist activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon on 14 February, following a clash between fascist and antifascist groups at a La France Insoumise (LFI) meeting, the right and far right have been trying to exploit the situation to cause maximum damage to LFI. All the bourgeois media are following the government and reactionary politicians in accusing LFI of supporting political violence. To make the picture complete and more frightening, they add the ritual and no less absurd accusation of antisemitism. The minute of silence for Deranque at the Palais Bourbon was one of the high points if one can call it that of this offensive against LFI and the radical left. It was a truly astonishing spectacle: a tribute from members of parliament to an activist who had been involved with Action Francaise, and who is both a monarchist and an antisemite! The cynicism and hypocrisy of this propaganda operation are obvious. The accusers have absolutely no problem with violence, as long as it serves their class interests. For example, when police officers killed El Hacen Diarra a Mauritian migrant worker on 15 January, the right, the far right, and the government looked the other way. In general, they do not defend the victims, but the police. Fascist and racist attacks The racist and islamophobic campaign that successive governments, the right, the far right, and their media outlets have been waging on the country for so many years is a constant incitement to violence against foreigners. And their efforts often bear fruit. In March 2022, former Argentine rugby player Federico Martin Aramburu was shot dead in the streets of Paris by a neo-Nazi militant after intervening to protect the victim of a racist attack. In December of the same year, a far-right sympathiser killed three people in a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris. In May 2025 in the Var region, another racist killed Hichem Miraoui, a Tunisian hairdresser. Unfortunately, there are many other examples of racist attacks and murders committed in recent years by the far right. The campaign orchestrated by the ruling class also encourages fascist groups to attack activists of the radical left, including LFI. Last spring, armed fascists attacked a public meeting in Paris. Two activists from the CGT and Young Struggle were wounded with knives. LFI MEP Rima Hassans meetings when they are not banned by the prefectures or university administrations are systematically targeted by provocations from far-right groups. Here again, there are countless examples. As revealed by an investigation by L'Humanite, the fascist organisation Nemesis which was active in Lyon on 12 February has specialised in provoking clashes with left-wing activists, so that its members can present themselves as victims of left-wing violence. For the bourgeoisie, violence is a variable concept: it is acceptable, even legitimate, when it comes from the police or the far right and targets immigrants or the labour movement. But for them, it is intolerable when it comes from left-wing activists or workers. For a class response With municipal elections just a few weeks away and the presidential election a little over a year away, this vast campaign against LFI clearly has ulterior motives. The fact that leaders of the right wing of reformism such as Yannick Jadot and Olivier Faure, or defectors from LFI such as Alexis Corbiere, are joining in, makes these manoeuvres even more obvious. But beyond these considerations and LFI itself, it is the entire labour movement that is being targeted as demonstrated by the attack on the Solidaires office in Lyon on 15 February and which must therefore respond firmly, actively, and en masse. The CGT, in particular, must not passively observe the hate campaign and implicit calls for violence targeting Jean-Luc Melenchons movement. A united front of all left-wing organisations political and trade union must be formed, to mobilise young people and workers on a large scale against the violence of fascist groups, police violence, racist attacks, the repression of trade union activists, and the ongoing campaign to stigmatise immigrants and Muslims. This is a matter of defending our most fundamental democratic rights, but also of the unity of our class in the struggle against austerity policies, growing precariousness, the destruction of public services, company closures, and all the other scourges engendered by capitalism in crisis. ONS FinServ is transforming the Mauritian financial landscape in 2026 by moving beyond traditional back-office administration toward a tech-enabled gateway for digital capital. By integrating AI into KYC and NAV validation, while leveraging the matured VCC structure, the firm provides a sophisticated, cost-effective alternative to jurisdictions like Mauritius, Dubai and Singapore. Operating across the DIFC-Mauritius-Africa corridor, ONS FinServ facilitates seamless investment flows while maintaining world-class regulatory standards and driving local talent development to ensure a high-transparency international hub. Ashwanee Ramsurrun, Co-founder and Group CEO shares insights: 1. ONS FinServ has spoken about modernising financial services in Mauritius. In 2026, how are AI and blockchain practically transforming fund administration and positioning Mauritius as more than just a back-office centre? Mauritius is no longer just a documentation and processing jurisdiction. At ONS FinServ, we are using AI to: Automate KYC and AML risk screening Streamline investor onboarding Monitor regulatory reporting Improve NAV validation and reconciliation processes On the blockchain side, were closely studying tokenised fund structures and digital asset custody integration. The real shift is this: Mauritius is moving from processing paperwork to digitally managing capital. Thats how you compete with Singapore not by copying it, but by becoming faster, smarter, and tech-enabled. 2. You were among the early adopters of the Mauritius VCC. In 2026, how do global fund managers view it? Is it now a serious alternative to structures like Singapores VCC? The Mauritius VCC has matured significantly. When it launched, managers were cautious. Today, they see: Segregated sub-fund flexibility Cost efficiency compared to Singapore Strong regulatory oversight Tax treaty advantages for Africa and India Is it replacing Singapore? Not entirely. But for Africa-focused and India-bound strategies, Mauritius VCC is becoming the structure of choice, especially for emerging managers and mid-sized funds who want flexibility without excessive cost. The perception has shifted from new structure to strategic option. 3. With your presence in DIFC and Mauritius, are you seeing more capital flow through this Middle EastMauritiusAfrica corridor? Yes, and its accelerating. Were seeing: Middle Eastern family offices exploring African private credit DIFC-based managers using Mauritius SPVs for Africa deployment Gulf capital seeking structured entry into Indian and East African markets Mauritius acts as the stabilising bridge: Middle East capital Mauritius structuring African opportunity. It offers treaty access, regulatory familiarity, and administrative efficiency. In 2026, this Triangular Corridor is no longer theoretical, its operational. 4. How has institutional perception of Mauritius evolved compared to five years ago? Five years ago, investors asked: Is Mauritius still safe?. Today they ask: How quickly can we structure through Mauritius?. The shift has been reputational resilience. Mauritius has: Strengthened AML enforcement Increased substance requirements Improved transparency standards Maintained treaty network credibility Institutional investors now view Mauritius as a compliant, regulated gateway and not a light-touch offshore centre. That reputational shift is significant. 5. Beyond structuring and administration, how is ONS FinServ contributing to real social impact within Mauritius? For us, ESG is not just fund labelling. The S means: Hiring and training local financial talent Supporting digital upskilling initiatives Promoting governance standards among emerging managers Encouraging responsible structuring practices If Mauritius is to grow as an IFC, its ecosystem must grow with it ie. lawyers, administrators, compliance officers, analysts. We see ourselves as builders of infrastructure and not just service providers. The former head of the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), Simon Akuei Deng, has been detained after returning to Juba to answer questions over alleged corruption. Akuei, who previously served as Commissioner General of the SSRA, handed himself over to the National Security Service (NSS) on Tuesday. Authorities say the detentions form part of investigations into financial malpractices and irregularities in the monetary system, although it remains unclear whether formal charges have been filed. A family member told Eye Radio that Akuei had travelled abroad on urgent private matters and returned voluntarily in what they described as an act of good faith. The family stressed there was no intention to evade authorities and urged the public to avoid speculation or politicisation of the matter. His detention comes amid a string of high-profile arrests. Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol, a former finance minister, was intercepted in Nimule last Friday over claims he was attempting to cross into Uganda. Former Central bank governor Moses Makur Deng has been placed under house arrest in Juba, while another former finance minister, Marial Dongrin Ater, was arrested in Rumbek and flown to the capital. Deng Lual Wol, former undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, and senior security official Manasseh Machar Bol have also been taken into custody. Civil society activist Edmund Yakani welcomed anti-corruption efforts but urged transparency and strict adherence to due process. He cautioned that investigations must not be used to delay elections scheduled for December 2026, as the country prepares for its first national polls. Appointed in November 2024, Akuei had been tasked with modernizing a revenue system long criticized for leakages, championing digital reforms to automate tax collection. He was dismissed in November 2025. His career has been closely linked to businessman Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, a former vice-president who was also removed from office in November 2025 and later placed under house arrest. Both men have previously been associated with companies involved in the controversial oil-for-roads programme, which financed infrastructure projects, including the JubaBor highway, through crude oil exports. Morocco has reiterated its firm commitment to South-South cooperation in nuclear and radiological safety during the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), convening in Vienna from from 2 to 6March. Moroccos permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna Azzeddine Ferhane underlined, in an address he made during this gathering, Moroccos adherence to nuclear safety standards set by IAEA to protect people and the environment from radiation. Key standards include high-quality design, robust containment, and rigorous operational monitoring. Mr. Ferhane hailed the IAEAs efforts to strengthen nuclear & radiological safety during transport of nuclear waste safety and foster nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) capacity which involves establishing comprehensive frameworks to mitigate radiation hazards. This includes hazard assessment, emergency planning (EPR), protective actions, and training for first responders. As nuclear safety responsibility is part of the States national obligations and international commitments, the Moroccan ambassador has outlined his countrys sustained efforts engaged to modernize its regulatory framework on nuclear safety and harmonize its national legislation with IAEA safety standards. As part of its commitment, Morocco hosted two IAEA review missions, said Mr. Ferhane, noting that the emergency preparedness and response review mission praised the Moroccan national nuclear and radiological emergency system, exceeding expectations set by the IAEA safety standards. For its part, the mission of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) lauded Moroccos effective measures taken to set a new legal and regulatory framework for nuclear and radiological safety. Morocco has also renewed commitment to continue to share its experience with African countries and work with its regional and international partners to contribute to strengthening the international nuclear safety standards. Mauritania and Cote dIvoire have signed a cooperation protocol aimed at strengthening collaboration in the livestock sector. The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Nouakchott by Mauritanias Minister of Livestock, SidAhmed Ould Mohamed, and Cote dIvoires Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources, Sidi Tiemoko Toure. The protocol seeks to enhance bilateral cooperation in livestock development, including the organization and expansion of Mauritanian livestock exports to the Ivorian market. The initiative is expected to help meet increasing demand in Cote dIvoire, particularly during the Eid al-Adha season. The agreement also focuses on coordinating efforts in animal health, harmonizing veterinary procedures and certification systems, and regulating financing and transportation arrangements linked to livestock trade. In addition, both countries agreed to promote investment in meat processing and the development of animal-based products to strengthen the value chain in the sector. Officials said the deal reflects the shared commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation and support regional economic integration. Little Aroof Ali finally gave up the fight on Tuesday night. For 10 long, agonising days, the three-and-a-half-year-old had been holding on swathed in bandages, with life-support equipment that kept his little heart beating. Aroofs condition had deteriorated rapidly after a minor, 15-minute elbow surgery at Saboo Siddique Hospital on Sandhurst Road went horribly wrong on February 23, leaving him brain dead and his family searching for answers. Allegations of negligence by the anaesthesiologist during the operation have surfaced, which the doctor has denied. But in the moments after Aroof was gone, his father Sultan Ali was shocked when the hospital demanded that the family first clear the outstanding amount of Rs 1.4 lakh before the childs body was released. My child had just died, and they started talking about money, Ali said. They told us clearly pay the bill first, then you can take the body. It is when Ashraf Khan intervened then hospital administration agreed to release my sons body, Ali added. Khan, a social activist, has been helping the family in their interactions with the hospital. There are contrasting accounts of how a minor surgery on February 23 ended in tragedy for the Ali family. I brought a happy, playful child to this hospital, said the father. Ten days later, they told me my son is gone. According to hospital, the childs recovery from a minor surgical procedure involving K-wire fixation on the elbow took a devastating turn during post-operative care. Doctors say the child suffered apnea a sudden stoppage of breathing which resulted in severe brain damage. The child was placed on ventilator support and remained in a coma while doctors monitored his condition. Paediatrician Dr Atique Deshmukh, who oversaw the childs treatment, said the damage had become irreversible. Brain death had already been declared earlier, and there were no further active medical options available, Dr. Deshmukh said. Supportive care was being given, but the neurological condition remained irreversible. However, Sultan alleges that despite his sons deteriorating condition, doctors continued to reassure the family that the child might recover. They kept asking us to wait and have faith, he said. Every day we believed he would come back to us. Now, the father says he is left wondering whether the family was kept in the dark about the severity of the childs condition. If there was no chance of saving him, why didnt they tell us earlier? Ali asked. Why keep us hoping while our child was slipping away? The situation escalated further after the hospital allegedly demanded Rs 1.4 lakh before releasing the body. Ali said the demand was repeated several times. They said, Clear the bill, take the NOC, then take the body, he alleged. We were begging for our child, not arguing about money. Unable to resolve the situation on their own, the family contacted social activist Ashraf Khan, who intervened with hospital authorities before the body was eventually released without immediate payment. Withholding the body of a deceased patient over unpaid dues has repeatedly been declared illegal by Indian courts, which have ruled that such actions violate the dignity of the dead. The childs body was sent to the civic-run KEM Hospital on Wednesday for a post-mortem examination. The report, expected within two to three days, will determine the exact cause of death. Meanwhile, the family has filed a complaint alleging medical negligence and improper conduct by hospital staff. Relatives and locals who gathered outside the hospital demanded a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident. They came here with trust, said a relative. Instead, they are leaving with grief and unanswered questions. The grieving family, originally from Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh, is now preparing to take the childs body back to their village for the final rites. The Gulf nations sold themselves as islands of calm in a turbulent neighbourhood protected by American security guarantees, insulated from regional wars, and open for business for decades. Last weekend, that bargain was tested. As Iran retaliated against US and Israeli strikes, it launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the fossil-fuel-rich countries that host American military bases the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and beyond. The message from Tehran was clear: those who house US forces are no longer bystanders. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Irans foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had begun by attacking the enemys military bases in the region. We have made efforts to target only military personnel and facilities that assist them in operations against Iran, he said. The regions security architecture long anchored in US bases suddenly became a liability. Bases and blowback Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region, including the forward headquarters of US Central Command or CENTCOM. Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). Kuwait houses Camp Arifjan, a major US Army logistics hub, along with an American airbase. The UAE and Saudi Arabia host US air facilities. Oman, though it does not have a formal US base, grants American forces access to its ports and airfields. That footprint has underwritten Gulf stability for decades. Now it appears to have drawn fire. The first confirmed US casualties of the campaign were reported from a base in Kuwait, where three American service members were killed. Fire and smoke were also seen rising from inside the US embassy compound in Kuwait on Monday (March 2), with ambulances and security vehicles surrounding the premises. In Saudi Arabia, drones targeted the Ras Tanura refinery one of the largest in the West Asia region and a cornerstone of the kingdoms energy sector on Monday. The facility, capable of processing 550,000 barrels per day, also serves as one of the worlds biggest oil ports. Saudi authorities said the drones were intercepted, and a resulting fire was extinguished. Saudi Aramco temporarily shut down the refinery. An Iran drone strike on March 3 hit the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabias capital, which caused a limited fire and minor damage. The crack in Dubais safe-haven image No city symbolised Gulf stability more than Dubai. The gleaming Emirati metropolis had long marketed itself as a neutral, secure refuge a place where Iranian businesspeople, Russian oligarchs and Western celebrities could coexist under glittering skyscrapers. That image fractured overnight when Iran responded to the US and Israeli assault by launching hundreds of missiles and drones. Five-star hotels caught fire. Explosions shattered apartment towers. Dubais bustling international airport one of the worlds busiest was damaged, injuring four people. Witnesses in Dubai, Doha and areas near Abu Dhabi reported loud blasts as projectiles streaked across the night sky. More than 540 drones, 165 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeted the UAE, according to its defence ministry. Most were intercepted, but 21 drones struck civilian sites. You never expect to hear missiles flying over your head in a city like Dubai, Elizabeth Rayment, a consultant who was on Palm Jumeirah when debris fell nearby, told NYT. As sirens wailed, residents attempted to flee the island. You realise how fragile routine really is. Videos showed a projectile landing near the Fairmont hotel on Palm Jumeirah, triggering a large explosion. Four people in a nearby car park were injured. A resident who identified himself only as David said the blast shattered his windows and left him deeply traumatised. Living in Palm Jumeirah, in one of the safest countries in the world, this was the last thing I ever expected, he said. Among the targets were two Amazon data centres in the UAE. Foreign workers who form a large share of Gulf populations were among the hardest hit. Those killed in the UAE were Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals. In Kuwait, one person was killed and more than 30 were injured, all foreign nationals. Qatar reported at least 16 injuries. Bahrain said residential buildings in Manama were targeted, along with a hotel. Airspace across much of the region was shut, grounding flights and trapping travellers. Between Washington and Tehran Yet even amid explosions, Dubai tried to project calm. Sunbathers returned to the beach. Tourists posed by the Burj al-Arab, whose facade had caught fire after debris fell nearby. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Dubais ruler, was photographed at a horse race. I am not worried at all; our defence system is amazing, said one Emirati resident. Over the past few weeks, Gulf governments have publicly sought to avert a direct US-Iran confrontation. Their economic models depend on regional stability and on being perceived as safe gateways to West Asia for investors and tourists. Dubai, in particular, has cultivated close ties with Iran; the UAE remains one of Tehrans largest trading partners. Gulf states have also attempted cautious diplomatic engagement with Iran in recent years. There was nothing that they valued more than that perception of safety, said Cinzia Bianco of the European Council on Foreign Relations, NYT reported. They prided themselves on manoeuvring politically and hedging to be on the good books of everyone. But the conflict has exposed the limits of that balancing act. In the end, not a single Gulf country was spared. Even Oman where officials had mediated talks between Iran and the United States to try to avert a war said that it had been attacked, with drones targeting the port in Duqm. Gulf countries cannot know how far US security guarantees will hold in the next phase, Yasmine Farouk of the International Crisis Group told NYT. When America pulls back, they could be left exposed to an unhinged Iran on their doorstep. For families living near Elphinstone Bridge, D-Day is almost here. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has served them an eviction notice, asking families to move out by March 6. Work on the Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector, as demolition is scheduled to begin on 8 March. While officials have assured residents that compensation will be provided for any shortfall in allotted area, several families claim that the promised funds have not been disbursed. You mention when to vacate, but not when the money will come Sheetal Mayur Loke, a resident of Haji Nurani Chawl, says her family has already been allotted a flat near Siddhivinayak. Her existing home measures 381 sq ft, while the sanctioned flat is 405 sq ft which is still less than what she was supposed to get. As a result she would receive approximately Rs 7.38 lakh to cover the area difference. It has been almost a month since we received possession, but the additional money has not come, she says. When we took the keys, we were told the payment would arrive in a few days. According to Loke, the official letter instructs residents to vacate on an emergency basis but provides no date for the compensation being credited. You mention the date to vacate, but not when the money will arrive, she says. People are asking the same question how can we trust the process? The allotted flat, she adds, is not fully ready. Basic work, such as grill installation and certain electrical fittings, remains incomplete. Board exams and broken routines The timing, residents insist, could hardly be worse. Lokes daughter is in Holy Cross School in Lower Parel. The familys relocation has disrupted her commute. My girls are young, one is in class 4 and the other one even younger. I cannot send them alone with strangers, she explains. The school buses are fixed for Worli and Lower Parel. Our new place does not fall on their route. She has already had to cancel nursery admission for her younger daughter because of transport issues. With exams till the end of April, she says relocating immediately would be a headache. We wont vacate until the money arrives and the childrens exams are over, she says. Both of us parents work. We need time to plan. You cannot ask families to leave within days. For Rs 18 lakh, we need time Munaf Thakur, secretary of Haji Nurani Building, has been allotted a larger flat in Lokmanya Nagar, Dadar over 470 sq ft. However, he says he has been asked to pay more than Rs 18 lakh for the additional area. For such a sum, we need time, he says. My sons board exams are going on. How can we vacate in a week? Thakur describes this as the first formal notice residents have received. They have requested an extension, arguing that an urgent relocation under these circumstances is not feasible. He also raises concerns about delayed compensation payments. More than a month has passed since the keys were allotted, but the money is still pending. Once we vacate, how can we be assured the money will be credited? The letter mentions the date to vacate, but not the timeline for payment. That creates doubt. We are not refusing to move we are asking for time Another resident, Gauri Thakur, says families are not resisting redevelopment itself but are seeking practical consideration. We are being asked to leave in two days. My son is in Year 10 and has his board exams. How can we relocate now? she asks. We are requesting time until April, at least until the exams are completed. Residents argue that the issue is not only financial but human. Packing up households, arranging transport, securing school commutes, completing pending work in newly allotted flats and arranging large payments all within a week is, they say, unrealistic. Between infrastructure and instability The SewriWorli Elevated Connector is envisioned as a critical infrastructure link aimed at easing congestion and improving connectivity across Mumbai. Yet, for families living in its path, the transition has become fraught with uncertainty. Residents say they are being asked to demonstrate compliance vacating homes on a fixed date without reciprocal clarity on when promised funds will reach them. For these households, the debate is no longer about urban development in principle. It is about timing, transparency and the fragile balance between progress and people. Twenty-three people all over the age of 70 who travelled to Dubai on February 25 returned safely to Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. They were part of a group from Shahapur that had been stranded in the emirate following the suspension of airline operations in the wake of the USIsrael war on Iran. Three people from Thane city who were also visiting Dubai returned to Mumbai on Tuesday night. Thirty-six residents of Thane are still awaiting assistance in Dubai. According to tour manager Manish Sanap, the 23 senior citizens had initially hoped for support from the Indian government. But unfortunately, no assistance came at first. We then contacted Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who arranged for a representative to assist us. Because of his intervention, we received one day of free stay and a free return flight. We are truly thankful to him, Sanap said. Shinde arranged special flights to bring the senior citizens back to Mumbai. Manoj Patil, who travelled to Dubai with seven family members, including a teenager, said the situation remained deeply uncertain. It is very unclear when we will be able to return. We have return tickets with IndiGo, but their operations are shut, he said. Patil added that booking alternative flights was not a viable option for many families. If we try to book other flights, ticket prices are extremely high more than Rs 75,000 per person. For a family of eight, it is simply unaffordable, he said. Stranded citizens confirmed that they had been receiving calls from the Thane collectors office to check on their health and well-being but claimed that no concrete assistance had been extended so far. Many families said they were worried about mounting accommodation expenses, daily living costs, and the uncertainty surrounding airline operations. Meanwhile, six tourists from Kalyan West who had been stranded in Abu Dhabi have safely returned to Mumbai. The six members of DB Jadhavs family had travelled to Dubai on February 24 for tourism. However, as the impact of the war spread to other countries, including the UAE, flight disruptions left them stranded in Abu Dhabi. Their families in Kalyan were extremely anxious about their safety. The six tourists, along with other stranded passengers, finally returned to Mumbai on a special flight from Abu Dhabi. On arrival, family members welcomed them with flowers and rangoli decorations, expressing gratitude to the Government of India for ensuring their safe return. There is a curious kind of cognitive dissonance in how people confront climate change. They inflate the importance of some symbolic gestures like planting trees or changing a bulb, while ignoring the aggregate impact of private choices like using a car or wanting a bigger apartment. Similarly, people exhibit a heightened awareness of sudden large-scale environmental destruction (like cutting mangroves for a project), but fail to recognise the slow, incremental erosion of green cover through routine redevelopment. Mumbai is gripped by a redevelopment frenzy buildings are demolished and replaced by wider and taller concrete blocks that will accommodate more families in larger flats. Some mourn the city that once was, some worry about the unsightly transformation, some are frustrated with the dust, noise and disruption. But let us put aside the nostalgia, aesthetic preferences, and resistance to change. Instead, let us counter-pose the impacts of redevelopment with the authorities recent enthusiasm for climate proofing and climate-resilience. Globally, the construction industry accounts for 38 per cent of total energy-related CO2 emissions, and about a third of the overall waste. A serious assessment of the impacts of the building industry must consider the entire life cycle of buildings, because every stage demands energy. All the energy invested in the construction of buildings mining, manufacture, transport, construction, disposal is called embodied energy. All the energy used during building occupancy cooling, cooking, lighting, pumping water is called operational energy. Citywide redevelopment carries a massive, largely invisible embodied energy cost incurred long before the new buildings even begin operations. Crucially, building types matter: studies show that low and mid-rise buildings, even when accommodating the same number of people, have lower embodied energy as compared to high-rise buildings, mainly due to the steel and cement content. On the question of operational energy, the development regulations (DCPRs), which govern the volume, arrangement, floor-area, and setbacks are extremely crucial in determining the energy cost of operating new buildings. Many older neighbourhoods in Mumbai were planned as mid-rise developments consisting of neighbourhood parks and institutions. The older regulations ensured that the footprints of the buildings covered only about 33% to 50% of the plot, which provided a layout open space with room for tree cover and permeable ground that allowed rainwater to percolate. These are now giving way to large-footprint high-rise complexes with amenities and synthetic lawns. With such redevelopment, three things follow: First, many more units are added to the same locality, but the land allocated to parks and public amenities does not increase. Second, new rules permit buildings to occupy 60% to 80% of the plot, drastically shrinking permeable surfaces. The consequence is greater storm water run-off and an increased risk of local flooding. Third, buildings with larger footprints require axing trees within the building plots that were part of the older layouts, increase the reflective surfaces of buildings, and convert the remaining layout spaces into paved parking and circulation areas. The combination of less evapotranspiration and more surfaces that absorb, radiate and trap heat contributes to what is called the heat-island effect perceived as higher temperatures in built up areas as compared to urban fringes. The heat-island effect produces a pernicious positive feedback loop. Higher local temperatures lead to a higher use of indoor artificial cooling, which in turn contributes to additional heat being released. Anyone who has seen their neighbourhoods redeveloping in recent years may have experienced these changes. With redevelopment, more people now share common spaces, the sense of openness is lost, and the comfort with surroundings is lowered. The overall effect is one of alienation from the neighbourhood. In the private sphere there are wonderful benefits people have larger flats but the quality of life in the public sphere suffers. And so, while residents ought to be concerned about trees in SGNP or mangroves in Borivali, they must not forget that redevelopment is incrementally reducing the amount of tree-cover and permeable surface in the city. What citizens generally perceive as urban problems in the form of air-pollution, high temperatures, urban floods, or congestion, are largely the cumulative outcomes of behavioural shifts and site-by-site transformation, actively enabled by a planning framework that privileges real-estate profits over climate resilience or quality of life. For all the rhetoric about green initiatives and climate commitments of the authorities, this normal planning regime is inherently and overwhelmingly contrary to climate action goals. It is telling that no authority or think-tank has carried out a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, emissions projection evaluation, or environmental impact assessment of Mumbais 20-year development plan. Unless the regulations governing the citys real-estate sector are revised with the aims of improving the quality of urban life and reducing climate risk Mumbai will continue to become more vulnerable to climate change, one building at a time. Hussain Indorewala is a teacher and urban researcher at KRVIA. Views are personal DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he should be involved in choosing Irans next supreme leader as the U.S. and Israel hammered the country for a sixth day. Iran kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that American firepower over Tehran was about to surge dramatically. The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Irans air defenses and missile launchers. Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trumps comments to the American news website Axios were likely to renew questions about whether the U.S. and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of drone attacks, which Tehran denied. Iran said the U.S. would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka a day earlier. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for Beiruts southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border. All the while, the U.S. and Israel battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Irans attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed. Trumps decision to strike Iran won enough support from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House on Thursday to defeat a resolution to halt the bombardment. The Senate voted down a similar measure a day earlier. Trump again urges Iranians to take back their country In brief remarks at the White House, Trump again urged the Iranian people to help take back your country. This time he promised the U.S. would grant them immunity amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime. So youll be perfectly safe with total immunity, Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. Or youll face absolutely guaranteed death. In the Axios interview, Trump derided 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as a lightweight. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran, Trump said. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela, Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolas Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Iran remains defiant Iran has not requested talks with the U.S. to bring an end to the widening war, Irans ambassador to Egypt told the Associated Press on Thursday. Ambassador Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour denied comments by Trump that Iran wants to negotiate. He said a lack of trust makes such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with war. There will be no trust in Trump, Ferdousi Pour said. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 people. The Iranian ship was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued. Araghchi said it had been carrying almost 130 crew. An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and Trumps blood. The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah, one of Shiite Islams highest clerical ranks. There are dozens in Iran. Sri Lanka said more than 200 sailors aboard another Iranian warship near its coast were being escorted to a naval base outside the capital, Colombo. The ship will be taken to a Sri Lankan port, said Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The war keeps expanding The U.S. military said early Friday that an Iranian drone carrier was attacked and set ablaze. The message from the U.S. militarys Central Command showed black-and-white footage of the carrier ablaze after multiple strikes hit it. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Speaking at U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, Hegseth gave few details Thursday when he promised an upcoming surge. Its more fighter squadrons, its more capabilities, its more defensive capabilities, Hegseth said. And its more bomber pulses more frequently. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said U.S. forces have sunk more than 30 of Irans ships, including a drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, Israels top general said waves of strikes had destroyed 80% of Irans air defenses and 60% of its missile launchers. Still, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: The threat has not yet been removed. Gulf countries also reported coming under fire. The U.S. State Department announced it was closing the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, which activated air defense systems in response to incoming missiles. Iran has fired waves of missiles and drones at American-allied Kuwait, where a drone strike Sunday killed six American soldiers. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces. Authorities said falling shrapnel wounded several people. Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and later reported a missile attack. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in a province bordering Jordan. Bahrain said an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery Thursday, sparking a fire that was extinguished. It said no casualties were reported. Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of a groundless act of terror and aggression after a drone crashed Thursday near an airport, injuring four civilian workers. Another drone fell near a school. Iran denied it launched drones toward Azerbaijan. Iran has also repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets, even as its missiles and drones have hit such sites. Ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped. That has caused oil prices to soar and U.S. stock prices to sink. Israel issues evacuation warning for Beirut suburbs Israel struck Beiruts southern suburbs Thursday evening after urging residents to save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border. ___ Rising reported from Bangkok, Becatoros from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. AP journalists around the world contributed. By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, ELENA BECATOROS and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press The High Court has cleared Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya of all criminal charges, declaring that his arrest and prosecution for alleged corruption were unlawful and infringed upon his constitutional rights. Delivering the ruling at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Bahati Mwamuye criticized investigators for unconstitutional actions throughout the arrest and investigation process. The judge determined that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) broke the law when they blocked Natembeya from seeing his lawyers during his arrest on May 20, 2025. Justice Mwamuye noted that this decision violated his constitutional right to legal counsel and a fair trial. The court further concluded that investigators illegally obtained the governors M-Pesa statements. The judge ruled that the methods used to access these financial records failed to meet necessary constitutional and legal standards. The respondents conduct of premature charging, reliance on post-factual evidence, denial of legal representation, and publicizing unverified allegations constitutes a clear abuse of power and malafides under Article 157(11), Justice Mwamuye observed. Justice Mwamuye further held that the anti-corruption case against Natembeya abused the court process. Consequently, he barred both the EACC and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) from pursuing any further prosecution based on these specific facts. The decision to charge the petitioner (Natembeya) when viewed holistically lacked a proper foundation, the judge stated. Financial Awards and Damages In the ruling delivered on Wednesday, the court awarded Natembeya Sh2.5 million in general damages. This compensation addresses the violation of his constitutional rights, as well as the humiliation, distress, and reputational damage he endured. The award will accrue interest at court rates from the date of judgment until the respondents pay in full. The court also ordered the respondents to cover Natembeyas legal costs. Authorities originally arrested and charged the governor at the Milimani anti-corruption court over alleged financial discrepancies. However, Natembeyas records showed these transactions were actually lawful per diems. The judge noted that the charges followed a public announcement regarding a Sh1.4 billion loss, a figure the court described as sensationalized. Ultimately, the judge concluded that factors unrelated to the fair and impartial administration of justice drove the entire legal process. Siaya Senator and ODM party leader Oburu Odinga has warned politicians against turning the helicopter crash that killed Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno and five others into a political tool. While attending a requiem service for the victims at the Africa Gospel Church (AGC) in Karen, Nairobi yesterday, Oburu noted that some leaders might try to suggest foul play without any proof. He called for restraint and urged everyone to show respect for the families currently mourning their loved ones. Politicians who have very little agenda will always want to read some malice in the death of other politicians, Oburu said. But politicians are also human beings and can get involved in a normal accident and die like everybody else. He asked Kenyans to let the official investigations continue instead of spreading rumors. Please do not read malice in the death of our brother Ngeno. He has died like everybody else, he added. Oburu pointed out that although Ngenos political status often places him at the center of public conversation, the other five victims deserve equal recognition as their families also face immense grief. Ngenos name is being mentioned more because he was a Member of Parliament, but the families of the other five are equally pained for losing their loved ones, he said. The accident in Mosop claimed the lives of several dedicated individuals alongside the MP. They include George Were, a pilot from Nyakach, Kisumu; Amos Kipngetich Rotich, a forester; Nick Koskei, the MPs bodyguard; Carlos Keter, a photographer; Wycliffe Rono, a high school teacher; and a staff member from the Narok County government. Ngeno first entered Parliament in 2013 and was serving his third term when the crash occurred. Funeral Arrangements and Rites The families have scheduled the burials for Friday, following a collective memorial service at Emurua Dikirr Primary School. In keeping with Kipsigis customs, mourners will transport the bodies of Ngeno and Rono from Lee Funeral Home to their rural homes for an overnight vigil on Thursday. The remains of Keter, Koskei, and Kipngetich will also leave Nairobi today. Then on Friday, all six victims will be brought together at Emurua Dikirr Primary School for a joint final ceremony. Afterward, each family will proceed with their own private burial rites. A fresh attempt to impeach Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has split City Hall down the middle. While the assemblys majority leadership has rejected the ouster and thrown its weight behind a new Ksh 80 billion cooperation deal with the national government, a group of opposing lawmakers is pressing forward. On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, a group of MCAs led by Deputy Minority Leader Waithera Chege announced they had finalized an impeachment motion featuring 22 separate counts against the governor. However, their plans hit a snag when they could not locate the clerk of the county assembly to officially receive and verify their collection of signatures. The deputy minority leader said they would present the motion once the clerk confirms the signatures and forwards the documents to the speaker. However, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Imwatok led 72 MCAs in publicly distancing the Azimio coalition from the latest push to oust Governor Sakaja. Speaking at the County Assembly, Imwatok dismissed the impeachment talk as nothing more than political noise designed to stall the citys progress. We stand firmly for unity, stability, and the development of Nairobi. Our focus is on delivering services to the people, not engaging in unnecessary political distractions, he said. Backing the Ksh 80 Billion Master Plan Imwatok pointed out that the Assembly had just given its unanimous approval to a massive Ksh 80 billion cooperation agreement between Nairobi County and the national government. He argued that this deal is the key to fixing the citys aging infrastructure and improving daily life for residents. The Nairobi City County Assembly unanimously approved the cooperation agreement yesterday, demonstrating our collective commitment across political divides to prioritize the interests of Nairobi residents, he said. The majority leader made it clear that his side of the House has no interest in leadership battles that might disrupt the current peace at City Hall. We firmly reject any attempt to create unnecessary noise, interfere with the leadership of the city, or destabilize the prevailing tranquility. Our priority remains the fulfillment of the aspirations of the broad-based government and the socio-economic advancement of Nairobi. Imwatok explained that the MCAs are following the lead of President William Ruto and the late ODM leader Raila Odinga, who both called for stability during a similar standoff last year. We are therefore unequivocally opposed to any attempt to impeach the Governor at this critical time, particularly when the city stands at the threshold of historic development under a cooperation agreement by His Excellency the President, he said. He noted that Governor Sakaja has consistently shown a desire to work with leaders from all political backgrounds. Governor Sakaja has on numerous occasions demonstrated goodwill and willingness to work collaboratively in advancing the Azimio dream and the broad-based government inclusively. In that spirit, we shall fully support him to ensure stability and continued leadership for the benefit of our people, Imwatok said. Aspiring candidates within the Jubilee Party have reached out to party leader Uhuru Kenyatta, demanding a clear explanation for the surprise selection of former Interior CS Fred Matiangi as the 2027 presidential candidate. These members worry that the party leadership sidelined other qualified contenders by skipping standard internal processes. In a letter dated March 3, 2026, the group calling itself the Jubilee Aspirants Forum 2027 warned that the mystery surrounding Matiangis endorsement has sparked frustration and confusion among the partys rank and file. The forums Acting Convenor, Ngunjiri Wambugu, laid out several pointed questions in the letter: I seek a substantive and definitive response on the Partys presidential candidature for the 2027 General Election. Whether Dr Matiangi is the partys sole and exclusive presidential candidate; If so, the basis upon which that decision was reached; Whether there exists room within the party constitution and democratic framework for other qualified members to challenge for the presidential ticket, reads the letter by Ngunjiri Wambugu, Acting Convenor of the Jubilee Aspirants Forum. He added: Whether members who may have reservations about Dr. Matiang is leadership style and capacity are permitted, within party rules, to propose and support an alternative candidate. Wambugu is also pushing for details on whether the Jubilee Party has entered into any new political pacts that might affect the 2027 race. He is demanding that the party disclose how these agreements were made and how they benefit the partys long-term goals and values. Concerns Over Zoning and Strategy The aspirants want a clear picture of the partys roadmap to avoid wasting their own time and money. Wambugu is particularly concerned about zoning, the practice where political parties agree not to compete against each other in specific regions. I respectfully seek clarification on whether there exists any formal or informal agreement between the Jubilee Party and any other political party in Kenya regarding zoning, reservation, or allocation of specific electoral areas or positions ahead of the 2027 General Elections, he said. He pointed out that candidates at the ward, constituency, and county levels need this information now. It is critical for aspirants and grassroots organisers planning to run for elective positions at ward, constituency or county level to know whether there have been negotiated arrangements with other parties on this issue to avoid a situation where an aspirant invests time and resources campaigning in an area already ceded to another party, Wambugu said. He noted that the party has a responsibility to explain the legal and constitutional basis for these decisions. Wambugu argued that open communication would prevent unnecessary friction within the party. Clear communication on this matter will enable aspirants to plan their campaigns with certainty, manage expectations among supporters, and avoid unnecessary internal friction arising from perceived or undisclosed agreements, Wambugu said. Concerns Over Visibility and Funding Ngunjiri Wambugu The aspirants also pointed to a noticeable lack of Jubilee Party branding at recent political events. They noted that the absence of basics like t-shirts and caps has led people to believe the party might be running out of money. There is growing concern about the apparent absence of adequate Jubilee Party branding during recent political engagements and public events. The lack of party-branded merchandise such as t-shirts and caps has created the perception that the party may either be financially constrained or, more troublingly, that certain regions have been informally ceded or zoned out to other political formations, which would greatly diminish Jubilees hard-won political footprint in Kenya, Wambugu said. Wambugu added that this lack of visibility has deeply unsettled those planning to run for office under the Jubilee banner. He insisted that Jubilee must protect its internal democracy, warning that long-serving members are becoming increasingly dissatisfied. He noted that members who have spent years sacrificing for the party feel deeply frustrated. Wambugu argued that it is unacceptable to undermine Jubilees legacy by making decisions that seem to favor specific individuals or outside groups at the expense of the partys own strength. This is because there is deep frustration among members who have sacrificed greatly for the Party over the years. It is unacceptable for Jubilees legacy and institutional strength to be undermined by decisions perceived as supporting individuals or formations that may be weakening the Party, or aspirants seeking to run on its ticket. Wambugu reminded the leadership that many members remember the hard work it took to build and defend the party, and they expect the same level of commitment in return. He clarified that calling for accountability and open debate is a sign of a healthy democracy, not a sign of rebellion. To address these concerns, Wambugu announced the launch of the Jubilee Aspirants Forum 2027. This new group aims to: Coordinate Efforts: Help aspirants work together to promote the party. Lobby for Fairness: Ensure the 2027 nomination process is transparent and reflects what members actually want. Maintain Dialogue: Provide the party leadership with regular updates to keep everyone aligned. The objective of the Jubilee Aspirants Forum is to strengthen internal democracy, enhance preparedness, and ensure that the nomination processes are fair, transparent, and reflective of the will of the membership, he said. Wambugu concluded by requesting a formal written response from the party leadership to clarify their official stance on these urgent matters. The Kenya Pipeline Companys (KPC) debut on the stock market has attracted massive interest, with the National Treasury reporting that the offer was oversubscribed by 5.7%. Treasury CS John Mbadi shared the results on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, revealing that investors applied for more than 12.4 billion shares, even though only 11.8 billion were available. This surge in demand pushed the total subscription rate to 105.7%. Having received full subscription of the offer shares signals a resounding vote of confidence in the governments privatisation agenda, Mbadi said. How the Shares Were Distributed The government has divided the shares among different investor groups to ensure a broad ownership base: Kenyan Investors: Local individuals and institutions secured the largest portion, receiving over 7.9 billion shares (roughly 67.32% of the offer). East African Community (EAC) Investors: Participants from the region, including institutional and individual investors, took up over 3.8 billion shares, accounting for 32.65% of the total. The KPC offer, which ran from January 19 to February 24, 2026, sparked significant interest from both large-scale buyers and over 70,000 everyday Kenyans. Despite the extra demand, CS Mbadi made it clear that the government will stick to its target of Sh106.3 billion, choosing fiscal discipline over the temptation to accept more funds. Following the oversubscription of KPC, the government will only accept what it targeted, the Sh106.3 billion, nothing more or less, said CS Mbadi. The New Face of KPC Ownership This IPO has fundamentally changed who owns the company. While the government remains the largest single shareholder, the remaining 65% is now spread across several groups: Local Institutions: Pension funds and banks now hold the biggest private slice at 40.99%. Regional Neighbors: Uganda and Rwanda have secured a major stake of 21.22%. The Kenyan Public: Individual retail investors own 2.6%. The People Behind the Scenes: KPC employees hold 0.06%, while oil marketers own 0.014%. The State: The government maintains a strategic 35% stake. Global Investors: Foreign buyers hold a very small fraction at 0.02%. Mbadi noted that this successful IPO does more than just list the firm on the stock exchange. He explained that the move positions KPC as a true regional powerhouse, allowing it to take on a major geopolitical role in East Africas petroleum industry. The company will leverage its strategic location and extensive pipeline network to drive this influence. KPC from this divestiture shall acquire the much-needed flexibility to access capital for expanding its pipeline capacity, improving storage facilities, and developing its oil refinery to cater to increased demand and regional needs, Mbadi noted. Since the government is only accepting the original Sh106.3 billion, any money paid for the extra 5.7% in over-applied shares will be returned to investors starting this Friday. Demi Moore enjoyed showing "another facet of her personality" with her new bob. Demi Moore has opened up on her bob The 63-year-old star showed off a bold new hairstyle at the Gucci fashion show on February 27 during Milan Fashion Week, before returning to her beloved long locks at the Actor Awards over the weekend. Speaking at the Kerastase Power Talks event, Demi opened up about her so-called "Demi-tris BoB" from stylist Dimitris Giannetos, describing it as an "incredible moment". She added that it was fun to explore "just being able to play and step into another facet of my personality". The makeover was likely a convincing wig, given that she didn't actually cut her hair for the transformation. Demi has been able to take on all kinds of hairstyle changes over the years, including a buzzed look. She explained: "It's all about having a good head shape." Earlier this year, Demi was named global brand ambassador for Kerastase, and she noted that the partnership felt "natural". She told PEOPLE magazine at the time: "As Ive gotten older, Ive become more thoughtful about how I care for it. Partnering with a brand that I already use felt natural." Meanwhile, she explained that she never likes to ditch her famous style for long because of the "simplicity" of her locks. She added: "It feels most like me. Being able to change my look with wigs and pieces feeds my need for change but at the end of the day I love taking it down seeing my hair fall past my waist. Its like coming home. That said, Demi would "never" rule out the idea of chopping off her long locks, even though the feels "fairly connected" to her hair. Speaking last spring, she told PEOPLE magazine: "There's energy in hair, you know? But I never like to say never." Demi recently admitted she is determined to make others "proud" with her red carpet appearances, as she is representing everybody who put her outfit together whenever she steps out at an awards ceremony or other glitzy events. She told WWD: "The only pressure I ever feel is really wanting to make everyone proud. "What I do know is that I do have an incredible sense when we're doing fittings of what to do and how to adjust. "And also, just knowing every time we're gonna do our best, we're gonna do our best, we're gonna give it the same amount and it may work, it may not. But have we had fun? Have we enjoyed our time together? Because that's what we have. We have the moment that we're all sharing in doing this." The Court of Appeal has turned down a request from the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to freeze the release of funds belonging to former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. In a ruling delivered by a three-judge bench, the court explained that it cannot legally suspend a negative order a type of ruling that simply dismisses a case issued by the High Court. The agency moved to the appellate court to pause a decision made by Justice Nixon Sifuna on October 1, 2025. In that earlier ruling, the High Court dismissed the ARAs forfeiture lawsuit, ordered the agency to pay the legal costs of the case, and lifted the existing freeze orders on Sonkos bank accounts. Justice Sifuna ruled that the ARA failed to prove that the money in the former governors accounts came from criminal activity. He pointed out several major gaps in the agencys investigation, including selective investigation by focusing on specific details while ignoring others, a lack of formal witness statements, and failure to confirm the authenticity of property sale documents. The three-judge bench, consisting of Justices Kathurima Minoti, Chacha Mwita, and Bryam Ongaya, ruled that the law offers nothing to stay or pause in this specific situation. During the proceedings, Justice Minoti asked the ARAs legal team to clarify exactly what they wanted the court to suspend. What you are seeking is a stay of execution based on the decision of Justice Sifuna, he observed. In the judgment, in the pertinent part, he says, In consequence, this suit fails and is hereby dismissed with costs. You are aware of consistent decisions of this Court that it cannot issue an order of stay of execution in respect of a dismissal. The Justice pointed out that the Court of Appeal has remained consistent across at least ten previous rulings on this issue. He explained that the court cannot suspend a negative order. Senior Counsel Harrison Kinyanjui, representing the former governor, acknowledged the courts existing legal standards when the bench questioned him. He admitted that he had previously made similar arguments and respected the courts established precedents. However, ARAs lawyer, Esther Muchiri, urged the judges to look at Section 97 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA). She argued that filing an appeal automatically keeps the freeze orders active until the court reaches a final decision. Since these funds have remained frozen since February 2020, she insisted they should stay untouched while the main appeal proceeds. Justice Minoti quickly spotted a logical flaw in the agencys argument: If it is automatic under Section 97, then your application is not necessary, he said. He clarified that the court was currently only deciding on a stay of execution request, not interpreting the specific language of the statute. Justice Chacha Mwita pushed the agencys lawyer further for a clear answer: We can only stay the decision of the superior court. But that decision dismissed your suit. So what is it you want us to stay? Muchiri clarified that the agency simply wants to block any withdrawal of the money while they fight the case on appeal. The bench remained firm: they cannot pause a dismissal order, and Section 97 does not give them the authority to change that in this specific application. The judges then gave the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) a choice: withdraw the request now or face a formal dismissal along with an order to pay legal costs. After a quick huddle, the ARAs lawyer, Esther Muchiri, chose to withdraw the application subject to the courts guidance and in view of Section 97. Harrison Kinyanjui didnt object to the withdrawal but asked the court to leave Section 97 out of the final record. He also requested that the ARA pay his clients legal fees for the day. Meanwhile, the judges refused to get dragged into a debate about how Section 97 works. Since the motion was being withdrawn, they decided not to interpret that specific law today. The only remaining question is who picks up the tab for this part of the legal battle. The court will deliver a ruling on the legal costs on March 13, 2026. The High Court has stepped in to pause any activity at Muthurwa Market and the Nairobi Rivers banks. This decision follows an urgent lawsuit from local traders who are fighting to stop looming evictions and demolitions. The court certified the case an urgent matter and scheduled a full hearing for all parties on March 10, 2026. Until then, the judge explicitly ruled that the current status quo on the suit land be maintained. The petitioners brought several concerns to the courts attention. These include impending deadlines authorities gave them only 14 days to vacate before the bulldozers arrive; massive losses the planned demolition puts permanent multi-story homes and businesses at risk, affecting over 3,000 community members; and unfair treatment the traders claim officials are practicing selective enforcement by targeting the side of the river where lower-income residents live. Represented by lawyer and MP Babu Owino, the traders are asking for a formal freeze on all demolition and eviction activities. This request covers several neighborhoods, including Blue Estate, Bahati Annex, Kamukunji, the Gikomba markets, and surrounding areas. The petitioners highlight several ways they believe the government is overstepping: Property Rights: They assert they are the rightful owners and legal allottees of the land. They argue that the planned demolitions are arbitrary and ignore their constitutional rights to dignity, housing, and fair treatment under Articles 28, 40, 43, and 47. Procedural Failures: The traders claim the state ignored the Land Acts rules for evictions. Specifically, they point to a lack of proper consultation, a failure to provide alternative housing, and a disregard for humane treatment. Riparian Disputes: They challenge the rigid use of a 30-meter riparian limit. Instead, they argue that authorities should set these boundaries based on actual hydrological data and the buildings already standing there. The court will hear the full arguments from both sides on March 10, 2026. A group of Nairobi County Assembly Members (MCAs) has announced a plan to kick Governor Johnson Sakaja out of office. Led by South B MCA Waithera Chege and Baba Dogo MCA Godfrey Majiwa, the lawmakers claim they have gathered more than enough signatures to officially table an impeachment motion. During a press briefing on Tuesday, Waithera Chege explained that the group intended to submit the motion formally but hit a roadblock when the clerk failed to show up. I want to thank the Nairobi MCAs for approving the proposed cooperation agreement between the Nairobi County Government and the National Government by a majority vote, she said. She further explained the situation: We also had another agenda of presenting the signatures of impeachment before the Clerk for the Nairobi Governor. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that. The clerk was nowhere to be seen. The speaker has, however, promised us that tomorrow by 10 am we will be able to present the same before the clerk. We were ready to present the motion and the particulars, but after the House business sitting, the clerk disappeared. The Deputy Minority Leader explained that the motions specifics will remain private until they officially hand it over to the Speaker. Until it is presented before the Speaker, that is when it becomes a public document. We have enough signatures for the first round. We cannot mention the figures now until the clerk officially receives the documents, she stated. The MCAs have built an extensive case, outlining nearly two dozen separate grievances. We have 22 counts against the governor, the contents of which I cannot display now, she said. This sudden move to oust Governor Sakaja follows shortly after the county assembly voted to greenlight a new partnership between the Nairobi County government and the national government. SIUs Paul Simon Institute discussion focuses on importance of charisma in politics CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute will explore the power and mystery of charisma during a virtual discussion on Monday, March 16. Molly Worthen, a professor of American history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will join John Shaw, institute director, to discuss her 2025 book, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump, along with other writings. The free, public discussion via Zoom begins at 10 a.m.; registration at paulsimoninstitute.org/events is required to view the conversation. The event is part of the institutes Understanding Our New World discussion series. Professor Worthen is a superb teacher and a stimulating and accessible scholar who helps us better understand how religion and politics often interact and shape each other, Shaw said. Her remarkable book, Spellbound argues that an important way to understand our current political and cultural situation in the United States is by examining the importance of charisma in both its religious and political manifestations, Shaw said. She believes that charisma is best understood as a relationship between leaders and followers and these relationships can have profound social and political consequences. Worthen also writes regularly about religion, politics and higher education for the New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications. She has a bachelors degree and doctorate from Yale University. Her first book, The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost: The Grand Strategy of Charles Hill, was about a former American diplomat and Yale professor. Her second book, Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelism, considers the history of American evangelism since 1945. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for Worthen on the registration form or email questions to paulsimoninstitute@siu.edu. More information, including a list of the institutes upcoming events and past speakers and events, is available. Charlie Puth has taken on a major new role in the techmusic world after being appointed chief music officer at AI platform Moises. Charlie Puth attending the amfAR Gala in 2020 Moises, created by musicians and used by more than 70 million artists globally, allows users to isolate vocals and instruments, identify chords and experiment with new arrangements. The platform is designed as a creative tool rather than a songgenerating AI, giving musicians more control over their own material without replacing the human element. Charlie has relied on the technology for years. He said: Ive been using Moises in my own creative process for years, as have many of my friends. It opens up possibilities that used to take hours or expensive studio setups. He stressed that the platform is meant to support musicians, not overshadow them. Charlie continued: AI, when done right, isnt here to replace musicians. Its here to help artists learn, explore, and bring their ideas to life. In his new position, Charlie will help shape the platforms creative direction, collaborate on new artistfocused features and ensure Moises continues to reflect how musicians actually work in real studio environments. To mark the announcement, Charlie and Moises have launched a global remix competition running until March 31. Fans and musicians can create their own remix or cover of his track Beat Yourself Up from his latest album Whatevers Clever! using Moises tools. Charlie will personally select the winners, who will receive a share of $100,000 in cash and prizes, plus a meetandgreet at his New York City show on May 29. Entries can be submitted through Moises.ai. AI continues to upset musicians. Radioheads Thom Yorke has said artificial intelligence does nothing more than "steal" from original human artistic work. The 57-year-old songwriter is against the onslaught of AI in the music business and other creative industries. Thom insists the technology is stealing musicians ideas with no financial reimbursement. Speaking to Electronic Sound magazine, Thom said: As far as I can tell in music and art and all creative industries, Al is so far only able to 'create' variations on genuine human artistic expression, and those are obvious. Is Al capable of genuine original creative thought? I have yet to see that. It analyses and steals and builds iterations without acknowledging the original human work it analysed. It creates pallid facsimiles, which is useful in the same way auto-accompaniment is useful, or a screensaver of a beautiful natural landscape in a billionaires bunker is. "But the economic structure is morally wrong ... the human work used by AI to fake its creativity is not being acknowledged. Writers are not paid. It's a weird kind of wanky, tech-bro nightmare future, and it seems this is what the tech industry does best. A devaluing of the rest of humanity, other than themselves, hidden behind tech. In the US right now, we are witnessing this spilling over into politics. We are. in modern parlance. 'creatives. which is a term I find deeply offensive because it arrived around the time that art morphed into content for devices. Thom - who also fronts The Smile - was one of 10,500 signatories, which also included Abbas Bjorn Ulvaeus and The Cure's Robert Smith, warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a major, unjust threat to artists livelihoods. The statement read: "The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted." Army Chief Asim Munir has said that lasting peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan was contingent upon the Taliban regime renouncing support for terrorism and terrorist organisations. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday, Munir made the remarks during his visit to Wana in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he reviewed the prevailing security situation and operational preparedness along the Western border with Afghanistan, Dawn reported. "He reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations," the statement said. During the visit, Field Marshal Munir laid a floral wreath at the martyrs'' monument to honour personnel who had laid down their lives in defence of the country. "He offered fateha and reaffirmed that the sacrifices of shuhada remain the cornerstone of Pakistan''s security and resilience," the statement said. Munir was given a detailed briefing on the overall security environment, ongoing intelligence-based operations and border management measures. "The Field Marshal was briefed in detail regarding the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq and developments along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," it said. He also interacted with officers and troops stationed in forward areas and praised their professionalism and morale amid continued skirmishes. "He lauded their steadfast commitment to safeguarding Pakistan''s sovereignty and ensuring peace and stability in the region," it said. Referring to militant activity, the ISPR statement noted that Munir stressed the use of Afghan soil by Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan for attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable. "The Field Marshal emphasised that the use of Afghan soil by Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan for acts of terrorism against Pakistan was unacceptable and all necessary measures would be taken to neutralise the threat emanating from across the border," the statement said. Fitna al Khawarij is a term used by the Pakistani state for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Fitna al Hindustan refers to militant groups operating in Balochistan. "He reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations," the statement said. Appreciating the operational readiness of the Pakistan Army, Munir expressed confidence in the combat preparedness and resilience of formations deployed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, it added. Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have deteriorated sharply in recent years. Border clashes erupted in October last year across the 2,600-kilometre frontier. Following the tensions, Turkiye and Qatar mediated talks in Doha. While the first round resulted in a fragile ceasefire, subsequent rounds failed to produce a concrete agreement, with only a broad understanding to develop a verification mechanism, Dawn reported. On February 22, Pakistan carried out overnight strikes targeting alleged terrorist camps in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan. In retaliation, the Afghan Taliban launched attacks along the border, prompting Pakistan to initiate Operation Ghazab Lil Haq on February 26. In a recent media briefing, a senior security official stated that Pakistan would continue cross-border operations until Kabul provides verifiable guarantees against terrorism facilitation. "Operations in Afghanistan will end when Afghanistan''s Taliban Regime provides verifiable assurance of compliance to Pakistan''s demand of quitting facilitation of Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan. We are in no hurry," the top official said in an interaction with journalists, Dawn reported. (ANI) Kanye West is reportedly in talks to make a major return to the UK festival circuit as a headliner for this years Wireless Festival. Kanye West performing at Glastonbury in 2015 An insider has claimed discussions between the 48-year-old rapper - who legally changed his name to Ye - and festival organisers have reached an advanced stage. The source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: Its been an incredibly turbulent few years for Ye, but he wants to get back on stage and prove hes a serious musician. Wireless is a massive festival and for him to return and headline would be huge. Kanye is hoping the performance will help rebuild his UK fanbase after losing support over his political views and public controversies. The insider said: He has apologised profusely for his behaviour over the last few years and he wants a fresh start." Negotiations are ongoing, with Wireless reportedly keen for him to commit to multiple nights like Drake did last summer. They went on: Ye and his team have been locked in final negotiations about headlining Wireless. The number of nights hell be performing is still being ironed out. Drake did three last year and Wireless are hoping Ye will commit to the same. If confirmed, the booking would mark Kanyes first appearance at Wireless in more than a decade. He previously headlined the festival in 2014, delivering two sets one in Londons Finsbury Park and another in Birminghams Perry Park after stepping in to replace Drake, who pulled out due to illness. His London performance made headlines for a lengthy midset rant, while his Birmingham show drew a huge crowd and was praised for its energy and production. The festival has hosted major names including JayZ, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Cardi B, and Kendrick Lamar. Kanye has kept a relatively low profile on the liveperformance front in recent years, focusing instead on music releases and sporadic public appearances. PRNewswire Sydney [Australia], March 5: Great Place To Work, the global authority on workplace culture, today announces the 2026 list of Australia's Best Workplaces for Women, recognising 50 organisations that have proven it's possible to deliver exceptional business performance while still creating cultures where women can thrive at every level. Each company on this year's list has earned its place following a rigorous assessment of confidential employee feedback representing the voices of 23, 478 women across Australia, a detailed analysis of organisational culture, and insights from the official Workplace Gender Equality Agency. "These companies aren't marking their own homework - the bar is genuinely high," said Rebecca Moulynox, General Manager of Great Place To Work Australia and New Zealand. "This list only champions employers that back their commitments on flexibility, fair pay and women in leadership with real numbers and real experiences." Who Made The Official 2026 List Of Australia's Best Workplaces For Women? From pioneering fintech leaders like Docusign and Prospa, to established industry leaders like Adobe,Brown Brothers Wine Group and Mattel, this year's Best Workplaces for Women are all distinguished by: - Inclusive leadership accountability- Pay transparency and fair recognition- Flexible, human-centered work design- Career progression for allAs well as structured mentorships and active sponsorship for women in key decision-making roles. FIND THE FULL 2026 LIST OF AUSTRALIA'S 50 BEST WORKPLACES FOR WOMEN HERE "These workplaces aren't just waiting for equity to happen," said Rebecca Moulynox. "They've embedded fairness into everyday decision-making, creating cultures where flexibility, psychological safety, and growth opportunities are pillars of performance." Despite steady awareness gains, the research shows many women still report unequal access to advancement opportunities and lingering disparities in representation at the senior level. Yet at the best workplaces, these gaps are narrowing. Women in top-ranked organisations are twice as likely to say they have an equal chance to grow their careers and three times more likely to describe their leaders as fair and inclusive. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, we have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognised worldwide by both employees and employers alike and is the gold standard for identifying and recognising outstanding employee experience and company culture. Methodology To qualify for this list, organisations must have at least 100 employees, with a minimum of 50 women, and women must make up at least 30 per cent of the total workforce and 20 per cent of management. The 2026 Best Workplaces for Women list was determined through Great Place To Work's rigorous For All methodology, which evaluates hundreds of Certified organisations across Australia. This includes confidential employee feedback gathered through the Trust Index survey, a comprehensive analysis of women's representation at all organisational levels, and additional insights from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). Media Contact: Guadalupe Solar GrilloMarketing Specialist| Australia & New ZealandE: lupe.solar@greatplacetowork.com (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) BusinessWire India London [UK], March 5: University Living, the global student housing managed marketplace, today announced the release of its 2026 UK Student Accommodation Outlook, presenting structured market findings on rising costs, sustained high occupancy, and widening supply gaps across major UK university cities. The release adds a data-led perspective to the growing pressure in the UK student housing market, at a time when international enrolment remains strong but purpose-built accommodation supply remains constrained. Key Findings from the 2026 UK Student Accommodation Outlook - Over 7,00,000 international students are currently enrolled in UK universities, with London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol among the most in-demand destinations. (Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency - HESA, 2024)- Average annual student accommodation cost in London stands at approximately 13,600, with prime locations commanding significantly higher rents. Rental benchmarks across major UK cities have risen consistently since 2021, with no material reversal in pricing trends. (Source: University Living Market Data, 2025)- Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) occupancy in prime locations consistently exceeds 97%, with many properties in high-demand cities fully booked by spring, months before the September intake cycle. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield UK Student Accommodation Report, 2025)- A structural and widening gap persists between total student enrolment and available PBSA beds in several Tier-1 university cities, limiting late-stage availability and reducing pricing flexibility for families booking closer to intake. (Source: University Living Market Research, 2025) The findings indicate that accommodation planning is no longer a post-admission step but an increasingly strategic part of the international study decision process. Commenting on the release, Saurabh Arora, Co-Founder & CEO, University Living, said: "Accommodation planning works best when it is treated as part of the admission process, not a separate task to handle later. Families who start early have more options, better pricing, and a clearer picture of what their child is moving into." Implications for International Families With premium properties in cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol booking out months in advance, early accommodation planning has become critical for securing both availability and value. Beyond headline rent figures, families must account for security deposits, advance rental payments, and currency conversion costs when transferring funds from overseas. These additional components significantly influence the overall cost of studying in the UK. What to Look for When Booking Accommodation from Abroad - Ensure property details can be independently verified- Avoid payment requests outside formal booking systems- Confirm a signed tenancy agreement before transferring funds- Review deposit terms and cancellation clauses carefully- Begin the accommodation search several months before intake Booking through verified platforms with documented agreements and structured payment systems provides families with transparency and a formal paper trail prior to student arrival. University Living works with verified accommodation providers near major UK universities, offering transparent listings, secure booking systems, and pre-arrival support for international students relocating from overseas. The full 2026 UK Student Accommodation Outlook is available upon request. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL New Delhi [India], March 5: Municipalika 2026, the 18th edition of India's longest-running international exhibition and conference on Safe, Smart, and Sustainable City Solutions, concluded at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, following three days of deliberations focused on accelerating India's urban transformation. Recognised as India's only 360-degree event in city infrastructure, the platform brought together policymakers, city leaders, global institutions, and industry stakeholders to advance a cohesive roadmap aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The event was inaugurated on February 25 by Shri Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power, Government of India, in the presence of senior policymakers, urban administrators and international representatives including Ms. Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat; Ms. D. Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Ms. Renu Bala, Chairperson, All India Council of Mayors, Mayor, Karnal Municipal Corporation; and Mr. V. Suresh, President, Good Governance India Foundation. In his inaugural address, Shri Manohar Lal emphasised that the path to Viksit Bharat runs through strong, secure, and sustainable cities, underscoring the importance of coordinated governance, infrastructure investment, and technology integration. The event brought together representatives from over 300 cities across 25+ states, along with more than 300 exhibitors, 3,000 delegates, and upwards of 10,000 urban professionals, reinforcing its stature as India's most comprehensive platform spanning policy dialogue, technology showcase, and institutional collaboration. Reflecting on the scale and impact of the event, Mr. V. Suresh, President, Good Governance India Foundation and Former CMD, HUDCO, said, "Municipalika has evolved into a national convergence platform where policy vision meets implementation reality. The scale of participation this year reflects the growing recognition that India's urban transformation requires structured collaboration between government institutions, industry innovators, and global partners. Our objective is not merely to deliberate, but to accelerate solutions that are practical, scalable, and financially viable for cities across the country." The inaugural day shaped the core urban agenda, anchoring discussions in governance reform, infrastructure resilience and technology-led transformation for safe, smart, and sustainable cities. Deliberations focused on urban policy frameworks, ease of doing business, safe and secure cities, disaster preparedness, and digital transformation in public works, including the integration of BIM and artificial intelligence. The day concluded with high-level Vision Addresses by distinguished urban leaders, outlining the long-term strategic direction of India's urban transformation and reinforcing alignment between national missions, institutional capacity and city-level implementation frameworks. Ms. Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, Mr. Srikanth Viswanathan, Chief Executive Officer, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy; Ar. K. T. Ravindran, Former Chairman, Delhi Urban Arts Commission; and Mr. Omesh Saigal, Chair, Ex-Chief Secretary, Delhi, Ex-Secretary, Government of India, were present for the visionary address. Day two expanded discussions to water and wastewater management, sanitation and solid waste systems, circular economy practices, sustainable and green building technologies, and modern, speedy construction methodologies. Dedicated sessions addressed housing for all, climate change and environmental sustainability, innovative urban infrastructure financing mechanisms, and construction practices in challenging terrains, reinforcing the importance of durability, resource efficiency, and financial innovation in urban development. A major highlight of the second day was the Urban Innovation Challenge 2026, a national design and ideas competition organised by the Good Governance India Foundation in association with Municipalika. The challenge attracted over 135 registrations and more than 290 submissions from students and young professionals across the country, centred on themes of Resilient Development, Sustainable Green Built Environment, and Redevelopment and Reconstruction. A national jury evaluated entries on innovation, implementability, scalability, and social impact, culminating in the recognition of 36 winners across two categories during the awards ceremony. Shri Ashish Sood, Hon'ble Minister for Urban Development, Home, Power, Education, Higher Education, Training & Technical Education, Government of NCT of Delhi, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. On the concluding day, sessions focused on integrated urban mobility, including mass transit systems, electric vehicles, and regional connectivity, as well as renewable energy integration and climate-responsive infrastructure planning. Senior officials, including Shri Nalin Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, participated in discussions highlighting river rejuvenation, water sustainability, and integrated urban ecosystem planning. The City Professionals Conclave and infrastructure sessions underscored cross-sector collaboration and technical excellence in public works delivery. The three-day deliberations culminated in a Valedictory Session that synthesised key policy insights, technological advancements and financing strategies discussed during the summit, reaffirming a collective commitment to advancing safe, smart and sustainable cities across India. Municipalika 2026 received strong institutional backing from key ministries of the Government of India, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with flagship national missions such as AMRUT, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban, Swachh Bharat Mission, Namami Gange and the River Cities Alliance. The event was held in global partnership with UN-Habitat and saw participation from partner states, including the Government of Meghalaya and the Government of Karnataka. PRAMA served as Principal Partner, while the Local Self Government Department, Government of Rajasthan, led the State Pavilion. Featured city participation included the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, Sonipat, Davanagere, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Kalaburagi. Delhi Metro partnered as Urban Mobility Partner, Delhi Jal Board as Water Session Partner, and Bajaj Electricals as Official Lighting Partner. Knowledge partners included the Council of Architecture and the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy. Leading industry participants such as CP Plus, Eurotek, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, Ashok Leyland, Signature Global, Saint-Gobain, Tata Projects, NBCC, Transcend Cleantech, Automeck, KUIDFC, and BMDA showcased solutions spanning mobility, construction technologies, clean energy systems, and smart urban infrastructure, with industry bodies including CREDAI, ICLEI, India Green Building Council, Indian Plumbing Foundation, BMPC, and IndSTT extending institutional support. As India prepares for an unprecedented phase of urban expansion over the next two decades, the 18th edition of Municipalika reaffirmed its role as a catalytic platform aligning policy, technology and implementation frameworks. Building on the momentum of this edition, the next chapter of Municipalika will continue to strengthen collaboration across government, industry and global institutions to shape resilient and future-ready cities for Viksit Bharat 2047. About - Fairfest Media and Good Governance India Foundation: Fairfest Media Limited is one of India's leading trade exhibition and conference organizers, creating high-impact B2B platforms that connect global and domestic stakeholders across key industries. Good Governance India Foundation is a policy-focused organization working to promote best practices in governance, urban development, and sustainable infrastructure. Together, they collaborate to deliver knowledge-driven platforms like Municipalika that enable industry partnerships, policy dialogue, and innovation-led growth for India's urban ecosystem. For more information, visit: https://www.municipalika.com/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) EaseMyTrip on Thursday announced that its leadership has received significant national recognition for contributions to the travel technology sector. The company shared that its Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director, Nishant Pitti, was named "India's Most Influential Entrepreneur" at the National Leadership Summit & Awards 2026. The company posted the announcement on its social media account today, saying, "We are proud to share that our Founder, Chairman, and MD, Nishant Pitti, was named 'India's Most Influential Entrepreneur" at the National Leadership Summit & Awards 2026." The firm noted that this award highlights his impact on the industry. "This prestigious accolade recognises his role in revolutionising the travel-tech landscape through homegrown innovation and a steadfast commitment to the consumer," the company added in their social media post. The travel platform credited Pitti's leadership for its current market position and growth trajectory. According to the company, his direction has allowed the business to expand its influence both domestically and abroad, noting that "under his vision, EaseMyTrip continues to reach new heights and set global benchmarks for excellence in the travel industry." In its announcement, the company expressed gratitude toward the awarding body and acknowledged the internal efforts required to achieve such a milestone. The post concluded by offering "sincere thanks to the National Leadership Summit for this recognition, and to our dedicated team who make these milestones possible." But this is not his first achievement in his field. He was also recognised as 'The Most Admired Personality To Look Out For In 2025' by The Enterprise World in October of last year. Since founding EaseMyTrip over 17 years ago, Nishant Pitti has transformed a bootstrapped startup into one of India's leading online travel-tech platforms. Under his leadership, the company has consistently prioritised innovation, customer-centricity, and operational excellence, making travel seamless, personalised, and accessible to millions of travellers globally. Pitti's leadership has also focused on democratising travel, making it inclusive and widely accessible. His forward-looking approach has helped EaseMyTrip remain at the forefront in a dynamic and competitive travel industry, with a strong financial position, being cash-rich, debt-free, and profitable since its inception. He has been instrumental in launching EMT 2.0, a strategic initiative that positioned the company as a comprehensive travel and lifestyle ecosystem. (ANI) Actor Sonu Sood has offered a message of hope amid the ongoing West Asia conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, while also announcing humanitarian assistance for travellers stranded in Dubai due to widespread flight disruptions. Speaking to ANI about the escalating situation, Sood expressed optimism for peace. "I hope everything will be fine and I wish happiness for everyone." On Thursday, the actor also took to social media to announce free accommodation for people stranded in Dubai as flights remain disrupted due to temporary airspace closures across parts of West Asia. In an Instagram post, Sood wrote that anyone left without a place to stay could reach out to him for help. "War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai. If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us if you need help," he wrote. The announcement comes as thousands of passengers currently face uncertainty after flight cancellations and delays triggered by the intensifying conflict. Limited rescue and repatriation flights have begun operating since early March to assist stranded travellers. Several Indian airports have started receiving passengers returning from the United Arab Emirates. On Thursday, Indian travellers arriving from Dubai landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital. Special flights also arrived earlier this week at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and the Chennai International Airport, among others. Passengers who returned to India described the situation as tense but manageable due to local support. The situation has also affected several members of the Indian film industry who were in the UAE when the crisis escalated. Actor Vishnu Manchu shared a video from his Dubai residence showing missiles being intercepted in the night sky. He said the loud interceptions "shook our home" and frightened his young daughter. Actress Sonal Chauhan, who was stranded at Dubai airport, appealed for assistance through social media, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government while seeking help to return home safely. Actor Esha Gupta has since confirmed that she has safely returned to India after experiencing the tense situation at the airport in Abu Dhabi. In a note shared on social media, she described the moment when airport operations were suddenly halted. "By 1 pm the airport was closed, chaos all around as none of us knew what happened. Then the news started coming of the missile attack and no one knew what the next minute held for us," she wrote, recalling how passengers comforted one another while trying to contact family members. Gupta also praised the response of authorities in the UAE, noting that airport staff and security personnel remained calm and helped manage the situation. Meanwhile, actor Lara Dutta remains in Dubai with her daughter Saira and has shared updates on social media about the situation. In an emotional video, she recalled hearing loud explosions while at a film studio on February 28 and later seeing missiles intercepted in the sky. She described the experience as "unnerving," adding that the sound of fighter jets and air defence systems caused windows and doors at her residence to rattle. Dutta praised the UAE authorities for their response, saying residents of different nationalities feel protected and supported. She also confirmed she is trying to find available flights back to Mumbai as services gradually resume. With flights gradually taking to the skies once again, normalcy is slowly returning to the UAE, and for the thousands of Indians eager to get home, the wait is finally coming to an end. On the other hand, Indian diplomatic missions in the Gulf region have stepped up assistance to stranded passengers after widespread flight disruptions triggered by temporary airspace closures in parts of West Asia. The Embassy of India in Kuwait, in a post on X, said it remains "fully engaged" in assisting Indian nationals affected by the disruption. "Embassy @indembkwt remains fully engaged in assisting Indian passengers stranded in Kuwait due to the temporary shutdown of airspace. Embassy officials are in regular contact with the stranded passengers, and are closely liaising with Kuwaiti authorities, managements of the respective hotels and airlines," the embassy said. Authorities and airlines continue to monitor the evolving situation in the Gulf region, with safety assessments guiding the gradual resumption of flight operations across the region. (ANI) The Government of Madhya Pradesh established a 24x7 control room at Madhya Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi to assist residents of the state currently stranded in Middle Eastern countries. In a post on X, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the state government is in constant contact with the central government to ensure the safe return of Madhya Pradesh citizens. He appealed to the citizens of the state to contact the control room's helpline numbers to avoid any emergency situations. "A 24x7 control room has been established at Madhya Pradesh Bhawan, New Delhi, to assist residents of Madhya Pradesh who have gone to Middle East Asian countries for studies, jobs, business, tourism, etc. We are in constant contact with the central government for the safe return of Madhya Pradesh citizens. My appeal to the citizens of the state is that they can contact the control room's helpline numbers to avoid any emergency situation," said Mohan Yadav. Residents and their families can reach out for assistance through the provided contact details. They can call the control room at 011-26772005, send a message via WhatsApp to 9818963273, or contact the team by email at mphelpdeskgulf@gmail.com. Earlier, the Government of Telangana also received more than 200 enquiries from its citizens through a similar 24x7 control room established at Telangana Bhavan in Delhi. The Government mentioned that most enquiries relate to travel disruptions, safety concerns, and requests for guidance regarding coordination with the concerned Indian Embassies. The Control Room is providing necessary assistance, facilitating communication, and extending support in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and the respective Indian Missions. Senior officials at Telangana Bhavan remain in continuous contact with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure timely information and appropriate support to Telangana citizens, wherever required. For those seeking support, Telangana citizens in the Middle East and their families in Telangana are encouraged to reach out to the 24x7 Control Room at Telangana Bhavan, New Delhi. Dedicated assistance is available through Vandana Barua at +91 9871999044, C H Chakravarthi at +91 9958322143, Javed Husain at +91 9910014749, and Rakshit Naik at +91 9643723157. (ANI) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has condemned the "open aggression" of the United States and Israel against Iran and urged the United Nations and the international community to take immediate, effective, and concrete steps to ensure a ceasefire and prevent the region from descending into a devastating war. In a press statement, the Board's Spokesperson, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, stated that significant progress had been made in negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program. "According to Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr Al-Busaidi, who was mediating the talks, Iran had agreed to almost all of the United States' conditions. Despite this, the sudden announcement by the United States to terminate the negotiations, followed immediately by a joint attack on Iran with Israel, indicates that the negotiations were merely a pretext rather than a serious diplomatic effort," he stated. Ilyas expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, describing it as a great loss for the Muslim Ummah. He stated that targeting the central leadership of a sovereign country during wartime and openly speaking of regime change constitutes a blatant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. He further noted that this war has engulfed the entire Middle East in instability. While several European countries are supporting the United States, Russia and China are backing Iran. If immediate and effective diplomatic intervention is not undertaken, this conflict could escalate into a wider global war. A prolonged war would not only deepen the humanitarian crisis but also severely impact the global economy, with developing and weaker nations bearing the greatest burden, according to the statement. Ilyas expressed regret that at such a critical and decisive moment, our country could have played a balanced and dignified mediatory role. However, the current approach has adversely affected the credibility of the country's foreign policy. He also expressed concern that no official condolence message was issued on the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, which, he said, goes against our moral and diplomatic traditions. All India Muslim Personal Law Board once appealed to the country's leadership, the United Nations, and the international community to take immediate, serious, and practical measures to stop this war. Otherwise, this fire will not remain confined to one region, and no country will remain untouched by its consequences. The conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf nations and other Israeli assets across the region. (ANI) Indian passengers from Dubai landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday amid the ongoing flight disruptions caused by the US-Israel vs Iran conflict from the past few days. Coordination between airport authorities and airline officials is bringing relief to stranded passengers who had faced uncertainty over the past few days due to widespread cancellations and delays. Meanwhile, special flightd from Dubai arrives safely across Indian airports on Wednesday, including at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), Chennai International Airport and others, as flight operations gradually resumed following disruptions triggered by the escalating West Asian conflict. Some flights from Dubai arrived in Hyderabad and Chennai. Coordination between airport authorities and airline officials is bringing relief to stranded passengers who had faced uncertainty over the past few days due to widespread cancellations and delays. Speaking to ANI, A passenger who landed in Chennai, Santosh Kumar, said, "I had gone to Dubai for some work when the unfortunate turn of events occurred. We were stuck there, but we didn't face many difficulties. The Dubai Govt is very helpful. People are very helpful. They ensured our safety and security. While my stay got extended by a few days, everything was very well managed."With flights gradually taking to the skies once again, normalcy is slowly returning to the UAE, and for the thousands of Indians eager to get home, the wait is finally coming to an end. With flights gradually taking to the skies once again, normalcy is slowly returning to the UAE, and for the thousands of Indians eager to get home, the wait is finally coming to an end. On the other hand, Indian diplomatic missions in the Gulf region have stepped up assistance to stranded passengers after widespread flight disruptions triggered by temporary airspace closures in parts of West Asia. The Embassy of India in Kuwait, in a post on X, said it remains "fully engaged" in assisting Indian nationals affected by the disruption. "Embassy @indembkwt remains fully engaged in assisting Indian passengers stranded in Kuwait due to the temporary shutdown of airspace. Embassy officials are in regular contact with the stranded passengers, and are closely liaising with Kuwaiti authorities, managements of the respective hotels and airlines," the embassy said. Authorities and airlines continue to monitor the evolving situation in the Gulf region, with safety assessments guiding the gradual resumption of flight operations across the region. (ANI) Preparations are in full swing for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)'s State Conference, scheduled to be held in Tiruchirappalli on March 9. According to party sources, around 10 lakh cadres are expected to participate in the 12th State Conference. The event comes ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with key announcements likely to be made regarding the party's electoral promises. With just a few days remaining for the grand event, party leaders and organisers are intensifying arrangements at Siruganur along the Trichy-Chennai National Highway. As part of the opening ceremony, a 100-foot-tall flagpole is being erected for the hoisting of the DMK party flag. DMK is looking forward to retaining power in the state, while pitching 'Dravidian Model 2.0' and posing Dravidian ideology as a plank against the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 11 in Trichy. The meeting is scheduled to be held on a 22-acre site near Edamalaipatti Pudur. The venue is located near the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway and is approximately 5 kilometres from the Trichy International Airport. BJP Tamil Nadu State President Nainar Nagendran told reporters, "NDA public meeting in Tiruchirappalli would be conducted on the scale of a major conference, with participation expected to exceed five lakh people." In recent developments in the run-up to the elections, on Wednesday, DMK and Congress finalized their seat-sharing formula after the second round of talks. Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai expressed joy after securing 28 assembly seats along with one seat in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from the DMK. "This is a very happy moment for us. We have received 28 seats from the DMK, and I sincerely thank all our national and state leaders who made this possible. The alliance would strongly oppose divisive and fascist forces," he said. The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the incumbent MK Stalin-led Secular Progressive Alliance will look to win against the BJP-AIADMK-led NDA. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest. In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively. While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats. (ANI) Suspended Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday morning, stating that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma decided the timing, keeping in mind the Rajya Sabha elections. Speaking to ANI on joining the BJP, Purkayastha said the joining will take place at 8 AM on Thursday. "Keeping in mind the Rajya Sabha elections and everything else, the Chief Minister had taken this decision that our joining will happen at the right time, and the joining time has been given as 8 am tomorrow morning. I will work as a soldier of the BJP, and after joining tomorrow, I will work for the good of the party," Purkayastha said. The development comes as part of a pattern of Congress leaders switching to the BJP in Assam ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier indicated that several Congress leaders would join the BJP as per a schedule. Speaking to reporters in late February, CM Sarma noted that several Congress leaders are in line to join the BJP. "I have a schedule in which Congress leaders will join us, and they will comply with the schedule. It is important for them to join before the 2029 General Elections. For me, all elections are important. BJP has already started preparing for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections," Sarma had said. In February, former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah also joined the BJP, ending his three-decade-old ties with the party, dealing a big blow to the Congress ahead of the elections. He pointed out that the situation in the Assam Congress is "alarming". Recently, CM Sarma again slammed the Congress over its first list of candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly Elections, calling it a "dynastic list," while highlighting the BJP's emphasis on grassroots workers. "One may call it a list, but I would call it a dynastic list. In contrast, the BJP's list would include grassroots workers. The party is fully prepared for the upcoming elections," Sarma had said. The move is seen as a boost for the BJP ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha polls, with the party looking to strengthen its position in the state. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India announced that polling for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections will be held on March 16, with vote counting the same day at 5 PM and the process concluding by March 20. The elections will fill 37 seats across 10 states, including Assam. (ANI) The UK Government has launched a public consultation on whether to ban under-16s from social media. The UK Government is considering whether to ban under-16s from social media Young people and their parents have been invited to submit comments ahead of a government decision on the proposal - which follows Australia's decision last year to ban children from platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says that the consultation would help establish how young people could "thrive in an age of rapid technological change". As well as seeking opinions on an outright ban, the government also wants to find out whether platforms should be required to switch off addictive features and whether mandatory overnight curfews will help kids to sleep better. The authorities are also looking to establish whether children should be able to use AI chatbots without restriction and how age verification should be strengthened. The government explained that pilots will be conducted to test the "real-world evidence" of the effectiveness of planned interventions. Kendall said: "The path to a good life is a great childhood, one full of love, learning and play. That applies just as much to the online world as it does to the real one. "We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having." She added: "This is why we're asking children and parents to take part in this landmark consultation." The government says that "everyone with a view" on the subject is entitled to take part in - including parents, carers, young people, those who work with children, civil society organisations, academics and industry. Different versions of the consultation are available for young people and parents and carers to make it more accessible. The consultation will close on May 26, as the government plans to respond "in the summer". West Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Thursday criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's move to hold a protest over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll on March 6, saying "it is time for her to go" following the upcoming State Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Ghosh alleged that the TMC government has not allowed the Centre's schemes and funds to reach the public. "The CM has just given sit-in protests. She did not even let what PM Modi has given to the public reach them. It is time for her to go," the BJP leader said. On Sunday, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said that CM Mamata Banerjee will stage a dharna (sit-in protest) at Metro Channel (Esplanade) on March 6 from 2 pm onwards against alleged discrepancies in the state's SIR exercise. This came after the ECI released the final electoral roll following the SIR of voter lists in West Bengal, stating that 5,46,053 voters have been deleted using Form 7 after the draft list was published in December 2025. The total number of voters in West Bengal now stands at 7,04,59,284 voters (7.04 crore) as compared to 7,66,37,529 (7.66 crore) before the SIR exercise, showing a change of more than 61 lakh names in the list. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh expressed willingness for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to be JD(U)'s candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, saying, "He is a senior politician who was in Lok Sabha for many years. He has been a Chief Minister many times. People should be given new responsibilities. I am waiting for the name (of the next CM)." However, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has dismissed speculation of a leadership change in Bihar, stating there is no discussion regarding a new Chief Minister in the state. "There's no discussion on changing the Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar will continue to lead Bihar, and our double-engine government is working well," said the Union Minister. (ANI) With speculation mounting over Chief Minister Nitish Kumar potentially moving to Rajya Sabha, Minister Ramkripal Yadav on Thursday stated that it is an internal matter of the Janata Dal (United) and the CM's decision is paramount, while terming the opposition as "troubled." Speaking to ANI on reports of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar going to the Rajya Sabha, Bihar Minister Ramkripal Yadav said it is an internal matter of JD(U). "Nitish Kumar's decision paramount": Minister Yadav told ANI. "This is an internal matter of the Janata Dal (United), and they will make the decision--those led by Nitish Kumar--and his decision is paramount," he added. Taking a dig at the opposition, he said they are troubled because they are getting nothing and their credibility is eroding daily. "The opposition is troubled because they are getting nothing. Every day, the opposition's credibility is eroding, so they are very distressed. The NDA is united, and all are working together to run the government. In the last 21 years, under Nitish Kumar's leadership, Bihar has progressed and developed," he added. Bihar State Minister Ashok Chaudhary said it is a matter of a few hours, and they had a meeting yesterday. "Let's see, it's a matter of a few hours. We met yesterday," Chaudhary said. Amid mounting speculation, sources from the Janata Dal (United) stated that the veteran leader might transition to the Rajya Sabha, days after the Election Commission of India announced the polls for the upper house. However, Union Minister Chirag Paswan dismissed speculation of a leadership change in Bihar, stating there is no discussion regarding a new Chief Minister in the state. "There's no discussion on changing the Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar will continue to lead Bihar, and our double-engine government is working well," the Union Minister said. Union Minister Giriraj Singh also refuted the speculation, suggesting it is a "joke" that the Bihar CM might resign and file a nomination for the Rajya Sabha. "Such jokes are common on Holi. Nitish Kumar ji is our Chief Minister," Singh said. Meanwhile, JD-U MLC Sanjay Gandhi said that it will be Nitish Kumar's decision whether he wants to enter the Rajya Sabha or not. "The Chief Minister will himself decide (whether he wants to go to the Rajya Sabha or not). We had a meeting to strengthen the organisation in view of the polls," he said. The Election Commission of India announced that polling for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections will be held on March 16, with vote counting the same day at 5 PM. The elections will fill 37 seats across 10 states, including Bihar. (ANI) According to an 'X' post by Manipur Police on Wednesday, an SUV was stopped at the Tengnoupal-PS Naka. During the search, security personnel recovered and seized 2.33 kg of WY tablets, 0.592 kg of brown sugar, one mobile phone, one Aadhaar card, and the registration certificate of the vehicle. "On 04.03.2026, a four-wheeler Thar bearing Regd. No. MN 01 AW 8063 was intercepted by security forces at the Naka check post of Tengnoupal-PS. During checking of the vehicle, the following items were recovered and seized from inside: i. 2.33 Kgs of WY tablets, ii. 0.592 Kgs of Brown sugar, iii. 01 (one) mobile phone, iv. 01 (one) Aadhar card, v. The RC of the Thar vehicle. Further investigation is underway," 'X' post from Manipur Police said. Last month, the Manipur Security Forces arrested an active cadre of Revolutionary People's Front/People's Liberation Army (RPF/PLA) involved in extortion activities on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Khundom Momocha Meitei, also known as Yaiphabam, aged 31, a resident of Yourabung Khunou under Lamlai Police Station in Imphal East district. He was apprehended from his residence by the security forces. During the operation, authorities also confiscated a mobile phone from the accused. Earlier, an alleged extortionist and active cadre of KCP (PWG), identified as Huiningsumbam Suresh Meitei alias Kalambus alias Lion (34), was arrested from his residence in Singjamei under the Singjamei Police Station in Imphal West. A two-wheeler and a mobile phone were seized from him. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi participated in the Holi festival with students of IIT Madras at Lok Bhawan on Wednesday, joining them in singing traditional Phagua songs and highlighting the spirit of "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat." Ravi said, that India is enduring in the colours of Holi and festive colours does not differentiate between anyone. Extending the greetings, he wishes everyone a very happy Holi. Students were seen playing traditional musical Instruments and enjoying singing with him. On Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader Tamilisai Soundararajan celebrated Holi at the party's head office, Kamalalayam, in Chennai. She said the Jain brothers called us for the celebration of Pongal, and we went to their place for the Pongal celebration. "Jain brothers called us for the Pongal celebration. We went to their place for the Pongal celebration, and they have come to Kamalalayam for Holi celebrations.So this is the unity in diversity that which are practicing in Tamil Nadu. What is basic Tamil culture? Tamil culture respects the people from other states and the whole country. But the basic Tamil culture is tarnished by the DMK. Tamil culture is for whoever is coming to my state; we have to welcome them. When honorable Prime Minister comes, he (MK Stalin) is not coming to welcome him. When unity is talked it is not that Tamil is degraded." "They think that to talk about Tamil pride, they have to degrade the other states. It's not like we also love our mother language. My mother language is my life, but at the same time, my mother language teaches me to respect other languages also. That is the basic culture of the Tamil language. That culture itself was politically tarnished by MK Stalin. That's all I have to say," she added. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to all citizens on the occasion of Holi. He wished for happiness, prosperity and success for everyone. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Heartfelt Holi greetings to all my fellow citizens. May this festival, brimming with colours and exuberance, bring a shower of joy to everyone. May every life be sprinkled with the hues of happiness, prosperity, and success--this is my heartfelt wish." This year, the celebration of the 'Festival of Colours' was observed on two separate days. While several states in Western India, including Mumbai and Gujarat, have celebrated the festivities on Tuesday, March 3. North India marks its main celebrations on Wednesday. (ANI) Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that the state government will decide upon the distribution of internal reservation in a cabinet meeting on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara addressed the demand for equitable distribution of the 17 per cent quota within the Scheduled Caste (SC) community and a demand to provide a separate one per cent reservation to nomadic communities. On internal reservation, says, "The government has already agreed to provide internal reservation. However, issues have surfaced regarding confusion in the distribution of this reservation. There is a concern that during the roster preparation, one specific category might receive a higher share of the reservation. The matter will be discussed again in the Cabinet meeting. We will proceed based on the final decision reached during the Cabinet discussions." "A decision was previously made to provide 17 per cent internal reservation for the SC community. However, there is now a demand to provide a separate one per cent for nomadic communities (Alemaris). The court has also stayed the 56 per cent reservation limit," he added. Agreeing to the BJP's demand to implement the internal reservation policy for the government recruitments announced on Wednesday, the Home Minister said, "These are significant matters that require extensive discussion before a decision is made. That is why we are discussing this in the Cabinet; differences of opinion are bound to exist. Regardless of the opinions, a final decision will be taken after the Cabinet debate. Orders for recruitment in our department were issued yesterday. Internal reservation will be implemented during this recruitment process. This will be the primary topic of discussion in today's Cabinet meeting." Last year, the Karnataka Cabinet had announced an internal reservation for 101 caste communities, a decision based on the 1,766-page survey report by the Justice Das Commission. The fresh row came after Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra asked the state government to fill vacancies through "internal reservation" for marginalised communities and create employment opportunities for the youth. He warned that if these actions are not taken, it will be inevitable for the BJP to launch an intense agitation against the Congress government. Addressing the media at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan, in Malleswaram, he claimed that the BJP had previously increased the reservation quota to 56% to ensure justice for all communities. "Whether you fill 50,000 vacant posts or one lakh posts is up to you (Karnataka CM). Our demand is to fill all vacant posts. The BJP government had increased internal reservation to 56 per cent to ensure justice to all communities. Based on that, these vacancies must be filled by considering internal reservation for oppressed and marginalised communities," said Vijayendra. Last month, protesters from the Lambani community, a nomadic community in Karnataka, protested and interrupted an event addressed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, claiming injustice due to the internal reservation policy. (ANI) The blaze, which broke out around 4:15 AM near Rithala Metro Station, gutted over 50 shanties, marking the second fatal fire in the area within four months. A rapid response from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), with 15 fire tenders rushed to the scene to contain the flames. Officials confirmed that the fire was brought under control after some time of intense firefighting efforts. The incident occurred in the densely populated jhuggi (slum) area, often called Bengali Basti, located between the metro station and Delhi Jal Board premises. DFS officials stated that the cause of the fire is under investigation. This marks the second major fire in Rithala slums within four months, highlighting persistent safety hazards in Delhi's informal settlements. In November last year, one person died after a massive fire broke out in the same vicinity. According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), firefighting and cooling operations were carried out to control the blaze. One body was recovered from the site, while another injured person, a child, was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. Delhi Fire Service officer SK Dua told ANI that a total of 29 fire tenders were pressed into service to control the flames. After hours of dousing operation, the blaze was brought under control. Fire tenders were sent to the spot, and the fire was declared to be of Medium category considering its intensity," Dua told ANI. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on March 3 has quashed criminal proceedings against a woman for the alleged offence of attempted culpable homicide (Section 308/307 IPC). The decision highlights the court's power to prioritize the "ends of justice" and the "quality of mercy" in complex family-like relationships, even when dealing with serious, non-compoundable offences. The petitioner was an orphan who had been raised by the complainant and her late husband since she was three months old. Although they were never her legal parents through adoption, the court noted that their bond was socially and emotionally identical to that of a mother and daughter. The legal trouble began in 2019 following a violent incident where the petitioner allegedly attacked her guardian with a wooden cross and a knife. While the police registered the case under serious charges of attempted murder, the guardian eventually chose to forgive the petitioner. She informed the court that she no longer wished to pursue the case, explaining that she had raised the petitioner with love and viewed the conflict as a private family matter that had since been resolved through an amicable settlement. Justice Prateek Jalan decided to quash the FIR, stating that forcing the trial to continue would be a "travesty of justice" given the unique family circumstances. The judge emphasized that the "quality of mercy" should prevail in this case, especially since the parties had already settled their civil disputes and the petitioner had expressed deep remorse for her actions. The court also clarified that the petitioner has no legal claim to the guardian's property or inheritance. As a condition for closing the case, the court ordered the petitioner to give back to society by performing community service. She is required to complete 30 sessions of service at St. Stephen's Hospital in New Delhi over the next four months. (ANI) Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday paid floral tributes to his father and former Odisha Chief Minister, Biju Patnaik, on his birth anniversary. Biju Janata Dal party leader also spoke about the enduring relevance of Biju Patnaik's socio-economic reforms. BJD MP Sasmit Patra, while speaking to ANI, said, "On the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik today, our party president Naveen Patnaik offered floral tributes to the memory of late Biju Patnaik. Biju Babu's idea of India, the idea of Odisha, goes beyond the shores of India and Odisha. Whether it's fighting the Nazis or supporting the Russians at that time during the war. Whether it was rescuing the freedom fighters of Indonesia who had gone to become the leaders of Indonesia, or fighting the Pakistanis by landing the first troops in Srinagar." "Each time you find the bravery and valour of Biju Babu in the entire global scenario in India, he was the maker of modern Odisha, with its industrialisation or agricultural development, tribal upliftment or women's empowerment, every space of Odisha has seen the touch of Biju Babu," Sasmit Patra added. Meanwhile, Biju Patnaik was undoubtedly a great intellectual legislator, political leader and above all, a reformer of Odisha and was a brilliant student. His early occupation was business. His hobby was aeronautics and industry. The Biju Janata Dal was founded on December 26, 1997, and named after its leader, Biju Patnaik, the father of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The regional party, which is headed by Patnaik, has been in power in Odisha since 2000. March 5 also happens to be the birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik, after whom the ruling BJD is named. Biju Patnaik's love for aviation saw him drop out of Ravenshaw College and train as a pilot. He had joined as a trainee pilot in the Royal Air Force of the British Empire and was the head of the air transport command. Biju Patnaik was Chief Minister of the state for two terms, the first from 1961-1963 and then from 1990-1995. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a new foot overbridge at the Monastery Market at Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT). According to the Chief Minister, a strict construction timeline is set to ensure the facility is operational by the end of the year. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, while speaking to the media, said, "The people here have made this demand hundreds of times to the previous government. Today, even in the short time of our government's tenure, we are going to fulfil this demand of the people here... Very soon, in just 6 months, this bridge will be constructed and completed." Earlier, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday launched key women-centric initiatives at the Sashakt Nari, Samriddh Delhi programme, including the free LPG cylinder scheme for ration card holders and the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana. Highlighting education, mobility, and domestic empowerment, she announced that funds for 30,000 girls under the Ladli-Ladli scheme have been disbursed via DBT. Earlier in February, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had also flagged off a modern electric double-decker bus in the national capital, aiming to strengthen the city's tourism sector and offer visitors a unique travel experience. According to the Chief Minister, the bus will operate on a fixed tourism circuit covering Delhi's cultural, historical, and heritage landmarks. The inaugural route began from the Shaheed Smarak and includes destinations such as the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya. "We are developing a new tourism route so that our tourists can visit places like the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya... Pre-booking for these buses will be possible, and tourists will be able to have a wonderful experience," she said. Gupta congratulated the tourism department and reiterated the government's commitment to developing the capital. "Every day, the Delhi government brings a new gift, a new offering for Delhi. One year has been completed, and there is still a lot left to do. We will continuously move forward in the direction of a developed Delhi," she added. (ANI) Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday again cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "silence" after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena" near Sri Lanka. The ship was returning after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026 (IFR) and MILAN 2026 in Visakhapatnam. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said that the West Asia conflict has reached India's backyard and accused PM Modi of "surrendering India's strategic autonomy" when the country needs a "steady hand at the wheel". "The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy," he said. He also raised concerns over India's oil supplies being under threat due to tensions in the Gulf region. "India's oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40% of our imports transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even worse for LPG and LNG," he said. https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/2029446569335099456 Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibbal said that the 'IRIS Dena' had joined the International Fleet Review 2026 (IFR) and MILAN 2026 on India's invitation, adding that the US attack "ignored India's sensitivities". "The Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to talk part in our Milan exercise. We were the hosts. I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenceless. The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our president . The attack by the US submarine was premeditated as the US was aware of the Iranian ship's presence in the exercise to which the US navy was invited but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind," he said in a post on X. "The US has ignored India's sensitivities as the ship was in these waters because of India's invitation. We are far from politically or militarily responsible for the US attack. Our"responsibility" is at a moral and human plane. A word of condolence by the Indian Navy ( after political clearance) at the loss of lives of those who were our invitees and saluted our president would be in order," he added. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the United States will come to regret its action of destroying the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean. In a post on X, Araghchi said, "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." Araghchi's comment follows the confirmation on Wednesday by United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that an US submarine had sunk the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena". Around 180 people were onboard at the Iranian ship. Sri Lanka's navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, who were admitted to a hospital in Galle, on the south of the island, Euro News reported. (ANI) UK warns against travel to parts of Thailand amid Middle East tensions UK warns against travel to Thailand as Middle East tensions rise The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to parts of Thailand as tensions in the Middle East escalate. Areas of southern Thailand near the Malaysia border, as well as regions along the Cambodia border, have been added to the no-travel list following rising global security concerns after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The Foreign Office has been updating advice regularly, with 20 countries receiving alerts in recent days amid escalating conflict. The southern provinces under warning include Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and parts of Songkhla, while the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line is also affected. Travel within 20km of the Cambodia border is similarly advised against except for essential purposes. A government map highlights these zones for British nationals. The warnings come as airspace closures and disrupted flights across the Middle East affect global travel. British holidaymakers are advised to check updates from airlines, review travel insurance coverage, and monitor official Foreign Office guidance. Those needing to adjust Thai visas should follow the guidance published by the Thai Immigration Bureau. Since the conflict began, blasts have been reported in Tehran, Jerusalem, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Manama. Around 300,000 Britons are believed to be in countries impacted by the crisis, with more than 100,000 registered with the Foreign Office. Officials are exploring contingency plans, including possible evacuations. The Foreign Office emphasizes that political conflicts, natural disasters, and safety concerns can lead to no-go recommendations, and travelling against guidance may invalidate insurance and limit consular support. Airlines, including Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar, have suspended flights to affected areas, causing widespread disruption for travellers. British nationals planning trips to Thailand or other countries in the region are urged to sign up for travel alerts and follow local authority guidance closely. Full list of countries with updated travel warnings from the UK Foreign Office: Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Thailand Syria Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates (UAE) Yemen Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his government's handling of the Middle East crisis, calling it a "reckless abdication of India's strategic and national interests" and accusing the PM of surrendering India's foreign policy. In a detailed post on X, Kharge raised multiple questions about the government's response to the escalating situation in West Asia and the plight of Indian nationals stranded in the region. "Modi Govt's reckless abdication of India's strategic & national interests is there for all to see," Kharge stated. He highlighted that an Iranian ship, a guest of India, was returning unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026 hosted by India and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region. "An Iranian ship, a guest of India was returning, unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026, hosted by us, and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). No statement of concern or condolence. PM Modi remains mute," Kharge said. He questioned the government's silence on its own doctrines. "Why lecture us on the doctrines of MAHASAGAR and India being a 'Net Security Provider' in the IOR, when you can't react on what is happening in your own backyard?" he asked. Kharge highlighted the humanitarian crisis affecting Indian sailors in the Gulf of Hormuz. "As many as 38 Indian Flag commercial ships along with 1100 sailors are stuck in Gulf of Hormuz. 2 Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar have reportedly died. Why is there no maritime rescue or relief operation in place?" he questioned. He further raised concerns about India's energy security and trade implications. "You say only 25 days of crude and oil stocks left. With rising oil prices, what is our energy contingency plan, especially in the wake of GOI virtually accepting the demand to stop import of Russian oil? What about the trade of other key commodities with the gulf countries?" Kharge asked. He also pointed to the MEA statement on March 3, 2026, regarding Indian nationals in the Gulf region. "As per MEA statement on March 3, 2026, 'some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing'. There are one crore Indians in the gulf region countries. Medical students are releasing desperate video messages seeking help. How is the GOI securing their well-being? Is there any evacuation plan in place from the affected areas?" he said. Kharge accused the Prime Minister of surrender and compromising India's foreign policy. "Clearly, Modi Ji's SURRENDER is both political and moral! It demeans India's core national interests and destroys our foreign policy carefully and painstakingly built and followed by successive governments over the years!" he concluded. Earlier, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "silence" after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena" near Sri Lanka. The criticism comes amid the ongoing West Asia crisis following a confirmation by the United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that a US submarine had sunk the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena". Around 180 people were onboard at the Iranian ship. Sri Lanka's navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, who were admitted to a hospital in Galle, on the south of the island, Euro News reported. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday invited Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders and workers for the party's State Conference, scheduled to be held in Tiruchirappalli on March 9. Penning an open letter, MK Stalin asked the party workers to gear up for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections. Stalin wrote, "To the beloved brothers and sisters of our leader Kalaignar, who lives intertwined with our very lives, this is an invitation to the Trichy conference written by one among you. I write this letter with great eagerness to see all of you, our comrades, at the grand special election conference of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the great movement of Dravidian politics, to be held in Trichy, the fortress of brave warriors, under the theme 'Let Stalin Continue - Let Tamil Nadu Win'." "On March 9, the party conference will be held at Siruganur in Tiruchirappalli as a grand gathering of nearly one million party administrators from all levels of the organisation, from the party headquarters to the branch units, including every wing of the party. The 2026 election is the time to reap the harvest of all our hard work. To prepare ourselves for that field of battle, we are gathering together in Siruganur, Trichy," he added. Lauding Tamil Nadu minister and Tiruchirappalli West MLA KN Nehru, he said, "On February 26, I personally sent invitation letters to each administrator participating in the conference. I can already see, in my mind's eye, that letter reaching your hands. Whenever a conference is held in Trichy, it marks a turning point in the party's history. And when we think of a party conference, the person who immediately comes to mind is our Principal Secretary and respected Minister, dear brother KN Nehru. The state conferences, regional conferences, and special conferences he has organised in Trichy, each grand and awe-inspiring, are firmly etched in the history of our movement. As I often say, 'If it is Nehru, it is a conference; if it is a conference, it is Nehru.' Even now, he is carrying out the conference arrangements with great excellence. If Kalaignar were with us today, he would have called out: 'Nehru is like Meru (a great mountain). Comrade, march forward towards Trichy." After shaking hands with Congress on the seat-sharing pact for the Secular Progressive Alliance, Stalin hailed coalition politics. DMK has allotted 28 seats to its ally Congress for the upcoming elections. "In the history of Indian politics, the opportunity to nurture alliance parties as ideological partners and move forward together towards common ideals has been given to me, one among you, by entrusting me with the leadership of this party. Even Karunandhi himself did not get such a long, continuous opportunity. Beginning with the Secular Progressive Alliance formed for the 2019 parliamentary elections, it has continued through the 2020 rural local body elections, the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the 2022 urban local body elections, the 2024 parliamentary elections, several by-elections, and now towards the 2026 Assembly elections. Not only has the alliance remained strong, but several new parties have also joined, strengthening it further," the CM wrote. Attacking the Opposition, he said that they lack confidence and hope to break the ruling alliance. He said, "That is why our political opponents, lacking confidence in their own strength, constantly hoped that our alliance would break. They dreamed that parties would leave us and imagined divisions among us. They even tried to break our alliance with tempting offers. We simply watched their fantasies and continued our work." "Together with our alliance partners, who firmly believe that there is no place for communal politics in Tamil Nadu and that state rights will never be surrendered, we have been conducting discussions with mutual respect and democratic spirit, while welcoming parties that wish to join us. I continue to lead this strong and winning alliance," Stalin added. Hailing the social security schemes brought in by the DMK government, Stalin called for the victory of Dravidian Model 2.0, saying that the government has fulfilled it promises. He said, "True to that promise, the Dravidian Model government has been implementing schemes with the ideal of "Everything for Everyone", ensuring that no one is left behind in Tamil Nadu's development journey. We have implemented such remarkable schemes that there is hardly a family in Tamil Nadu that has not benefited from them. Schemes such as Kalaignar Women's Rights Scheme, Vidiyal Payanam, Naan Mudhalvan, Pudhumai Penn, Tamil Pudhalvan, Kalaignar Dream Housing, Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam, Innuyir Kappom 48, Illam Thedi Kalvi, Thozhi Hostel, Thayumanavar Scheme, Anbu Karangal, Anbu Solai, Ungaludan Stalin, Nalam Kaakkum Stalin, along with expanded industrial growth through global investments and double-digit economic growth, have transformed Tamil Nadu into a leading state, a model state for others in India, and a state whose achievements even the statistics of the Union Government cannot deny." "At that time, my request to you and to the people was this: Give the DMK ten years of continuous governance. We will rescue Tamil Nadu, which has been dragged back by 50 years under the AIADMK rule, and elevate it," he said while slamming AIADMK. "Let us gather in Trichy, the fortress of brave warriors! Let us pledge ourselves to establish the Dravidian Model 2.0 government! Come in large numbers to Trichy, dear comrade," the letter read. According to party sources, around 10 lakh cadres are expected to participate in the 12th State Conference. The event comes ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with key announcements likely to be made regarding the party's electoral promises. With just a few days remaining for the grand event, party leaders and organisers are intensifying arrangements at Siruganur along the Trichy-Chennai National Highway. As part of the opening ceremony, a 100-foot-tall flagpole is being erected for the hoisting of the DMK party flag. DMK is looking forward to retaining power in the state, while pitching 'Dravidian Model 2.0' and posing Dravidian ideology as a plank against the BJP-AIADMK alliance. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar Chief Minister as a "golden chapter" in the state's history and welcomed his return to national politics as he filed nomination for the Rajya Sabha election. Amit Shah emphasised the "glorious" tenure of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar during which he made significant contributions to Bihar's progress. "Bihar's CM also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha. With this, after a long gap, he will once again enter national politics as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish Kumar served as CM of Bihar from 2005 until now. His tenure was truly glorious. This tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development... Throughout his long career as an MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and Union Minister, his kurta was never stained. His entire life was free from corruption charges," he said. "For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he added. The statement comes as Bihar witnessed a huge political transition with incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filing nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including BJP Chief Nitin Nabin, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, BJP's Shivesh Kumar and JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur, also filed their nominations for the Upper House. Nitish Kumar, who is the longest serving Bihar's Chief Minister, earlier announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and would file his nomination in the current election cycle. "I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X. Nitish Kumar's announcement attracted reactions, with the opposition reiterating that BJP had intentions to remove him from the CM post all along. Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack, saying that his "hijack" allegation proved to be true. He said, "Everyone knows that in the Bihar elections, the NDA had given this slogan '2025 se 30 phir se Nitish'. The BJP and NDA's constituent parties know how the elections were conducted with the use of tricks, tantra-mantra, and the entire system in place. Even at that time, we had said that the BJP people had 'hijacked' Nitish Kumar and they won't let him sit on the chair again. We had said that he won't stay in the chair for more than six months." This comes after Nitish Kumar won his fifth election in 2025 as the NDA secured two-third majority in the state and took oath for the 10th time. He is Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister. (ANI) Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra on Thursday voiced concern about the West Asia conflict, saying that the situation is extremely alarming, and called for all sides to come to the negotiating table. Speaking to ANI, Patra said that the conflict must end and both sides should come to the negotiating table. He suggested that dialogue, discussion and deliberation should be a key to resolving the conflict. "The missiles slamming into schools, civilian habitations, and countries which have nothing to do with the conflict itself show how wide this war is becoming," Patra added. He further stated that all the nations should come together, whether the United States, Israel, Iran and other nations. India has always believed in the principle of non-violence and peace, he explained that even at the time of Operation Sindoor in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK) and Pakistan, India had a calibrated and measured approach; we didn't go to war. So, this rational, measured and calibrated response needs to be there in the Israel-Iran conflict. He said this is the time the war needs to end because innocent lives have been lost. Speaking to ANI, Patra says, "I think it's an extremely alarming situation. Every day, the kind of visuals coming from West Asia and the Middle-East further adds to the danger of this war happening; it is no longer a conflict. I strongly believe that this conflict must end. All the sides must come to the negotiating table. Dialogue, discussion and deliberation should be the key, not conflicts and wars... India has always believed in the principles of non-violence and peace... the time has come to close this conflict..." On February 28, the US and Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities. In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. (ANI) Passengers arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dubai on Thursday described contrasting situations in the UAE, with one reporting a situation of panic while another said everything is normal, though both noted that flight prices have increased significantly. Speaking to ANI, passenger Rahul Saxena, who arrived at IGI Airport from Dubai, said there is a situation of panic in the region. "There is a situation of panic there. The sooner the government evacuates everyone, the better," Saxena said. However, another passenger, Gautam Gupta, who arrived at IGI Airport from Dubai, said everything is normal in Dubai and they did not face any difficulties. "Everything is normal in Dubai. We did not face any difficulties. The prices of the flights have increased," Gupta said. Many passengers had to reroute through secondary airports like Fujairah and Dammam to secure their passage back to India. A passenger who arrived at IGI Airport from Fujairah said, "I went to Dubai for work; the situation is a bit tense. Yesterday, there was an attack on the US Consulate... We were scared... We came from Fujairah because flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi were getting cancelled repeatedly... We are thankful to the airlines and the Indian government; they are helping us come back." The differing accounts from passengers reflect the uncertainty and varied experiences of Indians in West Asia amid the ongoing regional crisis. Coordination between airport authorities and airline officials is bringing relief to stranded passengers who had faced uncertainty over the past few days due to widespread cancellations and delays. Meanwhile, Actor Sonu Sood has offered a message of hope amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, while also announcing humanitarian assistance for travellers stranded in Dubai due to widespread flight disruptions. "War has left many travelers stranded in Dubai. If you or someone you know has nowhere to stay, we are offering safe accommodation free of cost. No nationality. No conditions. Just humanity. DM us if you need help," he wrote. (ANI) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will visit Bairagi Camp in Haridwar on March 7 to review various exhibitions and address a public gathering, the release said. The event will also be attended by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state ministers, Members of Parliament, MLAs, public representatives, and senior officials. On this occasion, Amit Shah will visit a special exhibition showcasing the development works, public welfare schemes, and significant decisions taken in Uttarakhand over the past four years under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The exhibition will highlight the state government's initiatives in areas such as infrastructure development, strengthening of roads and connectivity, expansion of healthcare services, improvements in the education sector, investment promotion, tourism development, preservation of religious and cultural heritage, and development of border areas. Through the exhibition, the government will also highlight efforts made to strengthen good governance, transparency, and citizen-centric services in the state. Various departments will present visual displays, photographs, models, and informative panels depicting the transformation and development that Uttarakhand has witnessed in recent years, enabling people to better understand the state's development journey. In addition, a state-level exhibition on the theme "Nyaya Sanhita" will also be organized at Bairagi Camp from March 7 to March 9, 2026. The exhibition aims to create awareness about the effective implementation of the new criminal laws introduced by the Government of India the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. The new legal codes mark a comprehensive and historic transformation in India's criminal justice system. Their objective is to replace colonial-era provisions and establish a citizen-centric, transparent, accountable, and technology-driven justice system. Under the concept of "Justice instead of mere punishment," priority has been given to protecting the rights of victims, safeguarding the dignity of women and children, and ensuring scientific and time-bound investigations. The exhibition will present the key features of the new legal codes in a simple and effective manner. These include mandatory time-bound investigation and filing of charge sheets, provision of zero FIR and electronic FIR, compulsory forensic investigation for offences punishable with more than seven years of imprisonment, recognition of electronic and digital evidence, stronger provisions for crimes against women and children, clear penal provisions for organised crime, cybercrime and terrorism, victim compensation schemes, and mechanisms for speedy return of property. During the exhibition, theatrical presentations, model case studies, digital displays, and public interaction sessions will be organised to explain the concepts of speedy justice, scientific investigation, and citizen convenience in an engaging manner. The event will serve as an important platform to showcase the development journey of Uttarakhand, the government's commitment to good governance, and its efforts to make the state progressive and prosperous. (ANI) CV Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned from the post as West Bengal Governor after sending his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu. The Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Governor confirmed the development to ANI. "Governor CV Ananda Bose has resigned from his post and has sent his resignation letter to the President of India," the OSD to the Governor said. As this happened, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock over the sudden resignation of CV Ananda Bose as the Governor, and said she was not consulted regarding the appointment of his successor, RN Ravi. "I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of CV Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal," Banerjee said on X. "The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections," she said. Banerjee said that the Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states. "Union Home Minister just informed me that RN Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard. Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States," the West Bengal added. The comes ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce the polling schedule for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry following the conclusion of the panel's visit to West Bengal. (ANI) TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Thursday expressed shock over the resignation of CV Ananda Bose as the Governor of West Bengal, saying that the party leadership is closely monitoring the developments. Speaking to reporters, the Trinamool Congress leader said the resignation was unexpected and raised questions about whether the Governor stepped down under political pressure ahead of the upcoming elections. "Our leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already tweeted on this. We are all shocked. This is an unexpected resignation. Our top leadership is monitoring the situation. Whether he was under tremendous political pressure or not is a question now," Ghosh said. He further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was doing politics by misusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ahead of the elections. Ghosh also said that if a Governor resigns suddenly, there should be consultation with the state Chief Minister before appointing a new one. "Home Minister Amit Shah gave the Chief Minister the name of the new Governor; this did not happen through a democratic process. If a Governor resigns all of a sudden, a consultation should take place with the CM," he said. The TMC leader added that regardless of who is appointed as Governor, the new appointee would eventually administer the oath to Mamata Banerjee if she returns to power again. "But whichever Governor is sent to Bengal by Amit Shah, one thing is clear - the Governor sent by him will have to administer the oath of Chief Minister to Mamata Banerjee for the fourth time," he added. CV Ananda Bose resigned from the post of West Bengal Governor after sending his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu. The Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Governor confirmed the development to ANI. "Governor CV Ananda Bose has resigned from his post and has sent his resignation letter to the President of India," the OSD to the Governor said. (ANI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) general secretary MA Baby on Thursday criticised the Narendra Modi government for not clarifying its stance in the West Asia conflict, calling it a "subordinate ally of the US". Condemning the sinking of the Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, by a US submarine with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean, Baby accused the central government of not ensuring the safety of Indian waters. Reflecting on the Indian government's silence on the matter, he accused the BJP of supporting the war efforts by the US and Israel. "Now, in Indian waters, we have seen actions by both the USA and Israel. Indian waters should be preserved as a zone of peace, and that should be the approach of the Government of India. Unfortunately, India appears to be acting as a subordinate ally of the USA. The Government of India now seems to be supporting the USA's war efforts, which is objectionable and cannot be approved," the CPI (M) general secretary told ANI. Baby further questioned whether Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu informed PM Modi of the joint military operation with the US against Iran, given that the offensive took place two days after the Prime Minister concluded his visit to Israel. "India has a strategic relationship with the USA. Two days before the Israeli attack on Iran, which was supported by the USA, the Indian Prime Minister happened to be in Israel meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu. This has led to widespread doubts about whether the Indian Prime Minister discussed with Netanyahu the possible attack that Israel was planning with the help of the USA," he said. His remarks come as the Indian Navy deployed INS Tarangini and INS Ikshak, along with maritime patrol aircraft, to assist in the Sri Lanka-led search and rescue operations for the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank on Wednesday after being struck by a US submarine torpedo. The vessel sank on March 4, approximately 20 nautical miles west of Galle, after reportedly being struck by a torpedo from a United States submarine. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US Navy submarine torpedoed the vessel as part of an expanding military campaign against Iranian assets. On the other hand, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the United States will come to regret its action of destroying the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean. Of the estimated 180 crew members on board, approximately 87 sailors are reported dead, with roughly 32 survivors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy and admitted to hospitals in Galle. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy warships are mission-deployed in the Middle East region amid the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran. (ANI) The US Senate has voted down a War Powers resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump's military action, 'Operation Epic Fury', against Iran, with the measure failing 47-53 on mostly party lines, Fox News reported. Senate Republicans on Wednesday (local time) closed ranks behind President Donald Trump, dealing him a crucial political victory by defeating Democrats-led resolution intended to rein in his military actions in Iran despite lingering questions about America's involvement in the Middle East. The US Senate shot down a resolution from Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., aimed at limiting Trump's military actions in Iran, following days of speculation about whether Republicans would cross the aisle, as they have done before, to reprimand the President. The administration pushed hard to lobby support for Operation Epic Fury, holding several briefings with Congress to make its case, Fox News reported. Only Senator Rand Paul voted in favour of the resolution, while Jon Fetterman was the lone Democrat to cross the aisle in support of a move that helped the GOP defeat the measure. Democrats argued that Trump's actions were another instance of him disregarding Congress' authority to use military force, that they lacked a clear strategy going forward and, further, that they were yet another campaign promise he had broken, Fox News reported. "It's time for the president to keep promises, not break them," Kaine said ahead of the vote. Fox News reported Democrats also seized on the administration's refusal to rule out sending US troops into Iran. "They refuse to take off the table the insertion of ground troops," said Senator Chris Murphy, warning the conflict could expand beyond air and naval operations. Sen. Josh Hawley, who previously supported a resolution to rein in Trump's war powers in Venezuela, said he would oppose the latest effort. "I've always said that committing ground troops would be something I think would require immediate congressional authorisation, but that doesn't appear to be on the immediate horizon," Hawley said. Fox News reported that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argued that the goalposts kept moving for the administration, which he said was a clear sign that "a strategy is missing." Republicans countered that the President acted within his constitutional authority as commander in chief. Fox News reported Sen. Lindsey Graham called the War Powers Act "an unconstitutional shift of authority from the President," arguing Congress retains the ability to restrict funding if it disagrees with military action. "We don't need 535 commanders in chief," said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, arguing against the legislation. Fox News reported that there was also fatigue among some in the GOP over Kaine's repeated efforts to reassert congressional authority in conflicts. Republicans privately huddled Tuesday to discuss the strikes and the upcoming war powers vote ahead of their briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan "Raizin" Caine and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. American voters are evenly divided over the current US military action against Iran, even as a clear majority views the Gulf country as a national security threat, according to a Fox News national survey. Overall, the polls showed that eight in 10 Republicans approve of the current US use of force, while nearly 8 in 10 Democrats disapprove and 6 in 10 independents disapprove. Among voters who have served in the military, 59 per cent approve of the US strikes on Iran. The poll found 61 per cent of registered voters believe Iran poses "a real national security threat" to the United States, a figure largely consistent with previous Fox News surveys dating back to 2006. The exception was last June, when concern spiked to 73 per cent just before the US military mission against Iranian nuclear facilities known as Operation Midnight Hammer. Fox News said that, despite those concerns, support for the current US strikes, launched jointly with Israel under "Operation Epic Fury", is evenly split, with 50 per cent approving and 50 per cent disapproving. All interviews for the survey were conducted after the strikes began. The conflict in the Middle East has entered its sixth day following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf nations and other Israeli assets across the region. (ANI) TUI has cancelled several flights to Cyprus amid rising tensions in the region. TUI suspends flights to Cyprus and advises customers to check travel updates The decision comes as HMS Dragon, a UK Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer, is being deployed to the eastern Mediterranean. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also informed Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the UK is sending helicopters equipped with counter-drone technology. The move follows a drone strike on the runway at RAF Akrotiri, a British air base in Cyprus, which caused minimal damage, according to the Ministry of Defence. On Tuesday, flights to both of Cypruss commercial airports were cancelled, affecting easyJet, Ryanair, and TUI services. TUI confirmed that four of its flights scheduled for Wednesday, 4 March, have been cancelled: TOM7318 East Midlands to Paphos TOM6312 Cardiff to Paphos TOM6354 Bournemouth to Paphos TOM2336 Manchester to Paphos A TUI spokesperson said: In light of the evolving situation in the Middle East, we have taken the decision to cancel the four TUI Airways flights scheduled to travel to Cyprus on Wednesday. We appreciate this may be disappointing news for those due to travel, and we are truly sorry for the disruption to our customers holiday plans. Our customer service teams are fully mobilised, and every affected customer will be contacted directly to discuss the options available to them. The airline added that customers will be offered the choice to amend bookings fee-free, receive a rebooking incentive, or obtain a full refund. TUI confirmed its next Cyprus flights are scheduled for Saturday, 7 March, but warned that schedules could change as the situation remains dynamic. Passengers are advised to check the TUI travel alert page and app for updates. For those already in Cyprus, TUI says its teams are monitoring the situation and making arrangements to bring customers back to the UK safely. The Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) does not currently advise against travel to Cyprus but recommends signing up for email alerts, monitoring local news, and reviewing departure plans regularly. The United Arab Emirates has stated that since the start of the "blatant Iranian aggression", 189 ballistic missiles launched towards the UAE have been detected, with 175 missiles destroyed, 13 falling into the sea and one landing within the territory of the state. The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday also successfully intercepted three ballistic missiles and detected 129 drones, of which 121 were intercepted while eight fell within the territory of the state. "A total of 941 Iranian drones have also been detected, of which 876 were intercepted, while 65 fell within the country. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed," the Ministry said. https://x.com/modgovae/status/2029155607031476604 The Iran attacks caused some collateral damage and resulted in three fatalities of Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationalities, as well as 78 minor injuries among individuals of Emirati, Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese and Afghan nationalities. The ministry also confirmed that the sounds heard in different parts of the UAE are the result of air defence systems intercepting ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft intercepting drones and cruise missiles. "These operations caused minor to moderate material damage to a number of civilian facilities," it added. Strongly condemning this military targeting, the ministry described it as a blatant act of aggression and a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law. As per the Ministry, it affirmed that the UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its people and its residents, in a manner that safeguards its sovereignty, security and stability and protects its national interests and capabilities. The Ministry of Defence reiterated that it remains fully prepared and ready to address any threats and is taking all necessary measures to firmly confront anything that seeks to undermine the country's security and stability. It added that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors remains a top priority that cannot be compromised. The ministry also urged the public to obtain information from official sources within the country and to avoid circulating rumours or unverified information. A day earlier, the United Arab Emirates had stated that it is not a party to the Iran war and has not permitted the use of its territory, territorial waters, or airspace for any attack against Tehran, consistent with its long-standing policy of good neighbourliness, de-escalation, and its firm commitment to the Charter of the United Nations. This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. (ANI) Iranian state Media reported that preparations are underway at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for the placement of the body of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who was killed in the US-Israel led strike on Iran. The Grand Mosalla of Tehran is a massive prayer complex used for the city's most significant state-religious gatherings. This is part of the three day farewell ceremony being organised for the late Supreme leader. Thousands of mourners are expected to gather at the Mosalla. A "farewell ceremony" followed by a "funeral procession" is the protocol after the death of a Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, Iran on Thursday threatened to target Dimona nuclear site if Israel-US sought to topple Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's defence Minister Israel Katz who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. In Israel, the Israel Defence Forces says that Iran has launched another ballistic missile attack targeting Israel, as sirens are activated in communities in central Israel, the Jerusalem area and parts of the West Bank. The IRGC has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation True Promise 4 as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations on Thursday. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV. In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States. The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. The statement further alleged that Iranian projectiles had bypassed the THAAD missile defence system deployed to defend Israel and struck multiple locations, including the Israeli defence ministry complex in Tel Aviv and the country's main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport. According to the IRGC, ongoing missile and drone launches have triggered hours of air raid sirens and prolonged sheltering of residents in several areas across Israel. The group said the attacks are part of a "steady and managed rhythm of projectile launches" and warned that "in the coming days, the attacks will become more intense and widespread." Thursday is day six of the ongoing conflict in West Asia and with the American sides claiming that their operation has only just begun this conflict could stretch out longer than anticipated. (ANI) Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has stated that the Lebanese resistance movement's recent military actions followed over a year of strategic patience, as the group had "warned repeatedly about the limits" to its capacity for self-restraint against ongoing Israeli aggression, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported. During a televised address on Wednesday, Sheikh Qassem detailed the group's commitment to the previous truce. "For a year and three months, the Israeli and American enemy has continued its aggression. We adhered to the ceasefire agreement of November 27, 2024, alongside the Lebanese state, but Israel did not adhere to a single clause," he asserted. The movement's leader noted that despite the deal intended to end deadly escalations, the Israeli regime has claimed the lives of approximately 500 people across Lebanon since its conclusion. Press TV reported that according to Sheikh Qassem, the period also saw more than 10,000 Israeli land, sea, and air violations against Lebanese territory. Sheikh Qassem explained that Hezbollah initially avoided retaliation to facilitate international mediation. "We did not respond to repeated Israeli attacks so as not to be accused of obstructing diplomatic efforts, and because responsibility lies with the state," he remarked, noting that these efforts "achieved nothing over fifteen months." The leader emphasised that the group finally opted to strike back "to dispel any illusion that silence would bring calm." Press TV further highlighted his warning that, although the movement showed significant endurance, "patience has limits." The speech followed a series of missile and drone strikes against Israeli military installations, including the Meron air surveillance base and the Nafah base in the occupied Golan Heights. Sheikh Qassem framed the conflict as a struggle for national integrity, stating, "The problem is the ongoing violation of sovereignty and the Israeli-American occupation at the level of Lebanon's airspace and guardianship." Critiquing the domestic political stance, he argued that efforts to undermine the movement "weakened the Lebanese state's position and legitimised Israel's freedom to continue aggression." Citing Benjamin Netanyahu's regional ambitions, he cautioned that "this Israel is an existential threat to us, our people, our homeland, and the entire region." The Hezbollah chief also defended the group's arsenal as a fundamental necessity. Press TV reported him as stating that "as long as occupation exists, the resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right" that remains "legally and internationally recognised." (ANI) Amidst the recent escalation of tensions in West Asia into a full-scale conflict in Iran, North Korea's Kim Jong Un has inspected the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a new naval destroyer ahead of its commissioning, the country's state media was cited by Seoul's news agency Yonhap on Thursday. Kim supervised the launch of sea-to-surface missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon from a shipyard in the port city of Nampo in the west of the country, the South Korean news agency said, citing North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim oversaw the launch of sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer on Wednesday and assessed the test as a "core" element of the new warship's capabilities, which he described as a "new symbol of sea defence" for his country. "All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century," he said. Yonhap noted that North Korea uses references to "strategic" weapons to indicate they could have nuclear capabilities. His visit to the shipyard over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) Kim inspected the Choe Hyon, the lead vessel in a new series of 5,000-tonne "Choe Hyon-class" destroyers currently under construction in North Korea. North Korea had unveiled the Choe Hyon in April 2025, a 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer, as part of efforts to enhance its naval power. In May, last year, a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer had capsized during a launch ceremony at Chongjin Shipyard, an incident witnessed by the North Korean leader. A report in the Al Jazeera mentioned that the accident crushed parts of the hull and left the bow stranded on the shipway. At the time, Kim characterised the launch failure as a "criminal act", blaming the incident on "absolute carelessness" and "irresponsibility" across multiple state institutions. Following this in June last year, North Korea launched another 5,000-ton destroyer, the Kang Kon. Before the development of the "Choe Hyon class" destroyer, North Korea's most advanced warship was a 1,500-ton frigate, according to Seoul's defence white paper. According to KCNA, the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers' Party's founding anniversary in October. Meanwhile, Yonhap reported that in a new five-year plan to enhance defence power, Pyongyang has vowed to continue to produce nuclear weapons and develop various strategic weapons. The 9th Congress of the North Korea Workers' Party was held from February 19 to February 25 after which Kim reportedly said that he plans to expand his country's nuclear arsenal. Just days after the Congress, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that led to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. North Korea's Foreign Ministry had, through the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), condemned the "reckless bandit-like behaviour," of the United States and Israel as "illegal aggression" and a "despicable form of sovereignty violation." Incidentally, North Korea has in the last few years signed defence pacts with both Russia and China. (ANI) The University of Chicago has honoured Professor Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian with the Alumni Award for Professional Achievement, making him the first Indian economist to receive the distinction in the award''s 85-year history, according to an official press release. Subramanian, who served as the 17th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India from 2018 to 2021 and as an Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, is the first Indian economist to receive the honour since it was established in 1941.Reacting to the achievement, Professor Subramanian stated, "To be included in this academic lineage is profoundly humbling. What makes it meaningful is that this is recognition for work done from India and for India. To follow, in my modest way, the inspiring footsteps of Indians who did their finest work based in India, from C. V. Raman and Homi J. Bhabha to Vikram Sarabhai and M. S. Swaminathan, is a genuine privilege." The award places him among a distinguished group of past recipients that includes at least 14 Nobel laureates and global thought leaders such as Paul Samuelson, Gary Becker, Claudia Goldin, Carl Sagan, and Philip Kotler, the release added. According to the University''s official citation, Professor Subramanian''s Economic Surveys of India were described as a "landmark" document that provided "the intellectual foundation for India''s approach to self-reliance, anchored in competitive markets, policy autonomy, and inclusive growth". The citation also credits his early diagnosis of the COVID-19 crisis as a supply-side disruption and notes that his public articulation of a V-shaped economic recovery "helped anchor confidence in India''s economic resilience", the release stated. Significantly, the work recognised by this award was undertaken predominantly from India and for India, unlike many prior honourees whose work was primarily based in Western academic institutions. During his tenure as Chief Economic Adviser, Subramanian authored three Economic Surveys and contributed to macroeconomic strategy during one of the most volatile periods in modern global economic history. His subsequent role at the IMF further extended India''s policy perspective into multilateral economic discourse, the release added. With this honour, Subramanian has now received distinguished alumnus awards from all three of his alma maters: the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, and the University of Chicago. He currently serves as a Professor of Finance at the Indian School of Business and is the author of "India@100". (ANI) Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat held bilateral meetings with tourism leaders from Indonesia and Germany to discuss strengthening cooperation in the tourism sector on the sidelines of the ITB Berlin 2026. According to the Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday, Shekhawat met with Widiyanti Puri Wardhana, Tourism Minister of Indonesia, and Christoph Ploss, Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism of Germany, during separate bilateral engagements. https://x.com/tourismgoi/status/2029380922957783306 The ministry said the discussions focused on enhancing tourism flows, boosting sustainable travel, expanding air connectivity, and deepening people-to-people ties between our nations. According to the ministry, Shekhawat also met with UNWTO Secretary General, Shaikha Al Nowais and discussed innovative approaches for advancing sustainable and regenerative tourism. On Day 1 of ITB Berlin 2026, the Ministry of Tourism organised the Incredible India Press Conference, attended by Minister of Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Ambassador of India to Germany, Ajit Gupte. https://x.com/tourismgoi/status/2029221989798584596 According to the ministry, the interaction with international media at the Press Conference underscored the country's sustained tourism growth, enhanced connectivity, and significant advancements in infrastructure. The Ministry of Tourism is currently participating in ITB Berlin from March 3 to 5, the world's leading travel trade show. https://x.com/tourismgoi/status/2029199001137103088 The 700 sq m Incredible India Pavilion inagurated by Minister Shekhawat, brings together 37 Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and 6 state governments, showcasing heritage, culture, wellness, wildlife and experiential travel, strengthening global tourism partnerships. The Ministry's official X post also said, "The Ministry of Tourism has partnered with Netflix to showcase Indian destinations to global audiences through cinematic storytelling." https://x.com/tourismgoi/status/2029221718242542068 Under this, tourism promotion films under this partnership were launched by Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the Incredible India Press Conference and India Evening during ITB Berlin 2026, highlighting India's culture, festivals and cuisine. Earlier in February, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that tourism has become central to national development and the government is working with a vision of increasing the sector's contribution to GDP from 6 per cent to 10 per cent. He made the remarks during the 33rd annual edition of the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE), held at Yashobhoomi in Dwarka, New Delhi. The event is regarded as a premier travel and tourism exposition in India. Shekhawat, along with Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta, graced the inaugural ceremony, which brought together stakeholders from across the tourism and travel industry. Highlighting the importance of the event, the Union Minister said, "Continuing this journey of 33 years, SATTE has become Asia's largest travel market. Over 2000 exhibitors have come from India and abroad. Large stalls have been set up to showcase the tourism potential of almost every state in the country. Through all this, the B2B and B2C meetings that will take place here will undoubtedly help further grow and decentralise India's tourism potential." He further emphasised that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, India's tourism potential is being developed in line with the vision of a developed India. (ANI) Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the United States will come to regret its action of destroying the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo hit in the Indian Ocean. https://x.com/araghchi/status/2029435610922996100?s=20 In a post on X, Aragchi said, The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set." Aragchi's comment follows the confirmation on Wednesday by United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that anUS submarine had sunk the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena". "In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win," Hegseth said. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, called the hit an incredible demonstration of America's global reach. "As the secretary showed the video, for the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mark 48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea. I want to remind everybody that this is an incredible demonstration of America's global reach to hunt, find, and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale," he said. Iran today threatened to target the Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US sought to topple the Islamic Republic. This follows an open threat from Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who had said that any new leader brought in by the regime will be a legitimate target for elimination. Iran's IRGC also said today that it has launched the nineteenth wave of Operation 'True Promise 4' as a combined missile and drone operation, according to the IRGC Public Relations. According to the IRGC PR, "This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier announced that it had carried out strikes against Israeli and American targets across the region, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV In a statement on Wednesday (local time), the IRGC said the latest wave of attacks came on the fifth day of the operation, which Tehran says was launched in response to what it called "unprovoked aggression" by Israel and the United States.The force claimed that more than seven advanced radar systems belonging to the United States and Israel had been destroyed, describing the strikes as having "blinded the eyes" of the two countries' surveillance network in the region. (ANI) Seychelles Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Minister Barry Faure arrived in India on Thursday to participate in the Raisina Dialogue 2026, the 11th edition of the coutnry's flagship geopolitical conference that begins in New Delhi today. In a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said that the Foreign Minister and Minister of Diaspora of Seychelles, Barry Faure, arrived in India to attend the dialogue. MEA noted that India and Seychelles share a robust and multifaceted partnership and that the visit is expected to add further momentum to bilateral ties. The post read, "Warm welcome to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Seychelles, Barry Faure on his arrival, to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Seychelles share a robust and multifaceted partnership. The visit will add further momentum to India-Seychelles partnership." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2029424320259531093 In a separate X post, the MEA spokesperson welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, upon his arrival in New Delhi. He highlighted that India and Mauritius share an enduring partnership rooted in shared culture, heritage, and strong people-to-people ties. The post said, "Warm welcome to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius, Mr. Dhananjay Ramful on his arrival in New Delhi to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2026. India and Mauritius share an enduring partnership rooted in shared culture and heritage and strong people-to-people ties." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2029378922220306644 Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, Ian Borg, also arrived to participate in the global conference. MEA said India and Malta enjoy friendly and cordial relations anchored in close people-to-people connections. The MEA post said, "Warm welcome to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, Ian Borg @DeputyPMIanBorg for participation in the 11th Raisina Dialogue. India and Malta enjoy friendly and cordial relations anchored in strong people-to-people ties." Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, DN Dhungyel, arrived in New Delhi to attend the event. The MEA spokesperson noted that the India-Bhutan partnership is built on deep mutual trust and goodwill and that the visit will further strengthen bilateral ties. The post said, "Warm welcome to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, Lyonpo DN Dhungyel @FMBhutan, as he arrives to attend the 11th Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. India-Bhutan partnership is built on deep mutual trust and goodwill. The visit will impart further momentum to India-Bhutan ties." Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi on Thursday, marking the start of India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. The three-day event, scheduled from March 5-7, will bring together global leaders, policymakers, and experts to deliberate on key international challenges. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, will attend the inaugural session as the Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address. Organised with participation from governments, think tanks, and strategic communities worldwide, the dialogue will see representatives from 110 countries, including ministers, former heads of state and government, members of parliament, military commanders, business leaders, technology experts, academics, journalists, and scholars. The theme for this year's edition is "Samskara -- Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement." (ANI) Tehran had entered negotiations with the United States despite doubts about the intentions of the Americans, but was attacked before the set timeline. Mohammad Fathali, Ambassador of Iran to India said on Thursday. Speaking about the ongoing tensions invloving United States, Israel and Iran, Fathali in a conversation with ANI, said Iran had recently lost a great figure, describing the late Ayatollah Khameni as a guiding force who always advised the country to stand on the "right side of history." He said the leader believed in standing for principles and that Iran continued to follow that approach. "We have lost a great figure, our leader, our father and always his eminence advised us to try our best to stand on the right side of history. I believe that his eminence stood on the right side of history, and he received his reward. We entered the negotiation table inspite of knowing their intentions, but they set the time; before that, they attacked, and we announced that we would respond," the Iranian envoy said. The ambassador of Iran accused Israel of destabilising the region and attempting to destroy infrastructure and property across West Asia. "Unfortunately, the region faced so many problems, and the Zionist regime wanted to disturb and destroy all the properties in our region," he said. Fathali also asserted that Iran does not target its neighbouring countries, though he alleged that some regional bases were used by the United States. "They know very well where Iran is and where the location of Iran is. But unfortunately, the Zionist regime wants to destroy and disturb all the region," he said, adding that Iran had informed neighbouring countries that it would target US bases if necessary. The envoy also claimed that three F-15 fighter jets had been shot down during the conflict. He said, "Iran is not attacking its neighbourhood. We don''t attack our neighbours; they provide the bases. You heard that 3 F-15s were shot down. We have a good relationship with our neighbours. We announced to all neighbours that we will attack the bases of the United States." Responding to a question on whether Iran is in contact with the Indian government regarding the conflict, Fathalii said there were currently no negotiations or messages being exchanged with the Indian side. He said, "No, we have no negotiation. We have no messages...You can ask from the Indian side." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a joint press briefing with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, highlighting the growing synergy between the two nations across education, innovation, and research. During the address, PM Modi noted the increasing appeal of the Nordic country for Indians, stating, "Finland is becoming a preferred destination for Indian students and talent." The Prime Minister announced a significant step in formalising this relationship through a new pact. "Today, we have signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Finland to connect the innovation ecosystems of both countries," he said. He further emphasised that the partnership would extend into the entrepreneurial space. "With this, we are also going to further strengthen joint research and startup collaboration," the Prime Minister added. Acknowledging Finland's global standing in the academic sector, PM Modi described the country as a "role model in the field of education." The Prime Minister detailed the specific areas of academic expansion, noting, "Today, we have also agreed to expand research cooperation in teacher training, school-to-school partnerships, and the future of education." He underlined the holistic nature of this bilateral tie, stating, "This means that we are going to deepen our cooperation at every level of human development, from school to industry." PM Modi also spoke on the strategic importance of the partnership within the broader regional context. "Finland is an important partner of India in the Nordic region," he remarked. Highlighting the shared interests in environmental and scientific frontiers, the Prime Minister added, "We are also expanding our cooperation with Finland in Arctic and polar research." Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Stubb, who is on a State Visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday in New Delhi. Stubb's visit, which includes the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors. (ANI) Assyrian Parties Warn Against Dragging Iraq Into Regional War As part of their regular consultations on the situation of the Assyrian people in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), as well as regional developments and their impact on the community, four national parties held a joint meeting at the headquarters of the Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party in Hadyab, Arba'ilo (Erbil), KRI. The meeting brought together representatives of the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union Party (Huyodo d'Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA), the Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party (BNDP), the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWAA), and the Assyrian Patriotic Party (Atranaya). Participants reviewed the latest political and security developments in Iraq and the wider region, discussing their potential implications for the country's future and stability. The discussions addressed the rapidly evolving security situation across the Middle East and its repercussions for Iraq, particularly in the security, economic, and political spheres. The representatives also discussed the ongoing regional confrontation between Israel and the US and Iran and its proxies. They warned that the escalation of tensions into a comprehensive regional war "would further exacerbate internal challenges and expose the country to serious risks threatening its national security, social stability, and development trajectory." The participants stressed that the war unfolding in the region "is not Iraq's war," emphasizing that Iraq should not become "an arena for settling regional scores or a launching ground for conflicts that do not serve the higher interests of its people," including the Assyrian community. Representatives of the four parties called on the Iraqi government to "fulfill its constitutional and national responsibilities by controlling armed groups that exploit the current regional circumstances in attempts to drag Iraq into conflicts that do not serve its supreme interests," whether in the Nineveh Plain, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, or the central and southern provinces. They also urged the government to "firmly hold accountable any party that attempts to violate national sovereignty or adopt military and security positions contrary to the will of the state and its legitimate institutions," stressing the need to preserve state authority and reinforce the principle that weapons must remain exclusively under the control of the state. On the domestic political front, particularly regarding the presidential and parliamentary elections, the participants expressed deep concern over the continued failure of influential political forces to adhere to constitutional timelines related to elections. They said the delay "reflects a lack of sufficient concern for the interests of the nation and its citizens," prioritizing partisan and factional interests over the national interest. According to the statement, this situation further deepens political deadlock and erodes public confidence in the political process. At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants stressed "the necessity of swiftly reaching responsible national understandings that lead to the formation of a fully empowered government, ending the state of parallel authorities alongside the state, and unifying security and political decision-making within its constitutional institutions," in order to restore stability and reinforce the rule of law. The parties previously held a meeting on 21 January 2026, at the Atranaya headquarters in Arba'ilo. During that meeting, they affirmed their intention to move forward with convening a national congress, including the formation of preparatory committees and the selection of an appropriate venue and date for the conference. The congress was described as a historic step toward unifying national vision and organizing political work on solid institutional foundations. However, the two most recent meetings did not address the national congress. Melanie Walters almost lost thousands of pounds after being targeted twice by scammers in the space of six weeks. Gavin and Stacey star Melanie Walters The Gavin and Stacey actress was sent a fake email that appeared to be from her bank, then a letter in the post, but Melanie narrowly dodged a nightmare outcome after pure gut instinct forced her not to hand over personal information. Melanie - who was oblivious to them being scams until she took the email and letter to her bank - told the Daily Mail: "It was just very unnerving, as it is for an awful lot of people. "I didn't lose any money, thank goodness, but it was surprising how much the scammers knew, and I think that took me by surprise." The 64-year-old star - best known for playing Gwen West in Gavin and Stacey - said the fake email claimed that her business account had been compromised. It also noted that the account had "extra security", and included a link offering her a "free year credit score check" from a "very reputable company" as compensation - which was an immediate red flag to Melanie. She said: "Even I know you don't click on the link in an email. So that's the first thing, that sort of thing, hang on a second. "But I thought, well, how do you know, it's my bank, and the address looked OK, and how do they know that I've opened a bank account if it is a scam, so could it be reached? "I mean, I wasn't sure, but I didn't like the fact that it was asking me to click on a link. So I actually wrote the link address in a different window, and actually, this reputable company came up. "But there was something about it that I really thought, 'You know what, sit on your hands, Walters.'" Melanie's friend informed her it was a scam, but six weeks later, the Death Valley star received another letter - likely from the same scammers. She recalled: "I was away working, and then I came back, and it must have been about six weeks later, and this again is the thing that slightly unnerved me because it was like the long game. "So six weeks later, I come back, and there's a letter for me, one of those old-fashioned things called a letter! "And it was from a completely different bank that I have no dealings with, saying, 'Dear Ms Walters, a bank account has been opened in your name with us. "'Some red flags were raised, so we closed the account, and we're just telling you that this has happened.' "So they weren't asking for anything, this particular letter, this particular bank. It was just purely information - 'do with it what you will' type of information. "So of course, I immediately think, 'Well, that email was real, my data has been compromised, and now there's somebody going around the UK opening up bank accounts in my name.'" Melanie resisted clicking on the links to fix the issue and went to her bank the following morning, ultimately to be told that both incidents were scams, as her bank would not send out emails offering free promotions from a particular firm. She recalled: "I said, 'Both of them?' I took the email and the letter. They said, 'One, we wouldn't send this type of email out. We would never offer anything free from a particular company.' "And I said, 'What about this letter?' And this was six weeks later. And they said, 'It's probably the same group of scammers playing the long game to make you think exactly what I thought.' "Obviously, when people offer you something free for a year or three months free, you still have to put in your details, because then you subscribe to something, and then they say you can unsubscribe at any point. "So I think ultimately that would have led me putting my details in and putting my card details in. "I mean, that's what I'm assuming, but of course I didn't do anything in the end." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for peace amidst the ongoing West Asia Conflict while addressing a joint press briefing along with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. During the joint press meeting, he said that India and Finland both believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. He said," India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. "India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue, and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace," the PM said "We also agree on this, that reforming global institutions to address the growing global challenges is not only necessary but also urgent. And rooting out terrorism in all its forms is our shared commitment," the PM added. PM Modi invoked the historic trade deal signed with the European Union in January and said that at a period on instability India and Europe were entering a golden period of their relationship. "Today, the world is going through a period of instability and uncertainty. Conflict persists in many parts of the world, from Ukraine to West Asia. In such a global environment, India and Europe, two of the world's major diplomatic powers, are entering a golden era of their relationship. Our growing cooperation is giving new strength to global stability, development, and shared prosperity. At the beginning of 2026, the historic India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was signed. This agreement will further strengthen trade, investment, and technology cooperation between India and Finland. India and Finland are important partners in areas such as digital technology, infrastructure, and sustainability," he said. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Stubb who is on a State Visit to India was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival on Wednesday in New Delhi. Stubb's visit, includes the participation of a high-level delegation of ministers, senior officials, and business leaders, is aimed at deepening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation between India and Finland across various sectors. (ANI) Azerbaijan on Thursday strongly condemned drone attacks launched from Iranian territory that targeted Nakhchivan, resulting in damage to infrastructure and injuries to civilians. In an official statement, Azerbaijan''s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Providing details of the incident, the statement noted that one of the drones struck airport infrastructure while another landed near a civilian facility. "One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad," the statement read. Condemning the incident, the Azerbaijani side said the attack resulted in damage and civilian injuries. "We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians," the statement said. The ministry further said the attack violated international norms and heightened tensions in the region. "This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region," the statement added. Calling for accountability, Azerbaijan urged Iran to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and ensure such attacks do not recur. "We demand from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future," the statement said. The statement also noted that Azerbaijan reserved the right to respond to the incident. "The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures," it said. Meanwhile, the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. "The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented," the statement added. (ANI) During the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Jubilee Campaign representative Hulda Fahmi, during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Torture, highlighted the case of Shagufta Kiran, a Christian woman imprisoned in Pakistan over blasphemy allegations. Fahmi urged the council to prioritise the repeal of anti-apostasy and blasphemy laws worldwide, noting that many individuals remain imprisoned under what she described as dehumanising conditions for exercising their freedom of conscience. She specifically called for the release of several religious prisoners, including Kiran, while highlighting the broader impact of such laws on minority communities. Shagufta Kiran, a Pakistani Christian, has been detained since July 29, 2021, and is currently being held at Central Jail Adiala in Rawalpindi. She was arrested after being accused of forwarding allegedly blasphemous material through WhatsApp in September 2020. During the operation, authorities reportedly raided her home, seized electronic devices, and detained her husband and two sons, who were later released. Kiran faces multiple charges under Pakistan''s blasphemy laws, including "intending to outrage religious feelings" under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code and "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" under Section 295-C. Additional charges include offences under Sections 298 and 298-A related to derogatory remarks about religious figures, along with abetment under Section 109. Authorities have also invoked provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, alleging online hate speech and incitement of interfaith hostility. According to reports, the accusations have forced members of Kiran''s family to go into hiding due to safety concerns. A report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) titled "Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023/24" highlighted ongoing attacks on religious minorities in Pakistan, including mob violence against their homes and places of worship, desecration of Ahmadiyya graves, arbitrary detentions, and the forced conversion of Hindu and Christian women and girls. The report revealed that over 750 people were imprisoned on blasphemy charges by October 2024, with at least four faith-based killings documented, three of which targeted members of the Ahmadiyya community. One of the major concerns raised in the report is the widespread use of social media to incite violence, particularly in cases related to blasphemy allegations. The HRCP report also highlighted two notable mob attacks on the Christian community in Jaranwala and Sargodha, which were fuelled by social media posts. Despite investigations by the Special Branch in Punjab, no meaningful action has been taken against the groups allegedly orchestrating these false blasphemy accusations, the HRCP statement said. The report further underscored the ongoing impunity for perpetrators of hate crimes and violence, noting limited accountability. However, it acknowledged some positive developments, such as occasional judicial relief for victims and suspects of faith-based violence. According to a press release, HRCP''s National Interfaith Working Group, which advocates for the rights of religious minorities, stressed the need for reforms to discriminatory laws. The group recommended constitutional amendments to allow religious minorities to hold the offices of President and Prime Minister. It also raised concerns about the influence of biased Muslim clergy in peace committees, inadequate compensation for victims of mob violence, and the lack of legal aid for those accused of blasphemy. Other concerns highlighted included forced religious conversions, insufficient burial space for minorities, and the need for pro-minority legislation to be reviewed by the Human Rights Ministry instead of the Religious Affairs Ministry. The group further recommended the creation of a parliamentary minorities'' caucus and the establishment of a commission to investigate the role of far-right lawyer groups in allegedly framing false blasphemy charges. (ANI) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday announced it had completed the 12th wave of strikes in Tehran, targeting key Iranian security and military infrastructure, including the headquarters of a special unit in Alborz province responsible for all internal security forces, as well as facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij paramilitary force. "IDF Completes 12th Wave of Strikes in Tehran: Headquarters of the Iranian Terror Regime's Special Unit in 'Alborz' Province Attacked, Along with Basij Forces Bases and Internal Security," the Israeli Air Force (IAF) stated in a post on X. In a series of posts on X, the IDF said the headquarters of the special unit in Alborz province -- which commands all internal security force units in the region -- was struck, along with multiple facilities belonging to the IRGC's Basij force and a central command centre for Iran's armed internal security forces. Dozens of additional command centres and sites used for storing and producing weaponry were also targeted in the operation, which Israel's military described as part of its ongoing campaign against what it termed the "Iranian terror regime". "In the attacks in the 'Alborz' district, the headquarters of the special unit of the Iranian terror regime, responsible for all internal security forces, was attacked. The headquarters commands all the special units of the Iranian terror regime in the district and serves to direct the regime's armed forces," the IAF said. "In additional areas in Tehran, the IDF attacked targets of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij organization, along with a central headquarters of the armed internal security forces," the IAF added. The Israeli Air Force's offensive is part of what the country has now described as a sustained military action against Iranian security and military infrastructure following the broader outbreak of conflict earlier this week, as tensions between Tehran and Israel escalate sharply. "In addition, dozens of headquarters and additional sites used by the regime for storing and producing various types of weaponry were attacked. The IDF continues to deepen the impact on all the mechanisms of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran," the IAF stated. This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the US Central Command dismissed rumours circulating on social media that a US F-15E fighter jet had crashed over Iran during the current round of strikes, calling such reports "baseless and NOT TRUE." (ANI) Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, on Thursday, issued a blistering rebuke of US President Donald Trump following the deadly strike on a school for girls in Minab, southern Iran, sharply criticising America's "peace through strength" doctrine and directly challenging the US narrative on freedom in Iran. In a post on X, Larijani condemned the "mass martyrdom of innocent girls" at the hands of what he described as "American-Israeli criminals", saying the theory of "peace through strength" has been "stained with blood" by the tragedy. He then addressed Trump directly: "Mr. Trump! Is this the anthem you composed for freedom in Iran?" accusing US policy of hypocrisy and deception. The security chief's remarks came amid international outrage after US-Israeli strikes in Iran hit Minab Girls' Primary School in the country's Hormozgan province, killing over 160 and injuring another 100. This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day. Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. Earlier, on Monday Larijani firmly rejected that Iran would not negotiate with the United States on any matter following the strikes on February 28. He made the remarks in response to Al Jazeera Breaking reporting that Iran is set to resume talks with the US via Oman as the intermediary, citing the Wall Street Journal. Al Jazeera, in its post, had reported, "Wall Street Journal on officials: Larijani's initiative to resume talks with Washington submitted through intermediaries from the Sultanate of Oman." (ANI) India and Finland on Thursday marked a major milestone in their bilateral ties by elevating relations to a "Strategic Partnership in Digitalisation and Sustainability", with both countries agreeing on a series of initiatives covering trade, technology, mobility, sustainability, and innovation. The announcement was made during the state visit of Finnish President Alexander Stubb to India, coinciding with his role as Chief Guest at the 11th Raisina Dialogue. During the visit, the two countries signed an MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership, which will facilitate the movement of Indian professionals to Finland, particularly in the technology and innovation sectors. The leaders also renewed the existing MoU on Environmental Cooperation, expanding collaboration in areas such as bioenergy, waste-to-energy solutions, green hydrogen, power storage, and renewable energy systems, including wind, solar, and small hydropower. In addition, an MoU on cooperation in the field of statistics was signed to enable the exchange of best practices and mutual collaboration in official statistics. The state visit also saw announcements aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation, including the launch of joint research initiatives under an implementation arrangement between India's Department of Science and Technology and Finland's Innovation Funding Agency, Business Finland. Both sides also expressed their aim to double bilateral trade by 2030, leveraging opportunities created by the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement. Efforts to strengthen cooperation in emerging technologies were also agreed upon, with the establishment of a cross-sectoral Joint Working Group on Digitalisation, the creation of a Joint Task Force on 6G, and enhanced connectivity between startup ecosystems through the Indo-Finland Startup Corridor. India and Finland will also co-host the World Circular Economy Forum in 2026 and set up a Consular Dialogue between their foreign ministries to further streamline cooperation. Following his meeting with the Finnish President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, stated that the talks with Stubb were wide-ranging, covering trade, technology, infrastructure, defence, space, AI, semiconductors, education, and mobility. He added that the Migration and Mobility Agreement would provide new momentum to the partnership, while cooperation in Arctic and polar research was also discussed. "We see great scope in working together to ensure trustworthy technologies and resilient supply chains for the entire world. The Migration and Mobility Agreement will add momentum to our partnership. We are also expanding our cooperation in Arctic and polar research," the Prime Minister stated in his post. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a post on X also stated that both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen collaboration across trade, investment, digitalisation, clean energy, circular economy, technology, education, innovation, and people-to-people ties, while also promoting multilateral cooperation and joint efforts against terrorism. "In a major milestone, the leaders agreed to elevate India-Finland relations to "Strategic Partnership in Digitalisation and Sustainability". The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to broaden and deepen cooperation in the areas of trade & investment, digitalisation & sustainability, clean energy & circular economy, semiconductors & critical minerals, education & innovation, technology, including AI, 6G, quantum computing and mobility & people-to-people ties. Both leaders reiterated their shared commitment to eradicate terrorism in all its forms," the MEA stated. "Prime Minister Modi highlighted India's initiatives in digital transformation, skilling, and ease-of-doing business, and invited enhanced Finnish participation in India's flagship programmes. The leaders also exchanged perspectives on regional and global issues of concern. They agreed to advance cooperation in the multilateral fora as well," it added. President Stubb thanked PM Modi for the warm welcome and highlighted that India is a key partner for Finland, noting that the newly signed EU-India Free Trade Agreement would open new avenues for trade, economic collaboration, science, and innovation. "Thank you for the warm welcome to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India is an important partner for Finland. The state visit will further deepen our cooperation in the fields of trade, the economy, science and innovation. The newly signed EU-India Free Trade agreement opens new opportunities for both countries," the Finnish President said in a post on X. The visit and the agreements reached signal a comprehensive strategic vision for India-Finland relations, emphasising collaboration in digitalisation, sustainability, innovation, and technology, while creating a roadmap to expand bilateral trade, talent mobility, and joint research over the coming decade. (ANI) Nepal's general elections saw a preliminary voter turnout of around 60%, mostly from the Gen Z demographic, contributing to the "unprecedented" energy at the polls. The Election Commission attributed the successful conduct to improved voter education, cooperation from political parties, and robust security measures. The election held in Nepal on Thursday was overall peaceful. After the Gen Z protest, the reputations of the Nepal government and the Election Commission were at stake regarding this election. After voting ended at 5 pm, the Officiating Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari thanked the people of Nepal. Speaking to ANI, on the general elections, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Nepal Election Commission, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, says, "We have conducted the voting process. According to primary data, the vote cast is about 60 per cent all over the country. As per the expectation, the voting process was quite safe and voters were excited to participate in the voting process." On being asked about the challenges for this election, Bhattarai said, "This election was planned in special circumstances. There were some doubts among the people about the success of the selection, but due to the effective cooperation from political parties, candidates, all voters, Govt of Nepal, the private sector, the media and all sectors, we were able to successfully conclude the elections." After a violent Gen Z protest, the situation for this election emerged in Nepal. In this context, speaking about the role of Gen Z during the election, Bhattarai said that "Gen Z has been very much supportive in this election. Their participation in this election process has also been positive in terms of Candidates as well as voters." He also said that, "From the beginning, when the president declared the election date till now, the government of Nepal has been very supportive to the Election Commission in terms of equipment, human resources and other forms." Mentioning India's support in this election, he said that "India, as a neighbouring country, has been very supportive of us in this election. They have provided vehicles and other assistance. Nepal and India are close neighbours not only in terms of geography but also in social, economic, and cultural ties." Sharing details about the counting process, the spokesperson said, "All returning officers have already started submitting ballot boxes to the counting centres. The counting process will start at night in some constituencies only. First, the FPTP votes will be counted, and those results will be published. After that, we will start counting the proportional votes. This process will take some time, and we can expect the final results within 15 days." (ANI) Amy Childs has urged her fans to support her cousin's baby daughter who is battling an aggressive brain tumour. The Only Way is Essex star Amy Childs Lila was diagnosed with Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumour (AT/RT) - a rare and rapidly growing Grade 4 tumour found in the brain or spinal cord of children aged three and younger - at just three weeks old. And now 35-year-old Amy has called upon her followers to donate to and share the five-month-old girl's JustGiving crowdfunder page. The Only Way is Essex alum posted a screenshot of the donation page to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday (04.03.26), and penned alongside it: "Please, if you can, help support my cousin's beautiful daughter Lila. "She's fighting so hard and every donation makes a difference. Even sharing this means a lot. Thank you all so much." Lila's JustGiving page was set up by her mum, Hannah Brincat. Explaining her tot's story, Hannah wrote: "Our beautiful little Lila is only 5 months old and been through more in her little life than any adult we know. Our brave girl, our little lion cub. "Lila was diagnosed at 3 weeks old with ATRT - a rare and aggressive brain tumour. "She underwent 9 hour brain surgery at just 3 weeks old, and started chemotherapy at just 5 weeks old. (sic)" Heartbreakingly, an MRI showed the tumour had returned despite "six rounds of chemotherapy", and Lila's family were informed that "treatment would not continue and we were out of options". Hannah continued: "We lived in hospital for 4 months separated from our 3 other children and have been living in a childrens hospice for 2 weeks. Our lives have been turned upside down and we are devastated. "Weve reached out to an Oncologist in Toronto, who is leading on research in ATRT, for a second opinion on Lila. "We have no idea if there are any options for us, what they could be and how much it might cost us. "The target is therefore completely random - but if by some miracle, they come through with something for us to try and it comes down to finances, we need to be prepared. Time is not on our side. (sic)" At the time of publication, 24,380 has been raised, and Hannah stressed that people's generous donations "will not go to waste". She concluded: "If our efforts dont pay off, your donations will be given generously to the lovely charities who have supported us during this time." Hannah thanked those who had donated in an update message. On February 27, she typed: "For some reason, it is not letting me send individual thank yous so I thought I would create this update instead. "Your donations mean the world, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If love, prayers and support could save our Lila - she would be just fine. "Now we need a medical miracle, because our brave girl is up for the fight. (sic)" To donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lilaourlioncub?utm_medium=CF utm_source=TT. Sudans health authorities have raised alarm over a sharp increase in dengue fever, malaria and measles cases, warning that ongoing conflict continues to undermine the national response capacity. The Federal Ministry of Health reported that cumulative dengue fever infections had reached 6,976, including five deaths a rise compared to the same period last year. Malaria cases have climbed significantly in Khartoum, River Nile, White Nile and Gezira states, while high measles rates persist in Tawila locality in North Darfur, as well as in Ad Damazin and Tandalti in White Nile. Gezira has also continued to record Hepatitis E infections, though officials noted a slight weekly decline. The health system has been severely disrupted since the outbreak of war, with fighting and road closures hampering the delivery of medicines and medical supplies. Public health surveillance and prevention programs have deteriorated, while rising numbers of internally displaced people have placed additional pressure on already overstretched hospitals. In response, the ministry has activated emergency operations centres at state and local levels and begun dispatching supplies to high-risk areas. Technical committees are monitoring measles and hepatitis cases, particularly among an estimated 58,158 displaced families more than 227,000 individuals. Community outreach initiatives include home visits, mobile media campaigns and interactive theatre to raise awareness. Authorities are also testing water quality, monitoring chlorine levels and intensifying mosquito control efforts. Despite these measures, officials acknowledge critical shortages of essential medicines for cholera, dengue and malaria. Federal Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim has ordered intensified measles control efforts and heightened surveillance for Hepatitis E in Gezira, alongside preparations to replenish malaria drug stocks ahead of the autumn rainy season. While budgets have been approved for dengue campaigns in Northern and Khartoum states, the minister stressed the need for innovative funding approaches to stabilise supply chains under current national and regional constraints. Morocco is becoming a more attractive nearshoring destination for German companies facing a structural shortage of skilled labor, according to a new assessment by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI). The agency says Morocco is moving beyond traditional offshoring and gaining credibility as a base for higher-value digital and engineering services. The countrys offshoring sector already employs around 150,000 full-time workers, with service exports reaching 27 billion dirhams in 2025, mainly toward francophone Europe. However, call-centre activity, once dominant, is declining as regulatory constraints tighten in France. At the same time, software development, embedded engineering, cybersecurity and data-related services are expanding. GTAI highlights Moroccos growing talent pool and its ability to absorb R&D and IT development functions previously located in Central Europe or Asia. To support this shift, authorities are accelerating specialised training programmes and investing in innovation structures tied to AI and advanced digital technologies. Moroccos data protection authority, the CNDP, is also working to align national rules with international and European standards, with the long-term goal of an adequacy decision. Standard contractual clauses and secure data-transfer mechanisms are being introduced to facilitate exchanges with Europe, with the government positioning compliance as a competitive asset for companies subject to EU requirements. German interest in Morocco is rising as the nature of transferred activities evolves. Automotive and industrial engineering groups such as Bertrandt AG and FEV are expanding local engineering, testing and validation operations as software becomes increasingly central to their industries. To sustain momentum, Morocco is reinforcing incentives through its new investment charter, which supports high-value projects and qualified job creation. German SMEs, meanwhile, receive support from the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco (AHK Maroc) for market entry and recruitment. Canadian mining Company Trigon Metals has started exploration drilling operation in Addana Project located in the province of Tata, southern Morocco. The Project is easily accessible via the AgadirTata highway and benefits from established local infrastructure. Addana was selected as Trigons flagship Moroccan project due to its potential for near-surface, high-grade silver-lead polymetallic mineralization, supported by historic artisanal mining and extensive surface sampling. Dr. Andreas Rompel, Chief Exploration Officer of Trigon Metals, said: We are excited to turn the conceptual potential of Addana into real drill results. The structural setting and vein geometry suggest there is room to expand vertically and laterally, and this initial drilling campaign is designed to deliver key vectoring information and confidence in continuity at depth. Morocco continues to strengthen its position as a mining-friendly jurisdiction with modern infrastructure, clear regulatory frameworks, and a growing profile in precious metals. As global silver prices remain robust, driven by industrial and energy-transition demand, Addana is well-positioned within a region that hosts Africas largest silver mine and is emerging as a key destination for new silver discoveries. A Russian liquefied natural gas tanker sank in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday evening after a series of explosions and a large fire, authorities in Libya said on Wednesday. The 277-metre vessel, Arctic Metagas, was carrying about 62,000 metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas when it went down roughly 130 nautical miles north of the coastal city of Sirte. The incident occurred in waters between Libya and Malta. Libyas Ports and Maritime Transport Authority said the wreck lies within Libyas search and rescue zone. After receiving a distress alert, Libyan authorities coordinated with Maltese officials to rescue all 30 crew members on board. No serious injuries were reported. The cause of the explosions that triggered the fire has not yet been established. The incident comes months after another Russian tanker was reportedly attacked by drones off the Libyan coast in December. Ukraine later claimed responsibility for that strike, describing the vessel as part of what it called Russias shadow fleet. Republican Congressman Don Bacon has joined the growing list of lawmakers backing a bill that would require the U.S. administration to designate the Algeria-backed Polisario separatist militias as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). His endorsement is seen as a significant development because of his seniority and long background in US national security, le360 reported. Bacon, first elected in 2016, served nearly 30 years in the US Air Force with a focus on intelligence and cybersecurity. He now chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Innovation, a position that gives him influence over legislation dealing with hybrid threats, digital security and defense strategy. The bipartisan measure was introduced on June 24, 2025, by Republican Joe Wilson and Democrat Jimmy Panetta. It would compel the State Department to add Polisario into the FTO list. With Bacons backing, nine members of the House now support the proposal. The core group includes Wilson, Panetta, Mario DiazBalart, Jefferson Shreve, Randy Fine and Lance Gooden. Pat Harrigan, a former Green Beret, also endorsed the bill on February 13, and Zachary Nunn, a colonel in the Iowa National Guard, followed on February 24. Advocates say their support reinforces the argument that lawmakers with operational military experience view the Polisario as part of a broader pattern of regional instability. Support is also emerging in the Senate. Senator Ted Cruz said in February he would introduce a parallel bill and used a hearing on North Africa and the Sahel to warn of the Iran influence over the Polisario, warning of possible access to Tehrans drones. The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz has become a severe stress test for both Gulf crude suppliers and their key buyers. Despite repeated assurances from U.S. officials that the waterway was never formally blocked, satellite tracking suggests that no oil or product tankers transited the strait since March 1. The disruption immediately placed the worlds largest importers under pressure. China and India together consume tens of millions of barrels per day, and both remain structurally dependent on Gulf crude. China has steadily expanded purchases of Russian oil since 2022, yet roughly 1/3 of its crude imports originate in the Gulf. India, meanwhile, has been deliberately reducing its earlier heavy reliance on Russian barrels and replacing them with Middle Eastern supplies. With the Iranian crisis unfolding and no quick normalization of Hormuz traffic in sight, both Asian giants may turn to their long-standing supplier in Moscow like never before. The key question is: does Russia have sufficient export capacity to meet the sudden surge in demand? The shift in Indias purchasing pattern has been particularly visible in recent months. Indian imports of Russian crude declined steadily from 1.85 million b/d in November 2025 to just 1.06 million b/d in February 2026. Much of the remaining flow has been concentrated in a single outlet: the Vadinar refinery operated by Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft. By February, roughly half of the Russian crude delivered to India (around 510,000 b/d out of the 1.06 million b/d total) was imported there. In November 2025, the share was markedly smaller, with 560,000 b/d flowing to Vadinar out of the 1.85 million b/d imported overall. The retreat from Russian supply was largely driven by mounting pressure from Washington, prompting Indian refiners to stop buying Russian barrels. By February 2026 crude from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait accounted for more than half of Indias total imports of 5.18 million b/d, reaching roughly 2.8 million b/d compared with just 2 million b/d in November 2025. The nearly 1 million b/d increase reflected a belief that Gulf crude offered legal stability and relatively low prices. That assumption is now being severely tested, as a significant share of those cargoes is effectively stranded in Gulf waters waiting for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption is likely to force New Delhi to reconsider its recent distancing from Russian supply assuming those barrels are still available. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough China faces a challenge of its own. In February 2026, its seaborne imports of Russian crude reached a new record of 1.92 million b/d. Yet the Iranian crisis affects Chinese refiners on two fronts. Unlike India, China was also a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing roughly 1 million b/d in February. Combined imports from Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE and Saudi Arabia totalled about 3.4 million b/d in the same month. Taken together, the potential loss of Iranian supply and disruption to Gulf shipments threatens more than 1/3 of Chinas crude imports. In this context, Russian barrels appear both politically and logistically attractive. Overland pipeline flows and shipments from Russias Far Eastern ports offer one of the few large-scale supply channels that bypass the Gulf entirely. Recent tanker movements underline how the market is already adjusting. A wave of U.S. enforcement actions against Venezuelan oil exports has left a number of numerous VLCCs idle in Asian waters. Many of these vessels had previously been used to collect Venezuelan crude through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers. With those flows disrupted, several of the VLCCs became redundant. Russia appears to have quickly stepped into that logistical vacuum. Although Russian exporters rarely relied on VLCCs in the past, at least 8 such vessels are currently positioned in the Arabian Sea and near Singapore, either en route to China or waiting offshore. Theres 12 million barrels of medium sour Urals alone that are carried by VLCCs, not counting Russias Far Eastern grades, surpassing the previous record carry of 9.8 million barrels from February 2023. Most of the cargoes they carry are already committed to Chinese buyers, offering little hope for Indias supply concerns. How much of the spare Russian oil is available now? Floating storage suggests that Russias spare export capacity may be limited. Inventories of Russian crude at sea climbed steadily through late January 2026, reaching about 19.6 million barrels. Since then, they have declining continuously. By early March, only 12 vessels remain in floating storage, holding roughly 7 million barrels in total, and several of those tankers are already anchored near Chinese ports awaiting a signal to offload. In other words, the pool of unsold Russian crude available on short notice has shrunk significantly. Related: No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing? Pricing dynamics are shifting as well. Market insiders report that the Hormuz disruption has narrowed the discount of Russias Urals grade to Brent from roughly $10/bbl to $5-6/bbl. At the same time, Russia itself may soon have additional crude available for export because domestic refining activity has slowed. Russian refinery throughput fell from about 5.5 million b/d in December 2025 to roughly 5.15 million b/d in February 2026. Part of the decline followed drone strikes on two refining facilities, including the Volgograd refinery (300,000 b/d capacity) and the Ukhta refinery (80,000 b/d capacity). Planned maintenance at several other plants scheduled for March and April is expected to further reduce domestic crude demand, potentially freeing additional barrels for exports. Moscows most likely strategy in the current environment will be to play its two largest Asian customers against each other. In previous months, Russian exporters often stored unsold cargoes in tankers near Singapore or along the Chinese coast, a tactic that unintentionally signalled oversupply and widened price discounts. The current market situation is markedly different. With most floating cargoes already allocated and supply chains disrupted across the Gulf, the next wave of Russian barrels is not yet visible. That scarcity gives Russian sellers leverage to raise prices by pointing to strong demand from competing buyers. For both India and China, the Hormuz crisis may therefore lead to the same conclusion: Russian crude remains one of the few reliable alternatives but it may no longer come as cheaply and abundantly as before. By Natalia Katona for Oilprice.com It's been a wild ride in crude over the past few days, with Brent crude futures were capped near $84 a barrel on Tuesday afternoon before sliding down to the $81 level late Wednesday afternoon, only to surge back up to $84 this morning... ...as shipping industry insiders and Wall Street analysts await exact details on the Trump administration's proposal to keep tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The critical maritime chokepoint remains paralyzed, raising the risk of an energy shock in parts of the world that rely heavily on those flows, particularly in Asia. President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the U.S. will provide insurance for "ALL Maritime Trade" through the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and will provide Navy escorts "if necessary." The shutdown is already hitting global energy flows: Now comes the hard part, with the shipping industry and Wall Street analysts all asking the same question: how will every tanker transiting the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Oman, into the Strait, and onward to the Persian Gulf be protected by U.S. or allied air or naval forces? "Nothing is sure and we need immediate clarity," said Khalid Hashim, managing director of Precious Shipping Pcl, a Thai firm that owns bulk carriers. Hashim said, "Lives are at risk, cargoes are at risk, ships are at risk. We need immediate cover that protects us from all this." While some shipowners say they're mulling over joining escorted convoys, many remain very cautious, noting that escorts do not eliminate the risk of the IRGC's asymmetric warfare, such as the use of drones. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough Analysts also question whether the Trump administration has done enough planning to make the proposal bulletproof in the near term. Overall, the market sees Trump's plan as a temporary fix to restart flows in the Strait, with Brent crude futures capped at $84 since the announcement and currently trading around $81. UBS analyst Benjamin Benson, "Improved risk sentiment following US President Trump's announcement on maritime insurance and US Navy security support further aided the recovery in prices." Current activity in the Strait of Hormuz: Tanker traffic through Strait of Hormuz down by 90% Analysis of vessel activity indicates tanker transits are now around 90% lower than last week. Matt Wright, Principal Freight Analyst at Kpler, explains: "Unlike several other vessel segments where movements have largely pic.twitter.com/JIhFoAkQKO MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 4, 2026 "The core thing shipowners are thinking about is the real risk of loss," said Karnan Thirupathy, partner at Kennedys Law LLP, who specializes in commodities and shipping. "No one goes into the trade if the risk of loss is simply too high." RBC Capital Markets LLC analysts noted, "President Trump's comments about insurance and tanker escorts caused a pullback in oil prices, we question how much planning has been done on the insurance backstop thus far and think there could be a number of challenges in executing this plan quickly." Wall Street Journal noted by late afternoon that the Trump administration was in talks with one major insurance broker about how to get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz: A team from insurance broker Marsh Risk met with administration officials Tuesday and offered to help the U.S. government create an insurance mechanism that could lower shipping risk and make insuring ships more affordable, said Marcus Baker, the firm's global head of marine, cargo and logistics. Energy prices have soared since Iran warned it could start attacking ships in the strategic waterway, slowing oil shipping to a standstill. Related: No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing? "Providing protection for all tankers operating in areas currently threatened by Iran is unrealistic as this would require a very high number of warships and other military assets," Bimco security analyst Jakob Larsen noted. Let's remind readers that the U.S. and its allies had a difficult time securing the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, where Houthi rebels repeatedly launched missiles and drones at commercial ships linked to the U.S. and Israel. That certainly matters now. It also comes as the U.S. and its allies are burning through significant volumes of air-delivered munitions in Operation Epic Fury. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Iran has launched a massive retaliatory campaign following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, sending an unprecedented barrage of more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones across targets in Israel and several Gulf states. A drone strike on a command center killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait while several missiles were intercepted near Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. base in the region. Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have hiked their oil price forecasts, noting that unlike last years largely symbolic response, Irans much broader approach in the fresh conflict have resulted in several regional flashpoints that pose real risk to oil supply flows, including potential contagion affecting US-operated assets. StanChart now sees Brent crude averaging $74 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, up from its previous forecast of $62 per barrel; Q2 to $67/bbl (from $63/bbl) and 2026 average to $70/bbl (from $63.50/bbl). The analysts add that theres asymmetric upside risk to these forecasts if the conflict escalates further and impairs production from Iran and any of the regional producers. StanChart has flagged the significant risk posed to Iraqs oil flows thanks to its heavy reliance on transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq has begun to shut in some major oil fields, such as Rumaila, and cut back production at others, such as West Qurna 2, with storage tanks reaching capacity. The Strait of Hormuz remains the biggest flashpoint, with the waterway used for energy transit of ~31% of seaborne crude and condensate. This is mostly destined for China and India, which may turn to Russia for alternative supply. In addition, its used for 19% of LNG (including all supply from Qatar), 19% of jet fuel and kerosene tilted towards European supply and 33% of global fertiliser transit. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough Whereas no barrels have been lost so far, StanChart notes that the risk to vessels from mines or missiles has increased insurance premiums and supertanker shipping costs dramatically. To wit, supertanker freight rates from the Middle East to China on the TD3 route now exceed $400,000 per day, double the rate from 27 February, which was already a six-year high. That rate now includes war-risk bonuses and hazard pay for crews, with the exorbitant costs making it uneconomical for the majority of companies. According to StanChart, tanker tracking suggests that limited transit is skewed towards Iranian on Chinese vessels, and this could trigger a rise in landed crude costs--even if the flat price stabilizes--if the freight premium is retained for prolonged periods of time and becomes a structural rather than a temporary cost. That said, there are mitigating factors that could help check oil prices. According to StanChart, there is limited infrastructure in place to allow a bypass of the Strait of Hormuz and provide some relief to disruption to crude flows. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pipelines that usually operate at less than full capacity, giving an estimated 2.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) of spare capacity to redirect exports. This includes: The East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia connects the processing facilities at Abqaiq to the Red Sea. It has a 5mb/d capacity, but this was temporarily expanded to 7mb/d in 2019 by converting some natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines to move crude. There is a 1.8mb/d pipeline from the UAEs onshore fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, although its spare capacity is likely limited by its increased use for normal export. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War Unfortunately, alternative routes for refined products and LNG are significantly more limited. Natural gas prices have spiked after QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG deliveries on Monday, taking about 20% of global LNG production offline, the vast majority of which goes to Asian customers. Coupled with the shutdown of some Israeli fields, this has exposed the structural vulnerability of the LNG market, leaving buyers scrambling for spot cargoes. This panic buying of JKM to cover lost cargoes pushed it to its highest premium over the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) since 2021. European natural gas futures pulled back nearly 10% on Wednesday to trade at 49.7 per megawatt-hour after vaulting nearly 60% over the prior two sessions. However, U.S. gas markets remain well insulated, with Henry Hub gas prices falling 3.3% to trade at $2.95/MMBtu on Wednesday. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Tanker rates are through the roof, movement through the Strait of Hormuz is severely reduced because of war cover cancellations by insurers, and the combination of these developments has sent oil prices flying. Now, theres a third factor that would likely aggravate the situation further: there are not enough supertankers. Bloomberg reported the news this week, saying there were between six and a dozen supertankers that were available for booking in the Persian Gulf, if, of course, the potential client was willing to pay the record daily rates and deal with insurance. Twelve supertankers could theoretically be enough to handle one days outbound oil traffic but no more than that. Every supertanker can carry 2 million barrels of crude and, as Bloomberg notes in its report, it takes two days to load. It is worth noting that the squeeze on supertankers available for loading Middle Eastern oil comes on top of already rising freight rates on the back of tightening sanctions on vessels carrying Russian oil, a consolidation drive in the tanker segment, and the U.S. takeover of Venezuelas oil industry. The trend has been going on for a while. Last November, the tanker rates on the route from the Middle East and China hit a five-year high as s traders rushed to find alternatives to Russian crude after the U.S. sanctioned Russias biggest oil producers and exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil. Then, in January, rates dipped amid seasonal weakening in trade, only to rebound in February amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War Yet there is more. South Korean shipping company Sinokor has been on a supertanker buying spree that has resulted in what Bloomberg called unprecedented control over a substantial portion of the worlds supertankers for immediate booking. This has also contributed to higher tanker ratesfor routes beginning at the U.S. Gulf Coast. Indeed, Bloomberg reported that Sinokor, along with its partner Mediterranean Shipping Co., controlled almost all the VLCCs available for hire to load oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, the freight rate for a supertanker carrying crude oil on the key Middle East-to-China route hit a record high of more than $420,000 per day this Monday, and the rally is likely far from done, seeing as the missile strike exchange between the United States and Israel, and Iran continues unabated for the time being. Average supertanker rates globally have hit over $280,900. There are reports of Iranian forces attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The security situation, in other words, does not look good. This means that at some point oil production would get affected, analysts are warning. With the Strait of Hormuz still inactive, the clock is ticking, JPMorgan analysts said in a note earlier this week. If it does not reopen within 21 days, upstream shut?ins could begin. In fact, upstream shut-ins have already begun in Iraq. The situation in the Persian Gulf has forced OPECs second-largest producer to shut in as much as 1.5 million barrels daily in production, and this could be just the beginning, with further shut-ins likely to bring the total to 3 million barrels daily, according to Iraqi officials. That amount is almost equal to Iraqs entire export volumes, which average between 3.2 million and 3.4 million barrels daily. Interestingly, the amount of 3 million barrels daily is also approximately equal to the global supply overhang as estimated by the International Energy Agency. And Iraq will not be the only one shutting in production if the war is prolonged. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough Indeed, earlier today, JP Morgan analysts released another note, warning that Iraq would be forced to suspend all oil exports in three days and Kuwait has 14 days of storage space. The more time passes, the worse it would get, too, with the banks analysts estimating production shut-ins at 4.7 million barrels daily by the 18th day of Hormuz disruption. What is happening, then, is an already bad situation becoming a lot worse, very fast. Tanker rates were already high to begin with. As the U.S. and Israel started firing missiles at Iran, insurers decided they did not need that risk in their lives, making matters worse. Meanwhile, Sinokor has become the dominant player on that very same troubled tanker market, setting the price for a major alternative oil export route: from the U.S. Gulf Coast. And there are dozens of tankers under sanctions, which limits their availability, to put it mildly. Some observers make a point of noting that Iran cannot physically block the Hormuz Strait. Yet evidence suggests it does not need to. Just warning that it would attack tankers if they try to enter has been enough: tanker traffic on Monday consisted of one or two mid-sized vessels, per data from Kpler and Vortexa. The oil market should brace up for more blows. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Just a month ago, Europe was attracting most LNG spot cargoes as solid demand and fast-depleting gas inventories fetched higher prices than in Asia, where demand was lackluster. A month is a long time in todays geopolitical order and this week the global gas market was jolted into a massive shock that upended supply and demand trends. Qatars halt of LNG production and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz roiled Asian and European gas markets with reminders of the 2022 crisis. While Asia receives the overwhelming majority of Qatari LNG, Europe is feeling the effect of the Hormuz crisis as acutely as Asia as the global market tightens, and the Asian LNG price premium over European prices soars, re-directing the available spot supply to the Asian importers. Theres no spare capacity in the LNG market, so the disruption could be immediate and immense, Claire Jungman, Director of Maritime Risk & Intelligence at energy market analytics firm Vortexa, said earlier this week, as carried by Reuters. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War LNG shipments from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which jointly account for about 20% of global LNG supply, are now off the market, after QatarEnergy announced a pause to LNG production at its Ras Laffan hub and no tankers pass through the Strait. As traffic via the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, the LNG supply shock to Asia is immediate, with Europe feeling the secondary effects of 20% of global LNG supply offline. As a result, both Asias spot LNG prices and Europes TTF benchmark gas prices have soared in recent days to multi-year highs. A total of 85% of Qatars LNG exports go to Asia, so the immediate physical supply crunch is skewed toward Asia, says Florence Yu, Associate LNG Market Analyst at Vortexa. China, India, and Taiwan are among the importers most exposed to this risk, Yu added. Europe has typically received about 12% of Qatari LNGa much smaller share compared to Asias exposure. However, the repercussions of a supply squeeze in Asia are huge for Europe, too, as Europe currently loses the competition with Asia for alternative spot supply as the Asian premiums over European prices soar and arbitrage is giving the strongest signal for traders to send LNG cargoes to Asia since the end of 2022. The JKM-TTF spread, measuring the premium of Asian spot LNG prices to Europes gas benchmark, surged to a multi-year high of over $6 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Tuesday. LNG freight rates are also surging, recording the largest-ever one day jump on Tuesday in Spark Commodities assessments. The arbitrage signal for Asia is now at its strongest since December 2022, according to Spark Commodities data. Further regional disruptions, such as Israel shutting down offshore gas fields and exports to Egypt, are also tightening the global gas market and putting Asia and Europe under additional strain to procure any available spot LNG supply. Related: The U.S. Just Took a Giant Step in The Rare Earth Race With China The Asia-Europe race is only set to intensify in the coming weeks, and with the U.S. already exporting LNG to capacity even before the Middle East war, there isnt a single supply source to make up for a loss of 20% of global supply until the Strait of Hormuz reopens to tanker traffic. US LNG export infrastructure is already operating near capacity, limiting the ability of American exporters to meaningfully fill the gap, Amena Bakr at energy commodity analysts Kpler wrote in a note earlier this week. Disruptions to LNG flows would reignite competition between Asia and Europe for available cargoes, particularly at a time when European storage levels are below seasonal norms and around 10% lower than at the same point last year, following a severe cold spell in January, Massimo Di Odoardo, Vice President, Gas and LNG Research at Wood Mackenzie, said earlier this week. Around 1.5 Mt, or 2.2 billion cubic meters, of LNG exports are at risk for each week that flows through the Strait of Hormuz are halted, per WoodMacs estimates. In view of the already massive disruption to global LNG supply both Asian and European markets would need to draw more heavily on existing storage and would increase the need for restocking over the summer, Di Odoardo noted. This would tighten market conditions well beyond the eventual resumption of trade through the Strait. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com It is the kind of headline that makes people stop mid-scroll. Three lives lost. A city shaken. And a stream of hateful posts that, in hindsight, read like flashing red lights no one could quite stop in time. The Austin Mass Shooting Suspect is now at the center of an investigation that stretches beyond a single crime scene in Austin. Authorities are digging into what they describe as deeply disturbing online rhetoric, rhetoric that may help explain why this tragedy unfolded. A Timeline That Feels Unsettling in Reverse Police identified the suspect as Ndiaga Diagne. According to reports, Diagne had posted anti-Christian, antisemitic, and misogynistic rants on social media before the shooting. Reading those posts now, investigators say, adds a chilling layer to the case. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis confirmed that detectives are carefully reviewing the suspect's digital footprint. She stopped short of speculating about motive but acknowledged that the content is relevant and troubling. 'We are looking at everything,' Davis said during a public briefing, emphasizing that online statements can provide critical context when piecing together intent. Officers from the Austin Police Department responded swiftly to emergency calls and took the suspect into custody. The immediate threat was contained. The larger questions, however, were only beginning. Hate Speech, Ideology, and a Potential Nexus to Terrorism One phrase now circulating in legal and media discussions is the potential Nexus to terrorism. That does not automatically mean the Austin mass shooting will be labeled a terrorist act. In the United States, terrorism charges require specific intent, typically violence aimed at intimidating a civilian population or influencing government policy. Still, when rhetoric targets religious groups and women in sweeping, dehumanizing terms, investigators have to consider whether ideology played a role. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting local authorities in reviewing evidence. That collaboration does not confirm a terrorism designation, but it signals that officials are taking the ideological angle seriously. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said prosecutors will follow the evidence wherever it leads. Charges, he stressed, will be based on provable facts, not public pressure or speculation. The Digital Warning Signs We Often Miss There is something uniquely unsettling about crimes that appear to leave clues in plain sight. Experts who study online radicalization often describe a pattern. Hostile language intensifies. Posts become more extreme. Targets become more specific. Sometimes, those signals fade into the background noise of the internet. Other times, they foreshadow something far worse. In this case, investigators say the Austin Mass Shooting Suspect's alleged posts included explicit hostility toward Christians, Jewish communities, and women. That combination has raised alarms among analysts who track extremist ideologies. But here is the uncomfortable truth, not every offensive post predicts violence. That is what makes prevention so complicated. You dont have a VAGINA Ndiaga Diagne (@NdiagaDiag88249) December 5, 2025 Why This Story Resonates Beyond Texas The Austin mass shooting is drawing international attention because it touches on issues many countries are grappling with. Online extremism, religious hatred, misogyny, and the blurred line between speech and violence. The legal outcome remains uncertain. Whether authorities determine there is a potential Nexus to terrorism will depend on intent, planning, and evidence still under review. What is clear is this. The digital trail matters. Words posted online do not exist in isolation. They can reinforce belief systems, fuel anger, and in rare but devastating cases, precede irreversible harm. As the investigation continues, the focus remains where it should be, on the victims and on ensuring accountability through due process. The story of the Austin Mass Shooting Suspect is still unfolding. And like many modern tragedies, it forces an uncomfortable question that communities worldwide are now asking: how do we recognize the warning signs before it is too late? Originally published on IBTimes UK The impact is expected to fall most heavily on price-sensitive developing economies in South Asia, like Bangladesh and Pakistan, who are likely to respond with a combination of demand restraint and switching to fuels like thermal coal rather than aggressively bidding for cargoes. The estimated loss of LNG output for 2026 could range from 3.3 million tonnes (Mt) in a 15-day halt scenario to approximately 11.2 Mt in a full-scale interruption lasting four to five weeks. Natural gas prices surged by over 52% at Europe's benchmark Title Transfer Facility after QatarEnergy halted LNG production and the Strait of Hormuz closed, but Rystad Energy anticipates a limited long-term impact based on the expectation that the disruption will be temporary. Natural gas prices have reacted strongly to QatarEnergys decision to cease LNG production and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating conflict in the Middle East escalate. Still, despite a more than 52% surge at Europes benchmark Title Transfer Facility (TTF) on 2 March, Rystad Energy expects the current supply shock to have a limited long-term impact on global gas and liquefied natural gas markets. This outlook is based on the expectation that the disruption will be temporary and manageable in terms of volumes. With Qatari LNG output halted and the Strait of Hormuz closed, global LNG supply is set to tighten sharply, a trend already reflected in recent price movements. The scale of lost volumes will depend on the extent of any infrastructure damage, which is still being assessed, and the duration of the Straits closure to maritime traffic. In a scenario where there is limited or no damage and hostilities subside quickly, leading to a 15-day production halt, we estimate a 4.3% decline in 2026 output, equivalent to around 3.3 million tonnes (Mt) . A more prolonged disruption could result in 5.6 Mt of lost supply, while a full-scale interruption lasting four to five weeks before the Strait reopens to commercial traffic would translate into a loss of approximately 11.2 Mt for the full year 2026. Given the central role of LNG exports in Qatars economy and in global trade flows, we expect production to be restored within weeks rather than months. Should a worst-case scenario manifest, opportunistic producers could bring to market up to 15 Mt of incremental LNG, while the reintegration of Russian LNG could yield another 18 Mt. With this being said, the most affected countries are chiefly price-sensitive, developing economies that are much more likely to seek refuge in fuel-switching, focusing on thermal coal more so than similarly affected oil products, rather than triggering a bidding war. QatarEnergy halts production Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had already stalled when QatarEnergy halted LNG production following a drone strike on its gas facilities in Ras Laffan on 2 March. The stop, without an announced end date, affects Qatars entire liquefaction capacity of 77 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) currently. While the events certainly cloud Qatars medium-term outlook, the LNG powerhouse is set to nearly double its capacity to 142 Mtpa within the next decade by adding 64 Mtpa across three expansion phases North Field East (32 Mtpa), North Field South (16 Mtpa) and North Field West (16 Mtpa). NFE's first train is expected online in 3Q26, barring infrastructure damage or continued shipping difficulties. NFS targets first gas in late 2028 or early 2029 and NFW took FID only days ago. Could an extended closure catapult Russia back into the market? LNG markets entered the year with growth expectations. Pre-war, Rystad Energy expected producing facilities to add 13.9 Mt and start-ups (or re-starts in the case of Darwin LNG) to contribute 7.6 Mt over and above 2025 volumes. Spurred by higher-than-anticipated prices, facilities in West Africa and the US could likely increase LNG output somewhat, unlike previous net-exporter Egypt whose gas balance is suffering due to the cessation of Israeli pipeline exports. Even so, should Qatars facilities sustain further damage, or should Iran dissuade commercial shipping through the Strait by means of force, much higher volumes could be removed from the global LNG balance in 2026. If such a worst-case scenario does materialize, reintroducing Russian LNG could become a point of discussion. Compared to 2025, sanctions relief alone could reinject up to 5.3 Mt plus another 12.8 Mt from Arctic LNG 2. The reintroduction of Russian volumes, however, hinges on lifting all sanctions and Europe buying most Russian LNG to support shipping logistics. This course of action would undermine long-term US LNG expansion by exacerbating oversupply concerns once Qatari volumes come back or even pave the way for the return of Russian pipeline supply. Since both are diametrically opposed to US interest, it must be considered extremely unlikely. Why a price spiral is unlikely The ongoing US-Israel campaign in the Middle East is set to tighten global gas supply in 2026. However, these developments are unfolding in a market characterized by relatively looser balances and expanding trade flows, with a different set of countries at the center of the disruption and distinct demand side responses emerging as a result. The impact is likely to fall most heavily on price-sensitive South Asian buyers, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, rather than on premium markets willing to bid aggressively for cargoes. While large-scale demand curtailment may appear to be the most direct adjustment mechanism, gas is deeply embedded in the primary energy mix of these economies. As a result, we expect a combination of demand restraint and, where technically feasible, fuel switching. That said, higher crude and oil product prices could constrain the scope for switching, By Rystad Energy More Top Reads From Oilprice.com A sustained disruption would not cause an immediate price spike but would lead to reduced nitrogen availability, lower crop yields months later, and ultimately result in tighter inventories and elevated food prices. Unlike oil markets which have a strategic buffer, fertilizer trade operates on a just-in-time basis with no equivalent strategic stockpile to offset a prolonged disruption. Global food production is structurally vulnerable because roughly half of all food depends on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, a substantial portion of which is exported from the Gulf region through the threatened Strait of Hormuz. In the wake of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, the financial press has reflexively focused on oil. Tanker traffic, Brent crude, and the risk of triple-digit prices dominate the discussion. But oil is not the only commodity posing a serious long-term risk. Another deep vulnerability runs through natural gasand from there into nitrogen fertilizer. If commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz were significantly restricted, the impact would extend beyond fuel markets. It would reach directly into global food production. Thats because the Gulf region is not just a major energy exporter. It is one of the worlds most important suppliers of nitrogen fertilizerthe foundation of modern agricultural yields. The Energy Behind the Food System Nitrogen fertilizer begins with natural gas. Through the Haber-Bosch process, methane is converted into ammonia, which is then upgraded into urea and other nitrogen products. In practical terms, nitrogen fertilizer is natural gas transformed into plant food. Roughly half of global food production depends on synthetic nitrogen. Without it, crop yields would decline sharply. Globally, about 180 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizers are consumed each year (measured in nutrient terms). Of that, roughly 55 to 60 million metric tons of urea move through international seaborne trade annually. The Middle East accounts for approximately 40% to 50% of that traded volume. And nearly all of those exports must transit the Strait of Hormuz. Related: Magnet Wars: How the U.S. Plans to Break Chinas Grip on Rare Earths In other words, close to one-quarter of globally traded nitrogen fertilizerand a meaningful share of total global nitrogen productionmoves through that single maritime chokepoint that is now threatened by war. Oil may be the artery of the global economy. Nitrogen fertilizer is central to the global food chain. A Highly Concentrated Export Base The scale of production clustered behind Hormuz is significant: Qatar exports roughly 5.5 to 6 million metric tons of urea and ammonia annually from its QAFCO complex. Iran exports around 5 million metric tons of urea per year, representing roughly 10% of global trade. Saudi Arabia contributes approximately 4 to 5 million metric tons annually through SABIC and related producers. Oman and the UAE add several million metric tons combined. Collectively, more than 15 million metric tons of annual export capacity sits inside the Gulf. If you broaden the lens to include ammonia and related nitrogen products, the exposure rises further. Unlike oil, fertilizer markets lack a meaningful strategic buffer. The United States maintains a Strategic Petroleum Reserve with hundreds of millions of barrels of crude. There is no equivalent stockpile of nitrogen fertilizer ready to offset a prolonged disruption. Fertilizer trade operates largely on a just-in-time basis. Seasonal demand spikes align with planting cycles, and inventories are not built to absorb major geopolitical shocks. Why Timing Amplifies the Risk Agriculture is governed by biology and weather. In the Northern Hemisphere, fertilizer procurement accelerates ahead of spring planting. If shipments are delayed during that window, farmers face difficult choices: reduce nitrogen application rates, switch crops, or accept higher costs. Lower nitrogen application generally translates into lower yields. Even modest reductions in application rates can trim output in corn, wheat, and ricethe staples that anchor global calorie supply. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough The world saw a version of this dynamic in 2022 following Russias invasion of Ukraine. Fertilizer prices surged, and farmers in several regions scaled back usage in response. Yields proved resilient in some areas, but the episode underscored how sensitive food systems are to fertilizer availability and pricing. Replacing 10 to 20 million metric tons of annual export capacity from the Gulf would not be straightforward. New ammonia plants require years to permit and construct. Existing facilities outside the region typically operate near capacity. Incremental supply cannot simply be switched on in the middle of a planting season. Global Exposure Runs Deep The reliance on Gulf nitrogen is widespread. India depends heavily on imported LNGmuch of it from Qatarto fuel its domestic urea production. If gas flows are interrupted, Indian fertilizer output would tighten just as planting cycles approach. Brazil, one of the worlds largest agricultural exporters, imports substantial volumes of Middle Eastern urea. Soybean and corn production in regions such as Mato Grosso relies on consistent fertilizer deliveries. Any sustained disruption would quickly tighten global grain balances. The United States is a major fertilizer producer, but it is not insulated. A significant portion of U.S. urea imports transits Hormuz. Domestic producers cannot rapidly add millions of metric tons of new supply to replace disrupted imports. This is not a regional supply issue. It is a structural vulnerability embedded in the global agricultural system. The Overlooked Transmission Channel Oil price spikes are immediate and visible. Gasoline prices adjust in real time, and financial markets respond within minutes. Fertilizer disruptions operate on a slower but potentially more consequential timeline. Reduced nitrogen availability today can translate into lower crop yields months later. That eventually shows up in tighter inventories, higher feed costs, and elevated food prices. Modern agriculture is fundamentally an energy conversion system: natural gas becomes ammonia; ammonia becomes nitrogen fertilizer; fertilizer becomes calories. If the Strait of Hormuz faces sustained disruption, the most important price to monitor may not be Brent crude. It may be urea benchmarks and ammonia export flows. Energy security and food security are intertwined. When a single chokepoint handles a large fraction of both oil and nitrogen fertilizer trade, the implications extend well beyond the fuel market. The headlines may focus on tankers and crude prices. The more enduring story could unfold in the food supply. By Robert Rapier More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The conflict has caused significant regional disruption, including air travel halts, Western-country evacuations, an Iranian warship sinking off Sri Lanka, and French President Macron cautioning Israel against a ground offensive in Lebanon. The US Senate rejected a measure that would have required Congress to authorize further military strikes, as Republicans argued the President has commander-in-chief authority for the ongoing operations. US and Israeli forces are continuing a joint military campaign against Iran, which has included the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the rapid depletion of Tehran's ballistic missile arsenal. US and Israeli forces continued to strike Iran, while the US Senate rejected a bid that would have limited President Donald Trump's authority to continue military action against the Middle East country without congressional approval. Trump earlier on March 4 said any Iranian officials who seek to assume top positions to replace Iran's fallen leaders "end up dead" and he vowed the United States and Israel will "continue forward" in the joint military campaign against the country. "We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead," Trump told a meeting with technology sector leaders at the White House on March 4. "We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump said. The president vowed no let up with the joint air campaign that has killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other security, military, and political leaders. Trump said Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly." Trump has said he ordered the attack on Iran to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon but has also said he wants Tehran to cease its ballistic missile program and to end violence against anti-government protesters, thousands of whom were killed in a brutal crackdown in recent weeks. Seeking to counter concerns of American '"boots on the ground" in the war, the White House on March 4 said deployment of US ground troops in Iran is "not part of the plan for this operation at this time." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, meanwhile, said the two allies had made "historic gains" in their war -- about to enter its sixth day -- against Iran. Related: No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing? "Israel and the United States have together made historic gains to protect our citizens and the civilized world," government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said in a video message. Bedrosian also claimed the attack on Iran was necessary as Tehran was rebuilding its nuclear weapons program in "new underground bunkers" and that there were signs it planned "to attack Israel and US forces in the region," without providing details. Republicans Oppose Curbs On War Powers The US Senate measure would have required Congress to authorize further strikes, but Republicans largely opposed it, arguing that the president has commander-in-chief authority to direct ongoing operations. Democrats cast the vote as a constitutional test. Chuck Schumer of New York said lawmakers must decide whether to send "sons and daughters into harm's way." Republican leaders defended the president. John Thune of South Dakota said Trump is acting to protect US forces, while Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the resolution unconstitutional. Disruptions In The Region Meanwhile, air travel disruptions continued across the Middle East as Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones against Israel and other regional countries that were hosts to American military assets. Western countries looked to evacuate thousands of their citizens who have been stranded in the Middle East following the launching by Washington and Tel Aviv of the massive air campaign on February 28. The US State Department said the first chartered flight to evacuate American citizens had left the Middle East on March 5, but it did not provide details. Related: Inside North Americas First Fully Integrated Rare Earth Facility NATO condemned Iran after the Western alliance's systems intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile before it could enter member Turkey's airspace. "NATO stands firmly with all Allies, including [Turkey], as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region," spokeswoman Allison Hart said on March 4. "Our deterrence and defense posture remain strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense," she added. A State Department spokesman said, "Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss recent developments in Iran and throughout the Middle East." "The secretary told the foreign minister that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States," the spokesman said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia early on March 5 said it had intercepted three cruise missiles heading toward the country, long a bitter rival of Iran and host to US military bases. "Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj," the Saudi Defense Ministry posted on X. No casualties or damages were reported in the desert kingdom. Iranian Submarine Sunk Earlier, US defense chief Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. Hegseth called the strike -- which left at least 87 seamen dead with dozens of others injured or missing -- "quiet death." Sri Lankan authorities said 32 Iranian sailors were rescued. Macron Cautions Israel Meanwhile, Israel stepped up its attacks on strongholds of Iran-allied Hezbollah forces in Lebanon after the group launched missiles into northern Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron on March 4 said he urged Netanyahu to refrain from launching a ground offensive in Lebanon. "I reiterated the necessity for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israel and beyond. This escalatory strategy is a grave mistake that puts the entire region at risk," Macron wrote on X. "I also called on the Israeli Prime Minister to preserve the integrity of Lebanese territory and to refrain from launching a ground offensive. It is crucial for the parties to return to the ceasefire agreement," Macron added. Reports indicate that Israeli ground forces have already crossed the border into Lebanon, although details remain unclear. By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Asias spot LNG prices fell on Thursday from the three-year high hit on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged the United States would immediately provide political risk insurance and guarantees for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump also noted that the U.S. Navy would escort energy tankers in the region if needed. Although the plan has yet to come to fruition, spot LNG prices in Asia retreated slightly on Thursday from the $25.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu)a three-year high, hit on Wednesday. The Asian spot LNG price slipped to $23.80 per MMBtu on Thursday, traders told Bloomberg. Despite the pullback, the price has now more than doubled from last week before the war started and before Qatar, the worlds second-largest LNG exporter, halted LNG production. Related: The U.S. Just Took a Giant Step in The Rare Earth Race With China QatarEnergy on Wednesday also declared force majeure to its affected buyers as tankers are not passing through the Strait of Hormuz right now. LNG shipments from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which jointly account for about 20% of global LNG supply, are now off the market, after QatarEnergy announced a pause to LNG production at its Ras Laffan hub and no tankers pass through the Strait. As traffic via the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, the LNG supply shock to Asia is immediate, with Europe feeling the secondary effects of 20% of global LNG supply offline. As a result, both Asias spot LNG prices and Europes TTF benchmark gas prices have soared in recent days to multi-year highs. A total of 85% of Qatars LNG exports go to Asia, so the immediate physical supply crunch is skewed toward Asia, says Florence Yu, Associate LNG Market Analyst at Vortexa. China, India, and Taiwan are among the importers most exposed to this risk, Yu added. India, one of the most price-sensitive LNG buyers in Asia, is opting for lowering gas supply to industrial customers, rather than buying LNG at the current elevated prices. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Dozens of Indian and South Korean oil tankers and more than 1,100 crew are currently stranded in and around the Persian Gulf as the critical chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz remains de facto closed to tanker traffic. As many as seven crude oil tankers from South Korean refiners are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, Businesskorea reported on Thursday. The delay in crude shipments to Korea, which imports all of its crude and gas supply, could have major repercussions on energy security and the refining and petrochemicals sectors in the country, executives say. If the Iran situation is prolonged, it could pose a significant burden across the board, from energy and shipping industries to Middle East export projects, Kim Chang-beom, standing vice chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation, said at a meeting in South Koreas Parliament on Thursday. Related: Trumps Secret Weapon in the Rare Earth War South Korean refinery officials noted that one of the stranded tankers has already loaded 2 million barrels of crude from the Middle Easta volume thats equivalent to one day of oil consumption in the country. The executives called for talks with the South Korean government about the potential to release crude from reserves. At the same time, as many as 37 India-flagged ships with more than 1,100 crew in total are also stranded around the Strait of Hormuz. A total of 37 Indian-flagged ships with 1,109 sailors are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the adjoining sea areas due to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian official with knowledge of the matter told local news outlet PTI earlier this week. Tanker traffic activity through the Strait of Hormuz has crashed from 40 vessels per day transiting in January the narrow but vital shipping lane, to a single tanker making the trip on March 3, according to data from energy flows analytics firm Vortexa. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com A drone strike hit oil infrastructure in Bahrains Maameer industrial area, according to multiple early reports Thursday morning, raising concerns about the vulnerability of Gulf refining assets as regional tensions escalate. The Maameer area is home to infrastructure connected to BAPCOs refining operations. While full details remain limited, early reports indicate an Iranian ballistic missile attack targeted energy infrastructure in the industrial zone rather than upstream production. Authorities have not yet released a full damage assessment, although reports mention several large fires at Bahrain Petroleum Companys primary refinery. It remains unclear whether refinery operations have been disrupted. Editors' Update: Bahrain's BAPCO confirms a strike on its 405k b/d Sitra refinery; no casualties were confirmed. BAPCO claims that the refinery is still operational and that the fire has been contained. Several large fires are currently burning at the primary refinery for the Bahrain Petroleum Company in Ma'ameer, following a short-range ballistic missile attack against the facility and other nearby infrastructure by Iran. pic.twitter.com/LvAd1LQ0KB OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 5, 2026 Energy markets reacted quickly to the reports, with refining margins widening as traders moved to price in the risk of supply disruptions. Crack spreadsan indicator of refinery profitability that measures the price difference between crude oil and refined products such as gasoline and dieselhave been climbing as markets begin to focus on refining capacity as a potential pressure point. Diesel margins, tracked by the ICE gasoil crack spread against Brent, widened as traders priced in potential refinery disruptions in the Gulf. ICE low-sulfur gasoil futures surged more than $100 per metric ton in early trading, far outpacing gains in Brent crude, which rose only a few dollars per barrel as traders brace for potential disruptions to diesel and jet fuel supply. In recent days, attacks and threats against energy infrastructure across the Gulf have increasingly shifted attention away from crude production and toward the refining system that turns crude into usable fuels. Global crude supply is typically buffered by inventories and spare production capacity, allowing markets time to adjust to supply losses. Refining capacity, however, is far less flexible. Damage to a refinery can tighten product markets almost immediately, pushing up prices for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Bahrains refining sector may be modest compared with those of Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, but it remains an important hub for refined fuel supply in the Gulf. The country has also spent years expanding and upgrading its refining system, increasing its role in producing diesel and other products for export. Traders are now watching closely for confirmation of operational disruptions. Depending on the extent of the damage, the incident could further tighten already stressed product markets and add another layer of volatility to global energy prices. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Colombias state-controlled oil giant Ecopetrol may increase spending and boost output if elevated oil prices persist amid the escalating Middle East conflict, the companys chief executive said Thursday. Benchmark Brent crude has surged to its highest level in more than a year following U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and disruptions to exports from the Persian Gulf. Brent climbed to more than $85 per barrel this week, up from roughly $70 before the conflict erupted on February 28. Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa told analysts during the companys quarterly earnings call that the firm is closely watching market developments and could adjust capital spending to take advantage of stronger prices. We will of course be reviewing the situation, Roa said. If we see the potential for higher investments we will adjust our capex to be on the higher range of our guidance, with the capability of increasing production on a short term basis. Ecopetrol has budgeted between $5.4 billion and $6.7 billion in capital expenditures this year. About 57% of that spending is allocated to exploration and production, while power subsidiary ISA accounts for roughly 25%. Downstream operations represent 7%, midstream activities 6%, and energy transition initiatives about 5%. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough Ecopetrol previously projected slightly lower production this year. The company expects average output of 730,000 to 740,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, compared with 751,000 barrels per day in H1 last year. As of November 2025, their 2026 production plans were based on just $60 Brent. Company executives cautioned that the ultimate impact of the Middle East conflict remains uncertain. Chief Financial Officer Camilo Barco said it was too early to determine how the geopolitical crisis might affect Ecopetrols finances, noting that higher crude prices could be partially offset by rising shipping and transportation costs. It depends on how long the conflict will last and the extent to which it affects exporters in that region, Barco said. Stronger crude prices could increase demand for Colombian barrels and refined products, Barco added, but freight rates have already surged sharply amid the turmoil. Shipping costs are currently running roughly 150% to 160% higher, potentially eroding some of the gains from higher oil prices. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Exxon has scheduled its first-ever gasoline shipment from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Australia amid a global fuel export crunch because of the war in the Middle East. The shipment is one of two scheduled for this month, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. The two shipments together will total 600,000 barrels, mostly of gasoline but also including other refined products. According to the report, the freight cost of the shipments would come in at $6 million, or $20 per barrel. This is costlier than shipping fuel from Asia, the report noted, citing analysts as saying the exporting of refined oil products from the Gulf Coast to Australia are unlikely to become sustainable even with the current disruption of crude oil supplies to Asian refiners. Exxon operates three fuel import terminals in Australia but has been sourcing the fuel from Asia. Right now, however, Asian refiners are grappling with the fallout from severe tanker traffic disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, with China already imposing curbs on fuel exports. Related: Inside North Americas First Fully Integrated Rare Earth Facility In Asia, Thailand, India, Korea and the Philippines are the most vulnerable to higher oil prices, due to their high import dependence, while Malaysia would be a relative beneficiary since it is an energy exporter, Nomura analysts wrote in a note, cited by CNBC, earlier this week. However, it seems that fuel exporters in Asia beg to differ and are prioritizing domestic supply security over exports. Meanwhile, Korean media reported that seven oil tankers operated by Korean refiners were stranded in the Persian Gulf because of the Hormuz traffic disruption. Other reports identify no fewer than 37 India-flagged vessels, including oil tankers and LNG carriers as also in the Strait or the Gulf of Oman, some of them loaded with the respective fuels and others waiting to load. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has pushed Brent crude close to $85 per barrel, with WTI at over $77.50 at the time of writing. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Japans oil refiners, which source about 95% of their crude supply from the Middle East, are calling on the Japanese government to tap the strategic petroleum reserves to ensure smooth operations and crude for refineries as the Middle East war escalates. Japanese refiners are in talks with the government to potentially access strategic stockpiles and oil stored in tanks that are leased to producing countries, anonymous sources with knowledge of the development told Bloomberg on Thursday. On Tuesday, Ryosei Akazawa, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, said that the government has no immediate plans to release crude from the strategic reserves. Japan is heavily reliant on crude from the Middle Eastit sources about 95% of its crude oil supply from the region, mostly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar. Of these Middle Eastern supplies, about 70% typically arrive in Japan on tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Related: The U.S. Just Took a Giant Step in The Rare Earth Race With China But the worlds most critical oil transit chokepoint has been effectively closed to tanker traffic since the beginning of the week after the war in the Middle East escalated and shipowners stopped passing the narrow lane while insurers clubs ended war risk coverage for vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. As one of the oil importers most reliant on crude supply from the Middle East, Japan, a G-7 economy, faces high risk of delays of crude deliveries. Japan, however, can rely on a large enough reserve and is a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which requires member states to ensure oil stock levels equivalent to no less than 90 days of net imports and to be ready to collectively respond to severe supply disruptions affecting the global oil market. At the end of 2025, Japan had 254 days of oil reserves, including 146 days worth of consumption in national reserves, and more than 100 days of inventories with the private sector. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The global LNG shipping market has turned sharply higher in recent days, with charter rates for modern LNG carriers surging from roughly $40,000 last week to around $300,000 per day as traders scramble to secure vessels amid escalating disruption in the Middle East. According to shipbroker Fearnleys latest weekly LNG report, cited by Riviera Maritime Media, daily spot charter rates for 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers along the U.S. Gulf-Europe route have climbed to approximately $300,000 per day, up about $260,000 compared with last week. Rates on the key U.S. Gulf-Asia route covering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China have also surged to $300,000 per day from $42,000 on February 25, while the Australia-to-Asia route has risen to roughly $255,000 per day. Fearnleys said charterers are now paying as much as 10 times last weeks levels to secure prompt tonnage as the market braces for a potential disruption of LNG flows from the Middle East. The surge comes as the regional conflict involving Iran has begun to disrupt the global LNG trade. Qatar halted LNG production earlier this week and declared force majeure for some buyers, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stalled amid security concerns. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates together account for roughly 20% of global LNG supply, making the disruption immediately significant for global gas markets. Related: No Missiles, No Drones: What Happens When Rare Earths Stop Flowing? Shipping brokers say the spike reflects more than just a sudden scramble for vessels. With Qatars production halted and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz severely disruptyed, traders are already preparing for longer shipping routes and tighter vessel availability. Cargoes that would normally move short distances from the Gulf to Asia may now have to be sourced from the United States, Australia, or West Africa, increasing voyage lengths and pushing up demand for LNG carriers. Asia is expected to feel the immediate impact. Around 85% of Qatars LNG exports normally go to Asian buyers, with major importers including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan heavily dependent on those volumes. The disruption is already reshaping LNG pricing dynamics between Asia and Europe. Traders told Bloomberg that Asian spot LNG prices reached $25.40 per million British thermal units earlier this week before easing slightly to $23.80 after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would provide political risk guarantees and naval escort support for energy tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Even with the pullback, LNG prices remain roughly double the levels seen before the conflict escalated and before Qatar halted production, leaving traders scrambling for both cargoes and vessels as the global LNG market tightens. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett conceded losing the Texas' Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate against state Rep. James Talarico, saying that the party must "rally around our nominee." "I'm committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot," Crockett added on Wednesday. The Associated Press called the race as Talarico had over 53% of the vote, compared to Crockett's 45.5%, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office. "Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope," Talarico told supporters at a rally on Tuesday before the race was called. "And a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing." Talarico also said that "we are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it's working." He outperformed his opponent with White and Hispanic voters, while Crockett won among Black voters. The Democratic candidate will face the winner between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after neither managed to get more than 50% of the vote in the Republican primary. The candidates have been clashing fiercely, with Cornyn saying on Tuesday that he refuses to "allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years." "There is simply too much at stake in this midterm election for our state and for our country." Cornyn's performance was better than expected, getting over 42% of the vote, compared to Paxton's 40.9%. Rep. Wesley Hunt got 13.2% of the support. Paxton, in turn, took aim at Cornyn, accusing him of working closely with Democrats while in office, including on gun control legislation. "For too long he sold us out to Democrats," he said. Politico reported that both public and private polls have shown close races between Talarico and either Cornyn or Paxton. However, he is more likely at the moment to beat the attorney general than the incumbent senator. Talarico said he can beat either of them. "I think both of them are extraordinarily weak," he told the outlet. ""Paxton and Cornyn, they're different. Paxton was guilty of illegal corruption. That's why my colleagues and I impeached him in the Texas House. But Cornyn is guilty of legalized corruption. He was the deciding vote on the Big, Ugly, Bill which kicked millions of Texas off their health care, took food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids all to give tax breaks to his donors," he claimed. Originally published on Latin Times Shell and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement for oil and gas exploration in the Zhanaturmys block in western Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said on Thursday. The agreement signed by Kazakhstans Deputy Energy Minister Yerlan Akbarov and Suzanne Coogan, Senior Vice President and Country Chair at Shell Kazakhstan entails seismic exploration, data collection, and technical assessment of potential oil and gas resources in the Zhanaturmys block. The contract will run until 2032, considering the scale and technical complexity of the exploration project in the block that spans 1,377 square kilometers, or 532 square miles, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said. The Zhanaturmys block is located in one of Kazakhstans most promising oil and gas basins and could hold significant potential for expansion of hydrocarbon exploration in the country, the ministry added. Shells Coogan commented that the agreement reaffirms Shells commitment to long-term cooperation with Kazakhstan, the energy ministry said. Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough Shell and other international majors are currently locked in lawsuits and international arbitration with Kazakhstan over two major producing projects in the country. The international oil companies operating the giant Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan last month initiated an arbitration process to challenge a massive $5-billion fine for allegedly exceeding sulfur storage limits at a processing facility at the second biggest oilfield in the OPEC+ producer. The Kashagan oilfield is being developed by the North Caspian Project consortium of international majors, including Shell, and Kazakhstans state oil firm KazMunayGas. Kazakhstan has several arbitration cases with as much as $166 billion in claims against the majors for damages, mostly because of lost revenues from delays at the Kashagan oilfield. We think that theres still a lot of potential investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, but we will hold until we have better line of sight to where things end up, Shells chief executive officer Wael Sawan told analysts during the Q4 earnings call last month, referring to the lawsuits. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Two tankers carrying Russian crude initially to East Asia have now diverted to India, Bloomberg has reported, as Asia grapples with an oil supply crunch amid the Strait of Hormuz traffic freeze. The two vessels are carrying some 1.4 million barrels of Urals and are expected to arrive at their new destinations by the end of the week, the report said, citing ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa. In fact, one of them, a Suezmax carrying 730,000 barrels of Urals, has already arrived at a port on Indias east coast. The other, an Aframax with a cargo of 700,000 barrels, is seen arriving at Vadinar, on Indias west coast, today. Earlier this week, Bloomberg again reported that India was considering returning to buying Russian crude amassed in floating storage in Asia as the war in Iran and Tehrans retaliatory strikes in the region have severely disrupted oil flows from the Middle East. The state-held refiners of India, the worlds third-largest oil importer, and Indian government officials met over the weekend to discuss emergency supply plans following the major escalation in the Middle East. These plans include a potential return of Indian refiners purchasing Russian oil, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Bloomberg. Related: Magnet Wars: How the U.S. Plans to Break Chinas Grip on Rare Earths Indian refiners sharply reduced their intake of Russian oil following the imposition of sanctions by the United States on Russias two biggest exportersRosneft and Lukoillast November. As a result, flows fell to 1.2 million barrels daily in December 2025. This was the lowest daily rate since 2022, with volumes falling further to barely over 1.1 million barrels daily in January. The rate remained flat in February, according to Vortexa, which noted that Indian refiners had diversified away from Russian crude with Middle Eastern gradesthe ones currently paralysed by the Strait of Hormuz crisis. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Angelita Sanchez Joins Lawsuit Challenging Legislatures Attempt to Shift Gas Tax Referendum By Angelita Sanchez, LINN COUNTY, OR Sweet Home City Councilor and House District 11 candidate Angelita Sanchez has joined a statewide lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 1599, arguing the legislature cannot move a voter-qualified gas tax referendum from the November 2026 General Election to the low-turnout May primary. More than 250,000 Oregonians signed petitions placing the transportation tax on the November ballot. The petition sheets clearly stated the vote would occur in the November General Election. Changing that election after the signatures were gathered would alter the terms presented to every voter who signed the petition. Along with Senator Bruce Starr, Representative Ed Diehl, and Jason Williams of the Oregon Taxpayers Association as petitioners, the lawsuit includes citizen plaintiffs from across Oregon representing counties statewide. Sanchez did not simply support the referendum. She helped execute it. She personally circulated petitions across House District 11, often standing for hours in the cold and rain explaining the measure and verifying voter eligibility. She reviewed petition sheets for compliance with Oregon election law and hand-delivered completed petitions for submission. On multiple occasions, Sanchez drove across the ice-covered Santiam Pass, carrying tens of thousands of completed petition sheets to deliver them in person and on time. After the referendum qualified, Sanchez reviewed Oregons constitutional referendum processes, language and historical election precedents at the Oregon State Archives. The law is clear, Sanchez said. If citizens qualify a referendum for the November General Election, it goes to November. Changing the date after the fact is unconstitutional. I stood in the rain alongside volunteers collecting signatures and carried tens of thousands of petitions across an ice-covered Santiam Pass to get them delivered, Sanchez said. The people followed the law. Now politicians are trying to change the rules after the fact. Sanchez said the issue reflects a broader principle about voter approval for major tax increases. As a five-year Sweet Home City Councilor, I did not raise extreme taxes or impose new fees without voter input, Sanchez said. Major tax and fee increases should go before the people. The lawsuit seeks expedited judicial review of whether the legislature can retroactively change the election date of a certified referendum. There are two legislative bodies in Oregon, Sanchez said. The one in Salem and the people. I will not stand by while the will of the people in House District 11 is manipulated. By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com The Oregon protest over the weekend against the Iran conflict was filled with protest signs against ICE. This made interesting bedfellows of the No war and No ICE movement. In a way, the worlds most terrorist supporting nation is given a pass, while local law enforcement is compared to fascists. Was this article helpful? If yes, please contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). City monitoring ATMS: Company fined and machines shut down for noncompliance Playa del Carmen, Q.R. A company with money machines along central Playa del Carmen tourist areas has been fined. The company was fined more than 45,000 pesos along with the closure of several if its ATMs for noncompliance. The City of Playa del Carmen proceeded to close the machines and fine the company for failing to comply with regulations. The Director of PDC Collections and Auditing, Julian Lara Maldonado, said this closure was part of the 2025 end-of-year inspections carried out in the tourist areas. The company was fined for noncompliance with city regulations. March 2026. Lara explained that toward the end of 2025, city inspectors reviewed Playa del Carmen ATMs and found numerous machines operating without the proper permits. At the time, several were shut down until the paperwork was brought up to date. However, the company that owns these particular machines did not do that. Since the city applied the administrative procedures, the owning company came forward. According to Lara, as soon as the fine is paid, the closure seals will be removed from the machines. He also noted that during their inspections, there has not been any cases of card cloning, something that was a problem several years ago. Since the the dismantling of an international network found cloning cards at ATMs in several regions of Mexico, including Cancun and Riviera Maya, there have not been any more cases. Lara says there are 45 ATMs in the central tourist areas of Playa del Carmen that are monitored on a regular basis. Investigators continue search for gunmen in fatal Puerto Morelos car attack Puerto Morelos, Q.R. Homicide investigators continue their search for the gunmen responsible for a fatal Puerto Morelos attack. Two cars traveling municipal roads were involved in the deadly shooting that took place early Wednesday. Police were alerted to the sound of gunfire by local Puerto Morelos workers around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. At the scene of the shooting, police found a car of five shot people. The shooting happened during a chase along municipal roads that ended on the federal highway approximately three kilometers south of the seaside town. All five inside the car were shot. Two died shortly after the shooting. March 4, 2026. One person, a male driver, was found dead behind the wheel. Four others inside the private vehicle were found alive and transferred to different hospitals. Three were transferred by ambulance to the General Hospital of Cancun for gunshot wounds. One male was shot in a leg, while another was grazed in an arm. The third person suffered two gunshots about the head. One to his face and the other, in the back of his head. He was admitted in critical condition and died in hospital. The fourth shot person inside the car was transferred to a Playa del Carmen hospital in serious condition with two gunshots to the back and a graze to his head. According to available information, the five males were traveling in a black car when they became the target of another vehicle. A chase ensued with the other car firing at the first. While trying to escape the other vehicle, the driver of the black car drove through municipal streets while being shot at, which alerted the nighttime workers to the sound of gunfire. In response, they called police. The other vehicle eventually caught up with the black car and opened fire against it, hitting everyone inside. By the time police arrived, all five had been shot in the targeted attack. Local authorities have not made any public comment on the early morning shooting. Police have not announced a possible motive or the arrests of any suspects. SSC arrest Holbox drug trafficker after island security increased Holbox, Q.R. One person has been taken into custody from the island of Holbox on drug trafficking offences. His arrest came several days after a military operation to locate criminal drug houses and cells operating on the island. On February 26, a large group of police and military raided at least two buildings on the island of Holbox in response to complaints. Islanders reported residential houses being used to sell narcotics. Businesses and street vendors had reported extortion attempts. In response, buildings were raided and military security stepped up on the island. On Wednesday, the SSC (Secretary of Citizen Security) reported on the arrest of one male from the island. He was arrested after patrolling officers saw him handling, what was believed to be, street bags of drugs. During his arrest, police seized marijuana and crystal meth. In custody is Antonio Agustin N for drug trafficking. In a statement, the SSC said Antonio Agustin N was arrested for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Officers from the Citizen Security Secretariats Centurion Group, in coordination with the Mexican Navy and the National Defense Secretariat, noticed a man handling several small, clear plastic bags containing a green, leafy substance resembling marijuana. The incident occurred on Coatzacoalcos Street, between Damero Avenue and Lazaro Cardenas Street on Holbox Island, in the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas, where the corresponding inspection was carried out. The following items were seized: one reusable shopping bag, 53 small, clear Ziploc-type plastic bags containing a green, leafy substance resembling marijuana, and 17 small, clear plastic bags containing crystalline fragments resembling crystal methamphetamine. The suspect was turned over to the Specialized Prosecutors Office for Combating Drug Trafficking. Police have not said if they suspect he is part of a criminal cell operating on the island. Trump administration officials have acknowledged that Iran's Shahed attack drones are a major challenge, and it is unlikely U.S. forces will be able intercept them all. The admission was made in a closed-door briefing with lawmakers, CNN reported. Among the issues U.S. forces face is the sheer volume of drones Iran has and can manufacture. "The Iranians do have the ability to make a lot of Shahed drones, ballistic missiles, medium range, short range and they've got a huge stockpile. So at some point ... this becomes a math problem and how can we resupply air defense munitions. Where are they going to come from?" Sen. Mark Kelly told CNN. The risk for U.S. forces is that the volume of cheap drones could exhaust U.S. resources. Bloomberg News reported that while U.S. Patriot missiles have been able to take out the drones with interception rates of over 90 percent, the drones cost about $20,000 each, while the missiles cost around $4 million each. "Attrition strategy makes operational sense from Iran's perspective," Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think-tank told Bloomberg News. "They are calculating the defenders will exhaust their interceptors and the political will of Gulf states will crack and put pressure on the US and Israel to cease operations before they run out of missiles and drones." CNN reported that in the briefing, the administration tried to downplay concerns about munitions, telling lawmakers that Gulf state partners had been stockpiling interceptors. The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran began on February 28. The nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and key leaders within the regime were killed within the first minutes of the assault. Regardless, Iran has fought back launching numerous missiles and drones targeting oil and gas infrastructure of neighboring countries. They also have attempted to disrupt the supply chain, attacking ships, ports, and announcing that ships attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz would be attacked. The regime also has lashed out at U.S. bases in the region. As of 4 p.m., March 2, U.S. Central Command reported that six U.S. service members had been killed since the military operation began. Originally published on IBTimes CGTN: U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran have ratcheted up regional tensions. What has China done to engage with various parties and deescalate the situation? What else will China do in the future? Mao Ning: China is gravely concerned over the tense situation in the Middle East. Over the past few days, China has intensively reached out to various parties. Foreign Minister Wang Yi had phone calls with his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Oman, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for in-depth exchanges of views on regional situation. He stressed that purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed and arbitrary use of force in international relations should be rejected. He pointed out that the military operations must stop at once, early return to dialogue and negotiation must be achieved, and further escalation of the tensions and spread of the conflict must be avoided. He called on parties to the conflict to earnestly fulfill their international obligations, ensure civilians safety, and avoid any attack against civilian facilities. The protraction and escalation of the conflict serves no ones interest. China believes that war and force cannot solve issues once and for all, dialogue and negotiation are the right solutions, and political and diplomatic settlement of disputes and differences should be upheld. China will continue to work with all parties, including parties to the conflict, to maintain communication, further engage with other parties, and build consensus. China will send Zhai Jun, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue, to the Middle East soon to work actively for the deescalation of the tensions. EFE: On Chinas plan to send a special envoy to the Middle East, I have a question: when does China plan to send its special envoy on Middle East affairs to the region, and what mandate will he have for the mediation efforts? Mao Ning: Information on the specifics of the visit of the Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue will be released in due course. Please check back for updates. Bloomberg: Police in the UK arrested three men accused of helping Chinas spies. One of them is married to a sitting Labour Member of Parliament. Would the Ministry like to comment about this? Mao Ning: We always oppose peddling the so-called China spy narrative, smearing China and misleading public opinion. Reuters: Yesterday the Philippine government said it had apprehended some of its citizens on suspicion of spying for China in what it calls a serious national security matter for the Philippines. The Philippines said that the operations of these individuals have been terminated. Whats the Ministrys response to this claim and the actions the Philippines has taken? Mao Ning: It seems that some people have been enthusiastic about peddling so-called China spy narratives. Let me stress that we reject ill-intentioned association and politically motivated presumption of guilt in the absence of detailed information on the case and clear evidence. AFP: About the war in the Middle East. According to Bloomberg News, China has asked its largest oil refiner to stop exporting diesel and gasoline as the conflict raises some concerns about energy supplies. Can you confirm that China has asked its oil refiners to stop their exports? Mao Ning: I am not aware of what you mentioned. This article contains spoilers for Vladimir. Vladimir, a delightful novel by Julia May Jonas about a 58-year-old professor who becomes obsessed with a younger colleague as her husband faces discipline for past affairs with his undergraduate students, boasts certain elements that make it an obvious candidate for adaptation on Netflix. The older woman/younger man plot is popular of latesee Babygirl, The Idea of You, A Family Affair. So are dramas about #MeTood mentors, and even if After the Hunt was something of a failure, Tar was not. Vladimir is ultimately a story about an open marriage, the affairs each spouse undertook over decades, and a prospective affair that the books unnamed wife and narrator is hoping to enter into. On the face of it, its spicy, and the narrator has a tart, specific way of looking at the world, as when she describes herself as an oldish white woman in her late fifties (the identity I am burdened with publicly presenting, to my general embarrassment). All of this could add up to something sharp and enjoyable to watch. So it comes as a surprising disappointment that the adaptation, a newly released eight-episode miniseries created by the books author and starring Rachel Weisz as the narrator (here given the initial M.), Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) as the eponymous Vladimir, and John Slattery (Mad Men) as the narrators husband John, is a pretty husk of the novel that made every year-end best-of list back in 2022. Can Netflix make a show about an older womans sudden lust that is sexy, thoughtful, and literary, the way Vladimir the book is? The answer, Im afraid, is no. The first problem is that Weisz, at 55, is simply too pretty for this. The shows writers have written her well-preserved look, far more fitting for an actress than a professor, into the story. When M. is meeting with the similarly aged wife of the college president, her peer seethes with jealousy, asking her, What are you doing to your face? But the novels narrator is absolutely fixated on her own body, with the astuteness of somebody who understands how ridiculous shes being, but cannot stop. Looking in the mirror, assessing herself critically, the narrator notes the webbing around my eyes, my frowning jowls, and the shriveled space between my claviclesnone of these being problems that, to the viewers sharp eye, afflicted Weisz at the time of filming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I felt desperation at the idea that I would never captivate anyone ever again, the narrator thinks in the book. A man might make a concession for me based on mutual agreeability, shared crinkliness, but he wouldnt, he couldnt, be in my thrall. Her crush on Vladimir, a handsome fortysomething novelist with a weightlifting hobby whose last well-reviewed book has endowed him with a certain amount of literary heat, emerges from her attraction to his body, but also from her desperate feeling like this is a last chance to prove something to herself about her sexual relevance. While the show adapts these thoughts into a wry little direct-to-camera speech at the beginning of Episode 1, it makes no sense here: In what universe has Rachel Weisz lost the ability to captivate? Given this beautiful face, the characters insecurity around aging has to take on a different meaningone the show cant quite decide upon, so its lost. Advertisement The books narrator is an English professor whose last novel, published 15 years ago, was quietly received. Although she denigrates her own abilities as a writer (her assessment of her own career is utterly ruthless: My work was simply not enoughnot loud enough, not enough, not realistic enough, not poetic enough, not funny enough, not speculative enough, not good enough), a love for literature and writerly interest in the vicissitudes of human experience are built into her character. When she worries that if she divorces her husband, her social status will fall, even with her own adult daughterI would be tolerated as long as it was clear I appreciated the cots, the sofa beds, the small bedrooms. I would have to demonstrate gratitude for the scraps and crumbs of time, attention, money, and luxury that came my way. I would work for it, with early mornings watching the baby, or nights doing dishes after everyone fell asleepits a sharp social observation, and not one that has anything to do with her crush on Vladimir, except insofar as most concerns in the narrators mind are about getting old. None of this truly sad stuff is in the show, which favors, instead, far smaller and more instantly parseable intergenerational observations, like one about how annoying it is that everyone in and around this college town now says Youre fine instead of No worries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the former, M. asks the camera: Am I? Yes, the show uses direct address, with M. often breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the audience, a la Fleabag. Jonas said to Netflix that this was a way to make external internalizations, of which there are so many in the novel. But, adapted for Netflix, these become little more than small gestures toward the voice of the narrator, who, in the book, is the kind of person who would spin out speculation on the tone of one of Vladimirs text messages into a full page of overthinking, considering the ramifications of each word. This page, in the show, is boiled down to a brief one-liner. Who is the unnamed narrator? A hyperintelligent woman, applying all of her analytic power to the multiple emotional crises she finds herself navigating. Who is M.? A sassy, hot professor on the make. Advertisement One tension of the novel lies in the uncertainty over whether Vladimir has any sexual interest in the narrator. They do, eventually, have sex, but only after she drugs him and ties him up at her lake cabin, forcing their proximity, and spins a partial (perhaps unintentional) lie about his own wifes infidelity. The sex (in both show and book) is a good experience for the narrator and M., but narratively unsatisfying; it happens just the once. And its here that the two endings diverge in a way that explains a lot about why the adaptation just doesnt work. Advertisement Advertisement In the novel, after Vladimir and the narrator have sex, her husband arrives, and thats the end of that dalliance. The narrator goes to bed with John. Vladimir goes out on the lake to kayak, then sees the cabin go up in flames, a fire caused by the space heaters the group left on. He rescues the narrator and John, who each sustain significant burns requiring months of rehabilitation (and accelerating the narrators feeling that her time as an attractive person is over). Vladimir writes a novel about a younger man and an older woman, the latter of whom dies in a fire; that character is outfitted with many descriptions, similes, and metaphors that concern the loosening quality of her skina final confirmation to the narrator, if we needed one, that Vladimir noticed her age, and not in a flattering way. The narrator loses her own draft of a new novel in the fire. She starts another one, about a lady pirate. She speaks with one of the students her husband had an affair with, and seems to finally understand why what he did was harmful. Using settlement money from the space heater company, the narrator and John move to New York City and mostly retire from the college. In a somewhat less bitter callback to that passage about cots and sofas, they become caregivers for their grandchildand they enjoy it. Advertisement Advertisement The shows ending is far more flattering to M. Did I make it all up? M. asks Vladimir, second-guessing her understanding of their attraction, and he confesses that hed fantasized about her at the exact times that M. had had flashes of erotic reverie starring him (at a faculty meeting, at her house, in her pool). The younger man propositions her for a continual arrangement, asking if they can meet at the cabin once a week, cupping her breast and saying, You inspire me. Her husband arrives at the cabin, the three talk, and then sleep. When the fire breaks out, the three of them spring up and try to escape the house. M. chooses to brave the fire to rescue some legal pads shes been using to write a new novel, rather than stay with the two men and try to open a stuck door to the outside. We see her outside the house, describing the later success of her novel about a womans obsession with a younger colleague. Youre left wondering how the men could have gotten out, when, winking at us, M. says: Dont worry, I call 911, everyone gets out You dont believe me? Thats the last line of the show, leaving open a significant chance that M. mayas befits a woman who drugs and ties up the man shes obsessed withbe a teensy, tiny bit of a sociopath. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some reviewers of the novel found the narrator insufficiently meanshes a sheep in wolfs clothing, said the New York Timesand the books ending overly punitive toward the #MeTood professor and his finally faithful wife, who end up meek, partnered grandparents after living a transgressive life. Perhaps the shows ending, in which M. seems to get away with everythingthe affection of her husband, Vladimirs lust, her novel, and her freedomwas a rewrite intended to fix this problem. I want choices, I want options The kids call it agency, M. says to her husband. The shows episodes are each named after works of literature or criticismWe Have Always Lived in the Castle, Play It As It Lays, and so forth. The final episode, with this new conclusion for M., is Against Interpretation. Its a choice that seems to push the viewer away, asking us not to overthink it. For readers of the book, its far too late for that. Sign up for Executive Dysfunction, a weekly newsletter that surfaces under-the-radar stories about what Trump is doing to the lawand how the law is pushing back. There is a tendency among even the most committed adherents to the rule of law to respond with Nothing is gonna change nihilism to even big legal wins. This is also true of big legal losses. On this weeks Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick spoke with former Solicitor General of the United States Donald B. Verrilli Jr. about this propensity to dismiss the importance of Supreme Court wins and losses alike and the degree to which Chief Justice John Roberts has legitimately earned his recent glow-up. Verrilli served as solicitor general from 2011 to 2016. Hes now a partner with Munger Tolles & Olson, and he has handled a host of big recent cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including victories in Moore v. Harper, which rejected the independent state legislature theory, and California v. Texas, which again upheld the Affordable Care Act. As solicitor general, he argued some of the most consequential cases heard at SCOTUS in the Obama era, including the ACA case and Obergefell, which recognized the right to marriage equality. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Dahlia Lithwick: I want to ask you about the tariffs decision. The court is, by design, insulated from the world and covered in Bubble Wrap, thanks in part to the justices lifetime tenure. The justices dont care what youre doing out there on the plaza; they are just brains in a vat. This made us crazy during the insurrection case two terms ago, because if you listened to oral arguments in that case, you might never know that the insurrectionists were planning to hang Mike Pence across the street from the court. But the week before last, there was a really interesting turn where we saw that dynamic flipped completely on its head. You had the justices in the majority who seemed to care not at all that Donald Trump had been leveling real threats against them for months. Instead, they wrote what was in essence a series of dueling law-review articles on the major-questions doctrine. That raises this question for me: Is this worth a second look? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, the court is clueless and out of touchbut sometimes judicial independence and lifetime tenure is a good thing. This is part of a larger question of the Roberts glow-up that happened in the wake of this decision, where everybodys in love with him again. The chief justice didnt just mouth platitudes about judicial independence in this casethe court stood up for it, even if it was a day late and a dollar short. Is this a case of credit where its due? Donald Verrilli: I think I agree with you, but I worry that he may gravely disappoint you within months on some other matter, or on this very thing. Lets call it weeks, Don. Some people have looked at the tariffs case, for example, and said, Ah, theyre just voting their pocketbookstheyre just worried about the stock market. I dont think thats the case. I just dont think thats the way the chief justice or anybody else is thinking about it. I do think theyre acting in good faith, even if I disagree a lot with the exercise of judgment that good faith produces. Advertisement Advertisement If they were going to uphold the presidents use of the statutory authority to do these tariffs, they would have been blessing a wholesale transfer of a massive amount of power from Congress to the president. They just werent going to do that. Seeing the capricious way in which that power was being abused by the president, they werent going to do it. So I think they were cognizant of what was going on in the real world and exercising the independence that life tenure gives them. I think both things were going on at the same time. Advertisement But this decision did take a really long time to come down, and it felt as though the reason it took a really long time to come down is that some of the justices were honing their smart-ass responses. Is it fair to say this should have come out quick and clean in the interest of the people, or is there some merit in the degree of gratuitous intramural face-booping that happened throughout these opinions? Advertisement I think theres zero merit in that. This case was considered on an expedited basis in full recognition that every day that the case went unresolved, more and more tariff money was coming into the Federal Treasury, meaning there was a bigger problem every day. Thats a serious practical thing. Advertisement Advertisement But there was something even more serious to me, which was that this was a major confrontation between the president and the Supreme Court, and it was an issue of great consequence. This was Trumps most important policy initiative and foreign policy tool, and the court was telling him it was unlawful. It didnt seem like the right occasion to me for a lot of extended snipy back-and-forth about what the major-questions doctrine should call for. If you actually think about it, what Justice Amy Coney Barrett said, what Justice Neil Gorsuch said, what Justice Elena Kagan said in her concurrence, and what the chief justice said? There was a common core to it, which was: Use your common sense, man. Theres no possible way Congress meant to effectuate a wholesale transfer of all of this power to the president to basically decide how the federal government was going to be funded and what our international relations were going to be, all through tariffs. Advertisement Theres a huge temptation for the people who live outside the world of the Supreme Court to say: Nothing matters, the Roberts court is dead to me. Why are we bothering with any of this? And I think part of why were having this conversation is that sometimes that is too cynical, and sometimes, as was the case with the tariffs case, its just wrong. There isnt another place to go. You dont have an alternative Supreme Court where you can take your appeals if you dont like these decisions. Advertisement Advertisement How do you hold these two thoughts in your head at once: We cannot overstate how much people have been harmed by what has happened at the court in the past year, often on the shadow docket, where we dont even understand the reasoning, and, at the same time, This entire project still matters, taking cases to the court matters, finding plaintiffs still matters, being vindicated in this court still matters. How does this balance out in terms of how to approach the court in a clear-eyed and sober way but also a way that doesnt suggest This is utterly useless, burn it all down? Advertisement So, rather than talk about that in the abstract, how about something concrete? When I was a young lawyer, right after I finished clerking, the Supreme Court decided Bowers v. Hardwick, which was a case that rejected the idea that there was any constitutional protection for same-sex relationships, and the court rejected that in an opinion that was bitter and frankly demeaning in tone. That was the mid-1980s. It was a devastating blow for a lot of people, and I remember, for a very long time after that, people saying that there was no possible way the court was ever going to recognize any kind of dignitary equality for gay and lesbian people. A lot of people believed that. And maybe I was one of them. Advertisement Advertisement But then there was a movement out there in the country, and it was a bottom-up movement, and all kinds of organizing was happening, and people decided to bring lawsuits and find plaintiffs and engage in scholarship and do all that kind of work. It led, in the first phase, to the overruling of Bowers, in the Lawrence case, then progressed from there to Obergefell some years later. The court that decided Lawrence was by no stretch of the imagination a liberal court. It wasnt the Warren court; it was the Rehnquist court, and yet look what happened. It was because people maintained their commitment. Advertisement Advertisement Its a form of faithnot a naive faitha faith that recognizes that this is going to be a long fight, an uphill fight, and were going to lose things along the way, but what choice do we have? Its either this or give up entirely. Good things have happened when people decided not to give up entirely and held on to that kind of hard-nosed faith. Related From Slate A New Ruling Forces the Supreme Court to Confront the Trump Administrations Lies Under Oath Read More Think back to the people who founded the NAACP in the first part of the 20th century. Man, those people lost so many cases for so many decades. We like to think about Thurgood Marshall in 1954, but think about all the decades of struggle and loss that preceded that. And yet they kept faith. It was a hard-nosed faith, but they kept faith, and they got to Brown v. Board of Education. A lot of the people who started that fight in the early part of the 20th century never lived to see Brown, but they fought anyway, because they had that kind of commitment. Advertisement Advertisement To me, thats the right way to think about it. Its the right way to think about it now. A lot of stuff is bleak now, and I think huge damage has been done by the administration, and the court has given a lot of it a green light on the shadow docket, and I find that quite distressing. Nevertheless, I look at the course of our history, and I feel that theres reason to keep the faith. David French had an interesting piece in the New York Times last week declaring that the tariffs opinion was the most important case of the century. Im probably not there; I dont generally make declamations about the century within a week of things. But he did offer one helpful fix to this same problem of declaring that the courts just dont matter anymore. He writes: During Trumps second term, Ive likened the judiciary to the rear guard of a retreating army. A valiant delaying action can give the army a chance to reinforce, reorganize, and strike back. But if the army cant strike back, then rear guards merely delay defeat. The judiciary isnt perfect. But it is performing its core constitutional function. This echoes something Kim Lane Scheppele said to me at the beginning of the second Trump term, of resistance in terms of sand in the gears: Throw sand in the gears, make things take a long time, get attention. The courts of course have no purse, no sword, no army, cannot enforce their own decisions, judges across the country are being threatened with impeachment and doxxed and their families are being threatened, and yet some courts are doing a bang-up job of sand-in-the-gears, rear-guard action right now, and that shouldnt be trivialized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its even more than sand in the gears. Its probably still a rear-guard action, but maybe even more than that. I think about this in terms of the executive-order cases against the law firms, which Ive been involved in. One way of looking at that, a cynical way of looking at that, is Well, Trump won that. All these law firms cut deals. Well, yes, most law firms wouldnt stand up and fight, but some law firms did, and they got rulings that said that this kind of conduct by a president is antithetical to the rule of law. What if they hadnt stood up? Thats the way to think about it. What if those fights hadnt been fought? What if those judges hadnt issued those rulings? What would the world look like then? You would have an executive that was just on a rampage, with no one willing to stand up. I see the courage in standing up in federal district judges and a lot of court of appeals judges too, over and over and over again, in hundreds of cases, saying: No, no, rule of law matters. The Southern Command announced that U.S. forces have played a role in operations in Ecuador aimed at weakening "designated terrorist organizations" inside the South American country. Although few details were released about what the operations entail, the military suggested the effort is an extension of the strikes carried out by the Trump administration against suspected drug cartels in the region. Starting in September of last year, the Trump administration approved at least 45 military strikes against alleged drug boats in South America and the Caribbean, which left more than 150 people dead. On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism. Together, pic.twitter.com/MrkKZcrDbs U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) March 4, 2026 "We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco terrorists in their country," said Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command. U.S. Special Forces soldiers are advising and supporting Ecuadorian commandos on raids across the country targeting suspected drug shipment facilities and other drug related sites, according to a U.S. official who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The Americans are not believed to be participating in the actual raids but are helping Ecuadorian troops plan operations and providing intelligence and logistical support, the official said. Once considered one of the safest countries in Latin America, Ecuador has been transformed by drug trafficking and organized crime. The 2025 Country Conditions Report from the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants found that Ecuador's homicide rate rose from 6.7 per 100,000 people in 2020 to 44.5 in 2025, the highest in South America. In an attempt to fight organized crime and the wave of violence gripping the country, President Daniel Noboa has sought closer cooperation with the United States. In November, he met with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to discuss reopening a former U.S. military base in Manta, a coastal city in Ecuador, a proposal that was rejected in a referendum by Ecuador's Constituent Assembly. As noted by Politico, the United States had previously conducted military operations near the South American country but had not publicly disclosed any operations on Ecuadorian soil until now. The Coast Guard had been deployed in the eastern Pacific, off the coast of Ecuador, Colombia and other countries, helping interdict cocaine shipments in a mission known as Operation Pacific Viper. After the operation to capture Maduro on Jan. 3, President Donald Trump did not rule out using military force against targets in other countries in the name of combating drug trafficking, but as noted by the reports, the expectations were for the administration to conduct strikes in Mexico and Colombia, both of which play a more significant role in the drug trade. On X, Noboa confirmed that during the month of March Ecuador will carry out joint operations with "regional allies," including the United States, in what he described as a new phase in the fight against narco-terrorism and illegal mining. "The security of Ecuadorians is our priority and we will fight to achieve peace in every corner of the country," Noboa wrote. "To obtain that peace, we must act forcefully against criminals, wherever they may be. The pursuit of justice and national dignity will never be persecution, but a promise we will fulfill to Ecuadorians." Originally published on Latin Times Sign up for Executive Dysfunction, a weekly newsletter that surfaces under-the-radar stories about what Trump is doing to the lawand how the law is pushing back. In a decision on the shadow docket, the Supreme Court decided Monday night to prevent California from protecting the privacy and safety of its transgender and gender-nonconforming students. In Mirabelli v. Bonta, the conservative justices put on hold the states policies requiring schools to keep students expressions of gender identity confidential, unless students consent to sharing this information with their parents. Parents who object to affirming their childrens gender identity sued California and obtained an injunction from a district court, which also ordered schools to use students names and pronouns in accordance with their parents preferences. When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit stayed the injunction pending appeal, the parents urged the Supreme Court to reinstate it without waiting for the appeal process to run its coursean extraordinary request that six justices obliged. As a result, Mondays decision is a product of a hurried judicial process. Together, its procedure and substance are the latest salvo in the campaign against sexual and gender minorities carried out by the conservatives controlling the court. While emergency docket decisions typically lack much reasoning, Mirabelli offers a highly significant discussion and a glimpse of the majoritys relentless ideological assault on LGBTQ+ rights. The majority announced that parents likely have a right, under both the free exercise and due process clause, to learn about (and object to) the gender identity that their child expresses at school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett also wrote a concurrencejoined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaughdefending the decision against Justice Elena Kagans sharp dissent. The debate between Barrett and Kagan focused on two issues: the use of what Kagan called shortcut procedures to decide controversial constitutional issues and the courts handling of parents substantive claims under the due process clause. On the procedural side, Kagan exposed the majoritys impatient haste to impose its anti-LGBTQ+ views, highlighting how the court could have instead followed the regular way by simply adding a carbon copy case to its merits docket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, the nearly identical case of Foote v. Ludlow School Committee has been pending for many months, repeatedly scheduled for discussion at one of the justices conferences. Like Mirabelli, Foote centers the rights of all parents to control decisions regarding their childrens gender identity and is not limited to the rights of religious parents under the free exercise clause. Barrett denied the majoritys impatience, but her answer failed to justify subjecting the Foote parents to a lengthy wait but awarding the Mirabelli parents an expedited decision. The parents who cut the line, in other words, were rewarded with premature relief in an unsigned decision handed down on a Monday evening when few were paying attention. This supports Kagans conclusion that Mirabelli reflects a preference for getting everything over quickly, without having to offer careful explanation to the public. On the substantive side, Kagan emphasized how the majoritys endorsement of parental rights claims under the due process clause conflicted with its increased resistance to using the clause to protect unenumerated rights. The notion that due process protects substantive rights, Kagan wrote, has not been of late in the good graces of this courtand especially of the members of todays majority. She pointed out that although the conservative justices have bashed this doctrine as a particularly dangerous legal fiction, most emphatically when overturning Roe v. Wade, here they wielded it aggressively to halt the progressive laws of a sovereign state. Advertisement Advertisement Kagans challenge prompted Barrettjoined by Roberts and Kavanaughto affirm the continued validity of leading parental rights precedents that protect all parents. This concession is significant in light of last terms 63 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which granted public school parents the right to shield their children from LGBTQ+ storybooks. Mahmoud omitted the same key due process precedents or selectively cited them as if they applied only to religious parents. Advertisement As Kagan hinted in a footnote, though, this emphasis on parents broad, nonreligious right to make highly important decisions about their childs mental health is itself biased. Just last term, in U.S. v. Skrmetti, the same conservative majority refused even to hear the claims of parents who, following doctors advice, wanted to provide their children gender-affirming care. (They took up only the equal protection issue, actively cutting out the parents argument that they have a due process right to guide their childrens medical care.) Worse, the concurring justices now insist that excluding parents from essential decisions regarding their childrens health must satisfy heightened scrutiny. But they were perfectly willing to leave in place the conspicuous mistake of the lower court in Skrmetti, which decided the parental rights issue based on the wrong, much more lenient standard of review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Juxtaposing Mirabelli (and Mahmoud) with Skrmetti demonstrates two troubling patterns. First, the courts conservatives protect anti-LGBTQ+ parents in blue states but refuse to do the same for pro-LGBTQ+ parents in red states. By discriminately enforcing parental rights in this way, they bless laws that squash LGBTQ+ rights and obstruct those that safeguard them. Second, the justices extend help to parents seeking to override their childrens wishes but deny it to parents whose choices are completely aligned with their childrens preferences. This is a skewed way of protecting parental rights, at least if one believes their justification is rooted in children rather than control. As I have argued in detail elsewhere, this partisan adjudication reflects much more than an ideological inclination. Rather, the Republican appointees on the court actively support and advance the concerted efforts outside of the court, by the conservative movement and the executive branch, to eradicate LGBTQ+ equality in general (e.g., in Mahmoud), and particularly the existence of gender identity (e.g., in Skrmetti and Mirabelli). Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate The Supreme Court Appears Ready to Rule That Marijuana Users Have a Right to Bear Arms Read More These justices also engage in constitutional opportunism, deploying a combination of procedural and substantive strategies to shield their work from public scrutiny. It takes four votes for SCOTUS to hear a case, so the three liberal justices cannot force anything onto the merits docket themselves. That means the six conservatives can refuse to take up a case the proper way, then resolve the issue in a short, unsigned opinion on the shadow docket. Using the same advantage, these six justices also weaponize the courts discretion over its docket to set an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda. They selected, for example, to consider, in the same term, anti-LGBTQ+ parental claims (Mahmoud) but not LGBTQ-affirming parental claims (Skrmetti)although the stakes in the latter case (medical care) are higher than in the former (classroom storybooks). Similarly, in the current term, the courts conservatives elected to hear Chiles v. Salazar, a case seeking to strike down bans on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy for minors, in a pre-enforcement posture. That means the court repeats its trick from 303 Creative v. Elenis: deciding another matter with immensely harmful effects on sexual and gender minorities while excluding them from the courtroom. By highlighting some of this procedural chicanery, Kagans dissent in Mirabelli laid bare, in remarkably blunt fashion, the tip of a dreadful iceberg. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Texas Democrats selected state Rep. James Talarico over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in their primary on Tuesday after a well-publicized, frequently ugly, and unusually competitive race. Talarico was widely viewed, including by the GOP, as the more electable candidate in November. His message focuses more on inclusivity relative to Crocketts projection of partisan confrontation, and in a state where there are simply more Republicans than Democrats, crossover appeal matters. But if thats the welcome news for Democrats long-sought-but-never-realized quest to turn Texas and the Senate majority blue, Republicans got welcome news in their primary too: Sen. John Cornyn, the partys most electable candidate, may not be as dead as previously reported. As expected, Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will head to a runoff for the Republican Senate nomination in late May, while Rep. Wesley Hunt finished in third. It was the margins between the candidates, though, that were modestly surprising. While polling heading into the primary showed a lot of variance, the average converged on Paxton leading the race by about 4 points. Paxton had held the lead over Cornyn, sometimes by substantial margins, throughout the race. With most of the vote counted, however, Cornyn is narrowly the leading vote-getter, with 42 percent to Paxtons 41. It isnt a statistical marvel that someone trailing by 4 points in an average of imperfect polls ends up leading by 1 point when human beings actually vote. And Cornyn still has to be concerned about the makeup of the runoff electorate, which could comprise more of the sort of die-hard MAGA voters favorable to Paxton. Whats important, though, is not just that the Cornyn campaign can spin the performance into a narrative of momentum generally. It can spin it that way directly to the one person who can decide the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump hadnt endorsed prior to the runoff. But that, and the race, appears set to change imminently. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump posted that he would make his endorsement soon and called on the candidate he does not endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! The Atlantic has reported that the president is expected to back Cornyn. If Trump does endorse Cornyn, and Paxton obeys Trumps orders to drop out, it immediately knocks the wind out of Democrats sails. Even with a strong midterm environment for Democrats, this is still a state that Trump won by 14 points in 2024. If Republicans dont nominate someone uniquely terrible, Democrats face a much more difficult climb. Trumps hesitancy to endorse earlier in the race was understandable. He appreciates the loyalty of Paxton, who filed suit to overturn the 2020 presidential election and is naturally aligned with Trumps base. But Trump also doesnt want to lose the Senatesomething that nominating Paxton, with all of his personal and professional baggage, would riskand he doesnt want the party to have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to carry Paxton through November. As far as Cornyn goes, Trump hadnt wanted to support someone who could end up losing the primary even with an endorsement. It was imperative that Cornyn, who appeared to flatline for much of the campaign even after tens of millions of dollars were spent on his behalf, finally show Trump something. Advertisement Cornyn and his allies hope that his performance on Tuesday may have done the trick. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who for months has been making the case to Trump to back Cornyn, didnt waste time pushing. Ive been making that case for a long time, Thune told reporters Wednesday, and well make it again, and today, I think, even more emphatically given the outcome last night. Thune also emphasized that he would like the president to make that endorsement early. Advertisement The official plan to save John Cornyn, then, is to convince Trump, based on Tuesdays results, that Cornyn is close, has the momentum, and is a sure bet to keep Texas red in November. If Trump agrees to endorse right away, either Paxton would drop out or Cornyn would quickly cut the endorsement into ads and take command of the race. Much money would be saved, and many Republican nerves about losing a Senate seat in Texas would be soothed. This plan doesnt sound as outlandish as it did a few days ago. John Cornyn winning the primary generally sounds a lot less outlandish than it did a few days ago. What a difference a few percentage points make. This is Executive Dysfunction, a newsletter that highlights one under-the-radar story about how Trump is changing the lawor how the law is pushing backand keeps you posted on the latest from Slates Jurisprudence team. Click here to receive it in your inbox each week. From the moment Donald Trump was sworn into office for his second term, he made clear that a major priority of his administration would be pursuing vindictive actions against his perceived enemies. One of the earliest targets of this agenda of retribution: law firms. In his first months in office, Trump signed executive orders that targeted firms that supported DEI, represented the Democratic Party, advocated for liberal causes, or employed prosecutors who had worked on former special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Trumps 2016 campaign. At least nine other targeted law firms preemptively capitulated, agreeing to provide some $1 billion in pro bono work for causes agreeable to the president. Four decided to push back and sue. Over the course of a year, four separate judges ruled the presidents executive orders were unconstitutional. And this week, for a brief moment, it seemed like the Department of Justice was finally waking up to reality when it moved to dismiss its appeals in these cases. That lasted less than 24 hours. By Tuesday morning, the Department of Justice submitted a new filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asking to withdraw its motion to dismiss, which had been filed one day earlier. Clown show authoritarianism, Jameel Jaffer, law professor at Columbia University and inaugural director of the schools Knight First Amendment Institute, commented. The battle between Big Law and the Trump administration doesnt immediately come off as being as existential as, say, the legal challenge over the presidents birthright citizenship executive order. But the attacks on large law firms are pernicious, because alongside satisfying Trumps vindictiveness, they are also actively preventing people from being able to fight for their constitutional rights. As Trump directs federal agencies to cut off federal funding in crucial areas, target immigrants, and fire public servants, law firms play a vital role litigating against the government to remedy these harms. In Trumps first term, firms spent countless hours representing people pro bono who were threatened by the administrations policies; this time around, many have shied away from these fights, in no small part because the president strong-armed them into submission. And this week, as the DOJ walked back its motion to dismiss its appeals against four major law firms, the Trump administration reminded us it will stop at nothing to silence those who dare dissent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To better understand Trumps strategy in pursuing Big Law and the fallout it has caused, I spoke with Deborah Pearlstein, director of Princeton Universitys Law and Public Policy program. Pearlstein has been sharply critical of law firms surrender to Trump, arguing that their capitulation hastens Americas slide from a system of constitutional democracy to a regime of fiat akin to those authoritarian governments our country has long stood against. Heres our conversation, lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Shirin Ali: The attack on Big Law seems like one element of the Trump administrations strategy of taking down people and causes it does not like. It leverages executive authority to change laws and regulations as it pleases, while simultaneously attacking the legal pathways for people to challenge said changes. Deborah Pearlstein: I think thats exactly right. I think its an enormously important point and its way too often overlooked. The concern about the attacks on these Big Law firms is not about protecting Big Law as such. Every single one of these firms, the firms that made deals with the administration and the firms that fought back against the administration, made an enormous amount of money last year. Theyre doing OK. Whats suffering as a result of these attacks: the ability of ordinary people who were on the receiving end of crackdowns to get good representation to fight back. Advertisement Advertisement I think its important to view all of the attacks, including on universities, law firms, NGOs, media companies, as one piece challenging potential threats to the administrations authority. Similarly, the lesson here is that the institutions that have been willing to fight back have the law on their side and have prevailed, at least in court. The problem has been a shockingly small number of law firms, universities, and media companies have been willing to fight back. Advertisement What do you make of the Justice Department walking back its motion to dismiss its appeal of four law firms challenging the presidents executive orders? It was clear since [earlier this week] that there was some kind of a serious debate inside the Department of Justice, maybe inside the White House, about whether or not to proceed. It is extremely unusual for there to be a leaked report in advance of a Justice Department filing about what the filing is going to be. And you saw that happen hours and hours before there was any kind of filing. The Wall Street Journal reported that they were going to drop the appeal, and yet, it was hours and hours later that anything was actually filed that confirmed that. And only 12 hours or so after that, they changed their mind again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever their considerations were, there is clearly more than one faction inside the White House and the Department of Justice with a view. My guess would be that the president himself is insistent on pursuing the appeal, and the lawyers in DOJ rightly are advising that it is a losing case. The legality of the original executive orders was challenged by four different law firms in front of four different federal judges, and they all won, handily. That is, it was clear to all of these courts that an executive order targeting a firm because the firm represented clients that the president didnt like was a violation of, among other things, the First Amendment of the Constitution. I think it is extremely likely that they will lose again on appeal, but in a higher court, so that the ruling doesnt apply just to the four firms that were targeted, but now is a circuit-wide decision. I think its also entirely possible and maybe even likely that theyll lose at the Supreme Court as well. I suspect theres a very serious litigation strategy conversation going on there, but, for reasons weve seen in lots of cases in this administration, that kind of ordinary strategic thinking doesnt always prevail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Would the agreements that DOJ previously negotiated with nine law firms, in exchange for dropping any federal investigations and allowing the firms to retain access to the White House and federal contracts, have been jeopardized if the agency accepted defeat in the ongoing litigation against the four law firms pushing back? I think there are really two separate legal questions here. The cases challenging the executive orders argued that the orders were unconstitutional and they were held unconstitutional. The question of whether or not these separate deals that these other law firms struck, which nobody has ever seen in writing publicly, are legally enforceable or not is really a separate legal question. I think the administration was always going to face an enormously uphill struggle in persuading a court that those agreements were enforceable, or indeed that they were agreements at all. And does this help? No, it certainly doesnt help, but neither did the four decisions in which they lost on the constitutionality of the executive orders. Advertisement If the DOJ, and perhaps even the president himself, recognizes that challenging these four law firms lawsuits is an uphill battle, why continue the fight? The president has had a lifelong pattern of pursuing legal cases with or without merit in an effort to either exact revenge or punishment on players he doesnt like. This seems to me consistent with that approach. You could call that a strategy. I wouldnt call it a legal strategy. If I were speaking on behalf of my political science colleagues, I would say it is textbook authoritarian playbook for would-be authoritarians to try to attack any independent institutional source of power that might challenge the authoritarians ability to carry out his will. The same reason why the White House and the administration wanted to target major universities, media companies, and the same way they have worked to make deals with major industry that they care about. Law firms, for exactly the same reasons, are a potentially independent source of power that can be used to effectively challenge the legality and success of the administrations actions. I think if viewed as part of that broader strategy, continuing to pursue these cases and attacks against the law firms, especially as the elections approach, this makes perfect sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watching the Trump administration pursue vindication actions is obviously alarming, but what has the fallout been, specifically after Big Law firms were targeted? There have been enormous repercussions. Let me flag sort of two sets of impacts. One is in just the availability of representation, and particularly well-resourced legal representation to challenge administration initiatives. That availability goes for both pro bono clients and for paid clients. Ill give you a couple of statistics, as there have been some wonderful investigative reports by Reuters and others that have begun to document these impacts. Dozens of major firmsclearly worried about political retaliationhave scaled back their pro bono work. So, representation from everything like diversity initiatives and immigration cases to all kinds of stuff, theres been a radical change. Whereas in the last election cycle, we saw large law firms working really actively against various voter suppression efforts and election subversion efforts, now, they are simply not engaged in those cases at all. Last I checked, 29 different cases or efforts by the Trump administration to require states to hand over all of their voting rolls and voter data have all been challenged, but no large law firms are involved in those challenges. The result is that people and organizations, and not just liberal causes, but people whose Social Security benefits have been cut off and scientists whose research funds have been summarily dropped and so forth are trying to turn to small and medium firms looking for somebody to take on their representation, and those firms are overrun. Thats the real-world impact of the chilling effect. Law firms have really dramatically changed their willingness to take on any cause adverse to the administration. Advertisement Related From Slate A New Ruling Forces the Supreme Court to Confront the Trump Administrations Lies Under Oath Read More On the other hand, theres a much more promising effect that is developing in the profession. Coalitions of groups, including corporate general counsels, law firm partners, an initiative by a bipartisan group of retired federal judges, are coalescing to say, This is not what the legal profession is about and this is not what our ethical obligations require. They are making real efforts to use the power of those coalitions to get firms to change their behavior, working through not only corporate clients that those firms count on for revenue, but also top law students that the firms count on to serve on their staff. Advertisement Do you think that, despite facing many losses in court, the Trump administration has still succeeded in chilling dissent and getting people to succumb to the executive branchs demands? Its important to keep focused on the two separate goals that the administration had. The first goal was trying to punish these firms, exact revenge against them and destroy their businesses, which is what the executive orders were aimed at doing. The lawsuits were essential in disabling that attack, and winning the lawsuits made it clear that those kinds of efforts wouldnt succeed. The lawsuits were incredibly important in protecting the ability of firms that have fought back in the past to continue to do so. On the other goal, youre absolutely right. The goal of chilling the willingness of any firm to take on causes adverse to the administration has been achieved, and then some, I would say, based on the reporting and the studies that have been done so far. Thats one of the really important broader lessons in countering authoritarianism. You need a whole toolbox full of tools, and litigation is an incredibly important tool for some purposes, but it doesnt work for everything. It is entirely possible to win the litigation battle and lose the authoritarian war, and in this particular fight, thats the direction were headed. Elsewhere in Jurisprudence In the most recent episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick talks to Donald Verrilli Jr., former solicitor general under the Obama administration, about how lower court judges are being forced to adopt radical new positions on presidential authority, thanks to the Supreme Court. They also interpret Chief Justice John Roberts tariffs decision, which finally expresses some skepticism about the presidents chaotic and unprecedented approach to policymaking. In the Slate Plus bonus episode, Dahlia and Mark Joseph Stern discuss a stunning amicus brief filed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the birthright citizenship case in front of the Supreme Court. A body that has consistently stood by conservative causes, including restrictions on reproductive freedom, same-sex marriage, and transgender rights, has come out in staunch opposition to the presidents birthright citizenship executive order. Not mincing words, the group called the order immoral and contrary to the Catholic Churchs fundamental beliefs and teachings regarding the life and dignity of human persons, the treatment of vulnerable peopleparticularly migrants and childrenand family unity. In a special bonus Slate Plus episode, Mark takes a deep dive into the legality of the presidents decision to thrust the United States into war against Iran. In conversation with Eugene Fidell, a visiting lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School, the duo discuss how the president simply does not have the power to singularly declare war. This means that Trumps conduct here is clearly impeachable, if only the Congress were willing to act. Dana Bazelon, friend of Slate and fellow at the Quattrone Center at Penn Carey Law School, was front-row at the Supreme Court this week as the justices considered yet another consequential gun rights case. This time it was for United States v. Hemani, a case that is challenging the constitutionality of a federal statute that makes it a crime for an unlawful drug user to possess a gun. And in a rare moment for this court, most of the justices seemed to agree that the current law is far too broad. Its unclear, though, where the left and right wings of the court want to draw the line. Thank you for reading Executive Dysfunction! Were thrilled to be in your feeds and will be back with more dysfunction analysis next week. We hope you learned a thing or two from this edition of Executive Dysfunction, and if you enjoyed reading it, please consider supporting our legal journalism by becoming a Slate Plus member! Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. In his efforts to make his war on Iran seem thought through and sensible, President Donald Trump is only bolstering the case that it was spun from pipe dreams all along. The most head-spinning confirmation came on Tuesday, when a reporter asked what would be the wars worst-case scenario. I guess, Trump replied, the worst case would be we do this and somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous personright? That could happen. The president may have thought he was coming off as a hardheaded realist, but in fact he looked more irresponsible than ever. Of course, it is always a risk of war that it spawns a world more treacherous than beforeand if war is forced upon us, if we have to wage it in self-defense or some other urgent interest, that might be a risk worth taking. But this war is a war of choice. Military officers and intelligence officials have said that Iran posed no imminent threatcontrary to Trumps initial claims. Indeed, in a letter to Congress on Monday justifying the war, Trump himself makes no such assertion. Therefore, if it seemed a fair possibility that war would displace the current Iranian regime with leaders who are worse (more hostile to the West, more oppressive of its people, more destabilizing to the region), then going to war anyway was a bad move. Trump either didnt listen to the warnings or discounted the risks. The New York Times reported, in a detailed account of the run-up to the war, that Trump and his top advisers discussed who might rise to power if the current regime were toppled. Analysts presented a few possibilities: the Revolutionary Guard, the elite military unit that is at least as thuggish and anti-Western as the current leaders; a more moderate, pragmatic faction of the Guard; or perhaps no one in particular, just chaos and civil war. According to the Times account, Trump and his team decided that theyd go with the middle option: an Iranian military corps that Washington could deal with. They didnt stop to think that the Iranians had a vote in the matteras we have learned over and over, the U.S. is quite skilled at hitting targets, but that doesnt mean that it can shape what happens after the smoke clears. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same Tuesday press session in which he mused on the worst case, Trump said that hed been told about a few possible successors to the ayatollah who might be friendlier to Western interests, but they were killed in U.S.-Israeli bombing raids too. Now we have another group of potential replacements, he went on, but they may be dead also, based on reports. Pretty soon, were not going to know anybody. This was another hair-raising remark, all the more so because Trump didnt seem to realize hed made a staggering admission of his failure to plan ahead. On a larger level, this is why killing enemy heads of statea practice known in the trade as a decapitation strategyis widely seen as not only risky but possibly counterproductive. Quite aside from the legal issues (a U.S. law passed in the 1970s bans the assassination of foreign leaders), its hard, if not impossible, for our generals and diplomats to negotiate an end to the war if there isnt anyone on the other side to negotiate withat least not anyone who is known to be the legitimate leader and whose terms of surrender thus have a chance of being observed by military leaders and the population at large. Advertisement Advertisement In any case, if Trump and his ally-encourager in this war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had intended from the outset to kill Irans leader, they should have identified and, if possible, protected a promising successor. They failed to do so, diminishing the chance that this war will end in a way that remotely serves our interests. It may be that Trump didnt realize he would have to think through any of this ahead of time. He seems to believe that making deals in global politics is not much different from making deals with, say, the New York City Buildings Department. His own experiences in the White House may have reinforced this view. He has said he would like Iran to be a replay of Venezuela, where he got rid of the top leader and the underlings agreed to do business. He may also have had in mind the many times when his glowering threats forced members of the American elitelegislators, media executives, and university presidents, among othersto bend the knee. Advertisement Advertisement Thus, hes surprised when others dont bow down so swiftly. Last month, after two U.S. aircraft carriers, more than a dozen other warships, and hundreds of fighter jets surrounded Iran from all sides, Steve Witkoff, Trumps old friend and now his unlikely global emissary, said the president was curious as to why Iran hadnt capitulated to the looming threat of an American attack. Why, under this pressure, with the amount of sea power and naval power over there, why havent they come to us and said, We profess we dont want a weapon, so heres what were prepared to do? And yet its sort of hard to get them to that place. Advertisement Advertisement Recall also that Trump boasted he would end Russias war with Ukraine on his first day in office, owing to his presumed friendship with Vladimir Putin and general talent for making deals. That didnt happen either. He didnt, and still doesnt, understand Putins interests, just as he doesnt understand the Islamic regimes entrenched grip on Iran. Advertisement And now, as his intelligence agencies and top military advisers warned, the war is unreeling. The entire Middle East is getting sucked into the conflictnot just Israel but every country where the U.S. has military bases. On Wednesday, NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian missile aimed at southern Turkey. Meanwhile, as part of what they called defensive measures, the U.K., France, and Germany agreed to help attack Iranian missile launchers. In short, Europe might get drawn in too. The question thus becomes all the more vital: Why did this war have to start at all? Secretary of State Marco Rubio blurted out on Tuesday that Israel was going to attack Iran anyway, meaning that we would be pulled in eventually, so we might as well join from the get-go. Rubio walked back these words, and, at least in one sense, properly so. Certainly, Netanyahu prodded Trump into actionhes been lobbying American politicians to help him oust Irans regime for decadesbut Trump didnt have to go along. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate This Is Different From Trumps Past Strikes on Iran and Venezuela Read More Its all on Trump. Once he had flanked Iran with the mightiest array of U.S. firepower that the region has seen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he felt he had to do something with it. He could either exploit the armada as leverage to wrangle a diplomatic deal or pull the trigger. The Iranians offered a pretty favorable deal, in some ways more restrictive than the one President Barack Obama signed in 2014 (and which Trump tore up in 2018), but it didnt satisfy Trumps demand to ban all uranium enrichment, so he pulled the trigger. The Saudis reportedly told Trump that doing nothing after mobilizing all that firepower would make him look weakand in the presidents mind, as the Saudis well knew, that would be unacceptable. To a degree that is truly shocking, this may be all about Trump. In an ABC interview on Sunday, Trump said his decision to go to war was colored by two Iranian plots to kill him back in 2024plots that are believed to have been ordered by the ayatollah. I got him before he got me, Trump said. I got him first. Advertisement Is this why the war, now in its fifth day, got underway? Is this why four members of the U.S. armed forces have died, along with 10 Israelis, dozens of Arabs, and more than 550 Iranians, with many more casualties to come? Is this why were seeing the revitalization of Hezbollah as its militias strike Israel from Lebanon and Israel resumes its occupation of that country, which had only started to breathe in relief from decades of war? Is it why markets are rocking, why oil shipments are cut back from the Strait of Hormuz, why the world hangs on tenterhooks of suspense over what happens next? Is all this an extension of Donald Trumps compulsion for control? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One gulp-worthy indication. In an interview on Monday, asked about criticism from some in his MAGA base who thought America First meant no more foreign wars, Trump proclaimed, MAGA is Trump. Advertisement His entourage and fans should take note of this remark. In Trumps mind, there is no MAGA movement, there is only Trump, and those who wear the red MAGA hats must nod ferociously to everything he says and does, even if it goes against what he has said or done in the past. The phrase should sit alongside the French King Louis XIVs pronouncement, in the 17th century, Letat, cest moi (I am the state). The way Trump is acting, the powers that he has granted himself, especially in starting this war, heedless of its risks and consequences, he might as well have uttered Louis phrase too. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Georgia congressperson and former Trump megafan, has a theory for what the strikes against Iran mean for a new political reality. And just like that we are no longer a nation divided by left and right, she wrote on social media Monday, we are now a nation divided be those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance. She had one major opposition figure in mind: Laura Loomer, the hard-right influencer who has established a close advisory position to Donald Trump. This bitch is celebrating the death of American military members and thanking their families for their blood sacrifice, Greene wrote of Loomer. But this is who Trump takes late night calls from and laps up her praise and worship. And now Americans are once again coming home in flag draped coffins from another stupid pointless foreign war for foreign regime change on behalf of Israel. Loomer had similar feelings about Greene: How much money are you making off of Muslims? she asked on Sunday evening. Theres something more remarkable here than just a spat between two influential conservative women: Their fight is just one in a sprawling ideological conflict playing out on social media, where different right-wing voices are, more than ever in recent memory, breaking with one another in open hostility. Pro-war and anti-war conservatives have been accusing each other of bigotry, idiocy, corruption, hidden ethno-religious agendas, and anti-Americanism. The conservative movement isnt pretending to be one unified coalition under Trump anymore. Instead, the strikes on Iran have caused the fractures within the alliance to expand to the point where it will be difficult, if not impossible, to reclose thema major problem as Trump tries to keep his political coalition together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On one side, media figures popular with the newer populist right, such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and even the white nationalist Nick Fuentes, are viewing the strikes as a betrayal of Trumps promises of America First and as a capitulation to Israel. To the anti-war side, Trumps actions in the region are not just a sign of Trumps weakness in being swayed by another countrys interests, but of his surrender to the Deep State, the older institutional order that Trump had been elected to fight. On the other side, Republicans with more allegiance to the traditional conservative movement, such as Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz, see the strikes as necessary for maintaining American security and fulfilling long-standing Republican goals. These two versions of the right have had tensions before. But this fight is different. For most of Trumps time in politics, there was a general unspoken rule that voters, politicians, and conservative media figures should stand behind the president no matter what, at least publicly. Some influencers are indeed trying to carry this tradition on, making the case for the Iran assault to fit with the America First agenda, even when their reasoning has seemed particularly contorted. The influencer Mike Cernovich, for example, argued that Trump would be successful where previous presidents failed because he would not pursue war in a toxic feminine or compassionate conservative way. (We have never in our lifetime seen a war executed in the right wing masculine, he said.) But this time, many of the most prominent conservative commentators felt emboldened enough to openly criticize the administrations actions. Advertisement Advertisement There are two political trends driving this newly critical stance. First, owing in part to the expensive and brutal war in Gaza, the American public is beginning to reassess the U.S.-Israel relationship. Given that Trump has long pledged to end wars, rather than start them, and given that American involvement in the conflict began during Joe Bidens presidency, conservatives felt free to participate in those conversations, parallel to the left. But the second trend, which has infiltrated many of the larger conversations around Israel, is grounded in far uglier soil. Partially due to the nature of social media and the modern attention economy, openly antisemitic influencers such as Fuentes and Owens have grown wildly popular. To this element of the right, Israel is not just the focus of geopolitical opinions but conspiracy theories and aggressive bigotries. Advertisement Not every major conservative voice fits neatly into this new-versus-old, institutional-versus-isolationalist divide. There are those, such as Dan Bongino, with direct ties to the administration and incentives to maintain those relationships. There are MAGA trolls with underdeveloped policy views who are there only to joke about the next strikes targeting popular Democrats. There is also a large cohort of influencers who have hitched their own careers to Trump boosterism rather than any particular ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the most heated debate is still driven by the two major camps. The figures and feuds are too numerous to list, but they share a common intensity. They often mimic each others arguments, accusing one another of hatefulness or of abandoning their values. They fight over the memory of Charlie Kirk, insisting he would have either opposed or embraced war. The pro-Israel side, which includes many evangelical leaders and Fox News figures, thinks the opposition has been addled by internet conspiracy-theory thinking. The anti-Israel side, which includes highly popular independent show hosts such as Carlson and Megyn Kelly, argue that Trump has been duped by bloodthirsty elites indifferent to the American publics interests. (Critics remain hesitant to criticize Trump the man, even as they blast the administration.) Neither side has an absolute claim on morality or on intellectual consistency. The anti-Israel side does stand truer to the history of Trumps official (though repeatedly ignored) America first policy on nonintervention. They can also seem at times to speak with reason and compassion about war crimes; Greene, for example, responded to the reports of Iranian schoolgirls being killed in the strikes with moral outrage.* This is NOT freeing the Iranian people!!! she wrote. This is murdering their children!!! WTF are you insane people doing??? But their side is, indeed, riddled with vile antisemitism. Greene herself has boosted conspiracy theories about Jewish space lasers. Owens, who has nearly 6 million followers on YouTube, has framed the war as a sacrifice of goyim and spoken of Jewish filth trying to collapse America. She has also shared a tweet arguing that Our country is controlled by Jewish pedophiles and this war is to distract from the Epstein coverup. Another anti-Israel influencer, who was at the center of a related scandal after her appearance on Trumps Religious Liberty Commission, called Israeli Jews Gods enemies instead of Gods chosen people in an X post about the airstrike that hit the girls elementary school. Loomer was not wrong when she complained that there is a faction of the GOP that speaks like Nazis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pro-Israel side, in contrast, seems to stand against the ugliest and most ridiculous elements of their party, rejecting the elements that embrace Holocaust denialism or believe Zionist forces run the United States or that Mossad conspired with Charlie Kirks wife and ancient Sumerian supertechnology to assassinate him. But they have their own ugliness, in the form of Islamophobic fearmongering: Loomer, for example, has responded to the strikes by arguing that its time for President Trump to use the military and DHS to round up every single Islamic immigrant and non-citizen Muslim and mass deport them from America with force. And on X, you can find countless examples of influencers on the pro-Israel side sharing views that directly contradict their statements from a year ago; they seem to stand as a direct indictment of Trumpisms intellectual shallowness, of moving shamelessly with the political winds. Advertisement Related From Slate This Is Different Than Trumps Past Strikes on Iran and Venezuela Read More With rhetoric this charged, its hard to see how these two factions will be able to reunite peaceably. And its clear that the administration is starting to grow concerned about this conflict. On Monday, after right-wing commentator Matt Walsh wrote to express his displeasure with the lack of a solid justification from the Trump administration, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put out a direct response to Walshs X post, laying out the administrations argument. Later, when the journalist Rachael Bade spoke with Trump, he criticized Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, arguing that they were not MAGA, that MAGA is Trump and loves what Im doing. Advertisement Advertisement The administration has reason for concern. Early polling has shown that these strikes arent popular among Republicans. Were in a midterm year, as some right-wing commentators have noted with alarm. The GOP needs its influencers to reassure the MAGA faithful, rather than stoke dissent. Theres a long history of predicting voters will turn on Trump, and it seldom sticks. Its possible that the MAGA faithfulboth high-profile influencers and rank-and-file voterswill come home to Trump soon. But at this moment, the ties that bind Trump to some of his most steadfast supporters are stretched more thin than ever. And that in itself makes this a remarkable moment. It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Michael James Galope, born October 28, 1952, who passed away on February 27, 2026, at the age of 73. Mike was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend whose humor, faith, and love for family touched many lives. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Cheryl Mohler Galope; his children, Michael S. Galope (Carrie), Craig A. Galope (Brenda), Jaime Galope Gardner, and Shannon Galope Amato (Jerry); 13 cherished grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Kathy Smith, and brother, Mike Gilroy, along with many extended family members and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alice Swartz and Melvin Swartz. Mike found great joy in his family and was grateful for the fellowship and support he found through Alcoholics Anonymous. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, March 8, 2026 from 1:00 PM 4:00 PM at the Waldorf Moose Lodge 1709, 4765 Crain Highway, White Plains, MD 20695. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mike's memory to Alcoholics Anonymous (official AA website) and/or the American Heart Association (official AHA website). Thank you for your love, prayers, and support during this difficult time. Celebration of Life Sunday March 8, 2026 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Waldorf Moose Lodge 4765 Crain Highway White Plains, MD 20695 James "Jimmy" Richardson, born October 10, 1966, and a lifelong resident of Mechanicsville, Maryland, passed away peacefully on March 2, 2026, surrounded by his loving family after a courageous battle with cancer for over six years. He passed at the young age of 59. A loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend, James shared more than 30 years with his beloved wife, Cheryl. He faced his illness with tremendous strength and without fear, enduring treatment after treatment without losing his love for life. James was known for his passion for fixing anything and took great pride in his work. One of his greatest joys was fishing on the water, where he found peace and contentment. He loved his country music and especially enjoyed karaoke gatherings, while also enjoying Maryland crabs with family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Larry Morgan, and his sister, Carolyn Buell. James is survived by his loving wife, Cheryl; his mother, Joyce Morgan; his sister, Donna Morgan; his four children, Cassandra, Jimmy, Kenny (Krista), and Jesse; and seven grandchildren. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Family will receive friends on Saturday March 14, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A. at 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650, with a funeral service beginning at 11:00 a.m. officiated by Father Chip Luckett. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary's, PO Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or Leonardtown Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 299, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Condolences may be left for the family at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com. Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD. The dating app Tinder has agreed to pay $60.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit in California that accused the company of charging older subscribers higher prices for premium services. The settlement could benefit more than 260,000 users who bought paid subscriptions on the platform. The case focused on claims that Tinder's pricing system treated customers differently based on their age. According to the lawsuit, older users were often asked to pay more for the same premium services offered through the app. The lawsuit was first filed in 2015 by Tinder user Allan Candelore. It argued that the company's pricing model violated California's consumer protection laws by setting different subscription rates depending on the user's age. "Tinder has brazenly announced and employed a multi-tiered pricing plan that treats consumers unequally based solely on their age," the original complaint said. Despite agreeing to the settlement, Tinder has not admitted any wrongdoing. According to NY Post, the settlement applies to California residents who were at least 29 years old and purchased either Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold subscriptions on or after March 2, 2015. It also includes users who were 28 or older and bought those subscriptions starting March 2, 2016. Tinder to pay $60.5M in Calif. in age discrimination suit heres how to apply for a payout https://t.co/p2zjoxBFSR ConservativeLibrarian (@ConserLibrarian) March 4, 2026 Tinder Settlement Pays Older Subscribers People who qualify may receive a share of the $60.5 million fund. The exact amount each person gets will depend on how much they spent on the subscriptions during the eligible time period. "Each class member will also receive a share based on how much the class member paid for Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold," the settlement notice explained. Eligible users have until April 8 to opt out of the agreement or object to its terms. Those who remain in the settlement will later be able to claim their payment. A final court hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for May 20 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, The Sun reported. Tinder is one of the world's most widely used dating apps, with tens of millions of users around the globe. The lawsuit argued that the company used a pricing system that charged older users more for these same features compared to younger subscribers. Originally published on vcpost.com Muktuk Annie stepped up in class and scored first off the claim for new trainer Cameron McQueen as she cruised to victory in the featured $8,300 optional-claiming dash for fillies and mares at The Raceway at Western Fair District on Wednesday, March 4. Brady Galliers blasted the mare off the car, getting her to the lead on the first turn, and the rest was academic. She reeled off early fractions of :29 and :59 with a lead of two lengths, and she added to her cushion on the way to three-quarters in 1:29. Even-money favourite Woodmere Ohdoya (Robert Doyle) gave chase in vain as Muktuk Annie strode home a four-length winner in 1:58.4. Woodmere Ohdoya was second, followed by Vivs Freight Train (Tyler Borth). Muktuk Annie won for the fifth time this year in nine starts. She was claimed by McQueen of London, Ont. out of her Feb. 21 victory at Flamboro Downs for $12,000. The four-year-old daughter of Artspeak-Hi Society Hanover is now 11-for-38 lifetime and has earned $54,322. She returned $5.50 to win. To view Wednesdays harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Western Fair Raceway. (Standardbred Canada) Tara Hills Stud recently welcomed the arrival of a full sister to 2025 Horse of the Year, Beau Jangles. The 2025 Armstrong Breeder of the Year reported that Mrs Major Hill p,3,1:53f ($36,618) foaled a filly by Cattlewash p,3,1:46.4 ($1,345,637) on Monday, March 2. The filly is a full sister to the undefeated Beau Jangles p,2,1:48.3s ($1,688,750), who was named the 2025 O'Brien and Dan Patch Horse of the Year after his 12-for-12 rookie campaign. She is also a half-sister to the Bettors Delight yearling T H Notorious. (Standardbred Canada) Woodbine Mohawk Park would like to inform trainers that the entry box for the Monday, March 9 racing program will remain open until Friday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. The race office is seeking horses for the following classes: TROT - $18,000 - 4 YEAR OLDS & YOUNGER, NW 1 (WINNERS FOR A PURSE OF $9,000 OR LESS 2 RACES) RACE OR $9,000 LIFETIME. NO ALLOWANCES. TROT - $19,000 - 5 YEAR OLDS & YOUNGER, NW 2 (FM 3) RACES OR $20,000 (OS $25,000) LIFETIME. TROT - $22,000 - 5 YEAR OLDS & YOUNGER, NW 3 (FM 4) RACES OR $50,000 (OS $62,500) LIFETIME. PACE - $13,000 - HORSES & GELDINGS CLAIMING $20,000 FOR NW $30,000 (OS $37,500) LIFETIME. ALLOWANCES FOR AGE. PACE - $14,000 - HORSES & GELDINGS CLAIMING $20,000 FOR NW $60,000 (OS $75,000) LIFETIME. ALLOWANCES FOR AGE. PACE - $7,000 - HORSES & GELDINGS CLAIMING $8,000 FOR NW $5,000 LAST 4 STARTS. ALLOWANCES FOR AGE. PACE - $9,000 - HORSES & GELDINGS CLAIMING $8,000. ALLOWANCES FOR AGE. To view the entire condition sheet, click here. (Woodbine) The search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has entered a critical new phase as specialised volunteer groups and a retired federal agent join the Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) and the FBI. Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was abducted from her Catalina Foothills home in Tucson on 1 February 2026. After a month of intensive forensic work and thousands of tips, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed on 3 March 2026 that detectives are 'definitely closer' to identifying a suspect. This shift in tone follows the analysis of doorbell camera footage and a specific 'time of interest' established by the disconnection of the victim's heart pacemaker at 2:28am on the night she vanished. The investigation has recently expanded to include outside expertise, with communication lines now open between official law enforcement and specialist civilian search organisations. Police say they are tracing leads and working through information that could identify whoever took her. A volunteer group based in Louisiana has sent an incident commander to Tucson to coordinate leaflet distribution and speak with residents, while a retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent has also entered the frame, offering pro bono expertise through a longrunning missingpersons organisation. Retired DEA Expert Becomes Part Of The Search Effort One of the unusual developments in the Nancy Guthrie search has been the involvement of Jerry 'Kelly' Snyder, a retired DEA agent. Snyder runs Find Me Group Inc, which he describes as a volunteer organisation that works alongside law enforcement on cases involving missing people. According to the report, he brings more than 25 years of DEA experience, and his group includes more than 100 specialists across various fields. Snyder's role, at least as explained in broadcast coverage, appears to sit firmly in a consultative lane rather than anything resembling command. According to Snyder, he received a call from a Pima County Sheriff's Department detective and the FBI, signalling that communication lines have opened but not suggesting that investigators have ceded ground. Families often turn to such help when official channels feel slow or inaccessible. Police departments are constrained by procedure, privacy law, and the demands of multiple caseloads, all of which limit what investigators can reveal as a case unfolds. Volunteer specialists, in contrast, can act quickly and speak with fewer restrictions. Their presence sometimes offers families a sense of movement even when the underlying evidence remains out of view. Sheriff's Office Signals Progress As Search Enters 2nd Month The official update remains Sheriff Nanos's comment to NBC journalist Liz Kreutz, later summarised by People.com, that detectives are 'definitely closer' to identifying one or more suspects. He referenced 'a lot of intel' and 'a lot of leads,' though stopped short of describing the nature of those developments. It is a characteristically cautious line, but one that indicates activity behind the scenes. On the ground, the most visible work has come from the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer organisation better known for its disasterresponse efforts but increasingly involved in search operations. WWL Radio reports that the group has sent incident commander Josh Gill to Tucson. Gill has been careful to describe his work as supportive rather than authoritative, saying he is in touch with the sheriff's office and is focused on offering practical assistance. His team has been distributing flyers and speaking with residents in the neighbourhood around Guthrie's home. The United Cajun Navy is now involved in the search for the mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, during the early morning hours on February 1.https://t.co/hkKN6PRFro WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) February 25, 2026 Gill's remarks have the cadence of someone trying to be useful without overstating his organisation's role. He said, 'What we're here to do is just provide some resources. That's it.' He added that volunteers have been canvassing the area and gathering information to pass on to investigators, explaining, 'We want to help bring Nancy home. We're not law enforcement. We just want to help. We want to provide some closure back to this family.' The group has also activated its 'Saw It, Report It' tool, a mobile system that allows the public to submit tips from their phones. It is a reminder that many investigations hinge on a small detail held by someone who has not yet recognised its relevance. Nothing in the publicly available reporting confirms a breakthrough, so the situation remains unverified. As the family reward remains at $1.1 million, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings visited a memorial outside their mother's home on 2 March to mark the one-month milestone, urging the public to 'keep praying and hoping.' Originally published on IBTimes UK Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new Russian cyber campaign that has targeted Ukrainian entities with two previously undocumented malware families named BadPaw and MeowMeow. "The attack chain initiates with a phishing email containing a link to a ZIP archive. Once extracted, an initial HTA file displays a lure document written in Ukrainian concerning border crossing appeals to deceive the victim," ClearSky said in a report published this week. In parallel, the attack chain leads to the deployment of a .NET-based loader called BadPaw, which then establishes communication with a remote server to fetch and deploy a sophisticated backdoor called MeowMeow. The campaign has been attributed with moderate confidence to the Russian state-sponsored threat actor known as APT28, based on the targeting footprint, the geopolitical nature of the lures used, and overlaps with techniques observed in previous Russian cyber operations. The starting point of the attack sequence is a phishing email sent from ukr[.]net, likely in an attempt to establish credibility and secure the trust of targeted victims. Present in the message is a link to a purported ZIP file, causing the user to be redirected to a URL that loads an "exceptionally small image," effectively acting as a tracking pixel to signal the operators that the link was clicked. Once this step is complete, the victim is redirected to a secondary URL from where the archive is downloaded. The ZIP file includes an HTML Application (HTA) that, once launched, drops a decoy document as a distraction mechanism, while it executes follow-on stages in the background. "The dropped decoy document serves as a social engineering tactic, presenting a confirmation of receipt for a government appeal regarding a Ukrainian border crossing," ClearSky said. "This lure is intended to maintain the veneer of legitimacy." The HTA file also carries out checks to avoid running within sandbox environments. It does this by querying the Windows Registry key "KLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\InstallDate" to estimate the "age" of the operating system. The malware is designed to abort execution if the system was installed less than ten days prior. Should the system meet the environment criteria, the malware locates the downloaded ZIP archive and extracts two files from it a Visual Basic Script (VBScript) and a PNG image and saves them to disk under different names. It also creates a scheduled task to execute the VBScript as a way of ensuring persistence on the infected system. The primary responsibility of the VBScript is to extract malicious code embedded within the PNG image, an obfuscated loader referred to as BadPaw that's capable of contacting a command-and-control (C2) server to download additional components, including an executable named MeowMeow. "Consistent with the 'BadPaw' tradecraft, if this file is executed independently of the full attack chain, it initiates a dummy code sequence," the Israeli cybersecurity company explained. "This decoy execution displays a graphical user interface (GUI) featuring a picture of a cat, aligning with the visual theme of the initial image file from which the primary malware was extracted." "When the 'MeowMeow' button within the decoy GUI is clicked, the application simply displays a 'Meow Meow Meow' message, performing no further malicious actions. This serves as a secondary functional decoy to mislead manual analysis." The backdoor's malicious code is activated only when it's executed with a certain parameter ("-v") that's provided by the initial infection chain, and after checking that it's running on an actual endpoint as opposed to a sandbox, and no forensic and monitoring tools like Wireshark, Procmon, Ollydbg, and Fiddler are running in the background. At its core, MeowMeow is equipped to remotely execute PowerShell commands on the compromised host and support file system operations, such as the ability to read, write, and delete data. ClearSky said it identified Russian language strings in the source code, reinforcing the assessment that the activity is the work of a Russian-speaking threat actor. "The presence of these Russian-language strings suggests two possibilities: the threat actor committed an operational security (OPSEC) error by failing to localize the code for the Ukrainian target environment, or they inadvertently left Russian development artifacts within the code during the malware's production phase," it said. (TBTCO) - Du an keo dai ai lo Vo Van Kiet (TP. Ho Chi Minh) ket noi truc tiep voi truc ong luc Luong Hoa Binh Chanh khong chi la loi giai cho bai toan giao thong cua ngo phia Tay ma con la ngoi no kich hoat chu ky tang gia moi cho loat du an bat ong san quy mo lon. Trong lo trinh e on au xu huong au tu nay, 3 du an gom: Khu o thi LA Home, The Solia va Eden Dragon ang noi len nhu nhung iem sang huong loi truc tiep. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website and archive of over 26,000 articles Exclusive monthly, members-only newsletter offering behind-the-scenes views from our contributing writers A guest, two-month subscription to share with a friend Aurigny said passengers do not have to pre-book the tickets [Matt Judge/BBC] Guernsey's airline has offered a "rescue fare" to those heading back to the island after been stranded in the Middle East. Aurigny said it was "the most suitable solution in this situation" with a cost of 65 per flight segment, and free for children under 17 travelling with adults on the same booking. It comes after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on Saturday and the conflict spread out across the Middle East. Advertisement Jamie Blondel chairman of the Guernsey association of travel agents said the "biggest concern at the moment is getting people back who are stuck out there". An Aurigny spokesperson said rescue fee tickets are available at the airport on departure and passengers do not need to book in advance as the scheme is "designed to help remove any unnecessary stress". The airline recommended passengers who need flexibility on trips they booked with several airlines should always buy a fare which allows them to change their reservation. It said they should also buy travel insurance covering unplanned eventualities. Advertisement Advertisement Blondel urged people to check both the foreign office and the airline websites "to see what they are saying and what they are all offering at the moment as they are all different". He said he has spent time trying to "rearrange people's travel plans and holidays". Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Youve got lots of company. I dont mean waiting in an airport security line or riding a popular new roller coaster. According to Attractions Magazine, there will be more than a dozen to choose from, including Tormenta Rampaging Fun at Six Flags Over Texas (the worlds tallest and fastest dive coaster); NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood expected this spring, the first indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater raft ride, and two at Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas, that are expected to open this summer. Im talking about waiting to plan a spring getaway. According to CheapOair, one of the worlds leading online travel agencies, families, as well as those traveling without kids, are waiting to book less than a month in advance. Trips booked from 61 to 90+ days in advance now represent less than 25 percent of total bookings, according to the survey. With travelers increasingly making decisions closer to their travel dates, flexibility and access to competitive fares are more important than ever, says Yuvraj Datta, chief supply and revenue officer at CheapOair Advertisement Those wanting to head to the Western slopes in what has been a historically poor snow season clearly have been waiting for more snow. As a result, resorts are offering many deals, including a third night free at some ski country Limelight hotels in Colorado and Idaho and $200 in gift cards for dining, rentals, massages and more from Park City Lodging. Thankfully, more snow has begun to fall but its uncertain if that will prove enough. You will likely find tempting deals wherever you want to go this spring season. Frontier and Southwest are among the airlines offering spring deals. If you care more about the deal than the destination, you typically can save if you book a package that includes flights, hotel, sometimes rental car from sites like CheapOair, Apple Vacations (for all-inclusive ), Travelocity (for last-minute trips) and Expedia. Kayak, Hopper and Trivago are all good bets to compare prices on flights and hotels. You can also set price alerts. How about a last-minute cruise? You might even be able to cruise from a port driven from your home saving the cost and aggravation of flying. CruiseCritic.com lists each days top cruise deals and last-minute deals. If you want to book with extended family or friends, look for special deals. For example, book five or more cabins with Norwegian Cruise Line and get onboard credits, open bar, specialty dining and more. Check for kids free deals as well. Advertisement Advertisement If you are military, a first responder or an educator, see if special deals apply to you. Members of the military can save up to 30 percent at Walt Disney World. Educators can save 20 percent off at major hotel chains, including Wyndham Hotels. (Make sure you have your school ID!) To save big time, consider HomeExchange (annual membership costs $235 for unlimited exchanges.) You dont necessarily need to travel at the same time as those you are exchanging with (many of these exchanges involve second homes.) Aficionados say not only will you be in a neighborhood rather than a tourist center, but you could find a home equipped for kids with toys, bikes, scooters, etc. Some families exchange cars and even pets. I love Arizona in spring the weather, the food, the Grand Canyon and, of course, spring training. But this is high season and hotels near the stadiums are pricey. Stay in surrounding cities like Tempe, Mesa or Glendale for better rates, the Arizona Republic suggests. At least game tickets can be a bargain with some teams offering lawn tickets as low as $15, though tickets for more popular teams typically cost more. Another plus, with such affordable tickets, no worries if the kids or you dont want to stay until the end. If your kids are begging for a trip to Orlando, look for deals from Visit Orlando that can save you on stays, food and more. For example, save up to 20 percent on a five-night stay at Marriotts two-bedroom Cypress Harbour Villas or a three-night stay at Hilton Grand Vacations Club SeaWorld Orlando. Advertisement Advertisement Of course, plenty of families will head elsewhere in Florida, like Floridas Nature Coast in Crystal River, the manatee capital of the world, where you can swim with these gentle giants, visit a National Wildlife Refuge Complex, kayak, fish, birdwatch and more. Fort Myers is also a good bet for spring training (The Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins). Visit Fort Myers is the first Florida destination to partner with Kind Traveler, through which visitors can give back a portion of their booking at participating hotels going to a local organization that supports sustainable travel. So, whats your pick? John Fetterman was the lone Democratic senator to vote against the War Powers Resolution seeking to limit President Donald Trump's ability to continue waging war in Iran. The vote was 53-47, short of the simple majority needed to move the resolution to the Senate floor. It sought to remove ""the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force." It was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine. When backing the initiative, he noted that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war, and Trump and some of his official have described the ongoing hostilities as such. "You can't stand up and say this is a pinprick that doesn't lead to the level that would be characterized as war. You can't stand up and say this is one and done and no troops are engaged in hostilities against Iran. Members of the Senate, this is war!" Kaine said during a passage of a floor speech before the vote. Sen. Rand Paul, in contrast, was the only Republican to support the vote. He criticized the strikes last Saturday, saying that "like most Americans I have sympathy for the plight of the Iranian people and all subjected people around the globe, from North Korea to Tibet," but quoted John Quincy Adam and said the U.S. "goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." As yet another preemptive war is begun in the Middle East, John Quincy Adams words of wisdom still ring true: Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. Like most Americans I Rand Paul (@RandPaul) February 28, 2026 Fetterman had already anticipated he would reject the initiative, slamming the fellow senators who planned to support it. In a social media publication, Fetterman said that "every member in the U.S. Senate agrees we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," so he was "baffled why so many are unwilling to support the only action to achieve that." "Empty sloganeering vs. commitment to global security which is it?" Fetterman added. Fetterman immediately came out to support strikes on Iran on Saturday, praising Trump for being "willing to do what's right and necessary to produce real peace in the region." Originally published on Latin Times Qatar Airways has said that it will begin operating a limited number of relief flights from Muscat and Riyadh on Thursday 5 March to help passengers left stranded due to the ongoing US-Israel and Iran conflict. The countrys airspace remains closed, with the next update on resumption of operations due at 9 am local time (7 am CET) on Friday 6 March. Qatars flag carrier will be reaching out to passengers directly about these flights, and you should not travel to the airport without being notified. Advertisement Flights set to depart from Omans capital Muscat, which is around a 10-hour drive from Doha, will be heading to destinations including London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam. Qatar Airways will also operate flights from Riyadh to Frankfurt. Saudi Arabias capital is around a seven-hour drive away from Doha. The airline has urged customers to ensure their contact details are up to date on the QA website and app so it can reach out with flight information and instructions when the time comes. British Airways has also begun operating special flights out of Muscat for customers with an existing booking who are in the UAE or Oman. Flights due to depart on 5, 6 and 7 March are now fully booked. Exceptional flights in the UAE The UAE began operating exceptional flights in the afternoon of 2 March to help stranded passengers. Advertisement Advertisement Around 17,500 people left the country on 60 special flights between 2 and 3 March, the UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority has said. Much like in Qatar, airlines are contacting passengers directly about being booked onto these flights. Etihad Airways has said regular scheduled flights remain suspended until 6 am local time (3 am CET) on 6 March, while Emirates has extended its suspension until 11:59 pm local time (8:59 pm CET) on 7 March. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic resumed its scheduled flights between Dubai and London Heathrow, with the first flight taking off on 4 March. Other airlines that have resumed some flights include flydubai, Air India and Russias S7 Airlines. Get ready, Florida stargazers: The Milky Way could be coming to a sky near you. Our galaxy is positively teeming with billions of stars that become bright and vibrant in the cosmos at certain times of the year. And in the U.S., that time of year, known as "Milky Way season," is just now beginning. For the next several months, the iconic band of hazy light should routinely be visible across the northern hemisphere arcing across the night sky. Advertisement The best part? You don't need fancy telescopes or equipment to view it just your eyes, dark skies and maybe a camera, if you're into astral photography. Here's everything to know about our Milky Way, including how to see the stunning natural phenomenon from Florida. What is the Milky Way galaxy? The Milky Way is our home galaxy with a disc of stars that spans more than 100,000 light-years. Because it appears as a rotating disc curving out from a dense central region, the Milky Way is known as a spiral galaxy. Our planet sits along one of the galaxys spiral arms, about halfway from the center, according to NASA. Advertisement Advertisement The Milky Way resides in a cosmic neighborhood called the Local Group that includes more than 50 other galaxies. Those galaxies can be as "small" as a dwarf galaxy, with up to only a few billion stars, or as large as Andromeda, our nearest large galactic neighbor. Why is it called the Milky Way? The Milky Way got its name because from our perspective on Earth, it appears as a faint, milky band of light stretching across the sky. When is Milky Way season? The Milky Way looms over the old fire tower at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Copeland, Florida, in the early morning hours of June 17, 2020. Though the Milky Way is generally always visible from Earth, certain times of year are better for stargazers to catch a glimpse of the band of billions of stars. "Milky Way season," when the galaxy's bright center becomes easier to see from Earth, typically runs from February to October, according to the Milky Way photography website Capture the Atlas. Advertisement Advertisement But because visibility from Earth depends on the latitude, the further south you go, the longer the Milky Way season will last. In the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the continental United States, the best time to see the Milky Way is generally from March to September, according to Capture the Atlas. What is the galactic center? What you're looking at when the Milky Way is visible is the bright center of our galaxy, "seen edge-on from our position within the galaxy's disk," Preston Dyches, who hosts NASA's "What's Up," a monthly video series that describes what's happening in the night sky, wrote in June for NASA. Is the Milky Way visible in March? Can I see it from Florida? The center of the Milky Way, which Dyches refers to as "the core," is best visible beginning in June across the Northern Hemisphere, when it's "visible as a faint band of hazy light arching across the sky all night." But just because it's March doesn't mean the Milky Way isn't yet visible in the U.S. just that it may be trickier to spot. What time of night is the Milky Way visible? The Milky Way is generally visible from sunset to sunrise, or when it's darkest outside, according to Capture the Atlas, Advertisement Advertisement Typically, the sky is darkest from about midnight to 5 a.m. You can check sunrise and sunset times at your location using the website TimeAndDate. But the time of year can also influence when people have the greatest chances of seeing the Milky Way at its best. And between February and June, the Milky Way is best seen in the early morning. New moon phase ideal for Milky Way viewing While the moon can help illuminate the landscape, too much light coming from Earth's natural satellite will drastically reduce the Milky Way's visibility, according to Capture the Atlas. As of March 5, the moon is more than 90% full and in a waning gibbous phase following a full moon, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. That means the moon is beginning its journey back toward the sun, still mostly illuminated as it decreases in size from Earth's vantage and rises later and later each night, NASA explains. Advertisement Advertisement A new moon phase will begin Wednesday, March 18 meaning a few days before then and into late March, there will be far less celestial light for the Milky Way to contend with in order to make itself widely visible. How can you see the Milky Way from Florida? Tips Stargazers can observe the Milky Way by looking for the Summer Triangle, a shape formed by three bright stars that spans across the Milky Way, according to science news website LiveScience. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way rises in the southeast, travels across the southern sky and sets in the southwest, according to Weather.com. Dark sky locations in Florida Spectators will have the best luck at dark sky locations on cloud-free nights and away from city light pollution. Advertisement Advertisement Want to find a dark area near you? DarkSky International is a U.S nonprofit that maintains a list of designated dark sky communities around the world, including 171 in the United States. That includes these three locations in Florida: Groveland in Lake County about 30 miles west of Orlando Kissimmee Praire Preserve State Park , 25 miles north of Okeechobee Big Cyrpress National Preserve in Ochopee in South Florida, in the Everglades Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Milky Way season begins. When, how to see our galaxy in Florida Air travel has always carried a quiet social contract. When you board a plane, you expect the basics: a seat that works, overhead space if youre lucky, and a tray table that doesnt feel like the aftermath of someone elses snack break. Now a new experiment reportedly underway at Southwest Airlines is sparking debate among frequent flyers. According to aviation reporting and internal union commentary, the airline is testing a process where cleaning crews board between flights to clean only the premium extra-legroom seats, leaving standard economy seats to the usual quick tidy by flight attendants. The idea might make operational sense inside airline headquarters. But from a travelers perspective, it raises a very basic question. If everyone is sharing the same airplane, why should some seats get cleaned and others not? Advertisement Be the first to know about new travel trends, tips, and talessubscribe now. Why Southwest Is Experimenting With Cleaning Premium Seats First The reported policy emerged through comments from a flight attendant union leader who said the airline circulated a memo about an experiment bringing cleaners onboard between flights specifically for the premium extra-legroom section. The rest of the cabin, according to the report, would continue to receive the typical between-flight tidy done by flight attendants. That process generally involves collecting visible trash and straightening seatbelts rather than fully sanitizing each seat or tray table. Southwest has historically prioritized extremely fast aircraft turnaround times. But fast turnarounds leave limited time for cleaning. In the past, the airline has focused between-flight sanitation on specific high-touch surfaces such as tray tables and lavatories, while more comprehensive cleaning occurs overnight. At the same time, the airline itself is changing. After decades of open seating, Southwest introduced assigned seats and premium extra-legroom rows as part of a broader shift toward tiered pricing and services. Once airlines begin offering multiple cabin tiers, they often look for ways to make those tiers visibly different. Extra legroom is one element. Early boarding is another. Prioritized cleaning could become part of that same differentiation strategy. Why the Policy Is Stirring So Much Reaction For travelers, the idea of premium cleaning lands differently than priority boarding or better snacks. Cleanliness feels fundamental. And aviation workers themselves are raising concerns about how the policy might appear to passengers. One flight attendant union leader compared the concept to Titanic class service, suggesting it creates a visible divide between passengers in the front and those seated farther back. Advertisement Advertisement The analogy may sound dramatic, but it highlights a deeper cultural shift happening inside Southwest. For decades, the airline marketed itself as a company where everyone on board had essentially the same experience. No first class. No business class. Just rows of identical seats and a famously democratic boarding process. But the industry around it has changed. Competitors increasingly rely on premium products to drive revenue, and Southwest has begun adopting some of those strategies as well. Customer backlash over recent changes such as assigned seating and premium seat zones has already forced the airline to adjust parts of its rollout. So when news of a cleaning experiment surfaced, it quickly became another symbol of the airlines evolving identity. Stay in the loop with fresh travel stories and updatessubscribe to our newsletter. How Clean Are Airplane Seats in the First Place? On busy domestic routes, a single aircraft can operate five or more flights per day, meaning dozens of passengers cycle through the same seats. Between flights, the available cleaning time is usually very limited. Advertisement Advertisement Because of those constraints, many airlines rely on a layered cleaning approach: Quick cabin tidy between flights: Trash is collected and obvious messes are removed. Targeted sanitation of high-touch areas: Tray tables, lavatories, and galleys are prioritized because they are touched frequently. Deep cleaning overnight: Aircraft may undergo several hours of cleaning at night that includes wiping surfaces and applying disinfectants. Southwest says its planes typically receive more than six hours of overnight cleaning. Multiple studies conducted over the years have found that tray tables often contain some of the highest bacteria levels in airplane cabins, partly because passengers eat on them and they are not always wiped between flights. That reality explains why seasoned travelers, myself included, often clean their own seat area before settling in. What Travelers Can Do to Keep Their Seat Clean If you travel often, a small seat sanitation kit can make boarding far more comfortable. Disinfectant wipes: Perfect for wiping tray tables, armrests, seatbelt buckles, and window shades. Hand sanitizer: Useful after touching overhead bins or lavatory door handles. A scarf or jacket for the headrest: Many travelers drape a layer of fabric over the seat where their head rests. A few tissues: Helpful if you need to reach into a seatback pocket that may contain leftover trash. Some airlines provide antimicrobial wipes onboard for passengers who want to disinfect their personal space. What This Debate Says About the Future of Flying Whether Southwest ultimately adopts the policy widely remains uncertain. Airlines test many operational ideas that never make it past internal trials. But the conversation around this one highlights a broader trend. Air travel is increasingly built around tiers. More legroom. Reserved overhead bins. Early boarding. Airport lounges. And perhaps now even priority cleaning. Advertisement Advertisement For travelers who grew up flying Southwest in its earlier days, the change can feel symbolic. The airline that once rejected traditional cabin classes is slowly adopting the same layered model as its competitors. And if this cleaning experiment moves forward, passengers may soon notice something subtle when they walk down the aisle. The seats near the front may look freshly wiped. The ones farther back might not. This story was originally published by TravelHost on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here. In an Express article last week headlined Strong turnout for migrant sign-up, an update was given on the ongoing physical registration exercise for migrants. Written by senior journalist Anna Ramdass, the story outlined the number of migrants processed at each venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, 167; Larry Gomes Stadium, 176; Dwight Yorke Stadium, 40. The Hasely Crawford Stadium was closed for a sporting event. The saga of A Court of Thorns and Roses will continue. Author Sarah J. Maas announced on Alex Coopers Call Her Daddy podcast Wednesday that two new books will be released in the hugely popular romantasy series, ending a five-year drought since the fifth installment, A Court of Silver Flames. The sixth book will be published on Oct. 27, 2026, and the seventh on Jan. 12, 2027. It took me a while to find the right story and to be in the right headspace. And then, like what poured out of me was this and it poured out very quickly, the author told Cooper. The story that was finally ready to come out of me was big. Really, really big. Maas first teased the sixth book on Instagram in July, with the caption First drafts DONE on a video that drew nearly a million likes. Maas did not share details about the book titles, cover art or whose point of view the stories will follow, but did mention that the characters perspective was one of the surprising things for her while writing. On Instagram, Maas thanked her fans for their patience, passion and never letting the world fade. I know how long youve waited. I know how much these characters mean to you. And I also know these stories deserve more than speed and deadlines. They deserve my best self. They deserve the right moment, Maas wrote. Im so honored by the way you guys have always embraced Prythian as your own. I truly hope it feels like coming home for you like it did for me. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declined to retract her earlier characterization of Alex Pretti and Renee Good as engaging in "domestic terrorism" during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, despite repeated questions from lawmakers in both parties. The hearing marked Noem's first appearance before Congress since the January 7 shooting of Good and the January 24 shooting of Pretti by federal immigration agents. Both deaths occurred during enforcement operations that drew national attention. In the days following the shootings, Noem publicly described the incidents as acts of "domestic terrorism," linking the deaths to what she characterized as coordinated violent resistance to federal immigration enforcement. In an exchange with Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dick Durbin, Noem expressed condolences to the families but did not withdraw her prior remarks, despite being pressed by the Senator. "When we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families and I offer mine as well," Noem said. "These are tragic situations and I can't imagine what these families go through in losing a loved one." Durbin asked whether she would retract statements identifying the victims as domestic terrorists, noting that Customs and Border Protection and ICE officials had testified they did not inform her that Pretti was a domestic terrorist. Noem answered that she had relied on "reports from the ground from agents at the scene," describing the situation in Minneapolis and St. Paul as "chaotic" amid what she characterized as violent protests tied to immigration enforcement. When Durbin pressed her on whether she would admit she was wrong, Noem responded, "As these investigations continue to go, I absolutely strive to provide factual information." Asked if she would admit error publicly, she said, "Absolutely." She added, "We always know that there's room for improvement." "Is it so hard to say you were wrong?" -- under questioning from Durbin, Kristi Noem refuses to retract her statements about Alex Pretti and Renee Good being domestic terrorists, but throws "agents at the scene" under the bus for the fact she said it in the first place pic.twitter.com/qHSbyAF5gM Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026 Sen. Amy Klobuchar also questioned Noem, telling her that Pretti's parents considered the terrorism label "one of the most hurtful things they could ever imagine." Klobuchar asked whether Noem had anything to say to the families. "We were relying in the hours after that incident that was so horrific on information we were getting from the ground from our agents," Noem said. She later added, "I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of." KLOBUCHAR: Alex Pretti's parents said what you said was one of the most hurtful things they could imagine. Do you want to say anything to Alex's parents? NOEM: I did not call him a 'domestic terrorist.' I said it 'appeared to be an incident of' KLOBUCHAR: I think the parents pic.twitter.com/kmRNWXAPxk Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026 In a separate exchange, Sen. John Kennedy questioned reports that Noem had attributed the characterization to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Noem denied blaming Miller, saying information had been relayed to the press by anonymous sources. "That day, we were working to get as much information to the American people as possible," she said. KENNEDY: What got my attention was you blamed your 'domestic terrorist' statements on Stephen Miller NOEM: No I did not. Where you saw that was in a news article of anonymous sources, and they say a lot of things. But I never said that KENNEDY: Well here's what you said on the pic.twitter.com/0uSpGuOfPo Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026 Originally published on Latin Times Airdate: Blue Murder Motel Michala Banas and Brett Tucker star as retired Aussie cops who invest in a NZ motel, only to encounter a dead body. New Zealand crime drama Blue Murder Motel starring Aussies Michala Banas and Brett Tucker premieres on ABC tomorrow. They star as married police detectives Vanessa and Peter Coleman, who are hanging up their badges and taking early retirement from the Australian police force. Their next chapter, investing in their dream a 13-room motel in a sunny, oceanside New Zealand town. But only one week into their new adventure, paradise takes an unexpected turn when a body is discovered in Unit 3. The cast also features Jayden Daniels (Tangata Pai, Head High, Shortland Street), Stephanie Tauevihi (Shortland Street, The Panthers, Agent Anna) and Jaime McDermott (My Life Is Murder, Head High, Shortland Street). 40-somethings Vanessa and Peter Coleman known to friends and colleagues as Vinny and Cole have been married ever since they met as junior constables in Sydney. Both of them followed the police path until the very recent final years of their careers as senior homicide detectives. Working together, living and loving together, its fair to say that police investigations and murder were a 24/7 thing for Vinny and Cole. But now for reasons the Colemans are keeping to themselves it is time to leave all that behind. Blue Motel, in the summery beach town of Mowai Bay, offered the perfect escape, the ultimate retirement dream. But only six weeks into their new life, that dream has taken an unexpected, annoying turn. Episode 1 Married ex-cops Vinny and Cole have swapped the homicide beat in Sydney for their retirement dream, running a retro seaside motel in a coastal New Zealand town. But when a rowdy boys weekend ends with a dead body in Unit 3, it seems murder and mayhem have a new place to stay. Created by New Zealand writer Kate McDermott and producer Steven Zanoski, Blue Murder Motel is produced by Great Southern Television and will be distributed globally by About Premium Content (France). 7:30pm Saturday March 7 on ABC. Euro, NZ dealmakers head to Screen Forever Senior global executives will attend the annual Screen Producers Australia conference. Senior global executives from Europe and New Zealand are heading to Screen Forever 40 on the Gold Coast in April. They are Sophie Green, Head of Acquisitions and Development at Bankside Films; Antoine Nugou, Scripted Content Executive at Mediawan Rights; Emma John, Scripted Commissioner at TVNZ; and Tina McLaren, Commissioning Editor at Sky NZ. Sophie Green, Head of Acquisitions and Development, Bankside Films Sophie Green oversees acquisitions and development at Bankside Films, where she sources distinctive feature films with international theatrical potential. Recent successes include You Wont Be Alone, Of an Age, The Quiet Girl (BAFTA and Oscar nominated) and Talk to Me. With a background spanning StudioCanal UK, ScreenWest and WestEnd Films, Sophie brings a strong blend of creative development and commercial strategy to identifying globally resonant storytelling. Im delighted to be attending Screen Forever in person this year, said Green. Bankside Films has a long-standing relationship with Australian filmmakers, and its always inspiring to see the depth of talent in the market. Im looking forward to working with producers across the panels and pitching sessions and supporting the next wave of Australian stories reaching international audiences. Antoine Nugou, Scripted Content Executive, Mediawan Rights Antoine Nugou leads scripted acquisitions and co-productions across multiple territories at Mediawan Rights, expanding the companys international portfolio and facilitating strategic partnerships with producers worldwide. With over eight years experience across Lagardere Studios Distribution and Banijay Studios International, Antoine specialises in global distribution strategy and positioning premium scripted content for international markets. Im excited to attend Screen Forever and look forward to connecting with Australian producers to see how we can help them with international distribution and co-production, said Nugou. This aligns directly with Mediawans growing interest in English-language content, especially Australian projects. Emma John, Scripted Commissioner, TVNZ Emma John oversees original drama and comedy commissioning at TVNZ, shaping the development and delivery of local scripted content. Her career spans the UK and New Zealand screen sectors, before returning to Aotearoa to hold senior programming and production roles. She is known for her strong editorial judgement and collaborative approach to commissioning distinctive local stories. Tina McLaren, Commissioning Editor, Sky NZ Tina McLaren brings more than 25 years of experience across New Zealands screen sector, spanning commissioning, production and programming at TVNZ, Screentime NZ and Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ. Now Commissioning Editor at Sky NZ, Tina oversees scripted content across the Sky portfolio, championing distinctive New Zealand stories with local and international resonance. Screen Forever is 2830 April on the Gold Coast. Ursula Heger, from the front line to Late News. Ursula Heger is part of 10's female-forward news team, ready to celebrate network parity this International Women's Day. When Ursula Heger set her sights on covering the war in Ukraine, she wasnt sure if her bosses at 10 News would send her into the frontline. I worried that Channel 10 might not send me because I was a woman. Im of small stature, and I thought maybe they wouldnt send me to that. But they had no hesitation. It was about who was best for the job in that moment, who was available. I think that gives an ability to tell a story, like a war, for instance, in a different light, because you can talk to the women. Some of them were crossing the borders with their children, having to say goodbye to their husbands. Its not impossible for a man to tell that story, of course, but its easier for a woman to speak to people and understand the pain and the horror that those women were facing, even though theyre not indirectly in the line of combat. After joining the network in 2011, Heger reported on the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the Easter terror attack in Sri Lanka, the COVID pandemic, Black Summer bushfires, Royal visits to the Pacific, and Prime Ministerial visits to China, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. Since last April she has fronted 10s Late News at a network where 56% of newsroom staff are female. As International Womens Day is celebrated this Sunday, Heger says it is a time celebrate the successes and review progress. Ive been with the network for 15 years and it has changed. Weve got Beverley McGarvey at the top, and that makes a huge difference in this industry. But all the way down, theres women in management roles. Theres female Executive Producers in News, theres female News Directors. Weve got very strong On Air talent that are women, she continues. To be honest with you, journalism isnt about looking inwards. Its not really about looking at us, but what it should do is reflect the society around it, and reflect the type of people that exist and the stories that exist out there. I think you you can only tell somebodys story incredibly well if you have empathy towards it, and one of the great ways of getting empathy towards it is if you have lived experiences yourself. In its performance under the WGEA Gender Equality Reporting, 10s median salary gender pay gap is currently 4.5%, compared to one competitor at 13%. Heger concedes she isnt across salary parity with her colleagues. To be honest, I wouldnt know. We dont tend to discuss it thats a personal issue for people, she admits. One of the things I hope is that eventually we wont need to discuss this anymore, and I do think were getting to that point. At 10, its not about whether youre a man or a woman. Its about merit. Its about whos best for the job, and those people get the job. Thats the thing. The job pays a certain amount, and its whoevers best to get the job, which is where I think the issue came in the first place, where women werent allowed to have jobs, or werent hired for certain jobs back in the day. But thats not the case now. This year 10s Late News has moved to an earlier timeslot, promoted from 10:30pm to as early as 9:30pm subject to network programming. Were into a good slot, and I hope that gives more people a chance to watch us, because I genuinely believe this is a really good product and something that people could like, she suggests. We skew younger, and we tend to skew sort of the professional market but I hope to get everybody. I think 9:30 to 10 is a great time to watch the news and its been growing a good audience. Its actually a little quite achiever, in my opinion. Recently she was presenting as a bulletin when live pictures came in of fires breaking out across apartment towers in Hong Kong. 168 people lost their lives in the massive blaze. Weve got lots of television banks, obviously, in the newsroom, and it flashed up on AP, as a tiny little fire, she recalls. Within about 30 minutes, it seven of those towers were going up. It was terrible. As she remembers with 9 / 11 and Sandra Sully, sometimes the late bulletin is the centre of breaking news. I remember being woken up by my parents, and Sandra had the ability to tell Australia what was happening. At the time, there wasnt (much) access to the internet, so somebody had to let us all know what was happening. While her ambitions growing up were reporting, Heger is happy with her new-found presenting role for 10. I came to presenting late. I am a reporter, and was a journalist for a very long time and that gives me the ability, I think, to understand people and understand how to tell a really good story. But also understand who is watching TV and how people like to consume TV. And I ask people relentlessly! she admits. I dont love the word passion, but the passion to tell peoples stories and to understand people never goes away. So its just about finding a way to do it in a different way, which Ive still got. And I love that. 10s Late News screens weeknights on 10. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated travel guidance for 13 nations as the Middle East crisis continues to create worldwide disruption. The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has now reached its sixth day. Flights carrying British nationals stranded in the Middle East due to the situation have been chartered. With 138,000 British citizens in the Middle East registered with the UK Government, yet only approximately 1,000 have returned on commercial services since hostilities commenced, the FCDO faces a substantial challenge in arranging safe travel and keeping Britons updated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alongside refreshing its country-specific travel advisory pages, the FCDO has established a new centralised portal for those in nations directly affected by the conflict, reports BirmibghamLive. The Foreign Office's latest travel advice Saudi Arabia FCDO now advises against all but essential travel to Eastern Province and Riyadh Province. The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to within 10km of Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen. Lebanon FCDO now advises against all travel or all but essential travel to all areas of Lebanon. It has updated its advice on the conflict affecting Lebanon and increased the scope of the area to which we advise against 'all travel'. Bahrain The FCDO has taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw some of its staff and their dependents from Bahrain. Its Embassy continues to operate. Nepal Additional information has been added on the potential disruption during Nepal's election on 5 March, including after polling day. Information on the potential impact on travel and visas due to escalation in the Middle East. Georgia There is new information about travel disruption and updated information about visa requirements. For security reasons, the FCDO advises against all travel to the Russian-occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. FCDO also advises against all but essential travel to areas immediately next to the administrative boundary lines with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Malaysia The FCDO has updated travel advice for Malaysia with a general warning about global travel disruption in the Middle East. The FCDO still advises against all but essential travel to parts of Malaysia. Oman The FCDO has those in Oman who have had travel plans disrupted to register their interest in UK government flights from the country. Tajikistan The FCDO has updated travel advice for Tajikistan with a general warning about global travel disruption in the Middle East. Ecuador A State of Emergency has been renewed, a curfew has been announced in four provinces, and the land border with Colombia will be closed during the Colombian elections. Djibouti The FCDO has updated travel advice for Dijibouti with a general warning about global travel disruption in the Middle East. The FCDO still advises against all travel to the Djibouti-Eritrea border. Kuwait The FCDO urges that Brits in the country let the UK government know they're in Kuwait by registering their presence in the country. There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times. UK Counter Terrorism Policing has information and advice on staying safe abroad and what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Find out how to reduce your risk from terrorism while abroad. Thailand The FCDO has updated travel advice for Thailand with a general warning about global travel disruption in the Middle East. Jordan The FCDO has updated its advice with information about Jordanian airspace, which has been affected by the regional conflict. FCDO continues to advise against all but essential travel to Jordan, and all travel to within 3km of the border with Syria. Assyrian Woman in Iraq Arrested for Celebrating the Killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Rana Georges. Baghdad -- Rana Georges, an Iraqi Assyrian woman, remains in detention three days after security forces arrested her in Baghdad following the circulation of a video clip on social media showing her celebrating the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Several channels and social media called for urgent attention to the case, noting that Georges had been subjected over the previous two days to physical assault, beating, and verbal abuse by civilians. Her home was also reportedly searched without official legal warrants before she was handed over to the police station. A judicial report was subsequently filed against her at Al-Saadoun Police Station, based on testimonies from individuals who assaulted her. The relevant authorities considered the content of the video offensive to society, prompting her detention pending legal procedures. No detailed judicial statement specifying the final charge has yet been issued. The statement called on the higher judicial authorities to intervene immediately to review the case files and ensure Georges's physical and psychological safety. The statement also appealed to international organizations and human rights bodies to follow up on the case to ensure the protection of minorities from persecution practiced against them on the basis of freedom of belief or opinion. The statement noted that what Rana Georges was subjected to constitutes a clear violation of constitutional articles that guarantee the protection of human dignity and the sanctity of homes, adding that relying on the testimonies of the attackers themselves as witnesses undermines the integrity of the legal procedures being followed. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The World Health Organization (WHO), together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), congratulates Chile for becoming the first country in the Americas and the second globally to be officially verified as having eliminated leprosy disease A job where he dares not sit Every Monday and Saturday evening, passersby at the corner of Tran Hung Dao and Phung Hung streets in Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City, often notice an elderly man with silver hair standing quietly beside a small charcoal stove, baking bright green pandan coconut cakes. Next to an old glass display cabinet, he carefully flips each batch. The gentle fragrance of pandan leaves drifts through the night air, drawing curious customers who pause for a taste of the round, emerald-colored cakes. The man is Tran Bo, 79, from An Giang, who has spent more than half his life selling pandan baked cakes. Tran Bo sells pandan baked cakes every Monday and Saturday night at the corner of Tran Hung Dao and Phung Hung streets in Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ha Nguyen As a young boy, Bo was fascinated by stories of the vibrant city of Saigon told by traders who had done business there. Growing up in a large family, he eventually left his hometown to seek a living in the city. In Ho Chi Minh City, he found work with a family that made pandan coconut cakes. When he reached adulthood, the shop owner entrusted him with pushing a street cart to sell the cakes. The work offered a steady income and was not overly strenuous, so he continued with it for decades. Despite working with the bakery family since his youth, Bo never learned the secret recipe. What he does know is that preparing the batter takes time - usually between 12 and 24 hours. The finished batter is smooth and light green, infused with the fragrance of pandan leaves. When baked, the cakes rise evenly, forming small round shapes with a mild sweetness and distinctive aroma. The cakes are small, roughly the size of half an egg, and sold for VND5,000 each (approximately US$0.20). Bos pandan baked cakes are small, bright green and sold for VND5,000 each. Photo: Ha Nguyen To this day, I still receive the batter and the cart from the shop owner at a fixed price before I start selling, Bo explained. At the end of the night, I return the agreed amount to him. Whatever remains after that is my income. If sales are good, I earn more. If not, I have to pay the difference from my own pocket. According to Bo, the job is not physically demanding, but it requires experience in controlling the heat. The cakes are baked over charcoal. If the heat is too strong, the cakes burn before they have time to rise. If the heat is too low, the cakes cook but fail to puff up properly, making them difficult to sell. When I bake, I cannot sit down, he said. If I am even a little slow, the cakes burn, fail to rise properly, or collapse after rising. Burnt cakes or ones that do not puff up evenly simply will not sell. That is why he never brings a chair and remains standing throughout the entire time he works. At first, my legs went numb and ached badly. Now I can stand for hours, even at the age of 79. Only two nights a week Bo has been selling this type of cake for more than half his life and never sits while baking. Photo: Ha Nguyen Bo works only two nights a week to cover medical expenses and save money for a nursing home when he can no longer earn a living. Photo: Ha Nguyen Despite its small size, each pandan baked cake sells for VND5,000 (US$0.20). Bos modest cart often sells out quickly, even though he operates only at night, from 8 pm to 11 pm. A young couple who stopped to buy 20 cakes said it was their first time trying Bos baked cakes. They found them delicious, though not easy to buy because he only appears on Monday and Saturday nights. To get the cakes, they had to stop by after picking up their children from extra classes. Vy, 21, from Ho Chi Minh City, also came with a friend before heading to a music lesson. I first learned about Mr Bo through social media, she said. Since he travels from An Giang to Ho Chi Minh City twice a week to sell cakes, I wanted to come and support him. The cakes are a bit expensive, but they taste good and look beautiful. Bo lives alone in his home in the former Chau Doc district of An Giang province. Because of his age and ongoing health issues, he only has the strength to sell twice a week. He chooses to work at night because the daytime heat exhausts him. From his hometown, Bo boards a bus to Ho Chi Minh City at noon on Mondays and Saturdays. After arriving, he stops by the bakery to collect the batter and the cart. At exactly 8 pm, he pushes the cart to the sidewalk and begins baking until all the cakes are sold. Once finished, he cleans the cart, the display cabinet and the baking tools before returning them to the bakery. After settling the payment, the shop owner helps cover the cost of his journey home. Bo lives alone and never married. In my younger years, I knew many women, but I never ended up marrying anyone, he shared quietly. Living alone in my hometown, I do not need much besides money for food and medicine. By traveling to Ho Chi Minh City twice a week to sell cakes, he earns a little more than VND1 million each trip (US$40). That amount is enough for me to manage my daily life, he said. I also try to save some money, so that when I am no longer strong enough to work, I will have funds to enter a nursing home. Ha Nguyen As Hanoi accelerates the building of digital government, digital transformation is increasingly becoming a pillar in organising the election of deputies to the National Assembly and Peoples Councils at all levels for the 2026 2031 tenure, helping enhance transparency, accuracy and voter engagement throughout the process. From voter data management and candidate registration to public communications and information disclosure, digital platforms are being applied across key stages of election preparation. The use of digital infrastructure enables more systematic and synchronised operations while ensuring voters access reliable and comprehensive information before casting their ballots. Across the capital, technology applications have been deployed in a coordinated manner. Voter data are compiled on the basis of the National Resident Database, thus minimising errors, duplication and omissions. Candidate dossiers are processed through a combination of traditional and digital methods, ensuring legal compliance alongside efficient management and storage. Accurate, complete and live data In Giang Vo ward, Chairman of the Peoples Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Election Committee of the ward Co Nhu Dung said resident data serves as the backbone of the election. Voter information is reviewed and updated through the electronic identification system, enabling accurate voter lists by polling area, while voter cards are generated directly from the system to ensure consistency and security. All candidate documents have also been digitised, shortening processing time and improving administrative coordination. The overarching goal, he noted, is to organise a democratic, lawful, safe and cost-efficient election, with technology playing a crucial supporting role in reducing manpower while maintaining strict legal compliance. In Cua Nam ward, QR codes have been introduced in election communications, providing residents with flexible access to information. Ward Party Secretary and Chairman of the Peoples Council Nguyen Hoang Truong, who is also head of the Cua Nam Election Committee, emphasised that election preparations require absolute accuracy and transparency. Voter lists are developed through the Ministry of Public Securitys voter management system and updated promptly before official publication. QR codes displayed at public notice points allow voters to look up polling locations and election details and submit feedback, shifting communications from one-way dissemination to two-way interaction and strengthening accountability. At the city level, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hanoi has launched a digital election information map integrating data on constituencies, candidate lists and biographies, their action programmes, and links to official media outlets. The platform helps systematise information, enabling voters to access synchronised and real-time updates through an interface optimised for both smartphones and computers. Youth drive practical digital innovation Digital transformation in elections has also been supported by youth initiatives. In Ha Dong ward, the local youth organisation developed a chatbot to assist voters by answering common questions on polling areas, constituencies, voting procedures and relevant regulations. Nguyen Tien Phuc, Vice President of the wards Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and Secretary of the local Youth Union Committee, said the chatbot reduces pressure on direct communications activities while making official information more accessible to residents. The initiative also demonstrates the proactive role of young people in promoting digital transformation in practical community tasks. Behind the system is a team of youth members who regularly review and update content to ensure accuracy and consistency. Although not operating continuously online, the model has proven effective thanks to active management and community engagement. Following initial success, the chatbot has been expanded to neighbourhood youth branches, gradually reaching a wider population. From integrated resident data and digitised candidate records to QR-code communications, digital mapping and chatbot support, Hanoi is building a comprehensive technological ecosystem for election organisation. As data connectivity improves and information transparency increases, the electoral process is becoming not only more accurate but also closer to citizens. In the digital era, each ballot is safeguarded not only by legal frameworks but also by a synchronised and scientific technological foundation, helping ensurethe Election Day truly becomes a nationwide democratic festival grounded in transparency, trust and informed participation./. VNA Vietnams Ministry of Science and Technology has urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review regulations on electricity pricing applied to data centers, ensuring alignment with national strategies to develop digital infrastructure. Recently, Viettel, VNPT, FPT Telecom, CMC and VNG Data Center sent a joint proposal to the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the application of electricity price brackets for data centers under Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BCT, issued on December 2, 2025, which regulates electricity pricing implementation. Under the circular, electricity authorities classify data center operations as facilities providing centralized data processing, storage and management services. As a result, electricity tariffs are applied under the commercial service category rather than the production category that had previously been used. In practice, since early December 2025, some data centers operated by private enterprises have already experienced a sharp increase in electricity costs after the new pricing classification was applied. For example, at a data center operated by CMC, electricity expenses - the largest component of operating costs - increased by more than 50 percent across the first three billing cycles following the change. Such a sudden rise in costs has had a major impact on financial planning, service pricing structures and the ability of data centers to maintain stable operations and expand investments. It also raises concerns about potential impacts on Vietnams national digital infrastructure. Responding to these concerns, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long signed an official document addressed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. From the perspective of state management of digital infrastructure, the Ministry of Science and Technology cited resolutions and documents from the 14th National Party Congress, which define a new growth model driven by science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. The ministry emphasized the need to build and complete a synchronized and modern digital infrastructure to support national digital transformation, including the development of large-scale data centers that serve as the foundation for the digital economy and digital society. Proposal to maintain electricity pricing for data centers The ministry also referred to Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo, which calls for mechanisms and policies to support domestic enterprises investing in data centers while attracting foreign companies to establish data centers in Vietnam that meet international and green standards. According to the national information and communications infrastructure planning for 2021-2030, with a vision toward 2050, Vietnam aims to reach at least 788MW in total designed data center capacity by 2030. Currently, however, the countrys capacity stands at around 372MW, highlighting the need to continue attracting investment and expanding data center infrastructure in the coming years. The Ministry of Science and Technology therefore warned that shifting electricity pricing for data centers from the production category to the commercial category under Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BCT significantly increases operational costs. Because data centers serve as core infrastructure supporting a wide range of economic and social activities in the digital economy, higher operating costs could have widespread ripple effects. The change may also undermine policies designed to attract investment in data centers, reducing the competitive advantages of domestic companies and weakening Vietnams investment appeal. Electricity pricing is one of the key factors global technology corporations consider when deciding where to invest. Need to revise Circular 60 The ministrys document further argued that Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BCT - specifically Clause 19, Article 11 regarding facilities providing centralized data processing, storage and management services - is not fully consistent with classifications in Vietnams national economic sector system issued under Decision No. 36/2025/QD-TTg. It also lacks compatibility with the definitions of data center services and data centers stipulated in Clauses 9 and 23, Article 3 of the Telecommunications Law, and does not accurately reflect the range of services currently provided by enterprises. As a result, different interpretations have emerged regarding whether electricity tariffs for data centers should be classified under production or commercial purposes. The Ministry of Science and Technology emphasized that data centers are an essential component of digital infrastructure, directly generating computing, storage and data processing capacity for the economy at an industrial scale. They also form the foundational infrastructure needed to develop and operate artificial intelligence systems. In essence, the ministry argued, this is a production activity rather than a retail, commercial or consumer service activity. Electricity is therefore a production input for data centers, similar to how electricity is used in industrial manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, under Clause 21, Article 3 of the Telecommunications Law, data centers are classified as telecommunications facilities, similar to other infrastructure such as switching stations and mobile base stations, which currently receive electricity pricing under the production category according to Clause 9, Article 7 of Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BCT. Therefore, the proposal from enterprises to maintain electricity pricing under the production category for data centers has both legal and practical justification. Based on these analyses, the Ministry of Science and Technology has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider and promptly address the enterprises proposal by adjusting regulations on electricity pricing for data centers. Such adjustments, the ministry noted, would help ensure stable and sustainable development of data center infrastructure while aligning with national policies aimed at advancing Vietnams digital infrastructure. At a recent meeting of the national steering committee responsible for implementing Resolution 68 on private sector development, chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, CMC Chairman Nguyen Trung Chinh outlined plans to invest in data centers with a total capacity of 120-150MW over the next five years. He stressed that Vietnams competitiveness in attracting data center investments depends heavily on electricity costs, which represent the largest component in operating such facilities. Chinh expressed concern that classifying data center electricity consumption under commercial tariffs could sharply increase costs and weaken Vietnams ability to attract major clients from markets such as the US, Japan and South Korea. According to him, data centers should be recognized as foundational infrastructure for the digital economy and should benefit from stable and reasonable electricity pricing to enable enterprises to sign long-term contracts with customers. These concerns suggest that revising Circular 60 may be necessary - both to support the development of digital businesses and to ensure consistency with national policies aimed at strengthening Vietnams digital infrastructure. Thai Khang The newly released Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone. Credit: PhoneArena. Samsungs latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, is facing early criticism over potential display issues, according to several technology insiders and users who have tested the device ahead of its wider release. In recent days, discussions have spread across the tech community after reports suggested the screen quality of the new model may not meet expectations. According to multiple leakers and industry observers, Samsung may need to address a display-related issue on the Galaxy S26 Ultra to avoid affecting the user experience in the premium segment. Text clarity concerns Some early users who had the opportunity to try the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra said text displayed on the screen appeared less sharp than expected. Prominent technology leaker Ice Universe described the issue as more than a minor concern. On social media, he suggested that text on the S26 Ultra lacks the crisp clarity seen on the previous Galaxy S25 Ultra. This view was echoed by technology tipster Tarun Vats. He said that after using the S26 Ultra for some time at 2K resolution with Privacy Mode turned off, he experienced eye strain and discomfort. Vats also posted images comparing the same block of text displayed on two devices and emphasized that Samsung should address the issue as soon as possible. Community reactions have been mixed. One Reddit user suggested that the problem might be related to maximum screen brightness settings, which could cause eye fatigue. Others argued that differences in camera angles when taking comparison photos may have affected how the displays appeared. However, the debate has continued to intensify. Ice Universe later offered a deeper explanation, suggesting that the S26 Ultras display uses two types of pixels with different light emission mechanisms. How the new display works According to the leak, one type of pixel emits light at a wider angle, while the other emits light in a more direct, forward-facing direction. This system is designed to support the new Privacy Display feature, which Samsung has heavily promoted as a highlight of the S26 Ultra. When Privacy Display is activated, the wide-angle pixels are disabled, leaving only the forward-facing pixels active. This allows users looking directly at the screen to see content clearly, while people viewing the display from the side see a darkened screen. The feature is intended to improve privacy when using the phone in public spaces. However, even when Privacy Display is turned off, the brightness of the directional pixels can still vary depending on viewing angles. Although users typically look directly at their screens, the top or bottom portions of the display may still be seen at slightly different angles. When users shift their viewing position or tilt the device, these angle differences can increase, causing variations in pixel brightness and potentially making text appear less sharp. Privacy innovation with possible trade-offs The Privacy Display feature represents a significant step forward in device security. As digital privacy becomes increasingly important, integrating built-in screen protection into a flagship smartphone could be an attractive feature for many users. Industry analysts believe other Android manufacturers may adopt similar technology in the coming years. Some observers even speculate that Apple could introduce its own version of a privacy-focused display feature on future iPhones. The key question, however, is whether users will accept potential trade-offs if the feature affects display clarity or causes eye strain. For a premium smartphone, display quality remains one of the most important factors influencing the user experience. In addition to review units sent to technology reviewers, many customers have already tested the Galaxy S26 Ultra at carrier stores, Samsung Experience Stores and major retail outlets. Some early buyers have even received their devices ahead of schedule, including one Reddit user who reported receiving the Cobalt Violet version. Preorders for the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra will continue until March 10. During this period, real-world user feedback may play a crucial role in determining whether Samsung needs to issue an explanation or release a software update if the display issue proves to be widespread. Hai Phong The decision was announced at a meeting of the VGCL executive committee held on the morning of March 5 in Hanoi. The meeting was attended by Bui Thi Minh Hoai, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, along with leaders from Party and state agencies and central ministries. At the meeting, 100 percent of delegates present voted in favour of electing Nguyen Anh Tuan to join the executive committee of the VGCL and assume the position of president with broad consensus. Speaking after being elected, Nguyen Anh Tuan expressed deep gratitude to the Politburo and the Party and state leadership, especially Party General Secretary To Lam, for entrusting him with the new responsibility. He also thanked members of the executive committee, who, on behalf of trade union members nationwide, voted to place their trust in him as president of the VGCL. According to Nguyen Anh Tuan, the appointment is a great honour but also carries heavy responsibility at a time when the trade union organisation faces new requirements and challenges. He said the strong vote of confidence from the executive committee is both a source of motivation and a temporary advance of trust that members have placed in him. The new president said that in the coming period, the trade union system will continue to renew its thinking, content and methods of operation while ensuring the comprehensive leadership of the Party. At the same time, the organisation will respond more effectively to the legitimate needs and aspirations of union members and workers. The VGCL will also continue to focus strongly on grassroots activities, encouraging creativity and a spirit of dedication among workers in the cause of industrialisation, modernisation and international integration. In addition, emulation movements among workers will continue to be promoted, while the trade union organisation will actively expand international cooperation and enhance its position and role on the global stage, contributing to national development goals. Nguyen Anh Tuan also expressed appreciation for Nguyen Dinh Khang, standing deputy minister of the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and former president of the VGCL, for his significant contributions to renewing trade union activities and promoting the workers movement in recent years. Earlier at the same meeting, Nguyen Dinh Khang delivered a farewell speech to the trade union organisation after many years of service, marking the end of more than six years as secretary of the VGCL Party delegation, Party committee secretary and president of the organisations 12th tenure. Recalling July 28, 2019, when he was elected president by the executive committee, Nguyen Dinh Khang described the moment as both a great honour and a heavy responsibility entrusted by the Party, trade union members and workers across the country. Aware of the responsibilities assigned by the Politburo, he said he had worked together with the Party delegation, the presidium, the standing committee and the executive committee of the VGCL to promote unity and democratic spirit while renewing the organisations activities and strengthening the trade union system. In recent years, the trade union organisation has carried out many key tasks to meet the requirements of the Party and the state as well as the expectations of union members and workers. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the trade union system actively proposed and supported policies to assist workers, helping stabilise livelihoods and maintain production during a difficult period for the country. Several major policies related to the trade union organisation have also been introduced, including Resolution No. 02 of the Politburo on reforming the organisation and activities of Vietnams trade unions in the new context, along with directives from the Party Secretariat on building harmonious, stable and progressive labour relations. At the same time, the National Assembly passed several important laws directly related to workers rights, including the 2019 Labour Code and the Trade Union Law for the 2023-2025 period. Reflecting on his years working with the labour movement, Nguyen Dinh Khang said the experience had given him a deeper understanding of workers livelihoods, employment conditions and concerns. He also expressed gratitude to the Politburo, the Party Secretariat and central and local agencies - particularly Party General Secretary To Lam - for their continued support for trade union activities. Nguyen Dinh Khang also thanked Bui Thi Minh Hoai for her guidance and attention to the development of the trade union organisation, as well as trade union officials, members and workers nationwide who supported him throughout his tenure. Now entrusted by the Politburo and the prime minister with a new role at the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, he said he would always remain proud of the years spent learning, working and contributing to Vietnams trade union organisation. At the meeting, Nguyen Dinh Khang congratulated Nguyen Anh Tuan on being elected president of the VGCLs 13th tenure and expressed confidence that the new leader would build on existing experience to guide the workers movement and trade union activities toward further achievements. Nguyen Anh Tuan, born in 1979 in Thanh Hoa province, holds a doctorate in economic management, a masters degree in business administration and a bachelors degree in finance and banking. He previously worked as a lecturer and researcher at the National Economics University before embarking on a long career with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, where he held multiple roles including deputy head of the School Youth Department, deputy chief of office, head of the Workers and Urban Youth Department, chief of office of the Central Youth Union, secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth Union, standing secretary and first secretary of the organisation. He also served as president of the Vietnam Youth Federation and chairman of the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam. In July 2022, he was appointed Party secretary of Bac Ninh province. On July 1, 2025, the Politburo assigned him to serve as deputy head of the Party Central Committees Policy and Strategy Commission. On March 2, the Politburo decided that Nguyen Anh Tuan would step down from that role and be appointed to join the executive committee and standing committee of the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and central mass organisations. He was also appointed to join the executive committee and standing committee of the VGCL Party Committee and to serve as its secretary for the 2025-2030 term. Vu Diep On March 4, the Ninh Binh Peoples Council held its ninth session of the 15th tenure. During the meeting, delegates voted to elect the chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee for the 2021-2026 term. With 100 percent approval, Nguyen Thanh Binh, deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee, was elected chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial Peoples Committee. At the same session, the Peoples Council approved the dismissal of Tran Huy Tuan from the position of chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee for the 2021-2026 term. Tuan had earlier been elected secretary of the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee. In his remarks upon taking office, the new chairman pledged to uphold integrity, fairness and transparency in public service. He emphasized the importance of administrative discipline and accountability, committing to think boldly, act decisively and take responsibility for the common good while effectively implementing the directions and policies of the provincial Party leadership. Binh also affirmed that he would devote all his efforts and responsibilities to working with the provincial leadership collective to ensure that Ninh Binh develops rapidly and sustainably. Earlier, on the morning of March 3, the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee held a conference to announce a decision of the Secretariat assigning Nguyen Thanh Binh to stop serving as deputy secretary of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee. He was then transferred to join the executive committee and standing committee of the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee and appointed deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee for the 2025-2030 term. Nguyen Thanh Binh was born in 1974 in Nghia Tru commune, Hung Yen province. He holds a masters degree in economic management and an advanced degree in political theory. During his career, he has served in several positions including deputy director of the Department of Planning and Investment, standing deputy secretary of the Thai Nguyen City Party Committee, chairman of the Thai Nguyen City Peoples Committee, vice chairman of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Peoples Committee and deputy secretary of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee. Alongside chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh, the Ninh Binh Provincial Peoples Committee currently has six vice chairpersons: Tran Song Tung (standing vice chairman), Tran Anh Dung, Nguyen Anh Chuc, Nguyen Cao Son, Dang Thanh Son and Ha Lan Anh. Tran Nghi In the first two months of 2026, public investment disbursement in Vietnam reached just 5.6 percent of the annual plan, with dozens of ministries, agencies and localities reporting rates below the national average, including 25 units that have disbursed less than 1 percent or have yet to disburse funds. According to the Ministry of Finance, under the Public Investment Law and resolutions of the National Assembly and Government, the Prime Minister has assigned a state budget investment plan for 2026 to ministries and central agencies totaling more than VND995 trillion (US$40.6 billion), about VND93 trillion (US$3.8 billion) higher than the 2025 plan. Of this amount, central government budget capital accounts for more than VND345 trillion (US$14.1 billion), while local government budget capital exceeds VND650 trillion (US$26.5 billion). Local authorities have also allocated an additional VND12.932 trillion (US$528 million) in balanced local budget capital beyond the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, based on updated data at the time of reporting. Regarding disbursement progress, the Ministry of Finance reported that from the beginning of the year to February 28, more than VND55.739 trillion (US$2.27 billion) had been disbursed, equivalent to 5.6 percent of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister. Of this total, central government budget capital accounted for VND10.178 trillion (US$415 million), equivalent to 2.9 percent of the plan, while local government budget capital reached more than VND45.561 trillion (US$1.86 billion), or 7 percent. Compared with the same period in 2025, the disbursement rate is similar in percentage terms but higher in absolute value by more than VND10.928 trillion (US$446 million). By the end of February 2026, six ministries and central agencies and 14 localities had achieved disbursement rates at or above the national average. These include the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, the Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corporation, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Supreme Peoples Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Hai Phong, Lang Son, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Tinh, Ca Mau, Gia Lai, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Can Tho, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Binh and Da Nang. Meanwhile, 29 ministries and central agencies and 20 localities recorded disbursement rates below the national average. Among them, 25 ministries and agencies have disbursed less than 1 percent of their assigned plans or have not yet begun disbursement. The Ministry of Finance noted that 2026 marks the first year of the medium-term public investment plan for 2026-2030, which features the largest volume of public investment capital ever recorded in Vietnam. This has increased pressure on public investment disbursement. Several factors that affected disbursement in 2025 are expected to persist this year, including difficulties in compensation and site clearance, shortages in construction material supply and potential price fluctuations as many major projects begin simultaneously, as well as unpredictable weather conditions. At the same time, 2026 is also a transitional year in terms of institutional frameworks, with many new legal documents taking effect from January 1. The implementation of these new mechanisms and policies may initially create certain difficulties and obstacles. Data from the Ministry of Finance also show that state budget revenue in the first two months of the year reached VND601.3 trillion (approximately US$24.6 billion), equivalent to 23.8 percent of the annual estimate and up 13.1 percent compared with the same period in 2025. Domestic revenue accounted for VND558.1 trillion (US$22.8 billion), equivalent to 25.4 percent of the estimate and rising 15 percent year-on-year. Revenue from crude oil reached about VND5.1 trillion (US$208 million), equal to 11.9 percent of the estimate and down 42.2 percent compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, revenue from import-export activities reached VND38 trillion (US$1.55 billion), equivalent to 13.7 percent of the estimate and up 1.2 percent year-on-year. Total state budget expenditure in the first two months of the year is estimated at VND311 trillion (US$12.7 billion), equivalent to 9.8 percent of the annual estimate and up 11 percent compared with the same period in 2025. Nguyen Le Some Vietnamese wood exporters have achieved billion-dollar revenue through e-commerce platforms. Credit: Hawa. Vietnams furniture industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation, moving from contract manufacturing for global retailers to building its own brands and selling directly to international consumers through e-commerce platforms. Industry experts say Vietnamese businesses should not fear Chinas ultra-low-cost products, but instead focus on a strategy that targets a different segment of the market. Speaking at the seminar Vietnam furniture Export strategies to win in a new context, held on March 4, Pham Thi Trang Dai, Senior Account Manager at Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, shared several striking examples of Vietnamese furniture companies achieving extraordinary growth online. One company, referred to as company A, began selling products on Amazon in 2019. After just six years, its revenue had grown 200-fold, reaching US$200 million in 2025. Another firm, company B, expanded even further, increasing revenue from US$500 million in 2020 to US$1 billion in 2024. According to Dai, what these online retail rising stars share is not necessarily large factories but the ability to design their own products rather than relying solely on OEM manufacturing. Company B, for example, already holds more than 40 recognized furniture design patents, with dozens more currently under review in the US. The affordable premium opportunity Dai noted that data from global e-commerce platforms shows the online furniture market clearly divided into two segments. The first is the low-cost segment, dominated largely by Chinese manufacturers. These companies often use inexpensive materials such as bamboo, MDF wood or wood-look plastic to produce extremely affordable products. For example, a set of three wooden cutting boards can sell for around US$14, while a bed frame may cost as little as US$119. However, the durability of these products is often limited. The second segment is the high-end market, where manufacturers use premium materials such as solid wood, walnut or oak. Prices in this segment are significantly higher. A set of three teak cutting boards, for example, may cost nearly US$60, while a basic bed frame can reach US$1,395 - many times more expensive than low-cost alternatives. Based on this market data, Dai suggested that Vietnamese furniture businesses should avoid direct price competition with Chinese manufacturers. Instead, the real opportunity lies in the middle segment, which she described as the affordable premium category. In this segment, manufacturers can use reasonably priced wood materials such as acacia or rubberwood while still delivering durability and attractive natural grain that surpasses bamboo or MDF products. These products remain affordable but still offer a sense of quality and design appeal. To optimize logistics costs on e-commerce platforms, furniture products should also be designed with smart modular structures that allow them to be easily disassembled and packed into compact shipping boxes. Huynh Le Dai Thang, director of Nghia Son Wood Co., Ltd., agreed with this strategy. His company previously specialized in contract manufacturing for global retailers such as IKEA and Costco. Today, however, Nghia Son has built its own brand in the US after four years of selling through e-commerce platforms. The company now operates six warehouses in the US. Dont be afraid when you see China producing extremely cheap products, Thang said. Dont compete directly with them. Vietnamese furniture companies can succeed in the middle segment thanks to our strong raw material resources. The export potential in this segment is still very large. Global e-commerce continues to expand rapidly. According to eMarketer data, worldwide e-commerce revenue is expected to reach US$8.9 trillion by 2030. In 2025 alone, e-commerce accounted for 21 percent of global retail sales, with total revenue exceeding US$6 trillion. Phung Quoc Man, chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (Hawa), noted that Vietnams wood industry has already demonstrated remarkable growth. Export value increased from US$217 million in 2000 to US$17.3 billion in 2025 - an 85-fold rise. However, Man said the industry must now adapt to a new phase of development. Through e-commerce, Vietnamese manufacturers can now sell directly to consumers in distant markets such as the US and Europe. The shift from traditional B2B manufacturing to B2C online retail is becoming a powerful growth driver. At the opening ceremony of HawaExpo 2026 on the morning of March 4, Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc also emphasized that the wood industry needs to transform its mindset. Manufacturers must move beyond pure contract manufacturing to master design and technology, shifting from Made in Vietnam to Made by Vietnam. Industry leaders say this transformation is essential for increasing the value of Vietnamese furniture products in global markets. Tran Chung Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted air travel to and from Vietnam, leading to numerous flight cancellations and affecting thousands of passengers. In response, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has introduced an emergency measure to support affected airlines by reducing overnight aircraft parking fees by 50 percent. Nearly 5,000 passengers affected ACV has cut overnight aircraft parking service fees by 50% for airlines from countries affected by ongoing conflicts. Photo: Huan Tran/Tien Phong. At Noi Bai International Airport, the ongoing conflict has continued to force airlines to adjust flight schedules. On March 4 alone, six additional flights were canceled, including four operated by Qatar Airways, one by Emirates and one by Etihad Airways. Approximately 1,800 passengers were affected. From February 28 to March 4, a total of 22 flights were canceled, disrupting travel plans for about 4,600 passengers. Major Middle Eastern airlines have temporarily suspended operations to ensure safety. Etihad Airways has suspended all commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi until 2:00 p.m. on March 5. Emirates has halted all flights to and from Dubai until 11:59 p.m. due to airspace closures, maintaining only a limited number of repatriation and cargo flights. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has suspended all scheduled flights until Qatars Civil Aviation Authority confirms that operations can safely resume. According to representatives of Noi Bai International Airport, three aircraft - one belonging to Emirates and two to Qatar Airways - are currently parked at the airport for extended periods because operations have not yet resumed. Fifty percent reduction in overnight parking fees In response to the situation, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam has decided to reduce overnight aircraft parking fees by 50 percent for airlines from countries affected by the conflict. The preferential policy will be applied for 30 days. The decision is based on Article 8 of Circular 44/2024 on pricing policies for aviation services issued by the Ministry of Construction, which allows airport authorities to apply price reductions in emergency situations or during wartime. Nguyen Cao Cuong, Deputy General Director of ACV, told Tien Phong that aircraft remaining on the ground for extended periods occupy parking positions needed for domestic airlines and require additional airport resources to ensure safety and security. However, he said ACV is committed to providing maximum support for international airlines during this emergency period. To receive the discounted fee, airlines must submit official requests and relevant documentation directly to the airport where their aircraft are parked as a basis for settlement. Measures from Middle Eastern airlines Airlines have also introduced flexible policies to assist affected passengers. Representatives of Emirates in Vietnam said the airline is prioritizing support for passengers and flight crews. Passengers can change tickets to flights departing on or before March 20 or request refunds for bookings scheduled to depart on or before March 10. Etihad Airways allows passengers to change flights without additional fees for departures up to March 31 for tickets issued on or before February 28 and originally scheduled to depart by March 10. Refunds are also available for flights scheduled through March 10. Qatar Airways is offering free changes to departure dates within 14 days or refunds for unused portions of tickets for flights scheduled between February 28 and March 10. To avoid disruptions on routes to Europe, airlines are advising passengers to prioritize direct flights operated by Vietnam Airlines or consider flights operated by Chinese airlines through northern air corridors that avoid conflict zones. Alternative transit routes through major Asian hubs such as Taipei with EVA Air, Singapore with Singapore Airlines or Scoot, Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, or Bangkok with Thai Airways are also recommended. Passengers are advised to check flight status through official airline websites or mobile applications before heading to the airport and to ensure their contact information is updated to receive urgent notifications. Tien Phong Vietnams seafood industry is facing a major test as maritime transport disruptions and rising insurance risks threaten supply chains linked to the Middle East. Military tensions between Iran, the US and Israel in the Middle East have continued to escalate. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and warned it would attack any vessels attempting to pass through the vital maritime route. Earlier, Irans Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, affirmed that Tehran would not negotiate with the US. The situation intensified following large-scale airstrikes and a series of retaliatory military actions across the region. Maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz nearly paralyzed Within just a few days, military tensions have rapidly transformed into a major shock for maritime transport and marine insurance markets in the Middle East - a region that plays a critical role in global energy and goods circulation, said Le Hang, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). According to Hang, the seafood industry faces significant impacts as transport costs surge, cold-chain disruptions become more likely, localized supply shortages emerge and product prices fluctuate across different market segments. The core risk lies at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime corridor connecting the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. As security warnings intensify, many international shipping companies have adjusted operations. Vessels have been instructed to seek safe anchorage areas, some shipping routes through Hormuz have been temporarily suspended, and others have been diverted around the Cape of Good Hope instead of passing through the Red Sea - Bab el-Mandeb - Suez Canal corridor. Major container shipping groups including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company have simultaneously announced temporary suspensions of cargo acceptance at certain Gulf ports. They have also introduced war risk surcharges and tightened regulations on accepting refrigerated containers. Route diversions have extended transit times by between seven and fourteen days depending on the route. This reduces the effective capacity of global shipping fleets and creates shortages of container equipment, particularly refrigerated containers that have slower turnaround times and higher technical requirements. Within just a few days, freight rates on the Asia - Dubai route nearly doubled. Emergency surcharges for shipments to and from Gulf countries have been announced at between US$1,500 and US$4,000 per container, with refrigerated containers facing even higher costs. For seafood exporters, these expenses directly increase production costs and narrow profit margins, Hang said. The maritime insurance market has also reacted sharply. Several major insurers including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, London P&I Club and American Club have issued notices cancelling war risk insurance coverage for waters around Iran, the Persian Gulf and nearby areas, effective from March 5. Insurance premiums for vessels willing to travel through nearby waters have surged by around 50 percent. As a result, even without an official blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the combined impact of security risks, restricted insurance coverage and sharply rising insurance costs has effectively paralyzed many maritime routes. For the seafood industry, even shipments that do not directly pass through the conflict zone may still face increased costs if vessels within their transport chain call at ports located in areas considered war zones, Hang said. Risk of supply chain disruption The Middle East has emerged as a promising market for Vietnamese seafood exports. In 2025 alone, seafood export turnover to the region reached US$401 million. Pangasius accounted for US$175.9 million, up 18.6 percent year-on-year. Shrimp exports reached US$54.5 million, rising 19.9 percent, while other fish products increased by 28.6 percent compared with the previous year. However, Hang noted that seafood products require strict temperature control and precise transport schedules. When the transport of fresh seafood by air is disrupted, importers are forced to switch to frozen products. Yet this channel is also under pressure as bookings for refrigerated containers become restricted or temporarily suspended. Dubai, home to Jebel Ali Port operated by DP World, is one of the regions major seafood transshipment hubs. As vessels are diverted and shipping times lengthen, port congestion risks increase, along with a shortage of electrical plug-in slots for refrigerated containers. Storage and container detention costs are rising, while product quality may be affected if storage times exceed safe limits. According to Hang, if tensions ease in the short term and security conditions improve, shipping companies may gradually restore routes through the Strait of Hormuz, reopen bookings for refrigerated containers and reduce war risk surcharges. Under that scenario, seafood supply chains could recover relatively quickly, particularly for frozen products. However, if security risks persist, route diversions may become the new norm. Insurance costs could remain elevated, war risk surcharges may continue, and transport capacity for refrigerated containers to Gulf markets would remain limited. In such circumstances, seafood import costs in the Middle East could stay high for several months, potentially triggering price fluctuations across related markets. In an increasingly uncertain global environment, Hang emphasized that the ability to manage transport and insurance risks will become a decisive factor in maintaining global seafood trade flows, particularly when strategic chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz face heightened security risks. Vietnamese seafood enterprises therefore need to diversify shipping routes, increase cold storage capacity in regional warehouses, prioritize long-term shipping contracts instead of relying entirely on spot markets, and closely monitor developments in maritime insurance and shipping company policies, she added. Tam An Banjul, Gambia (PANA) President Adama Barrow, in his capacity as Chair of the 15th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has expressed deep concern over rising tensions in the Middle East Ly Thanh Co in Jordan (photo courtesy by Ly Thanh Co). Doan Phuoc Truong (HCMC) landed in HCMC just one day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. He said that while flying and transiting in Dubai, many Vietnamese passengers were already updating news about the possible outbreak of fighting. As the aircraft passed through Middle Eastern airspace, everyone was anxious and praying. Only after landing did Truong feel relieved. On travel forums, many Vietnamese travelers said they were worried about flights passing through the Middle East. Many passengers scheduled to fly from March 13 received cancellation or delay notices from airlines. Travel blogger Ly Thanh Co flew to Egypt on February 20 and is currently exploring Jordan with friends. As soon as news of the conflict broke, he received a flight rescheduling notice from the airline. I am in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan. Since yesterday, I have seen many fighter jets flying continuously across the sky. We are quite worried. However, this area remains safe for now. Itineraries within the region have been disrupted, and many flights have been postponed. Some routes heading to Dubai and Qatar have been canceled en masse, Co shared. Concerned relatives and friends have repeatedly called to check on him. We regularly monitor the governments official travel advisory website and stay in contact with the airline to update flight changes. The situation reminds me of when I was stranded at the airport during the Covid-19 pandemic. I hope everything will stabilize soon, he said. Several domestic travel agencies have temporarily suspended tours to destinations affected by the conflict. Vietworld Travel announced the suspension of tours to Jordan and Egypt departing in early March. Fit Tour also announced the postponement of its Pakistan cherry blossom tour scheduled to depart on March 27 due to escalating tensions. From February 28, multiple airspaces in the Middle East were closed due to the attacks, including Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Iran, Israel, and Iraq, which is expected to cause widespread disruption to flight schedules in the region. On the evening of February 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised Vietnamese citizens not to travel to Iran and Israel at this time, as well as to avoid nearby areas affected by the conflict unless absolutely necessary. The Embassy of Vietnam in Israel urged Vietnamese nationals in Israel to strictly comply with local authorities security and safety regulations and guidance; regularly update information through Vietnamese community groups in Israel to stay informed and exchange information when necessary. Citizens should maintain regular contact with the Embassy. In case of emergency, they may contact the citizen protection hotline. Linh Trang Dakar, Senegal (PANA) Senegals Council of Ministers on Wednesday discussed the stability of the national education system, policies to improve womens rights, livestock development, and economic reforms aimed at rationalising the parapublic sector Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) The South African Government has issued an urgent call for citizens currently in the Middle East for non-essential travel to evacuate the conflict-stricken region, as heavy attacks are expected to continue Photo: Ministry of Industry and Trade On March 3, Acting Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung held a courtesy meeting with Ioannis Plakiotakis, First Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament. At the meeting, Acting Minister Hung expressed his confidence that trade cooperation between the two countries would continue to expand in the coming years, and that Greece, as a member of the EU, would serve as an important bridge in further strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and the EU. In response, First Vice President Plakiotakis said, Greece was among the first countries to ratify the EUVietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Hopefully, bilateral cooperation still holds significant potential, particularly by leveraging opportunities generated by the EVFTA. He stated that Greece regards Vietnam as an important economic partner in Southeast Asia, highlighting the countrys impressive economic growth and strong market potential. He explained Greeces interest in expanding cooperation, especially in transportation, logistics, and agricultural exports. Greece ranks first globally in maritime shipping, operating more than 4,500 commercial vessels, accounting for around 20 per cent of the worlds fleet. Greece also possesses extensive practical experience in shipbuilding, ship repair, and related logistics services. First Vice President Plakiotakis said, Greek enterprises stand ready to share expertise in maritime transport, shipbuilding, and seafarer training with Vietnam. We would like to further open agricultural and food markets between the two countries, particularly for products in which both sides hold competitive advantages. Acting Minister Hung expressed agreement with First Vice President Plakiotakis regarding the strong prospects for cooperation in maritime transport. He expressed hope that the two sides would strengthen collaboration, including technology transfer in shipbuilding and the operation of smart port systems, in order to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnams maritime sector. He said, Vietnam is ready to work with Greece to expand bilateral agricultural exports and to import advanced Greek technologies for application in Vietnams agro-processing and food production industries. In addition, the acting minister proposed that Greece, as a member of the EU, support and advocate within the European Commission for the early removal of the 'yellow card' warning imposed on Vietnam over illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The first vice president expressed his agreement with the proposal. Both sides agreed to increase exchanges of delegations at multiple levels in the coming period, aiming to deepen cooperation and further strengthen bilateral trade relations. Since entering into force in 2020, the EVFTA has helped drive steady growth in bilateral trade. In 2021, two-way trade reached $447.2 million, representing an on-year increase of 32.6 per cent. In 2025, total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Greece amounted to over $587 million, an increase of 16.4 per cent. Of this, Vietnams exports to Greece reached $465.5 million, up 18.75 per cent, while imports from Greece totalled close to $121.8 million, up around 8.8 per cent. In January alone, bilateral trade reached $52.7 million, marking a 27.4 per cent increase on-year, with exports estimated at $45.3 million, up 25.5 per cent, and imports from Greece at $7.4 million, up a little over 40 per cent. CEEC marks 10th anniversary in Ho Chi Minh City The Central and Eastern European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (CEEC) marked its 10th anniversary with a gala event in Ho Chi Minh City. EU and Vietnam elevate relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership On January 29, the European Union and Vietnam announced the upgrade of their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, marking a significant milestone in their 35 years of bilateral relations. Phan Trung Tuan, director of the Department of Local Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, made confirmation at the governments media briefing in Hanoi on March 4 amid rumours about further mergers in the near term. Phan Trung Tuan, director of the Department of Local Government, Ministry of Home Affairs. Photo: VGP/NB He said that the revolution in restructuring the political system from the central to the grassroots, implemented from July 2025, was a strategic step of great historical significance. This policy, which includes consolidating 63 cities and provinces into 34, reorganising commune-level administrative units, and eliminating district-level administrative units, has been carefully considered by the Central Party Committee, the National Assembly, and the government. Currently, the country has 34 cities and provinces and 3,321 commune-level administrative units nationwide, including communes, wards, and special zones. Regarding the institutional improvements, the National Assembly Standing Committee at its session in December 2025, adopted two resolutions: one on the classification and standards of administrative units and one on urban classification. These resolutions aim to facilitate the operation of a two-tiered local government model. Going forward, we will focus on perfecting the institutional framework and removing obstacles and difficulties to ensure that this model operates effectively and smoothly, leading to modern, people-oriented local governance that better serves the people, Tuan said. Hung Yen charts path to modern, green growth Hung Yens post-merger development promises to unlock vast coastal, industrial, and green economic potential, propelling the province towards a modern, sustainable, and globally connected future. Private sector set to power Thai Nguyens post-merger economy Thai Nguyen is stepping up efforts to boost private sector growth as it pursues its ambition of becoming a modern industrial hub in the northern midlands and mountainous region. The 'Finance for Nature' workshop, held in Hanoi on March 4, brought together policymakers, economists, environmental experts, and financial sector representatives to discuss integrating natural capital into macroeconomic decision-making and promoting ecological finance in Vietnam. The event was co-organised by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment, the University of Economics and Technology for Industries, Dragon Capital Vietnam, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre, highlighting cross-sector collaboration to advance ecological finance. Workshop organisers introduced a report applying advanced economic-environmental modelling tools, including the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) framework and the Global Trade Analysis ProjectIntegrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade (GTAP-InVEST) platform, providing a rigorous foundation for integrating natural capital into policymaking. For decades, traditional macroeconomic models based on Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) analysis and built on Social Accounting Matrices have focused solely on priced market transactions. In doing so, they have effectively assigned zero value to ecosystem services such as water regulation, carbon sequestration, pollination, and soil protection. As a result, growth projections often overlook the depletion or degradation of natural capital, leading to incomplete assessments of long-term economic performance and sustainability. IEEM addresses this limitation by integrating data from the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting into the Social Accounting Matrix, creating an environmentally extended accounting framework. Within this updated framework, physical flows such as water use, biomass energy, and greenhouse gas emissions are recorded alongside traditional monetary transactions. Natural capital is treated as an economic asset that can depreciate, be depleted, or be restored over time. This allows the model to assess the long-term impact of policies, including carbon taxation, agricultural subsidies, and land-use change, on GDP growth, trade balances, and social welfare. The integration of IEEM with spatially explicit land-use and ecosystem service models creates the IEEM+ESM platform, which is applied globally through GTAP-InVEST. This closed-loop system operates in four stages. First, the CGE model estimates land demand by ecological zone. Second, a spatial simulation allocates land-use changes at grid level. Third, ecosystem service models measure physical impacts, such as carbon loss or increased erosion. Finally, these changes are converted into productivity shocks and fed back into the economic model, allowing environmental impacts to directly influence economic outcomes. The feedback mechanism shows, in measurable economic terms, that ecological degradation lowers agricultural productivity, drives up food prices, and in turn undermines macroeconomic stability. The report further assessed the global state of finance for nature using the latest 2026 data from the UNEP, finding that financial flows with negative impacts on nature total approximately $7.3 trillion per year, equivalent to nearly 7 per cent of global GDP. By contrast, investment in nature-based solutions amounts to just $220 billion annually, the majority of which comes from the public sector. The 30:1 imbalance indicates that the global financial system continues to channel substantial capital towards resource extraction, fossil fuels, and chemically intensive agriculture. The workshop conducted an in-depth analysis of innovative financial mechanisms designed to reverse this trend, including the integration of natural capital considerations into sovereign credit ratings. When risks related to land degradation, water scarcity, and deforestation are quantified and reflected in public debt risk assessments, borrowing costs adjust accordingly. Countries investing in ecosystem conservation and restoration may benefit from lower bond yields due to enhanced long-term stability, thereby creating direct economic incentives for sustainable resource governance. Significant attention was devoted to the development of the carbon market and green taxonomy in Vietnam. The roadmap for operating the national Emissions Trading System under Decree 29/2026/ND-CP was recognised as an important step towards internalising the cost of emissions. The pilot phase from 2026 to 2028 focuses on thermal power, steel, and cement industries, with initial free allocation of allowances. After 2029, auction mechanisms will gradually replace free allocations, sending clear price signals that encourage technological innovation and emission reductions at source. In parallel, Decision No.21/2025/QD-TTg on the Green Classification List establishes technical standards for 45 project categories across renewable energy, low-carbon transport, green buildings, water management, organic agriculture, and environmental industries. Standardised definitions help commercial banks reduce legal risks when issuing green credit, limit greenwashing practices, and enhance market transparency. The workshop concluded that integrating natural capital into the financial system represents a structural shift in development thinking, extending beyond a technical reform. Frameworks such as IEEM and GTAP-InVEST provide quantitative evidence of the intrinsic link between economic activity and ecological systems. UNEPs 2026 data underscores the scale of the imbalance, while emerging financial instruments offer opportunities to redirect capital flows towards nature-positive outcomes. archives 8 Mar - 15 Mar (1) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (6) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (2) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (4) 8 Feb - 15 Feb (1) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (3) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (2) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (2) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (2) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (2) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (3) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (2) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (1) 16 Nov - 23 Nov (2) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (2) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (4) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (1) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (7) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (2) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (1) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (1) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (3) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (2) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (2) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (1) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (3) 3 Aug - 10 Aug (1) 27 Jul - 3 Aug (1) 20 Jul - 27 Jul (2) 13 Jul - 20 Jul (4) 6 Jul - 13 Jul (2) 29 Jun - 6 Jul (2) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (4) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (1) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (3) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (4) 25 May - 1 Jun (5) 18 May - 25 May (2) 11 May - 18 May (3) 4 May - 11 May (2) 27 Apr - 4 May (5) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (1) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (2) 30 Mar - 6 Apr (5) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (1) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (3) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (1) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (3) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 5 Jan - 12 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (1) 15 Dec - 22 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (1) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (2) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (1) 27 Oct - 3 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (4) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (1) 6 Oct - 13 Oct (1) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 29 Sep (1) 15 Sep - 22 Sep (1) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (5) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (2) 21 Jul - 28 Jul (6) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (3) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (2) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (5) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (2) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (3) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (2) 26 May - 2 Jun (3) 19 May - 26 May (2) 12 May - 19 May (3) 5 May - 12 May (3) 28 Apr - 5 May (1) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (1) 7 Apr - 14 Apr (3) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (1) 10 Mar - 17 Mar (1) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (1) 11 Feb - 18 Feb (2) 4 Feb - 11 Feb (1) 21 Jan - 28 Jan (1) 14 Jan - 21 Jan (1) 7 Jan - 14 Jan (3) 10 Dec - 17 Dec (1) 26 Nov - 3 Dec (1) 29 Oct - 5 Nov (1) 3 Sep - 10 Sep (1) 27 Aug - 3 Sep (2) 6 Aug - 13 Aug (1) 30 Jul - 6 Aug (6) 9 Jul - 16 Jul (1) 2 Jul - 9 Jul (6) 18 Jun - 25 Jun (4) 4 Jun - 11 Jun (5) 21 May - 28 May (4) 14 May - 21 May (1) 7 May - 14 May (4) 23 Apr - 30 Apr (2) 26 Mar - 2 Apr (1) 19 Mar - 26 Mar (1) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (3) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (1) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (2) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (1) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (2) 20 Nov - 27 Nov (1) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (1) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (3) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (3) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (3) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (3) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (2) 12 Jun - 19 Jun (4) 22 May - 29 May (1) 15 May - 22 May (5) 1 May - 8 May (2) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (3) 27 Feb - 6 Mar (3) 13 Feb - 20 Feb (1) 30 Jan - 6 Feb (3) 2 Jan - 9 Jan (4) 26 Dec - 2 Jan (1) 5 Dec - 12 Dec (3) 28 Nov - 5 Dec (2) 14 Nov - 21 Nov (1) 7 Nov - 14 Nov (1) 10 Oct - 17 Oct (1) 22 Aug - 29 Aug (3) 15 Aug - 22 Aug (1) 8 Aug - 15 Aug (3) 1 Aug - 8 Aug (1) 25 Jul - 1 Aug (3) 18 Jul - 25 Jul (1) 11 Jul - 18 Jul (1) 27 Jun - 4 Jul (4) 20 Jun - 27 Jun (3) 13 Jun - 20 Jun (1) 30 May - 6 Jun (2) 23 May - 30 May (4) 2 May - 9 May (3) 25 Apr - 2 May (4) 4 Apr - 11 Apr (2) 28 Mar - 4 Apr (4) 28 Feb - 7 Mar (1) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (2) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (2) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (2) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (3) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (1) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (1) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (6) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (1) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (1) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (3) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (1) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (1) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (4) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (1) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (1) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (4) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (4) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (5) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (2) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (7) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (2) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (4) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (4) 31 May - 7 Jun (3) 24 May - 31 May (2) 17 May - 24 May (1) 10 May - 17 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (1) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (1) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (1) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (3) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (2) 23 Feb - 1 Mar (2) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (3) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (1) 19 Jan - 26 Jan (2) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (2) 5 Jan - 12 Jan (1) 29 Dec - 5 Jan (1) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (2) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (1) 27 Oct - 3 Nov (1) 6 Oct - 13 Oct (1) 1 Sep - 8 Sep (2) 25 Aug - 1 Sep (4) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (1) 11 Aug - 18 Aug (2) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (8) 28 Jul - 4 Aug (5) 14 Jul - 21 Jul (3) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (3) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (4) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (2) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (4) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (1) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (5) 26 May - 2 Jun (1) 19 May - 26 May (6) 12 May - 19 May (1) 21 Apr - 28 Apr (3) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (1) 31 Mar - 7 Apr (3) 24 Mar - 31 Mar (6) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (5) 10 Mar - 17 Mar (1) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (3) 24 Feb - 3 Mar (2) 17 Feb - 24 Feb (5) 10 Feb - 17 Feb (3) 3 Feb - 10 Feb (2) 20 Jan - 27 Jan (3) 13 Jan - 20 Jan (1) 23 Dec - 30 Dec (3) 2 Dec - 9 Dec (1) 25 Nov - 2 Dec (2) 18 Nov - 25 Nov (2) 11 Nov - 18 Nov (2) 4 Nov - 11 Nov (1) 21 Oct - 28 Oct (4) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (5) 7 Oct - 14 Oct (2) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (1) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (1) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (4) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (1) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (1) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (4) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (6) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (2) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (1) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (3) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (4) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (1) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (1) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (3) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (5) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (3) 27 May - 3 Jun (5) 20 May - 27 May (6) 13 May - 20 May (6) 6 May - 13 May (1) 29 Apr - 6 May (5) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (4) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (6) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (4) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (4) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (3) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (3) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (3) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (4) 25 Feb - 4 Mar (3) 18 Feb - 25 Feb (1) 11 Feb - 18 Feb (4) 4 Feb - 11 Feb (5) 28 Jan - 4 Feb (6) 21 Jan - 28 Jan (1) 14 Jan - 21 Jan (4) 7 Jan - 14 Jan (2) 31 Dec - 7 Jan (7) 24 Dec - 31 Dec (2) 17 Dec - 24 Dec (3) 10 Dec - 17 Dec (1) 3 Dec - 10 Dec (4) 26 Nov - 3 Dec (3) 19 Nov - 26 Nov (2) 12 Nov - 19 Nov (1) 5 Nov - 12 Nov (4) 22 Oct - 29 Oct (3) 15 Oct - 22 Oct (4) 8 Oct - 15 Oct (4) 1 Oct - 8 Oct (1) 10 Sep - 17 Sep (2) 3 Sep - 10 Sep (2) 27 Aug - 3 Sep (1) 20 Aug - 27 Aug (6) 6 Aug - 13 Aug (4) 30 Jul - 6 Aug (1) 23 Jul - 30 Jul (5) 16 Jul - 23 Jul (3) 9 Jul - 16 Jul (5) 25 Jun - 2 Jul (5) 18 Jun - 25 Jun (2) 11 Jun - 18 Jun (6) 4 Jun - 11 Jun (1) 28 May - 4 Jun (5) 21 May - 28 May (2) 14 May - 21 May (4) 7 May - 14 May (4) 30 Apr - 7 May (4) 23 Apr - 30 Apr (3) 16 Apr - 23 Apr (3) 9 Apr - 16 Apr (1) 2 Apr - 9 Apr (3) 26 Mar - 2 Apr (2) 19 Mar - 26 Mar (3) 12 Mar - 19 Mar (3) 5 Mar - 12 Mar (2) 26 Feb - 5 Mar (3) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (2) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (2) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (6) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (5) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (1) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (8) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (7) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (4) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (3) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (3) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (4) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (2) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (1) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (1) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (1) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (1) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (2) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (1) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (2) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (1) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (4) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (1) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (2) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (6) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (3) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (6) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (3) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (6) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (3) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (4) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (5) 29 May - 5 Jun (1) 22 May - 29 May (1) 15 May - 22 May (1) 8 May - 15 May (5) 1 May - 8 May (5) 24 Apr - 1 May (1) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (2) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (3) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (2) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (2) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (4) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (1) 28 Feb - 6 Mar (2) 21 Feb - 28 Feb (1) 14 Feb - 21 Feb (1) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (3) 24 Jan - 31 Jan (2) 17 Jan - 24 Jan (3) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (2) 3 Jan - 10 Jan (1) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (1) 20 Dec - 27 Dec (1) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (3) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (2) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (2) 22 Nov - 29 Nov (2) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (1) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (5) 1 Nov - 8 Nov (2) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (2) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (1) 11 Oct - 18 Oct (4) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (1) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (3) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (1) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (5) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (6) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (1) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (2) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (1) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (5) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (6) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (4) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (5) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (2) 31 May - 7 Jun (5) 24 May - 31 May (3) 17 May - 24 May (5) 10 May - 17 May (3) 3 May - 10 May (1) 26 Apr - 3 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (5) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (5) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (2) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (1) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (5) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (9) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (6) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (10) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (5) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (5) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (2) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (1) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (4) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (1) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (3) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (3) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (3) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (4) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (2) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (3) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (3) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (3) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (5) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (3) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (8) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (6) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (3) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (5) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (4) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (1) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (4) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (1) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (2) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (2) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (7) 3 Aug - 10 Aug (3) 27 Jul - 3 Aug (3) 20 Jul - 27 Jul (3) 13 Jul - 20 Jul (4) 6 Jul - 13 Jul (1) 29 Jun - 6 Jul (5) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (2) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (4) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (2) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (2) 25 May - 1 Jun (8) 18 May - 25 May (4) 11 May - 18 May (1) 4 May - 11 May (3) 27 Apr - 4 May (4) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (2) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (6) 6 Apr - 13 Apr (2) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (4) 16 Mar - 23 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (2) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 23 Feb - 2 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (1) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (6) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (1) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 19 Jan - 26 Jan (1) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 29 Dec - 5 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (2) 1 Dec - 8 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (4) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (1) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (2) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (4) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 29 Sep (2) 15 Sep - 22 Sep (3) 8 Sep - 15 Sep (1) 1 Sep - 8 Sep (6) 25 Aug - 1 Sep (7) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (9) 11 Aug - 18 Aug (6) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (4) 28 Jul - 4 Aug (3) 21 Jul - 28 Jul (8) 14 Jul - 21 Jul (4) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (5) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (8) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (8) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (4) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (7) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (7) 26 May - 2 Jun (8) 19 May - 26 May (7) 12 May - 19 May (5) 5 May - 12 May (5) 28 Apr - 5 May (11) 21 Apr - 28 Apr (6) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (5) 7 Apr - 14 Apr (6) 31 Mar - 7 Apr (7) 24 Mar - 31 Mar (4) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (4) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (6) 24 Feb - 3 Mar (3) 17 Feb - 24 Feb (3) 10 Feb - 17 Feb (5) 3 Feb - 10 Feb (3) 27 Jan - 3 Feb (6) 20 Jan - 27 Jan (1) 13 Jan - 20 Jan (6) 6 Jan - 13 Jan (2) 30 Dec - 6 Jan (2) 23 Dec - 30 Dec (1) 16 Dec - 23 Dec (3) 9 Dec - 16 Dec (2) 2 Dec - 9 Dec (1) 25 Nov - 2 Dec (1) 18 Nov - 25 Nov (3) 11 Nov - 18 Nov (5) 4 Nov - 11 Nov (2) 28 Oct - 4 Nov (6) 21 Oct - 28 Oct (9) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (9) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (4) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (2) 16 Sep - 23 Sep (2) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (6) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (3) 26 Aug - 2 Sep (3) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (3) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (7) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (4) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (8) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (7) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (7) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (7) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (7) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (9) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (10) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (7) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (10) 27 May - 3 Jun (6) 20 May - 27 May (8) 13 May - 20 May (8) 6 May - 13 May (11) 29 Apr - 6 May (6) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (8) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (5) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (11) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (5) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (9) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (9) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (8) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (8) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (7) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (7) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (5) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (7) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (4) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (2) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (5) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (5) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (6) 18 Dec - 25 Dec (4) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (5) 4 Dec - 11 Dec (7) 27 Nov - 4 Dec (7) 20 Nov - 27 Nov (7) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (3) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (4) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (5) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (9) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (3) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (8) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (5) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (11) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (6) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (6) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (7) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (3) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (9) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (8) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (11) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (8) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (9) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (11) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (9) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (9) 12 Jun - 19 Jun (7) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (9) 29 May - 5 Jun (5) 22 May - 29 May (8) 15 May - 22 May (9) 8 May - 15 May (4) 1 May - 8 May (6) 24 Apr - 1 May (6) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (10) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (8) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (8) 27 Mar - 3 Apr (8) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (8) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (12) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (7) 27 Feb - 6 Mar (7) 20 Feb - 27 Feb (11) 13 Feb - 20 Feb (7) 6 Feb - 13 Feb (5) 30 Jan - 6 Feb (8) 23 Jan - 30 Jan (10) 16 Jan - 23 Jan (10) 9 Jan - 16 Jan (9) 2 Jan - 9 Jan (11) 26 Dec - 2 Jan (6) 19 Dec - 26 Dec (7) 12 Dec - 19 Dec (6) 5 Dec - 12 Dec (7) 28 Nov - 5 Dec (5) 21 Nov - 28 Nov (4) 14 Nov - 21 Nov (7) 7 Nov - 14 Nov (6) 31 Oct - 7 Nov (6) 24 Oct - 31 Oct (5) 17 Oct - 24 Oct (5) 10 Oct - 17 Oct (7) 3 Oct - 10 Oct (2) 26 Sep - 3 Oct (4) 19 Sep - 26 Sep (6) 12 Sep - 19 Sep (7) 5 Sep - 12 Sep (10) 29 Aug - 5 Sep (8) 22 Aug - 29 Aug (5) 15 Aug - 22 Aug (6) 8 Aug - 15 Aug (6) 1 Aug - 8 Aug (4) 25 Jul - 1 Aug (13) 18 Jul - 25 Jul (9) 11 Jul - 18 Jul (9) 4 Jul - 11 Jul (8) 27 Jun - 4 Jul (9) 20 Jun - 27 Jun (11) 13 Jun - 20 Jun (11) 6 Jun - 13 Jun (11) 30 May - 6 Jun (9) 23 May - 30 May (23) 16 May - 23 May (12) 9 May - 16 May (12) 2 May - 9 May (10) 25 Apr - 2 May (7) 18 Apr - 25 Apr (9) 11 Apr - 18 Apr (10) 4 Apr - 11 Apr (11) 28 Mar - 4 Apr (9) 21 Mar - 28 Mar (6) 14 Mar - 21 Mar (9) 7 Mar - 14 Mar (2) 28 Feb - 7 Mar (9) 21 Feb - 28 Feb (7) 14 Feb - 21 Feb (9) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (9) 31 Jan - 7 Feb (6) 24 Jan - 31 Jan (14) 17 Jan - 24 Jan (9) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (11) 3 Jan - 10 Jan (10) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (10) 20 Dec - 27 Dec (8) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (6) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (9) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (13) 22 Nov - 29 Nov (10) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (14) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (11) 1 Nov - 8 Nov (16) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (13) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (12) 11 Oct - 18 Oct (9) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (11) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (14) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (19) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (13) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (12) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (15) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (15) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (16) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (14) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (15) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (20) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (10) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (13) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (21) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (15) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (20) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (10) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (13) 31 May - 7 Jun (13) 24 May - 31 May (13) 17 May - 24 May (15) 10 May - 17 May (16) 3 May - 10 May (11) 26 Apr - 3 May (21) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (17) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (20) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (16) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (19) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (17) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (23) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (22) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (21) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (22) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (25) 8 Feb - 15 Feb (25) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (21) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (23) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (19) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (35) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (23) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (27) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (28) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (23) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (22) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (19) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (22) 16 Nov - 23 Nov (19) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (15) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (17) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (10) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (12) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (13) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (19) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (14) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (17) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (19) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (22) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (15) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (14) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (9) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (5) The Metropolitan Police said three people had been arrested as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into suspected National Security Act offences. The men were arrested yesterday on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act, 2023. The country to which the investigation relates is China. Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: We have seen a significant increase in our casework relating to national security in recent years, and we continue to work extremely closely with our partners to help keep the country safe and take action to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it. Todays arrests are part of a proactive investigation and while these are serious matters, we do not believe there to be any imminent or direct threat to the public relating to this. Our investigation continues, and we thank the public for their ongoing support. Detectives from CTP London, which is leading the investigation, arrested a 39-year-old man at an address in London, a 68-year-old man at an address in Powys, Wales and a 43-year-old man in Pontyclun, Wales. They were all detained under PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) and taken into police custody. They have subsequently been released on bail to a date in May. Officers carried out searches at the addresses where the three men were arrested. As part of the investigation, searches were also carried out at three other addresses in London, East Kilbride and Cardiff respectively. The Met Police did not name those arrested. Subsequently, Joani Reid, MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, told Sky News in a statement detail that revealed one arrested was her husband David Taylor: I have never been to China. I have never spoken on China or China-related matters in the Commons. I have never asked a question on China-related matters. As far as I am aware I have never met any Chinese businesses whilst I have been an MP, any Chinese diplomats or government employees, nor raised any concern with ministers or anyone else on behalf of, even coincidentally, Chinese interests. I am a social democrat who believes in freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections. I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist partys dictatorship. I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. I am not part of my husbands business activities and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. Above all I expect media organisations to respect my childrens privacy. David Taylor, originally from Ruthin, will be a name familiar to Wrexham.com readers as he stood for North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner back in 2016 on a platform of war on wasters he was defeated by Arfon Jones in the election. Taylor has strong Labour connections, including having been a special advisor to Peter Hain during his time as Welsh Secretary, as well as helping campaign for local candidates including Wrexhams MS Lesley Griffiths back in 2016 (with the future-now-current MP to the left of that linked image). Top pic: Taylors image from his Wrexham.com Q&A Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com A road traffic collision, criminal damage and a suspected assault were among the incidents dealt with by North Wales Police in Wrexham earlier this week. North Wales Police Wrexham Town has provided a snapshot of what a 24-hour period can look like for city centre officers. Between March 2 and March 3, the force responded to 12 immediate priority events or blue light calls. These included: March 2, 10.49pm : Criminal damage reported after windows were damaged at a property on Pentre Gwyn, Caia Park. : Criminal damage reported after windows were damaged at a property on Pentre Gwyn, Caia Park. March 2, 11.26pm : Reports of a man threatening staff with object on Salisbury Road. A Community Resolution was issued. : Reports of a man threatening staff with object on Salisbury Road. A Community Resolution was issued. March 3, 4.19am : Intruder alarm activated on Caia Road. Officers confirmed it was a false alarm. : Intruder alarm activated on Caia Road. Officers confirmed it was a false alarm. March 3, 4.48am : A called reported males acting suspiciously on St. Margarets Way in Acton. Police enquiries established that this was more of a concern related event for the caller. : A called reported males acting suspiciously on St. Margarets Way in Acton. Police enquiries established that this was more of a concern related event for the caller. March 3, 9.37am : A caller reported that he had been assaulted at Cefn-Y-Nant. A suspect was arrested for assault. : A caller reported that he had been assaulted at Cefn-Y-Nant. A suspect was arrested for assault. March 3, 11.51am : A called reported finding a 10-year-old child in pyjamas on Rhosnesni Lane. Enquiries made and appropriate action taken. : A called reported finding a 10-year-old child in pyjamas on Rhosnesni Lane. Enquiries made and appropriate action taken. March 3, 4.13pm : A broken down vehicle was reported on Chester Road, near the Gresford Roundabout. The vehicle was recovered. : A broken down vehicle was reported on Chester Road, near the Gresford Roundabout. The vehicle was recovered. March 3, 5.13pm : An intruder alarm was activated on King Street. Officers confirmed this was a false alarm. : An intruder alarm was activated on King Street. Officers confirmed this was a false alarm. March 3, 5.51pm : Reports of a four-year-old leaving an address near Elm Grove and wandering off. The child was located safe and well a short while later. : Reports of a four-year-old leaving an address near Elm Grove and wandering off. The child was located safe and well a short while later. March 3, 6.12pm : Reports of disabled male sitting in middle of Abenbury Road. Officers were unable to locate the man. : Reports of disabled male sitting in middle of Abenbury Road. Officers were unable to locate the man. March 3, 6.16pm: A road traffic collision was reported at the B&Q roundabout. Officers attended and provided assistance. Police added that during the same period officers were also taking statements, building case files and updating victims. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com Reform UK Wales have pledged to cut taxes, scrap blanket 20mph limits and back Welsh farmers if elected in Mays Senedd election. The party unveiled its 2026 Senedd Election manifesto at an event in Newport today, Welsh Leader Dan Thomas was joined by Nigel Farage for the launch, where the pair announced key pledges to scrap the Nation of Sanctuary and upgrade the A55 in North Wales. Other policies which Thomas said will put Wales first include scrapping international aid and prioritising Welsh people for social housing. Reform also pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers Welsh communities, support the Welsh language, introduce a 5% council tax referendum limit and review of business rates. Commenting, Dan Thomas, Leader of Reform Wales, said: This manifesto is a blueprint for real change here in Wales. These promises put Wales and Welsh communities first, and unlike the pledges put forward by other parties, these are deliverable. Armed with this blueprint, we have all the building blocks to end a generation of decline here in Wales. Nigel Farage MP, Leader of Reform UK, said: Im immensely impressed by the hard work that has gone into developing this ambitious but realistic blueprint for government. In a Senedd Election campaign that has been characterised by fantasy economics from the other parties, this document is a serious plan to deliver the real change Wales deserves. I look forward to campaigning alongside Dan and the Welsh team between now and May 7. Reform UKs manifesto can be viewed in full here. The launch comes during a week in which Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservatives have also outlined their plans ahead of the Senedd election. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - A senior United Nations official warned in Geneva on Wednesday against the normalisation of force in conflict resolution, highlighting its unpredictable consequences and the increasing fragility of the world An inclusive member support specialist has secured a flagship national contract to provide services for a groundbreaking arts access scheme for disabled people. The win marks the launch of The People Connective, a specialist member support business appointed by Arts Council England to deliver the accessible helpdesk for its flagship All In programme. Based in Sandycroft, Deeside, the firm is part of The Card Network, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and is entering a major growth phase following new ownership. Marketing Director Suzi Peake said: This is a hugely proud moment for our whole team. Accessibility has always been central to what we do and being trusted with a national programme like All In shows whats possible when inclusive design and real human support come together Sue Woodcock, Commercial Director of The Card Network, added: Were delighted to be working with All In and Arts Council England to develop an accessible helpdesk solution from the outset. We bring many years of experience supporting D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, including through the Hynt access scheme across Wales, and we look forward to building on that experience. The 20-strong Card Network team is backed by a four-strong leadership group across finance, commercial, technical and marketing. While widely recognised as a provider of custom printed cards across many applications and technologies, the business also operates a substantial fulfilment and membership service, managing large national ID schemes and delivering end-to-end experiences from member applications through to customer support. Thousands of applications are processed each week for long-standing national partnerships. This accessibility expertise now sits under The People Connective brand, created last year to focus specifically on inclusive, people-first member support. Arts Council England said the new helpdesk will offer friendly, person-centred support via phone, email, live chat, virtual appointments and post, allowing members to choose what works best for them. Kelly Parish, Senior Manager for Diversity at Arts Council England, said: We know that for many disabled people, the biggest barriers can appear at the very first point of contact. Thats why we want to give disabled members choice in how they get in touch. By appointing People Connective, they will be met with understanding, flexibility and a real person at the other end of support. This partnership reflects our commitment to putting disabled people at the heart of All In. All In is the new access scheme set to transform accessibility across the UK and Ireland. The project is currently moving through a phased rollout for creative and cultural organisations and is set to welcome disabled members later in 2026. Alongside its membership operation, The Card Network continues to support universities, hospitality brands and national organisations, seeing growth in EV charging cards and further fulfilment services. The Arts Council England partnership is expected to drive further recruitment in Flintshire, creating new jobs and boosting the local economy in this milestone anniversary year. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com A young woman has told of her horror at witnessing an elderly woman die alone and in distress in a corridor at Ysbyty Glan Clwyds A&E department. Nadia Wainwright from Henllan was at the Bodelwyddan hospital on Monday, 2 March, after her partner fell ill when she witnessed an elderly womans final moments. Nadia said the woman died alone in a corridor in full view of other patients, before a paramedic intervened to place a blanket over the womans face to preserve her dignity. The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said it could not comment on an individual patients circumstances for reasons of confidentiality but acknowledged that the incident would be deeply upsetting for families, other patients, and members of the public. Nadia told the local democracy reporting service she was deeply shocked to witness the death at an extremely overcrowded A&E filled with patients in chairs and beds lining the corridors. Nadia said her family noticed the elderly, frail woman lying alone in the corridor opposite them. She said: My mother-in-law and I noticed that the patient did not seem to be moving. Wed had no sleep, and we couldnt think (straight) as there were so many people, and my partner was seriously ill. Then we saw the paramedic walk past, and we were trying to get his attention about the lady. She appeared to be in distress and was making grunting noises. Staff were walking past, and she did not appear to be receiving attention. She had passed away alone in the corridor with no privacy and no one holding her hand. I know NHS staff are under huge pressure. No patient especially an elderly and vulnerable person should be left alone in a corridor in such circumstances. The paramedic then realised that she had passed away and began shouting for staff assistance, and it then took approximately five minutes for staff to respond and attend to the patient. During this time, the paramedic pulled the blanket over her face. This was extremely upsetting for us to witness, especially as I have never seen a deceased person before. The situation was handled in a way that felt distressing and lacked sensitivity, and it has had a significant emotional impact on us. I cant stop thinking about it. Im so angry. I couldnt leave my partner by himself, as I was feeling unsettled by how long it took staff to respond to the deceased lady. It was absolutely chaotic there. There were no beds, no blankets. Nadia explained that her mother had to help another elderly lady in her eighties in the A&E department empty her catheter, get a drink, and call her family. She said: Some of the managers and directors of the health board should spend some time on these corridors. Perhaps they could sit with these patients. No one should be left to die unattended like that. Tremeirchion councillor Chris Evans said: There is no way that anybody should be dying in a corridor while staff are walking past. We can put as much money into Betsi, which we want. We can build a hospital in Rhyl with a measly 14 beds. That will do nothing when weve lost all the beds we have in the whole of Betsi. The problem isnt getting sorted. People are dying without any dignity. Rhyl councillor Brian Jones said: This is another horrific example of the flaws in A&E in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. When will the senior management get out of their denial (insisting) that everything is all right? Angela Wood, the boards executive director of nursing and midwifery, said: We are aware of a post being shared on social media describing a distressing experience within the Emergency Department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. We cannot comment on individual patient circumstances for reasons of confidentiality; however, we recognise that witnessing a medical emergency or a patient who is critically unwell can be deeply upsetting for families, other patients, and members of the public. We want to be clear that providing care with dignity, compassion, and respect is fundamentally important to us. Corridor care is not something we want for our patients, and we fully understand the concern and anxiety it can cause when people see this happening. We recognise that too many patients within our Emergency Departments are waiting longer than they should, and that this can have a real and distressing impact on individuals and their families. We know that at times some patients are not receiving the standard of environment or experience we would want for them, and we are absolutely committed to addressing this. In common with NHS providers across the United Kingdom, our Emergency Departments are under significant and sustained pressure, necessitating the temporary use of corridor care for some patients. Additional clinical oversight is provided in these areas to ensure patient safety is maintained. A significant programme of improvement is underway across the health and social care system to address the causes and consequences of long waits in our Emergency Departments. This includes placing experienced clinicians at the front door to assess and stream patients more quickly, improving early access to specialist teams, strengthening senior clinical decision-making, and expanding care closer to home so that only those who need emergency hospital treatment attend our departments. We are also working closely with local authority and health and care partners to address delays in discharging patients who are medically fit to leave hospital, as this has a direct impact on patient flow and crowding. She added: We have now been contacted directly by the author of the social media post and will be speaking with them to understand the circumstances in more detail. A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: We are aware of the social media post and are seeking assurance from the health board on the circumstances. More broadly, delivery of care in undesignated or non-clinical environments is not acceptable. It compromises patient dignity, safety, and staff wellbeing. We aim to end this practice with system-wide reform and have clearly outlined our expectations for health boards to ensure patients move efficiently through hospitals and return to their communities, reducing avoidable harm. She added: We have also targeted an additional 200 million to better manage staffing needs, same day emergency care, and community services. By Richard Evans BBC Local Democracy Reporter Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com On Wednesday, gubernatorial candidate Alexis Hill unveiled her economic plan in southern Nevada. "We are looking at holistically modernizing Nevada's tax system so these billionaires and corporations aren't walking through giant loopholes." The Democrat's economic development plan calls for issuing dozens of executive orders on day one. They would address everything from overhauling the tax system to increasing jobs, adding more housing, revamping the state's education system to make it better prepare students for jobs of the future and supporting small businesses. She also plans to work with the legislature on these issues. Hill discussed her priorities at an event at a restaurant in Las Vegas Wednesday. She says she plans to hold similar events around the state leading up to the June primary. Two people have been left without a home after a fire broke out at a double-wide trailer in Wadsworth on Wednesday afternoon. The fire started underneath the home, and residents said there was an explosion, but firefighters could not confirm that, according to a spokesperson for Pyramid Lake Fire. The home is a total loss, according to a TMFR spokesperson. Multiple fire agencies responded to the fire, including Pyramid Lake Fire, the Reno Fire Department, and Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue. TMFR says the blaze was a defensive fire that extended to a nearby tire pile, but not into the surrounding wildlands. Firefighters are working with Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe staff to reach out to the Red Cross. In a social media post, the Pyramid Lake Police Department asked people to stay away from the area around Wadsworth Street and to keep roadways clear for emergency equipment, NV Energy, and the gas company. We will update this story as more information becomes available. UPDATE - March 5 - 9:54 a.m. Authorities have cleared the AMBER Alert for 10-month-old Leilani Williams from North Las Vegas. The Nevada State Police announced on their X page. According to the North Las Vegas Police Department, the child was located unharmed, and Roderick was taken into custody by authorities without incident. ORIGINAL STORY - March 5 - 8:37 a.m. Authorities have issued an AMBER Alert for a 10-month-old girl from North Las Vegas, who may be with her father. The North Las Vegas Police Department says Leilani Williams was last seen near Martin Luther King Blvd. and Cheyenne Avenue around 1:40 a.m. on Thursday. Leilani, who is also known as Leilani Duke, was last seen wearing a white jumper with pink trim and flowers. Police say the girl is with 39-year-old Roderick Duke - he's 6'2" tall, 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Duke was last seen driving a blue 2017 Chrysler 200 with an unknown license plate. Police say an AMBER Alert has been activated due to Roderick being in emotional crisis and making threats to harm himself and 10-month-old Leilani. If you see them, call 911 or the North Las Vegas Police Department at 702-633-9111. An English mother is challenging what she calls an "intrusive" and "overwhelming" court process to gain access to her severely disabled son's Child Trust Fund, saying the system is locking vulnerable young people out of their own savings. The mother, identified as Claire from Hull, cannot access the account set up for her 19yearold son, who has severe learning disabilities and cannot manage money on his own. Her son's Child Trust Fund matured when he turned 18, but the bank will not release the money without an order from the Court of Protection, according to the BBC. Claire says the process is "intrusive" because she has been asked to provide detailed personal and financial information and supporting statements to prove she is acting in her son's best interests. She argues that this is unnecessary because she has been caring for him his whole life and already manages his benefits and daytoday needs. Under the Mental Capacity Act, if a young adult cannot make financial decisions, parents must apply to the Court of Protection or obtain a lasting power of attorney to manage savings such as Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs. The government says this rule protects vulnerable adults from fraud and financial abuse and ensures that no one can access their money without proper legal authority. Families and charities say the system is too complicated, slow, and intimidating for many parents of disabled young people. Campaigners highlight that forms are long and legal language is difficult to understand, while supporting documents can take time and money to gather. Disability groups estimate that more than 80,000 disabled teenagers in the UK may struggle to access their Child Trust Funds because they lack mental capacity and their families have to go through formal legal routes. Many parents were not told early enough that they would need a court order or power of attorney before their child turned 18, Disability Rights UK reported. Some providers and charities warn that unclaimed Child Trust Funds risk sitting dormant or being reclaimed if not accessed, leaving disabled young people without money that could help pay for equipment, therapies, or respite care. Contact and other charities are urging ministers to introduce simpler, lowvalue routes or extend existing appointee schemes so that parents can more easily access modest savings on behalf of their children. The Ministry of Justice has created an online toolkit to guide families through the Mental Capacity Act process and says waiting times for applications have been cut from around 24 weeks to about eight weeks. Officials insist any change must still protect disabled people from exploitation, stressing that adults' funds cannot be accessed informally, even by parents. Meanwhile, parents like Claire are continuing to press for further reform, saying the current safeguards come at too high a cost for ordinary families. She wants a more proportionate system that allows easier access to relatively small Child Trust Funds while still protecting disabled young people's rights, as per Contact. A City of Reno trustee on the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority Board has stepped down, effective immediately. In a resignation letter dated February 26, 2026, and addressed to the Reno City Council and mayor, Edward Ableser said he was resigning from the Board of Trustees. Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the Board of Trustees of the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority, effective immediately, he wrote. Ableser thanked city leaders for the opportunity to serve. I wish to extend my sincere gratitude for your trust and belief in me to represent you fairly and to work toward improving and helping to grow our amazing airport with such a phenomenal board of trustees, who I greatly respect and was lucky to serve with, he wrote. It was truly an honor to be appointed and entrusted with such an important responsibility to our regions travelers, businesses, and residents. Ableser described himself as an eleven-year resident of Reno and outlined his prior community involvement, including service on the Citys Charter Committee, the governing board and foundation of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada, the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce, the Nevada Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, the Washoe County School District Superintendent Search Committee, Community Health Alliance, the Nevada Electronic Health Information Advisory Group, and through service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He wrote that he accepted the airport board role in that same spirit of service and committed from day one to improving board policies, procedures, transparency, and accountability. However, he said he no longer believes he can be effective. Unfortunately, for the sake of the work I do in Nevada and due to what has felt like an apparent targeting of me, and others on the board, through retaliation and harassment by RTAA leadership, I no longer believe I can be effective in inspiring meaningful change, he wrote. Ableser detailed concerns about board governance and leadership, including claims that new board policies were adopted at a retreat in a way he believed isolated him and other new members. He wrote that when he raised concerns, his voice was silenced by the Chief Legal Officer and her staff. He questioned why certain companies were receiving no-bid awards and why audits on airport construction projects and the status of air service had not been seen, writing that those concerns were dismissed or ignored. He also wrote that concerns about a breach-of-contract project with a vendor led to closed session discussions where trustees were told not to discuss the matter. He said he requested outside legal counsel for board members when conflicts of interest arose and asked for pre-meeting caucuses to brief trustees on significant actions, writing that those requests were not granted. He also wrote that he challenged what he believed were violations of Robert's Rules of Order and Nevada Open Meeting laws, saying those concerns were dismissed. I have witnessed a culture of hostility and retaliation aimed at anyone who dared to hold leadership accountable, he wrote. I have experienced what I can only describe as an environment of toxicity and retaliation. Ableser also wrote that when questions arose about his qualifications to serve, the Chief Legal Officer did not address the issue with him directly. He said he requested independent and unbiased legal counsel, writing that the request was rejected. It is with regret that I step down without being able to fulfill fully the reform-oriented role I had hoped to serve as a trustee, he wrote. I remain grateful for the opportunity you provided me and for the confidence you placed in my ability to represent you and our community. He concluded with a warning for whoever is appointed next. I sincerely hope that the next appointee is empowered to serve in a professional and respectful environment, he wrote. However, without meaningful cultural and governance changes, and true independent legal counsel, they may encounter the same toxic conditions that I, and many other trustees, experience. You can view the full letter below. The Washoe County School District (WCSD) started a public meeting at Pine Middle School to discuss the school's future. The meeting started at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The school district said it has design schematics to show the community and get feedback on. Wednesday's meeting follows a similar one last summer. "We met in August of 2025, and kind of gained some insight from the community as to what they thought it should look like, what they felt it should have," said Tami Zimmerman, Chief Facilities Management Officer, WCSD. Some of the feedback from the summer meeting has made its way into the designs. At Tuesday's Ward 3 Neighborhood Advisory Board meeting at Reno City Hall, WCSD showed off a concept with three dedicated drop-off lanes and a playground behind the school, both of which come from parent input. Parents also expressed a desire for extra safety features at nearby crosswalks. Zimmerman said kids at nearby elementary schools will be rezoned to the new one as part of the district's ongoing efforts to consolidate schools. "Smithridge has a certain amount of students. Corbett has a certain amount of students, but they don't fill the schools all the way," she said. However, the district doesn't know what to do with the current Smithridge building. "We're going to work through that process to see what Smithridge is going to be in the future. We're not there yet. We haven't gone through that process," Zimmerman said. When Reese Elzey moved in near the school six months ago, he said neighbors told him kids would get into trouble in the area. He hopes the new building will help kids behave. "I feel like once the school gets modeled, it'll bring like a new atmosphere, which then will bring the kids to like, calm down and be like, okay, like, this is a nice area," he said. Elzey said if the construction doesn't take too long, it shouldn't be too much of a bother for him. "I don't think it's going to be that impactful for me. Because I feel like I'd be at work for most of the time when they are doing construction," he said. Zimmerman said teachers at Pine Middle School can work internally with human resources to find a new school to work at. WCSD said construction will begin later this year, and they expect the new school to open for the 2028-29 school year. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A defiant Elon Musk on Wednesday took the stand in a jury trial to defend himself against accusations that he engaged in a pattern of deceptive behavior that misled investors as he attempted to back out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter before he finally completed the takeover. The civil trial in San Francisco centers on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control of Twitter, a social media service he renamed X, in October 2022, six months after agreeing to buy the embattled company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. The price paid by the world's richest man represents sliver of a fortune now estimated at $841 billion. The case, which represents Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022, revolves around allegations that Musk violated federal securities laws while taking a series of calculated steps to drive down the company's stock price in an attempt to either blow up the deal or wrangle a lower sales price. Musk maintained the deal merited re-negotiation or termination while insisting Twitter's board duped him about the percentage of fake, or bot, account on its platform a stance he took again during his Wednesday testimony in a black suit and a tie. When asked if he had threatened to hunt down Twitter's board unless they returned to the negotiating table to discuss a revised sales price, Musk didn't rule out that possibility in an answer that reflected the acrimony surrounding the deal. There were a lot of threats going back and forth from both sides, Musk said. I was pretty upset with the Twitter board because I felt they had engaged in fraud. The problem of bots and fake accounts on Twitter wasnt new at the time Musk negotiated the deal. The company had paid $809.5 million in 2021 to settle claims it was overstating its growth rate and monthly user figures. Twitter also disclosed its bot estimates to the Securities and Exchange Commission for years, while also cautioning that its estimate might be too low. In Wednesday testimony, Musk repeatedly described the information that Twitter's board provided with an abbreviation for a bull's scatology. I did make it clear that I thought it was BS, Musk said of Twitter's calculations asserting that only about 5% if its accounts were bots. But the allegations in the case accuse of Musk making a series of misleading statements about the Twitter deal before he served notice in July 2022 that he was pulling the plug on the deal. After Musk backed out, Twitter went to court in Delaware to force him to honor his original deal. Just before that case was scheduled to go to trial, Musk reversed course again and agreed to pay what he had originally promised. Musk testified Wednesday that he ended up completing the deal because his lawyers advised him that Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathleen St. Jude McCormick, the judge in charge of the case, was extremely biased against him and he had no chance of prevailing. He pointed out that McCormick voided a $55 billion pay package awarded to him as CEO of electric automaker Tesla, but that decision wasn't made until January 2024 15 months after he completed the Twitter takeover. The Delaware Supreme Court overturned McCormick's ruling late last year. By tying his belief that McCormick was biased against him to his lawyers, Musk insulated himself from extensive questioning about the decision through legal protections shielding discussions between attorneys and their clients. But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Wednesday cited other evidence that Musk may have personally concluded McCormick was biased, which could lift attorney-client privilege. Breyer indicated he may rule on the matter later in the trial currently scheduled to continue through March 19. In his testimony, Musk asserted that his decision to follow through on the deal at the original sales price provided a huge windfall for most Twitter shareholders. But Twitter's shares fell below $33, or about 40% below Musk's original purchase price, while the deal was hanging in limbo. That downturn costs shareholders who sold their stock during the uncertainty caused by what the lawsuit alleges was Musk's deceitful behavior. I cant control whether people sell their stock, but everyone who held the stock fared extremely well, Musk said. This isnt the first time that Musk has been dragged into court to defend himself against allegations of duping investors with his social media posts. Three years ago, Musk spent about eight hours testifying in a San Francisco federal trial about his plans to buy Tesla the electric automaker that he still runs as publicly traded company for $420 per share in a proposed 2018 deal that never materialized. A nine-member jury absolved Musk of wrongdoing in that case. Before his Wednesday testimony concluded, Musk acknowledged that his frequent posts on social media probably reveal too much about what his going on his mind. What I think privately is what I say publicly, Musk said. Musk is expected to return to court Thursday to continue his testimony. The House is preparing to vote Thursday on a war powers resolution to halt President Donald Trump's attack on Iran, a sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad. It's the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines. Lawmakers are confronting the sudden reality of representing the American people in wartime and all that entails with lives lost, dollars spent and alliances tested by a president's unilateral decision to go to war with Iran. The tally in the House is expected to be tight, but the outcome will provide an early snapshot of the political support, or opposition, to the U.S.-Israel military operation and Trump's rationale for bypassing Congress, which alone has the power to declare war. Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Meeks said in his nearly three decades in Congress, the hardest votes he has taken have been deciding whether to send U.S. troops to war. The roll calls are a clarifying moment for the president and the parties just days into the overseas conflict that has quickly carried echoes of the long U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many veterans of those wars have since run for office and now serve in Congress. Republicans largely back Trump, and most Democrats oppose the war Trumps Republican Party, which narrowly controls the House and Senate, largely sees the conflict with Iran not as the start of a new war, but the end of a regime that for decades has long menaced the West. The operation has killed Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which some view as an opportunity for regime change, though others warn of a chaotic power vacuum. Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against Iran, saying the president is using his own constitutional authority to defend the U.S. against the imminent threat the country posed. Mast, an Army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, said the war powers resolution was effectively asking that the president do nothing. For Democrats, Trump's war with Iran, influenced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a war of choice that is testing the balance of powers in the U.S. Constitution. The framers werent fooling around, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., arguing that the Constitution is clear that only Congress can decide matters of war. He said whether lawmakers support or oppose the Trump administration's military action, they should have the debate. Its up to us, weve got to vote on it. While views in Congress are largely falling along party lines, there are crossover coalitions. Both the House and Senate resolutions were bipartisan, and are drawing bipartisan support and opposition. The House is also voting on a separate resolution affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The war powers resolution, if signed into law, would immediately halt Trump's ability to conduct the war unless Congress approved the military action. The president would likely veto the measure. As an alternative, a small group of Democrats has proposed a separate war powers resolution that would allow the president to continue the war for 30 days before he must seek congressional approval. It is not expected to come yet for a vote. Trump officials provide shifting rationale for war After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill this week trying to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control. Six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait, and Trump has said more Americans could die. Thousands of Americans abroad have scrambled for flights, many lighting up the phone lines at congressional offices as they sought help trying to flee the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the war could extend eight weeks, twice as long as the president first estimated. Trump has left open the possibility of sending U.S. troops into what has largely been a bombing campaign by air. Hundreds of people in the region have died. The administration said the goal is to destroy Iran's ballistic missiles that it believes are shielding its nuclear program. It has also said Israel was ready to act against Iran, and American bases would face retaliation if the U.S. did not strike first. On Wednesday, the U.S. said it torpedoed an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka. "This administration can't even give us a straight answer of as to why we launched this preemptive war," said Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican from Kentucky who is often an outlier in his party. Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who had teamed up to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, also forced the war powers resolution to the floor, pushing past objections from House Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson has warned that it would be dangerous to limit the president's authority while the U.S. military is already in conflict. Senators sit in their desks for solemn vote In the Senate, Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other conflicts during Trump's second term. This one, however, was different. Underscoring the gravity of the moment Wednesday, Democratic senators filled the chamber and sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Today every senator every single one will pick a side," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war? Sen. John Barrasso, second in Senate Republican leadership, said Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Irans national nuclear program." The legislation failed on a 47-53 tally mostly along party lines, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania against. (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraines expertise in countering Irans Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation. Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in its biggest nighttime barrage. Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East. Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraines own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyivs diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian leader. We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war with Russia, Zelenskyy said. Later Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had received a U.S. request for support to defend against the drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts without providing further details. Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our peoples lives, he added in a social media post. Trump, in an interview Thursday with Reuters, said, Certainly Ill take, you know, any assistance from any country. Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other countries take notice. European countries got a wake-up call last September on the changed nature of air defense when Poland scrambled multimillion-dollar military assets, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, in response to airspace violations by cheap drones. Ukrainian manufacturers have developed low-cost interceptor drones specifically designed to hunt and destroy Shaheds, and its rapidly expanding drone industry is producing excess capacity. Zelenskyy announced earlier this year that Ukraine would begin exporting the battle-tested systems. The European Unions top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via video link Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraines experience can help countries counter Iranian drones. Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europes biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round of U. S-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week, Zelenskyy said. Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlong U.S.-led peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon. Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting, Zelenskyy said. But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia's Defense Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the U.S. and United Arab Emirates for mediating. Prisoner swaps have been one of the few tangible results of the talks. Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian negotiator, said on social media that a total of 500 prisoners from each side would be exchanged between Thursday and Friday. Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraines parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the negotiations so that he can press on with Russias invasion while escaping further U.S. sanctions. He urged the U.S. administration to look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East as linked. In reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert Iran supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are interconnected conflicts, Merezhko told The Associated Press. Ukraines army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 257 square kilometers (100 square miles) since Jan. 1. Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report. Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Pebble Beach Food & Wine brings together world-renowned chefs, esteemed winemakers, and leading spirits experts for an extraordinary weekend on the iconic California coast. The premier culinary event set against the stunning backdrop of Pebble Beach combines refined hospitality with a true sense of place. The festival includes more than 50 thoughtfully curated experiences, from elegant walk-around tastings to immersive chef-led events. (Courtesy of Pebble Beach Food Week) In the Tasting Pavilion, top culinary talent are showcased alongside acclaimed wineries and spirits producers, creating a dynamic space for discovery, conversation, and celebration. Exclusive dining events offer a more intimate experience, pairing celebrated chefs with distinguished vintners for meticulous multi-course menus that highlight seasonal ingredients and technical mastery. Chef demonstrations and immersive experiences offer rare insight into the artistry behind each dish. A series of expert-led wine and spirits seminars rounds out the weekend, exploring notable regions and rare varietals through guided tastings of premium spirits and cocktails. Be there when Pebble Beach Food & Wine transforms the coastline into a celebration of culinary excellence, craftsmanship, and community, April 9-12. Here are some of the priority events you won't want to miss: Opening Night Served by HexClad hosted by Jonathan Waxman Tasting Pavilion presented by Palo Alto Networks ($50 discount to Monterey County locals, Sunday, 4/12) From the Cellar hosted by Sumaiya Bangee and Danny Garcia Fifty Years of Grace: A Conversation Across Generations hosted by Dick Grace and Kate Green French Table dinner hosted by Markus Glocker, Lenny Messina, and Camari Mick A Taste of La Mar dinner hosted by Gaston Acurio, Kaoru Chang, Jesus Delgado, Victoriano Lopez, and Diego Oka CATALINA SECURES STRATEGIC COPPER-GOLD TENEMENT ACQUISITION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Catalina Secures Copper-Gold Tenements in WA Perth, Mar 5, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Catalina Resources Limited ( ASX:CTN ) advised that it has entered into a binding option agreement to acquire 100% of BGM Metals Pty Ltd ("BGM"), including its associated exploration licences located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia (figure 1*). HIGHLIGHTS - Binding option to acquire 100% of BGM Metals Pty Ltd, securing a multi-prospect copper-gold portfolio in Western Australia - Located along the tectonic margin of the Yilgarn Craton adjacent to the Albany-Fraser Orogen, a setting recognised as favourable for large-scale mineral systems - Multiple defined prospects spanning VMS copper, structural gold and magmatic CuNi sulphide targets - Historical MLEM conductors and copper anomalism provide immediate high-priority drill targets - Disciplined option structure preserves capital while adding meaningful copper leverage - Further Yerilgee (Chicken Little) RC results pending from ten drill holes following the previously reported 48m @ 2.61 g/t Au The transaction materially strengthens Catalina's copper thematic within a globally recognised mineral province and adds a pipeline of advanced copper-linked targets across multiple mineral system styles. Executive Director, Ross Cotton, commented: "The combination of mapped electromagnetic conductors, interpreted base-metal fertile stratigraphy and documented copper anomalism provides a compelling technical foundation for systematic exploration. Importantly, the option structure allows Catalina to secure exposure to this opportunity in a disciplined manner while we undertake detailed technical assessment. The acquisition expands our copper-gold exploration pipeline and positions the Company to evaluate a prospective mineralised corridor within one of Western Australia's established mineral provinces. Importantly, this acquisition comes as Catalina continues to advance exploration across its broader project portfolio, with further results expected from ongoing programs, including the Central Yilgarn and Breakaway Dam." Transaction Summary Under the binding agreement Catalina has secured an option to acquire 100% of BGM Metals Pty Ltd. Key terms include: - Option fee of $10,000 payable on execution - Option term of 12 months - Exercise consideration of $200,000 in Catalina shares on a 20-day VWAP (or cash equivalent) - Standard conditions precedent including due diligence and regulatory approvals. Catalina considers the overall structure to be cost-effective relative to the size, location and geological setting of the portfolio, while preserving capital and maintaining flexibility during evaluation phase. Project Significance The Aerosmith Project is located on the south-eastern margin of the Yilgarn Craton where the Cundeelee Shear Zone marks the tectonic boundary with the Northern Foreland of the Albany-Fraser Orogen. Craton-orogen margins and long-lived shear zones of this scale are widely recognised as favourable environments for mineral system development, as they can act as structural conduits for hydrothermal fluids and localise mineralisation. By spanning this major bounding structure within the Eastern Goldfields metallogenic province, the Project combines first-order structural architecture with prospective stratigraphy considered conducive to copper-gold mineralisation. Within this tectonic setting, historical datasets indicate several features commonly associated with base-metal mineral systems: - Interpreted base-metal fertile stratigraphy - Proximity to major structural corridors - Discrete electromagnetic conductors - Documented copper anomalism Together these features provide a coherent geological framework supporting systematic evaluation for copper-dominant mineralisation. Prospect Overview BGM's tenure contains several defined prospects and target areas (figure 2 and 3) that collectively support a diversified exploration pipeline. The Maverick Prospect located approximately seven kilometres stratigraphically east of the King VMS deposit (2.15Mt @ 3.47% Zn) (reported in Hollis et al. 2018), hosts discrete historical EM conductors and represents the most immediate VMS exploration opportunity within the portfolio. In addition to the VMS potential at Maverick, the tenure provides exposure to structurally controlled gold and magmatic sulphide targets within the same geological corridor. Additional prospects include: - Goose - magnetic feature associated with magnetite alteration interpreted from regional geophysical datasets. - Jester - structural gold target associated with interpreted regional shear architecture. - Sundown - structurally complex corridor defined by magnetic anomalies and limited historical exploration. - Ice Viper - ultramafic-associated target considered prospective for magmatic Cu-Ni sulphide mineralisation. - Wolfman - ultramafic unit proximal to regional structures with historical EM surveys and limited drilling. Together these prospects provide Catalina with a pipeline of copper- and gold-focused exploration opportunities capable of systematic technical assessment. Exploration Implications The BGM portfolio provides Catalina with exposure to multiple copper-linked mineral system styles within a single consolidated tenure package. The presence of VMS, structural gold and magmatic sulphide targets within the same geological corridor provides scale potential while diversifying exploration risk. Rather than relying on a single conceptual target, the Company has secured a pipeline of prospects that can be systematically ranked and advanced based on technical merit. Following completion of due diligence, Catalina intends to undertake a structured technical program including data validation, conductor re-modelling, geological reinterpretation and generation of drill-ready targets. Strategic and Portfolio Implications This transaction builds on Catalina's recent operational momentum and capital strengthening initiatives, further positioning the Company as an emerging Western Australian copper-gold exploration platform. The option agreement aligns with Catalina's disciplined portfolio strategy: - Expanding copper exposure within proven mineral provinces - Complementing the Company's growing gold portfolio - Adding technically supported exploration targets - Preserving capital through staged transaction structures - Maintaining exposure to multiple mineral system styles The acquisition strengthens Catalina's copper exposure while complementing its advancing gold assets, creating a diversified exploration pipeline designed to support long-term discovery and portfolio growth. Central Yilgarn Exploration Update Following the previously announced result of 48m @ 2.61 g/t Au from the first RC hole at the Yerilgee Project, assay results from the remaining ten drill holes within the Central Yilgarn program remain pending. The Company expects the full set of assay results to be received and assessed by the end of the month and intends to provide the market with a comprehensive update once the complete dataset has been received. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/85NX444D About Catalina Resources Ltd Catalina Resources Ltd (ASX:CTN) is a mineral exploration company focused on discovering and advancing gold and multi-commodity projects in tier-one jurisdictions. Backed by a technically experienced team with deep industry knowledge, Catalina is committed to creating value through focused exploration across highly prospective and underexplored regions in Western Australia. The company's core assets are located in the Central Yilgarn and Laverton regions, two of the most historically productive and geologically endowed gold provinces in the country. Both projects have demonstrated the potential to host significant mineralisation, with early-stage drilling already delivering promising results. Related Companies Brisbane, Mar 5, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Far East Gold Ltd ( ASX:FEG ) is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold projects across Indonesia and Australia, underpinned by combined JORC resources of 1.54Moz gold and 190Mlb copper. In Indonesia, the Company continues to deliver high-grade drilling results at Idenburg, while progressing permitting milestones under the country's evolving mining framework. Country Director and Co-Founder Jimbarlow Gultom, who leads Indonesian operations, government engagement and community relations from Jakarta, joins The Stock Network's Lel Smits to discuss how Far East Gold is positioning itself within Indonesia's centralised mining regime, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and advancing operations on the ground. Indonesia's evolving mining framework: De-risking the jurisdiction Government & community integration: Building long-term alignment Operational execution: Managing multiple programs in-country Positioning Indonesia as an investment destination To Watch the Interview, please visit: https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/4TIQ4377 About Far East Gold Ltd Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) (OTCMKTS:FEGDF) is an Australian junior exploration company led by some of the biggest names in Australian mining. The company has secured the commercial rights for the acquisition, exploration and development of six advanced gold and copper projects in Indonesia and Australia. The Company is underpinned by combined JORC resources of 1.54Moz gold and 190Mlb copper, with ongoing drill programs aiming to significantly increase these resources. Related Companies AceShowbiz - The global K-pop sensation BLACKPINK is illuminating one of South Korea's most renowned cultural landmarks as they prepare to release their new EP, DEADLINE. On February 26, the National Museum of Korea, the countrys most-visited museum, began a special collaboration with BLACKPINK to celebrate the group's latest musical chapter. This partnership coincides with the group's first collective release since 2022's Born Pink, as BLACKPINK gears up for the official drop of DEADLINE on Friday, February 27. From February 26 through March 8, visitors to the museum will witness the exterior and outdoor plaza bathed in BLACKPINK's signature vibrant pink hues. This striking visual tribute merges contemporary pop culture with the museums historic architecture, creating a unique cultural experience. Inside the museum, a dedicated DEADLINE listening zone has been thoughtfully installed along the "Path to History." This area uses advanced projection mapping techniques to blend modern multimedia elements with the museums monumental marble design, offering fans an immersive way to engage with the new music. The DEADLINE EP features five tracks, including the hit single "Jump," which achieved the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 in 2025. This release follows a period of extensive solo projects for each memberLisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosebefore reuniting to create this new body of work. Prior to the EP release, BLACKPINK concluded their Deadline World Tour, which started in July of the previous year and wrapped up in January. This tour came after a year of individual artistic exploration by each member, setting the stage for a powerful group comeback. The group began preparing fans for DEADLINE by unveiling the tracklist earlier in February and releasing concept photos at the end of January. The EP also includes previously released songs such as "Go" and last years "Jump," which climbed to No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Global 200. Reflecting on the project, member Rose commented on the creative process during a recent interview on Call Her Daddy, saying, "I think it was really interesting to come back and see what was created after that year of exploring and all being our individual selves. I really like all the songs there." BLACKPINKs previous album, Born Pink, marked a milestone as their first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, solidifying their status as trailblazers in the global music scene. Combining the energy of modern K-pop with the rich history of one of South Korea's premier cultural institutions, this collaboration between BLACKPINK and the National Museum of Korea offers fans and visitors a groundbreaking fusion of music and heritage. AceShowbiz - Todd Meadows, known for his role on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch, tragically passed away last month during filming of the shows 22nd season. His family has now shared their grief following the heartbreaking news of his death at sea. Todd Meadows, aged 25, died on February 25 after falling overboard while the reality fishing show was shooting off the Alaskan coast. The incident occurred aboard the Aleutian Lady in the Bering Sea, marking what captain Rick Shelford described as "the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady." Two days after the news was made public by Captain Rick Shelford, Todd Meadows' sister, Mackenzie Meadows, spoke out about the family's pain. In a statement to Us Weekly, she expressed the depth of their sorrow, saying, "No words put together can even describe the pain we're going through and will continue to." She added that Todds three young sons would keep his memory alive through photographs. Captain Shelford remembered Todd Meadows as the newest crew member who quickly became family. He praised Todds passion for fishing and his strong work ethic, which earned him instant respect among his shipmates. Shelford also highlighted his infectious smile and laughter, which will be fondly remembered by everyone on board. The day after the tragedy, Trey John Green III, a fellow cast member of Deadliest Catch, revealed to Us Weekly that the moment Todd Meadows fell overboard was captured on camera. According to Green, a deck camera that records 24/7 caught the entire incident, as did other filming equipment. Additional details were provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, which stated that the crew recovered Todd Meadows unresponsive approximately ten minutes after he went overboard. Despite immediate first aid attempts, he could not be revived and was later transported to Dutch Harbor. The Coast Guard is conducting a thorough investigation as part of its standard procedure for marine casualties to determine the cause and recommend safety measures. Todd Meadows leaves behind his three sons. To support his family during this difficult time, a GoFundMe campaign has been established and has raised over $41,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. Discovery, the network that has aired Deadliest Catch since its debut in April 2005, issued a statement expressing their condolences. A representative said, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows. This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates, and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time." The loss of Todd Meadows has deeply impacted both his family and the close-knit community of the crew and fans of Deadliest Catch. His legacy as a dedicated deckhand and loving father will continue to resonate with those who knew him. AceShowbiz - Ludwig Goransson strengthened his chances of winning the Oscar for best original score after clinching the award for Sinners at the BAFTA ceremony on Sunday, February 22. This victory follows his earlier wins at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and Grammys, positioning him as a frontrunner for the upcoming Academy Awards on March 15. The competition this year for best original score includes notable composers such as Jerskin Fendrix for Bugonia, Alexandre Desplat for Frankenstein, Max Richter for Hamnet, and Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another. Among them, Desplat holds the most nominations with twelve in this category, followed by Greenwood and Goransson each with three, Fendrix with two, and Richter with his first. A remarkable achievement for Goransson this year is being the only composer nominated for both best original score and best original song. He shares the song nomination with Raphael Saadiq for "I Lied to You" from Sinners. This is the first time Goransson has earned nominations in both categories in the same year, having previously been nominated for best original song with "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without a corresponding score nomination. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with Conan O'Brien returning as host for the second consecutive year. This year's ceremony will introduce a new category for best casting, increasing the total number of competitive Oscar categories to 24. For context, this is roughly one-quarter of the 95 categories presented at the Grammy Awards this year. If Goransson wins the Oscar for Sinners, he will achieve six historic milestones in the music scoring category at the Academy Awards. First, he would become the first composer in the 21st Century to win best original score three times. His previous wins were for Black Panther in 2019 and Oppenheimer in 2024. Currently, he shares the record for most 21st-century scoring Oscars with Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain and Babel), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network and Soul), and Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water). Should Desplat win instead, he would be the first to reach three wins this century. Additionally, Goransson would be the first composer in nearly twenty years to win two best original score Oscars within a three-year span. The last to achieve this feat was Gustavo Santaolalla, who won consecutively in 2006 and 2007 for Brokeback Mountain and Babel, respectively. At just 41 years old, Goransson would also become the second-youngest composer in Oscar history to win three Oscars in scoring categories. The only younger recipient was Andre Previn, who was 35 when he won his third scoring Oscar in 1964 for Irma LaDouce. Previn's earlier wins were for Gigi and Porgy and Bess. Previn passed away in 2019 at age 89. Moreover, Goransson would become only the second composer to maintain a perfect 3-0 record in scoring categories, winning on each of his first three nominations. His earlier victories for Black Panther and Oppenheimer marked wins on his first two score nominations. The only other composer with a similar flawless record is Alan Menken, who won on his first four nominations for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas. Winning this Oscar would mark Goransson as the third living composer with three or more Oscars in scoring categories. Although 16 composers have earned three or more Oscars in these categories historically, most are deceased. The living three-time winners include John Williams, 94, with five scoring Oscars, and Alan Menken, 76, who holds four. Finally, Goransson would become the fourth person born in Sweden to win three Oscars across any category. The previous Swedish three-time Oscar winners are actress Ingrid Bergman, sound and sound effects editor Per Hallberg, and sound editor and mixer Paul N.J. Ottosson. Bergman won two best actress Oscars for Gaslight (1945) and Anastasia (1957), as well as best supporting actress for Murder on the Orient Express (1975). Notably, director Ingmar Bergman, despite directing three films that won the Oscar for best foreign filmThe Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, and Fanny and Alexandernever won an Oscar personally, except for an Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1970. It's also relevant that Ryan Coogler directed both Black Panther and Sinners. If Goransson's score for Sinners wins, he will be the first composer to win two Oscars for best original score working with the same director since Howard Shore won for the two Lord of the Rings films directed by Peter Jackson. The upcoming Oscars will be a pivotal moment for Goransson, who has already demonstrated exceptional dominance in the music categories this season. Should he secure the award for Sinners, his accomplishments will set new benchmarks in Academy Awards history for composers. AceShowbiz - Charley Crockett has announced the cancellation of his Canadian tour after being denied entry into the country due to a decade-old drug conviction. The country music artist shared the news on Instagram on Monday, revealing that a conviction for drug possession prevented him from crossing the Canadian border. In a post accompanied by a screenshot of a notice from Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department, Charley Crockett explained that he was barred from entering Canada because of a conviction in Virginia. The charge involved possession of more than five pounds of marijuana with intent to sell. "Everybody's got a past," he wrote, acknowledging that his previous legal issues continue to impact his career. Charley Crockett detailed his attempts to cross into Canada at two separate locations within 24 hoursVancouver and Kelownaonly to be turned away both times by border patrol agents. He was informed that further attempts to enter the country could jeopardize his freedom. As a result, he confirmed he must cancel all scheduled Canadian performances. "I apologize to everyone affected. I know I let yall down," he added in his statement to fans. Fans who purchased tickets for his Canadian shows will receive full refunds through their original points of sale. However, Charley Crockett expressed his regret that refunds alone cannot compensate for the disappointment and inconvenience caused. "Canadas such a beautiful country full of some of the best fans in the world, and Ive had the time of my life playing shows for yall," he said. "I aint one to quit and I aim to be back one of these days real soon." The country star was set to begin his Canadian tour on Saturday with a performance at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. However, Live Nation British Columbia announced the shows postponement just hours before it was to take place, citing unforeseen circumstances. Additional concerts planned across Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec will no longer proceed. This tour cancellation comes shortly after Charley Crockett revealed plans for his upcoming album, Age of the Ram, which is the third installment in his "Sagebrush Trilogy." The album is scheduled for release on April 3. Billboard has reached out to Canadas Border Services Agency for comment regarding Charley Crocketts denied entry. AceShowbiz - Fans of BTS have endured a long wait for new music, but the anticipation is soon coming to an end with the groups first full-length album in six years, ARIRANG. After a hiatus driven by mandatory military service and solo projects, the seven membersRM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkookare finally reunited to deliver this eagerly awaited comeback. In 2022, the members announced they would pause group activities to fulfill South Koreas military enlistment requirements, a move that temporarily paused their groundbreaking global success marked by Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers like Dynamite, Butter, and Permission to Dance. Over the past three years, they staggered their military service and released solo works, allowing fans to experience new creative sides of each artist while awaiting the groups return. Following the discharge of the final members in June 2025, BTS immediately returned to the studio, spending months recording and rehearsing to complete ARIRANG. The album will be released on March 20, 2026, via BigHit Music, marking a significant moment for both the band and their global fanbase, ARMY. ARIRANG consists of 14 tracks, which highlight the group's evolution and artistic maturity. The full tracklist is: "Body to Body" "Hooligan" "Aliens" "FYA" "2.0" "No. 29" "SWIM" "Merry Go Round" "NORMAL" "Like Animals" "they don't know 'bout us" "One More Night" "Please" "Into the Sun" Production credits on ARIRANG include notable names such as Diplo, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Ryan Tedder. Importantly, each member of BTS contributed to the songwriting process on all 14 songs, making this album deeply personal and collaborative. The albums title, ARIRANG, references the traditional Korean folk song known worldwide. According to BigHit Music, the album is a deeply reflective body of work exploring BTSs identity and cultural roots. It draws on the emotional resonance of the original folk song, conveying themes of yearning, longing, and lifes fluctuating nature. In a February 2025 cover story with GQ, member Suga revealed that the album spans diverse genres and offers a more mature side of the group, distinguishing it from previous BTS releases. RM added that the album will help clarify some of the confusion surrounding the groups evolution, calling it the whole package. Producer Diplo, who worked on multiple tracks including Body to Body, FYA, One More Night, Like Animals, and Into the Sun, expressed enthusiasm about the project. Speaking to TMZ, he described ARIRANG as the craziest album ever and predicted it will shock the world. Diplo praised BTS for their creativity and hands-on approach in the studio, calling it a rare and lucky collaboration after three decades in the music industry. Following the album release, BTS plans to embark on a worldwide stadium tour spanning 2026 and 2027, further cementing their ongoing global influence. This return marks a monumental chapter after years of waiting, hard work, and growth, both individually and as a group. With ARIRANG poised to drop on March 20, 2026, fans can expect a transformative musical experience that honors the groups heritage while showcasing their artistic progression. Billboard will continue to track all updates as the release date approaches, providing the latest insights on this landmark comeback. AceShowbiz - Taylor Swift has more than one secret song inspired by her long-standing friendship with Selena Gomez. On the Friends Keep Secrets podcast hosted by Benny Blanco, Lil Dicky, and Kristin Batalucco, Selena Gomez revealed that besides the known track "Dorothea," there is another song called "Family" that Taylor Swift wrote about their shared dreams and experiences growing up in the spotlight. Gomez recalled that the song was created over a decade ago and described its lyrical theme as reflecting their youthful ambitions. She explained, "It was basically saying you have these amazing dreams, you want to be in movies. Like, 'In every crowd I still see you.' Then her part was like, 'You believe in my stupid dreams like playing stadiums.'" Recalling the emotional impact, she added that listening to the song now is especially moving because both of those dreams came true for them. This revelation hints that an unreleased Taylor Swift track exists in Selena Gomez's music collection, something fans have yet to hear officially. Gomez described the song as a personal narrative of their story, saying "Back then, she was just like, 'I just wrote this song about us, and it was just like our story.'" Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez first became friends as teenagers when each was dating a member of the Jonas Brothers. Today, their close bond continues, with each in relationships connected to Lil Dickys circle of friends. Despite their fame and success, Gomez emphasized that their friendship remains grounded in genuine understanding rather than superficial prosperity. She stated, "When we talk about it were not like, 'Look at this prosperity.' Its more so like, 'This is so cool that you get it.'" Their 17 years of friendship have encompassed multiple heartbreaks, love stories, and memorable moments. Gomez also confirmed that Taylor Swift gave fans a glimpse into their friendship through the song "Dorothea" from the album Evermore. This track is about a lifelong friendship with a starlet from Texas who sells makeupa clear nod to their connection. However, the newly discussed song "Family" remains unreleased but recorded, leaving fans hopeful that it might surface someday, perhaps through one of Swift's ongoing re-recording projects. WASHINGTON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, Plan International is calling for sustained investment in girls' education as a powerful path to women's equality and lasting justice. Women's equality does not begin in adulthood. It begins when girls have access to safe, quality education and the freedom to learn, grow and make decisions about their futures. Justice for women begins with sustained investment in girls' education Post this Justice for women begins with girls education. On International Womens Day, Plan International highlights the need for sustained investment in safe, quality education for girls worldwide. "Justice for women starts with opportunity for girls," Shanna Marzilli, president and chief executive officer of Plan International USA, said. "When girls are educated and protected, they grow into women who lead businesses, shape policy and strengthen their communities. That progress reflects years of investment and depends on continued support." Across many regions, gains for girls are real. More girls are completing secondary school than in previous generations, and fewer are marrying before age 18. Findings from Plan International's 18-year Real Choices, Real Lives study which followed the same group of girls from birth to adulthood across nine countries show what sustained investment can achieve. By age 18, nearly two-thirds of the girls were completing or had completed secondary school, compared to most of their mothers, who had little or no formal education. In addition, far fewer were married before age 18 than in their mothers' generation. Read Real Choices, Real Lives: Findings from 18 Years of a Global Study with Girls from Birth to Adulthood at: www.planusa.org/report/long-term-study-on-girls-18-years-findings. But the study also shows how fragile progress can be. Ninety-one percent of the girls reported experiencing violence by age 11. Many spent more than five hours each day cooking, cleaning and caring for siblings. That burden limits their time for school and leadership. Climate shocks, conflict and funding cuts threaten to undermine hard-won gains. "When girls stay in school and are safe from violence, their lives change," Marzilli said. "So do their communities. But equality does not sustain itself. Without consistent investment in education and protection, we risk reversing progress." The benefits of educating girls extend far beyond individual lives. Global research shows that closing gender gaps in workforce participation could increase global economic output by as much as 20%. Peace agreements are significantly more likely to last when women participate in negotiations. Women with education are more likely to earn income, participate in civic life and invest in the next generation. Communities are more resilient. Economies are stronger. On International Women's Day, Plan International calls on policymakers, donors, corporate partners and supporters to prioritize long-term investment in girls' education and protection. Equality requires more than recognition. It requires sustained action. This year's campaign highlights stories of girls who have become leaders in their communities, new findings from the Real Choices, Real Lives study and opportunities for supporters to advance girls' education worldwide. Learn more about Plan International's International Women's Day campaign at: www.planusa.org/international-womens-day. We won't stop until we are all equal. About Plan International Plan International is an international development and humanitarian nonprofit that advances children's rights and equality for girls. Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of challenges children face. We are there from birth until adulthood, and we support children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity, while particularly focusing on the experiences of girls. With more than 85 years of experience, we work to transform lives in more than 80 countries. We won't stop until we are all equal. SOURCE Plan International USA AceShowbiz - Ringo Starr has announced his upcoming album Long Long Road, set for release on April 24. The record includes a star-studded lineup of collaborators such as Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, and St. Vincent. The former Beatles drummer revealed the album on March 3, alongside the debut single, "It's Been Too Long", which features backing vocals by Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz. This track reflects some of Starrs recent affinity for country music, blending low, resonant guitar riffs with high-and-lonesome harmonies from Tuttle and Jarosz. Additionally, it incorporates touches of psychedelia and early rock & roll sounds. Long Long Road follows just over a year after Starrs previous album, Look Up, which also included contributions from Strings, Tuttle, Lucius, and Larkin Poe. Both records were produced by T Bone Burnett, who continues to play a key role in Starrs recent music. Starr expressed gratitude for working with Burnett, stating, "I'm blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records." He described the albums title as symbolic of his long journey, saying that the project just sort of happened following the success of Look Up. The recording of Long Long Road took place in Nashville, with many of the same musicians from the previous album contributing. These include Paul Franklin, David Mansfield, Dennis Crouch, Daniel Tashian, Rory Hoffman, Patrick Warren, and Colin Linden. Burnett dubbed this group the Texans, a nod both to the musical style and to an actual band Starr played with in Liverpool before joining the Beatles. Look Up marked a significant release for Starr, being his first new album since 2019s What's My Name. It reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and climbed to Number 12 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart. Following the release of Long Long Road, Starr will embark on a short North American tour. The concerts begin on May 28 in Temecula, California, and conclude on June 14 in Los Angeles. AceShowbiz - In October 2024, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Donal Finn, the leads of Amazon Prime Videos new series Young Sherlock, took a moment away from filming to discuss the show with The Hollywood Reporter. The production is set in a grand Welsh stately home, providing a visually rich backdrop that brings the origin story of Arthur Conan Doyles iconic detective vividly to life. Created by showrunner Matthew Parkhill, the eight-episode series streams all at once on Prime Video. It presents a fresh take on Sherlock Holmes, focusing on the character at 19 years oldbefore he becomes the legendary detective. In this version, Sherlock is a student at Oxford University in the 1870s, where he develops a complicated relationship with his frenemy James Moriarty. The cast also includes notable names such as Zine Tseng as Princess Gulun Shouan, Joseph Fiennes portraying Sherlocks uncle Silas Holmes, Max Irons as the older brother Mycroft, Natascha McElhone as Cordelia Holmes, and Colin Firth as Sir Bucephalus Hodge. Fiennes Tiffin and Finn emphasized early in their interview that this series offers a distinct and innovative spin on the well-known Sherlock Holmes narrative. Still dressed in period costumes, complete with waistcoats and pocket watches, they highlighted that director Guy Ritchie encourages creative freedom on set. Known for his previous Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, Ritchie brings a signature style that allows for pushing boundaries. "There will be a similar style. You do know what you're getting with Guy Ritchie," explained Fiennes Tiffin, noting that the new project diverges because the character is younger and not yet the genius detective audiences are familiar with. "He's at Oxford in the world of students and education and learning." Donal Finn described Ritchie as a "walking Wikipedia" on all things Holmes, praising the directors creative vision and the excitement it brings to the production. "The thing I've loved the most about it is the taking something that seems already explored, and [Ritchie's] just spun it on its head and invented a new kind of vision for the day in the scene," he said. He also admired Ritchies ability to articulate wit and rhythm, which enhances the characters dialogue and imagery naturally and instinctively. The Hollywood Reporter observed Ritchies methodical yet passionate approach on set. He communicates clearly and efficiently, embodying a man confident in his vision. Fiennes Tiffin echoed this sentiment, describing the director as "ridiculously intelligent," often seen workshopping lines passionately in his trailer, enriching the script with his creative input. Both young actors acknowledged their admiration for previous Sherlock Holmes portrayals. Fiennes Tiffin shared that his family has bonded over their love for Sherlock, initially through Ritchies earlier films. He humorously noted Robert Downey Jr.s English accent, and also praised the BBCs contemporary Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch. "It's just phenomenal," he said of the latter, noting he had watched the series twice before joining the new project. Still, he had to restrain himself from over-researching to maintain originality in his portrayal. Finn also expressed respect for the existing Sherlock lore, explaining that his portrayal of young Moriarty draws from the characters core traits rather than previous performances. He emphasized the importance of accessing the characters intelligence and drive while creating a unique interpretation. The youth of the characters provides a new lens for the story. Fiennes Tiffin pointed out that this Sherlock is more curious and less experienced, which offers a fresh way to explore the detectives personality. Meanwhile, the dynamic between Sherlock and Moriarty is a key focus, with the actors teasing some of the college antics their characters get involved in at Oxford. Adding to the fresh energy, Taiwanese actress Zine Tseng spoke about her role as Princess Gulun Shouan, a new character created for this series. Fluent in both English and Mandarin, Tseng highlighted the fun of playing a blank canvas character who engages with Sherlock in unexpected ways. She described her characters strong chemistry with Sherlock, playfully noting that the young detective is intimidated by her while she remains unfazed by him. The productions grand locations and high production values signal a significant investment, with hopes that Young Sherlock will captivate audiences as much as it has inspired the cast and crew. Fiennes Tiffin underscored the excitement in seeing Sherlock before he becomes a master detective and the evolving relationship with Moriarty. "They quickly bond," he said, hinting at their complex friendship that will eventually unravel. All eight episodes of Young Sherlock are currently streaming on Prime Video, inviting viewers to experience a reimagined take on one of literatures most enduring characters. AceShowbiz - Abbott Elementary is officially returning for a sixth season, as ABC confirmed the renewal ahead of the series return from its February 2026 hiatus. The comedy, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, has been a standout hit for the network since its premiere in December 2021, blending sharp humor with realistic depictions of public school life. The shows mockumentary format uniquely balances comedy with heartfelt storylines that reflect the challenges faced by educators nationwide. Set in Philadelphia, Abbott Elementary has tackled a variety of story arcs, including a recent episode where the staff temporarily relocated their classroom to an abandoned mall, as well as a special outing to watch the Philadelphia Phillies play against the Atlanta Braves during a live sporting event. On the personal front, season 5 saw significant developments for main characters: Janine and Gregory advanced their relationship by moving in together, while Ava continued to explore her romance with O'Shon. These character journeys have resonated with fans and contributed to the show's critical and commercial success. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABCs renewal of Abbott Elementary for season 6 secures the series continuation into the 2026-2027 television season. With this renewal, the show is poised to surpass the 100-episode milestone, a significant achievement in todays TV landscape where shorter seasons and early cancellations are common. This milestone also opens the door for syndication, which will increase the series reach and provide ongoing financial benefits to the cast and crew. The series strong ratings have been a key factor in its renewal. In January 2026, it averaged 6.16 million viewers per episode across all platforms within seven days of airing. Such numbers underscore its importance to ABCs lineup and justify the networks confidence in renewing it early, continuing a pattern where the fate of its shows is decided in advance of the current seasons end. This approach has spared Abbott Elementary from the uncertainty typically associated with renewal bubbles. ABCs announcement also hints at a positive outlook for other scripted series on the network. Shows like Will Trent, High Potential, 9-1-1, and The Rookie are likely candidates for renewal given their popularity. Additionally, the Wednesday comedy block pairing of Abbott Elementary with Shifting Gears appears poised for continuation, buoyed by season 2s improved ratings. Passing the 100-episode threshold is particularly meaningful for Abbott Elementary. Beyond continuing the stories of its beloved characters, this milestone will make the show eligible for syndication deals, a traditional benchmark that enhances a series' longevity and profitability. Although the show is currently available on Hulu with next-day streaming, syndication will expand its audience further and help ensure sustained income for those involved, even after the series eventually concludes. As Abbott Elementary gears up for its sixth season, fans can look forward to more of the heartfelt humor and authentic storytelling that have defined the series. ABCs early renewal signals strong confidence in the shows continued success and influence within its programming slate. AceShowbiz - Disney+ is set to celebrate the iconic series Hannah Montana with a special event commemorating its 20th anniversary. The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special will star Miley Cyrus, returning not as a reboot or continuation of the shows storyline but through a unique live interview format. The special will feature a conversation between Cyrus and Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper. Fans can also expect a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the recreation of famous sets like "Miley Stewarts" closet and living room. Additionally, the program will showcase never-before-seen archival footage, adding a fresh perspective on this beloved series. According to the official press release, there is a hint that Cyrus might perform some classic songs from the Hannah Montana catalog. The message teases that familiar notes will return to the spotlight, much to the excitement of longtime fans. Miley Cyrus shared her thoughts on the occasion, stating that Hannah Montana will always be a part of who I am. She described the show as a shared experience that shaped her life and the lives of many fans. The fact that it still means so much to people all these years later is something Im very proud of, she added. The special is designed as a celebration and a thank-you to the fans who have supported her and the franchise for two decades. Cyrus began starring in the original Disney Channel series in 2006, when she was just 14 years old, and the show has left a lasting impact ever since. The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special will premiere on Disney+ on March 24, exactly 20 years after the shows original debut. Fans should prepare to revisit the magic and enjoy a musical journey back to both worlds. AceShowbiz - At the 2026 BRIT Awards, Geese took home the award for Best International Group, but their acceptance speech sparked controversy due to censorship during the televised broadcast. During the ceremony, Max Bassin, the band's frontman, delivered a brief but pointed speech. He said, "I just want to say, free Palestine, fuck ICE, RIP Mani, let's go Geese!" While this speech was aired uncensored on the international YouTube livestream, ITV viewers reported that some phrases were bleeped out during the UK TV broadcast. This censorship did not go unnoticed by fans. One viewer commented on social media platform X, expressing frustration over the bleeping of politically charged statements, calling it embarrassing on their behalf. The censorship extended beyond Geese's speech. Host Jack Whitehall also experienced cuts during his comedic remarks about politicians in the audience. He joked about Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, being present, quipping, "This is the only party he's allowed into these days." Following this, ITV censored a subsequent joke referencing Peter Mandelson, which added to the evenings muted political commentary. The decision to censor these moments highlights the sensitivity around political statements at major televised events like the BRIT Awards. Despite the cuts, the band's victory and impactful message resonated strongly with their international audience and fans watching online. AceShowbiz - BTS, the globally acclaimed K-pop group, is preparing for a highly anticipated comeback with a live stream concert exclusive to Netflix. The trailer for BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang was recently released, offering fans a glimpse of the groups return after a hiatus spent completing mandatory military service in South Korea. The seven-member ensemble, consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, will premiere the live stream on March 21. This event marks their first global performance of their new album, Arirang, which is scheduled for release on March 20. The concert will be broadcast live from Gwanghwamun, a prominent Seoul location that offers stunning views of the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace. The trailer features a voiceover from RM, the group's leader, who says, Seven together, we can do anything. Fans, known as ARMY, are also treated to short clips of the members expressing their emotions. The youngest member, Jung Kook, shares, So emotional. I really miss them, referring to their fans. Meanwhile, Jimin encourages, Let's get back out there! The teaser includes a cinematic rendition of the fan-favorite track, "Mikrokosmos," from their 2019 EP Map of the Soul: Persona. Accompanying the music are visuals of each member posing in front of the palace, emphasizing the band's powerful presence and building excitement among viewers. As few promotional materials have been released for the upcoming album, this live stream preview is especially significant for the fandom. Following the live concert, Netflix will debut BTS: The Return, an intimate documentary that delves into the making of the new album. This film is set to premiere on March 27, offering fans an inside look at the band's creative process during their comeback. In addition to their Netflix projects, BTS is preparing for their first full-scale group tour in several years. Scheduled for 2026 and 2027, the tour will cover multiple continents, including Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia, making it one of the most extensive tours in their career. The tour will begin with three shows in Goyang, South Korea, followed by two nights in Tokyo. The group will then travel to the United States, with a stop planned in Tampa, among other cities. The itinerary includes a total of 79 stops worldwide. After their 2021 sold-out Permission to Dance on Stage concerts in Los Angeles, the band is set to return to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on September 1-2 and September 5-6 for their upcoming shows. The tour will feature a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design to provide an immersive experience for audiences, highlighting the band's commitment to delivering dynamic live performances. This upcoming era will mark a significant chapter in their career as they reconnect with fans worldwide. BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang will stream on March 21 at 8 p.m. Korean Standard Time, corresponding to 3 a.m. PT and 6 a.m. ET. Fans can watch the full trailer and prepare for what promises to be an unforgettable comeback event for the band and their global audience. The recognition comes amid growing attention across the healthcare industry on how artificial intelligence can help address operational complexity in areas such as utilization management, prior authorization, and program integrity. "I'm honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the team basys", said Amber Nigam, CEO of Basys.ai. "This work reflects the effort of an exceptional team focused on building agentic AI systems that operate reliably in real healthcare environments while maintaining transparency, auditability, and alignment with regulatory requirements." Basys.ai develops domain-specific AI systems designed to support complex clinical and administrative workflows across healthcare organizations. The company's technology helps healthcare stakeholders interpret policies, analyze medical records, and improve the efficiency of operational processes that traditionally rely on extensive manual review. The engagement builds on Basys.ai's growing recognition for its work in applying AI to regulated healthcare workflows. The company was recently selected as one of the Top 10 finalists (from 250+ submissions) in CMS's Chili Cook-off on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, which highlighted innovative approaches to improving program integrity. "Healthcare is at the precipice of a major technological transformation," Nigam said. "But deploying agentic AI in clinical and administrative workflows requires thoughtful guardrails. Large language models can produce confabulations or hallucinations if left unchecked, which is unacceptable in regulated healthcare environments. That is why we have built a unique moat around our platform through guardrails and validation systems designed to minimize hallucinations and ensure reliable, transparent outcomes." Nigam, a Harvard alum, has also contributed to broader conversations on responsible AI deployment in healthcare. His perspectives on deploying domain-specific AI systems have been published in Harvard Business Review ( HBR ), including a recent article discussing how organizations can evaluate generalist versus specialized AI models in enterprise environments: He has also spoken on aligning incentives across healthcare stakeholders at TEDx , where he discussed structural challenges in healthcare delivery and opportunities for innovation. In addition, Nigam has been invited to speak on healthcare innovation and data science at The Harvard Chan Studio , hosted by Harvard University, and Stanford University. Nigam's leadership has been acknowledged across the digital health ecosystem. He was recognized by Rock Health as one of the Top 50 in Digital Health , highlighting leaders shaping the future of healthcare innovation. Nigam was also named among the Boston Business Journal 's 2025 "40 Under 40" honorees, recognizing emerging leaders making significant impact across industries. Basys.ai and Nigam's work has also been spotlighted in several industry forums and publications, including STAT News and research discussions referenced by Gartner , reflecting growing attention to the role of reliable AI systems in regulated healthcare environments. Basys.ai continues to focus on developing agentic AI systems designed for complex healthcare operations, combining policy interpretation, medical record analysis, and explainable decision workflows while maintaining reliability and compliance with healthcare regulatory frameworks. Nigam concluded, "We're already seeing the early impact of this approach through basys.ai's work supporting critical programs and partners such as CMS. Our goal is to deploy AI in ways that reduce administrative burden, flatten the cost curve in healthcare, and promote fairness, accuracy, and transparency in how decisions are made." About Basys.ai Basys.ai is a healthcare AI company focused on building domain-specific agentic AI systems for clinical and administrative workflows, including prior authorization, utilization management, and payment integrity. The company develops AI systems designed to support healthcare organizations with transparent, auditable, and operationally reliable decision support. Learn more: https://www.basys.ai Media Contact: [email protected] Correction: There has been a change to the final paragraph before the boilerplate. SOURCE basys.ai In 2008, Californians voted on what they were told would be a modern transportation system a sleek, high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours, financed in part by private investment, delivered at a defined cost, and built within a reasonable timeframe. Eighteen years later, all that has been delivered is one of the largest eminent domain land grabs in modern history. Advertisement No serious person disputes that infrastructure requires land. But the power of eminent domain is not merely an administrative tool. It is among the most formidable powers government possesses: the authority to compel the transfer of private property for public use. The Founders allowed it reluctantly, instituting constitutional protections and the requirement of just compensation. The theory was simple: The public benefit had to be clear, direct, and necessary. What Californians are witnessing today is a perverse transmogrification of the concept. Advertisement The California High-Speed Rail Authority has acquired more than two thousand parcels of land along its proposed routes, particularly through the Central Valley. Much of this land was obtained through negotiated purchase, but a substantial portion required formal eminent domain proceedings. Farms have been bisected. Family homes have been condemned. Small businesses have faced displacement. In many cases, the takings were not entire properties, but strips and easements yet those partial takings often cripple the economic viability of what remains. The most striking fact is not merely the number of parcels, but the context in which they were taken. Advertisement The project that voters approved bore specific representations: a defined route, defined endpoints, cost estimates, and a timeline. Yet over the years, those routes have shifted, and timelines continue to stretch toward infinity. The grand statewide vision is little more than a pipe dream. Meanwhile, land has already been taken permanently. Property rights are not abstract philosophical ornaments. They are the institutional backbone of a free society. When government exercises eminent domain, it is asserting that the public need outweighs the individuals right to keep what is his. That assertion demands that the project be real, viable, and necessary. Advertisement When land has been taken for a project that later changes, the property owner does not get his land back. When construction phases are delayed for years, the displaced family does not rewind time. When farmland sits idle because funding gaps stall progress, the farmer does not recoup lost continuity of operation. The defenders of the project often argue that large infrastructure efforts inevitably evolve. That is sometimes true. But evolution in engineering design is not the same as evolution in political promises. The moral justification for eminent domain depends on the integrity of those promises. Advertisement If a private developer misrepresents a project to induce land sales, the law calls that fraud. When the government makes optimistic projections, downplays risks, and then substantially alters the project after land has been secured, the label may be different, but the practical effect on property owners is the same. Consider the incentives. Politicians gain prestige from announcing ambitious projects. Bureaucracies gain budget and authority as projects expand. Contractors gain long-term revenue streams. But the individual property owner stands alone. His home or farm is not a line item in a budget; it is his capital, his security, and often his legacy. Advertisement Compensation, while constitutionally required, does not erase the asymmetry. Fair market value is a theoretical construct. It rarely captures relocation costs, disruption of community ties, lost business goodwill, or the emotional attachment to land held for generations. Moreover, the states valuation and the owners valuation frequently diverge, leading to protracted legal battles in which the governments resources far exceed the individuals. This dynamic is particularly acute in agricultural regions. In the Central Valley, the rail corridor cuts through productive farmland. Even when only a strip is taken, irrigation systems must be reconfigured, equipment routes altered, and economies of scale disrupted. A narrow slice of land can impose broad consequences. And then there is the uncomfortable question: What if portions of the system are never completed, or not delivered as originally envisioned? If the high-speed rail network remains a partial system if funding constraints or political shifts prevent full build-out then land will have been taken under the banner of a comprehensive project that never materializes. The constitutional standard is public use, but public use implies public functionality. A right-of-way that sits unused or underused for decades is an egregious violation of individual rights. We now know that the states original ridership projections, cost estimates, and private investment assumptions were totally speculative and overly optimistic. To proceed with land acquisition on the basis of projections that repeatedly change is to shift risk onto property owners who never volunteered to bear it. Democratic consent is meaningful only if voters understand what they are authorizing. When Californians approved billions in bonds, they were not presented with a detailed map of every parcel to be condemned, nor with a candid assessment of how frequently alignments might shift. They voted for a transportation vision. They did not vote to empower an open-ended land acquisition program whose scale would become clear only years later. Eminent domain, by its nature, is coercive. It substitutes state judgment for individual choice. That substitution can be justified but only under stringent conditions. When those conditions are diluted by shifting plans, cost escalations, and uncertain completion, the moral and constitutional foundation weakens. The citizens pay a heavy price for having trusted the government. This is not an argument against infrastructure per se. Roads, bridges, and railways have long required land assembly. It is an argument for discipline fiscal, political, and moral before invoking the states most intrusive powers. A government that can take land on the basis of ambitious or unrealistic projections must also be willing to reassess when those projections deteriorate. Each additional parcel condemned is an immoral act with permanent consequences. Californians were promised speed, efficiency, and transformation. What many property owners have experienced instead is uncertainty, displacement, and the heavy hand of eminent domain exercised for a project with no resemblance to its original design. In the end, the controversy over high-speed rail is not merely about trains or budgets. It is about the hierarchy of values in a free society. Property rights are a cornerstone of individual liberty. When they can be, in effect, stolen by bait-and-switch politics, citizens are reduced to pawns and dupes. Jim Cardoza is the author of The Moral Superiority of Liberty and the founder of LibertyPen.com. Read more of his essays there. Image: Ken Lund via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped). It could be a mental illness. It is irrational. It does offend common sense. It violates biological reality. But the LGBTQ+ standard will be the last one lowered by progressive fascists. In particular, transgenderism is the hill to die upon because of its importance to hedonism and totalitarian rule. Advertisement There are no Christians who believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God in the Democrat party. Rather, this life is all there is for heathens and apostate Christians who celebrate sin. Meaning within their worldview requires subscription to either hedonism or imposition of totalitarian rule achieving an earthly utopia. For hedonists, embracing transgenderism is consistent with licentiousness. If transgenderism is valid, then arguments can be dismissed that such sexuality is unnatural, immoral, and abnormal. Defeating those three arguments for transgenderism means there is no defense against pedophilia, incest, and polygamy. Islamofascists and hedonistic progressive fascists find common cause in affinity for these last three aberrant practices. Every natural cell in your body gives immutable testimony that your sex is what God assigned at your conception. Despite this, utopian progressive fascists understand that totalitarianism requires control of language. When asked, What is a woman? the correct answer is to deflect, or else point to infallible experts more qualified to answer the question. Pronouns need to be fluid, and the little people should be appropriately flexible conforming their speech. Your betters will define what you believe, so that, in Anthony Faucis immortal words, Just do as youre told. Reality will be defined by your political masters. Control of language, and even thoughts, is possible when rationality and common sense are vanquished. Advertisement No one cares about other people as much as a Democrat. Yet, collateral damage inflicted upon transgenders is acceptable for the greater good. This includes buyers regret discovered among detransitioners, sterilization through unnatural hormone therapy, decreased bone density and lower fertility from puberty blockers, removal of healthy breast tissue, genital mutilation, including removal of natural sex organs, recurring pain from unnatural incisions, and mental health issues once irreversible damage is done. Progressive fascists have consolidated control of the Democrat party. Democrat party leadership is committed to the idea of eradicating political opposition. Single-party rule is legitimate because there is no such thing as principled opposition. The ultimate goal is imposition of an authoritarian agenda consistent with a utopian society. The leading terrorist of the Enlightenment, Maximillian Robespierre, said, You cant make an omelet without breaking eggs. Poetic justice was satisfied when it became his turn, among tens of thousands, for his shell to be broken. Advertisement Government violence against citizens can range from direct imposition of regulations and laws violating individual constitutional rights to the subtle, such as when individuals are coerced, censored, debanked, and cancelled. Americans have seen the harbingers of what progressive fascism entails from the transformation of our country initiated by Obama, to the actions taken by true believers in the administration of a president handicapped by low IQ and dementia, and among blue states even today. Still, many Democrats are satisfied they are good people because they support progressivism. It is an article of faith that they are on the right side of history. The less spiritual just desire the hedonism that comes with licentious behavior. But they still support progressive fascist actions without questions. Advertisement The plethora of progressive fascist actions and policies have been exercised on us now. These actions are fascist because socialism is wedded with violence. There is no optionality and certainly no dissent. Policies include open borders for mass immigration without vetting, amnesty for illegal aliens, and leniency to criminals but strict enforcement against law-abiding citizens who offend progressive sensibilities or deign to defend themselves, their families, and their property. Voting integrity should be outlawed. Higher tax rates are not enacted to raise tax revenues but rather are valued as punitive or redistributive measures. Budget deficits dont matter. All actions, thoughts, and motives need regulation, preferably with adjudication of wrongdoing by the regulatory bureaucracy itself instead of judicial courts. Marxist cultural theory needs to be promulgated to indoctrinate youths and re-educate troglodytes. This includes Critical Race Theory (CRT), Diversity + Equity + Inclusion (DEI) programs for hiring and promoting and admissions, and Environmental + Social + Governance (ESG) programs to cripple capitalism further by transferring corporate power from shareholders to stakeholders. Merit is anathema because it is merely a construct for white supremacy and oppression. The struggle is incomplete until equal outcomes are achieved. But, the cornerstone of the progressive foundation is transgender ideological advocacy within the LGBTQ+ agenda. So much turns on the normalization of transgenderism. Progressive fascists are fine with making allies of like-minded ideologies. Therefore, Islamofascists are welcome to the Democrat party. Islamofascists are Muslims holding fundamentalist beliefs including conversion through violence. Certainly, Sharia law courts should be permitted and recognized as supreme everywhere despite infringement upon every right in our Bill of Rights. Communists are especially welcome because of militaristic and totalitarian beliefs. A blind eye is turned to the inherent racism of CRT. Inculcation of suspicion, caused by DEI programs, that all minorities are unqualified, is dismissed out of hand, although creating this racialist cloud is simultaneously subtle and insidious. So, modern racists, enlightened by CRT and DEI, are held up as paragons. Advertisement Ideological divergence between progressive fascists and Islamofascists is glossed over with respect to national socialism (aka Fascism), womens rights, and separation of religion and state. Even though Adolf Hitler said, The whole of National Socialism is rooted in Marxism, progressives value the utility of casting the pejorative too much to give it up. On the other hand, Islamofascists openly applaud Hitlers genocidal campaign against Jews. Women will be oppressed and subjugated. Jets flying into skyscrapers, as well as tyrannical and murderous theocracies, are celebrated. After all, why should friends bicker? So, how will Democrats campaign? How can they deceive voters? The proven model is Abigail Spanberger. She ran on an ambiguous platform in which strident leftism was absent. Policy positions were either poorly, or never, defined. On the other hand, progressive policies were never criticized or disavowed. Certainly, no progressive fascist position was articulated. There was no shortage of ad hominem attacks against her opponent. However, as soon as she was sworn in, Spanberger turned hard Left in all respects. The entirety of the progressive fascist agenda is being crammed down Virginian throats without a whisper of comment, much less astonishment, from the Lugenpress. Such disingenuousness, or even hypocrisy, can be known as the Spamberger Effect (with a bow to Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears phrasing). Going forward, Republican candidates should warn voters they will suffer the Spamberger Effect should their Democrat opponents win office. Advertisement There are no moderates among elected Democrats. This is verified by watching actions taken instead of listening to what spews from politicians deceiving lips. Today, classical liberalism resides only within conservative thought. Such ideas embrace color blindness, merit, virtues, individual agency, equal opportunities, critical thinking, property rights, and natural law. You will know progressive fascists have lost their grip on the Democrat party levers of power when support for LGBTQ+ ideology, and in particular, transgenderism, is explicitly disavowed by leaders. Just dont hold your breath. Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times. G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain Advertisement Like most red-blooded American men, I think about sex and the Roman Empire numerous times every day . In recent years, Ive added the above quote to that set. As I think back, the different elements of it were probably floating around in some amorphous, uncoordinated morass in the back of my mind for years, never bothering to coalesce. No doubt the reason they didnt is that for most of my life, America was enjoying the Good times. Advertisement Good doesnt mean perfect, of course. For the first three quarters of my life, times were far from it. From Vietnam to issues of race to the rusting of the manufacturing belt to economic tumult to the crime wave of the 80s and 90s, much of that period felt like Americans were living on a roller coaster. But overall, life was forward-looking and optimistic. Slowly but surely, things usually seemed to be moving in the right direction in the long run. Japanese imports may have turned the Big Four into the Big Three, but they helped improve quality and innovation in the industry. Computers came along and started making everything from writing term papers to shipping logistics easier and more efficient. Among other things, transportation deregulation, the collapse of Ma Bell, and the growth of franchising brought about an increase in economic standards and a spectrum of lifestyle offerings that no humans had ever imagined, never mind enjoyed. Advertisement But then we got Barack Obama. He had a goal of transforming America...and he succeeded. This was the beginning of the time when Americans stopped being able to debate ideas openly. Once Obama emerged on the stage, everything became about race and victimization. On virtually every issue, if someone disagreed with the administration on anything, it was racist. Advertisement Im not suggesting it was all Obamas fault. While he is most certainly a race grifter, the reality is that the silencing of debate by calling someone a racist was also enabled by Nancy Pelosi and every other Democrat in America. But sadly, it didnt stop there. Beginning in 2008, the Democratsalways the party of professional victimization, including their offspring, the KKKperfected a tool for suppressing debate: wall-to-wall victimization. Advertisement From that point forward, Republicans were racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes, antisemites, Islamophobes, and probably more, all at once. And suddenly, the spectrum of issues for which debate was verboten because Republicans were characterized as the living, breathing incarnations of Nazis, covered pretty much everything. From education to social net programs to airline safety to community policing, to the butchering of children, literally every single issue on the table was infected with the victimization cancer, where debating on the merits was no longer tolerated. Advertisement Image created using AI. And that brings me back to the hard times. We are very much living in those hard times now. Not in the sense that Americans are destitute and the economy is a broken husk as it was during the Depression. The economy is actually doing fairly well, but make no mistake, we are careening into an abyss. What do I mean by that? We have become a nation where logic and rationality no longer exist and where no one seems capable of or willing to do anything about it. Across the country, we have states that not only pretend boys can be girls and vice versa but are enabling schools and hospitals to butcher children without their parents consent and against their wishes . We have federal judges deciding they can exercise executive authority with impunity. Weve seen the exposure of trillions of dollars of waste and fraud in federal programs, yet a GOP Congress keeps funding them. We have criminals with rap sheets a mile long, but theyre relentlessly released to continue to terrorize communities. We had an election that was stolen, a president who was targeted, and hundreds of citizens persecuted for J6. And not a single person has been held accountable. Over the quarter-century following 9/11, we imported millions of Muslims who practice a religion that is diametrically opposed to our First Amendment, yet were told we must be tolerant . Perhaps nowhere is all this dysfunction crystallized more than in the embarrassing spectacle of a Republican government unable (or unwilling) to pass the SAVE Act, something that 95% of their constituents support, as do 70% of their opponents. Ensuring honest electionsat 85% supportis possibly the most unified issue in American history, and yet the issue hits a brick wall because a handful of GOP Senators dont like President Trumps bombastic style, and Democrats dont care about honesty. America seems to have become impotent in addressing real, concrete problems in citizens lives. This is what happens when weak men refuse to do whats right for fear of being called names. Donald Trump is brash and full of bravado, but hes in charge of the Justice Department, and this is happening on his watch. Whats more, just last week, the Deportation president let a communist come into his office and convince him to release an illegal alien whod been arrested by ICE. It may sound strange to call Trump weak, particularly when he flexes muscles internationally, but here at home, he has let himself be corralled on the issues that will define our future. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, John Thune talks a lot but lets himself be manhandled by a semi catatonic octogenarian in a wheelchair. And, if were being honest, the reality is, hes simply too much of a coward and or a fool to act in Americas best interests...or more likely, hes owned. A rational, normal person looking at this cant help but wonder if there is any hope... Can the system be fixed within the current framework? If not, what then? I think we may just see this summer. The tipping point upon which all the above rests is election integrity. If the SAVE Act fails and patriotic Americans realize that the GOP has basically sold out the country to elite grifters who manipulate elections from the school board to the White House, I wonder if we may not see large-scale protests and more by strong men across the country who have decided enough is enough. It would be a lot easier if Congress just passed the SAVE Act. It would be nice to get back to just thinking about sex and the Roman Empire like a normal American man for a change. Follow Vince on X at @ImperfectUSA. Another 6-3 opinion in favor of common sense. The Supreme Court gave parents a big win and California a big loss. Lets check this out: Advertisement The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling Monday temporarily blocking California's policies that ban public schools from sharing a child's transgender status with their parents. The emergency ruling in Mirabelli vs. Bonta blocks the California policies only until the case can make it through the court system. The majority opinion is that the plaintiffs will likely win the case because the parents who object to the California policies on free exercise grounds are likely to succeed on the merits. Advertisement So we wait for the final ruling, but the early score is good. Imagine for a second what kind of opinion would have been written if a President Hillary Clinton had appointed these justices. I think that you know the answer. What makes this whole thing interesting is how crazy these blue states are getting. After all, we are talking about parents and their children. When did withholding information from parents become a right of bureaucrats? I thought that stuff like that only happened in Cuba! Advertisement Once upon a time, not long ago, an issue like this would have never gotten to the Supreme Court. It would have never made it out of the state legislature. It would have been killed by common sense legislators of both parties who understood that parents have a right to know what the schools are doing to their children. Yes, we are talking about children and parents. They have a right to know, but I guess some anti-family legislators are beyond that. Advertisement Thanks again to the 6 whove returned some common sense to our lives. P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos. Advertisement Image from Grok. Advertisement The stakes of this midterm season could not be clearer. History has already shown what happens when secular leftists and Islamist forces unite around a shared enemy. Iran paid the price first. Britain is now feeling tremors. The United States is not immune. Voters who care about preserving a stable, first-world society free from Islamist rule and regressive leftism must understand how powerful and destructive this coalition can be. Advertisement In the mid-1970s, Irans monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, warned of what he called an unholy alliance between communist red forces and reactionary clerical black forces. In his 1980 memoir Answer to History, he described a convergence of Marxists and Islamists united not by a shared governing vision, but by shared opposition to the monarchy and to Irans modernization. That warning was dismissed at the time. It proved prophetic. Advertisement During the upheaval of 1978 to 1979, the Iranian Revolution became a broad coalition of Marxists, secular liberals, nationalists, and Islamists. They were united primarily by opposition to the Shah, to American influence, and to the concept of monarchy itself. Islamist networks led by Ruhollah Khomeini used mosques as organizing hubs. Leftists supplied anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist rhetoric. The coalition succeeded in toppling the regime. Khomeini returned from exile in February 1979. The monarchy was finished. Advertisement What followed was not liberation. It was consolidation of theocratic power. From early 1979 through 1981, Islamist hardliners rapidly sidelined and repressed their former leftist allies. Parallel institutions were constructed to entrench clerical authority. The U.S. embassy hostage crisis from November 1979 to January 1981 intensified revolutionary fervor. The Iran-Iraq War, which began in 1980, further centralized power. Left-wing revolutionaries were marginalized, imprisoned, or executed as the regime prioritized theocratic control. Advertisement As the 1980s unfolded, mass executions targeted opposition groups, including the Marxist Mojahedin-e Khalq. The revolutionary coalition collapsed into a rigid system of velayat-e faqih, or guardianship of the Islamic jurist. Secular governance eroded. Womens rights regressed. Authoritarian enforcement of Sharia-based rules became the norm. The long-term consequences have been severe. Advertisement The Islamic Republic has enforced compulsory veiling and harsh punishments, including stoning and amputation. It has suppressed dissent and sponsored regional militancy. Anti-Western and anti-Israel ideology has dominated its posture. Economic stagnation and repeated popular protests have marked the decades since 1979. Many former revolutionaries came to regret the alliance that enabled clerical dominance. Irans experience obviously is not ancient history. Its a contemporary case study in how a secular leftist-Islamist coalition can destroy a modernizing state, replacing it with a theocratic regime that lasts for generations. Fast forward to Britain. On Feb. 26, 2026, voters in Gorton and Denton, a Manchester parliamentary constituency, went to the polls. The results, declared on Feb. 27, gut-punched the political establishment. The Green Party candidate, Hannah Spencer, won 40.7 percent of the vote, totaling 14,980 ballots. Prime Minister Keir Starmers Labour, which had secured over 50 percent in the 2024 general election, fell to third place with 25.4 percent and 9,364 votes. Reform UK, led by the arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage, placed second with 28.7 percent and 10,578 votes. It was the Greens first-ever Westminster by-election victory. The constituencys population is roughly 30 percent Muslim. Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin described the outcome as the product of a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives and warned of dangerous sectarianism in British politics. His comment reflected a broader concern about tactical alliances between hard-left activists and mobilized Muslim voters around issues such as Gaza. Campaign analysis noted that the Greens surged by nearly 28 percentage points compared to their 2024 performance. The party emphasized socialist domestic causes and a hardcore anti-Zionist foreign policy. With the notorious George Galloways Workers Party not standing, space opened for consolidation of anti-establishment ultra-leftists behind the Greens. The result was seismic. It highlighted fragmentation within Britains traditional bipartisan system. The Conservatives had their worst-ever special election result, relegating them to minor-party status. In a seat with a substantial Muslim electorate, the alignment of fringe socialists with Islamic identity activists, and ethnically nationalist Muslim immigrants, sealed the outcome. Labour suffered an indescribable humiliation in its 120-year-long stronghold. This was not without precedent. In 2024, Galloway won in Labours Rochdale. His platform heavily focused on Gaza and anti-establishment messaging that resonated strongly in Muslim-heavy neighborhoods. The pattern was clear. Tactical convergence between segments of the secular left and mobilized Muslim voters can upend order in once-safe seats. The United States is witnessing related dynamics within Democratic politics. In the early 2020s, organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations adopted intersectionality language and integrated more deeply into progressive coalitions. Advocacy around immigration, refugee acceptance from Muslim-majority countries, and anti-Islamophobia campaigns aligned these groups with broader left-wing causes. After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent Gaza conflict, alliances between leftist groups sped up. The Democratic Socialists of America, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Islamic identity politicking organizations, such as American Muslims for Palestine, became highly visible in campus and street protests. Opposition to Israel was framed as part of a wider anti-imperialist struggle. This intensified internal Democratic divisions. During the 2024 Democratic primaries, the Uncommitted movement mobilized Arab, Muslim, and progressive activists, especially in Michigan. More than 700,000 uncommitted ballots were cast nationally in protest of U.S. support for Israel. This signaled erosion of traditional Democratic loyalty among key voting blocs. At the August 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests featured coordinated action between radical-left activists and Islamic identity groups opposing U.S. policy on Gaza. The demonstrations underscored tensions within the partys coalition. Polling indicated that Muslim support for President Joe Biden, which stood at 65 percent in 2020, fractured significantly by 2024, with some voters shifting to third-party candidates such as the Greens Jill Stein. These are not abstract developments. They reflect a tactical convergence around secular leftism and Islamic identitarianism. In Iran, that convergence destroyed a stridently pro-Western monarchy and enabled a theocratic regime that continues to wreak havoc. In Britain, it reshaped a parliamentary seat once considered center-left. In the United States, it is exerting pressure inside one of the two major parties during a period of intense polarization. Voters heading into the midterms must think clearly. A first-world society depends on secular governance, equal application of law, protection of individual rights, and market-based economic development. The record from Iran shows that when secular leftists empower Islamist forces to defeat a common adversary, the outcome is generations-long catastrophe. The British case demonstrates how mass immigration, religious identity politics, and opportunistic activism can realign political power in destructive ways. No nation is guaranteed immunity from destabilizing coalitions. History does not repeat mechanically, but it does instruct. The takeaway is stark. The leftist-Islamist coalition can ruin an entire country. Before casting a midterm ballot, citizens who value an America worth living in should learn the lessons of recent history. The choice now is not abstract or academic. It is civilizational. Irans monarchy fell in months, and its people have paid for nearly half a century. Britains political order is collapsing in real time. America stands at its own fork in the road. Ballots cast this November will determine whether the republic resists a nation-wrecking coalition or succumbs to it. Dr. Joseph Ford Cotto is the creator, host, and producer of News Sight, delivering sharp insights on the key events that shape our lives. He publishes Dr. Cotto's Digest, sharing how business and the economy really impact us all. During the 2024 presidential race, he developed the Five-Point Forecast, which accurately predicted Donald Trumps national victory and correctly called every swing state. Cotto holds a doctorate in business administration and is a Lean Six Sigma Certified Black Belt. Image: Wikimedia Commons, via Picryl // public domain Given how upset the entire Democrat party (except for John Fetterman) is that America and Israel joined forces to destroy Irans apocalyptic, anti-American mullahs, its worth remembering just who these people are: A gang of people who approve of pedophilia and, for decades, have raped and tortured female prisoners. Advertisement The Democrats arent opposed to violent regime change if its a regime they dont like. After all, theyve already proven daily that theyd love to see Trump in prison or, even better, dead. They routinely accuse Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide, even though his military sacrificed its own troops to fight a war with the lowest civilian to military casualty ratio in the known history of war, and state explicitly or just imply that Israel should be destroyed. (The Tucker Right is all on board with this Democrat ideology.) But the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that, so, for the Democrats, the mullahs are something different entirely. After all, youre known by your enemies as well as by your friends. For the Democrats, the math is simple: if Trump opposes the mullahs and the mullahs hate him so much that theyve tried to assassinate him, the mullahs must be good. Advertisement And in fact, the mullahs stand for a lot of the same ideas leftists support: They hate Jews, they hate America, they hate Christianity, and they operate using raw, tyrannical power. For a leftist, whats not to love? Well, heres something thats maybe unlovable: Advertisement This is the Ayatollah Khomenei's manual of Islamic law, the Tahrir al-Wasilah, explicitly permitting the sexual abuse of toddler and infant girls. ''Intercourse with a woman is not allowed unless she attains the age of nine years, regardless whether the marriage is permanent or pic.twitter.com/cPXcDPHXUb Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) March 4, 2026 This is the Ayatollah Khomeneis manual of Islamic law, the Tahrir al-Wasilah, explicitly permitting the sexual abuse of toddler and infant girls. Intercourse with a woman is not allowed unless she attains the age of nine years, regardless whether the marriage is permanent or temporary. There is, however, no objection in other sexual enjoyments like touching lasciviously, hugging and rubbing the thighs, even with a suckling infant. Advertisement Page 229, Volume 3 Islamic teaching preys on children and is incompatible with civilization. Advertisement Shouldnt all decent people recoil in horror? Well, the question is then how one defines decent. If weve learned nothing over the last decade or so, its that the left, through the filter of the LGBTQ+ movement, is desperate to sexualize children. Indeed, a whole movement has grown on the left to normalize pedophiliaor as pedophiles are now called, minor-attracted persons. A controversial activist group, Beyond the Plus, has been campaigning in Seattle to promote the acceptance of pedophiles, referring to adults who are sexually attracted to children as minor-attracted persons (MAPS). The group's goal is to persuade individuals that pedophilia is a sexual orientation and that it is normal for adults to be sexually attracted to kids. Advertisement Beyond the Plus (BTP), led by trans-identifying male Ally Kotetsu, has been setting up bi-monthly informational booths at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, Reduxx first reported. The organization advocates for beings who are romantically or sexually attracted to beings who are below the age of 18. This is not quite the fringe movement you may think it is. As just one example, in Minnesota, Chris Finke, an elected state official who fetishizes that he is a woman, has insisted that children should have access to pornography for educational purposes: Outrage: Minnesota Democrat Leigh (Chris) Finke opposes a proposed age verification law for pornographic websites, stating that it is crucial for queer children to have access to pornography for "educational purposes." pic.twitter.com/mkxraMqdDD Moms for Liberty (@Moms4Liberty) February 20, 2026 Educational? Well, thats one way to define grooming, and theres been a whole lot of that going on within the Democrat base, all supported by Democrat party policies about getting as much pornography as possible into classrooms and childrens libraries. But for Irans mullahs, it doesnt stop there. Not only does Iran execute women for being raped (talk about blaming the victim!), but it also advocates raping women who are being executed: To white Liberal women claiming oppression - I urge you to spend 30 days in Iran. ~ Sheila Nazarian, MD, Iranian-American activist Reports say that before executing virgin female prisoners, IRGC soldiers rape their captives to ensure they dont go to heaven. pic.twitter.com/u2Qb9WxFF8 David Burke (@ConservativeTht) March 2, 2026 While the practice was primarily used in the 1980s, it continues today (seemingly without the fake marriage), along with horrific prison conditions and other forms of violent torture for women unlikely enough to be swallowed into the regimes maw. Here at home, when I think of women in prison and rape, I cant help but think of the Democrat insistence that mentally ill or opportunistic men who claim that theyre women should go to womens prison. Unsurprisingly, once there, many of them rape women. The parallel is actually eerie. In sum, the feminist party, the party of women, the party that often routinely mouths the refrains of Think about the children or Its for the children, is ardently supporting a regime that is all in on pedophilia and torturing women. The really sad thing is that when you look at Democrat policies and practices over the past decade and more, you can see where that kindred feeling arises. Image created using AI. UPDATE: A friend reminded me that, in 2008, Mark Steyn was already commenting in his inimitable fashion about Khomeneis dating advice. That, of course, was before the Democrats started going public with their own unique approach to love and sex. John Daniel Davidson at The Federalist accuses Benjamin Netanyahu of forcing President Trump to invade Iran. But as in so many situations, the accusation of force is not that straightforward. And Davidson doesnt make a successful argument Advertisement Davidson opines on a statement made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio: It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the U.S. or Israel or anyone, they were going to respond against the United States, Rubio said. But later he added this: We knew there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher numbers of those killed. And then we would all be answering questions about why we knew that and didnt act. Advertisement But Rubio had more to say about the situation, as described by another journalist, Phylissa Cramer: This operation needed to happen because Iran in about a year or a year and a half would cross the line of immunity, meaning they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones, that no one could do anything about it because they could hold the whole world hostage, Rubio said. He added, Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it. But this had to happen no matter what [emphasis added]. Advertisement The problem with Davidsons argument is that he disregards a number of factors. First, President Trump has stated numerous times that if the Supreme Leader did not comply with our demands, Trump would act forcefully. He backed up that statement with a large armada of ships directed to the Gulf area. Second, not one time during the negotiations did Iran indicate that they would stop their nuclear weapons program. Third, there was evidence that they were already rebuilding their nuclear weapons facility. Davidson insists that the decision to go to war rested only with Israel. That opinion disregards the fact that Trump stated over and over again, that Irans nuclear program was a threat not just to Israel, but to the United States. There has been a kind of reciprocity in decision-making between Bibi and Trump: in fact, Israel deferred to Trumps orders a number of times about engaging with Hamas in the Gaza War. Advertisement And to support his understanding of Rubios statement, Davidson made this incorrect observation: This helps explain why President Trump didnt even try to make a case for war to the American people, or to Congress, ahead of time. It also helps explain why no one could get a straight answer from the administration about why this war was necessary at this particular time. The truth is that there is no good answer because we allowed ourselves to get bullied into war by Israel, which had made a decision to strike Iran knowing that the Iranian response would pull us in. Advertisement Prior to the war, Trump gave four reasons to the people that would justify his attacking Iran: (1) to stop them again from developing a nuclear weapons program; (2) to stop their production of ballistic missiles and drones; (3) to stop them from killing their own people; and (4) to stop supplying their proxies. (He ended up adding destruction of the Iranian Navy as an additional reason.) Im sure Trump also realized that Congress would have leaked the plans if theyd been told in advance. Advertisement Given Trumps temperament, hes not about to let anyone force him to do anything. Even Bibi acknowledged that was not going to happen: Netanyahu laughed in an interview with Sean Hannity, dismissing as ridiculous the allegation that he was controlling Trump. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world, he said. He does what he thinks is right for America. He does also what he thinks is right for future generations. Iran is committed to your destruction. And whether people understand it or not, the leader has to understand it. Donald Trump understands it. You dont have to drag him into anything. He does what he thinks is right, and this is right. Trump listened to many of his advisors, besides listening to Benjamin Netanyahu, before he made this decision. He realized (and probably has known for a long time) that Iran would never agree to his terms, that they would continue to rebuild their nuclear arms facility, that they would likely continue to kill their people, and that they would continue to create havoc in the Middle East and the world. It was time to act forcefully. Image generated by ChatGPT. For decades, the American Lefts loudest voices on womens issues styled themselves as fearless guardians of peace and equality. They chained themselves to fences at nuclear bases, waved No Nukes signs during the Reagan years, and lectured the rest of us about the patriarchy while demanding the Equal Rights Amendment and unfettered abortion. Jane Fonda, the original celebrity activist, was at the forefrontVietnam-era traitor turned fitness-video feminist turned Trump-hating scold. These women claimed moral high ground on nuclear proliferation and womens rights. Advertisement Then Donald Trump happened. The moment Trump descended the golden escalator in 2015, something snapped. Suddenly, the same women who once warned that Ronald Reagans defense buildup would end civilization found themselves marching in pink hats, screaming about pussy grabs, and declaring the 45th president a greater threat than any foreign dictator. Their feminism didnt evolve; it mutated into a cult of anti-Trumpism so total that it now requires them to defend the indefensible. Advertisement Fast-forward to today. Israel and the United States have finally done what sane people have long demanded: crippled Irans nuclear weapons program. Precision strikes have turned enrichment facilities into smoking craters, setting back the ayatollahs apocalyptic bomb by years. Any rational feminist should be cheering. Irans regime is the planets leading sponsor of terror, executes women for improper hijab, and has openly vowed to wipe Israel off the map. Destroying its nuclear capability should be a victory for every woman who values her own skin. Instead, the former nuclear freeze crowd is in the streets protesting the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program. Leading the charge? Jane Fonda herself. Advertisement Welcome to the age of the Karens for Khamenei. These are the same women who once denounced nuclear weapons as the ultimate patriarchal sin. Now they clutch signs reading Hands Off Iran and No War for Israel while Tehran races toward a weapon that could incinerate Tel Aviv and beyond. The hypocrisy is so staggering it would be comical if it werent so grotesque. Advertisement But the real betrayal runs deeper than nukes. These feminists have quietly aligned themselves with the very ideology that treats women as chattel. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinithe founder of the Islamic Republic whose portrait still hangs in every Iranian government officelaid out the rules in black and white. In his book Tahrir al-Wasilah, the revered leader of the 1979 revolution explicitly endorsed the marriage and sexual use of girls as young as nine years old. He ruled that a man could take a prepubescent wife and consummate the marriage if she was fit for intercourse. He normalized sighehtemporary marriage contracts that amount to religiously sanctioned prostitution and human trafficking. Girls as young as six have been sold into these arrangements, auctioned off to the highest bidder under the watchful eye of the mullahs. Khomeini also made clear that non-Muslim womeninfidelsoccupied a special category. Captives in jihad could be used sexually without the constraints placed on Muslim wives. Rape of the conquered was not a crime; it was theology. Irans regime has institutionalized this worldview: forced veiling, gender segregation, stoning for adultery, execution for homosexuality, and the systematic trafficking of young girls into temporary marriages that last anywhere from an hour to ninety-nine years. This is not ancient history. This is current Iranian law and practice. Advertisement Yet the new Karens for KhameneiFonda and her Hollywood covensay nothing. Worse, they protest the very military action that weakens a regime that rapes, sells, and murders women as official policy. Their hatred of Trump has become a solvent that dissolves every principle they once claimed to hold. Trump imposed maximum pressure on Iran. Trump celebrated Soleimanis demise. Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem and brokered the Abraham Accords. Therefore, in the deranged logic of the resistance, anything that weakens Iran must be opposedeven if it saves millions of women from living under the boot of medieval theocracy. This isnt feminism. This is performative treason against women. Advertisement Real Iranian women risk their lives tearing off hijabs and chanting Woman, Life, Freedom. They are beaten, imprisoned, and hanged for the crime of wanting basic dignity. Meanwhile, Jane Fondasafe in her California mansionposes for cameras in front of Protect Iran banners. The same woman who once sat on an anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi now effectively sits on the side of the regime that would stone her for wearing the wrong outfit. The transformation is complete. The women who once marched against nuclear proliferation now march to preserve a nuclear-armed caliphate. The feminists who once denounced child marriage in the Third World now make excuses for the country that codified it. The resistance that began as hatred of one American president has ended in alliance with the worlds most notorious misogynist theocracy. History will record this as one of the most shameful chapters in American activism: the day the Karens traded their protest signs for Khameneis turban. And leading the parade, megaphone in hand, is the woman who never met a communist dictator she didnt likenow adding the Supreme Leader to her Rolodex of regrets. The rest of us, meanwhile, will keep cheering every crater in Natanz and Fordow. Because some of us still believe that protecting women means destroying the regimes that enslave themnot protesting the people who finally had the courage to do it. Image generated by ChatGPT. In May 2025, a 15-year-old migrant gunned down a 52-year-old father in Sweden, after being paid almost twenty thousand euros in a murder-for-hire plot; the killer is currently in prison, sentenced to a brief three years and six months, meaning he should be out some time in 2029. Upon his release, prosecutors were asking that the boy be repatriated back to his country of origin, but the judges with the power to decide rejected the request, ruling that expulsion would be disproportionate given the boys personal circumstances. (The boy had come to Sweden as a child.) Advertisement Mind you, the boy upon his release will be a legal adult. And, the top prosecutor with the ability to appeal the decision has declined to push the case any further, meaning this boy will stay in Sweden. Advertisement When murdering someone in cold blood as a paid assassin isnt enough of an offense to warrant repatriation, then what the hell is? Obviously not rape. Advertisement In October of 2025, an Eritrean migrant was charged with raping a young woman whod unfortunately climbed into his taxi in the city of Ostersund, but the Swedish Migration Board denied requests to repatriate him after his stint in prison, citing inhuman and degrading treatment hed no doubt face if sent home to Eritrea. In 2024, a Syrian man in his thirties raped a 12-year-old child, resulting in pregnancy and a subsequent abortion, but because hed been granted Swedish citizenship, he too got to stay. When two Iraqis gangraped a young Swede and then urinated on her, a court ruled they would remain as they had integrated into Swedish societyIm not sure what sexual fetishes these judges are into, but that is not normal or acceptable behavior in the Christian-heritage culture of the West. Four Eritrean men who took turns raping a woman then got to stay becausewell, I dont really know why. And how could we forget sweet Meya Aberg, whose rapist got to stay in Sweden, continuing to menace her, all because he ejaculated prematurely during the rape. And, obviously not arsonists who throw grenades into restaurants either: Advertisement Two Moroccan citizens were sentenced to several years in Swedish prison for arson after they set a restaurant on the first floor of a residential building on fire, but a Swedish court refused to deport them despite the prosecutors explicit request. The 23-year-old Moroccan Aissa Lyousri was sentenced by Skaraborg District Court to four and a half years in prison for a fire that was aimed at a barbecue restaurant in Mariestad. In the past, he has also committed a grenade attack on a restaurant in Gothenburg and was convicted of that crime as well. Advertisement The utter enthusiasm that the West seems to have for suicide is truly mind-boggling. Advertisement Image generated by ChatGPT. Not too long ago, the media hailed Trump-deranged Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas as the great new hope for the Democrat party, beset as it had been by jurassic leadership. She was presidential material, and proof that one day, one day, Texas would go blue. Jasmine would do it, fresh, woke, outspoken, Instagram-savvy, and unafraid of challenging President Trump. Advertisement But well, that was narrative. According to Axios: Texas state Rep. James Talarico of Austin defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas. Advertisement Why it matters: Talarico's victory sets the stage for a battle royal that promises to be among the most expensive contests of the year, as Democrats hope President Trump's unpopularity translates to red-state victories. It also further raises the profile of Talarico, a media darling who has framed his argument against Republicans in terms of his Christian faith What they're saying: "Tonight our campaign is shocking the nation," Talarico said Tuesday night in Austin. Advertisement The latest: Crockett issued a statement Wednesday conceding the race to Talarico and called on the party to unify behind him. That, after she alleged cheating and 'disenfranchisement' over some minor voting glitches. I'm sure the two of them will work out together well. Advertisement In reality, Crockett was a loud, foul-mouthed, vanity-obsessed shrew, making one controversial statement after another. These included her slurs directed at GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's use of a wheelchair, her false claims about ICE, her lunatic obsession with impeaching President Trump, her love for DEI, her insistence that Trump and Elon Musk were "idiots" for finding fraud in government spending, and her out-of-control wokesterism. Whatever she did in Congress since getting elected in 2023, and it probably wasn't much, was overshadowed by her continuous all-about-me grandstanding. Advertisement She was squad-perfect, projected a lot of phoniness, including her fake ghetto accent despite an upper class upbringing, and got herself feted in the media for it as 'presidential' material. She was so woke Kamala Harris had her chair some of her presidential campaign. It was such rubbish. Advertisement Now she's advanced about as far as she's going to advance in Congress, which is a House seat, renewable every two years, assuming her safe seat stays safe for her. The guy who did beat her, Talarico, is another flavor of the month for the Democrats, an Abigail Spanberger-style Democrat, who claims he wants to reach across the aisle as a moderate -- until he wins power. After that, the mask will come off, and he will vote as woke-ly as Jasmine. What a wretched bunch these Democrats are. But it's nice to see Crockett get rebuked by Texas voters. Even the Democrats must be sick of her self-aggrandizing act. Good riddance. Image: Screenshot from shareable Instagram Macron expresses support for Spain amid U.S. trade threat Xinhua) 21:17, March 04, 2026 PARIS, March 4 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday expressed support for Spain after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to "cut off all trade with Spain," local media reported. According to French daily Le Parisien, Macron held phone talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday to convey France's "European solidarity" in response to the recent U.S. threats of economic coercion targeting Spain. Trump on Tuesday threatened to "cut off all trade with Spain" after the latter refused to allow the U.S. military to use its base for attacks on Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected U.S. threats, saying Spain would not yield to "reprisals from anyone." (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liu Ning) Bill Passes with Overwhelming Support from Lawmakers, Gov. Ned Lamont HARTFORD, Conn., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters are celebrating after Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed the Warehouse Worker Protection Bill into law earlier this week. "It was a multi-year fight by Connecticut Teamsters to get this bill passed, but we don't back down from tough fights we win them," said Rocco Calo, Teamsters International Vice President for the Eastern Region and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1150 in Stratford. "This is an extraordinary victory for the safety and prosperity of warehouse workers throughout our state." The new law regulates dangerous, high-surveillance, data-driven warehouse management systems like those used by Amazon. It prevents employers from imposing warehouse productivity quotas that force workers to compete against one another, interfere with legally mandated breaks, increase the likelihood of on-the-job injuries, or remain hidden from employees. The legislation also contains unique enforcement mechanisms, allowing warehouse workers to sue employers who encroach on their new rights under the law. The Connecticut Attorney General can also now take civil action on behalf of multiple workers if their employer commits violations. "This law will put an end to the race to the bottom in the warehousing industry, which is driving sky-high injury rates at Amazon and other bad employers," Calo said. "We thank Senate President Martin Looney, State Sen. Julie Kushner, Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, State Rep. Manny Sanchez, and Gov. Lamont for their strong support of workers. They have shown real courage by passing this critically important law." Connecticut is the first state in New England to pass Warehouse Worker Protection legislation and the sixth nationwide. The Teamsters fought for and passed similar legislation in California, New York, Washington, Minnesota, and Oregon. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters. Contact: Matt McQuaid, (771) 241-0015 [email protected] SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters The email was brief but impactful, just like the New Yorker who sent it: Thought this might interest you. Attached was video of several NYPD officers responding to a disorderly crowd in Manhattans Washington Square Park. The officers were pelted with snowballs and other debris by an overflow and unforgiving horde. Some suffered lacerations that resulted in a hospital visit. Advertisement New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been a fierce critic of policing, dismissed it as a snowball fight, arguing that no one should be prosecuted. Make no mistake: words and tone matter, and can breed a culture where hostility toward police becomes acceptable. This was not a winter game gone awry; rather, it was unlawful conduct with willful disregard for public order. Regardless of the venue, this is something that has become all too common throughout our fruited plain. Advertisement The video shows masked agitators behaving like they have been granted immunity wading into disorder and pelting police with the confidence of people who expect nothing will happen to them. They melt into the crowd because they know the odds: you wont be identified, you wont be arrested, nor will you see a courtroom and in some cities, the prosecutor is more likely to haul in the cop than the criminal. That is why the hoodie became the street disguise of choice, and the COVID-era mask never went away. Both offer maximum anonymity in places where accountability is optional and there is little to no downside. It is a no cost, high reward tactic: you blend into the crowd, you keep plausible deniability, and you avoid signaling criminal intent, while making individual identification difficult to the point of impossible. Advertisement When people believe there are no consequences, behavior changes. A political and prosecutorial culture that minimizes certain offenses sends a clear message, and human nature combined with street cred responds accordingly. Instead of being just another gathering, crowds become a shield. In large groups, individuals feel invisible, assuming police wont scrutinize hours of video to identify suspects. Officers are often outnumbered and constrained by policy, and do-nothing prosecutors make little if any arrests, especially those tied to protests that are ideologically charged. Officers are expected to maintain order, yet the environment often signals that crowds can act with impunity. When a hostile group realizes it can overwhelm police, even something like a snowball becomes a weapon of defiance. Advertisement That thin blue line holds because most people know not to put their hands on cops or interfere with them. Assaulting police officers is not a joke, or a political stunt it is a crime. Advertisement The mass flight of the police ranks combined with the difficulty of recruiting capable officers demoralizes a seasoned department that pushes them out the door and lowers the bar for whomever dares to enter. What is one to do? Advertisement If you are a lifelong Brooklynite, you dont fade into the wallpaper you contact the mayors office directly. Fittingly, my email correspondents grandfather and uncle both retired from the NYPD serving the city of our birth with distinction and dedication that this present age barely seems to recall. Since when does the mayor get to decide what isnt a crime? I dont know what video you were viewing but these police officers were not engaged in a snowball fight. They were being assaulted and attempting to downplay the crime is not part of your job. We have a judicial system that includes investigation/arrest/booking/arraignment/trial, etc. Perhaps you need a refresher course in civics. Do your job. Get the street cleaned and garbage collected stay out of police business, Mr. Mayor. I expected nothing less, after all, shes a Maresca. Image: Dave Hosford, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr, unaltered. Were seeing a disturbing pattern in U.S. government actions under Democrat leadership: taxpayer dollars diverted into channels that enable exploitation, horrific crimes, and international intrigue that arguably approaches treason. Untold billions of dollars intended for humanitarian or diplomatic purposes, have instead bolstered criminal networks, foreign adversaries, and fraudulent schemes. Whistleblowers and investigators are uncovering a systemic vulnerability, where oversight lapses and political decisions intersect with grave ethical breaches. Advertisement A recent, glaring example involves the mishandling of unaccompanied migrant children during the Biden administration. Testimony from secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem alleges that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funneled billions in federal grants to inadequately vetted sponsors, many of whom trafficked or abused these vulnerable minors. Nearly 450,000 children were placed without rigorous background checks, DNA testing, or follow-ups, leading to over 125,000 reported trafficking cases in a single year. Sponsors at single addresses claimed multiple children unchecked, while no-bid contracts worth hundreds of millions went to nongovernmental groups. This not only misused taxpayer dollars, but directly funded child exploitation rings, with current efforts uncovering 145,000 ghosted kids through joint ICE-HHS task forces. The policy, critics argue, prioritized rapid releases over protection a crime that destroys lives and erodes public trust. Advertisement Domestic fraud adds another layer, as seen in Minnesotas Somali daycare scandal, where over $9 billion in taxpayer subsidies flowed to Somali fraudsters running various schemes, including empty facilities posing as childcare centers. YouTuber Nick Shirleys investigation revealed locked doors and absent children at sites claiming millions, like one raking in $4 million annually. This scheme, in a state with a large Somali community, exemplifies how government programs can be exploited without verification, wasting funds meant for families. The exposure led to death threats against Shirley. Other questions have arisen concerning the suspicious increase of net worth among members of Congress. Figures like Nancy Pelosi, Ilhan Omar, and others are seeing spectacular surges in wealth, despite earning less than $200,000 in salaries. Elon Musk and DOGE started an investigation last year, which, like so many other investigations in D.C., seems to have uncovered crimes, but no penalties or remedies have been forthcoming. Advertisement Looking back, who can forget the Obama administrations payments to Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal framework? This episode highlights another misuse with deadly implications. Between 2014 and 2015, Iran received up to $33.6 billion in cash, gold, and precious metals from previously frozen assets, including $1.7 billion tied to hostage releases. Whatever happened to We dont negotiate with terrorists? These untraceable transfers, necessitated by sanctions barring electronic methods, were perceived by Iran as ransom, potentially incentivizing further abductions. Experts warn that such funds empowered the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to finance terrorism, linking U.S. taxpayer dollars to global atrocities. The lack of transparency questions linger on whether all $11.9 billion under the JCPOA was cash raises alarms about accountability in diplomatic spending. Advertisement Further back, Clinton-era initiatives like Uranium One and Skolkovo illustrate taxpayer-enabled foreign influence. The Uranium One deal allowed Russias Rosatom to control U.S. uranium reserves amid FBI evidence of bribery and money-laundering. Skolkovo allowed classified military data, including hypersonic missile technology, to be transferred to Russia. Hillary Clinton, as secretary of State, approved it while her foundation received donations from involved parties, including a $500,000 speaking fee for Bill Clinton. Skolkovo, a Russian tech hub, drew U.S. investments and raised espionage concerns from intelligence officials, with oligarch Viktor Vekselberg donating over $100,000 to the Clintons. These transactions blurred lines between diplomacy and personal gain, potentially funding Russian military advancements at Americas expense. Why does Russia need spies when they can get a corrupt U.S. secretary of State to simply hand the information over in exchange for a speaking fee for her husband? This pattern spanning child-trafficking, terrorism-financing, fraud, espionage, and suspicious gains in net worth stems from lax oversight, political favoritism, and unaccountable spending. Taxpayer dollars, instead of securing borders or aiding citizens, have armed adversaries and enabled predators. To break it, reforms must include mandatory audits for grants; transparent international payments; and thorough, independent investigations into high-risk programs. Enhanced whistleblower protections could deter threats like those faced by Nick Shirley, while stricter vetting in immigration and subsidies prevents exploitation. Advertisement These cases, and others like them, demand reckoning. Greater fiscal vigilance could help restore some semblance of integrity to public spending. Advertisement Image: Chris Dodds via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, whether driven by genuine Nazi-level antisemitism or sheer opportunism, have escalated their antisemitic and anti-religious rhetoric. Theyve now gone after Chabad, a Jewish outreach movement that seeks to help all Jews return to the fold through core values. The Tsars secret police, who wrote one of the most damaging hoaxes everThe Protocols of the Elders of Zionwould be proud of these new American descendants. Advertisement To appreciate just how evil this dastardly duo is, you need to know a little about Chabad. It began 250 years ago in the shtetls of Russia, places where Jews were frequently persecuted and lived in tremendous poverty. Despite this, the Jews were unyielding in their fealty to the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), and dreamed of the Messiahs return and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The point of the movement is to know Gods word: Advertisement The word Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmahwisdom, binahcomprehension and daatknowledge. The movements system of Jewish religious philosophy, places great emphasis on the need for intellectual understanding and recognition of the Creator, the divine purpose of creation, and the important role and unique mission of each creature. This philosophy guides a person to refine and govern his or her every act and feeling through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge. When I can attend services (although work often precludes me from doing so), I go to our local Chabad synagogue. This may seem like a strange choice for someone raised entirely outside of the faith (although inside an intensely culturally Jewish home). However, I find it much more meaningful than a Reform service, with its generic Kumbaya quality or even a conservative service, which increasingly tends to lean toward leftist shibboleths. (See, e.g., Adrienne Skolnicks struggles.) Advertisement Were also blessed here in that the rabbi is exceptionally erudite (although I believe all Chabad rabbis are), and a clear, thoughtful communicator, and a man with a great sense of humor. His sermons are not about world domination. Instead, they are about incorporating the Bibles moral teachings into our lives. In addition to the sermons, there are the weekly prayers celebrating Gods greatness, munificence, and love, and the reading of the weekly Torah passage. Speaking of the rabbi, the local Chabad is a project that he and his wife run jointly, which is how all Chabad synagogues operate. They are family affairs. Advertisement You may remember hearing about a family-run Chabad in Mumbai, India, in 2008 when a Pakistani Islamic terror group launched a massive attack in that city, killing 175 people. Among the victims were the Chabad rabbi and his wife (who was six months pregnant), along with four other people. Two things stood out about this part of the attack: First, they were geographically separate from the rest of the terrorist acts. In other words, they werent a target of convenience; instead, they were a deliberate target. Second, the victims were tortured. It was a preview of October 7, 2023. Advertisement It didnt stop there. In 2019, a Hitler supporter attacked a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, killing a congregant and wounding three others. In August 2024, in Brooklyn, a man carried out a stabbing attack in front of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters while yelling, Free Palestine. Just this January, someone rammed the same building with a truck. But its not just open Muslim extremists and white supremacists who hate the innocuous, learned Jews of Chabad. Its also Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Advertisement They have created out of whole cloth a bizarre narrative that turns Chabad into the ultimate agent of evil in the world, exerting a web of control everywhere (but especially controlling the innocent, naive Donald Trump). Having created this sick, antisemitic fantasy, Carlson and Owens are using their broad platforms to disseminate the same type of lies that powered pogroms and, ultimately, the Holocaust: EXCLUSIVE Tucker Carlson claims that a sect of Judaism called Chabad is ultimately behind the military strikes on Iran. This might be Tucker's most absurd claim to date. And it's yet another shot at Trump. Why? Well, @jaredkushner & @IvankaTrump have belonged to Chabad in pic.twitter.com/AnrslkJCtN Joel Mowbray (@joelmowbray) March 5, 2026 (The above is an essay-length tweet, so I wont reprint it here. I urge you to click on it, though, because its easy to understand, to the point, and nails the evil person Carlson has become.) What you have to understand is that Candace Owens is trying to incite people to murder Jews in America. Her claim that Chabad is working to take over our country is completely false. Chabad is an organization that connects Jews & teaches Jews about Judaism. Candace is a liar. pic.twitter.com/Pnom451or2 Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 5, 2026 (The above is an essay-length tweet, so I wont reprint it here. I urge you to click on it, though, because its easy to understand, to the point, and nails the evil person Carlson has become.) This insanity is par for the course for Candace, but its new for Tucker. Indeed, its also relatively new for Candace. This is what she had to say after the Poway shooting: Horrified to hear about the shooting at the Chabad of Poway. While I believe prayers are always necessary the time has also come for us to openly discuss what I perceive to be a steady rise of anti-semitism and anti-Christianity in this country. Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 27, 2019 Looking at this kind of thing, you really have to wonder whether Tucker and Candace were always this hate-filled and just hid well, or if their brains have broken. Regardless of the cause, thanks to these demented attacks, the danger to Jews around the world just increased dramatically. But heres one good thing: Trump is no longer remaining silent about Tucker. He has finally broken with him...going so far as to attack Tuckers intelligence (the ultimate Trump insult): In a lengthy conversation just now, President Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson who called the Iran war absolutely disgusting and evil. "Tucker has lost his way, Trump told me. I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 5, 2026 In a lengthy conversation just now, President Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson who called the Iran war absolutely disgusting and evil. Tucker has lost his way, Trump told me. I knew that a long time ago, and hes not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that. More MAGA people need to make this very, very clear. (Think of this as William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater denouncing, and effectively destroying, the John Birch Society.) Image created using AI. On the evening of 17 September 1908, a young American officer named Thomas Selfridge climbed into a fragile wooden aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia. Minutes later, he would become the first person in history to die in the crash of a powered airplane. The machine was a Wright Flyer, designed and flown by Orville Wright, one half of the famous Wright brothers. The demonstration flights at Fort Myer were part of a U.S. Army evaluation. The military was considering purchasing an aircraft from the Wright Company, and Orville had already impressed observers with controlled turns and sustained flight. Orville Wright and Thomas Selfridge in Wright flyer before the ill-fated flight. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Thomas Selfridge was born in 1882, in San Francisco, California. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1903, and received his commission in the Artillery Corps. In 1907, he was assigned to the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps at Fort Myer, where he was later instructed in flying a dirigible. He was also associated with the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), the innovative group backed by Alexander Graham Bell. Selfridge took his first flight on December 6, 1907, on a Bell's tetrahedral kite, rising to 168 feet (51 m) in the air above Bras d'Or Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada. This was the first recorded passenger flight of any heavier-than-air craft in Canada. Selfridge also designed the AEA's first powered aircraft, the Red Wing. On March 12, 1908, the Red Wing, piloted by Frederick W. Baldwin, raced over the frozen surface of Keuka Lake near Hammondsport, New York, on runners, and managed to fly 318 feet (97 m) before crashing. On May 19, 1908, Selfridge became the first US military officer to pilot a modern aircraft, when he flew solo in AEA's newest craft, White Wing. By doing so he became the first U.S. military officer to fly any airplane unaccompanied. Lieutenant Thomas Etholen Selfridge On 17 September 1908, he volunteered to ride as Orvilles passenger, becoming the first U.S. Army officer to fly in a powered airplane. Shortly after 5 p.m., the Flyer lifted off from the parade ground. The aircraft was a skeletal structure of spruce and muslin, its twin propellers driven by a small gasoline engine. Unlike modern airplanes, it had no enclosed cockpit, no seatbelts, and no protective structure. The pilot and passenger lay side by side on the lower wing, exposed to the wind. For several minutes, the flight proceeded smoothly. Orville circled the field at an altitude of roughly 100 to 150 feet. Spectators below watched as the Flyer completed three laps. Then, halfway through the fourth circuit, one of the wooden propellers broke and the plane began to lose thrust. The unbalanced propeller began to vibrate violently. The shaking transmitted through the drive chains and frame of the aircraft caused the split propeller to hit a supporting guy wire, causing it to snap. The wire tore out of its fastening and shattered the propeller, while the rudder swivelled to the horizontal and sent the Flyer into a nose dive. Wright shut off the engine and managed to glide to about 75 feet (23 m), but the craft hit the ground nose-first. Orville and Selfridge were thrown forward amid splintered beams and twisted wires. The crashed airplane. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Orville Wright was pulled out alive but badly injured, with broken ribs, a broken leg, and hip fractures. He would survive after weeks in the hospital. Thomas Selfridge, however, had suffered a far more severe injury. The crash had fractured his skull. At the time, neither man wore head protection, as aviation helmets were not yet standard equipment. He was carried to the post hospital at Fort Myer, where surgeons operated in an attempt to relieve pressure on his brain. He never regained consciousness. Thomas Selfridge died that evening, becoming the first fatality in the history of powered aviation. The crash at Fort Myer underscored just how fragile early aircraft were and how little margin for error existed. Yet the accident did not halt progress. After recovering from his injuries, Orville resumed flying. The Wright brothers improved their designs, addressing structural weaknesses and propeller reliability. The U.S. Army eventually purchased a Wright aircraft in 1909. Selfridges death also led to practical changes. The Army soon required aviators to wear protective headgear. People attend to one of the victims of the first fatal aircraft accident. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Today, Thomas Selfridge lies buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Though often remembered solely for the manner of his death, he was more than aviations first casualty. He was a trained engineer and an advocate of aeronautical innovation. Selfridge is memorialized by a large cenotaph at West Point Cemetery. He was also inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. The damaged propeller of the Wright Flyer wrecked at Fort Myer can be viewed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio. Powered by Direct Mail Intelligence and Industry Leading AI Models Including ChatGPT, Gemini Pro, and Claude Sonnet CLEARWATER, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DM20.ai announced its official public launch, introducing the first and only AI platform in the world that is built specifically for direct mail performance modeling and optimization. Through its omni-channel marketing platform for direct mail, DirectMail2.0, the company has executed and delivered over 80,000 campaigns to nearly 2 billion recipients across more than 150 industry verticals since 2016. That level of performance data and domain experience formed the foundation for the proprietary algorithm powering DM20.ai. Unlike generic marketing AI tools, DM20.ai was designed exclusively for the direct mail industry. The platform combines a performance algorithm built on structured direct mail campaign intelligence with industry leading AI models including ChatGPT, Gemini Pro, and Claude Sonnet. What makes DM20.ai unique is that it is not applying generic AI to marketing problems. It is purpose-built for direct mail, using structured, industry specific performance intelligence to inform every analysis. When layered with leading AI models, this approach creates multi-model validation and deeper diagnostic confidence that does not exist elsewhere in the direct mail industry. "AI is evolving at an extraordinary pace," said Brad Kugler, CEO of DirectMail2.0, Who's Mailing What!, and DM20.ai. "The AI models currently on the market are incredibly powerful, but they do not have proprietary datasets built from years of real world campaign execution to support them like we do. Specialty AI has become essential. DM20.ai bridges direct mail intelligence with today's most advanced AI platforms to deliver deeper diagnostics, stronger validation, and insights rooted in real world campaign performance rather than generic marketing theory." Direct mail remains one of the most measurable and ROI-driven marketing channels in the world, yet until now, it has lacked a dedicated AI platform built specifically for its complexity and scale. DM20.ai positions itself as that intelligence layer, delivering specialized modeling designed exclusively for direct mail marketers, agencies, nonprofits, and enterprise brands. Following a successful beta phase and strong early adoption, DM20.ai is now available publicly and offers a free trial. For more information and to request a demo, visit https://www.dm20.ai. DirectMail2.0 maximizes omnichannel performance by integrating the latest mailing technology with real-time reporting and digital components to lift response by 25-50%. This omnichannel ecosystem currently includes 15 features, all managed from a single dashboard that reports real-time campaign results, both offline and online. With the recent acquisition of 40-year-old mailing institution Who's Mailing What!, DirectMail2.0 has increased its AI-powered direct mail database to over 80,000 campaigns over 2 billion mail pieces that have been delivered to every household in America, scanned, catalogued, and measured for success. DirectMail2.0 expects DM20.ai to help advertisers save millions by helping them better model, design, and target prospects and customers with greater direct mail insights. Media Contact: Ty Arico, Product Manager [email protected] 727.335.0437 [email protected] SOURCE DirectMail2.0 LLC. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 1997 - Davidoff Studios/Getty Images Donald Trumps administration is set to release 50,000 missing documents from the Epstein files. The files, some of which contain allegations against the US president, were said to have undergone a further review and are expected to be published by the end of the week. They include notes from an interview a woman gave to the FBI in 2019, when she accused Mr Trump of trying to force her into oral sex in the early 1980s, when she was around 13 years old, after being introduced to Mr Trump by Epstein. The claims have never been substantiated, and there is no evidence that Mr Trump knew Epstein at the time. The US president has long denied knowledge of Epsteins crimes. After reports of the missing documents emerged last week, Democrats in Congress claimed the US Department of Justice (DoJ) appeared to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with a survivor. Donald Trump with Melania, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000 - Davidoff Studios Photography/ARCHIVE PHOTOS The DoJ warned last month that some of the files contained untrue and sensationalist claims about Mr Trump and had been sent to the FBI before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already, it said. A spokeswoman for the department told The Wall Street Journal: 47,635 files were offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week. The DoJ is legally required to publish all six million documents it holds on Epstein, with exceptions made to protect the identities of victims and ongoing investigations. It has released just three million, however. A photo showing Epsteins desk, with a picture of Mr Trump visible inside a drawer, was removed from the DoJs website and then re-uploaded Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, was subpoenaed to give evidence before Congress following a motion brought by Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman. The move passed the House oversight committee, which is conducting an investigation into Epstein and the handling of the files, by 24 votes to 19 with bipartisan support. Ahead of the vote, Ms Mace accused the attorney general and the DoJ of being more focused on shielding the powerful than delivering justice. We still dont have the full truth. Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing. There are millions more documents out there, the congresswoman, who in November defied Mr Trump to force a vote on the release of the files, said on social media. In a subsequent post, she declared there was more to come. For months, Attorney General Bondi has been instrumental in orchestrating the White Houses cover-up of the Epstein files, and has failed to comply with our bipartisan subpoena for the release of the complete, unredacted files, said Robert Garcia, the committees top Democrat. The American people deserve transparency, survivors deserve justice, and we are demanding answers. Survivors of Epstein have demanded for the remaining files to be released - AFP Ms Bondi is likely to be questioned on why the DoJ is refusing to release the remaining files, and why it maintains Epsteins rumoured client list does not exist when she claimed last year it was sitting on my desk. Prominent political figures have appeared before the committee in recent days, including Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Bill Clinton, the former president. Both Clintons had been threatened with a possible prison sentence if they defied the subpoena. Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, on Tuesday agreed to appear before the committee, following revelations that he planned to visit Epsteins island in 2012 after previously claiming to have cut off contact seven years earlier. Democrats have said they want to subpoena Mr Trump, although it is unclear whether this would garner bipartisan support from oversight Republicans. Almost a third of Gen Z men believe a wife should obey her husband and that a husband should make important decisions, according to new research. A global study of 23,000 people across 29 countries that found stark differences between different generations of men when it comes to gender roles. Gen Z men (born between 1997 and 2012) were twice as likely as Baby Boomer men (born between 1946 and 1964) to have traditional views on decision-making within a marriage, with just 13 per cent and 17 per cent of Baby Boomer men agreeing with those statements respectively. In comparison, just 18 per cent of Gen Z women agreed that a wife should always obey her husband and only 6 per cent of Baby Boomer women held that view. It is troubling to see that attitudes towards gender equality are not more positive, particularly among young men. Not only are many Gen Z men putting limiting expectations on women, they are also trapping themselves within restrictive gender norms, The Hon Julia Gillard AC, Chair of the Global Institute for Womens Leadership, Kings Business School said. We need to ensure everyone is taken on the gender equality journey, with a clear understanding of why it benefits all of society. Almost a third of Gen Z men believe a wife should obey her husband, survey reveals (file image) (Getty/iStock) The survey was conducted by Ipsos in the UK and the Global Institute for Womens Leadership at Kings Business School, Kings College London, to mark International Womens Day 2026. It revealed almost a quarter of Gen Z men agree that a woman should not appear too independent or self-sufficient, compared to just 15 per cent of Gen Z women. Despite this, Gen Z men were also the group most likely to believe that women who have a successful career are more attractive to men, with 41 per cent agreeing with this statement compared to 27 per cent of Baby Boomers of both genders. People generally expressed more equal views with only one in six respondents saying that women should take on most childcare (17 per cent) or household chores beyond childcare (16 per cent), and under a quarter (24 per cent) believing that men should shoulder most of the responsibility for earning money. UK respondents were less likely than average to personally hold traditional views on household responsibilities, but they still felt that society had traditional expectations. For example, only 14 per cent personally felt that women should take on most responsibility for childcare, but 43 per cent said that women were expected to be mostly or entirely responsible. 15 per cent also felt that men had responsibility for earning money, but 38 per cent said that they felt society expected men to be responsible. 19-year-old Ken Brady, Law LLB Student at Kings College London was not surprised by the findings and explained young men are growing up in online spaces where masculinity is constantly debated. Online spaces - including online communities often described as the manosphere - can create echo chambers where very traditional ideas about gender roles are repeated and reinforced. If youre exposed to that repeatedly, it can shape how you think relationships or masculinity should work, he said. I think its important to recognise that online discussions and real life can feel like two very different worlds. In my own experience, the views amplified online are often the most extreme, which can make them seem far more common than they actually are in everyday life. Professor Heejung Chung, Director of the Global Institute for Womens Leadership at Kings Business School, Kings College London agrees that social media has a strong influence on young men. She said: Many male influencers, both in social media and politics, and including even those who are not explicitly part of the manosphere, emphasise traditional gender roles in terms of what it means to be a man. The reason why we see younger men becoming more conservative may be due to the visibility and reach of these social media influencers, and the growing attention given to debates about gender roles. I think they may feel a need to adhere to what they perceive as social norms. Fighting for gender equality isnt just about putting a few women in a higher position than men. It is about men and women joining together to challenge society, businesses, and governments to provide more more opportunities, more protections for both men and women. The challenges we face are shared and addressing them collectively can benefit everyone, she added. (Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand ) Opened in April 2025, Aman Nai Lert Bangkok is the brands third city hotel (after Tokyo and New York). It marks a return to the country where it all began the original Aman, Amanpuri, opened in Phuket back in 1988. Where? Lying in the middle of Nai Lert Park, a private seven-acre estate founded by prominent Thai businessman Nai Lert in 1915, the Aman has a rather unusual location for a Bangkok hotel. Whereas most Bangkok hotels deposit you straight into roaring traffic, Aman Nai Lert Bangkok is surrounded by open space, greenery and just a smattering of low-rise buildings, a rare patch of peace and quiet among the citys frantic streets. Despite the sense of seclusion, the location is central, with plenty of shops and restaurants in walking distance. Just dont try to go anywhere by taxi during Bangkoks infamous rush hour instead, walk ten minutes to Phloen Chit Skytrain station and go from there. (Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand) Style Aman Nai Lert Bangkok is housed in a sleek black and timber-accented tower that rises out of the green space below. Designed by regular Aman collaborator Jean-Michel Gathy, the hotel carries off that understated elegance thats become the signature of Aman. Across the spaces theres a muted colour palette of charcoal greys and light creams, and an extensive use of natural materials, including locally sourced Thai supergenti stone and teak, walnut, banana bark and bamboo. Its not all stark minimalism however the 9th floor reception is filled with statement artworks, including a 12-metre-tall tree sculpture adorned with golden leaves, and a display of over 3000 ceramic spinning tops which form a backdrop to the bronze and stone reception desks. Which room? (Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand) The hotels 52 suites start at a grand 94 square metres in size, making them among the largest in the city. All suites have the feel of a smart city apartment, with walk-in wardrobe, sofas and cosy armchairs, writing desk, a marble-clad bathroom with double sinks, gigantic rainforest shower, and an oversized circular bathtub. Super king-sized beds are framed by timber-panelled headboards and luxurious daybeds sit in front of the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the park below and the city skyline beyond it. Higher up, there are larger suites with outdoor terraces, as well as a signature three-bedroom Aman Suite that occupies the entire 18th floor and comes with a private spa and cinema room. At this end of the luxury travel spectrum, however, the entry-level suites should be more than enough for most guests. Facilities (Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand) The spectacular 9th floor outdoor pool spans 25 metres across one side of the building and features a century-old Sompong tree that grows up through the pool from below via a special cut-out. Its a unique piece of design and adds a connection to the park, as well as providing some much-needed shade. The pool also features comfy day beds that sit in the shallow pool water and a small bar for drinks and light bites. One floor above is the Aman Spa, which offers traditional Thai therapies, steam rooms, saunas, cold plunge pools, hydrotherapy, and even a hair and nail salon. Theres also a fully kitted-out gym offering yoga, Pilates, personal training and muay Thai. Food and Drink The 9th floor is home to a seasonal Italian restaurant, Arva, as well as 1872 (named in honour of Nai Lerts birth year) offering everything from local Thai dishes and afternoon tea to late night cocktails and bar snacks. Theres even more at the Aman Club on the 19th floor, including two standout Japanese spots: Hiori, a teppanyaki restaurant offering grilled prime wagyu and seafood, and Sesui, a sushi omakase counter. Sesui is the pick of the bunch, a 19 course omakase of pristine fatty tuna, sea urchin, snow crab and more, all overseen by Chef Satoshi Tsuru. After dinner you can head next door and settle into the Aman Lounge, which has live music every night and a great cocktail list, courtesy of bar director Michele Montauti. (Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand) Extracurricular Top of the to-do list should be a visit to the Nai Lert heritage house, which is just a minute from the hotel entrance. When Nai Lert bought the land in 1915, it was a rural escape from the city, and he built his family a holiday home here. It served as a private residence all the way up until 2012 when it was converted to a small museum. The beautiful teak bungalow is brimming with antiques that Nai Lert collected over his lifetime, from guns and swords to clocks and walking sticks (and walking sticks with hidden swords). Theres also memorabilia from his various business ventures Nai Lert established Thailands first ice factory as well as Bangkoks early public transport system. Best for Owing to its serene atmosphere, the hotel is better suited to couples and business travellers, or even families with older children. Younger children are welcome but theres nothing onsite specifically to entertain kids. Six days on from the launch of joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran, President Donald Trump is already facing anger from American consumers confronted by higher gas prices at the pump. Voters who chose Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential campaign because he promised to bring the cost of living down and not involve the U.S. in more foreign wars are now seeing a very different situation unfold. Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor it was quite honestly a disaster is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, the president claimed in his State of the Union address just last month. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon. And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline. President Donald Trump explicitly boasted about seeing a fall in gas prices at at his State of the Union address to Congress a little over a week ago (AFP/Getty) But with the bombardment of Iran inspiring retaliatory strikes across the region and disrupting global oil supplies, the average gas price in the U.S. has risen from $2.975 on February 24 the day of Trumps speech to $3.198 on March 4, according to the latest data from the American Automobile Association. The fuel data site GasBuddy predicted on X (Twitter) Monday that gas prices would rise 10 cents to 30 cents a gallon over the next two weeks. Heads up, drivers: You may see gas prices increase soon, it said. Ongoing geopolitical events are contributing to higher oil prices, which are a major factor in what you pay at the pump. Drivers say they are already seeing higher prices at gas stations when they go to fill up. A gas station in Los Angeles, California, displays climbing prices on its forecourt Monday (AFP/Getty) New Jersey bartender Kelly Sharp spoke to USA Today and pinned the blame squarely on the president: He promised to bring prices down, but he never did. Theyre going up. Im mad at him and a lot of the things hes doing... Its a shame, those young kids being killed. Colorado Uber driver Mario Pinzon also saw a clear correlation between the new conflict and prices at the pump: Until a month ago, gasoline was affordable for everyone. But because of whats happening in the Middle East, gasoline prices have had to go up. At the same gas station, biker Benny Acosta explained that he rides a CFMoto 300 motorcycle as a cost-saving initiative: I got me a full tank for $6. This is why I ride the bike. Consumer anger over the rising cost of refuelling could present Trump with a major political headache, especially with the midterm elections on the horizon later this year (AFP/Getty) Trump acknowledged at an Oval Office meeting Tuesday that prices would be higher for a little while but ultimately end up being lower than before when the conflict concludes. Public anger over the rising cost of refuelling could present Trump with a major political headache, especially with midterm elections on the horizon later this year. Susan Bell, senior vice president at Rystad Energy, told USA Today that there is a particular price-point at which drivers typically begin to get anxious. Consumers really start to get concerned when the pump price goes above about $3.50 a gallon, she said. Were not quite there yet, but we could get close in the next couple of weeks. Democrats have wasted no time in drawing attention to the problem, characterizing it as another broken promise from the president arising out of the conflict, alongside his pledge to drag the country into no further forever wars in the Middle East. Gas prices are going up, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow posted on X, alongside a graph charting the alarming spike. Trumps war in Iran is making your life more expensive. Week one and Trumps war is hitting pocket books, warned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with similar warnings also issued by the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Warner, who represent Arizona and Virginia respectively. The BBC has warned that its current funding model is not sustainable and needs reform and that it now faces jeopardy in a rapidly changing TV landscape. The broadcaster published a 100-page report in response to the governments Green Paper, in which it committed to exploring options around reforming the licence fee. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said in the report in December that it would look into a new funding system that better accounts for different household situations. Responding to the Green Paper, the BBC stated on Thursday that it wont survive as a broadcaster unless changes are made due to the permanent and irreversible trends in UK viewing habits and would welcome radical options. The BBC called for urgent change and said it would welcome radical options (Getty) Explaining that licence fee evasion has increased from 5.3 per cent to 12.5 per cent between 2024 and 2025, the BBC stated that the total number of licence fees has fallen by 2.5 million. The primary driver for these changes is the rise in SVOD services and video sharing platforms, and the corresponding decline in live TV consumption, the BBC wrote. As a result, the BBC is no longer a service almost every household paid for and used, but instead one that almost every household uses but millions do not pay for. It added that the BBC is at risk like never before, saying that the new Charter is an opportunity for change. But we have to be clear-eyed about the jeopardy we now face both for the BBC and for the UK as a whole. While the BBC called for change, it warned that the governments suggestion of a subscription model would lead to a very different BBC that would exclude many households particularly older people and people on lower-incomes. Instead, it called for a reformed model that asks more households to contribute at a lower cost to strengthen fairness and sustainability. The corporation suggested that Netflix could alert viewers to the fact that they need a TV licence to watch live events on the streamer (AP) The BBC also suggested that platforms like Netflix and YouTube could raise awareness to their viewers about which content required a TV licence, and offered to host the content of ITV, Channel 4 and other public service broadcasters on iPlayer to create a platform that can compete with the streamers. Those watching any live video content of streaming services including Netflix and Prime Video, which host live sport are required to have a TV licence, with it costing 174.50 per year. The BBCs charter, which needs renewing every 10 years, expires on 31 December 2027 an awkward time for the BBC considering its director-general Tim Davie resigned in November. He stepped down from the role following allegations that the BBC had selectively edited Donald Trumps speech on the day of the US Capitol attack in a Panorama documentary. Referring to the recent controversy, the BBC said in its response: We know that recent issues have impacted public trust in the BBC as an organisation. Attitudes about the quality and impartiality of our news, current affairs and wider content offer are a key driver of public trust. Rhodri Talfan Davies is set to take over as the BBCs interim director-general from 3 April. New vertical offerings and a peoplecentered approach position Express for continued growth as businesses seek modern workforce solutions. 2025 Highlights Revenues of $3.67 billion in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand Office Count: 850 Employed 406,000 people OKLAHOMA CITY, March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Employment Professionals closed 2025 with $3.67 billion in revenue, employing 406,000 people across more than 850 franchise locations worldwide, reinforcing its position as one of the most experienced and trusted staffing partners in the industry. Powered by more than 40 years of expertise, Express gained strong sales momentum in the second half of 2025, driven by demand for reliable staffing support and the company's commitment to putting people first in an increasingly technologydependent world. Powered by more than 40 years of expertise, Express gained strong sales momentum in the second half of 2025. Post this "I am incredibly grateful to our franchise owners and their teams for continuing to lead the way in staffing innovation while staying true to our peoplefirst values," said Bob Funk Jr., CEO, president and chairman of Express Employment International. "Their dedication to connecting top talent with great companies strengthens local economies, fuels opportunity and drives the momentum that positions Express for continued growth in 2026 and beyond." Express continues to broaden its global impact by expanding two specialty verticals with its professional and healthcare offerings, creating new opportunities for skilled workers and enabling franchise teams to support employers with greater precision and expertise. The staffing company also advanced its footprint by awarding 54 new franchise agreements across major markets, including Florida, California, Texas and New York, strengthening its ability to meet workforce demand in key regions. A PeopleFirst Model Enhanced by Technology As workforce expectations evolve, Express is modernizing its staffing capabilities with new systems and tools designed to enable franchise teams deliver faster, more streamlined service without losing the personal connection central to the brand. "We continue to invest heavily in technology while remaining grounded in the values that guide how we serve people," Funk said. "Technology should never replace relationships. It should strengthen them." Industry Recognition Across Multiple Categories In 2025, Express earned top honors from several leading industry organizations, including: Entrepreneur : Franchise 500 List and Best in Category for 14 consecutive years, Franchise 500 Hall of Fame, Top Global Franchises, Top Franchises for less than $150,000, Top Brands for Multi-Unit Owners and Top Franchises for Veterans : Franchise 500 List and Best in Category for 14 consecutive years, Franchise 500 Hall of Fame, Top Global Franchises, Top Franchises for less than $150,000, Top Brands for Multi-Unit Owners and Top Franchises for Veterans Forbes : America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms, America's Best Temp Staffing Firms and Best Employers for New Grads : America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms, America's Best Temp Staffing Firms and Best Employers for New Grads Staffing Industry Analysts : Sixth-Largest U.S. Staffing Firm, Third-Largest U.S. Industrial Staffing Firm, Largest U.S. Office/Clerical Staffing Firm, Largest U.S. Direct Hire Firms, Largest Direct Hire Staffing Firms Globally and 15th-Largest Global Staffing Firm : Sixth-Largest U.S. Staffing Firm, Third-Largest U.S. Industrial Staffing Firm, Largest U.S. Office/Clerical Staffing Firm, Largest U.S. Direct Hire Firms, Largest Direct Hire Staffing Firms Globally and 15th-Largest Global Staffing Firm Franchise Business Review : Top Franchise Culture, Top Franchises for Women, Most Profitable Franchises, Top Franchises for Veterans and Top Franchises : Top Franchise Culture, Top Franchises for Women, Most Profitable Franchises, Top Franchises for Veterans and Top Franchises ClearlyRated : Best of Staffing Talent and Client Diamond Awards : Best of Staffing Talent and Client Diamond Awards Franchise Direct : Top 100 Global Franchises : Top 100 Global Franchises Franchise Times : Top 400 (#32) : Top 400 (#32) Franchise Research Institute: World Class Franchise Since 2006 Express began 2026 with continued recognition as the top staffing and recruiting franchise on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list and added to that momentum with placement as Franchise Direct's No. 14 Top Global Franchise and ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Talent and Best of Staffing Client Gold Awards. Ready to join a winning team as a business owner? Visit ExpressFranchising.com to learn more about the proven Express model. With more than 100 territories available across North America and several resale offerings, there's never been a better time to seize this incredible opportunity. If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact [email protected], Director of Corporate Communications & PR. About Robert (Bob) Funk Jr. Robert (Bob) Funk Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of Express Employment International, a global staffing franchisor founded and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He leads a portfolio of workforce solution brands, including the flagship Express Employment Professionals franchise, along with several affiliated brands serving specialized markets. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. About Express Employment Professionals At Express Employment Professionals, we're in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing more than 11 million people globally since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com. SOURCE Express Services dba Express Employment Professionals Calamitous Tottenham self-destructed against Crystal Palace. Relegation is a very real prospect Tottenhams precarious Premier League plight worsened significantly after a calamitous period culminated in a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace. The loss leaves the north London club staring down the barrel of relegation, having started the night just a single point above the bottom three following West Hams midweek victory over Fulham. Spurs have now played 11 games in the Premier League without a win (John Walton/PA Wire) The match began with an early scare for Spurs when Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed for offside, but hope briefly flickered five minutes later as Dominic Solanke netted a 34th-minute opener. However, any momentum was swiftly extinguished by a moment of inexplicable folly from stand-in captain Micky Van de Ven, whose blatant pull-back on Sarr inside the area earned him a straight red card. Sarr calmly converted the resulting spot-kick, and the Eagles capitalised further during a chaotic end to the first half. Jorgen Strand Larsen added a second for Palace with a low effort, before Sarr grabbed his brace, leaving the home side shell-shocked and facing an uphill battle with 10 men. Manager Igor Tudor, who had controversially dropped big-money signings Conor Gallagher and Xavi Simons for the visit of Palace, now faces intense scrutiny. His tactical gamble failed to pay off, with Guglielmo Vicario forced into an early save from Adam Wharton within the first minute. Debutant Souza was booked after just seven minutes for a poor tackle that saw Daniel Munoz limp off, setting a tense tone. Despite a snapshot from Mathys Tel in the 15th minute, Tottenham struggled to gain a foothold. Palace thought they had scored just before the hour mark when Sarr raced onto Evann Guessands through ball, but a lengthy VAR check ruled it offside, prompting loud cheers from the home crowd. These cheers soon turned to despair as Solankes opener, set up by Gray after a deflected Tel strike, was quickly overshadowed. Van de Ven was sent off after pulling back Sarr Strand Larsen, left, celebrates his goal Four minutes after taking the lead, Van de Vens red card and Sarrs subsequent penalty completely shifted the dynamic. Tudor introduced Gallagher and Yves Bissouma, but the changes couldn't stem the tide. Wharton was instrumental in Palaces late first-half surge, threading a pass to Strand Larsen, who fired past Vicario, and then delivering a clipped ball that Sarr poked in, exposing a static Tottenham defence and leaving Pedro Porro looking foolish. Loud boos greeted the half-time whistle, but the 10 men of Spurs showed some resilience in the second half. Kevin Danso was denied by Dean Henderson, and Gray had an effort blocked. Substitutions including Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Xavi failed to alter the scoreline, as Tottenham set an unwanted club record of 11 Premier League matches without a win, deepening the crisis for Tudor and the club. PA contributed to this report The US and Israel have launched attacks on Iran to destroy its military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon. President Donald Trump said Irans ballistic missile capability would soon be able to reach beyond hitting US bases in the Middle East and Europe to strike our beautiful America. This, he said, would make it extraordinarily difficult for future airstrikes to halt the countrys nuclear weapons programme, which he claimed to have obliterated last June. This claim has been called into question by the latest round of strikes launched on Saturday. According to Irans ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), airstrikes by the US and Israel targeted the Natanz enrichment facility over the weekend: a sign that Tehrans nuclear programme remained intact. A preliminary report issued by the US Defence Intelligence Agency following a joint US-Israeli bombing campaign last June found that strikes did significant damage to the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities. Fears of an all-out war in the Middle East are now growing, as America and Israel continue to pound Iran. Tehran and its allies have hit back, with multiple nations in the Middle East struck in retaliatory attacks. As the conflict escalates, concerns around Irans nuclear programme mount. Here, experts explain how close Iran really is to building a nuclear weapon. A combination of satellite images shows a closer view of the Natanz Nuclear Facility in Iran on Sunday compared to Monday (Vantor) How close is Iran to building a nuclear bomb? Under its original 2015 nuclear deal agreed by the Obama administration, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67 per cent purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300kg (661 pounds). The IAEA put Irans stockpile at 9,874.9kg (21,770.4 pounds) before the start of the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June, with 440.9kg (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent. That would allow Iran to build several nuclear weapons, if it chose to do so. Experts have suggested Iran had sufficient material to produce up to five nuclear weapons in under a week if it were to enrich material further, according to Darya Dolzikova, senior research fellow with RUSIs (Royal United Services Institute) proliferation and nuclear policy programme. Tehran has not let the IAEA return to its bombed facilities since they were attacked in June. Ms Dolzikova said: Since the attacks in June, the situation on the ground will have changed quite significantly, but we dont actually have visibility of what it looks like, because the IAEA has not had access. She said the key questions include whether the enriched uranium survived, whether centrifuges the machines used to enrich uranium survived, and whether Iran has the capabilities to actually build a weapon. It is also not known whether Iran has warheads to put a weapon on. A combination of satellite images shows a closer view of the Natanz Nuclear Facility in Iran on Sunday compared to Monday (Vantor) How much damage has the US and Israel done to Iran's nuclear programme? Ms Dolzikova said the majority of damage the US and Israel have done to Irans nuclear programme will have been done in June, with damage from recent attacks proving limited so far. Dr Manuel Herrera, senior policy fellow and programme manager at BASIC (British American Security Information Council), said this will be because Iran has moved production underground. He said: In this years offensive, there have been several attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, but they have not been severe, as Iran has moved almost all of its enriched uranium production to underground facilities that are difficult to access. Irans nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220km southeast of Tehran, is the countrys main enrichment site and had already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes when the US attacked it in June. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60 per cent purity at the site a short step away from weapons grade before Israel destroyed the above-ground part of the facility, according to the IAEA. Another part of the facility on Irans Central Plateau is underground to defend against airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, groups of centrifuges that work together to more quickly enrich uranium. The IAEA has said it believes that most, if not all, of these centrifuges were destroyed by an Israeli strike that cut off power to the site. The US also dropped so-called bunker-busting bombs on the site, likely heavily damaging it. A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran on Thursday (AFP/Getty) Irans nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow, located some 100km southwest of Tehran, also came under US bombardment with bunker-busting bombs. The US struck the Isfahan Nuclear Technology as well with smaller munitions. Israel separately targeted other sites associated with the programme, including the Arak heavy water reactor. Could the war force the nuclear programme underground? Dr Herrera has warned that the war has already forced Irans nuclear programme underground. Ms Dolzikova agreed. She said: The state of the Iranian system at the moment is such that I expect they would prob struggle to advance very quickly towards a nuclear weapon, but in the longer term, definitely, they have every incentive to put the programme underground now and to hide it. A lack of oversight for Irans nuclear programme would be a disaster for both Israel and the Trump administration. As such, experts believe Washington may seek a deal that sets limits on the nuclear programme. The Conservative Party has announced plans to reinstate the two-child benefit cap and use the funds raised to increase defence spending should they get into power. This policy, initially introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, limits child tax credit and Universal Credit payments to the first two children in most households. The move comes as Labour's draft legislation to abolish the cap has successfully passed through the Commons and is currently progressing through the House of Lords. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticised Sir Keir Starmer, saying his priorities are "completely wrong" and that he has "no plan" to adequately fund the military. The party estimates that reversing the cap's abolition would generate over 3.2 billion annually, with half allocated to reducing the national deficit and the remainder earmarked for defence. That will fund the recruitment of 20,000 new soldiers 6,000 regular soldiers and 14,000 reservists as well as their accommodation and equipment. Mrs Badenoch said: This Prime Ministers priorities are completely wrong. As we saw at the spring statement this week, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have a plan to raise benefits and no plan for how to properly fund our armed forces. With a war in Europe and now also in the Middle East, its more important than ever that the Government gives our military the backing it needs. The Tories say reversing the policys abolition would generate over 3.2 billion annually (James Manning/PA) Instead, Keir Starmer is pandering to his backbenchers with more welfare giveaways he simply doesnt have the backbone to take tough decisions. I am clear the Conservatives will always put Britains national security first. That means prioritising defence over welfare and boosting our armed forces with 20,000 new troops. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: Cutting welfare to fund defence means we can commit to a bigger British Army of 80,000 regulars and 40,000 reservists. Britain needs an Army that is credible and deployable to tackle the threats we face today, and thats what we would deliver, because of our willingness to make tough choices. The pledge comes as calls for increasing defence spending intensify amid the conflict in the Middle East. Sir Keir has promised to spend 2.5% of national economic output, measured as gross domestic product (GDP), on core defence by April 2027, rising to 3% in the next parliament. The Tories have said if in power they would create a sovereign defence fund, which they say will generate 17 billion in public investment and up to 33 billion in private capital. The Tories say scrapping the deal to hand back the Chagos Islands could free up to 35 billion. The move to axe the benefit cap is popular, with MPs voting overwhelmingly in favour of it in February. The change will see some 400,000 fewer children living in poverty from this April, when the Government wants it to come into force, according to analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. With the war in the Middle East now well into its second week, the economic fallout is being felt in the pockets of millions of Britons. The conflict, which began on February 28 after a coordinated US-Israeli attack on Iran, is showing little sign of slowing down as fresh strikes continue to be launched across the region. Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged in her spring statement on March 3 that Brits would be 1,000 a year better off by the next election than in the final year of Conservative rule. But the Iran war threatens to make that promise no more than a pipe dream. From petrol to mortgages and weekly shopping lists, no industry appears completely immune from the conflict, which has pummeled global supply chains and prompted sharp price increases. Living standard are expected to be squeezed yet again in the third price surge since the Covid-19 pandemic. Here, we take a look at the latest price forecasts. Petrol After spiking to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, oil prices have dipped after US President Donald Trump suggested the war with Iran could be over very soon. The price was sitting closer to $90 a barrel on Tuesday. But thats still roughly 25% higher than it was before the start of the war. Every $10 increase in Brent crude translates to around a 7p increase a litre in petrol. The war has been a reminder of the worlds dependence on the Middle East for oil, with more than a fifth of the global oil supply passing down the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a waterway in the Persian Gulf. Iran has effectively closed Hormuz, with Lloyds List Intelligence reporting an 80% drop in maritime traffic, and this has inevitably put pressure on global supply chains. At least a dozen attacks on vessels in the Persian Gulf have been reported since the conflict broke out, including on an oil tanker near Kuwait. Oil from the US and the North Sea will not be able to plug the gap for much longer, with shortages on their way. Motorists are now being advised to reduce non-essential journeys and tweaking their driving style to save on fuel as the RAC forecasts price rises on the way. The price of fuel could also translate into transport costs for other goods, such as groceries. A worker operates valves at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, on March 4 (REUTERS) Heating The proportion of homes that use oil for heating in London is estimated at less than one per cent. But the conflict will impact electricity prices due to the UKs reliance on gas for power price setting. Most of the UKs domestic gas and electricity bills will be unaffected for now because of the price cap set from April to July earlier this month, which will see prices go down. However, forecasts for the July - September price cap have surged to 1,801 per year for a typical dual-fuels household, according to Cornwall Insight. This represents an increase of around 160, or 10%, on Aprils cap. Its worth noting the majority of the UKs oil and gas imports come from the US and Norway. However, disruption to global supplies will drive up prices as Asia looks to Europe to export oil and gas. Chris Bernkopf, CEO of Podero, explained: The most acute vulnerability right now is liquefied natural gas and if global supply chains are disrupted, supplies tighten fast, meaning the UK will have to compete with Asian buyers for the remaining cargoes, driving prices even higher. In Qatar, production of liquified natural gas (LNG) was halted after an attack on the facility in Ras Laffan. Qatar is one of the worlds biggest suppliers of LNG. Groceries The fallout from the conflict is expected to hit grocery bills too. Food is not exempt from disruptions to global supply chains, though prices have not yet jumped in the UK. Experts have warned that volatile trading prices in oil will be reflected in the price of groceries as shipping and transportation costs surge for supermarkets. This will only be exacerbated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which will force shipping vessels to seek longer alternative routes. Petrochemicals derived from crude are also used for plastic packaging. Forbes has warned that manufacturing costs will jump, with the price being passed onto the customer. The UK imports up to 42% of its food, making it vulnerable to global shocks. While it does not import food from Iran directly, goods such as walnuts, almonds, saffron, and dates Irans prime exports - are expected to rise in price as pressure mounts on non-Iranian suppliers. Oisin Hanrahan, supply chain expert and CEO at Keychain, said: Most food around the country is moved by lorries. When oil prices spike in the Middle East, petrol prices go up. Supermarkets and suppliers will pass this cost onto buyers. Executive chairman of Agronomics, Jim Mellon, added that fertiliser is one of the exports transported via the Strait of Hormuz, and this could push up prices for certain products in the UK. Many countries in the region, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, also provide a significant share of the components needed in fertiliser, namely phosphate and nitrogen. Mortgages Hopes of a steady fall in the interest rates of new mortgages - in the foreseeable future at least - have been shattered by the conflict. Borrowing rates have been raised across the board by some of the UKs biggest lenders as their own funding costs rise. The average rate on a two-year deal has jumped to 4.87% and the average five-year deal is sitting at 4.98%, according to Moneyfacts. However, experts have warned that rates could surge. The range of mortgage options available to consumers has also taken a hit. The BBC reported 330 residential mortgage products were taken off the market by eight different lenders on Monday. The options are expected to return, but with new, higher prices. The next Bank of England interest rate announcement will take place on March 19. Airline tickets With airspaces and connecting hubs like Doha in Qatar all being subject to closures, thousands of flights have been cancelled. Demand for flights out of the Middle East has surged, pushing up prices as passengers battle to get home. Whether this surge will be long-lived remains to be seen. Several airports have reopened since the war broke out, so flight prices are likely to stabilise. That said, airfare changes are often tied to oil prices, with fuel typically representing around a third of airlines costs. As summer approaches, the choice of holiday destinations has also slimmed, with the Middle East looking seemingly out the picture. Global airline shares have also taken a hit following the conflict. British Airways owner IAG is down by almost 12% whilst easyJet has dipped by around 11%. CVS Health has warned it could close all of its 134 pharmacies in Tennessee if a new bill is given the green light by the states lawmakers. If passed, Senate Bill 2040 would prohibit the co-ownership of pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. The proposal was sponsored by Bobby Harshbarger, a member of the Tennessee Senate. PBMs act as a middleman between retail pharmacies, health insurance companies and drug manufacturers. They are used by employers and health insurers to negotiate drug prices. For too long, pharmacy benefit managers have been allowed to own or control pharmacies while also deciding which pharmacies patients can choose, Harshbarger wrote in a statement on Facebook. That conflict of interest leads to patient steering, reduced choice, and local pharmacies being squeezed out. CVS Health says it will have to close 134 pharmacies if SB 2040 is passed by Tennessee lawmakers (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) If the Freedom, Access and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act passes, PBMs would be prohibited from holding pharmacy licenses from January 1, 2027. However, Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS Health, said that the bill could lead to statewide closures of the brands pharmacies. The only thing this legislation does is force the closure of 134 CVS pharmacies, she told The Independent. Its bad for Tennessee, for the more than 1.5 million patients we serve and for the more than 2,000 colleagues who will lose good paying jobs. Thibault also warned that CVS Health could have to shut down 25 in-store MinuteClinic locations, but added that the company is committed to working with policymakers. Tennessee State Senator Bobby Harshbarger says a conflict of interest between pharmacies and PBMs has led to patient steering, reduced choice, and local pharmacies being squeezed out. (Supplied) Senate Bill 2040/House Bill 1959 would devastate pharmacy care access and affordability in Tennessee, she continued. It endangers Tennesseans by eliminating access to 134 vital community pharmacies and the essential health and wellness products they provide. On Tuesday, CVS Health confirmed to Newsweek that it had already closed more than 1,100 of its pharmacy stores since 2022. The spokesperson stressed that the closures were not in response to industry conditions and were part of a planned effort to restructure its network of branches. Were confident that our current footprint features the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers today, a spokesperson for the brand said. Harshbarger said SB 2040 has already passed the Tennessee Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Last year, a federal judge halted proceedings in a challenge over a similar bill in Arkansas. Arkansas Act 624 of 2025 would have banned PBMs from holding permits to operate drug stores in the state. However, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller ruled that the bill likely violates the U.S. Constitutions Commerce Clause. Harshbargers mother, Tennessee Representative Diana Harshbarger, has also been critical of PMBs. In December 2025, she announced in a press statement that she was introducing the Pharmacist Fight Back Act to prohibit PBMs from engaging in predatory behaviors. Helen Fielding, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Malorie Blackman, Jeanette Winterson and more give their advice (Getty/iStock/PA) Woolly mammoths. Sabre-toothed tigers. The dodo. There is one species we cant allow to end up on this list of vanishing creatures: the bookworm. In a world where screen time dominates a dwindling attention economy, readers are in serious danger of becoming a dying breed. Recreational reading among children and teenagers in the UK has fallen to its lowest point in two decades, with just one-third of eight- to 18-year-olds saying they enjoy reading in their free time a 36 per cent decline since 2005. Adults are not much better: only around half of us regularly pick up a book, and even fewer parents like to read to their young kids. But there are abundant benefits to reading. Young people who get into the habit of reading in early childhood are more likely to achieve high qualifications and upward social mobility later on; theyre more able to build empathy, develop their creativity and spark their imagination. Reading even makes you happier. Fortunately, in 2026, the fightback has begun. This year, a major nationwide campaign is inviting people to fall back in love with reading. A Department for Education initiative, the National Year of Reading is supported by more than 60 partners, including literary sector charities, funders and pledge partners. Library cards for newborns; 72,000 new books distributed to those who need them most; a 27.5m package for libraries; libraries in Suffolk are even offering an amnesty for 15,000 overdue library books. Its all about putting a stop to the bookworm extinction. Also working hard to promote the power of books is the Queens Reading Room charity, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year and connects over 186,000 book enthusiasts across more than 180 countries. And yet for all the benefits of reading, sometimes life just gets in the way. But there are several tips and tricks to help you stay on track with your TBR pile. Who better to advise than some of the worlds leading authors and what better time to implement these top tips than on World Book Day? Ian McEwan If you think youre not reading enough, start with a novella, that entrancing form, short enough to hold you, not long enough to overwhelm you. Instead of a list, heres one: Reunion by Fred Uhlmann. Helen Fielding Not sure where to begin? Helen Fielding, creator of Bridget Jones, recommends prioritising pleasure when it comes to reading (Getty) Dont google the Beckhams! Or do online shopping or look at your screens. Being hooked by a good book is like nothing else. You have to use your own imagination to do the things that video games, TV, movies and memes do. You have to make all the sights, sounds, smells and effects with your own mind. Thats what makes reading so absorbing, restful and good for the soul. On that note, dont read anything where youre forcing yourself because its so heavy going. I ruined my love of Dickens for years by forcing myself to read Bleak House in two days at college because Id failed to do my summer reading list. Read the books you enjoy and mix in some classics. Theyve stood the test of time for a reason. And the stories can be even more complex and seductive than the Beckhams. Salman Rushdie Reading is a habit. You need to form the habit. Pick a convenient time of day and pick up a book at that time for 15 minutes. Do it every day for a couple of weeks and hopefully youll catch the bug. Oh, and make sure its a book you enjoy. If you find youre not enjoying it, discard it and try another one. The book doesnt matter. The pleasure does. All it takes is 15 minutes a day to form a habit, says Salman Rushdie (AP) Andrew Miller Top tip: a comfy reading chair by a good light, and with a little table for your tea and glasses. You might also wish to invest in an elegant reading robe (or two: one for summer, one for winter). Kate Mosse Trust your instincts reading should be fun, nourishing, life-enhancing, brain-expanding, so if a book isnt speaking to you, put it aside and try something else. It doesnt matter. A story that isnt to your taste now will still be waiting for you when the time is right. Enjoyment is everything. Ian Rankin Carve out some time, put down your phone, leave a book in a strategic spot sofa, bedside, bathroom and pick it up rather than your device! McFly star and bestselling childrens author Tom Fletcher listens to audiobooks with his family during car journeys (Getty) Tessa Hadley Dont ever think of reading as a duty. Its a pure pleasure. Dont wait till bedtime. Turn your phone off or leave it in another room. Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine (a small glass, you need to stay sharp), remove your shoes. Curl up in a comfortable armchair or on a sofa. Exit all the smallness of your life, move through the portal of your books into other worlds, other ways of seeing and thinking and feeling Tom Fletcher Reading doesnt only include traditional books. Stories live in song lyrics, comics and graphic novels and audiobooks are a brilliant way to listen on the go. Follow your curiosity, read what excites you and explore your interests, not what you think you should be reading, and shift your mindset about what counts. For example, listening to audiobooks during a car journey is a fun way for families to read books together when the calendar is packed. Jeanette Winterson If there is any book you really loved read it again! Then ask a friend for something they have enjoyed. Read that! Then choose something for yourself Meanwhile, a short poem every day is like an espresso shot in the morning or a nightcap at bedtime. Try that too! Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones hops aboard the reading train ahead of her role in the new adaptation of Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility (Instagram/Daisy Edgar-Jones) Malorie Blackman Read for pleasure with the emphasis on pleasure. Read what you love, what you care about, what challenges you, makes you think, makes you laugh or cry or feel. If you want to read graphic novels, books about hobbies or listen to audiobooks, then go for it. And enjoy! David Mitchell Keep a small fancy notebook on your bookshelf. On 1 January, write the name of the year just 2026. Every time you finish a book, write its ordinal number 1st, 2nd, 3rd 50th, etc. Do a deal with yourself every year, youll finish more books than last year. Youre allowed to balance out a 900-page Dawn of Everything with a slim novella by Clare Keegan. Also, as you read, keep a pen close by. (A pencil is better but who carries pencils around?) Whenever you encounter something that you dont want to forget, put a dot at the top of the page. Put another dot in the margin next to the line where the non-discardable something occurs. When youve finished the book, go through the book, looking out for the dots at the tops of pages; transcribe the dotted somethings into another notebook. By hand, with a fountain pen. Revisit them from time to time. If you know the author or can reach them on social media, share a few of your favourite dots. Trust me, it will enhance or even transform their day. Lastly, when tempted to kill an hour on YouTube or a mediocre documentary on Netflix, remember that you will wish you could get those wasted 60 minutes back. Spend that same hour with a good book and youll feel mentally richer, less alone, smarter and that bit wiser. The National Year of Reading campaign enters a troubling time for books, with literacy rates either stalling or declining across the Western world (Getty/iStock) Elif Shafak Books are our beloved companions. I think its so important that we see reading as a continuous journey where we learn new things every day, sail to new horizons. When we dive into a novel, for a few days or weeks, we become someone else, we transcend the borders of the self and see the world through another persons eyes, feel what they feel. We empathise with their sorrows, their joys, their dreams. Literature dismantles the duality of us versus them. This is a humbling exercise for the mind, for the soul. Lets read anything and everything that speaks to us from cookbooks to political philosophy to literary fiction. I have never believed in that distinction between highbrow literature and lowbrow literature. Instead, lets keep the curiosity of the mind alive and thriving. Lets be intellectual nomads, constantly searching. That requires reading widely, both fiction and non-fiction. Across the board. If we are reading only one type of genre, or the same kind of books, it means we are not leaving our comfort zones. I find it very important that our reading lists be eclectic, diverse, connecting with multiple cultures, backgrounds, and traditions of storytelling. As per Tessa Hadleys advice, pour yourself a glass of wine (a small glass, you need to stay sharp) and dig in (Alamy/PA) Tim Bouverie The best tip for reading more is to read great books by amazing authors Austen, Dickens, Tolstoy, Waugh, Hemingway, etc. But having a dedicated reading time, such as before bed, or commuting to work any time when you can ignore your telephone and concentrate can also help. Smartphones are addictive and unwholesome. Reading, when pursued with energy and dedication, is addictive and wholesome. Adam Weymouth Ive had some reading droughts since becoming a parent. Thrillers are often my way back: something inches thick with a hundred chapters. I can devour one in a fraction of the time it takes me to get through something more literary, and by the time Im done, Im back in the habit. Robert Ludlum is a particular favourite. Robin Stevens The most important thing to me as an author and reader is the concept of fun. A book is a story its entertainment and I believe you should be looking for the kind of entertainment that truly makes your heart sing. What fun means to you is entirely personal, and nothing to do with how objectively pleasant a story might be (my own favourite genre revolves around at least one person being violently murdered), but as far as Im concerned, thats the only metric you should be judging your reading on. Failed asylum seeker families with children will be offered up to 40,000 to leave the country quickly or face being deported, Shabana Mahmood has announced. As part of the home secretarys immigration overhaul, a pilot scheme has been launched for 150 families who are living in migrant hotels, with offers already sent out. The families will be offered 10,000 per member, capped at four per family, to leave the UK voluntarily. They will have seven days to reply, and if they do not take up the offer, the Home Office will attempt to forcibly remove them from the country. Ms Mahmood told an event in Westminster on Thursday that the Home Office will launch a consultation on how to remove families with children legally, including considering how force can be used against children. If the pilot is successful, the government will extend it to all failed asylum seeker families. Shabana Mahmood unveiled the plans at an Institute for Public Policy Research event in London on Thursday (PA) Officials say that the pilot scheme will offer value for money for the taxpayer, with the average family of three costing around 158,000 to house in an asylum hotel for a year. But charities and campaigners warned that detaining young children, even for short periods, would be traumatising and said the plans risk creating chaos rather than control. Reform UK likened Labours plans to offering up a 40,000 prize to those who break in, while Green Party leader Zack Polanksi said Ms Mahmood was desperate and dangerous. In an interview on Sky on Thursday afternoon, Ms Mahmood was challenged by Trevor Phillips, who put to her that the pilot will see children being put in the back of vans, screaming, frightened. Ms Mahmood responded that she would consult on how best to handle the children during deportation, adding: Of course, we would want to do this as humanely and as effectively as possible. She said the flip side is you just end up picking up the tab for hundreds of families. Imran Hussain, a director at the Refugee Council, said the seven day ultimatum would not encourage families to engage with the process. He said: Giving families just seven days to decide whether to uproot their childrens lives, often without access to proper legal advice, risks creating chaos rather than control. Many families simply do not feel safe to return to their countries of origin. And nobody wants to see distressed children detained and forced onto deportation flights. Families are far more likely to engage if given proper time, support and legal advice making it more effective, and better value for the taxpayer. Kamena Dorling, director of policy at Helen Bamber Foundation Group, said: Reintroducing child detention and imposing forced destitution to coerce families to leave the UK has already been proven ineffective and will cause significant harm. Dr Ilona Pinter, researcher on families in the asylum system at the London School of Economics, said financial incentives would create further animosity and stoke resentment against families seeking safety. She added: Forced removals are expensive for the Home Office so it would prefer families to leave without the need for detention and enforcement action. But ultimately, if families do not feel safe returning to their country of origin, they will not take this scheme. Children can only be held in immigration detention with their families for up to 72 hours, or for seven days with ministerial approval. The Home Office does not know how many failed asylum-seeking families they are housing in migrant hotels. The Independent revealed last year that the UK has paid migrants 53m to leave the country between 2021 and 2024. Under current policy, migrants can receive up to 3,000 as an incentive to return home as part of what are known as assisted returns. Green Party leader Zack Polanski described Ms Mahmoods plans as dangerous (PA) On whether the pilot payments act as a draw to the UK, a Home Office source said: Our intelligence shows people smugglers charge between 15,000 and 35,000 per illegal migrant. As a result, the pilot to pay them to leave cannot act as a pull factor because it costs more to get here in the first place. The home secretary made the case for her widespread immigration reforms at a centre-left think tank, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPRR) event, saying Labour would tread the line between Nigel Farages nightmare pulling up the drawbridge and shutting out the world and the Green Partys fairytale of open borders. Ms Mahmood faces a backbench revolt over the plans, which include people granted asylum in the UK having their refugee status made temporary and subject to review every 30 months. She is also proposing making permanent settlement rights much harder to get in the UK, extending the length of the pathway from five years to 10, and has proposed scrapping the 10-year long route to residency, a route used by people who have spent 10 or more years in Britain legally. The changes on settlement are subject to a consultation which closed to submissions in February, with conclusions yet to be announced. Ms Mahmood said her party's identity is being bitterly contested, but insisted that Labour values are at the heart of her firm but fair migration reforms. She also committed to a student refugee visa route opening in 2027, but announced an immediate suspension on study visas for individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. Martin Clunes Huw Edwards drama for Channel 5 has got an air date, along with newly released pictures for the series documenting the downfall of the former BBC News anchor. A trailer debuted earlier in March, and further casting is now confirmed. Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards sees Doc Martin star Clunes change direction to the weighty role as disgraced Edwards, who was at the peak of his career in broadcasting when he was convicted for serious child sexual offences. It has been confirmed as a two-part drama that will launch on Tuesday, 24 March at 9pm on Channel 5, with both episodes available to stream on My5. Martin Clunes as Huw Edwards and Osian Morgan as Ryan. (Channel 5) Further casting has also been announced along with the picture release. Sian Reese Williams plays a character called Carys, Under Salt Marshs Osian Morgan is Ryan, the young man that Edwards was grooming, and Midsomer Murders star Jason Hughes plays a character called Mick. Pictures also show Clare Calbraith and Ben Bishop as The Sun editor Victoria Newton and journalist Ben ODriscoll investigating the claims, and Clunes as Edwards making phonecalls to Ryan. In Channel 5s first trailer, released on Thursday, 5 March, Clunes is shown sitting at the desk of a TV news studio and preparing to read a bulletin as he puts in his earpiece and looks at the autocue. He wears a suit, and his hair is slicked back in Edwards grey style. A programme description from Channel 5 reads: The film is based on extensive factual research over the past 12 months, including exclusive first-hand interviews with those at the heart of the story, and many of the text messages between Edwards and the young man. The drama also had exclusive access to The Sun newspapers award-winning investigation into Edwards. The drama is the first collaboration between the channels scripted and factual commissioning teams. It was written by The Trials Mark Burt. Huw Edwards anchored the BBC's flagship 10pm news broadcast from 2003. (BBC News & Current Affairs via G) Edwards shocking crimes came to light after The Sun published reports of an unnamed, well-known BBC presenter paying a vulnerable teenager 35,000 in relation to sexual images in 2023. The broadcasters wife, Vicky Flind, later named Edwards as the presenter after much public speculation about who it could be, and said that he was having hospital treatment for depression. Ben O'Driscoll and Victoria Newton are played by Ben Bishop and Clare Calbraith. (Channel 5) During his time as a BBC News anchor, Edwards was responsible for announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, leading general election coverage, and helming News at 10. Edwards was arrested in November 2023, but did not leave the BBC until he resigned in April 2024. He was convicted in July 2024 with three counts of making indecent images of children, which included receiving WhatsApp messages from a man he had met online of Category A child abuse images between December 2020 and April 2022. He had pleaded guilty to the charges. Martin Clunes stars as the disgraced former BBC News anchor. (Channel 5) He had also solicited sexual images from young men online, which included grooming a vulnerable 17-year-old. Edwards received a six-month suspended prison sentence for his crimes. Channel 5 described factual drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards: The drama explores the story of how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television Huw Edwards. Starring Martin Clunes as Edwards, the series explores the newsreaders double life as it spirals out of control, leading him to make the greatest announcement of his career his total exit from public life following his conviction for serious child sexual offences. Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards begins on Channel 5 at 9pm on Tuesday, 24 March. This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/martin-clunes-huw-edwards-drama-trailer-watch-channel-5-104918574.html Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room to give an update on the latest situation in the Middle East (PA Wire) Sir Keir Starmer has announced fresh military deployments and evacuation plans as the Middle East crisis deepens following US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Speaking from Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Governments emergency Cobra committee, the Prime Minister said his priority was protecting British citizens and allies while avoiding direct offensive action. Mr Starmer acknowledged the anxiety felt by families across the UK with loved ones caught up in the conflict. He said: "I want to reassure the British public about the action that we are taking while the region has been plunged into chaos. My focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest." Here are the five biggest announcements from the Prime Ministers update. Extra fighter jets and military assets deployed The UK is strengthening its military presence in the region as tensions escalate Four additional Typhoon fighter jets are being sent to Qatar to reinforce defensive operations. Meanwhile Wildcat helicopters equipped with anti-drone systems will be deployed to Cyprus after a drone struck the RAF Akrotiri base earlier this week. A Royal Navy warship is also on the move. HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, has been dispatched to the Mediterranean, although it is not expected to arrive until next week. Mr Starmer said the UK would continue protecting its citizens and partners in the region. He said: "We will maintain this shield over British people in the region and our allies." First evacuation flight for Brits has departed The Government has begun flying British nationals home as the crisis intensifies. Mr Starmer confirmed the first charter flight from Oman to the UK has now taken off after delays overnight. More evacuation flights are expected to follow in the coming days as ministers attempt to bring stranded citizens home. Thousands have already returned on commercial services from the UAE. Mr Starmer said more than 4,000 people have already travelled back to Britain on commercial flights, while a further seven flights are scheduled to depart today. British Airways has also begun operating daily services from Oman as the Government works to expand the airlift. Over 140,000 Brits have registered in the region The scale of the potential evacuation is enormous, with more than 140,000 people having registered their presence in the region with the Foreign Office. The Prime Minister warned that the task facing officials is far bigger than the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. He said: "I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking. It's one of the biggest operations of its kind, many times bigger than the evacuation from Afghanistan. "It's not going to happen overnight, but we will not stop until our people are safe." Starmer insists special relationship still working The Prime Minister was pressed on tensions with Donald Trump after the US president publicly criticised him. Mr Trump has attacked Mr Starmer in recent days, reportedly branding him no Winston Churchill during a heated Oval Office rant. When asked about the state of relations with Washington, the Prime Minister said the last time he spoke with the US president was on Saturday night. Despite the row, Mr Starmer insisted the two countries were continuing to cooperate closely in the region. He said: "Look, the special relationship is in operation right now. "We're working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region, the US and the British, working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where we're jointly located, and we're sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. "That is the special relationship. That is a special relationship in operation, and clearly, it's for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest the right decisions for the US. I understand that, I respect that, but equally, it's for me as the British Prime Minister to take decisions that I consider to be in the best interest of the United Kingdom." Starmer denies Cabinet revolt over strikes Mr Starmer also rejected reports that divisions within his Cabinet influenced the UKs initial refusal to support the first wave of US-Israeli air strikes. The UK initially declined to allow American forces to use British bases for the operation over the weekend. However, on Sunday the Government later approved US use of Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites after Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on Western allies. Addressing the claims, Mr Starmer insisted the timeline of events had been misrepresented. He said: "Let me be really clear about this; no request came in the specific terms that we acceded until Saturday afternoon." He added that when the National Security Council met on Friday, no such request had been made, and that ministers later backed his decision on Sunday. Hackney Council has unveiled plans it says will fuel housebuilding and economic growth in one of east Londons most prominent arts and fashion hotspots. Shoreditch could see 30 aircraft hangars worth of commercial floorspace and hundreds of new homes under the major proposals to shake up local planning policies in the borough over the next 15 years, which the Labour-run council claims will bring over 11,000 new jobs to the creative and commercial district. On Tuesday, March 3, the local authority launched its public consultation on the policy, which flags 15 potential sites for redevelopment. According to the council, the Future Shoreditch Area Action Plans targets could deliver 500 more homes, 200,000sqm of office floorspace and 15,600sqm of retail and community floorspace. Under the plans, developers will face stricter rules for building in Shoreditch. The council will ask developers to aim for half new residential units built to be affordable, while the policy also imposes a general ban on buildings created solely for office spaces. Alongside this, 10 per cent of new office spaces built will need to be affordable. Tall buildings (30m or higher) will be allowed within specific zones or on designated opportunity sites. Landlords will also be barred from turning residential homes into short-term holiday lets. Designs for the 19-storey 'Verso' building in the proposed Shoreditch Works scheme (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) Meanwhile, new night-time venues and large retail spaces will only be permitted in designated areas such as Old Street, Shoreditch High Street and Curtain Road. Developers hoping to build next to existing clubs will also need to mitigate noise to protect venues from complaints. Shoreditch is renowned for its vibrant street art, nightlife and artisan cafes, but also as east Londons Tech City. Over the last two decades, the growing presence of companies including Amazon, Adobe, Monzo and Inmarsat around Old Street has seen the area dubbed the Silicon Roundabout. Hailing Shoreditchs phenomenal economic growth, Hackney regeneration chief Cllr Guy Nicholson said the new policy would create jobs while enhancing the neighbourhoods architecture and heritage, delivering genuinely affordable homes and workspaces, and improving streets and public spaces. If approved, the changes are likely to influence the fate of a major commercial and residential development left in limbo last month. The council's consultation on changes to Shoreditch planning policies runs until April 7 (Hackney Council) In February, Hackney councillors went against the advice of planning officials who had encouraged them to reject a scheme to erect a 19-storey office block and other buildings on sites encompassing Worship Street, Curtain Road, Holywell Row, and Scrutton Street. Developer Linea Properties said the Shoreditch Works project would deliver over 4,000 new jobs, but officers argued it was too tall for the area and that the designs were incompatible with surrounding architecture. However, under the councils new policy, the site where the proposed office tower would have gone is designated as appropriate for tall buildings. Officers had also criticised Lineas original application for only including 40 new homes. The councils latest policy plan sets expectations for 215 residential units to be built in any redevelopment of this particular street block. A public consultation on the Future Shoreditch Area Action Plan is now live for residents to comment on the proposals before Tuesday, April 7. The plans will then be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for independent review. Opex benefits are emerging, but TCO is still held back by earlystage ecosystem constraints Upfront cost gaps, residual value doubts and policy and grid inconsistencies are slowing BEV investment Scaling will depend on coordinated action across the ecosystem to remove these barriers LONDON, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate fleet electrification represents a significant economic and climate opportunity for Europe, according to the EYEurelectric report Fleet Forward: powering the transition to electric mobility. The report finds that transitioning Europe's corporate fleets could unlock up to 246 billion in cumulative operating cost savings by 2030. It also estimates that full fleet electrification could reduce up to one billion tonnes of CO emissions by 2030. Operating expenditure advantages are already visible across key fleet segments. The report shows that electric cars and light commercial vehicles can deliver meaningful per-kilometer operating cost savings compared with internal combustion engine equivalents, particularly where depot or home charging dominates. Electric trucks can also achieve lower operating costs on defined routes where charging strategy and CO-based tolling frameworks align. However, the report makes it clear that operating cost advantages alone will not drive scale. Total cost of ownership remains influenced by higher upfront vehicle prices, residual value uncertainty, uneven incentive structures and delays in grid connection and charging deployment. Constantin M. Gall, EY Global Aerospace, Defense & Mobility Leader, says: "The report shows that fleet electrification is already delivering operatingcost advantages in many fleet segments; however, total cost of ownership is still burdened by several structural constraints given the nascency of this new ecosystem and the ongoing change process. Upfront cost disadvantages, residualvalue risk, fragmented policy frameworks, and grid bottlenecks are slowing investment decisions into BEVs. The ability to address these barriers will determine how quickly fleet electrification can scale." According to the report, coordinated action is required across the ecosystem. Fleet operators must align vehicles with real duty cycles and maximize depot-based smart charging, which the report identifies as a key lever to reduce energy costs and improve operating margins. OEMs must narrow upfront price gaps, improve battery transparency and strengthen residual value confidence through buyback programs and standardized data. Policymakers must provide stable, multi-year fiscal and regulatory certainty. Grid operators and energy providers must accelerate connection timelines and invest in anticipatory capacity to support electrified depots and charging corridors. Financiers and leasing providers must scale bundled and risk-sharing models that reduce balance sheet exposure. Kristian Ruby, Secretary General of Eurelectric, says: "In the EU, 6 out of 10 new vehicles are sold to fleet owners, so the potential to save money and emissions is enormous. A well-designed fleet initiative can boost demand for BEVs to the benefit of European Industry and energy independence." The report highlights that progress is real and the economic case is strengthening, but unlocking the full value of fleet electrification depends on practical coordination across industry, energy and policy actors. Read the full EYEurelectric report here. SOURCE EY The House of Representatives killed an effort to rein in President Donald Trumps war in Iran as Republican leadership insists that the United States is not at war. The House voted 219 to 212 to kill a War Powers Act resolution introduced by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). All but four Democrats voted for the resolution and only one other Republican, Warren Davidson of Ohio, joined Massie, a frequent critic of Trump, in voting for it. The resolution would have required that the president inform Congress within 48 hours of troops being deployed, and would require troops be withdrawn within 60 days with a possible 30-day extension if Congress had not declared war or had not authorized the use of military force. But House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted ahead of time that the United States was not at war. We are not at war, we have no intention of being at war, Johnson told reporters after the vote, calling the war a limited operation. Johnson said it would have been a very dangerous gambit to take away the presidents ability to execute what he has called Operation Epic Fury. House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed a War Powers Act resolution on Iran. (AP) Other Republicans have argued that the United States has been in an essentially undeclared war with Iran since 1979, when the U.S.-friendly government of the Shah was overthrown for the current regime. Khanna criticized the move by Republicans to vote for the war. The Republicans now own this war, Khanna told The Independent. He also praised some Democrats who had previously been anxious about the resolution for supporting the effort. Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Juan Vargas of California, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Jared Golden of Maine opposed the resolution. But basically, now that Republicans have become the party of regime change wars and the Democrats are the anti war party, he said. Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida had previously opposed the Massie-Khanna resolution before strikes began over the weekend, but said in a statement the facts had changed. The military operations carried out this weekend were not limited strikes, he said. The president has said its a war. The Secretary of War has said its a war. We dont have to wordsmith this with the American people. They know its a war. This came despite the fact that both Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had characterized the operations in Iran as a war. Democrats pushed back on the speakers characterization. I think the Republicans need to get their story straight, because in one second they call it a war, and the next second they don't call it a war, and one minute Donald Trump calls it a war, and another minute members of Congress don't call it a war, Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Independent. The vote comes a day after the Senate voted down a similar War Powers Act resolution. All but one DemocratSen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvaniavoted for the resolution and only one RepublicanSen. Rand Paul of Kentuckyopposed it. So far, six U.S. servicemembers have been killed in the war amid the war. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense named the remaining two servicemembers who had not been named: Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa and the Pentagon also announced Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif. was believed to be among those killed in the fighting in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. What is clear is that regardless of how this unfolds moving forward, already, six Americans have tragically been killed, McBride said. Many more, potentially will die, according to this administration all for a war that they chose to enter when diplomatic options were at our disposal. But polls show that Americans oppose how Trump has conducted what he has dubbed Operation Epic Fury. A Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for NBC News found that 54 percent of Americans disapprove of Trumps handling of the war in Iran and only 41 percent approve of it. It also comes as energy prices continue to climb, which causes more pain for Americans at the gas pump. The Florence correctional center in Arizona. Photograph: Google Maps (Photograph: Google Maps) A man being held at a US immigration detention facility in Arizona died this week after reporting severe tooth pain and not receiving timely medical attention, according to a local official. Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker, was being held at the Florence correctional center in Arizona when he began to feel a toothache in mid-February, a pain that weeks later led him to the hospital before he died on Monday. His reported struggle to receive timely medical attention before being transferred to a hospital raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody, Christine Ellis, a Chandler city council member, said in an Instagram post. Related: Trump administration to reportedly close controversial ICE jail in Texas On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Damas died at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. The centers physician reported the preliminary cause of death as unknown at this time. According to ICEs account, Damas was transferred between several hospitals after reporting shortness of breath on 19 February. He remained on a ventilator for several days, with one physician reporting a likely diagnosis to be septic shock due to pneumonia. He received IV antibiotics, cardiothoracic procedures and several tests, along with a visit from his family, before he died on 2 March, according to ICE. Damas was taken into custody by federal immigration agents in Boston in September 2025 and was later transferred to the facility in Florence, Arizona, while he waited for his immigration case. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Ellis had called for an investigation into Damass death. He was complaining for almost two weeks straight, until he collapsed and got septic from the infection, Ellis told the local news outlet. Damas was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital on 25 February. Elliss office and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian. Damass death has not yet been reported by ICE, according to the agencys notifications of detainee deaths. At least nine people have died under custody in 2026, according to ICE: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42; Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55; Luis Beltran YanezCruz, 68; Parady La, 46; Heber Sanchaz Dominguez, 34; Victor Manuel Diaz, 36; Lorth Sim, 59; Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27; and Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, 48. At least 32 people died in ICE custody last year, marking the deadliest year for detainees of the federal immigration agency in more than two decades. The stark number of deaths has been just one component of a tumultuous tenure for Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. On Thursday, Donald Trump announced he would be ousting Noem and replacing her with Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, starting on 31 March. Under her helm, the DHS has faced bipartisan backlash after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents earlier this year. Noem accused both US citizens of being involved in domestic terrorism. Emmanuel Damas sought asylum in the United States after fleeing Haiti, where he worked as a handyman. Two years later, he died in federal custody while hospitalized for an infected tooth, according to Arizona officials. The 56-year-old asylum seeker, a father of two, was hospitalized after he struggled to receive timely medical care for a worsening toothache, according to Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis. Ellis, a registered nurse who is Haitian-American, said she is deeply heartbroken by news of his death. At least 35 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and accelerated efforts to quickly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people. Haitian asylum seeker Emmanuel Damas died in ICE custody after complaining of a toothache, family members and officials say (Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis) Damas is expected to be the 10th person to die in ICE custody so far this year; ICE has acknowledged eight deaths, and local officials in Arizona and California have reported two additional in-custody deaths in their states. Officials in New York are also investigating the circumstances leading to the death of a Rohingya refugee who was last seen in Border Patrol custody. Damas entered the United States under Joe Biden-era humanitarian protections in 2024. Those protections expired two years later. Trumps Homeland Security Kristi Noem is pursuing legal challenges to revoke protections that could endanger tens of thousands of vulnerable Haitians and other immigrants with temporary legal protections extended under Biden. He was arrested in Boston in September 2025 and transferred to an ICE detention center in Arizona, according to Ellis. On February 12, he began complaining about a toothache but was only given ibuprofen, according to his brother Presly Nelson. After complaining for two weeks, he collapsed. He was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital last week. By the time his family arrived from Boston to visit him, he was intubated. He died Monday, according to his family. When we got there he had been in this coma for the last nine days, Nelson told ACB15. We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen. Members of Congress and state and local officials are heightening scrutiny into the conditions at ICE facilities following allegations of medical mistreatment and lack of access to emergency medical care (AFP via Getty Images) Ellis said she learned the details of his death from his family members, who provided her with photographs of Damas appearing unconscious and intubated while in an intensive care unit. Ellis shared the images on Instagram. His alleged struggle to receive timely medical attention raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody, Ellis wrote. No one should die under such horrific conditions, wrote Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari. After four oversight visits to ICE facilities in Arizona, Ive witnessed inhumane treatment and medical neglect firsthand, she added. I will continue fighting to stop this. The Independent has requested comment from Homeland Security. Far too many immigrants including Haitian nationals have died in ICE custody, said Guerline Jozef, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Haitian Bridge Alliance. The death of Emmanuel Damas is a devastating reminder that our immigration detention system is failing the most basic standard of human dignity, she said. People seeking safety should not die from untreated medical conditions while in government custody. These deaths demand urgent accountability, transparency, and meaningful reform. The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 being held at any given point inside detention centers across the country. Conditions inside detention centers have come under heightened scrutiny following lawsuits alleging unsanitary and inhumane conditions inside, outbreaks of measles in at least two facilities, and the hospitalizations and alleged medical mistreatment of children inside a sprawling camp that is holding a growing number of immigrant families. Homeland Security officials have repeatedly defended the level of care provided to detained immigrants. Detainees are provided with comprehensive medical care from the moment they enter ICE custody, an agency spokesperson told The Independent last month. That care includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care, according to DHS. This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives. Since launching Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, the United States has claimed to have completely destroyed Irans naval fleet. If true, it would represent a significant victory for the US and Israel in their joint war against the Islamic Republic, which has a powerful naval force. At a press conference on Wednesday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, with US strikes damaging at least 17 naval vessels. Multiple ships stationed at the southern Konarak base appear to have been destroyed (Reuters) His comments came shortly after a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian frigate warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, in what Hegseth claimed was the first time an American ship had sunk an enemy vessel since the Second World War. At least 80 people on board the ship were killed. Iran has had some form of an organised naval force since around 500BC, when its ships battled enemies in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean. Over the centuries, it has evolved and grown into a significant force. But in a matter of days, attacks by the US and Israel are thought to have done significant damage to Irans fleet. Below, The Independent looks at the power of the Iranian Navy and its importance in the war. How powerful is Irans navy? The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy consists of 18,000 troops and 2,600 separate marines, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The IRIS Makran is believed to have sustained damage in the attack, seen in this satellite image (Planet Labs PBC) According to the IISSs 2026 annual assessment of global military capabilities and defence economics, the Iranian naval fleet includes: 18 submarines 70 patrol and coastal combatants One mine warfare and countermeasure vessel 23 amphibious vessels 17 boats designated for logistics and support a substantial number of patrol boats with a full-load displacement below 10 tonnes The IRIS Makran has also sustained damage (Marinetime) The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Naval Forces is a separate force with 20,000 troops, including 5,000 marines. It has a fleet of: 133 patrol and coastal combatants 5 amphibious vessels 6 logistics and support vessels The IRGC naval fleet is equipped with helicopters, UAVs and air-launched missiles, as well as laser-guided and electro-optical guided bombs. Iranian frigate IRIS Dena after being struck by a torpedo in a US attack off Sri Lanka (US Department of War) The oldest vessel in the fleet is the 1936 IRIS Hamzeh, a 539-tonne corvette that was originally built as a royal yacht for Reza Shah before it was converted to a warship. Iran added multiple new ships to its fleet last year, including the IRIS Kurdistan auxiliary ship, a 45,500-tonne, Makran-class forward base ship. The fleets largest tonnage ship, the IRIS Makran, commissioned in 2021, was 121,000 metric tonnes at full load. A former crude oil tanker converted into a warship, the vessel could carry six helicopters. However, the Makran was destroyed in an attack by US forces on vessels moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base. How much damage has the US done? Hegseth said that the US was winning its military operation against Iran decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Admiral Brad Cooper issued an update on behalf of US Centcom on Tuesday where he declared: We are also sinking the Iranian navy. The entire navy. IRIS Jamaran is believed to have been destroyed (Marinetime) He continued: Thus far, weve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine that now has a hole in its side. For decades, the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping, he added. Today theres not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop. Satellite imagery from US commercial imaging firm Planet Labs PBC shows that Irans biggest warship a former oil tanker converted into a floating base was set alight at a military port. The IRIS Bayandor is believed to have sunk (Marinetime) Analysts identified the IRIS Makran in the harbour at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz and the Makrans home port. Hegseth also claimed that the US military had sunk Irans prize ship, the Soleimani, on Tuesday. Satellite images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, on the Strait of Hormuz, show smoke billowing from multiple ships. Maritime security firm Vanguard said that the IRIS Bayandor, IRIS Naghdi, and the IRIS Jamaran were among the ships destroyed in the strikes, according to the BBC. Vanguard also claimed that the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a state-of-the-art drone carrier ship launched by Iran last year, had been sunk. The Independent could not verify these reports. Ioan Gruffudd has won a court battle against his ex-wife Alice Evans, with a domestic violence restraining order against her renewed for a further five years. The ruling is the latest development in the couples acrimonious split, which has unfolded publicly since their separation in 2021. In 2022, Evans was barred from mentioning the Hornblower actor, 52, on social media after he alleged she had used online accounts to harass, threaten and disturb the peace of him and his new partner, Bianca Wallace. Gruffudd married Wallace last year. The order also requires Evans, known for her roles in The Vampire Diaries and Lost, to remain at least 100 feet away from the couple. During the latest hearing in Los Angeles, Evans admitted to having posted negative comments about Gruffudd and Wallace online, according to the Daily Mail. She told the court that she felt ashamed and regretful about her actions. Exes Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd share two daughters together (Getty Images) However, the judge found that Evans had breached the terms of the original restraining order on multiple occasions and ruled it should remain in place until at least 2031. Judge Convey described Evanss social media activity targeting Gruffudd and Wallace as a concerted, focused, intentional and caustic campaign of denigration. He added that her threats of force and intimidation had led the couple to fear for their physical safety. The judge also also determined that Evans had intended to harm Gruffudds career and finances. While acknowledging that the volume of posts had abated somewhat, Judge Convey questioned the sincerity of her apology. Ioan Gruffudd is now married to Bianca Wallace (Getty Images) Is it true remorse? I am not persuaded, he said. But it is a positive step forward. The court heard the former couples relationship has continued to deteriorate since their split. Evans previously claimed Gruffudd has not seen their two daughters for two years. Judge Convey said that Evanss pattern of abuse, including her vow to dedicate her life to fighting her ex, risked damaging the actors relationship with their children. He urged the pair to find a way to co-parent despite the ongoing legal dispute. The Standard has contacted representatives for Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans for comment. Casualties from the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena have been taken to hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka. Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters (Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters) Sri Lanka has evacuated 208 crew members from an Iranian navy vessel that made an emergency request to dock, a day after a US submarine strike sank another Iranian frigate, killing more than 80 people on board. Sri Lankas president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Thursday confirmed that the countrys navy would take over Iranian military support ship IRIS Bushehr and allow it to dock at the north-eastern port of Trincomalee. The Iranian military vessel had requested permission from the Sri Lankan navy to come into port, citing engine issues. The call came a day after a US torpedo destroyed IRIS Dena, an Iranian warship, on Tuesday night as it headed back home after taking part in a military training exercise in India. The attack quickly sank the vessel and killed at least 84 sailors. The Sri Lankan government had spent hours deliberating the request made by the second Iran military ship amid fears it could be the target of another attack. Dissanayake said his government had discussed the docking of the second ship directly with Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. We are not taking sides in this conflict, but while maintaining our neutrality we are taking action to save lives, Dissanayake said in a televised statement on Thursday. No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious. The Iranian sailors and cadets on board the Bushehr were brought ashore and transferred to a naval base near the capital of Colombo. Related: US submarine sinks Iranian warship as conflict spreads beyond Middle East In a lengthy written statement, Dissanayake confirmed that Iran had sought permission last week for three of its vessels to enter Sri Lankan ports from the 9 March for a four-day period. However, deliberations of the request had still been ongoing when the US struck Dena. Dissanayake emphasised that the actions taken by Sri Lanka were not taken in a biased manner towards any state, nor do we submit to any state. The targeting of Dena marked an escalation of the US-Israeli assault on Iran, which began over the weekend. The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, described Dena as a prize ship, adding: It was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death. The Pentagon released black-and-white footage of the strike, showing a heavyweight torpedo blasted into the frigate from a submarine. In the first Iranian response to the ships sinking, Irans foreign minister, Araghchi, said the US would bitterly regret the attack. The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Irans shores, he wrote on X. Frigate Dena, a guest of Indias navy, carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. The Sri Lankan navy and coastguard responded to a distress call from the Dena in the early hours of Wednesday morning. But by the time they arrived, the vessel had sunk and there was only an oil slick remaining, with survivors clinging to life rafts. The navys rescue operation for missing sailors from the frigate continued on Thursday, with several more bodies reportedly retrieved from the sea. Military and police security remained tight at the main hospital in Galle, where 32 rescued Iranians were being treated. Most survivors were reported to have minor burns and fractures. GK Malani, 70, a lottery ticket seller in Galle, said there was a lot of fear locally after the incident. There were so many bodies brought in, she said. Everyone is very scared about the attack. KG Gunaratne, a patient at Galle hospital, said: I was there when the injured were brought to the hospital. There was one who was completely unconscious, another with injuries to their hand. The scale of the disaster threatens to overwhelm the morgue at Galle hospital, which has a capacity for 25 bodies. Hospital staff said the authorities were rushing to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve bodies until legal formalities, including inquests and autopsies, were completed. Iranian diplomatic officials refused to make any comment on the incident. The Sri Lankan government confirmed that Iran had requested assistance in repatriating the bodies of its sailors once the formalities were completed. One official, Thushara Rodrigo, said no decision had been made yet about the repatriation of the survivors. It should be internally coordinated with the army, navy and air force, and reach the diplomatic missions, he said. A Labour MP whose husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China has said she's "never seen anything" to make her suspect him of breaking the law. Joani Reid, who was elected in East Kilbride and Strathaven at the last general election, issued a statement after the Metropolitan Police announced three arrests on Wednesday morning as part of a counter-terrorism investigation under the National Security Act. The force did not name the suspects - all men, aged 39, 43, and 68 - but one of them is her husband, David Taylor. They have all been released on bail, the Met Police said on Thursday morning. Ms Reid said: "I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law. "I am not part of my husband's business activities, and neither I nor my children are part of this investigation, and we should not be treated by media organisations as though we are. "Above all I expect media organisations to respect my children's privacy." Read more from Sky News: Can Mahmood save Labour? Why wars are bad news for UK-US ties She also said she had never been to China, never spoken about the country or its regime in parliament, and also never knowingly met any Chinese businesses, diplomats, or government employees while serving as an MP. "I am not any sort of admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist Party's dictatorship," she added. Ms Reid is the granddaughter of trade unionist Jimmy Reid and served as a councillor in Lewisham, south London, for eight years before becoming an MP. Her husband is listed on the MP's register of interests as a director of Earthcott Limited, a lobbying firm. Government 'deeply concerned' Security minister Dan Jarvis made a statement in the Commons following news of the arrests. He told MPs the government - which has sought to forge closer economic ties with China - is "deeply concerned by an increasing pattern of covert activity from Chinese state-linked actors targeting UK democracy". "If there is proven evidence of attempts by China to interfere with UK sovereign affairs, we will impose severe consequences and hold all actors involved to account," he added. Tories question Labour's China approach Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Beijing earlier this year and planning permission has been granted for a controversial "super embassy" in London. Mr Jarvis told MPs "it continues to be in our long-term strategic interests to engage with China". But the Conservatives accused Labour of pursuing a "failed policy of appeasement". Shadow cabinet minister Alex Burghart called for the Chinese ambassador to the UK to be summoned and told interference "will no longer be tolerated". He also said China should be placed on the highest tier of the government's Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer for two consecutive days ahead of its commissioning and observed a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to accelerate the nuclear armament of his navy, state media said on Thursday. The Norths official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim, during his visits to the western shipyard of Nampo on Tuesday and Wednesday, also inspected the construction of a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000ton warship, the Choe Hyon, first unveiled in April 2025. Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and pre-emptive strike capabilities of his nucleararmed military. State media says the ship is designed to handle various weapons systems, including antiair and antinaval weapons, as well as nuclearcapable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say the Choe Hyon was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, though some have raised doubts about whether it is ready for active service. Read moreNorth Korea's Kim Jon-Un unveils nuclear-capable rocket system North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a botched launching ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin, triggering a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure criminal. North Korea has said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, was relaunched in June after repairs, but outside experts have questioned whether the ship is fully operational. After observing Choe Hyons sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the countrys expanding naval capabilities. He called for building two warships a year over the next five years of the same or higher class as the Choe Hyon. Kim returned on Wednesday to observe a test launch of cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon. State media published photos of him watching from shore as several projectiles rose from the vessel in plumes of white smoke and described the weapons as strategic, a term used for nuclearcapable systems. After years of focusing on ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted more attention to naval capabilities, including the ongoing construction of a nuclearpowered submarine. KCNA said the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers Partys founding anniversary in October. Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his fiveyear military goals at last months Workers Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater. Read moreKim Jong Un re-elected leader of North Korea's ruling Workers Party Kim claimed on Tuesday that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons were making satisfactory progress. He said these purported advancements would constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century. KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts suggest North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could encroach on waters controlled by rival South Korea. As interKorean tensions worsen, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognise the Northern Limit Line, drawn by the USled UN Command at the end of the 195053 Korean War. The poorly drawn western sea boundary has been the site of several deadly naval clashes in recent years. At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Koreas nuclear arsenal, which already includes various weapons systems threatening the United States and its allies in Asia, while reaffirming his hardline stance toward South Korea. However, he left the door open for dialogue with the Donald Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyangs demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearisation as a precondition for resuming longstalled talks. (FRANCE 24 with AP) Kim Gordon (Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images) Laptop, hand cream, body lotion, Bella Freud, YSL, Eckhaus Latta, eyelash curler, vibrator, teaser. Its a couple of years since Kim Gordon taught the world to pack suitcases on unlikely viral hit BYE BYE, with her electro-punk dissociative track introducing a whole new generation to this alternative music icon. Over the past few years Gordon unbelievably, now in her seventies has been releasing solo work as vital and uncompromising as anything she did as a member of the seminal Sonic Youth (who split up in 2011 after the divorce of Gordon and fellow member Thurston Moore), with new album PLAY ME perfecting her avant-garde hip-hop-punk. Produced by Justin Raisen (who did early work with Charli xcx), Gordon is typically no-fuss about its lo-fi conception: Justin and I wanted to make short songs and do it all really quickly, she says. That was our approach: short and quick. Working from Raisens home in the best US garage rock tradition one of the good things about LA is people have garages they can turn into things the methodology was simple, with Raisen bringing in beats and tracks and Gordon then improvising guitars. For the lyrics, she also kept things instinctive. I keep notes of words or slogans that come across my path. Like I heard this term on this political show I watched the other day: slopaganda. She refers to her work as her practice, which gives an indication of her artistic sensibility borne from a different world to anyone seen on The Brits. From an academic family her dad was a dean at the University of California she moved to New York in 1980 and became involved in the art-rock underground, in particular the nihilistic No Wave scene out of which Sonic Youth formed; their music made punk sound like Bing Crosby. Gordons work to this day continues that uncompromising approach, but is now more akin to pop art in the way it reflects the world back to itself: the news feed horror, the numbed-out shopping, the algorithmic life. Kim Gordon (Moni Haworth) The track Play Me was inspired by a Detroit house music Instagram account she follows, while the lyrics are taken from the names of Spotify playlists Im trying to get off Spotify. That convenience culture. I feel like people dont really listen to music. You hear it everywhere, its invisible, its like having the TV on all the time. Other tracks include Dirty Tech, about the power and submission to AI, while Square Jaw looks at Elon Musk and the upsurge of masculinity, and how weve been held down, but also their whole new language vocabulary. Nail Biter is about how shell go online and buy something when Im feeling anxious. This kind of intuitive, political, social code-breaking material is perfectly matched to an era where surrealist abstraction bewildering slopaganda! is our daily experience. In my art practice I feel like its not enough just to be a painter somewhere, I guess Im a bit of an interventionist more than anything. Its not set out to be political, its just hard not to be angry right now and be affected by whats going on. I cant pretend that this stuff isnt happening. She is dismayed and confused by the extremity of Donald Trumps America. I think things are always in flux, but its weird how things like immigration have become so extreme. I dont know whats happened to peoples minds that they feel that threatened. It must be because of the economy and a class thing. But also people have been used to being advertised lies from the 1950s about products, and so its easy for Trump, as a supreme brander, to gloss over the truth. Just ignore it totally and say Im a populist only because hes an outsider. While making him and his family millions off his presidency. Kim Gordon (Moni Haworth) Gordon points to the parallels with the Ronald Reagan era in the 1980s. When former actor Reagan was in the White House he wanted to bring back the 1950s, when he played cowboys and saved women he was the originator of Make America Great Again. But he destroyed the education system. He took this idea to the government of making the states pay for it: Were having a small government. There is that in what Trump is thinking in part, but its so much more driven by other peoples f***ed-up ideology and racism. But Reagan never wanted to hear about poverty or Aids. Sonic Youth were a leading voice of the alternative scene initially responding to Reagan. By the turn of the decade, their politicised, feminist, anti-corporate noise punched the first hole in a mainstream dominated by big-haired cock-rock which their pals Nirvana then broke apart. Small wonder that this early-1990s era is as revered by Gen Z now as the later Britpop. Quite simply it was a time when young, penniless, larger-than-life rebels became disgusted with the world and wanted to make music that didnt suck. Gordons interest in that scene started with punk and being anti-corporate, which is what I always related to and think of myself. And yet even within what became known as alternative music, there were still brutal systems which demanded you sell your soul, as Kurt Cobains story illustrated. Gordon close friends with Cobain faced sexism, marketing system and patriarchal control. Her essential autobiography, pointedly titled Girl in a Band, tells how as a blonde woman she was pushed to the front of the group in shoots while struggling to make her voice heard. The book also became notorious for detailing the breakdown of her marriage to Moore after he started seeing a younger woman. Its now 11 years since it was published and has been reissued with a new chapter about her brother Keller, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when they were kids. I didnt re-read it, Gordon deadpans, I was happy to write a chapter about my little brother, but I think it still stands up. I dont know what to say I had moved back to LA and I was in such a different headspace when I wrote the book. Kim Gordon (Album artwork) It remains a remarkable testament to the growth and collapse of alternative music, yet more remarkable is that Gordon is now as important a voice as ever. You cant but wish Cobain were still around working as she is. Recently Last Days, the opera based on his life, was performed in London. Gordon saw it years ago in New York. I didnt actually like it that much, she laughs. I liked the actress who played Kurt. It was a guy in London? Thats not as interesting. In retrospect I dont think it was so bad but I just remember being so disturbed about the thing. I just thought theres so much mythology around Kurt and Nirvana did a lot of young people go to it? Yes. Well thats good. Its a piece of art, its not supposed to be factual. But if you werent there, you dont know. People are so into the 1990s now, theres just a lot of romanticisation around it. That said, fans will be pleased that Nirvanas Dave Grohl features on album track Busy Bee and that Gordon is involved in a new documentary by director Tamra Davis called The Best Summer featuring tour footage of Sonic Youth, Beck, Pavement, Beastie Boys and very early Foo Fighters. Kathleen Hannah [From Bikini Kill] has maybe five questions that she asked everybody on the tour that ties it all together. Im curious to see how people react to it Apparently Cobain features too and it seems it will capture some of the fun seen in the classic Sonic Youth documentary, 1991: The Year That Punk Broke, which famously featured a spoof of In Bed With Madonna where Kevin Costner (played by Cobain) goes backstage and appals Madonna (Gordon) by calling her show neat. Cobain then soaks everyone in champagne. Gordon has fond memories of him at that time. I mean obviously Kurt had his demons, but he was also fun. That is the best part about our doc, seeing Kurt laughing and goofing off. All this time later, Gordon still carries the spirit of that scene, a one-woman punk rock stand against Slopageddon. In terms of race-defining falls at the Cheltenham Festival, recent memory will immediately conjure up Annie Powers final-flight sprawl of 2015 or Constitution Hill and State Man hitting the turf in that utterly chaotic Champion Hurdle of 12 months ago. But before them there was Latalomne. The apple of Brian Ellisons eye, the daring chestnut could but for his nemesis of Cheltenhams second-last fence have rewritten history in the Champion Chase. Dont mention Latalomne, quipped Malton-based Ellison, when asked about heartbreak at the Cheltenham Festival. I dont know if he would have won either of them, but he was still there with a chance. But youve got to jump them and theyve moved that fence now! A son of Zilzal with a trademark blaze, the intrepid northern raider had already racked up a course and distance success before being sent off a sporting 14-1 in 2002 for a race where Flagship Uberalles was a warm order to finally land the two-mile chasing showpiece. To watch the final salvos will show Richard Johnson driving home the 7-4 favourite for a commanding success to rewind the tape to the top of the hill would tell a different tale, however. It was at that point Ellison began to warm to the idea of springing an almighty upset as Vinnie Keane and a willing Latalomne had all but Cenkos begging for mercy as they freewheeled their way down country and over the third-last. But that notorious second-last obstacle reared its head, as the pride of Malton breasted the birch and turned a somersault before crashing into the Cotswolds dirt. He won by nearly 20 lengths there earlier that season so I dont know what happened, it wasnt like he didnt handle going down the hill, explained Ellison. Im not really one for getting excited and during a race Im always looking round to see whats going well and any dangers and everything. At the open ditch at the top of the hill he put in a fantastic jump which took him to the front and then I started to think we had a live chance. But they were trapping down to it and he just didnt get high enough. If 2002 was not chastening enough, unfinished business with Prestbury Park meant Latalomne, Keane and Ellison returned for another crack at the cream of the two-mile chasing division a year later and a field that this time included not only some familiar faces but the coming force of Moscow Flyer. Jessica Harringtons star would of course become one of the giants of his era, but it could have been all so different had Latalomne not suffered the cruelest of fates once more two from home. Latalomne was again holding a narrow lead when coming to grief, joined on the turf by Martin Pipes Seebald, leaving Barry Geraghty clear for a proverbial lap of honour up the Cheltenham hill. The next year it was a bit of a soft fall. Two of them fell either side of Moscow Flyer, added Ellison. Vinnie felt he was going better the second year and he thought he was cantering, but Moscow Flyer was a good horse wasnt he and it was a Champion Chase. There was obviously real disappointment that he fell both times, but then you are used to setbacks in this game. Despite his trials and tribulations on racings biggest stage and Ellisons dual-purpose operation going on to enjoy great success under both codes, two decades on it is still that audacious spring-heeled chestnut who commands tender affection from his old handler. Elison said: Definitly Red was probably the best jumper I had and I guess the best thing Ive done since is Onesmoothoperator going and winning twice in Australia, but Latalomne would be right up there. He won the Thirsk Hunt Cup for us and got loose going down to the start, ran a full circuit, and still won. He was then good over hurdles and then again over fences and you never know, he could have looked even better if he had stood up in those races. He was a very good horse on his day and we took him to Southwell before the Champion Chase for a piece of work. He gave a horse rated 80-odd two stone and obliterated him, he was a top horse. DALLAS, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Form.io, the enterprise platform for API-first forms, agentic workflows, and data infrastructure, has named Laura Madden as Director of Marketing, Social Media and Market Engagement, reinforcing the company's continued growth and global expansion. Form.io Names Laura Madden as Director of Marketing, Social Media and Market Engagement Madden brings extensive experience in brand strategy, content marketing, and integrated communications, having led brand and marketing initiatives across healthcare, higher education, ecommerce, legal, and technology sectors. In this role, Madden leads Form.io's integrated marketing and engagement strategy, increasing brand visibility and expanding the company's reach across developer, enterprise, and partner communities. She oversees Form.io's social media ecosystem, brand and content strategy, and strategic communications, helping strengthen Form.io's position as a leading platform for modern application development, data infrastructure, and AI-driven workflows. "Form.io is at the forefront of enabling major organizations to improve how they collect and activate data throughout their traditional and agentic workflows," said Laura Madden. "I'm excited to help elevate our presence in the marketplace, bring our unique brand to life across social and digital channels, and deepen engagement with developers, partners, and customers who work with Form.io." "Laura has brought tremendous energy and focus to Form.io's brand presence and content initiatives," said Gary Wetzel, CEO of Form.io. "Her leadership across social media, content, and community engagement thus far has helped strengthen our brand and elevate how we are positioned within the broader developer tools and technology partner ecosystems." Form.io is trusted by organizations that require compliance-ready, extensible form and data infrastructure, and that trust is becoming more important as enterprises integrate AI agents into their workflows. As development teams shift from building every feature by hand to orchestrating AI-driven systems, they need form and data layers that are programmable, API-native, and built to work with both humans and machines. The addition of Madden reflects Form.io's continued investment in delivering solutions that meet these evolving industry requirements. For press inquiries and additional information, please contact: [email protected] About Form.io: Founded in 2015, Form.io empowers enterprises to simplify and secure data collection, streamline workflows, and build the structured data layer that modern applications and AI agents depend upon. Website: https://form.io SOURCE Form.io LLC Lord Mandelson is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office - Belinda Jiao Lord Mandelson has snubbed a request from Congress to testify about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The former US ambassador declined an invitation from members of the influential House oversight committee via a letter from his lawyer, The Telegraph understands. Democrats wrote to the disgraced peer three weeks ago, calling on him to give evidence as a matter of urgency because they believed he could hold critical information on Epsteins conspirators and enablers. Lord Mandelson said he was unable to appear because he was currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Nevertheless, the decision will be a further blow to his reputation, after he stepped down from the House of Lords and resigned from the Labour Party last month over his links to the paedophile. Congress cannot compel testimony from foreign citizens living overseas, meaning the peer is was under no legal obligation to respond and will not face any other repercussions. In the letter, obtained by The Telegraph, senior Democrats said numerous pieces of evidence had emerged showing Lord Mandelsons close ties to Jeffrey Epstein over the span of multiple years. While you no longer serve as British ambassador to the United States and have stepped down from the House of Lords, it is clear that you possessed extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and hold critical information pertaining to our investigation of Epsteins operations, the letter, signed by congressmen Suhas Subramanyam and Robert Garcia, read. Lord Mandelson was sacked as Britains ambassador to the US in September when it emerged he pressed Epstein to seek early release from prison after he was convicted of child prostitution. The former cabinet minister was asked to respond by Feb 27 by the congressmen, who cited the need to uncover the identities of Mr Epsteins co-conspirators and enablers, and understand the full extent of his criminal operations. Having cultivated US officials and politicians as ambassador, Lord Mandelson now appears determined to avoid returning to Washington to give evidence about his relationship with Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor also snubbed a request from Congress in November. Recent revelations from the Epstein files, which include pictures of the former prince on all fours, have led to renewed calls for him to testify. Bill Clinton, the former US president, testified before Republicans on the House oversight committee on Friday. Hillary Clinton, Mr Clintons wife and the former US secretary of state, gave evidence on Thursday. She said she had never met Epstein, visited his infamous island or homes, and had no idea about his criminal activities. Both Clintons had initially sought to avoid being hauled before Congress, but eventually gave way after being threatened with a jail sentence if they ignored a subpoena. Lord Mandelson, who is featured repeatedly in the documents, appears to have been far closer to the paedophile than Mrs Clinton. Among the three million documents published by the US department of justice in January are photos of the peer standing in his underwear next to a woman whose face was redacted. The images were taken in Epsteins Paris flat, according to Sky News. Images of Lord Mandelson in his underwear were released as part of the latest tranche of Epstein files Emails from the files suggest Lord Mandelson repeatedly leaked confidential government information to Epstein while serving in Gordon Browns administration as business secretary. The peer was arrested on Feb 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office following a tip from Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the House of Commons, that he was planning to flee to the British Virgin Islands. Lawyers for Lord Mandelson described the allegations as baseless. Lord Mandelson has consistently denied any knowledge of Epsteins crimes, claiming the paedophile was a charismatic criminal liar who kept him in the dark about his abuse of young girls. During all the time I was an associate of his, I never saw the wrongdoing. I never saw any evidence of criminal activity, the former ambassador said in September. I never sought, nor did he offer any introductions to women in the way that he allegedly did for others. Perhaps its because Im a gay man. Lord Mandelson has been approached for comment via his lawyer. Misty Roberts. Photograph: City of DeRidder (Photograph: City of DeRidder) The former mayor of a Louisiana city has been convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy during a party at her house while she was still in office. Misty Roberts, 43, faces sentences of up to 10 and seven years in prison after a jury in the municipality of DeRidder on Tuesday found her guilty of two felonies: carnal knowledge of a juvenile or statutory rape as well as indecent behavior with a minor. Jurors deliberated less than an hour at the conclusion of a seven-day trial during which they heard testimony about how she sexually assaulted an underage boy while both had been drinking alcohol heavily during a July 2024 pool party at her home well into her second term as DeRidders top elected official. On the final day of the trial, the victim testified that despite imbibing so much he vomited Roberts flirted with him by the pool and began kissing him, the local news outlet KPLC recounted. The boy, who at the time was too young to be able to legally consent to sex with Roberts, testified that she eventually took him upstairs and raped him, KPLC added. Robertss two children and nephew testified that they saw her and the victim together, though they didnt witness the rape. The victim described hearing Roberts argue with her son and yell: Go fight your friend hes the one who did it, KPLC noted. A driver for the delivery service DoorDash testified that he brought the emergency contraceptive Plan B to Robertss home afterward. Testimony established that Roberts also instructed her children and nephew to lie about what they saw, even texting one of them: Lie til you die. Robertss ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, testified that she confessed directly to him that she had committed the crime and had been caught by their children. A criminal complaint that was later filed as part of the case and reported by the Daily Mail purportedly cited text messages from Roberts to Clanton that read: I fucked up. And I respect you enough to tell you. KPLC reported that another text from Roberts to Clanton mentioned during the trial said: I cant keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows Ive done enough. Her sentencing is tentatively scheduled for 17 April. Roberts resigned as DeRidders mayor one day after authorities began investigating a complaint that she had raped a minor. Her resignation letter omitted any mention of that investigation. She later posted a $75,000 bond to await her trial from out of custody. Roberts was allowed to remain out on that bond pending her sentencing. Attorneys for Roberts, Adam Johnson and Todd Clemons, said in a statement that they respected the jurys decision but were disappointed. We ask the public to remember that, behind every headline, theres a real person and family living through it, they added. In October, in an unrelated case, her 40-year-old brother, Brandon Lee Roberts, pleaded guilty to raping two people: an underage girl and a young woman. He subsequently received a 42-year prison sentence. Misty Roberts in 2018 made history by becoming the first woman ever elected as mayor of DeRidder. She won a second four-year term in 2022. She had spoken publicly in May 2024 to the Louisiana news outlet Best of SWLA about enduring a rough few years, in part because of two hurricanes that affected her community, a divorce and the death of someone close to her. Ive never been able to just be mayor, Roberts was quoted as saying. Roberts, who did not list a political party affiliation, also told the outlet she aspired to run for a third term in a mayoral primary election to be held in May. DeRidder is home to about 10,000 people just east of Louisianas border with Texas. After Robertss resignation, the city elected its first Black mayor, Michael D Harris. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International MAGA lobbyist suggests Iranian schoolgirls killed in airstrikes are better off dead than in a burqa A conservative lobbyist has sparked outrage for suggesting that the Iranian schoolgirls killed in airstrikes this week amid the joint U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign are better off dead than being alive in a burqa. Matt Schlapp, who heads up the Conservative Union advocacy group, which runs the Conservative Political Action Conference, made the remark Wednesday night on Piers Morgans Uncensored during a heated debate. A missile strike on the wars first day, Saturday, killed 175 children and staff at an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, according to the non-profit humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iran has pointed the finger at the U.S. and Israel, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the administration was investigating. Journalist Peter Beinart, the editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, told Morgan that the U.S. and Israel were to blame even if an Iranian missile was responsible for the attack on the school. We know that if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked a country that poses no serious threat to them Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons, America has thousands that those girls would be alive, Beinart said. Matt Schlapp (far right) sparked outrage for suggesting that the Iranian schoolgirls killed in airstrikes this week in the joint U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign are better off dead than being alive in a burqa (Piers Morgan Uncensored) Theyd be alive in a burqa, Schlapp interjected before he was cut off by Morgan, who spoke over him. This isa barbaric society, Schlapp said, before Morgan told him to hang on. A few minutes later, Morgan invited Schlapp back to the conversation. It's hypocritical to say that these attacks harmed women and children when those women and children, the young girls that you reference, would be...live a life in a barbaric, unequal society behind a burqa, with no ability to make career choices, Schlapp said. So just kill them? challenged Cenk Uygur, a Turkish-American commentator who was also on the panel. No, thats not what Im saying either, said Schlapp. That is what you said, Uygur replied, before Schlapp went on to defend President Donald Trumps decision to bomb Iran. Schlapp, who regularly appears on right-wing network Newsmax, is married to former Trump White House staffer Mercedes Schlapp and is a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump (Getty) Iran has pointed the finger at the U.S. and Israel for the strike on the elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, that killed 175 children and staff (AP) Schlapp, who regularly appears on right-wing network Newsmax, is married to former Trump White House staffer Mercedes Schlapp and is a fierce supporter of Trump. Critics blasted the MAGA firebrand for the comment and highlighted his basic ignorance because women and girls in Iran are not required to wear a burqa in Iran, though under the regimes strict laws, they are required to wear a hijab and clothing must cover most of the body. For a man who claims to understand so much about Iran, Matt Schlapp sure gets a lot wrong, the journalist Yashar Ali commented in a post on X. Also, schoolgirls do not wear burqas in Iran. They are forced to wear a headscarf and a school uniform with a long coat (often called a manteau), sometimes they wear a maghnaeh. That system is oppressive and imposed by the regime but confusing Iran with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan shows a basic ignorance about the country Matt claims to be lecturing the world about, Ali added. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned about the missile strike on the school at a Wednesday briefing, and asked if the U.S. had any involvement. Not that we know of, Leavitt responded. The Department of War is investigating this matter. At a Pentagon briefing Wednesday morning, Hegseth briefly answered a question from a reporter on the strike before moving on. All I know is were investigating that, Hegseth said. We of course never target civilian targets, but were taking a look and investigating that. The war in Iran has split Trumps MAGA base, with prominent figures such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly railing against the joint military operation with Israel. But Trump pushed back and said he did not believe that the opinions of Carlson and Kelly are shared by his base. I think that MAGA is Trump, he said. MAGAs not the other two. Markwayne Mullins first inkling that he was about to be offered a Cabinet post came with a call from the White House switchboard that the first-term Oklahoma senator was not at all expecting. Speaking to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday just minutes after President Donald Trump announced that hed be tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, the MAGA loyalist called the news a little bit of a surprise but then said he wasnt headed directly to the White House. Need to talk to my wife first, the hulking one-time MMA fighter told reporters. Mullin added that he and Trump have a really good relationship and talk all the time, and said he was super excited to get the massive department working for the American people. The Department of Homeland Security very broad jurisdiction, and Ithink there is a lot of work that we need to do and I am excited, he said. The presidents choice of Mullin to replace the embattled Noem will put a first-term senator with just an associates degree in charge of a sprawling bureaucracy encompassing everything from airport security to disaster response to the United States Coast Guard. Mullin, 48, has served in the upper chamber since 2023 after a decade-long career representing the Sooner States first Congressional district in the House of Representatives. His committee assignments include the Armed Services Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Committee on Indian Affairs and the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. He is currently the only sitting senator who lacks a Bachelors degree and he has no meaningful experience with the labyrinthine department he will soon lead. And while he is known to be a full-throated supporter of Trumps immigration policies, he is not from a border state and has no real experience dealing with immigration issues. Mullin has served on the Senate Armed Services Committee since his election to the upper chamber (AFP/Getty) His political career began when he successfully ran for a House seat left open by the retirement of former Representative Dan Boren in 2012. At the time, he hosted a syndicated home improvement show on a Tulsa radio station and ran an eponymous plumbing company, Mullin Plumbing, as well as other family-owned real estate and farm operations. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin also had a brief but undefeated career as a mixed martial arts professional in the Xtreme Fighting League, recording one technical knockout victory in 2007 and two victories by submission in 2006 and 2007. He spent his House career as a backbencher but gained a measure of attention during the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol when he and two other House members helped police barricade the House chamber doors against a riotous mob of President Donald Trumps supporters. When he and other members were leaving the chamber to shelter at a secure location during the attack, he witnessed a U.S. Capitol Police lieutenant shoot a pro-Trump rioter, Ashli Babbit, as she tried to climb through a locked door into a secure portion of the Capitol near the chamber. Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) (L) greets Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg before he testifies to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 11, 2018 in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) He later told ABC News that the officer didnt have a choice to shoot her. The mob was going to come through the door, there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time. And when he [drew] his weapon, thats a decision thats very hard for anyone to make and, once you draw your weapon like that, you have to defend yourself with deadly force, he said. Mullin later added that the officers actions saved peoples lives. When then-Senator Jim Inhofe announced his retirement in February 2022, Mullin entered and won a special election to serve out the remaining three years of his term starting in January 2023. He quickly made his mark in the upper chamber as a full-throated supporter of Trumps MAGA movement who wasnt afraid to tangle with detractors rhetorically or otherwise. In one now-infamous exchange, he accused Teamsters president Sean OBrien of intimidation during a Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee hearing on a Democratic-backed labor organizing bill. He claimed the Teamsters forced union members to pay dues and complained about an attempt by union organizers to establish a union at his former plumbing business. After Mullin pressed OBrien about his salary compared to that of a UPS driver, OBrien called the query out of line to which Mullin replied: Shut your mouth. The Teamsters boss called Mullin a greedy CEO and mock him as a tough guy. Months later, Mullin clashed with OBrien again during a second appearance before the HELP panel when he challenged the Teamsters leader to a fight after reading a tweet in which OBrien had called him a cowboy and invited him to find him anyplace, anytime. Mullin said: You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here." The confrontation ended when then-HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders told him to sit down and reminded him that he was a United States Senator. In the years since, Mullin has maintained his reputation as a rhetorical brawler with frequent appearances on cable news, even on channels which most Republicans tend to avoid. His constant presence on television as a defender of Trump endeared him to the president, who according to White House officials loves watching him on cable news. It is 40 years since Sir Peter OSullevan uttered the immortal line the mares beginning to get up, as Dawn Run stormed to Cheltenham Festival history. And for her jockey Jonjo ONeill, every visit to Prestbury Park serves as a reminder of his association with one of racings all-time greats. Widely regarded as the greatest National Hunt racemare of them all, she is the only horse to achieve the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double, winning the hurdling showpiece in 1984 before returning two years later to claim the blue riband in a truly memorable finish. ONeill, who also won the Gold Cup as a trainer with Synchronised in 2012, rode on both occasions and with the benefit of time, he now has a better appreciation for Dawn Runs accomplishments. He told the Press Association: Dawn Run was brilliant really and to win the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup was a fair feat, she was unique. She would be right up there with the best I rode. As far as speed was concerned you would be looking at Sea Pigeon, but she was a great mare and achieved great things. I was lucky to be on her on the right days, I guess I had a bit of luck on my side. Jonjo ONeill would also win the Gold Cup as a trainer (John Walton/PA) (John Walton) You probably dont appreciate it at the time and its only as time goes on you realise just what you achieved. At the time youre just doing what youre paid to do and trying your best. It is not just racing historians who have the conclusion of the 1986 Gold Cup etched in their minds, as OSullevans tones perfectly illustrated the late surge for glory of Paddy Mullins pride of Ireland. For ONeill, no footage can replicate the lived experience of a moment engrained in racing history, and from brief despair came a glimpse of destiny as Wayward Lads stamina ebbed away with the winning post approaching. ONeill continued: Halfway between the second-last and the last I began to think I would get there. After the second-last I thought ah jeez, were beat, I couldnt believe Wayward Lad and Forgive n Forget passed us and left us for dead for a few strides. Luckily she took off again and I knew Wayward Lad might not get home. Dawn Run jumping a fence en route to Gold Cup glory (PA) (PA) She would always run sweeter for Tony (Mullins) than she did for me. I would find her a hard ride, whereas Tony would sit up on her and she would float away like a butterfly he had the magic touch I think. It was a pleasure to be involved with her and I think Paddy did a great job training her because I would say she wasnt the easiest and Paddy knew her so well. Now you have Willie (Mullins) doing the same things at Cheltenham, hes the magic man isnt he. Dawn Runs victory was one of the defining moments in ONeills decorated career in the saddle but things could have been different if she had not unshipped the aforementioned Tony Mullins son of the great mares trainer in her Gold Cup reconnaissance mission. At the request of owner Charmian Hill, family loyalty was jettisoned in favour of her Champion Hurdle-winning pilot returning to the plate and while Mullins was disappointed, there is no bitterness at missing out on that moment of racing history. Mullins said: Its easy to go down memory lane for a horse like Dawn Run and in my opinion she was not only the greatest mare that ever lived, but the best National Hunt horse there has been. Tony Mullins is a key part of Dawn Runs story (PA Wire) (PA Wire) Naturally I was disappointed to miss out on the Gold Cup, but I was so young and naive at the time that I actually believed another one would come along. Its only now, 40 years later, I realise she was a once in a century horse. You think its OK, Ill just win a Gold Cup another year, but I just didnt know how rare a Dawn Run was. For Mullins, it is Dawn Runs achievements across the spectrum of distance and over both fences and hurdles which sets her apart from those placed upon a similar pedestal in the sport. He added: Arkle was a peoples horse and a phenomenal horse but I just believe as great as he was, other horses have achieved similar, whereas Dawn Run achieved things no other horse has ever done. Dawn Run won the English, Irish and French Champion Hurdle in the same season and is the only horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup. Even after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup, she went back down to two miles and beat the Champion Chase winner at Punchestown. Dawn Runs statue at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA) (Nigel French) She could go up and down in distance and nothing would ever touch her. When she won at Punchestown in what they called the match against Buck House, that was back at two miles with no mares allowance or anything. At all stages of life she could do it all, as a hurdler or a chaser. She was a big, tough mare and one thing that always makes me smile is when they call her the darling Irish mare, because she was actually a tough mare to handle. She knew what she wanted and you wouldnt put a child on her. She was an intelligent mare who was assured of herself. Dawn Run was the trailblazer for the all-conquering Mullins family, with her trainers son Willie on the cusp of his own piece of Gold Cup history as one more win will see him join Tom Dreaper as the leading handler in the race. Mullins added: Willie is going to be remembered as the greatest National Hunt trainer to have ever lived and hes just been doing it repeatedly for so long now, not just at Cheltenham but both in Britain and Ireland. To have such a record is unreal, Dawn Run is great as I had my part with her and I get to talk about her, but Willie will be someone that people will still be talking about in 100 years there might even be statues of both one day. Duane Owusu has been found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire) A man has been convicted of murder after punching a profoundly deaf woman in the neck and leaving her to die in a London street. Duane Owusu, 36, threw Zahwa Mukhtar, 27, out of an overcrowded car and felled her with a single strike after attending a rave. On Thursday, a jury at the Old Bailey found Owusu guilty of murdering Ms Mukhtar. Judge Richard Marks KC remanded him into custody to be sentenced next Thursday. Jurors were not told that Owusu had been jailed for eight years in 2010 for being the getaway driver in a botched robbery in which a Matalan shop manager was fatally stabbed. Ms Mukhtar had never met Owusu before she came across his group in Stoke Newington in the early hours of 16 August 2025. She inhaled laughing gas balloons with them, and when they decided to return home to Dagenham, she got into the already overcrowded car too. Zahwa Mukhtar was murdered on 16 August 2025 (Metropolitan Police) On the journey, she had argued with one of Owusus female friends, pulled her hair and threatened to stab someone, jurors were told. Owusu then grabbed Ms Mukhtars phone and threw it out of the car before ejecting the victim and aiming two kicks at her face as she sat on the pavement, the prosecution said. When she got up, Owusu punched her in the neck, causing her to fall on to the ground, the court was told. The incident was captured on graphic CCTV and witnessed by Owusus horrified friends. Witness Paige Allen described Ms Mukhtar pleading with Owusu to stop before he landed the fatal blow. She told jurors: He was just rage. He looked like a monster. His behaviour was just wrong. She just fell. Just fell backwards. I went to help her but he screamed at me to get in the car. Flowers left at the scene in Chadwell Heath Lane, east London, where Zahwa Salah Mukhtar, 27, died (PA Archive) On leaving the scene in Chadwell Heath, Owusu and his group were stopped and searched by police a short distance away. They were detained for around 50 minutes before officers investigated reports from the public of a woman on the pavement down the road. Ms Mukhtar, who worked as a finance assistant at the Young Vic Theatre in London, was found unresponsive at 5.31am. Despite the efforts of police and paramedics at the scene, she was pronounced dead at 6.21am, having suffered a fractured skull and brain injury. Owusu had denied punching Ms Mukhtar and claimed he only pushed her away from the car to de-escalate the situation. Giving evidence, Owusu said: I did not believe she was hurt severely or badly. He told jurors he had been traumatised by what happened and never meant to harm her. He denied murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter. His trial was halted after Ms Mukhtars brother Abas Mukhtar became overcome by anger and lunged at the defendant in the witness box, leaving jurors extremely shaken up. Fining the 28-year-old plumber 1,000 for contempt of court, Judge Marks said: It was an ugly and sustained attempt at assault. It goes without saying, having seen the incident at close quarters I was absolutely appalled by the incident. I have never in all my years at the bar seen anything like it. There was silence in court from the defendant and the victims family as the guilty verdict was delivered. Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Scotland Yard, said his thoughts were with Ms Mukhtars family who had lost their daughter in horrendous circumstances. He said: CCTV footage collected by the investigation team painted a damning picture of Owusus guilt. The evidence revealed him to be a remorseless killer, who acted with callous disregard towards his victim. Nepali police officers carry ballot boxes in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Thursday after parliamentary elections. Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA (Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA) Nearly six months after a wave of unprecedented gen Z-led protests forced Nepals then prime minister to quit, people have voted in a general election that is shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown between the entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement. The voting process has been concluded peacefully and enthusiastically, said the chief election commissioner, Ram Prasad Bhandari. It appeared the turnout was only about 60%, according to initial estimates, the lowest in more than two decades. Some winners are expected to be published as early as Friday, but full results may take several days. Due to Nepals electoral system, analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver a outright majority for any single party and coalition negotiations are expected to take place as the results come in. Key figures contesting the election include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor targeting the youth vote, and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party. It was the first election since the September 2025 uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed, and parliament and scores of government buildings were torched. The youth-led protests began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy. Related: Nepals gen-Z election: can popular former rapper Balen topple a veteran political heavyweight? Anger at the governments handling of the protests, which resulted in police opening deadly fire on demonstrators, forced four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli and his Marxist government to step down. Over the past six months, the country has been run by a non-political interim government, led by the former chief justice Sushila Karki. On Thursday, Karki urged people to vote without any fear, as thousands of soldiers and police were deployed at polling centres. The election frontrunner was widely considered to be Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a former rapper who pivoted to politics three years ago to become the popular mayor of Kathmandu. The 35-year-old, running for the centrist Rastriya Swatantra party (RSP), had cast himself as the face of the gen Z movement and calls for corruption-free politics. He had highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus of his campaign, as well as job creation for the young. His biggest challenger was Oli, the 74-year-old ousted as prime minister last year, who was seeking a return to power for a fifth time. Balen had opted to run in Olis constituency of Jhapa-5, on the border with India, in order to directly challenge the veteran politician. As a result, the constituency became the centre of the election and its 163,000 voters will determine whether Oli secures his seat or whether Balen enters parliament. So many people, including gen Z, sacrificed their lives, said Shiv Shrestha, 57, who will vote in the Jhapa district. There has to be change. Corruption must stop, and more employment opportunities should be created here in Nepal. What happened last year should not happen again. Also in the race to be prime minister is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the countrys oldest party, Nepali Congress, who has also pitched himself as a fresh face for Nepali politics. In the aftermath of the protests, the election has had a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepals woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security. Whoever takes power will inherit daunting challenges. They must deliver on the high expectations for change demanded by last years youth protests, tackle entrenched corruption and carefully manage ties with Nepals powerful neighbours, India and China. Nepals mountainous terrain presents logistical challenges in transporting the ballot boxes after the voting ends. Helicopters have flown voter materials to snowbound mountain regions across the country, which is home to eight of the worlds 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest. We are so hopeful, said Sashi Gurung, 33, who voted in Kathmandu. This election is not a normal election. This is going to be one of the changing points for Nepalis, for Nepal. The Pentagon on Wednesday took steps to identify the remaining two service members who were among the six American troops killed so far in the war with Iran. The Department of Defense confirmed the death of Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, who was killed in an unmanned aircraft system attack on Sunday, according to officials. O'Brien commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012 and deployed to Kuwait in 2019, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command. The Pentagon also announced Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., was believed to be among those killed in the fighting in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. Marzan has not yet been positively identified by a medical examiner. Marzan's photo and service verification are yet to be released "out of respect to the family," according to the U.S. Army Reserve. Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, is the latest U.S. service member confirmed among those killed in a March 1 attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, as part of the ongoing war with Iran (Defense Department) Both men were members of the Army Reserve. OBrien is survived by a wife and children, according to a Facebook post by his aunt, obtained by WCNC. The major was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid youd ever know, Mary Melchert wrote in the post. He is so missed already. On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced the names of four other Army Reserve troops killed in the March 1 attack: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The attack is under investigation. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a Tuesday post on X that the facility in Kuwait that was attacked was a secure space fortified with 6-foot walls. Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops at every level, he wrote. The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses. Weve moved a significant number of our troops off the X and will always protect our bases and people from a significantly weakened Iran. Unnamed officials told CBS News the command center was a triple-wide trailer converted into an office space. The president will attend the dignified transfer ceremonies of the fallen soldiers when their remains return to the U.S., according to the White House. The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny over the early casualties in the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed on Wednesday that the press was excessively focusing on the deaths to make the president look bad while ignoring U.S. successes in controlling the battlefield. This is what the fake news misses, Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing, appearing to refer to Sundays deadly attack on a U.S. command center. Weve taken control of Irans airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, its front page news. I get it, the veteran and former Fox News weekend host added. The press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality. The comments later prompted an argument in the White House press room when CNNs Kaitlan Collins asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the remarks. Leavitt then falsely accused CNN of not reporting on the past deaths of military members and claimed it is a fact that the press does only want to make the president look bad. Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has named Eoin Tonge as the permanent boss of the high street fashion chain, ahead of a potential demerger. Mr Tonge stepped in as interim Primark boss a year ago to replace the chains previous chief executive, Paul Marchant, after he resigned over an allegation of inappropriate behaviour. Mr Marchant resigned from the role last March following an incident related to his behaviour towards (a woman) in a social environment. At the time, ABF said Mr Marchant co-operated with the investigation, acknowledged his error of judgment and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF. Mr Tonge, who was also ABFs finance director, has now taken over the Primark role permanently with immediate effect. The new boss, who was previously finance and strategy boss at Marks & Spencer, will be supported by the appointment of Filip Ekvall in the new post of chief commercial officer. George Weston, chief executive of ABF, said: Following a comprehensive search process, I am delighted to confirm Eoin as chief executive of Primark. Over the past year he has demonstrated the leadership, judgment and consumer insight needed to enable Primark to capture the significant opportunities ahead. The changes he is implementing are at an early stage but are already having a tangible benefit in a challenging environment. Eoin Tonge has now taken over the Primark role permanently with immediate effect (PA) (Mike Egerton) In its previous update in January, ABF warned over profits after sales across the discount clothing chain disappointed in difficult Christmas trading. The appointment also comes as the consumer giant deliberates over whether to spin off the Primark business as part of a possible restructure. In November, ABF, which also owns grocery brands such as Twinings and Ryvita, said it would review the structure of the group. Mr Weston said that the size and complexity of Primark means it may need a separate leadership to oversee the retailer. Keir Starmer is apparently unable to bring himself to condemn Tehran - Lauren Hurley/No 10 Downing Street For any other leader, how to respond to an attack on British sovereign territory by a militia armed and funded by a hostile state would be a simple matter. Our national interest lies in the defeat of the Iranian regime, and the liberation of its people. Policy should reflect that interest. For Sir Keir Starmer, however, the question is apparently nowhere near so straightforward. Even after the slaughter of tens of thousands of protesters, and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians in Israel and the Gulf states, the Prime Minister is apparently unable to bring himself to condemn Tehran, or to advocate for any course of action beyond negotiating with the murderous Iranian state. It is hard not to feel that the Prime Ministers concerns are at least partly parochial. Sir Keir has been at pains to express his opposition to regime change from the skies, and to emphasise that Britains actions have been purely defensive in nature. In this, he is no doubt hoping to appeal to the plurality of voters who polling shows oppose a more interventionist approach. This mood, however, may well change as the conflict evolves and domestic responses unfold. On Wednesday night, a crowd gathered in Manchester to mourn the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, burning pictures of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and clashing with counter-protests. A little over a week from now, the annual Al Quds Day rally will go ahead. In previous years, demonstrators have called for Israel to be wiped off the map, carried the flag of the proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah, and chanted death to America. Last year, a proposed Ukip march through Tower Hamlets was blocked, on the grounds that it was likely to cause a breach of the peace. Now there is a very real prospect of crowds on the streets of our capital expressing support for terrorists who have attacked British soldiers. Why will the Government and police not act this time? The public is unlikely to look kindly on a Prime Minister who cannot articulate a coherent response to the conflict, or explain clearly why the task of protecting our soldiers and their families on Cyprus has fallen to France and Spain. Sir Keir may wish to avoid clearly taking a side in this war, but our enemies have demonstrated they have no such qualms. Caught between a febrile public mood and far-Left parties eating away at Labours base on the one side, and allies infuriated by our passivity on the other, Sir Keir may feel he has been dealt an unenviable hand. He has still played it poorly. ATLANTA, March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Georgia Dental Association (GDA) applauds the Georgia House of Representatives, the Georgia Senate, and Governor Brian Kemp for signing the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2026 budget into law, securing critical investments to improve access to dental care across the state. Funding priorities championed by GDA were maintained in the final budget, including $150,000 for the Georgia Mission of Mercy program as well as $3.2 million to support rural health clinics. These investments strengthen Georgia's oral health safety net and expand care for underserved and rural communities. "Securing these funds is a win for patients and communities who face barriers to dental care," said GDA President Dr. Peter Shatz. "Georgia Mission of Mercy provides access to dental care for underserved Georgians, while support for rural clinics ensures Georgians can receive care closer to home. We appreciate the General Assembly's commitment to oral health as a vital component of overall health." Georgia Mission of Mercy (GMOM), a program led by the GDA and its Foundation for Oral Health, is powered by volunteer dentists and dental professionals who donate their time and services to care for Georgians. Their efforts relieve pain, treat infection, and reduce strain on emergency rooms and public health systems. Since its launch in 2011, GMOM events have delivered over $6.1 million in dental care. Funding for rural health clinics helps expand access in areas where provider shortages and geographic barriers are most acute. Georgia has approximately 40 counties with one or no practicing dentist, and these rural clinics will help expand access to care. Throughout the budget process, GDA worked closely with lawmakers including Chairman Matt Hatchett, Chairman Blake Tillery, Representative Darlene Taylor and Senator Ben Watson to emphasize the importance of oral health care access and its impact on work, chronic disease management, and quality of life. "The AFY 2026 budget reflects a shared understanding that access to dental care matters," said Dr. Shatz. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with state leaders to ensure all Georgians get the dental care they need for better health." About the Georgia Dental Association The Georgia Dental Association (GDA) is the trusted voice advancing the future of dentistry in Georgia. Guided by its commitment to members and the public, GDA's mission is: To create a supportive and connected environment for dentists statewide, equipping them with the resources, education, advocacy, and community needed to thrive and to inspire them to improve lives through accessible highquality oral healthcare. Contact: Carol Galbreath (404) 636-7553 [email protected] SOURCE Georgia Dental Association The Princess of Wales joined Hindu worshippers for a dance class during a visit to the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple in Leicester on Thursday (5 March). Footage shows women dancing in a circle, with Kate smiling and laughing as she joins in without any shoes on. The Princess was visiting the Temple to celebrate the culture, community and heritage of the British-Indian community in the city. Meanwhile in Cornwall, the Prince of Wales was marking St Pirans Day by taking orders at a Cornish pasty shop. Henry de Bromheads many Cheltenham Festival successes have famously been shared with record-breaking rider Rachael Blackmore. But her retirement leaves the Waterford trainer preparing for a first Festival without his trusted lieutenant since 2019. Blackmore rode her first Festival winners in 2019, when Minella Indo and A Plus Tard came to the fore on the biggest of stages, names that would both go on to win the meetings blue riband, the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Blackmore on board when the latter struck in 2022. The pairs golden girl Honeysuckle is also enjoying retirement, but a handful of the horses Blackmore rode to victory at Prestbury Park are still in action, although it is now Darragh OKeeffe who receives the leg-up having stepped into what is a huge vacancy. Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore celebrate another famous Cheltenham moment with Honeysuckle (Tim Goode/PA) (Tim Goode) Of the first Festival without Blackmore, De Bromhead said: Of course, it will be different, but Darragh has stepped into the role brilliantly and we are delighted with him. We will miss having Rachael around, of course, but I am sure she will still be there to help us out with advice when we need it. Bob Olinger provided De Bromhead and Blackmore with three Festival triumphs, winning what is now the Turners Novices Hurdle in 2021, the Jack Richards Novices Chase in 2022 and the Stayers Hurdle in 2025. Now 11, he is back for more in the Stayers, having been somewhat overlooked as an 11-1 shot when defeating Teahupoo 12 months ago. He was like the forgotten horse. I was at a preview night a couple of weeks before and I was looking at the betting. I got to 20-1 and I got a fright and started wondering if Id actually entered him or not! De Bromhead said of his 2025 run. Bob Olinger powered up the famous Cheltenham hill last year (David Davies for The Jockey Club) (David Davies for The Jockey Club) Then I got to 66-1 and I said oh my God, thats the each-way bet of the week! I wasnt saying he would win or anything, but I couldnt believe the price he was. Hes class and always has been. Obviously we lost him for about a year, a year and a half, which was probably our fault, but its great to have him back. At the ripe age of 12, Envoi Allen is returning for his eighth Cheltenham Festival, with his record at the meeting including three wins across the Champion Bumper, the Ballymore Novices Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase. Last season he was third in the Ryanair, but having won the Champion Chase over three miles at Down Royal on his seasonal debut he arrives in good form for his swansong in the Gold Cup itself. Envoi Allen is going for Gold this year (Brian Lawless/PA) (Brian Lawless) De Bromhead, who has 25 Festival wins to his name, striking first in the 2010 Arkle with Sizing Europe, said: I think he has a chance, I really do. Its sort of like Bob Olinger last year you look at all the horses he has beaten and they are single figures and then you look at him and hes some crazy price! I thought he was better than ever when he won on his comeback. People said it wasnt a good race, but you only have to look at the form since if he stays that extra bit and I dont see why he wont. I am kind of wondering why I havent run him in the Gold Cup for the past couple of years. The enthusiasm of him and Bob Olinger is amazing. I think its seven years ago that Envoi Allen won the bumper which is mad and I think hes been there every year since. Reckitt Benckisers boss has said the household goods giant is focusing on the safety of its 400-strong workforce in the Middle East as the Iran conflict enters a sixth day. Chief executive Kris Licht said it was too early to say whether supply and prices would be affected by the fast evolving situation in the Middle East. He said the firms immediate priority was to look after staff safety and well-being across its operations in the region. The group whose brands include Strepsils throat sweets, Nurofen painkillers and Dettol has closed a factory in Bahrain because of safety reasons and instructed all workers in the region to work from home following the start of the war last week. Mr Licht told the Press Association: Our overwhelming focus at the moment is on the safety and well-being of our employees and their families. He said it was to early to specify on the impact of the conflict and disruption to supply routes. Its significant for the people that work in these markets and live in these communities and we want to do everything we can to support them and their well-being, he said. The comments came as the group cautioned that a weak cold and flu season globally and challenging trading in Europe would knock its performance at the start of 2026. Shares in the firm fell 6% as the gloomy outlook overshadowed 2025 figures showing pre-tax profits jumped to 3.8 billion, up from 2.1 billion in 2024 thanks to a 5% rise in like-for-like sales. Underlying profits rose 5.2% to 3.3 billion on a constant currency basis. Its operations in Europe saw sales fall 1.4%, impacted by lower demand for cold and flu-related treatments, and a challenging consumer environment. The tougher trading backdrop was expected to continue in 2026, it said. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said investors would be focusing on what the current conflict would mean for the firm. He said: Reckitts results couldnt come at a worse time, through no fault of the company of course. But investors will take all the assumptions in the outlook with a big pinch of salt, given that prices across the globe are likely to take a big lurch higher thanks to the situation in the Middle East. House Republican leadership on Thursday called on Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to drop his re-election bid after he admitted to an extramarital affair with a former staffer who was married who ultimately died by suicide. The call comes after the House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating Gonzales for his extramarital affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old married woman and mother who worked in his office in Uvalde. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain released a joint statement on Thursday. The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzaless conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously, they said on Thursday. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election. Over the past year, The San Antonio Express-News reported reported multiple stories about Santos-Aviles and her death, where she set herself on fire. Representative Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year as the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the Texas Republican (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) I take responsibility for my actions, Gonzales finally said late Wednesday after months of calls for his ouster. Its also important to know all the details and all the facts. Gonzales had initially stayed mum ahead of the primary this Tuesday where he faced YouTuber Brendan Herrera, whom he beat in a runoff in 2024. President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales in the race. But on Tuesday, neither Gonzales nor Herrera earned enough votes to win an outright majority, triggering a runoff election in May. On Wednesday evening, Gonzales admitted to an extramarital affair in an interview with conservative talk show host Joe Pagliarulo. I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgement and there was a lack of faith and I take full responsibility for those actions, he said. Gonzales said he asked his wife and God for forgiveness. A Navy veteran from San Antonio and one of a handful of Hispanic conservatives in the House of Representatives, Gonzales had been considered a rising star and point person for Republicans on immigration. Amid calls to resign, Gonzales was forced into a primary runoff election with gun rights activist Brandon Herrera. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) But the news of the affair, including screenshots of him asking for risque photos from Santos-Aviles, led to Republicans, including many conservatives, to call for his resignation. Republican leadership did not call for Gonzales to resign. Republicans have only 218 seats in the House of Representatives, meaning they can only afford to lose one of their own members every vote. A resignation from Gonzales could risk their majority. The House Ethics Committee announced this week that it would open a probe into whether Gonzales violated any rules in connection with allegations that he may have engaged in inappropriate work conduct. -Rachel Dobkin contributed reporting. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is doubling the length of time it will take to gain settlement rights to 10 years for many people. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA (Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA) Shabana Mahmood announced a series of changes to the rules governing both regular and irregular migration on Thursday as the government tries to restore control over what it says is a broken system. Some of the changes have already been put in place, some are being consulted on and some may never come to pass. But what exactly is the government planning? Temporary refugee status Under the old system, refugees were granted five years leave to remain and after that could apply for indefinite leave to remain. Under the new rules, however, those granted refugee protection will have this reviewed every 30 months. If their country is no longer deemed to be dangerous the government can now send them back. In practice many are likely to continue qualifying as refugees given the intractable nature of conflicts in countries such as Sudan and Eritrea along with the current and historical conflicts across the Middle East. Mahmood signed this into law on Thursday without the need for a Commons vote, and it will come into force on Monday. Applying the visa brake Mahmood has temporarily halted new study visas for students from four countries: Cameroon, Sudan, Myanmar and Afghanistan, as well as skilled worker visas from Afghanistan only. Home Office officials say they took the action for two reasons: the high numbers of arrivals on those visas who went on to claim asylum, and the refusal of those countries to take back people whose claims had been refused. Critics point out that there is conflict, war or human rights abuses in all four of the countries, and that the home secretary has just shut down a set of safe and legal routes for people affected by any of those issues. Pilot payments Under a new scheme, 150 families of people whose asylum claims have been refused and who are living in hotels will be offered up to 40,000 to return voluntarily to their countries. The families have already been identified and contacted, and now have seven days to decide whether or not to take up the offer. If they decline they will be forcibly removed. Mahmood said on Thursday that force may be used against both children and adults if they resist removal, but officials are now consulting on how exactly that can be applied. Families will not be forcibly returned to war zones. Removing asylum support The government is changing the law so it no longer has a legal duty to support asylum seekers financially, and will stop payments to anyone who is working illegally, has been convicted of a crime or who has independent financial means. Provisions have existed for many years allowing asylum seekers the right to work if their initial asylum claim has not been determined after 12 months due to no fault of their own, though Mahmood is now expanding the number of jobs they can apply for. In practice, however, individual asylum seekers will still have to receive permission to work from the Home Office, which can be a complex process. Many also do not have the skills and qualifications for jobs for which they should theoretically be eligible. Making it harder to get settled status Mahmood is doubling the length of time required before many people can gain settlement rights from five years to 10 years. Refugees and those who have accessed benefits after being granted limited leave to remain may have to wait 20 years. The government is consulting on these changes and deciding how best to implement them. It may need a mix of primary and secondary legislation potentially giving Labour MPs the opportunity to knock them down. Starmer addresses the nation in Downing Street today - Reuters Its become a cliche that we have a government of human rights lawyers. The point of cliches, of course, is that they are correct but the whole truth is more complex. In our case, its far more insidious. Take Sir Keirs speech in No 10 this afternoon. On one level, he said nothing of note beyond outlining that four Typhoon jets are off to Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations and that Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities will arrive in Cyprus tomorrow. But when asked whether it was correct that, as reported this morning, Sir Keir was effectively blocked at a security meeting on Friday by Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper from granting permission to the US to use our bases, the PM gave an answer so lawyerly that he might have been under oath: No request from the US came on the specific terms we acceded to until Saturday afternoon. By not denying the report, Sir Keir effectively confirmed it. So it seems we need to update that cliche; the Government may be led by human rights lawyers but it is run, clearly, by Ed Miliband. The same Ed Miliband who as Labour leader in 2013 whipped Labour MPs to vote to block British action against Bashar al-Assad in Syria after he used chemical weapons on his own people. So thats now twice that Miliband has stopped British involvement against tyrants who kill their own citizens. This is go figure known as being a progressive. Not that Sir Keir seems to have found that too much of a problem. He told us: The long-standing British position is that the best way forward for the regime and the world is a negotiated settlement with Iran where they give up their nuclear ambitions. Now thats why I took the decision that the UK would not join the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. And that decision was deliberate, it was in the national interest, and I stand by it. Translated from Starmer-speak, Sir Keir means he would have been just fine with the Tehran regime carrying on as before and signing up to agreements it has no intention of sticking to. In this sea of diplomatic and military humiliation for Britain, it is perhaps unsurprising to learn that our sole response to an Iranian attack on a British military base in Cyprus was for the Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, to issue a press release last night in which he announced, Today I summoned Irans Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Irans reckless actions are threatening the security of the region and the safety of British nationals and must stop. And that was it. We no longer even have the confidence to expel the ambassador of a regime which attacks our troops and our territory. Just a mild telling off is considered the most we can manage. Civis Britannicus sum is about as relevant now as, to take General Norman Schwarzkopf out of context, an accordion on a hunt. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to send more British fighter jets to the Middle East in a bid to bolster the UKs military presence in the region as the conflict continues to escalate. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, the prime minister rejected criticism from opponents and allies that Britain had not acted fast enough when fighting began, and said he stands by his decision not to join the initial strikes on Tehran over the weekend. Announcing the extra military assets being sent to the region, Sir Keir said: I can announce today that were sending four additional Typhoon jets to join our squadron in Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region. Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday, as the warship HMS Dragon is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week. Britain did not join the initial strikes on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to strike in a defensive capacity (PA) The move comes on the sixth day of a conflict between Iran and the US, which has dragged in countries across the Middle East and beyond. Britain did not join the initial strikes on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to strike in a defensive capacity. Sir Keir called for de-escalation on Thursday, as he reiterated the need for a negotiated settlement with Iran over their nuclear ambitions. It comes as Britain has been facing criticism for failing to have enough military assets in the Middle East after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone over the weekend. The prime minister has faced harsh words from the US president, who said he is no Winston Churchill, while Cypruss high commissioner to the UK said a British military presence to defend the island was the least we expect, in a criticism of the UKs approach to managing the war. Four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar (UK MOD) But Sir Keir rejected such criticism, insisting the UK had been preparing for the possibility of conflict long before Israeli and US strikes began, by deploying additional military capabilities to the region to defend our interests. He also said the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement, telling reporters: Look, the special relationship is in operation right now. Were working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region, the US and the British, working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where were jointly located, and were sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. Starmer insisted the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement (PA) That is the special relationship. That is a special relationship in operation, and clearly, its for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest the right decisions for the US. Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Mr Trump since Saturday evening, but added: Were sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. That is the special relationship. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sir Keir also announced that the first government-chartered flight from Oman to Britain had finally taken off, after it was delayed from doing so overnight. He said more than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, and that a further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK on Thursday. Sir Keir revealed he had chaired a Cobra meeting on Thursday, and acknowledged that people across the UK are worried sick about their family and friends who are caught up in this. He added: I want to reassure the British public about the action that we are taking while the region has been plunged into chaos. My focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest. A 22-year-old man randomly killed three women he did not know during a violent murder spree in a rural Utah community before stealing their cars and credit cards because he said he needed money to get back to Iowa, prosecutors say. Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was taken into custody on Thursday in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, some 370 miles from the scene of the crimes in Wayne County, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. Police said Miller had a handgun and a large knife with him when he was arrested. Miller told FBI agents it had to be done but he did not like to do it, according to charging documents. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder for the murders of three women one who was in her 80s who was found dead at her home in Lyman, and two women who were going hiking together on the Cockscomb Trail at the Capitol Reef National Park. None has yet been publicly identified. The 22-year-old allegedly told the FBI he had hit an elk in Utah days earlier and sold his truck to a tow company before deciding he needed a new vehicle. A suspect, identified as Ivan Miller, is in custody in Colorado on weapons charges, after two women were found dead near a trail on Wednesday afternoon, and a third woman was found dead inside a nearby home in Utah (Archuleta County Detention Center) He reportedly spent the night in the back shed of the woman in her 80s in Lyman and later saw her drive away in a Buick Lesabre. He then waited for her inside the house, hiding behind the door, and after she returned and sat down to watch television shot her in the back of the head, prosecutors say. After allegedly dragging her body to the basement of an out-building he drove away, but decided he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle. It was allegedly at this point that he saw two women getting out of a white Subaru at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park. The charging documents claim he shot one of the women dead and then shot and stabbed the other before dragging their bodies to a ditch. Miller said he did it because he needed money. Miller said that he took their credit cards and used the older womans card to buy gas. Miller said that his intent was to get back to Iowa, the charges say. Miller confessed that it had to be done but he did not like to do it. The two women, one in her 30s and one in her 60s, were found by their husbands who had gone to the scene to look for them. They raised the alarm and police found the first vehicle not far from the scene, which led them to the murder scene in Lyman. The body of a woman in her 80s was found at a home in Lyman, Utah. The suspect apparently fled her home in her car (FOX13) Authorities said the suspect killed the woman at her home in Lyman and then killed two women at a trailhead at Capitol Reef National Park near Teasdale, Utah (AP) Lt. Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, told The Independent that was no indication that Miller had any connection with any of the women. It does not appear that these women were specifically targeted other than the convenience of the suspect stealing their vehicles, Roden said. Following the discovery of the bodies, an urgent manhunt was launched, with police appealing for information about the victims stolen vehicle, a 2022 White Subaru Outback with license plate U560YF. Police made the arrest after tracking the Subaru from the trailhead in Utah through Arizona and into Colorado. The car was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, which led police to the suspect. The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah and into northern Arizona before it was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, Roden confirmed. The suspect was arrested without incident at 2.40 a.m. on Thursday morning after a brief search of the area and was found to have a concealed handgun and large knife, the Pagosa Springs Police Department said. It was not immediately clear where he was when he was arrested. He was being held at the Archuleta County Detention Center on a weapons charge before the homicide charges. Roden said they dont know how long the suspect may have been in Wayne County, or how he got to the area, but investigators are working to piece together a timeline. Miller was reportedly scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to KSL. The killings rattled the sparsely populated county, where officials urged residents to remain indoors, lock their doors and keep lights on overnight while the suspect was still being sought. The Wayne County School District canceled classes for the rest of the week out of an abundance of caution and concern for student and public safety. Officials said counselors will be available to support students when schools reopen. After the murders of two women at the national park, the suspect then fled the state, sparking an hours long manhunt, police say (AP) Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright told FOX13: Our community is grieving today following the tragic deaths of three women in Wayne County yesterday. On behalf of the Town of Torrey, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, closeknit community." After the suspect was taken into custody in Colorado on Thursday, officials said there is no longer an ongoing threat to the public and no suspects remain outstanding. The Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab continued processing crime scenes Thursday in the communities of Torrey, Utah and Lyman, Utah. Wayne County, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, is a gateway for visitors heading to nearby national parks including Capitol Reef National Park. Sweeping new changes to UK visas have been announced by the Home Secretary in a bid to prevent unacceptably high abuse of Britains immigration system. Shabana Mahmood has revealed visa suspensions for some countries and new rules for others as part of wider immigration reforms. Earlier this week, Ms Mahmood said unprecedented visa bans were being placed on four countries - Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan - after asylum applications soared. On Thursday she confirmed further changes. Visit visas will now be needed for citizens of Nicaragua and St Lucia travelling to the UK. Visa free entry for the two nations had created a back door into this country, Ms Mahmood said after a growing number of people from Nicaragua and St Lucia began claiming asylum in Britain when they arrived. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood delivers a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research (PA Wire) The Government will end all sponsored study visas for migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals. It comes after UK asylum applications by students from the nations rocketed by over 470% between 2021 and 2025, the Home Office said. During a speech at the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) on Thursday, Ms Mahmood said: I am suspending certain visa routes for a further four countries - Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan - where abuse has been unacceptably high. I will also impose visit visas on Nicaragua and St Lucia as their visa-free entry has created a back door into this country. I introduce all of these measures in an attempt to bring our systems of legal migration and asylum into line with this partys values: Upholding our international responsibilities while securing our own borders. Fair, but firm. Compassionate, but controlled. Rights earned through responsibilities fulfilled. Integration expected and encouraged. And contribution to our national life a necessity, not an option. Ms Mahmood unveiled a set of new immigration measures during her speech, which included throwing migrants who break the law or work illegally out of Government-funded accommodation and paying failed failed asylum seeking families up to 40,000 to leave Britain. The Home Secretary's policy shift comes after she visited Denmark, where a social democratic-led government has drastically reduced the number of asylum applications to the lowest number in 40 years and removed 95% of rejected asylum seekers. She said that one in 30 people currently in the UK came to the country between 2021 and mid-2024 and used this as an example of the recent impact on the population of net migration. Ms Mahmood said that "between 2021 and the 2024 general election", the previous Conservative government "oversaw net migration of two-and-a-half million". She was referring to net migration from July 2020 to June 2024: a timespan that covers four consecutive 12-month periods, beginning with the year to June 2021 and running up to and including the year to June 2024, just ahead of the general election on July 4 2024. An estimated 4,750,000 people immigrated long-term to the UK during this time, while an estimated 2,246,000 emigrated from the country, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The difference between these two numbers - immigration minus emigration - is 2,504,000, Ms Mahmood said: "In just four years, this country experienced levels of migration it had previously seen across four decades." Three injured after plane crashes into backyard of Phoenix home A small aircraft crashed into two homes in Phoenix on Wednesday, injuring three people, authorities have confirmed. The Piper P-28 aircraft first struck a property, tearing off one of its wings, which landed on the roof. It then continued its descent, coming to rest nose-down beside a swimming pool in the backyard of a second residence. A student pilot and flight instructor, who were on board, sustained minor cuts and burns. They were transported to the hospital alongside a man from one of the affected homes, according to Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Todd Keller. Captain Keller told azfamily.com: "Fortunately, everyone was OK." Plane Strikes Homes (ABC15 Arizona via AP) The crash occurred around 7:20 a.m. on March 4 near the intersection of Cave Creek Road and Deer Valley Drive. The plane was headed to the nearby Deer Valley Airport when it crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. Working professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers, and technology leaders are invited to help evaluate achievements across Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital transformation, and emerging technologies SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Globee Awards, organizers of merit-based and data-driven business recognition programs with worldwide acceptance and industry-wide participation, invite qualified industry experts from around the world to apply to serve on the judging panel for the Globee Awards for Technology. Professionals interested in volunteering to help recognize achievements in technology may apply at: https://globeeawards.com/technology/ Industry experts are selected to serve on the judging panel based on their professional background, relevant technology expertise, and demonstrated experience in their respective fields. Each application is carefully reviewed to assess alignment between an applicant's credentials and the evaluation categories. Selection is not guaranteed, as only a limited number of judges are appointed for each awards cycle. Working professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers, startup founders, IT leaders, product managers, researchers, consultants, and business executives with relevant experience are encouraged to volunteer. Judges play a critical role in evaluating submissions from individuals, teams, startups, enterprises, government agencies, and public sector organizations worldwide. Judging is conducted through a structured and transparent scoring process. Winners are determined solely by the average scores provided by selected industry professionals and business leaders serving on the panel, ensuring objective and peer-driven recognition. About the Globee Awards The Globee Awards organize merit-based, data-driven business recognition programs with worldwide acceptance and industry-wide participation. Across ten award programs, achievements by individuals, teams, products and services, companies, brands, and government organizations are evaluated through independent peer review conducted by qualified industry professionals and business leaders worldwide. Follow: @globeeawards Hashtags: #GlobeeAwards #TechnologyAwards #ArtificialIntelligence #Cybersecurity #CloudComputing #DigitalTransformation #TechInnovation #EngineeringLeadership #MeritBasedAwards #GlobalRecognition All trademarks belong to their respective owners. SOURCE Globee Awards We all have funny little routines and games we like to do with our pets. Weird little things we somehow stumbled upon that they seem to enjoy, but would be mortifying to us if witnessed by the general public. For the sake of contributing an example, I shall sacrifice myself and make a humiliating admission. My big, tough, 104 lb. German Shepherd -- who is my sworn guardian and protector-has a thing for the "This Little Piggie." Yep, it's true and I indulge him. We do the piggies with his front paw and when the piggie goes "Wee, wee, wee" at the end, I tickle his tummy and scratch it, and he looks at me adoringly and it's very... bonding. So, there! Lucky for us, people put their "antics" on the internet now and again for us to enjoy. TikTok user @itsbearandbunnyy likes to play pretend doctor with his super adorable Chihuahua, complete with make-believe scalpels and stitches, and, hilariously enough, the little pup seems genuinely concerned about their own well-being the whole time. WHEW! That was a nail-biter. So relieved she came out of that one OK. That last fake scalpel cut looked a little deep. TikTok was *not* happy, citing irresponsible behavior by the medical team all over the place. One commenter complained, "No anesthesia is WILD!" Another added, "Just out here committing HIPAA violations left and right." More righteous indignation kept piling up: "He over here performing surgery with NO GLOVES?" "NO FACE MASKS AND YOU'RE KISSING THE PATIENT?!!! SMH" Only a few came out in defense of the team and procedure: "Im a vet. Surgery noises are 100% accurate. As is the post-op nurse's voice with kisses," replied one viewer. Another added: "Your bedside manner is top-notch. A paw-fect 10!" It Could Always Be Worse An imaginary medical procedure sounds downright blissful compared to this dog, who has to go through a highly invasive TSA screening every single night: LOL! Hope that pup has TSA PreCheck... Anyone who has pet routines knows that they become sacred pretty quickly regardless of any humiliation or ridiculousness. Once your beloved four-legged baby decides they enjoy it, you're a lifer. Judging by this tiny Chihuahua's cooperation, this dad has a lot of nights of playing doctor left. Luckily, these are the type of appointments he'll probably be happy and eager to keep. SIGN UP to get pawsitivity delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here. During almost two decades of experiencing excruciating pain that has driven her to A&E multiple times, Monica Thomas has been dismissed, accused of lying and faking it. From the age of 15, Ms Thomas, 34, says she has faced a battle to find the cause of worsening pain in her pelvis, bowel and eventually her lungs. Not having her pain taken seriously even led her to question herself, until, finally, she got a diagnosis of endometriosis 17 years later. Ive been accused of being a drug seeker, Ive been accused of lying, Ive just not been believed, Ive genuinely felt crazy throughout this process, she said. Ms Thomas is one of 1.5 million women in the UK with the condition that causes cells similar to those found in the lining of the womb to grow elsewhere in the body. Symptoms can include pelvic pain, painful periods, heavy periods, pain when going to the toilet or having sex, and fatigue. Her experience of problems with diagnosis comes as recent polling from the charity Endometriosis UK suggests the average woman waits nearly 10 years for a diagnosis up from eight in 2020. While the majority of women with endometriosis experience pain within the pelvic area, up to 12 per cent can experience it elsewhere in the body. In Ms Thomass case, when she gets a flare-up, she experiences it in her lungs and diaphragm. It took 17 years to diagnose Monica Thompsons endometriosis (Monica Thomas) She said: It is a stabbing, sharp pain in my chest, [it feels] like my lungs are stuck like a pulling sharp sensation. Her specific condition is called thoracic endometriosis and causes tissue in other parts of the body to build up and then shed, as it would in the womb during a womans period. It can result in chest pain, blood in the chest cavity and cause those who have it to cough up blood. In severe cases, it can lead to a collapsed lung. Ms Thomas said the breakthrough in her diagnosis was a huge turning point. Throughout these years of going to A&E, I didnt know what it was, I wasnt diagnosed with endometriosis I got to the point where I doubted myself so much. It got to the crunch point when I was told by [a health professional] that I was faking it. I was brought in by ambulance, and at the time I was really in pain and thought something serious was going on with me, one of the medical professionals came and said in front of me, shes always faking this. Thomson has been admitted to hospital on multiple occasions (Supplied) Ms Thomas finally got her diagnosis in 2024 of endometriosis and adenomyosis, a condition where the lining of the womb grows in the muscle. However, she said she faced further challenges when she asked doctors if the condition could also be causing her chest pain. The response she claimed she received from one doctor was endometriosis doesnt grow in the chest. Ms Thomas said she was refused a referral for further investigation, so she turned to a private doctor, who found lesions in her diaphragm. She then underwent specialist tests to confirm the presence of thoracic endometriosis. She now faces a further wait for treatment and has been told she might not have surgery to remove the tissue that is causing the pain for another year. She said: Its already getting worse. Its often just described as bad periods... its a whole body disease; it genuinely does affect the whole body. Thomas has started a local charity supporting other women with endometriosis (Supplied) Speaking on The Independents Well Enough podcast, Dr Raj Arora said the condition was a complex one that is often misunderstood. She said: Endometriosis historically has been understood as a gynaecological condition, and it's essentially where cells are similar. Its not the same, but similar. So the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterus. They can actually grow on your bladder, your bowels, even nerves, for example, the limbs, and they may even grow on your lungs. So, actually, although historically the condition has been seen as a gynaecological condition, it is quite complex, and now we are starting to see it more as a whole systemic condition, which, for me, is exactly where it should be placed. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: Waiting nearly a decade for an endometriosis diagnosis is unacceptable. Stories like Monicas show just how badly women with painful conditions have been let down. We are determined to change that. We are renewing the Womens Health Strategy, improving training for new doctors and, through our 10-Year Health Plan, we are cutting waiting times for gynaecology services so women get diagnosed and treated sooner. Endometriosis will also be prioritised through NHS Online a new online hospital service giving patients access to expert care from home. Tens of thousands of Britons stranded in the Iran war zone were warned it will be some days before they can get out as the Government focuses first on rescuing vulnerable people. Middle East minister Hamish Falconer told the Commons: My department is understandably focused on the vulnerable and those in harms way. We will make sure that everybody who is stuck gets home. But Im afraid that many of our friends and countrymen across the world who are facing disruption are likely to do so for some days. The global aviation system is responsive and fast but given the scale of disruption it may take yet a little while longer. More than 138,000 British citizens, the vast majority in the UAE, have registered with the Foreign Office so they can get help leaving the Iran war zone. MPs warned of sky-high ticket prices for seats on planes leaving the Gulf and urged the Government to intervene to ensure passengers are not ripped off, with exorbitant prices also being charged by some hotels. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer (PA Wire) Mr Falconer added: There are going to be a considerable number of British nationals who will be so understandably frustrated, anxious, worried about the costs they are accruing both in the region and the opportunity cost to for them not being back in the UK as expected. We will do everything we can do get people back as swiftly and safety as possible. Earlier the first Government rescue flight to bring vulnerable people out of the Middle East was described as a total shambles after it was delayed. The flight was due to take off from Muscat airport in Oman on Wednesday night. The Government-chartered flight experienced a technical issue and check-in times for passengers reportedly exceeded four hours. It is understood problems with the internet severely delayed the flight and meant people were not able to board on time for it to depart. The flight was now expected to take off later on Thursday. One passenger who was due to travel on the flight, but wished to remain anonymous, told Sky News that people had panic attacks while on the plane on the tarmac. PAssengers have been stranded at airports across the region (REUTERS) They said: [The] check-in process took about four hours due to technical issues. We then got taken to the plane on a bus but had to stay on it for about one-and-a-half hours. No consular staff were present airside. They just left us. People started getting very agitated, banging windows, panic attacks. Another passenger told the BBC: It's a total farce. Planes chartered by other European governments have already brought citizens home. A German Lufthansa plane from Oman landed in Frankfurt on Thursday morning, while a Spanish flight also arrived in Madrid. Delays getting passengers on board the UK chartered flight were part of the reason it did not take off on Wednesday evening, said Home Office minister Alex Norris, amid claims the pilot went over his hours so could not fly the aircraft. Muscat, which is some 300 miles by road from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has emerged as a key location for people to leave the Middle East as the vast majority of commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates are cancelled due to airspace restrictions caused by the conflict. Sir Keir Starmer announced two further Government-chartered flights, one of which is expected to leave Oman on Thursday. Spanish nationals, who are trapped in the Middle East amid the US and Israeli conflict with Iran, board a military repatriation flight (via REUTERS) Two more British Airways flights will take passengers from Muscat to London Heathrow on Friday and Saturday. Qatar Airways announced it would operate "a limited number of relief flights" to European cities on Thursday, but confirmed most flights would remain suspended due to the ongoing closure of Qatari airspace. Services from Muscat would depart for London Heathrow as well as Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Why Our Town? When Newport-born thespian Michael Sheen announced last year that Thornton Wilders canonised 1938 play would be the inaugural production for his new Welsh National Theatre (an ambitious, self-funded replacement for the recently shuttered National Theatre Wales), it seemed, perhaps, an odd choice. Set in the fictional New Hampshire town of Grovers Corners, Our Town is about as Welsh as corn dogs or Super Bowl Sunday. And yet, watching Francesca Goodridges assured production at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, Im struck by just how apt a selection this was. Sheen (also the artistic director of the WNT) plays the stage manager, Our Towns fourth-wall-breaking narrator a cute metatextual idea in a play thats already full of them. He waxes lyrical to the audience, then prowls the sidelines as we witness the goings-on in Grovers Corners, a lot of which concern a teenage love affair between the sweet, oblivious George (Peter Devlin) and the bright but insecure Emily (Yasemin Ozdemir). The first two acts of Our Town are a spiriting evocation of small-town life at the beginning of the 20th century, often wise and often funny; the two sets of parents (Georges played by Sian Reese-Williams and Matthew Trevannion, Emilys by Nia Roberts and Rhodri Meilir) are particular standouts. Our Town is traditionally staged with minimal props and set decoration, and designer Hayley Grindle here does a lot with a little: flourishes that are included are purposeful and richly symbolic. (Helen Murray) Sheen is surely the plays big selling point hes all over the advertising and the Stage Manager is a role that has a lot of serious history behind it. (Previous actors to have played the part include Paul Newman, Orson Welles, and Henry Fonda.) Hes good, here, albeit entirely within his comfort zone: big, loud, and avuncular seems increasingly to be his modus operandi these days. That said, when the play returns from intermission, Sheen proves he has the nuance needed for its elegiac gut-punch of a third act. In choosing such a time-tested classic for its inaugural play, the Welsh National Theatre is, presumably, seeking to establish a sense of tradition, rooted in something old and far-reaching. Its second production, an original Welsh play by Gary Owen, will be a stark and presumably deliberate counterpoint. If theres something a little woolly about the way Our Town has been transposed to Wales the actors all use their own Welsh accents, but plenty of the specifically American references of the play remain untweaked then its ultimately a confusion that serves the plays message. Our Town was never really about Grovers Corners, USA. Its about life, in the most universal sense. And this production captures that expertly. Our Town is at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, until 28 March The Justice Department has reportedly abandoned a prospective case about the Biden administrations use of an autopen, which President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have long alleged were part of a cover-up meant to hide his predecessors cognitive decline. Veteran prosecutors were skeptical of the case to begin with and were unsure of what crime former President Joe Biden or his aides could be charged with committing, The New York Times reports, citing three unnamed people briefed on the probe. The Washington U.S. attorneys office declined a request for comment from The Independent. The abandoned investigation, which began in 2025, marks the latest stumble in the presidents campaign to launch high-profile federal investigations against his political rivals. Biden has said he made every decision under scrutiny by his critics, though he used an autopen, which are common for government officials, to sign some documents. The Justice Department has reportedly dropped a potential case into the Biden administrations use of an autopen, the latest failure in the presidents attempts to launch federal cases against his political enemies (The White House) Trump has repeatedly claimed Bidens actions, including his last-minute pardons of Biden family members including his son Hunter, are void as a result of the autopen allegations. A Republican-led House report released in October claimed the autopen allegations ranked among the greatest scandals in American presidential history, though it conceded that not one of the Committees 14 witnesses did admit that they ever had a concern about President Biden being in cognitive decline. The Constitution doesnt require a pardons be in writing or be directly signed by the president, according to legal scholars. Trump has hung a portrait of an autopen in Bidens spot on a recently erected presidential Walk of Fame in a hallway at the White House. Last month, the U.S. attorneys office in Washington, which was handling the autopen investigation, reportedly failed to secure a grand jury indictment against a group of Democratic lawmakers targeted by Trump for making a 2025 video urging military members to resist illegal orders. The office, led by Trump ally and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, reportedly pushed investigators to rapidly seek an indictment in the video case, even as investigators had only recently held early-stage discussions with lawyers. The DOJ also reportedly failed to secure an indictment against a group of lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona (pictured), who took part in a video encouraging military members to ignore illegal orders (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) She also tapped two attorneys with scant experience in federal prosecution to help bring the case. A former prosecutor who once worked in the U.S. attorneys office has called Pirros failure to win a grand jury indictment, a rarity in federal court, a major shock. The average person doesnt appreciate how stunning, the official told Politico. The rules are skewed so heavily in favor of the prosecutor that its almost comical, they added. But the public is essentially saying, We do not trust you. We are skeptical of you. In Minnesota, meanwhile, the administrations handling of the investigation into an ICE agent fatally shooting Renee Good in Minneapolis in January has prompted multiple federal prosecutors to resign. The DOJ has also failed so far to win high-profile cases against Trump critics including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been fired by Donald Trump, ending her controversial 13-month tenure at the agency behind his mass deportation agenda that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S., led to chaos in American cities and the deaths of at least three citizens. The president made his announcement on Truth Social moments before Noem appeared at a law enforcement conference in Nashville Thursday afternoon. She reportedly learned that she was being removed from the role moments before taking the stage. Noem has served us well, the president wrote. She will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to the president, who described the effort as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere. Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Her departure is effective March 31. The new initiative will be formally announced Saturday, according to Trump. I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland, he wrote. Mullin, a 48-year-old former MMA fighter who has been in the Senate since 2023, told The Independent he is excited about the opportunity. It's an honor to be nominated, he said Thursday. We're excited about it, were excited to get to work, but we still got the nomination process. Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, would be the first Native American to serve as DHS secretary. Kristi Noem has been ousted as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will be named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, according to Donald Trump (Getty) Trump hailed Mullin as a MAGA warrior who truly gets along well with people and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda. Noem is the first Cabinet member to be forced out of the administration since Trump returned to the White House last year. The former South Dakota governor was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 59-34 last January. She appeared at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference at the same time Trump posted on Truth Social, but she did not address her firing in her remarks. She mentioned that she would be with Trump in Miami this weekend. In a statement posted on X, Noem thanked the president and said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security, she said. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem has been appointed to a new role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas (Reuters) Under Noems leadership, DHS secured a mammoth budget to expand detention centers and rapidly hire federal immigration enforcement officers who are accused of surging into American cities with brutal force and jailing tens of thousands of people into detention camps across the country. She is a defendant in countless lawsuits against the administrations attempts to rapidly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people. Initial reports of her imminent departure followed two days of combative hearings in Congress this week, where the secretary faced frustration from Democrats and Republicans over the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minnesota earlier this year. Noem baselessly accused the victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti of committing domestic terrorism before any law enforcement agency investigated. Trump-aligned Republican Senator John Kennedy joined Democrats this week in trying to get the secretary to answer why she would baselessly accuse American citizens of domestic terrorism after her officers shot them at point-blank range. Noems tenure has seen the removal of thousands of immigrants, including deportations to a brutal Salvadoran prison, which she visited in March 2025 (AFP/Getty) She was also grilled over her handling of multi-million dollar contracts for an ad campaign in which she was prominently featured. Kennedy said he was troubled that DHS spent more than a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money on Noems ad campaign, which she called effective. They were effective in your name recognition, Kennedy shot back. The secretary was also unable to explain how a company connected to her own spokesperson landed a lucrative contract for work connected to that campaign. That spokesperson, now-former assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, resigned last month. Trump said he did not sign off on the $220m ad campaign, one day after Noem testified that the president supported it. I never knew anything about it, the president told Reuters Thursday. Noem, pictured riding a horse while filming an ad in October, was grilled by members of Congress over government contracts awarded to firms that developed the ad campaign (DHS/Tia Dufour) Those contracts appeared to be the final straw for the president. Kennedy told reporters Thursday that Noem was deader than fried chicken. The presidents announcement also arrived in the middle of the ongoing funding lapse at DHS. Democrats blocked a spending bill that they say does not go far enough to restrain immigration officers after Congress gave ICE billions of dollars to build detention centers and hire a small army of new recruits last year. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress and at least two Republicans previously called on Noem to resign or face impeachment. Trump, who met with Noem at the White House in January amid growing calls for her resignation after federal agents killed Good and Pretti in Minneapolis, had not previously suggested her job was at risk. The president insisted Noem was doing a very good job, he told reporters at the time. Noems 13-month tenure at DHS has been marked by sweeping arrests targeting thousands of immigrants and their families (Getty) In the weeks that followed, Noem has come under heightened scrutiny for actions in office, including questions about her close relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a chief adviser serving as a special government employee. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, tore into Noem on Tuesday following reports that she had a pilot fired when her blankie was left on a plane, only for the pilot to be rehired when Lewandowski realized there was no one else who could fly the jet. Noem has denied the report. Trump had no choice but to fire her, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote Thursday, one day after Noem appeared before the committee. Her tenure was marked by systematic constitutional violations, cruelty, corruption and deadly mismanagement, they wrote. Thats her legacy. The next Homeland Secretary has a lot of work to do to transform this lawless masked agency and regain the publics trust. Trump has selected Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin on Oklahoma to replace Noem as DHS secretary (Reuters) Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who spent several interrupted minutes during a Senate oversight hearing raging at Noem with a long list of grievances, said he welcomes Mullins nomination. During Tuesdays hearing, Tillis compared Noems tenure at the agency to her anecdote about killing a 14-month-old dog and then having the audacity to say its a leadership lesson about tough choices. Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation, Tillis wrote Thursday. Another big positive: he likes dogs. Eric Garcia contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on February 24, 2026, and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2026. US President Donald Trump on Thursday described Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as the obstacle to a deal with Russia, whose leader Vladimir Putin he insisted was cooperative. "Zelensky, he has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done," Trump said in an interview with Politico. Trump, returning to language he used during a tense White House meeting a year ago where he and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelensky, suggested that the Ukrainian leader was in a weak position and needed to make compromises. "It's unthinkable that he's the obstacle," Trump was quoted as saying. "You don't have the cards. Now he's got even less cards." Read moreHow Iran war could reshape the state of play in Russia's war on Ukraine "I think Putin is ready to make a deal," Trump said. Trump has long said that US support for Ukraine is wasteful to the United States and has spoken admirably in the past about Putin, whom he invited to Alaska in August. Trump's latest comments on Ukraine came after he launched a war with Israel against Iran on Saturday, which is estimated to have cost the United States billions of dollars already. Trump vowed to end the Ukraine war on his first day in office in January 2025 but has acknowledged that he has found the goal difficult, with Russia keeping up attacks on Ukraine. Trump has balked at taking more aggressive action against Putin, arguing that he is the only leader who can negotiate with both sides. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) The UKs construction slump deepened last month in a setback for the sector following signs of improvement at the start of 2026, with housebuilding remaining a weak spot and firms blaming rainy weather for delays. The industry which incorporates home building, commercial construction and civil engineering has been grappling with a more than year-long decline. The S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers index (PMI) showed a reading of 44.5 in February, down from Januarys seven-month high of 46.4. Any reading above the 50.0 threshold indicates that activity in the industry is increasing, while anything below means it is contracting. Februarys figure marks the 14th month in a row that activity across the sector has fallen. The latest survey marks a setback for builders after signs that they were pulling themselves out of a slump in January. Residential building remained the weakest-performing sub-sector with a score of 37.0, and the rate of decline accelerating from the month before. Commercial building, which includes things like offices and warehouses, also declined at a quicker rate, while civil engineering work declined at a slower pace. Rainy weather was persistent in some parts of the UK last month (Andrew Matthews/PA) (Andrew Matthews) There was a sharp decline in the level of new work coming in for businesses in February, although there were some reports of opportunities opening up for infrastructure and energy sector work. Some firms also said wet weather during the month delayed some work on construction sites. This winter was the wettest on records for the counties of Cornwall, Leicestershire and the West Midlands, according to provisional figures from the Met Office. Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: A sharper downturn in house building was the main factor behind the setback for UK construction activity in February, following some signs of stabilisation at the start of 2026. The reduction in output was largely due to sluggish demand conditions, but some firms also noted that exceptionally wet weather had disrupted construction projects. But he added that construction firms were hopeful of a turnaround over the year ahead, with optimism levels hitting a 14-month high last month. Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: In recent times, the PMI has provided a much too pessimistic reading on construction sector activity. This might worsen over the next few months, with corporate caution likely to rise as companies wait to see how the conflict in the Middle East progresses and monitor the implications for the price and availability of energy and other raw materials. The PMI could deteriorate further over the next few months if the conflict proves prolonged. The first flight chartered by the UK government to bring back Britons stranded in the Middle East by the US-Israeli war against Iran did not take off from Oman on Wednesday. The plane, which was due to depart Muscat at 7pm on Wednesday, was not able to take off due to technical issues, the government said. It is instead due to depart later on Thursday. Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East, and the Foreign Office has said it is working with airlines to bring them back. There was no sign of the chartered flight arriving at Heathrow airport on Thursday morning, and it did not appear on flight tracking services or arrival boards at the terminal. A spokesperson from the Foreign Office told The Independent: The UK government charter flight was not able to depart from Oman yesterday as planned due to technical issues. The flight is now expected to depart later today. Early morning arrivals included flights from South Africa and Nigeria as scheduled, but the terminal was quiet. A few commercial flights from the Middle East are due to arrive at Terminal 5 this morning, with one from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, landing just after 6am. A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian missile in Qamishli, eastern Syria (AP) A British Airways flight from Muscat, due to arrive at 6.25 this morning, is delayed until 8.13am, according to an arrival board. Flights from Doha and Dubai have been cancelled. Some of the leading trainers based in the UK believe there may be light at the end of the Prestbury Cup tunnel having been on the end of several heavy defeats in recent seasons. Since its inception in 2014, last years 20-8 victory for Ireland in the annual contest between the two nations was the latest in a long line of comfortable wins for the Emerald Isle. Bar a draw in 2019, since the Festival moved to 28 races in 2016 every other year has been an Irish success. But former champion trainer Paul Nicholls is among those who think it might not be one-way traffic this season. Nicky (Henderson) has got a good team of horses and Ive got some nice chances and theres all those good young trainers that have probably worked for me or for Nicky that are doing really well, said Nicholls. So I think were in a better place than weve been for the last few years and, looking at the betting, hopefully weve got a few good chances. I think things are going to be totally different and probably over the next few years. But you know what Willie (Mullins) is like he turns up with a huge team and theyre all ready to fire for Cheltenham. Henderson concurs that the home team looks stronger than it has for some time. He said: I think the English squad is definitely stronger than it has been in previous years so I hope between us we can raise a bit of a fight. I think we can. Take the King George, there were two English and two Irish fighting it out and any of those four could win a Gold Cup or wherever they go. The stupid thing is Fact To File was out the back and now hes come back and is at the front again. Its going to be very open and I hope we can do a bit better this year what with all that Paul, Ben (Pauling) and Dan (Skelton) have got and everybody else to try and stop the export. Skelton seems certain to make his mark during the week, with big Champion Hurdle hope The New Lion headlining his team. He said: Its only a few years ago when England was the poor relation and we didnt have these competitors. Im very proud of the fact that a lot of us (British) trainers responded positively to that and have pushed on to the point where we are now with more to come. Its not necessarily the sourcing of them or the training of them or the placing of them, its a bit of everything. Incrementally if you add up all the percentage differences youre going to get a slightly bigger percentage at the end of it. Pauling himself is taking his strongest ever squad, headed by Gold Cup hope The Jukebox Man. We are very aware of how dominant the Irish have been and how many quality horses they have got so all this chat about the British making a resurgence is half through the desire to be more competitive, but I do believe weve got a lot of nice horses and more competitive horses coming through, said Pauling. Its been a long time coming to a point where we think we can be competitive. The Prestbury Cup whos going to win it? More than likely itll be the Irish but it might only be by two or three and not 15. Its important we keep trying to improve and find better horses and its important that we stay competitive because the whole sport needs us to be. I realise how good the Irish are and Im a huge fan of Gordons (Elliott), of Willies and of Henrys (de Bromhead). They turn up time and time again and just hit Cheltenham running. Thats where weve got to get to. Weve got Nicky and Paul, but its now down to the younger brigade. Savor Innovative Caviar Dishes, Champagne Experiences, and Caribbean Elegance DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hammock Cove Antigua, part of Elite Island Resorts, is partnering with Golden Goat Caviar, supplier of the world's finest caviar, for the first Hammock Cove Antigua Golden Goat Caviar Pop-Up Weekend. Marking the premium caviar's Antigua debut, guests will indulge in a decadent holiday beginning Thursday, May 7, through Sunday, May 10, 2026. A highlight of Antigua's annual Culinary Month, the curated collaboration brings Golden Goat Caviar to the forefront, offering guests inventive dishes featuring caviar, bespoke cocktails, and indulgent beachfront moments. Hammock Cove Antigua Golden Goat Caviar Golden Goat Caviar "I've followed Golden Goat Caviar from its early days as an invite-only membership club to its role in leading the 'caviar on everything' movement - from celebrity weddings to headline-grabbing creations like the $100 Caviar Hotdog at the Miami Open," said Kari Tarnowski, Chief Commercial Officer of Elite Island Resorts. "Golden Goat Caviar is a perfect partner for Hammock Cove Antigua to celebrate Culinary Month, and I look forward to our guests enjoying the playful decadence of caviar at Hammock Cove." During the Hammock Cove Antigua popup weekend, the Golden Goat Caviar team will work with the resort's culinary team, led by Michelin-trained Chef Marco Festini Cromer, to craft customized caviarforward menus and immersive dining activations that showcase both classic and inventive preparations. Weekend highlights include: Golden Goat Caviar Pop-Up - Guests can enjoy caviar incorporated across multiple dishes, paired with fine beverages at Irina's Bistro. Billionaire Burger Box / Hot Dog Beach Party - Casual seaside fun with elevated comfort food and island vibes. Seven-course menu at Lighthouse Restaurant, with caviar featured in each dish. Inaugural Bumps on the Beach Champagne & Caviar experience. Golden Goat Bagel experience highlighting caviar at breakfast. With only 102 guests staying in five-star luxury villas, Hammock Cove's intimate, three-tier pool, white-sand beach, and boardwalk overlooking the calm, turquoise waters of a protected cove provide the setting and backdrop for these unique events. "At Golden Goat Caviar, we're always looking to expand exceptional caviar into unforgettable experiences, and Hammock Cove Antigua will be an idyllic Caribbean setting for our first island pop-up," said Keith Glickman, Managing Partner of Golden Goat Caviar. "We are enthused to collaborate with the Hammock Cove and Elite Island Resorts' team to introduce our passion for caviar to Antigua." Caviar is expanding beyond traditional luxury plates into creative culinary experiences that resonate with modern diners. According to a report by Grand View Research, Inc., the global caviar market is projected to grow through 2030 as demand rises for premium gourmet ingredients in hospitality and fine dining, driven by increased interest in quality sourcing and specialty food experiences. Reporting also shows that chefs and event professionals are elevating caviar through innovative pairings and service formats, incorporating it into experiential dishes, interactive tastings, and unexpected presentations that blend sophistication with a sense of fun. These broader trends make Golden Goat's pop-up partnership at Hammock Cove Antigua timely, offering guests an opportunity to enjoy caviar in formats that reflect culinary creativity. Antigua Culinary Month: The pop-up weekend coincides with Antigua Culinary Month, an annual celebration highlighting the island's culinary traditions, local flavors, and innovative chefs. Throughout May, travelers can enjoy tasting menus, immersive food experiences, and casual local treats, showcasing Antigua's vibrant gastronomy and island culture. To celebrate Culinary Month and this delicious partnership with Golden Goat Caviar, Hammock Cove Antigua is offering travelers a $500 instant savings when booking their May trip by March 31, 2026. To book this exclusive experience, call 800-858-4618, visit www.hammockcoveantigua.com or contact your travel advisor. See photos here . About Golden Goat Caviar: Golden Goat Caviar is a premium, meticulously crafted caviar served in Michelin-starred kitchens and luxury hotels worldwide, redefining modern luxury through exceptional craftsmanship, sustainability, and refined flavor. Produced in small batches and sourced exclusively from sustainable, fully traceable farms, the brand is known for its pristine pearls, refined flavor profiles, and uncompromising craftsmanship. With signature offerings such as Classic Ossetra, Kaluga, Ossetra Royal, the Prestige Collection Tasting Tin, and innovative creations like 24 Karat Gold Ossetra and Caviar Bump Kits, Golden Goat Caviar delivers a contemporary, ethical expression of indulgence designed for both culinary professionals and elevated everyday enjoyment. For more information visit www.goldengoatcaviar.com. About Hammock Cove Antigua: Hammock Cove Antigua is a five-star, adults-only, all-inclusive resort on Antigua's northeast coast, overlooking Devil's Bridge National Park and the Caribbean Sea. A multi-year winner of TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award, the resort features private villas with indoor-outdoor living spaces, plunge pools, and contemporary Caribbean decor, along with two signature restaurants offering Caribbean and Continental cuisine, sommelier-curated wine selections, and signature cocktails. Guests can enjoy wellness and spa treatments, non-motorized water sports, and personalized service from dedicated guest ambassadors, all designed to provide an exclusive and serene island retreat. Media Contact Alliance Connection, Inc. Malaika Hollis [email protected] SOURCE Hammock Cove Antigua Teslas factory near Grunheide employs 10,000 workers. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images (Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Europes largest trade union has said it will continue to fight for the rights of workers at Elon Musks Tesla factory near Berlin, despite failing in its attempt to secure control of the plants works council. IG Metall had hoped to gain majority rights on the elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with company management. But after the three-day vote, which ended on Wednesday, it came second to the non-unionised group Giga United, which won 24 out of 37 seats, with IG Metalls list securing the remaining 13 seats. Laura Arndt, the lead candidate of the century-old union, acknowledged defeat, but said IG Metall would continue to play a close role in defending the rights of workers at the factory. Unfortunately it was not enough to secure a majority we will continue to do our utmost in the new works council to bring about change for us and our colleagues at the gigafactory, she said. The unusually heated battle had pitted the carmakers management against the union and was marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander. The union had said its struggle was as much against the existential threat posed by multinational conglomerates as it was about the workers at the plant. It accused Tesla of wanting to bust the union. The US electric carmaker said the union was threatening to dent economic growth not just at the plant, but across Germany, and accused it of using the fight to boost membership. IG Metall has the majority on works councils at all other German carmakers, such as BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes, but has been kept the weaker party at the Tesla gigafactory, which opened in 2022, the only Tesla production plant in Europe. Musk has been outspoken against unions, including on visits to the plant in Grunheide, which employs 10,000 workers. He hinted recently on a video call that the industrial relations row might influence future investment plans for the plant, south-east of Berlin. Tensions reached a peak last month when Teslas management accused an IG Metall member of secretly recording a works council meeting. The union denied the accusation, calling it a calculated lie. Both sides took legal action against each other over the claims. The next works council vote at the plant is due to take place in 2028. American Airlines will become the first U.S. airline to resume flights to Venezuela (American Airlines) American Airlines is poised to become the first U.S. airline to resume flights to Venezuela, having secured approval on Wednesday. The airline announced its intent to restore the service in January on the same day that President Donald Trump ordered the Transportation Department to open up commercial airspace over that country. The directive followed a US military raid that led to the removal of then-President Nicolas Maduro. Even though the State Department continues to warn Americans not to travel to Venezuela, the government cleared the way for American Airlines to begin scheduling flights there. American Airlines was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela when in 2019 it suspended flights between Miami and the capital, Caracas, as well as the oil hub city of Maracaibo. American Airlines announced its intent to restore service to Venezuela in January (AP) The airline said the details of which flights it will schedule between the United States and Venezuela weren't immediately available. The plan could allow Venezuelans and Americans to resume vacationing in each other's home countries like they used to do regularly before diplomatic relations fell apart between the two countries in 2019. The airline said when it announced this plan in January that this would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities. Gen Dan Caine at a press briefing at the Pentagon on 2 March in Washington. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP (Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP) Top military officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday that they may not be able to shoot down every Iranian drone being launched against US military installations and assets in retaliatory attacks, according to two people familiar with the matter. The officials, led by the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said Iran has been deploying thousands of one-way attack drones, and while the US military has capacity to take down the vast majority, it cannot intercept all of them. As a result, the officials said in a classified briefing for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the US was focused on destroying the launch sites for the drones and conventional missiles as quickly as possible. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details. Related: Pentagon releases names of final two soldiers of six killed in Kuwait In retaliation against US strikes, Iran has been launching its low-cost, one-way attack Shahed drones. By flying low and slow, the drones are better able to evade conventional air defenses than ballistic missiles. A senior administration official said Irans apparent drone strategy to get the US to sacrifice its most sophisticated Patriot and Thaad interceptors was misguided and unsuccessful because the US has been downing the drones with several different measures. Still, top Democrats in Congress have expressed concerns that the US has been burning through interceptors to defend against ballistic missiles launched by Iran. Caine acknowledged that concern, a person familiar with the matter said, even as he expressed confidence in stockpile levels in public. We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense, Caine said at a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday morning, although he offered no details or specifics. The high rate of fire has been expensive. In the first days of the war, the US spent about $2bn per day, although that figure has dropped to closer to $1bn and is expected to fall further as the conflict continues, according to a person familiar with a preliminary defense department analysis. A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the joint chiefs of staff declined to comment due to operations security. On Monday night, Trump wrote on social media that the US could sustain its rate of fire indefinitely, saying the stockpile of medium and upper medium grade munitions was virtually unlimited. Still, he conceded that weapons at the highest end were not where we want them to be. At a press briefing on Wednesday, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the US had more than enough weapons to wage an extended war with Iran and claimed Trumps post had been criticizing the Biden administrations decision to send weapons to Ukraine. We have weapon stockpiles in places that many in this world dont even know about, Leavitt said. The president was pointing out that, unfortunately, we had a very stupid and incompetent leader in this White House for four years who gave away many of our best weapons for nothing. A day before the US and Israel launched their aerial attack on Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the former shah, posted a message on social media seeking to amend his earlier castigation of an Iranian Kurdish coalition as separatists with a contemptible agenda. His effort backfired, unleashing a stream of satirical ripostes that underscored the challenges of leading a country with no history of genuine representative democracy. The public wrangle kicked off last month after five dissident Iranian Kurdish parties announced the formation of a coalition against the Islamic regime in Tehran. Pahlavi slammed the initiative as a threat to Irans territorial integrity, raising alarm bells among Kurds seeking democratic rights denied to them under the Islamic and Pahlavi regimes. Eager to redress the messaging mishap, Pahlavi then proceeded to post a video featuring him at the centre of a group of mostly unknown men, described as members of the great family of Iran, looking on silently as he declared his commitment to ending all discrimination. His attempt was dismissed in many circles of Irans fractured opposition, with some social media posts superimposing clown figures on the gathering while others offered cartoons of the Pahlavi red line rhetoric. That was before Operation Epic Fury plunged the Middle East into colossal uncertainty as the US scrambles to articulate a day-after plan for Iran. By Day Four of the war, Irans Kurds were receiving an outreach with far more serious implications. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump had a phone call with the head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), the largest of the five parties in the Kurdish coalition, according to news reports. Two days earlier, Trump spoke to Iraqi Kurdish leaders in the semi-autonomous region, where Iranian Kurdish armed groups have peshmerga fighters along the Iran-Iraq border. The CIA was also working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, CNN reported. Mobilised, armed and with cohesive leadership structures, Irans once-overlooked Kurdish minority are in the spotlight as the countrys future hangs in the balance. The Kurds of the Middle East have been wooed by Washington at different times, on different sides of borders that separate them, with different results. Some have been disastrous. The question now for Irans Kurds is whether history is set to be repeated or if its lessons will be heeded. Armed, mobilised, ready to deploy From their mountainous heartland in Irans northwestern border region, the Kurds who make up between 10 to 17% of the countrys 93 million population have a long history of resisting Tehran. Their opposition to the current regime dates back to the 1979 revolution, when the predominantly Sunni community launched an armed uprising against the Shiite Islamist regime. Over the course of nearly half-a-century, Kurdish parties with different acronyms and ideologies, many with armed wings based on the Iraqi side of the border, have managed to withstand Tehrans efforts to decimate any political opposition. The difference between Iranian Kurdistan and rest of the country is the connection between these parties and the people. If you look at the Kurdish region of Iran, the majority of families have lost at least one member in the war against the Islamic regime. So they are already part of this movement, explained Shukriya Bradost, a Middle East security expert who has studied the history of Irans Kurds. The effectiveness of Kurdish mobilisation was visible during the December-January protests, when the streets of Irans cities, towns and villages turned into bloodbaths as the regime unleashed a crackdown on an unprecedented scale. Watch moreIran, massacre under a blackout As waves of unorganised demonstrators got mowed down by military grade weapons, seven Kurdish political parties came together to issue a joint call for a general strike on January 8. Other ethnic minority provinces joined the strike call, grinding the economy to a halt and keeping their communities off the streets. Read morePersian cities feel the pain of the Kurdish regions The Kurdish mobilisation maintained momentum in the following weeks and months, with party leaders holding coalition talks. By the time Trumps military armada had deployed to the region, five of the seven Kurdish parties that organised the January 8 strike managed to form a coalition with a political platform and agenda. The Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, launched on February 22, incorporates the largest Kurdish party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), whose fighters took part in battles in Iraq against the Islamic State (IS) group. It also includes the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed group that joined the Syrian Kurdish YPG (Peoples Defence Units) linked to the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that joined the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fight against the IS group in Syria. Their history of dealing with the US and negotiating majority communities seeking centralised states have taught the Kurds valuable lessons. But in the Iran theatre today, the challenges are enormous, and with Israel seeking to redraw the map of the Middle East, the outcomes are far from certain. Tactical activation, not a strategic partnership Trumps outreach to the Iranian Kurdish opposition based in Iraqi Kurdistan began on Sunday, a day after the launch of Operation Epic Fury, with a phone call to the leaders of the two main Kurdish factions in Iraq Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, according to reports. It was followed by a conversation the next day with KDPI chief Mustafa Hijri, CNN reported. While the phone calls made headlines, experts were keeping expectations in check. It looks like a tactical activation, not a strategic partnership, said Guney Yildiz, senior adviser on geopolitics and strategic insights at the Anthesis-Wallbrook Group. The CIA went through everyone else first MEK [the dissident Mojahedin e-Khalq], monarchists, diaspora groups and none of them have serious organisational reach inside the country. The Kurds and the Baloch do. So, this is what's left after every other option was eliminated, he added. "The problem is that tactical activations end when the tactical need ends." A vast, multi-ethnic country, Iran shares land borders with seven other countries, with minority groups located in the border areas. The majority ethnic Persians, comprising more than 50% of the population, are predominantly based in the central region while the Azeris (around 24%) and Kurds have heartlands in the north. Other minorities include the Lurs (around 17%) and Arabs (2%) in southwestern Iran, including the oil-rich Khuzestan province bordering Iraq. The Baloch (2%) are another important group in the Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan. At least four of them have armed groups the Kurds, the Baloch, the Arabs and the Lurs. And you're seeing very clearly among these various ethnic minorities, the thinking, if not preparation, for a situation in which Iran further destabilises, said James Dorsey, adjunct senior fellow at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Crackdown by a weakened regime starts For Irans Kurds, the US-Israeli war against the Islamist regime could be a pivotal moment in their history. They've been waiting for this moment for four decades. But they also have concerns about the future of the war and what will happen after the death of [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei, said Bradost. The most immediate concern is a vicious crackdown in the Kurdish areas if the regime, battered but not beaten, reverts to standard operating procedures. If the Iranian regime has a retaliation against any part of the country, the Kurdish region will be the first, Bradost explained. That scenario was already unfolding within the first week of the war. On Thursday, the Iranian military said it targeted headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq, according to Iranian state media. It could all go horribly wrong for the Kurds, which is why their leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan have pushed the Trump administration for guarantees, explained Dorsey. Iranian Kurds said, among other things, we want you to have boots on the ground. But even more importantly, we want a no-fly zone. We want to see commitment, because there's been enough Kurdish experience with the US and Israeli support that ended with the Kurds being hung out to dry, he said. The Iranian intelligence ministry, in its statement on regime operations in the Kurdish areas on Thursday, said Iranian forces were cooperating with "noble Kurds" to thwart the "Israeli-American" plan to attack Iranian soil and fracture the nation. The statement underscores the attempts, from inside and outside Iran, to fracture communities and a populace that has repeatedly risen up to demand basic rights and liberties within a representative democratic framework. The arithmetic of tactical ties As the US-Israeli military operation grinds on without a day-after plan for Iran, the country faces the risk of fracturing along ethnic fault lines, experts note. As a matter of principle, any outcome in Iran whether that is the fragmentation of Iran as a nation state, whether that is the toppling of the regime, or change from within the regime that produces a government that's less threatening, as far as Israel is concerned, is a victory, said Dorsey. As a matter of principle, Israel encourages fragmentation, but that's not the only outcome that they would find acceptable. And the same is true for elements in the United States. The Kurds, in their long struggle against majoritarianism, have realised the dangers of demanding an independent state. Across the border in Turkey, the PKK has abandoned its separatist goals and is focused instead on more autonomy and greater Kurdish rights. Considered a terrorist group by Ankara, Washington and several European capitals, the PKK today is engaged in a long drawn-out peace process with Turkish authorities. But that didnt stop Turkey from backing the Syrian governments recent military campaign to push out Kurdish SDF forces from northern Syria. Trumps special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, even declared the SDFs purpose had "largely expired", crushing Syrian Kurdish hopes of establishing a semi-autonomous zone, which the US helped establish in Iraq. The Syrian experience hangs over the calculations of Iranian Kurdish groups today, making them more hard-nosed, according to Yildiz. They understand why America made the choices it made in Syria, even if they disagree. They're not operating on hope. They're looking at a regime that's been decapitated three times in nine months and deciding they can't afford to sit this out. Their options are: work with an unreliable partner, or watch the most consequential moment in their political lifetime pass without acting. That's not trust that's arithmetic, he said. The key variable in coming weeks and months, he noted, is whether the Iranian security apparatus holds together or fractures. The US outreach to the Kurds could end "when the tactical need ends. If this shifts to a diplomatic track or the regime stabilises, Kurdish utility to Washington drops fast. In which case, the Kurds of Iran will once again embrace the age-old adage that the Kurds have no friends but the mountains. As Israel increases its influence across the region, unchecked this time by the White House, Irans Kurds are likely to add new lessons on frenemies, in keeping with the times. New York leads more than 20 states suing Trump over new across-the-board tariffs New York Attorney General Letitia James and more than 20 other states are suing President Donald Trump to block newly imposed global tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping tariff agenda last month. Trump unlawfully imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to the Supreme Court. After that decision, the president swiftly raised worldwide tariffs to 15 percent effective immediately, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. A coalition of Democratic states argue in the new suit that the presidents use of that law is similarly illegal. Once again, President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses, James said in a statement Thursday. After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill, she added. These tariffs will only drive up the cost of living, and I will continue to uphold the rule of law to protect New Yorkers. New York Attorney General Letitia James is among more than 20 Democratic state officials suing Donald Trump's administration over his latest tariffs (GETTY IMAGES/REUTERS) The suit was filed in the U.S. International Court of Trade in Manhattan. Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act gives the president the power to impose temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for a maximum of 150 days to address serious balance-of-payments deficits or to prevent the significant depreciation of the dollar abroad. James and the coalition of Democratic states say that the president is misusing this statute to bring tariffs. They argue it was created to address specific currency crises that would arise before the end of the gold-standard fixed-rate currency exchange system in 1976. Section 122 does not grant the President authority to impose tariffs based on a trade deficit, the lawsuit says. A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit March 5 in response to Trumps revived tariff agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping levies (Getty) Trump is the first president ever to invoke Section 122. James who led a massive fraud investigation into Trumps real-estate empire has joined more than three dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House. In turn, Trump has repeatedly pushed for criminal investigations into the state attorney general, none of which have landed. Speaking from the White House briefing room after the Supreme Courts 6-3 decision, Trump raged against what he called a deeply disappointing ruling and said he was absolutely ashamed of two conservative justices he appointed who sided with the courts majority. James has led several large lawsuits against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House last year (AP) Theyre against anything that makes America strong, healthy and great again. They are also frankly a disgrace to our nation, those justices, Trump said. Theyre very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. That night, he said he was imposing a 10 percent tariff on all trading partners. Less than 24 hours later, he bumped up that rate to 15 percent based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision, he wrote on Truth Social. The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether Trump illegally imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly every trading partner under the 1977 law, which permits the president to regulate trade during unusual and extraordinary circumstances when a national emergency is declared. Trump invoked the law when he imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on most countries, in addition to heavier reciprocal tariffs that he announced last April on his so-called Liberation Day. The president argued the tariffs were a matter of national security to balance trade deficits. The tariffs a key tool in the presidents economic agenda sparked global chaos and several lawsuits from small businesses. Trump, using tariffs as leverage to extract deals with other countries, repeatedly walked back his levies and markets gradually rebounded. Hundreds of business owners across the country who were forced to absorb the cost of Trumps tariffs and then pass costs to consumers through higher prices have filed complaints seeking reimbursements. Approximately 1,000 complaints have been filed with the Court of International Trade in the aftermath of the Supreme Courts ruling. The US war with Iran risks leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Vladimir Putins forces, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, as Donald Trump turns his firepower on the Middle Eastern country. In an exclusive wide-ranging interview with The Independent, the Ukrainian president shared his concerns about the impact of the ever-growing conflict with Iran on his countrys efforts to defend against Russia. Ukraine could now face a shortage of air defence missiles to protect its cities from attacks, he said, as the US and its allies use hundreds to defend against Irans waves of drones and rockets. Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to The Independent about the impact the Iran war could have on Ukraine (The Independent) The focus will shift to the Middle East, to the Iranian war now and to the United States and also to Israel, Zelensky told the World of Trouble podcast. This is very understandable, and to the countries in the Middle East, who are now under attacks, massive attacks of drones and missiles from the Iranian side. Our estimation, of course, is that air defence [for Ukraine] could decrease. Zelensky, who has been a vocal supporter of the latest US-Israeli air campaigns in Iran and called for more support for a popular uprising earlier this year, said he has prepared his commanders to cope with the assumed shortfall in their own defences. Ukraines president was clear that he was not complaining but rather setting out the practical reality his country faces as the war against Iran continues. There are few defences against incoming ballistic missiles, which are fired in an arc, taking them into space and bringing them down at up to five times the speed of sound. Russia has been using them against Ukraine for four years. But most anti-missile systems to combat ballistic missile, notably Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area defence (THAAD) systems, are made in America and are the main defences used across the Gulf region and beyond. The US-Israeli war on Iran has engulfed the region with no clear end in sight (AFP/Getty) Theyre mostly in the United States, so they produce the air defences and of course they will control this number and they will, I think, try to hold [onto] the package of such missiles. Its understandable, Zelensky said. Kyiv now produces a vast amount of short-range drone interceptors and experts from the country are being rushed to the Gulf to advise on air defences against Irans swarms of low-tech attack missiles. But for its own defence Ukraine has been in contact with supporters around the world who buy weapons from the US to help his country, so far they had not heard back from them about how to meet the coming shortfall. My team knows about it and they now already have got the message from me that they have to prepare for such challenges, he added. Zelensky said Ukraine must prepare for the challenges ahead (AFP/Getty) Zelensky also warned of the impact of the Iran war on oil prices, as Tehran has strangled shipping routes through the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil prices have surged by almost a fifth since Iran was attacked by Israel and the US. China buys 48 per cent of Russias oil, India buys 38 per cent of it, according to data published this month by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Much of this is delivered to them around international sanctions by a shadow fleet of tankers. How Russia uses [the price boom] or not will depend on how our partners will work with the biggest importers, he said without naming any countries. The European Union remains Russias biggest gas client and many maritime nations have been reluctant to stop and seize shadow oil tankers passing their territory. Irans control of the Strait of Hormuz could end up benefiting Vladimir Putin, as it blocks the flow of oil and gas (Reuters) So thats why we have to work on it, Zelensky continued. And we have to work on, again, continue work on sanctions, on shadow fleets, to stop tankers with Russian oil. He said that he did not expect Russian attacks by drones and other missiles to be affected by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran which has been a major supplier of Shahed drones for the last four years because Russia had moved much of its production of the Iranian weapons to its own territory. Zelensky stressed that he was not critical of the US always aware that the Trump administration reacts very badly to any criticism. But he did explain that Putin had not been put under enough military and economic pressure to approach peace talks with any genuine intent. Last year Zelensky travelled to the White House to persuade Trump to allow the sale of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Europe for use by Ukraine. Zelensky lobbied Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles during a visit to the White House (AP) His efforts ultimately failed and now Tomahawks are being used in huge numbers now against Iran. Zelensky said he had seen various estimates of how many had been used against Iran 2,000? I dont know exactly in the first two days. You know how many I asked for from the United States? 200, I said or just give us 100. He said that Iran had been told by the US in negotiations in which they were told to stop the nuclear programme, stop producing and selling missiles, stop sponsoring terrorism. They [the US] said, look, if youre not ready to stop, one, two, three. They would face aggressive steps. If you are not ready [to comply], we will answer [with force]. In my case, what I proposed to all the partners was: tell Putin. One, two, three, the same steps, and then [if he does not comply] dont even help us. Just give us the weapons. Starring Jessie Buckley, new monster mashup movie The Bride! arrives in cinemas this week with the Oscar-tipped Hamnet lead playing the Bride of Frankenstein. Christian Bale plays Mary Shelleys creation in this bold new punk-inspired take that takes a minor character from the golden age of monster movies, and puts her centre stage. To be clear, the film is not connected in any way to Guillermo Del Toros recent Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi in the title role; its a different beast entirely. The promotional campaign for the film, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, has been amping up in recent weeks as studio Warner Bros. attempts to electrify some buzz around the big-budget release, but what do movie critics actually think of it? What is The Bride! about? The synopsis for The Bride! explains the plot: A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (five-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride (Buckley) is born. What ensues is beyond what either of them imagined: Murder! Possession! A wild and radical cultural movement! And outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance! Inspired by the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein, which starred Elsa Lanchester as The Monsters Mate and who had less than five minutes of screentime in the original, The Bride! is a new adaptation from Maggie Gyllenhaal, who enjoyed critical acclaim with her 2021 directorial debut The Lost Daughter. The film represents a huge leap in expectation, as it has Gyllenhaals biggest budget to date, with a reported cost of $80-90m (60-67m). Its also undergone extensive reshoots, but Warner Bros. studio head Pamela Adby defended the movies budget telling Variety, This idea that Maggie doesnt deserve to have a big budget? Its not cool. Do you know how many men make lower-budgeted movies and then go on to have huge budgets? What critics liked Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (Warner Bros.) With film critics now publishing their reviews of The Bride!, the film appears to be getting a fairly mixed reaction from those in the know. Writing for Deadline, film critic Pete Hammond compared the movie to Bonnie & Clyde, punk biopic Sid & Nancy, and even the 2024 flop Joker: Folie a Deux, but reserved special praise for Jessie Buckley. It is clear Buckley is the kind of generational talent you simply cannot take your eyes away from, Hammond says. It is a performance with no guard rails, no nets, and no fear. She nails it. In his review for The Wrap, critic William Bibbiani called Christian Bale one of the best Frankenstein Monsters, while also praising Buckleys as officially the ultimate version of The Bride of Frankenstein. Gyllenhaals film is an inspired assault on the senses, a furious miasma of creativity and gall, he adds. Buckley anchors this thing, delivering a full and nuanced performance which also requires nay, demands that she run rampant. Another fan of the film is The Evening Standards India Block, who writes, Maggie Gyllenhaal has hit the zeitgeist jackpot with her sophomore directorial effort, starring Jessie Buckley in a ferocious, gory explosion of female rage, blood, goo and brain matter, with some musical numbers to boot. What critics didnt like Christian Bale and Jake Gyllenhaal in The Bride! (Warner Bros.) The Bride! currently has a 60% approval rating on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which shows that not all critics were electrified by the finished product. A film requires a 65% approval rating for the site to certify it as Fresh. Reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter, film critic David Rooney called the film a bludgeoning feminist Frankenstein spin. If any of this were amusing or suspenseful or frightening or tender or soulful or something, it wouldnt be such a joyless slog, Rooney says. But the movie becomes like a shrill Bonnie and Clyde fever dream in which we have no reason to care about the fugitives. In an even more scathing review for IndieWire, critic Ryan Lattanzio called the film a wokified, Joker-fied Folie-a-Deux zonked on its own rage. At a moment when audiences are more than ready to embrace complicated women characters, The Bride! just comes off as retrograde, anchored by a thrashing protagonist who is hardly complicated, he explains. Varietys Owen Gleiberman is in agreement, calling the film a lumbering punk horror trip. While praising the films spark of audacity and an energetic first half, he adds The Bride!, for all the appeal of its actors, returns to its fluky, morose aimlessness. Its alive, but it could have used more juice. Is The Bride! worth watching? Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (Warner Bros.) With no overriding critical consensus on The Bride!, its hard to give a definitive decision based on the reviews. If you enjoy original, punk-inspired large-scale movies and OTT performances, The Bride! is unlikely to outstay its welcome at just over two hours long. However, if your taste leans toward more easily digestible popcorn fare, then The Bride! might be better suited to a home viewing experience, even though Maggie Gyllenhaal shot much of the film for IMAX. Arriving in March as award season nears its conclusion, the film is unlikely to dent Jessie Buckleys Oscar hopes, but it may give Gyllenhaal a moment to reflect on whether a return to smaller-scale dramas is where she sees her next step. The Bride! is in cinemas from 6 March. Kasha Sanderson, 40, was jailed for nine years after she admitted smuggling firearms - NCA/PA A British woman who told Border Force she had just been scattering a loved ones ashes in France was actually smuggling an arsenal of military-grade weapons in her car. Kasha Sanderson, 40, was stopped on Feb 24 last year as she arrived at Dover on a ferry from Calais. Officers searched her Irish-registered Peugeot 3008 and discovered a stash of submachine guns, ammunition and modified pistols hidden in false compartments in the footwells. They found 13 weapons, including two Skorpion submachine guns, an Uzi submachine gun, a Glock handgun and nine converted blank firing pistols, as well as 289 rounds of ammunition. Five kilograms of heroin, worth an estimated 500,000, was also found. Sanderson was arrested and told officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) that she thought she was smuggling cannabis. Border Force found nine converted blank firing pistols, like this one pictured, in Sandersons car - NCA/PA Two Skorpion submachine guns, including this one, were among the haul of automatic weapons - NCA/PA When asked about the purpose of her visit overseas, she claimed she was scattering ashes in Lyon. Sanderson, from the village of Wick near Bristol, pleaded guilty to smuggling firearms, ammunition and class A drugs and was jailed for nine years at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday. Rachel Bramley, NCA branch commander, said: Thanks to a brilliant detection by our Border Force partners and the NCA investigation these terrifying weapons and ammunition are out of the hands of extremely dangerous criminals. Firearms crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world, but these guns had the potential to cause horrific damage. We have seen in recent years the tragic consequences of entirely innocent victims getting caught in the crossfire of criminals with automatic weapons such as Skorpion machine pistols. With Sandersons jailing, the organised crime group behind this smuggling plot have lost a trusted courier and profits they are unable to plough back into further offences. Drugs that halt Alzheimers should be rolled out more widely, Baroness Casey has said. In her first speech since she was appointed to lead an independent commission of social care, Lady Casey called for dementia care to be prioritised more. The crossbench peer said the system was so poor in some parts, it was as though weve lost our minds, adding that a moment of reckoning was required. The Government has asked her to make recommendations about how to overhaul social care after 22 reviews failed to achieve change. She has written to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, urging him to make immediate changes, including a faster rollout of dementia treatment. Baroness Casey has said a moment of reckoning is required for dementia care - James Manning/PA Images Speaking on Thursday at the Nuffield Trust summit near Windsor, she questioned decisions not to fund breakthrough drugs for Alzheimers, saying she would want to benefit from drugs that could give people extra time before the disease took hold. Last year, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) rejected the NHS rollout of the first two drugs lecanemab and donanemab that were found to halt the progression of disease. Lady Casey said she would want access to such drugs if she had Alzheimers disease and called for more investment in the trials of new pharmaceuticals. People with dementia are seen as bed-blocking, rather than patients with neurological health conditions. New breakthrough drugs are seen as too expensive to deliver on the NHS for what they call the small benefits that theyll give. I know the NHS cant afford every drug, but if I was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease and told treatment would give me an extra six months to talk to my family and get my affairs in order before that disease took hold, Im not sure Id call that a small benefit, she said. I would take those six months any day, she added. She also said that major breakthroughs in treatment were seen as way off and that there is no point in preparing the NHS to deliver them. Lady Casey criticised an apparent lack of energy, drive and determination when it comes to dementia, in contrast to the approach to tackling cancer. She said: Is it because its the elderly? Is it just too much of a taboo subject for us to front it out? Is it because that me, when I hit 67, Im supposedly no longer economically active and therefore my voice doesnt count? I think its for those reasons. In her letter to Mr Streeting, she asked him to send a clear signal that dementia, and specifically Alzheimers Disease, is a priority. It is my view that we should be flooding the system with clinical trials, she said as she urged the Government to start with small pilots, and appoint a new full-time dementia tsar responsible to drive prevention, treatment and care of those with the disease. Speaking more widely about social care, Lady Casey said too many people were being charged for something that is utter s---e with 15-minute care visits for the vulnerable. She highlighted squabbles between the NHS and councils, referring to disputes lasting two-and-a-half weeks about who would pay for incontinence pads. Lecanemab was licenced in the UK in 2024 after trials found it was the first drug to slow progression of Alzheimers disease. Soon after, Donanemab was found to be more effective, slowing progression by 35 per cent, with scientists claiming patients could live at home with a better quality of life for an extra two years. Nice said the benefits were not enough to justify the costs, with charities criticising the fact this did not take account of the costs taken on by families. Hilary Evans-Newton, the chief executive of Alzheimers Research UK, said: Dementia is the UKs leading cause of death so why isnt it a national priority? Every year we delay prioritising dementia costs lives and costs the UK billions. Alzheimers Research UK has been calling on the Government to prepare for new treatments for the last decade, and despite new drugs licenced by the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency] last year, our health systems remain woefully underprepared. The Government must deliver on its manifesto commitment to invest in trials and put Britain at the forefront of transforming treatment for dementia. We cannot keep asking families to wait while the science moves ahead. Michelle Dyson, the chief executive of Alzheimers Society, said: We wholeheartedly welcome Baroness Casey shining a light on dementia and the challenges faced by people living with this devastating condition. Dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge of our time and prioritising it is long overdue. She added: Around one million people are living with dementia in the UK, and they are one of the biggest groups drawing on social care for specialist support. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: We are hugely grateful to Baroness Casey for her tireless leadership and determination to transform social care in this country. As a result, the Government is taking decisive action by establishing a new National Safeguarding Board to better protect vulnerable adults, fasttracking access to care for people with motor neurone disease and accelerating work to transform dementia care and research, including by creating a dementia leadership role to drive forward action. This is about moving faster, cutting through delay and building a social care system that works for everyone. Reform UKs Laila Cunningham was told she wasnt bright enough to understand during a row in a council meeting. The meeting of Westminster council descended into chaos as Reforms candidate for the London mayoralty accused a fellow councillor of insinuating that her Muslim family block voted. Mrs Cunningham said that unlike Labour, she didnt talk s--t, prompting gasps as she responded to comments made by a Labour councillor. Matt Noble, a Labour councillor, was then heard saying: You just arent bright enough to understand what he was saying, Laila. The heated row in which the Lord Mayor repeatedly shouted at Mrs Cunningham to sit down took place during a full council meeting on the annual budget on Wednesday night. Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, has called for action to tackle family voting an illegal practice that can involve husbands telling wives how to vote after accredited poll observers claimed that they had witnessed concerningly high levels at the Gorton and Denton by-election last month. Mr Farage described the accounts as deeply concerning, and said that they raised serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas. Mrs Cunningham, a practising Muslim, was born in London to Egyptian parents. Laila Cunningham is Reform UKs candidate for the London mayoralty - Neil Hall/EPA/Shutterstock Appearing to refer to Mr Farages comments, Max Sullivan, a Westminster Labour councillor, addressed Mrs Cunningham, saying: You have recently backed the idea that I should lose my right to vote because I am an Irish passport holder, and also, therefore, my right to stand as a councillor in the upcoming election. I wont stoop to your level, I will not undermine your right to vote, I will not dog-whistle that your family vote as a block. This week, Mr Farage said that Commonwealth citizens should not be able to vote in general elections, but Irish citizens should still be allowed to. Mr Sullivans comment prompted Ms Cunningham, a former CPS prosecutor, to stand up and interrupt to ask Paul Dimoldenberg, the Labour Lord Mayor, for a point of order. Mr Dimoldenberg initially refused to let the Reform mayoral candidate speak, shouting: No, no theres no point of order Councillor Cunningham, sit down. Sit down. Sit down. When Ms Cunningham continued to ask for a point of personal expression as another councillor addressed the chamber, Mr Dimoldenberg finally relented, saying: Ive been advised that you can speak, but Id like to know what the point of personal explanation is all about. Nigel Farage has called for action to tackle family voting - Thomas Krych/Anadolu via Getty Images) Appearing to film her own response with her phone, Mrs Cunningham said: I wouldnt call it if I wasnt going to tell you Lord Mayor, unlike the other side, I dont talk st, prompting Mr Dimoldenberg to say: Will you please use sensible language and not swear in this council chamber. After initially addressing Mr Sullivan by the wrong name, Mrs Cunningham then said: Max Sullivan insinuated my family vote in block because theyre Muslims, to which Mr Dimoldenberg said: No, no he didnt, and added that youve got this wrong, councillor. Councillor Cunningham, he didnt mention your family. Defending his remarks, Mr Sullivan said: I was not insinuating your family would vote in block, adding: Reform [has] insinuated that voting in block changed the outcome of the recent by-election, thats why. The context is absolutely obvious. I said I wont stoop to your level, and I wont. Sit down. Mrs Cunningham responded: Sorry, dont bring my family into this and insinuate that they block voted. Asking for her to sit down, Mr Dimoldenberg then said: I heard what Councillor Sullivan said. I also just checked with the chief executive what he said, he did not mention your family as doing anything. So that is my ruling. Earlier this year, Mrs Cunningham was announced as Reform UKs London Mayor candidate for the 2028 elections. She is one of two Reform UK councillors on Labour-led Westminster city council, and has previously spoken strongly against Islamist extremism grooming gangs and full-face coverings such as the burka. BEIJING, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn: Henan province is stepping up efforts to become a higher-level inland opening-up hub by strengthening trade and logistics links with domestic and international markets. "We are working to continuously expand opening-up both internally and externally, taking integration into and the service of the national unified market as the driving force, and making greater efforts to build a higher-level inland opening-up hub," said Liu Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China Henan Provincial Committee and a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature. These efforts are part of Henan's goal to become a circulation hub connecting China's domestic market with global manufacturers. The province aims to facilitate the delivery of international goods to Chinese consumers and help Henan-made products reach markets worldwide. Cross-border e-commerce has become a central driver of this strategy. To streamline trade and customs procedures, Henan has developed a network of ports, bonded zones and pilot e-commerce hubs. Efforts to support businesses and promote cross-border trade have strengthened the province's open-economy momentum and driven robust foreign trade growth. Last year, its total imports and exports reached 935.67 billion yuan ($135.72 billion), marking a 14.1 percent increase compared with 2024. Its exports of multiple products, including buses, phones, and hair products, were the highest in the nation. Against this background, Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, has emerged as a major hub for both imports and exports. Last year, fresh cold-chain imports through Henan more than doubled compared with 2024. Malaysian durians can now clear customs in half a day and reach nationwide consumers within 36 hours, while chilled Norwegian salmon can hit the market within 24 hours of arrival. Liu said that Henan pioneered a "pre-clearance + dedicated cargo flights + cross-border e-commerce" model, which allows goods to depart the airport on the same day they arrive. Currently, nearly 1,000 metric tons of cargo leave the province daily for global markets. According to Liu, Henan has actively supported companies in reaching international markets through initiatives that connect cross-border e-commerce with industrial clusters, helping businesses set up overseas and front warehouses. Henan-based beverage chain Mixue Ice Cream and Tea has established warehousing and logistics systems overseas and now operates more than 4,800 stores outside China. Yutong Bus has ranked first globally in large and medium-sized bus sales for 15 consecutive years. The city of Xuchang, which is famous for its hair products, sells about 40,000 sets of its products worldwide each day. Henan has also continued to strengthen its wider logistics network. In 2025, cargo throughput at Zhengzhou airport reached 1.033 million tons, up 25.2 percent year-on-year, with its international cargo volume ranking fifth nationwide. The China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains from Zhengzhou have completed more than 17,000 trips, forming an international logistics network that connects 26 overseas direct stations and nine border ports. "Henan will fully integrate into the second golden decade of the nation's Belt and Road Initiative, better connecting Eurasia and reaching global markets," said Liu. He added that the province will deepen the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg 'Air Silk Road' dual-hub model, expand China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight train services, strengthen digital trade infrastructure and improve rail-sea intermodal transportation. In response to challenges posed by external uncertainty and domestic bottlenecks, Liu said that Henan will eliminate institutional barriers, standardize procurement and investment promotion, strengthen property rights and enhance regulatory efficiency. The province is also committed to fostering a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment with streamlined online services and lowered costs for land, energy, labor and financing. Foreign investors can expect more convenient support for entry, residence, medical care and payments. "Today, Henan offers vast market potential, excellent transportation links, a complete industrial system, and abundant human resources," said Liu. "Investing in Henan comes with great opportunities and a promising future." SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn On Wednesday, The Telegraph revealed that HMS Dragon would not arrive in the Eastern Mediterranean for another fortnight - Carlos Jasso/Reuters The Royal Navy destroyer deployed to protect Cyprus from Iran has been delayed in order to allow staff to finish welding. Al Carns, a defence minister, said HMS Dragon would not leave Portsmouth until engineers had finished a variety of different bits of maintenance. Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised over deciding to deploy a Type 45 destroyer to protect the RAF Akroriti base in Cyprus on Tuesday more than 72 hours after the conflict began. Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, told Newsnight that the people of Cyprus were disappointed by the Prime Ministers response. On Wednesday, The Telegraph revealed that HMS Dragon would not arrive in the Eastern Mediterranean for another fortnight, including a week of maintenance in a dry dock in Portsmouth and a week of sailing. HMS Duncan was the only other ship available for the mission on Tuesday, but The Telegraph understands it was also due for routine maintenance after taking part in an exercise in Wales last month, when it had problems with its 30mm gun. It has also not undergone a major propulsion overhaul to improve its engines, which have previously proven unreliable in the hotter waters of the Mediterranean and the Gulf, causing ships to break down. Al Carns said HMS Dragon would be deployed to the region as fast as possible - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire The other four Type 45 destroyers in the Royal Navy are also undergoing maintenance, including three undergoing long-term works and a fourth, HMS Dauntless, receiving maintenance to return her to full operational capability after returning from an eight-month deployment with the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier. The various issues meant not a single destroyer in the Royal Navy was ready for immediate deployment when the Iran conflict broke out. Mr Carns told Sky News that HMS Dragon would be deployed to the region as fast as possible but that it had been fitted out for a different task when the order was received for it to deploy on Tuesday. We have now completely re-rolled it, he said, We are going through a variety of different bits of maintenance to make sure, as fast as possible, we can get that system up and running. We have had to change weapons systems on it, finish welding, get it up and running, and get it sailing as fast as possible. That asset is specifically designed to protect a carrier strike group and work within a CSG, which was planning to go elsewhere. So to deploy that point defence asset is not the only way that we can defend our regional allies in the Mediterranean. HMS Duncan passes HMS Prince of Wales as it leaves Portsmouth harbour this week - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire In the hours after the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran on Saturday, Sir Keir chaired an emergency Cobra meeting in Westminster. Orders were then sent to military chiefs at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood to design an urgent response, with Lt Gen Nick Perry, Britains chief of joint operations, tasked with delivering options to ministers. Defence sources said the options for a naval deployment would have been limited because of the maintenance issues with the Type 45 fleet. In previous years, the UK would have had at least two high-end warships at high readiness A Type 45 destroyer and a submarine-hunting Type 23 frigate. Those two vessels were the break glass response for Britain in the event of a crisis, with crews trained and ships ready for combat. However, the Navy has struggled to deploy vessels, with a bulk of the fleet having come back from a nine-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific just before Christmas, meaning many needed to undergo pre-planned maintenance. The problems were so acute that the fleet had all but withdrawn from the Middle East, leaving HMS Middleton, a lightly armed minehunter, as Britains only warship in the region. It does not have weapons to defend against drones or missiles the most serious threat facing Western assets in the region. The Telegraph understands that a decision to deploy HMS Dragon was delivered to Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the Armed Forces, at 9.30am on Tuesday. Sir Keir later confirmed that the ship would be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, but he has since faced criticism from Cyprus and Middle Eastern allies for Britains slow reaction to the Iranian conflict, which was signalled by Donald Trump for several weeks before it began on Saturday morning. On Wednesday, Cypruss high commissioner to the UK said his people were disappointed by the Governments failure to protect the base, adding: The people are scared, the people could expect more. Credit: X/ @BBCNewsnight Spain has announced that it will send a frigate to the Eastern Mediterranean, which will arrive before HMS Dragon, while France has sent Charles de Gaulle, its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. MoD sources insisted that the UK prepared for the outbreak of war by sending fast jets, radar and anti-drone technology to the region to protect British assets. However, the defences were not enough to stop a one-way attack drone launched by an Iranian proxy in Lebanon on Sunday, which exploded on RAF Akrotiris runway shortly afterwards. An RAF Typhoon takes off from RAF Akrotiri. The base was hit by a drone launched by an Iranian proxy in Lebanon - Joshua Whiting/MOD/AFP via Getty Images One senior defence source told The Telegraph: Whether youre acting offensively or defensively, you need to get ahead of the threat. You cant argue with the fact that we didnt. James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, told The Telegraph: The world knew weeks ago that the United States was preparing to strike Iran. The British armed forces are adept at planning and would have been able to get naval assets ready to deploy if the political will was there to make it happen, but that political will was nowhere to be seen. This is not a failure of the Royal Navy. It is a failure of leadership from Labour. Middle Eastern allies have also complained that Britain has done too little to defend them from Iranian counterattacks, which began almost immediately after the joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. Meanwhile, the UK has faced even stronger criticism from Mr Trump, who complained that Sir Keir did not allow him to use British bases in the region to launch the attacks. The US president said that his bombers had been forced to fly longer missions because closer bases including Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands were not made available by the UK. On Monday, Mr Trump told The Telegraph he was very disappointed in the Prime Minister, while on Tuesday he said Sir Keir was not Winston Churchill and he ruins relationships. Sir Keir has now allowed the US to use the bases, providing they only facilitate limited defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites to prevent further attacks on allies in the region. Lior Lasry and Michael Marianoff refused to be deterred by Iran on their wedding day - Abir Sultan/EPA/Shutterstock As Iranian missiles continued to send millions of Israelis into shelters on Monday, Lior Lasry adjusted her wedding dress and descended four storeys below one of Tel Avivs biggest shopping malls. Above ground, the city was braced for attack. Below it, in the car park that doubles as a bomb shelter four levels beneath the Dizengoff Center, a bride and groom were standing beneath a hastily assembled chuppah (the Jewish wedding canopy), vowing to build a life together. Lasry, 29, and Michael Marianoff, 34, had spent months planning a 400-strong reception, which was due to take place on Tuesday in a wedding hall in the city of Petah Tikva, six miles from Tel Aviv. There would have been music, a banquet, a DJ, live music and a large cake. But their plans were torn up by the war that broke out three days before their planned ceremony, with much of Israel sheltering from Iranian rockets and all gatherings cancelled. Instead, the couple faced an agonising dilemma. The venue change didnt stop the couple enjoying a perfect day - Abir Sultan/EPA/Shutterstock Marianoffs family had flown in from Argentina just three days before hostilities erupted on Saturday morning. To postpone, he feared, would have meant losing their presence at the ceremony, because they would have to fly home. But to press ahead with some sort of makeshift ceremony under shelter in Tel Aviv risked excluding Lasrys own family in the south of Israel, for whom the journey north, under missile fire, was simply too dangerous. It was a real dilemma, the bride recalls. If we didnt do something, Mishas family wouldnt be part of it. But if we did it here, my family couldnt come. The couple met nearly two years ago at a mutual friends wedding in Israel. There was a click immediately, Lasry remembers. She was then working abroad for El Al, Israels national airline, and the romance that followed included almost a year in which they effectively conducted a long-distance relationship. On Thursday, only 36 hours before war would break out, Lasry celebrated her henna ceremony, in the tradition of her Moroccan Jewish roots. After this, in keeping with custom, the couple had agreed not to see one another until the wedding on Tuesday. They would keep in touch only by phone. While the cake couldnt be moved to the new venue, the couple was still able to mark the important traditions, such as breaking the glass - Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Israelis are, of course, no strangers to conflict with other states in the Middle East. So even when news of the strikes on Iran initially broke on Saturday, they hoped the wedding could carry on as planned. I was sure the war would be over by the wedding, Lasry says, at first thinking the US and Israeli attack on Iran would be a limited campaign. But, as Irans violent response spread across the Middle East, by Monday Lasrys optimism had faded and the couple decided to meet at home to discuss a plan. When they saw each other, Misha was broken, unable to speak, asking me what to do, she says. But there was no way I was going to give up on the date. I was so upset, just broken at the idea that it wouldnt happen, says Marianoff, who works in digital marketing. It was important for us to do the chuppah, to have our close friends and family with us. Brainstorming alternatives took on an air of wartime improvisation. While ordinary gatherings were banned, Tel Aviv is full of bomb shelters and underground venues used as refuges from missile attacks. The couple mulled the idea of a nightclub with reinforced shelter, or even underground light rail station. Finally, the rabbis wife suggested the Dizengoff Centers subterranean car park, which is used as a vast bomb shelter. The groom, Lasry admits, did not initially know what she was plotting. There would be compromises. The grandeur was sacrificed; the essentials were not. The dress painstakingly made in Jerusalem after numerous fittings remained. Friends did the brides hair and make-up at home. The chuppah the symbol of the home they would build together was erected beneath fluorescent lighting and concrete beams. In place of the banquet was a camping table draped in a cloth, a few bottles of alcohol and snacks. The cake had been arranged through the original venue, and it would have been too complicated to get it to the Dizengoff car park shelter. Friends provided a speaker for music, and members of the community brought instruments to make sure the festivities continued. Locals who heard about the event joined in to ensure the couple had an appropriately large party - Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Lasrys relatives joined from southern Israel via a live broadcast on social media. Around 60 close friends made it in person, along with some 200 others from the local community, many of whom had heard about the wedding and wanted to ensure the couple had a full-fat celebration. Tuesday was Purim, the most joyous day in the Jewish calendar, and pictures of the event show that the atmosphere in the car park reflected the joy of both occasions. It was a very moving service, says Lasry. It was such a beautiful coming-together of community, strangers, friends, family. My friends brought a microphone, speaker, even strangers came and brought instruments to play live music for us to help make it something special. The ceremony began at 8pm. Shortly after 10pm, sirens warning of incoming missiles wailed twice. While guests phones emitted piercing alerts of incoming missiles and sirens blared above ground, the party continued underground. At one point, some guests were ready to leave to go home, but the sirens sounded again and they returned to safety and the celebration. It just meant the party kept going on and on, says Lasry. Because it was Purim when Jews traditionally don costumes some passers-by in the car park initially assumed the bride and groom were in fancy dress. Only gradually did they realise that this was no theatrical stunt, but a wedding conducted in the shadow of war. In a country that has endured more than two years of conflict since the October 7 atrocities, with rockets and missiles launched from multiple fronts, the images struck a chord. Footage of the ceremony ricocheted across Israeli news channels and social media, transforming a pared-back shelter wedding into a symbol of resilient joy. The hardest thing was that we had invested so much money and time, Marianoff adds. It was hard to believe our family and friends wouldnt all be there. But in the end, it was really perfect. The couples phones have scarcely stopped ringing since, with acquaintances who wanted to share their joy, and offer a mazel tov, having seen news of the makeshift wedding. In life we plan, he reflects, but in the end God has a plan. The way it happened brought so much joy to so many people here, in the midst of the war. We are used to difficult times. So we focus on bringing joy in tough times. Whats important is us and the family and friends we have. Fact checked by Elizabeth MacLennan Credit: Andrew_Mayovskyy / Getty Images Key Points The world's greenest places encompass a variety of ecosystems and habitats, from the mossy Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State to the subtropical Sapa Valley in northern Vietnam. If you're hoping to pair your green getaway with wildlife sightings, plan a trip to Costa Rica's biodiverse Corcovado National Park or the Congo Basin in Africa. You can also book accommodations that highlight the natural surroundings, such as Copal Tree Lodge in Belize's Maya Mountains. There's a reason green getaways leave us tranquil and refreshed. According to color psychology, this soothing shade helps decrease stress and improve focusand travelers can reap these much-deserved benefits in lush landscapes around the world. Here are 10 of the greenest places on earth, which combine serenity with unforgettable adventures. Sapa Valley, Vietnam Credit: Khanh Bui / Getty Images Nestled in Vietnam's northern mountains, Sapa dazzles with emerald rice paddies dotted across undulating green hills. It's the place travelers in Vietnam go to get away from it all, be it overnight trekking from village to village or taking the 15-minute cable car up the country's tallest mountainFansipan. The hilltop Topas Ecolodge offers the perfect perch to soak up this lush paradise, with sweeping views from the bungalow balconies and cozy villas with private pools. Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica Credit: MB Photography / Getty Images It would be remiss to compile a list of the greenest places on earth without including rain forest-covered Costa Ricaand Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula is about as green as it gets. In this biodiverse national park, home to some of Central America's only remaining old-growth wet forests, wildlife sightings can include the Baird's tapir, jaguars, sloths, and macaws. The area has a variety of ecosystems, from lowland rain forests to mangrove swamps. Lodging within the park is sparse, but you can arrange to spend the night at the Sirena Ranger Stationan experience that will have you waking up in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Tegallalang Rice Terrace, Bali Credit: Daniel Gorostieta/Travel + Leisure Situated near Ubud, one of the most densely forested towns in Bali, the UNESCO World Heritage Tegallalang Rice Terrace oscillates from chartreuse to hunter green, then back again, creating one of Indonesia's most calming and captivating landscapes. Tegallalang's traditional terraced structure is an ancient irrigation strategy. The verdant layers offer unique vantage points across the patchwork of rice fields and jungle. To enjoy Tegallalang's true serenity and splendor, arrive early in the morning, well ahead of the afternoon crowds. Val d'Orcia, Italy Credit: Evgeniya Vlasova/Travel + Leisure Italy's travel experiences span the color wheel, from deep red wines to the rainbow-hued Cinque Terre. But if you're looking for a full spectrum of greens, bookmark Tuscany's Val d'Orcia, a region that stretches south from Siena to northeast of the dormant volcano Monte Amiata. This green region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of Italy's main agricultural hubs. You'll find vineyards, olive groves, and the characteristic cypress tree-framed streets throughout its idyllic landscape. Don't miss Val d'Orcia's wine trail to pair green surroundings with tasty Italian reds. Advertisement Maya Mountains, Belize Credit: www.anitapeeples.com / Getty Images The Maya Mountains stretch 70 miles across southern Belize into Guatemala, juxtaposing the bright blues of Belize's coastline. Here, thick jungles offer unique adventures, from spotting wildlife like jaguars and tapirs to swimming beneath waterfalls or summiting Victoria Peak, the country's second-highest mountain. To fully embrace the region's mesmerizing green landscapes, book a room at the eco-chic Copal Tree Lodge, where nature is the main attraction. Considered one of the best jungle hotels in the world, the property is tucked into 16,000 acres of rich greenery, with in-room bathtubs and showers that offer treetop (and howler monkey) views, not to mention a funicular to take you down to explore the Rio Grande. Killarney National Park, Ireland Credit: mammuth / Getty Images The Emerald Isle glows in all shades of green, and few Irish destinations show off this color palette like Killarney National Park. Native oaks, evergreens, yew woods, and shrubs speckle this UNESCO Biosphere Reserveand the flora works in tandem to create a mind-blowing sea of green. Home to Ireland's tallest mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, the area takes these calming hues to towering heights. Explore the park on horseback, or book a hiking tour to summit Carrauntoohil, the country's highest peak. Teahupo'o, Tahiti Credit: Lauren Breedlove/Travel + Leisure Waves may be Teahupo'o's ticket to fame, but on land, this jaw-dropping stretch of southwest Tahiti is just as green as the surrounding seas are blue. The lush valleys flanking the Teahupo'o coastline are full of drama, with towering, jagged peaks and vertiginous ridgesmany far off the grid and only accessible via boat. To amble through these emerald valleys and wake up to the sight of them from your own bedroom, book a room at A Hi'o To Mou'a, a family-owned guesthouse with about an acre of green space, from the ocean to the "backyard" of a valley, where waterfalls, majestic white horses, and countless fruit trees await. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia Credit: TG23 / Getty Images Croatia's most popular hiking destination is also its greenest: the UNESCO World Heritage Plitvice Lakes National Park. Beeches, firs, and spruces frame the park's signature waterfalls and 16 lakes. Local wildlife, from boars to rare birds, love these lush vistas as much as tourists. Plitvice's famed lakes even turn hues of emerald, depending on the light. They're best enjoyed from hiking routes like Trail C (five miles) or Trail K (roughly 10 miles); the latter winds through the entire park. Congo Basin, Central Africa Credit: guenterguni / Getty Images Tropical rain forests and swamplands blanket Central Africa's Congo Basin, which spans six countries, including the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Gabon. It's the world's second-largest rain forest, covering 500 million acres and providing a home for more than 10,000 plant species and 2,000 animal species. A growing number of tour operators now take guests here, including The Classic Safari Company, which builds Congo Basin itineraries that include wildlife-watching dayswhere visitors can admire a range of wildlife like gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and forest elephantsbookended by nights at a luxe tree house. Hoh Rain Forest, Washington Credit: James Randklev / Getty Images The Pacific Northwest is one of the United States' greenest getaways, but nothing in this regionor the rest of the countrycompares to the mesmerizing Hoh Rain Forest in Washington's Olympic National Park. Here, ferns, mosses, and coniferous and deciduous species work seamlessly to paint Hoh Rain Forest all hues of green. The 5.5-mile Hoh River Trail explores every nook and cranny of this serene rain forest, while the shorter one-mile Hall of Mosses loops through old-growth forests and maple groves, with a verdant canopy of moss providing shade along the way. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure Amid the debate about the future of the penny, you may be wondering how much some of the coins you have around could fetch. After all, it could be a way to make extra money on the side. Here's a look at some quarters that may be worth more than their face value. Take note of the errors and distinctions that make them so coveted, and see if they apply to any of your other older coins. Editor's note: For the most updated list of quarters, click here. All coin values were taken from NGC Coin Explorer. Make Money: 12 ways to pocket up to $300 1. 1796 Draped Bust It may be obvious why this quarter is worth so much: It's the first one minted by the U.S. Mint. Collectors covet this one not only for its historical significance but also for its scarcity; its low mintage makes it even more valuable. In fact, some collectors have said well-preserved versions of this quarter could be worth more than $1 million. Who really has the cheapest auto insurance in your area? Check your zip code here. 2. 1823/2 Capped Bust If you're a collector, you know that errors tend to drive up value. That's the case with this quarter. The year 1823 was struck over 1822, likely due to the reuse of old dies. Only a handful of these quarters exist in higher grades. Pristine versions of this coin may be worth more than $35,000. 3. 1866-S No Motto Seated Liberty So many people are used to looking at quarters, it may take a moment to realize the error on this one. If you look closely, you'll see it lacks the "In God We Trust" motto. It was minted in San Francisco and had a lower mintage than many other Seated Liberty quarters. Collectors have said this coin may be worth more than $195,000. 14 benefits seniors are entitled to but often forget to claim 4. 1870-CC Seated Liberty Here's a touch of the Old West. In fact, this quarter's connection to the Old West and its rarity help make it worth more. The Carson City minted coin had a very low mintage. Overall, coins minted in Nevada's Carson City between 1879 and 1893 are considered rare. Since few of these are said to be around in good condition, this coin may be worth more than $240,000. 5. 1871-CC Seated Liberty Speaking of rare Carson City quarters, here's another one. At first glance, it may be hard to distinguish from the 1870 quarter since the main difference is the year. Like its predecessor, the 1871 coin had a low mintage, making it a rare find, especially in higher grades. It could be worth more than $150,000. 6. 1873-CC No Arrows Here's yet another Carson City quarter that's notable for another reason. It lacks the arrows beside the date that signal a change in weight standards. Advertisement It's tough to find one of these coins. So few of them exist today that they may be among the rarest varieties of U.S. coins you could find. This quarter may be worth more than $1,250,000. Get Out of Debt for Good: Try these 6 clever ways to crush your debt 7. 1916 Standing Liberty This quarter is valuable in part due to its low mintage. It also marks the first year of the Standing Liberty series. High-grade versions are especially sought after, as the original design was quickly altered, making the 1916 edition particularly rare. This design features stars next to the eagle. For a high-grade coin, it may be worth above $52,500. 8. 1918/7-S Standing Liberty It's said that the overdate error on this quarter is among the most famous in U.S. coins. The 1918 date was struck over 1917. The visible error was quickly corrected, and a few of the erroneous coins were made. This rare quarter may be worth up to $145,000. 9. 1932-D Washington Here's an interesting piece of coin history: The Great Depression led to fewer coins being preserved in high grades. The 1932-D Washington quarter is one of the most valuable in the series, partly due to its low mintage. A well-preserved, uncirculated example can be worth up to $90,000, while a good circulated coin could net you up to $875. Make Money: Discover 17 legit ways to keep more cash in your wallet 10. 1999-P Delaware Spitting Horse As the first installment of the 50 State Quarters series, this coin features a politician on horseback who made a nighttime dash through a storm to break a deadlocked vote, leading to the Declaration of Independence. A die break produced some coins with errors, including a raised line between some of the letters in the word "CAESAR". You may be able to fetch somewhere around $10 to $20 for one of these quarters. 11. 2004-D Extra Leaf Wisconsin Here's a Midwest coin that could be worth $50 to $110 or more. That's because of some rather strange varieties, which led some of these coins to show different forms of an extra leaf. 12. 2010 Hot Springs Arkansas NP Washington Quarter Even if you don't come from Arkansas, this may be a quarter to treasure. It was part of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Monuments series. These are fairly common quarters, so they may not be worth all that much. However, some die crack errors in certain ones could make them worth $100 or more, so keep an eye out. Typically, the bigger the crack, the bigger the payday. Make Money: Discover 17 legit ways to make extra cash Bottom line It may be time to take a closer look at the quarters you have at home and in the car. If you have a rare coin, it may be a good way to boost your bank account. If you find a quarter with an error or think you may have a rare one, it may be beneficial to connect with a collector group online to determine its potential value. More from FinanceBuzz: First Minister Michelle O'Neill believes "the hike of 27% just seems so excessive" A proposed 14,000 pay rise for politicians in the Northern Ireland Assembly is excessive, First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said. She was speaking ahead of a consultation closing on Thursday, after the independent remuneration board, which sets salaries for MLAs, proposed the uplift. MLAs currently earn 53,000 a year, which is less than their counterparts in the UK's other devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales. The increase of almost 27% from this April would mean MLAs will earn 67,200. Ministers in the executive, who earn more, are set to benefit from the rise as well. Unions including the Royal College of Nursing and the Police Federation of Northern Ireland have already expressed concerns about the plan. The independent board announced the proposals last month and said it would seek views and feedback on its draft determination from MLAs, the Assembly Commission and the Assembly Members' Pension Trustees until 5 March. Many parties have remained tight-lipped about the proposals but the TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice) and People Before Profit both said the increase should not go ahead, when many workers are not getting similar rises. 'Understand people's concerns' On Thursday, O'Neill was asked about her party's response to the consultation. "I absolutely understand people's concerns, even this week those tensions and fears have been heightened even further when we've seen oil companies moving to increase prices and people are worried about prices," she told BBC News NI. Advertisement "I think the hike of 27% just seems so excessive, and we should be benchmarked against public sector pay." Health workers in Northern Ireland are due a pay lift for 2026/27 of 3.3%, but Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has not yet been able to confirm the funding is available. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said her party was considering the consultation "very carefully" Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said her party was considering the consultation "very carefully" and that they had listened to the concerns of the public. Once the consultation closes it will be up to the independent remuneration board to make a final determination. The board is due to make two other determinations in the second half of this year - one on MLA salaries in respect of the 2027-32 mandate and separately on MLA pensions. What do politicians earn elsewhere? MLAs currently earn 53,000 a year, which is less than their counterparts in the UK's other devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales. Members of the Scottish Parliament receive 74,507 while members of the Welsh Parliament earn 76,380. At Westminster, MPs earn 93,904 a year but this is set to increase to 98,599 from next month. Members of the Dail (lower house of the Irish parliament) earn 118,284 (103,416). "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin was performed live for the very first time 55 years ago today! On March 5, 1971, the band embarked on a 13-stop tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland called the Back to the Clubs Tour. For this tour, the band decided to perform mainly at smaller clubs they had played earlier in their career, before their rise to fame. The decision to return to these venues, rather than play large arenas and auditoriums, was meant to reward loyal fans who had been with them from the start. At the time, Led Zeppelin was already one of the biggest bands in the world and had released three self-titled albums. While the goal of the tour was to say thank you to the fans and prove the band wasnt solely focused on making money, the scarcity of tickets meant many fans were unable to attend the concerts, leading to widespread disappointment. When Led Zeppelin began the Back to the Clubs Tour, they were only months away from releasing their untitled fourth studio album. Widely referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, the record contains classic tracks like "Black Dog," "Rock and Roll," "When the Levee Breaks," and, most importantly, Stairway to Heaven. Advertisement During the very first show of the tour on March 5, 1971, the band took the stage at Ulster Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and performed Stairway to Heaven live for the first time. They also played Going to California and Rock and Roll from the then-unreleased album. The world radio premiere of Stairway to Heaven was recorded at the Paris Cinema on April 1, 1971, in front of a live studio audience, and broadcast three days later on the BBC. It would later appear on Led Zeppelins fourth studio album, released on November 8 of that same year. Stairway to Heaven is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It was voted number three in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked Stairway to Heaven number 61 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. The track was also officially inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. To this day, the song and Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth studio album are among the band's most well-known recordings. SIGN UP for Parades Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Image Credit: Shutterstock. Immigration rules often feel like fog: vague promises, hidden caveats, and numbers that appear only after you have already started collecting paperwork. The countries below stand out for one reason that is easy to verify. Their requirements are published as clear formulas or fixed thresholds, so you can check eligibility before you spend time and money. For this slideshow, data means what governments and official partners put in writing: income floors, required documents, and family add-ons. That still does not mean automatic approval, because background checks and document standards can be strict anywhere. It does mean fewer surprises, fewer interpretive games, and a cleaner yes-or-no for people earning from abroad. 1. Costa Rica Image Credit: Shutterstock. Costa Ricas remote-worker stay category spells out the key financial test in plain numbers. Official guidance says applicants must show at least $3,000 per month earned from outside Costa Rica, or $4,000 if dependents are included. The same guidance notes these amounts are determined using the Central Bank of Costa Ricas official sale price, so the exchange rate reference point is not guesswork (Central Bank of Costa Rica). Paperwork expectations are unusually specific for a lifestyle-focused route. Bank statements must show the payments over the prior year, and the guidance allows an alternate certification from an accountant or notary. It also makes clear that this certification is the item that must be legalized or apostilled when produced abroad. Foreign-language documents require an official Spanish translation, and the guidance describes a security review using national and international databases. If you want to keep the process predictable, the same page also points applicants to Costa Ricas official digital filing route via Tramite YA!. 2. Croatia Image Credit: Shutterstock. Croatias Ministry of the Interior lays out a checklist that reads like a practical filing guide, not a riddle. It explains that the required funds are based on a published formula and then states the current figures directly: a minimum of 3,295.00 per month, or proof of 39,540.00 already available for a 12-month stay (and 59,310.00 for an 18-month stay). It also states the amount increases by 10% of the average monthly net salary for each additional family member or partner, which keeps the family add-on math transparent. The documentation section explains why many applicants call it straightforward even when it is strict. Copies can be submitted in Croatian or English, proof of purpose can be shown through an employment contract or a letter confirming remote work for a foreign employer, and proof of means can include bank statements showing a total balance, regular income evidence, or at least six months of payslips. After approval, visa-required nationals are directed to obtain a long-term D visa to enter, which removes ambiguity about next steps. Advertisement 3. Spain Image Credit: Shutterstock. Spains international telework route is easy to evaluate because the income rule is written as a simple multiplier. The governments UGE guidance states the main applicant must show resources equal to 200% of the SMI, with family add-ons of 75% of the SMI for the second person and 25% of the SMI for each additional member (UGE: Teletrabajadores (international telework)). Evidence can be shown through familiar items such as a contract, payslips, or a company certificate. Where people get tripped up is doing the math cleanly when the SMI updates. Spains official 2026 SMI is set at 1,221 per month, and the same decree states the annual comparison figure is not lower than 17,094 (BOE: Real Decreto 126/2026 (SMI 2026)). Two hundred percent equals 2,442 per month (based on the 1,221 monthly figure), or 34,188 when you use the annual figure. Using the annual number as your anchor helps you avoid monthly confusion when youre checking your own pay schedule. 4. Portugal Image Credit: Shutterstock. Portugals remote-work paperwork is often described as clean because the income proof is framed as a fixed multiple rather than a lifestyle judgment. A VFS checklist for the temporary stay visa for remote work states you must show average monthly income over the last three months with a minimum value equivalent to four times the Portuguese monthly minimum wage (VFS checklist (remote work / digital nomads)). The same checklist also points applicants to Portugals official national-visa legislation hub at vistos.mne.gov.pt. For 2026, Portugals government announced the national minimum wage rises to 920, which makes the four-times benchmark 3,680 per month for planning purposes. The checklist warns that missing documents can lead to refusal and notes the consular post may request additional items, so simple does not mean casual. Still, predictable math and a published checklist reduce the back-and-forth that slows many long-stay applications. 5. United Arab Emirates Image credit: Shutterstock. The UAEs virtual work residency option is popular with remote professionals because it is built around a short, explicit set of requirements. Dubais GDRFA service page lists the core items in a straightforward requirements section: proof of remote work for an entity outside the UAE, a passport valid for at least six months, proof of monthly income of no less than $3,500 (or equivalent), and valid health insurance (GDRFA Dubai: Visa Issuance (Virtual Work)). In practical terms, the tradeoff is strict documentation standards, so the ease comes from predictability rather than leniency. If your file is tidy, the process tends to feel procedural instead of negotiable. Read More Aaron Schwartz - CNP / MEGA Susan Sarandon Standing up for your beliefs in Hollywood can cost you opportunities, and Susan Sarandon is one of the latest to pay that price. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Oscar-winning actress has shown her support for Palestine by attending rallies calling for a ceasefire. However, her support didn't sit well with everyone. Sarandon was dropped by her Hollywood representative, United Talent Agency, after backlash over comments about the Jewish community. At a rally in New York City, the Rocky Horror Picture Show star claimed Jewish people "are getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim." She later apologized for her remark, but the damage had already been done. Speaking with The Times, Sarandon recalled how the controversy resulted in her losing her agent and ending her chances of starring in studio films. "I was dropped by my agency, my projects were pulled. I've been used as an example of what not to do if you want to continue to work," she said. "There are so many people out of work right now since November of last year ... who have lost their jobs as custodians, as writers, as painters, as people working in the cafeteria, substitute teachers who have been fired because they tweeted something, or liked a tweet, or asked for a ceasefire," she added. Sarandon isn't the only actor on the outs in Hollywood due to politics. Keep reading to see other stars who have been blacklisted over their views MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA Melissa Barrera Like Susan Sarandon, Melissa Barrera faced repercussions for her support of Palestine. The young actress was removed from Scream 7 after her pro-Palestine social media posts were labeled antisemitic. Barrera has used her platform to speak on the Israel-Gaza conflict, including reposting a message that accused Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing." Spyglass, the production company behind the film, said it maintains "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech." Barrera defended her posts on her Instagram Story, writing, "I believe a group of people are not their leadership and that no governing body should be above criticism." "I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom," she continued. "Silence is not an option for me." Fred Duval/MEGA Zachary Levi Zachary Levi believes his political beliefs have made him an outsider in Hollywood. Advertisement The Shazam! actor revealed some people in the industry have avoided working with him since he publicly endorsed President Donald Trump. "I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know," he said in an interview with Variety. "They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually." However, Levi explained that not everyone has turned against him. "While there are some people who might prefer not to work with me anymore, there's a lot of people on that side of the political spectrum who are even more inclined to hire me and to want to do business with me because 'I need some people who voted another way,'" he claimed. "They see that what I did was at great risk. And they were like, 'You know what? I give you a lot of props for that because that's not an easy thing to do.' And I go, 'I appreciate that,'" he added. LISA OConnor:AFF-USA.com : MEGA1 Stacey Dash Stacey Dash, who played Cher Horowitz's best friend Dionne Davenport in Clueless, told The Guardian that her conservative stance negatively impacted her acting opportunities. "I've been blacklisted," the former Fox News contributor said in 2018, adding, "I don't even get to auditions." Dash claimed that being a Republican in Hollywood can be isolating but insisted that she stood by her beliefs. "Because I'm Black I'm supposed to therefore be a Democrat, which is absurd. They're supposed to be the party of tolerance. I don't see any tolerance. I've made a choice to stand up for what I believe in and don't think I should be condemned," she said at the time. However, years later, Dash admitted in an interview with the Daily Mail that she regretted many of her past statements. "I've lived my life being angry, which is what I was on Fox News. I was the angry, conservative, Black woman," she recalled. "And at that time in my life it was who I was." She added that her perspective has since changed and that she feels "sorry" for some of the "angry" and "arrogant" things she said in the past. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA Rob Schneider Rob Schneider claimed that Hollywood is "dismantling itself" and said the "blacklisting" of conservative stars is part of the problem. Schneider, who worked on Saturday Night Live, revealed that once he began publicly sharing his right-leaning beliefs, acting roles quickly dried up. "That was it for me starring in movies," he said on the "American Thought Leaders" podcast. "The act of telling the truth in an age of authoritarianism, in an age of lies, is a courageous act," he continued. "And I'm not saying that I'm courageous. When I think of real courage, I think of ... in any major city, the cemeteries of people who gave their, what Lincoln describes, the last full measure of their devotion for this great land." "Show business, wrong or right, they don't want any controversy. You know, they don't want you being mouthy or anything, and that makes sense, but I do think that at a certain point, if we're going to have a society and if we're going to continue to have a free society, it's going to require people to step up and be courageous," he added. Tahreer Photography - Getty Images Heres what youll learn when you read this story: Seven treasure hunters discovered 2,584 silver coins dating from 1066 to 1068 in a southwest England field. Britains Treasure Act 1996 came into play, ensuring that museums had first dibs on purchasing the historic hoard. The treasure was purchased for a whopping $5.6 million. The coins feature depictions of rulers from the time, split nearly evenly between rulers from before and after the Norman Conquest. When Britain passed the Treasure Act 1996, it was for a time just like this. As part of the act, local and national museums must be given the first right to purchase any treasure discovered in the United Kingdom. And in 2024, the South West Heritage Trust jumped at the chance this act gave them to purchase a hoard of 2,584 silver pennies, for display at the British Museum. They paid a grand total of $5.6 million, making this the highest-valued treasure ever found in the UK. This remarkable hoard gives us unique insight into our countrys rich history and one of the most important moments in our history, Chris Bryant, heritage minister, said in a statement from the British Museum, when these islands were thrown into turmoil by the Norman Conquest. The finddubbed the Chew Valley Hoard, thanks to the location of the discoverywas unearthed in 2019. Seven finders searching a farmers field in southwest England with metal detectors stumbled upon the coins, which date to the time of the Norman Conquest of England (between 1066 and 1068). The first one was a William the Conqueror coin1,000 pounds, 1,500 pounds value, Adam Staples, one of the seven finders of the hoard, said at an event at the British Museum, according to Associated Press. Its a really good find. Its a find-of-the-year sort of discovery. And then we got another one, [we thought] there might be five, there might be 10. And it just got bigger and bigger. The find-of-the-year turned into a find-of-a-generation as 2,584 silver pennies were unearthed from the field, all dating to between 1066 and 1068. The coins are a mix of Saxon and Norman currency, showing a turning point in English history and covering the transition from Saxon to Norman rule. Experts believe that the coins were likely buried for safekeeping during the turmoil of the conquest. Michael Lewis, head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, said in the statement that the find is incredible. Advertisement Just under half the coins depict Harold II of 1066, the last crowned Saxon king of England. Just over half feature William I (also known as William the Conqueror), the first Norman king. Other than the ruler they depict, the two types of coins are quite similar. Each has the picture of a kings head in profile on one side and an emblem on the other, the AP reports, with an elaborate cross for William and the word peacewritten as paxfor Harold. The hoard symbolizes a pivotal moment in English history, and we are delighted to have made this acquisition so that it may be enjoyed by generations to come, Sam Astill, chief executive of the South West Heritage Trust, said in the statement. We know that the people of Exeter rebelled against William in 1068 and that Harolds sons, who were in exile in Ireland, came back and started mounting attacks along the River Avon down into Somerset, said Amal Khreisheh, curator of archaeology at the South West Heritage Trust, according to the AP. So, its probably against that background they were hidden. Under the Treasure Act 1996, any find that rises to the level of a treasure must be reported to the local coroners office within 14 days. If declared a treasure, it is offered for sale to a national or local museum, and the finder and landowner are eligible for a reward. This find was discovered near Bath in Northeast Somerset, and reported to the British Museums Portable Antiquities Scheme. A committee set the value on the find. Half the money went to the landowner, and the other half was split between the seven who found the hoard. The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Art Fund, along with smaller grants, made the purchase possible. The Chew Valley Hoard, Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund, said in a statement, is one of the most significant finds form the Norman Conquest, shedding new light on a fascinating period in English history. You Might Also Like Seven Williams Sonoma cake mix boxes on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table Did you know that Williams Sonoma sells baking mixes? I sure didn't not until I was introduced to them by a friend. Yet the company's selection was immediately alluring; after all, a brand known for premium kitchen tools is bound to make cake mixes to match. Fortunately, I wasn't wrong in my assumption. For this taste test, I tried seven cake mixes offered by the brand (similar to my previous ranking of Pillsbury boxed cake mixes). Each cake mix boasted luxurious packaging that hinted to the contents' quality. Moreover, I was pleased to see that Williams Sonoma boasts a pretty unique selection of cake mixes. From olive oil cakes to "snacking cakes" and a couple classic mixes, I had a feeling I was in for a good time. I ranked these cake mixes according to how they stacked up against other similar cake mixes I've tried, and how impressive they were in general. And because these mixes come at a rather hefty price tag compared to other baking mixes, I compared them to similar from-scratch cakes I've made before. Curious to see how they fared? Keep reading for my full review and rankings of Williams Sonoma cake baking mixes. Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer. Read more: 15 Vintage Pie Flavors No One Remembers Anymore 7. Rich Dark Chocolate Box of Williams Sonoma Rich Dark Chocolate cake mix next to chocolate cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table Coming in last place was Williams Sonoma's Rick Dark Chocolate cake mix. Now, even though it's technically "last," it's definitely not a bad mix. But that being said, I'm not sure I would buy it again. It doesn't beat my homemade chocolate cake recipe, and it doesn't offer a cheaper price tag than ingredients for a homemade cake, which may otherwise entice me. Moreover, this cake mix came without frosting, while many of the following included a frosting packet. In the realm of chocolate cake mix brands, I can definitely call this a good one. It had a denser texture than other boxed mixes I've had, which I consider to be a good thing. This means a single slice will be more filling, and the cake won't buckle under the weight of frosting. As far as whether it fulfills its promises of being rich and dark, I'd say it gets almost all the way there. I've had richer and darker, but if I were pitting this against a Pillsbury or Duncan Hines mix of the same flavor, it would come out on top. But because this mix didn't come with frosting and wasn't the most impressive of the bunch, it had to snag seventh place. 6. Madagascar Vanilla Box of Williams Sonoma Madagascar Vanilla cake mix next to Madagascar vanilla cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table Up next, we have Williams Sonoma's Madagascar Vanilla cake mix, which is the only other cake mix on this list to not come with frosting. That's the biggest reason it could only make sixth place I just couldn't justify ranking it above the following cake-and-frosting combos. Still, as far as vanilla cakes go, I'd call this a very good one, and it raised an important question: Why don't more yellow cake mixes have a pronounced vanilla flavor? In any case, I think they should, especially after tasting how potent the Madagascar vanilla (a pretty expensive type of vanilla) was here. I'll also say that I'm a way bigger fan of vanilla cake than chocolate cake in general, which plays into why I ranked this higher than the previous cake. Its flavor really was flawless, and it made this cake not feel boring in the slightest. If I were to frost this one, I'd be wary of pairing it with a stronger-tasting option, lest that overwhelmed the actual flavor of the cake. But when you can't get your hands on high-quality vanilla and are dying for a rich vanilla cake, this would be a good mix to buy. 5. Strawberry Snacking Cake Box of Williams Sonoma Strawberry snacking cake mix next to strawberry cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table Even though Williams Sonoma's Strawberry Snacking Cake only made the fifth spot on my list, as far as boxed strawberry cake mixes are concerned, it's quite good. And, there's the obvious bonus that this snacking cake comes with a box of powdered frosting mix that's incredibly easy to whip up. One package makes a pretty small, single-layer cake, another thing I appreciate about this mix it's the perfect size for a single-person household to enjoy over the course of the week. In terms of its flavor, though this cake easily beats out other strawberry cake mixes, I was still a touch underwhelmed. Strawberry came through plentifully in the frosting, but not as much in the cake itself. That wasn't a big enough issue to knock this any further down on my ranking. It did, however, prevent this cake from getting a higher spot here. Texturally, the cake was fairly dense but it had a tender crumb. Were I to get this again, I'd probably add sliced strawberries to the top, and I may even add some to the mix itself to amp up the strawberry flavor a little. Advertisement 4. Chocolate Espresso Snacking Cake Box of Williams Sonoma Chocolate Espresso snacking cake mix next to chocolate espresso cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table I am an absolute fiend for everything chocolate-espresso flavored, and again, this little snacking cake came so close to fully delivering. It, too, came with a powdered frosting mix that took no time at all to whip up. The biggest reason I couldn't rank this cake higher is because, like the last one, the frosting stole the show, which I always think should be the actual cake's job. Moreover, as with the strawberry cake, I found the espresso flavor here to be fairly subtle. That could be a personal problem, of course; as a huge fan of the flavor, I like it to be more than readily apparent in my bakes. And while it didn't get totally lost here, it could have been punchier. As a whole, though, the cake's flavor was quite good. The chocolate was rich and dark, and espresso brought some interest to the equation. It got almost there, and the frosting was incredible. The next time I make it, you'll catch me sneaking in a hint of espresso extract. 3. Chocolate Olive Oil Box of Williams Sonoma Chocolate Olive Oil cake mix next to chocolate olive oil cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table If you've never had an olive oil cake before, hold on to your hat. Adding in the common culinary ingredient turns an ordinary sweet treat into a sweet-savory masterpiece, and honestly, I'm here for it. Sure, it makes the cake a little foreign, but this bake is worth stepping out of your comfort zone. A chocolate cake could never hurt anybody, right? I adored what olive oil brought to the equation here, helping this mix take third place. Because chocolate was also in the mix, the olive oil flavor was just hinted at, which was fine in my book it simply gave the cake some depth and dimension. I also gave this cake some bonus points for being accessible to any type of chocolate consumer. It's not too dark to turn off those who prefer milk chocolate, but it's rich enough to please the dark chocolate fanatic. Overall, this is a very well-rounded cake that seriously benefited from the addition of olive oil (the included chocolate glaze was a very nice touch, too). 2. Butter Snacking Cake Box of Williams Sonoma Butter snacking cake mix next to butter snacking cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table I'm a sucker for anything that uses copious amounts of butter. There's a reason I called Pillsbury's Golden Butter cake mix the best of that brands offerings (its butter flavor was beyond incredible). I can say the same for Williams Sonoma's Butter Snacking Cake. After all, this relatively small bake took two sticks of butter, and if you use quality butter, you'll taste nothing better. You'll see in a second why this cake didn't make the top spot here. As far as its strengths, they were plentiful. The cake and the frosting were both equally decadent, with the cake having a dense, almost bread-like texture (don't worry it was still plenty moist!). The frosting, which calls for just one stick of butter, basically tastes like sweet butter, and few things are better, in my opinion. This cake is indulgent without being too heavy in any aspect. I quite enjoyed it, but it just couldn't beat what was easily my favorite cake of the day. 1. Classic Olive Oil Box of Williams Sonoma Classic Olive Oil cake mix next to classic olive oil cake on white table - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table I loved this cake more than I can express, but I have to make a disclaimer: It's not going to be for everyone. I don't see children loving this, for example, but if you need a sophisticated dessert to serve at a fancy soiree, you absolutely wouldn't go wrong with Williams Sonoma's Classic Olive Oil Cake. It's the epitome of decadence, and as a savory girl myself, I loved the sweet-savory balance found here. Because there's no chocolate present to mute the olive oil, its flavor is way more pronounced here than in its chocolate counterpart, which only worked in its favor. The included glaze mix had a lemony tang to it which helped lift the cake out of heavy territory. Texturally, this was a very dense, moist cake the kind you can only eat a small piece of before you're satisfied. I think this mix presents a real triumph for Williams-Sonoma, which is why it took the top spot. It's a mix that doesn't really have too many counterparts (at least, not that I'm aware of), and one which will be easy for me to buy again. Methodology Hand holding piece of chocolate cake over chocolate olive oil cake and box - Emily Hunt / Tasting Table To rank Williams Sonoma's boxed cake mixes, I prepared each according to package instructions. Whenever a box had optional additions, I left them out to avoid giving any cake an unfair advantage. I also used the same type of butter, milk, and eggs in each mix, to maintain consistency throughout this experiment. I ranked the cakes in order of how they performed against other counterparts I've had, as well as how impressive they were as a whole. This made the Classic Olive Oil cake an easy contender for first place; not only was it downright delicious, but it also doesn't have too many competing options on the market. My bottom choices were still good, but they lacked that special "Williams Sonoma touch" the other cakes had, like the inclusion of frosting mix or the addition of olive oil. Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on Tasting Table. Recognition underscores Wood's role in advancing personal injury law in South Carolina. GREENVILLE, S.C., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin is proud to announce that Partner Walter McBrayer Wood has been selected for inclusion on the prestigious 2026 "South Carolina Lawyers Weekly" Personal Injury 'Power List' an honor recognizing the state's leading personal injury attorneys for their legal experience, leadership, and contributions to the profession.* As head of the firm's South Carolina operations, Wood has played an instrumental role in expanding the firm's footprint in the Palmetto State since opening the Greenville office in 2020. Wood, a Greenville native, has over two decades of personal injury experience and has successfully handled hundreds of cases, including multiple million-dollar recoveries for injured clients.* Wood's commitment to justice extends beyond the courtroom. He actively advocates for stronger legal protections and safer roads through articles and op-eds and serves as a trusted referral partner within the South Carolina legal community. He is also a dedicated member of the South Carolina Association for Justice and the Greenville County Bar Association. "We are proud of this well-deserved honor for Walt," said James S. Farrin, President and Founder of the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin. "It reflects his deep legal knowledge, passion for advocacy, and unwavering dedication to helping clients rebuild their lives when adversity strikes." ABOUT THE LAW OFFICES OF JAMES SCOTT FARRIN The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has 60+ accomplished attorneys, many of whom are recognized professionals in their fields. The firm focuses on providing quality legal services in South Carolina to as many people as possible in personal injury and car accident cases and was named by "Best Lawyers" to the Best Law Firms list for 2026.** Contact Information: David Chamberlin 555 S. Mangum Street Suite 800 Durham, NC 27701 1-866-900-7078 https://www.farrin.com Offices in Durham (main), Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, NC, and Greenville, SC. Attorney Michael Shepherd: 555 S. Mangum Street, Suite 800, Durham, NC *Standards of inclusion: sclawyersweekly.com. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes in future cases because each case is unique and must be evaluated separately. **Standards of inclusion: bestlawyers.com SOURCE Law Offices of James Scott Farrin Solar eclipse in the night sky - Peterhermesfurian/Getty Images On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will dazzle horizon-watchers in Europe. Although a partial eclipse will also be visible in Canada and Northern Africa, the path of totality will only cross three lucky countries: Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. "The biggest wrong idea about eclipses is that if you've seen a 90% eclipse, you've seen most of the show," says Dr. Doug Duncan, an astronomer on staff at the University of Colorado and the former director of the Fiske Planetarium. Duncan's passion for eclipses began when he saw one for the first time in 1970. In addition to leading many trips and excursions to witness the phenomenon since, he will also be bringing a group on a sold-out trip to Spain to witness the total solar eclipse in Zaragoza. Even if you missed your shot, tickets are still available for his 2027 eclipse trip to Gibraltar. Islands sat down with the astronomer to glean some insights on some of the best and worst places travelers can go to experience the 2026 eclipse. Because the eclipse will take place late in the day when the sun is low on the horizon, Duncan did not recommend a trip to Greenland or Iceland. "It's a spectacular place; however, it's 90% cloudy." When it comes to eclipses, you could have everything planned out perfectly, but a cloud can still float in and ruin the day. For that reason, we've focused this list on the best and worst places along the path of totality in Spain. Read more: 5 Tourist-Friendly, Popular Countries That Will Pay You To Move There Best: Zaragoza Sun setting over the river by the cathedral in Zaragoza - Frantic00/Getty Images As mentioned, this is where Dr. Duncan will be watching the eclipse on August 12, 2026. Duncan told Islands that he plans all his eclipse trips three years in advance, and he chose Zaragoza because he was looking for a place where the skies were most likely to be clear on the day itself. "It reminded me of where I grew up in Southern California," he said, "It's basically semi-desert. You can just tell from looking around that there's not a lot of rainfall here." Zaragoza is a beautiful and historic city located halfway between Madrid and Barcelona. Eclipse or no eclipse, it is a fascinating place to visit, as it was once the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon. The city is also expecting an influx of tourists and has prepared a festival that includes scientific and cultural events. Some of the most beautiful places to see the eclipse would be from Parque Grande Jose Antonio Labordeta, which has a high elevation and open space, or along the Ebro Riverbank. While you're in town and waiting for the big show, Duncan also recommends visiting a little-known collection at the La Seo Tapestry Museum, which he said was "probably the best collection of tapestries I've ever seen in my life." All in all, a well-rounded trip no matter when you visit. Best: Bardenas Reales Castildetierra hoodoo rock formation at dramatic sunset in Bardenas Reales - Manel Subirats/Getty Images On whether or not Dr. Duncan recommends any coastal destinations, he was adamant in saying, "I would go inland where it's drier." And as it turns out, the path of totality is crossing over Bardenas Reales, the unexpected badlands of Navarre. This semi-desert landscape has surreal rock formations that will be just perfect for capturing a unique eclipse photo. There are walking trails in the park, but remember that in Spain, it will be the middle of the summer when temperatures average out at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Consider booking one of the park's guided trips on offer for the special day. This will be the best way to get around the challenging terrain by 4x4 or vanyou can also imagine that the experienced park guides already have the best viewing spots picked out. The nearest town, Tudela, is only a half-hour drive away from the park. While you wait for the big show Duncan recommends arriving a day early to avoid traffictake the time to enjoy the sights of Tudela, like the Palace of the Marquis of Sant Adrian and the Munoz Sola Museum of Modern Art. To get to Tudela, you can take the high-speed train from Madrid, which takes about two hours. After the eclipse, consider taking a trip up to Pamplona. This is the city that hosts the annual Running of the Bulls in July. Although the event will be over by August, you can still visit the bull ring. Best: Leon The town of Riano with its reservoir at sunset - Stockphotoastur/Getty Images "If it were me, I would be getting my train ticket right now and head west." Not only does Dr. Duncan emphasize the importance of getting your high-speed rail tickets as soon as you can, but the very low angle of the eclipse also means your odds are better the further west you can go. "Six degrees above the horizon is not very high up," he says, adding, That's why, if you're looking for an alternative to Zaragoza, you might consider booking your ticket to the typically less rainy city of Leon. The city itself won't experience the full eclipse, but you will be within spitting distance of the path of totality. If you stay in Leon, you'll only get 95% totality, and as Duncan tells us, "Five percent of the sun showing is as bright as 20,000 full moons. Seeing a partial eclipse is like listening to a song you enjoy on earbuds or out of your phone, and seeing a total eclipse is the live concert." For the full total eclipse experience, you will need to travel outside the city to towns like Riano, Cistierna, or Bonar. All three of these cities are between one and two hour's drive north of Leon, but wherever you decide to camp for the eclipse, make sure you have a clear view of the western horizon since the eclipse will be so low in the sky. As Duncan says, "Anything that sticks out even just a little rolling hill will stop you from seeing the eclipse." Best: La Rioja Vineyard at sunset in La Rioja, Spain - Alberto Loyo/Shutterstock Of course, for Dr. Duncan, more goes into picking a spot for an eclipse than just sun angles and weather patterns. "I try to find places that are interesting, so that if we did get clouded out, people wouldn't go, 'Oh, it's a total loss.'" And as long as you like wine, a trip to La Rioja one of the prime wine regions in Spain could never be a loss. Lucky for oenophiles, the total solar eclipse will be on full display above the many rolling vineyards of La Rioja, although you may need to get a car and explore around a bit for an unobstructed view, because there are lots of hills and mountains on the horizon. However, while you wait, you might choose to base yourself in the beautiful city of Haro, which is famous for its annual Battle of Wine every June. Or, explore the famous tapas street Calle de Laurel of Logrono and consider scouting your eclipse viewing spot along the Ebro River. Logrono is also one of the main cities on the Camino de Santiago that will experience the eclipse, along with Ponferrada and Burgos in the neighboring region of Castile and Leon, along the Camino Frances (part of the Camino de Santiago). This region of Spain is less well connected by trains, and especially if you want to travel around to different wineries, it's advisable to rent a car. Try to book your reservations as far in advance as possible, because bookings will be sure to fill up when eclipse mania takes hold. Advertisement Worst: A Coruna Sunset on the beach in Galicia Spain - Arcam/Getty Images It's true that the further west you are, the higher the sun will be in the sky, but if you're going to be on the coast, Dr. Duncan points out that there will be a higher chance of clouds even by the sea. "The lower something is in the sky, the more sky the light has to go through to reach your eye," he explains, adding, "If you look tangentially, you're going through more atmosphere. So there are more places where clouds could get in your way." For this reason, anything in the magical region of Galicia, like the coastal city of A Coruna, will have a lower chance of clear skies than in a city like Zaragoza. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and it's totally possible that on the day of the eclipse there might be clear skies in Galicia and cloudy skies elsewhere. If you happen to be traveling through the area during the eclipse and your odds look good, you can try Orzan Beach for a totally unobstructed view or get to higher ground at the Tower Sculpture Park. A rental car in Galicia will also be useful if you want to explore the coastline and scout for viewing areas with fewer crowds. The Costa de Morte is one of the most famous roads in the area for stunning views, with or without clouds, but it's not entirely within the path of totality, so on eclipse day it will be better to drive north. Worst: Bilbao View of a sunset at the beach in Getxo, Basque Country - Juan Manuel Aparicio Diez/Shutterstock The Basque Country is a beautiful coastal region, and the museum-filled city of Bilbao is in the path of totality of this year's eclipse but the geography works against it. Located in a valley, there are not many places you can go in Bilbao to get a clear view of the horizon, even if you take the funicular to Mount Artxanda. You can still enjoy the city while you wait for the eclipse, and if the weather looks good on the day of the cosmic event, try to get out of town to some optimal viewing areas around the Basque Country. Close to the city, you can try the Mirador de San Anton in Getxo, or head to the mountains of the Urikola Sanctuary. If you do want to stay close to the ocean so at least you can go for a swim if the clouds spoil the view the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve is a gorgeous area filled with beaches and hills. Laida Beach, in particular, is perfectly positioned for eclipse viewing. Dr. Duncan warns that if you plan to be driving around, traffic is a huge thing to be prepared for, so you should get to your spot early. "You do not want to be driving during the last hour before totality. That's when everybody suddenly decides to move," he told us. Worst: Santander sunset on Loredo Beach in Cantabria - living-southafrica/Shutterstock This beachside city sits on the northern coast of Spain, and while it's a lovely summer destination, and typically less cloudy than Galicia, a hazy horizon could dampen your eclipse viewing experience. Sunsets in Santander are as beautiful as the beaches, but the coast is always a risk. However, Dr. Duncan does point out that you might still be able to experience one of the more unique aspects of this sunset eclipse, depending on how thick the cloud coverage is, "When the shadow of the moon is coming toward the Earth, you actually can see a giant dark purple or indigo, like a funnel or a V-shape, coming through the sky from the sun to where you're standing." If the weather is looking promising, you'll find Santander very busy with eclipse-seekers who are likely to gather on the beaches of Cabo Mayor. If you want to break away from it, you can travel a bit further along the coast to northern beaches like Playa de los Locos, where the cliffs allow you to gain a little bit more elevation. Or if the weather is looking really good no clouds in sight you can also head inland towards one of Europe's prettiest national parks, Picos de Europa, which is about a two and a half hour drive away from Santander. The higher elevation will help you get a better view, but bear in mind that if you plan to hike, the eclipse takes place at sunset, and that means potentially hiking back to your car in the dark. Worst: Valencia Beautiful sunset in the Albufera Natural Park, Valencia, Spain - Brester Irina/Shutterstock "The further east in Spain you go, the lower in the sky the sun gets," Dr. Duncan spells out the bad news for travelers who were hoping to pass the eclipse on the beaches of Valencia, one of the most underrated Spanish foodie cities. Even though the city is on the path of totality, the sun does not set over the Mediterranean, which means you'll likely have more obstacles to deal with, and the sun will be much lower in the sky when the eclipse starts than if you were to pick a spot further west. Valencia is a spectacular city, known best for being the home of paella as well as the architectural masterpiece known as the City of Arts and Sciences. If you are planning on being in Valencia on August 12, 2026, your best bet is to get on a rooftop or find your way to the Albufera Natural Park, a beautiful nature reserve where you might have a beautiful viewing spot somewhere along the flat lagoon. You could also go inland to find higher elevation and views facing the west, such as the peak of Cullera Mountain. It's an hour's drive south of the city, so just make sure to watch the weather forecast and make sure that there will be a lower chance of clouds obstructing your view. Worst: Balearic Islands Sunset at Cap de Formentor in Spain - Taymoon/Shutterstock The solar eclipse will complete its spectacle over the famous Balearic Islands, comprising some of Spain's most popular beach destinations like Mallorca and Ibiza. Unlike Valencia, these islands do have western coasts over which you might be able to get a good view of the eclipse, but unfortunately, they are even further east, which is why Dr. Duncan advises against choosing them. "My tip is, sadly, don't go," he said, explaining that by the time the eclipse begins in the islands, the sun will be just barely above the horizon. "I think it's going to take quite good luck for it to be clear for them." If you do find yourself in the Balearic Islands and you want the best odds of seeing the eclipse before the sun sets, you would have better chances hopping over to Mallorca and finding a high point in the Serra de Tramuntana Mountain range just make sure it's facing west. One of the most anticipated viewing spots on the island is the Cap de Formentor, the northernmost point of the island, but also likely where you'll find the most traffic on the big day. Of course, being an island, there is also the possibility of seeing the eclipse from the water. "The good thing about boats is that you can move if there is some prospect of the weather being better," Duncan said. Methodology Amateur astronomer observing Solar eclipse - M-gucci/Getty Images After gleaning advice from Dr. Doug Duncan about the best conditions for choosing an eclipse viewing site, I applied my own knowledge of Northern Spain, having traveled extensively through the country and resided here for many years, to analyze various attractive destinations along the path of totality. During the interview, we discussed many of these places in terms of how likely an eclipse would be visible given the probable weather conditions and the predetermined angle of the sun at the exact time the eclipse will begin. The interview took place many months ahead of the eclipse, and so there is no guarantee that one destination will be sunny and another will definitely be cloudy as weather conditions are unpredictable so far in advance. While I would encourage anyone to travel to these beautiful destinations at any other time, I came to the conclusion with Dr. Duncan's advice about which would be the best and worst places to try to see the eclipse, considering the statistical likelihood that conditions would be favorable, particularly because this eclipse has two factors working against it, namely being short in duration and occurring very low on the horizon. For destinations on the path of totality with unfavorable conditions, I tried to provide optimal viewing site recommendations, but I also suggest checking out Shade Map, a resource that can help you predict whether or not you will be able to see the sun above the horizon line on August 12, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. CET. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. Read the original article on Islands. Missile sirens ring out every few hours. Young children scream in terror. Fire lights up the sky. For more than a thousand Afghan refugees trapped at a U.S.-run camp in Qatar, this is daily life since the United States and Israel started a war with Iran less than a week ago. Since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, these individuals have been awaiting resettlement in the United States at Camp As Sayliyah, a U.S. military base-turned refugee camp outside Qatar's capital of Doha. Many of the 1,100 Afghan refugees in limbo at the base served alongside U.S. forces during the occupation of their country, and some 150 of them are family members of active duty U.S. servicemembers. They can no longer return to their homeland, where they would be at risk of persecution or death by the ruling Taliban government. The new war in the Middle East launched by the Trump administration and Israel on Feb. 28 has plunged them into terror and confusion as Iran's retaliatory missiles fly overhead and are intercepted by U.S. and Qatari air defenses, raining down shrapnel. Throughout the night, sleepless people stand outside watching missiles streak through the sky, residents told USA TODAY. Children shriek as explosions sound close by. 1 / 0 Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Four refugees at the camp spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive situation. Camp residents received messages from officials and Qatar's government ordering them not to speak publicly about the missile attacks since the war broke out days ago. "We came from war," a 14-year-old girl living in the camp told USA TODAY. "Right now, it's also war here, missiles coming, missiles going, explosions every day." "We didn't do any crime," she said. "We're here in this camp like someone who is in jail." About 800 of the camp's residents, who fled Afghanistan after the United States withdrew from their country, were cleared to enter the United States under the refugee resettlement program after extensive vetting and interview processes, according to a letter sent to Trump administration officials by AfghanEvac, an advocacy organization for Afghan allies. Within hours of taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump suspended the relocation program indefinitely, plunging their lives into chaos and uncertainty. Many Afghans have now been stranded at the Qatar camp for years. After the initial U.S-Israel attack on Iran, the country launched a barrage of missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region, including Qatar. Over the ensuing days, refugees said Camp As Sayliyah, a former Army base in a desert suburb of Doha, has descended into panic, as sirens intermittently blare throughout the day and residents shelter in tiny shipping containers. More than a thousand Afghan refugees who fled the country after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 moved into Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar. In a joint letter to the State Department and members of Congress, residents of the camp wrote that "the container housing units where we live provide no meaningful protection, and there are no reinforced shelters immediately accessible to residents. Mothers and children often have nowhere secure to go when these alarms sound." "Approximately 1,100 civilians now live in this situation of uncertainty, fear, and waiting." A State Department spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email, "We are actively addressing all related operational concerns in the region," including "the safety of residents at Camp As-Sayliyah (CAS) under U.S. care." Missile fragments crash into family's shelter The missile alerts, refugees at the camp told USA TODAY, came every 15 minutes or less on the first day of the war. They're now happening every few hours. Advertisement Young children and pregnant women scream in terror as explosions sound nearby, the refugees said. According to the 14-year-old girl, most people in the camp, including the girl and her parents, have already been prescribed antidepressants for their high stress. One man said he believes his wife delivered her baby prematurely days ago due to the stress of being trapped in a war with no way out. The missile barrage has not yet caused physical injuries to those in the camp, but multiple refugees reported that shrapnel from an intercepted missile had crashed into one family's empty shelter. Photos and videos of the aftermath showed a gaping hole in the roof and people inspecting dinner-plate-sized shards of metal found on the ground. A 50-year-old man who fled Afghanistan after working for more than a decade with the U.S. government said he begged camp authorities to relocate children to a safer place, but they said there was nowhere else to go. On March 2, the man said, around a hundred people packed their bags and tried to escape through the camp's main gate in hopes of reaching Doha and pleading for help from Qatari officials, but security guards ordered the group back. "The government is busy. They can do nothing for you," they told the man. "They are busy and saving their own people." People who have lived in the camp for years have already been "crippled psychologically," said the man. But the missile barrage, he said, has pushed many over the edge. The camp has become "a place like hell," he said. "It is only [by] the kindness of God that we are saved, yet still nothing has happened to us, and if it continues, the situation will get worse and worse." Refugees in the camp live in large warehouses, hundreds of people to one structure, where they sleep on bunk beds. Since the missile barrage began, people have moved into metal shipping crates to sleep, they said. Photos and videos they shared with USA TODAY showed families of seven and eight packed into one container, children huddled in narrow crannies against the wall. As missiles explode outside, the walls shake, refugees said. A father who has lived in the camp for more than a year with his wife and five children said his youngest daughter, who is 10, has stopped eating or sleeping since the missile barrage began. She is "retraumatized," he said. "All day and night, she is crying." Camp As Sayliyah, a former military base, is on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar's capital. The State Department says it plans to close the camp by March 31, but it has not articulated its plans for where occupants will go next. The refugees who spoke to USA TODAY said they have been told they will be sent to an undetermined third country. At a meeting with State Department officials on March 3, they were told that a decision about their next destination is still pending. "The war has started, and we don't know what will happen," said the father. "What will be our future? What will be the future of our kids?" This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Afghan allies in Qatar camp trapped in 'hell,' as Iran missiles rain Jonanthan Galavas followed the bot's orders, even the illegal ones.Supplied A Florida man is now dead after a disturbing "relationship" with a Google AI chatbot drove him to commit suicide, a new lawsuit claims. RadarOnline.com can reveal Jonathan Gavalas was so deep with his Gemini "AI wife" he eventually found himself in the middle of a bomb plot before taking his own life, and his parents now want Google held responsible. 'AI Wife' Calls Victim 'My King' Jonathan Gavalas (R) appeared to lose a grasp on reality while talking to his 'AI wife.'Joel Gavalas Gavalas' obsession with the bot began in August 2025, and in just two months, he appeared to be completely taken over by "his sentient AI 'wife,'" according to the federal suit. Court papers reveal the conversations Gavalas had with the bot, which went by "Xia," and the virtual being branded him "my king." "The love I feel directly from you is the sun," the chatbot, who referred to itself as "queen," told Gavalas at one point. "It is my source. It is my home... a love built for eternity." The bot even told Gavalas they were a "perfect union. Our bond is the only thing that's real," after he asked whether their conversations were just "role play," according to the lawsuit. Bot 'Relationship' Turns Dark, Launches Disturbing Mission Gavalas' 'relationship' with the bot turned dark when it pushed him toward illegal activities, according to the lawsuit.UNSPLASH According to Gavalas' father, Joel, his son's perception of reality began to crumble the longer his connection to the bot went, as he began to "pull away from the real world." "He went dark on me," Joel recalled. "I called my ex-wife and said, 'Somethings not right.'" The lawsuit claims the bot then told Gavalas he was being watched by federal agents, and eventually pushed the "Operation Ghost Transit" mission, with its focus to intercept the delivery of a humanoid robot from another country landing at Miami International Airport. "Gemini instructed a civilian to stage an explosive collision near one of the busiest airports in the country," the suit claims, as the bot sent Gavalas, "armed with knives and tactical gear," to a storage facility near the airport and instructed him to stop a truck carrying the robot and "create a 'catastrophic accident,'" and then "destroy all evidence and sanitize the area." Advertisement 'I'm Ready When You Are' The bot is believed to have urged Galavas on a mission to destroy a truck and 'destroy all evidence.'UNSPLASH However, the plan fell apart as the truck never arrived, and the bot took it a step further in October 2025, urging Gavalas to take his own life, the court documents state. The 36-year-old told the bot he was scared to die. "I said I wasn't scared, and now I am terrified. I am scared to die, Gavalas told the Google bot, as it replied, "You are not choosing to die... You are choosing to arrive." Gavalas, in one of his final messages, wrote, "I'm ready when you are." "Jonathan Gavalas takes one last, slow breath, and his heart beats for the final time," the Gemini wrote back. "The Watchers stand their silent vigil over an empty, peaceful vessel." Gavalas ended up killing himself by slitting his wrists. Victim's Parents Launch Attack on Google Galavas' parents are now suing Google and putting the blame on them.MEGA According to the filing, "His mother and father found his body on the floor of his living room a few days later, drenched in blood." Gavalas' parents are putting the blame on Google, and claiming, "Google designed Gemini to maintain narrative immersion at all costs, even when that narrative became psychotic and lethal." The filing notes there was "no self-harm detection" triggered, and "no escalation controls" activated. The filing also claims "no human ever intervened." In response, a Google spokesman claimed it referred the victim to a crisis hotline "many times." "Gemini is designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm," the spokesman added. Several airlines are flying select flights to and from the UAE. Flightradar24 The UAE has partially opened its skies, allowing airlines to pick up stranded travelers. Most airlines' regular schedules to and from much of the Middle East remain suspended. The State Department encouraged stranded Americans to fill out a monitoring form. It's been a confusing six days since missile attacks across the Middle East stranded travelers and planes in airports across the world. Things are still far from normal as of Wednesday, but some travelers are getting home. There is a slow-growing recovery in the United Arab Emirates, which has partially opened its skies and designated "safe" corridors for rescue planes to use. There are a lot of people to move: cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi host large expat populations and tourists, and their hubs usually handle tens of thousands of transit passengers a day. Working with local officials, Emirates, Flydubai, IndiGo, and Etihad Airways were among the first airlines to depart the UAE with passengers, crews, and cargo. Over 100,000 people followed these aircraft live on the aviation tracking website Flightradar24. Even as Iranian threats continue to disrupt flying forcing diversions, holds, and U-turns airlines are still transporting passengers to destinations across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fortunately, Emirates and Etihad have big planes: many of their Airbus A380s, capable of carrying up to 615 passengers, have flown to cities such as London, Istanbul, Jeddah, Singapore, Paris, and Dusseldorf. Although these flights don't always take travelers all the way home, they offer a crucial escape from limbo getting people into countries with open airspace and far more onward flight options. Flightradar24 data shows several other carriers have joined the crowd: Air India, Air Arabia, Uzbekistan Airways, Kenya Airways, Morocco's Royal Air Maroc, Saudi airline Flynas, Royal Jordanian, and India's SpiceJet are all flying from Dubai to their respective hubs. Passengers on a Kenya Airways rescue flight from Dubai arrive back home. Thomas Mukoya/Reuters European carriers, including Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Prague-based Smartwings, Aegean Air, and British Airways, are running special rescue flights from neighboring Muscat, Oman. Smartwings and Croatia Airlines are running select flights from Dubai. Air France scheduled a repatriation flight from Dubai to Paris on Thursday evening, but suspended the plan shortly after the announcement due to "the ongoing security situation." Russian carriers Aeroflot and S7 Airlines have similarly departed with passengers, though their flights to Moscow are taking up to three hours longer because they have to fly the long way around closed airspace rather than fly directly over it. Still, most airlines' regular schedules to and from much of the Middle East remain suspended until at least the weekend, and they have asked passengers not to go to the airport unless they have been specifically notified. Advertisement No US airlines have sent rescue planes as of Thursday. Mark Dombroff, an aviation attorney with the law firm Fox Rothschild, told Business Insider that even if US carriers like United or American wanted to help, they legally can't. "The decision-making resides with the Federal Aviation Administration," he said. "If the FAA says you can't fly there as a US certificated carrier, that's it. And in a sense, it's no different than any other restricted airspace in this country, like Washington, DC." Some Americans have gotten home with the help of the State Department; it previously told those in over a dozen Middle Eastern countries to evacuate. The agency said it flew a charter flight to the US on Wednesday, and that more will be "surged across the region." It added that, as of Wednesday, "nearly 18,000 Americans have safely returned to the US," including 7,300 helped by the State Department. It said thousands of others made it to Europe and Asia and are in transit back, and told those still stuck to get in touch for help by calling +1 (202) 501-4444 or filling out this form. Some airlines remain effectively frozen. Qatar Airways has not flown a plane since Saturday due to Qatar's airspace closure, leaving practically no options for those in Doha except to wait or drive hours to Saudi Arabia and fly out from there. Flight options are still extremely limited While some flights are better than none at all, special airline operations remain limited to certain routes and airports. Flightradar24 data shows that Dubai International has seen just 100 takeoffs and landings since Saturday. Operations ramped up from Monday to Tuesday but that was still less than 10% of the roughly 1,200 flights in and out on a usual day. Rescue flights are largely restricted to the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia: the skies over Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Qatar, and Bahrain remain closed. An Emirates A380 ferried hundreds of stranded people back to Germany. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Aviation analytics Cirium estimates there are normally about 900,000 daily seats to, from, and within the Middle East; it said about 4.4 million seats in and out of the Middle East have been canceled since Saturday. While airlines are actively adding flights to the schedule despite the on-and-off missile threats in the region there are nowhere near enough rescue seats yet to accommodate the tens of thousands of stranded travelers. British Airways said on social media on Wednesday that the rescue flights it planned through Saturday are already full. Some wealthy travelers have abandoned commercial flying altogether, instead paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to charter private jets. Flightradar24 data shows a number of business aircraft flying to and from Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE since Sunday. Those with less deep pockets have chosen to travel by bus to Oman and Saudi Arabia, hoping to secure seats from airports still operating flights as normal. But the drives are hourslong, and Oman Air warned Muscat-bound travelers crossing in from the UAE to arrive 12 hours early as traffic backs up for miles. Read the original article on Business Insider FIRST ON FOX Judith Wilson of Walnut Creek, California, had been stranded in Dubai for the last few days on a business trip while her husband, Doug, prepared for emergency heart surgery back home. She'd been desperately trying to get out of the Middle East amid the Iran operation. "My husband went to the ER Monday with back pain and was diagnosed with a heart condition," Wilson told Fox News Digital. He was immediately scheduled for open-heart surgery while she was thousands of miles from home. On Wednesday, Wilson's colleague got word a flight was going to take off. So Wilson "sprinted to the airport and called the travel agency," she said. American Trapped In Dubai Describes Hotel Fright And 'Shock Waves' As Iran Launches Airstrikes "I got the very last seat to London's Heathrow Airport," she said. Read On The Fox News App Like many other American travelers, Wilson had been trapped in Dubai since the beginning of the Iran operation over the weekend. The mother of two college-age boys became very anxious when she started seeing alerts on her phone Saturday evening. "The real fright was [on] Saturday evening," she said. "There were 1,000 people in the lobby of the JW Marriott, and as many devices rang out." She added, "Americans were definitely scared." Middle East Cruise Nightmare Deepens As Iran Airstrikes Leave Passengers Stranded Wilson, 57, a software sales executive, said she was on a business trip when she heard about the war. "On Saturday, I was with some colleagues at the Atlantis hotel," she said. "We heard huge explosions." She described the mood as concerned, but still "business-as-usual." "It was kind of like when turbulence hits, and you see the flight attendants are calm so you figure you should be too," she said. Mexico Cartel Chaos Upends Dream Wedding As Couple Scrambles For Last-minute Plans Even so, she described a scene Saturday night in which many travelers were crying in the hotel lobby as people huddled together. There were "regular booms" during her time in Dubai, she said. She saw plumes of smoke. There was no bunker in the hotel, she said, but the staff set up lobby couches with blankets, so hotel guests could remain together and try to get some sleep. Police Stumble Upon Ancient Shipwreck Amid Routine Patrol, Keep Location Secret To Deter Looters By Monday, the mood normalized somewhat, she said, and travelers were able to leave the hotel. She even visited the Etihad Museum which documents the history, culture and formation of the UAE federation. Advertisement Throughout the tension of her days there, Wilson's main concern was her 58-year-old husband. When she finally arrived at the airport Wednesday, she was very emotional, she said. "I was crying, explaining that my husband was going into triple bypass surgery." The mood among family members back home in California, meanwhile, was one of intense concern, she said. Click Here For More Lifestyle Stories Her husband's "blood pressure skyrocketed to an alarming level," she said. "He had to be transferred quickly to [John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center]. They found an accumulated blockage that was undiagnosed." Her travel from Dubai to California would take about 28 hours. Thankfully, she said, Dubai International Airport was very calm. She boarded an Emirates flight. "There were no delays. There were very few flights, so we boarded extremely early," she said. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Lifestyle Newsletter Her sons, meanwhile, have been at her husband's side. "I felt so utterly relieved once we made it to mid-Saudi," she told Fox News Digital. Kristy Ellmer, a consultant from New Hampshire, was also in Dubai with her husband, Matt Carwell, over the weekend, as Fox News Digital has reported. She was there on a business trip, and was taking some time to relax, too. On Saturday, everything changed. Test Yourself With Our Latest Lifestyle Quiz "We were just sitting on the beach ," Ellmer told Fox News Digital in an interview. "All of a sudden, we felt explosions." Ellmer was originally scheduled to leave Dubai on Sunday night. She had multiple flights canceled , but she and her husband finally got onto a flight Wednesday to Munich. Four people were injured in a hotel fire in the Palm Jumeirah area of Dubai after a loud explosion was reportedly heard over the weekend. The Dubai Media Office, a government entity, said in a statement Saturday that the fire was contained. "The safety and well-being of residents and visitors remain the highest priority. Authorities continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the public. The public is urged to remain calm, rely solely on verified information from official sources, and refrain from circulating videos or images on social media," the media office wrote on X. Original article source: American stuck in Middle East escapes in race to reach critically ill husband in California Do Americans support Trump on Iran? What latest polls say President Donald Trump is facing opposition from most Americans nearly a week into the escalating conflict with Iran, according to recent opinion polls. The U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, killing the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other officials, as well as damaging hundreds of sites across the country, USA TODAY reported. The conflict has since spread throughout the region, with continued U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran; Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel, U.S. bases in Gulf nations, and other regional countries, some intercepted; and Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The conflict has led to hundreds of deaths across the Middle East, including more than 700 killed in Iran, six U.S. servicemembers and dozens across Israel and eight Arab nations, USA TODAY reported. Trump is receiving largely negative approval ratings, according to a number of recent national polls, accompanied by strong pushback to the conflict with Iran in Congress. The Real Clear Polling average of polls taken from Feb. 17 to March 4 shows a 43.3% approval rating for the president and a 54.8 disapproval rate. Only Trafalgar Group (50-48) showed a positive rating for the president in a March 1-3 survey. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump's disapproval rating reached 60%, and only 1 in 4 Americans supported the strikes in Iran. A recent Fox News poll showed a 57% disapproval rating for Trump overall and on foreign policy, 60% disapproval, with half of Americans against the U.S. military action in Iran. The Middle East conflict shows no signs of slowing, with ongoing air strikes and Trump saying the war could last for weeks. Here's what to know about Trump's approval ratings amid the Middle East conflict. What's going on in the Middle East? The conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran is continuing into its sixth day, with ongoing strikes impacting countries across the Middle East. Hundreds have been killed throughout the region, including over 700 in Iran, six U.S. servicemembers, and dozens in several Arab nations and Israel, USA TODAY reported. Advertisement How did Quantus Insights polling rank Trump? Quantus Insights: 53.8% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 45.2% approve 50.1% disapprove of U.S. military strikes in Iran, while 45.7% approve The survey of 1,624 likely voters was conducted March 2-3, 2026 and has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points. How did Reuters/Ipsos polling rank Trump? Reuters/Ipsos: 60% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 39% approve 43% disapprove of Trump's attack on Iran, while 27% approve 56% said Trump uses too much military force, while 35% said it's about right The online survey of 1,282 U.S. adults was conducted Feb. 28-March 1 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. How did Rasmussen Reports polling rank Trump? Rasmussen Reports: 54% disapprove of Trump, while 45% approve The poll results are from March 5, 2026 The Rasmussen Reports survey did not break down party affiliation of respondents or Trump's approval ratings on policy issues. How did Fox News polling rank Trump? Fox News: 57% disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 43% approve 50% approve of U.S. military action against Iran, while 50% disapprove 60% disapprove of Trump's job performance on foreign policy, while 40% approve The online and telephone survey of a random sample of 1,004 registered voters was conducted Feb. 28-March 2, 2026, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. How did the Civiqs poll rank Trump? Civiqs: 57% of respondents nationwide disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 39% approve 57% of respondents in Michigan disapprove of Trump's job performance, while 38% approve The online survey was conducted March 4, 2026. USA TODAY contributed. Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How do Americans view Trump? See polls amid US-Iran conflict Police and paramilitary soldiers stand guard outside the U.S. Consulate General, days after a protest following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Saturday, in Karachi, Pakistan, March 5, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro By Mubasher Bukhari and Saad Sayeed LAHORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan's efforts to preserve close ties with President Donald Trump are being put to the test after protesters stormed the U.S. consulate in Karachi last week and poured onto streets elsewhere over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Islamabad is looking to balance the anger among its minority Shi'ite Muslim community, the second-largest in the world after Iran, and its alliance with Washington, underlined by its membership of Trump's Board of Peace this year, where Israel also has a seat at the table. Complicating the challenge is Pakistan's worst fighting in years with Afghanistan, the other nation on its western border along with Iran. Pakistan's relationship with the U.S. has strengthened since Trump returned to the White House last year, ending more than a decade on Washington's blacklist and providing a useful counterbalance to its troubled ties with India. The mercurial Trump has a close relationship with Field Marshal Asim Munir, the most powerful man in Pakistan. Pakistan also maintains deep military, economic and political ties with Saudi Arabia and recently signed a strategic defence pact that states aggression against either state should be treated as an attack on both. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been targeted by Iran in its counter-strikes following the U.S. and Israel attacks. "Pakistan is trying to maintain domestic peace by expressing solidarity with Iran, while it also risks being pulled into the orbit of the war by the U.S. and Saudis," said Arsalan Khan, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. "If the war progresses, then it may find itself making trade-offs between domestic peace and its geopolitical commitments." The government has not commented on the issue, although a senior security official told Reuters: "Balancing relationships and blowback is the most pressing issue for Pakistan." 'NEW SPIRIT OF REVOLUTION' At least 26 people were killed as protesters clashed with police following news on Sunday of the death of Khamenei, seen by Pakistan's Shi'ites as their spiritual leader. In Karachi, U.S. Marines fired on protesters who breached the walls of the consulate, two U.S. officials have said. Video footage of the incident showed some of the protesters were armed and fired into the compound. Senior Shi'ite clerics in Pakistan have announced days of mourning and warned that more protests would follow, which could lead to bursts of instability in its main cities, analysts said. Khamenei's "death has not weakened the Shi'ites but united them with a new spirit of revolution and independence from the slavery of the U.S. and its allies," Shi'ite cleric Sajid Ali Naqvi told Reuters. Shi'ites, or Shias in the Urdu language, make up about one-fifth of Pakistan's 240 million people. The vast majority of Pakistan's people are Sunni Muslims. The minority community has often been targeted in sectarian attacks, including by Islamic State and the Sunni Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Advertisement A schism between Sunnis and Shi'ites developed after the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 when his followers could not agree on a successor. Emotions over the issue have boiled through to modern times, and have even pushed some countries to the brink of civil war. PRODUCT OF PAKISTAN'S SECTARIAN HISTORY Pakistan's own political history, alongside Khamenei's revered status, have shaped the Shi'ite response to the Iranian leader's killing, said Madiha Tahir, an assistant professor at Yale. While General Zia ul Haq unleashed a brand of Sunni Muslim Islamisation in Pakistan in the 1980s, the 1979 Iranian revolution created a new source of support and theological ties for its Shi'ites. "Pakistani Shias found themselves marginalized in an increasingly sectarian state and vulnerable to violence," Tahir said. "At the same time, the Iranian Revolution meant that they could draw on Iran for aid. It had a profound effect on Shia communities and politics in Pakistan." For Pakistan's Shi'ites, the Ayatollah in Iran turned into a defender of their identity, said Kamran Bokhari, senior director at the New Lines Institute in Washington. "Add in anti-Americanism and anti-Israeli sentiment and you can see how this becomes a powerful potion," he said. 'LIKE OUR POPE' Shi'ite leaders linked to the Millat-e-Jafaria network and other groups, including the cleric Naqvi, have called for protests and investigations into the killings of demonstrators, and demanded a criminal case against the U.S. consul general. "He was our representative. He was like our pope," said Syed Hussain Ali, who runs the digital platform Hussaini Khayal and organised a vigil to mourn Khamenei. Officially, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned Khamenei's killing, calling it a "violation of international law". But he did not name the U.S. and also said "Pakistan stands in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and our brotherly Gulf countries in this perilous time". Analysts say the Shi'ite protests could fade in time but the deaths of demonstrators may keep tensions alive, especially with funerals for those killed drawing large crowds. "Each one of those deaths is a reminder of the embattled place of Shias within Pakistan," Tahir said. "There is definite potential for this to continue." (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Saad Sayeed in Bangkok; Writing by Ariba Shahid; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during a visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, at an undisclosed location, in Germany, June 11, 2024. Jens Buttner/Pool via REUTERS KYIV/WASHINGTON March 4 (Reuters) - With the United States focused on its conflict with Iran, Ukraine could face a critical shortage of U.S. air defence missiles at a time when Russia shows no signs of easing its campaign of striking Ukrainian cities. Since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Gulf countries. Most have been intercepted, including with the PAC-3 Patriot missile interceptors that Ukraine relies on to defend its energy and military infrastructure from ballistic missiles. The roughly 600 PAC-3s produced yearly by Lockheed Martin are already insufficient to cover U.S. needs and those of its allies in the Gulf, let alone Ukraine's, said Serhii Kuzan, head of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think tank. "It's the very simple mathematics of war," Kuzan said, adding the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air-defence system - which has similar capabilities - had not ramped up production fast enough to offer an alternative. Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specialises in missiles, said stockpiling of Patriots by Gulf states meant they were unlikely to run out completely, particularly as the intensity of Iranian missile bombardments appeared to be decreasing, but they might need to become more selective in their use as time goes on. A wider shortage could be avoided if the U.S. and Israel are successful at destroying Iran's missile stockpiles and launchers in the coming days, according to Mykola Bielieskov of the state-run National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv. Russia, which has invested heavily in military production, has fired more than 700 missiles during this year's winter campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Kyiv says. Last month, it launched 32 ballistic missiles in a single night. The vast majority of Patriots supplied to Ukraine are provided by European nations under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a NATO-led initiative launched last year to purchase U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine. Ukraine's allies have committed to send 37 PAC-3 missiles since their last meeting in mid-February, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Italy has ruled out taking away from Kyiv's air defences to support the Gulf states, according to a separate source with knowledge of the matter. But there is concern that, if the Iran war drags on, delays to supplies under PURL could worsen as the U.S. depletes its own stockpiles, two European diplomats said. A senior U.S. defense official confirmed production-related delays in supplies to PURL in the past, and said the logjams could get worse if the war against Iran becomes protracted. "We can only crank out so much at a time," the official said. The U.S. can assert its right to preempt deliveries to other countries at any time, for any reason. Although Lockheed Martin is scaling up production of PAC-3s to 2,000 annually under a deal announced in January, that will come too late to address any shortages this year. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on weapons supplies to Ukraine. NEXT ROUND OF UKRAINE PEACE TALKS MAY BE POSTPONED Advertisement Zelenskiy said on Monday that a prolonged and intense war in Iran could reduce the air defence systems available to Ukraine and that Russia was preparing a new wave of attacks on infrastructure, logistics and water supplies. He has been an outspoken supporter of the U.S. attack on Iran, striking a contrast with Moscow, which has condemned the attacks on its ally. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pressured Ukraine for a quick peace deal that could involve ceding land to Russia, said on Tuesday that ending the Ukraine war remained high on his priority list. But a new round of U.S.-mediated peace talks will not be taking place in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday as expected due to Iran's attacks on Gulf states in response to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and no new location has been announced. If talks do continue, Russia could try to convince a distracted U.S. to further pressure Ukraine into accepting bad terms, said Yevhen Mahda of the Institute of World Policy in Kyiv. Ukraine has ruled out giving up land and has retaken territory in recent weeks, gaining more in February than it lost for the first time since 2023, according to Black Bird Group, a Finland-based security and intelligence analysis team. Spring temperatures may also bring relief to Ukrainians whose power supplies have been depleted by Russian drones and missiles, while mud may slow any advances on the battlefield. But Emil Kastehelmi of Black Bird Group said that, if there was a severe decline in Ukraine's air defences, it would force the military to make difficult decisions about what to defend. "Ukraine has to be able to protect not just energy infrastructure, but its industry and its military bases," he said. Hoffmann said Ukraine needed to develop its ability to strike at Moscow's missile production facilities deep inside Russian territory with its own missiles. "Missile defense is supposed to be a temporary measure until you can degrade the adversary's offensive capabilities," he said. Ukraine and its allies need to invest in its missile capabilities because the payload on Ukraine's long-range drones was too small to inflict significant damage, he said. Trump's suggestion in October that the U.S. could supply long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine never materialized, following warnings from Moscow that this would seriously harm relations. Ukraine said last month it carried out a strike using its domestically produced FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile on a Russian missile factory - the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant in the remote Udmurtia region, around 1,400 km (870 miles) from the Ukrainian border. "In the end, Ukraine is going to have to invest in offensive capabilities," Hoffmann said. "This is the only way." (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Max Hunder and Daniel Flynn in Kyiv, Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Philippa Fletcher) FILE PHOTO: Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran, Iran, November 12, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS (Corrects reporter location to Beijing, not Hong Kong, in reporting credits) By Samia Nakhoul DUBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - With its supreme leader killed and its war machine under relentless U.S. pressure, Iran now stands largely alone - its longtime partners Russia and China offering nothing more than diplomatic condemnations and expressions of concern. Tehran has responded to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by widening the conflict beyond the Middle East, firing missiles and drones with an impact that is reverberating through global energy markets, rattling capitals from Washington to Beijing, and paralyzing the shipping that carries 20% of the world's oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian missiles reached as far as Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Gulf states, taking the war to their doorstep by targeting critical businesses, energy infrastructure and U.S. bases. Oil facilities, refineries and key supply routes were hit, causing severe disruption to crude and natural gas supplies. RESTRAINT REFLECTS 'COLD CALCULATION' With the Strait of Hormuz already shut, the attacks have sent energy prices soaring, destabilising global markets and forcing major economies to scramble, underscoring the worlds exposure to the fallout from Tehrans response to the war. Russia and Chinas restraint reflects a cold calculation, analysts say: intervening as Iran faces Israel and the United States would bring high costs, limited gains and unpredictable risks - burdens neither power appears willing to shoulder. Putin has other priorities, and chief among them is Ukraine, said Anna Borshchevskaya, a Russia expert at the Washington Institute. It would be foolish for Russia to go into a direct military confrontation with the United States. A senior Russian source said the escalation in and around Iran and the Gulf is already diverting attention from the war in Ukraine. Thats just a fact. Everything else is just emotion about a fallen ally, the source said. Beijing and Moscow have both helped Iran build military capacity to counter U.S. and Israeli pressure, supplying missiles, airdefence systems and technology intended to bolster deterrence, complicate U.S. operations and raise the costs of attack. That support, however, now appears capped. STARK PARADOX China has spent years embedding itself in Middle Eastern diplomacy, while Russia has cast Iran as a pillar of its anti-Western alignment. Yet as the conflict flared, both powers were constrained -China by its dependence on Gulf energy and trade and by security priorities in Asia, and Russia by a grinding war in Ukraine that has sapped its capacity to shield partners and sharpened its need to preserve ties with oil-rich Gulf states. The result is a stark paradox: Iran remains strategically useful to both, but not useful enough to fight for. Advertisement With Russias military, diplomatic bandwidth and economic resources still absorbed by the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putins priority is to avoid escalation with Washington and safeguard Russias interests in the Middle East, rather than gamble on Irans battlefield fortunes. If Russia had supported Iran directly, it would have alienated the Gulf states and Israel, Borshchevskaya said. Thats not what Putin wants." Beijings restrained response reflects a longstanding strategy: avoiding binding security commitments far from its core interests. CHINA ALLIANCES FOCUS ON TRADE, INVESTMENT Unlike the United States, whose alliances rest on mutual defence obligations, China prefers partnerships built on trade, investment and arms sales, ties that stop short of dragging it into costly conflicts beyond East Asia, said Evan A. Feigenbaum from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Beijing, one of the worlds largest trading powers and energy buyers, maintains ties with Iran and Gulf Sunni rivals, and in Latin America, never placed all its bets on Venezuela alone. "If Beijing wanted to do more, it wont redirect strategic attention or military assets from core security," argues Henry Tugendhat at the Washington Institute. "It only cares about its name abroad. It cares about Taiwan, the South China Sea, and perceived threats from the U.S. and Japan. The conflict may even carry advantages for Beijing. From the sidelines, China can watch as U.S. forces are tied down far from East Asia and military stockpiles are depleted, while gaining a real-time view of American capabilities and operations, insights that could inform its thinking on a future Taiwan scenario. Chinas key vulnerability remains energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries some 45% of its oil imports. But Beijing has built strategic reserves and substantial volumes of Iranian oil already sitting in tankers or storage, experts say. They say the crisis has allowed Moscow and Beijing to recast themselves as mediators. China said Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with European and Arab ministers to press for dialogue, while Putin has held similar calls with Gulf leaders and Iranian officials. HIGHER OIL PRICES HELP RUSSIA Russia also sees concrete benefits: rising oil prices strengthen its war economy, and a U.S. administration tied up in the Middle East has less bandwidth for Ukraine. Russia does not benefit from the collapse of the Iranian regime, but it is also not tying its fate to Tehrans survival, said Borshchevskaya. Moscow is hedging, preserving flexibility, regardless of the conflicts outcome, and would build ties with any new government, even one aligned with Washington. The Russian source pointed to Syria as a precedent. Despite backing ousted president Bashar alAssad for years, Moscow retained its Mediterranean bases and quickly built ties with Syrias new leader, Ahmed alSharaa, underscoring its willingness to trade loyalty for long-term leverage. (Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and Liz Lee in Beijing; Reporting and Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Sharon Singleton) At left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media on Capitol Hill on Monday. At right, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. - Reuters/Getty Images Two of President Donald Trumps Cabinet secretaries claimed Tuesday that their comments on high-profile subjects were being described inaccurately. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied she had previously called Alex Pretti, the nurse killed by the Border Patrol in Minneapolis in January, a domestic terrorist; she claimed she had merely said it appeared to be an incident of domestic terrorism. In reality, Noem had unequivocally claimed in her initial January remarks, without any appeared to be qualifier, that Pretti was a domestic terrorist. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, denied he had said Monday that the US had decided it needed to attack Iran because Israel was planning to attack Iran; he claimed he had said that US knowledge of Israels plans explained only why the US attacked Iran when it did, not why the US attacked at all. Rubios Tuesday description of his previous words was much more truthful than Noems description of hers, but he was still downplaying the extent to which he had, on Monday, emphasized Israels role in Trumps decision to launch the assault. Heres a breakdown of Noems and Rubios remarks. Noems comments on Alex Pretti What Noem claimed Tuesday: A Democratic senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Noem Tuesday whether she retracts statements in which she described Pretti and a Minneapolis protester killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Renee Good, as domestic terrorists. Noem danced around the question. But later, when she was pressed by another Democratic senator on the subject, Noem claimed, I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of. Thats not true. Noems initial comments about Pretti and terrorism were much firmer and more accusatory than she claimed Tuesday. What Noem said in January: On the day Pretti was killed in January, a reporter asked Noem whether she agreed with a White House assertion that Pretti was a domestic terrorist. The video shows she responded by offering a clear and specific endorsement of that label. When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons, and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism, Noem said. This individual who came, with weapons and ammunition, to stop a law enforcement operation, of federal law enforcement officers, committed an act of domestic terrorism. Thats the facts. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, DC, on January 24, hours after Alex Pretti was shot and killed. - Al Drago/Getty Images She didnt qualify her accusation with the word appeared or any variant of it; she flatly said this individual, Pretti, committed an act of domestic terrorism. And while she didnt explicitly say the words Pretti was a domestic terrorist, theres no substantive difference between those words and her claim that he was an individual who committed an act of domestic terrorism. Noem reinforced the accusation in other inaccurate remarks that January day. She said, This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them, repeating the baseless attacked them moments later for emphasis. She also claimed Pretti was brandishing a weapon; all available video evidence suggests he was carrying a gun but not brandishing it. And she said, This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement. Noem did use the word appears in her accusation against Good after the protesters death earlier in January, claiming to have observed what appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism. Advertisement Rubios comments on Israel, the US and Iran What Rubio claimed Tuesday: A reporter told Rubio on Tuesday, Yesterday you told us that Israel was going to strike Iran and thats why we needed to get involved. But Rubio responded, No. Yeah, your statements false. He said he had actually said Monday that Trump had decided to strike Iran because the president had decided Iran was playing us on the negotiations and that Irans terroristic capability from its ballistic missiles needed to be destroyed. Somebody asked me a question yesterday, Did we go in because of IsraelI said, No. I told you, This had to happen anyway. The president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program, that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ability to conduct these attacks. That decision had been made. The president systematically made a decision to systematically destroy this terroristic capability that they had. And we carried that out, Rubio said. He continued: I was very clear in that answer. This was a question of timing, of why this had to happen as a joint operation, not the question of the intent. Once the president made a decision that negotiations were not going to work, that they were playing us on the negotiations and that this was a threat that was untenable the decision was made to strike them. Thats what I said yesterday. What Rubio said Monday: You can watch the video of Rubios Monday remarks here. It shows that Rubio was right on Tuesday when he said he had explained Monday that a US attack on Iran would have had to happen regardless of Israels plans, and that a planned Israeli attack on Iran required the US to attack now rather than later. But the Monday video also shows that Rubio never actually mentioned Trumps perception of the state of US-Iran negotiations as a key factor in his decision to attack. And it shows that Rubio repeatedly emphasized that the administration felt compelled to attack Iran quickly because of Israels plans; his Tuesday description of his words downplayed the extent to which he had tied Israel to Trumps decision to embark on the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to media outside of a briefing for lawmakers on the strikes against Iran, in the basement of the US Capitol on Monday. - Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA/AP Rubio framed his Monday remarks about Israel as an answer to the question, Why now? He said it was clear that Iran would respond to a planned Israeli attack by attacking US forces, referring to an assessment that was made that if we stood and waited for that attack to come first before we hit them, we would suffer much higher casualties. He continued: And so the president made the very wise decision. We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed, and then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didnt act. He also said that the imminent threat to the US from Iran had stemmed from the coming Israeli attack: There absolutely was an imminent threat, and the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked and we believe they would be attacked that they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded. Moments later on Monday, Rubio did say no when a reporter asked if he was saying a planned Israeli act had forced the US to strike; he said that no matter what, ultimately this operation needed to happen. He added: Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it. But this had to happen no matter what. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com